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The Avalon of Five Elements
(五行天)
by
Fang Xiang
(方想)
Synopsis
The tens of thousands of universes have merged. The
disintegration of spiritual force led to the momentous collapse
of the great Cultivation World, a mighty era that had endured
through millions of years of history. In the wake of the large-
scale invasion of the Wilderness, the Avalon of Five Elements
has become the practitioners’ last stand.

After a thousand years, a lowly youth, who hailed from the

Old Territory, toiled as a laborer for three years in the depths of
the Wilderness. He then became an exception and obtained the
opportunity to enter the Avalon Of Five Elements for further
studies.

Bearing beast-like fighting capabilities and driven by the

desire to take control of his life, the youth strived for greater
strength and power. Little did he know that he would set off a
majestic upheaval.
Chapter 1: The Decision
Crunching noises spilled out of Fatty’s mouth as he gnawed on
the malt candy. The day’s austere chilliness was chased away in
the dusky afterglow that spilled over the vast land, the
incoming breeze as gentle as a feather. Ai Hui wondered if he
would remember this day in the future.

"Have you decided?" Fatty asked doubtfully.

"I have decided," Ai Hui replied. He had long made the

decision, and there was no longer any hesitation.

Fatty sighed with some envy. He then commented, "You don’t

lose out to those wimpy kids. That would be a disgrace to me. I
just can’t understand what’s so good about fighting and killing.
Let’s take this money, go back, and live happily for the rest of
our lives. Do you know how many people enter the Wilderness?
Two thousand! And only the two of us survived! This money is
the price of our lives! If I die, my family can still get the money.
If you die…"

"That’s why I’m still alive," Ai Hui interrupted Fatty, who had
stood up to speak with increasing agitation. Slowly, Fatty lost
his distraught expression and calmed down.
 The opportunity to enter the Avalon of Five Elements did not
come easily. Initially, due to Ai Hui’s inadequate natural
abilities, he hadn’t been qualified to enter. However, in the last
three years, his performance had been exemplary. His ability to
maintain composure in complex and stressful situations and his
display of courage and determination at crucial moments left an
indelible impression in everyone’s minds.

When he made the request to enter the Avalon of Five

Elements, the authorities ultimately gave their approval after
consideration.

Out of the two thousand laborers, only two survived. Even if it

was largely due to luck, it also illustrated the multitude of
existing problems.

Fatty sat down, disappointed. He was too familiar with Ai

Hui’s stubbornness. Soon after, however, he came to a
realization and perked up once more to sincerely say,
"Remember to write my name on the compensation payment
form. Why benefit others when you can benefit me?"

Ai Hui did not bother to care about him. He casually pulled a

straw of grass from the ground, put it in his mouth, and
pillowed his head with his hands as he stretched out, content on
the ground. For the past three years in the Wilderness, his
mental state had been stretched to the limit every day. Blood,
death, fighting, and killing. It was an ice-cold world where
darkness and scarlet melded together.

He didn’t know how he had endured those three years, and he

did not want to remember it either. After all, there were no
happy memories.

The afterglow from the setting sun shone on his body. Feeling
warm and snug, Ai Hui’s eyebrows naturally unfolded while his
steely face gradually relaxed into a state of tranquility.

It was so comfortable!

As Ai Hui’s sun-warmed body loosened up, his mental state

followed suit, as though a restrictive fog had been lifted from
his mind to dissipate silently into thin air.

The warm sunlight and the slightly invigorating breeze

contained an uncanny quality that stirred up strange yet
familiar memories from deep within his mind. The three
years… no, not the ones he spent in the Wilderness. The three
years before that, the sunlight and breeze in the swordsman
school had felt just like this.

…..

In those days, before the sun had even risen, he would have
gulped in a breath of cold air, ready to start cleaning the school
that had been remodeled from a worn-out warehouse. After
three runs of wiping down the entire floor, his body would be
warmed up, ready to start in on constructing wooden shelves.
Each plank had been collected from the nearby streets and were
of different sizes and thickness. As such, one could not complain
much about how it looked put together.

After constructing the wooden shelves, he began to arrange

the swordplay manuals the owner had obtained recently.

One yuan could buy ten kilograms of manuals on the market.

Paperbacks were cheap—but still more valuable than bamboo
strips—while the ones that were bound with iron and had gold
covers were a bit more expensive. Though there was a lot of
work to be done, there was no one to rush him. In fact, Ai Hui
had never been hurried along. He was able to leisurely flip
through and peruse the manuals.
 Occasionally, he fantasized about how well-off he would be if
he were to live in the Cultivation Era. He would have sold
swordplay manuals until his hands went soft.

After arranging the swordplay manuals, he started organizing

the various flying swords and treasure swords.

At this point, the sun would have risen. Just like now, it
would be warm and cozy. The corners of Ai Hui’s mouth
involuntarily quirked into a slight smile.

Even though the flying daggers and treasured swords had lost
their Spiritual Force and were just a bunch of unlit scrap metals,
under the sunlight, the beauty of their antiquity would often
captivate Ai Hui.

Flying swords represented the apex of the Cultivation World.

For generations, the flying swords had been the favourite
weapon of master blacksmiths. There were all kinds of oddities,
and they existed in various shapes and sizes, there were all kinds
of oddities. Some of the shapes were so weird that people could
not even associate them with flying swords.

He did not dare to touch those that had rusted too much. If
they broke, the owner would scold him again.

There was no salary for him, but all his meals were provided.
To someone who had led the life of a miserable vagabond for the
last ten years like him, this deal was as beautiful as the sunlight
right now. He could not any better words to describe it.

The owner was a good man. It was just that his way of
handling business was not as good.

Would a successful businessman run a swordsman school?

Ai Hui had stayed at the school for three years. During this
period of time, less than ten people had visited the school. Upon
seeing the signboard that hung over the entrance of the school,
ninety percent of the visitors turned their heads and left.

In this day and age, were there even any Swordsmen left?

Other than countless swordplay manuals, treasured swords

and flying swords, the swordsman school practically had
nothing else. The owner had travelled to various marketplaces
that sold rubbish just to obtain these things. Even when he
travelled to foreign places to do business, he would buy back a
batch of such things.

His zeal for Swordsmanship was obviously irrational. The

transport fees alone was much more expensive than what they
actually costed.

Naturally, there were times when Ai Hui felt that the owner’s
pathetic financial power might only allow him to adopt a cheap
hobby like Swordsmanship.

Ai Hui had tried to persuade the owner to switch to

bodybuilding, and such. These concepts would at least had more
prospects than Swordsmanship. The owner flew into a rage and
berated him. At that point of time, Ai Hui realised that the
owner’s business management skills were truly appalling.

Guarding a completely empty school, Ai Hui felt that he might

as well read and played around with the swordplay manuals.
Eventually, he did not become a Sword practitioner, but to his
perseverance in training, his fighting capabilities improved a
lot. His fighting capabilities did attract a few wimpy kids.

Due to the owner’s incapacity,his business failed and he could

not pay back his debts. Eventually, he committed suicide. Ai Hui
was saddened by this incident. The owner was a good man, but
not a determined one. It was only right for one to pay back his
or her debt. The school should be passed on to other people.
These were what Ai Hui told himself on the last day when the
debt collectors came to confiscate the school.

The crude wooden shelves that he made were thrashed to the

ground. The swordplay manuals were scattered across the floor.
Some of these manuals, the owner had retrieved from distant
cities. The sword rack that he had wiped and cleaned every day
were stomped to pieces by the debt collectors. According to the
owner, that rack used to reside in the abode of a sword expert.
The flying sword on it had been used to shed the blood of
thousands and intimidate the mighty heroes of the past. The
Nine Tone Sword Chime that hung under the eaves was also
smashed and fragmented. It, too, had its own lofty history as a
noteworthy, prized possession of the Nine Tone Sword Sect in
the past. When Ai Hui witnessed these acts, like a terribly
wounded wolf that had been pushed to the brink, he lost control
and frantically lunged forward.

It was just a struggle, yes, and the last struggle he could make.

Ai Hui did not know the owner’s name. So he found a wooden

slab, carved the word "Owner" onto it and used it as the
memorial tablet. He used twigs as joss sticks, and burned all the
swordplay manuals for the owner. After kowtowing to the
tablet, he prayed that the owner would be able to pursue his
dream of becoming a swordsman in the afterlife.

Covered in injuries, he fixed his gaze on the building that was

now in shambles for a long time before turning his back and
leaving. He walked through the streets of mottled light and
shadow, the sunlight filtering past the uneven roofs of houses
lining the pavement. His legs strode forward mechanically as he
continued onward in a trance-like state without a goal or
destination.

Even after a year, the feelings of helplessness and loneliness

remained fresh in his mind. He remembered that he felt
somewhat cold, his fingers clutching tightly to his shirt that had
been washed until it had been bleached of color. Both his hands
were plunged deeply into his pockets. The sunshine on that day
had been different from today’s. The chill had pierced into his
very marrow. After walking for an unknown period of time, he
finally awoke from his stupor to the feeling of extreme hunger.
At that moment, the cold and hungry Ai Hui saw the Avalon of
Five Elements’ recruitment notice for laborers in the
Wilderness.

Having nowhere else to go, Ai Hui went in.

 And luckily, he survived.

…..

As Ai Hui withdrew from his emotions, he discovered that his

body had tensed up involuntarily. He could not help but laugh
bitterly in his heart. Such a beautiful moment was once again
spoiled by his unpleasant memories.

He heaved a deep breath of air and tried his best to uncoil his
tensed muscles.

By good fortune, he survived the entire three years in the

Wilderness. Only two people out of two thousand men survived.
One was himself, and the other Qian Dai, also known as Fatty.

The families of those dead laborers would receive a

compensation fee, while those who survived were able to
receive a large sum of money. In regards to this, the Avalon of
Five Elements was never stingy. Fatty prepared to go home. His
family was filled with orphans and widowed mothers, and he
had to provide for them. The burdens that he carried far
exceeded Ai Hui’s.
 "Fine, I know you’re a determined person and will never
change your mind. You have a bad temper, along with many
other issues like seldom listening to other people’s advice.
You’re not young anymore, and you still behave like this. How
are you going to find a wife in the future? Try not to spend too
much of your money…" Fatty continued to talk incessantly,
perhaps because he knew they were going split ways soon.

Since he was used to Fatty’s irritated grumblings, Ai Hui

didn’t care. However, the moment Fatty mentioned the word
money, he felt a slight headache. Whenever this fellow talked
about money, he would rise into a frenzy.

Indeed, the veins on Fatty’s neck began to pulsate. Ai Hui

made a prompt decision and quickly threw a pouch at him and
said, "This is for you!" Fatty cast a puzzled glance at Ai Hui and
caught the pouch with a speed that didn’t seem in character
with his body size. After he caught the pouch though, his small,
beady eyes immediately widened.

Using chubby, carrot-like fingers, he whisked open the pouch

in an instant. As he glanced inside at the pouch contents, his
body fat began to tremble madly with agitation. Ai Hui ignored
him and turned his face the other way. Fatty’s face when he saw
money was horrendous.
 Fatty rushed over and grasped Ai Hui’s arms with a sharp
smack. His face was filled to the brim with emotions while tears
welled up in his eyes.

Upon seeing Fatty’s behavior, Ai Hui felt emotional as well.

Perhaps he had thought too poorly of him. After both of them
had been through so much together, this friendship was rather
sincere and deep. Unused to such situations, he wanted to tell
Fatty to get lost, but at the thought of their impending farewell,
he tried his best to restrain himself and soften his tone. He then
shakily said, "I’m alone anyway. There isn’t much for me to
spend the money on. You’re going back to the Old Territory,
and you have a huge family. You definitely need more money
than I do...."

"Good brother! You’re really my good brother!" Fatty choked

with emotions as he shook Az Hui’s hand desperately. With
both his eyes glistening with tears, he then continued, "The
Avalon of Five Elements takes care of your lodging and meals.
Since you won’t be needing the remaining half of the money,
how about you give them to me as well?"

He was naive to think too highly of this fellow. Ai Hui’s arms,

which were grasped by the Fatty, flipped over, gripped the latter
and lightly but forcefully pushed. Like a portly cloud, the Fatty
flew out for more than thirty meters before crashing to the
ground, causing the surrounding wheat and barley to fly
everywhere.

"Get lost!"

It felt good to be able to finally speak his mind.

Ai Hui brushed his hands lightly, and then cautiously felt for
the pouch in his pocket. Fatty had extremely nimble hands,
making them difficult to guard against.

Meanwhile, Fatty picked himself up, covered in dirt.

At that moment, a whistle sounded from the distant assembly

camp, and the two became silent.

It was finally time for them to part. This would be the last
time they met. Ai Hui had to head for the Avalon of Five
Elements, while Fatty had to return to the Old Territory. The
rapid descent of the orange sunset elongated their shadows on
the ground.
"Ai Hui, you must survive!"

"Okay."
Chapter 2: The Arrival
Ai Hui carried a threadbare backpack and stood in the crowd
with a gloomy face. He was feeling thoroughly terrible. Just
now, when he opened his pouch, he’d found all his money gone,
replaced by a heap of stones.

That wretched Fatty still stole from him at the end of the day!

He swore that once he returned to the Old Territory and saw

this fellow, he would beat the hell out of him.

Shaking himself out of his daze, he exhaled deeply. He prayed

that the Avalon of Five Elements would really provide him with
lodging and food like Fatty had said. Otherwise, when they met,
he would… beat him up with more force.

For now, he put the issue of the stolen money aside and
focused on what was happening before him.

It was still too early for the reporting time, but the Induction
Ground’s entrance was already surrounded by students
excitedly greeting each other. In groups of three or four, they
held animated discussions and asked questions without holding
back.

After staying in the Wilderness for so long, Ai Hui was not

used to the bustling scene before his eyes. He was more
accustomed to the silence, killings, and dangers that had been
his life for three years. Back then, his instincts would have gone
on high alert at anything within five meters of him.

However, within his range right now… there were fourteen

people.

He fidgeted restlessly, but it was pointless. He could only try

his best to restrain the urge to escape or kill these fourteen
people on impulse. In the Wilderness, an approaching unknown
creature would immediately activate the fight-or-flight response
in him.

Fine, it was the “Wilderness” again...

He had already sensed his incompatibility with his

surroundings even before entering the Induction Ground.
Taking in a deep breath of air, he forcefully calmed his
palpitating heart. He knew that this was a mental barrier that
he had to overcome.
 After a while, he summoned the courage to force his way
through the crowd, heading towards the Induction Ground’s
entrance.

Squeezing through the crowd that pushed against him like

torrential currents, Ai Hui was drenched in sweat, his clothes
disheveled. Panting hard, he felt that this fifty-meter trek was
somehow more tiring than walking for fifty kilometers.

Upon reaching the entrance, Ai Hui raised his head and gazed
up at the towering gate.

From a visual estimate, the Induction Ground’s entrance gate

was approximately sixty meters tall, giving it an imposing
atmosphere The gate itself was poorly assembled; however, it
was made up of pieces of irregular iron panels put together. Its
appearance was akin to that of a large, patchy rag that was
speckled with rust and riddled with scratches everywhere.

In front of the metal gate was a half-meter-wide stone slab

with a perfectly straight groove slashed across its surface. Years
of corrosion had smoothed its corners, and a few droplets of
water collected along the edges.
 Ai Hui stared silently at the gouged slab of stone.

Everyone in the Avalon of Five Elements knew the story

behind it. Even he knew about it since it was related to
swordsmen.

It was known as the “ultimate defensive line.”

During the dark ages when the Wilderness invaded, this

groove that was one meter in width and two hundred meters in
length became the final defensive line in a battle to the death.

The last famous swordsman in history sacrificed his life to

carry out the most dazzling sword strike to kill the enemy
leader, carving out the ultimate defensive line.

Inspired by his bravery, the human race tenaciously defended

against the invasion and persevered until the opening of the
Avalon of Five Elements.

They dragged the scrap metal collected from the battlefield to

assemble the towering metal gate that stood today, riddled with
scars . Eventually, the Induction Ground was built upon this
place by the pioneers who wished for the future generations to
remember that dark era and to never forget the purpose behind
establishing the Avalon of Five Elements.

The sufferings of the individuals would fade through the

passage of time, but the memories and legends would pass on
from generation to generation.

The history behind the Induction Grounds surely made it a

place of utmost importance to the Avalon of Five Elements.

The only reason Ai Hui knew about the ultimate defensive line
was because of the swordplay manuals that he had arranged
back in the swordsman school.

Almost all of them that mentioned it praised the strike to the

greatest extent, saying that it saved humanity, beginning the
chapter of a new era and so on. For those who cherished the
legacy of Swordsmen, that strike marked the ultimate end of the
Cultivation Era and the beginning of the Avalon of Five
Elements.
 These facts had nothing to do with Ai Hui, however. Even if
his job was to arrange numerous swordplay manuals, he’d never
thought to revive swordsmanship.

That was where the owner was foolish. Because of it, his
business failed, he owed a huge debt, and he lost his life. Ai Hui
felt pretty good to witness the historical remnant that he had
read about in numerous swordplay manuals, but it was tinged
with sadness when he thought about the owner.

Soon, however, he regained his usual calm. After enduring

three years in the Wilderness, he was used to life-and-death
situations. He was not as sad as he used to be over such matters.
As long as those who were alive did their best to stay alive, those
who were dead would be able to rest in peace.

Done admiring the monument, he quickly escaped from the

crowd and withdrew to the outskirts. His heart rate returned to
normal, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, at the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of a

familiar figure. Ai Hui’s facial expression swiftly sank. With
large strides, he lifted his leg and kicked it with lightning
precision.
 Bang!

The plump figure flew across the air and plummeted heavily
to the ground.

Before Fatty could get up, a foot was planted onto his face.
“Hand the money over,” Ai Hui growled.

“It’s all gone!” Fatty replied without even blinking his eyes.

“Whose money is gone?” The threat in Ai Hui’s tone grew

heavier as he pushed down with more strength.

“It’s all gone.” Fatty said quickly, “I’ve already sent the
money home.”

“My money.” Ai Hui’s tone remained composed, but even the

most insensitive person could sense the anger surging beneath
the facade of tranquility like scorching lava.

“I used it to buy a spot for this place,” Fatty said with swag,
before continuing, “I had no other choice. The application date
has long passed, and only money could buy me a spot here. I
actually pulled a lot of strings, and your money happened to be
just the right amount. You better treat me well. Haven’t you
heard that debtors are always the bosses? If I die, you won’t get
your money back…”

Fatty continued to babble from under his foot. Suddenly, the

anger disappeared and with blank face, he stomped his foot
ferociously onto Fatty.

The surrounding people withdrew their gazes from this scene

in disgust. Fatty’s body was riddled with dirt and mud.
Compared to him, Ai Hui’s clothes were presentably clean, but
they were obviously washed till the point of losing all color. The
backpack that he carried was washed out as well, appearing
extremely shabby.

With a face entirely covered with muddy footprints, Fatty

helped himself up without the slightest sign of guilt or
embarrassment.

Moving away from the crowd, they sat down. Fatty produced
a malt candy from out of nowhere and popped it into his mouth
with a crunch. He kept looking around, curiously sizing up his
surroundings.
 “How come you’re not excited at all?” Fatty cast a puzzled
look at Ai Hui and continued, “Hey, it’s the Induction Ground!
Now that we’re here, we’re no longer laborers! Give it another
five years, and we can bring our entire families to the Avalon of
Five Elements. This is where we can make a huge difference in
our lives. Do you know how many people from the Old
Territory would kill to be here?”

Ai Hui was too lazy to reply. He then pulled a strand of grass

from a nearby pile of weeds and chewed on it. He asked, “You’re
of which element?”

“Fire element!” Fatty exclaimed as he squinted his beady eyes.

“I had no idea that my physique would be that good…”

All of a sudden, Fatty stopped talking as he realized he had

divulged certain information.

Ai Hui swiveled his head and asked with a doubtful look on his
face, “Your physique is good?”

The Avalon of Five Elements ruled the Induction Ground with

a firm hand. The people living within the Avalon of Five
Elements, regardless of their gender or social status, were
required at a certain age to enter the Induction Ground to study.
As for the people from the Old Territory, as long as they passed
the physical test, they would be able to enter as well.

Unflustered, Fatty replied, “Yeah, just a bit more, and I would

have passed. My innate capability is way better than yours.
Otherwise, even if I wanted to buy my way in, it would’ve been
impossible. With how strict the Induction Ground regulations
are, it wouldn’t be easy to enter just with connections.”

No matter what, he could never let Ai Hui catch on to the fact

that he obtained a spot through passing the physical test.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain the missing money.
Fatty reminded himself of this fact repeatedly, remaining calm
so as to not reveal anything.

“Oh,” Ai Hui replied and withdrew his gaze. His physique was
average and far from the basic requirement.

“It’s a pity that we have different elements,” Fatty said

regretfully. His physique was of the fire element while Ai Hui’s
physique was metal. This meant that they would be separated
into different teams.
 Ai Hui agreed with Fatty. They worked well together,
especially with the deep level of trust they’d developed. He
could also take care of Fatty if they were on the same team.

As if he knew what Ai Hui was thinking, Fatty reassured him.

“Don’t worry, no matter what, I’m still a veteran who roamed
the Wilderness before. How can I be bullied by those wimpy
kids?”

At that moment, a scarlet cloud flew over from the distant

skies and landed slowly on the ground, triggering a wave of
commotion. Dismounting from the cloud was a well-dressed,
handsome young man, causing many young ladies to cry out in
admiration.

“That’s extremely expensive!” Fatty’s gaze was captivated by

the cloud in an instant. Envious, he continued, “The quality of
this Fiery Floating Cloud is excellent! Its color is a bright scarlet.
No signs of impurity. Look, doesn’t the shape of the cloud look
like a burning flame? Well well, this Fiery Floating Cloud is of
the highest quality. This lad must have come from a very
powerful family. I have to find a chance to toady up to him!”

Upon biting the grass straw to nothing but dregs, Ai Hui

suddenly missed the times in the Wilderness. At least there, the
Ironback Canes could be found. Not only was it sweet, it also
lasted longer. Even after gnawing on it for half a day, it would
still be chewy. He shot a glance at the Fiery Floating Cloud and
then withdrew his gaze. Not only was it eye-catching, it was
slow as well, making it the perfect prey in the Wilderness.

This Fiery Floating Cloud was like a signal. After it appeared,

various kinds of strange flying objects flew in from all directions
and landed on the plaza before the Induction Ground.

Fatty became feverish with excitement as if he had taken some

drugs. A string of words that Ai Hui had never heard of started
to shoot out from Fatty’s mouth. His eyes were very sharp. Not
only could he identify those flying objects, he could also name
their prices.

While listening to Fatty’s gibberish, Ai Hui’s bored gaze

scanned the crowd. In the Wilderness, it was rare to see such
young and tender faces. Everyone there was like a beast—fierce,
agile, and dangerous.

Meanwhile, the youths here had delicate faces that radiated

sunshine and vitality. Their excited looks were filled with hope
for the future. The guys were proactively chatting and laughing
alongside the girls, displaying elegance and humor in an
attempt to attract their attention. The girls shyly blushed,
resembling vermillion clouds dyed red by the morning sun. The
corners of their lips displayed hints of laughter, as beautiful as
blossoming flowers.

The sweet taste of the grass straw diffused throughout Ai

Hui’s mouth. He felt distracted, yet a little envious at the same
time.

A yearning look flashed across his eyes, then disappeared. His

face returned to normal, indifferent and calm. When he thought
about the owner of the swordsman school, the three years he
spent in the Wilderness, and the laborers that had been reduced
to nothing but a pile of bleached-white skeletons, he felt that he
was very fortunate.

Being alive was far more important than anything else. Being
alive was the greatest fortune.

At this moment, Fatty’s non-stop gibberish became much

more pleasing to his ears.

The towering gate began to open slowly. Ai Hui stood up and

brushed off the dirt on his body, his face steeled with
determination. He knew that what lay beyond the door was a
brand-new path—a path that he could not have imagined.

He did not know where it would lead to.

Just as he entered the Wilderness three years ago, he took a

step forward, speaking to Fatty without turning his head, “Let’s
go.”
Chapter 3: Anger
“My name is Ai Hui, and I’m sixteen years old. I’m pleased to
be with all of you in the same class. Please take good care of
me.” Ai Hui tried his best to keep his tone gentle and composed
as he stood on the podium. He had to keep reminding himself
that this was not the Wilderness.

His vantage point allowed him a panoramic view of his

surroundings, and he found no hidden dangers. After
introducing himself, Ai Hui descended the podium steps in an
uncultured fashion.

Some of the students were surprised at Ai Hui’s age and broke

out into lively discussions.

“He’s old, and he’s still able to enter the Induction Ground?
He’s even got such a weird name.”

“He’s probably from the Old Territory…”

Seeing the commotion, Teacher Xu, who was standing off to

one side, gave a gentle cough and said, “For those students
coming up next, try not to give a brief description of yourself
and talk more about your backgrounds. This way, your
classmates will have a better understanding of you.”

Upon returning to his seat, Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief.

Compared to being in a battle, the current situation left him far
more bewildered.

Aware of his disordered breathing, he inhaled, and then

exhaled deeply. Gradually, the nervousness disappeared, and his
body was restored to its peak form once again.

To the others, Ai Hui appeared oddly quiet. No one realized

that the peaceful and withdrawn guy that sat in the corner of
the classroom was actually a dormant beast that could erupt at
any time with terrifying strength.

The three years he spent in the Wilderness had left him with
too many scars.

For example, his choice in seating.

He specifically chose a spot that was beside the window. From

there, he’d be able to see outside, making it easier for him to
defend against any incoming attacks. Or if the attacks came
from within the school compound, he could immediately escape
by jumping out the window.

It dictated how he observed his surroundings. At any moment

in time, he was secretly monitoring the area around him—the
teacher on the podium, the students around him, the structure
of the school compound, and the placement of tables and chairs.
Too often, these minor details were the key factors in deciding
one’s fate—to live or to die. One could never complain about an
overabundance of information.

He didn’t consciously make these decisions. Everything came

naturally to him.

He had around two hundred classmates, and most of them

were quite young. This was evident from the naive and tender
looks on their faces. There were a few fellows that dressed
elegantly and appeared haughty, clearly coming from
influential families. Ai Hui recognized one of them as the same
noble who came flying in on the high-quality Fiery Floating
Cloud.

His name was apparently Duanmu Huanghun, somewhat

prideful and rather strong. Ai Hui took mental note of him.
 This guy had been appointed as the class monitor. What is a
class monitor, he wondered. A team leader? It was never a good
idea to let an arrogant guy be the team leader. The experienced
Ai Hui made silent observations from the side.

However, this had nothing to do with him.

It was only a pity that he and Fatty weren’t assigned to the

same class.

At this thought, he felt some regret.

But in the next moment, Teacher Xu said something that

crushed this feeling and replaced it with overflowing fury and
endless killing intent.

“Next, I will announce the fees that are charged by the

Induction Ground and the school. Everyone can feel that the
concentration of elemental energy in the city is much stronger,
right? Training in such an environment will save effort and
ensure better results.

“The standard rent for a single room is fifty thousand yuan

per year. As another option, we also provide a more luxurious
dormitory that has an elemental energy concentration nine
times higher than the outside world’s. This upgraded room
costs seventy thousand yuan per year, and the students who can
afford it are free to apply. Now, let’s talk about the food. The
food sold within the grounds are rather cheap. Daily meals cost
two hundred yuan per day, and this includes the breakfast…”

Ai Hui’s cheeks twitched indiscernibly. He didn’t want to

listen to any more. He tried his best to control his facial
expression, but the rage within him was practically consuming
him. Under the table, his clenched fists were riddled with
pulsing veins.

The Induction Ground provided room and board? Haha!

Why didn’t he kill that wretched Fatty at registration?

The teacher continued to talk non-stop on the podium. His

saliva flew across the air and landed on the blackboard,
seemingly forming a glittering word—money.

Even after half an hour, this fellow was still talking about the
fees! Ai Hui had the sudden urge to charge forward and kill
Master Xu who now seemed like an aggressive, life-threatening
beast. No, Master Xu was also a beast that had a deep blood feud
with him!

Ai Hui squinted as the look in his eyes turned ice-cold. Haha,

he had killed so many beasts like the one in front of him right
now.

An hour passed...

By now, Ai Hui’s anger had completely disappeared, his ice-

cold gaze replaced by a lifeless one. He was resigned to his fate,
and it would be a bitter death.

He was even tempted to escape back to the Wilderness.

The dangerous beasts with their blood-stained ivory fangs in

the somber Wilderness now appeared gentle and cute.

Instead, shouldn’t that be the true appearance of the

Induction Ground? This place was actually a hundred times
more dangerous than the Wilderness!
 When Teacher Xu was perfectly satisfied, he finally stopped.
“Those students that came from the Old Territory should have
received a sum of money after passing the aptitude test, correct?
This is to be used for your daily allowance and study purposes.”

He did not pass the aptitude test...

Ai Hui looked insipidly at the teacher.

“Of course, that money is only enough for your basic

necessities. If you wish to obtain more resources and
opportunities, you’ll have to work harder. There are a total of
seventy-six cities in the Induction Ground that provide plenty of
job opportunities and daily missions for you to earn reasonable
remuneration. I have to remind everyone, however, that your
main objective in coming to the Induction Ground was to learn
and train, not make money. Don’t waste too much time on
earning money and delay your training—the gains will not
make up for your losses.”

Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, there was a way out of

this predicament. Like a deer that had barely escaped from the
tiger’s claws, the joy from his new lease on life formed a sheen
of cold sweat across his forehead.
 Ai Hui dabbed at his forehead and revised the risk level of the
Induction Ground in his mind!

Teacher Xu began to distribute thick stacks containing

detailed information: a timetable, a map of the local area, a job
list, a mission list, locations of all available lodgings and
restaurants, and routes to various cities.

“Everyone has three days to settle their room and board. After
that, we will begin lessons. Note that Introduction to Elemental
Energy is not within our syllabus. For those who have never
attended this course before, you can self-study at the library or
attend Teacher Dong’s introductory class. Class dismissed.”

Ai Hui searched for Teacher Dong’s introductory class on the

timetable and circled it. This was a class he definitely needed to
attend.

However, the most crucial problem that he had to settle right

now was the issue of money. He was penniless and didn’t even
have money for lunch.

He sat perfectly upright and used his sharp vision to quickly

scan through the hefty information in his hands. The first thing
he looked for was the phrase “All meals provided.” Ai Hui
heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that many places had it.
Then, he began to use his fingertip to follow the listings one by
one until suddenly, his fair and slender finger stopped in its
tracks.

The sharpness and intensity of his gaze disappeared,

becoming reserved and puzzled as he became somewhat lost in
his own thoughts.

Chewing a grass straw in his mouth, Ai Hui carried his shabby

backpack in one hand and a map in the other and walked out of
the school compound. Unfamiliar streets and shops passed
before his eyes. Various objects he had never seen before
whizzed past his body and over his head, and the people around
him discussed topics that he knew nothing about.

Ai Hui realized that he’d been calmly observing the unfamiliar

environment around him.

After spending three years in the Wilderness, his strength still

couldn’t be considered powerful, but his mental strength had
grown much stronger. Though it wouldn’t be easy, he had the
courage to live alone and take on the uncertainties of this world
and .
 This was probably what growing up was all about, and to
mature faster than others was not necessarily bad.

He laughed to himself. It seemed that after leaving the

Wilderness, his temperament had become more unpredictable.
Slinging the shabby backpack over his shoulder with the grass
straw still dangling from his lips, he looked at the map and
walked alongside his shadow under the sun towards his
destination.

Luckily, the place wasn’t hard to find since the Commission

Center building was eye-catching and located at the center of
the city.

“Are you seriously going to accept this commission?” The old

man in charge of allocating commissions warned Ai Hui, “The
area is quite big, and the daily cleaning workload is rather
tough. Honestly speaking, I hadn’t expected anyone to take on
this commission. The owner of this training hall hasn’t
returned for the past twenty years. Before he left, he deposited a
sum of money into our account, and since it hasn’t run out,
we’ve been releasing the same commission every year.
However, you must know that the remuneration for this
commission follows the standard from twenty years ago. People
stopped taking this commission for ten years now. I have to
remind you that the pay will be very small, barely paying for
your meals. Are you sure you still want to accept this
commission?”

Ai Hui answered with a question of his own, “Can I have a

partial advance payment?”

The old man realized Ai Hui’s financial problem and nodded.

“You can. And remember, once you take up this commission,
you can’t quit before you leave the Induction Ground. Do you
want to reconsider your decision?”

Ai Hui bluntly replied, “I accept it.”

“Very well.” The old man quickly handled the formalities for
him. “That place is very spacious. You can stay there and save
your lodging fees. The advance payment has been sent to your
card. Here’s the key, and the address is on it. Finally, welcome
to the Induction Ground.”

“Thank you!” Ai Hui thanked the old man from his heart and
gave a sincere bow.

“Such a polite kid.” The old man revealed a smile. “Continue

to work hard. Strength is everything.”

Ai Hui did not know how to react to the old man’s kind
gesture, but he tried his best to return the smile. “I will.”

As the saying went, the heart would never panic with money
in hand. Ai Hui’s mood had lifted, and the world seemed more
beautiful to him now.

He was amused by the various, bizarre scenes on the street. Ai

Hui felt like a tourist, taking an interest in everything around
him.

An enormous Three Leaves Bamboo Cart flew over his head,

making him stop in his tracks to look up.

A spacious bamboo cage was suspended under the hovering

Three Leaves Bamboo Cart. Inside it were a few rows of bamboo
chairs filled with passengers. At the head of the bamboo cart,
there was a rainbow-colored cage. The vines atop the cage
emitted a multi-colored glow and formed the words “Green
Mountain City”, making them clearly visible from afar.
 Ai Hui had seen a Three Leaves Bamboo Cart in the
Wilderness before, but that model had been much uglier
compared to this one. The bamboo cage on it had overgrown,
colorful poison spikes, resembling a monster. Although its main
purpose was to transport goods, the amount that it could carry
was not a lot. With the wandering ferocious beasts and their
terrifying offensive power, operating the cart was a dangerous
job in the Wilderness.

Wood elementalists had little passion for combat, preferring

to stay behind the front lines.

However, when Ai Hui saw the Three Leaves Bamboo Carts

everywhere, he could feel the flourishing prosperity of the
Induction Ground. Even the elementalists he held in high
regard could be found all over.

As the Three Leaves Bamboo Cart flew towards the horizon,

he withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

Within a short time, he finally found the alley where the

training hall was located at. According to the map, it was closer
to the end.
 The deeper he walked in, the more he felt as though he had
entered into an entirely different world. The desolate, ancient
air suddenly engulfed him as he observed the surrounding old-
fashioned houses that had clearly been there for many years.

Abruptly, Ai Hui stopped in his tracks.

Chapter 4: Sand Puppet Lou Lan
Not far from him, in the middle of the alleyway, a figure
struggled in what seemed to be a pool of yellow quicksand.

Ai Hui increased his vigilance. The first thought that came to

his mind was earth elementalists.

They had many unique killing moves that were difficult to

guard against. When there didn’t seem to be any changes to the
situation, Ai Hui took a closer look and discovered something
strange about the figure—only the top-half of its body was
visible.

Its skin was slightly yellowish with a coarse, gritty texture,

and on its face, it wore a black mask that seemed to be made of
some kind of dense rock. Ai Hui opened his mouth and blurted
out, “Sand puppet?”

The figure stopped struggling and cast a glance at Ai Hui

before replying, “Yes, you can call me Lou Lan.”

It was a male voice, deep and hoarse.

 Sand puppets were a favorite of earth elementalists. They
were easy to make and repair, would undertake any tasks
without complaints, and were very suitable for manual labor.
This one happened to be made of the high-quality heavy sand
produced by the Yellow Sand Manufacturer in the Avalon of
Five Elements. It was easy to recognize the sand puppet based
on its composition, but also, he had seen plenty of them in the
Wilderness.

“It appears that you’ve encountered some troubles.” Ai Hui

walked to the front of Lou Lan and squatted. “Is it your sand
core?”

If a sand puppet malfunctioned, it was most likely because of

the sand core. It was the most important component of their
bodies, crafted by earth elementalists using heavy sand. Each
core was unique, however, since earth elementalists each had
their own crafting methods.

The sand core was pivotal in the formation of its body since
they were entirely made of individual particles. Hence, if the
core broke down, the sand puppet would be reduced to a pool of
yellow sand.

“Yes, it’s a chronic problem.” Lou Lan sounded somewhat

helpless. “Can you help me? My master is Master Shao. He lives
in the second building from the end of the alleyway. Could you
deliver a message to him?”

“The second building from the end of the alleyway?” Ai Hui

raised his eyebrows. “Seems like we’re going to be neighbors for
some time.”

Seeing Lou Lan’s rather high intelligence, Ai Hui assumed

that a powerful earth elementalist lived next to him.

Just as Ai Hui put his hand into the pool of yellow sand, he
immediately felt the tug of strong earth elemental energy
crushing him like a grinding millstone. His entire face
shuddered as he covered his palm with metal elemental energy,
making it into a razor-sharp dagger.

“Try to bear with it.”

Just as Ai Hui finished his sentence, the metal elemental

energy gathered in his hands suddenly exploded outward.

Bang!
 A low, muffled explosion could be heard from within the pool
of yellow sand as invisible shockwaves diffused across the area.
Lou Lan’s upper body froze in the pile of trembling sand.

Two seconds later, his eyes brightened. The dispersed yellow

sand rapidly gathered around his body like a pile of metal dust
attracted to a magnet.

In the blink of an eye, not a speck of sand could be seen on the

floor. With a recovered body, Lou Lan started to move his body
around. Amazed, he asked, “Such a magical method, how did
you do it?”

“It’s a simple method, “Ai Hui corrected him. He picked up his

shabby backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “It’s only for
emergencies though. You still have to go back and examine your
sand core again.”

He wasn’t lying; it really wasn’t some ingenious method. Ai

Hui had seen earth elementalists in the Wilderness use this
method to treat problematic sand puppets every once in awhile.
It didn’t work every time, but it did at least eight times out of
ten.
 Admittedly, however, this was Ai Hui’s first time trying it
himself. No sane earth elementalist would let a laborer repair
his or her sand puppet.

Lou Lan naturally didn’t know this. Instead, he felt that Ai

Hui possessed the demeanor of a very capable individual.

“Thank you very much!” Lou Lan bowed and thanked him
sincerely.

“Don't worry about it. My name’s Ai Hui.” Ai Hui waved his

hand, signalling Lou Lan to not fret over it and continued
walking towards the alley’s end. “Let’s go, we’re heading in the
same direction.”

Lou Lan followed beside Ai Hui and asked, “So where are you
heading?”

“The Vanguard Training Hall. Is it located here?” Ai Hui

asked casually.

“We are indeed neighbors.” Lou Lan’s deep voice contained a

tinge of excitement. “We’re right next door. Is this your house?
It seems no one’s been here in a long time.”

Ai Hui’s walking pace slowed down, but he acted natural as he

replied, “No, I’ve taken on a commission that requires me to
clean up this place.”

Lou Lan oohed. “So you’re a new student?”

“You got it.” Ai Hui nodded. He could already sense that Lou
Lan seldom left his house.

A sand puppet’s intelligence had the capacity to develop

further. While Ai Hui was in the Wilderness, he had seen
combat sand puppets behave cunningly and callously—truly
killing machines.

There was a saying, “One can easily tell the character of an

earth elementalist by looking at their sand puppet.” Judging by
Lou Lan, he could tell that the master, Master Shao, was an
unworldly earth elementalist that focused on trainings.

“We’ve arrived. This is the Vanguard Training Hall.” Lou Lan

pointed at an old-fashioned house at the end of the alleyway.
 “To build a training hall in such a secluded area is really…” Ai
Hui shook his head. The three years he had spent in the
swordsman school made him sensitive towards issues regarding
training halls. He came roughly knowing that it would be out of
the way. However, now that he saw this place with his own
eyes, he realized that he had underestimated just how remote it
would be.

Was the landlord a depressed individual like the owner of the

swordsman school?

Possible. Didn’t the old man say that the landlord hadn’t
contacted them for twenty years? Perhaps he’d been hinting at
the landlord’s unknown fate.

Whatever. Ai Hui didn’t care too much. After all, he was doing
this for the money. The training hall and the fate of the
landlord had nothing to do with him.

Clusters of spiderwebs covered the door, and the signboard

over the door was stacked with layers of filth, rendering the
inscribed words illegible. If he didn’t know this place was called
the Vanguard Training Hall, he wouldn’t have been able to
recognize it.
 He took out the key, easily unlocking the door. It seemed he
had found the right place.

As he pushed open the door, heavy stacks of dust fell down

like snow.

Ai Hui stood at the entrance and waited for the dust to settle
before he stepped in.

The courtyard was dilapidated while the weeds had grown

taller than an actual person. Most of the overgrown vegetation
were sword reeds, appearing like a sea of blades pointed at the
sky. Ai Hui’s eyes twitched at the scene. The landlord must have
had a weird taste to grow sword reeds in his own home.

The plants were generally used to make grass swords, which

was exactly what Ai Hui used as a weapon.

However, when Ai Hui saw the overgrown courtyard, he

began to feel the beginnings of a huge headache. Sword reeds
were difficult to cut due to their extreme durability that far
exceeded even steel’s. That wasn’t even the worst part. Sword
reeds grew in thickets, so if someone accidentally fell into it,
their body would be covered in cuts and bruises.
 Ai Hui shook his head and laughed bitterly.

Another upsetting matter was that these sword reeds were too
thick and old. If they were at most five years old, he could use
them to make grass swords, but these were useless to him.

“I can help you,” Lou Lan offered.

Ai Hui shook his head. ” I can do it on my own. You should go

back and check on your sand core. What I did just now was a
stopgap measure. It won’t solve the root of the problem.”

“Okay then.” Lou Lan tilted his head. “You can wait for me to
return tomorrow.”

“I can do it on my own. Since I’ve taken the money, I should

work on it myself,” Ai Hui replied as he opened up his shabby
backpack. He did not have the habit of throwing his own tasks
at other people to do.

“Okay, I’ll go back first then.” Without another word, Lou

Lan’s body dissolved into a pool of sand that disappeared into
the ground.
 Although sword reeds were considered by many as a
troublesome plant, Ai Hui knew that wasn’t the case.

After three years in the Wilderness, Ai Hui considered himself

a fledgling botanologist. It was only a pity that he wasn’t a wood
elemental; otherwise, he felt he’d have much better future
prospects than with his current affinity for the metal element.

His backpack was filled with an assortment of objects: animal

bones, pelts, seeds, and colorful stones. These were the spoils of
war and savings he’d obtained during his three years in the
Wilderness. Most of these he had collected himself, while some
had been given to him by other elementalists as rewards or as
handouts because they were considered useless by their
previous owners.

Ai Hui guarded them closely. No matter what, he never

allowed himself to lose his backpack.

From his satchel, he took out a small, red bottle containing a

kind of fire poison called Flaming Timbre that he had
personally concocted. Its toxicity was not strong enough to be
used in combat, but it was an essential item that everyone
carried in the Wilderness.
 There, the overgrown vegetation could blot out the sun,
making many places difficult to access. To set up camp as well,
the area had to be cleared away.

Unfortunately, there were countless plant types in the

Wilderness that were exceptionally resilient, even more so than
sword reeds. Manpower alone could not get rid of them, and
they were resistant to ordinary fire. Only a fire poison like
Flaming Timbre could dispose of them.

As Ai Hui unstoppered the bottle, a sulfuric smell immediately

diffused through the air. He then poured the lava-like Flaming
Timbre onto the sword reeds.

As soon as it touched the leaves, the lush green became an ash-

gray color that rapidly spread throughout the entire thicket
with a visible speed.

Gradually, the sulfuric smell in the air dissipated, and after

approximately five minutes, the sea of sword reeds had turned
completely gray.

Pfff!
 The sword reeds collapsed like an avalanche, leaving the
entire area littered with plant ashes.

Ai Hui skillfully buried the plant ashes into the ground. By

doing so, he could effectively suppress any future weed growth
since they avoided the smell of Flaming Timbre.

Fast with his movements, in the blink of an eye, he had

cleared the entire courtyard. Using a broom, he swept away the
spiderwebs in the room corners then drew water from the well
to wipe the floors clean. With several years’ worth of dust built
up, he had to do five to six runs to clean it all.

In the corners of the house, there were stone grooves with old
calabash gourds. After clearing away the dead leaves that had
accumulated in the gourds, Ai Hui wrapped vines around the
pillars and eaves before hanging the calabashes on them.

The windows were opened to ventilate the house.

He hung the weather-beaten wooden signboard in the main

hall, washed the bronze incense burner and stuck in them three
joss sticks that he had found in a cupboard.
 After working hard for the entire day, the training hall
became as clean as new.

Nightfall arrived, and the calabashes that hung under the

eaves emitted a gentle glow, giving the training hall an ambient
lighting. The bluestone benches were clean and neat. A simple
and rustic wooden house. Neatly-placed equipment. Spiralling
incense that contained traces of sweetness.

Like a dream hidden within the depths of his mind, the

tranquil scene before him seemed to appear without any
warning.

He was caught off guard and somewhat startled by the

captivating scene, unable to resist its charm.

He was slightly startled.

Chapter 5: Blind Battle
It was surely true that the mind could not win over an empty
stomach.

When Ai Hui returned to his senses and realized that he had

not eaten anything the entire day, an overwhelming rush of
hunger engulfed him.

Limbs weakened, he supported himself by holding on to the

wall.

An empty sack could not stand upright, this idiom made so

much sense now.

As he staggered out of the alleyway, he caught sight of a

noodle house and almost crawled his way over.

"Boss, one bowl of noodles!"

"Okay!"
 After eating, Ai Hui regained his strength, but when he went
to pay his bill, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"How… how much?"

"One hundred and fifty yuan, thank you for patronizing my

store," the boss replied.

"One… one hundred and fifty yuan?" Ai Hui asked

incredulously. He stared at the boss with a darkening expression
and a murderous aura. Since childhood, he’d never been one to
be pushed around.

"New student?" The boss furrowed his eyebrows. This was not
the first time such an incident had happened here. He pointed
helplessly at the wooden signboard in his shop. "The prices are
listed here."

Ai Hui’s eyes followed the boss’s hand to the signboard, an

unpleasant feeling rising like bile in his stomach.

The boss was speaking the truth...

Ai Hui reeled out of the noodle house with an ashen face. He

finally knew why no one was willing to take up the commission
on the training hall. The monthly salary was only four thousand
five hundred yuan. Barely enough to pay for his meals? Who
taught mathematics to the old man at the Commission Center?
Reveal yourself now!

Thirty bowls of noodles!

A bowl of noodles each day. When Ai Hui touched his

stomach, which did not seem full even though he had just eaten,
and thought about his future, his face turned pale. He stepped
into the Induction Ground with lofty aspirations, thinking he
could become a powerful elementalist and take control of his
life. However, he did not expect himself to be defeated by a bowl
of noodles sold in the Induction Ground.

If he couldn’t even fill his stomach, why bother talking about

training?!

The night breeze sent a bone-piercing chill down his spine,

causing him to tremble non-stop.

No, he had to think of a way to earn money!

 After five seconds of self-pitying, Ai Hui pulled himself
together. Money was important not only to ensure a full
stomach but also to benefit an elementalist’s training. While he
was in the Wilderness, he had followed elementalists around
just to hunt dire beasts.

A dire beast’s skin, flesh, tendons, and bones were considered

treasures.

The bones and tendons could be made into weapons and the
skins into armor. As for the dire beasts’ blood, they were usually
used to concoct elixirs, and the flesh was mainly used to make
elemental food.

The so-called elemental food was rich in elemental energy,

which was highly beneficial to one’s training.

The current elemental energy system had been inherited from

the extensively detailed cultivation system. It was impacted so
deeply that it still retained certain cultivation aspects that could
still be seen today.

Ai Hui was no longer an ignorant teenager who thought that

diligent training was all that was needed to become more
powerful.

The streetlights lit up, brilliantly illuminating the nighttime

Central Pine City. New students wandered in groups, and the
streets bustled with life. As newly-admitted students, they did
not have any worries yet. The excitement from entering the
Induction Ground continued to burn within them, making them
brim with hope for the future.

Perhaps the laughter and joy surrounding him alleviated Ai

Hui’s worries.

He wandered around with both hands plunged deeply into his

pockets, leisurely walking alone through the myriad of beautiful
lights. He somewhat enjoyed this moment filled with the
bustling crowd, the churning mist under the light, and the
wafting aroma of food. This was a special moment for him.
Even though he was always unknowingly on high alert, his
cautious mind had relaxed a bit at the sight of the lively
atmosphere and the innocence of the ordinary people.

He roamed aimlessly around the streets when suddenly, a

signboard caught his eyes.
 The signboard wrote, "Blind battle! If you can last for five
minutes, you can take away fifty thousand yuan!"

Fifty thousand yuan!

Ai Hui’s eyes promptly lit up, resembling a hungry wolf that

had identified its prey. His hands that were previously in his
pockets were now touching his stomach, subconsciously
rubbing it.

Not really full yet….

How many bowls of noodles could fifty thousand yuan buy? It

didn’t seem worth it, but how come he felt hungry again?

Without completing his thought process, he lost control of his

legs that had already walked through the entrance.

The body was always honest with its needs...

….
 Shi Clan Training Hall.

The door to the resting lounge opened, revealing a tall,

elegant, and frosty lady brimming with confidence. She wore a
black windbreaker and a hat that covered almost her entire face.
The young lady pulled off her overcoat and passed it to a
middle-aged man behind her asking, "Blind battle? This concept
is rather interesting. I like it!"

"I’m glad that Young Mistress is pleased." The middle-aged

man quickly bent his body and took the jacket from her. "We’ve
received word from the clan to inform Young Mistress of the
situation. There aren’t many experts in Central Pine City. Most
of them are new students. Therefore, we came up with a new
concept like this, but we’re not certain whether it will work or
not."

"You didn’t announce my name, right?" The young lady sat

down and crossed her gorgeous, slender legs. She took the glass
of fruit juice in front of her and sipped leisurely. Her long hair
draped over her shoulders, flawlessly framing an exquisite oval
face and eyes that shone brightly like stars. Her facial
expression exuded extreme confidence that was tinged with
pride. Her features made her breathtakingly beautiful but also
gave her an imposing aura. Even when calmly sitting on the
sofa, she emitted a powerfully oppressive air.
 "No!" The middle-aged man quickly denied. " If we announced
Miss Xueman’s name, who would dare to come? Your
reputation is truly intimidating. We planned the blind battle
and prepared a mask without eyes holes to prevent anyone from
recognizing you."

"It appears that all of you have put in a lot of effort. Thanks
for the trouble." Shi Xueman smiled with satisfaction. "Tell
everyone that they’ll be rewarded with a three-month bonus."

As a beauty who received both attention and recognition in

the Induction Ground, she would be watched wherever she
went. However, she was a smart individual who knew when to
stay low-key.

Power was the absolute truth. This was what she had been
taught from a young age.

"Thank you very much, Young Mistress," the middle-aged

man hurriedly said with an uncontrollable burst of happiness
showing in his eyes. A three-month bonus was a huge sum of
money to them, and more importantly, they earned praise from
Young Mistress. Getting in her good books would definitely be
exceptionally beneficial to their futures.
 Shi Xueman continued her line of questioning. "How many
people have signed up?"

"As of this moment, twenty-three people." Just as the middle-

aged man finished his sentence, he tilted his head and
continued, "Twenty-four people. Someone has just signed up.
We hoped to attract more people by not setting an entrance fee,
but it’s just that we had no time to advertise this event with the
time we were given."

"It’s enough. It seems I can have a good workout tonight." Shi

Xueman lightly stroked her eyebrows as she gave a thin smile.
Suddenly, she withdrew her smile and asked, "How long before
it starts?"

"It begins at eight-thirty. There’s still fifteen minutes left," the

middle-aged man replied. He could not help but remind, "Young
Mistress, you will have to hold back a bit. I believe many new
students will show up. If you injure them, I’m afraid it might
bring about some troubles."

"Don’t worry." Shi Xueman slowly nodded her head. "I put on
the Suppression Bracelet."
 The middle-aged man heaved a sigh of relief. He was most
worried about Little Mistress injuring the new students. If she
hurt the senior students, the Induction Ground would be
lenient, but the Induction Ground paid more attention to the
new students. With the Suppression Bracelet that limited the
powers of an elementalist, he felt now that he must have over
thought the matter.

Given Young Mistress’s genius and her harsh self-

expectations, how was it possible for her to come all the way
here to bully a new student?

"You can leave now. I need to prepare," Shi Xueman said

plainly.

"Yes!" The middle-aged man bowed and left the resting

lounge.

Shi Xueman withdrew her smile, donning a more serious

expression. She came to Central Pine City only to accompany
her grandfather in visiting a friend, but she did not have any
thoughts of slacking off. Before she left, she had already notified
her family’s training hall branch in Central Pine City that she
planned on training there. She just did not expect them to put in
so much effort in setting up a blind battle.
 This was her first time fighting in one.

By wearing the Suppression Bracelet, her strength didn’t

differ much from the new students’, testing her techniques even
more. She was unsure how much of her actual capabilities
would be exhibited in this battle.

However, she never shied away from unknown challenges.

Instead, the uncertainty aroused her fighting spirit and even
made her eager for it to come.

It had been a while since she had felt such excitement. She
began to adjust her combat attire, tying up her long, draping
hair with a red ribbon, revealing her beautiful, snow-white
neck. Her unhurried movements and solemn expression gave
the impression of vigilance.

Upon wearing the mask, the world before her was replaced
with nothing but darkness.

The unfamiliar blackout sent a quiver through her heart.

Closing her eyes, she slowly adjusted her breathing, feeling

around her meticulously. The world before her blinded eyes
became hushed, allowing her to hear sounds that she usually
overlooked. Instead, they now resounded through her ears like
fish silently emerging from the depths of the sea. Her
heightened tactile sensitivity extended throughout her body,
the subtle streams of air that blew by her skin enough to make
her tremble involuntarily.

This was a brand-new world—a world she had never

experienced before.

It gave her extreme excitement. Her instincts told her that if

she could master this unfamiliar world, she would definitely
make a breakthrough in her level.

Time passed silently, allowing her to clearly feel out this quiet
and alien world.

"The blind battle is about to start. You have three minutes to

prepare. The blind battle is a five minute endurance match. The
last one standing on the arena after five minutes will win the
prize money of fifty thousand yuan. To make it more realistic,
the arena has been fully covered with the non-toxic and odorless
Ink Night Fumes. It will only affect your vision, perfectly
simulating the night scene. To prevent unnecessary injuries,
this endurance match will be fought using bare hands.
Everyone, please wear your defensive gears and mask. The
match will begin in one minute’s time."

Shi Xueman stood and headed towards the door that

connected the resting lounge to the arena.

It was as if she had used a ruler to measure her pace, stopping

right where her mask touched the door.

She waited silently, resembling an artist’s most perfect

sculpture.

"The blind battle is about to begin. Counting down now, ten,

nine, eight…"

Shi Xueman remained motionless.

"Three, two, one! Battle begins!"

The door hinges slid open.

 Without any hesitation, Shi Xueman entered the arena. At
that moment, she lost the faint light that had previously shone
through her mask. She was now truly in a world of pure
darkness.

The Ink Night Fumes was worthy of its name!

Shi Xueman secretly praised it in her mind.

The Ink Night Fumes was a kind of smokescreen that was

seldom used by people because there were only a small number
of wood elementalists who knew how to concoct it, and it also
had an extremely expensive price tag. Its effect, however, was
rather remarkable. Shi Xueman’s recent acclimatization had
been shattered immediately.

Suddenly, an ominous feeling rose in her heart.

Chapter 6: Success
Unlike the others who felt as though they were bound hand
and foot, Ai Hui was like a fish in water, glad to be back in a
familiar environment.

In the Wilderness, darkness ruled. Numerous massacres and

sneak attacks occurred quietly in that very darkness, seizing
lives and warmth. Strength didn’t matter; the elementalists
who were unable to adapt to the dark would not survive.

Ai Hui soon sensed a presence nearby—so close that he

anticipated they would pass each other.

Initially, he had no intention of attacking. As long as he

managed to hide and keep silent in a corner for five minutes, he
could collect the prize money and leave because the rules stated
that he would win as long as he persevered for five minutes
without being defeated.

It was, however, a matter of life and death in the Wilderness.

No rules applied.

When Ai Hui realized that the situation was not as he had

expected, he responded instinctively. The opponent was
dangerously close to him. If the opponent attacked, he wouldn’t
be able to launch a counterattack. Ai Hui entered a flowing state
and gauged the danger level using the terrifying

dire beasts that lived in the Wilderness as a benchmark. He

would never foolishly assume that the people around him would
be unable to adapt to the darkness.

Countless life or death experiences had taught his body that

when such situations arose, initiating an attack would give him
a greater advantage.

His footsteps were light and graceful. Like a cat in the night,
each step he took was absolutely noiseless.

His movements were very slow, to the point that not even the
sound of wind could be heard. This was where Ai Hui’s rich
experience came into play. Within the dark environment, each
breath or sound was as piercing as a dazzling ray of light.

Silence was darkness’s best companion.

 Ai Hui vaguely sensed his opponent’s position and gently
advanced towards it.

He was in a highly anticipatory state. The flesh and muscles

throughout his entire body were in a critical state, like a volcano
on the verge of eruption. Nobody would have been able to
discern this, however, from his external appearance.

Suddenly, he stopped and held his breath.

He was a seasoned hunter; he sensed that his prey had

detected his presence.

He did not know how to describe this sense of awareness or

where this intuition was based. There was no need for
substantiation in the Wilderness. There was only victory or
failure, life or death.

He stood in place like a statue, without a single movement.

On the other side, Shi Xueman smelled the faint trace of a

dangerous odor. Although she wasn’t certain, it was enough to
put her on guard. She focused all her attention on the
surroundings, vigilantly using her ears to capture any sounds.

The surroundings were very quiet as if there was only

emptiness.

But somewhere a little further away, she could hear the

breaths of a few people. Although they were suppressed, she
managed to capture the noises. In fact, she heard someone
tiptoeing quietly around her left side.

Inwardly she shook her head. At this point, any movement

would lead to an attack.

Right then, about ten meters away, a cry of surprise and a

stifled groan could be heard, followed by the collisions of
intense punching and kicking. Soon, chaos took over that area.

Shi Xueman mentally heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed it was

an illusion. There was no one within a three-meter radius from
where she stood.

Fighting in the dark was indeed very different.

 Shi Xueman felt stimulated by such an unfamiliar battle. Her
nerves tensed up like never before. Her perception of the
surroundings was also unprecedentedly acute. If she could keep
this up, her fighting abilities would take a qualitative leap.

Before her eyes unfolded a path she had never seen before.

She felt like a hunter hidden within the shadows, waiting for
the best opportunity to strike. Confidence bubbled up within
her. Under such a high level of alertness, even the slightest
change in her surroundings could not escape her.

While she was preoccupied with this fresh experience, she

suddenly felt something brush against her shoulder.

It broke her reverie and made her hair stand on end. She had
not moved, so why would she bump into anything?

Someone was close by! She’d been unable to detect anything—

a presence, a sound, even a change in airflow. A chill shot up
her spine.

Her reaction was too slow however. Even as she finally

realized the danger, it was already too late.

When Shi Xueman had been lost in her thoughts earlier, the
statue-like Ai Hui made his move. He moved excruciatingly
slowly, even more so than a ninety-year-old lady. He advanced
with his five fingers carefully extended, grasping and exploring
the area before him. His body leaned forward slightly, with the
flesh and muscles in his body all ready to make a lunge.

With Ai Hui’s high level of concentration, he blocked out the

battle noises from close by and remained completely unaffected.
All his attention was on his fingertips. He knew that if he came
into contact with someone, the battle would be over in a blink
of an eye. Victory or defeat, the result would be pronounced at
this moment.

The moment his fingers felt an obstruction, Ai Hui launched

an attack without hesitation.

With knees slightly bent and tendons creating a burst of

energy, his body sprang forward with lightning speed like a
nimble and fierce cheetah. The sensation beneath his fingertips
became more solid, his rich experience leading him to deduce
that he had touched his opponent’s shoulder.
 When Shi Xueman responded by violently lunging forward to
push against his attack, she lost her balance on the spot, and her
body tumbled towards the ground. Her left hand, which had
been ready to counterattack, lost effectiveness as she
instinctively reached out to regain balance.

However, her arm became entangled with his, locked into a

vicious attack that numbed her right arm.

The attack that completely suppressed her did not stop there.
Shi Xueman was greatly shocked as her opponent’s body
wrapped around hers like a snake. His body pressed up against
her back tightly like an octopus. His legs were like thick and
solid steel wires. They extended to her front and held onto her
legs as his toes clasped onto her calves like a metal lock.

Never in her life had Shi Xueman had such close contact with
a man. However, at that point, there were no butterflies in her
stomach. There was only fear. Deep fear.

The tough body lock made her feel like a fish caught in a net,
lacking the power to struggle. She wanted to remove the
Suppression Bracelet, but her limbs were clamped tightly,
unable to budge. She didn’t hear him gasping for breath either,
not even the rise and fall of his breaths. The ice-cold silence
caused her great fear. She felt as if she was being attacked by a
lifeless machine, and its steel cables had wrapped themselves
around her. Her terror surged when she felt her opponent
slowly tightening his grip.

She smelled death.

The intense fear and her strong will to live made her struggle
with unprecedented strength.

Hair continuously swept across her mask where beneath it,

her eyes were shut, her face grim and unfeeling. It was normal.
Even a beast would struggle its hardest before death, how much
more so would a human.

The fight wasn’t over yet. It was now a battle of wisdom and
tenacity.

His grip on her slightly slipped.

Upon realizing that her struggle was taking effect, Shi

Xueman’s body wriggled even more intensely.
 Ai Hui was like a hard-hearted hunter, steadily pressing down
onto the main joints of the prey’s body, letting it struggle and
waste its energy. When the prey eventually runs of out strength,
it was time for it to die.

Soon enough, Shi Xueman ran out of breath and sweat started
pouring from her body. She could feel her strength rapidly
reducing. As she grew more and more tired, her opponent’s grip
became tighter and tighter.

At this moment, she awoke from her fear.

She regained a small measure of composure. The results from

years of tough trainings was immediately displayed. She’d been
born into a large and honorable clan and experienced many
things since childhood. Initially, she had lost control of her
mind and body because of her momentary panic, but now that
she had recovered from it, she hurriedly created a
countermeasure.

A bizarre ray of light flashed, the elemental energy within Shi

Xueman beginning to operate. Her body that had been bound
tightly suddenly trembled.
 This slight tremble was not as aggressive as the struggle she
had put up earlier, but the energy it released was so great that it
far exceeded previous attempts to break free.

Ai Hui only felt a shocking amount of force penetrating his

body before his limbs became numb, causing him to nearly let
go of her.

Danger!

His prey had skills beyond his expectations. As soon as his

mind recognized the precarious situation, his body reacted
accordingly. WIthout a moment of hesitation, his left forearm
that had been holding onto his target rose up like a viper. With
lightning speed, his fingers opened up and reached for his
target’s throat.

Unlike the slow, silent hunting from earlier, this move made a
sharp crack and was quick like lightning.

Shi Xueman’s heart trembled, and sweat started pouring from

her body once again. She had no doubt this claw on her throat
was going to leave five bruises.
 Luckily when her opponent let go of her arm, she was given
an opportunity to resist. Her delicate, snow-white arm swung
out like a pendulum, blocking her throat without the least bit of
delay.

Boom!

The force of impact brought acute pains to her wrists. She

jolted backwards but could not dodge completely. Her throat
tightened as black flashed across her eyes with impending
unconsciousness. Yet, she knew that no matter how difficult it
was, she had to resist. She was resolute in her fight. Ignoring
the burning pain of her neck, she used the only mobile part of
her body—her wrists—to block off her opponent’s violent
attacks.

This defensive move was one she was most familiar with from
practice. Although her opponent’s attacks were sharp, she
managed to block them nevertheless.

Moreover, she quickly found a possible weakness, but she

wasn’t sure.

Until now, he had not utilized the elemental energy within his
body. Was he holding back, or was it too weak? She couldn’t be
sure.

Shi Xueman’s tenacity led Ai Hui to feel a stronger sense of

emergency. Instinctively, he launched an even more intense and
murderous attack.

The heart!

A blow to any enemy’s heart would render them defenseless.

But first, he needed to remove his opponent’s armor. To him,

that was not a major problem. He learned to unfasten armor
and untie ropes in the Wilderness. The barbarians wore rough
and sturdy armor with ropes that often could not be damaged
by even swords. Only a certain technique could undo the knots
from a dead barbarian’s body armor, which had been an
important part of his job.

With his right hand, he quickly and quietly loosened the ropes
that held her armor together. If anyone had witnessed that
scene, they would not have been able to detect any pauses in his
finger movements at all.
 Like a slippery loach invading into her armor, his right hand
felt another knot. He untied it without any further thought; any
protective layer was an obstruction for him.

Upon touching his opponent’s skin, a lethal glint appeared in

his eyes as his murderous instinct kicked in and burned fiercely.
His five fingers formed a claw and speedily pinned down against
his opponent’s chest where the heart was located.

Yet at the last moment, he recalled that this was not the
Wilderness; he was fighting for the 50000 yuan prize money.
Instead he decided to first suppress his opponent’s vital points.
If she continued to resist, she had better not blame him for
being relentless because then he would not hesitate to kill.

Boom!

Target hit!

He could clearly feel the body in his arms, which had been
resisting earlier, become rigid.

Eh?
 In the dark, Ai Hui had a keener sense of touch. Suspicion
arose.

This… does not… feel… quite right...

Chapter 7: Resolution
Ai Hui was unable to make sense of the matter. After some
time, he suddenly understood what he was grabbing on to.

Feeling a lump of burning charcoal in his hand, he didn’t

know whether to hold on or to let go.

D*mn it!

Ai Hui couldn’t help but curse inwardly. He had no idea whom

he was cursing at either.The motionless body in his arms wasn’t
putting up any resistance at all. From a fighter’s point of view
that was a good thing, but why was he feeling this unreasonable
sense of guilt?

Seconds felt like years as he became drenched in sweat.

Clang Clang Clang!

The gong sounded, signaling the end of the battle. Ai Hui

quickly removed his hands from his opponent and even
considerately fastened the knots of her armor. He quietly got off
her back and tiptoed into the smog.

He was feeling guilty… It was better to stay far away from the
target.

Re-entering the crowd, Ai Hui let out a sigh of relief. This

unexpected mistake left him lost and helpless. Luckily he had a
mask on and the night smog was dark and dense. He felt his face
burning and felt the urge to turn around and leave.

Luckily, his last trace of determination remained—the fifty

thousand yuan!

Along with the scattering smog, Ai Hui’s embarrassment

slowly dissipated as well; it was only an accident. All kinds of
accidents happened on the battlefield, or so Ai Hui told himself.

Mhmm, he made so much sense, there was nothing to refute!

After convincing himself, Ai Hui felt calmer.

Soon the smog dispersed completely and the head of the

training hall was shocked to see over ten people remaining. He
expected two or three to remain at best because he knew of his
mistress’s powerful fighting abilities. When it came to such
realistic combat drills, she gave it her all, never going easy on
her opponents,.

Why were there so many left? Could it be that Mistress was

unable to adapt to the unfamiliar blind battle mode?

Seeing the training hall’s lack of response, someone from the

audience blurted out, “What about the money? Are you going to
give it or not?”

A few others chimed in immediately.

“Exactly, you’re not trying to renege, are you?!”

“Hurry up and hand out the money! We’re busy!”

The middle-aged man glanced at his mistress, but she had no

reaction whatsoever as though she did not see his questioning
gaze. He was the head authority after all and had the right to act
according to the situation. Moreover, to the training hall, fifty
thousand yuan was nothing. Although he did not expect so
many victors, even a few hundred thousand yuan of prize
money could still be taken out easily.

Upon receiving the money, everyone immediately cheered.

To students, the fifty thousand yuan was not a small sum at

all. Now they could bear to spend extravagantly on things they
normally restrained from buying!

The crowd started to disperse.

Ai Hui blended well into the masses, no different from any

one of them.

Fifty thousand! Money in hand, he had long forgotten the

awkward incident from earlier. He was on cloud nine!

With no time to waste and full of vigor, he rushed into the

noodle shop like a gust of wind. He confidently extended and
opened his palm, saying to the boss in the most domineering
manner yet since morning, “Boss, give me five more bowls!”
 Finally, he could eat all he wanted without holding back.

Only…

Ai Hui shifted his gaze to his opened palm. The hand that had
just…

Snap! His fingers balled up into a tight fist.

All kinds of accidents happened on the battlefield, Ai Hui told

himself once again, before digging into his noodles with a clear
conscience.

The head saw his mistress standing alone at her original

position, and he had a premonition. She had already been
standing there, without any movement, for more than ten
minutes.

“Miss!” he could not help but call out.

It was as if his mistress did not hear him at all.

 His sense of foreboding grew stronger. Had an accident
occurred during training? He simply could not imagine his
mistress getting hurt. What a joke that would be; the trainers in
the Induction Ground able to potentially outlast his mistress
could be counted with one finger. Although she suppressed her
powers in an unfamiliar blind battle, he did not believe anyone
here could have caused her trouble. Her biggest problem was
her inexperience with blind battling.

All of a sudden his eyes flashed. Could it be that Miss was

going through a moment of enlightenment?

Indeed, was this not the legendary moment of enlightenment?

It must be!

He became agitated since he was in charge of the training hall

and the blind battle was his arrangement. He had provided his
mistress the opportunity to experience a moment of
enlightenment; it was surely a huge contribution. He fantasized
about advancing his career and achieving great success, unable
to suppress a silly grin.

Meanwhile, Shi Xueman was at a loss.

 What happened a while ago was a big blow to her, leaving her
completely stupefied.

From the incident until now, her mind was completely blank.
She did not hear the middle-aged man calling out for her and
did not even realize the battle was over and that every
contestant had already left.

She slowly regained consciousness from the muddleheaded

state she was in.

Her whole body trembled but she tried to contain it. It was
just an accident, she told herself but to no avail as her shudders
continued from head to toe. She tried her best not to cry, but
the great humiliation she suffered caused her to shake
uncontrollably.

Even if it had been an accident, she absolutely would not let

that damned fellow get away with it!

She gnashed her teeth and promised this to herself,

emphasizing every word. Immediately, her trembling stopped
and she no longer felt the urge to cry. It was as if that sentence
had strange, magical powers.
 That’s right, she absolutely would not let that damned fellow
off!

She regained her confidence from before, revealing the return

of the high and mighty goddess.

She took off her mask, her eyes shining with radiance once
again.

The middle-aged man’s expression rapidly changed when he

fixed his gaze upon his mistress’s white-as-snow neck,
astonished to find five purplish finger marks.

Oh god… He could not believe his own eyes and almost cried
out in alarm; luckily he managed to hold his tongue.

Miss had been defeated!

If this piece of news were to spread, it would cause a big

commotion in the Induction Ground. Here, his mistress’s skill
level was one of the highest, ranking among the top five. Who
could possibly beat her? His first instinct was that someone in
disguise must have pulled a prank.
 However, he rejected the idea soon enough. Miss’s secret
whereabouts were kept well hidden, and her trip to the hall was
by chance. Judging by the marks on her neck, her opponent
must have held back or else her neck would have been shattered
by now.

Now that he thought of how his mistress had gotten into an

accident in an event he had organized, the middle-aged man’s
back was drenched in no time.

The fortunate fact that she was safe and sound brought some
life back into his body, but his legs still felt a little weak.

The unmasked Shi Xueman looked the same as she always had
as she said faintly, “Find out who the contestants are. Every
single one of them, as well as those lying on the ground.”

The middle-aged man dared not hesitate and immediately

obeyed. “Yes!”

He could hear the frigid chill in her tone and knew that she
was extremely angry. Since young, she had never suffered or
been in such an unfavorable situation. Out of the corner of his
eyes, he peeked at the finger marks on his mistress’s neck and
felt a wave of fear come over him.

Perhaps if he knew what exactly happened at the end, he

would have fainted by now.

Although he was quick to obey, he was whining inside. He

said humbly and carefully, “I have been negligent in keeping
track of their information. Investigations must be done through
other methods, so I may need assistance from the clan.”

He did not anticipate such a command. In his mind, the

contestants were merely his mistress’s sparring partners. What
was the point of keeping track of their names and backgrounds
when they were going to be defeated by her?

“At all costs,” Shi Xueman said coldly. “The clan will utilize
all its power, so check it thoroughly for me.”

The middle-aged man’s heart trembled. “Yes!”

He felt his mistress’s resolution.

 There was nothing strange about it. After unexpectedly
meeting a threatening opponent, neither she nor the family clan
could possibly sit by and idly watch. He had enough confidence
that if the clan were to mobilize its full power, he would be able
to identify that man no matter how well he hid.

Shi Xueman walked towards the hall’s main entrance,

seemingly covered in frost.

Once outside, she observed the people walking around on the

streets before turning to look at the hall once more. She
clenched her fists and walked away.

…..

When Ai Hui held on to the wall for support as he walked out

of the hall, and he held onto the wall for support as he walked
into Vanguard Training Hall as well.

The difference was that before, his limbs had been weak from
hunger but now he was too full to walk. With much effort, he
finally shambled his way from the alley to the hall’s entrance,
taking him a whole ten minutes.
 On the stone steps before the training hall entrance sat Lou
Lan looking quite bored.

Ai Hui felt it strange. A bored sand puppet... such an image

seemed unfitting.

“I have been waiting for an hour.” Lou Lan stood up and

patted the dust off his body upon seeing Ai Hui approach.

Ai Hui had never met such a “smart” sand puppet before.

Patting dust off his body took it to a whole new level. Eh, you
are a sand puppet, there will not be dust as long as you do not
pat your body.

Plus, I do not remember us being close friends, he thought.

Opening the door, he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” Lou Lan crooked his head and thought for a while,
as if searching for the right words. “We are neighbors, and I am
paying you a visit.”
 The sky was dark, but Ai Hui could clearly see the black mask
on Lou Lan’s face. Upon seeing it, he was reminded again of the
incident from earlier. He got the sinking feeling that he was
traumatized.

He asked absent-mindedly, “Why are you wearing a mask?”

Lou Lan replied, “Because I do not have a face.”

“No face?” Ai Hui was slightly taken aback. “Then why not
make one?”

It was very easy for a sand puppet to mold a face. Some of

them could even change their faces as they pleased.

Lou Lan answered, “Master Shao felt it was troublesome.”

Ai Hui thought about his neighbor, the earth elementalist,

who was shut off from the world. Indeed, it was like him to
think that way. It was normal to have odd characters amongst
the earth elementalists, and Ai Hui had personally met even
stranger and more dangerous ones. In comparison, while
Master Shao had a strange personality, he did not seem as
menacing.

“Actually, it is not a big deal,” Ai Hui said but at the same

time, he felt the futility of his words. He knew there was really
no need to brood over the incident although it did feel pretty
good.

“There is no need, I am just a sand puppet. I do not need a

face,” Lou Lan explained seriously. “Who would remember a
sand puppet?”

Ai Hui, who had been opening the door, stopped midway.

He felt like saying something but as the words were about to

come out, he became uncertain.

“Yeah.”

Ai Hui seemed to sigh. It seemed cruel, but he couldn’t say

something he didn’t mean. In the Wilderness, sand puppets
were only second to the laborers easily eliminated and
destroyed.
 No one would remember a sand puppet. What chance did a
laborer have?

We are both desolate, but I have fifty thousand yuan, he

thought.

With his spirits raised, Ai Hui proudly hoisted the door open.

“Welcome in.”
Chapter 8: The Sword Embryo
Ai Hui lied on his bed adjacent to the wall with a sword
nestled within his arms. Slowly, his pitch-black eyes opened to
the darkness and a cold ray of light sharply flashed before he
returned to his harmless appearance.

He’d been away from the Wilderness for a few days now, but
he still wasn’t used to sleeping on a proper bed.

He checked the sword embryo within his body which he had

been growing for three years now and found no abnormalities.

He put down his grass sword, the sensation of the sword

embryo within his body disappearing. In the past, he was
overly-dependent on the sword, always holding on to it and
never letting go regardless of the situation. Later on, he realized
that doing so caused his body to lose its vigilance, so unless he
was in a battle or keeping watch at night, he forced himself not
to touch it.

To survive the Wilderness, Ai Hui had to have something up

his sleeves, and that something was the sword embryo.
 On his third day in the Wilderness, he almost lost his life.
From that moment onwards, he started his obsessive search for
greater strength because only then could he survive that cold
place. He had no one to go to for help, the elementalists never
gave him face, and he was neither clever nor capable of
bargaining for what he wanted.

Wild beasts wielded extraordinary strength when forced to

desperation. People would too, under similar circumstances.

Like a drowning man, Ai Hui desperately latched onto any

chance of hope he could find.

For example, he filled his mind with knowledge from

swordplay manuals.

The disintegration of spiritual force sent the cultivation world

tumbling down, ending the era of cultivators. However, the
cultivation system was deep-seated, advancing so greatly in the
hundreds of thousands of years of its existence that it far
exceeded what people imagined today.

Body training, spell formation, weapon training, five

elements, necromancy and so on… there were all kinds of
strange and abundant practices that utilized spiritual force.
Coupled with humankind’s rich imagination, the most
resplendent and grandest cultivation system was brought into
existence.

Amongst the vast jumble of magnificent cultivation types,

Swordsmanship always held the greatest value. Within the
cultivation world, regardless of generation, the strongest
followed the path of Swordsmanship.

During that era, swordplay manuals of great origins were

created, bringing about reigns of terror every now and then.
Today, they were buried between piles of old books and other
garbage, not worth a single yuan.

Swordsmen made up the majority of the cultivation world. It

was only natural then that all sorts of strange concepts were
born from the community.

Ai Hui first eliminated the sword manuals that required

spiritual force. These types of manuals were frequently used by
the big sects and schools to figure out how to utilize spiritual
force more effectively back when it was still ample. The
manuals that he eliminated next were those he could not
understand. Books that were cryptic and abstruse were in
excess, comparable to the amount of hair on a cow’s body. He
could be considered a semi-expert with his experience flipping
through an astonishing number of sword manuals, but he still
found many of them too profound—some were archaic while
others were deliberately mystifying.

After he filtered them out, there were some sword manuals

left.

In the Cultivation Era, none of these manuals would be

considered orthodox, and an honest and learned man would
even deem them as demonic.

Despite seeing them before, Ai Hui was not completely free

from fear. These sword manuals were strange and
unpredictable, completely beyond the limits of a normal
person’s imagination. For example, one manual taught
cultivators to cut all emotions and desires, lust included, in
order gain supreme mastery of the sword. Another, the Dream
Demon swordplay manual, instructed them to lie inside of a
giant coffin, induce a coma, and train within the Dream Demon
himself. Upon mastery, the sword skills they accumulated
would marvelously become applicable in reality.

In the past he glanced through these manuals out of interest

and nothing more. Now, the thought of training according to
these books sent shivers all over his body. Ai Hui finally
managed to find a book that seemed less eerie and strange. It
had no name and was badly damaged, and the only words on the
cover stated at the top, the method to plant the sword embryo.

After a detailed examination, Ai Hui more or less understood

the meaning of sword embryo, and it was actually quite simple.
The human body could only grow so much, but there was no
limitation to developing the three essential life-sustaining
energies within—the essence, the breath, and the spirit. These
energies, however, held no form, drifting harmlessly like mist.
Therefore, the creator of this sword manual came up with an
extremely interesting theory; that is, the human body was like a
sword’s sheath and the three energies made up the real sword.

How then, could the three incorporeal energies come together

to form the sword? The manual proposed a unique solution.
Since it was difficult to congeal the energies into one entity,
they could be treated instead as soil to nurture the sword
embryo from within.

Compared to the other books, this sword manual was

obviously one of the more sensible ones.
 So without hesitation, Ai Hui followed the instructions on the
sword manual and surprisingly succeeded in planting the
embryo.

Back in the swordsman school, he would never have taken the

risk, but in the Wilderness, what was there to worry about?
People died every day, and he didn’t know when it would be his
turn. Risk meant nothing to him. Instead, he was more
concerned about the effectiveness of the so-called sword
embryo.

Survival was his top priority.

Three years passed, and he entered the Induction Ground

after surviving the Wilderness, yet the sword embryo was still a
seed with neither movement nor change.

Ai Hui was rather unperturbed about this matter. It was

enough for him to have stepped out of the Wilderness alive. He
didn’t hold unrealistic expectations from it either since the book
was badly damaged with illegible instructions towards the end.

The sword manuals from the era of cultivation believed that

all routes eventually led to the same destination. No matter how
odd or unorthodox the method, all of them ultimately went
back to the the words "spiritual force." From this, he gathered
that future training would most likely be related to the spiritual
force as well.

Nevertheless, Swordsmanship was outdated, and it was

worthless to train according to these manuals. He was not like
the boss of the swordsman school who obsessed over these
manuals and falsely believed in sword mastery.

He simply had no intention of growing the sword embryo any

further.

While the manual did mention that meditating while holding

on to the sword would help nourish the embryo, Ai Hui did it to
improve his alertness at night instead.

There was something intriguing about the sword embryo. It

came to life whenever he held on to his sword and his six senses
became sharper as well. He could detect any slight sounds or
movements around him. Later on, many elementalists became
aware of his keen vigilance and soon the night watch became
one of his main tasks.
 This allowed him to loot from the battlefields, albeit only the
leftover bits and pieces.

For three years, Ai Hui carried the sword and meditated

without sleep, persevering for what seemed like a day.

The Ai Hui of the past shivered in the cold mud while the Ai
Hui today had a warm and safe room of his own to sleep in until
the morning light.

He felt contented and blissful.

Today was the first day of lessons, and he looked forward to it.
He hadn’t left the house ever since he claimed the fifty thousand
yuan prize.

Outside, the sky was still dark with only a glimmer of light—
still some time before sunrise.

Ai Hui energetically jumped off his bed, landing soundlessly

like an agile cat. The carpet under his feet was made from rough
woven fibers that was somewhat prickly, but Ai Hui felt
nothing. With the glimmer of light shining in from the horizon,
the room was illuminated enough for him to not bother turning
on the light as he washed himself in the dim room.

His familiarity with darkness could be seen as a gift from the

Wilderness where danger lurked in every corner and any trace
of light would draw them to him.

He skillfully removed the trap he had set behind the door and
pushed it open. A rush of fresh air entered his lungs, giving him
burst of energy.

The slightly illuminated sky and the quiet training hall

brought back memories of the swordsman school. The familiar
sensations washed over him, and even the cool air seemed to
have become more fragrant. The sharp and stiff edges of his face
softened, a warm smile tugging at his lips.

He began to mop the floor with quick and light strokes.

Soon, his body remembered the familiar movement and

reflexes quickly took over.

Even before the sun came up, Ai Hui was finished with his
cleaning chores. Without bothering to wipe the sweat off his
body, he looked around the well-polished hall feeling genuinely
satisfied and happy.

Gazing at the sparkling ground, however, he was reluctant to

step on it.

During his three year stay in the Wilderness, he fought in the

muddy swamps and amongst dried, decaying leaves. He became
accustomed to coming across rotting monster corpses with his
shirt stained with blood. Over time, the stains dried up and
faded into the same brown patches until he could no longer tell
his blood from the beasts’.

The soles of his feet came into contact with the clean wooden
floor. A familiar feeling.

This dirtless, quiet hall was like a dream from deep inside his
heart.

The past two days had been a time of adjustment, but

gradually he was starting to enjoy this new lifestyle. He even
had the thought that life would be pretty good if he could carry
on living like this.
 Feeling childish, Ai Hui laughed before turning around to
pack his things. He had a tight schedule after all.

The sword embryo’s ability to keep him alive was not worth
mentioning. His mastery of elemental energy paled in
comparison to most people, so he faced much greater pressure
as well.

The Induction Ground had strict rules: failure to activate the

natal residence within a year or inability to reach the Initial
Completion level within five years would lead to an expulsion.
For students who came from the Avalon of Five Elements, their
parents would be blamed for their shortcomings whereas
students from the Old Territory would lose their chance to
qualify as a member of the Avalon of Five Elements and be
banished back to where they came from.

Those who attained the Initial Completion would have to

leave the Induction Ground as well since it signified their right
to qualify as a registered elementalist.

Five years was all the Induction Ground could give. In reality,
Ai Hui had only four years because there was one more rule—
students above the age of twenty had to leave the training
grounds.
 He didn’t have much time left. If he wanted to take charge of
his own fate, he had to work harder.

And if he felt inferior? Then he had to snap out of it and work

even harder.

The sun rose from beyond the horizon and shone brightly in
the cold, blue sky. After packing, he slung the old cloth bag over
his shoulders and exited the hall with a blade of grass in his
mouth and the sky behind him.

The early morning streets were quiet and dark, still asleep.
From beyond the mountains and rivers extended the first thread
of light, entering homes and illuminating the streets.

Ai Hui luxuriated in the sunlight.

In the Wilderness, the hours before dawn were the most

dangerous. It was a time ripe with the danger of sneak attacks,
when deaths and fresh blood were aplenty.

But with the arrival of the sunlight shining on the grassfield

dews came the massacres’ reveal and the retreat of the dire
beasts and barbarians like the tides, returning peace and
tranquility to the Wilderness.

While the school building was not far from the training hall, it
was not near either.

The closer he got to the school, the more concentrated the

student crowd became. The streets bustled with activities, and it
was an unfamiliar sight for Ai Hui. Upon seeing the young faces
full of vitality and eagerness, Ai Hui felt somewhat envious.
Their faces showed no traces of blood-soaked battle injuries and
lacked vigilance against the outside world since they had never
experienced a massacre.

They were flawlessly pure and led happy lives.

Ai Hui felt out of place. He bit down hard on the bit of grass,
allowing the raw, grassy taste to spread within his mouth.

To them, the Induction Ground was a school. To him, it was

his new battleground.

Rather than happiness, survival was of a greater importance.

He took a step forward and entered the school building.
Chapter 9: Introduction
Shi Xue Man gazed at her body in the mirror. The fair,
flawless body she had once been proud of now had five faint, yet
eye-catching, finger marks above her left breast. A few days had
passed but the bruises still hadn’t disappeared, causing her to
believe her opponent had used substantial force.

A baleful look appeared in her eyes. She did not want to recall
what happened that day,but every time she bathed she could see
the finger marks on her body. It made it difficult to restrain the
anger.

Luckily the marks on her neck were gone, since school was
reopening today.

She dressed, the usual confidence returning to her face.

In the dining hall outside, food had already been prepared. As

she entered, her grandfather gazed at her with a gentle smile.
“Come, have your breakfast.”

“Grandfather,” she called out sweetly before sitting down

beside him. With her mother’s early passing and her father’s
busy work schedule, her grandfather had been the one to raise
her. Therefore every morning, she accompanied him during
breakfast.

A servant delivered a bowl of hot soup to the table. She

trained regularly and so all her meals were specially prepared to
replenish her elemental energy and nourish her body.

Sip by sip, she drank her soup that had been brewed
meticulously with expensive ingredients. Not only did it benefit
her training but it also tasted fresh and delicious. Today,
however, she was somewhat in a daze.

The grandfather had raised her since young and so knew her
very well. He asked warmly, “Why? Are you still thinking about
that incident?”

WIthin the family clan, his granddaughter possessed

unmatched talent. Always sensible and never pretentious, she
was in fact more hard-working than others. Since childhood,
she displayed excellent skills that surpassed even her father’s
and was regarded by the clan as the next generation’s leader.
The whole clan was pleased with her and all the seniors adored
her greatly.
 The old man was deeply proud of his granddaughter’s
achievements. In his eyes, she was perfect, but the only thing
that worried him was her pride. Like her father, she had never
experienced any setbacks.

But the old man had plenty of experience. He understood that

there were many hidden talents in this world, and there would
always be a higher mountain. No matter how outstanding his
granddaughter, someone out there would be better.

And this was exactly what happened.

When he saw the marks on his granddaughter’s neck that day,

he received a shock and a fear that still lingered. If her opponent
used just a little more strength, she would have died on the spot.
Then, he quickly realized that her expression was somewhat off.

This setback must have been far greater for her than he had
expected.

To him it was nothing, but he knew Shi Xueman needed more

time to process since her life had been smooth-sailing so far.
 If he knew the truth of the matter, he would have ripped Ai
Hui into pieces.

“No.” Shi Xueman lowered her head and continued eating.

Seeing her like that, the old man could not help but laugh.
“Why do you think you lost?”

He knew from experience that avoiding the problem wouldn’t

benefit the youngsters.

Shi Xueman paused, still holding on to the spoon. She was

stumped by his question. Three days had passed yet she was still
deeply ashamed and resentful. All she could think of was how to
find that damned fellow and dismember his body into a million
pieces.

Although she was no fool, her anger had blinded her. Hearing
her grandfather’s reminder, she immediately addressed what
she neglected so far.

“The opponent was very familiar with blind battling.”

 As the details from that battle replayed in her mind, Shi
Xueman’s expression became solemn. Since the incident, this
was her first time recalling it without falling into a blind rage.

老人无声笑了，循循善诱：“还有呢？”

The old man laughed silently, guiding her along. “What else?”

“Rich battle experience, fast reflexes, unfeeling, knew how to

utilize his advantage...” Once Shi Xueman regained her cool, she
displayed powerful insights. She mumbled to herself, “Come to
think of it, he must have sensed my presence and location right
from the start unlike me who couldn’t detect his movements.
He was an expert in blind battling, able to fight well in the dark.
He chose a close quarters combat style which in the darkness
was ideal. It forced me into a passive position without space to
maneuver at all. By doing so, I couldn’t display my numerous
techniques while he could unleash his full powers.”

The old man listened carefully knowing that he only needed

to hear her out.

“He deliberately allowed me to struggle to expedite my energy

consumption. Cunning. His elemental energy doesn’t seem very
strong since he didn’t engage it from start to finish, so I had no
way of confirming his level.”

Listening to her, the old man responded, “If he defeated you

without engaging his elemental energy, he is definitely skillful.”

“Very. Also, like me, he must have been wearing a

Suppression Bracelet.” Shi Xueman didn’t refute his statement.
She thought for a bit before adding, “When he was locking me
in, I utilized [Arching Fish Back] but could not break free.”

For the first time, the old man lost his composure. “He
blocked your [Arching Fish Back] without using elemental
energy? Was he old?”

[Arching Fish Back] was an ingenious technique used to

struggle free. It emulated a fish’s reaction when startled—full of
explosive strength. The old man was quite shocked by the fact
that the opponent actually managed to suppress her [Arching
Fish Back] without using elemental energy.

“Mhmm.” Shi Xueman gravely nodded. “He had exceedingly

strong murderous intent. Originally I planned on using
[Arching Fish Back] to break free to remove the Suppression
Bracelet, but it failed. However, he shouldn’t be very old or else
he wouldn’t have attacked for fifty thousand yuan.”

Thinking back, she couldn’t help but respect him. As a girl,

immobilization was more disadvantageous. As such, she was
taught [Arching Fish Back] at a very young age, and she spent a
lot of energy mastering this technique to the point that it was
now a part of her.

But even she could not maintain control over the burst energy
of [Arching Fish Back].

“Suppressing [Arching Fish Back] without elemental energy

and not too old… it must be a student then,” the old man
exclaimed in admiration. “Looks like there’s an amazing talent
among the new batch of students this year. I wonder who he is,
and why haven’t I heard of him?”

“Grandfather, you must investigate carefully for me!” Shi

Xueman shook his arm and pleaded, “I will not take this lying
down. We must battle once more in the open, no tricks.”

The old man laughed loudly. “Okay, okay, okay. How could I
reject Xueman’s request?”
 Clearly Xueman intended to erase her previous humiliation,
but it was acceptable for youngsters to hit a snag due to their
zealousness. Moreover, he was very curious about this young
man who suddenly appeared and overpowered his
granddaughter. Interesting.

Shi Xueman was overjoyed upon hearing the good news. If

Grandfather was willing to help, that damned fellow would
definitely be unable to escape!

Wait and see! I will not let you off!

A dangerous aura flashed across her eyes.

The old man noticed her expression. Having gone through the
ups and downs of life, he certainly knew what she was thinking.
He muttered, “He held you down without engaging his
elemental energy. I’m afraid his skill surpasses yours. You have
to be careful.”

Shi Xueman raised her head, burning passion in her eyes.

“Xueman will surely strive hard!”
 The old man was somewhat surprised. This was his first time
seeing her with such an exuberant fighting spirit.

Looks like this failure was a major setback for her, the old
man thought cheerily.

At this point, Ai Hui did not realize the trouble that fifty
thousand yuan brought upon him as he was attending his
introductory lesson.

The sunlight rays entered through the windows, shining onto

his desk and the floor, making even the dust particles visible.
They could be seen drifting lazily in the air.

The school was empty except for six people. Very few were
required to attend this introductory class. Whether they hailed
from the Old Territory or the Avalon of Five Elements, most
young children had already been exposed to the basics.

Teacher Dong stood on the podium radiating passion and

flinging spittle everywhere. He talked about the countless years
of planning and preparation as well as manpower that went into
the Avalon of Five Elements. With Cultivators from different
sects aiming towards the same goal, the Avalon today was stable
and beginning to infiltrate the Wilderness. He also mentioned
the Avalon’s ability to now proceed from defense to a counter-
attacking phase and so on.

Unlike the other students who were dozing off, Ai Hui was
enjoying his lesson. He had previously dabbled in swordplay
manuals, but his knowledge about the Avalon’s history came
mainly from gossiping master elementalists in the Wilderness.

Talking about history was Teacher Dong’s favorite pastime.

He spent more than half of his class time on it with very little
focus on the basics of training.

For what purpose was this messy history lesson given, and
what did it have to do with them? The students privately called
this the saliva class. They detested wasting their time on such
things, but the teacher in charge of their basic training class was
Teacher Dong. Moreover, he was known for his bad temper. If
anyone who skipped his classes dared to consult him about
training, he wouldn’t even bother acknowledging their
presence.

Who asked them to have zero understanding of the basics?

 Needless to say, students who came from the Avalon of Five
Elements knew the basics. Those who were properly
homeschooled went straight into the advanced classes while
others were placed into the intermediate classes. Even students
from the Old Territory received training from a young age.
While the different environments contributed to the disparity
in skills between them and the students from the Avalon, the
former did not have many problems dealing with the theoretical
aspects.

Survival was always the strongest motivation for change.

After thousands of years of progress, the five elemental energies
had already become widely used.

Unfortunately, this made the number of students who had to

start from the very basics like Ai Hui pathetically few.

A person had to lower his head when living under someone

else’s roof.

Teacher Dong talked non-stop for a long time. When he

finally started on the topic of training, the other students
became much more enthusiastic.
 Unfortunately, Teacher Dong’s passion lied only in imparting
history. Without any interest in explaining the formation of
elemental energy, he ended the class after only half an hour. In
fact, by the time Ai Hui finished reflecting on the information
gained from class, he was already gone.

Unlike the students who were aggrieved, Ai Hui felt overjoyed

from the enlightening lesson.

After three years in the Wilderness, he became capable and

experienced, never backing down in the face of danger. In this,
he stood out amongst the many laborers around him, gaining
the trust of master elementalists and even having the few kind-
hearted ones impart a skill or two.

Danger lurked in every corner of the Wilderness, however,

and could appear at any time. Under such circumstances, no one
was willing to patiently and systematically educate him on
training routines.

Three years later, he had learned many skills, but they were
all practical moves, fragmented and incomplete.

While he fell behind theoretically, he gained much experience

from real combat and in this aspect, none of his classmates
could compare. In addition, he was good at analytical thinking
and reflection, or else he would never have been able to create
the sword embryo. Despite the simple and scattered knowledge
he had accumulated in the Wilderness, he spent countless hours
contemplating each and every piece of information. Yet due to a
lacking foundation, his learning produced limited returns,
accumulating a number of questions that he had been puzzling
over.

During Teacher Dong’s short lesson, he taught little about the

definite methods to train and more on the theories relevant to
elemental energy—which was precisely the area Ai Hui fell
behind in...
Chapter 10: The Society of Excellence
Elemental energy was nothing uncommon.

During the early Cultivation Era, it was heavily studied but

not utilized as widely. Due to spiritual force’s more abundant
and active nature, it was easier to use than elemental energy. In
fact, the ample production of spiritual force suppressed the
generation of elemental energy, and so the study of elemental
energy was mostly limited to small sects.

It was only in the Wilderness where the spiritual force was

thin that elemental energy could dominate.

It had to be said that the cultivation world was favored by

nature, as if the heavens had blessed the people with abundant
spiritual force that covered the land. For a long time, almost
every cultivator held themselves upright with pride, assuming
their cultivation world as the core of the world.

Yet they failed to take into consideration the living

environment of the Wilderness. Gradually, the spiritual force
became thinner, taking everyone by surprise. As the the
foundation of the cultivation system, once the spiritual force
disintegrated, the resplendent cultivation world collapsed as
well.

Millions of years later, the Wilderness neglected by the

cultivation world became their undefeatable enemy.

The elders who were forced into a corner frantically searched

for a new source of power, and the ones who taught them best
were their enemies, the dire beasts and barbarians. Under these
strenuous circumstances, elemental energy was explored and
expanded; however, it was the cultivators with their
accumulated wisdom from over millions of years that quickly
created their own system of five elemental energies.

As the theories developed, the system stabilized and the

Avalon of Five Elements gradually became stronger as well.

Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were the five basic
elements that made up all living things. When the five elements
were stable in nature, they formed matter. When they were
active in nature, they formed the five elemental energies. In the
existing theory, there were no observable differences between
the five types of elemental energies outside of their different
forms. Rather than existing as separate entities, they
simultaneously transformed and suppressed one another,
becoming a perfect cycle. This was also the reason why five
elements usually existed simultaneously instead of alone, and
why the natural matters had complicated properties.

Teacher Dong taught only the most foundational reasonings

that were obvious to most people who would find the lesson dull
and useless. Nevertheless, to Ai Hui, it explained many of the
questions that puzzled him. He was most familiar with
swordplay from countless manuals, be it traditional or
unorthodox. However, without the foundational spiritual force,
these things had no value at all. In fact, if the sword embryo
didn’t germinate within three years, any hope of future growth
would be lost.

Still, it was undeniable that flipping through the countless

sword manuals did expand Ai Hui’s horizons. The ancient
swordsmanship theories had been developed maximally to be
profound and wide-ranging, as he had displayed in the
Wilderness. His operational styles were quite different from the
others, moving even the most skillful masters to wonder.

It was not by luck that he came out of the Wilderness alive.

His current fragmented knowledge was slowly starting to

make more sense. This excited him because in the past, he had
some vague ideas but now he realized that they were not
impossible to achieve.

He restrained his restlessness, however, as it was not time yet.

He needed more knowledge.

Coming to the Induction Ground was the right decision to

make. Just from the first lesson, he had already gained so much
which came as a pleasant surprise, and he looked forward to the
other lessons.

The days of attending class were simple yet enriching, as

beautiful as the sunlight. He especially cherished the first
lesson. For someone like him with a mediocre aptitude, such an
opportunity did not come easily. Like a sponge, he greedily
absorbed any nutrients available.

Teacher Dong’s introductory course was very short with only

ten lessons, but Ai Hui did not want them to end. Despite his
packed schedule, he realized that only Teacher Dong’s class
involved the theoretical aspect of elemental energy formation.
Teachers from other classes imparted either practical skills or
the specific methods to train. Very few were like Teacher Dong
who focused on the logic within.
 Perhaps they felt that for the new students, learning how to
train was sufficient.

By now Ai Hui had more or less gotten used to the student life
in Central Pine City. He didn’t feel the same agitation he once
did when standing in front of the Induction Ground entrance.
Studying in the city was relaxing and rules were flexible. For
any class, as long as he met the requirements to a certain
standard, attendance became optional.

However, he still had a class he was required to attend with

the classmates from his first day, and in charge of it was the
very same Teacher Xu.

Everyone had different skill levels and so picked different

classes. It was usually difficult to come across one another, and
it was only in homeroom that he got to meet these classmates.

Except no one was paying Ai Hui any attention.

Most of them probably didn’t even remember his name

anymore since a mediocre and quiet student like him had no
presence. Seeing that everyone was present, Teacher Xu began.
“I called you guys over this time to tell you about the Society of
Excellence.”

Upon hearing the words “Society of Excellence,” the students

from the Avalon of Five Elements became excited whereas those
from the Old Territory looked puzzled.

“Society of Excellence is a club that selects gifted students

with outstanding skills and potential. Not only will there be
specialized teachers to guide them in the training process, the
lessons will also be put into practice. For example, you’ll be
involved in the school’s operation or spar with students from
other cities and so on. You will even have the chance to enter
the Wilderness with the teachers to experience its conditions.”

The students, thrilled at the thought of visiting the

Wilderness, started chattering.

In their eyes, the Wilderness was mysterious and full of the

unknown. Moreover, with the teachers’ company, safety was
not an issue. They started to desire the opportunity to see for
themselves what the Wilderness was all about.

In the sea of excited students, Ai Hui alone was indifferent

since he had no desire to join this club. Having guidance from
the teachers didn’t sound bad but at this point in time, it was
more important for him to accumulate ample elemental energy
to activate his natal residence.

As for the Wilderness, he had stayed there long enough. It was

nauseating for him.

Seeing the enthusiastic faces, Teacher Xu smiled. “Of course,

the selection process is strict for you guys who just entered the
Induction Ground not too long ago. According to the criterias
from previous years, you’ll need to have activated at least two
palaces.”

The students howled in grief. Following this standard, only

three to five students qualified. As for those who still had a
chance, their eagerness bled through, unable to be hidden.

“This is the minimum criteria, but it’s not impossible.

Everyone should give it a try,” Teacher Xu encouraged before
continuing, “As for how to be chosen, have a look, and you’ll
know. All I want to say is that our city has prepared rewards for
those who are chosen. They’ll distribute valuable resources that
would be advantageous to your training. Work hard, everyone.
Duanmu Huanghun, distribute these materials.”
 Ai Hui had seen Duanmu Huanghun, the strongest student in
his class, that first day by the school entrance. He could tell
from his luxurious clothes that he came from a rich family.

Towards the society, Ai Hui remained indifferent. He

reckoned that the reward would be pretty good but not worth
the hassle, which made it unappealing to him. Plus, his skills
were still lacking.

His train of thought shifted to training. Central Pine City‘s

training environment was superior, almost like heaven. As he
carefully planned his training, Duanmu Huanghun, who was
distributing the materials, passed Ai Hui without stopping. He
then mockingly said, “You don’t need this since you don’t even
know the basics yet.”

Ai Hui was confused. Duanmu Huanghun’s hostility was

uncalled for. Plus...

How childish!

.....
 Shi Family

“Are you sure there are only six of them?”

Shi Xueman did not speak loudly, but the temperature of the
whole hall seemed to have dropped by over ten degrees. All of
the servants and bodyguards quivered.

The head of the city branch paled, responding with a

trembling voice as his body shivered non-stop, “I have
committed a sin! None of the contestants’ names were recorded,
and the new batch of students just started school, making it a
highly difficult task. Only through rumors from students and
neighboring merchants did we manage to find these six.”

By now, he was filled with regret. Did he have nothing better

to do—why a blind battle? He practically dug his own grave!

Shi Xueman took a deep breath and reined in her emotions.

She knew he wasn’t at fault; instead, she had been slow to react.
If she hadn’t been in a daze, she would have easily gotten hold
of the information and that damned fellow would not have
escaped.
 “You’ve worked hard. This is not your fault. You did very
well,” Shi Xueman said in the same cold tone.

The middle-aged man teared. Recently, he was placed under

unimaginable pressure recently. The investigation hit a dead
end, and he was on the verge of collapsing.

Immediately, the tension within the hall dissipated

significantly.

Shi Xueman unhurriedly said, “But regarding this, I will need

to trouble you further. Everyone present will assist you. Find
him at all costs.”

The middle-aged man was surprised at her determination, but

this was not the first time he heard the words “at all costs”
coming out of her mouth. Also considering the nature of her
character, he did not think it so surprising anymore.

“I will work hard.” He dared not guarantee again. After

thinking for a bit, he continued, “I have an idea but am unsure
if it will work.”
 “What is it?” Shi Xueman asked straightforwardly.

“This way of searching is like fishing for a needle in the ocean,

but I was thinking that if he could be a threat to you, he must
have great skills. I would go so far as to say that within the
Central Pine City, he would be the cream of the crop. With such
abilities, entering the Society of Excellence should not be a
problem. Should we narrow our search then, to the members
inside?”

At the battle, he had seen Shi Xueman but not that mystery
man, so he was unaware of the details of their battle. Therefore,
only his mistress had the ability to judge that man’s capability.

After listening to his words, Shi Xueman’s eyes brightened.

When her subordinate looked at her again, she said without
hesitation, “Watch that club. Give the name list to me the
moment you have it.”

“Yes!” the subordinate hurriedly agreed.

Shi Xueman turned and left quickly. She didn’t want to waste
any time; instead, all she could think about was training. Her
eyes burned with passion and spirit.
 Even if you are stronger than me right now, I will not give up.
Absolutely!

This humiliation... I, Shi Xueman, am going to make you pay

for it.
Chapter 11: Ai Hui’s Hypothesis
Of course, Ai Hui had no idea that a vengeful someone was
looking all over for him. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.
Who had time for that? He didn’t even feel like entertaining Lou
Lan whenever he visited, and he was such a nice sand puppet...

Ai Hui was completely engrossed in his own learning and

trainings. It was as if he had entered a vast new world full of
rich colors. There were so many hidden places within the
Induction Ground to train in that Ai Hui discovered something
new every day.

He was lost in happiness and never tired of it.

No place required more skills than the Wilderness where it

was devoid of warmth, clear-cut and without any pretense.
Within the Wilderness, there were no suitable grounds for him
to train. Places with a slightly more concentrated elemental
energy was already occupied by either powerful, dire beasts or
the barbarian tribes.

And since he had to advance forward with the team, he had

little time to train, especially with the tedious odd jobs to
complete. He could never rest well either as the elementalists
never seemed to need it with their brisk work efficiency.

No teacher would be able to explain this. The elementalists

who were willing to teach him a skill or two were already
considered very friendly and kind whereas whenever he met the
bad-tempered ones who happened to dislike him, inevitable
suffering ensued.

Compared to the Wilderness, the Induction Ground was like

heaven.

Ai hui possessed unrivaled passion that had been

accumulating and bubbling for three years. Once released, the
intensity of its explosion exceeded that of a volcano eruption.

Ai Hui was as if possessed, immersed in his training.

He knew he had a low aptitude and did not dare to set

unreachable goals. He only hoped to become a registered
elementalist. The problem was that even this goal required an
extraordinary amount of effort in order to be realized.

How could there be any time to waste?

 These four years was the only time for him to change his
destiny. He knew a second chance would not come.

Since the Wilderness trained him to be adaptive, it did not

take long for Ai Hui to settle down comfortably into the city. His
strategy for schooling also gradually changed. Initially he took
every available class but gradually he began to filter, learning
how to pick and choose.

It was important to always understand the circumstances as

well as the most crucial problem at hand as he had learned to do
so in the Wilderness that was so cold and full of death.

Right now, the most pressing concern was activating his natal
residence.

If he didn’t manage to accomplish this within a year, he would

have to leave the school.

The training ground he chose for himself was the Suspending

Golden Pagoda.

Located about one hundred fifty miles outside the city, few
students were willing to travel so far even by the Three Leaves
Bamboo Cart just to train, leaving the pagoda mostly deserted.

Needless to say, Ai Hui refused to take the Three Leaves

Bamboo Cart. The cost of the round trip exceeded one thousand
yuan; he’d feel the pain for days.

To him, traveling the one hundred fifty miles was a warm-up

exercise. In the Wilderness, the pace of combat was shockingly
fast. Although Ai Hui was a laborer who didn’t need to take part
in the battles, he still had to keep up with the team while
carrying all the supplies. The first thing laborers learned in the
Wilderness was to run—only then could they keep pace with the
team. Nobody wanted a slow-moving laborer who was unable to
follow.

Ai Hui’s body was neither robust nor were his strides very big,
but he was steady and the top half of his body was motionless,
lacking any unnecessary movements.

He traversed not the main roads but through the mountain

forest like a nimble cheetah, effortlessly loping through in a
straight line.

It took him twenty-six minutes this time to rush down to the

pagoda, five minutes faster than the previous attempt. Ai Hui
was satisfied as he was fond of progress.

A dilapidated iron pagoda appeared before him with nobody

else around. It had a total of seven floors and many areas were
in ruins. Its history could be traced all the way back to the
Cultivation Era, back when it belonged to a great sect and was
used to suppress others. After the spiritual force disintegrated,
however, the sect collapsed leaving the pagoda to fall into
decline. What stood before him now was the preserved remains.

It survived the ravages of time thanks to the metal wind cave

beneath. The gales it received from the cave contained
concentrated metal elemental energy that eventually
transformed the once wooden pagoda into an iron one that
remained today. Later, the Induction Ground remodeled it into
a training ground, but since it was in a remote location with no
discernible advantage over the many other training grounds
within the city, very few visited.

The Suspending Golden Pagoda was actually not meant for

beginners but rather for students who already activated their
natal residence.

Ai Hui had another plan.

He approached the entrance and heard deep rumbling.

Ai Hui finally understood why the place was so deserted. Just

by listening to the sound of the wind, he knew that the metal
wind inside was extremely strong. Almost none of the seniors
who wrote the guidebooks recommended this place.

According to them, the Suspending Golden Pagoda was like an

upside-down waterfall of overwhelming power. The metal wind
currents contained dense elemental energy that was
bonescrapingly painful when blown against the body.
Unfortunately, it was also extremely pervasive, able to enter the
pores deep into the flesh, multiplying the suffering. In
comparison, the whirlpool within the city’s hot springs was
gentler and much more comfortable. Obviously, no one would
ask for trouble by coming here since both environments
produced the same results.

What spurred Ai Hui into visiting this place was a seemingly

unremarkable sentence that he came across while reading a
particular senior’s guidebook:

If your endurance is great, go straight to the Suspending

Golden Pagoda; the results are quite good.

In terms of affinity, he had little confidence with his low

aptitude that probably wouldn’t fulfill the minimum
requirement. But when it came to endurance, it was a different
story.

During his stay in the Wilderness, he managed to form a

tenuous strand of elemental energy after drinking a specially
brewed elemental soup. In it were ingredients he had
accumulated over time including a piece of Dire Beast’s meat
given to him by an elementalist.

The elemental energy formed by humans was closed to that of

a dire beast’s meat and thus was easily absorbed.

This was the underlying reason behind the high cost of Dire
Beast’s meat as well as why countless elementalists risked their
lives hunting them deep in the Wilderness.
 The extremely precious wisp of elemental energy often saved
Ai Hui’s life in times of great danger.

An elementalist once bluntly informed him that he had a low

aptitude and no affinity with elemental energy. And
unfortunately, training with external items was something only
the rich could afford to do.

During his training later on, he realized that the master was
indeed right. Even after three years, his elemental energy made
little progress. Admittedly, there were many possible reasons
such as insufficient training time, low concentration of
elemental energy, lack of structured guidance and so on. But
almost zero growth? Ai Hui saw for himself exactly how low his
aptitude was.

However, he had no plans to give up. In fact, since then, he’d

been racking his mind for a solution.

In the end, his only source of help came from those outdated
and worthless sword manuals.

The manuals from ancient times were practically synonymous

with “genius.” No one but the gifted could think about touching
them and even more so in prestigious sects. But there were
certain exceptional cases in which mediocre swordsmen made a
name for themselves within the cultivation world, gaining skills
that struck fear into the people’s hearts.

In the long past era of cultivators, tens of thousands of

cultivation worlds had yet to merge. One of those fragments was
a small sect known as the Void Sword Clan where a disciple
named Wei Sheng lived. He was not gifted yet he had great
accomplishments, able to disdain other outstanding heroes.

Ai Hui had glanced through enough swords manuals to know

that Wei Sheng was not the only such swordsman.

Although Ai Hui had zero interest in Swordsmanship, these

swordsmen fought their way to the top in a society that
nurtured only natural talents. Certain that they must have
possessed some other qualities, Ai Hui hoped to find them out.

These powerful fighters had similar characteristics like

tenacity, diligence, and inhuman concentration. These were
worth learning but clearly required great effort. After studying
further, he realized they had another trait in common.
 Where there is bad, there is good. If someone was unable to
perform in a certain aspect, it was not erroneous to shift focus.
The seniors who had average aptitude managed to carve a path
for themselves only because they found their own strengths.

Ai Hui had felt that his interpretation was logical but not
employable.

That is, until now. After attending Teacher Dong’s

introductory course, his doubts were swept away. He now knew
that the so-called bad aptitude meant a lower affinity between a
practitioner and the elemental energy. Due to his lack of
aptitude, the majority of the energy dissipated as soon as it
entered his body, leaving only a little behind.

This was why he had negligible progress.

Everyone was born with different and unalterable aptitudes.

This news was, to most people, no different from a death
sentence.

Yet instead of feeling dejected, Ai Hui started thinking of ways

around it instead. Since his body had less affinity with
elemental energy, what advantage did he have over others?
 He had to have an advantage. He had faith. Even if it wasn’t
obvious or very useful, it had to exist.

The heavens would not be so unfair.

Other than affinity, what else was involved in the training

process?

Upon reading the senior’s words, his eyes brightened. Yes,

other than affinity, there was endurance.

Didn’t his lack of affinity mean that his body was not sensitive
enough towards the elemental energy? In that case, the metal
wind currents people shied away from could actually be
bearable.

That was when Ai Hui understood. Was this endurance not

the advantage he’d been searching for?

Insensitivity towards elemental energy indeed slowed his

training progress but theoretically, shouldn’t he be able to
handle a higher concentration of elemental energy? He was not
a helpless rookie any longer with his rich battle experience. Any
slight advantage could be put into good use.

There was another advantage, however, that Ai Hui

discovered very quickly.

Having a high endurance meant that he could undergo a more

intensive training.

And now here he stood to test his hypothesis.

Chapter 12: The Gifted and the Garbage
Teacher Dong was aware of Duanmu Huanghun’s arrogance
and felt the beginnings of a headache. He was a talented young
man no doubt. Elegantly dressed with a solid build, and his
handsome face carried a devilish charm—definitely the type
that girls swooned over.

Other than his haughty nature, this fellow had few

shortcomings. But of course, he had every right to be proud.

He was born into a prestigious sect that had a long-standing

history within the Avalon of Five Elements. In fact, an ancestor
of the Duanmu Clan contributed to the creation of the Avalon.
Not only that, but Duanmu Huanghun was outstandingly
talented. Of all the students, he was among the top five.

Teacher Xu felt his head throb. There was nothing wrong

with being proud—it was normal for youths to be hotheaded.
Plus, which youth was not? Perhaps he had been teaching in the
Induction Ground, he had seen many talents, causing him to
worry when he noticed Duanmu Huanghun’s hostility towards
students of a lower realm. However, as an experienced educator,
he kept a straight face and asked calmly, “How is it going? It’s
been awhile since school started. Any impressions?”
 “It’s okay.” Duanmu Huanghun responded with slight
aloofness. “Just that the academic program is too simple.”

Teacher Xu smiled. “That’s because you were homeschooled

and have talent. Of course you’ll find it easy. This is also why I
chose you as the class monitor, so I have high expectations for
your excellent leadership skills. I hope you won’t grow lax and
continue to work hard.”

Upon hearing his teacher’s confidence in him, he became

excited. Compliments were irresistible to youths his age.
Leader, what an admirable title, he thought. Just thinking
about it moved him. He puffed his chest out and replied loftily,
“Do not worry, Teacher Xu, I won’t let you down.”

“You can do it!” Teacher Xu sounded exceptionally certain.

“Then as a leader, how should you treat teammates who are not
as strong as you? Of course you must help them! It is the
responsibility of a leader after all. Let me assign you a mission.
Ai Hui is slightly weaker, and I need you to assist him. How does
that sound? Think you can do it?”

Duanmu Huanghun’s jaw dropped. He was stunned.

 “I knew from the start that you were born to be a leader!”
Teacher Xu continued happily without waiting for a response.
“I will leave Ai Hui in your hands! I don’t expect the impossible.
Hopefully, one year from now, he’ll be able to activate four
palaces.”

Duanmu Huanghun was left speechless. Activating four

palaces in one year? What a joke—this garbage had yet to open
his natal residence...

“What is a talent? A talent is someone who can achieve the

unachievable!” With a stern expression, Teacher Xu asked,
“Duanmu Huanghun, are you doubting the talent in you?”

“No—” Duanmu Huanghun blurted out.

But immediately after, his face darkened as if he had just

swallowed a fly. He felt terrible. Right from the start he disliked
that trash Ai Hui. Of the whole city, only six students were
required to attend the introductory course but one of them just
had to be from his class. As the class monitor, he couldn’t get
himself to like this burdensome garbage.

What right did this garbage have to be teammates with a

gifted student like himself?

And now the teacher actually expected him to be in charge of

this fellow. This lightning bolt seemed to strike him out of the
blue.

He was going insane. Just looking at this guy made his blood
boil. But now that he was supposed to help him, wouldn’t he
have to see this garbage every day? Duanmu Huanghun was
certain he’d go crazy by the end—no, maybe he already was!

Going into Teacher Xu’s office had been a giant mistake.

Something so ridiculous actually happened to him!

Duanmu Huanghun stumbled out of the office, still in shock.

After a few steps, he suddenly understood what he just

promised to do. He agreed to assist that garbage into activating
four palaces! If being in charge of this garbage was like stepping
into mud, activating four palaces in a year was like falling into a
poisonous swamp.

The elemental energy system had more or less reached

maturation from thousands of years of development and
improvement. Different family clans and schools had their own
unique practices, but the core methodology did not stray from
the system of the five residences and eight palaces.

The production of elemental energy first occurred in the five

residences, or the natal residences. Each produced different
elemental energies: fire from the heart, wood from the liver,
earth from the spleen, metal from the lungs, and water from the
kidneys.

The initial step to any training system was to activate the

natal residence. Only then could the first door that separated
the physical body from the external world be opened. The natal
residence acted as a catalyst in the absorption of elemental
energy which had a nature that differed greatly from spiritual
force. While the energy was stored within the body, its flow did
not follow the meridians.

After much fumbling, humans managed to find eight

elemental energy storages and named them palaces. When all
eight were filled, an Initial Completion was accomplished.

In the Induction Ground, filling four palaces was not a big

deal. Not to mention the seniors, even he had four palaces filled.
 But Ai Hui was a piece of garbage who had just completed his
introductory course. Loading four palaces? What a joke!

If not for Teacher Xu’s good reputation and public praise,

Duanmu Huanghun would have suspected him of pulling his
leg. Only a genius could progress from nothing to four palaces
within a year. Why then would such a genius require his help?

His face was as black as the underside of a pan. He almost

turned and charged into Teacher Xu’s office again.

But once he recalled the teacher’s words that “a talent is one

who can achieve the unachievable,” he abruptly stopped in
place.

That’s right, he was a gifted genius!

Duanmu Huanghun clenched his teeth. He roughly pulled

apart his beautifully embroidered shirt collar. Pfft, ‘defeat’ was
not a word in his dictionary. A genius like him could never give
up so easily.

Poor garbage, you better thank Heaven for blessing you with
such an opportunity.

Duanmu Huanghun raised his chin and readjusted his collar,

regaining his usual grace.

He strolled down the corridor and thought hard on how he

could reach the target Teacher Xu had set for him, not caring
about the adoring gazes from the girls lining the corridor.
Thanks to the knowledge and experience he had from being
homeschooled, he quickly came up with a few possible plans.

His eyes lit up and his handsome face was full of

concentration. Instead of his usual arrogance and viciousness,
another kind of aura fell upon him.

The smittened female students were so distracted by him that

they lost their footing and fell hard on the floor. Duanmu
snapped out of his thoughts and raised his head. As his
enchanting eyes fell upon them, they momentarily forgot their
pain—they were love-struck.

Duanmu Huanghun involuntarily laughed, his warm smile

mesmerizing.
 Thud, thud, thud!

A series of tumbling noises rang out in the hallway.

Ten minutes later, Duanmu Huanghun stood ashen-faced

beside the hot spring’s whirlpool. He scanned his surroundings
a few times, but saw no one at all. Despite searching the usual
training grounds frequented by students, he could not find Ai
Hui. He even asked a few classmates but no one had seen him.

Damn it!

Steam was coming out of his ears. Duanmu Huanghun had

never been so angry before.

It was humiliating enough for him to teach this garbage, but

d*mn, this piece of trash was lazy! Not only did he lack the skills
but he also wasn’t hard-working, unable to even attain the basic
training routines. How was this useless lump of mud going to
transform into a solid wall?

Yet no matter how angry he was, he still could not locate Ai

Hui’s whereabouts.
 He specially made a trip to the dormitory to ask around, only
to realize that Ai Hui did not stay there. No one knew where he
lived.

Godd*mn!
Chapter 13: Wind of the Suspending
Golden Pagoda
The world inside the door was entirely different.

After spitting out the blade of grass he had been chewing, Ai

Hui had just stepped into the Suspending Golden Pagoda before
he was battered and overwhelmed by intense gales.

All he could hear were the deafening roars of the wind—a

fierce sound that he had never heard before. Beneath him were
iron fences, and violent metal winds that spewed from the
depths swirled into a turbulent vortex that stormed throughout
the pagoda.

Yet before he could gain his footing, Ai Hui was sent flying
into the air by the wind. Like a lone leaf swaying in a storm, all
he could sense was the world spinning around him.

Bang!

Ai Hui grimaced with severe pain as his back forcefully

slammed into a wall. The metal wind was so severe that he
could not even open his eyes. Even worse, it felt like
innumerable small needles were pricking through his muscles
and piercing deep into his bones.

Ai Hui's face turned pale as the unspeakable pain instantly

spread all over his body. He had underestimated the pagoda.

However, thanks to Ai Hui's extensive experience in life-and-

death situations, the second he realized his mistake, his body
reacted instinctively. Under such a circumstance—which was
completely out of his control—the first thing he had to do was
protect himself.

He huddled himself up with his arms on his head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He was like a ball bouncing around the pagoda.

The penetrative metal wind continued to submerge him in a

flood of pricking pain. Ai Hui felt powerless—a familiar feeling
that seemed to bring him back to his initial days in the
Wilderness. As the seconds passed, the pain became increasingly
severe, to the point that it almost exceeded what he could bear;
he felt as if his bones were being rasped by millions of files.

When was the last time he was in such a fluster? He could not
really remember; even in the Wilderness, he had never been in
such a state for long.

Although he was aware that the Suspending Golden Pagoda

was for those who had opened their natal residences, he
assumed that he could persist because he was confident in his
own endurance.

The extremely concentrated metal energy in the wind

permeated into his flesh and blood without showing any signs of
diffusion, which indicated that this metal energy could not be
absorbed by his muscles.

Underestimating your rivals can put yourself in a terrible

state, just like Ai Hui's situation at the moment—it could not be
more disastrous.

The first step for elemental energy cultivation was to absorb

elemental energy into the muscles. One of the quickest methods
was to consume elemental soup because a dire beast’s meat was
rich in elemental energy. This was best for beginners to absorb
and was how Ai Hui had cultivated his own meager amount of
elemental energy.

This method was excellent but expensive. Evidently, a poor

wretch like Ai Hui could hardly afford it.

Another conventional cultivation method was to absorb

elemental energy from outside and was referred to as Elemental
Energy Input. In this approach, the type of elemental energy
could not be chosen casually, and most people would prefer a
mild type for easier absorption.

The needle-like elemental energy contained in the metal wind

of the pagoda, however, was not moderate at all. The prickling
pain indicated that it could not be easily absorbed and was
hence hurting his muscles.

Ai Hui tried to assimilate the energy into his own, but soon
realized that he was being too naive.

Although the metal elemental energy appeared to be as thin as

a strand of hair, it was much more concentrated than his own.
 It was only at this moment that he finally realized why the
Suspending Golden Pagoda was only for those who had opened
their natal residences.

Bang!

Striking into something violently, Ai Hui was suddenly jerked

back into reality, but he soon felt as if all his bones were broken.
Although that collision had been unpleasant, he could now
discern that the prickling sensation in his back had weakened.

Ai Hui suddenly realized something. Maybe...

Bang! Although he had struck himself on the wall yet again, Ai

Hui rejoiced excitedly.

He could still clearly perceive the pain in his muscles, but the
prickling sensation had been considerably reduced. Even
though he was amidst such chaos and was unarmed, Ai Hui was
calm enough to observe the slightest changes of his body.

Whenever his body was knocked into something, the metal

elemental energy scattered and was more easily absorbed than
the energy in the wind, hence decreasing the pain.

Nevertheless, Ai Hui's luck didn't last long before his

expression abruptly changed.

The scattered energy had not even been completely absorbed

before additional elemental energy permeated into his body,
intensifying the pain while causing him to feel as if he had a
severe case of dropsy.

Although in theory, those who had opened their natal

residences could choose to train at the Suspending Golden
Pagoda, Ai Hui did not know that there were actually very few
students who would decide to do so. This was because the metal
wind was too wild and the elemental energy—despite being
extremely concentrated—was incredibly difficult to absorb.

Worse still, there were endless amounts of energy in the

pagoda.

The moment he thought of this, Ai Hui realized the danger of

his situation. If he stayed for any longer, the growing pain will
dull his mind and consciousness, finally resulting in the
explosion of his body.
 He had to leave RIGHT NOW!

Ai Hui stretched his body as he carefully guided his own little

bit of elemental energy to his eyes. He could not possibly escape
such a perilous environment with the strong wind preventing
his eyes from opening.

Under his meticulous control, the elemental energy inside his

body was infused into his eyes for the first time.

Perhaps because his body was experiencing an indescribable

prickling pain, Ai Hui felt only a slight discomfort in his eyes
before immediately overcoming it.

As his vision returned , Ai Hui was able to view the interiors

of the pagoda for the first time.

Ai Hui swirled along with the wind like a dead leaf. Due to
long periods of erosion and metallization by the metal wind, the
surrounding cross-grained walls glimmered with a dark metallic
luster.

The inside of the pagoda was empty; everything, including the

staircases, was long gone.

To Ai Hui’s surprise, as the metal wind spiraled higher, its

strength did not weaken, but instead, grew stronger.

Yet he had no time to look up. Time was very tight, and he
had to escape before the energy surpassed his body's limit.

Ai Hui was intensely focused as he prepared himself by

carefully adjusting his position. With his entire body tingling
with pain, it was exceedingly strenuous to maintain a state of
concentration; but this was not a difficult problem to the
experienced Ai Hui.

Seeing the gate of the pagoda rapidly approaching, Ai Hui

twisted his waist and stretched his body like a spring, as he
slightly touched his toes to the ground.

Pow!

Forcefully pushing his toes, Ai Hui folded his body into a

strange angle—as if his waist was broken—and placed his hands
on the ground, resembling a large cat arching its back.
 Using both his hands and feet, he frantically scrambled out of
the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

The instant he exited, all of his strength dissipated, making

him feel pain so severe that he felt like he was dropped onto
thousands of needles.

Ahhh!

The anguished cry frightened away a mass of birds from the

nearby woods.

Ai Hui screamed for 20 minutes before he recovered from the

pain.

It was really unbearable!

Even with his face contorted in pain, tears in his eyes, and
non-existent strength, Ai Hui struggled and eventually managed
to get on his feet.

There was a significant surplus of metal element in his body—

even lying still could not stop the bone-stabbing pain.

Long-lasting pain is no better than short-term pain!

Remembering that the bumping had helped ease the pain, Ai

Hui quickly made up his mind.

He hastily rushed to the nearest tree. Pow! The tree snapped.

Next, he crashed into a large stone in front of him. Bang! The

stone shattered.

Ai Hui anxiously searched around. What else can he crash

against?

Ahhh!

The birds and beasts of the woods fled in panic. Behind them,
a miserable cry lingered along with the sand and dust in the air,
while countless trees fell down one after another as if there was
a horrible, mad ancient beast running amok.
Chapter 14: Harder than Iron, Stronger
than Steel
Lou Lan, who was sitting by the entrance of the Vanguard
Training Hall, was bored to death.

When he finally noticed the limping Ai Hui, who had a bloody

nose and a swollen face, he crooked his head and curiously
asked, "Ai Hui, what happened?"

The moment Ai Hui identified Lou Lan, Ai Hui’s dull eyes

suddenly brightened. Without any hesitation, he grabbed onto
Lou Lan and shoved the door open. "Do me a favor!"

Lou Lan stood up immediately and replied somewhat happily,

"Okay."

Hurriedly pulling Lou Lan into the training hall, Ai Hui chose
a spacious area before firmly standing still. With a serious
expression, he sincerely requested, "Beat me up!"

Lou Lan opened his eyes wide as he gawked at Ai Hui; he

thought he had heard wrong.
 "Come on, hit me! As hard as you can!" Ai Hui urged.

He had been crashing and knocking into everything on his

way back, but the amount of metal elemental energy that
remained in his body was still aplenty. However, he had
exhausted all his strength. Let alone knock into something, he
was unable to lift even a single finger at this point. Plus, he did
not dare to act recklessly in the city; he could not afford to pay
for any damages.

But when he saw Lou Lan, he had immediately thought of this

fantastic idea.

He could get the same results without even exerting any

strength.

Lou Lan tilted his head and looked at Ai Hui seriously, before
concernedly asking, "Ai Hui, have you gone crazy?"

"I have not. This is all part of training." Ai Hui racked his
brains and then briefly explained, "I have created a secret
training method."
 "Oh…" Lou Lan had apparently started to understand the
situation.

"Come on, come on!" Ai Hui vigorously encouraged him. "Use

more strength. The harder, the better. Do not worry about
hurting me. I have a high endurance!"

"But, I do not know how to fight," Lou Lan replied meekly.

Ai Hui felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. His

eyes were opened wide, as he stammered in disbelief, "Do... do
not know how to fight?"

Fi.. fight?

Ai Hui was almost convinced that he had misheard. Indeed,

the word ‘fight’ had become unfamiliar to him. To a seasoned
fighter who had undergone three years of hardship and severe
training in the Wilderness, ‘fight’ was too trivial a term. He
only registered the word after two seconds.

Wait, did not know how to fight? A sand puppet that did not
know how to fight?
 Ai Hui stared at Lou Lan expressionlessly.

All the sand puppets that he had come across were skilled
fighters. They were also heartless, sly, and good at disguising
and setting traps. They strictly followed orders and had all
kinds of deadly tricks up their sleeves that were impossible to
defend against.

Sand puppets were real killer machines; it could be said that

they were born to battle.

But this was the first time he had encountered a sand puppet
that did not know how to fight.

Ai Hui involuntarily blurted,"Then what do you know?"

Lou Lan counted on his fingers. "I can wash, cook, buy
groceries, clean the house and garden, make tea…"

Ai Hui was utterly flabbergasted; he felt that his perception of

the world had been hugely challenged. Was this… still a sand
puppet?
 When he finally regained his focus, Ai Hui demonstrated his
powerful adaptability. Having no other choice, he could only
reassure Lou Lan. "No problem, I will teach you!"

However, he did not sound confident.

Lou Lan, on the other hand, was thrilled. "I will work hard!"

Night soon arrived. The calabashes were lit as they released a

brilliant white light, which enveloped the hall in a glow as
bright as snow. Two entangled silhouettes could be seen. "The
way you just attacked isn't right. You're a sand puppet with no
joints. You should not blindly imitate. Lou Lan, you're a sand
puppet! You should be soft when you have to and hard when
you have to. Elemental energy is the key. Use it to strengthen
your attacks!"

"Harder than iron! Stronger than steel!"

"Pay attention to the angle! Yes, the angle of attack is very

important. Do not hold back!"

"Stop only when I ask you to. Yes, you are improving! Ooh,
that is fierce. Use more strength! Ahh…"

Time ticked by.

Lou Lan was excited because he believed that he was

progressing swiftly. He always felt happy whenever he was able
to learn something new. Although he believed that Ai Hui's
obsession was slightly strange, he was still glad to be able to
help.

Keeping Ai Hui's oft-repeated advice "Do not hold back!" in

mind, he struck hard.

Lou Lan beautifully launched fifteen consecutive strikes as he

compiled enough energy to release a final blow. A resounding
boom was produced by a punch that surpassed all his previous
hits. Like a human punching bag, Ai Hui formed a graceful arc
as he flew more than thirty feet away.

Superbly done!

Lou Lan was extremely satisfied with his recent attack; he had
executed it perfectly, without a single mistake.
 Ai Hui gasped for breath as he laid pitifully on the ground. His
gaze was unfocused, and he looked lifeless.

Lou Lan bent over, tilted his head and earnestly asked, "Ai
Hui, are we going to resume training?"

Ai Hui could no longer feel the sting because all of his muscles
and flesh were aching. The remaining metal elemental energy
should have dispersed. Let us end it here...

However, Ai Hui immediately realized something horrifying:

the muscles in his face had become numb from the previous
explosive attack, and now, he could not even open his mouth.
Not only that, his whole body was paralyzed.

Did he just teach Lou Lan how to launch a paralyzing attack?

Damn, why did he do that?

"Ai Hui?" Lou Lan crooked his head. "Are we going to

continue?"

Enough! It was enough! More than enough!

 Ai Hui moaned inwardly.

Lou Lan's face appeared to dawn with realization as he

suddenly recalled something. "I understand now! You
mentioned earlier that I should only stop when you say so. I got
it, let us resume! Lou Lan will continue to work hard!"

Lou Lan transformed one of his arms into a sand whip and
launched an attack at Ai Hui while repeatedly muttering,
"Harder than iron! Stronger than steel!"

No! Ai Hui’s moan turned into horror. No, no, no! Hey, hey,
hey! Enough! Stop training! Let us stop training…

Bang, bang, bang!

Amidst a barrage of violent, storm-like attacks, the helpless Ai

Hui felt himself crumbling inside.

Duanmu Huanghun looked gloomy. All his close friends were

intentionally avoiding him, as they knew that this fellow had
better not be provoked when in a bad mood. However, now, he
was not just in a bad mood; he was in an incredibly dreadful
mood!

They all knew that Duanmu Huanghun was an exceedingly

proud person, who had always exuded grace and elegance.
When had they ever seen him with such a black face? Moreover,
with his expression worsening each day, he now looked as if he
was ready to kill. Anyone with well-working eyes would shun
him as well.

Duanmu Huanghun was feeling extremely terrible. After

scanning the school compound yet again, his face darkened.

Damn it! That bastard!

He clenched his fist so hard it became white.

It had already been a few days! That damned garbage actually

dared to skip so many classes!

His pride was already hurt from the fact that he had to coach a
rookie. He desperately tried to console himself. Look at the
bigger picture! I will become a leader! I am a genius!
 Yet reality had actually dealt him such a brutal blow. He could
do nothing about it except swallow his anger and humiliation.

It was awful enough that he had failed to find Ai Hui after

making so many trips down to various training grounds. He had
already accepted the fact that Ai Hui was the lousiest student of
the entire Induction Ground and had long since planned to drag
him over and drill him, but...

This fellow did not even attend classes!

At this point, all Duanmu Huanghun wanted to do was curse.

He had seen lazy people, but never any to this extent!

If you don't even go to class, then why in the world did you
join?

It had not been easy for him to lower his pride and concede to
his teacher’s request. But what happened now? He could not
even find that fellow!

Duanmu Huanghun was crying inside. Why are you toying

with me? What wretched luck I have, for me to experience
something this ridiculous! For me to meet such a ridiculous
person!

Just the thought of this garbage damaging his reputation of a

great genius sent him into a blazing fury.

Just you wait!

Hate was swiftly growing in Duanmu Huanghun’s heart.

Chapter 15: Replenishing Elemental
Energy with Soup
Ai Hui bewilderedly opened his eyes, while his aching body
allowed him to take just one breath of the chilly air.

"You’re awake?"

Lou Lan pushed the door open and entered the room with a
steaming bowl of soup in his hands. Despite being quite a
distance away, Ai Hui could smell the alluring scent that wafted
towards him, unintentionally causing his stomach to let out an
embarrassing, loud growl. Making a conscious effort to swallow
his saliva, he weakly asked, "What time is it?"

"It’s eight in the morning," Lou Lan replied, as he carefully

handed the soup over to Ai Hui.

The moment he laid his eager hands on the bowl, Ai Hui

momentarily forgot about his aches and immediately wolfed
down the heavenly, delicious soup.

"What time did last night’s practice end?" he asked

indistinctly.
 Not long into last night's session, his consciousness had
started to fade, which rendered him unable to recollect
anything about what had subsequently happened.

"Five in the morning," stated Lou Lan.

Five…

Ai Hui's reaction was a bit sluggish, but then his expression

suddenly stiffened. He finally realized the reason why his entire
body was throbbing with aches and why even moving a single
finger had become a painful ordeal. His cheeks twitched in
disbelief, as he asked, "You were beating me up the whole time
till five in the morning?"

Ai Hui immediately felt uneasy when he thought of his

unconscious self being violently beaten up like a punching bag.
"I'm very sorry," Lou Lan sincerely apologized. "Although you
didn't ask me to stop, I had to end the practice at five to prepare
breakfast for Master Shao. But now I have already completed
this morning's tasks and can continue practicing with you. Shall
we begin?"

Feeling sorry for thrashing him 'only' until five in the

morning, though…

Ai Hui shook his head firmly and hurriedly cried out, "No
thanks!"

With last night’s tragic experience still vivid in his mind, Ai

Hui could not muster up the courage.

When Ai Hui noticed that Lou Lan seemed to be a bit down, he

coughed, and remarked, "This soup tastes pretty good."

Ai Hui had no idea what soup it was; he was only cognizant of

the fact that the soup was incredibly delicious and that it was
undoubtedly the best that he had ever consumed. Furthermore,
after drinking the soup, a pleasant feeling of heat had gently
washed over his body, flowing through every nook and cranny
of his being and leaving him feeling comfortably warm.

Lou Lan, having just been praised, perked up quite a bit. "Ai
Hui, your training places great strain on the body. To prevent
deficiencies that could further develop into internal injuries,
you must timely replenish and nourish your body," he quipped.
 "You are really amazing!" Ai Hui could not help but exclaim.
"No wonder I feel my body heating up, it's just like when I had
previously tried some elemental soup. Now, that was a perfect
dish, one that even had elemental energy!"

Lou Lan’s tone rose slightly. "This soup also replenishes

elemental energy."

"This soup? Elemental food?" Ai Hui was momentarily

stunned. Elemental food was incomparably more expensive
than average meals. The school provided such food as well, but
even though it could be considered cheaper than what was
available outside, it still carried a hefty price tag.

An ominous premonition rose up in Ai Hui’s chest. He slowly

began, "The ingredients for this soup..."

"They were found in your bag, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied

matter-of-factly. "Although they were just scraps, the
ingredients were of decent quality and were suitable for
brewing soup. While a standard recipe wasn’t followed, please
rest assured that at least seventy percent of the elemental
energy was utilized."
 Ai Hui felt as though he was forcefully hit by an iron rod.
"Just…just how much did you use?" he asked, stupefied.

"Don’t worry, I have used up everything. I can guarantee that

there was absolutely no wastage," Lou Lan wholeheartedly
pledged.

This was totally not the kind of guarantee he was looking

for…

Thump! With his heart filled with despair, Ai Hui stiffly

collapsed back onto the bed with a forlorn thud. The ingredients
that he had painfully accrued for over three whole years had
disappeared just like that! After three years of scrimping and
saving he had finally accumulated a few valuables. The mere
thought of his precious ingredients being used up after just a
night’s rest left him trembling with unbearable heartache.

If Ai Hui understood what utilizing seventy percent of the

elemental energy meant, then…

"Ai Hui, you should start cultivating now to properly absorb

the elemental energy," Lou Lan reminded.
 Ai Hui quivered in realization. His ingredients had already
been spent, so there was no point in feeling resentful anymore.
He gritted his teeth and crawled out of bed; no amount of sweat
or blood could deter him from making full use of this elemental
energy.

Ai Hui sat crossed-legged, and according to Teacher Dong's

method, he focused entirely on guiding the silver of elemental
energy along the path of the five residences and eight palaces.

Of the eight palaces, the four that were the easiest to open
were those present in the four limbs; the left hand palace, the
right hand palace, the left leg palace and the right leg palace.
The other four palaces—the sky, gate, sea and earth palaces—
were located from the space between the eyebrows down to the
tailbone, and were significantly harder to open.

However, regardless of whether the natal residences were

opened or whether the eight palaces were accessed, the flow of
elemental power always revolved around the five residences and
eight palaces. The only difference between the various schools
laid in the sequence of routes that the energy could take in the
body. Different paths would result in entirely distinct results,
giving rise to the myriad of available cultivation methods.
Additionally, the marvels and profound mysteries of each of the
eight gates presented many opportunities for deeper research
and exploration. Each school would pick out an area for further
study, and over time, the knowledge gained from the extended
periods of research would gradually accumulate and consolidate
into their esoteric, unshared secrets.

Ai Hui had chosen the safest and simplest route; it started

from the four palaces in his limbs and was followed by the space
between the brows. From there, he continued downwards,
using the elemental energy to thread between the sky and earth
palaces.

Once he started to guide the elemental energy, however, Ai

Hui felt different than usual.

Ai Hui had never perceived anything like it; his elemental

energy had been significantly strengthened after flowing
through only the left hand palace. Gentle yet lively, the
elemental energy lightly coursed through his body, causing him
to feel lithe, alive and full of vigor. The movement of elemental
energy was practically effortless, a far cry from the heavy
sluggishness that he usually experienced.

It was not long, however, before Ai Hui became agitated, as he

discovered that the elemental energy within his body was
gradually dissipating outward.
 His body’s affinity for elemental energy was still too low.

Preventing himself from becoming distracted again, Ai Hui

concentrated on the flow of elemental energy, and pressed on,
making use of every precious second.

Do not waste it!

Just thinking about how this elemental energy had stemmed

from his three years of cumulative efforts provided Ai Hui with
a burst of adrenaline. His entire attention was centered on the
elemental energy within his body, which was now surging with
speed akin to that of a crazy, sprinting wild horse.

On recognizing that Ai Hui was fully engrossed in his

cultivation, Lou Lan silently stepped out of the room.

As time crept by, Ai Hui, who had continued to meditate

cross-legged, started to emanate a slight, silvery glow. If one
moved closer, they would be able to see that this thin layer of
light consisted of numerous needles of converging light rays,
which were, in actuality, the manifestations of the dispersing
elemental energy.
 However, despite Ai Hui’s strenuous efforts, a large amount of
elemental energy had still dispersed into the surrounding
atmosphere.

As he cultivated, Ai Hui gradually began to comprehend some

insights; he soon realized that the silver elemental energy was
the type of energy that was most abundant in his body. This
silver elemental energy was, in fact, a form of the scattered
metal elemental energy. However, being finer and with a milder
attribute, it appeared to be somewhat like fireflies gently
floating within his body.

It existed in a free-floating state and was also the fastest

dispersing type of elemental energy.

The other type of elemental energy present was much more

stable and had a high affinity with his physical body, and every
time Ai Hui circulated his elemental energy, he would absorb
large amounts of it. More importantly, it could also bind and
incorporate large quantities of the free-floating metal elemental
energy into Ai Hui's original pool of elemental energy.

This kind of elemental energy probably existed uniquely in

the elemental energy replenishing soup.
 Ai Hui had finally understood why so many people risked
their lives and delved into the Wilderness to hunt for dire
beasts.

Even though the metal elemental energy had dispersed until

there was practically nothing left, Ai Hui did not cease his
practice, and he persistently channeled his elemental energy.
His body, as well, was unceasingly emitting a faint aura.
Chapter 16: Meeting of Rivals
The faint silver glow gently lingered around Ai Hui as smoke-
like spirals, gradually transforming into hazy, sword-shaped
forms that flitted about. Suddenly, everything vanished with a
flash.

Ai Hui was entirely immersed in his cultivation, completely

unaware of what had just occurred.

An hour later, he finally opened his eyes, which were filled

with an incomparable joy. He had never experienced such a
marked improvement in his past three years of arduous
practice. Ai Hui could barely contain his excitement; after all, he
had persevered for three years before now finally glimpsing the
light.

What else could make one happier?

Although he ultimately absorbed only five percent of the

metal elemental energy, the total elemental energy within his
body had been tripled; an unimaginable improvement for him.

Even though Ai Hui had a low absorption efficiency, it did not

particularly concern him, as this shortcoming could be
overcome with persistent practice and perseverance. To him,
any visible improvement—no matter how little—was an
achievement. He was most afraid of staying utterly stagnant
despite practicing for many years.

Ai Hui carefully reflected on his training. Lou Lan's soup had

fulfilled a crucial function; without it, Ai Hui would not have
been able to absorb such a relatively large amount of metal
elemental energy. Without its aid, however, Ai Hui did not
know how much energy he could have absorbed, but he sensed
that the result would have been drastically different.

Ai Hui shook his head and banished these distracting thoughts

to the back of his mind.

The wealthy had their own practice methods, but the less-
affluent had theirs too.

While the metal elemental energy that was infused into his
body was exceedingly harsh, it was, at the same time, much
more condensed and pure. Although Ai Hui could only absorb a
tiny fragment of the energy, it was countless of times purer than
what the average novice could achieve. Because he was aware of
this, Ai Hui did not stop cultivating the elemental energy, even
when most of it had already dispersed.

Most students pursued a higher cultivation level and hence

vigorously strived to strengthen their elemental energy. Ai Hui,
who had an abundance of combat experience, had encountered
all types of powerful individuals. He had come across many
elementalists who had similar cultivation levels but vastly
different fighting strengths. Ai Hui had long since
comprehended that the purer the elemental energy, the easier it
was to manipulate, thus allowing one to have greater efficacy in
their attacks.

Ai Hui had also understood that although the silver of

elemental energy in his body was weak, it was extremely pure,
and because it was also highly versatile in his hands, this
elemental energy had repeatedly saved his life. Several of his
tricks had even been praised by elder elementalists.

Powerful weapons are no match for those readily on hand!

When Ai Hui stepped out of the room and saw a pristine,

completely clean training hall, he was shocked.

Noticing Aui Hui's expression, Lou Lan explained, “I had some

spare time on my hands and so conveniently cleaned up the
place. If you aren’t happy, though, I will not do it again.”

“You did a way better job than me,” Ai Hui stammered with
embarrassment. The hall looked as if it was thoroughly washed
clean, and even the remote corners were totally free of dust. Ai
Hui had always claimed that he was a hall-cleaning specialist;
never did he imagine that there would be someone who was
several times better.

When he received the praise, Lou Lan was obviously elated,

and he cheerfully remarked, “I am a sand puppet, and we are
better at such things."

Who would remember a sand puppet?

Ai Hui wondered why this phrase had suddenly popped into

his mind. He glanced at Lou Lan, and then said out of the blue,
“Thank you for the elemental energy replenishing soup. It was
very useful.”

Ai Hui rarely praised people in the same way; in fact, towards

others, he was usually much more guarded and distant. In front
of Lou Lan, however, he was evidently much more relaxed. Was
it perhaps because Lou Lan was a sand puppet? It certainly
seemed to be the case.

When he heard that his soup was effective, Lou Lan felt even
more pleased. Suddenly, his eyes started to glow with a rather
demonic yellow light as he earnestly began to scrutinize Ai Hui.

Ai Hui felt his hair stand on end.

“The bruises and swelling require some time to recover, but

the muscle damage has largely healed,” Lou Lan unexpectedly
reported, as the glow in his eyes disappeared.

After listening to Lou Lan's report, the uneasiness that Ai Hui

was feeling had completely vanished. He also started to feel that
Lou Lan, with his unusual set of abilities, was becoming
stranger by the day. Lou Lan was proficient in preparing meals,
brewing soup, cleaning and even appeared to be well-versed in
medical treatment. Just what kind of combination was this?

“I am going off to practice,” said Ai Hui, as he prepared to

leave. He planned to make necessary preparations and purchase
a few things before heading back to the Suspending Golden
Pagoda.
 “I should head back to work too, then. Goodbye, Ai Hui,” Lou
Lan replied as he waved farewell. Immediately after, his body
transformed into a pile of sand, before seeping into the ground
and completely disappearing from the training hall.

Duanmu Huanghun occasionally scanned the crowd as he

marched alone on the streets. Ai Hui had not attended class for
the past several days, leaving Duanmu Huanghun with no
choice but to bring himself outside and try his luck in finding
him. He knew that trying to find someone like that was like
trying to find a needle in a haystack. However, if he was to tell
Teacher Xu that he wanted to give up, that would be very
embarrassing for him.

Just thinking about that scoundrel, Ai Hui, made him tremble

with anger.

His devilishly charming yet refined, good looks attracted the

attention of many who passed by.

However, a good number of beautiful women had tried to

approach him, only to be scared off by a furious, ice-cold gaze.
After finding a camphor tree by the road, he leaned his slender
body against it and started to leisurely eat a skewer of candied
fruits. The bright crimson of the candied fruits contrasted
sharply with his pale face, painting a dazzling, striking image.

The young ladies were afraid to approach Duanmu Huanghun,

so they flocked together nearby to gaze at him. Oh, how they
longed to be that skewer of candied fruits that he held in his
hands!

Duanmu Huanghun, however, continued to stand with an

elegant air of nonchalance. He had long been accustomed to
being stared at and could care less about others were watching
him.

“Duanmu Huanghun! Let’s see how you’re going to escape

now!”

A yell suddenly rang out from the opposite side of the street.
After a quick glance, Duanmu Huanghun promptly chose to
ignore the situation and continued to leisurely eat his candied
fruits.

A well-built, young man appeared not too far away from

Duanmu Huanghun. With gleaming eyes and a mocking glare,
he taunted, “Did you go into hiding after finding out that I,
Zhao Zhibao, want to challenge you? Are you terrified? You
disappoint me. I was under the impression that Duanmu
Huanghun was some type of genius, but it seems like he’s just a
coward!”

Duanmu Huanghun did not even bat an eyelid.The

enchanting sight of his long eyelashes, which gracefully stood
against the glowing backdrop of his pale complexion, was
enough to invoke jealousy from all the young women present.

The onlooking group of young ladies started to go wild with

excitement.

“Zhao Zhibao! How can you simply shoot your mouth off like
that? You’re not even qualified enough to challenge our
Huanghun!”

“Exactly! Do you think that any random Tom, Dick or Harry

can challenge our Huanghun?”

“Take a good look at yourself, with your long hair, boxy torso,
and equally boxy legs. Hehe! Are you trying to act like a wooden
trunk with a mop stuck on top?"
 Hearing the taunts and jeers of the young women, Zhao
Zhibao's face flushed crimson as he flew into a rage. He had
always considered himself to be a cut above the rest, and
hearing of Duanmu Huanghun’s talent did not instill even the
slightest amount of fear in him. Since he was a student that
ranked in the top five of his class, Zhao Zhibao was particularly
confident in his own extraordinary strength and had hence
openly issued a challenge to Duanmu Huanghun.

“So this is our talented Duanmu Huanghun, but his talent is in

hiding behind a bunch of girls! Ha!”

Duanmu Huanghun, however, still did not lift a single eyelid.

He then spat out the rosehip seeds that he was chewing, and
said flatly, “I’m not in a good mood today, so you’d better
scram.”

“Not in a good mood? Ha! Come on, beat me up!” Zhao Zhibao
teased.

Five minutes later.

Without even a minute ripple in his expression, Duanmu

Huanghun elegantly withdrew his leg. Zhao Zhibao's beaten
body could be seen lying pitifully on the ground; not even his
face was left untouched. Finishing his last rosehip seed,
Duanmu Huanghun tossed his bamboo stick aside before finally
walking away indifferently.

“Pop!”

Zhao Zibhao's gaze froze; he was too scared to move. The

bamboo pick had forcefully dug into the earth barely two
centimeters away from his nose.

The girls who were watching cheered and screamed while

they trailed behind Duanmu Huanghun like a swarm of bees

A lady inconspicuously stood at a nearby street corner,

wearing a light veil over her face. If one could look closely,
however, they would see a glint in her eyes. Shi Xueman had
unobtrusively come to Central Pine City to explicitly visit her
clan’s training hall, but little did she expect to witness such a
scene. She had long heard of Duanmu Huanghun’s renowned
name, but she had not anticipated that he would be here in
Central Pine City as well. Furthermore, he had displayed his
exceptional prowess.
 Could it have been him?

Shi Xueman quickly shook her head. Even though it was a

blind battle, that scoundrel’s fighting style was completely
different from Duanmu Huanghun’s; it was more violent and
ferocious, much like that of a wild beast.

She shortly turned around and left in the direction of her

clan’s training hall.

After twenty whole minutes, Zhao Zhibao finally recovered

some of his energy and started to effortfully struggle to get
himself off the ground.

However, when he lifted his head, he saw something that

stunned him.

Someone with a similarly battered face was walking towards

him.

When Ai Hui, who had just finished buying his things, saw
Zhao Zhibao in the middle of the street, he too was completely
taken aback.
 The two of them looked far too alike; they both had bloody
noses, swollen faces, and bruises covering every inch of their
bodies. Even their facial features were similarly disfigured, and
both of their clothes were tattered as well.

When Zhao Zhibao, who had just been beaten to a pulp, saw
Ai Hui as a reflection of his miserable state, he believed that the
situation itself had appeared to ridicule and humiliate him. He
felt a sudden rush of inexplicable anger, which propelled him
off the ground, and he viciously barked, “I am not in a good
mood today, you’d better scram!”

Ai Hui narrowed his bruised, swollen eyes.

Chapter 17: Conveniently
Ai Hui felt that he did not have a good disposition and in the
Wilderness, it was unnecessary. Instead, traits like strength,
aggression, and perseverance were required. Even in the most
desperate of times, one must be able to put everything on the
line in exchange for a chance to survive. Those with a delicate
disposition were the first to be eliminated.

Besides, who wouldn’t get riled up after being beaten up all

the way till five in the morning?

Ai Hui was like a volcano that was ready to explode, but he

could not find an outlet. Lou Lan wore his naivety like armor, so
his sincerity exposed no openings. Fatty was still the best since
Ai Hui could beat him up whenever he felt like it.

Here, someone had served up a sandbag just when Ai Hui felt

like beating someone up.

Squinting his swollen eyes, a cold murderous intent surged

through Ai Hui’s heavily bruised body. He promptly threw the
stuff that he had bought on the floor, clearly not caring if they
shattered.
 Zhao Zhibao saw the other person walk towards him and the
anger he felt rose to another level. He had no choice except to
endure his loss to Duanmu Huanghun, but he simply could not
accept having some random person from the streets challenging
him. How could he not be angry?

With an evil grin on his face, Zhao Zhibao lunged at Ai Hui

with his hands extended. His palms gave off dense, red flames.

The red-hot tongues of flame lashed out as the hollow of his

right palm flashed radiantly, raising the surrounding
temperature. Zhao Zhibao was extremely satisfied. Duanmu
Huanghun had knocked him down before he could even utilize
his elemental energy, then humiliated him by trampling him for
five whole minutes. Now, his thoroughly damaged self-
confidence soared with his flames, making Zhao Zhibao feel
mighty again.

His carelessness had led to his defeat at Duanmu Huanghun’s

hands. Yes, it must have been so. If he had circulated his
elemental energy earlier, the outcome of the battle might have
been different.

His opponent’s silhouette was distorted by the flames. It had

become tiny and insignificant, just like the countless other
opponents he had defeated in the past.

Blame it on your bad luck!

Zhao Zhibao let loose an explosive cry. With an expert step

forward, the streams of fire emanating from his right hand
appeared to be molded by an invisible force, with two flame
pillars spreading out like wings. The sharp overbearing cry of a
crow rang out from amid the flames, creating the awe-inspiring
image of a flaming crow spreading its wings.

Zhao Zhibao’s heart filled with ecstasy.

[Crow’s Wings of Ice and Fire] was a move employed by both

fire and water elementalists. Being a fire elementalist, Zhao
Zhibao naturally practiced the Fire Crow. The first skill he
learned upon opening his right hand palace was the Fire Crow.
The form manipulation involved was not difficult for him, but
manipulating its form was only the first stage of the skill. The
crow’s cry was the next level and the elemental energy’s
resonance with the skill signaled a sharp increase in its power.

Zhao Zhibao did not expect himself to make a breakthrough at

this moment. He felt it was a pity that such a magnificent skill
was wasted on such an unworthy opponent. Not using this skill
in the fight against Duanmu Huanghun left him filled with
regret.

Ai Hui was unconcerned.

[Crow’s Wings of Ice and Fire] was a commonly seen move and
was nothing to make a fuss about. It was certainly not easy for
him to achieve the crow’s cry at his age, but that was about it.

In the moment that Zhao Zhibao lunged forward, a glimmer

of light flickered in Ai Hui’s pupil.

Almost simultaneously, he brazenly dashed toward his

opponent.

Ai Hui’s actions gave Zhao Zhibao a slight shock. Rather than

hide, Ai Hui had unexpectedly rushed toward him. Was his
brain not functioning normally? Since his opponent had a death
wish, Zhao Zhibao was most certainly not going to go easy on
him.

As the distance between the two rapidly grew closer, Zhao

Zhibao became more and more excited. His eyes grew wide with
excitement as an evil grin emerged upon his face. Ready to
knock his opponent down with one blow, he prepared to raise
his right palm.

Just as his opponent was about to collide into Zhao Zhibao’s

palm technique, Ai Hui swerved his body, disrupting Zhao
Zhibao’s rhythm.

His opponent’s maneuver left Zhao Zhibao feeling

unspeakably annoyed. Any moment later, Zhao Zhibao could
have blindly accelerated his palm at his opponent. Any moment
earlier,he would have time to make the necessary adjustments.
This maneuver, however, was perfectly timed and completely
stopped him in his tracks. The resulting discomfort left him
reeling.

Both parties were extremely close, so Zhao Zhibao had no

time to alter his move. All he could do was twist his palm
toward its side, sweeping at Ai Hui in a chopping motion.

Wait a minute, where did he go?

Zhao Zhibao’s eyes suddenly grew wide, as if he had seen a

ghost. His opponent had completely disappeared right in front
of him.

Just what was happening?

Bang!

Zhao Zhibao felt an intense pain in his right ribs, which

slowly spread to the rest of his body in a flash. His body began to
stiffen. How was this possible…...

His mind was a blank, unsure if the intense pain or the sudden
shock had rendered him incapable of thought.

After swaying aside, Ai Hui had bent over like a limber cat
toward Zhao Zhibao’s right ribs. He did not even use elemental
energy for this blow. The nerves in this area were bundled
densely such that any strong strike was enough to momentarily
stun someone.

After having gotten the upper hand with just one move, Ai
Hui seized the opportunity, turned to his side, and infused
elemental energy into the soles of his feet. A silver light flashed
as Ai Hui quietly pressed his back onto Zhao Zhibao’s chest. Ai
Hui’s arched back was like a compressed spring. Upon release, a
powerful force exploded from his back, hitting Zhao Zhibao’s
chest like a wild rhinoceros.

With a loud thud, Zhao Zhibao was sent flying backward in an

arc.

Bang!

Zhao Zhibao landed heavily on the ground. Instantly, Ai Hui

appeared beside Zhao Zhibao, relentlessly pursuing him in a
demonic manner. Without any hesitation, Ai Hui pressed his
right knee into Zhao Zhibao’s back while his left hand gripped
onto his opponent’s head. His right hand conveniently grabbed
the bamboo skewer stuck in the ground, then viciously stabbed
Zhao Zhibao in the back of his neck.

Ai Hui could easily stab a wild beast in the throat with a blunt
chopstick, let alone with a bamboo skewer that had such a sharp
edge.

The whole process happened smoothly, as fast as lightning.

 At the instant that the bamboo skewer was just about to pierce
through Zhao Zhibao’s skin, Ai Hui had a sudden realization—
this was not the Wilderness! He forcefully stopped the bamboo
skewer. On Zhao Zhibao’s neck, a fresh red dot the size of a
needle prick emerged and a drop of crimson blood seeped out of
the wound.

Zhao Zhibao, who had been knocked silly, had no idea that he
had just narrowly missed death.

This was not the Wilderness!

Ai Hui reminded himself once more, as his gaze became

solemn and withdrawn. Ai Hui then conveniently threw the
bamboo skewer back to the ground.

“Ah!”

Zhao Zhibao let out a mournful cry that abruptly stopped.

Ai Hui withdrew his hand from Zhao Zhibao’s nape without

taking so much as a glance at the now-unconscious Zhao Zhibao.
Winning against such an opponent did not give him any thrill or
excitement. Without any concept of timing, Zhao Zhibao’s
attacks were utterly superficial. Moreover, this opponent
became distracted in the middle of the fight. Such a lackluster
performance left Ai Hui feeling unsatisfied.

As a result of his strong occupational habits, Ai Hui certainly

did not forget to rake in his rewards.

Zhao Zhibao was stripped bare of his possessions and even his
armor was not spared. Such thoroughness had long been
ingrained into Ai Hui’s basic instincts.

Earning twenty thousand yuan put Ai Hui in a good mood. His

opponent’s clothes and materials were of good quality, so Ai Hui
put them on without any hesitation.

Picking up his belongings, Ai Hui continued toward the city

gate.

Duanmu Huanghun had yet to give up. He picked out a high

ground near the city gate, waiting idly for his target to show up.
He plucked another skewer of candied fruits seemingly out of
nowhere and began leisurely eating it.
 Since he’s not in the city, could he be outside?

After giving Zhao Zhibao a good beating, Duanmu Huanghun

felt himself becoming more placid. This was the only way into
or out of the city.

A group of young ladies hovered nearby, their eyes gazed upon

Duanmu Huanghun passionately. They suddenly became
agitated.

“Look! Zhao Zhibao!”

“He looks so pitiful! His face and body are all out of shape!”

“He deserves it! How dare he challenge our Huanghun, this is

already letting him off easily…”

Duanmu Huanghun, who was standing on high ground, shot a

quick glance at Zhao Zhibao before looking away. He had no
interest in those he defeated. Duanmu Huanghun had not
looked Zhao Zhibao in the eye even once during the entire
encounter. He did not care what Zhao Zhibao looked like before
and cared even less now that the man was all battered.
 Ai Hui spotted Duanmu Huanghun before quickly retracting
his gaze. Eating candied fruits instead of attending lessons or
practicing, the whims of a spoiled brat were indeed strange.

He too heard the chatter coming from the group of ladies, but
he had no inkling of who Zhao Zhibao was.

Noting that it had nothing to do with him, Ai Hui disregarded

the commotion and walked toward the Suspending Golden
Pagoda.
Chapter 18: Fumbling
Defeating an amateur did not stir up Ai Hui’s emotions, but
the short battle did give him the opportunity to witness his own
improvement. The increased elemental energy had a direct
effect on his strength. The metal elemental energy absorbed
from the Suspending Golden Pagoda was much purer than that
of common sources. The elemental energy within his body was
still considerably weak, but a threefold increase in elemental
energy implied much greater room for development.

Ai Hui walked toward the Suspending Golden Pagoda,

stopping outside its front gate. With the previous experience
still fresh in his mind, he did not hastily enter the grounds this
time.

The howling gales within the pagoda were still as intimidating

as ever.

Ai Hui took out the rope he just bought, tying one end to a
rock the size of a wicker basket. He tied the other end to his
waist, lifted the rock, and threw it into the pagoda.

The rope suddenly stretched taut and a powerful pulling force

quickly followed. Ai Hui was well-prepared, but still he
stumbled.

The terrible metal winds within the pagoda violently tossed

the rock in every direction. The force that pulled on the rope
was beyond Ai Hui’s expectations. He struggled to keep his body
steady, but was still dragged toward the pagoda’s entrance.

Since was truly lucky to have made it out of the pagoda

previously, Ai Hui felt a lingering fear.

The rope suddenly relaxed, as the force pulling him forward

disappeared. Ai Hui was still exerting his power backward and
was unprepared for the sudden change. He reacted quickly,
gently tapping the floor with his palm as he fell before he soared
back up and landed squarely on his feet.

The rope had snapped. Ai Hui pulled the broken end over to
investigate and found that the rope had a large number of tiny
pinhole-like punctures through it.

Discovering that a rope made of grass was not good enough, Ai

Hui shook his head. The numerous tiny holes were caused by
fine silver strands of metal elemental energy piercing the rope.
The rock would probably not last much longer either. Within
moments, the slamming sounds coming from within the pagoda
came to a halt, and a crashing noise followed. The rock must
have been shattered into a pile of small stones.

The metal winds were truly ferocious!

No wonder this training ground was only recommended to

those who had opened their natal palaces.

Luckily, Ai Hui had a backup plan as he pulled out an iron

chain that was as thick as his wrist. Dragging this iron chain all
the way to the Suspending Golden Pagoda had worn him out. He
flung one end of the iron chain into the pagoda, waited a while,
then pulled it back out. The chains remained undamaged. The
metal fences in the pagoda that Ai Hui saw during last visit gave
him the idea that an iron chain might be able to withstand the
metal wind.

Ai Hui expended a large amount of effort and spent an entire

hour pushing a rock larger than himself to the pagoda. There
was no other choice since he had smashed up all the
surrounding rocks on his last visit.

He wrapped one end of the iron chain around the rock before
attaching the other to his waist.

After ensuring that the ends were firmly secured, Ai Hui took
a deep breath and jumped into the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Once inside, Ai Hui was immediately swept up by the violent

metal winds, spinning around like a top. A powerful force
unexpectedly pulled at his waist, nearly snapping him into two.
The iron chain wrapped around his waist was stretched so taut
that it was perfectly straight. Seeing that his method worked, Ai
Hui heaved a sigh of relief. He barely had time to rejoice before
his back slammed into the wall. He promptly covered his head
with his hands, curled into a ball, and allowed himself to bounce
around like a rubber ball.

This time around, Ai Hui stayed inside for a shorter duration.

Rather than wait until he had almost hit his limit, Ai Hui used
the iron chain to pull himself out once he started to feel bloated.

Having dragged himself out of the pagoda, Ai Hui heaved a

sigh of relief. The world inside the pagoda was completely
different from the world outside of it. Ai Hui had managed his
training well—his mind was clear and he still had some energy
left.
 He started to hit his own body.

After his previous training session, Ai Hui had pondered over

how he could absorb metal elemental energy. Ai Hui’s pursuit of
power was unquestionable, but he had no desire to be beaten up
every day from dusk to dawn. That was an experience he had no
wish to repeat.

He thus devised the method currently being employed.

In order to absorb metal elemental energy, the first step he

had to take was to scatter the fine silver threads of energy that
had been taken into his body. If a smaller amount of it was
taken in, then perhaps he could handle this step himself.

Hitting himself and getting hit by others were essentially the

same. The experience, however, was wholly different.

Ai Hui hit himself with maximum effort while simultaneously

observing any changes within his body. He closely monitored
his strength and technique, fumbling around to get a feel for the
most effective combination.
 He had a poor aptitude and was poor financially as well. All he
could do was put in more effort.

He gradually uncovered some tricks to this training, but soon

encountered another problem: he was unable to reach the metal
elemental energy within the muscles of his back. He deeply
contemplated his options before resting his gaze on the
Suspending Golden Pagoda.

This pagoda that had been exposed to the metal winds for so
many years should be quite sturdy. As such, the walls of the
Suspending Golden Pagoda certainly seemed like a highly
suitable piece of equipment for Ai Hui to ram his back into. Ai
Hui quickly realized that he was thinking too much. The walls
of the pagoda were as hard as metal, so dashing into them just
two or three times would probably shatter his bones.

A substantial portion of the metal elemental energy in his

back was not yet scattered. Ai Hui suddenly thought of his
recent fight with the “amateur swollen guy” where he had
executed the [Arching Fish Back] move.

This skill, [Arching Fish Back], reminded him most of the

blind battle. When he had locked his opponent down, the move
she attempted to use to counter him was the [Arching Fish
Back]. Ai Hui, who constantly performed work that required
copious amounts of strength, had the utmost confidence in his
brute power. His opponent had shocked him by wielding a
surprising amount of force and, almost breaking free of his
grappling technique.

He could sense that his opponent’s elemental energy wasn’t

particularly strong and that her physical strength wasn’t great
either. The fact that her Arching Fish Back was so powerful
made it clear that she had profound martial attainments.

Ai Hui had developed a strong interest in this move and

copied it. In the three years he had spent in the Wilderness, Ai
Hui learned many skills that were unorthodox and fragmented,
but were highly practical, just like the [Arching Fish Back].

However, he rarely had an opportunity to use this move.

Getting locked down by an opponent at his current level would
spell certain doom. He would not even have the chance to
execute the move.

A flash of inspiration gave him the idea to use the [Arching

Fish Back] to send “amateur swollen guy” flying earlier that day.
This experience helped him to find other uses for the technique.
He began to repeatedly use the [Arching Fish Back] against the
walls of the pagoda.

Not long after, he made another discovery. When he was

curled up training in the pagoda, the part of his body that took
in the most metal elemental energy was his back. Besides having
an astonishing amount of explosive power, the [Arching Fish
Back] had a jolting effect as well.

No wonder his arms had gone numb during the blind battle.

The effectiveness of his idea boosted his morale significantly.

Ai Hui became even more meticulous at his task.

Once all the metal elemental energy had been scattered, Ai

Hui sat in a lotus pose. He began to enter a meditative state,
absorbing the dispersed metal elemental energy.

An hour later, Ai Hui opened his eyes. He could feel an

increase in his elemental energy. Although his improvement
this time was much less than that of last night, that was to be
expected. The thought of that bowl of elemental energy
replenishing soup still made his heart ache. Last night’s
progress might have been remarkable, but the cost had been
huge.
 This method of training might be long and arduous, but it
didn’t matter to Ai Hui as long as he saw possible improvement.
For him who had struggled through dark and difficult times, but
refused to pass into oblivion, hardship was not an issue.
Chapter 19: Possessing The Arching Fish
Back
Looking at the profusely sweating Shi Xueman, the middle-
aged man was filled with regret. In hindsight, organizing the
blind battle was truly a bad idea. He had brought this upon Miss
Xueman.

Among the descendants from the current generation of the

Shi family, Miss Xueman was the most passionate. Despite her
seemingly cold exterior, she was actually a warm person and
was cherished by everyone. His eagerness in obtaining merit
had resulted in Miss Xueman’s tireless training, for which he
blamed himself greatly and felt terribly guilty. He had tried to
persuade her a couple of times, but to no avail. Once Miss
Xueman had made up her mind, there was no turning back.

This aspect of her personality was very much like her father’s.

The middle-aged man sighed deeply. He had worked together

with Xueman’s father before and had the utmost admiration for
him. The figure in the training hall drenched with sweat
reminded him of the past, and his mind wandered back to 20
years ago.
 Currently, Shi Xueman had finished her training and was
headed toward the middle-aged man. “Uncle Yong Zheng, you
don’t have to worry too much about me. I can practice on my
own,” she said while wiping her sweat.

The way she spoke was ice-cold, yet not completely distant.

Shi Xueman had only recently found out from her grandfather
that the person in charge of the training hall was her father’s
colleague. Although his lack of talent limited his
accomplishments, she still respectfully regarded him as an elder
on account of his good relationship with her father in the past.

“I’m worried that it’s too exhausting,” Uncle Yong Zheng

replied. “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself. Sigh, your
father used to be exactly the same. He couldn’t even sleep a
wink whenever he lost to someone. Like father like daughter
indeed.”

Shi Xueman quietly listened. From a young age, she had rarely
met her father. The impression she had of him was based on
what others told her.

“This list contains the name of all the newly enrolled students
in the Society of Excellence,” Yong Zheng said as he handed
over the namelist. “I will continue to monitor any new
members. Although repeating this so many times makes me
sound really long-winded, I still want to remind you that you
don’t have to be so harsh on yourself since that was just a
fluke.”

Shi Xueman took the list, calmly saying, “Uncle Yong Zheng,
that was not an accident. A loss is simply a loss, and there are no
excuses for it.”

Expecting such a reply, Yong Zheng smiled wryly..

Shi Xueman suddenly asked, “Uncle Yong Zheng, how do you

feel about organizing another blind battle?”

“Organize another blind battle?” Yong Zheng was

momentarily shocked, but quickly responded, “Is Young
Mistress thinking of luring him into a trap?”

“Indeed,” Shi Xueman said with a nod, “I have concluded that

there are only two possible reasons as to why that person would
participate in the blind battle. The first is that he is interested in
the battle itself. With his skill in fighting in the dark, it would
not be surprising for him to be enticed by such a unique
competition. The other possibility is that he is poor and simply
joined for the prize money.”

Yong Zheng muttered, “The first reason seems more probable.

Someone who is strong enough to defeat Young Mistress can’t
possibly be moved by a mere 50,000 yuan.”

“Xueman feels that way too. Can we spend some effort on

another blind battle? A revamped blind battle should attract our
target.” Shi Xueman continued, “Even though the second
possibility seems less likely, we cannot completely discount it.
The prize money must be raised.”

Yong Zheng’s eyes lit up as he said, “This is a great idea! Since

he is so skilled in battling in the dark, a novel form of the blind
battle is sure to entice him. As long as it is interesting enough,
he will definitely be attracted. The prize money can easily be
handled. We can raise it to 500,000 yuan.”

“Make it a million,” Shi Xueman stated resolutely. “I’ll be

heading back shortly, so matters regarding the blind battle will
need to be handled by you. I have a three-day rest period in two
weeks and will be back again to trouble Uncle Yong Zheng then.
 Yong Zheng sighed, “Leave it to me.”

As long as it was within his ability, he would carry out his

mission thoroughly. To be honest, he was also very curious
about this mysterious genius who could defeat Miss Xueman.

…..

The Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Ai Hui viciously smashed his back against the wall like a large,
ferocious fish. A barely perceptible jitter traveled across his
back at the same instant when he contacted the wall. An
abnormally resounding boom rang through the air.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. This time around, there was obvious
improvement in the power of his [Arching Fish Back]. It was
now full of explosive power, far exceeding all his previous
attempts.

Before he had time to rejoice, a peerless force rebounded from

the wall. His body was flung several meters away from the wall
like a rag doll.
 Thump!

He landed heavily in the mud. Luckily, he was experienced

enough to make adjustments in mid-air. Even though his
landing position seemed to cut a sorry figure, he was not even
scratched.

He casually plucked a blade of grass as he got up and started to

chew on it. A pensive glint in his eyes hinted that he was deep in
thought.

The power of that last [Arching Fish Back] had completely

exceeded his expectations. If his [Arching Fish Back] had been
this powerful in the previous fight, his opponent’s chest would
probably have been shattered.

The power of the [Arching Fish Back] was much greater than
he initially thought. More importantly, he still had the capacity
to improve.

Ai Hui spat out the grass chaff as his eyes flashed with
excitement.
 [Arching Fish Back] wasn’t some superior skill, nor was it part
of any system of skills. Not being part of a system meant that it
was possible to train this skill independently. Training the
power of this skill up a notch would certainly make it a killing
move.

In his initial plan, [Arching Fish Back] was only intended to be

used as part of his training, but he was pleasantly surprised
when he unexpectedly discovered its use as a potential killing
move.

He became even more engrossed in his training, repeating the

same old routine everyday. He would enter the pagoda to gather
metal elemental energy, exit the pagoda, and practice the
[Arching Fish Back] on its walls. He would then proceed by
sitting in a lotus pose, entering a meditative state, and
absorbing the elemental energy. Repeating the process
tirelessly, his elemental energy increased slowly but surely.

Possibly as a result of his increased elemental energy, his

body’s compatibility with the metal elemental energy had risen.
As his [Arching Fish Back] became more refined, the efficacy of
his trainings improved, but he soon discovered another issue.
The metal elemental energy in his back was efficiently scattered
with the [Arching Fish Back], but scattering the energy in other
parts of his body with his palm was much less effective.
 However, the technique used to generate power in the
[Arching Fish Back] could not be employed in other parts of the
body. The essence of the move lied in its use of one’s spinal
column and back muscles to mimic how a fish struggles to break
free when caught.

Realizing that his progress was hampered by this issue, Ai Hui

knew that he needed to go back and make some additional
preparations.

He had previously returned one time for some dry rations and
also asked Lou Lan for help with cleaning the training ground,
to which Lou Lan happily agreed.

Continuously training for seven days had left him looking like
a savage. His clothes were dilapidated but could not mask his
impressive demeanour. Beneath his unkempt hair and dirt-
crusted face were a pair of eyes as calm as water.
Chapter 20: A Sudden Turnaround
Activities of the Society of Excellence were not compulsory
but few students would choose to miss them. No one wanted to
miss the opportunity of receiving guidance from the seniors.
Unlike teachers from the Induction Ground, the seniors from
the Society were all seasoned front-line soldiers. They might not
be good at theory, but they had rich battle experience. Thus, the
skills and techniques they imparted were of high practical
value.

To the front-line soldiers who were dispatched to be in charge

of the Society, it was a lucrative and easy job: relaxing work,
double the allowance, good food, and no requirement to guard
against dire beast attacks during the cold, windy night. Instead,
they were able to drink hot tea in a warm room. How enjoyable!

Because the demand for this job was high, every city’s resident
staff members were rotated every year.

Li Wei and Zhou Xiaoxi had just been transferred into Central
Pine City and were newly in charge of the Society of Excellence.
Li Wei was from the army unit whereas Zhou Xiaoxi came from
the northern navy unit. Both units had friendly relations and
were without conflict, so the two of them quickly became
friends. After all, they were going to be working together for a
year.

“What a tranquil place.” Zhou Xiaoxi examined the

surroundings and sighed, “How time flies. Fifteen years gone in
the blink of an eye. I really want to go back in time. Being young
is still the best.”

Upon hearing that, Li Wei laughed. “And go after all the girls
you failed to chase in the past?”

Zhou Xiaoxi rolled his eyes. “Do I look superficial to you?”

Without waiting for a reply, Zhou Xiaoxi continued in a

deadpan tone, “Yes.”

Li Wei burst into laughter.

Zhou Xiaoxi asked suddenly, “If you were to return to life in

the Induction Ground, what is the first thing you would want to
do?”

“Sleep!” Li Wei responded without the slightest hesitation.

 “Sleep?” Zhou Xiaoxi was quite surprised.

“That is right!” Li Wei sounded certain. “I would tell myself,

Li Wei, you are going to be sleep-deprived for the next fifteen
years, so hurry and catch some sleep while you can or you will
not get a chance again!”

Zhou Xiaoxi laughed out loud. He asked somewhat curiously,

“You had more activities during the night?”

“Yes.” Li Wei looked helpless. “Come to think of it, I was

unlucky. Upon graduating from the Induction Ground, I moved
directly to the frontline. Immediately after, the dire beasts
became increasingly active everyday. The first two years were
not too bad, but they became rampant in recent years and
harassed us almost every night.”

Zhou Xiaoxi’s expression became grave. In recent years, the

frontlines of all regions had been in an increasingly tense state.
The dire beasts had become abnormally restless, causing
unease. As veterans who had been on the frontlines for a long
period of time, they understood this feeling.

Civilians felt no pressure. Tension from the frontline had no

effect on the leisurely lifestyle of those at the back who were
protected.

Li Wei sensed the heavy atmosphere and smiled. “What are

we worrying about? We are working under so many big shots.
Let us just enjoy and cherish this one year. We can create more
happy memories to make up for the past!”

“True, it is none of our business!” Zhou Xiaoxi had an evil grin

on his face. “I am going to drill these rookies! When I was in the
Induction Ground, the old men from the Society of Excellence
tormented me like *****. Now I am motivated to do the same.”

Recalling the hard times he endured in the past, Li Wei

nodded in agreement. “In this area, we should not lose to our
seniors! Look at this guy who just walked in, he looks sick. How
can this be the case? The future of the Avalon of Five Elements
is in his hands. How can such weak- shoulders carry that
important responsibility?”

“That is exactly what I was thinking!” Zhou Xiaoxi agreed

wholeheartedly. His smile became even more sinister. The way
he gazed at the frail-looking student was the same way a big bad
wolf looked at a fresh, tender, and snow-white rabbit.
 Duanmu Huanghun looked pale. He was not feeling well, his
vision was blurry, he felt dizzy, his limbs were going weak, and
he was sweating all over. He would not have attended if not for
the fact that this was the Society’s introductory gathering.

Standing guard by the city gate continuously for three days

and three nights, he had not paid attention to the cold weather
and had caught a cold.

That damned bastard!

Just thinking about that damned fellow sent him into a rage.
He coughed uncontrollably. Just you wait and see. One day you
will fall into my hands and I, Duamnu Huanghun, will not let
you off!

“Student Duanmu, are you ill? Is it serious?”

Duanmu Huanghun snapped out of his anger and raised his

pale face. He did not know who the man in front of him was,
but he had a badge pinned on his chest pocket that revealed his
identity. Duanmu Huanghun hurriedly replied, “Thank you for
your concern, senior. I caught a cold, and it’s nothing serious.”
 “I thought so.” Zhou Xiaoxi grinned, revealing his canines.
“You have been crowned the most gifted student of the year.
How could you get knocked down by a mere cold? Come, come,
come. Take a look at the training plan I have prepared for you!
A genius needs a genius training plan. Since you are feeling all
right, let us start now. If delayed, we would not be able to make
it in time for night training.”

Duanmu Huanghun looked at his senior in shock and thought

he had misheard.

Night training? Taking a student ill with a cold for night

training?

His pale, handsome, devilishly charming face was filled with

bewilderment. Under his tall, handsome, and straight nose,
mucus flowed down steadily from both nostrils.

As Duanmu Huanghun shivered in the cold with his mucus

trickling down, Ai Hui was in the Vanguard Training hall
soaking in a piping hot bathtub. He was extremely content, and
all of his fatigue disappeared.

How comfortable!
 Training halls were prepared for practitioners. Most came
with special bathing spots to help practitioners recharge. In the
past, at the swordsman school, he had made a bathtub for
himself using an iron-plated bucket. During his three years in
the Wilderness, taking a cold shower had been a luxury, let
alone a warm bath.

He would depart once again when day broke.

Having a day of rest allowed his tensed muscles to loosen up.

Lou Lan had advised him to consume a bowl of elemental soup
as it would help to repair his muscle and bone injuries. The
puppet also offered to brew it for him. Ai Hui asked about its
cost. At least 40,000 yuan was the reply.

Ai Hui, who was in great pain, decided to save this offer for
when he returned next week.

How expensive!

Yesterday, he went to a blacksmith to custom-order some

things, and they had cost quite a bit. The iron chain he
purchased previously was also quite expensive. If not for the
twenty thousand yuan that he took from the amateur, beaten-
up man, Ai Hui would not even be able to pool together forty
thousand yuan.

The sky slowly brightened. As Ai Hui stepped out of his bath,

he was energized and felt a boundless strength in his body.

After cleaning the training hall, he packed some water and

dried rations before shutting the door and setting off to the
smithy to collect his custom-made items.

Duanmu Huanghun held onto his clothes tightly as he

shivered. His body was shaking and his legs were weak as he
shambled into the city. What a terrifying night. He did not
know how he had managed to survive. His illness had worsened
after a night of battling with the winds and he was freezing,
starving, and exhausted.

His eyes were vacant, he was breathing very weakly, and he

resembled a zombie.

His last rational thought was to seek a doctor immediately.

His dull gaze fell upon a smithy, and he happened to see a

certain someone lift up the bamboo blinds before entering the
shop.

Previously, he had scoured every corner for this person, but to

no avail. Now, when he was not even searching, that guy
suddenly appeared in a smithy!

His gaze was fixed, and all the rage that had been building up
burst into flames. Forget the cold and the doctor… these
thoughts were thrown to the back of his mind!

I have finally found you, you bastard!

He did not know from where, but a wave of energy came over
him, and he charged towards the shop with large strides.

Upon reaching the entrance, he caught sight of Ai Hui’s back

from behind the blinds. Duanmu Huanghun only had one
thought in mind: Let us see if you can escape!

With an indescribable rage, he reached his hand out abruptly

and grabbed onto Ai Hui’s shoulder!
Chapter 21: Target: the Heart!
“Boss, are the items ready?”

“They are done. They do not look very good due to the lack of
time, but do not worry, they are of good quality and there will
not be any problems. Take a look.”

Ai Hui conveniently picked up an item, carefully examined it,

and was satisfied.. Although it did not look very refined, the
blacksmith had pretty good skills, and the workmanship was
very solid. As long as the items were sturdy and reliable, they
were good enough for Ai Hui. He never bothered with
aesthetics.

He packed his items and prepared to leave.

Sensing a presence nearby, he was immediately on guard.

Upon noticing the weakness of the foot steps, Ai Hui relaxed.
This was not the Wilderness, he reminded himself.

Suddenly, he felt something on his shoulder. A hand! His hair

stood on end and he forgot his own reminder as his body reacted
instinctively.
 He did not dodge. Instead, he arched his back and closed in on
the chest of this unknown threat. Exerting forcefully from his
legs, Ai Hui’s body became like a cannonball as it powerfully
shot backward.

Ai Hui was in a highly agitated state, so when he felt someone

touching him, he launched the [Arching Fish Back], a technique
he had been practicing for a whole week. He did it brazenly and
without any hesitation.

Like a ferocious fish that leaped out of the water with a

powerful jerk of its arching back, his technique was executed at
full power.

Like a deluge breaking through a dam, the violent, surging

force was abruptly unleashed.

Boom!

It was on point.

Immediately, Ai Hui knew his [Arching Fish Back] was

completely on target. He felt his opponent fly back without any
attempt to resist. It was like… like he had struck a feather-light
sandbag.

He felt a little weird that the opponent made no sound.

Enemies that received such a counterattack or hit would usually
scream miserably, like in the bamboo stick incident.

Boom

A heavy object fell onto the ground.

Not even withstanding a single blow? Ai Hui was puzzled, but

he suddenly realized what he had done. An ominous feeling rose
in his heart as he turned around and saw a motionless fellow
lying down on his stomach.

Ai Hui was shocked and annoyed with himself. Did he not just
remind himself that this was not the Wilderness? Why did he
attack without thinking?

Lying on the ground after a single [Arching Fish Back]? How

weak was this fellow?!
 Ai Hui ran over while mumbling, “Hey, hey, hey, are you
okay?”

Turning this fellow over, Ai Hui saw his face clearly and was
startled. Eh, was this not that fellow, Duan… Bangwan
something? Ai Hui remembered thinking it was a strange name
and did not understand why anyone would use it. Or did he
recall wrongly? How was it possible for the evening to be
carried with both hands? Or was it actually Duanwan instead?

“Bangwan, Bangwan, are you okay?”

Ai Hui had knocked him unconscious.

Ai Hui felt slight remorse. He had been too aggressive.

Although this fellow was unreasonable, full of arrogance, and
was unfriendly toward him, Ai Hui believed he would not go so
far as to attack him. Again, he thought about how he had just
knocked out his fellow classmate...

Too aggressive… too aggressive…

While reflecting upon himself, Ai Hui picked Duanwan up and

slung him over his shoulder. He then collected his items before
rushing back to the training hall.

The moment he reached the training hall, he started to yell

for his neighbor, “Lou Lan! Lou Lan!”

Soon after, a lump of sand seeped out from within the ground
and metamorphosed into a humanoid form. Lou Lan was quite
curious. “Ai Hui, what happened?”

“I injured a classmate by accident.” Without concealing, Ai

Hui told the truth and felt his face burning. In the Wilderness,
someone who mistakenly injured a fellow teammate would be
marginalized. Ai Hui had not expected to make such a ridiculous
error.

Eh, hold on. That fellow was not his teammate.

Ai Hui’s guilt was erased immediately.

In a rush, Ai Hui asked, “Lou Lan, you know medicine right?

Help me take a look at him.”
 “No problem,” Lou Lan readily agreed. A brilliant yellow ray
of light shone from his eyes onto the unconscious Duanmu
Huanghun.

This was the second time Ai Hui had seen Lou Lou’s eyes light
up. Unlike the previous time, he was just a bystander this time
and did not feel uncomfortable, but he still found it
unbelievable. Most of the medical practitioners whom he had
met were wood elementalists. Possessing a good understanding
of life and nourishment, they were naturals when it came to
helping the dying and healing the injured.

It was extremely rare to find a sand puppet who knew

medicine.

Sand puppets could barely tap into wood elemental energy,

but this very energy still had healing abilities. Ai Hui realized
his ignorance.

“An external blow caused him to lose consciousness. He has a

cold so his body is in a weakened state. This does not look
good,” Lou Lan concluded quickly.

Ai Hui felt even more guilty. Although they were not

teammates, he really should not have knocked this fellow down,
especially when he was ill.

Ai Hui immediately asked, “What should we do now?”

“The easier method would be to recuperate,” Lou Lan

responded. “His body’s condition is not bad to begin with. A few
days of rest would do the trick.”

“That’s good.” Ai Hui breathed a sigh of relief but quickly

asked, “How many days? Is there a quicker solution?”

Ai Hui was sensitive to time. Upon hearing “a few days,” he

creased his brows involuntarily. A few days of time… That was
going to hold up several trainings. Lou Lan nodded. “But it
would be more troublesome.”

Ai Hui hastily replied, “That’s not a problem, go on.”

“He already opened up the four palaces of his limbs and

should not fall sick easily. Perhaps he had been suffering from
pent-up frustrations. The rage within his heart inhibited the
four palaces, allowing diseases to invade and caused a cold.
However, he has a higher than average immune system. He will
naturally recover when the palaces are reactivated and his
suppressed anger is cleared.”

Ai Hui was surprised by Lou Lan’s composure and confident

tone. After recovering from his daze, he inquired, “How do we
do that?”

“Pat on his skin with elemental energy, starting from his

limbs’ palaces. Move up to his heart, and clear the anger within
it.”

“Okay,” Ai Hui said plainly. Without any delay, he peeled off

Duanmu Huanghun’s clothes in a professional manner. Saving a
life was like putting out a fire. On the battlefield, there simply
was no time to overthink.

Scanning across this fellow’s pale body, Ai Hui clicked his

tongue and made a comment about how this skin resembled
that of a freshly slaughtered, shaved, and boiled pig.

Pat, pat, pat!

 Ai Hui started slapping lightly and continuously with both
hands. Fortunately, his elemental energy had improved or else
he would not have been able to carry on.

He thought about how he was saving a sum from the medical

fee and immediately felt less tired.

I’ll hit! I’ll hit! I’ll hit, hit, hit!

Last one!

Target: the heart!

Ai Hui slapped at Duanmu Huanghun’s heart area with great

precision using the energy he had left in his palms.

Hah, mission accomplished!

Although Ai Hui had greater stamina than most, he was

gasping and breathless at this point. He used both arms to
support his body as he panted heavily.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s body jolted, then he slowly opened his
eyes.

Their eyes met, and the air around them froze.

Chapter 22: Duanmu Huanghun’s Roar
At that moment when Duanmu Huanghun opened his eyes,
one would not know how to describe what he was thinking. In
reality, his mind was blank.

His entire body was shivering due to the cold while a guy was
pressing against his chest with both arms and panting heavily.
He could not see the guy’s face clearly. As his head buzzed, his
mind blanked out as if he was heavily punched in the side of the
head.

Ai Hui noticed that Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes were open,

however, his pupils… seemed to be disorganized?

Although he had seen a lot of grisly scenes in his life, Ai Hui

panicked for a moment. When he first entered the Wilderness,
there was a total of two thousand laborers. In the end, only two
survived. The rest were forever buried in the muddy ground of
the Wilderness. Ai Hui witnessed how they fell into pools of
their own blood firsthand. He saw how their eye pupils dilated
until life disappeared from them.

“Lou Lan, what’s wrong with him?”

 “Hey buddy, wake up! Are you okay? Don’t fall asleep!” Ai Hui
asked while slapping Duanmu Huanghun’s face.

Lou Lan was somewhat puzzled at the scene before him. He

then commented naively, “He’s okay.”

Smack smack smack!

Ai Hui slapped Duanmu Huanghun’s face with force.

Duanmu Huanghun’s unfocused eyes gradually regained

clarity. His vision slowly recovered and the glazed look on his
face disappeared. When he clearly saw the face of the person
before him, his face turned blank.

Wasn’t this guy that wretched bastard?

Wasn’t this person the useless guy who skipped lessons,

refused to train, held the entire class back, and had poor
aptitude?

Wasn’t he the main culprit who caused him to fall ill, wasted
his time, and tarnished his reputation as a genius?

Fury gushed through his head and hatred filled his mind.
Duanmu Huanghun sat up abruptly, wanting to rip this hateful
fellow into a thousand pieces. Suddenly, his body froze.

Trembling...

His entire body was trembling in the cold.

His facial expression froze and his body froze. After a while,
he lowered his head in shock.

He was only wearing his underpants. His thighs and arms

were covered with bright red palmprints, contrasting greatly
with the rest of his pale white body.

Ohh... No!

Fear appeared instantly in his widened eyes. What had this

bastard done to him?
 Once again, Duanmu Huanghun’s mind was blank. He
subconsciously grabbed the clothes beside him and scuttled out
of the training hall.

Ai Hui and Lou Lan looked confusedly at the door.

“It seems that he has recovered. Lou Lan, you’re really

awesome.” Ai Hui’s voice was filled with joy. He could finally go
back to training.

“Even though there was a short period of time when Lou Lan
did not understand what was wrong with him, Lou Lan can see
that he has recovered now.” Upon hearing Ai Hui’s compliment,
Lou Lan was beaming with joy as well.

“Thank you, Lou Lan. I shall go to train now.”

“Goodbye, Ai Hui.”

Duanmu Huanghun walked on the street as a rustling, cold

breeze blew against his chest. He was completely filled with
despair. He did not dare to recall the scene just now or what had
happened after he was knocked out.
 To him, this was the darkest moment in his life.

After a while, Duanmu Huanghun gradually calmed down

from the horror. Suddenly, he realized that he had recovered
fully from his cold. He was a unique individual that could not be
matched by ordinary people. After all, he came from an
aristocratic family and had an outstanding aptitude that was
meticulously nurtured by his family.

After he regained his composure, he thought of the reddish

palmprints on his limbs and roughly understood how he
recovered from his illness.

Duanmu Huanghun was somewhat surprised. How could

trash like Ai Hui know such a method? Even an experienced and
knowledgeable individual like himself needed to think for a long
time before coming up with such an idea. Ai Hui used such an
unorthodox method to cure his flu in the time that it would take
for others just to think of this approach.

One must note that having a lot of knowledge was one thing,
but putting that knowledge to practical use was quite another.

Perhaps this fellow was not as inferior as he thought?

 A metal elementalist that specialized in healing?

Even though this seemed weird, this type of metal

elementalist had appeared before in the history of the Avalon of
Five Elements. Perhaps he did underestimate Ai Hui. After all, it
was impossible to enter the Induction Ground with that fellow’s
inferior aptitude. He might have some other special talents, so
the Induction Ground could have made him an exception.

After calming down and determining how his opponent cured

his cold, Duanmu Huanghun did not really care about what had
just happened. However, when he thought of being knocked by
such a weak individual, his face darkened.

Even though he could come up with excuses, such as he was

sick, he was exhausted, or his opponent’s attack was too sudden,
he still could not accept the fact that he was knocked out by a
garbage classmate.

It was too humiliating!

Especially once he thought of the teacher’s request, his face

reddened. The teacher wanted him to guide the trash to success,
yet he was knocked out by such trash.
 Yes, he could come up with many reasons.

He was far too careless and underestimated his opponent. He

let anger get the better of him. His body was so weak that he
caught a cold just by standing in the wind. His stamina was so
low that a night of training left him completely drained...

However, there was not a single reason that Duanmu

Huanghun could accept.

He was a genius!

Geniuses do things that others can’t do! How could he

compare himself to the ordinary people? That was slacking.
That was failure.

Duanmu Huanghun, you are indeed an embarrassment!

Duanmu Huanghun cursed himself in his heart.

Suddenly, he noticed people on the street were pointing

fingers and mocking him. Most of them were girls. As he walked
past these girls, they covered their mouths and whispered about
him.

No, it’s not right!

No matter where he went, Duanmu Huanghun had never had

such an experience in his life before.

Could it be that there was dirt on his face?

As he walked past a weapon shop, he stopped in his tracks. He

picked up a shiny, polished sword, used its blade as a mirror.

He was dumbfounded.

Who was this guy whose face was swollen like a pig head?

A thought flashed across his mind. A blurry image intruded

into his mind without any warning. A blurry figure seemed to
be yelling something at him while slapping his face forcefully
with both his hands in quick succession. The figure appeared to
be continuously slapping him.
 Smack smack smack....

Loud and crisp smacking sounds. His face was like a bun that
was being steamed. It inflated slowly and then..

The face in his mind merged together with the image

displayed on the reflection of the blade.

Duanmu Huanghun’s lips quivered while his hand that

gripped the sword trembled. Like a volcanic eruption, he
clenched his teeth, let out a roar, and almost tore down the roof
of the weapon shop.

“Ai Hui, I will rip you into pieces!”

Chapter 23: The Backless Armor
As Duanmu Huanghun’s roar faded into the wind, Ai Hui
never even heard a whisper. If he remembered anything from
that incident, it was most likely the part where he recalled the
time he spent in the Wilderness.

Outside the Suspending Golden Pagoda, custom-made pieces

of armor were scattered all over the ground. Ai Hui picked them
up and equipped them piece by piece. This was his custom-made
“armor.” Although everything was made out of steel, the
appearance was simple and unrefined without any etched
designs due to the lack of time spent on the construction. The
helmet looked like an inverted bucket, simply having two slits
that served as eyeholes. The front torso was protected by a piece
of steel plate while the rest of the body parts were crudely made.
Unexpectedly, the joints were rather flexible, displaying the
skillfulness of the blacksmith who forged it.

The most peculiar part of the “armor” was its back. The entire
dorsal section of this suit of armor was uncovered. This Backless
Armor was specially prepared by Ai Hui for his training in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda.

After wearing the full set of armor, Ai Hui moved around to

test his mobility. It felt pretty good. Since Ai Hui had repeatedly
stressed to the blacksmith to make it firm and solid, the armor
was exceptionally sturdy and weighed around a hundred
kilograms. Even though Ai Hui was used to hauling heavy loads
in the Wilderness, he was still exhausted from carrying the
armor to the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Luckily, Ai Hui’s body was used to long-term, arduous jobs,

and his physique was rather strong. However, after donning the
armor, he could still feel that his movements were somewhat
restricted.

After fastening his armor, the neatly-dressed Ai Hui entered

the Suspending Golden Pagoda once more.

Clang clang clang!

The collision between Ai Hui’s armor and the walls of the

pagoda was much more spectacular than before. Every crash
sent sparks flying everywhere and the impacts were several
times louder than before, creating ringing echoes in Ai Hui’s
brain.

After a while, Ai Hui acclimated to the deafening clashing

sounds and started to experience the benefits of wearing the
Backless Armor.

The metal elemental energy within the metal wind was unable
to penetrate Ai Hui’s armor, allowing all of the needle-piercing
pain to converge on his back. Ai Hui rallied himself. He had
spent a lot of time on the Backless Armor, and he derived this
idea from the iron chain. Since the metal wind could not
destroy the chain, it implied that the metal wind would not be
able to destroy the steel armor either.

This improved training method proved that his conjecture

was correct, and nothing motivated Ai Hui more than this
discovery.

When Ai Hui felt the pain in his back had reached his limit, he
grabbed the iron chain and pulled himself out. After exiting, Ai
Hui was too lazy to take off the armor and went straight to his
usual practice of executing the [Arching Fish Back] on the
external wall.

Clang!

From the first collision, Ai Hui could feel the difference. His
back felt as if it was going to fracture, requiring him to rest for a
good five minutes before his strength recovered. A bitter smile
appeared on his face. The dissipating effect of the metal
elemental energy was superb and a lot better than its power.
However, with the addition of the armor, the [Arching Fish
Back]’s overall strength increased dramatically and caused some
light bruises to appear on back muscles.

The [Arching Fish Back]’s strength might be great, but this

improvement in strength was due to the armor. Looking at it
from an overall perspective, the power of the technique itself
had actually decreased dramatically, Due to the weight of the
armor, even though the power released might be strong and
ferocious, but it was somewhat scattered instead of focused.

Upon feeling that he had recovered his strength, Ai Hui

contemplated for a while before he began to practise the
[Arching Fish Back] again.

Clang!

This time around, Ai Hui shot forward and smashed onto the
ground with a boom, filling the air with dirt and dust.

As the cloud of debris dispersed, Ai Hui struggled to stand up.

Spitting out the dirt in his mouth, he strode towards the
Suspending Golden Pagoda with raging determination in his
heart.

Clang clang clang!

A tin-can man collided tirelessly against the iron pagoda.

The nightfall arrived as stars rose over the dome of the night
sky. It seemed like the night breeze had scattered resplendent
stars all over the heavens. Shortly after, the horizon was
splashed with cyan skies while the clouds were dyed orange.
The first glimmer of the rising sun shined upon the sleeping tin
man propped against the wall of the pagoda. Glittering
dewdrops coalesced on his metal armor.

Soon, the scorching sun hung high above in the sky, causing
the perspiration within the tin man to boil and steam.

Day by day, time gradually passed.

Intense, continuous, and monotonous training posed a great

challenge to the psyche.
 When his exhaustion hit the limit, Ai Hui plopped down on
his butt to sit. He was too lazy to take off the armor, so he only
took off his helmet. It was taxing to wear this suit for a long
period. Ever since he first put on the Backless Armor, even
when he was sleeping or having his meals, he had not taken it
off.. His facial expression was slightly distracted, which had
always been the case whenever he trained up to his limit.

After sitting for around twenty minutes, some vitality finally

returned to his absentminded face as he began to return to his
senses. Upon regaining his awareness, Ai Hui immediately felt a
powerful stab of hunger in his stomach. He quickly took out a
flatbread from his bag. Ai Hui did not mind the dryness and
hardness of bread, finishing it in an instant.

He reached into the bag once more, but failed to grab

anything this time around.

No more?

He was momentarily stunned. After recovering, he flipped the

bag over and searched through it thoroughly, but the bag was
empty.
 How long had it been? He could not remember, but he knew it
was time to go back. As he prepared to leave, he paused for a
moment before removing the armor from his body and hid it
nearby. Since this thing was not worth much, no one would
covet it. After he replenished his rations, he would be back
shortly. Without the armor, he could afford to bring more
rations.

After removing the armor, Ai Hui felt as nimble as a swallow.

It was as if he stepped into a sea of cotton—moving felt light and
airy.

The spirited Ai Hui surged forward and was shocked by his

speed. Immediately, his eyes lit up. It turned out that wearing
the Backless Armor nonstop while training produced such a
benefit.

Without a word, he broke into a run and ran in the direction

of Central Pine City.

Li Wei had a short stature, and he wore a very plain green

garment. Unlike Zhou Xiaoxi, who had a robust build, Li Wei
appeared scholarly and looked like the teachers in school. He
strolled through the street in high spirits. Very few people knew
that he studied in Central Pine City 15 years ago. Nonetheless,
when he was free, he would come back to visit his old haunts.

Upon seeing the familiar yet modified landscape, he

reminisced about the good old times. Numerous vague
memories flashed through his mind.

The surrounding scenery changed as he strolled idly through

the street. He knew for a fact that he had been to this place
before, but he was currently unsure of his exact location. After
all, he had not been to this place in fifteen years.

He did not realize where he was until a towering pagoda

appeared in his line of sight.

It was the Suspending Golden Pagoda!

Immediately, Li Wei became excited, and his walking pace

increased subconsciously. The Suspending Golden Pagoda was a
place where he frequently trained in the past. He remembered
he even wrote a book just to depict his experience in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda.

The number of people here was still so scant!

 He could not help but heave a rueful sigh. It was just like
fifteen years ago.

The Suspending Golden Pagoda had never been a popular

training site. In the past, he chose the Suspending Golden
Pagoda as his main training ground because it was much quieter
than the other places.

After fifteen years, the Suspending Golden Pagoda remained

the same without many changes. He knew as long as the metal
wind continued to blow in the tower, the Suspending Golden
Pagoda would not collapse.

Li Wei walked up the flight of stairs. He was extremely

familiar with everything here.

He continued forward while feeling the wall of the pagoda

with his hands. Numerous memories of the days and nights he
spent there cascaded through his mind. A nostalgic smile
appeared on his face.

His hands suddenly stopped.

 Startled, he let out a soft yelp upon noticing what his hands
had touched.
Chapter 24: Friends
Li Wei had trained in the Suspending Golden Pagoda for three
whole years, so he was intimately familiar with its layout. The
sensation he felt from his hands… something was wrong!

There seemed to be an indentation in the tower wall.

He moved closer to inspect. There was indeed a dent, and it

was a big one!

Li Wei was utterly shocked. He knew how tough the walls

were. After a thousand years of constant metal wind flow, the
tower’s exterior had completely metalized. It became extremely
solid, something common metal could not compare to.

Li Wei tested the hardness of the pagoda wall and found it to

be the same as before. Nothing had changed. The big dent he
saw before him was clearly not caused by a natural process.

Could it be that a formidable dire beast had smashed against

it?
 Sure enough, he spotted several signs around him that
indicated something had trampled through. Judging from the
size, the beast must have been large. He imagined in his head a
possible scenario: an enormous dire beast went crazy and it used
its head to collide against the pagoda wall. The dent was
created, but , the creature simultaneously ricocheted and fell far
away due to the forceful impact.

He found a few traces of upturned soil. Oh, it appeared that

the a wild beast had done this more than once.

It looked like this wild beast had brute force, but not brains.

Li Wei, believing that he had found a logical reason, shelved

this question. He would notify the school to warn students
about the appearance of a ferocious and possibly wandering
beast. He was not too nervous since such a foolish wild beast
would not be very threatening. Plus, students who dared to visit
this pagoda had probably opened at least two palaces. A strong,
but brainless wild beast would not threaten their safety.

If one, who had already activated two palaces, failed to handle

such a beast , he or she deserved to die and Li Wei felt no
sympathy.
 He loitered around for an extended duration before turning to
leave.

…..

Vanguard Training Hall.

Ai Hui looked at the piping hot soup before him and licked his
lips. The appetizing aroma was too much to handle and he could
not wait to dig in. He was uncertain about the effectiveness of
this bone-benefitting soup, but just smelling it was enough to
drive him crazy.

Ai Hui admired Lou Lan’s cooking skill. He believed if Lou Lan

were to open up a soup stall, business would flourish. Whether
it was at the swordsman school or the Wilderness, Ai Hui was
forced to prepare his own meals. Practice made perfect, so he
soon became a relatively good cook and believed his culinary
skills were pretty decent. Compared to Lou Lan however, his
skills were far inferior.

It was quite odd for a sand puppet to be an expert at preparing

soup.
 Ai Hui had lost track of the number of times that he puzzled
over these quirks that Lou Lan had as a sand puppet, and he
quickly discarded these thoughts as the soup stole all of his
focus and attention.

“Drink it while it’s hot since it’s more effective this way,” Lou
Lan reminded him as he delivered the soup.

Ai Hui gingerly took the bowl from Lou Lan’s hands, as if he

was receiving a one-of-a-kind treasure. His final forty thousand
yuan was spent on this bowl of soup. Ai Hui still could not
believe that he had actually taken out all of his fortune to
splurge on something like this. Such extravagant conduct.

Licking his lips once more, he raised the bowl up to his mouth
and gulped it down.

The seemingly steaming hot broth was not as scalding as he

had imagined. It was exceptionally delicious. The umami of the
bones and meat had been brought out perfectly. Coupled with
the fresh fragrance of the herbs, the soup had an indescribably
well-balanced and harmonious taste. Its viscous,gelatinous
texture seemed to slide down this throat.
 Ai Hui did not stop drinking. It was as if he was pouring the
soup down his throat without pause.

It was simply too tasty!

Lou Lan, go sell some soup!

After the last dregs entered his mouth, he licked the bowl
clean, before setting it down and opening his eyes wide.

An inexpressible warmth surged upwards from the soles of his

feet toward his heart, enveloping his whole body in a matter of
seconds. The threads of warmth entered his bones and his face
turned red, as if he was drunk. He felt a sensation of burning up.

“Quickly start training, Ai Hui. Spread the medicinal energy,”

Lou Lan reminded.

Upon hearing this, Ai Hui altered his posture and started to

punch and kick.

Lou Lan’s eyes flickered. Many moves were familiar since Ai

Hui had coached him previously. The moves were scattered and
mostly simple, not at all gaudy or complicated. Yet, when Ai Hui
used them, they felt completely different.

Sharp, fierce, murderous. It was as if a wild, ferocious, blood-

thirsty beast took over his body.

Lou Lan envied Ai Hui a little. He was a useless sand puppet

that could not even fight. He knew few who were like him. Sand
puppets were war machines who saved their companion’s life in
times of danger. But him? He only knew how to clean the
rooms, tidy the garden, cook, and perform other such chores.
He did not understand why Master Shao had made him this
way.

Maybe Master Shao only needed this kind of sand puppet, Lou
Lan thought.

Previously Lou Lan had no neighbors, and no one talked to

him either, except for the grocer. Oh, but that was work-related.
Ai Hui was the first person he had gotten acquainted with
outside of work.

We should be considered friends by now, Lou Lan reckoned.

 Being able to assist Ai Hui made him happy. Was that not the
reason why sand puppets existed? To help people?

Ai Hui, who was engrossed in his training, felt a ball of fire

ignite within his body that made him sweat profusely. The
moves which previously required a huge consumption of energy
were less strenuous now. This was especially so for the [Arching
Fish Back]. He performed it and could sense that the power of
his back had increased significantly. This improvement was
even larger than the previous trainings.

Bit by bit, time passed. The fluctuations within his body

settled down, and Ai Hui finally stopped his training.

His pupils were as bright as the stars, and he was soaked in

sweat. However, he did not feel tired at all. In fact, he felt
completely energized.

The intensity of his previous training session had been very

high, and the multiple [Arching Fish Back] moves he had
practiced against the pagoda wall carried unmatched power.
Each time, the same amount of force would rebound and strike
his body. He had sustained injuries of differing severity in many
parts of his body. The metal elemental energy that his body had
absorbed was as sharp as a blade and had no nourishing effect
on his flesh at all.

Now, his internal injuries had disappeared. Ai Hui instantly

felt that his forty thousand yuan was money well-spent. He was
not short-sighted and was well aware that such internal damage
carried hidden danger. Instead, he was simply used to being
poor, and he had more pressing concerns to tackle.

What caused Ai Hui greater surprise was the fact that his
elemental energy had clearly expanded. It turned out that the
previously unabsorbed threads of elemental energy that
remained in his body were now completely digested into his
flesh.

“Lou Lan, thank you!” Ai Hui said sincerely. He did fork out
the money to buy the ingredients, but Lou Lan was the one who
stewed the soup. Where else could he find such an amazing sand
puppet?

“You’re welcome.” All of a sudden Lou Lan recalled an earlier

thought and blurted out, “Ai Hui, are we friends?”

Friends?
 Ai Hui was stunned for a bit. He answered seriously and
solemnly, “Of course!”

Lou Lan was overjoyed.

Chapter 25: How Kind!
As he drank the soup, he was so happy that he seemed to hear
bells chiming softly.

Simultaneously, alarm bells clanged obnoxiously because he

had just gone broke.

The forty thousand yuan he had left now settled heavily in his
stomach. He had to stop his training plans for now. In a few
days’ time, he would not even have money for food with
starvation looming in the future.

"Lou Lan, any ideas on how I can earn some money?" Ai Hui
asked with some distress.

"Earn money?" Lou Lan stared blankly. It was the first time
someone had questioned him on this subject, leading him to ask,
"You’re out of money?"

"Yes, it’s all gone." Ai Hui pondered as he spoke. "If not for the
fifty thousand from that blind battle, I would really have
starved."
 "Blind battle?" Lou Lan’s eyes brightened. "You’re good at
blind battles? Then go participate in more blind battles!"

"How can there be a blind battle every day?" Ai Hui shook his
head and felt a brief pang of guilt.

The incident resurfaced in his brain, leaving a weakened yet

distinct sensation on his fingertips. Ai Hui inwardly sighed.
Having overly strong fighting instincts had its downsides; he
could clearly remember every single detail of that particular
battle.

And he had no desire to remember such an embarrassing

incident.

"Yes there is." Lou Lan raised his index finger with sparkling
eyes.

Ai Hui was taken aback. Had the Shi Clan Training Hall
organized another blind battle? It was certainly possible, Ai Hui
thought as he mulled it over. Blind battles were pretty
interesting, and training halls would not give them up so easily.
 But what is this awkwardness I’m feeling?

A pang of hunger snapped him out of it before Ai Hui realized

he was being senseless. What awkwardness, what
embarrassment? These thoughts vanished like smoke into thin
air. He asked hastily, "Where? Let’s go!"

No one could stop him from making money. He would kill

God and Buddha if he had to. Girl...

Heh, heh, you better pray you won’t run into me.

A cold light flashed through his half-lidded eyes his heart as

hard as steel.

Because you’re out of luck if we meet!

Ai Hui, with his murderous expression, raised his head and

walked out like a heroic warrior ready for battle.

Shi Xueman surveyed the Central Pine City, lost in thought.

In the past, this small city had been nameless to her, but now
she kept returning to it whenever she got a break. It was here
that she experienced her biggest setback and her most painful
failure.

She would never, ever forget—not in this lifetime!

She clenched her teeth.

Her thoughts shifted to her blind battle strategy and

wondered how it was progressing. She held high hopes for this
operation. Although she was unprepared, and her skills were
not enough to defeat that terrifying enemy of hers, she hoped
only to find hints to help her identify that bastard.

Perhaps there would be good news today?

She was slightly expectant after hearing that the training hall
had specially implemented many unique rules involving the
blind battle. That fellow was an expert in blind battling, so how
could he possibly not be moved to participate in such an
interesting event? If she were him, she would not be able to
resist entering this upcoming competition.
 If I find any clues, you are dead!

A bone-chilling, murderous look flashed across Shi Xueman’s

icy face.

Meanwhile, in the garden, a fire cloud descended slowly with

Uncle Yong Zheng waiting for her. She jumped onto the fire
cloud and said, "It’s been hard on you, Uncle. How is our plan
coming along? Any progress?"

Yong Zheng’s expression was a little odd, and Shi Xueman

immediately knew something was wrong upon seeing it. She
bluntly asked, "What happened?"

Shi Xueman knew something was wrong upon seeing his face.
She asked bluntly: "What’s up?"

Yong Zheng smiled bitterly. "Go out and you will see, Miss."

Without further ado, Shi Xueman left the training hall.

…..
 Ai Hui followed behind Lou Lan, slightly shocked. "Lou Lan, I
didn’t know you were familiar with this area!"

Lou Lan explained, "It’s because I have to buy groceries, wine,

and ingredients. Everything Master Shao needs, I buy."

Lou Lan’s owner remained a mystery to Ai Hui. He never

knew of a wood elementalist who could create a sand puppet
like Lou Lan. With curiosity, he asked, "He doesn’t go out at
all?"

Lou Lan replied, "Master Shao’s leg is not in a good condition.

Plus, he does not like going out or meeting people. Otherwise,
you would have received an invitation to visit."

Only then did Ai Hui realize the reason why Lou Lan was only
competent in life skills. There was no danger within Induction
Ground, and Master Shao’s legs were weak, which meant that
he required more assistance in his everyday life.

All of a sudden, Ai Hui stopped in his tracks staring at the

street before him
 in a daze.

"The ultimate blind battle! Amazing prize money! An

extraordinary challenge for experts! No light, no smell, no
color, no shadow!"

"Masked blind battle! The fifty thousand yuan prize money is

waiting for you!"

"A wild blind battle! A different kind of fight, a different kind

of challenge!"

The multitude of swaying, colorful banners made Ai Hui’s

eyes cross. Every single training hall had one hanging outside its
entrance, advertising their very own blind battle. He was
dumbstruck. What was going on?

As if hearing his thoughts, Lou Lan explained, "I remember it

was two weeks ago that the Shi Clan Training Hall organized a
blind battle competition with a reward of one million yuan. It
caused an uproar and many went down to register. Soon after,
almost every other training hall followed suit, making blind
battling the most popular challenge in Central Pine City. Two
days ago, as I was getting groceries, I even heard people say that
the blind battling trend was no longer confined to this city,
spreading out to many other cities. How amazing…"

Lou Lan spoke with relish, as if it was an honorable thing.

Ai Hui regained his senses, the excitement growing in his face.

The way he took in the scene in front of him was how a hungry
wolf would eye a fresh, juicy lamb. Oh, no. A whole herd of
them!

He had noticed from the previous competition that the other

contestants were unused to dark conditions. Like this, in a blind
combat, his fighting power’s potential could be unleashed
perfectly while on the other hand, his opponents would be
suppressed and at a great disadvantage.

This battle was made for him!

Ai Hui grinned, exposing his snow-white canines, ready to

attack.

His heart was set—except for the Shi Clan Training Hall’s
blind battle, he was going to participate in every competition
available!

Thank you, Shi Clan Training Hall! How kind!

He happened to glance at the Shi Clan Training Hall and

noticed a young lady at its entrance amongst the crowd. Like
him, she stood in a daze staring at all of the advertisements.
After a while, her shock was overtaken by a coldness that
bleached her face of all color. Even from far away, Ai Hui could
sense her rage.

Wow, wow, wow, this expression… Too vivid!

As if sensing Ai Hui’s mocking gaze, the lady turned and

glared at him before stomping angrily into the Shi Clan
Training Hall.

Ai Hui, comparatively, felt this world was full of hope. His

body burned with passion, ready to fight. His purse was
unbearably hungry and thirsty!

"Lou Lan, let’s start!"

 Lou Lan was momentarily stunned. "Start what?"

"Earning money!"

Like a soldier marching into war, Ai Hui majestically strode

into a training hall.
Chapter 26: The First Win
Lou Lan stood in front of the stage, feeling extremely nervous.
The mask on his face concealed it well but his tightly clenched
fist gave it away. While he was a stranger to battling, even he
could tell that the situation onstage was subtly and abnormally
dangerous. With a single moment’s carelessness, anyone would
be knocked down immediately.

On stage, Ai Hui used a simple yet exceptionally fierce

technique to take the last contestant down. Lou Lan, who had
been tense from the start, suddenly jumped up and cheered
loudly with both arms raised.

Ai Hui got down from the platform with a few bruises and ten
thousand yuan.

“You’re too amazing!” Lou Lan’s eyes shone brightly with

unending respect for Ai Hui. Ever since his creation, his daily
life revolved around the same routine: shopping for groceries,
cleaning the rooms, and learning Master Shao’s designated
lessons like medicine.

Fighting was a novelty to him. His first time launching a fist

at anyone was when Ai Hui had taught him.
 And now, for the first time, he witnessed his first battle today.
It was so intense that he felt breathless, completely forgetting
that breathing was unnecessary for a sand puppet. Affected by
the stifling atmosphere, his eyes stayed glued to the match in
total concentration.

His current lifestyle was peaceful and repetitive, and he had

never thought to question it until today, when he suddenly felt
that something was missing from his life.

He never thought it a bad thing in the past, until today. He

suddenly felt that something was missing from his life.

His gaze fell onto Ai Hui’s face.

There were a few bruises on it, making it look somewhat

pitiful. Ai Hui, however, was not bothered in the slightest; his
bruised face carried a trace of firm austerity, as if nothing could
obstruct him. His gaze was determined, the light in them not
bright like the stars but rather deep and reserved. Their depths
were cold and distant like the faraway horizon when the
morning sun had yet to rise.

Lou Lan’s emotions were stirred. He felt a different kind of

ice-cold passion from Ai Hui. It was a passion that never died
out in spite of this dull life. A lonely passion that fought on
through difficult times.

Ai Hui’s silence was like the deep, dark sky, waiting quietly
for the next break of day.

Lou Lan realized then what he was missing—it was this very
passion for living. His own life and fate had already been
decided, and he had no choice but to abide by these commands.

Lou Lan knew these thoughts were senseless.

He was a sand puppet, he reminded himself.

Ai Hui noticed Lou Lan’s gaze and assumed it was for the
bruises on his face. He said carelessly, “I’m fine, they’re all
small injuries. Such superficial wounds look scarier than they
actually are.”

As they made their way out, someone yelled from behind—

 “If you’re capable, stay where you are! Let’s have another
match!”

It was the last contestant defeated by Ai Hui. Unwilling to

accept his defeat, he came to the conclusion that it was due to
his carelessness. Seeing that fellow’s course techniques that
seemed to come from street gangsters made him even more
unwilling to admit his loss to such a guy.

Lou Lan stopped but Ai Hui said while walking onward,

“Ignore him.”

“Spineless! Good-for-nothing! Coward!” Flustered, the

contestant continued his verbal assault.

One after another, the other defeated contestants started

chiming in, also feeling that their loss was unfathomable.

“He had an accidental win. You can’t count on him being so

lucky every time.”

“Scram!”
 ……

Lou Lan took offense. How could these people act like that
when they shouldn’t? They clearly lost—how dare they spill
such ugly insults!

After a while, Lou Lan noticed Ai Hui’s lack of reaction and

asked, “Ai Hui, aren’t you angry? Don’t you want to go back and
beat them up?”

“What’s there to be angry about?” Ai Hui casually plucked a

blade of grass from the roadside and put it into his mouth. “In
the Wilderness, they’re all dead.”

Lou Lan fell into a daze. He found it difficult to describe the

feeling he felt upon hearing Ai Hui’s words. They were steady
and confident, yet also tinged by a slight melancholy.

Out of curiosity, he asked, “Have you been in the

Wilderness?”

“Yes.” Ai Hui chewed on the grass. “Stayed in there for three

years.”
 “How awesome!” Lou Lan felt deep veneration for him.

To Lou Lan, the Wilderness was a mysterious and faraway

place. The thought of leaving Central Pine City had never even
occurred to him, and the only understanding he had of the
Wilderness came from books. He was aware from the
descriptions that danger lurked in every corner, but he did not
know the sort of difficulties that had to be endured to stay there
for three years.

Ai Hui was so amazing!

At this point, Lou Lan, was full of admiration for Ai Hui. He

believed that in this world, the most powerful man was Master
Shao, followed by Ai Hui. Oh, wrong. Both were powerful in
different ways, so they should both be ranked first.

“Where are we going now?” Lou Lan thought of the ten

thousand Ai Hui had just won and felt happiness bubble up at
once.

“Next hall,” Ai Hui responded matter-of-factly.

 “The next one? You want to continue?” Lou Lan was startled.

“Such a good opportunity.” Ai Hui involuntarily licked his lips

and narrowed his eyes. He was like a wild beast that marked its
prey and was ready to pounce.

Lou Lan was unsure why he felt a chill in his heart upon
seeing Ai Hui’s expression. As expected from an expert who
stayed in the Wilderness—, Ai Hui had such a murderous spirit.
It made Lou Lan curious aboutas know what the Wilderness was
like.

They walked into the second training hall and were

immediately were drowned in the clamor.

It was not unreasonable for blind battling to become a trend

since it was a new mode of competition that proved to be a new
challenge for people. This foreign method of fighting was highly
unpredictable as it added a new variable besides skills. It was
not uncommon to see practitioners with four palaces to be
defeated by those with two. Even those with unsurpassable
skills had to be careful on stage—a moment of neglect could
result in failure.
 Under such circumstances, past experiences were useless, and
everyone became so clumsy it was even funny.

When Ai Hui walked in, a contestant on stage was being

manhandled by an opponent who had no idea what he was
grabbing on to. As he hurriedly applied force—rip!—the
contestant’s pants were pulled down, revealing his white, fleshy
buttocks.

Those before the stage shrieked with laughter, their loud

screams and whistles on the verge of making the roof collapse.

In such an environment, Ai Hui’s facial expression was

exceptionally jarring. He seemed to have overlooked the
contestant’s shining, white bum and instead seriously observed
the battle while scanning the other contestants onstage.

Everyone had opaque masks on their faces, but what

interested Ai Hui even more was the fact that it was a partnered
team battle!

If only Fatty was here, Ai Hui thought subconsciously.

 He continued his solemn observation before he internally
shook his head. There was no teamwork whatsoever between
the contestants.

Ai Hui could not help but wish again for Fatty to be here. If
they combined their powers, their chances of victory were high.

He glanced over the rules hanging on the signboard.

Interested parties had to sign up in twos.

Another hall? But Ai Hui felt somewhat adamant in joining.

He looked to the side, only to see Lou Lan highly engrossed in
the match. His heart stirred.

Or, should he let Lou Lan try?

Chapter 27: My Sand Puppet
“Lou Lan, do you want to try?” Ai Hui turned his head and
suddenly asked.

“Try?” Lou Lan reiterated vacantly, “Try what?”

“To go on stage and fight.”

“Go on stage….and fight?” Lou Lan’s eyes widened, and then

he shouted, “Ai Hui, do you mean for me to go on stage and join
the competition?”

Ai Hui, who had been perfectly composed, was startled by Lou

Lan’s sudden outburst. He calmed his heart before replying,
“Yes. It says here that a team of two is required to participate. If
you don’t feel like, then…”

“Okay,” Lou Lan answered straightforwardly, but he was not

without any hesitation. “But I have never been in a fight. What
if we lose?”

“Then we move on to the next one,” Ai Hui replied matter-of-

factly. “Win some, lose some. There's nothing wrong. You can
take it as practice.”

His words eliminated Lou Lan’s worry.

However, when he tried to register, the manager plainly

rejected him.

“Sand puppets are not allowed. They are not human, so they
do not see with their eyes. Isn’t that cheating?”

Ai Hui could not argue with that.

Yes, it was entirely true that sand puppets were not humans;
in fact, they were both remarkably different. They judged
situations differently and did not have similar physiological
mechanisms. Some sand puppets had an acute sense of smell,
while others possessed the ability of reptiles to detect
opponents’ positions through heat. Some even possessed the
ability of bats to locate opponents through sound waves.

Throughout his life, Ai Hui had encountered all kinds of sand

puppets, and he had gradually come to realize that many earth
elementalists would create and modify their sand puppets to an
unimaginable extent. Although the majority of earth
elementalists were eccentric, antisocial, and dislikeable, no one
could ignore their impressive presence on the battlefield, and it
was chiefly because of their sand puppets that they were often
deemed as the most dangerous of people.

Ai Hui felt like informing the manager that Lou Lan definitely
had no such abilities, but in the end, he did not.

Lou Lan was the weakest sand puppet that Ai Hui had ever
met. He could not see how Lou Lan could have possibly been
designed for battling; in his opinion, Lou Lan was a sand puppet
that was purely constructed for lifestyle.

When Ai Hui saw Lou Lan's bright eyes dim, he patted his
back and faintly murmured, “Let’s go.”

As they walked outside of the hall, Lou Lan looked down and
kept silent.

Ai Hui, having sensed Lou Lan’s disappointment, started to

silently think to himself. Lou Lan seemed to be really
anticipating the opportunity to battle on stage, but as a sand
puppet, he obviously had an advantage over the rest in such a
blind battle. The training hall would never let him up on stage,
unless…

Ai Hui’s eyes suddenly lit up; he had an idea!

He glanced over the signs of the surrounding training halls

before setting his eyes on one of them and charging in its
direction.

“This way, Lou Lan!”

Ai Hui brought Lou Lan into another training hall and headed
straight to the registration counter. “I want to sign up.”

The staff looked pointedly at Lou Lan.

“He’s my sand puppet,” Ai Hui claimed, before hurriedly

adding, “I’m an earth elementalist. Can I bring him along to
compete?”

Lou Lan, who was standing behind, was shocked.

 “Earth elementalist? Then yes, you can.” The staff nodded; it
was clearly not his first time in such a situation. “But your sand
puppet is required to seal all sensing techniques and disconnect
all telepathic communication. Also, soul-fogging grass would
have to be stuck onto him, and if it falls off, then you will
instantly lose. Are you still interested in participating?”

Ai Hui was secretly delighted; indeed, it was just as he had

expected!

Sand puppets were the most important aspect of earth

elementalists' fighting abilities; without them, earth
elementalists were no different than sheep awaiting slaughter.
Unless earth elementalists were prohibited from participating,
which was highly unlikely because they made up a big
community, training halls would have to use different methods
to suppress and neutralize the natural advantages of sand
puppets.

However, although Ai Hui had guessed at the possible

preventive measures, he had never imagined that they would be
so fierce.

Soul-fogging grass was concocted only by wood elementalists,

and despite being non-toxic itself, it was used extensively in
setting traps and making poison. However, since its most
significant use was to interfere with their sensing techniques, it
was used specifically to deal with sand puppets and had hence
become hated by all of them.

This was especially true for lower level sand puppets, as the
soul-fogging grass affected them significantly; in fact, it would
suppress practically all of their sensing techniques. Without
their sensing techniques and their telepathic communication,
these lower level sand puppets were basically useless. Ai Hui
mused to himself that this was probably the reason for such
harsh methods.

Lou Lan swiftly responded, “No problem.”

On hearing Lou Lan's reply, the staff was slightly taken aback.
“Looks like you have an intelligent puppet.” He laughed.
“Intelligent sand puppets have a great advantage. Eh, good luck
to you both.”

Ai Hui knew that the man was correct. Without the ability to
sense and receive orders, the sand puppet’s own judgments
were being put to the test. That was why intelligent sand
puppets could be said to have an advantage.
 How rare! Lou Lan actually had an advantage here.

The staff produced a blade of emerald green soul-fogging grass

and handed it over to Lou Lan. This was the first time Ai Hui
had seen a full blade of soul-fogging grass, and it somewhat
reminded him of a bean sprout.

Lou Lan stuck the soul-fogging grass onto his head.

Ai Hui was unable to contain his laughter. Lou Lan’s head was
made of sand, and now with a blade of grass sticking out, it was
as if a bean had sprouted on it. The sight was indescribably
amusing.

Lou Lan noticed Ai Hui’s peculiar expression and started to

have some doubts. “Did I stick it in the wrong place?”

“It’s very good,” Ai Hui reassured him, before commenting,

“You look fresh!”

After registering, they both stood aside to wait for the

commencement of the next match.
 Ai Hui took this chance to impart some last-minute knowledge
to Lou Lan. “Do not panic when you get up there and are unable
to see anything. Do not stray far from me or I can’t help you. Do
not panic as well if you encounter an attack. Remember, you’re
a sand puppet and can transform. Come, let’s create a warning
signal. We shall use the sound of grinding sand. Do not be too
noisy, just make it loud enough for me to hear. Stop talking
once you get on the stage to prevent others locating your
position. The moment you decide to attack, do not hesitate. Do
you still recall the techniques we practiced together that night?
Remember, if you fail to attack, move away immediately. The
best solution is to roll on the spot. Remember, you are a sand
puppet. You can flow towards the ground, and even flow on top
of it…”

“Ai Hui, don’t describe me as if I am urine! I am a sand

puppet.” Lou Lan resentfully corrected him, “Not a water
puppet.”

“Something like that.” Ai Hui chuckled dryly. “In any case, I

will help you, so relax, rookie. This is the first battle of your life.
From today onwards, you will be a sand puppet with combat
experience. You will remember this day. But if it hurts too
much, don't forget to surrender.”

“Got it,” Lou Lan replied honestly.

 “Get ready to go on stage!” the staff called out.

“It’s our turn.” Ai Hui encouragingly patted Lou Lan's

shoulder. “You can do it, my soup-brewing gem!”

Lou Lan did not notice the strange name Ai Hui had called
him. His tone revealed some nervousness, as he began, “Ai
Hui…”

Dong! Dong! Dong! The reverberations of the bell spread

throughout the hall.

Ai Hui's gaze sharpened instantly; he seemed to transform

into an entirely different person.

With steady hands, he wore the opaque mask.

Chapter 28: Lou Lan’s suspicion
When Lou Lan put the training hall’s mask on his face, he
realized that he was actually wearing two layers of masks. It was
an entirely original experience, just like how, at this very
moment, he was standing on a stage in front of an audience.

While buying his usual groceries, he had passed by many

training halls, seen many banners promoting blind battling, and
had even heard many discussing it as well.

However, before today, he had never imagined that he would

someday be standing on a stage and participating in a blind
battle.

He truly would never have dreamed of it. Yet the reality was
right in front of his eyes.

A battle awaited him; either he or his enemies would prevail.

However, Lou Lan had a belly full of doubts; he wanted to tell Ai
Hui that this situation was somewhat different to what the staff
had described.

He reached upwards and lightly brushed his hand against the

soul-fogging grass.

What he had wanted to tell Ai Hui earlier, before he had been

rudely interrupted by his own thoughts, was that the soul-
fogging grass seemed to have no effect on his ability to detect
people. He could still “see” them.

Lou Lou deemed it weird. He was familiar with the soul-

fogging grass, and according to what he had learned, it really
should have been able to restrain his powers. But then why was
he still able to “see” others?

This was the first time that he had noticed that his body was
different, but he could discern it only because of this blind
battle and the blade of soul-fogging grass stuck on his head.

Lower level sand puppets were significantly affected by the

soul-fogging grass. Could it be that he was not one of them? Lou
Lan felt that that was impossible. When a low-level sand puppet
was perfectly adequate for cooking and cleaning, why would a
high-level one be required? It was much more likely that his
abnormalities were because of Master Shao's experiments.
Master Shao was fascinated with research; whenever he gained
inspiration, he would immediately test it out on Lou Lan.
 However, these experiments had often led to problems arising
in Lou Lan's body. For instance, during the time he had first met
Ai Hui, his core had malfunctioned, and hence his body had
started to fall apart.

Maybe it was some kind of new technology?

He reminded himself to ask Master Shao when he returned

home.

In reality, the soul-fogging grass was not completely

ineffective; his field of vision was affected, and his surroundings
had become much blurrier. Lou Lan also found out, that
unexpectedly, the opaque mask on his face had the most
noticeable impact.

Had he been using his eyes to observe the outside world? How
strange...

Lou Lan was surprised; he really had not expected this. Sand
puppets seldom used their eyes to observe the world because
earth elementalists, with their exquisite techniques and colorful
experiences, knew that their sight would be greatly impaired.
Under Master Shao’s meticulous guidance, Lou Lan had come to
understand a lot about sand puppets. However, Lou Lan had
never examined his own body and had never realized that it had
so many unique qualities.

When he thought about it, Lou Lan felt relieved. Master Shao
had never been one to abide by conventions.

It would have been odd if he had been like other sand puppets.

Lou Lan suddenly noticed that during the short moment he

had been distracted, Ai Hui had already initiated contact with
an opponent.

Ai Hui strangely groped in the dark; his legs were apart in a

half-squat, while both his arms were spread out and open, like a
crab’s pincers. That’s right! Ai Hui’s posture was remarkably
similar to that of a crab.

Ai Hui’s movements were silent. His soles were like those of a

cat, uncannily inaudible.

How amazing!
 Lou Lan inwardly exclaimed with admiration. Compared to Ai
Hui, his opponent seemed much more amateurish; even Lou
Lan could tell that the latter’s movements carried a tinge of
panic.

The sight made Lou Lan recall scenes of wild beasts hunting.
Ai Hui was like a slowly advancing wild beast, and his opponent
was like an alarmed, fidgety prey.

Suddenly, while Ai Hui was in a crouching position, his palm

made contact with his opponent’s waist.

At the moment of contact, both parties reacted

simultaneously.

The opponent’s first response was to immediately direct a

punch towards Ai Hui, but contrary to his expectations, Ai Hui
was in a half-squat. The punch flew past Ai Hui’s head and
struck empty air.

Ai Hu’s attack was much more effective.

The moment he felt his opponent’s waist, Ai Hui instantly

reacted by swiftly gripping onto it and pulling it close. He then
borrowed this momentum to thrust himself sideways and lunge
for his opponent's calf.

The force, when compiled from top and bottom, momentarily

threw Ai Hui’s opponent off balance and prompted him to fall
towards Ai Hui.

Ai Hui subsequently displayed his astonishing combat

techniques. Like a nimble python, he did not retreat, and
instead went forward and smoothly wrapped himself around his
target. Ai Hui’s feet shoved against his opponent’s chin. His
opponent, who had his hands crushed behind his back, was
quickly immobilized before passing out after twenty seconds.

The referee, who had long since been watching from the
sidelines, rolled out a snake-like whip and wrapped it around
the unconscious contestant, before expertly pulling him off the
stage. An experienced doctor swiftly attended to him, and it was
only after a short while that he indicated that the contestant
was all right.

Although the contestant was not injured, the incident had

made the two referees tense up. Their expressions quickly
turned serious.
 “That earth elementalist was too relentless.”

“Yes, his sand puppet did not move at all. An earth

elementalist who can fight is quite rare.”

“It's unsurprising, actually. Earth elementalists are a group of

abnormal fellows. The abnormality is normal for them.”

“That’s true.”

……

Even though they both were idly chatting, their gazes

remained completely fixed on the stage.

The members of the audience were absolutely silent; they

were shocked by Ai Hui’s sharp and fierce attack.

Ai Hui's previous move was neither dazzling nor exceedingly

elaborate; in fact, he did not even engage his elemental energy.
However, it had made the audience feel the scent of fresh blood
waft towards them; it carried with it a sense of sharp danger.
During the past several days, in the various training halls, they
had witnessed all types of contestants with their unique fighting
styles; some were meticulous, some were eccentric and
hilarious, while others were disorganized and acted without
thinking.

However, no match came close to the scene that had just

unfolded in front of them—it had stunned them greatly.

A few seconds later, everyone came to their senses, and a

commotion broke out off stage.

“How fierce!”

“Too handsome!”

“What’s that move called? Anyone knows?”

“Are you kidding me? So ferocious, and he’s an earth

elementalist! How is anyone else going to win?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Hey, look at his sand puppet. Doesn't it
look silly?”

……

The usual moves in previous competitions were all flowery

and fancy, yet highly impractical and weak. However, upon
witnessing Ai Hui's violent and sharp move, everyone's interest
was immediately piqued, because it was much more unique.

Lou Lan stared blankly at Ai Hui as he stood on the stage,

dumbfounded.

Unlike Lou Lan, the observers downstage were far away from
the action, and so their reactions were less surreal. However,
the moment Ai Hui had launched his attack, Lou Lan had felt
his heart skip a beat.

After taking down the contestant, Ai Hui immediately started

to quietly grope around as he stealthily advanced towards the
next one.

The remaining opponent's earlier movements had

inadvertently revealed his position.
 As Ai Hui continued to feel around for the next target, Lou
Lan couldn’t help but widen his eyes; he was afraid of not
catching all the details. As an utterly inexperienced combatant,
he had already forgotten his purpose of being onstage. He was
completely immersed in Ai Hui's battle and was incredibly
tense.

The audience observed Ai Hui as he locked onto a new prey;

everyone held their breaths with their eyes wide open.

A blanket of silence had descended upon the training hall yet

again.

Ai Hui was unaware of what was happening outside; the

training hall had used a special method to soundproof the stage.
Like a cautious wild beast with a silent bloodlust, he carefully
and patiently approached his target.

However, at that very moment, an unforeseen event suddenly

occurred.
Chapter 29: Zu Yan
A thread of fire had been ignited under Ai Hui’s feet.

Not good!

Ai Hui’s expression changed slightly as he instinctively

dodged to the side. At that instant, with a smooth flip of the
opponent's palm, Ai Hui's former location was set ablaze.

The contestant had not anticipated Ai Hui’s quick reaction,

which ultimately led to the unexpected failure of his well-
disguised attack.

Ai Hui, who had just barely managed to escape the column of

fire, shot into the air like a cannon's projectile and charged
towards his opponent. The latter was an expert in long-range
attacks and had much stronger elemental energy; only by
getting closer would Ai Hui stand a chance to win.

If Ai Hui’s previous attack had been soundless with hidden

killing intent, then this lunge had thoroughly displayed his
imposing and incomparably sharp bloodlust.
 Sensing that Ai Hui was rapidly approaching, the opponent
instinctively tensed up. This was precisely Ai Hui's strategy—to
launch a psychological attack; any trace of panic from the
enemy was favorable to him.

However, his opponent then made a very strange move: he got

into a handstand position.

Lou Lan, who had been watching carefully, broke out in a cold
sweat. This was bad!

At that moment, the opponent’s palms became enveloped in a

blazing ball of flame. The dark red fire spread through the air
like flowing kerosene.

This was...

Lou Lan felt that the scene was familiar; he had seen it
somewhere before, but he could not recall anything due to his
extreme nervousness.

"Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation!"

 A member of the audience cried out in alarm.

"Zu Yan!"

"Oh my god! Zu Yan came!"

That remark caused quite a stir within the audience. Everyone

was pleasantly surprised.

Zu Yan was an expert from Central Wind City. Although its

school district was a year ahead, it was the nearest city to
Central Pine City, and hence experts from both sides were quite
familiar with one another.

Zu Yan’s base level was not considered high as he had only

activated two palaces; however, he had quickly risen to fame
once he had succeeded in learning the absolute art [Flaming
Heavenly Spider Transformation].

Elemental energy techniques had been in development for

over a thousand years, but there were only a few which could be
acknowledged as absolute arts. Absolute arts formed the
foundation of a family clan; for example, Zu Family Clan’s
[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] was created only
after generations of esoteric perfection and gradual, continuous
improvement.

However, when compared to the skills of the supreme

manuals that had been passed down from the Cultivation Era,
these absolute arts could be considered very young and new.
Every family clan within the Avalon of Five Elements knew this
exceedingly well, and hence no one dared to show disrespect
and ignore their ancestors’ contributions.

Since the Zu Family’s lineage was predominantly predisposed

to the fire attribute, this absolute art perfectly suited them.
However, due to the exceptionally high level of understanding
that was required, mastering it was extremely tough, and so the
number of descendants of each generation of the Zu family who
had managed to successfully learn [Flaming Heavenly Spider
Transformation] had never exceeded three. This had been the
situation for many successive generations; unfortunately, it was
like an ironclad law which never changed.

[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] was very hard to

comprehend, but once it was understood, along with constant
perfection and accumulation of elemental energy, one could
smoothly become an expert.
 Zu Yan was the first amongst his generation to understand
[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation].

The Zu Family was a prominent clan of the Avalon of Five

Elements, and the name of its greatest genius was naturally
well-known far and wide. Therefore, as soon as the spiderweb-
like fire net had lit up the stage, Zu Yan's origin had been swiftly
recognized.

The audience started to grow increasingly excited; it was not

often that they could witness a fight with a talent like Zu Yan.
They were full of curiosity; to be called an 'absolute art,' exactly
how powerful was [Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation]?

The manager of the training hall was smiling so much that his
chin could not be seen. The appearance of an expert like Zu Yan
was a big boost to his business. They were just missing Shi
Xueman; if only he could invite her from the nearby Shi Clan
Training Hall, then the doorstep to his training hall would be
broken from being trampled on by the throngs of people who
would come to watch.

Everyone was holding their breaths and gaping at the scene on

the stage. They were waiting to witness the magnificent show
that Zu Yan was about to put on.
 Ai Hui’s attack was as fast as lightning; the moment Zu Yan
had gotten into the handstand position, Ai Hui’s fist was already
flying through the air.

Zu Yan’s heart trembled. His opponent’s reaction had been

much faster than he had expected. With both his palms planted
firmly on the ground, everything within his surroundings was
under Zu Yan’s control, and he could clearly sense the power of
Ai Hui's punch. His opponent did not use any elemental energy,
but the force of this blow was so outstandingly powerful that he
could only have launched such a ferocious attack by compiling
all of the energy from throughout his whole body.

If this punch made contact...

Zu Yan felt that it would be best not to try.

His reaction wasn’t slow either. With a slight drop of his

wrist, his body curved backwards like a bent bow. With a burst
of energy from his waist and abdomen, he tensed his right,
pencil-straight leg and filled it with elemental power. The blaze
rose dramatically, and like a flaming heavy axe plummeting
down from the heavens, it filled the air with a red color.
 A fist and a leg violently collided. Bang! An explosion rang
out, and sparks could be seen flying through the air.

Ai Hui only felt the rebound of an enormous wave of energy

before he was sent soaring backward. Zu Yan also retreated with
his palms by many huge steps before stabilizing himself.

Lou Lan was suddenly jerked back into reality, and without
thinking, he rushed towards Ai Hui.

Zu Yan coolly looked on as his opponent’s sand puppet saved

his master. The raging energy and blood inside of his chest only
soothed after a while; Ai Hui’s earlier punch was similarly
unpleasant for him. He had really not expected that his
opponent would have such strength.

What was the most bewildering, however, was that his

opponent did not engage any elemental energy in his attack!

Throwing such a fierce punch with just pure muscle strength

—who was he? Was there such an expert in Central Pine City?

Could it be that he, too, was an expert from another city who
came because of the news?

Central Pine City’s blind battles had become well known in

the vicinity and being so close to Central Pine City, Central
Wind City was naturally interested in the battles as well.
Although the training halls within Central Wind City had
already started to organize a few battles, they fell behind in
terms of creativity. When people had time for leisure, they
would take the short trip down to Central Pine City for some
entertainment.

While Zu Yan was pondering over Ai Hui’s identity, the flying

Ai Hui had already been caught by Lou Lan.

Ai Hui looked a tad pitiful. His right hand was hanging down
unnaturally by his side, and his fist was even burnt black. It was
evident that the exchange had been quite damaging to him.
Without even needing to check, Lou Lan could distinguish that
Ai Hu’s right arm was broken.

Lou Lan remorsefully blamed himself. He had boldly claimed

that he would assist Ai Hui, but he had not been of any help at
all. However, Lou Lan honestly had no idea how to handle Zu
Yan. Although he had recognized [Flaming Heavenly Spider
Transformation], it was of no use to the battle. Due to his lack of
combat experience, Lou Lan was unable to come up with any
solution at this time.

Ai Hui was like a battle god in the eyes of Lou Lan, but even
then, he was not the enemy’s match. There was now only one
solution.

"Let’s surrender," Lou Lan said honestly.

Contestants that were on the stage could not hear noises from
outside, but the members of the audience could clearly hear
everything that was being said onstage.

The audience roared with laughter upon hearing Lou Lan’s

words.

"Hahaha! Is this a sand puppet?"

"Hahaha! This is the first time I’ve heard a sand puppet

persuading his owner to surrender. Haha! Too funny!"

"I can’t stand it anymore, no, let me laugh, hahaha…"

 "Hey hey hey, you are a sand puppet! You’re not supposed to
submit even if it means death. You're supposed to sacrifice
yourself and give your owner a chance to live! Hahahaha…"
Chapter 30: Adviser-type Sand Puppet
Ai Hui was not the least bit surprised by Lou Lan’s actions;
Lou Lan was purely a lifestyle sand puppet and an inexperienced
battler, and behaving appropriately in his first competition was
already an incredible feat.

The smarter the sand puppet was, the more affected it would
be by its state of mind. On the other hand, low-level sand
puppets, which had a much lower intelligence, could only
follow orders blindly and emotionlessly.

That was the reason why many earth elementalists did not
prefer intelligent sand puppets. The smarter they were, the
more human-like they would become. They would have a
greater sense of self-awareness and would independently judge
many things for themselves.

Battle-type sand puppets were usually less intelligent. If they

were like humans, who felt emotions like fear and anxiety, then
they would become timid during fights, which was something
that the earth elementalists, who had the desire to build
slaughter machines, disliked the most.

However, the world is full of contradictions. Intelligence

could also be said to be a quality that a killing machine should
possess. Understanding how to make the right decision at the
right time was undoubtedly the most important prerequisite of
a top-notch slaughter machine.

Lou Lan was very intelligent, which was exactly the cause of
his troubles during his first battle.

However, the current situation was not that bad; Lou Lan had
not lost his head out of fear. Instead, he had persuaded Ai Hui to
surrender, which was, in actuality, the right choice, considering
the skill levels of both the contestants.

"He is using [Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation],

which is an absolute art," Lou Lan whispered. "His base level
should only be of two palaces, but his [Flaming Heavenly Spider
Transformation] has already managed to unlock [Hellfire Spider
Web]. There’s no way we can win."

The audience’s previous reaction to Lou Lan’s persuasion was

to laugh, but these words sent them into shock.

"Don’t tell me he’s an adviser-type sand puppet?"

 "He actually knows [Flaming Heavenly Spider
Transformation]! He's an adviser-type sand puppet!"

"Such an intelligent sand puppet, this is an adviser-type sand

puppet?"

"What day is it today? Not only did an absolute art appear, but
an adviser-type sand puppet showed itself!"

The members of the audience discussed in hushed voices; they

were all bewildered.

Sand puppets had been in development for over a thousand

years, and there were bound to be many unusual and bizarre
types of sand puppets that would be invented. To the majority
of people, earth elementalists were solitary and unique, and so
the fact that they had strange temperaments was entirely
natural. In fact, they even believed that it would be
embarrassing to be called an earth elementalist if one had an
overly normal character.

Adviser-type sand puppets were incredibly rare. Not only did

they require a high intelligence and capacity for learning, but
they had to also remain calm during times of danger and
recommend the most valuable solutions.

In addition to being exceedingly troublesome to make,

adviser-type also had high requirements, and much more was
expected from them than other sand puppets. They were also
very weak and would easily become a constant target in the
battlefield, shortening their lifespans drastically.

Of course, earth elementalists were usually conceited when it

came to their abilities and wisdom, and so they only used their
sand puppets to complete odd jobs and ensure their safety.
Thus, they did not favor adviser-type sand puppets.

However, to elementalists of other attributes, adviser-type

sand puppets were their favorites—especially to those who had
fists but no brains. These sand puppets had much better
learning abilities compared to humans because they did not
need to sleep and could untiringly and unceasingly study and
absorb knowledge.

Who wouldn’t want a smart companion? It was due to this

that the market price for an adviser-type sand puppet had
always remained sky-high.
 Out of everyone present in the training hall, the one who was
enjoying the most was definitely the boss of the training hall.
First, the Zu Family's absolute art [Flaming Heavenly Spider
Transformation] had appeared, and then all of a sudden, that
foolish-looking sand puppet was possibly an adviser-type
puppet. He felt as if he had won the lottery twice in a day and
was simply over the moon.

Ai Hui had originally planned to retreat. As Lou Lan had

mentioned, the disparity in their skills was too big. He had no
chance of victory.

He had came here only for the money. Since this opportunity
was gone, he could just move on to the next training hall; after
all, he was not one to care about the results of a fight.

However, upon hearing Lou Lan mention that his opponent

had engaged an absolute art, Ai Hui immediately changed his
mind.

He had stayed in the Wilderness for three years and had met
many strong elementalists, but there were none who possessed
an absolute art. However, he had witnessed the yearning in the
faces of eminent elementalists whenever they spoke about
absolute arts.
 Ai Hui was unaware of how Lou Lan had managed to identify
his opponent’s move as an absolute art, but he trusted Lou Lan
completely. Ever since they had become acquainted, Lou Lan
had never spoken any unreliable words and, moreover, he had
never spoken without thinking.

An opportunity was right before his eyes!

There would be no better chance than this!

Blind battling was a competition, and contestants did not have

to worry about losing their lives, even if they lost onstage. To be
able to fight in a competition, rather than on a battlefield, and
to get to witness an absolute art—how could it be better than
that?

Ai Hui started to become stimulated when he thought of this

rare opportunity. Although his right arm was numb, it was as if
incessant energy was flowing throughout his whole body.

"Go down first. I’ll join you soon."

Behind his mask, Ai Hui licked his lips. He then turned

towards Zu Yan and crouched down slightly.

Lou Lan did not understand why Ai Hui would reject his
suggestion. Ai Hui should have been able to assess the situation,
right? Their skill levels differed too much, and it was evident
that he stood no chance of winning.

However, since Ai Hui had chosen to continue battling, he

also had no reason to retreat. He suddenly recalled his previous
observation: there was an intense passion, which he had never
seen before, in Ai Hui. The type of ardor that he would never
possess.

At most, he would just be broken and scattered...

Lou Lan repeatedly consoled himself.

He stood beside Ai Hui with his core fully operating,

continuously racking his memory for relevant information
concerning [Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation].

Ai Hui had not expected Lou Lan to remain, but he did not
argue against it. Unlike others, Ai Hui believed that this was an
equally excellent opportunity for Lou Lan.

Being able to witness an absolute art during his first battle

was…enviably honorable!

Ai Hui did not even consider as to whether or not the

newcomer would suffer from a mental blow or setback.
Compared to the Wilderness, where blood was splattered
everywhere and mangled flesh could be seen at every corner, a
competition like this was simply too gentle and heartwarming.

Although Lou Lan bravely stood by Ai Hui, he did not know

what posture to adopt, and eventually ended up looking like a
clumsy penguin.

Stars filled the eyes of the girls downstage as they held their
hands against their bosoms.

"Such a cute sand puppet!"

"It looks so silly! I want one!"

 There were others, however, who were more experienced, and
they shook their heads one after the other. An adviser-type sand
puppet entering real combat—wasn’t that simply courting
death? It seemed like this adviser-type sand puppet was not of a
high grade because otherwise, he would have a higher IQ and
would not behave so foolishly.

It was even more plausible that everyone had guessed

incorrectly, and he was not even an adviser-type sand puppet at
all!

The scarlet red flaming net on the ground resembled an

enormous spider web, and Zu Yan, at the center, resembled a
spider. Under the influence of his absolute art, he was cognizant
of every movement within the hall. Yet, currently, he was only
interested in the fellow with whom he just had a fistfight with.

Zu Yan also became a little excited upon realizing that his

opponent had not left. He might as well give his opponent a
moment to rest. He took advantage of his fire net to sweep the
other competitors—similar to the autumn gales that sweep
away the fallen leaves—off the stage.

At this point, Ai Hui could spare no time for Lou Lan. All his
attention was centered on his opponent; he was of aware of
nothing else.
Chapter 31: Hellfire Spider Web
Ai Hui’s concentration had never been so fixated.

The contestant before him was the strongest he had

encountered so far. Showcasing superior skills, the obvious gap
in strength killed all suspense as to who would claim victory,
but this strangely galvanized Ai Hui even more. Passionate, red-
hot blood flowed in his veins like molten lava.

He was moved by the fact that he was about to challenge one

of the legendary absolute arts.

Although his right arm was numb, hanging limply from his
shoulder, and his vision was obscured in the darkness, his
unprecedented focus led to an enhancement of the six senses.

Ai Hui clearly sensed his opponent who didn’t bother to

conceal himself. From the strange handstand to the heat
emitting from his palms, Ai Hui could feel even the faint flickers
of energy rippling along the ground.

The motion of the elemental energy was minute and Ai Hui

had not detected it earlier.
 The surprise attack he had launched earlier had probably been
detected through this weak energy web.

The other side had already quietly cast an inescapable net,

waiting for prey to intrude. Absolute art indeed, Ai Hui
admired. Setting traps was a technique he was also proficient in,
but he had not previously detected this snare at all. Evidently,
his rival had next-level skills.

He suddenly thought of Lou Lan’s earlier words. That guy

could cast the [Hellfire Spider Web].

The spider was an arthropod that Ai Hui was familiar with. He

had seen all kinds of spiders in the Wilderness. Both the
[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] and [Hellfire Spider
Web] appeared to be related to spiders—perhaps this principle
could lead to victory?

Techniques were not named carelessly. Their names, more

often than not, represented their characteristics.

Ai Hui knew how to catch spiders like the back of his hand.
His heart stirred. Could it be...
 His figure flashed as he abruptly charged forward. At the same
time, he felt his opponent’s body shift slightly. Indeed, as Ai Hui
had deduced, the almost undetectable weak ripples on the
ground were actually part of an extensive invisible network. His
opponent was like a spider waiting within a spider web. The
moment an intruder entered any corner of his web, it fell under
his control.

In such a short moment, Ai Hui could not think of a better

idea.

This was the first time Ai Hui had met an opponent who was
vastly superior. [Hellfire Spider Web] was undoubtedly the most
suitable technique to use in a blind battle.

“Since you do not dare to attack, let me!”

Zu Yan became impatient. He yelled loudly and initiated an

attack. He smacked his flame-clad left palm on the ground, and
his body fiercely lunged toward Ai Hui. The darkness did not
affect his aim at all. Borrowing the force of his lunge, his
straightened legs garnered elemental energy, and he once again
dove at Ai Hui like a sturdy hatchet.
 The sharp, sky-rending sound that followed brought with it
the billowing crackle of flames. The ferocity of his attack was
incomparable—even the audience was awestruck by the sheer
force of Zu Yan’s kick.

As the attack approached, Ai Hui found himself beset by a

feeling of helpless entrapment as the wind roared in his
eardrums.

His heart palpitated, but like a weak candle flame shielded

from the wind, he still had a trace of clarity. He bit his tongue,
allowing the sharp pain to rouse him. The incoming flame
chopped down, like a solid hatchet blade.

With all his might, Ai Hui threw himself to the side.

Boom!

Amid the flame-filled sky, the long legs impacted heavily onto
the ground, like a heavy tomahawk thrown by a giant.

The solid, elevated stage shattered like a crispy biscuit.

Fragments flew everywhere, revealing a battered and exhausted
Ai Hui.

Zu Yan was quite surprised. His kick appeared sharp, but the
real killer technique was the interference produced by the
[Hellfire Spider Web]. This move had been trialed and validated.
Opponents usually became distracted by his legs and their state
of mind would be affected by the nearly invisible ripples.

During a deadlocked battle between two excellent combatants,

a moment of absent-mindedness was enough to tip the scales of
victory.

The interference of the [Hellfire Spider Web] surprisingly had

zero effect on his opponent.

Zu Yan’s interest was piqued. Those capable of dodging this

skill were not nameless people.

“Who are you exactly?”

As if he had been injected with steroids, Zu Yan roared as he

launched a storm-like attack. The collision between his heavy
legs and the ground was so loud it made people shiver. A scarlet-
red blaze enveloped the whole stage, and the debris flew in all
directions like a downpour. The pieces of the stage smashed
against the elemental energy-powered screen, which isolated
the stage from the outside, like raindrops pattering on a huge
piece of banana leaf.

Stunned, the whole training hall fell into silence as everyone

was rendered speechless by the scene happening in front of
them. How could they have ever witnessed such a violent
attack? The more faint-hearted spectators trembled
uncontrollably, and those who boasted of being brave turned
pale-faced.

Even the referees on the side looked tense. They were already
prepared to rescue someone at any time.

Ai Hui’s hairs stood on end. From the beginning and until

now, danger had never left him. The intense crisis provoked his
reflexes and he had no time to think at all. Dodge! Dodge with
all his might! Relying on his instincts to dodge!

He felt he could suffer a direct hit at any time. No, as long as

his opponent’s leg brushed against him, layers of skin would
scrape off even if he did not perish.
 “Are you a mouse? Dodge! You only know how to dodge!”
After launching consecutive missed attacks, Zu Yan gradually
became angrier and his voice revealed it. “Do you think you can
dodge?”

Zu Yan sped up his attacks.

Before the previous fire had even dispersed, a new flurry of

flames were violently released with the heavy kicks coming his
way. In the blink of an eye, the flames onstage stacked layer
upon layer like scorching, red clouds.

Ai Hui was in an even more challenging situation. It was as if

he had been surrounded by the raging sea and could be engulfed
by the giant waves at any time. His energy was rapidly draining
and at a faster rate than usual.

Sweat was pouring out of his body, he was panting for breath,
and his throat was hot like a blazing fire.

The audience offstage gradually recovered from their initial

shock and soon discovered something abnormal. That strange,
pitiful earth elementalist always appeared to be in jeopardy,
narrowly avoiding collapse and destruction. But, a long time
later, that fellow had actually not been hit yet!

How odd!

Those with even the tiniest brain could tell something was not
right. Dodging a move or two was possibly due to luck. More
than ten strikes? Absolutely not a fluke.

Slowly, someone started to notice a possible explanation.

That earth elementalist could anticipate Zu Yan’s attacks, and

his actions were extremely nimble, lacking any slight delay and
sloppiness. His moves were so fluid, it was as if his whole body
had been coated with oil.

With such smooth dodging, this was definitely not an obscure

figure!

Everyone was racking their brains to recall which earth

elementalist was known to be an expert in this battling style.
Wait, earth elementalist…everyone felt a sense of unexplainable
awkwardness.
 If it had been another individual, they would receive it well,
but remembering that the person on stage was an earth
elementalist, the crowd felt uncomfortable.

Such smooth battle moves carried out by an earth

elementalist. What a violation of laws.

Shouldn’t an earth elementalist’s moves be dictated by his

sand puppet?

Eh? Only at this point did everyone remember. Where was

that slightly foolish sand puppet?
Chapter 32: Secret Signal
Everyone had forgotten Lou Lan.

Zu Yan had initially paid no attention to Lou Lan.

Additionally, he had been provoked by Ai Hui, and while
fighting, he had naturally neglected a useless sand puppet. Ai
Hui was in a highly strained state and was completely relying on
his instincts and wealth of experience to dodge. He, too, had no
time to spare for Lou Lan. The members of the audience were
enthralled by Zu Yan’s dazzling and sharp moves and were
staring, full of shock, at the stage. How could they possibly
remember that clumsy sand puppet?

All this while, Lou Lan was standing in a corner, watching Ai

Hui dart around the stage. He pondered expressionlessly over
the possible ways he could assist Ai Hui.

He had completely recovered from his initial nervousness, but

alas, it was now of no use.

He was truly a rookie when it came to battling; he was

completely unable to enter their combat. Ai Hui, whom he
regarded as akin to a war god, was forced to flee around the
stage without the least bit of energy to retaliate.
 The opponent’s skills were too powerful!

With such an absolute disparity between the strengths of both

parties, Lou Lan could not come up with a practical idea to turn
the situation around.

If Ai Hui had stopped and asked, “Lou Lan, have you thought
of something?”

He would definitely respond, “We’d better surrender.”

He would then tell Ai Hui that judging from the current

situational development, they were bound to be defeated at
some point. Ai Hui’s right arm was broken, and its treatment
would cost quite a bit. If the fight continued, he would sustain
more injuries, which in turn meant spending more money. He
would then, as a loyal friend, remind Ai Hui that he was
destitute. This was the most logical thing to do.

Yet apparently, over here, all logic was thrown out of the
window. Lou Lan vividly remembered Ai Hui’s eyes: they were
not bright but instead ice-cold and profound, while slightly
flickering with an intense battle intent.
 Was that deeply hidden passion going to erupt at this
moment?

Lou Lan was a little envious. He did not understand why Ai

Hui was so determined and reckless. Why did he choose to fight
on, knowing that he was far weaker than his rival? Why didn’t
he surrender even after being chased around until he could not
even hit back?

Was that passion?

Lou Lan seriously assessed himself but found no such passion

within himself.

He mocked himself. He really was thinking too much.

Lou Lan, you’re a sand puppet, he reminded himself.

Nevertheless, to have a friend like Ai Hui was truly something

to be happy about. Moreover, he was battling alongside Ai Hui!
Huh? Suddenly remembering the battle, he scanned across the
aggressive scene that was taking place not far away and
muttered uncertainly to himself, “Somewhat alongside...”
 He had been a little troubled, but his unhappiness
immediately vanished—like smoke into thin air.

Although I do not have that kind of passion that you do, you
are a friend. Lou Lan’s one and only friend. That, in itself, was a
sufficient reason to battle, Lou Lan said to himself.

Lou Lan was a sand puppet!

Lou Lan’s body suddenly shattered and transformed into a

pool of sand.

The stage was filled with a surging airflow, and Lou Lan
borrowed its energy to noiselessly hover in the air.
Occasionally, fire fragments would pass through his body, but
he displayed no reaction; he was like an unremarkable cloud,
floating silently amongst the raging storm of violent flames.

Lou Lan not only had a degree of understanding of [Flaming

Heavenly Spider Transformation], but he had also read
descriptions of [Hellfire Spider Web]. [Flaming Heavenly Spider
Transformation] had been classified as an absolute art mainly
because of its enormous potential for growth. Once
comprehended, the absolute art’s strength would jump to a
higher level with each palace opened.

With a base level of only two palaces, executing [Hellfire

Spider Web] was remarkably difficult, and at the very least, four
would be required for complete implementation. [Hellfire
Spider Web], when executed with only two palaces, had an
enormous loophole: it could affect only those enemies that were
on the ground. If enemies approached from above, they would
not trigger the response of [Hellfire Spider Web].

It was a pity that Ai Hui could not fly.

However, as a matter of fact, all weakness were only

significant when two opponents were of similar strength. In the
current situation, with such a large gap in skill level, identifying
a weakness was somewhat useless.

Lou Lan floated in midair, as he calmly drifted along with the

airflow.

Lou Lan could feel that the opponent was consuming huge
amounts of elemental energy and physical strength, and this
was evident from his increasingly slow attacks and his large,
heaving breaths. However, Ai Hui was comparatively more
miserable; his whole body was thoroughly exhausted.

Lou Lan could even sense that Ai Hui’s legs were trembling.

He could not help but admire Ai Hui. Willpower was an

unfamiliar word to a sand puppet. He had only read it in books
previously, but today, he had finally witnessed Ai Hui's
marvelous determination for himself. He could now sincerely
feel what willpower was.

Ai Hui was too awesome!

At that moment, Ai Hui lunged to the side, narrowly avoiding

a massive leg that descended from the sky. Boom! It forcefully
smashed on the ground. Yet another near miss.

Seeing that the opponent was close by, Lou Lan decisively
made his move.

Zu Yan had not expected Lou Lan’s attack since all his focus
was on Ai Hui. Furthermore, the attack came from midair,
which was not under the jurisdiction of his [Hellfire Spider
Web].
 Whoosh!

A clump of sand suddenly materialized and wrapped Zu Yan

up at lightning speed. A layer of fine sand started to make its
way onto Zu Yan’s palms. Eventually, a thin layer of sand had
appeared in between Zu Yan’s palms and the ground.

Caught completely off guard, Zu Yan’s expression changed.

With the layer of sand separating his palms from the floor, his
connection with the Hellfire Spider Web was affected. His sense
of his surroundings immediately turned blurry.

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

Countless grains of fine sand started grinding against one

another.

The sound of grinding sand was like a bolt of lightning that

pierced through the clouds and struck Ai Hui, instantly
illuminating his almost unconscious brain.

“...Let’s set a secret warning signal. The sound of grinding

sand. Not too loud, just enough for me to be able to hear…”
 His slackened pupils suddenly contracted as Ai Hui's
demeanor abruptly changed.

He adjusted his posture and his right foot stomped vigorously

on the ground. Creak! An ear-piercing sound, caused by the
friction between his shoes and the ground, was generated,
which was followed by a cloud of green smoke. Ai Hui’s body
was in a steeply inclined position—almost parallel to the
ground. He maintained his balance by placing his hands on the
ground to support his body.

Ai Hui, who had just stopped himself, unhesitatingly garnered

his last bit of strength and elemental energy. He then engaged
all limbs before shooting out, like a spring, towards the
miserable figure that was bundled up by the yellow sand.

Ai Hui arched his body slightly in midair.

The moment his back touched something, his body reacted

instinctively.

[Arching Fish Back]!

 Boom!

Unlike the explosive sounds that were being caused by Zu

Yan’s massive legs, this sonic boom was exceptionally dull and
muffled, as if it had come from deep underground. However, it
carried with it an even more frightening amount of power.

The yellow sand was like a hurricane; it was flying

everywhere. As if a wild rhinoceros had slammed into his body,
Zu Yan, with a resounding boom, was sent airborne before
smashing against the isolation screen. A moment later, his limp
body, which was spread out like a flatbread, started to slowly
slide down.

The referees at the side rushed towards him, and after a brief
inspection, they sighed a collective breath of relief. “No worries.
He's just unconscious.”

There was only dead silence throughout the training hall;

everyone present was left utterly speechless by the turn of
events.

The [Arching Fish Back] from earlier had drained every single
drop of energy from Ai Hui’s body; he could not even lift a
finger right now.

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

Countless granules of yellow sand rolled about on the ground,

resembling many creeks converging. Soon, a large lump of sand
—Lou Lan—appeared in front of Ai Hui.

The sand moved under Ai Hui’s body and propped him up,
before gently sliding him off stage like moving quicksand.

Everyone dazedly looked on in silence. They had yet to

recover from the earlier shock.

The golden sand did not pull Ai Hui out through the exit, but
instead, slid towards the manager of the training hall. Pu! The
mass of quicksand spat out the soul-fogging grass, which landed
on the manager's table.

Then, a part of the flowing sand transformed into a palm and

extended out in front of the manager.
 The manager was still standing in shock.

After waiting for ten seconds, the golden sand hand

impatiently slapped down on the manager’s table a few times,
before moving back in front of the manager. It continuously
gestured—with a thumb and index finger made of sand—as a
hint.

The manager instantly understood and hurriedly brought the

prize money over, fluidly placing it on top of the palm of yellow
sand.

It was only then that the golden sand pulled Ai Hui through
the deadly silent hall, before exiting under the astonished gazes
of the dumbstruck crowd.
Chapter 33: Repercussions
Shi Xueman allowed herself to stop and catch her breath;
however, she did this only after she managed to destroy twenty-
seven wooden stakes and shatter thirty-seven iron targets
consecutively.

Wiping off the beads of perspiration that trickled down her

forehead, Shi Xueman realized that after venting her anger, her
pent up frustrations were finally relieved. She had initially been
so confident about fighting a blind battle, but reality had given
her a cruel slap in the face.

Shi Xueman felt that ever since she had encountered that
scoundrel, her luck had started going downhill. Everything had
become increasingly unfavorable for her.

When she noticed Uncle Yong Zheng shuffling hurriedly in

her direction, she halted her training, and a trace of hope
inadvertently rose within her. "Have you found any news of
that scoundrel?"

"Miss, we just received news that Young Master Zu Yan was

beaten unconscious at a training hall.
 Shi Xueman paused for a moment, before responding, "Ah, Zu
Yan? He was knocked unconscious? What's the situation now?"

She had known Zu Yan when she was a young girl. Both of
their families were on good terms, and they were close family
friends. Zu Yan was younger than her by 2 years, and she had
always seen him as a little brat. When they were both children,
he had always followed her around like a shadow; however,
when he grew older, his talent had also emerged. Nobody had
expected that Zu Yan would be the first in his family's younger
generation to successfully comprehend [Flaming Heavenly Fire
Transformation].

Since then, Shi Xueman had hardly seen him, and she had
reckoned that he was locked up at home training. As the sole
seedling of the new generation, the Zu family placed him with
the utmost importance. In this aspect, though, Shi Xueman was
no exception, but in spite of that, she was more diligent and had
higher expectations for herself. She did not need to live under
the constant supervision of others, and as such, her family did
not impose many restrictions on her.

Yong Zheng replied, "The Zu family’s servants took him

home."
 "That is good to hear," Shi Xueman softly sighed with relief.
Shortly after, her expression became grave, as she asked, "What
is the background of the opposite party?"

"We are not sure yet. There have been many skilled
practitioners from the outer-states recently participating in
blind battles at Central Pine City." Yong Zheng paused before
continuing, "Currently, we only know that the other party is an
earth elementalist. He also has a brilliant sand puppet that aided
him in defeating Young Master Zu Yan in the blind battle."

"Blind battle?" Shi Xueman asked, surprised. Her first thought

was of that scoundrel from the previous battle. However, upon
thinking some more, she realized that if the opposite party had
a sand puppet, then it could not be the scoundrel. Shi Xueman
clearly remembered every detail about that scoundrel, and
while she was unable to determine his identity, she was entirely
certain that he was not an earth elementalist.

Furthermore, it was highly unlikely that that scoundrel could

defeat Zu Yan in a blind battle.

The Shi family and Zu family were family friends, and thus,
Shi Xueman knew much more about the Zu Family’s legacy
skills than the ordinary person. She had long heard that Zu Yan
had managed to activate two palaces according to [Flaming
Heavenly Spider Transformation], and as long as two palaces of
the [Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] were activated,
he would be able to learn [Hellfire Spider Web]. [Hellfire Spider
Web] was similar to a spider web, in the sense that it would
spread around an area to detect any movements within its
surroundings. It could be said to be a weapon that was designed
for blind battles.

In fact, it seemed as if blind battles were tailored specifically

for Zu Yan.

Shi Xueman knew that in a standard duel, she had an eighty

percent chance of defeating Zu Yan. However, in a blind battle,
Shi Xueman clearly understood that she would not even stand a
chance in defeating him.

Yet Zu Yan was actually beaten in a blind battle!

Furthermore, he was knocked unconscious!

One could imagine the astonishment that Shi Xueman was

feeling. She tried to recall the identities of skilled earth
elementalists of the Induction Ground that could defeat Zu Yan.
While there were many earth elementalist members who were
definitely stronger than Zu Yan, it was difficult for her to
pinpoint who exactly could defeat Zu Yan in a blind battle.

After gradually recovering from her shock, she sighed again.

"Perhaps it's a good thing, lest he becomes arrogant."

Yong Zheng glanced at Shi Xueman and laughed bitterly to

himself. He, too, was shocked when he first heard the news.
Central Pine City could be described as ‘turbulent’ in recent
times, but as a resident of Central Pine City for many years, he
was used to the previous peace and quiet. In the Induction
Ground, Central Pine City was a small city that never had many
experts.

However, the sudden boom in popularity of blind battles had

brought about a drastic change in the environment of Central
Pine City.

The news of Zu Yan's defeat and the mysterious earth

elementalist was sure to spread like wildfire; unfortunately, it
would only attract the attention of more skilled experts. If news
that the famous Shi Xueman was hiding in his very own
training ground was disclosed, then Central Pine City would get
even more crowded.
 He sighed. He should not keep worrying blindly about such
things.

He could only laugh bitterly when he recalled that the blind

battle was initially his idea.

"Ask around for more information on this earth elementalist,"

Shi Xueman instructed.

Yong Zheng nodded affirmatively and replied, "Yes."

As predicted, the news of Zu Yan being defeated by a

mysterious earth elementalist quickly spread around the entire
Central Pine City at an alarming rate. Zu Yan was simply too
famous. Although Zu Yan had managed to activate two palaces,
it was not considered to be an achievement in the Induction
Ground. However, the fact that he practiced the absolute art
[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] was sufficient
enough for him to rise to fame.

Throughout the Zu Family's long history, the disciples of each

generation who had managed to comprehend the [Flaming
Heavenly Spider Transformation] were all over the age of 30. Zu
Yan, who was able to comprehend an absolute art at such a
young age, had already revealed his astonishing talent. This had
greatly enforced the belief that he would have an exceptionally
bright future. Due to his age, however, his power was now
limited.

Moreover, absolute arts were absolute arts, after all. So what

if Zu Yan had activated only two palaces? Zu Yan’s capability
was definitely not any less than those who had managed to
activate four palaces.

Zu Yan had entered the Induction Ground while bearing the

burden of being the top of the Zu’s family younger generation.
While he was not a common household topic, Zu Yan’s fame
definitely surpassed every student of Central Pine City.

Even the reputation of the top genius of Central Pine City,

Duanmu Huanghun, was incomparable to that of Zu Yan.

One could only imagine the sensation that Zu Yan's defeat had
brought to Central Pine City; the whole city was discussing the
identity of the mysterious earth elementalist. The effect of this
incident was not just limited to Central Pine City—after hearing
about it, many outstanding experts of other cities had also
become exceptionally interested; they sought to take part in the
famed blind battles of Central Pine City.
 However, no one knew about the miserable state of Ai Hui and
Lou Lan—the chief protagonists of this incident.

…...

Swoosh! Lou Lan slid down from the fence.

"Ai Hui, how do you feel?"

Remaining in the form of a puddle of quicksand, Lou Lan

smoothly glided to the side of a mummified figure. The figure,
which was Ai Hui, looked far worse compared to Lou Lan; it was
wrapped in countless of loops of white bandages and the right
arm was pitifully hanging in front of its chest.

In the main training hall, Ai Hui was miserably resting on the

rattan chair, chewing on a blade of grass. He mumbled, "Lou
Lan, are you all right?"

"Master Shao said that I will only be able to stand after three
days. Before that, I'm unable to heal you, Ai Hui," Lou Lan
reported with regret, before continuing, "Do you want me to
find Doctor Mu Xiu to heal you first?"
 "Nope. I'm not in a hurry anyway. I will wait for you to
recover and then heal me. I'm a poor man, you see!"

"Ok." Lou Lan did not protest and, like a snake, started to
wind around a pillar that was next to Ai Hui. He stopped his
ascent when he reached Ai Hui's eye level.

Ai Hui suddenly spoke. "Thank you for yesterday, Lou Lan."

"Why are you thanking me, Ai Hui? Wasn’t it supposed to be

like this?" Lou Lan asked in confusion.

"I'm referring to not forgetting to take our reward when we

left!" Ai Hui gazed up at the heavens while euphorically
exclaiming, "So much cash! We are rich! We are rich!"

The cash reward was extremely generous—it amounted to five

hundred thousand yuan, which was a tremendous amount in Ai
Hui’s eyes.

"We won," Lou Lan burst out with joy. He was particularly
happy that he had managed to win his first actual battle.
Nothing could make him more satisfied than the fact that he
had played a major role in the fight.

Suddenly, Ai Hui, his voice laced with concern, asked, "Oh

yes, what did Master Shao say about your special abilities?"
Chapter 34: To Split The Cash
After they returned from the battle, Lou Lan explained the
various odd quirks on his body to an astonished Ai Hui. Ai Hui
was very familiar with the soul-fogging grass. While the effect
of the soul-fogging grass in restraining a sand puppet was not
definite, if a sand puppet was of low quality, the restraining
effect would be very distinct. Although it was highly unexpected
for Lou Lan to still be able to see when a whole blade of soul-
fogging grass was placed on his head, yesterday proved
otherwise.

From the beginning, Ai Hui felt that Master Shao was

mysterious and brilliant. Many of Lou Lan’s aspects continued
to surprise him. Ai Hui had interacted with numerous sand
puppets before, but Lou Lan was the most unique sand puppet
that he had ever seen.

“Master Shao said he used a lot of his own inventions on me

and never imagined that there would be such an effect. He did
not know what I would be transformed into since most of the
techniques he used were untested. As of now, I am a never-
before-seen being. To put it simply, I am an experiment, but
Master Shao never imagined that I would be effective in combat
and was amazed by my performance. Regarding my current
situation, Master Shao still needs time to contemplate.”
 As he neared the end of his speech, Lou Lan looked happy. He
felt relatively joyful due to the fact that Master Shao was
astonished by his accomplishments.

“You can definitely be a fighter!” Ai Hui said in an assured

tone. He continued, “I feel that you have the potential to be a
high-level battle sand puppet!”

“Really, really?” Lou Lan’s tone was jubilant, like a kid who
had just received a compliment.

“Of course!” Ai Hui thought of something suddenly and said,

“Oh yes! We have one more deed to do.”

“What do we need to do?” Lou Lan asked curiously.

From lying on the rattan chair like he was at his last breath, Ai
Hui suddenly jolted up as if he had ingested some miracle tonic.
His pride was practically bursting out of his body and could not
be constrained by the numerous bandages wrapped on him. Ai
Hui cheered, “Split the cash!”

“Split the cash?” Lou Lan was somewhat confused.

 “Of course we need to split it. Half of the cash reward belongs
to you,” Ai Hui said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lou Lan paused for a moment before saying, “We do not need
to split the cash reward. I am just a sand puppet.”

“Who set the rules that sand puppets do not need to get a
share of the cash reward?” Ai Hui asked calmly. “No matter
whether you are a sand puppet or not, we fought together, and
this means we are partners. Since half the merit is yours, half
the cash reward is definitely yours too. This is the rule.”

Lou Lan said limply, “But….”

“There is no but!” Ai Hui insisted. “It is decided and it shall be

this way in the future. Hmm, the one hundred thousand yuan
from the first battle will be solely mine as I fought in the battle
alone. The cash reward from the second battle is five hundred
thousand yuan and we shall split it evenly between us. Take it
away quickly before I get blinded by the amount of money we
have! Adding up the cash from both battles, I will have three
hundred and fifty thousand yuan!”

Ai Hui spoke in an agitated tone. Three hundred and fifty

thousand yuan. To Ai Hui, this is a hefty amount that he had
never before earned in his entire life.

I made it. I made it!

His mind was filled with that phrase. As he visualized the

countless energy-replenishing tonic soups that he could now
afford and their tantalizing smell, he unknowingly gulped.

Oh heavens have mercy on Ai Hui. A country bumpkin like

him had never seen such a large amount of money before. With
a trace of sleepiness in his voice, Ai Hui asked, “How are you
going to spend the money, Lou Lan?”

Lou Lan was somewhat at a loss and said, “I don’t know…”

“What, you don’t even know what to spend on? Lou Lan, you
are too silly ha ha.” Ai Hui’s voice was weary, and his speech
was unclear.

But Lou Lan truly did not know. He never thought that he
would be given a share of the cash reward. Since he the day he
was first created, Lou Lan had countless interactions with
money, such as when Master Shao sent him to buy ingredients,
when he went shopping for daily groceries, and so on. However,
the sand puppet had never had money that belonged solely to
himself.

Nobody rewarded him with cash even if he helped them. He

was merely a sand puppet. Wasn’t it natural and proper for a
sand puppet to help human beings?

As a result, this was the first in his life that he received a sum
of money that was his alone.

This sudden monetary gain affected him tremendously.

Reflexively, he looked towards Ai Hui who had incidentally
fallen asleep. Even while sleeping, Ai Hui pursed his lips, as if he
was eating something.

Lou Lan gazed at Ai Hui silently while reflecting on what Ai

Hui had said previously.

“No matter whether you are a sand puppet or not, we fought

together, and this means we are partners. Since half the merit is
yours, half the cash reward is definitely yours too. This is the
rule…”
 Partners ...

A feeling he never experienced before surged into him. Lou

Lan did not know how to describe this feeling, but he felt that
this would be a day he would remember for the rest of his life.

On this day, Lou Lan finally had his own money.

On this day, Lou Lan was treated as a partner and not just as a
tool.

He realized that he had been unaware that he was lacking

something, but now he was fulfilled . It was as if he had
encountered a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

At that moment, he understood that he was no longer the

same Lou Lan as before.

He was unable to describe the change, but he knew that he

was different now.

…
 “Huanghun, you are still not attending lessons today?” His
friends who were getting ready to leave shouted through his
locked door.

In his room, Duanmu Huanghun moved his face close to the

mirror. Looking at his swollen face which still revealed the
distinctive palm imprints, his eye twitched and he forced the
words out of his mouth, “I am not going.”

“Then we’re leaving.”

While continuing their discussion, his friends turned and

departed.

“What is going on with Huanghun recently? He does not even

attend his lessons anymore. He never skipped any of his classes
before!”

“Perhaps he is sick. Didn’t he catch a cold previously?”

“Oh yeah, it seems like he was also tortured by the instructor

from the Society of Excellence. Thank goodness we didn’t join.”
 “Oh please, we wanted to be in the Society of Excellence, but
we were not accepted. Do you think just anyone can be like
Huanghun? His popularity among ladies coupled with his
handsome looks and capability made him number one in
Central Pine City!”

Duanmu Huanghun turned green. Currently, he only wanted

to cover his ears, but the comments of his friends outside found
their way to his ears. Looking at the swollen face reflected in the
mirror, every sentence was like a stab to his heart.

That damn cold! He was actually knocked unconscious by that

fellow. He felt his emotions rising.

Thinking back to the humiliating measures that the scoundrel

Ai Hui used, Duanmu Huanghun once again felt his face heating
up.

Recalling the gesticulations from the many females on the

street, his face was practically burning.

He was not sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that the face in
the mirror was more swollen than before, as if it had
transformed into a bun. The elegant, dainty chin was gone and
his facial features were completely warped. His once
charismatic eyes has also became lightbulb-like.

This is too humiliating!

This is simply too embarrassing!

This hatred cannot be contained. Just you wait, Ai Hui. I,

Duanmu Huanghun, will definitely not let you off!

Suddenly, someone shouted from outside the window,

“Rumor has it that Duanmu Huanghun is the number one
expert in Central Pine City. I am Gu Tianning and I am
challenging you to a duel. Duanmu Huanghun, do you dare to
accept my challenge?”

Duanmu Huanghun tensed.

“Fellow student Duanmu Huanghun, don’t tell me that you do

not have even an ounce of courage to battle? What a
disappointment!” the newcomer shouted, his voice echoing into
the distance.
 Duanmu Huanghun trembled in anger, but looking back at the
swollen face in the mirror, the urge to rush out disappeared. If
he rushed out, he would surely become the laughingstock of
Central Pine City tomorrow.

Just you wait, Ai Hui!

Chapter 35: Harvest and Explode
As Ai Hui waved his arm, he felt that he was strong enough to
kill a bull. Lou Lan’s skills were indeed trustworthy.

“Lou Lan, I’m going to train.”

Ai Hui carried the dried food and water he had prepared

during the morning and waved to Lou Lan.

With a clap, Lou Lan exploded into a lump of yellow sand and
molded into a tight, yellow sand fist. “You go, Ai Hui!”

Ai Hui laughed and hoisted the bag over his shoulder tightly
before exiting the Vanguard Training Hall.

Walking on the streets, Ai Hui clearly felt that there was a

much bigger crowd than usual. Soon he understood that these
people were mostly students from other cities who came over to
participate in the blind battles. As he listened,their heated
discussions involved experts they had met, mysterious earth
elementalists, Zu Yan, and so on.
 Ai Hui was baffled by the news. He had long forgotten about
his disguise as an earth elementalist, so he did not put two and
two together.

Very quickly, however, he heard something that he could

comprehend.

“Have you heard? Gu Tianning challenged Duanmu

Huanghun to a battle, but Duanmu Huanghun caught a cold and
was unable to show up. What a pity.”

“Ah, that’s really a pity! I have seen Gu Tianning’s skills. He’s

powerful! He ranked within the top fifty of the Induction
Ground at fourty-ninth! Plus, he’s a berserker in battle.
Duanmu Huanghun is the number one talent in Central Pine
City. He’s the most outstanding kid in his family, so it definitely
would have been an intense battle!”

“That’s why it’s unfortunate. Initially, Gu Tianning thought

Duanmu Huanghun was finding an excuse. He only found out
later that Duanmu Huanghun was really out with a cold and
couldn’t attend classes for a few days.”

“Too bad…”
 Ai Hui sneered while listening at the side. He despised
Duanmu Huanghun greatly. What cold? Who was this guy
fooling? If he had not personally cured Duanmu Huanghun, Ai
Hui would have been deceived by this absurd excuse.

Duanmu Huanghun appeared to be decent, but it seemed like

his morals were questionable.

Ai Hui, who was inwardly disdaining Duanmu Huanghun,

soon forgot about this news after traveling less than ten meters.
Ai Hui never cared about things that were irrelevant to him.
Although Duanmu Huanghun was a classmate, he was no
different from any passerby in Ai Hui’s eyes.

Ai Hui was very cautious toward the world. He was insulated,

apathetic, and did not care if this planet perished or prospered.
He was only concerned about his own small world.

The word “friends” had a completely different meaning to Ai

Hui.

Fatty was unscrupulous, stingy, greedy, and timid, but he was

actually also a softhearted and kind person who tried to be on
good terms with everyone. In the Wilderness, he was the one
who buried the workers who had passed away. Only Fatty
would do something like this. Ai Hui would not since he found it
meaningless.

He only cared about Fatty who was his friend during times of
tribulation.

Fatty had saved Ai Hui’s life more than once.

The worst incident occurred when the team was attacked by a

bunch of dire beasts. Half of the elementalists died. The
laborers, needless to say, were practically all killed or injured.
Ai Hui was seriously injured and had lost consciousness.
Trembling, Fatty pulled him out from the pile of dead bodies.
While the elementalists panicked and just wanted to be on their
way, no one bothered to care for the laborers. Fatty carried him,
ran with the remaining team for five days, and lost ten
kilograms doing this. That was the only time he had been
skinny. When Ai Hui regained consciousness for the first time,
Fatty hugged him while wailing loudly, creating a scene Ai Hui
could never forget.

Now there was Lou Lan. Probably because Lou Lan was a sand
puppet, Ai Hui did not guard against him that much.
 He felt this situation was quite good. It would allow him to
direct all his energy into his training. His world was small, but it
was all he needed.

Upon exiting Central Pine City, Ai Hui quickened his steps. No

one noticed this youth with the shabby cloth bag. Although he
had just earned a hefty sum of three hundred and fifty thousand
yuan, he could not bear to spend it. His shabby cloth bag was
still a shabby cloth bag. His dried rations were still hard and
dehydrated pancakes.

In the future, he would have many necessities that required

money.. These blind battles made Ai Hui realize that he was
very naive for hoping to earn money through competitions.
Even though he had joined forces with Lou Lan, his last victory
had been a fluke within a fluke. Such luck would never befall
him again. The blind battles within Central Pine City were now
widely acclaimed and the number of experts competing started
to increase. His chances of winning would only become
slimmer.

Previously, he could depend on his familiarity with night

battles to have an advantage over other contestants, but in front
of all kinds of strange fighting methods and the absolute
elemental energy disparity, his advantage became negligible.
 No matter what, experience could never replace skills.
Otherwise, he would not have to attend classes in the Induction
Ground.

When he neared the Suspending Golden Pagoda, he met two

city guards who reminded him about roaming wild beasts and
warned him to pay attention to safety. Ai Hui was a little taken
aback, but he expressed his thanks anyway. He had only been
away for a few days, yet wild beasts started to appear.

It looked like he had to be careful, so Ai Hui raised his

alertness. Having survived the Wilderness, he naturally would
not be the least bit careless.

Arriving at the pagoda, Ai Hui scanned his surroundings

meticulously. It was more or less the same as when he had left
this place a few days back. There were no marks left by the wild
beasts, causing Ai Hui to feel a little puzzled.

Although he was not sure how the beast sightings came to be

reported, Ai Hui had extensive experience in this area and
greater faith in his own judgment.

Upon retrieving his well-hidden Backless Armor and seeing

that it was safe without a scratch, Ai Hui was relieved. This
armor was quite expensive, and it could be considered as an
important asset.

He put the armor on and fastened it before starting his unique

training.

When Ai Hui threw himself into the pagoda once again, he felt
different from before. The metal wind still pierced into his
bones, but the pain induced by the silver strands of metal
element had lessened significantly.

This caught Ai Hui’s attention. After careful sensing and

observation, he realized there was a slight change in his
muscles. They were tougher, more durable, and denser. His
muscles were initially like rice straw , while the strands of metal
element were like steel needles that permeated into his body
and caused shooting pains. Now, however, his muscles became
more solid. The rice straw had become bamboo, naturally
reducing the pain.

The metal elemental energy contained within these silver

strands was much more condensed than the energy from typical
sources. This promoted the growth of muscle strength more
effectively than the common metal elemental energy.
 This discovery incited Ai Hui. He knew he had found the right
path.

There was still a lack of affinity, but he had better endurance.

Although his absorption was less efficient, he could absorb a
higher grade of elemental energy. The higher the grade, the
more effective the training was for the body.

There was nothing more exciting than unearthing a path that

belonged to him.

For this session, Ai Hui persevered for an even longer time.

His day became richer and more fulfilling. Ai Hui was very
willing to endure the dull and dreary training.

Be it the absorption of elemental energy or the [Arching Fish

Back], Ai Hui was full of vigor Before, Ai Hui only used the
[Arching Fish Back] to disperse the silver strands of metal
element in his body, but the previous blind battle had made him
realize the effectiveness of this move. It could be formidable if
trained properly.
 Even an expert who practiced an absolute art and activated
two palaces was knocked senseless by his [Arching Fish Back].

Currently, it was definitely his most powerful technique!

Ai Hui had brought a whole month’s worth of dried food. He

also found a water source about two kilometers away. In that
desolate Suspending Golden Pagoda, he started diligently
training day and night without pause.

It was not hard work to him. No one knew how much he had
wished to be able to focus on training without having to worry
about anything else during his time in the Wilderness.

It felt so good!

Being able to feel his dripping sweat was something that felt
really good!

He could sense his progress every day. They were tiny, but
firm and steady improvements that gave him a feeling of
accomplishment.
 Yes, his world was this small. He had never thought of saving
the planet or becoming a hero. Training hard daily, without
worrying about being attacked by wild beasts or about
tomorrow’s plans, was enough. How could such a life not be
blissful?

He could not think of a happier life. He wished for this

lifestyle to continue forever.

To Ai Hui, who was immersed in his training, one month

ended in the blink of an eye. He only become aware of the fact
that a month had passed when he reached into his cloth bag and
felt that it was empty.

During that one month, Ai Hui did not waste a single second.

As he removed his Backless Armor, his face was full of

surprise. His progress was so great that even he himself could
not believe it.

Under the sunlight, a faint metallic sheen appeared on his

skin. He had witnessed such a phenomenon before, but only
from some of the authentic, master elementalists.
 His skin became even harder. He tried using a sharp piece of
stone to scratch his skin but only created a shallow mark. His
strength had obviously increased. His muscles, which had been
refined by metal elemental energy, could produce greater
explosive force.

His power was not weak to begin with, but it had now become
alarmingly strong. Even without utilizing elemental energy, his
base strength was five times more powerful.

The elemental energy within his body had grown even more
obviously. In the past, his elemental energy was thin like a
thread, but now it was as thick as a toothpick

The growth in his elemental energy would bring about a

comprehensive growth to his fighting capabilities.

The force of his [Arching Fish Back] was also boosted

compared to before. It was evident from the big dent on the
pagoda’s wall. Before, the subtle indentation could only be seen
with the naked eye when viewed up close. Now, it was
extremely obvious and could easily be noticed.

Judging from this pace, another two months was all Ai Hui
needed before attempting to activate his natal residences.

Ai Hui was not in a rush to activate the residences because he

could feel his continuous progress, indicating his tempering had
not reached bottleneck. His experience in the Wilderness taught
him that a robust body was essential at all times.

He witnessed some master elementalists perish, even though

they possessed exceptional elemental energy, due to weak
physiques.

His body could take it, so why shouldn’t he take this chance to
fortify it even further? Ai Hui managed to control his eager
heart since he knew he was on the right path. He had seen a lot
of swordplay manuals from the big sects and none failed to
highlight the importance of the basics. These books should
contain logic and truth if they had been passed down over tens
of thousands of years.

Ai Hui started salivating after suddenly recalling Lou Lan’s

elemental energy replenishing soup. Like a gust of wind he
rushed toward Central Pine City.

He was unaware that in the month he was gone, the world

outside had been turned upside down.

Defeated, Zu Yan closed himself off from the world to train.

Seeking a rematch in half a year, he proclaimed a written
challenge addressed to that mysterious earth elementalist.
Challenge notices were placed outside every institution within
the Induction Ground.

Shi Xueman trained diligently as well. She felt that her skills
were insufficient to defeat her enemy and was preparing for
more arduous closed door training to sharpen her combat
ability.

Central Pine City had become the most popular city within the
Induction Ground. The blind battling trend swept across the
Induction Ground since it was a novel system of competition
that attracted much interest. Teachers discussed blind battling
techniques in classes and some more progressive schools even
started to prepare lessons dedicated to blind battles.

During this month, within Central Pine City, the limelight

belonged solely to one person—Duanmu Huanghun.

Duanmu Huanghun was renowned as the number one genius

among Central Pine City’s current batch of students and people
thought highly of him. He was also one of the more popular
students in the city.

The rise in popularity of blind battling brought along many

expert fighters from outside of Central Pine. When many
talented combatants gathered, there were naturally people who
wanted to challenge Duanmu Huanghun, especially after he
rejected Gu Tianning’s duel request.

Sure, he had a cold, but many still scorned and looked down
on him. Rumors spread that he was strong in appearance, but
weak in reality, leading many fame-seeking students to
challenge him one after another.

Duanmu Huanghun consequently exploded!

He consecutively defeated nine seniors, who were all at least

four years older than him, within a week and spontaneously
silenced the gossip.

But this was just the beginning. With a belly full of anger,
Duanmu Huanghun wasn’t satisfied just yet. During the next
week, he headed down to different training halls to declare
challenges to their respective experts.

Fifteen consecutive wins in a week!

One of his defeated opponents even had six palaces activated.

Such a terrifying combat record immediately boosted his
reputation within the Induction Ground.

The bloodthirsty Duanmu Huanghun had no intention to

stop, however.

In the third week, he fought his way out of Central Pine City
and into the rankings of the Induction Ground. He challenged
and defeated the forty-ninth ranked Gu Tianning, the thirty-
third ranked Cui Zhiyuan, and the twenty-fifth ranked Fu Hua.

The entire Induction Ground was momentarily silenced.

He jumped up to seventeenth in the newly announced

rankings, becoming the only new student to place within the
top twenty. He also became the leading student of this year’s
new students.
 Historically speaking, the number of new students who
managed to accomplish this could be counted on one hand.

With his outstanding accomplishments, Duanmu Huanghun

became one of the finest contenders in the Induction Ground.
His astonishing talent and aptitude shocked the Induction
Ground’s management team. They allowed him to move up to a
higher-level school district in order to receive better guidance.

Upon hearing the news, countless school districts were quick

to react. Since Duanmu had yet to return to Central Pine City,
they took the opportunity to catch him midway and attempted
to pull this rare talent into their institutions by offering
generous conditions.

What caused everyone to be taken aback was the fact that

Duanmu Huanghun rejected all of them.

He publicly declared that he was going to remain in Central

Pine and would only accept Teacher Xu’s guidance.

This unexpected choice silenced the Induction Ground once

again, but since everyone valued him highly now, they decided
he was virtuous and respectful of those who had helped him
along the way.

Duanmu Huanghun’s glorious image received another boost.

With his handsome looks, devilish charm, and naturally cool
disposition, he became the man of many young girls’ dreams.
Many of them left their respective institutions in order to follow
him as he went around challenging different experts.

No matter where he went, countless beauties trailed behind

him.

The once-unknown Central Pine City was now beyond famous

and had become a city envied by institutions from all other
cities.

And today was the day Duanmu Huanghun was returning to

Central Pine City.
Chapter 36: Nightmare
“I didn’t know that Duanmu is so strong!”

“Yeah, and he is so idealistic to choose to stay in Central Pine

City. He is definitely a loyal person. I can't believe that I used to
have prejudice against him before!”

“That’s right! Duanmu may seem cold from appearance but is

actually emotional at heart.”

……

Today was the day of the return of Duanmu Huanghun to

Central Pine City. When the faculty and students learned of the
news, the entire school came together to distinctly hold a
welcome ceremony for Duanmu. Whether teacher or student,
everyone’s face was radiant with joy. A freshman had made it to
the top twenty of the Induction Ground—it was an
unprecedented honor, even in the entire history of Central Pine
City. It not only brought fame but also tangible benefits to the
city.

As long as they could retain Duanmu Huanghun, Central Pine

Academy could get a high score every year, because the score
earned by Duanmu Huanghun alone was more than all the other
students combined. The score was tightly related to the rating
and resources that would be allocated to the school in the
future. As a result, Duanmu had definitely become the apple of
everyone’s eyes.

Duanmu Huanghun's incredible achievement was totally out

of the school officials’ expectations. Moreover, when Duanmu
announced to the public that he would continue to study in
Central Pine Academy, they felt as if a delicious pie had fallen
from the sky onto their laps. Not only was it the reason why a
welcome ceremony was being held, but it was also why all the
participants—whether teachers or students—were more than
happy to do so from the bottom of their hearts.

The benefit that Duanmu had brought them covered many

aspects, including a rise in teachers' salaries and the
improvement of student's training resources.

However, this was all the more impressive to the female

students of Central Pine Academy; Duanmu Huanghun had
previously enjoyed an amazingly high popularity among these
girls, but now, after becoming the idol of the entire Induction
Ground, they had all started to go crazy over him.
 “Girls, cheer up! We don’t lose to the b*tches from other
schools!”

“Exactly! Huanghun belongs to us. Who are they to meddle

with us? Anyone who wants our Huanghun has to defeat me
first!”

“Good things should always be kept for our own. Throw those
b*tches away as far as possible!”

“Huanghun will know who really loves him the most!”

……

These girls had dressed up extravagantly in their favorite

dresses to attend the welcome ceremony.

Faculty and students were gathered on both sides of the road,

preparing to welcome their beloved Duanmu. The crowd
stretched from the gate of the city all the way to the entrance of
Central Pine Academy.
 The shops along the road were decorated with flags, and each
training hall had also adorned their entrances with colorful
banners. The managers and merchants were all beaming with
joy as flocks of people continued to bring much more profits to
their businesses.

The sudden increase in popularity of blind battles had greatly

improved the business of the various training halls in Central
Pine City—now informally known as “The Cradle of Blind
Battles.” Their businesses could already flourish along with the
trend for quite some while more. Yet, they were also clearly
aware that that would hardly last long, because, although blind
battles were a new and hot topic at this moment, as time passed
by, interest would eventually be lost, resulting in the inevitable
plummet in profit.

The rise of Duanmu Huanghun, however, was a pleasant

surprise to them.

As long as the glorious Duanmu Huanghun continued to stay

in Central Pine City, the small city would no longer be as
obscure as before. What did ‘top twenty’ in the Induction
Ground stand for? It stood for something that everybody looked
up to, and in other words, the signature symbol of Central Pine
City had now been changed—previously, it was blind battles,
but from now on, it would be the great genius Duanmu
Huanghun.

In the keen eyes of the businessmen of Central Pine City,

Duanmu was definitely akin to a rare treasure. Apart from his
own potential and prominent background, merely the fact that
he was now ranked among the top twenty as a freshman was
enough for them to amplify the hype and turn him into ‘the
genius of the century’. Now, he was the leader among the new
students. How many would come to challenge him? How many
new, trendy topics would there now be?

Moreover, Duanmu had a face that was so beautiful that even

women would cry out in envy. Think of all those female
students who had just lost their minds in infatuation. They
were identical to countless walking money!

Whose money was it the easiest to earn? Women’s!

The rise in popularity of the city was beneficial for everyone.

Almost all the residents attended the ceremony. They were all
rather curious because the city had never before seen a genius
that could attract so much attention. No one in Central Pine
City had ever made it into the top one hundred, much less the
top twenty. The highest ranking of Central Pine Academy
students had hitherto been 292.

A lump of Fiery Floating Cloud was soaring through the air.

Duanmu Huanghun was elegantly seated upon the Fiery

Floating Cloud, but his handsome and devilishly attractive face
carried with it a tinge of weariness. It was indeed a heavy
burden, to both his spirit and body, to consecutively challenge a
large number of competitive rivals.

When he could finally glimpse the outline of Central Pine

City, Duanmu heaved a long sigh of relief. He had purposefully
set out overnight to avoid those crazy female students.

The past several days had been a literal nightmare to him. He

believed that the misfortune had started from that insufferable
task that Teacher Xu had assigned to him. When he looked back
at those unbearable memories, he felt fury begin to well up
within him—especially when he remembered the day when he
had to refuse Gu Tianning’s challenge because of his puffy face,
which had earned him the name of a coward.

Even though Duanmu had endured through the immense

shame, he really had not expected that every Tom, Dick, and
Harry would want to duel with him after they heard of his
refusal to accept Tianning’s challenge. Having held in his anger
for so long, Duanmu eventually could not take it anymore, and
finally flared up.

That was why he thrashed the challengers without even

saying a word.

Moreover, in his violent rage, he had rushed straight to all the

training halls and battered those foreign masters, who had come
to experience the blind battles, to a pulp.

However, Duanmu’s anger was still not completely vented.

Heaven only knew how many more outlets he needed.

Therefore, his next move was to rush out of Central Pine City,
but the first person he encountered was Gu Tianning—the
source of his grievances. When he thought of his puffy face and
the taunts that were coming from outside, he felt an
unspeakable humiliation.

In the end, Duanmu thought of only one thing, which was to

fight. His fury was almost driving him insane, and there was
only a single thought that was constantly echoing in his mind: I
want to vent! I want to vent!

However, now, after having challenged another two strong

opponents, Duanmu Huanghun was finally exhausted, and his
rage was somewhat eased.

He felt much more placid now.

As for the invitations from other schools, he threw them into

the dustbin without even a glimpse.

Stand up from where he had fallen!

He could not let Ai Hui off the hook so easily; he would not
leave Central Pine Academy unless the resentment between
them was settled. His intent for revenge was indeed hard to
curb. When he thought of his puffy face, the killer intent within
him became slightly uncontrollable.

He did not even have the courage to recall that horrible scene.
 Damn! It was all because of Ai Hui. He was his nightmare, and
he must destroy him!

Noticing the welcoming crowd at the city gate, he gracefully

smoothed down his clothes, held his chin high and raised his
head. His face returned to being cold and devilishly charming.

His vanity was greatly content as he returned as a triumphant

hero.

Under the burning gazes of the crowd, the Fiery Floating

Cloud stopped unhurriedly at the city gate. Everyone behind the
gate held their breath; Duanmu Huanghun’s cold yet handsome
face quickly attracted attention. His tall and slender figure
revealed his graceful temperament, and his gorgeous clothing,
which was stained from travel, seemed to narrate a unique story
of its owner’s honor and achievement.

The unprecedented genius of the entire Induction Ground!

An absolute idol among the new students!

The Fiery Floating Cloud steadily hovered several inches away

from the ground. Duanmu Huanghun, who was being stared at
by thousands of people, effortlessly and dignifiedly stepped
down from the Fiery Floating Cloud like a valiant, glorious
hero.

“Oh, hello, Bangwan! You are here too?”

That voice had constantly lurked about in his nightmares, but

now, from behind, it suddenly reached his ears like a
thunderclap.

Duanmu seriously could not prepare for such an unexpected

occurrence, and almost instinctively, his pupils dilated and his
body stiffened, as he staggered and missed his step.

With a resounding thud, Duanmu Huanghun fell to the

ground like a rigid stake.

Everyone instantly fell silent.

Chapter 37: Noodle House
Ai Hui had no intention to greet Duanmu Huanghun since he
did not know him very well, and so had just planned to ignore
him.

However, Duanmu’s Fiery Floating Cloud had stopped right in

front the gate and blocked the way. Moreover, it seemed to take
ages for him just to step off the cloud. Ai Hui waited, and
waited, until he eventually became really impatient, and
greeted ‘Hello!’ out loud to remind that Bangwan that someone
was waiting behind him and to please be quick.

However, right afterward…

Looking at the fallen Duanmu's face, Ai Hui felt contempt for

his psychological weakness. His voice had been barely above a
whisper. How could someone be so fearful? What about those
dire beasts with their thundering roars in the Wilderness? This
guy would simply be frightened to death!

Maybe the kids nowadays were like this. Anyhow, Ai Hui had
always regarded him as childish.
 Other than training, Ai Hui had never cared too much about
anything else. As for the large crowd of people waiting at the
city gate, well, what did it have to do with him?

When he arrived back at the training hall, he noticed that it

was spotlessly clean; as usual, Lou Lan had done a good job.
Now, however, Lou Lan was not present, which left Ai Hui to be
free.

After finishing his shower, Ai Hui noticed that Lou Lan was
still missing. All his hopes were dashed; it seemed like there
would be no soup today.

As it was still early, he decided to head out and have some

noodles.

Yes, noodles, which would cost him a hundred and fifty yuan
for a single bowl! After all, now that he had three hundred and
fifty thousand yuan on hand, he considered himself to be rather
rich and could eat as much as he liked. Ai Hui had only been
eating pancakes for the past month, and his mouth watered at
just the thought of those noodles.

He immediately rushed out through the door.

 Shi Xueman wandered the streets of Central Pine City without
any specific destination. She had heard about the big welcoming
ceremony for Duanmu Huanghun, but unfortunately, she could
not witness it for herself. She had also learned from Uncle Yong
Zheng that after jumping off the Fiery Floating Cloud, Duanmu
had toppled over onto the ground in exhaustion. People were
marveling at the hardship he had endured through to attain his
current achievement.

Shi Xueman also admired his unprecedented feat of

consecutively challenging three experts of the top fifty in just
one week. It truly was no surprise that he was exhausted.

She herself had only managed to achieve the top one hundred
during her first year of college; it was no wonder that Duanmu
Huanghun was being honored as ‘The Genius of the Century’.

Nevertheless, she had no interest in Duanmu Huanghun; she

was only interested in that mysterious expert who had defeated
her. She once suspected that Duanmu Huanghun might be the
one, but had shortly rejected the notion.

Duanmu Huanghun was of an apparent noble temperament—

totally different from that of the mysterious master.
 Shi Xueman was wearing an elemental energy mask to avoid
being recognized by others, and now, she appeared to be an
ordinary girl student.

Ever since that fateful blind battle, she would often come to
Central Pine City in her free time, and she soon became familiar
with its topography. In fact, she was presently enjoying the
feeling of strolling aimlessly after an intense training session.

Detecting a mouth-watering aroma of food, Shi Xueman

suddenly began to feel hungry.

Turning to the source, she noticed a noodle house. Actually,

she seldom ate out at restaurants—to be more specific, she
seldom ate anything except elemental food.

On account of her constant training, she was stringent with

her diet. Her daily diet only consisted of elemental food that was
specially made for enhancing the results of her training.

Therefore, she hesitated...but she eventually succumbed to

the temptation.
 As it was not yet mealtime, there were only a few customers in
the noodle house. The owner was engrossed in preparing spiced
beef, causing an irresistible smell to linger in the air.

She casually entered, sat at a table, and requested a bowl of

noodles. At that instant, a figure rushed in and sat at a table
across from her. "Five bowls of noodles, please!"

Shi Xueman took a brief glance and realized that it was a male
student who seemed familiar. She might have seen him
somewhere before.

After pondering for a while, she remembered that last time in

Central Pine City, while she was fuming over all the colorful
banners advertising blind battles, she had noticed a mocking
gaze coming from across the street…

…from this guy!

Last time, although Shi Xueman was filled with self-

confidence, she had made a mistake, and now she felt slightly
embarrassed. However, she was not annoyed with the boy
because they were unfamiliar with each other. Admittedly, she
was in a rotten mood at that time, and she seemed to have given
him an angry glance.

She smiled wryly. Just then, her noodles arrived, and she
began to enjoy her delicious meal.

The noodles were incredibly tasty and totally different from

the elemental food that she was used to. Try as she might, she
could not stop eating.

Compared to her, though, the actions of the fellow seated

opposite were far more exaggerated. He swept through the five
large bowls of noodles in a line like the wind sweeping the
leaves, causing a scene that was of great visual impact.
Furthermore, his table manners were rude and wild, and with
each bite, half the noodles of a bowl would disappear. Shi
Xueman, who had happened to take a glimpse, was left stunned.

All the people she knew were restrained, elegant, and gentle
while eating; she had never before seen anyone eat like him.

At the beginning, Ai Hui had noticed her since she had stared
at him for a while, but having already adapted to life in the
Induction Ground, he did not regard it as anything dangerous.
 Now, he was so focused on the noodles that he had already
forgotten himself.

He picked up a bowl and gulped down half the noodle soup

before placing it down contentedly. He suddenly noticed the
stupefied lady sitting across from him.

Shi Xueman met his gaze, but she immediately realized that it
was somewhat rude and quickly looked down. In an attempt to
cover her embarrassment, she hastily called the owner to bring
her the bill.

"That would be a hundred and fifty yuan, please," said the

owner monotonously.

"Okay," replied Shi Xueman as she rummaged about for her

purse. However, she suddenly froze, because she realized one
horrible thing—she did not take any money with her!

She had taken a shower and changed her attire after training,
but the purse was still in her previous clothes!

What to do? She had never encountered anything like this and
totally blanked out.

"Excuse me, lady?" Noticing her absence of mind, the owner

gently gave another reminder.

"Sorry…I…I forgot to bring money…"

Shi Xueman stammered, her face burning with shame—at this

moment, she felt like hiding herself and disappearing.

The owner’s expression darkened.

Ai Hui noticed the scene. Looking at the lady’s face, which

was almost buried in her arms, he shook his head to himself and
said, "Hey, I’ll lend you the money. Give me something as a
pledge, and I’ll return it to you once you pay me back."

Would he freely pay the bill? No. Ai Hui would never utter
such profligate words.

One hundred and fifty yuan was a lot of money to him!

 If there was nothing to pledge, he would not lend the money.
He was not one to show sympathy, and simply his willingness to
lend was already a great favor in his eyes.

He then took out the money and pointed to the bowls in front
of him. "Bill, please."

Having paid for the meals, Ai Hui strolled out of the noodle
house with a toothpick in his mouth and Shi Xueman’s bead
bracelet in his hand.

Shi Xueman sincerely expressed her gratitude to Ai Hui.

"Thank you. I will definitely pay you back. Please give me your
address."

"Vanguard Training Hall." Ai Hui continued, "Bring the

money, and I’ll give you the bracelet. Go home and get the
money quickly. I’m leaving now."

Noticing the decreasing sunlight, Ai Hui hastily corrected

himself. "Tomorrow would also be fine. Farewell!"

He quietly waved goodbye, without taking the clouds away

from the sky.

1. The original text is extracted from a modern poem which is

well known in China. Basically, it means "He left."
Chapter 38: The Inner Demon
When Shi Xueman returned to the Shi Clan Training Hall, she
asked Uncle Yong Zheng, "Do you know where Vanguard
Training Hall is?"

"Vanguard Training Hall?" After mulling over for a while, he

shook his head. "No. There is no such training hall. Where did
you learn about it?"

He had been responsible for the Shi Clan Training Hall of

Central Pine City for a very long time, and therefore, he was
familiar with everything about the city—especially with matters
concerning training halls. He was literally one hundred percent
sure that there was no such training hall in Central Pine City.

Now that the young mistress had mentioned such a bizarre

place, though, he was seized with a feeling of foreboding. He
was not worried about her safety at all because he clearly knew
of her strength. However, having grown up in a relatively
simple environment where she cared about nothing but
training, she was naive and ignorant to the various ways of the
world. This kind of girl would easily be cheated.

Shi Xueman described what had happened.

 Yong Zheng felt even more uneasy. "The bead bracelet was the
one you are always wearing?"

"Yes, that was the only thing I could pledge. It is

Grandmother’s memento, so I always wear it." She noticed the
change in Uncle Yong Zheng’s facial expression. "Uncle
Yongzheng, was there any problem with that guy?"

When he heard that the bracelet was Shi Xueman’s

grandmother’s memento, Yong Zheng felt himself break out in
a cold sweat.

The bead bracelet was made of Calming Indigo Silk, which

was produced by a wild beast known as the Winged Indigo Silk
Bird. However, due to its sparse production, it was extremely
precious; even in the Cultivation Era, such beads were
invaluable.

Moreover, this bracelet was handed down by Shi Xueman’s

grandmother!

He was aware of the identity and status of Shi Xueman’s

grandmother. If this bracelet was lost in Central Pine City,
which was under his jurisdiction, then how could he afford to
take the responsibility?

"I’ll go check right now!" Yong Zheng hastily rushed out,

leaving everything else behind.

Shi Xueman was not a sophisticated woman, but she was

clever; looking at Uncle Yong Zheng’s nervousness, she
immediately understood what he was thinking. However, she
was not as worried, because although the bead bracelet was
given as a pledge, it was she who had offered to do so.
Therefore, she did not really believe it was a scam.

After a while, Yong Zheng returned, sweat dripping down his

face. "Young Mistress, I got it. There is indeed a Vanguard
Training Hall which had been closed for a long time. Recently a
student moved in to do the cleaning and maintenance."

"Thank you, Uncle. Please give me the address. I’ll go there

myself."

Shi Xueman felt relieved. She was not worried of being

cheated, as she was confident of getting back anything within
the whole Induction Ground, let alone the small Central Pine
City. She just did not want to see a kind deed turn out to be a
scam, which would really make her unhappy.

Yong Zheng was also relieved. Thank goodness it was not a

scam. He hurriedly handed the address to Shi Xueman. As for
her safety, Yong Zheng was not worried at all.

He had long witnessed her powerful fighting abilities.

Along with the address and money, Shi Xueman headed out.

After the welcome ceremony, Duanmu Huanghun withdrew

to his new residence. Due to his excellent contribution, the
academy had arranged another place as his accommodation,
which possessed the highest elemental energy concentration
and was fitted with luxurious interior decorations.

....

Duanmu Huanghun could now finally relax and have some

rest.

These days he had been constantly worn out. He had held on

till now because of the resentment in his heart, but now that it
was released, he was overwhelmed with fatigue.

Lying in bed, however, he could not fall asleep.

His mind could not help but wander to the awkward tumble at
the city gate. Ever since his birth, he had never done anything
so shameful. Under everybody’s keen attention and at the most
awe-inspiring moment of his life, he had totally disgraced
himself.

The more he thought about it, the more furious he became.

Damn it!

He himself was clueless to why he tumbled on hearing Ai

Hui’s voice at the time.

After pondering for a while, Duanmu Huanghun

unconsciously sat up as he began to feel serious. A horrible
phrase had suddenly occurred to him—inner demons!

The more he thought about it, the more he believed it to be

true. Ai Hui’s voice was indeed like a nightmare to him, and this
was definitely an inner demon. As a genius in training, Duanmu
Huanghun had always had a sharp intuition. Having analyzed
his abnormal reactions in front of Ai Hui, he knew that his
judgment was right.

Inner demons were actually not that rare in the process of

training, especially to geniuses of higher levels—Duanmu
Huanghun had learned about this from many books and
records. Inner demons were able to influence one’s training,
somewhat similar to a psychological barrier.

As one’s base level increased, the requirement for a perfect

mental state would become more demanding, although it may
be different depending on the type of technique practiced. Some
techniques would require practitioners to be aggressive and
determined, while even the slightest fear may prevent them
from going any further, whereas some techniques necessitated a
tranquillity and indifference in one’s mind, and if a practitioner
could not free himself from worldly attachments, it would be
hard to attain success in that technique.

Inner demons had always had a big influence on one’s

training. The affected person may find it hard to improve. In
serious cases, one might even develop an obsession that would
cost his or her life.
 Last time, when he had opened his eyes in the biting cold, he
had almost been traumatized by the palm prints all over his
body. At the thought of this, his face began to burn. When he
remembered his old puffy face, a furious flame blazed out in his
chest, and when he recalled today’s awkwardness – he felt as if a
bowl of hot oil was directly poured to the flames in him.

Hatred! Old and new!

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes grew red in fury. He was now one

hundred percent sure that Ai Hui was the demon in his heart.
He thought back to a set phrase in training that he had read
before—demon decapitation.

Only when one’s inner demons were decapitated would one be

able to return to the right path and prevent oneself from going
astray. Demon decapitation did not necessarily mean the
decapitation of the person who is the demon, but like untying a
knot, one had to get over it by oneself.

Duanmu Huang decided to decapitate his inner demon!

It was a problem that he had ignored previously, and today,

he would solve it entirely and release himself from his rage.
Duanmu was quite certain of success; since Ai Hui’s natal palace
hadn’t even been opened, he definitely had a negligible level of
skill.

On the other hand, Duanmu had just defeated three of the top
fifty rivals. To him, small potatoes like Ai Hui would be more
than simple to defeat. He had not done this before merely
because of the task assigned by Teacher Xu.

Duanmu Huanghun, who was now fully confident, began to

think about how he should go about decapitating his inner
demon.

Should he disgrace Ai Hui just as how Ai Hui had disgraced

him?

Once this idea occurred to him, Duanmu became exhilarated.

Yes, that was it! He thought over each step: first, make him
catch a cold, and then treat it in the way as Ai Hui had done. He
would pay him back in his own coin! Ah, and don’t forget the
puffy face! And the tumble!

A cold, evil grin appeared on Duanmu Huanghun’s face. Ai

Hui, just wait and enjoy the treat!
 Duanmu Huanghun could not help but let out a wild, wicked
cackle.

Mwahahahahaha…

Duanmu, lost in his great excitement, could not feel the

fatigue in his body anymore as he grabbed an elemental energy
mask and put it on his face. He could not wait to begin.
Chapter 39: Sword Dance
Vanguard Training Hall.

Ai Hui dragged the rattan chair into the garden and plopped
himself down in satisfaction.

The quiet hall, the gentle light reflecting off the calabashes,
the bright moon…they all made him feel exceptionally
comfortable and calm. No clamor, no battle, no tension. His
body and mind were both relaxed, making him feel slightly lazy.

When he had been in the swordsman school, he had enjoyed

spending the nights like that—he would empty his mind,
completely at leisure and carefree.

The rattan chair rocked on as the moonlight caressed his

body. He was facing the open entrance. The noise coming from
outside would pass through the deep alley and become muffled
by the time it reached the training hall, but it added a touch of
liveliness to the night.

As Ai Hui fiddled with the bead bracelet he recently received,

he sensed that it was cool to the touch and very comfortable to
hold. He was not sure if it was because of the pearl or the quiet
night, but right now, he felt incredibly tranquil.

"Calming Indigo Silk?" Lou Lan entered and noticed the

bracelet in Ai Hui’s hands. A yellow light flashed through his
eyes before he offered an objective assessment. "The Calming
Indigo Silk is of fine quality."

"Is it worth a lot?" Ai Hui continued to sway on his rattan

chair. "A young lady’s collateral, a hundred and fifty yuan!"

"Very valuable." Lou Lan nodded, the bizarre light within his
eyes dimmed as he settled down beside Ai Hui. "You’ve made
great progress. Ah, and your body is more robust too. Such
speed will allow you to charge for the natal residences in no
time."

"A while more." Ai Hui shook his head. "I hope to temper my
body first. The metal wind has a great effect on my body, so I’ll
accumulate a little more before going for the residence. That
way I’ll be more confident."

Lou Lan crooked his head. "If that’s the case, then I shall make
some blood-and-bone-strengthening cake. It’s very effective."
 "Thanks, Lou Lan." As an afterthought, Ai Hui asked, "Is it
expensive?"

"Not expensive. A hundred thousand yuan worth of blood-

and-bone-strengthening cake can last you a month," Lou Lan
calculated.

A hundred thousand...not expensive…

Ai Hui choked. He just could not link "hundred thousand" and

"not expensive" together. However, since Lou Lan mentioned
that the effect was quite good, he was convinced. He knew that
Lou Lan would never speak without thinking and that the cake
was sure to be quite effective. Whether it was the elemental
energy-replenishing soup or the bone-strengthening soup, they
had all been extraordinarily effective.

"Okay!" Ai Hui clenched his teeth. A hundred thousand yuan,

let’s do it!

Ai Hui had sharp eyes, and he noticed a slight change in the

sand from Lou Lan’s body. "Lou Lan, your skin color seems a bit
off."
 "Yes. I have the capability to learn how to battle." Lou Lan
realized that he had to explain further. "Master Shao said that I
wasn’t created to battle so there is no specific combat technique
for me, but he said that I’m not weak when it comes to battling."

AI Hui stared blankly. "I don’t understand."

"That is to say, I can obtain battle skills through learning."

Lou Lan continued, "But this requires time. I have been learning
some basic techniques recently and they bring about a change to
the nature of my elemental energy, so the color of my sand will
change too."

Ai Hui finally understood. "Oh, so it’s like that."

"But I have a question. Can you help me?"

"Of course!" Ai Hui was certain. "Ask away!"

"I’ve seen many battle manuals that talked about weapons.

What kind should I choose?"
 "Weapon?" Ai Hui muttered, "You do not even need weapons
since your body is your best weapon."

"Body?" Lou Lan looked doubtful.

"Yes." Ai Hui sat up straight and his expression became

earnest. "You can shapeshift as you please, you can become soft,
you can become hard. Aren’t you your best weapon? Battling
may be complicated, but it can also be very simple. Just like last
time, you became a sand cloud and disturbed his vision,
disconnecting the link between his [Hellfire Spider Web] and
himself. That was amazing! It is the key to scoring more
victories."

"It is?" Lou Lan rejoiced upon hearing a compliment.

"Yes, you are actually very powerful. As long as you can use
your body well, you’ll be in an invincible position." Ai Hui
looked serious. "Battling is when you utilize your advantage to
attack your opponent’s weakness."

"Ai Hui, you’re amazing! You know so much." Lou Lan was
full of admiration, but then he peered at Ai Hui curiously. "Then
what weapon do you use?"
 "I use a sword."

Lou Lan recalled the grass sword in the room and realization
dawned on him. "Come to think of it, you do have a grass sword,
but I’ve never seen you use it."

"Give me a second." Ai Hui also was feeling that he had not

touched his sword for a very long time and momentarily felt his
hand itch. He turned and ran to the room to retrieve it.

Once the sword was in his hands, he felt the sword embryo
between his brows come to life. The feeling that he had not
experienced in a long time stimulated him.

When Lou Lan saw Ai Hui walk in with the sword in his hand,
he tilted his head and muttered to himself, "Ai Hui seems
different."

Ai Hui saw the moonlight shimmering like water, and his

longing for the "sword embryo state" made him feel like
dancing. Without thinking, he held his sword up toward the
sky.
 His dark, glimmering eyes were unmeasurably deep. A faint
yet cool aura surrounded Ai Hui’s body and filled the air.

His heart was as calm as water. It was as if countless sword

manuals were suddenly blown open by the wind as the sword
moves within the sheets came alive. They seemed to slowly float
out of the pages and form many lively miniature figures.

Ai Hui started to waltz with his grass sword.

The grass sword, which was made from sword reeds, was
about four fingers wide, three pounds heavy, and naturally
sharp.

Ai Hui’s movements were slow; he moved at a speed akin to

that of an old lady. The air around him, however, seemed to
solidify and thicken as he continued with his dance.

In the Wilderness, Ai Hui’s development of the elemental

energy had not produced much results, and so when he finally
developed his meager strands of elemental energy, he did not
dare to carelessly waste it. He only used it in times of extreme
danger.
 He utilized sword moves the most.

Ever since he had created a sword embryo, he had found

sword moves to be very advantageous. It also made him realize
that amongst the piles of sword manuals, there was also some
useful information hidden within. Moreover, at that point in
time, in the Wilderness, he had no other choice.

He had tried all the skills in the manual a few times before
finally finding some usable ones.

They were all mainly simple, superficial techniques.

He thought about it and it made sense. The more powerful

moves required a greater spiritual force and thus were no longer
useful. Contrarily, the simple, shallow techniques involved the
operation of energy from the muscles and were hence more
effective in today’s era.

The pace of Ai Hui’s sword dance increased and he appeared

to be extremely focused.

Although the tip of the grass sword had no shine, the sword
was reflecting the moonlight, making it float about the
surroundings like a silverfish playing chase. It was indeed a
heavenly sight.

He did not notice that there was someone by the door.

Shi Xueman was extremely shocked. She had not expected to

see such breathtaking swordplay in this city. Sword lessons
were taught in the Induction Ground too, but she had never
seen such beautiful swordsmanship.

Could he be Central Pine City’s hidden talent?

All of a sudden, Shi Xueman’s gaze fell onto the pearl that was
on Ai Hui’s wrist. Her head throbbed as her face quickly turned
pale.
Chapter 40: Eighty Million Worth Of
Rage
Shi Xueman could hardly believe her eyes.

The Calming Indigo Silk on Ai Hui’s wrist was like a candle

placed above a fire grill, gradually melting into gluey liquid, as it
unceasingly penetrated into Ai Hui’s skin.

It was as if she had experienced a mental blow—her mind

went blank.

That was the treasure that her deceased grandmother had

given her!

She had been wearing it ever since she was young and hardly
took it off. Looking at it was akin to looking back at her loving
grandmother who would constantly dote on her.

She still remembered the time her grandmother had given her
the bracelet. Her grandmother had smiled while saying, "My
darling granddaughter, you must take good care of this Calming
Indigo Silk. When you grow up and meet your Mr. Right, give
this string of Calming Indigo Silk to him. This is the best token
of love that you can give. It was produced by the Winged Indigo
Silk Bird..."

But…

Shi Xueman regained her senses and bolted forward. Her

voice laced with tears, she cried out, "My beads!"

Ai Hui quivered and was immediately jolted out of the sword

embryo’s state. He realized that it was the young girl from the
noodle shop and remarked, "Oh, it’s you. Why are you crying?
Give me one hundred and fifty yuan and I will return the
beads."

Following which, Ai Hui touched his wrist and was instantly

shocked motionless.

Something doesn’t feel right…

Pausing momentarily, he looked down at his wrist and became

flabbergasted.
 There was only a bare string on his wrist. Where were the
beads? He looked to the floor but there were no signs of the
beads anywhere.

"Ai Hui, the pearls have been absorbed into your skin," Lou
Lan said honestly.

Absorbed into my skin?

Ai Hui was struck dumb. What sort of situation was this? How
could it be absorbed? He hurriedly checked his body. When he
noticed that the surrounding of the sword embryo’s seed had an
additional circle of blue mist, he could not help but take in a
deep breath.

Indeed, it had been absorbed by him.

Ai Hui felt as if his heart had been trampled by a herd of

running wild cows.

Looking at the young girl from the noodle store, whose eyes
were filled with tears, Ai Hui was at loss. "I...I am sorry. I did
not mean to do it. You need not give me the hundred and
fifty…"

The moment the words left his mouth, Ai Hui knew he said
the wrong thing. Instantly, the teary eyes of the girl became
menacing.

Ai Hui hurriedly added, "I will pay! I will pay!"

"That was a treasure that belonged to my deceased

grandmother," Shi Xueman cried out.

Ai Hui was completely nonplussed; his intestines turned green

with regret. If he had known that earlier, he would not have
asked for a collateral and would have instead freely treated her
to that bowl of noodles. This was indeed his fault. He could only
say meekly, "This was my fault, I’m sorry, I am really sorry. I
truly did not know things would turn out this way. I have no
idea how I managed to absorb this item. Would it be alright if I
compensate you?"

Shi Xueman gradually calmed down a little. "How will you

compensate?"
 She had witnessed the whole process for herself. In her mind,
she knew that the other party did it unintentionally, and she,
too, had never heard of Calming Indigo Silk being absorbed
before.

"I have two hundred and fifty thousand yuan. I will give it all
to you." While Ai Hui was unwilling to part with his money, he
knew that he did not have other alternatives. This was indeed
his fault and he could not bring himself to put the blame on
others.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand yuan?" Shi Xueman laughed

coldly.

"Is it not sufficient?" Ai Hui was momentarily struck dumb. A

hefty amount of two hundred and fifty thousand was not
sufficient for that string of worn-out, blue pearls?

Lou Lan, who was standing nearby, interjected, "Ai Hui, the
average starting price of Calming Indigo Silk is usually three
million yuan. This string of high-quality silk should be more
than five million."

Shi Xueman glanced at Lou Lan. She was clearly aware that
sand puppets who knew the market price of Calming Indigo Silk
were quite rare. She replied expressionlessly, "This string of
Calming Indigo Silk was of the utmost quality and thus, the
bracelet was worth eighty million yuan.

Eighty...Eighty million yuan!

Ai Hui felt as if he was struck by a lightning bolt that was as

thick as a water bucket. He was utterly devastated. His mouth
dropped open and his eyeballs almost popped out of his sockets.
Every single muscle on his body was as rigid as steel.

Ai Hui felt like countless somber shadows were cast upon his
life.

Eighty million!

Oh, Grandaunt, what were you trying to accomplish by

parading across the city with beads worth eighty million yuan?

Oh, Grandaunt, you had brought out pearls worth eighty

million yuan but why could you not even bring out a hundred
and fifty yuan in cash?
 How big of an amount do you think one hundred and fifty
yuan was, for you to use an eighty million yuan bead bracelet as
collateral?

Sword embryo, you disgraceful fellow! How dare you absorb

that string of beads that were worth eighty million yuan? How
black-hearted are you? You are even worse than Fatty!

Eighty million, my…my…my…

Ai Hui did not know what to do. He had gone through a lot in
his life, having experienced many life-threatening incidents in
his time in the Wilderness, but those experiences were
thoroughly useless for the current situation.

He would rather face every single wild beast in the Wilderness

than face this young girl from the noodle shop.

One thing was sure, though, that even if he sold himself, he

would still be unable to earn eighty million yuan.

Well, Ai Hui had nothing to lose now. "I have no idea what to
do. Even if you put me for sale, I am not worth eighty million
yuan. Noodle shop girl, I will do whatever you say. I will
definitely not renege on this debt."

"Humph. If it wasn’t for the fact that you did it

unintentionally, you would have been dead today," Shi Xueman
said coldly.

Ai Hui glared at Shi Xueman in fury and wanted to say, "A

gentleman can be killed but not humiliated." However, under
the direct, ominous gaze of Shi Xueman, he simply muttered
under his breath and turned around.

That damned sword embryo.

Why couldn’t he be like Fatty? If he was Fatty, he would have

said something pretentiously, like, "If I owe you money, I am
your master. Given that I owe you eighty million yuan, I am the
master of masters. You should wait upon me….."

Fine. He had some morals after all and was unable to commit
such a shameless act.

Ai Hui was crestfallen.

 For a moment, Shi Xueman was also at a loss. The Calming
Indigo Silk was gone. Should she kill this person? No matter
what had happened, the person did help her out of goodwill at
the noodle house. She had also observed the entire process of
the Calming Indigo Silk being absorbed and she knew that it
was unintentional.

Make him pay? Even if she sold this chap, the amount she
would get would definitely not be sufficient to cover the eighty
million yuan worth Calming Indigo Silk.

Bash him? That would be letting him off too easily.

At that moment, Shi Xueman was feeling sullen and down; in

truth, she did not care about that eighty million, but her heart
was broken beyond repair over losing her grandmother’s
treasure.

Hence, Shi Xueman could not bring herself to just let him go
either.

The two of them silently faced each other, rigidly standing.

 Lou Lan was speechless as looked at the two of them. He
added weakly, "While it might not be of much use, I have two
hundred and fifty thousand yuan."

Ai Hui shook his head. "I should own up to my own

wrongdoings, Lou Lan. I do not need your money."

Shi Xueman gave a cold ‘humph’ again and kept silent.

Suddenly, Ai Hui violently turned and looked upwards to the

fence. "Who’s there?"

At the very same moment, Shi Xueman fiercely turned

towards the fence and asked, "Who’s there?"

The two of them had spoken in unison.

"Heh heh!" An evil cackle was heard as a black figure appeared

on top of the fence.

Shi Xueman had sharp eyes and instantly recognized that the
opposite party was wearing an elemental energy mask. With a
voice that sounded like she was forcing the words through her
teeth, she indignantly asked, "Why are you acting so
mysterious?"

She had completely forgotten that she, too, was wearing an

elemental energy mask.

"Ai Hui, I can’t believe you actually have a sweetheart!" the

dark figure on the fence exclaimed eerily.

Sweetheart!

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman simultaneously furrowed their brows.

Pfft! Was this chap worthy to be called my sweetheart? The

rage, which had been restrained by Shi Xueman the entire
night, instantly erupted.

Pfft! I do not want a sweetheart who doesn’t even bring out a

hundred and fifty yuan! She resulted in me being extorted by
that damned sword embryo of a hefty amount of eighty million
yuan! The fury that Ai Hui had been holding back also exploded.
 Shi Xueman’s figure turned green as it disappeared from its
position.

With a gloomy expression, Ai Hui wordlessly charged forward

with his sword.
Chapter 41: One Slash
Duanmu Huanghun had theorized numerous possible
scenarios in his mind, but the scene in front of him was totally
out of his expectations.

He started to laugh.

This guy who had not attended a single introductory lesson

nor opened any of his natal palaces had actually dared to
challenge someone of his caliber. Duanmu Huanghun was truly
speechless at his audacity.

As for Ai Hui’s sweetheart, well, someone who was attracted

to a wretched fool like Ai Hui could not possibly have any skill.

Today shall be the day I sort out these two adulterers and
decapitate my inner demon!

Duanmu Huanghun let out an evil cackle; his eyes were

practically glowing.

The next moment, however, his smile froze.

 A blurry figure materialized right in front of him like a watery
illusion. Fragments of a face—which certainly did not seem to
belong to a beauty—appeared to pool together in front of his
eyes.

So…fast!

A flawless palm, as white as snow, gently pressed on his

shoulder.

Duanmu Huanghun’s pupils widened into large circles.

Dong!

A deep, low boom, like that of a cannon firing, resounded; the

sound was truly intimidating.

The exquisite palm stood out like a full moon in the dark
night, as surging streams of air formed a ring around it. The
ring, which had yet to dissipate, was similar to the smoke rising
from the barrel of a rifle that had just fired.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s body had disappeared.

He instantly flung through the air like a cannonball, smashing

hard into the opposite wall and causing a large piece of the wall
to collapse onto the ground.

Amidst the rubble, Duanmu Huanghun struggled to get back

to his feet. A rattan shield weaved out of brambles could be seen
on his shoulder. That blow had left him feeling dizzy, and he
was currently seeing stars.

What fearsome strength!

Was Ai Hui’s sweetheart actually a wild bull?

This…this was not rational…

How does Ai Hui have such a ferocious girl?

Although Duanmu Huanghun’s mind was completely fogged

up, he quickly realized the predicament he was in. He could feel
that his reactions had become sluggish.
 Dang it!

His body was extremely worn out, his strength totally

drained. Most of his effort was given to try and stay clear-
headed and his body could now no longer keep up. That blow
was so powerful that his muscles were still trembling, and as a
result of his immense fatigue, he was unable to control the
elemental energy within his body.

At that very moment, Ai Hui jumped onto the wall, sword in

hand.

As he was leaping through the air, Ai Hui’s anger intensified.

When he noticed a figure struggling to climb out of the rubble,
he shot off the wall without any hesitation, pouncing straight
towards his target’s silhouette.

From mid-air, he saw the girl from the noodle shop appear
beside his target.

She noiselessly drove her palm into the target’s rattan shield.

This made Ai Hui even angrier. Not only did she finish the
noodles, she was not even going to leave him any soup!

He viciously charged in their direction.

Boom!

A sonic boom rang out again, and a ring-shaped surge of air

exploded outwards.

Before Duanmu Huanghun could even gather his wits,

another terrifying force had hit him, and his vision blurred as
he was sent flying once again. This attack was almost fatal,
thoroughly eviscerating the last shreds of consciousness that he
had left.

Duanmu Huanghun, who had been completely unprepared for

something like this, was utterly defeated. Unable to retaliate
even slightly, Duanmu Huanghun was like a lamb walking into
its own slaughter. Shi Xueman, who had been thoroughly
enraged by the labeling of her as Ai Hui’s “sweetheart,” was
relentless in her attacks.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

 The familiar intimidating low, resounding booms sounded out
one after another, reverberating throughout the dark, narrow
alley.

Ai Hui saw his target accelerating through the air like a

rocket, leaving him in the dust. Rather than relieving his anger,
continuously being unable to catch up with his target had only
amplified Ai Hui’s rage by many times.

This was the most stifled he had felt in a long time; his anger
was practically boiling over. He grabbed his sword tenaciously,
the veins on the back of his hand bulging. The girl from the
noodle stall was as fast as lightning and he could barely even
capture her movements with his eyes.

Ai Hui, who was completely focused on his goal, did not notice
that the sword embryo had gradually begun to change. The seed
of the sword embryo between his eyebrows was rapidly
absorbing the blue mist around it, similar to the scorched earth
of the desert fervently absorbing rainwater.

The seed of the sword embryo was tirelessly absorbing the

wisps of blue mist.
 Ai Hui could only feel the grass sword in his hand becoming
lighter. With his eyes on the prize, Ai Hui made a mad dash for
the mouth of the alley.

Similar to Shi Xueman, the word “sweetheart,” too, had

triggered something within Ai Hui. His anger could only be
doused by slashing Duanmu Huanghun with his sword.

Eighty million yuan!

Eating a simple bowl of noodles had left him eighty million

yuan in debt!

He was now spending every precious ounce of his elemental

energy without hesitation, which resulted in a dramatic
increase in speed.

The blurred outline of the sword embryo on his forehead

became increasingly distinct as it absorbed the Calming Indigo
Silk. Previously, Ai Hui could only faintly discern the presence
of the sword embryo’s seed.

Although he would warmly nurture his sword embryo, his

efforts had never largely paid off—until this time.

Nobody noticed that a faint blue light had crept over Ai Hui’s
eyes. The blue glow illuminated his face, causing him to look all
the more grave and stern, like a reef hidden deep in the sea.

The speed at which the sword embryo’s seed absorbed the

blue mist started to accelerate.

Ai Hui’s movement speed was also steadily increasing.

Ai Hui’s anger grew and grew as he dashed down the alley. He

was moving so fast that his vision was affected; the girl from the
noodle shop and his target had become a blur.

The sound of the wind irrigated his ear canals as he swept past
the lights of the houses on both sides of the alley.

He had never run at such high speeds before, even when

chased by dire beasts. The fluids within his body surged like
flowing magma, and the deafening roar of the wind in his ears
competed with that of his heart pounding.
 But...this speed was still not enough!

Although the silhouette of his target was right in front of him,

it seemed like it would forever be out of his reach.

What other means are there...

The grass sword in Ai Hui’s hands bobbed up and down with

the movement of his body, swaying like leaves drifting in the
wind.

The unique rhythm seemed to rouse a memory that was

dormant within the recesses of his mind, and the grass sword
started to resonate with his soul. With a light flick of his wrist,
the grass sword swayed like a feather, gently slashing at the air
ahead with a crisp, humming sound.

The oncoming wind was seemingly sliced through the middle

by the sword, smoothly sliding past Ai Hui.

Ai Hui’s body left a streaking, blurry trail as he dashed

forward.
 His solemn expression did not budge an inch and his glowing
blue pupils showed no signs of emotion. They were firmly
locked onto his target.

The soles of his feet forcefully pushed off the ground,

propelling him into the air.

At that moment, the last strand of Calming Indigo Silk was

absorbed by the sword embryo and the blue glow in his eyes
vanished. The sounds that had enveloped Ai Hui also abruptly
vanished—it was as if he had now entered a soundless void.

Not a single sound could be heard.

A familiar yet seemingly foreign sword manual flipped open,

as if it had been practiced countless times.

When the light from the mouth of the alley came into sight,
Shi Xueman had finally vented most of her anger. She had used
the most violent method she knew, which was continuously
blasting Duanmu Huanghun more than ten times, with each
blast sending him flying further down the alley.
 Looking at the unconscious Duanmu Huanghun flying out
into the alley’s opening like a sandbag, she revealed a look of
satisfaction. This fellow deserved to be severely punished for
speaking out of turn. He may have escaped death, but at least it
was not without enduring a living hell first.

He would likely be bedridden for half a month before he could

even get up again.

She suddenly sensed something and briskly turned around!

Beneath the night sky, Ai Hui leaped into the air like a giant
bird, the darkness acting as his wings.

An indescribable flash of light pierced through the sky.

It was as if time stood still.

Chapter 42: Calmly
It was the cheapest and simplest type of grass sword available,
with no blacksmith’s signature or any ornaments on it
whatsoever. Many weapon shops would not even bother to
display such a sword on their shelves; instead, they would likely
tie such swords with rope and toss them in a corner, leaving
them to collect dust. The selling price for such weapons was less
than a thousand yuan.

Even the practice swords that Shi Xueman used during

training were worth tens of times more than that grass sword.

She never imagined that a run-of-the-mill grass sword could

emit such a resplendent light.

The light emitted from the blade resembled that of brilliant

fireworks—it was the most dazzling sword glint she had ever
seen. The moment the grass sword left Ai Hui’s hand, it
transformed into a ray of brilliance that was as fine as a steady
drizzle. It left a gorgeous trail of light as it pierced through the
air, flying towards the hooligan at the mouth of the alley.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

 The grass sword made short work of Duanmu Huanghun’s
clothes—it was as though countless hands were tearing away at
them, and they were instantly shredded away, scattering
around him like butterflies.

Shi Xueman, whose eyes were opened wide, quickly looked

away.

Plop!

A smooth, pale body soared through the air from the alley,
directly landing onto the main street.

At first, the pedestrians were rather dazed by the sight, but a

couple of girls soon started shrieking uncontrollably.

Shi Xueman was visibly shocked, her gaze inadvertently

landing on Ai Hui, who was currently in the air. That sword
technique was definitely many times more skillful than what
she had witnessed earlier. Could this be his true caliber?

She had met a few experts of swordplay, but not even a single
one had left her in this much awe. Swordplay has been on the
decline for quite some while, and although those experts
possessed an abnormal fighting strength, they always appeared
to be shrouded in an aura of despondence and lack of ambition.
She greatly disliked the vibe they gave off and hence never had
much of an interest in so-called swordplay experts.

However, that sword technique earlier…… it was truly

amazing!

After Ai Hui unleashed that move, his entire body felt like it
was moving independently of time. Snapping out of that
soundless state of complete concentration, he felt as though he
had woken up from a dream. His surroundings were utterly
empty. Eh, in the air? He looked down and was instantly
dumbfounded.

This high?

I actually…jumped this high?

Not good!

Ai Hui’s body started to plummet rapidly. His arms and legs

were flailing in all directions and his face was a deathly white.
He remembered the time he fell off a cliff this high in the
Wilderness; he ended up half-dead and required half a month to
recover.

Even worse, he discovered that his hands and legs had gone
soft, and his elemental energy was thoroughly drained. Even the
sword he was holding……was thrown away! Help!

Shi Xueman was frozen, still awestruck. By the time she had
snapped out of her daze, Ai Hui’s situation was critical—he was
a mere ten feet above the ground.

With a whistling sound, a wave of yellow sand swiftly swept

past.

Lou Lan had arrived in the nick of time.

Although Ai Hui had a lingering fear after being carried by

Lou Lan, he gave Lou Lan a pat on the shoulders. “Thank you,
Lou Lan!”

“You’re welcome, Ai Hui,” came the overjoyed reply.

 Ai Hui was satisfied with the results of his sword technique.
Killing was not permitted in the Induction Ground, but upon
seeing the naked body of the other party lying in the middle of
the street for all to see, his anger dissipated quite a bit.

Suddenly, he frowned. “Lou Lan, look at that guy’s body.

Doesn’t it look a bit familiar?”

Lou Lan turned to face the body. A yellow light flickered in his
eyes as he stated matter-of-factly, “Yes, indeed. An analysis of
his build reveals a match of greater than ninety percent with
that of Bangwan, whom you had previously healed.”

“Oh, so it is Bangwan!” The revelation left him laughing with

indignation.

Ever since the last time, when Bangwan had bluffed others by
saying that he hadn’t yet recovered from his cold, Ai Hui had
felt that his morals were highly questionable and treated him
with disdain. Looking at him now, Ai Hui felt that he was
indeed a childish, delinquent youth. He shook his head in
disappointment. “Let’s go back, Lou Lan.”

From their conversation, Shi Xueman could discern a rough

idea, and was under the impression that that naked figure was
one of Ai Hui’s classmates named Bangwan. She simply had no
idea that he was actually the great genius Duanmu Huanghun
who had just dazzled the entire Induction Ground.

The flames of anger in her heart finally satiated, Shi Xueman

started to calm down. Losing the Calming Indigo Silk may be
difficult to bear, but nothing good would come out of harping
on about it. As she walked back, she tried to think of ways to
solve the issue.

She was not generous enough to simply let him off, but what
kind of compensation should she seek?

Walking down the alley, Lou Lan enthusiastically said, “Ai

Hui, I think I can restore the neighboring walls that have been
damaged!”

Ai Hui was practically moved to tears. “Lou Lan, you’re really

the best!”

“I’m just a sand puppet.” Lou Lan was especially glad that he
could help Ai Hui.
 Only with Lou Lan could he experience the warmth of spring.
Ai Hui was deeply touched. He turned around to face the girl
from the noodle shop, his face grim. “So tell me, how exactly do
you want me to settle this?”

Shi Xueman had just thought of something, but Ai Hui’s tone

made her furrow her long, shapely brows. She retorted, “Your
tone makes it sound as if I’m the one who owes you eighty
million yuan.”

Ai Hui was momentarily embarrassed, so he relaxed his tone.

“Just tell me, what do I have to do?”

“You definitely can’t return the eighty million yuan all at one
go,” Shi Xue Man said while giving Ai Hui a glance. “I have two
conditions. The first is that you must become my sparring
partner for swordplay and instruct me accordingly. The next
would be to help me find someone.”

Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. “Great! It’s a deal then. I’ll teach
you swordplay as well as help you to find that person in
exchange for writing off my debt of eighty million yuan.”

“You wish!” Shi Xueman exclaimed grimly. “This is only the

interest.”

Ai Hui was instantly enraged, and he warned, “Noodle shop

girl, you better not take advantage of me!”

Shi Xueman remained unmoved. She said flatly, “How about

you ask your sand puppet friend for the current interest rates
that are out on the market?”

Ai Hui looked towards Lou Lan.

Lou Lan reported honestly, “The interest rates on loans

generally start from ten percent.”

Ten percent was not really all that much. Wait, what’s ten
percent of eighty million yuan?

Eight million!

Ai Hui’s eyes grew wide with fear.

 “See, I didn’t try to cheat you.” Shi Xueman glared at him.
“You think your swordplay is worth eight million?”

Ai Hui did not even utter a word.

With the ongoing decline of swordsmanship, even renowned

experts of swordplay would not command eight million yuan.
Moreover, Ai Hui was not so conceited to claim that his
swordplay was on par with that of those experts.

The greatest tragedy in the world was to be stuck without a

retort against the logical and factual arguments of others.

“I’m giving you the task of finding the person because you live
in Central Pine City and should thus be more familiar with it.”
Although Shi Xueman felt that entrusting this task to such a
fellow was rather ridiculous, any additional aid would be
beneficial.

Ai Hui asked dejectedly, “What does this person look like?”

“No idea.” Shi Xueman shook her head.

 Ai Hui looked at Shi Xueman, suspicion written all over his
face. “Are you trying to make a fool out of me? How am I
supposed to find someone without knowing what he looks
like?”

Shi Xueman muttered, “The last time I met him was in a blind
battle at the training hall. Starting your search from the
training ground should make things easier.”

“Training hall?” he blurted. It was now Ai Hui’s turn to sneer.

“Lou Lan, how many training halls are there in Central Pine
City?”

Lou Lan once again stated matter-of-factly, “Forty-six.”

Shi Xueman declared, “But of course, I still have more

information.”
Chapter 43: The Pervert and the Message
Tree
Duanmu Huanghun woke up in a daze.

There appeared to be a commotion around him…

Why was he feeling so cold? Why were his hands and feet all
soft and his body so sore? Was he sick?

Duanmu Huanghun opened his eyes with much effort.

Through his hazy vision, he saw quite a number of human-
shaped figures surrounding him from above.

Could it be that the senior leadership was here to visit him out
of concern for his illness?

The sounds around him gradually became more distinct.

“Wow, what an exhibitionist!”

 “He’s really not wearing any clothes at all! Heavens, our
school actually has people like that!”

“Could he be a rapist? Maybe he was caught in adultery?”

……

Not wearing any clothes…feeling cold from head to toe…

When realization dawned upon Duanmu Huanghun, he forced

his eyes open. His face was planted on the ground, and he was
surrounded by a large number of legs. The cooling sensation all
over his body made him freeze in horror. All he wanted to do
now was to dig a hole and hide in it.

Too…too vicious!

Duanmu Huanghun almost stopped breathing. The unwanted

attention made him utterly embarrassed. He had never, in his
entire life, experienced such helplessness before. He felt that his
life was now dark beyond compare.
 That nefarious Ai Hui and his partner in crime were simply
too ruthless!

Duanmu Huanghun suddenly remembered that he was

wearing an elemental energy mask and was hence
unrecognizable. He let out a sigh of relief.

He needed to escape, immediately!

He could sense that the surrounding crowd was constantly

growing larger, but the elemental energy within his body was
not responding to his commands. He was filled with regret.
Why did he have to pick a fight with Ai Hui when his own
strength was sapped?

He forcefully activated his natal residence, disregarding the

consequent internal injury and the fact that he would need half
a month to heal.

The onlookers’ vision blurred as the naked figure on the

ground vanished.

“Wow, an expert!”
 “Public decency is dying with each passing day! How can such
an expert be so shameless?”

“We need to lodge a complaint with the administration! That

pervert must be caught!”

…...

Pervert!

When he heard the mob’s angry cries behind him, Duanmu

Huanghun spat out a mouthful of hot blood. His internal injury
immediately became more severe.

Ai Hui, you’d better watch out!

Duanmu Huanghun gritted his teeth.

…...

Vanguard Training Hall.

 Ai Hui drew himself up, preparing to listen to Shi Xueman’s
description of the target; after all, he had absorbed her Calming
Indigo Silk. Even though the sword embryo was to blame, Ai
Hui felt truly apologetic. Furthermore, the noodle shop girl did
not seem to be capricious and was, in fact, a pretty decent
person.

If he was in her shoes, he would chop the person who took his
eighty million into mincemeat without any hesitation.

Since it was his mistake, there was nothing more to be said. Ai

Hui knew the value of eighty million yuan; he was not some
naive kid who knew nothing about the real world.

The noodle shop girl’s good temperament was reflected in the

fact that she did not get physical, in spite of possessing such
power.

He was thus very serious about accomplishing his task.

Noticing Ai Hui’s sincerity, Shi Xueman had a somewhat

better impression of him. She began to list down the target’s
characteristics, counting the points with her fingers. “He is
proficient in close quarters combat, highly experienced in real
combat, and has a vicious fighting style.”

Ai Hui instantly knew that this young lady didn’t have much
experience. “The information you have given is too general. Do
you have his name? Maybe his age? How tall is he? Is he fat,
skinny or well-built? Did he have anything unique about him?
Perhaps some kind of deformity or disability? What about his
hair and skin color?”

Shi Xueman realized that Ai Hui wanted more specific details.

She quickly responded, “It was during a blind battle, and he
didn’t leave his full name. He is most probably a youngster. His
height and build were rather similar to yours. As for other
special characteristics…that’s right, he had a lot of strength.”

Ai Hui shook his head. “Still too little information.”

Shi Xueman was slightly anxious. She clenched her teeth and
racked her brain. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she offered, “Oh,
and he was very powerful.”

“How powerful? What was his base level?”

 “Possibly more powerful than me.” She then added, “Not
much stronger but not much weaker either.”

Ai Hui nodded and agreed, “That does narrow our search

down by quite a bit.”

He was not simply shooting his mouth off. The power that she
had exhibited earlier had sent a lingering fear crawling up his
spine—even someone as arrogant as Duanmu Huanghun was
beaten to a pulp.

He reflected for a while, before asking prudently, “What’s

your base level? It’s fine if you’re not willing to share.”

Shi Xueman replied spontaneously, “I have achieved six

palaces.”

“Absolute arts?”

“Of course!”

Even though Ai Hui had already known she was fierce and
powerful, discovering her base level still made him
involuntarily suck in air through his teeth.

This girl...even Fatty would not dare to tell her that the
debtor is the boss!

Ai Hui was glad that he had no plans to renege on his debt;

otherwise, he might have already ended up in the sewers as a
pile of dregs.

He sighed lightly, hiding his astonishment. “The target must

be a renowned expert, further limiting the scope of our search.”

Little did he expect the seemingly ordinary girl from the

noodle shop to shake her head and disagree. “No! I am very
familiar with all the renowned experts of the Induction Ground,
and he is not one of them. The target is definitely a new student,
someone who I have not traded blows with before.”

Ai Hui’s mind buzzed; the hidden implications of her words

are rather frightening. What did she mean by being “familiar
with the renowned experts?” Judging from the phrase ‘not
traded blows with before’, they were definitely more than just
acquaintances.
 Furthermore, she had said it with absolute certainty. Didn’t
that imply that she had sparred with them before?

Ai Hui felt his mouth turn dry. How unlucky must he be to

owe someone so powerful eighty million yuan!

He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. “How could any

of the new students possibly have such a base level of six
palaces?”

“Why not?” she countered, disagreeing. “For all we know, he

could have a strange character and prefers to keep a low-profile.
Maybe he enjoys preying on the weak.”

Ai Hui considered the idea for a while. “In other words, the
target is a new student, who is actually an expert, with a build
similar to mine. Also, his base level might be of six palaces or
possibly even higher, knows an absolute art, has a vicious
fighting style, and is proficient in blind battling as well as
submission moves.”

“That should be about it!” Shi Xueman was very pleased.

 Although he was young, Ai Hui’s maturity, calmness, and
attention to detail left her highly satisfied.

Ai Hui decided to first temper her expectations. “I will put my

best effort for this task, but luck usually plays a large role in
finding someone. I cannot guarantee success.”

“It’s all right,” Shi Xueman casually replied. “You owe me

eighty million yuan anyway, and I’m sure we’ll find plenty of
things that you can do to pay off the yearly interest. As for
reneging on your debt, nobody in the entire Induction Ground
has dared to do such a thing to me before.”

The noodle shop girl’s callous words made the hairs on the
back of Ai Hui’s neck stand on end.

Ai Hui swallowed hard. “What about the swordplay

coaching?”

“I should be in the city once per fortnight. When the time

comes, I’ll look for you here.” Shi Xueman observed her
surroundings. “It just so happens that this is also a training hall.
I’ll notify you one day in advance. Luckily there’s a message tree
too, so keep a look out for it.”
 “Message tree?” Ai Hui had no idea of what she was talking
about.

Shi Xueman could tell that Ai Hui was clueless. She pointed at
a seemingly unremarkable tree in the corner of the yard and
explained, “That is a message tree. The leaves of a message tree
are different from those of a normal tree, as every single leaf has
the same pattern of veins. When it receives a message, the tree
drops one of its leaves with the message written on it. It is a
wood elemental technique. Did you not learn this in class?”

Ai Hui was astounded. He had not noticed anything special

about that tree despite having swept the courtyard many times.

Shi Xueman walked to the message tree and plucked one of its
leaves. She produced a book seemingly out of nowhere.

She opened the book and placed the leaf on one its pages, and
a warm glow soon enveloped the leaf.

Shi Xueman suddenly cried out in shock.

Chapter 44: First Generation Message
Tree
Hearing her cry out in surprise, Ai Hui could not help but ask,
"Is there a problem?"

Shi Xueman shook her head and only spoke a moment later.
"It’s nothing. I just didn’t expect the pattern of veins on this
message tree to be this ancient."

"Ancient?" Ai Hui was muddled.

Shi Xueman raised her head and looked at him strangely. "You
didn’t learn this in school?"

"I am a new student!" Ai Hui exclaimed.

He had a poor foundational knowledge and a low base level,

yet his swordplay was strangely brilliant. Shi Xueman glanced
at him, wondering who could have groomed such a freak.

She began to explain. "Message trees were invented by wood

elementalists from the Jadeite Forest. These wood elementalists
discovered that trees communicated using a unique language,
which allowed them to transmit very fragmented information.
Building on the language of the trees, the wood elementalists
developed a message tree that possessed a greater informational
capacity and an increased transmission range. Message trees
differentiate from one another through the patterns on their
veins. As the trees became more widely used, the wood
elementalists in the Jadeite Forest realized that trees’ venation
was not complex enough to handle the increasing demand. As a
result, they developed the second generation of message trees
which have a more complex pattern of veins. As of today, there
are already three generations."

Ai Hui asked thoughtfully, "So is this a first generation or

second generation message tree?"

"First generation," Shi Xueman concluded.

"What an antique," Ai Hui said, as he gazed at the message tree

in admiration. Perhaps he was influenced by the noodle shop
girl’s words, but he suddenly felt that this sprawling tree had a
very simple, yet desolate feel to it.

"Looks like this training hall has been here for quite a while,"
Shi Xueman noted as she scanned her surroundings. "What
about the owner of this training hall?"

"He left twenty years ago," Ai Hui said flatly. "It was already
abandoned when I arrived. Could it have been of some
importance?"

"Definitely," Shi Xueman nodded. "The first generation of

message trees were not extensively popularized and were only
used by a rather small circle of people. The original owner of
this training hall must have been a rather remarkable person."

When it came to life-and-death experience, Ai Hui was miles

ahead of Shi Xueman, but with regard to historical and
scholarly knowledge, Shi Xueman was naturally much more
advanced.

"Regardless of its past, can it still be used?" asked Ai Hui.

He did not care an ounce about the training hall’s past. So

what if it was of historical importance? Would he get some
money out of it? Certainly not. Ai Hui felt nothing for its
potentially glorious history.
 No one could compete with the swordsmen when it came to
talking about history and romanticism.

Just look at those large swordsmen schools—they were easily

around for thousands and thousands of years. Although the
swordsmen were masters with realms many times higher than
those of the Avalon of Five Elements, they could hardly claim to
have ruled over the entire Cultivation World.

In the end, they were still wiped out, swept away by the tide
of history.

Ai Hui was hence not interested in any of the ‘history stuff’

that the noodle shop girl was talking about. First generation or
not, the most important matter was whether it could still be
used.

"It can be used," Shi Xueman answered, a little bit astonished.

Someone who found out that he was staying in a training
ground of such historical significance should be excited and
curious to find out more, and maybe even hope to uncover an
absolute art or two.

The person standing in front of her, however, was completely

aloof.

"It’s settled then," Ai Hui said, nodding.

Shi Xueman shut her book. Looking at the time, she also
nodded. "Okay, keep a watch on your message tree. If you have
any information for me, you can send it to me via the message
tree as well. Here is a leaf from my message tree, although I
doubt you’d know how to use it."

Shi Xueman placed her own leaf on the branch from which
she previously plucked a leaf. A soft, green light appeared
between the leaf and the branch, joining the two.

"To send me a message, simply write on this leaf, but try to

limit your word-count. Messages that I send you will appear
here as well. Remember to take note and receive them."

Ai Hui turned his head and called out, "Lou Lan, I’ll leave this
to you! Come find me at the usual place if there’s anything."

"Alright, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied happily.

 Shi Xueman glared at him and commanded coldly, "You’d
better practice hard. The more powerful you become, the
sooner you’ll be able to repay your debt of eighty million yuan."

With that, she swiftly departed.

Ai Hui let out a huge sigh, as he collapsed into the rattan

chair. He whined, "Lou Lan, why am I so unlucky?"

A yellow light flickered in Lou Lan’s eyes as he deeply

pondered the question. A few moments later, he returned back
to normal and stated truthfully, "This question is too profound
for me, Ai Hui. I don’t have any answer."

"Eighty million yuan..."

Ai Hui felt his eyelids grow heavy, and the regular sound of
his sighs lulled him into dreamland.

Lou Lan had already left when Ai Hui suddenly woke up in the
dead of night. The moment he opened his eyes, he was met with
a sky full of stars. He lost himself for a moment, deeply awed by
the boundless and mysterious night sky.
 It took a good while before he snapped out of it, and he then
promptly sat up in his chair.

During his training in the Suspending Golden Pagoda, his

biggest change was that he was able to fall asleep because the
intensity of his training would completely exhaust him. Resting
against the walls of the pagoda, he would often fall asleep
without even realizing it.

The seed of the sword embryo came to his mind. Although

that detestable thing had absorbed the Calming Indigo Silk,
which was worth eighty million yuan, it had allowed him to
unleash such an amazing sword technique.

...

His first thought was to reach for his sword, but he soon let
out a bitter laugh.

His only grass sword was already destroyed.

He shook his head and couldn’t help but let out another laugh.
Since he was not able to sleep, he would train.
 Two days later.

Ai Hui was carrying travel bags that were bursting with blood-
and-bone strengthening cake as he waved farewell to Lou Lan.
"Goodbye, Lou Lan!" he shouted.

Lou Lan dissolved into a pile of sand, subsequently

transforming into a huge clenched fist of yellow sand. "Ai Hui,
all the best!" Lou Lan shouted in return.

The sun’s warmth enveloped everyone on the streets. Ai Hui

had gotten rid of the misfortune of the past two days, sweeping
the debt to the back of his mind. He was now filled with hope
for the future and self-motivation.

"Did you know? Two nights ago, an extremely skilled pervert

appeared here!"

"Oh yes, I’ve heard of it. A naked man reportedly ran onto the
main street."

"Indeed, it’s so scary! What’s more, the pervert was highly

skilled. Seriously! What if he takes a fancy to me? How am I
supposed to retaliate? I’m so worried! A pity it’s not our
Huanghun, otherwise I would gladly not resist."

"What nonsense! Our Huanghun is such an upright young

man!"

"I haven’t seen our Huanghun for the past few days though."

"Our idol is injured, I heard he needs to rest for at least ten

days. Have you forgotten that he tired himself out too much
when he entered the city and fell as a result? He must have been
injured since then. I don’t even know how serious it is, how
worrying!"

"Yes, he’s so delicate yet he still went to challenge Gu

Tianning and the others. It’s so heart-wrenching that he’s so
stubborn!"

"That’s what I love about him!"

...
 Listening to the bunch of young girls chattering away, Ai Hui
sneered in his heart. That childish, delinquent brat! That
double-crossing backstabber! He was such a disgrace! He
deserved to be spurned!

Ai Hui raised his head loftily and walked out the city gate, full
of disdain.

When he eventually reached the Suspending Golden Pagoda,

Ai Hui felt stirred up quite a bit.

Such training may be seen by others as dull and arduous, but

to Ai Hui, it instead made him excited and gave him a feeling
that he was steadily progressing.
Chapter 45: Unlocking the Natal
Residence
The metal winds of the Suspending Golden Pagoda howled
and screeched, but Ai Hui remained unmoved. It was as though
he had fallen asleep; he seemed to have simply given himself up
to the wrath of the metal winds, allowing them to fling him
around the pagoda as they pleased.

The metallic luster on his skin became deeper with each

passing day, and before long, it gave his skin the appearance of
old copper. This was the sign that Ai Hui’s [Copper Skin] was
about to take shape.

Tempering the body with the metal element had always

followed a certain dogma. The development of [Copper Skin],
[Iron Muscles], [Steel Bones], [Silver Marrow] and [Golden
blood] represented the five stages of such temperance, and
achieving all five stages resulted in a very rarely seen metal
element body of the purest form.

However, it was as they say: it is easy to develop elemental

energy, but difficult to temper one’s body.

This meant that as long as one had a decent aptitude, they

could have some improvement through the accumulation of
small amounts of elemental energy. On the other hand, body
tempering required one to go through various long and arduous
processes, making it difficult to achieve success without
sufficient patience and determination.

Within the Avalon of Five Elements, there had always been

controversy regarding metal element body tempering. Many
elementalists believed that even with immense training, the
human body could never match up to the physical prowess of
dire beasts and that thus, body tempering was not a worthwhile
pursuit. Furthermore, as one’s base level increased, the fighting
potential granted by elemental energy would start to far
outclass that of the physical body.

As a matter of fact, the opening of each palace would grant an

incredible boon to one’s elemental energy, advancing their
fighting ability by leaps and bounds. More advanced body
tempering techniques, however, had a less direct effect on one’s
fighting ability.

Despite that, mainstream practices still involved at least some

level of body tempering. The common opinion was that
although elemental energy has a greater destructive power, a
robust, perceptive body was more capable of utilizing elemental
energy.
 This was also the path that was followed by most metal
elementalists.

Even the first stage, [Copper Skin], was usually only attained
by students who had opened six palaces.

Besides the low cost-benefit ratio, beginners would often not

choose to practice body tempering because the elemental energy
they absorbed during the initial stages of learning tended to be
of a more gentle nature, and such gentle elemental energy made
it difficult to advance in body tempering.

That problem, however, was non-existent for Ai Hui.

The metal elemental energy in the metal winds are extremely

harsh, and apart from tempering Ai Hui’s physical body, the
scattered metal elemental energy also yielded a purer form of
elemental energy than what was absorbed by most beginners.
As a result, even though he had a lower quantity of refined
elemental energy, its purity was unmatched.

Armed with Lou Lan’s blood-and-bone-strengthening cake, Ai

Hui’s training sessions were even more effective. Ai Hui
improved by leaps and bounds, particularly in tempering his
metal element body.

Lou Lan’s blood-and-bone-strengthening cake was so effective

that it almost moved Ai Hui to tears. Not only was it useful in
healing his internal injuries, the cake was also very helpful to
his body tempering. Since Ai Hui had not opened his natal
residence yet, the elemental energy was especially damaging to
his flesh.

Ai Hui was aware of the many bodily changes he was

experiencing, of which his increasing physical strength was the
most obvious. If he ever fought head-to-head with that guy with
the [Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] again, Ai Hui
would most certainly not be as easily exhausted.

If he mastered [Copper Skin] as well, he would then be able to

withstand that fellow’s powerful legs, and the fight would boil
down to a battle of endurance of elemental energy.

The previous engagement may have been short and pathetic,

but Ai Hui had received considerable benefit from it. His base
level may not have increased, but the battle was an immense
eye-opener and had raised his confidence.
 He was extremely motivated after seeing the absolute art. To
this date, he was still trying to figure out how his opponent’s
[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation] worked—it amazed
him to no end. The advanced elementalists he had met in the
Wilderness were truly formidable, but at the very least he knew
where their power came from. However, the mysteries of the
absolute arts were beyond his superficial knowledge.

If his opponent had been more experienced in combat, he

would have been easily defeated, and Lou Lan and he would not
have stood any chance of victory.

That very battle also made him more confident. He had not
opened his natal residence yet and was thus considerably
weaker than his opponent. Despite that, he was able to hold his
own for long, and was eventually even able to make a comeback
and defeat his opponent with, admittedly, Lou Lan’s help. The
victory certainly gave him a reason to feel proud.

He was not as weak as he had initially thought.

Body tempering was an unexpected surprise, but Ai Hui did

not lose sight of his main objective—pursuing elemental energy.
 As time crept by, the elemental energy within Ai Hui’s body
increased, the metallic luster on his skin further deepened, and
the pagoda wall became dented a little more. Every single day
was filled with progress.

Ai Hui lost himself in his training, barely noticing the flow of

time.

He was disheveled, filthy, and exuded an unpleasant smell.

Although he had finished consuming all the blood-and-bone-
strengthening cake, Ai Hui did not return to the city—he had a
strong premonition that his breakthrough was nigh.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As was his routine, he slammed into the pagoda wall with his
[Arching Fish Back]. The contact between the sturdy metal wall
and his back muscles generated a loud, booming noise.

Beads of sweat exploded into a fine mist, engulfing Ai Hui as it

surged forth with each slam.

After the last trace of metal elemental energy had been

scattered, Ai Hui would sit cross-legged as always.

Something felt different the moment he began to circulate his

elemental energy. The circulation of refined elemental energy
was usually smooth and easily controlled.

Now, however, the elemental energy within his body felt

rather wild, and circulated with great momentum, surging and
raging against his control.

Ai Hui suddenly realized that the time to unlock the natal

residence had arrived.

The elemental energy within his body had reached the limit
that his muscles could bear. Like a reservoir bursting with
water, the slightest disturbance would make it flow out of
control.

Unlocking the natal residence was Ai Hui’s first goal, and he

was well prepared for it. The Induction Ground had a wealth of
experience when it came to unlocking the natal residence, as
they had encountered all kinds of situations before, and they
hence had a solid treatise on the subject.
 Ai Hui had learned from his past experiences that adequate
preparation was the key to maintaining his composure. He
valued the unlocking of the natal residence highly, and hence
had a thorough understanding of every possible situation that
may occur.

Very few people would develop their elemental energy to such

an extent before unlocking their natal residence. After all, the
amount of elemental energy that can be stored in the physical
body was pathetically little compared to the natal residence, and
it was an endeavor that did not have any evident benefits.

Few, however, did not mean none.

Throughout history, there had been several others who had

similar conditions to Ai Hui, some by chance and others on
purpose. The facts for such scenarios were also very clear.

At this moment, he remained completely unfazed, calm and

collected.

He channeled his thoughts, slowly pushing the elemental

energy of his body. Slowing down was the key to circulating
elemental energy that was in such a state of overflow.
 Steadily circulating the elemental energy, he gradually
increased its speed, preventing it from going out of control.

Ai Hui’s body began to emit a ring of silver light rays, a

phenomenon caused by the circulation of elemental energy that
had been developed to the brim. It indicated the dispersal of
elemental energy and was certainly not good news.

Following his slow acceleration of elemental energy, the light

gradually disappeared, and Ai Hui descended into a state of
quietness. It was almost as if he was asleep.

However, the situation within Ai Hui’s body was entirely

different.
Chapter 46: The Opening of the Natal
Residence
With the passing of each day, Ai Hui’s elemental energy’s
circulation speed increased by one point.

After six consecutive days, the elemental energy within Ai

Hui’s body had increased to its maximum limit. Ai Hui felt that
if it circulated any faster, he would lose control of his elemental
energy.

At present, Ai Hui was almost drowning in the roaring

revolution of the elemental energy within his body—it seemed
to resemble the raging tornado of the Suspending Golden
Pagoda. This was the first time Ai Hui experienced the
astonishing effect of the revolution of the elemental energy, and
if he had not read about similar situations, he would have now
been at a loss of what to do.

Ai Hui was exceptionally calm since he was prepared for

various different scenarios. What was there to be worried
about?

Spinning with maximum speed, the elemental energy ignited

a roar within his body, and his muscles started to tremble
uncontrollably. In the midst of this high-frequency vibration,
the elemental energy resembled the rushing torrents of a
tsunami as it poured into Ai Hui’s lungs.

In the past, whenever the revolution of the elemental energy

had reached his lungs, it would meet an invisible barrier and
would split into pieces like a delicate piece of paper.

Ai Hui jolted; his lungs had suddenly started to emit intense

silver rays, which penetrated through his whole body. Despite
sitting in the darkness, Ai Hui’s silver lungs were clearly visible.

He involuntarily took a deep breath and heard a long hiss,

which had a vague resemblance to the sound of a golden horn.
Like a whale inhaling in rivers, a clear, visible stream of air
current poured into Ai Hui’s nose and rapidly entered his lungs.

This sound was the initial indicator of the natal residence

being opened. In reality, the moment the lung’s residence had
opened, it had generated a form of suction, affecting the air
particles, and in turn, creating the sound.

Ai Hui was unable to describe how comfortable he was feeling

—it was as if he was injected with a new lease of life. All his
fatigue was gone with a flourish, and the initial, violent
elemental energy had stabilized immediately, becoming
unusually meek.

He was unable to control the joy that spread across his face.
Although he had found his path and was confident of opening
the natal residence when he had first started training in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda, he was still unable to control the
delight of actually achieving his goal.

He now accomplished the first goal he had made after

entering the Induction Ground!

He was, in fact, slightly shocked, and was in a momentary

state of disbelief.

This was much faster than he had initially expected.

The pressure that he had been experiencing since arriving at

the Induction Ground now lessened significantly. At least he
would not have to worry about being unable to open the natal
residence within a year.
 Ai Hui, having matured at an early age, could gradually calm
down from his state of happiness. The opening of the natal
residence was just the beginning. To be a qualified elementalist
who can be officially registered in the book, he still had a long
way to go.

Ai Hui widened his eyes and started to inspect his body. A few
moments later, he was unable to resist the trace of happiness
that spread to his face.

The opening of the natal residence had indeed brought about

tremendous changes to his body.

The most distinct improvement was in the revolution of his

elemental energy—the speed had increased tremendously. Ai
Hui reckoned that the speed had been increased by onefold.
This implied that the time for one complete revolution was now
halved and hence his elemental energy would be refined with
speed greater by onefold in one day.

At that moment, Ai Hui finally understood why average

beginners were unwilling to train their elemental energy to the
optimal point before attempting to open the natal residence.
 After opening the natal residence, the efficiency of his
training was drastically different compared to earlier.

Furthermore, the improvement brought about by the faster

revolution of the elemental energy had an enormous impact on
improving his battle skills. This also implied that the amount of
time to develop the elemental energy was halved while the
potential force of the elemental energy had improved by
onefold.

The little pride that Ai Hui was feeling vanished like smoke in
thin air.

His battling experience and keen six senses would help a lot in
combat, but regarding absolute skills, he was totally lacking.

Opening the natal residence had a tremendous impact.

Whenever a palace was opened, his strength would increase by
leap and bounds. What would happen if he managed to open
eight palaces? What kind of formidable speed would his
elemental energy rotate with?

An immobile fist does not hold any threat, and similarly,

motionless elemental energy would also be harmless.
 The effect of elemental energy would only be exhibited when
it was in motion.

Having a rich combat experience, Ai Hui was able to easily

understand this point.

His opponent’s moves were as fast as lightning. The effect of

his opponent’s training was stronger by ten or even hundreds of
times. Experience would definitely not be sufficient enough to
make up for the drastic gap between their abilities.

Ai Hui calmed down and went to the front of the fence. He

took a deep breath, and using his back, he knocked violently
toward the Suspending Golden Pagoda. The moment his back
was in contact with the wall, his entire body trembled.

[Arching Fish Back]!

Bang!

With a booming noise that was much clearer and louder than
usual, the wall of the pagoda, which was harder than steel,
became like rubber. The wall sank lower into the ground as a
noticeable dent appeared on it.

Next to it was the dent that he had made when he was

previously training the [Arching Fish Back]. There was a notable
difference between the two.

Despite having trained in the [Arching Fish Back] for so long,

the initial dent was only half as deep as the dent that he had just
made.

The increase of his elemental energy was indeed

extraordinary.

Ai Hui’s heart was filled with gratitude. Coming to the

Induction Ground was indeed the correct decision.

Ai Hui was perfectly content and did not continue his

training. Instead, he prepared to head back to the city.

He needed time to adapt to the changes of his new body and to

supplement his newly found knowledge. What he had learned
previously was basically all about the opening of the natal
residence, and now that he had reached a new base level, he had
practically no knowledge of the later stages.

A hasty but blind training session would only hinder his

progress towards his goal.

If he did not ponder and reflect upon his training, and if he

did not find the Suspending Golden Pagoda, his training would
definitely not be as successful as now. Training was like a long
battle; sufficient preparation was a must if he wanted to
succeed.

Hence, Ai Hui needed to attend lessons.

Furthermore, Ai Hui had not yet forgotten about his promise

to the girl from the noodle shop to find a particular person. A
debt of eighty million yuan could not be simply forgotten.

For a long time, the Suspending Golden Pagoda would be a

suitable place to train. Where else could he find such a good
place to train, improve his elemental energy, and even practice
the [Arching Fish Back]?

…...
 It was dusk when Ai Hui returned to the Vanguard Training
Hall.

The first thing Lou Lan said when he saw Ai Hui was “You
need a bath, Ai Hui.”

It was only after Lou Lan’s reminder that Ai Hui noticed how
dirty his body was, and so he hurriedly ran to take a bath.

Afterward, Ai Hui felt so refreshed that he felt like he was

floating on air. He laid languidly on the rattan chair. During the
continuous training, Ai Hui was so focused that he had
forgotten about everything else. While he did not feel anything
then, later on, the fatigue had hit him suddenly like a concealed
virus.

Lying on the rattan chair, Ai Hui was so lazy that he did not
want to move a finger. Even his tone when talking was similar
to a pig’s snort. “Lou Lan, thank you for your blood-and-bone-
strengthening cake! It helped tremendously!”

“Really? I am happy to be able to help you, Ai Hui.” Lou Lan’s

eyes flickered with yellow light. “Congratulations! Opening the
natal residence is a big achievement!”
 “It’s still too early to say that. I am still unable to beat the
young girl from the noodle store.” Ai Hui was as still as a dead
pig, and without even lifting his eyelids, he asked, “Was there
anything from the message tree?”

“Nope,” Lou Lan replied.

“One month without any news. Ha! I hope she has forgotten
about the eighty million yuan.” Ai Hui was elated.

Lou Lan answered honestly, “I reckon that will be difficult, Ai

Hui.”

“Let’s not care about her for now. We will first go for lessons
tomorrow, then we will help her find that blind-battle person.
Ah, we have such enriching lives!”

Ai Hui muttered to himself as his lids became increasingly

heavier, before finally falling into a deep slumber.

When Lou Lan noticed that Ai Hui was asleep, he left quietly,
not disturbing the peaceful Ai Hui in the slightest.
Chapter 47: The Adorable Teacher Xu
After Ai Hui had managed to open the natal residence, he no
longer stuck out like a sore thumb in the school, which was
something worth celebrating.

Back at the dormitory, which he had not set foot in for a long
while, he looked at the bustling crowd and felt slightly
disoriented. He could not help but smile. Could it be that he had
become sentimental after leaving the Wilderness?

When he thought back, he realized that it had been a few

months since he had left the Wilderness, and he had indeed
changed tremendously.

He could fall asleep in peace instead of hiding in a corner

while clutching a sword. He could accept people within close
proximity without the desire to kill them to get rid of any
possible threats. He could leisurely talk to Lou Lan and gaze at
the stars while lying on the rattan chair instead of constantly
having his guard up against any potential danger.

He did not know if these changes were good or bad, but for
now, he was not going to reject them.
 If this type of life were to continue, he would, in fact, be very
happy.

He suddenly came across Teacher Xu along the way, whose

face revealed a look of pride. “Student Ai Hui, you have
improved a lot. To be able to open the natal residence in such a
short period, you must have put in tremendous efforts. Keep up
the good work.”

“Yes, Teacher.” Ai Hui gave a courteous bow.

He truly respected the teachers of his school, because in his

opinion, imparting knowledge was a very noble deed. It was
exceedingly difficult to learn things in the Wilderness, as
everyone had something to do and seldom were there people
who were willing to use their precious time to help you. Not to
mention that none of them cared to see if he had learned
anything.

Initially, Teacher Xu was worried about Ai Hui’s poor track

record, but upon observing Ai Hui’s base level, he knew that Ai
Hui did not neglect his studies. Still, he instructed Ai Hui
earnestly, “After opening your natal residence, you have more
things to learn. Compared to others, your basics are much
weaker. You must not slack off.”
 “I will work hard, Teacher,” Ai Hui replied, showing his
thanks.

Teacher Xu nodded. “I am relieved that you think that way.

You must live harmoniously with your classmates. Some
classmates might be easily irritated and have a bad attitude, but
their intentions are good. To be able to open the natal residence
so quickly, I am sure you have had such experiences before.”

Ai Hui was confused. What did Teacher Xu mean by saying

this? Was it to get him to avoid conflicts with his classmates?

Nevertheless, he nodded respectfully. “I will remember this,

Teacher.”

Teacher Xu was very pleased with Ai Hui’s attitude. A

respectful and diligent student would naturally be a good
student. His vast teaching experience had enabled him to
interact with many students. It did not matter if the basics were
weak, as they can be learned gradually. As long as the students
were equipped with a good attitude, then there would be an
improvement. Since such students would not take shortcuts,
they would have firm foundations. While it would be difficult
for them to become a prominent hero in their own way, they
would be able to be the backbone of the Avalon of Five
Elements.

“Previously, I did not mention this to you as you had yet to

open your natal residence. The school has many activities that
you should actively participate in to expand your boundaries.
After a period of time, all of you will have missions to execute.
These would be considered as practical lessons and also as part
of the assessments from the school,” Teacher Xu patiently said.

“Students have to go on missions, too?” Ai Hui was somewhat

surprised.

Teacher Xu laughed. “Of course. All of you are here to learn

skills at the Induction Ground. What’s the point of learning but
not utilizing? You don’t have to worry too much. The missions
would be easy in the beginning and only grow harder when your
abilities become stronger. In the future, all of you will meet
with various scenarios which would be more complicated and
dangerous. More practice would be beneficial.”

“I will do my best, Teacher,” Ai Hui answered seriously.

Teacher Xu was finished with his preaching and told Ai Hui,

“Go for your lessons.”
 Looking at Ai Hui’s retreating back, Teacher Xue felt a little
rueful. Ai Hui’s situation was the most unusual in his class. A
laborer who did not manage to open his natal residence actually
managed to stay in the Wilderness for three years and also come
out alive. Truth be told, he could hardly imagine what Ai Hui
had gone through in the past three years and how he had
managed to stay alive.

Teacher Xue had always disliked and opposed the Avalon of

Five Elements’ recruitment of laborers from the Old Territory.
However, he was not influential enough to change anything.

When he first saw Ai Hui, he saw a thirst in Ai Hui’s eyes—a

thirst for knowledge. To a teacher, there was nothing more
touching than this.

Therefore, he personally made a trip to find Duanmu

Huanghun to request him to help Ai Hui.

At present, it appeared that Duanmu Huanghun did a good

job. He was aware of Ai Hui’s aptitude. For Ai Hui to be able to
open his natal residence in such a short amount of time,
without a doubt, it must have been Duanmu Huanghun’s doing.
 Teacher Xu was very pleased with his own decision. He had no
qualms about Duanmu Huanghun’s gifts and capability. The
splendid results from his previous military battles proved
everything.

By helping Ai Hui, Duanmu Huanghun showcased his

responsibility and compassionate heart. This made Teacher Xu
delighted.

His gaze soon fell upon the walking Duanmu Huanghun.

Duanmu Huanghun also noticed Teacher Xu and hurriedly

bowed. “Teacher Xu!”

“Have you recovered from your injuries?” Teacher Xu

concernedly asked, before continuing immediately in a
reproachful tone, “Student Duanmu, in the future, please do not
be so competitive. While rankings may be significant, your body
is of the utmost importance. You are still young and have a long
way to go. Do not place too much emphasis on these useless
rankings. Look at you, you pushed yourself over your limits
which resulted in taking a month to recover. Do not do such
things in future.”
 “I will heed your teachings, Teacher. Huanghun will
definitely not make such rash decisions in future.”

Duanmu Huanghun hastily, yet politely replied. He felt a pang

of guilt in his heart.

“Your talent is excellent, given that you achieved a lot at a

young age and I am not worried about your training. I am more
concerned about your moral ethics.” Teacher Xu looked solemn.
With a stern tone, he continued, “No matter how exceptional a
person is, without a good character, it will ruin everything. Just
like previously, there was actually a student running naked in
public. When that happened, it was humiliating for the entire
Central Pine Academy. This has brought about much fury, and
we are determined to uncover what happened. No matter how
powerful the person’s background is, once the truth is revealed,
we will definitely not let him off! Eh? Student Duanmu, why are
you perspiring so badly?”

Duanmu Huanghun had started to look increasingly guilty. He

forced out a laugh. “I guess I have not fully recovered, and my
body is still weak.”

With a voice laced with concern, Teacher Xu immediately

advised, “You have to be mindful of your body. Do let me know
if you need anything.”

“I will.” Duanmu Huanghun could not wait to flee from this

conversation.

Teacher Xu then complimented him by saying, “Duanmu, you

were very responsible. I didn’t think that you could attain such
an outstanding accomplishment. Given that Student Ai Hui
could open his natal residence in such a short period of time, the
credit must definitely go to you. Initially, I was worried that
both of your characters would clash, but it looks like I am
thinking too much. The two of you have been long-term
partners, and it looks like both of you have pretty good synergy.
Not bad. Since we are doing group activities today, the two of
you shall be in the same group. Okay, time to go for lessons.”

Duanmu Huanghun was initially baffled. It took forever for

him to react after Teacher Xu had finished speaking.

Ai Hui……and I in the same group?

Oh no!
 Duanmu Huanghun clutched his head with both hands as he
looked at Teacher Xu’s retreating back. His face was filled with
terror.
Chapter 48: Attending Class
After opening his first natal palace, Ai Hui realized that his
previous experiences were not as useful now. There was a
drastic difference in the rotation of his current elemental
energy compared to the past. Every move was composed of
many minute details. If a small detail was not performed
properly, it diminished the impact and power of the overall
move. How to distribute the energy, how to revolve the
elemental energy, when to speed up, when to slow down—all
these details determined the ultimate power of a move.

Due to his wealth of practical experiences, Ai Hui was an

ardent individual.

He had not spent time contemplating abstract ideas, and he

did not believe himself capable of such conceptualizations.
While he was able to achieve some level of success in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda, he was not complacent. Teacher
Dong was clear in his explanations and he himself had spent a
long time in the Wilderness. Eventually, he was able to
comprehend the ideas after putting in much effort.

Ai Hui possessed high self-awareness and knew that he was

not talented. Most of the knowledge that he acquired was not
learned conventionally.
 The elemental energy methods in the Induction Ground had
been progressing for a thousand years, polished by many
geniuses and seniors. They would definitely be better than him.
The only thing he could do was persevere, practice hard, and be
diligent in learning what the teachers taught.

What was considered studious?

It was to understand every detail that the teachers taught.

Why was it fast here and why was it slow there? One would only
be considered well-educated after breaking the information into
smaller pieces, thoroughly deciphering these segments, and
properly executing based on this knowledge.

The ticking time bomb of academic dismissal was no longer a

threat with the opening of his natal residence. He now had four
years to learn at his own pace without rushing through. As long
as he was diligent and steadfast in his studies for these four
years, he could probably become registered as a documented
elementalist.

While the outcome was uncertain, this was a goal he was

working hard to achieve.
 Having seen so much life and death, Ai Hui had a clear
understanding of the different facets of life.

He saw the frailty which prevented people from having

ambitious thoughts and unrealistic plans.

While the teacher explained the basics in the training class, Ai

Hui paid very close attention. Only a quarter of the class was
present, with the rest of the seats empty. Most of those in
attendance were from the Old Territory. As this was a really
basic class, there was little content that the students from the
Avalon of Five Elements had not already learned.

Central Pine Academy allowed students to have the freedom

of choice in their lessons. Since the background of every student
varied, the guidance they required differed as well. Students
similar to the genius Duanmu Huanghun were way ahead of the
other normal students. Typical classes had no meaning for
them. Central Pine Academy considered this scenario and
appointed the most outstanding teacher to guide those
exceptional students. Outside the classroom, outstanding
students also had the guidance of the Society of Excellence.

Ai Hui never thought of himself as a genius, but he also never

felt that Duanmu Huanghun was a genius—that disdainful,
childish, rude youth!

Ai Hui greedily absorbed whatever the teacher was teaching.

The teacher’s surname was Wang. He taught the fundamentals,
such as what to take note of during training after the opening of
the natal residence, what new moves could be learned, and
which teacher to consult to learn those moves.

Every aspect of the Avalon of Five Elements was closely tied to

elemental energy. More than once, Ai Hui heard from the
teacher that in order to establish a more comprehensive five
elements elemental energy, the system must be perfected to
attain the level of the Cultivation Era from hundreds of
thousands of years ago.

The teacher’s high regard for the Cultivation World caught Ai

Hui by surprise, but he gradually understood why. The Avalon
of Five Elements was established from the ruins of the
Cultivation World. From a certain point of view, they originated
from the same source. However, the Avalon of Five Elements
only had one thousand five hundred years of history. It was not
even considered an infant when compared to the long history
and glory of the Cultivation World.

When the teacher lectured about the proliferation of

elemental energy training system in the Old Territory, Ai Hui
could very well relate to the topic.

Before entering the Wilderness, he had always lived in the Old

Territory. Compared to the Avalon of Five Elements, the Old
Territory was a completely different world. It was once the
center of the Cultivation World, but now had regressed to the
level of a rural area. Life in the Old Territory was very slow and
quiet. Under the protection of the Avalon of Five Elements,
there were no dire beasts or barbarian tribes.

The Old Territory was not a place where training was often
discussed. The concentration of elemental energy was very low;
it did not have dire beasts, and it also lacked the materials for
training. Furthermore, it lacked the guidance of teachers and
the environment for training was very weak, though this
situation had improved in recent years. Many elementalist who
originated from the Old Territory would return to their
hometowns when they reached a certain age and set up training
halls to guide the locals in elemental energy training.

The teacher could not stop blabbering during his lecture and
occasionally criticized some of the policies of the Avalon of Five
Elements.
 Ai Hui realized that the teachers in the Induction Ground had
their personal preferences. For example, Teacher Dong liked to
talk about the history of the Avalon of the Five Elements and
Teacher Wang, who was in front of him, loved to speak about
the future. This probably had to do with the influence of the
Induction Ground. Regardless of whether it was an influential
family or the Thirteen Divisions, it was difficult to sway the
Induction Ground.

Not only did Ai Hui not think these lectures were boring, he
actually listened with avid interest. No matter if it was the past
or the future, they were all things that he had no prior
knowledge of, so he listened to expand his horizons.

“Suppose that each of you just opened your natal residence. I

would not recommend immediately starting the training of new
moves. Why? Because these techniques can easily limit our
understanding towards elemental energy. Much of our
understanding toward elemental energy was superficial. Some
disagreed, arguing that the five residences and eight palaces
were perfect and complete. Certainly, when compared to the old
elemental energy system, the current five residences and eight
palaces system is far more mature and complete. It is widely
known that, to date, the development of elemental energy had
only been in progress for a thousand years. Look at the previous
Cultivation Era. The Cultivation System was so boundless and
vast, yet so detailed. Comparatively, the five residences and
eight palaces methodology was meager and crude. Therefore,
everyone should be familiarized with their own elemental
energy. Understanding this would be like understanding a
partner.“

However, the students were evidently uninterested in this

viewpoint.

The academic atmosphere in the Induction Ground was very

liberal, especially for the teachers who faced even fewer
restrictions. As long as the teachers completed their work, the
school would not intervene in their personal affairs.

The lively and progressive atmosphere enabled the Induction

Ground to have the most numerous theories and schools of
thought in the Avalon of Five Elements. It was also touted that
the number of teachers in the Induction Ground was equivalent
to the number of researchers and schools of thought.

The students had long become accustomed and immune to

each teacher's “personal research interest.” Not every teacher’s
theories were of interest to the students.

Apparently, the teachers were used to such reactions.

 Those extravagant and flashy moves were the most attractive
for beginners. In their eyes, flamboyance was an indication of
power. The teachers were once students and also familiar with
such mindsets.

“Alright, alright. I know what you students want to learn. No

matter how easy a move is, to properly practice, you must take
note of your personal attribute. The easier the move, the more
details you must take note of.”

The teacher saw that the students had long since lost their
interest, so he decided to end the class.

He felt slightly helpless. It seemed that since he was born,

nobody else was interested in whatever topics he wanted to
learn about.

While there were many lectures on topics like this in the

Induction Ground, it still made him feel emotional.

The students could not wait to leave, eager to prepare and

practice their own combat techniques.
 The teacher was collecting his stuff and preparing to leave
when a voice rang out.

“Teacher, could you explain further? How do we improve our

comprehension of our elemental energy?”
Chapter 49: To Take a Disciple
The teacher paused, but he quickly regained his senses. He
could hardly believe his ears.

“What did you just say?”

Ai Hui repeated his question. “I think Teacher’s ideas were

very interesting and would like to understand more. Is this
possible?”

Upon hearing this, the teacher almost cried tears of joy.

Oh heavens have mercy on him. Finally, someone was

interested in his theories.

For many years, he had proposed his theories, but no one was
interested. Furthermore, as he did not have research subjects, it
caused his theories to lack evidence and undermined the
validity of his ideas. Nobody would believe a theory that had
never been proven.

What was even worse was that without a research subject, he

could not continue his study. He was beyond a certain age and
his elemental energy had long since left the beginner’s stage, so
he was unable to prove that his theories were correct using
himself as a subject.

At the Induction Ground, there was only one method for a

completely novel theory to gain everyone’s approval—the new
theory must be proven to be correct. And how to prove it? A
successful case study was needed.

If a student trained based on his theories and attained some

progress by gaining special abilities or becoming some type of
expert, this would validate the theory and provide evidence that
it was useful.

If many students achieved success through his theories, this

result would be sufficient for his new theory to be regarded as
useful and desirable in the Induction Ground.

Many a time, the teacher had fantasized that his theories

would become famous in the Induction Ground and that he
would be respected as a worthy figure. However, reality was
cruel and his theories were currently of no interest to anyone.
He did not even have a single subject to help further his
research.
 Until today!

Finally, someone was interested in his theories!

“No problem, no problem!” he said hastily. His face

brightened and he asked, “What do you want to learn? Just ask
whatever you want. Teacher has more than enough time.”

Ai Hui was extremely courteous and said, “Teacher, can you

explain your theories in detail?”

Although many students were disdainful of the teacher’s

theories, Ai Hui felt that they were justified. Ai Hui had
survived many real-life battle experiences and he was very clear
that those extravagant-looking moves might not be of use in
actual combat. The most dangerous moves were those that were
subtle and not flashy. Despite being low-key instead of
glamorous, these techniques were scary and deadly.

Not only was Ai Hui interested in the history and future of the
Avalon of Five Elements, he was equally interested in different
schools of thoughts and theories. He knew that his knowledge
was limited. No matter how eccentric the teacher was, in terms
of theoretical research on elemental energy, his expertise far
surpassed what Ai Hui knew by several folds.

“No problem!”

The teacher perked up and organized his train of thought

while calmly saying, “First, we need to start with the definition
of elemental energy, even though our understanding to date is
limited. Elemental energy is not as active compared to spiritual
force. It is more stable and has components of metal, wood,
water, fire, and earth. This is common knowledge. When we are
training our elemental energy, we absorb the elemental energy
from nature and refine it. At first glance, this does not differ
greatly from the training of spiritual force during the
Cultivation Era. However, in reality, the discrepancy is like the
gap between heaven and earth. This is also one of the reason
why our ancestors failed to quickly develop a method of
utilizing elemental energy after losing their spiritual force.”

Ai Hui listened attentively. He had seen many swordplay

methods and knew more about spiritual force than average
people. Still, if asked what the differences were between
spiritual force and elemental energy, he would be unable to list
them.

“The first difference: spiritual force has no attribute whereas

elemental energy has five types. Cultivators from the ancient
times absorbed spiritual force from nature into their own body,
then used their own secret arts to assign different attributes to
the spiritual force like fire, water, lightning and so on.
However, elemental energy is different. Since the elemental
energy in nature has attributes, when we absorb it, we will only
absorb the energy that has the same elemental attribute as we
do.

“The second difference: spiritual force and matter are not

interchangeable. Spiritual force is just spiritual force. It can be
stored within a crystal, but it is unable to be converted into
matter. However, elemental energy and matter can each be
converted into the other. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—each
type of elemental energy has its own corresponding form of
matter. This is the reason why we can make use of certain
materials.”

Ai Hui listened in rapt attention. The teacher’s lecture was

not complicated, but was still profound. While others might not
be able to comprehend, Ai Hui was able to feel it. He recalled the
many sword manuals that he perused and was able to use them
to comprehend these theories better.

“These two differences prove one point: elemental energy is

complicated. This is the root of my theory. What is another
complicated subject? It is the human being!”

The teacher provided an answer that Ai Hui had not thought

about.

Ai Hui widened his eyes and his face was full of surprise. He
had never thought about people as a research problem. The
study of elemental energy was like exploring an unknown,
never-before-seen object. The effects of training were also
linked to elemental energy and the method of training.

The teacher was pleased with Ai Hui’s expression and

continued, “The structure of the human body is generally the
same, but in the minute details, it is completely different. Are
there two completely identical people in the world? Nope! Even
for twins, their abilities and physiques are completely different.
Also, do not forget that while our body is made up of the five
elements, everyone’s composition is completely distinct.

“How did complicated elemental energy and complicated

training manage to find a perfect harmony? This is the core of
my theory!”

Unknowingly, Ai Hui found himself prompting the teacher.

“How was it found?”

The teacher laughed; he knew that the student in front of him

had been moved by his explanations. He did not answer, but
instead countered, “If you have a new partner, what would you
do in order to develop a rapport with him?”

Ai Hui thought for a moment and answered, “You first have to

see if this partner is compatible. After that, you need time to
build up the rapport.”

When Ai Hui was in the Wilderness, he had interacted with

many elementalists. He had friendly relations with some and
hostile relations with others. It was definitely an experience
worth noting.

Shocked, the teacher did not think that Ai Hui could give such
an answer. The question was out of context for Ai Hui’s age. Not
only had Ai Hui answered, he managed to produce an extremely
accurate and suitable answer.

The teacher could not help but reevaluate the student who
stood in front of him. He could see that Ai Hui’s aptitude was
not exceptional, yet the youth’s face revealed incomparable
gravitas. Ai Hui was steady, calm, considerate, and willing to
listen attentively. Furthermore, this student had his own
viewpoints, and the teacher was moved.

Ai Hui noticed that the teacher was sizing him up and could
not help asking, “Did I answer incorrectly?”

The teacher did not answer, but asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is Ai Hui.” Ai Hui hurriedly bowed.

“Are you willing to be my disciple?” the teacher suddenly

asked with sincerity.

Not expecting such a query, Ai Hui couldn’t help but be

stunned.
Chapter 50: Overwhelmed
Upon seeing Ai Hui’s stunned expression, the teacher smiled a
little, but soon resumed his no-nonsense demeanor. “Don’t
worry. Whether you agree or not, I will tell you everything I
know and have studied. I will not conceal anything. Plus, even if
you do agree, I can only review your training regimen and
provide some pointers. Outside of that, I can’t help much. I am
poor and do not have many connections despite having taught
the basics of training for thirty years.”

He finished his last sentence somewhat self-deprecatingly.

Ai Hui felt odd. “Why are you interested in me? I have a low
aptitude and am just as poor.”

“Haha.” The teacher burst out laughing. “I’ve known from

the start that you have a low aptitude and are poor, but that’s
okay. You don’t need much talent to understand my theories.
All you need is patience and perseverance, which are qualities
that I saw in you..”

Ai Hui no longer hesitated and made a respectful bow. “Your

disciple pays respect, Master!”
 The teacher was pleasantly surprised and truly moved. “Good,
good, good!”

Ai Hui also became very enthusiastic. He had been an orphan

since he was little. Now that a teacher was willing to take him in
as a disciple, one could easily imagine how touched he was.

One was an impoverished intellectual who had been

struggling to elevate himself over the past few decades, but no
one appreciated his ideas. The other was an inept youth who
had a thirst for learning. One was old, the other young, but at
this moment, they were like partners in crime.

It took half a day for them to calm down.

The teacher was a bit embarrassed. “I am already so old, but

my emotions are still not tamed. Shameful, shameful!”

Ai Hui merely grinned.

The teacher continued, “I’ll have to tell you my name first. I

am Wang Shouchuan. You are from the Old Territory right?”
 “Yes, my name is Ai Hui and I am from the Old Territory. I
worked in the Wilderness for the last three years.” Ai Hui
introduced himself as well.

Wang Shouchuan came to a realization. “I’ve heard about you

before. I remembered the moment you mentioned the
Wilderness. Being able to survive after toiling away in the
Wilderness for three years, you are remarkable.”

The longer the old man looked at Ai Hui, the more satisfied he
became. When it came to survival in the Wilderness, not to
mention the laborers without combat experience, even the
geniuses from the Induction Ground were not guaranteed to
return.

The old man had taught thirty years of classes in Central Pine
City and had seen all kinds of students. But one like Ai Hui?
This was his first.

Why did it matter if he had a low aptitude? When did the

Induction Ground ever fail to produce a few distinguished
students out of those who had average potentials?

At the start, he had known that Ai Hui was persistent, but he

was not sure if Ai Hui could sustain himself. Now knowing Ai
Hui’s history, however, freed the Wang Shouchuan from all his
worries.

How else could an impetuous laborer survive a three year stay

in the Wilderness?

Bearing typical hardship was even less of a worry.

The old man finally realized why Ai Hui possessed a certain

maturity and stability that was atypical for his age. A disciple
who had been sharpened by such an experience was not
considered an ordinary person.

The old man knew that he had picked up a unpolished gem

today.

“Come, come, come, let me properly explain my theories.”

The old man was suddenly full of zeal. “You have said a lot.
When it comes to human interaction, if two persons have
conflicting temperaments and can’t agree on things, then
wanting them to build a rapport would be a never-ending
process, like the stories told in ‘Arabian Nights.’”
 Ai Hui nodded his head repeatedly. That was true. He
immediately thought of an apt example.

Duanmu Bangwan!

That despicable, disdainful, hypocritical, childish, heartless

fellow. If Ai Hui were to be a team with this kind of person, Ai
Hui would definitely have to get rid of him before the enemies.

“Having a compatible partner is very important. If both have

similar personalities, it would be easy to connect on a deeper
level,” the old educator said.

Ai Hui nodded his head once again. That was true. He thought
of another perfect example.

Lou Lan!

Lou Lan was good, warm-hearted, helpful, kind, trustworthy,

and had great culinary skills. Despite having known each other
for only a short period of time, they had already become close
friends who told each other everything without the slightest
hesitation.
 “Even with a suitable partner, time is still needed to mold the
relationship. You have to spend time getting to know your
partner, learning his habits, and letting him adjust to yours.
This way there will be mutual understanding,” Old Man Wang
concluded.

“That’s right!” Ai Hui agreed wholeheartedly.

“Elemental energy works the same way.” The old man

continued, “In today’s training routines, people view elemental
energy as more of a tool than a partner. There is nothing wrong
with this since elemental energy has no consciousness.
However, elemental energy as a tool is very complicated and not
as easy as people imagine it to be.”

With relish, he concluded, “That is because the nature of

elemental energy is mutable.”

However…

When he saw Ai Hui’s calm face, he was taken aback. As if his

doubts were not resolved, he asked, “Aren’t you shocked? This
is something different from what other teachers are teaching,
right?”
 “What you said made a lot of sense,” Ai Hui said matter-of-
factly, before elaborating, “Just like metal elemental energy for
example. Energy in the Suspending Golden Pagoda is more
intense and milder compared to the energy in the Whirlpool
Spring, proving that metal elemental energy can have different
qualities. Although they are different, they can transform. This
is nothing strange either. After the metal elemental energy
flows out of the pagoda, it will probably undergo gradual
changes.”

The old man was dumbstruck. He had extensively researched

before reaching this conclusion, and he had not expected Ai Hui
to simply list out a reason.

Actually, Ai Hui wanted to add that the energy could be

transformed even if it could not by natural process. By
shattering it, for example.

Recovering from his stupor, the old man became even happier
and complimented, “You have wits indeed!”

He continued, “Every human body possesses slightly different

properties. Metal elemental energies of different forms would
have different compatibilities too. This is why we need to find
the elemental energy that is most convenient for us—so it can
better suit our bodies. Training today only considers one issue:
compatibility, or what we call ‘aptitude’—whether or not the
energy is easy to absorb. But what if there is elemental energy
that is more difficult to absorb, yet can be utilized even more
smoothly and easily? Few people consider this.”

Ai Hui had no problem understanding, and even expounded

from there. “Like me. I have a lower aptitude, but a higher
endurance. I can choose to train with purer metal elemental
energy. Although the absorption is slower, it is more effective
when employed.”

Was this principle not very similar to his own training?

Indeed, while both analyzed from different angles, their core
idea was the same. Plus, did this not clarify that Master’s
theories aligned with his own?

Ai Hui looked forward to the upcoming training.

The old man stared at Ai Hui blankly. Could it be that the

ideas he had been deliberating for the past few decades were
actually very simple?

Or was it that the student who was willing to listen to him,

whom he had finally found and had luckily accepted as a
disciple, was actually a genius?

The old man felt overwhelmed.

Chapter 51: Picked Up A Gem
Ai Hui looked at his teacher in anticipation, waiting for him to
continue his explanation. While the old man had a
dumbfounded expression, Ai Hui was not satisfied. He knew
that his deductions were mostly based on feeling, and feeling
was often inaccurate.

Teacher Wang was no master, but he possessed a strong

foundation since he had lectured in the Induction Ground for
several decades.

Deeply moved, the old man shook his head slightly. “We were
meant to be a team.”

The old man knew that finding a disciple like Ai Hui was not
an easy matter. There were many teachers in the Induction
Ground who were stronger, more qualified, and more senior
than him, but how many of them could find such a compatible
disciple?

The Induction Ground encouraged teachers to accept multiple

disciples, but the majority of the teachers did not.
 A disciple was different from a student. A student had to
attend the teachers’ classes, but a disciple had to continue their
legacies and doctrines. Therefore, unless they really favored a
student, teachers would not lightly accept someone as a disciple.

Most of the teachers believed that it was better to choose

nothing than to select something substandard.

The old man was not someone with a reputation within the
Induction Ground, and no one showed interest in his theories,
but he still would not carelessly recruit disciples. No matter how
uninspiring, his theories represented the years of hard work he
had put in after all. If he were to impart his ideals to a student
who did not agree, he would not rest in peace.

The old man was more than satisfied and pleased with Ai Hui.
Although he was behind other teachers in terms of
achievements, his luck in finding a compatible disciple was
worth envying.

Ai Hui’s yearning gaze made him even happier. “Let’s talk

about the second issue. Elemental energy is very suitable for
you, but time is still needed in order to establish a good rapport.
In other words, you have to unleash the potential of the
elemental energy in your body. Everyone’s elemental energy is
different, yet how many moves are there? You’ve just activated
your natal residence and intrinsically wield metal attribute, so
there are twenty-two moves you can practise. Which ones fit
you? You don’t know. A lot of people choose the moves based on
interest, feeling, formidability, and appearance. This approach
is not beneficial. You’ve just activated your natal residence and
stepped foot upon the path of training. The formidability of
moves is not something you have to consider yet. What you
need to ascertain is how you can lay a solid foundation for this
tedious journey.”

Ai Hui was enlightened by his words. The language was plain,

but the meaning was exceedingly profound.

The old man’s expression became stern and earnest.

“Understand your elemental energy and understand your body.
The true meaning behind training is to achieve a perfect
integration of these two.”

Ai Hui said respectfully, “ I will definitely bear your

instructions in mind!”

The old man was quite comforted. He carried on, “Now let’s
talk about the practical aspect—about how you should train.
Tell me first, how do you develop your elemental energy?”
 Ai Hui then sincerely shared how he first developed a strand
of elemental energy in the Wilderness, how he trained in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda, how he designed a set of custom-
made backless armor, how he thought of using the [Arching
Fish Back] to shatter the silvery strands of metal element, how
he broke through the natal palace, and so on. He told his teacher
everything pertaining to his elemental energy.

The old man was left stupefied once again. After a while, he
hesitatingly asked, “You thought of these all by yourself?”

He knew it was a stupid question the moment the words left

his mouth. Ai Hui had just talked about his ideas, how they
came about, and where he had gotten his inspiration from.

Ai Hui nodded. “Yes, I thought of those.”

The old man was completely and utterly convinced that the
disciple he had just accepted was a genius! An extraordinary
genius!

His eyes brightened and he gazed at Ai Hui as if he was looking

at a unique treasure. Ai Hui’s aptitude was low, and in this era
where aptitude was deemed paramount, he would definitely not
be considered a genius. However, he had matured early and
acquired an extreme level of insight toward training. The old
teacher had never seen such qualities in anyone else.

He had picked up a gem!

The old man’s gaze made Ai Hui anxious. “Teacher?”

As if he had woken from a dream, the old man regained his

senses and praised, “This is beyond my expectations, so I am
truly shocked. You have such knowledge and experience despite
having no one to guide you. Not bad, not bad at all! I believe you
would succeed even without my help. I’m quite lucky, hahaha!”

Slightly embarrassed, Ai Hui did not know what to say.

He had never been commended before. Nothing came easily to

him and he had to work hard for everything—training, the
Wilderness, catching up with the team, and so on.

After hearing the compliment, he was at a loss, which was a

rare occurrence.
 Upon seeing Ai Hui’s expression, the old man became happier.
He chuckled for quite some time before stopping and becoming
serious.

Ai Hui knew then that his teacher had something else to say.
He also regained his focus.

The fact that his disciple was a genius truly stirred the old
man’s heart. Ai Hui had already proven his worth, and the old
man was determined not to lose in this aspect.

His gaze flickered with wisdom and radiance as he began

speaking, “Your train of thought is correct and you have a solid
foundation. These are good. It is advantageous for you to have
an overflowing amount of elemental energy before breaking
through the residences. This we can talk about in future. Let’s
discuss the current problem you’re facing with your training.
Above the concrete methods lie additional methods. You utilize
metal elemental energy, so what are its characteristics? Sharp,
powerful, and effective in battle are some facts that everyone
knows. There is nothing wrong with you adopting the metal
elementalist’s path of thinking. What we need to do now is to
let you discern which metal elemental energy is the most
efficacious for you!”
 Ai Hui hastily followed the old man out of the school building.

They came to a shabby garden. Inside, there were heaps of

strange tools of all shapes and sizes.

“This garden used to belong to another teacher. He moved out

and abandoned this place, so I use it now,” the old man said
softly. “Out of my personal interest, I have remodeled the items
here and they have not yet been used. Plus, I had little else to do
aside from teaching classes. A lot of things have accumulated
over the past few decades.”

Looking at the garden full of strange tools, Ai Hui could not

contain his admiration. No matter who, for no matter how
small of a matter, it was not at all easy to continue persevering
for a few decades. Concentration and dedication required a calm
heart that could endure loneliness.

“These things are finally going to be useful!”

The old man looked at his items with a certain ruefulness. He

was unsure if it was due to the fact that they were collecting
dust for so long or that they were finally going to see the light of
day. Or could it be that he was feeling rueful about himself?
 The good thing was that it was not too late!

With a face full of wrinkles, the old man stood proudly in the
garden before his tools like a king overlooking his kingdom!
Chapter 52: Seven Word Name
“I’ve extensively researched the five elemental energies.”

The old man’s preamble stunned Ai Hui.

“The most studied topic regarding metal elemental energy is

its deadliness. Combat is the metal elementalists’ main purpose.
In terms of the level of complexity, metal element is the
simplest one out of the five elements. Hmm, simplest does not
seem right. I should say that they require the most
concentration. Wood elementalists need a lot of botanical
knowledge, earth elementalists have to maintain sand puppets,
water elementalists have azure wings as well as the most
intricate techniques, and fire elementalists have to learn to
smelt metal. Metal elementalists have only one requirement: to
pursue fighting strength. From this perspective, they are similar
to the ancient swordsmen. Those bygone warriors paid no
attention to other things and were pure contenders seeking to
become the best. Metal elementalists are somewhat like this.

“Battling is a sophisticated matter. You have more experience

and know this better than I do. It is pretty embarrassing. I have
been teaching for so long, but have never been to the frontline
or the Wilderness. I am also not a proficient fighter. I can only
support you by helping you to understand your own body and
your own elemental energy.”

The old man rummaged through the piled-up tools, revealing

some copper armor. He patted the dust off of it and heaved a
sigh of relief. “I did not throw this out after all. Come, let us try
this.”

Ai Hui curiously glanced at the copper armor before him. The

workmanship was rough and ugly. There were marks
everywhere and it was obvious that it had been modified, since
the sheen of the newer copper plates contrasted with the old.
Many vein lines had been engraved on the armor and were
overlapping in certain areas.

Ai Hui could locate the positions of the five residences and

eight palaces by looking at the densely concentrated areas of
vein lines on the armor.

“Teacher, what is this copper armor for?” Ai Hui asked out of

curiosity.

“This is used to test your body. Of course, this is for the metal
attribute,” the old man answered, somewhat pleased. “Its full
name is a little long, but I call it the ‘Thousand Prajna Elemental
Energy All-Seeing Copper Armor.’ ‘Prajna’ is a Buddhist term
for ‘wisdom’ and ‘Thousand Prajna’ refers to its ability to
imitate many kinds of elemental energy attributes. This one in
particular is specifically used to test for metal elemental energy.
‘All-Seeing’ reflects the armor’s function, which is to identify
the wearer’s aptitude. It can imitate all kinds of metal elemental
energies, stimulates your body with these various energies, and
tells you which type of metal elemental energy suits you the
best. What do you think? Pretty good huh? I spent two months
designing it and another three crafting it. The Induction
Ground’s aptitude test is so rudimentary that it failed to detect a
genius like you. Pfft, those myopic fellows!”

The old man was certain his disciple was a diamond in the
rough and had started defending him unconditionally.

“You’re amazing!” Ai Hui sighed in heartfelt amazement as his

eyes lit up. Although he had a feeling from the start that his
teacher was skillful, after seeing the copper armor with his own
eyes, Ai Hui’s reverence for the old man flared up.

And that name!

Thousand Prajna Elemental Energy All-Seeing Copper Armor.

Seven words… really long indeed.
 While inwardly ridiculing that name, Ai Hui observed the
unrefined copper armor with excited eyes.

Even a rookie like Ai Hui knew it would be highly beneficial to

identify his most compatible metal elemental energy. This
copper armor alone was enough for him to regard his teacher as
respectable.

“Of course! How can I be your teacher otherwise?” The old

man was full of pride.

Ai Hui could not wait any longer. “Can I try it on?”

“Come, come, come!” The old man hurriedly put the armor on
for Ai Hui as he said, “Rest assured. I’ve mulled over the design
carefully. My Thousand Prajna Elemental Energy All-Seeing
Copper Armor is definitely an epoch-defining work of art. It is a
pity no one else witnessed the construction, missing a moment
of such great historical significance. Oh well, pioneers are
always lonely and singing loudly on their solitary journey. Us
two, we will be fighting for the truth!”

As Ai Hui listened, he had a premonition. He thought of

something as his helmet was equipped and buckled up.
“Teacher, umm... Have you tried using this before?”

“Yes!” The old man gave a “don’t-you-worry” look, allowing

Ai Hui to feel less nervous. His next sentence, however, made Ai
Hui tense up immediately.

“But previously, one I had used ittois for the fire attribute.”

The old man patted the armor. It was tightly fastened and
only Ai Hui’s eyes could be seen. He saw the anxiety in Ai Hui
and comforted him. “Relax, the versions are all more or less the
same for each attribute. Oh wait, I have to find the operating
compass. Give me a moment.”

The old man dug through the garbage heap once again. “Hey,
where I did throw it? Why can’t I find it?”

Ai Hui’s concern grew even stronger as he started to doubt his

decision.

“Found it!”
 The old man’s cheer resounded from the mountain of
equipment. Shortly after, he crawled out with his hair all
messed up and a dark green plate in his hand. On it were all
kinds of symbols Ai Hui did not recognize. It seemed impressive.

Strangely, Ai Hui regained confidence.

With his attire and appearance in disarray, the device in his

hand, and his eyes shining, the old man relished in this
momentous occasion. His dream was about to take off. His
clothes fluttered without any breeze, his unkempt dismal hair
was like that of a poet, and his radiant pupils seemed as though
they could see through all worldly objects. He said in a low, but
powerful voice, “I’m going to start!”

His hands, like flowing water, moved across the operating

compass.

Bzzt Bzzt. A silver electric current flowed on the surface of the

copper armor.

Ai Hui opened his eye wide in fear and his body shook non-
stop like a sieve. He wanted to call for help, but nothing came
out of his mouth.
 “Eh, why is there lightning?” The old man was puzzled.

Ai Hui felt like crying. Who am I to ask if you ask me?!

The old man stopped operating the compass, walked to the

now inert armor, and kicked it a few times before starting the
remote again.

Ai Hui, who had just started to relax, opened his eyes wide
once more, and his body again shook like a sieve as a numbness
spread.

Black fumes billowed from the copper armor and Ai Hui was
soon surrounded by black smog.

The old man muttered, “Eh, why is there smoke again? Did
the rain tarnish it? Oh, oh, oh, wrong remote. This is for the
wood attribute, no wonder, no wonder.”

Ai Hui almost passed out when hearing this.

He finally knew why he felt uneasy. He was going to quit this

test the moment his body recovered.

That’s right!

Must stop!

Ai Hui swore to himself.

Then, he saw a silver compass and a hand. That hand lightly

shook the operating compass as the old man’s voice was heard.
“Nothing will go wrong this time! Ai Hui, it’s starting!”

Ai Hui’s immobilized body involuntarily trembled.

Even before the old man finished talking, Ai Hui’s eyes

spasmed wide once more.
Chapter 53: Hegemon of the Palaces
If there were words to describe how Ai Hui felt then, it would
have to be that his heart was being pierced by a thousand
arrows!

The sharp metal elemental energy entered his body from all
angles, and he felt as if he was a cloth puppet being stung by
bees. Unfortunately, this happened only after his numbness
disappeared, allowing the pain to intensify.

If it was not for the fact that he was used to the pricking pain
from his stay in the Suspending Golden Pagoda, he would have
been shrieking miserably and endlessly.

His time in the pagoda had trained him to better endure agony
like this.

“Your stamina is quite impressive, huh.” The old man was

amazed. Ever since this prototype was created, he had been the
only test subject. He had experienced the pain from the fire
attribute armor. His ghostly howls and wails gave an assistant
teacher such a shock that he lost control and threw the
operating compass far away.
 On the other hand, Ai Hui had yet to make any sounds so far.
He was indeed a wild beast in human form, one who managed to
survive the Wilderness!

The old man’s eyes flashed. As a teacher with countless ideas,

what was more important than a strong, durable disciple as a
test subject? He could practically imagine how having a disciple
like Ai Hui would help him to advance his theories and research
by leaps and lead to substantial breakthroughs.

A perfect partner to experiment with!

He licked his lips as if he had seen fine delicacies as he

mumbled, “Increase the intensity, elemental energy becomes
more fragmented, metal elemental energy is a little foreign, no
problem, try a few more times…”

Thousands of heart-piercing arrows became thousands of ants

devouring Ai Hui’s body and he began to tremble.

The old man was a good example of what would happen if

decades of accumulated passion was released all at once. He had
a frenzied gaze, was muttering to himself as he stared at the
operating compass in his hand, and unceasingly adjusted the
armor’s elemental energy while looking at the luster of the
copper armor.

As he fiddled with the remote, the copper armor illuminated

as well.

Ai Hui felt as if he had fallen into hell and into the eighteenth
level no less.

The elemental energy stimulating his body was constantly

changing. Numb, itchy, painful, hot, sore, and so on… all kinds
of different sensations appeared in different parts of his body.

Before today, no, before putting on the armor, he had never

imagined that metal elemental energy had so many
permutations. Every variation happened without any warning.

That feeling was simply… such a painful revelation.

Beneath the teacher’s messy hair, his eyes were fervent and
focused.
 The light on the armor kept changing, and he stood by the
side taking notes with each transition while saying words and
terms that Ai Hui had no knowledge of.

Ai Hui had no other thoughts at this point. He just wanted

this purgatory experiment to end as soon as possible.

This set of copper armor had no practical value. Ai Hui

acknowledged that his endurance level was higher than average,
but a few times he had almost passed out and a few times his
mind went blank. He suspected that students with slightly
weaker constitutions would be in danger. Even if it was not
physically hazardous, it would be traumatizing and would
become a mental block that hindered future training.

What an extreme product…

This thought floated across his mind, but what he focused

more on was his admiration for his teacher.

Although the entire process was like a tortuous purge, to the

point where dying was a better choice, Ai Hui felt the potential
of the procedure.
 Even the many minute differences within the metal elemental
energy were individually amazing!

Ai Hui had a very strong feeling that even if this test produced
negligible results, his interaction with so many different kinds
of metal elemental energy would be considerably beneficial for
future trainings.

If he had not experienced it once for himself, he would be

absolutely ignorant of the slight differences within the energies.
They were all metal elemental energies, but each had subtle
distinctions which would reveal their entirely unique nature.

Metal elemental energy had an overall character, but

contained respective variations as well.

The teacher’s knowledge ran deep.

Ai Hui knew that when it came to principles like these, he

would not be able to achieve any result just by fumbling about
on his own.

All of a sudden, an intense wave passed over his natal

residences. At this point, the old man raised his head. “Let’s test
your five residences and eight palaces to see which ones are
stronger and which are weaker.”

Ai Hui was stunned. It was the first time he had heard that
some of the five residences and eight palaces were stronger than
others.

As if he had read Ai Hui’s mind, the old man started to

explain, “Teachers do not usually lecture about this. It is more
complicated since there are so many students and plenty of
problems involved. You just have to think about it this way.
Some people are right-handed while others are left-handed.
Some were born with a stronger and more agile left leg. The
human body is balanced yet unbalanced. The same goes for the
five residences and eight palaces. Some would be stronger and
others would be weaker. This used to be a heritage secret in
some influential families, but now it’s widespread. Those
families were amazing, and the research they have completed
was so thorough. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of
your palaces would be very advantageous for your subsequent
training sessions.”

Comprehension flashed across Ai Hui’s face. What the old

man had said made a lot of sense and was very convincing.
 “Your opened natal elemental residence is not bad since you
only broke through after filling up your elemental energy. As I
have said before, waiting is beneficial since it allows your natal
elemental residence to stabilize. Most people, however, do not
have the patience.”

The old man spoke while he tinkered with the operating

compass.

Shortly, a ball of bright light lit up in Ai Hui’s left palm.

“Not bad, the palace in your left hand is not bad at all. It’s a
strong palace.”

Soon, another ball of bright light appeared in his right palm.

“Palace in the right hand is a strong one as well. Not bad eh,
there is balance in your hands and some moves can only be
learned if there’s balance.”

“The palace in the left foot is a strong one!”

 “Oh my, the palace in the right foot is also strong. Balanced
legs and all limbs are balanced!” the old man commented in
bewilderment, face full of excitement. “Son, you have a flair for
combat! Balanced limbs… perfect reptile eh. I know a few
extremely powerful moves which require coordination of the
limbs. Two hundred years ago, the leader of the Infantry
Division, Wu Yan, possessed precisely this balance of strong
palaces in every limb. Know what his nickname was?Iron
Octopus! Hahaha, you’re indeed my disciple.”

Reptile…

Ai Hui did not know what to say but… it sounded fearsome?

Still, adding the word “iron” in front of “octopus” did not make
it sound any fiercer at all.

“Strong earth palace!”

“Strong sea palace!”

“Gate palace is strong! Ah ah ah ah son, if your sky palace is

strong, you’re invincible! A body full of strong palaces!
Absolutely awesome! No points of weakness! A perfect five
residences and eight palaces! Know what this is called?
Hegemon of the palaces!”

The sky palace was located between the eyebrows. Looking at

how agitated his teacher was becoming, Ai Hui was also excited.
Hegemon of the palaces! It sounded domineering, but... why did
he think about rape... (The chinese words for “Hegemon of the
palaces” sounds like an abbreviation for a chinese idiom which
means “to force oneself upon somebody; to rape”)

A body full of strong palaces was more pleasing to hear.

“Sky palace, sky palace, it must be a strong palace… eh?”

The old man stopped suddenly as he stared blankly at Ai Hui’s

helmet.
Chapter 54: Twinkle Twinkle
Looking at his teacher surprised expression, Ai Hui stared
vacantly at himself as his heart skipped a beat.

He was like a gambler scratching a lottery ticket. The first

numbers matched and only the last one remained. The jackpot
was just one number away. He felt his heart in his throat and
excruciating pressure.

Ai Hui had always viewed himself as someone who could

maintain his composure well, but at this instant, he could not
contain his agitation at all.

He knew clearly that he was not gifted. Although Teacher had

often proclaimed him a genius, this did not improve his inferior
aptitude. With great difficulty, he actually managed to possess
seven strong palaces. He was only one strong palace away from
the legendary existence known as the hegemon of the palaces.

Sure, it was the first time Ai Hui had heard about the
hegemon of the palaces. He did not actually know if it was truly
legendary. Looking at his teacher’s fervent expression,
however, he was quite convinced that the title referred to a very
powerful, natural talent.
 From the start, Ai Hui felt pretty much hopeless when it came
to his innate abilities. When someone suddenly informed him
that he actually possessed a hidden and potent gift, one could
only imagine the turmoil he felt after hearing the news.

But… Teacher is not moving nor saying anything…

The radiance in Ai Hui’s eyes dimmed. All right, so he was not

a hegemon after all. If the last one was a strong palace, teacher
would have mentioned it immediately. Ai Hui recovered from
his disappointment quickly and started laughing mentally. He
had been too greedy. What more could he possibly ask for when
his limbs were balanced and seven out of his eight palaces were
strong?

As someone who had been fumbling in the dark for so long, he

yearned for the light, but did not dare to claim the entire sun.
He was like a poor and hardworking laborer, daydreaming
about winning a small amount of prize money, but never
wishing for an excessive windfall.

“Why is this light twinkling? Is it a strong or weak palace?”

the old man muttered, his voice full of doubt. “Perhaps there’s
really something wrong with the copper armor? Seems like it,
or it wouldn’t flicker like that.”
 Silverish-white light glowed from seven of the palaces. They
shined brightly and continuously. The sky palace, however, was
sometimes bright and sometimes dim

For a moment it was a strong palace, but at another it became

weak? Could it be that the sky palace was volatile? At this time,
the old man had already readjusted his mental state. The old
man kicked the armor and even smacked the helmet a few
times. Same result.

“This is really weird, what is going on?” the old man

mumbled perplexedly. “Is the helmet defective? I have to find
the blueprints. Did something go wrong during the designing
process?”

After much effort, Ai Hui took off the heavy copper armor. He
was sweating buckets and was as wet as if he had been fished out
of water. His clothes were drenched, his face was pale, his body
exhausted, and some of his muscles continued to uncontrollably
twitch.

Breathing in the fresh air, Ai Hui felt he was revived after

what seemed like a lifetime ago. The letdown from earlier
vanished into thin air and there was only joy after the calamity.
 “Son, no problem!” The old man consoled Ai Hui. “I will
redesign the Thousand Prajna. I’ve gotten many new
inspirations and have already thought of the possible mistakes
that have been made. Don’t worry, the new version will be
perfect. I could even include new features. We can do a retest
when it’s done!”

The word “retest” sent Ai Hui’s body into a fit of shivering.

He could not bear to imagine undergoing such a torturous test

for a second time and hurriedly replied, “I think it’s very
accurate, Teacher. I think the results are great, so we don’t have
to test it again. Having seven strong palaces is good enough. It’s
not too late to conduct a retest after I’ve developed my sky
palace.”

The old man thought about it and concurred. Out of the five
residences and eight palaces, the sky palace was the hardest to
develop. Most students left it for last. Judging from Ai Hui’s
progress, the sky palace was still a distant goal.

“What you said makes a lot of sense.” The old man decided
not to bother himself with the hegemon of the palaces. Plus, he
could tell that his disciple was in a pitiful state and felt quite
apprehensive. He had finally found a disciple. If he
experimented too much on Ai Hui… No, if he trained Ai Hui so
hard that he broke, where would he find another disciple as
good as Ai Hui? Most people could not endure his test. He
himself only managed to persevere for three minutes before
crying out loud.

It wasn’t a minor feat for Ai Hui to persevere through and

complete the test.

The old man quickly smiled. “Son, having seven strong

palaces is already a great gift. Let’s discuss the concrete training
methods. My secret methods.”

Ai Hui’s body had recuperated after a period of panting. He

perked up upon hearing those words. Although his teacher
wasn’t very reliable at times, it was a fact that he had
substantial knowledge.

Noticing that Ai Hui had revived by quite a bit, the teacher

thought to himself that his disciple had quite a sturdy physique.
Ai Hui’s recovery speed was faster than most people’s. Maybe he
should test this out someday? This quality was quite rare, and it
would be a pity if it wasn’t put to good use. How could this
advantage be effectively utilized? He had to think this over
properly.
 “Sir?” Ai Hui saw that his teacher was in a daze and quickly
called for his attention.

“Oh, oh, oh.” The old man regained his senses and said
lightly, “I will have to analyze your test results for a few days
before giving you the report. Meanwhile, you should train
according to the usual training methods and attend classes
studiously. You should still go to class since I am not all-
knowing. It is very necessary and beneficial for you to expand
your horizons. Your training in the future will be quite different
from the norm. Sculpting, for example.”

“Sculpting?” Ai Hui was stunned. He had not imagined that

training and sculpting would be linked together.

“That’s right, sculpting.” The old man was obviously enjoying

Ai Hui’s surprised expression. “Haha, didn’t expect that, did
you? A lot of knowledge is involved in training. What’s the
relationship between sculpting and training? You’re attributed
in metal elemental energy. The most appropriate training
would be sculpting. It can strengthen your ability to control the
elemental energy. Think about it. Elemental energy is like the
sculpting knife. There are big, small, angled, straight, and
uniquely-shaped knives used for different tasks. Furthermore,
when you’re sculpting, you should not place all your focus on
controlling the elemental energy. Otherwise, you won’t be able
to sculpt well. It’s not easy to manipulate your elemental energy
as you like, when you like. If you can learn how to sculpt your
elemental energy and wield it proficiently, your meticulous
energy control would reach an outstanding level. In the future,
practicing complex moves would come easy to you.”

Ai Hui’s eyes glowed as the realization hit him.

That’s right, if he could carve a complicated sculpture, his

control over elemental energy would reach a whole new level!

“But, training has always been easier at the start. It would be

very difficult for you to start sculpting immediately. I have
already thought of a simpler training method.” The old man
smiled mysteriously.

Strangely, the grin of his teacher’s face made Ai Hui hesitate.

“What method?”

“You’ll know when the time comes.”

The unease in Ai Hui’s heart became even stronger.

Chapter 55: Old Friend
It was already noon the next day when Ai Hui woke,
struggling to open his eyes in the glaring sun. It was rare for
him to sleep in so late.

Last night, he barely managed to crawl back to the training

hall before flopping into his rattan chair and nodding off, only
to wake up now. He preferred sleeping in the courtyard with the
calming starry sky before him. This way, he was able to rise
with the morning sun, its gentle warmth the best start to the
day.

The afternoon sun was so much more scorching.

Come to think of it, his body’s aches, soreness, and swelling

were gone. Not only did his body’s ailments mysteriously
disappear, but after a good night’s rest, he also woke up feeling
invigorated and brimming with energy.

Ai Hui’s spirits lifted immediately. With renewed energy, he

felt able to welcome any challenges that came his way.

He decided he would have noodles before setting off to find

the mysterious blind battler.

Embarrassingly enough, even though so much time had

passed since his promise to the young girl, he had yet to start on
the task. He wasn’t like Fatty who could be so openly shameless.
It was a truly enviable skill and a legitimate talent to have.

As soon as he reached the noodle store, he aggressively

ordered five bowls of noodles once more.

After coming to the noodle store a few times, the owner was
able to recognize him, especially after the previous incident. As
the owner served the noodles, he asked concernedly, “It’s been a
while, sir. Oh yes, did the girl from last time return the one
hundred fifty yuan yet?”

Ai Hui, who was about to devour his noodles, froze, the

chopsticks on-route to his mouth coming to a halt.

Not only did the owner touch a sore spot, he also proceeded to
rub salt into the wound. Did he not know how to conduct a
business?

What could he say? That he had an overbearing debt of eighty

million yuan because of an inconsequential loan of one hundred
fifty yuan? That a bowl of noodles led to his life’s tragedy, or
that one hundred fifty yuan effectively smothered his desires in
life?

Ah, this bizarre world, why did he still feel that he was in a
dream…

In his heart, Ai Hui gave a helpless sigh and started in on his

noodles silently.

Seeing his troubled expression, the owner sighed and placed a

plate of beef before Ai Hui. He clapped his hands on Ai Hui’s
shoulder and consoled him, “There isn’t any road that you
cannot get through in life. Even if she did not return the one
hundred and fifty yuan, it doesn’t matter. You should still be
the better person. Come, let Uncle treat you to a beef dish!”

Ai Hui’s mood immediately brightened at the plate of mouth-

watering beef in front of him.
 “Thank you, Uncle!”

He began to devour the noodles and exceptionally fragrant

beef in large mouthfuls.

After five bowls of noodles, he waved to the owner of the

noodle store. “Goodbye, Uncle!”

Ai Hui started visiting various training halls, trying to find the

target based on the clues provided by the girl from the noodle
store.

Coming to a training hall for the first time in a while, he soon

realized the quality of the blind battle competitors had risen
tremendously.

Now, only those that were confident in their abilities dared to

participate, making for more thrilling battles.

After observing a few battles, Ai Hui realized it was now

impossible to earn money through blind battles. Despite the
increased strength he gained from activating his natal
residence, he was still lacking compared to the rest of the
contestants who had more than four palaces. And while there
were some younger participants, they were still renowned
geniuses in their respective schools.

Duanmu Huanghun’s continuous success in blind battles

raised the standard of Central Pine City, drawing talented and
hot-headed youngsters eager to experience the thrill and
compare themselves to an acclaimed individual.

Blind battles had undeniably become a symbol of Central Pine

City.

Even after six training halls, he saw no chance of winning in

any of them.

What a pity. It was impossible to earn any more money from

blind battles, but he had expected it to happen. Wanting to
encounter such a good opportunity again was wishful thinking.

In the end, he searched through all of the training halls in

Central Pine City but still failed to find the target.

As dusk set in, Ai Hui stumbled back to the Vanguard Training

Hall, somewhat exhausted. Searching for someone was
genuinely more tiring than training, but he rallied his spirits—
being unable to find his target on the first day was nothing
surprising.

Finding someone was no easy task by any means, especially

with such vague clues, making it akin to searching for a needle
in a haystack. In the end, luck was more crucial than the
method itself.

There had been no recent news of the little girl from the
noodle store either. He idly wondered if she went on a long trip.
He recalled Teacher Xu mentioning practice missions going on
during this time—could she have left for a mission?

Ai Hui did not think on it further.

His life had become substantially busy between lessons,

training, and searching for the masked individual. He also
didn’t forget to spend time revising the swordplay manual for
the girl who said she would find him for guidance on his
techniques.

Of course, what he meant by revision was actually a form of

hypnosis before sleeping.

As for the incident involving the sword embryo, he didn’t

care; he was still unwilling to buy a new sword after destroying
the last grass sword he owned.

On the contrary, it was actually in training that he invested

the most time.

……

In the teachers’ lounge, Tao Yiwei was surprised to see Wang

Shouchuan hard at work. His condition was different from
normal—almost as if Old Wang was on drugs. After working
together for more than ten years, the two of them were
exceedingly familiar with each other, so he could immediately
spot the rekindled passion that had not been seen on Old
Wang’s face for a long time.

Perhaps Old Wang’s theory had a breakthrough? Old Tao

could help but mutter his suspicions in his heart, but he said
instead, “Old Wang, looking at your joyous expression, I can see
there’s good news. Let me hear it and soak in the joyous
atmosphere too.”
 Wang Shouchuan, who was immersed in analyzing the test
results, lifted his head, unable to conceal the joy and pride on
his face. “Sure enough, I can’t hide anything from your sharp
eyes. There is indeed good news—I’ve accepted a disciple.”

“Huh?” Tao Yiwei was caught off guard but quickly

recovered. With a surprised expression, he asked, “You—Old
Wang is actually taking disciples?”

The Old Wang he knew had a terrible temper. He was also

willful, stubborn, and fiercely driven, devoting his entire life to
his theories. Despite that, he was a man of few words, unable to
promote his theories, leaving his theories unknown to many.

For Old Wang to actually start taking in disciples was

unexpected.

Tao Yiwei was somewhat envious. “Such a joyous event.

Congratulations, Old Wang!”

He did not bother concealing his envy; he had yet to find a

good disciple to pass his legacy on to. While Old Wang’s theory
was nothing remarkable, his luck was quite good.
 Secretly pleased, Old Wang remarked, “It’s still too early to
say. My disciple’s strength is a bit disappointing.”

Old Tao could not help but laugh at Old Wang’s words. He
knew his friend would not accept a disciple without good
reason. “Then isn’t it better for you to test your theories first?”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Old Wang replied. “While that

youngster’s aptitude is so-so, he’s not completely unremarkable.
He could actually endure my Thousand Prajna test.”

Old Tao jolted in surprise. “He endured it?”

He was more than familiar with Old Wang’s Thousand Prajna.

Not only did he help in the planning and design process, he was
also the one to control the compass upon the first set’s
completion. In the end, Old Wang only managed to endure for
three minutes before wailing and clambering out.

Even at the designing stage, he already suspected that Old

Wang’s idealistic mindset had made the Thousand Prajna of no
practical value since nobody would be able to endure the entire
process.
 So how could Tao Yiwei not be astonished when he heard that
Old Wang’s disciple passed the test?
Chapter 56: Dai Gang
Wang Shouchuan grew even more pleased at the sight of Old
Tao’s stupefied expression.

Both were clear on the terror of the Thousand Prajna. In fact,

like Old Tao, Wang Shouchuan used to think nobody would be
able to endure its effects.

This had left Old Wang feeling a bit disgruntled. No matter

how magnificent or unique the design, without any practical
value, it was only an elaborate toy.

But with the truth revealed that the Thousand Prajna was
indeed of use, how could he possibly contain his joy? Even more
satisfying was that his disciple was the one to pull through the
test.

After a while, Old Tao regained his senses and sighed. “You
hit the jackpot!”

Able to bear the Thousand Prajna—who wouldn’t want such

an admirable disciple with a strong-as-steel willpower? Old
Tao’s eyes became slightly red.
 “Isn’t my disciple your disciple?” Old Wang sensed his
friend’s disappointment and deliberately pointed out, “I’ve
come all the way here. Are you still going to keep this up?”

Old Tao laughed and pointed at Old Wang. “It’s time to let
your disciple take advantage of me!”

Old Wang chortled together with his friend. “Of course, it

would be a waste not to!”

“No problem,” Old Tao readily promised, “Find me if you

have any problems. As long as your disciple is here, I won’t
mistreat him.”

“Then perfect timing—there’s something I need your advice

on.” Old Wang’s expression took a serious turn as he handed
over the test results to Old Tao. “Take a look at this test results
for me.”

With some curiosity, Old Tao received it and glanced over the
contents before he burst out in a shriek, “Now you’re just
bragging, aren’t you? Seven strong palaces out of eight—what a
big gain!”
 “But he almost never made it into the Induction Ground due
to his weak aptitude.” Old Wang feigned modesty, but inside, he
was secretly delighted.

“Aptitude? That’s all those guys care about.” Old Tao smirked
disapprovingly. He and Old Wang agreed that the Induction
Ground’s testing methods were overly simplistic and lacking.

Old Wang added, “Look at the test results for his sky palace.”

“Sky palace?” Old Tao’s gaze swept across the record before
questioning softly, “It doesn’t seem quite right. Is there
something wrong with your Thousand Prajna? How could there
be a sky palace that fluctuates in strength?”

Vexed, Old Wang replied, “Yeah, I found it strange, too. If

only his sky palace was strong—he’d be the hegemon of the
palaces.”

Old Tao understood Wang’s underlying thoughts and

attempted to console him. “Don’t let your ambition get the
better of you. It’s already rare to see seven, strong palaces after
all. If you can’t stop worrying, why not try testing it again?
Your Thousand Prajna is spoilt, that’s for sure. Or else, how is
that even after teaching training basics for so long, we’ve never
heard of a fluctuating sky palace?”

“Again?” Old Tao asked helplessly. “You should’ve seen that

fellow’s expression when I made that suggestion. He was ready
to flee!”

“Hahaha!” Old Tao burst into laughter at the thought. “I

would do the same! You yourself started crying like a
chrysanthemum after three minutes.”

Old Wang joined in the laughter. “Don’t even mention it—I’m

afraid I’ll destroy him. There’s a lot of time for a retest, but I
only have one disciple, so I’ll have to take it easy.”

“Did you report it to the higher-ups?” Old Tao reminded him.

“Of course.” Old Wang nodded. “Who’d dare forget?”

Teacher Xu arrived at the teacher lounge as usual, only to be

swamped immediately by the teachers who rushed to greet him.
After Duanmu Huanghun’s public declaration, Teacher Xu’s
popularity skyrocketed, making him Central Pine City’s famous
star. To many, Duanmu Huanghun’s decision to remain in
Central Pine City was largely due to Teacher Xu’s personal
charms.

Just like that, Teacher Xu became the number one teacher in

Central Pine City. With his magnanimous personality, the
people came to love and respect him sincerely.

For a whole ten minutes from the entrance of the teachers’

lounge to his booth, Teacher Xu returned the endless greetings.
Only when he got to his table did he sigh in relief before
noticing the two documents lying on top.

After leisurely pouring a cup of tea, he casually grabbed one

and opened it. Glancing over the contents, he immediately sat
straight up. That was the signature issued by the Elders Guild!

Dai Gang took a liking to Duanmu Huanghun and accepted

him as his last disciple!

Dai Gang!

Teacher Xu couldn’t believe his own eyes; the news came too
suddenly. Who was Dai Gang? Only the most senior minister
and one of the strongest wood elementalists around today. He
created the absolute art [Death Commandment], which became
one of the five most powerful skills used by wood elementalists,
and innovated upon two schools of thought associated with the
lotus and grass tendon plants, the [Lotus Chiropractic
Technique] and [Grass Tendon] skills respectively.

Dai Gang was a man who disregarded the world around him
and focused only on his research. Other than the two disciples
he accepted in his early years, he had not taken another since
then. Who would have thought that today, he would receive yet
another? Teacher Xu knew without a doubt that the
announcement would trigger a sizeable commotion.

Teacher Xu wasn’t a naive, bookish type by any means.

Duanmu Huanghun was no doubt a talent, but was he enough to
catch Dai Gang’s attention? It was certainly questionable.

He could sense the hidden currents; the alliance between Dai

Gang and the Duanmu Family would bring about many change
to the Avalon of Five Elements.

Moments later, he chuckled. The workings of the Avalon of

Five Elements was not something a small character like him
could grasp. No matter what hidden dealings may be working
behind the agreement, it was a benefit for Duanmu Huanghun
to study under Dai Gang who was not only a wood grandmaster
elementalist but an outstanding educator as well. His first
disciple, Lu Chen, was one of the three most prominent doctors
of the present age, widely acclaimed for his extraordinary
expertise. The second disciple, Yu Mingqiu, broke the record in
becoming the youngest vice division leader of Deathgrass, one
of the thirteen divisions. He went on to invent an absolute art,
[Galactic Streak], that allowed him to walk the world alone with
his mastery of archery.

Knowing that his student had a bright future ahead of him,

Teacher Xu was satisfied.

Only after some time did he finally recover enough from his
shock to look over and open the second document—only to
receive another small shock.

Wang Shouchuan had taken Ai Hui as his disciple.

He’d heard the name Wang Shouchuan before. He was an old

teacher with several decades of experience teaching training
basics in Central Pine City, with even more qualifications than
Teacher Xu. He had little impression of this man except that he
was unsociable and kept a low-profile; such an inconspicuous
teacher could easily be found anywhere.

It was astonishing enough that such a quiet figure like

Teacher Wang accepted a disciple, but the fact that it was Ai Hui
shocked him more.

Teacher Xu admired Ai Hui and his sensibility, diligence, and

polite mannerisms; he even managed to recently activate his
natal residence as well.

Yet he also was aware of his low aptitude and weak

foundation. To put it simply, he was the worst student in the
class. For Teacher Wang to choose such a disciple—what a
strange individual!

Only in the midst of his considerations did Teacher Xu realize

that these two students were in the same class; one at the top—
gifted and skillful—and one at the very bottom, with a poor
aptitude and shaky basics. Not only that, but both
simultaneously gained mentors; one was a well-respected
grandmaster and the other an unknown teacher.

How… interesting!
 After so many years teaching, this was the first time Teacher
Xu felt such bemusement.
Chapter 57: Embroidery
Chewing on a blade of grass, Ai Hui was sitting in the old
man’s small junk garden. He suddenly saw the copper armor
and noiselessly shifted himself a bit further away from it.

The previous experience was simply so miserable that even a

guy like Ai Hui, who had a steel heart full of determination, was
traumatized.

The old man did not notice Ai Hui’s subtle movement. He was
busy elaborating on his analysis of the results.

“... low aptitude and a lower affinity between your body and
elemental energy are actually not bad things. Other than
allowing you to endure purer energy, the lower sensitivity
allows you to absorb it from a wider scope. Precious racing
horses, for example, are gifted but picky about food and are fed
better meals than humans. A worn out, old horse like you can’t
run fast but can endure well and is easy to manage. You’ll eat
whatever grass there is and survive well. Eh? You’re really
eating grass!”

Ai Hui continued to chew on his grass sluggishly.

 The old man stopped his discourse and hurriedly added, “Go
on, go on, eat it.”

He went on to say, “Looks like my example was really fitting.”

Ai Hui felt weird now. Should he continue chewing or spit it

out?

“I’ve tested the metal elemental energy at the Suspending

Golden Pagoda, and it suits you very well. Train there in the
future. As compared to your weak aptitude, your body is very
strong. The effects of the tempering of your body are obvious.
You’re of a lower grade now, so the result is optimal. The metal
elemental energy in the pagoda is of a high grade and is not
something that you were supposed to touch based on your
current base level. But since your body quality is the most
outstanding I’ve seen so far and you’re good at using it, the
tempering is super effective. Of course, this has something to do
with the fact that the metal elemental energy in the pagoda is of
a high grade. The degree of metallization is the greatest on your
skin, and [Copper Skin] is already about eighty percent
completed. Judging from this speed, you’re about two months
away from perfecting [Copper Skin].

The old man exclaimed with admiration, “This is my first

time seeing someone developing [Copper Skin] even before
activating a single palace. How astonishing!”

Ai Hui felt a little satisfied, knowing that he had surprised his

teacher.

“Of course, the main point is still your seven strong palaces.
Other than the sky palace, seven are strong and very balanced.
It is an amazing gift and will come in handy especially when
you’re selecting the moves in future. I remember there is a
technique in the Induction Ground called [Big Dipper], which
only requires seven strong palaces. Although it is not an
absolute art, it is still incredibly powerful and wondrous.”

Ai Hui’s eyes shone. He asked without the slightest hesitation,

“Can I learn it?”

“Of course, you can apply as long as you get into the top five
thousand within the Induction Ground.” The old man carried
on happily, “Oh, you’re now my disciple. You only have to
fulfill one criterion, and the institution will approve your
application. I’ve already filed a record of our master-disciple
relationship and sent it over.”
 Top five thousand…doesn’t seem like much of a requirement.

The old man noticed Ai Hui’s expression and guessed his

thoughts. “Don’t look down on this five thousand names. Their
rankings are based on the entire Induction Ground. The best
student from previous batches within Central Pine Academy
barely squeezed into the top five hundred. Roughly, you’d have
to be amongst the top ten in the school to enter the top five
thousand within the Induction Ground.”

Ai Hui was dumbfounded. “I have to get into the top ten in

Central Pine Academy to make it to the top five thousand?”

“That’s correct!” The old man laughed somewhat gleefully.

Ai Hui realized how naive he had been. Top ten within Central
Pine City seemed like a faraway goal to him.

However, as if nothing had happened, he shortly asked,

“What was the training method that you talked about
previously?”

The old man was surprised by Ai Hui’s ability to adjust his

mood. He did not know exactly how many setbacks Ai Hui had
encountered since young—such an obstacle meant nothing to
him.

The old man spat out a single word: “Embroidery!”

“Embroidery?” Ai Hui was shocked, and his face stiffened. A

few moments later, he repeated lifelessly, “Embroidery? Like
flower embroidery?”

“That’s right!” The old man answered with such certainty

that Ai Hui knew there was no mistake.

Ai Hui stared at the old man with an unkind expression. Yes,

he was his teacher, but if he was going to be so unreliable, they
would have to have a proper chat.

Without the slightest embarrassment, the old man asked,

“Embroidery, you understand?”

Ai Hui replied with an impolite tone, “Yes, women’s

embroidery.”
 “Rigid! Superficial!” The old man shook his head, full of
disdain. “Embroidery takes elemental energy as the needle
which threads the embroidery pattern. Is it easy? There are
thick and thin threads, soft and hard leather, cotton and silk.
Are the complicated patterns easy? A skilled person can control
ten elemental energy needles and embroidery patterns from
different places at the same time. And do you know how many
elemental energy needles can the best of the best control at
once?”

“How many?” Ai Hui blurted out; he was lured by the old

man’s words.

“The current record is nine hundred and forty-nine,” the old

man answered, his face filled with awe.

Ai Hui was stunned. How in the world? He just couldn’t wrap

his head around it!

“When present age embroidery master, Han Yuqin,

embroiders with nine hundred and forty-nine elemental energy
needles, it’s like enveloping black clouds or a shoal of fish
moving together. Multicolored embroidery threads weave
together in the sky like a rainbow. That’s also why her work is
known as ‘The Rainbow Embroidery.’ No matter how
complicated an embroidery design is, she never takes over an
hour to complete it,” the old man said seriously.

“And the threads, do you think all of them are light? Coal
thread is as fine as a strand of hair, but it is very heavy. How
difficult would it be to control its movement with the light and
floaty elemental energy needle? Soft silver thread is very soft,
like water. Any error in power control will break it. And some
leathers can only be pierced through by using elemental needles
wrapped with a medicinal bag.”

The old man’s description appealed to Ai Hui and left him

speechless. He never thought that embroidery involved so much
knowledge and details.

“Learn embroidery first and then sculpting.” The old man

gave his guidance. “If you can familiarize yourself with these
two skills, you will definitely gain fine control over elemental
energy. The more exceptional your control is, the more
beneficial it is to you.”

Ai Hui was convinced. He had to admit that the old man’s

words were very logical.
 While it was a little embarrassing for a man to learn
embroidery, he had no issue with it as long as he could become
stronger. To say that embroidery wasn't as noble as hard labor
would be utter nonsense!

The old man was pleased, but he concealed it well. “Smart

choice! Son, you will definitely be proud of this decision in
future! Don’t worry, I don’t speak without thinking. I made this
suggestion after proper consideration.”

“Where am I going to learn?” he asked boldly; he had now set

his heart on it.

“Don’t worry, there’s a workshop I’m familiar with.” The old

man added energetically, “Follow me!”
Chapter 58: Threading a Needle
Ai Hui had a very serious expression on his face, and his eyes
were cold and murderous. It was as if the surrounding air was
about to freeze up. He could not even feel the fine beads of sweat
dripping down his forehead.

He held a bright silver needle unsteadily between his right

thumb and forefinger and grasped a thread with his left thumb
and finger as he carefully tried to thread the elemental energy
needle.

The eye of the elemental energy needle was very unstable. At

times it was big, at other times it was small. It was extremely
difficult to control. Ai Hui had been trying for half a day, but to
no avail.

A girl’s laughter sounded out from behind. When a man

visited the workshop, all the young ladies naturally became
curious and crowded around to observe. This workshop did not
allow men to enter, so when the ladies saw Ai Hui, their eyes
widened with curiosity.

.
 When Ai Hui started, everyone was immediately excited. They
had never seen a man learning embroidery.

“How stupid, he couldn’t even thread a needle after so long.”

“Exactly, exactly, look at the sweat on his forehead and his

fierce look!”

“That’s because he holds a grudge against the thread!”

……

The ladies chattered continuously since the spectacle was

really entertaining to them. They felt it was like observing a
rare animal, especially when they saw how clumsy Ai Hui was.

Luckily, Ai Hui placed all his attention on the elemental

energy needle and thread, blocking out the background noises
completely. Otherwise, he would have puked blood just by
listening to their teasing.

In the workshop, work desks were separated by light muslin

curtains. One could get a clear view into the work areas since
the curtains were translucent.

Behind the curtains, Wang Shouchuan was having tea with

the old lady, and they occasionally glanced over at Ai Hui’s
direction.

“He hasn’t threaded the needle yet. Do you really think he’s
suitable for embroidery?” the old lady questioned indifferently
after turning back.

Old Wang sipped on his tea and answered casually, “I’m not
hoping that he makes a living out of this anyway. It’s just an
exercise for him to train his elemental energy. Plus, haven’t you
noticed his tremendous determination?”

“A little.” The old lady’s voice carried a tinge of admiration.

“It’s not easy for someone his age to remain focused and not feel
discouraged despite having failed for half a day.”

Old Wang became pleased. He had taken in a good disciple and

it made him uncomfortable all over if he did not brag a little.
“Exactly! He may have a low aptitude, but he has seven strong
palaces. And, he’s really good at learning. He activated his
elemental residence with overflowing elemental energy. He did
it on his own without any guidance. Isn’t he great? He even
managed to endure my Thousand Prajna, so I’m impressed.”

The old lady was astonished. No matter how she looked at Ai

Hui, he seemed really ordinary. Who knew he was such an
outstanding man.

“Seems like you’re really pleased.” The old lady was slightly
surprised. She knew how bad Old Wang’s temper was and he
could be unreasonably stubborn and conceited at times.

“Not just pleased, but very pleased.” Old Wang corrected the
old lady. “I’ve only had two good things happen to me. One was
meeting you and the other is finally finding a disciple before
dying.”

The old lady was over the moon after listening to the first
part, but crinkled her brows in displeasure upon hearing the
second and said, “Everything’s fine, so why are you talking
about death. Die on your own if you wish.”

“Heh, heh.” The old man felt a little embarrassed and changed
the topic. “I told him how powerful you are. You should’ve seen
how big his eyes grew when I said you could control nine
hundred and forty-nine elemental energy needles.”

“It’s one thousand sixty-four now!” The old lady spoke

proudly, before mumbling,“Looks like I’ll have to show him a
little something.”

“Do your best, do as you please, and don’t be afraid of

overtraining him. Give him all the work you have, no matter
how tiring. This guy eats grass, but sh*ts gems!” the old man
said nonchalantly.

The old lady was amused. “How pitiable, being your disciple.”

Ai Hui had no idea he was being sold out by the old man. He
had finally threaded the needle and noticed the sweat on his
forehead. He was completely convinced by the old man’s
rationale that embroidery indeed put one’s elemental energy
control to the test. In the past, he had thought quite highly of
his ability to control elemental energy, but was proven to be
inadequate today.

Only after he tried it himself, did he realize the how difficult it

really was.
 It was not easy to stabilize the elemental energy needle, but it
was even more challenging to open up an eye at the tail of the
condensed elemental energy needle. Ai Hui was stuck at this
stage for a long time, but he finally created the eye of the needle
after some guidance. He then quickly realized how much more
difficult, yet necessary, it was to stabilize the eye since it was
important for threading the needle.

With the thread in his left hand and needle in his right, he had
to split his attention.

The eye of the needle was big sometimes and small at other
times, causing Ai Hui to fail repeatedly. The good thing was that
he had finally grasped the pattern of this behavior after a whole
afternoon and managed to thread his first elemental energy
needle.

He failed to suppress a sigh. Embroidery required way too

much elemental energy control.

Ai Hui thought about the embroidery master who could

control 949 elemental energy needles and found it horrifying.

But, he quickly came to be excited. If he had been half-

doubting his teacher’s words before, he was now exceptionally
certain that embroidery was really a good training method.

He only cared about improving his skills. Shameful or not, he

did not care.

“How do you feel?”

His teacher’s voice came from behind.

Ai Hui stood up hastily, wondering how long Teacher Wang

had been standing there. Beside him was the embroidery
master, a stern-looking lady.

“I feel very good.” He thought for a bit before commenting,

“This is a very effective training method that demands great
control over elemental energy.”

Visiting this place was really an eye-opening experience.

Before coming here, he had mistakenly thought that an
embroidery workshop was only for embroidering.
 This was more like a factory.

There were piles of cloth, yarn, unfinished leather armors and

even knives and swords. The air inside was filled with a herbal
medicinal smell. Only after asking Master did he become aware
that the ropes and tassels coiled around sword hilts required
embroidery. These things were not ornamental; they were made
for battles. For example, the coarse ropes around the hilts were
made from weaving an uncommon material together with a
unique stitching method. High-grade elemental swords were
usually formed naturally and they tended to repel and reject
other types of materials. Hence, there was simply no way to
wound the rope around the sword hilts with ordinary
techniques. Special techniques were needed to do it.

Ai Hui even saw a kind of soft grass sword that he had not
seen before. Its body was full of embroidered flower patterns.
He only found out, that this was a soft grass sword embryo after
asking his teacher. The floral patterns allowed elemental energy
to better thread together with the weapon body and
strengthened it. This sword embryo would be sent to the grass
weaponry processing facility to be refined. It would be soaked in
chemicals and undergo a special tempering before transforming
into a high-grade grass sword.

Basically, anything related to thread or rope would be seen in

the embroidery workshop.

Of course, the workshop only received high-grade items.

Furthermore, the embroidery techniques involved were so

dazzling that Ai Hui could not contain his amazement.
Chapter 59: Requirement
There was one lady who was about Ai Hui’s age. Her
elemental needle technique was like a group of active silvery-
white fish and her embroidery cloth was like a calm lake. The
elemental needles nimbly jumped in and out from the cloth, as
if they had a mind of their own.

There was another seamstress whose elemental needle was

like a hissing arrow released into the sky,. The embroidery cloth
in front of her seemed like it had been woven with silver silk. It
was entirely bright, and a very hollow tut-tut sound was made
whenever the elemental needle poked through.

Another middle-aged lady had her embroidery cloth pinned

beside a weirdly shaped stove. Each time, the elemental needle
would sweep across the fire within the stove before carrying a
flame with it and piercing through the cloth, leaving beautiful
golden marks.

What he witnessed today completely subverted his prior

knowledge of embroidery.

The old man was very pleased with Ai Hui’s answer, but the
lady beside him was not. The old man could say that, but when
Ai Hui said it, she became unhappy and snorted coldly, “A
bunch of nonsense! Training method? To you, embroidery is a
kind of training method?”

The old man knew things had gone awry and that she was
truly angry. To say that embroidery served as an effective
practice exercise to a master who had dedicated her whole life to
it, how could she not get angry?

Darn! He would have exposed her identity to his disciple

earlier if he had known. The old man tried his best to give a hint
with his eyes.

Ai Hui saw his gestures, but…what did they mean?

“Mingxiu,” the old lady called coldly.

A sweet-tempered, beautiful lady appeared. “Master!”

The observing ladies had earlier been quiet out of fear. A few
timid ones started to slip away from the scene.
 The old lady said inhospitably to Ai Hui, “My workshop is not
for anyone to come to as they please. Ten days. I’ll let you in if
you can weave a light muslin.”

The surrounding ladies inhaled deeply in unison, faces full of

sympathy. Ai Hui could barely thread a needle and had not
learned how to move the needle. How could he possibly
complete such a challenging task?

Ai Hui could tell from their reactions that spinning muslin

was definitely difficult and was certain he had said something
wrong to offend the owner of the workshop. He was, however,
not overly alarmed since there was no point in panicking.

“Yu Qin!” The old man’s face changed as he said unhappily,

“Aren’t you making things difficult for him? He’s new to
embroidery. How is he going to weave in ten days?”

“I have my rules,” The old lady responded persistently. “If

you’re unhappy, leave with him.”

Ai Hui saw the redness in his teacher’s face and chipped in

hurriedly, “I’m willing to accept the test.”
 His teacher was angry, but Ai Hui was not at all upset. A small
test meant nothing. In the Wilderness, he had to request for a
very long time if he wanted to learn something. He even had to
trade items for tutelage at times.

No one was obligated to help you. You had to fight for

everything yourself. Water, food, money, and sunlight.

The old lady’s requirement was very normal and was

considered friendly when compared to those of the master
elementalists. No money was needed either.

The old lady was somewhat surprised by Ai Hui’s attitude, but

kept a straight face. “Mingxiu, demonstrate the Twin Weaving
Technique.”

“Yes.”

Mingxiu smiled courteously at Ai Hui. “I’ve seen you, junior!”

Mingxiu had been observing Ai Hui and had seen that he

showed no signs of panic from the beginning. He had been calm
all along. She knew, of course, exactly which of Ai Hui’s
sentences offended her master, but had no way of reminding
him at this point of time.

She decided to demonstrate the technique at a slower speed.

Actually, she knew that it was totally impossible for a

newcomer to learn weaving just by looking once. It was usually
something that could only be learned after two years of
apprenticeship.

Ai Hui’s calm demeanour impressed her. Unlike her master,

she did not find that sentence offensive. It would be really weird
for a man to take pleasure in embroidering!

The master knew this as well, but could not control her rage
anyway when that sentence was spilled.

Mingxiu had a headache too. In a fit of anger, her master was

naturally being impolite. The moment her anger dissipated, she
would regret and sigh for a long time whenever she thought
about how she had angered Grandpa Wang.

Ai Hui immediately returned the gesture, albeit

unaccustomed. “I’ve seen you too, Senior.”

He felt as if if he had returned to the ancient times where even

greetings sounded weird. In the Induction Ground, addressing
one as junior or senior had been out of fashion for a long time.
“Seems like the embroidery workshop was a more traditional
place,” Ai Hui thought. Plus, from the greetings, Ai Hui could
also tell that the relationship between his teacher and the
embroidery master was atypical.

He had sensed this the moment he entered. Teacher was very

familiar with the workshop and probably frequented this place.

Ai Hui lacked comprehension when it came to women. He did

not know how to describe senior Mingxiu, but he felt she was
very beautiful, made people feel comfortable, and had a
pleasant, friendly attitude.

“Twin Weaving Technique is a basic method used to weave

fabric, mainly muslin. It’s unique in that both needles, side by
side, will form crisscrosses as the threads move in opposite
directions.”

Mingxiu’s voice was soft and soothing. She tried as much as

possible to explain slowly in layman terms.

Her delicate hands were unoccupied. Not far away, the spindle
and bobbin were spinning rapidly as two muslin threads flew
straight toward her. Ai Hui knew not when, but two elemental
needles soon floated in front of her, already threaded.

His eyes brightened at the dashing skill. Compared to his

previous, laborious attempt, this was much more adroit.

Her control of elemental energy was just right. She was

precise and her skill level was adept.

Such precise control would be terrifying on the battlefield. Ai

Hui had thought about the frightful attacking methods and
combat scenarios that could emerge from this skill alone.

It would be even more menacing if this was used in the dark.

“This is the simplest weaving method. You have to control

two elemental needles simultaneously. The key is to coordinate
the rhythm of the elemental needles. Are you ready junior? I’m
going to start demonstrating. It’s a little tough, so please pay
attention.”

“Wait a moment, Senior.”

Ai Hui pointed at some words in the garden that were waiting

to be roped and requested, “Can Junior borrow a sword?”

Mingxiu gave the old lady a glance. The old lady did not know
why Ai Hui wanted a sword but she was not as angry as before,
so she said coolly, “Give it to him.”

Another embroidery lady retrieved a sword and handed it

over to Ai Hui. Ai Hui bowed in gratitude. He did not draw the
sword out, but held the whole thing close to his waist instead.
No one knew the purpose of his absurd action. Even the old man
was baffled. Could it be that there was something special about
that sword? No, there shouldn’t be.

Ai Hui held the sheath with his left palm and the hilt with his
right.

The hilt was not roped, so it was cold to the touch, but Ai
Hui’s palm held it perfectly snug. His world turned peaceful the
moment he held onto the sword. All distracting thoughts
retreated like the tides.

He looked up, his reserved eyes as bright as the stars.

“Senior, you can start now.”

Chapter 60: The Sword Embryo’s Change
Mingxiu couldn’t tell what Ai Hui was up to, but she could see
that he seemed somewhat self-assured.

And…

When he held the sword, she sensed that Ai Hui’s

temperament changed for the better. However, she couldn’t
exactly describe what kind of change it was, and after taking a
closer look, she believed that what she just felt was an illusion.

Ai Hui stood motionless before her.

“Then I’ll start now.”

The elemental needles in front of her started moving, and two

rays of light flashed through the air. The lights seemed to
interweave as the muslin spindle on the embroidery stand spun
swiftly.

The quick movements of Mingxiu’s elemental needles

reflected brilliant rays like that of running water, and the thin,
light muslin cloth gradually grew longer. The muslin threads
created friction, making a non-stop hissing sound.

“Senior Mingxiu is so skillful!”

“So quick! How can the [Twin Weaving Technique] have such
speed? Oh my god, I’m not even half as fast as Senior Mingxiu!”

“Quick, come and look! It’s a double stream; there are ripples
both horizontally and vertically. How amazing!

“As expected from Senior. She’s definitely going to become a

master in future!”

……

The surrounding ladies repeatedly exclaimed in admiration.

They had been learning embroidery every day and had a greater
understanding of it than most people—precisely the reason why
they were so shocked. They were completely aware of the
difficulty of this step.
 The old lady couldn’t help but feel gratified by Mingxiu’s
performance. Although there were many embroidery girls in
the workshop, only Mingxiu had the capability to continue her
legacy.

Unlike the old lady, the old man was feeling quite nervous.

Amongst the continuous hissing sound and the ongoing

commentary, Ai Hui’s posture was abnormally strange. He was
as still as a statue, and his bright eyes were fixed on the
magnificent scene happening before Mingxiu.

The moment Ai Hui had gripped the sword, he had sensed

that something was amiss with his sword embryo.

In the past, his sword embryo was faintly discernible, and

although he could sense its presence, it was very difficult to
accurately describe it. This time, however, he could really “see”
it—it was an infinitesimal wisp of a blue-colored sword gleam.

It was very, very small, to the point where it was uncertain if

it could even be considered a sword gleam, but at that moment,
Ai Hui was sucked into it. A blue similar to that of Calming
Indigo, it was just lonely and proudly existing amidst the chaos
between his brows.

The sword in his hands seemed like a part of his body. He had
experienced a similar feeling in the past, but it wasn’t as intense
as now. Ai Hui could even feel the empowering effect the sword
had on his state of mind.

With that, he looked towards Mingxiu.

The ripple-like light reflected off the needles seemed to slow

down in Ai Hui’s eyes till he could clearly discern the trajectory
of the elemental needles. He could perceive exactly how they
moved alternatively, how the muslin threads interweaved, and
even how the airflow, which was caused by movement of the
elemental needles, steadied the threads.

How intriguing!

Ai Hui watched silently. He knew that the elemental needles

did not slow down but that instead, his perception had been
enhanced. He admired the splendid scene happening before his
eyes—it really was aesthetically pleasing!
 Although it seemed like Mingxiu was only controlling the
elemental needles, her body muscles were neither completely
relaxed nor tensed, but rather somewhere in between. Her
extended arms helped her to stabilize and optimize her center of
gravity.

It was a picture of strength and beauty.

In this picture, elemental energy was flowing like trickling

water streams and was stable like the spinning muslin spindle.
Full of well-distributed rhythm, the elemental energy
maintained the high operating speed of the elemental needles.

Ai Hui was learning many things; for example, the elemental

energy used to control the elemental needles had to be well-
distributed, and only then would it expedite the embroidery
process.

Yet such a change wasn’t enough to surprise Ai Hui. Even

though he had become more intuitive and perceptive, he had
already discovered that in the past.

What really shocked him was that this was the first time he
had seen something he couldn’t explain.
 He did not know what the faint mist curling up from
Mingxiu’s surroundings was. It was constantly changing shape;
a soft light at times, yet foggy and indistinct at times.
Sometimes, it would come out in sheets, like fluttering fish
scales.

Also, within the ripples created by Senior Mingxiu’s elemental

needles, there were faint, twinkling spots of light, like stars
scattered over the pond’s surface.

It was the first time these had appeared.

Even after racking his brains for a long time, Ai Hui was still
clueless.

The sword embryo had changed after absorbing the Calming

Indigo. Why did it absorb the Calming Indigo in the first place?
Ai Hui still did not know the reason. He couldn’t find an answer
in the sword manuals. Materials of ancient times were
completely different from today as their terminologies and
characteristics had undergone major changes.

Calming Indigo was a newly developed item and was absent in

the Cultivation Era. There definitely would be something
similar in the past, but Ai Hui had no idea what it was called.

Parts of the sword manuals that explained methods of the

sword embryo’s development were severely damaged, so Ai Hui
had to fill in most of the missing information himself. He was
completely unaware of how things would turn out.

On the bright side, the sword embryo had strengthened after

unexpectedly absorbing the Calming Indigo. Ai Hui presumed
that the Calming Indigo must have contained some type of
substance that assisted the training process.

It was a pity that the Calming Indigo was gone. He couldn’t

even afford the cheapest kind, or else he could conduct research
on the types of substances that were needed for the
development of the sword embryo.

This thought flashed through his mind but was gone within
seconds, like a small candle flame in a gale.

Calming Indigo, eighty million yuan!

Although Ai Hui was startled by the sword embryo’s change,

his shock disappeared at the thought that this change had cost
eighty million yuan.

If it had been elemental energy development, then what kind

of change could eighty million yuan bring?

Ai Hui did not know if the ingredients needed for a lifetime’s

training would add up to eighty million yuan, but then he
thought about how he could at least become a legitimate
elementalist.

Meticulous with his calculations, Ai Hui knew the sword

embryo was something that cost much but yielded little,
whereas elemental energy development was the exact opposite.

The choice was clear.

Ai Hui would not be tempted by the sword embryo. No matter

how special it was, Ai Hui was a practical man whose dream was
to only become a registered elementalist.

His gaze was firmly fixed onto Mingxiu, not wavering in the
slightest.
 Her speed was rapidly reducing, and Ai Hui knew that she was
doing it on purpose, for his sake.

Ai Hui was grateful for her kindness, but that picture of

strength and beauty had become relaxed and no longer seemed
as artistic.

He sighed to himself.
Chapter 61: Vigilance
Mingxiu was unaware of the wistful feeling in Ai Hui’s heart.
Her beautiful eyes swept towards the youth standing upright
with a sword in his hand as her flowing sleeves danced in the
breeze, shimmering like ripples of water. The needles moved
back and forth like a shuttle as the spindle whirled in the air,
steadily increasing the length of the cloth.

What a strange posture……

Mingxu couldn’t help but wonder how the sword would be of

assistance to him. Ai Hui was as still as a statue, without a single
sound or movement. During that graceful glance of hers, she
saw his eyes flash like a sword being drawn out of its sheath. His
eyes gave the ‘statue’ its only spark of life, appearing much like
a star twinkling against the dark night.

The imposing sight inevitably reminded Mingxiu of the

ancient swordsmen, leaving her full of admiration.

Her sleeves danced smoothly through the air, the tip of the
needle constantly moving with an incessant hissing sound.
 Old Wang observed Ai Hui attentively, feeling both vexed and
concerned. He began to think that coming to the embroidery
workshop today was a mistake after seeing the old lady acting so
eccentric. There were many ways to develop elemental energy
besides embroidery. Considering how overconfidently Ai Hui
had spoken, Teacher Wang was afraid that Ai Hui might suffer a
huge setback should he fail to complete the training.

Ai Hui approached all tasks in an excessively systematic

manner, thoroughly planning his every move before taking any
action. He behaved in a manner that was akin to a veteran
hunter cautiously harvesting his catch—highly mature and very
unlike most youths. Old Wang was afraid that Ai Hui was overly
reserved and lacked the aggressive drive of the young.

In the prime of his youth, he had been so full of pride and

vigor.

He had seen all kinds of gifted individuals during his many

years of teaching in the Induction Ground. All of them were full
of mettle, each one more passionate than the last.

This was what youths should be like. Although they lacked

experience, youths were highly creative, less restrained, dared
to challenge authority, and had amazingly bold and imaginative
ideas.

Among other young people, Ai Hui’s focus on practicality

would seem weird and garish. Ai Hui was so mellow that people
would find him rather insipid; sometimes, they would even
forget his age. Whatever pride he had was hidden deep in the
recesses of his soul. Compared to others of the same age,
someone so taciturn would likely be more deeply affected by
failure.

This was what the old man was more worried about.

Moreover, he knew that the old lady was very petty and may
end up disliking something.

It hadn’t been easy for him to get this precious disciple of his
and he could not bear to see Ai Hui suffer any grievances.

The old man snorted to himself—this practice could have been

done anywhere else. Mingxiu’s excellent demonstration put him
into an even worse mood. Old man Wang was definitely not an
open-minded person; he may be amiable when in a good mood,
but when in a bad mood, well, hehehe…
 His disciple had actually practiced swordplay before?

The old man was pleasantly surprised; Ai Hui was always

giving him new surprises. Although Ai Hui’s posture looked a
bit strange, it somehow seemed to be not awkward at all. In fact,
his stance could be said to be aesthetically pleasing in an
indescribable way. The old man had an eye for such things, and
he knew from Ai Hui’s posture that the boy had previously
practiced swordplay to quite an extent.

It looked like Ai Hui’s attention was much more focused when

he held the sword.

One could observe all types of strange training habits in the

Induction Ground. Staying in the Induction Ground for an
extended time allowed one to become habituated to many odd
sights. For instance, some people required absolute silence
before they could enter a meditative state while others had
better focus in noisy and crowded areas.

Seeing Ai Hui so deeply invested in the training made the old

man feel even more worried. After all, in the event of failure,
higher expectations would lead to greater disappointment.
 Failure, moreover, was inevitable. No one could possibly
weave an entire piece of cloth in a week on their first try. Even
Mingxiu, who had been chosen by the old lady as her successor,
had not been able to do it.

The old man’s brain must have been malfunctioning when he

had this idea. Why did he let Ai Hui learn embroidery of all
things? He was filled with regret.

“How is it?” Mingxiu asked warmly after finishing her

demonstration. “Do you have any doubts, junior?”

Mingxiu had asked the question before her master could say
anything. Although she knew there wasn’t much use in asking,
she still hoped to be able to help her junior in some way.

The old lady glanced at Mingxiu without uttering a single

word.

If learning to weave was so easy, then there wouldn’t be a

need for the embroidery workshop.

Seeing her favorite disciple secretly try to help Ai Hui made

the old woman dislike him even more. She felt that he was a
pretentious person, trying to attract attention by holding on to
his sword while watching the demonstration. Pretentious!

“I don’t really have any questions.”

Ai Hui’s reply gave Mingxiu a bit of a shock, but she quickly

felt relieved. It seemed like Ai Hui had already realized the
futility of the task before him. Despite being older than Ai Hui,
Mingxiu didn’t underestimate him and even admired him.
Backing out of an impossible situation wasn’t something to be
ashamed of. Rather, putting on a false show of bravery wasn’t
something a wise person would do.

Ai Hui loosened his grip on the hilt.

At this moment, Mingxiu turned her eyes onto Ai Hui and had
a strange feeling. The person in front of her was still Ai Hui, but
for some reason, he now gave her an entirely different feeling,
as if he had become another person. She couldn’t quite explain
what she was experiencing. Ai Hui had previously exuded the
imposing and elegant aura of a powerful swordsman, but the
current Ai Hui, however, completely lacked that aura.
 What a strange occurrence!

This was the first time she had experienced such an odd
feeling, two times in the same day to boot. She involuntarily
sniggered to herself—could these irrational feelings be because
she was exhausted? After all, how could she possibly know what
a swordsman’s aura felt like if she had never even met one
before?

No one else had noticed Ai Hui’s transformation.

Everyone took Ai Hui’s “no questions” to mean that he had

understood the nature of his task.

The instant his hand left the hilt, the world before him
returned to its original state. That feeling of absolute control
was now gone. His thoughts became more sluggish, and his
sixth sense had instantaneously returned to its normal state.

An intense longing for that state of power welled up inside

him, causing Ai Hui to unconsciously reach over for his sword.

Right before he touched the hilt, however, Ai Hui became

aware of his actions.

He quickly retracted his hand away from the handle, as if it

was highly toxic.

Ai Hui forcefully suppressed the strong urge, as he quietly

reminded himself.

From the moment he had planted the seed of the sword

embryo, Ai Hui was practically glued to his sword. The sword
embryo had given him an especially keen sixth sense with which
he soon became infatuated with—it was as if he had become
addicted to this enhanced perception and his hand had refused
to part with the sword hilt.

It wasn’t long before he eventually ran into a dangerous

situation. Although he could sense the danger, his body wasn’t
able to react to it in time. He had watched the dire beast’s fangs
pierce into his flesh, and because he wasn’t able to let go of his
sword, the keen sixth sense bestowed by the sword embryo
amplified the pain many times over.

The experience had become one of his most painful memories.

 That experience helped Ai Hui realize that the sword embryo
was not all-powerful. An over-reliance on the sword embryo
would give rise to the illusion of omnipotence, leading to the
neglect of physical training as well as the development of
elemental energy.

Without a strong, nimble body and well-developed elemental

energy, the heightened sixth sense cannot be used to its fullest
extent.

“Now, Senior, how long is one piece of cloth? How much yarn
would I need to take with me? Could you maybe give me a little
more in case I damage the cloth?”

Ai Hui asked shyly.

No one could believe what they just heard; the entire

embroidery workshop had momentarily fallen completely
silent.
Chapter 62: A Good Person!
"You really want to weave cloth?"

The old man couldn’t help but ask as the two made their way
back.

"Is there a problem? You’ve already asked me that three

times," Ai Hui replied, feeling that something was amiss. Could
it be that Teacher Wang didn’t approve of him learning
embroidery? Ever since they left the embroidery workshop,
Teacher Wang had repeatedly asked him if he really wanted to
weave cloth, as though Teacher Wang couldn’t believe it. But
Teacher Wang was the one who had brought him here!

"Did you not see that she was trying to make things difficult
for you?" the old man asked.

"She wasn’t exactly trying to, I guess," Ai Hui muttered to

himself, piecing his thoughts together. "I feel that her request is
entirely reasonable. When I was in the Wilderness, seeking
guidance from others always came at a price. All the old lady did
was give me a test. Not only did she not ask me for payment, she
even provided the materials needed. The old lady is really a nice
person, you shouldn’t misunderstand her," he answered
resolutely.

Ai Hui shifted the backpack.

The old lady had told him to take as much as he needed,

prompting Ai Hui to sweep all the yarn that he could see into a
backpack that was almost as tall as him. His actions had left
everyone dumbfounded.

The old man looked at the mound on Ai Hui’s back,

remembering the dumbstruck look on Yuqin’s face. He couldn’t
help but let out a hearty laugh.

Ai Hui had no idea what he was laughing at.

After laughing for quite a while, the old man finally spoke. He
asked, a little out of breath, "What you did back there was pretty
brutal. Don’t you find the backpack a bit heavy?"

"What I did?" Ai Hui didn’t quite get what his teacher meant.
Was he afraid that Ai Hui wouldn’t be able to carry it by
himself? Ai Hui expressed his disagreement, "This isn’t heavy at
all. The things that i had to carry in the Wilderness were much
heavier. The cotton yarns hardly weighed anything, it’s a pity
that the workshop only had so much."

Ai Hui’s voice had a tinge of regret.

The old man tried very hard to restrain his laughter. He

pointed at the different colored yarns on Ai Hui’s back and said,
"Why did you take these even though you can’t use them?"

Ai Hui was slightly embarrassed, and he replied, "I didn’t

actually mean to take them, it’s a habit. Back in the battlefields
of the Wilderness, I was expected to sweep up literally
everything. These colorful yarns were right in front of me, so I
grabbed them without noticing. Should I return these then?"

Without noticing...

The old man was once again amused by the thought of the old
lady’s facial expression. This fellow didn’t do it on purpose did
he? After giving Ai Hui a few glances, Teacher Wang concluded
that he most likely didn’t.

"This is just a small issue," the old man said, waving his hands.
He continued, "Did you fully comprehend Mingxiu’s
demonstration?"

"I managed to understand some of it," Ai Hui stated honestly.

"Are you really going to weave the cloth?" the old man asked,
his expression now serious. "Are you confident?"

"I dare not say for certain," Ai Hui prudently replied. "But I’d
like to try."

The old man could hear the persistence in Ai Hui’s voice; he

really was strong-willed.

"Go ahead and attempt it, then," the old man said, giving up.
He quickly added, "It’s alright if you can’t complete it, there are
many other ways to train beside embroidery. Even the most
talented people can’t possibly be good at everything."

"Don’t worry Teacher, I’m only trying it out." Although he

wasn’t sure why the old man was so worried, Ai Hui was moved
by his teacher’s concern.
 The old man no longer tried to persuade him otherwise.

Noticing Ai Hui, who was carrying such a huge sack back to

Vanguard Training Hall, Lou Lan curiously asked, "Ai Hui, are
you currently working?"

"Nope," Ai Hui responded, shaking his head. "I’m learning

embroidery."

"Embroidery?" Lou Lan asked, clearly surprised. He moved

towards Ai Hui in an inquisitive manner and said, "Looks pretty
awesome."

"I haven’t even started, Lou Lan," Ai Hui replied,

unimpressed. "Speaking of awesome, the Senior that I met
today, Mingxiu, was really impressive."

Ai Hui’s thoughts wandered. Despite coming out of his sword

embryo state, the image of Mingxiu executing the [Twin
Weaving Technique] with maximum effort was still stuck in his
mind.

That picture of strength and beauty still left him completely

in awe.

Every detail was well-balanced and perfectly harmonized.

Although he was clueless about embroidery, he could still

sense the inherent strength in her actions. He knew that
achieving such a level was impossible without first
accomplishing several milestones. Ai Hui didn’t know much
about embroidery, but he was well-versed in combat. The
elemental energy needs may be small, but they were still
terribly deadly; Senior Mingxiu’s perfected weaving technique
would be highly destructive in battle.

Senior Mingxiu wasn’t much older than him, but her level of
skill was something that Ai Hui admired and aspired to reach.

"Senior Mingxiu from Jade Embroidery?" Lou Lan asked. Lou

Lan’s ingredient runs had brought him all over, making him
familiar with everything regarding Central Pine City. "Senior
Mingxiu is most certainly impressive. She is exceptionally gifted
in embroidery and has been a disciple of the embroidery master
Han Yuqin since young. Not only that, but she is currently the
most outstanding disciple of the Jade Embroidery School. Many
people believe that she will ascend to the position of master
before she hits thirty, eventually surpassing the achievements
of her teacher, Han Yuqin, and ultimately becoming a
grandmaster of embroidery."

"That’s amazing!" Ai Hui was starstruck. He knew that Senior

Mingxiu was impressive, but didn’t expect her to be this
accomplished. Wait a minute. Yuqin? He suddenly recalled that
Teacher Wang had addressed the old lady as "Yuqin." Could that
old lady have been the embroidery master Han Yuqin?

He remembered that Teacher Wang had once mentioned that

the record for controlling the highest number of elemental
energy needles simultaneously was held by a particular master
named Han Yuqin.

The old lady was the embroidery master Han Yuqin!

Ai Hui’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. A moment later,

he asked, "Lou Lan, a master is someone powerful, right?"

"Of course!" Lou Lan exclaimed confidently. His body

dispersed into a pile of sand, reassembling to form the words
"master" and "grandmaster".
 "Ai Hui, the titles given in the Avalon of Five Elements follow
a strict set of criteria. Currently, the grandmaster rank is the
highest attainable, given only to the strongest individuals
capable of establishing a sect. Masters occupy the rank directly
below the grandmasters. Those deemed worthy of being
masters are powerful individuals considered to be at the top of
their respective fields. Among them are those who have peerless
strength as well as those who have made irreplaceable
contributions to their fields. Master Han Yuqin has created
more than ten weaving techniques."

"That’s amazing!" Ai Hui exclaimed in admiration. He was

now even more determined to practice embroidery.

This small test was nothing compared to the precious

opportunity of receiving guidance from an esteemed
embroidery master!

If not for his teacher’s deep friendship with Master Han

Yuqin, he wouldn’t even have gotten the chance to be tested.
Other than himself, Ai Hui did not notice any males in the
embroidery workshop.

His teacher’s request must have put her on quite the spot, yet
all she did was propose a small test. Master Han Yuqin was
really a good person—she even gave him so much yarn to work
with!

Ai Hui was moved by the master’s generosity as he looked at

the expensive multi-colored cotton yarns, which were emitting
waves of elemental energy.

She even gave him so much!

Ai Hui’s gaze fell on the mountain of a backpack, as he revered

the old lady in his mind. She was indeed a good person!
Chapter 63: A Lousy Joke
“Ai Hui, you’re learning embroidery from Master Han
Yuqin?” Lou Lan continued joyfully, “This is great. Embroidery
is a very lucrative trade.”

The remaining sand transformed into a cloud filled with the

word “money.” Ai Hui’s eyes caught the sparkling light
reflected by the sand clumps as the words danced around in
front of him like water ripples.

“Make money!” Upon hearing these two words, all Ai Hui

could see was money.

The dense, sparkling cloud of “money” fluttering around in

front of him caused blood to rush to Ai Hui’s head.

“How can I make money using embroidery?” Ai Hui

instinctively blurted out.

Money was one of his greatest weaknesses. At the mention of

money, any determination and rationality of his would fly out
the window! He never used to be this much of a money grubber,
but the debt of eighty million yuan had become such a huge
burden that he would now get a rush with even the slightest
mention of money.

“Embroidery has many uses,” Lou Lan answered instructively.

“The current form of embroidery has departed greatly from the
ancient techniques. In the past, cultivators would weave seals
and spells into special materials, creating infused treasures.
Modern embroidery is derived from the same basis. Following
the disintegration of spiritual force and the rise of elemental
energy, however, the properties of the materials have
completely changed. The seals of the Cultivation Era have
completely vanished, but it was later found that dire beasts and
certain plants have naturally occurring seals. As such, they
became the main source of materials. The grass sword that you
previously used is one such example, created from sword reeds.

“These naturally occurring seals can be activated by elemental

energy and are known as elemental traces. The usefulness of a
material can be determined by the presence of these elemental
traces. Seals found in nature are often imperfect; some are badly
damaged while others are malformed. Perfect elemental traces
rarely occur in nature. Most materials thus require further
refinement before they can be used, and that’s where
embroidery comes in.”

Ai Hui listened intently, finally understanding why there were

other things, like swords, in the embroidery workshop.

Back in the Wilderness, he had heard the elementalists

mention ‘elemental traces’ before, but he had never quite
understood what they were. Listening to Lou Lan’s lecture
today had, however, cleared up all his doubts.

He inadvertently asked, “Elemental traces can be altered

through embroidery?”

“Indeed, especially those of plants. It was initially thought

that elemental traces could be altered through drawing, but this
method was soon discredited. Regardless of whether it’s perfect,
every natural trace has its own elemental energy field, which
repels all other materials that contain elemental energy. The
pigments used in painting were unable to adhere to these
natural traces. Speaking of which, there’s a joke about this.
Would you like to hear it?”

“You can even tell jokes?” Ai Hui was astonished.

Lou Lan’s voice rang out from the sand cloud. “I saw it in a
book.”
 “Go ahead.”

“In the past, grass weapons were commonly refined using

chemical painting methods.”

The cloud of “money” reformed into a cluster of yellow sand.

One clump of sand transformed into a miniature person while
another became a miniature sword. The miniature sand person
was immersed in the act of painting on the sword.

Ai Hui was dazed. Was this a live enactment?

Was Lou Lan getting smarter? There must be some kind of

misconception!

“The methods of that period were rather backward. After

using special chemicals to restore and improve its elemental
traces, a sword would still have to undergo two more processes.
The sword was first completely covered with yellow clay,
following which a silver mist paste rich in elemental energy
would be poured over it. Whenever the elementalists set out for
battle, a war chariot carrying two large vats would follow
closely behind. The vats separately contained yellow clay and
the silver mist paste.”
 The yellow sand suddenly dispersed, transforming into a
group of miniature people charging ahead with swords in their
hands. Trailing behind them was a war chariot carrying two
large vats.

“When they encountered dire beasts…”

Bang! A clump of yellow sand turned into a group of dire

beasts, colliding with the miniature people.

“As the intense battle raged on, the pigments on the blade
would eventually fall off. Without any hesitation, the soldier
would whip out another grass sword to block the enemy’s
attacks, seizing the opportunity to fling the grass sword back
onto the chariot. The chemist on the chariot would grab the
sword, swiftly dipping it into the vat of yellow clay and then
into the vat of silver mist paste. He would then throw the sword
back out, shouting for the next sword.”

The yellow sand brought the entire scene to life, vividly

showcasing the entire process. The miniature person on the
chariot was frantically busy as the swords rapidly flew through
the air.
 “They once encountered a huge pack of dire beasts.”

The yellow sand shifted again, this time transforming into

many miniature dire beasts. A trail of flying debris fanned out
behind the miniature beasts, exhibiting their impressive
momentum.

Ai Hui watched the events vividly unfold with relish.

“The situation was intensely fierce.”

As the battle raged on, the weapons were clinging and

clanging throughout the battlefield. The small swords were now
flying through the air at a much faster rate as the miniature
people struggled to keep up with the pace of the battle.

“In the end, the chemist died of exhaustion.”

The miniature person on the chariot collapsed.

Ai Hui was fully engaged in the story when everything

suddenly stopped. Subconsciously, he asked, “What happens
next?”

“That’s all,” Lou Lan said, as he resumed his normal form. He

tilted his head to the side and looked at Ai Hui. “Was it not
funny? Why are you not laughing, Ai Hui?”

Ai Hui replied honestly, “It wasn’t very funny.”

Lou Lan was taken aback. “I thought that it would be

hilarious! The book said that it was one of the top ten jokes of
the year.”

Ai Hui coughed lightly, and changing the topic, he said, “Let’s

continue talking about embroidery.”

Ai Hui had noticed that Lou Lan’s morphing abilities seemed

to have improved. The miniature people that he had just created
were remarkably true to life.

Ai Hui, however, was thinking further than that. Morphing

was a technique commonly used by sand puppets and was one of
the more effective moves at their disposal. Although practically
all sand puppets could morph, sand puppets who could morph
at Lou Lan’s exceptional standards were quite rare. Lou Lan’s
morphing abilities would be truly formidable in battle.

The standard of a sand puppet’s morphing abilities largely

depended on its cognition. Lou Lan’s cognitive abilities should
thus be considerably remarkable.

Perhaps he could help Lou Lan improve this aspect of his

abilities? With his level of cognition, Lou Lan could definitely
further enhance his morphing abilities. In their previous battle
together, relying on his morphing alone already had a
significant impact.

This idea lingered in Ai Hui’s mind for a moment before

swiftly vanishing.

Ai Hui felt that he was overthinking. Lou Lan was a domestic

sand puppet and shouldn’t be steered towards battling. The
battlefield was a cruel place from which he might not even
make it out alive.

Ai Hui reminded himself that he was no longer in the

Wilderness and that he had started a new life that was
completely different to what he had experienced in the past
three years.

Life was not all about fighting—for Lou Lan at least. All that
mattered was that he could boil soup and clean rooms.

Fighting should be left to people like him who were already

used to the violence.

Ai Hui revealed a smile that was as radiant as the sun.

Chapter 64: A Future Paved With Riches
“Embroidery is one of the more lucrative occupations,” Lou
Lan said, as he morphed into a book. A voice boomed out as the
pages flipped. “For the past twenty-two years, embroidery has
consistently had a place in the top ten most lucrative
occupations within the Avalon of Five Elements.”

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up like the stars in the night sky.

Even wielding a sword could not captivate him to such an

extent.

“This has to do with embroidery being applicable across a

large number of fields, especially with regards to the handling
of plant and leather materials. Due to the high prices of even
basic embroidered goods, the sales volume isn’t all that high.
One sheet of elemental cloth costs a hundred times more than
normal cloth, with the average price over the past ten years
being five hundred thousand yuan.”

Ai Hui sucked in a breath of cold air. Never had he imagined

that one sheet of elemental cloth would cost this much.
 Five hundred thousand!

Before his debt of eighty million yuan, five hundred thousand

yuan was an astronomical figure to Ai Hui. But now, this was
the price for only one sheet of elemental cloth!

Huge profits! Such huge profits!

Ai Hui’s eyes glowed at the prospect of making so much

money. In his mind, he was already running down to his
teacher, shouting “Teacher, I want to learn embroidery!” with
utmost passion and sincerity.

These profits were really too much!

Ai Hui gritted his teeth, controlling himself.

How could such a lucrative trade possibly exist in this world?

Surely it exists so that he may join it!

How much of the [Twin Weaving Technique] did he

remember? Ai Hui had initially embraced the task with an
attitude of experimentation, but he had now completely
changed his mind. Overcoming this test was a must.

My head can be chopped off, my blood can be lost, but don’t

ask whether or not I would learn embroidery! Let the wind
blow, beat the war drums, but I won’t be called Ai Hui if I don’t
learn embroidery!

“What are elemental cloths used for? Why are they worth so
much? Is weaving muslin considered as elemental cloth?” Ai
Hui asked rapidly.

“Elemental cloths are weaved using elemental energy needles

with threads made of materials rich in elemental energy.
Elemental cloths are expensive because it is easy to add
elemental traces to them. For instance, embroidery can be used
to create these traces. Elemental cloths have many uses,
including making weapons. Lian Feier, the vice division leader
of the North Sea Division, has a weapon called [Dying Peach]
that is created through embroidery. Much protective equipment
and many armor linings are also made with such cloths,
providing a layer of protection against the dire beasts’ elemental
energy-charged attacks.”

Lou Lan returned to his normal form, appearing in front of

the heap of yarn.

“Are you referring to these? These balls of yarn have

elemental energy and can be used to make elemental cloths. The
use of an elemental energy needle, however, is required. Ai Hui,
do you know how to do it? Weaving cloth is one of the more
profound techniques in embroidery,” Lou Lan said, as he looked
at Ai Hui.

“There’s no other choice,” Ai Hui stated resolutely. There was

no room for negotiation.

Hearing about the five hundred thousand yuan had steeled his
resolve to learn embroidery. If one piece was worth that much,
his debt could be settled with a hundred and sixty-four pieces.
This quick calculation left Ai Hui feeling momentarily relieved.

Learning embroidery was suddenly so much more

worthwhile.

[Twin Weaving Technique]……

Ai Hui recalled every detail of Senior Mingxiu’s weaving

demonstration. Without the aid of the sword embryo, his
thought processes were much slower, but at least he could still
remember everything clearly.

Ai Hui had no intention of borrowing the sword embryo’s

seed’s strength for the task ahead.

He was clear about his stance. The increase in the seed’s

power brought with it an even greater sense of obsession.

Ai Hui maintained a cautious and restrained approach while

tapping on the seed’s strength. Regardless of how strong it may
be, using power beyond one’s control can easily go south. The
sword embryo’s transformation meant that Ai Hui had to now
be even more vigilant than before.

“Do you know about the [Twin Weaving Technique]?” Ai Hui

asked.

Lou Lan morphed into a book again, its pages flipping rapidly.

“The [Twin Weaving Technique] was created by Master Han

Yuqin when she was nineteen. It is the embodiment of Master
Han Yuqin’s skills with the needle.”

Lou Lan’s first sentence deepened Ai Hui’s respect for Master

Han Yuqin. Creating a whole new weaving technique at just
nineteen years old was no mean feat—she truly was worthy of
being a master!

“The [Twin Weaving Technique] revolves around the

simultaneous coordination of two needles. It works by having
one needle lead the other, tapping on the interaction between
two needles that are bound by the same elemental energy.
Building on the foundations of the [Twin Weaving Technique],
Master Han Yuqin developed many other needlework
techniques which ultimately culminated in her creation of the
[Fish Waterfall] needlework style. It is so named for the
enormous number of needles used. She currently holds the
record for the greatest number of needles used simultaneously.”

The rapid book-flipping sounds came to an abrupt stop as Lou

Lan returned to his original form. “That’s all I have, Ai Hui.
Master Shao has very few books regarding the embroidery
workshop.”

Ai Hui did not hear what Lou Lan was saying. He repeated to
himself, “Tapping on the interaction between the two needles
that are bound by the same elemental energy……”

Thanks to the sword embryo’s seed, Senior Mingxiu’s actions

were seared into his head, down to the smallest details. If he had
not relied on the seed during the demonstration, he surely
would have been at a loss. Lou Lan’s words reminded him of
some important details that immediately surfaced in his mind.

So this is how it works……

The sentence had enlightened him, clearing up the fuzzy

understanding he had of the concept.

Ai Hui’s expression became serious.

Understanding the principles behind the [Twin Weaving

Technique] made Ai Hui realize why his teacher wasn’t
optimistic about the task. Although the technique’s concepts
weren’t exactly complicated, its execution required excellent
control of elemental energy.

Ai Hui’s control of elemental energy was far below the

minimum requirements of the technique.
 However, he was not dejected by this revelation; he had no
time to lose.

Ai Hui began his attempt at creating elemental needles. His

prior experience allowed him to form the needles much faster
this time, and the needles also stabilized quicker. Ai Hui’s
learning ability was decent. Once he succeeded with an attempt,
he would quickly get the hang of things.

As he went through all of Senior Mingxiu’s actions, he found a

huge problem—he wasn’t able to control the elemental needles
from a distance.

Throughout the entire demonstration, Senior Mingxiu had

not used her palms to directly control the elemental energy
needles. The theory behind that was simple enough. The
densely packed elemental energy was used to form the needles,
which were connected to the user via an “invisible thread” of
elemental energy. This “invisible thread” was created using an
extremely thin and faint form of elemental energy that was not
only invisible but also undetectable.

A high level development of elemental energy was needed to

be proficient in the detachment of elemental energy needles. In
fact, forming the “invisible thread” was much harder than
conjuring the elemental energy needles.

Elemental energy was Ai Hui’s biggest weakness. Having only

just opened his natal residence, he didn’t have enough
elemental energy to detach the elemental energy needles from
his body.

But Ai Hui was not willing to give up just like that.

Five hundred thousand yuan per cloth!

He was excited by this figure.

Ai Hui racked his brains, trying to come up with a solution.

The [Twin Weaving Technique] required the two needles to
simultaneously move along the horizontal and vertical planes,
one needle for each plane. Only when the two needles moved in
complete coordination could it be considered as the [Twin
Weaving Technique].

He didn’t have to match Senior Mingxiu’s speed; a more

achievable pace would be adequate.
 While Senior Mingxiu’s demonstration had made the
technique look completely effortless and simple, a deeper
analysis helped Ai Hui discover its true complexity. The
deceptively simple technique actually possessed several
intricacies that might leave one feeling at a loss of where to
start.

It’s not that easy to earn five hundred thousand yuan after all!

Ai Hui let out a defeated sigh.

Chapter 65: Invisible Thread
When Ai Hui roused from his deep rumination, the sky had
already turned dark. Lou Lan was nowhere to be seen.

While the [Twin Weaving Technique] was honestly out of his

league, Ai Hui was not discouraged; he was already used to
facing all kinds of challenges.

He began his attempt.

The first step was to try to conjure two elemental energy

needles. This was the most fundamental aspect of the
technique, without which the cloth couldn’t even be woven.

He had just learned how to integrate the element force needle

in the morning, and the process wasn’t exactly easy. An attempt
at integrating two elemental energy needles at the same time
was going to be difficult.

Ai Hui was, however, surprised that despite several issues, the

attempt went relatively smoothly.
 Ai Hui smiled, feeling pleased, as he gazed upon the needles on
his right and left-hand fingers.

His left and right hands were very balanced, something he had
discovered in the Wilderness. He was capable of wielding
swords in either hand without much difficulty and was pleased
to find out that such benefits extended to the use of elemental
energy as well.

After the elemental energy at his fingertips stabilized, Ai Hui

proceeded with his attempt at detaching the needles from his
fingers.

He had learned the theory during his teacher’s fundamental

lessons on training. Teacher Wang’s explanation hadn’t been
very detailed, so Ai Hui had to fumble with the method by
himself.

Ai Hui continuously adjusted his breathing. His natal

residence was in his lungs and had a direct relationship with his
breathing. The human body was truly wondrous, the five
residences were very different from one another.

Ai Hui’s lungs expanded and contracted to the rhythm of his

breathing. When he inhaled, his lungs suffused with a faint
silver tint and exerted a pulling force that absorbed the metal
elemental energy from the air. The residual air was then
expelled through his nose.

Being able to cultivate elemental energy through the mere act

of breathing was one of the advantages of opening the natal
residence. Even though the elemental energy present in the air
was very sparse, the accumulative effect of such absorption was
nothing to scoff at in the long run.

Furthermore, every breath taken excited the metal elemental

energy within his body, causing fluctuations that shifted with
every adjustment to his breathing.

Being able to look into Ai Hui’s body would reveal two

extremely thin silver threads branching out of his silver-tinted
lungs, with one entering his right hand and the other his left.
These were formed from elemental energy.

Ai Hui’s hand palaces had not been activated, which meant

that the path from his natal residence to his palms hadn’t been
opened yet. According to the conventions of the Cultivation Era,
these paths were known as elemental “veins.”
 Ai Hui’s elemental energy was currently circulating via the
back of his muscles. If the elemental veins were thought of as a
wide torrential river, then the path through the muscles was
like a small, convoluted stream in the middle of a forest. Not
only was it unable to accommodate large amounts of elemental
energy, but the muscles were also much less efficient in
circulating elemental energy.

Ai Hui’s situation was slightly better.

Opening his natal residence only after having developed his

elemental energy to its fullest state had helped drench his
muscles in elemental energy, greatly reducing the pathway’s
resistance to elemental energy.

The elemental energy condensed into needles at Ai Hui’s

fingertips, connecting to the thin silver threads of elemental
energy within his body. Ai Hui was able to control the elemental
energy needles because the other end of the silver threads were
connected to his lungs.

Ai Hui tried to move the needles forward.

Under his watchful gaze, the elemental energy needles at his

fingertips grew slightly longer.

No! This was not elemental energy detachment.

The principle behind this was not complex at all: keep the
elemental energy thread unbroken, and maintain the density of
the front of the conjured elemental energy needles while
keeping it attached to an “invisible thread” behind it.

In other words, he had to thin the elemental energy further at

the back of the needle, but not to the point where it would break
away from the elemental energy within his body.

How was he going to make it thinner?

Ai Hui was at a loss. His teacher had not mentioned this

before, as it was something that would be taught in the more
advanced classes. This was too difficult for a rookie who had
just opened his natal palace.

It was now too late in the night to find his teacher. Ai Hui
decided to spend the night figuring it out by himself, and he
would consult his teacher the next day if there were still no
progress.

Ai Hui reflected on how he condensed the elemental energy

into needles, thinking of reversing the process to make the
elemental energy thread thinner.

He got to work immediately. Compressing the elemental

energy at his fingertips was the key factor in manifesting the
elemental energy needles. To do the opposite, he would have to
make the elemental energy fainter.

The elemental energy needles at his fingertips gradually faded

out of sight.

The glow slowly become dimmer, turning transparent, before

finally becoming practically invisible. Ai Hui could still feel the
elemental energy needles’ presence even though he could no
longer see it.

He did not stop there. Carefully controlling the elemental

energy within his body, Ai Hui continued to weaken it while he
strived to maintain its shape.
 At this point, the elemental energy needle was so faint that Ai
Hui had to consciously feel for it.

Ai Hui’s body suddenly trembled; his face lit up with joy.

As the density of the elemental energy continued to drop, the

feeling at the tip of his fingers that had almost disappeared
completely became clear once again. He could distinctly feel a
very faint elemental energy in front of him that moved
according to his will.

The “invisible thread”!

Ai Hui was ecstatic to see the “invisible thread”! He had

realized that weakening the elemental energy beyond the
critical point was necessary for forming the “invisible thread.”

This was the key!

Crossing this critical point would allow greater control over

the elemental energy.
 Understanding the “invisible thread” left Ai Hui feeling over
the moon. Although he was still far from moving the detached
needles, he was off to a great start. How could he not be happy
after comprehending such an advanced lesson?

Suddenly, the “invisible thread” shattered into fragments.

Ai Hui was dazed for a moment. A moment later, a wry smile

appeared on his face as he realized why this was taught in more
advanced classes.

The “invisible thread” was highly flexible and was capable of

being manipulated in a number of complex ways. The amount
of elemental energy required to sustain it, however, was much
greater than that of the compressed elemental energy. This had
depleted Ai Hui’s pool of elemental energy, and as he was no
longer able to sustain the elemental energy thread within his
body, the “invisible thread” quickly disintegrated.

What was the use of this “invisible thread” if it could only be

sustained for such a short period of time?

Furthermore, elemental energy detachment wasn’t just about

the “invisible thread” alone. Combining the “invisible thread”
with the elemental energy needle was going to deplete his
elemental energy at an even faster rate. If the simplest part of
the technique—moving the detached needles—was this tough,
how was he going to execute the [Twin Weaving Technique] in
its entirety?

Ai Hui sat under the starry sky, feeling empty inside.

He rested for a while and recovered some of his strength. He

then stood up resolutely, picked up the backpack, and walked
out of the training hall under the sky full of stars.
Chapter 66: Progress
When he saw Mingxiu, Wang Shouchuan gave a snort of
contempt. His face looked gloomy.

“Please don’t be angry, Uncle,” Mingxiu said softly with a

gentle smile. “You know the temperament of Master. Back then,
she was in a rage, and when she calmed down later, she really
felt regretful. She knows you must be angry. She even said that
your disciple is her disciple and that even if Ai Hui cannot
succeed, she will teach him embroidery. She had said those
unkind words only because she was angry.”

“So you don’t have high hopes for Ai Hui, right?” Wang
Shouchuan looked unhappy.

Mingxiu knew that Wang Shouchuan’s anger was still not

mollified, so she said, “Of course we do. Ai Hui’s disposition is
incomparable. I’m sure his future is very promising.”

Wang Shouchuan’s face was emotionless. “That means you

don’t have hopes for him now, huh?”

“We all trust your foresight, Uncle,” Mingxiu said softly.

“Please don’t be angry with Master. You know her bad temper.
But she also has a deep affection for you. She knew that she was
impulsive and has calmed down now. Master is very remorseful
for making you angry. These days she has no appetite and has
lost a lot of weight.”

Mingxiu had been the mediator between the two for countless
times. Neither of them was good-tempered, so although they
loved each other, they began to live apart long ago.

Han Yuqin was an aggressive person. She ran her own

embroidery workshop and was ambitious to carry forward and
develop her school of thought further. Wang Shouchuan, on the
other hand, was addicted to his own doctrine and was
indifferent to the outside world. He, too, was stubborn, so every
time they met, they quarreled fiercely. At first, Mingxiu had
become very worried, but later on, she had gotten used to it; she
realized that even though they quarreled a lot, they loved each
other very much.

If it weren't so, Master wouldn’t have been running the

embroidery workshop in the remote and small Central Pine City
for twenty years.

Mingxiu knew that Master was indeed regretful this time.

Uncle had never asked Master for any favor, and the first time
he had done so had ended up in such chaos. That was why
Master was feeling upset and remorseful.

Wang Shouchuan’s face had brightened up a bit.

Mingxiu knew that the iron must be struck when it was still
hot, so she quickly said, “I will go to bring Ai Hui here now. The
earlier he starts, the more progress he will make. Please rest
assured, Uncle. Master will treat Ai Hui as her own disciple.
What’s more, I’ll help too. I’ll take good care of him. What do
you think, Uncle?”

Wang Shouchuan didn’t answer her question immediately,

and instead asked, “That means neither of you thinks Ai Hui can
pass the test?”

Mingxiu thought for a while before saying, “Ai Hui is of

excellent temperament and composure. Regarding talent, I
believe in your judgment, Uncle. The test is only Master’s
balderdash in rage. Please don’t take it seriously. No one in this
workshop has ever been able to weave a bolt of cloth with the
[Twin Weaving Technique] in their first week of embroidery
study.”
 Wang Shouchuan was acutely aware that Mingxiu was telling
the truth, but he still shook his head. “He is my disciple. He said
he wanted to try, and I believe him. Let's see when the time is
up. No need to be in such a hurry.”

Mingxiu had not expected Wang Shouchuan to refuse. She

knew that Uncle was as proud and arrogant as Master, but he
seemed to be really angry this time. She started gently,
“Uncle….”

Wang Shouchuan waved his hand and interrupted, “Let's wait

and see. If he really doesn’t have talent in embroidery, then we
don’t need to waste time.”

Seeing that Uncle had made up his mind, Mingxiu didn’t try
to persuade him further and returned.

Having heard Mingxiu’s update, Han Yuqin didn’t say a word.

Her face was gloomy; she knew she had gone too far this time.
Although they used to quarrel before, as long as Mingxiu
mediated, they would always reconcile. She really regretted the
fact that she hadn’t realized earlier that Wang Shouchuan’s
hope in Ai Hui was far beyond her expectations.
 Now it was clear that he didn’t want to bring Ai Hui back at
all.

The test could not possibly be accomplished by him.

“Whatever,” Han Yuqin said dispiritedly.

Mingxiu was silent. She, too, hadn’t expected Uncle to be so

determined. Does this mean that Uncle doesn’t want Ai Hui to
study embroidery anymore? However, when she recalled
Uncle’s attitude, Mingxiu felt that that wasn’t his intention.

Did he really believe that Ai Hui had a chance to pass the test?

Mingxiu was startled by this thought.

That’s not possible!

She immediately denied the thought. The [Twin Weaving

Technique] was not complicated, but to a novice like Ai Hui who
had taken a long time to even thread a needle, it was definitely
an insurmountable task.
 She believed that this was Uncle showing his favor for Ai Hui,
which was actually normal. For all these years, Uncle had never
taken a disciple—Ai Hui was his very first one. She knew Uncle
too well; although he was bad-tempered, he was actually a kind
person.

She planned to persuade him again after a few days, or maybe

ask Ai Hui to help her.

Hmmmm…it suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t meet Ai

Hui today.

She realized that she could go and help him secretly. To her,
Uncle was just in a temper. If Ai Hui passed the test smoothly, it
would end happily for everybody. Of course, it was impossible
to accomplish this himself, but with her help, it wouldn’t be a
problem.

...

A bumping sound could be heard from time to time from

inside the Suspending Golden Pagoda.
 After the metal elemental energy in his body was scattered by
the [Arching Fish Back], Ai Hui sat down to absorb the scattered
energy. With an opened natal palace, his energy absorption
efficiency had been largely improved.

He now knew the benefits of opening up the natal palace—he

had seen an overall marked improvement, whether it was in his
training efficiency or his energy control.

The time he could hang inside the Suspending Golden Pagoda

had also increased. This meant that the metal elemental energy
capacity of his body had become far larger than before.
However, the absorption speed of his flesh and blood was not at
the same level as that of the natal palace at all.

There was no need to mention energy control. Before, Ai Hui

could only use elemental energy to perform some basic tricks,
but now, he could make an “invisible thread” with his elemental
energy. This was indeed great progress.

It was no wonder that opening one’s natal palace was the first
milestone in elemental energy training. Its benefits were
exceptionally tangible.
 With such a high-intensity training, Ai Hui was receiving a
much more direct benefit and was progressing by leaps and
bounds.

But at this moment Ai Hui had no time to cheer. Since his

elemental energy had recovered during the meditative state, he
opened his eyes and immediately started to try to manipulate
the elemental needle.

Now, concerning the making of an elemental needle, Ai Hui

was in no way a green hand anymore. After countless practices,
he had become very adept at it.

His hair was disheveled, and his face was dirty; he hadn't slept
or rested in the past two days.

Finally, he managed to detach the needle from his body while

manipulating it—but it was only within a radius of ten
centimeters. Although the scope wasn’t large, it was sufficient
for him.

Yet it was too early to be happy. He continued to devote

himself to learning the next step. Elemental needle detachment
was only the beginning.
But this time Ai Hui was filled with confidence!
Chapter 67: Duanmu’s Self-Abasement
Duanmu Huanghun was sitting inside the schoolhouse, feeling
impatient.

The students around him couldn’t help but continuously

shoot gazes at him, and many girls hid themselves behind some
windows and ardently peeped at him. Duanmu Huanghun, who
had shot to fame after the famous fight, had now become the
last disciple of the Grandmaster Dai Gang. Yet none of these
made him feel pleased or joyful.

With his noble upbringing, amazing talent, and handsome

looks, and now as the last disciple of the famous master, he
really was a favorite of heaven. He was so perfect that no one
could even envy him.

But he was not happy at all!

That bastard didn’t come to school again!

Duanmu Huanghun’s heart was full of anger. Yes, anger!

 Today was the first day he had returned to Central Pine City
from meeting his master. With the title of a grandmaster’s last
disciple, he was shining brilliantly like the sun. The dean had
personally came to welcome him again and had even spoken to
him obsequiously. The teachers gave him kind and warm
greetings, not in the least bit treating him like a student. The
male students looked at him with worship and reverence, while
the female students stared at him with passionate love.

But he neither wanted nor cared about any of these!

The only person he wanted to see, the only person he cared

about, was not included in these strangers.

He wanted to see the unconcealed envy, jealousy, and self-

abasement in Ai Hui’s eyes. Yes, he was this practical. He just
wanted to see that fellow grovel at his feet under his dazzling
fame.

It would feel great!

But damn it! That guy didn’t come to school again!

 Duanmu Huanghun’s face was livid with rage. Although his
eyes were as cold as ice, an unimpeded fury was burning
beneath them.

It was like a powerful army with a vast host of infantry and

cavalry, after planning for a long time, had finally marched
directly towards the enemy’s camps in the hope of wiping the
enemies out, but found out that the camp was empty.

The feeling…sucks!

He wasn’t listening to a word of what the teachers were saying

in the class. For the whole morning, he was in a rage and was
like a volcano that could erupt at any time.

Each minute in the class was similar to torture and made him
more and more angry. He felt like he was a foolish clown. The
feeling was so intense that he almost couldn’t help but rush out
of the classroom.

However, he somehow managed to restrain himself until the

end of the class.
 As soon as the class was over, he stood up and rushed out of
the schoolhouse with great haste.

As he walked outside, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes in

the bright sunlight.

"Excuse me, do you know Ai Hui?"

As he just passed the school gate, Duanmu heard a soft and

gentle voice and suddenly stopped. However, he didn’t stop
because of how attractive the voice was, but instead, because of
the name.

Ai Hui…that damned bastard!

After his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he could clearly see the
person in front of him. His eyes lit up. What a classic beauty!

The girl stood there gracefully with a demure temperament

and a warm smile; she looked so gentle and decent. Duanmu
Huanghun had seen countless beauties, but very few of them
could be said to be as pleasant-looking as her.
 Ai Hui’s girlfriend?

Impossible! Duanmu immediately denied the thought. How

can Ai Hui have such a pretty girlfriend? His girlfriend was the
plain-looking one. The moment the word "girlfriend" appeared
in his mind, Duanmu’s heart trembled, as he remembered the
miserable experience of that night. It was a literal nightmare
that he was still trying to forget.

He never thought he would remember it here…

Although he was roaring with anger deep inside his heart,

Duanmu Huanghun still smiled brightly, and said, "Nice to meet
you, I’m Ai Hui’s classmate."

He decided to paralyze his enemies before infiltrating himself

into them!

"Wow, that’s great. So glad to meet you. I’m the senior

disciple of Ai Hui’s master," Mingxiu said, pleasantly surprised.

Senior disciple of Ai Hui’s master?

 Duanmu Huanghun was also a bit surprised. His attention was
immediately caught by this relationship. Ai Hui had a master?
How could anyone choose such a terrible guy as a disciple? He
began to feel indignant.

Yet he was calm enough to maintain his composure, and he

asked with a big smile and appropriate surprise, "Ai Hui has a
master? I’ve never heard of it before. Why didn’t he share this
wonderful news with us?"

Mingxiu didn’t think too much, and she answered, "I presume
he didn’t have time to tell you. It was just days ago. His master
is Wang Shouchuan, a teacher of Central Pine Academy."

"Wang Shouchuan? Teacher in our academy?" Duanmu

Huanghun paused for a minute as he quickly searched his
memories. "Is he the one teaching the ‘Basis for Training’
course?"

"Yes." Mingxiu was familiar with Uncle’s course.

"I see." Duanmu Huanghun instantly became more relieved. It

wasn’t surprising; surely no respectable teacher would choose
such a terrible disciple. He didn’t think that a teacher who
taught ‘Basis for Training’ would be of high status.

Now much happier, Duanmu Huanghun acted impressed and

said, "He is a good teacher. Ai Hui is fortunate to have him as his
master. "

Hearing his compliment, Mingxiu’s positive impression of

Duanmu became reinforced. She had learned embroidery from
Master ever since she was very young, and just like her master,
Uncle was like kin.

"So you and Ai Hui know each other well?" Mingxiu asked
curiously.

"Very!" Duanmu replied. He gnashed his teeth in anger but

managed to give a bright smile. "We are on the same mission
team."

"Oh, then you must be good friends." Mingxiu was also happy
to know this. The members of a mission team generally
consisted of very good friends who could closely cooperate.

"Yes, yes." Duanmu’s smile became brighter, but in his heart,

he wished to stab Ai Hui to death.

Oops, no. Stab? How could he be so cruel to his "good friend"?

He should hack him into pieces to resolve his hatred!

"Oh, I don’t know your name yet," Mingxiu said.

Duanmu thought furiously to himself. Should he tell her his

real name? No! He was too famous these days, and as a celebrity,
he would be recognized if she knew his true name. Then she
would know that he was lying because Ai Hui must have bad-
mouthed him in front of her.

Why not give her a pseudonym?

Without thinking, Duanmu Huanghun blurted out, "Just call

me Bangwan."

The next moment he realized what he said, and he felt like

killing himself.
 He almost cried out. Just what did he do?

"Oh, hello, Bangwan!" Mingxiu said heartily.

Hearing the familiar yet horrifying name again, tears welled

up in Duanmu’s eyes.

"Yes, yes," he replied torpidly.

This self-abasement was just too harsh.

Chapter 68: Reveal
“By the way, Bangwan, do you know where Ai Hui lives?”
Mingxiu asked. “I tried to find him in many places but failed.”

When Duanmu Huanghun, whose heart was weeping silently,

heard this, he almost burst into laughter—so he was not the
only one who couldn’t find Ai Hui after all.

Wait. Okay, this was nothing to be happy for.

Duanmu Huanghun felt that he was almost being driven

insane by himself. What the hell happened to him? Why was he
always making mistakes like this?

After making a series of stupid mistakes for no reason, he

really wanted to cry.

“I don’t know either. He seldom comes to class.” Managing to

calm himself down, Duanmu decided to say something bad
about Ai Hui first. He then added, “He used to live in Vanguard
Training Hall. You can try to find him there.”
 “Great. Then I’ll go to the training hall now.” Mingxiu was
happy, but then she frowned when she thought of Ai Hui’s bad
habit of skipping classes. She should definitely remind him
when she sees him later.

Duanmu Huanghun was lost in thought as he watched

Mingxiu walk away. Her name sounded familiar to him. He felt
as if he had heard of her name somewhere before, but now he
couldn’t remember clearly.

As he had met countless ladies, Duanmu was very experienced

in this aspect. It was impossible for that girl, who was gentle,
respectable, and had such an outstanding temperament, to be a
nobody. Suddenly he recalled some details, such as her clothing,
which was simple, plain and not resplendent at all. But the
texture was clearly of high quality, and it was all made of
elemental fabrics. Moreover, the embroidery of the clothing was
clearly a masterpiece.

As a member of an honored family who had lived an

extravagant life since childhood, Duanmu Huanghun could tell
this from just a glance. Mingxiu’s clothes were not conspicuous,
but in terms of price, it was even higher than what he was
wearing.
 Ai Hui was poor and weak. How could his senior Mingxiu be
so rich?

Embroidery…

Duanmu Huanghun finally realized who Mingxiu was—she

was the favorite disciple of Master Han Yuqin! Central Pine City
was small without many notable big shots, which was why
Duanmu was able to quickly remember her. Since he had
decided to study in Central Pine Academy, his family had
already collected all the information about the city.

The first person one could not offend here in Central Pine
Academy was Master Han Yuqin.

No matter where she went, the embroidery master would

always be an honored guest. Even his teacher, the Grandmaster
Dai Gang, would keep a low profile in front of her.

Duanmu Huanghun knew much more than others. Han

Yuqin’s embroidery workshop was remote and very few people
knew where it was, and if it wasn’t specially investigated by his
family, he wouldn’t have known that this ordinary workshop
was owned by such a personality.
 And no one was stupid enough to go and offend an
embroidery master.

Workshops like this had business with the Thirteen Division.

Many clients came to purchase high-end elemental fabrics, and
these clients were either wealthy or powerful.

The interpersonal connections behind it formed a huge,

invisible network.

Then Mingxiu should be the disciple of Master Han Yuqin.

How could she be Teacher Wang’s disciple? No! It suddenly
occurred to him that Han Yuqin’s husband was said to be a
teacher in Central Pine Academy. That must be Teacher Wang!

Duanmu Huanghun was greatly surprised at this conclusion.

Teacher Wang was a person to whom very few people would

pay attention, and Duanmu didn’t have the slightest impression
of him. Judging from the class he taught, his level should not be
very high.

Duanmu quickly calmed down—this was not surprising at all.

 All of a sudden, he felt curious; why was Mingxiu searching
for Ai Hui?

Why not go and have a look?

Once he had such an idea, Duanmu couldn’t sit still. Yes, he

should go and have a look! That damned fellow was already very
weak, and he skipped school almost every day. What on earth
was he doing?

Duanmu Huanghun told himself that since they were now

teammates, if Ai Hui was too weak, the team would lag behind,
which would directly influence himself.

He set out immediately.

The Vanguard Training Hall was remote and it wouldn’t be

easy for Mingxiu to find it, so it wasn’t too late for Duanmu to
start now.

Yet he didn’t go to the training hall directly; instead, he went

back to where he lived and wore an elemental mask.
 This was the inconvenience his fame brought him—he would
be recognized far too often. He didn’t want to be interrupted by
some crazy female students on the way.

He made up his mind to find out what the hell the bastard was
doing.

The face in the mirror was strange, and the eyes were cold.

As he had expected, by the time he made it to the alley to

Vanguard Training Hall, Mingxiu hadn’t arrived. So he bought
a stick of candied fruits, hid himself somewhere covert, and
waited like a patient hunter.

“Be more careful if you come here alone next time.”

A boy was speaking to the girl beside him as they walked by.

“Why? It’s not safe here?” The girl was curious.

The boy said seriously, “You don’t know? This is where the
streaking case took place some time ago.”
 “Really?” The girl was greatly surprised. “The insane naked
guy?”

“Yes, I was here that night and saw it myself. The psycho also
had strong fighting skills.” The boy continued, “Do take care of
yourself.”

Duanmu was eating the candied haws, and when he heard

their conversation, he froze, and his face burned as if he had
been slapped harshly. He felt like finding somewhere to hide
himself. What happened that day inadvertently reappeared in
his mind. Although it had already passed, he still felt
humiliated.

Immersed in the unbearable memory, Duanmu didn’t notice

the boy’s unintentional glimpse towards him.

The boy’s body froze.

Noticing this abnormality, the girl asked, “What happened?”

“Nothing,” he answered in a low voice, and he pulled her

hand quietly as a hint that they need to leave as soon as possible.
 The girl didn’t understand what he meant, but she still
quickly followed him and left.

Having walked some distance away, the boy, still a bit scared,
looked back and sighed with relief when he confirmed that
Duanmu was looking down at the ground and hadn’t seen them.

“What happened to you just now?” the girl asked, concerned.

The boy was about to answer when he noticed two guards on

patrol. He quickly took the girl’s hand and ran to them.

Duanmu Huanghun on the other side of the street, however,

was still thinking about the shameful scene, and therefore
didn’t notice the nervousness of the guards after they heard
what the boy said.

The guards took it very seriously, because the reason why

they were on patrol there every day was precisely the streaking
case that Central Pine Academy was trying to investigate.

Due to the rise of Duanmu Huanghun, the fame of the

academy had been enhanced and was recently in a steady
increase. So how could they put up with such a scandal?

Every guard clearly knew that the naked miscreant had strong
fighting skills.

One of them opened the mini grass cage on his shoulder, from
which a gray signal bee flew out and buzzed away.

They looked at each other and simultaneously drew their own

weapons from their waists, and from two separate directions,
they started closing in on the male who was eating the candied
fruits.
Chapter 69: Cunning Fox
"Excuse me, which academy are you from?"

Suddenly, a voice interrupted Duanmu Huanghun’s thoughts

and pulled him back from his shameful and resentful memories.
He looked up and saw two guards staring at him like they were
facing a formidable enemy.

"Central Pine Academy." Duanmu Huanghun, who was not in

a good mood, answered unconsciously.

"What’s your name? Where’s your pine badge? Which class

are you in?" the guard then asked. A pine badge was a nameplate
for each student of Central Pine Academy to prove their
identity.

"Leave me alone!" Duanmu Huanghun said impatiently.

He knew his distinguished status differentiated himself from

ordinary students and was therefore not nervous at all when
facing the guards. As a result, when they asked him to show his
pine badge, his first reaction was one of reproach.
 "Pine badge check." The guard softened his tone. "Thank you
for your cooperation."

Instinctively, Duanmu Huanghun reached for his pine badge,

but then he stopped. Pine badge? There was no pine badge for
his current disguised identity. Of course, he wouldn’t show the
badge with Duanmu Huanghun’s name to them.

After acting silly for the whole day, Duanmu Huanghun

finally sobered down.

"Didn’t take it with me." Duanmu snorted. "I’ve been to

Central Pine City for so many times. Never heard of such a
check before."

Having been born in a noble and honored family, Duanmu

had never known what it meant to keep a low profile. As for the
two guards of Central Pine Academy, well, he didn’t even bother
to pay attention to them.

The guards became more nervous when Duanmu Huanghun’s

hand stopped moving. At first, they weren’t sure if the
information the boy had provided was accurate, but now,
judging from the reaction of the target, he was definitely a
suspicious character.

The danger level of the suspect largely increased!

"New rules, published days ago." The guards stared at him and
said, "If you didn’t take your pine badge with you, please come
with us to Central Pine Academy to apply for a temporary one."

Central Pine Academy?

Duanmu was a bit apprehensive, as he was afraid that his false

identity would be exposed.

"No. Why do I have to do as you say? Who bears the

consequence if my mission is delayed?" Duanmu Huanghun
seemed arrogant, but in his heart, he was getting worried that
they had already figured out his intention.

But that was weird. He hadn’t done anything wicked. He was

only wearing an elemental mask…wait!

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes almost popped out. He finally knew

the problem—it was his mask…the damned mask!

He quickly turned to look at the other side of the street, and as

expected, he saw the two people who had just walked by.

"…I was here that night…"

What the boy had said had now occurred to him. Damn it!
Why did he pick up this particular mask today? He started to
panic and totally forgot this was the only elemental mask he
took with him.

If his real identity was found out…

Even if he had one hundred mouths to defend himself, he

could hardly clear his name.

Duanmu Huanghun was the naked pervert!

No overstatement was needed. This fact alone could become

the headline of Central Pine Academy and spread to the whole
Induction Ground by tomorrow. He would consequently be
deprived of his fame as a genius and be kicked out by his
teacher. He would also disgrace the Duanmu family and become
a joke in the Avalon of Five Elements.

His face turned pale. Any one of these results touched his
deepest fear and left him trembling with horror.

No!

He must not be caught!

As long as he was not caught, no one would suspect him, and

after his successful escape, as long as there was no death, no
exposure of his elemental energy, and no evidence, this incident
would end. He could not care less about whether anyone would
be injured.

After calming down, Duanmu was thinking fast. His eyes

narrowed, resembling a crescent moon.

The two guards felt the suspect suddenly become a different

person. After his eyes narrowed, the originally featureless face
transformed into that of a cunning and cold-blooded fox.
 A strong sense of danger filled their hearts at the same time.

But their reactions were too slow. The figure of the dangerous
guy blurred, and something flashed across their eyes.

Bang! Bang!

They were pounded on the stomach at the same time, and

their back arched with severe pain like a shrimp.

How dare he take the initiative to attack them…

That was their last thought before they lost consciousness.

An evil smile appeared on the otherwise ordinary face,

suddenly giving it a vivid and bright look. The crescent-shaped
eyes were like those of a fox, and along with the evil smile, they
revealed a hint of bloodthirsty cruelty and grimness.

What slow reactions. Having got the upper hand with just one
move, Duanmu Huanghun snorted. Although he had never
thought much of the ability of the guards of Central Pine
Academy, he was a bit surprised to get away with it so easily.

Central Pine City was a small place, and the ranking of Central
Pine Academy in the Induction Ground was among the lowest.
Therefore, the guards here were not highly skilled. Moreover,
as a typical small town, it was generally peaceful, so the guards
were usually at leisure and not vigilant. They had never thought
that Duanmu Huanghun would initiate the attack.

Duanmu Huanghun was just about to leave when he heard the

sharp sound of sirens pierce the air.

His pupils constricted, and he murmured, "Troublesome!"

Although the guards were easy to deal with, they had called
for backup in advance, which was the last thing Duanmu
wanted to see.

Without any hesitation, he rushed to a street nearby like a

lightning bolt.

Thanks to Ai Hui, whom he had been recently looking for for

a long time, Duanmu had become very familiar with the layout
of Central Pine City. He didn’t go too high because then he
would be easily spotted.

Two guards rushed into the street rapidly, weapons drawn.

No one noticed the figure hiding in the shadow at the

entrance of the street.

Where is he? The two guards slowed down to search for the
suspect.

Like a ghost, a figure with a stick of candied fruits in its

mouth appeared silently behind them. The narrowed eyes made
it look like a fox taking a nap in the sunlight.

The figure hit hard on the nape of their necks at the same
time, causing the two guards to lose consciousness and fall
down to the ground.

The passers-by on the street were astonished. They were stuck

dumb and didn’t know how to respond.
 Amidst the gaze of all the pedestrians, Duanmu Huanghun ate
up the last candied fruit and unhurriedly threw away the stick.
He did not seem panicked at all.

Chewing the candied fruit, he was strolling leisurely—he was

as idle as an ordinary passerby.

Incessant screams threw the deadly silent street into chaos.

With his eyes still narrowed, Duanmu appeared to be enjoying

himself.

He randomly chose a tea house whose door was open and

walked in.

The people in the tea house were chatting and drinking tea.
When the screams had started coming from outside, they didn’t
know what had happened, and since Duanmu Huanghun
walked in at just this moment, he immediately caught
everyone’s attention. Yet he didn’t pay any heed to them and
walked to the seat near the door, before sitting down as if
nobody was present.
 "A pot of your best tea, please."

His voice sounded lazy. The waiter, as if just awakened from a

dream, replied promptly, "No problem. Please wait a minute."

The ringing sirens outside became the topic of discussion for

the people inside the tea house.

"What’s happening? An accident?"

"What exactly is going on out there?"

...

Duanmu Huanghun was at ease. He picked up the teacup and

took a sip.

The taste was ordinary. He put the tea cup down in

disappointment.

No one noticed a bamboo whistle suddenly appear in his hand.

He put it to his mouth.

All of a sudden, a sharp whistle unexpectedly pierced through

the tea house, causing all the other noises to rapidly die down.

In the dead silence, Duanmu Huanghun put down his bamboo

whistle, and with a note of apology in his voice, he said, "Sorry
to interrupt."
Chapter 70: Mingxiu
Duanmu Huanghun strolled out of the tea house, leaving the
unconscious guards inside lying on the ground in disarray.

He was in a good mood now.

The gloom that Ai Hui had brought him these past days was
all gone. The pleasant feeling after releasing all his depression at
once was simply fantastic. Yes, instead of blaming Mingxiu,
Duanmu regarded Ai Hui as the troublemaker, the one to be
blamed, and the cause of all wickedness.

Now that Duanmu Huanghun had calmed down, he suddenly

realized how crazy he had been just now.

He had been obedient, intelligent and aspirant ever since he

was very young, and he was a role model for all other kids; no
one was comparable to him. He was recognized as the perfect
young man by all adults.

But he had just attacked the guards after specifically setting

up an ambush to trap them.
 Before today, he had never thought he would ever do
something as crazy as this; but now he had, and it was the
hatred in his heart that had pushed him to do so.

The unprecedented thrill actually made him feel somewhat

excited.

But when he saw the pretty figure standing not far away from
him in the sunlight, his eyes narrowed again.

“Are you the one who attacked the guards just now? I haven’t
seen anyone as bold as you in Central Pine City for a long time.”

Mingxiu spoke lightly. Her face used to be as delightful as a

breath of fresh air, but now there was no pleasant expression or
smile on it. Her beautiful eyes were calm, and the solemn and
respectable aura surrounding her seemed to indicate a sense of
inviolability.

She unwrapped her plain-colored shawl from around her

shoulders.

Duanmu hadn’t noticed before that the shawl was actually

much longer than what it seemed to be.

Raising her wrist, Mingxiu unfolded the shawl to its full

length in the wind.

Duanmu Huanghun’s pupils constricted.

In the sunshine, bright streaks of light appeared on the shawl,

making it appear glorious and resplendent.

“Troublesome.”

The word was squeezed out of his clenched teeth. His eyes
were cold, and the evil yet defiant smile appeared on his face
once again.

He fled without hesitation.

Half an hour later, Duanmu Huanghun was still being chased

to the outskirts of the city. He really wanted to cry; his bearing
had become extremely awkward, and all his clothes were
tattered.
 Anything related to Ai Hui would end up in his own disaster.
Senior Mingxiu, who had appeared to be so amiable, was
actually skilled and relentless in her attacks. Duanmu was
totally unable to defend himself, and the only thing he could do
was run away.

It was only now he understood why the first fact in the

information collected by his family had said not to provoke the
Jade Embroidery Workshop. It was not because of the
interpersonal connections behind it, but rather, because of
Senior Mingxiu!

He still couldn’t figure out why, as the heir of Master Han

Yuqin and a genius regarded as a future grandmaster of
embroidery who may even surpass her master, Mingxiu could
have such strong fighting skills.

He even began to doubt whether his ranking in the Induction

Ground was only a figment of his imagination.

Worse still, Senior Mingxiu was closely pursuing him, and if

he stopped for even a second, she would catch up and attack
him. The plain-colored shawl must have been made by Master
Han Yuqin!
 Every time it unfolded to its full length, the floating lights on
its surface would cause him to feel intoxicated. He was not a
green and inexperienced clodhopper, but he still couldn’t tear
his eyes away from it.

It was the embroidery of an embroidery master!

This was the first time in his life that Duanmu had lost to his
opponent in each and every aspect. Not only was he inferior to
Mingxiu in combat skills, but also in terms of wealth!

Even for powerful families, like that of Duanmu, the

embroidery that Mingxiu wore as her shawl was a rare treasure,
and such treasures were all very precious to the highly respected
elders of the family. No one would ever give it to kids like
Duanmu, even if he were the most talented of his family's
generation.

He was desperate.

What bad luck!

Without any sense of direction, Duanmu Huanghun hobbled

through the woods, trying to get rid of Mingxiu.

Duanmu’s elemental energy and physical strength had been

almost entirely depleted after continuously fighting and
desperately fleeing from Senior Mingxiu. Although he now
believed that he had gotten rid of Mingxiu, he still didn’t dare to
stop running.

Suddenly, he noticed a spire in the distance.

That was…the Suspending Golden Pagoda!

He thought for a while and realized that he could pretend that

he had been training in the pagoda. Yes! All he needed to do was
get rid of Mingxiu, enter the Suspending Golden Pagoda, throw
away his mask, and pretend to be training.

As for the naked pervert…..no no no, the man without

clothes, as long as he doesn’t admit it, then who would suspect
him? Who would dare to suspect him?

The entire academy was relying on him now, and they

obviously would not destroy the genius they had just created.
 Besides, there were many non-native students in Central Pine
City these days. The academy couldn’t be sure that it was its
own student just because the miscreant claimed so himself.

The whole incident would come to an end once he throws

away the mask and pretends to be training in the Suspending
Golden Pagoda.

It was not important even if Mingxiu knew the truth. As long

as he didn’t openly admit it, Mingxiu would not take action
against him. Although Jade Embroidery Workshop wasn’t easy
to deal with, Duanmu’s family wasn’t either.

He warily waited for a while and didn’t see Mingxiu, so was

therefore somewhat relieved. It seemed that he was off the hook
for now. He had run helter-skelter in the woods like a
directionless headless chicken, doing whatever he could to elude
Mingxiu.

He removed his mask and buried it carefully in a hole to

remove any traces.

Then, with his last bit of energy, he stumbled towards the

Suspending Golden Pagoda.
 He had made up his mind. When he reached the pagoda, he
would lie down, pretending to be exhausted after training. As
for the bruises all over his body—they were because of the crazy
training he had just gone through. How could he be a genius
without hard work?

He was pleased with himself.

But soon his complacency faded away. His legs were as heavy
as lead. A few moments ago he was in a state of emergency;
when he was being closely chased and attacked by Mingxiu, he
was highly concentrated and his potential had been forced out,
and therefore he didn’t feel tired. Now, after finding a way out,
his nervousness was alleviated, and fatigue and tiredness
overwhelmed him like a flood.

Each step was really heavy.

Although the Suspending Golden Pagoda was merely a short

distance away, to Duanmu, it felt poles apart.

His elemental energy, which used to be plentiful, had been

drained. During his daily training, he hardly spared time to
exercise his body and was hence not physically strong. Now,
without the support of elemental energy, his muscles were
trembling.

His face was pale and he was breathing heavily. His throat was
burning.

He slowly dragged himself to the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Awful…

It felt terrible; he could not even move one finger…

This was how it felt to be totally exhausted…

His sight gradually became blurry, but he struggled to hold

on. He had to do whatever it took to make it to the Suspending
Golden Pagoda.

The image of the pagoda before him was also gradually

becoming less clear.
 The last moment before he lost consciousness, he finally
reached the pagoda. Everything transformed into a blur as he
strenuously climbed the stairs with both his hands and feet.

Suddenly, he felt as if he touched something.

Chapter 71: Simplifying The [Twin
Weaving Technique]
The [Twin Weaving Technique] was created by Master Han
Yuqin when she was nineteen years old.

Rome was not built in a day, and she did not become a master
overnight. Without in-depth knowledge and innate talent, one
would not be able to become a master. All the historical masters
had displayed exceptional innate abilities and had stood out
from the masses when they were young.

Nineteen years was an age at which most people were still

studying in the Induction Ground, yet at this age, Master Han
Yuqin had already created her own unique weaving technique.
Such talent was indeed jaw-dropping.

During this period of time, Ai Hui had a deep impression of

her. He had displayed great admiration for her on more than
one occasion.

In theory, the [Twin Weaving Technique] was not really

complicated. Its design was simple yet ingenious, which
brought about an aesthetic balance to it.
 Of course, the word "simple" was relative to different
individuals; this technique far surpassed Ai Hui’s current
powers and knowledge.

The process of trying to understand the [Twin Weaving

Technique] had broadened Ai Hui’s perspective. To him, there
were countless obstacles present in the simple steps of the [Twin
Weaving Technique].

However, he did not give up.

Whenever he encountered an obstacle, he would think about

how to solve the problem. No one guided him; he needed to
solve every obstacle he encountered himself. Moreover, he had
a weak foundation and did not have much knowledge on
elemental energy. If it were another person in his position, they
would not know what to do at all.

Luckily, Ai Hui had used the powers of the sword embryo to

view Senior Mingxiu’s demonstration that day.

Every movement of Senior Mingxiu and all the details of the

flow of the elemental energy had been firmly engraved in his
mind, and this played a significant role in helping him
comprehend the [Twin Weaving Technique].

When Ai Hui truly understood and digested the principles

behind the [Twin Weaving Technique], he benefitted greatly
from it. Master Han Yuqin’s masterwork contained techniques
and ideas on elemental energy that were extremely new to Ai
Hui, who previously knew nothing at all.

The benefits of such spontaneous thoughts were extremely

precious.

Ai Hui, who was in deep thought, was not thrilled at the

benefits he received; instead, he was filled with endless agony.
He had finally solved a problem with great difficulty, but before
he could even rejoice, a tougher problem arose.

When he fully comprehended the principles behind the [Twin

Weaving Technique], he realized that he could not even use it.
His current base level was far below the basic base level
requirement for this skill; he calculated that the minimum
elemental energy level that was needed for this technique was
the fourth palace.

He had not even activated a single palace.

 However, he did not intend to give up just like this. He was a
practical individual and did not forget what his goal was. That
goal was to successfully weave elemental cloths!

In fact, this was not the first time he had encountered such a
situation.

When he was in the Wilderness, he had been placed in many

similar circumstances. When he did not have a grass sword, he
would make a wooden sword; he was fine with anything as long
as it could be used. When he was in the swordsman school, he
did not have any bookshelves to place and arrange the
swordplay manuals, so he had picked up scrap wood and had
made them himself.

Due to having a pathetic amount of resources, poor people

would always encounter various difficulties in their lives. It was
a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul—using worthless materials
flexibly to create something usable.

One could say that this was the poor person’s wisdom. Even
though it was not efficient, it was still usable.

In Ai Hui’s hands, the [Twin Weaving Technique] changed

beyond recognition.

When an elemental energy needle left one’s body, their

elemental energy would quickly deplete, so Ai Hui attempted to
reduce the distance between the elemental energy needle and
his finger. Eventually, the distance between the elemental
energy needle and his finger had shrunk to only two
centimeters. Although it did not appear graceful and elegant, it
could still be used, and for a rookie like Ai Hui, it was instead
much easier to control.

For someone like Ai Hui, who had little mastery over

elemental energy, it was impossible to make two elemental
energy needles react to each other. Hence, Ai Hui thought of
another method, which was to coordinate his hands and eyes.
Even though elemental energy may be sensitive, it was still
easier for Ai Hui to control his muscles and coordinate his hands
instead.

Of course, it was impossible for Ai Hui to harmonize his

elemental energy like what Senior Mingxiu had done.

If Senior Mingxiu’s [Twin Weaving Technique] could be

compared to an agile hummingbird, then Ai Hui’s [Twin
Weaving Technique] would be compared to a slow-moving
snail. However, the hardest part was the movements of the
hands.

Each of Ai Hui’s hands controlled an elemental energy needle.

His two fingers were poking forward alternatively, and it
appeared that Ai Hui was weaving a sweater. The aesthetic
beauty of the [Twin Weaving Technique] had completely
disappeared in his hands.

Fine. It still could be considered weaving, because, in the end,

he actually did manage to weave some elemental cloths.
However, even though they looked crumpled and ugly, Ai Hui
still needed to put in an all-out effort to produce such quality of
work.

It was truly an all-out effort.

Ai Hui’s elemental energy could only last for five minutes.

And he needed to be extremely focused during these five

minutes. Any slight mistake would waste his elemental energy.

Once his elemental energy was depleted, he would need to

enter the Suspending Golden Pagoda to recollect the metal
elemental energy. After that, he would have to use the [Arching
Fish Back] to scatter the energy for absorption. This repetitive
process would take up to an hour.

In other words, he needed to train for one hour before he

could weave for five minutes.

The difference between Ai Hui’s base level and Senior

Mingxiu’s base level was quite obvious. Ai Hui would need an
unknown number of days to weave the same amount of
elemental cloths that Senior Mingxiu could weave in ten
minutes.

Ai Hui did not have a moment of rest. He trained crazily, and

then weaved crazily.

Previously, he had some prejudice towards embroidery, but

when he had clearly comprehended the [Twin Weaving
Technique], he changed his stance. No matter what, he had to
learn embroidery.

If such dazzling and elaborate control could be utilized in

combat, how frightening would it be!
 For example, if the twin needles were to be used during
combat, his enemies would find it hard to guard against its
unpredictability.

Furthermore, one bolt of cloth was worth five hundred

thousand yuan!

Ai Hui did not know how long he would take to weave one
bolt of cloth; however, he knew that as long as he persisted, he
could definitely weave it. If he could make a breakthrough to
the fourth palace, he could then utilize the [Twin Weaving
Technique].

The [Twin Weaving Technique] was merely a basic weaving

technique, yet it was so powerful and so valuable.

Without any distractions, Ai Hui continued to train day and

night.

For someone who had survived the Wilderness, Ai Hui

understood the importance of opportunity. When you see an
opportunity, you have to make an all-out effort to pursue it.
Before you succeed or fail, you should stop complaining about
how much hard work you have put in.
 He continued for three days without any sleep. For these three
days, he engaged in high-intensity training, with the intention
of not wasting any time.

His body gradually became exhausted from the continuous

high-intensity training. Even a maniac like Ai Hui found such
training to be intolerable; if it were done for a prolonged period,
it would even cause injuries to his body.

This time around, Ai Hui spent a bit more time training in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda, enduring the explosive effect of the
metal elemental energy to his body. He was trying his best to
climb the steel chain for the way out. Elemental energy could
constantly be replenished during continuous training; however,
this did not apply to his physical strength, which had constantly
been drained. He was somewhat dispirited by the process of
climbing out. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was too weak.

He really needed a rest today.

He planned to have a good sleep later.

Before Ai Hui could even heave a sigh of relief after using all
his strength to climb up to the entrance, a staggering figure
suddenly came out from the dark and collapsed onto his body.

Ai Hui subconsciously reached out his hands and tried to catch

the figure.

That figure lost control of its body. Its swinging arms

desperately tried to hold on to Ai Hui, resembling someone who
was drowning.

Both of them collided with each other, lost their balance, and
fell into the Suspending Golden Pagoda at the same time.
Chapter 72: Danger
The unforeseen event startled Ai Hui. Before he could even see
who collided with him, he was flooded with a whizzing metal
wind.

Damn it!

Usually, when Ai Hui was alone in the Suspending Golden

Pagoda, he would tread everywhere with care. However, he was
now carrying a person, and his physical strength had been
thoroughly depleted. How could he possibly move?

The most annoying thing was that the other party was
holding him tightly by his waist. He tried to break free a few
times but failed.

Ai Hui was obviously furious. Ruthless thoughts rose in his

mind. Once he’s out of here, he would bash this bastard up until
he’s unrecognizable.

With this area being so large and the steel chain so noticeable,
how could he not see it?
 What kind of eyesight did he have?

Just as Ai Hui was about to explode with anger, his hands gave
way. A shiver went down his spine. The steel chain broke!

The steel chain could not bear the weight of two people! Ai
Hui’s expression changed slightly.

Both of them were like kites that were out of control. Bang!
His body slammed heavily against the wall, and even with the
protection of the armor, he could not help but let out a pained
groan.

Although the armor protected him from the metal wind, it

was still very cumbersome. Furthermore, there was a person on
his back. Even if Ai Hui’s strength was at its peak, he would still
not be confident of walking out of the Suspending Golden
Pagoda alive.

Bang!

This time around, it was the person on his back that hit the
wall.
 An involuntary groan came from behind him.

Ai Hui’s rage, which had just simmered down, erupted once

more.

Duanmu Bangwan!

He could identify the other party with just the voice.

Previously, both of them had borne grudges against each

other, but now, the two enemies had come face to face as their
eyes blazed with hatred! It was not surprising at all to see this
bastard come here to stir trouble! Ai Hui didn’t know where his
strength came from as he tried to grab Duanmu Huanghun, who
was latched onto his back. However, the armor on his body was
too bulky, and his movements were limited.

He simply removed his armor. Clang! Cling! Clang! It crashed

onto the metal fence below.

However, before he could do anything, Duanmu Huanghun

seemed to discover an opportunity to strike and used all his
limbs to cling on to Ai Hui’s back like an octopus.
 After removing the armor’s restriction, Ai Hui felt his
movements regain their freedom. However, at the same time,
he became much lighter, and the wind now had a greater impact
on him. Yet when he realized it, it was already too late.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Both of them were like rubber balls, as they bounced off each
other and flew around the pagoda uncontrollably.

At this point of time, Ai Hui could do nothing else except

protect his head. However, as an experienced individual, he was
able to react in time. He knew that he would only waste his
energy by bouncing around recklessly, and the best thing to do
now was to protect himself, save his energy, and wait for an
opportunity.

Ai Hui, who had calmed down, knew what he was doing.

He was very familiar with the first level of the Suspending

Golden Pagoda. As long as he was blown somewhere near the
entrance, he could successfully escape.
 He no longer cared about Duanmu Huanghun and recovered
from his fury—it was as if nothing had even happened. In such a
dangerous situation, acting on his emotions would not benefit
him in any way. The only thing he could do was remain calm
and help himself get out of this situation.

The stabbing pain from the metal wind had started to become
increasingly intense. Previously, he had already felt that he was
at his limit, but the metal wind was now steadily penetrating his
body. The feeling self-explosion was quickly growing stronger.

However, it did not affect Ai Hui’s composure. He remained

cool and calm.

But after the subsequent collision, he finally lost his

composure.

This time around, the collision took place at his back. The
moment the unconscious Duanmu Huanghun collided against
the wall, they involuntarily flew back like a spring.

Ai Hui could only look on helplessly as he bounced off the

ground like a rubber ball. With a slight push from the metal
wind, they flew towards the second level.
 Calm down, calm down, calm down...

Ai Hui kept on repeating to himself; however, he eventually

could stand it no longer and swung his head backward.

Pow!

Like an iron hammer, the back of Ai Hui’s head slammed

directly into Duanmu Huanghun’s nose.

The unconscious Duanmu Huanghun’s body twitched but still

remained clung on to Ai Hui, not showing even a single sign of
loosening its grip. However, Ai Hui’s rage had simmered down,
and he knew that it wouldn’t be possible to make Duanmu
Huanghun let go of him. He had seen this before in the
Wilderness—it was a human’s survival instinct. A person who
was drowning would cling on to anything they could get a hold
on and would never let go. This effect also applied to people
who had lost their consciousnesses.

And right now, Duanmu Huang was in this exact state.

Ai Hui could not care about Duanmu Huanghun anymore as

he was now facing an even grimmer problem.

He could feel his speed increasing. This was a terrible

situation, as it implied that the wind was getting stronger. After
training in the Suspending Golden Pagoda for so long, he was
very familiar with the place. There was a total of seven levels in
the Suspending Golden Pagoda, and the top part of the pagoda
was narrow while the bottom part was wide. The air vent in the
first level was the closest to them, yet the wind coming out of it
was the weakest. The higher they would go up, the stronger the
wind would get.

Their bodies whirled along with the metal wind.

Ai Hui’s premonition was getting increasingly stronger, but

right now, he was in mid-air with nothing to hold on.

The wind was spiraling upward!

The sound of the wind in his ear started to become peculiar

and frightening. A sharp noise that could burst his eardrums
prevented Ai Hui from hearing anything else. The wind had
become so strong that he now had difficulty breathing.
 The pain from the metal wind was akin to that of being
slashed with a sword. Ai Hui could feel his skin being ripped
apart by the intense metal gales.

A faint light suddenly shone from behind him.

It was the clothes that Duanmu Huanghun was wearing. They

were emitting a faint glow, resisting the metal wind.

The pair spiraled upward out of control as the metal wind

blew stronger and stronger. Ai Hui’s clothes had already been
shredded by the slicing wind, leaving numerous lacerations on
his skin.

Ai Hui was getting anxious. He had been observing his

surroundings, and they had already reached the fifth level.

Pop!

After an explosion that sounded like a popped balloon, the

glow around Duanmu Huanghun disappeared. Countless shreds
of cloth dispersed in all directions; even Duanmu Huanghun’s
special clothes could not withstand the metal wind.
 Psss!

Blood spurted onto Ai Hui’s face. The faint smell of blood

seemed to calm the anxious Ai Hui down.

The blood belonged to Duanmu Huanghun.

Even though Ai Hui’s [Copper Skin] was almost fully

developed, he could still feel the slashing pain from the metal
wind. This showed how powerful the metal wind was. Last
time, Ai Hui had cured Duanmu Huanghun’s flu; therefore, he
knew everything about the fellow’s body.

Duanmu Huanghun’s body definitely could not endure the

metal wind.

The reality was just what Ai Hui had expected it to be. Fine,
red streaks appeared on Duanmu Huanghun’s body, staining his
shredded clothes with fresh blood.

The bloodstained shreds were being pulverized, bit by bit.

 Such a lucky fellow. Ai Hui laughed bitterly. This fellow fell
into a coma and had yet to know the precarious situation he was
in now.

The faint smell of blood awakened the long since dormant

valor in Ai Hui.

A fierce look flashed across his face. Without any hesitation,

he started to directly absorb the metal elemental energy that
was fiercely stabbing his body.

This metal elemental energy had not been scattered, and

hence wasn’t suitable for absorption; however, at this point in
time, Ai Hui couldn’t care less.

He must save himself; otherwise, he would die here today!

The higher he went, the purer and stronger the metal

elemental energy became. Ai Hui forcibly activated his natal
residence, and the metal elemental energy channeled
throughout his body, traveling within like countless steel
needles. The needle-piercing pain turned Ai Hui’s face pale-
white.
 Yet he did not stop. However, if this situation continued,
without any physical strength or elemental energy, he would be
literally heading towards death.

Life was more important. Without his life, he would have

nothing left. If his natal residence was injured, he could still
find a way to heal it.

The metal elemental energy gushed into Ai Hui’s natal

residence like a group of vicious sharks.
Chapter 73: Seeking Survival
Nowadays, the “five residences and eight palaces” was the
most popular and developed training system. Although
everyone had their own style of training, none had left out the
five residences and eight palaces.

The five residence and eight palaces had various functions and
uses; however, the most important aspect was the natal
residence.

One could see its importance simply from the word “natal.”
Fire was associated with the heart, wood with the liver, earth
with the spleen, metal with the lungs, and water with the
kidney. They collectively constituted the source of elemental
energy. The natal residence was able to store a huge amount of
elemental energy, but its most important use was to absorb
elemental energy and channel it elsewhere.

During combat, the natal residence was responsible for

channeling one’s elemental energy.

During the process of training, elemental energy needed to

make a Circulatory Cycle Revolution. The purpose of the
Circulatory Circle Revolution was to purify and compress
elemental energy. The purification of elemental energy was to
get rid of its impurities, allowing one to obtain a purer form of
elemental energy. Meanwhile, the compression of elemental
energy allowed one to store a greater amount of elemental
energy.

No matter how weak or strong a person was, the natal

residence would have to transfer and bear the weight of an
abundant amount of elemental energy. However, it would need
only a small amount of elemental energy to injure the natal
residence.

Those high-level elementalists all had a high concentration of

elemental energy in their bodies, making them extremely
strong. Those who specialized in body-tempering had bodies
that were comparable to the bodies of dire beasts.

When one’s base level was low, their body would be very
weak, so during the initial stages of their training, many people
tended to choose training grounds with elemental energy that
was mild in nature. When such elemental energy was purified
and compressed, it would not inflict any injury on one’s body.

No one would joke around with their natal residence because

once the natal residence became injured, it would be very
troublesome.

When the sharp elemental energy gushed into Ai Hui’s natal

residence, his natal residence was immediately injured.

Along with indescribable piercing pain, countless fine

lacerations appeared all over his lungs.

However, he did not stop. Even though the process was

painful and torturous, he was reenergized by the influx of
elemental energy into his lungs. Yet this was not enough, as he
still had to direct the elemental energy to complete a
Circulatory Cycle.

As the elemental energy endlessly gushed into his lungs, Ai

Hui quickly discovered that he could not channel so much
elemental energy.

His base level was too low, and since the capacity of his natal
residence was not high enough, its ability to channel energy was
limited. Furthermore, the elemental energy that surged through
his body was not only pure in nature, but its amount was
tremendous as well.
 As the elemental energy continued to gush into his natal
residence, the number of wounds in his lungs increased rapidly.

It was a very precarious situation!

If he could not quickly come up with a plan, his natal

residence would be ripped to pieces by the sharp, slashing
elemental energy. The wounds in his lungs were becoming
increasingly wider, and it began bleeding more and more.

The blood foamed up from his lungs and entered Ai Hui’s

mouth as he breathed. The familiar, sweet scent of blood
brought Ai Hui back to his time in the Wilderness, a place where
dangers lurked everywhere, and death could follow any
moment.

How many times had he encountered death?

Live or die? It would all depend on what he would do next.

His hair stood on end as a shiver went down his spine.

 He could not remember anything, but he soon felt a familiar
presence. Like a veteran warrior that stepped onto the
battleground once more, a peculiar flame lit up in his previously
ice-cold eyes.

His attention became unusually focused, and his brain began

working extremely fast. His surroundings slowed down and
became silent.

The surging elemental energy in his body was like a group of

sharks, destroying his vitality.

It was sharper, purer, and more congealed than the metal

elemental energy on the first level. It was like…elemental
energy needles…

Elemental energy needles...

Ai Hui seemed to catch on to something.

They were indeed similar to elemental energy needles; in fact,

from their shape and nature, their intrinsic qualities seemed to
be exactly the same as that of elemental energy needles. The
only difference was that they were not conjured by Ai Hui
himself.

He thought about how difficult it was for him to conjure

elemental energy needles, and how hard it was to sustain them.
After spending so much time and effort, he could still only
weave a meager amount. Yet right now, there were so many
elemental energy needles, making him feel embarrassed of his
incapability.

Wait, there were so many elemental energy needles...

As if a light bulb suddenly lit up in his mind, Ai Hui suddenly

thought of the [Twin Weaving Technique]!

In the [Twin Weaving Technique], Ai Hui had never been able

to understand how the elements energy needles reacted to each
other. All the details of Senior Mingxiu’s demonstration
emerged in his mind as he clearly remembered that there was
only one “invisible string” when Senior Ming Hui was
controlling two elemental energy needles.

She must have used the reaction between the two elemental
energy needles to control the other needle.
 Yes, it must be!

He finally figured out what was going on.

Was it possible for him to control a few elemental energy

needles, and then use their reactions to channel this elemental
energy?

Ai Hui’s simplified version of the [Twin Weaving Technique]

skipped this step by using muscle control to coordinate between
the twin needles. He did not have enough elemental energy for
such complicated coordination of the needles.

However, right now, his body was filled with a large amount
of elemental energy, and hence, he did not have to worry about
the depletion of elemental energy. Another fortunate fact was
that the part of the body that controlled the elemental energy
needles was the natal residence.

If the difficulty level of controlling elemental energy from the

outside of his body was “difficult,” the difficulty level of
controlling elemental energy in the natal residence would be
“amateur.” He was a master in the aspect of his natal residence.
 At this moment, Ai Hui’s state of mind was clear and bright.
He did not know if this plan would work, but he had no other
choice. Other people might find it very difficult to fight for their
lives when encountering death, but to Ai Hui, this was an
experience that he was used to.

He locked onto one of the densely packed elemental energy

needles and started to experiment with it.

It started off smoothly as the elemental energy needle floated

in the air. However, he could not control it to interact with the
other elemental energy needles.

What surprised him was that there did exist a reaction

between the elemental energy needles. However, this reaction
was very weak. It was so weak that it could not even make the
other needle tremble.

He was not discouraged, though. To him, this was a very high-

level technique, and even if he understood the principles behind
the technique, it would still be very difficult for him to actually
execute it.

It appeared that the reaction field between the elemental

energy needles was not responsible for the intensification of the
reaction between them, but rather, it was due to some type of
unique technique.

Could it be that he had overlooked something by mistake?

He carefully recalled every single detail in Senior Mingxiu’s

demonstration, before suddenly remembering something that
he had neglected.

At that time, when Senior Mingxiu had stretched her body,

she had formed an alluring image. Faint mist had appeared and
lingered around her, continuously changed its shape, while
numerous specks of light had appeared in the water ripples that
she had created. These light specks would randomly illuminate
and extinguish themselves, resembling a lake that was filled
with twinkling stars.

These were the two things that he had yet to understand.

Even now, he did not know what it was, but he still decided to
give it a try.
 He decided to start by mimicking Senior Mingxiu’s
movements. That image was incomparably harmonized and
filled with strength and beauty. It had left an extremely deep
impression on Ai Hui.

Senior Mingxiu did not have a muscular body, but Ai Hui saw
strength and power in her movements.

Ai Hui did not care that his body was hovering in the air. His
arms stretched forward comfortably, and each of his fingers was
spread wide open. All the muscles in his body were slightly
tensed, and his legs were curled up, shifting his body’s center of
gravity to a perfect position.

Ai Hui had remarkable control over his muscles.

Furthermore, he had a very accurate impression of Senior
Mingxiu’s movements, so his posture was exactly the same as
hers.

Exactly the same!

The moment he assumed that posture, he could feel a

transformation begin to take place in his body.
Chapter 74: An Unforeseen Event
The elemental energy in his body suddenly turned vigorous.

No—it was surging. Ai Hui had never seen so many elemental

energy needles simultaneously jump before.

Previously, they were similar to numerous iron nails, but

now, they resembled magnets; some were attracted to each
other while some repelled each other, creating a huge mess.
There were simply too many elemental energy needles in his
body. These innumerable needles surged into his natal
residence, creating a storm of destructive force. And after being
wrecked by such a storm, the natal residence's past wounds
were ripped back open.

Ai Hui spat out another mouthful of blood.

Instead of feeling surprised, however, he felt happy—as long

as his theory worked, he was fine with anything. He was most
worried that the elemental energy needles would stay unmoved
in his body; as long as there were changes, there would be an
opportunity for him to live. Right now, he was in the worst
possible scenario, and any changes would be a good thing—at
least he had a chance to make a difference.
 Ai Hui could presently not care about anything. Perhaps even
Senior Mingxiu could not explain what was going on with him
now.

No one had ever done such a thing before. Even brave

individuals would not dare to fool around with their natal
residences like him.

However, Ai Hui had no other choice, and a tremendous

amount of elemental energy had gushed into his natal residence,
far exceeding the limit his body could take. It had long been a
hopeless situation for him.

He would not hesitate to try any method he could think of.

The storm in the natal residence not only started abruptly but
ended abruptly as well.

The surging elemental energy needles began to align

themselves with each other in an organized fashion. If these
needles could be previously compared to vicious sharks filled
with destructive force, then they could now be compared to a
magnetic molehill made up of countless magnets.
 Yes, they were now extremely quiet and stable.

After the elemental energy needles had gotten attracted to

each other, their sharpness decreased significantly. The needles
themselves also soothed down by a reasonable amount. What
surprised Ai Hui, however, was that the wounds of his natal
residence had started to heal. The magnet-like mass of metal
elemental energy was of a higher base level than Ai Hui’s, and as
such, he could not absorb them. Nevertheless, Ai Hui’s natal
residence was acutely sensitive to this metal elemental energy.
His natal residence also benefitted greatly from this pure and
high-level metal energy, and his wounds were rapidly healing.

Ai Hui finally heaved a sigh of relief.

He had not expected events to unfold this way.

He had initially intended to use the reaction between the

elemental energy needles to direct the needles into completing
one Circulatory Cycle, hence obtaining a temporary short burst
of power that could help him escape.

This hope of his had been completely shattered.

 Even though he found a way to increase the reaction, he had
still not expected the elemental energy needles to be attracted to
each other like magnets.

He now knew what the problem was—there were too many

elemental energy needles.

Senior Mingxiu could use one elemental energy needle to

control another; however, if there were too many, Senior
Mingxiu could do nothing as well. Furthermore, the reaction
between the needles on Senior Mingxiu’s hands was not as
clumsy as his.

Ai Hui guessed that it could be due to the natal residence.

Senior Mingxiu had controlled the two elemental energy

needles from outside of her body, weakening the reaction
between the needles. Alright, what he did was wrong and what
Senior Mingxiu had done was correct and normal. Who would
anyone do such thing like him?

His natal residence had the strongest control over his element
energy, making it very likely that the reaction between the
elemental energy needles would become stronger in the natal
residence.

After roughly figuring out the reason, Ai Hui was not happy at
all.

The elemental energy in the metal wind gushed into his body
in an endless stream. Right now, the “mass of elemental energy
needles” in his natal residence was like a huge magnet,
generating a powerful attractive force. Ai Hui did not need to
channel the elemental energy in his body as it was being
automatically pulled to the mass of elemental energy needles.

As more and more needles pulled towards it, the previously

dispersed mass of elemental energy needles started to collapse
to the center, becoming denser. From a small and fragile
snowball, it eventually became an enormous solid ball of ice.

There were too many elemental energy needles being added to

the mass.

Ai Hui trembled with fear when he saw the mass of elemental

energy needles that was continuously expanding. No matter
how hard he tried to channel his natal residence, he could not
absorb the slightest bit of the mass of needles.
 Ai Hui’s natal residence simply did not have the capacity to
absorb such high-level metal elemental energy.

As Ai Hui saw his natal residence being filled up bit by bit, he

started to feel uncertain. He would soon implode and die while
his natal residence would be stuffed to death.

The only thing that comforted him was that the mass of
elemental energy needles was currently not actually harmful.

When Ai Hui saw that his natal residence was completely

stuffed, his heart sank. Previously, he could at least control one
or two elemental energy needles, but this mass of elemental
energy needles was totally out of his control. No matter how
hard he tried to move it with his natal residence, it just
wouldn’t bulge.

Bang! He slammed heavily against a wall. Wait…he had been

blown upward; how could he have possibly slammed against a
wall?

A look of ecstasy suddenly appeared on his face!

 The top level of the pagoda—they had been blown all the way
up to the top level of the pagoda!.

Indeed, the metal wind was pressing the both of them to the
ceiling of the pagoda, all the while making them feel as if they
were being slashed by many sharp swords.

Yet it was currently a chance for Ai Hui to escape from this

seemingly impossible situation. The metal wind was so fierce
that he could not open his eyes; however, he could still feel the
direction of the wind. There were five air vents in the top level
of the pagoda, and they could escape out of any one.

At this point of time, he recovered some of his physical

strength.

He followed the direction of the wind and inched sideways

while sticking to the ceiling of the pagoda. The wind was
incredibly powerful, making him feel as if there was a giant
hand pressing firmly against his body.

Meanwhile, behind him, Duanmu Huanghun remained

unconscious and covered with blood. This fellow had an affinity
with the wood attribute, and since Metal chopped Wood, being
ravaged by the metal wind for such a long time was akin to
receiving a torture; even if he were conscious, he would still be
injured severely.

At this point of time, Ai Hui had stopped complaining about

Duanmu Huanghun and merely hoped that he would survive.
He had developed this mentality after braving through such a
catastrophe together. He did not care about anything but
surviving.

Carrying the wretched Duanmu Huanghun, Ai Hui tried his

best to move towards the air vent.

After a while, he established that he was moving in the right

direction. He no longer needed to move by himself as the strong
wind was pushing him towards the air vent.

This was because the wind became stronger as he drew closer

to the air vent.

Ai Hui protected his head from smashing into the edges of the
air vent by curling his body into a ball. Even if he had a big and
robust physique, it would still be extremely dangerous to crash
into the edges of the air vent because of the fierce winds.
 “Classmate Bangwan, I’m afraid you’ll have to fend for
yourself,” Ai Hui muttered to himself.

Finally! They were about to be out!

Ai Hui was filled with joy as he had gained a new lease of life.
Even though he could not open his eyes, he could feel the light
grow increasingly bright.

This meant that he was gradually approaching the air vent.

At this point of time, he completely lost control of his body,

and it was as if he was going to be extruded out of the air vent by
a powerful stream of air.

Bang!

He felt his arm slam into something, and he was engulfed in a

world of darkness.

The last thought he had before he lost consciousness was...

I can’t be that unlucky, right?
Chapter 75: An Old Friend
Mingxiu was lost.

Not long after she left the city, she had become lost in the
woods of the countryside. Ever since she was young, she had led
a simple and straightforward life in the embroidery workshop.
Other than looking after the embroidery business, she basically
did not engage in other activities. The teachers had doted on her
as well, and even when she went out to collect debts, she would
be accompanied by professional bodyguards.

She did not have any experience traveling solo in the

countryside.

However, she was not really worried. The Induction Ground’s

countryside had long been purged a few times. Those fearsome
monsters that could threaten the students had been repeatedly
annihilated by the older generations.

The Induction Ground was the safest place in the Avalon of

Five Elements. This was a fact.

Other than the injuries that occurred during duels or

competitions in various training halls, there were not many
fatal incidents. The Induction Ground even encouraged
competition among students, and the schools would not look
into accidental injuries that occurred during duels and contests.
Another source of injuries would be school missions. Although
there were many dangerous missions, the Induction Ground
encouraged students to engage frequently in such missions.

This had always been a custom of the Induction Ground. It

was built upon smoke and ashes and had never withdrawn from
danger before.

The threat of the Wilderness had still not been resolved. The
Avalon of Five Elements needed valiant warriors, not sheltered
babies, and the Induction Ground could never forget this
principle.

A lot of customs in the Induction Ground followed this

principle.

The Society of Excellence was also a product of this principle

and the custom of bringing the frontline troops back to the
Induction Ground as instructors had been established by the
Induction Ground since early times.
 Li Wei and Zhou Xiaoxi regarded their stints as instructors in
the Society of Excellence as a holiday. However, when both of
them heard the siren, their old habits kicked in, making them
the first ones to respond to the situation.

Compared to them, the other teachers had a much slower

response time.

When both of them saw the unconscious guard and learned

that the suspect had escaped to the countryside, they started the
chase. After reaching the city gate, they split up. Li Wei spread
the azure wings on his back.

Azure wings had first appeared after the Avalon of Five

Elements had been established. They were made of refined
clouds, which were harvested in Palette Cloud Village and then
refined by water elementalists using a special technique. Before
the appearance of azure wings, the sky was the territory of dire
beasts. Mankind could not easily defend themselves from the
dire beasts that could fly, and it was not until the creation of
azure wings that they could go head to head with those dire
beasts in the sky.

Currently, the azure wings were the most widely-used single

flying equipment. After thousands of years of development, the
Palette Cloud Village was able to export a larger variety of the
types of clouds, allowing it to live up to its name. As such, there
was now a rich collection of types of azure wings available.

Initially, only water elementalists were able to use azure

wings. However, after generations of hard work, water
elementalists had developed various azure wings that were
suitable for other types of elementalists.

With a wingspan of seven meters, Li Wei’s azure wings were

copper-red and had a sturdy body speckled with a metal
elemental glow. It was known as Copper Bone Bird and was
suitable for metal elementalists. Copper Bone Bird did not have
a high flying speed; however, it could bear a hefty load. Li Wei
was from the infantry division, and his body had already
developed copper skin and metallic bones; therefore, standard
azure wings would not be able to carry his heavy weight.

Furthermore, Copper Bone Bird had a rather powerful

defensive capability, making it difficult to get damaged.

He flapped his azure wings, stirring up a huge gust of wind,

before soaring into the sky.
 He hovered above, scanning through the woods with his
eagle-like vision. If he were in the Wilderness, he would
definitely not do such a thing—he specialized in land battles,
not air battles.

But he did not have such worries in the Induction Ground.

After a while, he discovered a girl. He remembered that the

guard had mentioned that some girl was pursuing the suspect.

He leaped from the air and landed nearby the girl. He

introduced himself, “I’m Li Wei from the infantry division. I’m
an instructor from the Society of Excellence in Central Pine
City. Pleased to meet you!”

“I’m Lu Mingxiu from the Jade Embroidery Workshop.”

Mingxiu returned the greeting politely.

“Lu Mingxiu from the Jade Embroidery Workshop,” Li Wei

thought silently, as he carefully analyzed her face. She indeed
looked familiar. He quickly asked, “Is your Elder Brother called
Mr. Lu Chen?”
 “Brother Li knows my brother?” Mingxiu was astonished.

Li Wei did not expect his guess to be right. He grinned. “Mr.

Lu saved my life before! That time when I was injured, I stayed
at his place for a month. He mentioned that Miss Mingxiu was
training in embroidery. Then, now that I saw that Miss Mingxiu
and Brother Lu looked very much alike, I took the liberty of
asking Miss Mingxiu this question. I really didn’t expect it to be
Miss Mingxiu! Is Miss Mingxiu chasing the suspect?”

“He has escaped. The woods are too large; after making a
turn, I became lost, and I can’t find which direction he went,”
Mingxiu replied, distressed.

“Miss Mingxiu can return to the city first. I shall take care of
the rest,” Li Wei said.

“We will go together.” Mingxiu shook her head and

continued, “And Brother Li can just call me Mingxiu. Miss
Mingxiu sounds too formal.”

When Li Wei saw how resolute she was, he decided not to

persuade her anymore. The Induction Ground was anyways
supposed to be very safe. Furthermore, that guard had merely
fainted, and no one was injured. This should be some kind of
prank. During his school days, he had done many unruly things
as well.

He felt that the school authority had somewhat overreacted.

However, they could not be at fault, since Central Pine
Academy’s reputation had finally risen after great difficulty.
The school authority did not want the school’s reputation to
now be affected in any way.

Besides, he was now here taking care of this incident.

Li Wei was very confident in his capability. With him around,

it was impossible for anyone to harm Miss Mingxiu.

Instead, he had hesitated when Miss Mingxiu had asked him

to call her by her name. Mr. Lu was someone whom he
respected very much.

Mingxiu could sense Li Wei’s hesitation. She assured him with

a gentle voice. “Since Brother Li is my elder brother’s friend,
you’re naturally my friend too. Unless Brother Li does not wish
to be Mingxiu’s friend?”
 Li Wei was a no-nonsense man who was used to
coquettishness. Upon hearing these words, he smiled. “I shall
respect your decision, then.”

Mingxiu revealed a pleasant smile before quickly becoming

distressed. “What should we do now?”

When Li Wei saw Mingxiu’s gentle and graceful smile, he was

slightly struck dumb. He quickly returned to his senses and
withdrew his gaze. With confidence, he replied, “Mingxiu,
follow me.”

To Li Wei, pursuing a trail in the countryside was nothing out

of the ordinary.

He quickly found traces and started to follow them.

Mingxiu was impressed by Li Wei’s efficiency and skill.

“Brother Li is indeed skilled. You can identify the trail even in
such a large woods.”

Li Wei replied shyly, “My skill level is considered average;

there are people with higher skill level than me in my division.”
 When Mingxiu saw the tough and fierce man behaving shyly,
she laughed softly, as she found it extremely funny.

This time around, Li Wei’s face blushed. When he realized his

own reaction, he suddenly wished that he could go hide
somewhere. To conceal his awkwardness, he looked around
with a feigned composure and gave a sudden exclamation of
surprise.

“Has Brother Li discovered anything?” Mingxiu asked with

her eyes wide open.

“That person has gone to the Suspending Golden Pagoda,” Li

Wei explained.

He could immediately identify the correct direction as he was

very familiar with the terrain around the Suspending Golden
Pagoda.

“Let us go then!” Mingxiu said excitedly. Although she had a

gentle nature, she was, after all, a girl. Having spent most of her
time in the embroidery workshop, she had seldom encountered
such a situation and felt that this was something new and
exciting.
 Li Wei was infected by Mingxiu’s liveliness and chuckled
heartily. “Let’s go and find that lad who caused so much
trouble!”
Chapter 76: Discovery and Astonishment
When the two of them rushed to the Suspending Golden
Pagoda, they did not see anyone. Instead, their gazes were
immediately attracted to something beneath the pagoda.

A huge stone was tied by a thick metal chain, and a part of

that metal chain was snapped off.

Li Wei had previously trained at the Suspending Golden

Pagoda and could figure out the purpose of the metal chain after
some slight thinking. He couldn’t help but feel that it was much
more brilliant than his method in the past.

When he had trained at the Suspending Golden Pagoda, he

had sustained countless sufferings; but in exchange, he had
managed to achieve a body of copper skin and iron bones. There
were very few students who managed to reach the state of
achieving a body of copper skin and iron bones in the Induction
Ground, and due to the quality of his body, he was chosen to be
part of the Infantry Division, one of the Thirteen Divisions,
much to the surprise of numerous people.

He couldn’t believe that there was someone who was walking

down the same path as him. His interest tremendously
increased.

The Suspending Golden Pagoda was not only one of the most
neglected training grounds to the people of Central Pine City,
but also to those from the neighbouring cities. It could be said to
be almost deserted due to a single reason—training there was
simply too unbearable. It was much tougher than the average
training, and furthermore, it took a long time to achieve the
desired effect, which also made it a test of determination and
willpower. There were very little who could endure it.

Come to think of it, the Infantry Division was similarly not

favorably seen upon.

The Infantry Division was also known as the laborer division.

Despite being an elite division like the Infantry Division, the
Sky Edge Division was more glorified and was more popular
amongst girls. Li Wei was more than envious. The number of
students who turned up for the Thirteen Divisions’ yearly
recruitment was lesser than those that turned up at the Sky
Edge Division’s by a huge margin. In fact, there was even a year
where they did not manage to hit the recruitment target, which
became a joke that spread throughout the Thirteen Divisions.

Li Wei’s heart beat faster after he saw the metal chain.

 It would really be a huge benefit for the Infantry Division if he
could find a good seedling.

The metal chain broke…

Did an accident occur? Li Wei’s heart jumped in alarm.

At that moment, he heard Mingxiu’s surprised shout. "It is

Junior Ai Hui!"

Li Wei looked up and realized that other things were lying

near the steps below the pagoda. He hurried over.

There was a knapsack filled to the brim with yarn and a few
threads of yarn scattered on the floor.

Mingxiu’s face was filled with alarm. When she saw the
knapsack filled with yarn, she had a slight feeling that it was
Junior Ai Hui, but it was only after checking all the yarn and
identifying the logo of the embroidery workshop that she
confirmed that it was indeed Junior Ai Hui.
 She had searched for Junior Ai Hui in countless places but to
no avail. Mingxiu had not expected Junior Ai Hui to train at the
Suspending Golden Pagoda alone as it was such a deserted area.

She started to feel nervous.

Junior Ai Hui was definitely not the suspect. She had

exchanged hands with the suspect, and the suspect’s base level
was much higher than Junior Ai Hui’s. She was worried that the
suspect had harmed Junior Ai Hui, especially after seeing the
broken metal chain.

However, there were no traces of blood or a fight.

Li Wei was more experienced. He gazed around and noticed a

small piece of cloth on the ground. He hurriedly picked it up,
and said, "There’s a piece of muslin here!"

Mingxiu, who was initially flustered, had slightly calmed

down. But when her gaze fell upon the piece of cloth on Li Wei’s
hand, she could not stop her body from trembling—she was in a
state of disbelief.
 Li Wei noticed Mingxiu’s expression and passed the small
piece of cloth to her.

It was only a small piece of muslin, which was evidently

incomplete as it was still connected to two strings of yarn. The
muslin was also creased, of inferior quality, and had many
uneven parts. If someone produced such a product at the
embroidery workshop, she would definitely return it back.

However, it caused Mingxiu to be very shocked.

Despite its inferior quality and ugly appearance, it was a piece

of elemental cloth that had been weaved with the [Twin
Weaving Technique].

Junior Ai Hui was a novice who did not have any prior
experience in embroidery and had spent half a day to thread a
single needle, but he could actually produce an elemental cloth
after seeing her demonstration just once. How could she not be
astonished?

She had grown up in the embroidery workshop but had never

heard of such a thing before, let alone see it happen. The
embroidery experts that she had met, including herself, could
definitely not achieve such a feat. She clearly remembered that
she weaved her first muslin cloth with the [Twin Weaving
Technique] only seven months after entering the embroidery
workshop.

She could still remember the admiring and pleased gaze of her
teacher.

But Junior Ai Hui only saw it once….

Apart from shock, countless doubts started to rise in her mind

involuntarily. Since Junior’s base level was so low, how could
he manage to use the [Twin Weaving Technique]? Could it be
that he saw the demonstration once and understood the [Twin
Weaving Technique]? Were there really people with
photographic memory in this world?

She could see that Junior Ai Hui had a difficult time weaving
from the creases on the muslin cloth.

However, this was not a question of how tough it was, but

rather of how it was even possible.
 He was able to weave the cloth with just his natal residence
opened. If not for the special logo of the embroidery workshop
on the cloth, she would have assumed that it was accomplished
with the help of others.

Mingxiu felt that the knowledge she had accumulated over the
years from learning weaving had been completely undermined.

Li Wei saw that Mingxiu was out of sorts, seemingly deep in

thought, so he did not disturb her. Instead, he started to survey
the surroundings. When his gaze fell on the pagoda’s wall,
which was not far away, his pupils suddenly constricted.

There was a distinct row of dents in the pagoda’s wall.

He suddenly thought of his previous trip to the pagoda. He

had already seen the dents in the wall, but those previous dents
were not distinct and weren’t easily noticed by the naked eye.
He had only discovered their existence by accident. At that
point in time, he had assumed that the dents were caused by a
beast, but now, after looking at the row of distinct dents, he
realized that they were actually created by a human.

Someone had been training and had rammed into the wall of
the pagoda.

Looking at the different shapes and magnitudes of the dents,

Li Wei made a sudden decision. He approached a dent and
turned around, leaning his back against the pagoda’s wall.

His back and the dent made a good fit.

Indeed. It was a dent that was created by someone ramming

their back into the wall.

If Li Wei’s emotions could be said to have been stirred after

seeing the mental chain a moment ago, then when he now
looked at the row of dents, his eyes could be said to be
practically emitting rays of light.

What a ferocious person!

Other than Li Wei, nobody had a better understanding of how

solid the wall of the Suspending Golden Pagoda was. Creating a
dent in the wall required a horrifying amount of strength. The
different types of killer moves that used the power of one’s back
flashed through his mind. Which move was able to produce
such power?

Such tremendous strength also required at least four palaces.

Also, it was evident that the person was improving—the dents

were getting deeper.

Given Li Wei’s current strength, it would be easy for him to

achieve similar strength; but for someone to be training here, it
was definitely a student. It was an incredible feat for a student
to attain such a standard.

However, the primary factor that contributed to the spark in

Li Wei’s eyes was the method used. This person was a perfect fit
for the Infantry Division!

This won’t do! No matter what, he had to bring that person

into the Infantry Division!

Li Wei had already made the decision in his mind.

Suddenly, his thoughts returned to the broken metal chain,

and his eyelids twitched. Could it be that that fellow was
training inside and had met a mishap after the metal chain
snapped?

He decided to rush in to find them. Given his current power,

the Suspending Golden Pagoda was no longer a threat.

However, just when he turned around, he heard a loud bang

from the top of the pagoda.

The two of them started in unison, before subconsciously

raising their heads to look for the source.

Mingxiu recognized Ai Hui at a glance, but the next moment,

she became even more shocked.

More than half of Ai Hui’s clothes were torn, exposing his

well-defined muscles. He was carrying someone, whose clothes
were in bits and pieces, and the snow-white skin of that person
could be seen stained dark red. They streaked across the air,
leaving a splatter of fresh blood in their wake.

Mingxiu’s first thought was that the person on Ai Hui’s back

was a woman, but when she saw the face, she couldn’t help but
halt in her tracks.

Hey, isn't that Student Bangwan?

Chapter 77: The Awakening
Ai Hui woke up in a daze. He had a bad dream, in which he
was struggling in the middle of a gale and was unable to grasp
ahold of anything. He had also dreamt of Fatty, who was
carrying his corpse and sitting in a pool of mud, crying, his tears
lost to the brutal winds.

He had dreamt of Boss, who had made him burn all the
swordplay manuals. He had stood in the empty training hall for
ages, feeling helpless and lost.

Ai Hui woke up.

His eyes were unfocused and dull; but after a moment, his
gaze started to focus, and a feeble ray of light was lit up in the
midst of an endless sea of gray and bleakness. It lit up the cold,
engraved face of the metal and stone wall, akin to a spring
breeze that vigorously blows and revitalizes the wintry
landscape of the wilderness, delivering a fresh breath of life.

He had not experienced a nightmare for a long time.

He rested on the bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

 How was Fatty doing now? Was he still going around as a
swindler and not training?

Do not consume so much sugar, you are already so fat. If

someone bullies you, remember the name but do not tell me.
Even if you tell me, at least wait till I have higher skills than
now. Or else if I am unable to curb the urge to avenge you, both
of us would be in a terrible situation. Do not worry, I will train
properly. If I am unable to defeat them, I will beat you instead,
for provoking such a highly skilled enemy.

He wondered how Boss’s life was in the heavens. He guessed

that there was no more swordsmanship in heaven.

Boss, you must do as the natives do. As a human, no, as a

ghost, you must be more realistic and not be so stubborn. Do
not conduct business as you are not suitable. Find a stable job
and do it well instead. There should be dozens of jobs like that
in the heavens. It would not be qualified to be called ‘heaven’ if
there were no stable jobs there.

Ai Hui, you must work hard.

After telling himself that last sentence, he let out a long

breath. The nightmare and the negative emotions were also
exhaled out with the air.

He went back to his usual self. The dull and dark state, the
fearfulness, and the feeling of being a coward had all vanished
as if nothing had even happened.

His gaze was steady and calm. He was still the formidable Ai
Hui who was scared of nothing.

He struggled to get out of bed but was met with a sharp pain
in his left arm.

He expertly ascertained that his bone was fractured; this was

not the first time he had met with such an injury. Recalling the
last moment when he rushed out of the Suspending Golden
Pagoda, he seemed to have knocked into something and had
evidently injured himself. He did not realize that it was his left
arm.

As long as it was bound up properly and treated with

medication, Ai Hui would recover in no time. He had ample
experience—external injuries such as fractures seemed to be
serious on the surface, but in reality, they were not a big issue.
As long as they would be treated properly and on time, there
would be a rapid recovery. An internal injury, on the other
hand, was a real nuisance. It would be very troublesome if there
were injuries to the five residences and eight palaces.

He reckoned that he was in big trouble. Ai Hui laughed

bitterly.

He was in a bit of a mess.

He still did not know the condition within his body.

Suddenly, he heard sounds of squabbling come from outside.

"Shouchuan, he truly is a genius! He just opened his natal

residence and could use the [Twin Weaving Technique] to
weave the elemental cloth. Till now, I am unable to
comprehend how he did it. This is simply too unfathomable!"

The voice of the old lady was filled with admiration.

Ai Hui secretly felt pleased. Being praised by others was

indeed a happy thing, not to mention that he had sacrificed a
lot.

"He is a genius! A weaving genius! Shouchuan, it was my fault

previously. His talent is simply amazing, you must let him come
to the embroidery workshop. I will educate him personally, and
I want to take him as a closed-door disciple!" The old lady was
evidently very agitated.

Ai Hui was struck dumb. Please don’t. Although weaving was

a profitable job and offered a bright future, he was, after all, a
man. It would be very awkward to always be dealing with
weaving for the rest of his life.

The old man was initially pleased, but once he heard that the
old lady wanted to fight over Ai Hui, he could not care less
anymore. "This is out of the question! He is my disciple! I have
only one disciple, and he is going to be carrying my legacy in the
future."

"You are wasting his talent! You are being irresponsible!" The
old lady coldly remarked, "Given your insubstantial theories, he
could still follow and learn."
 "Whatever you say, my answer shall still be definitely no!"
The old man rejected her bluntly.

The old lady immediately became angry. "Wang Shouchuan,

what do you mean by this? I have already apologized to you.
What more do you want me to do? I have been following you for
so many years, and this is how you treat me? It was my fault
previously. When did I ever benefit from any good fortune after
being with you for so long? When did I beg you for anything? If
you are at the Induction Ground, I will follow you to the
Induction ground. I let you squander whatever you want, and
this is how you treat me? Wang Shouchuan, you better explain
things to me clearly today! Boo hoo hoo….."

Looking at his old partner reduced to tears, Wang Shouchuan

became terrified. He softened his tone. "I did not say anything.
Why are you crying?" My disciple is also your disciple. If he does
not learn properly, you can break his legs."

Li Wei and Mingxiu were at the side, looking down at the floor
and standing still like statues. Li Wei felt weak and inwardly
regretted that he rushed over. The spectacle unfolding did not
seem like it was supposed to be seen by an outsider like him.

Teacher, oh Teacher, please do not hold this against me, Li

Wei thought to himself.

Mingxiu had seen many such spectacles and did not feel too
awkward. However, she also knew not to cut in at this moment.

Seeing that his old partner had stifled her sobs, Wang
Shouchuan continued, "But we have to consider Ai Hui’s
opinion as well."

Having heard that, the old lady stopped crying and raised her
voice. "He has objections?"

Ai Hui, who was in the nearby room, felt his heart tremble.

"Of course, he would not have objections." Wang Shouchuan

coughed lightly. "Look at how much he wanted to enter the
embroidery workshop. But we have to think over this properly.
If he were a girl, I would give him to you without a second
thought. But he is a boy, and you are more familiar with
weaving than me. When was there a male weaving master? I am
also clear of his temperament—he loves to fight. Learning to
weave is one thing, but to let him weave for the rest of his life
might be difficult for him."
 The old lady became silent.

Wang Shouchuan’s sentence was straight to the point. In fact,

before she came, she too had felt that it was a pity that Ai Hui
wasn’t a girl. While it wasn’t to say that there were no males
who learned to weave, they were incredibly rare. Not to
mention that there were no male weavers who had managed to
achieve any accomplishments.

Seeing that he was winning the argument, Wang Shouchuan

quickly continued, "My point is, let him go to the embroidery
workshop when he has recovered. Let him learn first, and we
will decide from there. We should not be anxious about whether
he has good skills or whether he is interested in weaving. His
future should still be decided by him."

The old lady’s face was not as black as before, and she gave a
snort and said, "Finally there is a humane sentence coming from
you, after wasting so many of my tears. Mingxiu, let us go back
to the embroidery workshop."

With that, she left haughtily, without a trace of that tearful

grandmother of a few moments ago.
 "Uncle, we are leaving." Mingxiu hurriedly bowed to Wang
Shouchuan, waved to Li Wei, and ran after her master.

Wang Shouchuan looked at his old departing partner and let

out a sigh of relief. The battle that he had just fought had given
him a huge shock. He grabbed the teapot that was on the table
and started to take big gulps of water.

Putting down the teapot, he asked Li Wei, who was at the side,
"What happened to you again?"
Chapter 78: The Teacher’s Faith
"I want to invite Student Ai Hui to join the Society of
Excellence."

Li Wei carefully said. Although Teacher Wang wasn’t that

well-known, Li Wei did not dare to display any signs of
negligence. He had attended school at the Induction Ground and
knew that the teachers were all hidden talents. He hadn’t
sensed it as a student; it was only after leaving the school that
he realized that the teachers were all very remarkable
individuals.

Furthermore, as a student, Li Wei had attended Teacher

Wang’s lessons before.

He was glad that he had come to Teacher Wang’s place.

After hearing that Ai Hui had a teacher, he didn’t dare raise

the invitation to Ai Hui without permission.

"We should talk about this next time." The old man’s tone to
Li Wei was not that courteous. He waved his hand and stopped
Li Wei from speaking.
 Li Wei retreated tactfully. However, in his heart, he had
become even more determined in his resolution to bring Ai Hui
into the Society of Excellence. The teachers in the Induction
Ground had very high standards. To get into his good graces, Ai
Hui’s talent was definitely thought highly of. The recent debate
had further proved his point—even Master Han Yuqin wanted
to take Ai Hui as a disciple. What other thoughts could he have?

Such a fine young talent! He would regret if he just let him

pass by!

The wheels were turning in Li Wei’s head, as he thought of

how he could kidnap—no—invite Ai Hui into the Society of
Excellence. And afterward, ignite his interest in the infantry
division.

After the old man had driven Li Wei away, he entered the
room and saw Ai Hui, whose eyes were already opened. He
laughed. "You heard everything right? What do you think? Are
you interested in weaving?"

Ai Hui shook his head. "While Disciple might get an income

through weaving, Disciple is unwilling to weave for the rest of
his life."
 "See, I know you like the back of my own hand!" The old man
was very pleased, and he clicked his tongue in wonder. "You
could actually weave the muslin cloth. Even I received a shock."

However, the old man immediately turned stern, and said,

"Anyway, you should not be going to the embroidery workshop
for some time. Your injuries are quite serious, and it would be
troublesome."

Ai Hui recalled the big piece of "magnet" in his body and

suddenly had an ominous premonition. "Is it very severe?"

The old man did not answer his question, but instead, replied,
"Tell me the specific details of what exactly happened."

Ai Hui started to recount his experience—how he managed to

train and weave simultaneously in the Suspending Golden
Pagoda, how he was knocked back when he wanted to come out,
and how he was subsequently swept up to the top of the
Suspending Golden Pagoda. He had only been trying to save
himself when he had injected the elemental energy into his
natal residence.

The old man listened till his eyes formed a straight line. Not
only was he was shocked by his own disciple’s fierce resolution,
but he was also full of admiration for Ai Hui’s courage and
insight.

He could not help but ask, "How did you think of the mutual
attraction of the elemental energy needles?"

"[The Twin Weaving Technique]! Didn’t Senior Mingxiu

demonstrate it once?" Ai Hui said matter-of-factly.

The old man stared blankly at Ai Hui, and after a long while,
he finally replied, "I am starting to believe the old woman’s
words that you are a weaving genius."

His wife was an embroidery master, and he naturally

understood the embroidery process more than others.
Especially that old woman’s [Twin Weaving Technique]. Very
few people knew that there was actually a connection between
him and the [Twin Weaving Technique].

People only knew about Han Yuqin, the embroidery master,

while Wang Shouchuan was comparatively unknown. There
were very few that knew that they were childhood sweethearts.
It was widely known that Master Han Yuqin had invented the
[Twin Weaving Technique] at the age of nineteen, but no one
knew that it was Wang Shouchuan who had initially discovered
the induction effect of the elemental energy needles.

As a result, the old man was even more impressed by Ai Hui’s

talent.

To be able to understand the complexity of the [Twin

Weaving Technique] after seeing it merely once—such talent
was truly unheard of.

It was both a good and a bad thing that his disciple was this
talented. This was because a talented disciple would create
much more trouble than an average person.

Just like this time.

Ai Hui thought of Duanmu Huanghun, and he could not help

but ask curiously, "Teacher, how’s that fellow now?"

The old man knew that Ai Hui was referring to Duanmu

Huanghun, and he replied huffily, " His teacher is Dai Gang.
Why are you even worried about him?"
 "I am not worried." Ai Hui fumed with rage, "I am awaiting
my compensation from him! That hypocritical chap got me into
so much trouble. This matter shall not rest until I destroy him!"

"Teacher will support you!" The old man was very much in
favor of Ai Hui’s declaration.

"How about my injuries?" Ai Hui’s eyes widened as he looked

at his teacher with an innocent face.

"Very troublesome," his teacher muttered. "The base level of

the metal elemental energy in the Suspending Golden Pagoda is
much higher than your natal residence. Your body is too weak
for the strong metal elemental energy, and your natal residence
is unable to absorb and digest it. Furthermore, as you are unable
to train these days, it will be devoured straight by your body
once the metal elemental energy enters. If you have opened four
palaces, then this elemental energy mass would be very
nourishing for you, and you would be able to slowly absorb it."

Ai Hui was anxious. "What should I do?"

"There’s always a solution." The old man continued haughtily,

"While your teacher might not be Dai Gang, he is still capable of
doing something."

Ai Hui let out a breath in relief. As long as there was a

solution, all was good.

"This matter still needs the help of your mistress." The old
man thought for a while before warning him, "Your mistress
does not have a good temper. You should agree with whatever
she says and should not offend her. Once she is offended, I will
be unable to do anything as well. I owe her too much."

The old man said the last sentence with slight guilt and regret.

...

Ai Hui’s fracture recovered speedily. His body was inherently

strong, and his recovery ability was much better than that of
the average students.

He did not idle around while recuperating. Although he was

unable to train, he had no qualms about attending lessons.
When he went to class, his classmates noticed the injuries on his
hand and some even asked about it concernedly.
 Duanmu Bangwan did not appear. Ai Hui presumed that he
had still not recovered, and when he asked his classmates,
nobody knew when Duanmu Bangwan would come. It seemed
like the mishap which led to the injury on himself and Bangwan
had not circulated.

Ai Hui laughed coldly. Wait till he sees that fellow again. He

would definitely get his revenge.

He had wasted a lot of days without training and had delayed

a few matters. He did not know if there would be any
repercussions.

He was so unlucky.

In the middle of his recuperation, he also made a trip to the

Vanguard Training Hall. Lou Lan examined him and also said
that his condition was incurable. There was still no news from
that lady from the noodle shop—it was like she had disappeared
into thin air, making Ai Hui feel flabbergasted.

Ai Hui had always regarded injuries as a common occurrence,

and he kept a balanced mindset and lived his life to the fullest.
 The old man was always busy from dawn till dusk and his eyes
were filled with red veins. Ai Hui knew that his teacher was
busy with helping him in his recovery and was secretly very
touched.

Finally, the day came where the old man asked, "How're your
injuries?"

"They have all recovered!" Ai Hui waved his arm, proving that
it was almost as good as new.

"Then let us solve your problem of that mass of elemental

energy!"

As the old man expressed what Ai Hui had long been expecting
to hear, Ai Hui continuously nodded his head, only one step
away from exclaiming that his teacher was brilliant. Although
this lifestyle was enriching, Ai Hui felt that his body was
becoming rusty from being unable to train.

"Are we going to the embroidery workshop?"

Ai Hui thought of his teacher’s words that he needed his

mistress’ help and could not help but ask aloud.

"Why should we go to the embroidery workshop?" The old

man had a weird expression and continued, "Follow me."

Ai Hui followed the old man to a familiar place. The

courtyard, which seemed to be made for collecting rubbish, was
filled to the brim with junk. He definitely did not have any good
memories of this place.

However, after seeing what was in the middle of the

courtyard, Ai Hui’s expression changed.
Chapter 79: Teacher’s Instructions
The junkyard contained memories that Ai Hui did not wish to
recollect.

However, while walking in, he realized that there had been

drastic changes to the junkyard, which led him to believe that
he had arrived at a different place. Five luxuriant pine trees
practically occupied the whole junkyard, yet he clearly
remembered that previously there were no trees.

All the pine trees were taller than ten meters as if they had
been growing there for a few decades.

Ai Hui knew that this was done by wood elementalists. Back in

the Wilderness, whenever they had stopped to set up camp, they
would plant various strange vegetations near their campsite. If
they wanted to stay in a treehouse, then within half an hour,
wood elementalists could grow a Zeikowa Acuminata tree with a
height of more than twenty meters, They could also manage to
grow poisonous grass that had neither fragrance nor color.
Fields of thistles and thorns, along with wind-chime grass,
could act as warning signals as well.

If earth elementalists were said to have eccentric dispositions

and strange skills, then every wood elementalist was said to be a
botanical expert. The dispositions of wood elementalists were
usually on two opposite ends of the spectrum. There were those
who were kind, extremely kind, and would not bear to kill even
an ant. And then there were also those who were twisted,
extremely twisted, and would even use otherworldly techniques
to murder; they would not let anything, even a corpse, remain.

The five pine trees were coincidentally arranged in the shape

of a ring. Between each tree, there were many colorful vines,
forming something similar to a brightly-coloured rattan wall.

An ice-cold copper armor was placed in the middle of the five

pine trees.

Upon seeing the armor, Ai Hui’s expression changed.

The memories of the Thousand Prajna still gave him

nightmares.

Moreover, the volume of this armor was much larger than the
Thousand Prajna. There were also many colorful vines that
dropped from the pine tree and pierced through the armor.
 Ai Hui swallowed hard. The scene before his eyes reminded
him of the Blood-Sucking Rattan, one of the evilest plants used
by wood elementalists. Many kind wood elementalists
themselves loathed the blood-sucking rattan as well. It was very
frightening. In the Wilderness, he had experienced first-hand
how a wood elementalist made use of the blood-sucking rattan
to reduce an elephant to just skin and bones within a minute.

For a long period, that scary scenario had kept repeating itself
in Ai Hui’s nightmares.

“How about this? Pretty good right?” The old man was quite
proud. “I had to get a few wood elementalist masters to do this
for me. The metal elemental energy in your body is simply too
stable. It would not be an easy feat to move it. But you don’t
have to worry; Master has years of experience in the interaction
between the different types of elemental energy. Furthermore,
it would definitely not be a problem with the participation of
your Mistress.”

Ai Hui felt more assured after that. After all, Mistress’

nickname(Master) was quite intimidating.

“Your situation is relatively serious. In fact, it’s more serious

than I had previously thought.” The old man’s expression
became stern. “There is simply too much regarding quantity.
Perhaps you would be able to understand if I explain it in
another way. If you had opened four palaces, then to completely
absorb and digest the mass of elemental energy, you would need
approximately eight years. And if you had opened five palaces,
the time frame would be shortened to four years.”

Ai Hui jumped in alarm. “Not...Not such a long period of time,

right? I did not stay inside the pagoda for so long.”

“It is much longer than you imagined.” The old man looked at
Ai Hui with a face of pity and continued mockingly, “Come to
think of it, you were ignorant and had no fear. I am very
impressed by the fact that you dared to go to the Suspending
Golden Pagoda when you had just opened your natal residence.
Do you know who would usually dare to go? Four palaces, only
the students who opened four palaces would dare to. This is
because the elemental energy of the metal wind is very pure and
the base level requirement is very high. Without the support of
four palaces, it would be very difficult to absorb and digest this
energy.”

Ai Hui opened his mouth, but no words came out.

“And this is only the first level. Someone had previously

conducted research. With each increasing level, the purity of
the elemental energy would increase by approximately three
times. You, my disciple, took a walk around the seventh level.”
The old man clicked his tongue and continued, “For many
years, nobody has dared to do such a thing. If this spreads, you
might even become famous.”

Ai Hui was dumbstruck.

It was evident that the old man was not going to let him off
the hook easily. “If that were the only thing that happened, you
would not have absorbed so much metal elemental energy.
However, you, my disciple, are a genius. You thought of using
the [Twin Weaving Technique] to circulate your elemental
energy. What an exquisite and brilliant idea! Thereafter, you
had lost control, and the elemental energy became
uncontrollable. The elemental energy mass compressed itself
continuously while the attractive force kept on increasing,
absorbing the elemental energy steadily. I was bored while
doing my business in the toilet yesterday and did some
calculations for you. Approximately eighty percent of the
elemental energy in your body was absorbed by itself.”

“What’s worse is that you, my disciple, used such a brilliant

inspiration on your own natal residence. This is not just
difficult, this is creating extreme difficulty for yourself. If it
were just in the palace and not the residence, the difficulty level
would be much smaller,” the old man said, with a face full of
ridicule. He suddenly realized something, and continued, “Oh, I
forgot that you, my disciple, had only managed to open your
natal residence.”

It was only after seeing Ai Hui’s pale face that the old man
slowed down his speech. With a serious expression, he said,
“The reason why Master is saying so much is to give you a
shock.”

Ai Hui helplessly looked at his harsh Master.

“You might be able to win unexpectedly, sometimes due to

luck and taking risks, but it is not sustainable. You have more
real-life experiences than Master, and you should know that
success is mostly based on capability, and intelligence would be
effective occasionally. Training is a long battle, and training to
be strong to defeat the weak is the right way to go. If you are to
rely on luck and you meet with any mishaps, you would be
consigned to eternal damnation.”

There was a rare note of seriousness to the old man’s tone.

 Ai Hui jolted and replied courteously, “Disciple will bear this
in mind.”

The old man was satisfied with Ai Hui’s attitude and

continued slowly, “Okay, we are done with the negatives. Let’s
talk about the benefits now.”

When Ai Hui initially heard the word “benefits,” he paused

for a moment, before asking excitedly, “Don’t tell me there are
benefits too?”

“Of course.” The old man continued, “You have to think of it

this way. There is so much elemental energy in your body. How
could there not be any benefits? Do you usually have so much
elemental energy? Furthermore, it is such pure elemental
energy.”

“But it is of no use,” Ai Hui said, his face filled with confusion.

The old man said impatiently, “Where did your intelligence

go? You can always think of something!”

“Has Teacher thought of a solution?” Ai Hui rushed forward

and looked at his teacher with a fawning face.

“How could I be your teacher otherwise?” The old man said

with a smug face, “Your body’s internal elemental energy is
simply too compressed. If we break it up completely, your natal
residence would explode. Do you know about the spirit stone in
the Cultivation Era?

“Yes, I have heard of it,” Ai Hui said truthfully.

“Inherently, the spirit stone is actually the spiritual force

being compressed to the maximum point, before being solidified
into a crystal. The elemental energy mass in your body now is
slightly similar to the spirit stone. Many people have tried to
create the elemental stone but to no avail. On the contrary, you
managed to do it by a stroke of luck. Just imagine that mass of
elemental energy as an elemental stone with a high base level.
Do you feel a little more awesome about yourself if you think
about it that way?“

Ai Hui replied honestly, “Nope.”

“No?” The old man widened his eyes. “At your current level,
that mass of elemental energy can never be used up and can self-
replenish. Isn’t that awesome?”

“But I am unable to use it,” Ai Hui said matter-of-factly.

“Who said that you are unable to use it?” The old man almost
went crazy with rage, and he countered, “Then what have I
been doing?”

Ai Hui was surprised, and with a shocked face, he asked,

“Didn’t Teacher say it was a treatment? I thought it would be a
removal or something along the same lines.”

“That is too easy,” the old man said loftily.

Ai Hui gulped.

Why did he suddenly feel guilty?

Chapter 80: Gloves and Blood Bandage
"This is something that can’t be helped." The old man
coughed softly.

Hearing these words, Ai Hui suddenly felt at ease.

"The elemental energy has been compressed to an extreme

degree, and once it collapses, your natal residence will be
destroyed—this is why we are trying to prevent it from caving
in on itself. Or you can treat it as an iceberg that we are trying to
melt bit by bit. Since its base level is extremely high, a small
portion of the melted energy can be used for a long time.
However, the thawing process will not be easy. We’ll have to
use certain specialized equipment such as this one. Oh… I can’t
remember the name of it." The old man had a strange
expression.

"The elemental energy in your body contains a powerful

attractive force that behaves like a magnet. This will be our
greatest hurdle as it’s extremely difficult to overcome this kind
of attraction. However, if we only need to influence a small
portion, then it’s still possible to do so. Have you noticed these
rattans? They are able to generate powerful wood elemental
energy, and since metal chops wood, the wood elemental energy
will induce a strong attractive effect on the metal elemental
energy, thereby controlling a small portion of it from the energy
mass. This is the portion of metal elemental energy that you
will be able to control."

After listening to the old man, Ai Hui vaguely understood

what was going on. "So, we’re using the wood elemental energy
as bait? To pull out a portion of metal elemental energy from
the mass?"

"Yes! You got it!" The old man briskly nodded his head. "Shall
we begin then?"

Without any hesitation, Ai Hui nodded. "Okay!"

Though the past few days had been enriching, his inability to
train made him feel as though something was missing. His life
was dedicated to becoming an elementalist, and training had
become an inseparable part of it.

After equipping the copper armor, he placed the massive

copper helmet on his head, narrowing his field of vision as the
world around him became hushed.
 He could hear his own heartbeats, which were steady and
vigorous.

The rattans on the copper armor lit up on by one,

illuminating the courtyard with its bright, enchanting glow.

The old man’s gaze sharpened, and from time to time, he

glanced at the control panel in his hands.

The elemental energy mass in Ai Hui’s body started

channeling, making him uncomfortable. To him, it was like a
huge monster living inside his body that was comparatively far
too inferior. When the monster was calm and quiet, he did not
feel anything; but when it began to get agitated, Ai Hui felt as
though his body was going to be ripped apart at any time.

Lacerations began to appear in his natal residence.

It was at this moment that Ai Hui realized the terrifying

amount of elemental energy in his body. The slightest
movement from the mass was enough to inflict injuries on him.

It was as if Ai Hui was in a stormy sea, undulating along with

the choppy tidal waves.

His world spinning and his vision turning dark, Ai Hui’s

consciousness flickered.

Outside, the old man became anxious as well. The rattans on

the copper armor dimmed one by one, and in the blink of an
eye, one-third of them were extinguished. With each
extinguished rattan, the old man quickly plucked it off.

"Persevere!" he muttered to himself.

As time passed, the glow of the rattans diminished one at a

time, the old man continuing to remove them in succession.

Half an hour later, when the last rattan dimmed, the old man
opened the armor as quick as possible. Boiling steam surged out
from within the armor. Ai Hui had already lost his
consciousness and his face was pale-white. When the old man
pulled Ai Hui out of the armor, the latter’s body was drenched
in sweat, looking as if he was being out of a pool of water.

The old man observed the elemental energy mass in Ai Hui’s

body. When the old man saw the elemental energy mass was
stabilizing gradually, he then felt at ease.

When the old man removed the last extinguished rattan, he

looked somewhat surprised.

The ashen green rattan was nondescript without any

particular design except that it was soft and smooth, as though
it had been polished by sandpaper.

It was a sword rattan.

***

Three days later.

Ai Hui was playing with the sword rattan.

After spending one day in a coma, he woke up only to have the

old man immediately throw this at him. Sword rattans had a
soft texture, yet they were highly durable and resistant to wear.
Once polished, they had a pleasing texture. Sword rattans were
called so for their use as the material for top-quality sword hilts
with natural grips.

Master said that this was the rattan that suited him the most.

Ai Hui felt that his fate was tightly linked with swords. So far
in his life, there were swordplay manuals, swordsmanship, and
a sword embryo. Now there was the addition of a sword rattan.
Could it be that he was born to be a swordsman?

He was playing idly with the sword rattan when he spotted

the sudden entrance of his mistress and Senior Mingxiu. He
hastily stood up and greeted them, "Mistress! Senior Mingxiu!"

Han Yuqin did not expect Ai Hui to call her Mistress; as such,
she could not help but smile. "Good boy."

The bit of animosity from their previous tiff disappeared into

thin air.

Mingxiu smiled gently at Ai Hui.

 Seeing the old man enter, Han Yuqin’s smile disappeared, and
she harrumphed.

Long used to his wife’s antics, he merely said, "Have you

finished making it?"

"Take it out," Han Yuqin ordered Mingxiu.

Mingxiu took out a pair of ashen green, fingerless gloves and

passed them to Ai Hui. "Junior, try them on. These are the
Sword Rattan Gloves that Mistress made without sleep for three
days."

Mingxiu

Only now did Ai Hui notice the the fatigue in Mistress’ face
and her bloodshot eyes. "Thank you, Mistress!" he said
emotionally.

"Such a good boy!" Han Yuqin praised Ai Hui amicably.

Following which, her tone changed and she crooned coldly,
"The disciple is so much better than the master; at least he still
cares about his mistress, unlike someone who doesn’t concern
himself with me!"

Slightly embarrassed, the old man coughed softly. "I didn’t

manage to say it in time. Thank you for your hard work."

Han Yuqin uncaringly turned her face away with a humph.

Just as Ai Hui was about to put on the gloves, he was stopped

by Han Yuqin. "Wait, put on this bandage first!"

"Bandage?" Ai Hui was stunned.

Han Yuqin took out an archaic bronze box and passed it to Ai

Hui.

When the old man saw the bronze box, his eyes widened.
"That piece of blood-refined cloth?"

Han Yuqin gave a soft sound of acknowledgement, but her

face was covered by an unconcealable smirk.
 Ai Hui opened the bronze box, releasing a bolt of killer intent
that slammed into his face. The scent of blood overwhelmed
him, but upon a second sniff, it had disappeared, as if the smell
from earlier had been a hallucination. The cloth was obviously
an antique, but the blood stains appeared to have dried up not
too long ago.

"I incidentally came across this piece of blood-refined cloth in

the past. It should be an artifact from the Cultivation Era. I
don’t know which blood sect it belongs to; it is certainly not an
orthodox artifact. However, even after thousands of years, it
has not rotted, proving it to be a good item. I’m unsure whose
blood is on the cloth, but it exudes a strong killer intent. It’s too
demonic for me or Mingxiu to use; as such, we have never
touched it.

"Your master hasn’t given you a single welcome gift since

accepting you as a disciple. I have cut this piece of blood-refined
cloth into two, making them two pieces of bandaging. While
they’re not suitable for treating wounds, they are useful for
protection, especially since your body is weak. With these two
Blood Bandages, it will be very difficult for any weapon to harm
you. They can help you withstand a portion of any attack,
preventing your body from giving way or collapsing. Later,
Mingxiu will teach you how to wrap the bandage," Han Yuqin
explained with a gentle voice.
 A wide grin appeared on the old man’s face and he yelled,
"What are you waiting for? Quickly thank your mistress!"

Ai Hui was touched and gave a sincere bow. "Thank you,

Mistress!"

An unfamiliar feeling of warmth, like sunlight, shined upon

him.
Chapter 81: Three-minute Hero
Senior Mingxiu’s bandaging technique surprised Ai Hui. She
had said before that her limited medical knowledge came from
her brother who was an exceptional doctor.

However, the way he saw it, her medical knowledge was not
little at all, but rather, quite detailed.

She started by wrapping the bandage diagonally across the top

half of his body, then down his shoulders and arms to his wrists.
Lastly, the blood bandage was tied to a knot on each of the
Sword Rattan Gloves; this way, the bandage wrappings on both
left and right arms were symmetrical to each other.

The blood bandage was surprisingly long, enough to wrap

around the necessary body parts.

Ai Hui became acutely aware of his clumsiness after taking

more than ten tries to get it done.

Finishing, he felt a change had taken place.

 Chilly killing intent from the bandage entered his body,
exerting a calming influence on the elemental energy mass. Ai
Hui immediately felt his body relax, and the feeling of being as
lithe as a swallow returned to his body once more. It seemed the
blood bandage’s tight wrapping did not limit his body’s
movements but made him more agile instead.

"Now try untying the knots on the gloves," Mingxiu

encouraged.

All eyes were trained on Ai Hui, especially the old man’s who
looked on somewhat nervously.

Taking a deep breath, Ai Hui untied the knot on his right

wrist.

The elemental energy mass in his natal residence shuddered

before a strand of elemental energy swam out from it and
rapidly entered his right palm.

Despite the elemental energy strand’s weak nature, it was

extremely pure. It swam through his body with lightning speed,
reaching Ai Hui’s right palm in no time. Just as it was about to
penetrate through the Sword Rattan Gloves, it unexpectedly
stopped in its tracks, blocked by an invisible wall.

The gloves woven by a master weaver were indeed

extraordinary!

Joy coursed through Ai Hui, and realizing he could control

this strand of metal elemental energy, he became even more
excited. With a jolt of his body, he appeared like a phantom
before the trunk of a large pine tree in the corner of the
courtyard.

It had been a while since he last practiced [Arching Fish Back],

but now it activated instinctively, ferociously slamming him
backwards.

Crack!

The pine tree, as wide as two men together, shattered, the

point of impact spraying countless wooden shavings. The top
half of the tree snapped and flew through the air.

Rumble!
 It smashed into the courtyard wall, filling the air with dust
and dirt. The wall remained standing, thickly dotted with
numerous wooden fragments.

Everyone was dumbstruck with terror after witnessing such a

ferocious strike from Ai Hui.

"Is this guy a bear?" the old man muttered.

Ai Hui stared with similar astonishment at the tree stump,

unable to believe the sight before his eyes. Was this truly the
[Arching Fish Back]?

"Now you can feel the power of it, right?" The old man
returned to his senses and spoke with excitement, "Even though
it’s just a small strand, the high-quality elemental energy can
generate far greater power than what is generated by low
quality elemental energy. This is also one of the reasons for
training. The elemental energy you are able to wield now far
surpasses your base level. The benefits are already quite
obvious. Your fighting capabilities will improve immensely, and
you will gain a stronger tempered body.

"So why, then, do we need the Sword Rattan Gloves? With

these, you’ll be able to direct the elemental energy to your
palms. This will be useful in activating the palaces in your left
and right hands. It feels good to be an expert, right? Now since
we’ve finished talking about the benefits, let’s talk about the
drawbacks."

Ai Hui pricked up his ears.

Seeing Ai Hui’s calm countenance, rather than ecstasy, after

obtaining stronger powers, the old man subtly nodded.

Ai Hui truly deserved to be his disciple. His maturity at such a

young age was rarely seen!

"The problem is that there will be a heavy strain on your

body. Does this sound confusing? There’s actually nothing
complicated about this. When this strand of elemental energy
slowly revolves in your body, it will help in your training.
However, in combat, the elemental energy will revolve very
quickly around your body—the higher the level of elemental
energy, the faster its revolution speed. This is what will strain
your body greatly. When the pressure gets too great, your body
will sustain irreversible damages."
 "How long can I fight?" Ai Hui asked calmly.

The old man held out three fingers and answered, "Given your
current physical status, it is considered safe to fight for no more
than three minutes."

"That’s quite good; at least I can be a three-minute hero," Ai

Hui quipped.

When Han Yuqin and Ming Xiu heard the phrase "three-
minute hero", they broke out in laughter.

"You’re right. However, during this period of time, as your

body becomes stronger, the duration will increase as well. Your
main objective is to activate the palaces in your left and right
hands; once you do, not only will you be able to use more
elemental energy, it will be much safer for you as well. You have
to keep in mind that although you have the blood bandage, that
mass of elemental energy remains in your body as a ticking time
bomb. If anything goes wrong, your body will explode into
countless pieces with a bang," the old man chimed in.

This result was within Ai Hui’s expectations. He remained

unperturbed as he knew that this was inevitable. He was not
someone born under a lucky star. You win some, you lose some,
there was nothing to be surprised about.

Everyone present thought Ai Hui was joking when he

mentioned the phrase "three-minute hero," but that was not the
case, and he was fine with it. Although three minutes were
short, it was still enough for him to accomplish many things. A
real battle could be decided in an instant. With a whole three
minutes of immense powers, Ai Hui would not waste a single
second. With a straight face, he asked, "How should I train?"

"You won’t need to go to the Suspending Golden Pagoda for

very long," the old man teased before a solemn look overtook his
face and he continued, "There’s a crucial problem with your
training—the strand of elemental energy cannot return to the
natal residence. If it does, it will only be absorbed back into the
elemental energy mass once more."

Hearing these words, the previously calm Ai Hui lost his

composure, and he asked, "How should I train then?"

The basis of training was to direct elemental energy using the

Circulatory Cycle Revolution of which the natal residence was
both the starting and ending point. If the elemental energy
could not return to the natal residence, how could he train?
 The old man revealed a smirk, replying, "I have already come
up with a solution for this problem. It’s simple—we won’t use
the Circulatory Cycle Revolution."

"Not using the Circulatory Cycle Revolution?" Ai Hui thought

he misheard.

Han Yuqin and Mingxiu revealed surprised expressions as

well.

"That’s right! No Circulatory Cycle Revolution!" the old man

replied without hesitation. "What’s the purpose of the
Circulatory Cycle Revolution? To purify and absorb elemental
energy. Currently, the elemental energy in your body does not
need to be purified since it is already extremely pure in nature.
Furthermore, there is an abundance of it. What you need to do
now is toughen your body, especially your palms.

"To activate the palaces in your left and right hands, there are
two conditions. The first is to make sure your hands are
sensitive to elemental energy. The second condition is to make
sure there is enough elemental energy. The elemental energy
you have is pure in nature, but the amount you control is far too
little; it is far from enough to activate the palaces in your
hands."
 Ai Hui felt that what his master had said made sense, and he
could not help but ask, "What do I need to do specifically?

"For this, you will have to depend on your mistress." The old
man smirked.

"Depend on me?" Han Yuqin was baffled. Suddenly, her eyes

lit up as she thought of something. "Are you talking about…"
Chapter 82: Lou Lan’s Medical Care
“Ai Hui, how are you feeling?”

Lou Lan, who was standing on one side, asked with sincere
concern.

Ai Hui had actually wanted to start training as soon as

possible. However, Mistress had said that she needed to prepare
for a few days and that she still lacked certain items. At the
same time, Master was putting on a mysterious front—it
appeared that the training this time around would be quite
special. However, as compared to his prideful Master and
temperamental Mistress, the training made Ai Hui felt more at
ease.

How could he think of such things? How could he not have

confidence in his master?

When Ai Hui realized that he was having such thoughts, he

felt ashamed and guilty. He reflected upon himself for a long
time. Why was he thinking like that?

For the next few days, Ai Hui attended classes as per usual
since he could not train. He was filled with enthusiasm towards
all his classes. The only regret he had was that he wasn’t able to
encounter his fellow classmate Bangwan and claim the
compensation for the damages the latter had caused.

After the lessons had ended, Ai Hui returned to the training

hall. Lou Lan, who had been anxiously waiting for Ai Hui,
scurried over.

It just so happened that Ai Hui had wanted to find out the

current status of his body. With Lou Lan, who specialized in
healing, by his side, Ai Hui did not have to worry about any
accidents happening.

“Three and a half minutes.”

Ai Hui, who was laying on the ground, felt rather happy. He

had lasted a whole half minute longer than what Master had
anticipated. To other people, an additional thirty seconds would
be equivalent to an extra few breaths of air; however, to Ai Hui,
the additional thirty seconds would allow him to execute quite a
few attacks.

“Your attacks are rather powerful,” Lou Lan analyzed, as the

yellow light in his eyes flickered. “Your normal attacks have
roughly reached the level of two palaces. Your [Arching Fish
Back] is your most powerful attack. With a conservative
estimate, it has a killing power of three palaces. I do not have
enough information and could not make an accurate
comparison. Your body is outstanding, and this can provide a
significant boost to your fighting capabilities.”

Lou Lan’s assessment was very accurate—almost identical to

Ai Hui’s own assessment of himself.

During the three and a half minutes, although Ai Hui’s base

level was around two palaces, his fighting strength exceeded
that level. Other than his remarkable fighting techniques and
experience, his excellent body also played a major role in
improving his fighting capabilities.

The high-level elemental energy allowed him to successfully

develop the [Copper Skin].

[Copper Skin] contributed an important upgrade to his body.

His strength and reaction time had also increased onefold, and
his body had become much tougher. Non-refined sword reeds
would not be able to inflict any cuts on his skin.

This meant that even if he didn’t have elemental energy, his

base power was at the level of two palaces.

Developing a tempered body was a difficult process; however,

if one were to succeed, it would provide a comprehensive boost
to their fighting capabilities.

Similarly, the power of [Arching Fish Back] had exhilarated Ai

Hui.

[Arching Fish Back] was an escaping technique and was

usually used to escape from body locks; it was incapable of
inflicting any damage. Ai Hui had ingeniously used it during
battles and had discovered that it was a rather good technique
to be used during fighting. He then subsequently mastered this
technique to the point of perfection during his training in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Other than Ai Hui, no one would waste so much time on an

escaping technique that had limited uses.
 This could, however, be linked to Ai Hui’s past experiences.
He was extremely meticulous and sensitive to every detail that
was related to fighting. He could accurately sense the increase in
his powers.

If it were in the past, he would have to find loopholes in his

opponent's defense before executing the [Arching Fish Back].
However, now, if an opponent tried to block his [Arching Fish
Back] head-on, they would indeed suffer.

The densely packed wood shavings that were deeply

embedded into the wall of his Master’s courtyard was the best
display of his [Arching Fish Back]’s might.

Combat was very complicated; however, strength was still

what mattered the most. When a person who had a base level of
four palaces fought against another who had a base level of two
palaces, the former might not necessarily win, yet the
probability of them winning would definitely be higher. The
stronger one was, the more trump cards they had. This would
ensure that they would obtain an advantageous position in
combat.

Right now, if Ai Hui were to fight against any student in the

Induction Ground, he would win easily as he had rich fighting
experience. However, when he would step out of the Induction
Ground and enter the Wilderness in the future, it might not be
the same case. That was a place where everyone knew how to
fight and those who did not would be eliminated.

Strength was everything.

And only strength could bring a sense of security to Ai Hui.

“Lou Lan, I can’t move,” Ai Hui groaned, as he lay on the

floor.

Although the three and a half minutes were exhilarating, the

strain it put on Ai Hui’s body had far exceeded what he had
expected. Currently, his body was sore and aching, and his
fighting capabilities were totally crippled. His muscles were
involuntarily trembling as well.

“Lou Lan is coming!”

With a loud cheer, Lou Lan transformed into a massive

hammer of sand.
 “Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The huge sand hammer struck Ai Hui’s body. Ai Hui felt so

comfortable that he was grasping for cold air while moaning,
“Ah! Ah! Correct, correct, you’re right on the spot! Harder,
please!”

After enjoying for quite awhile, Ai Hui felt that it was enough,
and he yelled, “Lou Lan, change to another form!”

“No problem!”

Lou Lan yelled happily as he transformed into two huge sand

palms and began to massage Ai Hui’s body as if he was kneading
dough.

“There’s the right amount of force! There’s the right amount

of pressure! Everything is the right amount…”

Ai Hui felt that his body was as soft as a dough, not belonging
to him anymore.
 After a while, Lou Lan transformed into numerous little sand
wheels that rolled around Ai Hui’s body.

“Hahaha, ahh…Lou Lan, you really know a thing or two about

massage…Hahaha, it’s ticklish...”

With a bang, Lou Lan transformed back to his original form.

When he saw that Ai Hui had fallen asleep, he pulled him to the
hot spring at the back of the courtyard and tossed him inside.

Ai Hui woke up with a start. At that moment, his pupils

dilated as he scanned his surroundings, and he finally heaved a
sigh of relief only after he noticed Lou Lan.

“I actually fell asleep…”

Ai Hui felt somewhat embarrassed. Lou Lan had put in so

much effort to massage him, and he had fallen asleep instead.
Good job!

“It’s okay, Ai Hui,” Lou Lan replied casually. Then, he asked,

“Ai Hui, what shall we do next?”
 “Next up…” Ai Hui had wanted to suggest taking a nap, but
when he saw Lou Lan staring anticipatively at him, he changed
his mind. “Is there any news from the young lady of the noodle
house?”

“No.” Lou Lan shook his head.

When Ai Hui felt that his strength was recovering rapidly, his
spirits were raised. “We shall go to the training hall now.”

Ai Hui wanted to fulfill his promise to the lady at the noodle

house despite the fact that he did not carry much hope of
successfully finding that person.

“Okay, Ai Hui!” Lou Lan replied enthusiastically.

A smile appeared on Ai Hui’s face when he saw Lou Lan’s

happy reaction. Lou Lan reminded him of Fatty; however, in
this case, Lou Lan’s character was far better.

Such a nice sand puppet!

 Fatty, that bum—he did not even know how to massage.

The hot spring was able to help him regain his strength
quickly, and after a while, he had regained most of his strength.

In summary, he could only fight for three and a half minutes

—that was his limit. After the time was up, he would lose all
means to defend himself. Hence, it seemed reasonable for his
master to set three minutes as a time limit for him. It was much
easier to recover from exhaustion that was derived from the
revolution of elemental energy.

“Lou Lan, is there anything that can regain my strength after

what happened just now?” Ai Hui suddenly asked.

Lou Lan slanted his head for a moment before nodding his
head. “Yes, you can drink the Energy Replenishing Soup.”

“Is there anything that can be carried along with me?” Ai Hui
carried on.

Lou Lan nodded again. “I can make biscuits.”

 “Are they expensive?” Ai Hui asked.

“They’re not expensive.” Lou Lan shook his head, as he

continued, “Any ingredient that’s related to elemental energy
will be costly. Any ingredient that’s related to just energy will
be cheap. A lot of biscuits can be made with just fifty thousand
yuan. However, you will know how well they work only after
you eat them.”

“I can come up with the money. Lou Lan, please help me make
the biscuits.” Ai Hui clenched his teeth.

“No problem, Ai Hui.” Lou Lan felt very pleased that he could
help Ai Hui again.

When Ai Hui felt that his strength had recovered, he yelled

with vigor, “Let’s go! To the training hall!”
Chapter 83: Zu Yan And The Young Girl
"Actually, you don’t have to care so much about your previous
loss."

The young girl continued to comfort the masked young man

beside her. When she saw the banners that advertised "Blind
Battle!" along the streets, she became very excited. The girl was
average-looking, and her eyes were flickering, displaying traces
of wittiness.

"Master had once said that you must pick yourself up from
where you had fallen."

The voice that came from behind the mask contained a hint of
chilliness; one could sense that the words were being spoken
through clenched teeth.

"The other party did not respond to your challenge." The

young girl continued to persuade him, "The Induction Ground is
so big, and there are so many students. If the other party
doesn’t reveal himself, how are you going to find him?"

"Master had said that you must pick yourself up from where
you had fallen!"

The masked youth continued to repeat these words through

his gritted teeth.

The young girl shook her head. Being stubborn was not a good
thing. She spread out her hands and asked, "So are we now
going to the training hall that you went to last time?"

"You’re right!" The masked youth’s eyes were blazing with

vigor. "Master had said that you must pick yourself up from
where you had fallen!"

The young girl put a hand on her forehead and gave a helpless
look.

He used to be a high-spirited teenager in the past, but look at

him now! This only proved a point—be careful when choosing
someone as your master!

Without even taking a glance at the young girl, Zu Yan

entered Central Pine City. However, when he stepped onto the
street of Central Pine City, he immediately almost went insane.
 Those painful memories seemed to have occurred just
yesterday.

Seclusion, tough trainings—didn’t he do all of them just to

prepare for today?

He had to defeat that fellow this time around!

Unable to restrain his emotions, Zu Yan clenched his fists

tightly. Master had said that you must pick yourself up from
where you had fallen!

"Aren’t you worried that he won’t be there?" the young girl

asked casually. However, before Zu Yan could reply, she
changed the topic and asked, "Do you know which class
Duanmu Huanghun is in?"

Although Zu Yan was brooding over his loss, he was still clear
about what was going on in his surroundings.

He suddenly came to a realization. "I had been wondering why

you wanted to follow me. So you’re following me for the sake of
Duanmu Huanghun?"
 "Of course!" the young girl replied, filled with confidence. "If
it wasn’t for Duanmu Huanghun, why would I come to this
lousy place? Duanmu Huanghun…my new idol…do you know
how handsome he is? He’s ten thousand times more handsome
than you!"

Zu Yan humphed and yelled, "Childish!"

"Don’t be jealous of him." The young girl appeared to be

completely smitten. "Do you know how popular he is? In school,
if I shout out for people to come with me to take a look at
Duanmu Huanghun, half the girls in the school would follow
me! The most important thing is that he’s not taken yet!"

Zu Yan ignored her. "Love-struck fool!"

"Later on, if you can’t find the person you’re looking for, can
you accompany me to look for Duanmu Huanghun?" The young
girl grabbed Zu Yan’s elbow and pleaded coquettishly.

"No. I will definitely find him." Zu Yan shook his head

resolutely.
 "People might be busy. Who will be so free to come here and
take part in the blind battle?" the young girl retorted. However,
when she saw Zu Yan’s murderous eyes, she quickly changed
her tone. "Might be! I’m saying that he might be busy, okay?"

"I will definitely find him." Zu Yan had a determined look on

his face. "I have a feeling that he’s waiting for me!"

"It’s over, it’s over. This guy is hopeless!" A look of despair

appeared on the young girl’s face.

"You don’t understand!" Zu Yan gave the young girl a look of

disdain.

Zu Yan stopped at a training hall and looked at the familiar

words on the banner beside the door. The memories of that day
flooded into his mind—his previous loss was still vivid. He
clenched his fists and entered the building with a determined
expression.

"This is the place?" The young girl understood and quickly

entered.
 The moment they entered the training hall, the young girl
was overwhelmed by the unceasing cacophony of clamor, but
she soon became excited. It was so lively! This place was far
more lively than the training hall in her school. No wonder so
many people liked to come here.

Zu Yan steadily walked into the crowd.

The young girl secretly stuck out her tongue. The moment
Brother Yan had arrived at this place, his attitude had changed
completely. Right now, his body was surging with a fervor for
battle, blazing like an actual fireball. She had never seen
Brother Yan behave like this before.

It appeared that the loss Brother Yan had suffered last time
had had an enormous impact on him. In her eyes, Brother Yan
used to be no different from most of the younger generation of
those aristocratic families. However, after that loss, he seemed
to have become another person.

The current Brother Yan was no longer the same person that
she knew.

She hoped that Brother Yan could find the opponent that had
defeated him. She was rather curious about how that person
looked like.

While the young girl was looking around, Zu Yan directly

walked towards the employee and said with a deep voice, "I
want to take part in the next round."

After receiving a number tag, Zu Yan turned towards the

young girl. "Find a place and wait."

Zu Yan promptly walked straight to the resting area to

mentally and physically prepare himself while he waited for the
next round to start.

The young girl was left dumbfounded, but after a while, she
returned to her senses. She stomped after Zu Yan and yelled
angrily at him, "How can you leave me alone like this! You will
definitely lose!"

"No. I will win!" Zu Yan answered back with a resolute tone.

"Master had said that you must pick yourself up from where you
had fallen!"
 "....." The young girl was speechless.

Meanwhile, on the street, Ai Hui walked out of the last

training hall and shook his head. "There’s nothing again."

Lou Lan assured him, "Ai Hui, don’t panic."

"I’m not panicking." He shook his head again. He wasn’t

disappointed with this result; after all, it took more than just
luck to find a needle in a haystack.

"Ai Hui, what shall we do next?" Lou Lan asked.

Next….

Ai Hui recalled Lou Lan’s anticipative look and immediately

felt guilty. Recently, he had been busy with training and had not
bothered about Lou Lan at all, but Lou Lan had still put in so
much of effort to help clean the training hall. He was such a nice
sand puppet.

"Lou Lan, do you still remember that training hall?" Ai Hui

suddenly asked.

"The one where we won the fight?" Lou Lan’s eyes lit up. That
was the first time he had taken part in a fight. Even though he
was at a loss in the beginning, he had eventually managed to
help Ai Hui. To Lou Lan, it constituted a beautiful memory.

"Yes, that’s the one. That training hall offers more prize
money. That time we won fifty thousand yuan, right?" Ai Hui’s
eyes were blazing as he spoke with extreme confidence. "Since
my powers have increased so much, no matter what I have to
earn back the money for the biscuits!"

"Okay! Okay!" Lou Lan cheered.

Lou Lan thought to himself, "During this period of time, Lou

Lan has not been slacking off. Later, Lou Lan will certainly
shock Ai Hui."

Ai Hui clearly knew that the last victory was due to luck. This
time around, he wanted to win with his own capability. True
power can only be revealed in a real fight.
 The reason why he chose that training hall was that he could
bring Lou Lan along.

Ever since he had promised the girl from the noodle house to
search for that person, Ai Hui had become very familiar with
the training halls of Central Pine City. Without spending much
effort, he was able to easily find that training hall.

Before Ai Hui opened the door to enter, he put on a mask,

turned around, and asked, "Lou Lan, are you ready?"

"Lou Lan is ready!" Lou Lan spoke with an indescribable

excitement.

Ai Hui felt rather excited too. Could it be that he had not

fought for a long time?

When he opened the door and entered, a rowdy din blasted

him in the face. Ai Hui felt his body become exuberant and his
blood boil.

"We will take part in the next round!" Ai Hui said as he walked
towards the employee.
 The employee stared at Lou Lan.

"He’s my sand puppet!" Ai Hui yelled with conviction.

"Have you come before?" The employee returned to his senses

and handed over a strand of soul-fogging grass. "Do you know
how to use it?"

"We know!" Without any hesitation, Lou Lan took the soul-
fogging grass and put it on his head with peerless confidence.

On Lou Lan’s head, there was a strand of grass standing by

itself, swaying in the wind.
Chapter 84: Le Buleng
Honestly speaking, humans were strange and contradictory
creatures.

When they were fighting every day in the Wilderness, they

looked forward to a peaceful life. But when they were in the
Induction Ground, where they could actually lead comfortable
lives, they instead looked forward to taking part in battles.

Ai Hui felt somewhat emotional as he stepped onto the blind

battle arena.

Life in the Induction Ground was not as boring as he had

expected it to be. Although his life here may not be as intense
and exhausting as the one he had led in the Wilderness, there
were still many twists and turns that made his days colorful.

He thought of the people he had met and the events he had

encountered. Lou Lan, Master, Mistress and Senior Mingxiu
were all friendly and kind-hearted individuals. There were
peace and comfort in every aspect of his life. His powers had
increased significantly as well—he was indeed leading a
beautiful life.
 The arena was pitch-black and nothing could be seen.

Ai Hui could not help but feel astonished. It seemed that the
arena had been upgraded. Last time, the training hall had used
Ink Night Fumes and had required contestants to wear masks.
All those were not needed anymore. He raised his head and
looked at the elemental energy shield above, and guessed that
the shield was responsible for this upgrade.

Ai Hui’s guess was right. Ever since the concept of blind

battles was created, it had undergone many changes. Training
halls now depended on blind battles to earn money, and all of
them had racked their brains to improve the concept. By doing
so, all of them wished to distinguish themselves from the rest.

Nothing was more motivating than that.

This training hall had adopted an original approach to blind

battles. They designed a type of elemental energy shield called
the Light Absorption Dome. The dome was able to absorb light,
causing just darkness to remain within; however, the audience
seated outside the dome could still clearly observe the battles
happening inside. Furthermore, to ensure that the audience
obtained a good view, seats had been set up in mid-air around
the arena.
 Of course, these seats, which granted an excellent view of the
battle, needed to be purchased.

Zu Qiuni was seated on one of those seats; in fact, she had

purchased one of the best seats available. She was very curious
about how much progress Brother Yan had made after his
seclusion. Although she was tired of hearing Brother Yan’s
master’s favorite saying “pick yourself up from where you had
fallen,” she understood that his master was a training fanatic.

Le Buleng was not really famous in the Avalon of Five

Elements; compared to Duanmu Huanghun’s master, Dai Gang,
Le Buleng had a much lower reputation.

He had always been single, leading a solitary life, without

many accomplishments as well. His most impressive accolade
was that he took up the position of Division Leader of the Icy
Flames Division for three years. However, due to his addiction
to training, he had completely ignored the affairs of the
division, resulting in a boycott of all his subordinates. He had
also felt that the duties of a division leader hindered the
progress of his training, and hence, he left the division.

Le Buleng was most famous for his tough training.

 Reportedly, Dai Gang had once said that if he had put in half
the amount of effort Le Buleng had put in training, he would
have become a grandmaster at the age of thirty. This clearly
showed how much hard work Le Buleng put into his training.

However, Dai Gang eventually became a grandmaster at the

age of forty, and Le Buleng was not even a master now.

In the past, when Brother Yan had just comprehended the

[Flaming Heavenly Spider Transformation], he was viewed by
many as the most outstanding talent among his generation.
That was when he was at his peak; no one had expected the clan
leader to make Le Buleng as Brother Yan’s master. During that
time, there was a unanimous objection to this decision from
everyone else in the clan. Given the clan’s wide connections and
affluence, although it wasn’t possible for Zu Yan to become the
disciple of a grandmaster, it was definitely more than possible
for him to become the disciple of a master.

The clan leader had finally convinced everyone.

However, beyond everyone’s expectations, Le Buleng had

rejected Zu Yan. The reason he had given was that Zu Yan’s
character was too weak and he was hence not suitable to become
his disciple. It was only after the clan leader had implored him
that he eventually decided to accept Zu Yan as his disciple. But
even after taking Zu Yan as his disciple, Lu Buleng did not really
like Zu Yan and seldom cared about him, letting him do
whatever he wanted.

Zu Qiuni could not understand why the clan leader wanted Zu

Yan to be Le Buleng’s disciple even though there were so many
other qualified experts in the Avalon of Five Elements.

She also naturally felt that Le Buleng’s assessment of Zu Yan

was right. But now, Brother Yan had totally become another
person as compared to the past. To Zu Qiuni, the most
interesting thing was Brother Yan’s seclusion; by a slip of the
tongue, Zu Yan had accidentally revealed that his seclusion plan
was drawn up by his master.

When Zu Qiuni heard about this, she was dumbstruck. She

really did not expect that person to draw up a seclusion plan for
Brother Yan; however, she also did not expect Brother Yan to
agree to this plan and subsequently complete the seclusion.

In the past, Brother Yan had always complained to them

about how crazy Le Buleng’s training sessions were. He felt that
ordinary people would absolutely not able to keep up with his
training system.
 She silently prayed in her heart.

I hope that Brother Yan doesn’t become like Le Buleng. Le

Buleng is not considered a role model for success at all…

Right now, Brother Yan seemed to show signs of going insane.

Zu Yan stood silently in the arena with both his eyes closed.
He was like a statue, not even breathing at all.

It was only when the bell rang, which marked the start of the
blind battle, that Zu Yan opened his eyes.

Without any hesitation, he immediately activated the [Hellfire

Spider Web]. His mind took note of every single detail in the
arena as he recalled what his master had told him. The reason
he had failed was not the disparity in base level, but rather, it
was due to his lack of understanding of combat techniques. He
wasn’t able to identify the right fighting techniques to use in
various situations.

During this period of time, he had been frantically trying to

improve his combat techniques.
 With a sway of his body, he appeared beside a contestant like a
phantom. Even though this contestant had been on high alert,
he did not react when Zu Yan approached close to him. Zu Yan’s
figure seemed to soundlessly appear out of thin air.

Like a viper in the darkness, his right leg struck out silently.

It was only until Zu Yan was three inches away from the other
party that the sound of his kick could be heard.

The opponent’s facial expression changed drastically.

However, before he could react, his body had already flown
upwards. He lost consciousness while he was in mid-air. The
referee of the training hall threw out a lasso with his whip and
caught the already fainted contestant. The two referees looked
at each other and saw traces of fear in each other’s eyes.

Even the referees were stunned, let alone the audience. The
kick was extremely vicious and efficient, making everyone gasp
aloud in horror.

After a moment of shock and silence, the audience erupted

with enthusiasm.
 Weren’t these experts the main reason why everyone came
here to watch the blind battles? This person was indeed
powerful! There was going to a good show!

Zu Qiuni stared blankly at the arena with her mouth wide

open. Was that ferocious kick from Brother Yan?

Nearby, in the arena, Ai Hui heard a sudden yet brief

explosion and felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

Expert!

Ai Hui had a different definition of the word “expert” from

ordinary people. He did not classify someone as an expert based
on his base level, but rather on the level of his combat
techniques. The sound of that kick was like an explosion,
abnormally powerful yet brief. The kicker had excellent control
over his elemental energy as he did not put too much elemental
energy into this kick. One could see that he had a remarkable
understanding of combat and was skilled in concealing the
sound of his attacks.

Only a combat veteran could produce such a kick.

 Ai Hui realized that the upcoming onerous battle was
unavoidable.

However, for some reason, even though he knew that it was

going to be a tough fight, he was not scared at all and was
excited instead.

It'd be nice if he had a stalk of grass to chew on now.

Suddenly, he thought of the stalk of soul-fogging grass on Lou
Lan’s head. Nah, forget it—the soul-fogging grass does not taste
nice anyway.

Ai Hui grinned as a ghastly look appeared on his face.

Chapter 85: Reunion
Within an extremely short period of time, several contestants
had been attacked and thrown off the stage consecutively.

Since he had perceived weak elemental energy ripples on the

ground’s surface, Ai Hui did not move. He felt that they were
familiar, and suddenly, that fellow whom he had defeated in the
previous competition came to mind. Could it be a coincidence?

Ai Hui was a little taken aback, but soon, he became even

more surprised by something else.

Significant progress!

His opponent’s skills had improved so greatly that it was as if

he had become a different person. Compared to the tenderness
and immaturity from the past, he was now much more shrewd
and ruthless in his attacks.

But when Ai Hui thought about his own improvement, he

immediately felt relieved. He had progressed tremendously, so
why couldn’t his opponent do so too? That fellow had a higher
aptitude and only used absolute arts—he was definitely from an
influential family clan. There was simply no reason for that
fellow to improve any slower than himself.

Ai Hui, who assumed this to be a coincidence, was utterly

unaware that the fellow had been searching high and low for
him. He had heard about Zu Yan’s written challenge but had no
idea that it had something to do with himself.

After all, Zu Yan had been searching for an earth elementalist!

He was even more unaware of the hard work Zu Yan had

invested in order to defeat him. Ai Hui treated that previous
battle as an ordinary one—other than his injuries, there was
nothing worth remembering.

However, Ai Hui was more than glad that they got to meet
again.

Fighting against the same opponent allowed him to measure

his own progress.

Without any warning or hesitation, Ai Hui suddenly dodged

to the side.
 Clap!

A crisp, whip-like explosion sounded out from where he had

just stood a moment ago. Like a solid axe, a heavy leg flitted
next to Ai Hui’s body, causing a cutting, sharp stream of air to
blow past.

Zu Yan wasn’t alarmed by his miss, but instead, he seemed to

enjoy it. When his leg was about to hit the ground, he made a
strange, sudden turn and redirected his kick.

At the same time, Ai Hui struck with his fist.

Bang!

A deep, low boom reverberated throughout the whole hall. It

was as if two colossal monsters had just collided head-on. Such a
wild and violent force was being compressed into a small, tight
space.

The enormous power caused Ai Hui to take two steps back. Zu

Yan was the same; he sprung back by five steps.
 During the split second their fist and leg had crossed, Zu Yan’s
eyes had lit up. His previous failure was etched into his
memory, every single detail unforgotten.

“You’re here indeed!” he hissed, evidently agitated.

Ai Hui could feel his opponent’s progress. Not only had his
heavy leg become more powerful and concentrated, but it had
also become much more formidable and threatening in battle.
Moreover, he had definitely gained a lot more combat
experience, or he wouldn’t have been able to execute the
previous move so naturally.

This, however, made Ai Hui so excited that his blood boiled.

Although his opponent had become much more skilled, he,

too, had taken a qualitative leap in strength. Previously, he
could only dodge that fellow’s leg until he was all battered and
exhausted; but this time, he could actually face the attacks head-
on without falling into a disadvantageous position.

As Ai Hui’s battlelust surged, his eyes turned increasingly cold

and unfeeling.
 Ai Hui knew that the opponent had recognized him, but he
had no intention of reminiscing. He didn’t even say a word—it
was as if a ghost had possessed him. He had previously suffered
greatly from his opponent’s [Hellfire Spider Web] and had also
thoroughly analyzed the incident.

This was a habit he had developed in the Wilderness. As he

had been very weak at the time, it was quite easy for him to lose
his life, and the only thing he could do was spend more time
reflecting on his fights. Every time he had met a dire beast, he
would consult the master elementalists whenever he could and
gain information about the monster in exchange for labor. Also,
upon seeing that he was a sensible fellow, the master
elementalists were usually willing to provide an opinion or two.

He had never looked down on any enemy, as he had no right

to.

Being cautious and prudent had long been a part of his nature.

Zu Qiuni opened her eyes wide as she observed the stage.

Sweat started pouring out of her body when she heard Brother
Yan’s hiss—that fellow in the mask was the mystery expert who
had previously defeated Brother Yan!
 Although the others were not aware of this fact, they
nevertheless steadily watched on. The interaction between the
two parties was very sudden and fierce!

Ai Hui’s actions immediately calmed Zu Yan down. Seeing his

opponent charge towards him, Zu Yan shut his eyes. He was
highly focused; every corner of the elevated stage was enveloped
by his [Hellfire Spider Web] and within his control.

A series of rippling waves simultaneously emerged on the

web, rushing straight towards him with shocking speed.

Meeting force with force?

His opponent did not hide his intention and charged straight
towards him. The previous collision must have given him
confidence.

Zu Yan was actually surprised; Ai Hui’s improvement was far

beyond his imagination. Although Ai Hui had previously been
reduced to a pathetic state because of Zu Yan’s heavy leg, he had
now tried to retaliate head-on.
 What a good rival!

Zu Yan’s eyes were blazing with fire; Ai Hui’s significant

progress further fed his battlelust.

The stronger his competitor was, the stronger he could prove

himself to be after claiming victory!

His concentration level was incomparably high as the

undulating spots on the web were reflected clearly in his mind.
Akin to a spider who’d found its prey, he kept silent, waiting for
the right moment to strike a fatal blow.

You’re not the only one who improved.

His eyelids lowered, Zu Yan became one with the web. He felt
the world turn silent, while only weak ripples remained. His
calm face carried a dash of confidence, which was derived from
the endless hard work and training that he had undergone.

That trick from the previous match no longer had an effect on

him.
 It was as if the web was a part of him. After completing the
isolated training that was planned for him by his teacher, he
could locate his target immediately even in the midst of twenty
chaotic ripples.

Before, he would misjudge as long as there were more than

three ripples.

The quietness and nothingness of the world gradually spread

as he accurately identified and captured every single movement
in his vicinity.

That last movement was more violent than those before. His
opponent wanted to mislead him by jumping? Zu Yan smirked
as he counted the seconds in his mind.

Now!

Zu Yan’s eyes suddenly opened as the light exploded.

Nobody noticed when his right leg, which had been on

standby, had suddenly enveloped itself in flames. He sprung up
from the ground, revolved his whole body, and drove his right
leg—it was as if a heavy axe had been flung upwards.

All other sounds seemed to have been muted by this leg; the
whole place had become silent.

All the light upstage was absorbed by the Light Absorption

Dome, but everyone in the audience was bedazzled and left
speechless by this powerful kick. Although there was no sound
at all, it made them feel a sense of burning bitterness.

They couldn’t help but hold their breaths and open their eyes
wide for fear that they would miss something.

Zu Qiuni was astonished; she couldn’t believe her own eyes.

Brother Yan had actually executed such a terrifying kick.

Wasn’t this….wasn’t this the guy who had complained about

tough training, showed off in front of girls, and enjoyed making
friends?

Brother Yan was so powerful…this Brother Yan was so

different…
 No one could block this kick directly—no one in Central Pine
City at least!

However, the scene that was about the unfold made Zu Qiuni
suddenly stand up. Her expression had completely changed.

“Look out, Brother Yan!”

Chapter 86: A Familiar Feeling
Before the battle had begun, Ai Hui had thought to use it as a
test of his abilities. However, once it started, he immediately
tossed these thoughts out the window.

Every fight in the Wilderness had been a matter of life and

death.

There were no retries, undos, or extra time for preparation.

Nobody would tell him that he could always try again next time
because…

…there was simply no next time.

Losing meant death, and death meant becoming food for the
dire beasts and adding to the piles of bones that already littered
the Wilderness.

The prize for winning was the chance to continue standing in

that blood-soaked battlefield, taking breaths amongst the ice
cold corpses, being able to feel the warmth of life and the
beating of your own heart while gasping greedily for the
piercing, bitter-cold air.
 Since Ai Hui never knew when the next test would be, he
never knew whether he would manage to get through it.

He had to squeeze out every last ounce of his potential because

he was weak and could die at any moment. He would remind
himself every day that there wasn’t going to be a second chance
—he had to give it his all.

Would there be a tomorrow? He had no idea.

Even if he gave his all, it still might not even be enough to

make it to the next day, but he knew that any mistakes would
spell certain death. There was no room for errors or luck; death
was absolute.

Every single day was filled with fear and trepidation. He

would often be too afraid to sleep, and even the shelters
provided no reprieve from danger. When living in such
conditions, where death lurked at every corner, merely being
able to stay sane was a blessing. Many laborers had even
experienced mental breakdowns, running out of the camp in the
middle of the night as they howled like wild beasts, never to
return.
 It was the Wilderness, a place respected by the strong, and a
place where the weak struggled to survive.

His teacher had told him that his all-out approach wasn’t a
long term solution, but he already knew that. However, it had
been completely uncertain if he would even make it till
tomorrow, and if he didn’t give it his best shot, he might not
have the chance to do so anymore.

Being able to take things one firm step at a time was a

privilege that was not given to everyone.

Ai Hui had lost count of the number of times he had faced

death. He had no wish to remember either, lest he lose himself
to fear. All he could do was make use of his abilities to the fullest
and steel his heart. In such an extreme environment, having
any sort of sentiment could easily result in death.

The three years he spent in the Wilderness still clung onto

him like a shadow. It was a large part of the person he was
today.

He tried very hard to adapt to life in the Induction Ground,

constantly reminding himself that this was not the Wilderness.
What’s important now was that he should refrain from killing
others in battle.

Other than that, he wasn’t going to hold back.

He never once believed that fate was something that could be

controlled. He was never able to shape his destiny. It was just
like the Wilderness, always fighting against him. The only thing
that made him happy was the brief reprieve he had after each
victory.

Fighting was the only weapon he could use to resist his

destiny. It was the only means by which he could win; he was
nothing without it.

To him, fighting was never to be taken lightly.

He didn’t even have the chance to mock his silly thoughts

before the battle started and he entered a fighting state.

His eyes were stone cold, and his soul was equally icy. Ai Hui
felt that he was more like a sand puppet, a killing machine
created solely for the purpose of fighting. He didn’t find
anything wrong with that—the only thing he lamented was his
lack of power.

He never intended to meet force with force; that first blow

was just to test the waters.

Ai Hui’s keen perception allowed him to detect the subtle

changes in Zu Yan’s state of mind despite the latter concealing
his abilities well.

Fighting habits that resulted from tireless training in

seclusion were indeed entirely different from those bred
through struggles of life and death.

Ai Hui didn’t understand his opponent’s sudden shift in

mental state, but being able to sense it allowed him to exploit
the moment.

Compared to his compatriots from the Induction Ground, Ai

Hui could be said to be a whole other life form altogether.

The huge disparity between the two combatants were vividly

demonstrated at that very moment.
 Zu Qiuni, who had screamed her lungs out, watched as Ai Hui
leaped into the air. Like a bat in the night, his body noiselessly
traced through the air in an arc, heading towards Zu Yan’s side.

She woke with a start, fear written all over her face.

She understood Ai Hui’s intention—he had discovered the

[Hellfire Spider Web]’s weakness!

Ai Hui had indeed found the [Hellfire Spider Web]’s weakness.

He had conscientiously analyzed their previous battle and had

easily found the limitations of the [Hellfire Spider Web]. In
essence, the skill was simply an elemental energy web spread
out over the ground. Its natural weakness was thus aerial
attacks.

This weakness was due to Zu Yan’s inadequate base level—an

absolute art would most certainly not have such a glaring
weakness. Raising his base level would change the nature of the
web.

This weakness, however, was not much of a concern in the

Induction Ground, since most students did not have aerial
combat abilities until they became full-fledged elementalists.

Ai Hui didn’t either, but he had managed to come up with

three different methods to deal with the web.

This was his habit. Even though he wasn’t expecting to face

Zu Yan again, Ai Hui had prepared well for this scenario.

Meeting him once more was rather unexpected, but it wasn’t

frightening to Ai Hui at all.

He unfastened the Blood Bandage from his Sword Rattan

Gloves, infusing elemental energy that was many times purer
than his own into his arm.

Zu Qiuni’s hunch was right. The technique that Ai Hui was

executing had something to do with bats. It was a very shallow
form of swordplay known as the Gale Bat Blade.

The technique imitates the movement of the fast-flying gale

bat, which, according to notes in the margins of the swordplay
manual, had become extinct.
 Ai Hui had run many simulations in his mind before he had
finally found this technique, which would allow him to execute
aerial maneuvers, in a swordplay manual.

Although he was unable to fully utilize the technique without

a sword, he could still perform its aerial maneuvers to change
his direction in mid-air. As he had previously practiced, Ai Hui
straightened his arm and channeled elemental energy through
it in an arc.

He immediately felt a surge of air pushing his body, causing

him to circle around Zu Yan in a clearly-defined arc.

Ai Hui had thought through every last detail of the plan, but
appeared to have missed out one thing. Ai Hui had thought
through every last detail of the plan, but he appeared to have
missed out one thing. His elemental energy was now much
purer than before.

Thus, things did not go according to plan.

Ai Hui’s plan was to attack his opponent from the side, but he
soon realized that he had overshot and landed behind him.
 Zu Yan’s body was slightly suspended in the air, ready to
unleash his next attack.

Any other student might have been fazed by this, but not Ai
Hui. He always expected the unexpected and believed that
nothing was ever certain in battle.

Ai Hui braced himself, taking a powerful driving step as he

launched himself backward.

Zu Yan was shocked when he sensed a disturbance behind

him. How was it possible that his opponent was there…

Bang!

Ai Hui rammed his back into Zu Yan with the force of a

trampling dire beast.

The [Arching Fish Back] was still a reliable formula. It gave

him a familiar feeling.
Chapter 87: Silver Hair
Everyone was shocked by how quick the battle ended.

The boss of the training ground, however, found this sight to

be vaguely familiar.

Lou Lan morphed into a giant hand and dashed towards the
training ground’s boss, rubbing his thumb and forefinger
together. When he saw this, the boss abruptly realized that Zu
Yan’s opponent was that earth elementalist from before.

The boss became excited as he realized that the unknown

expert had returned. This unknown expert was a walking
advertisement for the training hall. Zu Yan’s previous defeat at
the hands of that mysterious earth elementalist had caused a
sensation, drumming up his business for quite an extended
period of time.

He was so excited that his hands began trembling, but he did

not give even a cent more.

At this moment, a voice full of worry came from behind him.

“Brother Yan! Brother Yan!”
 Brother Yan……Zu Yan?

The training ground’s boss couldn’t believe his luck. Was this
actually happening?

At this point, he was so excited he almost couldn’t breathe.

Faltering, he turned around and saw the referee heading
towards him. Having just checked out Zu Yan’s injuries, the
cheerful referee lowered his voice and said, “It’s Zu Yan. He’s
unconscious, but it’s nothing major.”

What luck! The boss let out a whimper of a cheer; he was so

agitated that he almost fainted.

The rivalry between Zu Yan and the mysterious earth

elementalist was the talk of the town. Zu Yan had distributed
his written challenge to every single institution in the Induction
Ground. Was this second encounter merely a coincidence? And
more importantly, it resulted in Zu Yan’s second defeat!

“Movie bean?” The boss suddenly remembered something

important. He had regretted the fact that he had not recorded
any footage of the two opponents’ previous fight. A movie bean
of that fight would surely have been worth a lot of money!
 The referee nodded his head vigorously as he stretched out
and opened his palm, revealing a brilliant, multi-colored seed.

The boss howled with laughter. He was going to be rich!

The mirage bean pod was a plant cultivated by wood

elementalists. It was capable of recording images and storing
them in its seeds, which were called movie beans.

Mirage bean pods have been considered to be the wood

elementalists’ greatest achievement of the century. Upon its
release, the plant had quickly become extremely popular
throughout the entire Avalon of Five Elements.

Like the message tree, the mirage bean pods were further bred
and optimized by the wood elementalists of the Jadeite Forest.
There was now a wide variety of mirage bean pods, some of
which were large enough to store more than twenty movie
beans. The most popular type among girls was the Meitu Bean,
which was capable of beautifying one’s image.

With the movie bean in his hand, all the boss could see was
money dancing before his eyes.
 Zu Yan had been eliminated, losing the grudge match and
suffering defeat for the second time. Just who was this
mysterious earth elementalist?

Are you curious? Are you unconvinced? Do you want to find

out more? Then buy the movie bean! Buy it and watch this
fearsome battle! Buy it to see the Zu family’s absolute art! Buy it
to find clues about the mysterious earth elementalist!

Money, money, money…

The boss looked behind himself when he finally calmed down,

trying to search for the mysterious earth elementalist. Where
was he? He felt terribly vexed—why hadn’t he asked the earth
elementalist for his contact details? If only the mysterious earth
elementalist could stay here in the long term…

There would be even more money to be made!

The boss felt much less excited after he realized that he missed
a golden opportunity.

Ai Hui was still reflecting on the battle as he walked out of the

arena. The battle had been short, and he couldn’t care less about
that opponent whom he had faced for the second time. His focus
was solely on the main factor of this victory: how he changed
his direction in mid-air.

Although it seemed useful, changing direction in mid-air was

a technique that didn’t actually have much use. Furthermore,
effective flying equipment like the azure wings was available to
most elementalists, and consequently, very few people would
bother to study such a shallow technique that was accessible
before they reached the Initial Completion.

His opponent was caught off-guard; he had not expected him

to be able to perform such a maneuver.

Ai Hui was actually surprised at his own performance as well.

This time, the curvature of his movement through the air was
much greater than those of his previous attempts.

The larger the arc of motion, the greater the surprise and
effectiveness of the maneuver.

Ai Hui impulsively took a few steps before leaping into the air.
His body suddenly shifted from its initial trajectory as if an
invisible hand was tugging him to the side.

How interesting!

Ai Hui’s keen battle intuition promptly kicked in as he

realized its potential applications in combat.

He ran forward a few steps again, lightly tapping the ground

with his toes to propel himself upwards. Just as he was about to
hit a wall on the side of the road, Ai Hui lightly pointed his toes
and soared even higher. This time around, the angle and speed
at which his direction changed had been decreased.

Giving in to his childish whims, Ai Hui started jumping

around, gliding through the air like a giant bat in flight.

Lou Lan found this fascinating, and he spontaneously

morphed into a bat and joined Ai Hui in the air.

Ai Hui stopped after messing around for three whole minutes

to avoid having to be dragged home by Lou Lan. Flying was
indeed an amazing experience—even gliding for a brief moment
was so enjoyable. Ai Hui had heard stories from elementalists
about people who refused to stop flying after learning how to
use the azure wings.

As Lou Lan also returned to the ground, he noticed something

off about Ai Hui’s appearance. “Ai Hui, your hair!” he shouted.

“What’s wrong with my hair?” Ai Hui asked, astonished.

“Your hair has turned white,” Lou Lan informed him.

Turned white? Ai Hui was deeply shocked. He picked up a

well-polished steel dagger from a nearby weapon store and used
it as a mirror.

His hair had indeed turned a silver-white. It was suffused with

a metallic glow and resembled strands of silver threads.

Recovering from his shock, Ai Hui took off his mask.

The face he saw in the blade looked unfamiliar.

 A silver glow outlined his entire face, enhancing its contours
and sharpening his features. His gaze was as sharp as a newly
ground edge, and his entire demeanor had become far more
menacing.

Pedestrians subconsciously avoided him as they walked past.

As he snapped out of his daze, Ai Hui jovially said, “I can now

make money with my looks.”

His appearance contrasted sharply with his simple and

reserved self. The silver strands of hair made his appearance
even more striking, like a well-polished sword unsheathed from
its scabbard.

This shiny exterior was definitely not suitable for battle; he

would be detected too easily.

“Ai Hui, your hopes are dashed. The silver glow is fading,”
Lou Lan said, as his eyes flickered with a yellow light. “I
understand now. The metal elemental energy within your body
is of such a high grade that using it places a huge load on your
body. Tiny amounts of this elemental energy thus permeated
your entire body, including your hair. When you’re not utilizing
it, the load will gradually lighten as the metal elemental energy
throughout your body slowly retreats, returning your
appearance back to normal.”

“What a waste! My dream of making money has ended so

soon,” Ai Hui lamented, feigning disappointment. He
continued, “Lou Lan, how did you find the battle just now?”

Lou Lan replied, “Ai Hui’s battle was too fast; Lou Lan needs
to work harder.”

Ai Hui was slightly embarrassed upon hearing this response.

He was originally supposed to bring Lou Lan out to play, but he
ended up dragging him into a fight.

He quickly changed the subject, shouting, “Split the cash, split

the cash!”

With a bang, Lou Lan transformed into a cloud of money as he

followed suit, shouting, “Split the cash, split the cash!”

Ai Hui burst into merry laughter.

Chapter 88: Silk Extraction and the Grass
Hollow
“Master is very disappointed that you’ve gotten injured.”

The person speaking was Hai Qing, who had been Dai Gang’s
attendant since before he had become a master. Practically all of
Dai Gang’s matters were handled by Hai Qing, who was serious
and inflexible.

A spark of jealousy flashed in his eyes as he looked at Duanmu

Huanghun, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He
had been a faithful attendant to the master for more than thirty
years, yet he was still not qualified to be his disciple.

Although he was jealous of Duanmu Huanghun’s good

fortune, he did not utter a single complaint. Even though
Master Dai Gang had not taken him in as a disciple, he had
never shortchanged Hai Qing. The guidance Dai Gang had given
him was no less than that provided to his own disciples. He was
extremely grateful to the master and had always been
completely loyal to him.

Hai Qing couldn’t understand how this wretched looking

fellow was worthy of Dai Gang’s notice. When Duanmu
Huanghun, who was riddled with injuries, was brought before
him, Hai Qing’s first reaction wasn’t to laugh at his plight;
rather, it was one of anger.

Yes, anger.

It was an honor to be one of Dai Gang’s disciples. Hai Qing felt

that Duanmu Huanghun’s first duty after becoming Dai Gang’s
disciple was to uphold this honor and not disgrace his new
status.

He did not like Duanmu Huanghun.

The other two disciples of the master were brilliant and

accomplished. Lu Chen was one of the top three physicians of
his generation. He was known as the Divine Physician and was
revered by many. Yu Mingqiu was the youngest person to ever
become a vice-division leader. His progress in recent years has
been phenomenal, and he was a popular candidate for the next
division leader of the Deathgrass Division.

This Duanmu Huanghun, however, was such an

embarrassment.
 Hai Qing spared no effort to protect the reputation of his
master, and hence, he did not like Duanmu Huanghun one bit.

Due to his longstanding service to Dai Gang, Hai Qing was

regarded as a part of his family. Hai Qing had taken charge of
both Lu Chen and Yu Mingqiu’s initial training, but he would
most certainly not extend the same courtesy to Duanmu
Huanghun.

“A grandmaster’s disciple needing to be rescued by a student

who had just activated his natal residence; oh boy, I sure hope I
heard wrong. What’s worse is, of course, being found naked and
covered in injuries. Remember this, it doesn’t matter if you
prefer men or women or whether you’re a good or a bad person.
You’re free to do as you please but as a disciple of Master Dai
Gang, the greatest sin that you can possibly commit is being
weak.”

Hai Qing delivered his speech coldly, his sentences carefully

crafted to provoke.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face revealed hints of a cruel expression

as he glared ferociously at Hai Qing.
 “Not happy? Hehe! Very well, remember this expression of
yours! You still think you’re gifted and don’t need to respect
anyone here? Let me tell you what it means to be a genius. Only
those who are much stronger than others deserve to be labeled
as geniuses—pathetic wimps like you are nothing more than
maggots.”

Hai Qing remained expressionless as he ripped Duanmu

Huanghun’s wound open.

“To be honest, I couldn’t care less about what happens to you,

you pathetic maggot. As far as I’m concerned, you have no
business being in this sacred place. Regretfully, I do, however,
have to honor my duty. This is the key to the Grass Hollow.
Come find me when you manage to get out of it. Although, I’d
be very pleased if you end up dying inside instead.”

Hai Qing tossed an emerald green leaf on the ground as he left.

Duanmu Huanghun’s anger soon subsided and he became

completely calm.

Without any hesitation, he picked up the leaf and started

walking towards the Grass Hollow under the cover of night.
 Hai Qing returned home.

His wife was rather worried, and asked, “Huanghun is still so

young, isn’t it a bit early for him to be in the Grass Hollow?”

“He is talented but needs to be polished. Otherwise, he’ll not

amount to anything,” Hai Qing explained.

“But he’s too young. Lu Chen was seventeen when he entered

the Grass Hollow; Mingqiu a little earlier at sixteen,” his wife
responded, clearly still worried.

“He is the last disciple,” Hai Qing replied flatly. “He is

different from the others.”

“But if some mishap were to befall him……”

“That only means that he isn’t talented enough and doesn’t

deserve to be part of master’s plans. We still have time to find
another one.” Hai Qing continued, “The last disciple has a
different significance to the master.”
 His wife was silent for a moment before she asked, “Do we
really still have time?”

Hai Qing, who was packing his things, sluggishly replied, “We
do.”

Ai Hui didn’t place much significance to the current blind

battle; both Lou Lan and he did not seem to care about it at all.

The next day, Ai Hui was summoned to the embroidery

workshop.

The young ladies of the embroidery workshop noticed a

different air about him, and none of them dared to tease him
anymore. After all, he must be incredibly talented to be able to
learn the [Twin Weaving Technique] after seeing it just once,
and it was said that the owner of the workshop even wanted to
take him in as her last disciple.

Perhaps because it wasn’t his first visit, Ai Hui felt less

constrained this time.

Mingxiu, who was standing in front of a door, waved at Ai Hui

as she said, “Junior, come over here.”

Ai Hui promptly went over.

“Master and Mistress are both inside,” Mingxiu said while she
pushed the door open.

A wave of heat gushed out of the room as the door opened.

Ai Hui was startled. Just what was inside?

“What are you waiting for? Come in quickly,” his teacher

snapped impatiently from within the room.

Ai Hui hurriedly entered.

Upon entering, he realized that the temperature inside was

even higher—it was as if he was a piece of dim sum being
steamed. Both Teacher Wang and the Mistress were here, but
they appeared to be completely unaffected by the intense heat.
 Ai Hui noticed an enormous boiler in the center emitting
waves of heat. This must be what was causing the workshop to
be so hot.

Ai Hui was curious about what the boiler was used for.

“Master, Mistress,” Ai Hui greeted.

Han Yuqin addressed him as well. “Let me check the gloves

for any damage.”

She was pleased to see that the gloves remained in good

condition. After her examination, she said, “Some irresponsible
old man has left your training to me. It seems I have no choice
but to take up the job.”

Old Wang chuckled. Not only was he not embarrassed, but he

also appeared to be very pleased with himself.

Mingxiu sniggered.

“Your circumstances are rarely seen,” the old lady said, before
continuing solemnly, “Since you are unable to carry out
Circulatory Cycle Revolution, our aim is to activate your two
hand palaces. After much discussion with your teacher, we have
decided on silk extraction as a method of training.”

“Silk extraction?” Ai Hui asked, his face blank. He wasn’t

expecting something like that. Can silk extraction even be
considered a training method?

“Yes, indeed, the training method suitable for you now is

different from what is usually done. You need to circulate your
elemental energy in as slow a manner as possible. The elemental
energy within your body is extremely pure, and circulating it at
a fast pace would place a huge burden on your body. When done
slowly, the burden is much lighter and will allow your body to
gradually become more accustomed to elemental energy. The
slower circulation will thus result in a greater stimulative effect
of the elemental energy in your body, helping it absorb
elemental energy more effectively.”

“In the field of embroidery, silk extraction requires the

slowest circulation of elemental energy!”
Chapter 89: Twilight Silk
Zu Yan’s second defeat caused a much bigger sensation than
his previous loss.

That was because movie beans of the battle were available this
time around.

Although people were curious about his earlier defeat, the

lack of footage meant that most people were unable to watch the
battle. The students of Central Pine Academy were also not that
familiar with Zu Yan, which further contributed to the more
muted reaction. Zu Yan’s publicly issued challenge was what
triggered greater interest in this talented member of the Zu
family.

Yet he was once again defeated by the same opponent.

Many people even suspected that the two of them were

secretly colluding to put up a show.

Nevertheless, quite a number people still rushed to purchase

the movie bean, tempted by the chance to witness an absolute
art. The students’ eagerness to improve and their need for
exposure were the main reasons that drove the training
ground’s sales. While the Induction Ground imparted the basics
and did indeed provide some opportunities for further learning,
information regarding more powerful skills often required one
to reach a certain level or contribute to the Induction Ground in
some way.

The things that ordinary students could learn in the Induction

Ground were pretty much fixed. Daily training was not an issue,
but it could be difficult to attain more powerful techniques.

The Induction Ground also had several absolute arts in their

possession. It was, however, extremely challenging to be
deemed worthy of receiving one, as evident from the small
number of successful cases.

Aristocratic families had an absolute advantage when it came

to absolute arts. Any family with more than a hundred years of
history would definitely have some form of inheritance. The
Avalon of Five Elements was constituted of a culture steeped in
innovation, and as such, each new generation would further
research and develop their family’s unique legacy. This
continued advancement resulted in a more profound
understanding of elemental energy, allowing the gradual
formation of many different styles.
 The appearance of a genius would lead to the culmination of
all the knowledge that was accumulated prior to his generation,
resulting in the creation of an absolute art out of the family’s
legacy.

The saying, “Absolute arts are created through

accumulation,” was, indeed, an apt one.

The older the family, the greater their accumulation of

knowledge. The emergence of an individual with monstrous
talent would also tend to vastly benefit a family’s prowess.

Passing on a legacy was the nature of those families, not the

Induction Ground. It wasn’t easy for teachers to find suitable
successors. The teachers themselves were likely to contribute to
this environment since they usually preferred to study what
interested them rather than follow others’ paths.

The Induction Ground may be an incubator for all sorts of

brilliant ideas, but rarely did it produce absolute arts.

The teachers’ most obvious weakness was their lack of combat

experience. They lived relatively simple lives in the Induction
Ground, which was the safest place in the Avalon of Five
Elements. The teachers were only exposed to combat during
their students’ practical training or while accompanying them
on missions.

Absolute arts were mainly used in combat and were often

born out of rich combat experience.

Families that sought to get ahead of others would send

successive generations of members to the frontline. These
members would proudly enlist into the Thirteen Divisions, the
unit that was positioned in the forefront of battle and held
combat abilities in the highest regard.

In the long run, they would get a deeper understanding of the

advantages and disadvantages of their inherited teachings. And
this understanding was necessary for further improvement.

The members of aristocratic families were exposed to absolute

arts from a young age. To ordinary students, however, absolute
arts were an elusive and unattainable goal. All families shared a
similar zeal in protecting their own absolute arts from the
prying eyes of the outside world—even accumulated knowledge
was not divulged to outsiders. These were the fruits of their
ancestors’ labor and were also the core of their strength.
 In the eyes of ordinary students, absolute arts were shrouded
in mystery.

Upon finding out that there were movie beans with footage of
an absolute art, many students quickly rushed to get one. Even
though the beans were not cheap, being able to see an absolute
art made them worth it in the end. This was particularly true in
a remote place like Central Pine Academy where such
opportunities were hard to come by.

“Only twenty-odd beans left?”

The boss froze for a moment before roaring, “Why are you
still standing here? Quickly plant more beans!”

“We’ve already planted them all, but we only have three wood
elementalists,” the assistant effortfully explained.

Wood elementalists had to be specialists in order to grow

movie beans. While a single bean was capable of producing
twenty beans after one night’s worth of growth, it wasn’t
sufficient to just throw the beans into some random soil. A
wood elementalist would have to expend elemental energy to
control the bean’s growth and ensure that they would become
exact replicas of the seed bean. A typical wood elementalist was
capable of attending to approximately twenty mirage bean pods
at a time.

“Hire more! Raise the pay! Double the pay!” the boss shouted,
his heart aching. “Raise the price, we’re going to increase the
price!”

He had expected the movie beans to sell quite well, but he

would never have imagined them to become this popular.

More wood elementalists rushed over to the training ground,

working tirelessly to grow more movie beans. The entire
training ground was covered by pot after pot of mirage bean
pods—even the fighting stage was not left empty. The sound of
bean pods popping open could be heard the whole night.

Little did the training ground’s boss know that this was only
the beginning of the ruckus that was to ensue.

A strong herbal scent pervaded the entire embroidery

workshop. Ai Hui stared intently at the translucent piece of silk
in his hands, his actions the speed of a snail. His heart trembled
with each quiver of the extremely fine strand of silk.
 The twilight cocoon was a very rare type of silkworm cocoon
that was especially difficult to handle. The cocoon, which was
produced by the twilight silkworm, was as hard as steel and
completely resistant to fire and water.

Ai Hui was dumbstruck by the amount of work involved in the

handling process. A wood elementalist would first prepare a
massive vat of a herbal concoction that was used to soak only a
single twilight cocoon. Next, a fire elementalist would enhance
the intensity of the fire, boiling the cocoon in the herbal
concoction for two hours.

The concoction became clear while the twilight cocoon turned

into a black gelatinous substance.

This was where Ai Hui’s training began. His task was to slowly
extract the silk from the gelatinous substance. The difficulty lay
in ensuring that the silk, which had melted into a gelatinous
state, would not break; even the slightest increase in speed
would cause the silk to snap.

Moreover, he had to steadily infuse his elemental energy into

the silk.
 The infusion of elemental energy into the gelatinous silk made
it solidify back into its usual state.

Even the slightest oversight could ruin the entire process. A

tiny tremor or a marginal quickening of his elemental energy
could cause the gelatinous silk to break.

The heat in the workshop was of a shocking amount, but Ai

Hui was too focused on his task to notice. He probably didn’t
realize how much he was sweating either.

The value of twilight silk was dependent on its length.

The longest thread of twilight silk that Ai Hui had extracted

up till now was only one meter. twilight silk of this length had
no value and could only be regarded as scraps.

Ai Hui was under immense pressure to perform. He was no

fool. Taking the cocoon, the herbal concoction, and the services
of the elementalists into consideration, he knew that the
production cost of the Twilight Silk was immense, even though
Mistress did not reveal it.
 It would be a complete waste of resources if he couldn’t
extract good silk.

His finger trembled, causing the other end of the thread to

break. Unable to persist any longer, AI Hui plopped himself
onto the ground, panting. He was drenched in sweat.

Silk scraps littered the floor around him.

Chapter 90: Movie Bean
Zhou Xiaoxi barged in excitedly and exclaimed, “Old Li, come
and watch this movie bean!”

Li Wei was lying on his bed, deep in thought. His brow

furrowed as he answered flippantly, “Watch it on your own.”

“It’s useless to think about it since there’s nothing you can do

if his teacher doesn’t agree. You’d better not offend the teachers
of the Induction Ground,” Zhou Xiaoxi replied from outside.
“Recruiting soldiers was never an easy task to begin with, so
don’t make things difficult for yourself. It’ll be too late to regret
if you end up getting backstabbed.”

“Don’t spout nonsense. Teacher Wang is not like that!” Li Wei

quickly retorted. “I’ve attended his lessons before, and I am
confident of his character.”

“In any case, don’t push too hard. You’ve been disadvantaged
quite a few times because of such issues already.” Zhou Xiaoxi
was still worried as he continued to warn Li Wei. “You should
stop feeling so miserable; your luck is already good enough.
Although your potential successor’s teacher refuses to let him
go, you just need to gradually wear him down. I, for one,
haven’t even seen anyone worthy.”

Li Wei asked lazily, “Isn’t it easy for the North Sea Auxiliary
Division to recruit members? Do you really need to compete
with us bitter folks”

“Bitter? More like sweet,” Zhou Xiaoxi teased. “Someone has

been distracted ever since he returned that day. I sense some
stirrings of love, oh, glorious spring!”

Li Wei immediately jumped out of bed in embarrassment and

dashed out of his room, shouting, “Today seems like a good day
for us to exchange blows! You can make fun of me, but it’s
simply unbearable if you tarnish a fair lady’s reputation like
that!”

Acting all innocent, Zhou Xiaoxi protested, “Did I say

something wrong? Tarnished her reputation?”

“You……” Li Wei was at a loss for words. His embarrassment

quickly turned to anger as he taunted, “Come over here right
now. I’m gonna beat your North Sea dog face into the ground.”
 Zhou Xiaoxi was not one bit angry. He joked loudly, “I am a
North Sea dog, and you are a blooming sago tree—I mean—a
blossoming metal man. Alright, alright, I’m only teasing. Such
things are part of human nature. Next time, I’ll introduce you to
the ladies of the North Sea who are as stunning as the ocean. Do
you know why the women of the North Sea are called the
daughters of the sea?”

Li Wei was veered off course. “Because they’re as stunning as

the ocean?”

Zhou Xiaoxi replied innocently, “Yes, they’re stunning, but

what’s the main feature of the ocean? It’s extremely
temperamental! When it’s happy, all is calm and well. If it’s
unhappy, prepare to feel the wrath of its storms! Do you know
why I’m still single? I am a man who has braved these storms
and lived to tell the tale! I heard that the ladies in the Infantry
are blessed with good figures?”

Li Wei nodded his head in response to Zhou Xiaoxi’s curiosity.

“Definitely. Every one of them has amazingly well-proportioned
figures. They are well-toned and have abs—not even a single
one of them has the slightest bit of flab. To top it off, they are
most certainly not temperamental.”
 “That’s great!” Zhou Xiaoxi said, as his eyes lit up with joy. “I
leave my future happiness in your hands!”

“As long as you can satisfy their three needs, your relationship
will be very blissful,” Li Wei said while he casually lifted three
fingers.

“Money? Not a problem! Looks? I have that as well! My figure

is not too shabby either!” Zhou Xiaoxi announced, brimming
with confidence.

Li Wei let out a chuckle. “The ladies in our Infantry Division

do not look out for these things. Their three needs refer to the
need for blood when killing, the need to violently vent their
anger, and the need to rip things out of sorrow.”

Zhou Xiaoxi shivered momentarily in fear. He muttered, “I

think I’ll just remain single, then.”

“Forget it, let’s move on from this sad topic. Come, let’s watch
the movie bean,” Zhou Xiaoxi said, back to his usual self. “You
have no idea how hard it was to buy this. I queued really long
for this bestseller.”
 “What movie bean is this?” Li Wei casually asked.

“Have you heard of Zu Yan? The one who was defeated by an

earth elementalist a while back? He’s a pretty arrogant chap,
openly distributing his written challenge for all to see. He’s
really landed himself in an embarrassing situation this time.”
Zhou Xiaoxi was clearly gloating at Zu Yan’s misfortune.

Between the aristocratic families and the commoners lay an

uncrossable chasm. This disparity was apparent everywhere,
even on the front line.

Aristocratic families often had long and illustrious histories,

leading all the way back to the battle that had founded the
Avalon of Five Elements.

After the Avalon of Five Elements had gradually stabilized, a

protracted period of expansion had begun. Talented individuals
from the Old Territory were brought into the Avalon of Five
Elements as new residents to fill the space created by the
continued expansion.

Most of the commoners of the Avalon of Five Elements could

trace their roots back to the migrants from the Old Territory.
 Despite the declining influence of these families and the rise
of several outstanding commoners, the allocation of resources
was still vastly skewed in favor of the aristocratic families. They
controlled almost eighty percent of high-grade resources.

Conflicts between the commoners and aristocratic families

were everywhere but were especially prevalent on the front
line, where such clashes were almost an everyday occurrence.

“I’ve heard of this before,” Li Wei said, nodding. He suddenly

felt curious. “How did he lose so badly if he could execute an
absolute art?”

“Yeah, I’d like to see this ferocious earth elementalist for

myself.”

Zhou Xiaoxi took out the movie bean, tossing it into the light-
swallowing, shadow-spitting nepenthes set on the table. This
particular type of bonsai had a broad range of uses and was
compatible with many media products made by wood
elementalists.

In the dark brown-colored pot stood a twenty-centimeter tall

nepenthes with a large pitcher. The pitcher was decorated with
a wood elementalist’s signature, and a red ring encircled its
opening.

After being tossed into the nepenthes, the movie bean was
quickly dissolved by digestive fluids. Within moments, a beam
of light sprang out of the pitcher’s opening.

The faint light converged into a rather blurry image.

“Why is it so unclear?” Zhou Xiaoxi said, visibly upset.

“Unscrupulous businessmen! How dare they sell such low-
quality beans at such exorbitant prices! This is crazy!”

“Don’t expect too much from this small region,” Li Wei said in
an understanding manner. He was familiar with how things
were like in the area. Watching the projection, he continued,
“Observe carefully, or you’ll lose out even more.”

Upon hearing Li Wei’s advice, Zhou Xiaoxi ceased his

complaints and watched every detail attentively.

It was evident that the mirage bean pod was focused on Zu

Yan from the get-go; he was simply too eye-catching. His heavy
legs were like hatchets, and his attacks were cleanly executed.
His moves were not the least bit sloppy.

“He’s pretty powerful,” Zhou Xiaoxi muttered to himself.

“That’s a rather well executed [Hellfire Spider Web].” His
condescending manner from before had disappeared.

He had initially thought that Zu Yan’s defeat was the result of

insufficient combat experience. Judging from the footage,
however, Zu Yan appeared to be highly seasoned and had not
made any mistakes. Besides having a higher base level, Zhou
Xiaoxi himself probably couldn’t have done any better.

Li Wei did not utter a single word; he just stared at the

footage.

There wasn’t a single opponent on the ground who could

match Zu Yan. He took down a handful of contestants without
breaking a sweat.

Everything changed when he attacked a participant that had a

mask on.
 That seemingly innocuous contestant suddenly made a move,
punching Zu Yan’s heavy leg.

Zhou Xiaoxi subconsciously shook his head. Considering that

legs were much more powerful than fists, the most viable
options against the heavy leg were to either dodge and find an
opening, or to fight fire with fire and return with a kick.

What happened next gave him a shock. Zu Yan was knocked

back a good couple of steps while his opponent only needed two
to stabilize himself.

“Impressive strength,” Li Wei commented objectively.

“Zu Yan seemed a little stirred up—he must have recognized

the other party,” Zhou Xiaoxi observed. His vast experience
with actual combat allowed him to deduce this fairly quickly.

However, the sight of the mysterious earth elementalist

suddenly changing direction in mid-air as he rushed towards Zu
Yan made them both stand up spontaneously in shock.

Love and relationships are sometimes referred to as spring.

Zhou Xiaoxi is trying to make it more dramatic as he teases Li
Wei.

A blooming sago tree refers to a rare occurrence.

A nepenthes is basically a tropical pitcher plant.

Chapter 91: Discussion
Changing direction mid-air!

Between the shades of light and shadow of the bean pod’s

image, the fuzzy figure of the earth elementalist could be seen
charging towards Zu Yan. He flew into the sky and made a
major turn halfway. The deflection was very large, like a bat
gliding in low altitude.

Zu Yan accumulated all the strength in his body and directed

it to his heavy leg, but he still missed.

The earth elementalist made a bizarre arc and appeared

behind Zu Yan.

The moment he landed, Zu Yan’s muscles seemed to have

tensed. Both of them watching were seasoned battlers, and upon
seeing Zu Yan’s slight movement, they knew it was getting
serious.

The earth elementalist sprung up from the ground, and his

back struck Zu Yan.
 They promptly saw Zu Yan turn into an afterimage as he flew
out of their field of vision like a rubber ball shooting upwards
from a seesaw. The wood elementalist controlling the mirage
bean pod was obviously shocked by this scene. The scene was
frozen still for a good few seconds before the wood elementalist
regained control of his senses and redirected the mirage bean
pod.

In between the light and shadow of the mirage bean pod, Zu

Yan’s body could be seen stuck to the light cover like a baked
flatbread.

“Must be painful,” Zhou Xiaoxi commented, as he looked

lifelessly at the flatbread man in the image and swallowed his
saliva with a little bit of difficulty.

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt.” Li Wei shook his head with a

similar dull expression. “He’s unconscious; he can’t feel a
thing.”

Snap! The light and shadow image disappeared from the

nepenthes cage.

“That’s…. that’s it?” Zhou Xiaoxi, who had just regained his
senses, fell into a daze once again. Two seconds later, a
mournful shriek loud enough to tear the roof apart sounded out.
“Not one minute’s up and it’s already over? Where’s the
absolute art? I can’t even see his face clearly! Earth
elementalist? Where’s the sand puppet? Where are the other
people? That’s all? How dare you sell the tickets at a hundred
thousand yuan for this kind of show? Ahhhhhh…I’m gonna kill
somebody! Don’t stop me!”

“A hundred thousand?” Li Wei looked disdainfully at Zhou

Xiaoxi and did not forget to rub it in. “I don’t know if you have
assets in terms of face and body, but money? I know you do!
And brains? None for sure!”

Pfff. A puff of mist exited the nepenthes, releasing a burp-like

sound that seemed to give an affirmation to Li Wei’s words.
“Light-swallowing, shadow-spitting” nepenthes sounded like a
mighty name but it was actually a very simple type of plant—its
most unique trait was that it wasn’t picky about food.

When the wood elementalists first bred the mirage bean pod,
they found an awkward fact—the smell of the bean was rejected
by all flora and fauna.

The initial test subject was a colorful chameleon. Its skin

could spray out multicolored light, creating an illusion around
its surroundings to protect itself. But the experiment had
quickly failed because the chameleon was badly poisoned after
eating the bean.

Images stored inside the movie bean were screened

successfully only after the wood elementalists had discovered a
special kind of nepenthes. This was how it was given such an
imperious name.

The two of them briefly stood in silence, digesting the scene

from earlier.

“There’s finally a powerful fellow but he turns out to be an

earth elementalist. How unexpected.” Zhou Xiaoxi was
disappointed as the North Sea was recruiting water
elementalists.

“It’s a pity there’s no sand puppet.” Li Wei was curious. “An

earth elementalist good at battling close-range…I really wonder
how his sand puppet would be like.”

Seasoned fighters like them knew that in order to evaluate an

earth elementalist, they would have to understand his sand
puppet. The sand puppet was the real trump card.

One must not judge a wood elementalist’s battling abilities

before assessing his sand puppet.

“That was a mid-air direction switch, eh?” Zhou Xioaxi was

slightly uncertain. “Recognize the move yet?”

Between the two of them, although Li Wei looked a little more

forthright, their personalities were completely opposite. Zhou
Xiaoxi had a carefree personality while Li Wei was more
meticulous in nature.

“No.” Li Wei shook his head. “Doing a mid-air switch is

possible, albeit difficult. Don’t forget that he’s an earth
elementalist. He has a sand puppet.”

“Reasonable.” Zhou Xiaoxi lightly touched his chin before

asking, “Don’t you feel that the back leaning move was similar
to [Arching Fish Back]?”

Actually, when he had first seen that move, Li Wei had

immediately thought about the series of dents on the wall of the
Suspending Golden Pagoda. Could it be Ai Hui? This idea
flashed through his mind before he quickly shook it off.
Although his build matched the dents, he had just activated his
natal residence. It was impossible for him to possess such
combat strength.

Plus, this was an earth elementalist. Ai Hui, on the other

hand, was definitely of the metal attribute.

“I’m more willing to believe that it’s [Back to the Mountain],”

Li Wei said.

Zhou Xiaoxi understood; although the earth elementalist’s

move seemed to be similar to [Arching Fish Back], the power
released far exceeded that of it.

[Arching Fish Back] was a technique that was used for

struggling free instead of attacking.

“There are all kinds of freaks this year. How can an earth
elementalist be an earth elementalist if he doesn’t engage his
sand puppet when fighting?” Zhou Xiaoxi mumbled to himself.
 “Youngsters nowadays are fierce!” Li Wei sighed. Zu Yan’s
performance was already pretty solid but that earth
elementalist’s abilities were even more outstanding. The
disparity between levels could be made up with time but a gap
between talent wasn’t something that could be easily filled.

Li Wei did not know why, but after viewing the movie bean,
he all the more yearned to urgently recruit Ai Hui.

He felt that Ai Hui was undoubtedly the most suitable fellow

for the Infantry Division!

What should he do?

Li Wei decided that no matter what, he had to meet Ai Hui

personally before thinking further.

The embroidery workshop.

As usual, Mingxiu was reporting to her teacher. The

workshop had received many orders of different priorities;
some were urgent while others could wait. Some required her
teacher to attend to personally while others could be taken care
of by Mingxiu. She organized and handled the tasks well; Han
Yuqin was extremely reassured and satisfied with this beloved
disciple of hers.

After listening to Mingxiu’s report, Han Yuqin asked about Ai

Hui. “How’s your junior doing recently?”

“Not much progress.” Mingxiu shook her head, and she

hesitated a little before continuing, “I’m afraid that Twilight
Silk’s too difficult for him. It’s not easy even for me. Should we
change it to something else?”

Han Yuqin hesitated as well. Mingxiu didn’t seem to be

exaggerating.

Unlike what Ai Hui thought, Twilight Silk was not sold in the
market at an extremely high price because of the rarity of
twilight silkworm cocoons. In fact, twilight silkworm cocoons
were really cheap. They were resistant to water and fire, as solid
as iron, and not many insects liked nibbling on them. Herbal
medicine used to treat the cocoons were not worth much either.

Actually, it was so pricey because it was too difficult to collect.

 The silk spinner had to have sufficiently pure elemental
energy to solidify the gluey natural silk. Furthermore, a very
stable and precise control of elemental energy was needed. Any
slight disturbance in concentration would cause the silk to
break.

Once the silk was broken, it couldn’t be joined back—this

meant that it was impossible to make a long silk strand from
many short ones.

And the whole process was time consuming and produced

little output. Whenever Han Yuqin needed it, she would
purchase it directly instead of producing it on her own.

To be fair, Han Yuqin also felt that Twilight Silk was too
difficult for Ai Hui.

But to change it?

Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but ask, “How does Ai
Hui feel about it?”

After all, she was someone who had already taken in disciples.
She knew that when it came to youngsters, difficult tasks would
dampen their zeal.

As an afterthought, Han Yuqin added, “Discuss it with him

first.”
Chapter 92: Experience
Ai Hui sat on the ground of the workshop, gasping heavily.

The rising fog carried a herbal medicinal odor as it squirted

out from the window from time to time. The workshop was like
a monster, spewing poisonous gas at random intervals.

The embroidery ladies didn’t dare to go close and rather took

more steps to walk around it instead. Many of them had come to
a sudden realization—no wonder the workshop never produced
any Twilight Silk. But there were still bolder ladies who stole
glances at Ai Hui from afar.

It was seriously hot inside the workshop, and Ai Hui was

working half-naked, displaying his well-proportioned, robust,
and fit body. His skin was emitting a golden glow as if he’d been
smeared with a layer of grease. The steam within the workshop
carried an unpleasant odor, which prevented the women from
approaching—but it did not stop them from admiring from a
distance.

Ai Hui wasn’t aware that people were secretly watching him.

All his focus was placed on that damned Twilight Silk.
 So far, the silk that he had extracted had never exceeded one
meter in length.

The elemental energy within his body was abnormally smooth

and fast like lightning. It was easy to make it quick; with just a
thought, his elemental energy would gain speed. To slow it
down, however, was exponentially harder. Moreover, not only
did he have to slow it down, he had to ensure that it had a
uniform velocity, free from fluctuations.

Ai Hui had been thinking about a lot of things these past few
days.

What he pondered most about was the fact that although the
elemental energy within his body was pure, it was very different
from the energy that he developed himself. He could induce
elemental energy with help from the Sword Rattan Gloves, but
he could only exercise simple control over it.

The elemental energy he had developed through self-training

wasn’t as pure and was little in quantity, but it could easily be
controlled and engaged during more complicated operations.

Ai Hui had gotten out of the excitement from his previous

victory and had become much more clear-minded.

No matter how much strength he had, it was useless if it was

untamed. And on the contrary, no matter how little strength he
had, it could still be used during crucial moments as long as he
had perfect control over it.

Slow and steady should be the way to go, Ai Hui told himself.

The nature of a three minute hero was no different from the

sword embryo. What he needed was reliable strength. Reliable
strength and reliable abilities.

“How is it, Junior?” Mingxiu walked into the workshop.

Ai Hui stood up. “Not bad, Senior. It’s actually quite

rewarding.”

Mingxiu was slightly surprised. She expected her junior to be

somewhat dispirited, but he actually had a very optimistic
attitude. She observed attentively and caught no signs of
disappointment in Ai Hui’s expression.
 But then again, her junior had attempted the [Twin Weaving
Technique] just after activating his natal residence, so why
would he be discouraged by the difficulty of the Twilight Silk?

“That’s good. Don’t be anxious, Junior, try slowly.” Mingxiu

consoled him, “Twilight Silk is so expensive precisely because it
is very challenging to extract.”

On hearing the word “expensive,” light flashed within Ai

Hui’s eyes, but the words behind captured his attention even
more. “Senior, are you saying that the raw material isn’t
expensive?”

Mingxiu nodded. “It is inexpensive. A silkworm cocoon costs

about two hundred thousand yuan now.”

Ai Hui opened his eyes wide. “Two hundred thousand isn’t

considered expensive?”

Mingxiu laughed briefly. “Indeed, it is considered

inexpensive. An elemental cloth costs fifty thousand yuan.”

“What about Twilight Silk?” Ai Hui asked, unable to believe

what he was hearing.

“Depends on its specifications.” After taking a few moments

to remember, she said, “Anything below five meters isn’t worth
much. Ten meters or so can be bought at two hundred
thousand. The price doubles every five meters.”

Ai Hui gulped. A Twilight Silk silkworm cocoon looked small

but the silk within was extremely fine. Theoretically, it was
possible to extract over a hundred meters of silk.

How much money is that!

Twenty meters for eight hundred thousand yuan. Thirty

meters for three million and two hundred thousand yuan. Forty
meters for twelve million and eight hundred thousand yuan!
And fifty meters would cost over fifty million yuan!

Come to think of it, the noodle shop girl’s eighty million

yuan…it could be paid off with just two fifty-meter-long strands
of Twilight Silk and there would still be a lot to spare!

He was about to drool.

 Ai Hui felt resentful. Why was it that whenever the topic of
embroidery came up, it always involved a lot of money?

But from his previous experience with the [Twin Weaving

Technique], Ai Hui was aware that while money from
embroidery seemed to be plenty, it was actually extremely
challenging to earn.

Ai Hui had calculated the Twilight Silk’s best solidifying

speed. One day and one night for a length of about two meters.
There was no mistake.

Twilight Silk of fifty meters required twenty-five consecutive

days of operating elemental energy non-stop at a consistent
speed, without even the slightest error.

This was not only incredibly challenging, but it was also

terrifying. Not to mention the elemental energy, just
maintaining focus for twenty-five days straight was almost
impossible.

Anything below five meters wasn’t worth much money, yet Ai

Hui already had trouble in producing five meters.
 Wow, money isn’t easy to earn!

As if she’d noticed Ai Hui’s dejected expression, Mingxiu

comforted him. “Don’t be discouraged, Junior. Manufacturing
Twilight Silk is bitter work; even those who are able to aren’t
willing to do it too. Thirty-meter-long Twilight Silk can’t be
easily found in today’s market. Plus, you’re doing this to train.
When your skills improve, spinning silk will become second
nature to you.”

Ai Hui regained his spirit; although he had failed to spin silk,

it was still a pretty effective training method.

Silk spinning forced the operation of elemental energy to slow

down. Having such pure elemental energy circulating at such a
slow speed within his body was intensely stimulating.

In the past, whenever his elemental energy circulation would

reach his hand palace, it would feel no different from any other
parts of his body. Now, however, he could feel that a region of
his palm was more sensitive to the energy.

He knew that this region, which felt more sensitive and

intense, was his hand palace.
 Elemental energy within Ai Hui’s body had never operated so
slowly before. Over the past few days, he had been immersed in
many fresh experiences; for example, he had recently found out
that operating his elemental energy slowly had a body
tempering effect.

The world was so big—Ai Hui always carried an inquisitive

attitude towards many things.

Seeing the improvement in Ai Hui’s mood, Mingxiu advised

him, “Go home and rest for a few days. You need to strike a
balance between work and rest; alternating between tension
and relaxation is the key to training. You’ve been without rest
for a few days, and it’s detrimental to your body. Go back. I’ll
tell Teacher.”

Truth be told, Ai Hui’s non-stop training had scared her. He

must have been this hard-working when he was trying to figure
out the [Twin Weaving Technique] in the Suspending Golden
Pagoda. No wonder he could simulate the technique even
though he had just activated his natal residence. How amazingly
determined!

Ai Hui felt that his senior was right—focusing had started to

become increasingly difficult. He knew that this was the sign of
exhaustion.

"Then I'll get going, Senior!"

Ai Hui bid Senior Mingxiu goodbye before promptly leaving

the embroidery workshop.

On the street, Ai Hui felt like he was in another world. All the
fog and smell of the herbal medicine within the workshop had
disappeared, leaving only a faint herbal smell on his body to
remind himself how he had passed these last few days.

Under the sunlight, Ai Hui smiled and had a good stretch. He

decided that once he reached back, he would have a good bath
and sleep.

Just then, he heard someone call his name.

Chapter 93: Li Wei’s Treat
Ai Hui looked attentively towards Li Wei as he found him
somewhat familiar.

“I’m Li Wei, an instructor of the Society of Excellence. I’m

also Mingxiu’s friend. I’m the one who carried you and Duanmu
Huanghun back from the Suspending Golden Pagoda.” The
veteran Li Wei introduced himself to Ai Hui.

“Brother Li Wei! Thank you very much, Brother Li Wei!” Ai

Hui felt embarrassed and quickly thanked him.

“You haven’t eaten anything yet, right? Let’s go and eat now;
we will talk over the meal.” Li Wei appeared to be extremely
amicable.

The moment Ai Hui heard that there was going to be food, his
eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed to Li Wei’s invitation.

When Ai Hui learned that Li Wei was the one who had written
the strategy to tackle the Suspending Golden Pagoda, his respect
for him grew significantly. And after he heard that Brother Li
Wei was going to treat him to a meal, he quickly brought Li Wei
to the noodle house. He decided to order a few extra bowls of
noodles later to show his respect for Li Wei.

“The Society of Excellence?”

Li Wei was surprised when Ai Hui shook his head and rejected
his invitation. “Brother Li Wei, I really have no time. Until now,
I haven’t even completed the training assignments that the
teachers in school have given me.”

Deep down, Li Wei was disappointed. However, he could tell

that Ai Hui was not lying. Fatigue was written all over Ai Hui’s
face; he looked extremely tired.

“When’s the last time you had a rest?” Li Wei asked with great
concern, “It’s important to pace your training. Don’t be too
impatient. You’re still young and there’s plenty of time.”

Li Wei was someone who valued and cared for talents. And in
his eyes, Ai Hui was a prodigy.

“Compared to other students, I’m quite old.” Ai Hui shook his

head.
 Li Wei oohed. Yes, Ai Hui was not young anymore. It was only
now that he realized that he had only noticed Ai Hui’s talents
and not his age. Compared to other students, it was indeed quite
late.

Those exceptional prodigies were all able to graduate from the

Induction Ground at the mere age of sixteen. However, at this
age, Ai Hui had barely started training. Li Wei felt great pity for
him. Yet such situations were common occurrences in both the
Old Territory and the Avalon of Five Elements.

By the time many people discovered that they were gifted,

they had already missed their best window of time to train.

“Even though you started off late, I still believe you can do it!”
Li Wei sincerely encouraged Ai Wei. He could sense Ai Hui’s
impatience.

“Thank you, Brother Li Wei!” Ai Hui was touched by Li Wei’s

words. He felt that he should do something to reciprocate
Brother Li Wei’s concern for him, so he turned around and
yelled to the boss, “Boss, give me one more bowl of noodles! No,
two more!”
 Li Wei did not expect to succeed on his first try. He merely
wanted to leave an impression on Ai Hui and try again in the
future. There was no need for him to be impatient. And after
the short interaction with Ai Hui, he felt that the trip he made
today was not in vain and was rather rewarding.

Ai Hui left a deep impression on him.

He was a reserved person with a determined gaze and a

maturity that far surpassed his age. From their conversation, Li
Wei could sense the determination and willpower of the young
man seated in front of him.

Whenever Ai Hui was unsure of something, he would ask a lot

of questions. Some questions even left Li Wei in a daze.

Were the youngsters nowadays really that hard to deal with?

When he himself was at such an age, he was as innocent and
stupid as a pig.

Prudence, foresight, and determination.

Li Wei sighed in his heart once more. He was becoming

increasingly convinced that Ai Hui was a legitimate prodigy.
Even though he started off late, Li Wei still believed that he
could overcome such an obstacle.

It was both simple and difficult to convince this kind of

person. The difficult part was that they would not be easily
persuaded by flowery words, and the easy part was that they
would agree to anything without a second of hesitation if they
found it to be beneficial to themselves.

And it was also because of this that Li Wei was so confident

that he could persuade Ai Hui. Although the Infantry Division
was not as popular as other divisions, it was very suitable for Ai
Hui’s character and physical traits. He believed that Ai Hui
could see this as well.

Right now, he decided to just become friends with Ai Hui.

There would be plenty of time and chances in the future.
Teacher Wang may be knowledgeable, but his knowledge of
body tempering and combat techniques paled in comparison
with that of the Infantry Division.

For some reasons, Li Wei could sense an aura from Ai Hui that
was similar to his.
 Li Wei was a veteran. He knew that his intuition was not
baseless. However, at the same time, his mind was filled with
doubts. It was rather incredible to see such traits in a sixteen-
year-old boy.

Even those prodigies that graduated from the Induction

Ground at this age reeked of rookie’s aura, which could be
sensed from two kilometers away.

In the front line, even if a rookie were a prodigy, they would

be considered as one of the most undesirable people to be
around.

The most undesirable group of people, however, were those

rookie commanders.

When the younger generations from those aristocratic

families entered the front line, they seldom worked their way
up from being a soldier.

Li Wei had no prejudice against the younger generations of

those influential, aristocratic families. In fact, he had seen many
outstanding youths come from aristocratic families; however,
he bitterly detested rookie commanders.
 “Have you ever stayed in the Wilderness before?” Li Wei
asked curiously.

Ai Hui, who was busy eating the food, stopped and raised his
head. With his mouth stuffed with noodles, he replied
unintelligibly, “Yes, I stayed there for three years. I used to be a
laborer.”

When he heard Ai Hui’s response, Li Wei became thoroughly

dumbfounded, and he only returned to his senses after a few
seconds. With an incredulous look on his face, he asked again,
“Are you saying that you used to be a laborer? And that you
stayed in the Wilderness for three years?”

“That’s right,” Ai Hui nodded as he kept stuffing his mouth

with noodles.

Li Wei was shocked by this information.

Of course he knew what a laborer was.

In the Wilderness, there was a unique group of people that

were collectively called laborers. These laborers were hired
from the Old Territory, and most of them were desperate,
pitiful souls. Laborers had almost zero fighting capabilities and
were the fastest and earliest group of people to be eliminated
and killed in the Wilderness.

When Li Wei first learned about laborers, he did not

understand why they were hired. From his perspective, laborers
were frail and had low stamina. They were also mentally weak
and were easily killed. But after staying in the Wilderness for
some time, he had finally understood the reason.

The Avalon of Five Elements’ current training system was

developed from and based on dire beasts. Elementalists were
much more sensitive toward elemental energy fluctuations in
dire beasts, and vice versa.

If a detachment had too many powerful elementalists, it

would only result in two possibilities. The first was that they
would scare away the dire beasts. The second was that they
would encourage the dire beasts to gang up against them.

A division like the Infantry Division did not enter the

Wilderness to hunt the dire beasts, and hence, they would not
have such worries.
 However, for those who entered the Wilderness to hunt for
the dire beasts, these two results were not something they
wanted to encounter.

Hence, recruiting laborers was their best option. But

compared to the benefits of hunting the dire beasts, the
compensations for the laborers were worth nothing.

Laborer recruitment had a long history that could be dated

back to seven hundred years ago.

Ever since the concept of recruiting laborers had been

initiated, there had been huge debates over it. As such, there
was a strict regulation on the compensation payments for
laborers. However, the number of “new citizens” in the Avalon
of Five Elements was getting increasingly larger, and their
objections for laborer recruitment were getting louder and
louder.

The so-called “new citizens” referred to the people who had

migrated from the Old Territory to the Avalon of Five Elements
after the latter had been established. They had deep sentiments
towards the Old Territory, and the higher-ups held their voices
in high regard. Many signs also indicated that the abolishment
of laborer recruitment was near.
 Li Wei had never expected the youth who was heartily eating
the noodles in front of him to be a laborer!
Chapter 94: Midnight
Li Wei did not know how long he had been in shock for. In
any case, the empty bowls in front of Ai Hui seemed to have
stacked higher and higher.

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

After a long silence, he opened his mouth. “Being a laborer,

it’s not easy to return alive.”

At this point, Ai Hui was nearly done eating, and his actions
had slowed down. He raised his head and gave a sunny smile.
“That’s right. Only two out of two thousand laborers survived.”

A cold shiver ran down Li Wei’s spine. He had spent a long

time at the front line and was used to death; however, this was
the first time he had ever heard of such a terrifying mortality
rate. He finally realized what laborers being “easily killed”
meant.

He became silent and observed the young man seated across

him.
 Ai Hui’s face did not show any signs of vengeance, self-pity,
sadness or suffering. He was just sitting there looking calm and
earnest, his gaze limpid.

Unknowingly, Li Wei became somewhat emotional. “Why did

you want to come to the Induction Ground?”

“I want to become an elementalist.” Ai Hui laughed as he idly

stirred the empty bowl with his chopsticks. “There’s no future
in being a laborer; it’s better to become an elementalist.”

For some unknown reason, Li Wei could sense that these

straightforward and casual words contained much more than
what they actually meant.

This was the first time that Li Wei did not know what to say to
a young man. He finally understood how Ai Hui had developed a
maturity that far surpassed his young age.

The number of deaths that Ai Hui had witnessed far exceeded

what he had. Ai Hui had survived the harshest and cruelest of
environments, and the situations he had faced were far more
dangerous than what Li Wei had ever faced. Yet the three years
of extreme hardship still did not destroy the young man’s
courage and will to live.

Other than age and strength, Ai Hui’s experience and

character were not inferior to his.

This was a young man who did not need consolation and
encouragement. He knew what he was doing and what he was
working hard for. There was no uncertainty and hesitation—
only a strong and determined heart.

Unwittingly, Li Wei started to treat Ai Hui as someone who

was of the same age as himself.

He took out a roll of thumb-sized golden leaf. “This contains

some of my usual training tips, but it doesn’t include any secret
techniques. I’m giving it to you in the hope that it will be of
some help! I am metal-attributed, and I have also stayed in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda for a long time. That place will suit
you well.”

“Thank you, Brother Li Wei!” Ai Hui thanked him sincerely.

This was something that he needed the most right now, and he
did not act hypocritically.
 Such a nice senior. If he didn’t do anything to repay him, he
would feel guilty! Ai Hui turned his head around and was about
to order another bowl of noodles to show his respect for Brother
Li Wei. Ow…he could not eat anymore...

Sadness and regret rose in Ai Hui’s heart. This ending was not
perfect at all.

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Wei stood up and patted Ai

Hui’s shoulder. “Let’s go back and have a good rest.”

Ai Hui quickly nodded.

“Boss! Bill, please!”

The boss arrived as swift as the wind. “That will be one

thousand and five hundred yuan!”

Li Wei was momentarily stunned. “Boss, you must have

miscounted.”

How could they have eaten one thousand and five hundred
yuan worth of noodles? Ten bowls?

“Sir, look at the table.” The boss pointed at the table.

When Li Wei turned around and saw the high stack of bowls
on the table, he was dumbfounded.

To the side, Ai Hui put on an innocent face.

After bidding farewell to Brother Li Wei, the stuffed Ai Hui

dragged himself back to the training hall. Lou Lan wasn’t there.
Ai Hui, who was already tired and incredibly full, immediately
went straight to bed.

Before his body could even warm up the bed, he had already
fallen asleep.

On the other side of the wall, there was a room that was dimly
lit under the glow of a yellowish-orange light.

“How do you feel? I have made many improvements to the

new sand core. The problems that it faced in the past have
already been rectified. This is the sand core that I’m most
satisfied with for the last fifty years, and I have put in most of
my knowledge into this. Lou Lan, you have a matchless sand
core. It’s a pity that I don’t know much about combat and I
can’t make too many improvements in that aspect.”

An old man with ash-grey hair looked directly at Lou Lan,

who was comfortably stretching his body. The old man’s gaze
was tender—it was as if he was looking at his own child.

“It’s okay, Master Shao,” Lou Lan replied as he touched and

felt his own body. “Lou Lan can learn by himself.”

“That’s right!” Master Shao became excited. “You’re very

smart. I’m sure there are not many sand puppets in this world
that are smarter than you. As long as you keep on learning, you
will become stronger. Combat is not a problem for you. You
have such a matchless sand core, it’s a pity that I don't have
enough money to replace your body. If your body’s material can
be replaced with Yellow Sand Corner’s high-grade sand, you
will be nearly invincible.”

Master Shao’s tone was filled with pride.

 “Is it because Lou Lan’s body can become fluid-like?” Lou Lan
asked curiously.

Master Shao laughed out loud. After a while, however, he

stopped. “Lou Lan is a good boy!”

Lou Lan did not quite understand what Master Shao meant,
but he knew that the latter was praising him and so he was
delighted.

“Lou Lan, what do you think of Ai Hui?” Master Shao

suddenly asked.

“Ai Hui is Lou Lan’s best friend,” Lou Lan replied without any
hesitation.

“How do you feel when you’re together with him?”

“Very happy,” Lou Lan replied. “Ai Hui is a good guy, a very
good guy.”

Master Shao treated and understood Lou Lan like his own
child. His face was filled with warmth as he deeply looked at
Lou Lan.

“Good boy. Even though your sand core has become so

powerful, it’s still considered an incomplete product. Yes, I have
spent fifty years on your sand core, but there’s a limit to my
talents. I’m afraid I don’t have the capability to perfect it. My
child, what I’m going to say next is very important. You have to
remember these words. Store them in the deepest part of your
sand core.”

Master Shao’s facial expression became solemn.

“Okay, Lou Lan will start recording now.” Lou Lan became
serious.

Master Shao went into a deep silence and was somewhat

entranced, as if he was thinking of something.

After a long while, he finally returned to his senses and

laughed to himself. “I’m indeed old.”

“Master Shao, do I need to remember this line?” Lou Lan

asked with his eyes wide open.

“No need, no need.” Master Shao chuckled.

“Lou Lan, your current sand core is in an incomplete state.

That’s because your body can’t handle all the powers of the sand
core, and so I have to seal a portion of the core. Before your
body becomes stronger, you are not allowed to remove the seal.
As for the information on how to remove the seal and how to
transform your body, I have already saved them in your sand
core. You need to spend some time studying this information.
And the last thing is that if Master Shao is not around in the
future, you must follow Ai Hui. He’s a rather good guy,” Master
Shao told Lou Lan with a stern tone.

Lou Lan abruptly asked, “Master Shao, are you leaving Lou
Lan?”

“Lou Lan, my life is coming to an end. Before I die, I have to

have to go and settle an issue that I have regretted most of my
life.”

Master Shao suddenly spoke after being lost in thought for a

long while.
 “Lou Lan, remember this…...your sand core is called
Midnight.”
Chapter 95: Changes To The Blood
Bandage
After a good night’s sleep, Ai Hui felt an indescribable sense of
happiness and satisfaction. All his previous tiredness was now
gone.

Looking at the time, the traces of sleepiness that Ai Hui felt

immediately disappeared. He had actually slept for one entire
day. Given that he had just woken up, Ai Hui decided to take a
bath directly.

While soaking in the hot spring, he began playing with the

Blood Bandage.

The Blood Bandage had a very unusual texture; it was neither

cloth nor silk, and there were still intact traces of blood as if it
had just dried up. Mistress had said that it had existed for an
extremely long period of time—more than ten thousand years.

Every time he looked at the Blood Bandage, his thoughts

couldn’t help but wander to the Cultivation Era. It was such a
bustling and diversified period with a vast world. There were
different oddities of techniques and innumerable magic-infused
treasures. Cultivators soared through the skies and combed
through the earth to explore the unknown, dominating the era
for thousands of years.

The Blood Bandage was really sturdy; even with all his
strength, Ai Hui was unable to tear even a bit. When Mistress
had split the Blood Bandage into two, she had used tremendous
strength as well. She had said that the silk yarn was bound up
by a special force, seamlessly blending them together. The Blood
Bandage had many loose threads on its sides due to Mistress’
attempt to tear it.

Thanks to the swordplay manual, Ai Hui’s had a much better

understanding of the Cultivation Era than before.

During the Cultivation Era, blood sects were never the

mainstream sects; instead, the mainstream sects were those that
revolved around swordsmanship and weapon-training. Now,
though, along with all their magic-infused treasures, those
prestigious and orthodox schools that had hundreds and
thousands of years of history had all decayed and disappeared.
However, an object from a small blood sect had been able to
escape the fate of becoming decayed throughout the millennia.
Life was indeed filled with variables.

Just by hearing the name "blood-refinement," one could figure

out that it was related to fresh blood. That mysterious strength
should be related to fresh blood as well.

The Blood Bandage had a faintly discernible bone-chilling

smell. In the beginning, Ai Hui was not accustomed to wearing
the bandage as it would suddenly erupt with a killing intent. Ai
Hui’s pores would abruptly constrict, and it would feel like the
bandages had become two bands of ice.

Nevertheless, it was fortunate that the killing intent did not

erupt frequently and that each episode was short-lived.

What a strange object.

To be related to blood…

Should he perhaps try to drip a few drops of blood onto the

bandage?

That sudden inspiration filled Ai Hui with energy; he had

always been curious about the Blood Bandage. The Blood
Bandage was a blood-refined object, and he did not have any
clue as to what was blood refinement. As for those few drops of
blood, it was not a matter of concern for Ai Hui; he was not a
pampered and spoilt rich brat, and injuries were a common
occurrence back in the Wilderness.

Unable to contain his curiosity, which had firmly rooted in his

heart like a weed, he did not hesitate and immediately bit his
finger. He dripped a few drops of blood on the two pieces of the
Blood Bandage.

The fresh blood dripped onto the Blood Bandage. The drops
resembled water droplets on a lotus leaf, round and dark red.

The next moment, the blood droplets were absorbed into the
Blood Bandage, as if it were yellow sand. Only a few abnormally
bright blood stains were left on the bandage.

The next scene, however, led Ai Hui to widen his eyes in

shock. The Blood Bandage suddenly came to life—the part that
was torn by Mistress had loose threads, which started to wriggle
and grow.

In just a few moments, the edge of the Blood Bandage lost all
signs of being torn. The two pieces showed no evidence of
damage and were perfectly intact.
 Ai Hui was dumbfounded.

This blood refinement was indeed unconventional.

Previously, the Blood Bandage had looked rather dull and low;
but now, it looked as good as new and had become brighter and
whiter. The earlier dried blood stains had become more faint,
except the stain due to his blood—that was still unusually bright
red.

The texture of the bandage had also become soft, unlike the
hard and heavy texture of before.

Ai Hui examined it over and over again, but he was unable to

come up with any plausible reasons, except the confirmation
that his fresh blood was pivotal to such a change.

"You indeed live up to your name," Ai Hui muttered. Yet, he

did not plan to continue wasting his own blood. An average
person would have some fear when faced with the strange
situations of the Blood Bandage. Ai Hui, however, did not
experience any fear; he had seen many situations which were
similar to hell. How could he be frightened by a few drops of
blood?
 He finished his bath and came out of the hot spring. After
wiping his body dry, he prepared to bind the Blood Bandage to
himself.

When it came into contact with his body, the bandage came to
life. Like an agile snake, it wound nimbly around Ai Hui’s body,
and in a flash, it was bound properly and was similar to how Ai
Hui usually did it. The fit was just right. It did not have the
usual bone-chilling feel, but instead, it was warm and soft—
extremely comfortable. Ai Hui widened his eyes. Was this the
same Blood Bandage?

This is kind of awesome….

He could never have believed his unexpected action to bring

about such a pretty good result. He felt that he was quite lucky.
It was a complicated process to bind the Blood Bandage, and it
usually took Ai Hui quite a long time. Now that the bandage
could bind by itself, it saved him a lot of hassle.

After wearing his clothes, he randomly plucked a blade of

grass and chewed on it. Walking into the training hall, he saw
Lou Lan sitting in the courtyard. He noticed that Lou Lan did
not seem to be in a good mood. Ai Hui was puzzled. If sand
puppets had personalities, then Lou Lan was definitely an
optimistic and happy-go-lucky sand puppet.

"Lou Lan, what happened?"

Ai Hui sat next to Lou Lan.

"Ai Hui, Master Shao left," Lou Lan said, his head downcast.

Ai Hui paused. "Master Shao left? Did he go on a journey or

did he meet with some mishaps?"

Ai Hui had always been mystified by his neighbor. It was said

that one could see an earth elementalist’s character through his
sand puppet. However, he could not think of any kind of earth
elementalist who would create a sand puppet like Lou Lan.

Ai Hui had encountered many sand puppets. All those sand

puppets had shocking war capabilities, but compared to Lou
Lan, they were many times more foolish.

"He left on a journey," Lou Lan said softly. "He said he has
almost reached the end of his life and he wanted to complete
something that he has always regretted. Ai Hui, what kind of
matters could make Master Shao feel regretful his whole life?"

Ai Hui exhaled in relief. It was fine as long as he hadn’t met

with any mishaps. He thought for a while. "It could be anything;
relationships, diplomatic matters…there are important events
for each and every one of us."

"But if that’s the case, then why didn’t he do it then?" Lou Lan
said with a face of confusion.

Ai Hui was struck dumb. He did not know how to answer such
a profound question. He thought quickly and spread out his
arms. "For example, he had no money!"

"No money?" Lou Lan tilted his head and pondered. "Yes,
Master Shao always used his money on Lou Lan."

Ai Hui let out a breath. "Now that Lou Lan has grown up and
Master Shao does not need to watch over Lou Lan, he can
complete his unfulfilled desires."

Ai Hui felt as if he was an old creep that was going to kidnap a

child.

"But why didn’t Master Shao bring Lou Lan along? Lou Lan
could help Master Shao." Lou Lan looked at Ai Hui with wide
eyes.

Ai Hui racked his brain. "A lot of things should be solved by

oneself. Look at my Master and Mistress, can I help in their
relationship? I definitely can’t! If Master wants to have a date
with Mistress, would he bring me along? Definitely not."

"Master Shao has gone to find Mistress Shao?" Realization

dawned upon Lou Lan. "I see."

"It must be!" Ai Hui wondered how many of his brain cells had
died; he was starting to believe his own lies. His voice expressed
heartfelt emotion as he said, "Although Master Shao is of a
certain age, he still has the right to chase after his happiness. To
be able to figure this out at such an old age is not easy. We must
give him our blessings!"

Lou Lan nodded. "Lou Lan also wanted to wish Master Shao."
Bang! Lou Lan transformed into five words.

"All the best, Master Shao!"

Ai Hui let out a loud laugh.

Chapter 96: The Discussion Between the
Old and the Young
He didn’t know if it was because he had been hanging out with
Lou Lan for an extended period of time, but Ai Hui felt that he
had become a much more cheerful person.

Alright. Perhaps these were his true colors?

Ai Hui pondered over it. At the swordsman school, he was

mostly alone and did not have any playmates of the same age.
He had usually read through the sword manuals in silence
alone. When he was in the Wilderness, everyone was always
filled with tension as they lived on the edge, and as a result, he
did not have any playmates in the Wilderness as well. However,
there was Fatty; but he wasn’t really reliable.

Luckily, Lou Lan was a good person—no, good sand—wait,

that didn’t sound right either...

Lou Lan had already transformed back. “Ai Hui, Master Shao
said for Lou Lan to follow you in the future. Can I?”

“Of course! We are the best partners!” Ai Hui said without

hesitation. He was over the moon—he had made it! He laughed
till his eyes couldn’t be seen, and he exclaimed in high-spirits,
“Let’s go around the world with our swords and make money! I
will dominate the Elemental Era and Lou Lan, you’ll reign the
kitchen!”

Lou Lan simmering soup, Lou Lan cleaning the training hall,
Lou Lan, the multi-purpose helper...

As long as you could think of it, Lou Lan was able to do it.

Lou Lan also became elated, and with a bang, he transformed

into countless instances of the word ‘money,’ in numerous
different sizes. These words danced around Ai Hui like a school
of fishes.

After going wild with Lou Lan, Ai Hui had to leave for his
training.

He didn’t know if it was because of his good mood—although

he could only extract bits and pieces, Ai Hui was no longer so
anxious now. He was in a more stable state.
 It was important to have a peaceful mind while extracting the
Twilight Silk. That was why Ai Hui managed to surpass one
meter in one fell swoop.

His life had also started to become more substantial; he did

not spend all his time extracting the Twilight Silk. He realized
that extracting the Twilight Silk needed a high amount of
concentration, and if he was tired, it would reduce the
effectiveness of his training. And on the other hand, resting
could actually be beneficial for his training.

He started to adjust his lifestyle. He still attended lessons and

would find the old man to discuss about elemental energy
afterward. After teaching for decades, the old man had
profound theories and knowledge. His discussions with the old
man were all eye-openers for Ai Hui.

He did not know that Wang Shouchuan was even more

amazed by his own disciple.

He had wanted to give a reminder to Ai Hui when he saw him

train day and night, but he really couldn’t believe that Ai Hui
himself had quickly realized that something was wrong and had
adjusted his habits on his own accord.
 Wang Shouchuan wondered if his disciple had lied about his
age. He was so seasoned and mature till the point that it could
be called formidable. He had seen many different talents in the
Induction Ground. While Ai Hui’s aptitude was nothing worth
speaking of, his temperament and determination could
definitely place him in one of the top three.

What a formidable chap.

However, Ai Hui’s capability was never written on his face;

underneath his common appearance, there lay an enigmatic
ocean.

At the start, Wang Shouchuan had explained and imparted

knowledge of elemental energy to Ai Hui, but as time went by,
he was shocked to realize that it had started to become more like
a discussion between them.

His disciple had an unusually sharp intuition towards

strength. What was even more unfathomable was that Ai Hui
had a profound understanding of ancient swordsmanship. Ai
Hui often used swordsmanship as a source of reference and
research, often coming up with theories and conjectures that
repeatedly shocked Wang Shouchuan.
 Ai Hui was like an insatiable sponge, desperately trying to
absorb all sort of knowledge.

He was a different person while he was training. He could be

calmly engaged in some form of training, but once he thought of
an idea, he would not hesitate to try it out.

Wang Shouchuan was not used to this. He was a cautious and

conservative man, or else he wouldn’t have stayed in the
Induction Ground for so long.

In that aspect, Ai Hui displayed his courageous spirit and was

abnormally brave. Wang Shouchuan always had an illusion—he
felt that his own disciple would not hesitate to gamble his life if
there was a need to.

The risks he had taken at the Suspending Golden Pagoda had

already illustrated this point.

Wang Shouchuan hoped that Ai Hui could be more cautious;

on the contrary, Han Yuqin was more than appreciative of Ai
Hui’s personality. She felt that this displayed his masculinity,
and she would take every chance to mock Wang Shouchuan
whenever Ai Hui showed any signs of such.
 That woman could really hold a grudge!

Wang Shouchuan was somewhat helpless, but two sentences

from that woman really moved him: “Don’t tell me you want
your disciple to be like you? To stay in the Induction Ground for
a few decades?”

That particular sentence led him to become distracted for a

long period of time.

Ai Hui did not know about all this; he was totally immersed in
the sea of knowledge. His greatest gain was from his daily
discussions with his teacher. Compared to the average classes,
such mutual discussions were much more profound.

Through these intense discussions, Ai Hui’s understanding

towards training and elemental energy increased day by day.

His next gain was that he discovered that there were many
things in the sword manual that were of use. Compared to the
system of five residences and eight palaces, the system for
swordsmanship was many times more tremendous and vast.
 Few people would pour through so many swordplay manuals
and spend so much time browsing through a system that was
not of use. Furthermore, it was such a vast, complicated system
to comprehend. Nowadays, that was why those who were
obsessed with swordsmanship held no interest in training their
elemental energy.

After recognizing such a vast and rigorous training system, Ai

Hui realized that he now had an entirely different
understanding of the five palaces and eight residences upon
revisiting it.

What made him happier was that he realized that some

concepts pertaining to swordsmanship may even be applicable
elsewhere.

For example, the Twilight Silk required the concentration of

elemental energy; however, from another point of view, wasn’t
this just using elemental energy as a thrust from a sword?

It was just that this sword had to be extremely stable and

slow.

A slow sword?
 Within the vast and tremendous amount of swordplay
manuals that all held various odd things, Ai Hui managed to
find a similar manual.

Perhaps he could use this technique or school of thought as a

reference?

Ai Hui’s eyes sparkled.

Wang Shouchuan also approved of such a theory.

The present atmosphere was highly practical for discussion

since few students were interested in the principles of training
of elemental energy. During lessons, teachers would make a
half-hearted attempt to explain about elemental energy
training, and they would instead emphasize more about
describing the moves and potential problems that would occur
during elemental energy training.

The old and the young were immersed in the discussion of the
theory.

Initially, Old Man Wang had the intention to teach, but pretty
soon he was immersed in the discussion and couldn’t extricate
himself. Ai Hui was very familiar with the swordplay system,
and he had many interesting questions pertaining to swordplay.

The old man was very much inspired, and his gains were
plentiful.

For example, Ai Hui had asked that if both swordplay and

spirit energy had a separation between the yin and the yang,
then why didn’t elemental energy have such a differentiation?

This question had stumped the old man. He pondered over it

for a few days and finally gained a few vague ideas. He wanted
to discuss it with Ai Hui and widen his train of thoughts.
However, much to his surprise, a few days had passed, and Ai
Hui did not show up.

The old man felt uneasy. Where did this youngster go?

He could not stop himself from running straight to the

embroidery workshop.

Upon rushing into the workshop, he was prepared to shout

his head off when he suddenly saw something out of the corner
of his eyes. His woman and Mingxiu were standing outside the
workshop's window in rapt attention.

The old man forcefully refrained himself from yelling, tiptoed

to the side of the old woman, and looked through the window.

His eyes widened.

Chapter 97: Embroidery Genius
The workshop was filled with rising mist. Ai Hui, who was
wrapped with the Blood Bandage, was fully focused. His actions
were extremely slow—slow to the point that it was unable to
detect his movements with the naked eye. However, his body
had seamless coordination, as if he was a statue of a mummy
that exuded strength and beauty.

The silk was as fine as hair. It was wrapped around the tip of
his finger while the other end was immersed in the hot boiler.

Behind Ai Hui was a chunk of completed silk. However, the

mist kept rising, and the old man couldn’t discern it clearly. But
judging from the number of bundles, it was definitely of
considerable length.

What the old man’s eye could see was that its length was
already more than three meters.

The old man swallowed hard. With a heart filled with

anticipation, he lowered his voice and asked, "How long is it?"

"No idea." Han Yuqin did not spare him a glance. Her gaze was
filled with passion as her gaze never left Ai Hui.

Embroidery genius!

If anyone were to tell her now that Ai Hui was not an

embroidery genius, she would use the word "Master" and bash
that person’s face till it was filled with blood without a second
thought. Even if it were the old man who dared to argue—she
would still bash his face!

How difficult was it to create Twilight Silk? Even Han Yuqin

did not wish to torment herself with this problem. It was a time-
consuming, arduous, and thankless task. Ai Hui the novice, who
had just opened his natal residence, could actually extract such a
long strand of silk. If this wasn’t considered a genius, then what
was?

Both comprehending the [Twin Weaving Technique] and

extracting Twilight Silk were not things a newcomer who had
just opened his natal residence could achieve.

Han Yuqin’s primary motive for Ai Hui to try his hand in

peeling the silk cocoons was to use it as a form of training. From
the start, she did not think that Ai Hui would be able to extract
Twilight Silk that was of value.

However, Ai Hui had done it.

She did not know how Ai Hui had managed to do it, just like
how she didn’t know how he had managed to comprehend the
[Twin Weaving Technique].

She spared the old man a glance. Alright, while the old man
was so-so in other aspects, his taste in choosing a disciple was
good! She should think of ways to pry Ai Hui over from the old
man’s hand. This wasn’t the time to talk about the relationship
between a husband and wife—they could not waste the young
chap’s talent.

The old man was still relatively easy to appease—she just

needed to weep and act coquettishly. With that, she presumed
that the old man would find it hard to escape from her clutches.
Ai Hui, however, would be more difficult.

What a headache. Hmph. It was all the old man’s fault! He had
taken a disciple, but he was such a difficult chap! This pair of
old and young had no good points to them!
 The old man did not notice that his partner was looking at
him weirdly. He suddenly thought of Ai Hui’s disappearance
over the past few days and reacted with a face of shock. "He was
here for the past few days?"

"If not here, then where else would he be? Do you look down
on my workshop so much?" The old lady narrowed her eyes; she
was ready to counter-attack.

The old man had abundant experience in such debates, and he

immediately praised the old woman. "How could I? Your
workshop must be a gem of feng shui, or else how could this
chap have such fast improvements? The credit must go to you!"

The old woman saw that the old man was not caught in her
trap and said unwillingly, "I saw that Xiao Hui was rather
interested in embroidery. Otherwise, he would not stay as well."

The old man gave a silent cheer and continued with a poised
expression, "Everything is dependent on his interests.
Embroidery is a respectable profession, and the money flow is
very large. Back then, I was supportive of your profession as
well."
 The old man said these sentences smoothly, and old woman
could only glare at him.

Wang Shouchuan was secretly pleased. Over this period, he

had had many in-depth discussions with Ai Hui over training.
He had already made out that Ai Hui belonged to actual combat.
Ai Hui’s interest towards those theories was not because he
liked the theories of elemental energy—it was because
understanding these principles would benefit his training. Once
he understood the principle, Ai Hui’s next move was always to
think of how to use those special traits in battle.

This chap was simply too shocking.

Wang Shouchuan had finally become clear of something, and

that was that Ai Hui’s learning about elemental energy and
training revolved around a common theme: how to achieve
success in battle.

To tell the truth, the idealistic Wang Shouchuan did not really
like the fact that his disciple had such a purpose to learning, but
he could only sigh when he thought of what Ai Hui had been
through.
 As such, he was confident that Ai Hui would not make
embroidery his own profession. Ai Hui would learn embroidery
for the sake of earning money and to enrich himself. Ai Hui
would also learn embroidery to create outstanding equipment,
but he would definitely not be like his own partner and view
embroidery as his own life.

Wang Shouchuan was extremely clear on this point. As such,

he was not concerned over his partner’s thoughts.

Suddenly, Wang Shouchuan noticed Ai Hui’s position and

became surprised. "Was he always in this position?"

Ai Hui’s position was very unique. His left leg was in front
while his right leg was at the back, forming a bow-like stance.
His left hand was clenched around his waist, and his right arm
was stretched straight, while his forefinger and middle finger
were pinched together like a sword.

Wang Shouchuan was a knowledgeable teacher. At one

glance, he could see that Ai Hui was using his hand as an
invisible sword.

Using the hand as an invisible sword was a common technique

used by ancient swordsmen. However, there was no swordsman
now, and thus, it was seldom seen. While elementalists would
also use swords and some form of swordplay, it was completely
different to that of ancient swordsmen.

"Nope, he hasn’t moved." Only then did Han Yuqin realize

that Ai Hui was in a unique posture, and she couldn’t help but
ask, "Is there any reasoning behind this posture?"

The five residences and eight palaces did not have a history of
thousands of years, and the existence of embroidery was even
shorter. As for extracting silk, it was even more unknown, and
there weren’t any mature and established techniques. Everyone
practiced a myriad of techniques.

But Han Yuqin knew her man well. The old man had
definitely observed something, and she had the utmost faith in
his scholarly knowledge. It was because of this essential point
that led to her falling into his clutches when they were young.
She really was young and naive then.

"Invisible sword." The old man explained, "Sword training in

the past made use of this invisible sword technique when they
are expediting their spiritual sword."
 Han Yuqin paused for a moment. She would not have thought
that it was actually an ancient and unfamiliar technique like the
invisible sword.

"Could the invisible sword technique still be used now?"

"It would be useless to others, but it might not be totally

useless to this chap." The old man’s tone was laced with
smugness.

Mingxiu, who was at the side, suddenly said, "Master and

Uncle-Master, Junior has finished!"

The two of them hurriedly looked over. Indeed, Ai Hui, who

was in the workshop, had stood up and was rotating his
shoulder.

The three of them rushed in.

The door to the workshop was suddenly slammed open and Ai

Hui, who was exercising his limbs, jumped in shock. But he soon
recognized the intruders and quickly greeted, "Teacher,
Mistress, Senior Mingxiu."
 After maintaining the same posture for a few days, Ai Hui was
experiencing an indescribable ache. The profit from the
Twilight Silk was indeed hard-earned. He wondered the extent
of aches for those who had to extract the silk continuously for
over ten days.

With an appreciative expression, the old man said, "Not bad,

your improvement is drastic."

Han Yuqin picked up the Twilight Silk and gently shook it.
Her gaze was accurate as she immediately concluded, "About ten
meters."

Ai Hui’s spirit suddenly rose. He clearly remembered that a

ten-meter-long strand of Twilight Silk was worth two hundred
thousand yuan.

There was a flicker of astonishment in Mingxiu’s gaze, "This

isn’t quite right. Junior managed to extract ten meters of
Twilight Silk in just three days and three nights."

Han Yuqin caught the reminder and reacted. To extract ten

meters in three days and three nights suggested that he would
have extracted slightly more than three meters worth of
Twilight Silk daily. Han Yuqin had conducted her business with
a few elementalists who extracted Twilight Silk, and their
fastest speed was only two meters in one whole day.

If Ai Hui’s statistics were indeed accurate, it implied that

there was a fifty percent increase in efficiency. For any business,
it would be considered a remarkable feat.

Embroidery genius!

It was as if those two words floated in front of Han Yuqin,

dazzling and shining in gold.

Her gaze towards Ai Hui suddenly became very passionate.

Chapter 98: Bold And Imaginative
Ai Hui’s body was still filled with aches. The last time he was
in such a sorry state was when he had been in the Wilderness.
At that time, the troops were under attack, and he had gotten
separated; however, based on his capability at that time, being
alone in the Wilderness was only a road to disaster. His only
option was to wait at the exact same spot, as that was also where
the troop would get their replenishments.

In order to reunite with the troops, he had covered himself in

mud and had lain in the sludge without moving.

Well, at that time, too, it had been three days and three
nights.

In the depths of the night after three long days, his body was
drenched in perspiration

Ai Hui silently wiped his beads of perspiration, and soon, his

aches also started to quickly subside. A trace of joy flickered in
his eyes, reflecting a confirmation of some ideas in his mind.

"Disciple, you used the invisible sword technique, right?" The

old man was evidently very curious. "How did you think of
using that? What was the reasoning?"

Han Yuqin and Mingxiu’s gaze turned towards him as they

were filled with curiosity too.

"Yes, Teacher, that was the invisible sword technique." Ai Hui

was already used to the old man’s questions which were usually
asked in rapid succession. The old man has displayed this trait
more than once throughout those previous days of discussions.

Ai Hui organized his flow of thoughts before beginning to

elaborate. "During the discussion with Teacher a few days ago,
Disciple suddenly thought of the fact that the Twilight Silk
needed the full concentration of the elemental energy. This
process is very similar to the thrusting of a sword. It’s just that
this sword would be the elemental energy and it would be
thrusted out at a slow and uniform speed."

The old man muttered to himself, "Seems reasonable."

Ai Hui continued, "Disciple thought whether there were any

slow swords during sword training in the past? And how did
they control the speed of the sword? Disciple recalled looking
through the swordplay manuals and discovering the existence
of the slow sword."

"Slow sword? What use does it have if the sword is slow?" Han
Yuqin blurted with a face of confusion.

At present, movements and attacks were all about speed, and

this was understandable, as one would not be easily defeated if
they were fast. Moves or traditions that pursued slow speeds
had never been heard of.

"To say it precisely, the so-called slow sword is not seeking to

be slow, but instead, it is to not be fast. If you want to hasten the
process, you would not be able to achieve it. The ancient
swordsmen pursued to do it steadily and achieve a better
result." Ai Hui was like another person when he started to talk
about the topic of swordsmanship. He continued composedly
and smoothly, "So, the supposed ‘slow’ is relative but not
absolute. For example, during a storm, their sword moves
would be the wind. The wind would gather unceasingly which
resulted in the storm. No matter how fast the speed of the wind
was, its power would not be comparable to a storm. Is it that the
faster the wind, the better it is to form a storm? It is not the
case. In order to create a storm, you need a particular type of
wind, and it is not that the faster the speed, the better it is."
 The advantage of discussing with Teacher was that Ai Hui was
getting better at explaining his complicated viewpoints in
simpler terms.

Mingxiu’s eyes flashed. "I understand now. The slow sword

that Junior is talking about is very similar to extracting the
Twilight Silk. While slow elemental energy is needed to extract
the Twilight Silk, in reality, it is not about being as slow as
possible but instead the uniformity. The emphasis on being
slow for extracting silk was to actually control the even
distribution of the elemental energy in a better manner. How
did Junior solve the problem of uniform velocity?"

Wang Shouchuan and Han Yuqin also nodded.

"Senior is so clever!" Ai Hui praised Mingxiu. Presently, Ai Hui

seemed to be emitting a dazzling glow which was blinding to the
eyes. His usual reserved gaze was now as bright as the stars at
night. "I referenced many similar swordplay manuals and
discovered an unusual phenomenon. Almost all of the styles
that were similar to the slow sword made use of a spiral. The
styles were enlightened by how storms and whirlpools worked.
After that, I discovered that when elemental energy was
employed in the form of a spiral, it did not increase the speed,
but instead, it caused it to lose a part of its initial speed.
However, its stability increased, and the elemental energy
became more concentrated and did not disperse."

Everyone in the embroidery workshop was shocked into

silence.

After a moment, Ai Hui started to feel slightly uncomfortable,

and he broke the silence by asking, "Did I say something
wrong?"

Han Yuqin suddenly asked, "You thought of all of this by

yourself?"

"Yes." Ai Hui felt somewhat embarrassed. "Disciple was just

guessing."

Han Yuqin ignored him and immediately turned to the old

man and shouted, "He is an embroidery genius! We should not
neglect his talent!"

The old man corrected, "He is a genius in training!"

Wang Shouchuan had always felt that it was a pity that his
disciple had a slower start. However, now, he was glad that he
had started late. If Ai Hui had been exposed to training and had
become familiar with the five residences and eight palaces when
he was young, would he still have such unorthodox, bold, and
imaginative ideas?

Ai Hui’s diligence and determination had given him a

formidable body, while his ideas that were not confined to
restrictions gave him an additional pair of wings.

Wang Shouchuan did not know the extent of Ai Hui’s future

success.

It was as if he saw a towering and formidable figure

enveloping the sky of the future.

"Exactly, embroidery can be used in training and also in

combat!" exclaimed the old lady.

"Embroidery Grandmaster, do you think you have enough

fighting capabilities?"

"Wang Shouchuan! What do you mean? Do you want to fight?

I will let you make a move first!"

"You are too boring. Look at our juniors; they are watching us
make fools of ourselves. You can bash me up after my discussion
with Ai Hui. I still have a few doubts to clarify..."

Looking at the couple, who were both flushed with anger, Ai

Hui was flabbergasted. He asked uncertainly, "I…..I have a
question."

The two of them immediately stopped and turned to face Ai

Hui.

Ai Hui waved the Twilight Silk in his arms and asked weakly,
"Can this be sold for money?"

The couple spoke in unison. "Money?"

Ai Hui eyes widened, "Don’t tell me you were lying when you
said this can be sold for two hundred thousand yuan?"

"..."
 The two of them suddenly stopped quarreling.

In the end, Ai Hui managed to get one hundred thousand yuan

as his wages. After all, the venue and the materials used had
belonged to the embroidery workshop. Ai Hui was more than
happy. To be able to earn one hundred thousand yuan in just
three days and three nights! Although it was hard-earned
money, it was still not a small amount. And he was confident
that he would be able to extract an even longer strand of silk the
next time.

Most importantly, he had finally obtained a steady source of

income.

He had turned to his mistress and asked if extracting silk was

a form of craftsmanship.

Mistress’s expression had not been very pleasant, and she had
reluctantly nodded her head. Mistress had even warned him
that in the embroidery workshop, extracting silk was only
considered a minor task and it was not something grand.

As long as it made money, Ai Hui did not care if it was grand

or not. Just wait till he could extract fifty meters worth of
Twilight Silk. Hmph. He would throw out two strands of silk
and hire the little girl from the noodle shop. She could learn to
cook noodles from the boss of the noodles shop and then she
would be able to serve him over ten bowls of noodles a day.

He would be able to get Lou Lan to simmer soup for him daily
and also prepare lots of elemental energy food for him.

His mouth started watering. Ai Hui had the sudden urge to

splurge. Should he get Lou Lan to boil a pot of soup today?

With this thought, Ai Hui started to increase his pace.

At the mouth of the alley, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the silhouette of the figure near the mouth of the
alley in surprise.

Hey, wasn’t that Student Bangwan?

Heh heh! There are escape routes in heaven, but you refused
to walk through them! There are no doors in hell, but here you
are!
Ai Hui’s expression turned cold and murderous.
Chapter 99: That Expression
Hai Qing was standing respectfully outside the grass hut.

The fence was built with dried branches, and it carried an

atmosphere that seemed to ward people away. The shadow cast
when the sun shone upon the hut always captured Hai Qing’s
attention. The fence had been weaved personally by his master,
who, at his cultivation level, had a profound understanding
towards elemental energy. Each and every one of his
movements contained deep significance.

The obscure grass hut was built by his master from scratch.

Hai Qing couldn’t help but feel respectful every time he saw
the grass hut.

Forty years ago, he followed his master to a barren land in the

Wilderness after leaving the Avalon of Five Elements. His
master had pointed at the barren ground, saying that it would
be his new home and that he was going to build a grass hut at
that very spot.

That year, his master, who was still not considered a

grandmaster, had picked up the first dried twig, threw out the
first seed, and shoveled the first shovel of earth.

For a solid five years, Master had only done that. Sometimes,
he would be lost in thought while sitting on the cliff like a
statue, regardless of the weather. At times, he would wander far
away to find a suitable dried twig. He would also use his hands
as a shovel. His master then was slightly deranged and was as
dirty as a beggar.

Hai Qing would never forget the day the grass hut was
completed.

At that point, Master had hung a piece of grass curtain at the

grass hut’s entrance. He had then suddenly turned around and
told Hai Qing with a clear gaze, "Hai Qing, I am a grandmaster
now."

While Hai Qing was still caught off guard, the wood elemental
energy had erupted like a volcano.

Countless of sprouts had emerged from the barren, deserted

hill. The glaring sun was also replaced by dark clouds and
drizzle. Grass started to grow and rapidly fill up the initially
bare and tan mountain peak.

Amidst the drizzle, trees began to grow, and flowers started to

bloom as if it were spring. A ray of sunlight penetrated through
the dense clouds and enveloped the grass hut. Under the warm
glow of the sunlight, the grass hut was not affected by the
drizzle in the slightest.

At that time, Hai Qing could not control his body and had
kneeled down in respect.

The initial barren mountain had become a formidable sea of

green.

The grass curtain was thin, and he could vaguely make out
that Master was trimming and watering the plants. His actions
were smooth and leisurely, and watching him warmed Hai
Qing’s heart.

"Huanghun came out of the Grass Hollow so quickly?"

A voice that was as warm as jade yet without any trace of

liveliness came from the back of the grass curtain.
 "Yes." Hai Qing was also surprised. "When I had seen
Huanghun’s injuries due to the metal wind, I thought he would
need a period of time to recover. I didn’t expect him to come out
of the Grass Hollow so quickly." Hai Qing continued
respectfully, "Throughout my entire life, his innate talent is one
of the best—even better than Big Chen and Mingqiu. The only
person who can defeat him is probably Master. What is even
rarer is that he has a competitive temperament. He is the most
competitive amongst the three of them. Big Chen’s character is
too mild while Mingqiu is slightly playful."

Dai Gang laughed lightly. "Looks like the Duanmu family

produced a mythical being, to be able to receive such high praise
from our Hai Qing."

Hai Qing replied courteously, "Huanghun insisted on going

back to the Induction Ground. Hai Qing will get someone to
send him back."

Dai Gang replied gently, "Indeed, he should go back. At this

age, the Induction Ground is the most suitable place for him. It
could be a period of wonderful memories for him in the future
as well."

"Yes." Hai Qing’s tone remained respectful as he continued,

"The Duanmu Family's belongings have arrived."

"Put it aside first. The stone is finally going to bloom." Dai

Gang’s voice was as warm as spring.

Hai Qing couldn’t help but expose a hint of pleasure on his

face. "Congratulations, Master."

...

In Central Pine City, Duanmu Huanghun was standing

hesitantly at the mouth of the alley, feeling extremely vexed.
How did he manage to owe a favor to that scoundrel? Whenever
he thought of it, he felt agitated to the point that he felt like
killing someone.

He even made a trip to Instructor Li Wei to clarify the

situation.

At that point, he was still puzzled over Instructor Li Wei’s

peculiar gaze towards him. However, after hearing the entire
story, he had turned green.
 He was lying on Ai Hui’s back?

And their clothes were shattered?

He stared at Li Wei unwaveringly for a full five to six minutes,

eventually giving him goosebumps.

Duanmu Huanghun stood at the mouth of the alley, hesitating

for a long period of time. His mind was a mess. His pride
prevented him from pretending that nothing had happened. Hai
Qing had even told him that the longer he stayed in the
Suspending Golden Pagoda, the harder it would have been to
rescue him. Although it was not life-threatening, it would have
brought about long-term harm to his body.

He clearly remembered how he had run to the Suspending

Golden Pagoda.

But damn it!

Why was it the scoundrel who saved him?

 He could accept it if anyone from the Induction Ground had
saved him—but not Ai Hui.

Damn it!

He had been looking for an opportunity to bash that fellow

up, but how could he bear to do that now? That damned fellow!
Ai Hui must be very pleased now, thinking that he was a big
joke.

"Isn’t this Student Bangwan?"

A familiar voice that was like a nightmare suddenly rang out

from behind him. Duanmu Huanghun was like a cat whose tail
had gotten stepped on, and he almost jumped out in shock.

Duanmu Huanghun, who was still in a panicked state,

pretended to be calm as he turned around. Looking at that
hateful face, he lifted his chin and asked haughtily, "Oh it’s you.
Why are you looking for me?"

"Looking for you?" Ai Hui exaggeratedly looked around.

"Hearing you say this, I thought I walked into the wrong alley
for a moment. But nope, Student Bangwan is indeed unique.
You are here at my house, but you're asking me why I’m looking
for you?"

It was only then that Duanmu Huang reacted. His face was
burning, and he couldn’t wait to dig a hole and hide. How could
he make such a basic mistake?

Ai Hui was not planning on letting him off. He finally

managed to get hold of Duanmu Huanghun with much
difficulty. How could he let him leave before tormenting him?

"Seems like Student Bangwan did not forget that he’s indebted
to me. Okay, just say it. How are you planning to repay me?" Ai
Hui did not waste any time and got straight to the point. "We
have to make things clear. The first is when I rescued you from
the Suspending Golden Pagoda. And the second would be the
compensation for my injuries."

Where did Duanmu Huanghun hear of such a compensation

request before?

That’s right! It was this expression!

 He was even more disgusted now. "You are indeed not a good
person!"

"Not a good person? How can you say this to your savior?" Ai
Hui laughed coldly and displayed some impatience. "Of course,
that isn't important. I want something more practical, Student
Bangwan."

Duanmu Huanghun had finally regained his composure, and

he said gravely, "I owe you a favor. No matter what and when,
as long as you need me to fulfill it, I will do my best."

Duanmu Huanghun gave an inward sigh of relief after making

that serious promise. Although he felt that Ai Hui was
loathsome, he was indeed saved by Ai Hui. His pride did not
allow him to repay Ai Hui half-heartedly.

He would only have a clear conscience by making such a

promise that was worth millions.

His expression was proud but dignified. This was a promise to

himself.
 "Just like this?"

Ai Hui stared at Duanmu Huanghun dumbly, as if he had seen

a ghost.

Duanmu Huanghun, who was initially calm, became flustered

and somewhat guilty under the scrutiny of Ai Hui’s gaze. He
unconsciously blurted out, "Then….then two favors?"
Chapter 100: God Damn It!
Seriously, god damn it!

Ai Hui inwardly roared with anger, as if there were several

wild beasts trampling about.

He seldom had such a tenuous grasp over his self-control, but

today, he truly wanted to use a brick and pound it into Duanmu
Huanghun’s face.

He controlled his urges, but only by forcibly restraining

himself.

He told himself that if Duanmu Huanghun were to sustain

injuries, he wouldn’t be able to receive compensation. If he
could have killed him, he would have already taken action. If he
could not kill him, then there was no point in beating him up.
Hence, he restrained himself.

In the Wilderness, telling someone, “Since you saved me, I

owe you a favor” would result only in impending death. No one
knew if you would live to see the next day. By saying “I owe you
a favor,” not only would nobody rescue you in the future, you
could also be killed that very night. In such an environment, a
favor was very much worthless.

Trying to reap more than you sow?

What an ingrate!

Ai Hui’s impression of Duanmu Huanghun was already set in

stone. Without batting an eyelid, he continued, “Is a favor
worth fifty million yuan?”

“Of course!” Duanmu Huanghun said with pride shining on

his face, “How could you compare my favor to a mere fifty
million?”

Indeed, he had the background to prove his worth. As the

future heir of the Duanmu family and his discipleship to Dai
Gang, it was not excessive of him to say that his favor was worth
more than fifty million yuan.

Ai Hui restrained himself from murdering the boy, but his

patience was wearing thin. “All right, I don’t need anything
else, just two favors. When combined, that totals one hundred
million yuan.”

Now Duanmu Huanghun had been rendered speechless. How

could he have calculated it like this? Didn’t he realize the
potential usefulness of his favors? Didn’t he want to be a part of
the Thirteen Divisions in the future?

Fifty million yuan? Was this chap insulting him on purpose?

How could his favor only be worth fifty million yuan?

No matter how stupid he was, shouldn’t he at least think

before speaking?

Duanmu Huanghun regarded Ai Hui with a look of despise, his

gaze increasingly hateful. This chap was such a lowborn. It was
already repulsive that Ai Hui was vulgar enough to desire
compensation for a good deed.

An indescribable rage rose up from within Duanmu

Huanghun. He felt as though a precious item he had gifted to a
recipient had just been thrown to the dogs without a second
thought. And he actually had the gall to ask the dog if he would
like to eat such a good item.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s face paled, his gaze practically shooting
flames.

But instead of cowering, Ai Hui only laughed. “Let’s stop with

the brainless crap. Do you have one hundred million yuan?”

Looking at him, Duanmu Huanghun’s anger intensified. He

almost blurted out a “yes,” but at the last moment, a thought
occurred to him and his expression changed.

Since young, he had lived a life of luxury, never lacking in

money. His family invested heavily in his daily needs such as
food, housing and training. Whatever he needed, his family
bought for him without a second thought.

In terms of cash, however, he did not have much on hand, and

neither would his family be willing to give him such a large
amount like one hundred million as allowance.

Even if he wanted to, he was clueless on how to approach such

a topic.

Borrow from a friend? He shook his head inwardly. If he

didn’t have such a hefty allowance, then neither would his
friends. Furthermore, he knew them well; unlike him, who
obsessed over training with no desire to chase after an
extravagant lifestyle, they indulged in life’s pleasures by
overspending with no savings left over. He would rather rely on
himself to come up with the one hundred million yuan.

Seeing the change in Duanmu Huanghun’s expression, Ai Hui

felt that this guy was despicable. He continued, “You don’t have
it, right? You’re really good at blowing your own trumpet, but
it’s only empty talk. My judgment of you was correct. It’s all
right, I’ll just take it as if I had rescued a dog.”

In Ai Hui’s mind, Duanmu Huanghun had been labeled as a

hypocrite and an ingrate.

Ai Hui could not be bothered with him and swagged off

without a second thought. He was a person who clearly
distinguished between love and hate. If he felt that Duanmu
Huanghun was not worth it, speaking more than a sentence to
him was a waste of his time; and time was precious.

Duanmu Huanghun’s expression alternated between green

and red. He bit down on his lips viciously.
 Insulting, extremely insulting! Since young, he had never felt
so insulted. Yet, he could not utter a single word of rebuttal. If
the other party desired jewels or heirlooms, he would’ve been
able to think of ways to procure them. But Ai Hui wanted cash,
his achilles heel.

What a humiliation. The humiliation was indescribable. His

porcelain skin flushed red as if it was burning up.

He clenched his fists until his bones crackled, and his gaze was
shadowed.

All right, he’d been too optimistic. How could a lowly chap
like Ai Hui be worthy of his favors?

Wasn’t it just one hundred million yuan? Just you wait!

“To a useless person like you,” he thought, “earning money is

a difficult thing. But pretty soon, you’ll come to see that earning
one hundred million is an insignificant matter for a genius like
me!”

Making up his mind, Duanmu Huanghun swore to himself

that he would earn more money in the next few days. He would
earn one hundred million yuan—No! One hundred million yuan
was still not enough to match his worth.

Two hundred million! No, five hundred million!

He was going to bring five hundred million in cash and throw

it into the chap’s face.

His mind conjured up an image of Ai Hui, with a fawning face,

kneeling like a dog next to a mountain of cash.

Abruptly, a bewitching, red flush emerged on his face. He felt

his body surge with energy. That’s right! This was the feeling!

“Ha ha ha ha….”

Duanmu Huanghun howled with laughter.

As Ai Hui entered the training hall, he spotted Lou Lan. The

dark clouds in his heart momentarily cleared. To hell with the
hypocritical ingrate. He had Lou Lan, a good sand puppet.
 At that moment, a howl of maniacal laughter erupted from
the direction of the alley entrance.

Lou Lan tilted his head and listened. The yellow light flashed
in his eyes and after a moment, he said, “Ai Hui, this person’s
laughter is not very healthy. It is resounding, empty, and
lacking in vital energy. There seems to be an unhealthy internal
heat attacking his heart as well. He might faint. Eh, the laughter
seems familiar? Where could Lou Lan have heard it?”

Plop.

Duanmu Huanghun, who stood at the mouth of the alley,

stiffened before falling face-down with a strange flush on his
face.

Ai Hui snorted and said, “Who cares about him? It’s best that
he fainted. Saves me the hassle of beating him up….”

Before completing his sentence, he could no longer see any

trace of Lou Lan.

Where did he go?

 Ai Hui looked around, then stared blankly when he saw Lou
Lan standing at the entrance with Duanmu Huanghun slung
over his back.

“Ai Hui, it is Student Bangwan. Luckily, Lou Lan went down

to take a look,” Lou Lan happily said.

Ai Hui was on the verge of saying, “Trash like Duanmu

Huanghun should be fed to the dogs.”

But seeing the passionate Lou Lan, he could not bring himself
to say such words. He internally sighed, thinking, “My Lou Lan
is good at everything, just that he’s too helpful.”

Ai Hui did not wish to change this trait of Lou Lan’s. In fact,
he was delighted with this particular characteristic. To him, it
differentiated Lou Lan from the other sand puppets who were
relentless in executing their masters’ orders but indifferent
towards matters unrelated to them.

Lou Lan was different, filled with curiosity and a burning

passion for this world.
 Lou Lan should remain as he was, yet Ai Hui’s downcast eyes
were as dark as the night sky.

But why did it have to be this ingrate? Looking at the

unconscious Duanmu Huanghun, Ai Hui felt resentful yet
conflicted.
Chapter 101: A New Situation
Ai Hui watched coldly from the side. If looks could kill,
Duanmu Huanghun would have died many times over. As Lou
Lan skillfully stripped Duanmu Huanghun bare, Ai Hui
observed without the slightest intention of helping.

To him, Duanmu Huanghun looked no different from a

blanched suckling pig. This sort of spare ribs would even be
scoffed at by a butcher for its utter lack of flesh.

He cursed relentlessly under his breath.

If Lou Lan left for even a moment, Ai Hui would have stabbed
Duanmu Huanghun multiple times already. He had always
despised those who were all talk and no action, yet now he was
no different from them. Ai Hui was filled with sorrow; if only he
didn’t need that one hundred million!

“Preparations have been made,” Lou Lan said.

Roused from his self-pitying stupor by Lou Lan’s words, Ai

Hui automatically replied, “Ah….”
 There he saw Duanmu Huanghun, stripped to his underwear
and lying on the table beside Lou Lan. His body was strangely
bright red like a cooked prawn.

Ai Hui looked at Lou Lan oddly. What did he mean by

preparations have been made?

“Does he mean that I can start beating him up?” he thought.

“Then why didn’t he say so earlier? Lou Lan must still be too
inexperienced at these things. What I plan on doing is similar to
how a butcher slaughters livestock; there’s no need to strip
someone bare before killing him. At my current level, I can kill
him without spilling a single drop of blood. Afterwards, all we
have to do is feed him to the dire beasts, and he’ll have
disappeared without a trace. Faking a natural death isn’t
impossible either. All we need are the right materials. Have you
prepared these materials, Lou Lan…?”

Just as Ai Hui’s murderous intent reached its highest point,

Lou Lan began to explain.

“Bangwan’s current conditions is more serious than the last

time. Luckily, Ai Hui’s strength has also improved, so we can
still save him. You must be anxious to help since the two of you
seem to have a good relationship.”
 Ai Hui froze, as if a binding curse had been placed on him. The
corner of his eye twitched as he asked, “Save him? Me?”

“Yes, Ai Hui’s metal elemental energy can stimulate his body

and facilitate the movement of his vital fluids,” Lou Lan said,
continuing honestly, “Lou Lan’s elemental energy may not be
enough to save Bangwan, but rest assured, Ai Hui is definitely
capable of saving him.”

To hell with this!

I have to save this ingrate again?

Seething inside, Ai Hui raged internally like a dire beast

rampaging through the woods.

“Are you not feeling well?” Lou Lan asked, deeply concerned.
Ai Hui wasn’t moving much, and his complexion was abnormal.
Lou Lan prepared his eyes for a scan.

Ai Hui raised his head, revealing an incredibly forced smile.

 Lou Lan heaved a sigh of relief. “Ai Hui, the technique is
exactly the same as before.”

Turning to face the unconscious person lying on the table, his

eyes flared with hatred as he asked, “I have to use elemental
energy for this?”

“Yes, Ai Hui.” Lou Lan further explained, “Bangwan’s

condition is more serious this time around, so Ai Hui must use
elemental energy. The force exerted should also be slightly
increased.”

“Exert more force?” Ai Hui asked, his lips curving into a grin.
“No problem!”

As soon as he finished his sentence, a crisp slap resounded

through the air. A clear imprint of Ai Hui’s palm appeared on
Duanmu Huanghun’s bright red body that still trembled from
the impact.

You may have escaped death, but you’ll still have to face my
wrath. Blame your bad luck for delivering you right into my
hands!
 Using his palms, Ai Hui rapidly delivered blow after blow at
full force.

Enemy, enemy, enemy! Ingrate, ingrate, ingrate!

Duanmu Huanghun’s body began to swell up like an inflated

balloon as Ai Hui continued to rain relentless blows on him.

This was only his second time unleashing his full strength
since the mishap. The first had been during the blind battle at
the training ground. Otherwise, extracting silk required him to
slow his elemental energy significantly, and his regular
trainings were the same as well.

Being able to fully utilize his strength was deeply satisfying.

Recalling his method of using a sword technique to extract

silk, his fingers readily moved into position, poised to take
action.

The sword technique he previously used had been the result of

a sudden inspiration. His subconscious attempt to channel
elemental energy into a non-existent sword had yielded
surprisingly remarkable effects.

During silk extraction, Ai Hui could barely feel the movement

of his elemental energy due to its incredibly slowed speed. This
time, however, his elemental energy was free of constraints and
circulated at full power. Ai Hui executed his sword technique
and immediately felt the difference.

Bang!

Without warning, the insanely fast elemental energy within

his body became torpid.

The sword embryo state!

Ai Hui was taken aback. The sword embryo state that he so

painstakingly avoided appeared without warning. And for the
first time, he activated it without a sword in hand. There was no
mistaking it; he could feel the imposing aura exuding from the
exceptionally fine tip of the blade between his brows.

While Ai Hui didn’t know how to describe the aura, the closest
word he could think of was “formidable.”
 .

Like being in the sword embryo state.

The sword embryo state surely had extensive uses, but it was
easy to become reliant on it.

The world in Ai Hui’s vision was now completely different.

Duanmu Huanghun’s skin appeared much thinner, clearly
revealing his vital fluids’ movements and its chokepoints.

Ai Hui was deeply familiar with the sword embryo state; he

had experienced the vast benefits, as well as the suffering it
could bring.

Despite that, he was shocked to sense the movement of the

elemental energy within his body so clearly.

Ever since his elemental energy had become tightly wound, he

could utilize only small amounts of elemental energy with the
help of the Sword Rattan Gloves. The purity of this elemental
energy, however, far exceeded that of his natal residence. As a
result, when circulating at full power, its speed was beyond
what Ai Hui could perceive. Only during silk extraction, when
the elemental energy was restricted, could he clearly perceive its
movement.

The slow circulation of elemental energy was suitable for

training, but fighting required swiftness. If the speed of
circulation exceeded the agility of one’s thoughts, however, the
elemental energy could easily spiral out of control.

He knew that the elemental energy wasn’t circulating any

slower; it was the sword embryo state that was enhancing his
processing speed and perception, allowing him to fully capture
the flow of his elemental energy.

Without hesitation, Ai Hui turned his palm into a blade and

stabbed his fingers towards one of the blockages within
Duanmu Huanghun’s body.

Buzz!

Around his fingertips, a faint blade appeared, accompanied by

a slight, ringing sound as the blade penetrated Duanmu
Huanghun’s flesh.
 The blockage was immediately cleared.

A demonic glow flashed in his eyes, his fingers rapidly

prodding Duanmu Huanghun’s entire body.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Piercing sounds rang out incessantly. With each thrust of Ai

Hui’s fingers, a tiny speck of blood appeared on Duanmu
Huanghun’s body. As they grew in number, the reddish hue of
his body began to subside.

Duanmu Huanghun sluggishly woke up.

As he stared at the vile face in front of him, his body chilled.

This situation felt way too familiar.

He silently closed his eyes. Why was he having this nightmare

again? So much time had passed since that incident; surely his
mind was stronger than this.
 This nightmare must still be haunting him because he hasn’t
gotten over the incident. He probably just needed to exact
revenge on that scumbag.

“Hello, why are you pretending to be dead? Are you trying to

be an exhibitionist?”

Duanmu Huanghun grew bewildered. This wasn’t part of the

script….

“Take note! Including this time, you now owe me one

hundred and fifty million!”

Seeing Duanmu Huanghun playing dead rekindled Ai Hui’s

anger. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Ai Hui viciously
smacked Duanmu Huanghun right on the thigh.

As if struck by lightning, Duanmu Huanghun grew addled

from the blow.
Chapter 102: Reflection
Ai Hui had no interest in Duanmu Huanghun’s frail physique.

Healing Duanmu Huanghun this time had helped Ai Hui

notice how much the sword embryo had grown. The sword
embryo had become much more sensitive after his elemental
energy had become purer.

All of a sudden, Ai Hui realized that the seemingly pointless

swordplay manuals weren’t as useless as he thought. The
techniques in the swordplay manuals had been applicable across
many areas, such as silk extraction and the growth of the sword
embryo. Even the Gale Bat Blade had proven useful during his
blind battle with Zu Yan.

Ai Hui was a realistic person; he wouldn’t simply ignore

evidence in front of him.

Why were these swordplay manuals that everyone else

despised useful for him?

He quickly understood that the key to this was the sword

embryo!
 Sword manuals became irrelevant following the
disintegration of spiritual force.

Long ago, when he had first started reading swordplay

manuals, Ai Hui had wondered if sword techniques could be
activated using elemental energy.

He quickly figured out that it was unlikely. Lots of people

would probably have already tried something so seemingly
simple. The swordsmen of the Cultivation Era were so much
more powerful than the elementalists of today, and in pursuit of
power, many elementalists would certainly have tried to tap
into the learnings of the swordsmen. Besides, there were so
many swordplay enthusiasts out there who would do anything
to revive the glory days of swordsmanship. Surely they would
have attempted something like this, right?

This was definitely the case.

However, the number of swordplay enthusiasts has been on

the decline ever since the founding of the Avalon of Five
Elements. The value of swordplay manuals had also fallen
correspondingly. They were initially sold by the book, then by
weight, and nowadays, these manuals were as good as rubbish.
 These hard truths reflect the failure of the many attempts at
reviving swordplay. But for the entire Avalon of Five Elements
to utterly disregard swordsmanship meant that there was a
serious underlying problem.

Ai Hui never really understood the reason behind these

failures, but his lessons in the Induction Ground, especially his
discussions with his teacher, made him revisit the issue.

The stability of elemental energy and spiritual force differed

greatly.

Spiritual force was much more dynamic than elemental

energy. This can be further explained by drawing parallels to
the different states of water. Spiritual force could be said to be
akin to water vapor, able to penetrate even the smallest of
openings. Elemental energy, on the other hand, was similar to
slush—it was difficult for it to pass through such narrow
channels.

This fundamental difference was the root of why sword

techniques couldn’t be used.

Ai Hui had asked his teacher if it was possible to simply

convert elemental energy into spiritual force.

His teacher had laughed upon hearing his idea. Teacher Wang
then went on to explain that countless people have tried to do so
in the past one thousand years. Everyone knew that converting
elemental energy into spiritual force was the key to accessing
the inexhaustible teachings and treasures of the Cultivation Era.
Anyone who was able to do so would be able to simply tap into
this vast resource instead of training with an entirely new
system from scratch.

The Cultivation Era was a period of power and riches. The

ferocious dire beasts were merely the prey of the cultivators,
kept as pets and mounts and sometimes even killed for food.
The only reason why the Wilderness had not been conquered
was that it wasn’t deemed worthy of being so.

But the experiments had all ended in failure—even those that

were undertaken by grandmasters.

Ai Hui had never once thought that this seemingly impossible

problem would have anything to do with him.

His main focus was on the sword embryo that appeared to be

capable of linking his elemental energy to the swordplay
manuals, fanning the embers of this dying art.

All of Ai Hui’s attention was focused on reviving more of these

embers.

After the strain on his body had subsided, Ai Hui began his
next attempt.

As he circulated his elemental energy and formed the sword

technique with his hand, Ai Hui experienced the same situation
as before. Although he was filled with joy, he remained much
calmer this time. Triggering it twice implied that it wasn’t
merely a coincidence.

Ai Hui had a sudden urge to test some swordplay.

He tried to execute the techniques of many different manuals,

but he quickly discovered that he wasn’t able to proceed. The
spiritual force of the Cultivation Era operated along a different
pathway from the current five residences and eight palaces.

Ai Hui was deep in thought. Following the sword manuals

didn’t seem to produce any results, so what next? The sword
embryo might be useful, but how exactly did it work?

He suddenly began to stab the air with the energy blade on his
fingers, similar to when he was treating Duanmu Huanghun.

His eyes grew wide in panic.

There was no response!

There really wasn’t any response at all!

What happened?

Ai Hui was in disbelief. He attempted the same move many

more times but to no avail. Just what was going on? Ai Hui
quickly composed himself and thought of possible reasons for
this unfavorable outcome. However, no matter what he tried,
he wasn’t able to enter the sword embryo state again.

He became disappointed when he realized that digging out

more secrets from the swordplay manuals wasn’t going to be as
easy as he had initially thought.

However, it wasn’t long before he snapped out of it. Ai Hui

was, after all, well accustomed to failure, and this setback
wasn’t going to take him down. What’s more, this problem was
especially complex, and had perplexed many great people before
him—it surely wouldn’t be solved so easily.

Ai Hui’s overworked brain eventually cooled down and he

began to reflect on recent happenings. Perhaps he had become
more conceited as a result of his smooth-sailing training
sessions. Being hailed as a genius must have gotten to his head.

His path was now much clearer.

Ai Hui realized that he was getting ahead of himself. He had

just activated his natal residence and was already focusing on
the sword embryo.

Whether it was a tiny seed or some kind of treasure, the sword

embryo would always be there. His current focus shouldn’t be
on this hidden, unknown item. What he needed to do now was
to proceed steadily with his training and activate his hand
palaces.
 This was what he should be putting his time and effort into.

Having thought things through, Ai Hui became more focused.

He was filled with a sense of tranquility and was no longer
distracted.

...

After a good sleep, Ai Hui bade Lou Lan farewell. He left the
Vanguard Training Hall and headed for the embroidery
workshop.

When Han Yuqin noticed Ai Hui return to being silently

engrossed in his training, she inevitably felt relieved. Even
Wang Shouchuan couldn’t bear to disturb his disciple when he
saw him being so focused.

The elderly couple had seen many geniuses who possessed

amazing talents, most of whom had ended up losing sight of
themselves amidst the praise.

Just as they had begun to worry about Ai Hui, he proved to

them through his actions that he wasn’t going to lose himself in
the adulation. He had realigned his attitude and was now as
hard-working and humble as before.

The bandaged youth quietly focused on his training in the

steam-filled workshop. The embroidery ladies were initially
curious about him but soon became accustomed to this sight. As
time passed, the youth had long been forgotten by the
embroidery ladies, and it was only when they occasionally
walked past the workshop window did they notice the young
man inside standing as still as a statue.

A pair of abstruse eyes as deep as the abyss could be seen

amidst the mist.

This went on tirelessly, day after day.

Chapter 103: Hall of Nine Tones
After throwing all those nonsensical and distracting thoughts
to the back of his mind, Ai Hui’s mind was now at peace. All
that stuff about Bangwan or his one hundred fifty million yuan
didn’t matter to him anymore. He wasn’t going to waste any
more time and effort on that ingrate—it wasn’t as if they were
related in any way. Ai Hui was stingy with his time and would
much rather spend it on those close to him.

Was the ingrate within his intimate social circle? Certainly

not.

Only Lou Lan, Fatty, Teacher Wang, Mistress, and Senior

Mingxiu were worthy. Everyone else can just go mind their own
business!

As for the one hundred fifty million? Hehe, forget about it.

Having grown up in the Wilderness, Ai Hui had witnessed the

most extreme of contests for resources. People would fight over
mere pennies and would sometimes even engage in battles of
life and death over a few hundred yuan.
 And some rich kid came along and offered him a hundred
million? Other people could afford to be naive, but not Ai Hui.

Lou Lan was the only reason why he was willing to lend a
helping hand.

Ai Hui knew how different he was from Lou Lan. He also

understood that he would never become as kind as Lou Lan, and
he didn’t want Lou Lan to become more like him.

Even though he managed to escape the darkness, it had long

permeated his entire being. He knew that he would never be
able to break away from the constant fighting and killing of his
past.

Victory and strength were the only things that made him feel
safe.

Lou Lan was different; his passion for this world radiated
warmly like the sun.

And Ai Hui enjoyed the sun; he liked the way Lou Lan was.
Everything was fine as long as Lou Lan remained happy.
 As for that ingrate, he’d better not meet Ai Hui in battle.

By focusing on those that mattered and treating Duanmu

Huanghun as an insignificant being, Ai Hui preserved his inner
tranquility.

Duanmu Huanghun was, however, not the least bit at peace.

How could he be?

He was resentful that putting down his pride and sincerely

apologizing wasn't enough for Ai Hui. Moreover, he had
experienced that nightmare again—what a harrowing
experience! He had felt so fearful that he didn’t even know how
he had managed to flee from the Vanguard Training Hall.

Duanmu Huanghun only regained his senses the next day.

Fully aware of his circumstances, he felt even more resentful.

How could he have fainted in that alley? How could he have

allowed himself to be saved by Ai Hui once again? The scene
where Ai Hui had contemptuously asked him for one hundred
million yuan was etched deeply in his mind.

Duanmu Huanghun had never been scoffed at to such an

extent in his life.

Not even once!

Just like how nobody had ever considered him to be someone

who made empty promises. Everyone around Duanmu
Huanghun, even adults and his childhood friends, had always
regarded him as a respectable man of his words!

Money?

To him, money was insignificant!

Money was just a figure to him. Having his promise

disregarded was one thing, but to view it as being worth less
than fifty million yuan was a total insult to his character.
What’s worse was that the other party believed that he couldn’t
even afford one hundred million yuan.
 Fine, he was indeed unable to afford that amount at that point
in time.

That scoundrel!

Duanmu Huanghun clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles

turning white. His eyes felt like they were capable of spewing
fire.

He took a deep breath, slowly releasing his fist. Although he

was still filled with rage, Duanmu Huanghun could now restrain
it.

He made a decision.

Counterattack!

He was going to counterattack!

He would show that scoundrel just how easy it was for him to
make money. He would demonstrate the vast difference
between a genius and a piece of trash! He would let him know
just how much his promises were worth—that scoundrel could
just take his one hundred fifty million yuan and wallow in
regret!

Duanmu Huanghun regained his composure, quickly coming

up with a plan.

……

Wu Qirong’s birthday was finally here; he was finally coming

of age. The Wu family had a 600-year history, and even though
it wasn’t particularly large, it wasn’t exactly small either.
Although their legacy wasn’t as established as those of the
founding houses, the family nevertheless had its own estate and
a decent sphere of influence.

After six hundred years of painstaking efforts, the Wu family

was now flourishing.

Wu Qirong was the eldest son of the Wu family, and his name
reflected the great expectations that his elders had of him. He
was, however, a mischievous child, and had grown to be a
highly sociable person with a vast network of friends. Wu
Qirong was bright; he had noticed early on that he couldn’t
match his elders when it came to hard work.

As such, he had focused on expanding his social network. He

was a generous person who was well versed in negotiating his
way around others, and he had never offended anyone. These
qualities led him to have quite a reputation among the dandy
community.

Wu Qirong continued to socialize even when he had come to

the Induction Ground. He spared no expense, choosing to host a
large banquet to celebrate his birthday.

One could tell from the venue that the host was a massive
spender. The banquet was held at the Hall of Nine Tones, the
most luxurious venue in the Induction Ground.

The Hall of Nine Tones was built by Di Xinyuan, a Music

Theory Master. When the Induction Ground’s administration
received news that Master Di Xinyuan intended to return to the
Induction Ground, they decided to give him a beautiful, scenic
place to honor his return.

The master had been indescribably happy at the gesture and

had decided to build the Hall of Nine Tones on this piece of land
for his life of solitude. He had once roamed the world, exploring
the Avalon of Five Elements, and he had even wandered into the
Old Territory. He had picked his nine favorite architectural
styles and had built nine entirely different courtyards, and
hence the name Hall of Nine Tones.

Once built, the Hall of Nine Tones instantly became the

Induction Ground’s most valued venue.

Besides being an architectural marvel, the hall played host to

musicians that were handpicked and taught by the master
himself. The songs they performed were always changing and
were all written by Master Di Xinyuan himself.

Ever since the day of its completion, the Hall of Nine Tones
had become the favorite haunt of youngsters from the
influential families.

Getting a reservation for the venue was extremely difficult.

Not only was it extremely costly, but the place also had strict
requirements regarding the identity of its customers. Wu
Qirong had spent a tidy sum to buy someone else’s reservation.

He had to admit, though, that it was all worth it!

 The hall’s decor and the exquisite elemental food dishes,
coupled with the heavenly music, were simply intoxicating. The
look on his peers’ faces upon entering the venue gave him
immense satisfaction. He was extremely pleased with his
purchase!

Just as Wu Qirong was happily content, an icy voice suddenly

rang out from the doorway. “Little Wu, why wasn’t I notified of
your birthday party? You’ll have to drink three glasses of wine
as punishment.”

A lithe figure with an air of aloofness appeared at the

doorway.

The guests at the table instantly fell silent.

One of Wu Qirong’s playboy mates angrily voiced out, “Who is

this atrocious piece of trash—”

Pa!

A resounding slap in the face!

 The playboy held his cheek and stared blankly at Wu Qirong,
stunned that his friend had actually slapped him.

Wu Qirong, who was behaving all loftily just awhile ago, bent
down without hesitation to pour himself three glasses of wine.
He downed them all in one breath.

Without putting down the glass, Wu Qirong hastily ran over

to the newly arrived guest. He bowed slightly and said,
“Brother, you should have told me earlier that you were
coming! I would hardly dare to disturb you without hearing
from you first. Someone as important as you must surely be
very busy, unlike us idle fools who merely spend our time
strolling around and playing to our whims.”

Everyone was shocked silent.

‘Qi’ means to initiate, while ‘rong’ means glory or honor.

Taken together, his name could be understood as
"embarking on the road to glory"
Chapter 104: Demon King
Duanmu Huanghun’s sharp gaze swept across the entire hall
as he nonchalantly walked towards the seat of honor.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Yu Ziyi who was sitting on

that seat. The Yu family was an illustrious family as well, and its
prominence was such that even Wu Qirong had to curry favor
with Yu Ziyi.

The Yu family had produced three grandmasters throughout

its 800-year family history—an average of one every two
hundred years. What was more impressive was that the three of
them had imparted three entirely different absolute arts to the
family.

Outsiders were simply unable to imagine just how vast the

knowledge left behind by three grandmasters was.

The Yu family had its roots firmly planted in the Avalon of

Five Elements; all of its successive heads of the family were
extraordinary individuals. Most of the top-tier influential
families of today had been involved in the founding of the
Avalon of Five Elements. The Yu family was one of those
handful of families who managed to sustain their power till
today.

Yu Ziyi was young, but he was ranked high in the Yu family’s

hierarchy. He was recognized as being immensely gifted and
was slated as a possible candidate for becoming the Yu family’s
fourth grandmaster.

Wu Qirong had spent a lot of effort to curry favor with Yu

Ziyi.

Several guests were smiling grimly, unsure of what was about

to happen. The Yu family was renowned throughout the Avalon
of Five Elements—just who was this new guest who dared to try
something like that? Yu Ziyi wasn’t exactly known for being
amiable or modest either.

He gave off an air of aloofness and arrogance, and his face was
cold—he hadn’t so much as smiled since the meal started. Those
who were familiar with Yu Ziyi knew that he was definitely
someone who wouldn’t hesitate to fight over the slightest
disagreements.

The other party seemed to be someone with a background too.

With two tigers in the cage, there was bound to be a good show.
 Yu Ziyi pushed his chair back and stood up, his face
expressionless.

The guests had become agitated, but they all tactfully

remained silent. Yu Ziyi had a profound knowledge of his
family’s teachings but rarely demonstrated these skills in front
of others. The few instances where they had seen bits of his
skills had left them feeling bewildered.

The atmosphere was electric as their eyes locked.

The tension at the dining table ran high as the guests

continued to sit in an uncomfortable silence.

Suddenly, Yu Ziyi bowed at the waist and affectionately

exclaimed, “Brother Huanghun!”

Everyone’s eyes opened wide, dumbstruck by what they had

just witnessed.

Yu Ziyi helped Duanmu Huanghun get seated, warmly saying,

“Please take a seat Brother Huanghun. If I knew you were
coming, I’d have gone to fetch you!”
 Hearing Yu Ziyu address the guest in such a humble manner
almost made the others spit out their food. Confused
expressions could be seen across the entire table. Was this really
the unfeeling and arrogant Yu Ziyu that they knew?

Duanmu Huanghun nodded towards Yu Ziyu. “Your base level

has increased quite a bit; it seems like you haven’t been wasting
all your time gallivanting.”

Feeling wronged, Yu Ziyu immediately whined, “Brother,

your words really hurt! I’ve been hard at work from dawn till
dusk, trying to catch up with Brother Huanghun. If not for
Little Wu I wouldn’t be out here today.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Wu Qirong hurriedly verified Yu Ziyu’s

words. “Young Master Yu has practically been in seclusion these
days.”

Duanmu Huanghun sat down in a dignified manner. When he

saw that everyone else was still standing up by the table, he said
indifferently, “Do sit down.”

Everyone sat down subconsciously as if they had just awoken

from a dream.
 Some of the more quick-witted guests had begun to deduce
Duanmu Huanghun’s identity. The name “Huanghun” was,
after all, rather unique. Being in the same social circle made it
all the easier, and soon, everyone knew who this godlike person
was. They now understood why Wu Qirong and Young Master
Yu would behave as such.

Duanmu Huanghun! The top talent in the Duanmu family!

The one who had just been accepted by Master Dai Gang as his
last disciple!

The Duanmu family was one of the oldest and most powerful
families of the Avalon of Five Elements. Members of such
families were far beyond the reach of folks lower down in the
hierarchy.

While they may not be adept at much, these rich and good-
for-nothing playboys were highly social and were privy to all
sorts of gossip. Upon learning of his identity, they quickly
recalled several fear-inducing rumors about Young Master
Duanmu.

Before he had entered the Induction Ground, Young Master

Duanmu was notorious for being utterly vicious.
 Yu Ziyi was always on edge around Duanmu Huanghun. The
Yu Family and the Duanmu Family were related by marriage
and were, as such, very familiar with each other.

Yu Ziyi had known Duanmu Huanghun since they were kids.

Although Duanmu Huanghun was younger than him, Yu Ziyi
was forced to address Duanmu Huanghun as his elder from the
moment they first met. However, Yu Ziyi had refused to do so,
thus beginning his days of being beaten up.

The only thing that made Yu Ziyi glad was the fact that he
wasn’t the only one had been beaten up. All the other members
of both families, who were of the same generation as them, were
beaten up by Duanmu Huanghun as well.

This went on to such an extent that those who were beaten up

eventually decided to join hands and attack Duanmu Huanghun.
However, despite uniting against a common enemy, they were
still beaten badly.

From then on, Duanmu Huanghun was unanimously

addressed as Brother Huanghun.

However, that was not all. After that fight, Duanmu

Huanghun began to show more interest in training, eventually
becoming madly obsessed with it.

Everyone was initially happy that they were no longer

oppressed by the Demon King’s presence. Little did they know
that the true nightmare was about to begin.

Duanmu Huanghun’s all-consuming obsession resulted in him

thrashing anyone whom he saw not training. Yu Ziyi was once
caught by Duanmu Huanghun while he was playing around.
Duanmu Huanghun had dragged him in front of his father after
giving him a good thrashing.

With a stern expression on his face, Duanmu Huanghun had

reported to Yu Ziyi’s father, “Uncle Yu, I cannot bear to see Ziyi
wasting his time like this, so I beat him up.”

Yu Ziyi’s father had stroked Duanmu Huanghun’s head gently

and had said, “You’re so sensible, Huanghun! You did the right
thing! Please help me give Ziyi a good thrashing if you catch him
slacking off again, alright?”

Following that exchange, Duanmu Huanghun had happily

returned to his training.
 Yu Ziyi was then severely beaten by his father behind closed
doors.

That scoundrel Duanmu Huanghun made use of his good

looks to cajole the young ladies of other households into keeping
watch for him. Oh gosh! Those nightmarish days were simply
unbearable. Duanmu Huanghun was adored by the elder
generation who saw him as an individual with a penchant for
leadership.

In the past, the good-for-nothing youths of the influential

families would give all sorts of excuses to avoid going to the
Induction Ground.

Yu Ziyi and the others of his generation were, however, very

eager to enter the Induction Ground as soon as possible, praying
that they could escape from the demon king as early as two
years ahead of schedule.

Their wishes were eventually realized when they finally

entered the Induction Ground. Yu Ziyi enjoyed a good two years
free from the oppressive reign of the demon king.

Just as he had left those dark days in the past, Duanmu

Huanghun had suddenly appeared before his eyes. The very
sight of him left Yu Ziyi’s face frozen in fear. Thankfully, he had
made some progress in the past two years and was able to
prevent his legs from trembling. Those horrifying memories
suddenly began to surface in his consciousness—he soon
realized that this was the year Duanmu Huanghun was going to
enter the Induction Ground.

The good old days were over!

All he wanted to do now was escape this place. Why did he

even attend this dinner? Duanmu Huanghun had become even
more powerful now, and coupled with his greater prestige, he
was bound to make life a living hell for Yu Ziyi in the years to
come.

Wu Qirong!

You’ve gotten me in trouble!

Chapter 105: Brother Huanghun’s Bet
In this circle of playboys, Brother Huanghun was widely
known as the Demon King.

In truth, however, Duanmu Huanghun did not actually have

much interaction with this bunch.

Even though, like them, he was not in the least bit frugal,
much of his life was dedicated to training. He was not interested
in the pursuit of earthly pleasures.

This group of rich playboys had only heard of him and had
never met him in person before.

Forget his reputation, who would dare to stand up to him if

even someone as powerful as Young Master Yu had to bow?

Duanmu Huanghun always felt at home amongst his

companions, doing as he pleased. He raised the glass of wine in
his hand and said flatly, “Today is my dear friend Little Wu’s
birthday. Let’s all drink one glass to congratulate him. Bottoms
up.”
 Wu Qirong trembled with excitement. To hear such words
from Brother Huanghun was a rare and precious gift! Although
he had known Brother Huanghun for many years, Wu Qirong
could only observe him from afar. The gap between them was so
great that they might as well have been from different worlds.
Wu Qirong had always thought of Brother Huanghun as
someone destined for greatness, someone who would someday
become a grandmaster or a division head.

He was clear of his station in life. And for just this sentence,
he would do anything for Brother Huanghun.

Holding back his emotions, Wu Qirong promptly stood up and

raised his glass for a toast. “There is no need for more words.
From today onwards, Brother Huanghun shall be my blood
brother!”

He lifted his head and swiftly drained the glass.

In the Avalon of Five Elements, everyone developed elemental

energy from a young age. What they were drinking was
elemental wine, and one cup was enough to give them a rush,
making them feel as if the elemental energy within their body
was ignited.
 Duanmu Huanghun too downed the drink without saying
another word.

He rarely drank and practiced restraint in many other aspects

of his life as well. Although he seldom met anyone who could
rival him, Duanmu Huanghun simply didn’t indulge in these
pleasures.

He took pride in his discipline.

The elemental energy within his body was set ablaze, the
warmth quickly spreading to his extremities. A red flush spread
appeared on his pale face, softening his features and causing
him to appear less aloof.

The others didn’t dare to have the slightest hesitation and

downed the drink in one gulp as well.

Duanmu Huanghun tugged at his collar and squinted his eyes

as he enjoyed the feeling granted by the wine. The flames had
spread throughout his entire being, consuming even the fog in
his mind.
 However, the grievances that he was nursing in his heart
made him want to erupt even more violently.

Duanmu Huanghun managed to restrain himself—he did not

forget the main reason for his visit. He wasn’t some weakling
who needed to rely on alcohol to numb himself. He was going to
defeat that detestable bastard through direct means.

Yes, he was going adopt the most effective, convincing

method available, and that was to wallop that damned Ai Hui
until he begged for mercy!

After drinking the wine, the guests had become slightly more
restless. Duanmu Huanghun’s terrifying, murderous intent
soon pervaded the entire dining table, sending chills down their
spines as they became silent.

Yu Ziyi shivered the most.

This was just too familiar!

He was all too familiar with this atmosphere. The faint

memories of his past began to surface like a school of hungry
fish. This was the atmosphere that would arise whenever
Brother Huanghun wanted to deal with someone.

Damn it! Why am I so unlucky? Why am I here on one of his

bad days?

Yu Ziyi was so nervous that he was on the verge of bursting

into tears.

“I came here today to get some ideas from you guys.”

Duanmu Huanghun’s words gave Yu Ziyi a big shock.

Gathering ideas from others? He could not help but glance at
Duanmu Huanghun. This didn’t seem like Brother Huanghun’s
usual style; he was always a lone wolf. Since when did he need
others’ help in coming up with ideas?

Sadly, they couldn’t tell if Brother Huanghun was happy or

angry.

Nobody dared to make a sound.

 Brother Huanghun may have asked for opinions, but did you
really think that you have the right to speak up? Don’t be so
naive!

Duanmu Huanghun was very familiar with such situations

and knew that nobody would dare to speak if he didn’t clarify
himself further. Getting straight to the point, he announced,
“I’m here to get everyone to help me think of ways to earn
money!”

What?

Everyone stared in disbelief, wondering if their ears were

playing tricks on them.

The almighty and highly-regarded Duanmu Huanghun, the

eldest son of the illustrious Duanmu family, was actually asking
them for advice on how to earn money?

Big Brother, this joke isn’t funny at all…

Even Yu Ziyi’s eyes grew wide open in shock as he stared at

Duanmu Huanghun—it was as if he had just seen a ghost.
 Wu Qirong muttered weakly, “Brother, your matters are
certainly more pressing! Here are my savings of two million
yuan, Brother…”

Everyone else immediately followed suit, disregarding their

heartache, as they offered whatever they had in a show of
loyalty. Yu Ziyi, not wanting to fall behind the rest, put on a
brave front and offered, “I have five million yuan, Brother
Huanghun can have it all!”

Yu Ziyi was crying inside, lamenting the loss of every last cent
of his wealth. He did not dare to underreport how much he had;
he was afraid that Duanmu Huanghun would easily find out
that he was lying through his network of infatuated women in
the Yu family. If it came to that, Yu Ziyi would probably end up
being skinned alive, if not killed.

Alright, losing five million might be a bit heart-wrenching,

but at least it wasn't a complete waste. Besides, Yu Ziyi knew
that Brother Huanghun was a prideful person and wouldn’t
simply accept handouts.

Frankly speaking, Yu Ziyi had been astonished when Brother

Huanghun had started talking about money.
 “I thank you all for your goodwill,” Duanmu Huanghun said
as he shook his head. “But I’m not looking to borrow money.
What I want is to earn money. Okay, let me phrase it in another
way—can all of you help me think of ways to make five hundred
million yuan?”

Everyone’s eyes grew even wider.

This time, however, nobody made any noise.

The people present had some money on them, ranging from a

couple of hundred thousands to a million yuan. Yu Ziyi’s five
million was already exceedingly rare.

But five hundred million yuan?

This was not a quantifiable concept.

Yu Ziyi’s allowance of five million was probably already the

highest. Although the influential families could easily afford to
spend five hundred million worth of resources on their youths,
they would most certainly not casually give any one of them
control of so much.
 Yu Ziyi cautiously asked, “Brother Huanghun, did something
happen?”

“What happened?” Duanmu Huanghun said as he turned to

face Yu Ziyi.

Yu Ziyi nervously replied, “I was intimidated by that fi-five

hun-hundred million…”

“Oh, I made a bet with someone to see who could earn five
hundred million first,” Duanmu Huanghun said calmly.
Everyone else heaved a sigh of relief.

Making a bet was a common practice in this circle, and among

them, all manners of bets were possible! Five hundred million
may sound like an exorbitant amount, but considering Brother
Huanghun’s status, how could any of his bets be of the same
level as theirs?

Only a bet of five hundred million yuan was worthy of

someone like Brother Huanghun!

Seeing everyone rack their brains, Duanmu Huanghun’s face

lit up with satisfaction.

“I spend most of my time training, and as such, I know next to

nothing about businesses. I have thus taken the liberty of
coming over to consult with you guys. I know that you all know
more than I do and that you have more connections and
methods as well. Regardless of who comes up with it, I will
definitely return the favor.”

Duanmu Huanghun’s gaze swept across the table. However,

his voice suddenly became much deeper, and it acquired a
murderous intent.

“If no one can come up with a good idea, then none of you will
leave today!”
Chapter 106: Scraps
As Mingxiu strolled towards the embroidery workshop, she
couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Brother Li Wei’s
clumsy appearance from earlier. Every few days or so Brother Li
Wei would bring some wild animals. In the past, he had brought
them over alive, but now they were all roasted and marinated
with high-grade honey. Sometimes, he would even bring
dipping sauce, and Mingxiu couldn’t help but always eat a lot.

Really! How could he offer meat to a girl every time? What if I

get fat?

But each time she saw Brother Li Wei’s bewildered expression,

she couldn’t help but eat her fill. Plus, the food tasted great.
There was softness within Brother Li Wei’s tough appearance;
he was a simple man, and chatting with him had soon become
the happiest part of her day.

Brother Li Wei would talk about the front line, battles with
dire beasts, and the kinds of strange plants that lived within the
Wilderness. And on the other hand, she would talk to him about
the workshop and her embarrassing childhood stories, making
him laugh out loud each time. She, too, would convulse with
laughter upon hearing the stories.
 She was quite frustrated. She would usually appear to be
gentle and quiet, so why did she reveal her true self in front of
Brother Li Wei?

They shared many little secrets. For example, only the two of
them knew that Duanmu Huanghun was the mysterious naked
man. The only thing she couldn’t understand was why
Huanghun had addressed himself as Bangwan?

Thinking about how Bangwan had fallen into such a pitiable

state because of her chase made her subconsciously stick out her
tongue. Brother Li Wei had said that Bangwan was definitely
being mischievous and had proceeded to tell her about the many
bad things he had done when he was in school, which made
Mingxiu stare at him with wide eyes.

Mingxiu then talked about the bad things she had done in
school as well, stunning Brother Li Wei completely. His
expression had made her feel a little proud.

Time flew by when they were together.

As she entered the workshop, she regained focus and went

into work mode. She had been assisting her master by being in
charge of the workshop for a long time now, and practically
managed all work-related matters, whether big or small.
Mingxiu always concentrated at work—if one became distracted
while embroidering, it was incredibly easy to make a mistake.

Although her master frequently praised her talent, Mingxiu

felt she was only just a little more meticulous and focused.

Speaking of talent, Ai Hui was the real deal. Even Brother Li

Wei complimented him non-stop and tried so hard to pull him
into the Infantry Division.

“See, there’s fog now. It’s starting again!”

“How hard-working! Is he a sand puppet? He doesn’t seem to

get tired.”

The shocked voices of the embroidery ladies could be heard

throughout the workshop, and Mingxiu knew that they were
referring to Ai Hui. She diverted her gaze towards the
workroom. Mist rose against the window like a dire beast that
had just woken up from a deep slumber and started spitting fog.
 Ai Hui had commenced his training for the day.

Mingxiu was moved. Her junior’s natural talent was already

shocking, yet his diligent attitude far exceeded hers as well. She
was in complete admiration.

Other than occasionally visiting the training hall, Ai Hui

devoted all his time to practicing his embroidery. Since eating
rice wasted too much time, he had previously brought heaps of
dried food into the workroom.

Ai Hui had a sand puppet with amazing culinary skills who

specialized in elemental food. The dried food was exquisitely
made and contained a pretty good amount of elemental energy.

Mingxiu was aware that in the Cultivation Era, there was a

group of cultivators who were known as “bitterness cultivators”
as their training was always tedious and tough. From what she
observed, if Ai Hui had been in the Cultivation Era, he most
definitely would have been a “bitterness cultivator.”

Eating in the workroom, sleeping in the workroom, training

right after waking up, eating when hungry, sleeping when tired
—the stinky herbal medicinal smell that she considered
unpleasant was like a sweet syrup to Ai Hui. Before he had
appeared, she had never known how arduous training could be.

Within a short period of time, Ai Hui had become the

embroidery ladies’ idol. Actions always spoke louder than
words; although he never engaged in much conversation with
the girls, his actions had already convinced all of them.

Such perverse perseverance was always highly revered.

In the beginning, Mingxiu had been a little worried that Ai

Hui’s health would be damaged. She had some level of medical
expertise because of her brother, and with that knowledge, she
checked on Ai Hui’s body regularly. However, she had found
that he was very healthy, and what she was worried about did
not happen.

After a few observations, she realized that Ai Hui had an

excellent understanding of his own body’s condition. He would
always rest just before reaching his limits, never overexerting
himself.

Mingxiu was greatly shocked. She didn’t know how Ai Hui

had done it, but she nevertheless set her worries aside.
 What she didn’t understand, however, was that recently, the
Twilight Silk Ai Hui had been churning out had become shorter
and shorter. The recent batches of silk were only a meter long.
If it had not been for the fact that each batch’s silks were
uniform in length, she would’ve suspected that something went
wrong with his training. It seemed more like he was
experimenting.

Previously, the money-grubbing look he had on his face after

producing a silk that was over ten meters long had greatly
irritated Master.

Yet, he had no such look when he was training, and it was

apparent that he didn’t see the Twilight Silk as money.

Scraps weren’t worth much yet his silk steadily grew shorter
and shorter. He was losing a lot of money each day. When she
thought about how his heart must be aching, she wanted to
laugh.

But, while the silks were getting shorter, the quantity was
increasing. He had actually managed to use up two Twilight
Cocoons in a single day.
 The accumulated pile of Twilight Silk that he had pulled out
was impressive. In order to prevent wastage, the workshop had
been using the silk as sewing thread. Although it was quite a
pity to use such a quality material as thread, the Twilight Silk
was indeed tough.

Her junior was in trouble, and Mingxiu couldn’t help but feel
a bit of schadenfreude.

Ever since Master felt that Ai Hui wasn't passionate about

embroidery, her whole countenance had changed—no, she
mustn't say that about Master—it was her style of teaching that
changed.

All the materials used were recorded and accounted for, and
Mingxiu saw the amount Ai Hui owed increase non-stop. At this
point, he was going to have to sell himself to the workshop.

Even Master couldn’t do anything about it, but she continued

keeping track of the material usage records, not overcharging a
single cent.

Mingxiu helped Ai Hui sell a batch of Twilight Silk, and while

it wasn’t worth much, it was something. A pity such short
lengths were worthless. She sold over a hundred pieces at five
yuan each.

“Miss Mingxiu!”

Mingxiu snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing her name

being called. When she saw that it was the frequent visitor,
Manager Li, a warm smile appeared on her face as she greeted,
“Manager Li, long time no see. How’s business nowadays?”

Manager Li was about forty years old and was a sharp-witted

man. He hurriedly responded, “Thanks to you, it’s been okay. I
have come to buy a batch of Twilight Silk scraps.”

Mingxiu was slightly taken aback. “You’ve finished using the

hundred pieces from before?”

“Yes, a new order came in coincidentally.” Manager Li

maintained a harmonious smile and continued, “I am thinking
of purchasing more this time but am not sure if the shop still
has it?”

Mingxiu nodded. “How many would you like?”

 “Give me whatever you have.” Manager Li added quickly,
“The consumption rate is high and fast. Do you have stock?”

Mingxiu smiled. “Let me check.”

Manager Li said hastily, “Thanks for your trouble.”

However, Mingxiu’s smile disappeared the moment she

turned around. She had a pensive look on her face as she strode
over the doorstep to enter the hall. She immediately gave an
order to the servant girl beside her, “Take a few pieces of
Twilight Silk that Junior has pulled. No, I’ll take it myself.
Where is the pile?”
Chapter 107: The Usage of Twilight Silk
Mingxiu squatted and started to study the piles of Twilight
Silk.

The Twilight Silk that Ai Hui extracted every day was put
aside from the others’. At first, there wasn’t much, but days
later the amount began to increase sharply—especially in the
past two days. Ai Hui could use up two cocoons a day, and the
amount of silk extracted from two cocoons was staggering.

Mingxiu hadn’t noticed anything before, but now, as she

looked at the piles of silk, she was greatly surprised.

Two cocoons per day. How could he be so fast? How on earth

did he do it?

She hadn’t thought about it very carefully before, and it was

only now that she realized that this was unbelievable. It meant
that Ai Hui’s speed of extracting silk was extremely quick—only
in this way could he consume two cocoons a day.

Maybe he was silkworm-attributed?

 Even the Twilight Silkworm couldn’t produce silk as fast as
him.

Yet Mingxiu soon noticed something amiss. The color of each

pile of silk was slightly different—the longer the time gap was,
the more evident the difference in color, and vice versa. The
strands of silk produced within the past three consecutive days
were almost of the same color—the color difference was
practically unnoticeable to the naked eyes.

She was right! Ai Hui was doing some kind of experiment.

The difference in color of the strands of silk in front of her

verified her assumption.

Mingxiu picked up a strand of silk and carefully inspected it.

The shop manager’s return had made her a bit confused.
Manager Li was a shrewd person who was always careful and
strict with his daily budget and would never buy something
unnecessary. This was the first time that Mingxiu had seen him
buy up everything without hesitation.

Unless… unless he believed he was on the advantageous side

of the deal.
 Mingxiu’s mind raced. The Twilight Silk was not widely used,
and also, since it was very thin, the requirement for its length
was high. Therefore, these short strands of silk were hardly of
any use.

Any good embroidery worker had to be very familiar with

embroidery materials because the materials used in embroidery
were critical. Any difference in materials would change the
quality of the fabrics.

Mingxiu hadn’t paid particular attention to these strands of

silk before. Now, after scrutinizing the silk carefully, she soon
became surprised by what she found.

Ai Hui had no idea that Mingxiu was examining the silk he

had extracted. He was totally engaged in training. The change
he was going through, in regards to his training, had been much
more apparent.

At the very beginning, he had controlled elemental energy

with the slowest speed to extract the silk, as instructed by Wang
Shouchuan and Han Yuqin.

But after continuously training, he began to gain experience,

and he soon made new discoveries.

During his discussions with his master, Ai Hui realized that

although Master was equipped with enough theoretical
knowledge, he hardly had any hands-on experience. When it
came to training, especially to the details, his lack of experience
would be exposed.

Moreover, Ai Hui’s case was unique. Wang Shouchuan had

never met someone like him before.

This was a common problem for all teachers; while they could
explain their theories clearly, they seldom talked about the
details.

Ai Hui didn’t have much training experience either, but he

was used to learning through trial and error. After fully
understanding the theories through several rounds of
discussion with his master, Ai Hui had obtained a vague idea of
his physical condition. One interesting thing he discovered was
that the feeling he got—when he passed his elemental energy
through his hand palaces—wasn’t necessarily intensified along
with the slowing down of his elemental energy control.
 As he trained, he tried to change the speed of elemental
energy to compare the different levels of stimulation to his hand
palaces.

That was how he had found the optimal speed to best

stimulate his hand palaces.

And this optimal speed was much faster than his lowest speed.

Now, Ai Hui had become very familiar with extracting silk.

His elemental energy was like a sword, and when it was spirally
infused into the silk at optimal speed, the silk would remain
unbroken.

However, when he had just begun to believe that he could

extract ten meters of silk per day, reality gave him a severe
blow.

At the optimal speed, Ai Hui could extract silk much faster.

But when his elemental energy passed through his hand palaces,
the stimulation he would feel was so strong that his hand
palaces would quiver and break off the silk. That was why the
silk Ai Hui extracted was only one meter long.
 That was… a lot of money!

Weeping inside his heart, Ai Hui continued his training.

He consoled himself that it was fine. He could always earn

more money in the future.

Although the loss was huge, he was glad that the efficiency of
his training had been largely increased.

While the optimal speed was much more than before, it was
still less than the running speed of elemental energy during
fighting. Therefore, it was not yet too heavy a burden for him.

This meant he could raise the density and duration of his

training, and in this way, Ai Hui progressed by leaps and
bounds.

He could clearly feel the existence of his hand palaces. When

elemental energy ran through his palms, apart from little
tremors, he could also feel a slight heat in his hand palaces.
 Nothing encouraged him more than this.

Nothing could cheer him more than the tangible feeling of his
own progress.

And today, Ai Hui could feel that something was different

about his hand palaces as soon as he started training. When the
elemental energy ran through his palms, it was as hot as a
soldering iron, and they shivered much more fiercely than
usual.

Therefore, Ai Hui was highly vigilant. He strongly felt that

there would be breakthrough today.

But this did not disturb his state of mind, and he continued to
unhurriedly extract the silk as usual.

The breakthrough would be naturally achieved when all the

conditions were ripe.

Hidden in the fog, his eyes were as calm as water.

 Seeing Mingxiu return, Manager Li cracked a wry smile. He
knew he had given himself away. He used to think that Mingxiu
was gentle and graceful, but he never knew that she was so
smart, too.

Mingxiu smiled back at him.

Manager Li cupped his hands and smiled bitterly. “Nothing

can escape your eyes.”

He felt a bit upset. He had intended to gain enormous benefits,

but this goal now seemed very difficult to achieve.

“I’m flattered.” The smile on Mingxiu’s face disappeared, but

her voice was still gentle. Her expression became serious as she
said, “The Jade Embroidery Workshop only focuses on
embroidery and is not interested in other businesses. You are
really talented if you can put this material into use. It’s just that
this Twilight Silk was made by Ai Hui. I’m his senior, and I
cannot just stand by and watch you take advantage of him. I
think you would also prefer cooperation rather than a one-time
deal. If we can cooperate, you will have a stable supply of
materials, and we can both earn more. Don’t you agree?”
 Manager Li was filled with admiration. “You are indeed as
generous as I expected, Mingxiu. I really appreciate it. Your
junior is skilled enough to produce such Twilight Silk. It is as
tough as steel wire and is also very sharp. If infused with
elemental energy, it can be used to cut through stones. I soaked
a piece of ebony vine as thick as a thumb in oil until it became
soft, and I made an arrow together with Twilight Silk and gold
wire grass. With this arrow, I can pierce a three-inch-thick plate
from five hundred steps away.”

He told everything about the method and usage of the silk to

Mingxiu to show his sincerity. Anyway, since she had already
noticed the peculiarity of this Twilight Silk, it wouldn’t be long
before she found out the usage herself.

Mingxiu’s beautiful eyes lit up. She of course knew what this
meant. “How much is one arrow?”

“I made ten arrows with one hundred pieces of Twilight Silk,

and I sold them all to a customer I’m familiar with at the price
of thirty thousand yuan each,” Manager Li said proudly.

Mingxiu nodded. “If so, I will decide on behalf of Ai Hui to

provide the Twilight Silk to you. In return, you will give him
thirty percent of your profits. What do you think?”
 Manager Li was slightly surprised. “Really?”

Of all the materials, the most important one was the Twilight
Silk. He had been prepared for Mingxiu to ask for fifty percent
of the profits—thirty percent was something he would never
have expected.

Mingxiu smiled like a spring breeze, and she was about to say
something when she suddenly heard a loud, thundering sound.

The ground trembled.

Mingxiu’s expression changed. She had no time to finish her

words before she hurriedly rushed towards the workshop.

Junior Ai Hui!
Chapter 108: New Twilight Silk
The colorful smog rose into the sky like a ferocious-looking
poisonous serpent with bared fangs.

The workshop had already been razed to the ground. The

ashes and smog floating around were indicators to how violent
the explosion was.

Ai Hui, with bandages all over his body, was climbing out of
the ruins. Although he was blackened by smoke and fire and
looked incredibly awkward, he wasn’t wounded. Seeing that Ai
Hui was fine, Mingxiu sighed with relief.

At that moment Han Yuqin had also heard the loud noise and
rushed out. When she saw that Ai Hui was okay, the concern in
her eyes disappeared. But the next second a hint of complacency
flashed in her eyes, and she sneered at Ai Hui. “Now even your
master can’t save you, little Ai Hui. Do you know how much this
workshop is worth? I spent as much as eight million on it, and
I’m still keeping the bill. It seems that you will have to work for
me for many years, little Ai Hui.”

Mingxiu hesitated for a while, but then she interrupted,

“Master.”
 “Oh, Mingxiu, you are here too.” Han Yuqin was glad to see
Mingxiu. “You see, Ai Hui just destroyed the workshop.
Remember to give him the bill. Don’t forget to take into
consideration the materials he consumed during his daily
training. He cannot leave before he pays off his bill. Ai Hui, you
can learn the double-flow embroidery method further from
Senior Mingxiu.”

“Er, Master…” Mingxiu braced herself and said, “I think Ai

Hui can pay it off.”

Han Yuqin was surprised. “How?”

Mingxiu showed a strand of the Twilight Silk that Ai Hui had

recently produced. “Please have a look, Master.”

“So short? Ai Hui seems to have regressed.” Han Yuqin

frowned, but the moment she touched the Twilight Silk, her
eyes widened. “No, wait. Why is the Twilight Silk like this?”

The hair-thin strand of Twilight Silk was as hard and tough as

a steel wire. As an Embroidery Master, Han Yuqin was far more
sensitive to materials compared to Mingxiu.
 She infused a strand of elemental energy into it, and a flash of
silvery light appeared on the silk. She could feel a sharp aura
rushing to her eyebrows.

“Why is it like this?” Han Yuqin murmured to herself. She

had seen and used countless strands of Twilight Silk but had
never seen anything like this.

By this time, Ai Hui just managed to carry himself out of the

ruins. He looked really miserable. Except for the bandages,
which were still white, he was either covered with ashes or
blackened by smoke.

“What…”

Ai Hui grimaced in pain as he walked towards them. Although

he wasn’t injured, he had been hit by a large pot that had
dropped on top of him, and he was currently feeling pain all
over his body.

Han Yuqin suddenly raised her head. “How did you do it?”

Ai Hui was totally confused.

 Mingxiu explained, “Ai Hui, Master is asking you how you had
managed to change the nature of the Twilight Silk.”

“I changed the nature of the Twilight Silk?” Ai Hui seemed to

be at a loss. “What nature did I change?”

Looking at his expression, Han Yuqin knew he that he hadn’t

done it on purpose, so she changed her question and asked Ai
Hui how he had circulated his elemental energy. Since she was
very experienced, she soon figured it out. Ai Hui's metal
elemental energy was pure and sharp. When it was spirally
infused into the Twilight Silk, it caused the silk to be further
sharpened. Besides, Ai Hui had increased his speed of infusion,
which had made the silk more solid. She was greatly surprised
that the Twilight Silk had such a property.

She couldn’t help but glance at Ai Hui. Old Wang’s disciple

was indeed good at giving pleasant surprises.

Throughout the years since its discovery, Twilight Silk had

enjoyed a rich history of usage. The existing types of Twilight
Silk had all been discovered long ago, and it now seemed that a
new member would join them.
 Although the Avalon of Five Elements had a short history and
the development of elemental energy had yet to encounter a
bottleneck with new discoveries being made every day, it was
still an extraordinary achievement for a student of the
Induction Ground.

Han Yuqin was much more experienced when it came to

materials. At first glance, she could discern the value of this new
type of Twilight Silk.

The people of the Avalon of Five Elements were infatuated

with new materials. A brand-new material or species usually
represented an astonishing fortune, and anyone who could
cultivate extraordinary plants like the mirage bean pods would
definitely make a great fortune overnight.

That was why so many wood elementalists were keen on

cultivating new species.

When she realized her hope had been misplaced, Han Yuqin’s
mood turned sour. She glared at Ai Hui angrily and stomped
away.

“Why is she…” Ai Hui was at a loss as he turned to Mingxiu.

 Mingxiu knew what her master was thinking, but she couldn’t
tell Ai Hui. Right at this moment, however, she noticed
Manager Li looking towards them, so she called him over.
“Would you please come here, Manager Li?”

Manager Li had already approached long ago, but he didn’t

dare come closer because of Master Han Yuqin. He had been
worried about losing the deal. But when Mingxiu called him, he
quickly replied, “Coming!” and immediately ran to them.

Mingxiu introduced Ai Hui to Manager Li. “This is my junior,

Ai Hui. Ai Hui, this is Manager Li.”

Ai Hui was confused, but he still greeted Manager Li.

Mingxiu explained, “Manager Li found an excellent use for

your Twilight Silk: it can be used to make arrows. From now on,
you can provide Twilight Silk to Manager Li with a quality
similar to that of the silk you've made recently. Manager Li will
give thirty percent of his profits to you. What do you think, Ai
Hui?”

Manager Li was aware that this youth was the producer of the
silk. Although he looked very young, as the junior of Mingxiu,
he was most certainly not an ordinary person. Manager Li
ardently watched Ai Hui. Even though he had to surrender
thirty percent of the profits, he could get a stable supply in
return. This would allow him to produce arrows continuously.
The arrows were consumables, and that would be a lot of
money.

“Twilight Silk?” Ai Hui shook his head. “I probably won’t

extract Twilight Silk anymore.”

Manager Li’s face turned pale.

Mingxiu was also surprised. “Why?”

Ai Hui smiled proudly and raised his hands.

Mingxiu looked at one of his hands, and a moment later, she

became completely amazed. “You have activated your hand
palace?”

“Haha! Yes!” Ai Hui was thrilled.

 “Which one? Left or right?” Mingxiu asked. She had calmed
down from her initial shock. Compared to the Twilight Silk and
the speed at which he had learned the [Twin Weaving
Technique], it wasn’t really much of a surprise that he had
activated his hand palace. In her eyes, this was easy for a genius
like Ai Hui. She herself had activated her hand palaces such a
long time ago that she didn’t even remember what happened
properly.

Manager Li was anxious.

Why are you so excited about activating the hand palaces?

Why not talk about our business first?

Ai Hui chuckled. “It is for both hands! And at the same time!”

“Good, good,” Mingxiu said admiringly, but then she abruptly

changed the topic. “Are you really not considering the business?
It’s really generous. Very few people can ignore such a large
amount of money. It looks like you aren’t an ordinary person
indeed.”

On hearing Mingxiu’s words, Ai Hui’s ears pricked up. “How

much?”
Chapter 109: Bunny Hair Arrows
It must be a large sum of money; otherwise, Mingxiu wouldn’t
have bothered to talk about it. Ai Hui was now as poor as a
church mouse. He didn’t even remember how much money he
owed, and even worse, daily consumables such as Twilight
Cocoons, herbs, materials, and manpower were driving up his
costs every day.

He strongly felt that training was akin to burning money.

Why didn’t he feel so before? Well…that was probably

because his previous so-called training was far from the
standard.

If so, then life was hard for elementalists, too. Hmmm…

maybe not. Not everyone was as poor as him.

If one had too many debts, then they would no longer worry
about it. Ai Hui didn’t bother to think about his debts further—
rather, he didn’t dare think about it.

The reason why he had just refused Mingxiu’s proposal was

that he wanted to study his hand palaces further. Ai Hui was
still excited about the fact that both his hand palaces were
activated at the same time, and he didn’t want to waste time
extracting more Twilight Silk. Money? No one cared about
money!

Except himself!

Ai Hui’s eyes were wide; they were twinkling like stars in the
sky.

Mingxiu tittered. Ai Hui’s facial expression was pretty much

the same as that of a money-grubber. Mingxiu didn’t know that
Ai Hui was so greedy for money—she only realized it now. Who
did he learn it from?

It was a pity that he was Uncle’s disciple—Uncle really was

poor, but he always held himself aloof. He could accept Master’s
help with tiny issues, but he would become unhappy if she
wanted to spend more money for him.

For so many years, Master had always wanted to financially

sponsor Uncle’s research, but Uncle never agreed. He would
rather do it himself without extra help in his small courtyard
filled with waste products.
 Uncle was always stubborn, and Master couldn’t do anything
but give up.

This was his only shortcoming— he would never give in to

money, which was respectable but exasperating.

In this aspect, Ai Hui was entirely different. He was always

keen for money, and his eyes would light up every time he heard
the word “money.” Master had complained several times about
this to Mingxiu, saying that Ai Hui was wasting his talent and
that he was vulgar without any proper plans for his future. And
next, she would complain about Uncle, saying he was terrible at
teaching his own disciple.

But Mingxiu thought it was all right. Uncle was unyielding

like a steel plate; however, a steel plate could be broken. On the
other hand, Ai Hui was persistent yet resilient, just like the
Twilight Silk he extracted. Every time Mingxiu saw his hard
work and thought about his experience, she would sincerely feel
admiration. At the same time, though, she couldn’t help but feel
protective towards him. She herself had nothing to worry about
since she was young—she had never experienced or even
imagined that kind of life.

“Each arrow is made of ten pieces of Twilight Silk and is sold

for thirty thousand yuan. You will provide Twilight Silk to
Manager Li, and in return, you get thirty percent of the profit.
Manager Li will provide the Twilight Cocoons and herbs.”
Mingxiu explained everything clearly and concisely.

Thirty thousand yuan for each arrow!

This was daylight robbery!

Ai Hui almost blurted out loud, but the next second, he

realized that part of the money would belong to him!

This was daylight robbery! But why not?

He bit his tongue and proceeded to ask the key question. “How
many arrows can you sell in one month?”

Manager Li thought for a while before saying, “The ten

arrows I made last time have already been sold out. I’m not
exactly sure how many arrows I can sell in one month, but since
it’s a consumable, I believe we can sell quite a lot although it’s
not cheap. If we look at the sales records of similar goods, after
the market opens up, I think we can sell three to five hundred
arrows every month.”

Ai Hui’s eyes widened with a glittering light. “Five hundred!

That is fifteen million yuan, and thirty percent is four million
five hundred thousand?”

Manager Li began to sweat. “Not that much. First, we have to

consider the cost, including the cost of cocoons, manpower,
materials, and the rent for the shop. At least twenty percent of
the price goes there. I think Mingxiu can figure this out too.” He
turned to Mingxiu. “You know I’m not lying.”

Mingxiu nodded as she knew that Manager Li was speaking

the truth.

“Next, in the beginning, we can hardly sell five hundred

arrows. Before the power of the arrow is proved, no one will buy
it on a large scale. I’ll reach out to my regular customers first,
and I estimate that dozens of arrows can be sold out. Once it’s
accepted by most people, the sales will increase. Earlier on, I
think at most we can sell thirty to fifty arrows within a month.”

Manager Li was conservative, which was something he had to

be. If he exaggerated the possible income but failed to reach the
target, then he would get himself into trouble, because the boy
in front of him would definitely not let him off easily.

From three or five hundred to thirty or fifty…the gap was big,

and the money he could earn was far less than he had imagined.

Ai Hui stared at him with dissatisfaction, but he still told

himself, “Anyway, it’s better than nothing.”

“Fifty arrows with a profit of twenty-four thousand for each.

Thirty percent is three hundred and sixty thousand yuan.”

Mingxiu told Ai Hui gently, “Don’t worry. There may not be

much profit in the beginning, but it’s a long-term business.
Besides, it doesn’t require much silk, so it won’t influence your
training. I think you can do it.”

“Three hundred and sixty thousand yuan is already a lot of

money to me,” Ai Hui said happily.

Yet Manager Li didn’t take him seriously. As the disciple of a

master, three hundred and sixty thousand could barely be
enough for his pocket money. He quickly replied, “As soon as we
open up the market, the sales will increase. By the way, we need
to give the material a new name so that no one will know it is
actually Twilight Silk.”

“That’s right.” Mingxiu nodded. “You can give it a name, Ai

Hui. It deserves a new name. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I
could never have related it to Twilight Silk.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve been making weapons for so many years, but
I’ve also never seen Twilight Silk like this,” Manager Li said.

Ai Hui didn’t refuse them. He thought for a while and said,

“Let’s call the silk ‘Snow Silver Bunny Hair’ and the arrow
‘Bunny Hair,’ shall we?”

Manager Li was a bit confused at first, but then after a minute,

he realized Ai Hui’s intention. He couldn’t help give him a
thumbs-up. “That’s smart.”

The name itself wasn’t that smart, but in this way, the
customers would think that it was made from the hair of some
kind of rabbit. As a result, no one would know that the snow-
white, silvery thread was actually Twilight Silk. When he
thought of those imitators who would start chasing all kinds of
rabbits to find the material, Manager Li couldn’t help but let out
a laugh.

This boy was really cunning!

Manager Li made a mental note to be careful and not irritate

this fellow. Although Ai Hui didn’t look the part, he was
actually very shrewd.

Even Mingxiu couldn’t help but say, “This name is cruel to

rabbits.”

Ai Hui chuckled. Neither of them had understood his real

intention. The word “bunny” sounded similar to “money.” Once
the arrows were sold and profits were earned, he would be a
man with money!

“But can bunny hair be this long?” Mingxiu asked curiously.

“You don’t know?” Ai Hui was surprised. “I’ve seen rabbits

with hair much longer than this in the Wilderness. They are
very fierce, and they can bite off a chunk from a tree trunk
that’s as thick as a bowl. They like to eat shrubs, leaves, and
meat, and their hair is also pretty much the same as Twilight
Silk—it’s snow-white with a silvery sheen, but it’s much
thicker, though.”

Looking at Ai Hui’s extremely low base level, Manager Li was

astonished when he heard that Ai Hui had been in the
Wilderness before. None of the disciples of the master seemed to
be normal...

The Wilderness…

Mingxiu remembered the various amazing details and weird

species of the Wilderness that Li Wei had told her about, and
she couldn’t help but be enchanted with this mysterious place.
Chapter 110: Mingxiu’s Concern
Although Ai Hui hadn’t provided more “bunny hair” yet,
Manager Li gave him a sum of money as a deposit without any
hesitation. He was acting so generous that Ai Hui started to feel
worried about whether he was shrewd enough to make money.

No profiteer, no money!

When she recognized the concern in Ai Hui’s tone, Mingxiu

couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Ai Hui, you are so…
realistic. But if you think he is stupid, then you can stop
worrying. He has been conducting business with our workshop
for many years, and he is a very shrewd businessman. The
reason why he is so generous is that we are taking a percentage
of profit that is less than what he expected.”

“Less than his expectation?” Ai Hui’s eyes widened. He

seemed to be prepared to rush out and get Manager Li back at
any moment.

Mingxiu gave him a glance. “Do you think I’d let you suffer
any loss?”
 Ai Hui looked embarrassed. “Of course not. I’m not an
ungrateful person! And I always really appreciate your help. I’m
sure this is good enough for me.”

In fact, Ai Hui was actually being sincere. Not even a single

word he said was against his true feelings. Mingxiu would
always help him as much as she could; sometimes, even Han
Yuqin didn’t know what she did. He was clearly aware of this.

If one had a sister, she should be like Mingxiu.

Even Master Han Yuqin, who always wore a fierce look, was
actually kind to him. She was only dissatisfied with Ai Hui just
because he couldn’t be fully engaged in embroidery. She kept
mentioning how much money he owed her, but she never
hesitated to give him the materials he needed for training. His
teacher was a good person, too—even if he was, admittedly,
sometimes unreliable and a bit pedantic. He was only good at
his theories and knew nothing about the real practice of
training. He wasn’t perfect at all.

But still, Ai Hui believed that Master was the best teacher, his
mistress was the best mistress, and Senior Mingxiu was the best
senior he could possibly have in the entire world. They cared
about him, they loved him, and they helped him in the best
ways they could think of.

He was not an ingrate!

Duanmu Huanghun, who was far away from them, sneezed

twice, oblivious to Ai Hui’s words.

Mingxiu could feel the sincerity in Ai Hui’s words. She smiled

and patiently explained, “You’ll definitely have a bright future,
Ai Hui. So, for you, this business is just the beginning. Of
course, I can ask for a higher percentage of profit, but that isn’t
necessary. Since you are only responsible for providing the
Twilight Silk, if you take away too much profit, Manager Li will
not be so enthusiastic. The production, sales, and channel
development all depend on him. After a period of time, there
will inevitably be conflicts between us. If so, he will either find
someone else to counterfeit the silk, or he will start another
business himself. But now, since you take only thirty percent of
the profit, which is acceptable to any independent business, he
won’t think he is working for you. Instead, he will regard it as
his own business. In this way, he will not fall out with our
workshop, and the business can go on for a long time.”

Ai Hui nodded. In terms of doing business, he was

undoubtedly inferior to Mingxiu, who had been assisting in
running the workshop for years.

“Although the proportion of profit we take is not large, your

income will accumulate and increase as the business grows.
Besides, you can spend more time on training. In the future, you
will feel the benefit that a steady income brings to your
training.”

Ai Hui was moved by Mingxiu’s patient explanation, and he

replied in earnest, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The unruliness and stubbornness in Ai Hui were gone.

Instead, right now, he was like a lion that had retracted its
sharp claws and teeth—he was as docile as a cat.

Ai Hui then left; Mingxiu didn’t ask him to stay. Every student
would be extremely excited when they activated a new palace
and anxious to try to open up the next one.

She glanced at the workshop, now in ruins, and was about to

find someone to clean it up when she suddenly thought of
something.
 She realized that she had ignored an important question: why
did the activation of Ai Hui’s new palaces lead to an explosion?

The activation of one’s palace would result in different

consequences depending on their physical condition, but
Mingxiu had never heard of anyone who opened up the new
palaces with an explosion.

Explosion…

“Explosion?” Li Wei was surprised to hear what Mingxiu had

told him, and he asked, “You mean both of his hand palaces
were activated at the same time, and the explosion happened in
this process, too?”

“Yes, the workshop was razed to the ground.” Mingxiu was a

bit worried. “Is there any problem in Ai Hui’s training
method?”

When it came to this question, Mingxiu thought for a while

before she finally decided to ask Li Wei for help. Master was
definitely accomplished in embroidery, but she was not very
good at basic training. On the other hand, although Uncle was
good at basic training, he only knew about the theory, and he
had no idea about how to deal with the accidents that occurred
during training.

Compared to them, Li Wei was much more experienced.

He was, indeed, experienced. He consoled Mingxiu, “Don’t

worry, Xiu. This is not a common phenomenon, but it’s not
unprecedented either.”

Mingxiu was relieved when she heard Li Wei. She was most
worried about whether the explosion during the activation of
both his hand palaces meant that the method of his training was
wrong.

Li Wei looked unconcerned as if this was normal, but inside

his heart, he was greatly shocked.

Generally, the higher the base level, the more fierce the
consequences would be when a breakthrough was achieved. For
some elementalists, their breakthroughs could lead to thunder
and lightning—maybe even storms and reversed tides.

The students of the Induction Ground seldom made a fierce

reaction when their palaces were activated because the
elemental energy within them was too scarce to cause any
abnormality.

But Ai Hui was different from others because he had the ball
of elemental energy which contained more elemental energy
than he could control. This was very likely to be the reason for
the occurrence of the abnormality.

Although Li Wei didn’t know the reason for the explosion, he

was more interested in what Ai Hui gained in return.

Li Wei had once heard that when these abnormalities

occurred when one moved to the next level, there was a
possibility that the elementalist would gain something unique.
However, this seemed to apply only to high-level elementalists,
instead of those who were still in basic training.

Ai Hui had only activated his hand palaces, but this had led to
an unexpected explosion. What did this mean to his hand
palaces?

Or was he overthinking? After all, this was a saying that

usually referred to high-level elementalists. He wasn’t sure
whether it would apply to students as well.

Li Wei mocked himself. He was almost sure that he was

thinking too much just now. But anyway, Ai Hui had potential
as he would always do things differently. This was what a
potential youngster should do!

Even when he ate noodles, he was different from others!

When he envisioned the scene of Ai Hui eating noodles, Li Wei

laughed and said, “If you want to know whether everything’s
fine, there’s a simple method.”

Mingxiu was immediately attracted to his words. “What

method?”

“Take him out and buy him noodles.” When he saw that
Mingxiu didn’t appear to believe him, Li Wei said, “Last time, in
the noodle house, I said I would buy him some noodles. He was
sitting opposite to me, and he stared at me sincerely and kept
saying ‘You're so nice, Li Wei.’ And at first, I was thinking,
‘Okay, this is a good boy.’ But then I was totally shocked when I
saw the bill. Do you know how many bowls we ate? Ten! That
means he ate nine bowls of noodles himself! That was when I
understood why he was so sincere. Yes, he was sincere because
the noodles were delicious. So, if you want to know if
everything is fine with him, take him to the noodle house. If he
cannot have more than five bowls of noodles, then there must
be something wrong…”

Mingxiu laughed out loud.

Chapter 111: Unique Hand Palaces
Just now, in the embroidery workshop, Ai Hui had been
totally immersed in the happiness that the money had brought
him. As a result, as soon as he went back to the training hall, he
bragged with Lou Lan for quite a while.

Lou Lan had been distraught these past few days since he had
just been separated from Master Shao, and Ai Hui had been so
engaged in training that had no time to think about Lou Lan.
Therefore, Ai Hui seriously bragged with Lou Lan for a whole
afternoon.

But Ai Hui soon realized that bragging for an afternoon was

much more tiring than training, and he decided to replace
"bragging with Lou Lan" with "training with Lou Lan."

Fortunately, he still had the elemental soup prepared by Lou

Lan—it was so delicious that Ai Hui nearly bit his own tongue.

Its delectable taste lessened the pain he was feeling for the one
hundred thousand yuan for its ingredients.

In the evening, Lou Lan went back to Master Shao's former

residence and busied himself in organizing the things that
Master Shao had left behind.

Lou Lan had said that he wanted Master Shao to return to a

tidy house in case he came back one day, and presently, he could
only think of this way to help Master Shao.

On hearing this, Ai Hui had become silent for a long time. He

had felt like telling Lou Lan that Master Shao would never
return, but as an afterthought, he felt that Lou Lan also
understood this. Lou Lan just desired to do something.

What if he were Lou Lan?

Chewing the grass in his mouth, Ai Hui stared at the sky for
ages, lost in thought. The taste of the grass slowly pervaded his
mouth, just like the sky that was gradually immersing into
darkness.

His mind wandered to the owner of the swordsman school in

the Old Territory.

How time flies!

 Are you fine in heaven, Boss? I am. And I hope you are as
happy as I am now. But if you are not...then find a way out
yourself.

Ai Hui laughed out loud, the laughter washing away all his
worries.

He picked himself up and began to study his hand palaces

passionately. Anything else was left behind for the moment.

He himself hadn’t expected to activate both his hand palaces

simultaneously.

The activation order of the eight palaces wasn’t fixed, but the
hand palaces were usually the first to be activated simply
because they were the easiest. However, the inheritance of the
unique skills of many influential families usually had a
particular requirement for the activation order. For example,
the skill [Eyebrow Heart Knife] required the sky palace to be
activated first, which was, in fact, the most difficult palace to
activate.

Therefore, there were very few successors of [Eyebrow Heart

Knife] in each generation, and its inheritance was faced with
many interruptions.

Except for the four palaces in the hands and feet, the
activation of the other four—the sky, gate, sea, and earth
palaces—was incredibly difficult.

However, whether one opened an easier or more difficult

palace first, the eight palaces were almost always activated
individually. As such, he was surprised by the simultaneous
activation of both his hand palaces, but the explosion during the
activation had further confused him.

Why did it explode?

The explosion had taken place very abruptly, almost in an

instant, and he himself didn’t know what happened either. He
hadn’t realized that his hand palaces were activated until he had
climbed out of the ruins and checked to see if he was injured.

Ai Hui’s gaze fell on his palms.

The Sword Rattan Gloves were already in pieces. Although the

explosion had been very powerful, he was safe and sound, but
he was clueless of the reason. Fortunately, the workshop was
isolated because of the unpleasant smell of the various herbs
used during extraction, and hence, although the whole
workshop was razed to the ground, nobody else was affected by
the explosion.

However, Ai Hui clearly remembered that the trigger of the

explosion was the sword embryo!

At that time, he had been infusing his elemental energy into

the Twilight Silk, and he remembered feeling an intense
sensation from his right hand palace. Ai Hui had thought that
the trembling of the right hand palace would break the Twilight
Silk like it had done many times before.

But unexpectedly, the sword embryo, which had always been

quiet and still, suddenly moved.

Yes. Ai Hui was sure that it wasn’t a figment his imagination.

The movement was so obvious—it was like a strong and sudden
heartbeat.

And then there was the explosion!

 It had occurred all of a sudden and had caught Ai Hui totally
off guard.

Everything had happened too fast for Ai Hui to react. All he

could remember was the movement of the sword embryo,
which he knew was the cause of the explosion. But as to how, he
didn’t know anything either.

Ai Hui felt a headache coming on.

When he had planted the embryo, he didn’t have the slightest

idea that it would cause so much trouble, moreover during
breakthroughs. This time, he was lucky enough to not be
injured in the explosion and somehow open his left hand palace,
albeit without warning.

The activation was a good thing, of course. If an explosion

could open his third palace, Ai Hui would choose the explosion
in a heartbeat.

But the instability of the sword embryo was a bit disturbing. It

was unknown when it would break out again. This time, the
result was all right, but who knew what it would bring next
time?
 Ai Hui was frustrated. If he could choose to remove the sword
embryo, he would do so without delay.

Compared to the sword embryo, the system of the five

residences and eight palaces was mature, and as long as he kept
working hard, he would definitely be able to make
achievements by following such a system.

But the sword embryo? God knows!

However, the sword embryo could not be removed. Actually,

he himself wasn’t quite sure how he had managed to plant the
sword embryo in the first place, much less remove it.

After thinking for quite a while, Ai Hui still couldn’t come up

with any good ideas.

On second thought, if it were not for the sword embryo, he

would have already died in the Wilderness, let alone train here
now.

Thus, Ai Hui became at ease again. If he was aware of all the

side effects of the sword embryo, would he still choose to plant
it? The answer was yes, because at that time, the only thing he
wanted to do was survive.

Yes, at least he was alive.

Alive was good.

Ai Hui mood brightened, and he began to carefully study his

hand palaces.

A silver ball appeared in his right palm.

Ai Hui was surprised at how small it was.

The silver ball, which was as small as a sesame seed, was, in

fact, his elemental energy. Ai Hui suddenly felt some
uncertainty about whether his hand palaces were actually
activated because he noticed that his hand palaces seemed to be
somewhat different from others’.

The activation of any of the five residences and eight palaces

had its own benefit. The fundamental function of the eight
palaces was to store elemental energy, and its capacity was
much larger than that of the natal residence.

Ai Hui had assumed that his activated hand palaces would

share the pressure on his natal residence by storing the
elemental energy mass, or at least a portion of the elemental
energy.

However, things developed differently and out of his

expectations.

When Ai Hui checked his left hand palace, he discovered that

there was a small silver ball in it, too.

But he soon uncovered something else.

The silver ball, which was smaller than a sesame seed, was not
motionless—it was spinning fast.

After thinking for a while, Ai Hui finally understood the

reason. The elemental energy mass in his natal residence had a
strong suction that could attract and absorb all the elemental
energy in his body. To prevent itself from being absorbed, the
silver ball had to spin fast to offset the suction.

For example, the elemental soup he had just consumed had

not yet been fully digested, but its elemental energy had already
been absorbed by the elemental energy mass in his natal
residence.

The silver balls in his hand palaces, however, were tiny in

size, but they contained the only elemental energy of his body
that had not been absorbed by the elemental energy mass in the
natal residence.

Now, after determining the question, Ai Hui thought of a

solution, which was to guide the elemental energy of the
elemental energy mass to his hand palaces.

Anyway, he still had to get a new pair of Sword Rattan Gloves.

When he looked at the fragmented Sword Rattan Gloves on

his hands, Ai Hui smiled bitterly. He had to ask Mistress for help
tomorrow.

He would be scolded again.

Chapter 112: Unification of the Average
Minds
The Hall of Nine Tones, Day One.

“Brother, we are talking about five hundred million yuan. It

will not be easy to earn. Even if we engage in dishonest practices
like collecting protection fees, it will still be impossible.
Actually, it would be a feat if we can collect even eight million
yuan.”

“Brother Huanghun, it would be difficult to earn at the

training halls as well. At present, the maximum cash reward for
a competition is five hundred thousand yuan. In order to get
five hundred million, you will have to win one thousand fights.
At three competitions a day, you will have to fight for a year.”

“Brother Huanghun, if I may suggest, I think that it’s possible

for us to resell military weapons as everyone would be able to do
it. However, it would be more feasible if we do it externally
rather than in the Induction Ground. If news of our activities
were to spread, then we will be suppressed.”

“Brother Huanghun, how about you prostitute yourself? No, I

am not saying you should sell your body, but instead, you can
sell pictures of yourself or something! You are the apple of many
girls’ eyes! Bro…Brother Huanghun! I am wrong! I am wrong!
Ahhh!”

……

Everyone was engaged in a lively discussion. However, it was

impossible for them to resolve the issue of an enormous amount
like five hundred million yuan. While some of them were
earnest in helping Duanmu Huanghun, the majority of them
just wished to free themselves from their obligation.

The Hall of Nine Tones was a unique place in the sense that it
did not make any concessions, no matter how reputable a
person was.

Sure enough, a worker came after a short while. “Dear

customers, we are going to close soon.”

Without a change in expression, Duanmu Huanghun took out

a dark gold card, passed it to the worker, and said indifferently,
“I need to borrow this courtyard for a few days.”
 The worker received a huge shock upon seeing the dark gold
card. He immediately broke into a small jog to report to the
main person in charge.

Wu Qirong had an ominous premonition. However, since

nobody had seen the dark gold card before, they were all
clueless to what it was. Everyone’s gaze turned to Yu Ziyi, but
he shook his head vaguely, implying that he, too, had never
seen it before.

Nevertheless, everyone felt that Brother Huanghun was

asking for too much. All of the courtyards in the Hall of Nine
Tones were always booked in advance. How was it possible to
just borrow it, let alone for a few days?

After a moment, the main manager hurriedly rushed in, and

with a humble and respectful expression, he said, “My
apologies. We were not aware that we have distinguished guests
at our premises. You want to use the Happiness Courtyard? No
problem! However, this courtyard may be slightly small. Would
you prefer to switch to a bigger courtyard? Our Do Courtyard is
larger.”

Both Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong’s jaws dropped. They were

dumbstruck.
 The Hall of Nine Tones had nine courtyards in total, which
were named after the first five notes of the pentatonic scale (Do,
Re, Mi, Fa, So) and the four types of humans emotions (Joy,
Anger, Sadness, Happiness).

The Do Courtyard was the best of the nine courtyards. It was

never opened for booking to the public. It was only used when
there were distinguished guests in the Hall of Nine Tones.

But the Hall of Nine Tones invited Brother Huanghun to the

Do Courtyard!

Everyone was flabbergasted!

The next instant, the young masters all started staring at

Brother Huanghun impatiently.

Quickly agree to it, Brother Huanghun! Let us experience the

legendary Do Courtyard! We’ll be able to brag to people in the
future with pride!

But they did not expect Duanmu Huanghun to shake his head
and bluntly say, “Thank you, but I shall pass. It is perfect here.”
 The group of playboys howled in grief.

“All right, as you wish, sir” the manager respectfully said. “If
you still have any orders, please pull this red string; it is
attached to a bell. We will rush over as fast as possible.”

Duanmu Huanghun nodded. “You do not need to have any

workers waiting on us. Have a break as per usual. Prepare some
rations for them.”

He then cast a meaningful glance at the rest of the young men.

“The night is long.”

The manager also looked at everyone, bowed, and respectfully

answered, “Yes.”

……

The next day.

Everyone was dispirited and listless. The Hall of Nine Tones

had not sent anyone over, and they only received some rations,
which were so dry that it was difficult to even put it in their
mouths. Yet Brother Huanghun was eating the rations leisurely
as if it was the best delicacy in the world. After he finished the
rations on hand, he said indifferently, “The sun is up, let’s
continue brainstorming.”

“Brother Huanghun, I have lessons today……”

“Skip them.”

……

“Brother Huanghun, I have to visit my father tonight. My

father is very strict……”

Duanmu Huanghun pulled the red string, ringing the bell.

Moments later, the manager, who had just received instructions
from Duanmu Huanghun, turned around and left the hall.

Two hours later, a square-faced middle-aged man followed

alongside the manager.
 “You little brat! If you dare spoil Master Duanmu's plans, I
will break your legs when we are back!”

……

“Ah ah ah, Brother Huanghun, I..I am not feeling well….”

Bang!

The sole of a foot could be seen on his face. His body became
rigid for a moment, before collapsing limply on the floor.

Duanmu Huanghun said expressionlessly, “This is called

feeling unwell.”

……

The third day.

Looking at the group of downcast playboys who surrounded

him, Duanmu Huanghun felt that he now truly understood the
meaning of the phrase “useless people.”

After thinking for three days and three nights, this bunch of
incompetent fools could not come up with even a single viable
idea.

Yu Ziyi, who was faint with hunger, saw that Brother

Huanghun’s expression was becoming more and more
displeased. He knew that this signified the imminent eruption
of the monster, so he said miserably, “Brother Huanghun, we
are talking about five hundred million yuan. Once the value hits
a hundred million, it becomes exceedingly difficult to procure.
The Induction Ground is a very small place. You would need to
be very capable in order to earn that five hundred million
yuan.”

Bang!

With one leg, Duanmu Huanghun kicked Yu Ziyi down on to

the floor. With a foot crushing Yu Ziyi’s chest and a cold,
indifferent face, he asked, “Are you saying I’m not capable
enough?”

Yu Ziyi trembled. He felt like slapping himself. How could he

say the wrong thing again?

“I’ve thought of something! I’ve thought of something!

Hahaha! I’ve thought of something! Brother Huanghun, I have
thought of something!”

Wu Qirong suddenly jumped up in excitement.

Everyone looked towards Wu Qirong. Tears filled their eyes as

they gazed at him full of hope.

After three consecutive days and nights, Wu Qirong appeared

tired and disheveled. However, at this moment, his eyes were
exceptionally bright. “It would be difficult to use conventional
methods to earn that five hundred million. Hence, we have to
do something unconventional. Brother Huanghun is a wood
elementalist. Have all of you forgotten what a wood
elementalist is good at?”

“Healing!”

“Runaways!”
 Bang!

A figure was thrown into the air.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face was expressionless as he withdrew

his leg.

It was true that wood elementalists did not like to be in the

battleground, and this was becoming increasingly common—
especially in recent years. In the Thirteenth Division, there
were two wood-attributed divisions—the Deathgrass Division
and the Truewood Division. Runaways weren’t prevalent in the
Truewood Division as their main focus was on treatment;
however, in the Deathgrass Division, there were many
situations of discontentment amongst the wood elementalists.
Although it was publicized as being due to the stringent
selection process, the younger generations of influential
families were clear of the truth.

However, the higher authorities of The Avalon of Five

Elements weren’t pleased.

Duanmu Huanghun looked at the slightly dazed Wu Qirong

and replied, “Continue with your idea.”
 Wu Qirong was jolted awake, and he hurriedly continued,
“Wood elementalists are experts in cultivating new varieties of
species. I was wondering if we could develop ideas based on
this? We don’t have to talk about those species like the mirage
bean pod, but if it were a tiny species and a relatively practical
species, we would be able to achieve five hundred million yuan
much more easily if we were to sell out everything.”

Duanmu Huanghun appeared to be deep in thought. Five

hundred million yuan for a new type of material was indeed
inexpensive.

“Furthermore, we would be able to help as well. We can help

Brother Huanghun and ask around about what type of materials
would be more profitable, allowing us to be able to create more
relevant items, too. Also, Brother Huanghun’s teacher is a
grandmaster wood elementalist and would have conducted a lot
of research on this subject. Brother Huanghun’s a genius, so I
feel that there is a high possibility of this being doable. If we’re
able to produce the item, who would dare to cheat us of our
money?”

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Duanmu Huanghun. This was

the most feasible idea thus far.
 As usual, Duanmu Huanghun’s face was inscrutable.

But just when everyone was about to give up all hope,

Duanmu Huanghun suddenly spoke. With an indifferent voice,
he said, “Let’s go to the Do Courtyard.”

Everyone was stunned, and after a moment, they erupted in

cheers.
Chapter 113: A Strange Message
Ai Hui had been certain that Mistress would give him a
scolding, but he did not expect her to just throw him a new pair
of Sword Rattan Gloves without saying a word.

The embroidery workshop did not sell Sword Rattan Gloves,

and it was only he who used them.

It was likely that Mistress had spent the whole night weaving
it for him.

Ai Hui was touched. Mistress was the perfect example of ‘all

bark and no bite.’ She treated him as if he were her own
disciple.

The workshop’s ruins had already been sorted out.

However, it was still not suitable for Ai Hui to train in the

embroidery workshop, so he took the Sword Rattan Gloves and
returned to the training hall.

Ai Hui could only feel the effect of the Sword Rattan Gloves
when he trained.

After a deep breath, Ai Hui began.

The Sword Rattan Gloves worked very well indeed. The

instant he removed the Sword Rattan Gloves and untied the
Blood Bandage, he immediately felt the trembling of the
elemental energy mass within his natal residence, and a slender
thread of elemental energy drifted out from it.

However, what made Ai Hui surprised was that the Sword

Rattan Gloves were not the reason why the silver balls in his
hand palaces rotated at a fast speed.

The fine thread of elemental energy drifted away and entered

the hand palace’s silver ball, like a tired bird returning to its
nest.

Ai Hui’s body jolted and both his hand palaces suddenly

heated up—it was as if his hands were about to burn. Before Ai
Hui could even react, a steady flow of elemental energy started
trickling out of the elemental energy mass in his natal residence
and into Ai Hui’s hand palaces.
 The temperature of his hand palaces began increasing rapidly.
Ai Hui felt as if his palms were pork knuckles on a hot stove—he
had almost jumped up, but he managed to forcibly restrain
himself. He could feel the silver balls in his hand palaces
expanding rapidly.

Not only was the silver balls’ elemental energy increasing, but
the balls were also changing in shape. The silver balls began to
collapse towards the middle, and gradually, Ai Hui could
perceive some development.

Vortex!

The silver balls continued to expand, gradually transforming

into a silver vortex.

The silver elemental vortex was continuously growing at a

slow speed, and Ai Hui was more than happy with such a
change. In general, when a student just activated a hand palace,
it was impossible to it fill it up with elemental energy in just a
day or two. After all, elemental energy was extremely sparse in
the natural world, and even with the aid of elemental food, it
would still take time.
 Ai Hui’s situation was slightly special as his body already had
an astonishing amount of elemental energy.

Not only was the elemental energy vortex in both his hand
palaces unceasingly expanding, but its elemental energy
absorption speed was also constantly increasing. However, Ai
Hui soon started to feel that something was wrong. Not only
was the absorption speed increasing, but the speed of the
elemental energy’s circulation in his body was also rising as
well. Such a high concentration of elemental energy brought
about a burden to Ai Hui.

While the rotation of the elemental energy was not as fast as it

was during battle, it had been rotating for an extended period of
time, which brought about obvious changes to his body. Ai
Hui’s muscles started to swell, and he began to tremble. Large
droplets of sweat appeared, flowing down in streams.

At the last moment, just before he could hold on no longer, Ai

Hui managed to tie a knot on the Sword Rattan Gloves.

The connection between his hand palace and his natal

residence was suddenly cut off, granting him immediate relief
from the fluster. Ai Hui desperately gasped for breath, as if he
had just drowned and had been rescued. With a slackened gaze,
he laid straight out on the floor.

After a long moment, his glazed eyes began to recover, and the
bright, starry sky soon came into focus.

While he was still panting and his body was weak, his mind
was no longer blank. Although he didn’t feel like moving even
an inch, he still struggled to push himself up. Checking his hand
palace, he realized that the elemental energy vortex was
rotating automatically, and it had become very stable.

A faint silver glow could be seen through the gaps of the

Sword Rattan Gloves.

If he removed the Sword Rattan Gloves, the vortexes, which

were emitting the silver rays from each his hand palaces, would
be clearly visible.

It was fortunate that the Sword Rattan Gloves blocked the

glow, as it would otherwise be too eye-catching. Ai Hui did not
like anything that was conspicuous. The more attention-
grabbing something was, the easier it would be to become the
main target during an attack.
 The mass of elemental energy in his natal residence had
slightly decreased in size. While it wasn’t a significant
difference, it was definitely a good start.

Ai Hui could sense that he was able to recover his energy

much more swiftly than before. This was was due to the
activation of a new palace; when a palace was activated, various
bodily functions would be raised by varying degrees.

According to Teacher’s explanation, it was an indicator that

his vitality had been strengthened, and the higher the base
level, the higher the vitality.

Ai Hui felt that his teacher’s description was apt.

He planned to soak in the hot spring in the training hall’s

backyard, as this would enable him to recover faster. And when
he fully recovered, he would be able to resume his training.

Ai Hui suddenly started, and he looked towards the message

tree.

A leaf of the message tree was emitting a gentle ray of light.

 The young girl from the noodle shop? Ai Hui’s spirit lifted. It
had been a while since he had received news from that girl; she
seemed to have disappeared recently. However, after a
moment’s thought, Ai Hui felt a tad suspicious. Why would the
young girl from the noodle shop send news at such an hour?

Only when he approached the message tree did he realize that

the glowing leaf was not the same leaf that the young girl from
the noodle store had shown before.

Who could it be?

Ai Hui was baffled. He didn’t know anyone from the

Induction Ground. However, after some thought, he shook his
head. He had been taking things for granted; he almost forgot
that he was just a lowly janitor.

It should be a friend of the owner of the Vanguard Training

Hall.

After he came to this conclusion, Ai Hui decided to leave, and

he turned around. Suddenly, though, he had a second thought.
It had been twenty years since the owner had last visited the
training hall. Ai Hui reckoned that the message came from a
friend who had not been in touch for a very long time. But what
if it was an emergency? Perhaps he should let the opposite party
know that the owner hadn't been back for years.

Ai Hui ran back inside to get a pen. Luckily, Lou Lan was a
good sand puppet who loved to learn, and he thus kept a few
pens.

He walked towards the luminous leaf and glanced at it

curiously. This was his first time using the message tree. The
country bumpkin in him was filled with curiosity, and he felt
that it was magical.

Eh? Ai Hui frowned. The leaf had only four sentences that did
not make any sense.

“I have no idea who among you are still alive, but I know that
no one can stop them. They have already completed the
necessary preparations. Everything will change in sixty days.
Who will protect the Avalon of Five Elements?”

Ai Hui read it over a few times, but he felt that it didn’t make
any sense.
 Them? Sixty days later? Everything would change?

Ai Hui, who had been prepared to write, put his pen down.
The message made his blood run cold. It looked like the owner
of the training hall had low standards—he actually had such an
eccentric friend!

And who would be able to protect the Avalon of Five

Elements?

Ai Hui was dumbfounded. The Avalon of Five Elements had a

very firm foundation, and he had never heard anything about
the Avalon of Five Elements being unstable during his time in
the Wilderness. And this belief was reinforced when he arrived
at the Induction Ground. Compared to the Wilderness, the
Avalon of Five Elements was like a paradise; there were no
battles, and the environment was secure and peaceful.

After pondering for a while, Ai Hui wrote on the leaf, “Maybe

you should see a doctor.”

Looking at the fading letters, Ai Hui felt that the message tree
was fascinating.
 Ai Hui was satisfied, and he then dashed to the backyard to
take a hot soak.

However, a moment after Ai Hui left, the leaf lit up once

again.
Chapter 114: Practicum Far From Home
Ai Hui very rarely cared about such eccentric people. Even if
there really was a major incident, it would definitely not be him
who saved the world. So how did this concern him? He was
merely an insignificant and weak nobody.

He continued to immerse himself in his training—only during

such practice did he feel that he was fully utilizing his time. He
had just activated two palaces, and this base level was nothing
much in the Induction Ground, unless he had an absolute art
like Zu Yan.

However, his training was interrupted on the second day.

"A practicum far from home?"

Everyone had questions in their hearts as they looked at

Teacher Xu. All of them had been called by the teacher.

Teacher Xu explained, "Yes. Every year, we organize a long

journey for the whole class. The main purpose is to allow
everyone to expand their horizons. I will be leading the team
and the school will send a few capable teachers along with us.
Two instructors from the Society of Excellence will also be
joining us on this journey. We will be going to the periphery
zone of the Induction Ground."

While the majority of the students were eager to give it a try,

Duanmu Huanghun frowned. "Teacher, may I opt out of such a
long journey? I recently have a very heavy responsibility in
training."

Ingrate! Ingrate! Ingrate!

Ai Hui silently scolded Bangwan with these three consecutive

words before turning to Teacher Xu with an expectant look on
his face. If Teacher Xu agreed, then he would be able to use the
same excuse to stay behind as well.

No one objected to Duanmu Huanghun’s words. Based on his

capability, it was true that such a long journey would not be as
effective as his training.

However, Teacher Xu shook his head. "No, Student Duanmu.

This is the first time our class is having a collective activity.
Everyone has to attend. You are the class monitor and you have
to set an example!"
 Duanmu Huanghun opened his mouth, but he ultimately
decided not to speak up.

After hearing this, Ai Hui had to give up as well.

If Teacher did not allow a concession for that ingrate, then it

really would be an impossible task for him. While Ai hui was
disdainful of that ingrate’s personality, he couldn’t help but
admit that that ingrate had a higher standing in Teacher’s heart
than him.

What bad luck...

Since he couldn’t change anything, Ai Hui started planning

for the excursion.

It looked like he was going to end up wasting a few days. He

should get Lou Lan to prepare some dried rations to help
replenish his energy—he would then be able to train while in
the camp.

Oh, he also had to make a trip to Manager Li’s to choose a

suitable sword. Although the Induction Ground was a safe place,
it was better to be prepared. Self-defence skills were a top
priority.

Dried rations and a sword. Ai Hui gave a bitter laugh; it was

no small expense.

He was only left with around three hundred thousand yuan,

and this was only because Manager Li had given him an advance
payment. He seemed to never have enough money, and he still
owed his mistress a significant amount, which he definitely had
to return. Ai Hui didn’t even have the courage to think about
the noodle shop girl’s eighty million yuan.

Bunny hair, oh, bunny hair, you have to buck up!

Back at the training hall, Ai Hui passed fifty thousand yuan to

Lou Lan to purchase ingredients for the energy-replenishing
cake. Thanks to Lou Lan’s elemental soup, Ai Hui was able to
quickly recover the night before. The effect of the elemental
soup would last for around three days, weakening with each
passing day. Although the elemental soup had a much greater
efficiency than the energy-replenishing cake, it was also much
more expensive.
 Ai Hui then made a trip alone to Manager Li’s store.

This was actually the first time that Ai Hui had stepped foot
into Manager Li’s weapon store. It wasn’t far from the training
hall; as a matter of fact, Central Pine City wasn’t that big of a
city.

The dazzling array of weapons displayed on the shelves made

Ai Hui starry-eyed.

Looking at Ai Hui’s passion, and hearing that Ai Hui was

planning to purchase a weapon, Manager Li served him with
even more enthusiasm. "Oh, feel free to try. As long as you think
it’s suitable, I’ll give you the best discount possible."

Ai Hui’s eyed the various swords on display and started

drooling. As someone who had experienced many battles, he
had a deeply ingrained love for weapons. To him, a weapon was
an important weight in the balance of life and death.

In the Wilderness, he had used the Sword Reed Grass Sword,

which was the most basic type of sword. It cost only two to
three thousand yuan, equivalent to ten bowls of noodles.
 There were many variants of grass swords. High-quality grass
swords, though, were not cheap.

At first glance, Ai Hui’s gaze fell on a Sawtooth Grass Sword

that was worth one hundred and twenty thousand yuan. In the
past, he had tried out a similar Sawtooth Grass Sword, but he
couldn’t afford it then. This Sawtooth Grass Sword was heavy
to hold; Ai Hui was exceptionally sensitive towards weapons,
and he guessed that the weight was 2.5 times that of the
previous Sawtooth Grass Sword. If it were in the past, he would
have needed to apply some effort to hold it, but now his power
had grown and his body had become much stronger. Such a
heavy sword would be an additional advantage for him.

The edge of the sword was dark grey, and the sawtooth was
slender, dark red, and exceptionally sharp. Sawtooth grass was
a variety bred by wood elementalists, and it required metallic
soil to grow. It matured in one year and could be manufactured
into swords and blades in the first-stage manufacturing room of
the Grass Division. Compared to the Sawtooth Grass Sword, the
sawtooth grass blade had a larger variety of uses, and it was also
able to exhibit a more abnormal destructive power than the
Sawtooth Grass Sword.

The color and luster of sawtooth grass was related to its age;
the more mature it was, the deeper the color. If the sawtooth
grass was older than ten years, its color would turn black, and it
would consequently be extremely expensive.

However, what astonished Ai Hui was the value of the

Sawtooth Grass Sword. At a price of one hundred and twenty
thousand, it was definitely on the lower side. If it was at the
replenishment store in the Wilderness, such a sword would
definitely cost around three hundred and fifty thousand yuan.

While Central Pine City was at the rear and not the front line,
a price of one hundred and twenty thousand was simply too
cheap. Ai Hui bought the sword without hesitation.

The weight of the sword was much heavier than that of usual
grass swords, and without a certain amount of strength, it
would be difficult to use it. Although it was normal for few
students to be able to use such a sword, the low price was
slightly out of the norm.

After questioning Manger Li for the reason, Ai Hui was at a

loss for words. The reason was that the sword’s colour was dull,
and hence not popular amongst students, which led to the low
price.
 Manager Li proceeded to recommend a variant of the grass
sword, called ‘flaming scarlet,’ which he claimed was a best
seller. The complete body of the sword was scarlet and it gave
off a faint crimson shimmer, like a piece of iron heated in a
flame. When waved around, sparks would fly out
intermittently. It was like a display of fireworks, extremely
beautiful.

This was the first time that Ai Hui had seen such a dazzling
grass sword and he was surprised. Upon taking a closer look, his
expression changed, as the crimson shimmer of the sword was
not hot to touch; instead, it was cold. And the sparks were, in
fact, grass seeds.

Manager Li said that the wood elementalists who breed the

red grass did not manage to sell any of it in the beginning. The
quality of the red grass was mediocre, so the swords created
from it were also of average quality. However, Manager Li had
good foresight and he bought over its selling rights. He then
brought the swords over to the Induction Ground where it
quickly became a favorite. Those experienced swordsmen, who
roamed the Wilderness, were not fond of flashy and impractical
swords, but the students, who did not engage in real battles,
loved them and felt that the Flame Scarlet Grass Swords were
very dashing and stylish.
 Ai Hui gave a thumbs up.

I like your unscrupulous thinking!

Bunny Hair, I am depending on you now!

After returning to the training hall, Ai Hui unfolded the

materials that Teacher Xu had given him, but when he
discerned the exact location of the practicum, he was slightly
startled.

The Induction Ground used to be the military front, but

owing to the expansion of the Avalon Of Five Elements, the
Induction Ground ended up as the rear. But its position was
closer to the Old Territory, and the expedition’s destination was
at its fringes.

The Old Territory...

Chapter 115: The Detached Bystander
Holding his Sawtooth Grass Sword, Ai Hui cooly watched on
as his surrounding classmates vomited continuously. During his
first ride on the Clover Transport Wagon, he, too, had vomited
—even more, in fact, than these students, so he did not
sympathize with them at all. It was obvious that the wood
elementalist controlling the vehicle was being lenient.

Compared to the Three Leaves Bamboo Cart within the cities,

a ride on the Clover Transport Wagon was much wilder.

It was wilder in all aspects.

With a tougher stem and leaves, if the clover of the Three

Leaves Bamboo Cart was a delicate and tender beauty, the
Clover Transport Wagon would be a muscular, iron giant. Grass
stems as thick as calves were not easily damaged by swords, and
every leaf was like a blade and half the size of a door. As the
wagon moved, they produced a scalp-tingling sound.

Not only did the Clover Transport Wagon have to be able to

transport enough goods, it had to provide sufficient protection
and also had to have a certain flexibility. Colorful plants dotted
the outside of the vehicle, and there was a different significance
for each flower bud, thistle, and thorn. For example, some could
spray a steady stream of toxic vapor to chase away flying dire
beasts, helping pave a path of escape for the wagon in desperate
situations.

However, the flying dire beasts were resilient, and the

effectiveness of the toxins was limited. It was, in fact, the smell
of the vapor that would allow the wagon to dodge a bullet—a
majority of the flying dire beasts detested the odor.

Although it was a wagon, going in and out of the Wilderness

required it to be more flexible and nimble than the Three Leaves
Bamboo Cart in the cities. It was similar to a massive but agile
and robust man. The wood elementalist controlling the wagon
usually loved to gift rookies a tough flight experience.

Ai Hui, however, was enjoying the ride.

The wood elementalist in front had obviously taken care to

not overdo it. This level of bumpiness was practically sleep
inducing.

Other students were badly battered. Throughout their lives,

they had traveled in stable vehicles like the Fiery Floating Cloud
and the Three Leaves Bamboo Cart. Where would they have
experienced such a wild ride?

Ai Hui took a sideward glance at the ingrate.

The ingrate had been arranged to sit beside him. However,

compared to others, Duanmu Huanghun was performing well.
He sat motionless on his seat. Although his expression didn’t
look too good, he hadn’t vomited.

Ai Hui suddenly noticed that Duanmu’s whole body was

tensed up, so he leaned over and advised him nonchalantly,
“Puke if you feel like, don’t hold it back. You’ll feel much better
after…”

Wow!

Duanmu Huanghun, who had been resisting all along,

instantly felt his throat become dry and itchy—he couldn’t keep
it in any longer! Duanmu bent over and let it all out, like a flood
breaking through a dam.

“Got vomit on your body? How careless. There’s no place for

you to wash up in the countryside. But it’s not a big deal, just
smell it for a few days at most.” Ai Hui’s devilish voice sounded
from above.

Duanmu Huanghun saw the filth that covered his pants and
shirt. His pupils shrank and his mysophobia finally acted up,
causing him to puke wildly again.

Ai Hui couldn’t bear to keep looking, and he shifted a little

away.

He really didn’t know what Teacher Xu was thinking by

teaming this ingrate with him and having them sit together.

How suffocating.

Zhou Xiaoxi glanced over at Teacher Xu and couldn’t help but

shake his head. Teacher Xu’s face was pale, and it was evident
that he was making an extreme effort to endure. Luckily, they
were traveling within the Induction Ground; if they were
heading for the Wilderness, he would definitely not have agreed
to babysit these rookies.
 Among these people, Ai Hui was the most eye-catching. He
was also the only one Zhou Xiaoxi did not have to worry much
about.

He could tell from Ai Hui’s posture that he was a veteran. His

body was relaxed, and he moved up and down along with the
wagon’s movements. His hands were gripped onto his weapon,
and he had a steady gaze, both of which would allow him to
respond to any possible dangers. His mind was alert, with his
eyes constantly paying attention to his surroundings.

Even an experienced person like Zhou Xiaoxi couldn’t find any

fault. He thought about what Li Wei had mentioned before, that
Ai Hui had worked in the Wilderness as a laborer for three
years. Seemed like he wasn’t talking nonsense.

It was always better to have at least one reliable person.

“Haha, we’re about to reach!” The wood elementalist

whistled.

There was a sudden change in the engine’s noise as the wagon

started to swiftly pull up.
 Among the shocked gazes, Ai Hui couldn’t help but shake his
head. These fellows sure had similar bad habits! Couldn’t they
do something new?

The raised wagon gave a terrible jerk, and in the next instant,
it dove down fast.

The screeching of the wagon drowned the high-pitched

screams, but Ai Hui was indifferent to it all. He was only
inwardly ridiculing those wood elementalists for not having any
creativity.

The familiar feeling of that drop brought Ai Hui back to the

time he spent in the Wilderness.

He missed Fatty all the more now. If Fatty were here, he

would be talking non-stop; he always became long-winded when
nervous.

Ai Hui was the first to jump off as he couldn’t stand the smell
inside. But the others’ legs had turned soft; they were
practically rolling and crawling out. Some of the timid girls
couldn’t even dare to jump, and they had to be thrown out of
the wagon by Zhou Xiaoxi.
 The wood elementalist was singing at the top of his voice,
either in a satisfied or mocking tone, as the wagon whizzed
away.

The group of students left behind was similar to helpless

sheep within the Wilderness.

Teacher Xu had considered the kids’ lack of experience while

planning the itinerary. They were merely first-year students
and were weak to begin with, so this long journey was
purposefully organized for them to just experience a little.

“We’ll rest here tonight and continue tomorrow. First,

though, you must all learn how to pitch camp! It is an essential
skill, and you will discover its importance upon graduating!
Instructor Zhou from the Society of Excellence will guide us on
how to do it. He is an elite veteran from the North Sea
Division!”

Zhou Xiaoxi didn’t decline; this was one of their missions

anyway. It was a tradition in the Avalon of Five Elements for
seasoned frontline soldiers to return and impart their
knowledge to students as it was extremely beneficial to their
growth.
 Zhou Xiaoxi did not start immediately, but he instead
instructed, “Ai Hui, you’re in charge of standing guard.”

“Okay.” Ai Hui nodded as he walked towards the forest, sword

in hand.

Zhou Xiaoxi began, “Let’s start pitching ca—”

“Why does he get to stand guard?” Duanmu Huanghun

interrupted. “Instructor Zhou, shouldn’t the strongest go?”

He had been made a fool by Ai Hui earlier and was waiting for
an opportunity to get back at him.

“Generally, yes.” Zhou Xiaoxi gave an amiable smile. “You

think you’re the strongest?”

“That’s correct!” Duanmu Huanghun was unwilling to pass

his responsibilities. “I’m stronger, and I’ve also learned how to
guard. I’m more experienced.”

“Sure.” Contrary to his expectations, Zhou Xiaoxi was

straightforward. “Then you shall stand guard, and Ai Hui will
pitch camp.”

Feeling that his plan was a success, Duanmu sneered and

dashed into the forest, looking for Ai Hui.

Ai Hui did not mind. He had frequently stood guard and knew
that it was tougher than ordinary work. He was more than
happy to hand it over to Duanmu Huanghun, who was,
moreover, willing to handle the job.

Under Zhou Xiaoxi’s guidance, the students quickly learned

how to pitch camp and the discomfort from the wagon ride was
soon forgotten. Work was now proceeding in full swing.

As the sky darkened and the winds grew stronger, a bonfire

was lit.

Ai Hui suddenly raised his head.

Chapter 116: Barrier
Ai Hui heard a faint sound.

He raised his head and looked around, listening attentively.

The bonfire was burning brightly, and the students were

recovering from that wild wagon ride. The freshness of it all
significantly improved their moods as they settled down around
the fierce flames and chatted. Some of the more lively and
outgoing students even started singing and dancing. Teacher Xu
was also infected by everyone’s enthusiasm and could be seen
full of smiles.

Ai Hui did not join them, and instead, he quietly sat under a
big tree about forty meters away from the bonfire.

A fire in the countryside at night was the most eye-catching

target. It was too easy to attract wild beasts.

Ai Hui was aware that the Induction Ground was devoid of

violent beasts and that there was an expert like Instructor Zhou
to protect them—there wouldn’t be much danger in this
excursion. However, due to habit, hiding in the dark had
already been ingrained as an instinct. He always felt safer that
way.

Upon entering the countryside, it was as if Ai Hui had

returned to the Wilderness—to the land of cold slaughter.
However, he was shocked to find out that he wasn’t the least bit
repelled by this; he was, in fact, faintly excited. The moment he
had stepped into the forest, he felt like a fish back in water.
Perhaps he had been a jungle beast in his previous life.

Humans are ignoble!

Ai Hui mocked himself. It had only been a few good days, and
he was already starting to reminisce about the past.

Leaves rustled as the wind swept by, but the ground remained
still. There were no sounds of people trampling on dead leaves,
no abnormal noises from the bushes, and no sounds of flapping
wings breaking through the air.

Was it an illusion?

Ai Hui saw Instructor Zhou standing not far away. He had

shown no reaction and was currently bragging about his past
military successes, basking in the students’ worshipping gazes.

Ai Hui’s pursed his lips as they turned upwards to form an arc.

How great!

Yes, this was not the Wilderness. There were no dire beasts,
only peace, and tranquility.

Ai Hui shook his head. He was overreacting. He thought back

to how he had almost slipped up and killed some people a few
times when he had first entered the Induction Ground; adapting
had taken a long time. But being in the countryside easily
roused memories of the Wilderness.

This was not the Wilderness.

Ai Hui reminded himself once more. He hadn’t done so for a

long time.

However, when he thought of the ingrate, Ai Hui felt like

gloating. He must be feeling quite satisfied right now!

Duanmu Huanghun was feeling terrible. Not only was the

wind at the treetop much stronger than on the ground, but he
was also receiving its full bore. He must have had a mental lapse
when he had offered to take over guard duty.

Instructor Zhou had explained in detail about the necessary

requirements of a sentry.

Duanmu Huanghun had never tolerated half-hearted work,

and so he operated according to Instructor Zhou’s orders and
warnings. For example, he had to always be on alert and pay
attention to every single movement in his surroundings.

In the beginning, Duanmu Huanghun did not see much

difficulty in it, but as time passed, the uneventfulness of it all
made his eyelids grow heavy. The sounds of the trees swaying in
the wind were hypnotizing.

Eh? What was that sound?

He suddenly quivered. He seemed to have heard a faint sound,

different from the rustling of the leaves.

But when he pricked up his ears, all he heard was the familiar
rustling.

Was it an illusion?

Duanmu Huanghun was uncertain; he had just been in a daze.

He collected his thoughts. Although he was inexperienced, he

knew the importance of standing guard in areas outside the city.
This involved the safety of everyone so he couldn’t slack off.
Since he was the one who had snatched the job, he had better do
it well—better than that bastard Ai Hui at least.

The raging flames of the bonfire eventually calmed down. A

day’s worth of toil and torment had knocked everyone out, and
silence quickly pervaded the camp as the students fell into deep
sleep.

Nothing happened throughout the night.

 Ai Hui opened his eyes and caught sight of the curling embers
of the bonfire under the light of the morning sky.

Zhou Xiaoxi was on patrol when he noticed that Ai Hui had

woken up. He nodded as a hint of admiration flashed across his
eyes before he continued with his rounds. Bringing a bunch of
rookies brought him a lot of stress. Bragging was one thing, but
when it came to proper business, he was never careless. He was
well aware of the severity of the situation.

An elite indeed!

Ai Hui was full of respect for Zhou Xiaoxi. He was stronger

than many elementalists that Ai Hui had seen. As an elite of the
Thirteen Divisions, he was on another level from those
elementalists of the hunting teams in the Wilderness.

The students gradually started to stir from their sleep, and by

sunrise, everyone had awoken. After a simple washing and
cleaning up, they were ready to be on their way.

Duanmu Huanghun returned with two clearly visible dark eye

circles.
 The white-eyed wolf was now a white-eyed husky…

Ai Hui was moved. It wasn’t an easy job, after all. He did well!

The team gathered and started to trek towards their next

destination.

Listening to his classmates’ chit-chat and seeing many of them

take out their packed snacks gave Ai Hui the feeling that they
were on a picnic.

Ai Hui and his teammates were somewhat inharmonious, so

he stayed at the back of the group.

As they hiked, Teacher Xu was responsible for explaining.

“We are heading for the Old Territory. Many of you have
come from there, so, that is to say, we are heading towards your
hometown. The Old Territory is not only home to some
students, but it is the native place for us all. The construction of
the Avalon of Five Elements is closely linked to the Old
Territory. They have the same origin, and we are all family.
Many of our future students will join the Avalon of Five
Elements, too. We are fighting so hard today not just for the
Avalon or the Old Territory, but for our future.”

Under the sunlight, the students were engrossed in Teacher

Xu’s speech, which was spoken with much dignity.

Zhou Xiaoxi said nothing. He glanced at Teacher Xu before

moving forward with his head down.

AI Hui noticed that Instructor Zhou was in low spirits, but he

did not know why. At the front line, the barrier between the
Avalon of Five Elements and the Old Territory was like an
invisible wall, unseen but everywhere.

However, Ai Hui didn’t feel that Teacher Xu’s words were

wrong because regardless of whether it was the Old Territory or
the Wilderness, the dire beasts were the real, important
enemies.

Plus, he respected Teacher Xu a lot. All the teachers within

the Induction Ground had opinions about this issue, but few
would openly discuss them. Teacher Xu had courage.
 Of course, Ai Hui could only face it indifferently because he
felt that a topic so noble had nothing to do with him.

His own world was very tiny, to the point where it had no
room for such large ambitions.

Surviving and becoming strong enough to protect the people

he cared about were perfectly sufficient.

Ai Hui’s eyes scanned the surroundings and suddenly landed

on a tree stump nearby, causing him to stop in his tracks.

He walked towards it and squatted down.

A white-eyed wolf refers to an ungrateful person (an ingrate).

Chapter 117: Dark Red
“You find anything?”

Instructor Zhou’s voice suddenly sounded from behind him,

and before Ai Hui knew it, they were standing side by side.

Ai Hui shuddered. He had not sensed Instructor Zhou move

towards him at all. Was this the power of an elite from the
Thirteen Divisions? Ever since he had planted the sword
embryo when he was in the Wilderness, no one within a three-
meter radius could escape his detection.

Ai Hui was in awe, and an intense feeling of desire and

motivation grew within him. The elites of the Thirteen
Divisions possessed skills that far exceeded those of the
elementalists of the hunting teams.

Ai Hui regained his composure and gave his report. “It should
be gnawing marks left by a big fellow. The strength of its bite is
astonishing. Judging by the tree stump, the creature broke it
with a single bite.”

He did not say whether it was a wild beast or a dire beast.

While there was only a single word’s difference, both were
essentially unalike because of the distinction in the usage of
elemental energy.

Dire beasts had existed since the Cultivation Era and were
closely related to the Wilderness. They could channel elemental
energy. Wild beasts, however, did not have this ability.

Admiration flashed in Instructor Zhou’s eyes as he lowered

his voice and said, “Be more careful, and don’t utter a word.”

“Yes.” Ai Hui understood what Instructor Zhou meant.

Spreading the news would cause unnecessary panic. These
students did not have much mental strength.

When Ai Hui turned around, he was met with emptiness. Only

when he looked at the front did he see Instructor Zhou standing
among the team members over ten meters away. He even gave
Ai Hui a wink.

That speed…

Ai Hui was stunned once again.

 It wasn’t that he hadn’t ever encountered an elementalist well
known for speed, but when could he have ever seen such
noiseless, lightning-like movements? This was the first time!

How did he do that?

Ai Hui pondered over this question at length. He envisioned a

few possibilities in his mind, but none seemed possible.
Actually, he knew that Instructor Zhou’s level was beyond his
scope of understanding, but he nevertheless couldn’t help but
imagine how he would go about doing so if he was at Instructor
Zhou’s level.

It was Ai Hui’s habit to indulge in flights of fancy about

questions and doubts involving fighting. When he was stuck
with a problem, he would repeatedly try to analyze and visualize
possible solutions. This was the residual effect of tossing and
turning all night over the sword embryo.

Ai Hui thought about the matter in silence as he accelerated

his pace and caught up with the team.

No one was aware of the short exchange between Ai Hui and

Instructor Zhou. They were all in high spirits.
 Suddenly, someone in the front cried out in alarm, “Quick,
look! What’s that?”

The group was roused as everyone stopped their discussions

and gathered around to inspect.

Ai Hui, however, did not join them. A crowded place was

vulnerable to attacks. He moved to the side, creating some space
as he stood facing the group, trying to get a clear understanding
of the situation.

Ants. Countless ants. They were crawling out in an unending

stream from a large hole in the ground, forming a current of
ants about three meters wide and two meters long. They were
slowly advancing in the direction of the Avalon of Five
Elements.

“So many ants! What are they doing?”

“Are they migrating?”

“It’s quite a scary sight.”

 “No worries, they are just ordinary ants, not elemental ants.”

……

Everyone was curiously discussing; it was their first time

seeing such a sight. They weren't afraid, however, as ordinary
ants weren’t dangerous.

“This is not a small ant community,” Teacher Xu explained.

“It is not uncommon for ants to migrate. When you all enter the
Wilderness in the future, you’ll be able to see many different
types of elemental ants, and you all have to be careful. If you see
elemental ants migrating in a group, do not provoke them.
Don’t underestimate the strength of an ant colony. Even though
they are weak individually, they are terrifying when gathered
together. Instructor Zhou can share more information with you
all.”

Zhou Xiaoxi nodded. “In the Wilderness, when elemental ants

migrate, even dire beasts avoid their path. It's best not to
provoke creatures like ants and bees that claim victory by their
numbers. They are vengeful and will come for you in a group. If
you stumble upon them, the best thing to do is to break them
up. A lot of medicines are made specially to handle these types
of beasts.”
 Everyone was amazed; how interesting!

Teacher Xu was pleased. This journey was to expand their

horizons, and such a sight could hardly be witnessed in cities
and academies.

Zhou Xiaoxi led everybody around the ants. As the ants were
moving slowly, they did not hinder the team’s movements.

The jungle, which was filled with lush vegetation, was home
to an uncrossable river of lava, which marked the boundary
between the Induction Ground and the Old Territory.

The lava river flowed out from the ground all year round.

It was said that this lava river was connected to the

subterranean Fire Prairie of the Calabash Mountain, but no one
had ever seen the flame flowers floating on the river.

Flame flowers constituted a special feature of the Sparking

Plain, which was, in fact, a haven for fire elementalists.
Amongst a vast, boundless black field stood a single calabash-
shaped volcano that touched the clouds. Once in a while,
Calabash Mountain would erupt, creating a rain of fire unique
to the Sparking Plain. That very rain would cover the desolate
black field, forming unique flowers of flame.

Fresh fire-red flame flowers spread over the vast black plain,
forming a beautiful, painting-like scenery.

If the lava river originated from the Fire Prairie, then flame
flowers should be seen floating on the river. However, since no
flame flowers were ever seen in the river, no one believed the
legend.

The lava river completely separated the Induction Ground and

the Old Territory, and the cities and academies of the Induction
Ground were mostly congregated on the other side that was
closer to the Avalon of Five Elements. The areas closer to the
Old Territory eventually became a wild jungle, filled with lush
vegetation and rampaging wild beasts due to a prolonged lack of
human activities.

The Induction Ground would regularly dispatch manpower to

exterminate the dire beasts while the ordinary wild beasts were
allowed to roam and reproduce.
 This region gradually become an external classroom for the
students within the Induction Ground. The wild beasts here
were not very dangerous, making them just suitable for
educating the students. The thick jungle also allowed students
to learn quite a lot.

There were no dangers on the way, but Ai Hui’s group

constantly faced many small challenges. Ai Hui felt that the
team was advancing at the speed of a snail.

But he did not utter a word and just trained by himself during
breaks.

As they approached the lava, the flora started to become

richer and more abundant. Ai Hui noticed many plants that
could be found in the Wilderness. They were probably initially
planted by the wood elementalists of the Induction Ground, but
as time passed, these plants had undergone significant changes.

Ai Hui saw sword reeds, but unlike those he’d seen in the past,
they weren’t enormous and tall. Their leaf blades were
narrower, and instead of being dark or ash green, they were
dark red in color, exuding a demonic aura.
 Was it because they were close to the lava? Most of the plants
here were somewhat of a dark red color.

Ai Hui didn't know why, but this kind of dark red made his
heart pound.

After Teacher Xu’s explanation, Ai Hui understood that this

place was not only a training ground for students but also a
ground for wood elementalist instructors to transplant all sorts
of strange vegetations, letting them grow naturally. But with
the existence of so many strange plant species, none of the
teachers really knew all about them.

With his sharp senses, Ai Hui sensed human voices coming

from not far away.

Ai Hui had a strange expression. They had unexpectedly

bumped into another class.

But all of a sudden, he heard a certain voice, and a murderous

look immediately filled his eyes.

Damned Fatty!
Chapter 118: Interweave
“You can’t carry it? Hey, let me help you. One thousand yuan
per hour? That’s yesterday’s price, it’s so dangerous these days!
A moment of carelessness will result in a slip and a fall. I’m fine
with falling down as my skin is rough and my body’s thick, but
your goods are precious and fragile! If they fall to the ground,
you will suffer great losses! Let’s make it clear, you will not
receive compensation for damaged goods. If you’re sincere
about this, then I will be sincere, too. Since we are classmates, I
will give you a reasonable price. Two thousand yuan per hour. It
will only cost around twenty thousand yuan a day. This will
save you a lot of trouble!”

Fatty’s face was filled with sincerity. The other party’s

backpack resembled a small hill, making it very difficult and
heavy to be carried. After a slight hesitation, he agreed to
Fatty’s offer. Even though it was rather expensive, it wasn’t
much to a wealthy person.

The fatty was silently rejoicing. This kind of weight was

child’s play.

He happily accepted the money. However, just as he was

about to put the money into his pocket, someone’s hand
suddenly came from behind and emptied his hand.
 Fatty was stunned, but the next moment his pupils shrunk.
This feeling…was too familiar! He immediately turned his body
around, kneeled down, and hugged Ai Hui’s legs. He started
weeping. “Ai Hui, I finally found you!”

“Give us a moment.” Ai Hui forced a smile at the student who

had just paid Fatty.

With a blank expression, he lifted Fatty up with one hand;

Fatty’s enormous and cumbersome body seemed to weigh
nothing in Ai Hui’s hand. The other hand of Ai Hui’s was
searching through Fatty’s body, not leaving a single pocket. Ai
Hui was too familiar with where Fatty hid his money, and in
less than half a minute, he managed to obtain all of Fatty’s
stash.

“Where’s the money?” Ai Hui asked coldly.

He had found barely fifty thousand yuan.

Ai Hui did not idle around, and he plucked off a thorny branch
from a nearby cluster of thistles. When Fatty saw the densely-
packed thorns on the branch, his face turned pale. An
interrogation by torture was about to come.
 However, he did not dare to struggle. He understood Ai Hui’s
temperament very well. The more he struggled, the more he
would suffer. He was well aware that Ai Hui’s anger stemmed
from the fact that he had previously stolen his money.

“I spent all of it,” Fatty replied honestly. His tone was like a
pig that was about to be slaughtered.

“You spent it all?” Ai Hui’s tone was flat. A fearful look

flashed across Fatty’s face when he saw the thorny branch in Ai
Hui’s hand tremble.

Fatty gulped. He knew he had to settle the issue this time

around.

“Do you still remember Pockmark? I’m sure you have

forgotten; you never spoke a single word to him. I still
remember that in the beginning, when I couldn’t carry so
much, he was the one who helped me. I buried his body. His
wife never recovered from her illness. His daughter has reached
the schooling age. When Pockmark died, I told him that if I
came out alive, I would take care of his family.”

The thorny branch in Ai Hui’s hand stopped moving.

 Pockmark…

A blurry face appeared in a distant memory. Anguish, fear,

ink-black nights and icy winds. Fuzzy memories began to
surface in his mind.

Ai Hui had a vague image of a laborer that had died very early
during their time in the Wilderness. Fatty did not remember
wrongly—he had not talked to Pockmark at all. Pockmark was
not the only one he had never talked to; in fact, he did not talk
to anyone except for Fatty.

“Do you remember Old Wei? That guy who liked to brag? I bet
you don’t remember him as well. I still remember that when I
had just entered the Wilderness, I was always hungry. Old Wei
once gave me some food to eat and told me that I am around the
same age as his son. The day he died was a rainy day. It was hard
to dig a grave in the muddy soil, which was easily washed away
by the rain. It took me half a day to bury him properly. He has
two children. The younger one has a terminal illness at the
mere age of seven. He knew he wouldn’t survive, and hence, he
went to the Wilderness. I have sent his family a sum of money.
It’s not a huge sum, it’s only forty thousand yuan. Although I
survived, I can’t do anything more…
 “Do you remember Big Lee….”

The fatty continued to talk endlessly, without getting to the

point. Sometimes he talked until he was out of breath, at times
he spoke with agitation.

The dumbstruck student who had paid him earlier had long
been scared off.

“Duanmu Huanghun! Ahhhhhhh! Am I dreaming?”

“Ahhhh, quick, pick me some flowers!”

Suddenly, young girls’ shrieks could be heard from behind the

nearby trees.

Ai Hui was shocked speechless.

“Teacher Xu, what a coincidence!”

“Ah, Cui Xianzi, you’re bringing your students on an

excursion as well?”

……

“Only the two of us survived, only the two of us survived!”

“...At least we are still alive…”

……

The warm, cordial greetings, the somber memories, they all

kept interweaving and appearing in Ai Hui’s mind.

He remained stupefied as if he were in a dream.

……

“While I was burying them, I told them that if I made it out

alive, I would take care of their families.
 “Why am I still alive? Why….”

……

The spurt of fresh blood, the pouring rain, the dire beasts
feasting on corpses—memories kept flashing through Ai Hui’s
mind. His body suddenly became cold, as if an icy bath had been
dumped onto him. He clenched the thorny branch so tightly
that his fingers turned pale.

……

“Why don’t both our classes travel together? We can take care
of each other. With an expert like Instructor Zhou, I can feel
relieved.”

“That’s good, that’s good! Cui Xianzi is so beautiful! Are you

married?”

……

“I know you have no money and that brings about a lot of

inconveniences. I know I have brought you nothing but
troubles. However, you’re an evildoer, and no trouble can
stump you.”

……

“Classmate Duanmu, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Classmate Duanmu, do you want to be friends with me?”

……

“I know I started this. I’m a pig! I’m stupid! I’m a useless

person! But I’m still alive. Why am I still alive? I can’t stand it
anymore, I really can’t stand it anymore…

“Sorry…sorry…”

Fatty was speaking gibberish, and his body was trembling.

Emotions were flooding his mind in waves.
 Ai Hui suddenly broke free from that ice-cold nightmare and
took a few deep breaths. The air was frosty and bone-piercing,
but he could feel his body’s temperature begin to rise gradually
again.

Yes, that was a dream, a dream that he had broken free from
long ago. He had already abandoned the times of darkness and
shadows. He was now pursuing the light and the sunshine. He
had begun a new life.

He was no longer the Ai Hui of the Wilderness. He was

stronger, both mentally and physically.

So...

With a flick of his wrist, the thorny branch began to batter

Fatty.

“You can’t get past your conscience, right? You want to be a

hero, right? Then why don’t you train harder? Why meddle in
other people’s business when you’re not capable at all? Just
because you’re alive and they’re dead? So what if you’re alive?
Is it something to be proud of? Goddamnit, how are you still
alive? You’re not even strong, and you still talk about some
goddamn conscience. Do you know you will die sooner or later if
you aren’t strong enough? What makes you think that you don’t
need to train? What makes you think that you don’t need to
become stronger?

“You have no powers and no money, and yet you still meddle
in other people's business. You even drag me down along with
you. I’m going to beat you to death!

“If he’s weak, he will die. If he’s weak, he will be poor. But if
he’s dead, then that’s his problem! Is his family pitiful? Who
isn’t pitiful?

“If you yourself don’t want to be a pitiful soul, think of ways

to become stronger. Do whatever it takes to gain power!

“You can’t hide from it, I can’t hide from it, no one can hide
from it!”

……

“Instructor Zhou, please take good care of me from now on!”

“Don’t worry! Leave it to me!”
Chapter 119: The Garden of Life
The two classes walked together, causing those students who
had been bored by the excursion to become intrigued and
excited by the new faces.

No one noticed when Ai Hui pulled the badly battered Fatty

back to the group.

Most of the girls were surrounding Duanmu Huanghun,

chattering non-stop.

Zhou Xiaoxi felt that he had found his goddess in Cui Xianzi.
He tried his best to impress her, making her laugh non-stop. In
contrast, Teacher Xu was patiently teaching the students who
were listening carefully to his lesson.

“The teachers named this area the Garden of Life. Why that
name? There are many wood-attributed teachers in the
Induction Ground, and everyone knows that they love breeding
new species of plants, which then results in a large number of
newly bred plants. These plants, however, are not valuable, yet
the teachers are unwilling to destroy them. So, they transplant
them here. There are so many bizarre plants here now, that
even the teachers can’t keep track of them all, which has
resulted in us calling this place the Garden of Life.”

“Won’t there be problems? Isn’t it dangerous?” one student

couldn’t help but ask.

“Actually, everyone hopes for exactly that.” Seeing everyone’s

puzzled faces, Teacher Xu laughed. “I shall let the wood-
attributed Duanmu Huanghun explain why to everyone here.”

The bunch of girls acting like a flock of ducks were driving

Duanmu Huanghun crazy. He had not been in a good mood to
begin with, so if not for the presence of the teacher, he would
have already chased them away.

Teacher Xu’s words caught everyone’s attention.

In the other students’ eyes, Duanmu Huanghun was a

mysterious figure, so when they heard Teacher Xu say that
Duanmu Huanghun knew the answer, they immediately
directed their attention to him. They wanted to know if the
legendary Duanmu Huanghun knew the answer.

Even Cui Xianzi stopped talking with Zhou Xiaoxi to look at

Duanmu Huanghun with interest.

The rowdy girls surrounding Duanmu Huanghun finally

quieted down and stared anxiously at him with their eyes wide
open.

Duanmu Huanghun felt like a suffocating fish that could

finally breathe some fresh air. He gave Teacher Xu a grateful
look, then his facial expression turned cold as he answered,
“From a wood elementalist’s perspective, having problems with
the plants is a good thing, because it means that there is room
for more changes and new possibilities. When breeding a new
plant species, the more changes there are, the more beneficial it
is. I think this is the scenario all the wood-attributed teachers
are hoping for.”

The amount of adoration in those young girls’ infatuated eyes

increased significantly.

Duanmu Huanghun ignored these gazes. There was absolute

silence in his surroundings.

If this silence could last, Duanmu Huanghun did not mind

talking for the rest of the day.
 So he did just that; before Teacher Xu could open his mouth,
Duanmu Huanghun continued to speak with confidence, “The
reason why there are no changes is not that complicated.
According to the current theory, elemental energy is the biggest
factor that causes changes to occur in plants. The higher the
concentration of elemental energy in an area, the more likely
changes will occur in the plants there. This explains why there
are a lot of mystical plants in the depths of the Wilderness. Even
though the Garden of Life is located within the Induction
Ground, it is in a place very near the Old Territory, so the
concentration of elemental energy there is very low. This is why
the likelihood of changes occurring in plants there is also very
low…”

Everyone was captivated by Duanmu Huanghun’s words.

Teacher Xu nodded his head repeatedly, feeling especially

proud of his student. For a first year student to come up with
such conclusion showed a lot about his solid foundation.

Teacher Xu continued from where Duanmu Huanghun

stopped, “Classmate Duanmu is correct. The oldest plant in the
Garden of Life can be dated back to when the Avalon of Five
Elements was established; however, the number of changes
occurring in the plants there are becoming less and less, because
the concentration of elemental energy is very low. Even those
thousand-years-old ancient trees are no exception.”

Ai Hui shot a glance at Duanmu Huanghun, which was caught

by Fatty.

Fatty knew Ai Hui too well. From the look on Ai Hui’s face, he
knew something was up. He lowered his voice and asked, “You
have a dispute with this guy?”

“A small matter,” Ai Hui replied without batting an eyelid.

“He owes me some money.”

“He owes you money?” Fatty’s eyes immediately widened as

he rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his palms together. “That’s
intolerable! He owes you how much money? I will help you
collect the debt!”

“One hundred and fifty million yuan,” Ai Hui replied plainly.

Fatty staggered and almost fell down. He could not help but
raise his voice, “How much?”
 His voice was exceptionally loud in the silence and everyone
turned to look at the two simultaneously.

“One hundred and fifty million yuan,” Ai Hui replied calmly.

Duanmu Huanghun, who was previously filled with

arrogance, staggered and almost fell down. Other people may
have been baffled when they heard Ai Hui talking about one
hundred and fifty million yuan, but Duanmu Huanghun clearly
knew what Ai Hui was talking about.

Goddamn bastard!

Blue veins appeared at the back of his hands as he clenched his

fists.

“One hundred and fifty million yuan?” Fatty muttered,

shocked, “It can’t be, how can someone be so stupid? Is it even
possible to owe so much money?”

Duanmu Huanghun almost lunged at him.

 Ai Hui noticed everyone’s attention on them and stopped
talking. After a while, the other students lost interest and
directed their attention elsewhere. Ai Hui and Fatty maintained
some distance from the main body of students, walking together
at the back.

“Really? One hundred and fifty million yuan?” Fatty asked

again, solemnly.

“It’s a lie,” Ai Hui replied plainly.

“I knew it. You almost frightened me to death.” Fatty pat his

chest.

“Fatty,” Ai Hui suddenly called out to him.

Fatty knew Ai Hui wanted to say something, just by taking a

look at his face.

Instinctively, Ai Hui scanned the bushes and trees around

them. Without looking at Fatty, he asked, “How’s your training
progressing?”
 “I have just activated my right hand’s palace,” Fatty replied
weakly. When he heard Ai Hui’s question, he had a bad feeling.
Fatty might be very stubborn, but Ai Hui still scared him the
most.

Ai Hui was expressionless, but deep down he was shocked.

It appeared that Fatty was far more gifted than he was.

If not for his blessing in disguise and his managing to activate

two palaces, Fatty’s training progress would have surpassed his.

“Ai Hui, how about you?” Fatty glanced warily at Ai Hui.

“Left and right hands’ palaces,” Ai Hui replied.

Fatty had an ‘isn’t-it-obvious’ look on his face. It had been like

this since the days they were together in the Wilderness. Other
than running for his life, there was nothing he was better at
than Ai Hui.

“From today onwards, I will be monitoring your training.”

 Ai Hui’s tone was cold and without leeway; Fatty’s face filled
with anguish. Every time he wanted to open his mouth and say
something, he would timidly close it before any words came
out. Every time Ai Hui used such a tone to talk to him, he would
have miserable days ahead of him.

“You like to meddle in other people’s business, right? Only

capable people are qualified to meddle in other people’s
business. Those who are not capable would only seek death if
they tried.”

Fatty was touched by Ai Hui’s naggy words. He knew Ai Hui

wanted the best for him.

Just as Fatty was about to raise his head and declare his
determination, Ai Hui suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Fatty, did you hear something?”

Ai Hui squinted his eyes. Fatty was too familiar with this
facial expression of Ai Hui’s. Something was wrong. His pupils
constricted as he saw Ai Hui’s hand silently move towards his
sword hilt.
Chapter 120: Strange Phenomenon
Fatty was very experienced. The moment Ai Hui finished
speaking, Fatty was already moving towards him. He put up his
guard, like an alerted cat.

The main reason why he could survive the many dangers of

the Wilderness was because every time Ai Hui gave a warning,
Fatty would immediately react to it.

Other people would question Ai Hui’s intuition, causing a

slight delay in their reaction.

Fatty, however, would not doubt him, and that was why he
managed to survive.

Fatty felt that Ai Hui was much more powerful than himself.
Ai Hui was the abnormal laborer who had the highest chance of
leaving the Wilderness alive. He trusted Ai Hui unconditionally.

Complete obedience!

Whatever Ai Hui wanted him to do, he knew that it would be

necessary. Whatever reaction Ai Hui had, he knew that Ai Hui
must have discovered something of importance.

When Ai Hui asked him if he had heard anything, he knew

right away that Ai Hui must have heard something.

Hence, without any hesitation, he moved closer to Ai Hui. The

closer he was to Ai Hui, the safer he would be. Whatever Ai Hui
did, he would follow suit.

As swift as the wind, Ai Hui’s sword brushed past Fatty’s face

and penetrated the underbrush behind him.

Swoosh!

Possessing the sword embryo, Ai Hui’s senses were extremely

acute. Even though the sound was very soft, he could still hear
it. It might be hard to sense something through the tip of his
sword, but he could still sense what he had struck.

Deep down, Ai Hui quickly confirmed that the thing he had

hit had a very small surface area.
 The first time he entered the Garden of Life, he had heard a
faintly discernible noise at night. At that time, he had still
thought that it was a misperception caused by his long absence
from the wild; however, today he heard the same noise again.

He withdrew the Sawtooth Grass Sword and positioned its tip

right in front of his own face.

“You shocked me!” Fatty came over. “What’s that? Eh, there
is some blood on the tip of your sword.”

Fatty moved nimbly into the underbrush. After a while, he

returned with a dead mosquito that had its wings shattered and
body cut in half. “It’s a mosquito.”

Ai Hui saw the blood stain Fatty was talking about. It was a
very small drop of blood. When the mosquito was struck by the
grass sword, its body exploded and this small drop of blood
stained the sword.

Ai Hui was surprised as well. He did not expect it to be a

mosquito.
 He did not feel relieved just because it was only a mosquito. In
reality, the mosquitoes in the Wilderness were rather
dangerous, as many of them were extremely poisonous. Once
you were stung by a mosquito, you would be in dire straits.

As such, he did not put his guard down just because it was
only a mosquito. The thing that surprised him was that faintly
discernable sound; he did not expect a mosquito to produce such
a weird sound.

“There’s something odd with this mosquito.” The dead

mosquito on Fatty’s hand only had half of its body remaining.
Its wing was, oddly, dark red in colour. For some reason, even
Fatty, who had been through many life-and-death situations,
felt a shiver go down his spine. He mumbled to himself, “Why
am I afraid?”

Even though Fatty was scared, he still checked the dead

mosquito carefully.

In the Wilderness, one could not stand there and do nothing.

Fatty might hide behind Ai Hui when they were engaged in

combat, but he would not be sloppy when there was a need for
him to do some work.

Ai Hui pulled the tip of the sword close to his nose and took a
sniff. There was an odd, sweet smell to it.

He suddenly had an urge to lick it.

“There’s something wrong with this blood.” Ai Hui’s eyes

were ice-cold as he put down the sword.

“There’s definitely a problem,” Fatty replied. “Such a small

amount of blood should have dried up by now, but take a look, it
hasn’t dried up at all. Look at its wing, what do you think of
when you see this color?”

Fatty bent down to pull a stalk of grass from the ground, then
placed it beside the mosquito’s wing. “Look at this root, isn’t its
color similar?”

Ai Hui nodded. The two colors were slightly similar. It was

just that the mosquito wing’s color was a bit darker.
 “Look at the grass.” Fatty’s eyes were flickering. “The roots
are the most red. The color becomes fainter as it goes up the
grass and the top half of the grass is dark green. What do you
think?”

“The soil!” Ai Hui replied without the slightest hesitation.

The two of them looked at each other before squatting down

to begin looking through the underbrush. Ai Hui used the tip of
his sword to dig up the roots of the grass. Indeed, he saw red-
colored soil, so he did not stop and continued digging. The
deeper he dug, the redder the soil became. The soil was so red
that it looked like cinnabar.

Suddenly, red-coloured, muddy water gushed out from

beneath Ai Hui’s sword. It resembled gurgling blood.

Ai Hui froze and the air seemed to freeze with him. Both Fatty
and Ai Hui could see the fear in each other’s eyes. The two of
them had seen many scary things before in the Wilderness, but
this sight still managed to make their blood run cold.

“Didn’t they say this damned place is safe?” Fatty gulped.

 Ai Hui moved the tip of the sword in front of his face. The
sword’s tip was dark red, completely stained by the muddy
water. He took a careful sniff. It did not smell like mud; instead,
it had a faint aroma.

This aroma smelled somewhat similar to the aroma from the

mosquito’s blood; however, this one was milder.

They had seen red-colored soil before, but the red color of the
soil before them now resembled the color of blood. Could there
be a cinnabar mine here? No, that couldn’t be right, cinnabar
would not have such a weird aroma. Furthermore, if there was
really a cinnabar mine here, the surrounding vegetation would
be red in color. Right now, only the roots of the grass were dyed
red.

Apparently, this phenomenon had begun quite recently.

This might be the reason why everyone, including Ai Hui, did

not notice it at first. From afar, everything looked lush and
green.

Ai Hui walked for another ten steps until he came to an area

where there was no vegetation, then started digging again.
 Fatty trembled in fear and quickly hurried over.

The soil Ai Hui dug up was ash gray in color. Where had the
red color disappeared to?

Could it be...

Fatty’s face turned ugly.

Without saying anything, Ai Hui walked under a tree and

started digging again. Within seconds, blood-like muddy water
gushed out from the ground. He then hacked open the tree and
found that, within one meter from the ground, the core had
turned completely red in color. From the outside, no one would
be able to see it.

Fatty and Ai Hui clearly understood that this could not have
happened naturally.

“Maybe it’s a kind of blood poison?” Fatty’s trembling voice

contained a hint of uncertainty. “It’s cross-contamination. The
contaminated plant must have been eaten by a herbivore,
contaminating the herbivore in the process. That herbivore was
then stung by a mosquito, causing the mosquito to be
contaminated as well. What kind of poison is this? This… this is
too scary…”

Knowing that there was a sea of blood beneath the boundless,

lush vegetation surrounding them, the two trembled in fear.

“We had better get the teachers and Instructor Zhou to come
and take a look,” Fatty warned, “because this place is too
bizarre.”

Without any hesitation, Ai Hui nodded. “Let’s go!”

The two of them were feeling extremely uneasy.

Suddenly, there was an amazed exclamation coming from up

ahead.

“Rabbit, ahh, there’s a rabbit!”

“It’s really a rabbit!”

 “Even more so, it’s a rare red-haired rabbit!”

“Woah, such beautiful eyes, they look like rubies! Oh my god,

it’s so cute!”

Red hair...

At the same time, Ai Hui and Fatty thought of the red-colored

weeds, dark-red mosquito, and the seeping blood-colored
muddy water.

“Be careful!”
Chapter 121: Poisoned
Zhou Xiaoxi felt that he had made the right choice by
participating in this excursion. He could not shift his gaze from
Cui Xianzi. Previously, he still thought that everyone was
exaggerating about the benefits of coming to the Induction
Ground. However, after today, he changed his mentality and
rejoiced.

If he had not taken part in this excursion, how would he have

met such a gentle girl like Cui Xianzi?

Women who were stationed at front line were usually more

fearsome than the men. Like Li Wei had said, those who carried
a sword usually did not engage in petty squabbles.

Only the Induction Ground would have such a gentle, elegant,

and beautiful girl like Cui Xianzi.

A place like the Garden of Life would not have many dangers.
For an elite like him, who had been to the depths of the
Wilderness multiple times, the Garden of Life was like his
backyard.
 Even so, he did not lower his guard. At the moment when he
sensed there was something nearby, he broke into laughter after
realizing that it was merely a rabbit.

This rabbit was actually a rare red-haired breed.

Its fur was completely doused in red, and its ruby-like eyes
mesmerized Zhou Xiaoxi. So beautiful.

If he encountered such a beautiful rabbit in the Wilderness, he

would definitely not exclaim in admiration. Instead, he would
run as far away as possible from it. For such a beautiful creature
to exist in the Wilderness, where the survival of the fittest was
the most cutthroat, it must be very powerful.

It must be a pet that was released by another teacher, Zhou

Xiaoxi thought to himself.

At this point in time, the rest of the students had discovered

the red-haired rabbit as well.

The female students started to shriek with excitement.

 Some of the more daring students even gathered together to
use a stalk of grass to tease the rabbit. Initially, Zhou Xiaoxi was
prepared to stop them. However, he soon realized he was
making a big deal over a small issue. This was the peaceful
Garden of Life, not the perilous Wilderness.

It was customary for students to go on an excursion to the

Garden of Life. When Zhou Xiaoxi was still a student, he was
filled with curiosity just like these students. Every excursion left
him with beautiful memories. All these years, he had never
heard of any accidents in the Garden of Life. The injuries that
students suffered were mostly accidental, such as sprains.

There was no restriction on catching the wild animals in the

Garden of Life as pets.

Many students would capture wild animals as their pets while

they were on excursions. Zhou Xiaoxi thought of the grey
hedgehog that he caught in the Garden of Life. It accompanied
him throughout his student life in the Induction Ground.

He sighed silently.

Perhaps that innocence could only exist in the Induction

Ground. After he left the Induction Ground, all he thought
about was how to survive and become stronger. The pets that
everybody kept for their aesthetics eventually became beasts
that aided them in battle.

Good old times.

Zhou Xiaoxi smiled as he looked at the innocent actions of the

students.

"Be careful!"

Alarmed cries came from the rear of the main body of

students. Zhou Xiaoxi was stunned. He knew one of the voices
belonged to Ai Hui.

The other voice… must have belonged to that fatty.

Zhou Xiaoxi had noticed the dispute between the two students
previously. However, he did not interfere as he could sense the
deep friendship between them.
 Because of Li Wei, Zhou Xiaoxi had a good impression of Ai
Hui. Even though Zhou Xiaoxi was in a different division than
Li Wei, he was impressed by Li Wei’s knowledge and character
after spending some time with him. Hence, a youth that was
highly favored by Li Wei was definitely an extraordinary
individual.

The performance from Ai Hui a few days ago made Zhou

Xiaoxi see him in a new light.

Could there be something wrong?

Everything seemed normal. The rabbit’s nose twitched, and it

leaped toward the stem of grass in the student’s hand,
seemingly interested in it.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoxi’s eye pupils suddenly dilated.

The rabbit suddenly jumped forward and bit the hand of the
student.

"Ah!"
 The student, who was caught off guard, let out a blood-
curdling screech as blood streamed down from her hand. The
surrounding students shrieked and fell into chaos.

Zhou Xiaoxi’s reaction was extremely fast. He appeared icy

faced beside the injured student like a phantom and flicked his
finger.

Like an arrow, a stream of air shot out and pierced the red-
haired rabbit.

Boom!

Blood splashed everywhere as the stream of air that punctured

the red-haired rabbit suddenly exploded. Pieces of its body were
launched here and there.

The students immediately screamed in horror as they had

never seen such a gory sight.

Zhou Xiaoxi’s face turned ashen since he never expected an

accident to actually happen. He held up that student’s bitten
hand. The horrified student was still trembling non-stop.
Chunks of the rabbit were strewn all over the place, but its head
was still biting the student’s hand, refusing to let go.

Its ruby-like eyes were filled with an indescribable frenzy and

bloodlust. Its previous docile and adorable look had vanished,
making it now look extremely sinister.

Pop!

Zhou Xiaoxi crushed the rabbit’s head coldly. The injured

student fainted straightaway.

Ai Hui and Fatty managed to catch sight of this just as they

arrived. When they saw the situation, their hearts sank.

"What have you discovered?" Zhou Xiaoxi turned his head

around and stared fixedly at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui felt as if he was being glared at by a ferocious beast. He

was under such great pressure that he was unable to breathe.

He calmed himself and replied, "There’s something wrong

with the blood, and there’s a problem with the vegetation and
soil as well."

He knew what to do to convince the others. Without any

hesitation, he started to hack a small tree nearby.

The grass sword in his hand shaved off the tree bark with
great precision, revealing the core of the tree.

Zhou Xiaoxi’s eyes narrowed. The core of the tree looked as if

it was soaked in blood.

Ai hui’s grass sword kept on digging the soil beneath the tree.
The soil that was unearthed looked as red as cinnabar. After a
while, the blood-like muddy water flowed out from the soil and
a faint fragrance pervaded the air.

Everyone’s face drained to a pale-white. They had never seen

anything like this. The students that were timid felt their legs
go soft and sat on the ground while trembling in fear.

Zhou Xiaoxi’s face turned white as well. This was also the first
time that he had seen something so bizarre.
 "There’s something wrong with the rabbit’s blood. It might be
blood poison." Ai Hui continued to maintain his composure.

Zhou Xiaoxi sniffed the rabbit blood on his hand and a

refreshing fragrance filled his nose. He almost put his finger in
his mouth.

"The blood is poisonous!"

Ai Hui’s reminder gave Zhou Xiaoxi a shiver and returned him

to his senses. Zhou Xiaoxi felt a scorching feeling on his
fingertips and quickly wiped away the blood on his hand.
However, the rabbit blood had already seeped into the skin of
his hands by then.

Such a scary blood poison!

At the moment, Zhou Xiaoxi was able to keep calm. He

confirmed that he had been poisoned.

A red color had already pervaded throughout the body of the

fainted student.
 Zhou Xiaoxi knew that he was the main pillar of support for
the students. Right now, his most important task was to bring
these students back to safety.

Without hesitation, he took out a tiny bamboo tube and

opened its lid. There were many pine needle leaves with a
variety of colors inside.

He took out a red pine needle leaf, which was also known as
the distress leaf.

He walked toward a tree and pinned the red leaf onto it like a
needle.

The pine needle leaf started to emit a red glow, which

brightened and dimmed rhythmically, as if it was breathing.

Suddenly, the red glow started to grow dimmer and dimmer.

Eventually, the pine needle leaf fell from the tree.

Zhou Xiaoxi’s heart sank.

Chapter 122: Duanmu’s Absolute Art
There were many types of distress leaves. There were maple
leaves, gingko leaves, and so on, but pine needle leaves were the
most popular type.

Pine needle leaves were small in size and convenient to bring

along. A tiny bamboo tube could contain numerous pine needle
leaves. Certain features of pine trees could be found in pine
needle leaves as well.

Distress leaves were a product invented by wood

elementalists. Wood elementalists felt that trees could
communicate with each other, and this logic formed the basis
for message trees. However, message trees could not be found in
the wild.

Hence, the elementalists invented a kind of leaves that could

transmit messages through the trees in the wild.

Unlike message trees, the amount of messages that distress

leaves could transmit was very limited. However, they were still
able to make distress calls. There must be plants or trees nearby
for distress leaves to work, so they could not be used in places
like deserts or oceans.
 Veterans would definitely carry some distress leaves along
with them. For this excursion to the Garden of Life, Zhou Xiaoxi
had chosen to bring some distress leaves along just in case
something happened.

He never expected that something would actually happen.

Even worse, the distress leaf failed to work!

He had never encountered a situation where distress leaves

failed to function.

When he thought of the scene where Ai Hui dug up the soil, he

was sure that the surrounding vegetation was poisoned as well.
Zhou Xiaoxi did not quite agree with Ai Hui saying that it might
be a type of blood poison. Blood poisons were rarely seen. Like
its name suggested, blood poison worked by tainting the blood.
However, plants and trees did not have blood. Zhou Xiaoxi had
never heard of any plant or tree becoming afflicted with blood
poison.

Suddenly, he heard a wave of faint rustling noises coming

from afar, and his facial expression changed.

There were many wild beasts surging toward this place!

 He saw that Ai Hui’s facial expression had changed as well.
However, at this point of time, he did not have time to be
impressed by Ai Hui’s sharp sense of hearing. He did not dare to
hesitate and made a prompt decision. "Get out of here! We will
go back through the same road that we used to get here!"

After finishing his sentence, Zhou Xiaoxi lifted up the fainted

student and placed her upon his shoulder. Then, he looked at
the terrified students and yelled coldly, "If you run any slower
you will get devoured by the wild beasts!"

Even though Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi were very worried,

they did not forget their responsibilities and kept on
encouraging the students.

"Watch out for the wild beasts and insects! Don’t get bitten by
them!" Ai Hui reminded everyone loudly.

Fatty stayed close to Ai Hui. Surprisingly, his plump and huge

body was unusually nimble.

Ai Hui’s previous performance unwittingly commanded the

respect of everyone.
 "Everyone, stay close together, and don’t leave the main
group. All the girls move to the middle of the group. Ai Hui and
Duanmu Huanghun, both of you will stay at the front of the
group. Ai Hui will navigate the road, and Duanmu Huanghun
will safeguard him. I will bring up the rear. Teacher Xu will take
care of the left flank of the group, and Cui Xianzi will take care
of the right flank. The stronger students will keep to the outer
edges of the group. Everyone listen to my command. Do not
panic. I will bring everyone to safety," Zhou Xiaoxi ordered
resolutely.

His tone was calm and collected, displaying leadership and

dignity.

Currently, when compared to the other two teachers, the

Thirteenth Division’s elite Zhou Xiaoxi brought much more
assurance to the students. Even Ai Hui could not help but
exclaim in admiration. Zhou Xiaoxi truly lived up to his
reputation of being a front line elite. Such orders of manpower
deployment revealed a lot about his experience.

The rear of the group was the most dangerous position, and
this position was overseen by Zhou Xiaoxi.

The other two teachers’ strength were second only to his.

They were positioned on the left and right flanks of the group.
Both flanks needed to be taken care of.

The front of the group was the safest as they going back along
the same road that they used to get to the Garden of Life.

Duanmu Huanghun was cool-headed. The Grass Hollow was

much scarier than this place. He was not a delicate young
master. It was just that… he took a look at Ai Hui and felt an
indescribable awkwardness.

He actually had to fight alongside with this fellow…

This was ridiculous.

"Let’s go," Zhou Xiaoxi shouted. "Everyone, move out!"

Without hesitation, Ai Hui walked to the front of the group.

Other students might easily get lost in the woods, but for Ai
Hui, it was a walk in a park.

With a humph, Duanmu Huanghun appeared beside Ai Hui.

 Even though Duanmu Huanghun hated Ai Hui to the core, he
knew the severity of the current situation. The failure of the
distress leaf implied that they would not be able to obtain any
reinforcements. This would put them in a precarious situation.

He was a wood elementalist and clearly knew how scary blood

poison could be.

Furthermore, how could he be outperformed by this

scoundrel?

The surrounding rustling sounds were getting louder and

louder. Danger was approaching, and fear was growing in the
group.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Zhou Xiaoxi roared. Suddenly, white-colored azure wings

emerged from his back. The azure wings appeared and exploded
with a loud bang, forming wisps of white mist.

In the hands of other elementalists, azure wings were a type of

flying equipment. In the hands of a water elementalist, they
were a dangerous and deadly weapon.

The wisps of mist swam around him like a school of white

swordfish.

Swish swish swish!

The wild beasts were continuously entering the mist.

However, once they were in, they were sliced and ground by the
razor-sharp mist, resulting in a massive bloodbath.

Now, Teacher Xu also displayed his prowess. Numerous silver

light screens appeared around his body, which then formed a
silver barrier around the group. The most impressive thing
about this barrier was that its elasticity was extremely powerful.
Any beast that crashed onto the silver barrier would be bounced
back as if it had jumped into a trampoline.

Bang bang bang!

The sounds of collisions were so concentrated that they

resembled the pattering of raindrops.
 The fact that Cui Xianzi could bring a class out on an
excursion showed that she was quite capable as well. A piece of
fiery silk appeared mysteriously on her hand. One hundred
lifelike birds were embroidered on the the piece of silk.

With a flick of the silk, its surface immediately exploded with

a loud boom into a sea of flames.

Numerous chirping blazing birds flew out from the sea of

flames

Any incoming beast that was hit by a blazing bird would have
its body burst into flames.

Usually, Ai Hui would be captivated by these dazzling attacks.

However, he could not care less about them right now.

Suddenly, Duanmu Huanghun, who had been silently beside

him the whole time, struck out abruptly.

Green glowing symbols and designs that were usually found

on porcelain vases began to appear under Duanmu Huanghun’s
feet. Numerous dark-green vines came alive and extended
outward from the green glow beneath his feet. Like a formless
pencil, the vines rapidly drew out graceful and elegant patterns
on the ground.

Everyone felt their feet lighten, and their running speed

suddenly increased.

Duanmu Huanghun’s palms swayed gently in the air. The

green vines shot into the air with a terrifying speed, resembling
green branches growing and twinning in the air.

Eerie green peonies started to blossom on the vines.

In the blink of an eye, the peonies were fully bloomed. One

could hear a faint sigh as a breeze drifted through the air. The
petals began to detach themselves from the fully bloomed
peonies.

Peony petals drifted and danced in the air, resembling a rain

of petals that dyed the sky green.

When the wild beasts were caught in the green rain of petals
and came into contact with the green petals, their dark-red
bodies were dyed green. At the very instant they were dyed
green, their bodies appeared to disintegrate.

The wild beasts that leaped into the mid-air disintegrated into
wisps of green smoke before Ai Hui’s eyes.

Ai Hui was overwhelmed with shock.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face was filled with pride and

haughtiness.

Duanmu’s absolute art.

[Viridescent Flower]!
Chapter 123: Zhou Xiaoxi’s Decision
Ai Hui was shaken by the sight in front of him. His mouth
dropped open, and he stood dumbstruck. Not only him, the
entire troop was shocked by Duanmu Huanghun’s [Viridescent
Flower].

Duanmu Huanghun’s abrupt emergence was not limited by

his young age. Everyone’s sole impression of him was that he
was a talented genius. They had little understanding toward
him or his legacy skills. When Dai Gang took him as his last
disciple, it was further ingrained in everyone’s mind that
Huanghun was a talented genius.

The impact and shock that was brought about by the

[Viridescent Flower], which was as pretty as a painting, led to a
momentarily lapse within the troops.

It was only at this point that everyone remembered that

Duanmu Huanghun was ranked Number 17th in the Induction
Ground in terms of fighting strength.

Not only did he possess shocking innate skills, he had valiant

capabilities as well.
 Fatty’s gaze was blank while he mumbled, “I am done for, I
am done for. The money is a lost cause. Why did Ah Hui [1] give
a loan to such a capable chap… This is ruined. What a huge
amount of ruins…”

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes were flickering with a serene

splendor. He strolled idly, yet with lively steps. As green rain
droplets splattered, his elongated body was graceful and
picturesque. His flawless face radiated confidence, and all his
movements were calm and unhurried.

In a flash, the gazes from the young girls became smitten.

Ai Hui was shocked momentarily, but he quickly regained his

composure. With a low voice, he shouted, “Let’s walk this way!”

Duanmu Huanghun’s explosive display greatly improved

everyone’s morale and pulled everyone away from a state of
panic. The students who realized the capability of the group also
gradually calmed down. The emphasis on actual combat was a
tradition of the Avalon of Five Elements. The students from the
Old Territory were slightly lacking, but the students from the
Avalon of Five Elements had been trained and educated since
young. They had also accepted the notion of actual combat.
 When they settled down, their capability would also
progressively emerge.

Many female students started to take the initiative to

participate. Gradually, the situation stabilized.

The pressure on Duanmu Huanghun was quickly reduced by

half. He shot Ai Hui a glance and was secretly surprised. From
the beginning , Ai Hui did not display any signs of hesitation
along the way. It was a jungle of weeds, and there were no
landmarks. How did he do it?

Duanmu Huanghun even had the notion that Ai Hui had been
to this plot of forest many times.

Soon, however, Duanmu Huanghun did not have the leisure

to pay attention to Ai Hui. He was starting to feel pressured.
They had run for at least one hundred miles, but the wild beasts
that attacked them along the way did not reduce in number.
Instead, they exhibited an increasing trend.

The size of the wild beasts were not large. Their bodies
appeared to be a strange dull red, and they were extremely
irritable, without any care for their lives or deaths. All these
symptoms suggested that they had blood poisoning.

Even the elite Zhou Xiaoxi felt chills at this point in time. Not
only would the wild beasts attack them, they were also
extremely bloodthirsty. They would even crazily gobble up the
blood and flesh from the corpses of their own kind.

The shredded pieces and body parts of the wild beasts had yet
to fall on the ground when numerous wild beasts pounced and
fought over them.

Those torn body parts and the fresh blood that dripped on the
floor would be snatched up by numerous insects that rushed up
through the ground and from the bushes, as if they were
snatching up delicacies. Zhou Xiaoxi was proud of the fact that
he had been through countless of tough situations. No matter
how cruel the situation, he was able to face it.

However, what he experienced today made him fearful.

He attempted to use the distress leaf three times during the

journey, but to no avail.
 Zhou Xiaoxi had an acute sense of distance. They had walked
approximately one hundred fifty miles, yet they had not left the
infected area.

How extensively had the strange blood poisoning spread?

Could it be that the entire Garden of Life had already…

He trembled and did not dare to dwell further.

But, if the entire Garden of Life was infected with the

unknown blood poison, he had to make a decision. His gaze
swept across the students. After more than an hour of battle,
their faces started to show traces of fatigue. Morale was also
falling.

If that was the case, they would definitely be unable to leave

this place!

He suddenly shouted, “Ai Hui, find a place that is easy to

defend, but hard to attack!”

He knew that Ai Hui would understand what he meant.

 Ai Hui gave him a glance. Without another word, Ai Hui took
the lead and ran.

He understood Zhou Xiaoxi’s intention and had to admit that

it was the best available option . At their current speed, it would
be impossible to escape from the Garden of Life. Instructor
Zhou had azure wings, so he could fly back to get support. Even
with the added time that the support team needed to fly back to
the students, it was much less than the time required for the
students to travel out of the Garden of Life.

As long as they were able to find a suitable spot that would be

advantageous for their defense, the pressure would be lessened.
Furthermore, they would be able to prolong their survival time.

Ai Hui remembered that there were a few exposed boulders

not far away. If they could make use of these rocks, it would be a
good defensive position. Duanmu Huanghun was astonished. He
did not understand why Instructor Zhou trusted Ai Hui when Ai
Hui’s capability was so low.

He suddenly thought of the first day when they had entered

the Garden of Life. Instructor Zhou had asked Ai Hui to stand
guard.
 Suddenly, Duanmu Huanghun realized that his understanding
toward his nemesis was pathetic.

No, in fact, he knew nothing at all.

He observed Ai Hui surreptitiously and immediately

discovered many unusual traits. For example, Ai Hui rarely
walked in a straight line. Ai Hui’s figure was like that of a
cheetah when he ran. Also, his grass sword was inverted and
placed at the side of his body, making tiny swinging arcs like a
pendulum.

Duanmu Huanghun was extremely intelligent. While he did

not notice it before, he understood the benefits immediately
when he noticed it.

The grass sword could be unleashed immediately when faced

with danger.

This chap… was not simple!

In his heart, Duanmu Huanghun was alarmed. He was

displeased with himself because he only just realized these
unusual traits.

When Zhou Xiaoxi saw the rubble from afar, he was elated. He
looked at Ai Hui, thinking that it was a pity that Ai Hui did not
possess the water attribute. Otherwise, he would recruit Ai Hui
into the North Sea Division. While Ai Hui’s absolute base level
was not high, much to Zhou Xiaoxi’s astonishment, Ai Hui had
performed exceptionally ever since they stepped foot into the
Garden of Life.

Ai Hui was the first to detect the abnormalities, surpassing

even the instructor. Zhou Xiaoxi was an elite from the North
Sea, yet he was not as perceptive as a student. He was slightly
ashamed.

This was also a form of innate skill.

While natural endowments were innate skills, knowing how

to battle and react to complicated situations required talent as
well.

A pile of rubble comprised of a heap of black rocks that were

about six or seven meters tall was the best defensive position
they could find.
 The students, who were at the brink of exhaustion, practically
crawled and rolled into the rubble.

Zhou Xiaoxi, together with Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi,

coordinated and stood at the various high ground spots among
the rubble. The towering boulders blocked the wild beasts that
were like a rushing tide.

The students finally had a chance to catch their breath and

they lay around haphazardly.

“I am going to get support! The two of you will stay guard

here!” Zhou Xiaoxi shouted to Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi.

“All right!” Teacher Xu nodded his head without hesitation.

Cui Xianzi shouted concernedly, “Be careful!”

“You must hang in there!” While Zhou Xiaoxi was saying that,
he threw all the rations and medications that he had to Cui
Xianzi.
 Zhou Xiaoxi gazed deeply at Cui Xianzi for two seconds, as if
he wanted to safeguard this memory. He did not know why he
was doing this. Was it because of the insecurity in his heart?

How he wished that his world was still the same as

yesterday…

When he turned around, his gaze was resolute.

He soared into the air and disappeared into horizon.

Ah Hui is a pet name for Ai Hui.

Chapter 124: Ai Hui’s Conjecture
Nightfall was gradually approaching.

The black rocks were sturdy. With the aid of the rubble and by
alternating between passively guarding and actively rebuffing
the attack of the wild beasts, the situation was finally under
control.

“Huanghun, I will take over for you. You should have a good
rest.” Teacher Xu’s voice was filled with concern.

Apart from Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi, Duanmu Huanghun

was the third in importance. The amount of time he spent
guarding was the same as the two teachers. The rest of the
students looked at Duanmu Huanghun with admiring and
respectful gazes. Furthermore, Duanmu Huanghun was one of
the youngest here, yet he held such great responsibility. How
could they not respect him?

“Yes, Teacher,” Duanmu Huanghun replied courteously. Even

at this point in time, he did not forget his manners.

Jumping down from the rocks, he was exhausted. He found a

clean spot among the stones and sat down. Duanmu Huanghun
realized that the person resting next to him was Ai Hui only
after sitting down.

Had the fellow already made his move? It was a pity he had
not seen it.

The intensity of the battle had been at another level. The wild
beasts seemed to have gone crazy and came one after another.
Guarding was a serious affair as he was holding down the fort,
so he had no time to bother with other stuff.

“What do you think of the situation now?” Duanmu

Huanghun suddenly asked.

Ai Hui was somewhat surprised and shot a glance at Duanmu

Huanghun. He did not expect Duanmu Huanghun to suddenly
talk to him.

However, at this point in time, it was not worth it to bring up

the previous grievances. Regardless of whether he was willing
or not, all of them were in the same boat now. Also, Duanmu
Huanghun performed significant deeds and had not proved to
be an obstruction. If they were able to make it out alive,
Duanmu Huanghun would have played a huge part in making it
happen.

The malice Ai Hui felt toward him lessened.

He shook his head. “Disastrous.”

Duanmu Huanghun frowned ever so slightly. “Why is that?

Hasn’t the situation stabilized?”

Looking at the situation before his eyes, Duanmu Huanghun

felt that the situation had improved. They had a favorable
defensive position and also figured out the pattern of
alternating defenders. The available rations and water was also
sufficient to last for a period of time.

Where was the danger?

Duanmu Huanghun believed that Ai Hui would not have

spoken without thinking.

Just as Duanmu Huanghun’s capability had obtained the

stamp of approval from everyone, Ai Hui’s acute judgement has
also obtained the same stamp of approval. Although this result
made Duanmu Huanghun uncomfortable, he had to admit that
while he was confident of winning in a personal battle, he was
indeed lacking in other aspects.

Many times, Ai Hui’s experience and skills reminded him of

Instructor Zhou.

“Didn’t you notice? Those wild beasts that attacked us were

herbivores.”

While Ai Hui’s tone was calm, it was still a shock for Duanmu
Huanghun when he heard it.

Recalling the previous battles, the animals that he met with

were mostly small animals that fed on plants. He pondered for
awhile. “Are you implying that there are even more ferocious
wild beasts that were poisoned? Or only those that fed on plants
would be poisoned?”

“The red water underground has a very weak delicate

fragrance. If you pull a blade of grass, the fragrance of the grass
is more intense than the red water. Do you still remember the
red-haired rabbit? The blood of the red-haired rabbit was even
more fragrant than the grass. I killed a mosquito previously and
the blood from the mosquito was even sweeter and more
fragrant than the red-haired rabbit’s blood. What do you think
this means?”

“You are implying…” Duanmu Huanghun’s expression

became very worried.

“The concentration of the blood poison is increasing

progressively,” Ai Hui said straightforwardly. He continued,
“Look at those wild beasts that were killed by us. Their corpses
were gobbled up cleanly, right? Have you seen a drop of blood
on the ground yet?”

“This proves that those wild beasts that were poisoned were
very bloodthirsty.” Duanmu Huanghun thought of the most
plausible reason.

“No.” Ai Hui shook his head. “They were attracted by the

blood poison. I suspect they are transforming.”

“What do you think of the battle ability of these small animals

that feed on plants? Did it increase substantially?” Ai Hui
continued to ask.

“Very much so.” Duanmu Huanghun nodded his head.

“What has changed them? The blood poison. It enabled them

to become stronger. Do you still remember the progressive
trend? For the carnivorous wild beasts, the blood poison is more
concentrated, so their change would be even greater and more
dangerous,” Ai Hui said gravely.

Duanmu Huanghun had actually missed that small detail. A

chill that was hard to put in words ascended from his spine, and
he shivered.

“For the time being, we still do not know what change it will
bring. However, the mosquito i killed previously was also very
weak. As such, I suspect that it is possible for the carnivorous
wild beasts to have to undergo a transformation period. Thus,
the reason why we have yet to meet with these carnivorous wild
beasts might be because they have not completed the
transformation.”

Duanmu Huanghun’s face turned as white as sheet. “This…

This is just your conjecture…”
 “If I am not wrong, the wild beasts we are going to encounter
subsequently will be harder to deal with.” Ai Hui was as cool as
a cucumber, like he was narrating an incident that had nothing
to do with him. “I hope my guess is wrong. Otherwise, we can
only wish for the early arrival of the support team.”

Duanmu Huanghun stared blankly at Ai Hui. He could not

imagine how Ai Hui could be so indifferent to their dire state.

Ai Hui did not take note of Duanmu Huanghun’s gaze. He

continued to mutter, “Also, why would the wild beasts attack
us? And why didn’t they attack us previously? Did you notice
that the wild beasts would gobble up the corpses of their own
kind but would not attack those that were alive. Why was that
the case?”

Duanmu Huanghun felt dumbstruck.

He had always thought that he was truly a genius and felt that
he had a nimble mind. He was able to think of a reason
whenever there was a problem. But now, listening to Ai Hui’s
consecutive “why’s”, he felt that his brain was not substantial
enough.
 Had everyone not walked the same route? Why did the things
they saw differ so much?

The expression Duanmu Huanghun had while looking at Ai

Hui was like he had seen a ghost.

Every detail that Ai Hui mentioned was something that

Duanmu Huanghun had not noticed. Thinking about it closely,
every problem seemed to have a profound theory behind it.

At that moment, Duanmu Huanghun saw Ai Hui in a new

light. He finally understood why Ai Hui always managed to gain
the trust of other people. This fellow’s insight was simply too
scary. Furthermore, his calm and cool-headed thinking always
managed to point directly to the crux of the problem.

Moreover, no matter how bad the situation, Ai Hui seemed to

never panic.

For example, if Ai Hui’s conjecture was true, then they were

going to be in a dire situation. When Ai Hui used his exclusively
strange tone, yes that’s right, that sort of strange tone that had
nothing to do with him. To Duanmu Huanghun, the tone was
weird to an extreme degree.
 Seems like he was not very worried now…

What sort of weird mindset was this? Duanmu Huanghun,

himself, was also rather speechless.

“Ah Hui, it is our turn now.”

Fatty’s shout broke Ai Hui’s train of thoughts.

Ai Hui gathered his senses, grabbed his grass sword, and,

together with Fatty, took over Cui Xianzi’s post.

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes brightened. He was filled with

curiosity toward Ai Hui’s battle ability since he had never
witnessed it before. Now he would be able to observe it.

At that moment, a long beast howl sounded out from a distant

place.

In unison, Ai Hui and Duanmu Huanghun changed their

expressions.
Chapter 125: Solution
Ai Hui felt that he really was a jinx.

Upon hearing that long beast howl, he knew that they were at
the most critical moment.

The points that he had mentioned to Duanmu Huanghun were

not casual opinions but the things that he was most puzzled
about. He still had many doubts that he hadn’t mentioned, but
at this juncture, all of them were unimportant.

Although he was unable to identify the wild beast’s type from

its howl, he was sure that they were unable to defeat it.

Perhaps only Instructor Zhou could.

He had seen many dire beasts in the Wilderness, and every

single mighty dire beast definitely had an imposing manner.
Just like people who held high positions, they had gestures and
mannerisms that were different from ordinary folk. The law of
the jungle was, obviously, even crueler and prevalent in the
jungle. Battles between wild beasts were more straightforward,
and in order to protect their own territory, wild beasts didn’t
know what it meant to keep a low profile—the king of the beasts
must be cruel, vicious, and warlike. Only then would they be
able to achieve success and attain the title of king of the beasts.

Those who managed to survive the law of the jungle had the
instinct to fear danger and cower in front of those who were
stronger.

Ai Hui had clearly noticed the panic of the surrounding wild

beasts after hearing the beast howl.

And he instantly knew that the distant wild beast was not
something they could compete against.

Furthermore, the flock of wild beasts that was rushing up

suddenly scattered, as if there was an opening at the other end.
They left the rubble and dispersed into the distance.

While there was joy on the other students’ faces, Ai Hui’s

pupils constricted, and his hair stood on end.

Pieces of flesh were scattered on the ground. Those wild

beasts had run for their lives without even bothering about the
flesh that they initially could not resist. This was the first time
Ai Hui had seen such bloody chunks of the flesh on the ground.

There was only one possibility—that ferocious beast was

approaching!

Damn it!

The intensified fear stimulated all of Ai Hui’s brain’s nerves.

He knew that they had to quickly come up with a response. It
would be too late when the ferocious beast discovered them.

What should he do?

He forced himself to calm down. He repeated to himself that it

was not the first time he had encountered such a situation. He
had experienced much worse in the Wilderness. Back then, he
did not have any support, and the elementalists also did not care
if he was dead or alive. However, now, the teachers would not
be callous and make him fight his own battles.

How did he hide previously?

 Ai Hui jolted. Hide…...

Yes!

Hide! Only if they hide would there be a possibility to survive.

Hide...hide... hide...

The wheels in Ai Hui’s head spun furiously as he recalled that

at the most dangerous juncture, he had covered himself in mud
and had hidden in the sludge, thus having a narrow escape.

His gaze swept over the surroundings, but there were only
rocks. There was no mud here.

Rocks...

His gaze fell onto the largest one. That rock was about ten
meters tall and was slanted at a certain angle. Ai Hui’s eyes
brightened as he shouted, "Everyone, hide beneath that piece of
rock!"
 Everyone looked bewildered.

Duanmu Huanghun’s brain had been filled to the brim with Ai

Hui’s predictions when one of them had come true. This had
heightened his uneasiness. And when he saw the calm Ai Hui
have such an intense reaction, he instantly became alert.

"Move over everyone! Listen to Ai Hui’s commands!" Teacher

Xu’s voice rang out. He had also picked up on Ai Hui’s
nervousness. In his memory, Ai Hui had never been this
anxious.

"Teacher, could you move that piece of rock?" Ai Hui pointed

to a horizontal, rectangular rock.

"Let me do it." Cui Xianzi did not question his intentions, and
a red satin cloth flew out from her hand and coiled around the
rectangular rock like a snake.

Hu!

The rectangular rock flew upwards and was slotted into the
bottom of the huge rock, forming an empty, partially closed-off
space, like a small shelter.

At that moment, all the wild beasts in their surroundings had

vanished. By now, even those with slower reactions could tell
that something was wrong.

"Everyone, go in!" Ai Hui urged the students. While the

students started to hide in panic, he asked Teacher Xu, "Is it
possible to use mud to seal up the cracks?"

"I know how to; I am an earth elementalist." A student whom

Ai Hui did not know raised his hand. He continued, "But how do
we breathe?"

"Just hold your breath! Speed up! It’s going to be here soon!"
Ai Hui replied with an agitated tone.

Ai Hui’s hand that was clutching the grass sword was

trembling, but it was barely perceptible. He was in his sword
embryo state, and all his six senses had been heightened. But it
was also due to this that he was more than able to comprehend
the frightfulness of the unknown beast that was approaching
their group.
 "The thicker the mud, the better it is! It would be even better
if it's like a mountain; it would be able to cover us!"

The earth elementalist set about his task immediately.

Controlling mud was not difficult to an earth elementalist. The
nearby mud and sandstone started to slowly ascend the
rectangular rock like an ugly monster wriggling its way
upwards.

Ai Hui’s gaze swept over the discarded torn body parts that
were near them. He had a sudden idea. "Is it possible to put
those torn parts on the topmost layer of the mud?"

Duanmu Huanghun somewhat understood Ai Hui’s

intentions.

A blue and white slender rattan flew out from his hand. When
it reached the top of a piece of flesh, it suddenly split into ten
different blue and white rattans that were even more slender
than the first rattan. Each of the slender rattans rolled up a
piece of flesh.

Duanmu Huanghun controlled the rattans and brought the

flesh to the top of the rock.
 When the last crack was sealed, the rattans faded away, and
all the torn pieces of flesh lost their support and scattered
around the huge rock and sandstones. Darkness engulfed
everyone.

The earth elementalist student collapsed on the ground. In

order to create a thick layer of mud as Ai Hui had requested, he
had exhausted all his energy. From the outside, one could see
the tremendous changes that the rubble had undergone. The
massive rock that had initially had half its body inclined into
the air was now completely buried under the sandstones,
forming a small barrow.

"It is here. Do not make any noise."

In the dark, Ai Hui’s lowered his voice to deliberately

contribute to everyone’s tension.

Pa…Da…Pa…Da…

Unhurried footsteps could be distinctly heard in the dark.

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats.
 A dark red wolf appeared at the perimeter of the rubble. Its
nose twitched as if it had some suspicion. It was puzzled by the
sight in front of him—the barrow that was scattered with huge
amounts of flesh.

The atmosphere was filled with the delicate fragrance of blood

and flesh.

The wolf soon threw its doubt to the back of its mind. The
pieces of flesh in front of it had caught its attention, and it
started to greedily devour them. Although the flesh couldn’t be
said to be the best food, it wasn’t too bad either. Previously, the
wolf was not considered a powerful wild beast in the Garden of
Life, and even after its transformation, it still retained its
previous instincts to not waste food.

Beneath its feet, the students who were waiting felt each
second to be years.

Goosebumps crawled up everyone’s arms upon hearing the

crunching of bones coming from the top of their heads.

The blood wolf cleared all the body parts, but it did not have
the least bit of contentment. Instead, it became even more
hungry.

Suddenly, its eyes lit up with a blood-thirsty glare as it gazed

deep into the forest.

A howl sounded out from afar, causing the blood wolf to turn
its head. There was now another large beast like it in the
vicinity.

It wasn’t sure how that was possible, but right now, it just
wanted to have a good meal.

It retracted its gaze, turned around, and headed into the

forest.
Chapter 126: I am the Wind of the North
Sea
Zhou Xiaoxi was worried sick. He was flying at his highest
speed as he knew that the students could not hold on for too
long.

Every one hundred kilometers, he would stop and chop down

a tree to see if the blood poison had spread to that area.
However, every time he stopped to check, his disappointment
would only increase. He had already flown halfway through the
Garden of Life, but the cores of the trees he chopped down were
still red in color.

He could not imagine what was going to happen. He felt fear.

In his eyes, the boundless Garden of Life had become a

boundless sea of blood.

The Garden of Life was being corroded by the blood poison.

His body was also being corroded by the blood poison. It was
like a monster that continuously devoured his elemental energy,
making itself grow increasingly stronger.
 He clenched his teeth and flew with all his might. However,
he soon discovered that his pair of azure wings was becoming
weaker and his flying speed was decreasing.

He became dismayed and somewhat mocked himself. If his

brothers from his department saw him flying at this speed, they
would definitely laugh at him. The day when the Wind of The
North Sea, Zhou Xiaoxi, was slower than a tortoise had finally
come.

Like a bird with injured wings, he lost his balance and started
to wobble in mid-air, his altitude rapidly decreasing.

As he flew through the canopy of the woods, densely-packed

tree branches whipped his body, but he could not feel anything.

When was the last time he flew so low? It should be when he

was twelve years old...

An image of a young and immature youth appeared before his

eyes. The youth was clumsily wearing a pair of azure wings that
was much bigger than the size of his body. It was his father’s
azure wings. Even in his dreams, he would yearn to soar
through the skies like his father.
 The first time the youth had put on the azure wings, he had
been very nervous. He had pursed his lips and channeled his
elemental energy before unsteadily taking off from the ground.
But before he could rejoice, he had screamed and crashed into
the tree in his backyard like a drunk bird.

The feeling of branches smacking his face then was similar to

what he was feeling now.

That youth was filled with ignorance and vision. Those were
good old times.

Zhou Xiaoxi’s body slammed heavily onto the ground, causing

soil and rotten leaves to fly everywhere. A warm and nostalgic
smile appeared on his face.

After struggling to pick himself up, he leaned against a tree

and took out a bamboo tube from his shirt. He then pulled out a
distress leaf and pinned it on the tree trunk.

When he saw the glow of the pine needle dim, he was in a daze
for ten seconds.
 He carefully closed the bamboo tube and hid it well within his
shirt. Without any hesitation, he turned around and started
staggering in the direction of the Induction Ground. However,
as he moved, he found it to be increasingly difficult to breathe,
and his body’s temperature was rising. His energy was rapidly
reducing as well. All right, he actually did not have any strength
left; his legs went to jelly, and he was shaking.

Luckily, Cui Xianzi was not able to see his current pathetic
state; otherwise, it would be very humiliating...

The dizziness and the ringing in his ears had sent him into a
state of stupor.

He must look very ugly now….

In his daze, he seemed to see Cui Xianzi give him a smile.

Suddenly, his legs tripped over a branch, and he fell flat on his
face, causing his forehead to knock against a rock and start
bleeding.

This made him a bit sober. With a surge of strength, he picked

himself up and struggled forward.
 Tumbling, staggering, and dazed.

His body was as red as a cooked prawn; his body temperature

was astonishingly high. He could feel an erupting volcano inside
his body.

The blood on his forehead was emitting an alluring fragrance.

Sounds of rustling could be heard as several pairs of scarlet

eyes began to light up in the nearby underbrush.

Even so, he did not feel fear anymore, just like how he did not
know how far he had walked. His dazed eyes were dyed red by
the blood dripping from his forehead, causing his vision to be of
a similar blood-red.

He could hear his own breathing loud and clear, and his heart
was pounding so hard that it resembled a roaring monster. He
could feel the world leaving him.

Is this the feeling of death....

 He tried to move his lips, but he no longer had any strength.
He collapsed onto the ground.

The wild beasts started to approach from all directions. Their

scarlet eyes were filled with hunger and desire.

Behind the blood-red canopy, there was the deep, blood-red

sky. It was so beautiful. He did not know since when he had
loved the sky, but he had always desired to conquer and soar
through the heavens.

Who was the one who had told him that the last thought
before someone died was the thing that they loved the most?

Such bullshit…

So the thing he loved the most was his bamboo tube?

Hahaha….

Next time, he should remember to not close the lid of the

bamboo tube so tightly… Okay, there would be no next time.
 With shaky hands, he managed to open the lid of the tube and
involuntarily spilled the pine needle leaves all over the ground.

Through his blood-filled vision, he could not differentiate the

multi-colored pine needle leaves from each other.

His eyes had been rendered colorblind from the blood…

Dark red tears started to flow down his cheeks, but he did not
know whether they were blood or tears. The tears fell onto his
soil-smudged palms, forming a small, heart-shaped puddle.

Cui Xianzi, you must survive!

He summoned the last bit of strength he had and grabbed a

bunch of pine needle leaves. Then, like a beast that was pushed
to its edge, he dashed towards the nearest tree!

Bang!

A bunch of pine needle leaves smudged with mud was pinned

onto the tree.
 He stared blankly at it. There was a speck of light that was
becoming brighter and brighter, bit by bit.

He wanted to laugh, he wanted to laugh at the top of his voice!

However, he could not make any sound.

This was his distress leaf, and the Induction Ground could
track it. The Induction Ground would be able to identify Cui
Xianzi’s location as his North Sea Token was in the bag of
rations and medicine that he had passed to her.

He raised his head with satisfaction. Through his blood-

covered vision, he could see those malevolent wild beasts.

So ugly….

At this moment, he just wanted to yell his name with pride to

Cui Xianzi and his dear beautiful sky. He wanted to let the
drifting wind carry his name…

I am the Wind of the North Sea!

 Then, he fell to the ground, his body stiff, as he faced his
beloved sky for the last time.

...

The students had already spent three days in darkness under

the mound.

After the ferocious beast had left the last time, Ai Hui had
requested Duanmu Huanghun to dig a few more small holes in
the mound using his vines.

The amount of oxygen that these little holes could channel

was minimal. Fortunately, everyone knew how dangerous it
was outside. Even the delicate and petite female students were
enduring and persevering at this point.

Outside was total chaos. There were various unknown wild

beasts, and their roars were getting louder and louder.

Everyone was trembling in fear even though they were under

the mound.
 Their shelter had repeatedly been strengthened over these
past few days. Ai Hui was in charge of the students’ security
while those who were earth elementalists were in charge of
controlling the soil and mud to strengthen the mound.

The mound was becoming increasingly thicker, but even after

being strengthened, it still could not stop the roars from
penetrating.

When will we be rescued?

"Will we survive?" someone asked in the dark.

"We will definitely survive!" Teacher Xu replied with absolute

determination. "The Induction Ground will not ignore such an
overt situation. Everyone needs to believe in the Induction
Ground, and believe in ourselves."

"Teacher Xu is right." Cui Xianzi put in some encouraging

words as well. "We need to believe in the Induction Ground. It’s
quite a long distance between the Garden of Life and the
Induction Ground, so it will take some time for reinforcements.
However, no matter what, the Induction Ground will definitely
not remain indifferent to such a dire situation."
 After hearing these words, the students were more at ease.

After speaking, Cui Xianzi became silent in the darkness.

As she thought of Zhou Xiaoxi, her hands involuntarily

grasped the bag that he had thrown to her. It had been three
days, and there was still no news of that fellow. Could it be that
he had gotten into some accident?

When she thought of the blood poison in Zhou Xiaoxi’s body,

she became more worried.

That frivolous face kept appearing in her mind. When she

thought of how his shamelessness had amused her and made
her cheerful, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

That fellow was much more amusing than the other

teachers….

She thought of how Zhou Xiaoxi had pestered her for her
contact details and told her that he was going to write letters to
her. Such an old-fashioned man. How could he not know that
letter-writing is outdated?
 By then, if I don’t receive any letters from you, you’re
finished… Humph….

In the darkness, a faint blush appeared on Cui Xianzi’s face.

However, in the blink of an eye, all those distracting thoughts

transformed back into ones of worry.

When she saw the injured student who was had been knocked
out and tied up tightly, she became even more anxious.

No matter what, you must survive!

Ai Hui actually wanted everyone to stop talking. Although

they were all keeping their volume low, he still wanted to tell
them that a lot of wild beasts had superb hearing.

However, in the end, he did not say anything because he knew

that if everyone really maintained total silence, they would all
plunge into a mental breakdown.

He was used to being in darkness and was not in any

discomfort.

He took a glance at Fatty, who was lying against a rock,

sleeping soundly. Actually, the best thing to do in such a
situation was to sleep.

However, Ai Hui did not dare to sleep because he wanted to

pay constant attention to what was going on outside. His hand
never left the grass sword at all.

As compared to other people, he was not really optimistic

about the current situation. He had not slept for three days. He
clearly knew what was going on outside.

The situation was deteriorating!

Everyone could hear that the wild beasts’ roars were

becoming increasingly frequent; however, only Ai Hui was
counting the types of roars in his mind.

Twenty-six!
 During the last three days, he had heard twenty-six different
types of roars. But these ferocious beasts would usually not let
out such raging howls.

Every beast would only let out one distinct roar.

He guessed that these roars must contain some kind of special

message. But the amount of information he had gathered was
far too little. There was no way he could decipher the meaning
behind them.

However, there was one thing that he was sure of, and that
was that only dangerous beasts would give off such angry roars.

There were twenty-six different types of wild beasts out there,

and every one of them was extremely dangerous. Just this fact
would make everyone tremble with fear.

Ai Hui knew that the blood poison was beginning to spread.

The incubation period of the blood poison had passed, and it
was now in its maturity period. The fact that the blood poison
had incubated had already been validated.
 The student who was bitten by the red-haired rabbit was the
one whom Ai Hui had gotten his validation from.

This student’s elemental energy had completely disappeared,

and his entire body was boiling hot. When he woke up, he was
filled with irritation and aggression. If Ai Hui had never broken
away from the sword embryo’s state and detected these
symptoms, roughly half the number of people under the mound
would have been injured by this infected student.

The injured student’s body was undergoing astonishing

changes. For example, his skin had become tougher, his eyes
had become bloodshot and were giving off a demonic-red glow,
his strength had increased tremendously, and his hair had
become thicker. That fellow’s hair had also grown a significant
length in the past three days.

The wound on his hand had also been fully healed without
leaving any scar.

Furthermore, Ai Hui also noticed that this student did not lose
his total self-awareness. It was just that he could not control his
emotions. It was as if there was something in everyone’s body
that was provoking him.
 For the sake of everyone’s safety, this student was tied up.

Ai Hui was secretly observing the injured student, like how he

had observed the dire beasts in the Wilderness.

Ai Hui was most worried about whether the Induction Ground

was capable of handling the blood poison that was already in its
maturity period.

However, when he thought of the lax garrison in the

Induction Ground, he could only laugh bitterly.
Chapter 127: Si Nan’s Journal
It was the fifth day. Ai Hui noticed that the movements
outside had decreased, and he guessed that the Induction
Ground must have taken action.

He made sure to tell this to everyone as he knew that they

needed a boost in morale right now. If not for the terrifying
roars of the wild beasts outside, there would be people here
taking action. However, no one had the courage to go out when
they heard those furious roars.

Ai Hui’s conjecture significantly raised the spirits of those

downcast students. They already had faith in Ai Hui’s
judgments since the beginning of this excursion.

In such a cramped and dark environment with foul and dirty

air, every day was akin to torture.

On the sixth day, Ai Hui and the rest of the students were
finally rescued by Li Wei and his rescue team.

When everyone finally walked out of the mound, they felt as if

it had been a lifetime. The surrounding terrain had undergone
massive changes; the initial lush and verdant forest had been
reduced to a barren land with billowing smoke and fumes.

Ai Hui noticed many people pouring red kerosene onto the

trees and plants. Behind them was scorched earth; every inch of
land had been torched by the burning kerosene. No plants could
ever grow on such a land.

He was in somewhat of a daze.

A few days ago, he had been thinking about how peaceful the
Induction Ground was; however, after now seeing the charred
land, he felt that he had been too naive.

Ai Hui himself reacted like this, let alone the other students.
An ordinary excursion had turned into a terrifying experience.

After coming out of the mound, many students broke down on

the spot. Everyone was crying bitterly. At this point, all they
wanted was to return to the safety and warmth of their homes.

Ai Hui noticed Li Wei pull Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi to one

side. Li Wei told them something, causing Cui Xianzi’s face to
turn deathly pale, and her body appeared to be on the verge of
collapsing.

Upon seeing this, Ai Hui was stunned. Actually, when he did

not catch sight of Instructor Zhou after coming out of the
mound, he knew that something was wrong.

He was used to witnessing death, but at this moment, he still

felt despondent.

Everyone was assigned to a transport wagon and set off

homeward. Li Wei did not follow them as he still had a mission
to carry out; there were still lots of people who had yet to be
found. A total of five classes had gone on this excursion, but
only two classes—Ai Hui’s class and Fatty’s class—had been
rescued. One class had been confirmed dead, and the remaining
two were still missing.

After going missing for so many days, their chance of

surviving was minimal.

Yet, no one wanted to give up. Li Wei was greatly encouraged

after finding Ai Hui’s and Fatty’s classes.
 When Ai Hui heard that there were still two classes missing,
he felt even more downcast. Those of the Wilderness were
always mentally prepared for death. Surviving was a gift
conferred by the gods, and everyone was apathetic to death.

However, the Induction Ground was like heaven, peaceful and

safe. Ai Hui used to think that the Induction Ground was the
best place in the world, and he had even thought about how nice
it would be if he got to stay in the Induction Ground forever.

Li Wei patted his shoulder and told him to go back and have a
good rest.

On the transport wagon, no one had the mood to talk. Sobs

could be heard everywhere. Cui Xianzi was seated on one side,
staring blankly into space as if her soul had left her body. Her
face was as pale as paper, and her hands were clenching onto
Zhou Xiaoxi’s bag.

Ai Hui wanted to console her, but he did not know what to

say. The death was so sudden, and she did not even have the
chance to bid farewell.

Ai Hui, who had always thought that he was used to death,

could not help but look down.

As he gazed downwards from the sky, he could see that the

jade-green sea of trees had disappeared. The charred ground
was like an ugly scar that stretched into the smoky horizon. Fire
extended towards the distance, devouring everything in its
path.

The poisoned student was put on an emergency transport

wagon as he needed urgent medical treatment.

However, Ai Hui felt that the chance of that student surviving

was not high. He had never seen such a strange type of blood
poison. That poisoned student’s body had undergone terrifying
mutations.

For some reason, the blood poison seemed somewhat familiar

to Ai Hui. He remembered reading about something similar in a
journal.

But when he tried to think about it, he could not remember

any details.
 When Ai Hui finally glimpsed Central Pine City, he was
suddenly overwhelmed with emotions.

It was just that…

Central Pine City was still the same, prosperous and peaceful.
It looked as if nothing had happened.

At this moment, someone noticed that the transport wagon

was not flying in the direction of Central Pine City.

“Where are you taking us?”

“I want to go home!”

“Let us down!”

The students started to become agitated. Their mental states

had already been pushed to the brink of collapse, and when they
saw that the transport wagon was taking them to another place,
they all went frantic.
 Ai Hui observed quietly from one side. When he saw that
Central Pine City was not heavily guarded, he roughly
understood what was going on.

The Induction Ground had instituted a lockdown on

information.

“Teacher Xu, please cooperate with us,” an elementalist said

solemnly. “To prevent the spread of the poison, all of you will
have to be quarantined for a period of time. Everyone, please try
to understand. This is for the sake of everyone’s safety and for
all of you.”

Teacher Xu’s face turned ugly. He didn’t expect to be

quarantined just after escaping from that hellhole.

But the dead-serious look on the elementalist’s face told him

that it was an order from the goddamn higher-ups.

He was clear about the Induction Ground and the higher-ups’

ways of handling such situations.

So he had no choice but to console the students. He knew that

if he let the students carry on stirring up trouble, things that he
did not want to see might happen.

“You want to put a lockdown on information?”

Duanmu Huanghun suddenly asked. That elementalist’s facial

expression slightly changed as he glanced at Duanmu
Huanghun. However, he did not disagree, and instead replied
plainly, “It’s for everyone’s sake. This is such an enormous
catastrophe. Who will be responsible if it creates unnecessary
mass hysteria?”

“Why don’t you disperse everyone?” Duanmu Huanghun

replied, meeting the elementalist’s gaze head-on. Without any
fear, he asked coldly, “Have you not thought about what will
happen if you lose control of the situation? How many people
will be implicated?”

“We will not lose control of the situation.” The elementalist

was aware of Duanmu Huanghun’s identity and was careful
with his tone. “We have already found a way to deal with this
poison.”

“You figured out a way to deal with the poison?” Ai Hui

suddenly opened his mouth and asked.

Initially, the elementalist had not wanted to divulge anything.

However, after seeing the agitation of the surrounding students
and that Duanmu Huanghun was staring coldly at him, he
decided to reveal a bit of information. “Yes, we found records of
a similar poison in the journal of a deceased wood elementalist.
The Induction Ground gathered the most powerful wood
elementalists in the city and discovered a way to counter this
type of poison. This whole situation was an accident.”

“Accident?” Duanmu Huanghun felt that he had heard a huge

joke. It was obviously an enormous disaster, where so many
people had died, but this fellow was saying that it was just an
accident?

“Yes. There is a clear record of the formula of this type of

poison in the wood elementalist’s journal. Right now, we are
performing tests, but from the looks of it, things are proceeding
very smoothly.”

The elementalist was brimming with confidence as he replied

to Duanmu Huanghun.
 ……

Ai Hui and the rest were brought to a manor that was roughly
forty kilometers from Central Pine City. When they just
reached, they were immediately questioned by a few
elementalists. It was evident that the security was extremely
tight.

“I hope everyone can stay here at ease. If everything goes

smoothly, all of you will be back in Central Pine City very soon.
Please surrender all the various types of leaves you have with
you. There will be severe consequences for anyone who tries to
communicate with outside world without permission. If
everyone can cooperate with us, the Induction Ground will
compensate for the losses you suffered during this period of
time.”

The elementalist then hurriedly took off.

“Let’s find a place and sleep,” Ai Hui told Fatty.

In order to be aware of what was happening outside the

mound, Ai Hui hadn’t closed his eyes and had stayed in the
sword embryo’s state for six days straight. When he finally
loosened his grip on the sword hilt, weakness and fatigue
flooded him like a tsunami.

He casually found an empty room that had a bed and fell

asleep the moment he laid on it.

Meanwhile, Fatty stood guard at the door. He had slept day

and night when under the mound, and he now felt as if he could
go for days without sleep.

……

In a heavily-guarded basement in the Induction Ground.

The powerful wood elementalists of the Induction Ground

had all gathered here. At this moment, they were studying an
ancient journal, whose rotten pages revealed its unknown age.

This was a four-hundred-year-old journal that was left behind

by a wood-attributed teacher named Si Nan.

In this journal, he had recorded his lifetime’s research and

knowledge in detail.

In the course of his research, he had discovered a special

phenomenon: except for blood-refined artifacts, all artifacts
from the Cultivation Era had now become scraps.

He had collected a few pieces of blood-refined artifacts, and

after carrying out experiments on them, he had discovered that
they had the ability to self-repair. No one in current times knew
how to use these artifacts, but they had not degenerated like the
others.

They were well preserved.

This unique phenomenon had aroused Si Nan’s interest. He

had proceeded to study many blood-refining manuals of the
Cultivation Era and had discovered that blood-refining was
entirely different from those mainstream training methods of
the Cultivation Era.

Blood-refining was an ancient training method. Reportedly, it

originated from the blood sacrifices that humans had made to
the Heaven and Earth when they were just created.
 Si Nan had combined the knowledge he had obtained from his
research on blood-refining with that of wood elementalist’s
plant breeding.

He hoped to breed plants that possessed the powers of blood-

refining, and he put in a great deal of effort to breed a lot of
plants. However, he did not succeed, even until his death.

After he had passed away, his student had discovered a

significant amount of premature plants while tidying up his
life’s works.

His student could not bear to destroy his teacher’s life’s work,
but he was too busy to take care of them, so he transplanted
these plants to the Garden of Life.

And that student had recorded this incident in his diary.

After this disaster had broken out in the Garden of Life,

someone had remembered Si Nan’s journal during the initial
investigation. Most of the teachers would donate their life’s
research and findings to the Induction Ground after they died,
and other teachers had the right to read and study them.
 There was more than one person who had read Si Nan’s
journal. Many wood elementalists that were gathered here
today had also thought of this journal after hearing about the
blood poison.

This was what encouraged the Induction Ground the most—

they had found the key to the problem.
Chapter 128: The Fatty’s Unique Skill
Ai Hui woke up with a splitting headache.

He had a dream. He dreamt that the recent event was a dream.

And after he woke up from the dream within his dream, he was
back in the Wilderness, where an elementalist had asked him
why he had not finished his work.

“Are you awake?”

Fatty’s voice brought him back to reality. He turned around

and saw Fatty squatting at the door, crunching on a piece of
malt candy. If the malt candy were replaced with a bone, Fatty
would look exactly like a plump guard dog.

Dog…he doesn’t look like a dog…pig suits him better...

He had persuaded Fatty to stop eating so many candies

numerous times, but this fellow would always just turn a deaf
ear.

He did not know where and how Fatty hid his malt candies.
No matter the location or the time, he could always get out a
piece of malt candy. It must be his unique skill.

Ai Hui’s body was drenched in sweat, and he felt terribly

uncomfortable. “I need to find a place to bathe.”

The moment he started talking, he was shocked by his hoarse

voice.

“What happened to your throat?” Fatty turned around, his

face filled with concern.

Ai Hui shook his head and did not say anything else. He hung
his sword on his waist and walked out of the room. The dazzling
sunlight shone upon his face, preventing him from opening his
eyes. He subconsciously squinted and used his hands to block
the glaring daylight.

After observing his surroundings, Ai Hui realized that this

place was not a manor but an army camp. From the look of it,
this army camp was rather old. Was it possible that this manor
was remodeled from an abandoned army camp?
 When he noticed a guard standing nearby, Ai Hui walked
straight towards him and asked, “Is there a place for bathing?”

A trace of disdain flashed across the guard’s eyes as he took a

glance at Ai Hui. He was reluctant to waste his words and
pointed a finger in the direction of the courtyard.

“Thank you.” Ai Hui nodded and walked in the direction of

the guard’s finger.

“Wait for me!”

Fatty shouted from behind. With nimbleness that did not

match his body size, he appeared beside Ai Hui. Ai Hui had long
become accustomed to Fatty’s cowardice; when they were in the
Wilderness, Fatty would always follow wherever he went, just
like now.

Luckily, Fatty was timid in nature; if not, he would not have

survived until now.

As they reached the courtyard, Ai Hui discovered a corridor,

and after walking through it for awhile, they finally saw a small
pond.

The size of the pond wasn’t really that big; however, its water
was clear and rippling.

Plop! Ai Hui jumped into the pond and was prepared to take a
relaxing bath.

He sighed. How nice would it be if he was in the training hall

now! A massage session from Lou Lan would get rid of all his
weariness and fatigue.

Lou Lan was still the best...

He wondered how Lou Lan was doing.

“Ai Hui, I’m coming!”

Fatty yelled and jumped straight into the pool.

Ai Hui let the water splash onto his face as his eyes twitched.
This bastard...

Within seconds, the already small pond had lost half the
amount of its water. Ai Hui suddenly wished that he could kick
Fatty out of the pond.

……

After taking a bath, Ai Hui finally felt much better. His

splitting headache had been mostly relieved. Headaches,
however, weren’t an unusual occurrence to him—whenever he
used the sword embryo for an extended period of time, he
would have a headache. Yet he never paid it any mind as it
would always disappear after some time.

This time, if not for the sword embryo, he would have died.

After finishing his bath, Ai Hui walked to the steps and settled
down. He casually plucked a blade of grass and was about to put
it in his mouth when he suddenly stopped and scrutinized it.
When he discerned that there were no signs of a red color, he
placed it near his nose and smelled it. It was only after
perceiving that there was no faint fragrance to it that he felt
relieved, and he then put it in his mouth and began to chew.
 He propped his hands behind his head and basked in the
sunlight while chewing his blade of grass.

What was Lou Lan doing now? How was Master, Mistress and
Senior Mingxiu? When he remembered seeing that Central Pine
City looked normal as usual when they flew past it, he was more
at ease.

He felt that he was worrying for nothing. Mistress and Senior

Mingxiu were so powerful; why would he need to worry about
them?

Lou Lan was a sand puppet; no one would deliberately target

him...

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of someone crunching malt candies came from Ai

Hui’s side. Ai Hui’s thoughts suddenly disappeared, and he then
involuntarily laughed at his previous melancholy.

The heat from the sun was intense. After lying in the sun for
only a short moment, Ai Hui’s shirt was already drenched in
sweat.

He stood up and gave Fatty a harsh kick.

Fatty opened his groggy eyes and looked blankly at Ai Hui.

“Wake up and start training now,” Ai Hui instructed.

“Training?” Fatty was in a daze. After a while, he collapsed

back onto the ground. “Such beautiful sunshine, let me sleep a
bit more.”

However, Ai Hui didn’t say anything and used one hand to

pull Fatty up, dragging him to a nearby empty training hall.
“Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about the debt you owe me. Do
you think you can get away with stealing my money that easily?
From today onwards, I’m your creditor. You will only have your
life back the day you return me my money. And to prevent you
from dying accidentally and from me being able to get my
money back, I will be supervising your training.”

Ai Hui stopped talking as he felt his throat become

uncomfortable after speaking so many words in a single breath.
 Fatty’s face was filled with fear. He knew how terrifying Ai
Hui’s training routine was.

The training hall was empty. The sun was so scorching hot
that Fatty felt that the bath he took earlier was a waste.

“Show me what you can do.”

When Fatty heard this, he shivered with fear. But just as he

was about to open his mouth and plead, Ai Hui’s fist was coming
straight at him.

Fatty instinctively dodged to the side. His movement was

unusually graceful and agile, similar to a fat cat.

Ai Hui’s fist grazed the side of his face, sending undulations

through its layers of fat. Fatty’s eyes widened as a shiver ran
down his spine.

This…this fellow is for real!

If that punch had landed squarely on his face, it would now be

swollen like a pig’s head.

“Ai—Ai Hui……if—if there’s anything wrong, we can talk

about it. It’s...it’s not worth to risk our brotherly relationship
for such a small amount of money…”

Fatty’s voice was trembling. He resembled a madman as he

dodged Ai Hui’s punches left and right.

“You have become more adept at dodging.”

From the corner of his eyes, Fatty noticed a glint flicker

through Ai Hui’s eyes. A shiver ran down his spine once more—
he was all too familiar with this expression! Right now, Ai Hui
was in an extremely dangerous mood.

“Spare me, spare me, Ai Hui! Let me off, please! I know I was
wrong, I really know I’m wrong!” Fatty wailed desperately.

Ai Hui’s face remained expressionless, but he started to throw

his punches faster. Although he had never learned boxing
before, his punches were extremely rapid and precise, similar to
torrential rain. Initially, he had just wanted to see Fatty’s
progress, but after his first few punches hit nothing but air, he
became more enthusiastic in attacking.

Fatty looked extremely pathetic as he rolled and crawled

around, trying to escape. However, he still managed to dodge Ai
Hui’s punches, and it was as if there was lubricant all over his
body.

Last time, Fatty would not have been able to perform at such a
level. It appeared that he had made significant progress.

Ai Hui’s punches kept missing their target. However, the

more surprised he became at Fatty’s improvement, the more
earnest he became with his attacks. Even though he was no good
at boxing, the continually failed attacks stirred up his battlelust.

Once Ai Hui really became serious, his punches slowed down.

Fatty was like a cat which had its hair standing on end as if it
had sensed an incoming storm.

At this moment, Ai Hui sensed something amiss with his body

—it was as if he had entered the sword embryo’s state!
 In the past few days when he was under the mound, Ai Hui
did not dare to let go of the grass sword lest he leave the sword
embryo’s state.

It had been a while since he had continuously held on to the

sword for six days and nights. Ever since he had discovered that
it was easy to develop an unhealthy dependency on the sword
embryo, which, in turn, would damage his actual skill level, he
had tried his utmost to prevent himself from entering the sword
embryo’s state.

What had happened under the mound was an emergency. At

that time, he could not care about whether or not he would
develop a dependency on the sword embryo.

Previously, when Ai Hui had just woken up, he had assumed

that his splitting headache was a side effect of entering the
sword embryo’s state for a prolonged period. However, at this
moment, Ai Hui realized that he was getting more and more
used to the sword embryo’s state. He was finding it easier to
enter it as well.

Instead of punching, Ai Hui used his fingers as a sword and

brandished it casually.
 Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Those swooshing sounds would cause one to prostrate with

fear.

Fatty was like a puffed-up, frightened fat cat. He felt the

approach of danger and quickly maneuvered his body. However,
to his horror, no matter how he maneuvered his body, he could
not completely dodge Ai Hui’s seemingly relaxed sword fingers.

From those fearful swooshing sounds, Fatty knew that if he

got hit, the result would be miserable.

Just as Fatty was about to be jabbed by Ai Hui’s swordplay, he

suddenly rolled onto the ground, and his right palm shot out a
jet of scorching hot flames.

Voom!

Like a fat rat, Fatty quickly turned around and scurried away.
He was abnormally fast.
 “This is quite interesting!” Ai Hui’s eyes lit up; he had never
seen such a move before.

It reminded him of fireworks. Fatty had always been

proficient at sneaking and escaping. With the addition of this
move, his escaping skills could be said to be matchless.

This was Fatty’s typical style!

Even the moves he had learned in the Induction Ground were

used for escaping.

“We can talk about it nicely, Ai Hui. After all, we are brothers.
Why let such a small amount of money injure our brotherly
love? A money-minded world is cold and disappointing! Don’t
worry, once I go back and save enough money, I will
immediately return the money to you!” Fatty fawned over Ai
Hui, continuously bowing and making promises.

“Go back and save enough money? Fatty, if I’m able to find
you after you go back, I would be as fat as you!” Ai Hui sneered.

“The one with the surname Ai! If you’re capable enough, kill
me then! Today, we shall break all ties. I…” Fatty was enraged.

Too lazy to be bothered with him, Ai Hui suddenly surged

forward.

“Ahhh, dammit!” Fatty’s facial expression changed. He

immediately turned around and started to flee.

Even though he was fat, he ran very fast. And as he ran, his
palm continued to shoot out flames.

With his body slightly crouched, Ai Hui drew his Sawtooth

Grass Sword and dragged it behind him. He stomped his right
foot heavily on the ground, and his body leaped towards Fatty
like an arrow that had been released from a bow.

Ai Hui did not train his [Copper Skin] for nothing; the force
generated from his right leg was extremely great. His ankle dug
deep into the soil, causing crushed rocks to shoot backward as
he continued to shoot forwards.

Bang!
 The sound generated was so loud that even the guard standing
far away had a surprised look on his face.

It was rare to see students from the Induction Ground who

had mastered the body-tempering skill [Copper Skin].

Every step Ai Hui took was generating immense power. He

was like a heavy bull that was dashing forward madly, causing
the earth to quake and the mountains to shake.

Fatty’s face became ashen when he looked back.

“Damn it!”

The distance between them was rapidly decreasing, and the

glint in Ai Hui’s eyes was much colder than the grass sword in
his hand.

Suddenly, Fatty pointed his right palm outwards and shot out
another massive jet of blazing flames.

His body made a sudden sharp turn in the air, and like a
rubber ball, he bounced and darted in another direction.

Fatty heaved a sigh of relief. This was a time-tested move; the

faster he ran, the better this move worked. Previously, he had
purposely increased his speed just to enhance this move’s effect.

Ai Hui definitely could not catch him!

Fatty was filled with satisfaction. He turned around and was

prepared to see Ai Hui fail to stop and be thrown out of the
training hall.

However, when he took a closer look at Ai Hui, he was

momentarily stunned.

Like a huge bat, Ai Hui was flying in a weird arc-like trajectory

through the air and was swooping directly towards him.

He had…seen a ghost!

All Fatty could think of were these three words: to be

continued.
Chapter 129: As Seen by Duanmu
Duanmu Huanghun was sleeping when he suddenly heard
some activity outside. Fatty’s voice pierced his ears like demonic
music.

Talking about debts again!

In his semi-conscious state, the voices plucked at the delicate

strings of his sanity, making the corner of his eye twitch wildly.

Just what was this Ai Hui up to? Going around collecting

debts? Is he a loanshark?

Duanmu Huanghun pulled the sheets over his head in an

attempt to block the noise. He decided to restrain his curiosity
and stay inside—he’d only be asking for trouble if he went out
now.

It hadn’t been easy for them to finally get to safety, so why

were these people not resting?

Duanmu Huanghun was determined to continue sleeping in a

bid to repair his damaged psyche. The six days that they were
trapped in the mound felt like a nightmare. Although he had
appeared to be very calm during those six days, he had actually
been terrified. The tension only began to subside after they
returned to safety, but by then the post-trauma stress had
started to kick in.

Duanmu Huanghun had felt very muddled throughout the

next few days. He had slept lightly and was awakened by even
the slightest noise. He would have nightmares all through the
night, sometimes waking up from one in fear, unable to discern
if he was really awake. Consecutive days of poor sleep left
Duanmu Huanghun severely dispirited and devoid of energy.

He wasn’t the only one experiencing this; the others were

going through the same as well. Even Teacher Xu went about
with a dazed expression on his face.

However, Duanmu Huanghun was unable to go back to sleep

as the noise outside was simply too loud. Having had enough of
it, he promptly erupted in anger, jumping off the bed and
dashing towards the door.

What are these two jokers trying to pull? Can’t they just let
the rest of us have some peace?
 When he rushed out of the room, he saw two figures drenched
in sweat, standing in the middle of an empty training ground.

“Two hundred sets of Fluttering Butterfly Steps! If you can’t

complete it, I’ll thrash you!”

“No, please. Please spare me, Ai Hui. Duanmu Huanghun owes

you one hundred and fifty million yuan, yet he’s allowed to
sleep peacefully. I owe you so much less so please stop torturing
me…”

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Huanghun felt the urge to quickly

return to his room.

This is too…humiliating!

His face turned bright red. That despicable scoundrel had

been going around and smearing his reputation! How hateful!
Duanmu Huanghun wasn’t sleepy anymore—all he felt was an
overwhelming impulse to go out and fervently earn money.

How was he going to reclaim his reputation if he couldn’t pay

up this one hundred fifty million yuan?
 Duanmu Huanghun glared intensely at Ai Hui.

“It’s three hundred steps now. I don’t want to hear any more
nonsense coming out of your mouth!”

Ai Hui’s words made the Fatty explode with anger. An

unyielding and enraged expression was plastered across his face
as he leaned forward, ready to confront Ai Hui.

Duanmu Huanghun looked on in disdain.

Does he really think that everyone’s going to just listen to

him? Humph. Even a teacher wouldn’t say something this
fierce. How can he treat his friends with such disrespect? A civil
war was bound to erupt at this rate.

Looks like there’s going to be a show! Duanmu Huanghun was

taking delight in the impending disaster.

Ai Hui remained expressionless and said, “Come at me if you

dare.”
 However, Fatty stared at Ai Hui with rage and suddenly
barked. “Woof!”

“Weren’t you all full of gusto earlier? Weren’t you going to

play the hero? Come on, say something vicious to my face!”

“Woof!”

“Don’t dare to argue anymore? Tsk tsk, where’s your

backbone? Are you terrified now? A hero! Weren’t you acting all
brave a moment ago? Where has that bravery gone?”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

“Bark again and you’ll have to do five hundred more steps!”

Fatty hopped away from Ai Hui like a bouncy ball of meat,

glaring angrily at him the whole time.

“……” Duanmu Huanghun was at a loss for words.

 Out of the corner of his eyes, Ai Hui noticed Duanmu
Huanghun standing under the eave. He was suddenly reminded
of the “fellow who owes you a hundred and fifty million” that
Fatty had spoken of earlier.

One hundred and fifty million yuan!

Ai Hui was greatly annoyed by that damned ingrate!

He turned his head away and started his own training.

Ai Hui was keeping an eye on Fatty’s training because he

didn’t want him to die so easily. It was okay to be weak if he hid
well, but Fatty was weak and loved to meddle in others’ affairs.
Fatty may be a cheap person, but Ai Hui didn’t want him to die.
After all, who was going to return Ai Hui the money if he did?

He was all too familiar with Fatty’s character. That guy was
lazy, timid, and looked really sleazy. In actual fact, however, he
was a sentimental person who always tried to be on good terms
with everyone.

Ai Hui never knew that Fatty had done so many things behind
his back, but he was aware that Fatty had come to the Induction
Ground to look out for him.

Ai Hui knew that he couldn’t change Fatty’s character; he just

didn’t want him to die.

Being stronger should help him even when he’s running for
his life.

Ai Hui had always felt that he was more selfish than Fatty. He
would always look out for himself first and find a path that was
suitable for himself before proceeding with something.

If Fatty was killed by someone, Ai Hui would definitely seek

revenge. If the killer was too strong, then perhaps he would
train for a few years before seeking revenge. But if the other
party was so much more powerful that Ai Hui felt that there was
no chance of winning, he would put his utmost effort…to burn
incense and pay his respects.

Ai Hui was supervising Fatty’s training because he wanted to

train as well.
 He was killing two birds with one stone.

After resting, Ai Hui immediately began his training

preparations. There was no time to waste. The six days spent in
the mound may have been the most terrifying event of the other
students’ lives, but to Ai Hui, it had only helped him understand
that life in the Induction Ground was no fairy tale either.

Life in the Induction Ground was amazing, but there was an

unrealistic quality to it that always made Ai Hui wonder if he
was just dreaming. The recent incident had lifted a veil from his
eyes, serving as a timely reminder of the potential dangers that
lurked about even in the Induction Ground. This was the reality
that had eluded him.

Not only did the danger not make him panic, but it had also
helped him find inner peace.

No matter how perfect his life in the Induction Ground would

appear, it wasn’t a life that Ai Hui was used to. He had always
felt a nagging uneasiness. Now that the Induction Ground had
become more dangerous in reality, he was back to a familiar
way of life. He truly felt comfortable in his new surroundings.
 Ai Hui quickly adapted to the changes since it was an
experience he was already familiar with. In the Wilderness, he
would always train whenever he had time.

This manor had once been an army camp, so it had excellent

facilities for training. It would be a waste to not practice in such
an excellent location, especially since he had so much free time.

Ai Hui was very mindful of his time and would never tolerate
wasting it.

Furthermore, exchanging blows with Fatty gave Ai Hui a

surge of motivation.

Fatty had only activated his right hand palace but was able to
execute recoil and drifting techniques quite beautifully. Ai Hui
had specially asked Fatty about this, and he learned that Fatty
had grasped the techniques on his own through repeated
attempts. Learning how to escape more effectively had always
been Fatty’s biggest priority when it came to training.

Ai Hui approved of Fatty’s thinking.

 His own thirst for more power stemmed out of his desire to
survive. Fatty’s focus on escaping was also for survival. The two
of them were, in essence, pretty similar.

Beating Fatty in those last few rounds helped Ai Hui

understand Fatty’s thought process. Besides that, he also
discovered some changes within himself.

The sword embryo seed’s transformation.

During the six days spent in the mound, Ai Hui had never
once let go of his sword and was constantly in the sword
embryo’s state. At that point in time, his focus was on self-
preservation, but he now realized that activating the state for
six days had caused the sword embryo to undergo a change.

His sixth sense had become even sharper than before. Even
when he wasn’t in the sword embryo’s state, Ai Hui’s sixth
sense was now as keen as it was in his previous sword embryo’s
state.

If he were to wield a sword now...

 Ai Hui lifted his sword and slowly closed his eyes.

He felt as if the grass sword had become an extension of his

body. He was able to feel the ambient temperature and airflow
around the sword through the sword itself—this was something
that he couldn’t possibly have done before.

As Ai Hui started to circulate the elemental energy within his

body, he was amazed to discover that the grass sword in his
hand had an extremely high affinity with his elemental energy.
Before Ai Hui could fully grasp what was happening, his
elemental energy was already pouring into the grass sword.

The sawtooth grass sword in Ai Hui’s hand started to faintly

glow. The understated shine of this grass sword meant that it
wouldn’t reflect much light when brandished, something Ai Hui
liked very much as it gave him an advantage when fighting at
night. His biggest concern wasn’t how dazzling or brilliant a
sword was, but whether it could pierce his enemy.

This time, however, the faint glow emerging from the grass
sword could be seen even under the strong sunlight.

Ai Hui discovered that he could actually sense that the grass

sword had a saturated feeling to it, but he was unsure why.

It was similar…it was similar to the feeling he had at the

noodle shop when he ate ten bowls of noodles in one go.

Can a sword feel full?

Ai Hui couldn’t help but laugh, but the feeling was very sharp
and distinct. Like a big fellow who needed to take a stroll after
eating a lot, Ai Hui subconsciously thrust out the sword in his
hand.

One stroke after another.

Every stroke was simple and unadorned.

Ai Hui soon noticed that the sword’s point was experiencing

some sort of resistance—it felt as if he was stabbing the sword
through water.

This feeling became more and more intense with each stroke
becoming ever more laborious. The sun at noon was ferocious,
and Ai Hui’s forehead was now drenched in sweat. Beneath the
bandages, his muscles were all trembling.

Standing under the eave, Duanmu Huanghun blankly

watched the two of them dripping with sweat under the
scorching sun.

These two people…

He initially thought that Ai Hui was only tormenting Fatty on

purpose to vent his anger. Duanmu Huanghun didn’t expect Ai
Hui to actually start training as well.

He didn’t anticipate this at all.

The harrowing experience in the Garden of Life was like a

recurring nightmare, draining him of his vitality. Being placed
here under quarantine only made his imagination run wild,
causing him to become even more uncertain of what was going
to happen. Under such circumstances, how could anyone
possibly still want to train?

It wasn’t just him—the other students were the same.

Everyone was dispirited and listless, clearly still affected by the
traumatic incident.

Yet these two jokers had already started training...

The midday sun was so vicious that it was hard to even open
one’s eyes. The rest of the students were hiding in their dark,
shady rooms while Ai Hui and Fatty were busy with their
practice in the otherwise empty training ground.

Duanmu Huanghun thought of just how much they were

sweating.

Fatty’s entire body was drenched with sweat—it was almost as

if he had just gone for a swim. His clothes were completely
soaked and were clinging onto his body.

Ai Hui was experiencing the same thing; the grass sword in his
hand felt like it weighed a ton. Every stroke of his sword had
substantially slowed down, and even Duanmu Huanghun could
see that Ai Hui was using every last ounce of his strength.

Duanmu Huanghun snapped out of his daze feeling ashamed

of himself. He was so frail when compared to them!

Just as he was about to return to his room to start practicing,

he glimpsed Ai Hui’s figure out of the corner of his eyes.
Duanmu Huanghun’s body immediately froze as his eyes opened
wide.
Chapter 130: A Flash
Ai Hui had no idea that someone was secretly observing them,
but he wouldn’t really care even if he knew.

He was exceptionally focused right now; all his attention was

on the grass sword in his hand.

Never had he imagined that there would come a day when he

could experience the world through the “eyes” of a sword. He
felt as if he had possessed the grass sword, turning it from an
inanimate object into a living thing.

If he hadn’t bought it from Manager Li’s shop himself, Ai Hui

would probably have thought that this grass sword was some
kind of legendary weapon.

Back when he was reading swordplay manuals in the

swordsman school, Ai Hui would often chance upon passages
discussing the mythical sword souls. These were, of course,
legends of old, and now that the swordsmen were long gone,
there was no longer anyone who could verify such things.

Ai Hui had treated these passages as mere stories.

 The cultivators of the past had left behind many bizarre
accounts, but even those were no match for the seemingly
exaggerated topics of the swordsmen. He had read accounts of
swordsmen who were too embarrassed to even leave their
homes without first achieving a certain skill level.

Ai Hui was initially astonished by the things he had read, but

the sheer number of such accounts soon left him numb. Yes,
indeed, today you put out the sun, tomorrow you shattered the
moon, and the day after you could only destroy the stars. Oh,
did you say that there were too many stars?

The more he read, the more accustomed he became to these

oddities. Eventually, these stories no longer made him feel any
shock or surprise.

But, today, the grass sword he was wielding seemed to be

alive. The feeling wasn’t particularly intense, but it was
exceptionally clear. Could it be that swords really were alive?

Ai Hui was still unsure.

Every swordplay manual would mention at least once that

swords had essences within them. What they meant was that
every sword, when cast, was bestowed with its own spiritual
characteristics.

Sword essences varied in strength, and some were even able to

grow along with their owners, further evolving into sword
spirits and sword souls.

Since this was written in practically all the swordplay

manuals, Ai Hui believed that it wasn’t all nonsense and might
have been actually true during the Cultivation Era. But the
times had since changed, with elemental energy becoming
dominant after the disintegration of spiritual force. Now that
even the swordsmen were gone, how could there still be sword
essences?

Ai Hui suppressed these distracting thoughts and executed a

simple sword stroke.

He had read countless swordplay manuals and had an

understanding of swordplay that few today could match. His
actions were accurate and well-controlled.

When he had just planted the sword embryo, the only

literature that he could seek help from were the swordplay
manuals. Strangely, it was the low-level manuals that were of
use to him. The more advanced the manual, the less applicable
they were.

Brandishing a grass sword was usually effortless for Ai Hui.

Today, however, this feat could hardly be said to be effortless.

Ai Hui seemed to have become one with the grass sword; he

felt as though he was bound by the surrounding air. He was not
accustomed to this restrictive sensation, and Ai Hui felt like he
was trapped under water, repressed by forces all around him.

He knew that this was merely an illusion, but the experience

was too intense.

Thrusting the sword just a little bit faster made it feel as

though he had slammed into a large wave, causing the blade to
wobble.

Ai Hui had no choice but to increase his effort as each stroke

became heavier than the last. His muscles were bulging and
trembling from the effort, like a heavy-duty belt driving a huge
wheel.

Ai Hui’s sword strokes slowed down as the sword became

heavier and the air resistance increased.

Beads of sweat rolled down Ai Hui’s body as his muscles

continued to churn out massive amounts of power. All of a
sudden, he felt as if he had finally pierced through that invisible
resistive force.

With a sudden jolt, the grass sword in his hand spontaneously

emitted dazzling rays of light. Its brightness was so intense that
not even the scorching midday sun could mask its brilliance.

The light that had burst forth from the grass sword blinded Ai
Hui. He noticed that the grass sword had become much lighter.

A loud boom followed!

A powerful earth-rending force sent Ai Hui flying through the

air before he could even react.
 The massive blunt force left Ai Hui thoroughly concussed, his
ears ringing. An unknown amount of time had passed before he
heard Fatty’s anxious voice coming from what seemed like quite
a distance away. “Ai Hui…Ai Hui, are you all right? How are you
feeling?”

The surreal sounds gradually became clearer as Ai Hui’s pupils

began to focus.

Fatty anxiously let out a stream of words. “Ai Hui, can you not
scare me like that? What kind of training is this? It looks more
like you’re committing suicide! Here I had thought that you
became more tranquil, but it seems like you’re as violent as ever
—no, you’re even more violent now. I don’t get it, aren’t you
doing just fine? What’s more, I’m the one who owes money, not
you…”

Fatty’s long-winded nagging reminded Ai Hui of their time in

the Wilderness.

His whole body was unbearably numb—an aftereffect of that

enormous impact he had just suffered. Although it had
disrupted the flow of his blood and qi, it could heal in moments.
After ten seconds, he finally recovered some movement, and he
struggled to stand up.
 He spat out the sand in his mouth, still feeling dizzy.

What… just happened?

Ai Hui’s gaze fell onto where he had previously stood. What

he saw shook him deeply, his reaction similar to a deer in
headlights.

A large pit, which was six meters in diameter and three meters
deep, appeared where he had last stood.

Duanmu Huanghun stared blankly at the pit. Not even the

sudden influx of figures and noise could rouse him from his
daze.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

“Did a wild beast get in?”

“Wasn’t this place supposed to be safe?”

 “Heavens…what just happened here?”

The commotion brought even more students out of their

rooms. Everyone was still on edge from the incident in the
Garden of Life, and they were all easily startled. That massive
blast had definitely thrown their instincts into overdrive.

The guards in the area soon came over to investigate.

“What a large pit!”

“What is going on? Did a wild beast attack?”

“Did anyone witness the events that transpired?” asked a

man, who appeared to be the head of the guards.

“I—I—I….” stammered the guard that gave Ai Hui directions.

“What is it?” the head asked softly.

The guard gulped and replied, “One of the students was

practicing when suddenly…”

“A student was practicing?” the head responded with

suspicion. He glanced at the large pit in the training ground.
“Do you mean to say that this deep pit was the result of a
student practicing?”

Everyone else was filled with disbelief. How could a student

possibly create such a huge pit?

“What he said was true,” said Duanmu Huanghun out of

nowhere. He inevitably stared at Ai Hui’s dazed face, unable to
calm down.

He now realized just how wrong he was to have

underestimated Ai Hui.

Duanmu Huanghun could understand why the head guard

wasn’t convinced. He probably wouldn’t believe it if he hadn’t
seen it himself either. His [Viridescent Flower Dance] was
unpredictable and vicious, but creating a pit this large would
take up every last shred of his strength.
 Causing an explosion like this didn’t actually require skill.
What was more important was the quality of one’s elemental
energy.

Fire elemental energy was the most explosive of them all, but
to create a pit of this size would still require the activation of at
least four palaces. Students with an affinity for other elements
would probably need something upwards of six palaces to
achieve the same effect.

Ai Hui here wasn’t using fire elemental energy but the non-
explosive metal elemental energy!

What’s more, he had only activated two palaces.

Duanmu Huanghun had already found it hard to believe that

Ai Hui could activate two palaces in such a short time. After all,
that guy had such a pathetic aptitude.

Although terribly shocking, Duanmu Huanghun could still

accept it. When it came to training, elementalists with poorer
aptitudes could at times have sudden bursts of progress.
 This sight in front of him, though...

It was completely beyond his understanding.

The head guard recognized Duanmu Huanghun, especially

since he was the only person here that required extra
protection. He nodded towards Duanmu Huanghun. Now that
he knew his subordinate was telling the truth, an intense feeling
of curiosity arose within him.

Could it be that… there was another genius among them?

He slowly walked towards Ai Hui, inspecting the pit as he

went past it. It was only upon closer inspection that he fully
realized the complete magnitude of the blast.

The head guard’s expression turned grave. He’d probably be

dead from an impact this powerful.

“Young man, how may I address you?” the head guard asked
amiably.
 Ai Hui had regained his composure by then, and his eyes were
glowing with a strong luster. He had sensed immense changes
within his body and couldn’t wait to resume his practice.

“My name is Ai Hui,” he answered hurriedly. “Can you lend

me a sword?”

His Sawtooth Grass Sword had been completely destroyed. All

that was left was the hilt that Ai Hui was holding on to. The
thoughts in his head urged him to get on with his practice,
distracting him from feeling sorry for the loss of his sword.

The head guard was stunned for a moment, but he quickly

responded, “No problem!”

He turned around and shouted, “Someone toss me a sword!”

One of the guards brought his sword forward, and the head
guard grabbed it and handed it over to Ai Hui. His tone was
friendly as he instructed, “Use it as you please, Ai Hui. Everyone
else, kindly step away from the immediate area.”

He was experienced enough to notice that Ai Hui had just had

a revelation. He knew that it was horribly annoying to be
disturbed at times like these. After all, inspiration seldom
knocked twice.

Ai Hui sincerely thanked the head guard.

Everyone kept quiet as they looked on curiously. Seeing Ai

Hui all ready to start anew kept them fixated. They might have
missed his performance earlier but not this next attempt!

Ai Hui couldn’t be bothered about the onlookers. He took the

sword and began to assume the same stance as before.

Duanmu Huanghun stared at Ai Hui with his eyes wide; he

recognized the same stance from before. Was Ai Hui going to
repeat that move? He focused hard, afraid he’d miss any details.

All he had seen before was an exceptionally brilliant burst of

light that had obscured Ai Hui’s silhouette.

Right after that came the earth-splitting sensation.

 This time, he had to see the technique that enabled a student
with only two activated palaces to generate such explosive
strength.

Everyone, not only Duanmu Huanghun, kept their eyes peeled

and held their breaths.
Chapter 131: Elemental Energy of the
Sword
Sword in hand, Ai Hui prepared to strike.

Twenty minutes passed, but Ai Hui remained in that same

stance, not moving one bit.

Several students soon became impatient and prepared to

leave.

“What is he trying to do? He’s obviously making it

unnecessarily complicated!”

“Let’s go!”

The majority of the students left the training ground, leaving

only a handful behind. Those who remained began to sit in
clusters, chatting under the shade.

Ai Hui’s explosion had shocked the students greatly.

 The shock, however, seemed to clear up the fog in the
students’ minds, rousing them from their distracted state. After
all, they were young people whose minds could easily be taken
away from their worries.

Although the shadows of the incident still lingered in their

minds, the students were already becoming more cheerful.
Teacher Xu was slightly embarrassed that he, himself, was stuck
in a daze and unable to monitor the condition of his students. If
not for Ai Hui’s distraction, the rest of them would probably
still be in shock.

He heaved a sigh of relief, placing his gaze on Ai Hui. Teacher

Xu had many misgivings.

He was well aware of Ai Hui’s situation. He knew that Ai Hui

had a weak aptitude but was very hardworking and polite.
Seeing the large pit in the ground left him bewildered.

Was that sword-wielding young man really the untalented Ai

Hui that he knew?

To Teacher Xu, Ai Hui was now a figure shrouded in mystery.

Many details from the incident at the Garden of Life
spontaneously surfaced in his mind. Teacher Xu remembered
how Ai Hui had demonstrated respectable strength.

Only two of his students were taken in by other teachers as

disciples. One was Duanmu Huanghun, while the other was Ai
Hui.

He glanced at Duanmu Huanghun, who was observing Ai Hui

attentively. Teacher Xu smiled to himself, noting that Ai Hui
would make a fine rival for Duanmu Huanghun.

Ai Hui did not pay attention to what was happening in the

periphery. He had regained his composure after receiving the
sword, channeling his attention toward the changes in his body
and sorting out the waves of ideas that had washed upon his
mind.

His eyes were getting brighter.

Ai Hui made a sudden movement.

Teacher Xu saw Duanmu Huanghun shiver slightly.

 Teacher Xu quickly reacted, turning to look at Ai Hui. Indeed,
Ai Hui had stood up.

The head guard was more experienced than the other two
when it came to such situations. Despite Ai Hui remaining
utterly motionless, the head guard was not impatient. The
moment Ai Hui made a move, the head guard immediately
opened his eyes wide to avoid missing anything important.

These spontaneous and rare moments of epiphany were

extremely important for practitioners. It was also immensely
beneficial for spectators to observe such moments, especially
since they did not occur that often.

Thus, the head guard was very patient.

Ai Hui’s attention was focused on the space in front of him.

He formed a seal with his left hand before slowly raising the
sword with his right.

Like an elderly lady, his moves were executed extremely

slowly. A wisp of elemental energy flowed out from the mass of
elemental energy within his natal residence, attracted by the
movement of his sword. The grass sword in his hand was like a
delicious piece of meat, enticing the elemental energy in his
body to flow.

Ai Hui’s sword strokes were deliberately unhurried. Following

his movement, the elemental energy within his body felt like a
wild horse tugging forcefully at its reins, slowly surging
forward. It entered his right hand palace before moving into the
grass sword. At that instant, when the elemental energy poured
into the grass sword, the resonance between the sword embryo
and the grass sword soared abruptly.

Right at that very moment, the sword embryo between his

brows started to throb.

It appeared to throb rhythmically, like a pulse. The throbbing

was not quick, but it felt like something was repeatedly
hammering his mind.

Ai Hui restrained his mind, ignoring the throbbing of the

sword embryo. His focus was on maintaining the speed at which
he channeled the elemental energy as he continued with his
patient sword strokes.
 Dong, dong, dong!

Like a noiseless drum, the throbbing pulsed on intensely.

The elemental energy within the sword appeared to heed his

call, flowing one round through the grass sword before
returning to his body.

Ai Hui was ecstatic as he confirmed his theory. The accident

earlier enabled him to have a deeper understanding of the
sword embryo. He was able to sense the grass sword attracting
the elemental energy within his body, and he then noticed the
sword embryo attracting the elemental energy back from the
grass sword.

The explosion had occurred because he had failed to control

the speed at which the elemental energy flowed. The sudden
influx of excessive elemental energy into the sword was
responsible for the subsequent explosion. From within this
mess, Ai Hui managed to identify the sword technique as the
sword embryo’s trigger.

This was something new.

 The amount of elemental energy that Ai Hui had back when
he first started practicing swordplay techniques was pathetic.
Despite that, he had always practiced infusing the grass sword
with elemental energy. However, it was only recently that he
began to circulate the elemental energy within his body as he
practiced swordplay.

Ai Hui knew he had struck the jackpot when the elemental

energy slowly flowed back into his body!

The elemental energy that had returned was transformed!

The sharpness associated with the elemental energy in his

body became even richer. Ai Hui did not know how to describe
this particular flavor, but the first thing that came to mind was
the flavor of a sword.

Ai Hui had previously been unable to refine the elemental

energy that he obtained from the Suspending Golden Pagoda. In
addition to its harsh nature, elemental energy from the pagoda
was at a much higher level than the energy he possessed.

Due to its powerful attractive force, the huge mass of

elemental energy within his natal residence made it difficult for
Ai Hui to control his elemental energy.

Ai Hui was indescribably happy to discover that the elemental

energy which had circulated back from the grass sword was
much easier to control. The energy that returned from the
sword had a different nature and was no longer affected by the
attractive force of the elemental energy mass. Attraction would
only occur between elemental energies of a similar nature.

The elemental energy that returned to his body embarked on

one Circulatory Cycle Revolution on its own.

He noticed the sword embryo absorbing a portion of the

elemental energy as it flowed past the space between his
eyebrows. While surprised, Ai Hui was not thrown off by this as
he continued to execute his dance with the sword.

About 20% of the elemental energy was absorbed by the sword

embryo.

He heaved a huge sigh, relieved that the sword embryo was

not consuming much more of his elemental energy.
 Strands of elemental energy continued to flow from his natal
residence into the grass sword before returning to his body to
perform one revolution of the Circulatory Cycle. A portion of
this new energy was absorbed by the sword embryo while the
remainder was stored within his right and left hand palaces.

The two pathways ran parallel to each other without conflict.

After short a while, Ai Hui’s left and right hand palaces

started to swell up. Ai Hui knew that he was reaching his limits.
He understood that training was about steady, incremental
progress and that overtraining would lead to undesirable
consequences.

The activation and expansion of each palace was, in essence, a

gradual process.

Upon seeing this, he immediately prepared to stop. Although

he had yet to figure out what exactly the sword embryo was, he
now had a vague idea.

Anything that had to do with swords seemed to elicit some

reaction from the sword embryo.
 A sudden urge rose up within him. He had only been
executing plain sword strokes, so what would happen if he were
to perform a sword technique in its entirety?

The sword seemed to hear his thoughts as he began to

perform a sword move exactly as described in one of the
manuals.

This move was simple enough. It was the [Gale Bat Blade] that
he was familiar with.

The [Gale Bat Blade]’s characteristic feature was its non-linear

movement. Every sword stroke moved in a distinct arc, slicing
through the air at an angle before bouncing off suddenly, like a
stone being skipped across water.

Ai Hui had previously used this move to change his direction

in midair.

Ai Hui had studied the [Gale Bat Blade] more than the other
moves because being able to change direction in mid air was a
very useful ability. The arc traces left behind by the grass sword
looked like the sweeping wings of the gale bat.
 The sword embryo became more and more agitated as Ai Hui
danced around with the sword in hand, vibrating like the
plucked strings of a zither.

The elemental energy stored within his hand palaces also

began to stir.

Ai Hui’s moves were increasing in speed.

Within his body, the elemental energy appeared to be boiling

over as it ceaselessly bubbled over the edge.

Duanmu Huanghun was taken aback when he sensed a keen

aura emanating from Ai Hui. It was as though Ai Hui had
transformed into a legendary sword that was capable of
emitting a sharp and piercing cold.

The Ai Hui standing in the training area was not the one that
Duanmu Huanghun recognized.

Teacher Xu was startled by the sight as well. Logically

speaking, Ai Hui’s aura appeared to be in line with the
characteristic nature of metal elemental energy. Yet, even with
his profound knowledge, Teacher Xu had never encountered
something like this before.

The gracefulness of Ai Hui’s sword dance reminded Teacher

Xu of the swordsmen. With the decline of swordplay, however,
most of the so-called swordplay masters of today were really just
a bunch of performers.

Afraid that Ai Hui was walking down the wrong path, he

decided to discuss the matter with him later.

The head guard looked on in awe as he experienced the sharp,

piercing sensation. Ai Hui’s aura also possessed a potent
aggressive intent which stabbed at the head guard’s mind with
an indescribable edge.

He was fond of this imposing aura, noting that someone like

this would definitely make an excellent vanguard.

Duanmu Huanghun was the only person in this class who had
some importance. The guards were not asked to keep an eye out
for any of the other students, meaning that their families did
not have much influence. Perhaps he could consider roping Ai
Hui in?
 Completely oblivious to the thoughts and feelings of the
others, Ai Hui felt himself losing control of the elemental
energy that was boiling within his body. Sensing danger, he
subconsciously truncated the sword move.

The sizzling elemental energy abruptly turned cold, like a

large wave suddenly losing all of its might and directly
collapsing onto the sand beneath it.

Ai Hui experienced an acute pain coming from both his hand

palaces. Bright red blood oozed out from beneath the skin of his
palms.

All traces of his performance had vanished completely.

Ai Hui returned to being the average young man that

everyone knew, as if everything that happened was just an
illusion.

Right before the blood dripped off the edge of his palm, the
snow white bandage on his arm shot forward like a snake to
intercept it.
 The drop of blood disappeared upon contact with the
bandage.

As if they were unsatisfied, the bandages on both his arms

wound themselves up toward his palms. In an instant, not a
single trace of blood remained.

The Blood Bandage then automatically returned to its original

state.

Ai Hui looked at his hands, completely dumbfounded.

Chapter 132: The Premature
Disappearance of Elemental Energy
“This is indeed a very unique and potent blood poison.”

The person speaking was Qiao Hua, the first teacher to think
of Si Nan’s notebook.

There were thousands of teachers who were wood

elementalists in the Induction Ground and they were divided
into different sections. The sections varied greatly in terms of
standards. Of the top 10 wood element teachers in the Induction
ground, Qiao Hua was the youngest.

His achievements at such a young age led many to consider

him as someone who could be well on track to match up to Dai
Gang.

Qiao Hua had bright eyes and a confident demeanor. He gave

off a vibe of being capable and experienced, but he was not
pedantic like the average teacher. He did things decisively and
never procrastinated.

Many problems that others could not solve were often solved
perfectly by him.

Over time, he won the trust of everyone around him.

Qiao Hua had immediately sought out Si Nan’s notes when

they came to mind. He found many corresponding theories
within these notes, then quickly started forming a group of
recognized wood elementalists. The group’s aim was to comb
through Si Nan’s notes, find all the relevant theories, and devise
ways to counteract the poison.

The Induction Ground responded promptly, gathering the

most outstanding wood element teachers to help him.

In addition, the Induction Ground had specially dispatched

extra manpower to capture some poisoned animals. Their
combined efforts helped Qiao Hua live up to his expectations,
and he soon found what he needed.

“This particular blood poison is very fragile in its initial stage,

making it the most vulnerable at that time. However, we have
obviously already missed this opportune period. First, it takes
about ten days to infect a plant. Then, it begins to spread at an
impressive speed via plant pollen and spores. The climate is
partly responsible for the massive outbreak this time, as the
flowering season further increased the rate at which the virus
spread.”

Qiao Hua explained confidently to the elders of the Induction

Ground. His speech was convincing and assuring.

“It is also capable of infecting the moisture within the soil,

which is why the ground appears blood red when dug up. As of
now, we have not found evidence of deeper penetration. If the
groundwater deep underground becomes infected, then we’re
finished. Fortunately, the worst scenario has yet to happen.”

Qiao Hua’s voice reverberated throughout the conference

room, enthralling everyone within.

“The most formidable aspect of this poison is its unique

ability to mutate. After infecting a plant, the blood poison
becomes much more toxic. Once the infected plant is ingested
by herbivores, such as rabbits, the poison changes again,
becoming several times more potent. If the infected rabbit is
then eaten by a wolf, the toxicity of the blood poison once again
multiplies. Every round of infection sees its toxicity multiplied
even further, making the poison very frightening.”
 A commotion began to stir among the elders, their faces
revealing feelings of surprise and fright. They had never heard
of such a strange and terrifying blood poison before.

Teacher Qiao Hua starting speaking in a graver tone, “If only

the terrors of this blood poison stopped here, but the truth of
the matter is that we have found something even worse about it.
Research on the injured student has revealed that elemental
energy is even better than flesh in encouraging the poison’s
mutation. Elemental energy appears to be the blood poison’s
preferred nutrient. A small amount of elemental energy is
enough to alter the nature of the poison. Because it devours
elemental energy frantically, any elementalist who is infected
will quickly lose all of his elemental energy to the poison. The
greater the toxicity of the poison, the more efficiently it spreads
throughout the body. After the body has been drained of
elemental energy, the elementalist will ultimately become just a
blood human.”

The conference room went quiet for a moment before

abruptly exploding with noise.

“Has this been proven? How can such a blood poison possibly
exist?”
 “Are you exaggerating?”

“This is impossible!”

Unable to accept this answer, the elders were extremely

agitated.

Qiao Hua calmly watched the agitated elders without uttering

a single word. The elders gradually quieted under Qiao Hua’s
unperturbed gaze.

The conference room became silent again.

Qiao Hua slowly opened his mouth to speak, “The truth may
be hard to accept, but it has indeed been experimentally
verified. We brought a vial of the blood poison to a prison that
houses death row inmates and came to this conclusion only
after infecting three of them with it.”

“Did all three of them die?”

“None of them did,” Qiao Hua replied, shaking his head. “This
type of blood poison isn’t fatal, so it won’t kill you. All it does is
frantically absorb and devour every last drop of elemental
energy within your body as it grows stronger. The most
despairing thing is that the process is irreversible. In other
words, anyone who is poisoned will inevitably end up as a blood
human, someone who is unable to develop or utilize elemental
energy. It is my duty here to highlight that if it cannot be kept
under control, this blood poison will be the downfall of the
Avalon of Five Elements and the system of five residences and
eight palaces, in a vein similar to the collapse of the cultivators’
system. The only difference being that the Cultivation Era
ended due to the disintegration of spiritual force.”

A deathly silence washed over the frightened elders.

After a long pause, one of the elders anxiously muttered,

“How can such a vile blood poison exist? Is this heaven’s will?”

Several other elders revealed expressions of realization for

they too had the same thoughts.

“This is not heaven’s will!” Qiao Hua exclaimed firmly, his

gaze so sharp that nobody dared to look at him directly. “If this
is heaven’s will, then heaven has also given us the key to
destroying it in the form of Si Nan’s notes. We have sorted out
everything from his notes and, based on his theories, have
found the ingredients required to eliminate the blood poison.
We won’t be able to treat and cure someone who has already
been infected, but we can can eliminate the blood poison itself.”

Everyone’s spirits were uplifted. The elders raised their heads

and looked at Qiao Hua.

Qiao Hua continued confidently, “We have already made the

medicine for counteracting the blood poison. If we can find the
tree that produces this blood poison, we’ll be able to kill it using
this medicine. From there, the medicine will enter the blood
poison’s system, working to destroy its fundamental structure
from within. Drawing inspiration from the blood poison, we
have formulated the medicine such that it spreads just like the
blood poison. The difference is that the medicine’s best growth
medium is the blood poison, so it should not theoretically cause
any harm to us elementalists.”

Qiao Hua’s words rang out loud and clear as the elders gave
him an enthusiastic round of applause.
Chapter 133: Danger Arrives
It was not until the sixth day after obtaining the sword
elemental energy that he noticed the strange atmosphere in the
camp.

The atmosphere in the camp had become tense, and the

guards who were originally in charge of monitoring them had
been frequently transferred. On the seventh day, Teacher Xu
and Cui Xianzi were also hastily mobilized and had yet to
return.

Ai Hui meticulously counted the number of guards,

concluding that their numbers were constantly declining. By
the tenth day, the headcount had been reduced to a quarter of
the initial number.

Fatty had always had an innate sensitivity toward danger. He

also quickly picked up that something was amiss.

What should we do, Ai Hui?” Fatty asked, deeply worried. “I

have a feeling that something bad is going to happen.”

Just as Ai Hui was about to console him, a shrill scream from

one corner of the manor rang through the air.

The two of them looked at each other.

All of the students immediately rushed out of their rooms.

The guards, also alarmed by the scream, dashed over and
questioned, “What’s going on?”

At that very moment, Ai Hui’s keen eyes spotted the figure of

a dark-red wild beast atop the perimeter wall. His expression
turned to one of shock as he exclaimed, “On the wall! Blood
fiend!”

Ai Hui could see clearly that it was a blood rabbit. Its

appearance, however, was a far cry from the one which they
had first encountered.

The blood rabbit was almost as large as a wolf, with ears that
were short and pointy unlike a typical rabbit. Its deep maroon-
colored fur was as thick and hard as palm fiber. Lined with
bulging veins and solid muscle, its hind legs were stronger than
its front legs, though they were also robust. A sharp-looking
head and even sharper teeth further complemented its
menacing look.
 Beyond all of that, however, the most terrifying part of the
rabbit were its eyes.

Those demonic eyes stared at them like a predator.

The blood rabbit jumped off the wall with its powerful hind
legs, becoming a red shadow dashing through the sky.

One of the guards who was standing near the blood rabbit
failed to react in time and his throat was ripped out by the
beast. A fountain of fresh red blood spurt out of his neck,
spraying onto the blood rabbit’s body. Looking satisfied, the
rabbit shook its entire body and absorbed the fresh blood into
its fur.

An eerie crimson luster coated its dark red fur.

Everyone was deeply frightened, and a few of the more timid

girls started screaming. When had they ever seen such a
gruesome and bloody scene? They were just typical students
who were living a comfortable and peaceful life.

The guards charged forward, cursing under their breaths.

 Ai Hui suddenly shouted loudly, “Fellow students, please
move toward Duanmu Huanghun! Quickly!”

Duanmu Huanghun’s face was as pale as a sheet. He too had

never experienced something so gruesome. Luckily, he had
greater mental fortitude than the average student and was still
able to maintain his composure.

Hearing Ai Hui’s announcement surprised him a bit, but he

promptly responded, “All students, move toward me!”

The frightened students were momentarily roused from their

petrified states as they hurriedly rushed toward Duanmu
Huanghun. Duanmu Huanghun had gained recognition for his
strength during the escape from the Garden of Life. Since
Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi were not around, Duanmu
Huanghun was the strongest among them.

Without hesitation, Duanmu Huanghun used his [Viridescent

Flower]. Branches shot out from beneath his feet, spreading all
around them.

He knew just how sharp Ai Hui was.

 When they were hiding in the mound, Ai Hui was somehow
aware of what was going on outside. Duanmu Huanghun felt a
bit freaked out by how keen Ai Hui’s senses were. Knowing that
Ai Hui was not someone who enjoyed taking the initiative to
speak, Duanmu Huanghun deduced that the current situation
must be highly dangerous.

Ai Hui was very familiar with the attack pattern of wild

beasts. Seeing the blood rabbit swagger and taunt the guards
into charging forward made Ai Hui suspect that there were
others lying in ambush.

Wild beasts were not stupid.

Ai Hui saw a red flash streak across his field of vision.

He slashed his grass sword out without thinking.

Over the past several days, Ai Hui had incorporated many

sword techniques into his training sessions. During these
sessions, Ai Hui realized that his sword techniques were getting
more and more potent as he practiced his execution to
perfection. The sword embryo’s response was also getting
stronger and his training of elemental energy was more
efficient.

After so many days of practice, Ai Hui’s elemental energy had

advanced quite a bit, becoming much deeper. In the past, each
of his hand palaces was only the size of a green bean. They had
since grown to the size of a broad bean. Even Ai Hui was
surprised at his speedy improvement.

Besides having an improvement, Ai Hui had also become more

familiar with sword techniques.

Ai Hui first started practicing sword techniques back when he

was still in the Wilderness. After developing his first shred of
elemental energy, his focus shifted toward further training.

He had recently spent copious amounts of time and effort to

sculpt his elemental energy using sword techniques. As a result,
his familiarity with the sword increased tremendously.

His vast improvement could be seen in this stroke that was as

fast as lightning yet completely silent.

Ding!
 The sound of metal striking stone reverberated through the
air.

Ai Hui felt a tremendous force against the sword’s blade.

Rather than resisting the impact, he borrowed its strength and
took several steps back.

He was not particularly jolted by this since raw strength had

always been the wild beasts’ strong point. Ai Hui’s [Copper
Skin] might make him stand out among the students, but even
the most common wild beasts in the Wilderness were stronger
than him.

Of course, victory was not determined by brute strength

alone.

Humans, who were not as strong as wild beasts, had always

been the winning species.

Ai Hui bent his legs, lowering his body slightly like a coiled
spring. His gaze was stone cold and his face expressionless while
the tip of his sword circled in a small arc.
 His eyes were locked onto the blood fiend that was a short
distance away.

It was a blood snake, more specifically a blood krait. Blood-red

spots, reminiscent of red flowers, covered the snake’s silver
body. Its eyes looked like blood-colored glass, with a sparkle
that made it appear much lighter than the blood rabbit’s eyes.

According to what Ai Hui had surmised from the incident in

the Garden of Life, the darker the color of the blood fiends’ fur
and eyes, the more potent the blood poison. However,
carnivorous wild beasts were much more dangerous than
herbivorous ones.

Ai Hui scanned the snake’s body, noting that his attack had
only left a single white spot on the snake’s otherwise
unblemished body.

His heart quivered with anxiety as he realized that the blood

snake’s skin was almost as tough as some of the weaker species
of dire beasts. A short while ago, these blood fiends were still
just normal wild beasts. The speed at which they grew stronger
was truly frightening.
 Given more time…

Ai Hui’s pupils contracted as his killing intent surfaced.

His gaze was fixed squarely on the blood snake in front of him.
Nearby, the intense battle between the guards and the blood
rabbit seemed to fade out of existence as Ai Hui focused all of his
attention on the impending battle against the snake.

As if it had sensed Ai Hui’s killing intent, the blood snake

suddenly raised the upper half of its body. Its red, glassy eyes
locked onto Ai Hui, completely devoid of emotion.

And so, the confrontation began.

Duanmu Huanghun was flabbergasted to see Ai Hui

confronting the blood snake.

His impression of Ai Hui had already changed drastically from

when they were in the Garden of Life. Ai Hui’s acute sixth sense,
coupled with his experience and decisiveness, were what made
Duanmu Huanghun feel taken aback.
 As for his fighting abilities, Duanmu Huanghun felt that they
were not particularly impressive.

In that moment however, Duanmu Huanghun felt his pupils

contract in response to Ai Hui’s killing intent.

Duanmu Huanghun, himself, possessed exceptional strength.

Thus, he had a greater understanding of things like auras and
intents when compared to the average student. These were not
illusory ideas but actual phenomena.

Experts who possessed advanced knowledge in combat were

often able to pinpoint their opponents’ strengths and
weaknesses. Because they had the sufficient abilities and
methods to alter the circumstances in their favor, these experts
remained composed and acted as the situation required without
a moment’s hesitation. Accordingly, their demeanor on the
battlefield naturally allowed them to exude an intent or aura
that vastly differed from the majority.

Duanmu Huanghun never expected Ai Hui to have such an

imposing presence.

This guy was pretty good at swordplay…

 He thought back to Ai Hui’s first strike against the snake
while his eyes remained focused on the current situation.
Feeling annoyed, he wondered if Ai Hui had been hiding his true
abilities all along. The other students were also gawking at Ai
Hui, having the same thoughts as Duanmu Huanghun. They had
been under the impression that Ai Hui reminded them to stick
to Duanmu Huanghun so that they could all use him as a
protective screen.

Little did they know that Ai Hui had been planning to engage
the blood snake.

Fatty was extremely anxious.

Ai Hui maintained his composure and remained completely

unperturbed. He suddenly lowered his sword, prompting the
blood snake to spring at him.

A red blur streaked toward Ai Hui at an alarming speed!

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up at the sight of the snake advancing,

satisfied that his bait had worked. He was experienced in
dealing with wild beasts and knew that they were especially
susceptible to feints.
 The red blur might be fast, but Ai Hui was well prepared. Ai
Hui swiftly accelerated the grass sword forward in a thrusting
motion.

The grass sword in his hand was a military-grade weapon that

belonged to one of the guards. Grass swords used in the military
were of excellent quality and were way better than the sawtooth
grass sword that he had bought.

Its blade was constructed with steel wood and heavy reeds,
making it extremely hard and resistant to damage. These
swords, however, were very heavy and not suitable for use by
students as a consequence. Its weight was just right for Ai Hui,
who was not just any other student.

Infusing elemental energy into the sword made its edges glow
with a cold, pale light that possessed an oddly penetrating feel
to it.

The red and white flashes collided.

Ding!
 A ear-splitting sound even sharper than the one before pierced
through the air.

The blood snake retreated at an even faster speed. It dug into

the ground, leaving a small hole behind.

Ai Hui’s arm was so sore that he was almost unable to lift his
sword. The blood snake’s second strike was much stronger than
the first. Even Ai Hui, who had developed the [Copper Skin],
could not handle the attack.

A red flash flew out of the small hole, once again charging
toward Ai Hui.

The blood snake was visibly injured this time, its forehead
sporting a deep gash. Ai Hui had used up practically all of the
sword elemental energy stored within his hand palaces to
execute his previous attack.

Charging through the air at an impossible speed, the blood

snake bared its gleaming fangs.

Duanmu Huanghun noticed that Ai Hui’s right arm had

weakened and that he was probably no longer able to fight. He
had not expected Ai Hui to have such a confrontational fighting
style, trading intense blows with the opponent without first
testing the waters.

Surprised by the turn of events, Duanmu Huanghun was

unable to provide support!

Damn it!

Was this guy trying to die? Had he not thought of his next
move? Was he crazy?

Duanmu Huanghun was stunned when he caught sight of Ai

Hui’s grass sword.
Chapter 134: Sword Ray!
Ai Hui did something Duanmu Huanghun absolutely did not
expect. He passed the sword over to his left hand.

Left hand!

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes opened wide, as if he had seen a

ghost.

Ai Hui’s left hand held onto the sword skillfully, not at all
unfamiliar with it. Strike!

Elemental energy poured into the sword’s body, a faint

shimmer soon covering the sword. With a humming vibration,
the grass sword transformed into a cold ray of light.

The light reflected on Ai Hui’s face, highlighting his

indifferent expression and chilling eyes. It was as if he had
become a completely different person who emitted a blinding
glow of stern danger. What a great display of ability!

False move, luring move, killing move!

 Whether it was the slight heaviness from before or the
sword’s relentless first blow, they were building up to the sword
that Ai Hui now gripped with his left hand.

His muscles were engaged to their limits, and the bandage on

his left hand had unbound at an unknown point in time. The
white clouds, driven downwards by the rapid streams of
airflow, funneled from the sky as an impressive finale for this
austere sword ray.

Ai Hui held nothing back, placing his faith in the heavens.

The devilishly red light and the chilly sword ray intertwined
in the sky once more.

With exact precision, Ai Hui thrust his sword into the wound
on the blood snake’s forehead.

There was no sharp, piercing ring; instead the muted sound of

a sharp blade slashing across leather was heard.

The bone-chilling sword ray slashed through the center of the

blood snake’s body, splitting it into two. The fresh blood and
minced meat were like red, drizzling rain, yet before it fully
dispersed, they were absorbed by the blood bandage in a flash.

Clap.

The remaining chunks of the snake’s body flew in a straight

trajectory towards the students before plopping onto the ground
not far from them.

The students remained dumbstruck by this swift yet hair-

raising display and had yet to regain their senses.

Duanmu Huanghun had received an even greater shock. The

so-called sword masters he had seen in the past were all
appearance and no substance. The sword moves they
demonstrated had focused only on aesthetics.

But Ai Hui’s strike had been extremely sharp.

Could it be that this fellow really was a dark horse? No,

Duanmu Huanghun inwardly rejected this thought; he had
better insight than most, and it was an unalterable fact that Ai
Hui only had two opened palaces. Swordplay wasn’t an absolute
art. While the moves were skillful, they weren’t uncommon.

Everything was ordinary, so why was the result so sharp and

stunning?

After some more thinking, Duanmu Huanghun’s shock

dissipated with his increased understanding, but the surprise
nevertheless remained.

First was the imposing manner. From beginning to end, Ai

Hui remained calm, showing no signs of weakening; he held
clear confidence regarding the battle from the start. This led to
his ability to control the flow of the battle. Also, his left hand’s
swordplay had been unexpected. Even if he himself had been
the opponent, he would have been struck by Ai Hui.

Simply put, Ai Hui utilized everything he had on-hand to

produce such a startling result.

This fellow… was made for battling!

Duanmu Huanghun narrowed his eyes, a competitive spirit

rising from within his chest.
 The two of them were rivals to begin with. Ai Hui looked
unfavorably upon Duanmu Huanghun and vise versa. This
bastard actually turned out to be a battling genius, but so what?
When it came to absolute base levels, these battle skills and
determination were negligible.

Duanmu Huanghun’s thoughts were lofty; in this aspect, he

had sufficient confidence. But Ai Hui’s splendid performance
made him see what he lacked. He had greater elemental energy
and his [Viridescent Flower] was not something sword-plays
could compete with, but in terms of battle experience, he was
far behind Ai Hui.

He had already decided that after this journey, he would train

in real combat.

To be defeated by this bastard was absolutely unacceptable!

Fatty squatted down to study the corpse.

“Discover anything?” Ai Hui asked from behind.

Without turning around, Fatty responded, “I’ll have to

inspect it a bit more. It’s something new after all; if we can find
useful information, we’ll be rich!”

As he spoke, he wrapped up the two pieces of the snake’s

body.

Ai Hui was more than familiar with Fatty’s money-grubbing

personality. He even extracted two grams of oil from mosquitos
before, so why would he let this blood snake go? Ai Hui ignored
Fatty and did a sweep over everyone else. Seeing that they were
all safe and sound, he diverted his gaze towards the guards.

The other students looked at Ai Hui with more respect. To be

able to eliminate a blood snake so cleanly gave Ai Hui’s image a
large boost.

A cruel, harsh environment was best at toughening people up.

The fact that no one had screamed this time was a sign of
improvement as well.

But in Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes, there was no trace of

reverence, only strong battlelust.
 Despite that, Ai Hui’s gaze swept across his face as if looking
past air, causing Duanmu Huanghun’s face to darken.

Damn it!

Looked down by this fellow again!

Ai Hui was not in the mood to consider Bangwan’s feelings.

During his observations, he mulled over an issue—the manor
was outside of Central Pine City, far away from the Garden of
Life, but a blood fiend had actually appeared here.

His face turned ugly just thinking about it.

Before long, under the guards’ attacks, the blood rabbit also
perished. This showed Ai Hui that the guards were physically
and mentally weak. Despite their advantage in numbers and
greater strength, they were all bitten and infected by the blood
poison, and some were timid. Only after some time passed did
they finally manage to end the battle.

Ai Hui couldn’t help but shake his head. The guards of the
Induction Ground were too used to working in peaceful
environments and were lacking in standards.

The guards cheered while the students heaved sighs of relief.

Ai Hui shouted suddenly, “Let’s get out of here!”

His voice caught the students’ attention, surprising them.

They did not expect Ai Hui to say something like this. Only
Duanmu Huanghun had a pensive look on his face. With his
understanding of Ai Hui, this bastard must have found
something.

A middle-aged guard stood and retorted gloomily, “Imp, don’t

stir up trouble!”

Ai Hui remained unmoved. “Blood fiends have appeared here,

so the blood disaster must have already spread to this region.
It’s no longer safe here. It’s best that we return to the city.”

The middle-aged guard laughed mockingly. “Two blood fiends

got you so scared. Relax, they got us because we were
unprepared. As long as we prepare ourselves, no number of
blood fiends can threaten our safety.”
 “You can’t guarantee that,” Ai Hui said coldly, ignoring the
middle-aged guard’s ashen face. “Once the blood fiend bites, you
get poisoned, and the moment one appears, more will flood in in
no time.”

“Shut your trap! Stop scaring people! Where are the rest?
There are only two!” the middle-aged guard said in a fury. If not
for the fear instilled in him from Ai Hui’s earlier performance
when slaying the snake and the risk of causing a backlash, he
would have taken Ai Hui down.

“Incubation period,” Ai Hui said, continuing icily, “and the

injured students flared up after a few days. When the blood
poison really erupts, it will be too late for us to leave!”

The students immediately became restless, their expressions

changing greatly. They clearly remembered the day-to-day
changes that had occurred in the injured students.

Duanmu Huanghun’s expression similarly shifted. He was

acutely clever, understanding easily the truth in Ai Hui’s words.

It did not occur to him immediately since he was merely a

student who was used to listening to the teachers’ judgments.
 Ai Hui, however, had to judge and decide for himself in all
matters, both big and small. In the Wilderness, the
elementalists did not care about the well-being of the laborers.
If they wanted to survive, there was not a single moment in
which they could lower their guards.

By this point, the middle-aged man had become frantic from

Ai Hui’s words.

He was helpless amidst the students’ uproar. Plus, that imp’s

word had even swayed him a little—and not just him, but the
other guards were uneasy now as well.

The head guard, of all people, had to be away at this moment,

so everyone was waiting on him to make a decision.

“You guys know who I am. If something were to happen to

me….” Duanmu Huanghun said suddenly, gazing at the guards
as if harboring evil intentions. While he did not state it aloud,
even a fool could hear the threat in his voice.

The guards’ faces changed.

 Duanmu Huanghun’s identity had been stressed to them over
and over again. If something happened to the young master of
the Duanmu household while under their care, his family would
not let them off. Their own families could be implicated as well.

“Old Wang, let’s go. We’d better enter the city!”

“Yeah, if this blood poison breaks out, who would come save
us in this desolate place?”

“It’s no big deal. We’re in charge of supervising them, and no

one said anything about not entering the city. We can just
supervise them there!”

These words made Old Wang’s eyes light up. What he said
made sense—supervising them in the city was no different!

“Go! Let’s enter the city!”

Many people had been sent away these past few days, so all of
the transport wagons had flown away, leaving not one
remaining.
 This meant that they had to return to Central Pine City by
foot. Fortunately, the manor was only about forty kilometers
away from the city.

This short distance meant nothing to Ai Hui. He had to travel

even further to reach the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Ai Hui wasn’t careless and used every second available to

recover his elemental energy. Much of it had been consumed
while dealing with the blood snake. If anything were to happen
on the way back, he would have no way of fighting back, and
though there were the guards and Duanmu Huanghun with
him, Ai Hui wasn’t willing to leave his life in the hands of
others.

As he walked, he gesticulated with the grass sword, leading

the embryo’s pulses to generate sword elemental energy.

The surrounding people gave Ai Hui weird looks.

Was this fellow convulsing?

Old Wang looked on diffidently. Luckily, he did not take

action earlier; this fellow was so strange. Convulsing while
walking… If he muttered under his breath as well, he would
resemble a medium doing a dance to lure the spirits.

Ai Hui did not care about what they thought. Embarrassment

meant nothing as long as he could regain his elemental energy
quickly.

Everyone felt fragile inside; slightly afraid, they were on the

verge of breaking into a run.

Such a speed wasn’t worth mentioning to Ai Hui who came

from a laborious background. Operating the sword while
walking, however, was a foreign experience.

At first, he couldn’t seem to quite catch the rhythm, and his

moves were consequently clumsy. But as he gradually grasped
the technique, he soon found something different.
Chapter 135: Insects
Because he was utilizing the sword while sprinting, Ai Hui had
to maintain balance which meant he was unable to lean
forward. His upper body remained still while his lower back was
like an extremely elastic and tough spring. The sword in his
hand had to adjust and follow the movement of his body’s
rhythm and tempo.

This matter only concerned the center of gravity; what was

more difficult was the issue of breathing.

Controlling his respiration was much more difficult when

sprinting as opposed to standing still. As an old hand at this, Ai
Hui knew very well that if the operation of elemental energy
was the essence of an elemental energy attack, then breathing
was the foundation of any attack.

This included the most basic rapier. Strict breathing control

was a requirement, and if the breaths did not synchronize with
the swordplay, then not only would the power be lacking but
injuries would also ensue.

Of course, for Ai Hui, there was a more serious consequence,

which was that he would be unable to generate sword elemental
energy.

As Ai Hui gradually grasped the technique, he began to realize

its benefits.

The sword embryo’s pulse was stronger than before.

The most immediate benefit was the increased rate of sword

elemental energy production.

The newly generated sword elemental energy flowed from the

grass sword in his hands then back into his body to initiate the
Circulatory Cycle Revolution. Twenty percent of the energy was
absorbed by the sword embryo, and whatever remained re-
entered Ai Hui’s hand palaces after one circulation cycle.

Ai Hui’s hand palaces, which had started off empty, charged

quickly and gradually became full.

But Ai Hui did not stop there. He continued circulating until

his hand palaces began to swell and ache. For every palace that
he opened up, he became stronger with each training, like a
small pond expanding into a lake.
 In the process, developing his constitution played a key role.

People with good constitutions, like Bangwan, were like ponds

surrounded by marshes—expanding into lakes was fairly
straightforward.

On the other hand, people with weak constitutions, like Ai

Hui, were like ponds in the middle of the desert. It was much
more challenging for them to expand into lakes.

But things were never fair when it came to training; Ai Hui

did not mind this at all. People with the time to complain were
better off training instead.

Ai Hui no longer intended to resist the sword embryo state

since he was now able to control his awareness within, meaning
his psyche and strength had improved. Previously, he had been
like a toddler waving a heavy axe around, but now that the
toddler had grown up, he could wield the hefty weapon.

Ai Hui ended his training and casually plucked a grass straw

from the roadside. Its stem was faintly red, causing Ai Hui’s
expression to darken.
 Placing it before his nose, Ai Hui smelled a familiar, faint, and
delicate fragrance—the temptation of the devil.

Throwing it aside, Ai Hui’s expression returned to normal,

but there was now a dimness within his heart. He could see in
the distance the faint outline of Central Pine City. The quiet and
peaceful city remained completely unaware of the imminent
danger.

The noisy training halls bustling with activities and the

flourishing night lights that filled the streets… Would they still
be there in the future? The tranquil mornings he had
experienced—waking up to warm sunlight against the cool air
and the sleepy, droopy eyes of those fellows as he smelled the
sweet pastries’ rising steam—would he still wake up to these?

Ai Hui was in low spirits. He sighed inwardly, as if all that was

beautiful was slowly fading away.

He shook his head, feeling that he was being a bit

unreasonable. Only a few good days had passed, and he was
already corroded by the easy comfort.

To be born in suffering and hardship and to die in peace and

happiness—made sense.

Ai Hui regained his vigor. No matter how terrible, it wouldn’t

be worse than the Wilderness, right?

He rid himself of distracting thoughts and thought back to the

Blood Bandage that had snatched up the blood snake’s meat. He
did not inspect it at the time, the intense situation not allowing
him to. He quickly turned his attention to it.

It was white as snow, without any visible marks.

Ai Hui was stunned. He rummaged through the Blood

Bandage but still there was nothing.

Where did it go?

He thought about the time when blood had seeped out of his
palms, only to be absorbed by the bandage.

Could it be that the bandage was devouring blood?

 He recalled his mistress’ words. The Blood Bandage was an
artifact of the blood sects back in the Cultivation Era. Blood
sects… just from their names, it was obvious that they were
related in some way to blood, so when the bandage had
absorbed his blood, Ai Hui had not been too surprised.

But the blood snake’s meat was poisonous. Would there be an

issue now that the Blood Bandage had absorbed it?

Ai Hui started laughing involuntarily. He had actually

thought of the bandage as a living object. What issue? Diarrhea?

Imagining the bandage having diarrhea… He simply couldn’t

picture it…

He decided to leave this tough problem to Lou Lan and let him
interpret it.

His upturned lips disappeared in a flash and the next moment,

with a tremble of his ears and a cold light flashing across his
pupils, he shouted, “Something’s wrong!”

Everyone tensed up.

 Duanmu Huanghun had been paying attention to Ai Hui all
this time. Without mentioning anything else, the smallest sign
of trouble, no matter how small, never went undetected by this
bastard. Duanmu Huanghun had no idea how he did it, but Ai
Hui had clearly displayed this ability in their previous escape.

With his clear vision, Duanmu Huanghun did notice the faint
red color of the grass blade Ai Hui had picked up, causing his
expression to change slightly as well.

He rejoiced inwardly, thankful that they had already left the

manor.

Although Ai Hui was a bit of a scoundrel, he had a nose

sharper than a dog’s.

Upon hearing Ai Hui’s warning, he became highly focused and

inhaled deeply. “Those under two palaces, stay close to me.
Those above, get ready to attack, but be careful not to stray too
far from my protection zone.”

The teachers were not around anymore. As the strongest

within the group, Duanmu Huanghun was obligated to take up
the duty.
 Ai Hui looked over at Duanmu Huanghun with surprise. He
did not expect this ingrate to assume responsibility.

The students had complete faith in Duanmu Huanghun and

upon hearing his command, they immediately got into their
respective positions. The process was chaotic and the formation
messy, but they nevertheless accomplished the task.

Duanmu Huanghun slowly found himself getting accustomed

to the role. Since young, he had been called Brother Huanghun
because of his experience in leading a fight team.

“Be aware of the distance, don’t go too far.”

“Support each other.”

“Don’t stop, we’re not far away from Central Pine City.”

……

He was a perfectionist with a haughty personality. Once he

began something, he would do it to the best of his abilities.
 Ai Hui observed as the ingrate instructed the students who
were giving their best efforts to cooperate. They then stood still
and calm, waiting quietly for the nearby blood fiends. Fatty
carefully positioned himself beside Ai Hui like a fat cat facing off
against a large enemy.

Rustling noises, amplified in Ai Hui’s ears, sounded from the

underbrush. He inhaled sharply before shouting loudly,
“They’re here!”

Before he finished speaking, the grass sword in his hand

unexpectedly thrust forward.

The sword ray from Ai Hui’s grass sword struck a fist-sized

spider.

The spider’s back was covered densely in dark-red streaks and

its eyes were bloodshot. The sight made everyone shiver.

Clank!

A clanging, metallic sound pierced the air as the spider’s body

froze rigidly before diving into the underbrush with an even
faster speed.

Ai Hui’s expression changed slightly. His sword stroke did not

break the spider’s carapace!

He had a rather sound understanding of spiders. He had seen

all sorts in the Wilderness. While the spiders were highly toxic,
their most fearful trait was their ability to ambush noiselessly
with fatal attacks. But they were never known to have a solid
defense.

That blood spider had evidently undergone some sort of

mutation. To withstand his strike without breaking, its
carapace must have been extremely resilient.

An assortment of insects with red patches on their bodies

began to surface from the underbrush.

Duanmu Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower] was fully utilized.

The green vines wrapping around the branches moved
ceaselessly, creating a blurry, green shadow. The insects
crashed into them, as dense as raindrops.
 The soft, wound-up vines and branches diminished, but they
effectively trapped the insects’ attacks.

Awoken from their stupor, the other students hurriedly

launched their own attacks.

The next moment, an array of colored lights flashed as dense

as droplets—blaze, ice, quicksand, and vines.

Ai Hui couldn’t stop from shaking his head. Their moves

seemed flashy, but they were of limited use when targeting
these blood insects which were once weak and frail but now
extremely difficult to deal with.

The spider previously struck by Ai Hui reappeared and lunged

at him, spitting out a red light midair.

Ai Hui, who was getting ready to swing his sword at the

spider, was caught off-guard by its move. He knew the situation
was amiss, and his pupils constricted. His power was almost
used up!

Suddenly, a strong force tugged his body away from the red
light, causing it to miss him by a tight margin.

It was Fatty, who had been alert all along. Upon noticing that
something was wrong, he had hurriedly pulled Ai Hui aside.

A loud cry sounded from behind Ai Hui—a guard had been hit
by the red light. It transformed into a crimson spiderweb upon
touching his body, trapping him tightly within.

Before Ai Hui had time to assist, the guard was quickly

drowned in a wave of insects crowding around him. In the blink
of an eye, only a pile of white bones was left, not even a bit of
flesh to be seen.

Ai Hui’s hair stood on end. He noticed that the red patches on

the insects had become brighter and larger.

Flesh made the blood fiends stronger?

In the Garden of Life, Ai Hui had already noted the blood

fiends’ frenetic attacks but failed to understand the reason
behind it. Now he finally knew why. Like how elementalists
hunted dire beasts, the blood fiends, too, saw them as delicious
food that could make them stronger.

“Don’t get entangled! Leave quickly!” Ai Hui bellowed while

advancing with all his might. Fatty began to move as well,
following closely behind.

Duanmu Huanghun reacted as well. “Follow up! Charge!”

The guards were scared out of their wits. With four men
down, they had incurred the most damage. While Duanmu
Huanghun and the others were weaker, they had experience
from the Garden of Life and knew the characteristics of the
blood fiends. And most importantly, they trusted Ai Hui’s
judgments completely.

The guards, on the other hand, were skeptical of Ai Hui’s

warning and hence reacted half a beat slower. This, coupled
with their lack of experience in dealing with blood fiends, had
devastated them.

Like a swarm of bees, everyone charged towards Central Pine

City.
Chapter 136: Back to the City
Despite having been affected by the blood poison and
undergoing shocking changes, insects were, after all, still
insects. While they could be as fast as lightning, they were
unable to sustain that speed for long distances. Ai Hui and his
fellow students ran with all their might and gradually shook off
the swarm.

Forty kilometers was not a long distance. Under the looming

threat of death, everyone exerted all their strength and even the
weakest girl moved as quick as lightning.

When the city gates of Central Pine City came into view,
almost all of the students fell to the floor and cried tears of joy.

Looking at the heavily guarded city gates, Ai Hui knew that

something serious had happened, otherwise the entrance would
not be so heavily guarded. It was as if they were awaiting the
arrival of an enemy. He felt worried. Was Lou Lan all right?
Master, Mistress, and Senior Mingxiu should be fine too, right?

The day he returned, he flew over Central Pine City. When he

saw how quiet it was, he felt an immense sense of peace, despite
having just escaped death. Now, he became worried when he
saw such tight security.

He had more people to worry about now.

Ai Hui laughed mockingly at himself. Before, he had been

alone in the world, with nothing to tie him down. Even if he’d
died, he wouldn’t worry about whether or not he’d be buried.
He could have still taken pleasure from being decomposed by
artillery shells.

Once Fatty saw that it was safe, he started to chew on malt

candy without a care in the world. Hearing the familiar
crunching sound, Ai Hui shook his head helplessly. Fatty sure
did not waste any time.

Fatty had saved him once again. It was hard to calculate such
a debt.

Thank goodness they had the easily identifiable Duanmu

Huanghun. The guards recognized him with a single glance and
quickly allowed the students to pass through.

Back in the familiar Central Pine City, everyone relaxed

immediately. After escaping death twice, they didn’t need to put
on a brave front anymore. For many of them, their tears started
to flow and they gathered together to sob quietly. Only with this
were they able to release their fear. Only with this were they
able to calm their thoughts of their homes, their parents, and
the family members that they had missed.

Ai Hui looked at the other students in silence. He gave a soft

sigh; they were just a bunch of kids.

He had already forgotten that he was not that old either.

Fatty stopped crunching on his malt candy. He was slightly

dazed because of everyone’s sobbing.

There were those with a tougher temperament as well. A

lanky male student walked up to Ai Hui and said sincerely, “Ai
Hui, thank goodness for you. If not for you, all of us would not
have been able to make it back home. My name is Jiang Wei. Do
let me know if you need any help in future, don’t feel shy to ask
me!”

His name had the demeanor of a general in the olden times.

He was a student from Fatty’s class and was quite capable. Like
Ai Hui, he was a metal elementalist and his speciality was
archery. Ai Hui had seen him perform before and he was
extremely good.

Ai Hui replied without an ounce of modesty, “Do not worry. I

definitely would not be modest about asking you for help.”

Jiang Wei laughed heartily. He was appreciative, feeling that

Ai Hui was without airs and not at all a hypocrite.

Suddenly, many people came up to thank Ai Hui. Thanks to Ai

Hui’s warning, they were able to narrowly escape death twice.
Without Ai Hui, it was likely that none of them would have
made it back alive.

With Jiang Wei alone, Ai Hui’s behavior was still as per

normal, but with so many people conveying their thanks, he
became flustered. This was his first time experiencing
something like this.

At the side, Duanmu Huanghun jealously said, “If all of you

are so thankful, why don’t you show it by giving him money.”
 Ai Hui shot a flabbergasted glance at that ingrate; he had
managed to guess Ai Hui’s thoughts, as in that moment, he had
thought the same thing.

“How could you say that, Student Duanmu!” a girl said

angrily. She stood up and continued, “Can Student Ai Hui be
such a person?”

Ai Hui nearly said, “Yes, yes I am.”

“Student Duanmu, how could you misunderstand Student Ai

Hui like this?” Another girl also stood up to express the
injustice.

Duanmu Huanghun felt extremely wronged and pathetic. He

wanted to say, “Isn’t that the case? Ask him if you do not believe
it,” but after seeing everyone’s furious expressions, he could
only say that he was joking. Only then, everyone’s anger
appeased.

Of course, everyone should also be thankful to Duanmu

Huanghun. His [Viridescent Flower] had saved many of their
lives.
 The words that were at the tip of Ai Hui’s tongue were
forcibly pushed back. But then, on second thought, this wasn’t
right. Clearly that ingrate knew that giving money was the most
practical. The dispute due to the two promises from before was
clearly meant to deceive him.

Ingrate!

The look Ai Hui gave Duanmu Huanghun became increasingly

unfriendly. Indeed, his character was disdainful!

After living in peace for so long, they needed more time to

react to dangers; unfortunately, in times of crisis, time was the
thing they usually lacked the most.

Ai Hui shook his head. He was merely a nobody. All of these

big events were of no concern to him. What was of concern to
him was getting his hands on a big bowl of noodles.

He brought Fatty back to the training hall and they had yet to
enter the door when Ai Hui shouted at the top of his lungs, “Lou
Lan! I am back!”
 Lou Lan, who was sweeping the training hall, stopped and
tilted his head to look at Ai Hui. Surprised, he said, “Welcome
back, Ai Hui!”

“This is Qian Dai, also known as Fatty, my best buddy.” Ai Hui

pulled Fatty over to do the introductions, after which he faced
Fatty and said proudly, “This is Lou Lan, my sand puppet!”

With a bang, Lou Lan transformed into two words, “Welcome

Fatty!”

“Wow, this is interesting!” Fatty smiled until the crinkles on

his face trembled and he eagerly ran over and said, “Have some
sweets, Lou Lan. Can you change again?”

Lou Lan took the malt candy and threw it into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch. That image was an exact replica of Fatty. “This
consists of malt. Fatty, what should Lou Lan transform into?”

What should he transform into? Fatty frowned and pondered.

“Transform into a bandage having diarrhea.” Ai Hui suddenly

interrupted. He threw out the hardest request he could think of
while they had been on the road.

“Bandage having diarrhea……”

Lou Lan and Fatty looked dazed.

After accomplishing his evil scheme, Ai Hui announced that

he was going to the embroidery workshop and left with a
breeze.

At the workshop, he saw that Senior Mingxiu and Mistress

were safe and sound. To his surprise, Master was also actually
there. Master looked like he had aged a lot and Mistress also
looked more frail. Ai Hui was touched; he knew that they had
been worried about him.

Upon seeing him, everyone became agitated, especially

Master, who looked as happy as a child.

They only managed to calm down from the joy of reuniting

after a long moment.
 Ai Hui recounted in detail what he had experienced.

Wang Shouchuan sighed and said, “It’s hard to believe that

there’s such a peculiar blood poison in this world. Who knows
which wood elementalist came up with it. It’s going to be a
complete mess this time, you should not run about and just stay
in the city instead. After all, Central Pine Academy is here. With
the teachers’ strength, I would be more at ease.”

Senior Mingxiu gave an unhurried explanation and Ai Hui

learned what had happened recently.

A few days ago, someone came down with a weird illness.

After getting Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi to examine, they
diagnosed the person with a blood poison infection, and against
their expectations, over the next few days, more cases of blood
poisoning appeared. They only realized afterwards that it was
being caused by a group of blood rats which had made its way
into the city through an abandoned sewer.

Thankfully, the blood rats had not fully mutated and were not
very strong, so they were easily destroyed, but many people had
already died by that point.
 The crisis that Central Pine City had faced led to panic
occurring at the slightest movement. Emergency measures were
imposed on the city and the whole place was probed for possible
dangers.

Those who were infected were sent to an isolation bay for

observation.

Ai Hui could not help but become speechless after hearing the
news. Previously, he had already thought that if there was a
blood poisoning epidemic, the situation would become very
dire. He could not believe that what he had worried about the
most had already happened, and not in a city that was near the
Garden of Life, but in Central Pine City instead.

If Central Pine City was in such a state, then he reckoned that

it was no better in the other cities.

The blood poison was too frightful!

After thinking about it, however, he guessed that it was

normal for the Induction Ground to have such a slow reaction.
It was likely that everyone was still at a loss as to what to do
about the situation.
 Master’s only worry was Ai Hui; he only let go of it after
seeing Ai Hui back in one piece. He felt that ultimately, the city
was a safer place to be. There were enough people and the
teachers each had a different absolute art. It would not be easy
for the blood fiends to invade this city.

Ai Hui did not refute, but only answered, “Disciple had some
thoughts after escaping from death. I feel that my contingency
plans are lacking, and I would like to learn some new moves.”

Wang Shouchuan thought so too. While he felt that it was safe

in the city, at times like this, self-defense moves were the most
important. In the past, he had wanted Ai Hui to grow step-by-
step instead of learning techniques hurriedly, but now that the
situation had worsened, he could not afford to be learning so
leisurely.

“Master has been thinking of this too. What sort of moves

would you like to learn?”

Ai Hui replied, “Disciple would like to learn some sword

moves.”

“Sword moves?” Wang Shouchuan was not the least bit

surprised. He had long realized that Ai Hui had a passion for the
sword. He thought for a while before saying, “Swordplay has
been in decline for a long time. There were very few people
practicing it, so few legacies could be formed and passed on to
future generations. The same could not be said for absolute arts,
so a legacy would not be a problem.”

Ai Hui was at a loss as to what to do. Those arts that could be

called legacies definitely had something extraordinary to them,
but this way, he would have to give up on the sword embryo. If
it was in the past, Ai Hui would not hesitate, but now his sword
embryo was getting better. Moreover, it would be a pity if he did
not use his unique sword elemental energy to practice sword
moves.

Mistress spoke up and said laughingly, “I have an absolute

legacy. If Little Ai Hui is willing to learn, Mistress can teach him
everything.”

A vision of himself floated into Ai Hui’s mind; countless

bright needles danced around him as he grasped an embroidery
needle, then he turned around and smiled sweetly. He suddenly
felt cold and could not help but tremble.

Looking at Ai Hui’s state, everyone laughed heartily. Even

Han Yuqin convulsed with laughter and was not at all angry.

Ai Hui thought carefully and made up his mind. “Disciple has

decided to expand and work on his sword moves.”

After making that decision, he felt surprisingly at ease. He had

the sword embryo within his body and training required the
brandishing of sword moves. Elemental energy was also a part
of sword elemental energy. If he did not expand the
development of his sword moves, what area should he expand
on?

He was not someone who was overflowing with talent. It

would be like courting death if he wanted to be greedy when he
had a terrible aptitude.

Wang Shouchuan and Han Yuqin gave each other a glance and
saw the tell-tale signs of a smile in each other’s eyes.

“Mistress and I had long predicted this.” Wang Shouchuan did

not bother to conceal his approving expression and laughed.
“Every major event that you have encountered was decided with
the sword. Mistress and I both feel that you should learn
swordplay.”
 “So what if swordplay is in decline?” Han Yuqin continued
haughtily, “Was Mistress’s embroidery not invented by herself?
Maybe our Little Ai Hui would be the first Swordplay
Grandmaster in the future!”

Mingxiu took out a wooden box and said smilingly, “Master

and Mistress had long taken care of it. Junior, quickly open this
box and take a look.”

Suddenly, a warmth which he had never experienced before

engulfed Ai Hui, and he was momentarily caught off guard.
Chapter 137: To Get Rich!
Inside the wooden box, there was a silver pill placed on top of
a black velvet cloth.

“This is the sword pill.” Wang Shouchuan could see that this
was the first time Ai Hui had seen one and explained, “Disciple,
you are familiar with the ancient swordplay manuals and you
should know about the sword pill; however, the sword pill is
now drastically different from the sword pills from the
Cultivation Era. This sword pill is an object used to seal up
swordplay. Using the finest liquid gold from the Silver Mist Sea
and the Inverted Sky Palace Technique, the sword pill was
created with the knowledge of swordplay branded within. For
brilliant legacies, there were many subtle things that could not
be put in words, so using the sword pill, future students were
able to comprehend these subtleties. The Inverted Sky Palace
Technique was learnt through ancient bamboo strips and many
of the movements of metal elemental energy were sealed
through this method.”

The first part left Ai Hui baffled. He knew about the Silver
Mist Sea; it was part of the Avalon Of Five Elements and also the
land of metal elementalists. While he did not know what the
Inverted Sky Palace Technique was, it sounded very impressive.
 But once he heard ‘bamboo strips’, Ai Hui understood in a
flash.

The swordplay manuals were mostly recorded on bamboo

strips and Ai Hui had gone through a countless number of them.
As of now, the bamboo strips were already torn and tattered, he
reckoned that they would disintegrate in another century.

During the Cultivation Era, the bamboo strips were usually

passed down after a period of ten thousand years.

Wang Shouchuan instructed, “Place the sword pill in your

hand and insert some elemental energy into it.”

Ai Hui did as told. He took the silver sword pill from the
wooden box and placed it within the hollow of his palm. The
sword pill was not big as it was only slightly large for a pill.. Ai
Hui carefully inserted a thread of elemental energy into it.

A brilliant ray of light was abruptly set off from the sword pill
on his palm. Within the ray of light, there were constantly
flickering silhouettes that were holding on to swords and
practicing. They were like flickering lights and passing
shadows, gone as quickly as they came.
 Ai Hui was attracted to it immediately.

The movements of the silhouettes were as fast as lightning,

and they dazzled and confused him. Suddenly, a violent
movement was aimed at the space between his brows.

Ai Hui jumped in shock, but he soon felt an immense

happiness. He had seen many sword manuals, but their correct
interpretations had long gone with the passing of time. He could
only make use of the words and diagrams to reconstruct the
movements.

With an anxious tone, he asked, “Master, what sort of

swordplay is in this?”

Wang Shouchuan and Han Yuqin laughed upon seeing Ai

Hui’s impatient expression. Ai Hui had always displayed a
maturity beyond his age, so it was rare to see a childish side of
him. While the couple liked the the steadfast and mature Ai Hui,
they also wished to see him be like an ordinary teenager,
carefree and high-spirited. To them, the youthful period was
the best time to be.

“There’s no name. It has three scattered sword moves,” Wang

Shouchuan recalled fondly. “This was left behind by an old
friend of mine. He was called Cheng Rou and was an odd talent
with a vast range of interests, dabbling in everything. He was a
rare Complete Elementalist and bore the Five Elements. It was
difficult to train to be a Complete Elementalist, but he was a
gifted and passionate learner. As long as he put his mind to it,
he would be able to master anything, but he did not have a fixed
temperament and was very carefree. There was a period of time
where he developed an interest in swordplay and told me that
he wanted to invent a set of swordplay.”

Ai Hui and Mingxiu paid close attention, like they were

listening to a story.

Recalling the past, Wang Shouchuan sighed and said, “He

took seven days to invent these three sword moves. I witnessed
how he did it and his talent was astonishing. To date, I had
never seen a talent who was able to surpass him.”

Han Yuqin coldly snorted. “What a pity he wasted his talent.

Little Ai Hui, do not learn from him. A jack-of-all-trades is a
master of none.”

Ai Hui muttered to himself that this Senior Cheng Rou must

have offended Mistress in the past. While he had such opinions,
Mistress still made sense and Ai Hui agreed from the bottom of
his heart. While Cheng Rou was willful, he was still a genius,
whereas Ai Hui was just an average chap. Only when he fought
to the death for something would he then be able to make some
progress.

Wang Shouchuan laughed, but did not rebut, then continued,

“After three moves, he said that his creativity and inspiration
were used up and did not continue. These three moves were too
scattered to be made into a system and could not be formed to
pass on to future generations. As such, he just randomly threw
it to me.”

“Humph! You are treating it like a treasure when it is

someone else’s trash!” Again, Han Yuqin gave a cold snort.

At this point, Ai Hui was one hundred percent sure that

Senior Cheng Rou had offended Mistress, and that the offense
had been a huge one.

Again, Wang Shouchuan did not get angry. He just gave a

laugh and continued, “I did not imagine there would be a day
where I would bring it out again. While these three moves are
scattered, the impact is still pretty good. The design is elaborate
and would be suitable for you to learn. Take it and slowly
analyze it. Learn as much as you can. The usage of the sword pill
is very easy; just like what you did just now, use your elemental
energy to activate the sword pill and you will be able to see the
images. When you have familiarized yourself with the posture,
pace, and movements, place the sword pill at the Sky Palace
between your eyebrows which supplements the visuals. The
sealed intentions of the sword pill will appear in your mind and
you will be able to experience their true interpretations.
Remember, you must first be proficient in the movements. Once
the seal of the sword pill is broken, the true intentions will only
be preserved for a short period of time.”

“Thank you, Master!” Ai Hui carefully returned the sword pill

to the box.

Everyone could not help but smile when they saw Ai Hui
looking at it like it was a treasure.

“Junior made a small fortune recently,” said Senior Mingxiu,

smiling. “The havoc created by the blood fiends led to a terrible
situation. Junior’s Bunny Hair Arrows performed exceptionally
well and were considerably effective in dealing with the blood
fiends. All the Bunny Hair Arrows from Manager Li’s store have
been sold. While at twenty thousand yuan per arrow, the price
was not comparable to the market price of thirty thousand
yuan; however, the large quantity sold still brought about a
profit. Manager Li was as busy as a bee and spent his days
manufacturing the Bunny Hair Arrows. I reckon Junior will
have an income of millions of yuan.”

Mistress said cheerfully, “That’s good! I finally see some

positive development towards my eight million for the
workshop.”

Ai Hui was slightly embarrassed.

Senior Mingxiu instructed, “Junior, make a trip down to

Manager Li’s store later. His hair has gone gray from waiting.
There was a huge demand for the Bunny Hair Arrows, and he’s
worried about the problem of the Bunny Hair now.”

“I will make a trip down later.” There seemed to be countless

small money signs flying in Ai Hui’s eyes.

He suddenly thought of the issue of the Blood Bandage and

asked, “Mistress, do you still remember anything about the
Blood Bandage?”

Han Yuqin did not expect Ai Hui to mention the Blood

Bandage and astoundedly responded with another question,
“Did something happen to the bandage?”

Ai Hui hurriedly replied, “No, it is not a problem. I am just

curious about the strange material.”

He wanted to keep the matter of the bandage devouring flesh

under wraps, or else they would worry again.

Han Yuqin frowned and pondered before shaking her head. “I

have no recollection. Someone gave it to me in the past. At that
point, I thought that the material was very special, so I kept it as
I had never seen such a material before.”

Ai Hui was somewhat disappointed, but he was not surprised.

He instructed his Master and Mistress to take note of their
safety, but he ended up leaving under Mistress’s disdainful gaze.
With Mistress keeping watch at the workshop and Senior
Mingxiu, who was also highly skilled, with her, Ai Hui also felt
that his worry was uncalled for.

The embroidery workshop was exceptionally busy, just like

before. It was like a completely different world when compared
to the outside.
 After leaving the embroidery workshop, Ai Hui ran straight to
Manager Li’s store.

When Manager Li saw Ai Hui, the look he gave him was as if

he had just reunited with a long lost relative. “Goodness! My
boy, you are finally here! I had been to the embroidery
workshop a few times and they said that you had not returned.
Oh my, my heart was in a mess, the world is in a disorganized
state now. Although your abilities are exceptional, you still have
to be careful! Our future is vast and paved with riches. We
should avoid unnecessary risks.”

Nearing the end of his speech, Manager Li’s tone was sincere
and earnest.

Ai Hui joyfully gestured, saying, “Then I am counting on

Manager Li to make more money on my behalf.”

When he heard ‘money’, Manager Li brightened up. “I have

been waiting for you! Our Bunny Hair Arrows were being
commandeered at twenty thousand yuan each. After deducting
the manufacturing costs of six thousand yuan, we still have a
profit of fourteen thousand yuan per arrow. Guess how many
we sold?”
 Ai Hui too, brightened and said, “Five hundred?”

Manager Li gave Ai Hui a disdainful gaze.

Ai Hui was ecstatic now. “One thousand?”

“Confidence! Confidence! Where is your confidence? Why

can’t I see it?” Manager Li pretended to be displeased.

Ai Hui trembled. “Could it be two thousand?”

Manager Li’s expression was proud as he extended three

fingers. “Three thousand!”

Ai Hui’s eyes almost popped out.

“Three thousand!” Manager Li’s saliva was flying out as he

spoke, “Do you know how long I have not slept? Because of
these three thousand arrows, I put my life at risk. I spent days
and nights on them. Wow, that pain, oh, that tiredness; I was so
tired that I could not straighten my back. Do you think it was
easy considering my old age? My boy, looking at how much
effort I put in, would it be possible to …”

Ai Hui’s eyes, which were almost popping out, suddenly

became alert like a starving cat’s on a dark night. They flickered
brilliantly with golden, shiny rays. Without a second word, he
interrupted Manager Li, “No! Divide the money! Divide the
money now!”

He would be able to get seven million yuan for one thousand

arrows. Three thousand arrows meant twenty-one million
yuan.

Twenty-one million yuan!

This was an amount he did not dare to think about in the past.
He should first repay Mistress the eight million for the
embroidery workshop. After adding up the miscellaneous
expenses, he reckoned it would be ten million yuan.

He would still have eleven million left over. Oh gosh, so much

money, why was his heartbeat so fast…...

“Divide, divide, divide!” Manager Li nodded his head, and

without a second word, he took out a delicate money card that
was printed with the Avalon Of Five Elements logo.

So advanced!

Ai Hui took the money card. He had seen people using it

before, but this was the first time he would use one. This money
card was nameless, so Ai Hui needed to imprint on the card. He
carefully injected a thread of elemental energy and a small silver
sword appeared on the bottom right corner of the black money
card.

“Oh, swordsmanship, you have taste! No wonder I felt that

you were extraordinary,” Manager Li repeatedly praised.

The money card could distinguish the attribute of elemental

energy and form different kinds of seals. Everyone’s elemental
energy imprint differed according to their attributes and
trainings.

Ai Hui’s mind stirred and the amount appeared on the face of

the black card. Indeed, it was twenty-one million!
 He made it! He made it! He made it!

Bunny Hair was indeed a great name!

In a flash, Ai Hui became extremely agitated. He has never

had so much money before.

“After I learned that my boy practiced swordsmanship, I kept

a lookout for swords. Good things come to those who wait, and I
finally managed to receive a good sword. Do you want to take a
look? This is indeed a good sword. Now that the world is in such
a disorganized state and there is no army for support, it is very
dangerous.”

Manager Li was all smiles. His appearance then was indeed

the perfect example of a profiteer.
Chapter 138: Dragonspine Inferno
After repaying the money he owed to Mistress and making
some calculations, he would be left with just two hundred and
sixty thousand yuan.

But looking at Manager Li’s facial expression, Ai Hui guessed

that the sword he had was an extraordinary sword. Otherwise,
he would not look so smug. It would be a lie if Ai Hui said he was
not curious; being an experienced veteran, Ai Hui knew the
importance of a good weapon. He was still using a borrowed
military-grade grass sword from the manor’s guard after his
Sawtooth Grass Sword was spoilt.

Ai Hui could not contain himself and said, “Do not try to fool
me using an ordinary weapon.”

While Master and Mistress felt that the situation would not
worsen, Ai Hui was still worried. The eruption of the blood
poison epidemic was too ferocious and it did not help that the
response from the Induction Ground was too slow. Ai Hui had
an extremely acute sense for danger after struggling in the
Wilderness for such a long period of time.

The infected insects they had encountered while running back

to the city only increased Ai Hui’s worries. Based on his
predictions, it would be a matter of time before the large
carnivorous animals finished their transformation. The
situation then would be far worse than now.

In the barrow, the beast howl they had heard was loud enough
to cause tremors, and the fear that had caused him was still
present in his heart. He had seen many dire beasts and their
ordinarily imposing manners did not have any effect on him,
but when he had heard the beast howl from outside the barrow,
he could not help but become extremely fearful and scared..

He did not know if anyone in Central Pine City would be able

to deal with them.

Furthermore, Ai Hui did not have high hopes for the support
team from the Avalon of Five Elements. There were so many
cities in the Induction Ground; who would be able to save them
all?

If this was a conspiracy, Ai Hui was completely in awe of the

conspirator. The Induction Ground was the most peaceful place
with the least security measures. If the Avalon of Five Elements
was a huge, violent beast, then the Induction Ground was its
soft abdomen. It was a wide district and had few restrictions.
Even if you stirred up any trouble, it probably would not catch
the attention of anyone important. The Induction Ground only
had weak students and teachers that lacked experience.

The Thirteen Divisions of the Avalon of Five Elements was

stationed near the frontline of the Wilderness, so Central Pine
City would need time for them to reach the city.

Ai Hui felt like a shadow was being cast over his heart. Who
would design such a conspiracy? What could they gain from this
plot?

The most suspicious person might be a teacher with a screw

loose in his head. He would probably torment them with such a
vicious plot and finish them off.

He had many conjectures and they were both good and bad,
but he reckoned it was going to be a long time before they were
able to make use of them to make any judgements on the
situation. Everyone would be living in danger. The time before
the Thirteen Divisions came to provide their support would be
the hardest period to go through, and also the most critical.

They had to get through this hurdle first.

 Ai Hui resolved not to worry about money. He could only use
the money if he survived.

“Of course it’s not an ordinary sword.” Manager Li’s smile

was similar to a Buddha’s. Ai Hui’s tone was fitting for a disciple
under a Master. Thinking back to the time when he had
borrowed two hundred thousand to purchase the grass sword,
his eyeballs had almost popped out of their sockets in shock. It
was the first time he seen a disciple in such dire straits.

Manager Li walked into a side room and soon came out

holding a long and narrow sword case.

The sword case was fully coated in black. There were patterns
of red water caltrops on the top of the case and each of the four
corners had drawings of a bat. Ai Hui had familiarized himself
with the sword manuals and knew that the bat was the most
commonly seen decorative symbol in the past. It implied good
fortune.

Upon opening the sword case, a beautiful longsword could be

seen within.

At first glance, Ai Hui already thought that it was pretty. The

black body of the sword did not have any sheen and looked like
some sort of timber. There were seven small, shiny water
caltrop crystals that were a fiery red on the ridge of the sword.
It looked like it was encrusted with red rubies. It also looked like
the protruding stiff bones on the back of the Swordback Dragon
dire beast from the ancient times. Both sides of the sword were
a faint, dark red. It appeared to have irregular wave patterns
which were gathered on the sharp end of the sword.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up and he took the sword out carefully.

“This sword is named Dragonspine Inferno. It was grown!“

Manager Li announced.

“It was grown?” Ai Hui exclaimed.

With a smug expression, Manager Li replied, “Look at the

seven red crystals. They are not just any crystals, but are the
artifact remnants that were fished out from the Silver Mist Sea.
They are the remnants of a spiritual sword from the Cultivation
Era.”

“What artifact remnants, do not try to fool me,” Ai Hui

countered with disdain, “Do not take me for a fool because I am
young. It’s just sea slag (waste from the sea) and you talk as if
it’s very high-end.”

Yes, some people called them treasures of the sea, but most
called them waste from the sea.

The Silver Mist Sea was part of the Avalon of Five Elements
and, together with the land of the metal elementalists, was
collectively known as the Silver Mist Sea. In reality, the real
Silver Mist Sea was actually the core of a man-made sea, or
rather, it was a big, artificial lake which had already existed
since the early establishment of the Avalon of Five Elements.

The aim of establishing the Silver Mist Sea was to obtain help
from the metal elementalists.

At the time, spiritual force had dissipated and became

extremely rare, while elemental energy had just been
discovered. In order to obtain help from the metal
elementalists, the elders thought of a foolish idea. They
transported countless treasure-infused flying swords which no
longer had any spiritual effects into the middle of the valley.

All those treasure-infused flying swords were mostly created

by those with metal attributes. As time passed, the metal
elemental energy began to flourish and the density of the metal
elemental energy was like a silver mist. Before long, the top of
the valley was filled with the silver mist and henceforth, it had
been called the Silver Mist Sea.

From the start until now, the expansion of the sea in the
Silver Mist Sea had been unceasing.

It was hard to determine how much the Silver Mist Sea had
expanded. It was much bigger than in the past and the boundary
could not be seen. It truly lived up to the term ‘sea’ now. Until
now, every year, many elementalists would enter deep into the
Old Territory to look for unknown paradises, and they would
end up bringing back carriages full of treasure-infused flying
swords which no longer had any spiritual effects. In addition,
amongst those would be huge amounts of metal attributes from
the smelted metal.

Following the flourishing of the metal elemental energy, the

original treasure-infused flying swords became crisp in exterior.
The metal elemental energy was strong and acidic, so coupled
with the constant erosion caused by the fine Silver Mist, the
crisp exteriors of the treasure-infused swords were constantly
being turned into ashes.
 But there were always some objects that were hard for the
silver mist to erode. These objects would lie quietly beneath the
Silver Mist Sea and were called sea slag. They were sediments
left behind by the Silver Mist Sea.

The sea slag had many different oddities and most of them
were from unknown origins. The training equipments used in
the Cultivation Era were broad, extensive, and complicated,
using many different materials. Even if anyone knew their
origins, the sea slag would still not be useful as, following the
dissipation of spiritual force and the emergence of elemental
energy, those objects underwent huge changes in their initial
attributes.

But given that they were able to withstand the silver mist’s
erosion, sea slag definitely had extraordinary features.
Following the opening of the Silver Mist Sea each month, these
bits of sea slag would be pushed into the river channel. As a
result, it led to the creation of a group of people who would fish
out the sea slag at the river bank for a living.

Using sea slag was like taking a gamble. Once you found a
suitable purpose for it, it would be akin to winning the lottery;
however, most of what they found were objects which served
little purpose.
 Even though Manager Li was caught in his lie, he was not at
all ashamed and instead praised Ai Hui, “My boy is indeed
experienced and knowledgeable! It was by a coincidence that my
friend received the artifact remnants, no, sea slag. Seven of
them, just the right amount! It was rare that they all originated
from the same object, so he decided to make a weapon out of
them and immersed them in the bud of a Devil’s Plant of
Twilight Sandal Wood.”

Ai Hui laughed coldly. “So, he wanted to grow a heavy weapon

initially, but unexpectedly, a sword grew instead? And because
there are few practicing swordsmanship, coupled with the fact
that this sword is heavy, you are unable to sell it. Am I right?”

When he heard Old Li mention the Devil’s Plant of Twilight

Sandal Wood, he knew the intention of the opposite party,
which was to grow a heavy weapon. Given the current
popularity of vegetation weapons, using plants as a fetus and
then growing a weapon out of them was one of the most
mainstream methods used.

Embarrassed, Manger Li replied, “I had not started selling and

immediately thought of you. How could the Sawtooth Grass
Sword be worthy of you? This Dragonspine Inferno would be a
perfect match!”
 “I am buying that sword,” said Ai Hui straightforwardly.

Manager’s Li had a joyful expression while he gave a thumbs

up. “That’s the way! This should be the way a disciple under a
master acts! This isn’t the least bit expensive, my boy…”

Without waiting for Manager Li to set a price, Ai Hui

interrupted him and said coldly, “Old Li, you made quite a
fortune this time. I took a thirty percent cut while you took
seventy percent. I did not even get half of what you made,
wasn’t it?”

Manager Li had an ominous prediction after hearing that

sentence. “But we made a deal previously!”

“That’s right, we made a deal!” Ai Hui waved his hands

around and continued gravely, “You are still operating a
business right? It’s so difficult to produce the Bunny Hair. If any
mishaps happened to me, what would happen to your business?
Shouldn’t you invest in ensuring the safety of your partner? If
you are unwilling to invest, take it that I did not say anything. I
will still pay whatever price you set. But you are operating a
business after all; there are bound to be mishaps sometimes.”
 Upon hearing that, Manager Li almost wanted to kneel down.
With a passionate expression, he clapped his chest heartily. “My
boy, your words hit close to heart! Such a sword deserves a hero
and only a hero like my boy here would be able to match this
sword. I thought of you when I saw it. Come! Hold on to the
sword. It is just a little gesture on my part. My boy, one word of
advice from an elder brother, safety is first. We were able to
make a huge profit on just the Bunny Hair Arrows. For the sake
of huge amounts of money, you must take note of your safety.”

What else could he say? Manager Li was practically crying

when he said the above. He thought he would be able to take
advantage of Ai Hui, but who knew Ai Hui was even more
cunning.

He was unable to ward off such a practical threat.

Thank goodness he bought the Dragonspine Inferno at a low

price. Swords were usually hard to sell, let alone such a heavy
sword.

Upon thinking of the money he made, however, Manager Li

immediately became clear-headed. He was indeed confused.
How could he make such a rudimentary mistake? He should
curry favor with the chap in front of him!
 He had a better understanding now. While Ai Hui was
Mingxiu’s junior, he was more flexible and invasive in his
methods, making him harder to deal with. It was a joke that he
once thought of Ai Hui as a novice, someone who was not
updated with the affairs of the world. Thank goodness he came
to see the truth early on.

“Then I am going to accept this sword. I should not be

unappreciative of your intentions.” Ai Hui patted Manager Li’s
shoulder and continued, “Old Li, you should concentrate on
working steadily at something in terms of investment.”

Manager Li’s knees almost buckled after hearing those words.

Concentrate on working steadily…

Gangster! What a gangster! And Ai Hui could still say it in

such a righteous way till he was unable to reject him!

Was this guy really a disciple under a Master? How could he

have the air of a hooligan from the marketplace?

Both of his eyes were brimming with tears while he said from
the bottom of his heart, “Yes, yes, yes, working steadily,
working steadily!”

“How is it? Do you still have sufficient Bunny Hair?” Ai Hui

saw that he had accomplished his mission and decided to top the
icing on the cake.

Manager Li jolted and looked at Ai Hui anxiously. “It is almost

used up. The main issue is that the length of many of the Bunny
Hairs is not suitable. I am only able to wait for your assistance.”

Ai Hui pondered before answering, “Prepare the Twilight

Silkworm, herbs, iron cooking pot, and whatnot and send it
over to my place. Afterwards, send someone to collect the
Bunny Hair daily.”

Manger Li was long awaiting those words from Ai Hui.

Without a second word, he said, “The things have long been
prepared. They will be sent over now!”

Ai Hui: “......”

Sea slags = Artifact remnants

Chapter 139: Chime of the Sword and
Weapons
AI Hui happily carried the Dragonspine Inferno in his hand.

What a good sword!

The sword was as heavy as one hundred kilograms. The

Devil’s Plant of Twilight Sandal Wood was a material used to
make heavy weapons. Its density was the highest, so the sword
grown from it was extremely heavy. If Ai Hui had not developed
[Copper Skin], he would hardly be able to lift the sword. Even
now, when he tried to swing the sword, he could still feel its
heftiness.

Even if it had lacked edges and was used to hit the enemy as a
club, the bones of the enemy would all be broken.

Excellent!

To Ai Hui, the fiercer the weapon was, the better he could

utilize it. His skills were not systematic. Therefore, he might
not be able to make the optimal use of certain good weapons
that possessed a specific effect. Only the crude and simple
weapons like this suited him the best.

Moreover, he had not paid anything for the Dragonspine

Inferno.

A free weapon was undoubtedly a good weapon, even if it was

a grass sword.

The swinging the one hundred kilogram sword produced a

deep and scary whistling sound.

If not for the fellows following him, Ai Hui would have

already tested this sword. He reminded himself that he was now
a rich man, and a rich man should behave with grace.

Pushing open the gate of the training hall, Ai Hui’s nose

twitched before he said anything, and his eyes immediately
widened.

The smell of food! Elemental soup!

Rushing inside, Ai Hui suddenly saw a fat guy licking the

bottom of a bowl. Instantly, evil thoughts flooded into his mind.

Yet, he had not immediately revealed his fury. Instead, he

smiled at Fatty wickedly and noted this in his mind. Even if
Fatty was his pal, there was no way he would not mind Fatty
taking his elemental soup.

“Ai Hui.” Lou Lan’s eyes brightened when he saw him.

Lou Lan then noticed the fellow behind Ai Hui who was
carrying a big pot and herbs. Golden light was shining in Lou
Lan’s eyes. “Noctilucent Grass, Poria Water, Bamboo Stone, and
Bian Fish Eyes. So many herbs. Are you going to peel Twilight
Silk, Ai Hui?”

Ai Hui was not surprised at Lou Lan’s knowledge. Lou Lan was
skilled at medical treatment, so it was not odd for him to be
familiar with all kinds of herbs.

“Yes. You also know this?” Ai Hui asked the fellow to put
down all the materials while talking to Lou Lan.

“I don’t know much, but the principles are similar. By the

way, Ai Hui, this formula was not good enough.”

The fellow was unhappy to hear this and said, “Not good
enough? That’s impossible. This is the standard formula to
soften Twilight Cocoons.”

“Shut up!” Ai Hui looked at the fellow with an unfriendly

gaze.

Ai Hui had always been partial to his friends and would not
allow anyone to say anything bad about them.

Lou Lan replied honestly, “If the ratio of the formula is

adjusted, it will be more effective.”

The fellow wanted to refute when he felt something heavy on

his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Ai Hui’s clouded face,
the Dragonspine Inferno at his throat, and did not dare to say
another word.

Ai hui glanced at him, took back his Dragonspine Inferno, and

said lightly, “Put down the materials and leave.”
 The fellow felt as if he was granted amnesty and left in
dejection.

Ai Hui turned to Lou Lan and cracked a smile. “I will leave the
herbs to you then, Lou Lan.”

Lou Lan was very happy that he could help Ai Hui. “No
problem. Just leave it to me!”

Then he began his work.

At that point, Fatty had finished drinking the soup and joined
them. “I still cannot understand your intention, huh? But I
think Lou Lan is definitely a good sand puppet. Where did you
buy it? I want to buy one even if it costs me my whole fortune.
It is rare to see such a good sand puppet.”

Seeing Fatty’s satisfied expression, Ai Hui smiled grimly in his

heart, but kindly said to him, “How does the soup taste?”

“Delicious!” Fatty’s eyes lit up. “I never tried any soup as

delicious as this before. Is this elemental soup? It’s so great! My
body gets warm after just one sip. If I could have one bowl of
this soup every day, I’ll die without any regrets.”

One bowl every day…

Ai Hui was so irritated that he burst into laughter. “How dare

you think of that. How much is the soup, Lou Lan?”

Lou Lan tilted his head and said, “That soup is called Oil
Under Fire, which best fits his fire attribute. The cost of the
materials is one hundred and seventy thousand yuan. It is
beneficial for his training.”

One hundred and seventy thousand yuan…

Ai Hui’s face froze, regretting that he did not remind Lou Lan
of this before leaving. Lou Lan was just too honest.

Fatty smacked his lips to recollect the aftertaste of the soup.

“No wonder it tastes so good. This is an expensive delicacy.
Delicious!”

Seeing Fatty’s annoying face, Ai Hui’s eyes were cold. “The

one hundred and seventy thousand yuan is on you. Didn’t you
hear what Lou Lan said? Hurry up and start training now.
Haven’t you finished practicing the [Fluttering Butterfly Steps]?
Then the next is the [Dancing Flower Steps]. You should have
the strength to do five hundred sets, since you just finished the
soup.”

“Five hundred sets?” Fatty’s eyes widened as if he had heard

some horrifying news.

“Not enough?” A warm smile appeared on Ai Hui’s face.

“Then two hundred more.”

“Seven hundred sets of the [Dancing Flower Steps]? I don’t

think that’s enough for him to totally absorb the soup,” Lou Lan
said honestly.

“How about nine hundred? Okay let’s just round it to one

thousand.” Ai Hui asked Lou Lan with a smiling face.

“That’s more or less enough.” Lou Lan nodded.

Ai Hui noticed Fatty’s shivering legs and smiled grimly in his

heart, but his face became more amiable. “What if the training
is not finished? Lou Lan, do we have any punishment that does
not harm the body, but is still effective?”

Tilting his head, Lou Lan thought for a while and said, “So
you are referring to mental punishment instead of physical
punishment? I think one such method is to forcibly immerse
someone’s face in water until the person almost drowns. This
was used to torture prisoners before. The suffocating and dying
experience is very impressive.”

“That’s a good idea,” Ai Hui said in admiration.

Not only his legs, but every part of Fatty was shivering now.
He looked at Lou Lan as if Lou Lan was a devil who had just
climbed out of hell.

What a vicious sand puppet…

Then, Ai Hui delivered the final shot casually. “You will know
how that feels if you cannot finish one thousand sets, Fatty.”

Fatty’s face was as pale as ashes. He whined as he crawled his

way over to the training area without hesitation, like a bear
with an arrow in its hip. He knew Ai Hui would carry out the
threat, and he did not want to experience it at all.

Seeing that Fatty left, Lou Lan began to adjust the proportion
of the herbs. Ai Hui had to admit that the way Lou Lan dealt
with the herbs was delightful to watch. It was as smooth as
drifting clouds and flowing water.

Lou Lan is my pride!

Ai Hui felt at ease leaving all these materials with Lou Lan and
departed by himself.

He was finally able to study the sword pill that his teacher
gave him as well as the Dragonspine Inferno.

Just now, when he was with Manager Li, Ai Hui could only try
to feel the sword in his hands instead of studying it carefully.

Hum! As elemental energy was infused into the Dragonspine

Inferno, the sword trembled slightly. His hand felt the vibration
and almost dropped the sword on the ground. The Dragonspine
Inferno was heavy indeed. Even the slightest tremble could
produce an amazing force.

The low and deep vibration was like the breathtaking growl of
the Swordback Dragon.

The chime of the sword! This was a pleasant surprise and a

good omen for Ai Hui because it indicated that his elemental
energy synergized with the Dragonspine Inferno. Ai Hui guessed
that this might be because his elemental energy was sword
elemental energy.

Having figured this out, Ai Hui calmed down and began to feel
the change of the flow that his elemental energy was going
through within the sword.

As the elemental energy flowed in the sword, he immediately

knew the difference.

The flow of the elemental energy was smooth and lubricated,

making the flowing itself an enjoyable process. Ai Hui could not
resist praising the sword again. Simply judging from the flow, it
was far better than the grass swords he had used before. The
sword was heavy, but as the elemental energy was now infused
into it, it seemed to become much lighter. As a result, it was a
bit easier for Ai Hui to wield it.

With the elemental energy circulating, the blade of the sword

became dark red, and the color slowly pulsed as if it was alive.

He tried to touch the Garnet Prismatic Crystal in the sword

with the elemental energy. Like a clay ox thrown into the sea,
the energy was absorbed into the abyss and disappeared. He
knew that this was because the amount of elemental energy he
had was too small to activate the prismatic crystals, so he
stopped.

His level was still not high enough. Ai Hui shook his head.

The Dragonspine Inferno was indeed a good weapon. For

ordinary elementalists, they would have to spend a considerable
amount of money to get such a weapon. Ai Hui believed that he
would not have to worry about his weapon for a long period of
time.

Nowadays, there were various kinds of weapons, but most of

them were long-range weapons.
 Elementalists tended to fight using sand puppets. For
themselves, they either chose self defense or concealment.

There were many weapons designed for wood elementalists,

but a pure elementalist usually fought with their particular
Grass Seed Fruit. Metal elementalists had two divisions that had
totally different styles, the Sky Edge Division and the Infantry
Division. The former mainly used sabers, bows, and spears,
while the latter mostly used heavy weapons.

It was thought-provoking to note the fact that

swordsmanship, which had once been mainstream for
thousands of years, had declined and was replaced by the saber,
which had never been dominant before.

Yet, the reason was not difficult to understand. Swordplay

was complicated and could not be supplemented by spiritual
force. People mainly used swords for stabbing, so the lethality
was limited. In comparison, sabers were simpler to use and
people mainly used then to chop or hack. During the era of
elemental energy, the lack of spiritual force was less important,
while the advantages due to simplicity and power were
amplified.

The rise of archery was also because of these changes over

time. It was now the most powerful long-range weapon and the
easiest to learn. Archery practitioners included elementalists of
all attributes. This indicated its popularity.

The weapon of the fire elementalist was usually similar to a

calabash. It contained Earth Fire Lava which was collected from
deep beneath the Sparking Plain and had been refined many
times. Ai Hui once saw a fire elementalist carrying a wine jar
about his height that was filled with the Earth Fire Lava.

There were many benefits to traveling with a fire

elementalist. For example, if you went somewhere cold, you
could stay warm because you had a human-shaped stove. What
was more convenient was cooking, because you could simply cut
raw meat and put the slices on the wine jar to grill them. Those
who had high criteria for food would brush the meat with oil
and add spices, but this depended on whether you could get
along with the fire elementalist.

In this scenario, if a wood elementalist joined, then it would

be a perfect team. A wood elementalist could find many weird
plants, fruits, and mushrooms that you never knew about
before. Eating these together with the meat would make it
delicious and less greasy.
 Other weapons like the whip also had its enthusiasts,
especially among wood elementalists, because it could
complement well with their vines. However, the whip was
regarded as a weapon with a minority of wielders. Another
popular weapon among the minority was the flying knife,
which was typically used by some water elementalists. They
knew how to fly, so it was easier for them to control the path of
the flying knife, which could be very tricky sometimes.

Most water elementalists used azure wings as their weapon.

Azure wings were developed from flying equipment used in the
early years and evolved into a weapon that integrated offense
and defense.

When it came to the water elementalists, a very unpopular

weapon had to be mentioned, which was the javelin. The heavy
javelin would be accelerated through a sharp dive and then
thrown with elemental energy by the water elementalists. They
had killed numerous wild beasts using this method, making the
javelin their most powerful and favorite weapon.

Alright, swordsmanship had indeed declined, but it was what

Ai Hui was good at.

Ai Hui took out the sword pill.

Chapter 140: Team Leader Shi Xueman
Other than the swordplay manuals, this was the first time that
Ai Hui had studied a record of swordsmanship. Actually, what
was written in the swordplay manuals was not exactly
swordplay, but rather sword moves.

There were big differences between swordplay and sword

moves.

The nature of sword moves was the ‘move’, or the change of

the spiritual force, and the sword was only a carrier. The nature
of swordplay, however, was the skill to wield a sword. This was
also the reason why the sword declined as a weapon. In the
early stages of the development of the sword moves, swordplay
was a basic training subject for all swordsmen. During the
Cultivation Era, swordsmen had not had to start with swordplay
because the sword was not necessarily controlled by the hands.

The use of spiritual force could send the sword flying for
thousands of miles and was what swordsmen practiced.

Yet, due to the unexpected disappearance of spiritual force,

people had to control the sword with their hands again. Only by
that time had they realized that they were no longer able to use
the sword.

In terms of chopping and hacking, swords were less powerful

than sabers and axes. In terms of stabbing, they were not as
good as spears.

Currently, this was the embarrassing status of swordplay.

While, the elimination of species was selected by nature, the
elimination of swordsmanship was selected by time. Ai Hui was
unaware of any profound theories, but he was well versed in the
limits of swordsmanship due to his abundant experience in
fighting.

If it were not for the sword embryo and its subsequent

changes, he would not have chosen swordplay.

Thanks to the sword embryo, he developed his own

advantage. Although he had no way of knowing if this would be
advantageous in the future, he had decided to place his future
on the sword simply because of what he could obtain now.
Others might think he was too careless in making such an
important decision for his future, but Ai Hui disagreed.

What meaning would the future have to a person like him

who had nothing at all? His life was worth nothing, so it was
needless to talk about his future. Therefore, to him, even the
slightest advantage was valuable.

He slowly infused his elemental energy into the sword pill.

The sword pill began to shine again, and a figure appeared in

the light.

Ai Hui watched carefully this time. The faster he infused the

elemental energy, the more rapidly the figure move and vice
versa.

His teacher said there were three independent moves with

their own names. The first one was named the [Crescent Moon],
the second [Dust Fall] and the third [Night Epiphyllum]. None of
the names were related. That was why Cheng Rou thought they
were a mess. Actually, Ai Hui had not seen an interrelation
between them either.

Having watched carefully from the beginning to the end, Ai

Hui realized that there was only one move he could learn now
among the three moves.
 It was the first one, the [Crescent Moon].

This was because the [Crescent Moon] was the only move that
merely required the hand palaces. Both of the other two moves
had a higher criteria in the base level and involved the
activation of more palaces. The [Dust Fall] technique demanded
the activation of the hand palaces and the earth palace, which
was not easy to open. Ai Hui would be hard pressed to
accomplish this within a short period of time. Meanwhile,
the[Night Epiphyllum] was even more complicated. Apart from
the four palaces of the hands and feet, the sky palace was also
needed to be activated.

Ai Hui was a bit disappointed at first, but on second thought,

he was satisfied as he knew very few masters would bother to
create a set of swordplay for beginners.

The [Crescent Moon] alone was sufficiently complicated for

him to learn.

This was the most complicated move he had ever

encountered. The moves he previously learned were simple and
brutal, like the [Arching Fish Back]. Although he had not really
started, he had already gained a lot simply by watching the
three moves in the sword pill. This experience was amazing and
really eye-opening for Ai Hui.

The first thing he noticed about the three moves was their
elaboration in an all-round way. The flowing route of the
elemental energy, for example, was complicated and carefully
designed. Moreover, the flowing speed of the elemental energy
was not constant either, but was sometimes fast and sometimes
slow.

Additionally, the coordination of the breath and the body was

also required.

In other words, the move would only be unleashed when the

elemental energy and breathing were coordinated with the
movement.

The perfect combination of these three factors could lead to

the most powerful execution of the moves.

The countless details were so complicated that it almost took

Ai Hui’s breath away.

The difficulty in practicing the [Crescent Moon] was already

beyond Ai Hui’s imagination, but it would be even more
difficult to use this move in actual combat because, in a real
fight, the environment was more complicated and tougher.
Furthermore, the fighter would have to consider how to grasp
fleeting opportunities while simultaneously dealing with the
obstruction and interference of the opponents.

Based on his fighting experience, Ai Hui preferred simpler

moves which were easier to use. However, he was also aware of
his weakness, which was the lack of a powerful finishing move.

The three independent moves in the sword pill could become

his finishing techniques.

Although he had not yet learned the move, he could already

feel its power.

His teacher was right. Cheng Rou was definitely a true genius.

Admittedly, Ai Hui had gained something from the swordplay

manuals. Although his training no longer depended on the
swordplay manuals, he had developed his own understanding of
swordplay under the influence of the manuals which contained
the wisdom of numerous cultivators spanning thousands of
years.

The three moves of the sword pill were featured with detail.
All the energy within the body was allocated elaborately, then
converged, and finally burst out.

This was awesome.

With eyes lit up, he calmed down from the excitement and
began to study carefully.

The sky outside Central Pine City.

A transport wagon roared past. The students in the wagon

were sitting quietly.

“It’s my pleasure to fight with all of you. My name is Shi

Xueman, and I’m the team leader. I hope we can get along well
and complete the mission smoothly. This will be your
graduation examination.”

If Ai Hui were able see the scene, he would be amazed because

the person who was speaking was the same as the lady from the
noodle house.

Shi Xueman was in a white battle suit looking bright and

brave. Her black hair blew in the wind, and her splendid face
was like a perfect painting.

Yet, since she was the top goddess as well as the top Goddess
of War, no one dared to show an obscene expression. The
number of men who dared to pursue her was definitely less than
the number of men who had been defeated by her.

Shi Xueman looked solemn and her eyes were cold. Her
intangible aura stimulated everyone’s nerves.

The students realized how powerful this lady was.

“You are all very familiar with the current situation. The
blood catastrophe broke out suddenly, and the Thirteen
Divisions could not provide assistance within such a short
period of time. What we were worried the most about was the
area for the younger students, who are less powerful and are not
able to resist. As for the guards of each city, I’m sure you are
familiar with their ability.”
 Some students laughed out loud.

Underclassmen students usually regarded the guards with

reverence, but the upperclassmen, who were experienced in
actual combat due to daily tasks, never thought highly of them.
Plus, all of the students in the transport wagon were the best of
the best, so they had undoubtedly surpassed the guards in terms
of overall fighting skills.

Shi Xueman continued her speech as if she had not heard their
laughter, “This is an abrupt case, but I believe you will not
flinch. I know that none of you need to worry about your
graduation, but since the Induction Ground has assigned such
an important task to us, I’m sure that no one wants it to end in
failure or disgrace their family.”

Hearing the last sentence, some students who were lounging

just now sat up straight, and their look became serious.

Shi Xueman’s eyes were cold. She glanced at the students and
said, “This is a special mission that concerns the lives of
millions of people. I believe you have heard about the blood
poison, but I would like to remind you that it is even more
horrible than you imagined. This is a mission that is different
from what you have been through before. As your team leader, I
have three requirements for you.”

“First of all, I hope you can follow orders and pool our efforts
together. Second, be alert to dangers since anything can happen
in the blood disaster zone…”

Some students became impatient. Although Shi Xueman was

well-known indeed, they were also not nobodies. It had not felt
good to be lectured by a female team leader.

Besides, they thought Shi Xueman was exaggerating the

danger and making a fuss out of a casual order. The blood
catastrophe was already under the control of the Induction
Ground. All of them were from well-known families, so they all
knew that the Induction Ground had found the solution to
dealing with the blood catastrophe.

As a result, they regarded the mission more as a field trip so

that they could have a better curriculum vitae before graduation
which would justify the important positions they were going to
take.

Yet, this stupid woman took it too seriously.

 “Stop nagging!” said a male student who looked doughty as he
snorted without looking at her. “You are just a team leader…”

Without warning, a beautiful hand appeared in front of him

out of nowhere. He was greatly frightened but had no time to
react before the sinewy rattan, which was as tenacious as steel
wire and used to secure his body, was abruptly parted and he
was dragged away from his seat.

When he realized what had happened, he had already been

thrown out of the transport wagon.

“Ahhhh…”

The scream sounded farther and farther away. Everyone in

the wagon swallowed nervously, and their expressions changed.
Those who had been unsatisfied just now immediately became
silent.

No one expected Shi Xueman to be so direct and rude, or so

ruthless. All of the students were frightened.

Fortunately, the transport wagon was flying in a relatively

low altitude.

Still, the injury must be severe.

This woman was more horrible than they had expected…

“I will report Li Hai’s case to the Induction Ground, and I’m

glad to meet with his parents if needed.” Shi Xueman was as
serene as a real lady and lacked any murderous countenance. As
she ran her fingers through her hair, every movement was the
embodiment of grace and beauty.

No one dared to look at her or say a word.

Only now had they remembered that this goddess surpassed

them not only in terms of fighting skills, but also in terms of
family background. As for the bitter experience today, Li Hai
could only bear it because the Li Family clearly dared not bother
the Shi Family. However, if Shi Xueman complained to Li Hai’s
parents, he would definitely be punished.

This… this was unfair!

 The students were angry and sad.

Shi Xueman felt the transport wagon begin to land, so she sat
up straight with her expression becoming serious.

The transport steadily stopped on the ground.

“Disembark!” she ordered coldly.

Like a heroine, she was the first to neatly jump out of the
wagon as her long black hair fluttered in the sunshine.
Chapter 141: New Arrows
The difficulty for learning 【Crescent Moon】 was much higher
than Ai Hui had expected.

Although it only involved two palaces, Ai Hui tried for a long

time but still could not find a way to start. Thanks to his
frequent discussions with his teacher, his horizons had been
greatly broadened. Wang Shouchuan was good at working with
theories and often discussed them with Ai Hui, even though he
knew Ai Hui was only a beginner.

In fact, moves involving only two palaces were mostly basic

moves. They were simple and easy to learn, but had limited
power. Since not much elemental energy was needed, the
flowing route was simple too. As a result, such skills could not
involve many changes.

It was like cooking. If the cook had only two ingredients, he

would have very few choices in how to use them, and therefore
could not prepare complicated dishes.

That was why he believed that Cheng Rou, who could create
the skill of 【Crescent Moon】 within the hand palaces, was
definitely a genius!
 Since it only involved two palaces, the requirement for
elemental energy was not high, but the techniques it involved
were not simple at all.

It was very complicated!

The first thing Ai Hui needed to do was to make a stable string

between his hand palaces. This alone was a high-level technique
and could not be achieved easily by beginners.

When Wang Shouchuan gave him the sword pill, he did not
expect Ai Hui to master the skills in a short period of time. He
just wanted to show Ai Hui what real swordplay was, so that he
could have a target in the future.

But Ai Hui did not want to give up at all. The techniques were
complicated, but still achievable.

Yet he was still forced to stop because of the many other

things he needed to do, such as peeling the Twilight Silk.

Lou Lan had finished adjusting the proportions of the herbs.

The iron-like Twilight Cocoons were softened.
 Was there anything Lou Lan could not do? He could braise
soup, make elemental food, heal wounds, do massages, make up
prescriptions, and soften cocoons…

Who dared to speak ill of such an excellent sand puppet!

Ai Hui said, “Lou Lan, you are brilliant!”

Hearing his praise, Lou Lan laughed happily and his eyes
became like crescent moons. “Keep going, Ai Hui!”

A flag of sand suddenly appeared in Lou Lan’s palm. The

sandy surface of the flag had two hollowed-out words: Keep
Fighting! Lou Lan cheered as he waved the flag.

Ai Hui laughed out loud.

Once again, Shi Xueman came back to Central Pine City.

Seeing the empty streets, she felt really unfamiliar with the city
that she had visited many times. This was her first time seeing
the streets so empty.
 It seemed that the situation was worse than she had expected.

This was the first time for her to be a team leader. She must
complete the task perfectly!

She encouraged herself quietly.

It was not long, however, before she realized that she was
absolutely wrong. The obstacle she had encountered was
unprecedented.

“I know, I know. You can trust us. We are able to protect

Central Pine City. More guards were assigned to us and now we
have plenty of people. You can take a rest in Central Pine
Academy or have a talk with the freshmen. I believe you will
have a happy time there. If we need any help, I will turn to you
first.”

The officer in Central Pine City was polite, but refused their
offer of help. In his eyes, these students were sent here to have
it easy. Ask them to help? Stop kidding. If any of them got
injured, he would have great trouble. By that time, it would be
lucky enough if he only lost his job.
 Every one of them was like a statue of Buddha. They only
needed to sit there and enjoy themselves.

Seeing her teammates’ cheerful expressions, Shi Xueman felt

depressed in her chest.

Not because of her ample chest!

In Central Pine Academy.

“Welcome to Central Pine Academy, elites of the Induction

Ground. This is the first time that Central Pine Academy has
witnessed so many geniuses. Our humble academy is honored
by your presence. You can stay here and we will arrange the best
accommodation for you. Feel free to tell us if there is anything
you need. Please help yourselves while you are here. We would
also really appreciate it if you could have a chat with and give
some pointers to the new students here when you have the
time.”

The dean of Central Pine Academy was enthusiastic.

“Sorry to interrupt.”
 “No problem!”

“What are your training facilities like? I don’t really care

about accommodations; the training facilities are more
important.”

By this time, Shi Xueman had realized that none of her fellows
took the mission seriously.

She was the one who had been too naive.

She was silenced. Maybe it really was a trip to have it easy.

She had thought that Central Pine City was threatened with a
growing crisis, but there actually seemed to be no crisis at all.

She had been too sure of herself.

Shi Xueman sneered at herself and felt very bored. She

refused the academy’s invitation and chose to live in the Shi
Clan Training Hall.
 If it were peacetime, the dean would try his best to ask her to
stay, but at this time, he earnestly wished she could leave.
Although Central Pine City was safe for the moment, it was still
more dangerous than it used to be. He would be responsible if
anything happened to her in Central Pine Academy.

If she stayed in the Shi Clan Training Hall, however, then it

was none of his business.

He even hoped that Shi Xueman could bring all her teammates
to the Shi Clan Training Hall; but of course, Shi Xueman could
not bother to care about them.

Vanguard Training Hall.

Ai Hui looked at the Twilight Silk he had peeled. The new

Twilight Silk seemed a bit different from before; the silver gloss
was like snow and frost. No matter how he put it, it was as
straight as an arrow.

“It seems that the silk is harder than before,” Ai Hui

murmured. He infused some elemental energy into it and a
needle-thin light appeared at the end of the Twilight Silk.
 Ai Hui held the silk carefully and stabbed the edge of a pot
lightly. It immediately pierced through and made a hole.

Ai Hui thought happyily, “This is a great progress.”

The liquid Lou Lan had made was really different, and Ai Hui
also suspected that it might have something to do with the
change in his elemental energy; it had become sharper than
before. The change in his elemental energy might have lead to
the change in the silk he peeled.

Ai Hui gave the silk to the fellow who came to pick it up and
said, “Ask your boss to try the new Bunny Hair.”

The fellow took away the half-filled box of silk carefully. He

was a distant relative of Manager Li. Last time he had spoken
too much and was then scolded by Manager Li when he
returned. Since then, he had become much more polite.

Anyway, Ai hui only cared about whether or not the quality of

the silk was better, and whether or not there would be more
money.
 It was not long before someone came to the training hall. It
turned out to be Manager Li; he was paying a visit himself.

Manager Li was glowing with delight and laughed out loud

just as he stepped into the training hall. “Ai Hui, you are as
extraordinary as I expected. I’m really astonished at what
you’ve made. The Bunny Hair is way better than it was before.
This is great!”

Ai Hui was surprised. “Old Li, why did you come in person?”

“I have to,” said Manager Li, “Your amazing achievement has

astonished me. It’s too exciting for a coward like me. I can see
your composure, so you must be very confident now.”

“You already have the test result?” Ai Hui became excited too.

Manager Li licked his lips and said, “The old Bunny Hair
Arrows could pierce a three-inch thick plate from five hundred
steps away. We just made ten arrows with the new Bunny Hair.
Guess what the result was.”

Ai Hui, who was eager to know the result, almost slapped him
in the face. It was annoying to tantalize him at this moment. He
told himself to keep calm, but still couldn’t help staring at
Manager Li before saying, “Just say it.”

Manager Li’s shrewdness appeared in his eyes. He gestured as

he spoke, “It can pierce a five-inch thick plate from five
hundred steps away or a three-inch thick plate from one
thousand steps away.”

Ai Hui was surprised. He knew that the quality had improved,

but didn’t expect it to be so obvious.

The next question he thought to ask was, “What’s the price

for the new arrows?”

“One hundred thousand Yuan for one arrow.” Manager Li

replied without hesitation.

Ai Hui asked, “Will it be too expensive?”

“This is the price Central Pine City offered for expropriation,”

Manager Li said proudly. “If put up for sale on the goods shelf, it
can be sold at one hundred and fifty yuan for one.”
 Ai Hui was stunned and murmured, “How many people can
afford to buy it?”

The Sawtooth Grass Sword he’d bought last time was only one
hundred and twenty thousand yuan, which was less than the
price of one new arrow. The arrows were consumables. How
much money would they be willing to spend on arrows that
were so expensive?

Manager Li snorted. “This is expensive? No! It's already cheap

enough, since in the Induction Ground there are few big
customers. For example, one Blue Blood Arrow provided to the
frontline fighters costs five million yuan. This depends on how
you look at it. How valuable is a wild beast? The most common
beasts are worth tens of millions of yuan. For larger beasts, they
can cost hundreds of millions of yuan. There is no ceiling in
terms of price, and sometimes you cannot buy what you want
even if you are willing to pay. The life of the elementalists who
dare to hunt ferocious wild beasts is worth far more than five
million yuan.”

Ai Hui was shocked. Now he knew that the hunting groups he

used to follow before were of low level. He never saw an
elementalist who would use arrows that cost hundreds of
thousands of yuan.
 “Don’t think it’s expensive. You cannot buy Blue Blood
Arrows whenever you want. You need to place an order in
advance, and the minimum order quantity is one hundred. They
don’t sell to retail customers. In comparison, what we are doing
is only small business.”

Manager Li sighed, but when he saw Ai Hui’s astonished face,

he was afraid he would influence Ai Hui’s enthusiasm and
quickly added, “But you are still young, and you have already
created the Bunny Hair. You might be able to outperform them
in the future. Besides, maybe you can further improve the
Bunny Hair, and when you achieve that, we can both become
rich…”

At first Manager Li only intended to console Ai Hui, but he

unexpectedly convinced himself and was getting more and more
excited, as if the Bunny Hair Arrows were already being sold at
the price of five million yuan for one.

Fatty, who was practicing the Dancing Flower Steps not far
away from them, tried hard to hear what they were talking
about. He heard them mention something about money and
became so curious that he almost rushed to join them.

“Two hundred and sixty-two. Keep practicing, Fatty!”

 Lou Lan encouraged him loudly and ran past him.

Fatty was scared and almost twisted his ankle. He watched

Lou Lan resentfully as he ran far away.

What a vicious sand puppet!

Fatty calmed down and didn’t dare to stop. He knew Ai Hui

would do what he said. If he could not complete the assignment,
he would be unable to escape the punishment.

No one knew Ai Hui better than he did. Ai Hui was cold,

ruthless, and as hard as a nether millstone.

Once Ai Hui made up his mind, begging meant nothing to

him.

Fatty could only avenge himself on the floor tiles under his
feet.

He stepped on the tiles hard thinking,“If you won’t let me join

you, then I’ll break every tile in your training hall!”
Chapter 142: Sang Zhijun
In the nearly empty training hall, a figure was practicing
hard. Sweat poured down from her face like raindrops.

Watching Shi Xueman’s training reminded Yong Zheng of the

past, which made him smile subconsciously. Shi Xueman had
almost the same characteristics as her father.

She was brave, self-disciplined and responsible, just like her

father.

He now somewhat understood why the family spent so much

on Xueman. From their perspective, Shi Xueman was definitely
the best candidate from her generation to assume responsibility
of the family from her father.

Nonetheless, Yong Zheng somehow felt pity for her.

He saw how much his friend had sacrificed to raise the family
to what it was now. Shi Xueman was a girl. It would only be
more difficult for her to achieve the success her father had once
attained.
 After an almost desperate training session, Shi Xueman’s
frustration was greatly relieved.

Although there was no task, she consoled herself by thinking

it was good that she could spend time in the training hall.

“Miss.”

Yong Zheng greeted her. He refrained from telling her what

he was thinking. Instead, he simply kept it deep in his heart.
People were different. He, himself, was an indolent person,
which was why he was living a life like this. Only once had he
seen Shi Xueman’s father shedding tears. It was the regret and
anguish due to a failure.

The man who regarded success as his life was as unyielding as

the hardest stone. The only way to beat him was to totally
destroy him, like smashing stones into sand.

“Uncle Yong Zheng.” Shi Xueman forced a smile and could

not help asking, “How on earth is Central Pine City now?”

They were really the same kind of person.

 Yong Zheng smiled in his heart, but nothing could be seen on
his face. He simply replied, “There were accidents some time
ago. Fortunately, measures were taken in time. A class of
students escaped from the Garden of Life, and they had some
basic knowledge of the blood poison, so it prevented disaster.
After that, many teachers from Central Pine Academy arranged
detailed inspections all over the city to eliminate the hidden
dangers. Meanwhile, many earth elementalist teachers
reinforced the defense of the city. As for the magistrate court,
they assigned more guards for day and night patrols. For Now,
there should be no problem.”

Shi Xueman was a bit depressed. At first she thought that the
magistrate court and Central Pine Academy were perfunctory,
but now she knew that was because everything was fine at this
moment.

After being depressed for a few seconds, she cheered up again.

Originally, she was depressed because she was fully prepared

to welcome a rough fight, but when she heard what the dean
said, she felt she had been fooled. Now, she was happy to know
that the city was truly safe, although this would make her look
stupid for the mission. Still, it was something to cheer for, since
there had been enough people killed in the blood catastrophe.
 She could at least relax and do whatever she wanted.

Maybe because she was free from anxiety, Shi Xueman now
felt hungry.

She decided to go to eat beef noodles!

She said goodbye to Yong Zheng, took a shower, and went out.

As she walked past the blind battle training halls, she was
reminded of their popularity in the past. Due to the blood
catastrophe, most of the travel to the Induction Ground was
now stopped. Currently, it was impossible to fly between each
city like before, and it would remain this way for a short while.

Most of the previous participants of the blind battles were

students from other cities. As a result, there were few visitors
now.

In addition to the training halls, almost all stores were

suffering from poor business too. Seeing the depression, Shi
Xueman sincerely hoped that the blood catastrophe would end
as soon as possible. It broke out recently, but had shown how
destructive it could be.

The only exception was probably the weapon shop because

many people liked to buy weapons in times of crisis.

Unexpectedly, Shi Xueman met someone she knew.

It was Sang Zhijun. Except for Shi Xueman, she was the only
girl in the team.

“Xueman!” Sang Zhijun was delighted to see Shi Xueman. She

waved to her and said, “Come here!”

Shi Xueman was a bit surprised. “What’s up, Zhijun?”

She was not very close with Sang Zhijun. They were not from
the same branch academy after all, and they only knew each
other because of the mission. As they were the only girls in the
team, however, they were quite familiar with each other.

After getting to know her for some time, Shi Xueman thought
Sang Zhijun was an easygoing, elegant,l and modest girl. She
seldom saw such a delightful expression on Sang Zhijun’s face.

Shi Xueman hurriedly walked to her.

“Can I borrow some money?” Shang Zhijun seemed a bit

frustrated. “I thought this was a remote place, so I didn’t bring
much money. Now I don’t have enough money.”

“Of course. How much do you want?” Shi Xueman agreed at

once, since she had the same experience of forgetting to bring
any money to pay the bill before. It was a really awkward and
very poignant experience for her.

“Twenty million yuan first.” Sang Zhijun said.

She Xueman was startled, “Twenty million yuan? What are

you going to buy?”

The first thought that came to her mind was that Zhijun was
being swindled. In this small city, where a bowl of beef noodles
cost only one hundred and fifty yuan, what could be priced at
twenty million yuan? Zhijun must have been ripped off. Shi
Xueman became angry and decided to argue with the merchant.
 Sang Zhijun knew what Shi Xueman was thinking when she
saw her frowning and said, “Relax, I am not being cheated. I just
came across something good.”

In response to Shi Xueman’s suspicious look, Sang Zhijun

gave her an arrow and said, “Have a look.”

An arrow?

For twenty million yuan? This was definitely cheating!

Shi Xueman took the arrow suspiciously. Archery was not in

her training regimen, but she knew some basic knowledge about
it. The arrow seemed fine, but she still could not understand
how an arrow could cost twenty million yuan. Yet, she also
knew that Sang Zhijun was not a fool, so she asked, “Sorry
Zhijun, I don’t really understand. Is this arrow special?”

Sang Zhijun explained, “Yes, its penetrating power is strong. I

just tried. Without elemental energy, it can pierce a three-inch
plate one thousand steps away, or a five-inch plate five hundred
steps away.”
 Shi Xueman’s eyes widened. She knew a little about archery,
but she knew what the results meant.

Looking around, Sang Zhijun confirmed that no one was near

them before she said in a low voice, “I have also tested and
found that metal elemental energy can enhance its effect.”

Shi Xueman understood at once. The data Zhijun just told her
was the power of the arrow without elemental energy. If infused
with elemental energy, it would be more powerful, especially
when the attribute of the elemental energy matched it.

Sang Zhijun’s physique was of the metal attribute, so the

arrow was just right for her.

It was out of Shi Xueman’s expectation that Central Pine City

had such excellent treasures. She had been here many times, but
this was the first time that she discovered that the stores here
had high-grade goods to sell.

“How many are you going to buy?” she asked, as she realized
Zhijun was not just buying one arrow.
 Sang Zhijun was exciting and said in a low voice, “We could
not have possibly come at a better time. This arrow was just
invented today. The price for one arrow is one hundred and
fifty thousand yuan. It’s not expensive.”

“One hundred and fifty thousand yuan each? Not expensive

indeed.” Shi Xueman said without hesitation, “I have some
money. You can take it all.”

The importance of the arrow to an elementalist who practiced

archery was beyond doubt. The popularity of archery had raised
new demand for arrows, and there were now people who
worked as specialized arrow producers.

Nowadays, you could find arrows in almost all weapon shops,

but it was still difficult to find good arrows. It was very
fortunate to encounter an arrow that suited the user.

Shi Xueman understood what Zhijun was thinking. She would

stock up on these arrows now because they were consumables,
and she might not be able to get more when hers were used up.

“I have ten million yuan and together with your twenty

million yuan, I’ll have thirty million yuan total. If so, I can buy
two hundred arrows. It will be enough for me to use for a
while.” Sang Zhijun was grateful. “They have just created this
arrow and haven’t released it into the market. Besides, they
don’t have enough in stock, so I’ll have to wait. two hundred
arrows! They will have to work hard for quite a while.”

Sang Zhijun went into the store to negotiate with the

shopkeeper while Shi Xueman looked around by herself.

It was unexpected for a store that seemed so ordinary to have

such wonderful arrows to sell. Shi Xueman was looking forward
to finding some other first-grade goods.

After looking over everything on the shelf, Shi Xuewan was

disappointed.

None of the goods could impress her.

Sang Zhijun came out happily with ten arrows in hand.

Apparently, the arrows had just been made.

“What’s its name?” Shi Xueman asked casually.

 Sang Zhujun answered in a good mood, “The name is weird.
It’s called Bunny Hair. I learned about this arrow from the
magistrate court. They acquired some before, but theirs are only
half as powerful as this one. They bought them at the price of
twenty thousand yuan each, and in the market it was sold at
thirty thousand yuan. So, I decided to have a look here in the
store. Surprisingly, they just invented the new arrow which was
more powerful. I’m so lucky.”

Since she would not be willing to use them during daily

training, two hundred “Bunny Hair” arrows were enough for
her to use for a long time.

“Not expensive indeed.” Shi Xueman said, “It’s not easy to

find such a powerful arrow.”

The power was merely doubled, but the price was five times
higher. Yet, this was no surprise to Shi Xueman. She knew that
after the power reached a certain level, any increase would cost
a lot of effort. Therefore, the price would be much higher.

“Xueman, you have to buy me dinner.” Sang Zhijun looked

delicate and touching. “I have no money now. I’ll have to
depend on you.”
 “No problem! I’ll buy you everything.” Shi Xueman smiled.
“Let’s go to eat beef noodles. I know an old noodle house here
which is very famous.”

Shi Xueman was a cold beauty in the eyes of boys, but to girls,
she was like a warm and reliable big sister.

“You seem to be very familiar with this city?” Sang Zhijun

followed her and asked curiously. To her, Shi Xueman did not
look like the kind of person who would eat beef noodles in the
small restaurants.

“Yes,” Shi Xueman replied, “we have a training hall here, and
I’ve been here several times.”

The smell of beef made Shi Xueman hungry.

She walked in the noodle house like a regular and called,

“Two bowls of beef noodles and a beef dish please.”

The owner of the noodle house answered, “Okay.” When he

looked up, he saw two unfamiliar female customers, and the one
who was speaking was extraordinarily beautiful. If she had
come here before, it would be impossible for him to forget her.

“Please have a seat. The noodles will be served soon.”

Although he felt confused, he still asked them to take a seat.

Sang Zhijun looked around curiously behind Shi Xueman, but

soon she was attracted by a weird sound.

“Fatty! How can you eat so much?”

“Two bowls less than you, okay?”

“It is you who owes me money. How can you eat this much?
At least four bowls less than me!”

“Ai Hui, don’t you remember that I left the last steamed bun
for you that time? You cannot be so ruthless. At least let me
have enough noodles.”

“That makes sense. You can continue, and if you can give me
five reasons, I’ll let you eat more. Hmmm, yes, go on… yes, you
are right… Hmmm, excuse me, I want one more bowl of noodles
please!”

“Ai Hui, you are so cunning!”

Chapter 143: Money Losing Deal
Shi Xueman was surprised to see Ai Hui.

It seemed as if she came across this guy every time she came to
the noodle house.

Instead of saying anything, however, she just found a seat

casually and Sang Zhijun sat beside her.

Sang Zhijun had never been to such a small restaurant and so

was very curious. The boys sitting not far away from them were
making a lot of noise and the smell in the air made her very
hungry.

The table in front of them was cluttered with tall stacks of

empty bowls. Sang Zhijun felt speechless seeing how much the
two boys had eaten. She had never before seen anyone eat like
them; all men she knew were restrained, elegant, and gentle
while eating.

This was a new experience for her.

 What surprised her the most, however, was Shi Xueman. In
her eyes, a goddess would never come to this kind of restaurant.
In fact, not only boys, but a lot of girls also regarded Shi
Xueman as a goddess.

Shi Xueman noticed that Sang Zhijun was looking at her and
could roughly guess what she was thinking. She simply smiled
and didn’t explain further.

The two boys who were busy eating didn’t notice the presence
of other people at all.

Fatty finally returned to reality and said, “This is great! This is

what life should be! Ai Hui, how did you find this restaurant?
It’s amazing! I have made up my mind!”

Fatty’s sudden, loud voice gave Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun a
good scare.

Ai Hui didn’t have any expression at all. He continued to eat

his noodles and said without raising his head, “Made up your
mind to pay your debt?”
 Fatty replied, “No, of course not. I’ve decided to stay with
you. I have looked into it, and in the second year in the
Induction Ground, I can apply for a branch transfer provided
the branch college is willing to accept me. You see, I am working
so hard these days and I’m sure your branch college will be
more than willing to accept me.”

“Pay your debt first.” Ai Hui sounded emotionless and focused

on his noodles, as if all his passion had been exhausted in his
effort to distract Fatty just now.

Fatty glared at him in fury. “Why are you so realistic now?”

“So you are saying that you won’t pay your debt?” Ai Hui
ignored his question.

“I am going to pay…” Fatty didn’t dare to admit otherwise and

decided to convert the topic of their conversation. “Ai Hui,
when do you think the blood catastrophe will come to an end?”

The first thing that came to Shi Xueman’s mind when she saw
Ai Hui was not his debt or whether he had found the person she
was looking for, but was the message tree. The tree was so old
that she could not even trace its origin.
 It was impossible for such an old message tree to not be
registered, and she had seen for herself that the tree was healthy
with no diseases or infections.

After the outbreak of the blood poison, all these thoughts

were left behind. She only remembered the message tree after
seeing Ai Hui.

To learn more about the tree, she had even asked her family to
help investigate the Vanguard Training Hall. They had searched
the entrustment in the Mission Hall of Central Pine City and
learned that the owner of the training hall was called Heng
Bingfeng; it was a name no one knew anything about.

This was all the information she could get. Apart from this
name, no information could be found, not about the message
tree or Vanguard Training Hall.

She had also asked her grandfather, but he hadn’t known

anything about this name either.

When she saw Ai Hui, she couldn’t help thinking about this
investigation.
 Then the boys’ conversation about the blood catastrophe
caught her attention. Sang Zhijun showed a look of disapproval;
she had seen so many boys who loved to talk big.

The noodles were served just at that time. Shi Xueman began
to eat her noodles, but she also continued paying attention to
the boys because she wanted to hear what Ai Hui would say. In
her eyes, although Ai Hui was not impressive, he was
bold,cautious, and had his own opinions.

“End?” Ai Hui paused for a while. “It will not end soon.”

At first, Fatty had just wanted to change the topic; he hadn’t

expected to hear such an answer from Ai Hui. He thought for a
second, then asked, “Why? It’s only blood poison. I think the
Induction Ground is powerful enough to find a solution soon.”

Fatty had confidence in the Induction Ground, just like almost

everyone else. The Induction Ground was an enclosed area
without complicated conflicts between factions. It possessed
strength and the people here were united as one.

Its most significant feature was its strength. Since the

Induction Ground was cut off from the outside world, the
environment here was relatively pure. As a result, many
masters and well-known people liked to live in seclusion here.

Besides, there were researchers who studied weird things,

countless schools, various new theories, and learned teachers.

How could the blood poison get the better of the Induction
Ground that had such strength?

At first, Fatty didn’t quite believe Ai Hui. If it were another

person who had said this, Fatty would have given a snort of
contempt, but since it was Ai Hui, although Fatty was still
muttering something, he began to believe it in his heart.

“I don’t know.” Ai Hui didn’t raise his head and continued to

eat the noodles, then said unclearly, “I just have this kind of
feeling. What is coming is not good, and it’s coming with
menace.”

“What is coming is not good. It’s coming with menace,”

murmured Fatty, then felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

What is coming is not good. It’s coming with menace.

 Shi Xueman was also thinking about what Ai Hui had said.

Since Sang Zhijun had regarded them as two bombastic guys

from the very beginning, now that she heard this completely
unreasonable reason, she further believed that her initial
judgment had been correct.

As a girl, she had been a bit scared of the blood poison all
along.

She didn’t want to hear them talk about this topic any more,
but was too shy to ask them to stop. After thinking for a while,
she said, “Thank you, Xueman. If it were not for you, I would
have been unable to buy the arrows.”

Shi Xueman recovered from her contemplation and smiled.

“It’s not a big issue. Don’t mention it.”

“I never thought that I could find such excellent arrows in

Central Pine City.” Sang Zhijun seemed excited. “Although the
name is a bit weird. Bunny Hair Arrows… Anyway, I have
known for a long time that the Induction Ground has many
undiscovered talents, even in the small cities. This trip has been
so rewarding.”
 “Yes, it’s also because you are lucky.” Shi Xueman was happy
for Sang Zhijun too. Not every family was like hers and could
spend as much as possible on one child, regardless of costs.

Every family had strict rules on the spending of their young

generation, unless the person in question was almost sure to be
the successor of the family. The longer the history the family
had, the more strict the rules would be.

If you want to get more, you will have to stand on your own
feet.

In the families that had many children in one generation,

graduation from the Induction Ground meant the start of
competition. Under similar investments, the ones who could
win the competition were more likely to play an important role
in the continued extension of the family.

Even if some of them were not eager to be the successor, their

rights and obligations were always equal and the investments of
the family on them was never unconditional. They knew
sometimes that they needed to obey the requirements of the
family.
 Such as making connections through marriage.

They were like ropes on which their family had spent a lot of
resources and money to polish, then make into a part of the
family’s net of interest.

If they wanted to get rid of their family’s restrictions, there

was no other way but to bring more interest to the family.

So if a girl like Sang Zhijun didn’t want to go through with the

marriage arranged by her family, she needed to be
extraordinarily hard working in order to prove her value. If she
was in a high position as a head of a clan and could bring more
benefits to the family than what the marriage would bring, the
cunning elders of the family would then know and choose the
greater benefit.

But this was definitely a more difficult way.

Smart children of the big families never gave up working

hard. They would be more and more independent and
assiduous, and try their best to show their talent and ability.
They were clearly aware that was how they could get freedom.
 As long as you could reach the peak, you could do whatever
you liked.

Even if you could not reach the peak, the more freedom you
had, the better.

Sang Zhijun was going to graduate soon and then she would
be faced with such problems. This was why she was so cheerful.
If wars were not too frequent, the two hundred Bunny Hair
Arrows were enough for her to use for two years on the
frontline

Even if she had to join the hunting team in the Wilderness,

the two hundred Bunny Hair Arrows could play an important
role.

Seeing this, Shi Xueman believed Sang Zhijun was a clever girl
who knew to start preparing from early on. Compared with the
more mature girls, the boys on their team were amazingly
simple.

“It’s just, the total price of thirty million yuan is a bit too high
for me.” Sang Zhijun looked upset. Her family would never give
her so much money.
 “You won’t need the money in the short run,” Shi Xueman
said gently.

Sang Zhijun smiled and responded, “Don’t worry, I always

save money because It makes me happy to have a lot of money
on hand. This is the first time that I have to spend so much
money, so I’m feeling a bit guilty.”

Now Shi Xueman began to have a completely new appraisal of

her. A girl who loved to save money didn’t hesitate to buy so
many Bunny Hair Arrows. With such boldness and courage, she
was definitely not an ordinary girl.

Bunny Hair…

Hearing these words, Ai Hui paused for a while and became

filled with joy. Of course he was happy to hear his arrows being
praised, even if he was only responsible for providing the silk.

Wait!

Thirty million yuan!

 That girl bought thirty million yuan worth of Bunny Hair
Arrows!

Ai Hui’s eyes were fixed on her. He wished he could rush to

Manager Li to tell him what he had heard. Thirty million yuan’s
worth of Bunny Hair Arrows. She was really rich.

Hearing the two girls talking, Fatty looked up and was

stunned at once. He murmured, “A…Ai Hui, so pretty…”

Pretty?

Ai Hui’s eyes could only see money now. He looked up and

said carelessly, “Which one are you talking about?”

“Both.” Fatty’s eyes lit up.

Ai Hui slapped him on the back of the head and said, “The one
who paid was pretty. Do you understand?”

Whoever was the one to praise the Bunny Hair arrow was
prettier.
 Ah, no, whoever bought thirty million yuan’s worth of Bunny
Hair Arrows was prettier.

Fatty glared at Ai Hui and said, “You are bullying me because I

don’t have money.”

“Yes!” Ai Hui nodded. “Or you pay me back the debt.”

Fatty did not dare to say anything.

Ai Hui told him sincerely, “Fatty, remember, money is

everything. If you don’t have money, you cannot even buy a
bowl of noodles. Last time in this noodle house, I met a girl who
didn’t take money with her, and in the end I had to pay for her.
You know what? If you see any girl who doesn’t bring money
with her, you should run away from her as far as you can go.”

“Why?” Fatty was confused.

“Because that’s a skank. If you pay for her, you are dead,” Ai
Hui said with bitter hatred. “I paid one hundred and fifty yuan
for the noodles, but I ended up owing her eighty million yuan.
This is a money-losing deal.”
 “Eighty million yuan…” Fatty was dazed. The number was too
large and he could not respond.

Sang Zhijun noticed Shi Xueman’s weirdness and asked with

deep concern, “Xueman, are you alright? You don’t look well.
Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Chapter 144: Ambush And Oversight
Shi Xueman’s face turned ashen.

Money-losing-deal...

She had never thought that she would one day be called a
money-losing-deal.

Damn it!

Even though she tried her best to act as if nothing happened,

her facial expression showed otherwise. She took in deep
breaths of air and restrained her anger. In front of Sang
Zhijun’s concern, she forced a smile and said, "I must have
trained too hard."

On the other side, Fatty suddenly responded, "So you owe a

debt of eighty million yuan?"

Ai Hui suddenly felt the noodles become tasteless, and he

stopped eating. With an irritated tone, he replied, "Why do I feel
that you’re somewhat rejoicing at my misfortune?"
 "No, no, no!" Fatty shook his head like a rattle-drum. "It’s not
just somewhat—I’m really rejoicing! Ai Hui, you actually owe
someone eighty million yuan, hahaha! Ai Hui, let me tell you
this seriously, we are both debtors and we should be in harmony
and not criticize each other…."

"I will clear my debt very soon." Ai Hui cast a look of disdain
at Fatty. He then glanced at Sang Zhijun, who appeared to him
like a god of wealth, dazzling with golden light.

Whoever bought the Bunny Hair Arrows must be a rich

person!

Fatty humphed and remained silent. Ai Hui, however, had

become sick of Fatty’s facial expression. "Two more sets of
lunges when we’re back home later!"

"Hey, hey, hey, the one with surname Ai, are you trying to
take revenge by doing this?" Fatty was enraged.

"Why don’t you pay for the bill, then?" Ai Hui sneered as he
played his trump card.
 Fatty immediately shut his mouth. At this moment, he
understood what living under someone else’s roof meant.

A cold glint flashed across Shi Xueman’s eyes as she sneered in

her mind.

You even have the money to eat beef noodles—it seems that
you’re rich now!

"That’s not right, Ai Hui." Fatty suddenly thought of another

question, and a puzzled look appeared on his face. "Are you
referring to a girl just now?"

Girl? Woman?

In Fatty’s memory, Ai Hui’s world was all about fighting,

training, weapons, and money. Weapons were for the sake of
improving his fighting capabilities, and money was for the sake
of better training. Actually, in the end, it was all about fighting
and training.

This fellow was a legitimate cold-blooded killing machine.

 "That’s right." With his head lowered, Ai Hui was engrossed in
settling the bill with the owner.

"Wow, I really can’t tell…you’ve been enlightened after you

left the Wilderness!" Fatty was astonished. "You actually paid
for a girl, but why don’t you pay for me?"

Ai Hui raised his head and glanced at the owner before

gesturing to the heap of bowls in front of Fatty. "He’s paying for
himself."

Fatty immediately became terror-stricken and gave a hollow

laugh. "Help me please, help me. We will pay together, we will
pay together."

Ai Hui lowered his head again and returned to calculating the

total cost of the noodles. That damned Fatty, he ate so much!

Suddenly, Fatty sighed ruefully. "There’s only both of us left.

If I can see you, Ai Hui, get together with a girl, I will die
without any regrets."

Ai Hui’s hands trembled as he continued counting the money.

Without raising his head, he replied coldly, "Return me my
money first before you die."

Damn it, he had miscounted.

After flustering over the bill for a few times, Ai Hui finally
settled it.

At this point of time, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun finished

their meals as well. The jubilant Sang Zhijun had almost
finished an entire bowl of noodles. After she had finished
eating, she noticed that Shi Xueman did not eat much and felt a
bit embarrassed.

By the time Ai Hui and Fatty walked out of the noodle house,
night had already fallen.

Due to the blood poison catastrophe, almost all the stores on

the street were closed. It was barely nighttime, but the street
looked as if it was already midnight. The deep darkness of the
night seemed to be devouring all light and warmth. Even the
light lamps on the street seemed to be somewhat dimmer.
 Such a gloomy scene….

After staying in the Central Pine City for so long, this was the
first time Ai Hui saw the night street being so empty and cold

If Central Pine City that was so far away from the Garden of
Life was so greatly impacted by the blood poison, then what was
the state of those cities and towns that were close to the Garden
of Life?

The formerly lush and verdant forest had now become a

barren land; the large pieces of scorched land resembled ugly
scars. From afar, one could see surging black fumes rising above
the horizon.

The scene of that day he had been rescued from the Garden of
Life had left an incredibly deep impression on him.

That had fully and vividly displayed the might of the

Induction Ground. They wanted to quickly destroy the blood
poison even if it meant using the most brutal of ways to achieve
it. Sometimes, Ai Hui couldn’t help but wonder how such a
powerful entity like the Induction Ground could not handle a
mere blood poison?
 Like a persistent haze, the uneasiness lingered in his mind.

Ai Hui believed that the Induction Ground would definitely

find a way to handle the blood poison. Perhaps the only thing he
had to worry about was the Induction Ground’s efficiency. The
reason why he was feeling uneasy might be because of the
appearance of the blood poison inside Central Pine City.

Ai Hui silently shook his head and tried to ignore these

distracting thoughts. He was just a nobody; why should he
worry so much? He should make good use of his time and train
harder.

Behind him, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun left the noodle
house as well.

All right, he would have to make a trip to Old Li’s shop

tomorrow. How much money will he make from such a huge
business deal?

After settling his mistress’s debt, Ai Hui’s cash on hand had

reduced significantly. Even though Senior Mingxiu had assured
him that there was no rush in repaying the debt, Ai Hui still
paid her back the full amount of money he owed.
 He already owed a lot to his mistress. If he had no money,
then he could not do anything about the debt. But if he earned
money and still did not settle his debt, then what would that say
about his character?

Luckily, tonight he met a rich person; he would make a profit.

The overjoyed Ai Hui cast a glance at Shi Xueman and Sang

Zhijun. How could he not notice such wealthy clients?

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s eye pupils shrunk, and he yelled solemnly,

"Be careful! Behind you!"

Sang Zhijun was stretching her back. The bowl of noodles she
had just eaten was too delicious. Suddenly, she heard a yell from
ahead, and a blank look flashed upon her face.

Shi Xueman’s attention was still on that damned fellow. How

dare he call her a money-losing-deal? She would never let this
matter rest! And because of this, she noticed Ai Hui’s eye pupils
shrink, and at that moment, she went on high alert.

Furthermore, due to her previous encounters with Ai Hui, she

was aware of his sharp senses.

Without any hesitation, Shi Xueman, being one of the top

students in the Induction Ground, displayed a superb reaction
speed at this critical moment.

She pushed the bewildered Sang Zhijun to the ground, and

her other hand simultaneously released a cloud of mist.

The palm-sized cloud of mist exploded violently.

A ring-shaped wall of water vapor extended outwards with a

loud bang.

The seemingly weak wall of water vapor was sizzling

furiously, displaying terrifying might.

Behind it...

She Xueman remained remarkably cool-headed. Ai Hui’s

warning had zoomed past her mind with a lightning speed. At
the instant she released the cloud of mist, both her legs were
already pinned to the ground as she flung Sang Zhijun towards
Ai Hui with one hand.

Thump! Pfff!

These two sounds could be heard at the same time. A shiver

ran down Shi Xueman’s spine.

The first sound was somewhat muffled. Clearly, it was

produced when the attacker had slammed itself against the wall
of water vapor. The second sound was produced when the
attacker’s attack hit the ground; it had landed on the spot where
they were standing previously.

Shi Xueman was appalled.

She was well aware of how powerful the wall of water vapor
was. The wall of water vapor could easily bounce off an
elephant and send it flying a few hundred meters away.

The attacker had actually slammed against the wall and could
still attack them afterward.
 Terrifying...

When Sang Zhijun stood up and saw the deep scratches on the
spot where they had previously been standing a few moments
ago, her expression changed drastically.

Shi Xueman was much calmer, but she still felt a lingering
fear. If she had been slightly careless, both of them would now
be terribly injured.

She looked around and did not discover anything, so she

raised her head and looked at the sky. The pitch-black night sky
seemed to devour all light.

"What was that just now?" she asked Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was shocked when he heard a seemingly familiar voice.

However, he did not think much about it; after all, the danger
was not over yet. He put his hand on his sword hilt and replied
solemnly, "It’s a bat, and there’s a few of them. They must be
infected with the blood poison."

"Bats?" Shi Xueman’s expression changed slightly. "How did

they get in?"

Due to the appearance of flying insects that had been infected

with the blood poison outside the city, Central Pine City had
purposely strengthened its air defense—its defense could now
be said to be very tight.

None of them had expected that Central Pine City, which they
thought was well-fortified, had let in a bat.

Ai Hui clutched his sword’s hilt. The cold sweat on his back
had already drenched his shirt. This was the first time he could
not identify the location of his enemy while he was in the sword
embryo’s state. He licked his lips and warned them. "Be careful,
they haven’t left yet."

Shi Xueman’s expression changed drastically as she awaited

the enemy’s strike.

The previously bewildered Sang Zhijun had calmed down as

well. She removed the lock of golden silk that was tied around
her wrist, and with a flick, it transformed into a golden
longbow.
 This was the first time Ai Hui had seen such a unique bow,
and he could not help but take a second look.

The bow was made up of countless intertwining threads of

golden silk, causing it to look more like a piece of art than a
weapon. It was slim and magnificent.

Sang Zhijun, who had now calmed down, drew three Bunny
Hair Arrows.

In a time of crisis, she did not hesitate in the slightest and was
extremely decisive.

Shi Xueman did not unleash her azure wings; they would be
useless as her opponent was a bat that naturally specialized in
flying. Furthermore, the sky was dark, and she did not want to
put herself in a disadvantageous position.

A faintly discernable cloud of air was gathering in her palms.

"Shouldn’t we request for help first?" Fatty said weakly while

hiding behind them.
 Ai Hui was focused on the space of air ahead of him. As he
scanned his surroundings, he replied, "No. If we request for help
now, this place will become chaotic. A chaotic scene will be
advantageous to those blood bats. And if they have an
advantage, we will not leave this place alive today."

Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun both agreed to Ai Hui’s words.

Just now, if not for Ai Hui’s warning, they would have already
been struck by the bats. Bats were the assassins of the dark—if
they missed their attacks, they would flee, hide in the dark, and
wait patiently for the next chance to strike again.

A chaotic environment would provide many such chances to

the blood bats.

Sweat was dripping down Ai Hui’s forehead, but he still

maintained his composure. He could sense a few strands of a
very weak aura drifting around. Previously, he had managed to
give a warning not because he had sensed the blood bats, but
rather because he had seen a red glow flash across the night sky.

Ai Hui had managed to take a good look at them. They

belonged to the blood-red glowing eyes of a bat.
Chapter 145: Bring It On!
Bats were outstanding predators, and they were one of the
many dire beasts that Ai Hui did not wish to encounter in the
Wilderness. Of course, there were many dire beasts that he did
not want to encounter.

“Everyone, stick together.”

At this point of time, Ai Hui did not care about whether or not
they were familiar with each other.

Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun were not unreasonable

individuals. Shi Xueman knew Ai Hui rather well, and Sang
Zhijun was a straightforward person. If not for Ai Hui’s warning
just now, they both would have died.

Both of them were on their guard as they moved slowly to Ai

Hui’s side.

The terrifying claw marks on the spot where they had been
standing previously made them tremble with fear. They were so
close to death.
 The hand with which Sang Zhijun was holding her Golden
Silk Longbow was trembling involuntarily.

Even Shi Xueman, who had reacted to the situation calmly,

felt a lingering fear hit her like a sweeping tsunami after she
now managed to catch a breath. She could feel her legs
wobbling.

Shi Xueman had always emphasized on improving her real-

life combat capabilities, and she had—on numerous missions.
However, she had never experienced such a terrifying situation.
Just a moment ago, she had an actual close brush with death.

Right now, she felt that the lofty aspirations she had on the
transport wagon were so childish and ridiculous. In a real life-
and-death battle, how much of her combat capabilities could she
execute? Fifty percent? Perhaps thirty percent? She may even
be killed by the blood fiends while standing frozen in a spot,
staring into blank space and not knowing what to do.

So far, she and Sang Zhijun had not been able to sense the
slightest bit of the bats’ aura. If not for the deep claw marks on
the ground, she would have thought that what she saw earlier
was an illusion.
 It’s a pity that it’s not an illusion.

Her gaze automatically shifted towards Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was no better than them. His body was slightly

crouching, his right hand tightly holding on to the sword hilt of
the Dragonspine Inferno. His body was a motionless statue. A
bead of sweat meandered down from his forehead to his chin
before dripping to the ground.

The dusky street lamps looked especially lonely in the utterly

quiet street. The sounds of dripping sweat and heavy breathing
could be clearly heard.

However, for some reason, when Shi Xueman saw Ai Hui’s

tense body, her anxiousness was alleviated.

Beads of sweat slid under his flickering eyelashes, and his eyes
looked as calm as still water—one could not discern his feelings.
Yes, it was that gaze that made Shi Xueman feel more at ease.

His gaze did not contain the slightest trace of a fluster.

 Shi Xueman felt that her performance was terrible. She closed
her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her
confidence and fighting spirit had returned.

Sang Zhijun calmed down very fast as well.

Indeed, Ai Hui was not flustered, but he was very nervous. His
mental state was taut, and his entire body was like a string that
was tightly stretched.

His inability to track the bats’ location was giving him an

immense pressure, the likes of which he had never experienced
before. From the day he had successfully planted the sword
embryo’s seed, nothing in his surroundings could avoid the
sword embryo’s discerning eye.

What happened today was a first. He was engulfed with

tremendous pressure.

What should he do?

Ai Hui’s first reaction was to flee. However, his rationality

told him that this would be the wrong decision. No matter how
fast he ran, he could not outrun the bats in the sky. The bat that
had attacked them just now was extremely fast, so fast that Ai
Hui’s eyes could not catch it. All he had seen was a blood-red
colored blur.

These blood bats were far more powerful than the blood
insects they had encountered outside of the city!

Bats were carnivores….

This thought flashed through his mind.

What should he do?

Previously, he had rejected Fatty’s suggestion to call for help

as he had sensed that the bats in the sky had already locked onto
them.

Ai Hui did not know how they became the targets for the
predators. It really was unlucky, given that Central Pine City
was huge. He continued to rack his brain for a way out.
 The sensing ability of the sword embryo had already reached
its limit...

Eh? Limit!

Suddenly, Ai Hui thought of the times when he would absorb

a strand of elemental energy during his training.

With a jolt, he directed a strand of elemental energy towards

his glabella.

When the strand of elemental energy reached the glabella, the

fidgeting sword embryo absorbed it completely without any
hesitation.

Ai Hui could feel the range of his perception expand

significantly. In the sky above his head, a faint-looking shadow
became clearer in his vision. A bat was noiselessly flying
through the air. Every few seconds, it would produce an
invisible whirlpool of air current to jumble and hide its aura.

It was only at this moment that Ai Hui realized that there was
only one bat. All the other auras created by it was to confuse its
enemy and hide itself. Ai Hui had also not expected that while
this bat was swirling in the air, its eyes were closed.

Such a powerful bat!

Ai Hui smacked his lips. Once these wild beasts were infected
with the blood poison, they would become much more
powerful.

“There’s only one bat, and it’s swirling above our heads.”

Ai Hui said with a low voice. His focus was locked on to that
blood bat.

Everyone felt a shiver run down their spines.

At this moment, Ai Hui felt his senses gradually become

blurry. He cursed in his heart. Without any hesitation, he
directed another strand of elemental energy to his sword
embryo, and his senses immediately became clear again.

“It’s two hundred meters above us.” Ai Hui quickly gave a

specific height of the bat from the ground.

Sang Zhijun was flabbergasted and involuntarily stared at Ai

Hui. This fellow could actually determine how high was the bat
from the ground. Such a powerful fellow, why had she not
heard of his name before? She was trained in archery. To be an
archer, one had to develop their eyesight. Sang Zhijun had
always possessed extreme confidence with regards to this
aspect, but now, even when she widened her eyes, she still could
not discern the bat.

The blood bat’s body perfectly blended into the darkness, and
its flight through the air did not produce any sound; it was
completely silent like a ghost.

She did not know how Ai Hui tracked the bat’s location.

“What should we do then?” Shi Xueman asked softly.

“If I lure it down, are both of you confident in killing it?” Ai

Hui replied as he licked his lips.

Since they could not escape, they could only kill this bat.
 And it must be now.

Currently, Ai Hui was unceasingly expending his elemental

energy as his perception was locked on to the blood bat. But
once his elemental energy was used up, they would end up in a
defensive position.

The battle must be finished before his elemental energy was

depleted. There was no other choice.

Ai Hui quickly and accurately determined the situation.

“I’m not confident.”

When Shi Xueman said these words, she felt so ashamed that
she wanted to find a hole and hide. The other party used himself
as a lure to create a chance for them, and all the danger was
solely upon him. And in such an extreme situation, she could
not even dare to say that she was confident.

That’s right, she actually did not dare to say she was
confident. Previously, when the blood bat had slammed itself
against her wall of water vapor, she had realized its strength.
 Sang Zhijun was shocked at Ai Hui’s courage. She felt
disbelief. She used to think that this kind of scene would only
appear in storybooks that depicted heroes. Who would actually
sacrifice himself as a lure? How stupid would that be?

She never expected herself to witness this scene today. If it

were some other person, then she would think that it was
because of her and Shi Xueman’s beauty. However, it was
definitely not the case for the fellow in front of her, because he
had never even taken a serious look at them from the beginning.

Are there really fools who would sacrifice themselves for

others in this world?

It seems that there is….

Ai Hui did not know Sang Zhijun’s thoughts on his suggestion.

And even if he did, he wouldn’t care. At this crucial moment,
who would care about a girl’s rubbish thoughts when he did not
even know her?

He was only aware that this could not drag on for any longer.
He had already depleted one-fourth of his elemental energy, and
the longer he persisted, the more unfavorable the situation
would become for him.

The sword embryo was like a black hole that kept on

devouring his elemental energy!

“Even if you don’t have confidence, you have to do it.” Ai

Hui’s tone was resolute and decisive, but his facial expression
remained calm.“Both of you, get ready.”

At this moment, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun became

nervous. Both of them knew that their attacks would determine
Ai Hui’s fate. They, too, were now engulfed with tremendous
pressure.

“But….” Sang Zhijun’s face turned pale.

“There’s no but!” Ai Hui interrupted her. There was no time

to waste.

He was also very nervous. Both of their behaviors did not give
him any sense of security, making him think about whether this
was a stupid decision. However, he tried to restrain his
nervousness and irritation. If possible, he would definitely not
want to put his life in the hands of two strangers.

However, right now, he had no other choice.

There was no point in thinking about the impossible.

Ai Hui’s gaze regained its calm and coldness. Even his voice
contained a tinge of indifference; he spoke as if the situation
had nothing to do with him. “We only have one chance to
strike.”

After finishing his sentence, he did care about the both of

them anymore and turned to Fatty. “Be careful.”

Fatty knew what Ai Hui meant. Ai Hui was trying to say that if
the situation turned for the worst, Fatty should quickly escape
by himself. Fatty didn’t say anything; he only nodded his head,
signaling that he knew what to do. He was acting way more
level-headed than both Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun.

“If we fail, the three of you have to run in three different

directions,” Ai Hui reminded them. The two girls were rookies,
and he had no choice but to remind them of this basic
knowledge.

Seeing that Ai Hui had a thorough arrangement, Shi

Xueman’s anxiousness disappeared. Her eyes became
determined as she replied with a serious tone, “I will do my
best.”

The sparkling and translucent pearl that hung on her wrist

suddenly trembled, resembling a shaky dewdrop on the tip of
grass in the morning. With a flick of her snow-white hand, the
glistening pearl broke off from the string and rolled along her
wrist and into her palm.

With a flick of her slender middle finger, the pearl was lodged
in between her thumb and middle finger.

“Me too.” Sang Zhijun bit her lips.

She tossed the arrow quiver that was hung onto her waist to
the ground. Her hand was holding on to three Bunny Hair
Arrows, and her legs were wide apart as she stood like a tree, tall
and upright.
 Without raising his head to look at the bat, Ai Hui took a step
forward.

The blood bat in the sky moved.

At this point in time, he finally confirmed that the bat was

locked on to him. Among the four people, he was the only one
who was locked on to by the bat. Could it be that the blood bat
had sensed the aura of his sword embryo as well? Bats did not
require their eyes to look at things; rather, they used their
senses and echolocation.

Ai Hui quickly dismissed the distracting thoughts in his head

and focused on the space of air before him.

Suddenly, he dashed forward—it was as if he could not take

the pressure anymore and wanted to flee.

Ai Hui was unsure whether the blood bat in the sky would fall
for his trap. Now, however, he did not want to think about
anything else.

Almost instantly, he could sense the blood bat above him

begin to swoop downwards silently.

It’s coming.

In the darkness, Ai Hui grinned sinisterly as he tightened his

grip on the Dragonspine Inferno.

Bring it on!
Chapter 146: Unleash The Sword
The deep darkness of the night was its best cover.

Its wingspan was more than one meter. Its dog-sized black-
colored body was striped with blood-red streaks, resembling the
color of cooled magma. One would not be able to sense its
presence in the dark night.

Its eyes were tightly shut, and it displayed an incredible

calmness. The sound waves that it emitted covered the entire
street.

Its target was that human who gave off a unique aura, a
dangerous aura, which it could sense coming from his body. Its
underdeveloped intelligence did not allow it to understand what
exactly was going on. Its killing instinct and strengthened body,
which were several times stronger than before, may be the
reasons why it was doing this. Its unique flying techniques
resembled a whale swimming in the depths of the ocean,
making no noise at all.

The target wanted to escape. This was something that it

commonly encountered.
 Its diving speed was extremely fast; the distance between the
two parties began to rapidly decrease. Halfway through its dive,
it increased its speed abruptly. Its previously closed eyes started
to open, revealing a pair of dark red eyes that looked like pieces
of glowing iron. Its expression became sinister, and its sharp,
snow-white teeth produced a hissing sound in the wind.

Suddenly, its target stopped running and turned around.

Escaping was a stupid thing to do, but putting up a resistance

would be even more stupid. It could feel the blood boiling
within its body, and its bloodthirsty killing intent stimulated it
even more.

It continued to increase its speed.

Even though Ai Hui, who had placed all his attention on the
blood bat, was mentally prepared, he was still frightened by the
blood bat’s speed.

Too fast!

The eyes of the blood bat created a blur of demonic-red glow

in the air. Its speed was so fast that Ai Hui’s eyes could not keep
up with it.

The scarier part was that the sound of the wind it produced
was very soft—it only produced a low, snake-like hissing sound
as it dived.

This defied Ai Hui’s logic. From what he knew, the faster a

beast flew, the louder the sound it would make. Arrows behaved
similarly as well; the more the power of a flying arrow, the
louder it would be.

However, the diving blood bat barely made any sound.

And the frightening thing was that it was still increasing its
speed!

It doesn't make sense!

An urge to flee arose in Ai Hui’s mind. He felt that his idea was
too naive. How could those two girls keep up with such
terrifying speed?
 He forcibly restrained the fear in his mind. At this point in
time, he would have no chance of surviving if he escaped. How
could his legs outrun something that could fly?

Moreover, the speed of this beast had surpassed that of any

arrows he had ever seen!

When Ai Hui realized that there was no way he could escape,

he calmed down. Just like before, when he knew he had no
other options, all distracting thoughts disappeared
immediately.

He held his sword hilt.

The grip of the Dragonspine Inferno felt very hard and rough.
The rope grip of the sword was made by him; after staying in
the embroidery workshop for so long, making a simple rope grip
wasn’t too difficult.

The rope grip was rather fitting for his hands as well.

For some unknown reason, whenever Ai Hui placed his focus

on the sword, his mind would calm down immediately.
 He remembered that a lot of swordplay manuals had discussed
how a swordsman should treat his sword. Some manuals even
stated that swordsmen should craft their own swords, and the
whole crafting process should be done by them alone.

After the crafting was completed, the swordsmen should start

a long process of nurturing their newly-crafted swords.

Other types of cultivators often changed their weapons, but

swordsmen would not do that; most of the swordsmen had at
most five swords in their entire lives. It was not rare for those
swordsmen, who never changed their swords even once in their
lives, to develop an ordinary sword into a legendary one.

Ai Hui felt that it was incredible that his mind could still be
distracted at this point in time.

He did not have the slightest bit of nervousness or fear—it was

as if all the danger had been resolved all of a sudden.

Holding the sword, he could a perceive a sensation from the

sword hilt. His mind was tranquil. The previously restless
sword embryo had also become calm and vigorous.
 Ai Hui was emotionless. He slightly crouched, hind leg and
elbows bent, as he pressed the sword hilt against his chest; the
tip of the sword was pointing towards the sky. The body of the
sword was so black that it did not even reflect a bit of light. The
seven dazzling pieces of red crystal resembled seven mysterious
islands that floated out on the dark sea.

His movements were relaxed, without any signs of danger or

vigor.

A silver color extended outwards from the roots of his hair.

His eyes remained indifferent and as calm as still water.

His inner mind was extremely tranquil.

Even the faint hissing sounds had disappeared. The sword,

which weighed around one hundred kilograms, was firm and
steady in his hand, motionless like an unmovable boulder. He
could feel the light drafts brush past the tip of his sword as it
sliced through the air—it felt as if a river was flowing through
his sword.

Ai Hui was channeling his elemental energy into the sword

embryo, continuously expanding and extending his perception.
 Suddenly, however, the experience became different. He
could feel the range of his perception begin to shrink, and it
continued until he could only perceive his sword. He could now
clearly see and feel every fine crack and impurity on the seven
pieces of red crystal.

This kind of feeling was extremely wonderful.

Not far away, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun were shocked
upon witnessing the huge transformation in Ai Hui’s aura with
their own eyes.

Especially Shi Xueman, even though she had seen Ai Hui fight
before. She could still not forget that magnificent and dazzling
sword move from that day; it was the most breathtaking sword
move she had ever seen in her life. And, from then onwards, she
had been impressed by Ai Hui’s swordsmanship.

But that was all.

In an era where swordsmanship was irrelevant, even if one’s

sword skills were impressive, it wouldn’t matter much.
 From the day the Avalon of Five Elements was established,
there had not been a single Grandmaster Swordsman. Even
most of those so-called Master Swordsmen were frauds who
self-conferred their titles themselves.

However, at this moment, Ai Hui was showing her an entirely

different perspective on swordsmanship.

There was no luster, there was no resplendence. Ai Hui was

like a statue, a boulder, a still lake.

Since young, Shi Xueman had encountered many experts, and

she was well versed with their characteristics. She knew that
the calmer an expert was, the more destructive the storm
brewing in him would be.

Shi Xueman did not dare to look on anymore. The statue-like

Ai Hui was emitting an indescribable attractive force, charming
people and captivating souls.

She did not forget her responsibilities. They had only one
chance, and if they made a mistake, Ai Hui would perish on the
spot. Shi Xueman’s back was shrouded in a faint surging mist,
the result of her channeling her water elemental energy to the
limit. She was trying her best to lock onto the swooping blood
bat, but no matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t able to do it.

It was simply too fast!

The blood bat opened its eyes, and Shi Xueman could see a
blur of demonic red glow. However, even when she tried her
best, she barely managed to catch its afterimage.

Sang Zhijun subconsciously bit her lips until they bled, and
her forehead was dripping with sweat.

She could not lock onto the blood bat as well.

Just when Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun were at their wits
end, Ai Hui suddenly unleashed his sword.

This strike was very slow and light—it looked as if Ai Hui

unleashed this attack with zero effort.

The lightning-fast streak of demonic red glow and Ai Hui’s

sluggish sword strike provided an enormous visual contrast.
 Shi Xueman indescribably uncomfortable upon witnessing it;
however, her eyes and attention had been involuntarily
captivated by Ai Hui’s strike.

The moment the tip of the sword made contact with the
demonic red blur, the sluggishness and extreme speed
converged.

The dark red claw and the black-colored sword tip seemed to
have frozen in time.

Shi Xueman could not describe the awkwardness of this scene.

She felt dizzy and nauseous; her chest felt tight, and she was
suffocating. She was so sick that she wanted to vomit, and
beside her, Sang Zhijun’s body swayed, and her face also became
pale-white.

Boom!

The violent explosion sent shivers down everyone’s spine.

A visible ring-shaped billow of air exploded outwards from the

point of contact between the sword’s tip and the bat’s bloody
claws.

Ai Hui’s face suddenly became flushed, and it looked as if he

was drunk. He gritted his teeth and appeared to say something,
but no sound came out from his mouth as he flew through the
air, forming an arc in the sky. He proceeded to crash into a
nearby wall, causing the entire structure to collapse with a loud
rumble.

The blood bat appeared before Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun
for the first time. Its body was striped with dark-red streaks.
However, at this point in time, its sinister-looking face was in a
daze.

Shi Xueman endured the pain in her chest as she knew the
crucial moment had arrived. Without hesitating, she channeled
all her elemental energy into the pearl between her fingers and
shot it out with a flick of her finger.

With a flash of luster, the pearl in Shi Xueman’s hand

disappeared. She then collapsed as if she was drained of all
energy.

On the other side, Sang Zhijun’s face was pale, but her eyes
were filled with an imposing battlelust. The Golden Silk
Longbow in her hand looked like a crescent moon with the
three Bunny Hair Arrows placed upon it. Even though her
fingers were clenching the fletchings of the three arrows
separately, the arrow heads were in contact with each other.

The three Bunny Hair Arrows gave off a faint silver glow with
a sharpness so unequaled that Sang Zhijun was pleasantly
surprised.

Clink!

The three Bunny Hair Arrows merged in mid-air and

materialized into a dazzling silvery light.

Compared to Shi Xueman, Sang Zhijun was worse off. After

putting all her energy into that attack, she retreated several
steps before her legs gave way, causing her to fall down on her
backside.

Shi Xueman’s pearl struck the dazed blood bat, and as soon as
it made contact with the blood bat’s body, it disintegrated into a
tiny cloud of mist which seeped into the bat’s body.
 The blood bat froze. Both the water and blood cells in its body
were beginning to frantically rush towards the tiny cloud of
mist. However, it looked as if its body was trying to devour the
cloud of mist, which was filled with concentrated elemental
energy.

At this moment, the blood bat was in the perfect position to be

struck.

The silvery light shot out from Sang Zhijun’s bow effortlessly
hit the blood bat’s head.

The silvery light suddenly blew up, causing the bat’s head to
explode into countless fragments.

Its headless body was bubbling with water vapour—it was as if

it was dumped into boiling water. The previously strong
metallic skin had lost its luster and had dried-up.

Its body crashed to the ground with a resounding bang.

A plump silhouette pulled Ai Hui to one side.

 The instant Ai Hui had been sent flying backward, Fatty had
already rushed forwards to catch him.

Ai Hui had fainted.

Without saying anything, Fatty carried the dusty Ai Hui on his

back and dashed frantically in the direction of the training hall.

“He doesn't even bother to say goodbye, really…” Sang Zhijun

muttered as she sat on the ground, staring blankly at Fatty’s
retreating back.

“He must be anxious to save his friend.” Shi Xueman had

regained a little of her strength, and she helped Sang Zhijun up
from the ground.

“What should we do now?” Sang Zhijun was exhausted, and

her face was dazed.

“Request for help.” Shi Xueman said, releasing a distress

signal.
 She cast a glance in the direction that Fatty had disappeared
into and felt a bit worried. How was Ai Hui’s injury?

His direct collision with the blood bat had been truly
amazing...

He must be fine!
Chapter 147: Who’s Ai Hui?
The infiltration of the blood bat shook the entire Central Pine
City.

Everyone had assumed that Central Pine City’s defense was

impregnable, but reality had shown otherwise. Moreover, it was
Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun who had encountered the danger
this time.

If any mishaps had happened to the both of them, the entire

Central Pine City would have borne the blame, and the
consequences would have been devastating.

Immediately after the incident, both the magistrate court of

Central Pine City and Central Pine Academy sent their
representatives to visit them. However, these representatives
were stopped by Yong Zheng, whose face was furious. When he
had discovered that Shi Xueman had almost met with a mishap,
he had become terror-stricken.

Not only was Shi Xueman the affirmed third-generation

successor to the clan, but she was also the daughter of his good
friend. If anything were to happen to her, he would not be able
to forgive himself.
 When he was dealing with the visitors, he was very rude and
blunt.

Even though Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun were still

recovering from their injuries, both of them handed detailed
reports on the blood bat’s fighting capabilities.

In these two reports, there was enough evidence to show the

frightening formidableness of the blood bat.

For example, the report had mentioned how Shi Xueman was
forced to use a precious artifact like the Verglas Mist Pearl.

The Verglas Mist Pearl had cost more than thirty million
yuan, and it had been given to her by her father as a birthday
gift when she was twelve. When everyone read this report and
saw the three words “Verglas Mist Pearl,” their eyes popped out
of their heads. They then all agreed ruefully that the Shi Clan
was truly rich and powerful.

The Verglas Mist Pearl was a water elemental artifact that was
extremely pure in nature.
 Only under very special conditions could some of the colored
clouds in the Palette Cloud Village produce Verglas Mist Pearls.
These artifacts were exceedingly rare.

Could produce the Verglas Mist Pearls. These artifacts were

extremely rare.

Everyone clearly knew that Shi Xueman would never use the
Verglas Mist Pearl unless it was a life-and-death situation. No
one would actually use it. Furthermore, one had to use the high-
level skill [Avalokiteshvara Seal] to utilize the Verglas Mist
Pearl.

Avalokiteshvara was an ancient god and was not well known.

This, too, said a lot about the long history of the Shi Clan.

The Shi Clan had more than one absolute skill. The absolute
skill that Shi Xueman practiced was called [Hydromancy], a
profound and complex skill. As for hand-sign related absolute
skills, there were the [Avalokiteshvara Seal], [Lament of Lute],
[Rain of Musa], [Ripple], etc. and all of these were well-known.

The moves that Sang Zhijun had used were also

extraordinary.
 The Sang Clan did not have many absolute skills—only one, in
fact, and it was known as the [Arrow Fusion Technique]. This
skill fused multiple arrows together into one arrow.

Sang Zhijun could fuse three arrows into one.

The three-into-one arrow technique was an important skill of

the Sang clan. Only those disciples who could fuse three arrows
into a single one were qualified to travel on their own, and this
showed a lot about Sang Zhijun’s capabilities. This incident also
gave people a new evaluation of her abilities.

Shi Xueman’s [Avalokiteshvara Seal] and Verglas Mist Pearl,

and Sang Zhijun’s [Arrow Fusion Technique]…...such fighting
capabilities were enviable and displayed both might and wealth.
How could that formidable blood bat not be destroyed by them?

However, both Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun stated in their

reports that they did not play a pivotal role in the victory over
the blood bat.

The key to the victory had been a student named Ai Hui.

 Ai Hui had been the first to discover the blood bat, allowing
them to make a narrow escape from death. Ai Hui had been the
one to sense that the blood bat had not yet left and was swirling
around in the sky. Ai Hui had been the one to determine that
there was only one blood bat. Ai Hui had been the one to take
the initiative to use himself as bait. Ai Hui’s peerless
swordsmanship had stopped the blood bat’s lightning-fast
diving attack, giving Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun the golden
opportunity to strike.

Ai Hui, Ai Hui, Ai Hui….

“Who’s Ai Hui?”

The dean of the Central Pine Academy waved the two reports
in his hand as his gaze swept across the teachers who each led a
class of students.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one knew who he was.

“No one actually knows who’s Ai Hui?” The dean's face turned
gloomy at once.
 The room was in absolute silence as no one had heard of this
name before. Where did this fellow pop out from? All the
teachers present had never heard of a student called Ai Hui.

“Is he from your class?”

“No, my class doesn’t have such a student!”

“He isn’t from my class as well!”

After a round of questioning, everyone quieted down.

“Is he from Teacher Xu’s class?” someone suddenly asked

upon noticing that Teacher Xu was not present.

“It can’t be.”

Everyone was already jealous of the fact that Teacher Xu’s

class had Duanmu Huanghun. How could it be that his class had
one more genius? Everyone still thought that they misread the
reports just now. If Ai Hui’s name were to be replaced by
Duanmu Huanghun’s name, eh, that would make more sense!
 Fortunately, everyone knew that Shi Xueman was aware of
who Duanmu Huanghun was, and hence, she would not make
such a mistake.

“Teacher Xu has gone to the Garden of Life,” someone quickly

reminded. Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi had gone to the Garden of
Life, but no one was clear on their mission’s specifics.

Eventually, everyone was able to come up with a solution.

Teacher Xu might not be here, but there was still Duanmu
Huanghun. They could simply ask him.

The magistrate office.

“Who’s Ai Hui?”

A burly man, who was leaning against a chair behind a long

table, asked lazily. He was the mayor of Central Pine City, Wang
Zhen.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay as they could not

answer this question.
 “Investigate! Go and investigate now!” Wang Zhen swung his
massive hand. “I want to know everything about him!”

“Yes!”

Vanguard Training Hall.

“Is he really okay? If he’s okay, then why isn’t he awake?”

Fatty was worried as he stared at the unconscious Ai Hui.

Even though Ai Hui was unconscious, his hand was holding

tightly on to his sword. Previously, Fatty had tried to pry the
sword free from Ai Hui’s hand, but no matter how much force
he used, Ai Hui would just not let go of it.

“Lou Lan also doesn’t know why Ai Hui hasn’t woken up yet,”
Lou Lan tilted his head as his eyes flickered with a yellow glow.
“The elemental energy in Ai Hui’s body is currently being
channeled, so don’t worry, Fatty. Right now, he’s in good
condition—much better than before.”

“That’s good, then,” Fatty tried to restrain himself from

worrying too much. He could only tell himself to believe in Lou
Lan.

Ai Hui’s body was undergoing a tremendous transformation.

The force of the collision with the blood bat was so immense
that it had exceeded what Ai Hui’s body could take. If not for his
sword embryo, which had saved him in the nick of time, and the
timely unleash of his potential that had enabled him to execute
that unexpected sword move, he would have been reduced to a
heap of meat pulp.

However, the blood bat’s devastating attack could still deal

severe damage to Ai Hui’s body. The force from the impact had
penetrated into the depths of his body.

Under such a huge impact, the elemental energy ball in Ai

Hui’s body collapsed like a crushed snowball.

The terrifying external force directly destroyed the attractive

force of the elemental energy ball.

The collapsed elemental energy was wreaking havoc in Ai

Hu’s body. Some of the energy surged into the Dragonspine
Inferno that Ai Hui was grasping. At first, the sword embryo in
Ai Hui’s glabella had been dispirited and listless as it was
severely injured. However, the sword embryo had suddenly
become energetic, resembling a shark that smelled blood.

The collapsed elemental energy immediately became its best

nourishment.

Even though Ai Hui was still unconscious, the sword embryo

was channeling itself spontaneously.

Elemental energy steadily flowed through Ai Hui’s hand into

the Dragonspine Inferno before flowing back to Ai Hui’s body.
The nourished sword embryo quickly regained its energy and
began strengthening rapidly.

If Ai Hui were awake, he would be surprised at the growth of

his sword embryo. The surprisingly powerful sword move that
Ai Hui had executed to stop the blood bat had greatly stimulated
his sword embryo as well.

The elemental energy from the elemental energy mass was

continuously converting into sword force.
 The amount of elemental energy entering the Circulatory
Circle Revolution kept on increasing, enhancing its efficiency.
Meanwhile, the sword force channeling in Ai Hui’s body was
surging violently, like a tidal wave that was made up of
countless razor-sharp swords. It cleansed his body continuously;
every place it passed through was purified and destroyed.

Ai Hui’s body trembled as the palace in his left leg activated.

As soon as it activated, it was completely filled with the surging
sword force. If Ai Hui were awake at this moment, he would
faint due to the intense pain.

More and more sword force surged through his body.

When the sword force entered the palace in Ai Hui’s right

foot, his right foot trembled. The palace in his right foot was
activated as well!

As soon as the palace was opened up, the sword force gushed
in frantically.

Both of Ai Hui’s legs were trembling violently. The shoes on

his feet were wrecked by the sharp-edged sword force.
 However, this was just the beginning. More and more
elemental energy was steadily entering the Circulatory Circle
Revolution.

At this point of time, Lou Lan couldn’t just sit there and do
nothing. If the energy were solely entering his feet, there
wouldn’t be much of a problem; however, if the energy gushed
into any one of his earth, sea, gate or sky palaces and created a
problem there, the damage done would be irreversible.

“Fatty, hurry and beat him up!” Lou Lan urged.

“Huh!” Fatty was stunned.

……

The magistrate office.

“Got it, we have obtained the information on Ai Hui through

the Commission Hall!”

“He lives in the Vanguard Training Hall. This subordinate has

already located the specific address!”

“Where’s my uniform? Where’s Master’s uniform? Quickly

find it for Master now! Let us go to the Vanguard Training
Hall!” Wang Zhen stood up and yelled as he felt energized all of
a sudden.

Central Pine Academy.

Duanmu Huanghun was baffled when he heard the teachers

yelling his name. But when he heard the name “Ai Hui,” he
returned to his senses and said, “That’s right, he’s from my
class.”

He tried to remain calm.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief; they finally found the class

which Ai Hui belonged to.

“Do you know where he lives?” the dean asked solemnly.

Could it be that this fellow committed a crime? Duanmu

Huanghun rejoiced secretly. He could not conceal the smile on
his face no matter how hard he tried, and without any
hesitation, he replied, “Yes.”

“You shall lead the way!” the dean demanded ferociously.

Seems like he has committed a big crime. Duanmu Huanghun

sneered in his mind.

Vanguard Training Hall.

“I really have to beat him up?” Fatty was hesitating.

“Yes, and use more strength!” Lou Lan was encouraging Fatty.
“The harder you beat him, the faster he will recover!”

“Really, Lou Lan, you’d better not be lying to me!” Fatty said.

“Lou Lan doesn’t lie.” Lou Lan shook his head.

“When Ai Hui wakes up, Lou Lan, you have to be my witness,”

Fatty said, evidently still hesitating.

“No problem.” Lou Lan nodded.

A sinister smile appeared on Fatty’s face. He dragged Ai Hui to

the training ground and tied him to a wooden stake.

The one with the surname Ai, you’re finally in my hands!

Today, we shall settle all the grudges between us!

Thump! This punch is for the lunges you made me do!

Thump! This punch is for the flutter kicks you forced me to

do!

Thump! This punch is for you eating one more bowl of

noodles than me!

Thump! This punch is for that other extra bowl of noodles you
ate!
 Thump! Thump! Thump!

As Fatty’s punches bombarded Ai Hui’s body like a rainstorm,

he felt an indescribable comfort. It was his lifelong dream to
bully Ai Hui! All along, he had been under Ai Hui’s tyrannical
abuse.

Today, I will let you know that Fatty is also a hero!

What makes you think that you can eat two more bowls of
noodles than me?

I will beat you until your head is swollen!

I will beat you until your body is as swollen as mine...

However, as Fatty continued beating Ai Hui, he soon felt that

something wasn’t right.

“Lou Lan, I’m almost done, you want to give it a try?” The
perspiring Fatty turned around and asked Lou Lan while
gasping for air and beating Ai Hui wildly at the same time.
 “Fatty, hang in there!” Lou Lan shook his head furiously like a
rattle-drum.

Why does he shake his head so furiously?

Fatty felt uneasy.

Chapter 148: Mayor Wang Zheng
Punch after punch—after several rounds of this, Ai Hui
remained unconscious. Fatty’s vigilance was put to rest.

“It seems I thought too much. I better make use of this once-
in-a-blue-moon opportunity to teach Ai Hui a lesson. I even
have Lou Lan as my witness; the gods are really helping me this
time! Hahaha!” Fatty sneered.

Thump thump thump!

Suddenly, Fatty felt his fists become numb. Taking a glance at

Ai Hui, he was immediately startled. “Ahh! Why did he
suddenly become fatter?”

Ai Hui’s body had become bloated and deformed like a swelled

balloon.

“There’s too much elemental energy in his body. Right now,

we’re using this method to ease the pressure in his body,” Lou
Lan explained. “Lou Lan has to monitor the status of the
elemental energy in his body, so I will have to leave the beating
to you, Fatty.”
 “No problem, leave it to me! I’m the best at easing pressure!”
Fatty chirped.

Thump thump thump!

“The elemental energy is accumulating in his left cheek!”

“Right cheek!”

“His chin!”

Lou Lan’s glowing yellow eyes flickered constantly as he

instructed Fatty on where to hit. By the time Fatty saw that Ai
Hui’s head had been beaten into the shape of a pig’s, he felt
accomplished.

“Fatty, use more strength!” Lou Lan instructed.

“Okay!” Fatty’s punches became heavier.

Time passed bit by bit, and Fatty was now drenched in sweat,
unable to remember how many punches he had thrown. Ai
Hui’s face was changed beyond recognition, and his body had
swelled up by approximately two to three times.

If Fatty were to meet the current Ai Hui on the street, he

definitely would not have recognized him.

However….

Fatty’s arms were so sore that he could not lift them, and his
entire body was drenched in sweat. His throat was burning, as if
molten lead had been poured into his mouth. It seemed as
though he would stop breathing right there and die of
exhaustion. Gasping for air, he asked, “Lou Lan… it’s… it’s
nearly done, right? I have… I have no more strength!”

“Fatty, endure a bit more. It will be done soon.”

Lou Lan’s glowing yellow eyes flickered as he stared fixedly at

Ai Hui’s body, observing the flow of elemental energy in his
body with care.

“Shoulders!”
 “Thighs!”

……

Lou Lan continued barking out commands, but Fatty’s body

felt numb, his energy completely expended. He had yet to notice
that his fists were swollen like steamed buns. Punching Ai Hui’s
body had become similar to punching a porcupine.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Traces of razor-sharp elemental energy were emitting for Ai

Hui’s pores continuously, making him remarkably like a thorny
porcupine.

“Fatty, use more strength!” Lou Lan yelled.

Fatty vaguely perceived a commotion in the alleyway, but at

this moment, the entirety of his attention was focused on Ai
Hui, and he could not hear clearly.

“Lou—Lou Lan… I can’t do it anymore!” Fatty was shedding

tears. He felt as though he would collapse from exhaustion at
any time. How many punches had he thrown today? He must
have thrown a lifetime’s worth.

“Fatty, persevere! It is a crucial time now!”

Lou Lan encouraged Fatty, his eyes never leaving Ai Hui’s

body for even a split second. The flickering of his yellow eyes
had become a blur. The amount of elemental energy in Ai Hui’s
body was terrifying. Lou Lan could not understand why there
was so much. How was it possible for Ai Hui to have remained
safe and sound until now? If it were anyone else, they would
have already exploded from the abundance of elemental energy!

The situation was at a critical point.

The two palaces in Ai Hui’s legs had opened, allowing his

condition to improve momentarily. Despite that, however, the
palaces in his limbs were being flooded and expanded brutally
by the sword force. The speed of the palaces’ expansion could
not catch up to the amount of elemental energy that was
flooding in.

The forceful expansion of the palaces would damage the body

severely. Lou Lan had many ways to deal with the damage done
to the palaces in Ai Hui’s limbs, and so it was not too great of an
issue. For the earth, sea, gate, and sky palaces to sustain
injuries, however, the situation would become troublesome.

This was why the elemental energy in Ai Hui’s body had to be

drained.

Punching Ai Hui’s body allowed some of the elemental energy

in his body to be released. Throughout the whole process, Lou
Lan had to monitor the elemental energy in his body to see if
they over-accumulated in a certain area which would damage Ai
Hui’s body. As such, he needed Fatty to carry out the punching.

Lou Lan had previously been worried that Fatty would not
have enough energy. He never expected that Fatty would
instead have so much energy left and punch with such force.

Such a good brother!

Lou Lan was praising the fatty in his heart. He was putting in
all of his effort—only a true brother would sweat and toil so for
his friend.
 The fatty was really a good guy.

On the other hand, Fatty was unaware of Lou Lan’s

admiration. He was on the verge of tears. Both of his fists were
swollen, and every punch he threw was a torture. Why did he
have to be the one to beat Ai Hui up? Was he punishing Ai Hui
or himself?

Lou Lan, I want to train now!

Flutter kicks! Lunges! Anything will do!

One hundred sets, five hundred sets…. Any number of sets

will do!

Fatty lamented sorrowfully as tears streamed down his

cheeks.

Puff!

Fatty felt something amiss with his punch. It felt as though it

had landed on a heap of cotton.
 “Fatty, be careful!”

What’s there to be careful about….

The dazed Fatty failed to react in time. As if a dashing wild

beast had crashed into him, his body flew backwards like a
cannonball.

It finally ended….

Lou Lan became anxious. Ai Hui had reached the most critical
stage!

...

The dean did not expect to encounter Wang Zhen in the

alleyway. He scowled. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for whatever you’re here for.” Wang Zhen smiled
cheekily.
 “Ai Hui is a student of Central Pine Academy.” The dean’s face
became gloomy. “Since when did the mayor begin to interfere in
the business of our academy?”

For quite some time, Wang Zhen and the magistrate office had
held little presence. Central Pine Academy was the most
important organization within Central Pine City and as a result,
undertook many of the city’s important roles. By contrast, the
duties of the magistrate office were few and far between. In the
Induction Ground, the academies held higher positions than the
magistrate offices. As such, when the dean saw Wang Zhen, he
felt not the slightest bit of fear.

“Student Ai Hui lives and studies in Central Pine City. As the

mayor of this city, it’s only natural for me to care about him,”
Wang Zhen replied lazily.

“All of you back off. I have something to discuss with the

mayor in private,” the dean suddenly told his subordinates.

“What are you trying to do?” the dean lowered his voice and
asked Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen withdrew his smile and replied, “I just don’t want
anything happening to Central Pine City in my hands.”

“Don’t listen to the rumors. The Induction Ground has

already contained the situation.” The dean’s eyes flickered.

“If that’s the case, then why would you, the dean, come
here?” Wang Zhen sneered.

“If that’s the case, why would you, the dean, would come
here?” Wang Zhen sneered.

The dean had met the mayor on a few prior occasions, but this
was his first time discovering that he was not a pushover. Being
mayor of the Induction Ground was not an easy job. The
Induction Ground by nature was autonomous, cut off from the
rest of the world, and the mayors of the cities here were known
to sulk. This was because the power and authority of each city
lay in the hands of the respective academies instead of with the
mayor. Furthermore, the Induction Ground had always enjoyed
strict security, and so the mayors within the cities had nothing
much to do.

Those who were willing to become mayors in the Induction

Ground were usually retired civil servants or those
ambitionless, spineless scumbags.

“Does the mayor feel that the situation is getting out of

hand?” the dean asked directly.

“Yes, the situation is extremely critical now.” Wang Zhen

nodded solemnly.

He had always wanted a chance to communicate with the

dean; however, he knew that the dean would not listen to him.
Despite being mayor, he held very little power, and the teachers
within Central Pine Academy would not listen to his commands.

“How is that so?” The dean understood the seriousness of the

situation. He wanted to be responsible for Central Pine City as
well, and so the two held no conflict of interest.

“I don’t know what the Induction Ground is planning. So far,

however, the blood poison catastrophe has not been controlled,
and the situation is worsening instead,” Wang Zhen replied.
“The appearance of the blood bat is enough to throw everyone
into a state of panic. And if I’m not wrong, the Induction
Ground has yet to find out how the blood bat infiltrated the
city.”
 The dean’s pupils contracted at this.

Noticing the dean’s reaction, Wang Zhen continued calmly, “I

can roughly guess the solution you have come up with. Is it the
Chiming Dandelion? Am I right?”

The dean was mildly surprised by Wang Zhen’s guess, but

replied easily, “Anyone could have made this guess.”

The Chiming Dandelion was a plant that wood elementalists

had bred long ago, used mainly for security purposes that
developed to adopt advanced measures. Tiny dandelion seeds
could float in the air for some time, and when used in large
amounts, they formed a nearly impregnable security warning
system.

At any security breach, these extremely miniscule seeds would

give off chiming vibrations, immediately notifying the wood
elementalists in charge of security.

“I hope to be in charge of the city’s defense. I have some

experience with regards to this aspect. And even though I’m not
some powerful individual, I did serve ten years on the front
line.” Wang Zhen gazed at the dean and revealed what was
under his left trouser without any hesitation.

A roughly-made metallic leg.

The dean was rendered speechless, and a tinge of respect

flashed across his eyes as he asked Wang Zhen, “When did you
get injured?”

“Ten years ago,” Wang Zhen replied unconcernedly.

“I can hand over the defense of the city to you; however, I will
be keeping an eye on you,”

“No problem,” Wang Zhen agreed wholeheartedly.

Both of them heaved a sigh of relief in unison. Wang Zhen’s

main objective had been fulfilled and the dean could remove
himself from this tangled mess.

The dean then signaled for his subordinates to return and

instructed, “From now on, the mayor will be in charge of the
city’s defense. All of the teachers and students will have to
cooperate with him.”

“Let us go in.” The dean smiled.

“Please!” Wang Zhen gestured for the dean to enter the

training hall.

The door to the training hall was wide open. Both of them
stepped over the doorstep, and at that very moment, a shadow
flew towards them at high speed.

Both of them were shocked.

Wang Zhen’s reaction was faster. Without hesitation, he lifted

his left leg and gave a vicious side kick. He underestimated the
impact of the incoming shadow, however, and was knocked
flying backwards. Luckily, the dean was able to catch him,
preventing any humiliations.

Upon landing, his legs nearly gave way, causing him to kneel
on the spot.
 Such a powerful impact.

Taking a closer look at the person, they became anxious.

Could this individual be Ai Hui?

With a resounding crash, Fatty landed heavily on the ground,

causing it to tremble and filling the air with dust clouds.

In shock, Wang Zhen and the dean exchanged looks.

At that very moment, a shout came from the courtyard, “Ai

Hui, unleash your sword!”

Ai Hui… unleash your sword?

Both of them heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed the person

before them was not Ai Hui.

Wait!

Unleash your sword?

 A sudden powerful and chilling aura erupted from within the
courtyard.

The youth, shrouded in scorching white light and tied to a

wooden stake in the courtyard, slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were ice-cold but abstruse. As his eyes slowly opened,
he resembled an ancient beast that had awoken from its
slumber of thousands of years trapped under a mountain.

The expressions of Wang Zhen and the dean changed

drastically!
Chapter 149: Crescent Moon
Threads of elemental energy bubbled relentlessly from Ai
Hui’s pores, creating a ring of dazzling light.

Ai Hui’s mind was blank.

The sword force in his body was as boundless as an ocean

which was, at this point, rumbling with a fury. In the midst of
the storm, Ai Hui’s mental state was a helpless leaf constantly
rolled about by the waves, falling, and being torn into pieces
before finally being engulfed by the ocean.

Fatty’s continuous beatings had facilitated the sword force

within Ai Hui’s body to actively penetrate outwards. Under
normal circumstances, the elemental energy would not have
been able to do this. Furthermore, due to his training, Ai Hui’s
skin was like copper, more tough and durable than an average
student’s. Thus, it was more difficult for the elemental energy
to leak out of his pores.

Fatty’s constant "efforts" had finally paid off. Vast amounts of

elemental energy bubbled out from within Ai Hui’s body like
steam.
 Once the elemental energy was drained away, the pressure
within Ai Hui’s body lessened. This allowed Ai Hui’s unstable
mental state to finally have a breather and regain an ounce of
clarity.

"Ai Hui! Use your sword!"

Lou Lan’s reminder was like an explosion in Ai Hui’s mind but

also seemed to be coming from the opposite end of the sea.

Use my sword?

In the midst of his confusion, a sword technique came to mind

with lightning speed.

Within his elemental energy that was vast as an ocean was a

slender bowstring that connected Ai Hui’s left hand palace to
his right hand’s palace. The elemental energy cord with which
he had always had difficulty was completed with ease while Ai
Hui had been unaware.

At the moment of the elemental energy cord’s completion, the

elemental energy bubbling out of Ai Hui changed abruptly.
 Instead of leaving him, it surrounded Ai Hui’s surroundings
while rotating at high speeds.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

It was as though there were countless sharp small swords

flitting about speedily in the air. The stake and ropes that had
initially tied him down became fragmented and of different
lengths. They hovered in the air in segments, as if supported by
an invisible hand. Constant cuts were made on the brick
flooring beneath Ai Hui’s feet by the sword, and chunks of brick
flew wildly.

Within Ai Hui’s body, the roaring of the elemental energy

ocean stopped preemptively the moment the elemental energy
cord was completed.

Time seemed to have come to a standstill.

As if Ai Hui had practiced it countless times, he was familiar

with the move in its entirety. The Dragonspine Inferno, which
had never left his hand, was placed horizontally before him.
Together with a single stride, he swung the sword.
 The Dragonspine Inferno, which weighed one hundred
kilograms, was as lithe and agile as a skipping stone on water.

The elemental energy that had been dammed in Ai Hui’s body

rushed like the flowing waters of a dike and into the
Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s right hand.

Buzz!

As a spring vibrates with flicked, the deep thrumming of the

Dragonspine Inferno gave rise to a slight tingle. A sheen of
dazzling light appeared on the black body of the Dragonspine
Inferno.

A crescent culminated on the sharp end of the sword,

disappearing within moments.

The expressions of the dean and mayor changed after being

exposed to Ai Hui’s imposing manner. The dean was especially
shocked. How could he have been ignorant of such a brilliant
student at his school? Such an explosion of aura was not
something easily surpassed. Even the top genius of Central Pine
Academy, Duanmu Huanghun, would find it difficult.
 How could a student have such an imposing air?

Wang Zhen, too, was incredibly amazed, but for different

reasons from the dean’s. When he received Shi Xueman and
Sang Zhijun’s reports, he did a thorough background check on
Ai Hui. There was nothing about him that he did not know. Ai
Hui had been born to a life of hard work, staying in the
Wilderness for three years. An exception was made, allowing
him to enter and train in the Induction Ground. He achieved the
base level of two palaces and was also a disciple of Wang
Shouchuan. Even Ai Hui’s hand in the Bunny Hair’s profit was
not absent from Wang Zhen’s knowledge; he had done an
incredibly detailed investigation.

What made him deeply respect Ai Hui, however, was actually

the fact that not only did Ai Hui survive two encounters with
the blood beasts, but also that he played a pivotal role in the
group’s successful escape. Aside from Shi Xueman’s and Sang
Zhijun’s reports, Wang Zhen had also seen the reports from
Teacher Xu and Cui Xianzi. Both of them also mentioned Ai Hui
as the one to have first realized that something was amiss.

Ai Hui seemed to have an extraordinary intuition towards the

blood poison. It also happened to be the main reason behind
seeking him out.
 But all of the intelligence he received failed to mention that Ai
Hui had such an uncanny capability for swordplay!

Was this truly two palaces? How could such frightening waves
of elemental energy result from just two palaces? It most
certainly had to belong to at least seven palaces! Could it be that
this chap was concealing his talent?

He would not have been so shocked if it were simply the

waves of elemental energy. The moment the tip of the sword
transformed into a crescent moon, his facial muscles trembled
involuntarily. Such awe-inspiring swordplay gave him
goosebumps.

The sword seemed to head straight for his glabella; with the
sword’s next movement, it would even pierce him.

Both Wang Zhen and the dean reacted immediately.

Wang Zhen suddenly held a stained knife. His aura underwent

a transformation, as though he had become another person.
Even his height seemed to have increased. His bearing was
indescribably fierce and severe. He wordlessly brought down his
knife in a single stroke, its gleam similar to an inverted
waterfall.

The dean’s wide sleeves emitted large amounts bubbles like

the ones blown by soapy water. Under the sunlight, they
reflected a myriad of colors, dancing alongside the wind in a
dream-like sequence.

The crescent which had disappeared from the tip of Ai Hui’s

sword appeared before them as if out of thin air. It intersected
with the gleam from Wang Zhen’s knife.

Like fragile porcelain, the crescent silently shattered into a

multitude of fragments.

Wang Zhen’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately

held his knife horizontally and exerted his left palm outwards.

Bang!

The shattered crescent suddenly transformed into numerous

sword gleams and enveloped the entire courtyard.
 Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

The sword ray collided with the bubbles. They popped as

though pricked by a needle, bursting immediately. However,
the dean’s billowing sleeves seemed to be a bottomless pit,
gushing out colorful bubbles in a relentless torrent.

The spheres increased in number, covering the dean from

view.

The sword gleam, which had been aimed at Wang Zhen, now
seemed to have hit an invisible barrier and set off rippling
waves.

A glint of the sword beam shot towards Duanmu Huanghun.

Waking up from his stupor, he immediately used his
[Viridescent Flower]. A circle of branches materialized around
him, and the sword gleam collided into the branches. With a
tremble, Duanmu Huanghun successfully blocked the sword
gleam, but there was not a trace of celebration on his face. His
gaze was instead fixated on the [Viridescent Flower]’s branches
that were slowly rotating around him.

The small pinhole on a single leaf was extremely blinding.

 How could it be….

He almost could not believe his eyes. From the moment he

entered the training hall, the impacts came in wave after wave.
The Ai Hui in front of him felt like a stranger.

He had recently improved tremendously, with the encounter

in the Garden of Life and the bitter battle outside of the city
serving as stimulation. He was already talented, but with the
threats of death, he was able to fully exploit and expand his
talent and capability.

Three days ago, he managed to activate the fifth palace,

known as the earth palace.

The implication was that he was entering the territory of

greater skills. With each activation of the four palaces—earth,
sea, gate, and sky—the strength would increase by leaps and
bounds. Although everyone’s constitution was different, in
general, the earth palace could store 1.5 times more elemental
energy than the hand palace. Additionally, the activation of his
earth palace enabled him to practice moves from the
[Viridescent Flower] that he had been unable to previously.
 Thus, his strength increased tremendously, and he was
pleased beyond expectations.

But that was before today. The waves of elemental energy that
Ai Hui emitted sent chills to his heart. Duanmu Huanghun was
certain that he would be unable to produce such frightening
vibrations even with a base level of five palaces.

And that sword move….

Just one move from Ai Hui had forced the dean and the mayor
into such a situation. This far surpassed any knowledge
Duanmu Huanghun had of Ai Hui.

Duanmu Huanghun was clear about his capability. While he

shot into fame after just one battle, he immediately became low-
key and restrained afterwards. He knew that his brilliant results
happened only because everyone was unfamiliar with him,
unfamiliar with his [Viridescent Flower].

In the end, he had been a freshman with the base level of four
palaces. Once everyone familiarized themselves, they would be
able to think of ideas to counter him.
 Base level was a weakness that he could not avoid. While it
required talent, it also needed time and patience.

However, Ai Hui seemed to have skipped the latter

requirement.

From the activation of his natal palaces to both of his hand

palaces, and now… How many palaces had he activated to
produce such strong elemental energy waves?

And that unnerving yet grand sword move. Was it an absolute

art? Didn’t they say that swordplay was in decline? How could
such impressive swordplay be in decline?

His own rapid improvements were supported by several

reasons. He was gifted with talent and imparted with an
absolute art. His family was rich, and with external triggers,
there was nothing strange about his tremendous improvement.

Yet he could not comprehend Ai Hui’s improvement. There

was no reasoning he could see behind it. His skills were nothing
extraordinary, he was poor, and he was also older. How could he
ever understand why that fellow’s improvement was greater
than his?
 While the bubbles seemed powerless as they would burst upon
contact, the volume was simply so much that it seemed
limitless. All of the sword gleams were forcibly blocked by
them. With the exception of Duanmu Huanghun, everyone was
sheltered and protected behind him.

"This feels good!"

Wang Zhen burst into laughter for a long time, containing a

whole ten years’ worth of battle intent. His hair and beard
fluttered around him, and his gaze was bright and animated.
Holding onto the rusted knife, he was in high spirits.

"Central Pine Academy had a concealed talent! I cannot

believe that there’s such an expert here! Ai Hui, show me all
that you’ve got. Let’s have a hearty battle!"

Wang Zhen’s thundering voice left a buzzing sound in

everyone’s ear.

He raised his blade and approached Ai Hui. Each stride was

large, pressing into the hearts of those present. Even the floor
trembled.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s pupils constricted while the expressions
of the other teachers changed. Nobody could have expected the
inconspicuous mayor to have such violent capabilities and
strength.

"Ai Hui, could it be that you have lost your guts?"

Wang Zhen roared loudly and took a leaping step.

In midair, Wang Zhen’s vigor was at its peak, and he felt an

indescribable contentedness. He was all fired up.

No one would be able to block this move!

Eh?

Ai Hui, who was below him, fell face down like a blockhead,
unconscious.

At his side was Lou Lan, thoroughly relaxed. He had

exhausted all of his sand core’s elemental energy. His eyelids
grew heavier and heavier as he mumbled deliriously, "Lou Lan
is tired…."

Wang Zhen landed back on the floor with a stiff expression.

The dean, who had just finished dispersing the bubbles, was
dumbfounded.

Ai Hui, unconscious. Fatty, unconscious. Lou Lan,

unconscious.

This…
Chapter 150: Blood-red Ripple
“It should be around here. Search carefully, everyone.”

Qiao Hua’s voice was hoarse and his appearance disheveled,

but he still exuded a sense of confidence and good spirits. His
gaze kept its confidence and steadiness while his face had a
morbidly excited red blush. Only the corners of his eyes
displayed his fatigue.

Everyone knew that Qiao Hua was bearing a heavy burden.

The blood catastrophe situation was rapidly deteriorating.

There were sightings of blood fiends in many cities. Due to the
emergency, the ones deeper in the Garden of Life were pressed
by a heavy atmosphere. Even the areas that had been burned
still had blood-red sprouts growing from the charred ground.
The blood plants had a resilient vitality, instilling fear in
everyone.

The blood fiends were getting stronger. Just seven days ago,
they were hit by a sneak attack from a blood wolf, causing three
deaths and six injured. This was the first instance of severe
injuries and death received since they entered the Garden of
Life. The blood wolf was a strong but cunning dire beast that
quickly became everyone’s nightmare. Since then, the troop had
become startled by the smallest things.

Their caution, however, did not improve their situation. They

began to suffer continuous attacks from different blood fiends,
increasing the number of casualties. This further strengthened
their belief that they were traveling in the correct direction.

Qiao Hua continued to command them deeper into the Garden

of Life while praying for divine intervention.

The burdens in Qiao Hua’s heart increased, but he continued

to encourage himself, saying that this was the best option to
take. As long as they discovered the first blood tree, they would
be able to find a solution.

The blood poison could not be dealt with using ordinary ideas,
which was evident from the blood grass that was growing from
the charred soil. They sprouted at an astonishing rate. Only a
few days had passed, and the blood grass had already grown past
their kneecaps.

The fire, intended to prevent the spread of the blood

poisoning, aided it in becoming stronger instead.
 Qiao Hua examined the newly grown blood grass and realized
that the blood poison in them was slightly different from the
one gathered in his initial investigations.

Layers upon layers of transformations had taken place, and

the blood poison became increasingly formidable—to the point
that Qiao Hua experienced fear.

He did not express his worries and fears, knowing that the
troop’s morale was undergoing some subtle changes. Everyone
was tense and strained as they had yet to find the blood tree left
behind by Si Nan. Furthermore, the continuous escalating
attacks by the blood fiends and the loss of their people made
their confidence in Qiao Hua waver.

The loss of confidence and intensifying insecurity made them

extremely weak.

Qiao Hua’s resolute nature showed itself; he did not have the
least bit of hesitation and held on to his determination. He
believed his conjecture was correct and was not the least bit
swayed.

Everyone dispersed to seek out the potential target.

 Si Nan’s notes were decades old; since his time, there had
been many changes in the Induction Ground. Even the
geological landscape had noticeable differences. Furthermore,
the notes had been organized by Si Nan’s students, and so many
details were indistinct and unclear.

After analyzing the notes, Qiao Hua had jotted down a few
potential locations.

Most of the people were in low spirits and were not

encouraged by Qiao Hua’s words since their previous searches
had proved to be fruitless. Everyone maintained their patience
out of respect for Qiao Hua’s high rank. Their tolerance,
however, was running thin. Some of the troop members were
starting suspect whether Si Nan’s notes were real.

“Found it!”

An agitated voice suddenly rang out, and everyone

involuntarily paused in their movements. After a moment of
silence, they erupted in cheers.

Everyone rushed towards the loud shout.

 Qiao Hua’s knees went soft. He no longer cared about his
image and plopped butt-first onto the ground. He looked utterly
exhausted. He did not think that their journey would have been
met with so many mishaps, nor did he predict the blood poison
to have worsened so rapidly. The burden he shouldered had
been heavy beyond expectation.

The blood catastrophe had worsened with a swiftness outside

of anybody’s expectations, even Qiao Hua’s. There were rumors
of displeasure from the elders who had been persuaded by him.

The winner takes all while the loser is left with nothing.

If he could successfully resolve the blood disaster, then he

would rapidly become the hero of the Induction Grounds—no,
of the entire Avalon of Five Elements. To him, this was critical.
As long as he succeeded, his population would be elevated to
unprecedented heights.

Always, he had hoped and longed for such a chance. His

ambitious nature had been stirred since long ago.

They finally found it….

 As long as they found the blood tree, he was halfway to
success. This implied that there would be a feast for them soon.

It would be one of celebration, the best reward he could ever

get. The courage he invested would soon reap numerous
rewards. He could almost envision his name in the river of
history, praised by millions of people.

He did not know where he got the strength from, but he stood
and walked towards the group of people.

The crowd automatically parted to form a path, like the

welcoming of a crowned victor.

With a steady pace, Qiao Hua held his head up high. The gazes
that turned his way were no longer filled with doubt and
suspicion but instead were of adoration and respect. Finding the
blood tree was evidence of Qiao Hua’s correct theory.

They all believed that they would soon witness the

destruction of the blood disaster. Most of them were overcome
with emotion.
 Qiao Hua did not let the success go to his head. Instead, he
calmed himself and approached the blood tree. After regaining
his absolute tranquility, he inspected the blood tree carefully.

After four hundred years of growth, the sapling had grown

into an ancient tree of the firmament.

Not an inch of grass grew within a perimeter of fifty meters.

The top of the tree was thick and scarlet red like the evening
maple in late autumn; it was breathtaking. Qiao Hua, however,
did not raise his head. His gaze was fixated on the black streaks
on the tree trunk.

The dull-red tree trunk was covered with black patterns like a
totem from the ancient times. It exuded an indescribable gloom
and evil.

“Teacher, what is this black decorative design?” Qiao Hua’s

student gathered up his courage and asked.

“Blood traces.” Qiao Hua did not move his gaze. His finger ran
lightly across the black patters as he continued, “During the
Cultivation Era, it was a taboo in blood-refinement. Very few
know about this now. Senior Si Nan’s extensive knowledge in
blood-refined techniques was startling.”

The people’s expressions changed to one of admiration.

Teacher Qiao was indeed erudite.

In their eyes, blood-refined techniques were mysterious and

unfamiliar. Much of their understanding about the subject
touched only upon objects used during the techniques.

To them, the teachers who pursued research in the bizarre

such as objects of blood-refinement were like valuable. The
rusty entrance was locked and covered with gray dust—a
treasure left behind by the Cultivation Era. It could be worth
less than a penny, or it could change the world.

To date, this door remained locked tight, and nobody had

managed to open it.

While blood-refined objects were not destroyed, nobody was

able to use or find anything wondrous about them. The long
history and experience left behind by the Cultivation Era was
unimaginable for the people of the Avalon of Five Elements
after all. Even objects left behind by the mysterious and
neglected blood-refined technique were not rare to see.

Apart from Ai Hui’s Blood Bandage, which was made of a

special material, most of the objects were considered useless and
placed in a corner to collect dust. Only those with special uses
were kept.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to exhale.

Qiao Hua’s expression became bewitched. The more he

understood, the more he sensed the coordination, power, and
beauty in the blood traces on the tree trunk. It was as though he
gazed into the sea of history of the Cultivation Era. In this
humble corner was a fascinating blood-colored cloud that while
not formidable, had never been destroyed or gone extinct.

What an era that people would yearn for!

Qiao Hua’s thoughts wandered far and away. He could not

imagine the vastness of the Cultivation Era. To think that the
blood-refined techniques, fit only to be on the sidelines, had not
yet gone extinct. And it set off such shocking waves.
 He remained in a befuddled state for a moment before
regaining his senses. Strength and confidence returned to his
body once more.

Perhaps blood-refined techniques used to be formidable, but

now the times had changed. It was an era of elemental energy,
and it was his era.

“Number seven medicine!” he confidently said to his students.

The rattan basket that was being carried by a student

suddenly wiggled, and the sticks forming the basket separated
to expose the contents within. In it were flower pods hanging
from rattan sticks, and each pod was labeled with a number.

Finding the number seven flower bud, he inserted a thread of

elemental energy.

The flower bud slowly blossomed. Inside, a crystal-clear

bamboo joint containing a black liquid appeared before
everyone. It was difficult to breed crystal bamboo joints as their
rate of growth was slow. As such, they tended to be on the
pricier side and were used to store precious medications.
 The student gingerly took out the crystal bamboo joint. The
black liquid medicine inside was like black lava. Even with the
bamboo joint containing it, everyone could feel the heat waves.

Qiao Hua’s confidence was not without basis. He had

thoroughly studied every detail in Si Nan’s notes to
purposefully creating several types of liquid medicines for
different contingencies.

For now, the situation was still within his control, and he was
sufficiently prepared.

“Everyone, retreat by fifty meters,” he commanded gravely.

Without any objections, everyone quickly retreated by fifty

meters. They widened their eyes, afraid to miss out on any
details. This would surely be an unforgettable moment in their
entire lives.

The fearful blood disaster was finally going to meet its end.

Qiao Hua took a deep breath and surprisingly felt slightly

nervous. After careful consideration, he was confident that he
had considered all aspects. His gaze became determined.

He cautiously removed the cap of the crystal bamboo. An

unpleasant odor gushed out. Without a change in expression, he
overturned it along the blood traces on the tree trunk.

The last drop of black medicine dripped out from the crystal
bamboo and permeated through the tree trunk.

Qiao Hua had a relieved expression. The medication that he

came up with was the bane of the blood poison. It could be
considered to be another form of toxin that would directly
counteract against the blood poisoning. It would spread in the
same way, and there was no escape for anything already
infected.

The branches exhibited signs of blackening. Qiao Hua became

excited; it was going to start!

The black color began to spread, and the leaves fell in

succession. All around them, the blood-red leaves descended
and swirled like falling snow. Qiao Hua gave a hearty laugh.
 Oh, what a pretty sight!

In a flash, the ancient tree was barren without any leaves on

it.

Qiao Hua was pleased with himself when out of the corner of
his eyes, he caught sight of a dried-up twig. His pupils
constricted, his expression frozen in place.

A newly grown sprout that was even more sparkling with a

brighter red tint.

W…...Why…...

He stared blankly at what had been bare branches that were

now filled with new sprouts that were blood-red and growing at
an astonishing speed.

In the blink of an eye, the treetop was completely filled,

similar to a bewitching sea of blood.

Without warning, the blood-red grass fifty meters away began

to grow rapidly. In the midst of the surprised shouts and
screams, it was like a paranormal beast with its ferocious maws
wide open.

The blood-red ripple expanded outwards at an alarming

speed.
Chapter 151: Reward
Long black hair flew in the wind.

A young lady casually sat on a rock on top of a summit. She

paid no attention to the fact that she was sitting on a high
overhanging cliff. Her red maxi skirt fluttered with the wind,
akin to a blooming rose, yet also appearing like a ball of fire.

On her delicate oval face, her eyes were closed. She raised her
chin slightly to enjoy the incoming breeze. Her slender and fair
feet extended from under her fire-red skirt. She playfully swung
her feet in the air, as if playing a touching song.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she turned her head slightly.

A hint of a smug smile emerged, and she let her charming gaze
wander.

It was starting.

Like a perfect masterpiece, she stretched her fair-as-snow

arm. Her murmurings were languid, yet enticing. It was like a
siren’s call.

After she finished stretching, she suddenly exclaimed slightly,

“Blackie has not returned since it went out to hunt for food five
days ago.”

Could it be that Blackie met with some mishap? She did not
think this was likely. Blackie was able to fly high and was as fast
as lightning. Even if it did meet with danger, it would be able to
escape easily.

Still, she decided to head down the mountain to look for

Blackie. It would not be an easy task for her to nurture another
talented blood fiend like Blackie.

With the tip of her foot, she tapped lightly on the rock. Like a
blazing phoenix, she flew off the cliff.

Ai Hui woke up in a daze.

It was like he had just had a bad dream where he was

continuously beaten up like a sandbag.
 It had been a while since he had such nightmares.

Thankfully, he woke up and realized that he was safe and

sound. He gave a sigh of relief and sat up in one motion. Where
were Lou Lan and Fatty? Ai Hui walked out of the room while
stretching. He retreated when he saw Lou Lan’s reflection in the
training hall.

Hey, why was his head so painful? It must be that he had not
fully recovered. He needed more rest!

“Ai Hui! You are awake!”

Ai Hui’s halted his movement, and his expression froze upon

hearing Lou Lan’s joyous voice.

“Ai Hui, do you still feel unwell? You have fully recovered
from your injuries! Lou Lan is brilliant, right? Fatty put in a lot
of effort too. He was terrific! Congratulations Ai Hui, you have
activated four palaces!”

Lou Lan rattled on in a single breath.

 Ai Hui thought to himself, “Lou Lan was good at everything,
but he does not know how to read people’s facial expressions.
How could it be that I have recovered? Would I recover so easily
from an eighty million injury?”

The girl from the noodle store did not bother to hide her
mocking gaze. Ai Hui laughed and said, “It has been a while!”

“Weren’t you hoping that I would never appear?” the girl

from the noodle store hissed and her tone was cold.

“How could that be?” Ai Hui laughed a guilty laugh.

The girl from the noodle store did not give him a chance and
cut straight to the point. “Tell me, when are you going to pay
me back?”

The girl from the noodle store was not in a good mood today.
Could it be that someone offended her? Someone actually dared
to offend such a violent girl? Their courage is seriously
admirable!

Ai Hui muttered in his heart, but he smiled and said, “I am

rather short on cash recently…”

The girl from the noodle store smiled insincerely while

saying, “When are you not short on cash?”

Ai Hui was pissed off. You can kill me but you should not
insult me. What do you mean… Nevermind!

“I have no choice, I am a poor man. Young girl… young lady,

could you lower your standards and extend the deadline? Give
me some more time, or else could I pay part of it first?” Ai Hui
remembered his Bunny Hair Arrows. Had they not just been
sold for thirty million?

His share was quite significant, and he could use it to return

some of the debt first.

Thinking of the Bunny Hair Arrows, Ai Hui straightened his

back. He was about to become someone rich! That amount of
money was nothing!

If this pace continued, it would not take long for him to give
back the eighty million.
 “If you are going to repay, pay it in one lump sum!” the young
girl from the noodle store replied coldly.

Ai Hui’s back suddenly softened. “Who made you angry?

Don’t be angry. Vent your anger and it will be all right. You will
feel better after beating someone up. Come Fatty, let this sister
beat you up to vent her anger!”

“I would be appeased if you allowed me to bash you up.” The

young girl’s eyes twinkled coldly, and her tone was terrifying.
“Tell me, if I ate a bowl of noodles belonging to you and paid
eighty millio, wouldn’t I be like a skank?”

Ai Hui’s eyes twitched. He knew the extent of the young girl’s

wrath. His bones would definitely shatter if she were to beat
him. He laughed dryly. “Fatty has more meat and would feel
nicer . My bones are hard and would be feel painful. Otherwise,
Lou Lan would be good too. You could even replenish your
energy by having Lou Lan cater to your needs! Having said that,
how could you say that you are a skank. Furthermore, this
eighty million is not a matter to be treated lightly. I will return
you the money, but I need some time as well.”

Fatty stared incredulously at Ai Hui’s terrified expression.

Was this the same cruel, unfeeling, slaughter-machine that he
knew Ai Hui to be? Why did this scene seem so familiar? A sense
of understanding swept over his mind. Indeed, only money
could cause such turmoil. Even Ai Hui was unable to avoid such
a matter.

Hold on… Was it true that Ai Hui had an eighty million debt?

Fatty was dumbfounded, dumbfounded by the shockingly

cruel reality.

At this moment, a knocking sound was heard through the

door.

Ai Hui exhaled deeply. No matter who it was, this person

came at just the right time. It was a good person, a savior!

“Who’s there!” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran

over to open the door enthusiastically.

His expression immediately became crestfallen and his tone

became cold. “What are you doing here?”
 Ingrate!

Duanmu Huanghun was also in an awkward situation. He

wanted to punch Ai Hui when he saw his face, but he restrained
himself. If not for the fact that he bore a heavy responsibility,
he would rather die than visit Ai Hui.

“Matters related to the institution and the magistrate court.”

Duanmu Huanghun did not bother to keep his tone civil.

Ai Hui snorted and opened the door widely.

Upon seeing Duanmu Huanghun, Lou Lan greeted him

enthusiastically, “Student Bangwan.”

Hearing those two words, Duanmu Huanghun trembled. To

him, these two words were a nightmare.

When his gaze fell on the young girl from the noodle store, his
pace became even more sluggish, and he could not help but
tremble.
 Ai Hui’s flame was actually here!

That girl with strength off the charts, the girl who was as
fierce as a wild beast was actually here. At that moment, he only
wanted to run! Previously, when he exchanged blows with Ai
Hui’s flame, he could not even retaliate. He was completely
suppressed by her and had experienced the most painful defeat
of his life.

Suddenly, he felt that he had walked into a lion’s den.

Everyone’s gaze was like a tiger watching its prey.

“Say it. What’s the matter?” Ai Hui only wished for the early
departure of this person.

Looking at Ai Hui’s face that deserved a spanking, Duanmu

Huanghun’s anger rose, but looking at that woman who was
standing close by, that anger disappeared without a trace.

“As you were helpful in defeating the blood fiend, the

institution and the magistrate court would like to reward you.
They sent me here to check on your opinion.”
 Duanmu Huanghun’s face was impartial. He had a headache
when he received the assignment. Truthfully, his feelings were
complicated when he saw Ai Hui today.

He had seen with his own eyes how Ai Hui impressively

executed his sword moves. The Dean and the Mayor both
praised him, while those teachers who followed them were also
amazed.

There were even some who thought that Ai Hui could be a

swordplay master in the future.

Duanmu Huanghun felt pressure, tremendous pressure. Ai

Hui was catching up to him with a speed that he could not
comprehend. The distance between Ai Hui and him was getting
shorter. He had also discovered that Ai Hui was better at
adapting to dangerous situations. When everyone was at a loss,
only Ai Hui managed to come up with a solution.

Reward!

Ai Hui brightened up in a flash. “How would they reward

me?”
 “This would depend on your needs. It could be absolute arts or
weapons and defensive gear. You can slowly reflect and
consider.” Duanmu Huanghun secretly thought to himself that
he would give Ai Hui the one with the worst quality.

“Money!” Ai Hui said defiantly, “If they want to reward me,

reward me with money!”

Duanmu Huanghun could not contain himself and reminded

Ai Hui, “You better choose a few imparted skills or special
defense equipments or even elemental ingredients.”

While Ai Hui brought about a huge amount of stress to him,

his pride did not allow him to use such low methods to slow
down Ai Hui’s progress.

Victory must also be achieved fairly and honorably.

I will not lose to you!

Duanmu Huanghun felt relieved after resolving his internal

turmoil. He laughed involuntarily. It seemed that he had been
possessed recently. How could he have such thoughts. Although
Ai Hui had improved tremendously, Duanmu Huanghun was
still superior.

He knew that it was due to the sword move. Seeing that sword
move shocked him like never before, which led to his recent
imbalanced mentality.

Seeing Ai Hui’s indifference, he continued in a light tone, “In

the current situation, whether it is the academy or the
magistrate court, they would not have so much money. That is
because much of their money would be used to replenish and
purchase supplies. You should think about unobtainable or
expensive items that you wanted in the past. Think this over
carefully.”

Ai Hui was taken aback as he sensed that Duanmu Huanghun

was serious.

“He said it perfectly.”

The young lady from the noodle store abruptly interrupted.

Ai Hui became prudent and cautious. The young lady from the
noodle store was wealthy and respectable, so she definitely
knew more of the world than a country bumpkin like him. He
face-palmed. He could also ask Teacher and Mistress for their
inputs and suggestions.

“Give me a second.”

Having said that, he rushed out of the training hall.

Fatty and Lou Lan were conversing, which left just Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun alone. Duanmu Huanghun felt
extremely awkward.

“May I dare ask young lady’s name?”

Duanmu Huanghun decided to break the awkward silence. He

was extremely curious about Ai Hui’s old flame. Her capability
was deep and unmeasurable. While there were many reasons as
to why he was suppressed that night, the main reason was
because he did not have much confidence in defeating his
opponent.

For a student to be able to threaten Duanmu Huanghun, she

was definitely not a nameless nobody to be taken lightly.

Could it be that she was not a student?

Thinking of Senior Mingxiu, another woman in Ai Hui’s life,

Duanmu Huanghun trembled. She was also a nightmare.

Why were the women around Ai Hui so frightening?

Shi Xueman treated Duanmu Huanghun indifferently. In her

eyes, Duanmu Huanghun was just a little boy, and she did not
think highly of him. Her expression was composed, then she
smiled and said, “He usually calls me ‘skank.’ ”

Duanmu Huanghun: “…”

Fatty, who was not far away, exclaimed, “This… I seemed to

have heard of this!”

“Hehe, I had heard of it too.”

 Shi Xueman laughed lightly. Her laugh was as cold as the
winter tide.
Chapter 152: The Dangerous Young Lady
“Teacher has heard about what happened during the past two
days and was about to pay you a visit. Do not take anything
from the Institution except for the [Big Dipper]. Remember the
test we took? Within your eight palaces, there are seven strong
palaces. We should not waste your innate skills. Teacher did not
anticipate that you would improve so quickly! You gave us a
shock by having a breakthrough to the fourth palace so quickly.
Remember, only ask for the [Big Dipper]! You will know the
reasoning behind this after you have received the [Big Dipper].”

“Teacher and Mistress are not familiar with the Magistrate

Court and we do not know what they have, but your fellow
classmate was justified in saying that it would be too derogatory
to ask for money as a form of reward. Disciple, you should not
fall into the trap of money. Don’t you have a sand puppet that is
an expert in making elemental food? You could request for
ingredients to make elemental food. You have already made a
breakthrough to your fourth palace, so you need to prepare for
the fifth palace. The earth palace, sea palace, gate palace, and
sky palace have a much higher difficulty level than the left hand
palace, right hand palace, left leg palace, and the right leg
palace. You need to start preparation early. This is a good
sword, so you are not lacking weapons. In terms of defensive
equipment, you have the Blood Bandage. With that, it would be
hard to harm you with just blades and swords. Though it is on
the ugly side, the Blood Bandage does not have any negative
traits. Oh yes, your senior prepared a pair of shoes for you. This
pair of shoes will enable you to run faster. Disciple, the ways of
the world are evil. If you are caught in any dire situations,
remember to run quickly without hesitation. Run as far as you
can. Do not worry about us, just look after yourself first…”

Teacher’s endless chatter was reverberating in Ai Hui’s mind.

He was touched and felt that he had the best teacher, mistress,
and senior in the world.

He had just exited from the embroidery workshop. His speed

was exceptionally fast, like he was flying.

He wore a pair of white shoes on his feet. The workmanship

was extremely delicate and was made by his Senior Mingxiu. As
Ai Hui’s base level was still low and he could not use top-quality
materials, Senior Mingxiu’s skills were exquisite. Under her
perfect workmanship, she was able to produce a pair of
remarkable shoes using just normal materials.

Ai Hui felt that his body was as light and lithe as a bird.

Drifting Cloud Boots. The main body of the boots were made
using the Thousand Drift Cloud from Palatte Cloud Village. The
Thousand Drift Cloud was a commonly seen water elementalist
material and had a vast usage. This pair of shoes brought out
the lithe characteristic of the Thousand Drift Cloud brilliantly.
Ai Hui’s speed and agility were tremendously increased.

Regardless of whether it was in a battle or to escape, these

shoes would be able to perform many functions.

Ai Hui did not think that running away was a disgraceful

thing to do. As long as the situation did not seem right, he
would run without a second thought. His life was his and was
more important than anything.

The elders were indeed more experienced. Teacher’s

suggestions were very much on point. His previous thoughts
were too simple.

The only regret he had was that his hopes of having money
were dashed.

Oh money. Oh money…

Ai Hui sighed while running madly. The Drifting Cloud Boots

were very comfortable, but he needed to adjust and familiarize
himself with them before increasing the speed and flexibility.
After this acclimation period, he would be able to perform
outstandingly during battle.

When he walked passed the noodle store, he thought about

the thrilling encounter when battling with the bat. He had been
really lucky during that battle. Even now, he was still unable to
understand how he managed to block the blood bat.

He had not expected to be able to benefit from the battle.

While muddled, he had managed to survive and advance to four
palaces. Even the elemental energy ball in his natal residence
disappeared without a trace. In the confusion, he even obtained
a reward.

What a pity they did not offer cash rewards directly!

While Ai Hui was feeling resentful, he suddenly noticed a

young lady in a red skirt squatting at the scene of the previous
battle.

The collapsed fence was already repaired and looked as good

as new. The blood stains on the ground were also swept and
cleaned.

The young lady seemed to sense Ai Hui’s gaze and looked up,
casting her gaze toward him.

The sword embryo between his eyebrows trembled as Ai Hui

became distracted.

The young lady’s red clothes were fiery and alluring. Ai Hui
did not know how to describe her beauty. She squatted in the
middle of the street and gave off a pitiful vibe. Even the shadow
beneath her legs seemed to be darker than usual and more dull.

Despite being under the warm sunlight, no warmth was added

to her figure. Even though her clothes were as red as fire and
she was as pretty as a fairy, it seemed that she was enveloped by
a faint layer of black fog. This was a darkness that could not be
penetrated by sunlight.

However, there was nothing when Ai Hui looked at her

closely.

The young lady suddenly laughed sweetly, like a bright flower

blooming in the darkness. “Am I pretty?”

Ai Hui regained his senses and looked around. He pointed to

himself uncertainly. “Are you asking me?”

“Yes.” The young lady in red walked toward Ai Hui while

smiling.

Ai Hui, who previously still thinking about money, replied

straightforwardly, “My standard is different from others’. Give
me one hundred yuan, I will say you’re pretty. Give me five
hundred yuan, then I will say you’re very pretty. Give me one
thousand yuan, I will say you’re as pretty as a fairy!”

The young lady who walked in front of Ai Hui paused and

suddenly laughed sweetly. “Looks like I am as pretty as a fairy.”

Ai Hui went cross-eyed while a sweet fragrance was blown

along with the wind. He was suddenly holding on to something.

Ai Hui was startled and did not manage to clearly see her
actions.
 “Although it might be difficult, I hope to meet you again. All
the best!”

Her enticing voice floated along with the wind.

When he regained his senses, there was no trace of the young

girl. He looked downward and saw that he was holding on to
more than a thousand yuan. He could not help but laugh.
However, his expression quickly dulled.

When the young lady in red rushed toward him, his sword
embryo had not managed to react in time.

What a scary woman!

Ai Hui took a long time before snapping out of his daze. He

laughed bitterly. He was just randomly walking along the street
when he met a woman with unfathomable capabilities. Was he
considered lucky or unlucky?

Ai Hui pondered and decided that he was unlucky. Whenever

he met women with unfathomable capabilities, they were not
kind souls. The young lady from the noodle store was a good
example.

Thinking of the young lady from the noodle store, then

looking back at the one thousand yuan in his hand that was
given by the young lady in red, Ai Hui had an ominous
prediction.

The loneliness and darkness from the young lady in red led Ai
Hui to think back to the three years he spent in the Wilderness.
He somewhat understood why he was moved by her
temperament. It was the despair and fear of the weak and puny
in times of distress.

He shook his head. He kept the money and hoped that he

would not see her again.

He had already stepped out of his dire straits and bid goodbye
to darkness.

One thousand yuan was also an unexpected fortune!

In the past, few frequented the magistrate court. These days,

traffic was heavy because there were countless streams of
people entering and leaving, causing it to be very crowded.
When Wang Zhen took over the city, his rich experience
allowed him to rapidly gain the trust of everyone. Then, the
magistrate court became the heart of Central Pine City.

Wang Zhen, who was always composed, looked ashen at the

moment. Next to him, the dean’s face was as white as paper. His
hand, which was holding on to the report, was trembling
uncontrollably.

“Failed? How did it fail? Didn’t Qiao Hua say he could become
a wood elementalist for Dai Gang?”

The dean’s murmurs had a slight tremor. His gaze was blank
and filled with despair.

Wang Zhen’s lips were trembling. He wanted to have a sip of

tea to calm himself, but his hand was trembling too badly and
the tea spilt over. He was someone who had experienced battle.
He knew the failure of Qiao Hua’s plan would bring about a
catastrophic disaster and was also a fatal turning point.

The incident of blood poisoning had become a blood

catastrophe.
 It was the epitome of catastrophe!

Due to the failure of Qiao Hua’s plan, there were zero

survivors among the entourage. The blood catastrophe
worsened, and the new blood poisoning was more dangerous
and violent. The rate at which it spread was even scarier...

The Garden of Life, which had been reduced to scorched

earth, was once again covered by blood grass that grew at an
insane pace. The Garden of Life had become a sea of red, like a
blood ocean without any boundaries.

Those elementalists in the air could clearly see how the blood
ripple spread. It had now become a crazy red wave and was
sweeping across the Induction Ground at an astonishing speed.

The Induction Ground, no, the whole Avalon of Five Elements

was facing a catastrophe like never before. How many of them
would be swallowed up by the scary blood wave? He had no
idea, but he knew that the amount would be high. Perhaps the
number would be greater than those who died at the front line.

Wang Zhen’s unfocused gaze started to regain some focus. His

tenacious spirit from being a veteran started to emerge.
 He had never encountered such a difficult and desperate
moment. Even when he had broken his leg, he had not been in
so much despair. Yet, he knew that he needed to take action or
else they would be like sitting ducks.

“When will the blood wave arrive at Central Pine City?” he

asked suddenly.

The dean replied with a pained expression, “The day after

tomorrow.”

“Okay, buck up. It is not the time for despair yet,” Wang Zhen
said gravely. He did not dare to imagine the cities that the blood
wave had swept across. He steadied himself and continued,
“The blood wave will arrive the day after tomorrow. Given the
pattern of how the blood fiends changed previously, they would
still need an average of five to seven days to transform again. In
that case, we have seven to nine days of preparation time. By
now, the higher-ups must have already received the news. They
will make arrangements and rush to our rescue. The fastest we
can expect to receive some support should be in fifteen days’
time.”

After hearing Wang Zhen’s analysis, the dean’s eyes regained

some liveliness. He continued, “This means we just need to
hang on for around a week and we will be able to get support.
Furthermore, Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun are in
Central Pine City. The higher-ups would definitely think of a
way to send support immediately. ”

“Yes!” Wang Zhen waved his fist around vigorously. “We only
need to endure for one week. We have so many teachers and
students here. There are many training halls in the city and
guards in each training hall. These are all sources of strength.
However mighty the new blood fiends might be, I believe
there’s a possibility that we can endure for a week.”

The dean sighed deeply in relief. “Yes, yes, yes. There’s hope.
There’s hope.”

A glimmer of light flickered in Wang Zhen’s eyes. “It is

possible that people have already received news of Qiao Hua’s
failure. We have to control the situation immediately and make
use of all the manpower we have. Since nobody will be able to
escape, it might be a good thing if they are aware of this danger
early on.”

The dean clenched his teeth and said, “I will gather some
teachers to impart some practical, but impactful, moves. While
we do not have much time, any gain in strength, no matter big
or small, would be beneficial.”

Wang Zhen was surprised by the dean’s courage. This course

of action might result in consequences that he would be held
responsible for. The Induction Ground had strict control over
the imparting of moves at institutions. Apparently, the dean no
longer cared about regulations at this juncture.

Wang Zhen nodded his head. “This would be for the best! We
need to control all the elemental food. We need to prepare for
the worst.”

“All right!” The dean nodded his head fiercely. “I will gather
the students.”

At that moment, a mournful alarm was heard. An

elementalist rushed in with a panicked expression. “Superior,
there are blood fiends! There are many blood fiends!”

Their expressions changed drastically.

Chapter 153: The Original Inheritance
and the Pact
A siren rang out while Ai Hui was on his way back to the
training hall. Troops of anxious elementalists were patrolling
the streets, reassuring everyone that things were under control
and that they should stay at home as much as possible.

Ai Hui had a bad feeling about this. He could feel that the
elementalists’ were tense like he had never seen before.

He kept his head down, silently passing through the streets

and headed toward the Vanguard Training Hall.

Both the noodle shop girl and Duanmu Huanghun had already
left.

Fatty’s face was filled with panic, but seeing Ai Hui allowed
him to relax and heave a sigh of relief. He asked, “What’s
happening outside? Why does it seem so chaotic?”

“I have no idea,” Ai Hui said, shaking his head. “Something

big must have happened.”
 “Is there anything Lou Lan can help with?” Lou Lan chimed in
with his head tilted.

Ai Hui let out a short burst of laughter upon seeing Lou Lan’s
cute actions before replying, “Not for now, but I’m sure we’ll
need your help soon enough.”

Fatty knew Ai Hui like the back of his hand. He already knew
that something was amiss from the moment he saw Ai Hui’s
expression. “Is the situation really that bad?” Fatty asked.

“I can’t say for sure yet,” Ai Hui replied flatly. He knew that
he would not be able to stay out of it this time.

The reward he received came with certain expectations.

Moreover, Ai Hui knew that the city’s strength was
considerably limited. The teachers may be powerful, but their
pitiful combat experience hardly qualified them as competent
fighters.

His worries about the blood poison incident worsening

appeared to be coming true.
 “Why are you still standing here?” Ai Hui asked while glaring
at Fatty. “You should be training!”

Fatty could see that Ai Hui was in a foul mood. Dejected, Fatty
silently retreated to a corner to train.

“Don’t worry Ai Hui, Lou Lan will definitely help you!” Lou
Lan cheered.

Ai Hui smiled and thanked Lou Lan.

Considering the Induction Ground’s sluggish response, it was

not exactly surprising that the situation had worsened.

If the situation continued to deteriorate, there would be

nowhere to escape to. Based on their current strength, they
would likely end up as food for the blood fiends once they left
the city. Furthermore, his master and the others were still here.
It was impossible for Ai Hui to sit back and watch as they
succumbed to the disaster.

He was suffering from all these agonizing thoughts.

 He was still too weak. The thought of facing the blood poison
disaster with his meager power made him feel utterly
insignificant. Ai Hui was not even certain that he could
contribute much to the city’s defensive efforts.

After all, what could a student who had only recently

activated four palaces accomplish?

These unbearable thoughts were suffocating Ai Hui. He had

been a free spirit in the Wilderness, where his only concern was
his own survival. Now, he was tied down by the lives of so many
others whom he wished to protect: Master, Mistress, Senior
Mingxiu, Lou Lan, and Fatty.

He took a deep breath to dispel the wild thoughts flooding his

mind and started to train.

Having just activated both of his foot palaces, he had yet to

properly analyze them.

Ai Hui was soon deeply immersed in his training.

The sky began to darken as time quietly passed. A student

hurriedly rushed over to inform Ai Hui that he was to return to
the academy immediately.

Ai Hui did not hesitate in the slightest.

Upon reaching the academy, he was summoned to the dean’s

office.

The dean looked as if he had aged ten years, and the hair along
his temples had grown white. He smiled at Ai Hui and said,
“Student Ai Hui, you have given me a big surprise. I shall get
straight to the point of why I’ve called you here today. The first
thing I’d like to settle is your reward. Student Duanmu should
have already spoken to you about this. Feel free tell me what
you have in mind as a reward, even things such as inherited
knowledge, elemental food, or equipment. Of course, it has to be
something that the academy can provide.”

Ai Hui replied without delay, “Dean, I hope to learn the [Big

Dipper] technique.”

“[Big Dipper]?” the dean asked, a little surprised. “This must

be your teacher’s idea. It looks like he’s been guiding you well.
The [Big Dipper] is Central Pine Academy’s greatest inheritance
and, although it isn’t a lost skill, it still has its distinct features.
Learning it is no mean feat since studying the [Big Dipper]
requires the trainee to have seven strong palaces. Oh, I’m so
muddleheaded. Old Wang must have already tested your
constitution before encouraging you to ask for the [Big Dipper].
He just loves to study such things.”

The dean solemnly shook his head, appearing to remember

something from his past.

He walked toward the bookcase, pressing his palm on it. A

complex pattern of light emerged along the bookcase, dazzling
Ai Hui. The next moment, different-colored balls of light
appeared all over the bookcase in a picturesque fashion, each
one about the size of a fist.

The dean retrieved a ball that looked like a dark nebula. The
lump of black vapor in his hand was scattered with tiny dots of
light and was extremely eye-catching. Ai Hui came to a sudden
realization that every one of these balls of light contained an
inheritance.

His gaze fell on the nebula. Could this be the [Big Dipper]?
How is this thing accessed?
 Having never seen something like this before, Ai Hui was
filled with curiosity and anticipation. Ai Hui thought of himself
as a country bumpkin without much experience.

The dean noticed Ai Hui’s nervous anticipation and laughed.

He was reminded of his younger days, back when he first laid
eyes on an inheritance. The sense of nostalgia invoked by this
memory seemed to have cleared up his mind quite a bit.

“Put your hand on it,” instructed the dean.

Ai Hui carefully placed his hand on the nebula in the dean’s

hand.

“Circulate your elemental energy,” the dean continued.

Ai Hui carefully circulated his elemental energy. A bright

flash appeared in front of his eyes and he appeared to have been
dragged into a void. Packed together in dense clusters, stars
were all around Ai Hui.

The star-filled sky suddenly began to revolve.

 The star-filled sky swirled into rings of light, drowning Ai Hui
within. After an indeterminate amount of time, seven stars
emerged from the light rings, tracing out the shape of a ladle.
The ladle rotated and expanded in front of Ai Hui’s eyes,
appearing to fly toward him.

It was quite a while before Ai Hui awoke from the trance-like

state with a violent jerk.

“How does it feel?” the dean asked, smiling.

Ai Hui hesitantly replied, “It’s not easy to describe. It feels as

though I’ve gained some knowledge, but I really can’t say for
sure. Dean, is this the [Big Dipper]?”

“Yes, indeed,” the Dean answered, nodding his head in

affirmation. “This isn’t just the [Big Dipper], it’s the original
[Big Dipper].”

“What do you mean by ‘original’?” Ai Hui was confused.

The dean patiently explained, “The original [Big Dipper] is the

primary source of this inheritance. In accordance with academy
regulations, legacies and skills that are passed on to students are
done so via copies. In addition to the details of the inheritance,
the primary source also contains some of the creator’s
experiences and realizations, making it extremely valuable.
You’ll soon come to realize that every round of replication
results in more information being lost from the original.
Inheritance skillsets that are sold on the market tend to be very
inferior copies. So, do you think you’ve got a good deal?”

The dean was amused by Ai Hui’s look of amazement.

“Definitely,” Ai Hui replied as he attempted to keep his facial

expression in check. He looked up at the dean and continued
weakly, “Although, why am I feeling guilty? I guess there’s no
such thing as a free lunch…”

“You didn’t even falter after experiencing a surprise this huge.

With such mental fortitude, old Wang has indeed taken in a
good student.” The dean was all smiles as he proceeded with his
instructions, “I’ll now continue with the other matter at hand.”

After Ai Hui gave the situation some serious thought, he

realized there was definitely something he had to do to earn
such a reward. Given his current ability, Ai Hui was definitely
not capable of resolving any major issues for the dean. He would
most likely be asked to deal with some minor concern.

The dean paused for a moment before speaking, “You’ll be

cooperating with Shi Xueman and the others from now on. Shi
Xueman, Sang Zhijun, and you will be working hand in hand. I
believe that you three are already quite familiar with one
another. This group, which the three of you will be a part of, is
relatively stronger than the other groups and will thus be
assigned several missions.”

Ai Hui quietly waited for the next part.

“You have rich combat experience. I’ve looked through your

file and noted that you’ve previously stayed in the Wilderness
for three years. It’s no mean feat for a laborer to survive the
Wilderness. I’d say that you have the most combat experience in
the entire academy. Shi Xueman is the leader of the other team,
of which I have no control over. You’ll be the leader of a new
team, taking charge of several outstanding students that will be
handpicked by me. Duanmu Huanghun will be your deputy.
Both of your teams will operate together as a group.”

Ai Hui continued to remain silent.

 “If, and I’m only saying if, the situation becomes critically
dangerous, I hope that you will guarantee Shi Xueman and
Duanmu Huanghun’s safety. Do you understand what I mean?”
The dean spoke solemnly, his gaze set on Ai Hui.

Ai Hui did not avoid the dean’s gaze as he calmly replied, “Do
you mean to say that the others are disposable as long as Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun survive?”

“That’s right!” exclaimed the Dean. Ai Hui had taken the

words right out of his mouth, relieving him of his
apprehensions. “Perhaps the situation won’t degrade to that
point. We’re definitely the first city in line for reinforcements,
so there’ll be support coming to join us.”

“Because of them?” Ai Hui asked.

“Yes,” said the dean while nodding his head. “Life is often
unfair. The lives of some are worth more than others. Although
such things are better left unsaid, this is the truth of the matter.
If something happens to the two of them and the
reinforcements get wind of it, everyone here will be knee deep
in sh*t. Your wealth of experience, mature disposition, and
outstanding swordplay reflect your potential. While these may
not necessarily be useful, I’m still willing to place my bet on
you. For all we know, you might just give me a pleasant
surprise.”

“I accept this mission.”

Ai Hui’s straightforward reply startled the dean. It made the

carefully chosen words of his speech appear to have been for
nought.

The dean was happy to know that he picked the right person.

“However, I have two conditions.”

The dean was again taken aback by Ai Hui’s audacity. Surprise

turned to admiration as he responded, “Say it, if it is within my
means.”

“First, as the leader I’d like to pick the other members myself.
Everyone in my team will have to obey my orders
unconditionally, even Duanmu Huanghun.”

“This, I agree with,” the dean swiftly answered.

 “Second, I need a few spots in the first batch of people to be
evacuated once the reinforcements arrive.”

The dean was gobsmacked. He scrutinized the young man

standing in front of him.

Dark, clear, and calm, Ai Hui’s eyes were as deep as the ocean.

After a moment’s hesitation, the dean asked, “How many

spots do you need?”

”Me, my teacher Wang Shouchuan, his wife Han Yuqin,

Senior Mingxiu, my good friend Qian Dai, as well as my sand
puppet Lou Lan.”

The dean heaved a sigh of relief, “You do not need to worry

about those 3 from the Jade Embroidery Workshop as they have
already been allocated evacuation slots. Adding you in won’t be
a problem either, which means you only need an additional 2
spots. All right, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Ai Hui responded with his own sigh of relief. “Deal.”

The two stood there as they exchanged glances and smiled.
Chapter 154: Recruiting Members
“Dean, regarding that siren earlier, did something happen?”
Ai Hui took the initiative to ask.

The dean suddenly didn’t look too well, but he remained

composed and answered with a reassuring smile, “Nothing
much. Our lookouts were too anxious upon spotting a few blood
fiends close to our defensive perimeter, so they sounded the
alarm.”

From the dean’s voice, Ai Hui could hear that he was

dissatisfied with the city’s elementalists. He regretted letting
the Society of Excellence’s instructors leave; he would have
insisted for Li Wei to stay back if he had known that the blood
disaster would spread to Central Pine City.

Compared to soldiers who had served ten years ago, the elites
from the current Infantry Division felt much more dependable.

Ai Hui felt slightly relieved.

The dean didn’t say much else besides telling him how to
collect his reward from the magistrate court and to pick out his
team as soon as possible. Shi Xueman’s team would then be able
to join up with his. The dean had many other matters to take
care of, he hadn’t intended to spend so much time on Ai Hui’s
issue since it was merely a last minute decision. Wang Zhen was
his biggest hope.

Never before had the dean imagined that he would pin this
much faith in a student. Moreover, this was only his first time
meeting Ai Hui.

Perhaps many years down the road he’ll look back and
remember how panic-stricken and desperate he was. Like a
drowning man, he’d gladly grab onto anything he can find.
Although, he could not deny that Ai Hui was different from any
other student he had ever met.

This youth, who wasn’t exceptionally powerful, had a certain

air about him. His eyes were as calm as the deep sea,
unaggressive and restrained. He had a maturity and mellowness
that you would often find only in those of middle age, and only
in individuals who had a wealth of worldly experience. It was
difficult to ascribe such a manner to a youth of only 16.

When serious, he would become as keen as a knife’s edge.

 He had, generally speaking, an aura of elegance.

Ai Hui bade farewell to the dean and walked through Central

Pine Academy.

To prevent the blood poison from spreading, the trees in the

academy’s garden had to be cut down. Trees that were hundreds
of years old were not spared either, and their roots were
thoroughly destroyed for safety. Playful and joy-filled scenes
under those great trees were now only distant memories, and
the campus once filled with lush greenery had become utterly
bare, like a battlefield devoid of life.

The young, tender faces of the students were riddled with

signs of panic, their eyes filled with fear and confusion. Several
teachers were delivering announcements while flying over the
academy grounds, using elemental energy to project their voices
all around the school. The announcements made known the
administration’s decision to make a set of skills available, which
were, in the past, only taught to those with additional
contributions. A group of teachers was organized to impart
these skills in the hope that it will aid the students in fighting
the blood poison.

It looked like things had really gone south.

 Ai Hui’s mood was inexplicably low. Central Pine City was the
safest and most peaceful place he had ever known. It was a place
filled with sunshine, dreams, and vigor—the complete opposite
of what he had encountered in his past. Here, there were no
massacres, no chilling nights, and no need to be on guard all the
time. He remembered how much he had wanted to just stay in
Central Pine City forever.

This was the world he had yearned for in his dreams.

Was it now time to wake up from this dream?

Ai Hui was devastated.

“Disciple!”

Teacher Wang was panting hard as his voice dragged Ai Hui

out of his emotional state. The grief and sadness he had just
experienced were quickly buried deep within the recesses of his
mind. Raising his head in surprise, Ai Hui called out,
“Teacher!”.

“I’ve finally found you,” Wang Shouchuan said as he tried to

catch his breath. He was drenched in sweat. “Everyone was
worried about you when we heard the siren. The situation
doesn’t look too good. How did the blood catastrophe end up
like this? Has it actually worsened this much?”

Wang Shouchuan looked around as he spoke, his eyes filled

with sentiment. He had been a teacher in Central Pine Academy
for twenty years, and he had deeply-rooted feelings for the
school. It wasn’t hard to imagine just how much this desolate
sight upset him.

He effortfully suppressed the throbbing heartache and told Ai

Hui, “Follow me to the embroidery workshop. We’ll weather
out the storm there with your mistress. With her around,
nothing bad can happen! All these blood insects aren’t even a
match for her soles.”

Wang Shouchuan spoke highly of his partner, describing her

as though she was a valiant general capable of crushing all
opposition.

Ai Hui did not tell him about his agreement with the dean,
and instead, he shook his head and replied, “Your disciple
humbly wishes to contribute whatever he can to help fight
against the disaster. In the face of calamity, should one not
calmly resist? Having escaped from the Garden of Life, I have a
better understanding of the blood catastrophe than most
people. Don’t worry, Master, I’ll hurry back to the embroidery
workshop if things truly get out of hand.”

The determination in Ai Hui’s eyes gave Wang Shouchuan a

great headache. This disciple of his was excellent in many ways,
but he was such a stubborn individual. Nobody could shake his
resolve once his decision was made.

Moreover, his disciple’s way of thinking wasn’t wrong.

Assuming responsibility instead of escaping in such times was
indeed a precious quality. Wang Shouchuan was conflicted. He
didn’t want his disciple to be a coward, but he feared for Ai
Hui’s safety as well. He thought about it for a moment before
asking, “What do you plan to do?”

“The administration intends to organize a team of elite

students with me as the leader. Duanmu Huanghun is also a
part of this. We’ll be working together with Shi Xueman’s
team.” Ai Hui continued, “I have also absorbed the original [Big
Dipper], and I need to process this inheritance as well.”

“The dean gave you the original [Big Dipper]?” Wang

Shouchuan asked in disbelief. “Has he gone mad?”
 It took Wang Shouchuan a whole ten seconds to regain his
composure, his displeasure betrayed by the deep frown on his
forehead. “The dean’s move reveals that he has abandoned all
backup plans, meaning that the situation is much worse than I
had imagined. You must be careful and escape to the
embroidery workshop at the first sign of trouble, do you
understand? I need to go back and make preparations with your
mistress. The way things are, I wouldn’t be surprised if the
embroidery workshop becomes conscripted as well.”

His master left with a heavy heart. However, hearing the

names Duanmu Huanghun and Shi Xueman consoled him a
little, as he knew how highly the dean regarded those two.

Ai Hui set off to find Duanmu Huanghun without any further

delay.

There was no time to dwell on past grudges.

Duanmu Huanghun was still slightly embarrassed to see Ai

Hui, especially since he had to be his deputy. If someone had
brought up something like that before the calamity, he’d
definitely have dismissed that person as insane. Now, however,
he was clearly aware that Ai Hui was much more suited for the
role of a team leader. Ai Hui had played a pivotal role in the past
two escapes from the blood fiends’ clutches.

Although he was a bit vexed, Duanmu Huanghun spoke

calmly. “Give me the list of names and I’ll gather the members.”

Ai Hui went straight to the point. “You, me, Fatty, Lou Lan,
Jiang Wei, and Wang Xiaoshan. We shall assemble at the
Vanguard Training hall.”

Duanmu Huanghun furrowed his brows. He had assumed that

Ai Hui would select students with exceptional abilities and not
this motley crew. Jiang Wei was pretty capable, but Wang
Xiaoshan, the earth elementalist who had built the mound in
the Garden of Life, was mediocre. He had never seen Fatty
demonstrate anything before, but he knew there was nothing
special about him either. At least Lou Lan was a good pick as his
healing ability would definitely come in handy.

Ai Hui knew what Duanmu Huanghun was thinking and

directly asserted, “Do you think the number of activated palaces
will matter in front of the blood fiends?”

Duanmu Huanghun was at a loss for words. There would

indeed be no significant difference if they were facing larger
blood fiends.

Ai Hui glanced at Duanmu Huanghun and said, “We will not

be handling dangerous missions. The elementalists, teachers,
and training ground personnel will be around to take those. To
be precise, we’re just here as a backup, dealing with smaller
things like blood insects. Furthermore, we’ll be working with
Shi Xueman’s team. They’ll be the ones going up against the
stronger blood fiends. That’s why trust is more important than
ability for our team.”

Duanmu Huanghun wasn’t comfortable being told that his

role wasn’t particularly important. For a genius, being
overlooked was a difficult pill to swallow.

He knew, however, that Ai Hui was merely stating facts, and

that the things he said made sense.

“If you insist, I have no objections,” Duanmu Huanghun said

expressionlessly. “I’ll perform my role as your deputy as
required.”

It took a lot out of him to say the word “deputy.”

 Since when had Brother Huanghun ever been someone’s
assistant?

Since when had Brother Huanghun ever been slighted by

others?

Having experienced a series of disturbing events up till now,

Duanmu Huanghun felt extremely discontent. He couldn’t find
an outlet to vent his frustration.

He may be a prideful individual, but he wasn’t someone who

made a fuss out of everything. Things that he had to bear with
gritted teeth only served to trigger Duanmu Huanghun into
action.

“I’ll definitely surpass you in every way!” Duanmu Huanghun

swore to himself.

Ai Hui was unaware of the vows that Duanmu Huanghun was

silently swearing, but it wasn’t as if he’d give a hoot if he knew.
He looked Duanmu Huanghun in the eye and said, “Let’s begin.”

Duanmu Huanghun went off to find Jiang Wei and Wang

Xiaoshan while Ai Hui headed towards Manager Li’s shop.

……

AI Hui was flabbergasted when he saw Manager Li. He

exclaimed, “What happened to you, Old Li?”

Manager Li’s hair had all turned white as though he had aged
rapidly.

Manager Li laughed bitterly and avoided his question. “I was

just about to look for you; we have to settle the money for the
Bunny Hair. Bunny Hair Arrows have been selling like hotcakes,
and I can hardly keep up with the demand. Here’s twenty
million, keep it safe. If nothing happens over the next ten days,
you can come over to settle the bill again.”

Ai Hui kept the money, but strangely, he didn’t feel any

happiness upon receiving it.

“Old Li, are there any more Bunny Hair Arrows in the shop?
Please keep some from the next batch for me.”
 Manager Li happily agreed. “No problem.”

Ai Hui continued to ask, “Are there any more heavy shields in

the store?”

“Heavy shields?” Manager Li responded with a nod. “Almost

all of the arms have been expropriated by the magistrate court.
All I have left are some of this second-hand heavy equipment
from years ago. I haven’t been able to sell them because they’re
too heavy. Come take a look, you can have whatever you like
since they’re not worth much anyway.”

Ai Hui followed Manager Li to the storehouse where he really

saw a bunch of rusty second-hand heavy gear. Ai Hui picked out
an ironwood shield weighing over 150 kilograms. He brushed off
the dust and polished off the rust, revealing a shield as sturdy as
a wall. It was incredibly solid, truly an excellent find.

Ai Hui thanked Manager Li before lugging the ironwood

shield back to the training ground.

The Dragonspine Inferno he was carrying on his body

weighed 110 kilograms. In addition to that, he was lugging the
even heavier ironwood shield which weighed about 170
kilograms, a combined weight of 280 kilograms. Carrying such
heavy items thoroughly exhausted Ai Hui, reminding him of his
days as a laborer in the Wilderness as he panted heavily.

After much effort, he finally managed to carry the shield back

to the training ground. As he entered, he heard Lou Lan
cheering, “Ai Hui is back!”

Before Ai Hui could put the shield down, however, he heard

Fatty frantically shout, “Come quickly, take a look at this!”
Chapter 155: Message Tree
Come quickly and take a look?

Ai Hui put the shield down and asked, “You’re done with your
training?”

Fatty sluggishly answered, “Is anyone ever done with their

training? Come quickly, some of the leaves on your message tree
are glowing, someone has sent a message. Wow, this is really
advanced, I’m really excited to be able to see something so
advanced. Please understand that it’s the first time a country
bumpkin like me has seen something like this.”

Message tree?

Ai Hui paused for a moment, suddenly recalling the

nonsensical words that had previously appeared on one of its
leaves.

“I have no idea who among you are still alive, but I know that
no one can stop them. They have already completed the
necessary preparations. Everything will change in sixty days.
Who will protect the Avalon of Five Elements?”
 Ai Hui remembered the message clearly. He had attempted to
understand this seemingly nonsensical message several times
but to no avail.

He had felt that the other party was abnormal and should
totally see a doctor. Until now, he had thought that the message
was just a prank and had buried it somewhere in the back of his
mind. However, hearing Fatty mention the message tree
reminded him of that message, which he now saw clearly in his
head.

Everything will change...

Ai Hui inevitably thought of the blood catastrophe. It was

most certainly a catastrophe capable of being called an
‘incredible change.’ Hadn’t Central Pine City and the Induction
Ground both already changed drastically?

Wait a minute! If the blood catastrophe was what the other

party was referring to...

“No one can stop them” seemed to indicate that the blood
catastrophe was set in motion by some people. Ai Hui let out an
angry hiss. He had also once thought that this might have been
the case.

The blood poison needed a period of incubation before it could

complete its metamorphosis. The Garden of Life was
undoubtedly a good choice. Nobody would notice anything
different in a forgotten area flooded with all sorts of strange
vegetation. Besides the students that went there for excursions,
the Garden of Life was desolate and uninhabited. Moreover,
there were no powerful dire beasts out there, only wild beasts.
Perhaps the blood poison was extremely weak in its early
stages?

The Garden of Life could be said to be an excellent breeding

ground for the blood poison, and it had allowed the poison to
continuously spread and transform the blood beasts.

It was already too late by the time the blood poison started to
break out. What’s worse was that the Induction Ground did not
have any stationed troops from the elite Thirteen Divisions at
the time, thus causing them to be unable to adapt quickly
enough to fend off the sudden outbreak.

The number of coincidences made Ai Hui think that the blood

catastrophe was planned, but he promptly dismissed the
thought after feeling that he might be too paranoid. Who would
deliberately make such a blood poison? What good would it do
for them? Ai Hui could not think of a good reason.

But what if the other party really was referring to the blood
catastrophe?

Ai Hui hesitated for a moment, juggling the strange message

around in his mind.

“I have no idea who among you is still alive” implied that

there was a group of people—maybe his friends? It didn’t seem
like it though, perhaps it was a group of sorts? “Is still alive”
implied that this group of people was either very old or trapped
in dire circumstances. Either way, they were people facing
death.

Does the “them” in the message then refer to the people who
initiated the blood catastrophe?

The thing that didn’t add up was the “60 days” mentioned in
the message. Ai Hui had gone on the excursion the next day
after receiving the message. The blood poison incident had also
come shortly after.
 It had been 32 days since Ai Hui had received the strange
message, which meant that the blood catastrophe had started 28
days after the message.

The sender must have postulated incorrectly.

Or was he not talking about the blood catastrophe?

“Everything will change” probably meant that the event

would create an impact large enough to alter the Avalon of Five
Elements. “Who will protect the Avalon of Five Elements?”
insinuated that the change wasn’t going to be a good thing, it
was more likely a calamity.

It was this last sentence that led Ai Hui to think of the blood
catastrophe. He couldn’t think of any other event that had the
ability to drastically change the Avalon of Five Elements.

But if it, indeed, referred to the blood catastrophe, the timing

was an issue.

“Ai Hui, why are you daydreaming?” Fatty asked as he walked

over, deeply concerned. “Are your injuries still not healed? Lan
Lan, quickly give Ai Hui a check up.”

“No problem!” Lou Lan replied, his eyes flashing. “Ai Hui is
very healthy!”

Ai Hui snapped out of his thoughts, mocking himself for

overthinking and being paranoid.

But wait….

Ai Hui pointed at Lou Lan and questioned Fatty, “What did

you call him?”

“Lan Lan,” Fatty answered matter-of-factly.

Ai Hui shivered, clearly grossed out. “Lan Lan? Please don’t

give me goosebumps. Lou Lan is my sand puppet, you’d better
not mangle his name.”

Fatty innocently replied, “What about Lou Lou?”

 “Why are you not called Dai Dai, then?” Ai Hui could barely
spit out those two words.

“Oh, you know my childhood nickname!” Fatty exclaimed

with his eyes opened wide in surprise. “I’ve never told you this
before!”

Ai Hui couldn’t be bothered to continue talking. He pointed to

the ironwood shield on the floor. “This is for you.”

Fatty looked at the ironwood shield lying on the floor, dazed

by its great thickness. “Ai Hui, are you sure about this? I’m
supposed to use this? Ai Hui, I haven’t seen you for just a few
months, and you’ve already forgotten my light and graceful
fighting style?”

“Light and graceful? I think you mean hit and run?” Ai Hui
sneered and pressed on without giving Fatty a chance to rebut.
“I need someone to wield a shield, and I think you’re the most
suitable person to do it. We can’t waste all that flesh, now can
we?”

Fatty replied anxiously, “This is all fat…”

 Ai Hui swiftly interrupted, “Are you doing it? Return me my
money if you aren’t going to do it!”

Fatty slumped his body and pleaded, “Ai Hui, we’ve been
brothers for so many years…”

“You still need to return the money!” Ai Hui said bluntly. “If
you cannot afford to pay up then you’d better be my shieldman.
You’ll be well fed with noodles and meat, and you can even play
with Lou Lan.”

Lou Lan morphed into three words—“play with you”—that

flitted about.

“Lou Lan is such a good boy,” Ai Hui said, smiling at Lou Lan
with the warmth of spring. But an expression as cold as winter
immediately took over his face when he turned to Fatty.
“You’ve played with this before, time to pick it up again,” he
ordered.

Fatty’s head hung low as he marched unsteadily towards the

ironwood shield. The overly-dramatic Fatty looked as if he was
part of a funeral procession.
 Ai Hui ignored him and instructed, “Lou Lan, make sure he
completes all three hundred sets of shield raises. No dinner for
him if he misses even a single set.”

“The one with the surname Ai!” Fatty shouted through

clenched teeth. Gone was the Fatty who was filled with despair,
he was now a raging brown bear.

“No problem! I will not miss a single count!” Lou Lan said
happily, clearly excited to be of help to Ai Hui.

With a bang, Lou Lan morphed into three ‘zeroes’ and started
to count.

Seeing Lou Lan’s new form, Fatty’s expression changed to one

of dread. Using a flattering voice, he promptly whispered, “Lan
Lan, think of all the fun we had just now, aren’t we good
brothers? Good brothers should help each other out. Come on,
help me count a few free sets and I’ll play with you in the
future.”

Fatty immediately noticed the sand figures changing swiftly,

making him beam with joy.
 Bang!

The numbers suddenly returned to zero.

Fatty was stunned.

“Add another hundred sets! That’s four hundred sets

together! Miss one set and there’ll be no food for you!”

Ai Hui’s voice boomed from behind. Fatty trembled as Lou

Lan displayed “400.” As if he was afraid that Fatty couldn’t see
it clearly, Lou Lan doubled the size of the numbers and brought
it right in front of his eyes. The sand counter then reset to
“000.”

“They’re all in this together… crooks working hand in glove

with one another.”

Fatty ranted on as he brandished the shield.

Ai Hui took a glance at Fatty and smiled. Ai Hui knew best just
how lazy this fellow could be. He would definitely not stand if
he could sit, and he definitely wouldn’t sit if he could lie down.
One of these days, he would succumb to his laziness.

All men must die eventually.

Nobody would have cared if Fatty had just died quietly

somewhere, but it was just his luck to have bumped into Ai Hui.

Ai Hui had a premonition that the blood catastrophe had only

just started. The blood beasts outside of the city were growing
stronger, while the situation within Central Pine City was
worsening. Without the Thirteen Divisions, the only people
they could depend on were the teachers, students, and the
guards of the training grounds. Was this really enough to repel
the beasts?

Ai Hui wasn’t sure, but he knew that Central Pine City was no
longer the peaceful city he once knew. It was now a battlefield.

Everyone needed to fight for their own destiny.

Ai Hui knew that Fatty was a coward who would flee at first
sight of danger, so he did not mention much else. However, the
blood poison had already spread to the Induction Ground, so
where could they flee to?

There was nowhere to run.

Ai Hui looked at the message tree and saw one of its leaves
glowing as if it was breathing. It was the same leaf as before.

Ai Hui grabbed a pen from his room before walking towards

the tree.

Somehow, he found himself unusually nervous.

He felt as if a riddle was about to unravel before his eyes.

“Are you still alive?”

Ai Hui read the four words several times. He thought about

his experiences over the past few days, which now felt like an
eternity ago. To be honest, the battle at the Garden of Life
hadn’t had much of an impact on him. He was, after all, not new
to this game. He might be weak, but he was experienced in
combat.

Witnessing the drastic changes that befell Central Pine City

was what truly affected him.

A dreamscape was shattered.

Ai Hui could sense the sender’s urgency, so he lifted his pen

and began to write.

“I’m still alive.”

He stared at the black ink fading into the leaf, reminding

himself to be as patient and calm as he used to be while hunting
dire beasts in the Wilderness.

A short while later, the leaf on his hand lit up again. “Thank
the heavens you’re alive! Can you tell me where you are now?
How is the Avalon of Five Elements doing?”

Ai Hui pondered over what to reply before putting his pen to

the leaf.
 “Are you referring to the blood catastrophe? The situation has
gone out of control, with the Induction Ground being dragged
into it. Who are you?”

Being cautious, he didn’t reveal his location. He had no idea if

the other party was well-intentioned or malicious, trustworthy
or otherwise. Also, if the “you” that was mentioned in the first
message referred to a group, they would very likely be enemies
with the people who unleashed the blood poison.

Ai Hui remembered the noodle shop girl telling him that this
message tree was ancient.

He had a feeling that this message tree had a complicated past.

The people and circumstances that were entwined with it were
definitely not minor characters like himself.

He had no interest in becoming a part of such matters.

All he wanted to do was survive—to make it out of this blood

catastrophe alive. He was just like everyone else, desperately
grasping at straws to prevent himself from drowning.
 Ai Hui was a little distracted. How would the other party
reply? Is the blood catastrophe really man-made? Why? Why
would anyone do such a thing?

He patiently waited for an answer.

The reply took a bit longer this time.

Ai Hui came back to his senses as the leaf began to glow again.

Had fate finally revealed its hand?

Chapter 156: Conflicts
“I am just an old prisoner. Ah, so it turned out to be the
Induction Ground. Although I have known for a long time that
the catastrophe is coming, I still feel sorrowful after your
confirmation. If you are trapped in the blood catastrophe,
please be reminded that you must not touch any blood, because
not only wounds but any skin exposure to the Blood of God will
get you infected.”

Ai Hui’s eyes were burning when he saw the words “Blood of

God.” It really was funny—the blood poison, which had caused
countless disasters and deaths, was actually called the “Blood of
God.” What kind of “god” could be so evil?

“Blood of God?”

“The masterpiece of the insane, the perfect combination of a

blood-refined sect from ancient times and the wood
elementalists of the Avalon of Five Elements. The Blood of God
can be traced back to a hundred years ago, where they had
already been secretly studying it for fifty years. It wasn’t until
thirty years ago that we had finally noticed their dirty tricks,
but it was too late. They had become very powerful and had
long been eyeing us. We had failed.”
 Ai Hui was about to ask “Who are they, and who are you?” but
he restrained his curiosity. Once he knew the answers to those
two questions, he would be officially involved in their conflict,
which may bring him many troubles.

All he desired was to be alive and live a quiet life. He didn’t

want to be involved in any conflicts.

So, instead, he asked, “Last time, you said that everything will
change in sixty days. What did you mean?”

“I only know that they have a big plan, but I don’t know the
details. They have been planning for a long time, and the blood
catstrophe is only the beginning.”

This answer made Ai Hui more unwilling to get involved. It

was clear now who played their cards better. The enemies could
devote themselves to study for one hundred years, arrange
everything delicately, and also leave room for maneuvers. The
old prisoner’s side, on the other hand, only noticed the
abnormality after fifty years and were caught due to their
carelessness. And they still didn’t know much about their
enemy.
 Suddenly, Ai Hui heard some noise outside.

He quickly wrote on the leaf, “Someone is coming.”

Then he left as if nothing had happened. He didn’t know why,

but intuitively, he believed it was better to not tell others about
the message tree.

At first, Ai Hui had thought that Duanmu Huanghun was

coming back. However, he paused when he saw the faces of the
comers.

There was a ponytailed girl in a white-blue armor, and she

was heavily armed. Her pretty but cold face attracted everyone’s
attention, and her awe-inspiring eyes were as pure as untouched
crystal.

What impressed Ai Hui the most was the spear in her hand.

He could not tell what the snow-white spear was made of, but
it was surrounded by a white cloud, and the tip was as shiny as
the water of a lake.
 The white-blue armor was delicately made. The texture of the
blue part was crystal-like and as clear as the sea, while the white
part was like the snow or the clouds. It looked light and handy
without the heaviness of ordinary armors, and Ai Hui could tell
at first glance that it must be expensive.

The girl’s waistline was outlined by the armor, and with her
ponytail hanging down almost to her waist, she looked agile and
fresh.

Hmm, this girl seemed familiar…

When Ai Hui saw the inimitable Golden Silk Longbow, he

suddenly realized that they were the two who had fought
against the blood bat with him that night. Girls would be totally
changed in different attire. Oh! He suddenly remembered that
one of them was Shi Xueman and the other was Sang Zhijun.

Wait…Shi Xueman?

She was Shi Xueman?

Ai Hui’s jaw dropped as he stared at the vigorous girl blankly.

Only then did he realize that the Shi Xueman that the Dean had
told him about was that Shi Xueman!

Ai Hui was not a green hand who had just come to the
Induction Ground. He had heard of the goddess’ name before.

The blood bat had died a worthy death, Ai Hui thought. He

knew who he was, and it was already beyond his capacity to
resist an attack of the blood bat. It seemed that he should thank
this pretty girl. It was because of her excellent fighting skills
that he was still alive.

When Shi Xueman noticed Ai Hui’s stunned face, she didn’t

show any expression, but in her heart, she felt complacent.
However, the next second, she remembered that she was what
this guy called “a skank,” and the complacency disappeared. Her
face darkened, and she said coldly, “Come in, everybody.”

Ai Hui felt a bit weird. The girl seemed unhappy?

And she glared at him?

Why? He didn’t remember ever offending her before.

 Ai Hui shook his head. He suddenly felt that it was funny that
he had thought that he could understand females. It was okay,
though. He wasn’t alone. Fatty, for sure, could not understand
them either.

Fatty…

Ai Hui suddenly turned and saw Fatty, who was taking a rest.
With a darkened face, he said, “Lou Lan, one hundred sets more
for Fatty.”

Fatty’s face quickly turned pale, and he returned to

continuing to wave the shield ruefully.

Sang Zhijun was puzzled as she watched the two standing in

front of her. Xueman had been in good mood on her way here,
and Ai Hui had also seemed fine when they had just arrived.
Why did both of them suddenly become so unpleasant?

Then, a group of people walked into the training hall, the

sight of which caused Ai Hui to feel dizzy.

They were all in magnificent and glaring equipment, the

colorful lights of which dazzled him. They were like human-
shaped shelves with various shining equipment was on display.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple…They

should be named ‘the group of the rainbow.’

They were rich indeed…

Ai Hui was stunned. Prodigal kids! He didn’t need to look back

to know that Fatty must be as astonished as he was because
Fatty would always be like this whenever he saw something
expensive. So, without even looking at Fatty, he shouted, “If
you are lazy again, I’ll add a hundred sets more.”

Fatty was so frightened that he almost lost some weight, and

he immediately continued to practice. He felt Ai Hui to be much
more frightening than before.

Ai Hui’s eyes were clear, and he immediately noticed the

unfriendly gazes of the colorful guys.

Everyone looked at Ai Hui up and down maliciously but did

not find anything special. They had been unwilling to follow
even Shi Xueman’s lead, much less this unknown guy.

But Shi Xueman outperformed them both in terms of fighting

skills and family background, so they had to obey.

But Ai Hui—just who was he?

These guys were all very proud, and some of them were even
preparing to give Ai Hui a good beating.

Ai Hui knew what they were thinking as soon as he saw their

expressions.

He didn’t understand females indeed, but he knew very well

what men thought. Ai Hui snorted in his heart.

If it were not for the escape quota, he wouldn’t bother to care

about them.

“Fatty, you can stop practicing for a while. Come here.”

 On hearing Ai Hui’s words, Fatty happily ran to him at once
with the shield in his hand.

Shi Xueman also noticed the unfriendly environment, and her

eyes became cold. At first, she had wanted Ai Hui to join her
team, but with the consideration that the other teammates
might reject him, it was finally decided that Ai Hui would lead
another team.

Her father once told her that if there was one thing she was
not good at, then she should leave it to someone who was—
especially when the situation was important.

She knew of Ai Hui’s ability very well. Although he may not

be the best fighter, he could be the best leader.

Shi Xueman displayed her attitude clearly. “It is my

suggestion to follow Ai Hui’s lead. Do you have any objections?”

Sang Zhijun said without hesitation, “I agree.”

“I don’t. If it’s you, Xueman, I’m fine with it. But why does
this unknown guy suddenly become our team leader?”
 It was out of Shi Xueman’s expectation for the first one to
object to be He Qiuming, whom she had always regarded as a
sedate member of the team.

If Li Hai was a disorderly guy because of his family

background, then He Qiuming was a person who was always
responsible in his behavior. His objection made her realize that
her suggestion might have been a bit reckless.

“That’s right. How can such a small potato ride on our back
and piss and sh*t on us?” Li Hai’s rudeness made everybody
frown.

“I don’t agree either!”

“Neither do I!”

Six members out of eight were against the suggestion.

Duanmu Huanghun didn’t expect to see such an embarrassing

scene when he had just entered. Meanwhile, Jiang Wei and
Wang Xiaoshan, who were standing beside him, were full of
anger.
 “A Hui, let’s do it ourselves. Why do we have to team up with
them?” Jiang Wei gazed at them with hostility.

“Yes, why do we have to?” Wang Xiaoshan also agreed with

Jiang Wei.

Both of them had escaped from the Garden of Life with Ai Hui
all the way, and they admired him from the bottom of their
hearts. Now, their blood was boiling when they saw the
contempt the others had for Ai Hui.

Shi Xueman felt a headache coming on; she hadn't expected

her first proposal to be strongly opposed by both sides.

There were things in the world that before you really

experienced, you would not know how naive you were.

“It’s okay.” Ai Hui appeared to be at peace. “I think the overall

capacity of your team is good enough. Then will you six make
up a team, and let the two girls join our team because we are a
bit weaker?”

Fatty, who was standing beside Ai Hui, felt heart tremble

when he heard his words. Ai Hui was becoming more and more
insidious. It was clear that he didn’t bother to care about those
guys.

Fatty was right—Ai Hui was more than willing to leave them
aside. They had nothing to do with him. He clearly remembered
that the dean had asked him to guarantee the safety of only two
people—one was Shi Xueman, and the other was Duanmu
Huanghun.

As to the others…

It was none of his business.

“No!”

The six boys all disagreed. Shi Xueman was their goddess, and
Sang Zhijun was also very pretty. They were the only two girls
in their team. How could they surrender so submissively? Did
he think they were so stupid?

Even He Qiuming, who was relatively good-tempered, felt

furious upon hearing this suggestion.
 Now, Ai Hui knew what the dean was thinking. It was all
bullshit when he asked Ai Hui to lead them. All these guys were
so supercilious that they would not even obey the dean. How
could he expect them to listen to his commands?

What the dean actually wanted him to do was clean up the

mess they left behind, and protect Shi Xueman in times of
emergency.

Clean up the mess…

“Or why don’t you tell me your suggestion, and let’s have a
nice discussion?”

Ai Hui smiled as he walked towards them, and Fatty followed

him flatteringly with the shield in his hand. He was staring at
their equipment with admiration, and it seemed like he was
resisting the temptation to touch it.

A light flashed in Shi Xueman’s eyes. She had a vague

premonition that something was about to happen.

Meanwhile, Duanmu Huanghun’s heart trembled; he was one

hundred percent sure that something was going to happen.

And where was Lou Lan?

A person who is new to or inexperienced at a particular

activity; a novice.
Chapter 157: Beat Down
Looking at Ai Hui’s friendly face, Li Hai displayed his
unabashed contempt and scorn. “Haha! He is just a jellyfish!
How can such a guy lead us?”

Then, when he saw Fatty, who was gazing at him with eyes
full of admiration, he couldn’t help but sneer. “Poor wretch!
Never seen this before, huh? Come on; I’ll let you touch it. I bet
you have never seen such high-level equipment in your whole
damn life. Hahaha!”

Seeing the veneration in Fatty’s eyes, Li Hai laughed out even

more wantonly.

He Qiuming was more or less relieved. He was worried that if

Ai Hui had also insisted, Shi Xueman would be unable to solve
this embarrassing problem. If they were on opposing sides, it
would be tough for them to fight against Shi Xueman and Sang
Zhijun, too. Moreover, even if they really did not need to fight,
if Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun were willing to follow that guy,
there was nothing they could do.

Now, it seemed that it was not yet the worst situation.

 He Qiuming glanced at Shi Xueman, whose face was
inscrutable. It appeared that she was not very attached to that
guy; otherwise, Shi Xueman, who was usually so irritable,
would have already initiated a fight.

But why did the goddess have such a strange expression?

Ai Hui was speechless when he witnessed the response of the

guy in front of him. He has so close to him, but that guy was still
looking at girls with such fascination. Guys like this would have
died a thousand deaths on the battlefield. Clean up their mess?
Stop kidding…

“What suggestion do you have...”

Before he could finish his sentence, He Qiuming suddenly felt

his vision blur, and before he could even react, his abdomen was
heavily attacked. His expression suddenly froze.

His gaze was fixed on Ai Hui as if he still could not believe he

was attacked.

Ai Hui could feel the fluctuations of elemental energy on the

silk clothes. Evidently, He Qiuming’s clothes had either high
protection capabilities or other unique functions.

If it were the Wilderness, he would have killed him without

hesitation.

What a pity…

Although Ai Hui didn’t use his elemental energy at all, the

punch was still powerful. He Qiuming’s body was arched like a
shrimp. He wanted to say something, but no words could come
out.

Meanwhile, Fatty, who had been fascinated by the armor just

now, suddenly had a change in expression. His fingers shot to
the slits of Li Hai’s armor, and he abruptly grabbed it and lifted
Li Hai’s body, which was massive and tall, with one hand, like a
furious brown bear.

Sensing his feet leave the ground, Li Hai was dumbstruck, and
his unruly laughter abruptly stopped.

Fatty grabbed the shield with the other hand and clapped his
hands hard, causing Li Hai to heavily dash against the wall-thick
Ironwood Shield. A muffled sound could be heard.

After such a strike, Li Hai was limp and feeble, and Fatty
threw him away like a rag.

“You are looking for trouble!”

“What are you doing?”

“Are you crazy?”

The other four panicked and cried out in reproach at almost

the same time.

Idiots!

Ai Hui didn’t even want to make a comment. These fellows

were just threatening in manner but cowardly at heart. It truly
was hilarious that their first reaction towards an attack was to
reprimand instead of to fight back.
 In the blink of an eye, Ai Hui flashed to another person who
stood nearby.

Staying so close to one’s enemy without any self-protection

was tantamount to suicide. The closer the distance was, the
lesser the time the opponent had to react, which was obviously
more advantageous to Ai Hui.

Ai Hui rapidly invaded into the other guy’s field of vision,

causing him to scream and step back subconsciously. However,
he was now somehow trapped, and he lost his balance and fell
backward. He struggled to stay steady, but the next second, he
saw Ai Hui’s leg smashing towards him from high above like a
hefty axe.

No!

He subconsciously crossed his arms in front of his face for self-

protection. His elemental energy was surging within his body.

With a frightening whistle, Ai Hui’s leg smashed onto his

arms heavily.
 Bang!

The guy was like a floating gourd ladle that was suddenly
attacked and sank into the water.

His arms were aching, and under the tremendous force, his
back hit the floor hard. Severe pain shot through his body as his
mind went blank.

A wisp of sand slipped away from his feet.

It must be admitted that there were some people in the world

who could become friends quickly. Then, they would gradually
become more and more alike before beginning to act
harmoniously in collusion with each other.

For example, Lou Lan, who initially knew nothing about

combat, had perfectly copied Ai Hui’s fighting style within such
a short period of time. When Ai Hui had been walking towards
the boys, Lou Lan had already transformed into a wisp of sand
and had crept like a snake in the grass.

The other three students wanted to keep away from Ai Hui,

but they found their ankles to be already tangled by the sand.

The sand was not very powerful, but at this point in time, it
played a pivotal role.

The Ironwood Shield that Fatty was wielding was like a thick
and solid wall. In such a narrow area, the whistling shield could
cover all the three guys, whose faces immediately turned pale.

Almost by instinct, they used their best defensive moves.

There was no cooperation between them. Everyone was

defending independently, and they evidently had no trust in the
others. If any one of them were to put up a fight with Fatty,
however, he might be able to win some buffer time for the other
two.

When Ai Hui was at the dean’s office, he had been considering

how he could lead the two teams well. Now, though, he did not
want to take them with him at all.

The only thing in his mind was to get rid of them.

 In the growling whistling sound of the shield in Fatty’s hand,
Ai Hui arched his back and rushed forward like a ghost to the
student standing farthest from him, who was protected by three
flames that kept circling around him.

Between the flames. Ai Hui stabbed at him with his

Dragonspine Inferno, like a snake in the dark.

Just as the Dragonspine Inferno was about to get him, the

flames suddenly exploded, and everything was shrouded in a
dazzling light.

Ai Hui could see nothing but white light. In the midst of the
student’s scream, he stepped forward, and with a powerful jerk
of the Dragonspine Inferno, Ai Hui hit him as if the
Dragonspine Inferno was a whip.

The student gave out a shrill cry and flew backward across the
air.

The sudden flash temporarily blinded everyone, yet the gap in

the strength of the two sides had already determined the result
of the fight.
 Fatty didn’t withdraw. In such a circumstance, the power of
the shield was not influenced at all.

And when Ai Hui whipped the student with his Dragonspine

Inferno, he had heard his scream, and at that moment, the
whistle of the Ironwood Shield and the scream of the student
revealed their location.

They were behind him!

Without any hesitation, Ai Hui stepped hard on the ground

and jumped backward like a flying arrow.

The moment he felt his back touch something, he used

[Arching Fish Back] boldly.

An overwhelming power passed from Ai Hui’s back to the one

behind him.

Ping!

Something broke into pieces like glass, and he could feel the
absence of any resistance. He then slammed into the other guy’s
body.

Pang!

There was a muffled sound, and the guy was hit by a strong
force—it was like hitting a beast running wildly towards him,
and he was flung away. Ai Hui didn’t need to check to know that
he had lost consciousness. The [Arching Fish Back] could create
a significant dent in the walls of the Suspending Golden Pagoda,
and Ai Hui was not sure if he himself could bear the entire force
of the [Arching Fish Back] he just used without being injured.

Anyways, as long as Lou Lan was here, any injury could be

healed. It would be alright as long as nobody was dead. As for
possible revenge in the future, Ai Hui didn’t want to spare time
to think about it.

He wasn’t even sure whether he could leave Central Pine City

alive, so for the moment, he did not want to think about what
would happen in the future.

Bang!
 The deafening crash of metal was piercing to the ears.

Suddenly, Ai Hui felt sympathetic toward the student who

confronted Fatty with his Ironwood Shield which was 175
kilograms.

As one of only two survivors out of two thousand people who

escaped from the Wilderness, Fatty definitely had his own
particular advantages.

He was timid and vigilant. As long as there were any signs of

danger, he ran away faster than anyone else.

And the other advantage was his incredible strength—one

could compare in anything with Fatty but strength. If it weren’t
for his massive strength, how could he earn his living by
helping others carry things, or how could he carry the
unconscious Ai Hui on his back and keep running with the
hunting group for days?

Fatty used to use the shield when they were in the Wilderness.
This had been impressive to Ai Hui. It was a pity that Fatty was
cowardly, or he could be a natural born shield bearer.
 But whether he was a coward depended on who his enemy
was. When faced with elementalists and wild beasts, Fatty was,
of course, a coward. But it wouldn’t have been possible for him
to escape the Wilderness if he didn’t even dare to fight against
these students. There had been many battles in the Wilderness
where they could not hide.

Ai Hui believed that Fatty was definitely not afraid of these

guys. They were just prodigal kids, who only dared to bully the
weak but fear the strong.

As he expected, Fatty became excited during the fight.

Bang—Bang—Bang!

The crashes became louder and louder.

By now, the white light had dispersed, and Ai Hui’s vision had
returned to normal. He saw the last student staggering around
like he was drunk.

He said peacefully, “Okay, Fatty, enough.”

 The ruthlessness in Fatty’s eyes dimmed down. He had just
been like a furious brown bear, but now, he laid down on the
ground like a dead dog.

“Oh…this is so tiring. I can’t feel my arms. Ai Hui, I can’t

move now. Let me have a rest.”

But, even at this time, he didn’t throw his shield away.

Seeing the dizzy student stumble involuntarily, Ai Hui acted

as if he didn’t hear what Fatty said and asked Lou Lan, “Lou
Lan, how many sets are left for Fatty?”

“Three hundred and twenty-two.” Lou Lan instantly returned

a precise number.

Ai Hui said, “Guarantee that he finishes all the sets, or he

cannot eat anything.”

“No problem, Ai Hui!” Lou Lan answered happily.

Fatty was so angry that he jumped up from the ground, “The

one with the surname Ai! I just fought along with you, and now
you are kicking down the ladder! I’m so disappointed. How can
you…”

“We will have our meal in one hour.” Ai Hui reminded Fatty.

“You!” Fatty got so furious that when he noticed the

staggering student nearby, he rushed forward and slapped him
away with his shield to vent his rage. Then, he reluctantly
turned back to practice in anger.

“Keep going, Fatty!” Lou Lan shouted.

Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun stared blankly at the

students lying on the ground in disarray.

There was dead silence; as Fatty wielded the shield, only the
sound of the wind could be heard.
Chapter 158: Ai Hui’s Way
Shi Xueman and the others were stunned while Jiang Wei’s
and Wang Xiaoshan’s faces were ashen. Although they didn’t
like those guys either, never once did they think about attacking
them.

With their family background, it was best not to irritate them.

Duanmu Huanghun had some knowledge of Ai Hui’s

characteristics; he knew Ai Hui would never allow himself to be
trampled upon. But what he didn’t expect was that he would
choose such a straightforward method.

What was more surprising was that in a two-versus-six fight,

Ai Hui and Fatty ended it so quickly and neatly. Admittedly, it
was a sneak attack, but everyone here was nevertheless
astounded.

If he had been the one to be attacked by Ai Hui just now,

would he have have been able to escape? The more Duanmu
Huanghun thought about it, the more fearful and vigilant he
became against Ai Hui—because he knew that if it were him, he
would have been hardpressed to survive as well.
 Sang Zhijun was similarly stunned. She glanced at Shi
Xueman, remembering the scene where she threw Li Hai out of
the transport wagon. She thought to herself that the means of
these two were amazingly similar. At the time, she thought Shi
Xueman to be violent enough. Now she knew that Ai Hui was
more violent. No, it was not violent. It was better described as
ferocious.

The next moment, however, she became a bit worried. These

guys were beaten so harshly and would not let him off easily.
Did he ever consider the consequences?

Shi Xueman suddenly spoke up, “Do you think they will obey
your command this way?”

Ai Hui was squatted on the ground, tying up the unconscious

guys with ropes. He answered without looking up, “Obey my
command? Why?”

Shi Xueman was surprised. “Then what are you doing?”

“I just don’t want them to hinder us,” Ai Hui said lightly.

 No one understood why Ai Hui was so cruel if all he wanted
was for them to not impede the team.

“Then what are you going to do?” Duanmu Huanghun asked.

He knew a bit more about Ai Hui than the others, and he
guessed the Ai Hui’s method would be different from their
expectations.

“Tie them up tight,” Ai Hui replied casually while tugging at

the ropes, “and find somewhere to lock them up. I’ll let them
out when we finish.”

Everyone was startled by this answer.

“D-do we have to do this?” Wang Xiaoshan stammered.

They did have their conflicts and disagreed with each other,
but was it necessary to lock them up? Ai Hui’s method seemed
too extreme.

Shi Xueman also tried to persuade him. “I think we can talk

them into it. I believe they’ll come to see the big picture.”
 “Then what if they stab us in the back, or refuse to cooperate
with us and cause great losses?” Ai Hui continued without
slowing down.

Sang Zhijun quavered, “Will they really do this…”

Tightening the rope, Ai Hui said calmly, “For many things,

there is no second chance. Don’t leave any hidden dangers to
yourself. It’ll be for the best, for both of us, if they stay here
quietly until we are out of danger.”

Everyone shivered. Ai Hui didn’t mention what would happen

if they didn’t stay here quietly.

Duanmu Huanghun’s astonishment turned to admiration. He

now understood vaguely why he always lost to Ai Hui; it was
because he was not as resolute.

Of course, if Ai Hui knew what he was thinking, he would

disagree.

“If I’m not mistaken, I have absolute control, right? Then my

first command is to tie them up and lock them in the wood
house.”

“Will the academy or magistrate court take actions against

us?” Jiang Wei was a bit worried as well.

“No, they’re more than willing for us to do so.” Ai Hui’s tone

became cold. “I don’t want to explain anymore. Now you have
two choices—to accept or to refuse.”

Unexpectedly, the first to speak was Duanmu Huanghun. He

said emotionlessly, “Useless people should stay in the wood
house.”

He wanted to teach them a lesson from the start. In his heart,

the first one qualified to question Ai Hui’s command was Shi
Xueman, and the second was himself. How dare these guys jump
out to oppose Ai Hui while knowing that both he and Shi
Xueman had agreed?

Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan looked at each other before

hurrying to do as Ai Hui commanded.

Sang Zhijun laughed. “Actually, we’re glad to do so.”

 Shi Xueman snorted. She felt uncomfortable with Ai Hui’s
attitude, but since it was her own proposal… she had to stick to
it.

She walked towards one of the unconscious figures and picked

him up.

After finding a wood house, they threw the six tightly trussed
students into it, going so far as to gag them to prevent them
from calling out for help.

“How will they eat?” Shi Xueman asked.

Ai Hui casually said, “They’ll be able to eat when we come

back. Don’t worry, it’s not so easy to die from starvation. We
can just leave them some water.”

Sang Zhijun reflexively asked, “And what if we don’t come

back?”

Ai Hui glanced at her, then said lightly, “That means we are

dead.”
 A chill rose in everyone’s hearts, and their gazes at Ai Hui
were now filled with fear.

Only then did they realize how heartless and cruel he was
despite their similar ages.

Shi Xueman was greatly shocked, doubting whether she ever

knew the person in front of her. Was this the same person who
paid her bill at the noodle house and tried to please her due to
the eighty million debt he owed her?

Just what kind of person was he? What did he go through?

Shi Xueman’s curiosity towards him was roused.

Everyone was quiet, including Duanmu Huanghun. Proud as

he was, at this moment, he appeared solemn. The people
present felt as though they were a flock of sheep while Ai Hui
was a dangerous beast used to the life and killings of the wild.

Now they were sure that Ai Hui did not care about the
retribution of the students or their families. They even
suspected that if they were not present, Ai Hui would have
already killed the six people quietly.
 Ai Hui noticed the fear in their eyes, but he didn’t care.

What they were thinking or whether it would lead to their

estrangement—he did not care. If not for the escape quota, he
would not have wanted any connection with them.

Walking out of the wood house, he saw that Fatty was still
practicing.

“I have something to tell you in advance.” Ai Hui paused to

think for a minute before continuing, “The situation might be
worse than you think.”

He noted the anxious and doubtful looks on their faces and

said firmly, “Worse than whatever you can imagine. We’ll be
faced with many dangers more precarious than what we
experienced in the Garden of LIfe or even the blood bat. I hope
we can leave here alive.”

“Really?” asked Wang Xiaoshan, who was the most fearful one
of those present. His face was pale.

As Ai Hui was about to speak, they heard a loud explosion in

the distance, and the earth began to quake.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face paled. “That was from the city

gate!”

They then saw many elementalists flying to the city gate from
all quarters. Despite their high elevation, Ai Hui and the others
could read the panic on their faces.

They began to feel anxious as well.

But Ai Hui remained calm as before. He noticed Lou Lan and

the number that he had transformed into which indicated that
Fatty was done with practice. Staggering out with the ironwood
shield as his stick, Fatty was soaked with sweat, looking as
though he had just climbed out of a pool. His heavy breathing
sounded like bellows, and his eyes were wide as he glared at Ai
Hui.

Ai Hui smiled.

“Ai Hui, Fatty has finished,” Lou Lan said happily.

 Ai Hui nodded. “Good. It’s time to have some food.”

Hearing what Ai Hui said, Fatty’s anger turned into weariness

and hunger. He plopped onto the ground and shouted, “Oops. I
need to eat more. I’m dead tired. Water, Lou Lan, I need water!”

Lou Lan took out some of the solid food that he had prepared.
Ai Hui said, “Let’s all have some.”

Shi Xueman couldn’t help asking, “Don’t we need to help

them? If the city gate falls, then we’re all doomed.”

While eating, Ai Hui said, “The city gate already has the best
defense. If it’s about to fall, then there’s nothing we can do to
help.”

Shi Xueman wanted to retort but realized there was nothing

she could say; she knew Ai Hui was right. The mayor had
already assigned guards and teachers to key areas for the city’s
defense, and the city gate was the topmost priority. Compared
to them, the six people here were a drop in the ocean.

“Actually, the best choice for us is to stay in the training hall.”

Ai Hui glanced at Shi Xueman. He was wondering if he could
knock them out if he launched a sneak attack. The dean only
wanted Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun to be alive
anyway. He would not care whether they were conscious or not.

But it seemed this plan would be hard to achieve. The fighting

skills of Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, and Sang Zhijun
were all upper-tier. If he could not defeat them in one go, he
would be beaten down for sure.

“So we hide here like cowards and watch them die without
doing anything?” Shi Xueman watched Ai Hui coldly. If she
could kill Ai Hui with her eyes, then Ai Hui would have died a
thousand deaths.

She began to doubt the wisdom of her suggestion to give Ai

Hui the right to lead. He was too sophisticated.

The others remained mute with frightened expressions, but

they did not agree with him either. Only, they did not dare to
oppose due to his imposing manner.

You are all just too naive and enthusiastic, Ai Hui thought to
himself.
 “You’re right.” Unexpectedly, Ai Hui admitted his mistake at
once. “Let’s go to the magistrate office to get some equipment.
I’ll collect my reward as well.”

Fatty was speedily stuffing food into his mouth. He seemed

without emotion, but inside, his mind was turning rapidly. He
knew that there must be something that Ai Hui wasn’t saying!

He knew Ai Hui too well. If he admitted his mistakes quickly,

then either he knew he was wrong, or he did it with a motive in
mind.

The others were eating the food silently.

Shi Xueman didn’t expect Ai Hui to admit his mistake so

quickly. To ease the tension, she praised, “This tastes pretty
good.”

“Lou Lan made it. I’m afraid we won’t have time to cook, so I
asked Lou Lan to make more. It should be enough to last us
several days,” Ai Hui said.

Lou Lan, who was standing next to Ai Hui, smiled happily, his
eyes behind the pale mask becoming like crescent moons.

Everyone was surprised to find that Lou Lan was able to cook.
From his outstanding performance in the fight just now, they
assumed Lou Lan to be a combat sand puppet; they didn’t know
he would also be good at household skills.

But Shi Xueman noticed something else and could not help
but look at Ai Hui.

He began to prepare for this long ago?

He really was a mysterious guy.

At that moment, Ai Hui suddenly gestured for them to keep

quiet.
Chapter 159: The Warehouse of the
Magistrate Court
The others still eating were startled by Ai Hui’s gesture.

Fatty was the first to react and immediately grabbed the

shield. With his eyes widened and mouth full of food, he
resembled an alert frog.

Only then did the others realize something had happened.

They knew Ai Hui and were confident in his detection ability.

Ai Hui abruptly lied on his stomach and pressed his ear to the
ground.

“The earth is quaking,” Ai Hui said in a low voice.

His behavior made everyone else nervous.

“What’s causing it?” Jiang Wei asked. On the surface, he was

tall and impressive with long arms and legs, and his fighting
skills were excellent. But among this group of people, he didn’t
feel confident at all, like an ordinary soldier.
 “It’s hard to say.” Ai Hui explained, “Maybe it’s due to the
migration of so many beasts, or perhaps something is moving
underground within a certain distance. Hmm, I think it’s most
likely the beasts. Are they going to attack the city?”

Confused, Ai Hui stood up.

The rest felt relieved. They came to the mission believing it no

different from the previous ones, but over the past several days,
they became more nervous. Now they finally understood Ai
Hui’s range of detection as none of them had felt any trembles
yet.

Duanmu Huanghun lay down and placed his ears on the

ground as Ai Hui did, listening carefully. He heard nothing.

Fatty snorted when he saw Duanmu Huanghun’s attempt.

How could he compare himself with Ai Hui? It would only lead
to disappointment.

“Finished eating? If so, let’s go to the magistrate court now,”

Ai Hui said as he stood up.
 They weren’t in the mood to eat anyway. Hearing Ai Hui’s
words, they quickly stood and went after him. The group drew
the eye, especially the trio—Duanmu Huanghun, Shi Xueman,
and Sang Zhijun—who were equipped with gorgeous equipment
indicating their wealth and social status.

As soon as they entered the streets, they realized that

compared to when they first arrived, something had changed.

Nearly everyone on the streets was armed, nervous, and in a

hurry to depart.

They arrived at the heavily guarded magistrate court. Lookout

posts were situated, and many elementalists were on aerial
patrol.

Fortunately, a few guards recognized Shi Xueman and

Duanmu Huanghun and immediately let them pass. Seeing a
guard who looked familiar, Duanmu Huanghun approached him
and after talking for a minute, returned with a somber
expression.

“The number of blood fiends outside rose sharply, and some

initiated an attack on the city wall this morning. At first, it
wasn’t as fierce, but then the intensity began to increase. Just
now, the city gate was charged, and twelve people died.”

Their faces paled when they heard what Duanmu Huanghun

had to say. This was the highest number of casualties since
Central Pine City decided to defend.

They couldn’t help but look at Ai Hui. Hearing what he said,

they held some doubts, but now they were completely
convinced that the situation was worse than they initially
expected.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Earth elementalists! Any earth

elementalists? There are fissures in the city wall!”

Several earth elementalists followed him out in a hurry.

Their anxiety worsened. They were only students, after all,

who had never experienced such severe conditions. Shi Xueman
and Duanmu Huanghun were both well-known talents chased
after wherever they went, but at this moment, their
insignificance was made acutely known to them.
 “Let’s go inside.” Ai Hui said nothing more.

His voice brought everyone back from their thoughts and into
reality. Every one of them felt apprehensive, stretched like a
taut string—all except Ai Hui, who seemed as calm as usual. His
composure settled their nerves.

Sang Zhijun couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you afraid, Ai Hui?”

“I am,” he answered.

This was out of their expectations. They thought Ai Hui would

say something along the lines of, “Why? There’s nothing to be
afraid of.”

Confused, Sang Zhijun said, “But you don’t look like you’re
afraid.”

Ai Hui replied without looking back, “You won’t be so

nervous either when you’ve been through more battles.”

Shi Xueman snuck a glimpse at Ai Hui. Under the sunlight, his

face seemed serene and indifferent, somehow calming her.
Perhaps this was the difference between a veteran and a rookie.

They could not find the mayor since he was too busy. An
officer received them instead and brought them to the
warehouse.

“The materials in the city have been gathered for unified

allocation. The mayor has informed me of your special status.
Each of you may receive one set of equipment, and Ai Hui one
more as his reward. By the way, it seems that some members are
missing?”

Shi Xueman and the others looked embarrassed.

Duanmu Huanghun was the one to answer indifferently,

“They didn’t bother to come.”

The officer didn’t say anything, but he was displeased to hear

this. However, he understood that children from noble families
had had luxurious equipment. It came as no surprise that they
looked down on the equipment here.
 Despite that, he quietly remembered the names of those who
didn’t come. They had better not come to beg anything from
him one day.

Everyone looked at Duanmu Huanghun with strange

expressions. Even Ai Hui was surprised this time.

What an insidious guy!

But Ai Hui was confused. Why did he glance at me, he

wondered.

In Duanmu Huanghun’s mind, he always lost to Ai Hui simply

because he was not ruthless enough, and he was determined to
change it. How could he lose to Ai Hui? Even in terms of
ruthlessness, he had to win over him!

Hearing that there would be equipment for all of them, Fatty

became excited. Sure enough, it was promising to follow Ai Hui,
even allowing him to choose any equipment from the
warehouse of the magistrate court.

Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan were also very happy.

 In comparison, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun kept their calm.
Truthfully, they agreed with what Duanmu Huanghun had said
just now, but in order to not be blacklisted, they pretended to
choose their equipment carefully.

Ai Hui didn’t pay attention to the others. He only told Fatty,

“You are a shieldman. Don’t choose any irrelevant stuff!”

He knew Fatty too well. Without limits imposed, Fatty would

gravitate towards the most expensive one.

“Shieldman?” The officer who brought them in couldn’t help

praising Fatty when he saw his hill-like, strong figure. “What a
good shieldman! We happen to have a set of armor for that
role!”

The officer brought them to a set of bronze armor.

“This is called the Steady Mountain, which alludes to the

phrase, ‘as steady as a mountain’. Its weight is as high as two
hundred eighteen kilograms.”

Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan, and even Shi Xueman and
Sang Zhijun were astounded at this frightening number.

The officer was pleased to see their expressions. It vexed him

to hear that those highborn kids dared to look down upon this
warehouse. Now that he saw the amazement on everyone’s face,
the officer felt at ease, more comfortable than when eating
elemental food. He began to explain without end.

“Although it looks ordinary and wasn’t made by a well-known

craftsman, it is definitely a rare armor of superior quality. The
first time the mayor laid eyes on it, he praised it and even tested
a saber against it himself, only to find that the saber could not
break it. At the time, the mayor asserted that only a person born
with amazing strength would be able to wear it. Do you want to
give it a try?”

From the very beginning, Fatty’s eyes were glued onto it.

After experiencing life and death, he knew that for a

shieldman, such heavy armor could greatly increase chances of
survival. Moreover, he was experienced enough to know that he
would never be able to afford such an armor.

“Yes, I want this one,” Fatty said without hesitation.

 Then without seeking help from the others, he grabbed it with
one hand and began to equip it clumsily.

When he finally finished, the others gasped in surprise.

He was already as strong as a hill, but now with the Steady

Mountain, anyone who saw him had to bear a heavy pressure.
Even the shadow he cast seemed thicker than before.

Excited, Fatty strolled around the room. It seemed as though

the armor weighing two hundred eighteen kilograms had no
influence on his movements at all.

Yet without warning, he began to wail loudly, tears streaming

down his face.

This was his first time having armor.

The laborers in the Wilderness had no armor or protection,

which was a major reason behind their deaths. With their
meager earnings, it was impossible for them to buy such
expensive equipment. They were used to facing the sharp claws
and tusks of wild beasts without any protection.
 Now he was bundled up within the armor. The unaccustomed
sense of safety made him cry aloud.

And the cry stunned everyone else.

But Ai Hui understood Fatty’s feelings. He patted him on the

armor and said, “Take care of the armor. Don’t lose it.”

“Sure,” Fatty replied. He stopped crying and said earnestly

with a nasally voice, “I won’t.”

This was the most expensive armor he had ever owned. He

would never lose it, no matter what.

Holding a heavy shield weighing 175 kilograms in one hand

and wearing a heavy armor of 218 kilograms, Fatty could still
walk around as usual. The rest could hardly move their eyes
away from him. They used to regard Fatty as a useless person,
but this visual impact now changed their perceptions.

“Everybody, choose your equipment now,” Ai Hui said.

 The others began to search for what they wanted.

Ai Hui also began to think about what equipment he would

need. His current weapon was the Dragonspine Inferno, which
he would not need to change for a while. The Drifting Cloud
Boots were also the best shoes he could have. Moreover, the
Blood Bandages were good protective equipment that would not
influence his agility.

And with Fatty as his shieldman, he didn’t place high

requirements on his own protection.

“Do you have anything like azure wings that I can use?” Ai
Hui asked.

The warehouse officer immediately understood. “You mean

the kind of equipment that enables you to fly? I think you can
only use the cloak.”

“Cloak?” Ai Hui’s eyes brightened.

The officer quickly found one and said, “We pay attention to
what students need, too. Your elemental energy is of the metal
attribute, right? Here’s one you can wear. It’s called the Golden
Wind. It enables you to fly by erupting metallic wind.”

“Then that’s it,” Ai Hui said without hesitation.

Apart from the cloak, Ai Hui was allowed one more, but he
didn’t know what he wanted either. Therefore, he decided to
make a sweep around the warehouse.
Chapter 160: Red Dust Sword Box
The warehouse of the magistrate court was not large and it
lacked in equipment. Shi Xueman and others might regard it as
shabby, but it was definitely a treasure trove to Ai Hui.

He walked slowly past the shelves and obsolete boxes. From

time to time, he picked up the dusty equipment in his hand to
take a closer look. He did not care about the dust. When he was
unfastening armor in the Wilderness, the armor sets were likely
to be covered with residue such as blood, flesh, or bone powder.

Duanmu Huanghun was observing Ai Hui secretly. Seeing

what Ai Hui was doing, he encouraged himself to take one of the
shabby weapons and kept telling himself that he must do better
than Ai Hui.

He would not lose to Ai Hui in any aspect!

However, as a mysophobiac since was young, Duanmu

Huanghun found it really sickening.

Holding the idea that he must beat Ai Hui, Duanmu finally

made up his mind. He chose a bag of grass seeds called Shackle.
These seeds, after activation by elemental energy, would form a
rattan garland that rapidly contracted to lock the target when it
touched the target. It earned its name since it was very sturdy
like a shackle and its target would be hard pressed to escape.

Shi Xueman chose some Water Candles, which were common

consumables for water elementalists and could be lit up with
water elemental energy. The light was invisible to the naked
eye, but was able to scatter elemental energy to create a dazzling
illusion. Sang Zhijun picked a quiver of arrows called String &
Woodwind, a type of uncommon rhythm-based arrows.

Wang Xiaoshan chose a pair of khaki gloves with the name of

Mud Gloves to help him control mud and earth. Actually, Wang
Xiaoshan was not feeling very confident and had no idea why Ai
Hui chose him, especially when he saw the other members who
were all people he looked up to before. He had a clear estimation
of himself and knew that his only strength was controlling
earth. That was why he chose this equipment.

Jiang Wei picked a big bow called Stone Mountain.

Sang Zhijun’s Golden Silk Longbow was thin and gorgeous,

while Jiang Wei’s Stone Mountain was massive and solid. It was
a typical heavy bow, with its length almost the same as his
height.Only a tall man with long arms would bring out its true
potential. Jiang Wei was surprised and happy when he saw it.
He had always been looking for such a big bow and had not
expected to come across one here.

Everyone except Ai Hui had chosen their equipment.

“You all have very good taste.” The officer standing beside
them spoke highly of them, though he was also loath to give
away so many good things. “Most items here belong to the
private collection of the mayor. He was obsessed with
equipment, which is why the warehouse is so large today.
Everything you picked was really good stuff.”

Ai Hui caught sight of a square box. It seemed a bit familiar to

him. He felt as if he had seen it somewhere before.

The box was dusty. He picked it up and blew away the dust.
Then, the real appearance of the box could be seen. It was black
and made of a kind of black metal. There was a lock catch on
one corner, which could be used to hang it on a belt. The box
could be opened from one side, but it was so deep and dark
inside that it was hard to clearly see its contents.
 The officer noticed the box in Ai Hui’s hand and introduced it.
“This is an old-fashioned sword box with three small swords in
it. When you dance with your sword, they will fly out from the
box and dance together. It’s not very useful. The craftsman who
made it fancied the ancient swordsmen, but when he realized
that he could not control the swords, he just put it aside. The
Mayor found it interesting, so he bought it with 100,000 yuan.”

Ai Hui then realized why he felt it was familiar. It turned out

to be a sword box. He had read about it in the swordplay
manual, but this was the first time that he had seen one in real
life.

“100,000 yuan?” Fatty shook his head like a rattle-drum.

“Nothing good would be so cheap. Ai Hui, you’d better choose
something else.”

Ai Hui paid no attention to him but turned to ask the officer.

“Can I have a try?”

The officer had no reason to stop him, so he just said, “Be

careful. There are many items around.”

The others dispersed in curiosity, including the warehouse

officer. He had followed the Mayor for many years. After it was
bought, the sword box had been stored in the warehouse, and
no one ever touched it. The mayor, himself, had already
forgotten its existence.

It was a pity that Ai Hui was not there when the sword box
was purchased. He did not have a chance to see how the
craftsman played with the swords nor how to use the sword
box.

Ai Hui placed the sword box at his waist carefully. Although

he never saw a sword box before, he knew a lot about them.

Next, he calmed down and began to concentrate his attention.

With a flick of his right hand, the Dragonspine Inferno was
drawn out.

The low chime thrilled everyone around. Apparently, the

sword was very heavy.

At that moment, three rays of red light jetted out from the
box. They flew around Ai Hui like three fish.
 Only then could the others see the red light clearly. They were
three small swords and were flying at a very high speed.

The swords were as small as a palm and as wide as two fingers.

They were translucent and delicately made.

The others were amazed. This was the first time that they had
seen such a light and flexible weapon.

Ai Hui did not stop. With another flick of the wrist, he began
to practice the sword moves he knew. He had learned all these
sword moves from the swordplay manuals, but these techniques
had long since lost their efficacy. To find useful moves from the
manuals was like looking for usable material within a pile of
trash.

Some were partial techniques or even half of a movement.

Others were breathing methods and tips to utilize strength. The
withered parts of the ancient swordplay manuals were of no
value at all.

It was easy to imagine how fragmentary and unsystematic the

knowledge was.
 Therefore, Ai Hui’s movements were fragmented, ugly, and
uncomfortable to watch. Sometimes the first half was elegant
and graceful, but then it abruptly became rigid and ferocious.
The pause and gap in between were palpable.

It was like feeling tightness in the chest. The obvious pause

and transition disrupted everyone’s breath.

They could not believe their eyes. Such ugly sword moves
were really executed by the swordplay talent Ai Hui?

More surprisingly, the three red swords became more

energetic, like sharks that sensed the smell of blood. They
circled around the Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s hand. The
red sword lights interweaving in the sky were very beautiful.

Ai Hui’s figure was indistinct in the red light of the swords.

A red sword beam, which was as thin as a hair, flashed across

Duanmu Huanghun’s vision with a slight buzz, like a sharp
knife cutting a thin paper, and then disappeared in an instant.

They finally knew why the craftsman said he could not

control them—they were too fast.

They flew so fast that the naked eye could hardly discern
them.

Both Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun could only see the
interlaced red lights in front of them. The black heavy sword
was moving slowly, yet the small red swords were as fast as a
flash of light and as flexible as fish. The weapons were in sharp
contrast, but those who were watching felt an astonishing
harmony, as if that was how they should be.

Ai Hui was immersed in a peculiar feeling.

The sword embryo seemed to be extremely excited. The three

small swords were like its new toys. As Ai Hui’s sword embryo
state became more developed, he could feel many things more
clearly than he used to.

Ai Hui was also excited. This was a novel experience for him
too.

The Dragonspine Inferno had a special attraction to the small

swords. That was why they orbited around Ai Hui. Such
attraction was unique. Once the swords became too close to Ai
Hui, the attraction would decline and even transform into a
repulsive force. However, once they were repulsed a sufficient
distance, the attraction would increase. It was like an invisible
spring that linked them together and prevented them from
flying too close or too far away.

The small swords only flew within the area around Ai Hui.

Since the small swords were flying very fast, the attraction
constantly changed. Therefore, the flying paths of the small
swords were totally irregular.

The dazzling red light interweaved, waned, and waxed to

create a wonderful scene.

“It’s beautiful.” The warehouse officer could not help gasping

in admiration. “No wonder the mayor bought it with 100,000
yuan. It’s interesting.”

The others nodded. They were thinking the same.

 It was interesting indeed, but it was better not to take it as a
weapon. What was the use of swords that could not be
controlled in a battle? They might even hurt teammates.

The Dragonspine Inferno slowly drew a half circle in the air

like a writing brush with thick ink.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

The red lights flew back to the sword box like birds returning
into the nest in the evening.

Ai Hui also slid the heavy sword back into his scabbard. His
eyes that were as bright as stars gradually became dim and calm
as usual. “I’ll take this sword box,” he said.

Everyone was surprised.

Fatty reminded him anxiously, “Ai Hui, 100,000 yuan. It’s

only 100,000 yuan. Don’t waste your chance.”

Shi Xueman also said, “The swords were indeed splendid and
gorgeous, but they are not good weapons and can easily hurt
your teammates. Why not choose another one?”

Ai Hui shook his head. “This sword box fits me the best. Don’t
worry, I won’t use it before I’m proficient in controlling it.”

“Are you sure you want to choose this sword box?” The
warehouse officer also reminded him, “Once you walk out of the
warehouse, you cannot go back on your decision.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Ai Hui said decisively.

“Okay,” the warehouse officer said, “its name is on the box.

It’s called Red Dust.”

“Red Dust?” Ai Hui repeated. He could feel the profound

meaning the name contained and nodded. “It's a good name.”

Although they did not know why Ai Hui insisted on choosing

Red Dust, they would not stop him as long as he did not hurt his
teammates.
 The group had just walked out of the warehouse when they
heard a loud boom. Everyone’s expression changed.

“It’s the north gate!” Duanmu Huanghun’s face turned pale.

The main gate of Central Pine City was the south gate, and the
north gate was much smaller. As they expected, a cloud of
smoke and dust rose from the north gate. The shrill alarm could
be heard all over the city, and the elementalists all rushed to the
north gate in a frenzy.

It was the south gate that was attacked, but the chaos were
fiercer at the north gate now.

This reminded everyone of one word: diversion!

They looked at each other and saw the incredulity in the

others’ eyes. Could blood beasts be so clever?

The elementalists in the sky were in great turmoil.

“Plug the hole! Earth elementalist! We need earth

elementalists!”

“Damn it! Blood beasts have rushed into the city!”

“Plug the hole first!”

Their hearts sank. No one expected that the situation would

worsen at such a rapid speed.

“Back to the training hall. Come on!” Ai Hui said in a low

voice. He was the first to rush to the street, and the others
followed him in a hurry.
Chapter 161: Encountering Danger
The streets were in chaos.

Individuals with no combat experience could usually maintain

order during peacetime, but when catastrophes broke out, this
false sense of order would break down in an instant.

Everyone was feeling uneasy as they followed behind Ai Hui.

On the contrary, Fatty, whom everyone previously thought

was an useless bum, was holding a huge shield and striding
beside Ai Hui while scanning his surroundings with a vigilant
look on his face.

“Won’t it be safer if we remain here?” Wang Xiaoshan asked

weakly.

“Nowhere is safe,” Ai Hui replied without turning his head

while maintaining his walking speed. “If they were the Thirteen
Divisions, I would definitely endorse the idea of staying there.
However, they aren’t. If the situation turns for the worse, a
moment of carelessness will cause them to crumble under
pressure. Do you want to know how it feels to be squeezed and
trampled on by a panic-stricken crowd? You don’t want to
know. Furthermore, they have a lot of people, making them a
huge target that is easily targeted by the blood fiends.”

“You’re so confident?” Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes flickered.

Deep down, he already acknowledged Ai Hui’s capabilities,

but what Ai Hui just said obviously belittled those guards.

“I think it makes sense,” Jiang Wei agreed with Ai Hui. “The

quality of the guards is really low. Even now, they still can’t
catch that naked pervert. Reportedly, they were even being
toyed with by that boy, causing several guards to be injured. I
think it’s better that we depend on ourselves. Eh? Ai Hui, why is
your facial expression so weird?”

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes began to twitch. He felt as if he was

being stabbed several times in his heart and bleeding non-stop.

Shi Xueman also thought back to the scene from that night.
That was the first time she saw Ai Hui’s swordsmanship. The
last sword move that he executed was peerlessly magnificent.
That scene was etched deeply in her mind.
 When she thought about it now, she could not help but
exclaim in admiration.

As for the perverted naked boy, Shi Xueman did not really
have a deep impression of him. On the other hand, she was
more and more amazed by Ai Hui.

Previously, when she saw Ai Hui using the [Arching Fish Back]
during his fight with He Qiuming and his team mates, she
thought of her first blind battle. That was the only time she
used the [Arching Fish Back] in an actual combat setting and she
was subsequently defeated. After she saw Ai Hui’s [Arching Fish
Back], she was blown away. If her [Arching Fish Back] was of the
same level as Ai Hui’s, she would have obtained victory in that
blind battle!

Unfortunately, she had not found that mysterious fighter yet,

which left her disappointed and frustrated.

“I only remember that the perverted streaker’s complexion is

rather fair…”

Immense shame engulfed Duanmu Huanghun. His face was

burning with anger. At this point in time, he wished he could
find a hole and hide in it.

“Ai Hui, have you seen this pervert before?” Jiang Wei asked
excitedly.

“Yeah, that incident happened right at the alley outside the

training hall,” Ai Hui replied. Initially, he did not want to talk
much about it, but when he thought of Duanmu Huanghun still
owing him 150,000,000 yuan, he changed his mind and
continued his insults. “I have never seen such a perverted fellow
in my life. He did not have a single piece of cloth on his body.
Everyone on the street was shocked at that sight. Numerous
eyes…”

Duanmu Huanghun’s face darkened.

Shi Xueman cast a glance at Ai Hui. Since when had this

fellow became so talkative? The only thing that surprised her
was that Ai Hui had not mentioned his stunning sword move at
all. All he talked about was that perverted naked guy.

Not bad, he was not a pompous and conceited fellow after all.
 She had encountered a lot of young talents and all of them
kept on bragging to her about their capabilities and glorious
expertise. She was extremely disgusted by such haughtiness.

She turned around and suddenly noticed that Duanmu

Huanghun was looking unwell. She could not help but ask with
great concern, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Both of their families had close ties with each other, and both
of them knew each other from childhood as well. However, they
were not really close friends. Shi Xueman was older than
Duanmu Huanghun and she treated him like a little brother.

Duanmu Huanghun froze. After a while, he forced a smile and

replied, “Everything’s fine, Sister Xueman.”

At this very moment, a shriek suddenly came from ahead.

“What’s that?”

“Oh my god, it’s a blood fiend!”

 “Be careful!”

“Run!”

There were numerous people who were in hysteria on the

street in front of them. The crowd ran toward Ai Hui’s group,
resembling an incoming flash flood. Many people fell onto the
ground and were trampled, but no one dared to stop running.
There were also a lot of people who tried to escape through the
air, yet these people crashed into each other within a few meters
after taking off since there were too many people trying to fly at
the same time. Their bodies lost control and fell to the ground.

At this point in time, it would be deadly for people to fall

down as they would be instantly drowned by the crowd.

Everyone’s facial expression changed drastically. Without any

hesitation, Ai Hui instructed, “This way!”

He was the first one to run into an alley nearby. The others
seemed to wake up from a dream and quickly followed him.

Boom!
 The sound of the ground trembling, the numerous shrieks and
cries, and the surging tide of people whizzed past behind them
like a furious tsunami.

Everyone, including Shi Xueman, ran through the alleyway in

a hurry. Their faces had turned pale-white. Wang Xiaoshan
thought of the question he asked Ai Hui just now and felt a
shiver went down his spine. A person is so insignificant when
he or she is faced with a tide of hysterical people.

At this moment, it felt like the end of the world was upon
them.

They frantically ran through the alley. The wriggling and

winding alleyway became the best screen for them, shaking off
the terrifying flood of people behind them.

They stopped after running for several kilometres.

Upon seeing everyone’s pale-white faces and the deep fear in

their eyes, Ai Hui sighed silently. He clearly understood the
rookies’ feelings. The scene today would appear in their
nightmares for a very long time.
 The fatty simple-mindedly popped a piece of malt candy into
his mouth as soon as he got the opportunity. His performed the
best in this situation.

Duanmu Huanghun, Jiang Wei, and Wang Xiaoshan were pale

faced. Everyone was panting heavily, like a fish that was about
to suffocate.

Sang Zhijun and Shi Xueman were the most affected. Sang
Zhijun’s eyes were slightly red and her entire body was
shivering involuntarily.

Shi Xueman did not look well either. Ai Hui noticed that the
hand that she was holding her spear with had turned pale.
However, she managed to calm down gradually.

Actually, they performed better than Ai Hui had expected.

Duanmu Huanghun and the other two had been through two
battles in the Garden of Life, and as such, their ability to deal
with such situations had improved a lot. As for Shi Xueman and
Sang Zhijun, they had killed the blood bat with Ai Hui.
Therefore, they did not have much of a problem either.
 Ai Hui could not help but rejoice over his decision to kick the
other six people out of the group.

“We need to find out where we are now.” Ai Hui took a look at
his surroundings and felt a headache. He was unfamiliar with
his location.

He was actually lost…

Ai Hui wanted to put a stalk of grass into his mouth, but he

resisted. He did not know whether or not the blood poison had
infiltrated the city.

“This is Amber Lane” The voice belonged to Duanmu

Huanghun. Other than his pale face, he looked rather normal.

“Are you sure?” Ai Hui looked at him doubtfully.

“I’m sure,” Duanmu Huanghun replied. For the sake of

finding you to bring you back to class, did you know that
Brother Huanghun searched through the entire Central Pine
City?
 Eh? After having an agitated thought like this, Duanmu
Huanghun did not seem nervous anymore…

“This place is rather close to the training hall. Go straight,

turn left, and walk through Pine Lane. After walking past five
streets, we will turn onto Cloud Lane. After walking past
another three streets, we will reach the training hall.”

Everyone was stunned by Duanmu Huanghun’s words.

“You’re so familiar with the area?” Ai Hui still remained

doubtful.

“I have a photogenic memory,” Duanmu Huanghun replied

expressionlessly.

So this fellow has a poor sense of direction! Duanmu

Huanghun thought laughingly to himself. I finally found your
weakness, Ai Hui!

Suddenly, Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes widened as the image of

a jet-black sword tip rapidly magnified in his eyes.
 Murder…

His brain could only think of this word before he heard a loud
clank. The deafening sound of a collision exploded beside his
ear, throwing his mind into a daze.

“Everyone, be careful!”

Ai Hui yelled to warn everyone. A powerful force erupted

through the tip of the Dragonspine Inferno and into Ai Hui,
pushing him back several steps.

A half-meter tall blood mantis flew up and stood atop a nearby

wall. Its dark red eyes were staring coldly at Ai Hui.

Its sneak attack had actually been blocked.

The pair of scythe-like front claws were slicing in mid-air and

produced a sound that would make people shiver in horror.
With a flap of its wings, it became a red streak and pounced
toward everyone.
 Shi Xueman suddenly took a step forward and stabbed her
snow-white spear into the red streak that was flying through
the air!

A snow-white spear glint collided with the two streaks of red-

colored scythe glint. Shi Xueman staggered, and before she
could react, the demonic red-colored scythe glint appeared
before her eyes once more.

The spear in Shi Xueman’s hand abruptly twisted and ts body

distorted to block the incoming attack from an impossible
angle.

Shi Xueman had underestimated the blood mantis’s strength

and speed. She could not control her body in time and flew
backward.

The demonic red-colored scythe glint appeared before her all

of a sudden.

Her heart sank.

At this critical moment, a black sword suddenly sprung out

from under her arm, behaving like a python that lunged out
from the underbrush.

Clank!

Ai Hui’s arm was sore and he almost lost control of the sword,
but he still managed to block off the incoming attack! He
quickly put his left arm around Shi Xueman’s waist and both of
them flew backward from the impact.

Before they even landed on the ground, Ai Hui yelled, “Fatty!”

Fatty and Ai Hui were well-coordinated. Like an angry grizzly

bear, Fatty roared, raised his shield in front of him, and made a
ferocious lunge at the blood mantis.

The blood mantis’s claws began to rain down on the heavy

iron shield.

The fatty tightened his core and resisted the torrential attacks
with his shield.
 At this moment, the others returned to their senses and joined
the fight.

Duanmu Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower] conjured up several

vines that shot out from all directions and wrapped around the
blood mantis.

Sang Zhijun’s Golden Silk Longbow was shooting arrows at

the blood mantis in rapid succession.

However, all these attacks failed to work. Duanmu

Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower] was completely useless. The
blood mantis was lightning fast. It could even fly at an
extremely low altitude, constantly creating afterimages to
confuse his enemies. There were a few times where Duanmu
Huanghun’s vines had wrapped around the blood mantis’s
afterimages instead of the real body. Sang Zhijun’s rapid fire
had been stopped as well.

The usually unavoidable arrows were destroyed with one

swing of its claws.

Mantises were naturally gifted in executing sword moves with

their scythe-like claws. In the Wilderness, mantises were widely
feared. The blood mantis’s strength exceeded everyone’s
expectation. From the beginning, it was on the winning side of
the battle.

Jiang Wei’s heavy bow and Wang Xiaoshan’s attacks were

completely ineffective. They simply could not keep up with the
blood mantis’s speed.

Upon seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Ai Hui
made a weird maneuver in the mid-air before landing on the
ground. Like a whip, the arm that he held Shi Xueman with
swung forcefully, throwing the latter through the air. “Attack
it!”

After throwing Shi Xueman into the air, Ai Hui crashed into
the ground and groaned.

Upon hearing Ai Hui’s groan, Shi Xueman, who was already

embarrassed by the previous exchange, suddenly returned to
her senses. A killer instinct arose in her eyes. After she finished
adjusting her posture in mid-air, her elemental energy
frantically surged into the snow-white spear in her hand!
Chapter 162: Bitter Battle
Her long black hair was drifting in the wind and her eyes were
as cold as frost. The blue-armored Shi Xueman was flying.

The blood mantis could sense that danger was coming. It

erected its feelers and pulled back the top half of its body, then
positioned its scythe-like claws to protect its front. It
compressed its sturdy and powerful lower limbs like springs,
preparing to pounce forward at any moment.

Accompanied by a deafening whizzing sound, the snow-white

spear pierced towards the blood mantis’s head.

A demonic red glow suddenly erupted in the blood mantis’s

eyes. Its scythe-like claws, which had been storing energy in
preparation for an attack, lunged forward, forming a red streak
that struck fear into everyone’s hearts.

The white streak of light and red streak of light collided head-
on. Just as everyone thought that it would be a head-on
collision, the spear in Shi Xueman’s hand suddenly
disintegrated into a cloud of white mist.
 The sudden change in Shi Xueman’s attack caught the blood
mantis unprepared.

The white mist engulfed the blood mantis, causing its attack
to miss. The blood mantis sensed that something was wrong.

It spread its wings and prepared to escape from this weird

mist; however, at that moment, its thin, red-colored wings
seemed to be covered in a thick, glue-like substance. No matter
how hard it tried, it could not fly.

Shi Xueman’s unimaginable attack had reduced the blood

mantis’s lightning-fast speed significantly, giving everyone the
opportunity to strike back.

Sang Zhijun’s arrows rained down on the blood mantis like a

torrent. The blood mantis did not have the slightest bit of fear
with regards to the incoming arrows and began to thrust its
scythe-like claws forward.

Tink, tink, tink!

A melody suddenly resounded amongst the densely-packed

collisions. The blood mantis’s body froze.

The Melody Arrow that Sang Zhijun had secretly hidden

within the rain of arrows began to work its magic.

Jiang Wei’s muscles tensed up, revealing the veins on his

arms. The bowstring of the Stone Mountain Bow, which was as
tall as he was, had been pulled back so far that the bow
resembled a full moon. The Stone Mountain Bow required
unique, heavy arrows to be effective. The Wolftooth Heavy
Arrow loaded on the bow was solid and thick, only a tad smaller
than a javelin.

All of his elemental energy was channeled into the Wolftooth

Heavy Arrow. He knew his strengths and weaknesses well. If
the others were finding it so hard to launch a successful attack,
then his normal attacks would definitely not work.

There was only one chance for him to launch an all-out attack.

Boom!

With a loud, metallic boom, a dazzling beam of light

instantaneously appeared before the blood mantis.

The somewhat dazed blood mantis continued to display its

powerful fighting abilities. At the critical moment, it raised its
left claw in front of its body.

Clang!

The sound resembled the impact of a battering ram crashing

against an iron city gate, sending shivers down everyone’s
spines.

The powerful impact sent the blood mantis flying backwards.

Its lower limbs were trying to hold on to the ground, leaving
two deep claw mark tracks gouged into the ground. It flew back
approximately seven meters before it could stabilize itself.

Everyone was overjoyed when they saw that the blood mantis
was in a shaky and miserable state. Its left claw was broken,
revealing a frightening wound that was bleeding non-stop. The
red-colored armor on its body was densely filled with pin-sized
holes. These holes were created by Shi Xueman’s cloud of mist.
 The cloud of mist in the air started to shrink rapidly,
transforming back into the snow-white spear and returning to
Shi Xueman’s hands.

At that moment, Ai Hui picked himself up from the ground

where he had fallen, hard.

Upon seeing the wound on the blood mantis, his face did not
show any sign of joy. He could only yell, “Be careful!”

In the Wilderness, dire beasts that were severely injured

would have one of two reactions. They would either turn and
run away, or they would become even more aggressive. The
more powerful a dire beast was, the more likely it was to adopt
the second reaction. That was because stronger dire beasts had
been through more killings and were more ferocious; they
definitely would not easily give up a fight. Right now, the blood
mantis did not show any signs that it would escape!

Just as Ai Hui finished yelling, the blood mantis flapped its

wings and slowly flew up into the air.

Ai Hui’s facial expression changed. He just remembered

another strength that the blood mantis possessed: low-altitude
flying, also known as treetop flying. Treetop flying involved
flying at high speeds while staying below the height of the
treetops, which was around ten meters.

Insects were the ones that usually specialized in low-altitude

flying. Their flying speeds were not fast, but they were
extremely agile, making them “treetop assassins”.

In contrast, birds belonged in high-altitude zones. The more

ferocious a bird was, the higher it would fly. Some large-scale
beasts could even stay in extreme-altitude zones for an entire
year without flying back down even once.

Elementalists’ azure wings were of a similar nature to those of

the birds; they were more suitable for high-altitude flying.
Maneuvering in dense jungles was not the azure wings’ forte…

Ai Hui choosing the cloak, Golden Wind, was for this reason;
for the city which was densely packed with buildings, low-
altitude flying would be more suitable. His [Gale Bat Blade]
could also exhibit a similar effect, but the [Gale Bat Blade]’s
flying path was more predictable as it could not make as many
maneuvers as the cloak.
 Although this was the case, damn it, he had just gotten the
cloak and had not even had the chance to use it once.

Before he could make any moves, the hovering blood mantis

surged forward.

A red flash appeared before everyone’s eyes; however, to their

surprise, the blood mantis was not flying towards them, but to a
wall nearby.

In an instant, Ai Hui knew what was going on. His facial

expression changed drastically as he snarled, “Left side!”

Fatty was well-coordinated with Ai Hui. Without any

hesitation, he dashed towards Ai Hui’s left side and raised his
heavy shield.

When the blood mantis reached the wall, it used its powerful
lower limbs to give the wall a kick.

Boom! The powerful impact from the kick sent the bricks in
the wall flying everywhere. The blood mantis’s speed was
greatly increased, so much so that its form could no longer be
caught by human eyes.

A demonic red scythe glint landed on Fatty’s shield like a

meteor.

Boom!

Fatty, who was wearing a heavy armour and holding a heavy

shield, flew backwards and crashed into a fence. He looked like
a kicked ball.

The recoil that the blood mantis received was also harsh. It
flew back as if it was being tugged by a string tied to its back. Its
body suddenly drifted up into the air and started swaying like a
drunkard.

Everyone was shocked by the might of its attack. With the

heavy armor and shield, Fatty weighed up to a few hundred
kilograms. They had also seen Fatty’s God-given strength in
action, but one strike from the blood mantis had still sent Fatty
flying off.

Such terrifying power from one strike...

 Even Shi Xueman, who was the most powerful among them,
had her face turned deathly white. The strength of this blood
mantis struck her deeply with fear. At that moment, her first
reaction was to look for Ai Hui.

She did not know since when Ai Hui had become the person
she subconsciously sought help from. It might have been
because of his calm and easygoing attitude, or his unwavering
confidence.

Anyways, where was Ai Hui?

Her eye pupils abruptly constricted. Unexpectedly, Ai Hui was

below the blood mantis!

Ai Hui was extremely focused at that moment. The sword

embryo in his forehead was throbbing intensely, as if it was
going to jump out at any moment.

The blood mantis’s strength had almost reached the level of a

dire beast. If Ai Hui was to encounter such an enormous
monster in the past, he would have immediately run away as far
as possible. It was a joke for the few of them to deal with a
monster that was at the same level as a dire beast.
 Now, however, where would they run to?

The entire Central Pine City was surrounded by blood fiends,

where could they possibly run to?

The only way for them to survive was to go all-out and fight.

He had watched countless dire beasts being hunted and he had

survived a close encounter with one before; however, in this
dangerous situation, he still trembled with intense fear. It
engulfed his entire body, stimulating every muscle and nerve,
causing them to tremble involuntarily.

Actually, he knew that he wasn’t someone who treated death

nonchalantly. He was actually very timid and scared before the
prospect of death. Nevertheless… nevertheless, at this moment,
Ai Hui forced himself to be cool-headed.

He became so calm that not a single emotion ran through his

mind.

Only by staying calm could he find a way to survive.

 He must survive.

He was emotionless. All he could see was the swaying body of

the blood mantis above his head. He could see that the previous
impact had opened up the blood mantis’s wound even more,
causing its bleeding to be more severe. He could smell the
unique fragrance of the blood poison in the air. He could see
that the stiff and rigid body of the blood mantis was recovering
rapidly.

Shi Xueman was filled with intense embarrassment. Since

when had he gone over?

Her teammate was fighting with an all-out effort, and yet, she
was so scared that she had lost all of her fighting spirit. An
imposing figure appeared in her mind. If her father were to see
this scene, he would be very disappointed in her….

The intense feeling of embarrassment and her sense of

responsibility were burning her like a scorching flame. The fear
in the girl’s eyes disappeared and was replaced by
determination.

Traces of white-colored mist emitted from her back. They

kept on extending and wafting through the air.

The mist at her back was nimble and graceful, swaying slowly
like how plants swayed in water.

With a twist of her body, she looked as though she had just
broken out from shackles which had been binding her, and
disappeared in an instant.

The next moment, she appeared before the blood mantis and
stabbed her spear towards its eyes.

The blood mantis sensed that danger was coming and started
hissing. Its scythe-like claw swept through the air and blocked
Shi Xueman’s attack.

The blue-armored girl that was drifting in the mist had a

determined look on her face. Her attacks got faster and faster.

The blood mantis tried its best to fend off the attacks, but it
still got stabbed eventually. Two more bloody holes appeared on
its body, causing it to turn even madder.
 Suddenly, Shi Xueman, who was about to land on the ground,
noticed that there was a green glow on the blood mantis’s head.
Without any hesitation, she channeled the elemental energy in
her body and disappeared, reappearing in the next moment on
the other side of the blood mantis.

She channelled all of her elemental energy into her spear.

Synchronizing her body with her spear, she thrust it forward!

This thrust was extremely powerful. A ruthless look flashed

across the blood mantis’s eyes, and without showing any signs
of dodging, it lunged its claws forward!

A red-colored scythe glint landed viciously on the power-

concentrated spear tip.

Boom!

Shi Xueman fell, whizzing down through the air. She looked
as if she had been struck by lightning.

It did not go well for the blood mantis either. All the wounds
on its body ruptured, causing blood to spurt out from them. Its
body began to sway again and its head was slightly lowered.

At this point in time, the green glow on top of the blood

mantis’s head started to form numerous green flower patterns
that wrapped around its body.

Pop, pop, pop!

Light and compact explosions could be heard within those

patterns, following which, many black-colored shackles were
expelled explosively from the patterns. Once these shackles
made contact with the blood mantis, they automatically
shackled its body parts.

The shackles had tightly bound all the joints of the blood
mantis.

Duanmu Huanghun had thrown an entire packet of Shackle

Seeds into his [Viridescent Flower]. His face turned pale-white
and his body swayed, following which, he collapsed to the
ground. After activating so many Shackle Seeds, the elemental
energy in his body had been completely depleted.
 At that very moment, Ai Hui took action.

The immensely heavy Dragonspine Inferno in his hand felt

weightless to him. The intense fear and desperate desire to
survive pushed him into a state of extreme focus. Every single
trace of elemental energy in his body was pristine and pure.

They flowed like a river, changing form and direction

irregularly. Two elemental energy cords flowed into his left and
right hands’ palaces respectively.

The elemental energy cords began to vibrate lightly.

[Crescent Moon!]
Chapter 163: Returning to the Training
Hall
At that moment, the ringing of the sword resembled a sound
out of nature.

The vibrating Dragonspine Inferno completely sapped the

elemental energy in Ai Hui’s body in an instant and accurately
pierced through the blood mantis’s wound. A sword glint that
resembled a crescent moon exactly erupted from the tip of the
Dragonspine Inferno. The magnificent crescent moon
frantically destroyed the inner organs of the blood mantis. It
was a crescent moon of death.

Its muscles, bones, blood vessels, and everything else were

completely shattered.

The crescent moon pierced through the blood mantis’s body

and made its way to its head.

Pop!

The crescent moon erupted out of the blood mantis’s head.

 The blood mantis’s body froze as it lost all of its life force.

The whole process seemed very long, but in reality, it only

took a short period of time. Ai Hui finally removed himself from
the state of extreme focus. His entire body was sore and weak, as
if he had been submerged by surging tidewater.

They had won.

He burst into laughter and collapsed freely towards the

ground.

At that moment, his body tightened and a white-colored

bandage shot out from his shirt to lunge towards the blood
mantis.

Ai Hui’s laughter stopped. The Blood Bandage!

Like an agile white python, the snow-white bandage wrapped

around the blood mantis which had been mangled almost
beyond recognition. In the blink of an eye, the bandage had
tightly wrapped itself around the blood mantis, like a mummy.
 The unforeseen event left everyone in shock.

The recovered Jiang Wei was able to catch Ai Hui, who was
about to make contact with the ground. Wang Xiaoshan pulled
Fatty out from the wall debris while Sang Zhijun pulled Shi
Xueman out from more debris nearby.

Duanmu Huanghun was bent down and holding his knees. He

was panting very heavily.

Ai Hui looked around his surroundings. Even though

everyone looked miserable, he was overjoyed that they had
managed to survive.

Thump. The blood mantis collapsed to the ground heavily.

The bandage released itself from the blood mantis’s body and
returned to Ai Hui.

The bandage automatically withdrew back into Ai Hui’s shirt

and wrapped itself around his body. At that moment, a wave of
heat energy gushed into Ai Hui’s body and he immediately felt
refreshed. It was as if his body had regained its energy.
 He was very surprised. He did not know that the bandage had
such a use!

Previously, he had known that the bandage could devour

blood and flesh; however, this was the first time that he had
received heat energy from it. He felt revitalized, as if he had
recovered to his usual state. At the same time, however, he
knew that this was a misperception. There was no elemental
energy in his body. Usually, when an elementalist’s elemental
energy was depleted, he would feel extremely weak. For a
student like Duanmu Huanghun, who had a delicate body and
focused his training on elemental energy, the fatigue would be
more severe and obvious. For Ai Hui, who focused his training
on body-tempering, it would be much better for him even
though he would still feel tired.

What was the wave of heat energy if it was not elemental

energy?

Ai Hui was puzzled as he got down from Jiang Wei’s arms.

Jiang Wei was staring at Ai Hui in shock. Previously, Ai Hui

had been gasping for air, but now, he suddenly seemed to have
recovered and left Jiang Wei’s hands as if nothing had
happened.
 “We have to leave this area immediately.”

Ai Hui took a glance at everyone. Shi Xueman’s face was pale-

white and half her body was leaning on Sang Zhijun. Her eyes,
however, were still flickering, blazing with flames.

This girl had developed battlelust...

The so-called “battlelust” referred to a state in which one

developed a strong desire for fighting and killing. In this state,
one could exceed the limits of his or her fighting capabilities. Ai
Hui had seen many male elementalists that had developed
battlelust, but this was the first time he had seen such a ruthless
and violent woman.

The easier one developed “battlelust”, the easier it would be

for him or her to overcome the mental barriers of fighting and
killing. Eventually, these people would enjoy engaging in
combat. This was a remarkable trait for one to have. Those who
had this trait were normally filled with fighting spirit and
determination.

Beneath that icy, beautiful face was boiling blood that was
filled with battle fervor.
 Ai Hui couldn’t help but take a second glance at Shi Xueman.
She was indeed the best female student.

She was able to go all-out on the blood mantis and entered a

state of bloodlust during her first real combat. He had never
seen such a ferocious girl! In fact, Shi Xueman was much more
powerful than most of the hunting units’ elementalists whom
he had seen.

Fatty was lying on the ground and groaning while having a

half-dead look on his face; however, Ai Hui heard the crunching
sound of Fatty eating his malt candies and felt relieved. This
fellow was alright.

Duanmu Huanghun had a tired look on his face, but when he

saw Ai Hui looking at him, he humphed and acted as if he was
alright, then stood up.

“Aim before you throw the Shackle Seeds, they’re very

expensive.” Ai Hui’s voice rang across his ears.

Duanmu Huanghun’s facial expression froze.

 After stabbing Bangwan with his words, Ai Hui’s gaze fell
upon the blood mantis on the ground. All of the blood mantis’s
blood and flesh had been devoured, leaving an empty shell on
the floor.

The bright-red shell looked as if it was made out of red crystal.

Ai Hui walked over and picked up the blood mantis’s shell.

Since the flesh and tendons had been removed, it was very easy
to break it apart. Ai Hui skillfully broke the shell into pieces and
gave one piece each to everyone in the group.

Upon seeing the confused look on everyone’s faces, Ai Hui

explained, “This shell still contains the aura of the blood
mantis. By carrying a piece with us, we can hide our auras and
make the other blood fiends think of us as their kind.”

If it was other people who said these words, everyone might

be skeptical, but it was Ai Hui who had long gained their trust.

Everyone took a piece of the blood mantis’s shell and under

Duanmu Huanghun’s direction, were able to arrive at the
training hall safely.
 The alleyway outside of the training hall did not show any
signs of damage, implying that the blood fiends had not visited
the place yet. Upon knowing this, everyone heaved a sigh of
relief.

When everyone saw Lou Lan, because of their tension and

anxiety, they collapsed all over the place.

Lou Lan quickly tended to everyone’s wounds.

Ai Hui chose a few pieces of shell and placed them at the

entrance and various corners of the training hall. He hoped that
the aura of the blood mantis would ward off other blood fiends.
He did not know whether or not it would work, but he was
willing to try anything in this desperate situation.

After receiving treatment from Lou Lan, Shi Xueman had

more or less recovered. She walked towards Ai Hui and sat
beside him to ask, “What’s up with your bandage?”

After going through a life-and-death battle together with Ai

Hui, Shi Xueman became more friendly.
 Ai Hui felt that the way Shi Xueman treated him now was as if
both of them had known each other for a very long time;
however, he did not feel the same way.

“It’s an ancient blood-refined artifact that was given to me by

my mistress. I don’t know what happened either.” Ai Hui
removed the bandage and passed it to her. “It used to be a piece
of Blood Bandage that was torn in half by my mistress. There
was a time when I spilled my blood onto it and the blood was
absorbed in an instant. After it absorbed my blood, it became
snow-white. Can you help me take a look and see what’s wrong
with it? It scared me as well.”

Shi Xueman took the bandage and observed it carefully for a

long time. She looked surprised and said, “Such a weird
bandage.”

Since she was younger, she had come across a lot of artifacts,
and hence, she knew a thing or two about them. She could not,
however, see what was unique about the bandage. Other than it
being tattered, there was nothing special about it, although she
did see with her own eyes how the bloody bandage had
devoured the blood and flesh of the blood mantis. It had
frightened her. She quickly passed it back to Ai Hui.
 “What shall we do now?” Shi Xueman asked and looked at Ai
Hui.

After having some rest and replenishments, the others had

regained much of their elemental energy. Upon hearing Shi
Xueman’s question, all of them gathered around.

Any amount of arrogance that anyone might have had prior to

the battle today had been erased. It took so much effort from
everyone to barely defeat a blood mantis. Furthermore, there
was so much luck involved in the battle that if they were to fight
the blood mantis again, none of them had the confidence that
they could defeat it once more.

They were at a complete loss and felt that their future was
bleak.

Only Ai Hui and Fatty remained as calm as usual. For those

who had walked out of the darkness, whatever happened
recently was merely a cloudy day.

“These next few days, we will try to avoid crowded places.

Right now, it is the most chaotic period of time. We don’t know
how many blood fiends have infiltrated the city and whether or
not the breaches on the walls have been repaired. These issues
are not something that we can care about or resolve. The only
thing we can do now is to improve ourselves and learn how to
fight in real combat. This is a race and those who are slow will
be eaten.”

Ai Hui’s tone was so cold that it sent shivers down their

spines.

Everyone remained silent. They found it hard to accept such a

cruel reality.

“Can’t we fend off the blood beasts?” Shi Xueman suddenly

raised her head and asked.

“Only if you’re a Grandmaster, then it might be possible.” Ai

Hui cast a glance at her. That absolutely beautiful face
contained a tinge of worry and anxiety. He then continued
bluntly, “You’re not a Grandmaster, I’m not a Grandmaster,
and all of us almost got killed by a blood mantis. Don’t do things
that are not within your limits. Other than losing your life,
you’re also going to implicate the rest of us.”

“What if everyone unites together and fights them?” Jiang

Wei asked doubtfully.

“Perhaps it might work.” Ai Hui unexpectedly nodded his

head, but his tone changed the next moment. “Who’s going to
do it? There has to be a hero to do that. You? Me? The mayor?
Alright, let’s hope that the mayor is that hero.”

Everyone was depressed, but they knew that what Ai Hui said
was right. No one felt that the mayor could do this. Even though
Wang Zhen had been the mayor of this city for ten years, they
had never even seen this man.

Shi Xueman raised her head again, and this time, she had
serious look on her face. “Nevermind, we can’t afford to care
about the others. What matters most is that we survive.”

“We need to endure for a period of time and wait for the
Thirteen Divisions’ reinforcements. I’m sure all of you know
about the Thirteen Divisions’ situation. If you want to survive,
you have to live at least until then. Reflect on the battle today.”

After Ai Hui finished speaking, he did not care about them

anymore and walked to one side by himself.
 He had a lot of things to do. Until now, he had yet to read the
original copy of [Big Dipper] that he got from the dean.

He also needed to familiarize himself with the Golden Wind

and the Red Dust.

As compared to the last time when Ai Hui accidentally

executed [Crescent Moon], today’s situation had not been too
different as there had been a lot of luck involved in the end. On
the other hand, he could feel that there were some positive
developments as he had observed and learned from every single
detail of the sword move.

He felt that if he did not have enough time to train, how

would he have the time to chit-chat with everyone?

During today’s battle, whether it was Shi Xueman or Duanmu

Huanghun, all of them had committed a lot of stupid mistakes;
however, he did not criticize them. Both of them were geniuses
and were smarter than him. They would learn how to
coordinate during a fight after just a few more battles.

If they accidentally died before they learned how to engage in

combat properly, then so be it.
 Thanks to the blood mantis, Ai Hui was able to realize that the
situation was far worse than what he had expected it to be. The
blood mantis had been extremely powerful and was far stronger
than the blood fiends that they had encountered in the Garden
of Life and Central Pine City. It was on a completely different
level.

It made him think of the days when they had hidden beneath
the mound while matured blood fiends roared outside.

After reminding Lou Lan to supervise Fatty in his training, Ai

Hui immediately dove into a crazy training routine.

His intense uneasiness made him more focused.

He was also deeply captivated by the [Big Dipper].

Lou Lan was squatting in front of the red crystal-like shells

that Ai Hui and the rest had collected. The eyes on his pale-
white mask were blinking excitedly, showing deep interest.
Chapter 164: The Coming Of The Blood
Tsunami
The afternoon sun was intensely hot, yet it could not bring
the slightest bit of warmth to Wang Zhen and the dean, who
were both high up in the sky.

The cracks in the north gate had been repaired. However, the
city had already been invaded by a lot of blood fiends. Since the
incident happened too abruptly, the unprepared populace had
caused a very massive and severe trampling accident, causing
the deaths of many people. Wang Zhen immediately ordered a
cleanup operation of the blood fiends in the city. Initially, the
operation went rather smoothly. Then, they encountered a two
meter-long blood centipede which killed approximately 30
people.

If Wang Zhen and the dean had not managed to arrive at the
scene in time, the rest of the elementalists would have been
killed on the spot.

Currently, all of Central Pine City was low in morale and its
people were in a state of anxiety.

“Things are not going as planned.” The dean’s voice contained

a tinge of dissatisfaction. He placed high hopes on Wang Zhen,
but the first day Wang Zhen took over the defense of the city,
there was already an accident. Previously, they thought that the
blood fiends’ maturity period would take about five to seven
days. However, the blood centipede’s fighting capabilities
showed otherwise, striking fear in the dean’s heart.

“My dean, this is a battlefield. Accidents happen anytime and

anywhere on a battlefield.” Wang Zhen sneered.

“Yes, you’re right. There are definitely accidents on a

battlefield, but for a time window of 15 days, we let the blood
fiends infiltrate the city on the first day. What can you say
about that? My mayor,” the dean replied sarcastically.

“Naturally.” Wang Zhen nodded his head calmly. “This shows

that the enemies are much stronger than what we expected
them to be. This also shows that we are much weaker than what
we expected ourselves to be. There’s nothing too terrible about
this. Committing a mistake on the first day is much better than
committing a mistake on the last day. At least we have the time
to make improvements, even though the improvements might
not work.”

The dean was speechless. He knew that the current situation

could not be blamed on Wang Zhen. At this point of time, he
hoped for a hero that could create miracles, but that person
clearly was not Wang Zhen. He had to eventually pull himself
out of the unrealistic fantasy and return to the cruel reality.

“What can we do now?” the dean asked, trying to calm his

tone down.

Wang Zhen’s facial expression returned to normal and he

replied, “Right now, we have to quarantine those people who
are afflicted with the blood poison. We still do not know
whether or not they can be saved. If we let them howl in
anguish in the city, it will deal a huge blow to the overall
morale. Next, we will organize student groups to carry out the
cleanup operation of the blood fiends in the city.”

“We are involving the students so early?” The dean was

astonished.

“Yes,” Wang Zhen replied solemnly, “the blood catastrophe is

much worse than what we expected it to be. Let them get used
to it. The subsequent phase of the catastrophe will be even more
grim.”
 The dean trembled in fear.

“It’s coming!” Wang Zhen’s voice contained a rarely seen

tinge of panic.

The dean quivered and raised his head involuntarily. He saw

something that he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The bloody skyline at a distant mountain suddenly thickened.

Then, a surging blood tsunami swallowed the mountain like an
enormous black hole.

One by one, the mountains were swallowed by the blood

tsunami.

The dean could feel a chilly wave shooting up his legs. Even
Wang Zhen, who had seen countless terrifying scenes on the
battlefield, turned deathly-white at this moment.

Furthermore, both of them were in the sky and could see what
was going on clearly.
 Everywhere the blood tsunami passed through, various blood
plants would grow frantically. These plants continued to grow
upward. In the blink of an eye, the lush and verdant forests
were dyed blood-red. Rocks and boulders were covered in bright
red moss. Not a single mountain could withstand the blood
tsunami. It was swallowing up everything.

The rapidly growing plants caused the forests to grow denser

and thicker. One would not be able to see the ground from the
sky anymore and all he or she could see was a boundless sea of
blood.

In the face of a world-changing force, mankind was incredibly

insignificant.

At this moment, those who saw the incoming blood tsunami

had only deep fear and despair in their eyes.

The distant blood tsunami, the sounds of plants frantically

growing, and the whizzing currents of blood swallowed up
everything before their eyes. Such crazy, boundless, and
terrifying power did not belong to any man. Only gods had such
power.
 Everyone’s face was ashen, including Wang Zhen’s.

Everything outside of Central Pine City was changed beyond

recognition. The mountains, rivers, and hills had completely
disappeared. The previously 10 meter-tall trees had now become
more than 50 meters tall. The branches and leaves had
completely transformed, looking like an alien plant.
Bristlegrass, which normally only grew to knee level, had now
grown to more than six meters tall. The grass had become
stronger and more sinister. Sword reeds had grown more than
20 meters tall, but their biggest change was that they became
wider. The sawtooth edges of their leaves had become thicker
and sharper. If one had not seen the way they transformed, he
or she would not be able to identify them as sword reeds.

Everything changed.

All one could see was the sea of blood. The most noticeable
entity in this vast sea of blood was Central Pine City. The city
was like a small lonely island.

Suddenly, Wang Zhen realized something was wrong.

“It’s so quiet.” The dean’s murmur exploded in Wang Zhen’s

ears like a thunderclap.

He finally realized what was wrong.

The blood sea outside of the city was dead silent. Not a single
sound could be heard. The surging waves of the blood tsunami
had disappeared, leaving a vast sea of blood here.

There were no insect cries, roars of beasts, or birds’ chirpings.

There were no sounds at all.

The silence made one’s hair stand on end.

Where were the blood fiends?

An intense uneasiness engulfed Wang Zhen’s mind. He kept

on looking around, trying to find signs of blood fiends.
However, his line of sight was blocked by the thick and dense
forests, causing him to not be able to see anything.

What exactly was the blood tsunami? Where were the blood
fiends? What was going on under the sea of blood?
 Countless questions were spinning in his head. Like an
invisible hand that tightly gripped his throat, an indescribable
fear choked and suffocated him.

Dead silence. Boundless dead silence.

Even the intense afternoon sun could not bring any vitality to
this dead silence. It was natural for anyone to feel fear upon
facing such dead silence and this blood sea.

The thick city walls could not bring them any sense of
security. Currently, Central Pine City was like a lone island in
the midst of deathly blood sea.

Wang Zhen was terrified. He knew that this silence was the
calm before the storm. Something had to be brewing in the
blood-colored forests outside. He did not know what was it, but
he knew it would be something horrifying.

“Old Yu, bring some people with you and go out of the city to
check it out. Bring the telepathy lotus as well.” Wang Zhen
looked at his subordinate that had followed him for many years
and hardened his heart.
 Old Yu’s previously anxious face calmed down instead. “Help
me take good care of my son.”

“Okay.” Wang Zhen bit his lips. He lacked the courage to say
anything else.

If people were to leave the city at this point of time, they

would have little chance of surviving. No, they would have zero
chance of surviving.

Without wasting time, Old Yu picked five people. All of them

were veterans from the front line in the past. Their hairs were
grizzled and white, while their wrinkled faces looked peaceful.
Without hesitation, they bowed to Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen had taken care of them for many years. If not for
the mayor, aged and feeble men like them would lead a difficult
and miserable life.

The group of aged and thin figures disappeared into the sea of
blood.
Chapter 165: The Mantis Vest
The training hall had been very peaceful today.

Everyone was immersed in their training, and other than

Fatty, whom Ai Hui needed to supervise, everyone else was fine.
Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun were able to quickly come
up with specialized training routines that focused on their
respective needs, which were much better than usual and
conventional practice.

Upon seeing this, Ai Hui could only sigh. Geniuses were truly
a bunch of freaks.

He didn’t know that, in the eyes of others, he himself was a

freak as well.

He was steadfast, focused and did everything with

overwhelming confidence. Furthermore, whenever he
encountered perilous situations, he would remain completely
calm, and he was always meticulous with his actions, causing
everyone to be at ease.

Within a short period of time, he had gained the trust and

confidence of all.

Not everyone who had survived the Wilderness could do this.

Take Fatty, for example. He, too, had survived the Wilderness,
yet he looked and behaved like a bum.

Ai Hui was a freak, and even his sand puppet was a freak.

They were all very knowledgeable and had seen many sand
puppets before, but they had never encountered one that was so
smart and intelligent. There was nothing that Lou Lan could not
do, and he would give everyone the feeling that “Lou Lan is very
happy” in whatever he did.

Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun were both charmed by Lou Lan;
they really liked him.

Lou Lan turned himself into a sand-made saw and started

happily sawing the blood mantis’s empty shell into palm-sized
pieces. Lou Lan then transformed into a mini sandstorm that
sucked them all in, and after a while, the sandstorm “spat” out a
heap of polished and glossy red pieces of mantis shell.
 When Lou Lan used these polished red shell pieces to craft a
vest and passed it to Ai Hui, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun
turned green with envy. They looked as if they wanted to snatch
the vest from Ai Hui.

However, honestly, Lou Lan’s craftsmanship could be said to

be exceptional. Every shell piece was like a ruby that had been
meticulously polished. Even Shi Xueman—who was used to
seeing all kinds of jewels since a young age—exclaimed in
admiration.

“Thank you, Lou Lan!”

Ai Hui was pleasantly surprised. The reason why he had

brought back the blood mantis’ shell was that he felt it would be
a rather good material. Not only was it very light, but it was also
very tough—these features were what made them suffer during
their fight with the blood mantis. Ai Hui, who was immersed in
his training all day long, did not have any time to waste. He did
not expect Lou Lan to give him such a surprise.

“You’re welcome, Ai Hui,” Lou Lan replied happily.

“What a fantastic sand puppet.” Sang Zhijun could not help

but feel sour. Lou Lan completely overthrew her understanding
of sand puppets; this was the first time she had seen such a
smart sand puppet like Lou Lan in this world.

“Train faster.” Even though Shi Xueman was envious, she

could still restrain her emotions. She had already made up her
mind to buy a sand puppet like Lou Lan in the future.

Suddenly, everyone heard the rapid approach of a strange

sound of crashing waves. Moments later, though, the sound
could be heard going away from them rapidly again. It was as if
a tsunami had just hurtled past them.

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

“What is that sound?” Wang Xiaoshan asked weakly.

No one answered him. Everyone looked bewildered as they

had never heard such a sound before.

“It’s coming from the outside of the city.” Ai Hui listened

attentively to the sound as a solemn look appeared on his face.
 “Shall we go and take a look?” Shi Xueman looked at Ai Hui
and asked.

Ai Hui thought for a while before shaking his head. “I don’t

think so. We better hurry up and focus on our training. Even if
something happens outside, I don’t believe that it’s something
that we can resolve.”

Everyone had the same thought. The battle with the blood
mantis had made them realize how weak and delicate they
actually were.

……

Wang Zhen was waiting anxiously. In front of him, six bowls

of water were lined up on a table.

Inside every bowl of water was a floating black-colored lotus

seed—the telepathy lotus seed. Its scientific name was “Yin and
Yang Telepathy Lotus Seed,” and they were created and bred by
a lotus-loving wood elementalist. At that time, a lotus that was
half-white and half-black had appeared in his lotus pond, and
there were two lotus seeds—one black, one white—in it. He had
been fascinated by it, and hence, he had started to cultivate it
with great care.

Ten years ago, when the Yin and Yang Telepathy Lotus first
appeared, it merely existed to be looked at and appreciated by
people.

It was only until one day that the wood elementalist

accidentally crushed one of its seeds and discovered the magical
property of the telepathy lotus seeds.

If Old Yu crushed his telepathy lotus seeds, the telepathy lotus

seeds in the bowls of water would be crushed at the same time
and broadcast moving visual images of the surroundings of the
lotus seed that had been crushed.

The image would only last for around two minutes.

The telepathy lotus seeds were quickly utilized in the battles

in the Wilderness, and they demonstrated great versatility. The
ability to receive moving visual images from the front line was
greatly valuable to the commanding officers.

The telepathy lotus seed naturally had its weaknesses as well.

For example, it could not be used for more than a distance of
one hundred miles, and the time of the visual images it could
broadcast was very short. However, they were very cheap and
were easily bred, making them very versatile.

Everyone was silent. The world-changing power that the

blood tsunami had displayed had struck fear and despair into
everyone’s heart. They did not know how to fight against such a
formidable and nerve-racking opponent—they simply couldn’t
think of any solutions. The back view of the six old men walking
towards their deaths added a touch of sorrow and despair to the
entire situation.

The passing of time was slowed down by the dead silence.

Time passed slowly, and the lotus seeds in the bowls of water
still hadn’t shown any signs of movement. Wang Zhen was
becoming increasingly impatient.

An hour soon passed.

Wang Zhen’s facial expression had returned to normal. It had

already been an hour, and it was very likely that Old Yu and the
rest had died. After regaining his composure, his thought
process became much clearer.

“There are two possibilities. The first is that Old Yu and the
rest were killed before they could crush the telepathy lotus
seeds. The second possibility is that the blood sea can
disconnect the telepathic connection between the telepathy
lotus seeds,” Wang Zhen muttered to himself.

The dean’s face was pale. He was rather powerful, but he had
never been to a battlefield before.

Wang Zhen cast a glance at the dean and laughed bitterly. To

maintain meritocracy, the Induction Ground would never
choose anyone from the Thirteenth Division or the influential
families to become the dean. All the deans came from an
average background and had never been to the front line; they
were only specialized in the field of education. And because of
these academic-oriented deans, the Induction Ground became a
hub of education that contained a broad range of schools of
thought.

However, everything had its pros and cons.

Ever since the catastrophe broke out in the Induction Ground,

these well-educated teachers and deans had been clumsy, slow-
reacting, and panicky.

Wang Zhen regretted that he never paid enough attention to

training soldiers in the last ten years. When the blood
catastrophe struck, he suddenly discovered that he did not have
any capable men to rely on. He now had to pay the price for
wasting so much time during the last ten years.

Not only the Induction Ground, but the entire Avalon of Five
Elements had its sense of danger derived solely from the front
line in the Wilderness. Everyone had to now pay the price for
being careless and shortsighted.

If the current catastrophe was man-made, the mastermind

had definitely picked the weakest area of the Avalon of Five
Elements to plot against…This blood disaster was truly
disastrous. It was the heaviest loss the Avalon of Five Elements
suffered ever since it was established.

After digesting the bitterness and regret, a determined look

appeared on Wang Zhen’s face. “I need to send someone in to
clearly discern what’s going on inside.”
 “Who are you going to send?” The dean was at a loss.

Wang Zhen racked his brain and tried to think of a candidate

who could handle this mission. The more dangerous the
mission, the higher the expectations he had for the candidate.
Those who were mentally weak and inexperienced would
collapse even before the mission started.

He wanted to do it himself, but he knew that if anything were

to happen to him, then Central Pine City would not have anyone
who could take charge of the entire situation, and it would
immediately collapse.

“We will start a recruitment drive.” He thought aloud, “There

are definitely some people who specialize in reconnaissance in
the multitude of training halls and workshops in this city. The
problem is how should we persuade these people to go? They
have no obligation to die for us.”

“What do you need?” The dean understood at once.

Right now, the more capable individuals in Central Pine City

were members of the various training halls. Anyone who could
become referees or guards in the training halls were more or
less capable, and most of them had joined hunting units before.
After they became older and wanted a stable life, they chose to
work in training halls.

However, even though these people were veterans, they

would not accept Wang Zhen’s mission easily.

Wang Zhen sighed. “We will take care of our respective sides.
I will provide the money, the valuable equipment, and supplies.
You will provide absolute arts and the like.”

“Yes!” The dean agreed swiftly. He had already given out the
original copy of [Big Dipper], and as such, he did not care about
giving out other absolute arts and valuable manuals anymore.

……

The elementalists in the sky kept yelling and publicizing the

recruitment drive.

It was at this moment that Ai Hui and the rest understood

what was going on.
 “I wonder what the situation is outside? How come there’s a
blood tsunami all of a sudden?” Sang Zhijun’s face was filled
with worry.

It wasn’t only her—everyone was deeply troubled as well.

Ever since the onset of the blood catastrophe, the situation had
continued to worsen, causing the uneasiness in everyone’s heart
to continuously grow.

Fatty noticed Ai Hui’s gaze and asked doubtfully, “Ai Hui,

don’t tell me you want to go?”

“Yes. The dean and the mayor have put in all they have this
time around.” A glint was flickering in Ai Hui’s eyes.

Ai Hui’s reply shocked everyone.

“No! It’s too dangerous!” Shi Xueman vetoed without even a

second's thought.

“Yes, I agree. Ai Hui, didn’t you just say that we will not be
capable of resolving anything that happens outside?” Sang
Zhijun started to persuade Ai Hui as well.
 Duanmu Huanghun had a confused look on his face as he
stared at Ai Hui. He did not know why Ai Hui suddenly had this
notion—such a rash decision wasn’t his style at all.

“What do you have your eye on this time?” Fatty asked

directly. He still knew Ai Hui the best.

“Dire beasts’ meat, elemental food,” Ai Hui replied bluntly.

Everyone was infuriated by Ai Hui’s response. They could

understand if the reward was some absolute art, but elemental
food? Since when had they lacked elemental food? Elemental
food was the most commonly-seen thing to them.

“There’s too little time, and we need to increase our fighting

capabilities. The best solution to this problem is elemental food.
Lou Lan is very good at making it. During this period of time,
things like dire beast meat are hard to come by. They are
priceless, and they are excellent for making elemental food,” Ai
Hui continued.

Shi Xueman still disagreed with him. “I agree with you that
we need to improve our fighting capabilities as soon as possible.
However, it’s still too dangerous. We don’t need to be so
anxious about it.”

“Actually, there’s nothing dangerous about it,” Ai Hui

explained.

No one believed his words.

Ai Hui pointed to the mantis-shell vest on his body and

continued to explain, “I have this—its aura will conceal my
aura. If I’m careful, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Haven’t you all realized that from yesterday till today, there
hasn’t been any blood fiend near us? I feel that it’s not too big of
a risk and that it’ll be worth it.”

Everyone was astounded. It turned out that Ai Hui had

already considered every factor.

“I will accompany you.” Shi Xueman stepped forward bravely.

“Do you know how to carry out an infiltration?” Ai Hui asked

doubtfully.
Shi Xueman rolled her eyes.

“Everyone, wait for my return.”

Chapter 166: Panic in the Blood Forest
Brave men will emerge when the reward is good.

When the magistrate court and Central Pine Academy

simultaneously brought out enticing rewards, the number of
elementalists coming forward to register increased
significantly. Wang Zhen heaved a sigh of relief. The unusual
change in situation outside the city had made him extremely
uneasy.

Still, he was surprised to see Ai Hui’s name; it had left a deep

impression in his mind. He wrinkled his brows. This little
fellow was most likely still a student.

He compulsively wanted to overrule it but then recalled the

dean’s assessment of Ai Hui—that he was the most mature
student he had ever met, clear about his goals, and lacking in
juvenile impulsivity. Wang Zhen then thought about Ai Hui’s
experiences in the Wilderness as a laborer. Perhaps that fellow
had something unique that he did not understand.

This was not surprising. Laborers who managed to survive the

Wilderness had to have something extraordinary about them.
 Wang Zhen collected his thoughts. Right now, there was
nothing more important than getting information about the
blood forest.

The dean had already arranged for the teachers to lead

students in purging the blood fiends within the city. According
to Wang Zhen’s plan, the entire city would be divided into
twelve regions, each handled by a division of teachers and
students.

A few battles had already broken out today, with numerous

casualties.

The dean had approached him, hoping to change the plan

before being firmly denied. Wang Zhen’s wish was for everyone
to gradually adapt through this low-intensity battle. In the
process, lives would inevitably be lost, but he had no other
choice. Only through this could everyone be prepared to fight in
more strenuous circumstances. At the very least, if that time
should come, they would not crumble and scatter.

Ai Hui did not wear the mantis vest on the outside; he

understood the logic behind hiding one’s wealth.
 After receiving the telepathy lotus seed and movie bean, he
departed from the city alone. The number of participating
elementalists was not small. Some grouped in threes or fours,
while others decided to move independently as Ai Hui did.

Everyone’s eyes gleamed brightly in their vigilance. One look

and Ai Hui could tell that they were all seasoned warriors with
rich experience. His eyes lit up; it was his first time seeing so
many veterans within the city. Be it the magistrate court’s
guards or the teachers in Central Pine Academy, they were all
rookies when it came to real combat.

Old hands were indeed different!

Ai Hui was confident in this operation.

With so many people participating, the investigation

shouldn’t be a problem this time. This was good for the guards
in Central Pine City. Plus, having a large crowd would distract
the attention of the other blood fiends.

When it came to understanding blood fiends, Ai Hui was

better off than most. Since his time in the Garden of Life, he had
been secretly observing them and their changes.
 For example, the blood mantis was much stronger than the
previous blood fiends. There were differences in its body
characteristics as well. The blood fiends of the past had blood-
red bodies, but the carapace of the blood mantis lacked the
strong red hue and even appeared translucent. Its defense had
risen as well.

Most elementalists had dismissed these subtle changes, but Ai

Hui caught and remembered them.

The blood fiends were becoming stronger, yet even now,

nobody knew the method behind their complete
transformations and what advantages came with it.

He hoped to find a pattern in the blood fiends’

metamorphoses.

As Ai Hui exited through the city door, the blood forest came
into view, and he momentarily lost his spirit. The changes were
beyond recognition.

With a quick scan across, the devilishly bright red expanse

seemed boundless. The formerly azure skies were now
contaminated by a dull layer of crimson—it was eerily frightful.
The towering, dense, and thick forest… it was like an
impenetrable wall of red, blocking out all attempts to peer
inside as though concealing a terrifying secret.

Ai Hui stood in a daze for a few good minutes.

His hair stood on end, and a chill ran through his body. He
simply could not imagine the force that could create this
insanely warped sight before his eyes.

He finally understood why the mayor wanted to spend so

much time and effort to obtain the secrets within the blood
forest.

Seeing everything, his thoughts were exactly the same as the

mayor’s. Something frightening was definitely brewing within
the forest.

They must find out!

Ai Hui inhaled deeply to warm his cold body. The fear in his
eyes receded slowly, his pupils regaining their cool, dusk-blue
color.
 He stepped forward and advanced firmly towards that
towering, blood-red “city wall.”

Ai Hui knew the region well; it was the path he took to reach
the Suspending Golden Pagoda. After walking here countless
times, he naturally became familiar with it. Yet even then, the
sight before him was extremely foreign now. What happened to
the pagoda? This thought flashed across his mind before he re-
focused fully on what was before him.

He stopped at the edge of the forest.

Dense weeds, about two meters tall, obstructed his path. The
leaves were like swords, and the red edges were fine and
piercingly sharp, reminding Ai Hui of the fangs of dire beasts.

Ai Hui could no longer recognize what breed they once were.

The other elementalists entered by flying, but Ai Hui did not

do so. Blood fiends were sensitive to elemental energy, so flying
would easily alarm them. Of course, master elementalists were
strong and had their own methods of handling them, so he
didn’t worry. He was of a lowly position; it was of no use to say
anything, and he wasn’t someone to meddle in others’
businesses anyway.

After finding a more covert location, he took off his jacket,

revealing the red mantis vest underneath.

Ai Hui brushed the weeds aside with his Dragonspine Inferno

and unhesitantly felt his way in. The brush was thicker than he
thought because ten meters in, still all he saw were weeds. The
red plants were tough, and parting them took a lot of effort.
With his sword, he sawed off a small section. The leaf snapped,
and fresh red juice oozed out with a familiar, sweet fragrance.
Ai Hui noticed that the smell had become more concentrated.

After a few minutes, the color of the cut leaf dulled before
withering into a gray. A light touch, and the leaf scattered into
ashes.

Ai Hui was painstakingly careful to avoid getting the juice on

himself. He was suddenly reminded of Zhou Xiaoxi and felt pity.
He couldn’t help but sigh. Such a strong elementalist, elite of
the Thirteen Divisions, and he died so unreasonably.

Advancing, the lush weeds became more sparse about a

hundred meters in. Recalling the topography from before, he
knew the way into the forest was just in front.

Ai Hui warily pinched and broke a telepathy lotus seed into

pieces.

Nothing happened.

A haze passed through his eyes. Indeed, the telepathy lotus

seed had disconnected, verifying one of the magistrate court’s
conjectures. Fortunately, the court had considered this and
specially provided movie beans for them. Compared to the ones
used by the training hall, this one was for military use.
Recording images no longer required the cumbersome pod, and
the visuals were clearer.

He prepared the movie bean before continuing forward.

Everything was going smoothly so far. While there hadn’t been
any results, the same could be said for accidents as well.

As the surrounding weeds became increasingly sparse,

towering trees began to appear before him.

He was dumbfounded.
 Over fifty meters in height, the towering trees were so thick
that several people would be needed to span the trunk’s
circumference. Misshapen tree tumors and strips of twisted
vines filled it, seeming to wind around the trunk but also
somehow embedded within. The foliage was thick like felt,
covering the sky completely. Roots hung down like that of a
banyan tree, their ends deeply secured into the ground.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling screech sounded from the front.

Ai Hui quivered.

He carefully parted the roots before bursting forward full-

speed.

Countless hanging roots from a tree had coiled themselves

around an elementalist, his skin pricked by small, fine needles.

The following scene changed Ai Hui’s expression greatly and

sent a chill down his spine.

The tree roots became clear, and the blood-like red juice
pumping within flowed into the elementalist’s body
continuously. The elementalist’s shrieking came to a sudden
stop. His panic-stricken face slackened, and he looked on in
relish with a drunken expression. His body was like a fully-
inflated balloon, while his veins were fully visible in the skin
that was now transparent.

The towering tree let out a crashing rumble.

Ai Hui felt his blood run cold. He became aware of the whole
tree trembling. The vines around the trunk became translucent
as well, like human veins through which red juices flowed. The
tumors on the trunk seemed to come alive as well, like many
distorted and terrifying faces.

Until now, Ai Hui had assumed he had already experienced

the worst the Wilderness had to offer, but he was proven
wrong. He had been ridiculously wrong.

He pinched the movie bean with trembling hands that

exposed his current dread.

He breathed deeply, continuously, in an attempt to control

and calm his state of mind.
 No need to look; there wasn’t any hope left for that
elementalist.

And Ai Hui, with his sharp senses, realized the astonishing

changes occurring in the elementalist’s body.

Wild animals became blood fiends from the blood poison’s

infection. What about humans? Would they become...

Blood people?

Ai Hui couldn’t help but shiver.

Could such a monster still be called human? Completely

transformed blood fiends did not lose consciousness—rather,
they became stronger and more agile. What about blood people?
What would become of them?

Ai Hui’s fear heightened. Blood fiends were already

frightening enough to send them fleeing.

If blood people… with the intelligence of a human and the

body of a blood fiend...

Ai Hui suddenly thought of the blood poison’s name—God of

Blood. Were they trying to create another variant of human?

No, impossible!

No one could do it!

Ai Hui’s body turned cold as aggressiveness emerged in his

eyes. He held on to an additional smallsword before throwing
himself forward with all his might.

Bang!

The elementalist’s brain exploded, red juice spraying high like

a fountain.

Whatever juice ended up on the tree trunk or leaves was

absorbed immediately.
 The tightly coiled roots loosened, dropping the pale, lifeless
corpse on the ground.

Ai Hui relaxed a little.

“Tell me, you killed one of my subordinates. How are you

going to compensate?”

An indistinct voice echoes in his ears without warning. A faint

fragrance entered Ai Hui’s nostrils and a warm breath landed on
his neck.

Ai Hui’s pupils shrank as the hairs all over his body stood on
end.
Chapter 167: Reunion
Thanks to the sword embryo, Ai Hui had long become
accustomed to having control over the surrounding movements.
His six senses were sharper and better than most master
elementalists’. Even the high-altitude, noiseless blood bats
could not escape him.

But the voice behind him was like a ghost appearing from
nowhere.

He detected nothing until he heard it.

He was shocked, but his real-life combat experience benefited

him at such a time. Before his brain had time to process the
situation, he had already launched his Dragonspine Inferno
behind him out of instinct.

But it was empty. The Dragonspine Inferno caught nothing.

“So it’s you, One Thousand Yuan boy.” A lady’s sweet, sticky
voice sounded from before him.
 Ai Hui raised his head. He knew not when, but a woman
dressed in red smiled at him while standing on the branch that
had entrapped the elementalist. She sat down easily, her red
dress like a waterfall.

“It’s you!”

Ai Hui was utterly shocked. It was the same lady in red whom
he had met in front of the noodle shop.

“Seeing an old friend makes me so happy.” She looked Ai Hui

up and down with excitement. “Those who came before were
either old or ugly; you look the best. See, you didn’t pay me, but
I said you’re pretty.”

Ai Hui’s mental state was highly tense. The lady in red had
unfathomable powers. Plus, it seemed...

His gaze fell on the branch below her. The tree roots which
had been so wild before were now quiet and placid. But recalling
how they had sucked that elementalist dry earlier, the sight
before him frightened him still.
 His throat dried up and his heart pounded increasingly fast,
but he forced himself to remain calm. “Who are you?”

“I’m a beauty!” the lady answered matter-of-factly before

blinking. “Didn’t you say that? Beautiful as a fairy.”

She then shook her head, feigning sadness. “Men are

heartless, forgetting what they’ve said just a few days prior?
Indeed, if you want to trust a man’s words, you might as well
believe that there’s a ghost in this world. Spending a thousand
yuan is useless!”

Finishing her sentence, she was unable to restrain a smile.

Ai Hui did not relax in the slightest. The tree roots remained
still and the surrounding forest was quiet, but the pretty and
flirtatious lady before his eyes was immeasurably powerful. Her
laughter tinkled like silver bells, reverberating around the
woods.

“You planted the blood poison?” Ai Hui swallowed his saliva

and kept his cool.
 “I’m not that capable.” The lady looked Ai Hui up and down
again before continuing, “Blackie died in your hands, right? I
smelled his scent on your body earlier.”

“Blackie?” Ai Hui opened his eyes wide and dared not loosen
up.

“The blood fiend baby that I’m keeping. It’s a very powerful
bat.” The lady was doubtful. “How strange. You’re not that
strong, so how did you kill Blackie?”

Ai Hui’s scalp started to feel numb. He finally understood why

he met her in front of the noodle shop. She was trying to track
down that blood bat!

“Whatever!” The young lady stretched. “You killed Blackie, so

you must be more powerful. I only like powerful things! Plus,
how interesting—beautiful as a fairy! I feel so shy! Don’t worry,
follow me in the future, and I’ll let you have a good life.”

Interesting… it was his first time being called interesting.

Ai Hui was not happy at all. Instead, he was trying to find an

opportunity to escape, but the situation was not in his favor.

Her power was unpredictable. He was unable to detect her

presence even when she was close by. The same was true for
when she flew up to the branches. Moreover, the surrounding
roots and vines did not affect her, but they were fatal to him.

Then the dense weeds, thick like walls, were natural

obstructions blocking his path.

On his way here, he had carefully avoided the weeds’ serrated

edges when pushing through. The moment he got cut meant a
dead end for him. There was absolutely no antidote for the
blood poison at this point.

The hope for a direct and successful escape was very slim.

As for any regrets he had over his decision to risk his life like
this, it was meaningless to think of it now.

He was thankful only that the lady did not attack him directly.
Perhaps she had insufficient experience, perhaps it was
deliberate, or perhaps it was a game to her. No matter the
reason, stalling for time was a good option in his current
situation.

There was no lack of strong elementalists this time. If they

happened to pass by, he could take the chance to escape.

All right!

Ai Hui’s mind was turning rapidly, but his face showed no

sign of it. Rapidly formulating a plan, he initiated, “Why are
you guys doing this?”

“Why?” The lady in red asked naively, “Then why are you
training?”

“To control my own destiny,” Ai Hui responded.

“Control your own destiny?” The lady in red gave a blank

stare but soon started laughing happily. “I like this saying!
Indeed, you’re worthy of being my subordinate. How
interesting.”
 “And you guys—why?” Ai Hui asked in a low tone.

“Only God can control his own destiny.” The lady in red
looked Ai Hui over again, her gaze flickering. “How can
ordinary beings struggle free from fate’s stocks and chains? Of
course, they can choose a better lock. For example, becoming
my underling will ensure a bright future. Think about it? I like
it when people act according to their wishes!”

“And then I’ll be sucked dry like him?” Ai Hui replied coldly
while pointing at the desiccated corpse on the ground.

“You killed him.” The lady’s smiling face was like a flower.
Seeing Ai Hui’s look of disbelief, she continued unhurriedly,
“Although he was trapped, it was actually his good fortune. Do
not look down on these bloods. They are the spiritual essence of
countless blood insects and beasts, and maybe a thousand or ten
thousand of them entered his body. Don’t you think that’s good
fortune? If he had survived, his strength would have increased
exponentially, much faster than your training. Are you moved?
Do you want to control your own destiny? How can you do it
without power? I can give you power—much more than what
you have now! How about it? Are you moved?”

Hearing this, it was as if raging waves had hit his chest. He

was no longer able to remain calm. “You guys swallowed all of
the blood insects, treating them as nutrients, and gather them
into a human body….”

“A human body? No no no!” The lady in red shook her head

like a rattle-drum. “No one can endure the power of so many
blood insects. Even God can’t do it. Humans mustn’t be so
greedy!

“Maybe you have the gift!” She sized Ai Hui up before

continuing, “I’ll let you try later, don’t worry. I’m very
generous. If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”

The lady gave a charming expression and winked at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui finally understood why the forest was so deathly still

and silent. He felt a chill in his body, an incorporeal hand firmly
strangling his throat.

The events currently unfolding completely subverted all of his

knowledge.

Clap!
 A sound like that of a watermelon splitting suddenly rang out
from deep within the forest.

“Hey, these people have such weak essence.” The lady was
clearly displeased. “They can’t even endure such little blood
spiritual force? Useless. God wouldn’t even want such rubbish.
The greatest contribution trash can make is to become nutrition
for a genius. Sigh, there’s enough nutrients but not enough
talents. Hey, are you a genius?”

Ai Hui sharply inhaled in an attempt to restrain the throbbing

of his heart.

That exploding sound couldn’t have been an elementalist who

had failed to endure the infusion of blood spiritual force….

Wait!

Blood spiritual force!

Ai Hui soon grasped the crux of the matter. Blood spiritual

force—spiritual force! Having disappeared for over a thousand
years, the once-resplendent and magnificent spiritual force had
actually reappeared….

This isn’t real….

“Spiritual force, you said?” Ai Hui asked hoarsely. His state of

mind was utterly unguarded at this point. He even forgot about
escaping.

Because of spiritual force.

He knew what its reappearance meant.

His sword techniques and secrets could be of use. The

countless sword manuals he had read that were covered in
grime and regarded as rubbish could be useful again. Their dust-
covered brilliance, scattered into years of legends and folklores,
would reemerge on this land.

The extinct cultivators would reclaim their world. Be it the

Avalon of Five Elements or the Wilderness, neither were worth
mentioning in front of them. No one would be able to stop the
cultivators.
 Impossible…

“Yes.” The lady smiled. “Looking forward to it? Cultivation is

becoming a long-forgotten term. Look, we’re finally able to
recover our legacy. How about it? Are you all fired up? Probably
getting impatient….”

All of a sudden, with great strength, Ai Hui charged towards

Central Pine City like a launched arrow.

“Men are full of empty words!”

The indistinct voice travelled from behind Ai Hui. Her breath

was fragrant and stuck close to his body.

A cold ray flashed past Ai Hui’s eyes. Without a sound, the

Dragonspine Inferno struck backward from his left underarm.

Fell through again!

Damn it!
 Things were not looking good. Without waiting for Ai Hui to
turn around, the voice sounded once again from the back of his
neck.

“Know why I’m talking to you for so long? So much trash is

bothersome enough, so I’m just waiting for these trees to
recover, and I can prepare a big meal for you. Am I not
especially nice to you?”

Without warning, Ai Hui braked and with the power of both

legs, lunged himself backwards with all his might.

[Arching Fish Back]!

But it was once again fruitless. Ai Hui’s heart dropped.

The voice came from behind his neck again. The lady stuck
onto him, her puffs of breath landing just above his ears.

“Although I like it when people act according to their wishes,

if they can’t do it, I find it tasteful to force myself upon them
too. One Thousand Yuan boy, I will make you comfortable.”
 Ai Hui’s body tensed as suddenly, his body was bound by the
root-like objects. The immense force made his body lose all
control, and with how tightly he was wrapped, he felt himself
losing consciousness.

Was he going to die?

Or become a monster?

Ai Hui’s limbs were ice-cold.

Chapter 168: Blood Refinement
All was black before Ai Hui’s eyes. His whole body was tightly
tied up and he felt like a dumpling. Even his mouth was tightly
bound. Luckily, his nose was not completely blocked or else he
would have suffocated. That would have been depressing.

He felt like he had soared up into the clouds and was flying
amongst them, floating unsteadily as he rose and fell.

Was this how flying felt?

It wasn’t actually a wonderful experience.

Initially, panic and dread had occupied his mind and body,
but as time passed, he struggled free from the fear. As the fear
lessened, so did the panic. Panicking wasn’t useful at all since it
would not loosen the vines wrapped around his body.

During his three years in the wilderness, the biggest change Ai

Hui had undergone was learning how to fight with his all
despite the danger he may be in; if he could not alter the
situation, he just had to face the problem with a calm and
collected mind. Every day was like a roulette on a gambling
table. No one knew what would happen in the next second, so
whether or not you were willing and whether or not it was
alterable... you would have to face the result eventually.

Supposing ignorance was commonplace, what one sees is

merely a watery reflection on the surface. In that case, only
when undisturbed can one see more clearly.

Having calmed down, Ai Hui’s brain recovered from its frozen

state and his thoughts started spinning once again. Every
sentence from the conversation he had just had with the lady in
red re-emerged in his mind. He suddenly felt that what she had
said was fragmented and dishonest.

If the so-called blood spiritual force really was spiritual force,

then they had no need to resort to these tricks. A blood
catastrophe was completely unnecessary.

Cultivators had many advantages over elementalists.

The lady in red and her fellows had killed so many people,
enough to cause terror in the populace; however, at the same
time, they had created countless nemeses who were now
seeking vengeance. Threats were a weapon for the weak. The
truly strong would have no need to talk; they would simply
crush their opponents.

If this group of people were really so strong that they were

superior when compared to everyone else, then there should
have been no need to create such a dramatic bloodbath.

There was a ninety percent chance that the lady in red was
lying.

Beautiful ladies are indeed liars, Ai Hui cursed silently. Unable

to resist, he decided to give the lady in red a name to express his
disdain.

What to call her? Oh, how about One Thousand Yuan? Need
“One Thousand Yuan”! Pfft, what’s the use of being pretty? She
was only worth one thousand yuan anyway!

Ai Hui drew circles and cursed non-stop in his heart, but his
brain did not stop thinking.

It looked like the blood wave was caused by One Thousand

Yuan and her group in order to create a batch of powerful
soldiers. Currently, this method had proven to be greatly flawed
since it had extremely high requirements for the test subjects.

All the elementalists had failed.

He wasn’t sure if even he could succeed. Okay, he probably

couldn’t. He wasn’t that gifted.

How pathetic. He was going to become a firecracker, explode

into meat dregs, and die without an intact corpse. So ugly…

So, what if he did succeed? He would become an evil monster.

How could he bear killing Fatty and the rest? Fatty and
Bangwan owed him so much money too, it would be such a loss.
Oh wait, he still owed the noodle shop lady eighty million yuan.
Forget it, a monster had better prospects…

Disorganized and scattered thoughts filled his brain.

He was even more pessimistic when it came to Central Pine

City’s future.
 What if One Thousand Yuan used this kind of method to
create a whole bunch of blood fiends? Not many were needed,
trouble ensued even if only ten tiny, weak insects combined
their strength.

Yeah, he had probably reached the depths of the forest by

now.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The gentle voice of the lady in red sounded like the eerie sneer
of an executioner to Ai Hui’s ears.

He was going to leave this world without becoming an

elementalist after all!

He ridiculed himself for wanting to control his own fate. His

so-called dreams were about to die.

Okay, it would be considered a blessing if he could just live for

a few more years. A tiny small-fry like him had no rights to
complain, right? It was destiny, huh… he could only accept his
fate and surrender his life!
 Please loosen the vines gripping my mouth…

Hey, hey, hey, I’m about to surrender. One Thousand Yuan,

oh, no, beautiful fairy, I’m going to surrender…

Beautiful commanding officer, your loyal subject is here…

Hey, hey, hey…

The lady in red did not read his thoughts. “I find you
interesting. You must be different from the other bunches of
trash, so I prepared a big meal for you. You’ll enjoy it very
much. When you get used to the taste of blood spiritual force,
you’ll know why it’s a world delicacy. Be good, it won’t hurt at
all.”

Using her gentle fingers, she pulled a tree root as thick as a

thumb over to Ai Hui and stuck it into the hollow of his left
palm.

Ai Hui’s body stiffened and an intense pain made him blank

out.
 He’d had no time to react. The red, hot-as-lava juice entered
his body ceaselessly through the wound. He wanted to struggle,
but was unable to move at all. He wanted to shout, but not a
single sound came out.

The seemingly boneless, soft white palm grabbed Ai hui’s

right hand. Seeing the tightly held sword, she tried to take it
away. Who knew that Ai Hui’s grip was so strong. She was
unable to take the sword from him no matter how hard she
tried.

“I like stubborn people.” The young lady laughed and said,

“The more stubborn, the more suffering they’ll feel. Blood
spiritual force is the best wine and pain is the best
accompanying dish. The more you taste, the more pain you
experience. My first subordinate is indeed different from the
rest. Such happiness.”

Pop.

Another tree root was stuck into the back of Ai Hui’s right
hand.

The lady in red looked at Ai Hui, who was tightly bound, with
great satisfaction. Countless tree roots swarmed in from all
directions, like snakes lured by the smell of fish, towards Ai Hui.

Each surrounding tree was taller and more solid than the
others. The more roots they had, the more concentrated the
tumors on the trunks were. The tumors seemed to take the form
of human faces and started turning and twisting.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

More and more tree roots started pricking Ai Hui’s body and a
steady flow of fresh red juice entered within him. Ai Hui’s body
twitched uncontrollably and eventually became still, like a
senseless corpse.

Time passed slowly. An hour went by and Ai Hui still showed

no signs of bloating.

The lady in red was beyond pleased. She muttered to herself,

“Indeed, I’ve picked the right subordinate.”

She appeared to be admiring her best work of art.

 Suddenly, movements were detected from far away and her
expression changed, but then quickly returned to her usual
pretty and flirtatious face. She wrinkled her brows slightly and
pouted her rosy lips. “How annoying, finding trouble at such a
time.”

Nevertheless, she got up and took a last look at Ai Hui, who

was wrapped and bound tightly by countless tree roots.

She crooked her head and thought for a while before

disappearing in a flash.

Having flown over ten meters, she came to a stop in front of a

big tree. It had dense tree roots and a suspended rattan ball.

The lady revealed a hurt expression, but still clenched her

teeth and slashed across the roots supporting the rattan ball.
The dense roots broke without a sound and the ball fell to the
ground.

The lady flew over and landed in front of it, then peeled it
open carefully.
 A mastiff dizzily crawled out from inside.

This mastiff was big, around the size of a young horse. The
soles of its feet were blood red and its claws looked like they
were dyed the same color. The fresh, blood-like red extended
upwards from its claws in a meandering design before forming
complicated patterns on and throughout its ash-gray body.

The mastiff’s eyes were like red rubies, pure and sparkly.

It bared its fangs, displeased by the disturbance; however the

moment it saw the source of the disturbance, it lay on the
ground obediently.

The lady in red felt some heartache. The mastiff was only half
complete. Disrupting its blood refinement process like this
meant that it would be difficult for the wolf to be strengthened
in the future.

She quickly recovered from it however. No matter how gifted

a blood fiend was and no matter how much refinement it
underwent, it would never be on par with a human. There were
too many things a blood fiend couldn’t do.
 “Greenie, come here.” She waved her hand and floated
towards where Ai Hui was.

The mastiff gave a low howl and followed closely behind.

The half-complete, blood-refined mastiff had gotten quite a

lot stronger, satisfying the lady in red. Its huge body made no
noise while it sprinted as fast as lightning.

In this blood forest, the mastiff’s power wasn’t something

average elementalists could fight against.

“Greenie, guard him. You can kill whoever comes close.” The
lady in red instructed the mastiff while pointing at Ai Hui, who
was suspended in midair.

It let out a whimper and licked the lady’s palm.

“Be good, Greenie. When I’m done settling the problem, you
can continue your blood refinement.” The lady in red caressed
its head with much tenderness.
 Having said that, she flew up and away.

She was incomparably fast; a red blur flashed across the sky as
she flew by.

The mastiff laid down below the suspended Ai Hui.

Ai Hui felt as if he had fallen into lava; his whole body was
burning. The tremendous pain washed over his whole body like
the tide. The torment was so intense and distinct that it was like
a purgatory he couldn’t escape.

The red-hot lava-like juice was naturally fond of elemental

energy. It charged from all directions to wrap tightly around Ai
Hui’s recently activated limb palaces and natal residence.

Ai Hui’s elemental energy was slowly swallowed up as the red

juice seeped into every single piece of flesh within his body.
Every bit of elemental energy was its prey.

It was like elemental energy’s mortal enemy. It existed to

destroy elemental energy and the five residences and eight
palaces.
 Ai Hui’s limb palaces and natal residence started to crumble
bit by bit.

The leg palaces lost ground, followed by the hand palaces.

Intense anguish and despair enveloped Ai Hui. The price he had
paid, the time and effort he had put in to activate the residences
and palaces, and his dream were slowly being swallowed by the
red juice right before his eyes.

The indignation…

When his natal residence was drowned in the red juice, an

unprecedented hopelessness devoured Ai Hui. At this moment,
his heart’s despair far exceeded any physical pain.

He had fallen into the darkest abyss, where not a trace of

sunlight or hope could be felt. Only boundless and profound
gloom and cold pervaded.

Just die like this, he said to himself.

Chapter 169: Go to Hell!
Ai Hui’s mind was in a state of disarray as his body was
thrown into chaos. Nothing was left of the hand and leg palaces
that he had worked so hard to develop. Within his body, the rest
of the palaces which had not yet been activated were also being
destroyed as the blood poison permeated deep into his muscles
and bones, thoroughly changing their structure and
composition from within.

His entire body became afflicted with the blood poison. Every
last part of him, both internal and external, was triggered by the
blood poison into undergoing a raging, clamorous
transformation.

There was, however, one spot which remained completely

calm amidst the chaos his body was experiencing - the sky
palace between his brows.

The blood poison was viciously potent, quickly overcoming

his natal residence and activated limb palaces. Only his sky
palace remained as stable as a rock. Blood-red traces surfaced on
Ai Hui’s face, spreading to his tightly shut eyes.

The space between his eyebrows remained unaffected.

 The sky palace remained impenetrable as the blood poison
surged, surrounding it completely.

Blood-red traces appeared and vanished on different parts of

his body, as if red bugs were congregating and scattering as they
ran around.

The mastiff raised its head and looked at Ai Hui before letting
out a couple of envious howls, after which it lazily lay back
down on the ground.

Several kilometers away from where Ai Hui was held.

The lady in red looked at the wretched-looking man in front

of her with a frown. “How did you end up like this?” She
berated.

The man was around forty-years-old and had a distressed look

on his face. He looked like an honest, down-to-earth farmer
with messy hair and a body littered with scars.

“Met with stiff resistance.” The man laughed bitterly as he

spoke.
 “Powerful people?” asked the lady, her pupils contracting. “A
Grandmaster?”

“If there had been a Grandmaster you wouldn’t be seeing me

here,” said the man, clearly in pain. “I was unlucky, running
into a group of elites from the Thirteen Divisions during my
blood refinement. I killed a couple of them, but there was one
that was particularly hard to handle.”

The lady in red heaved a sigh of relief. “As long as it wasn’t a

Grandmaster.”

They were at their most vulnerable during blood refinement,

as it caused their strength to fall drastically. Meeting enemies
during this period would spell disaster.

She calmly asked, “You’re still going to continue with blood

refinement?”

The same pained expression never left the man’s face. “I don’t
really have a choice. I have to spend more time and effort since
I’m not as talented as you are.”
 While the two appeared to chat familiarly, they were
constantly on guard, keeping some distance between each other.

Both of them were from the same faction, but were otherwise
hardly related. They were teammates as well as rivals. The lady
in red wasn’t expecting the man to persist with blood
refinement.

Blood refinement was a risky endeavour and every step taken

must be done with the utmost care. It was, in a sense, like
walking on thin ice. Since they were essentially just beings of
flesh, there was a limit to how much blood refinement their
bodies could take. This was especially the case with the Blood of
God, which was potent beyond compare. Blindly partaking in
blood refinement would only result in death by fulmination.

Amidst the blood disaster, Blood of God could easily be

obtained. Its power was as vast as the ocean. Rather than blind
refinement, control was the key to handling it.

The man in front of her was Tian Kuan. Since they had first
met and until now, she had never seen a different expression on
his face. It was the same pained expression day in and day out.
He was the oldest and least talented among them. Nobody knew
why he was chosen and nobody seemed to think highly of him.
 Nobody had expected him to last this long, to still be standing
after so many others had been eliminated. Tian Kuan was one of
the six who managed to persist through the many rounds of
blood refinement.

By that point, the others had learned to stop belittling him.

After all, every one of the six were impressive individuals who
had had to step over countless corpses to get this far.

The lady in red hadn’t thought that Tian Kuan would actually
incorporate Blood of God into his body.

Since the six of them had all long reached their limits, they
would have to train and further increase those limits before
they could continue with subsequent rounds of blood
refinement. Fervently proceeding with training carried insanely
high risks, which was why the others were instead planning to
use the Blood of God to create new subordinates first.

Tian Kuan’s actions were simply insane!

The lady in red decided that she had to re-evaluate Tian Kuan.
Overly zealous individuals either died at the hands of their zeal
or went on to have shocking achievements.
 “You could always capture some students or wild beasts,” the
lady in red said flatly. “Perhaps then you won’t end up all
desolate again.”

“Forget it,” rejected Tian Kuan with a shake of his head. “I’m
used to working alone.”

The lady in red looked up at the sky and said, “Here come
your little maggots.”

The sky above the sea of blood had become slightly more
dangerous due to the increasing numbers of blood-refined
avians. As more of them appeared, the elementalists would have
to take greater caution before soaring into the skies above the
Induction Ground. For now, however, the number of blood-
refined avians was still relatively low and did not pose that
much of a threat to elementalists who were using the azure
wings.

The skies were still safer than the forest below.

The lady in red kept her calm gaze on the approaching

elementalists. A few elites from the Thirteen Divisions weren’t
a threat to her. If Tian Kuan hadn’t been engaged in blood
refinement, he’d have easily been able to handle these maggots
as well.

“You owe me one,” said the lady in red casually.

“Although I’d much rather not, I don’t think I have any other
choice,” answered Tian Kuan. “Why can’t they just let me
practice in peace?”

“You only have yourself to blame,” said the lady in red with a
sneer. “Do you really intend act alone forever? Are you sure you
can keep going by yourself?”

“I’m used to being alone,” Tian Kuan said flatly.

“Furthermore, such power is better kept to myself.”

“You can’t possibly use up that much Blood of God by

yourself.”

“Interacting with others takes too much effort.”

“Don’t mess up the grand plan.”

 “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to die.”

The two of them tactfully cut the conversation short, neither

could go on with it. The lady in red couldn’t understand how
Tian Kuan could possibly attempt to absorb something so
powerful on his own. She became more guarded against Tian
Kuan, noting that he was someone who simply couldn’t trust
others.

She would never have trusted him anyway.

Bloodshed and betrayal were the keys to survival for the

remaining six.

The lady in red stopped trying to convince him. The two of

them weren’t exactly close to begin with. Besides, being able to
survive until now meant that all of the six weren’t normal at all.
How could she expect any one of them to not have their own
quirks?

Li Wei pressed on with all his might as flames of hatred

burned hot within his eyes.
 His comrades had sacrificed themselves to see this mission
through, leaving Li Wei as the sole survivor. He felt an
incomparable sorrow deep within his heart. Despite having
become accustomed to death over his years out on the
frontlines, this was the first time he had experienced the loss of
an entire squad. His comrades’ sacrifices were definitely not in
vain, as they had rained hell on their enemies.

Li Wei had a death wish. He wasn’t afraid of dying as long as

he could slay every last one of them!

His skin possessed a metallic luster, making the exposed parts

of his body look like they were cast out of iron. Some of the
white marks that lined his entire body were faintly stained with
blood, a remnant of the tragic battle he had just survived.

The sturdy, bronze-colored azure wings spread wide open.

While the Copper Bone Bird wasn’t particularly fast, the
majestic wings enhanced Li Wei’s presence while his murderous
intent permeated the air around him. He looked just like an
ancient god of war, as described in the legends of old.

“What an impressive aura!” The lady in red’s eyes lit up in

excitement. She couldn’t help but call out in praise, “I didn’t
expect such a heroic-looking figure to be in the Infantry
Division. I imagined that you were all just lumps of dull metal.”

With his usual pained expression, Tian Kuan said, “Enough

with your wild thoughts and quickly finish him. We shouldn’t
let him live since he managed to injure me.”

The lady in red felt it was a pity that she had to kill him, but
Tian Kuan had anticipated her thoughts and left her with no
other choice. It wasn’t worth offending Tian Kuan over an elite
from the Thirteen Divisions. Since the two of them were of
equal standing, a favor from him was like having a valuable ally.

Alright, since you’re giving me the chance to earn a favor, I’ll

grant you a straightforward death.

The lady in red lunged forward, appearing to turn into a wisp

of red smoke. The speed with which she charged towards Li Wei
made it impossible to pinpoint her location at any given
moment.

Li Wei was surprised to discover that his target had an ally.

Pressed for time, he immediately reacted by sending a

crushing blow in the direction of his opponent. His palm,
suffused with metallic luster, surged forward like an advancing
tank.

“Not quite skillful enough.”

The lady in red giggled as she appeared behind Li Wei.

A soft, delicate palm pressed silently onto Li Wei’s back.

Li Wei’s pupils dilated rapidly. A tremendously violent force

erupted from behind him.

Pop!

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Knocked out of the air

by what felt like a large hammer, Li Wei fell towards the ground
like a whistling meteorite.

A sinister smile crept across Tian Kuan’s mouth, completing

the malevolent look on his face.
 He froze when he saw Li Wei’s figure appear out of nowhere,
growing larger by the second.

Li Wei’s hate-filled eyes burned with satisfaction. He grinned,

revealing two rows of snow white teeth stained with streaks of
blood.

Li Wei had known that he was in trouble the moment he laid

eyes on the lady in red. Despite that knowledge, he had had no
intention to retreat whatsoever.

He clasped his hands together and raised them high above his
head like a hatchet, ready to strike. A brilliant silver light
shrouded his clasped hands as every last bit of elemental energy
he had left was channeled into them. The metallic luster that
coated his skin became even more dazzling, appearing more like
a coat of silvery liquid.

“Go to hell!”

With that cry of rage, Tian Kuan’s terror turned into despair
and the lady in red’s face turned ashen.
 Tian Kuan’s despair instantly transformed into ruthlessness.
A blood red pattern appeared on his forehead like a banner.

The lady in red stared at Tian Kuan in disbelief.

The ever distressed-looking Tian Kuan had practically

transformed into a different person. His aura was definitely not
the same as before. Tian Kuan’s usual hunched back was
replaced by an upright posture and his skin was washed over
with a warm glow. He had transformed from a farmer into an
elegant prince.

His lips curved into a sinister smile.

Lightly stretching out his arms, Tian Kuan gracefully resisted

the war god’s silver hammer with his palms.

The sneer on Li Wei’s face was frozen solid in shock.

The silver glow in his hands exploded, unleashing a powerful

blast with the force of a thousand suns.
 The explosion sent the now unconscious Li Wei flying
through the air like a ragdoll. He had lost both of his arms in
that final attack. Blood dripped continuously from his tattered
sleeves, scattering throughout the air.

“I’m going to kill you!”

Amidst the heat of the explosion, Tian Kuan’s hysterical cry

pierced through the air.

A figure dived down from above the clouds, catching Li Wei

with amazing accuracy before soaring back up above cloud
cover with unprecedented speed.

The lady in red subconsciously moved, but stopped herself

upon remembering the blood marks between Tian Kuan’s
eyebrows.

Then she suddenly felt a terrifying disturbance and the color

drained from her face.

That location... it was where she had come from!

Chapter 170: The Sword Embryo and the
Bandage
The sword embryo’s throbbing felt like an endlessly beating
heart.

The complex pattern of blood traces was rapidly shifting over

Ai Hui’s entire body like a swarm of poisonous ants. Large
quantities of blood poison were transforming Ai Hui’s body
from within, and a faintly sweet scent wafted from his body.

A violent, murderous power was steadily produced by his

blood-transformed body.

Blood traces from all over his body began to compress,

aggregating towards the space between his eyebrows. They
became sleeker and more elegant, with increasing activity. As
they surrounded a blank space between his brows, they took on
the shape of diminutive flames.

The blood traces seeped towards his brow, appearing as a

thin, crimson layer on Ai Hui’s skin. The sweet scent became
thicker.
 As if covered by a thick bloody paste, the sword embryo’s
activity slowed.

An unceasing torrent of blood poison flowed more furiously

from within the tree roots.

As soon as the new blood traces appeared on Ai Hui’s body,

they quickly rushed towards the space between his brows. It
was as though a powerful magnet resided there, attracting
them.

At that moment, the inactive bandages on his arms noiselessly

coiled its way around Ai Hui’s body. As if controlled by invisible
hands, the Blood Bandages worked in synchrony, with one end
wrapping down from his forehead and the other starting from
his feet. Layer by layer, he was tightly wound, and in the blink
of an eye, Ai Hui’s entire body was bundled up tightly like a
dumpling. Interestingly enough, the Blood Bandages
deliberately avoided wrapping the tree roots.

A single blood trace appeared on Ai Hui’s palm, penetrating

through his skin and surfacing on the outside of the bandage.

As if it had a life of its own, the blood trace moved along the
bandage towards his forehead.

It seemed like nothing had changed.

The blood trace became duller upon moving past Ai Hui’s

elbow.

Extremely fine veins appeared along the bandage, absorbing

blood from the blood traces as they moved along; their bright
red color gradually faded until they turned gray.

The sword embryo that had almost been overcome by the

immense pressure from the blood traces sprang back to life
upon sensing that victory was now possible. It momentarily
paused all activity when the blood traces surfaced on the
bandages before restarting its throbbing pulse one second later,
speeding up to an even higher level of activity than before. The
cold, frigid sensation of metal pervaded the air atop Ai Hui’s
brows.

At the same time, an attractive force was present.

Droplets of colorless light were extracted from the blood

traces, amassing into a glinting needle mid-air before
penetrating back into Ai Hui’s body. A soft sword cry rang out
from the point of entry.

The blood traces had lost all luster as well as color.

While moving along the Blood Bandage, the blood trace’s

color began to dull, and by the time it reached his shoulders,
nothing was left of the bright red that once illuminated it.

The ashen remnant then became a thin wisp of smoke,

dispersing in the air and vanishing from the bandage.

Ai Hui’s mummified body was heavily emitting gray smoke.

In contrast to the blood poison’s sweet scent, the gray smoke

had a raw, fishy odor. Upon contact with it, the tree’s blood-red
leaves rapidly turned to ash.

The thick shroud of smoke engulfing Ai Hui looked like a gray

cocoon from afar.
 Looking up, the mastiff grew suspicious. The transformation
occurring had proceeded well beyond its understanding, but it
seemed to sense something monstrous lurking within the
cocoon of gray smoke. A primal fear rose from within it.

It retreated a few steps, scanning around for further signs of

change. Ascertaining that all else was fine, the mastiff lazily
relaxed on the ground once more.

A while later, Ai Hui drowsily regained consciousness.

He had been awoken by an unusual sound. It was rather

unfamiliar yet strangely familiar as well. Listening intently, he
finally recognized the sound of a sword being unsheathed, only
he had never before heard of a sword being unsheathed for such
an inordinate amount of time.

Was he dreaming?

He often had such dreams back in the swordsman school. He

would dream of tall, exquisite palaces that reached into the
clouds, of swordsmen who could fly on swords, or of majestic
mountains that cast their shadows onto heavenly sword
formations, as well as all manner of interesting spiritual
beasts...

He would dream of mystical swordplay manuals, the flying

swords of legends—even dreaming of those figures who once
dominated the entire world.

It had been a while since he had such bizarre dreams. The

naive and curious minds of the young would inevitably be
eroded by reality and time.

The mental state of humans were associated with time and

even more closely with experiences. Ai Hui had never
experienced a childhood filled with imagination; instead, he had
lived an unimaginable life.

Ai Hui’s first reaction to the unceasing sounds was to think

that he was dreaming.

He soon realized that he wasn’t in a dream, however.

The sword embryo’s throbbing was more forceful than he had

ever experienced. It emitted a ceaseless cry, and he could feel
the muscles in his body resonating along with it.
 The darkness before his eyes perhaps played a role, but Ai Hui
noticed that he was acutely sensitive to bodily sensations. He
could feel a stream of energy swimming around his body like a
large school of fish, and strands of it seemed to resonate with
the sword embryo, trembling slightly with each pulse.

Ai Hui was startled by this sensation. What is that?

Never before had he experienced such energy strands. He

could sense the power contained within them, but it was
completely different from anything he had ever encountered.

Well, Ai Hui quietly mocked himself, he hadn’t exactly

experienced other kinds of power either.

But he was certain that this torrential energy was vastly

different from the elemental energy he had been developing.
Could it be a new kind of elemental energy?

Ai Hui was uncertain. In matters of elemental energy, he had

only recently graduated from being a complete rookie.

There existed too many kinds of elemental energy that he had

yet to see.

Now was not the time to think about such things, however; he
had to find a way to escape.

Finally sober, Ai Hui attempted to struggle his way out but

soon realized that he had lost all control over his body. He could
not move an inch.

Ai Hui remained composed. He had, after all, been through

scenarios far worse than this.

He repeatedly encouraged himself—there had to be a way out.

He started by inspecting his body closely, becoming

increasingly bewildered as he went on.

It wasn’t surprising that the five residences and eight palaces

within his body were completely wrecked; he still had an
impression of what had happened before losing consciousness.

Were these strands of energy a part of the blood poison?

 No, the blood poison was much more impetuous, more
unrelenting. But the strands of energy flowing through his body
were mild, even when compared to the metal elemental energy
he had personally developed. These energy strands clearly
originated from outside his body, outside….

Ai Hui suddenly realized that he was wrapped in the Blood

Bandage. How strange, he thought, as his consciousness
effortlessly slipped into the Blood Bandage.

He felt as if he had entered a different dimension, one filled

with the scent of blood.

A thick sea of blood stretched as far as his eyes could see.

Immense waves rose up across the violent sea, as if a monster
had awoken from deep within to taste the air with its tongue.

Across the sky, streaks of blood traces flowed like rivers of

blood.

Every time a tongue of blood lapped at the sky, glowing

essences from the blood traces were dragged down like a
waterfall. Ai Hui’s heart started palpitating. He felt his mind
quiver at the strange, bloody sight, and he had to fight to
maintain his consciousness.

Seeing the blood essences made him extremely

uncomfortable; he did not like it one bit.

The blood traces in the air started to fade.

In his mind, the past forms of Blood Bandages flashed. He

further affirmed that the Blood Bandage was an artifact from
the Cultivation Era. It was truly a time of unimaginable power
when even a nameless, tattered piece of cloth could possess
godly powers.

Witnessing the blood traces’ transformation, Ai Hui finally

understood where the strands of energy came from.

The Blood Bandage had extricated the blood essence from the
blood poison, allowing the sword embryo to then draw closer
the energy remaining in the blood poison.

Ai Hui recalled the words of the lady in red.

 Blood spiritual force.

He had promptly dismissed her words as a lie, thinking this

so-called blood spiritual force had to be similar to spiritual force
only in name.

But what if the blood poison was truly blood spiritual force?

Thinking this triggered his memories, and the phrase “blood

refinement” surfaced from his memories.

If the blood poison truly was blood spiritual force, then it had
to be closely related to blood refinement. How had the Blood
Bandage been able to absorb the reddish blood essence? As an
artifact from blood sects, it had to be capable of devouring
objects related to blood.

Many swordplay manuals mentioned blood-refinement

techniques as well as the blood sects that had been considered
heretical during the Cultivation Era due to their cruel practices.
They often used spiritual beasts in their trainings, or in more
extreme cases, human sacrifices. For many years, blood sects
were seen as those dabbling with demonic forces, untolerated by
orthodox sects.
 The Blood Bandages had to be devouring the blood-related
components from the blood poison.

Subtract the blood-related components from blood spiritual

force and what do you get?

Ai Hui had a tremendous revelation.

Spiritual force!

This answer left him stunned for a good few minutes. Never
in a million years did he imagine that he would come to such a
conclusion, but he simply could not think of any other answer.

Spiritual force, it’s really spiritual force! The force that led to
the blossoming of the Cultivation Era, the force that had
supposedly vanished from this world.

Ai Hui was exhilarated.

He was no longer able to remain calm. The glory of the

Cultivation Era was still deeply imprinted in everyone’s mind.
With this spiritual force, he could undoubtedly execute all of the
mythical sword techniques found in the manuals of old.

Ai Hui forced himself to calm down.

Regardless of the spiritual force’s power, he was still in a

precarious situation.

He attempted to activate a sword seal, hoping to escape

through such means. However, he soon realized his naivety.
The spiritual force within his body had a mild reaction, but he
quickly found that he had no means of circulating it. After all,
Ai Hui had never nurtured the channels required to utilize
spiritual force. The cultivators had a strict system comprised of
spiritual force, its corresponding channels known as meridians,
spell seals, and lastly, one’s sword. If any one of these
components were missing, nothing could be achieved.

Ai Hui laughed bitterly before regaining his composure. He

reminded himself once more that he had survived far worse
than this.

Levelheaded, Ai Hui began to explore ways to utilize this

spiritual force.
Chapter 171: The [Big Dipper]
Predicament
The authenticity of this “spiritual force” was questionable
since this was, after all, purely Ai Hui’s deduction.

Regardless, the most pressing issue now was to figure out how
to make use of it.

It was a pity that his five residences and eight palaces had
been destroyed.

Prior to becoming unconscious, Ai Hui had been devastated to

see his efforts and dreams ruined. Waking up now, however, his
feelings of disappointment had faded substantially, leaving only
survival instincts ablaze.

No, the five residences and eight palaces were not completely
destroyed. There was one that remained intact—the sky palace,
which housed the sword embryo.

He would be thinking of ways to repair the other seven

palaces, but that was only if his natal residence had not been
destroyed. That was the foundation for the system of five
residences and eight palaces as well as the basis for nurturing
elemental energy. As long as the foundation was intact, there
were ways to fix the rest of the system. But the destruction of
his natal residence meant that there was no way of restoring the
other seven palaces.

Hang on, the rest of the seven palaces….

A thought formed hazily, and he couldn’t quite make it out.

Seven palaces… seven palaces....

Ai Hui racked his brains before finally realizing what he had

been reminded of.

Didn’t the [Big Dipper] require seven palaces?

A sudden surge of inspiration led him to the answer; it was

indeed the [Big Dipper]. Having only recently acquired the
technique, Ai Hui had yet to carefully examine it. The [Big
Dipper] he received was the original version left behind by its
creator, containing all of his experiences and a massive amount
of information beyond Ai Hui’s comprehension.
 He hadn’t thought to use it so soon, originally intending to
digest more of the information before taking that final step.

Nobody would rush to utilize an original inheritance. It was a

waste of the precious knowledge contained within, and it was
also exceedingly dangerous to do so.

Anyone with some semblance of common sense would

understand the principle of taking things one step at a time. To
receive such tremendous knowledge as a greenhorn was
analogous to a traveler dying of thirst throwing himself against
enormous waves. Not only would he be unable to quench his
thirst, he would end up drowning as well.

But time was a luxury he could no longer afford. He was at the

crossroads between life and death.

There was no time to hesitate, nothing further to consider.

Without further deliberation, Ai Hui’s mind delved into the

[Big Dipper]. The feeling was akin to piercing the surface of a
ball of water.
 What came out, however, was not a stream of knowledge but
a raging torrent of information. Ai Hui was unable to react in
time and became overwhelmed.

He soon fell into a trance-like state.

A flood of specious arguments, paradoxical thoughts, and

familiarly unfamiliar feelings engulfed his mind. After what
seemed a long period of time, his consciousness emerged from
what had been another person’s world and drifted along like a
wilted leaf upon a vast ocean.

While his consciousness was exploring the [Big Dipper], the

strands of energy flowing through his body were stirred up.

The once peaceful flow began to surge ceaselessly.

While Ai Hui was in a trance-like state, the sword embryo

within his sky palace also became active.

Its throbbing slowed in tempo but grew in strength. It pulsed

like a bass drum, booming steadily and causing the energy
strands within his body to quiver with each beat.
 The “spiritual force” began to move from his lungs,
completing one Circulatory Cycle Revolution before seeping
through his arm and into the Dragonspine Inferno. It then
proceeded to flow back into his body.

If Ai Hui was conscious, he would have been shocked to

discover that this “spiritual force” circulated through the same
route as the elemental energy.

The returning “spiritual force” possessed a sharp flavor and

was completely absorbed by the sword embryo.

As the sword embryo grew in size, the sharp beats became

even more pronounced.

Once it reached the size of a soybean, the sword embryo

halted its expansion but not the absorption of “spiritual force.”
On the surface, a faint pattern appeared where the sword
embryo was located, and as it continued to absorb the “spiritual
force”, the pattern became more distinct and refined, ultimately
culminating into the shape of a longsword.

Only after the mark of the longsword appeared did the sword
embryo halt the absorption of “spiritual force”. The sharp aura
shrouding the sword embryo quickly became more restrained as
the sword embryo whirled about within the confines of the
space between Ai Hui’s eyebrows until it looked just like an
ordinary seed.

The returning “spiritual force” still flowed through the sword

embryo, but it appeared to have lost all interest. As the
Circulatory Cycle Revolution continued, the outflow of
“spiritual force” from the sword embryo was now equal to the
“inflow.”

There was an increase in the amount of “spiritual force”

entering the Circulatory Cycle Revolution. With each
revolution, the “spiritual force” passed through the sky palace
as well as the sword embryo.

And each time it passed through the sword embryo, the

“spiritual force” became thicker and its razor-sharp flavor
enhanced. The Circulatory Cycle Revolution gradually slowed.

After countless revolutions, the “spiritual force” had become

as viscous as magma. Imbued with a dense sword intent, the
“spiritual force” flowed slowly back into Ai Hui’s lungs. It
moved along the inner walls of his lung residence and covered
the entire area with a thick layer of “spiritual force.” The
constant influx of “spiritual energy” accumulated within and
thickened the inner walls.

With each Circulatory Cycle, the thick “spiritual force” passed

through the sword embryo and accumulated a stronger sword
intent. The thickening layer of “spiritual force” silently
transformed Ai Hui’s lungs.

The “spiritual force” seemed to have a naturally nourishing

effect for flesh and blood. A portion of it penetrated the inner
walls of Ai Hui’s lungs and began to grow with the force of life.
Once Ai Hui’s dilapidated lungs were fully saturated with
“spiritual force,” they began to steadily rejuvenate.

The sword intent embedded within the “spiritual force” was

also absorbed by his lungs.

After its destruction, his lungs had been like bellows riddled
with holes, but now that they were repaired, the bellows were
once again capable of generating air flow. Ai Hui’s breathing
caused his lungs to rhythmically expand and contract,
increasing the speed at which the sluggish “spiritual force” was
flowing.
 His left hand’s palace was repaired at the same slow pace.
Soon enough, the palaces in his right hand, left foot, and right
foot were also restored to their original states as they similarly
absorbed the sword intent.

Unlike the palaces within his four limbs, Ai Hui’s gate, earth,
and sea palaces had never been activated. Even so, the potent
blood poison had thoroughly spread to every part of his body,
bursting into his three unactivated palaces and destroying them
as well. The blood poison had evidently done him a huge favor.

The “spiritual force” entered the three palaces in accordance

with the Circulatory Cycle Revolution, flowing along the
damaged areas and thoroughly coating them.

The gate, sea, and earth palaces were like three damaged
reservoirs being patched up by the “spiritual force.” Never
would Ai Hui have imagined that his gate, sea, and earth palaces
would be activated in this way.

This was likely a great example of the rise after the fall.

Once the seven palaces were fully formed, Ai Hui’s body

convulsed.
 He had been floating about, bobbing up and down within the
vast sea of someone else’s world like a duckweed without roots.
And then without warning, the floating duckweed began to take
root, the familiar experiences and information finally finding
an inlet. The body that had been unfamiliar one moment
became familiar the next.

After activating the [Big Dipper]’s inheritance, a tremendous

wave of information and past experiences had crashed directly
against his mind, knocking him senseless. What was more
frustrating was his lack of seven palaces—without it, the
knowledge couldn’t be absorbed.

It was similar to having sudden realizations about swordplay

without having a sword on hand. The torrent of understandings
and past experiences were stoppered without outlet, further
clogging his mind.

It wasn’t until the “spiritual force” miraculously repaired his

natal residence and seven palaces that the deluge of past
realizations and experiences found their resting ground.

If Ai Hui were to regain consciousness now, he would be

shocked to discover that his seven palaces were vibrating at the
same frequency.
 The intensity of the vibrations increased, provoking the
“spiritual force” within his body to enter state like boiling
water.

Ai Hui’s consciousness was restored amidst these vibrations.

He immediately felt as though he would explode!

The “spiritual energy” within his body was entering a state of

overflow as the seven palaces’ synchronised vibration caused
the “spiritual energy” to gush.

A terrifying presence seeped from Ai Hui’s body.

The mastiff raised its head, uneasily clawing at the ground

with its front paw. It stared at the mass of gray smoke and
uttered a low and ferocious growl. It could sense something
amiss.

Ai Hui’s aura was slowly growing in strength.

Like startled snakes, the bandages wrapped around Ai Hui’s

body hastily returned to their original positions with a whoosh.
 The tree roots that stabbed into Ai Hui’s body turned to ash,
revealing Ai Hui who looked good as new without a single
scratch to be seen on his body.

[Big Dipper]...

Ai Hui finally understood in part why the [Big Dipper]

required seven strong palaces. By the time he had snapped out
of his thoughts, it had already been too late. And while the past
realizations and experiences contained within the [Big Dipper]
inheritance were partially eroded from time, they were still
immensely powerful.

Before he could even react, his instinct had already taken

control from his entire body.

The seven palaces vibrated more intensely while his aura

strengthened at an insane rate.

The mastiff stared with horror at the mass of gray smoke. It

unwillingly feared and revered the aura that was emitted from
within the smoke.
 Its ferocious snarling had long turned into frightened
whimpering, and its limbs were quivering in fear. The mere
presence of whatever was within the smoke was terribly
suffocating, completely suppressing the mastiff. Even the blood
traces on it began began to destabilize.

Ultimately, fear overcame its obedience to directives as it

quickly escaped.

Far away, the lady in red turned pale with shock. Equally far
but in the opposite direction, Central Pine City was shaken as
well.

The mayor and the dean immediately took to the skies and
were soon followed by all elementalists in the city who had
azure wings. Aghast, they stared into the depths of the blood
forest.

Shi Xueman was filled with fear as wel.

The terrifying presence was like a ferocious beast that crawled

out from the depths of time, bearing power that was as awe-
inspiring as it was frightening.
 The intensely stifling atmosphere clung heavily onto
everyone.

In the depths of the forest, Ai Hui’s muscles were convulsing

wildly within the cloud of gray smoke. Suspended midair, he
felt as though he was about to explode.

The [Big Dipper] was formidable and violent, but it was the
“spiritual force” within his body that made things much worse.

If it really was spiritual force…

Ai Hui forced his eyes open. He was already at his limit, and
intense rays of light were practically spilling out from his eyes.
If spiritual force was truly within his body… exactly how many
times stronger than elemental force was it?

Damn it, I’ve never learned this in class! The teachers never
taught this!

Ai Hui clenched his teeth, coming up with a plan to use the

simplest and most brutish method to release the overflowing
“spiritual force” within his body.
 Ai Hui adjusted his posture midair, facing his back towards
the ground while clutching his sword against his chest. Like a
meteor falling from the heavens, he threw himself towards the
ground with heavy force.

With this posture and the spiritual force’s strength, how

much power would be unleashed from executing the [Arching
Fish Back]?

The wind whistled in his ears.

Ai Hui’s eyes widened as a single thought filled his head.

Damn it, something I haven’t learned again....

The moment he felt something against his back, his body

instinctively arched. The violently surging “spiritual force”
rushed to his back.

The crude move that he had practiced countless times—

—— [Arching Fish Back].

A tremendous explosion burst forth.
Chapter 172: A Giant’s Back
Driven by his overwhelming anger, Ai Hui expelled from his
body the “spiritual force” that bloated him into the ground. His
entire body felt an indescribable relief at once.

Boom!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled.

The ground directly beneath him was immediately reduced to

a fine powder. The surrounding soil arced into the air, blasting
in all directions. Everywhere else around him was in complete
chaos.

More fatal was the mass of gray smoke that exploded without
warning.

Accompanied by a terrifying hiss, the gray cloud burst

through the area like a hurricane.

The gusts of air was a sickle of the grim reaper, withering and
killing all that it passed.
 The mastiff broke into a run. The gray cloud behind it was a
monstrous tsunami, crushing everything in its way.

One after another, rattan balls flew across the mastiff’s field
of vision. Already possessing a trace of self-awareness, the
mastiff knew that each rattan ball contained a blood fiend like
itself.

A gray tint diffused like an ugly and dreadful mold over the
rattan balls. The breathing inside them became increasingly
weaker until they disappeared altogether.

One of the blood fiends inside a rattan ball seemed to sense the
danger and attempted to break out. But as the gray cloud swept
past, its body suddenly froze as the ash-gray spread over its
body. When the last vestiges of red were overtaken—bang!—the
blood fiend exploded into a cloud of gray dust that scattered
through the air.

The fear in the mastiff’s eyes grew deeper. As the blood traces
on its body began to crack and a red glow appeared underfoot,
its running speed inexplicably increased.

From overhead, the circular, gray cloud could be seen

spreading outward in ripples of death that expanded without
end in the sea of blood.

Not a single area of the red valley was spared from the
immense and terrifying circle of death that was now more than
ten kilometers in radius.

In the center of the gray circle of death was a pillar of gray

smoke that reached into the skies. It was congealed without sign
of dissipating and resembled an enormous gray dragon that
bared its fangs and brandished its claws.

The mastiff had escaped all the way to the mountain peak, its
body drenched in blood. Fresh blood continued to ooze from its
skin, making it look like a bloody wolf. It panted heavily and
stared firmly at the figure that climbed its way out of the soil
from the middle of the gray valley.

Fear, there was only fear in its eyes.

The pillar of smoke that resembled a gray dragon rose straight

into the sky, becoming the backdrop of that figure’s frail back.
At that moment, from the mastiff’s perspective, that figure was
a grim reaper who had just climbed out of a hellish swamp to
arrive in this world.

Ai Hui felt dizzy and weak as he picked himself up from the

ground. The soil beneath his feet had become a powder, with
texture smoother than flour’s.

He surveyed his surroundings with a blank look on his face.

The dense, blood-colored vegetation had disappeared,

replacing his surroundings with the gray wilderness. All plants
had been reduced to thick piles of gray residue, as if burned and
reduced to ashes.

Only now did Ai Hui realize that he stood in a valley.

Were all these caused by him?

He could not believe his eyes. After a second-long daze, he

jumped up and broke into a run.

Why wouldn’t he flee now while One Thousand Yuan was

away? Should he wait for her to come back before starting his
escape?

The fighting capabilities of One Thousand Yuan were

enigmatic and unpredictable. He definitely did not want to
encounter her again.

Ai Hui began to notice some changes in his body, the most

obvious being his running speed which was much faster than it
had been in the past. The forest was deathly silent, sending a
shiver down Ai Hui’s spine.

He did not want to stay an extra second in this godforsaken

place.

Once he oriented himself in the right direction, he ran with all

his might. He was pleased to encounter not a single blood fiend
on his sprint through the forest. When he thought of how One
Thousand Yuan was able to amass the power of blood fiends,
however, he trembled in fear and sped up.

In the skies above Central Pine City, the mayor and the dean
were observing the distant pillar of smoke with ashen faces. Not
only them, but the faces of the elementalists behind them had
similarly drained of all color. Central Pine City was in a state of
hysteria.

The explosion just now resembled thunderclaps that rattled

the earth and shook the mountains. The entirety of Central Pine
City had felt it.

“I wonder which expert did that?” The dean gulped his saliva
anxiously, a hopeful look flickering in his eyes.

If there was an expert that took action, they were saved.

There was one in Central Pine City, but he was an embroidery
expert, not a fighting one.

Given that there were a few youths of nobility in the city, it

was not surprising for an expert to show up and save them.

Wang Zhen appeared calm, but the fear in his eyes revealed
the uneasiness within. “If there’s an expert passing by that area,
then he will definitely come here as well. We’ll find out soon
enough.”

He was not as optimistic as the dean.

 His mind was filled with images brought back by the scouts
who had been in the forest beyond city limits. So far, only three
scouts had returned, and only one managed to successfully
deliver the images. The elementalists who had signed up for this
mission numbered forty-six.

Of the forty-six people, only three survived. Wait, four people

survived.

Wang Zhen spotted a figure, vaguely familiar, running out

from the forest. Soon enough, Wang Zhen identified him as Ai
Hui, the young fellow with remarkable swordsmanship.

He noticed that Ai Hui was covered in grime and dirt,

appearing extremely pathetic. He seemed to have suffered a lot,
but since he was able to survive and return, his luck was rather
good.

When Ai Hui dashed out of the forest and saw the city gate of
Central Pine City, he almost cried tears of joy.

Soon, an elementalist came from the city to receive him. “Did

you manage to succeed? Where’s the movie bean?”
 “Movie bean?” Ai Hui laughed bitterly. “I wasn’t able to
record anything; I was busy running for my life.”

The goddamned One Thousand Yuan!

If not for that goddamned girl, he would have completed his

mission. But he was so busy running for his life from One
Thousand Yuan, how could he have had the time to use the
movie bean? When Ai Hui recalled the events, however, he felt
that it had not been an easy task for him to survive. His regret at
not using the movie bean then lessened significantly.

The elementalist’s disappointment was displayed openly. He

flew towards the mayor while shaking his head. The
information he obtained from Ai Hui regarding the situation
inside the forest did not differ much from the other survivors’
accounts.

The elementalist still passed Ai Hui his reward. The mayor

had really paid a hefty price for nothing….

The reward was exceedingly generous. When Ai Hui saw the

contents, his previously gloomy face brightened instantly. The
reward nearly met all of their requirements.
 Wang Zhen knew from experience that the more deaths there
were, the more generous the reward had to be. Otherwise, who
would sign up next time?

Upon returning to the Vanguard Training Hall, Ai Hui

received cheers from Shi Xueman and the others. From the day
of his departure, they had been frightened and anxious, and
though it had only been for a short period of time, they felt as
though a year had passed.

When they saw Ai Hui safe and sound, they finally laid their
worries to rest. Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, and the
others suddenly realized that Ai Hui had naturally become their
indispensable pillar of support.

Fatty, who was training hard off to the side, wanted to come
over to join them as well, but Ai Hui gave him a hard stare and
yelled, “Continue your training! Don’t stop!”

Fatty’s face drooped immediately.

“What’s going on outside? What happened just now?”

Duanmu Huanghun could not help but ask. He was curious and
worried.
 His query immediately caught everyone’s attention. They
were all frightened by the events happening outside the city.

Shi Xueman noticed the grime and dirt on Ai Hui’s body.

Though he was not injured, she could tell that he was
exhausted. She said concernedly, “Go and rest first. We’ll talk
again after your rest.”

Duanmu Huanghun felt somewhat embarrassed and agreed

with Shi Xueman.

Ai Hui was indeed weary. The whole day had been a

complicated and ever-changing experience with multiple
struggles with death. Now that he had survived the calamity,
exhaustion surged through his body like a flood to the point that
he could not keep his eyes open.

After saying goodnight to everyone, he returned to his room

and fell asleep immediately.

…..

In the sky above the valley.

 When the red-dressed girl rushed to the scene and saw the
gray valley below her, her face turned ashen, and she clenched
her fists tightly. She did not register the pain of her nails
digging into her flesh.

All of her efforts, all gone.

Besides the mastiff she had been forced to interrupt, every

outstanding blood fiend she had found nearby were in this
valley.

To ensure security and secrecy, she chose this valley to carry

out the blood refinement. She had an exacting nature that kept
her from approving of most blood fiends around her, and so her
standards for choosing them were high. In order to search for
these blood fiends, she had spent an inordinate amount of time
and energy.

However, right now, nothing was left.

Gradually, her anger cooled. She knew clearly that fellow’s

capability. He could not have caused all of this.
 She disliked the aura being emitted by the imposing and
congealed pillar of gray smoke before her.

It came from not only the pillar of smoke but also the entire
valley, and she loathed it.

She landed on the ground and lowered her body to observe the
gray residue beneath her feet.

They weren’t ashes, she thought to herself.

For unknown reasons, she found this gray residue somewhat

familiar, but still she hated them, more than she found them
familiar in fact.

The surface of the entire valley appeared as though it had

been plowed. With a solemn look, she approached the pillar of
smoke. She clearly remembered that this was where she had
carried out the blood refinement for that fellow.

She stopped in her tracks, noticing something strange beneath

her feet. She lowered her body once more and grabbed a
handful of soil. Her expression changed.
 No gravel, stones, or anything solid—the soil in her hand was
so smooth that it resembled flour.

She recalled that terrifying wave of energy. That surging force

must have been directed towards the ground.

She could not imagine what kind of attack would cause this to
happen. The sedimentary layer in the valley was not thick, and
beneath it was a layer of hard rocks.

Suddenly, s he brandished her long, red sleeves.

Whoosh!

Howling gales swept through the valley, sweeping up the soil

and gray residue into the sky.

The red-dressed girl expressionlessly brandished her sleeves

continuously. Layer after layer, the soil left the ground,
revealing the earth’s crust before her.

Seven meters below the surface, there was an extensive

hollow in the solid granite layer.

And in the middle of that hollow was a long trench nine

meters long, scored with sections of deep gashes.

It was a back’s imprint of the spinal column, and the varying

indentations on the left and right of the trench were the back
muscle imprints. They were extremely clear despite being
engraved on a layer of solid granite seven meters below the
surface.

The red-dressed girl was dumbstruck. She had thought it to be

an ultimate move related to fists or legs.

It was actually the back….

What sort of move related to the back could hold such power?

A flurry of questions ran through her mind before she finally

settled on one.

Who exactly was this fellow?

Chapter 173: The So-Called Master
Central Pine City was bound for disappointment. They had
waited for a long time, but no master had arrived.

The dean looked down, revealing an unconcealed

disappointment.

Wang Zhen was disappointed as well. However, his facial

expression looked extremely calm. He glanced at the dean and
said deeply, “Let’s go. We need to study the movie bean that was
brought back and see what the situation is inside.”

The dean got ahold of himself and forced a smile.

In order to obtain this movie bean, they had suffered such a

huge loss. Its value was immeasurable.

All the reputable and powerful individuals were gathered for

this meeting. Wang Zhen clearly knew that if he could not get
their support for the subsequent battles, Central Pine City
would have no chance of surviving.
 The enormous meeting room was fully packed, but at the
moment, there was dead silence in the room.

The faces of those who participated in the meeting were pale-

white. They were looking at the video on the screen with fear. It
was as if a noose was tied around each of their necks, causing
them to have breathing difficulties.

Those hideous and sinister plants looked as if they were from

another world. No, they were from hell.

The thick hanging roots of the trees resembled gigantic blood

vessels. One could even see blood pumping and flowing within
them.

A wave of alarmed cries swept across the meeting room.

Involuntarily, some people even stood up in trepidation.

“Oh my god, what’s that?”

“Is it blood inside them? That’s too scary! Is this even

considered a tree?”
 Even the wood elementalists, who were used to seeing various
weird plant species, had their faces blanch. Their eyes contained
nothing but fear. It was almost like they could smell the strong
and nauseous odor of blood just by watching the video. They
could not understood why the plants outside of the city had
become such monstrosities.

When everyone saw the densely-packed hanging roots rise up

like a bunch of snakes and bind an elementalist, a cold shiver
went down their spines.

A few chairs flipped over. Those who fell to the ground were
trembling nonstop with fear.

No one was laughing at these people because everyone was

staring fearfully at the screen with their eyes wide open.
Everyone finally understood why they suffered such a huge loss.

Initially, the elementalist that was bound by the hanging roots

was struggling with all his might. However, as the red-colored
liquid started to pump into him, his struggling became
increasingly weaker. A red flush appeared on his face and his
gaze became trance-like, as though he was enjoying the process.
Unexpectedly, his mouth broke into a smile, a smile that
displayed extreme pleasure and satisfaction.
 The red liquid that flowed through the densely-packed
hanging roots that were inserted into the elementalist’s body
glowed with a red fluorescence. As the glow reached his face, his
smile became indescribably weird and sinister.

Everyone’s heart stopped beating, as if their hearts were being

tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

Their minds were blank and their hair stood on end. They had
even forgotten to breathe.

Pop!

The sinister smile suddenly exploded in front of them on the

screen. Everyone was dumbstruck. When they returned to their
senses, they saw brain matter and blood strewn all over the
place.

Blargh…

Nearly half of the participants in the meeting covered their

mouths and puked without pause. The entire meeting room was
filled with the odor of vomit. However, at this moment, no one
cared anymore. Those who did not puke stared blankly at the
screen with deathly white faces. Their hands and feet were
unconsciously trembling.

A lot of people wanted to escape from the meeting room, but

their legs would not listen to them.

Wang Zhen had a solemn look on his face. He did not mock
these people’s reactions at all.

When he first saw this segment of the video, his reaction was
not much better than everyone else’s. He thought that nothing
could frighten him since he, himself, had experienced
bloodshed and numerous battles.

He had not realized how wrong and naive he was until today.

“Let’s switch to a new meeting room,” Wang Zhen told his

subordinate.

.....
 There was absolute silence in the new meeting room.

These reputable individuals were covered in vomit. Each of

them was holding a cup of hot water, as if it would make them
feel better. They were in despair and their faces were ashen.

“From what we observed, this should be the way they

transform. Take note of the bulges on the tree branches. Did all
of you notice that there are many bulges? When the hanging
roots move, these bulges move as well. The wood elementalists
who are studying this phenomenon think that these bulges are
created when devouring blood fiends or blood insects. To be
precise, the smaller and weaker blood insects will act as
nutrients for the larger and stronger blood fiends’
transformation. This conjecture can be proven by the fact that
our scouts did not discover any blood fiends or blood insects on
their trip outside of the city.

Only the mayor’s voice resounded through the dead silence of

the meeting room.

“Right now, it’s extremely possible that a batch of even more

powerful blood fiends or blood insects are being created. That
means, from now onward, we will encounter stronger blood
fiends. Our situation will be even more challenging. The time
that we will be tested is arriving soon,” Wang Zhen looked
around the room and announced.

“Can’t we run away? Travelling on the ground might be hard,

but what about escaping through the sky?” someone asked
feebly.

“Where can we run to then?” Wang Zhen questioned back.

“How big is the Induction Ground? Can we really fly out of
here? Furthermore, we might encounter flying blood fiends.
Don’t forget about the blood bat from before. If we lose the city
walls, how long do you think we can last?”

The person who asked that question was dumbstruck. After

some commotion, the room returned to its state of absolute
silence.

The meeting was very successful. Wang Zhen’s suggestion

garnered everyone’s support. They all knew that their
individual powers did not matter at this crucial juncture. They
could only unite and work together.

Upon seeing that everyone left the room in despair, the dean
could not help but say to Wang Zhen, “By behaving like this,
you will cause panic.”

Actually, the dean did not support the idea of letting these
people watch the scary video. He knew how mentally weak
these people were.

Wang Zhen did not seem to care. “If they panicking, let them.
At this point in time, only panic can make them abandon those
impractical thoughts. Otherwise, do you think they would put
in the effort to fight against the enemy?”

The dean knew Wang Zhen was right, but he was still
worried. “Panic will make them crumble easily.”

Wang Zhen turned his head abruptly and replied, “Do you
know what you should do to survive on a battlefield? Don’t
think too much and move forward. Those who crumble easily
are fated to die. Who can do anything about that?”

The dean was silent.

At this moment, both of them noticed that two people were

walking toward them. They were Han Yuqin and Mingxiu from
the Jade Embroidery Workshop.

“Good afternoon, Master Han,” Wang Zhen and the dean

greeted at the same time.

For those who became masters, people would add the title
“Master” to their surnames as a form of respect.

Any master, regardless of their field, enjoyed an extraordinary

status. Whether one was a dean or a mayor, he or she had to
display a certain level of respect toward a master.

Even though they wished that Han Yuqin was a combat

master and not an embroidery master,, they would not treat her
with less respect at the current time.

Regardless of the field, a master had an extremely deep

understanding of elemental energy. Naturally, Han Yuqin’s
fighting capabilities would not be comparable to a combat
master’s. However, her fighting capabilities would still be
superior to an average elementalist’s. An average elementalist’s
understanding of elemental energy could not be compared to a
master’s.
 Even her disciple, Mingxiu, had rather terrifying fighting
capabilities. Mingxiu was from a noble family. Her family had
many talents and she had a very powerful elder brother.
Previously, during the naked streaker incident, the fighting
capabilities that Mingxiu displayed were so powerful that she
struck fear in everyone’s heart.

Han Yuqin and Mingxiu came here as the representatives for

the Jade Embroidery Workshop. Wang Shouchuan did not
come.

Wang Zhen admired them in silence. While one was old and
the other young, these two women were still much more calm
and composed when compared to the others, though they still
looked somewhat afraid.

“Good afternoon dean. Good afternoon mayor,” Han Yuqin

greeted them back. She then sighed. “I didn’t expect the
situation to worsen to such a critical state. Mayor, you’re right.
Everyone needs to unite and work together if we want to
possibly survive this ordeal. Mayor, feel free to use anyone from
the Jade Embroidery Workshop, including Mingxiu and I. If you
need us to do anything, feel free to tell us.”

“Mayor, feel free to let us know if there’s anything we can

help with,” Mingxiu added.

Wang Zhen was overjoyed at the good news and bowed.

“Thank you Master Han and Miss Mingxiu!”

Previously, he did not dare to request help from the Jade

Embroidery Workshop. How could he request for an
embroidery master to fight on a battlefield? This would be
disrespectful to her and he did not have the balls to do so. It was
the same regarding Miss Mingxiu, he did not dare to ask her due
to her status.

Right now, with the approval from both of them, he seemed

to have gained two powerful allies.

“Mayor, you’re too courteous.” Han Yuqin continued to say,

“I’m a complete stranger to fighting on a battlefield. However,
if it’s about defending a city, I might have some ideas.”

Wang Zhen was surprised at these words, but he quickly said,

“Master Han, please elaborate.”

Han Yuqin thought for a while before replying, “The first

thing I can think of is a spell formation previously mentioned by
my husband. The art of spell formation has long since vanished
along with the Cultivation Era and I’m not proficient in it.
However, the logic applied should be the same. If there’s a
workable spell formation now, it would be [Elemental Energy
Distribution-Connection Formation]. It’s somewhat similar to
embroidery. The only difference is that we would treat the sky,
earth, mountains, and rivers as the ‘cloth.’ The sky, earth,
mountains, and rivers might be too vast, but if we treat the city
as the ‘cloth,’ I might be able to do it.”

Wang Zhen was stunned. He was looking blankly at the calm-

looking Han Yuqin.

Treating the city as “cloth”… Was this the lofty quality of an

embroidery master?

Currently, Han Yuqin’s petite and aged stature became

imposing in his heart.

“Master Han, please give it a try!” He submitted willingly to

her and bowed deeply.

The dean was also convinced and bowed. “Master Han, please
give it a try!”

.....

Outside of Central Pine City.

The red-dressed girl looked at the rattan balls that were

hanging on the tree in front of her. She specially found this
batch of blood fiends from up to 100 kilometers away. This time
around, she did not care about the quality of the blood fiends,
but rather the quantity.

The turn of events in the valley had completely disrupted her

plan. Central Pine City was no longer her ideal choice.

She was not Tian Kuan.

She did not have much time to waste. Otherwise, she would
not be able to catch up and would lag behind everyone else.

However, she refused to forgive herself for leaving without

doing anything.
 As such, before she left, she prepared a huge present for
Central Pine City.

She flew up in the sky and looked at the distant Central Pine
City. The image of a young man appeared in her mind, and she
bewitchingly smile. “I will be back for you.”

She turned around and disappeared, like a wisp of ethereal red

smoke.
Chapter 174: The Blaze Of The Winter
It was extremely pleasing to have a moment of enjoyment in
the midst of critical danger and a moment of rest in the midst of
bustling preoccupation.

Lying in the hotspring, Ai Hui’s face was filled with pleasure

and enjoyment. There were no clouds, so twinkling stars
completely covered the vast night sky. Such rarely-seen good
weather. Ai Hui was facing the sky and his body was totally
relaxed, floating on the water like a piece of wood.

Ai Hui sighed silently. He did not know whether or not he

could see such an enchanting night sky in the future again. Even
if he could, he might not be as tranquil as he was now.

After the joy of surviving the calamity gradually disappeared,

he realized that the situation he was in had not changed much.
He knew much more and became more worried. When he heard
Shi Xueman and the rest discussing about when the blood
catastrophe would end, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

End…
 If it was a natural disaster, he would not spend much time
contemplating even if the situation was very dire. However, the
blood catastrophe was a man-made disaster. This was a
conspiracy that had been prepared and plotted for a long time.
The conspirators behind the scenes had planned meticulously
for a war.

Between the two sides of the war, one side was well-prepared
and the other side was ill-prepared. Even an outsider like Ai Hui
could sense that the outcome of the war was obvious.

His thoughts were drifting.

The dying scene of the elementalist exploding in the forest

appeared in his mind. If One Thousand Yuan was not so picky
and had not pumped so much blood poison in them, would they
have survived? Using this method, could she create an army
of… hmm, what should they be called? Blood men? Snowmen?
(A lame joke, snow and blood sound the same in Chinese)

Oh, they would most likely be called blood elementalists.

If he encountered a large group of blood elementalists in the

future… all he could do was surrender!
 It was best not to provoke beautiful women…

Ai Hui’s thoughts drifted extremely far away.

One Thousand Yuan did not seemed to be bullsh*tting about

the blood spiritual force. Even though he had not confirmed
whether or not it was “spiritual force,” he felt that his body was
alright at least.

The [Arching Fish Back] had completely exhausted the

“spiritual force” in his body. Previously, he was still worried
that his five residences and eight palaces, wait no, the seven
palaces would have problems. His lungs and the seven palaces
had been utterly damaged by the blood poison. There were some
parts where flesh was starting to grow back and recover.
However, most of the damaged parts were healed by the
“spiritual force”.

Using an analogy, this “spiritual force” was like a magical

glue, while Ai Hui’s lungs and seven palaces were like
dilapidated houses. Right now, a thick layer of magical glue had
been applied on these houses. By doing this, the walls of these
houses were renewed. The previously leaking houses were no
longer leaking.
 Currently, Ai Hui was most worried about how long this
magical glue would last and whether or not it was reliable.

Even if it was not reliable, there was nothing he could do now.

He had already gotten Lou Lan to examine his body. Lou Lan
felt that what was going within his body was a miracle. He
admitted he would not have the capability to repair such
devastating injuries, and he was sure that not even masters
could do it. However, he was still optimistic toward Ai Hui’s
conditions.

All right, actually there were not many times that Lou Lan
was not optimistic….

Ai Hui soon put down his worries. Even though there might
be hidden dangers within his body, he was at least completely
all right now. Not only that, he had also opened up seven
palaces, and his fighting capabilities had advanced by leaps and
bounds.

He did not even know whether or not he would live past

tomorrow, so why should he think so far ahead?
 Suddenly, Ai Hui’s nose twitched and his eyes widened as he
collected his thoughts.

Lou Lan’s elemental soup!

All his worries were immediately thrown away. Ai Hui almost

scrambled out of the hotspring, put on his clothes, and rushed
to the front courtyard. He remembered when he first came back
to the training hall, he had thrown his rewards to Lou Lan.

Wang Zhen was generous with the rewards as he wanted

people to continue signing up for his missions. As such, there
was a lot good stuff among Ai Hui’s rewards.

When Ai Hui was signing up for the mission, he chose

elemental food ingredients. Thus, all of his rewards were
related to the ingredients of elemental food. These ingredients
were so valuable that Ai Hui did not even dare to dream about
having them in the past.

For example, there were two fiery-winged snake eggs. Their

specification was three years, which meant that they had been
stewed under lava and absorbed the underground heat for three
years. The fiery-winged snake was a kind of extremely vicious
and poisonous dire beast. It could fly and its senses were
exceptionally sharp, making the process of stealing its eggs very
difficult.

There was one hind leg of herb-cured heavenly-eyed yak. The

heavenly-eyed yak was an extremely powerful dire beast. Its
hind legs were the strongest part of its entire body, which were
considered the most important part as well. The hind legs were
marinated using the herbs that were meticulously prepared and
mixed. Next, they were air-dried and could last for 100 years. As
the cured hind legs aged with the years, the infusion between
the meat and the herbs would become stronger, improving the
quality of the meat.

As for the fragrant lotus golden toad, it was first prepared by

sedating the golden toad using a special method and put inside a
lotus flower that had bloomed. Then, elemental energy was
used to close up the lotus flower, wrapping up the golden toad.
The golden toad would enter a state that was similar to
hibernation. Its toxicity would be absorbed by the lotus flower
as time passed. The water elemental energy of the lotus would
gradually seep into the golden toad as well. It would take at least
six months to produce a fragrant lotus golden toad.

There were a lot of other valuable ingredients included as

well...
 Regardless of the types of ingredients, all of them were
extremely expensive. Even Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun
were stunned by the ingredients.

Lou Lan was a connoisseur in this aspect and gave a

reasonable estimation of the cost of these ingredients. The total
price of just these three ingredients alone was estimated to be at
least 10,000,000 yuan.

Everyone’s attention was caught by the fragrance of the

elemental soup. All of them stared blankly at Lou Lan when he
brought out a huge cauldron of soup.

It was far too tempting!

After taking in a sniff of the unique fragrance, everyone

became hungry.

Those who were thin-skinned, like Shi Xueman and Duanmu

Huanghun, tried to hold themselves back. However, one could
see that their throats were gulping nonstop. Those who were
thick-skinned, like Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan, had already
gathered around the cauldron. Fatty looked even more
unsightly with his saliva drooling all over the place.
 Ai Hui dashed forward like an arrow.

“Everyone has a share!” Lou Lan chuckled.

Shi Xueman was extremely jealous of Ai Hui. How come this

fellow had such a perfect sand puppet? Could the food from her
home even be compared with Lou Lan’s elemental soup?

Gurgle gurgle gurgle. Her stomach kept on growling. A flush

of embarrassment appeared upon her face.

In front of Lou Lan’s unrivalled elemental soup, everyone

looked extremely obedient. All of them held an empty bowl in
their hands as they waited anxiously for their turn to get the
soup.

It was unknown when exactly Lou Land had become a chef.

He was wearing a huge apron and a chef hat while holding an
enormous ladle, making him look extremely imposing!

The first bowl belonged to Ai Hui. When Ai Hui got his share
of soup, he immediately drank it with a silly smile on his face.
 When the rest heard Ai hui’s slurping, they began to gulp
their saliva frantically. Brother, can’t you be more quiet? Do
you have any dining manners? Why is the soup being
distributed so slowly?

Those who had received their shares of soup eagerly ran to

one side and started drinking it.

Even Shi Xueman, a goddess who was refined and raised from
a strict family background, took a big bowl of soup and squatted
on the floor like a country bumpkin to drink her soup. She did
not even bother to use chopsticks or care whether it was too
hot. Mouthful by mouthful, she slurped the soup, completely
disregarding her image.

It was too delicious!

Standing at end, Fatty could already form a sea with his

saliva.

“Lou Lan has prepared something special for Fatty!

Lou Lan brought out a pot of bright red soup from nowhere
and passed it to Fatty.

Fatty was stunned. The soup in front of him did not have a
single piece of meat or a whiff of fragrance. It was not even
producing steam. However, upon taking a second look, he could
smell a whiff of fragrance. Whoa… the stewed meat… The meat
had stewed for so long that it was going to melt soon. If he was
to take a bite of it…

Gurgle!

He swallowed his saliva, pointed toward the inside of the huge

cauldron, and said weakly, “I want to drink that.”

“Fatty’s body constitution is different from everyone else. He

does not need to strengthen his body. What he needs is to
strengthen his fire elemental energy. This was specially and
carefully prepared by Lou Lan. It costs more than 5,000,000
yuan,” Lou Lan explained.

5,000,000 yuan….

“Five million yuan?” Fatty’s eyes widened as his body

trembled.

“Yes, there are two fiery-winged snake eggs in it!” Ai Hui

affirmed.

“Drink! I will finish it all!” Fatty replied without any

objections.

5,000,000 yuan worth of soup! He must definitely finish it!

Fatty picked up the pot and started gulping the soup. The soup
was smooth and did not taste bad at all. God d*mnit, one
mouthful of this soup cost at least 10,000 yuan…

10,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan….

Fatty put down the pot unsteadily. Even someone like him,
who could eat and drink a lot, had a dazed expression after
downing the entire pot of soup in one go.

Now you know how good I am! Fatty was somewhat pleased
with himself. Usually, Lou Lan would only give Ai Hui such look
of admiration.

Hahaha, you have finally witnessed what I am capable of!

Fatty burped and a blank look suddenly appeared on his face.

“Amazing!” Lou Lan’s tone was filled with amazement. “Fatty,

you can actually finish the entire pot of Dragon Soup in one
sitting. You’re really amazing. Lou Lan had thought that you
would need one week to finish it.”

Shi Xueman, who was contemplating whether or not to lick

the bottom of the bowl, was stunned when she heard the two
words “Dragon Soup.”

Not only her, even Duanmun Huanghun and Sang Zhijun

simultaneously stopped what they were doing and looked at
Fatty in wonder.

Ai Hui looked at everyone’s reaction and took a look at Fatty.

Fatty was in a daze. Ai Hui could not help but ask, “Lou Lan,
what’s Dragon Soup? It’s name sounds rather imposing.”
 “Ai Hui, it’s a kind of soup that’s specially for fire
elementalists. It uses fiery-winged snake eggs as the main
ingredient, with the addition of 12 different types of heavenly
fire peppers. It’s a special type of elemental food. Most people
feel it’s actually a type of elixir. If it’s considered as an elixir, it’s
name would be10 Oil Drops, which implies that one can only
drink 10 drops of it in one sitting. It’s extremely beneficial to
fire elementalists, but not a lot of people dare to drink it. That’s
why I said Fatty is really amazing!”

Fatty’s body felt like it was boiling. His body became bright
scarlet, resembling red hot chili peppers. Even his hair turned
red.

“As for why it’s called Dragon Soup, it is because dragons can
spit fire.Dragon Soup is extremely stimulating. If one finishes it,
he or she can spit out fire easily. Of course, Lou Lan doesn’t
think this is a good name since there are many kinds of dragons.
Fire-spitting dragons are only one of the many types….”

Burp. Fatty burped again.

Boom!
 A stream of blazing fire shot out from Fatty’s mouth for a
distance of more than two meters!

Everyone was flabbergasted.

“Don’t worry Ai Hui, the Dragon Soup is safe and will not
cause any damage to the body. To make it easier for him to
drink, Lou Lan has used a special method to brew it. It’s as
smooth as water when one drinks it at first. Of course, the
stimulating effect that comes later will be very obvious. Lou Lan
thought of the Dragon Soup only after I saw the fiery-winged
snake eggs. Luckily, the heavenly fire peppers are easy to
obtain. It’s a pity that I couldn’t get the spiciest chilli: Rosy
Cheeks, and only got the third spiciest: Lava, the sixth spiciest:
Jealousy and the eighth spiciest: Anger. Lou Lan wrote down all
of this information. I will prepare a better Dragon Soup for
Fatty in the future!”

Burp, boom!

Burp, boom!

Boom boom boom…

The chill of the night was dispelled.

Fatty, you are the blaze of the winter!

Chapter 175: Seven Palaces!
Fatty resembled a lighthouse that would never extinguish its
light. He kept spitting out flames, shining a dazzling light upon
his figure towering in the darkness.

After sympathizing with Fatty, everyone hurriedly went back

to training.

Shi Xueman was somewhat shocked with the surging

elemental energy in her body. She had a greater understanding
of elemental food than the average individual because she
frequently consumed it.

Whether it was fiery-winged snake eggs, heavenly-eyed yak,

or fragrant lotus golden toad, they were all dire beast-based
ingredients; however, among the levels of dire beast-based
ingredients, they were still considered to be entry-level
ingredients.

The difference in quality between dire beast-based ingredients

heavily affected their efficacy and cost.

The Avalon of Five Elements had stringently differentiated

not only the level of dire beast-based food ingredients, but all of
the materials which were dire beast-based. There were a total of
eight levels: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Gold, Universe,
Eternity, Flood, and Desolate.

Other than the rarity of the dire beasts from which they were
derived, the preparation methods of the ingredients also played
an important role in determining their quality level. Unique,
skillful, and meticulous preparation methods could greatly
increase the quality level of certain ingredients.

Central Pine City was just an average, small city in the

Induction Ground. There were thousands of cities like it in the
Induction Ground. Small and isolated cities that were located in
the safest areas at the rear of the Induction Ground had little
need for high-level food ingredients.

The magistrate’s office’s reserve contained mostly dire beast-

based materials; as such, it was natural for Ai Hui to receive so
many valuable dire beast-based ingredients.

Nevertheless, the beneficial effects of the elemental soup

were… surprisingly outstanding!
 Shi Xueman was extremely surprised. This proved that the
elemental soup had retained at least fifty percent of the
beneficial effects of the ingredients used. Such outstanding
effects could only be achieved with a high utility rate of the
ingredients.

She knew that such a top-quality elemental soup was hard to

come by.

Currently, instead of being jealous of Ai Hui for having Lou

Lan, she was curious about Lou Lan’s background. Even those
elementalists who were skilled in preparing elemental soup
would find it hard to produce such top-quality elemental soup.
It would take extraordinary individuals to produce such a
result.

Lou Lan’s background was not that simple after all.

She did not, however, want to pursue an answer just to satisfy

her curiosity. Asking about someone else’s background was
extremely rude and considered a taboo.

After drinking such outstanding elemental soup, the most

important thing for her to do now was to train and absorb the
nutrients of the soup. Such top-quality elemental soup was
extremely beneficial for students who were in the middle of
training.

Everyone was focused on their training except for Fatty... Shi

Xueman could not help but cast a sympathetic look in his
direction. Indeed, not a single one of Ai Hui’s friends was
normal…

She cast an involuntary glance at Ai Hui and was stunned.

Such a weird posture!

Ai Hui was neither in bow stance nor horse stance. He was

holding his sword with one hand with his elbow pointed down
and his sword pointing up, forming a straight line between his
glabella and the sword.

Shi Xueman’s eyes were sharp and she immediately noticed

that the tip of Ai Hui’s sword was synchronized with his
breathing in some mysterious way.

What inheritance was this?

 She was very curious as she had never seen such a unique
posture. Perhaps it was some sort of swordsmanship training
method?

Suddenly, Shi Xueman discovered that her understanding

towards swordsmanship was pathetic. She could not be blamed
for her lack of understanding; after all, swordsmanship was
really outdated and there were not many swordsmanship
inheritances that were distinctive.

She was no longer in a hurry to train after her interest was

piqued.

In terms of elemental energy reserves, she and Sang Zhijun

had the most among everyone here. Furthermore, they were
graduating soon. The Induction Ground’s criterion for
graduation was very simple; all they had to do was attain Eight
Palaces Completion.

She was just one step away from attaining it.

Among these people, she and Sang Zhijun had benefitted the
least from the dire beast-based elemental soup.
 Previously, during the battle with the blood mantis, she had
felt that she would soon make a breakthrough.

When she suddenly saw the unique and seemingly powerful

swordsmanship inheritance from Ai Hui, she became extremely
curious.

As compared to the level of curiosity that she had for Lou Lan,
the level of curiosity she had for Ai Hui was a hundred times
greater. She saw with her own eyes how Ai Hui had blocked the
blood bat’s attack. She had also personally experienced how a
guy who had activated only four palaces could become the
leader of their group.

She decided to observe him carefully.

Ai Hui did not know Shi Xueman was secretly observing him.
At the moment, he was focusing entirely on his training.

His body’s condition was neither good nor bad; he was unable
to even gauge his condition accurately.

He had accidentally activated seven palaces and this was a

huge boost to his strength; however, his lungs and the seven
palaces that were being repaired by the “spiritual force” did not
seem to be too secure. Other than fusing with his lungs and the
seven palaces, the rest of the “spiritual force” had been expelled
and directed towards the ground by using [Arching Fish Back].

Ai Hui was worried about whether or not the “seventh palace”

would work.

His lungs and seven palaces had been repaired by the

“spiritual force”, not elemental energy. It was still unknown
whether or not he could continue to develop his elemental
energy.

Very soon, Ai Hui realized that he had worried for nothing.

As he breathed, the elemental energy from the elemental soup

steadily flowed into his limbs and bones, nourishing his blood
and muscles. Lou Lan had definitely considered the injuries in
his body when cooking, as Ai Hui realized that the injuries
within his five residences and eight palaces had healed
significantly.

Ai Hui was more surprised by his sword embryo. This time,

his sword embryo did not absorb any elemental energy during
the Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

Weird! Did the sword embryo’s nature change?

Ai Hui just could not figure out what was going on.
Previously, his sword embryo would seize any opportunity to
absorb elemental energy, but now, it suddenly did want to come
into contact with any. Ai Hui was puzzled by this. Could
something have happened to the sword embryo as well?

As Ai Hui proceeded with the Circulatory Circle Revolution,

what he had been worried about did not happen. Since the
sword embryo did not try to absorb any of the elemental energy,
his Circulatory Circle Revolution proceeded smoothly. The
palaces were filling up faster than usual.

Shi Xueman noticed that the Dragonspine Inferno suddenly

gave off a faint glow, looking extremely striking in the dark. She
became even more curious.

Suddenly, she cast a glance at Duanmu Huanghun, as if she

had sensed something.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s sea palace was emitting a green glow.

He was truly the most exceptional genius of the Duanmu

clan’s younger generation!

A first-year student that had already activated the sixth

palace. With the Duanmu clan’s absolute skill [Viridescent
Flower], Duanmu Huanghun was powerful enough to challenge
his seniors. If the Induction Ground still retained the ranking
system next year, Duanmu Huanghun would shock everyone.

Then again, when Shi Xueman considered when the blood

catastrophe might end, she laughed bitterly to herself.

Duanmu Huanghun was burning with motivation. He was a

prideful individual and could not stand being overshadowed by
Ai Hui. At this time, his levels of focus and diligence had
reached an unimaginable high. Furthermore, the last few real-
life combats and struggles between life and death had benefitted
him greatly.

A so-called genius was a freak that would advance by leaps and

bounds when life put some pressure on him or her!
 Shi Xueman sighed and shifted her gaze. She was not
interested in Duanmu Huanghun at all. The one she was
interested in was Ai Hui.

At first, Ai Hui’s left hand palace lit up. Then, his right hand
palace lit up as well, followed by his left foot palace and then,
after a while, his right foot palace.

He had actually activated four palaces!

Shi Xueman gasped in surprise. The first time she had seen Ai
Hui, he had just activated his natal residences. Now, he had
already activated four palaces.

That was barely half a year ago. Even though he was not as
talented as Duanmu Huanghun, he was not as bad as what his
profile had portrayed.

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s earth palace began to give off a faint glow.

Shi Xueman was dumbstruck. This was… the fifth palace!

 She was at a loss. Activating four palaces in half a year was
rather fast, but he still could not be considered a genius.
Everyone knew that the four palaces in the limbs were the
easiest to activate. The difficulty would increase significantly
once one reached the palaces of earth, sea, gate, and sky.

Ai Hui had actually activated the fifth palace!

Could… this fellow be a genius comparable to Duanmu

Huanghun?

“Oh my god!” Sang Zhijun softly gasped in surprise. Her face

was filled with incredulity.

Shi Xueman also exclaimed in surprise, but after taking a

closer look, she completely freaked out.

Meanwhile, Duanmu Huanghun, who had just activated the

sea palace, was overjoyed. After activating the sixth palace, the
number of moves he could use from the [Viridescent Flower]
had greatly increased. The thing he cared about the most was Ai
Hui! The reason why his fighting capabilities were weaker than
Ai Hui was the great disparity between their respective amounts
of actual combat experience. Since he could not compensate for
the lack of actual combat experience, he would try to overtake
Ai Hui in other areas!

Base level!

After activating the sixth palace, the power of the [Viridescent

Flower] rose sharply. Even if his actual combat experience lost
out to Ai Hui’s by a huge margin, he could use just his base level
to increase his fighting capabilities and defeat that scumbag!

After relieving his concern, the following carefree feeling

made Duanmu Huanghun want to just look up at the sky and let
out a hearty laugh.

At that moment, he heard Sang Zhijun’s alarmed cry and

involuntarily opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, a figure holding a sword

appeared before him. One, two, three… six!

Duanmu Huanghun’s head spun as if someone had whacked

his head with a bat. Somewhere in his blank mind, a voice
roared. It can’t be!
 After being dazed for nearly half a minute, he finally came to
his senses. The first thought to come to his mind was that he
had miscounted.

He decided to count again. One… Two… Three… Four…

Five… Six...

There really were six…

Then at that moment, Ai Hui’s gate palace faintly lit up.

...Seven… how come there’s one more? Duanmu Huanghun

felt like he was going crazy.

While Ai Hui’s gate palace was flickering with light, there was
a dead silence in the training hall except for the sound of Fatty
spitting out flames.

At that moment, everyone was gaping at Ai Hui in silence.

The way they stared at Ai Hui was as if they had seen a ghost.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s trembling fingers could not help but
start to count again. Seven palaces. There were really seven
palaces!

He stared blankly at Ai Hui.

Sang Zhijun had her mouth wide open and looked like a
frightened quail. She had completely lost her usual ladylike
demeanor.

Shi Xueman was also frightened by what she saw. She was
really frightened. She had been a genius ever since she was
young and had also been surrounded by various other geniuses.
Despite that background, she was frightened by the sight
currently in front of her.

She had known Ai Hui far longer than Sang Zhijun. She
clearly knew how low Ai Hui’s starting point had been.

As a result, the scene before her eyes gave her a far stronger
sense of surprise and terror compared to the others.

It defied logic!
 The seventh palace! How could he have activated the seventh
palace?

For a genius like Duanmu Huanghun, whose family had

plenty of knowledge and wealth, it was not unusual for him to
activate the sixth palace in his first year; however, for a poor kid
who had not even learned how to train before entering school
and who had just barely activated his natal residences half a
year ago, it was incredible for him to have activated the seventh
palace…

That’s right! It’s the seventh palace!

Right now, she wanted to grab Ai Hui by the collar and asked
him what miracle drugs he had taken!

After a while, the horrified Shi Xueman, who had been

completely overwhelmed by the lack of logic in Ai Hui’s feat,
suddenly quivered. This fellow had not stopped yet!

Her chest tightened.

No, it can’t be. It can’t be possible that this freak was going
straight for the Eight Palaces Completion!

If someone had narrated this scene to her in the past, she

would have felt that it was an extremely funny joke. Right now,
however, she did not dare to laugh at all.

This guy was a freak. A never-before-seen, extremely

ferocious and formidable freak.

Everyone’s gaze was on Ai Hui.

No one had noticed that the scorching red-colored spots of

light on the fiery-red body of the fire-spitting Fatty were slowly
lighting up, resembling volcanic lava…
Chapter 176: The Danger from Beneath
Pop.

The faint sound of a rupture broke the silence in the forest.

The soil on the ground flipped open and a fist-sized red-colored
ant crawled out, follow by another blood ant. The soil flipped
open repeatedly and a constant stream of blood ants began
crawling out.

Ants, which built their nests underground, were not devoured

by the hanging roots to become ugly tree bulges during the
outbreak of the blood tsunami. On the contrary, they became
stronger as they gnawed on and ate the underground tree roots.
Then the ants started to devour each other, causing their
previously huge number to diminish greatly.

The blood ants were the true victors of this devastating

massacre. There was a huge difference between their current
fighting capabilities and their former fighting capabilities.

Perhaps even the lady in red had not expected that the
ordinary-looking ants would be the first to complete their
transformation. They had not even been numbered among the
blood fiends and blood insects that she had prepared.
 The feelers on their heads trembled as they traversed through
the forest. Their travelling speed was extremely fast and they
maintained an orderly group. A single ant colony was made up
of a few hundred ants, resembling an orderly army.

Different ant colonies kept a certain distance between each

other. Instead of merging together, the ant colonies were hostile
and took precautions against one another.

They crawled out of the forest and the silhouette of Central

Pine City appeared before their eyes.

The concentrated aura of the elemental energy being emitted

from the city sent a wave of commotion through the blood ant
colonies. They were like red-colored tidal waves. They marched
towards Central Pine City under the cover of night.

In each colony, the ant that led the rest was the biggest in size.
Its body was also a deeper red compared to the others. Its feelers
swayed non-stop.

When they were to about to reach Central Pine City, they

suddenly stopped and started digging into the ground. They did
it easily, as if the soil was as soft as biscuits.
 The red-colored tidal wave disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Ai Hui slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by everyone's

surprised gazes and gasps.

Luckily… he did not activate the eighth palace…

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief at the same time.

“Is there something on my face?” Ai Hui looked puzzled.

“Why are all of you looking at me like that?”

At this point of time, the horizon was speckled with light

particles. Dawn was coming.

Just as Shi Xueman was about to inquire about Ai Hui’s

circumstances, a deafening emergency alarm suddenly
resounded throughout the entire city.

Everyone was shocked.

 “It’s from the east gate!” Duanmu Huanghun cried.

Before anyone could turn towards the east gate, an emergency

alarm rang from the west gate as well, followed by emergency
alarms from the north gate and south gate.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay. They could see the

terror in their eyes. The emergency alarms at all four gates had
suddenly sounded at the same time. Did that mean that the city
was surrounded by blood fiends?

“Ants! They’re coming from beneath the ground!”

“They are digging through the foundation of the city walls!”

“Earth elementalists! Where are the earth elementalists?

Faster, stop them! The city stabilizers are being bitten off!”

“Damn it! They can’t be stopped! What kind of ants are they?”

……
 Through the message tree, a detailed report from the front
lines appeared on Wang Zhen’s desk almost immediately.

Wang Zhen’s face was pale-white. He had not expected the

first wave of blood fiends to come from beneath the ground.
The most powerfully defended area of every city was its ground.
To prevent the blood fiends from carrying out an underground
invasion, incredibly thick city stabilizers had been laid beneath
the ground in every city.

The city stabilizers were made of a kind of extremely strong

and stable stone. Every piece of city stabilizer was at least nine
meters thick and would be placed beneath the city ground
without neglecting a single area. The city stabilizers had one
more special characteristic; after ten years, the city stabilizers
would fuse together, becoming one whole.

It was as if the entire city’s underground was covered with an

impregnable coating. The city’s drainage system was built upon
these city stabilizers.

There were very few cities that were invaded by dire beasts
from underground.
 Wang Zhen had not at all expected that the first wave of
attacks would come from beneath the ground. He had not had a
lot of manpower or resources to begin with and had used almost
all of them on guarding the city walls and defending against
aerial attacks.

He was caught unprepared.

Fortunately, he was able to quickly calm himself down. He did

not have many earth elementalists with him and not many of
them were powerful. Hence, even if he knew that the blood ants
would be invading from underground, there was not much he
could do about it.

Just like the elementalists that had first discovered the blood
ant invasion, the earth elementalists took immediate action, but
they simply could not stop the blood ants.

“Announce to the entire city to pay attention to the ground.”

Wang Zhen gave the order in a low voice.

“Doing that will make us lose control of the situation!” The

dean had heard what was going on and rushed over. His face
was pale.

“The situation has never been under our control.” Wang Zhen
waved his hand.

The dean was speechless.

Elementalists flew through the sky above Central Pine City

while repeatedly announcing Wang Zhen’s order.

“Beneath the ground?”

Ai Hui looked solemn as an elementalist flew overhead.

“Aren’t there city stabilizers beneath the ground?” Jiang

Wei’s face was filled with incredulity. “Don’t tell me the blood
ants can even bite through the city stabilizers? Are they even
really ants?”

Everyone else’s faces paled.

 “Everyone, be careful.” Ai Hui reminded them.

At that moment, a blood-curdling scream came from the

alleyway. Everyone jumped to their feet.

Ai Hui’s facial expression changed and he hand-signalled Shi

Xueman to retreat. At first, when Shi Xueman saw Ai Hui’s
hand signal, she was stunned; however, soon after, she floated
up into the air and hovered backwards slowly while holding the
snow-white spear in her hands. Wisps of mist began to gather
around the spear.

Duanmu Huanghun spread his fingers wide as the elemental

energy within his body began to charge up.

Sang Zhijun took out her Golden Silk Longbow, looking

somewhat anxious.

Jiang Wei had already loaded a heavy arrow onto his huge
bow.

At that moment, Wang Xiaoshan could sense the presence of

blood ants as well. He really had to give it to Ai Hui. As an earth
elementalist, he had not been able to sense anything beneath
the ground previously, and yet, Ai Hui had sensed the blood
ants.

Lou Lan was the only one who was not nervous. He stood
behind Ai Hui, looking somewhat eager to fight. The last time
he had fought alongside Ai Hui was during the fight with Zu
Yan. Since then, Lou Lan’s combat skills had improved greatly!

Pop!

A red streak shot out of the ground and lunged towards the
hovering Shi Xueman with an extremely fast speed.

The prepared Shi Xueman remained calm. The snow-white

spear in her hand suddenly struck out.

Driven by an invisible force, the mist surrounding the spear

started to whirl around the spear’s body at a terrifying speed,
resembling a tornado. Accompanied by a vibrating screech, a
snow-white spear glint pierced towards the blood ant.

Clank!
 The deafening sound of the collision was so loud that it struck
pain into one’s eardrums.

The force from the collision passed through the tip of Shi
Xueman’s spear, causing her to float gracefully into the sky as if
there was a steel wire pulling her from behind.

The lightning-fast red streak suddenly came to a stop. The

blood ant was frozen in mid-air.

A tinge of happiness flashed in Ai Hui’s eyes. He almost yelled,

“Nice!” at this scene.

This spear move of Shi Xueman’s was indeed beautiful. Her

counter-attack had cancelled out the blood ant’s lunging attack
and successfully froze its body in mid-air, displaying exceptional
spear techniques and an excellent control over her strength.

Shi Xueman was truly worthy of her reputation.

Ai Hui was exclaiming in admiration in his heart, but the

sword in his hand did not slow down at all.
 He heard a snapping sound. Jiang Wei’s heavy bow! Suddenly,
Ai Hui hit upon an idea and flipped his Dragonspine Inferno
around to use the side of its blade as a bat.

Ai Hui accurately smacked the blood ant on its side. At the

same time, Jiang Wei’s Wolftooth Heavy Arrow whizzed
through the air and struck the blood ant from the other side.

The two attacks struck the red ant from opposite directions at
the same time, one from the left side and one from the right.

Clang!

Ai Hui felt an extremely powerful wave of energy surging

through his sword and into his hand. His palm became so hot
that he could not even hold the sword hilt properly. He did not
resist the energy and conveniently used it to propel himself into
flight.

The combined attack from the two of them was indeed potent!

Before the blood ant could react, it was hit by the Wolftooth
Heavy Arrow and exploded into smithereens.
 Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. The battle had gone much
smoother than what they had expected. The blood ants were
just as powerful as the blood mantis that they had fought last
time; however, this time around, everyone’s strength had
increased significantly and their attacks were much more
coordinated.

Ai Hui’s facial expression suddenly changed drastically. “Be

careful, there’re still more!”

Pop, pop, pop!

Streaks of red light shot out from the ground like red-colored
arrows.

Everyone’s facial expressions changed drastically.

“Lou Lan, protect Fatty!” Ai Hui yelled urgently. His body was
fully stretched in mid-air. The Dragonspine Inferno in his hand
materialized into a dark shadow that struck an incoming blood
ant.

The blood ant flew backwards and slammed heavily into the
wall, leaving a fist-sized hole.

The Dragonspine Inferno was brandished gracefully through

the air, displaying excellent precision and accuracy.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. The daggers in the Red Dust Sword

Box automatically flew out and wound around Ai Hui’s body.

Almost everyone was being attacked by blood ants.

Duanmu Huanghun flipped his palms and the glowing green

light between his fingers began to bounce actively. Even though
he was nervous, he was more cool-headed than he had been
during the previous battle. Glowing green flowery patterns
started to form and twirl under his feet, followed by green vines
which shot out of the patterns.

Pow!

His attack accurately struck one blood ant.

Another crisp sound came from behind him. A green vine that
had just struck a blood ant withdrew back into the glowing
patterns.

Duanmu Huanghun was gaining confidence. After activating

the sixth palace, the powers of the [Viridescent Flower] indeed
rose sharply!

The confident Duanmu Huanghun became increasingly calm.

His fingers were spread open, resembling blossoming flowers.
Green flowers hovered around his slender figure, displaying an
indescribable confidence. He looked like a character that was
part of a beautiful painting.

In mid-air, the mist was rising and curling behind Shi

Xueman’s back. The spear in her hand was like a tornado,
sucking in the red ant and completely shredding its red-colored
body.

Within the bright snow-white tornado were the sounds of

numerous sonic booms.

Boom!
 The red ant exploded into a cloud of blood mist. The tornado
disappeared instantly, leaving not the slightest bit of the red
ant’s remnants.

Jiang Wei, Sang Zhijun, and Wang Xiaoshan formed a

triangular formation. They knew their combat skills were
limited and could not be compared to the other formidable trio.

Sang Zhijun’s Golden Silk Longbow was shooting at an

incredibly fast speed. The arrows shot out were getting
increasingly quicker. Instead of going for a one-shot-one-kill,
she was trying to hit the blood ants with continuous arrows. Shi
Xueman’s previous attack had given her this inspiration. Even
though she did not have Shi Xueman’s strength, she could strike
the blood ant with continuous arrows to slow it down, creating
an opportunity for Jiang Wei to strike.

Snap!

Every time there was a blood ant which had been slowed
down, Jiang Wei’s Wolftooth Heavy Arrows would whiz
through the air and hit it.

At such a short range, the power of Jiang Wei’s heavy arrows

was really devastating.

Every shot blew up a blood ant.

Wang Xiaoshan kept channeling his earth elemental energy to

pile up the soil beneath the trio. After a while, a rough-looking
soil-made target board appeared beneath them.

The situation was extremely chaotic.

Lou Lan, who was guarding Fatty, had been eager to fight for
quite a while; however, not a single blood ant had attacked
them.

He glanced around with a blank look on his face.

Why aren’t the blood ants coming at me?

Chapter 177: [Big Dipper]
The flames that Fatty spewed made Lou Lan’s silhouette look
extremely lonesome.

Yet, the battle going on within the training hall was very
intense.

At the start, Ai Hui did not dare to relax too much. He had not
adjusted to his new level of seven palaces and did not know how
to efficiently utilize them in battle. Plus, he still felt some fear.
He was afraid that overexerting the seven palaces, which were
mended by the “spiritual force,” would cause them to fall apart.

Fortunately, the situation was highly heated, which quickly

made his fear vanish into thin air.

It was a matter of life and death, how could he afford to think

too much?

Be it in size or strength, the blood ants paled in comparison to

the blood mantis. However, there were simply too many of
them. Just looking around, there were at least 100 ants crawling
about in the training hall.
 Their speed was fast, even faster than the blood mantis. They
were like red arrows. Move any slower and they would strike.
Also, they were very good at cooperating and pounced on their
prey from all different directions.

Ai Hui was flustered at first, but soon enough, he found the

trick to deal with the blood ants.

The blood ants had great speed, but lost out in size. Their
strength was far below the blood mantis.

The Red Dust Sword Box gave Ai Hui a huge, pleasant

surprise. He was unable to control the Red Dust daggers that
well, but since there were just too many blood ants, he did not
really require much precision.

The red light surrounded Ai Hui. It was very sharp and left a
wound on the blood ants’ bodies the moment they touched it.

On the contrary, the heavy Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s

hand was slow-moving.

Ai Hui realized that it was difficult to kill the blood ants if he

met force with force. They were very tenacious and would
quickly crawl up and join the next attack wave if they were
swatted away.

Blood fiends had very tough bodies. Even if they were small
and weak like ants, they were still difficult to handle.

Ai Hui could only lament about the power of the blood poison.
Without exception, wild beasts and insects underwent major
changes when poisoned. It was clear that the existence of the
blood poison was in defiance of the natural order. The God of
Blood… what a horrifying thing!

As a seasoned veteran, Ai Hui realized that using brute force

was not efficient enough, so he needed another strategy. They
won in numbers. He would not be able to weaken their
advantage if he did not find a more effective combat method.
Over time, his strength would only reduce, and he would sink
into a precarious situation.

He quickly noticed that Jiang Wei and the others were in an

increasingly terrible situation. They were weaker and not as
strong in close quarters combat. He had to assist them as soon as
possible. With no time to think, he dashed toward the three of
them and shook the Dragonspine Inferno in his hand.
 As he prepared to mobilize the elemental energy within his
body, the seven palaces vibrated simultaneously.

Caught off guard, the Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s hands

stopped moving momentarily, but his eyes were wide open.

[Big Dipper]...

An indescribable familiarity surfaced from within Ai Hui’s

body. The simultaneous release of elemental energy from the
seven palaces combined these seven infinitesimal elemental
energies into one.

Bzz!

Like the sound a bamboo splitting and swinging in midair,

there was suddenly a strong suction force generated from
within the center of the circle drawn by the swing of the heavy
sword in Ai Hui’s hand. The surrounding blood ants began to
gravitate to it.

Like a stone on the riverbed that was visually distorted

through the rippling waters, the bodies of the blood ants inside
the sword circle were similarly deformed.

Clap, clap, clap.

A few blood ants simultaneously exploded.

The scene before Ai Hui’s eyes made him jump in shock and
even caused him to fall into a short daze.

The [Big Dipper] technique... was actually this powerful!

This was the second time he operated the [Big Dipper], and he
had a sudden urge to thank the mayor. Even though it was a
transaction, the original version of the [Big Dipper] that the
mayor bestowed upon Ai Hui was supremely helpful.
Previously, in the blood forest, he had activated it without
hesitation when in critical danger.

He could not remember much, but he was very clear about the
fact that the [Big Dipper] had saved his life.

From a learning perspective, his impetuous activation of the

[Big Dipper] was undoubtedly a big waste, but he had no regrets
at all. Without the [Big Dipper] and relying on just the [Arching
Fish Back] would not have allowed him to mobilize such
enormous “spiritual force,” Without expending such a huge
volume out, he would have exploded.

After being dazed for a short while, Ai Hui suddenly became

excited.

The [Big Dipper] was actually this powerful!

Although the traditions passed on by the Avalon of Five

Elements were few in comparison to the number of swordplay
manuals left by the Cultivation Era, after more than 1,000 years
of development, they were pretty impressive in both the quality
and quantity. After all, in the Cultivation Era, cultivators did
not have mortal enemies, while the Avalon of Five Elements had
never stopped battling the Wilderness.

War was a huge stimulation for the spread of knowledge.

All kinds of knowledge had been imparted. Some pertained to

fighting styles and elemental energy operation while others
involved training methods and a jumble of everything.
 The [Big Dipper] focused on the operation of elemental
energy. There were no moves.

Coined as the most powerful technique, the [Big Dipper]

naturally had its own unique properties.

Generally speaking, operation of elemental energy abided by

the “from near to far” rule. For example, the sword moves Ai
Hui used usually activated the hand palaces first since they were
the fastest. If both hand palaces consumed more elemental
energy, the elemental energies from the other palaces would
steadily flow to the hands.

The [Big Dipper] was different however. Its elemental energy

operation was very unusual.

Whether Ai Hui used his hands or legs or head, whether this

technique required strong or weak elemental energy, it needed a
simultaneous mobilization of elemental energies from seven
palaces.

Seven palaces moved as one. They released seven elemental

energies together to combine into one outstanding elemental
energy.
 Basically, the [Big Dipper] was very complicated, but it
consumed the same amount of elemental energy and yet
increased the power of another move by a huge margin. If an
enemy attacked with elemental energy, the [Big Dipper] would
distribute the power of the attack between all seven palaces,
which allowed each palace to simultaneously endure the same
amount of dispersed force and greatly reduced the chance of
sustaining an injury.

The [Big Dipper] had its flaws of course. Its requirements

demanded a lot from its users.

Users had to have seven strong palaces to attain resonance.

Then, they had to be capable of unleashing seven elemental
energies simultaneously. If the seven palaces varied in strength,
the energy released would naturally vary in speed.

Having seven strong palaces was a very difficult condition to

fulfill, and the majority was ruled out. This was why the [Big
Dipper] was powerful, yet not well-known, and why Wang
Shouchuan wanted Ai Hui to learn it.

Other than mandating excellent physical fitness, a superb

control over elemental energy was also required. The process of
seven elemental energies combining into one within the body
had to be completed within a short period of time, which was
very difficult to achieve without outstanding energy control.

A high level of control…

Something clicked in Ai Hui’s brain–embroidery!

Just like the [Big Dipper], the complex and meticulous

embroidery process required a precise control over elemental
energy.

Teacher had long since set his eyes on the [Big Dipper] and
had made preparations for Ai Hui from the start. What teacher
did not expect was for the mayor to give Ai Hui the original
version of the technique!

At this point, Ai Hui finally understood. No wonder he had

such few issues mastering the [Big Dipper]. Be it attaining
resonance between the seven palaces or combining the seven
elemental energies into one, they all went pretty smoothly for
him.

The edge formed by the convergence of elemental energies

was extremely sharp. The sword ray swept over a few blood
ants, splitting them in half.

Jiang Wei and the guys were in a dire situation. They looked
battered and exhausted.

Ai Hui was quite far away from them. He took a deep breath
and dashed a few steps forward while using a sword-made
screen to protect himself. The fearless blood ants threw
themselves at Ai Hui and landed on the screen, bursting into
tiny flames.

Ai Hui’s body was in a half arch. He ran like a cheetah and,

when he landed his last step, theDragonspine Inferno gathered
the sword screen that filled the sky and thrusted it forward.

Sss!

At the end of the Dragonspine Inferno, a white ray lit up

suddenly. It extended along the sword blade, across Ai Hui’s
palm, wrist, arm, and finally to his whole body.

Ai Hui’s entire body was engulfed in the plane of the blade

ray. He was like a bat, drawing a strange arc across the sky.

[Gale Bat Blade]!

Limbs of the marching blood ants were severed upon touching

the blade ray.

Sang Zhijun drew her Golden Silk Longbow unceasingly, and

the arrows were launched like a storm. She was utterly focused
and had full confidence in her bow mastery. All kinds of harsh
training and evaluations were nothing to her. She could release
seven arrows in a second and hit the bullseye every single time.

At she beginning, she was a little nervous and missed a few

shots. Soon enough, however, she steadied her feet and had not
missed again. She worked well with Jiang Wei and they fought
well. They managed to slay 16 blood ants together.

What she did not expect, however, was that the blood ants did
not seem to decrease in numbers.

Plus, she was starting to get tired. Jiang Wei’s power

consumption was even higher since he was using a heavy bow.
She could even hear Jiang Wei’s breathing getting heavier.

The arrow target formed by Wang Xiaoshan offered more of a

psychological comfort since the actual protection it provided
was quite limited.

Within her field of vision, all she saw was a frighteningly

dense collection of intertwined red shadows.

An intense feeling of powerlessness emerged from within.

“Persevere!”

The shout was like a thunderclap that rang in her ears. She
quivered and instantly became more clear-headed.

She turned around and saw a figure covered in sword light

entering her view and leaving many scattered shadows.

A low whistle seemed to ring out from below.

 A white sword ray divided the world within her view into
two, while the criss-crossed red threads were like frail
spiderwebs in comparison.

The ray grew bigger and bigger, like a storm sweeping across
the training hall.

The blood ants were swept up by Ai Hui’s sword ray. Plop plop
plop! Like torrential rain, many were flung onto the perimeter
walls, leaving only tiny empty spaces on it.

Other blood ants were intimidated by Ai Hui’s strike, and a

short silence fell over the scene.

A blood-curdling screech was heard from the alleyway. It was

weak and almost hollow. The sounds of bone-breaking and
chewing never stopped. It was so distinct that everybody’s
expression changed altogether. The fates of those in the
alleyway was clear. There was no need to think.

The bodies of those in the training hall grew cold, but fury
took over shortly. Boundless anger.
 A baleful gaze emerged from the eyes of the blood ants lying
on the ground. Rise again!

This was a death match. A battle without a retreat route. It

would only end with the collapse of one side.
Chapter 178: You Do It
Ai Hui shielded the three of them before withdrawing to
Fatty’s side.

He noticed that the blood ants did not like being close to
Fatty. Seeing Fatty shooting flames so diligently made Ai Hui
think. Could it be that the blood ants were also afraid of fire?

That was a good thing.

Jiang Wei was almost completely exhausted. His heavy bow

was astonishingly fatal, but also consumed an astonishing
amount of energy. Sang Zhijun had some strength left, but her
Golden Silk Longbow lacked sufficient power unless she used a
special kind of arrow or technique. Even then, it was quite
ineffective when facing the densely packed blood ants.

Wang Xiaoshan sat paralyzed on the ground. He was the

weakest amongst these people.

Indeed, the blood ants did not attack Jiang Wei and the other
two. Seemed like his guess was correct. Fatty’s flames were
useful in restraining the blood ants. Good one, Fatty! Be at ease,
shoot on!

Ai Hui looked at Fatty in admiration before shouting, “Lou

Lan! Follow me!”

“Coming!”

Eager to act, Lou Lan called back loudly before turning into a
sand cloud and reforming by Ai Hui’s side.

Underneath her fluttering hair, Shi Xueman’s eyes were

bloodshot. Her blue and white armor was streaked with blood
poison and dust. The spear in her hand was like a frantic,
furious wave.

The skill that she practiced was [Hydromancy], which was

known for its variation. It was not a spear technique.

Because of her father, she had a unique fondness for spear

mastery and had been training with dedication from a young
age. The cloud-like, untainted spear was a gift from her father,
from when she turned 10. He had it sent over to the house from
the front line.
 Its name was Cirrus.

At that time, her father had killed a humpback cloud whale,

and after it decomposed, he selected the straightest and most
beautiful bone to use as the spear’s body.

Humpback cloud whales were dire beasts that lived high up

and deep within the blue dome of heaven. Their enormous
bodies stretched over a few miles and were entirely snow-white,
like white islands flying in the sky. It was easy for people to
mistake them as floating clouds.

They had outstanding flying abilities, did not tire, and

searched for sea clouds throughout their lives. They fed on
these sea clouds as well as the dire beasts that lived within these
layers of clouds.

Generally speaking, humpback cloud whales did not leave the

deepest part of the sky and did not initiate attacks on
elementalists. Only rarely did they appear at low altitudes and
destroy everything in sight.

When that happened, a catastrophe would follow.

 Bones of these cloud-eating humpback cloud whales emitted
silky threads of mist.

The pure, crystal-like spearhead was a result of her father’s

masterpiece, which also caused a sensation the Avalon of Five
Elements.

Near her father’s military encampment was a lake named Blue

Sapphire. The scenery was beautiful and he liked to train by the
lakeside. Every day, he would carry a pail of lake water, pour it
into a water tank, and use his elemental energy to compress it to
its limit.

The next day, he would continue pouring another pail of

water in and compress it. The clear, dark blue lake water would
become tougher and tougher with each compression.

After three years and 1,000 more pails of lake water, he

created a huge blue crystal half the size of a person. It was a
novel material, an ingredient wholly created by him. Because it
was heavy and the color of the sky, it was named Firmament
Iron.

This development caused huge commotion as countless people

were willing to spend huge amounts of money to purchase a
small piece of it, but they had all been rejected by her father.
Since the blue crystal was imperfect, he kept on polishing and
grinding it until only a small piece remained. This piece, perfect
in his eyes, then became the spearhead of the Cirrus.

Be it the humpback cloud whale bone or the blue crystal, they

were all of the best quality. The moment the Cirrus was forged,
it became one of the top water type weapons in the Avalon of
Five Elements.

Even when blood was shed everyday, Cirrus remained

untainted. No matter what, it was always encouraging to Shi
Xueman. She could sense her father’s hopes through it. In her
heart, he was like a guardian angel protecting everybody.

She hoped to emulate her father, selflessly helping and

safeguarding people.

The subsiding of the anguished wailings from outside, coupled

with the noise of the blood ants chewing, deeply provoked her.
She was beyond angry.

Indeed, she knew why she was so furious.

 She used to be proud of her abilities and strongly believed that
she could be like her father, but when danger struck, she was
unable to protect everyone like her father. Even she, herself…
had become someone else’s burden.

At this point, the young water elementalist was like a ball of

fearless, raging flame.

Shi Xueman powered up, immediately allowing Ai Hui to feel

less pressured. He could not help but to look at the madness that
Shi Xueman displayed. What a ferocious woman, he thought to
himself.

She was practically a wild beast in human form!

When compared to Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun was not

as violent. In fact, he seemed unhurried. His performance was
completely different from a few days ago. While he was not as
efficient as Ai Hui, he basically had not missed.

The breathtaking [Viridescent Flower] in his hand slightly

stunned Ai Hui.
 This was not the first time Ai Hui had seen that thankless
wretch’s [Viridescent Flower], but in the past, it had been no
different from that ingrate’s personality. It looked impressive,
but was actually worthless.

To Ai Hui at least, the skilled had looked flashy, but was weak
and insignificant.

Today, however, the [Viridescent Flower] that the ingrate

wielded was completely different. One word: deceitful!

Damn deceitful!

It appeared out of nowhere and disappeared to nowhere. It

started to attack from the left, but out of nowhere, the branches
moved to the right. Extremely deceitful!

This fellow had been enlightened!

He had a bad personality, but his brain was not bad at all.

Soon, Ai Hui witnessed the power of the [Viridescent Flower].

It changed unpredictably and could attack from practically all
angles. Plus, it could cover quite a large area.

If only this fellow knew how to cooperate…

This thought flashed across Ai Hui’s mind. Duanmu

Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower] looked soft, but was deceitful,
stealthy, and had a large area of effect. It was simply made for
team play.

“Ingrate! Cooperate!” Ai Hui shouted.

Ingrate… Damn that bastard! How dare he call him an ingrate

in front of so many people!

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

The inner rage boiled like lava within his chest and rose up
violently, but when it reached his mouth, all that came out was,
“How… how do I cooperate?”

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

 Why had he said something like this? Duanmu Huanghun’s
skin reddened from anger.

“Bangwan, Lou Lan will cooperate. We can do it like this.”

Like a sand cloud floating in the sky, Lou Lan transformed

into a fine trip wire. Caught off guard, the blood ants swarming
Ai Hui crashed and stumbled onto the ground where Ai Hui
stood.

Brush!

A sword ray then swept up from the bottom, splitting them in

half.

“And this!”

He had not finished talking when a sand screen appeared in

front of a bunch of charging blood ants, blocking their line of
sight. However, how could such a thin sand screen obstruct
their path?
 Bang, the blood ants broke through the screen fiercely.

Yet, what welcomed them was a sword ray.

“And this!”

“This!”

“This!”

Duanmu Huanghun was struck dumb by Lou Lan’s

demonstration. There were so many moves. While none were
very formidable, they effectively subdued the blood ants.

Ai Hui was even more powerful. Any deviation and it was as if

his sword ray was a shark smelling blood or a creditor smelling
money…

Damn it! Why did he think of a creditor…

 Duanmu cursed inwardly, but was unable to deny that Ai Hui
and Lou Lan’s teamwork was shockingly well-coordinated.

Ai Hui was already very efficient to begin with. The

Dragonspine Inferno in his hand never once stopped. It slashed
up in successive arcs, one after another, and a low vibrating
sound continued to ring as the blood ants in the path of these
curves were continually crushed.

Were they… butchering chickens?

Within a short period of time, the corpses of the blood ants on

the floor increased by more than 10. Lou Lan’s various moves
were strange but unblockable, and Ai Hui’s ability to react was
commendable. There were no misses at all.

What puzzled Duanmu Huanghun was that an earth

elementalist was actually powerful enough to create such a
treacherous sand puppet? Had he missed out on the latest news
about wood elementalists?

Then again, it did not seem that surprising. Only such a

deceptive sand puppet would collude with that damned bastard.
Birds of a feather flock together.
 And he used to think Lou Lan was a pleasant sand puppet!

Duanmu Huanghun’s face was gloomy, and he laughed

grimly. I have seen through your disguises!

I, Duanmu Huanghun, straight up will not be associated with

you filthy creatures!

“Understand? Know how to do it? Come try!” Ai Hui asked

aloud while waving his sword.

Duanmu Huanghun remained unmoved as he sneered.

“You can’t even learn this?” Ai Hui was somewhat shocked by

Duanmu Huanghun’s lack of comprehension. Was this fellow
really a genius?

Heh heh, how stupid of you to use such lousy reverse

psychology on me! Duanmu Huanghun laughed sarcastically to
himself.

“Lou Lan, let’s do it one more time, he’s slow to understand.”

Ai Hui decided, without a choice.

Heh, you think I’ll fall for your trick? I’ve seen through you
guys! Duanmu Huanghun thought to himself as he continued
grinning.

“No problem. I’m coming! Bangwan, look closely. It’s all right
if you don’t get it the first time, I can continue demonstrating!”
Lou Lan shouted encouraging.

“We can do this!”

“This!”

“This!”

……

“Do you get it? Don’t feel discouraged! I’ll do it again… Eh, no
more blood ants?”
 Duanmu Huanghun, who was no longer able to hold it in and
was going insane, yelled out, “Enough! Let me!”

Clap, clap, clap.

Blood ants ceaselessly jumped over the fence from the alley.
Having finished their meal outside, they were lured by the thick
bloody smell from inside the training hall. In the blink of an
eye, the fence became a bright red sheet, while the vicious glare
of the densely pack blood ants made everyone’s hair stand on
end.

Ai Hui was stunned for awhile, but when he recovered, he

quietly retreated a few steps behind Duanmu and whispered,
“You do it.”

“...”
Chapter 179: The Brave One Wins!
Shi Xueman, who was in midair, started bursting out in
laughter. She had witnessed all that happened below and was
simply unable to hold it in.

All the anger, self-reproach, and guilt that were devouring her
flew out of the window in an instant. Freed from those terrible
emotions, she became very relaxed and felt that she must have
been possessed earlier.

Had she not already known from the start that she would not
be like her father? It was just that the daily praises and flattery
had fed her ego and made her arrogant.

Her eyes cleared and her irritable heart calmed.

The path she wanted to follow was endless, and at that

unattainable, distant end stood the blurry, yet majestic, view of
her father’s back. He was like a big mountain, attentively
watching her unsteady steps.

Her father must have slashed through countless thistles,

thorns, and ferocious beasts before reaching that point. He must
have crossed over vast bodies of water, passed through violent
storms, and endured the bone-chilling cold of boundless
glaciers. Furthermore, he withstood bone-piercing loneliness,
carried deep scars all over his body, and travelled alone before
arriving at the peak.

How could her hardships count for anything?

Her heart became placid.

Looking at everyone’s warm and gentle smiles, she felt

thankful and happy to have such comrades.

Shi Xueman’s laughter was exceptionally clear amid the

silence brought about by fierce gaze of the closely packed blood
ants’.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face flushed. He felt so ashamed and

wished there was a hole for him to hide in. Why was he always
the one feeling embarrassed when associated with Ai Hui?

Why…
 Before finding a clear answer to this question, the blood ants
on the wall suddenly rose.

Like a troop of archers shooting earth-shattering red arrows

from a distance in an open field, Duanmu Huanghun only felt
things darkening in front of him as the ugly and malevolent
appearance of the blood ants magnified before his eyes.

“Let me help you!”

Shi Xue Man's voice sounded in Duanmu Huanghun’s ears like

a beautiful melody of nature, and his spirits were slightly
shaken. Ever since he was young, he knew that sister Xueman
was extremely powerful, so every time he met her, he was very
honest. The earlier battle illustrated this. Shi Xueman fought
the blood ants alone and was not at all inferior.

However, he still underestimated the power of Shi Xueman.

What Shi Xueman did next frightened everyone. Not only did
she not retreat, she took the initiative and charged toward the
incoming blood ants.
 Sh was like a snow-white humpback cloud whale that charged
relentlessly toward a shoal of fishes.

White clouds surged from the spear’s body like fierce solid
canes, whipping the incoming blood ants ruthlessly and
creating sharp hissing sounds.

Clap!

The sound of unusually concentrated and loud explosions

combined together. Those with slightly weaker hearing heard
only a single boom as the rain of red arrows caused over ten
explosions of blood.

This spectacular scene immediately shocked everyone,

including Ai Hui. His mouth gaped wide and disbelief was
evident on his whole face as he looked at the domineering blue
and white figure in the training hall.

Was this girl really a water elementalist…

He would not feel surprised if Shi Xueman was a fire

elementalist. Or a metal elementalist. Brother Li Wei and the
guys from the infantry division were good at fighting head-on.
Such fierce earth elementalists, although quite rare, were also
acceptable.

From the start, earth elementalists were a little sly. Wood

elementalists, on the other hand, were gentle and reserved.
Seeing that thankless wretch put on airs was the best example.

Yet, who was the gentlest of them all? Water elementalists,

most definitely.

This was determined by the characteristics of water elemental

energy. It was soft and easily mutable. It could change between
water and cloud, cloud being the softest matter.

Shi Xueman’s attack, however, was overbearing and

unyielding. Ai Hui conceded defeat.

Ai Hui had heard a saying that women were made of water.

Now, he finally realized that this so-called water was certainly
molten iron.

None of the women he had met were gentle.

 8,000,000 yuan lady was incredibly ferocious too, probably
comparable to Shi Xueman, the iron lady. One Thousand Yuan
looked feeble, but was much more dangerous than the other
two. When Ai Hui escaped the previous time, he made up his
mind to run if he ever met One Thousand Yuan. The further the
better.

Ai Hui was shocked. There was no need to mention the others,

even Duanmu Huanghun had momentarily forgotten about his
[Viridescent Flower].

Suddenly, Ai Hui noticed that the actions of her body were

abnormal and opened his eyes even wider.

Iron lady seemed to have made a breakthrough… No way…

Everyone else’s attention was quickly drawn to Shi Xueman’s

increasing elemental energy movements. Their faces were
mixed with shock and joy. All of them had their eyes opened as
wide as possible, in fear of missing any details.

Sss!
 The spiraling, water plant-like clouds on Shi Xueman’s back,
the surrounding dispersed clouds, and the clouds emitted by the
spear entered her body suddenly, like a whale inhaling air
through its blowhole.

Shi Xueman’s exaggerated body movements from earlier

immediately disappeared without a trace. She floated in the air
as if unconscious, her body motionless.

A strange hint of color flashed across Ai Hui’s eyes. He had a

keen sixth sense and could feel the elemental energy within this
iron lady’s body. It was operating at an astonishingly crazed
speed.

All at once, the blood ants that were flying everywhere started
hissing at Shi Xueman.

Ai Hui’s expression changed. Iron lady was in danger!

“Be careful!”

Even before finishing his warning, Ai Hui flew toward Shi

Xueman like a frostbitten sword ray!
 The others came to their senses abruptly and all their
expressions suddenly changed. Duanmu Huanghun flew at Shi
Xueman without the slightest hesitation. Each time he stepped
upward, a mass of bluish-white cloud emerged under his feet at
the highest point of his stride. He traveled on these clouds and
continued ascending, as if he was walking up a flight of stairs.

The Golden Silk Longbow in Sang Zhijun’s hand was nocked

with three valuable Bunny Hair Arrows.

Already exhausted, Jiang Wei gathered whatever energy he

had left to fire his arrows.

Thud thud thud!

Like raindrops, the number of blood ants that crashed to the

ground quickly increased. Their eyes flickered with greed. The
elemental energy brewing within the body suspended in the air
was like heavenly food, and they were deeply attracted.

These blood ants were not very smart. Previously, they were
cooperating, but they had completely forgotten to do so at this
point. All they could think about was pouncing on Shi Xueman.
 Ai Hui was the fastest, appearing by Shi Xueman’s side first.
His view darkened as densely packed blood ants threw
themselves over from all directions, practically blocking his
visual field. He felt the weight of great despair, as if he was
being crushed by Mount Tai.

Before, the blood ants attacked in a coordinated manner, but

now they had completely discarded this method. They dashed
toward Shi Xueman and Ai Hui without any sort of plan, which
actually made it difficult for Ai Hui to find an outlet.

The ingrate was slower by half a beat…

Ai Hui, who was forced to desperation, felt a sense of calm

instead. Faced with such chaotic attacks, any intention of
retreat would only remove the last chance of survival.

He had already adjusted his posture when dashing to Shi

Xueman. He was like an octopus, sticking himself to the iron
lady's back. He sprang at her with great strength, causing both
of them to dive down toward the training hall’s perimeter wall
at a very fast speed. Dense red shadows followed closely behind.

From behind, the sound of sharp hissing fell incessantly on

their ears.

Ai Hui wrapped his limbs around the iron lady. His chest hurt
badly from pressing so tightly against her armor.
Unfortunately, he would have to use his legs later… At the
moment, he could only use his arms to hold her to his chest as
his legs coiled around her thighs.

What was this iron shell… Was there a need for it to be so

hard?

His chest was going to be injured at this rate…

Luckily there was no armor on her thighs. He could not tell

previously, but her thighs were pretty soft… They felt good on
the hands… No, legs…

Ai Hui saw nothing except for the wall that was quickly
increasing in size. There was no warmth, only cold. The
moment they hit the wall, blood red flashed across his ice-cold
pupils.

The brave one wins!

 The legs he wrapped around Shi Xueman’s thighs abruptly
sprang up. Keeping a small distance between his legs and her
body, he stomped onto the wall heavily.

Boom!

It was as if the wall was hit by a cannon. A storm of countless

bricks broke off and flew toward the alley.

Ai Hui borrowed this force, increased his speed, and flew

backward!

Alarmed cries rang out from behind!

Those witnessing the scene admired Ai Hui’s fast reaction,

which saved Shi Xueman’s life. They had expected him to carry
her along and dodge the blood ants in order to survive.

No one had expected that he would spring back and charge

toward the whole group of blood ants. Was this not a
deathwish? They had yet to digest Shi Xueman’s impulsive
behavior from earlier, and now, the usually cool-headed Ai Hui
also acted so reckless!
 Nobody could remain calm at that point. Sang Zhijun shot the
[Bunny Hair Arrows] without hesitation. They formed a fine
rain-like silver light, which landed amid the group of blood
ants. Indignation appeared on Jiang Wei’s face. He used his last
bit of energy to fire three consecutive heavy arrows. Duanmu
Huanghun had no time to worry about the others. He clenched
his teeth so hard that they were about to be crushed. Countless
viridescent flowers shot out from his surroundings, like a
flowery storm flying into the ant swarm.

Half of the closely packed blood shadows disappeared!

But… As their eyes about to explode, everyone present

witnessed Ai Hui and Shi Xueman being swallowed up by the
crimson shadows.

The seven palaces within Ai Hui’s body jolted before a rush of

elemental energies surged up from his palaces to combine into
one. A small trickle of blood spilled out from the corner of his
mouth. He had just recovered from the previous injuries and
was about to get hurt again. Why am I always the unlucky one…

He did not hold back and directed all of his elemental energy
to flow into his back.
 Come on!

[Arching Fish Back]!

A noiseless, raving storm exploded in Ai Hui’s chest, but his

eyes maintained their same azure color.

Bang!

Ai Hui felt himself knocking against aroaring, furious wave.

The immense collision struck him senseless.

Filled with much grief and indignation, Duanmu Huanghun

and the others suddenly heard a loud sound, before witnessing
the densely packed blood ants explode. They suddenly erupted,
and their bodies flew in every direction.

Then, they saw the unstoppable Ai Hui and his bloodstained

back.

Ai Hui lost control and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood,

which coincidentally landed on Shi Xueman’s neck.
 It was quite a pity for such a long white neck to be stained
with blood. It was not as pretty anymore…

Dazed, Ai Hui’s senses were somewhat fuzzy. He did not even

feel the lady in his arms rapidly soaring.
Chapter 180: Why isn’t it a Treasure
Chest!
Shi Xueman slowly regained consciousness.

Having a breakthrough in the midst of battle had caught her

off guard and she’d almost lost her life. Every elementalist
yearned for a breakthrough, but because unpredictable
situations could easily arise, it became very important to be
prepared for one.

Knowing this, it became obvious that Shi Xueman lacked

experience. There were signs which would present themselves
whenever a breakthrough was near, but only seasoned
elementalists would recognize them and prepare for it.

Gradually recovering, Shi Xueman felt the strange condition

of her body even before opening her eyes.

Her limbs were bound tightly by someone from behind. She

was unable to move an inch.

That was…
 She fell into a short daze. This familiar feeling triggered a
certain memory that she had tried so hard to forget. It came
back to her now, clear and distinct.

In the dark, every single detail was so clear, as if it happened

just yesterday. That indescribable feeling of shame and
humiliation was like an electric current circulating throughout
her whole body, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.

She’d thought she had already forgotten that event, but when
a similar scene played out, the familiarity enveloped her senses
once again.

Time had not reduced the pain and humiliation. Instead, it

had thickened the emotions involved, like a cup of water
turning into alcohol.

Having just experienced a breakthrough, Shi Xueman’s three

energies were at their strongest. The resurfacing of these
intense emotions from the deepest part of her mind led to an
unprecedented eruption of fury.

Still in the air with her eyes shut, Shi Xueman grabbed her
spear with one hand. The elemental energy within her whole
body boiled. It looked like she was about to channel all of her
rage into this spear!

This fanciless spear!

Cirrus vibrated and started humming. Turbulent clouds

erupted and flew out of the spear’s body with a hiss, like an
enormous white whale loudly advancing.

Blood ants that came into contact with the clouds burst upon
touch, just like fragile bubbles!

Numerous blood flowers blossomed at the same time. The ball

of clouds was like a white cloth that made the sea of blood
flowers look especially tender and beautiful. This beautiful
picture did not last long, however, for the blossoming flowers
shook and shattered into a blood fog that was swept away by the
stirring air, disappearing without a trace.

Boom, boom, boom!

The whale-like cloud ball, as if making up for its prior

negligence, advanced with unstoppable force and pulverized
everything in and along its path without holding back.

The wall Ai Hui had made a hole in shattered into fine powder
immediately. The formidable cloud ball rushed past the alley
and went straight for the opposite wall, causing broken
fragments to fly everywhere.

The earth quaked, mountains shook, and the sky rumbled. It

was like the monsters were far away.

Duanmu Huanghun and the rest were struck absolutely dumb

by the change of events. Ai Hui and Shi Xueman had been in
crucial danger just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye,
every single blood ant in the training hall was destroyed.

The twists and turns from start to finish had Duanmu

Huanghun and gang gasping for breath.

This attack had consumed more than half of the elemental

energy within Shi Xueman’s body. She opened her eyes and her
anger greatly dissipated. Having vented most of her raging
emotions, she regained her composure.
 The falling objects within her field of vision reminded her
that she wasn’t done yet.

A few blood ants were left struggling to escape this scary

training hall.

So, blood fiends also feel fear, Shi Xueman thought to herself.

Wait!

Her face darkened immediately upon realizing that the guy on

her back had yet to release her, but the bloody smell on her neck
softened her expression.

She wasn’t completely unaware of what had happened.

Ai Hui had merely been trying to save her life. He’d gotten
injured pretty seriously and was unconscious.

Her anger quickly subsided and was replaced with reproach

and regret. Ai Hui had just saved her life and yet all she did was
blame him, how ungrateful. Calming down, she also became
shocked at her overly intense reaction. Her body had
subconsciously acted out of instinct rather than careful
consideration.

Although she was unwilling to admit it, all that had happened
was enough to prove that her fateful blind battle had been
etched deeply into her heart and mind.

She pushed the bottom of the spear against the ground to

stabilize herself and prepared to removed Ai Hui from her back;
however, she was surprised to find that she couldn’t pull his
hands and feet apart.

Ai Hui had fallen into a coma, but his limbs were still wrapped
tightly around her body with shocking strength. Shi Xueman
had heard stories from the front lines before. Some soldiers had
gotten their bodies tangled with the enemies’ corpses and were
unable to separate themselves. She had been skeptical in the
past, but who knew that she would now experience it for
herself.

What a clingy fellow…

Shi Xueman felt both admiration and vexation.

 In such a situation, she might cause damage to his body if she
were to forcefully remove him. His joints could easily be
broken.

But he… looked so unglamorous right now...

Because everyone was looking at her with their mouths and

eyes wide open, her face blushed a deep red.

“I’ll… I’ll go in for a bit.”

Face almost burning up, Shi Xueman dashed into a room

inside the training hall immediately after finishing her
sentence, like a bunny whose butt was being roasted.

The sudden return of peace allowed everyone to finally release

all of their tension. They were long exhausted and started
plopping themselves all over the ground. Only Sang Zhijun
bothered thinking about her image as a woman and reluctantly
sat on the ground.

“Never thought we’d survive.”

 Wang Xiaoshan said in a somewhat nervous manner with a
half smiling, half crying expression.

No one said anything as they were all enjoying this precious

calm.

The intensity of the battle made everyone unwilling to recall

its details. At many points, they had expected to die right there
and then; yet, there was no joy after the calamity since they
knew that the blood catastrophe had just started.

Intense sounds from a faraway battle made their way into the
training hall as flames and smoke rose amidst the sunlight.

Even though it was so far away, they could still see it.

The sky brightened up but the light emitted by the rising sun
no longer carried warmth, but oozed horrifying coldness and
death.

A new day of killing had started just like that.

 Sang Zhijun gazed absentmindedly at the black, rising smoke
from far away as it floated along with the wind like a black
armband in a funeral.

She muttered, “I wonder how many are going to die this

time?”

No one knew the answer.

Jiang Wei’s expression changed slightly at the sudden thought

of the few people in the woodshed. “How are those in the
woodshed doing?”

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, a bad feeling rising

within their chests.

Lou Lan opened the door to the woodshed and they were
welcomed by a choking smell of blood. Their hearts skipped a
beat.

Nothing was left in the woodshed except for traces of blood,

bits and pieces of flesh, and bone dregs. Everyone could guess
that the blood ants must have smelled humans in here and had
themselves a feast.

Sang Zhijun dashed out, held onto the wall, and started
puking violently.

Jiang Wei and Duanmu Huanghun maintained their calm

even though their faces did not look too good. They exchanged
looks and understood each other’s intent. No matter what, they
must hold it in.

Sang Zhiju vomited for a short while before stopping. While

her face was as pale as before, she felt better emotionally. “It’s
for the better, death ends all one’s troubles.”

The terrifying blood disaster, nightmare-like battles, and the

struggles between life and death made these weak students grow
speedily. Their mental strength had improved greatly.

This was the survival instinct. Regardless of origins, the

desire for life was the most primitive instinct. During this
disaster, compassion, sympathy, fear, and hesitation would only
lead to tragic endings.
 They were lucky to have survived the past few battles. They
had been given time to understand and adapt accordingly.

They were all smart people. They knew where this luck had
come from.

The blood stains on Ai Hui’s back had everyone all tensed up.
Such a wound could be infected by the blood poison.

If Ai Hui became infected...

Everyone shuddered at the thought of it. All at once, their

gazes fell upon the room into which Shi Xueman had dashed
earlier.

The light inside the room was dim and Shi Xueman had closed
the door. She did not have a choice since she was forced into an
ugly position and had no courage to show herself to everybody.

Because she was sitting on the ground, Ai Hui looked as if he

was hugging her from behind, his legs still wrapping around her
thighs.
 Although he had saved her life, she still wanted to break all of
his limbs.

Okay, she’d better shift his legs slowly and carefully. His grip
was too tight, so she was unable to stand up straight, leaving her
with no choice but to remain seated.

So that she would not hurt Ai Hui, she channelled a small

amount of elemental energy into her fingertips and used them
to provoke Ai Hui’s tensed leg muscles. This was the only
harmless method she could think of for now.

Ai Hui had a dream.

In that dream, he and Fatty were hugging a piece of tree

trunk, struggling in the middle of a big storm at sea. Lou Lan
was in the middle.

The monstrous waves were like many overhanging cliffs,

constantly rising from the ground, tilting forward, and
collapsing, effectively burying them.

Everyone was hugging onto the block of wood, hanging for

dear life without loosening their grip.

Fatty said, Ai Hui, I can’t do this anymore, I’m out of

strength.

He then responded, Fatty, persevere!

Fatty was losing consciousness and said, Ai Hui, it’s good for
me to die in the ocean. When you burn ritual money, just
choose any beach since all of the waters are linked. I’ll definitely
receive it.

Lou Lan then said, Fatty, don’t you worry. If you die, I will
burn money, chilli and even trainning programme schedules,
one book each year.

Fatty replied, it’s alright, I don’t want to die now.

Just as he finished, a wave smashed them into the sea. He

laughed until tears spilled out and mixed into the sea water.

They floated up to the water’s surface.

 Lou Lan said, Ai Hui, I can become a treasure chest and keep
everyone inside. You can grab onto it, swim to the shore, and
save everyone. Muddle-headed Ai Hui realized he was lying on
the beach, tightly holding onto a treasure chest.

He had no idea why the treasure chest was covered in a layer

of armor. The armor looked familiar. Wasn’t this iron lady’s
armor? Could it be that she was inside too? The armor was
fastened very securely, but it wasn’t a problem for Ai Hui. He
had loosened countless armors which had been even tighter.

Ai Hui suddenly jerked a little, giving Shi Xueman, who was

controlling her elemental energy carefully, a shock, but it
quickly turned into joy. Was he coming around?

“You’re finally awake…”

Her words fell as her expression and body stiffened.

In dreamland, Ai Hui peeled open the armor. It wasn’t a

treasure chest, there was another layer! He got worried
instantly and increased his speed to undo the second layer.
Eh what was this?

Why wasn’t it a treasure chest!

Furious, Ai Hui grabbed...

Chapter 181: Target Locked!
Suddenly, a sky-piercing scream caused Ai Hui and everyone
else’s faces to change. It was Shi Xueman!

Were there blood fiends in the room?

Without considering, a few people sprang up and appeared in

front of the room as quick as lightning.

Bang!

The door was forced open.

In the center of the room, Shi Xueman was lying on the

ground in a daze while Ai Hui could be seen in a defensive
posture in the corner. He gazed around non-stop, seemingly at a
loss.

“What happened?” Sang Zhijun asked urgently.

The others had their eyes set on those two.

 “I don’t know.” Ai Hui shook his head calmly. “I just woke up,
heard iron lady screaming, and thought there was an enemy
attack.”

He had just been dreaming…

Ai Hui was much more clear-headed now. He vaguely

remembered himself opening the treasure chest in his dreams.
He had finally loosened the outermost armor but was awoken
by iron lady’s shriek. He’d thought that there was an attack and
subconsciously created distance between them, preparing to
defend.

Those present collectively shifted their gazes onto Shi

Xueman.

“Nothing… nothing much.” Shi Xueman forcefully squeezed a

smile onto her face and said, somewhat absent-mindedly,
“Maybe I’ve been feeling too nervous.”

Everyone simultaneously heaved a sigh of relief. Upon

hearing her words, Ai Hui did so too.
 “Ai Hui, how’s your back injury?” Jiang Wei asked, voice full
of concern.

“Back injury?” Letting his guard down, Ai Hui stood up and

stretched his limp and painful limbs. They did not feel like his
own. He shook his head, saying, “I have the bandage and am not
hurt.”

He turned around and indeed, the bloodstains were

completely gone. Everyone was utterly shocked. If not for the
closely packed holes in his shirt, they would’ve thought that the
bloodstains had just been their hallucination.

But the fact that Ai Hui was unharmed allowed them to finally
stop worrying and be thoroughly relieved. Ai Hui was their
pillar of support. If something were to happen to him, no one
would know where to go or what to do next.

“Let’s grab this opportunity to catch some rest.” Ai Hui

regained himself.

The others nodded one after the other before dispersing. The
battle had completely drained all of their elemental energy.
After all that tension and fear, all they were left with was an
unprecedented fatigue.

Ai Hui also got ready to meditate. He wanted to check himself

for internal injuries.

He noticed that Shi Xueman was not moving at all and asked
out of concern, “Are you okay?”

At this point, Shi Xueman had already calmed down and there
was neither joy nor anger in her face. “I’m fine.”

“Rest while you can, the blood fiends may appear any time.”
Ai Hui reminded her.

Shi Xueman nodded and changed the topic. “You called me

iron lady earlier?”

Ai Hui’s stern face turned sluggish. Not good, I’m dead! Why
did I spill my thoughts out? I can’t wait to run from this
ferocious woman so why did I provoke her? Am I not digging
my own grave?
 How… how…

AAi Hui’s brain was spinning fast although there was no

change in his expression. Calm and collected, he said, “You
heard wrong. I said blue-white sweet lady.”

“Oh yeah?” Shi Xueman gave Ai Hui a half-smile.

Her response gave Ai Hui the chills but he knew for sure that
he wasn’t going to admit it. With a fixed look, he questioned her
back, “Any problem?”

“You think I’m sweet? Shi Xueman asked while giving Ai Hui
that same strange look.

Now he had goosebumps and the hair all over his body stood
on end. Having experienced countless near-death situations, Ai
Hui displayed his strong mental strength. At a time like this, he
had to maintain his composure.

If he did not persevere, iron lady would most definitely show

him what iron was!
 His mind worked quickly. To be honest, he did not feel that
“sweet lady” could ever be associated with Shi Xueman, but he’d
said it somehow, so he had to reconcile these two no matter
what!

How…

A divine light flashed past his mind as he became determined

instantly. At ease, he said naturally, “You’re a water
elementalist, which reminds me of the clouds and spring water
on the mountains. As people from the Old Territory always say,
water from mountain springs is a little sweet.”

Red took over Shi Xueman’s half-smiling face.

Seeing that, Ai Hui seized the opportunity to end the

conversation. “Sigh, just pretend I didn’t say anything. I’m
going to check my condition.”

Got to stay far away from iron lady!

Ai Hui walked out with his default, calm expression even

though he was more than eager to exit the room.
 Jiang Wei informed him that the few fellows in the woodshed
had become bone dregs. Ai Hui nodded without saying
anything. He barely had time to care about his own life, so
needless to say, he did not bother about those fellows’ deaths. If
even Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun could be calm about it, it
wasn’t something worth mentioning to Ai Hui.

Wonder how many were going to perish today.

Sitting under the message tree, Ai Hui took a long, deep

breath. He only just realized that saying those two lines caused a
layer of sweat to form all over his body.

However, at least he was able to fool her. Good that it had

passed, good that it had passed...

Inside the room, sunlight shone in from the windows. Dust

drifted around in the pencil-straight light ray. There was an
indescribable peacefulness.

With the flickering of the light, Shi Xueman’s slightly closed

eyes were like that of a hunter who had found a long-awaited
prey. The hunter whispered in a bitingly-cold manner, “Finally
found you.”
 The dull ache in her chest reminded her that everything that
had happened wasn’t an illusion. No one who had come into the
room had noticed that a few of the buckles on her armor had
been unlocked.

History was always strikingly similar.

She knew now why her reaction had been so intense when Ai
Hui wrapped himself around her body. It wasn’t just because of
that unforgettable incident, but rather, even before she learned
the truth, her subconscious mind had already noticed the
similarities between the two experiences. It made her 100%
certain that Ai Hui was, in fact, the guy from the blind battle. It
was because of the way he had unbuckled her armor… it was
precisely the same.

The same moves, and that abominable grip…

Her face was flushed red once again. She clenched her teeth.
There was no need to check, she knew there would be ten
fingerprints!

Ten… Five more than the previous time!

 Vile! Damn it!

The rage within her chest surged. She couldn’t wait to finish
that damned fellow off with her spear.

No, that’d be too easy on him!

There were angry flames burning in her eyes. How

humiliating for her to go through the same degradation twice.
She wanted Ai Hui to repay her a thousand times over!

That’s right, just like that!

Shi Xueman was beyond determined. She made a vow in her

heart to never forget this moment.

The rage within her chest subsided as a smile appeared on the

corner of her lips. She did lose a lot this time, but she had finally
locked onto her target. As long as she was clear about the target,
she had plenty of ways and means to deal with him.

The most important thing right now was to survive this blood
disaster.

How could she let Ai Hui die? After all, he was her savior. Of
course, some favors had to be returned. She could slowly get her
revenge… Heh heh, mountain spring water, I’ll let you know
how sweet it is…

Shi Xueman’s fighting spirit was at an all-time high. She was

excited.

Under the message tree, Ai Hui carefully checked himself for

internal injuries. What relieved him a little was the fact that his
seven palaces were still intact. This was the thing he was most
worried about. After all, the palaces had been destroyed once
and then restored. He wasn’t sure if they could endure such
great pressure.

While he had been operating the [Arching Fish Back] defense,

he had also been using [Big Dipper], so the impact of the attack
had been distributed evenly between the seven palaces.

It seemed now that the seven palaces were more reliable than
he had imagined.
 Now certain that he was unhurt, he did not stop. He stared
blankly at the message tree for a while before searching for a
brush and writing on a leaf.

“Since the blood wolves, the bloodshed has become more

severe. The forest outside the city has become the nest of the
blood fiends. The forest can devour the weaker blood fiends and
channel their power into a particular blood fiend to create an
even stronger one. This is called blood refinement. The whole
city was attacked. We encountered two groups of blood ants.
Fortunately, we are still alive.”

Ai Hui did not know why, but he wanted to tell the fellow that
called himself a prisoner. He wanted to tell him about almost
losing his life and the flaming city. He wasn’t afraid, but felt an
indescribably bleak sadness.

He wanted to write a little something, say a little something.

Whatever secrets or advice about not provoking the Blood of

God were forgotten. Perhaps they would all die here today, who
could care so much?

Looking at his slowly fading handwriting, Ai Hui became lost

in thought.

He regained his spirits. He hadn’t died, had he?

He thought about the dream he’d had. He was still

encouraging Fatty not to give up on his life… Eh? Fatty?

The sounds of fire spraying landed in his ears, and he found

Fatty with much ease. Fatty was like a flamethrower, never
knowing the meaning of being tired. He was still tenaciously
shooting flames.

Suddenly, Ai Hui thought about a certain scene from the

earlier battle.

Fatty was completely unharmed… and he was shielding Jiang

Wei, Sang Zhijun and Wang Xiaoshan...

A light flashed past his eyes. Correct, the blood fiends had
attacked those fellows in the woodshed, attacked everyone
except for Fatty!
 Could it be that there was something on Fatty that they
hated?

If they could find out what, wouldn’t they be able to restrain

the blood ants and make them avoid people?

Ai Hui’s mind shook!

The first thing he thought about was the flames. A lot of wild
beasts had the instinct to fear fire. Could it be that blood ants
hated it too?

No! The guys in the woodshed were fire elementalists, but

they too were eaten and reduced to bone dregs. Even the
equipment containing fire elemental energy was swallowed up
cleanly by the blood ants.

If it wasn’t fire then what was it?

Could it be… chilli?

Ai Hui asked Lou Lan in a loud voice, “Lou Lan, besides flame-
winged serpent’s egg and chilli, what else was in the dragon
soup that you gave Fatty?”

“Starsword grass, triangle fennel, and soft wood powder.” Lou

Lan answered precisely.

They were commonly seen ingredients. Ai Hui was all the

more convinced by his conjecture. He asked urgently, “Do we
still have chilli at home?”

“There’s some left.” Lou Lan looked puzzledly at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was overjoyed and said hurriedly, “Take them all out!”

“No problem, Ai Hui.”

Chapter 182: Heavy Losses
No matter how they looked at it, what Ai Hui was doing
seemed completely unorthodox. Seeing his serious expression
however, helped them to accept it without so much as a squeak.
The past few battles had given them a taste of just how far
behind Ai Hui they were, and as such they were now less
doubtful of his actions.

Lou Lan brought out all the remaining chili.

Chili was a commonly found cooking ingredient that was

especially enjoyed by fire elementalists.

During the Cultivation Era, the cultivators led simple lives

and enjoyed light and elegant dishes. They ate things like spirit
grains and drank spirit tea. Those who were more affluent ate
spirit food that had been nurtured for extended periods of time,
usually upwards of ten thousand years. Such foods were not just
highly potent, they were also symbols of wealth and power.

The newly founded Avalon of Five Elements only had a

history spanning one thousand years, even less if one began
counting from when they first achieved an advantage over the
Wilderness. People living in the Avalon of Five Elements were
more interested in the practical value of the food they ate.
Elemental food, for instance, was an important part of any
elementalists’ training regime. Potency was the most highly
regarded aspect of elemental food.

The popularity of elemental food was what spurred the wood

elementalists to focus more of their efforts on selectively
nurturing ingredients. Chili was an example of a successfully
nurtured ingredient.

Chilies contained an abundant amount of fire elemental

energy. While not considerably powerful, the fire elemental
energy found in chili was unique in that it could greatly increase
the liveliness of the fire elemental energy within a fire
elementalist’s body.

Fire elemental energy was the liveliest among the five types of
elemental energy. Liveliness was a crucial part of fire elemental
energy, so much so that the flames created from livelier fire
elemental energy burned hotter. If it was an endothermic flame
being formed, then its temperature would be much lower.

The wood elementalists had spared no effort in breeding

chilies, creating a wide variety of exceptional species.
 Each chili pepper from the Lava species was only the size of a
pinky and was slightly curved. Its neatly arranged seeds could
be seen through its crystalline red body. Every once in awhile,
one of its seeds would release a jet of flame that surged around
the cavity within the chili pepper’s body.

Of course, such chilies couldn’t simply be eaten on a whim.

Although the elemental energy contained within chili had

many benefits, it was highly irritating and posed a serious
challenge to the person eating it. The more outstanding the
species, the more potent and irritating its elemental energy.
After many rounds of selective breeding, wood elementalists
had been able to take its “spiciness” to a whole new level. At
that level, spiciness was no longer just a taste, but an
experience.

Anyone who took on the challenge would feel as though their

entire body was on fire. They would feel as though flames were
spurting out of every single pore on their body, as if they had
fallen into a pit of magma or burned at the stake.

Such advancement had also elevated chili’s status from a

common ingredient to one that was specially used by fire
elementalists. Only fire elementalists could withstand such a
terrifying form of elemental energy. Nowadays, there existed
certain species of chilies that were rarely eaten even by fire
elementalists. Under the perverse dedication of the wood
elementalists, quite a number of common food ingredients had
undergone extreme transformations.

Using chili to suppress the blood ants was no joke.

In the Wilderness, Ai Hui had done and witnessed even

weirder things. From smearing sludge on one’s body to hide
bodily scents, to using plant juices as poisonous insect repellent,
he had experienced them all.

What’s so strange about using chili?

Lou Lan squatted beside Ai Hui and asked curiously, “Does Ai

Hui have a sudden craving for chili?”

“Nope,” replied Ai Hui without lifting his head. “I suspect that

the blood ants have an aversion to the smell of chili.”

“Really?” Lou Lan asked, suddenly interested.

 “I’m not sure, but we won’t know until we try.” Ai Hui
examined the chilies, quickly noticing a problem. All of the
slightly different looking things in front of him were chilies.
There were green ones, yellow ones, red ones, and even black
ones! Some were large and some were tiny, some were of odd
shapes as well.

Were the blood ants averse to all kinds of chili or only specific
types?

Forget it, let’s just try them out first.

Ai Hui took out a few of each type of chili and began to grind
them up separately. A rich, spicy smell pervaded the air as he
crushed the chilies into powder form. Tiny tongues of flame
could occasionally be seen among the powdered forms of species
such as Lava.

He spread the chili powder in a circle around the training

ground. In order to test how effective each type of chili was as a
repellant, he marked down the location of each different kind.
Lou Lan went down into the basement to sprinkle chili powder
as well.
 The blood ants weren’t powerful combatants on their own,
but they had strength in numbers and often moved in swarms.
They were adept at ambushing from underground as well.

Ai Hui was exhausted after finishing the whole business with

the chilies.

He didn’t sit down, but began to complete one Circulatory

Cycle Revolution while remaining in his sword stance. He
relished finally having the chance to meditate.

He had done all he could, the only thing left to do was wait.

Every part of his body ached as an overwhelming tiredness

washed over him, but he couldn’t fall asleep just yet. Keeping
himself awake, Ai Hui persevered with the Circulatory Cycle
Revolution.

His bodily aches, exhaustion, the wind, and the faraway

sounds of battle receded from his mind like an ebbing tide. The
world around him slowly faded away as his focus remained
squarely on the task at hand. All that was left was an inner
tranquility, the circulation of his elemental energy, and the
throbbing of the sword embryo.
 The mayor’s residence.

Wang Zhen had a grave expression as he listened to his

subordinate’s report.

“... The situation at West Second Street has been stabilized.

Upon arrival, we found around two hundred and seventy dead
and one hundred and twenty injured. The number of people
missing is still undetermined. We have mobilized the residents
to begin efforts to eradicate the remaining blood ants. As of
now, West Second Street has been purged, but because the
sealing stone has been damaged, it is difficult for us to redeploy
underground defenses. I have already given orders to set up
early warning systems, as well as arranged for the injured to be
quarantined and overseen.”

“The situation on Wave Street is critical, with more than five

hundred blood ants belonging to more than four swarms on the
attack. Despite our resistance, pretty much the entire street has
been destroyed. The number of deaths is catastrophic… We only
managed to save sixty-four people. Twenty-four of those saved
were injured and arrangements have been made to send them to
quarantine. We’ve suffered heavy losses and can no longer
continue with the operation. May I suggest that we assemble a
team of students from Central Pine Academy to assist with a
sweep of the area, to ensure that none of the blood ants
remain?”

……

The air around them seemed to congeal as the mood became

incredibly sullen. Hearing more of the depressing, bloodstained
figures eventually numbed them from the initial terror. They
had lost almost a third of the districts within Central Pine City
within such a short span of time.

After a long day of firefighting around the city, the dean was
visibly tired. Having led a comfortable life, when had he ever
experienced such intense combat? Although, he didn’t exactly
have a choice either.

Nowhere to run, everyone knew that there was nowhere to

run.

Losing almost half of their personnel to death or injury was a

hard pill to swallow. Only elites were capable of standing in the
face of such adversity on the battlefield.

But it wasn’t as if these people had become elites overnight.

They were simply driven to fight by the fear of dying at the
hands of the blood fiends. Fighting was the only way forward.

The dean slowly opened his mouth to speak, his voice hoarse.
“The situation in Central Pine Academy is slightly better. The
teachers have experienced a greater number of casualties than
the students. We’ve lost slightly more than one hundred
students, with an overall loss of over twenty percent of the
academy’s headcount.”

A weak smile crept onto Wang Zhen’s lips. The teachers were
much more important than the students. To him, the students
were too weak to be of much use, especially when compared to
the teachers. He was certain that the teachers would be able to
easily unleash their true powers with a few more battles under
their belts.

“Why such a large number?” He couldn’t help but ask,

thinking about the much greater number of casualties among
the teachers.

“They are teachers,” the dean croaked on. “None of them will
simply stand and watch while their students are eaten.”
 A flash of rage lit up in Wang Zhen’s eyes. “They’re too soft-
hearted!” he hissed angrily.

“They are teachers,” the dean replied while returning Wang

Zhen’s fiery gaze. Raising his voice slightly, he continued, “Not
soldiers.”

Central Pine Academy wasn’t a particularly prestigious

academy. Teachers were rarely transferred into or out of the
academy, and as such, many of them had worked with the dean
for many years. They had become more like friends rather than
colleagues.

The number of deaths he had received news of and witnessed

first hand that day alone was more than the number of funerals
he had attended until now. The sorrow he felt was terribly
overwhelming.

In all his years of teaching, some things had long been

inscribed into his bones.

He was a practical man, looking out specially for Shi Xueman

and Duanmu Huanghun due to their importance, but when he
sees students being attacked, notices them trembling before the
blood ants, and sees their fear-stricken faces, he would still rush
forward to protect them.

They were, after all, just a bunch of children.

He knew that such acts weren’t rational at all, that he should

be using his elemental energy in more important situations, and
yet...

This is probably why he’s still only the dean of such a small
academy. The dean laughed in his heart, resigned to his fate.

Wang Zhen kept quiet, realizing his mistake. While the

teachers’ actions appeared very silly and naive to him, he
couldn’t help but admit that they were highly admirable.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners. The students will be

proud of them.” Wang Zhen apologized sincerely with a bow.

“It’s okay, you must be under a lot of pressure as well,” the

dean responded empathetically. “What’s the plan now? Is there
any news from Master Han’s side?”
 Wang Zhen regained his composure and said, “A map of the
entire city has been sent to the embroidery workshop. Master
Han has gotten in touch to tell us that they have begun studying
it.” The dean nodded and commented, “No one else has done
this before, so there’s no point of reference. Only Master Han
has the mettle and confidence to take on such a challenge.”

“That’s also why we can’t just pin all our hopes on Master
Han,” Wang Zhen replied resolutely. “We need to reclaim the
areas taken over by the blood fiends before Master Han
completes her preparations. I plan to mobilize every able
person, including the students, for this battle.”

“Why?” asked the dean, his face drained of color. “How many
more will have to die? They’re not strong enough, we’ll only be
sending them to their deaths!”

Wang Zhen calmly looked at the dean and said, “There are
two reasons for this. First, we’re low on manpower so everyone
has to take part. Everyone will be fighting to the death, so it
makes no difference. Second, some of the blood ants have
already completed their transformation.”

“Transformation?” The dean’s face turned ashen.

 “Our elemental energy seems to be the catalyst for their
transformation. So far we’ve only met one fully transformed
blood ant, but we had to sacrifice a lot of people to take it down.
We’ve also killed another three blood ants in the midst of
transforming that appeared to be in a state of hibernation. It is
still unknown if their transformation has anything to do with
eating people, but considering that it’s not an isolated
phenomenon, things might get worse if we continue to wait. If
more blood ants complete their transformation, our
circumstances will become even more dire. That is why I am
prepared to send every last elementalist and student out on a
full-scale assault to reclaim every one of the districts that we
have lost, as well as to kill every last one of these damned blood
ants!”

Wang Zhen looked extremely ferocious.

Chapter 183: Communication
Ai Hui meditated for much longer this time. By the time he
finished, it was already dusk. All traces of exhaustion vanished
from his body, a testament to the efficacy of entering a
meditative state while wielding the sword. Previous Circulatory
Cycle Revolutions were driven only by his lungs, but now the
sword embryo enhanced its movements as well.

The sun set over the horizon, signaling the end of another
day.

The morning’s massacre lay fresh in everyone’s minds. A

lingering fear hovered over the edges of their conscious minds
like a dissipating column of smoke.

At the very least, they were now much calmer than they had
been in the morning.

The good news was that Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan
managed to simultaneously achieve a breakthrough.

When comparing base levels, Jiang Wei was much weaker

than Sang Zhijun. In terms of fighting prowess, however, they
were equals.

Sang Zhijun trained in the [Arrow Fusion Technique]. While

formidable, the technique expended large amounts of elemental
energy, and though she was close to achieving Eight Palaces
Completion, she remained an amateur when it came to the
[Arrow Fusion Technique]. Despite her ability to fuse three
arrows, she could only use it a couple times.

The Golden Silk Longbow’s advantage was in its firing speed,

but conversely, this made the shots weaker. Compared to the
arrows fired from Jiang Wei’s Mountain Bow, the ones released
from Sang Zhijun’s Golden Silk Longbow were considerably
weaker. With increased base levels, they would eventually
encounter and use a wider variety of elemental energy skills to
cope with depletion. These skills would complement the Golden
Silk Longbow, allowing its wielder to overcome the inherent
loss of power while gaining an edge with its increased firing
speed.

But for now, Jiang Wei was more effective in his role.

Breaking through to the fifth palace was a significant

advancement.
 Ai Hui thought highly of Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei was down-to-earth, diligent and dependable. All he

needed to ensure a bright future was a powerful legacy.

Compared to Jiang Wei, Wang Xiaoshan did not hold as much

of a presence, and so the activation of his third palace came as a
surprise to Ai Hui.

Ai Hui never intended for Wang Xiaoshan to play much of a

role in battle, having other plans in mind.

He needed Wang Xiaoshan to maintain the walls. The

perimeter partitions destroyed earlier were already fixed by
Wang Xiaoshan. Back in the Garden of Life, Ai Hui noticed that
although he was lacking in base level and courage, he was highly
imaginative in his use of mud. Only later did he discover that
Wang Xiaoshan came from a line of masons, which counted as a
type of inherited knowledge.

The newly repaired wall was completely different. Densely

packed stone barbs lined the entire wall, making it seem as
though it had grown thorns. Wang Xiaoshan had also taken into
account the blood fiends’ destructive powers and rebuilt the
walls with greater width and height than before.

Sang Zhijun and Shi Xueman lamented the terrible aesthetics

of the new training ground.

The entire place had completely transformed under Wang

Xiaoshan’s liberal use of his creativity.

Lou Lan held an interest in Wang Xiaoshan. Although the

latter was not as skilled at controlling earth elemental energy,
he was exceptionally adept at building. The complex structures
of the rebuilt perimeter walls made it less pleasing to the eye,
but the walls were much stronger than before with the new
additions.

Bangwan attacked the wall with his [Viridescent Flower] at

full power but only managed to dislodge a small chunk of the
wall about half a meter across.

Everyone had a whole new level of respect for Wang

Xiaoshan.

The original perimeter wall would have instantly collapsed

under such an attack.

In addition to this, Wang Xiaoshan constructed more robust

battlements across the wall specifically for Jiang Wei and Sang
Zhijun to allow them greater protection.

Wang Xiaoshan was in a state of frantic energy, ignoring

everyone around him. He had transformed into a different
person altogether.

Focus was a mystical force. It granted charisma to those who

lacked it, increased the stature of a meek individual, and
allowed even the most ordinary of individuals to stand out from
among the crowd.

Fatty was single-mindedly focused on spitting out flames as

well.

“Will Fatty be all right if he continues like this?” Ai Hui asked

Lou Lan, a little worried.

A familiar yellow light flashed in Lou Lan’s eyes as he gave

Fatty a full-body scan. He said, “Don’t worry, Ai Hui, he’ll be
fine. Fatty’s condition is extremely favorable. He has already
completed his third palace, and continuously spitting fire has
increased the liveliness of his fire elemental energy by a good
amount. The fire elemental energy in his body has begun to
stabilize and should be finished in about three more hours.”

His third palace… Such amazing speed!

Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan had also achieved

breakthroughs. Ai Hui recalled how difficult it had been for him
to activate a single palace. Using up ten million yuan worth of
ingredients had indeed been worth it considering the
breakthroughs it had helped to trigger. Surely you receive what
you pay for.

It was no wonder those children from influential families had

such high base levels.

Ai Hui, who was experiencing mild heartache, moved over to

where Duanmu Huanghun was standing and curiously asked,
“Why is your base level so low? Can’t you activate more palaces
by eating more elemental food?”

Duanmu Huanghun looked over at Ai Hui with disdain and

snorted loftily. “What do you know! Coveting shortcuts will
result in weak foundations, making it difficult to become a
Grandmaster.”

Sang Zhijun explained further, “Using elemental food to

increase one’s base level isn’t difficult, but it’s not all rainbows
and sunshine either. Classmate Duanmu has far-reaching
ambitions and with his innate talent, he has no need for such
shortcuts.”

Sang Zhijun went on to highlight the many nuances of using

elemental food. Geniuses from influential families like Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun normally consumed elemental
food to aid in nurturing their foundations rather than to
increase their base levels.

Apart from this, a large number of absolute arts required a

solid foundation, and so rushing to increase base level was not
always best. The more effort spent on accumulating elemental
energy eventually meant more benefits.

Ai Hui finally understood. He did not, however, care much

about these pitfalls. He wasn’t sure if he would even live to see
tomorrow, so why would he concern himself over such things?
Hidden side effects were a problem for the future Ai Hui. For
now, increasing his base level was the best way to increase his
chances of survival.

Grandmaster? That wasn’t something he had even considered

before.

“Oh, so you wish to become a Grandmaster?” Ai Hui

questioned as he circled Duanmu Huanghun, clicking his
tongue.

Duanmu Huanghun arrogantly harrumphed, speaking

disdainfully, “What would a brambling know of a swan’s
aspirations!”

“Then why did you eat so much last night?” Ai Hui asked
tauntingly, raising his eyebrows. “Hypocritical! Don’t think I
didn’t see you licking the plate!”

Duanmu Huanghun was stunned. A red flush quickly crept

over his face and up to his ears. He felt so embarrassed that he
wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide in.

To him, licking the plate was too….

 Nearby, Shi Xueman had an embarrassed look on her face as
well. The soup was so delicious that she too had almost licked
the bowl clean.

A leaf on the message tree lit up, drawing Ai Hui’s attention

away from his plans to relentlessly humiliate Duanmu
Huanghun.

Likely because he was well-rested, Ai Hui was in a much

calmer state of mind than he was in the morning. He
approached the message tree and glanced over the glowing leaf.

“I apologize that I managed to see your message only now, but

I am even more remorseful that I do not know how to help you.
Blood refinement allows for the creation of extremely powerful
warriors known as apostles. As far as I know, there are six, and
the Blood of God flows within their bodies. You must be
exceedingly cautious when meeting them and attempt to flee as
soon as possible. Could you perhaps describe what blood
refinement is like?”

Blood apostles… a red figure surfaced in Ai Hui’s mind.

One Thousand Yuan....

 Ai Hui laughed bitterly in his heart. There were only six of
them yet he had already met one. Such luck.

He thought for a while before writing.

“I’ve already encountered one of them, a lady, and almost lost

my life. The trees outside the city have become exceptionally
large, and in numerous roots that hang from the trees
resembling blood vessels, a blood-red fluid flows. I was bound
by these roots which then pierced into my skin. I felt an
extreme burning sensation throughout my body and soon lost
consciousness. Thank the heavens that I’m still alive, though I
have yet to fully understand what’s going on.”

A reply came swiftly after. Ai Hui could sense the old man’s
agitation.

“I’ve got it! They’re using the root channeling technique!

Forgive my loss of composure, but we’ve never received
concrete reports regarding the blood poison before. The root
channeling technique allows plants to link and channel
substances. It’s an unorthodox wood elementalist legacy. As for
the fluid within those roots, I do not know yet.”
 Ai Hui was momentarily distracted. This was his first time
hearing a deduction regarding the Blood of God. These were the
sort of messages that could possibly be of help to him.

He quickly jotted down all of his observations.

“There were many burrs on the trees that came to life once
the roots pierced into an elementalist. These tumors writhed
non-stop when active, resembling a face twisting its features.
Blood refinement appears to require much from its target. I’ve
seen elementalists who could not endure it and exploded.”

“Tree burrs? They might be devouring spirits, parasitic

spirits, or confined spirit faces of the ancient blood refinement
methods. Blood refinement has high requirements with regards
to constitution. The number of blood fiends that operate in
groups, such as blood ants, will start to decline as time passes.
The blood fiends you face later on will be much stronger, but
they act on their own.”

Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief upon reading that bands of blood

fiends would decrease. Facing stronger blood fiends, however,
was going to be another headache.
 “It seems like blood ants are sensitive to chilies, but we have
yet to verify this conjecture. After consuming Dragon Soup, one
of our friends began to spit flames and the blood ants appeared
to avoid going near him. Blood ants aren’t afraid of fire
elemental energy, so does anything else come to mind?” Ai Hui
wrote his reply.

“Yes, it does bring some ideas to mind. You can try mixing
chili with firethorn stones or black-branded flames, or maybe
even red sulphur and see if they have any effect on the blood
ants.”

Ai Hui finally received a reply that he had hoped to see. He

was itching to give it a go.

Struck by a sudden thought, he penned, “I heard them

mention blood spiritual force.”

“Blood spiritual force? Really? Are you sure? This is

impossible! Nobody should be able to create blood spiritual
force. The ancient blood sects couldn’t do it, and there’s no
longer any spiritual force left in this world. How is it possible to
turn elemental energy into spiritual force? No, could it be that
adding elemental energy to blood creates spiritual force? How
does that work? I need to think about it, this is simply too
shocking!”

Ai Hui could sense the extent of the old prisoner’s agitation

and confusion, but he didn’t mock him. Hearing the three
words “blood spiritual force” for the first time had left him in a
state of utter shock as well.

Spiritual force, the key to unlocking the vast treasures of the

Cultivation Era!

He shook his head, halting his wild thoughts before they got
out of hand. He was more interested in the old man’s other
suggestion.

After his communication with the old man this time around,
Ai Hui confirmed two conjectures. He was now sure that the old
man was a sworn enemy of the Blood of God, and that his group
had intensely studied it in order to deal with it. Although the
old man’s group didn’t have a concrete understanding of the
situation with the Blood of God, they knew quite a bit about the
organization behind it.

Under the curious gazes of the others, he carefully plucked the

leaf off of the tree branch and hung it around his neck.
 “Lou Lan, do we have firethorn stones, black-branded flames,
and red sulphur at home?”
Chapter 184: City-wide Mobilization
Order
Slightly surprised, Shi Xueman stared at the message tree.

She had no idea who Ai Hui was communicating with but

didn’t pry. What astonished her was the message tree’s ability
to communicate with someone who was outside of the city
limits. Then again, this wasn’t some ordinary message tree but
rather a specimen of the first generation.

Communication between Central Pine City and the outside

world was nearly completely broken. The only message tree still
fully active within the city was the one in the mayor’s residence.
She had used it to communicate with her family after the
outbreak of the blood disaster.

“May I use this message tree?” Shi Xueman suddenly asked.

Ai Hui waved his hand without looking and replied, “Go

ahead.”

Shi Xueman found it laughable that a leaf from her own

message tree was hanging on this one. Ai Hui would probably
never guess that Shi Xueman was actually “a bad deal.”

A bad deal....

Shi Xueman’s amused expression became a grimace as she

hung up a new leaf in place of the one she previously put up.
She thought of her doting grandfather who must be racked with
worry and came close to tears.

Reminding herself that she was much stronger than before,

she kept her emotions in check and penned her message on the
leaf.

Just as she finished writing, the dean flew into the alley.

The dean was shocked to see the completely transformed yard

that was littered with the corpses of blood ants. Even more
remarkable was the team, especially Ai Hui. It had only been a
few days since the dean last saw him, yet already seven palaces
were activated!

Was Ai Hui a genius that he had overlooked?

 The dean was flabbergasted. In all his years as dean, he had
never once met such a freak.

“Seems like the fight went well. And to think I was worried
about your safety. Hmm, weren’t there more of you?” the dean
asked as he noted the numbers that didn’t add up. He recalled
Shi Xueman’s group had more members than just herself and
Sang Zhijun.

“The blood ants….” Sang Zhijun replied in a sad tone.

Shi Xueman’s eyes were slightly bloodshot while Duanmu

Huanghun quietly looked down.

Ai Hui stared fixedly at them. These guys had some top-notch

acting skills…. Even someone as dumb as the ingrate could
perform so well!

No matter their incompetence or mediocrity, pretense was

indeed the natural ability of the younger generations of
influential families. In the harsh and backstabbing world of the
rich and influential, pretense was essential for survival.
 Those at the top of the families existed above all other
authority and rules, free to act as they pleased. But before they
could reach such a level, the younger members could not escape
the shackles of their environment.

The dean sighed deeply. A quick survey of the piles of blood

ant corpses littering the ground was enough for him to visualize
the bitter fight that must have taken place. Fortunately,
Duanmu Huanghun and Shi Xueman were safe and sound….
The number of deaths he had witnessed had served to numb his
emotions. After seeing a number of powerful teachers fall before
him, what were a few students’ deaths?

Was he going to survive this catastrophe? The dean was

deeply pessimistic of his chances.

He equally doubted their chances of surviving until

reinforcements arrived.

But still he did not forget his duty as the dean. No matter his
pessimism, he could not pass that feeling on to the students.
The dean began to encourage and console them, “Let’s all perk
up and not let our imaginations run wild. There are still battles
to be fought.”
 “How is the situation within the city?” Shi Xueman took the
initiative to ask.

The dean hesitated for a moment before deciding not to

sugarcoat it. “The situation is terrible. We have lost control of
almost one-third of our land. What’s worse is that the blood
ants have started to transform.”

“Transform?” Ai Hui and Duanmu Huanghun asked in

unison.

“Yes, we suspect that elemental energy is what’s driving the

blood fiends’ transformation.”

Ai Hui slightly trembled after hearing this. He understood

more than his peers about the blood fiends. Back in the Garden
of Life, he had drawn the same conclusions after observing their
sensitivity to elemental energy. In other words, elemental
energy was highly attractive to these blood fiends.

Blood of God; blood refinement; using elemental energy as

food; transforming after devouring elementalists....
 A chill ran up his spine. Was the Blood of God really trying to
destroy the Avalon of Five Elements? Did they consider all other
elementalists as prey?

Noting the shock and concern on his allies’ faces, he realized

that telling them all he knew about the blood disaster would
only serve to frighten them further.

He decided to keep every last word about it to himself.

Would revealing his knowledge help them in escaping from

Central Pine City? Would it help them survive this danger? No.

On the contrary, he would be opening Pandora’s Box if he told

them any more. Even if he managed to get out of this alive,
there would be no end to his troubles and likely face
incarceration and repeated interrogations. And since the
higher-ups would not be satisfied with answers obtained via
gentle questioning, they would definitely turn to crueler
methods of torture to ease their worries.

Even if he somehow managed to survive all of that and

become a hero, the Blood of God would most certainly seek
revenge on him.
 Truthfully speaking, between the Blood of God and the
Avalon of Five Elements, Ai Hui regarded the former more
highly. Despite their weak appearance, the plans they hatched
were far beyond those of the Avalon of Five Elements. Even
now, the Avalon of Five Elements had yet to fully comprehend
the current situation.

When an underground organization with hundreds of years of

deliberations finally decides to act, their preparations must
surely be complete.

The old prisoner mentioned that the Blood of God had six god
apostles, and Ai Hui believed this to be true. Whether or not
there were only six, however, was something he was unsure of.

If captured by One Thousand Yuan again, he was probably

better off surrendering….

And if he wasn’t good enough to become a blood elementalist,

then he’d just have to accept that fact. Ending up dead was still
better off than living a wretched life. Ai Hui decided to find
some time to have a talk with Fatty about it.

Ai Hui maintained a straight face while his mind worked.

 He would only divulge these thoughts to Fatty and Lou Lan.

“If so, we’ll need to take back all of the lost areas and
eliminate every last one of those blood ants that continue to
transform,” Shi Xueman said gravely.

The dean was secretly pleased to see Shi Xueman’s resolute

expression as she said these words. She was truly Shi Beihai’s
daughter.

“Indeed, that is the mayor’s opinion as well. We must reclaim

the lost areas at all costs before the blood ants transform.
Everyone will be involved in this operation, even students and
residents. I’m here to inform you guys of this operation, and
someone else will come by later to brief you on your mission.
This is a city-wide mobilization order!”

“Yes!” Shi Xueman answered, stiffening her body and giving a

salute. “We accept this order!”

She wasn’t the only one doing so. Duanmu Huanghun, Sang
Zhijun, and Jiang Wei saluted the order as well. In the Avalon of
Five Elements, ordinary citizens were normally not involved in
operations. As such, a city-wide order signalled just how
dangerous the situation had become.

Ai Hui and Wang Xiaoshan didn’t perform the salute. Coming

from the Old Territory, they weren’t accustomed such
formalities.

“I’ll tell them to try their best to avoid splitting the few of you
up,” the dean said as he looked over the blood ant corpses again.
“After being together for some time, you guys must have built
up a rapport with one another. We’ll instead send some
students to reinforce your group, so please look out for them.”

The dean’s gaze landed on Ai Hui, knowing that he was the

core member of this group.

Shi Xueman suddenly blurted out, “Since a city-wide order is

in effect, and we’re currently in a state of war, are we allowed to
act according to martial law on students who disobey orders?”

The current members had full faith in Ai Hui’s orders, but the
newcomers might now. She didn’t want to bring up something
like this so soon after witnessing their comrades’ deaths, but it
was crucial to set the record straight. In times of peace, a lack of
solidarity affected only relationships, but in times of war, it
could potentially lead to their deaths.

Everyone else looked at the dean.

The dean was taken aback. He wouldn’t have found it strange

if Ai Hui had been the one to ask this. From their conversations,
the dean found that Ai Hui was not easy to deal with; the boy
simply wouldn’t compromise without a bargain. The one asking
this now, however, was Shi Xueman, which meant that Ai Hui
had already won the trust of Shi Xueman and the others.

He was quite something… this fellow.

The dean had no idea how Ai Hui had managed to accomplish

this, but his evaluation of the boy was raised by quite a bit. Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun were, after all, not well-
known for their easygoing personalities.

“Definitely! Deserters are to be executed, and no one is exempt

from this,” the dean instructed.

Everyone tensed upon hearing the words “deserters” and

“executed.” These words reflected the graveness of the situation
and foreshadowed the slaughter that was soon to follow.

“I require some additional supplies,” Ai Hui informed,

breaking his silence.

The dean sighed. “I’ll try my best to get what you need.”

With a city-wide mobilization order passed, even individuals

like Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun had to charge ahead.
Anyone caught retreating would be severely punished, possibly
implicating their entire family.

The dean had no say in this matter since the authority to pass
such an order lay solely in the hands of the mayor. There was no
longer much of a choice either, considering their bleak
circumstances.

If Shi Xueman and the rest perished as a result of the city-wide

mobilization order, nobody would blame the city or the
academy because it would be considered an honor. It was a good
thing for the dean as well, to no longer have to protect Shi
Xueman and the others.
 Seeing the blood ant corpses reaffirmed this feeling.

Keeping the students away from the fight was not much
different from sending them straight to their deaths. Even if
they knew of their impending deaths, retreat was no longer an
option for anybody.

How many students were going to die? The dean didn’t dare
to think too deeply on it.

He had picked a number of talented students to be placed

under Ai Hui’s care. He wasn’t sure what would come of this,
but he wanted to leave some hope for Central Pine Academy’s
future.

Ai Hui was a student as well and would hopefully look out for
them.

“Are my master and mistress okay?” Ai Hui asked.

“Don’t worry. The embroidery workshop is a key protection

site.”
 The dean’s words allayed Ai Hui’s worries.

Soon after, the dean brought over roughly 100 students, each
and every one of them handpicked.

Ai Hui recognized most of them as the brightest of Central

Pine Academy.

He glanced at the dean who had unexpectedly placed such

confidence in him.

“I leave them in your hands,” the dean announced tiredly. “As

for the resupplies you requested, you’ll have to make a trip
down to the stores. They’ve agreed to your request, but
resources are very limited.”

Nobody could have imagined the future achievements that

would come from these sad and frightened youths gathered in
this courtyard.
Chapter 185: Huo Yuanlong
“... His stone-cold eyes looked at us as though we were lambs
sent to be slaughtered. He was supposedly one of the students
from the academy, but I was pretty sure that his name had
never appeared on the top two hundred lists. Perhaps he had
some unique capabilities? Who knew! Regardless, he appeared
to be a cold-hearted person, like someone who might send us to
our deaths. I wished that the one leading us was the respectable
Shi Xueman and not this nameless person.”

—— Taken from《Huo Yuanlong’s Diary》

The tender youths standing in front of Ai Hui reminded him

of the coolie that he had been three years ago.

Without any trace of elemental energy, coolies out in the

Wilderness were just like paper dolls and were meant to be
treated as cannon fodder. In the face of the blood disaster, these
relatively formidable yet inexperienced students were not much
stronger than the coolies out in the Wilderness. They were
pretty much just cannon fodder as well.

Winning with numbers alone wasn’t going to be possible

anymore. Now was the time for experts to shine.
 A Grandmaster would be much more useful than everyone in
Central Pine City combined. If the city had just a Grandmaster,
they probably would have escaped by now.

It was a pity that there weren’t any in Central Pine City.

Besides making use of numbers, the city had no other tactics

available. It was as though the humans were mimicking the
blood ants’ use of group tactics. In today’s Central Pine City,
humans were not much better than beasts.

Newly formed groups of one hundred people each were

gathered on the streets. The leaders were shouting at the top of
their lungs and waving their arms in an attempt to drum up the
troops’ morale.

Ai Hui could see the fear hidden beneath their impassioned

faces.

Chaos and despair filled the air as the darkness of night

engulfed the black smoke that was rising everywhere.

Collapsed walls and houses blocked parts of the streets while

bricks were strewn all over. Dried bloodstains were everywhere
and the air reeked strongly of blood and smoke. The jack-o’-
lanterns that neatly lined both sides of the streets were now
badly damaged and scattered about, making the street sides look
like combs with missing teeth. The remaining lanterns radiated
a haunting, feeble glow, casting shadows throughout their
street. Central Pine City had undergone a drastic change.

He had never seen anything like this, not even in the

Wilderness.

At the warehouse, Ai Hui queued for half an hour before he

managed to meet the frantic officer-in-charge. The officer
immediately recognized Ai Hui, who had left a deep impression
the last time they’d met.

“Hardly anything good is left, although you can pick out two
items. I’d advise you to hurry.”

The officer gestured towards the long line.

Ai Hui knew he didn’t have the time to slowly saunter in and

pick out items. He directly replied, “Alright. I’ll need a weapon
for a fire elementalist, something like a fire jug.”
 “For that fatty?” the officer asked. The officer’s memory
seemed to be very good, but he remembered Fatty because he
too had left a deep impression when he’d put on the Steady
Mountain.

“That’s right,” Ai hui answered, nodding.

“Ha, you guys are in luck,” said the officer, laughing.

“There’re no more fire jugs, but we do have a fire vat. Nobody
has taken it because it’s so heavy, but I think it’s very suitable
for him.”

The officer brought Ai Hui to a corner of the warehouse and

pointed to a huge vat that was almost as tall as he was. Ai Hui
instantly understood why nobody wanted to use it, it was
simply too big. The vats that fire elementalists used were more
expensive the smaller they were. Fire gourds were one of the
smallest types but were very expensive, so most fire
elementalists used fire jugs.

Standing before Ai Hui was practically a wine jar.

“Is it useful?” Ai Hui asked skeptically.

 “Of course,” the officer replied matter-of-factly. “It may be
huge, but it’s good stuff. Besides being a little bit heavy, it
doesn’t have any other shortcomings.”

Ai Hui almost rolled his eyes at the officer. Being heavier and
larger were huge shortcomings. He pictured Fatty donning the
Steady Mountain armor, raising the tower shield, and lugging
this huge vat on his back. This getup would be a bit too…
indescribable!

“This is really something good!” the officer exclaimed

discontentedly as he noticed Ai Hui’s skeptical look. “The
artisan who made this had intended to create a Heaven-grade
weapon, but ultimately failed. He then used its core to forge this
fire vat. If you look carefully you can see an inscription on it, it’s
not something I made up.”

He pointed to the fine print on the side of the vat.

If it was someone else who had suspected him like that, he

would’ve thrown that person out long ago; however, he
remembered Ai Hui and understood that the two of them must
be quite capable to have survived until now.
 Upon hearing that it was a product resulting from a failed
Heaven-grade weapon, Ai Hui immediately agreed. “I’ll take it!”

Heaven-grade weapons were high-grade arms created for

elementalists to use. In order to distinguish them from
treasures of the past, they were named as such because they
were created in the Avalon of Five Elements.

Shi Xueman’s spear was one such weapon.

Heaven-grade weapons possessed mystical powers and were

able to greatly enhance an elementalists’ fighting prowess.
Wielding these weapons was, however, highly taxing on the
user, usually requiring at least the completion of eight palaces.
In other words, one pretty much had to be a full-fledged
elementalist to use one.

Shi Xueman was unable to unleash even one percent of her

spear’s true power.

The materials required for forging a Heaven-grade weapon

had to be of the highest quality. This was why Ai Hui
immediately agreed to take the vat after hearing that it had been
created from a failed Heaven-gradel weapon.
 The complex techniques and high-quality materials required
to forge a Heaven-grade weapon were the reasons why their
prices never fell. Ai Hui had seen many great elementalists in
the Wilderness, but had only seen a handful of them wielding
Heaven-grade weapons.

The warehouse officer was satisfied with Ai Hui’s quick

answer. “What else do you need?” he asked.

“Spiderweb Iron Pellets, Wolftooth Heavy Arrows, and

chillies.”

“Spiderweb Iron Pellets? For Miss Sang? She should be able to

use them considering her ability with the bow.” The officer
nodded. “There are around two hundred or so of them left, you
can take them all. Trust you guys to think of something so
unorthodox.”

Spiderweb Iron Pellets were about the size of a thumb and

didn’t look very different from ordinary iron pellets. As their
name suggested, the Spiderweb Iron Pellets, however, contained
highly compressed spider webs within. Triggered by elemental
energy, the spider web within each pellet would expand upon
impact and restrain the target.
 The officer was truly an experienced individual. Ai Hui had
indeed requisitioned the pellets for Sang Zhijun. Although Sang
Zhijun was more skilled with a bow than Jiang Wei, her fighting
strength lagged behind his. As such, Ai Hui had thought of using
these pellets to maximize her utility, but hadn’t expected the
warehouse to actually still be stocked with them.

The use of Spiderweb Iron Pellets was uncommon because

spider webs weren’t particularly tough. They wouldn’t be so
cheap if they had more restraining power.

Ai Hui didn’t really care about this since he only intended to

use them to confuse the enemy.

“I can only provide you with two quivers of Wolftooth Heavy

Arrows,” said the officer, then swiftly continued upon seeing Ai
Hui’s intention to retort, “A lot of people still need these. I’m
already looking out for you guys by giving two quivers’ worth,
the others are only being given one.”

“Alright, I’ll take whatever I can get.” Having seen the long
line at the door, Ai Hui accepted his explanation.

“We don’t have any chillies in the warehouse.” The officer

was a bit puzzled by the request. “Why do you need chillies?
What a strange request! I’d suggest that you buy some from the
spice shops since it’s rare for people to stock up on chillies. I’m
sorry, but the mayor prefers sweet foods over spicy ones.”

Ai Hui was disappointed that he couldn’t get the chillies.

The officer had already left to tend to others. Knowing that he

couldn’t get anything more, Ai Hui dragged the huge wine vat
out of the warehouse.

Those who were still queueing up cast sidelong glances at Ai

Hui.

The students gathered in the Vanguard Training Hall had just

undertaken one round of gruelling training and were enjoying a
well-deserved break.

Shi Xueman was the one leading the training since Ai Hui had
no interest in looking after this group of students.

Her power and prestige were common knowledge among the

students, allowing her to quickly win over their trust.
 She had secretly read many of her father’s books from a
tender age and was, as such, better versed in military tactics
than the others.

When Ai Hui had handed them over to her, Shi Xueman had
felt a hint of excitement. She finally had the chance to practice
what she had been learning since she was young.

The only thing that she was slightly unhappy about was her
assistant. She’d wanted Duanmu Huanghun to be her assistant,
but Ai Hui assigned Jiang Wei to the role instead.

Stealing a glance at Jiang Wei, she had no choice but to admit

that Ai Hui was a better judge of people than her.

Jiang Wei wasn’t as outstanding as Duanmu Huanghun, but

he was calm, dependable, patient, and meticulous. Without
Jiang Wei’s help, Shi Xueman would have been flustered.

Duanmu Huanghun was completely immersed in his own

practice.

He wasn’t particularly willing to help out with the students’

training; his dream was, after all, to become a Grandmaster.

In the past, he hadn’t been sure of his aim in life.

Experiencing these cruel battles and facing death had made it
much clearer to him – he wanted to become a Grandmaster, and
not just any grandmaster, but the strongest grandmaster ever!

A depressed mood pervaded the atmosphere during the break.

Everyone was apprehensive about the future and a little
terrified of the battles to come.

Fear and confusion made the students restless.

“Why do we have to listen to Ai Hui’s orders?” Huo Yuanlong

asked, just loud enough for everyone around to hear.

He had done it on purpose. Having consistently been among

the top ten students in the academy, he was unhappy that he
had to listen to the orders of a first-year student. It was fine if
someone like Duanmu Huanghun was the one in charge, but not
if the leader was an unknown like Ai Hui.

Huo Yuanlong had secretly observed Ai Hui earlier while the

dean had been speaking. He didn’t see anything special about Ai
Hui.

The only thing that had left an impression on him was Ai

Hui’s cold gaze. This gaze was, however, also the reason why
Huo Yuanlong was so annoyed. Huo Yuanlong simply couldn’t
stand being sized up by an unknown junior with such an
indifferent gaze.

Shi Xueman furrowed her brows, Jiang Wei was roused from
his rest, and Sang Zhijun shot a glance over upon hearing this. A
grin crept onto her lips as she strummed her bowstring like an
instrument.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Some of the students urged, “Yuanlong, mind your words!”

Huo Yuanlong stiffened his neck and raised his voice. “Did I
say something wrong?”

Duanmu Huanghun’s was displeased that his practice was

interrupted.
 “I’m willing to listen to Miss Shi and Huanghun’s orders, but
who is Ai Hui to command us?” Huo Yuanlong exclaimed.

His words resonated with the thoughts of many others,

causing an uproar.

“Yes, only Miss Shi and Huanghun are qualified!”

“Who is this Ai Hui? Where did he come from?”

……

“Enough!” Shi Xueman commanded. She walked towards Huo

Yuanlong with Cirrus in hand, her expression solemn. “You, fall
out. Fifty strokes for causing trouble!”

Huo Yuanlong’s face completely drained of color. He couldn’t

understand why Shi Xueman was siding with Ai Hui.

Fifty strokes… He trembled and hurriedly called out to

Duanmu Huanghun for help. “Huanghun, don’t you have
anything to say?”
 “I do,” Duanmu Huanghun replied as he walked over.

Huo Yuanlong was filled with relief upon hearing Duanmu

Huanghun’s words. “Exactly! Tell them what you think,
Huanghun. Everyone will listen to you.”

“It’s really quite simple.” Duanmu Huanghun sneered,

revealing a set of snow-white teeth. “I’ll personally mete out
these fifty strokes.”
Chapter 186: Minute Arc Stab and Hilt
Mist Combined
When Ai Hui returned, he saw Duanmu Huanghun whipping
a student.

Oh, that student seemed familiar.

Ai Hui did not have much interest in these people, so he took

one look before retracting his gaze. His treatment of Shi
Xueman and the others differed vastly from his attitude toward
this new batch of students.

He was a realistic person, unmistakably realistic.

After leaving the students to Shi Xueman and Jiang Wei, he

had no intentions of interfering with their matters at all. His
time was far too precious to be wasted on them. He passed the
[Spiderweb Iron Pellets] to Sang Zhijun and put the huge vat
down before beginning his own practice.

Ai Hui swiftly slipped into a meditative state.

 He was not completely familiar with his current state of seven
palaces and disliked how it felt. The amount of elemental
energy in his body was significantly less in the past, but at least
he was able to unleash its full power. Although he had a lot
more elemental energy now, he was unable to bring out 100% of
its power.

He felt that this was a waste, and waste was something he

absolutely loathed.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Ai Hui when he walked

into the training hall. Some of the students looked at him with
disdain while others looked on pensively or with curiosity.
Duanmu Huanghun spared no mercy in meting out Huo
Yuanlong’s punishment, resulting in the poor fellow passing out
before the 50 strokes were completed. Having learned from Huo
Yuanlong’s mistake, the rest of the students ceased with their
complaints.

Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun’s determined attitudes

came as a shock to the students.

Ai Hui ignored everything and continued with his seemingly

unorthodox training. The number of disdainful and
contemptuous stares increased as he proceeded with his
swordplay related practice.

It was swordplay...

Many of the curious students could not help but reveal their
disappointment when they saw him practicing something that
had no future.

Ai Hui was not practicing the three skills he obtained from his
master’s swordpill, but was instead honing the diverse moves
that he had developed on his own. The three skills from the
sword pill required complex patterns of elemental energy
circulation. [Crescent Moon] was the simplest of the three, but
was still highly complex. Attempting to practice the three sword
pill skills was tantamount to fetching water with a bamboo
basket.

In addition, Ai Hui realized that continuous ordinary attacks

were much safer and more effective than powerful killing blows
when it came to handling enemies that attacked in swarms.

The elemental energy within his body had become much

stronger than before. His fragmented sword techniques were
not quite the same anymore.
 The sword embryo had experienced an even greater change.

In the past, the sword embryo would become active whenever

he practiced swordplay. Ever since it became stronger, however,
the sword embryo appeared to have become quite a bit more
reticent. It was like a wild beast who had just eaten its fill and
was dozing off in Ai Hui’s sky palace.

If not for Ai Hui’s sharpened sixth sense, he would definitely

have thought that something was wrong with the sword
embryo.

Although the sword strokes that Ai Hui practiced were

fragmented and constantly changing as a whole, each individual
stroke was very well-executed because he had spent a lot of time
refining and practicing every single move.

He thrust the Dragonspine Inferno forward in a tiny arc. The

movement of the sword was similar to a seabird skimming
across the surface of the water.

He had adapted this move from one of the killing techniques

he found in a swordplay manual. Ai Hui felt that this half of the
killing technique was especially useful. This [Minute Arc Stab]
made the sword thrust forward in an extremely tiny arc such
that the opponent only saw the blade as moving straight
forward.

The sword embryo suddenly jolted.

Hmm?

Ai Hui was taken aback, but he was a bit unsure of what he

felt. The sword embryo’s throbbing was sometimes orderly, but
also highly irregular other times.

He tried the [Minute Arc Stab] again, but the sword embryo
remained inactive this time.

Ai Hui decided to ignore the sword embryo and continued to

practice his self taught sword techniques. The habitual sword
strokes allowed him to become more familiar with the
elemental energy within his body.

The heavy Dragonspine Inferno felt weightless in his hand.

One of the benefits of his enhanced elemental energy was the
increment in his already hefty strength. Ai Hui became more
and more immersed in his training and began to practice some
more difficult moves. Moving the sword’s hilt rapidly while
maintaining the exact same position of the blade tip, he
successfully created six distinct afterimages of the sword hilt.

This move was called [Hilt Mist] and was one of the training
methods of the ancient swordsmen. Being able to maintain the
sword tip in the same position while rapidly shifting the hilt
was an indicator of a nimble wrist and implied excellent
control. Outstanding swordsmen were capable of moving the
sword hilt in any direction and were not restricted to only left
and right shifts. The rapidly shifting sword hilt looked like an
illusory mist, which was how the technique gained its name.

[Hilt Mist] was used as an assessment tool by many ancient

sword sects.

Prior to this, Ai Hui had been unable to successfully execute

the [Hilt Mist]. He was not expecting to achieve something like
this, but was glad he attempted the move on a whim.

The quiet sword embryo throbbed again.

Hmm?
 Ai Hui’s surprise faded as his attention was grabbed by the
sword embryo. The two times it had throbbed set off something
in Ai Hui’s mind.

He attempted the [Minute Arc Stab] again, but the sword

embryo refused to budge. He then performed the [Hilt Mist], but
the sword embryo still remained stationary.

Why was this happening?

Ai Hui lifted the Dragonspine Inferno and stood still, deep in

thought. He could not make sense of the sword embryo’s
current activity, but his many past experiences with it had
vaguely drilled its rhythm into his heart. The sword embryo
was sensitive to all actions related to swords, ranging from the
first time he picked up the Dragonspine Inferno to when he
executed sword techniques.

All of a sudden, Ai Hui instinctively performed the [Hilt Mist].

Just as the Dragonspine Inferno’s hilt reached Ai Hui’s most
comfortable position, the sword tip swiftly lunged forward in a
tiny arc. It was the [Minute Arc Stab]!

Almost simultaneously, the sword embryo between his brows

throbbed vigorously.

The Dragonspine Inferno in his hand immediately lit up,

leaving a bright trail in the air.

The sword’s bright streak shot across the air like a meteor
falling through the heavens. The students who were secretly
watching Ai Hui were astonished.

What kind of swordplay was that?

The luster hanging in the air was highly condensed and

refused to disperse. It was not particularly awe-inducing, but its
lack of elemental energy was somewhat surprising.

Shi Xueman was also attracted to the streak of light left

behind by Ai Hui’s stroke. She could not figure out how Ai Hui
was able to create it without using elemental energy

None of his moves involved the use of elemental energy and as

such, should be unable to produce any radiance. This was a
commonly known fact. The other students suspected that Ai
Hui had used very miniscule traces of elemental energy, but Shi
Xueman was sure that there had been none in that sword
stroke.

Duanmu Huanghun stared blankly at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was extremely excited!

He had invented a move by himself and had not used an ounce

of elemental energy, yet a sword beam was produced!

He had no idea how it happened, but he was very sure that he

had just executed an extremely remarkable sword stroke. He did
not stop to admire it for long, instead beginning his next
attempt at combining the [Hilt Mist] with the [Minute Arc Stab].
There was no sword streak produced this time, but he was not
discouraged. He noted that he had failed to grasp the correct
timing on the last attempt.

Ai Hui practiced repeatedly.

The sound of his sword piercing the air rang out incessantly,
and he soon became completely absorbed in his practice.
 Some of the students started looking at Ai Hui in a different
light. Focus was an attractive, respectable quality. Being able to
focus and completely immerse oneself in the task at hand was
something worthy of respect and was especially remarkable
when done under the watchful gaze of others.

The black Dragonspine Inferno cast a dark shadow as it

streaked through the air. The dark red edge of its blade,
together with its seven inlaid jewels, added a blood red smudge
to its afterimage. The sight was strangely reminiscent of Central
Pine City’s night sky, filled with the scent of blood.

Ai Hui tirelessly brandished his sword.

A streak of light suddenly lit up the air where the Dragonspine

Inferno’s path had just passed through. Like a shooting star
streaking across the night sky, it soon vanished without a trace.

Sighs of pity were heaved in unison.

Another streak of light appeared a while after, and soon, the

night sky was filled with more and more of these “shooting
stars.”
 The bright sword streaks which passed swiftly into oblivion
pierced the evening curtain one after another. The onlookers
were practically witnessing a meteor shower.

The training ground had become completely quiet as the

onlookers were moved by this magnificent sight. Perhaps they
were simply moved by the streaks of light that lit up the night
sky or perhaps witnessing the birth of a completely new sword
skill stirred up something within them.

Perhaps it was neither of those, but instead the sweat-

drenched, joy-filled face that followed each streak of light.

This expression, filled with pure unadulterated joy, was

utterly dazzling among the sad fearful faces of the students. It
was eye-catching, attractive, and brought hope.

Duanmu Huanghun continued to stare blankly at Ai Hui, his

mind slowly drifting.

Something stirred deep within his soul as the scene before

him was seared into his memory. Something told him that he
would never forget this moment. He was looking at an
indomitable spirit, one so powerful that it could persist even in
the darkest of times.

Duanmu Huanghun lacked the words to fully describe his

experience. He saw an indistinct figure towering over the
landscape at the end of a long winding road, a road that
stretched out all the way to the horizon from behind Ai Hui’s
silhouette.

Was this a Grandmaster?

Yes, definitely!

Stuck in his daze, Duanmu Huanghun confidently answered

himself. A grand sense of purpose rushed through his veins,
reaching every corner of his body and causing him to shudder
involuntarily.

Was this not his aim? To tower over all living things! To rise
to the summit!

That awe-inspiring, fear-inducing silhouette.

 To become an indomitable figure, one must first forge an
indomitable spirit. I shall become the embodiment of power
itself!

Duanmu Huanghun had never experienced such clarity in his

thoughts.

Death was still terrifying, but it no longer controlled his mind

the way it used to. He was no longer a puppet being strung along
by death.

All tension was released from his body as the invisible

shackles that weighed him down vanished.

The flourishing life force within his body caused the

elemental energy inside his body to undergo a mysterious
transformation.

Duanmu Huanghun remained motionless while he enjoyed

the peace and relaxation of the moment.

Shi Xueman noticed something different about Duanmu

Huanghun.
 The Duanmu Huanghun she had known until now was a truly
brilliant individual, but was overly cautious and restrained. His
mind was weak and his spirit easily bent. He had the arrogance
of a genius, but lacked the assertiveness of one.

She could not believe that he had achieved a breakthrough so

quickly...

Ai Hui caught hints of a miraculous change occurring nearby,

but was too caught up in his own thoughts to bother with it.
After all, he had just created a new sword skill by combining the
[Minute Arc Stab] and [Hilt Mist].

After all these years of digging through rubbish, Ai Hui finally

found a way to turn trash into treasure!

He pushed the windows open, revealing a courtyard piled

with rubbish. In his eyes, however, he saw a mountain of gold.
Chapter 187: Manager Li and Bunny Hair
Arrow
It took Ai Hui two hours to break free from his trance.

He sat motionless on the ground, giggling. He looked battered

and exhausted and his whole body was thoroughly soaked. His
face and scalp were covered in sweat and his upper arms were so
tired it was as if they were paralyzed.

Two hours had resulted in two moves. They were all simple
strokes, nothing complicated. The combination of the [Minute
Arc Stab] and [Hilt Mist] was already considered more complex.
There was another inclined move, but the only change lay in its
angle. He tried almost all the angles a few times before finally
finding the optimal one. He named the combination of [Minute
Arc Stab] and [Hilt Mist] as [Misty Strike] and the inclined move
as [Oblique Slash].

The change that had occurred in those two moves were so

great that even without the sword embryo’s heartbeat, Ai Hui
could still feel their wholesome change.

The old strokes were now like dance moves, graceful, yet full
of power. Sword manuals without spiritual force were like
fishes without water. Whether willingly or not, they had long
become useless; throwing fishes into the river also led to a dead
end.

A change in the environment meant that a lot of things had to

be redone.

No matter how splendid Ai Hui’s swordsmanship had once

been and no matter how many swordplay manuals were left
behind, it was difficult for them to fit into this era without some
alterations.

Ai Hui still had not found out the reason behind this. A slight
alteration would cause the nature of a sword move to change
completely.

Perhaps there was a resonance between the sword and

elemental energy?

No idea.

But he knew that he had found the key to solve what the
sword techniques lacked.
 There were still many sword moves waiting for him to explore
and change. He had ample time to search and understand them,
so that was a good start. In the past, he had improvised and used
the [Gale Bat Blade] technique, but this time he was going to
take it a step further. He had seen countless sword manuals and
despite having no idea how to practice them, he knew how the
cultivators had done so during the Cultivation Era.

The [Smoke Meteor] and [Oblique Slash] made him realize

that all the sword moves had to be changed starting from the
most basic strokes in order to adapt to the elemental energy era.

This was his greatest reward for the night.

He never would have thought of this if he hadn’t been struck

by a brainwave. There were some sword moves that possessed
formidable power even without operating any elemental
energy.

He thought about how he had to come up with a resounding

name for this swordplay series when he was done perfecting it.

For now… he completely did not feel like touching it!

 He lay on the ground, gazing up at the pitch-black sky.

Fatty felt himself dreaming a long dream. He dreamt that he

was swimming in a boundless lava river. Swimming and
swimming for god knows how long, but never escaping the fire
sea.

Muddle-headed, he opened his eyes to find Lou Lan, whose

face was almost completely covered by a mask, blocking his
view.

“Fatty, you’re really amazing!” Lou Lan exclaimed in

admiration, his eyes shining. “The result was outstanding.
Congratulations Fatty, four palaces! Seems like the effectiveness
of the dragon soup has something to do with the number of
times one consumes it. Yeah, I’ll have to note this down. Please
don’t worry, Fatty. I’ll definitely do more research and brew an
even better dragon soup!”

Loss was evident in Fatty’s face. Upon hearing the words

“Dragon Soup”, he couldn’t help but shiver. He finally
remembered what he had been doing before he lost his memory.

Snapping out of it, he looked at Lou Lan as if he had seen a

ghost. He shook his head bluntly and replied furiously, “Lou
Lan, I’m never drinking your soup again. I still want to live.”

“Why? Dragon soup isn’t toxic. Although it gets less effective

over time, it is still very useful. It can raise your level within a
short period of time. You can definitely open up your fifth
palace with another bowl,” responded Lou Lan with confidence.

Another bowl…

Just thinking about that frightening experience made him

tremble again. He would drink a second bowl over his dead
body.

Just then, someone staggered in, their body covered in blood.

Seeing who it was, Ai Hui jolted up!

“Manager Li!”

Manager Li’s body was covered in blood and he was carrying a

pouch. Seeing Ai Hui, radiance filled Manager Li’s empty eyes.
“Brother…”
 Having endured until this point, he was already completely
exhausted. His legs went soft, causing him to plunge forward.

Ai Hui suddenly sprang over with a large stride and held onto
Manager Li. He then saw that Manager Li was almost eaten
clean. Bones were exposed all over his back, making Ai Hui
speechless.

“These are Bunny Hair Arrows…” Manager Li looked at Ai Hui

and smiled, grief and regret evident in his expression. “Pardon
me, I can’t settle the accounts anymore…”

Manager Li opened his eyes wide as his last wisp of spirit

dissipated and he stopped breathing altogether.

Ai Hui held onto him, as motionless as a statue.

Emerging out of his daze after a while, sorrow was missing

from his face. He freed one hand to retrieve the pouch in
Manager Li’s arms. There were twenty Bunny Hair Arrows
inside. After putting them on the ground, Ai Hui carried
Manager Li on his back, turned around, and walked deep into
the garden.
 Ai Hui was momentarily brought back to the Wilderness,
where he had witnessed comrades around him collapse one after
the other. Profound helplessness and despair enveloped him.

He started digging without a word. He had never helped Fatty

out in the past when Fatty had buried their teammates.

Actually, the relationship he’d had with Manager Li wasn’t

very close or anything. They were merely business partners.
The Dragonspine Inferno in his hands lifted lumps of earth with
each swing.

So, why was he sad?

There was nothing to be sad about. Everyone would die

someday, and he might even be next; who was going to dig his
grave when that time came? Okay, so nothing mattered after
death. There was no difference between being buried or eaten
by blood fiends.

By the end of the burial, Ai Hui was back to his normal state of
mind. He was used to seeing people leave this world.
 “Are you okay?” Shi Xueman walked over to his side, concern
evident in her voice.

“Yeah.” Ai Hui answered with his usual expression.

Changing the topic, Shi Xueman asked, “You left the students
with me. Isn’t that kind of irresponsible?”

“Why do I have to be responsible?” Ai Hui responded.

Ai Hui’s hoodlum behavior ticked Shi Xueman off. “So you

were just bullshitting the dean?”

“I only agreed to let them follow.” Ai Hui continued matter-

of-factly, “If I have to be responsible, the president has to take
more blame.”

Shi Xueman did not know whether to laugh or cry. She stared
into Ai Hui’s eyes, unable to fathom that this scoundrel before
her was the same guy that had led them during the battle!

Okay, to be honest, this guy’s splendid performance over the

past few days had confounded the image she’d had of him.

He’d paid the bill for a female classmate but was so adamant
about her returning the money...

He owed eighty million yuan but had the guts to call people
money-losing deal…

Money! Losing! Deal!

These three words floated across Shi Xueman’s eyes. Veins on

the hand holding Cirrus throbbed as she wanted so badly to stab
three holes into his body!

Impulse was the devil… this was the real face of this fellow.

Cooling down, Shi Xueman questioned, “Don’t tell me you

have no advice for them?”

“My suggestion? Try hard to stay alive.” These superfluous

words came out of Ai Hui’s mouth as he kept a serious face.
 Shi Xueman no longer wanted to reason with him. She said
simply, “Give Zhijun to me too.”

“As long as she agrees.” Ai Hui replied indifferently, throwing

the bloodstained pouch to Sang Zhijun. “Use them wisely!”

Sang Zhijun caught it before reassuring him in all seriousness,

“I will!”

Actually, witnessing Manager Li’s death was a big blow to her.

Shi Xueman walked towards Sang Zhijun without giving Ai

Hui a single look. She couldn’t read him sometimes. After
calling him a scoundrel, he actually became all generous by
gifting Sang Zhijun twenty Bunny Hair Arrows. Shi Xueman
had seen how Sang Zhijun bought her Bunny Hair arrows and
knew how expensive they were. Sang Zhijun couldn’t even bear
to fire them if not for emergency use.

And he had given her twenty arrows just like that.

Yet he wouldn’t let one hundred and fifty yuan go… what a
weird fellow.
 Okay, these were not important. What was important was the
fact that he dared to call her “money-losing deal”!

Every step that she took carried murderous spirit.

Initially quite surprised by Ai Hui, the students were utterly

shocked by now and their eyes were wide open. They glared at
him, clearly infuriated by his careless words from before.

Towards Shi Xueman’s invitation, Sang Zhijun agreed

quickly. She was a smart woman and knew herself well. In
order to be of greater value to the team, she had to be put in an
auxiliary position.

“What an amazing lady!” Fatty, now clear-headed, walked

over to Ai Hui’s side and commented in a low voice.

Ai Hui looked Fatty up and down before saying, “Not bad, four
palaces. I have something expensive to give you!”

Upon hearing the word “expensive”, Fatty’s eyes shone. “I

knew you wouldn’t forget your own people! What is it?”
 Ai Hui pointed to the half-a-man tall vat in the garden.
“There, a fire vat used specially by fire elementalists.”

At Ai Hui’s words, Fatty’s face lit up. A fire vat was one of the
weapons used commonly by fire elementalists. Usually the vat
would be filled with earth-fire lava broth, which not only was
helpful for everyday training but was also a highly formidable,
powerful weapon in times of battle.

“Fire vat… is it too early?” Fatty asked, eyes bright as he

rubbed his hands, slightly embarrassed. When he finally saw
the huge vat in the garden, his face stiffened up. “Ai Hui, you
meant this vat?”

Fatty was frightened by the volume of this vat. The Steady

Mountain heavy armor on his body coupled with the Ironwood
Shield was about sixty pounds, and the big vat before his eyes
looked at least two hundred and twenty pounds… And there was
the three-hundred-and-thirty-pound lava broth…

For a moment, Fatty felt that his life was bleak.

“Don’t want it?” Ai Hui gave Fatty a look before adding, “Just
as well. This fire vat was originally made to be a Heaven-grade
weapon, but became a failure because it was too big. I was
actually worried that it would affect your speed.”

Hearing that the material used to make it was worthy of a

Heaven-grade weapon, his small eyes quickly brightened up. “I
want it! Who said I don’t want it! It suits me too well! No one
else would have a use for it. It’s no wonder the material seems
different…”

Fatty’s whole face was almost squashed flat against the outer
wall of the fire vat. He was completely enchanted. He got even
more excited after seeing the inscription on the vat.

An elementalist descended from the sky. “Who’s Ai Hui?”

“I am.” Ai Hui stood up.

“Please get your team ready and assemble at the intersection

of Soundwave Street and Brightflower Street at six o’clock. The
target of attack and sequence will be arranged for you.
Latecomers will be dealt with by martial law.”

The elementalist ordered expressionlessly, not revealing any

emotion. Finishing up, he turned around and left in a hurry

The atmosphere instantly became grave and stifling.

Chapter 188: Attack
Intersection of Soundwave Street and Brightflower Street.

“Lou Lan, how do I look?” Fatty asked Lou Lan while striking
different poses.

Wearing the Steady Mountain heavy armor made him look

like a moving fort. He held the door-like Ironwood Shield in his
hand and carried the big fire tank, an even more eye-catching
weapon, on his back, effectively becoming a focal point.

“Very powerful!” Lou Lan was generous with his praise.

“Fatty is gifted with great strength. I can make you some turtle
dragon miracle soup to unleash your potential. It is extremely
effective.”

At Lou Lan’s mention of soup, Fatty’s face turned ugly. He

shook his head hurriedly. “Lou Lan, I’m not falling for your
trick!”

They arrived half an hour before the scheduled time.

 The wide intersection was already filled with groups of troops
awaiting orders. They were going to be attacking in the same
wave as Ai Hui and his team.

Holding onto Cirrus, Shi Xueman walked beside Ai Hui and

said in a low voice, “The situation is looking bad. I asked around
and the damage is disastrous. Many teams were dispatched but
only a few came back safely. Our advancing speed is not ideal,
only half the street is reclaimed.”

“This is just throwing lives away.” Jiang Wei commented

helplessly.

“What do we have other than our lives?” Duanmu Huanghun

responded.

Duanmu Huanghun’s words hit the nail right on the head,

leaving everyone in silence.

Suddenly, a commotion sounded from up front.

“Help me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! Save me…”
 “I want to go home… I want to go home… Hu hu… Mother…”

……

The attack teams in the previous wave were retreating from

Soundwave Street and only twelve fighters remained. They
looked dazed, their gazes vacant with bodies covered in blood
stains. Worse, the wounded were lying on rattan stretchers
dragged by sand puppets. They were badly injured and some
body parts were missing, exposing large amounts of flesh. Some
curled up and quivered in pain, letting out blood-curdling
screams and howls. Some lay motionless with a lifeless
expression on their faces. It was as if their bodies had no soul,
not even a tiny murmur or whisper was heard.

Those awaiting battle became restless. Their faces were all

tensed up and their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Fear and
dread spread like ripples.

“They’re throwing our lives away! They’re trying to kill us!”

Someone within the crowd shrieked agitatedly, dashed out

from the formation, and ran far away.
 He was extremely fast. As he was about to disappear around
the corner of the street, an arrow suddenly appeared in his chest
out of nowhere. He staggered a little, staring at his chest
blankly, unable to make a sound. All the strength left his body
and he lay paralyzed on the ground.

Everyone was shocked by what they had just seen. The

spacious road was filled with a deathly stillness.

“Deserters will not be pardoned!”

The imposing, deep voice rang in the sky and echoed within
the hearts of those present. They were struck dumb.
Immediately, all the commotion was constrained.

"This person fled just before the battle and will be reported
directly to the chief association. All rights and privileges
enjoyed by his immediate family members will be taken away
and the whole clan will be severely punished. I advise everybody
here not to depend on luck. Those who died fighting are
honorable and those who withdraw will live in perpetual
shame. Think carefully!”

The elementalist spread open his azure wings and stood

proudly, face expressionless.

Ai Hui looked up and made eye contact with the man, unable
to restrain the astonishment he felt. That shot was so amazing.
It had appeared on the runaway’s body even before he managed
to see it.

He was totally unable to detect the trajectory of that arrow!

That meant that he would also be unable to dodge that arrow.

He quivered inwardly. The satisfaction he’d gotten from

understanding [Misty Strike] and [Oblique Slash] flew out the
window. He sent a deep look towards the elementalist before
retracting his gaze.

Like Ai Hui, Duanmu Huanghun looked up towards the sky.

The shock he felt was even more intense, his gaze filled with
unconcealable heat and thirst.

“The move in [Heaven Bow] should be [Scarless Heaven

Bow].” Shi Xueman glanced at the elementalist in midair. “A
bow-related inheritance passed down within the Sky Edge
Division. He must have served in the Sky Edge Division.”

She knew the Thirteen Divisions better than anyone else.

“Ignore him,” said Ai Hui before adding, “Are we attacking

from Soundwave Street or Brightflower Street?”

“Soundwave.” Shi Xueman snapped out of it and answered

hurriedly. She had long forgotten about finding trouble with Ai
Hui.

She couldn’t be as heartless as him. Having a hundred

students placed under her supervision was tremendously
pressuring. She felt even more tense after seeing the plight of
the last wave of fighters.

Idle theorizing gave her no sense of security at this point. She

saw the fear in her teammates’ eyes and felt even more uneasy.
She suspected that they might undergo a mental breakdown
first.

The current situation was everything that the books warned

against. The leader was a rookie and the team was made up of
rookies who lacked training and morale. There was also a lack
of understanding between the commander and soldiers...

Her only sense of security came from Ai Hui, who had been
expressionless all this while, so she hurriedly snapped out of it
upon seeing that he wanted to have a battle discussion. Earlier,
he’d looked so unconcerned that she’d wanted so badly to prick
him.

“Anyone familiar with Soundwave Street?” asked Ai Hui.

“Let me ask around.” Jiang Wei turned and walked amongst

the team, quickly bringing out a member. It was Huo Yuanlong,
who had already suffered fifty whips. “He’s very familiar with
this area.”

“Let’s hear about the situation at Soundwave Street,” said Ai

Hui directly.

“Why must I tell you?” Huo Yuanlong glared at Ai Hui as a

cold smile formed on his lips, anger flickering in his eyes.

Oh no, Shi Xueman thought to herself.

 “Because you don’t want to die.” Ai Hui looked him straight in
the eye, continuing frankly, “I don’t care what happened
earlier. If you don’t co-operate, I will make you stand at the
frontline.”

“You’re threatening me?” Huo Yuanlong snarled. He was

about to burst with rage.

Huo Yuanlong’s bellow caught everyone’s attention. Even the

team beside them looked over, gloating.

“That’s right.” Surprisingly, Ai Hui did not deny it but coolly

admitted it instead.

The anger within Huo Yuanlong disappeared without a trace,

as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. Ai Hui
remained expressionless and his tone was as calm as ever, as if
he had just been talking about ordinary matters.

Huo Yuanlong suddenly felt a little intimidated. This unusual

calmness scared him.

No raising his voice, no anger, no clenching his teeth, and no

unnecessary menace. He had a feeling that Ai Hui would do it.

Ai Hui’s answer had quieted the whole crowd.

“How… dare you?” Huo Yuanlong did not detect the slight
tremble in his own voice.

“I’m the leader of this team. If you disobey my orders you will
be dealt with by martial law. That arrow earlier? Martial law.”
Ai Hui replied steadily and emotionlessly.

The students felt a chill in their hearts when they saw the
complete change in Ai Hui’s gaze.

Ai Hui’s words were calm, bare, and raw, without reasoning

and without trying to convince them. He was merely narrating
a simple fact.

An ice-cold, unsentimental fact.

Huo Yuanlong was now totally afraid. In fact, he felt relieved

when Ai Hui finally spoke. He swore to himself that he would
leave this scary fellow once the catastrophe was over.

Ai Hui questioned him thoroughly, asking which houses had

how many rooms, how big the gardens were, and so on. Huo
Yuanlong could not answer many of the questions.

Huo Yuanlong returned to the team after answering whatever

questions he could. No one mocked him. They kept quiet out of
fear as well. The students couldn’t help but avoid Ai Hui’s gaze
as they did not dare to look him in the face.

Unlike what Ai Hui had thought would happen, no

elementalist came over to allocate a specific attack position for
them. Their only requirement was to advance forward as much
as possible, destroying all the blood ants they saw.

Such a simple and crude command displeased Shi Xueman.

“Swarming in like bees is no different from seeking death. Why
is there no concrete plan?” After speaking, she felt that
complaining was useless. Even if they had a plan, her
teammates would absolutely fail to carry it out.

Truth be told, they were cannon fodder. Cannon fodder used

to drain the blood ants’ energy.
 Duanmu Huanghun was right. Other than cannon fodder,
Central Pine City had nothing. Shi Xueman believed that with
her position in the mayor’s eyes, there were no other
employable methods.

“You guys are up! Start attacking!” Instructed the elementalist

in midair.

Each team hesitated before moving towards Soundwave

Street.

“Let’s head to the gate of that shop facing the street.” Ai Hui
pointed out.

Fatty held the heavy shield and walked at the forefront. His
overall weight was astonishing. The earth quaked and the
mountains shook as he walked. Even the elementalist in the sky
was astounded.

There was no morale boosting cheer, no shouting, and no

vehement emotions. Each team cautiously advanced forward
along the wide street.
 The elementalist in the sky wasn’t impatient, but when he
noticed Ai Hui’s team, he couldn’t help but feel surprised.

Ai Hui’s team did not advance along the street and appeared
by the fence surrounding a shop on the right side of the road
instead.

The elementalist seemed rather interested. He recognized Shi

Xueman and the rest. While they had little experience, this
small team’s strength lay in its students. Not bad at all.

But he also knew that the students were all cannon fodder.
The ones which weren’t expendable were the elementalists
conscripted by their respective training halls and placed into
small teams. They were honing their strength for the big push.
Only after the ants had been sufficiently dealt with would it
then be time for the main force to enter.

Nevertheless, this small team was actually quite interesting.

Shi Xueman and the rest were unable to make heads nor tails
of Ai Hui’s order. The other teams were a distance away from
them by now. They looked at Ai Hui, waiting for him to answer
this riddle.
 “Any way to raze this to the ground?” Ai Hui asked Wang
Xiaoshan.

Wang Xiaoshan did not understand what Ai Hui was up to, but
it wasn’t difficult for him to do so. He had great knowledge of
all kinds of building structures. This shop was built normally
and could easily be demolished if they could just find a few key
nodes.

“I’ll try.”

Wang Xiaoshan did not dare to over-deliver. He was a little

afraid of Ai Hui.
Chapter 189: Ai Hui’s Method
Wang Xiaoshan moved quickly and placed both hands on the
ground, channeling earth elemental energy into the shop.

Boom! Several explosions sounded simultaneously from

within the shop, and the once-intact shop crumbled like crisp
crackers.

Shi Xueman lightly waved her bare hands to clear the dust
raised by the shop’s collapse. Her vision returned, and indeed,
the shop was now in ruins.

“How amazing!” Fatty exclaimed sluggishly, his mouth wide

open. “Xiaoshan, how did you do that?”

Slightly flustered, Wang Xiaoshan stammered, “Very simple.

Each building has some key… nodes, uh, you just have to find
and blow them up at the same time to destroy it… and make use
of the building’s weight….”

Wang Xiaoshan’s description was rather incoherent, but this

time, no one underestimated him.
 Destroying this shop wasn’t a big feat; anyone present could
do it, but few could accomplish it as cleanly as Wang Xiaoshan
did. Without any large fragments to be seen in the rubble, it
could be said that the building was completely shattered.

An unusual look flashed across Shi Xueman’s eyes.

She felt it strange when Ai Hui chose Wang Xiaoshan for the
task. Simply said, his skills were lacking, even moreso when
compared to the rest of the team. But the scene before her drove
her to speculate that perhaps Ai Hui had already been aware of
Wang Xiaoshan’s potential?

She found this unfathomable.

Ai Hui himself was slightly shocked. Wang Xiaoshan’s move

was simply too beautiful. This fellow was a bigger underdog
than he was!

“Well done!”

Ai Hui gave Wang Xiaoshan a big thumbs up.

 Receiving Ai Hui’s praise, Wang Xiaoshan blushed a deep red,
so moved that he did not know where to place his hands. These
past few days, he’d been under tremendous pressure. As the
weakest link in the group, he was timid and couldn’t help much
in battles, and whenever it was time to fight, he trembled
uncontrollably.

He was downcast, not understanding why Ai Hui had selected

him, and as the danger grew, he became afraid—afraid that he
would be abandoned by his teammates. No one would care for
him unconditionally if he wasn’t able to prove his worth and
assist the team during difficult situations.

It was his first time receiving a compliment from Ai Hui. It

stirred him up greatly, as though he had just taken an alcoholic
shot.

Wang Xiaoshan performed better than expected and was of

great help to Ai Hui’s plans. Nevertheless, he continued to
instruct calmly, “Fatty, walk in front. Wang Xiaoshan, follow
him. Continue tearing down the shops while advancing slowly,
and beware of blood ants.”

Shi Xueman briefly lost her train of thought before she asked,
“We’re tearing them down to move forward?”
 She was completely baffled by Ai Hui’s outlandish strategy,
and it wasn’t just her—everyone else was puzzled as well.

“The building structures are complex, making them good

hiding places for blood ants to launch sneak attacks. It will be
disadvantageous for us,” Ai Hui explained.

Shi Xueman straightforwardly asked, “Then why don’t we

follow the rest of the teams and advance along the street path?”

Ai Hui looked at Shi Xueman as if he was talking to a fool.

“That will cause us to be attacked from both sides.”

“Logical, but…” Shi Xueman was at a loss. She acknowledged

that Ai Hui was making a lot of sense, but to tear down the
houses in order to advance… This sort of method was unheard
of! In all of the books of war that she read, she had never come
across a similar military strategy.

Ai Hui couldn’t be bothered with her and instead, followed

closely behind Wang Xiaoshan. Doing so brought about many
gains. For example, the collapsing buildings would alarm the
blood ants, leading them to reveal their locations. Also, a wide
terrain allowed rookies to better display their skills, which Ai
Hui had doubts about anyway.

More importantly, as cannon fodder, they shouldn’t be

thinking about claiming credit but how to protect themselves
on the battlefield instead.

Boom!

Yet another building crumbled.

Everyone advanced through the ruins, but by now, the few

teams ahead of them had already taken a substantial lead and
disappeared without a trace.

Nevertheless, Ai Hui continued moving forward at a

comfortable pace. As they progressed, all that they left behind
was a field of ruins.

Wang Xiaoshan became increasingly skillful. Within ten

minutes, he had already torn down more buildings than his
father, and his control became more precise which brought
about even more outstanding results.
 Seeing the buildings collapse in front of his eyes filled his
heart with a sense of accomplishment.

Chi chi chi!

Rows of red shadows shot out from the dust and pounced on
Ai Hui and the team.

One row knocked against the heavy shield in Fatty’s hands. A

smothered boom rang out, causing Fatty’s body to sway. Both
he and Wang Xiaoshan were so afraid of death that Fatty
shielded himself securely with Wang Xiaoshan hiding closely
behind him.

“Careful!”

Shi Xueman let out a shout while blocking three blood ants
with her Cirrus.

The students were disordered, losing their heads out of fear as

they screamed incessantly.
 Ai Hui shook his head but ignored the chaos. If they couldn’t
break their way past this level of difficulty, they would be in
worse trouble later on.

With the Dragonspine Inferno, he executed a sudden [Oblique

Slash]. A faint light glimmered on the sword body as it
accurately struck a blood ant. Upon closer inspection, Ai Hui
saw that the cut had left a clear wound on its body.

Ai Hui was slightly startled. Before, it was difficult for him to

leave a mark on a blood ant without operating his elemental
energy.

With growing confidence, he continued attacking without

retreat and performed another [Oblique Slash] with the
Dragonspine Inferno.

The move was simple and did not cover a wide range, but Ai
Hui’s agile steps compensated for its weaknesses.

His consecutive hits slowed the ant down, but the malice
within its body fueled its dogged attacks on Ai Hui.
 Ai Hui’s hilt seemed to transform into a cloud of smoke and
from it shot a sword ray.

[Misty Strike]!

The ant’s body was cleaved in two by the Dragonspine Inferno

and fell through the dust.

Soon after, Ai Hui’s gaze was quickly caught by Duanmu

Huanghun, and his eyes displayed astonishment.

Duanmu Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower] always displayed

dazzling transformations, but Ai Hui felt it came with a sense of
softness. This time, however, Duanmu Huanghun’s [Viridescent
Flower] was dynamic as always, but the softness was absent,
replaced by gloom and abstruseness.

When the viridescent flowers made contact with the blood

ants, thorns grew out to pierce the eyes. And as the ants
stiffened, flowers bloomed from their red bodies, becoming a
colorfully auspicious viridescent flower ant.

Ai Hui trembled inside. [Viridescent Flower] was really

demonic.

Duanmu Huanghun casually retrieved his viridescent flower

as if there was no one else around. He gave Ai Hui a faint smile
without caring to conceal the battlelust in his eyes. His vigor
was astonishing, and it was as though he had become another
person, his energy completely renewed.

“How do you intend to return the money?” Ai Hui caught

Duanmu Huanghun by surprise.

Duanmu Huanghun froze, his smile turning rigid.

“Public morals are really degenerating each day. You’re in

debt and still have the cheek to act all holy. Aren’t you
shameless?”

Ai Hui muttered to himself, failing to notice the popping veins

on Duanmu Huanghun’s face. He spun on his heel and left only
a silhouette of profound mystery.

He forgot that he still owed someone eighty million yuan.

 It was a pity that his creditor was busy at the moment. Five
ants flew out and three were tossed away by Shi Xueman’s
Cirrus. She did not, however, deal with them on her own but
instead threw them to the team.

“Stay calm, don’t panic!”

“Maintain distance!”

“Co-operation, teamwork!”

……

Shi Xueman, Sang Zhijun, and Jiang Wei each led a group to
deal with a blood ant. They did not kill it directly but allowed
the students to do so. Shi Xueman understood that if they did
not allow these students to face and deal with an attack soon,
their losses would be disastrous.

Ai Hui witnessed the clumsy and messy scene before him, and
he shook his head. Without any urging, he decided to train his
sword skills off to the side.
 After killing a blood ant, the battlelust within his body was
surging, but there was no outlet to release it, so his only option
was to train.

Duanmu Huanghun similarly did not bother with the rest.

With his eyes shut tightly, he sat cross-legged on the ground,
the viridescent flower pattern on his lower abdomen circulating
non-stop.

“Bangwan seemed to have changed a lot,” Lou Lan

commented quietly.

“Yeah, he’s become fiercer, toward himself as well.” Fatty

touched his chin before continuing ruefully, “But no matter
how ferocious he is, there’s no point since he owes money. Look
at me. I used to be a hero who charged my way out of the hell-
like Wilderness. But see what happened in the end. Negligence
turned me into Ai Hui’s debtor, and I can only be his waterboy
for now. Money is a hero’s guts!”

Wang Xiaoshan, who was observing the chaotic scene,

couldn’t help but say, “Shi-goddess is a good person.”

Anyone with eyes could tell that Shi Xueman was only doing
this to give the students an opportunity to adapt to battle
conditions.

Her efforts did not go to waste after all.

The once noisy scenes steadily calmed. Huo Yuanlong and his
friends, with their commendable strength and talent, shined
among the students of Central Pine Academy. Highly ranked
students naturally had more opportunities to compete and learn
from each other on a daily basis. The battles weren’t fought
with real weapons, but it allowed them to restore their
standards by overcoming psychological barriers and regulating
their disjointed actions.

Shi Xueman heaved a sigh of relief, fine beads of perspiration

on her forehead. Leading her team seemed more tiring than
fighting her own battle.

But she had to do it. The following battle would only become
more intense and cruel. The students, too, had to undergo the
probation period that the few of them had gone through.

The weak would be eliminated. It was an unchangeable fact.

 Ai Hui stopped and looked over the breathless students.
“Continue forward.”

“Can we rest for a little while?” a student shouted.

“I don’t want to be executed by martial law under the charge

of passive resistance,” Ai Hui said while looking up.

Everyone turned to find an elementalist approaching them

from the sky. They swallowed any remaining words before they
left their lips.

Shi Xueman took the lead. “Let’s go.”

She knew the higher-ups would tolerate the time taken to

adapt but never passive resistance. Any sign of this happening
would cost them their lives, right there on the spot.

Ai Hui and his team pushed forward at a slow but steady rate.

Shi Xueman quickly experienced the benefits of Ai Hui’s

method. They did not encounter many ants, most likely due to
the earlier teams’ clean-up operation. Whatever blood ants left
over gave the rookies a chance to learn. It couldn’t be more
optimal. It would also be a nightmare if they were to get raided
by these ants while retreating.

Blood ants appeared once more from the front, but this time,
the students’ responses were much better.

They were also trying hard to adapt.

Nobody wanted to die.

Chapter 190: The A-1 Unit
“Since the first day of battle, I have been posted to Soundwave
Street and Brightflower Street to supervise the battles. The
students’ performance is atrocious. We have suffered terrible
losses, and yet, we have dealt little damage to the blood ants.
Among the slew of bad performances, nothing is more
promising than the unit numbered A-1, which contained a
number of the student body elites such as Ai Hui, Shi Xueman,
Sang Zhijun, Duanmu Huanghun, and some others. They are
the most outstanding students of Central Pine Academy.
Reportedly, the mayor and the dean had a disagreement over
the use of the A-1 unit. The dean did not want his best students
to die in a battle of attrition doomed to yield high casualties.
The mayor argued that everyone in the city had to participate in
the battle and give their best efforts, no matter the
insignificance. Eventually, the mayor managed to convince the
dean, and fortunately, the A-1 unit was dispatched to the
conflict zone under my supervision.”

……

“I have finally met the A-1 unit that is most talked about in the
magistrate office. The leader for this unit is Ai Hui. He is the
one who discovered the blood bat’s infiltration and assisted Shi
Xueman and Sang Zhijun in eliminating it, thereby achieving a
meritorious service and the magistrate office’s attention.
Surprisingly, he is not the one commanding the unit. This role
has fallen into the hands of Shi Xueman. If I had not witnessed
it with my own eyes, I would not have believed that Shi
Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, and the others would obey his
commands completely. His performance has caught my
attention.”

……

“Unlike other units that advanced using the streets, the A-1
unit proceeded down the west side of Soundwave Street. that
side is packed with houses, shops, and residents. Like a
bulldozer, they destroyed the houses, razing them to the ground
and advancing by stepping over the ruins. They went on like
this by repeating this process. Honestly speaking, it is the most
unprofessional and foolish advancing technique I have ever
seen. After a while, however, I was made to admit that it was
brilliant. Though the A-1 unit’s performance was lacking, they
have capable individuals upon whom they can rely on. Shi
Xueman’s leadership is terrible, but she’s extremely courageous.
She also possesses a strong sense of responsibility and loves to
help her teammates. At times, she seems more like a leader than
Ai Hui.”

……
 “The A-1 unit’s advance was slow and steady, and the unit
members displayed signs of adapting to combat. Shi Xueman
boosted the morale of the unit greatly. It appears that though
she is inexperienced and not good with words, her strong sense
of responsibility propelled her to give her utmost in helping her
teammates. If she can survive this catastrophe, she will become
an outstanding leader in the future. In contrast, Ai Hui was cold
and looked on without helping his teammates. It was as if he
had nothing to do with the battle. As the leader of the A-1 unit, I
would give him zero points, though I do admit his
swordsmanship is exquisite.”

……

“There are a few units on the verge of destruction, and their

performance was pathetic. The A-1 unit continues to advance,
but they are beginning to encounter troubles as well. The
number of blood ants is increasing. I predicted that they would
suffer great losses like the previous units, but I have
underestimated Ai Hui; he came prepared.”

----- <<The Blood Battle of Central Pine City>>

With an overpowering rumble, the house collapsed, filling the

air with smoke and dust. Before Duanmu Huanghun could wipe
the dust off his body, a deafening noise pierced his ears.

A shiver swept down Ai Hui’s spine. He instantly sensed that

there were more than fifty blood ants in the area, the largest
wave they had encountered in this battle so far.

“Lou Lan!” Ai Hui yelled gruffly.

“Lou Lan is coming!” Lou Lan cheered.

The leaves covering the enormous fire vat on Fatty’s back

were peeled back with lightning speed. Lou Lan then
transformed into a sandy watering can and dipped half of his
body into the fire vat. The long spout of the watering can
extended over Fatty’s head and pointed towards the front.

Splash!

Torrential red mist began spraying over a large area.

The overwhelming scent of strong chili immediately pervaded

the air, dousing the blood ants that had just shot out in a red
chili concoction. Ai Hui became nervous. Using chili against the
blood ants was purely his conjecture, unsupported by data.

Instead of thinking about failure, his gaze fixated on what was

going on ahead. His muscles strained, and the Dragonspine
Inferno in his hand was in its optimal position; he resembled a
beast that waited to pounce on its prey.

The blood ants doused in the chili concoction mist suddenly

fell apart, descending into chaos. Terrifying shrieks sounded
and startled everyone.

Everyone except for Ai Hui.

The chilli concoction in Fatty’s fire vat was specially

concocted by him and Lou

A vicious light flashed across his eyes as he lunged forward.

His Dragonspine Inferno swept up a cloud of fog before
materializing in a streak of radiance.

[Misty Strike]!
 Accompanied by an indiscernible buzz, the dazzling
Dragonspine Inferno hit a blood ant with a piercing blow.

Bang!

Ai Hui’s readied attack had astonishing destructive power.

The blood ant exploded midair into a cloud of bloody mist.

With a slight twist of his feet, Ai Hui jumped through the air
at an angle over the cloud of blood. Taking advantage of the
momentum, he swiveled his sword and used the from from his
momentum to execute an [Oblique Slash].

His move landed accurately on the blood ant’s neck and

effortlessly beheaded it.

Only then did Duanmu Huanghun and the others realize what
was going on.

Shi Xueman and her team began their attack against the
oncoming wave of frantic blood ants. As of now, the students’
coordination was passable—not the best, but better than before.
The unit was divided into three groups, each led by Shi
Xueman, Jiang Wei, and Sang Zhijun respectively.

Everyone realized this was an opportunity to attack, and they

all rushed forward. The blood ants that had just escaped the
chili concoction mist descended into a panic, and in the blink of
an eye, more than twenty of them were killed. The disquieted
blood ants soon returned to their senses, however, and lunged
towards Ai Hui and his unit in waves.

The scene of the fight descended into chaos.

Seeing the disorderly situation, Lou Lan halted his

movements; the chili concoction would harm the students as
well, and though it was not deadly, it could possibly disrupt
their momentum. They already struggled to coordinate with
one another. If they were to be hit by the chili concoction as
well, Lou Lan did not know how many students would survive
this fight.

The battle had begun in earnest.

The students quickly found that this battle was completely

different from the ones before. All they could see were the
streaking after-images of blood ants all around them, which
sent them into a panic. Screams and roars penetrated the air,
and their previously acceptable coordination collapsed in an
instant like fragile biscuits. Casualties accrued.

Some people clutched their throats as they collapsed onto the

ground, struggling as they gasped in pain.

Others rolled frantically on the ground, their bodies bloody

and mangled.

Shi Xueman’s eyes were red. She tightly pursed her lips and
darted back and forth. Her spear was like a moving cloud,
reinforcing students at a disadvantage. Even so, she could not
stop the students from collapsing one after another.

The two most dazzling individuals on the battlefield were Ai

Hui and Duanmu Huanghun. Ai Hui’s sword glinted crisply and
sharply with abnormal deadliness. Very few blood ants could
survive to escape his sword. Flying around him were the Red
Dust Daggers that carved numerous streaks of sword traces into
the air.

Duanmu Huanghun was another distinguished individual on

the battlefield.
 His [Viridescent Flower] had become more complex and
unpredictable. Under his feet, patterns of glowing vines, clouds,
and lotuses were scattered and blossomed over his hands. He
stepped on air and ascended into the sky, and from time to time,
green flowers drifted around his body in a phantom-like image.

Fatty stood off to one side. His speed was slow, so when facing
the fast and nimble blood ants, he remained passive. His shield
was like a wall, however, and his armor resembled a mountain.
Wang Xiaoshan stood behind him while Lou Lan transformed
into a swirling sandstorm that surrounded them and ground the
blood ants to smithereens. As for the ones that made it through
the sandstorm, they were faced with Fatty’s heavy shield.

The battle became increasingly intense, and from the midst of

the smoke and dust, the occasional blood ants were blasted out.

Duanmu Huanghun had killed more than ten blood ants in

one go, but as the elemental energy in his body began to deplete,
his efficiency dropped and forced him to slow down his attack
speed. He retreated to a less conspicuous position.

Thirteen!
 He was thoroughly satisfied with himself. Compared to
previous battles, his performance today was brilliant. After
coming to know more about himself, he conquered his fear and
underwent a complete transformation. Even the style of his
[Viridescent Flower] had unmistakably evolved. It maintained
the same complexity, but it now focused more on killing power,
making it intensely ruthless.

With less pressure on him, his gaze shifted involuntarily

towards Ai Hui. He was quite satisfied with his performance
today and so felt confident that it was on par with Ai Hui’s.

Eh?

Ai Hui’s attacks followed a certain pattern, the same two

moves. However… his attacking rhythm did not seem to vary at
all….

How is it possible? Doesn’t he feel tired? Doesn’t he use his

elemental energy?

Duanmu Huanghun felt incredulous.

 Ai Hui was extremely focused. He needed to face four blood
ants at once which didn’t allow him any time for distractions. In
such an intense battle, it was not enough to rely solely on [Misty
Strike] and [Oblique Slash]. He had to use elemental energy
several times, and in some situations, he needed to dodge,
unable to use either [Misty Strike] or [Oblique Slash], and
sometimes block.

[Oblique Slash] and [Misty Strike] both had their own unique
characteristics. [Oblique Slash] could be executed quickly, but it
was highly dependent on angles and the attack range was
narrow. Fighting stance could make up for these weaknesses,
but such an intense battle greatly limited his options.

[Misty Strike], on the other hand, had great attack power, but
its execution time was long. Ai Hui could only use this move
when the time was right and normally employed it once per
strike.

And like [Crescent Moon], these moves consumed large

quantities of elemental energy, discouraging Ai Hui from using
them too often.

Once his elemental energy was depleted, death was the only
way out for him.
 Sixteen.

Ai Hui did not know how many more blood ants were left. He
forced himself to focus and pushed his mind to think of ways to
use his [Oblique Slash] and [Misty Strike] to attack the blood
ants.

He felt himself becoming more adept with these moves, but

his physical and elemental energy were gradually diminishing.

Twenty-two.

Ai Hui started to pant. He could feel the Dragonspine Inferno

in his hand getting heavier. Fortunately, the blood ants were
becoming sparser.

The remaining students acclimated to engaging in combat

after their cruel “baptism.” Clearly, they had improved.

“A-1 unit, you can retreat now.”

The voice of the supervising elementalist resounded from the

sky behind them, resembling a sound of nature.

His mind rejuvenated, Ai Hui spoke quickly, “Myself, Shi

Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, and Sang Zhijun will take care of
the rear. Jiang Wei, lead everyone out of the battleground and
retreat as quickly as possible. Lou Lan, prepare the chili
concoction and retreat one hundred meters. Provide support to
us later.”

“No problem, Ai Hui!” Lou Lan quickly drew the chili

concoction and sprayed it over the ground as he retreated.

The rest of the students left the battleground one by one.

Behind them were nothing but ruins.

“There’s one last thing we need to do,” Ai Hui suddenly said

to those who remained.
Chapter 191: War Trophy
One more thing to be done?

Everyone was confused as they waited for Ai Hui’s next order.

"We have to capture a blood ant alive," Ai Hui spoke rapidly as

he brandished his Dragonspine Inferno continuously and surged
towards a blood ant. "Listen to my commands."

There was no time to waste on the battlefield. It didn’t take

long before the remaining blood ants pressed down on Ai Hui
and the others.

"Run!"

Ai Hui turned around abruptly and started running.

Upon seeing this, everyone followed suit and ran without

hesitation.

The blood ants pursued behind them tightly. With their low
intelligence, they based their actions on instinct, so as soon as
they saw Ai Hui and the others running away, they went after
them with lightning-like speed!

Mist drifted from Shi Xueman’s back, and her speed increased
sharply. She brushed past Ai Hui, leaving him far behind.

Sang Zhijun resembled a lithe and agile bird with her clothes
fluttering in the wind as she similarly blew past Ai Hui.

"Come on." She smiled at Ai Hui.

From under Duanmu Huanghun’s feet, a glowing green flower

pattern was spinning. He flew through the air as if running on a
level road. At first glance, he didn’t seem fast, but he gradually
bypassed Ai Hui. Without looking back, he gave a cold sneer.
"Ahh…."

Ai Hui was dumbstruck. He had become the last one.

Behind him, the blood ants were pursuing him relentlessly,

and in his ears sounded the incessant hissing. He trembled in
fear and dashed forward frantically.
 It was at this point in time that he realized his weakness. He
never learned an escaping technique! He was relatively fast in
short distances, and this was why no one had noticed until now
that Ai Hui’s running pace was neither nimble nor fast.

And so when the running distance was pushed to a hundred

meters, his weakness revealed itself.

His base level had risen too quickly, exposing his many
shortcomings. Compared to Shi Xueman and the others who
had a balanced growth, Ai Hui was clearly unbalanced in his
developments. All his time was spent on sword moves; he had to
find a chance to learn a few escaping techniques. He placed
great importance on anything that would ensure his survival.

He undoubtedly had to learn how to use azure wings in the

future….

This bunch of fellows… was too much!

Ai Hui felt the blood ants behind him approaching closer and
closer, and so he exerted all of his strength into running as
quickly as possible.
 Like a drill, his right leg dug into the rubble-filled ground.
Boom! The ground under his feet suddenly exploded, sweeping
up a tidal wave of dust that reached a height of three meters.

Making use of this explosive force, Ai Hui’s speed rose

sharply.

He flitted forward at an extreme speed. His left leg behaved

like a drill once more, digging ferociously into the ground.

Boom! Dust diffused into the air.

Ai Hui was akin to a heavy beast. He surged forward

frantically, and with every step, he stirred up towering waves of
rubble.

The students watching from afar were stunned at the sight.

Shi Xueman was fast as lightning while Sang Zhijun was lithe
and agile. Duanmu Huanghun flew gracefully through the wind.
And as for Ai Hui, there were no techniques involved in his
sprinting. His violent and imposing manner while running was
driven by his capricious mule-headedness.
 With every step he took, the ground quaked and the
mountains shook.

In a blink of an eye, he covered a distance of one hundred

metres.

"Lou Lan!" Ai Hui yelled.

"Lou Lan is coming!" Lou Lan cheered as he shot out the chili
concoction in his hands, creating an immense cloud of red mist.

Like a cannonball, Ai Hui landed headfirst into the topsoil

behind Lou Lan. Boom! The soil flew up into the air from the
powerful force.

Ai Hui managed to use this momentum to change his direction

before he then roared, "Get ready!"

The blood ants emerging from the curtain of dust and soil
were doused in the chili concoction, and chaos descended once
more. This time around, however, they continued to
instinctively fly towards Ai Hui and the rest.
 Ai Hui flipped his sword and used the side of the blade to
strike one of the incoming blood ants.

It arced towards Shi Xueman.

"Stop the ant!"

Shi Xueman spun Cirrus in her hand lightly, and a cloud of

mist engulfed the blood ant, slowing it down as if in a pit of
quicksand.

"Use [Viridescent Flower] to tangle it up!"

"Use your arrows to stop the rest of the blood ants from
advancing!"

By now, Duanmu Huanghun had nearly used up all of the

elemental energy in his body, yet he forced himself to channel
the last strand still available. A green vine shot out and lightly
tangled up the blood ant from within the cloud of mist.

Meanwhile, Sang Zhijun’s Golden Silk Longbow explosively

shot out numerous dazzling streaks of light, stopping the other
blood ants from advancing.

Ai Hui leapt into the sky and surged towards the blood ant
that was engulfed in the cloud of mist.

"Withdraw your spear!"

Upon hearing Ai Hui’s command, Shi Xueman withdrew her

spear without any hesitation.

As soon as Cirrus’ suppression was lifted, the blood ant

became agitated. The green flower vine executed with the last of
Duanmu Huanghun’s elemental energy also loosened bit by bit.

Just as the blood ant was about to escape from the vine, a
snow-white bandage suddenly shot down from the sky.

The snow-white bandage rapidly wrapped around the blood

ant, and in the blink of an eye, the blood ant was firmly tied up
with only its head revealed. With its body unable to move a
single inch, the agitated blood ant could only stare ahead
blankly. Though its mouth continued to gnash, it wasn’t able to
bite into anything. Every joint in its body, except for its neck,
was tightly bound.

Ai Hui looked on with satisfaction at his work, the

mummified ant.

Carrying his war trophy, Ai Hui yelled happily, "Run faster!"

Shi Xueman remained the fastest one, while Sang Zhijun was
as graceful as ever. Only Duanmu Huanghun, who had lost all
remnants of elemental energy, could no longer fly elegantly like
before. He could only frantically run on the ground now.

"Despicable!" Duanmu Huanghun was fuming with rage.

The beast-like Ai Hui kicked sand all over Duanmu

Huanghun’s face as he zoomed past him. The sound of a cold
sneer could be heard, "Ahh…."

After chasing them down for several meters, the rest of the
blood ants turned and retreated. Even with their low
intelligence, when they saw the densely packed humans at the
entrance of the street, they knew it was not a good decision to
continue forward.

Several units had gathered at the street entrance, preparing to

launch the next wave of attacks.

They had witnessed the battle carried out by Ai Hui and his
unit with their own eyes and were aroused into excitement.
When the last person from the A-1 unit arrived safe and sound,
they broke into thunderous cheers; every one of their gazes
were aimed at the A-1 unit with the utmost respect.

"I believe all of you can see that the blood fiends are not
victorious. As long as we are courageous and united, we can
drive them away from Central Pine City!"

The supervising elementalist arrived just in time to encourage

everyone.

The morale of the units rose sharply!

The blood ants were certainly powerful, but the students

knew that they were not undefeatable. Only, they were affected
by the combat and the fear of the unknown.
 When the supervising elementalist noticed Fatty with his
enormous fire vat, he couldn’t help but do a double-take. His
appearance was indeed unique.

As he approached the large fire vat, he was greeted by the

strong scent of chilies. Surprised, he asked, "Chilies?"

"Yes, sir," Ai Hui replied.

"The blood ants are scared of chilies? Wow, I never thought of

that. How did you come up with that?" The elementalist was
extremely surprised.

Ai Hui recounted the incident of Fatty and the Dragon Soup.

When the elementalist heard that he had finished an entire
cauldron of Dragon Soup in one go, he couldn’t help but stare at
the fatty as if looking at a ghost.

Ai Hui’s recounting of the event was clear and concise,

drawing a satisfied expression from the elementalist.

"I will report this to the mayor. If it’s proved to be effective,

all of you will be rewarded for your meritorious service to the
city."

Ai Hui expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, sir."

Duanmu Huanghun and the others were somewhat

disapproving of Ai Hui’s attitude towards the supervising
elementalist. To them, the elementalist was insignificant in
their eyes, but it was different for Ai Hui. Coming from a
laborer background, there was nothing wrong with addressing
the supervising elementalist as "sir."

The supervising elementalist was extremely pleased with Ai

Hui’s attitude. "How about this live blood ant? Do you want to
hand it over to the higher-ups? You can add it to the
meritorious services you’ve accumulated."

"We have some ideas and would like to experiment with it," Ai
Hui explained.

"That’ll work too." The elementalist was not surprised, nor

did he try to confiscate the blood ant. He could see that Ai Hui
had his own plans for it, and this was a good thing for him. The
more meritorious services rendered by Ai Hui and the rest, the
more rewards he himself would receive as well.
 "This is a special period of time, and all of your contributions
will be regarded as meritorious services for the Avalon of Five
Elements. As for the battle evaluation, I’ll give you all the
highest marks possible. If you can survive this catastrophe, they
will be of great help to whichever job you apply for. I hope all of
you avoid becoming complacent and continue fighting. Now go
back and rest. I’ll notify you again for the next wave of attacks."

Finishing his sentence, the supervising elementalist did not

pay anymore attention to them and moved on to give orders to
the other units.

"This time around, our target is east of Soundwave Street. All

of you have seen the A-1 unit’s battle tactics—you will now
follow that. Don’t walk in the middle of the streets. Now, tear
down the buildings!"

"Yes!"

Uneven voices resounded through the air.

"Let’s go."
 Ai Hui led his unit towards the training hall, and the rest
silently followed him one by one. After going through the most
devastating battle of their lives, they were physically and
emotionally exhausted.

When the unit passed by a location where the supervising

elementalist could no longer see them, Ai Hui suddenly asked,
"Lou Lan, are there any spice shops in this area?"

"No." Lou Lan shook his head and then asked, "Ai Hui wants to
buy chilies?"

"Buy? Are the shops even open? The entire city has
mobilized." Ai Hui lowered his volume and said, "The higher-
ups are going to verify the chili method soon. Do you think we’ll
still be able to get chilies?"

"Are you saying that we should have a hoard of chilies before

the mayor takes action?" Duanmu Huanghun was the first to
react.

"That’s right." Ai Hui gave a look that said ‘Ingrate, you’re

indeed unscrupulous’ before he continued, "The higher-ups will
definitely expropriate all of the chilies. When that day comes,
it’ll become very difficult for us to advance in the battles
without them."

Everyone nodded in consensus. The chili concoction had

played a key role in the battle this time. Without it, they would
have suffered many more casualties.

"Is this okay?" Shi Xueman was indecisive. Since young, she’d
been a well-behaved girl. How could she do such a cunning
thing?

"Then we’ll have more deaths the next time," Ai Hui replied
bluntly. "What do other people’s deaths have to do with us? We
care for our own people first before we care about the others!"

When the members of the unit saw Ai Hui’s expression, their

attitudes towards him changed immediately. Even the few
troublemakers like Huo Yuanlong, who previously refused to
accept Ai Hui as his leader, felt his animosity towards the latter
reduce significantly. A leader who cared for his members was a
good leader.

"Fine!" Shi Xueman clenched her teeth and a shiver went

down her spine.
 "Ai Hui, I know the locations of a few spice shops." Lou Lan’s
eyes were glistening. "We can go try our luck."

"Everybody, hang in there. The sooner we finish this task, the

sooner we can rest peacefully."

Ai Hui spoke softly, appearing as if he had several years of

experience as a seasoned bandit chief.
Chapter 192: Shouchuan, Can You Help
Me?
The spoils of war were plentiful, and Fatty’s large fire vat was
now completely filled with various kinds of chilies. Eventually,
Ai Hui had to stop everyone from taking any more.

"Once these chilies are verified to work against blood ants,

they’ll become an important war commodity. Since we came up
with the idea, the higher-ups will turn a blind eye to us taking
some, but if we take too many, it’ll affect the overall situation,
and they’ll take issue with us."

Hearing those words, the rest nodded in agreement, thinking

that Ai Hui was indeed thoughtful.

Shi Xueman was astonished at Ai Hui’s experience. It

appeared that this was not his first time carrying out such a
shady action.

Duanmu Huanghun snorted in disdain at Ai Hui’s timidity.

Why would the magistrate office make trouble for them over
such a small amount of chilies?
 When the unit finally returned to the training hall, it became
obvious that their method of sprinkling chilies around the
training hall did work as there were no signs of blood ants
anywhere. This made them feel rather relieved.

The moment they reached the training hall, everyone

collapsed all over the place. Their exhaustion went bone-deep,
their minds and bodies overwhelmed by the ravages of this
battle. Even though the A-1 unit had the best battle results out
of all the units, they still suffered high casualties, losing sixteen
men total. There were another three who were injured and
quarantined because so far, there were no remedies for injuries
related to the blood poison.

It was torturous for them to watch their fellow peers have

their necks savagely bitten by the blood ants as they fell to the
ground with their eyes wide open.

The students sitting slumped on the ground were extremely

downcast. They struggled to hold back the tears in their soulless
eyes. It was as if they were living in a nightmare.

A single thought was at the forefront of their minds, and that

was to sleep. They hoped that upon waking up, they’d find that
it had all been a dream.
 When they closed their eyes, however, all they saw were their
dead comrades.

"Make good use of this time to carry out the Circulatory Cycle
Revolution. Whoever has not recovered their elemental energy
completely by the time we’re due for the next battle will be put
on the front lines." Ai Hui’s cold voice rang in everyone’s ears.
Hearing this, shivers crawled down their spines, and they
quickly sat up to do as he said. With the respect garnered from
his performance, no one dared to question Ai Hui’s authority.

Besides respect, there was fear as well.

Ai Hui’s rapid adaptation to combat and his calmness towards

life-and-death situations had struck fear into these soft and
immature students. They knew without a doubt that if they did
not do as they were told, he would definitely be callous and send
them to their deaths.

Shi Xueman, who’d been ruminating over how to encourage

everyone, suddenly realized that the problem was easily solved
with Ai Hui’s words.

She thought pensively, "So it can be resolved like this! Give

the unit members a clear directive and make them busy. This
way, they won’t have time to let their imaginations run wild."

Shi Xueman glanced at Ai Hui, admiring him yet feeling

depressed at the same time.

Compared to this fellow, she was still far behind….

She was deeply dissatisfied with her performance today.

Whenever she encountered a problem, she’d been at a loss, not
knowing what to do. If not for Ai Hui, the number of casualties
would have been much higher. In fact, she wouldn’t be
surprised to see the entire unit wiped out. It seemed that every
time she saw this fellow, she inevitably became gloomy.

It all started from that blind battle…. Shi Xueman suddenly

looked unwell.

"What’s there to daydream about? Hurry up and start your

Circulatory Circle Revolution!" A reprimanding voice suddenly
came from above her head.

"Yes!" Startled, Shi Xueman subconsciously stood and gave a

bow.

When Shi Xueman turned around and realized that the voice
belonged to Ai Hui, she was enraged and tempted to give him a
good beating.

But she breathed in and calmed herself. There was nothing to

be depressed about. She thought, "I have to pick myself up and
not lose out to this a*shole."

For some unknown reason, she could not stand being looked
down on by Ai Hui.

…..

Ai Hui did not rest or carry out the Circulatory Cycle

Revolution; he had many other things to do.

He threw the blood ant at Lou Lan and said, "Lou Lan, try and
see what kind of chilies are more effective against our cute baby
ant."
 "Okay, Ai Hui." Lou Lan caught the blood ant, and his eyes
flickered with a yellow light. He was intrigued by Ai Hui’s
suggestion. Until now, the mummified blood ant was the first
blood fiend to have been captured.

It was only because of Lou Lan that Ai Hui had thought of

capturing a blood ant to study it. Given Ai Hui’s capability,
killing one was no problem, but asking him to study them was
impossible.

Ai Hui walked to the message tree and took off the leaf from
his neck and hung it on the tree branch. When the leaf and the
tree branch were connected, he wrote, "It has been confirmed.
Blood ants do not like chilies."

After a pause, he added one more line, "Even though they are
both red."

As soon as he finished writing this sentence, he felt content

and more relaxed. Happiness was not determined by what was
happening around you but rather by what was happening
within you.

"We’ve captured a blood ant alive and will carry out some
tests to see which formulation will work best against it. Do you
have any suggestions? Everyone in the city must participate in
the battle against the blood ants. We’ve just come back from
one. A batch of blood ants that have finished one round of
transformations was found in the city but luckily, we did not
encounter them. Some feel that the main reason behind the
blood ants’ transformation is their desire to devour
elementalists."

Once he finished writing his message, he sat below the

message tree and stared blankly into space.

After a while, the leaf lit up.

"My dear friend, I’m so glad that you’re still alive. Do the
blood ants repel the chilies or do the chilies repel the blood
ants? I need you to test it out. I’m more concerned about the
reason behind the blood ants’ transformation. Perhaps you can
try feeding it a piece of dire beast meat. If it does not like it,
then I think your reasoning may be valid: blood ants, or blood
fiends, desire the elemental energy developed by elementalists."

Almost immediately, Ai Hui yelled, "Lou Lan, feed a piece of

dire beast meat to the blood ant!"
 "Yes, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied. After a while, Lou Lan said, "Ai
Hui, it does not seem too interested in the dire beast meat.’

Ai Hui’s throat was dry and his limbs were trembling slightly.

This was the worst answer possible.

If the elemental energy of an elementalist was the main

criteria for the blood fiends’ transformation, then that implied
that a blood fiend’s prey was an elementalist. Devouring them
made a blood fiend more powerful…. Alternatively, one could
also say that if a blood fiend wanted to become more powerful,
it needed to devour elementalists. It could only be imagined
how frantic the blood fiends were in hunting them down.

With such a large number of blood fiends, how many of them

would complete one round of transformation? The blood fiends
would become increasingly stronger while the Avalon of Five
Elements would become increasingly weaker. It could be
theorized, then, that there would be many elementalists joining
the ranks of blood elementalists for this reason.

Furthermore, there was also the Blood of God.

 Or should he himself join the ranks of blood elementalists and
bootlick the Blood of God? That future seemed brighter than the
Avalon of Five Elements’! Furthermore, with his relationship
with One Thousand Yuan, he might even obtain a pretty good
position.

Ai Hui sat in a daze, not saying a single word.

After an unknown period of time, he returned to his senses

and calmed down. He then wrote on the leaf, "It’s been
confirmed. The blood ant is not interested in the dire beast
meat. It seems the future of the Avalon of Five Elements is
bleak. What good suggestions do you have? For example, maybe
I should become closer with the Blood of God? Or anything you
can suggestion for my next round of battle?"

After a while, the leaf lit up.

"My dear friend, don’t be too pessimistic. The Avalon of Five

Elements was built upon a series of wars, not a soft and loose
desert. Its history is short, not yet entering its twilight. The
smell of blood and smoke has not yet been forgotten. All right,
this is all nonsense. Honestly speaking, we have no other choice.
If you encounter the transformed blood ants, you must run
away. If you fail to escape from them, take note of the blood
traces on their bodies. Their weaknesses definitely lie there,
though I don’t exactly know why that is so. Good luck."

Ai Hui laughed bitterly to himself and took down the leaf and
hung it around his neck.

Blood traces?

Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows. What the hell was that?

He shook his head and tossed aside the negative thoughts. Let
nature take its course. The other party was right; they had no
other way.

When Ai Hui remembered One Thousand Yuan, he trembled

in fear. She was indeed beautiful, but her heart was as
poisonous as a python. Even if One Thousand Yuan requested
that he switch sides, he would not do it. That woman was too
evil. And remembering the mysterious blood refinement and
how those elementalists had exploded, he felt deeply disturbed.

The Blood of God was a bunch of lunatics, horrifying lunatics.

 Ai Hui did not dare to switch sides to a bunch of lunatics.

Ai Hui began his unique Circulatory Cycle Revolution during

which the sword embryo became more active. It throbbed in a
slow and orderly rhythm, both strong and sturdy, each throb
producing a deep and powerful echo within his brain.

…..

The Jade Embroidery Workshop.

Wang Shouchuan looked haggard. With an unconcealable

look of weariness on his face, he said, "You really know how to
bullshit. Treat the city like a piece of cloth, who has even done it
before? You’re already so old. How come your temperament has
not dampened yet?"

Surprisingly, Han Yuqin had no retort. She even took the

initiative to pour him a cup of tea. With a demure tone, she said,
"Thank you for your hard work."

Treat the city like a piece of cloth. Indeed, no one had done it
before. It was, after all, an idea inspired by the formation her
husband had spoken of.

"There’s nothing difficult about it. I’m just afraid that you’ll
embarrass yourself. If you can’t fulfill your promise and
humiliate yourself, won’t you be angry? Furthermore, what’s so
special about formations? They belong to the trash bin of
history." Wang Shouchuan laughed.

He did not understand why his wife would bring him

unnecessary troubles, especially such a dangerous task.

"I know you’re worried about me, that something might

happen to me. Both of us already have one foot in the grave
after all. I’ve been married to you since I was twenty years old,
and we’ve never parted since. The furthest we’ve ever distanced
ourselves was a few streets away. I don’t have many regrets in
this life of mine. Even if I die now, I will rest in peace." Han
Yuqin looked at Wang Shouquan with tears welling up in her
eyes. "But what about Mingxiu and Ai Hui? It’s not possible for
them to die with us. Mingxiu is my favorite disciple, and Ai Hui
is your first disciple. I don’t care about other people in the city,
but I don’t want Mingxiu and Ai Hui dying in Central Pine City."

Wang Shouchuan was stunned.

 "The entire city has been mobilized, and Ai Hui has already
been to one battle. The results were rather good. Mingxiu is
scheduled to be in one of the last few units to set off. Ai Hui can
hold his own in battles; this kind of violent scenario is perfect
for him. But he’s still young. If the catastrophe drags on for any
longer, he won’t be able to take it either, and it’s even worse for
Mingxiu. Shouchuan, can you help me?"

Wang Shouchuan looked at the wrinkles that over the years

filled the corners of his wife’s eyes. When he saw her gentle and
soft gaze, he was taken back to several decades ago.

That young lady was looking at him in a similar way and

asking him a question in a similar tone.

"Shouchuan, can you help me?"

She had always been like this, stubborn and determined,

never even discussing things with him beforehand.
Chapter 193: Rewards
Six people made breakthroughs in their base levels.

Shi Xueman, who had just completed her Circulatory Cycle

Revolution, was observing the rest of the students closely. Upon
seeing the six break through to the next stage, she was rather
happy. The battlefield was the best classroom. Nothing could
stimulate one’s potential better than the pressure of death.

Her joy did not last long because she had too many things to
do.

Her lousy performance during the battle had not caused her to
lose confidence and give up. The sense of failure was a rather
unfamiliar feeling for her. Even so, she did not think of giving
up. After calming down, she recalled certain details from the
battle and developed a new understanding of the things she had
learned in the past

The evidence had proven that she was not a genius in terms of
combat techniques.

She reached out to Jiang Wei, Sang Zhijun, and some of the
students to summarize the losses they had suffered during the
battle. Since she could not be a hero that saved everyone, she
could only discuss the issue with the others. By helping
everyone, everyone simultaneously helped her.

When everyone saw their eminent goddess reaching out to

them for a discussion, they became abnormally enthusiastic and
active, as if they were pumped with caffeine.

When Ai Hui, who had just completed his Circulatory Cycle

Revolution, saw the bustle, he sneered in his heart. The more
beautiful a woman was, the more dangerous she was. Someday,
all of you will understand this!

He sat down and started to recall his merits and demerits

during the battle.

He had too few moves. Having just the [Oblique Slash] and
[Misty Strike] were not enough and limited his offense in many
ways. As for escaping techniques, he would have to wait until he
attained the Initial Completion before he could obtain a pair of
azure wings. No matter how fast one ran on the ground, he or
she would still be slower than someone who was flying through
the air.
 When Ai Hui thought of escaping techniques, he thought of
the [Golden Wind Cape] and then he felt a pain on his back.
When the training hall was attacked by the blood ants, he used
the [Arching Fish Back] against the ants and completely
destroyed the [Golden Wind Cape] in the process. After all, the
cape was not as sturdy as the [Blood Bandage].

If not for the [Blood Bandage], Ai Hui would be severely

injured.

At this moment, Ai Hui sensed something and raised his head

involuntarily. A few elementalists had arrived in the sky above
the training hall. Ai Hui found some of them to be rather
familiar. One of them was the guard of the mayor. Another one,
whom Ai Hui was the most familiar with, was the officer in
charge of the warehouse.

When all of them landed on the ground, Ai Hui quickly went

forward to greet them. The rest of the students gathered as well.

The moment the warehouse officer saw Ai Hui, he smiled. "I

knew all along that your group was different from the rest. I
was correct indeed."
 "Thank you Sir for taking care of us," Ai Hui replied with
sincerity. The warehouse officer had been taking good care of
them, giving them all the good stuff. Ai Hui, who had
experienced both the warmth and chill of mankind, did not take
this for granted. For whatever reason, this person had been kind
to them. Ai Hui felt that he still had to thank the officer.

The warehouse officer was very happy as they now had a

much closer relationship than before. He winked at Ai Hui, but
did not say anything else.

A stern-looking officer then began to talk, "Due to the

outstanding performance from the A-1 unit, the mayor has
decided to give everyone a letter of commendation and unique
rewards. Every student will get 100 Heaven Merit Points. Ai Hui,
Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, Sang Zhijun, Qian Dai, Jiang
Wei, and Wang Xiaoshan will be rewarded with 200 Heaven
Merit Points each. This reward had been submitted to the Elders
through the message tree and has already been approved.

Other than Ai Hui and Fatty, everyone was overjoyed.

Heaven Merit Points?

 Both of them looked at each other and saw disapproval in the
other’s eyes. At this critical stage, why would they even bother
to use such imaginary and useless merit points to reward
everyone? Reward them with something more practical!

"Other than that, each person will be given two portions of

revitalizing powder and one piece of Central Pine Armor."

Ai Hui knew that revitalizing powder was a more practical

item. It allowed an elemental energy-depleted elementalist to
recover a portion of his or her elemental energy within a short
period of time. However, one could not take it too often as it
would cause side effects to the body.

What the hell was a piece Central Pine Armor?

It was as if the warehouse officer had expected everyone’s

misgivings, so he started to explain, "The Central Pine Armor is
a new armor that we have recently developed. Its most unique
characteristic is that it can prevent blood poison from
accidentally splashing onto you and protect you from its
harmful effects. This armor has not been forged in large
quantities yet. The mayor eventually decided to provide you all
with this armor. Right now, all of you are the pioneer users of
this armor."
 When everyone heard that the armor could protect them from
the blood poison, they became high-spirited. Right now, this
armor was undoubtedly the most important tool that they
needed.

The battlefield was extremely chaotic and a moment of

carelessness would result in them being infected with the blood
poison. Furthermore, the blood poison was extremely corrosive
toward their gear and equipment. The blood poison was the
main factor that everyone feared when they faced a blood fiend.
Even though the Central Pine Armor could not completely
resolve this problem, it still provided everyone with a sense of
security.

The greenish-grey, tree bark-like Central Pine Armor emitted

a faint pine fragrance. The armor was not good-looking and one
could clearly see that it was made in a rush from its roughness.
However, at this point of time, even Duanmu Huanghun, who
was a picky individual, equipped the armor on his body
immediately.

The most bizarre looking part of the armor was its helmet, or
rather, a conical hat that was made up of tree bark. The edge of
the conical hat continuously emitted a faint light smoke,
forming a smokescreen that completely covered the head of its
wearer. When Ai Hui put on the helmet, he was surprised to
discover that his vision was not affected by the smokescreen at
all. He could still see as clearly as usual.

"This smokescreen can block low-impact objects, like sprayed

blood. The best benefit is that it will not affect your vision at
all," the warehouse officer explained. "Other than this armor,
the mayor also asked me to pass on a batch of elemental food
ingredients to all of you. Even though these ingredients are not
dire beast-based, they are considered the best ingredients in the
warehouse."

He laughed bitterly. Meanwhile, Central Pine City’s

warehouse was not affluent. Currently, just rewarding the
students with these items almost emptied the entire warehouse.
Even though the officer thought highly of Ai Hui and his
comrades, he was surprised that the mayor would spend so
many resources on these youths.

"Help us relay our heartfelt thanks to the mayor," Shi Xueman

interjected and gave a slight polite bow.

"Rather than thanking him verbally, I think the mayor wants

all of you to be role models that encourage everyone else and
help them regain the courage that they have lost," the officer
replied sternly.
 "We will try our best," Shi Xueman answered solemnly.

"We will definitely try our best." Ai Hui nodded his head.

A look of satisfaction appeared on the faces of the

elementalists. One of them started to talk again, "Thanks to
your demolish-and-advance tactic as well as the discovery of the
efficacy of the chillies against the blood ants, our advancing
speed has increased greatly. Given the current speed, we hope to
clear up all the blood ants by sunset tomorrow. This is also why
the mayor decided to reward all of you so handsomely.

The sudden good news resulted in thunderous cheers of joy

from everyone. The dark clouds that engulfed their minds had
been significantly cleared. It was as if everyone had seen the
dawn of victory.

Smiles appeared on the elementalists’ faces as well. Then,

they reminded once more, "Have a good rest. All of you have to
launch another wave of attacks tomorrow."

After completing their task, the elementalists flew up into the

sky and returned to the mayor’s residence.
 "The rewards this time around are really bountiful." A smile
appeared on Sang Zhijun’s face. "200 Heaven Merit Points. I
never expect to earn 200 hundred Heaven Merit Points in such a
short period of time."

"What are these Heaven Merit Points?" Ai Hui could not help
but ask. "Can they be exchanged for money?"

Ai Hui’s words made immediately everyone roll their eyes.

"Oh my god, this is the first time I have heard of someone that
wants to exchange Heaven Merit Points for money! If they could
be bought with money, I would definitely buy all of your
Heaven Merit Points at any cost" Sang Zhijun’s face was filled
with incredulity.

"Country bumpkin!" Duanmu Huanghun sneered as he cast a

disdainful glance at Ai Hui.

Even Shi Xueman almost could not stand the phrase

"exchange for money."

Ai Hui did not care about how Duanmu Huanghun looked at

him. When he saw everyone’s reaction, he quickly realized that
the Heaven Merit Points were much more valuable than money.

Much more valuable than money!

Ai Hui’s eyes immediately lit up and he asked, "Come, let’s

talk about the Heaven Merit Points? What uses does it have?
How do I use it?"

Sang Zhijun quickly replied, "The Heaven Merit Points are the
highest ranking merit points in the Avalon of Five Elements.
The entire Avalon of Five Elements, including the small towns
and villages, follow the merit point system. The merit points
represent your contributions. The amount of merit points you
have will determine your status in society. For example, Central
Pine City has its own type of merit points, the Central Pine
Merit Points. The Fire Prairie uses Fire Merit Points, the Palette
Cloud Village uses Water Merit Points, the Yellow Sand Corner
uses Earth Merit Points, the Jadeite Forest uses Wood Merit
Points, and the Silver Mist Sea uses Metal Merit Points. Of
course, the most valuable type is the Heaven Merit Point as it
represents the contribution you made to the entire Avalon of
Five Elements."

"They seem like different flavors of smoked meat. So how do I

use them?"

"Smoked meat… Whether you are finding jobs or pursuing

promotion, these merit points play an important role. Without
enough merit points, you can’t get certain positions that you’re
looking for. The most important use for merit points is to
purchase resources. You can use them to buy various artifacts,
materials, inheritances, and even absolute arts."

"You can buy absolute arts with them?" Ai Hui was shocked.

"Of course! As long as you have enough merit points, you can
buy many absolute skills."

"Aren’t the various absolute arts heavily protected by their

respective clans and families?" Ai Hui did not seem to
understand.

"That’s right. However, there will be times when these clans

will request the Elders for extraordinary artifacts, medicines,
etc. If they have enough Heaven Merit Points, they can buy
them directly. But what if they don’t? You can't obtain Heaven
Merit Points through monetary means. The only way is through
trade, but what do you use to trade for them?"
 "You can convert artifacts and absolute arts into Heaven Merit
Points, then buy whatever you need," Sang Zhijun explained.

"That’s good! This can be a lucrative business!" Fatty yelled in

excitement. "We decide the price of the resources, and we are
the only ones with Heaven Merit Points. There are really a lot of
business opportunities in this place. This is absolutely a
profitable business!"

Ai Hui cared more about the other problem. "Don’t the clans
worry about their absolute arts being leaked to outsiders?"

"Usually, it’s only during critical moments that these clans

would trade their absolute arts away. Otherwise, why would
they do it?" Shi Xueman interjected. She knew a lot more about
these prestigious families. "Furthermore, absolute arts are first-
rate inheritances. What is an inheritance? An inheritance is an
art that’s passed down through the generations. Every clan in
their right mind would keep on improving their absolute arts.
This is done to ensure that their future generations would
surpass the older generations. If they can’t achieve this, they
will decline as time passes. If they can achieve this, why would
they be worried about their absolute arts being leaked to
outsiders? Most of the time, the absolute arts that are traded for
Heaven Merit Points are outdated versions. Some are even as
old as the establishment of the Avalon of Five Elements. Their
powers are much weaker than the current versions."

It was at this moment that Ai Hui realized what was going on.
"I see. If what you said is true, why would people buy outdated
absolute arts?"

"Even if the absolute arts are outdated, they are still absolute
arts. Furthermore, developing a new absolute art depends on
one’s innate capability and enlightenment," Shi Xueman replied
coldly. "Of course, if you’re gifted enough, you might even come
up with your own absolute art while you’re sleeping."

What a joke!

When Ai Hui realized he only had 200 Heaven Merit Points,

but was already thinking of buying absolute skills and looking
down on outdated absolute skills, he could not help but laugh.
Chapter 194: Casualties And Hidden
Dangers
"Let’s think about it practically. What can we buy with 200
Heaven Merit Points?"

"There ought to be a lot of stuff that we can buy. This is the

first time we’re getting Heaven Merit Points. What’s with that
look?"

"Think about it. That’s provided we can survive this

catastrophe. Therefore, it’s pointless to talk about this. Why not
we buy some dry goods?"

"That’s provided the mayor has enough of them."

...

Shi Xueman’s explanation on absolute arts roused Ai Hui.

The dazzle of genius was like a blossomed flower. The

knowledge that was built upon generations of hard work was
absorbed silently by the roots of the flower. Surpassing the
older generations was a form of respect to their ancestors. It
represented the confidence and courage of the new generation.

It felt gratifying to have an absolute art be passed down and

studied for generations.

Ai Hui was envious as he continued his seemingly fruitless

training. All right, there was no one to lead him and the process
was rather lonely, but he had no limitations and could do
whatever he wanted.

This should be how a pioneer felt. The feelings of solitude and

helplessness were coupled with a heroic spirit.

Ai Hui broke into a laughter. The feeling of depicting himself

as a supreme individual was rather encouraging.

Shi Xueman cast a glance at him, not knowing why he was

laughing. However, when she saw Ai Hui had started to practice
his swordplay, she withdrew her gaze and focused on the
discussion with the other students.

Her notebook was densely-packed with notes taken from the

fruitful discussion. Most of these notes corresponded to the
information that she read in books related to art of war.
Everyone gave her heaps of praise as they felt that she was a
natural born leader. She felt very embarrassed by these words.
The previous battle had made her realize that having theoretical
debates was pointless.

As the discussion went in-depth, a series of terrifying training

routines were drawn up.

There was going to be another battle tomorrow. Without

hesitation, everyone began practicing.

In the students’ hearts, Shi Xueman and Ai Hui were

completely different from each other. For Ai Hui, his authority
caused everyone to fear him and to have confidence in him at
the same time. For Shi Xueman, everyone trusted her like a
friend.

"Fatty, why are you not training?" Lou Lan shouted.

Fatty, who was sleeping soundly in one corner, woke up

feeling terror-stricken.
 "Lou Lan, supervise Fatty. 200 sets of sprinting!"

Ai Hui’s cold voice resounded through the air.

"No problem, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied cheerfully.

"Lou Lan, why do you have to do this to me?" Fatty sobbed

with a frowning face.

"Fatty, Lou Lan is doing this for your own good," Lou Lan
replied lightheartedly.

Poof.

Lou Lan conjured a sand-made whip and started brandishing

it. "Fatty, 200 sets!"

…..

The mayor’s residence.

 "… Currently, the battle results are remarkable. Our
advancing speed has far exceeded what we anticipated before
the start of the battle. Tomorrow, it’s even possible that we do
not need to activate all of our elite units. However, note that we
have encountered three completely transformed blood ants
today. They have caused us heavy casualties. It has been
estimated that the number of transformed blood ants will
increase tomorrow. The recommended offensive for tomorrow
is to place elite elementalists at various blocks of the streets
beforehand to handle any possible dangers."

"… The total number of deaths today amounts to 5,721. The

total number of injured individuals amounts to 1,655. These
individuals have been quarantined. The casualties are
devastating. The fighting capabilities of the students and
residents that survived have increased sharply. Note that the
number of people that we have quarantined has reached 3,100.
Our doctors have not found a remedy for the blood poison.
There are already 26…"

The voice was trembling as it read out the chilling numbers.

Each number was equivalent to a human life.

"26 what?" the mayor raised his head for the first time and
asked with stern voice.
 "These individuals have their bodies undergo huge changes.
Their muscles become thicker and harder, their hair become
denser, and their powers become terrifyingly strong. The
elemental energy in their bodies are devoured by the blood
poison and transformed into an unknown force. This
mysterious force is the main culprit for the transformations in
their bodies. However, it also bestows unique powers to them at
the same time. We have a few wood elementalists that were
almost killed by them."

"The Elders Guild has been studying this kind of force. It has
an inextricable link with the blood refinement methods from
the Cultivation Era. Blood sacrifices, underworld, soul-
refinement, zombies, etc. Blood-refinement is viewed by the
living as the power of death. The transformation of one’s body
caused by the blood poison is known as beastification.
Currently, the Elders Guild has not found a cure for it."

"Beastification…" This was the first time the mayor showed

fear in his eyes.

On one side, the dean’s face was already filled with terror.

There was an absolute silence in the hall.

 "Right now, the problem is what do we do with the 3,100
quarantined people if the beastification can’t be stopped?"

Gasping in horror, everyone’s heart stopped beating. There

was a dead suffocating silence in the hall.

….

The Vanguard Training Hall.

This time around, Ai Hui’s luck was not as good. After one
night of trial and error, he did not develop any new moves, like
a fishing boat that returned with an empty net from a fishing
trip.

Ai Hui was not discouraged as this was normal.

He raised his head. The moon was bright and the amount of
stars in the night sky were sparse. The courtyard, however, was
filled with intense heat.

Fatty was fully-armored, his hands were holding a heavy

shield, and there was a huge fire vat on his back. He let out a
boar-like roar as he sprinted forward with all his might. If this
was in the past, Ai Hui would have found it unpleasant to hear.
However, at this point of time, it sounded rather refreshing.

On the other side, Shi Xueman led everyone in trying out

different training routines. Jiang Wei’s stern shouts and Sang
Zhijun’s cold taunts could constantly be heard. The young and
tender faces of the students were filled with focus and sweat.
For the sake of surviving, no one was complaining.

For some unknown reason, Ai Hui felt slightly touched.

This place was different from the Wilderness. In the

Wilderness, one would never see this kind of focus and struggle
for survival. He mostly saw numbness, emptiness, and fear from
the people in the Wilderness. They were waiting for death to
come.

In this place, no one was willing to resign to death. Perhaps it

took strength or the determination to preserve one’s dignity in
order to defy a doomed fate?

Okay, I am becoming more and more melancholic. It seems

I’m not tired enough.

Ai Hui started stretching his limbs. When he felt that he had

regained most his energy, his facial expression became solemn
once more.

He wanted to try to use the [Big Dipper] to execute the [Misty

Strike] and [Oblique Slash]. What would the outcome be?

The seven palaces in his body trembled together, each

simultaneously releasing a strand of elemental energy. The
seven strands of elemental energy merged together and entered
his arm. However, by the time this happened, he had already
finished executing the [Oblique Slash].

The channeling speed of his elemental energy was too slow.

Ai Hui stopped what he was doing. It was easy to identify

where it went wrong when he recalled every single detail. He
was still not accustomed to the elemental energy channeling
method of the [Big Dipper]. For his other moves, their elemental
energy channeling methods had always been simple and
straightforward. The only complicated one belonged to the
[Crescent Moon] technique.
 After realizing what the problem was, Ai Hui continued to
channel his elemental energy and brandish his sword.

Fail, fail, fail…

Like a stone statue, Ai Hui’s face did not move a single iota. He
kept on executing the [Oblique Slash], behaving like an
emotionless sand puppet.

Upon seeing this scene, the students would always cast an

involuntary glance at Lou Lan.

"Faster Fatty! Come on!"

"Fatty, you can do it!"

"Fatty, if you run any slower, I will make you drink the
Dragon Soup!"

...
 Lou Lan’s encouragements were fanciful and surging with
fervor.

They were the most bizarre duo of master and sand puppet.
The master behaved more like a sand puppet than his sand
puppet, while his sand puppet behaved more like a human than
the master.

Fatty would definitely agree with this statement. After

finishing 200 sets of sprints, he collapsed onto the ground. His
sweat began forming a small puddle beneath his body. His
heavy panting rubbed against his throat, as if he would produce
sparks from his throat at any moment. His mind was blank,
which signaled that his body was reaching its physical limit.

Lou Lan brought out a pail of water and a bunch of straws

appeared out of thin air in his hand. Next, he put one end of the
cluster of straws into the pail of water and the other end into
Fatty’s mouth.

"Fatty, good one! Take a break. Lou Lan needs to start

working as well."

Lou Lan had already found the chili formulation that the
blood ants hated the most. For a sand puppet that was well-
versed in cooking and medicine, as long as he was working in
the right direction, he would be able to determine the most
suitable formulation with abnormal accuracy.

The battle would start after dawn. Lou Lan needed to make
enough of his brand new chili concoction.

He had to work hard to help Ai Hui!

Lou Lan raised his small fist in determination.

Gurgle gurgle. The level of water inside the pail was

decreasing at a visible rate.

Fatty was finally able to breathe as he struggled to sit up. Just

as he was about to start whining, he saw Ai Hui brandishing his
sword emotionlessly, so he quickly shut his mouth.

No one understood Ai Hui’s ruthlessness more than Fatty. The

scariest part of Ai Hui was his ruthlessness. He was even
ruthless to himself, repeatedly punishing and torturing himself.
The level of Ai Hui’s training was extraordinary.
 For a person who was so heartless to himself, how vicious
would he be toward other people then?

Better not provoke Ai Hui!

This was the conclusion that Fatty came up with after

following Ai Hui for so many years. As such, Fatty could only
clench his teeth and endure with regards to Ai Hui’s
expectations for his training. He did so because he knew that
enduring the pain of Ai Hui’s training was better than
experiencing the pain of Ai Hui’s beatings if he failed to
complete the training. That fellow would definitely not
sympathize with Fatty.

His nose suddenly started twitching.

Such an alluring fragrance… It smelled familiar, but he could

not tell what it was…

Fatty propped himself up from the ground and followed the

smell.

Bang.
 He was frightened by the sudden noise. After a while, there
another bang rang out.

What the hell was Lou Lan doing?

He was filled with curiosity. When he walked closer, he saw

Lou Lan burning a thorny fist-sized green rattan ball.

Bang. The thorny ball suddenly exploded. Accompanied by

scarlet flames, a cloud of glittering red powder sprinkled out.

The fragrance belonged to this glittering powder.

"Lou Lan, what are you doing?" Fatty could not resist gulping.

"Refining the chili powder and chili fire oil," Lou Lan replied
without raising his head.

His hands were moving nonstop. He opened the thorny green

ball, put in a chilli, closed it up, and lit it up.
 Bang. The thorny ball exploded and a cloud of glittering red
powder cascaded through the air with blazing flames, landing in
a hollow purple bamboo tube.

"I’m putting the chili into a hollow cocklebur and igniting it.
The wood elemental energy from the hollow cocklebur will then
seep into the chili. Wood feeds fire. The chili’s fire elemental
energy will be further stimulated, and the explosive power will
crush the chili and its seeds into powder. From there, we can
collect the limited chili fire oil. Fatty, look at the scarlet flames.
That’s the chili fire oil which we will collect using the flaming
purple bamboo tube. The flaming purple bamboo tube’s dual
natures of fire and wood will feed off of each other. Not only can
it hold the chili fire oil, but it also has an intoxicating effect. It’s
a pity that we don’t have enough time…"

Like the paw of a cat, a fat meaty hand reached out silently
and grabbed the purple bamboo tube.

Lou Lan was stunned when he turned around.

Fatty was gulping the liquid inside the bamboo tube. When
the last drop of chili fire oil that, accompanied by a streak of
flames, landed in his mouth, he unwillingly put down the
bamboo tube and uttered his catch phrase.
"Another bowl?"
Chapter 195: Fire Enhancing Soup
Another bowl?

Lou Lan was stunned. Fatty was stunned as well.

Wait… did he just drink… chili fire oil? Chili! Fire! Oil!

Fatty’s eyes widened abruptly. A blazing flush could be seen

extending from his neck upward. His fingers crooked
involuntarily as they ended up grabbing nothing but air,
resembling someone who was drowning and struggling to stay
alive.

He looked at Lou Lan with agony on his face as he felt lava

surging through his throat. This resulted in him crying while
speaking unclearly. "Rou Ran…"

"Fatty, wait for me!" Lou Lan exclaimed before he turned

around and dashed into his room.

Sitting alone on the ground, Fatty wanted to cry, but there

were no tears coming out from his eyes. He had realized how
stupid he was. Every second was torture to him. Rather than
cold tiles, the floor beneath his butt felt like a volcanic crater.
His body was burning. Indeed, he felt like a roasted pig now. His
entire body was surging with flames.

Fatty never thought that he would one day see flames flowing
under his skin.

But now he had seen it.

Flames were seeping out of the pores of his skin, resembling

red flaming snakes that slithered across his skin.

Fatty took off the armor on his body in a hurry. The shirt he
wore had already been set aflame.

A bowl of clear liquid that was emitting a tinge of frost

appeared before him.

At this moment, Fatty was filled with gratitude toward Lou

Lan. Lou Lan was such a nice sand puppet. He was always
reliable at such critical moments. Fatty did not even bother to
thank Lou Lan before taking the bowl and gulping down the
liquid.

A chill went right through his body!

Fatty felt that the temperature of his skin dropped almost

immediately. He squinted his eyes, feeling so relieved that he
wanted to start moaning. However, he suddenly realized that
his vision became somewhat brighter. Eh? What was glowing?

He opened his eyes and his face froze.

Voom, voom, voom!

The slithering flame snakes on his skin had become blazing

infernos. They shot out from his skin, resembling a stove fire
that had been stoked. The augmented and intense heat caused
his clothes to burn and vanish in a puff of smoke.

The soothing frosty feeling had disappeared. He felt as if a

volcano was about to erupt within his body.

Grasping at his last bit of hope, Fatty asked with a trembling

voice, "Wasn’t… wasn’t that water?"

"Nope," Lou Lan shook his head and replied with a serious
tone, "that was the Fire Enhancing Soup that Lou Lan specially
brewed for Fatty. The fire attribute of the chili fire oil is much
stronger than the Dragon Soup’s. Furthermore, its penetrability
is stronger than the Dragon Soup’s as well. Not only can it
penetrate through your skin, it can also penetrate through the
deepest regions of your body. Therefore, the chili fire oil has
always been viewed as an excellent enhancer that boosts fire
elemental energy. It’s a treasure to fire elementalists…"

Boom!

The flames on Fatty’s body intensified explosively and formed

a gigantic fireball. His mind blanked.

"There are very few people who dare to drink the chili fire oil
directly. The concentration of fire elemental energy in the
refined chili fire oil is 22 times stronger than the chili’s. After
the stimulation from the cocklebur, this factor can increase up
to 25 times. Fatty, you’re really brave! No wonder you can finish
a cauldron of Dragon Soup in one go. Of course, if you can drink
the chili fire oil directly, the Dragon Soup is definitely a piece of
cake for you. To make sure that you can efficiently absorb and
utilize the fire elemental energy in the oil, Lou Lan has specially
prepared the Fire Enhancing Soup. There are 17 kinds of herbs
and ingredients in it. The clear and ice cold Fire Enhancing
Soup can only be brewed through precise and perfect mixing of
these ingredients. Furthermore, the grade of the soup is limited
by the ingredients’ quality and has reached only 72% of its
potential…"

Boom!

Something seemed to have exploded within the fireball,

causing the flames to intensify. The size of the fireball suddenly
increased twofold.

Lou Lan’s eyes flickered rapidly as he continued, "Sand core,

begin the recording. The research on chili fire oil, scene one.
One minute and 46 seconds after consuming the Fire Enhancing
Soup, the respective fire elemental energy in the chili fire oil
and Fatty’s body have harmonized perfectly! The temperature
of the flames are increasing, the degree of the flames’ purity is
high, and they have been burning for 34 seconds. The fire
elemental energy is beginning to stabilize, stabilize… stabilize…
Oh, Lou Lan almost forgot about the task that Ai Hui gave him.
Lou Lan needs to continue preparing the chili concoction. Fatty,
all the best!"
 Lou Lan hastily went back and resumed preparing the chili
concoction. The chili fire oil that he had just extracted was
consumed by Fatty. This meant that he needed to start again
from scratch. Time was very limited and he needed to increase
his speed in order to not delay Ai Hui’s plan.

"Such a powerful fire elemental energy undulation!"

"Oh my! What’s going on inside? How come there’s such a

terrifying fire elemental energy undulation coming from
within?"

"I just saw that Fatty went in."

"Fatty is fire-attributed? Isn’t he a shield bearer? A fire

elemental shield bearer?"

"He’s definitely fire attributed. You forgot about his fire vat."

...

It was as if Duanmu Huanghun was able to look through the

wall. A shiver went down his spine. Such powerful fire
elemental energy undulations should not be released from the
body of an Induction Ground student.

Fatty….

He had never taken a serious look at Fatty before. In his vague

memory, Fatty was nothing more than an overweight brute that
spouted fire for an entire night. Nothing about Fatty left a deep
impression on him.

However, the display of such powerful fire elemental energy

waves was enough to show that Fatty was not someone to be
looked down upon.

Duanmu Huanghun cast a glance at Ai Hui. All of this fellow’s

friends seemed to be extraordinary.

So what? Duanmu Huanghun was still the best!

With a proud look on his face, Duanmu Huanghun scoffed and

withdrew his gaze. There was no time for him to waste on these
insignificant matters. He would not be swayed by these
distractions. He truly believed he was a genius that was going to
become a Grandmaster in the future. No matter what other
people did, it had nothing to do with him.

There was only one person who was worthy for Duanmu
Huanghun to spend his time observing.

With intense fighting spirit in his eyes, Duanmu Huanghun

looked at Ai Hui, who was practicing his swordplay and gave a
cold humph. He then withdrew his gaze and continued
practicing his [Viridescent Flower]. Being recognized as the
premier genius of the Duanmu c, he began training the
[Viridescent Flower] earlier than anyone else. It was as if he was
born for this mysterious and complicated absolute art.

From the initial vine patterns to the recently developed cloud

and lotus patterns, he had progressed extremely fast.

Time passed silently.

…...

The two sides of Soundwave Street had been almost

completely razed to the ground, having just around 10 shops still
standing. The resistance from the blood ants had become
extremely fierce. Every deployed team returned with only half
of its member surviving.

Looking slightly distracted, the supervising elementalist

observed Soundwave Street. This was the most brutal and
devastating battle he ever experienced in his life. It was as if he
had been through purgatory. He could not remember clearly
how many students had died on Soundwave Street. If it was any
other period of time, the Avalon of Five Elements would never
send so many youngsters to the battlefield.

However, no one could escape from this catastrophe. No one

could save these students except themselves.

The only thing that gave him hope and confidence was that
the situation was turning for the better.

No one had a happy-go-lucky attitude in them anymore as

battle would terminate the weak. Compared to the previous
battle, where the students displayed disorder and weakness, the
performance of the students today had greatly improved.
 "Have you heard about it! 100 Heaven Merit Points! Everyone
in the A-1 unit was rewarded with 100 Heaven Merit Points!"

"The core members were rewarded with 200 Heaven Merit

Points each!"

"Oh my god! 200 points?"

"I don’t even know whether or not I could earn 100 Heaven
Merit Points in my lifetime?"

"Hehe, you should rephrase your statement. Can you even

earn any Heaven Merit Points in your lifetime?"

...

The supervising elementalist broke into laughter. He had to

admit that the mayor’s move was masterful. Using strict and
cold military laws at first, and then followed by generous
rewards. Even the supervising elementalist himself was envious
of the 100 Heaven Merit Points.
 This was really a huge reward.

It was extremely difficult to earn Heaven Merit Points, which

made them astonishingly valuable.

Wang Zheng had not become the mayor after retiring as an

injured veteran by making use of his connections. Instead, he
had accumulated 500 Heaven Merit Points, granting him the
qualification to be one of the mayoral candidates. The selection
process for the important positions in the Avalon of Five
Elements placed a huge emphasis on Heaven Merit Points. Only
those who had a certain amount of Heaven Merit Points would
be selected.

100 Heaven Merit Points were enough to motivate someone to

sacrifice his or her life. Most people would not be able to earn
this many Heaven Merit Points in their lifetimes.

Not only were the students motivated, but even the elders in
the city were enticed by the rewards and signed up for battle.

Heaven Merit Points would give one the chance to be healed

by the top-notch divine physicians of Avalon of Five Elements,
allow one’s descendants to enter the best school and enable one
to obtain more life opportunities.

All of them had forgotten about the dangerous nature of the

blood ants.

If one was to die in the battlefield, his or her family members

could claim the Heaven Merit Points.

"They’re coming! They’re coming!"

"It’s the A-1 unit!"

"Such a weird-looking armor. It is terribly ugly and looks like

tree bark."

"What do you know? That’s the newly-created Central Pine

Armor! You won’t get it even if you want it! The mayor specially
allocated this armor to them first."

"Isn’t this too unfair?"

 "This is called capability!"

...

When Ai Hui and his counterparts walked on the street, they

immediately become the focal point of everyone on the street.
Since when had they ever been looked at in such a way by so
many people? All of them felt uneasy.

Luckily, the smokescreen from the helmet of the Central Pine

Armor covered their faces, preventing the onlookers from
seeing their facial expressions.

The supervising elementalist descended from the sky.

Ai Hui walked forward and bowed. "The A-1 unit is here to

report for duty. We are awaiting your orders, Sir!"

"There’s still 20 minute before the next wave of attacks. All of

you can take a rest first," the supervising elementalist also
replied politely.
 With 100 Heaven Merit Points in their hands, these students
did not want to die. After they graduated from the Induction
Ground, a lot of opportunities would be opened up to them. No
matter what jobs they pursued, they were already ahead of
everyone else in the rat race.

"Yes," Ai Hui replied politely.

"Eh, where’s that big fellow with the gigantic fire vat on his
back?" the supervising elementalist asked upon noticing that
Fatty was not present. Fatty’s physical appearance was
extremely distinctive.

"He just had a breakthrough in his base level and has not
stabilized yet. Hence, I did not bring him here," Ai Hui
explained.

Spouting fire should be considered a breakthrough. The fact

he had not finished spouting fire meant that he had not yet
stabilized.

Ai Hi thought to himself. The absence of Fatty had impacted

them significantly on the battlefield. The task of protecting
Wang Xiaoshan thus fell onto Duanmu Huanghun’s lap.
 Duanmu Huanghun was not happy at this decision. However,
he could not do anything as Ai Hui could shut him up with one
sentence: "Who killed more blood ants during the last battle?"

The number of blood ants Ai Hui destroyed during the

previous battle was far more than the amount Duanmu
Huanghun had killed. Hence, how was it possible to assign the
person with the strongest fighting capabilities as the caretaker?

Duanmu Huanghun’s face was gloomy and his body was

emitting killer intent. He looked as if he did not anyone to get
too close to him. Wang Xiaoshan was standing beside Duanmu
Huanghun with a pale-white face, but did not dare to wander
too far from him either.

At this point of time, a blood-curdling screech sounded from

street.

The supervising elementalist turned his head abruptly and his

facial expression changed drastically. "Blood-traced ant!"

A red streak surged toward them with lightning speed.

Chapter 196: Blood-traced Ant
The red figure was astonishingly fast, but so was Ai Hui’s
reaction. He swiftly sidestepped and slashed with his
Dragonspine Inferno, which was emitting a faint light as it
collided impactfully with the red blur.

Clank!

Ai Hui jolted, as if struck by a thunderbolt. A heavy force

swept through the sword, and he felt as if he held in his hand a
hot soldering iron.

Ai Hui gave a stifled groan and gripped the sword hilt tightly
as his body flew backward uncontrollably.

Ai Hui’s slash had slowed the red figure down considerably,

allowing him to see it clearly for the first time.

It was as large as a dog, which was heftier than most ordinary

blood ants were, and the red carapace was marked with messy
but mysterious black stripes.
 When he spotted the stripes, Ai Hui’s first impression was of
danger. He didn’t dare to look at it any longer, or else risk
having his mind and spirit drawn into it!

The supervising elementalist reacted with a furious roar, and

with the string of his longbow as a blade, he slashed at the
blood-traced ant. The string trembled slightly and transformed
into a light blade with a dazzling illumination. A sharp and
piercing aura was released on the entire area as if a peerless
saber had been unsheathed.

Someone received Ai Hui from behind—it was Shi Xueman.

As soon as they landed on the ground, Ai Hui shouted

anxiously, "Everyone step back!"

Ordinary students were of no help in a battle of this scale;

instead, it was more likely that the ant would take advantage of
them. The frightened students’ faces were pallid. Even Ai Hui
was knocked back by one strike from the ant. How terrifying
was this monster?

Just as the light blade was about to land, the markings on the
ant brightened without warning. Boom! A dazzling, bloody light
pierced the air.

The supervising elementalist was shocked to see the light

blade in his hand sink into the midst of a muddy blood sea, its
power sharply collapsing.

The bloody light went straight for his eyebrows. It was like a
violent, surging wave of a blood sea that would soon devour
him.

With a slight shift in his expression, the elementalist’s rich

combat experience saved his life. He loosened his grip on the
bow and slapped it. By using the elastic momentum, he
ricocheted backwards.

With irritation, he realized that the blood-traced ant was far

tougher to deal with than he originally thought. He wouldn’t let
himself get into such a disadvantageous position again.

He had underestimated the enemy!

In that moment, he noticed a pair of cruel and ruthless eyes

that was fixated on him with a bloody light.
 Whoosh!

His expression changed upon seeing the ant become a bloody

blur.

From behind him, a snow-white spear shot out silently.

Clank!

Cirrus accurately struck the ant. Shi Xueman stifled a groan,

but she was well-prepared and dispersed most of the force with
the spinning spear. Without retreating, she advanced and
stabbed the blood-traced ant with the swiftly rotating spear as
the tip of the spear howled viciously.

After receiving Ai Hui, she realized the ant’s astonishing

strength that belied its small size. It shocked her to know that Ai
Hui was disadvantaged in a confrontation of strength.

The blood-traced ant parried, and suddenly three reflections

appeared from the sky. The sudden change left no time for Shi
Xueman to think, and her Cirrus stabbed into one of them.
 Feeling the emptiness at the end of the spear, Shi Xueman
knew she’d been fooled.

With arrow-like precision, a crimson figure emitting a bloody

gleam arrived in front of Shi Xueman with its red-and-black
mandibles like blood-stained scissors.

Shi Xueman felt her blood freeze. She was certain those
scissor-like mandibles would easily shear off her thin neck.

At that moment, a glare like a shooting star darted past her

neck and precisely hit the mandibles.

[Misty Strike]!

With a thunderous crash akin to the sounds produced by

collision of saber and spear, the blood-traced ant trembled and
rebounded backwards.

Ai Hui then retrieved the longbow and threw it to the

supervising elementalist.
 Shi Xueman landed on the ground, her heart still fluttering
with fear. She felt at that moment just how close to death she
had been. Her hand which held the spear trembled non-stop.

"Stop dreaming!" Ai Hui’s reproach brought Shi Xueman back

to reality.

Her face turned red.

Suddenly, the twangs of bows sounded from behind, one after

another.

They came from Jiang Wei’s heavy bow, Sang Zhijun’s [Arrow
Fusion Technique], and most powerful of all, from the
supervising elementalist’s longbow. He had a brush with death
just now, and this was his furious revenge. He released his
bowstring with a slight delay behind the other two’s, right as
the ant lost control of its body.

The string rang with a thunderous noise as his elemental

energy fluctuated powerfully and burst out.

The entirety of Soundwave Street was bathed in the silvery

light.

This there, there was no howling to be heard. The Sky Edge

Arrow, despite its delayed release, reached the target first.

The ant’s bloody light burst out once more.

The Sky Edge Arrow faltered slightly, but the bloody light was
split open, no longer able to withstand the sharp, silvery light.
Just as the ant was about to be pierced by the arrow, a shocking
event unfolded.

The blood-traced ant rolling in the air suddenly ejected

several red streams from its expansive abdomen.

It changed trajectory, narrowly avoiding the Sky Edge Arrow.

Jet streams continued to eject from its pores, allowing it to

dodge strangely like a marionette attached to strings.

All of Sang Zhijun’s and Jiang Wei’s arrows missed as well.

 Everyone was stunned by the change of events. Only now did
they notice the pores on the ant’s abdomen where the red
streams had been ejected.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

By ejecting the air currents, the ant regained its balance and
steadily landed from the sky.

The emotionless compound eyes stared at the figures in front

of it, realizing that they were more difficult to deal with than its
previous prey.

Soundwave Street was deadly silent.

They were still stunned at the blood-traced ant’s fighting

capability. The killing moves had appeared in an instant, and
some students were still unable to comprehend what had come
to pass.

Too fast!
 The ant faced Ai Hui and others and began to retreat slowly.

The supervising elementalist, still mired in shock, didn’t issue

an order to pursue and attack. He’d been determined to win
with his final attack, but the ant managed to escape so easily
that he still could not believe it. In the midst of his deep-seated
fear, he didn’t know how to proceed.

Ai Hui stared at the ant fixedly.

When the blood-traced ant began to retreat, a peculiar light

flashed in his eyes. With his fighting experience from the
Wilderness with all kinds of beasts and wild creatures, he knew
their patterns well. From the ant’s withdrawal, he guessed that
it was tired.

He became more certain of his speculation when he saw that

the stripes on its carapace had dimmed. Therefore, he was
resolved.

"Get ready!" Ai Hui said calmly.

Everyone else was surprised and couldn’t help but look at Ai

Hui.

Unmoved by the stares, he said, "I’ll take point with Shi

Xueman. Duanmu Huanghun and Lou Lan, follow us from ten
steps away. Sang Zhijun and Jiang Wei, keep a distance of fity
steps from us. Sang Zhijun, be ready with your Bunny Hair
Arrows. Lou Lan, prepare the chili concoction."

Shi Xueman settled at Ai Hui’s side without hesitation before

exchanging a glance with him.

"What we need to do is defend and entangle it," Ai Hui said in

a low voice.

"No problem." Shi Xueman nodded.

They approached the blood-traced ant slowly but firmly.

The ant didn’t expect that they would dare to close in and
immediately became ferocious. It angrily flapped its
membranous wings which hummed with a harsh and
unpleasant sound.
 Ai Hui laughed. "It's tired."

Shi Xueman didn’t know how Ai Hui made that judgment, but
there was no doubt in her mind. Her grip on Cirrus was tight
and her steps were firm.

Lou Lan immediately transformed into a sandy spraying cart

with a long spout that pointed towards the ant.

Lou Lan’s transformation elicited some exclamations.

Transformation was a common and useful skill in sand

puppets, but normally, they turned into lions, tigers, or traps at
the most. To see Lou Lan changing into a spraying cart….

How eccentric was the earth elementalist who created it?

Walking beside the spraying cart, Duanmu Huanghun was a

bit distressed. Why did Ai Hui have such a strange sand puppet?

He narrowed his eyes. Although he didn’t participate in the

confrontation with the blood-traced ant, he attempted to find
methods to deal with it. On the surface, he seemed to be
strolling idly and calmly, but a hidden thin and green twig
appeared at his finger, circling flexibly like a small green snake.

The ant became more restless with the addition of Lou Lan
and Duanmu Huanghun.

When Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun began to follow as well, the
ant calmed down and continued its retreat.

Seeing this, the supervising elementalist felt ashamed of

himself. Even a student yet to graduate from the Induction
Ground could do better than he did.

With years of idle living, his courage had eroded.

He breathed deeply, filling his body with elemental energy

that exuded into the air around him. The bow in his hand
suddenly shined with a bright luminescence, the gleaming,
silvery light turning the ordinary longbow into a peerless
treasure that was astonishingly imposing.

The blood-traced ant stopped its retreat. It sensed the danger

that came with being targeted by its attackers and instinctively
realized that if it withdrew any further, it would be jeopardized.

The elementalist’s hair and beard drifted as he slowly pulled

back the arrowless bowstring. On it converged a silvery light
that gradually took the form of an arrow, and his imposing aura
became more apparent.

The blood-traced ant on the ground could sense the dangers it

faced. Its black marks shined once again with a bloody red light
that encompassed its body so strongly that others couldn’t
clearly discern its body anymore—all except for an emotionless
and clear pair of eyes that seemed able to pierce into one’s
deepest fears and cowardice.

The red light eroded the ground beneath it, making it soon
collapse into a pit. The blood-traced ant remained suspended
over it.

Shi Xueman could not help but look up, but Ai Hui remained
unmoved and stared at the blood-traced ant.

Bang!
 The twang of a released bowstring came from the sky.

A silvery arrow streaked down from the sky, leaving behind it

a trailing light.

Sky Bow – Light Binding Arrow!

Meanwhile, Ai Hui shouted loudly, "Lou Lan!"

Before he finished calling out, he had already stamped on the

ground and bravely advanced with his sword.
Chapter 197: Blood Crystal
Although the beam of light was thin, it had devastating
destructive power. Compared to it, the bloody light surrounding
the ant was like fragile paper and was immediately pierced. The
beam shot straight into the back of the ant, penetrating through
it and out of its abdomen. Afterwards, there was a narrow yet
deep hole left behind in the ground.

The blood-traced ant’s shrill scream resounded through the

air. The bloody light stirred violently like water, and its cold,
compound eyes turned scarlet.

A cloud of red mist erupted from Lou Lan’s spraying pipe.

Though most of the mist evaporated upon contact with the
bloody light, a small amount managed to bypass the light and
reach the back of the ant.

The pepper water made with the new formula did not smell as
spicy as before, but it was more effective.

With this attack, the ant began to roll frantically on the

ground, tossing sand and detritus in all directions. Under its
devastation, the rigid ground underneath it was fragile. Its eyes
scarlet, blood from its abdominal wound spilled out and spread
the sweet and fragrant smell of blood poison into the air.

In a flash, Ai Hui flew past the flying sand and detritus, the
Dragonspine Inferno trembling slighitly in his hand.

His concentration was at its peak, and everything in his vision

seemed to slow. He could even clearly note the trajectory of the
detritus flying past his cheeks.

The rage in the blood-traced ant’s eyes was dying down,

which indicated that the pepper water was losing effect.

There was an insufficient amount of pepper water, and even

less reached the ant. Despite that, he felt fortunate that it
worked. After all, the blood-traced ant was far larger than an
ordinary blood ant.

The world around him was clearly reflected in Ai Hui’s mind.

He knew he had only one chance.

[Big Dipper] was fully activated, and the elemental energy in

his body was flowing at an unprecedented speed. The strand of
elemental energy immediately took shape between his hand and
foot palaces.

[Crescent Moon]!

Ai Hui used his most powerful killing move without

hesitation.

A sword ray like moonlight flew out from his Dragonspine

Inferno.

As soon as Ai Hui’s strike hit the ant’s body, nearly half of its
back was cleaved off.

But it was not dead yet. Its bloody body dashed recklessly
towards Ai Hui, driven mad from the severe pain of losing half
of its back.

Seeing the ant rushing at him, Ai Hui used his tiptoes to

retreat rapidly.

Ai Hui was fast enough, but he still smelled a sweet fragrance

and watched as a bite rapidly came at him.
 At that moment, a green twining twig extended from the
ground and suddenly appeared in front of the ant.

In its mad dash, the ant was unprepared and lost its balance.
Instead of rushing towards Ai Hui, it was rolling towards him
now.

Good chance!

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. The ingrate was making good progress.
The trip was a small trick but proved effective with its timing.
He grasped the chance and halted his retreat. Instead, he
slashed at the rolling ant that approached him with the
Dragonspine Inferno in his hand.

A snow-white spear shot at the ant with an imposing aura,

like a white whale breaking the surface of clouds.

Shi Xueman shoved her Cirrus into the ant with amazing
power before Ai Hui was able to.

Puff!
 The spear once again pierced the blood-traced ant.

Nevertheless, Ai Hui’s expression twisted as he realized that

the situation was not as good as they thought.

The ant, regardless of its injuries, hung onto the now-

bloodstained white spear and crazily rushed at Shi Xueman. The
scissor-like mandibles emitted sounds of sharp winds as they
readied to bite into Shi Xueman’s arm.

Despite Shi Xueman’s adaptations to combat, she didn’t

expect that even after incurring deadly injuries, the ant would
still be able to attack them ferociously. Her face paled.

Bang!

In a flash of inspiration, Ai Hui’s slash became a slap. The

Dragonspine Inferno was used as a stick and impacted the
mandibles with great force.

Sparks flew in every direction!

 Hand trembling, Ai Hui tightly gripped the hilt of the sword
that almost ricocheted. Under the rebound’s power, he gave a
muffled groan while he was sent flying backward. He originally
intended to take advantage of the ant with a slash, but never did
he expect for it to become a direct confrontation of power. He
lost control of his body and was thrown into the sky.

Just as he was about to hit the ground, the spraying cart

rushed to him.

"Ai Hui, Lou Lan is here!" Lou Lan said happily. As soon as Ai
Hui heard this, his body immediately relaxed.

The spraying cart transformed into a sand net that caught Ai

Hui precisely.

The sand net then turned into a palm that placed Ai Hui at the
helm of the cart, which had previously been a spraying pipe.

The ant, on the other hand, was like a ball hit by Ai Hui and
slid out of the Cirrus.

Shi Xueman was dumbstruck. She stared blankly at the blood-

traced ant that was getting farther and farther away in the sky.

The spraying cart carried Ai Hui closer and stopped beside Shi
Xueman, who was still absent-minded. Ai Hui said lightly,
"Don’t get too close to a dying beast unless you want to die with
it."

As soon as he saw Shi Xueman’s spear pierce the ant, he’d

realized it was far from good.

Whether human or beast, the final attack before its dying

breath was always the most ferocious and powerful because it
carried the combined force of its hatred and desperation.

Then, turning his head, Ai Hui spoke highly of Duanmu

Huanghun, "Hey ingrate, your move was really tactful."

Duanmu Huanghun’s face froze.

Ingrate….

He must’ve said that so loudly on purpose!

 Duanmu Huanghun at once felt as though everyone was
staring at him.

Damn it! Bastard!

Anger grew in Duanmu Huanghun, his blue veins standing

out starkly against his temples. He wanted to rush at Ai Hui and
bash his head with a brick many times, but as soon as he
remembered that he really owed money to this bastard, he
struggled to restrain his impulses.

He was a perfectionist, and he couldn’t bear a stain like this in

his life. He had no problem starting a fight without any reason
since he had done so many times, but he could never beat up a
person to whom he owed money.

He hardened his resolve. As soon as he left this place, the first

thing he’d do is pay off his debt.

And the first thing after that would be to beat this bastard to
death.

Definitely! Undoubtedly!
 Duanmu Huanghun clenched his fists tightly and visualized Ai
Hui kneeling in front of him, wailing and whining bitterly. He
immediately felt more at peace.

The supervising elementalist descended from the sky, and as

soon as he landed, he staggered slightly.

His elemental energy was nearly consumed from the Light

Binding Arrow.

"You’ve made another contribution." He glanced at Ai Hui,

who had displayed courage and accurate timing in this battle.
This student had managed to outperform him, a veteran.

Recalling that Ai Hui used to be a laborer in the Wilderness,

he couldn’t help sighing for him.

He believed Ai Hui was born for fighting.

Troubled times were a disaster for most, but for a small

number of people, it was the best stage.
 They were born for this era.

That was the feeling Ai Hui gave him.

Thank you, sir, for your support," Ai Hui said with deep
respect.

The light arrow carried a power that Ai Hui had never

witnessed in his life. So long as it hit a critical point, the enemy
was guaranteed to die. He remembered the inheritance of Sky
Edge Division that Shi Xueman had once told him about and
realized the power of the Thirteen Divisions that was beyond
his expectations. He suddenly gained confidence. If an ex-
serviceman of the Thirteen Divisions was so strong, how
amazing would the fighting capability of the elite force be?

The powerful Thirteen Divisions against the Blood of God.

They had a chance to win against them.

Perhaps the future of the Avalon of Five Elements was not as

dim as he imagined.

He caught sight of the blood-traced ant in the distance. It

sported fatal injuries but continued to twist bitterly on the
ground. Everyone was amazed at its tenacious vitality. A sweet
and extraordinarily tempting smell lingered in the air. Although
the students were aware of the blood poison’s terror, they still
became eager when they smelled the fragrance.

Devils always walked together with temptation.

Ai Hui and his teammates waited to approach it until they

were certain it was dead and unmoving.

The ant’s blood clotted, and the fragrance in the air gradually
dissipated.

"Ai Hui, the blood clot is becoming solid," Lou Lan said. A
yellow light shined in his eyes.

Solid?

They were all surprised. Ai Hui found a small wooden stick

and poked the clot with it.
 Sure enough, the blood clots had completely solidified.

"It’s crystallization," Lou Lan said.

"Crystallization? What’s that?" Sang Zhijun asked.

"The nature of the blood clot is changing into a crystal," Lou

Lan explained.

They could see that the clot was turning into a dark-red
crystal that finally became as clear as a gem. Ai Hui knocked on
it with the stick, producing a sound as if hitting against glass.

"Is it poisonous?" Ai Hui asked Lou Lan.

"No." Lou Lan shook his head.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up and looked at the body of the blood-traced

ant as if it was a dead dire beast. To him, this was a hill of gold.
During his time in the Wilderness, he was fighting against dire
beasts for the majority of the time, and each part of a dire beast
was useful, including the hair, fur, flesh, bones, tendons, and
organs.

In other words, there was not a single part that could not be
exchanged for money.

Would the body of a blood fiend be of similar value?

Look at how clear the blood clot was! It had to be expensive.

"Sir, can we take the blood-traced ant’s body back for further
study?" Ai Hui took the initiative.

The elementalist couldn’t help but laugh. "This is a blood

crystal. We’ve found similar things after killing other blood-
traced ants. Only they have blood that crystallizes, not the
ordinary blood ants. The mayor’s residence has been studying it
for some time, but the results show that it has nothing to do
with our elementalists. The carapace of the blood ant is solid
but becomes soft after its death, and the same with its bones and
muscles—they easily become broken once the ant dies."

"Let us have a try, sir. Can we take it?" Ai Hui asked

insistently.
 "You can take it all." The supervising elementalist smiled
generously. "We don’t know how to use it anyway. Don’t worry,
after crystallization, the blood of the blood-traced ant is no
longer poisonous. Maybe you’ll find a way to utilize it."

At once, Ai Hui said, "Thank you, sir," and quickly collected

the blood crystals on the ground.

After retrieving all of them, he ordered the team to step

forward. During the battle, the elementalist and Ai Hui were the
ones to use the most energy, while the others were still hale.
The supervising elementalist also remarked that there would
only be one blood-traced ant within an area.

A blood-traced ant was like the king of an ant colony, and a

king would always be lonely.

Shi Xueman commanded the team to continue tearingdown

the houses.

To all onlooking students, the performance of the A-1 unit was

shocking.
Chapter 198: Ordinary and Brilliant
"Prepare yourselves!" Shi Xueman ordered.

They were not sure whether or not the solution they had
thought of last night would work, but they would give it a try
anyway.

Sang Zhijun looked nervous. Jiang Wei seemed calm and

collected, but his hand that tightly clutched his bow revealed
the tension in his heart.

Unexpectedly, they didn’t step forward.

Wood-attribute students began to spread seeds of different

colors on the ground, then rattans sprouted out of the earth and
began to grow crazily. Water-attribute students placed misty
clouds while earth-attribute students made quicksand in the
interspace zones. In this way, the team was connected together
and a net was created with many obstacles. The moves were not
powerful, but they covered all the areas the team occupied.

After they were done, only twenty people were left while all
the others turned back and walked out of the pitfall area.
 Shi Xueman was not far from the shops. She gestured to Wang
Xiaoshan, who immediately destroyed all the nodes of the shop.

With a loud boom, the shop collapsed, generating substantial

amounts of dust in the air.

Chuu… Chuu… Chuu…

Dozens of red figures were ejected from the smog. They

noticed Shi Xueman first and rushed towards her.

Shi Xueman was well prepared. She turned back and dashed
into the pitfall area without hesitation, followed closely by the
blood ants running after her.

Unexpectedly, the blood ants were completely in shambles.

The pitfall areas were very hard to deal with for the ants.
Obstacles of different attributes were mixed up, each of which
had a totally different kind of resistance. For the blood ants that
were amazingly fast, even a small force could lead them astray.
 Those left in the area were the twenty people who were the
most powerful. They didn’t seek to fight actively and only
needed to keep the ants in the pitfall.

Sang Zhijun and Jiang Wei were leading nine archers. Once
Sang Zhijun’s Spiderweb Iron Pellets were shot out and
entangled a blood ant, Jiang Wei’s heavy arrow would come
together with another nine arrows and the blood ant in the
middle of the spider web would be shot into a hedgehog.

They were not attacking hastily. The fast speed of Sang

Zhijun’s shot now gave full play to its effect. Meanwhile, she
was also taking on the overall control. She would shoot a String
and Woodwind Arrow wherever there was danger.

The String and Woodwind Arrow was not lethal, but it was
effective to disrupt the attack of the enemies.

Together with the others, Shi Xueman had carefully analyzed

all of the problems exposed in yesterday’s battle and discussed
how to solve them. Today’s arrangement was the result of their
discussion. She knew she was only a rookie, so it was better to
let everyone join the discussion. This way, they would also
know clearly what they needed to do.
 At first, they had been a bit reserved and unfamiliar with each
other, but as time went by, their cooperation improved greatly.

What’s more, since this was the second time for them to be on
the battlefield, they had overcome the fear in their hearts and
gradually gotten used to fighting.

The students’ efficiency and confidence had both been greatly

improved.

Shi Xueman felt happy from her heart. There was nothing
more cheerful than seeing the discussion that she had initiated
by herself go smoothly.

She had almost been killed just before, but now she was fully
enjoying the wild fighting and became the most eye-catching
existence.

Even the ugly Central Pine Armor could not hide her elegant
and valiant figure. With Cirrus in her hand, she fought freely on
the battlefield as if there was no resistance. As for the details of
the pitfall, it was engraved in her memory and did not influence
her at all.
 Each strike was mighty and powerful. Besides, as her control
over her strength had improved, she could now maintain her
elemental energy within her body very well. The blood ants that
were struck down by her Cirrus all ended up exploding into a
cloud of blood mist.

Duanmu Huanghun was standing out of the pitfall area and

practicing his [Viridescent Flower] at ease.

He was good at control, but how could he willingly become a

supportive player?

When did you see Big Brother Huanghun as someone else’s

assistant?

That wouldn’t help him defeat Ai Hui!

His eyes were cold. The green twine twigs appeared and
disappeared mysteriously in the pitfall area. The continuous
fighting had a huge impact on him. At first, although his
[Viridescent Flower] could dazzle the eyes of his enemies, it had
not been very lethal. Thus, he had intentionally practiced in
order to improve its lethality while maintaining its gorgeous
appearance.
 Perfect talent must possess a perfect absolute art!

The aloof and proud temperament, magnificent and lethal

attack, unruffled stroll, and incomparably handsome face
constituted an attractive picture. Many female students had
forgotten that they were still in danger. They couldn’t help
holding their breath and staring at Duanmu Huanghun.

Shi Xueman was invincible, Duanmu Huanghun was proud

and gorgeous, Sang Zhijun was at ease, and Jiang Wei was well-
ordered in the battle. Their perfect cooperation was eye-
catching. Even the supervising elementalist was stunned at the
fighting prowess of each of the kids on the battlefield.

Ai Hui was also surprised at their performance.

Although there was still some immaturity, it was much better

than yesterday. At least they were more composed when facing
the blood ants.

And he could tell that the tactics had indeed been arranged
with a lot of thought.
 He didn’t know that the Iron Lady in blue and white was very
talented in this aspect.

As a girl, she was valiant indeed. Seeing the blood ants that
had exploded into blood mist, Ai Hui felt a bit frightened. If he
had never seen Iron Lady’s face before, then judging only from
the fight, he might have thought that the figure in the Central
Pine Armor must have been a muscular and brawny woman.

Females nowadays were becoming more and more powerful.

The "money-losing deal" could easily defeat himself with One
Thousand Yuan and now the Iron Lady in blue and white was
more skillful than he’d expected. At first Ai Hui wanted to ask
Iron Lady to give him some compensation for saving her life so
many times. It shouldn’t be for free!

She should thank him with money!

Besides, he’d heard that her family was wealthy…

But now, seeing the ferocious performance of Iron Lady, Ai

Hui wisely gave up the idea. Apparently, he could hardly resist
her attack with the spear.
 "Good job, Miss Shi!"

"Good job, Bangwan!"

"Good job, Miss Sang!"

"Good job, Jiang Wei!"

...

Lou Lan who was standing beside Ai Hui never stopped

marveling at their performance. Ai Hui had been upset at the
loss, and now hearing what Lou Lan said, he became more
agitated and suddenly turned his face to glare at Lou Lan.

Lou Lan abruptly shut up. He shrugged and kept silent for a
while, then stammered, "Ai Hui is the best of all!"

Ai Hui, who had been angry just now, immediately became

cheerful. He patted his head and praised him. "I really like your
honesty, Lou Lan."
 The teammates were cooperating very well and soon
destroyed the blood ants in the last few shops. When the last
blood ant was killed, the crowd in the street burst into cheers.

In Wang Shouchuan’s room.

All kinds of books were scattered on the floor. Wang

Shouchuan’s hair was white and in a mess, and his eyes were
red. He was murmuring like he was in a nightmare. "How?
How? Spell formation… spell formation…"

"This is impossible!"

"Elemental energy cannot reach that place…"

"She can’t do that at her current base level…"

"Ahhhh, how can I make it?"

...
 He fell on the floor and looked blankly at the ceiling. He felt
he was a total failure. He had accomplished nothing in his life
and couldn’t even help Yuqin to realize her last hope.

He was immersed in strong feelings of weakness and despair.

These days he hardly had any rest and was now overwhelmed
with fatigue.

He dreamed about the first time he’d met Yuqin and the first
time he’d spoken to her. In his dream, he kept talking to Yuqin
about his discoveries. They got married and…

Numerous scenes kept circling in his head. He had already

forgotten where he was.

"Shouchuan, I need your help."

Yuqin’s ardent voice suddenly came into his mind and woke
him up. He sat up on the bed. A gust of wind blew in and he felt
cold. Only then did he realize that he was drenched in sweat.
 He unintentionally glanced in the mirror and was
dumbfounded by what he saw. His grey hair had all grown
white and his wrinkled face looked unhealthy and red.

Maybe he would die together with Yuqin.

Suddenly, Wang Shouchuan felt relieved. He finally knew

what he was most afraid of – rather than death, what he was
really afraid was life without her.

He knew he didn’t have many years left to live, but there was
no more fear in his heart.

"Yuqin, I’ll help you!"

Wang Shouchuan’s turbid eyes suddenly lit up. He seemed to

have gone back to his years of fearlessness. Youth and vigor
were once again infused into his old body and inspiration began
to gush out.

He sat at the table and wrote something like crazy.

 Soon he had used up several pieces of paper. On the papers
were his delicate designs. His burning life was the most magical
ink that endowed the brush with glory. It was like the first ray
of sunlight to shine into the darkness. It rose up into the sky
and illuminated his ambitions in the quiet first half of his life
together with the knowledge he had accumulated after days and
nights of hard work. With light and heat, it wrote down his
name in the sky of history.

He felt that he was covered in the light and was full of energy.

This was the best time he’d ever had. It came late in his life
together with his loved one’s request.

What a coward! He didn’t have the courage to live alone. He

only dared to die with his beloved woman.

He didn’t sleep, rest, or feel tired. More and more paper,

which was with his body temperature and conveyed his love and
ambition, was piled up in front of him on the table.

Day and night, he didn’t eat, drink, or rest for a second.

 When he finished the last paper, he smiled. Then he
reorganized the papers, folded them, and put them carefully in a
metal box. His movements were very gentle, as if the papers in
his hands were the most valuable treasure in the world.

To him, yes.

He closed the box and pulled the rope on his table. The guard
outside heard the bell and quickly came in. All of Wang
Shouchuan’s materials were in his study. The Mayor specially
sent someone to protect him and accompany him to where he
lived.

The guard was astonished to see Wang Shouchuan. He looked

withered and his hair was all white.

"Send it to the Jade Embroidery Workshop."

His voice was hoarse and dry. He was too exhausted to say one
more word.

The guard suddenly saluted Wang Shouchuan with great

respect.
 He knew the importance of the box, so he immediately spread
his Cloud Wings and flew to the Jade Embroidery Workshop.

Wang Shouchuan stared at the figure moving farther and

farther into the sky. The light in his eyes gradually disappeared.

His wrinkled hands held the doorframe tightly and his grey
and cloudy eyes filled with stubbornness; Wang Shouchuan
stood still and didn’t fall down.

He said to himself with a smile.

Don’t worry. I will wait with you until the last second… How
can I let you leave alone?
Chapter 199: Yan Hai
Yan Hai stood in the distance and stared ardently at Ai Hui
while he was collecting the blood crystals scattered on the
ground.

Central Pine City’s study on the blood crystals had produced

no useful discoveries. As a result, Yan Hai managed to get some
blood crystals effortlessly. After taking four blood crystals, he
found that the blood spiritual force within his body increased
sharply. He now felt like he had infinite power.

As long as he could get a few more blood crystals, he was

confident that he could achieve a breakthrough.

Unconsciously, he touched the scar on his left hand. It was a

long scar that stretched from his wrist to his elbow. Back then,
his whole left arm had almost been disabled, but fortunately,
thanks to the unique techniques of the organization, it had
recovered perfectly.

He had been with the organization for a long time and once
ran for the god apostles. Unfortunately, he was eliminated at an
early stage; however, thanks to this early elimination, he was
still alive. He’d heard that in the later stages, all the participants
had been killed by the six god apostles.

This had also offered them a chance.

He’d accepted the mission to go undercover in the Induction

Ground. He hadn’t chosen the metropolises because he’d known
that he was not powerful enough. With his meager ability, he
could have done nothing in those cities. Here in the Induction
Ground, however, he might have some opportunities.

The organization’s supernatural power was beyond his

imagination. He was easily assigned to the Induction Ground
with a perfect fake identity. Never once did anyone suspect him.

Five years had passed.

It was so long that he had almost forgotten his real identity,

until the breakout of the blood disaster.

Unexpectedly, the blood disaster started from the Induction

Ground. He was thrilled and delighted, as he knew that it was a
one in a million chance for him.
 The five years had not been an easy time and he had been too
impatient to just wait. His assumed identity was a wood
elementalist. To acquire the Blood of God for daily training,
he’d secretly planted some blood plants in his back room. As the
results of earlier studies performed by the organization, the
plants could only provide low-quality Blood of God.

Therefore, his progress in training had been very slow.

The outbreak of the blood disaster had largely boosted his

training and now he was slavering after the blood crystals.
Having taken several blood crystals, he saw his blood trace
begin to agglomerate. As long as the agglomeration could be
completed successfully, he could become a formal member of
the organization instead of a peripheral.

He had to think up a solution.

He knew of Ai Hui. In the current Central Pine City, few

people didn’t know of him. As the mayor kept advertising the
brilliant achievements of the A-1 Unit, the team members,
including Ai Hui and Shi Xueman, had become well-known.
Even the Vanguard Training Hall was no longer a secret.
 People admired the huge rewards they got and worshipped
their achievements and fighting skills.

Ai Hui seemed to feel his gaze and turned towards him. Yan
Hai immediately lowered his head. When he looked up again, Ai
Hui’s attention had already returned to the battlefield.

Not in the mood to watch their fight, Yan Hai lowered his
head and left quietly.

He’d just seen Ai Hui’s amazing fighting skills and knew that
he was definitely not Ai Hui’s match, but that didn’t mean that
there was nothing he could do. Although his blood trace hadn’t
fully agglomerated, thanks to the unparalleled techniques of the
organization, he possessed some unique capacities.

He walked fast. It would not be long before the battle came to

an end, after which Ai Hui and his teammates would return to
the Vanguard Training Hall. If he could not make it to the
Vanguard Training Hall before them, his plan couldn’t be
carried out.

He walked past the ruins and the empty streets. Now this city
was either in battle or in ruins. He could see hardly any people
on the streets.

The smoke rising from the ruins made the scene more
desolate and unfamiliar.

Yan Hai gave it a glance. He had been living in this small city
for five years and had never seen anything like this before. The
cause of all the aftermath was what he was going after. While
thinking of these things, he felt a bit uncomfortable in his heart.

But these emotions were meaningless. He soon forgot about

them.

Everyone had to live for themselves. Who could care so much?

His gaze became crazily ardent again. This was only a

temporary pain!

Only death could bring new life. Only by burning everything

could he destroy the ungodliness in the world.

And only by destroying the decayed Avalon of Five Elements

could a real, new empire be built.

He had spent five years here and was very familiar with the
city. It didn’t take him much effort to find the Vanguard
Training Hall.

As soon as he arrived, he was stunned to see the totally

different Vanguard Training Hall which had become like a
hedgehog-shaped fortress. Then he remembered that there was
an earth-attribute student in Ai Hui’s team and that this new
appearance was likely to have been made by him.

He listened for a while at the door and confirmed that no one

was in the training hall. A complacent smile appeared on his
face and he took a soybean-sized seed out of his pocket.

He was disguised as a wood elementalist because that was

what he had been before joining the organization. Although he
hadn’t made much progress in terms of blood training over the
past five years, he’d still figured out some usages of the blood
spiritual force.

The seed in his hand was the fruit of his hard work.
 The green surface of the seed was touched with a thin red
streak. It was a fescue seed that he’d modified using blood
spiritual force. Fescue was a common kind of grass with strong
reproductive abilities. It could be seen almost anywhere as long
as there was soil. This kind of grass had a strong vitality and
could take root and grow even in the gaps between bricks or on
roof titles.

The reason why he’d chosen fescue was that it was

inconspicuous. No one would notice if there was one more
fescue in their yard.

He threw the fescue into the courtyard of the training hall.

Fatty had a long dream in which Lou Lan said that bathing in
the lava could train his fire elemental energy, so Ai Hui kicked
him into the lava at once.

...…

And then he kept bathing…

Then he woke up from his dream and felt soreness all over his
body, like he had really been bathing for a long time.

Breathing heavily, Fatty looked around and was relieved only

when his saw that it was his own room. Good thing that there
was no lava river!

He thought it was sad that the reason why he’d had such a
dream must have been because of how the cold-blooded training
maniac Ai Hui was giving him too many training tasks every
day, which made training a haunting memory for him.

...

Wait… no…

Fatty noticed the hollow cockleburs on the floor and suddenly

remembered what he’d done. His face turned pale at once.

He’d drunk the chili fire oil!

...It was frightening that he’d dared to drink the chili fire oil.
 Fatty was shocked with himself, but the next minute he began
to feel proud about it. This proved that he was a real man. He
made up his mind that, in the future, if he made a bet with Ai
Hui, he would bet on nothing but drinking chili fire oil.

Ai Hui would definitely not dare to do so.

Fatty was proud that he could win against Ai Hui in some

aspect. His whole life was now full of sunshine.

When he strutted out of the room, he was surprised to see

nobody in the courtyard. Where was everybody? Fatty’s
expression changed. Did they go out to fight without him? How
long had he been sleeping?

He hastily rushed to his heavy shield on the weapons shelf. All

he knew was that if Ai Hui had any accidents, he would fall on
hard times.

He grabbed the heavy shield with his big palm and was about
to rush out when he felt that the shield seemed to be lighter
than before.
 Right at that moment, something fell on his head.

What?

Fatty felt weird and looked around. There was nothing on the
floor. Then, was it on his helmet? He took down the Central
Pine Helmet from his head and saw grass on it – it was fescue, a
common kind of grass.

How could a bit of grass fall on his head? It should have been
something like a stone, not a bit of grass.

Fatty was confused. When he was about to pull it out, a flower

grew from the grass. Fatty was stunned again. How amazing it
was to see a weed blossom just before his eyes at a speed he
could see.

Moreover, in the middle of the flower there was the pattern of

an eye.

Eye?
 Fatty’s eyes lit up. Maybe this was a mutated fescue. This
made sense to him. Fatty had been with Ai Hui in Wilderness for
years and had seen countless plants, but none of the fescue had
been like this.

Plants that had mutated were always valuable. Wood

elementalists loved to collect and purchase mutated plants with
which they could cultivate new species.

Good! Anything that could be sold for a good price was good!

Then Fatty became a bit upset. Since they were currently in a

blood disaster, nothing could be sold for a good price.

Hmm? Why was the eye moving?

Fatty and the eye on the fescue looked at each other and both
of them were stunned.

This made Fatty’s flesh creep and he immediately realized

what had happened. Throwing away the helmet in his hand, he
dashed out of the training hall.
 Yan Hai stood outside of the Vanguard Training Hall,
confident in himself. As soon as the seed fell on the ground, it
would take root and sprout. As he’d expected, it did not take
long before he could feel the seed begin to grow. Then after a
while, feeling the weak fluctuation, he knew the fescue had
blossomed.

The blood spiritual force began to flow to his right eye, in

which his vision turned all red. After a minute, the redness
faded away and what he could see in front of him was a brand-
new sight.

Yet in his sight there was a person’s big, fat face, and this guy
was looking at him with agitation.

What happened?

Yan Hai paused for a while, then realized that someone was in
the training hall! Damn it! Right at this second, he and Fatty
looked each other in the eye and he clearly saw that the guy
over there was like a cat that had sensed danger and stood its
hair on end.

No!
 Yan Hai’s face turned pale. He couldn’t care too much and
immediately turned back to run out madly.

"Stop!"

Fatty’s growl came from behind. Yan Hai didn’t dare to look
back and ran even faster.

With the heavy shield and the armor, Fatty could not move
fast and the distance between the two became farther and
farther. Rage rising in his heart, Fatty threw away the shield in
his hand and put his fists behind his back.

Boom!

Roaring fire erupted from his fists. It was fiercer than he’d
expected.

He felt like he’d been thrust forward by a wagon. Under the

huge force, his head and neck were thrown back and his body
was directly lifted up from the ground and pushed to the end of
the lane at an incredible speed.
 Fatty’s fat face went pale.

...…

The fire and the speed… were a bit weird…

There was nothing he could do but watch the guy’s back get
closer and closer. Without any reaction, he bumped into him
like an out of control, fully-loaded transport wagon.
Chapter 200: Painful Truth
At the Vanguard Training Hall.

Fatty was vividly telling them what had happened.

"… I immediately realized what happened–someone was out

there. It must be a thief! I shouted loudly and rushed out. The
thief was running to the entrance of the lane, so I just threw
away the shield and ran after him. Since he was running
extraordinarily fast, and I had no time to take off my armor, I
decided to use my [Deadly Fire Dash], the speed of which, you
know, is superb… But the thief was very cunning. He bounced
himself away with the force of my collision. Then, I was tripped
by a stone and fell on the ground. Humph! That guy must be
having a hard time too. His bones must have been broken…"

"That means you didn’t catch him?" Lou Lan winked.

"I did," Fatty said seriously and shrugged, "and then he

escaped."

...
 Ai Hui did not hear their conversation, but stared at the fescue
on the helmet. He knew somethings about plants, but had never
seen a fescue like this. He put the grass beneath his nose and
smelled slight fragrance.

He looked grave.

When he heard Fatty mention a thief, the first thing he

thought about was whether the message tree was being
targeted. The origins of both the message tree and the old
prisoner were mysteries. As mortal enemies, the "Blood of God"
group was very likely to be covertly looking for them.

Maybe there were undercover spies from the Blood of God in

the city?

"Anything unusual?" Shi Xueman walked to his side.

The smile on her face indicated her pleasant mood. The

fighting today was smoother than she expected. More
importantly, no one died or got injured, which made her very
delighted.
 "No." Ai Hui shook his head. "There’s the smell of the blood
poison, but it’s not strong."

He passed the fescue to Shi Xueman.

The spread of blood poison was already hard to resist and had
created the large population of blood ants. Splashes of
poisonous blood could easily and severely infect nearby plants.
The mayor had sent people to eliminate the infected plants,
which led to the elimination of all plants at a later stage.

Thanks to the quick response of the mayor, the spread of the

blood poison was now much slower than in the wild.
Consequently, this slower propagation led to less severe
disasters.

Shi Xueman took a glance and saw nothing special either.

Ai Hui was afraid that the fescue carried the blood poison and
asked Fatty to incinerate it.

"Great progress, huh! Six palaces already?" Ai Hui looked at

Fatty up and down and was a bit surprised.
 "That’s because I’m talented!" Fatty tried to pretend to be
calm, but the smile on his face and his narrowed eyes exposed
the complacency in his heart.

"Good!" Ai Hui said admiringly and turned to Shi Xueman. "It

seems that he hasn’t adapted to his current state. Any idea how
to help him?"

Ai Hui knew that Shi Xueman was experienced in this aspect.

She was better than the others here in terms of training
knowledge.

"No one can adapt instantly," said Shi Xueman before giving a
rational suggestion. "I did see similar cases before. After one
spends some time at their new level, he or she can get adapted
naturally. For now, I suggest that Fatty undertakes some
specially designed training, such as covering the surface of a
shield with flames and keeping it steady for as long as possible–
at least two minutes."

Ai Hui believed it was a good idea. Fatty’s advantage was his

strength. If the shield he used was aflame, it would definitely be
a great help to them.
 "Lou Lan, watch Fatty. 200 sets of [Flaming Shield]," Ai Hui
said.

"No problem, Ai Hui!" Lou Lan replied cheerfully.

Fatty’s heart shivered and he screamed, "Ai Hui, why don’t

you just kill me? 200! How can I have so much elemental
energy?"

Lou Lan said happily, "I have an idea! You can eat more hot
peppers. You are sensitive and have a high affinity to fire
elemental energy. You can replenish your elemental energy by
eating hot peppers. This can improve your physique too. We
have enough hot peppers in store."

Fatty glared at Lou Lan like he wanted to kill the sand puppet
with his eyes and said woefully, "Lou Lan! Why do you always
set me up! The Fire Enhancing Soup, the Dragon Soup, and the
chili fire oil… I, I…"

Ai Hui stopped Fatty from howling and said decisively, "Good.

Let’s just do it this way. Lou Lan, 200 sets."
 "No problem, Ai Hui!" Lou Lan took the mission happily.

Leaving the howling Fatty behind, Ai Hui walked to the

message tree and connected the leaf hanging around his neck
back to the tree. He thought for a while, then began to write
something down.

"I’m grateful to be able to contact you. We just killed a blood-

traced ant today. Its blood traces were very vague. What’s
special is that its blood can crystallize, and we call the gem-like
product blood crystal. For the moment, we don’t know if it’s of
any use. The bad news: someone seems to be following us."

He sat under the tree and waited for the other’s reply.

From time to time, the light of breakthrough appeared among

the students who were in training. Nothing could train people
or unleash their potential like a real fight.

Ai Hui, who was sitting under that tree, did not attract their
attention. He had done this many times, and they were already
used to it.
 "I’m glad to know that you are still alive. The blood traces of
blood fiends is directly related to how strong they are. The
clearer the blood traces are, the stronger they are. As to the
blood crystal, I think I know. To a blood elementalist, the blood
crystal is like elemental food to us or the spirit stone of the
Cultivation Era. It contains an abundant amount of blood
spiritual force that can greatly improve the training speed of
blood elementalists. I suspect that the reason why the blood
fiends were created is to provide blood crystals. I have not
tested it before, so I cannot tell you if an elementalist can use
blood crystals. If someone is watching you secretly, you need to
contact me less. Please protect yourself. It is not possible for the
blood disaster to end within a short period of time. Only by
staying alive can you have the chance to do anything."

Ai Hui read it carefully. Then, he picked up the leaf and again

wore it around his neck.

His movements were at ease and he looked just as calm as

usual, but he was actually so shocked that his heart was like a
stormy sea.

The conjectures of the old prisoner stunned him, but his mind
told him that maybe this was the real purpose of the Blood of
God.
 Producing the blood plants was for the blood training of the
blood fiends, which could produce blood crystals. Therefore,
whether it was blood fiends or blood plants, they were all
materials to make blood crystals.

Oh, elementalists were also included…

Blood ants ate elementalists to transform, after which the

blood traces appeared and they grew into blood-traced ants
which could produce blood crystals.

Ai Hui felt chilled. He sensed that he had just lifted the veil of
the disaster and saw the frightening truth underneath.

How crazy and cold-blooded were they to have such horrible

ideas and to create such disastrous blood poison.

He sat on the floor, looking absent-minded.

"Are you okay?" Shi Xueman was concerned.

Ai Hui had been sitting blankly under the tree for about 10
minutes, which attracted her attention. She had never seen
such an expression on Ai Hui’s face before. It was a combination
of fear, loss, and unease.

Ai Hui was brought back to reality. "It’s nothing."

Then he suddenly asked, "Aren’t you afraid?"

"Afraid?" Shi Xueman paused for a while. "Yes, I was at the

very beginning. Now, I’m much better. It’s useless to be afraid.
It’s a life-or-death fight anyway. I don’t need to think too
much."

Ai Hui was suddenly enlightened and discarded his fear.

Yes, it was a life-or-death fight from the very beginning.

Maybe they were regarded as materials, but so what? The
enemies were strong and crazy, but so what?

Give up fighting and surrender? Leave themselves at the

mercy of the enemies and wait to be killed?
 There was no difference!

Ai Hui patted Shi Xueman’s shoulder unconsciously and said,

"Iron Lady has an iron heart."

Shi Xueman’s body froze when Ai Hui put his hand on her
shoulder, but after hearing his words, her face turned dark.

Iron Lady…

Ai Hui also realized what he said. He laughed embarrassedly

and ran away as fast as he could.

…..

In the Jade Embroidery Workshop.

Han Yuqin read through the draft carefully.

It was completely quiet in the workshop. The mayor and the

dean sat in front of her, not daring to make the slightest noise.
 She caressed the paper as if it was her husband’s face. Every
letter on the paper was the fruit of his sweat and blood, and they
shined brightly in her eyes.

She was a bit crazy.

Why was she attracted by him? Why couldn’t she move her
eyes away from him? Why did she give herself to him? Why had
she never regretted her decision even though he had been
ordinary throughout his life?

The reasons were in each letter of this draft.

She read every word of it carefully, then passed it to the

mayor. "Just do as it says."

Her voice was calm, but indubitable.

"No problem!"

Mayor Wang Zhen and the dean agreed at the same time.
Master Han was now their last hope.
 Wang Zhen added, "Please feel free to let us know if you need
anything."

"I’m afraid it will take a long time to make all the things that
are required." Han Yuqin replied calmly, "I will also need to
isolate from the world to become well prepared. Please notify
me after all the key points are arranged."

"Yes." They walked out of the room at once.

"Mingxiu, I will now enter isolation. You will watch over for
me," Han Yuqin said.

"Yes, master," Mingxiu said softly. She felt a bit uneasy for no
reason.

Wang Zhen and the dean flew back to the mayor’s residence at
the fastest speed and could not wait to read the draft. After
finishing, their faces lit up.

"Wonderful design! This is absolutely wonderful!

Unbelievable! Really unbelievable! Shouchuan is a great talent."
The dean was too excited to talk in complete sentences. There
were many details that he did not really understand, but he
knew the plan was very likely to succeed.

Although Han Yuqin had previously promised them, they had

just regarded it as another doubtful attempt, which was barely
better than nothing. They did not have high hopes for it.

Only after they saw the draft did they realize that this plan
was promising!

There was nothing more exciting than hope amid despair.

The dean calmed down from his excitement. He stared at the

complicated design on the paper and was a bit concerned. "I’m
not sure whether we can make all these. They are all too
complicated. Let’s ask the craftsmen?"

"We have to!" Wang Zhen said decisively. "Call all the
craftsmen together. We don’t have much time, so we will do it
as fast as we can!"

All of Central Pine City was embroiled in hard work.

Chapter 201: Dragonspine Inferno’s
Change
"Lou Lan, any findings?" Ai Hui asked in anticipation.

The reason he was so adamant about bringing the blood

crystal back was because he had the capable Lou Lan. Perhaps
Lou Lan would find something.

"Sorry, there’s none, Ai Hui." Lou Lan shook his head. "This
type of crystal body is different from all that I have seen to date.
It has lost its toxicity and transformed into a very strange type
of force, perhaps the blood spiritual force you were talking
about, but there are no records of such force in my sand core. Ai
Hui, a completely new material requires a lot of time and
research before we can understand its use."

Ai Hui was a little disappointed, but thinking about it, this

was nothing strange. The mayor’s people would have found
something long ago if it was that easy.

"Don’t be sorry, Lou Lan. You’re already very capable.

Everyone respects and likes you," Ai Hui said sincerely.
 "Really?" Lou Lan opened his eyes wide, unable to believe Ai
Hui’s words.

"Of course!" Ai Hui shouted suddenly, "Tell me, everyone. Is

Lou Lan good? Who likes Lou Lan?"

"Of course he’s good!"

"Lou Lan’s the best sand puppet!"

"I love you, Lou Lan!"

"Lou Lan, I want to bring you home!"

...

Lou Lan fell into a short daze before smiling widely, his eyes
forming two crescent moons. He replied cheerily, "Lou Lan
loves everybody too!"

Excited, Lou Lan turned into a sand wheel. "Lou Lan

healthcare is here!"

Poof! The sand wheel dispersed, landing on and rolling

around everyone’s back.

"Hahhaha, so ticklish!"

"Hahaha!"

...

Looking at everyone having fun, Ai Hui’s cold gaze softened

significantly. Ai Hui had never forgotten Lou Lan’s words:
"Who would remember a sand puppet?"

A lot of people will remember you, Lou Lan.

Ai Hui thought to himself.

Shi Xueman shook her head rather helplessly. The training

plan she had formulated for everyone had been disrupted by Ai
Hui, but she could not bear to disrupt the scene of jubilation
before her eyes short.

The cruel nightly battles, witnessing her comrades’ deaths,

and constant life-threatening situations were like an icy cold sky
enveloped by dark smog. There was no place to run. Everyone
gritted their teeth and fought for survival.

The frolicking students served as a sudden reminder that they

were still a bunch of kids.

She automatically looked toward Ai Hui and saw the coldness

and bleakness in his eyes warm up, as if the sky was colored by
sunlight.

She was startled. It was her first time seeing such warmth
radiating from Ai Hui’s body.

Detecting a watching gaze, Ai Hui turned his neck. Seeing that

it was Iron Lady, he hesitated for a little while, muttering to
himself, "Should I say it?"

"What do you want to say," Shi Xueman blurted out. When

she finished her sentence, she felt slightly embarassed.

"I’ll say it then." Ai Hui walked directly toward Shi Xueman

with a stern expression on his face, as if he had just made an
important decision.

Inexplicably, Shi Xueman grew nervous. She tried hard to

remain calm and undisturbed, but her heart rate started to
increase.

Ai Hui walked to Shi Xueman’s side before saying softly,

"Uh… Iron… uh, goddess…"

In Shi Xueman’s book, "goddess" was a most ordinary word.

From a young age, she had lost track of the number of people
who called her that. Even within the team, everyone called her
that. She knew that this compliment was based more on her
appearance and was neither disgusted with nor fond of it.

Yet, somehow, hearing Ai Hui address her as "goddess" made

her heart beat even faster. Thud thud thud. The sound seemed
to echo within her chest.
 "I’ve saved your life a few times after all," Ai Hui said with a
reserved look on his face. "As the saying goes, repay your life-
saver with money. I’m not blackmailing you, but we’ve had our
fatal encounters. It will be unreasonable for me to ask for much,
so you can just…"

Shi Xueman’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. She

pointed her Cirrus directly at Ai Hui, frigidly goading him.
"Let’s have a match!"

"Let’s talk things over!" Ai Hui laughed. "Where there’s no

business, there’s compassion. Hahaha, forget it if it’s not
possible. Forget it, hahaha…"

Fighting with Iron Lady? Only if his brain was abnormal

would he do something so silly, Ai Hui thought.

Under Shi Xueman’s angry gaze, Ai Hui slipped into a room,

dejected.

Sigh, his money-making dream was about to be shattered.

It was not easy to earn money!

 Ai Hui’s gaze fell on the crystal on the table. He could not help
but lament the hardships of life. He had collected the blood
crystal in hopes of making some money ,but it looked like that
hope was shattered as well.

As Ai Hui played around with the blood crystal in his hand, he

subconsciously placed his attention onto it.

A garnet luster had emerged from within the pure,

translucent, and sparkling blood crystal. If examined closely,
one would see a very fine crimson blood wisp. The blood crystal
was solid and heavy. When knocked against the table, it made a
sound similar to that of a stone.

What surprised Ai Hui the most was the fact that the blood
crystal had no odor, while the blood poison had a distinct
fragrance.

Lou Lan said the blood crystal was not toxic.

It was very difficult to imagine that this red gem was actually
made from fresh blood. This series of unimaginable changes
made Ai Hui fear the Blood of God even more.
 The Blood of God was so subversive, and "genius" was no
longer sufficient to describe the person who created all of this.

No wonder the old fellows were beaten so badly.

Recalling the old man’s words, that the blood crystal

contained blood spiritual force, jolted him. Perhaps he could try
his Blood Bandage? He tried touching the blood crystal to the
Blood Bandage and was disappointed by the Blood Bandage’s
lack of reaction.

Could it be that it was still full from its previous meal?

After the blood refinement, the blood bandage seemed to have

lost interest in the blood poison. Ai Hui knew that there must
have been some changes that occurred, but he did not know
how to use the Blood Bandage. It merely served as a defensive
tool for him at the moment. He had used its natural ability to
resist sword injuries, saving himself from quite a few harmful
incidents.

Blood spiritual force… spiritual force?

 What else was associated with spiritual force? The sword
embryo? Ai Hui did not dare to absorb the blood crystal because
if something went wrong, even angels would not be able to save
him.

What else could he do about it?

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. Dragonfire Inferno!

Seven artifact remnants were embedded in Dragonspine

Inferno’s sword body. What are artifact remnants? They were
remnants of treasures and artifacts from the Cultivation Era.
The remnants could not be corroded by the Silver Mist Sea.
Since they were artifacts and treasures from Cultivation Era,
they were related to spiritual force

Everyone either called them artifact remnants or ocean dregs,

which reflected the two types of attitudes that people had
regarding them. Ai Hui still preferred the name "artifact
remnants" since they were able to survive thousands of years of
corrosion. While they might not have much use, there was no
doubt that these artifacts were of superb quality.

Ai Hui held Dragonspine Inferno up.

 The seven red prismatic crystals were arranged in a row on its
body.

The prismatic crystals on the sword and the blood crystals

were all red, but they carried very different color and luster.
The prismatic crystals’ shapes were more orderly, whereas the
blood crystals’ shapes were not structured at all.

Due to the fact that the prismatic crystals were fished out
from Silver Mist Sea, their origin was unknown and
untraceable. Judging from their luster, however, they probably
came from the same artifact.

Ai Hui tried placing the blood crystal near the first prismatic
crystal near the sword hilt.

Bzzt!

A wisp of electric current zapped through the blood crystal,

numbing Ai Hui’s fingertips.

Ai Hui, however, could not care less about his tingling fingers.
He stared at the sword body with his eyes wide open, fearing
that he might miss some detail.

The garnet blood crystal started to melt into a pool of fresh

blood before flowing and extending along the sword body. A
small, distinct motion captured Ai Hui’s attention.

Was this spiritual force?

The entire sword body was dipped in the red blood crystal
liquid, which slowly seeped into the prismatic crystal.

Bzzt bzzt bzzt!

Tiny electric currents hovered around the sword body.

The prismatic crystal was like an insatiably hungry and

thirsty wild beast, absorbing the blood crystal liquid nonstop.

When the last wisp of garnet liquid entered the prismatic

crystal, a stronger electric current flickered quickly from the
first to the last prismatic crystal with a "bzzt" sound.
 When the electric current disappeared, Dragonspine Inferno
became quiet once more.

Ai Hui stared blankly before him at Dragonspine Inferno The

smile at the corner of his lips grew bigger. He could no longer
control himself and laughed heartily with his head tilting up.

"Hahaha…"

Some time later, after Ai Hui recovered himself, he inspected

his sword meticulously.

The once red prismatic crystal faded into a lighter color. If not
for the fact that AI Hui was extremely familiar with his
Dragonspine Inferno, this subtle change would not have been
easy to detect. Moving closer, Ai Hui found a wisp of electric
current. It was very fine and could only be seen after taking a
closer look. It was present and frozen within each crystal,
coincidentally forming a straight line.

Only after staring at it carefully for a long time did Ai Hui

notice that this wisp of electric current flowed back and forth,
through and within the seven prismatic crystals. Since its speed
was too fast, it gave the impression that it connected all of the
prismatic crystals.

Surprised, Ai Hui exclaimed inwardly, "How?"

The seven prismatic crystals were not connected from the

first to the last, but instead, each crystal had a considerable
distance between them and the sword body was between them.
Yet, this hair-like wisp of electric current was able to flow back
and forth, disregarding the gaps.

So this was an artifact from the Cultivation Era?

How magical! Ai Hui could not help but feel fascinated. When
compared to the Cultivation Era’s glory, the Avalon of Five
Elements today was merely a newborn.

He jumped up, grabbed his Dragonspine Inferno and waved it

around.

No changes.

He tried executing the [Oblique Slash] and the sword body lit
up. Concurrently, a wisp of electricity flashed once within the
sword ray before disappearing.

It was effective indeed!

Ai Hui was beyond happy. If the sword move carried

electricity, it would be like a tiger that had grown wings. His
fingers had been slightly numbed from the previous shock.
Although the paralysis was not severe, it still worked. In an
intense battle, any small changes could break the equilibrium.

Possessing rich battle experience, Ai Hui had already thought

of a few ways of using the electric current. Plus, from this
transformation process, Ai Hui believed that if there were more
blood crystals, the electric current could become more
powerful.

He tried another move.

He wanted to observe how his Dragonspine Inferno would

change if he operated his elemental energy to power his sword
move.
 Was there anything more suitable than the [Crescent Moon]?

He held onto Dragonspine Inferno and walked into the

garden, where everyone had already resumed training.

Ai Hui said in a deep voice, "I’m going to test a move, please

move away for a bit."

Fatty reacted the fastest. Seizing the opportunity to slack off,

he quickly found himself a spot at the corner while hugging his
heavy shield.

Everyone then stopped practicing and moved to the sides.

All eyes were focused on Ai Hui and the sword in his hands.
Chapter 202: Yan Hai’s Losses
Yan Hai advanced in the darkness, half his body dully aching.

The impact from that collision earlier had nearly caused his
whole body to fall apart. Quite a few bones were broken. If not
for his strong recovery ability, he would still be confined to his
bed, paralyzed.

His blood spiritual force was still shallow but his recovery
ability already exceeded that of others. Thinking about the
mystical skills set his heart on fire. If he could establish enough
contributions, he could possess those mystical skills.

He must have that blood crystal.

Tonight was his last chance. There was a mission the next day
and everyone within the city had to battle, him included. Plus,
his disguise was still useful for him.

He did not enter upon arriving at the alleyway of Vanguard

Training Hall. The accident from earlier had taught him that he
couldn’t afford to make the least bit of a mistake. The A-1 unit’s
strength exceeded his imagination. He couldn’t defeat any one
of them.

He needed the blood crystal, not a battle.

There were many ways to gain possession of the blood

crystals, and battling was just one of them.

He took out a small flag; its face was badly damaged and its
pole was left with only half a bone. On its face was a little
demon painted with cinnabar. This was an object he had gotten
hold of unintentionally while training. He had not known what
it was initially, but after much researching and consulting of
friends with related experience, he found out that this small flag
was actually a spirit-beckoning banner.

During the Cultivation Era, the spirit-beckoning banner was

the most common treasure within the blood sects. It was
generally used to train spirits, blood demons, and the like.

It could develop a certain connection with the blood spiritual

force within his body.

As time passed, the spirit-beckoning banner became

dilapidated. To Yan Hai, however, it was still an outstanding
treasure. It was also because of this that he realized the artifact
remnants from the Cultivation Era were of use to him. Later on,
he committedly searched every place that collected artifact
remnants, but failed to find anything else he could use.

He took out a small knife and slit his own arm, making a
shocking cut.

Fresh blood dripped on the banner in a steady flow and

disappeared upon contact with it. The little cinnabar demon on
the flag then started to look more tender, beautiful, and
alluring.

Following the unceasing blood flow, Yan Hai’s face turned

rather pale.

Suddenly, a red blood mist rose from the spirit-beckoning

banner and amidst it, a faint and blurry little demon could be
seen.

Joy spread across Yan Hai’s pale face. He sat cross-legged on

the ground and shut his eyes.
 The silhouette of the little demon gradually faded and
disappeared.

This was his biggest card and also where his confidence lay
tonight. Able to conceal itself, the little demon was more than
suitable for theft. If he could get the blood crystal, this amount
of fresh blood sacrifice wasn’t even worth mentioning.

The little demon’s field of vision was gray, ice-cold, and still.
Yan Hai was adept in controlling it since it wasn’t his first time.

It drifted over the wall. Yan Hai saw everyone standing in a

circle with Ai Hui in the center. He could see clearly as he was
looking from above.

He felt slightly puzzled. What were these fellows doing?

He scanned the surroundings but did not see the blood crystal.
To the little demon, the blood crystal was of great benefit. It
was like a torchlight in the dark, very conspicuous.

Then, all of a sudden, a wave of intense motion burst out from

Ai Hui’s body.
 Not good! Had he been discovered?

Yan Hai’s heart started beating faster, but he tried hard to

remain calm. That shouldn’t be the case. The little demon
beckoned by the banner had no elemental energy motion. It was
impossible for even the dean of Central Pine Academy to detect
its presence.

He reckoned Ai Hui was about to test a skill or something.

Yan Hai became more focused. Ai Hui hadn’t displayed any

moves since the start of the day, so he was also very curious
about Ai Hui’s abilities.

Ai Hui was very excited.

He did not expect the blood crystal to be able to activate the

artifact remnants on the Dragonspine Inferno. The artifact
remnants would cease to be. If the blood crystals could
stimulate certain treasures, then the remnants left in the Silver
Mist Sea which had once been considered trash would become
much more valuable. Their prices would also increase
exponentially.
 It was a pity he had no money to start a business. Or? He could
contact his master and mistress and perhaps earn more money
at the embroidery workshop. Then again, he quickly started
laughing involuntarily. He might not even survive this
calamity, so why was he thinking about earning money?

He should further develop his Dragonspine Inferno instead.

As its power increased, his chances of survival increased as well.
Plus, it could be seen that the Dragonspine Inferno was still far
from reaching its limit. That meant that he needed more blood
crystals, since the sword had more potential to improve.

Ai Hui collected his thoughts.

He was already fairly familiar with [Crescent Moon]. Using

[Big Dipper] to operate it was the challenge.

The seven palaces within his body vibrated simultaneously

and out of them flowed seven rays of elemental energy. Ai Hui
prepared to converge them.

Just then, without any sign, the sword embryo between his
brows suddenly jolted.
 An indescribable feeling overtook Ai Hui’s body. Cold. From
head to toe, he felt a sense of coldness. His joy and excitement
vanished as he became immersed in this unprecedented, cool
state.

Feeling something, Ai Hui turned his neck and walked

towards the perimeter wall.

There was clearly nothing, but he "saw" a mist-like presence.

He didn’t know what it was and could only feel its enmity.

The elemental energy circulating within his body became

even fuller and richer. Before, Ai Hui had needed to multitask in
order to control it, but now, everything went on naturally and
smoothly.

Ai Hui drew a graceful trajectory in the sky with the

Dragonspine Inferno. At that moment, in the eyes of Shi
Xueman and the rest, he was like a completely different person.

He was merely waving the sword in his hand, but every

movement was so co-ordinated and aesthetically pleasing that it
brought about a casual freeness.

Shi Xueman’s eyes lit up as she recalled the first time she saw
Ai Hui’s swordplay. He wasn’t bad then, but now he was
becoming and feeling more like an expert.

Only after seeing for herself how he had changed bit by bit did
she really understand how fearsome Ai Hui was.

What was even more shocking was that each time Duanmu
Huanghun felt pleased about his own progress, Ai Hui would
quickly deal a blow to him. He’d thought that his progress was
already very speedy but Ai Hui’s was even quicker.

Seeing Ai Hui’s grandeur, Duanmu Huanghun couldn’t help

but clench his fist.

You’ve already grown so much?

How great! How exciting!

Having such a strong rival like you is my greatest honor. I

won’t make you wait too long!

Duanmu Huanghun felt his blood boil. Unprecedented

battlelust agitated his body like raging flames, causing it to
tremble slightly.

Suddenly, Ai Hui struck out.

The Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s hand drew a bow-like

crescent moon.

The curvy sword ray flashed across the sky, matchlessly fast.

When Ai Hui looked towards him, Yan Hai jolted inwardly. He

had been found! There was no time for him to figure out why
and he quickly decided to turn and leave.

Before he could take any action, a dazzling light ray rose and a
strong fear overtook him. The little demon turned to leave, no
longer under control. He knew that this was the demon’s
instinctive fear, as if there was something within the light ray
that it was very afraid of.
 A crescent moon came towards him at breakneck speed.

It was so fast that all he saw was a quick flash of light before
feeling something run through his body.

Closely after, a numbness spread throughout his body.

He looked down and saw a hole in his chest area. A bright

light ray flickered around its edges and like a dark flame
consuming a piece of paper, it continued burning non-stop.

Was that… lightning?

Yan Hai blankly stared at the silver light ray, extending and
spreading unceasingly.

He knew now why the little demon was so afraid. During the
Cultivation Era, the undead, ghosts, and the like feared the
sound of thunder most. Thunder and lightning were regarded as
one of the most masculine forces between heaven and earth. It
was the evil spirits’ mortal enemy.
 But, why was there lightning?

There was no lightning in the Avalon of Five Elements.

Amongst metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, only water
elementalists were associated with lightning. Their clouds and
mists could develop lightning. The lightning between heaven
and earth was then affected by clouds. Its violence and
destructive force entered people’s field of vision very early.
Countless water elementalists had tried creating lightning, but
until today, they were still unsuccessful in using lightning in
battle.

Lightning in the Cultivation World was entirely different.

They were given a special name – "Thunder Stars". There were
many types of Thunder Stars. Blood refinement had Thunder
Stars as well, such as the Scarlet Blood Thundergod and the like.

But the Cultivation World was long gone. People today were
no longer able to imagine what sort of existence the so-called
Thunder Stars had been in the past.

No, not lightning, but Thunder Stars!

Yan Hai did not know why but this thought surfaced within
his head and did not disappear.

He stared firmly at the Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s hand

and when he saw the prismatic crystals on it, he finally
understood. Artifact Remnants!

But how did Ai Hui activate them? Probably not… by using

blood crystals, right?

The heart-wrenching pain caused Yan Hai to withdraw from

the little demon’s body and a small wisp of electric current
continued to corrode its body. The little demon was like a piece
of paper, slowly being eaten up by a dark flame until there was
nothing left.

Yan Hai opened his eyes and disgorged a mouthful of fresh

blood, his face a few shades paler.

The spirit-beckoning banner in front of him combusted

spontaneously without any fire. He couldn’t extinguish it in
time so the banner was reduced to ashes. Even the bone, serving
as the flag’s pole, was no more.
 Yan Hai looked far into the alleyway in bitter resentment
before turning to leave.

He had lost a lot today. His one and only treasure was gone
and he was also injured. As compared to the blow he was dealt
in the day, this psychological damage could not be repaired
easily.

Like an injured wolf, he disappeared into the night.

In Vanguard Training Hall, everyone was discussing with

excitement about how breathtaking Ai Hui’s swordplay was.

The sword embryo between Ai Hui’s brows fell into a deep

sleep once again, and Ai Hui separated from that absolutely ice-
cold state. He wondered what he had "seen" earlier. Why was
the sword embryo’s reaction so big? Did it sense danger?

Ai Hui felt uneasy and immediately thought about the Blood

of God. Thinking about the old prisoner, he wondered, had the
Blood of God found him?

That wouldn’t be a good thing…

Chapter 203: New Blood Fiends
"Yan Hai, you are late." Team Leader was displeased.

"I encountered a blood ant and sustained some internal

injuries." Yan Hai explained.

Although most of the blood ants in the city had been purged
out, some blood ants still appeared sporadically and easily hurt
people.

Team Leader’s face softened upon seeing Yan Hai’s ghastly

white face. "It’s fine as long as you did not sustain any external
injuries; if you had, I would have had to send you to isolation.
Everyone be more cautious. There are always some random
blood ants. Our mission today is not very serious. The blood
ants have been almost eliminated, we just need to keep guard on
the underground tunnels. If any of us encounter any sneak
attacks, send out a warning. Understood?"

"Understood." The resounding answer was not unified.

Everyone’s morale was low.

Team Leader did not say much as he was not in high spirits
either. In the battle just yesterday, half of their troops were
killed and only thirty-odd people managed to survive. While
they had gotten more manpower, they still could not feel
secure.

It was like they were just sitting there awaiting death. It was
depressing.

Today they were standing guard at a small hill located in the

west of the city. There were many tunnels there, courtesy of the
blood ants. The mayor residence was helpless regarding all
those underground tunnels. Even sealing up the tunnels was
ineffective. What else could be used to ward off the blood ants?

Everyone could only hope that the other blood fiends did not
like to dig holes. The only fortunate part was that the blood ants
had a small build. Those larger blood fiends were unable to
enter the tunnels which were as big as a fist. Nevertheless, there
were still many potential threats. Some insects that were not
too large were still able to make use of the tunnel created by the
blood ants to travel.

The mayor residence had set up a large number of snares

around the tunnels. Nobody knew if they would be able to hold
back the blood fiends, so the vicinity of the tunnels was also
guarded by people. Even if they were unable to hold back the
blood fiends, they could at least warn the others.

The small hill was positioned against the direction of the

wind. Everyone hid in a corner where there was no wind.

"Today is the fifth day, right?" Someone asked suddenly. "Are

we really going to get reinforcements? Will it be another ten
more days?"

Everyone stayed silent. Nobody could answer this question

and nobody dared to try.

The mayor residence claimed that the support troops would

reach them after fifteen days. The higher-ups of the Avalon of
Five Elements definitely wouldn’t leave them in the lurch.

Yan Hai turned his gaze towards the Team Leader.

The two of them were neighbours and were on good relations.

When he’d first arrived at Central Pine City, Team Leader had
taken him under his wing. Out of all of Central Pine City, Team
Leader was the one who he’d want to survive.
 Yan Hai held Team Leader’s conduct in high regards.
Compared to his own timid and cowardly nature, he felt that
Team Leader was better than him in many aspects. He did not
have any talents and he had a weak temperament. Why else
would he have been eliminated so early?

He had thought more than once, perhaps he could influence

Team Leader into becoming a blood elementalist?

He was slightly hesitant. He did not know if Team Leader

would be willing to accept it.

Yan Hai believed that the Blood of God was the best way to go.
Given Team Leader’s capability, he would be able to prove
himself within the organization quickly; however, unlike him,
Team Leader had a family to go back to.

Yan Hai had been a member of Blood of God for a long period.
He was clear of the boundary between the blood elementalists
and the elementalists. Once the boundary comes between one
and one’s family, it would be the cruelest thing in the world.

Some pain was worse than death.

 Unless it was as a last resort, he definitely wouldn’t change
Team Leader into a blood elementalist. Team Leader was a loyal
and passionate person, aspects which were also his Achilles heel
and might cause him more pain.

He did not want Team Leader to blame him, regardless of the

reasons.

The dead would be struggle-free while the living shoulder the

burden. Sometimes, it was hard to determine which was better.

"Have a good rest. I will take over," said Team Leader to Yan
Hai.

Yan Hai looked at Team Leader. He opened his mouth, but not
a sound came out.

Team Leader pat his shoulder and smiled at him.

Having said that, he turned and walked to the vicinity of the

tunnel entrance and sat down cross-legged.
 Yan Hai fell asleep amidst his thoughts. The little demon
being beheaded had brought about a huge, negative impact on
his state of mind.

Suddenly, he was awakened by a mournful siren. He violently

sprang up.

"Be careful! Something is approaching!" Team Leader stood up

and shouted the reminder.

A ray of red light flew out from underground and passed

through Team Leader’s chest.

"No!" Yan Han shrieked and his features twisted. He stood

blankly. He saw the light going out of Team Leader’s eyes. They
became empty and his body dropped on the floor with a loud
bang, sending dust flying up.

The air was filled with endless miserable shrieks. Yan Hai
could only turn a deaf ear to them. His pale and shrunken in
face seemed to have lost its soul. He stared fixedly at Team
Leader who was lying motionless on the floor.
 The red ray was like a strange sword ray. It was able to twist
around freely in the air and was as fast as lightning.

In a flash, the underground was filled with corpses.

The red ray fell on the floor and surprisingly, it was a blood
snake that was as thick as an arm. Its scales were red and it was
covered with distinctive black blood traces. Its blood red pupils
did not have any hint of emotions. It stared at Yan Hai who was
frozen in shock. A flicker of suspicion flashed across its eyes.
The prey in front it seemed to have the scent of their species.

The blood snake fixed its attention on Yan Hai before

catapulting and disappearing without a trace.

…..

The mournful siren was sounded simultaneously at a few

places in the city. It triggered everyone’s nerves. They’d just
managed to suppress the blood ants and now there was a new
surge of blood fiends.

"We have no buffer time at all!" The dean wore a furious

expression. "Five to seven days? Didn’t you say they need five to
seven days to transform? Damn it! The blood ants were
attacking us from day one!"

"This simply implies that we had misjudged them." Wang

Zhen replied. "The current wave might possibly the first wave
of the completed transformation."

"Attention! Six places have issued the alarm. The defending

troops… were wiped out." The elementalist who came forward
to make the report spoke with a trembling voice.

Wang Zhen was silent for a moment before gravely saying,

"What sort of blood fiend was it?"

"Those that we could confirm right now would be blood

snakes, blood rats, and blood butterflies," replied the
elementalist.

Wang Zhen muttered to himself, "The previous wave was all

blood ants. It is a different type of fiend for this wave. It seems
like every time they complete a cycle of transformation, our
pressure and stress increases. What about the blood traces?"
 "The blood traces were very distinct." The elementalist’s eyes
showed signs of fear. "They were even clearer than the traces on
the blood ants."

"Send the Elite Unit to hunt them down." Wang Zhen decided
resolutely. Despite the worsening situation, he still held hope.
He continued, "Group the students and the average masses. We
need to have lookout posts in all the corners of the city. We need
to know where exactly the blood fiends are located."

"Yes!" The elementalists hurriedly replied.

The Elite Unit was the nucleus of Central Pine City. It was the
equivalent of the guards in the training hall. Compared to the
average troops formed by the students and the masses, their
capabilities were much stronger.

The dean exhaled heavily. He knew Wang Zhen’s original

plan. Wang Zhen initially predicted that he would only make
use of the Elite Unit after nine days.

It was four days earlier than they had intended.

 "Notify A-1 unit and have them prepare to attack." Wang Zhen
suddenly said.

"No!" The dean opposed. "They are still kids! Also, do not
forget about their status!"

Wang Zhen angrily said, "Status! Whatever status is not

important now! Everyone has to participate in the battle! They
have to battle, you have to battle, and I too have to battle.
Everyone is fighting for themselves!"

This was the first time the dean witnessed Wang Zhen flying
into a rage. Yet, he replied calmly, "Do you think they are
competent enough?"

The dean’s calmness rubbed off on Wang Zhen’s rage. He tried

to tone down his temper and responded, "No idea. But I feel that
they have potential. All along I have been paying attention to
their progress. They are improving faster than we’d expected
and their adaptability is also better than we’d thought. They are
the best performing small team and also the team with the most
potential. They might be the best hands we could have!"

The dean was shocked. "You are going to bet on them?"

 "That’s right." Wang Zhen continued gravely, "I have thought
about all the possibilities. We are unable to get through the
fifteen days. I only realised yesterday that there are only two
variables in this death battle. The first variable is Master Han
and Wang Shouchuan; I was surprised that Wang Shouchuan
managed to complete the design. The problem now is whether
or not Master Han will be able to implement it. Can we hang on
until the day Master Han seals up Central Pine City?"

The dean replied, "The other variable is the A-1 unit?"

"Yes! I suddenly realised it when I saw them defeat the blood-

traced ants. The A-1 unit is also a variable. Their potential is
bigger than we had imagined and their progress is astonishing.
Ai Hui has already attained seven palaces. What was his
cultivation level before the battle? Shi Xueman is also starting
to expose her battle capability. It is the best amongst them. As
long as she has adapted to battle, she will be our trump card. As
for Duanmu Huanghun, look at his recent performance. He was
practically a new person. The rest of the students have
improved drastically as well. Why did I allocate so many
resources to them? Because I am unsure of their limits. They are
a group of talents and perhaps they will be able to create a
miracle."

The dean had completely calmed down. "Perhaps they might

die. Would they be able to adapt to such a high intensity battle?
That is something unknown to us."

"But it is worth a gamble." Wang Zhen stared deeply at him.

"If they die, then it implies that they were not our variables and
none of us will be able to escape. Only through battle, constant
success, and getting stronger, would we be able to see the light
at the end of the tunnel."

The dean shook his head. "Nobody could improve so much in

such a short period."

"You have forgotten about the Battle of the Dawn." Wang

Zhen continued indifferently. "Look. It was also fifteen days.
History always has the tendency to be surprisingly similar."

Blankly, the dean said, "That was just a legend…"

"It was not a legend." Wang Zhen gave him a glance. "Because
I am a lucky survivor."

The dean was dumbstruck.

 At that moment, an elementalist rushed over hurriedly. "I am
here to report that the A-1 unit is suspected to be under attack
by the blood fiends and they are in an intense battle right now!"

Their expressions changed in unison.

"There’s no support team?" The dean asked anxiously.

"The support team is still making its way over. Their station is
located further away as compared to the Elite Unit." The
elementalist cast a glance at them before he continued, "The
nearest elementalist would also need a minimum of five
minutes to rush over."

Five minutes…

The dean’s expression became as white as sheet. In an intense

battle, five minutes was enough to end everything. Even if he
was to fly over from the mayor residence now, it would still take
him ten minutes to get there.

Wang Zhen smiled. "Look, you need not make a decision

now."
 The dean glared at Wang Zhen and soared into the sky. He
was unable to let go of the students.

The smile on Wang Zhen’s face vanished. His gaze became

filled with worry.
Chapter 204: The Blood Worm
Ai Hui and the rest were caught up in a grueling battle.

When one was down on his luck, his bad luck would just
accumulate. A blood worm had emerged from the ground of the
courtyard. The hard ground erupted as if it was a body of water.
The traps they had set up previously were completely useless
and were ripped to smithereens.

At first glance, everyone thought it to be a blood snake. But

upon closer inspection, they could not help but gasp in terror.

The blood worm was extremely hideous.

It was the largest worm they had ever seen in their lives. Its
body was thicker than the width of a bucket and at least twenty
meters long. The blood worm had yet to completely exit the
ground, and on sections of its body, thin, black stripes could be
seen in even distributions.

Its gigantic body gave it terrifying strength. With one hit,

even if it didn’t cause death, there would at least be severe
injuries as a result.
 Most troublesome of all were its natural attributes. It could
move swiftly and nimbly through the ground, allowing it to
attack from any angle. Wang Xiaoshan’s ability to manipulate
the earth was nothing compared to this. As long as it was in the
ground, it was astonishingly active without the slightest
incoordination.

When the blood worm suddenly shot out of the ground, a few
unlucky students failed to dodge in time and were knocked into
the air, incurring severe injuries from the impact. Fortunately,
they were bruised but not infected by the blood poison.

Ai Hui and a few others reacted quickly by entangling the

blood worm.

Worried about damaging the message tree, Ai Hui lured the

blood worm out of the alley. Since the nearby houses were
already in ruins, Ai Hui had no worries about thrashing the area
further.

On the surface of its body, there was a layer of bloody light,

and beneath it, a covering of mucus. The bloody glow was able
to withstand most attacks, but even if it were to be broken
through, the mucus layer was able to deflect the attack
smoothly.
 The trio that comprised Ai Hui’s group attacked to no avail.

This blood worm was much stronger than the blood ants; it
appeared that the blood fiends were becoming increasingly
stronger.

Ai Hui felt uneasy when he saw that their attacks had no effect
on the blood worm at all. The blood traces on its body were
much more distinct than the blood ant’s, and its strength was
clearly more terrifying as well.

If not for his warning beforehand, the number of casualties

would have been more devastating....

Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, and Duanmu Huanghun were embroiled

in a battle with the blood worm.

Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun dispersed the students and

arranged them strategically on the roofs of the abandoned
houses.

"Get ready!" Jiang Wei said with a deep voice.

 Every student held their places and prepared to take action.

Suddenly, Ai Hui and the others, who were well-coordinated,

dispersed like scattered butterflies.

"Attack!" Jiang Wei roared.

Streaks of colorful lights fell upon the blood worm like

raindrops, making for a spectacular scene.

The results of their attacks, however, shocked everyone. The

rain of light beams and arrows were either reflected by the
blood light or slid off of the mucus. The blood worm remained
completely unharmed.

Splash—the chili concoction was poured onto the blood

worm’s body, only to be immediately evaporated by the bloody
glow.

"Ai Hui, it’s not afraid of chilies!" Lou Lan yelled.

The smell of the chili concoction pervaded the air, but the
blood worm did not show the slightest reaction to it.

It seemed bad news followed one after another.

"Ai Hui, my elemental energy can’t penetrate through the

ground!" Wang Xiaoshan cried fearfully.

Only now did Ai Hui realize that the ground glowed with a
red, bloody color. It made the terrain seem like a scarlet, watery
surface that undulated slowly with the blood worm underneath
it.

The crimson ground made Ai Hui more restless as he thought

of the Garden of Life and the blood forest outside of the city.

He had to stop it!

Ai Hui became more resolved in his intent.

If their attacks continued to prove useless against the blood

worm, everyone would become dispirited, thereby making their
next round of attacks even less impactful.
 Boom!

The blood worm’s body as thick as a bucket suddenly shot out

of the ground with a loud bang.

Ai Hui had long sensed the blood worm’s approaching

presence and ducked out of the way. With [Misty Strike]
prepared ahead of time, he lunged forward ferociously with his
Dragonspine Inferno.

Rip!

The Dragonspine Inferno materialized into a shooting star

and pierced right through the layer of bloody light. Yet
immediately after, an overbearingly slimy and smooth feeling
could be felt on the tip of the sword, and Ai Hui’s Dragonspine
Inferno involuntarily slid off of the layer of mucus. It was as
though he had pierced into a wall that was smeared with oil.

It was the same as before when his attacks had been

continuously deflected by this layer of mucus. Until now,
nothing seemed to work.
 Ruthlessness shined in Ai Hui’s eyes. At the moment his
sword tip slid off, Dragonspine Inferno began to vibrate slightly.
The seven palaces in his body trembled with the activation of
[Big Dipper].

A strand of elemental energy was formed with unprecedented

speed.

A cold glint flashed across Ai Hui’s eyes.

[Crescent Moon]!

A brilliant crescent moon swiftly sliced through the blood

worm’s body.

Pfff!

A cloud of blood mist spurted out. Luckily, Ai Hui was

wearing the Central Pine Armor, stopping the blood from
spraying over his body.

Ai Hui immediately retreated.

 The students behind him cheered. This was the blood worm’s
first sustained injury, and it gave everyone some hope for
victory.

At the following scene, however, everyone’s cheers came to a

sudden stop.

The blood worm’s mucus rapidly submerged the wound.

Following which, the muscle tissues that were slashed
regenerated frantically with a visible speed. Its wound, which
had previously been a bloody mess, had healed completely.

The recently boosted morale of the students immediately

dropped to zero.

Ai Hui’s face darkened. The previous two moves had

consumed a tremendous amount of his elemental energy, and
yet they dealt negligible damage to the blood worm.

Shi Xueman rushed forward to engage the blood worm, but

her attacks similarly failed to deal any significant damage.

Weakness. What was the blood worm’s weakness? It must

have a weakness!

Ai Hui stared fixedly at the blood worm as he racked his

brains. Any beast had a weakness.

Ai Hui remembered at once the old man’s words—that the

blood traces may be the blood fiends’ weakness.

Blood traces....

Ai Hui narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the blood

worm’s blood traces.

They were ring-shaped and overlapped the black stripes on its

body. The width of each blood trace was about a palm-span,
which seemed extremely thin on the blood worm’s enormous
body.

Eh?

Ai Hui counted carefully. There were nine blood traces.

 Nine?

Was this a coincidence? Ai Hui thought to himself

perplexedly. Nine was a special number during the Cultivation
Era, and he couldn’t be sure whether this was related to the
number of blood marks.

The red glow on the surface of the ground continued to

intensify, but Ai Hui noticed that the bloody light on the blood
worm’s body was significantly dimmer than before. Could it be
that the intensifying red glow of the surface was related to the
dimming of the blood worm’s bloody light?

"Jiang Wei, blast open the red ground!" Ai Hui screamed at the
top of his lungs.

Raindrop-like light beams enveloped the ground.

Boom!

The dazzling burst of light was accompanied with a burst of

sound.
 Chunks of red soil flew into the air, revealing an enormous pit
in the ground and the body of the blood worm in it.

The blood worm was clearly enraged. It twisted its gigantic

body and swept it across the area.

Its terrifying rampage forced everyone to retreat.

Boom boom boom!

The abandoned houses that stood above the ground of rubble

were completely demolished. Stones and bricks flew
everywhere as explosions resounded through the air. The
destructive power of the blood worm was formidable.

Everyone was in a state of confusion, and it caused the

formation of the unit to collapse immediately.

"Are there any ways to deal with it?" Shi Xueman appeared
beside Ai Hui and asked anxiously.

"There are some developments," Ai Hui said softly. "Enrage it

and let it exhaust its energy."

Without asking why, Shi Xueman engaged the blood worm

straightaway.

Ai Hui’s brain was turning rapidly. He roughly understood the

situation with the blood worm. It was indeed a troublesome
opponent with its gargantuan body, strength, defense, and
regenerative ability. However, this did not mean it lacked
weaknesses. For example, its destructive power was rather
limited, which could be seen from the small number of
casualties on Ai Hui’s side—not many were severely injured by
it.

It must have been crucial for them to alter the terrain, or else
they would not have drawn out such an enraged reaction from
the blood worm.

Bloody glow, mucus, blood traces.

The bloody glow on the blood worm’s body had dimmed

significantly, with only a thin layer left. The main issue was the
layer of mucus. It was slippery and thick, an impregnable
armor. So long as they could break through this layer of mucus,
they would be able to attack the blood traces.

There must be a way!

Ai Hui encouraged himself. In the past, when he was in the

Wilderness, he had witnessed many formidable dire beasts
slayed at the hands of humans’ meticulous strategies.

His eyes lit up at once, and he yelled, "Who has a freezing

ability? Or any ice-freezing drugs?"

The mucus was impregnable, but it was a liquid after all. Once
it came into contact with the chilling cold, it would freeze and
harden. And with the layer hardened hardened, its viscosity
would drop until it could no longer endure the blood worm’s
tremendous strength.

"I do!" Duanmu Huanghun replied.

"Alright!" Ai Hui screamed. "The rest of you use ranged

attacks!"
 At his command, Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun unleashed a
torrential pouring of arrows onto the blood worm as if their
arrows cost nothing. They did not care anymore about the
unit’s formation; instead, everyone focused on channeling their
elemental energy with all their might.

The sky was raining with streaks of light.

At this point, nobody held anything back in their attacks.

"Ingrate, get ready!" Ai Hui snarled.

Duanmu Huanghun almost tripped and fell down. This

bastard!

However, he could not be bothered with Ai Hui right now. He

channeled all of the elemental energy in his body, revealing
cloud-like patterns beneath his feet. Soon after, he flew through
the air and appeared above the blood worm.

Duanmu Huanghun was extremely imposing as he hovered in

the air with swirling green flowers beneath his feet. That
handsome face of his stared ruthlessly at the writhing blood
worm, and the clothes on his body fluttered despite the lack of
air currents. The glinting of his eyes became brighter,
resembling the stars in the night sky.

From the battle’s beginning until now, his [Viridescent

Flower] had been unable to pose any threats to the blood worm.
Against its gargantuan body, his vines were too feeble.

When Ai Hui asked for someone with a freezing ability, he had

responded without any hesitation. [Viridescent Flower] had a
freezing move, [Symbol of Ice].

Only, it was as pity that he hadn’t fully mastered this move

yet. Given his current base level, it would exhaust him to
execute this move.

But he did not think about such things and directly

volunteered himself for the task.

There was no time for hesitation.

Suspended in the air, Duanmu Huanghun emanated a

powerful aura, the elemental energy in his body channeled to
the limits. He raised his arms, his slender fingers spread out like
blossomed flowers.

The elemental energy in his body followed an unfamiliar

path.

He was concentrated now more than ever before. The usually

smooth elemental energy felt abnormally sluggish. He
uncaringly continued to channel his elemental energy with
great determination and urgency.

Numerous green flowers flew from his fingertips and swirled

around his body, resembling leaves that were swept up by the
wind. They danced and aggregated until they formed a cascade
of green flowers that spun rapidly around him.

His lips curled into a crazed smile. The ruthlessness in his eyes
resembled blazing flames.

How can a mere [Symbol of Ice]....

Bright-red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, lending

an ethereal beauty to his pale-white, handsome face. The
clothes on his body fluttered loudly as the cascade of green
flowers swirled with increasing speed around his body.

…. stop me, Duanmu Huanghun!

In the air, Duanmu Huanghun smiled silently. Traces of blood

stains could be seen on his neat and white teeth.

The flower-like blossomed fingers suddenly froze, sending the

cascade of green flowers in a deluge towards the blood worm.
Chapter 205: [Viridescent Flower, Icy
Fissure]
"I didn’t expect the mayor to be a survivor of the Battle of the
Dawn."

The teacher speaking was Tao Yiwei, a good friend of Wang

Shouchuan.

He was the teacher with the best performance in the entire

Central Pine City. Not only was he cool-headed during combat,
but he also led the students to achieve remarkable battle results.
The continuous string of battles wore down his educated
appearance, however, making the current Old Tao a different
man altogether. Even his good friend, Wang Shouchuan, could
not recognize him at first sight.

Similarly, if Tao Yiwei saw Wang Shouchuan, he wouldn’t be

able to recognize the latter at first glance either.

This blood catastrophe was like a large smelting furnace, and

all those thrown in came out a different person.

In the past, Tao Yiwei did not treat Wang Zhen with respect,
but this time around, a tinge of respect could be sensed in his
tone towards the mayor.

As the two flew with all their might, they exchanged some
words.

"Yes." The dean sighed with sorrow. He used to think of Wang

Zhen as an ordinary veteran retired from the front lines. Never
did he expect him to have such an illustrious background.

He suddenly recalled that when he asked Wang Zhen about

his leg injury, all he’d been told was that it happened ten years
ago.

Ten years ago, there was nothing more sensational than the
Battle of the Dawn.

Ten years ago, Ye Baiyi led 42 elite members and 80

reinforcement troops from the Icy Flames Division against the
boundless flood of dire beasts and held onto the Flaming
Canyon for fifteen days.

The battle began and ended at dawn, and thus it was given the
name Battle of the Dawn.

By the end, there were only six survivors.

Corpses were splayed about the Flaming Canyon, and the

rivers flowed with blood. From that battle onwards, the canyon
reeked of blood and remained barren forever.

Ye Baiyi gained prestige from that battle and led a meteoric

rise to the top of his profession. He eventually displaced the
disfavored Le Buyu as the division leader of the Icy Flames
Division at the age of twenty-two. Everyone went on to call him
Icy Flames Ye.

He was written into the annals of history as the youngest

leader of the Thirteen Divisions.

The Battle of the Dawn was one of the most famous battles of
the past twenty years. And in the past fifty, its devastating
nature remained unmatched.

The Avalon of Five Elements had long achieved a dominant

position over the Wilderness. Hence, for the past few hundred
years, territorial expansion had been their main priority. This is
what made the Battle of the Dawn so memorable—there had
been zero indication of the dire beasts’ invasion, which threw
them into a precarious situation.

Upon hearing that Wang Zhen was one of the survivors of the
Battle of the Dawn, their astonishment was unimaginable. It
was no wonder Wang Zhen never disclosed his division.

"I didn’t expect it, I really didn’t expect it." Tao Yiwei shook
his head in disbelief. "The hero of the Battle of the Dawn
actually came to our Central Pine City. It seems our city is a
blessed place."

"It’s a good thing for us." The dean used to think that Wang
Zhen was leading poorly, but now that he knew his background,
he immediately felt that the situation was far graver than he
originally thought.

Tao Yiwei replied, "He has a lot of confidence in the A-1 unit."

He thought about Old Wang’s disciple, Ai Hui. He was the

only student of Central Pine City whom he was familiar with.
He then recalled Wang Shouchuan’s blueprint and felt only the
greatest admiration for his old friend. Both master and student
were extremely formidable.

"It’s not that I don’t have enough confidence in them," the

dean explained, remembering his previous objections. "But in
the end, they’re still kids. Who can be responsible for them if
they are to meet with any mishaps?"

"Maybe he thinks the A-1 unit can produce an Icy Flames Ye."
Tao Yiwei chuckled.

"How can there be such a good thing?" The dean laughed

along.

If one made a joke, the listener would treat it as a joke as well.

Which division leader of the Thirteen Divisions wasn’t an

extraordinary individual? It was inaccurate to say that they
were the thirteen most powerful individuals in the Avalon of
Five Elements, but surely it wasn’t wrong to say that they were
some of the most powerful elementalists in the Avalon of Five
Elements.
 For every one that became a leader of a division, everyone in
the world would address them by their surname, followed by
"division leader" out of respect.

The division leader was not only the leader of a division that
held power over life-and-death—they were also the spiritual
emblem for that division. To become a division leader, they
were required to have top-tier capabilities, and another was to
have charisma. A subordinate would only be willing to follow
and pour in their utmost effort for a good leader. If the leader
was widely disapproved of, they would not be able to hold on to
that position for long.

By now, everyone’s distrust towards Wang Zhen had

disappeared.

With a veteran who had gone through such a devastating

experience like the Battle of the Dawn as their commander, they
still could not obtain victory, thus proving that the situation
was indeed outside of their control.

Suddenly, an energy wave from ahead caught their attention.

"Wood elemental energy…. It’s [Viridescent Flower]!" The

dean’s facial expression changed minutely as he blurted out,
"Duanmu Huanghun!"

The dean understood Duanmu Huanghun more than anyone

else, and as such, he could immediately identify whom the
energy wave belonged to. It was Duanmu Huanghun’s genius
that had built up the prestige of his Central Pine Academy—he
was the number one talent in the school.

Such a formidable display of elemental energy far exceeded

Duanmu Huanghun’s base level.

The dean was burning with anxiety.

…...

Duanmu Huanghun’s fixed his rigid fingers at the blood

worm.

The green flowers that rapidly swirled around Duanmu

Huanghun suddenly disappeared. With an ear-piercing sound
like that of a shattering vase, numerous green flowers then
exploded into green snowflakes that engulfed the blood worm.
 A penetrating, haughty gaze overtook Duanmu Huanghun’s
eyes. His mouth curled into a cold sneer before he clenched his
fists.

Splat!

He spat out a mouthful of bloody mist. Even so, his facial

expression did not change. It was as if the blood he expelled was
not his own.

The green flowers that exploded disappeared once more.

Following which, numerous green flower patterns appeared on
the scarlet body of the blood worm. The uneven verdant
patterns that spread across the blood worm’s body made it look
as though it was made of green porcelain.

In the air, Duanmu Huanghun abruptly straightened his body.

He did not bother to wipe the blood stains from his mouth. His
tall and upright suspended form displayed an indescribable
confidence.

There was an impish smile on his devilishly handsome face,

like that of a child who had done a mischievous deed.
 He elegantly clapped his hands once.

[Viridescent Flower, Icy Fissure]!

Crack crack crack!

Throughout the layer of mucus on the blood worm’s body,

numerous cracks appeared. It was like watching an iceberg
crack and disintegrate upon itself.

The blood worm twisted frantically from the pain caused by

the frostbite.

Crack crack crack!

The crackling noises sounded more frequently and with

increasing volume. In mid-air, Duanmu Huanghun resembled a
refined magician who was waiting for his magic performance to
unfold.

Large chunks of ice fell from the blood worm’s body—the

frozen mucus.
 The naked body of the blood worm finally appeared before
everyone’s eyes.

"Iron Lady, the blood traces!" Ai Hui roared as he surged

forward.

When Shi Xueman heard the two words ‘iron lady’, she did
not have any reaction except to grasp her Cirrus tightly,
revealing the fury in her heart.

[Oblique Slash, Misty Strike]. Using all of his might, Ai Hui

pierced his Dragonspine Inferno into the blood traces on the
blood worm’s body.

The jabs from Shi Xueman’s Cirrus landed on the blood worm
like torrential rain, each motion surrounded by snow-white
mist. With each strike on the blood worm’s body, the sprays of
blood became larger and larger.

Sang Zhijun also clenched her teeth and retrieved her Bunny
Hair Arrow. Once the arrow was shot out, it materialized into a
thin streak of light that pierced into the blood worm’s blood
traces.
 The blood worm’s astonishing vitality was drained slowly,
and it wrung its body agitatedly. For each strike on its body,
that part shattered.

Ai Hui was frenzied; the stabbing effect of [Misty Strike] was

not useful in this situation. While he attacked with his [Oblique
Slash], he continued to actively dodge the blood worm’s attacks.

Slash by slash, he hacked at a specific blood trace

continuously.

Pop!

Suddenly, his Dragonspine Inferno hit nothing but air. A

section of the blood worm’s bucket-wide body was chopped off
by Ai Hui.

The students broke into cheers.

Despite being cleaved into two, it refused to die. The two

separate parts were writhing, but Ai Hui noticed that after
chopping it apart, its powers had dropped significantly.
 Pop. Shi Xueman had chopped off another section.

The rest of the students, who previously could not find an

opportunity to launch their attacks, surged forward together.
Even Fatty was overwhelmed by a fervor of unknown source
and rushed ahead to attack the worm.

With more manpower came more power. The students strictly

followed Ai Hui’s orders and hacked at the blood traces only.
The blood worm with its nine blood traces was being hacked
into ten pieces.

At last, the last strand of life disappeared completely from the

massive blood worm.

The dean, Old Tao, and the elite unit arrived just in time to
see everyone converging to hack at the worm.

Seeing the ten separate sections of the blood worm’s corpse on

the ground, shivers crawled down their spines.

They had heard about the A-1 unit’s exceptional capability.

Now that they witnessed it with their own eyes, the A-1 unit was
truly terrifying….

Exhausted to the bone, the students collapsed to the ground as

one.

Even as the elite unit descended from the sky, nobody

bothered with them. When Ai Hui saw them gathering around
the blood worm’s corpse, he reminded them, "Don’t touch it.
The blood crystals are ours."

Instead of flaring up at Ai Hui’s impoliteness, the commander

of the elite unit merely said, "Don’t worry, who wants the blood
crystals? Not bad. All of you actually managed to kill a blood
worm. It seems we can’t underestimate this unit anymore."

"You flatter us. Sir, how do I address you?" Ai Hui replied

weakly.

"My surname is Zhang. You can call me Old Zhang." The man
chuckled. "You don’t need to introduce yourself. As of now, the
A-1 unit is renowned. In the future, if we’re ever in trouble and
you happen to pass by, please lend us a hand. These blood
crystals are our spoils of war from our previous battle. Let’s
form a partnership then."
 Ai Hui looked with surprise at Old Zhang. He felt that this
person was rather nice and nodded. "Thank you for your gift
then, Old Zhang. If we encounter you and your unit, we’ll do
our best to help you."

Ai Hui did not want to promise Old Zhang anything. Even

though the blood crystals were valuable, they were not worth
their lives.

"All right, we’re considered friends then. Now, we still have

another mission awaiting us, so we have to leave. Until later."
Old Zhang chuckled and left with his unit.

Seeing the other party leave, Ai Hui rubbed his throat and
said, "Lou Lan, clean up the blood crystals."

"No problem, Ai Hui!" Lou Lan cheered.

Ai Hui cast a glance at Duanmu Huanghun and said, "Ingrate,

if you’re not capable enough, then don’t force yourself. Tsk, I
thought you were confident, but I didn’t expect that you were
taking a gamble."
 Duanmu Huanghun didn’t bother with Ai Hui. He greedily
gulped in breaths of air as an indescribable excitement arose
within him.

Despite his severe injuries, he had relieved the pent-up anger

inside his heart during the battle. He felt an indescribable
contentment, and his body was extremely relaxed.

This was the life he wanted!

This was the Duanmu Huanghun he knew!

He didn’t mind dying as long as it was a glorious death!

He didn’t mind dying as long as he garnered everyone’s

respect!
Chapter 206: Yu Mingqiu
Yu Mingqiu was a man of tall stature. His long hair was tied
up into a ponytail using a red hairband and his small and
slanted eyes made him look as if he would fall asleep at anytime.
On the contrary, all the elementalists around him were on high
alert. They had already reached the depths of the Induction
Ground.

"How much longer until we reach Central Pine City?" Yu

Mingqiu asked while yawning lazily.

"Approximately three days’ time," replied an elementalist

after doing some calculations.

"So sleepy." Tears welled up in Yu Mingqiu’s sleepy eyes. "Life

is tough. Rushing here and there, how many nights of sleep
have we missed? Light equipment and little manpower; how can
I be so low-profile, I am, after all, a division leader…"

"Sir, you’re only a vice-division leader," reminded one of his

subordinates.

"Oh, oh, oh... I’m still a vice-division leader, huh." Yu Mingqiu

chuckled while yawning again. "A blemish does not obscure a
jade’s lustre. In any case, vice-division leaders are always being
dispatched for such situations. Haven’t you noticed that only
the vice-division leaders are being dispatched?"

"All the division leaders are being stationed at the front line
and they can’t be moved," an elementalist replied. "Reportedly,
the front line is rather unsettled recently and there has been
continuous harassment from the barbarian tribes. There are
already a few places where fights have broken out."

"Bullshit!" Yu Mingqiu snorted. "How long have we been

fighting the barbarian tribes? Don’t you know their actual
capabilities? It’s such a coincidence that they attack us at this
critical point in time. Haha, they are definitely colluding with
the mastermind behind the blood catastrophe. As far as I am
concerned, the blood poison is what we should prioritize right
now!"

"Isn’t the blood catastrophe a natural epidemic? You mean it’s

a man-made one?" The subordinate’s face turned pale with
fright.

"You’re right about that."

 "No wonder the blood fiends are getting stronger these days."
the subordinate’s tone was filled with worry. "We need to
increase our speed. The other units might have already arrived."

"It’s impossible," Yu Mingqiu replied with irritation as he

involuntarily yawned again. "No one can be faster than we are.
They are heading out from the front line while we are coming
from our holidays. How can it be the same? It’s a different
scenario! Those old fogeys had better compensate me
handsomely for the time I have wasted. Otherwise, I will not let
them off!"

"But Sir, you’re the one who wanted to go over…" the

subordinate retorted.

"Rubbish, I need to go and save Mingxiu. Otherwise, Senior

will kill me." Yu Mingqiu took a sweeping glance at everyone.
"How about I let you all go back now? The next time all of you
are in trouble, there will be no need for me to come to your
rescue, right?"

Everyone remained silent.

"Sir, are we those kinds of people?"

 "Sir, we have been following you for several days and nights!"

"Sir, you are only thinking about Miss Mingxiu, right?"

...

"All the while, I have been missing her," Yu Mingqiu replied

lazily. "If not for her master’s wrath, I would have gone to
Central Pine City for my holidays and lived happily ever after
with Mingxiu. I wouldn’t even care for the position of division
leader."

"Mister Lu will beat you to death, no, he would not let you die
that easily." The subordinate ch"It appears that Miss Mingxiu
has rejected you a few times," the subordinate continued.
"Actually, both of you are rather close. She treats you like her
own elder brother."

uckled.

When Yu Mingqiu thought of his senior, he couldn’t help but

tremble in fear. If he was to fall into the hands of his senior, he
would not be allowed to die easily even if he wanted to.
 "It appears that Miss Mingxiu has rejected you a few times,"
the subordinate continued. "Actually, both of you are rather
close. She treats you like her own elder brother."

With a look of disdain, Yu Mingqiu replied, "What do you

know? Which girl in the world doesn’t say that? Mingxiu’s
rejection is precisely why I see that there’s still hope for me. It’s
normal for a nice and beautiful girl like her to be pursued by so
many guys."

"Then it will be very difficult for you," the subordinate replied

after a long hesitation.

"It’s a pity that there’s not enough time for Mingxiu and I to
cuddle this time around." Yu Mingqiu put on an unhappy face.
"There’s also a small Junior who Master has just accepted as his
disciple, a brat from the Duanmu clan. Why can’t it be a female
Junior? Really! Why can’t Master spare a thought for the love
lives of his two disciples? I don’t care if Senior wasted his life by
practising abstinence, but what about me? Do I need to waste
my youthful years as well? Speaking of which, I feel really sad.
Alright, since we are under the same Master, I don’t mind
saving my little Junior; but then, what about Shi Beihai’s
daughter? What does she have to do with me? He is from the
North Sea Division whereas I’m from the Deathgrass Division.
We’ve got nothing to do with each other."
 "So, we don’t save them?" the subordinate questioned.

"Hmm… we still have to save them." Yu Mingqiu gave a bitter-

looking face. "I’m afraid of Shi Beihai beating me up. He would
definitely do it. Other than Master and Senior, none of us here
are his match. If it happens, Master and Senior definitely won’t
help me."

"Miss Shi is a great beauty," the subordinate reminded.

"My heart belongs to Mingxiu!" Yu Mingqiu gave a slight

cough. "I heard that she is an austere beauty. Oh, that means
she is also an icy beauty. I think she’s Senior’s type of girl. I can
forget about it. Anyways, I’m doing this for everyone’s sakes.
We only have around one hundred people. How many people
can we actually save?"

"How many can we save?" The subordinate asked while

looking at Yu Mingqiu. Yu Mingqiu’s reply would decide the
difficulty of the situation they were going to face.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Yu Mingqiu simultaneously.

 After a slight hesitation, Yu Mingqiu replied, "We will first
help them with their defenses. If the defense can’t hold, we will
bring three people to retreat with us; they will be Mingxiu,
Duanmu Huanghun, and Shi Xueman."

He had to think of and be responsible for his subordinates.

They had a total of one hundred men and the blood fiends were
getting increasingly stronger. It would be very difficult for them
to break out of a siege if it was necessary for them to do so. They
did not have the capability to bring so many people out with
them.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. The atmosphere of the unit

brightened up once more. It was not a big problem for an elite
unit like them to retreat with three people.

Suddenly, Yu Mingqiu’s eyes shrunk and he yelled, "There are

enemies right in front of us, prepare for battle!"

A massive red cloud was flying towards them at a terrifying

speed.

When the massive red cloud flew closer to them, they could
clearly see that it was a bunch of oversized blood bats. The
blood bats were huge in number, looking like a massive red
cloud from afar.

Yu Mingqiu shook his head and moaned. "There are birds

coming from afar, prepare to feed them the melons!"

A seed appeared out of thin air on his palm. As he channeled

his elemental energy into the seed, it germinated, grew,
blossomed, and bore fruits at a visible speed.

Within seconds, two fist-sized, dark green, ripened melons

appeared on his palm. The vines, stem, and roots of the melons
had reduced to nothing but dust, leaving only a few pieces of
leaves.

These melons were called the Thousand Seeds Exploding

Melons. The ‘Thousand Seeds’ referred to the huge number of
seeds that it had inside of it. There were more than a thousand
seeds in every melon. This melon was one of the classic battle
melons that the Deathgrass Division liked to use.

Yu Mingqiu inserted two pieces of leaves into every melon.

 Everyone followed suit.

With a frivolous look on his face, Yu Mingqiu blew his whistle

and yelled, "Get ready!"

"Fire in the hole!" Yu Mingqiu roared and threw the melons in

his hands towards the incoming blood bats.

Everyone followed suit. Two hundred melons flew towards

the incoming blood bats with a whizzing sound.

When the blood bats noticed the small black dots that were
flying towards them, they flapped their wings and dispersed in
all directions.

Suddenly, the leaves that were inserted into the melons

started flapping. Like wings, the leaves flapped faster and faster.
The melons’ flying speed increased abruptly, causing them to
fly even faster.

The deafening whizzing sound got increasingly louder,

striking fear into one’s heart.
 They were like shadows of death, ruthlessly plunging into the
bunches of blood bats that did not manage to disperse in time.
The melons then exploded with a loud bang. Hundred of
thousands of seeds exploded in all directions. Every seed that
pierced into the body of a blood bat exploded once more.

The series of explosions wiped out the horde of blood bats like
a violent storm.

This wave of attacks certainly caught the powerful horde of

blood bats by surprise. A tremendous amount of flesh and blood
bat corpses fell from the sky. The previously cloud-like horde of
blood bats had been reduced significantly in number.

"There are no big birds in this world that would want to gnaw
on grass after eating melons!"

As Yu Mingqiu was reciting his poem, he loaded his bow with

an arrow.

Everyone broke out in laughter, following which, they also

loaded their bows with arrows while reciting, "There are no big
birds in this world that don’t want to gnaw on grass after eating
melons!"
 A rain of grass arrows came pouring down from the sky.

When the blood bats saw the incoming weak-looking grass

arrows, they did not bother to dodge and surged forward.

At the instance when the grass arrows made contact with the
blood bats, all of the arrows transformed into a huge grass net,
trapping the blood bats within them tightly. The grass nets
might look extremely fine and weak, but in actual fact, they
were very sturdy. No matter how hard those blood bats
struggled, they could not break free.

The blood bats fell from the sky, resembling a rain of

dumplings falling from the sky. Numerous thumps could be
heard coming from the ground.

Splatters of blood that resembled blossomed flowers were

formed on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the cloud-like horde

of blood bats were killed. The remaining blood bats lost their
fighting spirit and retreated.
 Everyone was laughing happily as they kept their bows and
arrows.

"Sir, nice poem!"

"This is a rare opportunity for us to use these lines. Everyone

must memorize them properly!"

"But Sir, bats aren’t birds."

...

Yu Mingqiu acted as if he hadn’t heard them, then played

with the bowstring and sighed. "It’s a pity that Mingxiu didn’t
see my heroism. Otherwise, she’d definitely devote her life to
me. The youngest division leader ever…"

"Sir, it’s vice-division leader!"

"Okay, okay, I’m a vice-division leader. I almost forgot about

it. Every time I recite a poem, I become mentally exhausted."
 Yu Mingqiu put on an act and shook his head. No one had seen
the tinge of worry in his eyes.

After five minutes, a flock of blood sparrows emerged from

the blood forest beneath them.

The blood sparrows were not really powerful, but there was a
huge number of them. Furthermore, they launched a surprise
attack from underneath, catching the elite unit by surprise.
They were starting to have casualties.

Yu Mingqiu’s face darkened.

After a few minutes, as they were passing through the clouds,

a wave of blood falcons suddenly appeared and attacked them.

The blood falcons were as fast as lightning. They caused the

elite unit to have more casualties. The worst thing was that they
had expended a huge amount of their resources and elemental
energy.

Yu Mingqiu’s heart sank. It felt as if there was a huge,

invisible net silently entrapping them.
 This thought suddenly came to his mind. Could the Induction
Ground be a bait?

The blood catastrophe had started at the weakest place, the

Induction Ground where everyone’s children were located. As
such, the Thirteen Divisions must reinforce it. In this critical
moment, the barbarian tribes had suddenly launched an
invasion against the front line, causing the situation to worsen.
What followed was the same response from every division
leader, which was to dispatch their vice-division leaders.

On one side, the higher-ups must defend the front line; on the
other side, they had to protect everyone’s sons and daughters.
Hence, they had to send the vice-division leaders for the latter
task. The life of a vice-division leader was so miserable…

Until now, a lot of people still thought that the blood

catastrophe was a natural disaster.

This was such a perfect plan, Yu Mingqiu exclaimed in

admiration silently.

Encircling an enemy post in order to attack the

reinforcements coming to its aid. Even when one recognized the
trap, he or she would have already been caught in it.

Yu Mingqiu’s facial expression changed. Then, he said to his

subordinate, "We must split ways. You all will break out of the
siege while I will continue towards Central Pine City."

"Sir!" the subordinate became worried immediately.

"Listen to me." Yu Mingqiu’s usually joking self had

completely disappeared as he spoke solemnly. "We will split
ways and all of you will return to seek reinforcements!
Remember, stop the other divisions from following and try to
make them do their best to unite together. There’s a
mastermind behind the blood catastrophe! I will go to Central
Pine City. Don’t worry, I will fly at my highest speed. The blood
fiends will not be able to catch up with me. I will wait for your
reinforcements in Central Pine City. Hurry up, I will cover all of
you for awhile."

Even though his subordinate was unwilling to do so, he did

not dare to disobey Yu Mingqiu’s order. Clenching his teeth, he
turned around and flew off.

Yu Mingqiu looked at the incoming blood falcons and blew a

whistle. An aura of killing intent rose in his slanted eyes. "I
really want to see who caused all these troubles? It’s never easy
to take advantage of me."
Chapter 207: The Discussion on Blood
Crystals
Ai Hui and his counterparts were able to defeat the blood
worm, but were mentally and physically exhausted at the same
time. The previous order that required them to launch another
wave of attacks had been cancelled as a result.

The first thing Ai Hui did when he returned to the training

hall was to run to the message tree and write down everything
that had happened today. He carefully described the process of
attacking the nine blood traces on the blood worm’s body.

At this critical stage, he no longer cared about the Blood of

God as he might be killed by blood fiends at anytime. The threat
of the Blood of God might be great, but it was not greater than
the threat of being eaten by blood fiends on the spot.

If he did not even know whether or not he would live to see

tomorrow, why would he care about the day after tomorrow?

The old man simply asked him to be careful and to survive

this catastrophe. If necessary, he wanted Ai Hui to destroy the
message tree and that piece of leaf. After all, any message tree
could be used to contact him.
 Ai Hui was slightly disappointed. He wanted to know specific
information about the blood fiends, such as their weaknesses,
which would be helpful for his current plight.

Although Ai Hui was disappointed, the fight against the blood

catastrophe carried on, and he still had to depend on himself.

The amount of blood crystals that the blood worm produced

was far more than what the blood ants had yielded.
Furthermore, the blood worm’s blood crystals were also of
higher quality. There are a total of 10 pieces of blood crystals.
Every piece was thumb-sized, sparkling, translucent, and
smooth. Even though the body of the blood worm was so huge,
it had only produced 10 blood crystals. Ai Hui was cursing the
blood worm repeatedly in his heart. What was the point of
growing so big when it could only produce 10 pieces of blood
crystals?

The elite unit’s leader, whose surname was Zhang, had given
them three additional blood crystals. The quality of his blood
crystals was not as good as the blood worm’s. They must have
been obtained from the blood ants.

Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, Sang Zhijun, Jiang Wei,

Fatty, and Wang Xiaoshan were called over by Ai Hui.
Perplexed, everyone looked at Ai Hui..

"These are blood crystals." Ai Hui pointed at the blood crystals

on the table.

Everyone cast a baffled glance at Ai Hui. You don’t say!

Everyone knew that these were blood crystals…

"I have discovered one of their uses."

Everyone became alert at once with a look of curiosity on their

faces. Initially, they thought Ai Hui wanted the blood crystals
for monetary reasons like before. They did not expect for him to
find a use for the crystals.

"What use does it have?" the straightforward Sang Zhijun

blurted out.

Shi Xueman took a glance at Ai Hui and felt utterly

astonished. Was there anything that this fellow did not know?
Even the mayor failed to find a use for the blood crystals, yet
this fellow actually had.
 "All of you, take a look."

Ai Hui put his Dragonspine Inferno on the table, picked up a

blood crystal, and placed it on one of the prismatic crystals of
the sword.

The blood crystal rapidly melted and was absorbed into the
prismatic crystal.

Buzz. A strand of electricity sparked off between Ai Hui’s

fingertip and the Dragonspine Inferno

Everyone widened their eyes as amazement rose upon their

faces..

A glint flashed across Shi Xueman’s eyes as a pensive look

appeared on her face.

There were many things that Ai Hui could not explain to

them, like the Blood of God, the old man, etc. As such, he could
only lie to them. "Last time, I touched a blood crystal to the
Dragonspine Inferno and this phenomenon occurred. The
prismatic crystal on the sword is an artifact remnant. What is
an artifact remnant? It’s a portion of an artifact that’s left
behind. This blood crystal is able to stimulate the artifact
remnant. I suspect the blood crystals might contain spiritual
force."

Simultaneous gasps of shock could be heard. Everyone knew

exactly what spiritual force was.

From the day the Avalon of Five Elements was established,

there had been fanatics who were persistently trying to seek the
remains of the Cultivation Era. The Avalon of Five Elements
had directly progressed from the Cultivation Era. People were
not completely ignorant of the Cultivation Era. There were
numerous records that contained information on various
mystical spells and artifacts. The legacies of the Cultivation Era
were very rare and precious, causing countless people to lust
over them. The worth of just a miniscule portion of a
Cultivation legacy was enough to surpass the value of the entire
Avalon of Five Elements.

However, no one had succeeded until now.

That was because of spiritual force.

 All artifacts and spells needed spiritual force to function.
Without spiritual force, the mountainous heaps of artifacts
might as well be thrown into the Silver Mist Sea. Without
spiritual force, those apocalyptic supreme spells were just
cheap-selling scraps and rubbish.

Of course, if spiritual force could be found, those

mountainous heaps of artifacts and spells would become
mountain sized heaps of gold.

While talking, Ai Hui shamelessly took another blood crystal

and pressed it against his Dragonspine Inferno.

"Let us see how many blood crystals the Dragonspine Inferno

can absorb?"

Everyone else’s gazes were immediately captivated by the

Dragonspine Inferno, with curiosity surging through their
faces.

After absorbing three blood crystals in a row, the Dragonspine

Inferno could not absorb any more blood crystals. There was an
astonishing transformation in the Dragonspine Inferno’s
appearance. The previously reddish-black body of the sword
had become silver-white in color. The sword was surging with
silvery lightning sparks. The red prismatic crystals had become
transparent and the lightning sparks within them were much
more stronger than before.

The entire sword was glowing with a white luster. One could
tell that it was an extraordinary weapon with just a single look.

The sword had become lighter and thinner as well. Its texture
resembled that of metal instead of wood. The edge of the sword
became much sharper. Even the previously crimson wave
patterns on the blade were replaced by silver ones.

"It’s magical!"

"Oh my god!"

Cheers broke out. Everyone was flabbergasted and even Ai

Hui was shocked. His jaw dropped and a stupefied expression
was fixed on his face. Was this his Dragonspine Inferno? If he
had not seen the entire process of the transformation with his
own eyes, he would never have thought that this gleaming
treasure sword was his Dragonspine Inferno.
 Brandishing his new sword, Ai Hui felt something unusual
from it.

Indeed, even though the sword had become much lighter and
thinner, Ai Hui did not find it unfamiliar. On the contrary, he
was weirdly accustomed to the sword, as if it was part of his
body.

"Do you want to give it a try?" Ai Hui looked at Shi Xueman.

"All right!" Shi Xueman replied without any hesitation,

looking somewhat eager and excited.

Such a transformation had exceeded the limits of her

imagination. She was extremely interested in Ai Hui’s sword.

Ai Hui executed the [Oblique Slash] and a streak of lightning

flashed across the air.

Amazement rose in Shi Xueman’s eyes. It was so fast!

Ai Hui’s [Oblique Slash] was approximately 33% faster than

usual. This shocked Shi Xueman and she quickly pulled out her
spear to deflect the incoming attack.

The streak of lightning and the Cirrus collided against each

other.

Ai Hui took two steps back. The weight of the Cirrus was
indeed frightening. Furthermore, with the powerful spiralling
effect of the spear, Shi Xueman’s attack was violent and mighty.

On the other side, Shi Xueman did not move a single inch.

Upon seeing Ai Hui’s gaze, a weird look appeared on Shi

Xueman’s face. "My palm is a bit numb."

So this is the feeling of being hit by a lightning-type attack…

Shi Xueman felt rather curious. In the Avalon of Five

Elements, lightning-type offensive methods were not really
developed yet. This was her first time seeing a lightning-type
attack. The numbness in her palm piqued her curiosity.
 The rest were curious as well. All of them jump forward,
wanting to give it a try.

"It’s numb, it’s numb!" Sang Zhijun yelled excitedly.

"Eh, it’s really numb," Jiang Wei felt incredulous.

"It feels as if I have eaten a lot of peppers! Why does it feel

worse than peppers? Even my face feels numb!" Wang Xiaoshan
shouted.

"That’s because you never eat chillies before! If you eat

enough chillies, not only your face will be numb, haha," Fatty
spoke from his experience.

"Your face will be numb if I stab a sword into it," Duanmu

Huanghun said suddenly.

...

It was as if everyone had found a toy. All of them were

extremely excited.
 The direction that the discussion was going to… did not seem
right…

Ai Hui was stunned.

He coughed softly and interrupted the ongoing nonsensical

discussion, "All right, let us discuss how to make use of this
unique characteristic of the blood crystals?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at him pensively.

"Our target is to get out of this place alive. Looking at the

current situation, this goal is rather difficult to achieve. We are
in deep water now. Even though the mayoral office keeps on
emphasizing that there will be reinforcements, we still need to
prepare for the worst. What if there are no reinforcements?
What if the reinforcements are slightly late?"

Ai Hui said a lot of things in one go. However, there were a lot
of things he left unsaid, like the Blood of God for example.

He had a hunch that the reinforcements might not reach them

smoothly. He did not know how to explain this to the other, and
as such, he could only use the phrase "prepare for the worst."

When he saw a contemplative look on everyone’s face, he

continued, "No one knows how to use the blood crystals yet.
Can we use them to strengthen ourselves? How should we do it
then? Everyone, let us think about these questions together."

All of them nodded their head. They did not care about
anyone else. What mattered the most was that they, themselves,
survived.

"We need to better understand the nature of the blood crystals

first." Surprisingly, Duanmu Huanghun was the first to speak
out. He then continued coldly, "It worked for your Dragonspine
Inferno, but what about other artifact remnants? Do they work
on artifacts? If so, what types of artifacts do they work on?

"There are too few blood crystals." Fatty’s face was sore. "With
a scarcity of blood crystals, they will be gone in an instant if we
try anything with them."

"That’s right." Sang Zhijun was reluctant as well.

 Shi Xueman collected her thoughts and said, "What Ai Hui
said is right. If the reinforcements are able to reach us quickly,
the blood crystals are not really that important. If the
reinforcements are late or there are no reinforcements, then we
will have plenty of blood crystals. Furthermore, we can ask
other teams for their blood crystals as well. We can say we are
investigating the uses of blood crystals. Huanghun and I will go
and find the mayor. He most likely will agree to our proposal."

Everyone nodded their heads.

"We can investigate the crystals openly, including their effects

on artifacts. I believe the mayor will help us to locate a large
amount of artifacts and artifact remnants." Shi Xueman might
not have a loud voice, but her words contained a convincing
power. "Other than that, we will need blacksmiths as well. We
need help to embed the artifact remnants into weapons or to
transform the artifact remnants into equipment."

"Lou Lan can do it!" Lou Lan raised his hand happily.

"Lou Lan is fabulous! You know everything!"

"Almighty Lou Lan!"

 "Lou Lan, can you just directly tell us what you don’t know?"

"Lou Lan, come home with me!"

Everyone was praising Lou Lan with liveliness.

Lou Lan was very happy that everyone liked him.

"After we finish with our investigation, we will report our

findings to the mayor’s office," Shi Xueman continued to
explain. "Once Ai Hui’s lightning sword appears, it will catch
the attention of the mayor’s office. We can’t hide it. Rather than
being forced to give it up, why not take the initiative?
Furthermore, without the support of the mayor’s office, our
progress will be very slow. Also, if we report our findings to the
mayor, we will be rewarded with merit points. If we do it before
any of the others, we might be able to get Heaven Merit Points.
And if we can survive this catastrophe, these merit points will
be very useful to us. As for the gains we obtain before we submit
our findings to the mayor, I believe he won’t make things
difficult for us."

Shi Xueman’s explanations were clear and precise, displaying

authority and convincing everyone.
 "Let’s do it then!"

Ai Hui made the final decision and cast a thoughtful look at

Shi Xueman.

For an iron lady that had big boobs, she was rather smart.
Chapter 208: Weak Aura
Yu Mingqiu spat out a mouthful of saliva. When he saw the
flying beasts in the distance, his face darkened.

The difficulty of the battles had far exceeded his expectations.

These blood birds were far more troublesome than what he

had anticipated. The most troublesome thing was that there was
a huge number of them. In less than half a day, he had killed
more than 10 blood birds that had nine blood traces on each of
their bodies. He had encountered a variety of species such as
falcons, vultures, etc. There were also a lot of species that he
had never seen before. It was possible that these unknown
species might have mutated after being inflicted with the blood
poison, causing them to become drastically altered so that he
was unable to recognize them.

There were all kinds of odd-looking blood fiends, but all of

them had one thing in common—they had nine blood traces on
their bodies.

He might appear nonchalant on the surface, but he was an

experienced and well-trained elite after all, so he definitely
would not miss such an obvious characteristic such as the nine
blood traces. He conjectured that the number of blood traces
might have something to do with the base level of the blood
fiends. Dire beasts also had such unique marks to indicate their
base level.

The nine traced blood birds were rather powerful, but in the
eyes of Yu Mingqiu, who was a vice division leader, they were
weak. However, there were truly too many blood birds, and
they were very crafty. The soaring blood birds in the distance
did not expect Yu Mingqiu to specialize in archery. After he
killed several blood birds in one shot, these blood birds flew
further away from him.

To free himself from these blood birds, Yu Mingqiu flew down

into the blood forest below him. However, the situation in the
blood forest was even worse. Blood fiends surged toward him
like tidal wave.

He had no choice but to ascend to the sky again.

To break free from the blood bird flock, he could only fly
forward at his top speed. However, every time he was about to
break free from the pursuing blood birds, he would encounter a
new concentrated legion of blood birds that flew toward him
from his front. He had no choice but to engage them in battle.
 Once he engaged, his flying speed would slow down.

To kill each subsequent group of blood birds that were

obstructing his forward path, he would exert himself
strenuously and the pursuing blood birds behind him would
catch up to him. In the end, the number of blood birds that
surrounded him was getting larger and larger.

"Why am I so popular? Is it possible that I’m considered

handsome among the blood fiends?" Yu Mingqiu muttered to
himself with a helpless look on his face.

All along, he suspected that there was a mastermind

commanding the fiends from the shadows. However, even after
he racked his brain, he could not pinpoint the perpetrator. He
had experienced countless battles of all sizes, but this was the
first time he had encountered such an unusual situation.

I will kill all these birds and see if you will reveal yourself!

"The life of a handsome man is never easy!"

Yu Mingqiu sighed with sorrow and helplessness as he

thought about his life. With a jolt of his body, he suddenly
appeared a few hundred metres away from a particular nine
traced blood bird. Pulling the bowstring with all his might, he
released his arrow and shattered its head in one shot.

"Why wouldn’t the blood birds be attracted to me too? Oh,

you are male. Sorry. Regardless of the gender, a true handsome
man will kill anyone, male or female."

Killing two birds with one stone!

"Perfect archery! Perfect man! A man that even Mingxiu can’t

resist! Luckily senior is not here…."

Yu Mingqiu kept on uttering nonsense nonstop. His hands did

not slow down. His body was as fast as lightning, darting left
and right. The glint of his arrows appeared and disappeared
unpredictably, yet they never missed their targets.

In the blink of an eye, the entire sky was painted with blood
and feathers were scattered everywhere.

He cleared the horde of blood birds in exactly 10 minutes.

Panting heavily, he had satisfied look on his face.

"I’m really pitiful. How can a perfect man like me do such

heavy manual labor? It’s really not appropriate."

This time around, it appeared that he had stunned the

shadowy mastermind. After flying for a long while, he did not
encounter a single blood bird.

As he continued to fly forward, he realized that something

was off.

He stopped flying and took a look at his surroundings. He was

surrounded by a sea of blood forest and could not even see the
end.

His face turned pale white. Damn it! How could he forget such
an important thing…

This handsome man had a poor sense of direction…

…..
 Shi Xueman understood the mayor’s office very well.
Together with Duanmu Huanghun, they headed to the
government building. Even though Wang Zhen was very
surprised that the A-1 unit was interested in the blood crystals,
he still gave them all of his support.

Not only did he grant them all of the blood crystals from the
other units, he also dispatched a team of his subordinates to
help them collect artifacts and artifact remnants.

However, the mayor could not help them recruit blacksmiths

and they could not even find one.

It was also at this point in time that Shi Xueman and the rest
learned that the official strategy revolved around Master Han
Yuqin’s concept of "treating the city as a piece of cloth."

At such a critical time, the efficiency of the mayor’s office was

extremely high. No one wanted to waste any time.

When Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun returned to the

Vanguard Training Hall, they discovered that the first batch of
blood crystals, artifacts, and artifact remnants had already been
delivered.
 The job of processing the blood crystals was fully given to Lou
Lan.

"Treating the city as a piece of cloth." Shi Xueman cast a

glance at Ai Hui. "The designer of this plan is your master,
Wang Shouchuan. The administrator of this plan is your
mistress, Master Han Yuqin."

When Shi Xueman heard about the concept of "treating the

city as a piece of cloth," she was very surprised. Treating the city
as a piece of cloth, what an imposing idea! If not for the fact that
this plan had been approved by the embroidery master Han
Yuqin, Shi Xueman would have thought that it was a bullsh*t
concept.

No one had ever done something like this before.

The one who designed the plan was Wang Shouchuan, who
was Han Yuqin’s husband and Ai Hui’s master. Other than this
background information, she knew nothing about Wang
Shouchuan and had never heard of his name before.

She did not know the specific details, but when she saw how
the mayor and the dean both praised the concept to high heaven
and how all of the deployments revolved around this plan, she
felt extremely confident.

"Master and mistress!" Ai Hui was shocked. However, he soon

calmed down and spoke without any hesitation, "I absolutely
believe in master and mistress. Tell me more about this
concept."

Upon discovering that his master and mistress were taking

actions, Ai Hui immediately felt more at ease. His master and
mistress were proud individuals. If they were willing to take
action, it meant that they had confidence in what they were
doing. Ai Hui was rather excited to see his master and mistress
display their magnificence.

Shi Xueman explained, "Generally speaking, the entire plan is

split into two parts. The first part is to produce nine gigantic
gold needles. Reportedly, the nine gold needles are extremely
fine. Right now, the blacksmiths are forging them with all their
might. We will not be of any help for this part. Once the gold
needles are completed, they will be nailed to nine specific points
in Central Pine City. This step will allow for the conduction and
direction of the elemental energies in the city, forming a
network.. Our mission will most likely be focused on the second
part of the plan."
 Ai Hui rubbed his palms together with an eager look on his
face. "I hope the gold needles can be completed soon."

As a disciple of his master, he could not miss such a big event

no matter what!

This was the first time that Shi Xueman saw such a facial
expression on Ai Hui. From her impression of Ai Hui, no matter
what time it was, he was always calm and cool-headed. Many
times, he was so calm that he seemed unreasonable.

It was only at this moment that she saw Ai Hui express an

emotion that belonged to their young age.

"We have to endure through this period of time," Shi Xueman

reminded. "The attacks from the blood traced fiends will get
more and more ferocious. Our situation will be more dangerous
and arduous as a result. The elite unit has suffered massive
casualties. At the least, we have to endure until the day Master
Han takes action."

She felt slightly sad since the Shi Clan Training Hall had
already had a few men that were sacrificed.
 Since the Shi Clan Training Hall’s guards were more
competent than the average guards, they had been enlisted into
the elite unit. The last battle had a very high number of
casualties.

She was worried about Uncle Yong Zheng, but she did not use
her status to influence the mayor despite her concern. The
mayor might agree to protect Uncle Yong Zheng, but this would
be considered an act of misappropriation and would only bring
shame to both Uncle Yong Zheng and her family.

The point of conscripting the whole city was to make sure that
everyone contributed part of his or her strength and life. No one
was exempt.

After going through such an ordeal, everyone was extremely

exhausted. Everyone was relieved after resolving the main
problem. Even an iron lady like Shi Xueman could not handle it.

Duanmu Huanghun stood motionless at one side, resembling a

stationary wooden stake. Upon closer examination, one would
realize that this guy had actually fallen asleep. A strand of
crystal-clear drool could even be seen on the corner of his
mouth.
 Today, he was completely worn out.

Everyone lay all over the hall, fast asleep.

Ai Hui did not sleep. He sat cross-legged on the ground while

holding the brand new Dragonspine Inferno in his hands. The
more tired he was, the better time it was for him to train. If he
could endure the extreme fatigue, his training results would be
exceptionally good.

In a state of extreme fatigue, one’s mental state and thought

process were scattered and disorganized. It would be very
difficult for one to stay concentrated.

Ai Hui, who possessed a sword embryo, was different from the

others. The essence, breath, and spirit were used to nurture the
sword embryo.

The essence, breath, and spirit were incorporeal energies. A

corporeal entity like the sword embryo was usually nurtured
using incorporeal energies. Ai Hui’s everyday training had
established a solid foundation for this process.
 During his training, Ai Hui quickly felt that his sword embryo
was behaving differently from usual.

Its slow pulsation made Ai Hui feel as if he was in a creek

between a valley. The sound of water flowing resounded
through his ears. However, within a short of period of time, the
sound disappeared and Ai Hui felt another type of pulsation.

This one was extremely weak, resembling a lit candle placed

in a windy area that would be extinguished at any moment.

This was…

Ai Hui calmed himself down and tried to understand what was

going on. He filtered the undulations of elemental energy in his
mind and tried to locate this extremely weak pulsation.

Dragonspine Inferno!

When Ai Hui found the source of the pulsation, seven weakly-

lit dots of light appeared in his consciousness.
 Their luminosity was so weak that he could even differentiate
them from one another.

Their auras were similarly weak.

The faint aura… a somewhat familiar aura… the sword’s aura!

Ai Hui’s mind jolted suddenly, almost causing him to lose his

focus.

These seven artifact remnants might have been part of a

flying sword or a sword-related artifact. Even though they had
been corroded by the Silver Mist Sea for thousands of years, the
remnants still emitted a faint tinge of sword consciousness after
being stimulated by a small amount of spiritual force. It was as
if he had wiped off the dust from an ancient treasure, revealing
its original radiance.

Ai Hui was overjoyed.

It was a lifelong dream for him to be able to comprehend the

sword consciousness that could only be found in the Cultivation
Era.
 He suppressed his ecstasy, gradually calming his mind again.

He was feeling the faintly discernible sword consciousness.

There was absolute silence in the training hall.

In the depths of the training hall, there was a room that was
brightly lit.

Lou Lan, who had been given a heavy responsibility, was busy
going through experiments.

"Deconstruction of the blood crystal, trial number 12. Sand

core, begin recording. Test subject, artifact remnant number 12.
Attempting to derive the unknown energy. Failure!"

...

"Deconstruction of the blood crystal, trial number 37. Sand

core, begin recording. Test subject, artifact remnant number 37.
Attempting to derive the unknown energy. Success. Beginning
power analysis. Analyzing in process. Type of energy, unknown.
Setting up a template. It’s called blood spiritual force.
Undergoing deeper analysis…"

...

"Ratio analysis between blood spiritual force and elemental

energy, trial number 19. Sand core, begin recording."

...

"Interaction between blood spiritual force and elemental

energy. Sand core, begin recording."

...

"Blood spiritual force and earth elemental energy are colliding

against each other. Sand core, begin recording… Warning! Sand
core is being invaded by the blood spiritual force! Defense
mechanism of the sand core activated! Defense mechanism of
the sand core failed! The sand core seal is being damaged! The
sand core seal has been removed! Warning! Elemental energy in
the sand core has been depleted… Substitution mechanism has
activated. The sand core will begin to absorb the blood spiritual
force… Absorbing the blood spiritual force in progress…
Absorbing… Absorbing…

...

"Absorption completed."

"Midnight activated."
Chapter 209: New Sword Moves and
Elemental Energy Soup
Ai Hui slowly opened his eyes and a bright ray of light
flickered past them.

Ai Hui could not get his mind off the sword ray that had
triggered the lightning and thunder. That scene was simply too
stunning.

When he had been engulfed by the sword embryo, Ai Hui had

witnessed the sword intent of the seven artifact remnants.

Just that scene alone almost made him lose his mind.

At that moment, there were only three words in his mind:

‘Destroy the world.’

Thinking back to the times when he’d read through the sword
manuals, he’d thought that the descriptions were simply too
exaggerated; however, having witnessed first-hand that sword
intent, he understood that the descriptions had not been
exaggerated. Rather, they were too understated.
 Glancing down at the Dragonspine Inferno in his hand, the
silver ray was still dazzling; however, he was no longer able to
detect the indistinct, feeble energy of the seven artifact
remnants.

Ai Hui was somewhat surprised that the sword embryo could

absorb the sword intent. After pondering, he came to an
understanding. If he were to compare the similarities between
the sword embryo and sword intent, then they were both
categorized as part of the three essential life-sustaining
energies.

Ai Hui did not know whether or not his conjecture was right.
In any case, it was how he understood it.

He grabbed the Dragonspine Inferno and started his sword

dance.

His initial sword moves were slow and coarse. Sometimes, he

would stop and ponder and make some adjustments. The sword
moves always had some minute changes.

He had read many sword manuals, but the sword manuals

were just objects. Their descriptions of the sword moves were
just limited to literature. There were many mysterious
meanings behind the sword moves that were difficult to put
into words.

For a long time, he could only fumble about persistently, like

grasping something in the dark and pondering about it.

The moment the sword intent of the seven artifact remnants

had been engulfed by the sword embryo, Ai Hui was able to
experience the sword intent as it was during the Cultivation
Era. While it was still simply too high-end for the current Ai
Hui, it was still of an unusual significance to him. He could use
it as a source of reference.

He waved the long sword, occasionally went forwards, and

occasionally retreated. He attempted different moves
persistently and used such a method to sort out his recent
comprehensions and gains.

Gradually, a change occurred in his sword ray. The sword ray

became smooth and no longer flashed and disappeared. Instead,
it was congregated and did not disperse.

His heart was filled with immense happiness.

 So, it was like this… it was like this…

Countless inspirations started to appear in his mind. He was

elated and the sword moves changed continuously. The sword
ray also changed accordingly.

The silver sword ray became increasingly congregated and

stayed in the air, not dispersing. Ai Hui made move after move
and did not stop. The sword in his hand was getting
increasingly fast.

The silver ray was emitted continuously, like a moving

electric snake. It lit up his stern face and devoted eyes.

The rest of the people in the courtyard were startled. They

could not help but watch while standing at the side.

Shi Xueman was long alerted. She felt a unique, peculiar aura,
one she had never experienced before. It felt like being high
above the clouds, at a hard to reach, remote place, where a lone
figure bathed in sunlight walked as if he were flying and giving
off an electric sensation.
 Following which, she saw Ai Hui who was practicing his
sword dance.

Ai Hui’s figure was almost concealed by the intense, never-

ending sword ray.

Shi Xueman’s eyes widened. Oh gosh, what sort of swordplay

was this? Why didn’t the sword ray disperse?

Ai Hui was still completely absorbed in his sword dance. In a

flash, the surrounding sword rays were like an ever-increasing
pile of silver snow. His figure had completely disappeared
within the silver sword rays.

Then, in the next moment, a melodious sword chime was

heard throughout the training hall.

The sword rays which were like a pile of snow dispersed with
a loud bang!

The silver rays dispersed and filled up the sky. Ai Hui stood
perfectly straight, like a long sword, and looked majestic.
 He gave a long exhale and, just like the sword ray, the joy in
his eyes vanished. His eyes regained their usual cold gaze. His
gains were huge. He’d managed to understand three more
sword moves: [Heavenly Thrust], [Uprising Moon], and [Ruined
Clouds]. After some modifications, these basic moves were able
to trigger elemental energy.

[Heavenly Thrust] was a thrusting move, but was not as

mighty as [Misty Strike]; however, its movements were more
clean cut and the range was larger.

[Uprising Moon] was a move that required lifting the sword.

Ai Hui made use of some of the techniques used in [Crescent
Moon]. The tip was similarly moon shaped, although it was
slimmer.

[Ruined Clouds] made use of the resonance of the elemental

energy. It had an oscillating impact and could be used for both
attack and defence. It could also be used to extricate oneself
from a dangerous situation.

Having gained three additional moves implied that Ai Hui

now had more means with which to act. Usually, [Misty Strike]
and [Oblique Cut] needed extra steps or other methods to
complement the gaps. In a battle, it would cause Ai Hui to easily
land into a dangerous situation.

However, Ai Hui’s biggest gain was actually his understanding

of the sword moves. This was the first time he could appreciate
the sword intents, including those of the Cultivation Era. While
the terrifying sword move had been far beyond his
comprehension, he was still enlightened and it helped him a lot.

When he’d created [Misty Strike], he had understood the

reasoning behind why sword moves required the ignition of
elemental energy. In the Cultivation Era, they had ignited
spiritual force. Despite this, he had still lacked understanding
regarding resonance. After looking at the thunderous sword
move, however, he had developed a new understanding
regarding resonance. The sword ray which had been
concentrated and not dispersed was a unique form of elemental
energy resonance.

Ai Hui’s sword moves were like a magnet. They attracted the

elemental energy and formed a unique sword ray.

As a result, the sword moves became more formidable. Ai Hui

reckoned that [Misty Strike]’s formidability was twice what it
had been before, and this did not take into account his faster
reaction speed resulting from the improved Dragonspine
Inferno.

Ai Hui’s strength was completely transformed.

Shi Xueman stared blankly at Ai Hui. That chap completely

undermined all her knowledge. Since she was young, she had
been surrounded by geniuses. Despite seeing countless geniuses,
she has never met anyone like Ai Hui.

His capability was changing daily.

Shi Xueman suddenly thought, if Ai Hui has any enemies, they

would definitely suffer.

Duanmu Huanghun gave Ai Hui a glance. He lowered his head

and looked at the [Viridescent Flower] circulating around his
hand. His mouth curled and his eyes flickered with intent to
battle, like a blazing fire in the dark.

"Ai Hui!" Lou Lan rushed out of the room and ran to Ai Hui.
He looked up and earnestly said, "Lou Lan seems to have become
more brilliant."
 Ai Hui gave a hearty laugh and patted Lou Lan’s head. He
pretended to be stern and said, "Lou Lan has always been the
cleverest!"

"Ai Hui, really?" Lou Lan’s eyes was shining and filled with
delight.

Ai Hui rushed into the courtyard and shouted to the others,

"Does everyone think that Lou Lan is the best?"

"Of course! Who could be better than Lou Lan?"

"When Lou Lan brings out his elemental soup, I will

surrender!"

"When Lou Lan brings out his elemental soup, everyone will
surrender!"

"When Lou Lan brings out his elemental soup, even the dead
corpses on the battlefield will climb up and surrender again!"

...
 …...

Lou Lan’s smile was so wide that his eyes formed a crescent
moon shape. He said delightedly, "Lou Lan would prepare
elemental soup for everyone!"

There was a short moment of silence and everyone started to

rush over. Fatty was the most dramatic. He kneeled down and
slid over impressively, emitting sparks due to the friction. He
forced himself to the front and said righteously, "Lou Lan,
please give me a chance to surrender!"

After a moment, Lou Lan brought out a pot of brightly-colored

soup. An unpleasant smell enveloped the place. Everyone’s
expression turned slightly green. Just by the smell alone, it was
enough to make them nauseated.

"This is Lou Lan’s newest creation. It is a specially concocted

elemental energy soup based on the properties of the blood
crystal. The pressing matter on everyone’s minds right now is
raising their base level. The blood crystal contains blood
spiritual energy and is a unique source of strength. It can
increase the effect of elemental food, furthermore, it consists of
properties similar to the origins of wood elemental energy. It
can eliminate internal injuries sustained from training. Except
for its pungent odor, there are no other faults."

Lou Lan spoke frankly and assuredly. His tone was filled with
confidence. The pot of soup emitted a colorful vapor and the air
was filled with a smell that made everyone nauseated. It made
the atmosphere eerie and gloomy.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay and there was a span

of awkward silence.

Ai Hui laughed and said, "This is the first time Lou Lan
created an elemental energy soup with such a foul smell. My
interest is piqued."

He walked to the big pot. He pinched his nose while taking a

big scoop and ladling out a bowl for himself.

"Courageous Ai Hui!" Lou Lan said happily.

"What can I do? Lou Lan is Ai Hui’s sand puppet. While this
soup looks scary, being your master, I need to show some
support. This is the willy-nilly of life."
 Ai Hui spoke helplessly. He pinched his nose and with a
martyr-like posture, he downed the soup in one gulp.

The next moment, his eyes widened and his face turned green.

Ai Hui felt that this was the most disgusting soup he had ever
drunk. Even those medicines that were hard to swallow could be
considered a delicacy when compared to this soup. While he was
downing the soup, he almost puked it out.

Not giving him a chance to puke it out, the soup transformed

into a ball of blazing flame.

Ai Hui’s eyes widened further. This is…

The turbulent waves of elemental energy suddenly exploded

and scoured his body. The quiet sword embryo was stimulated
and started jumping about crazily. Ai Hui did not have any time
to react before the elemental energy in his body began the
Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

The amount of elemental energy was simply too much. It was

too much to the extent that the Circulatory Cycle Revolution
was momentarily unable to fully absorb it.

Part of the elemental energy seeped deep into Ai Hui’s body.

The remaining elemental energy was dispersed around the
surface of his body.

Ai Hui’s body emitted a faint silver light. Everyone was

dumbfounded by the sight in front of them.

Ai Hui could no longer care to speak. He held the sword hilt

and single-mindedly concentrated on controlling his body’s
elemental energy through the Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

The dumbfounded crowd regained their senses and rushed

towards the pot. The ecstasy and the excitement on their faces
could not be contained. So what if it was disgusting? As long as
it could increase their elemental energy, they were more than
willing to drink it.

"Everyone must fully absorb it. The elemental energy in this

soup is very suitable for absorption. Such an effect can only
appear in top-quality elemental energy soup. The blood crystal
is indeed a magical object…"
 Lou Lan explained while looking at Ai Hui. Lou Lan’s sand
core had recorded in detail the moment Ai Hui had stood up and
drunk the bowl of soup while pinching his nose.

"... Lou Lan is Ai Hui’s sand puppet…"

What a happy moment!

Lou Lan has improved. Lou Lan will be able help Ai Hui more.
What a happy moment!

The elated Lou Lan transformed into a long tail made up of

the word "willy-nilly" with a loud bang and danced around
everyone.

"Ho-Hey, All the best! All the best! All the best!"

"Ho-Hey, willy-nilly! WIlly-nilly! Willy-nilly!"

Lou Lan was so happy!

Chapter 210: A Strange Outcome
Ai Hui circulated the elemental energy with all his might, but
after the seven palaces were filled, the huge volume of
elemental energy had nowhere to go to, so it started to surge
towards his sky palace between his eyebrows.

Due to the existence of the sword embryo in the past, his sky
palace has not been activated.

However, due to the huge volume of the elemental energy this

time round, the powerful surge forcibly opened Ai Hui’s sky
palace.

The moment the elemental energy entered the sky palace, Ai

Hui started trembling. It was like his mind was suddenly
crammed with countless objects. His mind was blank.

If Ai Hui was still in a clear state of mind now, he would

realise that it was as if there was a door opened slightly in his
sky palace. Behind the door was a bottomless pit. Regardless of
how much elemental energy was going in, it would be engulfed
cleanly. The surge of the elemental energy continued for a few
more minutes. There were no signs of the sky palace being filled
fully. The surge of elemental energy towards the sky palace
started to weaken.

As Lou Lan observed Ai Hui surreptitiously, his yellow eyes

flickered. He noticed the change within Ai Hui’s body and
immediately ladled a bowl of elemental energy soup and poured
it into Ai Hui’s mouth.

Bang!

The surge of elemental energy increased dramatically once

again and continued to flow crazily towards the sky palace
between his eyebrows. What was surprising was that Ai Hui’s
sky palace did not move a single jot and still did not show any
signs of being filled to the brim.

After a moment, the elemental energy started to weaken.

Again, Lou Lan gave a bowl of soup to Ai Hui.

After giving Ai Hui five consecutive bowls of elemental energy

soup, the speed at which the sky palace engulfed the elemental
energy started to slow down.

"Ai Hui’s sky palace is so formidable," Lou Lan muttered to

himself. He was surprised.

He knew that each bowl of elemental energy contained a

shocking amount of elemental energy. As a result, he only
allowed them to have one bowl each. If they drank too much of
it, they would not be able to support the amount of elemental
energy. There was a process that they had to go through before
the elemental energy would be absorbed. To activate and
expand, the eight palaces needed time and effort. Those that
base level were not high enough would not be able to handle too
much elemental soup. In simpler terms, it meant that someone
who wasn’t in a good state of health would not be able to handle
a strong tonic.

The amount of elemental energy one bowl of soup contained

should be the maximum amount one could handle. However, Ai
Hui had drank six bowls.

Ai Hui already had seven palaces. The only palace not

activated was the sky palace. Initially, Lou Lan thought that one
bowl of elemental soup would be sufficient, but this had far
surpassed his prediction.

Ai Hui’s sky palace was very unusual.

 Lou Lan’s yellow gaze flickered constantly. His curiosity was
piqued. His sand core, Midnight, was rotating at a never-before-
seen speed.

Midnight was in a strange condition now.

Midnight was created due to Master Shao’s fruit of labor. As

Lou Lan’s body was unable to accept such a formidable core,
Master Shao sealed up most of the regions in the core. However,
Midnight was now engulfing the Blood Spiritual Energy which
resulted in the breaking of the seal.

Midnight...

How are you doing, Master Shao? Lou Lan misses you a lot.

At this moment, Lou Lan’s mind wandered.

Midnight had undergone a wonderful change. The life essence

that the blood spiritual energy contained had seeped into the
lifeless sand core. The sand core now had the essence of life.
 If Lou Lan’s sand core was a desert previously, it could be said
that there was now an oasis in the desert.

Lou Lan did not know if this was a good or bad change; he had
yet to understand many of the changes. Based on the current
situation, these changes enabled Lou Lan to be stronger. The
ability of the sandcore had increased tremendously while not
putting an additional burden on his body.

The increase in ability was multi-purpose. He could transform

more quickly, he could transform into more complicated
shapes, and he was also better in examining capability, etc.

Now Lou Lan was using all of his might to examine Ai Hui. He
could see many details that he had missed out on previously.

Ai Hui’s sky palace was really strange. Once again, Lou Lan
sighed.

It was common to have stronger and weaker components

between the five residences and eight palaces. However, the
difference between the stronger and weaker component was
always within a specific limit. After all, the five residences and
eight palaces were one entity. Just like our left hand and right
hand, while they might have a difference in strength, the
difference was not too drastic. It was the same for the eight
palaces.

After six consecutive bowls of elemental energy soup, Ai Hui’s

sky palace started to show signs of being full.

The addition of the blood crystals increased the effect of the

elemental energy soup by at least three levels.

Lou Lan felt that the blood crystals would definitely be in

huge demand in future. Even he was impressed by such an
effect. The addition of blood crystals would increase the
training speed of the elementalists drastically.

Suddenly, Lou Lan experienced an intense wave motion. He

turned his face around.

It was Miss Shi Xueman!

The intense wave motions were emitted. Water elemental

energy started to converge towards her direction. Shi Xueman
was like a whirlpool, constantly and continuously absorbing the
water elemental energy rushing towards her.

Shi Xueman was in the eye of the tornado, and there was a
crazy gale at the training hall.

Not long after, another intense wave motion was experienced.

It was Sang Zhijun.

Their breakthrough was expected. Shi Xueman and Sang

Zhijun had the best base levels amongst the rest. They were just
one step away from the Eight Palaces Completion. It would be
strange if they did not break through after drinking such an
outstanding elemental energy soup.

Lou Lan was jubilant. It was such a pleasure to be able to help

others.

There were constant wave motions, and rays flickered from

everyone’s bodies. However, none of the waves were as strong
as Shi Xueman’s and Sang Zhijun’s.

Lou Lan focused his attention back on Ai Hui. Ai Hui was also
a potential candidate to attain the Eight Palaces Completion.
However, Lou Lan was baffled. The absorption rate of the
elemental energy from Ai Hui’s sky palace has decreased
drastically. This was a symptom of elemental energy being filled
to the brim.

However, there were no signs of a breakthrough. So

strange…...

The yellow rays in Lou Lan’s eyes flashed faster.

Shi Xueman opened her eyes and gradually regained the air
around her. Her eyes exposed her happiness.

She finally attained the Eight Palaces Completion!

The water elemental energy within the sky blended into one
body. The previous eight palaces were like eight small ponds
that were interconnected. Now the elemental energy within her
body was like an ocean.

This was a good change.

 Every single movement was filled with elemental energy. She
sensed that she was stronger than before. Even Cirrus, which
she was holding on to, was as light as feather.

She no longer needed to control the elemental energy within

her body. The Circulatory Cycle Revolution was automated.
This implied that she would not need to train all the time.
While the Circulatory Cycle Revolution was slower than when
she was having a fixed regime, over time, the accumulation
effect will be astonishing.

From today onwards, she would finally be an official

elementalist. She would be qualified to join the Thirteen
Divisions, she would be able to conduct missions, she would be
able to enjoy the relevant benefits.

She was unable to describe how she was feeling. Many a times,
Shi Xueman had envisioned herself being an official
elementalist.

To the people from Avalon of Five Elements, being an official

elementalist was of a huge significance. It was a child’s coming
of age ceremony. When you became an elementalist that was
recorded in the books, you would no longer be treated as a kid.
It meant that you now had the ability to talk to the adults. It
also implied that you were responsible for your own life and you
are required to assume the corresponding responsibility.

Shi Xueman never thought that her coming of age ceremony

would be in the middle of a disaster, and in the middle of an
imminent crisis like the blood battle.

Life was so strange.

Her gaze swept across everyone. Everyone had some form of

breakthrough, but it was not enough for them to attain the
Eight Palaces Completion.

Where’s that person?

Shi Xueman’s gaze swept across the crowd and fell on the
youth who was holding onto a sword and standing upright. Her
mouth curved upwards. It was still that strange pose.

In her heart, she was actually clear of the fact that the reason
they were still alive now was largely due to Ai Hui. She had also
noticed that while Ai Hui did not lead the team personally,
people would still rush to listen every time he spoke up. And
there were many positive traits found on Ai Hui: he did not
withhold the information he had, he shared things related to
the blood crystal with everyone, and he was also reliable in
times of crisis. She was already used to obeying his commands.

However, some of the actions that he took made it difficult for

her to have a favorable opinion of him.

Thinking about it, Shi Xueman felt a surge of anger. She held
on to her hatred. If this was the past, he would definitely have a
tragic end now!

She noticed Ai Hui’s condition and felt that something was

wrong. While she did not have the yellow rays like Lou Lan and
was unable to see within Ai Hui’s body, her background and
wealth of experience implied that she had more knowledge and
understanding on training than average people.

Ai Hui’s body was raging with brilliant rays, like he could soar
into the sky at any moment. This was a sign that his body was
filled to the brim with elemental energy. For some unknown
reason, while the light rays continued to grow stronger, there
was an invisible barrier that he was unable to surpass.
 The raging rays of light were unable to rush out and started to
dim.

How could it be? She started to get anxious. It shouldn’t be! Ai

Hui had already completed his seven palaces, so he should be as
successful as her. Why was such a situation happening?

There were negative impacts to the person that failed to

achieve a breakthrough in the Eight Palaces Completion. Not
only would they fall behind others, it would also leave a shadow
of failure in their heart. It would then affect their next attempt
to break through. Those that attempted countless times would
find that their success rate would be inverted to their number of
attempts. Even if they managed to achieve a breakthrough,
there was still a possibility that it would negatively affect their
training in the future.

Impossible!

In terms of character or experience, it was impossible. Those

that failed to break through were usually those that were weak
and did not have determination. Shi Xueman felt that there
were few people who would be better than Ai Hui in this aspect.
 The light surrounding Ai Hui was getting dimmer. However,
within his body, the rotation of the light rays could be vaguely
seen. The Ai Hui now was like a rubber ball that was filled with
water.

When the last ray of light disappeared, Shi Xueman sighed

silently. The attempt to break through was a failure.

At that moment, a powerful wave motion erupted behind her.

Shi Xueman turned and realised in astonishment that it was

actually Duanmu Huanghun!

She stared blankly for a moment. The brilliant rays rushed

towards the sky and the eight palaces blended into one. Wood
elemental energy rushed in from all directions and caused a
strong wind to howl across the courtyard.

Within the brilliant rays was Duanmu Huanghun. His stance

was imposing, his sleeve was fluttering without the aid of the
wind, and his long hair was flying around.

This fellow…...had actually achieved Eight Palaces

Completion!

Shi Xueman felt bewildered. She looked at Duanmu

Huanghun, then she looked at Ai Hui. The person who was
supposed to break through and attain Initial Completion did not
manage to attain it, yet the chap that shouldn’t break through
managed to attain success.

What a strange outcome.

Chapter 211: Blood-traced Cat
"Stay behind and rest at the training hall if you are feeling
unwell." Shi Xueman glanced at Ai Hui, and her tone conveyed
that she had no confidence in Ai Hui’s current condition.

Not only Shi Xueman, everyone could see that something was
not right with Ai Hui.

His steps were empty, unstable, and not the least bit agile like
they were in the former days.

The more capable someone is, the better they are at

controlling their strength and gauging the distance. All of these
meticulous traits seep into different aspects of their daily life.
For example, the pace that they walk is even more uniform than
by using a ruler to measure each step. Their sense of rhythm
enables them to always be in their optimal condition. They are
conditioned to be able to relax, but at the next moment they can
give a fatal blow.

All of these special traits could easily be seen on Ai Hui in the

past.
 However, the current Ai Hui seemed to be a completely
different person. His steps were uneven and he was staggering
from side to side; he looked like a mess. One would even wonder
if he was going to trip over his own shoes.

Duanmu Huanghun shot Ai Hui a glance and said

indifferently, "Do not try to be a hero and become a hindrance
to us later."

He laughed madly in his heart. Ha ha ha, he could finally use

such a tone to talk to him!

At that moment, Duanmu Huanghun was more than happy.

How long had it been since he was awaiting such a day?

Ever since meeting that scoundrel, Duanmu Huanghun

constantly found himself at a disadvantageous position. Even if
his capability was stronger, he would still be defeated by that
scoundrel. In a state of muddle, he was healed by that chap. In a
state of muddle, he was saved by that chap. In a state of muddle,
he owed a huge debt to that chap.

Duanmu Huanghun felt that the only reason he had not gone
bonkers was due to his strong willpower.
 If Duanmu Huanghun had not made clear why Ai Hui was
leading before the blood battle, the performance that Ai Hui
exhibited after the blood battle was at another extreme end. It
was so strong that it was hard to contest against.

Duanmu Huanghun did not retreat. He had never once given

up on his pride.

Indeed he was someone with strong willpower.

He finally managed to defeat Ai Hui. He gave an exhale and he

felt that his mood could not get any better than this. Even his
steps seemed to be flying.

He felt that this was a turning point in his life. From this day
onwards, he would start to surpass Ai Hui in all aspects.

He was destined to be the final victor!

Duanmu Huanghun lifted his head arrogantly, like a

victorious hero that had just returned from a battle.
 "When will you return the money?"

Ai Hui’s question caught Duanmu Huanghun by surprise. It

was like shooting a fatal arrow which stabbed Duanmu
Huanghun directly in the heart.

Duanmu Huanghun’s expression froze.

"Could it be that you are not planning to return it? Let me tell
you this: while there are many matters between us, you still
need to return what you owe." Ai Hui’s tone was filled with
suspicion. Duanmu Huanghun felt humiliated. When the gaze
of the others fell on him, his face heated up.

He wanted to rush forward and punch Ai Hui. However, he

still had his pride, so he forced the words out of his mouth. "I
will return it to you once we are out of the Induction Ground."

"You have said this many times." Ai Hui curled his lips, his
face filled with despise.

Duanmu Huanghun wished that he could dig a hole and hide.

Despite being familiar with all of them, he was still ashamed
when he was asked to return the money in front of everyone.

Damn it, why didn’t he have money? Poor Duanmu

Huanghun was unaware that Ai Hui’s mindset had rubbed off
on him.

Shi Xueman almost laughed at Ai Hui’s righteous and

shameless look. She too wanted to ask when Ai Hui would
return her money. However, given that she would expose her
identity as the girl from the noodle store, she restrained herself.

Ai Hui became more carefree after jeering at Duanmu

Huanghun.

There was indeed something queer about his condition.

He felt that he was disorientated, and he was swaying while

walking. It was mostly due to his sky palace. His sky palace was
almost filled to the brim and it was jam-packed with the
elemental energy. His brain seemed to be filled with water. Even
a minute move would make it sway.

When the elemental energy within his head swayed, Ai Hui

would also sway about.

In the past, he had experienced situations where he was

unable to control his body. However, this was the first time that
he experienced such a situation. While he was unable to control
his actions in the past, he was still in a stable state of mind.

However, a slight movement now would also send his world

spinning.

"Ai Hui, sorry," Lou Lan said softly, in a tone filled with
regret. He did not expect such a situation to occur. He did not
know what to do regarding the situation with Ai Hui’s body
either.

"Lou Lan, you did not make any mistakes. You need not
apologise," Ai Hui said firmly, and she continued nonchalantly,"
It is just a small trial; it is a good thing"

"Ai Hui, really?" Lou Lan opened his eyes wide and was
somewhat surprised.

"Of course." With a deep expression, Ai Hui continued, "For

such an unusual person like myself, there will definitely be
some aspects that are unusual as well. There is nothing
strange."

"Ai Hui is the best!" Lou Lan cheered.

Not only Lou Lan, the rest of the people suddenly saw the
light. They felt that Ai Hui was right. In their eyes, Ai Hui was
never normal. There were many aspects of him that were not
seen on the others. As such, it was common for him to have
some difference in the process of achieving the Eight Palaces
Completion.

Shi Xueman was convinced by such reasoning. There were

many aspects of Ai Hui that she was unable to explain. Adding
another aspect that she was unable to explain was nothing
strange.

Duanmu Huanghun did not know why, but he suddenly felt

threatened. His victory did not seem too stable suddenly. It
seemed like it would be taken away from him any time.

He could not wait to start training and he would not let Ai Hui
make a comeback.
 "Ai Hui, there are blood-traced fiends in that direction."

Lou Lan suddenly stopped and pointed to the street on the

right. Everyone tensed up immediately.

Their goal for this expedition was to kill the blood-traced

fiends.

The report on the blood crystal had been handed over to the
mayor residence. While the mayor residence was distributing
the rewards, everyone came to a unanimous decision to kill the
blood-traced fiends. The purpose of the blood crystal was
starting to come to light, and everyone’s strength had increased
tremendously. The blood-traced fiends were now like dire
beasts to them.

The blood crystal could increase elemental energy and could

be used to create defense weapons.

The situation had changed. Previously, they were unable to

gain any benefits from battling with the blood-traced fiends.
Now they were able to obtain the blood crystals, and in turn, the
blood crystals would increase their capability.
 In other words, the appearance of the blood crystals increased
their likelihood of survival.

Ai Hui was shocked and surprised that Lou Lan could detect
the blood-traced fiends from such a far distance. Lou Lan was
unable to do this previously. But he did not question it too
much. It was not unusual given that Lou Lan had researched the
blood crystal and discovered the characteristics of the blood-
traced fiends.

Lou Lan was an all-purpose sand puppet.

Fatty walked to the front of the troop. He was in high spirits

and felt that he had limitless strength. Amongst the people, his
base level had increased the most. He had already attained seven
palaces and was not far off from attaining the Eight Palaces
Completion.

However, his increase in base level was aided by external

forces like Lou Lan’s elemental energy soup, chili fire oil, etc. It
was not due to his training. While his base level was high, his
battle capability was low.

Thank goodness he was only required to defend. The higher

base level had an obvious effect on his strength. The heavy
shield on his hand seemed as light as a feather.

Except for Shi Xueman, Sang Zhijun, and Duanmu Huanghun,

the rest of them were more or less confronted with the same
problem. Of course, Ai Hui was the worst off.

After the row of them treaded cautiously for around 300

metres, they saw a blood-traced fiend.

A red blood-traced cat was gnawing on the carcass on the

floor. Upon seeing Ai Hui and the rest, it raised its head. The
blood-traced cat was much bigger than the average cat; it looked
like a leopard. Its four limbs were thick and solid, its red fur
emitted a bewitching luster, and the black blood traces
decorated its whole body. The scarlet red cat stared coldly at
them.

"Nine blood traces," Ai Hui said softly. His eyes were still
sharp and he could clearly see the number of blood traces at one
glance.

Everyone exhaled in relief. The blood worm that they killed

had nine blood traces as well. They had successfully killed one.
Furthermore, their strength had increased, so they shouldn’t be
at a disadvantage.

The blood-traced cat no longer looked at the carcass. Instead,

it walked slowly towards Ai Hui and team.

It lifted up its tail and walked measuredly and gracefully.

Suddenly, it disappeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

"Fatty!" Ai Hui bellowed urgently.

Bang!

The shield on Fatty’s hand was split into pieces, like it had
been hit by a hammar. The pieces flew all around. Fatty’s
cowardly character saved his life. He was used to hiding
completely behind the heavy shield, and he never exposed his
head.

Fatty was frightened stiff by the huge display of strength and

shattered shield. He did not have any intention to resist and he
followed the source of strength and rolled around on the floor.

Fatty was like a ball being kicked around. In one breath, he

rolled towards Ai Hui. The blood had left his face and his face
was pale; he was terrified.

Not only Fatty was scared out of his wits, everyone was
frightened.

The blood-traced cat landed on the floor steadily. Despite its

huge figure, it was nimble and light on its feet.

Fatty had just increased his base level, so his strength was two
times higher than usual. Yet he did not manage to withstand the
impact when the blood-traced cat pounced. The iron shield,
which was invincible in everyone’s eyes, was also shattered into
pieces. That pounce was simply too formidable, so everyone was
intimidated.

Both Ai Hui and Shi Xueman had nasty expressions.

While the blood-traced cat was smaller than the blood-traced

worm, it was much more dangerous and threatening.
 It was as fast as lightning and was extremely deadly. Only a
few clearly saw the leap it did. The reason why it could create
such an impact was due to its astonishing speed. Due to that
scarily fast speed, a simple move could easily become a killer
move.

Furthermore, it was extremely agile. It immediately landed on

the lamppost after it leaped.

But what Ai Hui was most afraid of was that this blood-traced
cat was very crafty.

Those ice-cold eyes were emotionless, yet it was smarter than

any of the blood-traced fiends that Ai Hui had seen before. It
was also cunning. That leap was a show of strength. The blood-
traced cat was also testing the waters.

It stayed a distance away from Ai Hui. It looked at them

coldly, and unlike the rest of the blood-traced fiends, it did not
rush towards them without a care in the world.

Ai Hui knew that they had met an opponent that was hard to
deal with.
Chapter 212: Danger
Ai Hui sized up the blood-traced cat before his eyes carefully.
This was the cleverest blood-traced fiend that he had seen so
far. There was a sense of calm within its ice-cold eyes instead of
the blood-thirstiness evident in other blood-traced fiends.

Ai Hui had a faint feeling that the cat was also sizing him up.

Under the pressuring silence, they stood opposite each of

other.

The blood-traced cat had blood-red hair, but each strand was
abnormally hard and thick like needles. Its paws were solid and
wrapped up in fine fish scales. This was also the only part of its
body that had scales.

According to Ai Hui’s experience, fish scales meant strong

defense. Iron hooves? Was this still a cat?

Its sharp claws were like blades that could easily pierce into
solid ground.
 Ai Hui’s gaze fell upon the cat’s tail, which was as thick as a
whip. A "whoosh whoosh" sound filled the air when the cat
swept its tail, undoubtedly convincing Ai Hui of its strength.

Life was full of surprises indeed. Ai Hui sighed.

In the Wilderness, every dire beast was like an uncrossable,

tall mountain. At that point, he absolutely did not imagine that
one day he would casually bump into strange and
extraordinarily strong dire beasts.

The good thing was that everyone’s skills had improved

tremendously as well.

Ai Hui’s mind was spinning rapidly. When dealing with this

blood-traced cat, the most important thing was to restrain its
speed. Otherwise, not to mention hunting it, he would get
attacked.

"I’ll go first, you guys cover for me."

Shi Xueman said suddenly while holding onto Cirrus, eager to

give it a go. As a newly registered elementalist, she wanted to
test her own abilities.

The water plant-like fog on her back had now grown into a
pair of snow-white azure wings. She took off the broken Central
Pine Armor, revealing the blue-white war armor.

Central Pine Armor had very low defensive power. After her
battle with the blood worm last time around, it had become
utterly dilapidated.

There it was, her snow-white azure wings, jet-black and thick

hair, exquisite blue-white war armor, and stainless Cirrus,
whose body emitted white mist streamers. Her cold-as-ice
appearance was suffocating to look at, and her bright and clear
eyes displayed great confidence.

She held onto Cirrus and ambled along as a representative.

Filled with elemental energy, Cirrus hummed, as if

responding to her. Cirrus was a top-notch Heaven-grade
weapon, hand-casted by her father. She felt full of courage
whenever she held it.
 The blood-traced cat gradually retreated.

Everyone fell into a daze. Retreated...

They had come across countless blood fiends, but it was their
first time seeing one withdraw. Before, all of the blood fiends
would directly pounce on their enemies upon finding them.

A premonition arose in Ai Hui’s chest.

Suddenly, the blood-traced cat let out an expected whine. This

wasn’t a mournful sound. Then a wisp of incorporeal motion
was emitted from its body.

After two seconds, two incorporeal motions exploded

simultaneously at two different places.

Ai Hui quivered before shouting, "It’s calling backup!"

Calling backup…
 Everyone’s faces changed. No way…

Why were the blood fiends becoming more and more

different?

But they quickly got ready to battle any way, as Ai Hui’s

judgments were usually never wrong.

Boom boom boom!

The floor trembled. With his right hand, Ai Hui raised up

enough dust to hide the sky and cover the earth. The noise of
buildings collapsing sounded incessantly, and with loud
rumblings, the ground started to close up. Some blood fiends
were frantically moving toward that side too.

Boom!

The house to his right exploded suddenly, and the fragmented

bricks flew everywhere as if there was a storm. A red, short
silhouette emerged amidst the raised dust.
 When the dust dispersed, a two-meter-long blood-traced
lizard appeared before everyone’s eyes. A dense, blood-like light
circled around this lizard’s body, spun non-stop, and was very
destructive. The blood-traced lizard’s body was wrapped in red
fish scales. Seemingly forged by a mysterious metal, they
carried a strong, golden luster.

The blood traces on its body were very peculiar, like an

irregular pattern formed by black, warped characters. After
counting, Ai Hui located nine blood traces.

The blood-traced lizard had ice-cold, completely emotionless

eyes.

Just then, a blood fog arrived quietly from their left. It moved
in an observable speed and started fading as a petite, red blood
fox appeared in front of everybody. It glared at them with its
red, ceramic-like eyes, giving them the cold sweats.

Everybody’s faces turned pale. They wanted to hunt for one

blood fiend but never imagined that there would be three
appearing together! No, the two that were summoned.

Blood-traced fiends who knew how to fight in groups were

bad news to Ai Hui and the gang.

The tremendous pressure brought about by three nine blood-

traced fiends was stifling and the air froze up.

It was as if everyone had been doused with a pail of ice water.

The joy from the earlier breakthroughs vanished into thin air.

They had been battling for days, and not one was as ruthless
as today’s.

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes flicked with light as he took a

stride forward, saying cooly, "I’ll deal with the small fox."

This moment, Ai Hui took a deep breath before speaking. "I’ll

get the lizard."

Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun turned over at the same

time.

Ai Hui quickly added, "The rest, please provide assistance."

 They turned back around. While Ai Hui wasn’t in his best
condition, it was manageable if he had everyone’s support.

The first to move was Duanmu Huanghun. He had long been

impatient. Thinking about how he would be able to render Ai
Hui speechless fired his whole body up.

Reaching Initial Completion was a major breakthrough for

him, and it changed the quality of his [Viridescent Flower].

With a slight flick of his fingers, the viridescent flower coiling

branch drilled its way out from the blood fox’s paws, winding
around the blood traces.

The blood fox’s paws stomped on the branch, crushing it with

a bang.

A strange smile appeared at the corner of Duanmu

Huanghun’s lips. Without any movement, the shattered
viridescent flower suddenly released an intense, cold air.
Caught off guard, the blood fox’s paws were covered with a
layer of frost.
 The viridescent flower coiling branch trace and the ice trace
switched around naturally without any pause. From this, it was
obvious that Duanmu Huanhun’s control of [Viridescent
Flower] had improved greatly.

Cold entering its body, the blood fox shivered and tons of
blood fog surged out of its body. In the blink of an eye, its body
was completely concealed within the blood fog.

The blood fog rolled up swiftly and went straight for Duanmu
Huanghun like a rapacious beast.

Duanmu Huanghun made a "hmph" sound and a viridescent

flower cloud appeared below his feet. Then he made a few
jumps in the air to dodge the blood fog. Following closely
behind, the blood fog flew up as well and pounced on Duanmu
Huanghun.

The battle between Shi Xueman and the blood-traced cat was
similarly intense.

The newborn azure wings increased Shi Xueman’s speed

exponentially, but even then, she could barely keep up with the
blood-traced cat’s speed. The blood-traced cat’s body was soft,
as if boneless. It could turn and reverse in any direction like a
bolt of strange, red lightning, reflecting and refracting within
the building incessantly.

It was Shi Xueman’s first time meeting such an opponent, so

she was highly-focused. She had to be. Any negligence, if she
were to touch the red lightning even just a little for example,
would lead to death or serious injury. The cat’s incomparable
speed allowed it to execute each move fatally.

Within just ten seconds, Shi Xueman’s forehead was filled

with sweat.

She knew that she couldn’t continue like that. She had to
make a change, or once her body strength declined, she would
never be able to follow the blood-traced cat’s speed. When that
time came, there would be no chance left to launch a comeback.

She spun Cirrus with both palms suddenly, before shouting in

a clear voice, "Open!"

The surging cloud of mist spread through the air like a deluge.
 The blood-traced cat charged into the cloud of mist and found
it amiss immediately. The cloud of mist was not lethal, but it
had remarkable buoyancy, which caused the cat to lose control
over its body. But with a strange snap, the blood-traced cat
stabilized itself by assuming a twisted posture. It dodged Cirrus’
silent hit from within the mist.

But quickly, the blood-traced cat found that the situation was
turning for the worse. The cat, trapped deep within this soft,
cotton-like cloud gas, was immobilized. More critically, the
cloud gas that wrapped around it was rising non-stop.

Having sunk into a dangerous situation, the blood-traced cat’s

hair was as straight as steel needles. Its body trembled violently
and the needle-like hair shot out from all around like a
rainstorm.

Shi Xueman shook Cirrus promptly before drawing out a ring

to block the incoming needle rain.

Just then, the red, needle-like hairs exploded simultaneously.

Shi Xueman only felt a strange force breaking into her Cirrus
ring. She flew backwards seven, eight meters before regaining
stability. She stared at her broken cloud gas as a red silhouette
descended.

With this short showdown, both parties knew that their

opponent wasn’t to be trifled with.

The blood-traced cat’s tail stood erect and its hair was pencil-
straight. It glared unwaveringly at Shi Xueman, who was in
midair.

The hair on the cat’s body was badly damaged and looked very
ugly, but Shi Xueman dared not to belittle it at all. What she had
thought to be a fatal blow had easily been undermined by the
blood-traced cat.

Surveying the whole battlefield, no one, be it Shi Xueman or

Duanmu Huanghun, had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Except for Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was almost completely suppressed by the blood lizard.

For a few times now, he had nearly knocked against the blood
ring around the lizard’s body, causing him to sweat profusely
out of fear. He saw with his own eyes how the blood ring had
wrung and crushed incoming rain arrows.

The only person who could break through the lizard’s blood
ring was Sang Zhijun. But her arrows, upon passing through, no
longer had sufficient power to even leave a scar on the fish
scales.

Ai Hui, who was experiencing vertigo, could not coordinate

his Dragonspine Inferno properly, and his sword moves were
crooked.

If not for the fact that the blood lizard had a restraining fear
of Dragonspine Inferno, he would have retreated.

Ai Hui was anxious. What was happening to him? It would be

difficult to withdraw if this continued, not to mention claim
victory.

He gathered all of his energy, trying hard to control the

elemental energy within his body.

His sky palace had no elemental energy… no elemental

energy…

Ai Hui was hypnotizing himself non-stop, to force himself to

ignore the blurriness and dizziness.

He placed all his attention onto the seven palaces, onto

operating [Big Dipper], and onto the sword moves.

[Oblique Slash], [Heavenly Thrust], [Uprising Moon]...

Bit by bit, he channelled his attention onto the disobeying

Dragonspine Inferno in his hands.
Chapter 213: Contrast and Standstill
Ai Hui never thought that there would be a day when he
would be a burden. His current condition was horrible. He
wanted to pass his role over to someone else, but no one was up
to task. Fatty’s heavy shield had been shattered to pieces in one
blow and he was probably still scared out of his wits. Ai Hui
knew Fatty well. Fatty was still far from qualified to be a shield
bearer. It was already a miracle that he had been able to hang on
for so long without being terrified.

The impact was too strong, way more than Fatty could
withstand.

If he had just met these students, he could have treated them

like grenades run for his own life without a second thought;
however, after going through a few battles with them, he could
no longer disregard their life and death.

While the speed of the nine-trace blood lizard was not

comparable to the nine-trace blood cat, it was still much faster
than most of the students. Its potential for attack was also
terrifying. Even Ai Hui could not guarantee that he could
withstand its direct attack.
 As such, the others must have also been incapable of taking a
hit. If the nine-trace blood lizard charged into the middle of the
troop, it would be like letting a tiger into a flock of sheep.

Ai Hui needed to prevent the nine-trace blood lizard from

breaking into the students’ formation.

He was relying on the Dragonspine Inferno now. From time to

time, rays of lightning flickered from the sword. It exhibited
significant utility. Unless it was a huge and powerful dire beast
like the whale, most living creatures were fearful of lightning. It
was as if they were born with an instinctual fear.

Otherwise, based on Ai Hui’s disarrayed attacks, he would

have long been gobbled up cleanly by the nine-trace blood
lizard.

When was the last time he had been caught in such a difficult
situation? Ai Hui did not know. While the nine-traces blood
lizard was powerful, he hadn’t yet despaired. He was used to
being in such a poor state and then experiencing an
unprecedented improvement.

Ai Hui had experienced situations in which he was forced into

a corner due to the opponent being too powerful as well as
situations where his reaction speed could not keep up with his
agile sword embryo state. This was the first time, however, for
him to be unable to control his own body.

To someone who was used to being in control, losing control

over your own body was like being a swordsman and losing the
sword on your hand.

Still, he remained calm. The sword embryo enabled him to

look like a swordsman and he still had his last weapon, which
was the calmness he had developed after having gone through
life and death situations.

He tried his best to disregard his disoriented state and the

swaying elemental energy in his Sky Palace. He slowly managed
to focus and transferred his attention to the Dragonspine
Inferno in his hand.

According to his previous experiences, when he came across

many distractions, he should focus on one particular thing.
Only then would it be possible to remove the distractions.

He forgot about [Big Dipper], forgot about elemental energy,

and forgot about sword moves. His whole mind was fixated on
the Dragonspine Inferno.

For example, the tremble of the sword’s body when the

Dragonspine Inferno collided with the nine-trace blood lizard’s
blood ray. There was also the tiny vortex that was formed when
the sword blade cut through a stream of air.

This was the first time he has ever been so focused on the
Dragonspine Inferno. He noticed many details that he’d missed
out on before. Like how the body of the Dragonspine Inferno
was not as straight as he’d thought; it actually had a slight arc.
The sword was also lighter than before due to being constantly
refined by the electric rays. The original wooden blade was
filled with countless tiny pinholes that were even smaller than
the tip of a needle. Large amounts of electric rays infiltrated
through the densely packed, tiny pinholes and gathered on the
blade, then formed lightning that could be seen by the naked
eye.

When the Dragonspine Inferno and the red glow surrounding

the nine-traces blood lizard collided, he saw the explosion of the
lightning. Countless electric rays were infused into the red glow
and destroyed it.
 However, compared to the intense red glow, the lightning was
much dimmer.

The red glow from the nine-trace blood lizard was, in fact, not
a ball of red glow as could be seen with the naked eye. Instead, it
was a ball of red glow that was rotating at high speed and was
shaped like a sawtooth. Rotating at such high speeds made the
red glow potentially destructive.

After observing a few collisions between the Dragonspine

Inferno and the red glow, Ai Hui jolted. The angle was wrong!

Without thinking, he cut into the red glow with his

Dragonspine Inferno and followed the direction of the rotation.
All of a sudden, the Dragonspine Inferno penetrated right into
the middle of the red glow. The electric ray from the sword
blade abruptly caused the blood trace to explode.

A few traces of fine electric rays split and fell onto the nine-
trace blood lizard’s scales. The nine-trace blood lizard jumped in
shock and retreated in a panic.

Ai Hui did not bother to chase after it, instead standing

blankly at a faraway place. His attention was only on the sword.
 Sang Zhijun and the rest were pleasantly surprised. Ai Hui’s
performance was much better now. He could actually prevent
the nine-trace blood lizard from reaching them; however, the
atmosphere seemed rather queer. Ai Hui did not have his usual
spiritual energy. Instead, he looked lifeless.

He stood on the spot motionlessly, just like a puppet. He

would only react when the nine-trace blood lizard attacked him.

When he reacted, it was like he was another person. He was

fast and precise. Occasionally, he dodged. Occasionally, he
seized an opportunity to strike back. Occasionally, rather than a
sword move, it looked like he was just waving his hand around.
Regardless, the effect was on point.

During that short span of time, Ai Hui portrayed himself as an

exceptional swordsman.

Once or twice, Ai Hui would gain the upper hand. Sang Zhijun
and the rest could see that it was a good opportunity, but every
time the nine-trace blood lizard retreated, Ai Hui would fall
back into his lifeless state.

Again and again, he lost many opportunities. Sang Zhijun

wanted to shout a reminder to Ai Hui; however, seeing that Ai
Hui was in a weird state of mind, she restrained herself.

The contrast between the puppet-like Ai Hui and the

competent Ai Hui when he was entangled with the nine-trace
blood lizard was drastic. Given that the contrasting behaviours
were coming from the same person and occurred in such a
dangerous battle, it gave a strange feeling to those witnessing it.

While it was a strange phenomenon, it was enough that Ai

Hui had managed to stay in front of the nine-trace blood lizard.

Without any qualms, everyone started to attack.

The effect of Lou Lan’s blood crystal elemental energy soup

was extraordinary. The lowest base level amongst the troop was
six palaces. The majority of them had seven palaces. Those that
were like Jiang Wei had already activated the eighth palace and
were just a step away from attaining the Eight Palaces
Completion.

Relying on external forces to raise their base levels was

considered disdainful to many and it would also be harmful for
their future training; however, given that they were struggling
between life and death, neither was a pressing issue for them.

They first had to survive and would think about it later.

The troop had yet to adapt to their higher base levels, but now
that Ai Hui was on the frontline, everyone became more
relaxed. They were not as tensed up and their performance got
better.

The change in the students could be seen through the

reactions of the nine-trace blood lizard.

Their initial attacks had been messy and their stances

dreadful. Gradually, their moves became more adept, the
elemental energy became more concentrated, and the attacks
became more coordinated; as such, they were more threatening.

The red glow surrounding the nine-trace blood lizard started

to look badly damaged and uneven. The nine-trace blood lizard
was also aware of the danger.

Suddenly, it turned around and leaped away.

 Sang Zhijun and the rest were stunned by such a move. Was
it… escaping?

Ai Hui stood as still as a puppet. He was not bothered at all.

The nine-trace blood lizard only stopped after running for two
hundred meters. It then turned around again and faced Ai Hui.

A frightful ray flickered in its eyes. It lay on the ground,

accumulating some energy before taking action.

Suddenly, its four limbs shot out and the nine-trace blood
lizard shot out like a released arrow, rushing towards Ai Hui.
The ground trembled with every step it took. Its speed began to
increase it became dramatically faster. In the wake of such
speed, the surrounding red glow started to increase.

The rumbling lingered on. It was as if Sang Zhijun and the

rest of the students were standing on a vibrating drum. They
could barely stand straight.

In the blink of an eye, the red glow had completely concealed

the nine-trace blood lizard’s body. The red glow started to blur
and the low hiss started to become high pitched. It was like a
bullet had just been shot from a gun. Leaving a trail of red, it
rushed towards Ai Hui with an imposing manner.

The students’ expressions changed drastically.

"Block it!"

Fatty rushed out of the crowd like a madman and threw

himself towards Ai Hui.

But he was a moment too late. Like a whizzing meteor, the

nine-traces blood lizard had hit its target.

No…

Time seemed to standstill. They were blinded by the dazzling

red radiance.

Bang!
 A destructive power exploded at that moment. A gigantic
sound wave and a surge of air engulfed the place like a tsunami.
Subconsciously, everyone aimed to protect themselves. The
shattered stones were like arrows raining down on them. Those
students that reacted slower experienced an explosion of blood.

At that moment, however, no one could care. Their minds

only had one thought, they were done for.

Even the most optimistic person could not bear to think what
the troop would be like without Ai Hui. Ai Hui had long become
both the core and pillar of the troop.

Ai Hui…

Like a whistling wall, the air waves brought along the dust
and shattered stones to roll across the troop’s bodies.

The scene unraveled in front of their eyes.

Hold on!
 Momentarily, those heartbeats that had stopped started to
beat again like crazy.

In the middle of a crack that resembled a cobweb and was

around fifty meters in diameter, a youth was holding his sword
horizontally. He used the sword to block the nine-trace blood
lizard’s dagger-like teeth.

The nine-trace blood lizard’s cold eyes almost popped out. It

displayed shock, fear, and confusion. It did not understand
what had happened.

The scene seemed to have stopped in time. Not a single voice

could be heard.

Sang Zhijun and the rest were dumbstruck by the scene in

front of them. They forgot to have any reaction. The scene in
front of them had some strange power; it could suddenly grasp
their hearts and make them beat like crazy.

In the midst of the silence, Fatty’s footsteps could be heard

clearly.
 Moving against the air surge, Fatty became able to see more
clearly. He started to slow down.

In the centre of his shaky vision was a familiar figure. It was a

figure that he had seen countless times in Wilderness.

Ah… Ai Hui… didn’t die…

Fatty stayed rooted for a moment before rushing two meters

behind Ai Hui.

Afterwards… He saw that Ai Hui’s sword was caught between

the blood-traced lizard’s sharp teeth. There were still traces of
blood.

It was not too far away from him…

It was quite close…

Fatty’s pale face turned red and then back to pale. He

violently turned around. With a blood-curdling howl, he rolled
and crawled to rush forward.
Chapter 214: Attack and Kill
Shi Xueman was caught in a tough battle.

The nine-trace blood cat’s speed was as fast as lightning. Shi

Xueman barely managed to keep up by giving it her all.
Furthermore, the nine-trace blood cat’s agility also far
surpassed hers. If not for the constant changes in
[Hydromancy], she would have been in an even worse
predicament.

The nine-trace blood cat was different from the other

opponents she’d met before. It was nimbler and smarter. Cirrus
was unable to play a big role here.

She had to increase the speed at which she used her spear.

Having gone through generations of developments,

[Hydromancy] was currently a wide-ranging and profound
training system. Each family’s absolute art was not formed in a
day, but instead consisted of countless years of hard work by the
family members.

The Shi Family still kept with the ancient tradition of being
regulated by the clan elders. The numerous clan elders from
each generation were commanded by the oldest clan elder. The
clan elders usually pay no attention to the affairs of the world,
neither do they participate in family affairs. Instead, their sole
mission was to constantly develop the absolute arts. They had
different specialities. Using the family’s resources, they made
use of their gifts and dedicated their entire lifetimes to
nurturing [Hydromancy].

The accumulation of knowledge throughout the generations

caused [Hydromancy] to constantly expand. It was like a deep-
rooted tree with many branches. Some branches that might
look unremarkable would actually be a clan elder’s lifetime’s
creation.

The spear move that Shi Xueman was using was called [Cloud
Whale]. It was created by an clan elder who roamed around the
world three hundred years ago. It was not the best amongst all
the moved in [Hydromancy], but it was her favorite and she had
thrown herself into it. It was also because of this that her father
had hunted down a humpback cloud whale to create Cirrus for
her.

[Cloud Whale] was not known for being lithe and graceful. Shi
Xueman experienced a strain when she met with the nine-trace
blood cat.
 Before today, she would have definitely been at a loss when
meeting with such a formidable opponent. Now, she had slowly
learned to battle. While she was unable to come up with a
counter attack, she did not panic. Instead, she gave her all and
tried her best to contend against the nine-trace blood cat.

At that moment, she heard a loud bang.

The sudden explosion of air surging and hissing shocked

everyone present.

Not just her, the sudden sound caused even the nine-trace
blood cat to jolt in shock. Shi Xueman witnessed a stunning
scene. There was a crack that resembled an over fifty-meter
diameter circular cobweb. From a bird’s eye view, it looked like
a blossoming flower.

In the centre of the blossoming flower was a youth holding a

long sword guarding against the teeth of the nine-trace blood
lizard. The diffusion of air waves blew around a huge amount of
grey dust, like a retreating grey wave.

Shi Xueman stood blankly for a moment. Just from that

explosion of strength, she could determine how terrifying the
nine-trace blood lizard’s attack was; however, Ai Hui had
managed to block it off. Ai Hui’s figure was puny and his shirt
was tattered and unclean. He looked like a mess, yet, his small
figure stood upright. This was a scene that stirred their hearts
and brought many to astonishment.

This chap… Hadn’t he failed finishing the Eight Palaces

Completion?

How had he managed to block that attack?

This chap…

Unlike Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun was situated at a

better location and witnessed the entire process. After the surge
of air had swept away, he saw the upright Ai Hui and the nine-
trace blood lizard which was unable to move even an inch. It
was as if Duanmu Huanghun had just gulped some strong
spirits.

His handsome face became flushed as if he were drunk.

A sense of excitement and an intent to battle that was hard to

put into words led to an uncontrollable tremble. Every inch of
his skin was burning up. The raging inferno lit up the
wasteland.

His blood was raging under that strong inferno. His heart was
churning with the strong intent to battle. He wanted to look up
into the sky and blow a long whistle.

His fists were tightly clenched and his nails turned white from
the pressure. His trembling was like an electric current
spreading throughout his whole body. He strongly restrained
himself.

Because this was a magnificent performance by Ai Hui and not

him, Duanmu Huanghun.

In that moment, his long, narrow eyes glinted with a strange

yet frantic ray. Unconsciously, he licked his pale lips. This was a
battle that he was looking forward to. This was the glory that he
had been waiting for.

He narrowed his eyes and rushed towards the nine-trace blood

fox.
 Fatty’s loud howls were as if a wolf had bitten him on his rear.

Jiang Wei was the first to react. Releasing an arrow from his
bow, he screamed and ran towards the nine-trace blood lizard.

Only then, did the others start to react.

Holding on to the Golden Silk Longbow, Sang Zhijun placed

four sharp arrows close together. A ray of light flashed past her
eyes. The four arrows swiftly blended into one and became a
brilliant ray of light.

The nine-trace blood lizard was in a pathetic state. Its force

had been met with force and it had received a tremendous
impact. While it was still in a state of bewilderment, it was met
with countless of attacks and was placed in a dangerous and
difficult situation.

Furthermore, as the red glow surrounding its body had

dispersed, all these attacks landed solidly on its body.

The rays immediately swallowed up the nine-trace blood

lizard. It started to tremble violently and its disintegrated scales
spattered around.

As Ai Hui was in close proximity to the nine-trace blood

lizard, everyone withheld their attacks for fear of affecting Ai
Hui. Nevertheless, the waves of attacks inflicted serious damage
on the nine-trace blood lizard. Its scales were all over the place
and its body was badly mangled. Black smoke was rising in
spirals. It took the most hits on its abdomen, where there was
now a thumb-sized hole out of which blood was flowing out.
Sang Zhijun and Jiang Wei’s masterpiece. Jiang Wei’s arrow
had cut open the nine-trace blood lizard’s scales and Sang
Zhijun’s Arrow Fusion Technique had landed on the exact same
spot, piercing through the nine-trace blood lizard’s abdomen.

The nine-trace blood lizard displayed extraordinary vitality.

Even though it looked battered and exhausted, it didn’t look any
less threatening. Its initially cold eyes had now become scarlet
red. Its eyes contained a fury that caused heart palpitations.

It gave a loud snarl. Not only did it not retreat, it brazenly tore
at Ai Hui. The densely packed teeth sent chills through the
people watching. The teeth were like huge metal shears and the
thick neck contained a formidable brute force. Even before the
nine-trace blood lizard had gone through the blood
transformation, it had easily bitten a bison to death. The bison’s
huge body had been snapped in half by the lizard’s teeth.
 Now it was even stronger and its teeth was sharper and
harder. Even if there was a thick steel bar blocking its way, it
could still break it effortlessly.

It looked like the nine-trace blood lizard was going to bite Ai

Hui. Ai Hui moved.

He was so fast, his movements were a blur. The nine-trace

blood lizard’s vision blurred and a violent pain exploded in its
mouth. Its tongue was like a blood ball that burst into a bloody
mist. Blood started to immediately flow out of its mouth, which
had become filled with the taste of fresh blood. It was the taste
of its own blood.

It had never before experienced such intense pain. It

retreated. The pain controlled the blood-traced lizard’s
movements. It tumbled around on the floor to relief the pain,
but to no avail. Fresh blood continued to flow out through the
gaps in its remaining teeth. Its head constantly knocked on the
floor. The floor quaked and stones shattered and flew.

Sang Zhijun and the rest reacted much faster this time.
Different forms of attacks were thrown towards the nine-trace
blood lizard. Many arrows and rays of light enveloped the
blood-traced lizard in a split instant.
 Without any restraints, the people threw in all their might
and attacked like crazy.

They did not dare to stop and they did not bother to conserve
their elemental energy. If they did not grasp hold of this
opportunity, any future attack from the nine-trace blood lizard
could very well cause many deaths and casualties.

Facing such a blood-traced fiend, they were not in a position

to conserve their elemental energy. The fact that they could act
with their elemental energy was already a good outcome.

Only after they had expended all their elemental energy and
poured it onto the nine-trace blood lizard, did they stop their
attacks.

Everyone was panting for breath.

The nine-trace blood lizard laid motionless and everyone

exhaled in unison.

This round of attacks was fatal to the nine-trace blood lizard.

No matter how strong its will to live was, it could not bear those
crazy attacks from all over the place.

The poor nine-trace blood lizard did not have a single piece of
intact flesh on its body.

"It should be dead by now?" Fatty asked apprehensively.

The yellow ray in Lou Lan’s eyes flickered. "Yes, it is dead."

Fatty gave a long exhale. After a moment, he asked anxiously,

"Is Ai Hui alright?"

Lou Lan tilted his head. "Ai Hui is in a strange condition. Lou
Lan is also unable to differentiate, however, he has no injuries.
Let’s not disturb Ai Hui. He needs to break away from that state
of mind by himself."

"As long as he is not injured." Fatty’s gaze relaxed. Thinking

back to his pathetic state, he pleaded, "Lou Lan, do not tell Ai
Hui I fled."

"Why not?" Lou Lan widened his eyes. "Fatty was very brave."
 "It is no use being brave." Fatty’s face was filled with grief and
indignance. Could being brave reduce the amount of training?
No!

If Ai Hui found out about this, what would await him would
be countless training assignments.

The current training assignments that Ai Hui designed could

cause Fatty to whine for days. Thinking back, life was better in
the Wilderness. Ai Hui did not know then what training was.
Otherwise, he definitely would not have had a chance to leave
the Wilderness.

Not as a result of being eaten up by the dire beasts; instead, he

would have worked to death doing Ai Hui’s training.

Looking at his fat, Fatty was filled with grief and indignation.
He has lost weight from all the training.

"Was the blood crystal destroyed by us?" Sang Zhijun asked

worriedly. The blood crystal was even more important than
money.
 "Nope, just hand it over to Lou Lan!" Lou Lan said happily and
confidently. He transformed into a sandstorm and rushed
toward the mangled nine-trace blood lizard. The sandstorm
wrapped around the blood-traced lizard and the flesh was
quickly stripped off to expose the white bones.

The sandstorm rotated constantly until only shattered bones

remain.

The sandstorm returned to everyone and transformed back

into Lou Lan.

Ding, ding, ding.

A melodious chime could be heard. Lou Lan was holding a few

more blood crystals. After checking, he happily announced,
"These blood crystals’ quality is even better than before!"

The students cheered in unison.

Soon enough, their gazes fell on the remaining two who were
still in the midst of battle.
 Fatty stared for a moment before slapping his thigh and
shouting, "Hey! Lure the monster over and let Ai Hui kill it!"

Sang Zhijun and the rest of the students’ eyes brightened.

Fatty’s idea was good. Given Ai Hui’s puppet-like state, no
matter what rushed towards him, he would kill it without a
second thought. Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun only
needed to guard at the side. They could strike when the
opportunity arises and it would be easier for them to gain
victory.

Fatty’s shout immediately triggered the two’s anger.

Shi Xueman looked on coldly. To get help from that

scoundrel? My goodness.

The craze in Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes became stronger. To

be defeated by Ai Hui? Dream on.
Chapter 215: A Frightened Tian Kuan
"Did they really find out how to use the blood crystals?"

The dean found it hard to believe what he had just heard. The
researchers in the mayor’s residence were all teachers, yet they
had been unable to discover anything. It was not particularly
shocking to hear that students were able to discover things
faster than the teachers, but the speed at which the A-1 unit had
accomplished this was no mean feat.

"It’s been tested," Wang Zhen stated. "It’s effective."

Wang Zhen was taken aback when he first heard about it as

well. He had not expected much when Ai Hui informed him that
they wished to study the blood crystals.

"Since they don’t have an officially designated researcher, the

accomplishment will be considered as a group effort. Ai Hui and
his core members will receive 400 Heaven Merit Points each,
while the ordinary members will receive 100 Heaven Merit
Points each. In addition, all members of their unit can each
choose one inheritance."
 When announcing the A-1 unit’s rewards, Wang Zhen felt a
little envious. Troubled times were indeed the best times to
accumulate merit and accomplishments. It was hard to imagine
the meritorious service required to earn 400 Heaven Merit
Points during peacetime.

But this contribution was indeed worthy of such a reward.

Compared to the last time they were given a reward, the

service rendered by the A-1 unit this time was much more
impressive. Discovering the blood crystal’s uses had far-
reaching implications for not just battle, but also for the blood
disaster as a whole. 400 Heaven Merit Points alone were
honestly not a sufficient reward for such an enormous
contribution. Under the present circumstances however, the
higher ups probably could not award anything better. Although,
Wang Zhen believed that the higher ranked authorities were
beginning to keep an eye on Ai Hui and the others.

They would have bright futures if they managed to survive

this disaster.

"The higher authorities have also requested for me to present

them with suitable rewards." Wang Zhen laughed bitterly. "How
can there be anything good left? The supplies and items that we
still have are not exactly useful. I guess we’ll just have to reward
them with more blood crystals."

"Such an amazing group of youths," the dean commented

solemnly. Thinking about their discovery, he soon perked up
and said, "It’s great that the blood crystals can provide such
large benefits though."

"Indeed!" Wang Zhen nodded. "All those mercenary people out

there will put their best efforts into hunting the blood-traced
fiends once they find out about the blood crystal’s uses. The
higher ups have already released an announcement informing
everyone that blood crystals can be exchanged for Heaven Merit
Points."

The blood crystals’ immense value would change many

things.

"How’re the golden needles coming along?" the dean asked,

deeply concerned. "This is the real key to victory."

"It’s not progressing very well," Wang Zhen replied truthfully,

his face racked with worry. "We lack a lot of the materials
required, especially since a lot of the stores have been reduced
to rubble. Thus, we have to dig through the ruins to find the
relevant materials. The number of blood-traced fiends within
the city has increased, impeding our progress."

"Ah, we need to hurry though." The dean sighed. "I wonder

why the reinforcements aren’t here yet. We’re really running
out of time."

All Wang Zhen could offer in reply was an awkward laugh.

Deep within the blood forest, a resting Tian Kuan was rudely
awoken by the activity in the sky.

He shook his head, attributing the commotion to two blood

birds fighting. Blood birds were sadly out of his reach.

Tian Kuan had yet to fully recover from his injuries. That
fellow from the Infantry Division had sacrificed his two arms to
cause massive damage to Tian Kuan. Luckily for Tian Kuan, the
fight had taken place in this blood forest that was full of blood-
traced fiends. Otherwise, his injuries would have been much
worse.
 After devouring more than 20 nine-trace blood fiends, Tian
Kuan had only managed to replenish half of his blood spiritual
force. Nine-trace blood fiends were more capable of conscious
thoughts, resulting in the emergence of territorial awareness
and corresponding behaviours. As such, they were more spread
out, and Tian Kuan had to travel longer distances between
fiends.

He was unable to tap into blood refinement before completely

recovering.

He regretted not learning the beast coercion spells. He would

have been able to amass a huge number of nine-trace blood
fiends by now if he had learned it, which would make for a
really easy recovery meal.

The others must have progressed far ahead of him by now.

A huge explosion rang out in the sky, followed by brilliant

flares which lit up the sky and immense fluctuations of
elemental energy. Tian Kuan was startled by the display that
signalled the presence of elementalists.

Elementalists who still dared to venture this deep into the

blood forest were definitely not to be belittled. If it was a group,
they would most likely be a particular division’s elites. If it was
an individual, then it would be someone that Tian Kuan could
not afford to provoke.

He noiselessly leaped up a tree, hiding behind its lush cover to

survey the skies.

Tian Kuan was gobsmacked when he saw the figure fighting

in the air.

He immediately recognized that the lanky elementalist was Yu

Mingqiu, the vice division leader of the Deathgrass Division.
Seeing this big-name target stirred him up. The contribution
he’d make if he took down a vice division leader…

Tian Kuan eyes flashed with greed and aggression, but he

quickly calmed down.

Even at full strength, he might not be able to handle Yu

Mingqiu. With his present injuries, this was definitely not the
right moment to strike.
 Tian Kuan’s ominous gaze was locked onto Yu Mingqiu’s
opponent, who he recognized as Situ Zhong, the apostle that
Tian Kuan disliked the most. Situ Zhong was treacherous,
cunning, and merciless. He was someone that could not be
trusted at all.

Situ Zhong’s black robes fluttered in the wind, making him

look like a large bat flitting through the sky. Tian Kuan knew
that the blood-red patterns embroidered on Situ Zhong’s huge
sleeves were his trump card.

Situ Zhong was a sly one. He hid among the blood birds,
moving about erratically.

Countless blood birds completely surrounded Yu Mingqiu like

a cloud made up of blood rather than water vapor.

Tian Kuan was shocked by Yu Mingqiu’s sudden display of

power.

More than 100 green arrows of light burst forth without

warning, piercing through the blood-red cloud in all directions.
Situ Zhong’s face turned pale and he began to flee. Tian Kuan
shivered in fear as he watched the wretched-looking Situ Zhong
escape, his black robes riddled with small holes.

Tian Kuan hid behind the tree trunk, afraid to even breathe
too loudly. It was only after the two figures disappeared from
his view that he cautiously re-emerged.

That was too scary!

Was that the strength of a vice division leader? No wonder

their superiors did not want them to engage in direct combat
with elementalists that were equal or above this level. They had
instead proposed to lure the stronger elementalists deep into the
blood forest and ambush them with an army of blood fiends.

He calmed his nerves, shifting his focus once again to his

recovery. The scene that he had just witnessed made him realize
that his original plan would not work. Even if he managed to
complete the next phase of his blood refinement, he still would
not be able to handle someone as strong as Yu Mingqiu.

He needed someone to aid him.

The beast coercion spells provided the easiest means of

creating unquestioningly obedient allies, but he had not learned
them. Tian Kuan was an obstinate man, but he was no fool.

A flash of inspiration hit him.

He started to move after thinking through his new idea.

Jade Embroidery Workshop.

Mingxiu stood guard outside her master’s door. She reported

softly, "Junior has rendered great service again and was
awarded 400 Heaven Merit Points."

Her eyes revealed a hint of sadness. She had initially been

unable to understand or accept her master’s decision. Having
been with her master for so long, however, Mingxiu knew her
well enough to know when she had firmly made up her mind.

Han Yuqin’s cold, emotionless voice came from behind the

door, "Your junior is better than you in that aspect."

Mingxiu cheerily replied, "Junior has naturally become

stronger than me."

After a moment of silence, Han Yuqin slowly asked, "How’s

Shouchuan? Be honest."

Mingxiu was caught off guard and bit her lower lip before she
could bring herself to answer, "He’s aged quite a bit."

Han Yuqin heaved a heavy sigh. She kept silent for a long
while before speaking again, "Don’t let your junior know."

Mingxiu’s tender disposition took another blow as the sadness

in her eyes deepened. Looking down, she said, "That’s what he
instructed as well."

Han Yuqin laughed softly before falling silent again.

The elementalist in charge of delivering the mayor’s reward

had a weird expression when he delivered it to the A-1 unit’s
current location.

At one spot, Ai Hui was standing motionless like a wooden

puppet. Anyone who went near Ai Hui would be swiftly
attacked by him.

Duanmu Huanghun decided to give it a try and moved toward

Ai Hui. He was almost stabbed in the throat.

Bangwan was frightened stiff. His recent gains in strength had

helped him to narrowly escape dangerous situation after
dangerous situation. Nearly being stabbed in the throat,
however, drenched his back with sweat. The lofty thoughts that
he had after beating the nine-trace blood fox were all but gone.

After Classmate Bangwan’s demonstration, the rest of the

students consciously made sure that they kept their distance
from Ai Hui.

"Is he experiencing spontaneous enlightenment?"

"That’s right," Shi Xueman replied, throwing up her hands in

frustration. "There’s nothing we can do."

"I understand!" The elementalist nodded. He looked at the

three blood-traced beast corpses on the floor that were still
warm and realized just how strong the A-1 unit was.

Everyone in the unit had become numb to receiving Heaven

Merit Points. To these students, rewards that could not be
cashed in immediately were not of much use. Nobody knew if
they would still be around by the time they could actually use
these points.

However, the inheritances and blood crystals that were

offered brought on cheers from the students.

These two things were what they really needed.

Shi Xueman promptly shut down all intentions to

immediately pick out an inheritance. She pointed toward Ai Hui
and explained, "We’ll wait for him to wake up first."

The students who were prepared to rush forward and claim

their rewards stopped dead in their tracks. Nobody moved up to
choose an inheritance.

Classmate Bangwan could not stand it any longer. He snorted,

"I’m not waiting for him since I have no need for an
inheritance."

Right after he spoke, Duanmu Huanghun walked over to a

corner and began to train by himself.

The elementalist from the mayor’s residence who came to

deliver the rewards was taken aback by the amount of respect
that Ai Hui commanded from the rest.

It was an impressive achievement considering that this was a

loosely-formed group.

"No problem. You have until midnight to pick out an

inheritance from the mayor’s residence," informed the
elementalist before he left.

Seeing the elementalist leave, Shi Xueman asked Lou Lan,

"Lou Lan, how many blood crystals do we have now?"

"26 of them," Lou Lan answered. "We have 10 lower quality

blood crystals that were given as a reward and 16 of higher
quality that were obtained from the nine-trace blood fiends."
 Shi Xueman thought of the sword thrust that almost pierced
Duanmu Huanghun’s throat.

Was Ai Hui not a little too stalwart?

Wait a minute, it would be a waste not to make use of his

current state…

She thought about how she and Bangwan had spent so much
effort killing blood fiends. Oh, I’m also starting to call him
Bangwan..

Shi Xueman’s eyes twinkled as she thought of a brilliant plan.

Chapter 216: Monstrously Powerful
Old Zhang, who had just returned from the mayor’s residence,
told everyone about the blood crystal’s uses. A commotion
promptly ensued.

"No wonder that fellow wanted the blood crystals! He had it

all planned out!"

"We’ve suffered terrible losses!"

"What a scheming young man!"

...

Everyone was engaged in a clamorous discussion. Hearing

these comments annoyed Old Zhang. "Stop these ridiculous
conjectures, the A-1 unit were the ones who discovered its uses!
The higher authorities have rewarded them with four hundred
Heaven Merit Points and the mayor’s residence has given them
additional rewards," he shouted, displeased.

Old Zhang spoke out of admiration for Ai Hui. He hadn’t

thought much of Ai Hui when they’d first met, but thinking
back now, he had become acquaintances with someone
impressive. As far as he could remember, no student had ever
accumulated this many Heaven Merit Points before graduating.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, but then quickly

continued with their discussion.

"Amazing! Those squirts are already so amazing at such a

young age, just how much potential do they have?"

"They come from prestigious families, how can we be

compared to them?"

"We haven’t lost much actually; we can always hunt for more
blood crystals. It is more important that we build relationships!"

"Four hundred Heaven Merit Points are enough to request for

a small leadership position in the Thirteen Divisions!"

...
 Old Zhang clapped his hands and announced, "Listen to me."

Everyone gradually fell silent and looked at Old Zhang. He

was outspoken, magnanimous, and commanded the respect of
everyone on his team.

"I suggest that we go out and hunt some blood-traced fiends.

Blood crystals can be used to strengthen ourselves, our
weapons, and can be exchanged for Heaven Merit Points. The
blood fiends are dangerous, but we are all mercenaries who
chase riches and honor amidst danger. Hunting dire beasts isn’t
all that much safer anyway. All of you are brave lads who live
life on the edge of a blade. Although money isn’t of much use
right now, Heaven Merit Points are still good stuff. So what if
we die here in the Induction Ground, these are things that we
can leave for our loved ones. Does everyone agree with me?"

Old Zhang’s words made everyone ponder deeply.

Soon, sounds of affirmation began to ring out among the

crowd.

"Definitely! If we have to go out and hunt, we ought to hunt

for blood crystals!"
 "None of the dire beasts that we can hunt are worth any
Heaven Merit Points!"

"Leaving some Heaven Merit Points for my kid sounds like a

good idea. Perhaps he’ll be able to become an official in the
future and lead a stable life."

"What’s so good about becoming an official? He could

exchange those points for an inheritance! Inheritances that are
exchanged with Heaven Merit Points are all excellent!"

...

Old Zhang nodded his head in satisfaction. He gestured for

everyone to quiet down and waited for the noise level to fall
before continuing. "We’ll follow the old reward distribution
rules of the hunting units that everyone is familiar with."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The hunting units were teams

that specialized in hunting dire beasts. They had a very well
thought out set of rules that governed reward distribution
within each unit. Since everyone here had once been a part of
such a hunting unit, they were very familiar with the
established rules.
 "I’m sure many other groups will have the same idea now that
blood crystals can be exchanged for Heaven Merit Points,"
explained Old Zhang. "As such, we have to be alert and guard
against other groups as well. Also, everyone here may be
familiar with dire beasts, but none of us know much about
blood-traced fiends. I’d advise all of you to put your lives first
and avoid engaging blood-traced fiends that are too powerful.
There’ll be more to hunt as long as we stay alive."

Light-hearted laughter could be heard from the crowd. These

were practical words that they’ve heard many times.

Old Zhang’s group was indeed not the only one which became
more active following the announcement. Many others had set
their eyes on the blood-traced fiends as well. Some were after
wealth while others were in it to become stronger, still others
did it for a chance to live. All these elementalists with different
motives had the exact same target.

Blood-traced fiends were no longer actively avoided. They

were now actively sought after.

The number of elementalists roaming the streets increased

exponentially. The battles that they fought also became even
more ferocious.
 Old Zhang carefully led his members in search of prey. He
made sure to maintain his composure, reminding himself that
while blood crystals were very valuable, the slightest lapse in
attention would see his entire team destroyed by the vicious
blood-traced fiends.

"Boss, come and see this!"

One of his front scouts cried out in alarm.

Old Zhang swiftly made his way forward. He saw a familiar

figure dashing wildly down the street with a red blur hot on its
tail. Everyone could recognize the person being chased, it was
Duanmu Huanghun!

Central Pine City’s elementalists knew the academy’s

brightest students well.

The A-1 unit?

Old Zhang found it strange that Duanmu Huanghun was the

only person around. Could they be in trouble? Why was he
alone?
 "Let’s follow them. Be on your guards."

The line of elementalists cautiously advanced. They soon

heard the unmistakable sounds of battle.

The sounds caught their attention as they quietly moved

ahead.

Old Zhang was shocked to see the battle that was occurring
before him.

Ai Hui was standing motionlessly in one spot like a wooden

puppet and a wretched-looking nine-traced blood cat was
chasing after Duanmu Huanghun.

The fiend and the human were standing on opposite sides of

the wooden puppet.

The two appeared to be revolving around Ai Hui.

What was going on?

 Old Zhang was dumbstruck by the incredibly odd sight.

"Come on Classmate Bangwan!" Lou Lan cheered as loud as he

could.

"Don’t be afraid Bangwan, Ai Hui won’t ask you for money in

his current state!" Fatty chimed in.

"Go nearer!"

"Ah, almost there, just a bit closer!"

"Bangwan, what did you do to that cat? Why is it so intent on

taking you down?"

...

Shi Xueman folded her arms across her chest, seemingly

enjoying the show.

Duanmu Huanghun was sweating profusely. The blood-traced

fiend that Shi Xueman had lured over earlier had been
completely shredded by Ai Hui; however, this nine-trace blood
cat that Duanmu Huanghun had found appeared to be too fast
for this strategy. Duanmu Huanghun had almost been injured
by it.

Ai Hui’s ridiculously small attack range meant that Duanmu

Huanghun had to lure the blood-traced cat extremely close to Ai
Hui in order to get it to attack him.

Duanmu Huanghun was, however, hesitant to go near Ai Hui

after almost being stabbed by him.

The nine-trace blood cat continued to follow him in circles,

completely ignoring Ai Hui. Duanmu Huanghun was so
frustrated that he wanted to scream. What kind of lousy blood-
traced fiend are you? Can’t you see that motionless target right
there?

I have to think of something...

Duanmu Huanghun was struck by a brainwave. He cut his

movement with a step forward, turning around to face the
blood-traced cat before activating his [Viridescent Flower].
 Countless vines weaved together to form a huge net in front of
him.

The blood-traced cat wasn’t expecting something like this net.

Unable to react in time, it crashed into the net. The blood-
traced cat desperately clawed at the vines, but to no avail. It
only managed to break a few of them before becoming
completely bound.

The next moment, it was sent flying.

The blood-traced cat was heading towards the motionless Ai

Hui.

Old Zhang almost cried out in shock. Was Duanmu Huanghun

trying to harm Ai Hui?

Stumbling through the air, the nine-trace blood cat noticed

that it was getting closer and closer to Ai Hui. With a blood-red
glint in its eyes, it shifted its limber body in midair as it
prepared to pounce on him. Claws as sharp as the blade of a
knife shot out of its meaty paws, menacingly reflecting the
light.
 Ai Hui remained completely motionless, seemingly unaware
of what was about to happen.

What happened next shocked Old Zhang so much that his cry
was stopped dead in his throat.

Just as the nine-trace blood cat entered attacking range, a

silver coloured sword ray appeared out of nowhere.

A distinct ringing sound whistled through the air and was

soon interrupted by the sound of blades clashing. Ai Hui’s sword
had collided with the nine-trace blood cat’s claws.

Before the sword ray could dissipate, another one emerged in

the exact same spot.

One more stroke!

Old Zhang wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

The clashing sounds were ringing out in such short intervals
that they appeared to blend into one long, clear ring.
 Ping!

The nine-trace blood cat’s claws, despite being harder than

steel, were reduced to dust.

Almost simultaneously, a slender, crescent moon-shaped

sword ray appeared on its abdomen.

[Uprising Moon]!

The nine-trace blood cat’s abdomen had the highest number

of blood traces. The crescent shaped sword ray penetrated the
blood traces, opening a sleek wound on the abdomen.

The blood-traced cat’s pupils dilated as its body became rigid.

But this wasn’t the end of the attack. Dots of light lit up its
abdomen like a starry night scene.

The wound on its abdomen was ripped open further,

becoming a large, gaping hole.
 An extremely keen sword ray then sliced its way out of the
blood-traced cat’s back.

Thin pillars of blood spurted out of the blood-traced cat’s

back.

Another sword ray emerged out of nowhere, striking the cat’s

neck. It pierced the blood-traced cat’s muscular neck, emitting
shards of lightning from within.

All of the attacks, from the moment the blood-traced cat had
entered Ai Hui’s attack range to the moment it was sent flying
off, were executed in a frighteningly short amount of time.

Bang!

Like a ragged sackbag, the nine-trace blood cat collapsed to

the ground. The sword ray on its neck exploded into a burst of
radiance with a loud bang.

The nine-trace blood cat was motionless.

 So was Ai Hui, who had returned to his wooden puppet state

A deathly stillness followed.

Old Zhang was struck dumb by the speed at which Ai Hui had
decimated his opponent. He had never seen or even imagined
that something like that was possible.

He looked at the motionless figure and felt a shiver run down

his spine. Such terrifying strength!

What kind of swordplay was that?

He had never heard anyone mention something this powerful.

Since the beginning, he had only wanted to make friends. He

had heard of the A-1 unit’s prestige and fighting prowess, but
had never seen it for himself. It wasn’t until today that he
realized just how formidable Ai Hui was.

Something as dangerous as a blood-traced fiend had been

nothing in front of Ai Hui. He had thoroughly destroyed it
before it even had a chance to fight back.

So-called elite groups like Old Zhang’s were probably nothing

in front of Ai Hui as well.

Old Zhang felt his heart quiver.

Their performance wouldn’t have been much better than the

blood-traced cat’s. He decided to warn the other groups to avoid
having conflicts with the A-1 unit at all costs.

Shi Xueman and the rest were taken aback as well. Her folded
arms had fallen to her sides, her eyes filled with disbelief.

This time around, Ai Hui’s attacks were much faster and

much more precise!

He had executed three precise sword strokes in such a short

amount of time, each one striking the exact same spot on the
blood-traced cat’s claws. That was how he’d managed to turn
them into dust.
 How was this bloke capable of improving even when in such
an odd state?

Witnessing what had happened left her feeling slightly

uncomfortable. Ai Hui’s performance was simply unimaginable.

Duanmu Huanghun was dealt an even greater blow. He gaped

at Ai Hui as though he had just seen a ghost.

No one could explain the strange state that Ai Hui was in.
Duanmu Huanghun felt that it was something similar to
spontaneous enlightenment, but that monstrous strength… was
he not experiencing breakthroughs?

Duanmu Huanghun unwittingly tightened his fists. Ai Hui

had just sliced a nine-trace blood cat like a melon, yet he himself
hadn’t accomplished much else...

Ai Hui’s present state may be something out of this world

but...

Duanmu Huanghun doesn’t need excuses!

 Damn it!

The wide street was completely silent.

All of a sudden, a loud rumbling noise could be heard. The

ground began to shake violently.

Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun snapped out of their

fright. Looking up, they noticed the huge column of smoke that
was rising from a distance away.

"It’s the city gate!" Duanmu Huanghun yelled at the top of his
lungs.

"The city gate has been breached." Shi Xueman’s voice

shuddered.

Everyone behind them went pale with fright.

Although Central Pine City was vulnerable to underground

attacks, blood fiends that could enter via that route were often
small. The city’s defenses were responsible for keeping the
larger blood fiends out.

Once the city gate falls, however, the larger blood fiends
would be free to enter as they pleased. It would be a complete
disaster.

The ground was shaking. What was even more fear-inducing

was that the tremors were getting closer.

"Run! Blood fiends!"

Screams of fear could be heard nearby. Nobody had the

chance to react.

A red flood washed its way onto the streets, engulfing

everything in sight.
Chapter 217: One Man Against Countless
Numbers
Tian Kuan didn’t follow the horde of blood fiends into the
city, instead choosing to observe it from outside. If he
remembered correctly, this was a painfully ordinary city within
the Induction Ground known as Central Pine City.

As he neared Central Pine City, he noticed that its defenses

remained completely intact. He became more guarded after
making this observation since he had seen many other cities
which were larger yet, had defenses that were much more
dilapidated.

Surveying the area carefully, Tian Kuan noticed something

peculiar. The blood-traced fiends near Central Pine City were all
of a lower level.

He now understood why the city’s defenses were still in such

good condition.

Tian Kuan had hunted many blood-traced fiends on his way to

the city and as such, was able to determine the blood-traced
fiends’ levels. There were a large number of wild beasts in the
Induction Ground. Once they were infected by the blood poison,
these beasts would continuously experience transformations
and become much stronger as time passed.

Their large numbers would allow them to eventually

overwhelm the elementalists and become the new masters of
the Induction Ground.

The organization had never before attempted a blood fiend

breeding operation of this large a scale. Tian Kuan believed that
not even the higher ups knew what would result in the end.

One thing he was sure of, however, was that they were not
only racing against the Avalon of Five Elements, but with the
blood fiends as well. If the blood elementalists were unable to
keep up with the blood fiends’ swift transformations, things
will not bode well for them either.

Once active, the blood poison brings with it a fundamental

change. The changes it would cause were irreversible and
uncontrollable. Unleashing it was like opening Pandora’s box,
nothing could be said after the deed was done.

While risky, it wasn’t too different from most other big

opportunities. Large opportunities were often hidden within
huge risks. Besides, those who seek success must inevitably
tackle such risks.

Death? Death was an inevitability.

Tian Kuan despised those hypocrites who thought otherwise.

He suddenly remembered that when the crazy lady in red had

come to his aid, it had been from this direction. Did she have
something to do with the lower leveled blood fiends in this
area?

Tian Kuan couldn’t detect any traces of her presence nearby.

She must have left quite a while ago.

His eyebrows furrowed in thought. Although he wasn’t quite

sure what had happened here, he was certain that this
phenomenon hadn’t occurred naturally.

Blood refinement?

This was the most possible scenario since blood refinement

required large amounts of blood spiritual force. The amount of
blood spiritual force contained within plants was minuscule and
definitely not sufficient for blood refinement. Only a large
number of blood fiends could provide the necessary amount of
blood spiritual force.

However, encouraging blood fiend transformation in such a

large area was a slow process requiring an enormous amount of
effort. Just how much blood spiritual force did that crazy lady
need to have done something like this?

Tian Kuan calculated an approximate figure and quickly

concluded that the amount of blood spiritual force here was
beyond what she could handle.

What was the real reason then?

Tian Kuan couldn’t think of anything else, so he turned his

focus to the enigmatic little city in front of him. In order to
prudently tease out some of its secrets, he decided to break
down the city gate and lure the blood fiends into the city.

The horde of blood fiends rushing inside would reveal any

potentially dangerous individuals that resided within Central
Pine City.

The sudden destruction of the city gate plunged Central Pine

City into a state of crisis. Groups of elementalists which had
been on the hunt for blood-traced fiends ended up becoming the
hunted instead.

Old Zhang stared at the incoming wave of blood fiends in

terror. "Run, quick!" he shouted.

A pair of azure wings spread out from behind Old Zhang and
he swiftly took to the skies. The other elementalists rapidly
followed suit. Looking down from above, they could see the
blood-red torrent gushing down the streets in their direction.
The earth rumbled and the mountains shook; it was a fearsome
sight to behold.

At this moment, someone cried out in alarm, "The A-1 unit!

They don’t have azure wings!"

Old Zhang unwittingly looked down and saw the stranded A-1
unit shaking before the might of the horde. He could see the
look of despair on their young, immature faces.
 "Damn it!"

He couldn’t help but swear.

The raging horde that swiftly approached the street below

appeared to have no end. No one dared to venture down to save
the A-1 unit.

It was too late!

He shut his eyes in resignation.

The A1-unit was in disarray, everyone was pale with fright.

Although they had become much stronger, their fear stricken
bodies still trembled before the destructive force that was
headed their way.

The laid bricks that made up the street were groaning under
the immense force of the blood fiends’ hooves. The thundering
stampede caused the ground to quake intensely, making it
difficult for Shi Xueman and the others to maintain their
balance.
 Everything that stood in the way of the blood fiends was
reduced to dust. They raged on, crushing every last building and
causing ruin in their path; nothing could withstand their might.

With their armor-like scales, forceful limbs, razor sharp teeth,

and deadly gazes, the blood fiends charging towards the A-1 unit
appeared to have come straight out of hell, bringing death and
destruction with them.

It was too late to retreat!

"Prepare for battle!"

Shi Xueman’s voice was drowned out by the thunderous

rumbling.

Duanmu Huanghun looked paler than usual, but the fervor in

his eyes burned brighter than ever. He understood that this
could be his final battle and was ready to go all out.

It would be a disgrace if he couldn’t even put up a final

struggle!
 The elemental energy within his body erupted as the
[Viridescent Flower] began to blossom beneath his feet. The
vines burst forth along the ground stealthily, fanning across the
street like tripwires.

Several blood fiends began to fall.

Blood fiends were constantly being tripped by Duanmu

Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower]. Those that fell were quickly
trampled over by the other blood fiends, ground to mincemeat
before they could even make a sound.

Shi Xueman threw every last Verglas Mist Pearl she had in
front of her. The pearls transformed into a wall of fog which
advanced towards the blood fiends.

Upon contact, the fog seeped into the first ten blood fiends
that were ahead of the horde. Their bodies instantly stiffened.

Before the Verglas Mist Pearls could exert their full effect, the
affected blood fiends were mercilessly crushed to death by those
behind.
 The red torrent never once showed any signs of slowing.

"Fire!"

Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun, together with the rest of the team,
whipped out their bows and began to rain arrows on the blood
fiends.

Blood fiends were dropping like flies, but still the red torrent
raged on, unobstructed. Nothing could stand in its way.

The ground quaked even harder as the distance closed

between the two sides. The horde of blood fiends was only fifty
meters away from them.

Shi Xueman and the A-1 unit could see the fiends’ red eyes.
Their hearts filled with despair and their minds blanked. Their
young eyes opened wide in terror.

The trembling Fatty suddenly rushed towards the motionless

Ai Hui and cried, "Ai Hui! Let’s go!"
 A sliver of shock ran through Shi Xueman’s body as she stared
at the immobile wooden puppet in the centre of her field of
vision. Ai Hui appeared to be completely oblivious to the
impending danger.

No!

She imagined the frail wooden puppet being shredded like a

piece of paper in the wake of the stampeding horde.

This scoundrel hasn’t even settled his debts yet… You still
need to pay off your debt…

Her eyes were brimming with tears, blurring her vision. Fine,
we all have to die anyway…

Looking down from above, the elementalists witnessed the

blood fiend horde drawing closer and closer to the group of
youths. Twenty meters… Ten meters… Five meters…

The puppet-like figure standing up to the almighty horde

made for a visually striking scene.
 The formidable and the frail, the frantic and the still, the
innumerable fiends against the lone figure.

Nobody else knew, but the sword embryo had become active
in response to the danger that was about to befall Ai Hui.

Within a short span of time, the sword embryo’s throbbing

increased to an alarming rate. It was frantically hammering
away at record speed.

The sword embryo’s intense activity expanded Ai Hui’s

awareness away from his sword. Details that he could not
perceive before surfaced in his mind’s eye like an island
appearing in the middle of the sea.

His sword wielding arm twitched ever so slightly as he awoke

from his deep slumber.

Three meters… Two meters… One meter!

The red torrent finally crashed into the frail looking figure. At
that moment, it was as though time stood still.
 The sword in Ai Hui’s hand reacted instinctively. An exotic
chirping sound rang out from the Dragonspine Inferno’s blade
as lightning burst forth from its densely-packed pores. A silver
glow spontaneously shrouded the entire blade, completely
covering it in dense silver lightning.

As if he was playing the piano, his fingers grasping the sword

hilt gracefully press downed one by one as he tightened his grip.
He gently lifted the Dragonspine Inferno horizontally in front of
his chest.

The Dragonspine Inferno in his hand vanished.

An impeccably brilliant sword ray blossomed in its place. A

massive [Crescent Moon] enveloped the coarse lightning as it
arced through the air, slicing into the advancing horde.

Exploding with the force of a thousand suns, a radiant blaze lit

up the entire space and momentarily blinded everyone within
viewing range.

The [Crescent Moon] was like death’s scythe, instantly

claiming the lives of more than ten of the blood fiends nearest
to Ai Hui.
 Electricity snaked through the mass of blood fiends, violently
shocking those struck into numbness.

Upon being blinded and shocked, a large number of the blood

fiends subconsciously slowed down. Slowing down amidst this
densely packed stampede was no different from seeking death.

The blood fiends behind trampled those in front, plunging the

entire area into chaos.

Ai Hui was unaffected by the silver light. The only thing he

could feel was the earth-shattering throbbing between his
eyebrows. His heart was similarly beating at an insanely fast
speed, matching the rhythm of the sword embryo’s throbbing.
His entire inner world shook along with the frantic pulsing.

Amidst the activity within his mind, Ai Hui realized that time
had slowed down considerably. His inner world appeared to
have vastly expanded.

The huge, lifeless bodies were carried forward by their inertia

and continued moving towards Ai Hui.
 He sent them flying with a flick of his sword.

Ai Hui’s movements were extremely fast. The Dragonspine

Inferno in his hand became a blur and could hardly be seen with
the naked eye. He was an immovable reef, standing stoically
against the incoming wave of blood fiends. The red torrent was
split down the middle the moment it rushed against the reef,
splitting into two smaller torrents made up of blood, severed
limbs and huge corpses that poured down its sides.

The intense, rapid throbbing.

The unbelievably fast sword strokes.

Both were moving to the same tenacious rhythm.

The blinding light dispersed completely.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the sword wielding youth

standing in the middle of it all. In that moment, his small
silhouette looked much larger than before. All they could see
was a majestic, towering figure standing amidst the sea of red.
 One man stood alone against the seemingly endless horde of
blood fiends. Retreat was not an option.
Chapter 218: A Magnificent Performance
Tian Kuan swaggered into Central Pine City amidst the blood
fiends. Hearing the distant sounds of fighting and seeing the
thick columns of black smoke brought a wry smile to his lips.

He was doubly cautious after witnessing Yu Mingqiu’s

impressive strength. Were he at full strength, Tian Kuan was
confident of escaping even if he was unable to defeat his
opponent.

While riddled with injuries, however, meeting someone as

powerful as Yu Mingqiu would put him in an extremely
unfavorable situation.

Yu Mingqiu’s abilities had greatly exceeded Tian Kuan’s

expectations. Tian Kuan had initially expected blood-traced
fiends to pose a threat even to vice-division leaders, but from
the looks of it, normal blood-traced fiends were not powerful
enough.

They needed more time.

This was also why he’d decided to sneak into the city. As of
now, the blood-traced fiends were still inadequate when dealing
with an opponent like Yu Mingqiu.

The current situation was, however, only temporary. As the

blood-traced fiends continued to transform over time, they
would continuously become stronger. As a result, the Induction
Ground would constantly become more dangerous. In contrast,
powerful individuals like Yu Mingqiu did not usually experience
vast increases in power over such a short period of time.

Tian Kuan felt that the blood-traced fiends were beneficial

indeed. Not only could they aid him in his training, they were
also useful in dealing with elementalists.

Ruins and rubble were the only things in sight. The entire city
was a complete mess.

Seeing the chaos he had created with his own hands made him
feel an inexplicable sense of delight. He was absolutely
fascinated that such a small offensive effort on his part was
capable of destroying an entire city.

At that point, he felt as though he was a god, capable of

controlling the fate of the mortals beneath him. What a great
feeling!

So this is what it’s like to feel all-powerful!

He quickly suppressed his rising zeal, reminding himself that

it was not yet time for him to become arrogant.

He cautiously inspected his entire body to ensure that every

single one of his blood traces were concealed. The blood traces
on a blood elementalist were not usually visible, but would
surface once they started to activate the blood spiritual force.

Blood traces were a headache for both blood elementalists and

blood-traced fiends. It was a double-edged sword, being both the
source of their energy as well as their key weakness.

The more formidable the blood elementalist, the fewer the

number of blood traces present on his or her body. It was the
same with blood-traced fiends.

It was said that the blood traces would all disappear upon
attainment of the highest realm. This was of course, just a
myth. It was a purely theoretical conjecture and did not have
much value when discussing something this new.

Tian Kuan disguised himself as an ordinary elementalist.

He suddenly heard the intense sounds of battle ahead.

Curious, he quietly headed towards its source. He hadn’t met
any form of resistance after entering the city, which wasn’t
particularly surprising. After all, who could oppose such a
terrifying horde of blood fiends?

The sounds of the battle coming from up ahead reflected its

intensity. Tian Kuan thought of the slowed-down
transformations occurring in the city’s vicinity. Could it be...

He moved as lightly as an apparition.

He was different from the others who had learned the beast
coercion spells. Tian Kuan ultimately only believed in his own
strength. All of his time, effort, and resources were spent
wholly on himself. As such, he had an impressive command
over his own body.

Using the environment as cover, he occasionally adjusted his

position. His figure faded significantly and blended well into his
immediate environment. This was the technique [Shadow Body]
that was derived from the [Blood Shadow Clone Spell] of the
Cultivation Era. Blood spiritual force was a unique form of
spiritual energy, distinct enough that it couldn’t be tapped on to
activate most Cultivation Era spells. The only way to utilize
blood spiritual force was to adapt spells from the former blood
sects.

Blood spiritual force possessed the basic conditions necessary

for spell activation, but it was impossible to use it effectively at
Cultivation Era levels. The biggest obstacles were the meridians,
since all meridian-related studies had long been abandoned. In
the past, cultivators would begin tempering their meridians
from a young age, but this was something blood elementalists
couldn’t possibly achieve. Without the consistent tempering of
the meridians, it was impossible to attain the levels of spell
complexity achieved by the cultivators.

Despite this, it was still possible to satisfactorily draw out part

of a spell’s power.

With the help of the ruins, Tian Kuan managed to inch

forward and take a good look at the battlefield. The sight before
him made his pupils widen.
 Tian Kuan wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

Old Zhang and his team stared blankly at the scene below,
their faces filled with disbelief.

"Too… too fast!" murmured one of the elementalists. He was

completely distracted by Ai Hui’s actions.

That same thought reverberated through everyone’s minds as

they watched Ai Hui move at an impossible speed, the long
sword in his hand blurring into an illusion.

His moves were utterly different from the first strike that he
had unleashed. His actions were now much faster and much
more precise!

The silver colored Dragonspine Inferno was swung at an

untouchable rhythm. Ai Hui’s sword strokes were constantly
changing, from slashing to flicking and even to slapping...

Each stroke was as fast as lightning, executed with the utmost

precision and efficiency. The stampeding blood fiends were
fatally injured upon coming within range, but they continued to
charge in despite their injuries.

How Ai Hui handled his massive, charging opponents was

truly astonishing.

The Dragonspine Inferno would somehow always appear right

where it was needed. Then with the exact amount of strength
required, it would be swung, spun, flicked, or slapped against
the oncoming fiends. All sorts of seemingly unorthodox strokes
were incorporated into Ai Hui’s fluid dance, taking out the
oncoming blood fiends before they could even put up any
resistance.

His pupils were dilating and constricting at an alarming rate.

In his current state, Ai Hui was like an emotionless killing
machine.

Lightning-quick movements, extreme precision, and a

despair-inducing stability to boot.

The only thing Ai Hui could hear on the chaotic battlefield

was the frantic throbbing of the sword embryo. Nothing could
shake his resolve or break his focus, not even the angry
bellowing of the blood fiends.
 "Oh my heavens!"

Fatty wrapped his hand around his head, unable to believe

what was happening.

The ground was still trembling from the stampede which

looked as though it was never going to end. However, the
feeling of helplessness that the horde had brought upon them
had vanished.

The floor around Ai Hui was saturated with blood. Small

streams of blood converged to form larger rivers. The rich,
sweet smell of the blood poison pervaded the air around them,
causing some people to choke.

Fresh blood was flowing freely, but it seemed to avoid the

immediate area around Ai Hui. Not a single drop of blood was
found within a one meter radius around him.

Shi Xueman was stupefied. She looked at Ai Hui, her mind a

complete blank.

She had never before thought that swordplay would still be

relevant in today’s world. This was the first time she had seen
swordsmanship of such a terrifying calibre. Ai Hui’s relentless,
lightning-quick strokes, impeccable accuracy, and dazzling
sword rays made her feel a little afraid.

As blood continued to rain down and the fiends continued to

snarl angrily, the grim figure continued to cut down lives like
they were nothing. His rhythm did not waver one bit.

Memories of Ai Hui suddenly surfaced in Shi Xueman’s mind.

She remembered the time when Ai Hui and Fatty had pettily
fought over noodles, when Ai Hui had steeled his resolve to
repay his debt of eighty million yuan, when he’d plotted to hit
Duanmu Huanghun’s annoying face…

The Ai Hui she remembered was remarkably different from

this ice-cold killing machine in front of her. To think that he
was this formidable…

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes were filled with overzealous

excitement. Oh, oh, this is incredible! That speed! That
precision! What a vicious stroke… I love it!

To think you were actually this powerful!

 Duanmu Huanghun felt himself teetering on the verge of
insanity. Having been rescued from the brink of death by such
frantic yet precise swordsmanship made him unbelievably
excited. He wanted to howl to release his agitation.

So… he did it!

"Ahahahaha…"

He looked up at the sky and raised his arms to his sides.

Craning his neck back, he howled like a wolf during a full moon.

Every last one of his nerves were trembling with excitement.

The wanton massacre occurring before his eyes stimulated even
the deepest regions of his psyche, destroying the restraints that
maintained his composure.

Duanmu Huanghun’s madness prevailed over the silence that

had washed over the A-1 unit. His fervor spread like a disease,
infecting the other students who began to howl as well. The
joyful feeling of renewed life, together with the graceful
massacre in front of them gave an outlet for the feelings of
dread and despair accumulated within their young souls.
 Oh how they’d longed to release all that pent up frustration!
Release the fear within their hearts and release the despair that
they had held in for so long. The students howled with the
passion and wishes that they held for the future.

Using all of their might, the students cried out fervently in

reverence of the lone, grim figure leading them towards the
future!

Even the esteemed Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun let go of their
restraints, screaming and flailing without any care for their
images.

The intense cries came like a sudden storm, ravaging the

entire street and somehow drowning out even the sound of the
stampede.

Old Zhang was deeply amazed by Ai Hui.

Other than his first strike, Ai Hui’s sword strokes were very
plain. No, succinct was a better way to describe them. Each and
every one of his strokes were executed with no margin of error.
 Old Zhang’s experience allowed him to see beyond Ai Hui’s
sword strokes. Ai Hui’s control of elemental energy was even
more surprising.

Those rapid sword moves of his required superb control of

elemental energy in addition to excellent swordsmanship.

Powerful techniques often required complex methods of

circulating elemental energy, something people referred to as
elemental energy control.

An old hand like him knew that simple moves were often
capable of unleashing as much power as more complicated ones.

Ai Hui was the perfect example of this.

The techniques executed by Ai Hui were all simple and

unadorned, but he varied between a large number of them at an
unimaginable speed. Old Zhang had no idea if this form of
swordplay had existed in the past, but he knew that the control
required to perform such a feat was extremely difficult to
achieve… It was way beyond anything he could perform!
 The A-1 unit’s rallying cry could be heard from the skies.

Old Zhang and his team smiled upon hearing their cries. They
were young once and knew exactly how the youths below were
feeling.

Old Zhang whistled. "As elders, I think we should show these

rookies how to properly cheer."

Everyone laughed heartily.

"Come! The young lad deserves our cheers!"

Old Zhang banged on his chestplate, leading the cheer. The

rest of his team followed suit, banging on their armor, their
shields, and their weapons in a uniform manner.

The zealous, passionate cries of the A-1 unit combined with

the hunting units’ banging. The two sounds resounded against
the blood fiends’ thunderous stomping and their angry snarls.
In the middle of this chaos, the sword embryo continued to beat
on. The sights and sounds of the battlefield merged into one big
magnificent performance.
The sword in the young man’s hand changed constantly.
Chapter 219: Blood Birds in the City
The streets of Central Pine City erupted with cheers. Since the
blood disaster began, very few occasions could excite everyone
like the current one.

The blood fiends that were blocked by Ai Hui began to split

up, wandering down the other streets and alleys, eventually
spreading to other parts of the city. Direct clashes between
elementalists and blood fiends occurred simultaneously in
different parts of the city. Casualties on both sides were rising
sharply.

Fortunately, most of the blood fiends flocked towards the

main street where Ai Hui was. The enormous benefits of the
blood crystals also greatly reduced the elementalists’ fear of the
blood fiends.

If not for these two factors, the number of casualties would

have been much worse. Even so, innumerable lives were still
lost to the intense battles happening throughout the city.

The city had initially suffered heavy casualties, but after

paying the price in blood, the elementalists learned how to
better handle these powerful blood-traced fiends. People
weren’t afraid of the blood-traced fiends’ raw strength, but
rather, were afraid of the unknown. The blood-traced fiends’
mysterious transformations, unique powers, and the blood
poison they carried were all a mystery to most of the city’s
forces.

As the number of battles under their belts increased, these

unknown factors were unravelled one by one. The mystery
shrouding the blood-traced fiends was fading away and the fear
of them was rapidly diminishing.

Dire beasts could be just as strong as these blood fiends, but

people weren’t so afraid of them.

The elementalists came from all over the city, dispersing the
main horde of blood fiends and surrounding them from all
sides. They were applying dire beast hunting tactics to the
current situation. Lives were constantly lost, but nobody took
even one step back. Everyone was completely immersed in the
slaughter.

Retreat? Where could they go? There was no path for retreat!

There was no alternative to fighting to the death. Destroying

every last blood fiend in the city was the only way to survive.

The mayor’s residence was quiet. The faint cries of madness

and uniform knocking of shields in the distance did not disturb
Wang Zhen in the least. He looked at the elite in front of him.

Standing in front of him were the strongest elites in Central

Pine City. Among them were teachers who had experienced and
survived various disasters, experienced hunting veterans, and
former elites of the Thirteen Divisions.

Standing beside him was the dean.

Central Pine City had no one else to rely on in the face of such
a formidable enemy; this was the most powerful team that they
could put together. To Wang Zhen, this team of "elites" was
woefully weak. During the Battle of the Dawn, at least they’d
had Ye Baiyi and forty-two elite members of the Deathgrass
Division.

He was just an auxiliary soldier, and a retired one at that. How

did he end up as a leader?
 Wang Zhen laughed in resignation.

He didn’t expect this team to have to enter battle so soon, but

the situation was critical and he had to make a swift decision.

He was capable of mobilizing the entire city, turning Central

Pine City into a giant meat grinder. He was willing to send the
weaker students out to their deaths in order to deplete the blood
poison. He was also more than willing to throw himself out
there without the slightest hesitation when required.

Having been to the battlefield, he knew that mercy and

compassion to others or oneself were of no use out there.

On the battlefield, those who feared death were often the first
to die.

"Our mission is to re-seal the gate. The A-1 unit seems to be

attracting the main bulk of the blood fiends. As such, we will
move along the inside of the walls and cut in from the sides. I
don’t care how it’s done, as long as it's done in the end. We
don’t have much time left."
 Wang Zhen spoke swiftly and firmly. He only paused for a
moment when he mentioned the A-1 unit. The A-1 unit had
performed well beyond his expectations. He had to admit that
seeing Ai Hui fend off the stampeding blood fiends had initially
made him doubt his own eyes.

If not for Ai Hui…

Without Ai Hui, the horde of blood fiends would have

completely destroyed everything in front of them. The entire
Central Pine City would have become their playground.

Wang Zhen, who had experienced the Battle of the Dawn,

understood that the most terrifying thing about the blood fiends
was their overwhelming madness that seemed to crush
everything.

Ai Hui was somehow able to resist it.

Wang Zhen had no idea how Ai Hui did it, but he’d definitely
succeeded in resisting it.

He suddenly thought of how the Battle of the Dawn had

unleashed the wargod-like Ye Baiyi. Perhaps Ai Hui was Central
Pine City’s Ye Baiyi?

This ridiculous thought hovered in his mind for a couple of

seconds before it disappeared.

When he’d spoken to the dean, Wang Zhen had suggested that
a miracle could happen. Deep down however, he’d known that
placing his hopes on a miracle was laughably stupid. All hopes
on the battlefield were only derived from fighting and
bloodshed.

His gaze brushed over the group in front of him as he said

solemnly, "We must re-seal the gate in the shortest time
possible. As of now, flying blood fiends have yet to enter the city
and we must accomplish our mission before…"

At that moment, he saw some blood birds flying in the

distance. His expression changed slightly, but soon returned to
normal. "Well, they’re already here. All we can do now is to seal
the gate as soon as possible and keep their numbers to a
minimum. The dean and I will be leading this operation. We
must succeed at all costs. Let’s go."
 Central Pine City’s defences had always been robust,
especially its air defence. This was the reason why they had
been able to hold out until now.

The previous incident where blood bats had infiltrated the

city had prompted the mayor’s residence to completely reform
the city’s air defences. Wang Zhen himself had presided over
their design. Under his meticulous arrangements, the blood bats
were unable to invade Central Pine City again.

To think that there would now be blood birds within their

airspace…

Compared to the blood-traced fiends on the ground, the flying

blood birds were a much greater threat. They were much more
versatile and had more lines of attack. Even with the azure
wings, it would take an expert to be able to defeat these flying
blood fiends. To most elementalists, flying with the azure wings
was just another technical ability. To the flying blood fiends
however, flying was an evolutionary adaptation perfected over
many millennia.

To make matters worse, Central Pine City’s air defences were

built to withstand incoming attacks. Attacks from within the
city were much harder to deal with.
 Wang Zhen was worried, but he had more pressing matters to
deal with. The longer they waited, the lower the possibility of
resealing the city gate. If the gate remained unsealed, everyone
would just be sitting ducks awaiting death.

He grit his teeth, turned a blind eye to the sky, and led
everyone towards the gate.

Central Pine City had turned into a large battlefield.

Old Zhang’s team and the A-1 unit were fully engaged in
battle. The two teams relentlessly launched attacks at the horde
of blood fiends being fended off by Ai Hui.

There was no need to worry about dodging or defending, all

they had to do was pour their elemental energy into all out
attacks.

The number of blood fiends was dwindling. This was in part

due to the blood fiends at the back of the stampede snapping out
of the mania that had initially consumed them. Upon realizing
that there was no way through ahead, the blood fiends began to
find other routes.
 The pressure on Ai Hui was greatly reduced, and the sword
embryo’s throbbing started to slow down.

This was reflected in Ai Hui’s slowing movements. His sword

strokes had become much more visible and were now relatively
easy to capture with the naked eye.

Everyone was relieved that the situation had become less

critical.

Nobody knew that Ai Hui was beginning to feel slightly

uncomfortable.

Ai Hui’s attention was still focused largely on his sword, but

his bodily changes were starting to affect his mind. The
constant depletion of the elemental energy within his body, had
greatly reduced the lightness he felt in his limbs. Particularly,
the frantic throbbing of the sword embryo had consumed a
huge amount of elemental energy from his sky palace.

The elemental energy within Ai Hui’s body had almost

bottomed out.
 Although the sword strokes he executed were not complicated
and didn’t consume much elemental energy, slaying such a large
number of blood fiends still required a good amount of
elemental energy. Describing the entire street as a river of blood
was not an exaggeration at all.

In contrast to the depletion of his elemental energy, Ai Hui’s

essence, breath, and spirit were rising sharply.

In order to maintain control over his body, Ai Hui had forced

his mind to focus solely on his sword. If he hadn’t been forced to
the point of desperation, Ai Hui definitely would not have come
up with such an idea. He probably wouldn’t have been able to
achieve such a deep level of focus either.

This level of focus had allowed him to achieve a special state

of mind.

The sword manuals of the Cultivation Era referred to this

state as "lucidity".

Every minute change experienced by the sword was clearly

noticed by him. For instance, the same simple oblique slash that
he had executed countless times before was now perceived to a
much greater detail. The vibration of the blade, the flow of
elemental energy, the movement of the air, and the changes
taking place when cutting into flesh…

All these previously neglected or unseen details were now so

vivid.

The steady stream of blood fiends forced Ai Hui to continue

fighting. The ongoing high-intensity combat heightened Ai
Hui’s perception. If the amount of detail in a single sword stroke
was like a river, then the countless sword strokes that Ai Hui
had performed was akin to a sea of information.

Ai Hui gradually analyzed and absorbed the feedback that was

constantly being generated. Making use of this information, he
constantly revised and improved his swordplay. Ai Hui’s
swordsmanship was quietly transforming.

Such a transformation was extremely subtle. No one around

had noticed anything different, not even Ai Hui himself.

Just like that, Ai Hui had experienced the first turning point
in his swordsmanship.
 As he processed more and more of the feedback coming from
his sword, Ai Hui’s swordsmanship continued to change. His
power and presence were constantly on the rise.

From an onlooker’s perspective, Ai Hui’s killing intent had

become much colder and much denser.

Just as Ai Hui was on the verge of experiencing a

breakthrough, the number of blood fiends heading towards him
decreased significantly. As the fighting intensity decreased, so
too did his presence.

All breakthroughs required a sustained effort to see through.

The fall in his intent was the reason for the slight discomfort
he was experiencing.

It felt as though a violent storm which was about to take

shape had suddenly begun to dissipate.

Right at that moment, one of Old Zhang’s team members

suddenly exclaimed, "Bad news, blood birds!"
 Old Zhang was startled. Looking up and seeing the blood birds
drained all color from his face.

A few elementalists who were closer to the blood birds had no

time to react and were swiftly pierced by the them. The blood
birds flew through the air like red arrows.

There were only a small number of elementalists in the air

above Central Pine City. Old Zhang and his team were thus
highly conspicuous and were immediately picked out as targets
by the blood birds. Spreading their wings, the blood birds flew
aggressively in their direction.

Old Zhang’s face was as white as a sheet.

Hiding in the dark, Tian Kuan’s eyes brightened.

Chapter 220: Mini Lou Lan
Honestly speaking, Tian Kuan felt that he had already found
the most dangerous person in the whole of Central Pine City.

When he was outside of the city and saw that the surrounding
blood fiends were obviously transforming at a slower speed than
those in other places, he became more alert. He felt that there
must be a special reason or some kind of special person for this
to be happening.

Now all his focus was on Ai Hui.

Whether or not Ai Hui was the cause of this phenomenon, he

was the most dangerous person in Tian Kuan’s eyes. He felt that
Ai Hui was dangerous not because he was formidable.
Truthfully, while Ai Hui had proven that he was a valiant
fighter, amongst all the strong contenders Tian Kuan had met,
Ai Hui wasn’t up to par.

Whether it was Yu Mingqiu or the mysterious experts within

the organizations, their skills far exceeded Ai Hui’s abilities.

But with Ai Hui, he felt a sense of danger.

 Tian Kuan chose a path different from others’. The money he
had obtained from successive selections was all invested into his
body. He only believed in himself and his body; he had never
thought of relying on other forces.

That was a stupid choice.

He had suffered to no end because of that choice. He had no

advantage in the beginning, and each victory came with bruises
and scars. A few times, with serious injuries, he had come a
hair’s breadth away from dying. But he stood by his decision
nevertheless, pumping resources into his own body and refining
his blood continuously.

His investment gradually started paying off.

His body could endure the increasing grade of blood

refinement, but he became crazier. The intensity of each blood
refinement exceeded his body’s safe limit. His stubbornness and
rashness brought him a lot of trouble. For example, getting
injured was an everyday thing. But these traits also brought him
a lot of benefits. His body was much stronger than others’,
especially his recovery abilities.
 In other words, he had a more tenacious vitality.

His opponents were always shocked to find out that many a

times he had managed to survive despite his severe injuries. In
fact, he had learned how to turn his injuries into opportunities,
allowing him to claim victory more often than not.

But no one knew that he had yet another secret ability.

That was his intuition when it came to danger.

Under his unremitting perseverance, his body had undergone

astonishing changes. Years of struggling between life and death
had sharpened his danger-sensing ability.

It had saved his life many times, allowing him to brush past
death.

In the first moments of him perceiving that Ai Hui was

dangerous, he was still applauding his splendid performance
while inwardly sensing a faint danger.
 Tian Kuan wasn’t worried about the condition of his body, as
he had been involved in many worse situations. He just needed
time to completely recover, and he had a strong premonition
that if he could recover this time, his abilities would take a leap.

This was all thanks to the fearsome fellow in the Infantry

Division.

That fellow’s final, all-out blow broke through his elemental

energy limit. With extreme willpower, the elemental energy
underwent a change Tian Kuan couldn’t wrap his head around.

At the last juncture, Tian Kuan detected his breakthrough.

Almost instantly, he decided that risk had allowed the fellow

to run elemental energy into his body.

Li Wei’s elemental energy was simply extraordinary, so much

so that it damaged Kuan Tian’s body significantly. With injuries
exceeding his expectations, not only did Kuan Tian not get
angry, he admired Li Wei. As for the anger on his face, it was
merely a show for that crazy lady.
 His body hadn’t recovered fully because it was still stubbornly
swallowing the elemental energy that contained strong
willpower. Once the absorption of this unusual elemental
energy was complete, his body would then transform once
again.

That was for the future. All he could see now was the youth
who was standing on a long street with a sword in his hand.

This was because of the danger he felt – a danger more intense

than that of the elementalist from the infantry division. No one
sensed the change in Ai Hui’s swordplay except for Kuan Tian.

And the extremely cruel massacre that thoroughly subverted

Kuan Tian’s cognition. There had never been any psychological
barrier preventing Kuan Tian from killing people; countless had
died by his hands. But killing even one enemy now made his
spirit waver. It could be from excitement, or from being
relieved from a burden and so on.

No matter how seasoned a killer, it was impossible to feel

nothing.

But the youth Tian Kuan observed on the street was

absolutely still. No motions, excitement, or tension. It was an
emotionless machinery massacre. Perhaps what he had
harvested wasn’t life but the grass target in the training ground.

Tian Kuan felt danger, exceptionally intense danger.

He would have launched a sneak attack and gotten rid of that

fellow if not for his injuries. But right now he couldn’t because
the youth’s swordplay filled him with fear.

It was a swordplay he had not seen before. A dangerous odor.

Hiding in a dark corner, Tian Kuan thought hard about how

to deal with that frightening slaughter machine. No kind of
trick had any meaning when put before such slaughter
machines.

When the blood fiend appeared in the sky, Tian Kuan’s eyes lit
up.

Speak of the devil!

 The blood fiend close by transformed at a slower rate. Tian
Kuan suspected that it could be because there had been a large-
scale blood refinement, which took away too much Blood of God
from the nearby blood forest.

Following the transforming and strengthening of the blood

fiends, they become more territorial as well. Strong wild beasts
had stronger territorial awareness as compared to weaker ones.

This led to two outcomes.

One was that they would display intense hostility toward

intruders. It was also their way of dealing with elementalists
from Avalon of Five Elements.

Another was that these increasingly powerful blood fiends

would tend more to guarding their own territories instead of
conveniently migrating.

The blood fiends surrounding Central Pine City developed

slowly, so they were of limited threat. Blood fiends from further
away, however, would not leave their territories so easily.
 But there was an exception – flying blood fiends.

Central Pine City’s perimeter was about sixty-two miles,

which wasn’t considered small to the blood fiends. A perimeter
of about three hundred and ten was enough to contain
extremely powerful blood-traced fiends. But to the flying blood
fiends, travelling a few hundred miles was as easy as snapping
fingers.

It was difficult for flightless blood-traced fiends to advance,

unlike the flying blood fiends, who could come anytime.

These blood fiends had definitely flown over from far away.
Their strength was exponentially stronger that those
infiltrating Central Pine City. All of them had nine traces,
unlike those on the ground, who mostly had no coagulated
blood traces. Coagulated blood traces were symbols marking
blood fiends’ and blood elementalists’ step into the threshold.

This was a batch of seven blood falcons with nine blood traces
on their bodies. The leading blood falcon had a blood trace that
was clearer than the rest, a sign that it was about to transform.

Be it the blood fiends or blood elementalists, they will always

start with nine coagulated blood traces. As their skills improved
and they transformed, the number of blood traces would
gradually reduce. They would also shrink significantly,
becoming more refined.

Blood traces were weaknesses.

Blood elementalists with shallow skills would secure

themselves in full armor. Following a rise in their skills, the
blood traces would reduce in number and size, becoming
unnoticeable. Then they would start to dress normally.

The appearance of the seven blood falcons immediately

turned them into the focus of the entire battlefield.

They were fast like lightning; not one elementalist was able to
catch up with them. In fact, few managed to escape death since
the falcons swept everything before their eyes.

But to Tian Kuan’s frustration, he realized that he did not

know how to train enslaved beasts, so how could he get these
blood falcons to attack the youth?
 He thought of an idea, but…

He clenched his teeth and decided to do it!

He was willing to pay any price to get rid of this dangerous

fellow.

He went around the ruins, killed a blood fiend with a fixed

look on his face, and sucked its blood essence dry, leaving only
its shriveled skin. He opened and entered it, effectively
disguising himself as a blood fiend and blending into the crowd
of blood fiends.

While Ai Hui’s actions slowed down, the number of blood

fiends on the street reduced drastically. Victory was near.

Exhausted, Fatty pestled his knees and took heavy breaths

while staring at the corpse-filled street. "How many blood
crystals will there be?! We can’t let others have it easy!"

Lou Lan stood at the side, recording Ai Hui’s progress. The

flickering yellow light in his eye stopped flashing suddenly.
 Lou Lan stopped recording upon hearing Fatty’s complaint.

He felt that Fatty’s words were reasonable, and blood crystals

were very important to Ai Hui!

"Leave it to me!"

Lou Lan responded cheerily before turning into a pool of

quicksand. The quicksand formed countless mini Lou Lans, one
smaller than the other yet all remarkably true to life.

The mini Lou Lans moved around Ai Hui and dashed into the
battlefield. Because their legs were short, their movements
looked a little… comical.

Enormous in number, the mini Lou Lans permeated the

battleground like a lump of sand.

Like ants, mini Lou Lans surrounded the corpses on the

ground. They cooperated and quickly crumbled a blood fiend’s
corpse, obtaining the blood crystal.
 One mini Lou Lan carried a blood crystal much bigger than
himself over his shoulder, puffing and blowing as he withdrew.

Suddenly, a shadow enveloped his sky.

A strong, powerful beast leg descended from above. Boom, the

mini Lou Lan instantly became a flat sand cake and the solid
blood crystal pierced into the ground. The blood fiend, oblivious
to what it had just stepped on, simply left.

The sand cake rapidly combined to reform a mini Lou Lan,

who then grabbed onto the blood crystal, effortfully attempting
to pull it out.

The blood crystal was secured too tightly, so he couldn’t get it

out at all. Ten seconds later, over ten mini Lou Lans gathered
from all directions. Putting their strength together, they
managed to pull it out of the ground.

The mini Lou Lans cheered, applauded, and celebrated.

The mini Lou Lan from before continued huffing and puffing
as it transported the blood crystal back.
 No one, blood fiends included, noticed these creatures moving
about at all.
Chapter 221: Protecting Ai Hui!
Fatty was dumbstruck, as the blood crystals around him kept
on piling up. He looked like a fat rabbit that was blankly
watching fat and juicy carrots popping out of the ground.

Lou Lan was an assiduous individual, and his working

efficiency was amazing.

They were like ants moving homes, rapidly separating the

blood crystals from the battlefield and bringing them over to
Fatty’s side. Their miniature body size allowed them to clear the
battlefield of blood crystals without anyone noticing them.

Tian Kuan, who was hidden among the blood fiends, had all
his attention on the seven nine-trace blood falcons that were
flying towards here. The seven blood falcons quickly dominated
the sky, and the surrounding elementalists had disappeared.
However, he was disappointed that these nine-trace blood
falcons did not immediately attack Ai Hui. They were merely
hovering about his head.

Tian Kuan was getting anxious. However, he knew that the

more powerful a blood-traced fiend was, the more clever it was.
It was highly possible that these nine-trace blood falcons were
afraid of the fighting capabilities displayed by Ai Hui.

Tian Kuan was right. The gazes of the seven nine-trace blood
falcons in the sky did not leave Ai Hui at all. Upon seeing Ai Hui
annihilating the flooding blood fiends as though he was
chopping fruits and vegetables, they were terror-stricken.

The reason why flying-type blood fiends were so powerful was

because they could soar in the sky. When they were fighting
against ground-based opponents, they would always gain an
advantageous position over the latter. The vast sky was their
biggest advantage. They could attack from any angle, and even
if they failed, they could fly up into the sky and escape. Their
opponents without wings could only blankly stare at them
disappearing into the sky.

However, God made everyone fairly. Even though they could

fly and use the sky as their advantage, they still had weaknesses.
Their bodies were extremely fragile, so any attacks that were
insignificant to ground-based living things might be deadly to
them.

As such, these nine-trace blood falcons, which had developed

intelligence, were extremely scared of Ai Hui. No matter how
fast their flying speed was, they were still not faster than the
dangerous youth’s sword.

However, they had rich hunting experience. They definitely

did not lack craftiness in the process of surpassing other falcons
in terms of their base level.

They were hovering unhurriedly over Ai Hui’s head. No

matter how powerful one was, he or she would be tired out
eventually after being attacked continuously. Right now, all
they needed was to wait for their target to tire out and deliver
one fatal blow to him, then they could reap their rewards.

This target contained an unprecedented tastiness. They

smelled the fragrance of a breakthrough in this fellow. As long
as they could devour this youth, his flesh, which contained an
abundance of an unique elemental energy, would propel them
into the base level of eight blood traces. They could become
much more powerful than before.

For the sake of this target, they needed to have enough

patience.

However, they did not know that there was someone who was
more anxious than them on the ground.
 Taking just one look at the hovering nine-trace blood falcons,
Tian Kuan knew what they were up to. However, he could no
longer wait, as he saw with his own eyes how Ai Hui’s
swordsmanship kept on transforming.

He was worried that if he dragged on any longer, Ai Hui’s

swordsmanship might have a breakthrough.

The current level of his swordsmanship was already so

dangerous and terrifying. If he made another breakthrough in
his swordsmanship, how powerful would he be then?

Tian Kuan did not know. He had never seen such formidable
swordsmanship. Swordsmanship had been irrelevant in the
Avalon of Five Elements for a long time, and he had never heard
of any powerful swordsmanship inheritances. If this youth
made a breakthrough, he would become very difficult to deal
with.

The thing that was causing him to trepidate in fear was the
feeling of danger lingering in his mind. That feeling was so
strong that he was willing to pay any price for it to go away.

Even if he did not know any beast coercion spells, he still had
a way to deal with it as long as he was willing to pay the price.

Ruthlessness flashed across his eyes.

He took out a sharp knife that was flickering with a cold glint.
Clearly, this knife was an unearthly object. With a flick of his
wrist, the knife cut down on his arm. His movement was very
slow. As the knife cut into his flesh, there was no spurting of
blood. A tinge of agony arose upon Tian Kuan’s face.

Even so, his movement did not slow down and he cut out a
two-fingers-wide piece of flesh. The weird thing was that his
arm did not bleed. His flesh was rapidly regenerating in a visible
speed. In the blink of an eye, the wound had fully healed,
leaving a pinkish-red scar on his arm

The piece of flesh that he had cut off was demonic red in
color, giving off an extremely alluring and sweet fragrance.

A wave of commotion swept across the blood fiends around

Tian Kuan. Their noses were twitching non-stop, trying to
locate the source of the fragrance. However, Tian Kuan had long
expected this situation. He quickly used his blood spiritual force
to wrap up the piece of flesh.
 All he needed to do now was throw this piece of flesh onto Ai
Hui’s body. His flesh had an irresistible power over the blood
fiends.

The Blood of God in the bodies of the six of them belonged to

the most outstanding batch of seeds that the organization had at
that time. There were one hundred people that were implanted
with the seeds of the Blood of God, but only the six of them
survived.

For a very long period of time, their uniqueness was not

revealed. Later on, during an elimination competition among
the seed-carriers, the ones that survived and won the
competition were the six of them as well.

He only found out about this later on.

Under the influence of the Blood of God, the six of them had
completely different transformations from each other. No one
knew that the seeds of the Blood of God in their bodies were of
the same batch.

Tian Kuan knew a bit more as he was often injured. The

organization was also very interested in how an injured body
transformed. From the words of a doctor that treated and
observed him, he knew a thing or two about certain classified
information.

For example, no one knew why the formula for that unique
batch of seeds was destroyed. The organization had tried
numerous times to recreate that formula, but they failed and
could no longer reproduce the same type of seeds as the ones in
their bodies anymore.

As such, the six of them were special, and that was also why
they had a special opportunity to do all of this.

Due to him being injured frequently, Tian Kuan was able to

discover that his flesh was fatally irresistible to the blood fiends.
Elementalists and other seed-carriers would not react to his
injuries, but if there were blood fiends around, the blood fiends
would react in a terrifying way.

There was a time where he almost died in the hands of a

berserk blood fiend. It was also from then on that he learned
how to conceal the aura of his wounds.

He was used to using his wounds to create opportunities. Who

would ignore such a unique characteristic? He had thought of
ways to utilize the special characteristic of his wounds on more
than one occasion.

As long as he could throw this piece onto Ai Hui’s body, he

could unleash all the blood fiends in the surroundings upon him
immediately. The blood fiends would become more violent,
more ferocious, and more formidable. Furthermore, the nine-
trace blood falcons definitely would not miss this opportunity
either. Just like the blood fiends, they could not resist the
temptation of that piece of flesh either.

But how should he throw it over?

Tian Kuan thought for a moment. If he made a overhead

throw through the air, he would just benefit the nine-trace
blood falcons. Before the piece of flesh could even land on Ai
Hui’s body, it would be snatched by those crafty nine-trace
blood falcons.

That meant he could only make a short distance, low arc

throw.

There was still a lot of space between the thick and solid limbs
of those blood fiends. As long as he could find a bit of space, he
could throw the piece of flesh onto Ai Hui’s body.

Even if Ai Hui’s reaction was fast and he stopped the piece of

flesh with his sword, as long as the sword was stained with the
aura of the flesh, he would be drowned by the flood of berserk
blood fiends.

And to ensure that he would succeed, he decided to close the

distance between him and Ai Hui.

Concealing himself under the furs of the blood fiends, he

moved forward silently. However, he did not notice that he
stepped over an ant-sized mini Lou Lan.

This mini Lou Lan was right in the midst of the battle. When
Tian Kuan stepped over his head, his body suddenly froze. The
eyes of the mini Lou Lan started to flicker. His teeny weeny
brain began to work hard, thinking about the giant-sized figure
that had just stepped over him.

"Suspicious aura detected."

 Through his core, this message was broadcasted to all the
mini Lou Lans. Lou Lan’s sand core, the Midnight, had broken
down into numerous microscopic sand grains, and each mini
Lou Lan had one in his body. As such, they were able to transmit
messages to each other. This was also why they were so well-
coordinated.

All the mini Lou Lans stopped what they were doing.

The mini Lou Lan that was being stepped over by Tian Kuan
did not give chase. Clearly, his short legs did not allow him to
run fast. However, his non-stop flickering yellow-glowing eyes
were locked on to that giant figure.

No only him but all of the mini Lou Lans were locked on to
Tian Kuan. All of their yellow-glowing eyes were flickering.

Numerous messages were broadcasted among them.

"Lou Lan is coming, carrying out light analysis!"

"Lou Lan is coming, carrying out scent analysis!"

 "Lou Lan is coming, carrying out elemental energy analysis!"

"Lou Lan is coming, carrying out blood spiritual force

analysis!"

...

"A unique type of blood spiritual force detected!"

"Its name is unknown!"

"Its characteristics are unknown!"

"Its source is unknown!"

All of the mini Lou Lans were scurrying around. If one were to
look at the ground now, he or she would see strands of
quicksand slithering around like a bunch of snakes.

When Tian Kuan stopped in his tracks, these fast-moving

strands of quicksand completely stopped moving as well. They
were scattered on the ground between Ai Hui and Tian Kuan.

The frozen mini Lou Lans might appear extremely gentle and
quiet; however, the communication network among them was
massive and congested.

"What will he do?"

"I’m so worried!"

"Is that a secret weapon?"

"He must be targetting Ai Hui!"

"Lou Lan is coming, protecting Ai Hui!"

"Lou Lan is coming, protecting Ai Hui!"

"Lou Lan is coming, protecting Ai Hui!"

 ...

The messages that were broadcasted through the sand core

had all become the same message, which was "Protecting Ai
Hui!".

Tian Kuan did not know that he was being targeted by

numerous little sand puppets. He estimated the distance
between himself and Ai Hui. Seven meters. A satisfied look
appeared on his face. For such a close distance, even though his
vision was constantly disrupted by surging blood fiends, he
could still take good aim through the frequently appearing gaps.

He had enough confidence to land the piece of flesh on Ai

Hui’s body.

At this very moment, a gap appeared in the densely-packed

blood fiends ahead of him. Tian Kuan saw Ai Hui.

Now was the chance for him to make the throw!

Tian Kuan’s eyes lit up all of a sudden. Then he flung his arm
and threw the piece of flesh at Ai Hui.
 "Now!"

The messages in the sand core crashed and gave off countless
sparks.

Numerous mini Lou Lans jumped up high and towards that

fast-flying piece of flesh.

Tian Kuan was able to catch the timing accurately. He had

great control over his throwing strength as well. That piece of
flesh was noiseless, flying towards Ai Hui silently.

When Tian Kuan saw that the piece of flesh was about to hit
Ai Hui, he became very excited. Even though he had paid a huge
price to get rid of this fellow, he felt that it was worth it.

Suddenly, a huge, basin-like mouth that was made of sand

appeared in front of the piece of flesh and devoured it in one
bite.

Whoosh. The basin-like sand mouth disappeared into the

boundless sea of blood fiends along with that piece of flesh.
 Tian Kuan looked as if he was being struck by lightning,
dumbstruck and confused.
Chapter 222: Symmetry Is Also A Form Of
Beauty
What was that just now?

Tian Kuan almost rubbed his eyes to see if his vision was
blurred. However, his logic eventually did not allow him to
make such an embarrassing action.

But the puzzlement still remained in his mind. What was that
just now?

The big mouth seemed to be made up of sand, could it be… a

sand puppet?

Since when did the sand puppet hide there? Why had he not
discovered the sand puppet? How had the sand puppet known
what he was going to do?

Other than the view of the densely-packed blood fiends’

backs, he could not see a single trace of the sand puppet.

Furthermore… why was there a sand puppet?

 Tian Kuan could not help but look at Ai Hui. Concentrated
metal elemental energy that was infused with an unique aura
flowed from his body. Tian Kuan was sure that he did not make
a mistake.

A metal elementalist that brought along a sand puppet to the

battlefield? That was ridiculous…

Could there be an earth elementalist hiding in the shadows?

Tian Kuan looked around vigilantly, but made no discoveries.

His senses were extremely sharp, so if there was anyone hiding
in the dark, he could definitely sense it.

However, when he thought about how he failed to sense the

presence of the sand puppet, his confidence slightly wavered.
He had encountered sand puppets many times in his life before,
but this was the first time something like this happened.

Where was the sand puppet?

All he saw were blood fiends. His radar was unable to sense
the slightest bit of the aura of a sand puppet. It was so weird!
Tian Kuan felt puzzled. Previously, he could not sense the sand
puppet, and right now, he could not locate the sand puppet.
Could it be that he knew how to conceal himself?

The mini Lou Lans did not know that Tian Kuan was looking
for them.

Currently, they were surrounding the unusual piece of flesh,

securing it tightly. Every mini Lou Lan’s glowing yellow eyes
flickered rapidly. This piece of meat contained the Blood of God
that they had never seen before.

Because of the fact that Lou Lan had been studying the blood
crystals, he had a deep understanding on the Blood of God as
well. This piece of flesh had an aura that was different from any
of the blood fiends they had encountered.

The blood spiritual force that was wrapped around the piece
of flesh was completely absorbed by the mini Lou Lans in the
blink of an eye.

Upon absorbing the piece of flesh, the aura of the mini Lou
Lans had completely disappeared. If Tian Kuan could see this
scene, he would understand why he could not find Lou Lan.
 It was because the mini Lou Lans had emulated a special
ability of the blood spiritual force that was wrapped around the
piece of flesh. After getting injured numerous times, Tian Kuan
was able to develop his own unique type of blood spiritual force
that enabled him to seal and hide his aura. This characteristic
was unique to him and no one else had this ability.

Tian Kuan named this ability [Shadowless]. Not only could

this ability conceal the aura of his flesh and blood, but it could
also conceal his own aura, enabling him to avoid detection his
enemies’ radar.

After absorbing this unique type of blood spiritual force, the

mini Lou Lans quickly decoded the secrets of the [Shadowless]
ability and emulated it successfully.

[Shadowless] was able to hide the mini Lou Lans and the piece
of flesh from the rest of the world. Tian Kuan simply could not
find them. He had never expected someone to emulate his
[Shadowless] and also never thought of how to counter it.

Previously, when Lou Lan broke down into numerous mini

Lou Lans, the latter’s aura was extremely weak and scattered,
preventing Tian Kuan from being able to sense their presence.
 After emulating the [Shadowless] skill, the mini Lou Lans kept
on analyzing this weird piece of flesh.

"Sand core, begin recording. Type of Blood of God, unknown.

Source, unknown. Name of blood elementalist, unknown…"

The active mass of quicksand on the ground looked like dough

that was being kneaded by a pair of invisible hands. The piece of
flesh in the middle of the mass of quicksand was shrinking at an
incredible rate.

All the mini Lou Lans’ glowing yellow eyes were flickering at
an increasingly faster pace. Tremendous amounts of messages
were transmitted to the sand core.

The Midnight sand core’s operating speed had become

incredibly fast. The mysterious power from the piece of flesh
allowed the sand core to operate at an all-out effort. The mini
Lou Lans suddenly stopped moving. Their glowing yellow eyes
formed waves of yellow phosphorescence that repeatedly swept
across the piece of flesh.

As the piece of flesh was scanned by the yellow

phosphorescence, it started to melt and evaporate like snow.
Eventually, it became a puddle of blood. This puddle of fresh
blood was mixed with a faint silvery color. Under the yellow
phosphorescence, the silvery color became unusually bright.

The puddle of silvery-tinged blood continuously changed its

form. It looked as if it was alive and had sensed danger, wiggling
nonstop to resist the corrosion from the yellow
phosphorescence.

The mini Lou Lans’ yellow phosphorescence kept on sweeping

across the puddle of silver-tinged blood. It was as if they would
not tire at all.

In order to decode the puddle of blood, the mini Lou Lans had
completely ignored the outside world.

The mass of sand on the ground had become a lump of rock,

remaining stationary.

The overly suspicious Tian Kuan scanned through his

surroundings many times but ended up empty-handed.

Had the sand puppet left?

 He was unsure and hesitant. He felt uneasy knowing that
there was a sand puppet hiding out there in the dark. He did not
know whether or not the sand puppet would launch a sudden
attack on him.

However, Tian Kuan made up his mind very quickly and

decided to give it another try. After this next attempt, whether
he succeeded or not, he would retreat.

He felt danger from that cold-blooded youth. Yet, was it worth

it for him to take such a huge risk and gamble his life against Ai
Hui?

Of course not!

After making his decision, Tian Kuan clenched his teeth and
cut off another piece of flesh from his other arm.

Symmetry was also a form of beauty. He consoled himself

while holding back the tears in his eyes.

This time around, he used stronger blood spiritual force to

wrap the flesh so that he could throw it through the air.
Previously, the sand puppet had disappeared into the ground. As
such, he was unsure whether the sand puppet was hiding in the
ground or not.

By using stronger spiritual force to channel the [Shadowless]

ability, he could make sure that the piece of flesh would not be
snatched by the nine-traced blood falcons before reaching the
sword-wielding youth.

Without any hesitation, Tian Kuan flung his arm and hurled
the piece of flesh, which traveled in an arc through the air. The
piece of flesh blended in with the sky that was filled with flying
rubble and smoke as it flew toward Ai Hui.

After throwing the piece of flesh, Tian Kuan immediately

turned around and escaped like a slippery mudfish.

At this moment, Ai Hui was extremely exhausted. The

elemental energy in his body kept on diminishing, so he was in a
precarious situation now. Before his elemental energy was
completely depleted, his rising momentum had already begun to
fall. As more and more elemental energy was expended, his
situation became increasingly dangerous.
 Fortunately, he did not break away from the mental zone he
was currently in before his momentum had completely fallen.
He continued to maintain his focus, focusing on his sword. He
was still immersed in the multitude of fine details of his
surroundings. Even though he was very familiar with the sword
embryo, this was the first time that he encountered so many
minute details regarding it.

Ai Hui, who was already abnormally focused, was further

captivated by this brand new experience.

He greatly benefitted from this experience.

Other than his swordsmanship becoming more proficient, his

movements had become much smoother and the perceptive
range of his sword also increased significantly.

Previously, his sword would only react if his opponent came

within half a meter. Now, as his swordsmanship improved, this
range had extended to exactly one meter.

Unlike the perceptive range of the sword embryo, the

perceptive range of the sword was a few hundred times more
sensitive to fine details regarding his surroundings. Of course,
from a fighting standpoint, the perceptive range of the sword
had greatly increased Ai Hui’s combat capabilities. Otherwise,
he would not have survived the flood of blood fiends. However,
from another perspective, the perceptive range of sword also
imposed a huge burden on Ai Hui’s body. Ai Hui need to stay
focused in order to deal with the immense amount of minute
details.

If Ai Hui lost even the slightest bit of focus, he would break

out of this special mental zone.

At this moment, Ai Hui sensed that something entered within

the perceptive range of his sword. He used the blade of his
sword as a bat and swatted the thing with lightning speed.

When his sword made contact with the object, Ai Hui

immediately that felt something was wrong. The thing was
covered with a layer of unique blood spiritual force.

Just as Ai Hui’s swing was about to land on the target and

break the layer of blood spiritual force, the sword in his hands
seemed to come alive and made an strange maneuver, flitting
across the surface of the layer of blood spiritual force.
 Numerous fine details appeared in Ai Hui’s mind as his sword
vibrated silently.

This was exciting!

The sudden appearance of a tremendous amount of tiny

aspects that Ai Hui had never seen before exhilarated him. The
body of the sword moved closely along the layer of blood
spiritual force, while countless information flowed into his
mind like a river.

Ai Hui displayed supreme swordsmanship. Strands of

sparkling, glowing silk emerged from the radiance of his sword
and entangled its target, but did not break it.

Tian Kuan, who was just about to leave the scene, discovered
that there were sounds of commotion behind him.
Involuntarily, he turned around to take a look.

The scene that he saw almost made him spit out blood.

The layer of blood spiritual force was not broken? What kind
of godd*mn swordsmanship was this?
 Everything that happened today was weird. Previously, the
first piece of flesh disappeared into thin air. This time around,
even though the piece of flesh he threw had landed on its target,
the outer layer of blood spiritual force was not broken!

Tian Kuan felt that he was a patient individual since the

beginning, but at this moment, he felt an indescribable
irritation arising in his heart.

For the sake of killing this youth, he had already cut off two
pieces of flesh from his body, paying a price that he felt was
more than enough . Even after paying such a hefty price, he still
could not get rid of Ai Hui. One could imagine the exasperation
he felt.

If he knew from the start that things would turn out like this,
he would definitely have kept a distance from that maniac and
not cared whether or not he was dangerous.

Upon seeing that he lost two pieces of flesh for nothing, Tian
Kuan was desperate and sullen. Suddenly, a ruthless glint
flashed across his eyes. He channeled his blood spiritual force
and one of his fingers exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
 At almost the same time, the piece of flesh that Ai Hui’s sword
had entangled exploded into a cloud of blood mist as well.

All the blood fiends on the streets suddenly stopped moving.

The gazes of the blood falcons in the sky froze as well. A dead
silence swept across the street.

However, the dead silence lasted for merely a second before a

loud wave of clamor suddenly erupted. All the blood fiends,
including the soaring blood falcons in the sky, surged toward Ai
Hui frantically.

Hahaha…

Tian Kuan laughed madly in his heart. Upon seeing that Ai

Hui was being flooded by the berserk blood fiends and that the
nine-traced blood falcons were swooping down from the sky
toward Ai Hui like missiles, he chuckled sinisterly, turned his
body around, and walked away.

You’re dead!

No one can save you now!

 You will be eaten by the blood fiends until there’s nothing
left!

All your fanciful tricks will not be useless now!

Tian Kian walked away from the scene satisfied. Even though
he had paid a hefty price, it was a good thing to kill such a
dangerous youth while it was still early.

Right now, Central Pine City had become a playground to

him.

He did not stop to admire his art piece. Numerous past

experiences had taught him to leave the scene as soon as his
objective was achieved.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened. The

expression on his face froze.
Chapter 223: The Rupture Of The Sword
Embryo
The piece of flesh entangled by the sword glow suddenly
exploded. Ai Hui’s sword was able to react instantly. The sword
glow was like a wall, blocking the flying shrapnel from the
exploded piece of flesh.

The ground within one meter of Ai Hui was sparkling clean.

Outside this one meter range, there were fragmentary pieces of
flesh and blood all over the ground.

If Ai Hui was lucid, he would have immediately sensed that

there was a conspiracy. However, at this moment, Ai Hui’s
mind was completely focused on his sword and he had lost the
ability to think clearly.

In fact, he did not have the luxury of time to think.

The blood fiends suddenly became berserk, causing

everyone’s facial expression to change drastically. Previously,
the momentum of the blood fiends’ attacks were already
terrifying. Now, the blood fiends had completely lost all their
rationality and they looked as if they had been provoked to
insanity by some intense stimulus.
 The berserk blood fiends’ attacking power rose sharply,
making them more terrifying than usual.

This unforeseen event happened too suddenly. The rest of the

group were unable to react in time. They could only look on
blankly at the berserk blood fiends surging toward Ai Hui. The
blood fiends completely lost their sanity, trampling over each
other as they surged forward. In the blink of an eye, nearly half
of the blood fiends were injured. Even so, this did not stop them
from rushing toward Ai Hui recklessly.

Ai Hui…

The previous joy of victory disappeared in an instant.

Everyone’s face turned unsightly, filled with terror.

The hovering nine-traced blood falcons in the sky let out loud
screeches. Spreading their wings, they streaked toward Ai Hui
like a bunch of furious red arrows. Their terrifyingly fast speed
made their screeches abnormally sharp.

Ai Hui’s surroundings were flooded with blood fiends.

 Previously, as his elemental energy depleted by a huge
amount, the number of blood fiends decreased as well. As such,
the threat of the blood fiends was lowered, causing his sword
embryo’s pulsation to decrease gradually. When these berserk
blood fiends flooded toward him, however, there were a few
blood fiends that came within one meter of Ai Hui’s body,
causing the sword embryo to feel threatened and pulsate
frantically.

As the sword embryo pulsated faster and faster, Ai Hui’s

sword moved faster and faster as well.

Any blood fiend that traveled within one meter of him was
met with a fatal streak of sword light. Like his sword, Ai Hui
was emotionless and did not have the slightest bit of fear.

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding blood fiends became

corpses that piled up like mountains.

Instead of decreasing, the number of blood fiends kept on

increasing. The pulsating rate of the sword embryo continued to
escalate, getting faster and faster.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

 Ai Hui was like a machine. The speed at which he executed his
sword moves was increasing rapidly. The sword beams he
created were like streaks of lightning, zigzagging through the
air. The speed at which the sword beams faded could not even
keep up with the speed at which Ai Hui executed his sword
moves. The sword beams streaking around Ai Hui were
becoming concentrated and brighter, materializing into darting
lights and shadows.

Nevertheless, the blood fiends were still able to close in on Ai

Hui.

Within 10 seconds, the Dragonspine Inferno’s range of motion

had been compressed to half a meter. Within these 10 seconds,
countless blood fiends had fallen. Ai Hui was like a highly
efficient harvester, wildly harvesting the lives of the blood
fiends.

His range of motion, or rather the sword’s range of motion, or

rather the sword embryo’s range of motion was being
compressed bit by bit.

The surging ice-cold sword beams could not stop these berserk
blood fiends. They had completely lost their fear of death.
 The pulsating rate of the sword embryo continued to rise.
Like a wild beast that had been pushed to the brink of death, it
erupted with astonishing power. The sword beams produced by
Ai Hui intensified abruptly, pushing his range of motion back to
a meter.

Almost instantly, however, his range of motion was

compressed inward again.

At a visible rate, his range of motion was compressed bit by

bit. Half a meter, 40 centimeters, 30 centimeters...

When his range of motion was reduced to merely 30

centimeters, the rapidly beating sword embryo suddenly
ruptured!

Boom!

When the sword embryo suddenly ruptured, an invisible

storm gushed through every single part of Ai Hui’s body.

Ai Hui’s absolute focus on his sword had been withdrawn.

 He felt as if he had woken up from a long and bizarre dream.

His face was blank…

The gaping bloody mouth of a blood fiend was merely inches

away from his face. He could clearly see the bloodstains on
those ghastly white teeth and the disgusting saliva that dripped
down from the corner of its mouth. Ai Hui’s face was blasted by
a whiff of the stench.

There was another unknown blood fiend behind him. Its

heavy breaths puffed over his neck like mini tornadoes, causing
his hair to stand on end.

The sharp screeches above Ai Hui’s head sent a shiver down

his spine. Did someone up there throw a javelin at him?

Ai Hui quivered in fear as he cursed in his heart. How could a

mere dream make things turn out like this?

However, he had no path of retreat at the moment. He did not

even have the time to curse and hesitate. At this critical
junction, Ai Hui was unusually calm.
 His body had been emptied of elemental energy. The only
thing that put him at ease was the indescribable confidence that
he felt from the Dragonspine Inferno in his hand.

The only thing he could do now…

Before he could make any moves, an invisible energy wave

suddenly flooded through every section of his body.

Boom!

Ai Hui’s eyes became abnormally bright all of a sudden. He did

not know that his pupils had become the shape of a biting cold
blade. The razor-sharp aura enhanced his vision, making it as
keen as his sword. His scalp tingled, as if there was a pair of
invisible hands that was forcefully pulling his hair. Traces of
sword aura exuded from the pores on his skin.

Numerous pin-sized holes appeared on Ai Hui’s clothes in an

instant.

What was going on?

 An intense burst of aura blasted toward the sky. It looked as if
a legendary sword had been unsheathed.

The blood fiends that were near Ai Hui froze. They felt as if
there was a sword being pressed against their throat, head, and
eyes.

Boom! Rolling thunder roared in the sky. Tumultuous,

ragged, dark clouds gathered from all directions and loomed
over the city. Dazzling lightning danced in the thick and
boundless sea of dark clouds. The sky above Central Pine City
dimmed immediately, as if it was already night time.

These unforeseen events all happened in one moment.

The abnormal weather startled all of Central Pine City.

Everyone gazed blankly at the rolling dark clouds that looked as
if they were going to crash down on the city at any moment. No
one had ever seen an apocalyptic scene like this before. At this
point, the rampaging blood fiends in Central Pine City had their
limbs soften in terror and sat down blankly on the ground.

What was happening now?

 Shi Xueman and the rest were looking at the sky in a daze.
This grandeur seemed… to be coming from Ai Hui…

The frenzied look in Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes became even

more intense. He muttered to himself incoherently, "Abnormal
natural phenomenon! There must be an evildoer! It turns out
you’re so powerful! Hahaha, good, good, good… Only an
evildoer like you is fit to be the rival of I, Duanmu Huanghun!
Hahahaha…"

Everyone disregarded him.

Shi Xueman and the others were dumbstruck, but everyone

had a premonition that something amazing was going to
happen.

Swordsmanship? Was there such a powerful swordsmanship

in this world?

Tian Kuan, who had already escaped from the streets, froze
for two seconds before raising his head up slowly. The rolling
dark clouds above his head were so low that they looked as if
they could be touched with his hand. The thick lightning bolts
streaked to and fro through the dark clouds, resembling dancing
silver dragons. The destructive aura of the lightning made him
shiver in fear.

The might of the lightning struck fear in all living things.

Those weaker blood fiends were lying flat on the ground,

pissing and sh*tting involuntarily out of fear.

Why…

How could this be…

Similarly, Tian Kuan was trembling. His gaze was filled with
fear and disbelief. What level of opponent he was dealing with
right now?

Ai Hui had never experienced this before.

He felt like he was a sword. Every part of his body

corresponded to a part of a sword’s body. He felt that his mind
was as pure and concise as a sword, so sharp that nothing could
block it. He felt that anything he grabbed—the wind in the air,
the light from the sun, or even the lightning bolts in the dark
clouds—could become a sword.

Yet, he was not happy since his sword embryo had exploded.

The sword embryo was formed using essence-breath-spirit. He

had spent so much effort and time, and had even risked his life
to nurture the sword embryo to this stage.

Now, everything was gone.

The energy wave that flooded his body was made of the
essence-breath-spirit that he had been nurturing.

At this moment, the level of his essence-breath-spirit were at

its top form, displaying an unprecedented might. Even though
his body was emptied of elemental energy, it did not pose too
much of a problem for him. Previously, while he was focused on
the sword, the deluge of intricate data he received had propelled
his understanding of swordsmanship and elemental energy to a
whole new level.

Ai Hui raised his head and looked at the rolling dark clouds
and looming lightning. This abnormal phenomenon only
appeared when the sword embryo was destroyed.

Perhaps this phenomena arose because the sword embryo was

having its most dazzling moment right now.

Ai Hui carefully perceived his surroundings and all the minute

details. This was the last blessing that the sword embryo had
given him. The ruptured sword embryo had released all of his
essence-breath-spirit. Looking at it from a different perspective,
the essence-breath-spirit had evolved, which also meant that
the sword embryo had ascended into a higher realm.

Even though the current situation would not last very long, it
was long enough for Ai Hui to glimpse the splendor of the sword
embryo. Every bit of comprehension would help Ai Hui greatly.

Ai Hui noticed a huge amount of specific aspects that he had

never come across before.

For example, he noticed that there was a subtle bond between

his Dragonspine Inferno and the lightning in the dark clouds.
 Knowing that the time was going to be up soon, Ai Hui sighed
in his heart. His feelings were very complicated. He had
nurtured the sword embryo for the sake of surviving in the
Wilderness. During his three years in the Wilderness, the sword
embryo was of utmost importance to him. Without the sword
embryo, he would not have survived.

Was it finally time to say goodbye?

Ai Hui felt an indescribable sadness in his heart. The

Dragonspine Inferno let out a sorrowful lament as if it had
sensed the anguish in Ai Hui.

When Ai Hui heard it, he could not help but laugh. He did not
expect himself to be so emotional.

Since it’s time to bid farewell, I might as well do it in the most

majestic way!

Ai Hui suddenly raised his Dragonspine Inferno and pointed it

toward the sky.

Rumble!
 A dazzling lightning bolt struck down from the sky and hit the
Dragonspine Inferno.

The Dragonspine Inferno could not endure such a powerful

lightning bolt and its surface started to melt like a burned
candle. The only things that remained imposing and unwavered
were the seven prismatic crystals. Numerous streaks of
lightning were twisting and winding around them. It appeared
as if Ai Hui was holding a sword of lightning.

He took a huge step forward and flew up in the sky.

The surging lightning passed through Ai Hui’s sword and into

his body. Then, the lightning was directed to the two palaces in
his hands and his earth palace. His breathing became clear and
smooth. Like a well-maintained machine, every part of his body
operated efficiently after being injected with lightning. Master
definitely would not expect him to use lightning to channel the
third move from the sword pill…

As he swung his sword down, numerous lightning bolts

suddenly struck down from the sky at the same time.

Dust to dust, earth to earth.

[Dust Fall]!
Chapter 224: The Lightning Blade
By the time Ai Hui woke up, three days had already passed.

Lou Lan, who had been guarding beside his bed, happily
yelled, "Ai Hui is awake!"

Upon seeing Lou Lan first after opening his eyes, Ai Hui
smiled too. "Hello Lou Lan!"

"Hello Ai Hui!" Lou Lan was extremely happy. "Ai Hui, how
are you feeling? The condition of your body is very complicated
now. Lou Lan does not know what is going on in many areas."

"I’m alright."

Ai Hui smiled.

The first thing he did when he woke up was to check on his

sword embryo; however, he could only confirm that his sword
embryo had completely disappeared. He could not sense the
slightest bit of the sword embryo’s aura.
 Even though he was somewhat disappointed, he remained
calm and collected. After going through such a devastating life-
and-death battle, all his so-called heroism and fighting spirit
had disappeared completely. Whatever world-shaking event
that had happened had nothing to do with him. He did not even
care about his gains and losses in the battle. He only had one
thought when he woke up.

It felt good to have survived the ordeal.

He did not feel the same way towards the sword embryo. The
sword embryo had been like a companion to him.

No matter what, he still survived.

It was a very lucky thing for him to have been able to survive
the blood catastrophe until today.

"Ai Hui, you have just woken up and your body is still very
weak. You need to replenish your elemental energy urgently,"
Lou Lan said strictly. However, he quickly became joyful again
and continued, "We have collected many blood crystals. They
will be very helpful for your recovery process."
 "Thank you, Lou Lan." Ai Hui looked around and asked,
"Where’s Fatty? Where’s everybody?"

"They are still fighting the blood fiends," Lou Lan replied. "Ai
Hui has been in a coma for three days. The broken city gate has
been sealed up; however, the blood fiends on the streets have
not been cleared up yet. Everyone is very powerful now. Ai Hui
will be very surprised when you see them later.

"That’s great." Ai Hui sat up and got down from the bed. His
legs were somewhat wobbly, however, they still felt good and
not too weak.

"Everyone is back!" Lou Lan cheered. "Lou Lan will go and

prepare some elemental soup for Ai Hui."

Ai Hui walked out of the room and happened to see everyone

entering the training hall.

When Shi Xueman saw Ai Hui, her eyes lit up and her ice-cold
face brightened up with radiance. Just as she was about to say
something, a massive figure dashed past her.
 "Hahaha! I knew you would be alright! If I could survive and
live well, how could you have possibly died?"

Like a gust of wind, Fatty rushed forward and gave Ai Hui a

forceful hug.

Ai Hui’s eyes widened. He felt as if he was being hugged by a

grizzly bear. Fatty’s arms were like thick steel bars, suffocating
him. He could even hear his bones cracking.

"Are you trying strangle your good brother to death?" Shi

Xueman asked coldly.

It was at this moment that Fatty realized something was not

right with Ai Hui and quickly let go of him. With an
embarrassed look on his face, he said, "Oops, I almost forgot
that you are still recovering from your injuries. Hahaha…"

"You haven’t recovered fully yet?" Shi Xueman cast a glance at

Ai Hui and asked.

"I haven’t." Ai Hui shook his head and spread his arms. "My
body feels like bean curd now."
 "What did Lou Lan say?" With those words, Shi Xueman
finally revealed her concern for Ai Hui. However, at this point
of time, everyone was concerned with this question. No one felt
that what Shi Xueman had asked was wrong.

Sang Zhijun, the only girl other than Shi Xueman, had a
pensive look on her face as her gaze switched between Ai Hui
and Shi Xueman for a little while.

"Lou Lan is preparing elemental soup for me now," Ai Hui

replied upon noticing the concern and worry in everyone's eyes.
He felt touched but was somewhat not used to this treatment.

He changed the topic and said, "I have been in a coma for
three days. What’s the situation outside now? Tell me about it."

"You stunned everyone that day." Shi Xueman took a look at

Ai Hui and said, "We did not expect you to have so many
powerful moves. Do you know what everyone outside is calling
you now?"

"What are they calling me?" Ai Hui was shocked.

 "The Lightning Blade." A hint of a smile appeared in Shi
Xueman’s eyes, however, it soon disappeared and she returned
to her usual ice-cold self. "You’re worthy of this nickname since
you brought down so many lightning bolts from the sky. That
one huge lightning bolt you brought down made all the blood
fiends lose their resistance. The mayor and his counterparts
took advantage of the opportunity to seal up the city gate."

"The Lightning Blade…" Ai Hui could not help but laugh. He

did not expect to get his first nickname in such a situation.

"It feels good, right?" Shi Xueman saw the smug look on Ai
Hui’s face and felt somewhat unhappy. "However, it appears
that the condition of your body is still very weak. They will be
very disappointed."

"What does their disappointment have to do with me? They

aren’t paying me money or anything." Ai Hui spoke as if it was a
matter of course.

The previously unhappy Shi Xueman was stumped by Ai Hui’s

sudden, irksome words. The change in his temperament was too
fast...
 "Hasn’t the city gate been sealed up already?" Ai Hui asked,
puzzled. "Why are there still so many blood fiends in the city?
And why do they need you all to fight them?"

Shi Xueman returned to her senses and replied, "The number

of blood fiends that poured into city is far too many. Even
though the city gate is sealed up, there are still so many blood
fiends left in the city. Our unit is the most powerful student unit
in Central Pine City right now. As such, we have to step forward
bravely to take on the blood fiends."

"The most powerful student unit in Central Pine City?" Ai Hui

was stunned. It was only at this moment that he re-evaluated
everyone.

Upon taking a closer look, he discovered that there was an

immense transformation in everyone’s fighting capabilities.

Everyone had attained Initial Completion...

"Did you guys eat some sort of elixir?" Ai Hui was dumbstruck.

Unexpectedly, Shi Xueman nodded as if nothing strange had

happened and replied, "Yes, we did!"

"Eh?" Ai Hui was shocked again.

Upon seeing Ai Hui’s blank look, Shi Xueman gave a bashful

smile. It was as if the spring had arrived, melting the iceberg
called Shi Xueman and releasing a myriad of colors that were
indescribably beautiful.

Ai Hui was shocked once more.

In his mind, Shi Xueman was made up of ice-cold steel. Her

entire body was constructed out of steel beams and she had a
heart that was more cold-blooded than any man’s. Ai Hui was
frightened when he saw Iron Lady suddenly reveal such a lovely
facial expression.

"Blood crystals." Shi Xueman withdrew her smile and

returned to her usual iceberg-like self. "Thanks to you, we were
able to obtain many blood crystals from the battles on the
streets. The number of blood crystals we collected far exceeded
other units’. We have used a large number of blood crystals to
elevate everyone’s fighting capabilities and base level, and that
is why we have the most powerful student unit in Central Pine
City. Sorry, I let everyone consume the blood crystals without
your permission. Don’t worry, I have recorded down the
number of blood crystals used. I can deduct it from the debt of
eighty… Oh, nothing. I will send a bill to you once we are out of
this situation."

She almost leaked out the incident of the eighty million yuan.
For some reason, she did not want to expose her identity as the
noodle house girl. Humph, she once again thought of the label
‘skank’ that Ai Hui had given her.

"No need." Ai Hui shook his head.

"No need?" This time around, it was Shi Xueman who was
shocked. With a doubtful look on her face, she asked, "What are
you up to?"

"I am just being kind. Iron lady, how can you have such a
reaction?" Ai Hui was in between laughter and tears.

"Since when are you ever kind? To you, nothing can be

compared to money," Shi Xueman retorted bluntly. Ai Hui was
at a loss for words. After a while, she suddenly realized what Ai
Hui had called her and asked angrily with knitted eyebrows,
"Did you just call me Iron Lady?"

"Hahaha…" Ai Hui could only laugh and quickly changed the

topic. "So how have our unit’s battle results been these past few
days?"

Shi Xueman’s face suddenly darkened and she replied, "We

have lost nine men. It’s my fault, I committed many mistakes…"

"Big Sister, it’s not your fault!"

"Yes, how are the casualties Big Sister’s fault? How can there
be no casualties on the battlefield?"

"Big Sister, the sacrificed brothers will not blame you! It’s
nobody’s fault! Everyone tried their best!"

"That’s right. Without Big Sister our losses might be even

greater."

...
 Everyone consoled Shi Xueman at once. Shi Xueman saw with
her own eyes how everyone helped her. There were many areas
that she lacked in, however, even the blind could see that she
had given them her all. She was always the one taking the lead.
She was always the one who appeared at the most dangerous
places. She was always the one that took the most difficult
missions.

Even if there were casualties in the unit, no one had ever felt
that it was Shi Xueman’s fault.

"I know." Shi Xueman unexpectedly nodded, then looked

straight at Ai Hui. "However, if you’re there, our performance
will be even better."

Everyone did not say anything and looked at Ai Hui.

Everyone agreed with Shi Xueman.

If one described Shi Xueman as diligent, courageous, and

responsible, then Ai Hui could be described as cool-headed,
reliable, and experienced. Ai Hui had never directly led them
before, but his presence made everyone felt at ease.
 Ai Hui always made the right decision at the critical moment.
He was irreplaceable.

During the battle on the streets, everyone saw with their own
eyes the terrifying scene of thousands of lightning bolts striking
from the sky when Ai Hui swung down his sword of lightning.
Right now, everyone treated him with even more respect. Even
though their fighting capabilities had risen sharply and they
were capable of becoming legitimate elementalists, Ai Hui still
held an unwavering position in their hearts.

That fearsome scene was deeply engraved in their minds.

They would remember that scene for their entire lives.

No one saw Ai Hui as their equal, other than Duanmu

Huanghun.

Duanmu Huanghun was looking at Ai Hui with blazing fire in

his eyes. He was filled with eagerness and had decided that once
Ai Hui recovered, he would be the first person that he would
challenge!

Such a formidable strike.,. When everyone thought back

about it now, their blood could not help but boil!
 Duanmu Huanghun licked his lips involuntarily. His gaze
looked as if they were staring at a prey.

"Ai Hui, the elemental soup is coming!"

Lou Lan rushed over happily. In his hands there was a basin of
glittering, silvery soup, resembling liquid steel.

"I have used a lot of blood crystals. This soup can help Ai Hui
to replenish his elemental energy quickly. Ai Hui, Lou Lan has
become stronger and I have understood more about the blood
crystals. This basin of elemental soup has maximized the power
of the blood crystals. You have to finish this basin of elemental
soup. Don’t waste it. Ai Hui, come on!"

Ai Hui did not notice Lou Lan saying that he had become
stronger. All his attention was on the basin of elemental soup.

A basin...

A basin had to be used to hold elemental soup now?

 He suddenly thought of the fire oil-like elemental soup that
Fatty had drunk and how he’d spouted fire after doing so.

Would he become something weird like that as well...

A premonition arose in Ai Hui’s mind.

Chapter 225: Various Remnants
"What will happen to Ai Hui? Will he become more
powerful?"

Fatty looked at Ai Hui, who had just finished the basin of

elemental soup, and asked Lou Lan involuntarily.

"Definitely," Lou Lan replied with certainty. "Ai Hui has

always been evolving, no matter what happens."

Shi Xueman did not say anything. Her gaze was fixed on Ai
Hui. It wasn’t only her, everyone was looking at Ai Hui, who
was seated cross-legged on the ground. They were holding their
breaths for the fear of disturbing Ai Hui. Ai Hui’s health was
intimately related to theirs. Right now, Ai Hui was the core of
their unit. His health would have a direct impact on their
future.

It wasn’t at all an exaggeration. A slight mistake on the

battlefield would result in death.

They had seen too many deaths. It was unknown whether or

not even half of the students in Central Pine Academy had
survived. Among all the units, the A-1 unit had the highest
survival rating; however, if Ai Hui hadn’t held the pass by
himself against the flood of blood fiends during the battle on the
streets, the A-1 unit would have been wiped out.

Even those students who had previously hated Ai Hui

wholeheartedly pledged their allegiance to him now.

Ai Hui remained silent.

The elemental soup that filled his stomach had materialized

into elemental energy which flowed through every single part of
his body.

He… did not feel good at all!

Traces of metal elemental energy were flowing throughout his

body and the unique, sharp aura of the metal elemental energy
caused him waves of pain. As the traces of metal elemental
energy travelled through his body, they slowly transformed into
sword-shaped elemental energy and their aura became
significantly sharper. Ai Hui came to understand what it felt
like to be pierced through by a sword.
 Since there was a huge number of metal elemental energy
traces, the number of elemental energy swords forming was
similarly huge. Currently, Ai Hui felt as if there were numerous
mini swords travelling throughout his body.

His body trembled involuntarily. His face had turned pale-

white and pea-sized beads of sweat flowed down his forehead.

"Lou Lan, what’s going on?" Fatty asked anxiously.

Lou Lan was also very surprised. His glowing yellow eyes
flickered non-stop. If one took a closer look, he or she would
realize that the yellow glow in Lou Lan’s eyes was brighter than
before.

"There is a unique aura in Ai Hui’s body. This aura is able to

transform the metal elemental energy into a specially shaped
energy. Other than this unique aura, there are also a lot of
electric currents in his body. Right now, the condition of Ai
Hui’s body is very complicated. Lou Lan has not thought of any
good ideas yet. Come on Ai Hui!"

If Ai Hui could hear what Lou Lan had said, he would praise
the latter to high heaven.
 Lou Lan’s diagnosis was completely correct. Even though the
sword embryo in Ai Hui’s body had ruptured and was destroyed,
the essence-breath-spirit that it had released still remained in
his body. The invisible energy waves from the sword embryo’s
remnants were what was transforming the flowing metal
elemental energy into the streaks of sword-shaped glints.

This was not a good thing for Ai Hui.

Ai Hui could easily absorb and store pure metal elemental

energy in the eight palaces; however, when the metal elemental
energy traces transformed into elemental energy swords, they
became more stable, making it hard for Ai Hui to absorb and
store them.

The more troublesome issue was the huge amount of leftover

lightning in Ai Hui’s body.

His last move, the lightning version of [Dust Fall] that had
given Ai Hui the nickname "The Lightning Blade," had caused
severe damage to his body. A large amount of electric currents
had filled Ai Hui’s flesh and blood. Every time these electric
currents burst forth, Ai Hui’s muscles would become numb.
 This created huge difficulties for Ai Hui when he tried to
control his body.

Fortunately, Ai Hui was mentally prepared. A price definitely

had to be paid if one experienced an outburst of power that far
exceeded the limit of their base level. For Ai Hui, the price he’d
paid was both the destruction of his sword embryo and the
induction of electric currents into his body. This price,
however, was nothing compared to death.

Even though the current situation seemed terrible, Ai Hui felt

that it was much better than what he had expected.

At least his body remained intact. He had not lost his limbs
and his five residences and eight palaces were undamaged and
could still work perfectly. As long as these body parts were fine,
the other problems could slowly and eventually be worked out.

As the elemental energy swords continued to flow through Ai

Hui’s body, the sharp aura from the elemental energy swords
caused the lightning remnants to zap. The piercing pain from
the elemental energy swords and the numbing effect of the
lightning remnants became inextricably intertwined.
 There were more and more elemental energy swords. The
effect of Lou Lan’s elemental soup was indeed astonishing. The
replenished metal elemental energy continued to transform into
elemental energy swords that were scattered all over Ai Hui’s
body.

What should he do?

Ai Hui pondered deeply.

Very soon, Ai Hui decided on a plan. First, he could not let the
elemental energy swords run amok in his body. The sharp and
destructive aura of the elemental energy swords was not the
reason why his body was damaged; the main reason for the
damage was his letting the elemental energy swords run amok
in his body.

How could he contain them?

Ai Hui thought for a while. Since they were elemental energy

swords, he could deal with them the same way he dealt with a
sword. Before, when he’d still had the sword embryo, the sword
embryo had automatically taken care of all the sword-related
elemental energy for him. Even though he did not have the
sword embryo anymore, that did not mean that he could not do
anything about the sword-related elemental energy.

After Ai Hui had received a huge volume of sword-related fine

details during the battle on the streets, his understanding
towards swordsmanship had reached a completely new level.
After absorbing the essence-breath-spirit from the sword
embryo’s rupture, his base level had temporarily reached an
unimaginable altitude.

He was like a disciple who had been temporarily possessed by

his master and got to feel what it was like to be a high-level
individual.

This experience would not immediately improve his fighting

capabilities, but it would definitely have a long-lasting effect on
them. He could see what the higher realms of swordsmanship
would look like in the future. This would play an important role
in his future developments.

According to his understanding of swordsmanship, Ai Hui felt

that the elemental energy swords could be controlled.

Ai Hui, who had been trembling non-stop and had his face
turned pale-white, suddenly opened his mouth and, with a
hoarse voice that was filled with anguish, yelled, "Sword!"

Sword?

Everyone was stunned. Shi Xueman’s reaction was the fastest.

Her right hand flashed across her waist and a cold glint flew
towards Ai Hui. She then yelled coldly, "Catch it!"

With a distorted facial expression, Ai Hui raised his hand. He

still felt more or less alright as long as he did not move, but once
he started moving, his body felt as if it was being pierced
through by a sword. His eyes were closed but his hand still
managed to catch the sword that Shi Xueman had thrown him.

A faintly discernible smile appeared on Sang Zhijun’s face.

Even though Shi Xueman specialized in the spear and did not
have the habit of carrying a sword, there was actually a sword
hanging on her waist.

At the very moment Ai Hui’s palm made contact with the hilt
of the sword, his previously distorted and anguished face
suddenly calmed down.
 Everyone was shocked by this bizarre scene.

Shi Xueman’s face was ice-cold like an iceberg, remaining

emotionless; however, one could see that her eyes had lit up
slightly.

This was the unique part about Ai Hui.

He was always hiding something special in him that he would

not normally reveal. Sometimes he was a rascal, sometimes he
was a miser, sometimes he was a loner, and most of the time he
was an individual who ignored things that were of no concern to
him. However, if a dangerous situation was to arise, he would
become a completely changed man, revealing imposing fighting
capabilities and captivating everyone’s attention.

This might be an insignificant move but it contained a

mysterious power to it.

When Ai Hui grabbed hold of the sword, his mind became

tranquil and the agitated elemental energy swords in his body
calmed down as well.
 The sword’s numerous fine details gushed through his mind
like a flash flood. The sword’s texture, its weight, the sharpness
of the blade, etc. All these little details were clearly displayed in
his mind.

Ai Hui noticed this ability that he hadn’t had in the past and
became somewhat happy. It seemed that he had not only made
losses, but gains as well.

It was a pity that it was not the Dragonspine Inferno...

Sorrow involuntarily arose in his mind. The Dragonspine

Inferno was the sword that he was the most comfortable with
and had used for the longest period of time. It was a pity that it
had been completely destroyed when he’d executed [Dust Fall].
The powerful lightning bolt had destroyed the sword body,
leaving only the seven prismatic crystals.

The sword currently in his hand seemed very ordinary. It had

been picked up by Shi Xueman from a dead elementalist.

However, it was still a sword.

 Ai Hui focused his attention on the sword. Even though he
could not enter the miraculous mental state he’d been in during
the battle on the streets, he could still feel the elemental energy
swords in his body become slightly sluggish.

It was working!

Ai Hui restrained his joy and started slowly brandishing the

sword.

His movements were very slow as he could not yet control his
muscles, making him look like an awkward-moving wooden
puppet. His movements were indescribably rigid and unsightly.

Ai Hui did not care about it and focused on brandishing the

sword.

The elemental energy swords involuntarily transformed

according to the sword moves Ai Hui executed. Very soon, more
and more elemental energy swords were beginning to move
along with how Ai Hui brandished the sword.

He was right!
 Ai Hui felt more confident and began to brandish the sword
more seriously.

Ai Hui had a deep understanding of the sword embryo. The

elemental energy swords formed when the elemental energy
was affected by the remnant energy waves of the sword embryo.
The sword embryo had a direct reaction to anything that was
related to swords. Ai Hui was wondering whether or not the
elemental energy swords preserved this unique characteristic of
the sword embryo.

The reality had confirmed Ai Hui’s conjecture.

As Ai Hui continued brandishing the sword, more and more

elemental energy swords continued to gather, resembling
densely-packed fish. Even though they were crowded together,
they were very orderly. The pain Ai Hui felt in his body relieved
significantly.

Very soon, Ai Hui came across a new problem. How was he to

direct these elemental energy swords into his eight palaces?

The elemental energy swords flowed endlessly. They did not

stop at all when passing by the eight palaces.
 Generally speaking, the eight palaces had a powerful
attractive force over elemental energy, causing it to stay in the
eight palaces involuntarily. Only by using certain special
channelling techniques could the elemental energy be directed
out of the palaces to form moves.

In Ai Hui’s situation, it was the complete opposite.

A terrifying amount of elemental energy was flowing through

his body, and yet, it wasn’t stopping at the eight palaces. The
eight palaces were completely empty. If the elemental energy
was not stored in the palaces, it would dissipate very quickly.

Ai Hui knew that this was because the elemental energy in his
body had transformed into elemental energy swords. The eight
palaces had a strong attractive force over pure elemental
energy, but for elemental energy that had changed form, the
eight palaces would have zero attractive force.

The thing was, as long as the remnant energy waves of the

sword embryo were still in his body, the elemental energy
would immediately transform into elemental energy swords.

Without elemental energy to fill them up, the eight palaces

would shrink and close as time passed. This would cause his
base level to drop sharply.

What should he do?

Ai Hui racked his brain as he brandished his sword.

He thought of a daring plan, but did not know if it would

work.

This time around, he was slightly hesitant and did not

immediately begin carrying out the plan.

This plan was slightly risky…

Chapter 226: Sword Pill
Even though the plan Ai Hui thought of was slightly risky, it
was not at all complicated.

Under the effect of the remnant energy waves of the sword

embryo, the elemental energy in his body had transformed into
elemental energy swords. However, these elemental energy
swords had not actually completed their transformation yet.

Ai Hui was not unfamiliar with this kind of elemental energy

sword. In the past, the elemental energy he developed was of
this kind. The only difference was that he used to have the
sword embryo in the past. The palpitating sword embryo was
like a heart, directing these elemental energy swords.

With the sword embryo around, these elemental energy

swords were extremely tame and could meticulously complete
various operations without creating any negative effects on his
body.

In terms of managing his elemental energy, Ai Hui was overly

dependent on the sword embryo. Especially toward the end,
when the sword embryo became increasingly powerful, he
relied completely on the sword embryo to manage his elemental
energy.

Given that the sword embryo had now been destroyed, he was
able to control these elemental energy swords, but this was also
the biggest problem he encountered so far. The sword embryo
was the key to managing the elemental energy swords. Without
the key, the elemental energy swords ran amok.

It was impossible to recreate the sword embryo.

He obtained the technique of developing a sword embryo by

luck. Then, by coincidence, he successfully planted the sword
embryo’s seed. Until now, he still did not exactly understand
what had happened.

From a different perspective, this might not be a bad thing. It

was unexpected that the sword embryo would develop to such a
stage. He was perplexed on how to train from today onward.

The rupture of the sword embryo had temporarily raised his

base level to a higher level while giving him experience that
would last forever.
 Even though the remnant energy waves from the sword
embryo could affect his elemental energy, the effect was
minimal. Only a small portion of his metal elemental energy
was sword-attributed.

Since they had not completed their transformation into

elemental energy swords, why not intentionally completed the
process? This was Ai Hui’s plan.

Right now, which aspects of Ai Hui were better than before?

His understanding of swords.

His comprehension toward swords covered a wide range of

sword-related topics, which included types of swords,
swordsmanship, how he channeled his elemental energy
through his sword moves, etc. In other words, Ai Hui was acting
as the role of sword embryo now.

Of course, Ai Hui was still not on the sword embryo’s level at

the moment, which had been abnormally sensitive and
instinctive to any sword-related matters. This was also why he
could not do anything with the elemental energy swords.

However, what if he made these elemental energy swords

larger? And made them look like an actual sword? With a more
complete form?

Would it make it easier for him to control them?

Ai Hui felt this plan was dangerous since no one had done it
before.

The elemental energy in the eight palaces were pure in nature

and were without form. This type of elemental energy was easy
to manage and not harmful to one’s body. As the elemental
energy continued to seep into one’s flesh and blood, his or her
body would become stronger. The theory of body-tempering
was exactly based on this logic.

The more complete the form of the elemental energy swords

was, the sharper they would become, making it easier for them
to damage one’s body. Everyone wanted the flow of elemental
energy in their bodies to be as smooth as a river, not as painful
as getting pierced by numerous swords.

Ai Hui was precisely worried about this. Would this plan

damage his body severely before it actually worked?
 All along, his five residences and eight palaces were not firm
and solid. Once a palace or a residence was damaged, he would
be essentially handicapped.

As for the problem of having difficulty or not being able to

control the completely formed elemental energy swords, Ai Hui
felt that the problem was not necessarily unsolvable.

As long as he could wield a sword in his hand, he had a way of

controlling the sword energy. Ai Hui had the most confidence
with regard to this issue.

No one had ever thought of this plan before, hence, no one

could give him directions.

After hesitating for two minutes, Ai Hui made his decision.

If this had happened before the blood catastrophe, he

definitely would not take this risk. He would seek help from
Master, Mistress, the dean, or anyone else who was extremely
knowledgeable and could give him pointers. Asking for advice
was safer than taking the risk himself.
 Training was not child’s play. A failure might result in an
irreversible loss. It was not surprising for one to damage his
residence or palace, become disabled, have a change in his
temperament, or even die.

If Ai Hui had enough time, he definitely would not take such a

huge risk.

However, the problem was that he did not have enough time
now.

He was not in a peaceful and safe Central Pine City, but was
rather in the midst of the blood catastrophe and could die at
anytime. If his body did not recover soon, he would be in a
precarious situation.

Now was not the time for him to relax and explore different
options. There might be a chance that in the next moment a
blood fiend would barge into the training hall and kill him on
the spot.

Ai Hui, who had been through the Wilderness, clearly

understood the cruel reality of life. The more dangerous it was,
the more everyone needed to display their usefulness. One could
only survived if he or she was capable.

A king that lost power would soon be banished by his subjects.

If a king could end up like that, why would an insignificant

individual like him not end up the same?

He knew that Lou Lan, Fatty, and Shi Xueman would

definitely protect him, but everyone else was powerless to even
defend themselves. A powerful blood fiend would wipe them
out completely.

Life was like a game of poker. Those with more chips at hand
could afford to go slow and steady. Losing a round would not
harm them. Those with fewer chips, however, lacked the luxury
of time. Their only option was to bet their own lives at the
gambling table.

Fortunately, Ai Hui was used to having no chips. The so-called

choice that he had to make was merely an illusion.

He never had a choice in the first place.

 If life was this way, then so be it. Whining and crying would
only make one look weak. No one would pity him or help him.
Life was like a battlefield, everyone had to brace themselves for
the rain of arrows and the clash of swords. Cowards would
always die first while the brave would advance by climbing over
heaps of corpses.

Anyway, it could not be worse than this.

Ai Hui could only console himself like this. For now, he had
not thought of any better plans. There might be some problems
or repercussions in the future, but he did not care because he
needed to have some self-defense capabilities first.

Ai Hui felt absolutely naked without a sense of security.

Without any hesitation, he started to brandish his sword. The

elemental energy in his body began to flow as well. Just like
how he developed his elemental energy in the past, he directed
the energy from his body into the sword and then back to his
body again, making a Circulatory Circle Revolution.

He used to do this with ease in the past, but now, without the
sword embryo, the difficulty of this operation suddenly
increased.

The process was not really smooth. Ai Hui had to keep

brandishing the sword in his hand to direct the elemental
energy swords in his body.

He put all his concentration on channeling the elemental

energy and was extremely focused. The sword he wielded began
to jerk nonstop. Yet, he stubbornly brandished his sword
through all the jerking, as if he could not feel them at all.

The elemental energy swords slowly flowed back from the

sword in his hand to his body. They then continued through the
eight palaces and made a Circulatory Circle Revolution.

After a Circulatory Circle Revolution was completed, Ai Hui

could feel that the degree of sharpness of the element energy
swords slightly increased. Even though it was just a slight
increase, Ai Hui was greatly encouraged by this since it
happened like what he had predicted.

The amount of elemental energy swords in his body was truly

too tremendous. Only a miniscule portion of these elemental
energy swords took part in the Circulatory Circle Revolution.
 However, to Ai Hui, it was no doubt a good start.

By the ninth Circulatory Circle Revolution, Ai Hui finally felt

a significant change in these elemental energy swords. They had
become more nimble and smooth. The sword in Ai Hui’s hand
was like a magnet, having a mysterious attractive force over
them.

Ai Hui also discovered that sharper elemental energy swords

were easier to manage. With a jolt of his mind, the elemental
energy swords would quickly enter the Circulatory Circle
Revolution. Their speed was much faster than his elemental
energy in the past.

However, he soon discovered a problem. These elemental

energy swords were too thin and small. At the same time, the
amount of elemental energy swords that he needed to control
was far too copious. This had created a huge burden on his
mind.

Perhaps he needed to gather them and make larger elemental

energy swords? Could this reduce the number of elemental
energy swords?
 Ai Hui, who had already gone all-out, made his decision
without any hesitation.

The hair-like elemental energy swords kept on gathering and

fusing together, forming larger and thicker elemental energy
swords. Such elemental energy swords looked like actual
swords. Ai Hui tried to make them look like the daggers in the
bronze sword box, causing them to appear abnormally graceful.

Oh, the bronze sword box had been destroyed during the
battle on the streets as well.

Ai Hui did not dare to slack off at all. The more powerful and
bigger the elemental energy swords were, the more dangerous
they became. Ai Hui wondered, if he was to suddenly stop
moving, would a bloody hole suddenly appear on his body?

Next, a new problem arose in his mind. How could he store

the elemental energy swords in the eight palaces?

The highly tense Ai Hui did not have time to sigh as he racked
his brain for a solution. He had tried a few methods, but they
did not really work. The elemental energy swords were
abnormally smooth and exceptionally sensitive to the sword in
his hand. A slight movement of Ai Hui’s sword would cause
them to make half a Circulatory Circle Revolution.

Ai Hui’s method of using the sword to control the elemental

energy swords in his body was far less efficient than the sword
embryo’s.

The absolutely empty eight palaces could not store the

elemental energy swords at all.

Ai Hui suddenly thought of the sword pill that Master had

given him.

The two moves, [Crescent Moon] and [Dust Fall], originated

from it.

Ai Hui had read many swordplay manuals before and knew a

thing or two about sword pills.

The earliest swords pills were made by Cultivators by rolling

up paper-thin, soft swords into a lump, resembling the size of
mothballs. They could be hidden in the user’s clothes or body,
making them difficult to be detected. This was why they were
called sword pills.

Since these elemental energy swords were not easy to control,

could he make them into sword pills?

At this point of time, Ai Hui did not care about anything else
and just carried on with his plan.

Swordsmanship had been irrelevant for many years and a lot

of people had never even heard of sword pills, let alone making
sword pills.

Ai Hui needed to figure out everything by himself. He could

only find the technique of making sword pills from the
swordplay manuals he had read before, but it was not possible
for him to follow the manuals step-by-step. He could only get a
rough idea of how to make sword pills from them.

When he rolled an elemental energy sword into a sword pill,

he quickly realized that its size was too small, making it very
light and hard to control. Furthermore, the process of rolling an
elemental energy sword into a sword pill was very unstable.
 Ai Hui now had a much deeper understanding toward swords
when compared to the past. Within a short period of time, he
was able to identify the reason.

He was not discouraged and started from the beginning again.

He started forming thicker and bigger elemental energy

swords again. He also created a huge amount of elemental
energy swords again.

Then, he controlled these elemental energy swords and

formed a whirlpool with them. By swirling these elemental
energy swords at a high speed and then compressing them, he
eventually formed a perfectly round sword pill.

The sword pill levitated silently in Ai Hui’s left hand palace,

spinning continuously.

The left hand palace was desolate and the sword pill was
pathetically small, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily
curled into a bright smile.

He felt that he had chosen the right plan.

Chapter 227: Bad News and Good News
Ai Hui’s confidence increased tremendously after he managed
to successfully seal the sword pill into his left hand palace.

Now he needed to follow the same steps to "roll" the

remaining elemental energy swords into sword pills.

It was a big project that required a long span of focused

attention and was as dry as dust.

Due to the amount of time Ai Hui had spent roaming around

the edges of death, concentration was now second nature to
him, almost like breathing. Dull and repetitive content could
easily make people lose their patience, but not for Ai Hui. He
could concentrate for long periods of time.

When he was concentrating, he did not care about others and

would be fully immersed in his own world.

As he was usually concentrating, in other people’s eyes, it

always seemed like he was disregarding them and paying no
attention to their opinions.
 Indeed, he has never taken other people’s viewpoints into
account. When he is caught within a wild beast’s teeth and
sharp claws, other people’s opinions would not increase his
likelihood of survival.

As such, why not spend more time on improving himself? No

one would be able to easily strip him of his personal
improvements. He could change his fate by improving himself.

Having his fate in his own hands gave him a sense of security.

Ai Hui took pleasure in his task.

He made many discoveries. For example, he realized that the

remnants of the sword embryo’s energy waves were the
strongest in the sky palace. Thinking back to the sword
embryo’s former location, he realized that this fact was not
strange. He also found that within both his hand palaces and his
earth palace, there was an abundance of electric currents. This
was the result of using [Dust Fall] to draw lightning into both
hand palaces and the earth palace.

He also discovered that within both his left and right hand
palaces, if the sword pills were rotated faster than a specific
speed, the surplus electric rays would be stimulated.

What an interesting phenomenon. Ai Hui mentally noted it

down and continued to "roll" the sword pills.

After scanning the remaining amount of elemental energy, he

assessed the number of sword pills he’d created. He felt that he
could become a grand pastry chef in the future.

He’d also considered forming eight whirlpools within the

Eight Palaces to absorb the elemental energy automatically.
After all, whirlpools were steady structures; however, Ai Hui
gave up the thought after recalling how the elemental energy
ball in his body had previously been hard to absorb.

If he managed to form whirlpools within his elemental energy

palaces, it would be easy for elemental energy to enter the
elemental energy palaces. It would, however, be difficult to
extract the elemental energy from the palaces afterwards.

While the sword pills were not as effective or stable as

whirlpools, they were easier to control. To Ai Hui, who no
longer had the aid of the sword embryo, it was more important
for him to be able to gain control.
 Shi Xueman and the rest had been waiting for a long time, but
there were no indications that Ai Hui was going to stop.
Everyone started to take breaks after hearing Lou Lan say that
Ai Hui would still need a long time to recover. After going
through an ardent battle, all of them were battered and tired.
Nevertheless, Shi Xueman still sent someone to pass on the
message that Ai Hui had woken up.

Many were still waiting for the news.

The battle on the streets had solidified Ai Hui’s status and

prestige in Central Pine City. The scene where thunder had
filled the entire sky was unforgettable to all the survivors.

Such a grand performance took everyone’s breath away.

Since the beginning of the blood catastrophe, Ai Hui was the

one who rose to fame during the battle on the streets. He was
the first person in Central Pine City to rely on his own strength
to save everyone from the desperate crisis.

Everyone was looking forward to having their own Ye Baiyi in

Central Pine City to bring them out of the Induction Ground
alive. Furthermore, after learning that their mayor was a
survivor of the Battle of the Dawn, the comparison stuck in
their heads; It had spread throughout the city overnight.

Ye Baiyi had not initially been known as Icy Flames Ye.

At the time of the Battle of the Dawn, Ye Baiyi had just been
an ordinary team leader from the Icy Flames Division.

The cruel Battle of the Dawn had allowed Ye Baiyi to step onto
a stage belonging only to him.

The survivors in Central Pine City strongly believed that Ai

Hui, who had participated in the battle on the streets, had the
calibre to walk the same route.

Ai Hui’s hard laborer background, the fact that he was still a

first-year student in Central Pine City, and that he has yet to
achieve the Initial Completion all pointed to him being a genius.

But after the battle on the streets, Ai Hui had slipped into
coma and this tugged at many of the people’s heartstrings.
Some of them were worried that Ai Hui had sustained serious
injuries, while others were optimistic and felt that it was a sign
that Ai Hui was going to have a breakthrough.

Everyone was closely following Ai Hui’s condition. That thin

youth was shouldering their hopes of survival.

"Our Ai Baiyi has awakened," teasingly said the mayor. He was

in a good mood. After hearing too many comparisons between
Ai Hui and Ye Baiyi, he decided to jokingly call Ai Hui as Ai
Baiyi.

Ai Hui’s rise had reversed the situation. The city gates were
once again sealed and the blood fiends had been utterly
defeated. How could he not be in a good mood? If Ai Hui hadn’t
been around, what would it have been like that day? The mayor
had previously prepared himself mentally to sacrifice half of the
troops who were going to seal the door.

The dean smiled, but then frowned while saying, "Such

publicity would not be beneficial to his growth."

He was also proud of Ai Hui. When he had given the original

[Big Dipper] to Ai Hui, he had still had some reservations on
doing so; however, everyone now praised him saying that he has
good perception.
 "Let’s focus on what’s going on in the present." Wang Zhen
passed a cup of water to the dean. "Everyone needs Ai Baiyi now.
The higher authorities are considering Ai Hui’s rewards. The
number of Heaven Merit Points should be quite substantial."

The dean took the cup and took a sip. He stayed quiet; he
knew what Wang Zhen meant.

Everyone needed a hero. Even if that hero might not create a

miracle immediately, at least that hero could give them hope.

He was unable to rebut and changed the topic. "How’s the

situation in the city?"

"Pretty good." Wang Zhen’s expression regained its usual stern

composure. "While the number of casualties is still increasing,
the trend is now going down. Most of them are the weaker
students and citizens. Also, the appearance of the blood crystals
allows us to increase the number of elites we have while raising
our standard. If this trend continues, our situation will be better
than before."

"That’s good to hear." The dean heaved a happy sigh of relief.

 "But there’s bad news."

The dean’s heart skipped a beat and his smile froze on his
face.

"The support teams were attacked by the blood fiends." Wang

Zhen continued, "They have suffered huge losses. Three support
teams were fully destroyed and more than three troops lost half
their members. One assistant leader has died and they’ve lost
contact with two others, including Sir Yu Mingqiu."

"What?" The dean cried out in alarm and his expression

changed drastically.

Wang Zhen’s could relate to the dean’s reaction. When he’d

first received the news, he too had reacted in the same way.

He did not continue immediately, but gave the dean some

time to digest the information. The dean looked dazed. After a
long while, he looked up and asked blankly, "How did this
happen?"

Wang Zhen replied with a sigh, "We got lucky."

 The dean looked at Wang Zhen blankly.

Wang Zhen quickly explained, "The blood fiends near Central

Pine City were transforming at a slower speed compared to
those around the other cities. Those troops that were sent as
support were attacked by a large number of blood fiends. The
highest level that they encountered was a seven-trace blood
fiend."

"Seven traces?" The dean’s eyes almost popped out.

After dealing with so many blood fiends, they had developed a

better understanding towards the blood fiends’ capabilities. The
fewer the blood traces, the stronger the blood-traced fiend.

Most of the blood fiends in Central Pine City had yet to show
any signs of having blood traces. Nine-trace blood fiends were
the next highest in number. They had yet to see any eight-trace
blood fiends and there were already sightings of seven-trace
blood fiends in other cities.

The nine-trace blood fiends were already difficult to deal

with. How much more difficult would it be to deal with a seven-
trace blood fiend? It was no wonder all of the support troops
met with destruction and huge losses.

"We do not yet know the reason, but I believe that this is our
luck. The rest of the cities are in a far worse situation than we
are. Ninety percent of the cities in the Induction Ground have
already been invaded by the blood fiends." Wang Zhen’s tone
was grave.

The dean was at a loss for words before stammering, "Then…

How are they now?"

"The higher authorities did not release any information, but

you can imagine." Wang Zhen continued dully, "There will be
even more casualties. They might have to await support while
defeating blood fiends in the ruins of the city, or they might
meet with a complete wipeout."

The dean trembled, his face as white as a sheet.

Seeing the dean’s fearful gaze, Wang Zhen continued, "As

such, we need to endure for a longer period of time than we’d
expected, which is why we need Ai Baiyi."
 He felt grateful. If they’d heard this news before the break out
of the long war, he too would have fallen into despair. Now that
the situation had stabilized, it also increased his confidence in
pressing on.

"The good news is that the progress of the development of the

golden needles has been smooth. Given the current speed, I
reckon we still require two more days before the completion of
the golden needles. Master Han sent Mingxiu to hasten the
progress. She is in her optimal state now and can start on it at
any moment. According to Mister Wang’s plan, if we are able to
complete it, Central Pine City will become as sturdy as iron."

The dean regained some color in his face. "What instructions

have the higher authorities given?"

"They hope that we can endure and press on." Wang Zhen
glanced at him before replying, "They have already sent a new
troop to give us support, but it will require some time to arrive.
The support force will be stronger this time around."

In another corner in Central Pine City, the news that Ai Hui

had awakened also woke up others.
 "He has awoken?" A hoarse voice sounded from behind the
shadows in a secret corner.

"Yes!" Yan Hai replied carefully, "He has just woken up. The
rest of the details have not been passed down yet."

"The Lightning Blade…" The person in the shadows walked

out; it was Tian Kuan. He was fuming with rage and his gaze
was filled with hatred, but also with a thread of fear. His face
was pale. As the situation in the city stabilized, he became
unable to take advantage of the crisis for his own benefit. The
situation would be even worse if he had not found Yan Hai.

Yan Hai did not dare to breathe. He knew how scary Tian
Kuan was.

Because of Tian Kuan, he dared not have any thoughts of

resisting and listened to orders without any protests.
Furthermore, he felt that this was a good opportunity for
himself. Tian Kuan’s identity was destined to be extraordinary
within the group. To an outside member like himself, it would
pave many roads for him in the future.

"You have yet to bear any blood traces?" Tian Kuan shook his
head, displeased.

Yan Hai’s expression changed in a flash. He knew how

temperamental these people could be.

At that moment, a blood crystal was thrown in front of him.

The sparkling and translucent blood crystal captured Yan Hai’s
attention.

An indifferent voice sounded over his head.

"Hurry up and bear the blood traces. I have a mission for you."
Chapter 228: Tian Kuan’s Operation
In the darkness, Tian Kuan moved like a ghost in the shadows
of the ruins.

After being defeated by Ai Hui, he realized that he had

underestimated his enemy. That juvenile, oh, he’s called Ai Hui,
was stronger than he’d imagined. It would be hard to defeat
such an opponent using simple and violent moves.

Tian Kuan never avoided confronting his own mistakes. He

believed that having a resolution to his mistakes was nothing
shameful, rather, was worth celebrating. The dead did not have
the chance to do so.

He had survived such bitter battles and combat encounters.

How could he be considered brainless?

Fighting in close quarters required courage, capability, and

knowledge. As one survived more battles, these traits became
more apparent.

Tian Kuan had been constantly reflecting and pondering upon

his mistakes for the past two days.
 Through Yan Hai, he knew what was happening in Central
Pine City like the back of his hand. He also held Ai Hui in higher
regard.

Even talents like Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun were

under Ai Hui’s shadow, so much that they willingly complied to
Ai Hui orders. Tian Kuan had been surprised when he’d heard
that. Even more so when he learned Ai Hui’s background, being
that he had been a hard laborer and was also still a first-year
student at the Induction Ground.

Being a nemesis of the Avalon of Five Elements, the Blood of

God had researched the Avalon of Five Elements intensively.

The conflicting views between the new citizens and the

members of the aristocratic families had long seeped into the
Avalon of Five Elements; the Thirteen Divisions was no
exception. Some of the troops complied with tradition by only
appointing disciples from aristocratic families as leaders, while
on the other hand, the leaders of some other troops were all new
citizens.

For a new citizen without any background to be able to

command influential figures like Shi Xueman and Duanmu
Huanghun was to go against all the norms. The arrogance of the
aristocratic families allowed them to treat capable new citizens
as their right-hand men, but they would never accept them as
their superiors.

Tian Kuan held Ai Hui in higher regards. This incident

emphasized Ai Hui’s capability and that he was indeed a genius
youth.

After Tian Kuan calmed down, he quickly found a solution.

There was no need for him to engage in direct combat with Ai
Hui, this would only put himself in danger. It was hard to
predict the moves of genius opponents. They would always
perform outstandingly in perceived dire situations and reverse
the outcome.

To have a direct battle with a genius like Ai Hui was the

ultimate last resort.

Tian Kuan had sufficient manpower to help him.

In his eyes, there were many loopholes in Central Pine City’s

defense system. Unlike Yan Hai and the others who were
peripheral members, he had been painstakingly groomed by
many of the elders from within Blood of God. These elders had
summarised many aspects of the Avalon of Five Elements.
Compared to the number of Elders who researched the new
citizens and the conflicts between the aristocratic families,
there were more Elders researching the training system in the
Five Residences and Eight Palaces as well as the defense
mechanisms in the cities. After all, these findings would be used
directly in battle.

The fruits of those Elders’ labor had all been imparted to

them.

The Avalon of Five Elements’ traditions were regulated by the

Elders. As nature would have it, they were also used against the
Avalon of Five Elements as a kind of weapon by the Blood of
God.

Tian Kuan was proficient in the city’s defense system. The

city gate which Wang Zhen viewed as indestructible was as
weak as tofu in Tian Kuan’s eyes. It would be very easy for him
to break through their defense system; however, the cautious
Tian Kuan did not do so. There was a high possibility that his
previous break-in through the city gates had raised suspicions.
If traces of man-made destruction were found within the city
again, Wang Zhen would definitely know that there was an
enemy hiding within the city.
 Tian Kuan knew that the veterans of the Battle of the Dawn
were not to be taken lightly.

Compared to before, the strength within the city had also

improved. After killing off the blood fiends that had entered
into the city, a large amount of blood crystals had been obtained
by the elementalists. As a result, the elite elementalists in
Central Pine City’s strengths improved tremendously.

It had never occurred to Tian Kuan that the blood crystals

could actually be used to increase the elementalists’ capabilities
and that the effect would be so obvious. It was said that the
efficiency of the blood crystals was one of the A-1 unit’s
contributions. He wondered what role Ai Hui had played being
the leader of the A-1 unit.

After continuous investigations, Tian Kuan realized that it

was due to the influence of Ai Hui that Central Pine City was
still in a rather good condition. Ai Hui had played both direct
and indirect parts.

Tian Kuan became extra cautious.

It was fortunate that there were many loopholes in Central

Pine City. Tian Kuan soon found a new target underground.
Central Pine City’s underground had long been destroyed. The
first wave of attacks was by the blood ants, followed by the
blood-traced worms. The rocks underground had been utterly
destroyed and there were many holes left behind by the attacks.

Tian Kuan’s target was these holes that were connected to

outside the city.

He arrived at a ruin without a soul in sight. A huge tunnel

could be clearly seen. This was the huge hole that had been left
behind after Ai Hui and his team had defeated the nine-trace
blood worm.

Immediately, Tian Kuan noticed the recumbent parasol bell

next to the tunnel’s entrance.

The recumbent parasol bell was a type of plant used for

security purposes. It was short in height and was shaped like an
open parasol, prostrate on the floor. The tip of the parasol had
an unassuming warning bell flower. The ash-grey color of the
recumbent parasol bell was similar to that of the stones. It does
not stand out amongst the ruins, but Tian Kuan recognised it
with a single glance.
 The recumbent parasol bell could release an invisible
ultrasonic wave similar to a bat’s ultrasonic sound. It was very
weak and other living things would find it hard to detect. When
a living being enters the waves’ boundary, it would alert the
alarm. The warning bell flower on the tip of the parasol would
then produce an urgent ring.

Tian Kuan restrained his vital energy and his face became
ghastly white, with the exception of his pupils which were like
drops of blood. His body became ice-cold and his heartbeat came
close to halting. Any signs of life coming from his body vanished
without a trace.

He landed next to the recumbent parasol bell and the bell did
not ring. This was the recumbent parasol bell’s weakness. The
invisible ultrasonic waves were only effective on living
organisms and could not be used to defend against beings that
did not produce signs of life.

He looked around cautiously and did not see anyone around.

Nowadays, no one in the city guarded the tunnels. There were

simply too many tunnels. Most of them made use of plants
similar to the recumbent parasol bell or sand puppets that had
modified strength to guard around the clock. Sand puppets did
not know what it was like to be tired and were more than
suitable to conduct such a mission.

While the continuation of the battles led to an increase in the

injured and casualties, the lucky surviving elementalists were
improving constantly.

The continuous loss of lives had a tremendous impact on

them.

The sounds of battle could be heard from far away. The blood
fiends in the city had not been purged completely and the
battles were still taking place.

Tian Kuan took out a bag of bait that he had prepared

beforehand. It had been created with the utmost care. He took
out a blood crystal. Pain flashed through his eyes, but he put the
blood crystal into the bag of bait and threw it into the deep
tunnel.

He looked at the sunflower on his wrist. There were twelve

petals. Two were yellow and the remaining were green.
 It was two in the morning.

Tian Kuan was not repulsed by using items from the Avalon of
Five Elements. Traces of the Avalon of Five Elements could be
seen in many aspects of their lives. Also, there were many useful
items which had been created by them. Items that could be used
to tell time like the jade green sunflower were cheap, light, and
easy to use. The minute sand from the Yellow Sand Corner gave
precise timing as well. Also, the volcano at the Sparking Plains
would erupt with a variety of beautiful illusions at every hour.
The concealed cloud paper from Palette Cloud Village could not
only be absorbed by any parts of the body, it could also display
time and be used to record knowledge among other things.

Including the elders from the organization, they were used to

using various items from the Avalon of Five Elements.

Tian Kuan felt that the actions of the Avalon of Five Elements
were rather contradictory. As much as the items were elaborate,
they were meant for daily use. As long as you had enough
power, you could easily snatch them over.

When the sun was up, people in Central Pine City would enjoy
a hearty meal.
 Tian Kuan did not halt his steps and disappeared into the
darkness.

Vanguard Training Hall.

A full twelve hours had passed and Ai Hui had yet to show any
signs of stopping. He was like a sand puppet that did not know
the meaning of ‘tired’.

The students who were done with their break looked at Ai Hui
as he trained from afar. Their gazes were filled with curiosity
and admiration. After twelve consecutive hours, Ai Hui did not
pause for a break.

‘The Lighting Blade’ and ‘Ai Baiyi’ were the current hot topics
within the team. All of them resonated deeply with them and
were honored.

After more experiences with combat in battles and the

increase in their strength, the previously delicate students were
more mature now. They observed Ai Hui while continuing their
discussion in low tones, exchanging their insights from the
battle.
 "He is improving, and at a very fast rate."

A voice came from behind Shi Xueman. It was Duanmu

Huanghun.

Shi Xueman did not bother to turn her head and replied, "You
are also not too bad."

She no longer treated Duanmu Huanghun as someone she had

to take care of. He had surpassed everyone’s expectation after
achieving the Initial Completion. Besides Ai Hui, Duanmu
Huanghun had also improved drastically. Even Shi Xueman was
pressured by the vast improvement from Duanmu Huanghun.

Duanmu Huanghun was now ranked number three in the

troops, after Ai Hui and Shi Xueman.

There was a reason why the Eight Palaces Completion was a

watershed point to being an elementalist. Once the Eight
Palaces Initial Completion was formed, the barrier between the
elementalist and the sky and earth elemental energy would be
broken. Huge amounts of sky and earth elemental energy would
enter the body and refine it. As a result, the body of the
elementalist would improve by a large margin.
 However, the largest change did not occur in their physical
bodies; rather, it was the effectiveness of the elemental energy
training. The efficiency was tremendously improved.

The elementalist and the elemental energy from heaven and

earth would be more closely connected. The efficiency of
elemental energy absorption would also increase tremendously.

As such, elementalists achieving the elemental

internalization, commonly referred to as Supporting the Eight
Palaces. In this phase, the main task of the elementalist was to
constantly expand the eight palaces using the large amount of
elemental energy. This in turn would also allow them to store
more elemental energy.

Following the expansion of the eight palaces, they would

gradually merge into one and the elementalist’s body would
mostly run on elemental energy. This was also the time to refine
their palaces and transform their residences in order to enter
the next phase: elemental externalization.

Duanmu Huanghun’s eight palaces were expanding at an

astonishing speed. He was also more sensitive towards
elemental energy. It was extremely useful to Duanmu
Huanghun’s [Viridescent Flower]. He was practically improving
everyday.

Compared to Duanmu Huanghun, Shi Xueman’s

improvement was slower; however, she was not worried as she
knew the reason why.

She was the first to recover among the group. From the start,
she had closely followed Ai Hui’s situation. Ai Hui’s standing in
their team was important enough for her to pay such close
attention.

Shi Xueman suddenly became fixated. Duanmu Huanghun,

who was standing next to her, also stood up straight
unconsciously. The rest of the students also soon realized the
situation.

After brandishing his sword for more than twelve consecutive

hours, there were finally some changes to Ai Hui’s sword
moves.
Chapter 229: Opening the Palace Door
For the past 20 hours, Ai Hui had been immersed in his
training, but his sword moves were clumsy. At times, he did not
complete his moves or lost control of his strength and
committed all kinds of mistakes. He could practically write a
book < A Complete Collection of Swordplay Mistakes >.

Ai Hui’s movements were awkward and full of errors. It was

difficult for people to associate him with his nickname "The
Lightning Blade."

Shi Xueman and the rest were used to it however. There were
always all sorts of quirks when it came to Ai Hui.

This was not the first time and would not be the last.

While everyone was fully aware of Ai Hui’s abilities and valor,

it was a little difficult for them to endure seeing such a clumsy
swordplay as time went by. Even if they knew that a main
course would definitely be delicious, it would be an unpleasant
experience if they had to first eat terrible tasting appetizers one
after another.
 Everyone became alert when a faint light ray started to gather
on the longsword in Ai Hui’s hand.

They were filled with anticipation since Ai Hui’s swordplay

was outstanding and often breathtaking.

What no one expected was for Ai Hui’s sword moves to remain

disjointed in spite of the flickering sword ray. It was a tragic
sight.

"What is he trying to do?" Duanmu snorted.

Even if the person executing such clumsy swordplay was the

person he wanted to defeat, wasting so much time watching it
was unacceptable!

Even without looking at Duanmu Huanghun, Shi Xueman

remarked, "You can’t beat him anyway."

Duanmu Huanghun’s body stiffened, as if an immobilization

spell had been casted on him.
 A few minutes passed before he gradually turned his head
around, his facial muscles twitching and eyes shooting flames.

"Wanna fight?"

Shi Xueman’s icy words woke Duanmu Huanghun up, as if

he’d been hit by a basin of ice cold water. Fighting with Ai Hui
did not scare him at all. Instead, he looked forward to it very
much.

But to fight with Shi Xueman…

Duanmu Huanghun trembled at that thought, and his

childhood trauma returned to him instantly like an enveloping
black cloud. He had seen with his own eyes how Shi Xueman
made the bigger brothers and sisters wail and howl. This had
also fueled his determination to succeed.

This childhood trauma was really a bit too overwhelming…

Duanmu Huanghun groaned a little before turning his head

back.
 Don’t be fooled by his recent progress. He was still meek when
it came to confronting Shi Xueman. Losing to Ai Hui was not a
big deal because it would just feed his fighting spirit.

But losing to Shi Xueman…

That nightmarish scene would trigger his childhood trauma.

It would be too terrifying.

Ai Hui’s nickname for her, "Violent Iron Lady," was simply an

understatement!

Humph, I shall not bother with women!

Duanmu Huanghun looked down, half-embarrassed and half-

ashamed.

Ai Hui’s eight palaces were incessantly being filled with

"sword pills." Elemental energy pills shaped like sword pills
continued spinning at high speeds and were suspended within
the elemental energy palaces. Plus, Ai Hui found another benefit
of the elemental energy pills–they were more precise compared
to the wisps and threads of elemental energy he used in the past.
This was a huge advantage in battles and was especially suited
for Ai Hui’s [Big Dipper].

[Big Dipper] required seven identical amount of elemental

energy, which was why it was a very challenging skill. Ai Hui
had to simultaneously control seven palaces and accurately
guide seven identical amount of elemental energy within an
extremely short period of time and while in combat. This was a
very demanding task for elementalists.

It was much easier now since Ai Hui only needed his seven
palaces to control one elemental energy pill.

Ai Hui paid even more attention when he was "rolling the

sword pill," ensuring that each elemental energy pills was
identical.

This caused Ai Hui’s rolling speed to reduce, but he felt it was

very much worth it. Preparation work that could help in battle
ought to be done no matter how complicated and tedious.

A short battle determined life and death, and preparation

work consumed time and energy, but one must survive to have
time and energy.
 It took Ai Hui a whole 12 hours to get sufficient elemental
energy, roll them into elemental energy pills and place them
within his eight palaces. As the amount of uncontrollable
elemental energy within his body decreased, Ai Hui’s sword ray
became brighter and clearer.

When the last elemental energy pill entered his sky palace, Ai
Hui’s body jerked.

Eight palaces shook at the same time and the high-speed

spinning elemental energy pills suddenly froze. The next
moment, a violent surge of elemental energy current flowed
backward from between Ai Hui’s brows.

Something rumbled in Ai Hui’s head, causing his mind to

blank out.

Just then, everyone saw a ray of light lighting up from

between Ai Hui’s brows. The dazzling light transformed into a
whirlpool of light as countless wisps and threads of brightly-
colored rays seemed to get sucked into it from thin air.

"Sky palace?"
 Shi Xueman was stunned.

Not just her, but Duanmu Huanghun, who was about to leave,
was stunned too.

When eight palaces advanced from Initial Completion stage

and attaining elemental internalization, elementalists would be
able to sense the elemental energy of heaven and earth as well as
guide it into the body. This process was known as [Opening of
Palace Door], and each palace opened a different kind of palace
door.

Generally speaking, opening palace doors were for

elementalists’ strongest palaces since the most tempered
elemental energy palace had the keenest reaction to heaven and
earth elemental energy. Furthermore, this was directly related
to the inherited training methods.

For example, Shi Xueman opened the sea palace’s palace door
because she practiced the [Cloud Whale] techinque and mainly
trained her sea palace. As such, her spear skills were powerful,
while her elemental energy was mild and soft.

Duanmu Huanghun practiced the [Viridescent Flower], but

trained mainly his gate palace. The gate palace linked
everything between heaven and earth. As such, the [Viridescent
Flower] technique was named after its flexibility.

Ai Hui opened the sky palace’s place door.

Opening the sky palace was not that bizarre. A lot of inherited
absolute arts, such as the famous [Eyebrow Heart Knife],
focused on training the sky palace.

But Ai Hui practiced the [Big Dipper].

At the moment, people were still clicking their tongues in

wonder since the [Big Dipper] demanded a lot from the
practitioner. Seven strong palaces were required, and it was
only now that they realized Ai Hui had seven strong palaces.
Other than his sky palace, the rest were strong. They felt that
while Ai Hui had low affinity with elemental energy, he had a
rather rare constitution for possessing seven strong palaces.

In Ai Hui’s hands, the [Big Dipper] was a formidable power

that lived up to its fame and glory.
 If Ai Hui had opened a palace door from one of his strong
palaces, it would not be surprising or strange, yet it happened to
be his sky palace that opened.

Could it be that Ai Hui’s sky palace had undergone more

tempering than the rest?

Everyone was confused, but not many were surprised when Ai

Hui broke through Initial Completion to elemental
internalization. The astonishing lightning version of [Dust Fall]
displayed during the battle on the long street had already
convinced everybody that Ai Hui was beyond ordinary
elementalists, so it would not be surprising for him to also open
his palace door.

The light whirlpool between Ai Hui’s brows continued

swallowing the elemental energy that surged out from the air.
Simultaneously, there were wisps of brightly-colored elemental
energy dispersing from Ai Hui’s surroundings. These were
elemental energies that Ai Hui was unable to absorb.

Ai Hui gradually recovered himself.

The steady flow of elemental energy was heterogeneous, so it

was very uncomfortable for him when all of it entered his body.
Just by willing it in his mind, the elemental energy from his
eight palaces automatically started the Circulatory Cycle
Revolution.

The elemental energy pills, lustrous as pearl and jade,

circulated within his body.

It felt different from before. Elemental energy used to feel like

flowing liquid, but after becoming elemental energy pills, they
became more agile. This required Ai Hui to have better control
so he had to be even more alert. Previously, he did not have to
worry about the fluid elemental energy getting clogged when he
was performing the Circulatory Cycle Revolution, but now, if
the elemental energy pills moved in a swarm, blockages were
very possible.

Ai Hui did not mind in the least. Placed alongside its benefits,
the costs were not worth mentioning.

As the Circulatory Cycle Revolution continued, wisps of

elemental energy were absorbed by the operating elemental
energy pills. They followed the pills in the circulation, as if they
had smelled a similar odor.
 Ai Hui quickly took this opportunity to roll this elemental
energy into pills since he needed them.

Those that he did not require were dispersed from around his
body.

Ai Hui’s Circulatory Cycle Revolution was different from

anyone else’s. Not only was his circulation for eight palaces, it
was also for the sword in his hand.

Wholeheartedly rolling elemental energy pills, Ai Hui did not

notice that following the circulation, the elemental energy pills
entered his sword before flowing back into his body.

Each elemental energy pill contained sword aura. Ai Hui used

the sword pill method to roll the elemental energy into pills, but
the sword aura did not weaken because of this. Instead, it was
more controlled than that of the original elemental energy
swords.

The elemental energy pills passed through the longsword

during the revolution, causing it to tremble very slightly.
 The longsword was quietly undergoing changes.

Ai Hui sensed the longsword’s change 10 minutes later. The

sword aura within the elemental energy pills agitated the
longsword nonstop. Now, Ai Hui had a keen comprehension of
the sword, achieving unprecedented progress.

Perhaps the elemental energy pills were beneficial to the

longsword?

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. Wanting to inspect the changes, he turned

his attention to the longsword in his hand.

The sword aura in the elemental energy pills kept stimulating

the longsword, and Ai Hui felt the sword becoming increasingly
sharp, so sharp that it could cut open anything. Yet, there was
an indescribable, incorporeal obstruction.

Ai Hui instinctively disliked this layer of obstruction. He

knew not what it was, but felt that it restricted the sword.

What to do?
 Suddenly it clicked. Since the elemental energy pills could
stimulate the longsword, just increase the intensity!

He sped up the circulation of the elemental energy pills within

his body.

Ai Hui was pleasantly surprised to discover that following an

increase in speed of circulation of the elemental energy pills, the
obstructive layer became thinner.

All of a sudden, Ai Hui felt his hands becoming light as that

invisible obstruction disappeared.

Boom, Ai Hui’s mind shook.

While those present were still processing the strange fact that
Ai Hui was opening his sky palace’s palace door, a brilliant ray
lit up and suddenly caught their eyes once again.

They raised their head automatically and were dumbfounded

upon digesting the situation.
 The light ray from Ai Hui’s longsword continued to grow as
the bright silver light transformed into a light whirlpool.

Everyone felt a great sense of familiarity toward the next

scene.

The wisps of brightly-colored lights surged up from thin air

and incessantly entered the silver light whirlpool.

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes were about to drop onto the floor.

A longsword… opening a palace door?

Seeing that the light whirlpool on the longsword was the same
as the one between Ai Hui’s brows and that both were absorbing
the heaven and earth elemental energy simultaneously,
everyone was struck dumb.

When it came to opening a palace door, no one had even heard

of simultaneously opening two of them. Needless to say, no one
knew that a sword could open a palace door as well…
 The silver light from the longsword and from between Ai
Hui’s brows shone so brightly that it illuminated each and every
stunned face of those present.

Even Lou Lan revealed a lifeless gaze, which was rare.

Not a single voice could be heard in the training hall.

Chapter 230: The Remaining Problems
It had not occurred to Ai Hui that the longsword in his hand
could actually absorb heaven and earth elemental energy.

However, he had no time to care about this now. He was

engrossed in the thrill of reaching the Inner Element level. That
enveloping, incorporeal barrier had suddenly disappeared, and
he felt indescribably relaxed.

A whole new world presented itself in front of him.

The dark, ice-cold elemental energy world was now fresh and
lively. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Agile, warm, lively, ever-
changing, and full of vitality. They were so richly colorful and
brought endless changes,

Ai Hui was like an ignorant youth who had just barged his way
into a multi-colored, multi-faceted forest and saw the sunlight,
dewdrops, and countless lifeforms.

He was moved beyond words.

 The brightly-colored elemental energy was incomparably
attractive and had firmly captured Ai Hui’s heart.

At that moment, he had forgotten about battling and killing.

He was like a curious young man, lingering and losing himself
amid these five mutable elemental energies.

It was hard to mull things over because the changes were too
rapid.

What attracted Ai Hui the most were the five delicate

elemental rings. Each was connected head to tail, like perfect
color rings. Each elemental ring was different, yet equally
captivating. Their circulatory changes were endless.

The heaven and earth elemental energy was like a vast,

boundless ocean. It rippled and drifted. Breathtakingly dazzling,
these fine circulations were like pearls spread throughout the
ocean.

Ai Hui relished this moment, feeling the energy so clearly for

the first time
 It was a completely different experience from that of the
sword embryo. The latter was a state of absolute calm and free
from emotions, as if in his eyes, there was no life and death in
heaven or on earth. Now, he was like a wistful fellow, able to
deeply feel the exquisite changes occurring within the elemental
energy and sense the faintly discernable, yet omnipresent
breath of life.

With a pensive look on his face, Ai Hui figured that it was

probably this breath of life that produced the diverse Avalon of
Five Elements.

Amid the vast ocean of elemental energy, Ai Hui also noticed a

familiar odor. The specks of silver light were like fragmented
and scattered stars. They were metal elemental energies.

He could feel the metal elemental energy-rich ground beneath

his feet, but this elemental energy was so substantial and heavy
that stepping on top made him feel so small and insignificant.

The elemental energy cleansed his body without interruption

as he felt his body change. The metal elemental energy poured
into his lungs and they became like strong and tough bellows
made from metal membranes. Each expansion and contraction
brought abundant vitality and powerful breaths. The wood
elemental energy entered his liver and thriving life force
flooded every single part of his body. The fire elemental energy
filled his his heart, making each heartbeat warm and powerful
like a smelting furnace as well as providing it with limitless
force. Voluminous water elemental energy permeated his
kidneys like a sudden convergence of cloud-mist from all
different directions, producing quiet raindrops that nourished
all living things.

Change was so magical! Ai Hui exclaimed in admiration,

deeply moved by the mystical creator of it all.

The influx of heaven and earth elemental energy would not

cause immediate changes to his body, but with consistent
nourishment and time, his body would undergo an all-around
improvement.

It was also at this time that Ai Hui finally understood why few
would engage in body tempering before achieving Initial
Completion.

After Initial Completion, the nourishment brought by the

heaven and earth elemental energy into an elementalist’s body
was holistic. Tempering on this basis would then produce twice
the result with half the work. Plus, the elementalist would be
more sensitive to elemental energy after Initial Completion,
enhancing the effect of tempering.

Ai Hui was engrossed in the beauty of it all when he suddenly

sensed that something was amiss.

The longsword in his hand.

The fact that it could absorb the heaven and earth elemental
energy was shocking, but he had not had time to notice since he
was too absorbed in the moment. He immediately roused when
the longsword started to show precarious signs.

When Ai Hui placed his attention back on the longsword, he

instantly sensed trouble.

This longsword was thrown to him by Shi Xueman. It was the

most ordinary and standard kind of longsword. Heaven and
earth elemental energy poured into the longsword violently and
incessantly, quickly exceeding the sword’s endurance level. A
crack started to appear on the sword surface and the clear,
bright light ray penetrated through it.
 More and more cracks surfaced.

Ai Hui’s heart sank. This was the crucial moment of

advancement. During a breakthrough, one could feel many
subtle, wonderful things that were usually difficult to detect. It
was a rare opportunity.

Who knew that the longsword would not be able to handle the
energy flow at this critical juncture.

Damn it!

Even Ai Hui, who was usually a calm fellow, felt like cursing
now. He had thought that it was a good thing for the longsword
to open the palace door but who would have thought…

The number of cracks increased, and in the blink of an eye,

the sword body was filled with dense fissures.

Not good!

The longsword in Ai Hui’s hand exploded before he could even

cry out in alarm.

In a flash, the longsword was ripped apart by the violent surge

of elemental energy. The burst of elemental energy swallowed
the shattered pieces, turning them into fine powder before they
could even disperse.

Ai Hui’s body jerked. The light whirlpool in between his

brows dimmed, but carried an indescribable familiarity, causing
him to stare blankly.

It was as if his mind had sprinted over a vast area of light,

flown far away in the blink of an eye, withdrawn, and
disappeared like lightning before fully experiencing everything.

Ai Hui’s eyes opened wide as he realized that that

indescribable familiarity felt a little like the sword embryo’s
explosion, just much lighter and shorter.

So short that he could not even react in time.

He did not know why, but during that short moment, his
mind felt something. Unfortunately, that scene flashed past his
head like lightning and left only fuzziness.

It was as if underground…

Ai Hui snapped out of it. Perhaps blood fiends wanted to

infiltrate Central Pine city from underground, but he did not
worry too much about it. While Central Pine City was not able
to prevent blood fiends from encroaching from underground,
the tight security would still be able to detect the first signs of
danger.

He was only concerned about himself right now.

Only a bare sword hilt remained in his hand. The worst thing
was that his moment of enlightenment had been disrupted.

Everyone, not just Ai Hui, was startled by this sudden change

of events. They were still shaken by the fact that Ai Hui’s sword
could open a palace door, but in the next moment, it exploded.

For a moment, all were in a daze.

 Ai Hui reacted the fastest. Although he was annoyed, he
checked his body immediately. This was partly due to his
experience, since his training had always been rough and
situations always emerged. Many things, such as the sword
embryo, had been created carelessly and by chance.

To him, having all kinds of situations surface from training

were common occurrences.

He was still able to keep calm in the face of problems.

Shi Xueman and the rest were nervous. Being disrupted when
undergoing a breakthrough had consequences. If lucky, there
would simply be no breakthrough, but if unfortunate, one could
get severely injured. Right now, having placed all their faith in
Ai Hui, everyone wished that they were the ones who failed
instead of Ai Hui.

Ai Hui’s role was not replaceable. What they really hoped for
was an intact and unharmed Ai Hui.

No one dared to even exhale, for fear of disturbing Ai Hui.

 The atmosphere turned heavy and stifling.

Ai Hui opened his eyes after a while.

"How is it?" Shi Xueman could not help but ask, her eyes filled
with concern.

Ai Hui noticed the worry in Shi Xueman’s eyes and his heart
warmed up a little. Iron lady was being petty for not paying him
the money, but she was actually a decent person. He nodded his
head. "Still okay."

Still okay?

Shi Xueman stared blankly for a little while before expressing

her discontentment. "What does that mean?"

"Still okay, meaning the result isn’t too bad." Ai Hui noticed
that Shi Xueman’s eye was twitching. As if he had seen her
steely muscles throbbing under the armor, Ai Hui was startled
and added quickly, "It’s more complicated. Simply speaking,
Initial Completion was a success. There is an increase in
elemental energy and it is mostly all sorted out, but there are
many remaining problems with my body."

Shi Xueman felt a little more at ease, but was still curious.
"Remaining problems?"

Just then, Ai Hui’s right arm spasmed uncontrollably. This

sudden change shocked everyone present, including Shi
Xueman.

"Look," Ai Hui didn’t seem to mind as he said with a calm

expression, "the remaining lightning within my body flares up
intermittently."

In response for scaring him with her twitching eyes, Ai Hui

decided to return the favor. "I am "The Lightning Blade," how
can I not carry electricity? You’d better stay far away from me,
Iron Lady. Steel conducts electricity so don’t blame me if you
get electrocuted."

Shi Xueman’s eye started twitching again. Steel… but she

endured. Focus on the greater situation!

She continued, "Any methods to remove it? Any other issues?"

 "As for the remaining lightning, so far no. No big issues." Ai
Hui saw Shi Xueman’s face darken and quickly added, "There’s
something wrong with my sky palace, hand palaces, sea palace,
and elemental energy."

"You call that ‘no big issues?’" Shi Xueman glared at him, as if
she saw a ghost. "There’s something wrong with four out of
eight palaces and you’re telling me there’s no big issues?
Something also went wrong with your elemental energy. Is
there anything worse than this? Body as well. Any other parts of
your body with no issue?"

She simply could not understand. Each problem seemed

extremely serious to her. This fellow was usually exceptionally
calm and cautious, so why was he acting so thoughtlessly right
now?

Everyone was dumbstruck. They did not expect Ai Hui’s body

to be hit with so many problems. He was badly damaged.

"Now that you mention it, it does seem pretty serious." Ai Hui
smiled meekly. "Actually it’s not that severe."

He really did think that it was not serious. For example, his
hand palaces, sea palace, and body problems were related to the
remnant lightning. The problem with his elemental energy was
that the elemental energy pills had not been tested, so the result
was unknown. Finally, the sky palace’s issue was related to the
sword embryo’s remaining motions.

As compared to when he just woke up, his battle strength had

recovered significantly. Things were taking a turn for the
better.

Throughout his training journey and experience, he had had

to deal with even more challenging issues, so this was not a big
deal to him.

Things were really much better now that he was more

knowledgeable. Plus, he was starting to understand a rough idea
of the ongoing events.

Just then, a mournful-sounding alarm went off from far

away.

The flash of fuzziness from before came back to him.

 The blood fiends were indeed invading the city. He felt
slightly at ease since the alarms sounded.

Soon, however, his pupils constricted. A bright red signal

rocketed up and across the black sky.

Someone was asking for assistance!

Chapter 231: Sandworms
The sudden distress signal surprised everyone.

As the fighting continued, people in Central Pine City began to

know more about the blood fiends and became more tactful
when fighting with them. The ferocious and dangerous blood
fiends were gradually losing their advantages. People now knew
how to separate the blood fiends, how to cooperate with each
other, and how to identify weaknesses.

Human beings were good at learning and summarizing, a

feature that was fully displayed in Central Pine City. As long as
they found the weakness of a kind of blood fiends, the Mayor’s
residence would announce it to the whole city. Meanwhile, the
method to deal with the blood poison spatter was also found,
which had saved many lives.

The blood crystals of the blood fiends were gifts of the war.
Many elementalists had largely improved their ability after
using the blood crystal. Whether clever or stupid, everyone
knew that only stronger people were likely to survive.

The situation in Central Pine City became more and more

steady.
 The quick increase of the elementalists’ fighting skills made it
easier for them to deal with blood fiends. Therefore, it was now
rare to see urgent distress signals. Even if an elementalist met
with a relatively ferocious blood fiend, he would call the
companions nearby for help and carry out the tactics of a "wolf
pack."

Now, some bold elementalists were even beginning to set baits

and traps to obtain blood crystals.

On the other hand, there was a big difference between a

distress signal and an urgent distress signal. The latter only
appeared in times of emergency. The issuance of an urgent
distress signal meant that the fight was out of control and every
second counted.

Without hesitation, Shi Xueman grabbed her spear and asked

calmly, "Who still has the strength?" There was firmness in her
starry eyes.

Many students stepped forward. Shi Xueman was prestigious

in the team, and almost everyone else in the team had been
helped or saved by her. When she asked, all students responded.
 "Me!"

"And me!"

...

Shi Xueman did not hesitate. She chose more than 10 people
and said, "Follow me. Everyone else, please stay on guard and be
alert."

Those who were chosen walked to the side of Shi Xueman.

They were very calm. None of them panicked.

Jiang Wei immediately started to arrange sentries and lookout

posts.

Shi Xueman turned to Ai Hui and said coldly, "Take care of

yourself."

She gave Ai Hui a deep glance, then left with the students.
Moving quickly, she soon disappeared in the darkness.
 Ai Hui dumbly watched Shi Xueman’s back. The capability
and skillfulness Shi Xueman had shown was out of his
expectation. Compared with what she was like at the beginning
of the blood disaster, she was now a totally different person.

Then, Ai Hui realized something, and could not help laughing

at himself: who wasn’t?

Even Fatty’s attitude toward training was far more serious

than before.

Duanmu Huanghun was also with Shi Xueman, which made

Ai Hui more relieved. They were both talents. While their level
was not high enough, their fighting skills were already on par
with the average elementalists. Furthermore, their levels had
been largely improved in battle.

In the Avalon of the Five Elements, a really powerful and

experienced fighter could not be replaced by a dozen average
fighters. Likewise, in Central Pine City, the capability of all the
elementalists added up together could not be compared to that
of a single master in a real battle.

That was why people had high hopes for Ai Hui.

 In addition to Ai Hui, all the other students were relieved too.
They were busy with their own matters. Some were engaged in
training, some were lost in thought, and the rest were
discussing and learning from each other in groups. They were
already used to fighting like veterans.

Ai Hui contemplated how to solve his own "problem."

When Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun arrived, many

elementalists were already there.

"This is where we killed the blood-traced earthworm," one

student said, but no one seemed to hear what he said.

Their eyes were fixed on the scene, and all of them were
dumbstruck by what they saw.

The solid ground was now like quicksand, with a huge vortex
slowly rotating in the middle. In the sand, something seemed to
be moving. The debris of the nearby ruins was continuously
drawn into the vortex and ground into sand.

The diameter of the vortex was more than 100 meters. Such a
large vortex visual impacted everyone present.

What was more shocking was that it kept growing larger by

devouring the ground adjacent to the area.

The other elementalists were also stunned and frightened.

Shi Xueman was the first to react. She asked loudly, "Who
sent the signal?"

"It was us."

Some elementalists recognized Shi Xueman and they all came

forward.

Currently, the A-1 Unit was the most powerful team in Central
Pine City, so the main members were well known to everyone.

Shi Xueman breathed deeply to calm down, then asked, "How

did you find it?"
 "We heard the alarm of the recumbent parasol bell. When we
arrived, we found that there seemed to be something in the
hole, so we immediately attacked the hole, but it didn’t help.
Then, the ground became as soft as a dough, and a small vortex
appeared…"

Shi Xueman interrupted without hesitation, "How large was

it?"

"The diameter was only about 20 meters." There was still fear
on these elementalists’ faces. "We attacked the vortex, but it
was of no use either. The vortex kept growing at a fast speed.
There was nothing we could do but ask for help."

"How long did it take to grow from 20 meters to what it is

now?" Shi Xueman asked.

"About 10 minutes."

Shi Xueman was calm. Within only 10 minutes, it grew from

20 meters to 100 meters with no sign of stopping. Her gaze was
fixed on the rotating sand vortex, as if she wanted to see what
on earth was in it.
 Suddenly, she noticed something moving in the sand,
something small.

She turned to Duanmu Huanghun and asked, "Can you get one
out?"

Duanmu Huanghun nodded without saying a word. His face

was solemn. He could feel strong earth elemental energy from
the sand vortex and also wondered what the tiny things in it
were.

His fingers stretched like blooming flowers. The others could

only see a blurred streak in the air that had an unspeakable
rhythm.

Above the vortex, a green twined vine abruptly appeared out

of nowhere and pierced into the vortex.

Then, it stretched taut under the strain. Just when everyone

worried that the vine would snap, it contracted and pulled a
struggling, tightly tied up worm out of the sand and into the air.

When they saw clearly what it was, everyone’s expression

changed.

"Sandworm!"

The sandworm was as large as a palm. Its flat body consisted

of many segmented limbs that allowed it to twist freely.
Sandworms were horrible social creatures. Their flat bodies
were rigid like an iron spring leaf and could vibrate at a certain
frequency. When tens of thousands or more sandworms
vibrated together, the ground would fragment and be ground
down to sand and dust.

They could move easily in the sand.

Sandworms were horrible predators, but their method of

hunting was different from other beasts. The desertification of
the soil and stones could make everything in the area, including
plants and beasts, their food.

These sandworms were dark red, a sign of blood poison

infection.

Sandworms seldom appeared above ground, because they

disliked the light. Though there was less abundant food
compared to above, their territory was usually underground
where there was no light.

Shi Xueman looked morose. The time when sandworms were

most likely to appear was the evening.

And it was now the evening.

The vortex continued growing. Its diameter currently

exceeded 100 meters.

The sandworm tied up by the twined vine squeaked.

Suddenly, a streak of sand shot out from the vortex like a speedy
tongue and precisely struck the sandworm suspended in the air.

Duanmu Huanghun shivered as the twined vine broke. The

sandworm disappeared.

Everyone was dumbstruck once more. Fear appeared on their

faces.
 The sandworms were experts on controlling the earth. They
were large in quantity, and nothing in the quicksand could
threaten them. That was why they were all worried when they
saw the sandworm.

The vortex grew larger and larger, but no one had any idea
how to deal with it.

The quicksand that slowly churned was the best protection

for the worms. It would be extremely hard to strike through the
thick sand and hit the sandworms hiding beneath.

Shi Xueman was worried. The appearance of the sandworms

was very odd. They typically lived more than 2,000 meters
under the ground and seldom surfaced.

Now, however, they appeared in Central Pine City. She did

not believe it was only a coincidence.

She did not know why, but she was worried.

The sandworms had to be stopped, otherwise all of Central

Pine City would be turned into quicksand. By then, they would
have nowhere to hide.

Sandworms had almost no natural enemies, but this

excludedhuman beings of course. Human beings had already
studied these horrible creatures. There were many useful
resources underground, but sandworms could devour them all.
Therefore, in the eyes of elementalists, they were undoubtedly
pests.

The Shi family also had relevant records, which Shi Xueman
still remembered.

The Cirrus in her hand scattered and turned into a cloud of

mist. It floated above the vortex and attracted the clouds in the
sky from all directions.

Shortly, the cloud above the quicksand became very heavy,

like a ball of cotton that was saturated with water.

More and more mist merged into the cloud.

Whoosh.
 Finally, liquid poured from the cloud like a waterfall.

The water flowed into the sand, and the ground immediately
turned into sludge, slowing the rotational speed of the vortex.

The sandworms sensed danger and moved in a frenzy, but no

matter how they moved, they could only cause the mud to
ripple without stopping the flow of water. Instead, it
accelerated the permeation of the water into the sand.

Shi Xueman clearly remembered that sand worms loved

dryness and disliked wet environments.

The water from the cloud continued to flow into the sand
vortex which had now become a quagmire.

The sandworms could move flexibly in the quicksand, but in

the sludge, they currently could hardly move or breathe. Soon,
many sandworms suffocated to death, and the rest hastily
burrowed their way deep under the ground, but the water
flowed into the routes they drilled and permeated deeper.

The dry sand soon turned to sludge and became softer and
muddier.

People around the mire began to cheer delightfully. No one

thought the horrible sandworms could be killed so easily.

Everyone looked at Shi Xueman in admiration.

To their surprise, they found Shi Xueman’s face was

extremely pale, and her eyes were filled with fear.
Chapter 232: Fatty’s Confidence
Ai Hui had some ideas about his own body.

Previously, his sky palace always went astray because of the

existence of the sword embryo. As a result, although it had
absorbed abundant elemental energy, he could not reach Initial
Completion. After the sword embryo exploded, although the sky
palace was still left with fluctuations, there were no obstacles
any more, and Ai Hui naturally achieved the breakthrough.

As for the elemental energy pills, it was more a problem of

habit.

The rotation of the elemental pills was very smooth, which

meant that this procedure was feasible. Ai Hui did not know if
anyone had ever derived the essence of how the sword pills
functioned, but he knew that it was a common form. For
example, the elemental energy bead was also in this form.

An inheritance named the [Starry Sky] required the

practitioner to coagulate his or her elemental energy into the
form of a bead.
 After the formation of Ai Hui’s elemental energy pillls, the
traces of sword energy contained in the elemental energy were
restrained, and its stimulation of the palaces sharply weakened.
The pills were more effective than he expected because the
elemental energy was milder, or to be more accurate, more
stable than spiritual force.

Previously, he thought that spiritual force was far more

powerful than elemental energy, but now he had some new
understandings. In some aspects, elemental energy was indeed
inferior to spiritual force, but it also had its own advantages
that spiritual force could not provide.

For example, the changes of the five residences and eight

palaces were not as flexible and varied as the cultivators’
meridians system, but it was simpler, stabler, and sturdy.

Compared with spiritual force training, which was dangerous

and unpredictable, elemental energy training was much safer.
So far, due to the existence of the sword embryo, the elemental
energy within Ai Hui’s body had changed many times, but he
was still in perfect condition.

Taking a look at the swordplay manuals and spells from the

Cultivation Era, even for the cultivators from big sects that were
known for their purity and righteousness, any carelessness in
training was likely to lead them astray and cause to go crazy.
The training of the sword embryo was even more dangerous. As
for blood arts training, it was simply seeking life in the midst of
death.

Everyone in the Avalon of the Five Elements was training.

Even though resources were limited, as long as they were
persistent, their ability could gradually increase.

In comparison to spiritual force, elemental energy was simple,

safe, and easy to train or use. Everyone could train with a very
slim chance of deviating.

The Avalon of the Five Elements was created in a hopeless

situation. Maybe such simple and safe energy was what they
needed at that time.

The reason why the elemental energy system was inferior to

the spiritual force system was not because of its outdated
ideology, but due to its lack of accumulation. Elemental energy
was like fertile soil. After a certain period of time, it could also
produce fruitful harvests.
 For no particular reason, Ai Hui thought of the Old Territory.
It was a pity that few people in the Old Territory practiced
elemental energy.

"Fatty, let’s practice fighting." Ai Hui waved to Fatty.

Hearing Ai Hui’s words, Fatty ran to him without hesitation.

He had a heavy shield in his hand that was taller than him. The
shield was colorful, as if it had been patched up many times.
The shield he used to use was destroyed, and this one was
scrapped together with a shield he picked up somewhere.

Lou Lan’s skill was always trustworthy. Although it did not

look appealing, it was secure enough.

Heavy shield, heavy armor, heavy Fatty. When he ran, he was

like a mobile mountain and the ground rumbled.

"A Hui, no problem," Fatty agreed as he rolled his eyeballs,

"but as a saying goes: financial matters should be settled clearly
even between brothers. I can’t do this for free. I’ll be your
training partner, and the debt between us is cancelled, okay?"
 Ai Hui looked Fatty up and down in surprise. Then, he smiled
and said, "As long as you can stop me."

"No problem!" Fatty laughed. He thumped his chest and said

confidently, "How can I ask you for money if I cannot stop you!
You know I always remember the rules!"

He was of course confident. The rewards for the blood crystals

included inheritances. When Ai Hui was unconscious, everyone
else had just reached the Initial Completion stage and went to
the mayor’s residence to select inheritances that were suitable
for them.

A heavy shield bearer who had attained elemental

internalization was an important role in the team. To accelerate
Fatty’s progress, Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun specially
chose an inheritance that best suited Fatty and gave it to him.

Both of them had family inheritances, so these extra

inheritances were unnecessary for them, but they could help
Fatty progress faster.

Now Fatty owned three inheritances, the [Eternal Crucible],

[Spinning Carapax Shield], and [Red River Belt]. They were all
selected by Shi Xueman.

Shi Xueman was experienced and well-informed in this

aspect. No one knew which inheritances suited Fatty better than
she did.

The magistrate court was very generous this time. The

inheritances were all refined arts which could be sold for a good
price on the market.

There were various kinds of inheritances on the market which

could be roughly classified into four categories. The most
powerful one was undoubtedly the absolute art type, while the
next level were called the extraordinary arts, which referred to
an inheritance that had the potential to become an absolute art.
The third level were the refined arts. In this level, the
inheritances were unique with a degree of excellence. Lastly, the
fourth level were the most common inheritances and named as
ordinary arts.

In each level, the inheritances were further classified into two

classes, A or B.

The classification of each inheritance had to be evaluated by

professionals in each and every aspect. The extraordinary and
absolute arts would be sent to the specialized ministry of the
Elders Guild for further evaluation and authentication.

To raise the level of one’s inheritances was another important

way to gain Heaven Merit Points.

Whoever was able to develop an extraordinary skill to an

absolute art would obtain a lot of Heaven Merit Points from the
Elders Guild, even though the new absolute art would not be
disclosed to the Elders Guild. The Elders hoped to encourage the
continuous development of all kinds of inheritances in this way.

If the developers were willing to sell such arts, they would

receive an amazing fortune. The Elders Guild and each major
family were all more than willing to purchase a brand new
absolute art.

Every year, many people became famous and wealthy by

augmenting inheritances into absolute arts. From this process,
many talented elementalists were attracted to and engaged in
arts development.

Ai Hui’s [Big Dipper], for example, was a B-class extraordinary

art. If he could develop it into an absolute art, even if it was still
B-class, the money he would earn would be enough for him to
spend for the rest of his life.

The gap between an extraordinary art and an absolute art

seemed small, but was in fact similar to an unbridgeable chasm.

The three inheritances Fatty received were all refined arts.

The [Eternal Crucible] was a body-tempering inheritance.

Once one began to practice it, his or her body became like a
crucible, with elemental energy like fire as well as blood and
flesh like iron that underwent tempering day and night. Even
without special training, the fire elemental energy within would
continuously temper the body.

The [Eternal Crucible] could enhance the physique of a fire

elementalist in an all-round way. It was simple, but also riddled
with many weaknesses. For example, it would take a very long
time to see its effects due to its slow process.

Just because of this weakness, it was only evaluated as a B-

class refined art.
 [Spinning Carapax Shield] was a shield-based inheritance that
all elementalists could practice. It enabled one to stand as firm
as a rock when attacked by eliminating the force of the attack
through spinning power.

Few elementalists preferred shield-based inheritances. Those

who did were usually known for their physical strength, but the
[Spinning Carapax Shield] required high technical skill.

It was also a B-class refined art.

Among the three inheritances, only the [Red River Belt] was a
A-class refined art. With this art, fire elementalists could form a
belt of fire like a floating red river that surrounded them, which
was how it got its name. As an A-class refined art, it had its
unique aspects. Apart from the damage it could inflict on its
enemies, the flame could also absorb the scattered elemental
energy from the enemies to strengthen itself.

The [Red River Belt] was a good weapon in protracted wars,

especially for shield bearers. Its value was more than the total
price of the [Eternal Crucible] and [Spinning Carapax Shield]
combined.
 If Fatty was left to his own devices, he would definitely have
selected the most expensive arts, but Shi Xueman chose these
three inheritances after careful consideration. She believed her
selections would instantly improve his fighting skills.

This was why Fatty was currently so confident.

The others heard the conversation and crowded around the

pair. This was Ai Hui’s first actual-combat training since he
woke up, so they were all very curious.

Fatty grabbed his heavy shield tightly and squared away. A

light red belt of fire floated around him. He shouted loudly,
"Come on!"

Sang Zhijun’s eyes lit up. Her family was important, although
not as well renowned as Shi Xueman’s family, and her horizons
were much broader than most.

It was not easy for Fatty to make so much progress within

such a limited period of time.

Ai hui borrowed a long sword from a student, tested it in his

hand, then stood in front of Fatty.

Although Fatty looked very confident just now and pretended

not to care at all, he was in fact treating the situation as if
confronted with a formidable enemy and totally hid himself
behind the shield.

Facing the human-shaped target, Ai Hui was not lenient at all.

His sword hit the heavy shield hard.

A spinning force came from the shield that twisted his sword.
Ai Hui murmured in surprise, "Really better than before!"

Fatty exclaimed lightly and did not dare to feel proud. Instead,
he focused harder.

With no more nonsense, Ai Hui stabbed out with the long

sword again and again.

They were all the simplest sword moves, such as the [Oblique
Slash] and [Misty Strike], but the speed was very swift. Bright
sword rays flashed through the air. In Ai Hui’s hand, these
simple sword moves sped up as the sword light strengthened..
 The unspeakable familiarity granted Ai Hui a feeling that each
stab was within his control. He knew this was because of his
deepened understanding of the sword. Still, he could not help
being intoxicated with this enjoyable feeling.

Ai Hui continuously adjusted each strike, and the power kept

elevating. While others could hardly detect it, Ai Hui could
clearly sense it himself.

The onlooking students were attracted by his sword moves.

They were simple, but natural and smooth.

Fatty could feel the difference. He felt the force on the shield
grow more and more difficult to offset. The force from each stab
was not powerful, but was extremely sharp, as if it was about to
pierce the shield.

Suddenly, Ai Hui’a arm tingled. With a weird convulsion, the

sword move became slack.

Ai Hui smiled bitterly. It was the lightning left in his body

that stimulated his blood and flesh, which led to his deformed
move. Fortunately, it was not a real battle, or he would be in
great danger.
 The numbness lasted only a minute, and Ai Hui soon
recovered.

After the warm-up, he had already become excited and

decided to try to use his elemental energy.

Ai Hui stabbed out again as before, but this time he wanted to

use the [Big Dipper]. He then concurrently activated his
elemental energy pills, and the seven pills set out
simultaneously.

His sword move suddenly slackened.

It turned out that he miscalculated the speed of the elemental

pills, which were much faster than that of the elemental energy
before.

Ai Hui tried again, but it was still slack. Again, the elemental
energy pills failed to synchronize.

Ai Hui stabbed more than 30 times and had consumed a lot of

elemental energy, but never once did he succeed. The elemental
pills rotated rapidly in his body, so even a small deviation would
lead to synchronization failure.

Fatty remained cautious. He knew he could never be too

careful in front of Ai Hui because he was fully aware of Ai Hui’s
ability.

The next instant Ai Hui stabbed out, his eyes lit up.

This was the first time that the elemental energy pills had
synchronized. Like seven shooting stars from seven directions,
they merged into the long sword in his hand at precisely the
same time.
Chapter 233: Take My Sword Attack
The instant the elemental energy pills merged into the long
sword, they suddenly stretched and transformed into sword
rays.

Ai Hui’s expression changed a little as he knew something had

gone wrong. Without any time to react, the long sword in his
hand exploded into pieces.

The others were scared by the sudden explosion. After a

while, Ai Hui remained standing still and had not moved at all.

"Are you okay, Ai Hui?" Jiang Wei asked.

"Yes," Ai Hui smiled bitterly, "I just can’t feel my body."

The explosion of the sword stimulated the lightning in his

body, which paralyzed his muscles. After tens of seconds, he
finally recovered from the numbness and could not help but
wonder why the sword exploded.

He borrowed another sword and tried again. Just like before,

the sword once again exploded into pieces.

Watching the swords explode one by one in Ai Hui’s hand, the

others were amazed.

"Ai Hui is not a sword user, he is sword eater!"

"What a sword-holic!"

"Sword-holic? … What do you mean?"

"We call those who like to eat sugar ‘sugar-holic’ and those
who love to drink alcohol ‘alco-holic’. Since Ai Hui loves to eat
swords, he should be called ‘sword-holic.’"

"Hahaha, okay then he is really a real ‘sword-holic.’"

"I’m really worried about the other swordsmen who will

confront Ai Hui one day."

"Why? Will they be defeated by Ai Hui?"

 "No, just think. The swordsman will shout ‘take my sword
attack’ and then… Ai Hui really ‘takes’ his sword—He eats it
up!"

"Hahaha…"

Hearing what they were talking about, Lou Lan was inspired.
He transformed into many tiny swords flying in the sky and
shouted, "Take my sword attack!"

Ai Hui was embarrassed to hear their jokes and Lou Lan’s

shout, but he still cleared his throat and asked, "Who else has a
sword?"

The others burst into laughter.

A student took the sword from his waist and threw it to Ai

Hui. He laughed and said, "Ai Hui, this is the last sword left. If
you eat this one, then there will be no more."

Ai Hui touched his nose embarrassedly. He had not expected

this either. The elemental energy pills were so difficult to
control that as long as they merged into the sword, the sword
would explode.

He knew this was because he had not really understood the

properties of the elemental energy pills, Additionally, the
swords he used just now were all ordinary ones that could not
bear the strong elemental energy.

It was indeed a problem. With the last sword in hand, Ai Hui

felt a bit awkward. Suddenly the stimulation to the lightning in
his body flared, and with a flash of inspiration,, he said, "Fatty,
this time you attack me, and I’ll defend."

"Me attack you?" Fatty was confused "With what?"

None of his inheritances were offensive. Hearing Ai Hui’s

request, Fatty did not know what to do.

"You can hit me with whatever you have." Ai Hui encouraged

him.

"Then let’s make it clear first. You cannot take revenge on me

if I really hit you." Fatty’s voice came from behind the shield.
 "I won’t!" Ai Hui said solemnly.

"Really?" Fatty still hesitated.

"Of course!" Ai Hui became impatient. "Will you attack me or

not?"

"Of course!" Fatty laughed. This was an aboveboard chance to

beat Ai Hui. How could he miss it? He breathed deeply, grabbed
the shield and smashed it hard at Ai Hui. Meanwhile, he
shouted, "Ai Hui, take my shield attack!"

Ai Hui narrowed his eyes. Fatty’s attack was not skillful, but it
was amazingly powerful with a ponderous whistle of wind.

The shield seemed heavier than before.

Ai Hui’s judgment was correct. Although the shield was ugly,

it was as heavy as 360 kilograms, which was twice the weight of
the destroyed shield Fatty used to use. After reaching the Initial
Completion stage, Fatty had advanced rapidly in physical
strength. He felt the new shield was even lighter than the old
one.
 The heavy equipment they had could not satisfy Fatty now.
Plus, the [Eternal Crucible] would further enhance his strength.

Ai Hui, on the contrary, had not seen obvious improvement to

his physical quality after achieving Initial Completion. He was
now more like a real elementalist, as the influence of elemental
energy on his fighting capacity was greater than before.

Ai Hui believed it was a good thing. As the elemental energy

system matured, it would make his training smoother.
Although the sword embryo was marvelous, by nature it was
not fully grounded. Ai Hui could barely attain higher
accomplishments, especially in an era when elemental energy
was dominant.

Once the strength reached a certain level, the power would be

beyond expectation.

Ai Hui had planned to withstand Fatty with the sword, but he

realized that a direct collision would definitely break the sword.

Fatty’s heavy shield was like a wall that blocked almost all the
directions Ai Hui could move. As a result, he had to lie down
and roll away awkwardly, narrowly dodging Fatty’s attack.
 Fatty immediately became excited!

Never once had he been able to make it so difficult for Ai Hui!

He was greatly invigorated and waved the heavy shield crazily

like a provoked ox. Sand and gravel were sent flying in the air
during the intense situation.

The onlookers had never seen Fatty so vigorous before and

were all dumbfounded.

Hearing the whistle of the wind, Sang Zhijun’s face turned

pale. Anyone who was hit, or even scaped by Fatty’s shield
would be severely injured, if not killed.

Ai Hui continued awkwardly dodging Fatty’s attacks.

Bang!

The ground quaked. Fatty’s heavy shield smashed against the

ground. Stones and bricks from the ground shattered into pieces
like biscuits and splashed like heavy rain.
 Ai Hui knew he had nowhere to hide, so he waved the sword
flexibly like a snake to protect himself.

The sword rays exploded in front of him, each ray accurately

hitting an airborne stone.

Tink, tink, tink!

Sparks flew about, and the sound of clashes could be heard

here and there.

Shrouded by sand and gravel, Ai Hui was as fast as wind.

Sparks veiled his figure like a waterfall.

Everyone was stunned. Ai Hui did not even use his elemental
energy. How could he be so strong with his sword?

Ai Hui stayed focused. The sword in his hand was like a part of
his body, and together they created a comfortable scene. As his
suppressed fighting intent finally broke out, he did not retreat,
but rushed forward as the sword rays lit up like stars. For the
onlooking students, it was really a feast for the eyes.
 Fatty growled in fury and suddenly lifted the heavy shield that
was stuck on the ground.

Ai Hui directly rushed at the shield that was coming toward

him with huge force. The students could not help but cry out in
shock. If Ai Hui really hit the shield, even if he did not die, he
would be severely wounded.

The shield came closer and closer, darkening Ai Hui’s vision.

He also knew how powerful the collision would be.

If Ai Hui was in his previous condition, he would undoubtedly

try to avoid the clash, but now that he was extremely eager to
fight, he did not try to dodge. Instead, his rushing speed soared
unexpectedly.

The instant that he was about to contact the shield, a cold

light flashed in his eyes, and the sword suddenly stabbed out.

A bright sword beam shot toward the shield at a weird angle.

When it was about five inches away from the shield, it exploded
silently and transformed into a soft and mild sword shower.
 艾辉身体一震,强大的冲击力让他的手掌几乎一麻,但是他依然咬牙控
制长剑.

The strong impact numbed his palm and agitated his body,
but he still held the sword tightly.

With the abstruse angle, the sword shower overcame the

hardness with its softness. Like ducks and drakes, Ai Hui flew
out near the surface of the shield.

When Ai Hui landed on the ground, screams and cheers

resounded behind. Fatty was dumbfounded and still did not
know what happened.

Ai Hui was also excited by the sword move.

He found himself unspeakably familiar with the sword now.

The move was just a flash of inspiration, but it turned out to be
perfect. Although the sword embryo had already disappeared,
the familiarity and comprehension of the sword had been
permanently left within him. This made it easier and faster for
him to study sword inheritances or practice sword moves.
 More surprisingly, the impact of the collision still made his
palm numb, but a tiny current of electricity was absorbed by his
right hand palace.

The lightning that remained in his body was the most urgent
problem to deal with. If he could not use his elemental energy,
at least he could run away, but muscular paralysis was too
dangerous. No matter he if was in a battle or running away, if
his muscles locked up, he would definitely be killed.

The lightning within his body was what caused this muscular
paralysis. If the lightning could not be eliminated, then it
seemed to be a good idea to lead it into his hand palaces and
earth palace.

This was because the lightning in these three palaces was very
stable.

Ai Hui was excited that there was finally a feasible solution.

He tried to calm himself down and carefully reflected on the
whole sequence that had just occurred. Collision. Powerful
collision. After the collision, his muscles lost control of the
lightning, which was liberated and absorbed by the right hand
palace.
 Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. He grasped the sword with his left hand
and jumped toward Fatty.

"Come on Fatty. Once again!"

The quicksand vortex had already become a sludge vortex. As

the water kept pouring in, it almost became a muddy water
pool. There were dead sandworms surfacing and floating on the
water from time to time. The elementalists cheered in
excitement.

Duanmu Huanghun was the first to notice Shi Xueman’s pale

face. Realizing that something went wrong, he asked, "What
happened?"

Shi Xueman was about to say something when the water level
suddenly began to decline. The water and suspended sediment
flushed down along the tunnel.

Muddy water flowed faster than quicksand, so the water level

of the pool was declining at a rapid rate. The rumbling sound of
water flowing into the tunnel could be heard from above the
ground.
 As the water level kept declining, a giant sinkhole appeared.

Without support, the edge of the sinkhole collapsed and fell

down, making the sinkhole larger and larger.

Everyone was stunned and frightened by the appearance of a

sinkhole which was more than 150 meters in diameter. The
sinkhole seemed bottomless, as if it led to hell.

Duanmu Huanghun’s expression changed. He finally knew

why Shi Xueman was so pale.

The faint collapsing sound from outside the city seemed to

verify his speculation.

Compared to this broad underground corridor, the tunnels

they previously found were all negligible. This corridor was as
broad as 150 meters, and almost all blood fiends could easily
pass through.

Shi Xueman’s pupils contracted when she smelled the

fragrance in the air. Blood fiends!
 No! The blood fiends must be stopped!

After the previous fight, Shi Xueman’s face was not as delicate
and flawless as before, but was still firm and determined. Her
thin and armored figure rushed out first. Ponytail swinging in
the air, she held her white spear high like a flag, raised her arm,
and shouted, "Follow me!"
Chapter 234: Flaming Ape
When Ai Hui and other students arrived, Shi Xueman was
fighting fiercely with a flaming ape.

Ai Hui was stunned by the giant sinkhole, and he was even

more shocked when he saw the flaming ape in it.

Obviously, this ape was different from other blood fiends.

Its hair was not the color of blood, but light grey. This was the
first blood fiend Ai Hui had ever seen whose hair color was not
blood-red. Its blood trace was not big either. There were
altogether nine blood traces, and each one was about the size of
a palm, which was not big to a six-meter-tall ape. The shape of
the blood traces was exquisite, like a flame spreading all over its
body. Ai Hui remembered that he saw similar spiritual traces
related to flame in the swordplay manual before.

More shockingly, the nine traces were covered with thick

hair, which was different from hair on other areas. It was hard
and dense, like a bunch of steel needles.

Protective Armor!
 The idea flashed in Ai Hui’s mind. He was astonished at the
unbelievable speed of their transformation; it was as if they
were making progress every day.

The fighting was extremely fierce, and all the others had
joined the battle as soon as they arrived. The archers led by
Sang Zhijun and Jiang Wei had already shot out the first wave
of arrows.

Ai Hui didn’t join them hastily but was observing the ape
carefully. His physical condition was complicated. Although he
had just found a way to deal with it, the lightning in his body
had not been fully eliminated. That meant that muscle paralysis
might happen any time. He wouldn’t risk his life like this.

Although the ape was six meters in height, it was not clumsy.
Instead, it moved and jumped fast like it was flying.

And its arms were extremely flexible and powerful.

An elementalist failed to dodge and was hit by its punch.

Hearing the crunch of the bones, everyone was filled with
apprehension.
 The rain of arrowed shot by Jiang Wei’s team enveloped the
ape.

It growled in fury and slapped up toward the sky. Red flames

appeared in its palm and created a ripple of flames in the air
above it.

The arrows hit the flames like straw being blown away in a
storm.

Ai Hui’s expression changed when he saw this.

The flaming slap of the ape…

Ai Hui felt very familiar, and an idea occurred to him: is this

the blood spiritual force? Thinking of this possibility, Ai Hui’s
face was gloomier than ever. Previously, the transformation of
the blood fiends was only physical. Now it had developed to a
higher level.

From the Garden of Life to blood ants, and from blood-traced

fiends to the nine-trace blood fiends. Even though this flaming
ape had nine blood traces, it was more powerful than the other
nine-trace blood fiends.

Ai Hui was frightened to see the transformation process of the

blood fiends. Within such a short period of time, it had become
so strong. What would happen if they were given more time?

Weren’t they afraid that one day the blood fiends would
become so strong that even human beings could not defeat
them?

The flaming ape’s courage mounted as the fighting

progressed. Covered with its protective hair, it could hardly be
injured by the weapons. Besides, it moved fast and had infinite
strength, and therefore it seemed invincible. The elementalists
in Central Pine City had been confident as most of them had just
achieved breakthrough and improvement. Now the appearance
of the ape was like a basin of cold water poured down over their
heads, making them aware of their childishness and ignorance.

Shi Xueman looked very awkward.

The flaming ape was cunning. It jumped here and there, and
the elementalists who were not that strong could not resist its
attack at all. Several people died or got injured, and Shi Xueman
had to spare time to provide help.

Her spearsmanship was formidable and forceful. Therefore,

the ape could not take advantage of her in direct confrontation.
But in this way, her elemental energy was consumed rapidly.

As the ape was under the impregnable protection, ordinary

attacks could not hurt it at all, including Duanmu Huanghun’s
[Viridescent Flower]. The ape also knew that Shi Xueman was
its biggest enemy, so it totally ignored Duanmu Huanghun and
spared no effort in attacking Shi Xueman to deplete her energy.

No weakness!

Ai Hui felt more and more desperate. Fixing his eyes on the
ape, Ai Hui anxiously wanted to find a solution.

The loud noise had already startled the whole Central Pine
City. Rays of light kept rising into the sky. They were
elementalists with azure wings coming from all directions.

On the other hand, Tian Kuan, who started everything, was

hiding in the dark. A flash of fervidity flashed in his stare at the
flaming ape.

It was a pity that he didn’t learn the Beast Subjugation

Technique, or the flaming ape could’ve definitely become his
thug.

To make a tunnel with the sandworms was indeed his plan,

but the flaming ape was a surprise. The flame-shaped blood
traces contained the power of fire. This was an unique feature of
having the ancestral characteristics stimulated.

Stimulating the ancestral characteristics was one of the

special effects of blood spiritual force.

However, nowadays, most of the wild beasts had their

ancestral characteristics removed through generations of
breeding. Even if blood spiritual force could stimulate the
ancestral characteristics of blood fiends and unleash their
potential powers, it was still hard to find blood fiends that had
their ancestral characteristics stimulated.

He remembered the crazy woman that had a mastiff whose

ancestral characteristics were stimulated. The ancestors of this
flaming ape must’ve possessed great power to control flames.
 Blood fiends with stimulated ancestral characteristics had
more potential. If they received specialized training, their
fighting capacity could be amazing.

At this stage, the blood fiends began to show some features of

the ancient spiritual beasts. For example, their hair became as
hard as iron under the continuous tempering and nourishment
of the blood spiritual force. The higher-level spiritual beasts in
the Cultivation Era could even block flying swords without
getting hurt.

Tian Kuan held the organization in reverence. Those who

created the blood spiritual force were nothing but great.

Spiritual force itself could easily scatter and disappear, but

when combined with blood, it became very stable. Tian Kuan
even thought that if the blood spiritual force continued to
develop like this, in thousands of years, would the world go
back to the Cultivation Era?

At the thought of this, he couldn’t help but feel excited.

It was such a great honor to be able to participate in the

creation of a whole new world.
 Elemental energy was doomed to be weeded out!

Just as the decayed Avalon of Five Elements was doomed to be

destroyed!

Tian Kuan clenched his fists. Feeling an upsurge of emotions,

he tried to calm himself down. The streak of metal elemental
energy was extremely obstinate and could not be devoured by
his blood spiritual force.

Then he remembered the brave man, and his face became

gloomy.

He could tell from the streak of elemental energy that if that

guy hadn’t died, he would’ve achieved a breakthrough soon,
and it was very likely to be the most formidable enemy.

But fortunately, his arms were already disabled. Thinking of

this, Tian Kuan was less anxious.

Just at this point in time, the elementalists came to assist.

Seeing the mayor and the dean, everyone was more or less
relieved.
 The dean’s expression changed when he saw the flaming ape.

Wang Zhen was more experienced. He immediately joined the

fight without any hesitation. Howling loud, Wang Zhen
stretched his azure wings and abruptly rose up high in the sky.
When he reached about one hundred meters from the ground,
he suddenly turned around and dove sharply.

With the force of his dive, he slashed with his sword.

The dazzling light of the sword was like a silvery waterfall

that fell sharply from the sky. The air was filled with his
hostility.

Shi Xueman stepped back without the least bit of delay. She
was astounded by the attack, as she had never heard of the
name of Wang Zhen.

No one ever thought that such veteran could have such a

thrilling attack.

Tian Kuan’s expression changed dramatically in the dark. His

heart was filled with fear as he stared at the powerful sword
gleam.

Thank God he had been cautious enough. There were so many

undiscovered talents in such a small city. This attack, just like
the elemental energy in his body, had already reached the edge
of a higher level.

A survivor from the Battle of the Dawn could be so

frightening!

How many more experts would there be in the Avalon of Five

Elements?

This was the first time that he discovered that the Avalon of
Five Elements was more powerful than he expected.

Fear appeared in the ape’s eyes for the first time. But as the
sword gleam had already enveloped it, it had nowhere to escape
to.

In this critical moment, the flaming ape was irritated. Thin

flames suddenly appeared around its body, and its eyes became
a sea of fire.
 The air was filled with its fury.

The flaming ape roared and punched towards the sword gleam
with its fist.

The huge flaming fist and the silvery sword gleam got closer
and closer.

Boom!

The flames exploded, and silvery sword gleam was also blown
into pieces that flew in all directions.

Flames scattered on the ground and set everything on fire.

The ground was also damaged by the splashes of the sword
gleams.

The flaming ape stood spiritedly even though it was severely

wounded and its flames were dim. On the other hand, Wang
Zhen’s hair and eyebrows were burnt. The sword in his hand
was burning as if it was just taken out from the stove. But Wang
Zhen didn’t feel anything, and he was still holding the hilt
tightly.
 The flaming ape suddenly stomped down on the ground and
disappeared.

The next second, it abruptly appeared behind Wang Zhen and

stretched out its palm toward him.

Fast as the ape was, his palm was powerful. Wang Zhen would
definitely be crushed if grabbed by it.

Right at this moment, a colorful bubble appeared in front of

the ape’s palm.

The ape punctured the bubble with his palm and fell into a
trance. Although it immediately sobered up, just within this
short period, Wang Zhen had backed up several meters away
from it.

It turned out to be from the dean, who knew that Wang

Zhen’s attack was drastic and needed a long time and space for
preparation. Therefore, he was in disadvantage in such close
combat.

Then the dean also joined the battle and fought against the
ape together with the mayor.

Shi Xueman and others were kind of relieved. After fighting

with the flaming ape, they clearly knew of its ferociousness.

But they had no time to rest, as someone cried out in panic,

"Blood fiends!"

Everyone got nervous when they heard the cry.

Huge, booming sounds that scared everyone came from the

bottom of the sinkhole. They were still dumbstruck by the ape.

Just at this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Attack the

sinkhole from the sky!"

They couldn’t help but look at person who was shouting.

"It’s Ai Hui!"

"The Lightning Blade!"

 "He is the Lightning Blade? He is young!"

...

Ai Hui was speechless. These guys were still gossiping at such

a critical moment. Without thinking too much, he waved his
arms and shouted again, "Diving attack! Diving attack! The
sinkhole!"

He was inspired by the slash of the mayor.

When he was hunting dire beasts in the Wilderness, he

witnessed the diving attack of the elementalists. It was
amazingly powerful. When fighting against agile and moving
targets, it was not of much use, but against fixed targets, it was
extremely effective.

The sinkhole on the ground was like a cage to the blood

fiends. Therefore, they were no different from fixed targets.

The elementalists realized what Ai Hui was saying. They

looked at each other and then began to regroup.
 "He is a bit young, but he’s smart enough. No wonder he is
called the Lightning Blade."

"That’s why he is named Ai Baiyi of Central Pine City."

"I think he might be more promising than Ye Baiyi."

"How shall we salute to the Lightning Blade?"

"How about Lightning?"

"Hahaha. Good enough!"

...

The light of the azure wings lit up the night.

Light spots with long tails came together from each direction.
They flew higher and higher like great waves in the storm. As
the wave consisting of light spots reached the highest point, it
stopped and rushed down with a loud crashing sound.
 "Lightning!" someone shouted out loudly.

Soon people began to respond, and the slogan of "lightning"

could be heard here and there.

Under the high diving speed, the wind blew so wildly that
they could not open their eyes. But their morale was boosted,
and the chaotic slogan gradually became one powerful and
uniformed word.

"Lightning!" "Lightning!" "Lightning!"

Each furious shout was like a hammer smashing down

heavily.

"Lightning, lightning, lightning!"

Like being bewitched, they no longer felt fear in their hearts.

Fire was burning in their chests, and the suppressed fury and
yearning for life were infused in their roars.

The sky was shivering in the angry roar and the whistle of the
Cloud Wings.

With infinite hatred and hope, they came together as a light

beam which instantly submerged the sinkhole.
Chapter 235: The Blood Snake Vertebrae
Huge amounts of elemental energy exploded within the
limited space of the sinkhole. The scene was spectacular.

Boom!

It was as if the whole city had been struck heavily by a

hammer deep underground. The earthquake knocked many
people to the ground. From the sky, horrifying fissures could be
seen stretching into the distance like old tree roots.

Flames and lights gushed out of the sinkhole like a volcanic

eruption. They rushed into the night sky and lit up Central Pine
City.

Everyone was stunned by the scene.

Even the flaming ape, mayor, and dean stopped fighting.

The ape suddenly looked afraid. It was not afraid of fire, but
that soaring flame had awakened an instinctual fear.
 It turned tail and ran.

The flaming ape’s reaction was totally out of the mayor and
dean’s expectations. By the time they realized what had
happened, they could only see the ape’s receding back. Even
though it was escaping, its speed was no slower than their flying
speed. Seeing its momentum, the elementalists along its escape
route didn’t dare to stop it.

In the blink of an eye, it had rushed to the city’s defensive

wall. Without slowing down even a little bit, it directly crashed
into the wall.

Boom!

It knocked a big hole in the wall. Having rushed out of the

city, the flaming ape looked back for a second and then
disappeared into the darkness.

Most people gave a sigh of relief.

Elementalists of the earth and wood attributes hurriedly

rushed to the big hole. They needed to repair it before the blood
fiends attacked. The ape could break the wall so easily only
because it had crashed into the wall from the inside. If it had
been the other way around, then the wall would have been
much more difficult to break.

The city defense had played an important role so far. Without

it, the situation in Central Pine City would have been far more
difficult.

Tian Kuan was dumbstruck. This was the first time that he
had seen a battle that involved so many elementalists.

He looked at Ai Hui deeply. That guy was as outstanding as

he’d expected.

Then Tian Kuan silently disappeared into the darkness.

Wang Zhen floated down from the sky and went to look for Ai
Hui. He believed Ai Hui’s reminder had been the key to the
battle. If the blood fiends had rushed into the city on a large
scale, then the city would have been in great danger.

He believed more and more that Ai Hui was like the Ye Baiyi
of that time.

In such a chaotic and dangerous situation, it was not easy to

find an opportunity within such a limited timeframe. Even
Wang Zhen himself hadn’t thought of using a diving attack,
which had proven to be very effective.

As a veteran, Wang Zhen was sensitive to the tiny changes in

the battlefield. The elementalists in the sky were all smiling
proudly now.

He nodded and remarked on their status in his heart.

Morale was up!

So far, this was the most successful battle in Central Pine City.
None of the elementalists who had participated in the diving
attack were hurt or dead. Such a brilliant result definitely
boosted the elementalists’ morale.

After the fight, Ai Hui, who had been the key to the whole
battle, became well known throughout the city.
 He was no longer an insignificant young student. The speed of
his transformation was even higher and the process was even
shorter than that of the blood fiends.

Heroes always emerged in trouble times. People would only

show their startling brilliance at critical moments.

Each time he thought of this, Wang Zhen would feel his own
age and weakness, but he was fortunate to be able to witness the
splendid beginning of such a promising youth in this world.

As he had been looking for a long time without finding Ai Hui,

he turned to someone nearby and asked curiously, "Where is Ai
Hui?"

The elementalist looked jubilant. He answered, "He went to

clean up the battlefield."

"Won’t it be dangerous?" Wang Zhen was concerned.

"No." The dean also landed. He smiled and said, "It should be
safe now. The sinkhole is like a huge stove; everything inside
should have been roasted."
 Hearing what he said, Wang Zhen also smiled.

Even iron and steel would have melted under such a terrifying
attack.

It was a pity that such tactics could not always be used in the
battle. If it were not in the special environment of the sinkhole,
it would not be so powerful.

Ai Hui never fell behind the others when it came to battlefield

cleanup.

While others were still worrying if there was still any danger,
he had already jumped into the sinkhole with Lou Lan. Inside
the sinkhole, it was sweltering hot. The earth was permeated
with traces melted things and a burning smell.

Lou Lan was totally unaffected by the choking smells and

smoke while Ai Hui didn’t care about them. He had seen worse
cases when cleaning up battlefields before. Compared to the
possible spoils, this adverse environment was not worth
mentioning.
 Most of the sinkhole had collapsed, but luckily there were still
passageways for them to walk through. The sinkhole that the
sandworms had dug was large enough.

Ai Hui walked carefully. As both of them could see in the dark,

they noticed the dead bodies of sandworms everywhere on the
walls of the passageways. The bodies were already scorched, but
a tiny spot of red light like sand were left beside them.

"What is this red light sand?" Ai Hui asked.

Yellow light flickered in Lou Lan’s eyes. "They are the blood
crystals of the sandworms. To be precise, they cannot be
counted as blood crystals yet, but are something like a blood
crystal that has just formed. Ai Hui, these sandworms must
have blood-transformed not long ago."

"Not long ago?" Ai Hui was surprised. Confusion flashed

across his eyes.

"Yes. Therefore, the blood crystal sand is not valuable," Lou

Lan explained.
 Ai Hui followed Lou Lan closely with the grass sword in his
hand. The underground was Lou Lan’s world, where Lou Lan
could move freely like a fish in water.

Soon, Ai Hui saw the body of a blood fiend whose hair and
flesh were all burnt into ashes.

Lou Lan’s eyes lit up. He stretched his hand into the ashes and
pulled out a blood crystal.

"Look Ai Hui! Blood crystal!"

Ai Hui was overjoyed. "Finally!"

As they went further in, there were more and more dead
blood fiend bodies, many of which were not totally burnt into
ashes but still looked frightening due to dehydration. To Ai Hui,
however, it was just a piece of cake. He didn’t feel
uncomfortable at all.

Not every blood fiend had blood crystals, and some blood
crystals were buried underground. Nevertheless, Lou Lan found
them all.
 Ai Hui grinned from ear to ear. Lou Lan was the best. He
would never miss any blood crystals even if they were buried
deep in the earth.

Having seen too many miseries, Ai Hui was a bit apathetic, but
the piles of bodies and ashes made him fearful. If these blood
fiends had rushed into the city from the sinkhole, it would
undoubtedly have caused severe casualties.

Luckily, he had been quick enough to think of those tactics.

Thinking of this, Ai Hui became complacent. After all, so many
elementalists had been present. He’d never thought he could
take control before, but now he’d done it.

On the other hand, Ai Hui felt he totally had no need to come

down here.

Lou Lan was the one who was crazy at battlefield cleanup, and
he was so careful that even Ai Hui felt ashamed for being
inferior.

"Ai Hui, I got one!"

 "Ai Hui, here here here!"

"Ai Hui, there’s one under your feet, about ten inches deep."

...

"Lou Lan, good job!"

"Lou Lan, you are so great!"

"Lou Lan, you are the best!"

...

Apart from "good" and "great", Ai Hui could not think of any
other words to praise him.

A former professional could only be a visitor in the sinkhole

because Lou Lan was here.
 Ai Hui was bored. He looked around casually, and suddenly
some faint light came into his sight. He was surprised and fixed
his attention on a pile of ashes not far away. There

seemed to be something glowing there.

Curious, he walked towards it.

To be honest, except for the blood crystals, almost all the

other parts of the blood fiends were useless.

This was the big difference between blood fiends and wild
beasts. The essence of a blood fiend was its blood crystal.
Although it could be strong and solid, once it was dead, its flesh
and bones would be crispy like biscuits and could not be used at
all.

It was really a shame for blood fiends. Wild beasts were also
beasts, but they were of great value from head to toe.

Ai Hui walked up to the ashes and rummaged around.

 Then he touched something solid.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. He grabbed it and pulled it out.

As he was familiar with beasts, Ai Hui could tell at a glance

that it was the vertebrae of a blood snake. The blood snake had
not been long and its spinal column was only about two meters
in length. It was white in color with a texture like jade and
porcelain. Its surface was covered with thin, crisscrossed blood
streaks like a densely-woven net.

The spinal column was flexible and could be curved at any

angle. Each of the joints were closely meshed. Ai Hui was
surprised at its weight. He roughly weighed it in his hand and it
was at least forty-five kilograms. It was so heavy even though it
was less than two meters long and as thick as one’s wrist. Ai Hui
wondered if it was made of metal.

"These vertebrae are unique." Yellow lights kept flickering in

Lou Lan’s eyes. "They are almost as dense as thousand traces
silverwood and brightlight iron. Bravo!"

Ai Hui was startled, as he knew both thousand traces

silverwood and brightlight iron were rare and valuable
materials.

Thousand traces silverwood was specially produced in Jadeite

Forest. It was a kind of tree that grew slowly and needed wood
elementalists to continuously infuse elemental energy into it.
This material was white, bright, and very heavy. Before it grew
to full size, each growth of one day and night would result in a
silver ring in the horizontal cross section of the trunk. If the
elemental energy infused into the tree was insufficient, then the
silver ring would not form.

It reached its full size when the number of silver rings was one
thousand, after which each attribute of the wood would be
greatly improved. Even if the wood elementalist spared no
effort to cultivate the tree without any negligence, it would still
take three years to grow it into a useful timber. Besides, its
consumption of elemental energy was far more than other
plants. As a result, it was undoubtedly of high value and high
price.

Brightlight iron was produced in the Brightlight City of the

Silver Mist Sea. It could only be produced by an extraordinary
craftsman using several materials. It was as light as a feather,
but was extremely solid and shined with a saintly light.
 That was why Ai Hui was so surprised to hear that the density
of the vertebrae was similar to that of the thousand trace
silverwood and brightlight iron.

He took a closer look at the vertebrae. The red blood traces on

the white vertebrae were like a pattern; Ai Hui felt he must have
seen it somewhere before.

Anyways, the blood snake must have been extraordinary

when it had been alive, maybe similar to the blood ape.

The blood ape…

Ai Hui finally realized why he thought the pattern looked

familiar; it reminded him of the flaming traces on the blood ape.

He observed the blood traces on the blood snake’s vertebrae.

They were similar to the thunder traces mentioned in the
swordplay manuals.

Thunder traces?
 An idea suddenly occurred to Ai Hui. Could the vertebrae be a
natural sword?
Chapter 236: Run
This idea filled Ai Hui with excitement.

Ai Hui had experienced heartache at the loss of his most

comfortable weapon, the Dragonspine Inferno. Its sturdiness
had been its most commendable trait.

He had since turned into a sword consuming maniac,

destroying sword after sword. Besides the difficulty he
experienced in controlling his elemental energy, those swords
weren’t of exactly great quality either. Their inability to
withstand his violent elemental energy was one of the main
reasons why they were so easily broken.

After the decline of swordsmanship, the number of people

practicing swordplay decreased as well. This naturally resulted
in a small demand for swords. The Dragonspine Inferno’s
quality had been decent, but nobody had wanted to buy it.

Everyone else's swords were carried more for show. They

were mostly longswords made out of ordinary materials and
couldn’t withstand elemental energy that was too powerful.
 Ai Hui was left facing an awkward situation. There were no
swords that he could effectively use.

The Dragonspine Inferno’s blade had been destroyed, but the

seven artifact remnants that had been embedded in the blade
remained intact. Calling down lightning with the Dragonspine
Inferno had resulted in its seven artifact remnants being
saturated with electricity. Ai Hui had thought of using these
artifact remnants to create a new sword, but where would he
find the time?

The blood snake vertebrae felt good in his hands.

Ai Hui managed to better understand the spinal column’s

unique properties after waving it for a while. To most people,
controlling something as flexible as the blood snake vertebrae
would be a challenging feat. For an expert in swordsmanship
like Ai Hui however, their flexibility wasn’t an issue. He was
soon able to brandish them as he pleased.

It’s just a flexible sword!

If one was able to overcome the difficulties associated with

controlling them, the flexibility of the blood snake vertebrae
was actually an advantage. It allowed the wielder to execute a
greater range of unpredictable and unorthodox sword strokes,
creating fatal opportunities that could easily be tapped on by
expert swordsmen.

"Is Ai Hui thinking of using it as a longsword?" Lou Lan asked

curiously.

"That’s right, don’t you think it’s suitable?" Ai Hui replied.

He handled the blood snake vertebrae fondly, waving them

about as he pleased. With a single movement, Ai Hui made the
blood snake vertebrae snap into place. He thrust the vertebrae,
which were now as straight as a pencil, into the air in front of
him. A whistling sound could be heard as small, deep holes
appeared in the wall.

"It is indeed very suitable," Lou Lan replied, his eyes lighting
up. "Lou Lan has never seen a material like this before. If Ai Hui
gives me one small section of it, I can analyse it and then create
a sword with it."

Astonished, Ai Hui asked in response, "Lou Lan knows how to

craft swords?"
 "I’m not particularly proficient at it," Lou Lan replied, a little
embarrassed. "Lou Lan has only read "The Creation of Famous
Swords", "Deconstructing Arms","A Treatise on Elemental
Energy in Weapons","Dire Beasts and Grass-grade Weapons", "A
Record of Heaven-grade Weapons"..."

Ai Hui dumbfoundedly listened to Lou Lan list out a small

library’s worth of books.

After five minutes, Lou Lan finally finished reporting his

reading list. Still a bit embarrassed, he stated, "Although my
knowledge on the matter is limited, I’ll try my best to help you!"

Limited…

The first half of Lou Lan’s sentence left Ai Hui feeling weak in
the knees. The second half however, moved him deeply. Clearly
touched by Lou Lan’s offer, Ai Hui replied, "Thank you Lou Lan!
Lou Lan’s standard is amazing! You’re the best!"

"Really?" Lou Lan asked, his eyes as round as a full moon.

"Absolutely!" Ai Hui answered resolutely.

 Lou Lan cheered loudly. Scurrying about like a sandstorm, he
then abruptly proceeded to clean up the battlefield.

Ai Hui decided it was time to split the spoils from their

previous battle. Because Ai Hui had played an extremely crucial
role, he took a share of five blood crystals.

Shi Xueman had also contributed a lot and as such, received

three crystals as her reward. She had fearlessly pitted herself
against the blood ape and had proven indispensable in the
battle.

As more battles were fought against blood fiends, everyone

began to get the hang of it. The latest official announcement
had stated that only blood-traced fiends with nine traces or less
would produce blood crystals. Regular blood-traced fiends and
blood fiends were only able to produce a softer variant known as
blood resin.

All of the elementalists that had participated in the battle

were happy to receive a reward.

"It’d be great if all battles were just like today’s!"

 "Quit dreaming, once is already a blessing."

"You never know, Central Pine City has Ai Hui."

...

Spoils of war were the most practical rewards since blood

crystals could help them to swiftly increase their strength. With
each increment came a greater chance of survival.

The five blood crystals that Ai Hui received were of excellent

quality. Out of these five blood crystals, the best one probably
came from the blood snake. The blood snake vertebrae were
also given to him as a reward.

The blood snake vertebrae had attracted everyone’s attention

after the dean posited that they came from a blood fiend that
had been almost as strong as the blood ape.

The joy from receiving rewards was short lived.

A new variant of nine-traces blood fiend had appeared.

 Everyone knew that the following battles would only become
more intense.

The mayor had sent teams of earth elementalists and fire

elementalists to investigate the sinkhole in hopes of finding a
way to seal it. From the way things looked however, this seemed
unlikely.

A line of students filed into the Vanguard Training Hall. Ai

Hui noticed that spirits were low and after asking around, found
out that three students had lost their lives. They were the first
batch of students who had charged ahead with Shi Xueman.
Although they were no longer afraid of fighting, seeing the
constant sacrifice of their comrades’ lives made them feel
slightly depressed.

No one knew when this blood disaster would end, just like
nobody knew when the reinforcements would finally arrive.

Seeing the blood fiends become stronger and their comrades

falling one by one increased the students’ stress levels.

Ai Hui kept quiet. He knew much more about the disaster but
didn’t dare to tell them about it.
 He feared that they would lose their last shreds of bravery
upon knowing that the entire disaster was part of a plot aimed
at destroying the Avalon of Five Elements.

The reinforcements that had yet to come gave them a sense of

hope.

The moment Shi Xueman returned to Vanguard Training

Hall, she locked herself up in the room.

Ai Hui felt that he should console her, but didn’t know how he
should go about doing it.

—— It’s not your fault? Casualties are unavoidable? Such

words were meaningless at a time like this.

Ai Hui suddenly thought of his Master and Mistress.

How were they doing?

Ai Hui had been fighting everyday since the outbreak of the

blood disaster. Every single day was a struggle to stay alive, and
every moment of respite was like taking a long deep breath
before plunging underwater again.

He hadn’t had the time nor strength to worry about them.

He thought of Mistress and Senior Mingxiu’s strength and felt

at ease; surely they were fine.

Ai Hui never felt the need to worry about his Master and
Mistress. Rather, he always thought that they were constantly
worrying about him. For some reason however, he suddenly felt
an overwhelming urge to visit them.

He passed a bag of snake bones to Lou Lan, waved goodbye to

everyone, and promptly left for the embroidery workshop.

Ai Hui believed that he had become accustomed to death. He’d

thought that he had already tasted the deepest despair that he
could experience. He had been under the impression that he
could look death in the face and leave this world calmly.

But as the people around him fell one after the other, he
couldn’t help but wonder what the next day would bring.
 So what if he knew that the blood disaster was a ploy executed
by the Blood of God? Would that knowledge save him from the
ever-changing blood fiends? When will the reinforcements
arrive? Ai Hui thought it likely that the reinforcements had
been ambushed by the Blood of God.

If this disaster was all part of a plan, an ambush would be

extremely likely. If Ai Hui could think of this himself, surely the
Blood of God would have thought of it.

Nobody would expect the calm, optimistic Ai Hui to be so

pessimistic on the inside.

He knew much more than everyone else.

Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.

Ai Hui sped off under the night sky. He had a stuffy feeling in
his chest that he badly wanted to release. He had no idea how he
could vent his feelings, so he ran with all his might.

The wind blew across his face as the scenery on both sides of
the street quickly disappeared behind him.
 Ai Hui rushed over to the embroidery workshop in one
breath. By the time he reached his destination, his mood had
lightened up a bit and his emotions had calmed down. What he
saw however, gave him a surprise.

The embroidery workshop’s entrance was heavily guarded;

sentries were positioned all over the place.

Although he had expected his Master and Mistress to be

guarded, this amount of protection made him feel very uneasy.
Central Pine City was low on manpower, yet the mayor’s
residence was willing to deploy so many guards here. Something
was not right!

Someone suddenly charged towards the entrance, giving the

elementalists on guard duty a scare.

The guards heaved a sigh of relief upon getting a clearer look

at the intruder. Ai Hui was well known throughout Central Pine
City, everyone could recognize him.

"Ai Hui, you did an awesome job today!"

 One of the guards praised him loudly, initiating a series of
agreements.

"Simply awesome!"

"I was tempted to join in myself!"

...

Ai Hui plastered a smile on his face, maintaining an

exceptional calmness beneath his cheerful appearance. The
strange circumstances had put him on high alert.

Mingxiu came out of the workshop upon hearing the

commotion outside. Seeing Ai Hui, she smiled and called out,
"Junior!"

Ai Hui was shocked to see Senior Mingxiu so haggard. To him,

Senior Mingxiu was someone who was always gentle, graceful,
and humble. Haggard was one of the last things he would use to
describe her.
 "Senior, why do you look so wan?" Ai Hui asked out of
concern.

While he remained expressionless, Ai Hui was already

preparing himself for a fight. Was the mayor’s residence trying
to make use of his Master and Mistress? Were they forcing his
Master and Mistress to do things against their will?

A killing intent began to manifest within Ai Hui. Darkness

and despair had long pushed Ai Hui to the edge. The strange
situation that he was currently in had triggered an anger that
dwelled deep inside him.

Ai Hui held his Master and Mistress very dear and would go all
out against anyone who dared to lay a finger on them.

He didn’t think his life was worth much anyway, so be it if he

died.

Mingxiu’s eyes revealed complex, conflicting emotions. She

didn’t know how to reply to him. Although her junior appeared
to be extremely calm, she could see the despair and murderous
intent in his eyes.
 She immediately knew that her junior had misinterpreted the
situation. While she had been instructed by Uncle not to tell Ai
Hui what was happening, her heart ached at the thought of her
Master.

"They have nothing to do with this," Mingxiu said while she

struggled to control her emotions. "Master Han is in seclusion.
You should go and visit Uncle instead."

She had decided to disobey him in the end. Mingxiu knew

Uncle didn’t want Junior to worry, but she felt that it was too
cruel to let Junior figure it all out only at the end.

Besides, she secretly harbored a small hope that Junior could

come up with something.

Junior was no longer that youth who needed her protection.

He was now the Lightning Blade, the embodiment of Central
Pine City’s hope!

Upon receiving his master’s address, Ai Hui immediately took

off at the speed of light.
Chapter 237: Calm
Ai Hui walked out of Master’s residence.

On the pitch-black streets, the pumpkin street lights in

Central Pine City had long been destroyed. There was neither
starlight nor moonlight, only occasional bright flashes caused
by elementalists on patrol as they flitted across the street. The
ground beneath his feet was bumpy. Stepping on the crushed
rocks and surface dust, all he saw were broken walls and ruins.
All he heard was the echo of his footsteps.

Master’s haggard look appeared before his eyes. At first

glance, Ai Hui could not believe what he saw and was angry, but
when he knew the truth, all his anger disappeared into thin air.
Master had become more long-winded, constantly dragging out
and repeating his words. He could hear the guilt in Master’s
voice. Master felt he did not impart anything to Ai Hui and
always said that he was unfit to be Ai Hui’s teacher.

Ai Hui listened carefully with a smile on his face.

There was no fear of death in Master’s hoarse voice. There

was no annoyance and regret, only calmness and proudness.
 A withered life was like a faint ember left from a raging flame,
its brightness and warmth gradually dispersing.

Ai Hui was very calm, so calm that even he, himself, was
shocked. He felt no regret and sadness, only respect for his
teacher.

Perhaps it was because he had witnessed death too many

times, so he viewed life and death differently from most people.
Living was very important, but at times, it was not the most
important.

If Master could go back in time, he would have made the same

decision again.

Why did Master reject Mistress’s earnest request?

Ai Hui listened as Master prattled on, trying to explain

himself. His wrinkled face radiated a dazzling spirit, an
expression of his pride toward his achievement. Master declared
that Mistress would most definitely be astonished by his result,
and also mentioned that in her younger days, she used to look
for him whenever she ran into problems.
 Master said he was telling the truth, repeating this a few
times.

Being able to exist in life’s afterglow and feel that his life was
not a waste… How perfect was this ending?

Ai Hui did not blame Mistress either. Her decision was worthy
of respect as well.

Ai Hui felt he would not have been able to do the same. He

was not as selfless as Mistress, but at the same time, he felt that
her choice was worthy of feeling deep veneration.

No matter how sad and painful this was for the younger
generation, it was these two elders who endured death and
anguish.

I must help Mistress complete her "treating the city as a piece

of cloth" strategy!

He was determined.
 Going back to the training hall, Ai Hui looked no different
from usual.

Shi Xueman came out from the room and looked at Ai Hui.
"How are they?"

"Not bad," Ai Hui answered naturally, looking her up and

down. "You look pretty good yourself."

Instead of replying, Shi Xueman continued, "I hear you need a

training partner?"

"That’s right!" Ai Hui nodded. "Do you want to come along?"

"Why? Are you afraid?" Shi Xueman provoked.

Ai Hui touched his nose. Did Iron Lady eat gunpowder today?
He laughed, saying, "I’m afraid that I can’t afford to pay you!"

"It’s okay, I’ll pay you!"

 Shi Xueman snorted. Even before she finished speaking, a
snow-white spear ray appeared before Ai Hui’s eyes.

The spearhead was so sharp that the space between Ai Hui’s

brows hurt. He quivered. This lady was being serious!

He reacted quickly. With a flip of his palm, he lashed his grass

sword out like a whip to defend against the attack.

While he did not block Iron Lady’s attack directly from the
front, the elemental energy within the spear body numbed his
palm.

He did not dare to operate his elemental energy. He really

would not have any swords left to use if this grass one exploded.

"It’s ‘The Lightning Blade’ indeed… Fly!"

Shi Xueman’s voice carried a tinge of ridicule. She turned her

body and thrusted her Cirrus from the other side of her body,
firmly trapping Ai Hui.
 With a light hum, ripples surfaced in the air. The spear ray
was definitely at least a meter away from him, but the air was so
heavy and oppressing.

Ai Hui’s breaths stopped slightly as his eyes shone brightly.

The grass sword in his hands lit up and a faint glimmer pierced
the left side of the air in an oblique slash.

Pzzt!

As if a sharp blade had ripped a cloth, the agitated spear ray

seemed to have punctured a water bag, its strength leaking out.

Ai Hui took this chance to struggle free. He jolted his body and
escaped like a swimming fish, saying, "Then shouldn’t you pay a
little more? As humans, we can’t be too petty. I’ve saved your
life a few times!"

Shi Xueman could feel Ai Hui’s slyness and mercilessness. It

was her first time meeting such an opponent. His fighting style
and sword moves were entirely different from other
elementalists, but it was in her nature to brave through such
situations.
 She smiled cooly. "No problem, I’ll tip you if you fight a good
fight!"

Their battle was intense and caught everyone’s attention.

When compared to the duel with Fatty, there was much more
pressure battling Shi Xueman. Other than gaining a slight
advantage by starting with moves Shi Xueman was unfamiliar
with, Ai Hui quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

Shi Xueman’s spear move was called [Cloud Whale]. She

changed her strategy upon noticing that Ai Hui’s swordplay was
unusual. As if in water, each hit became increasingly slow-
moving and congealed. The white spear ray congregated around
her body like a white fog. It was strangely heavy and when
struck by Ai Hui’s grass sword, it sounded like grinding stone,
with sparks flying in all directions.

While the spear ray cloud-mist was airy and looked graceful, it
was actually extremely powerful. Each block numbed Ai Hui’s
arms and gripping his sword became challenging.

Ai Hui’s stress level skyrocketed to the point where he was

almost out of breath.
 The spear ray produced by the [Cloud Whale] technique
looked like clouds, but actually contained a dreadful force. Once
drawn within and trapped, the victim would be crushed into
bits by this extremely heavy ray.

Shi Xueman was initially a little worried about hurting Ai Hui,

but upon realizing how cunning he was, her anxiety vanished as
her moves became more merciless.

Iron lady was even more steely than before!

Ai Hui barely dodged the spear body when a fog as thick as an

arm rose suddenly, transformed into a cloud-spear, and rushed
toward Ai Hui.

In mid-air and unable to avoid it, Ai Hui could only clash

against the cloud spear with his grass sword.

Clang!

Ai Hui’s arm shook, as if struck by a solid hammer. The blood

and qi in his body became sluggish as he flew backward.
 Worse, this blow agitated the remaining electricity in his
flesh. His whole body turned rigid and fell toward the ground
like a scallion stalk.

Boom!

His head planted into the ground.

Fortunately, he was trained in body tempering. Grief and

indignation filled his heart.

Pleased, Shi Xueman withdrew her spear. Seeing Ai Hui’s

unique posture, she could not control her laughter. The gloom
from earlier disappeared into thin air.

"Remember to add the fees to the bill. Fill the tip section as
you please."

Shi Xueman’s tone was livelier now, feeling a sudden sense of

fulfillment. It was just like a scene from the legendary brothels.
After the deed was done, the visitor would wave his hand in a
domineering manner, doubling the brothel’s earnings for the
night!
 This was especially the case when her opponent was Ai Hui.
She had been itching with irriation, but was unable to do
anything about it. This rare experience was definitely
therapeutic for her mind and soul!

Hoots of laughter filled the air. Seldomly able to witness Ai

Hui in such an embarrassing state, everyone enjoyed what they
saw.

Ten seconds passed before the leftover electricity was finally

and completely absorbed by his hand and ground palaces. Ai
Hui’s numbed body started to recover, and like a straightened
carp, he pulled his head out from the ground. If not for the fact
that he cherished this grass sword… he promised himself to
write an astronomical figure on that bill. To hit her with a
ruthless blow!

As he was stabilizing himself, Duanmu Huanghun appeared

before him.

"I heard you need a training partner?"

In his room, Lou Lan was pouring his heart into researching
the blood snake vertebrae.
 Outstanding ingredient!

Lou Lan kept a record of the attributes of many ingredients,

but the vertebrae of this blood snake were still very remarkable.

Their firmness and hardness were as predicted. Although not

outstanding to the point where they could be used to fashion
Heaven-grade arms, but they were decent enough to be made
into an Earth-grade weapon, the second best type. In fact,
thousand traced silverwood and brightlight iron were some of
the ingredients required to make Earth-grade equipment.

Besides being fine ingredients, these blood snake vertebrae

were also unique in many other aspects.

For example, the blood traces on top were thunder traces,

which contained the force of thunder and lightning. Lou Lan
did not know how these thunder traces appeared on the blood
snake, but thinking about the flame traces on the blood ape’s
body compelled him to speculate that the blood spiritual force
could induce the spiritual traces from the Cultivation Era. This
could possibly be related to the blood spiritual force’s operating
method, but there were too few samples for Lou Lan to analyze
further.
 Thunder traces were the key to understanding why the blood
snake vertebrae were so outstanding. Going through the
thunder traces converted spiritual force into thunder and
lightning force, which then coagulated within the vertebrae.
The force of thunder and lightning tempered the vertebrae
continuously, improving its quality.

Lou Lan hypothesized that the the flesh of the blood beasts
from before were useless because they had no spiritual traces
such as the thunder or flame traces.

The force of thunder and lightning was alluring, but once

used up, this blood snake vertebrae become like rotten wood,
unable to take a single hit.

Either to lock the thunder and lightning force or to replenish

it. For example, the seven artifact remnants on Ai Hui’s
Dragonspine Inferno contained shocking amounts of thunder
and lightning force.

These blood snake vertebrae had no affinity at all with fire,

wood, and earth elemental energy, but it had moderate affinity
with water and metal elemental energy. This was good news.
 There were many theories when it came to creating weapons.
Some were complicated, while others were simple. Simple ones
would be like Shi Xueman’s Cirrus–whalebone as the spear body
and firmament iron as its head. It was difficult for this weapon,
which was made from supreme grade ingredients, not to be
classified as a Heaven-grade arm. Although fashioning weapons
was not Shi Xueman’s father’s forte, he sure made one hell of a
Heaven-grade weapon.

With clever designs, weapons made from average ingredients

could also be unique and formidable. In reality, this type of
weapon was more mainstream. Superb ingredients such as the
whalebone and firmament iron were and would remain unseen
by most.

These blood snake vertebrae were good ingredients, but there

was still a lot to consider. For example, they were shaped a whip
and not a sword. They did not have a sharp edge, a relatively
important component of a sword since it was needed to break
armor and defenses. As a sharp weapon effective at breaking
armor, only a little elemental energy was needed to split open
solid and sturdy armors. Weapons without such a use meant
that the elemental energy was usually slack and lacking in the
ability to injure or kill.

Yet, the blood snake vertebrae could not be ground into

shape. Once ground, the thunder traces on it would be
destroyed.

How then, could he form the spinal column into a sword

blade?

Forget about the sword blade? Lou Lan instantly negated this
thought. He was going to make Ai Hui his first ever legitimate
weapon so he had better do his best!

What about the sword hilt? What ingredient to use?

Lou lan’s Midnight sand core was operating at an alarming

rate, the light in his eyes spinning nonstop.
Chapter 238: A New Sword
A sword shrouded by an ash-gray cloud levitated silently
above the table.

The ash-gray cloud differed from the white cloud that

engulfed the Cirrus in that it was much denser. Tiny streaks of
lightning zigzagged through the cloud, resembling a small
thunder cloud.

The strip-like dark cloud looked like a sword sheath, but was
actually not.

Seven silver daggers meandered rapidly in the cloud like

swimming fish. Each dagger was six centimetres in length.
Their silver surfaces were so smooth that one could see his or
her reflection in them. Each dagger was embedded with a
lightning-based artifact remnant as well.

The occasional lightning sparks on the body of the sword were

induced by the high-speed flight of the seven daggers.

"It’s so beautiful! Is this made of that snake vertebrae?" Shi

Xueman could not believe her eyes and took a closer look. "Is
this a sword? Does it need to be unsheathed?"

"No need, Xueman, that is a honing cloud," Lou Lan explained

seriously. "It’s the blade of the sword."

The honing cloud was a special type of cloud. When one

imbued it with elemental energy, it would produce a sharpening
effect. The honing cloud was a special local product of Palette
Cloud Village. Palette Cloud Village produced various kinds of
weird clouds, such as heavy and dense lead clouds, colourful and
gorgeous rosy clouds, green poison clouds, flame-spouting fire
clouds, etc.

Just like the Jadeite Forest, where there were countless

species of plants, Palette Cloud Village had countless types of
clouds. Only water elementalists could appreciate the spectacle
of these clouds.

"Blade? Using the honing cloud to make the blade of the

sword? That’s a clever idea!" Shi Xueman’s eyes lit up and
praised, "Lou Lan is really fabulous!"

"Thank you, Xueman." Lou Lan’s eyes were smiling brightly,

but soon after, his tone was filled with regret. "The snake
vertebrae is highly functional and was a top-grade material.
Looking at it from the five elements’ perspective, it is both
metal-attributed and water-attributed. Metal collects water,
which is why I used the honing cloud to make the blade of the
sword. However, due to differences in the grade level of the
materials used, the power of the snake vertebrae are not
optimized. The sword tassel is made up of fire prairie stones,
which are a low-grade material. Still, it’s better than nothing.
As for the seven daggers, they are made up of silver glow wood,
which is strengthened by the water elemental energy in the
honing cloud. The honing cloud and the silver glow wood are
roughly the same grade, therefore, combining them provides a
great boost to one’s elemental energy. This sword can only be
considered as a Mysterious-grade weapon. However, its unique
lightning properties and the outstanding qualities of the snake
vertebrae would make this sword a rather powerful Mysterious-
grade weapon.

"If the honing cloud was replaced by heavenly honing cloud,

the silver glow wood was replaced by thousand-traced silvery
wood, and the fire prairie stones were replaced by molten core
stones, then this sword will be an exceptional Earth-grade
weapon. With the lightning properties, it would be considered a
rare Earth-grade weapon."

Everyone understood what Lou Lan was talking about. Even

though they did not know how to specifically craft weapons,
they still knew the fundamentals. The grading system for
weapons was not as complicated as the classification of food
ingredients. The highest and most powerful grade were the
Heaven-grade weapons, followed by the Earth-grade weapons,
then the Mysterious-grade weapons, and finally the most
common grade, the Grass-grade weapons.

Other than unique materials, the grade of a weapon was

usually dependent on its weight, sturdiness, and other physical
attributes. However, the most important factor was still the
availability of elemental enhancement in the weapon.

The elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth made up a

complete cycle, growing and multiplying without an end. The
enhancement between the five elements was one of the most
important characteristics of the five elemental energies.
Weapons were based on this theory as well. Some types of
elemental energy could enhance each other while some could
restrain each other.

If a weapon possessed all five elements and they enhanced

each other, that weapon was considered a Heaven-grade
weapon. Heaven-grade weapons had very low elemental energy
consumption requirements for elementalists. Furthermore,
they could produce many wondrous effects during the process
of elemental enhancement.
 An Earth-grade weapon had one less element than a Heaven-
grade weapon. There were only four elements in an Earth-grade
weapon. This was why there was a huge disparity between a
Heaven-grade weapon and an Earth-grade weapon. Having one
less element, the elemental cycle was broken, disrupting the
natural flow of the elements and differing in terms of quality.

The disparity between an Earth-grade weapon and a

Mysterious-grade weapon was not too big. A Mysterious-grade
weapon was composed of materials from three different
elements. Hence, the power and variability of a Mysterious-
grade weapon were inferior to an Earth-grade weapon.

As for Grass-grade weapons, most of them were roughly-made

and crude. They were made up of materials that usually
contained only one element or two poorly combined elements
on occasion.

In theory, weapon crafting seemed very easy, but in reality,

the process required immense and meticulous attention. For
example, materials that were of the same grade were preferred
so as to achieve a complete enhancement process. The grades of
the honing cloud and silver glow wood were much lower than
the blood snake vertebrae, causing the weapon to be unable to
fully utilize the metal elemental attribute of the blood snake
vertebrae.
 Many wood materials actually contained more than one
element. These kinds of material posed an extremely huge
challenge to the weaponsmith, himself.

The suitability and availability of materials, together with

outstanding crafting techniques, could produce a good weapon.
Some unique materials possessed exceptional qualities and did
not need to take elemental enhancement or restrainment into
consideration. However, professional weaponsmiths despised
such reckless weapon crafting technique as they felt it would be
a waste of good materials.

Lou Lan was extremely unsatisfied with the sword, but Ai

Hui’s gaze had not left the sword for a second.

This sword had many outstanding qualities, displaying Lou

Lan’s skillfulness in crafting swords. For example, the use of the
honing cloud as the blade of the sword had perfectly resolved
the issue of the blood snake vertebrae’s lack of a blade. Ai Hui
would not have thought of this even if he racked his brain.

The honing cloud could bend and twist according to the form
of the blood snake vertebrae. It could be firm and rigid or soft
and flexible.
 The design of the seven daggers was even more amazing.
Their design was inspired by the bronze sword box and
extremely marvellous.

Within a short period of time, Ai Hui had thought of several

new sword moves.

For example, he could hide the daggers within the cloud, and
if his opponent was to block his attack, the daggers could launch
a surprise attack to catch his opponent off guard. Furthermore,
the seven prismatic crystals had a mysterious connection
between each other, which meant that they could devise
numerous complicated attacking combinations.

Such a good sword!

"Ai Hui, don’t you want to give the sword a try?" Lou Lan
slanted his head and asked. "This sword doesn’t have a name
yet."

Ai Hui held the hilt of the sword excitedly. The moment his
hand made contact with the icy and sturdy blood snake
vertebrae, his palpitating heart calmed down.
 When Ai Hui picked up the sword, it appeared to everyone
that he had become a completely different person. An
indescribable aura silently extended outward from Ai Hui’s
body.

He looked very serene, but dangerous at the same time.

Suddenly, Ai Hui grinned, revealing his white teeth and said,

"I need a sparring partner. Who’s willing to be my sparring
partner?"

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes lit up immediately. He had

witnessed the whole process of how Shi Xueman utterly
defeated Ai Hui and wanted to add insult to Ai Hui’s injury. Ai
Hui was not stupid either as he rejected Duanmu Huanghun
without hesitation.

Ai Hui approached everyone except him.

Duanmu Huanghun had been itching to beat Ai Hui into a

pulp. If just by watching Ai Hui get pummeled had already made
him so happy, how happy would he be if he got to personally
beat Ai Hui up?
 Thinking about it, how much had he suffered in Ai Hui’s
hands so far?

Duanmu Huanghun began to become restless, but he did not

have a chance. No matter how many times he volunteered, Ai
Hui pretended not to see him. As such, he became increasingly
furious.

When he heard Ai Hui say that he needed a sparring partner,

Duanmu Huanghun volunteered himself without any
hesitation. "Me!"

When Ai Hui passed Duanmu Huanghun, the latter purposely

mocked the former by saying, "You already have a sword, what
excuse do you have this time?"

"Since you insist, come on then," Ai Hui replied helplessly.

Fatty turned his face around, unable to bear watching what

was going to happen. However, in the blink of an eye, he
whistled and yelled, "Everyone, come! It’s a rare opportunity!
Let us gamble and have some fun! Ai Hui and Bangwan, who are
you betting on to win the fight? You are born with nothing and
will die with nothing. One has to take a gamble in his or her life.
A small amount of gambling is entertaining, but excessive
gambling is harmful. I, Fatty, shall be the banker and will treat
everyone fairly. It’s okay if you don’t have money now, we can
put it on a tab."

"I am betting on Bangwan! 500 yuan!"

"Ai Hui hasn’t recovered yet, I am betting on Bangwan! 800

yuan!"

"Ai Hui is too anxious, he should rest for another two days
first. I am betting on Bangwan too! 1,000 yuan!"

"…"

Everyone was stressed out after so many days of continuous

fighting. Therefore, they jumped in joy when there was a rare
opportunity for recreation.

"I am betting on Ai Hui. 10,000 yuan!"

Shi Xueman’s cold voice rang across the air, catching

everyone’s attention. No one had expected Shi Xueman, who
utterly defeated Ai Hui previously, to bet on Ai Hui to win the
fight.

Beads of cold sweat flowed down Fatty’s forehead as he

replied, "The maximum bet is 5,000 yuan."

"5,000 yuan then."

Shi Xueman’s firmness caused a lot of students to hesitate in

making their bets. When Fatty saw this, he intentionally asked
Shi Xueman, "Big Sister must have never played this before,
right?"

"Never," Shi Xueman shook her head. She had been extremely
self-disciplined since young, how could she have gambled
before?

Upon hearing Shi Xueman’s reply, all the students suddenly

realized what was going on.

So she was new to gambling, no wonder she bet on Ai Hui!

 Without any hesitation, they bet on Bangwan.

Everyone’s gaze was directed toward the two figures in the

arena.

Both Ai Hui and Duanmu had tremendous improvements in

their fighting capabilities. From their auras, everyone had an
inkling of what was going to happen. Both of them were
abnormally calm.

However, the next moment, both of them surged forward at

the same time.

Two shadows flashed across the arena as the two figures who
were previously stationary disappeared.

Ai Hui’s attack hit nothing but air.

Duanmu Huanghun was hovering in the air while the lotus

patterns slowly swirled under his feet. Ai Hui continuously
rejected him in the past, so he could only watch the fights
between Ai Hui and other students. As he watched the fights, he
kept thinking: how would he deal with Ai Hui if he was the one
fighting him?

Duanmu Huang did not underestimate Ai Hui at aall. Even

though Ai Hui had poor fundamentals and was limited in terms
of elemental energy, his swordsmanship had improved
immensely and reached an extremely formidable level. To last
so long against Shi Xueman without using any elemental energy
was not an easy feat.Even Duanmu Huanghun had to admit that
he could not have done so.

After watching so many of Ai Hui’s fights, Duanmu Huang

made a big discovery.

Ai Hui had a fatal weakness, which was that he could not fly.
On the contrary, Duanmu Huanghun could.

Duanmu Huanghun’s strategy was very simple. The first thing

he would do was to fly up into the sky and then attack Ai Hui
from there.

His [Viridescent Flower] was capable of making long-ranged

attacks.
 Upon seeing Ai Hui raise his head and look at him helplessly,
Duanmu Huanghun could not help but smile wickedly and feel
extremely happy.

Finally, it’s time for payback!

Today is the day to pay back Ai Hui for all the humiliating
times!

The more Duanmu Huanghun thought about it, the more

excited he got. The smile on his face involuntarily grew wider
and wider. It was finally the day to slay his inner demon! Today
shall be the day that he surpassed Ai Hui. His smile eventually
exploded into a howling laughter. "Hahaha! Ai Hui, have a taste
of my [Viridescent Flower]!"

His frenzy-filled eyes began to flicker. Surging elemental

energy gushed through Duanmu Huanghun’s body. The slender
fingers from both of his hands spread out like a blossoming
flower. Numerous elegant shadows appeared momentarily and
faded from his fingers.

Green ripples appeared under Ai Hui’s feet and extended

outward. Ai Hui’s body froze as if there was an invisible power
confining him. Numerous green branches and tendrils emerged
from beneath his feet. They grew at a terrifying speed, as if they
were alive.

The intertwining branches and tendrils eventually formed a

cage around Ai Hui. Looking at it from the sky, it resembled a
green openwork longevity lock.

[Viridescent Flower, Perennial Lock]!

Chapter 239: Perennial Lock and
Elemental Energy Pills
Ai Hui was locked up in the green openwork cage, unable to
move a single step.

The seemingly slender branches and tendrils that made up the

cage were actually abnormally tough and durable. Within the
cage, an invisible force was crushing Ai Hui from all directions.

The branches and tendrils that were nearer to the ground

were abnormally thick and strong. The wrinkles on them
looked as though they had been through hundreds of years of
great changes.

"Perennial Lock!" Shi Xueman was slightly shocked.

"Is it very powerful?" Upon hearing how shocked Big Sister

sounded, Fatty jumped up in surprise. Anything that had to do
with getting rich would immediately energize him. "Is it a very
well-known move?"

"It’s very powerful, but not really well-known because it’s

very difficult to master." Shi Xueman replied without shifting
her gaze.

Upon hearing this, Fatty became worried. He took a closer

look and muttered, "I can’t really tell if it’s that powerful. It’s
just a grass cage after all. If it was me locked inside, I would just
break out with force."

"You would not be able to do it," Shi Xueman replied bluntly

without shifting her gaze.

Fatty knew that Big Sister was a practical individual and he

did not feel humiliated by her words. On the contrary, he was
worried about his money-making plan and continued to argue.
"I really see nothing terrific about it."

"The terrific parts are unobservable." Shi Xueman was candid

as usual. "Those branches and tendrils are entrenched a few
hundred meters deep into the ground and are absorbing an
unending stream of water elemental energy from the
surrounding earth, strengthening and nourishing their bodies.
Water nourishes wood. The reason why this move is called
Perennial Lock is because as time passes, the lock will become
more secure and stable. A Perennial Lock planted by a Master-
level wood elementalist can last for hundreds of thousands of
years without rotting. In the past, they used this move to lock
up individuals that were guilty of terrible crimes."

Shi Xueman was very familiar with various families’ absolute

arts, knowing everything about them.

Upon hearing this, Fatty was dumbstruck. After a long while,

he then opened his mouth again. "I’m going to stay away from
that pretty boy in the future. His family is indeed abnormal! No
wonder his gaze is always that weird-looking."

Shi Xueman talked rather loudly. Upon hearing what she had
said, everyone became restless.

"It turns out this move is so powerful!"

"Fortunately, I bet on Bangwan. Seems like I’m going to make

a small profit on this bet!"

"This time around, Fatty is going to suffer a huge loss, so

much so that he won’t even be left with his pants!"

...
 Fatty was slightly flustered, but he continued to be in denial
and snorted. "All of you don’t know Ai Hui well enough. He is
the kind of person who wouldn’t give up even when facing
death. It’s still too early to say that the pretty boy will defeat Ai
Hui."

Everyone could see the panic on Fatty’s face and broke out
into laughter.

Everyone was envious of Duanmu Huanghun’s invincible

move.

As they had just attained elemental internalization, it was still

a long while before they would be able to draw on and use the
elemental energy in nature. Only those who had achieved
elemental externalization could do so.

Upon achieving elemental internalization, the barrier

between the elementalist and nature was broken, greatly
increasing his or her training efficiency. The main purpose of
elemental internalization was to expand the eight palaces,
allowing them to become stronger and the elemental energy
internalized within their body to be in abundance.
 After the eight palaces could no longer expand, the elemental
energy in one’s body would undergo saturation, which was also
known as the Advanced Completion. After reaching the
Advanced Completion, one could attempt to attain elemental
externalization.

The so-called elemental externalization referred to the ability

to draw on and use the elemental energy in nature.

Compared the elemental energy in nature, the elemental

energy in a human body was insignificant. In order for an
elementalist to draw on the elemental energy in nature, a
conductor would be necessary. That conductor was the physical
body of the elementalist.

The more robust the elemental energy in the body was, the
easier it would be for him or her to establish a connection with
nature.

Duanmu Huanghun’s move was extremely high-level, so

much so that Shi Xueman could not help but exclaim in
admiration.

To be able to draw elemental energy from nature while only

having attained elemental internalization, it was apparent how
extraordinary Duanmu Huanghun’s genius and his [Viridescent
Flower] were.

Shi Xueman took a glance at the locked-up Ai Hui and

pondered pensively. Even though Duanmu Huanghun was
currently winning the fight, Fatty was right in the sense that
giving up was not Ai Hui, that rascal’s, style.

All the students had underestimated the degree of prudence

with which Duanmu Huanghun faced Ai Hui.

Even though Ai Hui was being imprisoned and seemingly did

not have the chance to make a comeback, Duanmu Huanghun
did not loosen his vigilance at all. He had suffered under the
hands of Ai Hui more than anyone else, and as such, he
understood Ai Hui better than anyone else as well. There were
several times in which he’d thought his victory was assured, but
then was thwarted by Ai Hui towards the end.

Duanmu Huanghun might look crazy now, but he was not

foolish.

He was not at all stingy with his elemental energy. Various

species of vines and tendrils frantically grew out from the cage
and engulfed it.

In the blink of an eye, the cage was completely devoured by

densely-packed green flowers, vines, branches, and tendrils.

A fifteen-meter-tall green hill appeared in the arena. Everyone

was dumbfounded as a shiver went down their spines.

How many grievances did they have between them…

Phew, phew, phew…

Duanmu Huanghun’s heavy panting could be clearly heard.

The elemental energy in his body had been completely depleted;
however, he did not feel tired or empty. All he felt was extreme
relief. The gloominess that had been bottled up within him was
cleared.

"Hahahah…"

Wicked, wild laughter resounded throughout the arena.

 Duanmu Huanghun did not intend to fight a deadlocked battle
with Ai Hui. He understood his opponent and himself clearly.
Even though the amount of his elemental energy was far more
plentiful than Ai Hui’s, he knew he would eventually lose to Ai
Hui if they engaged in a battle of attrition.

This plan had been meticulously designed by him.

He’d made use of his aerial advantage and caught Ai Hui by

surprise. Then he started off with the move he had just
comprehended, the [Perennial Lock]. The enormous disparity in
base level between Ai Hui and the [Perennial Lock] meant the
latter was able to suppress the former completely. Following
which, he would pour all his elemental energy into the battle,
securing his victory.

All along, he had been secretly observing Ai Hui’s fighting

characteristics.

One of these characteristics had been locked onto by Duanmu

Huanghun as he had witnessed it many times. Whenever one
fought with Ai Hui, he or she should avoid pitting themselves
against him using fighting tactics. This fellow was like a
cockroach. If one could not defeat him with one blow and
instead engaged in a deadlocked battle with him, the final victor
would always be Ai Hui.

After howling with laughter for quite some time, Duanmu

Huanghun finally stopped.

"There’s nothing to be done about it now. My elemental

energy has been completely depleted and there’s no way I can
save you. You can enjoy your time in there for now. You have to
wait until my elemental energy has completely recovered before
I can undo this huge cage."

Duanmu Huang’s voice appeared to be filled with sympathy

but he was laughing deep down in his heart.

It was too perfect!

How many seeds had he planted to form this cage? Not even
Duanmu Huanghun knew. The green flowers on the cage would
continue to attack Ai Hui, not even stopping for half a second.
Even though Ai Hui’s life would not be in any danger, he would
‘enjoy’ the entire process!

Duanmu Huanghun floated towards the ground slowly. All

the students were looking at him in awe.

Having only achieved elemental internalization, he could

already display a move used by elemental externalists. Duanmu
Huanghun’s improvements had far exceeded their expectations.

Duanmu Huanghun had never been more smug than he was

now. The darkness that had engulfed him was lifted. The inner
demon that had been pestering him was slayed. The shadow
that had been stalking him closely was ruthlessly destroyed by
him.

He felt a sense of extreme relief, as if he had eaten a fruit of

immortality.

He had to carefully savor this precious and beautiful moment.

He stood bolt straight and looked as though he had completed

an insignificant task. His white clothes fluttered in the wind.
Even though his elemental energy was completely depleted, his
elegant and confident demeanor was not broken. A perfect
performance must have a perfect curtain call!
 He was fated to be a perfect man!

I’m going to enjoy this moment…

"No need."

A soft voice rang clearly through Duanmu Huanghun’s ears,

despite the thickness of the green hill.

Duanmu Huanghun was shocked, but then quickly laughed at

himself. Such a stubborn inner demon... How can I be hearing
such voices in my head even after I have obtained an absolute
victory… How obstinate of me...

He flicked his long sleeves gracefully. Just as he was about to

wave goodbye to his stubborn inner demon, a lingering voice
rang into his ears as if a ghost was whispering to him.

"Are you ready?"

Duanmu Huanghun froze and almost fell down. His eyes

widened as a blank look appeared on his face.
 Ready?

Ready for what?

Wait a second… Shouldn’t this fellow be in a coma, in agony,

struggling for his life, and resisting the cage with all his might?

How come he couldn’t hear a single hint of agony in his voice?

It was as if… as if he was completely fine?

Everyone had their eyes wide-open as they stared blankly at

the fifteen-meters-tall green hill. Their faces were filled with
incredulity as an unbelievable thought flashed across their
minds. Could it be that… Ai Hui was still capable of striking
back?

A planar beam of silver light shot out of the thick grass hill
like a sharp blade and went right through the blue dome of the
heavens.

Following which, another beam of silver light shot out of the

green hill.
 Another beam shot out again...

The sound of the green hill being pierced was very soft,
however, at this moment, it resembled thunder in everyone’s
ears.

Numerous streaks of light had shot out of the green hill.

In the midst of dead silence, Lou Lan’s cheerful voice suddenly

rang through the air. "Ai Hui, come on!"

Just as Lou Lan finished speaking, the grass hill exploded with
a loud boom. A burst of dazzling silver light erupted in
everyone’s eyes.

Buzzzz!

The sound of lightning sparks approached like an incoming

tidal wave. The silvery sword glints were like wind, propelling
the tidal wave forward. The youth’s figure was fuzzy amidst the
intense, silver light.
 Seven daggers flew and danced around Ai Hui’s body rapidly,
then eventually materialized into dazzling silver light orbs. The
lightning sparks on the surfaces of these light orbs resembled
wandering chains of lightning.

The green flower patterns around Ai Hui vanished into thin

air. The only thing that was still stubbornly standing was the
[Perennial Lock]; however, it was being pushed outward by the
silver light orbs, inflating like a balloon.

The faster the daggers flew, the more intense the sword glints
got.

Crack, crack, crack!

The green vines and tendrils that formed the [Perennial Lock]
began to snap and collapse. The remaining sturdier ones
frantically absorbed the water elemental energy from the
ground. Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows as the sword in his hand
trembled furiously. He had no choice but to hold the sword with
both hands.

Duanmu Huanghun’s cage was far stronger than what he had

expected. Previously, with the use of the [Big Dipper], he’d
blown up a grass sword with seven elemental energy pills. This
time around, the number of elemental energy pills that Ai Hui
used had already exceeded two-thirds of the elemental energy in
his body.

The cage had not exploded yet!

However, Ai Hui did not have the slightest bit of fear. He

could sense that this new sword could endure far more
elemental energy than the previous ones.

Let’s see where your limit is!

Ai Hui silently spoke to his sword. Without any hesitation, he

poured his elemental energy into the new sword.

One by one, the elemental energy pills unfolded, extended,

and erupted. The sword was trembling furiously as its weight
increased tremendously.

In that moment, Ai Hui could feel that he was telepathically

connected with the sword. He felt as if something was going to
erupt out of his body. Without any hesitation, he slowly raised
his sword.

The next moment, a cold glint flashed across Ai Hui’s mind as

he furiously swung down his sword.

The silver light orbs suddenly exploded. The [Perennial Lock],

which had been holding on strenuously, was devoured by the
burst of silvery radiance and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Upon getting rid of the restriction that the lock had placed on
him, Ai Hui felt as light as a feather.

The explosion of silvery radiance sent a terrifying sonic boom

bursting in all directions.

Duanmu Huanghun, who was about to land on the ground,

was unable to react in time. He could only blankly watch on as
the burst of silvery radiance whizzed towards him

Boom! A shadow flew across the air.

A white-clothed figure was deeply embedded on the wall not

far away, spread-eagled.
Chapter 240: The Deadly Weakness
The night sky seemed to be covered with a black veil while the
gloominess in the air resembled an insoluble black ink.

All of Central Pine City was empty. The streets were filled
with ruins and rubble. A few undestroyed pumpkin lamps were
giving off a dusky yellow light, shining upon the dilapidated
city.

Two indistinct dark figures were walking through the ruins.

Yan Hai was walking ahead of the other figure. He had lived in
Central Pine City for many years. Even though the city had
fallen to ruin, he still knew his way around.

Ever since the day he’d refined the blood crystal that Tian
Kuan had given him, he had successfully developed blood traces
and become a legitimate blood elementalist. Tian Kuan also
taught him a thing or two about [Shadowless], sharply
increasing his fighting capabilities.

The unprecedented abundance of power in his body had

imbued him with absolute confidence. Furthermore, he had Sir
behind him to provide support.

He was walking erratically and the environment surrounding

him was distorted. It was as if a thin layer of shadow had
covered his surroundings, merging with the night scene and
making it difficult for him to be seen clearly.

They walked and stopped, walked and stopped, avoiding the

patrolling elementalists along their way.

They had arrived.

Yan Hai stopped in his tracks, raised his head, and looked at
the towering perimeter walls. The wall was covered with
various species of densely-packed plants. Other than the
mayor’s residence, this was the most intact place in all of
Central Pine City: the casualty barrack.

Yan Hai made a hand-signal behind his back. He remained

prudent as usual.

With the recent formation of the blood traces, his powers had
gotten a lot stronger than before; however, the surviving
elementalists in Central Pine City had also been strengthened.
The A-1 unit and the Lightning Blade had gotten rather popular
these days. The previous scene of numerous lightning bolts
surging down from the sky had struck fear in him as well, so
much so that he’d almost collapsed onto the ground. After that
incident, he was filled with anxiety and worry. One careless
mistake could cost him his life.

He was not the only who was worrying. Initially, Sir was
nonchalant towards the elementalists in the city; however, he
had now also become fearful of them.

However, Sir was truly someone who had lived through

countless life-and-death battles. He’d identified Central Pine
City’s weakness with one glance.

If their plan was successful, the situation in Central Pine City

would change immediately.

Yan Hai felt that the success rate of the plan was very high.
When he thought of this, his heart burned with fervor.

The casualty barrack that was surrounded by towering walls

was used to quarantine injured elementalists. A few thousand
elementalists that had been infected by the blood poison were
being locked up here. These infected elementalists gave the
mayor a headache. Until now, he had yet to find a cure for the
blood poison. He could not kill these inflicted elementalists or
take a carefree attitude towards them. The only thing he could
do was to quarantine them in order to prevent the blood poison
from spreading.

There was no other way except to drag out the situation.

Everyone could only hope that the Elders Guild would quickly
find a cure to the blood poison.

The quarantine zone was heavily guarded; however, these

walls were only used to keep the blood fiends out and prevent
those severely inflicted elementalists within the facility from
escaping. Central Pine City was low on manpower, hence, there
was no extra manpower to guard the inflicted elementalists. To
reduce the number of people taking care of the casualties, the
casualty barrack was sealed off. The surrounding high walls and
the thick, vine-made dome roof were used to cut off contact
between the casualties and the outside world.

Surveillance plants and vines that could shackled the

casualties were grown all over the casualty barrack. They were
the most loyal sentinels. Once they discovered that an inflicted
elementalist’s condition had worsened and turned aggressive,
the nearby vines would quickly bind him or her.

With the surveillance plants and the restricting vines placed

in every corner of the facility, only three wood elementalists
were needed to manage the place. Casualties who went crazy
could only act on their instincts and did not know how to use
their powers. As such, they were not difficult to deal with.

On the contrary, there were a lot of elementalists patrolling

the surroundings of the casualty barrack. The higher-ups were
worried that blood fiends would suddenly appear and damage
the high walls surrounding it.

For the past few days, Yan Hai’s mission had been to observe
and study the patrol schedule of the patrolling unit clearly.
Other than this, he did not need to care about anything else.

Two green pills appeared in Tian Kuan’s hand. He ate one

himself and passed the other one to Yan Hai. Under Tian Kuan’s
watchful eyes, Yan Hai ate the pill.

"Use your spiritual force to dissolve it," Tian Kuan instructed

Yan Hai in a low voice.
 Yan Hai quickly channeled the blood spiritual force in his
body. He was shocked to discover that the red-colored blood
spiritual force in his body had turned green in color. The blood
aura that engulfed his body had disappeared and was replaced
by the fresh and clean aura of plants.

Yan Hai was startled. The organization was indeed

unfathomable!

They actually had such good stuff!

"You will lead the way," Tian Kuan instructed in a low voice
once again.

"Yes."

A shiver ran down Yan Hai’s spine. Not daring to hesitate any
longer, he began to climb up the perimeter wall. The vine bells
that could be found everywhere stayed quiet, looking as if they
had fallen asleep.

Two dark figures silently climbed the high wall, then

penetrated the thick, vine-made dome roof.
 Yan Hai felt extremely amazed. Those highly dangerous and
vigilant vines did not seem to have noticed them.

Sir must have prepared for them!

He could not help but become filled with expectations. What

would Sir do next?

The loft where the three wood elementalists stood guard was
located at the center of the casualty barrack. Thick, strong vines
were packed in the areas surrounding the loft’s windows. Being
stationed at the highest point of the casualty barrack, the wood
elementalists could monitor the wandering inflicted
elementalists below. This position had the best view as they
could clearly see everything in the courtyard of the facility.

The countless vines were drooping downward like keen-eyed

venomous snakes, prepared to bind any casualties that lost
control at any time.

Those elementalists who were inflicted with blood poison

would show symptoms of beastification. As the blood poison got
worse, the process of beastification would deepen. Eventually,
those elementalists would lose control of themselves and turn
into wild beasts.

Their lives would come to an end at that moment.

Everyday, someone’s life was terminated. Initially, the three

wood elementalists had felt depressed and disturbed.
Eventually, they became numb to it.

What could they do about it? Human lives were just so

insignificant in this blood catastrophe.

Outside of the perimeter walls, there were many people being

killed by blood fiends everyday. Inside the perimeter walls,
there were also many people being killed by them.

The harshest decisions were always made out of desperation.

Sun Ke watched on as a snake-like vine tied up a berserk

elementalist while another pointed vine pierced through the
back of his head like a sharp sword. The terrifying blood color
in that elementalist’s eyes gradually dimmed.
 "We are probably the executioners among wood
elementalists." Sun Ke laughed sarcastically at himself.

"We’re doing this for their own good," mumbled Wang

Tongan, who was beside him.

"I knew him personally. He was my neighbor and a good

man." Sun Ke’s tone got more sarcastic.

Wang Tongan did not know how to console him.

"You don’t need to console me," Sun Ke muttered as he looked

absent-mindedly at the courtyard. "I know what I’m doing. I
just hope that this blood catastrophe will be over soon."

Wang Tongan felt that the atmosphere was getting tense and
tried to change the topic. "What do you want to do after you get
out of here?"

"Start on my training again." Sun Ke turned his face around

and replied, "I don’t want to be a wood elementalist anymore. In
the past, I chose to be a wood elementalist because I didn’t want
to kill people. I didn’t expect that I would end up killing even
more people."

A shiver went down Wang Tongan’s spine. Then, he patted

Sun Ke’s shoulder and said, "That’s what I thought too. Do you
want to take a rest?"

"You go and have a rest first, I will try to stay awake for a
while more. Anyway, Xiaozheng will be waking up soon." Sun
Ke’s facial expression returned to normal. "Don’t worry, I’m not
that weak."

"Alright then, I will go and take a break first. Yell for us if

there’s any situation." Wang Tongan nodded his head.

"Go ahead, go ahead." Sun Ke waved his hand.

Wang Tongan went to take a nap, leaving Sun Ke alone to

observe the situation below. Even though there were so many
vines around, it was still very exhausting for the three of them
to oversee the enormous casualty barrack by themselves.

They had tried asking the higher ups for more manpower, but
their request had been rejected. There were a lot of casualties
among the elementalists, causing a severe shortage of
manpower. There was no way that the higher-ups could send
reinforcements to the three of them.

Currently, everyone knew that there was no cure for blood

poisoning. Hence, a lot of injured elementalists would choose to
die together with the blood fiends. Eventually, the number of
injured elementalists that were sent to the casualty barrack was
reduced sharply, allowing the three wood elementalists to cope
with the duty of overseeing the facility.

Sun Ke’s attention was placed completely on the courtyard

below, not noticing the danger that crept increasingly closer to
him from above.

….

The mayor’s residence.

Wang Zhen looked at Ai Hui. This was the first time Ai Hui
had taken the initiative to come to the mayor’s residence. Ai Hui
had asked for details about the plan to ‘treat the city as a piece
of cloth’, expressing his wish to help out in any possible way.
 "Shouchuan has taken in a good disciple," Wang Zhen praised.

He was not saying this out of courtesy. His subordinates had

long reported to him of Ai Hui’s visit to Wang Shouchuan.

Wang Zhen’s impression of Ai Hui was that the latter was a

very capable and talented young man, although he was also a
moody and melancholic individual. Rather than behaving like
any of the usual youngsters, he behaved like an old veteran who
had been through a lot. He was also not someone who liked to
meddle in other people’s business. Not only that, if one was to
give him a task, he would haggle over the reward. He would
only agree to the task until he felt that the reward was enough.

Wang Zhen was having a huge headache over this

characteristic of Ai Hui.

The thing was that with Ai Hui’s performance getting

increasingly better and him gaining a reputation, Wang Zhen
could not get tough with him.

Wang Zhen did not expect Ai Hui to take the initiative to offer
his help. He knew that Ai Hui was doing it because of Wang
Shouchuan; however, from this he could also tell that the
relationship between Ai Hui and his master was very deep.

Ai Hui being willing to help was the best situation.

Shi Xueman, who was standing beside Ai Hui, could not help
but take a glance at the latter. She now realized that there was
actually so much inside information regarding Ai Hui.

"With your help, our rate of progress will increase," Wang

Zhen said bluntly. "The golden needles are going to be
completed soon. The next task is to nail the nine needles in
specific positions. Those positions are the nodes for the
elemental energy surrounding Central Pine City. Once these
nodes are activated, the elemental energy surrounding all of
Central Pine City will transform. That means that the moment
we nail the first golden needle, the subsequent needles have to
be nailed into their respective positions within a day’s time."

"So the mayor wants to start nailing from the most difficult
position?" Ai Hui asked.

A look of admiration appeared on Wang Zhen’s face as he

replied, "You’re indeed a quick-witted fellow. That’s right, we
will start with the most difficult one and then move on to the
easier ones. This way we will reduce the risk. Therefore, we
must nail the first golden needle at the most difficult position."

"I’m willing to take up this mission." Ai Hui volunteered

without any hesitation.

"The A-1 unit is willing to take up this mission." Shi Xueman

volunteered without any hesitation as well.

"Alright, then I will give all of you the most difficult mission."
Wang Zhen walked to the map of Central Pine City and pointed
to a dot. "You have to nail the golden needle at this location. On
the day itself, specialized smiths will be following your unit.
You all have to ensure their safety as well as your own. If the
situation gets critical, it’s okay to delay the mission by one or
two days. If you all are injured, then it will be too dangerous for
us to nail the remaining eight needles as well."

Shi Xueman’s gaze froze when she saw the point on the map.

That place was… Heaven Pit!

Ai Hui nodded his head emotionlessly and replied, "No

problem."
Chapter 241: Dragonspine
Ai Hui and Shi Xueman walked out of the mayor residence
side by side.

Ai Hui suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at Shi

Xueman with seriousness written all over his face.

Upon noticing Ai Hui’s weird behaviour, Shi Xueman stopped

in her tracks and cast a puzzled look at him. She did not know if
it was because Ai Hui had had a breakthrough, but his gaze was
heart-piercing like a sword.

Seeing that Ai Hui looked somewhat unnatural, Shi Xueman

put on a calm-looking face and asked, "Is there a problem? In
such a devastating disaster, no one can escape unscathed.
Everyone is fighting for their own lives."

"Thank you," Ai Hui suddenly opened his mouth and said.

"Ahh…" Shi Xueman was at a loss. She had never heard the
phrase "thank you" coming out of Ai Hui’s mouth before. She
had also never expected Ai Hui to thank her in such a situation.
 Just when she was about to say something, Ai Hui had already
walked past her.

At that moment, Shi Xueman felt really stupid. She nearly

used her spear to stab that rascal’s back.

"Anyway, I might be grateful to you but don’t expect me to

reduce the debt you owe me."

A string of awful words came from the guy that was strolling
in front of her.

The usual ice-cold look returned to Shi Xueman’s face, and

she remained silent as she followed behind him.

At this point in time, the night had passed and dawn was
coming. The horizon was suffused with white. The darkest
moment had passed and the rising sun would expel the shadows
with its light and heat, marking the start of a new day.

It was time for the patrol unit to change shifts. Weariness

could be found on the faces of the patrolling elementalists along
the streets. Even though they were exhausted, they still greeted
Ai Hui passionately.

This seemingly skinny youth was the most popular figure in

Central Pine City right now.

"How do you intend to begin this mission?" Shi Xueman

decided to break the silence between them.

She knew Ai Hui was not an impetuous fellow, so he must

have certain plans.

"I will scout out the Heaven Pit first. The blood fiends that
invaded the city recently came through the Heaven Pit. I have to
determine exactly what is going on inside. I also need to find the
blacksmiths to enquire about what to take note of when nailing
the golden needle. We don’t have a second chance for this plan."

Ai Hui’s voice came from the front. Even though Shi Xueman
could not see his face, she could imagine the serious look he
had.

"Count me in," Shi Xueman blurted out.

 The moment she blurted out these words, she felt
embarrassed. Was she too straightforward?

"Okay," Ai Hui responded bluntly.

Shi Xueman’s embarrassment immediately disappeared as her

mouth curled into a smile.

…..

The quarantine barracks.

When Yan Hai saw the three unconscious wood elementalists

on the ground, his respect for Tian Kuan increased significantly.
He had witnessed the entire process of how Tian Kuan finished
off the three wood elementalists effortlessly.

Tian Kuan threw one of the wood elementalists at Yan Hai’s

feet and unquestionably gave a command, "Have you learned
the soul-binding spell I taught you? Try it now."

"Yes!" Yan Hai replied obediently.

 The blood traces that he formed were different from Sir’s.
According to Sir, this was due to the difference between their
body aptitudes. He would have a different progression path
from Sir’s. Yan Hai was extremely envious of Sir’s [Shadowless],
but Sir would only teach him a few moves. The most important
move that Sir taught him was the [Blood Soul-Binding Spell].

The soul-binding spell was profound and extremely hard to

comprehend. Even after Sir’s detailed explanation, he still did
not quite comprehend it.

Yan Hai did not like learning the soul-binding spell at all, but
he did not dare to disobey Sir’s command.

A drop of brightly-colored fresh blood seeped out from his

glabella. As it left Yan Hai’s forehead, it materialized into a
cloud of blood mist. The cloud of blood mist pierced through
and entered the unconscious wood elementalist’s glabella.

The wood elementalist’s body began to jerk and tremble

violently. Tian Kuan made a squashing action with his hands,
and the wood elementalist’s body stopped moving, looking as if
he was being restricted by a pair of invisible hands.
 Beads of sweat began to form on Yan Hai’s forehead. The soul-
binding spell was far too difficult for him.

Pop!

The wood elementalist’s head exploded like a watermelon.

Yan Hai stared blankly at this scene. Immediately, his

stomach churned, and he could not help but puke wildly in a
corner. He was not a newbie and had seen deaths before,
however, this bloody scene was too much for him.

"Again."

Tian Kuan’s voice was calm and flat as he threw another

comatose wood elementalist at Yan Hai.

Yan Hai was still puking, so Tian Kuan did not rush him.

After a while, Yan Hai stood up with a pale-white face and

turned to the second wood elementalist. Once again, the cloud
of blood mist pierced through the glabella of the elementalist.
This time around, Yan Hai’s performance was a lot better than
before. The wood elementalist was still convulsing, but not as
violently as before.

Suddenly, blood started to seep out from the corner of the

wood elementalist’s mouth. The color of his face rapidly turned
ash-grey and the temperature of his body dropped instantly
until it became ice-cold. His body was completely devoid of life.

"This is the last one. If you fail again, you will die with him."

Even though Tian Kuan’s voice was still calm as usual, one
could sense the murderous intent within it. Yan Hai trembled in
fear. He knew that Sir’s patience had reached its limit. The pale-
white color of his face was able to conceal his anxiety well.
Otherwise, one could see his panic with one glance.

He knew that if he failed at what Sir expected him to do, he

would affect Sir’s plan and death would be the only way out for
him then.

This was the last chance.

 He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried his best to
calm himself down. After five minutes, he opened his eyes
again.

The cloud of blood mist penetrated the glabella of the last

wood elementalist. Just like before, the elementalist’s body still
resisted it fiercely.

Even though Tian Kuan sounded calm and nonchalant, he

actually cared a lot about this situation. He needed to buy more
time for his plan to work. If he could not take control of a wood
elementalist, he had no chance of carrying out his plan.
Opening the quarantine zone would only bring more chaos to
Central Pine City, which was far from his ultimate goal.

As long as it could buy him more time, he would be a step

closer to achieving his final goal.

It was a pity that he could not master the soul-binding spell

and could only place his hope on Yan Hai.

Yan Hai’s face was becoming increasingly pale, his body was
shivering non-stop, and he was drenched in cold sweat. The
resistance of the wood elementalist on the ground gradually
weakened.

After a while, the wood elementalist suddenly opened his

eyes.

His eyes were scarlet in color, containing a hollow gaze.

His eyeballs swivelled a few times and the scarlet disappeared.

The hollow gaze also slowly disappeared and was eventually
replaced by his eye pupils. Other than looking a bit dull, there
was nothing weird about his eyes.

The wood elementalist, who was lying on the floor, quickly

stood up and bowed toward Tian Kuan. "Sir!"

"You did a good job."

A smile appeared on Tian Kuan’s face.

As usual, the patrolling elementalists stopped 20 metres away

from the quarantine camp. This camp was everyone’s least
favorite place to visit. Everyone would rather battle with the
blood fiends than see their family members and friends die in
this place.

Despair, fear, numbness, devastation. This place was a green

colored hell.

Even the patrolling elementalists were not willing to get too

close to this green colored hell.

One of the patrolling elementalists yelled from afar, "How’s

the situation inside?"

After a while, a hole appeared on the high wall that was

covered with vines and tendrils. Next, a head came out of the
hole and replied, "Everything is fine as usual. Do you want to
come in and take a look?"

Upon hearing this, that patrolling elementalist quickly shook

his head and answered back, "We are very busy. Bye."

They did not want to stay any longer. Upon seeing the
familiar face of Sun Ke, they turned around and prepared to
leave. Everyone sympathized with the Sun Ke trio because this
squad was tasked with executing their family members and
loved ones. Just thinking about the torment that the three of
them had to go through struck fear in everyone’s heart.

The figure behind Sun Ke kept on observing until the

patrolling unit was gone.

"They have left," Sun Ke said.

If one listened clearly, he or she could hear that Sun Ke’s voice
was slightly deeper than usual. However, no one would notice
such an insignificant difference during this chaotic period of
time. Fatigue, lack of sleep, and low morale. Everyone would be
different than usual.

The previously nonchalant Tian Kuan began to reveal a tinge

of craziness and excitement on his face. He walked to the
window and looked at the countless pairs of scarlet eyes. With a
voice that contained a tinge of expectation, he muttered, "Our
plan can begin now."

…..
 On the fringe of the Heaven Pit, the morning sun cast the
shadows of three figures.

"The weather is beautiful." Shi Xueman squinted her eyes as

she basked in the morning sun. Such beautiful weather was
extremely rare these days.

Lou Lan slanted his head and asked Ai Hui, "Ai Hui, have you
thought of a name for your new sword?"

"Name?" Ai Hui replied as he observed the Heaven Pit, "Let’s

call it Lou Lan’s sword."

Lou Lant thought pensively before replying, "That does not

sound too impressive."

"Let’s call it Ai Hui’s sword then," Ai Hui answered without

even thinking. His gaze carefully scanned every single section of
the Heaven Pit. The terrain of the Heaven Pit was quite
different from the last time they had visited.

The continuous influx of blood fiends had significantly

impacted the terrain of the Heaven Pit. There had been several
mini Heaven Pits appearing around the city. The sandworms
had hollowed out several areas beneath Central Pine City.

"You’re too perfunctory." Shi Xueman was unhappy with Ai

Hui’s attitude. "Lou Lan spent so much time and effort to craft
this sword for you, how can you treat him like that?"

Lou Lan was everyone’s beloved. Shi Xueman wished that she
could bring Lou Lan home. If she had a sand puppet like Lou
Lan, she would treat him very well. Ai Hui’s perfunctory
attitude really infuriated Shi Xueman.

"That’s true." Ai Hui stopped what he was doing and pondered

seriously before saying, "A snake can be considered a small
dragon. Since the sword is made using the snake vertebrae, let’s
call it Dragonspine!"

"This is a good name," Lou Lan’s eyes lit up.

Shi Xueman pouted and did not say anything else. From the
way she looked at it, Ai Hui’s creativity had reached its limit just
by coming up with this name.
 "Let’s prepare to go down and see what’s going on inside," Ai
Hui instructed in a deep voice. "Lou Lan, remember to record
the surrounding terrain and remind us of the location of the
node. We have to find a suitable path down. I have already
talked to the blacksmiths, and the golden needle has very large
dimensions. Its length is more than five metres and its diameter
is around half a metre. Such a huge object would spell trouble if
it enters a narrow space. Even though the golden needle is made
of metal, it’s still very fragile. It might not work if even a tiny
bit of it is damaged."

Lou Lan was a sand puppet and operating underground was a

piece of cake for him. An average person would easily lose his or
her sense of direction underground, but it was not a problem for
Lou Lan. He could easily and rapidly identify his bearings
underground.

"No problem, Ai Hui," Lou Lan said cheerfully.

"If we encounter any danger, when I say retreat, both of you

have to listen to me and retreat. I will bring up the rear." Ai
Hui’s gaze shifted to Shi Xueman and added one more line, "I am
confident that we will come back alive."

"No problem," Shi Xueman nodded her head. With regards to

this aspect, Ai Hui was indeed far more capable than her. This
fellow’s survivability was matchless.

"Let’s go!"

Ai Hui was the first one to jump in. The pitch-black Heaven
Pit devoured him like the wide-open maw of a monster. His
bright eyes were like the stars in the night sky, clear and firm.

Following closely behind Ai Hui, Shi Xueman and Lou Lan

jumped into the Heaven Pit.
Chapter 242: The Transformation Of The
Blazing Corals
"Be careful, the terrain has changed a lot," Ai Hui reminded
Shi Xueman and Lou Lan softly, his voice containing a tinge of
doubt. He found it hard to a establish connection between his
impressions of this place yesterday and today. Within a day, the
depths of the Heaven Pit had changed beyond recognition. The
unfamiliarity of this place was not within Ai Hui’s expectations.

What exactly had happened here in a day’s time?

A shiver went down Ai Hui’s spine as his face turned grave

and stern.

Shi Xueman was silently trembling with fear. She rarely saw
such a facial expression from Ai Hui. A focused Ai Hui always
seemed inhuman. Among their generation, Shi Xueman had
never met anyone whose psyche was comparable to Ai Hui’s. He
was cold and firm like steel. He would have no fear or panic
even if a knife was placed against his neck.

Shi Xueman was not the only who felt this way, and everyone
else felt the same about Ai Hui. She discovered this during a
private discussion with the others.
 "Ai Hui, the nature of the surrounding boulders and rocks has
changed. Their temperature is slight higher" Lou Lan’s glowing
yellow eyes kept flickering in the dark.

"The temperature is higher than before?" Ai Hui reached out

his hand and touched the cavern wall beside him. His hand felt
warm. The weird thing was he did not feel that the temperature
of the surrounding air was very high.

"Is this caused by the explosion from last time?" Shi Xueman
asked curiously as she touched the soil.

"No," Lou Lan shook her head, "the amount of fire elemental
energy in the rocks and soil exceeds the amount from last time
around. The nature of the elemental energy given off by that
explosion is very complicated. It was not not purely fire
elemental energy."

"Are you able to find out why?" Ai Hui asked.

"I need some time, Ai Hui," Lou Lan’s glowing yellow eyes
continuously flickered. He was the most familiar with matters
like soil, rocks, and quicksand. The Midnight core was
operating at full speed and was quickly able to identify
something strange. "It’s fire elemental energy. The soil has been
eroded by an unique type of fire elemental energy. It’s a rarely
seen type of fire elemental energy, and its nature is slowly
transforming."

"Its nature is slowly transforming?" Ai Hui asked.

"Yes, Ai Hui," Lou Lan’s reply came very fast, "its nature is a
mixture of fire elemental energy and fire spiritual force. Right
now, it’s transforming toward fire spiritual force, but the rate at
which it’s transforming is very slow."

"Fire spiritual force?"

This conclusion stunned Ai Hui and Shi Xueman.

Ai Hui shivered and asked urgently, "How slow is it? How long
before the fire elemental energy completely transforms into fire
spiritual force?"

"Approximately 200 years, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied.

 Ai Hui and Shi Xueman heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing
the huge number. What happened 200 years later had nothing
to do with them. They were fine with it as long as the
transformation did not take place now. If the transformation
was to take place now, the pressure on them would increase and
their chances of surviving would decrease.

"Why did the fire elemental energy undergo transformation?"

Shi Xueman did not seem to get it. "Isn’t elemental energy very
stable?"

Any elementalist that had a bit of common sense would have

such doubts. Even though everyone was very unfamiliar with
spiritual force, they still knew that the nature of elemental
energy was much stabler than spiritual force. That was a fact.
Otherwise, the Avalon of Five Elements would exist.

Right now, the stable elemental energy was trying to convert

into unstable spiritual force. This completely defied logic.

The flickering yellow light in Lou Lan’s eyes calmed down

gradually. He had already completed his analysis. "The larvae,
eggs, microorganisms, moss, and underground plants in the soil
have been infected with the blood poison. They are devouring
elemental energy and converting it into blood spiritual force."
 "Doesn’t that mean the Avalon of Five Elements will
completely disappear in 200 years’ time?" Shi Xueman’s face
turned deathly white.

"If no preventative measures are taken, then yes, Xueman,"

Lou Lan answered bluntly.

Ai Hui was speechless. He suddenly thought of the old

prisoner. Initially, he frequently communicated with that old
man, but as the situation worsened, Ai Hui purposely avoided
contacting him. With the increased pressure to survive and the
fact that the inside story he obtained from the old man was not
helpful for the current situation, he only felt deeper despair.

The inside story had nothing to do with him. All he wanted

was to survive the blood catastrophe.

From the words of the old man, Ai Hui understood a lot of

things. The Blood of God had extremely huge ambitions, and
their ultimate goal was to topple the Avalon of Five Elements.

As such, the Blood of God developed the blood poison... the

scary blood poison... the blood poison that could change the
world…
 Ai Hui felt that the blood poison was the most terrifying
creation in the world. It contained the power to change the
world, striking both fear and amazement in one’s heart.

"So are we going to revert back to the Cultivation Era in 200

years?" Ai Hui sighed. If the world was to revert back to the
Cultivation Era, there would be a lot of people joining the ranks
of the Blood of God. This process would result in the deaths of
many people.

"No, we won’t, Ai Hui," Lou Lan shook his head and answered
confidently. "This is because the world would only be left with
blood spiritual force, and blood spiritual force can’t dissipate
into the air like elemental energy. Blood spiritual force will have
to coexist with all living things. All living things will undergo
changes due to the blood spiritual force. Currently, lives are
already changing. These changes are permanent. Lou Lan can’t
predict what the future will look like yet."

Lou Lan sounded slightly distressed. It was as if he was

unhappy with himself that he could not predict anything.

"Even God does not know what the future will look like." Ai
Hui encouraged him, "Lou Lan, you’re already very impressive!"
 "Really?" Lou Lan’s eyes widened, appearing very happy.

"Of course!" Shi Xueman interjected. She had returned to her

senses and decided to leave the vexing global issues to the Elders
Guild. She looked at Lou Lan and continued, "Lou Lan is the best
sand puppet! The perfect sand puppet! Everyone loves Lou Lan!"

Whenever she saw Lou Lan, she would feel jealous of Ai Hui.
Why did she not have such a good sand puppet?

"Thank you Xueman!" Lou Lan replied cheerfully.

"Let’s go, we have to be careful," Ai Hui said in a low voice.

"Lou Lan, lead the way."

"No problem Ai Hui!" Lou Lan replied happily.

Ai Hui stayed 10 meters behind Lou Lan. If they were to

encounter any dangers, he could launch an attack from Lou
Lan’s side in the shortest amount of time.

Even though the ground was filled with fire elemental energy,
it had no effect on Lou Lan.

They ventured deeper into the Heaven Pit. Even the mayor
was shocked when he learned that the first golden needle had to
be nailed in the Heaven Pit. After consulting with Wang
Shouchuan, the latter’s answer was able to set them at ease. The
deeper the golden needle was nailed, the better the effects
would be. If they could bypass the possible dangers they might
encounter in the Heaven Pit and nail the golden needle in the
depths of the pit, it would very beneficial for the "treating the
city as a piece of cloth" plan.

The depths of the Heaven Pit was far larger than they had
expected it to be. The place was like an enormous underground
maze.

Without Lou Lan, the difficulty of locating the node would

have been many times harder.

Suddenly, the path ahead was illuminated by a faint red glow.

In a dark underground world, even a faint glow would appear

extremely bright. Immediately, the walking speed of the trio
slowed down. Everyone became unusually careful. It was
abnormal for a glow to appear in the depths.

What was ahead of them?

Everyone was filled with uncertainty.

Night vision was the basic ability of any subterranean beasts,

just like how they were used to hiding in the dark. For a
subterranean beast that dared to emit light, either it was
powerful or it was trying to use the light as bait.

Regardless what species they were, all of them were

dangerous.

The three of them slowed down and tiptoedquietly, afraid to

make the slightest bit of noise.

As they proceeded forward, the glow became brighter and

brighter.

The glow originated from the mouth of a cave. Ai Hui and the
rest held their breaths as they got closer to the cave entrance
and carefully peeked inside. The sight within the cave startled
everyone.

The red glow was produced by red, spear-like crystals. The

ground and cave roof were lined with these densely-packed
crystals.

"They look like blazing corals!" Shi Xueman cried out in

alarm.

"Blazing corals?" Ai Hui asked.

Shi Xueman’s face contained an indescribable surprise. She

quickly explained, "Blazing corals are a special local product
from the Fire Prairie. The ground beneath the Fire Prairie is
filled with intertwining rivers of lava and the blazing corals
grow on the riverbeds of these lava rivers. Blazing corals are a
very expensive type of fire elemental material.

"Fire elemental material?" Ai Hui muttered to himself.

Previously, the Heaven Pit’s entrance contained a strong
concentration of fire elemental energy. Now, this place was
filled with such a high-level fire elemental material like the
blazing corals. What changes was this place going through
exactly?

"They are blazing corals, Ai Hui." A red crystal appeared in

Lou Lan’s hand as the yellow light in his eyes began to flicker.
"To be precise, these are blood poison-infected blazing corals. Ai
Hui, take a look, there are blood traces in these crystals."

Ai Hui took a closer look. Indeed, there was a trace of blood in

the transparent red crystal. It was rather obvious.

"The usually slow-growing blazing coral worms are growing at

a very fast speed after being infected with the blood poison."

Before Lou Lan could finish his sentence, several red crystals
broke out of the ground, emerging in rapid succession. They
were quickly growing at a visible speed

The growing process of the blazing corals sent a shiver down

everyone’s spine, defying their logic.

"During the initial stages, living things that are infected with
blood poison will grow at a terrifying speed. When they start to
form blood traces, their growing speed will reduce. This
characteristic is unique to the blood spiritual force," Lou Lan
explained. He had a deep understanding toward blood spiritual
force.

"So are you saying that the blazing coral worms can form
blood traces too?" Shi Xueman was shocked.

"In theory, they can, but the smaller and simpler an organism
is, the harder it will be for it to form blood traces," Lou Lan
explained.

"I wonder what the blazing coral worms will look like if they
develop blood traces?" Shi Xueman’s voice quivered.

"I don’t know," Lou Lan shook his head.

Suddenly, Shi Xueman thought of another issue and her face

turned pale. "Then wouldn’t the Fire Prairie be…"

Given the horrifying speed that these blazing corals were

growing, what would the blazing corals at the Fire Prairie be
like?
 "As long as the first strain of blood poison appears, the blazing
corals will grow in huge bulks," Lou Lan explained. "Xueman,
don’t worry, so far there isn’t any news of places outside of the
Induction Ground being infected with blood poison."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xueman felt slightly at ease.

"Are these blazing corals still usable?" Ai Hui asked Lou Lan.
Blazing coral was a high-grade material. It would be a good
thing for them if these blazing corals could still be used.

"They are useless to us, Ai Hui." Lou Lan shattered Ai Hui’s

hope. "Their fast growth rate has sharply reduced their
sturdiness, hence, they are very fragile. However, they are very
useful to blood fiends. The blazing coral worms may grow,
reproduce, and die very quickly, but the blood spiritual force
from the blazing corals will continue to exist. The corpses of the
blazing coral worms contain the aura of life, enabling the blood
spiritual force to be preserved.

"In other words, the blazing corals are nourishment for blood
fiends?" Ai Hui’s facial expression changed.

"Yes, Ai Hui," Lou Lan answered with certainty.

 Ai Hui immediately knew that there would be consequences
for barging into the "pasture" of the blood fiends. At the same
time, he sensed that something was wrong.

"Be careful!"
Chapter 243: Lava Spider
A beam of red light erupted from a cluster of blazing corals
and shot toward Lou Lan.

Ai Hui’s reaction was extremely fast. The Dragonspine in his

hand immediately slashed out to block the beam of red light.

The tip of the sword collided with the red beam.

Boom!

The beam of red light exploded and an astonishing wave of

energy erupted from the tip of the sword. With a groan, Ai Hui’s
body was thrown backward.

Shi Xueman was able to respond with such a little amount of

buffer time. Instead of catching Ai Hui, she jumped over him
and thrusted her Cirrus outward. Moving together with her
spear, she surged forward.

Like a collapsed sand statue, Lou Lan dissolved in a puddle of

quicksand and moved out of the way.
 Shi Xueman was extremely fast, but just as she surged past
Lou Lan, another beam of red light erupted from the cluster of
blazing corals.

A cold glint flashed across Shi Xueman’s eyes. Not only did
she not dodge the beam of red light, but she took the initiative
and jabbed her Cirrus toward it. The beam of red light exploded
once more. Shi Xueman’s body swayed, but continued surging
toward the cluster of blazing corals.

Another beam of red light erupted from the blazing corals.

Shi Xueman remained calmed. Her hair fluttered as she leapt

into the air with her spear.

The three consecutive beams of red light were deflected by Shi

Xueman. Upon seeing this, Ai Hui was flabbergasted. The shock
wave from the explosion of the red light was enough to knock
him off the ground, but the iron lady could actually withstand it
effortlessly.

She was truly worthy of the nickname "iron lady"…

 After Ai Hui’s time spent admiring Shi Xueman ended, his
body immediately collapsed on the ground. Then, his left palm
pushed off the ground as his body shot forward like an arrow
released from a bow.

His gaze was locked onto a black figure within the cluster of
blazing corals.

As Shi Xueman neared, the black figure stirred restlessly. It

jumped out of the cluster of blazing corals and quickly retreated
backward.

Lava spider!

Ai Hui’s eyes dilated. After spending three years in the

Wilderness, he could identify many wild beasts and dire beasts.
The millstone-sized spider in front of him right now was the
renowned lava spider.

Lava spiders mainly lived in lava-filled terrain and were rarely

seen in other places. They were dangerous hunters and their
movements were extremely fast. They could hide in the lava or
camouflage themselves with the rocks. The color and the
texture of its back resembled a volcanic rock that had cooled.
 Lava spiders could also spurt out scorching lava, hence the
name. As compared to usual lava, the lava they spurted out was
fused with elemental energy, making it hotter and more
dangerous.

Were those beams of red light actually lava?

Ai Hui was confused. Those beams of red light had moved too
fast, so he could not see what exactly they were. However, the
shock wave from the explosion of the red light was terrifyingly
powerful.

Returning to his senses, Ai Hui snuck up to the lava spider

from another side like a ghost.

Suddenly, he felt an extremely faint wave of energy.

Not good!

Ai Hui’s facial expression changed drastically. The cloud that

shrouded his Dragonspine dissipated abruptly and engulfed his
body.
 Boom, boom, boom!

All the blazing corals within the cavern exploded. Since the
violent explosions took place in a small and narrow cavern, the
scene was extremely horrifying.

Fireballs were flying everywhere while a scorching heatwave

swept across the entire cavern.

Ai Hui felt as if he was in a smelting furnace. The shock wave

from the explosion contained immense power. When it hit Ai
Hui, he did not dare to resist. He could only protect his vital
parts and relax his body.

Thump!

He was swept up by the shock wave and smashed into a

boulder heavily. He felt as if his entire body was going to fall
apart. From his rich experience, he knew that even though this
method landed him in a pathetic state, it prevented him from
getting severely injured.

Before his body fully recovered, Ai Hui instinctively laid prone

and scuttled his way forward while sticking to the ground.

At almost the same time, a shattering sound came from the

boulder he had previously smashed into.

Ai Hui trembled in fear!

When one encountered a powerful dire beast, he or she should

never stay in one place for more than a second. A veteran once
advised him that if he was on a battlefield, he should keep
moving and never stop until he was dead. This was especially
true for someone with weaker fighting capabilities.

The body of Ai Hui’s Dragonspine bent as its tip pointed at a

boulder.

A cold glint flashed across the sea of blazing flames.

[Misty Strike].

Swoosh!
 A deafening sonic boom resounded through the air.
Afterward, a clang could be heard. It sounded as if the
Dragonspine had hit a metal shield.

From the sound alone, Ai Hui knew that his strike had not
broken through the carapace on the back of the lava spider. He
did not dare to stay at his current position for too long. Slapping
his palms on the ground, his body bounced upward.

A strong gust blasted against Ai Hui’s body, causing him to fall

back to his original position.

Boom!

A loud boom could be heard beneath him as crushed rocks

flew in all directions.

The blazing flames in the cavern had not extinguished yet, so

Ai Hui was unable to see anything. With a push off the ground
using his hand, his body flew into the air. As he flew, he
maneuvered his body into the correct posture based on his
senses and channeled the [Big Dipper]. With a flick of his wrist,
the Dragonspine carved an arc in the air.
 A crescent moon-like sword beam shot out from the sword
and swiftly blasted the ground below him.

He did not care about the result of his attack. Tapping his foot
on the roof of the cavern, his figure flew a few hundred meters
away.

The sea of flames had extinguished and the situation in the

cavern returned to normal.

The ground was a complete mess. Previously, the lava spider

had detonated numerous blazing corals, with only a few dimly
glowing ones left.

Shi Xueman revealed herself as well. Her blue-white armor

radiated a gentle glow, completely undamaged. However, Shi
Xueman’s face looked somewhat blank. It was most likely due to
the shock waves from the multiple explosions. It just so
happened that she was in the center of the cavern. That was a
place that Ai Hui would never ever position himself. In such a
small cavern, the shock waves from the explosions were bound
to converge in the centre of the cavern. Even though Shi
Xueman was protected by her armor and was uninjured, the
impact from the explosions still hit her squarely.
 Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. Even though he knew that Shi
Xueman would definitely be okay in such a situation, he still felt
relieved when he personally saw that she was uninjured.

Experience was not as good as having good equipment! That

blue-white armor must be very expensive…

Ai Hui silently coveted Shi Xueman’s armour, yet even so, he

did not dare to look away from the lava spider.

So ugly!

The blood traces of the lava spider were not obvious. Ai Hui
could barely see the blood traces on its belly. It seemed that the
weakness of this lava spider was on its belly?

This was the second blood fiend that Ai Hui encountered

which did not have a red body. The first was the flame-traced
blood ape that he previously encountered. The fighting
capabilities of these fiends were obviously stronger than the
normal blood fiends from last time. Ai Hui conjectured that as
the blood fiends transformed and evolved to higher levels, the
blood color of their bodies would disappear and return to their
respective original colors. Only the blood traces would stay.
 According to this conjecture, wouldn’t the blood fiends’
unique characteristics become unrecognizable as they evolved?

The lava spider was an extremely ugly dire beast. Even after
the blood transformation, it did not become prettier. The soles
of its feet had webs. When it dived into lava, it would pull its
eight limbs beneath its belly. The webs on the its soles would
allow it to move about in the lava, while its belly was able to
store a huge amount of lava. The abundance of elemental
energy in the lava would provide the lava spider with an
unending stream of energy. Lava was its weapon, and the lava
that it spurted out was swift like an arrow. After being blood-
transformed, the lava-spurting ability was further improved.

Its abnormally hard and durable head looked as though it was

covered with volcanic rocks. Ai Hui’s [Misty Strike] barely left a
white mark on it. Even when he utilized the more powerful
[Crescent Moon], he had only left a single wound on its back.

As Ai Hui saw the bright-red wound regenerating and closing

up, a shiver went down his spine.

When Ai Hui saw that the lava spider was looking at him with
so much hatred in its eyes, he knew that the enormous spider
had locked onto him.
 Ai Hui stood in front of Shi Xueman and did not intend to
launch any attacks. Shi Xueman had not recovered from the
impact of the shock waves.

She was slowly returning to her senses. All she needed was
time.

The wound on the back of the lava spider had fully sealed,
forming a black scab that resembled the kind of blemish that
could be found on boulders everywhere. Its eyes widened as its
belly suddenly lit up with a red glow, looking as if there was a
fire burning within it.

A premonition arose in Ai Hui’s mind. At this moment,

however, he could not retreat and could only stand in front of
Shi Xueman, bracing himself for any incoming attacks. He
clenched his teeth and muttered, "Iron lady, you have to pay
more money for me saving you…"

Pop, pop, pop!

Numerous beams of red light shot out from the lava spider’s
mouth, resembling torrential rain.
 Ai Hui’s hair stood on end as a strong feeling of danger
engulfed his mind. All of his attention was instantly shifted to
the airspace in front of him. This was the first time he could
clearly see exactly what the beams of red light were.

They were bean-sized lava globs. Since they moved too fast,
they formed a streak of bean-sized lava as they flew through the
air, resembling a beam of red light.

Ai Hui’s elemental energy channeled frantically into his

sword. The cotton-like honing cloud swiftly transformed into
numerous small razor-blade shapes that covered the body of the
sword, resembling fish scales. Cold air was rising all around Ai
Hui. Sword beams of all sizes were gathering on the sword,
gradually becoming more concentrated and sharper.

Ai Hui was so focused that his facial expression turned

exceptionally solemn. His wrist was so soft and flexible that it
was as if there were no bones in it. The Dragonspine in his hand
brandished smoothly through the air. Accompanied by an
unusual cadence, frigidly cold sword rays erupted from his
sword.

The ice-cold sword lights linked and formed a single long

sword beam, resembling a gigantic dragon made up of
numerous small blades that flew and danced in front of Ai Hui.
The blade dragon’s body sparkled with streaks of silvery
lightning, appearing extremely eye-catching in the faint red
glow of the cavern.

Whenever a beam of red light made contact with the blade

dragon, an explosion would occur. The terrifying power from
the lava destroyed several portions of Ai Hui’s sword light.
Fortunately, Ai Hui’s sword ray contained lightning bolts,
which also destroyed several beams of red light. The powerful
impacts from the continuous explosions, however, had almost
caused Ai Hui to lose his grip on the sword hilt.

Suddenly, a snow-white spear extended forward from behind

Ai Hui, helping him to block the next incoming red beam.

"With a skill level like yours, you still dare to collect money
from me?"

Shi Xueman’s sneer rang across Ai Hui’s ears from his back.

Before Ai Hui could retort, Shi Xueman flew past him like a
gust of wind.
 Facing the torrential rain of red light, Shi Xueman did not
show any sign of retreating. As the Cirrus in her hand danced
and formed a light shield, she lowered her waist, bent her
knees, arched her back, and surged forward!

With the light shield in hand, she fearlessly surged toward the
monstrous, hate-filled eyes and the deadly red light beams like
an enraged lion.

The careless mistake that she had made just now sparked the
raging flames within her.

Duanmu Huanghun’s talents were like his egoistic character,

stunning everyone he came across. Regardless of when and
where, he would always impress people with the magnificence
of his talent.

Shi Xueman was also known for her talent, but her situation
was entirely different from Duanmu Huanghun’s.

She was born in a prestigious family, she had renowned

teachers educating her, and she was born with exceptional
potential. However, her scariest traitr was her harsh and strong
self-discipline as well as her extraordinary endurance.
 The process of going through countless days of mundane,
tough training to temper her body, coupled with exceptional
resources and talent, would neither amaze nor impress others
out of grandeur, but instead, it was so practical that it filled her
opponents’ hearts with despair.

A burst of matchless strength erupted from the enraged Shi

Xueman!
Chapter 244: A Psychic Attack
Raging flames throbbed in Shi Xueman’s eyes. Braving the
storm-like lava, she charged atr the lava spider.

She had been attacked by the lava spider immediately upon

entering the cave. Although she was safe and sound thanks to
her armor and Ai Hui’s assistance, she felt extreme angst for
having landed herself in such a sorry state.

The continuous high-intensity battles in the city had

enhanced her combat experience so significantly that she felt
she was becoming a veteran fighter.

Yet, before she could feel proud about this, reality hit her
right in the face.

Ai Hui, who entered the cave at the same time, clearly

performed better.

The exploding lava collided incessantly with her dancing

Cirrus, but did not raise any waves. The shockingly heavy
Cirrus produced astonishingly dreadful power when spinning at
a high speed. It stirred up a storm and overturned the soil in the
cave. Its low whistle caused the whole cave to tremble.

It was like a humpback whale swimming in deep space.

Nothing could obstruct its path and each time it moved, its body
carried enormous weight.

Naturally, such mighty power came with a high consumption

rate. Shi Xueman’s elemental energy was declining at an
alarming speed.

The lava spider was stunned by Shi Xueman’s might, its face
revealing fear. It shot lava frantically while retreating slowly,
ready to escape.

Why would Shi Xueman let it go though?

She charged forward at an even higher speed now, the white

circular wheel disappearing. She took a stride and before her
shadow on the ground vanished, her delicate figure appeared in
midair. With both hands, she held Cirrus in a tight grip, its
height surpassing her head. She exhaled deeply, the brightness
in her eyes lit up as she targeted the lava spider on the ground
before crushing it ruthlessly with Cirrus.
 Buzz!

The heavy hum was like the sound of an ancient giant

swinging and striking with a hefty hammer. The airflow it
created made people tremble.

Fear was evident in the lava spider’s eyes as it suddenly

screeched.

Its shriek made Ai Hui feel like an awl had been drilled into
his brain. There was a sharp pain in his head and a lifeless look
on his face. He recovered very quickly, but his face changed
drastically.

A psychic attack!

It was his first time experiencing this.

He had heard from seniors in the Wilderness hunting teams

that some powerful dire beasts could attack this way. He could
still remember the dread in their eyes as they talked about it.
Ordinary elemental energy attacks, no matter how powerful,
would have a form and a quality. The most dangerous part of a
psychic attack was that it was incorporeal and could hit
someone even without their awareness.

Plus, why would a lava spider be able to do this? While these

spiders were powerful, they most definitely did not possess such
an ability.

The moment Shi Xueman was struck mentally, Cirrus

released a ball of gentle white light that wrapped itself around
her.

Shi Xueman appeared to be completely unaffected as Cirrus

smashed firmly onto the spider’s back like a sledgehammer.

Boom!

The whole cave shook. The lava spider was like a wooden
stake, pounded directly into the ground.

Ai Hui’s heart chilled. He knew how much that strike hurt the
lava spider just as an observer. Searching his memories
carefully, he was convinced that he had not done anything that
truly offended this Iron Lady.
 Shi Xueman’s residual anger made her lift Cirrus yet again, as
if it was a club or sledgehammer.

Boom, boom, boom. One powerful strike came after another,

as if she was chopping firewood.

Ai Hui bore witness to this act of violence as the ground

started to sink in from her strikes. He could not resist scanning
through all the memories and details in his brain again.

Yeah, no problem. There was no serious feud between the

Iron Lady and himself.

He sighed a breath of relief and actually had lingering fear

despite feeling as if he had been reborn.

Within the figure cloaked in that exquisite armor hid a

terrifying prehistoric dire beast.

Shi Xueman only stopped to catch her breath after over 10

consecutive smashes. The lava spider had long been etched into
the granite rocks, which were as tough as steel.
 It must be painful!

Ai Hui moved closer to look at the meter long lava spider

embedded in the ground. Its black, steel-like carapace was filled
with web-like cracks. It was beautifully violent. Ai Hui asked
with much sympathy and pity, "Is it dead?"

"Look and you’ll know," Shi Xueman said mildly, her slender
fingers brushing aside the hair that fell in front of her face. Her
movements were gentle, the earlier wildness absent.

Cirrus’s spearhead pierced through the lava spider

effortlessly.

Shi Xueman lifted Cirrus up as if nothing had happened.

"Dead."

He really had not offended her right…?

Ai Hui could not help but to ask himself once again: Why did
he feel so uneasy?
 "Do not break the blood crystal." He decided to remind Shi
Xueman anyway.

"Find it yourself." Shi Xueman held onto Cirrus as she walked

to the side and sat down.

As her anger dissipated, Shi Xueman, who had recovered her

peace, finally felt the post-traumatic stress.

She glanced at Cirrus. If Cirrus had not blocked the lava

spider’s psychic attack, she would have been dead by now. The
lava spider was right in front of her, so Ai Hui, who was behind
her, would have been unable to save her at all.

"Shi Xueman is so capable!" Lou Lan appeared, cheering

loudly.

"Lou Lan, clean this area up quickly," Ai Hui shouted as he

stood beside the lava spider. Ever since he realized that Lou
Lan’s butchering skills exceeded his, he had decided to leave it
all to him.

"Coming!"
 Lou Lan was always so happy.

When it came to sweeping up the battleground, Ai Hui

believed that even with 10 of him , he would not match up to
one Lou Lan. Not long ago, he was still convinced that he was
the veteran in this aspect.

Luckily, the blood crystal was not broken and its quality was
pretty good.

Sadly, the spider’s carapace was crushed by Shi Xueman. Lou

Lan’s processing standards had improved, and he completely
peeled the shell off the spider’s abdomen. Lou Lan said that
there were no internal organs in its abdomen. Instead the
abdomen stored lava and, hence, was best suited for fire
elementalists to make a lava pouch out of it. It was commonly
known as a "spider pouch."

It might not look big, but its storage was much greater than
the large fire tank Fatty carried around. Post blood-refinement,
its quality became even more outstanding, far exceeding that of
ordinary spider pouches.

Fire elementalists’ lava was more potent than natural lava, so

the requirements for its container were higher. The better the
receptacle, the more potent the fire elementalists’ lava could be.

Fatty’s luck was not bad. Ai Hui felt happy for him.

Not only would color-faded blood beasts become more

powerful, their blood crystals would be worth much more and
their bodies would strengthen significantly. Ai Hui guessed that
these were the result of the blood spiritual force’s tempering
and strengthening processes. More often than not, the more
outstanding ingredients came from elemental energy
tempering.

With regard to tempering, ancient blood-refinement had an

obvious advantage.

Even flying swords would not be able to take down refined

vampires and drought demons.

Blood beasts displayed the same traits. Their bodies were

enhanced after undergoing blood-refinement. This wasn’t as
apparent for blood elementalists, but Ai Hui had only seen one
blood elementalist after all. One thousand yuan’s demonic
temperament made it hard for people to associate her with
toughness like copper skin and iron bones.

That floating red skirt, eerie smile, and beautiful silhouette

flashed across Ai Hui’s mind, bringing a chill down his spine.

After cleaning up, everyone forged ahead. Shi Xueman had

also recovered her strength by now.

With the appearance of the lava spider, Ai Hui and Shi

Xueman became more cautious.

Thinking back, the lava spider was really sly. Right from the
start, it had planned to lure them into the fire coral-filled cave
and detonate the coral.

It did not expect to meet a freak like Ai Hui, who would take
advantage of it like that.

Then, it met the crazy Shi Xueman and deliberately allowed

her to get close so it could execute its killer psychic attack.

Sadly, the lava spider was just unlucky. Its psychic attack was
ineffective against Cirrus, so it got killed instead.

If there had been any complications with these two

circumstances, however, both of them would have been in
danger today.

No one could guarantee that their luck would be this good

next time.

Ai Hui remained vigilant, but they never met another lava

spider along the way. Nonetheless, there were many blood-
refined fire corals everywhere. Ai Hui felt it was weird that
there were so many fire corals around. Plus, their growth rate
should not be this fast?

Ai Hui stopped in his tracks. "Could there be a lava river

below?"

Lou Lan crooked his head while thinking. "Very possible. Fire
corals and lava spiders are organisms that live in the lava zone.
It is highly likely that there is a lava river beneath."

Ai Hui continued, asking, "Will there be other organisms in

the lava river?"

Shi Xueman quickly caught onto Ai Hui’s train of thought.

While underground, the lava river offered light and heat, so it
was just like any water river or lake above ground and would be
a place where subterranean organisms gathered.

No matter how powerful, there would not be only one

organism monopolizing any lava river.

"There must be." Lou Lan nodded.

"Lou Lan, take note of the concentration of fire elemental

energy in the nearby region. We might be able to locate the
general position of the lava river. When nailing the gold
needles, we must guard against fire elemental dire beasts. Oh,
and blood beasts," Ai Hui muttered.

"Okay." Lou Lan nodded.

"Which way should we go now?" Ai Hui questioned.

 Lou Lan pointed at a rock wall. "This way. The place to nail
the golden needle is 400 meters down. I suggest we open up a
passage directly. To go through the cave passage would be a long
way, and it might lead to the lava river. It would be safer for us
to carve a straightforward opening."

"Open up a passage directly?" Ai Hui was stunned. He

examined the solid granite rocks. It was easy for him to break
one piece, but to dig a 400 meter long passage was simply too
much work considering that it had to be rather wide to fit the
volume of the golden needle.

"Indeed. Leave it to me." Lou Lan took up the task

spontaneously.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. What he deemed challenging was a piece

of cake for Lou Lan. Lou Lan was a sand puppet. Controlling
earth elemental energy was his inherent ability.

Ai Hui felt great pride.

Is there anything in this world that my all-purpose Lou Lan

can’t do?
Chapter 245: Wanna Be Human?
He Yong looked on listlessly at the densely packed vine
creepers. They hung down like snakes, their ends slightly
moving. They would flock to whichever wounded person who
made any movement. He Yong was a brave wood elementalist.
The vines he once treated as his partner were now indicting him
cruelly.

From his initial fear to his collapse to the numbness he felt

now, He Yong already knew he had no hope of surviving.

At this point, he was actually less afraid. He was merely

waiting for the Death God’s arrival.

Without hope, people were able to feel calm instead.

Complain? There was nothing to complain about. Death meant
the end. Killing his partners with his own hands had brought
greater and endless suffering.

His trial had already started when he was infected with the
blood poison.

The blood poison spread inside his body and he felt a

terrifying, ferocious beast awakening within. He would rather
die a quiet death as a wounded soldier in the military camp than
lose consciousness and start attacking humans like a wild beast.
He would rather die than use this body to kill his friends and
family.

Death did not arrive immediately. The blood poison was still
spreading.

The moments before death often made people reflect on all

that they had done in life. While he had not accomplished
anything significant his whole life, had not earned a lot of
money, had not achieved great success, and had some
unfulfilled wishes, he was already very content.

He had a cute child, a beautiful wife, and most importantly,

they were still alive.

He had pushed them aside at the last moment. Feeling proud

of his bravery, there was no better ending than this.

He was going to die, but they would live on nicely. That was
enough for him.
 He felt lucky in fact. All he needed to do now was to enjoy his
last moments of glory as he waited for the arrival of death.

The blood poison spread very quickly and he could feel the
changes within his body. It was not weak. Rather, it was filled
with power. Impetuous power. Thoughts of massacre and the
intention to kill emerged in his head continuously, growing
uncontrollably like wild weeds.

His body was strengthening, his nails becoming as sharp as

feline claws. In the middle of the night, he could hear sounds of
bones growing. His flesh was becoming thicker, and his hair was
growing at a visible speed. His voice became coarser, more
turbid, and he even started howling lowly like a wild beast.

His vision became blood red. He stirred restlessly. Any tiny bit
of sound greatly provoked his murderous instincts.

He started losing control over his body and would attack

anyone who came near.

He Yong noticed that his control was rapidly declining, but he

was not that afraid. It happened to the other wounded people as
well. The spread of the blood poison would beastify them,
turning them into dangerous blood fiends who frantically
attacked everything around them.

At this time, the vines above his head would make the final
judgment and end his life.

He Yong knew that his time was almost up. The closer he
came, the more he felt that death was a form of release. He
could not control his body. His mind was filled with evil
thoughts, unable to recall the beautiful moments of his life or
the beautiful smiles on his wife and child’s faces.

What was the point of living like this? The thought that his
family would see him in this ugly state made him tremble.
When compared to that, death meant nothing.

It was time to end everything.

Come on!

Yet, what he feared happened. The fluttering vines continued

swaying leisurely above his head, as if he was not there.
 Kill me quickly!

He shouted madly, but only angry, beast-like grunts came out

of his throat.

The vines above had no reaction whatsoever.

Why?

An insane bloodlust overtook his body and mind, exploding

suddenly. The scarlet red world was like a tide that occupied his
vision and brain. His remaining rationality shrank into a
corner, witnessing everything that was happening. His body felt
so foreign and was no longer under his control.

All of a sudden, he pounced on the person closest to him, his

hands full of sharp nails that effortlessly pierced into the
victim’s body.

What he got in return was a beast-like bellow.

The whole camp turned into a cruel wrestling ring.

 Looking down at the fight that was currently raging, Yan
Hai’s heart was filled with frigid air. Thousands of people
killing simultaneously… such a chaotic, bloody scene made his
hands and feet icy. He had never thought of himself as a good
person, but the sight before him still frightened him.

What he feared more was the person beside him. The

mastermind of it all, Sir Tian Kuan.

Half had fallen in the blink of an eye. The wild beasts’ angry
grunts became sparser as well. Corpses and crisscrossing
streams of fresh blood filled the ground. It was simply a bitter
and bleak looking battleground.

Tian Kuan fiddled with the plants unhurriedly.

The densely packed vines grew swiftly, and like agile snakes,
they dipped into the bloodpool. They suctioned and absorbed
the fresh blood greedily, as if they were tasting a delicacy. Blood
red wisps invaded the tender greenery, producing an
exceptionally demonic effect.

"This fresh blood is first-rate fertilizer. It cannot be wasted,"

Tian Kuan commented indifferently.
 Yan Hai quivered. "Sir, your subordinate is slow-witted.
There’s something I don’t quite understand," he started to say,
but not without hesitation.

"Oh, what do you not get?" Tian Kuan replied casually.

Yan Hai questioned carefully, "These wounded soldiers were

infected by the sacred blood and are already our people. Isn’t
this… a pity?"

"A pity?" Tian Kuan burst out laughing. "You think it’s a
pity?"

Yan Hai stammered, "What I meant was that if this many

people were to team up, their power would be commendable."

Tian Kuan smiled. "I only need useful people. There are many
of them, but the majority are useless. I only need the cream of
the crop. 50 of them is all I need."

Yan Hui trembled inwardly, his legs fighting to remain

straight. Cold sweat poured down his back.
 "Filtering 50 out from a few thousand is enough of a chance
given to them." Tian Kuan laughed lightly. "If they die, it only
means that they were too weak. Only victors have the right to
gain that opportunity."

Yan Hai was full of regrets. How could he have forgotten? Sir
became a victor himself by surviving such elimination methods.

Tian Kuan’s gaze fell onto the battlefield, the smile on his face
growing.

"Wanna be human? Not so easy."

The number of survivors decreased as the vines became

plumper and replete with fresh blood. They were like demonic,
yet quick-witted, blood snakes.

Only 50 were left on the field and those demonic blood red
vines flocked toward them, binding them tightly. They were
like wild beasts, yelling and struggling.

"Look, these are the strongest 50. Only the victors will have a
chance of survival." Tian Kuan paused, a smile breaking out.
"And a reward."

He extended one leg out of the window, and the blood red
vines rushed over from all directions like a tide, forming a flight
of stairs beneath his feet.

With the aura of a ruler, Yan Hai descended the interwoven

vine steps.

Behind him, Yan Hai crept forward, his heart filled with
reverence.

Tian Kuan mumbled to himself, "No wonder so many people

enjoy borrowing outside forces. It feels pretty good."

The survivors raised their heads and glared at Tian Kuan,

their red pupils filled with indignation and wrath. They snarled
at Tian Kuan.

The anguished wailings of the wounded was a big blow to

morale, so the quarantine camp made special arrangements.
The vines produced a soundproofing effect, so earth-shattering
bellows would not be heard from the outside at all.
 "Respect the strong players."

Tian Kuan’s smile carried a tinge of callousness, emitting a

rich bloody glow.

The bloody glow was imposing and overbearing. Still bound

by the blood vines, the anger in the survivors’ eyes instantly
vanished as fear took over, and they started trembled
uncontrollably. Plop! All of them fell and crouched on the
ground when the blood vines released their grip.

Yan Hai’s body was shaking as well. He finally knew how

frightful Sir’s abilities were.

The bloody glow surrounding Sir made him fear and comply.
Not a single rebellious thought surfaced in his brain. The
temperature of the blood within his body fell rapidly, as if he
was in a cold, icy place.

"Congratulations, a new opportunity awaits. An opportunity

is always given to the victor as a prize."

That voice amid the bloody glow was imposing, yet enticing.
 He Yong was shivering from the chill. His body trembled. Just
like how wild beasts react toward their predators, his urge to
kill was gone and replaced by obedience and fear, which
instinctively settled in the deepest part of his body

He lost complete control of his body.

That remaining trace of reason shook amongst the tide-like

scarlet red. He saw himself killing an unfamiliar elementalist
who was close by as well as a friend of 20 years. One after
another, some foreign and some acquaintances...

His palms were covered in fresh blood.

He was like a bystander, fearfully watching the crazy

massacre. During that nonstop slaughter, his last bit of barely
existing reason floated helplessly amid the raging tide of
attacks. The thrill of killing was so distinct, so dreadful.

No…

He just wanted to die. To end it all.

 The red bloody glow enveloped his world, and the voice
within said, "An opportunity is always given to the victor as a
prize."

Opportunity…

The wild beasts started to stir, their last thread of reason on

the verge of collapsing. What opportunity could it be?

"How does it feel being like a wild beast? Uncontrollable,

killer instinct… does it feel very terrible? Do you want to gain
control of it all? Gain control of your bodies? You can restart.
Restart everything and regain control of everything. You can
live on happily, start a new life, and be a human once again."

"Wanna be human?"

Amid the red light, that voice was at times misty and remote
and at times up-close.

"Wanna be human?"
 ...

"Wanna be human?"

Like an echo, he questioned over and over again.

He Yong last trace of reason almost crumbled. Memories of

his first meeting with his wife, how he taught his child to walk,
how he blocked the blood fiends, and how he saw that his
family was safe and sound flashed across his mind. Peace befell
his heart.

Not everything can be restarted because not everything can be

given up on.

"No…"

The wild beast’s low howl was exceptionally clear.

Tian Kuan was rather surprised. "What a pity."

 The blood vines suddenly stretched taut and pierced into the
back of the wild beast’s head, causing its body to stiffen as the
luster in its red eyes faded. The blood vines withdrew, and the
wild beast’s corpse fell onto the ground. An indescribable
calmness was evident on its hairy face.

"Next."

"Wanna be human?"
Chapter 246: The Invulnerable Reason
The atmosphere in the magistrate court was tense. Nine
golden needles were completed, stirring up much excitement,
but also tremendous anxiety for everybody. Once the next part
of the plan started, there was simply no room for errors.

To save time, the node at the Heaven Pit was handed over to
Ai Hui and his group while the other eight nodes were
distributed to other teams to investigate.

Teams came back consecutively to report, and so far, there

was only good news.

The "treating the city as a piece of cloth" plan was the key
element for Central Pine City’s survival. The mayor and dean
placed high hopes on it. Honestly, the fact that things could
drag on until now was already far beyond their expectations.
This also gave them sufficient time to complete the "treating the
city as a piece of cloth" plan.

Perhaps it was the succession of good news that significantly

lifted the dean’s mood . His tone became lighter as well. "Only
Ai Hui and his group are left now."
 "Yes, only their side is left," Mayor Wang Zhen spoke ruefully.
Only they knew how hard it was to survive for this long.

"I never thought you would task Ai Hui with the Heaven Pit."
The dean felt somewhat woeful as well. He now had faith in
Wang Zhen since things would have been worse if not for the
decisions made by the latter during critical times.

As if he had thought of something, Wang Zhen laughed as he

replied, "It wasn’t easy at all to get Ai Hui to do something. We
have been offering Heaven Merit Points, rewards, and training
methods to entice him. There’s no one in Central Pine City
richer than him."

The dean burst out laughing too. "That’s not too bad. At least
you only gave out the rewards after receiving his services. You
should’ve seen what he was like when talking over conditions
with me. No mercy!"

With a smiling expression, Wang Zhen asked, "So you’re

trying to say that I must agree since he was finally willing to
take on this responsibility?"

"I just have no idea what’s going on inside." Concern was

evident in the principal’s face. "We should’ve gone with them."

"Don’t worry." Wang Zhen comforted. "We’ve not seen all of

Ai Hui’s abilities. Plus, Shi Xueman is with him so what could go
wrong? That fellow has the level-headedness of a general. It’s
thanks to him, and not us, that the city is still standing."

The principal nodded.

Without Ai Hui, the consequences of the war on Long Street

would be unimaginable. The outcome of the Heaven Pit battle
would have been different if not for Ai Hui’s reminder to dive.

Any hesitation at that point would have led to a completely

different result.

Twice, during desperate crises, it had been Ai Hui who pulled

strongly against the crazy tides.

"A chaotic world creates heroes, eh." Wang Zhen was

somewhat moved. "Seeing the progress of that fellow, from a
student to ‘The Lightning Blade,’ really reminds us of our old
age. The world belongs to the youngsters now."
 The principal sighed. "Yeah, I only hope for them to come out
of it safely."

"They will." Wang Zhen’s tone was exceptionally certain. "We

persevered and sacrificed so many people not so we would just
fail. We will start nailing the golden needles once Ai Hui and his
people are back."

In the dark subterranean world, the rolling waves of the lava

river carried bright, glittering sparks.

Two silhouettes, one male and the other female, flew and
fought at an extremely high speed. A green arrow ray and red
bloody glow collided continuously in midair. The lady was
dressed in red and her poses were strange, appearing and
disappearing in the air like a demon. The man was holding a
bow and arrow while following closely behind, his movements
as fast as lightning.

Wherever they were, sand and rocks flew everywhere as they

filled the air with fiery rain from the lava river.

It could be seen that neither dared to fight too recklessly since

they were thousands of kilometers underground. If they fought
too hard and triggered a collapse around them, they would be
buried alive. No matter how strong they were, there was no
chance of survival if they were trapped.

"Vice Division Leader Yu has been chasing me for five days.

Are you my admirer? Following me so closely."

The red lady’s laughter echoed between the rocks as a green

arrow ray pierced through her body from behind. Yet, it did not
penetrate her body, but landed among the rocks. The red
silhouette in midair faded as it was actually an afterimage.

"It’s vice division leader."

Deadpan, Yu Mingqiu corrected the lady’s mistake as the

bowstring in his hand moved lightning fast. An arrow ray was
swiftly launched at the red shadow that appeared from the
other side, but again, it went through an afterimage and struck
a wall.

From the time he searched for her aimlessly to the time he

reached her, he immediately noticed that her strength was
linked to the blood poison in countless ways and pursued her
even more actively.
 The lady’s appearance verified some of his conjectures. The
blood poison disaster in the Induction Ground was a plot! He
had wanted to capture and interrogate the opponent to find out
more about the mastermind, but was shocked by her strength.

Both had been fighting for five days and nights, but there had
not been a winner so far!

Yu Mingqiu had extreme confidence in his abilities since he

was the vice division leader of a division after all. In all of the
Avalon of Five Elements, his ability was among the top.

Yet, he quickly found that his opponent’s ability was not

beneath his.

What surprised him more was the fact that instead of

elemental energy, her body contained a very foreign force.
Blood poison, blood disaster, mysterious lady, unknown force,
misleading background…

He was indescribably shaken, knowing he was on the brink of

obtaining the truth.
 He had to take his opponent down no matter what. This
exceptionally seductive lady in red was the biggest clue.

Yu Mingqiu was like dogskin plaster, pestering her nonstop

and not giving up even after five days and nights of chasing.

"Vice division leader? You really look down on me." The lady
in red laughed gently and unreliably. "The Avalon of Five
Elements is no fun, why not join us? I’ll reserve a division leader
position for you. This promise I can fulfill."

"Vice division leader position… you’re talking like it’s real,"

Yu Mingqiu said dismissively.

"Yes, the timing’s just right. We are preparing to establish 13

divisions, so this is an extremely rare opportunity. If you miss
it, it’d be difficult to talk about the division leadert position.
Perhaps Brother Yu will meet a few familiar faces. Not everyone
is as stubborn as you."

Yu Mingqiu was slightly shaken inside, but his movements

were not sluggish. "Familiar faces? Come, tell me a few names
and I’ll see."
 "Hehe, join us and you’ll know, Brother Yu."

Both had been using such banter to sound each other out for
the past five days.

The lady in red felt gloomy too. Her time in Central Pine City
had not gone smoothly, and then she had to bumped into Yu
Mingqiu and became tangled with him. Initially, seeing that Yu
Mingqiu was exhausted, she had planned to capture him. Yet,
Yu Mingqiu was outstandingly tough. Not only did she fail to
defeat him, she got harassed by him.

"I’m so cool, yet you’re trying to use a mere division leader

position to get rid of me? Don’t look down on me!"

A whole chain of words flew out of his mouth rapidly as his

arm movements sped up as well.

The lady in red did not drop her guard and easily dodged his
attacks. "It’s a pity that you’re not interested, Brother Yu. Five
days have passed. I wonder if the people waiting for your rescue
are still alive or have fallen into the blood fiends’ mouths.
Seeing that you’re coming for me so relentlessly, we must be
closely related?"
 Yu Mingqiu burst out laughing. "Unable to escape, it’s
depressing eh?"

"I’m just curious as to why you would chase after me so closely

and diligently?" the lady in red asked with an innocent face.

Yu Mingqiu answered righteously, "Because I’m lost."

"Lost…" The lady in red was baffled by his reply and was
unable to connect the dots.

"Between going after you and finding my way, I think the

former is easier." Yu Mingqiu’s reason was invulnerable.

"..."

It was even more complicated underground. Both were lost at

this point and knew not where they were. The lady in red
moved forward and along the lava river since there were
numerous lava river tributaries that were certainly
unobstructed. On the other hand, those seemingly open,
accessible cracks and caves easily led to dead ends.
 She would have no choice, but to grapple with Yu Mingqiu if
they reached a dead end.

It was not her plan to engage in a face-off with such a strong

opponent right now.

She did not want to waste any more time on Yu Mingqiu.

While he seemed to be carefree on occasion, his thoughts were
often elaborate. Any slight carelessness on her part will allow
him to mislead her easily.

The determination displayed by Yu Mingqiu made her

understand what kind of strength and abilities such a fearsome
opponent possessed.

What she needed now was time. If she had some more time,
she could easily use her beast subjugation spells to subdue a
powerful blood-traced fiend. With its help, she could then gain
equal footing and attack Yu Mingqiu from there.

Suddenly, she noticed a wispy, faintly discernable magma

odor in the air.
 The nearest lava river was about 50 meters away from where
she was, and there was an open zone in the vicinity. This wisp
of magma odor, mixed with blood spiritual force, produced
unique undulations. The surrounding traces of blazing corals
being eaten jolted her mind.

Lava spider!

Judging from the leftover blood spiritual force undulations, it

was a highly-transformed lava spider. It was likely to be a
"blood-faded" lava spider.

When the blood traces that the blood fiends developed started
to stabilize, their blood-colored bodies would fade. They would
then be termed "blood-faded" when their skin and fur recovered
its natural color.

A completely blood-faded blood fiend looked no different

from regular wild beasts, but were stronger and much more
powerful. Blood-fading was a sign that the blood traces on the
fiends’ bodies were thoroughly stabilized. They would enter a
whole new realm at this point.

If she could engage the help of the lava spider, she could
definitely get rid of Yu Mingqiu.

Killing a vice division leader was a considerably impressive

contribution. If she had better luck and could capture him alive,
she would have a heavyweight subordinate.

No matter how loyal, one would not be able to resist the Blood
of God.

How could mere mortals resist it?

With a twist of her body, she suddenly made her way into the
narrow crevice.

Yu Mingqiu was stunned. Not good! He chased after her

hurriedly.

For the past five days, the lady in red had been fleeing along
the lava river instead of threading through any crevices. Such a
sudden change caught him off guard and slightly delayed his
reaction time.
 This little delay caused him to lose sight of her upon entering
the crevice.

Luckily, there was only one path. Without a word, he sped

forward.
Chapter 247: Reunion Of Old Friends
"It’s right in front, Ai Hui."

Right after Lou Lan spoke, the wall in front of them suddenly
melted and collapsed, revealing a dark cavern.

Behind the three of them was a large passage about seven

meters high and six meters wide. The entire passage was an
astonishing 400 meters in length and was created by Lou Lan
alone.

Lou Lan’s exceptional abilities often left Ai Hui feeling like a

tourist.

Seeing Lou Lan’s entire process first hand, Shi Xueman could
not resist offering incessant praise. "Lou Lan is amazing! Wow,
truly amazing! Lou Lan is definitely the world’s most amazing
sand puppet!"

Creating a 400-meter passage this deep underground was no

mean feat. The ground was lined with huge, solid rocks and
building a tunnel of this scale would probably require at least 10
earth elementalists working for an entire night. Lou Lan,
however, was able to do it with ease, leaving Shi Xueman in
awe.

Besides following the wrong person, Lou Lan did not seem to
have any flaws.

Shi Xueman stared at Ai Hui angrily. She felt that Ai Hui was
unworthy of such an amazing sand puppet, it was like casting
pearls before swine! She imagined what it would be like if Lou
Lan followed her home. Oh, what a fine time they’d have!

"Why are you glaring at me like that?"

The Iron Lady continued to glare angrily at Ai Hui. Ai Hui felt

that she was being ridiculous, especially since he had not even
done anything to provoke her.

"Hmph!" Shi Xueman snorted as she turned her gaze away.

Ai Hui entered the cavern and began to examine his

surroundings. This cavern was much smaller than the one with
the lava spider, but the golden needle was still able to fit in it.
 Lou Lan had found the right place!

Ai Hui could sense that the elemental energy here was much
more vigorous than that of other places.

He had seen his master’s plan and recognized that the nodes
involved were something that they had discussed before. His
master believed that the world’s elemental energies were not
stationary, but ever flowing. Its slow movement was the reason
why it appeared to be stationary.

According to his master’s theory, the force driving these

movements was the constant cycling of the five elements.

This was the secret of the nodes. Here, the five elements
cycled into a whirlpool of energy. The elemental energy around
these nodes were influenced by its activity, making it flow.

Current studies involving the five elements rarely touched

upon this aspect, so there were not many full-fledged theories
regarding the nodes. Many of his master’s preliminary ideas
were proven as a result of the current plan’s execution.
 His master had discussed his deepened understanding of the
subject matter when they last met.

Ai Hui snapped out of his daze and began to inspect the

cavern. It appeared to have been formed by flowing water,
something evident from the stalactites hanging above. The floor
was largely uneven and was marked by many slippery gulches.
There were two natural crevices situated at the corners of the
cavern. A stream could be seen through only one of them, but
the other was most likely formed as a result of water erosion as
well. Ai Hui could hear the sound of flowing water through both
of them.

Small streams were probably responsible for shaping this

interesting underground environment, while lava acted as its
main source of light.

Ai Hui felt extremely relieved that there were no blazing

corals around.

Subterranean dire beasts were dangerous creatures to begin

with and were even more deadly after turning into
subterranean blood fiends. If the Iron Lady had not gone on a
rampage against the lava spider, Ai Hui would not have had
much confidence in defeating it.
 Ai Hui could feel how different he had become.

Without the sword embryo’s state, Ai Hui’s senses were not as

keen as before. His perceptive range had reduced greatly, an
immense disadvantage in this dark, complex, underground
environment. On the bright side, his understanding of
swordplay had deepened tremendously, and he was now more
conscious of his sword movements. At the moment of contact
between his blade and his target, Ai Hui could now react faster
and more rationally than before.

The unique sword pills of elemental energy in his body,

coupled with his achievement of elemental internalization, had
increased his strength by a large amount. The electricity that
remained in his flesh had been channeled into his hand palaces
as well as his earth palace, imparting a distinct lightning flavor
to his elemental energy.

All things considered, he was much more formidable than he

used to be.

Although he was more powerful, the enemies he had to face

were similarly also becoming more powerful. He often
experienced situations where his improvements were
practically cancelled out.
 Shi Xueman stuck closely to Ai Hui, ready to provide
assistance when required. Having had experience in leading a
team, she had become much more accustomed to cooperating
with others. While it was difficult to persuade her to do certain
things, Shi Xueman often quickly adopted practices that she
deemed useful.

Ai Hui decided to further examine the crevice for signs of

activity. He would ask Lou Lan to seal it up if no such signs were
found.

The same would apply for the other crevice.

Ai Hui felt a cold, biting wind blowing out from the crevice as
he neared it. Instead of hastily entering it, Ai Hui stopped a
short distance away, listening intently for any anomalies. Shi
Xueman stood nearby, holding her breath. She knew that Ai Hui
was much more experienced in such situations than her.
Although she often looked at him with disdain, Shi Xueman had
absolute faith in Ai Hui’s decisions regarding combat related
matters.

Nothing out of the ordinary was heard.

 Ai Hui walked closer toward the crevice. Just as he was about
to enter the crevice, a premonition arose in his heart.

His body reacted immediately. The limp Dragonspine in Ai

Hui’s hand immediately shot up and straightened like a cobra
that had sensed danger as he swiftly stepped backward.

Ding!

Just as the Dragonspine’s tip made contact, the seven sword

pills of elemental energy within his body simultaneously
exploded.

Ai Hui flew backward as if he had been hit by a heavy blow.

A gentle gasp of surprise could be heard from the crevice.

Right after, a red flash shot out of the crevice directly at Ai

Hui.

Shi Xueman stepped forward with her spear raised and

accurately stabbed the red flash.
 The immense force of Cirrus managed to scatter the red flash,
but the impact forced Shi Xueman several steps back.

Both Ai Hui and Shi Xueman were slightly surprised that their
combined effort was so easily deflected. The two of them stood
on opposite sides facing the cave while assuming an offensive
stance.

A reddish figure slowly walked out of the crevice.

Ai Hui took a good look at the person walking out, and

blurted, "It’s you!"

The lady in red was surprised to see Ai Hui. "So it’s you."

Shi Xueman was amazed by the lady in red’s beauty.

She had a refined, flawless face and a beauty that was

suffocating. Her smoky eyes were reminiscent of mist floating
gently above a body of water. The red robe that she wore was
like a coil of crimson smoke that wrapped elegantly around her
splendid figure. She looked like she had just walked out of a
dense fog and was shrouded temptingly in mystery.
 Her fine, delicate, red lips lit up the dense fog and highlighted
the fair skin on her exquisite collarbone. The small movements
her lips made when she breathed were incredibly seductive.

Shi Xueman would describe her as unimaginably coy.

Since her looks and behavior were always in the spotlight, Shi
Xueman never thought much about appearances.

This lady in red standing before Shi Xueman had somehow

triggered a sort of awareness in her.

The two of them had met before…

This sudden realization hit Shi Xueman, and she

inadvertently turned her gaze toward Ai Hui. She had no idea
why she was looking at him, but the movement was instinctive.

Shi Xueman felt the pressure enveloping her evaporate when

she saw Ai Hui’s body tense up in anticipation of a formidable
opponent.
 She regained her focus and gripped her spear tightly. She was
secretly rejoicing in Ai Hui’s misfortune.

Looks like this scoundrel had suffered in her hands before!

This was the first time she had seen Ai Hui so tense in front of
an enemy. Furthermore, the strength the red lady had just
demonstrated was quite amazing.

Shi Xueman, however, was not scared one bit. In fact, she was
eager to engage.

The lady in red glanced at Shi Xueman, a look of adoration

glistening in her eyes. Shi Xueman’s outwardly cold demeanor
went well with her beautiful features. Combined with her
resolute brows and the suave armor on her body, Shi Xueman
was indeed a lovely sight to behold.

"I see you’ve found a new flame so soon. What a heartless

scoundrel."

The lady in red spoke faintly, with grief and heartbreak

written all over her face.
 Ai Hui stared at her with unblinking eyes. He lowered his
body ever so slightly as he adjusted his breathing. His five
fingers drummed slowly against his sword hilt, relaxing and
tensing each digit at different intervals. He gradually relaxed his
stiffened body.

He knew just how dangerous this enigmatic lady was, just how
much power she really possessed.

She was definitely high on Ai Hui’s list of opponents he would

not want to meet.

It seemed however, that there was nowhere to run.

"Be careful, she’s a blood elementalist," stated Ai Hui.

Shi Xueman was slightly taken aback upon hearing that.

Blood elementalist!

She had never heard of this term before, but she quickly
understood who they were facing. Countless questions flooded
her mind, but the most pertinent one slipped out of her mouth
in a grave tone. "They are the ones behind this blood disaster?"
 "That’s right," Ai Hui replied matter-of-factly.

The lady in red noticed the pair’s unease and smiled slightly.
Her gaze brightened as it landed on Ai Hui. "Your improvement
is quite astonishing, and you’re indeed someone worthy of
catching my eye. You broke my heart when you left without
saying goodbye. I never thought we’d reunite again. Looks like
it’s heaven's will."

Compared to that troublesome Yu Mingqiu, the young man in

front of her was slightly weaker, but had way more potential.

The lava spider’s presence helped her to deduce that the

crevice provided a clear path. Her sudden actions had enabled
her to momentarily slow Yu Mingqiu’s reactions, allowing her
to utilize the complex geography of the caves to throw him off.

She had planned to tame the lava spider before killing or

capturing Yu Mingqiu.

She was not expecting to meet Ai Hui, much less see him
improve this much.
 Ai Hui’s ability to withstand the blood poison had surprised
her greatly. Since then, she had not stopped wondering how Ai
Hui managed to escape. She was shocked to see that he did not
become a blood elementalist, but even more surprised so to see
him improve by leaps and bounds.

This fellow must be hiding something!

A sinister glint flashed in her eyes. Let’s see if you manage to

escape this time.

Standing there largely unnoticed by the lady in red, Shi

Xueman seethed with rage. She had always thought that the
blood disaster was a natural disaster. Turns out it wasn’t.

How many had died in this disaster?

I don’t know!

How many people were currently experiencing fear and

despair at the hands of an imminent death?
 No idea!

This was unforgivable!

Shi Xueman’s anger boiled over, and all she could see were
flames of rage. Her heart was filled with pure, unadulterated
hatred. Destroy her!

She thrust her trusty spear forward without uttering a single

word!
Chapter 248: Tree Spirit’s Blood
Shi Xueman lashed out hatefully, putting as much power as
she could into the attack. The elemental energy within the
cavern appeared to be greatly disturbed by this swift, impactful
blow.

The lady in red laughed lightly as she sashayed lithely into a

wisp of red smoke.

"You have to be more gentle, my dear, or we’ll all be buried

together. Wouldn’t he like that though."

The lady in red teased Shi Xueman in a dreamy, relaxed voice,

making her blush.

Cirrus’ speartip stopped right in front of the cavern’s rock

wall, but its spear ray sliced deeply into the wall like a hot knife
through butter. Shi Xueman sneered coldly and took a step
back. She skillfully spun her spear backward, making its base
face the ceiling. Her entire motion reminded one of a large
whale slapping its tail up into the air.

The spear’s base accurately deflected the red sleeve that was
stealthily flying toward the back of her head.

The power within the spear’s base exploded, ripping the lady
in red’s sleeve to shreds.

Shi Xueman’s face darkened. Although she managed to hit the

lady in red’s sleeves, that attack had felt empty, as if she had
missed.

The scattered pieces of sleeves were constantly changing,

eventually turning into a bunch of blood red butterflies. Their
wings started lighting up with spots of brilliance, creating a
gorgeous, multi-colored display of radiance.

"Oh dearie, you’re so strong and so pretty to boot. I’d totally

be smitten by you if I was a man. I guess it’s not surprising that
he’s moved on from me already."

The colorful butterflies flew all over the cavern, their light
lingered in the air and created a beautiful dreamscape that felt
surreal, yet extremely lifelike.

A dreamy voice drifted amid the flowing, captivating lights.

 Shi Xueman had never faced such an opponent before. She
could not tell if the ever-changing butterflies were real or just
an illusion. Additionally, no signs of the lady in red’s elemental
energy could be detected.

As Shi Xueman slowly lost herself to the dreamy display, Ai

Hui suddenly swung his sword.

His sword stroke was executed without warning and was

aimed at a strange spot. Ai Hui had thrust his sword diagonally
upward into the space beside him.

The sound of metal clashing against stone rang out.

A shadowy curtain appeared before dispersing at the spot

where Ai Hui appeared to have randomly stabbed. A red figure
appeared from behind the illusion.

The lady in red was visibly astonished. She had not expected
that Ai Hui was able to detect her true body.

Not giving her any opportunity to react, Ai Hui rained several

sword rays down on the lady in red with a flick of his wrist.
 She gracefully spun her red sleeves in the air and absorbed the
harsh sword rays as they made contact.

"Seems like I’ve underestimated you," she said teasingly.

"Come, follow big sister and you’ll be rewarded with sweets."

Her red sleeves spread out in front of her, turning into wisps
of lazy, red smoke that drifted toward Ai Hui.

Ai hui’s hairs abruptly stood on edge. The red smoke looked

innocuous and weak, but something about it made Ai Hui feel
threatened. He arched his body like an angered wild beast,
ready to attack.

Instead of retreating, he took a short step forward with his

left leg. His body unleashed a cold, sharp intent as the
Dragonspine in his hand lashed out in front of him!

A deep, clear sword ray appeared around his blade,

accompanied by a melodious ringing sound. Seven daggers wove
a web of lightning around it.

Accompanied by the silver lightning web, the biting cold

sword ray plunged into the cloud of red smoke.

The sword ray pierced through the red smoke, bringing the
lightning web into contact with it. Like how a water droplet
touching hot oil causes it to pop, an explosion occurred the
moment the lightning web and red smoke came into contact.

Sssss!

The wildly dancing Dragonspine caused a large portion of the

red smoke to dissipate.

The lady in red let out a refined "hmph." She casually brushed
off the sword ray, but was surprised by the lightning contained
within it. Even more shocking was how damaging the lightning
was against her.

There were no elementalists, blood or otherwise, who could

control lightning. She had nott expected something like this and
almost fell prey to Ai Hui’s attack.

Her profound battle experience had saved her life. Having

seen more combat than Ai Hui, the lady in red was especially
adept at handling dangerous situations.

She used her other red sleeve to strike the sword ray, making
use of the force to help her rebound and disappear into the
brightly colored lights.

Ai Hui, himself, was taken aback by the lightning’s

effectiveness. The lady in red had disappeared by the time he
snapped out of it.

He remained vigilant while he thought things through.

Since ancient times, the thunder stars had been blood

refinement’s greatest weakness. Blood refinement had always
been the path and domain of those geared toward the more
ghastly and demonic yin energy. Thunder stars on the other
hand, were one of the strongest sources of yang energy and a
natural counter to blood refinement.

The written accounts regarding zombies, demons, and spirits

often mentioned that they operated mainly at night. Electricity
was also recorded as being their biggest fear.
 The electricity within his body had been absorbed and
reformed by chance. To think its usefulness would be
discovered today.

If that was the case…

Ai Hui glanced at Shi Xueman after he thought of something.

Shi Xueman immediately got the memo, gripping her spear

tightly.

The lady in red cautiously remained in hiding. She was deeply

shaken by the air of destruction that was present when the
lightning burst forth.

This was what caused her minor injuries.

From when she first started nurturing blood spiritual force,

she had never experienced such a situation before. Previously,
nothing seemed to be capable of opposing her blood spiritual
force.
 The streaks of lightning were more surprising than they were
damaging.

Even though lightning was effective against her blood

spiritual force, Ai Hui’s use of it was still underdeveloped.

The ironclad beauty’s strength had also startled her. Even

though she had the upper hand, Shi Xueman’s power made the
lady in red remain on guard. She was well versed in the
differences between elementalists’ base levels and rather
impressed by Shi Xueman’s achievement at such a young age.

Yet, the person who she was truly amazed by was Ai Hui.

How many days had it been since they last met?

How did he become so powerful?

Ai Hui’s first sword stroke had completely thrown her off. She
had no idea how he managed to hold his ground after executing
an attack of that magnitude. What was even more shocking was
the lightning contained within that sword ray.
 Ai Hui was but an ant to her when they last met, easily
squished to death. This time however, Ai Hui was actually
strong enough to pose a threat to her.

A killing intent momentarily crossed her mind. If she could

not capture him, she would have no choice but to kill them.

At his current rate of improvement, Ai Hui would soon

become a huge pain in the neck. She certainly did not want to
leave such a troublesome character alive.

Right at that moment, the lady in red sensed danger.

Noting that Shi Xueman understood his intentions, Ai Hui

took a deep breath and began to channel his elemental energy.

He activated both his hand palaces as well as his earth palace,

causing a silver glint to flash in his eyes. The Dragonspine in his
hand slowly straightened and extended forward.

Ai Hui’s tense muscles and slow, deliberate movements made

it appear as though the Dragonspine in his hand weighed a ton.
His eyes stared dead ahead.
 The Dragonspine’s blade grew brighter and brighter as it
inched forward.

All of a sudden, the sword ray around the Dragonspine grew

unbelievably bright. Countless lightning-shrouded sword rays
shot off from the sword’s blade, fanning out in all directions.
The entire cavern was lit up in an instant.

[Dust Fall]!

The scattered sword rays fanned out, covering the entire

cavern in a complex web of silver lightning.

The original [Dust Fall] created light, lively sword rays that
scattered without much control. In Ai Hui’s hands, however,
the skill had gained new life. The surging lightning made the
nimble technique much more violent and potent.

Half of the multi-colored butterflies and shadowy illusions

vanished in an instant.

The lady in red was momentarily stunned as she became

exposed. Ai Hui’s lightning-enhanced attacks were not as weak
as she had initially thought. This sudden realization made her
scoff at her own naivety.

A spear ray was fast approaching her face.

Shi Xueman had totally abandoned her fanciful techniques

and poured all of her elemental energy into one clean,
unadorned stab.

Not a single shred of elemental energy was left in her body. In

that instant, her focus was completely locked onto the lady in
red. All those lives that were sacrificed in front of her eyes, all
the fear and despair that she had experienced, and every ounce
of hatred and righteousness within her bones allowed her to
bring out more power than she had ever unleashed before.

All of her incorporeal energies were collectively incorporated

into this relentless stab. It was all or nothing.

The snow-white spear had the power of a whale.

The lady in red’s eyes filled with apprehension, but it swiftly

disappeared. Having participated in so many battles, her psyche
was not something to be belittled.

She extended her fingers and gently tapped the empty space in
front of her. Her pale, slender fingers were as beautiful as a
work of art.

She unleashed a seemingly demonic power that engulfed all

light in the cavern.

The blood red smoke, colorful butterflies, shards of light, and

shredded pieces of her red sleeve collected at her fingertips.
Everything was swiftly condensed into a bright red drop of fresh
blood.

There were no traces of the charming lady from before. The

lady in red now had a cold, austere presence.

She flicked her perfectly sculpted middle finger.

The droplet of blood sluggishly flew toward the spear ray.

The entire process was completed in the blink of an eye, but

Ai Hui could clearly see each and every move.

Ai Hui’s eyes glazed over in fear.

He could not explain why, but a deep instinctive fear rose up

from within his soul.

He leapt toward Shi Xueman without further consideration.

At the moment of impact, a barely detectable cracking sound

could be heard. To Ai Hui and Shi Xueman, however, the sound
was like a sudden clap of thunder.

The blood droplet ruptured, releasing streaks of blood. These

streaks moved like tendrils and rapidly coiled their way up
Cirrus.

Shi Xueman felt her elemental energy rapidly depleting, it was

as though there was a black hole at the tip of her spear sucking
up every last bit of it.

She wished she could withdraw her elemental energy, but it

was too late. Her elemental energy was being devoured at a
frenzied pace and was completely out of her control.

A sense of helplessness quickly overtook her when she

discovered that she could not even toss Cirrus aside. The suction
at the end of the spear was forcing the spear to remain in her
hand.

The lady in red waved her sleeves. Hints of a wry smile could
be seen on her pale face as she watched Shi Xueman struggle to
no avail.

Her expression changed to one of annoyance when she heard a

piercing sound coming from the other side of the crevice.

Dang it!

Yu Mingqiu!

Although she had emerged victorious from this engagement,

her injuries were not all that light. That droplet of [Tree Spirit’s
Blood] was extracted from innumerable blood trees and
possessed a strong life force. The nurturing quality of the [Tree
Spirit’s Blood] was highly beneficial for her body. She could not
bear to use it unless she had no other choice.

Now that she had lost that precious droplet, her strength had
decreased by quite a bit.

She had no chance of beating Yu Mingqiu in her current state.

In addition, she probably would not be able to escape if she

were to engage Yu Mingqiu again.

Without hesitation, the lady in red fled the scene.

Yu Mingqiu, who had just emerged from the crevice,

relentlessly chased after the lady in red. In his fervor, he had
completely missed Ai Hui and Shi Xueman.

Shi Xueman sunk deeper into despair as she watched the

tendrils of blood creep up her spear toward her.

Was she going to die here? Her heart sank.

All of a sudden, a hand grabbed her spear.
Chapter 249: An Overlooked Question
Shi Xueman stared blankly at the hand on her spear,
recognizing it as Ai Hui’s.

Her mind blanked in that instant. Why? Why was it him?

The hand that grasped the spear shook, generating an intense

force that released Shi Xueman’s grip from the spear and sent
her flying. Why was he saving her?

No!

Tears fell down her cheeks uncontrollably while she screamed

inside.

The red tendrils of blood were like vines that could not stop
growing. They continuously coiled around Ai Hui, as if they
were trying to swallow him whole.

All she could see was the side of his face. That thin, humble
face betrayed no signs of emotion as the blood tendrils
proceeded to devour him. He had not even taken one last look at
her.

Shi Xueman collapsed on the ground, but immediately picked

herself up in a bid to rush to Ai Hui’s side.

A familiar voice resounded through the cavern, causing her to

freeze in place.

"Looks like I’ve accidentally saved you again. Remember to

record it on your tab."

The mad, frenzied blood tendrils suddenly vanished without a

trace, as though the entire thing had merely been an illusion.
She could once again see the familiar face through the tears
blurring her vision.

"Hey, why are you crying? Are you trying to renege on your
debt?"

Ai Hui was shocked to see the Iron Lady’s tearful face,

particularly since this was the first time he had seen her cry. Shi
Xueman had lost all of her usual loftiness and reminded Ai Hui
of a young girl who had just been bullied.
 Ai Hui was a little bit embarrassed. He waved his hand and
said, "Fine, fine, I won’t charge you this time."

Shi Xueman cried even harder, her tears falling like

raindrops.

Ai Hui scratched his head in puzzlement. As an iron lady, her

mind and body should both be as solid as iron. She must have
been truly frightened by what happened.

Just as Ai Hui was starting to get a headache, Shi Xueman

gradually stopped crying. Ai Hui heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Shi Xueman, who had stifled her tears, walked

expressionlessly toward Ai Hui. She snatched Cirrus back from
him and asked, "What happened to those blood tendrils?"

"Women are indeed as fickle as the weather," muttered Ai Hui

to himself before replying, "They were absorbed by my
bandages."

Shi Xueman finally saw the light. Every knew that the
bandages Ai Hui wore were a gift from his mistress and were
artifacts left behind by an ancient blood sect.

No wonder he came to her rescue…

She glared coldly at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui rubbed his nose innocently, unsure of what he had

done to provoke her again. This time however, he did not
attempt to clarify anything with her. His instincts told him that
it was a terrible time to incur her wrath.

Ai Hui shouted for Lou Lan at the top of his lungs, "Lou Lan!
Lou Lan!"

"Lou Lan’s here," Lou Lan announced as he emerged from the

rocks.

"Is it possible to seal up these crevices?" Ai Hui asked.

"Leave it to me," quipped Lou Lan as he immediately got to

work.
 Ai Hui marveled at Lou Lan’s ability to put everyone in a good
mood. Lou Lan was still the best.

Out of the blue, Shi Xueman inquired, "How did you come to
know that blood elementalist?"

"Our first meeting was outside the noodle shop. I was later
captured by her during a scouting expedition and almost
became a blood elementalist. Thank the heavens I have these
bandages," recollected Ai Hui.

Shi Xueman took a good look at Ai Hui. Sensing that he was

hiding something, Shi Xueman proceeded to probe further.
"What else do you know about the blood elementalists?" she
asked.

"Not much," replied Ai Hui, shaking his head. "They’re backed

by an organization that is very likely responsible for causing the
blood disaster. This, of course, is merely my conjecture."

He was unwilling to divulge any more knowledge since his

conversation with the old prisoner would probably land him in
trouble.
 The reinforcements’ delay led Ai Hui to conclude that the
Blood of God had the upper hand. The old prisoner’s group
existed solely to take on the Blood of God, but ended up in a
terrible state. From this, Ai Hui deduced that the Blood of God
had infiltrated the Avalon of Five Elements and was possibly
operating partially from inside. Ai Hui looked at the situation
from the perspective of the Blood of God and decided that he too
would have done the same.

This would also explain why the Blood of God had such a
thorough understanding of the weaknesses of the Avalon of Five
Elements as well as why the reinforcements were taking so long
to arrive. Everything appeared to be under the watchful eye of
the Blood of God.

Again, these were only his conjectures. There were still too
many unknowns to be sure.

Shi Xueman did not probe further as she felt that everyone
was entitled to their own secrets.

Hearing all this from Ai Hui, however, caused her brilliant

mind to generate a good number of questions and scenarios. Her
face a little paler than before, Shi Xueman asked, "So there
won’t be any reinforcements?"
 The more she thought about the situation, the paler she
became. Looking at Ai Hui, she continued, "So the mayor’s
residence’s insistence on the plan of "treating the city like a
piece of cloth" at the cost of Master Han’s life is because they
already know this."

Ai Hui was hit by a sudden realization. How had he not

thought of this? He had assumed that the plan was carried out
under his Mistress’s insistence, but now understood that the
city would not simply sacrifice an embroidery master like that.

He was now able to confirm his guess regarding the

reinforcements.

"They won’t be arriving anytime soon at least." Regaining his

composure, Ai Hui looked at Shi Xueman and asked, "Will the
higher ups send help?"

"Definitely," answered Shi Xueman firmly. She was more

familiar with how the higher authorities worked than Ai Hui
was. She continued, "They’ll definitely send a large force with
some masters within."

"Not a single one of them has turned up yet," Ai Hui stated.

"Where have all the soldiers and masters gone?"

By this point, all the color had practically drained from Shi
Xueman’s face. "They must have met with some mishap.
Perhaps they were attacked by blood elementalists."

"How then do the blood elementalists know their route?" Ai

Hui continued asking.

Shi Xueman was white as a sheet. She opened her mouth and
tried to speak, but the words would not come. A moment later,
she surmised, "They must have infiltrated our ranks."

Ai Hui took a long, deep breath and heaved a long, deep sigh
to release his pent up emotions.

Shi Xueman seemed to be strongly affected by what she had

just deduced. She understood why Ai Hui kept these things to
himself and also knew why the mayor’s residence would hide
such matters. It was as though all her hopes were extinguished
in an instant.

There was a long pause before Shi Xueman spoke again. "Is
this a planned rebellion?"

"It’s more than a rebellion," Ai Hui replied calmly. "They

don’t just want to wrestle power, they want to completely
destroy the Avalon of Five Elements."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" countered Shi Xueman.

Ai Hui did bit have an immediate reply to that. He

subconsciously repeated, "Why would anyone want to do that?"

This was a question he had overlooked.

"Power, status, prestige, or wealth? What can they not

achieve? Why do they want to destroy the Avalon of Five
Elements?" elaborated Shi Xueman.

With the Blood of God’s power, these things were definitely

easy to obtain. Be it becoming a legitimate sect or secretly
controlling the Avalon of Five Elements from the shadows, the
Blood of God was definitely able to accomplish both. If the
Blood of God attempted a revival of the Cultivation Era, they
would probably be able to rally a large number of supporters to
their cause. The people of the Avalon of Five Elements were not
against the idea of going back to the Cultivation Era. Its glorious
history was still pretty fresh in everyone’s minds.

Why do they wish to destroy the Avalon of Five Elements?

Why do they have to take so many lives?

Ai Hui felt that the patient and far-planning Blood of God

would have thought through their options before embarking on
such a path. There must be a reason behind this destruction.

"Unless they harbor a deep-seated hatred for the Avalon of

Five Elements or there’s something that they can only gain
through the destruction of the Avalon of Five Elements," Shi
Xueman raised her head and commented.

"Is there such a thing?" asked Ai Hui.

"I have no idea," she replied with a shake of her head.

At that moment, Shi Xueman was glowing with wisdom. Ai

Hui was completely captivated by her beauty and only managed
to regain his senses after a while. Wow, she was so pretty yet
still so cold. It must be because her heart is not all that big.

Ai Hui subconsciously looked at the thick breastplate covering

Shi Xueman’s chest.

Shi Xueman could sense that Ai Hui was staring at her. Hang
on, where was he looking…

Her body stiffened as certain memories surfaced and caught

her unaware. Shi Xueman’s face instantly turned a bright
crimson.

Iron Lady’s reaction was so strange… Why was she acting all
bashful… Weird…. I’m more comfortable with her usual
expressionless self.

Ai Hui coughed lightly and looked away. He promptly

introduced a new topic. "Just who was the elementalist who
managed to scare that woman away."

The lady in red’s enigmatic powers had left scars in Ai Hui’s

mind. If the lady in red immediately fled upon seeing that guy,
he must also possess formidable strength.
 "Oh that’s Yu Mingqiu, the vice-division leader of the
Deathgrass Division," Shi Xueman responded normally. "Your
Senior Mingxiu’s elder brother’s junior."

"A vice-division leader of the Thirteen Divisions!" exclaimed

Ai Hui. "No wonder he’s so powerful!"

Ai Hui saw the Thirteen Divisions as a group that only the

truly powerful could join. A vice-division leader in the Thirteen
Divisions must be someone extremely formidable.

"Yu Mingqiu…" Shi Xueman paused to think. "He’s rather

unorthodox."

Ai Hui gave a blank stare and blurted, "What’s that supposed

to mean?"

"You’ll understand when the time comes," stated Shi Xueman.

Lou Lan had packed the crevices with earth, completely

sealing the two pathways.
 Ai Hui inspected the elemental energy within the cavern.
Upon confirmation that the elemental energy in the cavern
remained unaffected, Ai Hui and Shi Xueman headed back to
the mayor’s residence together.

Entering the mayor’s residence, the pair saw Yu Mingqiu in

the seat of honor, having a chat with the mayor.

As the vice-division leader of the Deathgrass Division, Yu

Mingqiu ranked above the mayor and the dean.

The mayor saw the two of them approaching and smiled,

"They’re back."

Yu Mingqiu nodded. "I’m relieved to see that Young Mistress

Shi is safe and sound."

"The pleasure is mine, Vice-Division Leader Yu!" Shi Xueman

responded with a salute. Although the two of them knew each
other, Yu Mingqiu’s high rank demanded the appropriate
amount of decorum.

"And this is?" asked Yu Mingqiu as he looked at Ai Hui.

 The mayor cheerfully said, "He’s Miss Mingxiu’s junior, Ai
Hui."

The city’s administration has always been looking out for

Mingxiu. She was, after all, one of the few individuals in the city
who hailed from an influential family.

"Mingxiu’s junior?" Yu Mingqiu blurted, his eyes lighting up.

He enthusiastically stood up and walked toward Ai Hui, patting
him on the shoulders. "That makes us family then. I’ve just
reached the mayor’s residence so we still have a lot of time to
visit Mingxiu. Mingxiu’s junior is my junior! If you have any
problems in the future, feel free to come find me, Brother Qiu!
Do you want to join the Deathgrass Division? How about it?
Brother Qiu will look after you!"

Ai Hui was knocked silly by his overly passionate speech. He

blankly replied, "I’m metal elemental energy attributed."

"Metal elemental energy?" said Yu Mingqiu. He racked his

brains for a reply, trying to avoid offending any more people.
He attempted to laugh the awkward situation away before
sincerely advising Ai Hui. "Live well," ordered Yu Mingqiu.
This guy was indeed… rather unorthodox.
Chapter 250: Fallen Defenses
45 people.

Tian Kuan sorrowfully stared at the two rows of elementalists

in front of him, his thoughts a mystery. Five of the 50 survivors
had rejected life and chosen death instead.

45 terrifying and imposing figures who appeared much

swifter and fiercer than Yan Hai stood solemnly in front of Tian
Kuan. Nothing was stricter than Death’s screening process. This
free-for-all involving thousands of people had definitely
produced a group of true elites. Although they had just become
blood elementalists, the aura they exuded was on a whole
different level than Yan Hai.

Tian Kuan detected a familiar scent in the air. The

bloodthirsty glint in their eyes was exactly the same as the blood
fiends and was something he could not be more familiar with.

He was assessing them, and they were sizing him up as well.

Tian Kuan knew that they would rip him to shreds the
moment he revealed any sign of weakness. This bunch of wild
beasts had no loyalty nor emotions. Only strength could
guarantee their respect and command their obedience.

Tian Kuan heaved a long sigh.

He disliked borrowing others’ strength, but this was the only

method that would give him enough confidence to carry out his
plans.

As he began to circulate his blood spiritual force, Tian Kuan

exuded an indescribable aura that permeated the entire area.

The 45 survivors were terrified to discover that the blood

spiritual force within their bodies was suddenly out of their
control. Several of their faces became flushed red as they
forcefully attempted to resist Tian Kuan’s aura.

One of the new blood elementalists felt his knees buckle, and
the next thing he knew, he was kneeling down on the ground.

The rest of them collapsed on their knees one by one like

dominoes.
 The sound of men falling to their knees continued until only a
handful were still standing. The faces of those standing revealed
the violent struggle occurring within. Despite their best efforts,
their bodies were eventually overcome by Tian Kuan’s presence,
and they too kneeled in front of him.

From the beginning to the end, Tian Kuan’s facial expression

had remained as distressed as ever. To the newly minted blood
elementalists kneeling before him, however, Tian Kuan’s face
was enigmatic, imposing, and dignified. His small, withered
stature towered above them, exerting a pressure so great that
they could not breathe.

"Life is short and full of sorrow."

He spoke as though he was sighing bitterly. "Life is tough.

Most people don’t deserve to be alive, while some people don’t
want to continue living. Life is an endless journey of pain. Just
look at yourselves. None of you wish to obey my orders, but you
don’t have a choice. All of you are prime examples of life’s
suffering. Is there anything that isn’t painful? Did you think
that becoming beasts would ease your suffering?"

Yan Hai had long since prostrated himself at Tian Kuan’s

back. Tian Kuan’s words made his heart race, but also made him
realize that his master had actually been treating him quite
nicely.

The freshly baked blood elementalists were trembling

uncontrollably while the blood within their bodies surged
explosively.

He was of course different from these guys. His loyalty toward

his master was unquestionable!

Yan Hai firmly believed that his master was aware of his
loyalty.

"Whoever can demonstrate their usefulness will be allowed to

continue living."

Tian Kuan looked even more worried. His words were

targeted at his new recruits, but were also intended for himself.
Up until now, he had not achieved anything noteworthy.

He had no idea if the others had been earning brownie points,

but he knew he did not have any.
 Failing to meet expectations would leave him in a bad place.
This was why he broke his own code and proceeded to recruit
new allies.

Only time would tell whether he would succeed.

He had a comprehensive plan.

News of Yu Mingqiu’s arrival swiftly swept across all of

Central Pine City.

A vice division leader from the Thirteen Divisions was

someone highly regarded by most people. Furthermore, Yu
Mingqiu was well known throughout the Avalon of Five
Elements for his prowess. The arrival of such powerful
assistance gave the people of Central Pine City hope for the
future.

Back in the mayor’s residence.

The mayor dismissed all unrelated personnel so that he could

have a private discussion with the dean and Vice ivision Leader
Yu Mingqiu.
 Ai Hui stood rooted to the spot as though he had not heard the
order to withdraw. Seeing that Ai Hui had no intention of
leaving just yet, Shi Xueman also remained. Lou Lan stood in
one corner, blinking his eyes.

"Both of you may go back and rest. You still have the golden
needle to handle tomorrow," informed Wang Zhen. He felt that
the two of them were acting strange, so he smiled and
continued, "Our scouts have found no issues with the other
eight nodes. Both of you should take a good rest to prepare for
your upcoming assignments."

Ai Hui cheerfully asked, "Mr. Mayor, our reinforcements

aren’t coming anymore, right?"

Shi Xueman looked at Wang Zhen as well.

Wang Zhen replied gravely, "Why are you spouting such

nonsense? Isn’t Vice ivision Leader Yu already here? A vice
division leader from the Thirteen Divisions is here in person,
wouldn’t you consider that to be reinforcements?"

"But Brother Qiu is here alone."

 Ai Hui took a quick glance at Yu Mingqiu. If he wanted to rely
on a higher power, he would have to go along with some of Yu
Mingqiu’s whims, like calling him "Brother Qiu." Even though
Yu Mingqiu was quite eccentric, his status and strength still
made him a precious ally.

"You should tell us the truth," blurted Shi Xueman.

Wang Zhen was not too happy about being confronted like
this.

Ai Hui did not seem to notice that the mayor was on the verge
of flaring up.

"A sharp individual like you is indeed worthy of being

Mingxiu’s junior." Yu Mingqiu suddenly burst out in hearty
laughter and broke the awkward atmosphere. "Since we’re on
the same side, I guess there’s no need to hide the truth from
you. Having one more person to help think of a solution isn’t
such a bad thing either. Perhaps the mayor could enlighten us
on the current situation."

Yu Mingqiu was the highest ranked person here, so nobody

could refuse his request.
 "Okay, I shall relay the higher authorities’ message. We won’t
be getting anymore reinforcements in the short term. All of the
troops that were headed here have been ambushed by a
mysterious person and suffered serious casualties. We have
received confirmation that one vice divison leader has been
killed in action."

Yu Mingqiu’s eyes widened in shock. "Who was it?"

"They didn’t say, so I have no idea," said Wang Zhen, shaking

his head.

Yu Mingqiu was appalled by the damage they had suffered. He

could not believe that a vice division leader had actually fallen!
Throughout the Avalon of Five Elements’ history, the loss a vice
division leader was an extremely rare occurrence.

His subordinates might have suffered the same fate…

These thoughts had drained all color from Yu Mingqiu’s face.

He subconsciously clenched his fist tightly in a bid to control
the intense sadness that welled up inside him.
 "Our goal now is to execute the ‘treating the city as a piece of
cloth’ plan. We have no other options besides this," Wang Zhen
said in a nolens volens tone. "This is the only way we can buy
ourselves more time. The higher ups should take note of the
large casualties though and respond accordingly. Now that Vice
Division Leader Yu is here, our city’s strength has increased as
well."

Yu Mingqiu shook his head. "There is no increase

whatsoever."

"What do you mean?" replied both the dean and the mayor.

"I chased a blood elementalist into the city and lost her after
we both entered," growled Yu Mingqiu. "It was a lady clad in
red. Her strength matched my own, but her skills and
techniques were very odd. The energy she tapped into was
strangely different from the elemental energy that we use. The
two of them have met her and even exchanged blows with her
as well."

The dean and the mayor simultaneously turned to Ai Hui and

Shi Xueman.
 Ai Hui nodded, "We almost died at her hands."

A sudden realization struck Yu Mingqiu. Giving his forehead a

smack, he said, "You guys are pretty strong considering how you
managed to escape from that she-devil."

"We got lucky," Ai Hui hurriedly replied.

Wang Zhen paled after listening to Yu Mingqiu’s report. "You

mean someone as strong as Vice Division Leader Yu has entered
the city?"

"Yup," Yu Mingqiu nodded.

Wang Zhen’s facial expression changed drastically as he

shouted, "Not good!"

Immediately after the mayor’s exclamation, sounds of

explosions could be heard from all over the city.

Everyone in the hall stared at each other blankly.

 One of the mayor’s subordinates ran in hastily. "The city’s
defenses have fallen," he informed, visibly crestfallen.

Wang Zhen forced himself to remain calm. "Which direction?"

he asked.

His subordinate stammered, "All, all of them."

All of their defenses had fallen…

Wang Zhen was struck dumb by the news, feeling as though

he had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. Ai Hui and Shi
Xueman looked at each other and saw the terror in the other’s
eyes. The destruction of the city’s defenses meant only one
thing—the blood fiends would be able to enter the city from any
direction.

There was nothing left to stop them!

The city’s defense was one of the main reasons why Central
Pine City was able to hang on for so long. A complete city
defense was absolutely essential for repelling most of the blood
fiends. This was especially the case for the larger fiends.
 From now on, the elementalists in the city would have to face
increased pressure.

Blood fiend howls rose and fell like an orchestra. Large groups
of them were quickly approaching the city from all directions.

The high density of elemental energy within the city was like
a delicious cake. Waves of delicious scents wafted out of the city,
attracting every single blood fiend within its range. The blood
coursing the blood fiends’ veins made them strongly attracted
to elemental energy. Much like how blood crystals were prized
spoils of war for humans, humans were the prized rewards for
blood fiends.

"Oh my heavens, look up!"

Everyone in the courtyard looked up and saw a huge blood red

cloud heading toward the city at an alarming speed.

The sight made everyone pale with fright. Blood birds were
rapidly approaching!

Central Pine City had never suffered that much at the hands
of blood birds because of the effectiveness of Wang Zhen’s
strategic air defenses. While they had not faced many blood bird
attacks, the residents of Central Pine City knew of the threat
they posed.

Most of the city had been reduced to rubble so there was

nowhere for people to hide.

The city’s elementalists were not skillful enough to fight

aerial battles against blood birds.

Yu Mingqiu suavely announced, "Leave the skies to me!"

Even though he knew that the lady in red was waiting to

ambush him at his weakest, he understood that there was no
time to worry about her anymore.

The Thirteen Divisions existed to protect the Avalon of Five

Elements. He was here to protect the skies, the earth, and the
people that lived within this space.

He took pride in his role as a vice division leader.

 Yu Mingqiu spread his azure wings and soared into the sky. At
least there was no chance of losing my direction up here.

Wang Zhen stared blankly at the figure in the sky. He snapped

out of his daze after several seconds and urgently commanded,
"Golden needles! We need to start getting the golden needles in
place! Now! We’re running out of time!"

Ai Hui looked up at the sky.

Heavy-set blood clouds loomed over the city, blocking out

practically all of the natural light. In front of the swarm was a
lonely figure, or rather, a mere speck in the sky.

Shi Xueman gripped Cirrus so tightly that her knuckles

turned white.

Ai Hui was momentarily overwhelmed by Yu Mingqiu’s noble

sacrifice. He smacked his lips and asked, "Where are the golden
needles?"

"The warehouse! The smith is there too! Hurry!" shouted

Wang Zhen. "I leave the first node in your hands! Quick!"
 Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, and Lou Lan headed toward the
warehouse without hesitation.
Chapter 251: The Heat Of Battle
The new disaster came so suddenly that the people who had
adapted well to the fighting were immediately plunged into the
bloody battle. It was fortunate that the eruption of this latest
disaster was not in the initial stages of the blood disaster.

Those who had experienced the endless battles in the weeks

up until now and managed to survive were the elites who had
gradually become accustomed to battle. Both their mental and
physical strength had vastly improved.

When encountering danger, they did not panic, but rallied to

fight back.

However, serious casualties were abundant because the

fighting had changed in nature and intensity. The city defences
that once protected them had practically evaporated, leaving
them utterly exposed to the blood fiends.

Central Pine City had become a white-hot battlefield as battles

raged on throughout the city.

Contrary to the early stages of the blood disaster, wails and

cries for help were now rarely heard. The survivors understood
that wailing and crying were useless and that the only thing
they could do was to fight to the end.

Two main necessities were responsible for maintaining the

will to fight. People were driven forward by the need to become
more powerful as well as the need to survive.

Staying alive was after all, the ultimate human dignity.

The distance between the main hall of the mayor’s residence

and its warehouse was approximately 300 meters. While 300
meters would usually be considered a short distance, in the heat
of battle it felt much longer.

Just as they stepped out the front door, the piercing sound of
weapons and attacks flying through the air could be heard. Soon
after, a huge shadow could be seen heading toward them.

Boom!

The solid walls of the mayor’s residence suddenly exploded

inches away from Ai Hui. Bricks flew all over the place, raining
down on them like a deadly hail.

A two-storey tall blood fiend was surrounded by elementalists.

Their relentless attacks had made it lose its balance, causing it
to crash into the wall.

The blood fiend’s large body hit the ground hard, generating a
terrifying impact that made the ground rock violently.

The blood fiend’s leftover momentum carried it all the way to

Ai Hui, dragging huge chunks of stone along with it.

A cold glint flashed in Ai Hui’s eyes as he silently thrust the

Dragonspine in his hand forward. A frigid sword ray crossed the
short gap between him and blood fiend and embedded itself in
its throat.

A pillar of blood shot out of the blood fiend’s throat as its body
grew limp.

Ai Hui nimbly stepped around the blood fiend’s corpse and

made a dash for the warehouse.
 They had encountered several groups of elementalists along
the way, but simply lacked the time to provide aid.

Everyone was in a mad rush and unable to effectively form

squads. There were, however, several small teams that
effectively fought against the blood fiends by ganging up on
them. Both man and fiend were consumed by the relentless
slaughter.

Central Pine City had descended into hell.

Ai Hui took the lead and rushed to the forefront. Shi Xueman
followed closely behind, firmly gripping her spear in her hand.

The warehouse was right ahead!

All of a sudden, strong waves of elemental energy pulsed

through the air. Brilliant light flashed across the sky,
highlighting the proud, solitary figure in the air.

Ai Hui winced slightly. Although he had barely talked to Yu

Mingqiu and was not exactly familiar with him, Ai Hui felt that
Yu Mingqiu was truly worthy of being addressed as Brother Qiu.
If they were to meet again, he would definitely willingingly
address him as such.

He continued to press on, a fire burning deep beneath his

indifferent surface.

Everyone, including his master, mistress, Brother Qiu, the

mayor, the dean, and the A-1 unit was fighting for the future.
Every single person, dead or alive, who was involved in this
disaster was fighting for their own destiny and survival. In
doing so, they were also fighting for Central Pine City’s future.

They were on the verge of collapsing, and it felt as though the

pressure of a single added straw would crush them.

How could a person give up when even a beast would counter

attack when cornered?

Ai Hui abruptly accelerated when he was 10 meters shy of the

warehouse’s main entrance. He leapt high into the air, curled
into a ball, and slammed directly against the warehouse door.

Ai Hui crashed into the warehouse together with the debris.

 He saw several frightened craftsmen inside the warehouse.

"Where are the golden needles?" Ai Hui roared loudly, trying

to be heard above the noise.

Ai Hui was definitely the most recognizable face in Central

Pine City at the moment. The craftsmen heaved long sighs of
relief upon seeing him.

One of the craftsmen took a step forward and asked loudly,

"What is going on? Why does it seem so chaotic outside?"

"The city defences have been destroyed! Grab the golden

needle and get to the Heaven Pit." Ai Hui was practically
shouting himself hoarse.

When they heard that the city defences were destroyed, the
craftsmen’s faces sank. They most certainly knew what this
meant.

"What about the other golden needles?" the craftsman who

first stood forward asked.
 "You should bring them to the Heaven Pit with Lou Lan first.
I’ll defend this place and wait for Huanghun and the others!"
Shi Xueman said solemnly. "We have an agreed upon signal, I’m
sure they’ll arrive soon."

Ai Hui nodded at her and firmly ordered the craftsmen,

"Follow me!"

Several craftsmen lifted a sturdy looking pillar from one

corner of the warehouse.

This was the first time Ai Hui saw one of the golden needles
and he could not resist taking a second glance at it. The needle’s
body had a brilliant glass-like glaze that made it glow with an
exotic metallic luster. More than five meters in height and more
than half a meter in diameter, it was difficult to associate it with
the word "needle." Instead, it was more similar to a house’s
support beam. Layers of intricate and sophisticated patterns
were carved onto the metal column, making it a dazzling sight
to behold.

"If the patterns carved onto the golden needle are damaged,
it’ll lose its effectiveness," the chief craftsman spoke in a severe
manner. "We used a relatively hard material called glass iron
which is sufficiently strong and capable of withstanding
geocentric flame. It will, however, shatter easily if exposed to an
impact of great magnitude. We only have nine needles. There
are no spares."

Ai Hui nodded in comprehension as his eyes met those of the

chief craftsman. He then hurried to lead the way out of the
warehouse.

Two craftsmen stepped up to carry the golden needle by its

head and tail with the chief craftsman following closely by their
side.

Shi Xueman raised Cirrus in her hands as she watched Ai Hui

and the others leave. A white ray shot up into the sky, forming
the shape of a sword. This was the A-1 unit’s signal for seeking
assistance.

Sending out the signal brought her some relief. She raised the
spear in her hand and leapt onto the warehouse roof.

Until support arrived, Shi Xueman had to defend the

warehouse alone.
 She was completely unafraid.

Yan Hai hid in the dark with several blood elementalists in

tow. Seeing the chaotic scene before him, he could not help but
have mad respect for Sir. Tian Kuan’s visit to the casualty
barrack had been incredibly fruitful, allowing him to gain an
additional 45 blood elementalists as followers. This greatly
increased their fighting strength and enabled them to cause so
much chaos from within.

Yan Hai felt that he was different from the newly created
blood elementalists. All of them were much stronger than him,
yet Sir had chosen him as the team leader. Surely this meant
that Sir trusted him more!

Yan Hai was secretly pleased with himself. He reminded

himself to perform well and live up to Sir’s expectations.

"Will they really not attack us?"

The question came from Shi Wei, who was a rather well-
known student in Central Pine Academy prior to becoming
infected. Many believed that he would have a bright future, but
all that changed when he got injured.
 Shi Wei was a rookie, and as such, he was viewed unfavorably
by Yan Hai. Yan Hai was keen to make his mark and felt that
rookies like Shi Wei were a major hindrance to him. However,
these blood elementalists were assigned to him by Tian Kuan, so
Yan Hai could not object. He could not figure out just how
someone like Shi Wei managed to survive the brutal slaughter
at the quarantine barracks.

Even Shi Wei, himself, did not fully understand how he

managed to survive.

Afraid to relive that nightmare, he did not dare to think about

it anymore. He just wanted to have a fresh start and continue
living.

He convinced himself that what he was doing was not wrong.

Did he have any other choice? Apparently not.

Watching the chaotic fights unfolding before his eyes terrified

him, yet at the same time, brought him some relief. He felt a
little ashamed when he thought of his classmates and teachers
struggling, but the mere feeling of being alive made him quietly
delighted.
 He did not want to experience the mindless, uncontrollable
rage and bloodthirst of the beastly instinct ever again.

Living dishonorably was still a kind of living.

Despite his new position, Shi Wei was still alarmed by the
large number of blood fiends.

"I’ve told you before that it won’t happen," chided Yan Hai.
"We have a similar presence to that of the blood fiends, so they
won’t attack us as long as we don’t attack them first. Did you
not notice that none of the blood fiends that have walked past
us have given us a single glance?"

Shi Wei felt somewhat safer.

"Are we just gonna sit here and twiddle our thumbs?"

This time, Old Lei was the one asking. He was an elementalist
from a hunting unit and had both strength and experience.
Accustomed to a life of killing and looting, his moral boundaries
were extremely blurry. He was the fastest to come to terms with
his new identity as a blood elementalist.
 Old Lei had more worldly wisdom than Shi Wei and knew that
performing well was the most important task they had. He was
a good judge of character who quickly took note of Tian Kuan’s
callous nature. He knew that Tian Kuan only converted them
into blood elementalists to borrow their strength.

Their lives would come to an end once Tian Kuan felt that
they no longer had value.

Old Lei’s ruthlessness made Yan Hai slightly uneasy around

him.

"We need to find a high-value target," informed Yan Hai.

"Let’s wait a while longer for the elementalists to further
deplete their strength before striking. Things will be much
easier that way."

Old Lei sneered at him. "If you want to achieve great things,
then you’d better step up your game and stop looking for scraps.
You think the battlefield will simply be littered with easy-
pickings?"

Old Lei did not give a hoot about Yan Hai. He could see that
Yan Hai was really just a cowardly weakling. With his
experience and seniority, Old Lei’s words appeared to carry
more weight among them. Several others nodded in agreement
after hearing what he said.

Yan Hai was so agitated that he almost spat blood. However,

he did not dare to fall out with Old Lei. Right at that moment,
his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Ai Hui!"

"Who’s that?" asked Old Lei, shaking his head. "I don’t
recognize him."

Old Lei was injured fairly early on and was unfamiliar with Ai
Hui.

"The esteemed Lightning Blade, Ai Hui. He’s one of the

leading figures in Central Pine City. What a big fish!" Yan Hai’s
eyes sparkled greedily.

"A leader?" Old Lei asked in disbelief. He pursed his lips at the
sky and continued, "Did you mean him? Who would dare to
consider himself a military leader in front of Yu Mingqiu?"

The rest of them quietly laughed. Everyone had heard of the

great Yu Mingqiu.

Yan Hai turned pale with anger and scoffed. "Forget it. You
can go challenge Yu Mingqiu if you dare."

Old Lei looked up at the sky and felt a slight fear running up
his spine. Yu Mingqiu was floating in the air, somehow able to
keep an entire sky full of blood birds in check by himself.

One man up against tens of thousands of enemies, refusing to

let a single one of them pass through.

Yu Mingqiu truly lived up to his reputation.

"I hope this Ai Hui of yours has some value." Old Lei snorted
before giving a hand signal to the others, dispersing them into
different hiding areas.

The group of blood elementalists had formed a circle of death

and eagerly awaited for their prey.
Chapter 252: Disappearance
Lou Lan was leading the way.

Without his sword embryo, Ai Hui’s ability to detect dangers

was largely weakened. Fortunately, they still had Lou Lan.
Under Lou Lan’s lead, they twisted and turned along the streets
and roads, but were always able to find a less dangerous route.

Lou Lan was very sensitive to blood spiritual force; therefore,

he could feel the blood fiends from a distance. This ability was
currently playing an important role.

If they really couldn’t avoid a blood fiend, then the craftsmen

would stop and hide themselves first, after which Ai Hui would
sneak up on the blood fiends and kill them. Finally, they would
be able to continue their forward march.

Fortunately, the blood fiends they met were not at all strong.

Gnashing their teeth and gathering their energy, the

craftsmen behind them carried the gold needle and closely
followed.
 At this moment, everyone was pushing themselves.

"The sinkhole is not far away!"

The leader of the craftsmen encouraged them loudly. The

shout boosted everyone’s spirits.

Finally, they were just one block away from the sinkhole.
Moreover, there were no blood fiends on the street.

But then, Lou Lan suddenly stopped at the crossing, so Ai Hui

and the craftsmen followed suit.

Lou Lan said, "Ai Hui, there are five blood fiends there."

"So many?" Ai Hui asked in surprise. He glanced at the street

and said, "But Lou Lan, I don’t see any."

"Then they are hiding somewhere."

"So let’s take another route."

 Lou Lan and Ai Hui were talking loudly. Hearing their
discussion, the five people who were hiding to ambush the
group were speechless. They’d thought they were hiding well
enough and didn’t expect their enemies to notice their existence
so effortlessly.

How did Ai Hui’s sand puppet find them?

Blood fiends? They were regarded as blood fiends? Having just

transformed from beasts to human beings, they were extremely
disgusted to be treated as blood fiends from the bottom of their
hearts, especially the young men like Shi Wei. He almost rushed
out on impulse.

They were all looking at Old Lei and waiting for his
instructions.

Old Lei was experienced enough to keep his composure.

Although he’d been laughing at Yan Hai just now, he didn’t

underestimate Ai Hui at all. He was surprised that they’d been
seen through, but chose not to rush out.
 Young men like Shi Wei felt angry when they heard
themselves being treated as blood fiends, but Old Lei believed
this might be a good opportunity. They could take advantage of
the mistake.

He thought fast about how to use this advantage.

Hearing Ai Hui say that they were going to the sinkhole, Old
Lei became more relaxed. The street they were hiding in was the
only shortcut to the sinkhole. If they did not take this route,
they would have to go a long way around.

Old Lei was not at all in a hurry.

He was also curious about the big pillar, as he had a feeling

that the pillar must be something important. He was sent to the
casualty barrack early, before the plan of "treating the city as a
piece of cloth" was announced, so he knew nothing about the
gold needles. Still, his keen sense of smell made him realize that
the pillar was unusual.

Meanwhile, seeing Ai Hui talking to his sand puppet, Old Lei

was a bit surprised. It seemed that this sand puppet was unusual
too.
 He became vigilant about anything unusual.

After a while, Ai Hui walked to the leader of the craftsmen

and told him something. Since they were too far away, Old Lei
couldn’t hear it clearly, but he did see that the leader’s
expression was a bit weird.

Weird?

What had he said?

Old Lei tried to guess the content of their conversation, but

didn’t have the slightest idea.

Yan Hai glared at Old Lei with enmity. I am the team leader,
thought Yan Hai. Why was he being isolated by the others?

They must envy him for being trusted by Sir!

We’ll see. If the mission fails, then you will know how
frightening Sir can be, thought Yan Hai to himself. He made up
his mind that if this really happened, he would not intercede on
their behalf.

He had cursed Old Lei in his heart thousands of times, but as

he was the weakest member and one who feared Ai Hui the most
among the five, he didn’t dare to rush out either. He witnessed
the battle of the streets himself, the horrible scenes of which
still haunted his dreams.

Old Lei waited patiently. It was not at all necessary for them
to rush out.

In his eyes, it was their most critical moment. Once they were
targeted by elementalists, they could only attract more enemies.
The level of hatred elementalists had for blood elementalists
and blood fiends was totally different. If they were discovered
by an elementalist, only death would follow.

That was why Old Lei didn’t give any orders, so the others
continued to wait silently.

Ai Hui didn’t move for a while.

Old Lei didn’t move either. He was patient and calm, qualities
he believed an experienced hunter should possess. He had been
through too many battles, and with his rich experience in
battlefields, he knew it was best for them to wait under such
circumstances.

After a while more, Ai Hui still didn’t move.

Old Lei began to wonder what this guy in front of him was
doing. In such a chaotic and dangerous moment, the other
elementalists were either putting up a desperate fight or hiding
themselves. Despite that, Ai Hui was standing still in a place
threatened by a growing crisis and could be attacked by blood
fiends at any moment. Was he thinking about the philosophy of
life?

This was weird!

Old Lei thought hard, but still couldn’t understand. He

narrowed his insightful eyes and stared at Ai Hui as if he wanted
to pierce him with his sharp stare.

Wait! His eyes suddenly widened. Where was Ai Hui’s sand

puppet?
 The sand puppet that looked unusual?

He glanced over the whole place, and was astonished to find

that the sand puppet had disappeared right under their noses.

Right at that moment, Ai Hui began to move.

It appeared that after thinking for a long time, the stone man
was finally bestowed life. Ai Hui moved and the three craftsmen
who were carrying the pillar also moved after him.

A flash of vigilance flashed across Old Lei’s eyes. Wait! The

craftsmen were now standing at the spot where the sand puppet
had disappeared?

Then a craftsman disappeared.

Hmm?

And the pillar disappeared.

 Hmm?

And the other two craftsmen also disappeared.

Hmm!

Ai Hui turned around and waved his hands in Old Lei’s

direction, then also disappeared.

They’d noticed them long ago!

Old Lei stood up abruptly and felt surprised and bewildered.

He didn’t know what had happened, but since they had already
discovered his presence, it was meaningless to hide any longer.
Thus, he decided to take the initiative to attack.

Old Lei walked out from where he was hiding together with
the others, whose expressions revealed their confusion.

What they’d seen just now was really weird.

 They walked cautiously toward where Ai Hui had been
standing. They were afraid that Ai Hui was playing tricks to lure
them out.

When they walked closer, they were stunned to see a huge

hole leading deep underground.

Especially Old Lei, whose face was dark and red.

"No wonder he is called the Lightning Blade. Hearing his

name alone made us too frightened to move and they were able
to effortlessly dig such a big tunnel under our noses. What a
shame! I’m wondering what others will say about us if they hear
what happened today…"

Yan Hai couldn’t help taunting Old Lei. Actually, he was more
than happy to see him being fooled. The more shameful Old Lei
was, the happier he was.

Bang!

The next minute, Yan Hai’s face was kicked hard. Like being
bumped by a beast, he directly flew out and fell into a pile of
ruins, losing consciousness.

Old Lei drew back his leg as if nothing had happened, but the
anger on his face made him look like a furious lion that would
eat anything and anyone it met.

The others saw this and all looked away at once.

They also feared Old Lei’s ruthlessness and cruelty.

Without saying anything, Old Lei jumped into the tunnel,

leaving the other three looking at each other in hesitation.

"Should we just leave that guy alone?"

"You want to take him with us?"

"No. He is too talkative. It’s annoying."

"Then just leave him there."

 Having made up their minds, the other three jumped into the
tunnel one after another and soon caught up with Old Lei.

They were surprised at how broad the tunnel was. How had
they dug such a deep tunnel within such a limited time? It was
not an easy job even for a sand puppet.

Shi Wei couldn’t help murmuring, "Sand puppets are so

strong nowadays?"

Hearing his words, Old Lei scolded him in rage. "Shut up! Talk
less!"

Before he finished speaking, a cold light abruptly rose from

under his feet as fast as lightening, and in the blink of an eye,
was almost at his throat.

An ambush!

Old Lei was so scared that all his hair stood on end. He quickly
stepped backward while crossing his hands in front of his throat
protectively.
 Dragonspine was originally aiming for Old Lei’s throat, but
suddenly bent like a boneless snake and unexpectedly stabbed
into his chest.

Ding!

The sound was like hitting a stone with iron.

Ai Hui felt like he had stabbed an iron ingot. The sword

pierced only two inches into the chest and couldn’t go further.

Old Lei’s face was all red. Having blocked the stab, his raging
energy and blood sloshed around in his chest.

Ai Hui didn’t expect Old Lei’s skin to be as solid as iron.

Although he himself had attained [Copper Skin], he could not
reach Old Lei’s level. Nevertheless, since Ai Hui had made great
progress in swordsmanship, when he felt the resistance from
the sword point, he slightly shook his wrist before even
realizing it.

The sword vibrated like the tongue of a poisonous snake.

 Oblique Slash.

In less than one second, Ai Hui slashed eight times like

lightening. Without any complicated changes, the moves were
simple and fast. The improvement in his swordsmanship was
thoroughly reflected in this attack.

The sword rays of the eight slashes overlapped like a high-

speed, rotating circular saw.

The Dragonspine that stuck in Old Lei’s chest suddenly moved

forward. Feeling heat in his chest, Old Lei looked down and only
saw a blood mist exploding from his chest that blurred his
vision.

He growled in fury and kicked out hard with his right leg.

But once again, there was nothing. Although Ai Hui was close,
he was like a phantom.

The next minute, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg; it had been
pierced by the sword. He could even feel the parts of the sword
that were piercing into his muscle.
 This sword was weird. It was a soft sword!

He protected his head and throat. As long as these two were

safe, he didn’t need to worry about losing his life. Suppressing
the fear rising in his heart, he quickly stepped backward.

He could hear his companions’ scolding and steps behind him.

They were not far away. As soon as they caught up, they could
turn the situation around. They were advantageous in number
and would be able to kill this damn Lightning Blade!

Old Lei roared in his heart.

He was protecting his head with his arms, but this also
blocked his sight. Therefore, he didn’t see the Dragonspine
sneaking in the darkness like a poisonous snake, and didn’t
know that lethal danger was quietly approaching closer and
closer.

The sword rays around the Dragonspine were becoming

stronger. The sword was quivering slightly.

When the sword point stabbed into the wound on Old Lei’s
chest again, it quivered fiercely and the sword rays reached
their peak. The next instant, the accumulated energy gushed
out from the sword point.

[Crescent Moon]!

A crescent moon formed, rushed forward, and exploded in Old

Lei’s chest.
Chapter 253: Fierce Fighting In The
Tunnel
Dong!

The grave sound of an explosion sounded out from Old Lei’s

chest.

A crescent moon penetrated Old Lei’s chest and exited from

his back together with a bloody mist. The blood elementalist
who had rushed forward to help had no time to dodge and could
only protectively cover his vital parts with his arms.

Those who had survived the bloody fight at the casualty

barrack were all cruel and ruthless people. The injury didn’t
freak the blood elementalist out, but infuriated him instead.

With a stifled groan, he took the initiative to attack. Curving

his body at a weird angle, he stepped on the vertical tunnel wall.

He passed by Old Lei like a ghost, and before jumping onto the
ground, bent his leg like a folding knife.
 He was fast; all these moves were done in the blink of an eye.
Previously, he had been moving silently, but when his leg
chopped down, the sharp whistle of wind it produced could be
heard all over the tunnel.

Puff!

His leg cut down like a sharp knife and plunged into the
ground. The solid rocks broke like bean curd.

In the dark tunnel, the expression of the blood elementalist

changed drastically.

Nothing!

How was it possible?

His attack had been fast, without any delay, and had covered a
large scope, so he had been pretty sure that he could land the
blow on Ai Hui. Despite all that, he’d failed.

Where was Ai Hui?

 Did he withdraw immediately after succeeding?

Suddenly, he felt something at his back like a needle with a

sharp chill in the air. His body froze and eyes widened in
disbelief.

He thought of one possibility.

Ai Hui hadn’t retreated. Instead, he’d gotten closer to Old Lei

in order to hide himself behind Old Lei’s figure.

That meant Ai Hui was right behind him!

Even though Ai Hui was his enemy, the blood elementalist

couldn’t help but admire his reaction and flexibility.
Meanwhile, a chill rose in his chest. Unlike Old Lei, he knew of
Ai Hui but had still been confident because of his own rapid
advance in fighting skills. This unimaginable improvement was
supernatural and greatly helped build up his confidence.

Therefore, even though their enemy was Ai Hui, he’d still

believed that they had a chance to beat him.
 Now, however, he finally realized how frightening and
dangerous Ai Hui could be. They had been on the losing side of
the confrontation since the very beginning and their moves and
attacks had all fallen within Ai Hui’s expectations.

Ai Hui would have spoken highly of him if he’d known that

the blood elementalist figured everything out almost instantly,
but he was now curled up and closely clinging to Old Lei’s back.

His sharp elemental energy had cut open the skin on the blood
elementalist’s back; the blood elementalist didn’t even feel any
pain because the sword ray was too sharp.

The blood elementalist made a harsh decision. Before his pain

started to spread, he stepped hard with the leg that was stuck in
the ground and pushed himself backward. His back was pierced
by the sword, but it also smashed into Ai Hui like a wall.

Ai Hui hadn’t expected him to be so resolute in killing him

even at the cost of sacrificing his own life.

Right at that moment, another blood elementalist caught up

with them.
 This blood elementalist’s fist was surrounded with red, bloody
light, which made it look like a red drill. He punched Ai Hui
using all his effort because he was freaked out by Ai Hui’s swift
and mysterious movement. A bloody light suddenly appeared
around his body, arousing an upsurge in his power.

He saw the space in the tunnel was limited, so he took the

initiative to start a head-on confrontation with Ai Hui.

This was because they had the advantage with their

superiority in number.

In the blink of an eye, Ai Hui was caught in a dangerous

situation where he had enemies in front and behind him with
nowhere to hide. At this moment, the Dragonspine in his hand
suddenly bent like a spring. The force of the blood
elementalist’s backward attack almost pressed the sword to the
limit.

But with the sword buffering the impact, the blood

elementalist’s power was largely reduced.

Then Ai Hui loosened his grip on the sword and it sprung out
like a loosened spring. The huge elasticity pushed Ai Hui
backward. With force, his back that was near Old Lei’s chest
trembled violently.

[Arching Fishback]!

The tempestuous elemental energy and force from the

Dragonspine sword swatted the unconscious Old Lei like a huge
wave.

Bang! Old Lei’s chest was dented. In the next second, he flew
out like a stone struck by a wildly running beast and heavily
dropped to the ground.

It was too late for the blood elementalist to reclaim his force,
so his fist punched forward without any restraint.

His fist surrounded by the bloody light collided forcefully

with Old Lei.

The frightening sound of broken bones reverberated

throughout the tunnel.
 The wounded blood elementalist became completely
discouraged and freaked out. All their attacks were within Ai
Hui’s expectations.

Along with the force from the sword, he jumped forward with
all his effort in hopes of escaping.

He felt that the sword stabbed into his back was like a toothed
saw, leaving behind great pain as it was pulled out. Despite this,
he couldn’t care. All he wanted to do was run away.

He rushed forward and was about to break away from the

sword, when he felt the saw-like bone sword suddenly come to
life.

The feeling was so strong that all his hair stood on end.

An even stronger danger alert broke out in his heart. He had a

hunch that his life was coming to an end.

No!
 Feeling intense frustration, he knew that there was no way
back. Streaks of bright blood traces lit up on his body, each of
which was about the size of a copper coin. They spread all over
his body, including his face, nape, and arms, and flowed
slightly. If Ai Hui had the time to count, he would notice that
the number of blood traces was exactly nine.

As the blood traces lit up, the blood in his body boiled and
became as bright as lava. It sensed the external invasion and
squirmed like a monster to rush at the Dragonspine sword
stabbed in his back.

He didn’t know why he was doing this. It had not been long
since he’d gained the ability to agglomerate blood traces, but at
this moment, his counterattack seemed to come from an
intuition buried deep in his body.

The blood in his body flowed quickly. If Ai Hui could see

through him, he would have seen numerous blood streaks
appear in his body that stretched from each of its corners to the
point of the sword.

When the blood touched the Dragonspine, it abruptly

triggered a bizarre chime from the sword.
 The chime was like the hiss of a blood snake.

The sword was excited to feel the smell of its kind.

Meanwhile, the end of the bandage on Ai Hui’s wrist also rose

like a snake and twined weirdly around the sword hilt.

The hissing chime stopped all of a sudden and the mysterious

Dragonspine sword suddenly became like a stove poker.

This happened so abruptly that even Ai Hui was surprised.

The bandage!

It had just absorbed the blood of the girl in red and Ai Hui
hadn’t had time to check if it had caused any changes.

The bandage was a blood refinement object. Therefore, it

could devour blood.

This was not a secret, but just because of this feature, the
bandage had saved Ai Hui’s life many times.

If it were not for the bandage, he would have already died in

the blood disaster.

That’s why he had been keeping a watchful eye on it. After

careful observation, he found that the bandage was becoming
more and more fastidious about blood.

For example, it had no interest in the blood of ordinary blood

fiends at all.

It only acted when there was some special blood, such as the
drop of the girl’s blood, which was extremely weird.

Ai Hui didn’t expect that the bandage would move this time
and he felt the "fear" the Dragonspine held toward the bandage.
That’s right, if Dragonspine was a living thing, then it would
feel "fear".

Its unique quality was revealed in such specialties.

 All of a sudden, Ai Hui became curious about the bandage.
What had it been in the Cultivation Era?

It was a pity that Mistress had also come across it by accident

and thus knew nothing about its origin.

All these thoughts flashed through Ai Hui’s mind within an

instant while the mysterious red blood shone and then quickly
merged into the bandage. Then, like a successful hunter, the
bandage retracted silently and tied itself into a knot at Ai Hui’s
wrist.

If he hadn’t seen it himself, Ai Hui would have thought that

what happened just now was his imagination.

Ai Hui retook control of the Dragonspine and was surprised by

the feeling at its point.

The blood elementalist in front of him was totally lifeless. His

blood traces which had been bright red were now grey and
gloomy.

Whoosh!
 Hearing the whistle of wind approaching from behind, Ai Hui
stepped lightly to the side.

Old Lei, who was limp and feeble from head to toe, flew past
Ai Hui. Ai Hui could still see a streak of incredulity in his
widened eyes.

Seeing his two companions killed within the blink of an eye,

fear flashed in the other blood elementalist’s eyes and he
shouted, "Shi Wei! What are you doing?"

Before he could finish his words, Ai Hui rushed at him like a

beast pouncing on its prey.

The blood elementalist had to retreat step by step and put up a

desperate fight to withstand Ai Hui’s attack.

The sword moves were as fast as a violent storm. There was

nothing magnificent, but all the ordinary sword moves were
fast, precise, and powerful.

The Dragonspine seemed to be alive in Ai Hui’s hand. It could

bend freely and thrust out at a weird angle. What was more
annoying were the seven small swords which were like a colony
of bees that would sting anyone who showed the slightest flaw
in his movements.

In an instant, the blood elementalist was covered with

wounds like a blood man.

"Shi Wei, help…"

The blood elementalist could never finish his words. The

Dragonspine sword curved weirdly and slid into the gap
between his arms.

Puff!

Blood splashed. The body of the blood elementalist stiffened

as the sword pierced his throat.

He fell on the ground with a loud crash.

Shi Wei trembled all over. He never thought that Ai Hui could
enjoy overwhelming superiority throughout the battle. He felt
his throat dry up and stammered, "Ai Hui, I was compelled. I, I
didn’t want to be your enemy. Can, can you let me go…"

Ai Hui knew his face. He said calmly, "I know you. You are a
student at Central Pine Academy."

Feeling soothed by Ai Hui’s calm tone, Shi Wei spoke more

fluently. "Great! I was afraid you wouldn’t know me. Since we
are classmates, would you please let me go?"

"If you want to survive, then surrender." Ai Hui looked into

his eyes calmly and said in a low voice, "I will send you to
Mayor’s residence. You will not die, but will be observed and
have the opportunity to get medical treatment."

"No, I won’t surrender…"

Ferocity and cruelty flickered in Shi Wei’s eyes. He was

struggling.

"Then one of us will die here, you or me." Ai Hui raised his
sword and walked slowly toward Shi Wei.
 Seeing Ai Hui approaching put great pressure on Shi Wei, who
was putting up a last-ditch struggle. The lights of fear and
danger flickered on his face.
Chapter 254: Ai Hui’s Rage
The blare of the alert indicating that the city’s defences were
destroyed and the booming earthquake interrupted the A-1 unit
team members who had been resting.

The signal immediately caught their attention.

"The warehouse of the mayor’s residence!"

Duanmu Huanghun knew the map of Central Pine City very

well. He gave a precise judgment of the signal’s location at once.

Before orders were given, everybody already began to act.

Fatty took his heavy shield and put down his face armor,
Duanmu Huanghun began to adjust his clothes and limber up
his fingers, while Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun arranged the bow
strings and filled their quivers.

In less than one minute, the A-1 unit was assembled.

 "Let’s head to the warehouse of the Mayor’s residence!"

The A-1 unit members rushed out of the training hall like a
flood.

Just after stepping out onto the street, they became stunned
by the number of blood fiends ahead of them. They regained
their composure before long and moved toward the warehouse
of the Mayor’s residence.

Each of them was extraordinarily resolute.

As the most powerful team in Central Pine City, they were like
a sharp blade.

Fatty was armed to the teeth and walked in front with the
heavy shield in his hands. The other members stood in two rows
behind him. Once Fatty blocked a blood fiend’s attack, they
would rapidly rush out and kill it from two sides like scissors.
Duanmu Huanghun stood in the air behind Fatty to take overall
control. The everchanging [Viridescent Flower] kept disrupting
the beasts’ pace.
 The long-range attack team led by Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun
was either keeping the other blood fiends from getting any
closer or jointly killing those whose scope of movement was
being restricted by the close combat fighters.

"Release!"

With each order given by Jiang Wei, a bunch of blood fiends

would be killed by a rain of arrows and lights which fell to the
ground with large booming sounds. If the blood fiends they
encountered were too powerful, they would shoot out one
arrow using their joint effort, the power of which could be
astonishing.

They had become more and more familiar with tactics and
had also improved their coordination. Now they were like a
highly effective killing machine. No beasts could survive and
bodies were left on the road wherever they went.

The A-1 unit’s performance greatly boosted the morale of the

elementalists they passed along the way.

The team was calm and didn’t stop for a second, steadfastly
heading toward the warehouse of the Mayor’s residence.
 Not surprisingly, such a performance attracted the attention
of the blood elementalists hiding in the dark.

"The A-1 unit deserves its name!"

"Shall we join the fight?"

"Are you seeking death? They are right at their peak and we
will only get our heads broken and bleed out."

"Then we just watch and do nothing?"

"No need to hurry. They are human beings, so they will tire
and feel fatigue. We have so many blood fiends as our death
squads, the A-1 unit will exhaust all their elemental energy
against them. When they are tired and their elemental energy is
used up, then it will be our harvest time."

"Good idea!"

In the air, Duanmu Huanghun suddenly turned his head and

looked in the blood elementalists’ direction.
 The blood elementalists immediately shut up. After a while,
when they cautiously looked out, the A-1 unit had already left.

"Is that Duanmu Huanghun? He is awesome!"

"He found us!"

Duanmu Huanghun’s glance disenchanted the blood

elementalists. They were now vigilant about his capabilities.

"Someone was hiding in the dark and peeping on us just now."

Duanmu Huanghun suddenly told Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei was startled and asked, "Who?"

"I don’t know," Duanmu Huanghun said coldly. "Leave them

alone. The first thing is to get to the warehouse as soon as
possible. Humph, I knew those two guys were unreliable."

Jiang Wei had already gotten used to Duanmu Huanghun’s

arrogance, so he said nothing and simply smiled and nodded.

The team continued to move towards the Mayor’s residence.

At the warehouse gate, Shi Xueman was surrounded by three

blood elementalists who were standing in a triangle formation.

"Never thought we could catch such a big shot! Surrender

now, goddess! I’m too strong and will feel pity if I
unintentionally hurt you," said the blood elementalist standing
in front.

The other two were also smiling unkindly. They glanced up

and down Shi Xueman, whose hot figure could not be hidden
even though she was in the armor. Their greedy gazes that were
fixed on Shi Xueman’s splendid face revealed their dirty minds.

In the past, Shi Xueman was a goddess in their hearts who was
awe-inspiring and inviolable, but now that they knew there was
no way back, they could no longer restrain their evil thoughts
and inner lust.

Staring at the one who had spoken just now, Shi Xueman felt
he looked very familiar. He was tall and strong, a fine-looking
man with sword-shaped eyebrows and star-like eyes. His clothes
were already ragged, but Shi Xueman recognized that they were
the uniform for guards in the Mayor’s residence.

Then she remembered his name, Liao Nan, one of the

bodyguards from the mayor’s residence. They’d once fought
together. She knew he used to be calm and taciturn, and the
mayor put him in an important position. It was said that he’d
been wounded later.

Shi Xueman’s pupils contracted. "Casualty barrack? You were

wounded soldiers from the casualty barrack?"

"You’re truly a goddess. They all say that women with big
breasts are brainless. You have big breasts too, but you are not
brainless," said another blood elementalist, voice dripping with
sarcasm. He had a pair of triangle eyes and his eyeballs kept
rolling.

"You all became blood elementalists?" Shi Xueman was

shocked.

"Yeah." Liao Nan laughed. "No one wants to die. Living in

degradation is better than death. I’m all alone and carefree
anyway. It’s not bad to be a great blood elementalist."

"You don’t hate them?" Shi Xueman asked.

"For what? They have all died. Can hatred keep me alive?"
Liao Nan laughed again.

"You destroyed the city’s defences?"

Liao Nan shrugged. "We are blood elementalists now. We do

what blood elementalists are supposed to do."

Shi Xueman clenched her Cirrus so hard that her fists became
white.

"Surrender now. You have no chance to win." There was no

expression on Liao Nan’s face. "If you are willing to join us, I
believe Sir will give you a chance."

"I’m different from you," Shi Xueman said lightly.

 Liao Nan gave her a look of pity. "You will soon know that
many results are worse than death."

"Cut the crap! Resist if you can." The one with triangle eyes
whistled flirtatiously. "You can shout out loudly. I’ll like it."

He had hardly finished speaking when the other blood

elementalist could not hold himself back any longer and
groaned while pouncing on Shi Xueman. This guy was like an
iron tower, and his pulsing muscles indicated his unimaginable
power.

His stretched arms glowed with bloody light and reached out
towards Shi Xueman like pliers.

Shi Xueman seemed to be scared by his powerful pounce and

stepped back subconsciously. The iron-tower blood
elementalist’s expression became more ferocious as he was
aroused by the fear on Shi Xueman’s face.

Feeling hot and dry in his body, he couldn’t help leaning

forward. He was itching so badly in his heart that he couldn’t
wait to hold the goddess in his arms and abuse her.
 Just at this point in time, however, a cold light flashed in Shi
Xueman’s eyes. Her foot that was stepping back suddenly
stopped and stretched forward, taking a step as fast as a flash.
Then, swish! She disappeared from where she was standing.

A figure appeared in front of the iron tower unexpectedly.

More frighteningly, it was glowing slightly.

At first the iron tower’s face changed, but then he burst into
laughter. He didn’t try to dodge at all, and stretched his arms
wrapped in bloody light to embrace her.

He was confident he could clamp down on her as long as he

could catch her, and by then, Shi Xueman would be fair game.
For this end, he wouldn’t mind getting injured. His capacity to
recover was good enough anyway.

Streaks of blood traces appeared on his skin and he was

covered with a strong bloody light which contained a metallic
luster. He looked like a man made of iron and copper.

He was confident; he could feel that his muscles were even

more solid than metal.
 Cirrus stabbed into his body without any fancy tricks.

Inside the tunnel.

Ai Hui walked closer and closer, casting a shadow of death on

Shi Wei. Shi Wei was struggling. He could not see any
fluctuations on Ai Hui’s emotionless face. Ai Hui was like a
killing machine approaching him to take his life.

The pressure was so strong that he felt as if he was being put

on a guillotine, the blade of which was slowly pulled up. The
breath of death was so close; his death penalty was likely to be
pronounced at any time.

He felt he was going to collapse.

No! He didn’t want to die twice!

"I surrender!"

He breathed heavily and didn’t even notice that his clothes

were completely soaked by his own sweat. When he shouted out
those two words, he felt relieved and relaxed.

No matter what would happen in the future, at least he’d

survived this time.

Ai Hui’s sword was at his throat, causing goosebumps to pop

out on his skin, but to his relief, Ai Hui didn't kill him.

"Tell me what you know."

He could get no information from Ai Hui’s poker face.

...

After a while, Ai Hui finally finished his interrogation and Shi

Wei heaved a sigh of relief. During the interrogation, Ai Hui
asked many questions about the details and didn’t give him any
time to think. Some questions were also asked repeatedly.
Moreover, as long as Shi Wei hesitated even a little bit, the
sword would once again approach his throat.

As a result, Shi Wei didn’t dare to play any tricks and honestly
told him everything.

Then he relaxed.

Now he was not at all nervous, because he knew that what Ai

Hui had said was reasonable. Keeping him alive could bring
them more benefits, so they didn’t need to kill him.

But he had to better control his emotions. The intent to kill

deep inside him could hardly be soothed, driving him to be
extremely eager to initiate an attack.

Meanwhile, the cowardice and fear made him struggle and not
dare to take any action.

Could he escape from Ai Hui?

He believed it was almost impossible. Ai Hui reminded him of

Sir Tian Kuan. Maybe he was not as powerful as Sir Tian Kuan
now, but in terms of making their enemies desperate, they were
quite similar. He took it for granted that Sir Tian Kuan’s
strength was unfathomable, but why was Ai Hui so powerful?
 He could not figure it out.

Just when he was going out of his mind, he felt a chill at his
throat and in the next second, he fell into infinite darkness.

The headless body fell in a pool of blood while Shi Wei’s head
dropped on the ground and rolled away. His eyes were still open
and his face was left with his astonishment before death.

Ai Hui’s figure merged into the darkness.

After a while, he heard the fearful voice of the craftsmen’s

leader. "I thought you wouldn’t kill him…"

"I lied to him."

Ai Hui was emotionless. Cold light flickered in his eyes in the

darkness.

He had appeared to be calm while asking Shi Wei questions,

but deep down he’d actually been greatly shocked. When he
learned that the forty-five blood elementalists were those who
had survived the internecine killing in the casualty barrack, he
had already made up his mind. As one of the forty-five
survivors, Shi Wei could not have possibly been as harmless as
he’d acted.

The next move was so important that the slightest mistake

could not be made. Ai Hui would not take the risk.

But a furious fire burned inside his heart. He was more

wrathful than ever.

He must kill Tian Kuan!

Chapter 255: Liao Nan
The iron-tower blood elementalist stood like a statue in
astonishment. The point of the snow-white Cirrus was stuck
against his chest. Shi Xueman was still in position to rush
forward, but remained motionless.

The sounds of fighting were deafening in Central Pine City,

but here at the warehouse gate, there was only dead silence.

Liao Nan and the triangle-eyed blood elementalist’s

expressions were frozen. Their eyes were filled with shock and
fear.

The iron-tower blood elementalist looked down with

difficulty, like rusty machine. Even such a simple action
required almost all his effort. His eyes were vacant with
astonishment and incredulity.

The snow-white Cirrus was surrounded by white fog. The

figure at the other end of the spear was blurred in his vision.

The tip of the spear, made of Firmament Iron, was crystal

clear, like a sapphire. Its blade which was as thin as a cicada's
wing reflected his pale face.

On his chest, cracks spread like a spider web from where the
spear point was poking.

This… was really like broken porcelain.

His body turned out to be as fragile as porcelain…

He had always been confident in his body. Only now did he

realize that such confidence was ridiculous.

But it was too late to learn this, and the powerful attack had
been too abrupt. He didn’t feel rage or unwillingness, however,
only freedom. Such an ending… was not bad for him.

His body that was as heavy as an iron tower fell backward,

throwing up a dust cloud. once again, everything fell into
silence.

Shi Xueman recovered her spear slowly. She looked tranquil,

as if she hadn’t done anything special. There was no trepidation
or anxiety on her face. Her eyes were calm, as if she was in her
own family’s training hall.

"As the descendant of the Shi Family, I’m honored to have

fought with you using the move [Cloud Whale]."

Her voice was clear and sonorous. Waving Cirrus in her hand,
the girl looked at them peacefully.

A streak of fear flashed across the triangle-eyed blood

elementalist’s eyes. Just now, he’d said those lascivious words
on purpose to get his companion aroused, so that the idiot
would initiate an attack first. He didn’t care about that idiot’s
death at all, but Shi Xueman’s strength was indeed outside of
his expectations.

That spear move just now was stunning.

Clap, clap, clap.

Liao Nan applauded. With excitement and admiration, the

former mayor’s bodyguard said, "I’d heard of the Shi Family’s
inheritance, [Hydromancy], which covers everything related to
the water attribute. Having seen it myself just now, I have to
admit that it really lives up to its reputation. That spear move
was as powerful as a mountain and could hardly be withstood.
[Cloud Whale] deserves its fame. What’s more, the spear move
is forceful. As a girl, you didn’t weaken its power at all, and
instead added to its glory. I really admire it."

Liao Nan gave a salute with respect.

Shi Xueman was indifferent. She stood still with the spear in
her hand.

The triangle-eyed blood elementalist said coldly, "Stop that

nonsense. Let’s fight back together."

"Together?" Liao Nan laughed out loud. "I dare not. The bad
example is right in front of us. You’d better go your way and I’ll
go mine."

The triangle-eyed blood elementalist didn’t really care about

his words, simply giving him a grim smile and saying, "If so,
then enjoy your time with your goddess. I’ll leave first."
 Then he bent his knees and bounced up. Like a flash, he
immediately disappeared behind the dilapidated walls.

Shi Xueman became less anxious in her heart and slightly

moved her fingers that were tightly holding the spear. Although
she had seemed to utilize that spear move effortlessly, in fact it
had consumed a great deal of her energy. The surging energy
and blood inside of her chest were only soothed after a while.

That move was called [Broken Sea], indicating that the sea
would be broken by the bump of a Humpback Cloud Whale.
With this move, she could gather all her strength and elemental
energy from the eight palaces at the point of the spear, which
would create an astonishing destructive power. The spider-web
like cracks were its unique feature.

The power of [Broken Sea] correlated with the number of

elemental energies one could control. Every eight elemental
energies would drive its power to a higher level.

Shi Xueman was only able to control eight elemental energies.

Practicing [Broken Sea] was extremely difficult, and only

those who had achieved elemental internalization could do so.
Shi Xueman was already pushing herself to utilize this move,
after which she needed about thirty seconds to recover every
time. During the recovery period, her fighting strength was
zero.

She had noticed the precautions the three blood elementalists

took against each other, so she’d decided to bet on her
judgment. It was a risky bet, since if she was besieged and
caught in a dogfight, the situation would be dangerous.

Fortunately, she won.

Her attack had scared the two who were still alive and one of
them left. Now only Liao Nan was here and her strength had
recovered, which was a perfect ending for her.

But just as she felt a bit relaxed, what Liao Nan said next made
her nervous again.

"I know you are buying yourself time."

"I’m familiar with the distress signal of A-1 unit," Liao Nan
said with a spurious smile on his face.
 Shi Xueman was not swayed by him and tightly held Cirrus in
her hand. As long as Cirrus was with her, there was nothing to
fear. No matter how disadvantageous the situation was, she
would not lose her courage.

"Let’s fight if you want!"

The flickering light of the explosions in the distance lit up Shi

Xueman’s cold and perfect face, which attracted Liao Nan’s
attention like a magnet.

Liao Nan looked at her as if he was looking at the most

beautiful masterpiece in the world. Suddenly, he said, "Do you
know what happens when an elementalist is infected with blood
poison?"

"What do you mean?" Shi Xueman frowned.

Liao Nan spoke in a relaxed tone and even had a smile on his
face, as if what he was saying had nothing to do with himself.
"As long as you are infected by the blood poison, your mind will
be eroded by it and you will finally descend into a beast. No, not
beast, but half a beast and half a human being. You will have
some remaining consciousness, but your body will be
dominated by the beast. You will be irritable and eager to kill.
Yes, you will not be able to control yourself. It’s more miserable
than death."

Shi Xueman was shocked by what he said.

To any survivor in the Central Pine city, the casualty barrack

was something that no one wanted to mention. They didn’t
know how to face the fate of the casualties.

Neither did Shi Xueman. It was too desperate.

Therefore, hearing what Liao Nan was saying, her heart

shivered.

"The only way to stay alive at this point of time is to become a

blood elementalist." Liao Nan paused and then burst into
laughter. "I’m not saying this to seek your sympathy. I’m
satisfied with what I am now. Of course, it was hard to accept at
the very beginning, but now I have let it go. I’m free from care
anyway, so why not choose to stay in this world as another form
of being?"
 Shi Xueman didn’t say a word. Eyes downcast, she suddenly
burst out with a strong intent to kill.

"Oh, calm down." Liao Nan smiled. "I know what’s in the
warehouse. It will be terrible if you act on impulse and damage
the things in there."

Shi Xueman, who was about to rush out, suddenly froze. Yes,
he was right. The gold needles in the warehouse must not be
damaged. She saw the mayor and the dean leave in the direction
of the embroidery workshop, so she could only depend on
herself now.

Now, Master Han’s plan of "treating the city as a piece of

cloth" was their only hope.

Compared with the golden needles in the warehouse, Liao

Nan was of no importance at all.

"Then let’s continue." Liao Nan looked up to glance at the sky

and leisurely said, "It’s my great honor to talk with goddess like
this. I never had such an extravagant hope before. That’s why I
said maybe there would be a chance if I change my way of being.
Do you have any understanding of blood elementalists?"
 Shi Xueman felt a flicker of interest in her heart, but she
didn’t say anything.

Liao Nan continued, "If one wants to transform from a blood

fiend man into a blood elementalist, he has to be able to
agglomerate blood traces. Hmm, the feeling was spectacular at
that time. It was just like drifting up and down in the blood sea
of the netherworld, then hearing a voice calling your name.
After that you can’t help walking towards the shore, and once
you step onto land, you come back to this mortal world."

Shi Xueman only hoped that Duanmu Huanghun and the

others would arrive sooner.

Liao Nan was not annoying. Instead, he had an elegant and

collected demeanor. Plus, she was very sympathetic about what
he had encountered; nevertheless, she intuitively disliked him
for no reason.

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s figure appeared in her mind.

That guy was not at all elegant and was always sarcastic and
mean; however, you could always see the eagerness for life in
that bastard’s eyes. It was so strong and firm that nothing could
influence it even a little bit. More importantly, there was not
the slightest hint of confusion in his eyes.

In Liao Nan’s eyes, there was only confusion, decadence, and

annoyance towards life.

Was it because of what he had been through? Yes, it was

understandable that Liao Nan might have become what he was
today after such a traumatic experience.

Not everyone was like that bastard who could never be

influenced by anyone or anything!

A glimmer of a smile flashed across Shi Xueman’s face.

Noticing the smile on Shi Xueman’s face, Liao Nan cheered

up. With more sincerity, he said, "After you can agglomerate the
god trace – oh, I mean what you call the ‘blood trace’ – then
blood spiritual force can be produced and you become a blood
elementalist. Not everyone is equally talented, so the blood
elementalists are different too. Basically, there are three
categories."
 Shi Xueman suddenly asked, "Which three?"

Liao Nan smiled faintly. "The first is called god guard. A god
guard’s body is being constantly tempered by keeps by blood
spiritual force, which, compared with elemental energy, is far
more effective. Your training speed can be largely boosted and
your body will become invulnerable. Neither swords nor spears
would hurt you. Some gains great improvement in speed, some
in flexibility, some in strength, and some in self-healing ability.
Most blood elementalists – about sixty percent – fall into this
category."

"How about the second category?"

"The second is called god shaman. They are more sensitive to

the surrounding environment and are good at communicating
with the Nature. They can summon spirits and train blood
demons. To be a god shaman requires a lot of talent, so only
three out of ten people are qualified."

"But the rarest category is god priest, who is well versed in

psychi attacks. They can create illusions to control enemies’
minds. Less than ten percent of blood elementalists can become
a god priest. Their attack patterns are hard to predict. If you
encounter them, you’d better run for your life."
 This suddenly reminded Shi Xueman of the frightening girl in
red. She was very likely to be a god priest.

She suddenly asked, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Liao Nan raised his eyebrows and said with ease, "Although
we belong to different sides, I don’t want you to be killed so
soon. The battle has just started and it’s sure to last for a long
time. If you die in the early stage, I’ll feel lonely. I hope you can
live longer."

"I will. We belong to different sides," said Shi Xueman

seriously, her eyes downcast. Then, she raised her head; her
eyes were cold. "That means we are enemies."

"Get beheaded!"

The cold and clear voice was filled with power.

Shi Xueman’s spear stabbed out.

Chapter 256: Liao Nan Beheaded
Liao Nan had not expected that Shi Xueman would suddenly
take action. He was shocked to see the spear swiftly piercing
toward him.

Shi Xueman’s super quick assault created a stream of lights

that gradually enlarged in Liao Nan’s eyes. Liao Nan’s pupils
constricted abruptly. As he rapidly retreated, his palm lit up
with red light and slapped at the spear, but it was instantly
penetrated by the awl-like spear.

With a muffled groan, Liao Nan sped up sharply and

reappeared several meters away.

He looked at the bloody hole on his hand and deeply asked,

"Why?"

"No matter what you say, we are enemies. So, why not cut the
crap?" Shi Xueman said indifferently. Her voice was as chilly as
the morning mist.

Liao Nan asked, "As long as I’m a blood elementalist, you just
can’t let it go? No exception?"
 "Maybe there will be." Her calm and clear voice revealed no
emotion. Looking directly into Liao Nan’s eyes, she said, "But it
won’t be you."

"Apparently, it was all my wishful thinking." Liao Nan pulled

himself together. Suddenly, a bloody glow flashed in his eyes.
"Then I won’t be lenient anymore."

Liao Nan took a step forward and disappeared unexpectedly.

The look on Shi Xueman’s face hardened. As the end of Cirrus

shivered, she jumped upward abruptly.

Clink!

Sparks splashed in the air.

Shi Xueman felt a blast of power come through the end of the
spear, which made Cirrus almost slip out of her hands. She
grasped Cirrus with all her strength, spun in a circle as a result
of the impact, and stabbed the spear again into the air.
 Clink!

Another radiant spark bloomed in the air.

This time Shi Xueman was prepared. After a slight jolt, she
stamped hard, dashed like a lightning bolt, and once more
stabbed the Cirrus skyward.

A transparent ripple appeared in the atmosphere.

The look on Liao Nan’s face became serious. The spear move
used by Shi Xueman seemed to not be fancy or complicated, but
he could not help gravitating toward the spearhead. He saw an
illusion that the space around the point of the spear was
collapsing inward Like a moth flying to a flame, he could not
stop his slap from approaching.

Clink!

This time, the force generated by the spear was stronger than
the previous ones. It was so powerful that Liao Nan lost feeling
in his arms.
 Shi Xueman deserved to be called goddess!

Liao Nan genuinely admired Shi Xueman in his heart. She was
called a goddess not only because of her unparalleled beauty,
but also due to her strength that largely surpassed her peers.
Once, he had fought together with the A-1 Unit, so he had
witnessed Shi Xueman’s might. She was indeed strong at that
time, but definitely could not compare to what she was today.

The power he had obtained through death could not at all

compete with the progress Shi Xueman had achieved. Was this
the superiority of those so-called aristocratic families?

Liao Nan’s mind was filled with jealousy and a little bit of
anger.

He roared in fury, a bloody glow flowing around him. The

speed of his attacks accelerated, which generated red lights
shining all over the sky.

Shi Xueman stood calmly on the ground. Her moves slowed

down, and each strike was extremely simple as well as lucid.
With each move, a cloud of bloody glow faded away. Without
the protection of the glow, Liao Nan’s hands collided solidly
with the spear.

Liao Nan was rocked by every collision.

Shi Xueman’s moves became more and more fluent. She felt
as if she was silently swimming in the stratosphere like a whale.
There was no splendid radiance, but spectators could sense the
incomparable power hidden under the serenity.

Shi Xueman found inspiration.

The humpback cloud whale was the overlord of the sky. They
had no natural enemies, which allowed them to freely swim in
the sky without any obstacles. As the overlords, they did not
need to care about other creatures’ thoughts. All they needed to
do was swim silently.

I’m the center…

A brilliance emerged out from Shi Xueman’s eyes as her spear

moves became slower and crisper.
 Liao Nan sensed the pressure increasing steeply as if he was in
a horrible whirlpool. Enormous power pressed against him
from all directions. No matter how he changed his attacking
angles, his hands would slap upon the spear without exception.
The force from the spear was so strong that each collision could
numb his arms.

What kind of spear move was this?

Liao Nan now realized that Shi Xueman had become so

strange and so strong.

His mind was disturbed for a moment and so was the

surrounding space. Liao Nan’s expression changed, as he felt
something was about to happen. The snow-white Cirrus dashed
out from the clouds like a humpback whale. Then, without any
fancy moves, it directly jabbed toward him.

The ambient space seemed to freeze, and Liao Nan felt that he
had no way to dodge.

Taking a deep breath, Liao Nan’s chest promptly compressed,

while his arms grew much thicker and stronger. Veins crawled
all over his hands,resembling a pair of blood-made net gloves..
 Liao Nan gradually pushed out his hands while exhaling.

When her spear and Liao Nan’s hands clashed, Shi Xueman’s
body was shocked, while Liao Nan’s hands exploded like
watermelons. The weirdest thing was that the blood net gloves
covering his arms abruptly wrapped backward before flying
toward Shi Xueman.

Liao Nan showed a flash of complacency on his face. As a

blood elementalist, he could always recover as long as it was not
a fatal wound. The blood elementalists who were good at
healing could even restore themselves immediately.

Liao Nan could not do that, but he did not care about it at all.

As long as the blood net could cover Shi Xueman, it would be

impossible for her to get rid of it.

After he awakened as a blood elementalist, some abilities

hidden in his body had swarmed into his mind as memories. His
blood was different from the others’—it could be separated from
his body and absorb the elemental energy from other
elementalists.
 When Shi Xueman saw the blood net, her pupil suddenly
constricted.

The memory of the time in the tunnel emerged before her

eyes. She had almost been swallowed by those crazy blood
streaks. If it had not been for the bastard who saved her…

An inexplicable mood rose in her heart, but she stopped it

immediately. Killing intent flashed in her eyes.

Being beaten by the same problem twice was not her style.

Withdrawing her Cirrus swiftly, Shi Xueman grasped it

bizarrely—she gripped the end of the spear with one hand, the
body of the spear with the other like she was holding a bamboo
pole, and stabbed forward with a spin.

Bang!

Air exploded ahead of the spear, forming an air shield dome in

the sky.
 Bang! The blood net crashed on the dome air shield and was
blocked by it.

At the same time, Shi Xueman stepped back, easily breaking

the attack of Liao Nan.

She had been thinking a way to break an attack like this and
finally came up with this solution. The most terrifying part of
these blood streaks was that they could swallow and absorb
elemental energy. That was to say, elemental energy was useless
when facing the blood streaks.

Therefore, she had to find another solution, which was the air
shield. The theory behind an air shield was quite simple:
compress the air to form a dome shaped shield. The air shield
was a popular technique. It provided a low level of protection,
but when coping with something special like toxic smoke or
mist, it had an outstanding performance.

Blood streak attacks lacked great impulsive force, but they

corroded elemental energy, which theoretically made the air
shield the best choice for defense.

Real combat also confirmed the theory.

 Liao Nan was shocked. He had not expected that Shi Xueman
would easily break his killing move. He could not figure it out,
but he realized that the situation was now quite dangerous for
him. Consequently, he bit his tongue and transformed into a
streak of bloody light, fleeing away as quickly as possible.

Shi Xueman had not anticipated that Liao Nan would be so

decisive. Before she could react, Liao Nan had already dashed
dozens of meters away. It was too late for her to chase him.

Just then, a strip of white blade glow cut toward Liao Nan
from behind a pile of ruins.

It arrived so fast that Liao Nan was chopped into two parts
before he even realized it.

The upper part of his body flew several meters away before
falling heavily to the ground.

Wang Zhen came out from behind the ruins and walked to
Liao Nan, who was still alive. Wang Zhen said seriously, "No
matter what reason you have, betrayal is a capital crime. You
were my bodyguard, so I will end your life."
 Then, he beheaded Liao Nan without any hesitation.

Wang Zhen gave a thumbs-up gesture to Shi Xueman and said,

"Good girl!"

Shi Xueman was a little shy and asked, "How is Master Han?"

Wang Zhen answered agreeably, "We arrived in time. There

were five blood elementalists. The dean and I killed four of
them. The last one was severely injured before he escaped. Next,
we escorted Shouchuan to the embroidery workshop. The dean
is there with them and I came over to see how things are going."

Only now did Shi Xueman notice that Wang Zhen’s left arm
dangled about his waist. Shocked, she asked, "What happened to
your arm?"

"It’s not a big deal. Compared to what I have been through

before, this is nothing," Wang Zhen said lightly before sighing.
"I am no match for you youngsters. Nowadays the youngsters
like you are marvelous. You are the leaders of the future."

Shi Xueman was filled with deep respect for Wang Zhen.
What he had been through, as he just mentioned, referred to the
Battle of the Dawn.

"How many blood elementalists are there?" Shi Xueman

asked.

"I have no idea." The mayor shook his head. His tone was sad,
and his eyes were full of sorrow. "I went to the quarantine
barracks. No one was alive."

Shi Xueman was astonished.

All of a sudden, the ground began to quake from the agitation

of an elemental energy blast. About two minutes later, the
elemental energy gradually became stable.

Wang Zhen said merrily, "Ai Hui has inserted the first gold
needle!"

Knowing this, Shi Xueman’s cold expression melted and her

face beamed with joy.
 Duanmu Huanghun and the others also arrived at the
warehouse at this point. When they saw that Shi Xueman was
safe and sound, they felt a sense of relief.

Fatty looked around and asked, "Where are Ai Hui and Lou
Lan?"

"They have just inserted the first gold needle successfully." Shi
Xueman said happily.

Everybody else was excited to hear the news. Altogether there

were nine gold needles, so there was still a long way to go before
the final success. However, the first victory was still a good sign.
After a gold needle was injected into a vital node, it would
integrate with the elemental energy of the universe. In that
case, blood elementalists would not be able to destroy it
anymore.

Ai Hui brought his craftsmen back. They still looked excited.

"Let’s inject the second gold needle right now!" someone

shouted.
 "It’s not time yet." The leader of those craftsmen explained,
"We can only do that after the first node becomes totally stable.
Then, we can activate the second node."

"How long will it take?" Ai Hui asked.

"No more than one day," the leader of craftsmen answered

while shaking his head. "Based on the plan, the time gap
between inserting two gold needles should not exceed one day."

Hearing that, everybody’s excitement wore off. For them, the

longer they waited, the more casualties they might suffer.

"Then we wait. "Let’s start to arrange our defensive line," Ai

Hui said deeply and commanded Shi Xueman.

Everybody looked at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui said with gravity, "Blood elementalists will definitely

notice this big scale elemental energy fluctuation. I predict they
may attack the warehouse."
 Everybody present knew that the most horrifying time of the
battle in Central Pine City had begun.

Next, no matter if it was day or night, even each second would

be soaked in blood.

Looking into the distance, Ai Hui had a feeling that they were
under the watch of somebody hiding in the shadows.
Chapter 257: A Handsome Guy Cannot Be
Made An Enemy
Ai Hui was extra cautious. He sent someone to check out the
situation, but did not find any tracks. However, at this point in
time, he no longer had time to bother about those that were
acting on the sly.

Time was very precious.

Once Ai Hui returned, he immediately took over the

command of the A1-Unit. The warehouse was the core of the
operation, so he started planning the layers of defense.

After hearing Ai Hui report on the blood elementalists, the

atmosphere became heavy, especially after hearing that there
were no survivors in the quarantine barracks.

Death was no longer scary. How many people had died in

Central Pine City? The survivors were less than 50 percent of
the population now. They were used to seeing death.
Nevertheless, they could not accept the fact when they heard
the news.
 The injured soldiers from the quarantine barracks were once
their comrades. Everyone felt guilty and upset that the injured
soldiers could only wait for their deaths following their injuries
from battle. Now, they still had to endure such cruel torment by
being forced to kill each other.

After Tian Kuan destroyed their bodies, he continued to

destroy their faith and conviction.

The A1-Unit only consisted of students. They were unable to

imagine the cruel reality. When they heard that there were five
survivors who gave up on their lives, they were no longer able
to control their emotions and many of them sobbed silently.

Wang Zhen seemed to age suddenly and was in a daze.

While there were no alternatives to the quarantine barracks,

he was still burdened by guilt as he was the one that gave the
order. At the front line, no one would give up on their
companions. Even when he broke his leg in the past, his
comrades carried him back.

He was unable to persuade himself that it was not his fault,

but rather in service to the greater good and without other
alternatives.

Shi Xueman’s face was as white as paper. She trembled

slightly, and there was a hint of fear in her eyes. She had never
thought that there would be such a dreadful incident in the
world and had not understood the suffering that Liao Nan had
been referring to.

Ai Hui stood quietly. He did not console them, nor did he

know how to console everyone.

One month ago, they were just normal students, merely naive
and innocent teenagers.

However, Ai Hui felt that he should say something. Not

because he wanted to, but because time was running out.

Life was cruel. It did not provide the time to digest sorrows.

"I know that everyone is upset, but now is not the time to be
upset. We do not have much time left."
 Ai Hui’s voice was clear and distinct in the midst of deathly
stillness. Tearful faces looked up at him in a daze. In their eyes,
Ai Hui was still calm as per his usual self. His thin, yet
structured, face did not display any hint of emotion.

"The whole city knows about the plan to treat the city like a
piece of cloth. Tian Kuan and his team will definitely know
about this too. The activity of the elemental energy waves was
too obvious just now, and we are unable to hide it. Tian Kuan
will definitely try to sabotage our plans."

The indifferent voice was like a narrator explaining an

incident that had nothing to do with them. While it was harsh,
the others still felt a sense of peace.

"There are two ways for Tian Kuan to sabotage the plan of
‘treating the city like a piece of cloth’. The first would be to
destroy the gold needles. The second would be attacking
Mistress."

"That’s right."

The voice belonged to Wang Zhen, who stood rigidly.

Wrinkles and signs of hardship could be seen on his face. While
his face was pale, he did not forget his duty.

His voice was hoarse, yet forceful. "Tian Kuan is relying on his
subordinates and the blood fiends. They will use the blood
fiends to expend our elemental energy and strength. Blood
elementalists are the best at taking advantage of a crisis. We
should not give them the opportunity to do that."

Ai Hui’s gaze fell on the mayor. The mayor’s gaze was steady,
yet powerful, and he emitted an indescribable aura. It was like
the mayor was emitting light. Ai Hui did not know why, but he
thought of dried twigs burning.

Burning?

Ai Hui looked pensive.

"The warehouse is not a good place for defense. We should

change it to the mayor’s residence. I will fetch Master Han and
Shouchuan later. We should reduce the areas that we need to
guard. Gather the survivors. Let the streets be used by Tian
Kuan. While there are many blood fiends, they are not
organized. There are few blood elementalists, and they will
definitely not use them to attack us. Their only chance to attack
us is when we nail in the gold needles," Wang Zhen said all this
in one breath.

The mayor residence was only three hundred meters away

from the warehouse and it was not really difficult for them to
transfer the gold needles. The defense of the warehouse was
much weaker than the mayor residence’s. Considering the fact
that they had to endure until all the nine gold needles were
inserted, Ai Hui felt that it was better for them to move the
needles to mayor residence.

"Let’s go and nail the gold needles." Shi Xueman took the
initiative and stood up.

The A1-Unit was currently the best squad in Central Pine City,
and they were duty bound.

Wang Zhen looked toward Ai Hui. He knew that Ai Hui’s

opinion was more important.

"Alright!" Ai Hui replied. Wang Zhen heaved a sigh of relief.

Ai Hui was someone who was very capable. Except for the fact
that he did not have a strong sense of responsibility, he had no
other faults.

If only Ai Hui had a strong sense of responsibility like Shi

Xueman!

"Then it is decided!" Wang Zhen declared. Everybody scurried

off and started doing what they were supposed to do.

Wang Zhen walked out of the warehouse and looked up at the

sky. He prayed silently, hoping that Vice Division Leader Yu
could endure for a longer period of time.

A loud clap resounded from the heavens as green light

enveloped the whole sky like a tornado.

Countless dismembered limbs and body parts dropped down

from the sky like raindrops, but there were none around Yu
Mingqiu.

At the moment, Yu Mingqiu’s expression was filled with

excitement, and his eyes were bright as he looked for new
targets. Within the vicinity of 300 meters, however, there were
none to be seen.

"Eh, no more? That’s it?" Yu Mingqiu muttered to himself.

He did not lower his voice. Those who had better base levels
could hear him clearly.

Yu Mingqiu was not content. He lifted his bow and continued

to search for targets. His bow was primitive. Three dark green
branches as thick as his thumb were twisted and bent to form
the body of a bow. The bow string consisted of slender vines,
and there were still a few fresh leaves on the vine.

This wooden bow was not eye-catching, but possessed an

imposing name.

Blue Dome of Heaven!

When the Blue Dome of Heaven was first created, it

immediately became famous throughout the world.

The blood birds fled when they saw Yu Mingqiu approaching.

 There were some defects on Yu Mingqiu’s azure wings, but he
paid no attention to them. He flew in a circle, but there were no
blood birds that dared to battle with him.

He stood blankly, and after a moment, his crazy laughter was

heard throughout the sky of Central Pine City.

"A handsome guy cannot be made an enemy!"

"How can anyone not understand such a simple theory."

"When a man is standing, all the birds will flee!"

His comments were laced with disdain and they spread among
Central Pine City’s sky like a violent storm.

The elementalists who were still hanging on strenuously had a

boost to their morale.

The dean was guarding the embroidery workshop, and his

face was filled with admiration. He was also affected by Yu
Mingqiu’s valiant battle spirit.
 It was no wonder he was the youngest vice division leader in
the Thirteen Divisions. His capability had no limit.

However, after he heard Yu Mingqiu’s speech, the

knowledgeable dean paused for a moment. In a hesitant tone, he
asked Mingxiu, "A commander cannot be made an enemy, what
a nice phrase! He was referring to the word ‘commander’
right?"

A smile appeared on Mingxiu’s pale face, "He is referring to

being a handsome guy."

Dean: "…"

Mingxiu looked up into the sky at Yu Mingqiu, who looked

like a war god. When she was young, her big brother was always
studying diligently and did not have time to play with her. It
was Big Brother Qiu who played with her, bringing her up to the
mountains to catch birds and to the rivers to catch fish.

So many years had passed, but Brother Qiu was still the same
as before.
 Lost in thought, she suddenly thought of Li Wei, and her gaze
grew dark.

Currently, there was a woman at a corner on the ground who

focused on Yu Mingqiu in the sky.

Several times, the red-dressed girl wanted to make a move,

but was hesitant. While Yu Mingqiu looked like he was in a
pathetic situation, such combat was truly exhausting. It was
unfathomable that he could endure for so long.

It was reasonable to say that Yu Mingqiu was like an arrow at

the end of its flight.

However, the red-dressed girl still had some doubts. Unlike

the others, Yu Mingqiu’s master was the best wood elemental
Grandmaster. She understood how elementalists worked and
knew how formidable a Grandmaster could be.

Yu Mingqiu definitely had skills that could save his life as a

last resort. However, looking at his condition, it was apparent
that he had gone crazy. It was impossible to reason with a crazy
person. If Yu Mingqiu had thoughts of destroying everything,
she was going to die as well.
 Her injuries were quite substantial.

Furthermore, she had a new target now. That target was Ai

Hui.

She was heartbroken when she was forced to use the [Tree
Spirit’s Blood] in the tunnel. However, her pain gave way to
shock when she saw Shi Xueman. How was Shi Xueman still
alive?

When the [Tree Spirit’s Blood] invaded one’s body, the person
would become a tree and grow rapidly.

She never imagined that the [Tree Spirit’s Blood] would fail.
She jolted with shock when she saw Ai Hui and felt the aura of
the [Tree Spirit’s Blood] on himi.

Immediately, she knew that Ai Hui was the key.

She was stirred up by this discovery and more interested in Ai

Hui than Shi Xueman. This was not the first time that Ai Hui
had dispelled the blood poison. It was as if Ai Hui was very
familiar with blood spiritual force and had many secrets.
 The highest probability was that there was some form of
blood-refined artifact on Ai Hui’s body.

The blood-refined artifacts left behind after the Cultivation

Era were the most well-preserved artifacts, but there were slight
differences between blood spiritual force and actual spiritual
force. As such, not all blood-refined artifacts were usable.
Furthermore, ancient blood refinement was much more in
depth than the current blood refinement that they practiced.
There were many things that she did not understand.

It was not an easy feat to find an artifact that she could use.

However, Ai Hui was too alert. He seemed to have discovered

that he was being spied on. The red-dressed girl was astonished.
Ai Hui was constantly surprising her.

To prevent alerting Ai Hui’s attention, she retreated

immediately.

First, she decided to examine what exactly Ai Hui had just

done. Just now, the elemental waves in the tunnel were very
strange. She also saw a few blood elementalists. They had just
awakened recently as blood elementalists and had not learned
any spells. They could only battle based on their instincts.

There was a competitor concealed in Central Pine City who

was worthy of her.

She did not show her face to her competitor, hiding further
instead. The threat of her competitor was comparable to an
elementalist. It was even more dangerous when her competitor
was at an advantage.

She thought for a moment and decided to take a look at the

source of the elemental waves. What were these fellows trying
to do?

A play on the chinese word. 帅 - can mean handsome or

commander.
Chapter 258: Dividing The Troops
The red-dressed girl found the place where the elemental
energy waves originated. Surprisingly, it was the same place
where she crossed paths with Ai Hui last time. Only then did she
realize Ai Hui’s objective of traveling to the tunnel earlier.
Walking a few circuits around the location of the gold needle,
she was puzzled. However, she was not worried as she knew
that she had just arrived in Central Pine City, and there were
many things that she was still unaware of.

She walked out of the pit quietly. Out of the corner of her eye,
she noticed the movement of a stone from the ruins not far
away.

Yan Hai woke up in a daze, aching all over. He was trapped in

the middle of the rubble and surrounded by darkness. Slowly,
he tried to recall what had happened. Instantly, he was filled
with fury.

That damn Old Lei!

Wait until he returned. He would definitely report this

incident!
 He exhausted his strength to climb out of the rumble. He was
covered in dust and looked disheveled. This was simply too
embarrassing. The hatred in his heart intensified. Old Lei was
now ranked as an enemy. Yan Hai silently swore to himself that
he would get his revenge!

Upon climbing out of the debris, he was met with the glaring
sun and had to squint his eyes.

"Blood elementalist?"

A sweet voice sounded from above him.

Yan Hai’s body stiffened. Something was wrong. Out of the 45

blood elementalists, there were five females. However, this was
not a familiar voice so it had to belong to an elementalist…

Yan Hai’s heart jolted when he thought that he had fallen into
the hands of an elementalist.

Looking foolish with his eyes closed, Yan Hai suddenly spun
into action. Making use of both his hands and legs, he quickly
shot out.
 His actions were as fast as lightning. The average person
would not have time to react to his speed.

Yan Hai did not meet with any obstructions for the first 10
meters. He involuntarily released his breath, but did not have
the chance to rejoice when his body was suddenly pulled back
without the ability to continue rushing forward.

Yan Hai was terror-stricken and turned his head. A bright red
silk cloth was wrapped around him like he was a dumpling.

Following this, he felt a tug and flew backward. He fell heavily

on the floor. It was a harsh fall and made his head spin.

After a moment, Yan Hai regained some of his wits. Without

hesitating, he got on his knees and begged, "Have mercy on me!
Have mercy on me!"

"I like people who know how to adapt to circumstances," a

sweet and languid voice rang across the air.

Yan Hai gathered a few ounces of courage and lifted his head
secretly to take a peek. He was dumbfounded by what he saw.
The lady in front of him was like someone who came out of a
painting. She wore a red dress while looking beautiful and
alluring. Her languid and charming aura made his heart speed
up involuntarily.

How could there be such a beautiful lady in this world?

Looking at Yan Hai’s dumbstruck expression, the red-dressed

girl covered her mouth and laughed lightly.

"Who is your master?"

Her voice was enticing. However, upon hearing the word

"Master," Yan Hai immediately regained his wits. While he felt
dominated by the beauty of the red-dressed girl, his fear toward
Tian Kuan was carved deep into his bones.

Yan Hai asked in a trembling voice, "Who, who are you?"

The red-dressed girl replied while smiling, "You have no right

to ask questions as a captive. If you are unwilling to say, I will
just hand you over to the elementalists of Central Pine City.
Surely they would give you a hearty welcome."
 Yan Hai’s face paled.

He would rather be killed than fall into the hands of Central

Pine City’s elementalists. The elementalists there hated blood
elementalists to the core. If they saw a blood elementalist, they
would tear him to pieces without a second thought.

When he heard the two words "hearty welcome," Yan Hai’s

face became even paler.

The hatred between both parties was beyond any point of

redemption.

If it came to that day, it would also not be an easy task to

simply die.

Hold on!

Yan Hai stammered, "Fairy, are you a blood elementalist too?"

He rejoiced. That’s right! If the red-dressed girl was an

elementalist, she would have killed him long ago.
 "I am." The red-dressed girl smiled and creased her eyebrows.
Her expression was adorable as she continued, "You have yet to
answer my question?"

Yan Hai blurted, "It is Sir Tian Kuan."

When the words left his mouth, Yan Hai was filled with
regret. He did not know what had happened, but it was like he
was possessed. He did not think before answering.

"Oh, Tian Kuan." The red-dressed girl suddenly seemed to see

the light. She threw a dazzling smile at Yan Hai. "We have time
to slowly discuss this. I am very interested."

Her sentence had not yet ended when the red-dressed lady
folded up her red sleeves and disappeared along with Yan Hai.

Wang Zhen was very efficient. Along the way, he

continuously gathered the younger elementalists. The battle
raged in every corner of Central Pine City. At this point, none of
the people held any hopes that they would remain unscathed.
As a result, this made them more determined when fighting
back.
 While the blood fiends caused many casualties, this did not
kill the people’s morale.

Pretty soon, Wang Zhen gathered a group of elementalists and

arrived at the embroidery workshop.

After he explained the plan to the dean and Mingxiu, he was

surprised by their answer.

"Mayor, you are very considerate, but my teacher is unable to

move."

Mingxiu bitterly laughed.

"Unable to move?" Wang Zhen stood rooted to the ground.

Next to him, the dean was also caught by surprise. It was also
the first time he had heard of this news.

"Mistress Han has been meditating since the start of the plan."
Mingxiu’s voice trembled. "The plan of ‘treating the city as a
piece of cloth’ requires the ability of a Grandmaster. Mistress
Han is merely a Master and there is still some disparity.
Mistress Han has already started meditating and is unaware of
the affairs of the world. She has instructed Mingxiu not to
disturb her. When the nine specific nodes have been activated,
she would naturally awaken.

"Could it be that Master Han is trying to break through the

Grandmaster barrier?" The dean turned pale with fright.

"Apart from this, there were no other options." Mingxiu

paused for a moment before she continued, "Mistress Han
knows that there is not much hope. She instructed me to pass
on the message to Mayor and Dean that if she fails to break
through, she would still complete the task of ‘treating the city as
a piece of cloth’"

By the last sentence, Mingxiu’s eyes were red and teary.

Wang Zhen and the dean stayed silent. They understood the
true implication of the last sentence. If the breakthrough failed
and Teacher Han still wanted to complete the plan, she would
have to pay a huge price. It was possible that the price would be
her life.

Compared to the chance of success for breaking through to be

a Grandmaster, there was a higher possibility of her losing her
life.

"If that is the case, we need to make some adjustments to our

plan." Wang Zhen cut straight to the point and said gravely,
"Now, we have two areas that we need to guard. The first is the
embroidery workshop and the second is the mayor’s residence.
We will do some simple division of the troops. The dean and I
will take a group of people to guard the embroidery workshop.
The mayor’s residence and the gold needles would be handed
over to Ai Hui. Let him know he can act as he deems fit."

He had yet to finish his word when a few blood fiends were
spotted at the end of the street.

An elementalist soared into the sky and flew toward the

mayor’s residence.

Now that the sky was guarded by Yu Mingqiu, it had

unexpectedly become the safest place in Central Pine City.

Ai Hui sat on the rooftop of the mayor’s residence and was

greeted by a view full of ruins. Clouds of black smoke rushed
skyward. Ai Hui was all too familiar with the landscape before
him. This was Central Pine City. This was their battleground.
 How could a soldier be unfamiliar with his battleground?

Yet, Ai Hui was also familiar with another side of Central Pine
City.

The image of a peaceful, but lively, street flashed past his

mind. The streets were lined with shops and also many training
halls. Flags outside the training halls fluttered in the breeze.

The scene that flashed past in his mind seemed like it was just
yesterday, but it also seemed like eons ago.

Ai Hui missed those days, but he knew that they could no

longer return to the past.

Intermittently, sounds of explosion boomed out from many

directions. The battle was still taking place.

The process of shifting from the warehouse to the mayor’s

residence was smooth, and they did not meet with any mishaps.

Looking at Shi Xueman who was busying about, Ai Hui could

not help but smile.

The iron lady was always meticulous, strictly impartial, and

incorruptible. He was always assured when he delegated tasks to
her. It was not that Ai Hui did not have a mind of his own.
Rather, there were many miscellaneous things that he was
unwilling to do.

For example, how should they organize the newly joined

elementalists?

In such instances, completing the task might not bring about

the desired effect. However, if they did not complete the task
well, the effect would certainly cause endless trouble. Ai Hui
always steered far away from such tasks. In this aspect,
however, Shi Xueman was always patient.

Lou Lan sat next to Ai Hui.

Initially, Fatty wanted to go up as well, but he was kicked

down by Ai Hui. If Fatty were to come up, the rooftop would
definitely collapse.
 "Ai Hui, can we win?" Lou Lan tilted his head and asked.

"Lou Lan has no confidence?" Ai Hui replied to Lou Lan with a

question.

Lou Lan replied, "Because Lou Lan has calculated and the
probability of success is very small."

Ai Hui’s interest was piqued. "Lou Lan you are so useful! You
can even calculate this? Tell me, what are the odds of
succeeding?"

Lou Lan replied, "Ai Hui, not even 10 percent."

Ai Hui was somewhat surprised. "Such a small percentage?"

He quickly responded while nodding his head, "Ok, seems like

that is the case. However we can’t help it. No matter how small
the hope, there is still a hope. We still need to do our best. If we
manage to get it right, then we will have made it. Even if there
are a few deaths, we won’t be on the losing end."
 "Ai Hui will not die!" Lou Lan said loudly and seriously.

Ai Hui loudly chuckled. Lou Lan’s current expression was like

an innocent and naive child.

"Lou Lan will help Ai Hui. Lou Lan will not let Ai Hui die!" Lou
Lan replied earnestly.

Ai Hui nodded his head while smiling. "Yes, yes, yes. Lou Lan
is brilliant! With Lou Lan’s help, Ai Hui will definitely defeat all
the blood fiends and kill all the blood elementalists! And we will
live until a ripe old age!"

Sang Zhijun, who was in the courtyard, shouted, "Lou Lan,

come back home with me if we succeed!"

This sentence sent the courtyard into chaos.

"Zhijun, how could you snatch my Lou Lan?"

"Big sister, while you are our respected and beloved big sister,
we will definitely not concede regarding Lou Lan’s case!"
 "Lou Lan, I love you!"

"Lou Lan, I will find you a female sand puppet!"

"That is too treacherous! Brothers, let’s beat this chap into a

female sand puppet!"

...

…...

Looking at the chaotic courtyard, Ai Hui could not help but

smile. After the commotion, the initially stern and restrained
atmosphere became lively.

Ai Hui was the most relaxed when he was with Lou Lan. His
guard would always disappear without a trace when Lou Lan
was around.

The elementalist who had just descended brought with him

the latest news.
 Ai Hui heard the news that Mistress was unable to move, and
that they had to guard both the embroidery workshop and the
mayor’s residence. If the mayor and the dean took a group of
elementalists to guard the embroidery workshop, the task of
guarding and placing the golden needles would fall on Ai Hui
and the others.

The situation was worse than he thought.

However, Ai Hui maintained his composure, looking the same

as his usual self.

Suddenly, a craftsman rushed into the courtyard. With a

happy expression he declared, "The first point has stabilized!"

Ai Hui gathered his thoughts and was preparing to jump down

from the rooftop when the alarm suddenly rang.

Ai Hui stared ahead. The blood fiends had arrived.

The blood elementalists had definitely arrived too.

Chapter 259: The So-called Path
After hearing Yan Hai’s stammering recount, the red-dressed
girl finally made sense of the situation in Central Pine City.

"Treating the city as ‘cloth.’ I can’t believe that there’s

actually such a capable person in Central Pine City. Seems like I
should hold them in higher regard. Central Pine City has
concealed many talents. ‘Treating the city as a piece of cloth’,
the Lightning Blade, the A-1 Unit, Wang Shouchuan, and Han
Yuqin. It is incredible that all of them are from Central Pine
City.

"Yes, yes." Yan Hai nodded his head like a chick pecking on
grains. He had recovered from his initial fear and realized that
the red-dressed girl did not have any intention to kill him, so his
brain immediately jumped into action. In a flattering tone, he
continued, "Miss, you have such good foresight. If all the things
you mentioned succeed, it might actually leave a legacy in
Central Pine City’s history. However, as we are here, they will
not have a chance to succeed! Hahaha!"

The red-dressed girl glanced at Yan Hai. "You seemed to be

rather confident."
 "My lady, with you and Master Tian Kuan, the blood
elementalists would definitely be confident." Yan Hai was
buttering her up without a care in the world.

"Tian Kuan?" The red-dressed girl laughed coldly. "His base

level has reached his limit."

Yan Hai trembled and asked timidly, "Miss, what do you

mean…"

"You don’t understand." The red-dressed gave a hmph and

continued, "Previously, Tian Kuan took on an approach in
strengthening himself and did not use any external force to
help. The route that he chose is extremely dangerous. If there
are any slight mistakes, he will fall into the deep abyss with no
hope of reprieve. How did he manage to endure so many stages
of god refinement? Because he was resolute and undaunted by
death. As a result, he was able to persist and attain what he has
today. However, due to his current injury, his mind is no longer
as resolute, and he has lost his spirit. It is impossible for him to
achieve any further achievements."

When Yan Hai heard this, he had chills in his heart. He asked
feebly, "Is it that serious? Sir Tian Kuan’s capability is
incomprehensible. I am unable to tell…"
 God refinement was simply blood refinement. The blood
elementalists felt that the word "blood" sounded too demonic
and was not impressive enough. As such, they renamed it "god
refinement." Following the increase of blood elementalists, such
minute details were slowly gaining the attention of people,
unlike in the past.

Even the title of "god elementalist" was starting to get

popular.

"On what basis do you think you are capable of seeing it?" The
red-dressed lady said bluntly, "The road of god refinement is
extremely difficult and dangerous. While the road for an
elementalist is long and slow, there are limits to the
transformation. It is easy to train and mishaps seldom happen.
However, the road for blood refinement is equivalent to
climbing a precipitous cliff. While the view is incomparable,
you are met with many obstacles and dangers. You consider the
word ‘god’ as a word that attracts people. Little do they know
that there is actually a profound theory behind the word."

Yan Hai listened attentively. He knew that such an

opportunity was hard to come by.

"What do we mean by god? Being detached from life and death

as well as being one with heaven and earth like God! In this
aspect, we are no different from the elementalists. They also
believe that they have a common origin with heaven and earth
and they will live forever. In short, they are following the path
of the cultivators from the past. However, we are different. We
walk in between the path of life and death. We treat life and
death as an integral whole, that they are similar. Our theory is
profound. Walking between life and death is akin to walking on
a tightrope between high cliffs. Below our feet is an unknown
abyss. In order to succeed, our hearts and minds must be
resolute. We must not hesitate, else we will definitely fall into
an situation with no hope of reprieve."

Yan Hai was alarmed after hearing what she said and forced a
laugh, "Wouldn’t this mean that they are unable to make any
mistakes?"

"God makes mistakes too." The red-dressed girl continued

unhurriedly, "Making a mistake is all right, and as long as the
heart is resolute, there will be a chance to survive. To be alive
after dying. To become a god overnight. This is something that
is unique to us, blood elementalists. Compared to us, the
training of the elementalists is much stupider."

"Why are we still not able to match up against them then?"

Yan Hai asked subconsciously.
 Through the red-dressed girl, he learned that his partners had
died in the battle. He could not believe his ears. He could feel
that after he became a blood elementalist—oh, god elementalist
—his strength had improved tremendously. Old Lei and the rest
were even stronger than him. Otherwise, they would not have
treated him like that.

However, all four of them were dead.

"You guys?" The red-dressed girl smiled. "Even though you

have managed to grow the god traces and become a god
elementalist, you have not practiced any god spells nor do you
have any suitable weapons. If you are able to defeat the
Lightning Blade just like that, then he isn’t someone to be
feared either."

When Yan Hai heard that the opponent was the Lightning
Blade, his bewildered expression cleared. His doubts were
cleared as well. If Ai Hui was the one they were dealing with,
then the conclusion was a given and nothing out of the norm.

The Battle of Long Street had left an lasting impact on Yan

Hai.
 Yan Hai was glad that he had managed to escape due to Old
Lei’s kick.

"Regarding Ai Hui, how much do you know?" the red-dressed

girl suddenly asked.

"Not much," Yan Hai replied weakly.

"Say what you know." The red-dressed girl’s voice was

melodious but commanded attention.

"Yes." Yan Hai did not dare to miss out any details and
narrated what he knew.

…..

The battle was in full force at the mayor’s residence.

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman were jointly attacking a blood ape.

This blood ape was the same flaming ape that they had
encountered in the Heaven Pit previously. It was defeated in
Central Pine City last time and had barely managed to escape.
Initially, the blood ape did not dare to enter Central Pine City.
However, given that Central Pine City’s defense were destroyed
and the enticing lure of the elementalists, it gave into
temptation and entered Central Pine City once more.

They had had the aid of the mayor and dean previously, but at
the moment, they had no other people to help them.

Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, and Duanmu Huanghun rushed forward.

The others were trying to stop the advancement of the other
blood fiends.

Compared to seeing it at a distance like earlier, Ai Hui was

able to better comprehend the formidability of the flaming ape
at a closer proximity.

Bang!

Ai Hui’s Dragonspine collided with the palms of the flaming

ape. At the point of contact, the Dragonspine suddenly curved,
like a spring that was compressed. Chi, chi, chi. Seven small
swords intertwined, formed a lightning net, and flew toward
the flaming ape’s face.
 The flaming ape was fearful of the thunder and lightning. It
lifted one of its palms to protect its face.

Ding, ding, ding. The sound of the lightning colliding on the

flaming ape’s palm was heard. The flaming ape’s palm was
numb and the fear on its face became more intense.

Ai Hui made use of the recoil from the Dragonspine and

rebounded up into the air. When he was airborne, he felt that
his right arm was numb. The flaming ape’s strength was
incredibly shocking. He also confirmed something else.

The flames had a suppressing effect on him.

Was fire able to restrain metal?

In the basics class, enhancement and restraint of the five

elements were common sense, but these properties were also
the most amazing transformations for the five elements. In
previous battles, the traits of enhancement and restraint were
not obvious. Following the increase in Ai Hui’s base level, the
concentration of elemental energy in his body also increased.
His metal attribute became increasingly prominent. As such, the
effects of enhancement and restraint became more distinct. If
he were to achieve elemental externalization, the metal
attribute in his body would become even stronger, while the
effects of enhancement and restraint would become even more
prominent.

All living things had weaknesses and enemies.

Ai Hui did not find this strange. He was thinking of how to

counter this.

A ferocious glare flashed past the flaming ape’s eyes. When it

wanted to rush forward, the tip of a spear pierced at its throat.
It had to halt its tracks and threw a fist toward the spear tip.

Boom!

A smothered, but loud sound was heard throughout the

residence.

The flaming ape appeared sluggish as Shi Xueman retreated a

few steps back. Both parties were reevaluating their opponent.
 The flaming ape opened its eyes wide. It did not understand
why the delicate figure in front of it contained such tremendous
strength, but it was more concerned with the smell the other
party was emitting. The smell of water.

Just as fire restrained metal, the element that could restrain

fire was water.

Facing an opponent on equal ground whose attribute could

actually restrain it, the flaming ape was extremely fearful.

Shi Xueman remained calm and collected. Her eyes sparkled

like the stars. That collision had increased her confidence. Her
strength was increasing practically everyday. Her gains from
the blood crystals seemed to differ compared to the others.

Like the Cirrus she wielded, her looks were deceiving as well.
Her petite body contained a tremendous amount of strength.
Occasionally, she would worry that such a change was a bad
thing.

How can a girl just grow in strength? What happens if her legs
become chunky? What happens if her arms expand?
 Of course, these were just fleeting thoughts. She fought
everyday with all her might and had no time to seriously think
about all these minor issues.

Through that strike just now, she realized how much she had
improved.

After the battle with Liao Nan, she gradually started to find a
battle style that belonged to her. The same set of spear
movements could have a different effect when different people
executed them. From a young age, she knew that people had to
find a battle style that belonged solely to themselves, just like
people had to find a pathway that only belonged to themselves.

She thought that she was starting to find her own road.

Her eyes brightened as she saw the fear in the flaming ape’s
eyes.

She took a step and thrust out Cirrus, courageously

continuing her advance.

The flaming ape loosed ferocious roar and shot out its fist.
 Boom!

The collision resulted in an even louder sound. Shi Xueman

retreated further than before. Her arms were numb, but her
eyes became brighter again.

A drop of fresh blood seeped out of the flaming ape’s fist. Just
when it was about to drip to the floor, the blood became a flame
that enveloped the ape’s fist. The color became darker and
emitted a high heat. The ground beneath the flaming ape was
burned red.

Everyone was shocked into oblivion by the collision.

Shi Xueman’s figure was graceful. Even though her body was
covered by the armor, it was unable to conceal her perfect
figure. Regardless of the angle, Shi Xueman and the word
"sturdy" did not seem to be correlated. She only emitted
gentleness, albeit her gentleness was "cold."

But… what did they just see?

Dumbstruck, Ai Hui gaped. He had just clashed with the

flaming ape. Even he, who had attained the level of [Copper
Skin] through training, found it difficult to deal with the
flaming ape.

Yet, Iron Lady could meet the ape’s force with force.

To meet force with force!

Oh, to hell with it…

Ai Hui was shocked speechless. Although he had always

referred her to as "Iron Lady," he had never imagined that such
a dainty lady would be a brute force freak. To be able to meet
the ape’s force with force, if she was not a brute force freak,
then what was she?

She was a young lady from an influential family who used

elemental ingredients to rinse her mouth, alright?

She was a talented goddess who had the ability to captivate

countless men, alright?
 She was someone who practiced an abstruse and inexhaustible
absolute art, alright?

Why did she have to snatch the rice bowl from us, people who
can only rely on brute force and are struggling to get by?

The world was too cruel!

Ai Hui sent a pitying glance in Fatty’s direction.

Chapter 260: Dilemma
Yan Hai watched the ongoing battle at the mayor residence
from far away. His mouth was agape and he wore a shocked
expression.

A small and dainty young lady and a flaming ape which was as
big as a small mountain collided repeatedly. The visual impact
that it brought totally undermined any knowledge he’d
previously had.

A freak was definitely hiding in that dainty body.

That was what Yan Hai thought.

Compared to the blood elementalists, the blood fiends had a

greater advantage. They had gone through millions of years of
transformation. The world bestowed upon them the rule of
survival.

The flaming ape had already formed the god-traces. Those god
traces allowed it to control flame. It had transformed into a
completely different creature. Its blood was hotter than lava
and the energy it accumulated was distributed throughout its
body. Just like smelting iron with fire, the original strong body
of the flaming ape became even stronger.

Despite this, it was unable to restrain Shi Xueman!

All of Central Pine City was in ruins. There were no high-rise

buildings to obstruct his vision. He could clearly see the fierce
battle that was happening at the mayor’s residence from a far
distance.

In the battle, Shi Xueman fought more courageously.

Cirrus was like a snow-white whale that charged around

violently. There were no gaudy moves and the elemental energy
was concentrated and held back. The weirdest part was that
Cirrus did not produce any sound. It was like a huge whale that
had its mouth wide open and could swallow up everything.

"Such a brilliant goddess!" The red-dressed lady was slightly

moved. "Her spearmanship is on a totally new level. It is no
wonder that she is a genius from the Shi Family."

To be on the next level indicated that Shi Xueman had started

to comprehend her training and was developing her own sense
of style.

In accordance with her age, Shi Xueman would be graduating

from the Induction Ground this year. Even the red-dressed lady
was impressed by the fact that Shi Xueman was able to achieve
such a profound level in her spear movements at her age.

"A totally new level?" Yan Hai was more shocked than the red-
dressed girl. "How old is she? Isn’t she graduating only this
year?"

"Hence, she is a genius," replied the red-dressed girl casually.

"Look at them meeting force with force."

"How can she possess such tremendous strength?" Yan Hai’s

heart was filled with many doubts and was stunned by such
strength.

Yes, all the elementalists who were watching the battle were
also shocked by the visual impact.

"Because she has a solid foundation." The red-dressed lady’s

tone held a hint of respect. "To be able to have such a solid
foundation is not easy. You will understand this reasoning in
the future."

Yan Hai did not dare to ask further. Despite the fact that the
lady was always smiling at him, he knew that she would not
have any mercy on him, just like Sir Tian Kuan.

The red-dressed girl’s gaze shifted from the flaming ape to the
whole battleground. This was her first time seeing the A1-Unit
in action.

She was impressed by the A1-Unit’s battle style.

Snares and traps surrounded the perimeter of the mayor

residence. She was astonished that a sand puppet was actually
the one controlling the snares and traps. What blew her mind
was that the sand puppet was extremely smart.

The traps were not intended to kill or injure directly, but

rather to delay the arrival of the blood fiends and create more
opportunities for the team attacking from a further distance.
 The solid floor beneath the blood fiends’ feet would suddenly
become loose sand. These subtle changes affected them greatly.

When that happened, the arrows would envelope the blood

fiends like raindrops.

About one third of the fleeing blood fiends would then fall
into the snares.

Those that managed to avoid the snares would encounter the

second line of defense - the elementalists that formed a defence
line around the perimeter. They formed a small group and
constantly thrusted out attacks. They were like a sharp razor
blade which nobody dared to pass.

The red-dressed girl slightly feared the combat ability that the
A1-Unit displayed. Through Yan Hai, she knew that it was due
to the blood crystals. The discovery of the blood crystals had
changed Central Pine City’s situation tremendously. The
influence of the blood crystals was like a wave of ripples that
kept expanding. In fact, it was having a lasting influence and
impact on both sides.

As the elementalists were unable to create elemental food

with just the blood crystals, then if not for the fact that
resources in Central Pine City had been depleted, the strength of
the elementalists would have increased even more
tremendously.

The Blood of God was not the only force pushing the progress
of the battle; the elementalists were also using all their means to
quickly adapt to the new battleground.

Due to the existence of the flaming ape, there were no other

strong blood fiends in the surroundings. The smaller and
weaker blood fiends had been driven out by the flaming ape.

If there was a slightly stronger blood fiend, Fatty would rush

forward to the front line. Those elementalists who were near
him would then weave in like a pair of scissors and attack.

Of course, Fatty did not know that Ai Hui was laughing at him
in secret.

Even if he knew, he would not want to prove himself. Even if

the world collapsed, shouldn’t it be those who were taller and
more capable that provide the support? In any case, there was
Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, and Bangwan. He would just follow and
drift along.

Fatty held onto the shield and forcibly prevented the blood
fiends from attacking.

Currently, the impacts the blood fiends made were practically

nothing to him.

After a few consecutive successes in blocking the blood fiends,

Fatty’s level of confidence increased tremendously. He was like
a moving wall and the blood fiends had to pass him to attack the
others.

The strongest flaming ape was being "attended to" by Ai Hui

and Shi Xueman. The rest of the blood fiends were lackluster,
most of them being injured or dead upon facing the retaliation
of the A1-Unit.

With the support of a few elementalists nearby, there were

just a few blood fiends left. The blood fiends were on the losing
end.

Fatty started to slack off and was left with nothing much to
do.

If not for the fear of incurring Ai Hui’s wrath, he would have

wanted to start a small gambling den where he could gamble.

Ai Hui was getting stronger and stronger. He should be able to

have a better life in the future and definitely live to a ripe old
age, Fatty thought lazily. Fatty was happy and felt that Ai Hui
deserved a better life. He was always so hardworking and
attentive. Ai Hui has never harbored any complaints as well.

Whoo, he shall share some of Ai Hui’s glory!

The mayor’s residence was the sturdiest building in Central

Pine City. Fatty also needed to act as the last defensive wall
around the mayor residence.

The red-dressed girl was dazzled and impressed by the

coordination of the A1-Unit. This was the first time that she
witnessed such excellent coordination and they were just a
group of students. If they were able to make it out alive, they
would definitely become the backbone of the Avalon of Five
Elements in the future.
 "Should we go forward and help?" Yan Hai asked.

"Why should we help?" the red-dressed girl asked, astounded.

"We are all blood elementalists…" Yan Hai replied feebly.

The red-dressed lady merely shot a glance toward Yan Hai and
did not show any signs of going to help.

Yan Hai was aware that he had said the wrong thing and
quickly shut his mouth. He did not dare to utter another word.

The blood elementalists who were hiding in a corner were met

with a dilemma. They had never imagined that the A-1 Unit
would be such a strong and capable team. They were the best in
Central Pine City.

Yet, they had to attack!

Another person who was ready to show his hand was Ai Hui.
He had found a solution.
Chapter 261: Ai Hui’s Discovery
Ai Hui was surreptitiously observing the flaming ape.

No one dared to say that he or she understood the blood fiends

well, including Ai Hui. Different blood fiends had different
fighting capabilities and characteristics. One could only identify
their specific weaknesses through observation.

Shi Xueman and the flaming ape were engaged in a furious

battle, giving Ai Hui the opportunity to observe the enemy.

The flaming ape was undoubtedly powerful.

Its six meter-tall body gave it terrifying strength, and instead

of being slow and clumsy due to its sheer size, it was also nimble
and agile. Its shiny metallic hair prevented it from getting
injured easily and even though the flaming ape appeared
abnormally irascible and violent, its flickering eyes revealed its
craftiness.

Looking at it, the flaming ape did not seem to have any
weaknesses. In the Wilderness, this type of dire beast was the
most troublesome and no one wanted to encounter it.
 However, Ai Hui knew that there was no such thing as a dire
beast without any weaknesses in this world.

He carefully observed the flaming ape’s every movement and

the changes in its body. Shi Xueman’s attacks were forceful and
rapid, allowing no room for the flaming ape to dodge. Both of
them were fighting with brute force. Furthermore, due to the
flaming ape’s elemental weakness to Shi Xueman’s water
element, it was not an easy task for the former to deal with the
latter. The flaming ape needed to go all-out in its attacks.

Thanks to the flaming ape going all-out, Ai Hui was able to

pick up more details from its body.

Especially its blood traces.

Its flame-shaped blazing blood traces were covered by its thick

and coarse hair, making them very difficult to spot.

As the blood fiends continued to evolve, their bodies became

more impressive, but not in the sense that their powers became
stronger. Instead, their weaknesses were reduced in number.
For example, the blood traces on low-level blood fiends were
very distinct, but after they evolved to a higher level, their
blood traces would become darker and less distinct. The flaming
ape’s blood traces grew under its hair, making them extremely
hard to spot. The hair also acted as a form of protection for the
blood traces.

Fortunately, the flaming ape’s blood traces could still be seen.

Even though Ai Hui’s eyesight was not as sharp as the sword
embryo’s, he still could capture many small details.

Ai Hui noticed a weird phenomenon. The flaming ape’s blood

traces were expanding and contracting faintly, as if they were
breathing.

Whenever this phenomenon happened, the flames on the

flaming ape would burn more intensely.

The higher-ups were unable to provide much information on

the blood traces, but there had been many discussions on them.
Everyone fought blood fiends everyday, so they could directly
experience and understand the blood traces for themselves.

The mainstream belief was that the blood traces were the
blood fiends’ source of power.
 This idea matched very well with the old prisoner’s
conjecture. The old man felt that blood traces were the blood
fiends’ weakness.

The flaming ape’s performance had verified these conjectures,

however, just this information alone was not enough. Duanmu
Huanghun did try using the [Viridescent Flower]’s vines to
attack the flaming ape’s blood traces, but to no avail. The
flaming ape did not mind its blood traces being attacked at all.

At that moment, Ai Hui noticed an easily overlooked detail.

The blood traces did not breath all at the same time. On the
contrary, the breathing followed some kind of unique pattern.
After observing a while more, Ai Hui knew he was right about
the blood traces.

For example, the first blood trace to light up was the one that
was near the flaming ape’s heart.

Ai hui suddenly realized something. The breathing pattern of

the flaming ape’s blood traces reminded him of the Circulatory
Cycle Revolution in elemental energy training. If he replaced
the blood traces with the palaces, wouldn’t it be a Circulatory
Cycle Revolution?

Could there be a mechanism like the Circulatory Cycle

Revolution in the body of the flaming ape as well?

A burst of excitement erupted within Ai Hui. The more he

thought about it, the more it made sense. Spiritual force needed
to be channeled through the meridians of a body using the
Circulatory Cycle Revolution as well. The current version of the
Circulatory Cycle Revolution for five residences and eight
palaces was based on the Cultivation Era’s version.

The only difference was that the Cultivation Era’s version of

the Circulatory Cycle Revolution was much more complicated
and detailed.

Ai Hui believed that the blood fiends’ version of the

Circulatory Cycle Revolution would not be too complicated. The
blood elementalists’ Circulatory Cycle Revolution would be
similarly simple. A body’s meridians had to be slowly developed
and expanded from a young age. They could not be fully formed
in only a day’s time. The few blood elementalists that Ai Hui
had encountered used to be quarantined casualties. How could it
be possible that they had had the time to learn something as
complicated as the Circulatory Cycle Revolution?
 If that was the case...

A bold idea arose in Ai Hui’s mind. Was it possible that the

Blood of God borrowed the training system of five residences
and eight palaces from the Avalon of Five Elements?

Initially, he felt his idea was ridiculous; however, upon second

thought, he realized that it was possible. The greatest advantage
of the five residences and eight palaces’ Circulatory Circle
Revolution was its simplicity.

Ai Hui started to make conjectures based on this ridiculous

idea and imagined the blood traces as palaces. In other words,
the flaming ape had nine ‘elemental energy palaces’ on its body.

The energy channeling path should start at its heart, followed

by its left abdomen, subsequently to its back, and then to its
right knee...

"Stab its right knee!" Ai Hui suddenly yelled.

Shi Xueman was too slow and did not react in time. She did
not expect Ai Hui to suddenly open his mouth. By the time she
could react, it was too late.

She had absolute confidence in Ai Hui.

Even though that rascal’s character might be terrible, he must

have discovered something if he’d yelled like that.

The thing that surprised Shi Xueman was that Ai Hui had
remained silent for the last few rounds of attacks against the
flaming ape. Initially, she and the flaming ape were evenly
matched, however, Ai Hui’s distraction caused her to become
immediately suppressed.

The flaming ape was abnormally sharp. When it sensed that

Shi Xueman was distracted, it immediately exploded with a
burst of strength. The flaming ape bellowed and clenched both
its fists. The blood trace on its back lit up and blazing flames
erupted, forming a pair of fire wings!

Before it even finishing bellowing, the flaming ape increased

its speed sharply and surged toward Shi Xueman like a flaming
shadow.
 Duanmu Huanghun, who had not really done much during
the battle, had a cold glint sweep across his eyes. He spread out
his fingers like a blossoming flower in an instant.

[Viridescent Flower, Perennial Lock]!

Numerous [Viridescent Flower] vines shot out from the

ground and devoured the fire-winged flaming ape like green
floodwater.

A towering green cage stood tall and straight in the middle of

the field.

The Perennial Lock appeared too suddenly. Without a single

sign, it appeared out of nowhere on the field.

Boom!

Surging oil-like flames gushed out of the Perennial Lock.

The secured, green cage burst into a sea of fire, resembling a

heap of burning dry grass. Duanmu Huanghun did not continue
to attack. He did not have any advantage against the flaming
ape. He had achieved his objective by executing the Perennial
Lock.

A gigantic figure engulfed in flames walked out from the sea

of fire.

Its enormous body was filled with an imposing aura. As it

moved forward, an aura of killer intent pervaded the air.

Shi Xueman remained unflustered. Even when the flaming

ape looked so terrifying, the young pony-tailed girl did not show
any intention of retreating.

She held her spear tightly and slightly lowered her body,
looking like a leopard about to pounce on its prey.

Ai Hui’s eyes became brighter and brighter.

The flaming ape bent its knees slightly and the flames in the
air were extinguished. All of a sudden, a dazzling blaze erupted
through the air as the flaming ape charged ferociously towards
Shi Xueman.
 "Right knee!"

Even though Ai Hui’s voice was not loud, it could still be

clearly heard amidst the deafening explosions and the ear-
splitting roar of the flaming ape.

Shi Xueman’s eyes slightly lit up; however, the next moment,
she squinted her eyes. The dazzling blaze in the air was blinding
her vision. Soon, her vision went dark as a gigantic figure
appeared before her eyes.

The flaming ape’s charging speed this time around was much
faster than before!

Without any hesitation or intention to retreat, she struck out

her spear firmly. Cirrus shot forward like a whale swimming
silently in the depths of the ocean.

The surging and overpowering blaze collided heavily with the

streak of concentrated, white-colored spear glint.

Both Shi Xueman and the flaming ape subconsciously

squinted their eyes, bracing for the incoming explosion and
shock wave. With two such terrifying forces colliding against
each other, a colossal explosion was about to take place.

Crack!

The sound resembled an egg shell being smashed.

The white spear glint pierced through the surging blaze and a
wisp of blood mist spurted out. Without having enough time to
dissipate, the wisp of blood mist was devoured by the blaze.

Everyone was shocked by this scene.

They had thought that it was going to be a fierce collision, but

it turned out like this in the end.

The flaming ape, which had lost its balance, smashed heavily
to the ground, causing crushed rocks and flames to fly
everywhere. The flaming ape’s right knee and everything
beneath it had completely disappeared.

The flaming ape’s flames began to dim. It rolled in the rubble

while howling in grief non-stop, looking extremely pathetic. It
looked completely different from its previously domineering
self.

The epic turn of events caused everyone to be dumbstruck

once again.

The turn of events was far too abrupt!

Duanmu Huanghun cast a glance at Ai Hui with a bewildered

look on his face. He did not see what exactly had happened
when Shi Xueman struck out her spear. He also did not
understand why it had to be the flaming ape’s right knee. Why
was there such a huge difference in demeanor between the
current flaming ape and its previous self?

Countless questions ran through his head, but very soon,

these questions completely disappeared and were replaced by a
single statement—She is indeed someone I have to have to catch
up to!

Yan Hai, who had been observing from afar, was filled with
shock. "Miss, what happened?"
 After a long while, he did not hear Miss’s voice.
Subconsciously, he turned his head around and he was
dumbstruck.

Miss’s face was filled with indescribable incredulity. Her face

was pale-white, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Her facial
expression contained shock and even a hint of fear.

Yan Hai muttered with a blank look on his face, "Miss…"

Ai Hui walked to the flaming ape and took a closer look at it.

The flaming ape was rolling on the ground and groaning,

appearing to be suffering pain.

At this moment, Shi Xueman also returned to her senses from

her battle state. When she saw the flaming ape in agony, she
was astonished. Upon taking a closer look, she understood what
was going on and her face turned slightly pale.

The flaming ape was in so much pain because the flames that
engulfed it were burning its body.
 It had completely lost control of the flames on its body. The
power that once belonged to it had become the cause of its
death.

The surging flames began to extinguish. The scary part was

that the color of the flames was turning bluish. Like a melting
candle, the flaming ape’s flesh melted, burned, and then
disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, a ghastly white skeleton and several

blood crystals were left on the ground.

Shi Xueman did not move. She looked on blankly as Ai Hui

picked up the blood crystals and pounded the skeletal remains
of the flaming ape. Poof, the skeletal remains turned into ashes.
The previously formidable flaming ape had been reduced to
ashes.

Ai Hui picked out three remaining bone pieces from the ashes.
These three bone pieces had irregular shapes. They were bright
red, resembling lava that had not completely cooled off.

Holding them in his hands, they felt extremely hot.

 Ai Hui was somewhat unhappy. Why were the spoils of war
always something Fatty could use? This had also happened last
time with the lava spider!

Shi Xueman was filled with doubt. Just as she was about to
ask Ai Hui about it, she suddenly heard Lou Lan’s warning.

"Ai Hui, be careful!"

Chapter 262: Protect Ai Hui!
A grey shadow wriggled forward along the ground. It was
extremely slow. Using the surrounding rubble as camouflage, it
avoided everyone’s attention.

It suddenly stopped in its tracks and like water seeping into

sand, the grey shadow permeated the shadows cast by a nearby
pile of crushed rocks.

The fall of the flaming ape had captured everyone’s attention.

Even Ai Hui did not notice what was going on beneath his feet.

"Ai Hui, be careful!"

Lou Lan’s warning sent a cold shiver down Ai Hui’s spine.

Before he could react in time, his feet sank downward as if he
had stepped into quicksand. A gloomy and cold aura penetrated
his legs and rapidly spread up his body.

The turn of events had been too sudden, catching Ai Hui off
guard. By the time he could react, both his feet had lost all
feeling, becoming completely numb.
 What was that?

The grey color extended through Ai Hui’s legs. They now

looked extremely odd and scary, resembling two dried-up
branches.

Ai Hui suddenly remembered Shi Wei mentioning that there

was a type of blood elementalist that could summon and
nurture blood demons. Could this be a blood demon?

A chill entered his bone marrow, causing him to swiftly lose

control of his body.

Ai Hui tried channelling his elemental energy to expel the

chilling grey shadow, but to no avail. The situation worsened
instead. The elemental energy was like nourishment to the grey
shadow, allowing it to spread through Ai Hui’s body faster.

In the blink of an eye, the grey color extended as far as Ai

Hui’s waist. The lower part of his body resembled a grey-
colored, immovable stone statue.

Everyone panicked.
 The previously cool-headed Shi Xueman was at a loss. What
exactly was the grey shadow? What should she do? Ai Hui was
just within her reach and yet, she did not know how to save
him.

Fatty’s facial expression changed drastically. Without a

second thought, he dashed wildly toward Ai Hui.

The yellow light in Lou Lan’s eyes flickered frantically. He

was doing his best to analyze the grey shadow. Suddenly, he
took out a blood crystal, following which, his palm turned into
quicksand and devoured it. The yellow light in his eyes became
brighter.

A trace of blood spiritual force was inserted into Midnight.

Numerous mysterious veined patterns appeared on the
translucent, sparkling sand core, causing it to operate
frantically.

In the distance, more and more blood elementalists were

emerging from the dark and approaching the mayor’s residence.
This was their best chance to advance.

Ai Hui was their most feared opponent, the one they least
wanted to engage in combat. By suppressing Ai Hui, their
pressure was significantly relieved.

"So much for the legendary Lightning Blade."

A repulsively ugly and sly-looking blood elementalist sneered.

His facial expression was sinister and his smile contained a hint
of evil.

Meanwhile, Ai Hui felt as if there was an invisible, cold hand

gripping his body tightly from within. He could not help but
groan.

At this moment, a sneer appeared on the sly-looking blood

elementalist’s face. All of a sudden, he yelled, "Kill Ai Hui first!"

The other blood elementalists all rushed toward Ai Hui at the

same time. It was no secret who the core of the A-1 unit was.
Anyone who had witnessed the battle of the streets knew how
dangerous Ai Hui was.

Shi Xueman was very powerful, Duanmu Huanghun was very

powerful, and the A-1 unit was also very powerful; however, in
everyone’s eyes, Ai Hui was the only one who could single-
handedly change the outcome of a battle.

All the blood elementalists made the same decision and

charged towards Ai Hui from all directions, resembling a rain of
fast-flying arrows. Biting-cold killer intent filled the air as all
the blood elementalists locked onto Ai Hui.

Without any hesitation, Shi Xueman stepped out and stood in

front of Ai Hui to defend him.

Duanmu Huanghun descended from the sky and defended Ai

Hui from another direction.

The earth-quaking rumbles spontaneously came to an end as a

thick, heavy shield plunged ferociously into the ground, causing
soil to fly everywhere. The heavy shield was then steadily
erected. Fatty used one of his shoulders to support the heavy
shield and arched his body slightly, preparing to defend Ai Hui
against the charge.

Jiang Wei’s hair stood on end. He felt somewhat suffocated

and his body shivered involuntarily.
 The enemy had premeditated this; their goal was to kill Ai
Hui!

Ai Hui, who had triumphed in almost every single battle, was

encountering an unprecedented danger.

If anything was to happen to Ai Hui...

Jiang Wei returned to his senses and cleared his throat. With
all his might, he yelled, "Protect Ai Hui!"

The A-1 unit looked as if they had just awoken from a dream;
everyone’s face was flushed.

The enemy’s target was actually Ai Hui!

"Protect Ai Hui!"

Everyone roared in anger. Close combat fighters rushed

towards Ai Hui while ranged fighters pull their bowstrings with
all their might.
 Twang, twang, twang!

The sounds of bowstrings snapping resounded through the

air. The sound was terrifyingly concentrated, resembling a
storm. No one was holding back. They were going all-out on
their attacks.

The blood elementalists felt as if they had stirred up a

hornet’s nest.

The sky-covering rain of arrows troubled them greatly, on top

of which, the imposing manner of the flooding students put an
immense pressure on them. The blood elementalists felt as if
they were dealing with a pride of angry lions that was about to
rip them to pieces.

The blood elementalist controlling the grey shadow

involuntarily changed his facial expression. He was stunned by
the A-1 Unit’s grandeur.

Yan Hai was also greatly stunned. It was a dog-eat-dog world

among the blood elementalists, without the slightest bit of trust
between them. Everyone guarded against each other instead.
However, even in a life-threatening situation, the members of
the A-1 Unit still went all-out to save Ai Hui.

All of a sudden, Yan Hai felt envious of them.

The A-1 Unit was indeed different.

The red-dressed girl’s gaze was filled with shock. She was
surprised by how beloved and respected Ai Hui was. Her
impression of Ai Hui was not that of a team player. She saw him
as antisocial and introverted, on top of which, he exuded an
inharmonious aura. It was incredible that someone like him
could garner so much trust and respect from everyone else.

Every time she saw Ai Hui, she would have a surprise waiting
for her.

Ai Hui was like a renewable treasure chest. Every time she

opened it, there would be a new treasure inside. What other
secrets did this fellow still hold? The red-dressed girl was filled
with curiosity.

In terms of fighting capabilities, Ai Hui was inferior to Yu

Mingqiu. Despite this, the red-dressed girl was more interested
in Ai hui.

That blood elementalist was a god shaman and his grey

shadow was a very unique type of blood demon. This was the
red-dressed girl’s first time seeing it. Compared to spirit guards,
god shamans were much rarer and the qualifications needed to
become one were much higher.

Blood demons were "fished" out of the Yellow Springs using a

dark spell and the god shaman’s soul as the bait. The wisp of
evil aura that was "fished" out was the demon. Upon fusing with
the god shaman, the demon would feed on his or her blood and
eventually become a blood demon. Meticulous nourishment and
tempering would make the blood demon increasingly powerful.
To repay the god shaman, the blood demon would use its
various remarkable abilities to assist him or her.

According to blood-refinement manuals from the Cultivation

Era, there were ninety-thousand species of demons in the
Yellow Springs. The type of demon that a god shaman obtained
depended on his or her soul’s attributes. This was why the
qualifications for becoming a god shaman were much higher.

The red-dressed girl could not determine how powerful the

blood demon was; however, from the looks of it, it seemed quite
extraordinary.

If a god shaman was to possess a blood demon in the Blood of

God, he or she would receive a lot of preferential treatment.

What will he do?

The red-dressed girl was rather curious.

She did not care whether or not Ai Hui could overcome the
blood demon. Even if he had all the talent in the world, if he
could not overcome this trial, then what was the point of having
high expectations for him?

Ai Hui was very calm. He was meticulously analyzing the

damages done to his body by the grey shadow.

He was one hundred percent certain that this was one of the
blood demons that Shi Wei had mentioned. Unfortunately, Shi
Wei had not had much understanding towards god shamans.
He’d only known about blood demons. If it was any other
ordinary individual, why would he or she know about such an
ancient entity?
 However, Ai Hui knew.

Swordsmen were a very weird type of Cultivator. They

mastered swords and could use anything under the sun as a
sword.

Ai Hui was glad that he’d read many weird swordplay manuals
when he’d been in the swordsman school. He had merely been
reading them to while away time and had not expected to one
day be saved by them.

The blood demon was a dark entity, so its bane was light
entities.

Ai Hui jolted. It just so happened that his body contained a

light entity: lightning bolts.

He suddenly pointed his Dragonspine sword forward and

brandished it. Since the lower part of his body was numb and
could not move, his swordplay looked extremely weird.

Once his sword started moving, Ai Hui could feel the

elemental energy being channelled. He was silently overjoyed.
 The seven daggers danced close to his body like swimming
fishes. Numerous electric currents ran through his entire body.
The electric currents were accompanied by a strong paralyzing
effect; however, Ai Hui felt energized as the feeling of being
paralyzed was completely different from having no feelings at
all.

The grey shadow was disintegrating bit by bit.

That sly-looking elementalist’s facial expression changed

drastically. With his eyebrows beading with sweat, he yelled, "I
can’t hold on any longer, faster, kill him!"

Currently, the battle was extremely intense.

The blood elementalists did not expect the A-1 unit to put up
such a fierce fight, resembling injured wild beasts that were
making their final struggle. The A-1 unit’s offense was
extremely powerful, slowing the blood elementalists’ progress.
The resistance that the A-1 unit put up was abnormally
tenacious.

Upon hearing the sly-looking elementalist’s yell, the blood

elementalists knew that it was time for them to go all-out.
 Sir Tian Kuan had already mentioned that if they lost this
battle, there would be only one ending for them.

Some kind of wild beast’s roar erupted from each blood

elementalist’s chest. Their bodies began to undergo a terrifying
transformation. Like inflated balloons, their body size suddenly
increased and thick, coarse hair grew all over their bodies. Some
had metallic skin, some had snake scales for skin, and some
even had tree bark for skin. All their skins were extremely hard
and durable. Razor-sharp claws grew out of their fingers and
their eyes became hollow. Their blood traces turned unusually
bright, emitting glows that were of various colors all over their
bodies.

Now, all of them looked like the flaming ape as they became
tremendously intimidating.

"Kill!"

An unclear yell accompanied by howls and roars resounded

through the air.

One of the blood elementalists ran through the rain of arrows

like a berserk rhinoceros and dashed towards the heavy shield
beside Ai Hui.

Previously, when Fatty watched the blood elementalists

transform, his facial expression had already changed. Now,
when he saw a blood elementalist charging wildly towards him,
his face turned deathly pale.

The ground trembled. Every step the blood elementalist took

was immensely heavy, causing Fatty to almost lose his balance.

The blood elementalist’s distorted, hair-covered face

expanded rapidly in the terror-stricken Fatty’s vision. The blood
elementalist’s scarlet eyes were filled with viciousness and his
ghastly white teeth were extremely sinister.

Fatty’s limbs went soft and he almost sat down on the ground.
His mind went blank and his legs subconsciously prepared to
retreat.

Suddenly, his body froze. The one behind him was Ai Hui.

Ai Hui…
 It was as if lightning struck him and returned him to his
senses. He saw the blood elementalist leap into the air with a
callous look on his face, resembling a wild beast pouncing on
him.

Ai Hui, you must survive.

The words that he’d shouted at Ai Hui’s back before entering

the Avalon of Five Elements suddenly appeared in his mind.

"AHHHHH!"

He was like a wild beast that had been pushed to the brink of
death, crying out hysterically. Every muscle in his body was
trembling and his squinty eyes were tightly shut. His arched,
thick body was firmly propped against the heavy shield and the
soles of his feet were dug deep into the ground.

Elemental energy erupted from his body.

Chapter 263: Excitement
Boom!

A huge shock wave swept across the entire battlefield like a

hurricane, covering up the other noises. Dazzling radiance
erupted from the surface of the heavy shield and engulfed the
battlefield, distorting the air space and blinding everyone’s
vision.

The radiance dispersed while the sound of the collision still

lingered in the air.

The thick and solid shield could once again be seen.

A deep indentation marred the shield’s surface and the soil

around it had disappeared. An astonishing, three-meter-deep
trench had appeared beside the heavy shield.

"Huff… Puff…"

Heavy panting could be heard from behind the heavy shield.

Fatty’s body was trembling while his muscles twitched
involuntarily. Dark red blood oozed out of his nose and mouth.

Fatty was still propping his shoulder against the heavy shield.
His eyes were fixated on the ploughed soil beneath his feet.

His gaze was very weird. Even though it appeared dazed, it

also contained zeal, incredulity, and excitement!

Did he actually… block the attack?

He really did block it...

How did he do it?

Fatty gathered his thoughts. His fear disappeared and was

replaced by confidence and excitement. It was as if he was being
imbued with some kind of power; even his body had stopped
trembling.

For the first time in his life, Fatty felt that he was powerful.
 His gaze was resolute as he stood in front of Ai Hui, protecting
him. In his memories, Ai Hui was always the one fighting ahead,
holding back the enemies. Hiding behind Ai Hui during a fight
had become Fatty’s habit.

It was not easy for him to step up to the challenge. He did not
know whether or not Ai Hui would waive off his debt.

Fatty spat out the blood in his mouth and restabilized the
heavy shield in front of him.

The blood elementalist who’d attacked him also had

bloodstains around his nose and mouth. His condition was no
better than Fatty’s. His gaze became abnormally vicious, staring
at Fatty as if he wanted to devour him.

In the past, if Fatty was to face such a sinister and vicious

gaze, he would tremble in fear. This time around, however, he
did not feel at all scared. He loosened his wrists and
straightened his body, then, all of a sudden, he made a
beckoning sign to the blood elementalist, taunting him to
attack.

Upon seeing what Fatty was doing, everyone was at a loss,

especially the members of the A-1 unit. They were dumbstruck.
Was this really Fatty?

After making the gesture, Fatty suddenly felt weak. Was he

crazy? Or was he trying to provoke the opponent?

Smack! A sharp and crisp sound made everyone’s face turn

blank.

Fatty had given himself a tight slap to the face. The slap was
unusually loud and clear.

What was this fellow doing?

Fatty’s previous two actions had baffled everyone. Even the

blood elementalist in front of him was at a loss. After his
beastification, his intelligence had dropped significantly,
causing him to be unable to understand why Fatty would taunt
him and then give himself a slap immediately after.

Could it be a pre-ritual to some kind of powerful move?

 The blood elementalist was in a daze, but very soon, the
vicious and blood-thirsty look returned to his eyes.

With a roar, he pounced towards Fatty again.

Fatty quickly withdrew behind the heavy shield. Just as the

blood elementalist was about to collide against the heavy shield,
an evil smile flashed across his eyes. The supposedly powerful
and heavy collision became a light one instead. He rested his
palms gently on the surface of the shield and prepared to use the
strength from the charge to propel himself around the shield.

However, he never expected the wall-like heavy shield to spin

around all of a sudden.

[Spinning Carapax Shield]!

A sturdy and spinning shield-type inheritance appeared in

Fatty’s hands. Everyone’s impression of Fatty was that of a
cowardly, lazy, and sly individual. Even though he was quite
useful at times, there wasn’t much about him that was
attractive.
 Very few people knew that Fatty’s training intensity was
among the top three in the A-1 unit.

Even Fatty himself did not know it.

Since the day Ai Hui met Fatty, the former had been designing
high intensity training plans for the latter. These training plans
were even forced onto Fatty. With Lou Lan supervising his
training, Fatty had no way out. Initially, Fatty had resorted to
tricks to evade the training, but Ai Hui’s strict punishments had
prevented him from continuing to do so.

After Fatty started to drink elemental soups, Ai Hui noticed

his potential and silently increased the intensity of his training.

Fatty, who did not know what was going on, could only clench
his teeth and endure.

Everyone liked seeing Fatty clench his teeth, but not without
Lou Lan by his side supervising him and when he was enduring
through his trainings. Usually, Fatty was a fun-loving and
covetous fellow. He was always filled with an unusual
happiness.
 No one had noticed Fatty’s training intensity. Everyone only
heard Ai Hui emotionlessly meting out punishments on him and
laughed it off. Everyone seemed to ignore the fact that Fatty had
endured hundreds of sets of punishments that were meted out
at the slightest pretext.

The blood elementalist lost his balance, looking as if he had

stepped on a patch of slippery moss. Thump. His face smashed
squarely onto the surface of the shield and his body spun along
with the spinning shield.

Fatty felt something smash into his shield. Following the

instructions in the manual of the [Spinning Carapax Shield], he
lifted the shield up and used the centripetal force from the
spinning shield to slam it heavily onto the ground!

He had practised this move for an unknown number of times.

He executed the move flawlessly.

If the move was unacceptable, it definitely would not be able

to escape from Lou Lan’s eyes and more punishments would be
waiting for him.
 Smooth, natural, and unforced.

Snap!

Some sort of sound rang across Fatty’s ears. The spot where
his shield had landed did not feel like it was made of soil.

Fatty quickly lowered his head to take a look. Surprisingly,

there was a head on the ground looking at him fixedly. Fatty’s
eyes widened unexpectedly. His body quivered as the confidence
he had previously vanished into thin air.

Thump. Fatty’s legs gave way and he fell on his butt.

Goddamnit, why was there a head on the ground?

It was at this moment that he realized that the blood

elementalist had somehow ended up on the ground beside his
feet, and that when he’d slammed his shield down, it had landed
on the blood elementalist’s neck.

Given the immense weight of the shield, no matter how tough

the blood elementalist’s neck was, it would not be able to
withstand the force generated from the slamming of the shield.

The snap he’d heard just now was the sound of the blood
elementalist’s neck snapping.

Upon seeing what had happened, the other blood

elementalists’ facial expressions changed. The snap they had
just heard sent a cold shiver down their spines.

Then, when they saw that Fatty was scared witless, they were
filled with extreme hatred.

How dare he pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger to this extent?

It’s too exaggerated!

Given the ruthlessness of that move, they believed that they

would have also failed miserably if they’d been in the shoes of
that blood elementalist. Right now, you still dare to pretend to
be weak, are you trying to lure us next?

A lot of blood elementalists looked down on Fatty’s character,

showing deep disdain for him. Despite this, not a single blood
elementalist dared to charge in Fatty’s direction anymore.

Other battle fronts were becoming extremely intense.

As usual, Shi Xueman was fighting force with force. Even

when facing three blood elementalists in one go, she had no
intention of retreating. After abandoning all the complicated
moves, her spearmanship became more prudent and systematic.
Currently, she was adopting a defensive position, but the three
blood elementalists did not yet back down.

Duanmu Huanghun’s performance did not lose out to Shi

Xueman at all. The form of his [Viridescent Flower] was ever-
changing. Sometimes it erupted from the ground, sometimes it
appeared out of thin air behind everyone, and sometimes it
appeared in mid-air; it was appearing and disappearing
unpredictably.

The three elementalists looked somewhat helpless.

They did not to dare to move too fast. First, if they moved too
fast, they might get tripped by the numerous small green vines
that suddenly appeared beneath their feet. Second, green
flowers might suddenly appear and block their vision, causing
them to lose their balance. Losing their balance was not an issue
to them. The main issue was the killer move that followed up
their loss of balance. For example, if they moved too fast and
their necks were caught by the green vines, they would lose
their balance and strangle themselves to death.

They had never met such a treacherous opponent before.

The two hundred meters that were between them and Ai Hui
were the hardest two hundred meters they had ever travelled in
their lives. There were traps set everywhere. The floating,
white-clothed young man must have been the most despicable
person in the world. Duanmu Huanghun casually set
innumerable treacherous and deadly traps in succession.

Very soon, three blood elementalists realized that this fellow

did not want to fight them head-on. Even though their
opponent was treacherous, his firepower was not strong. The
three of them could not be concerned with anything anymore
and wildly charged forward; however, by the time they were
about to reach Duanmu Huanghun, they had become battered
and exhausted, then found themselves trapped in an
encirclement.

Duanmu Huanghun had been delaying their pace so as to wait

for the other members of the A-1 unit to arrive.

The three blood elementals suddenly realized what was going

on. So, this was that fellow’s main objective! But then, they
began to sneer silently. Even though a huge number of the A-1
unit’s members had arrived, their individual fighting
capabilities were obviously inferior to the three blood
elementalists’. Hence, there was no need for them to be scared.

Just because there were more people on the enemy’s side did
not mean that the enemy would definitely win. If the enemy
side’s fighting capabilities were not on par, then there was no
point in them having more people.

The three elementalist failed to see the cold glint that flashed
across Duanmu Huanghun’s long and narrow eyes.

Very soon, the three of them realized that their anticipated

massacre of the A-1 unit’s members did not happen. After half a
minute had passed, they had not managed to kill even one
person. They felt as if they were caught in quicksand, extremely
helpless. The unpredictable vines and green flowers were
extremely powerful in such a chaotic battle.
 They did not expect Duanmu Huanghun’s greatest strength to
be not his offense, but rather, his control over the battle’s
tempo.

Starting from the day Duanmu Huanghun had joined the A-1
unit, his [Viridescent Flower] had progressed through a
completely unorthodox path which differed greatly from those
of the other Duanmu family members.

In the A-1 unit, Ai Hui was in charge of the unit’s direction.

Shi Xueman was in charge of the unit’s offense and the one in
charge of battle’s tempo was this devilishly handsome, brash
young man.

The way he controlled the battle’s tempo was very unique in

the sense that he achieved control by disrupting his enemy’s
tempo.

Duanmu Huanghun seemed to have a flair for destruction. He

was naturally treacherous and did not look like someone who
came from a prestigious family.

No one had taught him how to do so. He was treacherous by

nature.
 When the A-1 unit’s members arrived, the battle came under
his control. He licked his lips and a hint of zeal lit up in his eyes.
He suddenly realized that this was the perfect chance.

He was standing in front of Ai Hui and protecting him!

Wasn’t this the perfect chance to show off his fighting

capabilities to Ai Hui?

As Duanmu Huanghun thought of this, he became excited.

That hateful fellow was always the one that showed off his
fighting capabilities in front of him. Every time, all he could do
was endure the humiliation.

Today, he finally had the chance to reverse their positions!

Hahaha!

Duanmu Huanghun’s handsome face was filled with zeal and

excitement.

Ai Hui, I know you’re aware.

 Come on, open your eyes and take a good look at the most
perfect [Viridescent Flower] in this world!
Chapter 264: Impossible to Stop Halfway
The [Viridescent Flower] was omnipresent. Enchanted green
vines meandered about the battlefield unpredictably while
lovely and delicate green flowers blossomed on them,
resembling an ink wash painting, elegant and beautiful.

Surprisingly, there was a wide variety of flowers. There were

radiant chrysanthemums, beautiful peonies, ravishing plum
flowers, and elegant orchids among others. They blossomed on
the meandering green vines, blending in harmony.

The flustered members of the A-1 unit calmed down. Only

they knew that the different types of flowers had different
meanings to them.

The chaotic battle scene immediately became clear and

orderly, sharply increasing their offensive threat.

The blood elementalists quickly felt the change in the

situation. If they had previously compared their situation to
being in a pool of quicksand, then their current situation could
be compared to being in a meat grinder.
 Their opponent’s offensive execution was clear and precise
while their own offense was often disrupted.

From the three blood elementalists’ perspectives, the green

vines had become exceptionally scary, resembling a monster
that had countless tentacles.

In the blink of an eye, there were several wounds on their

bodies. Even though these wounds were not fatal, they were
enough to make the blood elementalists felt a strong sense of
danger.

How did the A-1 unit become so powerful?

The blood elementalists found it very difficult to accept

reality. They knew about the A-1 unit before and had even had
several interactions with them before becoming blood
elementalists. The three of them had been brimming with
confidence before this battle as they’d known about the A-1
unit’s fighting capabilities.

Despite that, what happened during the battle gave them a

huge shock.
 How did the A-1 unit become so strong?

A blood elementalist who could no longer hold on hurriedly

sent out a signal to request support.

"It’s a pity." the red-dressed girl sighed faintly as she watched

the battle from afar. Similarly, she could see the terrible
situation Tian Kuan was in right now.

Yan Hai was startled. He asked, "Miss, what’s there to be

pitied?"

"I’m pitying Tian Kuan," the red-dressed girl replied with a

casual tone.

"Sir Tian Kuan?" Yan Hai was startled again. "Don’t tell me
Miss feels that Sir Tian Kuan will lose this fight?"

Yan Hai had a deep fear of Tian Kuan. He saw with his own
eyes how Tian Kuan did the impossible. From his perspective,
Sir Tian Kuan’s powers were deep and unmeasurable. He also
possessed terrifying schemes. How could an individual that
possessed both brawn and brains lose?
 Even though the battle had entered a deadlock, the blood
elementalists’ side had not yet shown any signs of defeat. Why
would Miss assert that Sir Tian Kuan would face defeat?

Deep down, Yan Hai did not want Sir Tian Kuan to lose. He
felt that Sir Tian Kuan had treated him quite well.

"Do you know what we need the most right now?" the red-
dressed lady suddenly changed the topic.

Yan Hai did not know if the ‘we’ that Miss mentioned referred
to the god elementalists or her and Sir Tian Kuan. He did not
dare to ask and put on an attentive appearance.

"It’s a matter of heart." the red-dressed girl’s eyes glittered

like the stars in the night sky. "When the elementalists train,
they consolidate what they have learned at every step. They
have the talent needed to progress steadily. Having this talent
allows them to start from a higher point; however, even with
talent, they still diligently work hard. Persistent effort
overcomes all difficulties. For the path of a god elementalist, it’s
a completely different case. We don’t talk about talent. It
doesn’t matter even if your body is scarred and battered. We
travel between life and death, walking on a tightrope. We need
the power of understanding. Life and death are unpredictable.
The essence of the path of a god elementalist is to develop his or
her mind."

Yan Hai did not really understand what Miss was saying, but
he knew that she was trying to teach him something. He felt
extremely grateful and replied respectfully, "Your lowly servant
will always bear Miss’s words of wisdom in mind!"

"This realization of mine came about accidentally." The red-

dressed girl smiled. "It is thanks to Tian Kuan; without him,
how could I have come up with these words of wisdom?"

Yan Hai’s face was filled with shock. He did not know how
Miss’s realization was linked to Sir Tian Kuan; however, he did
know that he himself was too low-leveled. Right now, he still
found it very difficult to understand these profound and
mysterious words, but he had a feeling that Miss’s words
contained extremely powerful knowledge that might be of great
help to him in the future.

He did not dare to lose focus and kept repeating Miss’s words
in his mind, without missing a single one.

The red-dressed girl returned o her usual demeanor and

chuckled. "However, Tian Kuan is a ruthless and determined
individual. He definitely will not admit defeat easily."

"Miss, should we…" Yan Hai hesitated for a while before he

continued speaking. "Provide some assistance to Sir Tian
Kuan?"

"Assistance?" The red-dressed girl shook her head and replied,

"He doesn’t need assistance."

Yan Hui shut his mouth.

The red-dressed girl cast a glance at Yan Hai and continued,

"Tian Kuan’s resolution must have wavered because of his
injuries. That man from the Infantry Division was indeed an
extraordinary individual. Tian Kuan must have already
returned to his senses. If he wants to continue progressing, he
must win this battle. Otherwise, he is destined to die."

Upon hearing these words, Yan Hai was dumbstruck. He

asked again, "Why can’t he make a comeback?"

"Because this is the path he chose." The red-dressed girl was

lost in thought. "He always put his life on the gambling table. It
is because of his determination that he was able to make it so
far. With his determination, he was able to survive the rounds
of blood refinement. If he escapes, he will lose his
determination and the gamble, so the next time he carries out
blood refinement will be the day he dies."

The red-dressed girl spoke the last sentence with absolute

certainty.

Yan Hai was blown away. He felt that the path of a god
elementalist was profound and mysterious.

"There is something that you must remember," the red-

dressed girl said faintly.

Yan Hai hurriedly bowed his head respectfully and replied,

"Please enlighten your lowly servant."

"You have to complete the path you chose even if it’s going to
kill you," the red-dressed girl said plainly.

A shiver went down Yan Hai’s spine. These words were

enlightening. He seemed to have realized something. The blood
in his body began to boil, something that he had never felt
before. Yan Hai stood on the spot and did not move a single inch
of his body, resembling a wooden statue.

The red-dressed girl cast a glance at him, then withdrew and

shifted her gaze to the battle in the distance.

Hiding in the dark, Tian Kuan’s face was ashen.

The battle he’d expected to be an absolute victory suddenly

entered a mysterious deadlock. Before the battle, he had
emphasized Ai Hui. He felt that Ai Hui was the most threatening
individual in the A-1 unit. As long as he could get rid of Ai Hui,
the rest were just a mob that would fall like dominoes. In the
end, he did not expect the most threatening Ai Hui to fall into a
trap while the rest of the A-1 unit, whom he had previously
regarded as a mob, erupted and put up a strong fight.

Should he take action himself?

Tian Kuan’s face was filled with uncertainty, unable to make a

decision. There were still four blood elementalists beside him.
Should they take part in the battle?
 He had invested a lot this time around. He already felt that it
was overkill to use eight blood elementalists against a mere A-1
unit; however, the eventual outcome was completely outside of
his expectations.

He did not intend to reveal himself. Yu Mingqiu was like a

sharp sword that hovered in the sky, waiting to strike at any
moment. Tian Kuan had personally witnessed Yu Mingqiu’s
prowess. He did not want to give his life for Yu Mingqiu to test
his arrows.

Yu Mingqiu being caught up by the blood birds in the sky was

a God-given chance to Tian Kuan. It was the reason why he had
planned this operation. Furthermore, for the sake of this
operation, he had deployed a total of twelve blood elementalists.
The rest of the blood elementalists were carrying out their
respective missions in various parts of Central Pine City.

The death rate of the blood elementalists matched well with

what he had expected.

When people first became blood elementalists, their fighting

capabilities would rise sharply; however, since they did not
train with their new powers at all, they would not know how to
use them. Even though their fighting capabilities were greater
than those of the ordinary elementalists, they were too few.
Sending forty-five blood elementalists into the enormous
Central Pine City was like throwing a handful of sand into a
lake; it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At the moment, he could only sense the presence of twenty-

eight blood elementalists.

It would not surprise him if the missing blood elementalists

had been killed. He did not consider them to be of importance.

They were merely used to create chaos in Central Pine City.

What Tian Kuan did not expect was that there were some
blood elementalists who escaped from the battle. They had
disappeared into the woods outside of the city. If not for the fact
that the battle was getting increasingly intense, Tian Kuan
would not let them off. Right now, however, he did not have the
time to pursue them.

This was a painful lesson for Tian Kuan. It was far too
difficult for him to supervise forty-five people. He had
underestimated the situation and also did not have the relevant
experience to conduct such a strategy. The biggest reason for his
failure was that he’d chosen an unfamiliar strategy at such a
critical moment.

With Yu Mingqiu’s arrival, his plan was further disrupted.

The blood birds in the sky were supposed to play an important

role in his plan. Central Pine City had never before faced a
legitimate aerial threat. The sudden appearance of the blood
birds would have been enough to cause devastating losses in the
city.

He had not expected Yu Mingqiu to come and single-handedly

clear out the sky above Central Pine City. Without the biggest,
aerial threat, the survivors in Central Pine city were able to
organize themselves and fight against the blood fiends. All of
them were very experienced in dealing with blood fiends. Even
though there was a huge number of blood fiends, the survivors
did not collapse like Tian Kuan had expected.

This had also directly caused huge losses among the blood
elementalists. Their enemy was not really powerful, but they
had an advantage in terms of manpower.

It was all that goddamn Yu Mingqiu’s fault!

 Tian Kuan cursed Yu Mingqiu an unknown number of times;
however, at this point of time, no matter how much he cursed,
it would not help the situation at all. Given the current
situation, it was impossible to stop the operation halfway. He
was somewhat vexed. He was far too anxious.

The plan of ‘treating the city as a piece of cloth’ needed nine

golden needles to be nailed in nine specific locations. Right now,
only one had been nailed and there were eight more left. He
would have enough time to strike, but eight of his blood
elementalists were currently being held up by the A-1 unit. If he
gave up now, the eight blood elementalists would die for
nothing.

Losing another eight blood elementalists would worsen his

situation.

After hesitating for a while, Tian Kuan made his decision and
gave the signal to attack.

The four blood elementalists hiding nearby him moved

silently to the battlefront like four ghosts.

After devouring the blood crystal, the glow in Lou Lan’s eyes
suddenly stopped flickering, following which, the bright glow in
his eyes began to dim and become dark-red. His dark-red eyes
made his pale-white mask calmer and more callous. At this
moment, he was like a statue, not moving or making any noise.

There was no wind, but Lou Lan looked as if he was

disintegrating into a gust, sweeping up a sandstorm.
Chapter 265: The Reappearance of [Dust
Fall]
Without any warning sign, a sandstorm swept across the
battlefield.

The surroundings suddenly darkened and everything seemed

to be spinning. This caused the blood elementalists that were
charging toward Ai Hui to lose their sense of direction.

What was going on?

The four elementalists turned pale with fright. Their

communication link with Tian Kuan had been completely cut
off. Right now, they felt as if they were in a desert where sand
was endlessly blowing everywhere.

In other people’s eyes, the battlefield had become extremely

weird. The sandstorm swirled around the four elementalists,
blinding their vision. This caused them to move clumsily and
looked extremely hilarious.

Tian Kuan’s eyes widened as his facial expression changed

drastically.
 How could a sand puppet have such a technique? This was a
blood elementalist’s technique by right!

Elementalists used elemental energy, so their attacks were

actually variations of elemental energy. Blood elementalists
were different. Blood spiritual force was an energy that lay
between spiritual force and elemental energy. It was about
tempering the mind and using the body as a vessel to contain it.

If one described what the elementalists practiced as fullness,

then what blood elementalists practiced could be described as
emptiness. Blood elementalists were specialized in illusion-
related techniques. Since they also specialized in tempering
their minds, they also had an extremely strong resistance
against illusion-techniques.

All four blood elementalists had fallen into the trap. Could the
person that set off the sandstorm be some kind of elite from the
organization?

If that was the case, how would Tian Kuan not feel shocked
and afraid?

Similarly, the red-dressed girl, who was watching the battle

from afar, was flabbergasted as well. Bewilderment could be
seen in her eyes. That technique was a typical blood
elementalist’s technique. Why would it appear in this place?

Her gaze then shifted to the spot where Ai Hui’s sand puppet
had been standing just now. Surprisingly, that spot was empty.

A sand puppet that knew how to execute a blood

elementalist’s technique?

Previously, the red-dressed girl knew something was unusual

about the sand puppet, but she could not put her finger on it. It
was not until now that she was truly shocked.

It was already weird for a metal elementalist to bring along a

sand puppet. It was even more weird that the sand puppet knew
how to use a blood elementalist’s technique…

She looked at the motionless Ai Hui and felt intrigued by him.

This fellow seemed to have a lot of enigma to him.

"I hope you don’t die too early." The red-dressed girl’s mouth
curled into a smile.
 A wisp of sand blew past Ai Hui’s ears.

"Ai Hui, Lou Lan can only last for three minutes."

Lou Lan’s voice rang across Ai Hui’s ears before the wisp of
sand disappeared.

Three minutes.

Ai Hui remained calm, looking as if he had not heard what

Lou Lan said. The sword in his hand did not stop moving at all.
Looking at him now, other people would have thought that he
was resisting the blood demon, but no one knew that he was
actually feeling out the blood demon instead of resisting it.

The Cultivation Era had long passed, ancient books had

decayed, and inheritances were destroyed. No longer relevant in
the current times, the legacy of the old world had changed
beyond recognition.

But why the Blood of God?

 It was because the Blood of God not only wanted to revive the
glory of the Cultivation Era and inherit the wealth from that
era, but they also wanted to transform the ancient powers and
create new powers. The Blood of God was ambitious. To them,
the practice of blood refinement from the Cultivation Era and
the wood elementalists from the Avalon of Five Elements were
their soil and nourishment, respectively. They had long since
made up their minds to create something of their own.

Initially, Ai Hui thought that the God of Blood’s objective was

to overturn the Avalon of Five Elements. However, as time
passed, his way of thinking changed. He felt that the God of
Blood not only wanted to topple the Avalon of Five Elements,
they also wanted to establish their own empire and start their
own era. There might even be a possibility that they wanted to
establish an era that lasted for millions of years like the
Cultivation Era.

Ai Hui did not know why he would think this way, but he
definitely felt strongly about it.

Was the blood elementalist’s blood demon similar to the one

mentioned in those swordplay manuals? Ai Hui did not know,
so there was therefore nothing better than experiencing it for
himself.
 At this moment, Ai Hui was abnormally calm. He was trying
out different methods to test the blood demon’s reaction.

The aura of chilliness was an important characteristic of the

blood demon. It was not a typical chill. Extremely bone-
piercing, it resembled the cold wind that rushed from the
depths of an ice cavern,. It had already been verified that
elemental energy was useless in expelling the blood demon.
Initially, Ai Hui thought the blood demon could devour
elemental energy. However, after studying it for some time, he
discovered that it actually corroded elemental energy. After
being corroded by the blood demon, elemental energy would
lose its vitality and become uncontrollable.

To an elementalist, this unique characteristic of the blood

demon was extremely dangerous and deadly.

It was obvious that the human body had no resistance against

blood demons. Even a tempered body could not stop a blood
demon from invading it. Ai Hui, however, discovered
something peculiar—the blood demon actually reminded him of
the sword embryo. However, instead of possessing the blood
demon’s aura of chilliness, the sword embryo possessed a razor-
sharp aura.
 Ai Hui seemed to realize something.

The sword embryo was formed by essence, breath, and spirit.

Could the blood demon be formed by something like these as
well?

Those swordplay manuals had mentioned that demons were

formed by nine spirits. The two words "nine spirits" were far too
vague for Ai Hui to make any sense out of them. On the
contrary, he knew more about essence, breath, and spirit as he
had nurtured a sword embryo before.

It was a pity that the manual was worn-out and did not
contain complete information on the sword embryo. As such,
there were a lot of areas that he did not really understand.

He noted down this observation as he felt it would be a good

starting point for him.

Blood demons loved the presence of vitality. From Ai Hui’s

conjecture, if a wood elementalist was to encounter a blood
demon, it would be a headache for him or her. Among the five
types of elementalists, the one that was most unafraid of the
blood demon would be a fire elementalist. The scorching flames
in a fire elementalist’s body were the bane of the ice-cold blood
demon. On the contrary, the vitality within a wood
elementalist’s body was nourishment for the blood demon.

It was about time!

Ai Hui opened his eyes, straightened his back, and swung the
Dragonspine in his hand upward. Suddenly, a formidable aura
erupted from Ai Hui’s body in all directions!

Seven daggers floated around him. The tip of his sword was
pointed up at sky, remaining motionless.

Like a sword that had been unsheathed, a biting-cold sword

glow froze the surrounding air.

At this point in time, Tian Kuan, who had been contemplating

whether or not he should personally take action, looked at Ai
Hui dumbfounded. The nightmare-like memory had flowed
through his mind like a flash flood.

The red-dressed girl’s eyes widened as she lost control of her

facial expressions, looking as if she had seen a ghost.
 Beside her, Yan Hai’s facial expression changed drastically.
That familiar aura prompted his face to turn deathly white. He
stuttered, "The Battle of…"

In the sky, Yu Mingqiu was like an impregnable fortress,

effortlessly ripping the incoming waves of blood birds into
pieces.

Holding on by a single breath, his body was extremely

exhausted,.

He was even surprised at himself for singlehandedly guarding

the sky above Central Pine City for so long.

"Can I get promoted to the position of division leader this time

around?" he muttered while panting heavily.

His throat felt as if it had been doused in flames and smoke.

He took out a jade-green bean and stared at it for a long while
before popping it into his mouth. After a while, the color
slightly returned to his face.

His last heavenly elemental bean. There would be no more of

this bean in stock. All right, even if there were more available
supplements, they would not come in the form of these
heavenly elemental beans.

The division was not wealthy enough to provide him with

heavenly elemental beans. He had bought these heavenly
elemental beans with his own money. Each bean cost 10
Heavenly Merit Points.

In total, he bought 10 heavenly elemental beans, which

amounted to 100 Heavenly Merit Points. He felt pain in his heart
on the day he bought them, but now, he hated himself for
buying so few. Heavenly elemental beans were the highest grade
food that replenished elemental energy. Breeding them required
time and effort. Furthermore, they could only be raised by
extremely powerful wood elementalists. As such, they were
extremely expensive.

Even the crack troops of the 13 Divisions would not be able to

afford them. Only someone like Yu Mingqiu could afford them.

A trace of vitality returned to his eight dried-up palaces.

He straightened his body and looked at the distant horizon. It

was a pity that there were no clouds. Soaring freely through the
boundless sea of clouds was an invigorating activity. Every time
he saw the sea of cottony clouds, he wanted to dunk his head in.

The sky was devoid of clouds, and the sun was scorching hot.

Suddenly, his facial expression froze while he involuntarily

shifted his gaze to the ground.

It had been quite a while since he last observed the situation

on the ground. It was not that he did not want to observe, but
rather, he did not have the time to do so. Regardless, he was a
nonchalant individual. The sky was his and the ground was
theirs. If they could not hold on to the ground, then so be it.

The energy undulations from the ground… were extremely

weird!

Yu Mingqiu was able to locate the source of the energy

undulations very quickly, and he was stunned once more. They
came from Mingxiu’s junior.

All of a sudden, his vision was blocked by a cloud that seemed

to come from nowhere.

Wait, why was there a cloud?

A glint flashed across Yu Mingqiu’s eyes. His gaze swept across

the area without discovering anything. There was not a single
cloud in sight.

On the ground, Ai Hui pointed his sword upward. Swoosh.

The seven daggers that were hovering around him shot skyward
and buried themselves in the sea of thick clouds.

As the seven daggers entered the thick layer of clouds,

numerous silvery lightning snakes sparked off in the clouds and
frantically gathered toward the seven daggers. In the blink of an
eye, the seven daggers were surrounded and engulfed in
densely-packed, stacked lightning bolts.

The seven daggers resembled seven spindles that were fully

wound with silvery threads.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up abruptly as a solemn look swept across his

face. At this moment, his entire body was dazzling with
radiance, preventing anyone from looking at him with their
naked eyes. His clothes fluttered on their own without the
presence of the wind, appearing extremely imposing. Right
now, he looked like a deity that had descended from the
heavens.

Suddenly, he swung his Dragonspine downward.

[Dust Fall]!

The seven daggers in the sky were attracted by the motion of

the Dragonspine and hurriedly shot down.

Buzz. Seven dazzling and space-distorting lightning bolts

struck down from the sky. The aura of destruction that engulfed
the city was cleared instantly, bringing light and warmth to the
city.

One of the lightning bolts struck Ai Hui’s body.

Ai Hui’s body twitched, and he felt an indescribable

discomfort. The blood demon in his body dissipated instantly
without even having the chance to wail in pain.
 The body of the blood elementalist that was controlling the
blood demon trembled as blood flowed out of his seven orifices.
Then, he collapsed on his back and became lifeless.

The other six blood elementalists were struck by the lightning

bolts. Their bodies froze and were severely injured. Apparently,
lightning was the bane of blood spiritual force. This was the
first time they had been struck by lightning bolts. They could
not help but want to escape. In the end, two escaped while the
remaining four died.

Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun had witnessed this move

before, but the lightning bolts this time around were much
slimmer than the ones from the Battle of Long Street. The
lightning bolts that time were indeed spectacular.

Meanwhile, out of the three men that Lou Lan had entangled,
two were killed and one escaped with grievous injuries.

In the sky, Yu Mingqiu was startled. Did the clouds below him
just rumble with thunder?

After a while, the clouds dissipated. The scene on the ground

entered his vision and his facial expression froze.
 The battle had ended?

The battle had ended after a mere thunder clap?

How could these fellows end the battle with just a thunder
clap? How come the battle in the sky would not end despite him
fighting almost to death? It was not fair! Who was the division
leader here? Oh, wrong, vice division leader… He almost forgot
again…

The red-dressed girl was petrified. She could hear Yan Hai
muttering absent-mindedly, "... of Long Street."

The aura from the lightning bolts had caused her to palpitate
in terror. Even though the aura was not really that strong, it
was enough to strike her with fear.

The Battle of Long Street…

She had heard these five words several times and felt an
indescribable reverence for them.
Chapter 266: Success
Even though Ai Hui’s [Dust Fall] was much weaker than the
one from the Battle of Long Street’s, its intimidation factor to
the blood elementalists was much stronger. These blood
elementalists were still casualties from the quarantine barracks
then, so they had not witnessed what had happened during the
Battle of Long Street.

Lightning was a natural bane to blood elementalists, striking

fear in them. The arrogance derived from the sharp increase in
their fighting capabilities had received an enormous blow. This
had at least calmed the chaotic Central Pine City, boosting
everyone’s moral. Even though there were daily casualties
among the survivors in Central Pine City, nobody’s confidence
wavered. They strongly believed that the time for victory would
soon come.

This surging morale allowed them to drive the blood fiends

out of Central Pine City once more.

The plan to "treat the city as a piece of cloth" was

unexpectedly proceeding smoothly. The lightning bolts from
the sky had struck fear into the blood elementalists’ hearts. This
allowed the A-1 unit to nail the gold needles without any further
obstruction from the blood elementalists.
 Some of the members conjectured that the blood elementalists
must have realized that things were not going too well for them
and escaped into the woods outside of the city.

From the continuous battles, everyone had obtained a lot of

blood crystals. However, the other materials in Central Pine
City had already run out. Without these materials, the blood
crystals could not be directly absorbed. Otherwise, everyone’s
fighting capabilities could rise to a higher level.

Not only did these materials run out, but the supplies in
Central Pine CIty were running low as well, especially weapons.
Right now, Jiang Wei, Sang Zhijun, and the other archers did
not dare to be excessive with their arrows since there was no
more spare ammunition.

Regarding the food supply, the situation was a bit better, but
only a bit better. During the initial period of the blood
catastrophe, there were many casualties. This reduced the
consumption of the food supply and allowed it to last until now,
but the food supply was still considered low. Wang Zhen had no
choice but to deploy some manpower to search for food among
the ruins. Due to the presence of blood fiends, however, their
efficiency was quite low.
 Anyone who possessed common sense would know that the
plan to "treat the city as a piece of cloth" was the last hope.
Otherwise, they would starve to death.

The blood crystals were very valuable and could be exchanged

for Heaven Merit Points. However, as of now, they were rather
useless. Ai Hui had a multitude of blood crystals, but all he
could do was look at them. Luckily, Lou Lan could still use
them.

Ai Hui was a bit shocked that Lou Lan could use the blood
crystals, but there was nothing to be surprised about since Lou
Lan was different from other sand puppets to begin with.

As for Shi Xueman and the other, they kept on praising Lou
Lan. Omnipotent Lou Lan!

"The seventh gold needle!" Ai Hui muttered to himself as he

watched the gold needle being nailed to the ground. The faces of
people around him shone with radiance.

"Ai Hui, two more gold needles!" someone yelled, sparking off
a wave of cheers.
 Everyone followed Fatty in chanting Ai Hui’s name. After
going through so many trials and tribulations together, the A-1
unit’s members treated each other like brothers.

It had been three days since the previous battle. Seven gold
needles had been nailed and everyone could clearly sense that
the elemental energy field in Central Pine City had changed. It
was as if the elemental energy that had been lying dormant in
the city had awakened, causing the air to filled with energetic
elemental energy.

Every survivor’s face was filled with confidence and fighting

spirit. The darkest time had passed.

The blood fiends were becoming increasingly stronger, and

the number of casualties continued to rise. Battles continued to
occur, and there were still people dying every now and then.
However, despite all of this, the survivors’ confidence remained
unwavering. They strongly believed they would obtain victory.

The vigorous elemental energy in the air was like fresh, clean
air. It nourished everyone’s wound riddled bodies.

Everyone also discovered that their training efficiency rose

significantly.

Yu Mingqiu, who guarded the sky, could clearly observe the

situation on the ground. Watching over from above, he could
see that the blood aura that engulfed Central Pine City was
becoming fainter. It was as if the elemental energy that
surrounded the city had undergone a tremendous
transformation.

Yu Mingqiu was extremely surprised.

His master was a Grandmaster, so the knowledge and

experience that he had been exposed to were extraordinary.
However, even so, he had not come across such a phenomenon
before. The energetic elemental energy in the air condensed and
flowed in an indecipherable manner, forming an unique cycle
that even Yu Mingqiu, himself, found incomprehensible.

Yu Mingqu immediately realized its usefulness. The vigorous

elemental energy field was good for training!

If there was another city like the current Central Pine City,
where the elemental energy field was so vigorous, it would
attract countless elementalists. In the Avalon of Five Elements,
any place that was good for training would be packed with
people.

One such place was the Silver Mist Sea.

From the Silver Mist Sea, powerful currents of metal

elemental energy flowed downward through the great Silver
Mist River to Palette Cloud Village. 70% of the population and
90% of the cities were gathered on the two coastlines of the
Silver Mist Sea.

This was all due to the fact that the closer a city was to the
Silver Mist Sea, the better it would be for its inhabitants’
training and its production efficiency. The powerful currents of
elemental energy from the Silver Mist Sea were a necessity to
workshops and factories, just like how fire was essential to a
smithy.

One unique characteristic of elemental energy was that it was

very stable in nature. In other words, it was not vigorous
enough. When it was not vigorous enough, the rate at which it
could be absorbed and used was very low, resulting in a low
training efficiency for elementalists.
 Everyone knew about this weakness of elemental energy and
had been thinking of ways to resolve it. Establishing the Avalon
of Five Elements was one of the many ways. Take the Silver
Mist Sea as an example. Countless damaged weapons were
thrown into the river valley to excite the metal elemental
energy within them before the river delivered the vigorous
metal elemental energy to the entire Silver Mist Sea.

This was a grand engineering project. The current Silver Mist

Sea and Silver Mist River were formed through generations of
accumulated effort and hard work.

Yet, other than the two river banks of the Silver Mist River,
the other places within the Silver Mist Sea were sparsely
populated and unsuitable for living. Currently, the two river
banks of the Silver Mist River were well-developed and did not
have much empty land.

If those other places were like the current Central Pine City,
they would definitely attract a huge number of elementalists.
Regardless of their profession, elemental energy was the basis
for elementalists. Farmers were not the only ones that needed
Mother Earth for their livelihood, as elementalists also needed
her. Even though the Silver Mist Sea contained an immense
amount of energy, it still faced the risk of its energy being
completely depleted. For example, a lack of discarded artifact
remnants would directly cause a lack of metal elemental energy
in the Silver Mist Sea.

A lot of cities could forge the same gold needles that Central
Pine City had forged. Central Pine City was just an insignificant
small town with limited resources in the Avalon of Five
Elements. If the city could be popularized…

Yu Mingqiu was very excited. If all of these could be achieved,

then Central Pine City would become well-known for making
such a great contribution.

He remembered the mayor had previously mentioned that the

designer and implementer of this plan were Ai Hui’s master and
mistress, respectively. Mingxiu’s junior was indeed
extraordinary.

Yu Mingqiu was not stupid enough to ask for the plan details.
Right now, what mattered the most was getting through this
crisis. He believed the higher-ups would not turn a blind eye to
the impact that the gold needles had on Central Pine City’s
elemental energy field

Similarly, Ai Hui did not ignore the impact of the gold needles
either. He waved his arm and instructed, "Everyone, make good
use of the time to train and recover your energy."

Everyone was used to him not saying anything motivational.

On the contrary, they felt at ease. After working together for so
long, everyone was connected on a deep level with each other.
Without any hesitation, they started training.

"Lou Lan, supervise Fatty," Ai Hui instructed Lou Lan without

even turning his head.

"No problem, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied cheerfully.

Ai Hui was quite shocked by the fact that Fatty was previously
able to kill a blood elementalist. He clearly knew Fatty’s fighting
capabilities. Other than brute strength, Fatty did not have many
spectacular skills. Usually, he was timid and lazy. How would
one not find it surprising that he killed a blood elementalist by
himself?

It seemed that Fatty did have some potential.

Promptly, Ai Hui increased Fatty’s training intensity and

ignored his grumbles.

Ai Hui, himself, also tried to make full use of the time he had.

His fighting capabilities had improved greatly, especially his

swordsmanship. Other than the last move of the sword pill, he
was very proficient in executing the [Crescent Moon] and [Dust
Fall]. [Crescent Moon] was used as a long-ranged offensive
weapon. Even though the lightning bolt ability of the [Dust Fall]
technique had an intimidating effect, its destructive power was
not as impressive as the [Crescent Moon]’s in reality.

Of course, it was a different case for the blood elementalists.

Lightning was the natural bane of the blood elementalists, so
the [Dust Fall] was extremely threatening to them.

He had some ideas about the last move of the sword pill,
[Night Epiphyllum], as well. However, he was still far from
success.

Ai Hui was not anxious. Day by day, his understanding toward

swordsmanship grew. The success of [Dust Fall] had
significantly and especially enlightened him. [Dust Fall] differed
from the usual sword moves. It more closely resembled the
sword moves that the ancient swordsmen used.

Naturally, when compared to the moves of those swordsmen,

its power was much weaker.

The improvement in swordsmanship could only be achieved

through persistent hard work. Ai Hui was still working on this
himself. As his understanding toward swordsmanship increased
day by day, he started to devise more and more basic moves like
the [Oblique Slash] and [Misty Strike].

With the destruction of the sword embryo, his

swordsmanship instinct had actually become stronger instead.
However, his instinct was still filled with uncertainty. To purely
depend on instinct was to wager his life on a gambling table.

Ai Hui did not want to do that. Instinct could help him create
more basic sword moves, allowing him to have a deeper
understanding of swordsmanship.

He did not know how other people trained, so he could not

think of anything else other than sticking to this stupid method.
 There were very few sword inheritances nowadays.

He had not collected the inheritance that the mayor

previously rewarded him and wanted to collect it only after he
left this place, provided he was still alive by then. Learning a
new inheritance in a short period of time would not be of much
use to him at his current critical junction.

Sometimes, due to all the blood crystals and Heaven Merit

Points, Ai Hui would think about life as a moderately wealthy
person if he survived this catastrophe.

If he really survived this catastrophe, he planned to return to

the Old Territory with Fatty.

His dream of becoming an elementalist had been achieved,

and he also experienced being a hero. The other troublesome
issues should be left to those geniuses to settle.

Upon witnessing the deaths of countless people and an entire

city reduced to ruins, Ai Hui realized there were indeed places
that were worse than the Wilderness.
 He should bring master and mistress and find a place to lead a
simple life.

Master was like a candle flickering in the wind, old and ailing.
When mistress completed the plan of "treating the city as a
piece of cloth," the damage inflicted to her body would most
likely be irreversible as well.

Yeah, the Old Territory was quite good. He did not have any
family members, so he could move somewhere near Fatty. He
also had some money and could bring master and mistress back
to the Old Territory and open an embroidery workshop there.
Senior Mingxiu would come along of course.

Right now, Ai Hui’s biggest wish was to accompany master

and mistress through the twilight years of their lives.

He glanced at the snow-white bandage, which was wrapped

around his wrist tightly, and discovered that there was a blood
trace on it.

This was left by the mysterious drop of blood from the red-
dressed girl. The shape of the blood trace was somewhat weird,
resembling an eye. Ai Hui did not know if this was just a
coincidence or something peculiar.

All right, he would have to wait until everything was over

before investigating it.

Everything would have to wait until he lived through this

catastrophe.
Chapter 267: Shattered Blood Traces
Tian Kuan did not give up.

He was someone who had returned from the verge of death.

The obstacle he currently faced was nothing compared to what
he had experienced in the past and was not enough to throw
him into despair.

There were 16 blood elementalists under his command, but

half of them were injured.

While blood elementalists were much more tenacious

compared to regular elementalists, their capabilities were still
affected by injuries.

The consecutive failures that these injured blood

elementalists had faced were a huge blow to their morale. With
morale at an all time low, more and more of them were
deserting from Tian Kuan. This batch of blood elementalists
were elites who were carefully selected, and as such, had very
keen intuitions.

They were quick to figure out that Tian Kuan’s method of

controlling them had loopholes and managed to exploit these to
escape.

Seeing their comrades escape sent the morale of the

remaining blood elementalists plummeting even further.
Loyalty to the group was dead. Those that remained would
definitely seize any opportunity to slip away.

What went wrong?

Tian Kuan could not figure out why nothing was going
according to plan.

"Sir, your face?"

A surprised voice rang out from among the blood

elementalists.

My face? What’s wrong with my face?

Tian Kuan subconsciously touched his face and felt something

wet. His hand froze.
 Aghast, the other blood elementalists looked at Tian Kuan.

Tian Kuan looked at his fingers and saw that they were
stained with blood. The blood was a dusty-red color and had a
foul rotting stench. His eyes revealed a deep, troubling fear
while his fingers trembled slightly.

He could tell without looking that the blood traces on his face
had become like the withered rings of a rotting old stump. The
traces had broken in many places, becoming shattered and
leaking the dull, greyish-red blood that stained his hands.

Shattered traces!

Tian Kuan’s mind blanked as he fully registered what was

happening to him.

The skin on his forehead shrivelled up rapidly, forming deep-

set wrinkles that densely covered his entire forehead. His head
full of black hair gradually turned white while his large biceps
shrank and his spine hunched. In the blink of an eye, Tian Kuan
had aged several decades.
 The blood elementalists who witnessed this transformation
stepped back in horror. It was as if they were staring at a
monster.

Not knowing what was going on served only to amplify their

fears.

"Shattered blood traces? Why? Why is this happening?"

Tian Kuan’s dry, hoarse voice was filled with fear and panic.
His tone had completely changed.

He was utterly racked with fear and felt like a cornered beast.

Shattered traces were an indication that a blood elementalists’

training had gone down the wrong path and something feared
by all blood elementalists. Ruptured blood traces marked the
beginning of the end as the blood elementalist would lose the
power he had attained. The vital energy of the blood would
begin to seep out via these broken blood traces, causing the
blood’s color to dull. Over time, the blood elementalist’s blood
would turn into a clear liquid. At this point, the blood
elementalist’s life would come to an end.
 The shattering of blood traces only occurred when one’s
training had gone horribly wrong.

Where had he gone wrong?

Tian Kuan forced himself to calm down, completely ignoring

the blood elementalists who were already fleeing in all
directions.

The other blood elementalists were scared off by Tian Kuan’s

transformation. The biggest consolation that forming blood
traces had given them was their increased strength. After seeing
Tian Kuan’s abrupt deterioration, they finally understood that
the path of a blood elementalist was not that easy after all. In
fact, it was even riskier.

Although training as an elementalist was relatively slow, it

was much safer and would definitely not result in something
this terrifying.

They were unsure of what would happen to Tian Kuan, but

were certain that he was unusually weak at this point.
 A few of the blood elementalists stared at Tian Kuan with
hatred in their eyes.

None of the survivors were grateful to Tian Kuan. In fact,

their hatred toward him was something they all shared.

Because of Tian Kuan’s accumulated strength, they were

afraid that he would have some sort of a backup plan. A few of
them hesitated for a moment before deciding to slowly retreat.
They took off for the forest the moment they saw Tian Kuan’s
groggy, weakened state.

Tian Kuan’s vitality continued to decline as he carefully

sieved through his memories to recall his recent actions. He
remembered something that immediately roused him from his
thoughts.

Why had everything he attempted to accomplish end

unfavorably ever since he entered the city? Because he had
chosen the wrong path right from the get go. He had never
attempted to recruit strength from external sources before.
Although he appeared to have planned everything adequately
and appeared to have accomplished his recruitment easily,
everything was actually pretty messed up. He could clearly see
the hatred burning in the eyes of the deserters and knew that
they would tear him into pieces at the earliest opportunity.

When did this begin?

His battle with that Infantry Division warrior had left him
physically injured and mentally shaken. Soon after, he chanced
upon Yu Mingqiu gravely wounding Situ Zhong and became
even more alarmed. After entering Central Pine City, he
witnessed the Battle of Long Street, which made him feel even
more fearful.

Retreating step after step had created fear in his heart,

making him filled with trepidation. Although it looked as
though everything was within his control, obtaining strength
from external sources was the clearest sign that he had lost
confidence in himself.

This was his inner demon.

As his self-confidence wavered, his inner demon grew

stronger. He was soon overwhelmed by fear.

The precarious balance between life and death was ever so

mysterious. As his blood spiritual force transformed, this
balance tipped over, resulting in the loss of his attained power
and the rupturing of his blood traces.

It would seem that his will had been robbed from him during
that fateful encounter with the Infantry Division warrior. Tian
Kuan had lost his indomitable spirit.

His pupils suddenly became clear as he extended his legs and

leaned on his left arm. Tian Kuan’s stance made him look like a
three-legged beast. He twisted his body and tapped his right fist
against his tailbone.

Pop!

A crisp popping sound could be heard as a bloody glow

appeared on his tailbone.

One by one, he tapped each vertebrae in his spine, causing a

series of popping sounds and blood-colored lights to appear on
his back.

Tian Kuan stood up and straightened his spine. The wrinkles

on his face had completely vanished, and his skin regained its
original moisture and smoothness. Only his full head of white
hair remained.

The spinal blood had saved his life.

As a god guard, Tian Kuan’s training focused mainly on his

body. He would store traces of blood within his vertebrae
during his daily practice. He had only done this as a backup
plan, but little did he know that it would save his life today.

Despite training for so long and undergoing round after round

of blood refinement, the spinal blood he had managed to store
was merely as thin as a strand of hair.

Although the amount of spinal blood was minuscule, the

power it possessed was incredible. Once utilized, it swiftly
stabilized his condition.

Tian Kuan sighed lightly. He used to think that he was a

fearless person, but he finally realized just how much of a
coward he really was.
 Was this a bad thing? Tian Kuan did not think so. Rather, he
felt that it was something favorable. Detecting his cowardice
and better understanding himself at this early point was a good
thing.

Perhaps this was the real purpose of training.

Moreover, it was not as though he had no chance.

He could defeat his inner demon by achieving victory.

The reversal of life and death. Coming back from the dead was
what Tian Kuan was capable of accomplishing.

Victory was the one true explanation for everything.

Tian Kuan suddenly raised his head. The elemental energy

waves in Central Pine City had become unusually intense.

Ai Hui’s small group was nailing in the ninth gold needle.

 Tian Kuan walked unhurriedly through the ruins.

"The ninth gold needle," muttered the lady in red.

Having witnessed her transformation with his own eyes, Yan

Hai looked at the lady in awe. Her presence had become ever so
fleeting and unpredictable. It was as though she had become one
with the dense mist amid mountaintops, mysterious yet
ephemeral.

The lady had grown much stronger.

He had never seen her train but could feel the changes she had
undergone. Yan Hai inexplicably thought of something that the
lady had previously said to him.

Although it was beyond his understanding, Yan Hai knew that

the key to her progress lay within it. He secretly committed the
words to memory, noting that he could not grasp it because his
level was too low.

"Remarkable."
 The lady in red looked impressed. She looked up at the sky
and watched the waves of light dancing about layer after layer.
This light show was the result of the intense elemental energy
fluctuations.

Still looking up, the lady in red abruptly said, "It’s time for us
to go."

"Go?" asked Yan Hai, at a loss.

"Withdraw from Central Pine City," the lady in red explained

as she retracted her gaze. "The entire city’s elemental energy
has been activated. The sky, the earth, and even the plants.
We’ll have to retreat further away so as to avoid being trapped
within it.

The lady in red and Yan Hai quietly left Central Pine City.
They found a mountain that directly overlooked the city and
began their observation.

When the ninth gold needle was fully nailed into place, the
vibrantly chaotic patterns in the sky above Central Pine City
abruptly changed into a brilliant whirlpool of multi-colored
light. The different colored lights fused and expanded, slowly
spreading across the sky and becoming more distinct.

Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The five elemental

energies combined to form a perfect five element ring in the
sky.

The abnormally powerful elemental energy waves roused Yu

Mingqiu from his exhaustion. He had reached his physical limit
and could not help but wonder how he actually managed to
guard the city’s sky with his strength alone.

As the battle on the ground raged on, so did the battle in the
sky. Toward the end, Yu Mingqiu was fighting purely by his
combat instincts.

This ordeal was finally over…

He shakily descended back to ground level, landing heavily

with a stagger and plopped backward right onto his rear.

His gaze swept up to look at the five element ring in the sky as
he sat there, too tired to even lift a finger.
 After putting in so much effort, he wondered if there were any
bonus rewards awaiting him…

It’s not going to be my problem if things start to go awry

again. The most handsome person is going to sleep now…

Darkness swiftly engulfed him the moment he closed his tired

eyes.

Yu Mingqiu’s wretched-looking state gave everyone around a

shock. They heaved a huge sigh of relief when he started
snoring loudly. His performance over the past few days had
earned everyone’s unwavering respect. The city could not
possibly have lasted so long without him protecting the sky, let
alone have had the chance to install the needle.

The five element ring in the sky started to stabilize.

The ferocious blood fiends became terrified and hastily

escaped the city.

Looking down from the skies, one would see the red tide
rapidly receding out of the city.
 After a moment of silence, loud cheers rang out all over
Central Pine City.

Amid the cheering, an exhausted Ai Hui sat heavily on the

ground.

Master, Mistress, the nine gold needles are in place...

In his mind’s eye, he saw his master excitedly explaining the

plan to "treat the city like a piece of cloth" and subconsciously
smiled.

Around him, his team members were all over the place. The
A-1 unit had carried out the most important missions in this
battle. They had relentlessly pressed onward, tapping into every
last bit of energy and breath they could muster. Now that their
missions were completed, they could finally collapse and take a
breather.

Although they were completely drained, everyone’s eyes were

glued on the Jade Embroidery Workshop.

The Jade Embroidery Workshop opened its tightly sealed

door.
Chapter 268: Counterattack
Han Yuqin felt as though the whole of Central Pine City’s eyes
were on her. She wore a solemn expression, and the subtle
wrinkles on her face had vanished—it was as if she had suddenly
reversed time and returned to being twelve years old. The
elemental energy within a three-meter radius around her was
similar to crackling volleys of firecrackers, and the exploding
rays of light were blossoming like stars in the night sky.

It was as if she was surrounded by a silver river where

countless stars were born and destroyed. As she unhurriedly
advanced, Han Yuqin resembled a spirit descending into the
human world, her strong aura enveloping the whole city. The
five element ring, which was swiveling in the air, suddenly
froze.

The city’s elemental energies were utterly calm; they were all
subdued by her alone.

Her movements were gentle; the ground beneath her feet

quietly graced her landing like a bowing earth dragon. The
paths on both sides became adorned with budding plants and
blooming flowers, and in the blink of an eye, numerous fruits
could be seen sprouting on branches. Unknowingly, layers of
cloud gathered in the sky and rain began to gently drizzle down
like threads of silk. A ray of sunshine, surrounded by flames,
pierced through the clouds and landed on her body. Golden
wind swept across her back, transforming into a silver cape.

Such a breathtaking scene was happening live before

everyone’s eyes.

The guards knelt to the ground. Even Wang Zhen and the
dean were in a half-bow position; only Wang Shouchuan
remained standing.

Wang Shouchuan’s aged face was glowing, and his eyes were
unable to conceal his adoration.

Although he was accustomed to his wife’s usual brilliance, no

moment could compare to the scene before his eyes. His wife
was now like the world’s most beautiful fairy. Her stunning
face, which was surrounded by stars, easily overwhelmed him,
and the memories of his youth started to uncontrollably flood
his mind.

Wang Shouchuan observed his wife with sentiment as she

ascended into the air with light steps.
 With such a wife, it could be said that he had lived his life
with no regrets. By being able to fulfill her request and push her
up the stage at this moment, it could be said that he had lived
his life with no regrets.

Yes, he had no regrets.

Wang Shouchuan gave a content smile.

Han Yuqin understood her husband’s smile. She looked at her

aged man with clear eyes, which were as soft as water, and
bowed. "Thank you, Husband."

Her expression then became solemn once again. "Mingxiu,

follow me. It may benefit you in the future."

"Yes." Mingxiu’s eyes were red as she responded in a low

voice.

The star-like specks of light from the five element ring

resembled waterfalls of light. The light had transformed into a
colorful flight of steps in front of her—it was as if a rainbow was
hanging down from the sky.
 Central Pine City was absolutely silent; everyone was stunned
by what they had seen. Was this the power of a Grandmaster?
The elemental energies of Nature were tamed like her servant,
obeying her commands.

Ai Hui was in shock. He looked on blankly as his mistress

departed. Was this a Grandmaster? The operation of Nature’s
elemental energies had completely deviated from common
sense; his understanding of elemental energy had been
overturned. Theoretical descriptions of a Grandmaster’s power
could not compare to the profound experience in real life.

Central Pine City’s elemental energies were now in his

mistress’ hands.

Nobody was able to utilize even a bit of elemental energy. In

other words, the whole city was under his mistress’ control. She
could easily kill anyone within the city; executing a massacre
wouldn’t require any effort.

It was only now that Ai Hui finally understood why the land
under a Grandmaster’s watch was unshakeable.

Perhaps a Grandmaster wasn’t any much different to those

strong figures in the ancient cultivation world.

Kuan Tian raised his head and glanced at Han Yuqin before
retracting his gaze. There was a flickering, ominous glint in his
eyes. Even if he were to confront an extremely powerful person
like Han Yuqin, he would not cower in fear.

He had nowhere to retreat.

Right now, he was only relying on the spinal blood he had

accumulated to sustain himself. If he escaped now, his blood
traces would thoroughly crumble, and the fresh blood in his
body would transform into dead blood before finally becoming
clear water.

All trace of his existence in this world would disappear, and

even his soul wouldn’t have a chance to escape.

He had to win. Only victory would allow him to reverse his

fate. Even if he couldn’t make a complete recovery, he could at
least stabilize his blood traces. In the past, he had felt that the
way of God was difficult and dangerous, but it was only now
that he genuinely understood its unpredictability and
murderous nature.
 He could feel the blood spiritual force within his body being
rejected by Central Pine City’s elemental energy, and the
elemental energy in the air was akin to incorporeal knives that
incessantly cut him. Wounds continued to appear on his face,
arms, and body, and as he moved forward, he resembled a
ragdoll covered with scars and bruises. His body was
crisscrossed with countless fresh, red scars.

What was strange, however, was that not a single drop of

fresh blood seeped out of these wounds.

Tian Kuan’s expression didn’t change—it was as if he had no

sense of touch.

He knew he had to hurry up since the city had already begun

to show signs of rejecting blood spiritual force. Once Han Yuqin
started, he would be in a worse situation as the rejection would
grow even more intense.

Tian Kuan was like a shadow as he silently advanced. He knew

that this was his last chance. With unprecedented focus, he
executed his [Shadow Figure] with much better skill than usual.

He appeared outside the embroidery workshop without

attracting any attention.

The workshop’s guards were kneeling to the ground, and

everyone’s focus was on Han Yuqin. Wang Zhen and the dean
were gazing at the sky in shock. There wasn’t anyone else
within a three-meter radius around Tian Kuan.

Tian Kuan’s target was Wang Shouchuan.

Han Yuqin was currently exuding a terrifying momentum,

causing Tian Kuan to acknowledge that he definitely wasn’t her
match. However, by now, all the gold needles in Central Pine
City had been erected, and only by blocking Han Yuqin could
this whole plan be stopped.

What could he use to stop a Grandmaster?

Wang Shouchuan!

Only by taking him down could he possibly stop Han Yuqin.

Her earlier gaze was clearly brimming with longing and
emotions—it was obvious that she wouldn’t sit silently and
watch Wang Shouchuan die in his hands.
 Mingxiu had been Tian Kuan’s initial target, but
unexpectedly, Han Yuqin had taken Mingxiu with her, leaving
him with only one choice —Wang Shouchuan.

It was much easier to control an old man with no fight left in

him.

Tian Kuan held his breath, and his eyes turned into an empty,
ashy color as his body transformed into a shadow. The shadow
had no temperature and heartbeat; all signs of life vanished.

This shadow stuck closely to the ground and slowly

approached Wang Shouchuan.

When Tian Kuan had been small and weak, this method of
attack was his expertise. And as he grew stronger, this move
became much more destructive.

There wasn’t anything awe-inspiring about [Shadow Figure],

but in his hands, it became exceptionally dangerous.

"Is this a Grandmaster?"

 Wang Zhen muttered to himself as he stared absent-mindedly
at Han Yuqin, who, at this moment, was like a spirit that had
descended to Earth.

It wasn’t only him. The dean by his side was in a similar daze.
His mouth was open, but no sound came out. The sight before
them was simply too breathtaking and impactful.

A few moments earlier they had been battling with the blood
fiends, but in the blink of an eye, the entire situation had
reversed. The blood fiends had retreated in a tide. Victory had
never felt so real. The plan of ‘treating the city as a piece of
cloth’ had been well-supported by them to begin with, but to
speak to truth, they had been concealing their confidence
because they had no other choice.

But now, victory was right before their eyes. Looking at the
goddess-like Han Yuqin, no one could question her plan any
longer.

He suddenly sensed something.

At the same time, Han Yuqin, who was already in midair, felt
something as well. Her face changed slightly as her gaze
hardened.

The dean jerked his head and saw a black, shadowy ball
springing up from the ground and pouncing towards Wang
Shouchuan.

Tian Kuan’s view of Wang Shouchuan magnified rapidly.

Almost simultaneously, a stone wall rose steeply from the
ground and obstructed his path. Densely packed and sharp stone
thorns lay atop the wall. An ominous glint appeared in Tian
Kuan’s eyes, and he let out a low growl, like that of a wild beast
on the verge of death. Without dodging, he crashed head-on
into the stone wall.

Bang!

The stone wall shattered, and from the rubble, a black shadow
shot out and struck Wang Shouchuan.

Han Yuqin, who was floating in midair, suddenly turned

around.

As Tian Kuan struggled to stand up, his abdomen ached—he

had been stabbed by a thick stone thorn. It was as if he felt
nothing, though, as he gripped Wang Shouchuan’s neck with
one hand and used the other to pull the thorn out from his
body. He then carefully placed Wang Shouchuan’s figure in
front of him, his palm firmly grabbing onto his neck.

An eerie arc formed at the corner of his mouth and became

increasingly curved.

Success… He had succeeded!

The silent smile gradually turned into an unbridled, wild

laughter that resounded throughout Central Pine City.

Both Wang Zhen and the dean’s faces became a deathly white
as they understood Tian Kuan’s intent. Despair crawled up onto
their faces.

Throughout his entire life, Tian Kuan had never felt as happy
as he did now. So what if you’re a Grandmaster? So what if I
made the whole city my enemy?

His laughter suddenly stopped. He grabbed Wang Shouchuan

and started to float upwards slowly.

"I’m sorry I disrupted your show, but this is good as well. We

can have a nice talk."

The whole city could hear the arrogance and satisfaction in

his voice.

Her face ashen, Han Yuqin roared, "Let him go!"

Tian Kuan’s fingers punctured Wang Shouchuan’s throat,

who resembled a choking fish as his body trembled and jerked
uncontrollably.

Her husband had never suffered in such a manner—he was

just a normal husband. Han Yuqin’s heart was also trembling.

Mingxiu’s face paled as she covered her mouth with her

hands. Tears blurred her vision.

"Why? Is this heartbreaking? What a loving couple," Tian

Kuan commented leisurely.
 He had already taken the initiative and grabbed ahold of his
own destiny. And just like in the past, he was always the final
victor. So what if you’re a Grandmaster?

His thoughts were remarkably clear, and his body flourished

with vitality. Taking a quick glance at his previously declining
condition, he discovered that his blood traces were speedily
stabilizing. His flesh was like dry mud being moistened by the
rain. The familiar strength returned to his body.

What a fascinating feeling.

Victory was so sweet.

When Ai Hui saw Tian Kuan and his teacher, it was as if his
head had been dealt a massive blow. All was black before him.
But just after a second, he quickly recovered, and an
indescribable fury exploded within him.

He had never before felt such rage. Never before.

He obviously understood Tian Kuan’s intention, and he knew

what was about to happen. And it was precisely because he
knew that that his body began to involuntarily shiver. He had
never before felt such fear.

He would rather face his own death than what was going to
happen next.

His whole body was shuddering and shaking.

The entire A-1 unit was stunned by the sudden change of

events; in fact, the whole city was dumbfounded. Earth-
shattering bellows immediately followed after a short period of
deathly stillness.

"Release him if you have the guts!"

"Bastard!"

"I’m going to hack you to pieces!"

Tian Kuan laughed aloud as he witnessed the explosion of the

elementalists and the deafening clamor. It felt so good to see
these helpless people, who viewed him as their enemy, be
unable to do anything. It felt so good to crush and bury all their
hopes.

Such despair was enchanting!

Shi Xueman’s face was beyond pale. She looked at the sky in
disbelief and was at a loss.

She looked toward Ai Hui subconsciously. She did that

whenever she felt a loss for what to do.

Ai Hui was still trembling and breathless—it was as if he was

drowning.

His shaking hand groped around subconsciously, and upon

touching the Dragonspine Inferno, it was as if he had grabbed
hold of a life-saving rice straw. He fumbled about, his shaking
palm stroking the sword’s blade.

It was only when he found the sword’s hilt that his trembling
hand finally calmed down.
Ai Hui, too, had now calmed down.

He was going to save his master.

Chapter 269: A Devastating Ending
"You stay here."

After giving a brief instruction, the red-dressed girl floated

towards Central Pine City like a wisp of red smoke.

The turn of events for Tian Kuan had been too sudden. She
could not help but go to take a look.

It would be a pity if she didn’t join in the fun.

She was very clear on what Tian Kuan was going to do next.
She was more curious about what Ai Hui’s reaction would be.

Ai Hui’s background was no secret, everyone in Central Pine

City knew about it. Right now, he was a legendary figure in
Central Pine City, everyone’s favorite topic to chit-chat about in
their free time. Obtaining all of Ai Hui’s information was a piece
of cake.

He came from the Old Territory and spent three years in the
Wilderness as laborer. He then entered the Induction Ground as
an overaged student. Eventually, he became the disciple of
Wang Shouchuan and learned embroidery from his mistress.

Reportedly, Ai Hui had a deep relationship with both his

master and mistress.

He would definitely take action!

Her interest in Ai Hui far surpassed anyone else’s. That fellow

could not be analyzed logically as he always came up with
different surprises. No one knew what he was going to do next.

Holding the Dragonspine, Ai Hui dashed towards Tian Kuan’s

location.

The sound of wind surged past his ears like thunder. At this
point of time, Ai Hui felt abnormally calm. He held his sword,
slouched his body, and flew along the dilapidated street. It was
as if he did not feel the fatigue from the previous battles.

His brain was working at an unprecedented speed as he tried

to think of a way to save his master.
 There must be a way!

He told himself that.

Tian Kuan’s purpose in holding Master hostage was to stop

Mistress from completing the plan of ‘treating the city as a piece
of cloth.’ Mistress had an unyielding character and the only way
for Tian Kuan to make her surrender was to torture Master.

Ai Hui forced himself to focus on thinking through the

situation. He did not dare to be distracted as any moment of
distraction would cause him to feel a heart-twisting pain.

His facial expression resembled that of a granite statue,

motionless and without emotion.

There was no point feeling angry or sad now. At this point in

time, what he needed to do was stay calm, achieve absolute
calmness. Letting his emotions affect his decision would be
totally unhelpful to the current situation.

He forced himself to stay calm and allowed the palm that was
clenching the sword hilt to turn white.
 He first had to get close to Tian Kuan because he lacked long-
range offensive attacks. The sudden attack would only work if
he could prevent Tian Kuan from sensing his presence.

Very soon, Ai Hui confirmed his plan of attack and decided to

approach Tian Kuan silently from the right side of his back.
Even though he needed to make an extra effort to reach that
position, he did not mind as it would be advantageous to his
attack. Tian Kuan was using his right hand to hold his master. If
he could attack fast enough and hack Tian Kuan’s right
shoulder, he might be able to save his master.

He was not feeling too well. His body was extremely weary
and his elemental energy was almost depleted. Despite this, he
still decided to get close to Tian Kuan first.

Only by getting close to Tian Kuan would he then have the

opportunity to strike.

Ai Hui suppressed his last trace of anger. Like an experienced

hunter, he started to close in on his prey.

He did not think about what would happen if he failed.

Various plans appeared in his mind and he tried to find the
loopholes in each plan.

There was only one chance with no room for failure.

He lowered his waist and used the debris as cover, beginning

to execute his plan.

"We have nothing to talk about."

Han Yuqin’s facial expression returned to normal and her

tone was tranquil and calm.

"My husband might be in your hands, but if you think that

you can use him to threaten me, that would be a big mistake.
We have lived for many years and as long as we can save Central
Pine City, we don’t mind sacrificing our lives. Let him go and I
promise to let you leave this place."

"Let me leave this place?" Tian Kuan smirked. "I think Master
Han has mistaken my intention. I’m the one who would let all
of you leave this place. You see, all along we haven’t had many
conflicts between us, so why bother fighting amongst
ourselves? As long as all of you are willing to retreat from
Central Pine City, you all will be able to leave this place safely
and Teacher Wang will also be safe and sound."

His tone was calm and unhurried. Even though he was facing
a Grandmaster, he did not show the slightest bit of fear,
displaying an elegant demeanor. He could feel the blood
spiritual force in his body transforming. An endless stream of
energy was flowing into the depths of his body.

A feeling of euphoria gushed into him.

He was overjoyed. If he could obtain victory, he would

definitely attain a breakthrough in his base level.

"Since you’re so arrogant, there’s nothing for us to talk

about," Han Yuqin replied with a solemn tone. "My husband and
I each have one foot in the grave. If we die, then so be it."

"Die?" Tian Kuan put on an astonished face, as if he’d heard

something incredible. "Why would I let both of you die? How
can a dead person have value? Furthermore, there are many
things in this world that are more terrifying than death, and I
happen to be specialized in them."
 Following which, his left hand pulled up Wang Shouchuan’s
left palm and spread his fingers.

Crack!

One of Wang Shouchuan’s fingers had been crushed.

Wang Shouchuan’s body squirmed. The intense pain made

him want to struggle, but the hand grabbing his throat was like
a metal pincer, rendering him immobile. He could not make any
sound and his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Bastard!" Anger erupted upon Han Yuqin’s face. Her aura of

killer intent pervaded the air.

"You see, it’s just the beginning and Master Han already can’t
take it," teased Tian Kuan. "Do you wish to kill me now? It
seems giving your husband some enjoyment is a good idea.
How? Do you want to give it a try?"

Crack!
 Another of Wang Shouchuan’s fingers was crushed.

Han Yuqin’s entire body trembled and the elemental energy

around her began to undulate. Her cape fluttered and the
heavenly glow that was shining on her became unstable.

"You have been husband and wife for so many years, it would
be too cruel if you were to kill him with your own hands, but
what can you do about it? This world is supposed to be cruel.
You can’t do it, right? Actually, if you think about it, how can
the life of an old fogey be compared to the lives of the many
people here? If he dies, then so be it. Doesn’t everything come
with a price?"

Han Yuqin trembled even harder. The glowing, multi-colored

stairs beneath her feet started to dim.

The cracking sound rang across Ai Hui’s ears. Ai Hui stopped

in his tracks, but quickly recovered his pace. His facial
expression did not change and his movements remained silent,
appearing as though he was unaffected by what was going on.

He reached his target’s position.

 He raised his head and looked at Tian Kuan in the sky.

Right now, Tian Kuan was not only holding his master’s neck
with his right hand, his left hand was also holding his master’s
left hand. There was no point in only hacking off Tian Kuan’s
right arm.

The worst thing was that the elemental energy in Ai Hui’s

body had depleted.

When the golden needle was being nailed, the A-1 unit had
encountered several blood fiends and had fought an intense
battle. Everyone, including Ai Hui, was extremely exhausted.

There must be a plan.

Ai Hui told himself.

"Do you need help?"

A faint voice suddenly came from behind Ai Hui.

 Ai Hui froze. He abruptly turned around and the beautiful
image of a red-dressed girl appeared before him. Her long red
sleeves were drifting like two traces of red smoke. Her beautiful
eyes looked deeply at Ai Hui and her luscious red lips curled into
an alluring smile.

It was her!

One Thousand Yuan!

Ai Hui’s eye pupils dilated.

"You’re the first one to compliment me and say that I’m

beautiful, even though I paid one thousand yuan for it." the red-
dressed girl blinked her eyes intently. "Perhaps we can make a
deal."

Ai Hui stared at her, not saying a single word.

"Don’t stare at me like that, you look so fierce." the red-

dressed girl put on an innocent look and stuck out her tongue.
"You don’t have much time left."
 Suddenly, a ravishing scarlet plum blossom appeared on her
snow-white forehead. The blood plum blossom drifted out of
her forehead and landed in her palm. Its bright shine resembled
that of her red lips.

"This costs more than one thousand yuan. Once you eat it, you
will become capable of killing him off. Of course, since this is a
deal, there’s a price to pay. I will collect some interest from
you." The red-dressed girl’s face turned white while her gaze
seemed to be in stupor.

Ai Hui did not respond.

"Even though I am somewhat taking advantage of your

current situation..." The red-dressed girl’s smile became
increasingly sweet. "You don’t have many choices left. This is
your only way out."

The glistening plum blossom displayed an indescribable

demonic aura.

Tian Kuan’s excited voice resounded through the air,

sounding as if he had thought of something fun. "I have just
thought of a better way."
 He squinted his eyes and a sinister sneer appeared on his face.
Han Yuqin’s reaction was far more intense than he’d expected.
The elemental energy surrounding Han Yuqin was becoming
chaotic. From this, Tian Kuan had come up with a conjecture,
that Han Yuqin’s status of Grandmaster was a temporary one.
She did not go through a legitimate breakthrough!

She must have used some special technique to temporarily

raise her base level.

Right now, her emotions were under intense provocation,

causing her to lose control of her temporary base level and
elemental energy. On the contrary, the blood spiritual force in
Tian Kuan’s body continued to rise. He was excited as he sensed
that he was about to achieve a breakthrough.

In his eyes, Han Yuqin was like a whetstone. One could only
come across a pseudo-Grandmaster level whetstone
serendipitously.

Achieving victory in this confrontation was the key to his

breakthrough!

It would be a memorable event for him to use the corpse of a

pseudo-Grandmaster as a stepping stone to achieve his
breakthrough.

He gave a pondering smile, resembling an executioner

tightening the noose on a prisoner’s neck.

"How about I turn him into a blood elementalist?"

A drop of blood seeped out from Tian Kuan’s fingertip and

stayed there like a dewdrop.

Pfff. Along with the drop of blood, Tian Kuan’s taut finger
suddenly plunged into Wang Shouchuan’s shoulder.

"I’m actually doing this for his own good. His vitality is weak
and he doesn’t have many days of life left. Becoming a blood
elementalist will allow him to live a bit longer. You see, both of
you can still spend the rest of your lives together. Such a
heartwarming scene. An elementalist and a blood elementalist
living together to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss."

Han Yuqin’s face was filled with agony. The dazzling rainbow
stairs below her feet had completely collapsed. The elemental
energy around her body started burning with a crackle.

Even her hair looked as if it was burning, gradually

disappearing.

"Shouchuan, you must help me."

This was her favourite sentence that she had always said to
Wang Shouchuan when they were young. She was always
arrogant and brash, but as long as she said this sentence, he
would never reject her. Countless memories swept through her
mind like a tidal wave. The more heartwarming they were, the
more pain she felt.

It was because of her that he ended up like this.

Ignited by the chaotic elemental energy, her overflowing tears

were mixed with blood and fire, flowing down her cheeks.

Tian Kuan released the hand that was grasping Wang

Shouchuan’s neck and held his arm instead.
 Terrifying streaks of blood traces appeared on Wang
Shouchuan’s face. He shrieked in pain, "Kill me, kill me!"

"Kill you?"

"We will have to see if Master Han is ruthless enough to do it

or not." Tian Kuan sneered as he tightly held Wang
Shouchuan’s body.

"Kill me…"

Wang Shouchuan’s scream became a blur.

Upon hearing his master’s scream, Ai Hui emotionlessly took

the glistening blood plum flower and popped it in his mouth.

Just as the red-dressed girl revealed an insidious smile, Ai Hui

said coldly, "I will destroy the Blood of God."

The red-dressed girl’s smile froze.

 Blood of God… How did he know about the Blood of God?

Ai Hui did not look at her anymore. Clenching the

Dragonspine in his hand, he turned around and faced Tian
Kuan’s direction.

His body was filled with a mysterious power, emitting an

unusual ice-cold aura.

His craggy face had deep and distinct lines, looking grave and
stern. He appeared as if he was witnessing a farce that had
nothing to do with him, completely emotionless.

Mistress was on the brink of collapse...

An image of his master flaunting his plan like it was some

kind of treasure appeared In Ai Hui’s mind. The pride on his
master’s face seemed to tell Ai Hui that he had no regrets if he
died as long as he could help his wife.

His master’s body was struggling non-stop. His low, deep

shriek was filled with agony, despair, and the desire to die.
 Since he desired death, would he have no regrets only if he
died? He would rather be dead than see his works destroyed? He
would rather be dead than see his pride crushed?

Just yesterday, Ai Hui had still been thinking about bringing

his master and mistress to the Old Territory and opening an
embroidery workshop there for them, to accompany them
through their twilight years.

There were no more twilight years.

Ai Hui felt that he had fallen into an endless abyss. The

freezing darkness engulfed him, but he knew that there was one
last thing he had to do.

He had to defend the pride of his master and mistress.

The red-dressed girl’s eye pupils shrunk abruptly when Ai Hui

disappeared into thin air. Given her strength, how could she not
see how Ai Hui disappeared?

The sky suddenly darkened as night fell upon the city.

 Splendid radiance blossomed in the dark night.

When the Night Epiphyllum blossoms, the dark night shall

descend.

Numerous epiphyllum flowers floated down from the sky,

forming a rain of light that resembled a poignant painting.

Tian Kuan’s eyes suddenly shrunk. The blood spiritual force

in his body erupted. Just as his body was about to go to work, it
froze abruptly.

He lowered his head and looked at his chest. A sword had

pierced through his chest. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

Wang Shouchuan’s body relaxed and looked at the blade

sticking out of his chest. He recognized it as Ai Hui’s sword. The
struggle on his face faded like a receding tide. A peaceful look
appeared upon his face as blood foam spurted out from his
mouth.

His mouth curled into a smile. He could not see Ai Hui, but he
still spoke with an unclear tone. "Good boy."
 Han Yuqin stared blankly at Wang Shouchuan.

Wang Shouchuan turned his head with difficulty. His vision

was blurry and he could only see a vague figure. He felt as if he
had returned to the day he’d first met her when he was just
eighteen years old. The timid young man had not dared to look
her straight in the eyes.

They’d walked together and grown old together.

But it was a pity that they couldn’t die together.

He used his last bit of strength and waved goodbye to her.

Upon seeing Wang Shouchuan closing his eyes peacefully,

Han Yuqin’s tears once more flowed out uncontrollably. A long
whistle resounded through the air. Intense, sword-like sunlight
pierced through the thick layer of cloud and darkness once
more. Flames started to burst into existence around her body.
The Five Elements Bracelet hovering above her head started to
spin.

The elemental energy burned her body. She looked like a

phoenix standing in the midst of blazing flames, serene and
majestic.

Her delicate hands glided through the air and a beam of light
shot out. That was her thread and needle.

Numerous beams of light gathered from all directions and

swirled around her body, resembling a shoal of fish that
frolicked in the sea.

Her slender, snow-white arms rose above her head as she spun
her body, looking as if she was dancing and singing.

Shouchuan, this is what you taught me.

Shouchuan, this is the work that you put your heart and soul
into.

The light beams swirled along with her body, then shot up
into the sky, flying swiftly towards every corner of Central Pine
City, and plunged into the ground. Central Pine City was like an
enormous piece of cloth while the light beams were throbbing
needles and threads, shuttling back and forth through the city.
 The red-dressed girl’s facial expression changed dramatically
and she hurriedly retreated.

The color of blood that had engulfed Central Pine City faded.
Plants and trees emerged from the ground and grew rapidly at
visible speeds, spreading the color of lush green throughout
Central Pine City. The debris and ruins began to wiggle. Then,
as if there were a pair of invisible hands moving and repairing
them, the debris disappeared and the buildings returned to their
initial state, as good as new.

Time seemed to be turning back.

Central Pine City had returned to its former glory.

A dazzling glow engulfed all of Central Pine City.

Tian Kuan, who was pierced by the Dragonspine,

disintegrated into ashes before he could even scream in pain.
Wang Shouchuan’s body also disintegrated into ashes, leaving
one intact arm behind.

Ai Hui instinctively caught his master’s arm and descended

from the sky.

A lustre landed beside Ai Hui. It was Han Yuqin. Her body was
engulfed in flames and her flesh continued to melt. She looked
at Ai Hui and said, "Good boy, Master and Mistress need to
thank you."

Her gaze contained an array of emotions. Gratitude,

thankfulness, pity, and worry.

If not for Ai Hui, everything that they had worked so hard for
would have gone down the drain. All the lives that were
sacrificed would have been meaningless. The pain and suffering
Ai Hui had to go through for making this decision far exceeded
what anyone could imagine.

Ai Hui pursed his lips tightly.

"Ai Hui, you are very capable, help Mistress to take good care
of your Senior Mingxiu."

"Master!" Mingxiu sobbed.

 Han Yuqin took Wang Shouchuan’s arm from Ai Hui. As
usual, she tightly interlocked her fingers with Wang
Shouchuan’s. With a gentle look on her face, she reminded Ai
Hui, "Mistress has to go now. Ai Hui, Mingxiu, bury me and
your Master together."

A burst of flames shot up into the sky. Her body was

completely devoured by the flames. Only the hand that was
holding Wang Shouchuan’s hand did not burn.

When the flames had extinguished, two tightly clasped hands

remained.

Ai Hui was stupefied. He carefully picked up the pair of tightly

interlocked hands.

A bean-sized drop of rain landed on his hand. In the blink of

an eye, torrents of rain came pouring down. In a short period of
time, the city was shrouded by rain and fog.

The plan of ‘treating the city as a piece of cloth’ was a success.

The five elemental energies in Central Pine City had united.
Blood fiends and blood elementalists could no longer stay in the
city. Central Pine City was finally safe. However, not a single bit
of joy could be found on anyone’s face. No one had expected the
last battle to be so devastating.

Upon witnessing how Wang Shouchuan and Han Yuqin

sacrificed themselves and died in such a manner, everyone was
filled with complex feelings.

Shi Xueman looked at Ai Hui with concern; he was digging a

grave in the rain. He rejected everyone’s help and dug the
muddy, water-filled grave together with Mingxiu using their
bare hands.

Shi Xueman simply could not imagine the pain and grief Ai
Hui was feeling now.

Fatty suddenly blurted out, "In the Wilderness, whenever I

dug a grave, Ai Hui would never help me. He doesn’t help dead
people dig their graves. He always said that it doesn’t matter if a
dead person is buried or not."

Everyone was speechless.

Ai Hui carefully placed the pair of tightly interlocked hands

into the grave and then properly covered them up with soil.
Mingxiu handed over a wooden tablet and Ai Hui wrote the
inscription ‘The Grave of Master and Mistress’ on the wooden
tablet in crooked handwriting.

He carefully stuck the wooden tablet into the soil.

He kneeled before the grave and stared at it, allowing the rain
to smack him across his face like a stone statue.

He had lost his master and mistress.

Chapter 270: Three Years Later
Three years later.

Silver Mist Sea, Peace City.

Peace City was a new and developing medium-sized city at the

lower reaches of the Silver Mist River.

Ninety percent of the cities in the Silver Mist Sea were

distributed across the Silver Mist River. The size of a city
depended on the reach of the river it was located at. There were
a total of forty-two cities in the upper reaches of the river and
more than half of them were large-sized cities. The city located
at the far end of the river’s upper reaches, which was also
considered the center of the Silver Mist Sea, was called Silver
City. This city was the largest city in the entire Silver Mist Sea.

At the middle reach of the river, the number of large-sized

cities reduced sharply. They were replaced by dispersed small-
sized and medium-sized cities.

At the lower reaches of the river, it was hard for one to even
see a medium-sized city. The river’s lower reaches were mainly
filled with small towns.

There was nothing weird about this. Towards the lower

reaches of the Silver Mist River, the metal elemental energy in
the river became extremely thin. After the metal elemental
energy was divided among numerous cities in the middle
reaches and upper reaches of the river, only leftover metal
elemental energy was leftover for the river’s lower reaches.
Naturally, capable and experienced elementalists were not
willing to stay in such an area.

Nowadays, the water level of the Silver Mist River was

continuing to drop. The successive battles over the last three
years had caused the collection of artifact remnants to become
increasingly difficult. Without a large supply of artifact
remnants, the amount of metal elemental energy in the Silver
Mist Sea declined sharply every year. This could be verified by
the number of times the Silver Mist Sea opened its sea lock per
month. Before the blood catastrophe, the sea lock would open
twice, once at the start of the month and again at the end of it.
Surging metal elemental currents would carry a huge amount of
artifact remnants and flow along the expansive river channel
that led to Palette Cloud Village. Nowadays, however, the sea
lock of the Silver Mist Sea would only open once a month.
Today’s metal elemental currents could not be compared to
those of the past.
 Peace City’s flourishing had started two years ago.

In the past, Peace City was rather famous for its special local
product, blackshell mica. Blackshell mica was a unique cross-
bred species between mica species from the Silver Mist River
and Peace City. As they were black in color and contained the
gloss of shellfish, they were named blackshell mica. Blackshell
mica was a fantastic dual-type material; it was both metal
attributed and water attributed.

The reason why Peace City could become the only medium-
sized city in the lower reaches of the Silver Mist River was its
strategic geographical location. It was located on the border of
the Silver Mist Sea and Palette Cloud Village.

During the three years of war, instead of withering, Peace City

prospered. It had jumped from a small-sized city to a medium-
sized city, all thanks to its strategic location

Compared to the Silver Mist Sea, Palette Cloud Village was

less affected by the war.

Unlike the Silver Mist Sea, which needed a huge amount of

artifact remnants to generate metal elemental energy, Palette
Cloud Village’s cloud spring did not need man-made means to
increase its supply.

The Avalon of Five Elements was only left with the Silver Mist
Sea and Palette Cloud Village. Between these two places, their
relationship had become much tighter and their trade ties had
strengthened significantly.

Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand Corner had fallen into the hands
of the Blood of God. Due to the enmity between the Avalon of
Five Elements and Blood of God, the possibility of them having
trade relations was zero.

It was a different scenario for the Jadeite Forest. When the

Jadeite Forest first established independence, the Avalon of Five
Elements reacted strongly. However, with Grandmaster Dai
Gang overseeing the place, the Duanmu family’s support, and
the completely intact Deathgrass and Truewood Divisions, the
Avalon of Five Elements, whose power had been greatly
reduced, could not do anything about the Jadeite Forest.

The higher-ups of the Avalon of Five Elements also realized

that it would be disastrous if they were attacked from both
sides. Hence, they took the initiative to display goodwill
towards the Jadeite Forest.
 Similarly, the Blood of God also did not want to be attacked
from both sides and thus also needed to get into Jadeite Forest’s
good books.

Reportedly, the Blood of God and Avalon of Five Elements had

sent out their own diplomatic missions to win the support of
Jadeite Forest. Even if they could not win Jadeite Forest’s
support, they could at least prevent them from supporting the
other side.

The Jadeite Forest was benefitting from both sides and did
not have to worry about its trade being cut off.

The products from Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand Corner were
transported to Jadeite Forest, then from Jadeite Forest to
Palette Cloud Village, and finally to the Silver Mist Sea. Despite
the relations among the three factions, this trade route was
unusually busy.

Being situated at a spot the trade route must pass through,

Peace City flourished rapidly.

Numerous companies would set up branches and warehouses

in these small towns where trading caravans would pass.
 Sea Pacific Enterprise was considered a rather powerful
company.

Not having many customers in the afternoon, Su Qingye felt

extremely sleepy.

A shop assistant walked over and said, "Qingye, I heard that

Dragonrise Training Hall has opened a branch here. Tomorrow
is its opening day and there’s going to be a performance. Do you
want to go together to take a look?"

"Dragonrise Training Hall? The one in Silver City?" Su Qingye

became slightly awake.

"Other than the one in Silver City, where else is there a

Dragonrise Training Hall?" The shop assistant sneered.

"I’m not going." Su Qingye shook his head. "Tomorrow I’m

going to the training hall to practise my swordplay."

"Qingye, don’t you intend to switch to a different training

hall? Given Dragonrise Training Hall’s capability, you will
definitely be better off there!" The shop assistant egged Su
Qingye on.

"I’m not switching," Su Qingye mumbled.

"Alright then, I shall go myself." The shop assistant shrugged

his shoulder.

Su Qingye was an elegant and handsome young man. He was

kind-hearted and affable. He was not harsh and snobbish
towards his subordinates and hence, everyone liked him and
behaved more casual around him.

After being disturbed by the shop assistant, Su Qingye’s

sleepiness had completely disappeared.

At his age, he should have been attending school at the

Induction Ground, but after the start of the blood catastrophe
three years ago, the Induction Ground had become a disaster
area. There were not many survivors from that place. In the
past, children that were of appropriate age had to study at the
Induction Ground. With the loss of the Induction Ground,
everyone had no place to attend school.
 The Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand Corner had fallen into the
hands of Blood of God, the Jadeite Forest had become an
independent faction, and the Thirteen Divisions had undergone
assassinations, mutinies, ambushes, terrible losses, and many
rebuilding processes. Given these successive major events,
coupled with the three consecutive years of war, how would the
higher-ups have the time to think about rebuilding the
Induction Ground?

The loss of the Induction Ground had resulted in the rise of

training halls. Unlike those influential aristocratic families,
most families did not have an abundance of resources and famed
teachers. Training halls had become their only option.

Even though these training halls could not be compared to the

Induction Ground, they were still able to teach the students a lot
of things. Furthermore, these training halls taught their
students very practical techniques that could be used in an
actual battle, which was extremely suitable for the current
situation.

The flourishing of Peace City attracted many elementalists to

set up training halls. Right now, there were hundreds of
training halls in Peace City. Every month, prominent training
halls would set up branches there.
 In many people’s eyes, Peace City’s market possessed great
potential.

Initially, Su Qingye had not attended a training hall and

instead worked at his family-owned company. Sea Pacific
Enterprise was not really huge and did not have many customs.
His parents felt that it would be best if he did not fight on the
front lines and inherit their business instead.

However, the war did not show any sign of ending and instead
became increasingly intense as the days went by.

The war between the Avalon of Five Elements and Blood of

God had extended from Yellow Sand Corner and the Silver Mist
Sea to the Old Territory. The huge population of the Old
Territory and the enormous amount of artifact remnants there
had become the resources that both sides fought for desperately.
The unresolvable enmity between the two sides reached a
boiling point.

The internal situation of the Avalon of Five Elements had also

become unstable. The conflicts between the new citizens and
the aristocratic families became increasingly fierce. During the
process of rebuilding the Thirteen Divisions, there were rumors
that the candidates for division leaders were being selected from
aristocratic families. This had stirred up strong resentment
among the new citizens. Jadeite Forest seized the opportunity to
bring in a prominent figure selected from the new citizens.

In such unstable times, the livelihood of businesses was

severely threatened. Trade routes were no longer safe, the
number of desperate crime-doers increased, and public security
began to worsen.

The worst thing was, it was very difficult to hire guards.

Lives were lost at a terrifying rate on the front line. Those

who were capable would be deployed there. The Thirteen
Divisions, which held an abundance of resources, also held a
huge captivating power over those talented and ambitious
young men.

Joining the war was the fastest way for one to progress in
power and status. Those who stood out during the blood
catastrophe three years ago had become powerful and
prominent individuals in the Avalon of Five Elements.

This was something that one could not achieve during

peacetime.
 Blood-filled war provided ambitious individuals with a grand
platform on which they could perform.

Those capable elementalists were not willing to stay in a small

place like Peace City. Those companies that were under the
wings of the aristocratic families did not need to worry about
these problems. Those small-sized and medium-sized companies
like Sea Pacific Enterprise, on the other hand, needed to settle
these problems by themselves.

In chaotic times, those who were rich but did not have the
ability to protect themselves would become targets for covetous
people.

On a particular day, a terrifying crime occurred in Peace City

that shocked the entire city.

Red Jewel Enterprise had hired a batch of guards, but it

turned out that the guards were bandits in disguise. Their
company was robbed of everything and all of the three hundred
members in their clan were killed.

The next day, Su Qingye found himself a training hall to

enroll into.
 The safest way was to train and nurture their own guards.

The training hall that Su Qingye had enrolled in had a very

weird name. On the first day of his enrollment, he’d already felt
that the teacher was someone who had an eccentric
temperament.

That training hall was opened three years ago in Peace City,
not too long after the blood catastrophe broke out. It was one of
the first few training halls that were set up in Peace City.

It was a small training hall, with only one teacher and a sand
puppet.

The teacher was very young, around twenty-plus years old. It

was likely that that he’d come to Peace City to set up a training
hall after he’d been injured during the blood catastrophe. That
was before Peace City had flourished.

There was also a workshop in the training hall. Su Qingye felt

that the teacher was more interested in the workshop than the
training hall itself.
 Perhaps the workshop was the teacher’s full-time job and the
training hall was his part-time job?

Su Qingye was not in the mood to look after the shop. After
saying goodbye to one of the employees, he left. When the
young master wanted to slip away from his job, the employees
of course did not dare to complain.

Su Qingye stepped onto the street and summoned his sand

puppet, which then transformed into a sand leopard. Su Qingye
mounted the sand leopard and rode it.

Three years ago, when Su Qingye’s father saw that the teacher
had a sand puppet, he mistook him for an earth elementalist
and paid a considerable amount of tuition fees for his son to
enroll in the training hall. When Su Qingye’s father found out
that the teacher was a metal elementalist, he was extremely
vexed, but since the tuition fees had been paid, his father had no
choice but to give the training hall a try.

Su Qingye had stayed in that training hall until today.

Actually, the sand leopard was not really suitable for riding as
its movements were extremely jerky. Despite that, Su Qingye
felt that riding on a sand leopard was cool.

The streets were bustling with activity. The prosperous Peace

City did not have any trace of having been through a war. Other
than the fully-armored elementalists that flew through the sky,
bringing about the smell of war and blood, this place was like
Xanadu.

Su Qingye had asked the teacher before, what was war like? In
the end, he’d been punished by the teacher to do six hundred
sets of quicksand lunges, causing his legs to turn numb. He
almost had to crawl home.

From that day onward, he did not dare to ask about this kind
of thing anymore. He became even more curious. After all, his
teacher was only twenty-plus years old.

After making several turns, he finally arrived at a secluded

area and a dilapidated warehouse-transformed training hall
appeared before him.

Beside the main entrance of the training hall, there was a huge
wooden signboard that had three words written on it.
Swordsman Training Hall.
Chapter 271: The Lost Time
The crude bathtub was filled with a black medicinal water,
giving off a pungent smell that pervaded the air.

Suddenly, the tranquil water surface bubbled as a craggy,

stern-looking face slowly floated up. The black medicinal water
slid off both sides of the face, resembling a sea monster that
emerged from the sea.

Splash.

A half-naked guy sat up from the bathtub.

"Ai Hui, how do feel?" Lou Lan asked as the dark red glow in
his eyes kept on flickering.

"Very terrible," a lazy voice replied.

As Ai Hui stood up from the medicinal water, the black liquid

trickled along his well-defined muscles as it flowed. His body
was not powerfully built and even looked somewhat lean.
However, any movements he made or any slight twitches of his
muscles would involuntarily release a dangerous aura.

On the left side of his dripping wet chest, there was an image
of a glistening, beautiful, blood-colored plum blossom.

"25% of my elemental energy has been devoured by it."

Ai Hui stepped out of the bathtub, picked up a clean towel

from the wooden rack, and wiped off the medicinal water on his
body. With a casual tone, he said, "One Thousand Yuan must
have been a loan shark in her previous life. The interest she
collects is even more ruthless than mine."

"Lou Lan believes that student Bangwan wouldn’t think so,"

Lou Lan replied with a serious look on his face.

Ai Hui, who was putting on his clothes, laughed out loud. "An
immoral fellow like him has no right to criticize others. How’s
our ingrate doing recently?"

"From the news, he doesn’t seem to be doing well." Lou Lan

continued, "Recently, there has been quite a lot of news
regarding student Bangwan."
 Immediately, Ai Hui became excited. "Choose some headlines
and tell me."

With a bang, Lou Lan transformed into a row of rolling words

made of sand.

"The Jadeite Prince Spent His Whole Night In A Brothel!"

"The Jadeite Prince Heavily Drunk!""

"The Jadeite Prince Drowning His Sorrows With Alcohol!"

Ai Hui was slightly shocked. "He owes someone money again?"

With a bang, Lou Lan transformed into another row of rolling

words.

"Duanmu Kang: My Son Is A Prodigy!"

"Dai Gang: Huanghun Is A Genius, He Needs To Find A Girl

That Can Match Up To Him."
 "The Avalon Of Five Elements: Jadeite Forest And Avalon Of
Five Elements Are Of The Same Roots, We Ought To Cement
The Old Ties By Marriage."

"Blood Of God: In This New Era, The Duanmu Family Needs

To Bring In A Contemporary Young Mistress."

"Jadeite Forest: We Will Take These Opinions Into Serious

Consideration."

Ai Hui could not help but laugh when the image of Duanmu
Huanghun drowning his sorrows with alcohol appeared in his
mind. He was rejoicing in Duanmu Huanghun’s misfortune.
"Hahaha, he has to pay for whatever mistakes he made."

"Qingye is here." Lou Lan transformed back into his usual

form with a bang.

When Su Qingye walked into the training hall, the first thing
he saw was an eye-catching message tree that looked extremely
ancient. Every time he saw this message tree, he could not help
but purse his lips. The teacher was so young, but why was he so
old-fashioned?
 This message tree looked like a defective product that was
picked up from a rubbish heap.

Nowadays, there were various types of cool and trendy

message trees. Some were decorated with dazzling lights, while
others could even simultaneously project images and talk. His
teacher’s ancient message tree, which only allowed written
messages, had been outdated for an unknown number of years.

His teacher was like an old man.

Su Qingye cursed his teacher silently in his heart. However,

when he saw his teacher, he quickly straightened his body and
greeted him respectfully, "Teacher."

Ai Hui glanced at him and asked, "There’s no lesson today, so

why are you here?"

"Teacher, Dragonrise Training Hall is setting up a branch in

this city," Su Qingye replied enthusiastically.

"Dragonrise Training Hall?" Ai Hui shook his head. "Never

heard of it before."
 Su Qingye widened his eyes and stared at his teacher.
However, his teacher’s facial expression remained calm,
appearing not to be lying at all. Su Qingye raised his voice and
asked, "Teacher, how come you don’t even know about
Dragonrise Training Hall? It’s one of the biggest training halls!
It’s a mega training hall that has more than 50 branches!"

"Is it? Wow, they are really powerful!" Ai Hui raised his
eyebrows and put a surprised look on his face. However, his
acting skills were too poor, and he did not seem sincere at all.

"Teacher, how can you be so unambitious?" Su Qingye was

slightly annoyed.

"It seems that you are very free." Ai Hui looked at Su Qingye
intently. "Today is such a beautiful, sunny day. Let’s see, what
would be the most suitable thing to do on such a day?"

The moment Su Qingye saw his teacher’s gaze, he could sense

that something was not right. Then, upon hearing his teacher’s
question, he immediately turned listless. He lowered his head
and replied listlessly, "Training."

"That’s right!" Ai Hui’s face brimmed with approval.

 He turned around to Lou Lan and instructed, "Lou Lan, give
him 200 drill sets of the sand puppet counter technique. He can
go home and have his dinner only if he successfully counters
more than half of the attacks."

"No problem, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied cheerfully.

The sand puppet counter technique was one of the most

commonly-used survival techniques for earth elementalists.
This technique involved using the sand puppet as a shield to
block an enemy’s attack before carrying out a counter-attack.

The difficulty of this technique was very high. Whenever a

sand puppet was attacked, especially when the attacker was
very powerful, the connection between the sand puppet and the
earth elementalist would be broken. Hence, it would be very
difficult for the earth elementalist to use the sand puppet to
carry out a counter-attack afterward.

He had to successfully counter more than half of the attacks…

Su Qingye’s face turned ashen, and he stammered, "Teacher,

tonight there will be guests coming over to my house, so I can’t
be late…"
 "For the sake of your guests, you must put in more effort!" Ai
Hui made an encouraging gesture and cheered him on.

"Qingye, come on!" Lou Lan happily cheered for Song Qingye
as well.

Ai Hui waved his hand and left the training hall.

Peace City had changed significantly since the day he first

arrived. When he had just arrived, Peace City was just a small
town like Central Pine City. Now, it had become a prosperous
city that bustled with activity.

The city was mostly made up of water elementalists and metal

elementalists. Most wood elementalists had chosen to seek
refuge in the Jadeite Forest with the Duanmu family as their
leader. Meanwhile, the ambitious Deep Sea Enterprise, which
was mainly established by new citizens, was trying to build a
commercial empire.

As for fire elementalists and earth elementalists, their

situation was now extremely dire. After the Fire Prairie and
Yellow Sand Corner fell into the hands of the Blood of God,
materials that could be easily bought in the past were currently
very hard to find on the market. The dire situations of the fire
elementalists and earth elementalists had even affected the
Avalon of Five Elements’ rebuilding plans for the Thirteen
Divisions.

This was also why the higher-ups of the Avalon of Five

Elements tacitly allowed trade between the Blood of God, the
Jadeite Forest, and the Avalon of Five Elements.

Even though trade existed, the prices of various materials had

become much more expensive than before. The less affluent
earth elementalists and fire elementalists could only go to the
Wilderness and hunt for dire beasts.

For the past three years, Ai Hui had been observing the Blood
of God from the shadows.

The Blood of God’s methods were far more vicious that he had
anticipated. The surrender of the Icy Flames Division had also
exceeded everyone’s expectations. The Icy Flames Division’s
division leader, Ye Baiyi, used to be everyone’s idol in the
Avalon of Five Elements. No one had foreseen him leading the
Icy Flames Division to surrender to the Blood of God.
 Nowadays, whenever Ai Hui thought of how people in Central
Pine City used to call him "Ai Baiyi," he could not help but sigh.

The Ardent Flower Division was an unyielding division, but

they eventually came to a grisly end. Everyone in the division,
including the division leader and vice division leader, was
killed.

The Mountain King Division and Lordsand Division fell into

the hands of the Blood of God almost without any resistance.
When the Blood of God brought the family members of the two
divisions onto the battlefield, both the divisions crumbled
effortlessly.

However, after the unscrupulous and ruthless Blood of God

conquered the Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand Corner, their style
of operation changed.

The Blood of God began to actively promote god elementalists,

provided free materials, and built God Academy. Every child
that was of a certain age had to start practicing god
elementalism. They opened official positions to the public and
groomed those talented god elementalists. They disregarded the
family backgrounds of the candidates and attracted a lot of
citizens from the Old Territory. In addition, they also banned
their people from using elementalists to practice god
elementalism and replaced the source with blood fiends so as to
obtain blood crystals.

In three years’ time, the public perception of the Blood of God

had changed completely.

The higher-ups of the Blood of God were extremely

mysterious. The one who usually took care of the Blood of God’s
daily matters was a young man named Bei Shuisheng.
Reportedly, he was frequently sick since young and was an
extremely fragile individual. Nonetheless, he still managed to
gain the trust of the emperor of God Nation.

All of the bold and decisive measures were carried out by him.
In the Blood of God, he was known by many as the "little
advisor." In the Avalon of Five Elements, he was known as the
"sick tiger." Most elementalists feared of him. In the Blood of
God, Bei Shuisheng enjoyed high prestige and was revered by
many. Even though there were countless talented individuals in
the Blood of God, all of them still obediently followed his
orders.

Under the management of Bei Shuisheng, the Blood of God

was becoming more prosperous with each passing day.
 On the contrary, the Avalon of Five Elements was on the
decline. The conflicts between the new citizens and the
aristocratic families were growing increasingly intense as the
days passed. The lack of training grounds for earth
elementalists and fire elementalists had become a serious
problem. The estrangement between the Old Territory and the
Avalon of Five Elements, caused by the thousands of years of
aloof and remote regard by the latter toward the former, had
put the Blood of God in an advantageous position over the
Avalon of Five Elements in their war. The Avalon of Five
Elements could not win the trust and support of the Old
Territory’s citizens. The proclamation of independence by the
Jadeite Forest and Avalon of Five Elements’ compromise on this
issue had encouraged many powerful aristocratic families to
work toward their own independence as well. Even the notion
of expanding and becoming an independent state in the
Wilderness had attracted many families. No matter where or
when, the notion of occupying and becoming the king of a piece
of land would always hold a captivating power over anyone.

When compared to the thriving Blood of God, the Avalon of

Five Elements was like a critically damaged wagon.

Whether or not the Avalon of Five Elements emerged

victorious or defeated, Ai Hui did not care at all. His enemy was
the Blood of God.
 Compared to three years ago, the Blood of God had now
become a colossus. Its resplendence outshone the Avalon of Five
Elements, but Ai Hui had not forgotten about the Battle of
Central Pine City,

There was still a lush and verdant city that stood empty and
alone amid the sea of blood.

Initially, the Avalon of Five Elements tried to propagandize

the Battle of Central Pine City. As the war progressed, however,
there were more and more epic battles as well as more and more
emergent heroes. The Battle of Central Pine City was soon
forgotten by many. Few people still remembered the lone city
situated in the war-torn, blood-filled Induction Ground.

Only when Shi Xueman’s name was mentioned would people

remember the existence of Central Pine City. After all, that was
the battle that made her famous.

Shi Xueman’s greatest achievement in the Avalon of Five

Elements during the past three years was becoming the disciple
of one of the last extant great Grandmasters, An Muda.

Besides the iron lady, the rest of the A-1 unit was also doing
quite well. Occasionally, Ai Hui would see their names
appearing in the news. The Blood of God was extremely vicious
in attacking the Induction Ground to directly exterminate the
younger generations of the Avalon of Five Elements, cutting off
their reserves. The A-1 unit, which had the best war
achievements among all student units, became the Avalon of
Five Elements’ main target to nurture and foster. One could
anticipate that the members of the A-1 unit would become the
backbone of Avalon of Five Elements in the future.

Ai Hui felt happy for them.

As for Fatty, after he returned to the Old Territory, he had

been leading a satisfying life. He was still a kind soul after all,
gathering the family members of the laborers that died during
their three year stint in the Wilderness. He then formed a
stronghold with them and started a business.

Reportedly, his business mainly dealt with artifact remnants

and had expanded significantly, becoming rather lucrative.

On account of Duanmu Huanghun, the Blood of God did not

seek trouble with Fatty either. Thus, he had been leading a
comfortable life.
 After knowing that everyone was leading a rather good life, Ai
Hui was very happy.
Chapter 272: See You Later
Ai Hui casually waltzed into a particular shop.

When the boss of the shop saw Ai Hui, he immediately yelled,

"Brother Wang!"

"Has the thing I want arrived?" Ai Hui asked amicably. His

fake name was Wang Han, which he came up with to
commemorate his master and mistress.

"It has arrived, it has arrived. Whatever Brother Wang wants,

I will rack my brains to get it for you," the boss replied
excitedly. The boss had a round face and a pair of pea-sized eyes
that were filled with cheerfulness. Whenever he talked, his
entire face would become unusually animated.

However, Ai Hui did not dare to underestimate the boss based

on his jovial character. After staying for nearly three years in
Peace City, he had yet to have an adequate understanding of the
boss.

There were numerous companies in Peace City, and none of

their backgrounds were simple. It was a pity that Qingye’s
family only dealt with big businesses, else he would patronize
the Sea Pacific Enterprise.

The boss took out a box, placed it on the counter, and pushed
it toward Ai Hui.

Ai Hui opened the box, and a chilly gust blasted his face. In
the box, there was a square-shaped ice brick. The ice brick was
sparkling and translucent, a bit smaller than the box itself, and
gave off wisps of frosty white gas. Inside the ice brick, there was
an ink-black cloud frozen within.

"Star-sinking Ink Cloud, one of the best ink clouds. It is

stronger and more durable than black clouds. Since it is very
heavy, it can’t be used to make azure wings, yet it’s very suitable
for making small-sized shields, such as buckler shields or arm
guards. Its strength lies in its malleability, but its weakness lies
in its low defensive rating when compared to those customized
defensive materials."

The boss talked nonstop. He was familiar with all kinds of

materials. What impressed Ai Hui the most was that the boss
would not only praise the strengths of a particular material, he
would also elaborate on its weaknesses. He was a businessman
with a good conscience.
 "How much?" Ai Hui closed the box and asked bluntly.

"200,000 metal elemental energy points or water elemental

energy points. If you have fire elemental energy points or earth
elemental energy points, then it will be 100,000 points of each."

"All right, do I pay now or can I use weasel bristle arrows as

mortgage?" Ai Hui nodded his head. The price was reasonable.
Peace City was very close to Palette Cloud Village, and there was
an endless stream of trading caravans that travelled to and fro
between these two places. As such, the local products from
Palette Cloud Village were not that expensive.

Nowadays, the Avalon of Five Elements used elemental energy

and blood crystals as its currency.

After the war broke out, the previous currency had

completely collapsed. Elemental energy storage bean pods
allowed elemental energy to quickly replace the traditional yuan
as currency. Training, war recovery processes, workshop
machinery, and everything else needed enormous amount of
elemental energy. This was why elemental energy could be used
as currency.
 Since the Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand Corner had fallen into
the hands of the Blood of God, there was a scarcity of fire
elemental energy and earth elemental energy. Therefore, these
two energies were worth a lot more.

After the Blood of God promoted the rearing of blood fiends

and started the mass-production of blood crystals, blood crystals
quickly became their currency.

Sometimes, life worked in a funny way. Even though the

Blood of God and the Avalon of Five Elements were arch-
enemies, both of them used the other’s currency as well. Blood
crystals play a significant role in elementalist training and the
god elementalists needed to use elemental energy for their
training as well.

"Weasel bristle arrows!" the boss answered without hesitation

as a wide smile spread across his face. He had been waiting for
Ai Hui to say this.

"20 weasel bristle arrows. I will have them sent to you in a few
days’ time," Ai Hui replied.

Weasel bristle arrows were actually an upgraded version of

the bunny hair arrows. Since they were more powerful than
bunny hair arrows, their price was higher as well.

"No rush, no rush." The boss beamed. "Brother Wang’s weasel

bristle arrows are really powerful. It’s just that its name is
somewhat awkward-sounding. ‘Weasel bristle’ sounds common.
Right now, everyone has given it another name, See You Later"

"See You Later?" Ai Hui was baffled.

"Hahaha, weasel bristle arrows are known as ‘10,000 point

arrows’. When you buy this arrow, you will lose tens of
thousands of points. It’s so expensive, so who would use it
unless it’s the most critical moment? Even if one wants to use it,
he or she will only use it during the later part of the fight.
Hence, the arrows were renamed as See You Later," the boss
chuckled.

(Note: In Chinese, See You Later sounds like ‘ten thousand

point arrows. It’s a pun)

"See You Later, this is a good name." Ai Hui found it funny as

well.
 "Brother Wang, can you give me slightly more arrows?" The
boss whined, "Every month you give me so few arrows, and I
don’t even have enough for my regular customers. Nowadays, I
don’t even think about how to make money off these arrows,
but rather, I think about how not to offend my customers. Last
month, there was a regular customer that I have known for 10
years, and he almost destroyed my store just because I didn’t
have enough of these arrows to sell to him. I really can’t offend
anymore customers."

"Don’t think I don’t know how much you sell one arrow for.
You can earn at least 10,000 points for one arrow, which is a lot
more than what I received. Boss, put yourself in my shoes, I still
have to take care of a training hall." Ai Hui cast a look of disdain
at the boss.

"Your training hall?" A disdainful look appeared on the boss’s

face this time around. "How much money can you make with
that training hall? How many students do you have? You’re not
doing a decent job! Why don’t you take advantage of the
ongoing war and earn more elemental energy points? Nothing is
more practical than elemental energy points. The more you
have, the sooner you can heal the injury in your body. You’re
still so young, and you can’t continue wasting your life like
this."
 Ai Hui had bought a lot of medicines from this shop and did
not hide the fact that he was injured.

Ai Hui merely smiled and did not retort the boss. The wound
to his body could not be solved with elemental energy points
alone. Even now, he and Lou Lan had not yet determined what
exactly this blood plum blossom was. It appeared to be a
parasite that was devouring Ai Hui’s elemental energy, greatly
slowing down Ai Hui’s training progress. However, the
surprising thing about the blood plum blossom was that it kept
on improving Ai Hui’s body.

Ai Hui’s strength, reaction time, level of sensitivity, and other

physical attributes had improved significantly. The weirdest
part about this whole process was Ai Hui’s recovery ability. His
recovery ability was similar to that of a blood elementalists. Any
open wounds he had would rapidly close up and heal without
leaving a single scar.

As long as he could not get rid of the blood plum blossom, half
of his life would be in the hands of One Thousand Yuan.

At this moment, a lightly armored woman entered the shop

and asked, "Boss, do you have See You Later?"
 Upon hearing this, the boss winked at Ai Hui. Ai Hui smiled,
picked up the box, and prepared to leave.

"I’m very sorry, you have to make a reservation for See You
Later. The process of making the arrows is very difficult and
complicated, so there’s a limit to how many can be produced in
one batch."

The boss spread out his arms with a helpless look on his face.

As Ai Hui walked past the woman, he was able to take a closer

look at her. She wore purple light armor, and her short hair
made her looked neat and tidy. She looked somewhat pretty,
but seemed a bit arrogant.

"30,000 points per arrow, do you have it or not?"

Ai Hui stopped in his tracks as his face turned red.

"Umm… Customer, please come in and we will talk about it."

The boss immediately conceded to the woman.
 Ai Hui cursed in his heart. This bastard obviously still had a
stock of the arrows, yet he dared to say that he did not enough
even for his regular customers. Bullsh*t!

After Ai Hui walked past the woman, he turned around and

silently mouthed two words at the boss.

Price increased!

The boss’s face turned white as he understood what Ai Hui

meant.

Feeling pleased with himself, Ai Hui pushed open the door

and left the shop.

After leaving the store, Ai Hui did not immediately go back to

the training hall and walked toward the river bank.

By the time the Silver Mist River flowed to Peace City, the
river water had become very thin. The silver river water began
to turn halfway transparent as well. This was something that
could not be helped. The Silver Mist River flowed through
countless cities in the upper reach. It was already considered
lucky that the river was not totally cut off by the time it reached
Peace City.

An elevated passageway that connected the two opposite

riverbanks was built to make things easier for people that
wanted to collect water or fish artifact remnants from the river.

People no longer called the discarded artifacts "sea remains."

They just called them "artifact remnants." Artifact remnants
could be used to make things such as weapons, defensive
equipment, armor, or azure wings. The emergence of blood
crystals immediately made artifact remnants extremely
valuable.

The shores on both sides of the river were filled with people.
Today was the day that the sea discharge was supposed to
arrive.

In the past, the sea lock of the Silver Mist Sea was opened on
the first day and the fifteenth day of the month. Now, the sea
lock was only opened once a month on the first day. Since Peace
City was located on the lower part of the Silver Mist River’s
lower reach, it was already the seventeenth day of the month by
the time the sea discharge arrived.
 Usually, there were few artifact remnants in the Silver Mist
River. Despite the dilution of the sea discharge by the people
living in the upper reach, this was the only chance for the
people living in Peace City to make profits off of it.

Luckily, the metal elemental currents in the Silver Mist River

were razor-sharp. There was no way people could throw a
fishing net into the river to haul up artifact remnants.
Otherwise, there would be nothing left for the citizens of Peace
City.

Naturally, the Silver Mist Sea contained the greatest number

of artifact remnants. However, the Silver Mist Sea was
extremely deep, making it difficult for one to angle for these
artifact remnants. Furthermore, the entry fee for the Silver
Mist Sea was very expensive because only Heavenly Merit Points
would be accepted. 200 Heavenly Merit Points would allow one
to stay in the sea for a day and a night. How much profit an
individual could make would depend on his or her capabilities.
Regardless, not many people would do such thing since 200
Heavenly Merit Points was a huge sum of money.

Instead of finding a place to sit down, Ai Hui walked up the

flight of stairs leading to the mountain beside the elevated
passageway.
 This flight of stairs was not that tall, only around 50 meters.
After walking up this flight of stairs, there was a leveled hillside
with various sized Three Leaves Bamboo Carts parked upon it.

Ai Hui walked up to the smallest Three Leaves Bamboo Cart

and yelled, "Hey, Old Gao!"

A tall and very skinny man, Old Gao had a small pinch of a
goatee under his chin. His eyes were squinty and slanted,
resembling the eyes of a thief. When he saw Ai Hui, he
chuckled. "Ha, I knew you would come. Just now, I rejected a
few guys who wanted to rent my cart just to wait for you to
come."

"Great! Don’t worry, I will pay more for the fare," Ai Hui
smiled.

Old Gao had excellent driving technique. His control over the
Three Leaves Bamboo Cart was unusually stable, and Ai Hui was
his regular customer.

"It’s okay if you don’t pay for the fare." Old Gao laughed.
"With a single glance, I could tell that the few guys who wanted
to rent my cart just now are newbies. They can’t be compared to
you, you’re the legendary King of Anglers. Every month I have
to depend on your red packet to survive. Recently, my business
has not been too good. If it was in the past, when there were two
sea discharges per month, I would have led a comfortable life."

According to the custom here, anyone who was able to haul up

artifact remnants would have to give a red packet of money to
his or her driver. This meant that these wood elemental drivers
would benefit from their customers’ good luck as well.

Among the artifact remnant anglers here, Ai Hui was a rather

famous one. He would only appear when the sea discharge
arrived and would have a good haul every time. All the anglers
called him the King of Anglers, which implied that he would
never go home empty-handed.

Upon seeing Ai Hui, many people standing nearby began to

walk over and greet him. These people were mostly
businessmen that bought the artifact remnants that were
hauled up. Every time, Ai Hui would sell the artifact remnants
directly to them if he did not need the remnants.

Since Ai Hui was renowned for angling up artifact remnants,

these businessmen paid great attention to him.
 Ai Hui mixed easily with these people. Even though these
businessmen were not tycoons, they were still travellers who
frequently obtained bizarre and fantastic artifacts.

There were also a few unfamiliar young men that took a

second glance at Ai Hui.

After Old Gao finished smoking, he patted his cart and said,
"Brother Wang, get ready. It’s about time."

Ai Hui plucked a grass straw from the ground and put it in his
mouth to chew. Then, he jumped into the bamboo cart with the
box in hand. His ears were extremely sharp as he could already
hear the roar of the sea discharge coming from afar.

The moment Old Gao stepped into the cart, his jovial
demeanor disappeared and was replaced by solemness.

The Three Leaves Bamboom Cart gracefully flew up from the

ground, resembling a lithe and agile swallow.

The rest of the Three Leaves Bamboo Carts on the hillside

started their engines as well. The whooshing sound from the
spinning clover above the roofs of the carts started to blend
together. Like a pitch-black colony of bees, they flew above the
river.

As Ai Hui’s cart soared above the river, he could clearly see a

dazzling silver tidal wave surging toward them from the upper
reach of the river.
Chapter 273: King of Anglers
Old Gao’s Three Leaves Bamboo Cart was a cheap, two-seater
model. In his hands, however, it was unusually lithe.

Not a single bit of the upward thrust force generated by the

high-speed spinning clover on the cart’s roof was wasted. As the
body of the cart leaned forward slightly, the cart flew forward
like a dragonfly skimming across a pond.

Old Gao did not gather with other people and flew toward the
upper reaches of the river.

Ai Hui noticed that a Three Leaves Bamboo Cart was following

behind them. The people on the cart were the unfamiliar ones
from earlier, but he did not really care about them. Ever since
he became the King of Anglers, there would be people following
him whenever he was angling for artifact remnants. Some felt
that he was lucky while others felt that he knew where all the
good spots were. Hence, they thought that nothing could go
wrong as long as they followed him.

Ai Hui did not really mind these people following him. After
all, he did not own the river and the river was so huge. Where
they wanted to go had nothing to do with him.
 After a few times, however, these ‘stalkers’ realized that their
profits did not increase much and so the number of people
following Ai Hui decreased significantly.

This must have been the first time that these unfamiliar-
looking youths had come to Peace City. The rumors about Ai
Hui must have piqued their interest. Ai Hui knew their driver,
Old Li, who was a well-known blabbermouth in the area. The
quality of his bamboo cart was much higher than Old Gao’s, but
his driving techniques were inferior.

Ai Hui withdrew his gaze after taking a glance. He was happy

to see these kinds of spectators. People like them were usually
potential buyers. They were willing to part with their money
and would buy anything that piqued their interest.

They were getting closer to the sea discharge. The deafening

roar of the sea discharge resounded through the river, masking
all other sounds.

"Get ready!"

Old Gao yelled at the top of his voice.

 Ai Hui remained silent. All the distracting thoughts in his
head disappeared in an instant.

At this moment, the people on Old Li’s cart broke out in

discussion.

"If you all want to watch people angling for artifact remnants,
it’s much better to do it in Silver City. Such a small wave, it’s so
boring," grumbled a youth that was around fifteen years old. As
he grumbled, he rolled his eyes as well, revealing his impatience
and arrogance.

"Shut up, you’re the only one who grumbles. If you don’t
want to watch, then get lost," an older guy berated that youth.

The youth quickly shut his mouth. Clearly, he was afraid of

this older guy.

The leader of this group was a girl. She was beautiful,

graceful, and gentle-looking. Like a bright moon surrounded by
a myriad of stars, she sat in the center of the group of people.
She spoke gently with a smile on her face. "As compared to the
elders in the family, we are of very little value. If we know of
any way to help the family, then we should do it. There are so
many talented individuals hidden in this world. Wouldn’t it be a
good thing to serve our family?"

"I can’t see anything special about this guy," the youth
continued to grumble, refusing to admit his mistake.

"Peace City is located at the lowest part of the river’s lower

reaches. This is where the number of artifact remnants in the
river is at its smallest. Despite this, that person is still able to
obtain the nickname ‘King of Anglers’ and is known by many as
an extraordinary talent. If we can hire him and bring him to
Silver City, how big of a haul would he have? If we bring him to
the Silver Mist Sea, how big of a haul would he have? It’s easy to
obtain blood crystals, but it’s difficult to obtain artifact
remnants. Tell me, did your weapons and armor drop from the
sky?" The girl laughed softly, not feeling annoyed at all.

The youth was speechless. After a while, he then apologized.

"All right, I was wrong."

A look of admiration appeared on everyone’s faces.

The girl continued, "In chaotic times like these, we are like a
boat sailing against the current. If we don’t forge ahead, we will
be driven back. If we don’t strengthen and distinguish ourselves
from the rest, we will be eliminated and devoured by society.
There are many reputable talents in this world, and it’s very
difficult to hire them. These extraordinary individuals keep a
low profile, which is actually good for us. Good preparation is
the key to success. The elders are racking their brains for the
family. We, as the younger generation, should do everything to
the best of our ability and not slack off."

"Big Sister is right!"

A look of embarrassment appeared on everyone’s faces.

The girl chuckled when she saw everyone’s reactions. At that

moment, Old Li cast a glance at them and blurted out, "I can tell
that all of you are the descendants of prestigious families.
However, it’s not that easy to hire Brother Wang."

Upon hearing this, a few young ones among the group became
unhappy. The girl, however, did not show any sign of anger. On
the contrary, she asked with curiosity, "Oh? What do you mean
by that?"

Old Li remained silent.

 Upon seeing Old Li’s reaction, the older guy immediately
understood what was going on. He threw an elemental energy
bean that was worth 500 points at Old Li and said, "You better
not entertain us with some rumors you heard from other
people."

While controlling the bamboo cart, Old Li turned around and

caught the bean, appearing as if he had eyes in the back of his
head. Following which, he chuckled. "I definitely wouldn’t dare
to do that. Let’s see, everyone in this area knows about Brother
Wang. Of course, today isn’t the first day that everyone knows
him as the King of Anglers. Previously, there were a lot of
people trying to hire him. Reportedly, betting on anglers is
getting popular among the cities in the upper reaches, and a lot
of people from those cities took an interest in Brother Wang’s
angling skills. They were willing to pay him 200,000 elemental
energy points per month, on top of which there would have
been a red packet for every artifact remnant that he hauls up.
Even outsiders like us were green with envy when we saw what
was being offered to him."

"He rejected them?" Astonishment flashed across the girl’s

eyes. For an elementalist that had merely attained elemental
internalization, a month’s salary of 200,000 elemental energy
points was a huge amount. Such a salary was enough to hire a
veteran elementalist who had attained elemental
externalization.
 It was very difficult for an elementalist who had merely
attained elemental internalization to draw such a salary.

There were many elemental-internalized elementalists who

earned more than 10,000 points. The average starting salary for
an elemental-externalized elementalist was around 80,000
points. For those elementalists who were veterans or had
unique skills, they could draw a monthly salary of 200,000
points. Some powerful individuals could even draw a monthly
salary of more than 500,000 points.

"He rejected them." Old Li shook his head and looked

somewhat proud. "He comes here once every month and every
time he has a haul. If he’s lucky, he can make around tens of
thousands of points off the artifact remnants. He has a training
hall and a workshop, so he doesn’t need to put himself under
that kind of restriction."

"That’s true." Not only did the girl not retort to Old Li, but she
also nodded her head in agreement. Then, she changed the topic
and asked, "He has a training hall?"

"Yes, he opened his training hall before Peace City became so

prosperous; it was actually the first training hall in the city, but
he doesn't really put much effort into it. The enrollment fee is
expensive, so he doesn’t have many students." Old Li sighed.
"Even though he doesn’t take my cart, I’m not angry with him.
There’s nothing I can do about it. After all, Old Gao has better
driving skills than me. Brother Wang is a nice person. Oh? He’s
going to start soon."

Old Li’s words caught everyone’s attention. They shifted their

gazes in unison toward the front.

They were still skeptical of the rumors about Ai Hui.

Old Gao’s driving techniques were extremely good. He could

fly the cart very low and still maintain its stability. The surging
metal elemental energy in the Silver Mist River was razor-
sharp. As the cart got closer to the surface of the river, the metal
elemental energy’s effect on the cart would become stronger,
significantly increasing the difficulty of controlling the cart.

Ai Hui was wearing very weird-looking gloves on his hands.

On every one of the glove’s fingers, there was an extremely fine
silver thread. The silver threads were very long and all of them
were rolled up. The tip of each silver thread was split into five
hooks, resembling a soft claw.
 Wearing the gloves, Ai Hui began to throw down the silver
threads.

Ai Hui was extremely focused as the ten silver threads entered

the river. At this point in time, the height of the sea discharge
was less than 100 meters.

The bamboo cart was flying extremely low, appearing to be

level with the peak of the sea discharge.

On Old Li’s cart, the older boy nodded his head and said, "He’s
snatching the peak. He’s rather skillful."

The peak of the sea discharge had the biggest impact and
contained the most artifact remnants. However, the metal
elemental energy at the peak had the highest volatility, so the
difficulty of hauling artifact remnants out of it was also
extremely high.

Those who dared to "snatch the peak" were usually skilled

anglers.

Ai Hui was fully concentrated as the sea discharge was about

to crash into him. The razor-sharp metal elemental energy was
like numerous daggers whizzing in the air. The bamboo cart was
almost level with the sea discharge and looked as if it would be
hit.

If they were to get hit by the sea discharge, they would

definitely die.

Only those whose base levels were above the Master level
would survive a fall into the Silver Mist River. The razor-sharp
metal elemental energy could easily shred one to pieces.

Boom!

The shiny sea discharge resembled a tidal wave of countless

knives that were dazzling in the light. It brushed past the
bottom of Old Gao’s bamboo cart with a distance of merely a
few centimeters.

Ai Hui did not lose the slightest bit of his concentration. He

was extremely confident in Old Gao’s driving skills.

Suddenly, the 10 silver threads that were connected to his

gloves tightened as an enormous force passed through them. Ai
Hui’s hands remained motionless.

Within the sea discharge, the hooks on the tip of each silver
thread spread open and transformed into powerful claws. The
ten claws were very close to each other, lining up in a row. Ai
Hui slowly channeled his elemental energy into the silver
threads. The spread-open hooks on the tip of every silver thread
resembled the flexible tentacles of an octopus.

Suddenly, one of the tentacles made contact with an object.

The silver thread the tentacle belonged to immediately shot
upward with the claw tightly holding onto the object.

Following this, another silver thread made contact with an

object and Ai Hui instantly reacted to it, grabbing it with the
claw of that particular silver thread!

Boom!

The sea discharge whizzed past Old Gao’s cart. After waiting a
while longer, Ai Hui did not haul up anything else.
 After procrastinating for a while, Ai Hui flicked his wrists
upward and the 10 silver threads rolled back up to him. Two
artifact remnants were caught by the silver threads.

"Haha, two red packets!" Old Gao whistled.

Ai Hui took a look at the artifact remnants in his palms. Both

of them were not really huge, around the size of his thumb. One
was bronze-colored while the other one was black. Ai Hui shook
his head and said, "The artifact remnants are getting smaller
and smaller."

"It’s considered not bad that you still managed to haul up

some artifact remnants," Old Gao replied. "It’s getting
increasingly difficult to collect artifact remnants these days. In
the past, they used to be rubbish that no one wanted, but now
they have become so expensive. If this goes on, I think that all
the artifact remnants in the river and the sea will be gone.
Reportedly, people are throwing metal elemental ores into the
Silver Mist Sea. How can that be compared to artifact
remnants?"

Ai Hui carefully put down the two artifact remnants and

threw two elemental energy beans toward Old Gao. The color
and luster of these elemental energy beans were different from
the usual ones. These beans were dazzling with a golden
radiance. These were the elemental energy beans that were
worth 10,000 points each.

Before the blood catastrophe, elemental energy beans were

rare objects that could only be exchanged with Heaven Merit
Points.

As the war progressed, the supply of elemental energy beans

was completely used up. The Elders Guild spent a huge amount
of manpower and resources into developing the technology to
mass-produce elemental energy beans. Even though they did
not manage to develop consumable elemental energy beans in
the end, they did manage to develop elemental energy beans
that could store energy.

This type of elemental energy bean could not replenish

elemental energy simply by eating it; however, they could store
elemental energy that had been refined. The elemental energy
in these beans could then be transferred into one’s body
through the Circulatory Cycle Revolution when he or she was
training or resting.

Even though the beans could not be used directly during

battles, they were still very practical. Initially, a lot of
elementalists channeled their elemental energy into the beans
during peacetime and then used the beans to replenish their
elemental energy when they rested during battles.

Eventually, everyone began to use the beans to exchange for

items. Eventually, this practice was popularized and the
elemental energy beans became a form of currency in the world
of elementalists.

Old Gao was grinning from ear to ear. He’d made 20,000
elemental energy points in a day, an achievement that everyone
would be envious of.

"Let’s go back now."

"Alright!"

The people on Old Li’s cart were dumbstruck.

How could it be possible?

The girl was also shocked. Angling for artifact remnants was
seen by many as a job that required a lot of patience. Before one
could have a haul, he or she must wait for a long period of time.

Given Ai Hui’s speed… was he snatching the artifact

remnants?

The girl could not help but take a look behind her. On both
river banks, densely-packed anglers had not even started
angling, and yet, Ai Hui had already gone home.

King of Anglers!
Chapter 274: Demonic Remnant and
Unyielding Bamboos
Ai Hui was slightly disappointed that the group of people on
Old Li’s bamboo cart did not approach him to buy the artifact
remnants. He had no idea that they had not yet recovered from
the shock of seeing his performance just now.

On the contrary, the businessmen waiting on the hillside were

used to seeing such a performance. They crowded around Old
Gao’s bamboo cart before it even landed.

For a large city like Silver City, there were many more artifact
remnants in the market. The pavilion closest to the water
enjoyed the moonlight first. Ever since people discovered the
value of artifact remnants, the contest over artifact remnants
had become increasingly intense.

The Silver Mist Sea was under the tight control of the Elders
Guild and various aristocratic families could not get a share of
it. As such, whenever the sea lock was opened and the sea
discharge was released, various families would come forth and
plunder the river. The most lucrative part of the vast Silver Mist
River’s upper reaches had been divided among the various
aristocratic families. If one was to look down from the sky, he or
she would realize that this part of the river was marked with
various aristocratic families’ labels, forbidding outsiders from
angling for artifact remnants.

Similarly, the middle reaches of the Silver Mist River could

not avoid facing the same fate. The most lucrative parts of the
middle reaches were being occupied by various local tyrants.

The Silver Mist River was like a mouth-watering cake. The

aristocratic families took the larger portions of the cake while
the tyrants took the smaller portions.

Even the Elders Guild had their hands bound and could do
nothing about this situation. After all, they had the entire cake
in the Silver Mist Sea.

It was very difficult for even adept anglers to base their

livelihood on artifact remnant angling if they did not join the
aristocratic families or the local tyrants.

There were also some new citizens uniting together to take

part in this contest. They might be able to put up a fight against
the local tyrants, but against the powerful aristocratic families,
they simply stood no chance at all.
 For the past three years, countless bills to ban aristocratic
families and tyrants from hegemonizing the river had been
submitted to the higher-ups, but none of them had passed.

The new citizens were very unhappy, but could not do

nothing about it.

Peace City, the city located at the lowest part of the river’s
lower reaches, had even fewer artifact remnants available to
them. Most of the artifact remnants sold on the market were
acquired from the cities at the upper reaches. Naturally, their
prices were exorbitant.

Every time, the artifact remnants that Ai Hui hauled up would

fetch pretty good prices.

Eventually, he sold the bronze-colored artifact remnant for

120,000 points. As for the black artifact remnant, he kept it as
he could sense a cold aura of killer intent coming from it.

That was a demonic remnant!

A demonic remnant was an artifact remnant that possessed a

vicious aura of killer intent. Demonic remnants were the
remnants of ancient sanguinary weapons and the murderous
aura they possessed was highly concentrated.

Demonic remnants were highly favoured by god

elementalists. If a god elementalist was to possess a demonic
remnant, he or she would save effort and produce better results
in nurturing blood demons. There were also some god
elementalists who increased their blood demons’ strength by
feeding them demonic remnants.

The rising Blood of God was rich and powerful. They had
numerous nouveau riche and could directly increase the price of
demonic remnants, making them extremely expensive.

Demonic remnants were also equally very useful and

important to elementalists, especially in the aspect of weapon
forging. Currently, the most popular weapon forging technique
was to fuse artifact remnants and blood crystals.

"Brother, can I take a look at the artifact remnant in your

hand?"

An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang through the air, raising the

eyebrows of the surrounding artifact remnant businessmen.
Excitement flashed across some of their faces. They knew Ai
Hui’s temperament very well; he would only sell things that he
did not need.

Ai Hui cast a glance in the direction of the voice and to his

surprise, it came from that group of people that were following
him just now. They had returned to the hillside while he was
trying to sell his bronze-colored artifact remnant.

The voice belonged to a seemingly earnest man.

"I’m sorry, this is not for sale."

Ai Hui shook his head at the man.

"Is that a demonic remnant? I need a piece of demonic

remnant urgently. If Brother can part with it and sell it to me, I
will be extremely grateful to you. You can quote me a price, be it
elemental energy points, blood crystals, or materials." The man
did not give up on Ai Hui’s demonic remnant.

Demonic remnant!
 Upon hearing these two words, the surrounding businessmen
broke into a commotion. Everyone’s eyes lit up. A demonic
remnant was actually hauled up in Peace City! They knew about
the value of demonic remnants very clearly.

Ai Hui was slightly vexed. He did not expect the other party to
be so persistent and even recognize it as a demonic remnant.

The burning gazes from the surrounding businessmen

gathered on Ai Hui. He calmed down and replied, "Yes, this is
indeed a demonic remnant."

The surrounding businessmen exploded into a frenzy.

"Brother Wang! You have to sell it to me! I want this piece of

demonic remnant! Give me a price!"

"What do you mean by you want it? Brother Wang, how long
have we known each other? Today, you do as you see fit.
Regardless of how much money you quote, I want this piece of
demonic remnant! Give me a price!"

"300,000 points!"
 ...

The scene descended into chaos.

"Everyone shut up!"

An arrogant roar exploded like a thunderclap in everyone’s

ears. Everyone was overwhelmed with shock. This roar was
surging with elemental energy. Whoever let out this roar was
extremely powerful.

A teenager who was around 15 years old pushed the crowd

aside and spoke in an arrogant and unhappy tone. "How dare
you all vie with us? Are you all tired of living!?"

Even though he was very young, he was adept in his mastery

over his elemental energy. His background was definitely not
simple. Everyone who did business here was a shrewd
individual and could tell that the group of people was not to be
provoked.

The teenager walked toward Ai Hui and snorted. "I want this
piece of demonic remnant!"
 Ai Hui unhurriedly kept the demonic remnant into his
clothes.

Upon seeing this, the teenager’s face flushed with anger. Just
as he was about to open his mouth and say something, an older
boy beside him stopped him and pulled him behind his back.
With an apologetic look on his face, the older boy told Ai Hui,
"I’m really sorry, I have failed to discipline this kid. This
demonic remnant is really important to me and my younger
brother is just being anxious for me. Sir, please forgive him if he
has offended you. I am willing to pay 500,000 elemental energy
points for this piece of demonic remnant. Sir, are you willing to
part with it and sell it to me?"

The surrounding businessmen did not say anything. 500,000

points for a piece of demonic remnant was a reasonable price.

Rich and powerful!

Everyone was glad that they had not offended this group of
people just now.

Ai Hui’s face relaxed slightly. This older boy did not seem too
irksome, and 500,000 points was indeed a pretty good price.
 Ai Hui thought for a while and replied, "Forget about the
elemental energy points. If you want this piece of demonic
remnant, exchange it for 12 unyielding bamboos."

Unyielding bamboo was an extremely rare and high-grade

material. Its biggest strength was its sturdiness and durability.
It could withstand a terrifying amount of force without bending
at all. The bamboo got its name from its unyielding nature.

One unyielding bamboo was usually priced at around 40,000

points. 12 unyielding bamboos would amount to 480,000 points.
It might appear that Ai Hui was suffering a loss—in actual fact
he was making a gain. Occasionally, one could find two or three
unyielding bamboos on the market, however, it was nearly
impossible for one to buy 12 unyielding bamboos in one go.

Unyielding bamboos needed to be grown in an extremely

harsh natural habitat and the success rate of the ordinary
elemental externalized wood elementalists who produced them
was very low. They could only be produced by wood
elementalists that were well-experienced and adept in the
mastery of elemental energy.

Upon hearing Ai Hui’s request, the surrounding businessmen

did not say a word. They could afford to pay 500,000 points, but
12 unyielding bamboos were not something they could fork out
in such a short period of time.

The older boy was slightly startled by Ai Hui’s request. but he

nodded his head without any hesitation. "No problem.
However, I don’t have the unyielding bamboos with me now.
I’ll have to trouble you to come along with me to the Evergold
Enterprise."

To other people, getting 12 unyielding bamboos might be a

problem. To him, however, it was a piece of cake.

At this moment, realization dawned upon the surrounding

businessmen. Evergold Enterprise was the number one
enterprise in Peace City. It had strong, robust financial
resources and an enigmatic backer. Reportedly, the enterprise
was tightly linked to some influential figure in Silver City.

Everyone broke into a discussion. Could these people be the

young masters of Evergold Enterprise?

Ai Hui did not expect them to be from Evergold Enterprise. He

had stayed in Peace City for nearly three years, and he definitely
knew about Evergold Enterprise. Evergold Enterprise had a
rather good reputation, and he did not really hear many
scandals about them.

"Okay." Ai Hui nodded.

Along the way, the older boy kept making insinuations, but Ai
Hui remained unmoved. Ai Hui, however, managed to learn
something. The older boy’s name was Fu Renxuan and the
seemingly arrogant teenager’s name was Fu Yongwu. According
to Ai Hui’s observation, the decision-maker of the group was the
girl who had not spoken a single word the whole time.

He caught Fu Renxuan shifting his gaze to the girl a few times.

This group of people should be from Silver City.

There were a few times where Fu Renxuan hinted at hiring Ai

Hui, but when he saw that Ai Hui remained unmoved, he shut
his mouth and did not talk about it anymore.

When they reached Evergold Enterprise, Ai Hui received the

12 unyielding bamboos, bid them farewell, and left the place.
 When Fu Yongwu saw Ai Hui walk out of the main entrance,
he asked puzzledly, "Big Sister, I thought we wanted to hire this
fellow?"

The girl laughed bitterly and replied, "All the while, he didn’t
show any sign of interest and did not lower his guard. There’s
no way we can persuade him. Furthermore, it might not be a
good thing if we do manage to hire him."

Fu Yongwu was even more puzzled and asked again, "Why?

Given his artifact remnant angling skills, I think he’s even
better than that old fogey!"

The girl sighed softly and replied, "Precisely, he is too good.

How much money would we have to give him until he finds it
appropriate? If he hauls something every time in Peace City,
then the number of artifact remnants he would haul up in our
part of the river would definitely be a lot. If we don’t give him
enough money, he will not be happy. If we give him too much
money, our family will not agree to it. We can never pay an
angler too much money. What about other anglers? Once the
status quo is broken, the other anglers will definitely complain
about it. Don’t tell me we have to solely depend on him in the
future? What if he leaves us? We have such a big family and we
are like a huge boat that needs stability to last a long time.
Breaking the customs for a short-term gain is like suddenly
breaking the oars of a boat after having travelled thousands of
miles. We would be mixing up our priorities."

Fu Yongwu was speechless. Even though he was an impulsive

individual, he was not stupid. He was clever enough to
understand what the girl was trying to say in an instant.

"This person is very smart. He knows that his capabilities will

bring him troubles in Silver City. No one will dare to hire him
or let him fall into the hands of others. That’s why he came to a
place like Peace City. Every month, he will not make a huge
profit or attract attention to himself. His age is around the same
as mine. He is an experienced and cool-headed individual. We
can’t underestimate him."

"How is he experienced and cool-headed? I can tell with a

single glance that he is a boring person. He never talks at all," Fu
Yongwu mumbled.

"Even if we can’t hire this capable individual, we can still

befriend him." The girl smiled.

"I will pass down the instruction." Fu Renxuan nodded.

 After leaving Evergold Enterprise, excitement was written all
over Ai Hui’s face. Today was a lucky day. He had not expected
to obtain the troublesome unyielding bamboos so smoothly.

Just the thought of the Star-sinking Ink Cloud and unyielding

bamboos made him felt exuberant.

When Ai Hui reached the training hall, Qingye had already

gone home.

"Lou Lan, let us get ready to work!"

"Ai Hui, have you gotten all the materials?"

"I have gotten the Star-sinking Ink Cloud and the unyielding
bamboos."

"Lou Lan is coming!"

Chapter 275: Visitor
The workshop was ablaze with lights.

Ai Hui had spent a long time preparing for this, especially for
the materials. The Star-sinking Ink Cloud and the unyielding
bamboos were the last two important materials.

In the Heavy Sand Crucible that was purchased for a high

price, nine red flowers, resembling the shape of flames, were
piled up in order like a tower.

Those were fire flowers picked up from the black plain at the
foot of the Calabash Mountain in the Fire Prairie.

Every September, the Calabash Mountain would spew out

flames that covered the whole black plain like a heavy snow.
Once the flames fell on the earth, they would take root and grow
into delicate fire flowers.

The Calabash Mountain eruptions usually lasted for a whole

month. When it was October, the immense black plain, that
used to be desolated, would be covered with bright red fire
flowers. The towering Calabash Mountain rose straight up in
the distance, the peak of which was always shrouded by smoke
and clouds. Together with the sea of red flowers, the whole
picture was indeed a feast for the eyes.

Every year in October, many visitors would go to the Fire

Prairie to enjoy the sight of the flower sea on the black plain.

Although desolate, the black plain contained fire elemental

energy in its soil, which was exactly what the fire flowers
needed for growth. The blooming period for fire flowers was
not fixed. It could be as short as a few days, or as long as many
years.

Flower pickers would start their work in October to look for

mature blooms in the sea of fire flowers.

Although the Fire Prairie was now in the hands of the Blood of
God, it kept erupting every year, and fire flowers could still be
seen in the markets.

The quality of fire flowers was dependent on the number of

petals it had. The flowers with three petals were of the lowest
quality, while those with nine were of the highest.
 What Ai Hui used were six-petaled fire flowers.

Water from Silver Mist River ran through the conduit of the
crucible and dropped on the fire flowers.

The stacked fire flowers then began to burn. The flame was
not intense, but very stable and quiet. Besides, it could burn for
a long time – usually more than ten hours.

Lou Lan threw a green elemental energy bean into the

flames.&nbsp;The bean contained one thousand points of wood
elemental energy, and the flames began to turn a bit transparent
in the crucible. Then Lou Lan kept throwing the rest of the
beans, and after he threw the twenty-secondth one into the
crucible, the flames became completely transparent and could
hardly be seen with naked eyes.

But Lou Lan could still see it clearly. He reminded Ai Hui,

"The fire is very stable."

Hearing what Lou Lan said, Ai Hui began to put the materials
one by one into the crucible. He’d gotten the materials ready
long ago.
 Silverlight Iron, blackshell miica, blood crystals and so on.

Lou Lan’s eyes kept flickering. Whenever Ai Hui put in some

materials, he would throw in some elemental energy beans of
different colors.

Elemental energy of different attributes surged in the

crucible, and the color of the liquid inside kept changing too. It
was sometimes deep blue, sometimes bright purple and maybe
sometimes rust red.

They were very well coordinated, and everything had gone

smoothly so far.

The liquid in the crucible became as clear and transparent as

water.

"Perfect!"

Ai Hui licked his lips. He was a bit excited to see the clear fluid
concoction inside the crucible. But he also knew that as for the
whole plan, there was still a lot to do.
 Lou Lan held the Heavy Sand Crucible and poured half of the
concoction out into the ice tank.

Then he threw twelve of the unyielding bamboos into the

crucible and kept boiling.

Blub blub blub.

Small bubbles came out of the unyielding bamboos now and

then.

Starting from now, the unyielding bamboos needed to be

heated in the concoction for six hours.

Ai Hui carried the box with the Star-sinking Ink Cloud inside
to the ice tank.

Ai Hui opened the box. The dark and heavy Star-sinking Ink
Cloud was quietly frozen in the ice cube. Star-sinking Ink Cloud
was one of the clouds with the highest densities. Its name
indicated that even stars would sink if they struck against the
cloud.
 The most common usage of Star-sinking Ink Cloud was to
make armors and shields, especially scale armors. Apart from its
outstanding protective properties, Star-sinking Ink Cloud had
excellent ductility like clay, and could be moulded into any
form.

Ai Hui broke up the ice cube and threw the Star-sinking Ink
Cloud into the ice tank.

Soaked by the fluid concoction, the Cloud began to diffuse like

an ink stick, producing streaks of black substances in the liquid.

Ai Hui widened his eyes and stirred the liquid with a hair-thin
silver wire. An extremely thin thread of black silk was lifted up.

Ai Hui quickly pinched the black silk and infused his

elemental energy into it. The thin silk solidified in the air. Then
he tied a knot at a spinning wheel with this ink cloud silk
proficiently.

Next, he turned the spindle with one hand, and put the other
hand softly on the ink cloud silk. Elemental energy flew along
his fingers into the silk at a constant speed.
 Ai Hui’s metal elemental energy quickly hardened the ink
cloud silk.

Anyone who saw this scene would be so shocked that their

jaws would ricochet off the ground.

Reeling silk from cocoons was a skill that embroiderers were

proficient at. And now Ai Hui had carried it forward. This was
one of Ai Hui’s most familiar skills, and as soon as he’d thought
of Star-sinking Ink Cloud, this idea occurred to him.

Since the Star-sinking Ink Cloud could be made into any form,
like clay, why couldn’t it be made into silk?

With Lou Lan’s help, this bold idea was finally realized.

Ai Hui did it all with great accuracy, no matter if it was the

infusing speed of elemental energy or the speed with which he
turned the spindle.

Ai Hui was definitely an expert in reeling silk.

 His masterpiece, the weasel bristle arrow that was called "See
You Later", was an upgraded version of the bunny hair arrow
and was more powerful. To make this kind of arrow, he also
needed to keep reeling silks with even greater difficulty.

The shape of a gem cocoon was like a gemstone. After it was

melted into liquid, complicated techniques would be needed to
produce thin silks out of it.

But no one ever heard of someone reeling silk from Star-

sinking Ink Cloud.

Ai Hui was focused. Neither his gestures nor his elemental

energy had any fluctuation. Even his breath and his heart beat
were so stable as if he was a machine.

Lou Lan was observing the flames carefully. The surface of the
unyielding bamboos in the crucible began to turn crispy with
many small holes like a honeycomb.

Time slipped away quietly.

When Ai Hui began his work, Su Qingye, exhausted, walked

slowly step by step to go back home. His sand puppet was even
more frazzled. It fell loose on the ground and was crawling like a
turtle after him.

Suddenly, it occurred to Su Qingye that today was the day

when his teacher would go to fish for treasures, upon which he
was very vexed.

Watching his teacher fishing for treasures was always his

favourite. Although he had watched it many times, he never felt
bored. His teacher was different from anyone else - the treasure-
fishing process was very short, but it was extremely amazing.

Especially when Qingye saw the jealousy on other anglers’

faces, he would feel very complacent.

If he had remembered this earlier, he would never have

mentioned the Dragonrise Training Hall. Now he was assigned
more training courses, and he would even miss the treasure-
fishing.

What bad luck!

 His teacher was definitely a demon. The amount of training
he arranged for Su Qingye always made him reach his physical
limit. Even his sand puppet would be exhausted to the extent
that it had no strength to maintain its form at all and fell apart
every time.

His sand puppet was kind of disappointing. Su Qingye felt

disheartened.

Just look at his teacher’s sand puppet. He was skillful and

smart. When practicing with Lou Lan, Su Qingye always felt like
he himself was the sand puppet.

So far he hadn’t had the chance to practice with his teacher,

not even once. His teacher said he could practice with him when
Su Qingye could defeat Lou Lan.

Okay. This was something too far away, and he didn’t need to
think about it for now.

When he saw the signboard of his family’s enterprise "Sea

Pacific Enterprise", he was so happy that he almost burst into
tears.
 Su Qingye moved slowly into the gate. Seeing his miserable
look, the assistants were all delighted and guffawed loudly.
Although Su Qingye was their young master, he was so good-
tempered that no one was afraid of him. He himself was not
angry either, as he knew in fact they were just envying him.

The school fee was very expensive, and out of the whole
enterprise, he was the only one who could afford it. The
swordsman school had been open for a long time since there
was no other training hall in Peace City. Therefore, its business
was supposed to be flourishing, but the name, "swordsman"
made it sound unreliable. Besides, most people shrank back at
the sight of its high cost.

Maybe it was because Su Qingye had arrived home, he felt his

energy had more or less recovered.

Sea Pacific Enterprise was not a major enterprise in Peace

City, so it was not large. The shop and their house was&nbsp;in
one building connected by a passage, shop in the front and
residence at back.

Su Qingye, who was still very tired, walked toward the

residence.
 He wanted to discuss with his father to ask if he could get a
more powerful sand puppet. He had already been training so
hard.

There was no one in the living room. If his father was not in
the living room, he must be in the study.

It suddenly occurred to him that there would be guests today,

and his father had told him to stay at home. Therefore, he
decided to snoop around first to see what was happening. Just
as he had walked stealthily to the door of the study, he heard
the cold and clear voice of a woman from inside the room.

"Yellow Sand Corner and the Fire Prairie could hardly be

taken back within such a short period of time, and the earth and
fire elementalists were very dissatisfied. The Elders Guild was
also badly battered. Some time ago, there was a proposal to
establish a lesser Avalon of Five Elements within a scope of five
cities, so that earth and fire elementalists can have somewhere
to practice. And in this way we can retain some wood
elementalists too. The earth and fire elementalists are still
concerned about joining the Blood of God – after all, not very
many people are eager to become god elementalists. The wood
elementalists are more than willing to go to the Jadeite Forest."
 "That means…"

Su Qingye clearly heard some wild excitement in his father’s

voice.

"Yes, it’s Peace City. To build a lesser Avalon of five elements,

we must first of all have two connected cities, one is of metal
attribute and the other is of water attribute, which makes Peace
City and Cloud Ridge City the only choices. As to the remaining
three cities, we need to open up the Wilderness to build the
cities of wood, fire and earth. In this way, the five cities will be
connected end to end and once again a harmonious five
elemental cycle will be created. Only by doing so will elemental
energies be produced endlessly. Unless something unexpected
happens, the possibility that the Elders Guide will pass the
proposal is higher than seventy percent."

"That’s why so many people came to Peace City recently…"

Su’s father suddenly understood why.

"They all have different sources, and came to take up a place

for themselves. Sea Pacific Enterprise is one of the earliest
enterprises, so you really have a head start…" suddenly the
woman stopped talking, and shouted loudly, "Who?"
 Su Qingye who was focused on overhearing their conversation
shuddered from hearing the shout. In the next instant, the door
of the study was totally pulverized, and Su Qingye was shrouded
by piercingly cold light.

Su Qingye’s mind was blank, and he reacted by instinct.

The sand puppet that had fallen loose behind him suddenly
jumped in front of him, and meanwhile he rolled away on the
ground.

The ray of light pierced the sand puppet, leaving a deep hole
on the ground. The sand puppet, with a big hole in his chest,
abruptly transformed into a sand spear and stabbed toward the
woman.

"Qingye!" Su Qingye’s father was startled.

A thin and white hand slapped the spear apart effortlessly,

and then a short-haired woman’s neat and tidy face appeared in
Su Qingye’s line of sight.

When she heard the name, her expression was relaxed, but
she still looked surprised.

The sand puppet counter technique…was good!

Chapter 276: Work Completed
The black-colored ink cloud silk had a fine and smooth
texture. Ai Hui tried to pull it hard but it didn’t break.

Then he put the ink cloud silk on a sheet of iron&nbsp;and

chopped it hard with his Dragonspine. After a flash of sword
light the iron sheet&nbsp;broke in two, but the silk was still
intact.

"Ai Hui, this is a great success!"

Lou Lan said cheerfully.

"Yes, we’re half done." Ai Hui put the silk in front of him and
observed it carefully. Seeing no marks&nbsp;on the silk at all,
Ai Hui couldn’t help smiling.

Lou Lan’s eyes widened, "Ai Hui, you are really skillful. No
one has ever reeled silk from a Star-sinking Ink Cloud. This is
an extraordinary invention."

"Oh, really? Not even once?"

 "Of course not! Ai Hui, I’ve never seen a record of it in any
book."

"If so, how shall I price it to match its value?"

"You want to sell it? I thought you are going to use it

yourself." Lou Lan’s eyes widened in confusion.

"Oh, I mean in the future." Ai Hui closed his eyes and his
expression indicated his self-satisfaction, "In the future, it will
definitely sell for an amazing price…"

Lou Lan glanced at the crucible and interrupted Ai Hui’s

imagination. "Ai Hui, the unyielding bamboos are ready."

Ai Hui abruptly came back to his senses.

Lou Lan picked out the unyielding bamboos from the crucible.

The surface of the twelve unyielding bamboos was covered

with&nbsp;small honeycomb-like holes, and its original color of
cast-iron black had turned grey.
 Lou Lan held one unyielding bamboo in his left hand, making
a fist with his right hand to hold&nbsp;the other end of the
bamboo.

Hiss. His right fist suddenly transformed into quicksand that

was revolving around the bamboo at a high speed. It was
polishing the bamboo like a high-speed grinding wheel.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The workshop was filled with stridulation and sparks.

Lou Lan looked down at the bamboo attentively. The light in

his eyes flickered rhythmically. His moves were stable and well-
ordered.

A thin, glittery, silver-colored bamboo appeared in Lou Lan’s

hands.

The silvery bamboo now was as thin as a finger. It only

weighed one-third of its original weight, but was six times
stronger&nbsp;than before and could bear amazing power.
Besides, its tenacity was greatly improved, and could be bent
like a bow. All these features were totally different from what it
originally was, and no one could associate this new kind of
material with unyielding bamboos.

Ai Hui began his work too.

He wove the black-colored ink cloud silk along the thin

bamboo sticks.

Ai Hui was very proficient and skillful as if he had done this

many times before. It was true, as this scheme was decided after
lots of discussion with Lou Lan. Compared with the previous
material processing, the weaving technique was the easiest part
because he could practice it beforehand.

Ai Hui had practiced many times, and was very confident he

could finish it perfectly.

The bamboo sticks had successfully thinned out, taking shape

in Lou Lan’s hands, then they were given to Ai Hui and quickly
disappeared in the black ink cloud silks.

Once he had started, Ai Hui’s playful expression was all gone.

Instead, he was fully focused and his eyes were glittering.

Having polished all twelve bamboos, Lou Lan began to enjoy

watching Ai Hui’s techniques. The ink cloud silks jumped here
and there with Ai Hui’s flexible fingers between the bamboo
sticks moving aesthetically at an amazing rhythm.

Embroidery had a far-reaching influence on Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was not really an embroiderer, but the embroidery

skills and theories were like fertile soil that kept producing
nutrition for him.

A big black wing appeared in front of Ai Hui.

Even though the whole work was not finished yet, this wing
alone had shown its distinguished qualities and glory. Different
from ordinary azure wings which were light and agile, it was
heavy and powerful like the wing of a demon from hell.

Ai Hui was so skillful!

 Lou Lan’s eyes were full of admiration and worship. Actually
Ai Hui had bought several azure wings from markets before for
practice. As Peace City was the city of Silver Mist Sea that was
the closest to Palette Cloud Village, it was convenient to buy
azure wings here.

But Ai Hui was not satisfied with any of the wings he bought.
So he finally decided to make a pair of azure wings himself.

As a result, Ai Hui and Lou Lan began to study the method of

making azure wings. But Lou Lan didn’t expect that Ai Hui
would choose Star-sinking Ink Cloud as the raw material.

This was probably the last material one would use to make
azure wings. But in Ai Hui’s unconstrained design, it was
perfect.

Woven together by the ink cloud silk, the twelve unyielding

bamboos constituted the black skeleton of the wing. If it was
fully stretched, the length of the wing was more than six
meters. It now looked like the wing of a black bat that exuded an
aura of ferocity and massacre.

Ai Hui sighed in relief. And fatigue appeared on his face.

 He had been working for four hours before he finally finished
weaving. This speed was achieved only after more than twenty
sessions of practice beforehand.

"The skeleton is finally finished!"

Ai Hui stretched himself. The elemental energy within his

body was used up.

Lou Lan brought the elemental soup that he had prepared,

and Ai Hui drank up every single drop before he wiped his
mouth and began to admire his masterpiece.

Lou Lan said sincerely, "This is beautiful, Ai Hui!"

The thin, unyielding bamboos were like the skeleton of the

stretched wing. If one took a closer look, he could see on the
translucent surface of the wing many complicated but delicate
patterns, some of which could only be seen at certain angles.
These embroidery patterns were not for decoration only, but
could also facilitate the flow of elemental energy.

Ai Hui named it elemental trace. It originated from his

teacher, Wang Shouchuan’s plan of "treating the city as a piece
of cloth" that he designed for Central Pine City.

In this plan, there were a lot of carefully-designed patterns to

dredge and guide the flow of elemental energy. Ai Hui had in
mind every detail of the plan, and had been trying to perceive
and understand its deeper implications for the past three years.
With Lou Lan’s help, he had gained a lot from it.

When making the See You Later that had been selling very
well in the market, Ai Hui also utilized similar techniques – he
wove the special patterns with gemstone silk which could
significantly improve the power of the arrows.

Ai Hui knew that there were spiritual traces in Cultivation

Era, and god traces for god elementalist. Therefore, he simply
called this pattern elemental trace.

He also knew that the original copies of his teacher’s plan,

including the structural drafts of the nine gold needles, were all
sent to the Elders Guild.

Ai Hui felt his elemental energy was almost recovered when

the day began to dawn. That was when they realized that they
had been working for a whole night.

Ai Hui said with a high spirit, "Lou Lan, is the gemstone silk
ready? Let’s finish altogether!"

"Yes, it’s ready!" Lou Lan brought out a box which was full of
gemstone silks.

The gemstone silks looked like glass fibers but were more
shiny and attractive. The silks in the box were all three inches
long.

Gemstone silk was the silk produced by gemstone silkworms,

and it was the main material needed to make [See You Later].
Gemstone silkworms were very ugly , and their skin surface was
all grey with numerous black spots. But their cocoons were
extremely beautiful like gems, hence its name.

The gem cocoon was very solid. After the silk took shape and
hardened, it continued to crystalize. That was how the silk
gained gem-like luster and intensity. Gemstone silk was made
through a process of melting gemstone cocoons into liquid, wire
drawing and crystallization. That was why the length of
gemstone silk was always short – usually no longer than half a
meter.

For the next step, Ai Hui had to do it together with Lou Lan.

They both were proficient at weaving gemstone cocoons and

ink cloud silk. Soon they both made a black leaf in their hand.

The leaf was about three-inch long and resembled the shape of
a sword. The gemstone silk, which was harder, became the
veins of the leaves, while the black ink cloud silk constituted
their bodies. Even on the surface of the three-inch leaf, exquisite
elemental traces could be clearly seen.

They didn’t stop at all, and continued to weave.

As time went by, there were more and more leaves like these.
Finally, when the number reached three hundred and sixty,
which was a lucky number, they stopped.

Then they attached the black-colored leaves to the translucent

azure wing, which changed its appearance. As the number of
leaves that were attached to the wing increased, the azure wing
became more and more full-fledged.
 "Done!"

Ai Hui and Lou Lan high fived.

Both of them were enchanted by their elaborate work.

Previously, the black yarn wing with a clear skeleton awoke a

sense of danger, but now with the leaves, it became much
milder. With the thickly dotted leaves, which looked like real
feathers, the azure wing resembled an ordinary black wing of a
bird. The luster of the gem silk also added to the brightness and
delicacy of the dark Star-sinking Ink Cloud.

"Ai Hui, it’s beautiful!" Lou Lan admired.

Ai Hui also marveled, "Yes, for such a good azure wing, I’m
wondering how much we can sell it for."

"Aren’t you going to give it a try?"

"I’m going to sleep!" Ai Hui stretched and yawned in fatigue,

feeling quite sleepy, "Wait until I wake up. Lou Lan, no matter
what happens, don’t wake me up."

"No problem, Ai Hui." Lou Lan said in a cheerful tone.

When the sun began to rise, the quiet Peace City gradually
became bustling and lively. The assistants of the companies
opened their gates and cleaned up their doorways. More and
more people flowed into the streets. The fully-loaded bamboo
carts took off one after another. They constituted mighty fleets
in the sky and started their journeys.

Huaijun looked up at the numerous bamboo carts in the sky

and was actually enjoying the new experience. Compared with
the Peace City, the Silver City was more prosperous. But it was
too enormous and delicate. Everyone there was extravagant and
everything was luxurious. In contrast, the Peace City was much
simpler, but more lively.

She was glad that she came to Peace City.

Su Qingye was already used to this kind of scene, "It’s not the
weekend today. Otherwise, there would be even more bamboo
carts."
 Huaijun turned her eyes back to him and asked, "Has your
teacher woken up by this time of the day?"

"Of course!" Su Qingye glanced at his aunt, "In Peace City,

even kids have woken up by now."

His father told him that she was his aunt. Su Qingye felt
awkward, as they were of similar age. However, having
witnessed the powerful fighting capabilities of this aunt, Su
Qingye didn’t dare to say anything.

But last night Aunt Huaijun spoke highly of his sand puppet’s
counter technique, which made his father very gratified.
Besides, as his aunt had already destroyed the sand puppet, his
father finally agreed to buy him a new one.

Earlier this morning, his aunt said she wanted to pay a visit to
his teacher.

Huaijun could sense from his tone that Su Qingye was not
convinced. But she didn’t pay much attention. Instead, she
asked, "Qingye, what kind of person is your teacher?"
 At the mention of his teacher, Su Qingye immediately became
excited. He began to brag about how skillful he was, and about
his unparalleled swordsmanship and how he got the nickname
of King of Anglers.

Light flickered in Huaijun’s eyes.

Chapter 277: Target
Su Qingye was never aware that he had an aunt.

And now, all he knew was that this aunt was from Silver City.
His father told him that she was a capable person, and asked
him to learn from her and follow her directions in training. She
would give him training directions? Su Qingye didn’t really take
it seriously. He hadn’t even finished half of the training tasks
arranged by his teacher. Compared with Hua Xiaoyun and Zhou
Wen, who were his companions in the training hall, he was
already the slowest.

Hua Xiaoyun was a water elementalist who lived in the

adjacent Cloud Ridge City and came to the training hall twice a
week. She could always come up with cunning ideas, and Su
Qingye believed she was the cleverest of them three.

Zhou Wen was a person of few words and he was of metal

attribute. Ever since he learnt from his teacher that keeping his
sword in hand could improve his proficiency, he had never put
his sword aside, even when sleeping.

Of the three students, Su Qingye was the most unlucky one, as

he was of earth attribute.
 Nowadays earth and fire elementalists were fellow sufferers.
Those without wealth and power could hardly survive in such
an era. Su Qingye was the slowest in training of them three, for
which he was always depressed.

Finally there was someone who would like to listen to his

complaints, so he poured out his grievances all at once.

Huaijun was a bit curious, "Your teacher only teaches

swordsmanship? Then how do you get trained? You all practice
the same inheritance of sword?"

"Of course not. We are of different attributes." Su Qingye took

it for granted, "I practice Sand Puppet Swordsmanship, Zhou
Wen practices Heavy Swordsmanship, and Hua Xiaoyun Rosy
Cloud Swordsmanship."

Huaijun was surprised, "Three inheritances?"

Su Qingye shook his head, "My teacher said they’re not

inheritances, but only training plans."

Huaijun uttered a sigh of relief, and thought to herself that

she was probably thinking too much. Although swordsmanship
was becoming increasingly popular and had attracted more
students these years, there were still very few well-known
inheritances of swordsmanship so far.

Su Qingye continued, "Our teacher said we are still young, and

the most important thing is to lay a solid foundation, with
which we can create our own inheritances of swordsmanship."

Speaking of this, Su Qingye’s eyes were filled with longing.

Huaijun couldn’t help laughing out, "Create your own

inheritances? That’s not as easy as you imagine. This is
nonsense!"

Su Qingye was unhappy, "Nonsense?"

"Isn’t it?" Huaijun asked disapprovingly, "All the inheritances

are passed from generation to generation and have gone
through constant improvement during the process before they
become what they are today. How can your teacher think it’s so
easy to create an inheritance? Who does he think he is? At first I
thought he was different. But now it seems that he is only a
swaggerer. So forget it. Let’s go home."
 "You go home yourself. I’ll go to the training hall." Su Qingye
was extremely angry. But since his father had asked him again
and again to listen to what his aunt said, he tried to calm
himself down and replied coldly.

"You don’t need to go to a training hall with such a teacher."

Huaijun said patiently, "You are still young, and haven’t seen
the real world outside or a real expert. It’s easy for you to be
cheated by someone’s blandishments. You can just learn from
me. It will be much more effective than any deceitful teacher."

Su Qingye’s patience ran out and he said, "I’ll never learn

from you!"

Having said this, Su Qingye ran away without looking back.

Huaijun was a short-tempered person without much patience.

Seeing Su Qingye’s obstinacy, she didn’t even bother to
persuade him. Although she had promised his father to help Su
Qingye on his training, she was more than happy now that she
didn’t need to, since this was Su Qingye’s own decision.

Therefore, she began to stroll through Peace City alone. The

See You Later arrows she bought yesterday aroused her interest
in this small border town.

The ten See You Later arrows had been packed and sent to the
Silver City in a trade caravan. She bought them not for her own
use, but on someone else’s request. She’d never heard of such a
weird name before. It was said that the arrows were popular
within a small circle. It was always out of stock and very hard to
buy. A noble who heard that she was coming to the Peace City
specifically asked her to buy some for her.

Since it was a noble’s request, she didn’t dare to slight it, and
began searching for it the first day she arrived.

Seeing the busy trade caravans, she thought to herself that

maybe she could get some useful stuff here. Besides, she would
stay here for a long time anyway, so it was necessary for her to
get familiar with the city.

The Silver City and the Peace City were at the two ends of the
Silver Mist River, but they were of totally different local
customs and practices. She had abundant travelling experience,
had been to numerous places and watched the decline of many
cities. The three-year war had a profound influence. While
everywhere else was destitute and going through economic
depression, the flourish and vigor of the Peace City cheered her
up.

Suddenly, she noticed a group of people ahead. It was led by a

graceful, pretty lady surrounded by her young companions.

They were also here.

She was surprised, and lowered her head, walking past them
as if she was going somewhere in a hurry.

"…I never expected we could get a demonic remnant. We are

so lucky!"

"Yeah. Fortunately Big Sister insisted on watching them

fishing, otherwise we would have just missed the opportunity!"

"That King of Anglers is really skillful…"

Huaijun heard their conversation and laughter, and the words

"demonic remnant" caught her attention. Before she came to
her senses, the crowd of people had already left.
 When Su Qingye, who was filled with anger, arrived at the
training hall and heard the yelling inside, his rage suddenly
disappeared.

Having been practicing like this for almost three years, he felt
training was already a part of his life. All his rage and
distracting thoughts were gone, and instead the only thing he
was thinking about was – Zhou Wen was earlier than him again!

He felt a bit unhappy.

As soon as he walked into the training hall, he caught sight of

a thin figure. Of all the three students, Zhou Wen had&nbsp;the
most straitened family background. His parents had passed
away. As an orphan, he couldn’t even afford the tuition, so he
had to sell himself to their teacher for ten years to pay off the
tuition.

Their teacher was too good-hearted.

Su Qingye was born in a merchant family. He knew that in

such troubled times there were too many orphans like Zhou
Wen who had nothing at all&nbsp;. Zhou Wen was unsociable
and eccentric. All he did everyday was practice like crazy, and
simply treated everyone else like air.

What made Su Qingye most dissatisfied was that this guy was
far more hardworking than himself. However, his foundation
was too weak, so his overall capacity was the weakest of them
all. The strongest one was Hua Xiaoyun. It was said that her
grandmother once served in Rainbow Division and later retired
due to injury.

"Good morning, Qingye!"

Su Qingye was happy to hear Lou Lan’s cheerful voice. He

smiled and replied, "Morning, Lou Lan."

They all liked Lou Lan very much, especially Su Qingye. He

was an earth elementalist, and his affection towards the sand
puppet was like an instinct.

Su Qingye asked, "Lou Lan, is Teacher in?"

"He is having a rest." Lou Lan answered, "Qingye, you have

finished fifty four percent of your training plan. Keep going!"
 Su Qingye suddenly remembered his aunt’s words for no
reason, and asked, "Lou Lan, is it difficult to create an
inheritance?"

"Yes, Qingye." Lou Lan nodded, "Any inheritance is the result

of profound accumulation of practice and talent."

Su Qingye was confused, "Then why did Teacher asked us to

create our own inheritances in the future?"

"Do we give up simply because the thing we are going to do is

difficult?" Lou Lan asked, "We do something not because it is
easy, but because it is our objective, don’t we?"

Su Qingye’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Suddenly he heard a sniff from someone beside him, and it

turned to be Zhou Wen who stopped practicing, held the sword
in his hand and looked at Su Qingye with scorn. He said coldly,
"Coward."

Su Qingye became furious, "Zhou Wen, are you looking for

trouble?"
 Zhou Wen was emotionless, "I hope you will not whine for
mercy."

"Oh, so I think we can adjust our training plan today. How

about a real combat match?" Lou Lan’s smiling eyes were like
two crescent moons.

"Sure!" They both blurted out simultaneously, which made

them dislike each other more.

"Where is your sand puppet, Qingye?" Lou Lan asked.

Su Qingye was a bit upset and said, "It was destroyed

yesterday."

"If so, to be fair, let’s do this in the sandpit. Zhou Wen, will
you please use a soft sword? Is that fine?" Lou Lan asked.

"No problem!" Su Qingye answered loudly. He was thinking

fast to balance the advantages and disadvantages. Although his
ability was largely reduced without the sand puppet , fighting
on sand was advantageous to him. Besides, Zhou Wen usually
practiced with a heavy sword, so he could not adapt to using a
soft sword within a limited period of time, which was also in Su
Qingye’s favor.

Zhou Wen simply said, "Okay."

Seeing that they both agreed, Lou Lan said with a broader
smile, "The result of the confrontation will be kept in your
records."

Hearing what Lou Lan said, both of them became more

serious.

The results of daily confrontations was worth a large

proportion in their performance score, and would directly
influence their teacher’s final judgment of their performance.
Anyone whose performance was scored as excellent would get
their teacher’s special tuition, have Lou Lan as training partner
and be awarded with equipment tailored by the teacher.

The heavy sword Zhou Wen was using was a reward.

"Start!"
 Hearing the word, the two figures immediately came to blows.

A crowd of people walked past the lane. An assistant wearing

the costume of Evergold Enterprise was leading the way.

When they arrived at the gate of the training hall, the

assistant said reverently, "Sir, this is the training hall of Wang
Han."

"Thanks!" Fu Renxuan said. The assistant got a tip from him

and left happily.

The crowd looked at the dilapidated training hall up and

down. The gate of the training hall was open, and they could
hear shouts from inside now and then. But apparently there
were very few people in it.

"Swordsman Training Hall."

Fu Yonghao looked at the wood board and read it out aloud.

Then he frowned and said, "This is a training hall? It’s so
shabby. How can you open up a training hall just by hanging a
name board in front of a shabby warehouse?"
 Yesterday they had asked the person in charge of the
enterprise for information about Wang Han, and learned that
Wang Han had a training hall in the Peace City. They were all
interested in taking a look. After all, his performance at the
Silver Mist River was so amazing yesterday.

But when they came to his training hall in high spirits, it was
a great disappointment to see nothing but this poor warehouse.

A streak of disappointment flashed in the lady’s eyes too, but

she soon adjusted herself and smiled, "Since we are here
anyway, let’s go inside and have a look."

Then she walked towards the gate first. Seeing this, the others
had to follow her lead and walked in.

In the training hall, they saw two youngsters fighting against

each other fiercely, and a sand puppet was standing by. The
sand puppet said nothing, but only gave them a glance and then
turned back to watch the two students fighting.

Only two students…

 Fu Yonghao was speechless. This was the worst training hall
with the least students he had ever seen. He thought of the
Dragonrise Training Hall in the Silver City which was
magnificent and majestic almost like a small city.

The lady’s eyes fixed on the two students.

As if no one was around, the students were totally

uninfluenced and devoted themselves to the confrontation.

After a while, the lady couldn’t help but let out a soft yelp of
surprise.
Chapter 278: The Youth in the Cold
Palace
The towering palace looked solemn and majestic.

Emotionless god guards stood at each side of the palace gates

like sculptures. They looked tiny compared to the tall and grand
gates. Looking into the palace through the vermeil palace gates
that were open wide, one could see no end, only gates after
gates.

The palace was empty. There were no guards on patrol or

maidservants coming in or out.

The floor of the palace was made of burnished blackish gold

slates. Under the sunshine, the glittering surface added to its
luxuriousness. In comparison, the stone carvings along the road
were unadorned and simple. The lifelike images on the stone
carvings depicted devils in the haunted night. The devils all
looked ferocious, vicious, gloomy or cunning.

The whole palace was extremely silent. No sound could be

heard, but anyone in it could sense an unspeakable pressure.
 Even the blood fiends didn’t dare to utter a sound, but were
only crouching at the top of the wall quietly.

Deep in the spacious palace and under the dome, a youth with
long hair trailing over his shoulders was sitting at the high
throne silently. The dense patterns of blood spread from every
corner of the hall to the high throne located at the center of the
hall.

The youth looked gentle and frail. His eyes were closed, and
his face was pale. The most arresting part was his long hair that
flowed to his waist, the ends of which were as white as snow.

He was Bei Shuisheng, the well-known Sick Tiger of tje Blood

Nation.

No sound could be heard inside the palace. Only incenses were

burning.

The youth slowly opened his eyes. His dark pupils were placid
and deep.

Suddenly something black flew inside the palace. It turned out

to be a vigorous goshawk with dark red eyes. The goshawk
landed on the long desk in the palace and spitted out a red blood
ball.

The young man forced a smile. His pale face made him look
even frailer. He left his seat and walked to the table. His loose
black robe that dragged on the floor was spotlessly clean.

"It’s so inconvenient without message trees," the youth

murmered.

The Blood of God had been trying to create their own message
trees, but achieved no success so far.

There were huge differences between blood spiritual force and

elemental energy. Therefore, the message tree couldn’t be used
in God Nation. Previously, someone proposed to make use of
elementalist captures to re-enable the functioning of message
trees, but taking confidentiality into consideration, the proposal
was denied. Now in Blood of God, letters were usually passed by
blood birds, which was a very primitive method compared with
the message tree.

The Avalon of Five Elements had a history of more than one

thousand years. In this aspect, the Blood of God was still weak
in its foundation. Even though in terms of fighting capacity, it
was not inferior to the Avalon of Five Elements at all, there
were still gaps in other aspects.

Bei Shuisheng had ordered to increase manpower on this, but

so far the progress was still slow. He himself was clearly aware
that it was useless to push them anyway. The message tree was
the result of many years of study and another few hundred
years of improvement.

If there was anything in the Avalon of Five Elements that

could compete with the Cultivation Era, the message tree must
be one of them.

The Blood of God even tried the paper crane that was utilized
in Cultivation Era, but compared with message trees, its
efficiency of message delivery was still slower. Although the
paper crane was not a perfect choice yet, it was still usable in the
context that the creation of message trees in the Blood of God
was slow. After all, blood spiritual force was also spiritual force,
and could power the paper cranes without limitation. The key
problem was materials.

However, at the moment, blood birds were a safer choice.

 Bei Shuisheng raised his hand and touched the blood ball with
his pale and thin finger, and the blood ball immediately
transformed into a bloody light and merged into his body.

Bei Shuisheng closed his eyes and read it carefully. After a

while, he opened his eyes and laughed out gently, "Lesser
Avalon of Five Elements? How did they think of it? But it’s a
good idea anyway. Interesting."

He began to write something fast at the table. Before long, he

finished writing and folded the letter carefully. The goshawk
flew in front of him and swallowed the folded letter before it
spread its wings and flew away.

The goshawk was like a signal indicating the start of a day.

Afterwards, blood birds kept flying in and out, bringing various
matters to his table.

He stretched himself first before devoting himself to work.

His reading and writing speed was fast, and the instructions and
comments he wrote were short and concise. The whole process
was as smooth as flowing water.

After about two hours, he stopped and rubbed his temples,

looking tired and exhausted. Then he stood up and walked
down from the high throne to stretch him limbs.

The work for today was done. He could take a rest.

The sunshine was cast on the ground from outside the gate,
drawing a clear-cut boundary between light and shadow behind
the gate.

Bei Shuisheng stopped and sat down in the shadow absent-

minded. This was his favorite daily activity. He only spent two
hours dealing with his work every day, and for the rest of the
day, he would look outside the palace like this.

He had ordered to open all the gates so that he could look out.

Gates after gates. He could see no end of the long blackish gold
slate pavement and the stone carvings. The outmost gate in his
eyes was only the size of a sesame seed.

The outside world was the same size as a sesame seed to him
too.
 He rested his chin in his hand, and looked at the outside world
fascinatedly. Sometimes he smiled with some expectation, as if
something interesting occurred to him.

The high dome roof behind him was cold and lonely.

…...

At Swordsman Training Hall in Peace City.

Fu Yonghao was impatient. Why did they have to watch two

kids fighting against each other? He couldn’t bear to stay here,
even for one more minute.

The war lasted for three years, and many things were
different from before. The cruelty of the war was pressing on
everyone’s heart like a mountain. Under such pressure, the pace
of life had become much faster. Whether it was training or life,
it was no longer what it was like in those years.

In the past, an elementalist who had attained elemental

externalization could be counted as a master-hand. Nowadays,
however, the number of such elementalists had more than
tripled compared with three years ago. Everyone was practicing
desperately and spared no efforts to find shortcuts to a higher
base level. Blood crystals, elemental food…anything that might
be helpful to training had already been studied so many times
by numerous people.

In troubled times, your strength was the only thing you could
depend on to survive. Those who fell behind would only be
eliminated.

To be eliminated meant death.

But since Big Sister didn’t say anything, no matter how

impatient Fu Yonghao was, he dared not make any trouble, as
he always regarded her with reverence and fear.

The confrontation ended up in a draw. Su Qingye and Zhou

Wen first used up their elemental energy, and then their
physical energy. Neither of them could accept such a result, but
the only thing they could do now was sitting in the sandpit
weak and limp and glaring at each other in fury.

Having announced the result, Lou Lan looked towards the

group of people and said, "Nice to meet you. Welcome to
Swordsman Training Hall. Anything I can help you with?"

Fu Renxuan, who was relatively older in age, asked, "Is Mr.

Wang Han here? We heard that this training hall was opened by
him and we are here to visit him."

"I’m sorry. He is having a rest, and may not be able to meet

you." Lou Lan expressed his regret.

Fu Yonghao had been bored to death for too long. Hearing

what Lou Lan said, he immediately became angry, "What does
that guy want to do? How dare he send a sand puppet to…"

"Shut up!" The lady stopped him harshly.

Fu Yonghao ducked his head at once and dared not say

anything else, although his face was still filled with anger.

The lady bowed slightly to Lou Lan and said, "I sincerely
apologize for my brother’s rudeness."

"It’s alright" Lou Lan shook his head, "But my master cannot
meet you indeed. Would you please come again next time?"

"If that’s the case, we will pay a visit some other day."

The lady was very polite. Then the rest of the crowd left after
her.

As soon as they stepped out of the training hall, Fu Yonghao

couldn’t help murmuring, "Big Sister, do we have to do this? It’s
simply a shabby training hall…"

The lady’s face looked dark, "Yonghao, if you continue like

this, you will get into trouble sooner or later!"

"Same old story." Fu Yonghao whispered disapprovingly.

Then the lady turned to Fu Renxuan, "What do you think,

Renxuan?"

Fu Renxuan was a modest person. He thought for a while and

said, "Although the two students were not skillful enough, their
swordsmanship is rather exquisite."
 A streak of disappointment flashed across the lady’s eyes.
Although Fu Renxuan was sober and modest, his ability was
only mediocre and could hardly take over the family business.
Meanwhile, Fu Yonghao was too irritable and flippant. If he
could not change his character through hardship, he could
hardly achieve any success.

It was a pity that she herself was a female.

"One of them is an earth elementalist, and the other a metal

elementalist. The earth elementalist had no sand puppet with
him, but could utilize the sand in the sandpit to motivate his
sword moves. The metal elementalist was using a soft sword,
but if you took a closer look, you would see that his sword
movement was drastic and he apparently used it as a heavy
sword. The sword was a soft sword, but his moves were heavy."

Having heard Big Sister’s analysis, the impatience on their

faces was gone.

"Whether it was sand sword and soft sword, the sword gleams
were very clear. But did you notice that there was hardly any
fluctuation of their elemental energy. Besides, taking their
elemental energy level into consideration, I have to say that the
duration of their confrontation was too long."
 Fu Renxuan’s face became solemn, "After Bis Sister pointed it
out, we do realize so."

Fu Yonghao was unwilling to admit so he said, "They are just

two kids. Do you have to treat them so seriously?"

Big Sister replied, "The tiny elemental energy fluctuation and

long confrontation duration indicated their high efficiency in
the usage of elemental energy. What kind of person cares about
the usage efficiency of elemental energy? Only those who have
been in actual combats many times. Therefore, it seems that
their teacher, Wang Han, must be a person of superb
swordsmanship and has abundant real combat experience.
Besides, this person is also good at fishing artifact remnants, but
chooses to dwell in such a remote and unknown city. He is not
simple at all."

"You are right," Fu Renxuan agreed, "we have never heard of

this name either."

The lady suddenly said, "Yonghao, you also practice

swordsmanship."

Fu Yonghao was a bit confused at first, then he was a bit

excited and asked. "Why? Do you want me to test his ability?"

"No." she shook her head and said, "You will bring money and
gifts to the training hall and learn swordsmanship from Wang
Han, starting from tomorrow."

These words shocked everyone present.

Fu Yonghao almost couldn’t believe his ears and stammered,

"I, I go to the training hall…"

"Yes." The lady nodded and said indubitably, "This Wang

Han’s swordsmanship is excellent. You must study hard from
him."

Fu Yonghao was vexed, "Big Sister…"

"I have already decided."

The lady said without looking back at him.

 In the Swordsman Training Hall, Ai Hui woke up with a start.

Face looking pale, he stood up, walked to the mirror and took
off his clothes.

The blood plum flower on his chest became hot and more
beautiful.

"Ai Hui, it’s transforming." Lou Lan was standing at the gate,
and his eyes were glittering. Then he passed a leaf to Ai Hui and
said, "News from the message tree."

Ai Hui put on his clothes and took the leaf. Danger flickered in
his narrowed eyes.

With the Dragonspine in his hand, he strode over to his azure

wings.

"Lou Lan, I’ll be going out for a while."

"Okay, Ai Hui."
Chapter 279: Starry Gem Swordwings
Fierce wind howled past his face.

Ai Hui was excited about these new azure wings, the force of
which had largely exceeded all the azure wings he had ever
used.

The new azure wings that he designed together with Lou Lan
had a beautiful name - Starry Gem Swordwings. Different from
other azure wings that were agile and light, it weighed twenty
three kilograms, which was over five times heavier than normal
azure wings. Meanwhile, the force it could produce was as
amazing as its weight.

It could generate spectacular force, and its carrying capacity

could be compared with that of some transport wagons.

Its tremendous force allowed Ai Hui to fly at a much faster

speed. However, this enormous advantage in terms of speed
came at the expense of its turning and hovering ability.
Compared with ordinary azure wings, the Starry Gem
Swordwings were less flexible and stable when turning and
hovering.
 But Ai Hui thought it was worth it, because he was more used
to the one-strike-to-death way of fighting. Dogfight was not his
style.

Unlike other azure wings, its extreme design could provide

high speed, but it also increased the difficulty in control and the
pressure to his body. However, those were not Ai Hui’s
concerns, because his body was different from ordinary people.
The blood plum blossom had changed his body, which made
him more like a blood fiend in human shape, so he could easily
bear the shock waves brought by the high speed of the new
azure wings.

The leaves on the wings were three hundred and sixty pieces
of small swords, for which Ai Hui had particularly designed
special moves.

In order to enhance the sharpness of the small swords, Ai Hui

mingled a mass of gemstone silks in them. The power of See You
Later arrows already proved how sharp this kind of silk, that
was made from Ai Hui’s special reeling techniques, could be.

And the other purpose of adding the gemstone silks was to

disguise himself.
 The appearance of the sword wings and the texture of the
Star-sinking Ink Cloud were out of the ordinary and too
conspicuous. The gemstone silks were effective in covering up
these features, for it possessed the unique characteristic of
producing halos of different colors. These halos could shield the
texture of the Starry Gem Swordwings.

Ai Hui landed somewhere in the wild where nobody was

around.

The azure wings on Ai Hui’s back turned into snow white and
shined with holy and pure white radiance. When they flapped,
the wings would generate luminous spots which were starry and
white, creating a beautiful scene.

Ai Hui smiled. He took out an elemental energy mask and put

it on his face, which turned him into a gloomy middle-aged man
with a scar on his face.

For the sake of safety, Ai Hui didn’t purchase one from the
market. Instead, he asked Lou Lan to make this elemental
energy mask.

Ai Hui took off his clothes and wore them inside out. The
original inside layer was as white as snow, and now it made him
look pure and holy.

Then he infused his metal elemental energy into his hair,

which immediately changed silvery white. Those rough short
hairs were like pieces of small swords. His occasionally squinted
eyes, together with the scar on his cheek, signalled danger.

He unwound the Dragonspine from around his waist and took

a broadsword that was wider than his palm.

He flew again into the sky at a slower speed, with the Starry
Gem Swordwings flapping rhythmically. He seemed extremely
unruffled.

Silvery hair, broadsword, white clothing, cruel scar, cold eyes

and glowing wings.

Wherever he went, he was too distinctive to be forgotten.

The elementalists and trade caravans on the way were

attracted by him and wondered about his identity. Ai Hui was
not disturbed by them at all. Before long, he arrived at the
Cloud Ridge.

The Cloud Ridge got its name because of the clouds winding
around those endless mountains all year round. It was located at
the border between the Silver Mist Sea and the Palette Cloud
Village. Having flown past the Cloud Ridge, Ai Hui saw the
Palette Cloud Village in front of him.

Those soaring mountains were not obstacles for elementalists.

Flying over the Cloud Ridge, Ai Hui felt a blast of cool,
refreshing mist blowing on his face. This was not the first time
that he had flown over the Cloud Ridge, but he enjoyed diving
in the sea of clouds every time.

The trade caravans normally flew over the sea of the clouds at
a higher altitude where they could see further and travel safer.

Flying over the Cloud Ridge and tracing the meandering

mountain downwards, he saw a busy city, which was Cloud
Ridge City. Like all cities along the trade routes, thanks to the
flourishing of trade nowadays, the Cloud Ridge City and the
Peace City had grasped the opportunity to develop rapidly. The
scale of the two cities had been expanding almost every
day.&nbsp;
 The Cloud Ridge City was free from wars. There was only
prosperous trading and bustling trade caravans.

Some trade caravans that prepared to land in the Cloud Ridge

City started to descend, but the majority continued their
journey without stopping. They were fully loaded with local
products of Silver Mist Sea and flew to cities farther away like
the Jadeite Forest and the Blood of God.

For those who believed in money, wars didn’t just result in

ruins and destruction, they also brought opportunities and
wealth.

Ai Hui also flew to the Cloud Ridge City breezily.

This time his destination was Magic Cloud City.

Ai Hui knew very little about the city, except that it was
located in the backland of the Palette Cloud Village. It was far
from here, and Ai Hui didn’t know the exact route to the city, so
he decided to travel with the trade caravans that were heading
in the same destination. In this way, he could be more
comfortable and save more time on the way.
 Ai Hui was familiar with the Cloud Ridge City because one of
his students, Hua Xiaoyun, used to live here.

Ai Hui’s appearance was quite remarkable and attracted the

attention many passers-by, but no one dared to walk close to
him, because he looked dangerous and irritable.

The air was filled with mist here, so water elemental energy
was very active. The humid climate was a feature of the Palette
Cloud Village. Therefore, the luxuriant plants in the Palette
Cloud Village were only second to the Jadeite Forest.

Fruit trees along the two sides of the roads bore an abundance
of fruits that were fresh and tender.

If someone felt thirsty, all he needed to do was inject a bit of

elemental energy into a fruit tree, and then some fruit would
drop. However, taking fruits without permission would get you
fined over twenty points of elemental energy.

Ai Hui was in no hurry, so he wandered idly on the street.

The Palette Cloud Village was famous for its variety of clouds.
Underground fountains sprayed throughout the year, bringing a
great amount of mist into the air, which eventually became
unique clouds above the fountains. The fountains here were all
different in nature, which resulted in different kinds of clouds.

Picking clouds needed special techniques. Different picking

methods were applicable to picking different clouds. Cloud
pickers here were as numerous as fishermen at the Silver Mist
Sea.

Cloud Ridge City wasn’t superior for the number of fountains.

But the city was the home to the everlasting sea of clouds, which
was the best place for picking clouds.

Because the sea of clouds had a long history, those who were
lucky enough might have the chance to pick cloud crystals that
were also known as Aged Cloud Ice. The formation of a cloud
crystal required hundreds of years’ nourishment from the mist,
so they only existed in places which were suffused with mist
throughout the year, like Cloud Ridge City. But even in such
places, Aged Cloud Ice was still rare. As a result, finding some in
the sea of clouds was not easy at all.

Local residents often tried their luck in the sea of clouds, but
few of them succeeded.
 The price of Aged Cloud Ices was astronomical. Ai Hui had
thought of adding some into the azure wings, but once he knew
the price, he immediately gave up on the idea.

The Peace City and the Cloud Ridge City were located on the
two sides of a mountain, but they possessed quite different
styles and atmospheres. Even the habits of people living in these
two cities were disparate.

Most residents in the Cloud Ridge City were water

elementalists, who were mild and had a good temper. In
contrast, most residents in the Peace city were metal
elementalists, who were straightforward and aggressive like fire
elementalists, but not exactly the same. Whenever metal
elementalists had conflicts, they sought the direct solution of
fighting each other without saying much. On the other hand,
when fire elementalists had conflicts, they would squabble
fiercely before fighting, and then put up a fight in a big way
until the surroundings were all on fire.

Nevertheless, those conclusions were not applicable to

everybody. For example, Shi Xueman, a water elementalist, had
a tough temper, while Fatty as a fire elementalist&nbsp;was as
timid as a hare.
 Ai Hui was lucky, for he quickly found a trade caravan that
passed by the Magic Cloud City. Their destination was the
Jadeite Forest. Although the frozen relationship between the
Avalon of Five Elements and the Jadeite Forest had started to
improve,&nbsp;those who had the ability to trade between
them must have a remarkable background.

Getting a ride with an enterprise was very common.

The passenger had to pay certain fees, and most trade

caravans were willing to pick them up since getting one more
passenger wouldn’t cost them much.

But certain examinations were necessary before a trade

caravan agreed to offer a lift. After all, the world was not at
peace and there were more and more bandits nowadays. It
would be troublesome for a trade caravan if they picked up a
bandit accidentally.

Large enterprises had less to worry about in this aspect,

because they had renowned aristocratic families as their
supporters. Their force of protection was strong enough to deal
with normal bandits.
 The war lasted for only three years, and the Thirteen
Divisions had already attracted a variety of outstanding figures
like a magnet. Joining the Thirteen Divisions was the best
choice for those competent figures. Apart from good
compensation, there were a lot of rarities as well as many
inheritances and even absolute arts that only existed in the
Thirteen Divisions.

Few bandits were renowned masters, although in recent years

the situation was changing.

""

"May I know your name and where are you heading to

please?"

Judging from Ai Hui’s appearance, the manager of the trade

caravan knew he was not a normal person, so he was very
polite.

""

"I’m Chu Zhaoyang, heading to Magic Clouds city."

 His indifferent voice contained an indescribable chilliness
with a pressurizing aura.

Zhaoyang stood for the rising sun, while Huanghun stood for
nightfall. Meanwhile, there were two "mu" (which means
"wood" in Chinese) in the character for Chu, which was one
"mu" more than in Duanmu. Ai Hui believed the new name he
made up was smarter than Duanmu, Huanghun’s name. That
was definitely his deliberate trick.

""

The manager looked surprised and delighted, "Are you the

Silverwheel Swordsman?"

Chu Zhaoyang, the Silverwheel Swordsman, was featured

with silver hair, white clothes and silver wheel-like sword. He
was one of the swordsmen who rose to fame in the last two
years.

Since swordsmanship became popular two years ago, a batch

of powerful swordsmen suddenly emerged.
 ""

Ai Hui said deeply, "Yes. When do we set off?"

Chu Zhaoyang was Ai Hui’s false identity. In the past three

years, he had done plenty of things under this identity, which
made Chu Zhaoyang’s name more and more well known.

Ai Hui was satisfied with the result. An arresting fake identity

was easier to get people’s trust than a real one without fame.

It was better to deal with dangerous things with caution.

""

The manager was excited, "We are going to set off tomorrow
morning. It’s our great honor to have you with us. This way
please. Madam will be happy to know that you are here."

""
 Ai Hui said indifferently, "Leave me alone."

He cast two elemental energy beans worth one thousand

points of elemental energy towards the manager and walked
away.

Ai Hui exuded a killing aura, and all the passersby on the way
chose to stay away from him.

The manager had no intention of charging him at the

beginning. After all, building up a good relationship with the
famous swordsman was a better choice. But when he caught the
view of Ai Hui’s back, he opened his mouth and said nothing.
Those celebrities were normally rebellious and moody. This
Chu Zhaoyang was apparently a ruthless one. If they irritated
him, good things might turn into bad things.

He had to let his mistress know about that immediately.

The manager ran to report to her at once.

Chapter 280: The Auspicious
The swirling clouds that encased the mountain peak behind
him were just like a peaceful horizon over a large ocean. The
morning fog had yet to clear.

Yet, the little city had already started to bustle with activity.
Wood elementalists had begun to replenish their elemental
energy while shop assistants were hard at work transporting
goods. One bamboo cart after another were gathered together as
they prepared to set off.

By the time Ai Hui arrived, the caravan had already completed

their preparations.

The steward who had been keeping watch quickly made his
way forward. "Sir, this way please."

He led Ai Hui to a shockingly massive Fiery Floating Cloud.

The steward noticed that Ai Hui was assessing it and
respectfully said, "Madam informed us that you are a valued
guest. How could we possibly disregard you? Please."

The fire-red magic cloud exceeded seventy meters in length

and was over twenty meters tall. Strands of red clouds
continuously rolled up and dissipated into the air, a gorgeous
sight to behold.

Quietly parked at the plaza, the Fiery Floating Cloud was

incredibly eye-catching.

Ai Hui was able to deduce the financial resources of the

trading caravan just by looking at the majestic looking cloud in
front of him. The sheer amount of material needed for it already
commanded a great price, let alone the labor required to
complete it.

Walking towards the front of the stairs, Ai Hui suddenly

asked, "Does this Fiery Floating Cloud have a name?"

The steward courteously replied, "Auspicious."

"Great name."

Ai Hui nodded his head and walked up the stairs, his face as
calm as ever.
 Taking on the role of Chu Zhaoyang these past three years had
accustomed him to handling such situations.

Walking into Auspicious, Ai Hui was dazzled by the

decorations inside. There were no resplendent crystal
chandeliers and no soft, magnificent fur carpets on the floor.
There was, however, a gentle breeze and an elegant screen. Ai
Hui could see only a graceful silhouette through the screen,
nothing more. The imperceptible fragrance that lingered in the
air perked him up quite a bit.

This amazing fragrance which calms the mind and replenishes

elemental energy wasn’t something that money could buy.

The well-trained servants bowed uniformly to greet him.

Ai Hui was secretly surprised. Such lavishness reminded him

more of influential families than commercial enterprises.

However, Ai Hui didn’t concern himself too much about it.

Who cares what sort of organization it was, he was only here to
ride the boat. Upon reaching Magic Cloud City, he would leave
without a word.
 Going around the screen, he saw a lady standing by the
window, silently observing the busy situation outside.

In one corner stood an old servant who gave Ai Hui quite the
shock. In his heart, Ai Hui noted that the old servant’s presence
had been practically undetectable. Previously, Ai Hui had only
noticed the figure behind the screen.

Such things rarely slipped past Ai Hui’s keen senses.

This old servant was pretty impressive!

The old servant was dressed in a simple blue robe and was
impeccably groomed. He stood attentively at one corner and
took a tall, yet relaxed posture.

The old servant appeared to notice Ai Hui’s gaze and bowed to

apologize.

Ai Hui’s expression returned to normal as he returned the

bow. Unable to detect the old servant’s elemental energy
fluctuations, Ai Hui was unable to fully grasp his strength.
Comparing base level alone though, the old servant was
probably at least two levels higher than he was. After some
thought, Ai Hui decided that considering the chamber of
commerce’s financial strength, it’d be even weirder if they
didn’t have an expert holding the fort.

This "Madam" mentioned by the steward must be someone

who was highly respected.

Ai Hui was fascinated by this Fiery Floating Cloud since it was

his first time on one this huge. Although the cloud looked thick
and completely opaque from the outside, one could look out
from inside the cloud without any hindrance whatsoever.

The lady heard some noise and immediately spun around.

Ai Hui felt his field of vision become much brighter

The lady had a delicate and exquisite oval-shaped face. Her

fair and defined neckline, coupled with her hair worn in a high
double bun imparted upon her an air of elegance. Her eyes lit up
upon seeing Ai Hui. "It is with great fortune that I managed to
chance upon the Silver Wheel Swordsman here in Cloud Ridge
City. Your humble servant (not really a servant, it’s a way of
referencing herself down in front of an esteemed person) Xiao
Shuren, has actually met Mister Chu before."

Ai Hui bowed slightly to return her gesture.

Xiao Shuren smiled and continued, "There’s still some time

before we set off, kindly take a seat Mister Chu. I hope you don’t
mind my embarrassing attempt at tea art."

"Much appreciated." Ai Hui graciously accepted her offer and

sat down.

Ai Hui only knew how to gulp the tea down, how was he
supposed to fully appreciate Xiao Shuren’s exquisite tea brewing
skills? The only thing going through his mind was just how
little tea there was in each cup. Such a small mouthful of tea
wasn’t enough for him to taste anything.

Xiao Shuren’s smile never once left her face and as the saying
goes, never beat a person who is full of smiles. What’s more, Ai
Hui was about to hitch a free ride on their boat so he effortfully
restrained himself and patiently sat still.

After about ten minutes, the trading caravan finally set off.
 The Fiery Floating Cloud gradually floated off the ground and
was unexpectedly stable. The experience of flying on such a
huge Fiery Floating Cloud was extremely refreshing for Ai Hui,
especially the unobstructed view that he had from within it. He
could see everything outside the cloud, from the bamboo carts
around them to the scenery on the ground.

Xiao Shuren was an understanding individual. Upon noticing

Ai Hui’s curiosity, she brought the Fiery Floating cloud to a
higher altitude, avoiding the bamboo carts and widening Ai
Hui’s field of view.

The cloud was so stable that if not for the passing scenery, Ai
Hui would think that they were stationary. A light breeze was
constantly blowing through the cloud, making him feel carefree
and relaxed.

After enjoying the experience for a while longer, Ai Hui asked,

"May I know where my room is?"

Xiao Shuren shouted for another servant, "Bring our esteemed

guest to his room."

Ai Hui followed the servant to the guest room. The room’s

decorations left him feeling warm and comfortable. Although it
wasn’t considerably luxurious, the room was huge and had a
special area for training.

The servant informed, "Mister Chu, this ship also has a

specialized training hall which you may feel free to use."

Ai Hui nodded, feeling quite satisfied. He instructed, "Kindly

do not call for me if there is nothing important."

"Understood," the servant quickly replied.

Ai Hui closed the doors and promptly sat down to meditate.

He knew that time was a scarce resource and had long adapted
himself to practicing anytime, anywhere. Ai Hui would have
attained elemental externalization if the blood plum blossom
wasn’t constantly consuming his elemental energy. Despite the
presence of the blood plum blossom, Ai Hui was still able to
achieve elemental internalization through hard training.

He needed one last step before he could attain elemental

externalization.
 The blood plum blossom made him a little worried because it
appeared to undergo some sort of transformation as his base
level rose. It now frequently became boiling hot, and Ai Hui
would feel his mind throbbing whenever this happened. He had
a feeling that the blood plum blossom would undergo a
tremendous change when he finally achieved elemental
externalization.

Although this hidden danger was present, Ai Hui had no

intention of giving up. Achieving elemental externalization held
more attraction than avoiding the potential dangers of the
blood plum blossom.

Attaining elemental externalization would bring his power to

a whole new level.

He dismissed all his distracting thoughts and concentrated on

his training.

Back in the ship’s hold, Xiao Shuren retracted her smile. She
gently held up her teacup and leisurely asked, "He Lao, do you
think this Chu Zhaoyang is real?"

Standing in one corner, He Lao replied, "I can’t say for sure if
he’s real or not, but he is quite alert. What I find strange
though, is his low base level. He has yet to breakthrough to
elemental externalization."

"Yet to attain elemental externalization?" Xiao Shuren asked,

momentarily stunned. She subconsciously continued, "Could
this person be an imposter?"

Elemental externalization was becoming more and more

mainstream in today’s world. How could an expert like Chu
Zhaoyang have only attained elemental internalization?

"On the contrary, I feel that he is the real Chu Zhaoyang,"

answered He Lao. "An imposter wouldn’t possibly have such a
glaring loophole."

"It is hard to believe that the Silverwheel Swordsman has only

achieved elemental internalization," replied Xiao Shuren,
clearly impressed. She had faith in He Lao’s judgement.

"It is indeed rarely seen," He Lao nodded. "But outstanding

swordsmanship or certain special inheritances can result in
such a phenomenon. From what I know, there are more than
ten inheritances that suppress base levels in their initial
phases."

Out of nowhere, Xiao Shuren asked softly, "Does He Lao think

he’s a threat or just someone harmless?"

"It is still unknown at the moment whether he is a friend or a

foe." He Lao lowered his volume. "But if he’s going up against
us, I’m sure he’ll surely give himself away soon enough. You
have handled him well so I suppose he’ll only go after the
caravan if he wanted to cause trouble. Furthermore, he’s on our
ship. We’ll be able to take him down if he tries anything funny."

He Lao spoke easily and showed no sign of worry whatsoever.

Xiao Shuren smiled. "I would only dare to take such risks with
you around."

He Lao chuckled. "You’re too kind, madam. If this journey

goes smoothly, we’ll have overcome all the difficult issues in our
way. Nothing will stop us from achieving success. Without your
hard work and detailed planning, the chamber of commerce
would most certainly not have been able to achieve its position
today. To us, this journey is like a fight to the death. Please rest
assured that I will risk my life to make sure these goods are
delivered."

He Lao’s voice became firm and resounding towards the end

of his speech.

The servants and bodyguards behind them remained

unperturbed.

Ai Hui was deeply immersed in his training. Over time, the

blood plum blossom more frequently entered a boiling state and
these states were lasting longer and longer as well. It had
initially occurred once a month, but it soon became once a week
and then once every three days.

It was now happening every other day.

The blood plum blossom was incredibly unorthodox. It was

completely different from all the other blood elementalist
techniques that he had encountered before. Even his tried-and-
tested lightning had no effect on the blood plum blossom. Ai
Hui had tried to utilize the lighting in his elemental energy to
bombard the blood plum blossom. Upon realizing that it was
capable of absorbing his lightning, Ai Hui immediately stopped
and was scared out of his wits.
 Ai Hui had to carry out high-intensity practice every single
day to maintain his current base level.

The blood plum blossom ceaselessly devoured elemental

energy and did not give Ai Hui any respite.

Ai Hui had managed to maintain his elemental internalization

for one and a half months but had yet to reach the critical point
for a breakthrough. Attaining elemental externalization was a
huge leap from elemental internalization. With it came a
completely new level of understanding. People often got stuck at
elemental internalization, unable to break through to elemental
externalization. Prolonged periods of stagnation at this level
could even cause one’s base level to fall.

Logically speaking, Ai Hui shouldn’t be out and about during

this period of time since undergoing a breakthrough might leave
him in an awkward situation. The slightest issue could send his
efforts down the drain or in worse cases, cause him to become
injured.

He had obediently spent the last one and a half months in

Peace City by Lou Lan’s side. Ai Hui felt at ease with Lou Lan
around.
 However, he had no choice but to leave and pursue the leads
he found regarding the blood plum blossom.

He couldn’t be at peace as long as the blood plum blossom

remained. Although it was only devouring his elemental energy
for now, Ai Hui had a nagging feeling that it would eventually
start going after his life. He had to find a way to deal with it
soon.

Beautiful ladies were known to be ruthless.

Ai Hui’s elemental energy training wasn’t making progress.

He knew that becoming overly fixated with achieving a
breakthrough would eventually see him splitting hairs.

Recalling that the servant mentioned something about a

training area on the ship, Ai Hui picked up his broadsword and
decided to practice his swordsmanship instead.

Regardless of the type of weapon, practice was the key to

perfection.

Ai Hui was delighted to find the training hall completely

empty. Enjoying the peace and quiet, he quickly got to work.

The past three years saw him scouring through countless

swordplay manuals for a greater understanding of various
sword seals and sword techniques. His understanding of
swordplay grew more profound with each passing day. He
began to have more and more original thoughts surrounding
swordsmanship as well.

His swordsmanship was on a whole new level.

Ai Hui was absolutely immersed in his training.

He did not notice the elegant figure watching him from

outside the training hall.
Chapter 281: Karakorum
When the last sword ray vanished, Ai Hui came out of his
highly-concentrated state of mind.

Clap, clap, clap! A round of applause sounded.

Interrupted, Ai Hui, who was still feeling the high from his
training, raised his head somewhat unhappily only to realize
that it was Xiao Shuren.

"Sir, your swordplay is exquisite. I have never seen anything

like this. It’s a new experience and a great honor. May I know
the name of that swordplay?"

It was as if Xiao Shuren’s eyes were emitting light. Her

originally beautiful complexion carried an extra luster now. Her
face was full of admiration, making it difficult for people to
refuse.

Xiao Shuren had confidence in her beauty. It was well-tested

and had never before failed her. Whenever she pulled this
move, all the men would look at her as if they wanted to
swallow her up. They would never reject any of her requests.
 "Heh heh."

Ai Hui chuckled. It was a pity that he had an elemental energy

mask on. The scar on it, coupled with its fake smile, carried an
indescribable gloom and coldness.

Heh heh?

Xiao Shuren was stunned. What did that mean?

Although she had been through many significant occasions,

she was now at a loss and did not know how to continue.

An awkward silence ensued.

As though there was no one around, Ai Hui kept his sword and
prepared to exit.

Xiao Shuren reacted, a fog rising in her eyes. As if she was

going to cry, she asked in a pitiful voice, "Did I disrupt your
training?"
 "That’s right."

Ai Hui answered matter-of-factly.

Xiao Shuren’s body turned rigid. That’s right… What’s right?

Her cherry lips opened slightly, her complexion stiff. The
speech she had prepared so meticulously was stuck in her
throat, unable to come out. She had met so many reputable
fighters, and no matter how displeased they might be, they
would still smile and respond politely with: "Why do you say
that, Miss? It’s such an honor to have you interested."

Why were there such crude and unfeeling people in this

world?

In that moment, this was all Xiao Shuren could think.

Following which, she thought, perhaps it was because she

wasn’t beautiful today?

If Ai Hui could hear her thoughts, he would lament his

misfortune. Miss, just throw out a few hundred thousand
elemental energy points and he would be overeager to
compliment your angelic beauty. Not to mention the
swordplay’s name, you could even get him to impart the skills
with some negotiations.

Thinking back, this was the same as how he treated One

Thousand Yuan. There was no pressure at all for him to do the
same thing again.

However, the guard at the entrance became agitated.

"Outrageous! How dare you treat Madam so rudely!"

A guard dashed over aggressively. A righteous indignation

filled his heart upon seeing his mistress being wronged.

Seeing this person charging over, Ai Hui’s pupils shrank. He

was unable to determine the man’s intention, but as a seasoned
fighter, he absolutely would not act passively.

With a turn of the broad sword in his hand, he became like a

spinning top as a round, silver disk swiftly appeared before this
guard.

Xiao Shuren’s face changed greatly as she shouted at the top of

her lungs, "Stop!"

The guard only felt the anger of the silver sword ray sweeping
over. An intense bloodlust shrouded his whole body as a sky-
piercing whistle seemed to approach him.

He had never before seen such an overbearing swordplay or

felt such biting bloodlust. His mind went completely blank.

Without any warning, the silver, raging wave dispersed like

bubbles and left only the dumbstruck, pale-looking guard
standing on the field.

Ai hui’s silhouette had already disappeared.

Only at the end did Ai Hui realize that he was still on someone
else’s boat. He restrained his attack.

Seeing that Ai Hui was gone, Xiao Shuren regained her

composure. She also had no idea where He Lao came out from.

"He Lao, what do you think?" Xiao Shuren asked calmly,

without the slightest fear or panic.

"Shouldn’t be an enemy," He Lao muttered.

Xiao Shuren nodded. That was also what she thought. If an

enemy had the intention to invade their circle, he would think
of a way to get close to them, pull strings, and even gain their
trust. However, that fellow was so cold and clearly expressed his
disinterest in getting close to them.

She asked directly, "Did you notice anything about his

swordplay?"

"Never seen it before." He Lao shook his head. "The sword ray
was like a silver disk, imposing and strong. Shocking indeed.
With that outstanding sword technique, it’s no wonder he could
make such a big name for himself despite not having yet
achieved elemental externalization. I can see that he has already
mastered element internalizationl and he can breakthrough to
Elemental Externalization at any time. Once he breaks through
to elemental externalization, his strength will naturally increase
exponentially. Only, he has too heavy a murderous spirit."

Xiao Shuren seemed to be moved by his words. "He Lao has

such high praise for him!"

He Lao replied, "Although swordplay has been slowly

recovering its glory for the past two years and there are many
swordsmen, only a few are able to attain a higher level of skills."

Xiao Shuren asked thoughtfully, "Could Chu Zhaoyang be

from Karakorum Sword League?"

Karakorum Sword League was an organization that had been

established in these two years. Members boasted of being the
successors of the Karakorum Sect. Karakorum sect was an
ancient and faraway sword sect in the Cultivation Era. It had
ruled the Cultivation Era for over thousands of years and had a
long history.

The influential appearance of Zuo Mo ended the regime of the

Karakorum.

But as time passed, the swordsmen started regarding

Karakorum as the orthodox sect, instead of the more powerful
and legendary Void Sword Clan.
 There were countless powerful sects that emerged throughout
the history of the Cultivation World, but none had ever been as
legendary and resplendent as the Void Sword Clan. Not only did
they raise an exceptional evildoer like Zuo Mo, they had also
raised geniuses like Wei Sheng, Gong Suncha, and many more.
There had been supreme beings, unequalled swordsmen, and
champion war generals. Every single disciple was impressive
and well-known.

Capability wise, the Void Sword Clan never fell below third
place, but it wasn’t a pure swordsmanship sect. Other than
Senior Wei Sheng, Zuo Mo’s training was complex and Gong
Suncha was famous for commanding in battles.

As such, it wasn’t surprising that swordsmen viewed

Karakorum as the orthodox sect.

Regardless of whether they were borrowing the reputation of

Karakorum or of the Void Sword Clan, it wasn’t of much use in
the elemental energy era. They were simply too ancient and
distant. If recovering the glory of the Cultivation Era seemed
attractive, recovering the swordsmen’s glory was a little
nonsensical. No one admired them for using Karakorum’s fame,
but people mocked them excessively instead.
 Nevertheless, the performance of the Karakorum Sword
League shocked everybody. In these two years, the
swordfighting trend was closely related to the promotional
efforts of the Karakorum Sword League. They had gotten hold
of a batch of swordsmanship inheritances and attracted and
recruited a large number of elementalists in an unbridled
manner. Then, after some introductory swordplay manuals
started circulating in the market, elementalists found them
formidable, instantly triggering the start of the swordfighting
trend. Elementalists willing to join Karakorum Sword League
would receive guidance from powerful swordmasters. They
wouldn’t have to pay such a huge price to learn even higher
level, inherited swordplay as well.

The sword manuals circulated by Karakorum Sword League

were evidently written by experts, and as such, attracted a lot of
conjectures from all over. Unexpectedly, however, Karakorum
Sword League remained very low-profile and did not make any
big news.

According to minor sources, however, there were a number of

influences who placed their focus on Karakorum Sword League,
but to no avail. Of course, these rumors hadn’t been verified and
no one knew if they were true or false.

The swordsmen were linked to Karakorum Sword League in

countless ways.

Upon witnessing Chu Zhaoyang’s excellent swordplay, Xiao

Shuren naturally associated it with Karakorum Sword League.

"If he’s from there, he probably holds a high rank," He Lao

muttered. "Karakorum Sword League usually keeps a low-
profile and the higher ups are even more mysterious, but since
you mentioned it, I actually think it’s highly possible."

Meeting Xiao Shuren’s gaze, He Lao said in a low voice, "It’s

not strange at all if Karakorum Sword League came for this."

Xiao Shuren was stunned for a moment before her expression

changed slightly. How could she have forgotten such an
important thing? She mulled it over for a bit, her expression
worsening. "Karakorum is definitely interested in it!"

She was very certain now, that Chu Zhaoyang was definitely a
swordsman from Karakorum Sword League!

He Lao muttered once again, "Where did Karakorum Sword

League get the news from? Supposing that he is a member, why
did he act so indifferently?"

"They have many feelers and sources of their own. If Chu

Zhaoyang is from Karakorum Sword League, why was he so
cold?" Xiao Shurun repeated He Lao’s words. She had been
managing the chamber of commerce for so many years, had
garnered deep respect from all the members, and had surpassing
talent. "Either he’s just a senseless person who has no
knowledge of swords, or he doesn’t even need to come close to
seize the goods. Or, perhaps he was monitoring us and how
many more thieves there are?"

The more Xiao Shuren thought about it, the more alarmed she
was.

He Lao was alarmed and fidgety as well. "Let’s take him

down? Or else our whereabouts will be exposed?"

Xiao Shuren calmed down, her gaze flickering. "No, perhaps

we can make use of this."

Ai Hui didn’t know that his performance had actually led

them to the Karakorum Sword League. Had he known, he would
not know whether to laugh or cry.
 In the room, Ai Hui was coiling the bandage very seriously.

He wrapped the bandage around his chest. It had a certain

restraining effect when used against the blood plum blossom.
This was the only discovery made in roughly three years. The
bandage was a gift from his mistress, and he later discovered
that it could swallow fresh blood. In the war of Central Pine
City, the bandage had developed an eye-shaped pattern.

Later on, unintentionally, Ai Hui found out that placing the

bandage near the boiling blood plum blossom caused it to cool
down quickly.

Ai Hui then realized that the bandage could restrain the blood
plum blossom. He’d become wild with joy at the time, but his
later discovery calmed his feverish mind.

If he used the bandage to suppress the blood plum blossom’s

break out, it would work for a short period of time before the
flower flared up even more intensely.

Ai Hui had no way out at this point. This wasn’t Peace City.
 The boiling blood plum blossom made him irritable and
increased his murderous intent. If he hadn’t held back at the
final juncture, that guard would have been sliced in half by his
sword.

But the murderous intent, which had appeared within a split

second, had alerted Ai Hui.

This operation was very crucial and mistakes were

unpardonable. Keeping calm was key. An overpowering
bloodlust would only turn him into a butcher, and butchers
typically did not live long.

In these three years, he had tried "feeding" the blood bandage.

Chu Zhaoyang wasn’t someone who hadn’t kill before. In this

chaotic world, popularity was derived from grappling and
killing.

The bandage reacted only thrice. It was exceptionally picky

and was no longer that "hungry bandage" that took in
everything. Having consumed three tonics, the blood eye on the
bandage now had an eyebrow.
 He was curious how did the blood bandage really look like in
the Cultivation Era.
Chapter 282: Meridian Sand
The commerce team flew continuously for numerous days and
all was calm.

Ai Hui couldn’t be bothered making friends with Xiao Shuren

and the gang and just stayed in his room to meditate. Being
stuck on the edge of a breakthrough was simply too irritating
but Ai Hui also knew that he shouldn’t rush it. Being hasty
made things worse.

Sometimes, he would sit and stare by the window and enjoy

this rare feeling of contentment. He had been hustling and
bustling for these three years and often wandered along the
boundary between life and death. There was no time for him to
appreciate the scenery and be lost in thought.

He had never forgotten about revenge.

He had been woken up many times from nightmares. The

bloodstained Dragonspine and Teacher’s chest…it was like
yesterday. Whenever he woke up at this point in the dream, an
inexpressible grief and pressure befell him. It was as if the pitch
black, deep night had engulfed the fields, making it impossible
to struggle free.
 Falling into the abyss was his choice. He wouldn’t hesitate at
all if given another chance.

The abyss and the dark night were neither able to rescue nor
destroy him.

The Blood of God was so tremendous, even more so than how

it looked on the outside. It was deep and profound. Ai Hui took
only Lou Lan and the message tree from Vanguard Training Hall
when he left Central Pine City. He had a better understanding of
the Blood of God than most, and he knew how it was good at
being forbearing and unscrupulous.

Compared to it, Ai Hui was like a tiny cricket with no power to

exact revenge. Hope was slim.

But when it came to certain things, it was more about whether

he wanted to do it, rather than whether he could succeed.

Luckily there was Lou Lan.

Thinking about Lou Lan made the corners of his lips turn up.
Lou Lan was even stronger than before but remained pure and
genuine. His vigorous, energetic voice always made Ai Hui feel
encouraged.

Suddenly, the alarm went off, startling Ai Hui.

He looked out of the window and noticed a ball of white cloud

flying toward him rapidly from afar. It looked aggressive and
did not seem to harbor any good intentions. But the team’s
reaction was fast. The transport wagon placed Auspicious right
in the center.

Elementalists with azure wings flew out one after another.

Ai Hui involuntarily furrowed his brows.

The situation did not seem right.

That ball of white cloud wasn’t a Fiery Floating Cloud but one
that belonged to a water elementalist. The team’s reaction was
too quick, as if they’d already expected something like this to
occur. Their defense was put up in a matter of seconds.
 Ai Hui shivered when his gaze fell upon those guards.

Their elemental energy waves were stable and steady, and the
azure wings on their backs emitted a solid light, seemingly
attesting to their abilities. They were obviously elites and had
clearly attained elemental externalization.

Such significant backup made it impossible for Ai Hui to

believe that this wasn’t preplanned.

At this point, Ai Hui already knew that he was just afraid of

getting dragged into this whirlpool, even though he had no idea
what kind of whirlpool it was.

Recalling well, he couldn’t help but laugh and rejected the

thought that this could be a trap. From start to finish, he’d been
making his own choices so no one was to blame.

Ai Hui didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky.

He started to understand why he was being invited onto this

Fiery Floating Cloud. It wasn’t because he was reputable, but
rather because the other party wanted to keep him around.
 Indeed… a little embarrassing!

Ai Hui touched his nose and stayed well-behaved in his room.

Any action on his part might be regarded as threatening.

He had a keen sixth sense and could vaguely detect the whiff
of a faintly discernible odor outside the door. He Lao’s
silhouette surfaced in his mind. Ai Hui did not expect He Lao to
spy on him personally. That old fellow’s capability was
unmeasurable and Ai Hui did not wish to provoke him.

Ah, who knew that taking this vessel would lead him to this.

Ai Hui sat leisurely by the window, watching the events

unfold like a bystander.

The team’s display of strength was really something.

Ai Hui remembered the name of the enterprise –"Great Wei

Enterprise". He had never heard of it before. Having stayed in
Peace City for three years, he’d heard of most chambers, big or
small, operating on the trade route. Even though he wasn’t
aware of every single enterprise, if the name had appeared a few
times more often, he would’ve heard of it at least.

Yet, he was certain that he’d not heard of Great Wei

Enterprise.

It was unknown whether or not the other party was heading

towards Jadeite forest. Ai Hui was somewhat puzzled and
decided to find an opportunity to slip off midway. His priority
was to head over to Magic Cloud City so he had no time to waste
on Great Wei Enterprise.

The arriving water elementalist was strong and he was hiding

among the clouds without revealing his face. The cloud was
about as big as Auspicious and looked like a huge monster, its
momentum tumultuous and oppressive.

"Who has come?"

A guard from the enterprise spoke loud and clear.

The other party did not respond. Instead, countless bright

arrows shot out from the clouds toward the guards.

The guards did not panic. They each did what they did best.
Some used weapons to brandish a sheet of lightscreen, some
were surrounded in eggshell-like light screen, while others laid
out a sheet of sea of fire. Ai Hui was dazzled by them all.

Ding ding ding!

The concentrated collision sounds never stopped. When the

specks of light hit the guards’ surrounding light rays,

Ai Hui saw clearly the shocking power of the light arrows.

They were raindrops the size of green beans, were uncountable
and covered an extremely wide area. The rain fell incessantly,
filling the skies with sharp whistling noises.

Ai Hui smacked his lips. This was truly a large-scale moving

fort.

Attaining elemental internalization opened the access

between the Nature and the human body. Upon attaining
elemental externalization, an elementalist can borrow the
elemental energies from the Nature to increase his powers.
Where vapor filled the air, like in Palette Cloud Village, water
elementalists would undoubtedly best be able to unleash their
powers.

When faraway, the environment played a major role in

affecting one’s combat abilities.

The water elementalists at sea, earth elementalists in the

desert, wood elementalists in the forest, fire elementalists in the
midst of earth fire and metal elementalists in the city… you
were never to cross paths with them there unless necessary.
They were enemies no one wanted to face.

This person trained with clouds and mist. Where there was
plenty of vapor, his abilities rose dramatically.

But the guards of Great Wei Enterprise weren’t willing to be

passive. They spread their azure wings and dispersed, before
flying toward that ball of cloud from all directions.

They were like an agile flock of birds drawing handsome light

traces in the sky, their murderous intent intense.
 A blue fireball was thrown into the clouds.

Boom!

Like cotton, the cloud burst into flames, the blue blaze
spreading across the clouds.

"[Icy Flames]!"

A stifled groan sounded from within the clouds as they shook

strongly like the vibrations of huge drums and gongs, causing
everybody’s ears to go numb.

Ai Hui was astounded as well. Up till now, he had discovered

nine types of [Icy Flames] and the inheritances of these nine
types of [Icy Flames] were all in Icy Flames Division at Fire
Prairie.

[Icy Flame], as the name implied, was cold. Generally water

restrained fire, but [Icy Flame] was water’s mortal enemy.

Ye Baiyi commanded the [Icy Flames] Division with help from

the Blood of God, and took with him practically every
elementalist that practiced [Icy Flames]. Although Elders Guild
had a backup copy of every [Icy Flames] inheritance, the most
proficient practitioners of [Icy Flames] in this present age were
all under the Blood of God.

The Elders Guild had wanted to rebuild [Icy Flames] Division

for a long time now but had been unable to do so because of this.

Tradition was treasurable for sure, but no matter how much it

tried to replace old with new,&nbsp;the Thirteen Divisions
were forever the real masters .They could exchange skills and
learn from one another. With many people training together,
there were sufficient supplies of materials to create all kinds of
new experiments.

As such, in this aspect, Avalon of Five Elements was behind by

over ten years, or even longer.

"Such a pity that [Icy Flames] Division betrayed Avalon of Five

Elements!"

A cold groan sounded from within the clouds as an

immeasurable amount of water vapor gathered from all
directions and inflated the cloud at a shocking speed. Where it
was in contact with the [Icy Flames], it transformed into a cloud
whip and belted towards the elementalists in the sky.

The cloud whip burned continuously but also grew at an even

faster speed.

The guards’ faces changed. Even the fire elementalist who

threw the [Icy Flames] was shocked as well and he quickly
retreated. Getting [Icy Flames] on himself meant trouble.

Countless bright blade lights flew toward the small mountain-

like cloud like fast javelins, their sharp, silver arrow light
accompanied by balls of raging flames.

But it had no effect, as if a clay ox had just entered the sea and
disappeared.

Among the many offensive attack moves, the balls of raging

flames seemed unremarkable. The clouds and mist swallowed it
up in one mouthful.

Icy Flames was slightly more troublesome as the raging flames

would only be restrained by a water elementalist. These
elementalists were having a headache.

Sure enough, the raging flames continued shrinking and

melting. Clap! They collapsed and a ball of clear, yellow sand
flowed out.

This lump of yellow sand was abnormally dry. Once it fell and
landed among the clouds, it started to absorb the surrounding
vapor rapidly.

It was like a yellow bottomless pit, as an immeasurable

amount of clouds and mist were ingested non-stop.

"Meridian sand!"

The hidden, mysterious water elementalist between the

clouds was, for the first time, emotionally stirred. He felt a hint
of fear.

Meridian sand was known to be the driest sand and was an

extremely precious type of earth sand.&nbsp;It was made of
sand, soil and mainly rock, and had the widest range of uses in
all sand types. Yellow Sand Corner was known for producing all
kinds of sand but even then, Meridian sand was extremely
uncommon there.

Ai Hui, who had been observing leisurely, stood up for the

first time, his eyes opened wide.

Uncommon meant expensive!

Ai Hui was stunned by Great Wei Enterprise’s way of handling

business. Because of Lou Lan, Ai Hui had a much better
understanding of sand types and materials. Lou Lan had a very
big sand core but his body hindered his performance. Ai Hui had
always wanted to upgrade Lou Lan’s body, so he was very aware
of the market situation with regard to sand materials.

Ever since Yellow Sand Corner fell into the hands of the
enemy, the price of sand materials rose at least five times and
some good materials just kept getting more and more expensive,
without limit. Mostly, materials were out of stock and he
couldn’t buy them even if he wished.

Meridian sand was one of those.

 If he could give Lou Lan the Meridian sand, Lou Lan would
instantly become the water elementalists’ mortal enemy.

This was an material that Ai Hui had not even dared to set his
heart on obtaining, yet Great Wei Enterprise actually used it for
battling. Watching it made Ai Hui bleed inside. He wanted so
badly to dash up and fight the water elementalist, then snatch
the sand over.

A pity it was being abused this way.

Meridian sand’s formidability was astonishing. The small,

mountain-like layers of cloud were actually being firmly sucked
in by a small lump of meridian sand, unable to struggle free at
all.

The clouds shrank rapidly and the water elementalist’s body

was finally revealed. It was a middle-aged man, his face
overwhelmed with shock at this point.

Losing the clouds as a shield, he had no strength to resist at

all.
 A few guards had already closed in on him from different
directions, ready to nab him alive.

Suddenly, the middle-aged water elementalist revealed an

eerie smile as a pool of fresh blood spilled out of his mouth.

The guards’ faces changed greatly. He increased his speed and

charged over but the water elementalist was no longer alive.

Just then, He Lao’s voice sounded. "Mister Chu, Madam’s

requested a meeting with you."

Ai Hui shivered inwardly, his scalp going slightly numb.

Chapter 283: Alighting
All was the same. The same seat, same incense, the old servant
standing in the same corner and Madam Xiao’s movements
were as graceful and cheery as before.

The painting-like scene was inexpressibly quiet. The

atmosphere was subtle, as if a fog was floating in the air,
carrying a certain tension.

Madam Xiao spoke suddenly, "What do you think, Mister

Chu?"

"What do you mean?" Ai Hui responded. He was somewhat

stunned by her stupid question.

"That earlier battle. Could it be that you have no thoughts on

it?"

"Thoughts? My thoughts aren’t important and I do not wish

to get involved." Ai Hui conveniently added, "I have other
matters to attend to and was just planning to bid goodbye."
 He would be a fool if he hadn’t already understood the other
party’s apprehension. Although he wasn’t clear as to what was
going on exactly, he could tell from the battle crew’s allocation
that this was going to be a maelstrom.

This wasn’t something he could deal with. Plus, he had more

urgent matters to handle so how could he waste any more time
here?

It was best to get away from this maelstrom as soon as

possible.

Madam Xiao stared intently at Ai Hui. He sounded genuine

with his words, his expression truthful.

Could it be that Chu Zhaoyang’s blending into the caravan

was really without ulterior motives?

"Mister Chu’s swordplay is excellent. Perhaps you’re from

Karakorum?"

"No." Ai Hui shook his head.

 Madam Xiao seemed disappointed. The initial stages of
Karakorum’s establishment was at precisely the same time its
popularity surged, so those walking outside would never
conceal their identity. She had wanted to borrow the assistance
of Karakorum but her hopes were dashed now.

"If Mister Chu is worried, just feel free to stay for a few days
before heading for Magic Cloud City. I’ll send you back to your
room."

There was no doubt in her voice, and unknowingly, He Lao

appeared by his side.

Ai Hui shivered inside. This old man was of a different level

and was not someone he should ever provoke.

He knew it was pointless to say anything now and he was

feeling lazy anyway, so he went straight back into his room.

Things were not over.

This battle was just the prologue. Waves of elementalists

charged forward like ants. While Great Wei’s preparation was
sufficient, injuries quickly appeared and the number of
casualties kept increasing.

The most severe loss occurred on the fourth day, when eight
guards died and six got injured. This elementalist was superbly
powerful and in the end, the old man had to take on the task of
inflicting a heavy blow to the opponent.

Benefiting from three years of extensive travel, Ai Hui knew

quite a lot about the more reputable strong players.

He recognized this person.

Shi Youguang became famous more than twenty years ago and
was truly a capable earth elementalist.

The old man’s abilities shocked Ai Hui greatly. He had long

felt that he was incomprehensibly strong but did not expect him
to be

powerful. Shi Youguang’s sand puppet was completely

destroyed by the old man and even Shi Youguang was badly
injured.
 Ai Hui was secretly glad that he did not try anything funny
with that old man.

But it seemed that the old man was injured as well. Shi
Youguang’s sand puppet launched a counterattack before dying
and its strike was very sharp and powerful.

Witnessing a battle between experts enlightened Ai Hui

greatly. It was a great learning experience. The might of
elemental externalization was thoroughly displayed by the two
of them.

Especially that direct control of heaven and earth elemental

energy, which fueled them with abundant elemental energy and
increased their endurance exponentially. Plus, they had a
profound understanding of elemental energy and sometimes,
weaker moves became outstandingly solid and powerful in their
hands. It really opened up Ai Hui’s horizons.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door.

He opened the door and He Lao said while carrying a pouch in

his hand, "We’re changing direction so you’ll have to be on your
own for the later part. This is a gift prepared by Madam. She’s
tired and won’t be sending you off."

The old man shoved the pouch into Ai Hui’s hands.

Ai Hui instantly knew what was going on. What gift? He was
simply a bit of bait, asked to dig his own grave. No wonder he
wasn’t allowed to leave these past few days. It was to save him
for this moment.

A bitter struggle had just broken out in the day, and in the
middle of the night a member leaves slyly with such an obvious
pouch, evidently trying to escape.

It wasn’t clear how many pairs of eyes were secretly watching.

Would he be able to escape?

He had to run if he wanted to live. The faster he ran, the

better he would be able to lure the elementalists away.

Truly a cruel woman!

Ai Hui did not expect to get himself into this situation just by
boarding this vessel. But he knew that if he did not agree, he
was going to perish in this room today.

Looking at the old man’s gloomy appearance, it seemed clear

that his murderous instincts had been triggered.

"Pay up," Ai Hui spoke suddenly.

The old man was stunned. He had expected Chu Zhaoyang to

either be in rage or be silent or even rebel. Asking for money
was beyond his imagination.

"I paid two thousand elemental energy points as part of the

transport fare and now you’re just going to tell me that I have to
get off? Violation of the deal means compensation. I’m not
being unreasonable, am I?"

"How much elemental energy am I going to consume if I fly?

Plus, the route is unsafe, what if I bump into a thief? How am I
going to replenish myself with such a high consumption rate?
What if I fall into the hands of the thieves? It would be a blow to
the reputation of your enterprise."
 The old man stood by the door like a statue, stupefied.

He turned around and left after a few seconds.

Ai Hui abruptly retrieved a seemingly unimpressive stone

from the pouch&nbsp;and channelled a wisp of elemental
energy inside. The stone instantly lit up but the slight glimmer
vanished quickly.

Ai Hui stuffed the stone under his bed before returning to the
door, standing motionlessly.

Not long after, the old man returned and threw a bag of
elemental energy beans towards Ai Hui.

Ai Hui opened the pouch. It was filled with sparkling

elemental energy beans. The silver colored light was
mesmerizing and the rich metal elemental energy odor hit him
in the face. Each bean was very plump, sparkling and
translucent. It was of a decent quality, far beyond ordinary
elemental energy beans. Ai Hui immediately understood that
these were rare essence elemental beans.
 It contained even purer elemental energy and each bean
costed more than five thousand elemental energy points, ten
times more than an ordinary elemental energy bean.

As if no one was around, Ai Hui started counting the number

of beans. There was a hundred.

"What a big move," he said suddenly without any ruthlessness

since it was meaningless and not of any help in the current
situation.

He put the beans away properly, carried the pouch and walked
to the cabin door.

It was already open and the wild wind was whistling. It was
pitch-dark outside but he did not stop or hesitate. He leaped
forward.

Ai Hui detected a few odors approaching him as soon as he

made the leap. Without hesitation, he threw the pouch away.

A few approaching black shadows turned around immediately

and dove for the pouch.
 Ai Hui did not utilize his azure wings yet but instead, allowed
himself to drop.&nbsp;When he was about ten meters away
from reaching the ground, the azure wings on his back spread
open suddenly.

The bright wings instantly became as dazzling as a torch. The

powerful force resisted his downward momentum and slowed
his body down before applying power.

His whole body was like a sword of light, stuck to the ground
and advancing violently.

He had counted the number of beans not to estimate their

worth but so as to give himself time to think of the possible
scenarios that could happen and how he could deal with them
upon exiting the vessel.

He was very clear about how dangerous the situation that he

was about to face was.

As such, the first thing he did was to dispose of the bag. While
this did not remove suspicion, it could attract the hidden
enemies’ attention, again giving him more time to react.
 Great Wei's caravan flew in the sky so their pursuers would,
too, stay in the air. Relying on his legs would not get him to
Fiery Floating Cloud.

That being said, the number of enemies on the ground should

be minimal.

Ai Hui’s series of responses had been observed by Madam Xiao

and He Lao.

"Chu Zhaoyang really has skills. He is able to adapt and is as

sly as a fox." Madam Xiao exclaimed in admiration and couldn’t
help but sigh, "Not sure if what I’ve calculated is right or
wrong." If Chu Zhaoyang lived, enemies would flock to the
enterprise.

"Why blame yourself, Madam?" He Lao responded before

adding indifferently, "This guy is not bad indeed, but he’s far
from being able to become an enemy of the enterprise. An
elementalist that has yet to attain elemental externalization is
not a cause for worry, Madam. But, his azure wings aren’t bad at
all. They’re speedy. Hopefully he’d be able to help us attract
more people."
 The stone Ai Hui left under his bed became brighter suddenly.

He Lao felt its intense elemental energy wave move and his
face changed. "Not good…"

Boom!

Ai Hui smiled upon seeing the sudden blossoming of splendid

flames amid the darkness.

That seemingly ordinary stone was an explosive created by

Lou Lan from the blood crystal. It was relatively harmless to
elementalists who had yet to attain elemental externalization,
but was extremely suitable for destroying constructions or
causing a stir.

Items Lou Lan produced were always reliable.

It wasn’t that easy to deceive him!

The caravan was in chaos. Countless guards ran out in

succession as a small half of the vessel had been blown off.
Under He Lao’s protection, Madam Xiao remained uninjured.
But she looked on at the mess before her, at the remains of her
tearoom and at the night sky, her face turning ashen.

This ball of flame was simply too eye-catching. Plus, it was

Auspicious that had been blown up. Most of the hiding
elementalists were attracted by the sight before them.

By now, Ai Hui was already miles away.

The instant the flame blossomed, the dazzling azure wings on

his back turned pitch-black suddenly.

Ai Hui’s silhouette merged into the darkness.

Looking down from the sky, one could see the silver sword
light advancing close to the ground and disappearing suddenly.

He Lao was similarly ashen-faced.

He did not expect to be blindsided by Chu Zhaoyang. The

latter’s words were like a slap to his face. It stung.
 He turned around and glared at that violent silver light.

"This damned bastard!"

These words escaped through the gaps between his clenched

teeth.

As he finished, that pencil-straight light vanished into thin

air.

The old man’s face was filled with malevolence as it froze up

suddenly.

Without any signs at all, that silver light disappeared into the
dark.

All of a sudden, he recalled his mistress’s words. Sly as a fox.

He felt that it was greatly true at this point. He smelt a whiff of
an indiscernible odor and was startled. He shouted in a stern
voice, "Protect Madam!"

Losing Auspicious instantly changed their situation for the

worse.

Ineffably, a tinge of remorse surfaced in his chest. But there

was no time for regrets. A fierce battle ensued.
Chapter 284: Ambush
Ai Hui concealed the light of his azure wings. The initial
whistling of the wind stopped abruptly and the surging force of
the wings soften and calmed down. Not only that, he was like a
snake, constantly changing his direction and advancing in a
haphazard manner.

The faraway, dazzling light behind him would occasionally

illuminated his silhouette but he never once looked back.

He no longer cared if the Great Wei’s caravan lived or died.

He was already unlucky enough to get tangled in such trivial

matters. It was simply a waste of his precious time&nbsp;to
continue getting involved with the other party. He had things
on hand and had no energy to waste on this.

Whether or not the Great Wei’s caravan could survive, it

would depend on their luck.

Thinking about the elemental energy beans in

his&nbsp;possession, Ai Hui felt that he had gained a little after
all.
 Unknowingly, he had already flown a few hundred miles. In
order to&nbsp;get rid of his pursuers, he had deliberately
altered his route as&nbsp;he felt like it. He wasn’t familiar with
the route anyway so it did not matter where he went.

A thread of light had already started emerging in the sky.

He flew on for&nbsp;most of the night, which felt like an

extremely long time. Even Ai Hui felt rather tired and his speed
had declined&nbsp;quite a bit. Nevertheless, his vision was
clear as day.

Flying close to the ground, about seven, eight meters away,

easily allowing him to hide between the rocks and forest.

Seeing a small slope in front, Ai Hui’s eyes&nbsp;lit up. He

flew up and when he reached the top, he saw a rock.

This is an ideal ambush location.

He flew to the bottom of the rock, took off his clothes quickly,
wrapped it around a stone slightly smaller than him, and placed
it under the rock.
 He then flew away from the rock to a nearby tree. The thick
treetop concealed him thoroughly.

He grabbed the broadsword tightly and tossed an elemental

energy bean into his mouth. Essence elemental beans contained
exceptionally pure elemental energy, and the best way to
consume it was to absorb and refine it slowly. Using it the way
Ai Hui was doing now&nbsp;is a waste of valuable resource
since he would only be able to utilize less than ten percent of its
essence.

But Ai Hui’s did not seem sorry. He felt a wisp of pure

elemental energy circulating within his body and felt refreshed
immediately. Sure enough, this deserved to be called the essence
elemental bean. It was said that elementalists who had attained
elemental externalization would directly produce essence
elemental beans when they had no money. It was this easy for
high level elementalists to earn money.

It was his first time "abusing" an essence elemental bean like

this. The result was exceptionally good.

The strand of pure element within his body, released by the

elemental energy bean, was&nbsp;congealed and gluey like
mercury. When it circulated, his five residences and eight
palaces were rejuvenated. It was inexpressibly comfortable and
his fatigue vanished

He crouched on the tree trunk, his eyes drooping low. His

broadsword hung down, its tip pointing toward the ground. His
breath was&nbsp;nearly undetectable, his body not moving a
single jot. He was like a seasoned hunter, patiently awaiting the
appearance of his prey.

There was a brief instant, when he was on the run, where he

captured a wisp of extremely weak wave of motion.

This wisp of undulation was very faint and passed in a flash

but it was as if Ai Hui had met a big enemy. He pretended not to
sense it and continued on , changing directions non-stop. Even
after flying unceasingly for a long time, he&nbsp;wasn’t sure if
he had managed to ditch the other party.

Ai Hui knew he had crossed paths with a troublesome

opponent.

As he was advancing forward, he was&nbsp;searching for a

solution. His eyes lit&nbsp;up when he saw the slope, in
particularly the terrain behind it .
 Ai Hui waited for a whole ten minutes and when he captured a
wisp of odor, he knew that&nbsp;prudence had saved his life
once again.

He remained highly focused, waiting for the right

opportunity.

Their locations changed constantly. The prey became the

hunter, but the hunter was oblivious to this fact. Having flown
for such a long time, both were largely exhausted and
since&nbsp;the pursuer had to identify&nbsp;the target’s
direction , their energy consumption was even greater.

Through the thick tree crown, Ai Hui finally saw his pursuer.
Although it was blurry, that face startled him. Shi Youguang.
He thought that Shi Youguang, who had been badly injured by
that old man, was already far away. He did not expect him to be
so persistent.

He didn’t know what it was that Great Wei had in possession

for Shi Youguang to be so determined, not giving up despite his
severe injuries.

In fear of being detected, Ai Hui squinted his eyes, leaving

only two slits open.

Shi Youguang looked extremely tired and his movements were

evidently much slower than before he&nbsp;was injured. His
injuries must have been very serious. On second thought, if Shi
Youguang didn’t get hurt, he wouldn’t have chased after
him.&nbsp;Ai Hui knew very well that if he were to face
unwounded Shi Youguang, there was no way he could win.

Shi Youguang flew up the slope and immediately saw the

perfectly positioned rock.

That was the ideal ambush spot.

That fellow wouldn’t be laying in ambush, waiting to take me

down right?

Shi Youguang was being cautious. The chase made it clear that
the fellow was very sly and had&nbsp;lots of tricks up his
sleeves. He had merely attained elemental internalization, but
managed to get him, a strong elementalist that had attained
elemental externalization, all tired. There had been a few times
where he almost lost sight of the fellow as well.
 It would’ve been too embarrassing if that did happen.

Luckily that fellow was of a lower realm and wasn’t as

capable. Otherwise, Shi Youguang would’ve turned around.

Shi Youguang knew well that with his injuries, it was already
impossible to profit from the puppeteer-like Great Wei
Enterprise. If he was just a little careless, his life would
be&nbsp;jeopardized. But he had already invested so much and
even got hurt so it would be a massive loss&nbsp;if he were to
give up now.

Shi Youguang had planned to take down a lone-moving,

injured elementalist to recuperate his losses.

He then saw Ai Hui jumping out of the Fiery Floating Cloud,

but did not take action since there were quite a few fearful
players who made a move. Who knew, that guy was
incomparably sly and disappeared in a flash.

Shi Youguang then made his move quietly. Few knew that he
was good at chasing and those who knew were already dead. It
was rare for earth elementalists to be good pursuers but Shi
Youguang had the skills to differentiate the changes in the
ground elemental energy.

Ground elemental energy was like a calm lake, and when an

elementalist hovered over, ripples formed on the water surface.
To others, these ripples were disordered but to Shi Youguang,
they were information.

The earth elemental energy on the ground looked very messy

but many ripples made it clear to him that his target had flown
straight to where the rock was.

Shi Youguang was good at ambush to begin with, so he could

tell right away that where the rock was, was the perfect spot.

His opponent had detected him.

Shi Youguang was somewhat surprised but quickly calmed

down. His target’s cunningness exceeded every single
elementalist he had met before. It shouldn’t be strange even if
that fellow managed to detect him.

But if that was all to that fellow’s abilities, so what if he knew

where he was?
 Trying to lay an ambush? How naive!

A mocking smile appeared on his face as he advanced

confidently toward the rock. While his elemental energy had
been greatly exhausted, he knew his opponent’s was too.

Even though his condition wasn’t good, he did not feel

pressured since he was dealing with a worn out, elemental
externalized elementalist. The disparity in realm is not easily
compensatable.

There was still no movement behind the rock. How

composed.

Admiration flashed across his face. To be honest, while his

target wasn’t considered very strong, his abilities in other
aspects were actually uncommonly outstanding.

Cunning, shockingly calm, and collected.

If his target had been slightly stronger, Shi Youguang

would’ve aborted his mission.
 But now, the admiration in his eyes turned into ruthlessness.
Die!

Where the rock was, a bottomless pit appeared suddenly as

the surrounding soil seemed to come alive. Mud vines appeared
above the pit to form a big cage, covering the pit.

Ai Hui went for it the moment Shi Youguang made a move.

He was like a noiseless bat, diving down for Shi Youguang

from the treetop.

When the mud vines above the pit took shape, Ai Hui was
already less than thirty meters away from Shi Youguang!

Shi Youguang suddenly realized what was going on and his

face changed completely. He had been tricked!

The rock was just a diversion!

His target’s shrewdness turned his body cold, but for him to
be this reputable, Shi Youguang had experienced countless
battles. While his situation was precarious, he knew that the
thought of escaping would undermine his will and allow his
opponent to take advantage of it.

There was a subtle aura around the battle between strong

players.

Once his state of mind swayed, his abilities would be affected

greatly. Coupled with the fact that he was injured, he would
undoubtedly die.

His only chance of survival was to meet his target face on!

Whatever trap became useless since it boiled down to abilities.

Shi Youguang was shook, as if he was a completely different

person. His whole body oozed ferocity. Instead of retreating, he
suddenly pounced on Ai Hui, his body transforming into a
clump of quicksand in midair.

A head seemed to be floating atop a pool of quicksand.

 And on Ai Hui’s back, a sharp earth spear was raised, just like
how a poisonous snake raised its head in the darkness, ready to
deal a fatal blow.

They were less than fifteen meters away from each other.

Shi Youguang couldn’t help but&nbsp;was slightly distracted

by his target’s eyes. Those eyes were cold, still, and without the
least bit of panic and helplessness.

Not good!

Shi Youguang’s heart sank a little as a bad feeling rose within

his chest. Before he could react, a glaring silver light exploded
right before his eyes.

This ball of light was so dazzling that he lost his sight right
there and then. Everything was white.

Ai Hui channelled nearly half of the elemental energy within

his body into the Starry Gem Swordwing and it exploded with
an extremely splendid silvery light!
 They were too close and the silver light appeared too
suddenly, effectively striking Shi Youguang, who was
unprepared.

Amid the glaring light, a bright yet non-conspicuous and

silent sword light emerged.

The broadsword was soft and easy, making a slash across Shi
Youguang’s neck.

The head floated up lightly and unhurriedly.

Ai Hui’s elemental energy had been maxed out and as he was

descending, his legs softened and he almost kneeled on the
ground. The battle was short but Ai Hui had put all his wisdom
and skills to use.

His body was empty but the moment he touched the ground,
he dashed over to Shi Youguang.&nbsp;Within thirty seconds,
Ai Hui had already claimed all the loot.

He wasn’t out of practice!

 Ai Hui swept all the spoils of war and flew away speedily.

The silver light from before was simply too dazzling and
could’ve very possibly attracted other elementalists’ attention.
Chapter 285: Panicked State
Not even ten minutes after Ai Hui left, two lightflows broke
through the sky as two silhouettes, one male and one female,
landed on the ground.

The man was tall and handsome, his eyes exceptionally clear
and bright. He held a longsword and his gestures were graceful
but fear-evoking.

"Shi Youguang!"

Shock was evident in the lady’s voice as she realized that the
head on the ground belonged to Shi Youguang. His expression
was sinister and his eyes were wide open, a clear sign that he
died with a remaining grievance.

The man squatted to inspect Shi Youguang’s head. The slash

was cleanly done and there was no signs of sloppiness. Looking
at the headless corpse not far away, the man imagined the fight
scenario in his head and his expression turned grave.
"Outstanding swordplay!"

The lady asked curiously, "Perhaps one of your people? A

swordsman from Karakorum?"

The man shook his head. "I heard that the thief is called Chu
Zhaoyang. Not one of us. But we did observe him. His skills are
pretty good, just that he has a low base level and has yet to
attain elemental externalization. Looks like he’s actually much
more powerful than we first thought."

Karakorum always had much interest in swordsmen who

somewhat famous.

The man continued, "I had thought initially that Great Wei’s
words were a diversion tactic but seeing Shi Youguang’s corpse
now, I’m&nbsp;quite convinced."

The lady asked in shock, "Don’t tell me you too, believe Great
Wei’s excuse?"

"It’s a fact that Chu Zhaoyang managed to defeat Shi

Youguang, so he’s really not as simple as we thought. He has
some hidden abilities. Moreover, he has a lot of wisdom. There’s
no way Great Wei would destroy Auspicious, which means that
explosion was Chu Zhaoyang’s doing."
 "Is he really that powerful?" The lady asked in disbelief.

"Judging from his head and body, that fatal slash easily
snapped Shi Youguang’s neck. His head did not receive a big
impact since it did not float far. It is extremely challenging to
execute such a heavy blow in a light manner during a frontal
confrontation."

The man then flipped Shi Youguang’s corpse over. His sword
mastery was excellent and he could naturally tell that the
perpetrator had an outstanding level of skills.

Shi Youguang’s body was&nbsp;completely naked and the

lady turned her head in revulsion.

"Shi Youguang is not a simple fellow as well. Look at his

corpse. A third of it had become sand."

The man reached his hand out to press on Shi Youguang’s

skin and a portion of quicksand emerged. It was a strange sight.
A few minutes after dying, the elemental energy within a body
undergoing sandification would gradually dissipate and the area
of sandification would transform into quicksand.
 "He actually transfigured his own body?" The girl’s voice
became louder suddenly, her face full of fear.

Body modification was taboo yet by no means extinct.

Essentially, elementalists’ training was an energization

process which deepened the elemental energy within their
bodies. The faster the energization, the greater the elemental
energy storage, which meant a better mobilization of the
heaven and earth elemental energy.

At the beginning, body modification was used to help disabled

elementalists. Its effectiveness then became apparent since not
only did the elementalists’ abilities not decline, they actually
became more powerful.

Elementalists who transfigured their bodies could garner

tremendous force in a short period of time and their initial
training speed far exceeded that of the average elementalists.
Some extremists began to use pure ingredients to modify their
bodies in order to expedite the energization process.

For a period of time, it was fashionable to have had one body

modification done.
 But as the number of body modifying elementalists increased,
malpractice and abuse set in.

No matter how exquisite the ingredients’ grade was, they

were ultimately man-made. The human body was rather
amazing. With further developments, the foreign, man-made
matter started getting rejected more apparently by the human
bodies.

The fatal part was that such repulsion would affect one’s
intelligence and temperament. Many elementalist who had
undergone modifications started acting strange and irritable,
and started developing a liking for slaughter. Within a short
period of time, many cases of violence by transfigured
elementalists shocked the whole Avalon of Five Elements.
Eventually, the Elders Guild personally ordered the Thirteen
Divisions to hunt and take down those transfigured
elementalists.

From then on, transfigured elementalists were regarded as

taboo and whoever followed their path would be killed.

Hence, the lady was seriously in shock when she realized Shi
Youguang was actually a transfigured elementalist.
 The man wasn’t surprised by her reaction. Instead, he
nodded, "And that’s why I said Chu Zhaoyang isn’t simple."

The lady was now convinced. Transfigured elementalists were

much stronger than normal ones and their survival means were
weirder as well. Chu Zhaoyang must not be weak if he managed
to take down a transfigured elementalist.

"Then let’s head to Magic Cloud City?" The&nbsp;lady asked.

The man shook his head. "No, let’s keep our eyes on Great Wei
Enterprise."

He muttered to himself, eyes flickering with wisdom and

quick-wittedness. "There’s something suspicious here. If Chu
Zhaoyang was a thief trying to blend into the&nbsp;Great Wei’s
caravan&nbsp;and finally defeated Shi Youguang down upon
crossing paths when he was trying to escape, his first reaction
should be to flee far away as opposed to loot. Of course, it’s
possible that he’s a money grubber but chances are low. Such a
wise and crafty person should be able to control his emotions
well. I’m starting to doubt Great Wei."

He raised his head and revealed a confidence smile. "Let’s

watch. If the item is in Chu Zhaoyang’s hand, they would
definitely find a way to get it back. That will help us locate him
as well. If they were lying, they would find ways to leave."

The lady said sweetly, "I’ll listen to you!"

Ai Hui had been flying non-stop and as fast as lightning for a

whole day and night, changing directions a few times midway.
When he was certain that no one was following behind, he
stopped by an empty valley to rest.

He could feel his whole body falling apart.

After descending, he found an isolated corner before popping

another elemental energy bean into his mouth to drive his
elemental energy for the Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

That short fight had engaged all his wisdom, experience and,
perseverance and strength such that he almost collapsed from
exhaustion during that moment of victory. However he dared
not stay long and quickly fled all the way here like a stray dog.

A stray dog was a stray dog. He had no poise but surviving was
more important.

To fly a day and night straight in that worn out state, Ai Hui
had been completely relying on his excellent willpower. But he
had already reached his limit. These past three years, he had
been involved in many battles of different scales but he never
allowed himself to fall into such a pitiable state.

The pure essence of elemental energy was like gluey mercury,

circulating within his body.

Ai Hui’s body was like dried up mud, which tirelessly and

diligently absorbed moisture from the rain.

He seemed to have lost consciousness. It was his instinct

driving the Circulatory Cycle Revolution. One after another
revolution transformed the pure elemental energy into wisps
that entered his five residences and eight palaces, and his limbs
and bones. They were being absorbed by the flesh and Ai Hui’s
withered body began to sprout and flourish once again.

An unknown number of revolutions later, the wisps of

elemental energy steadily seeped out from every corner of Ai
Hui’s body to rejoin the Circulatory Cycle Revolution. Following
it, they gradually turned into elemental energy sword pills,
which were unique to Ai Hui.

When Ai Hui woke up, he felt as though his whole body had
been cleansed. It felt indescribably empty and pure.

When he checked the elemental energy within his body, the

elemental energy sword pills made clear, crisp sounds and the
odor became abnormally introverted. If the pills from the past
were somewhat thorny, the pills now were perfectly round and
smooth without any sharpness.

There was vigor within his body. His whole person became
exceptionally clear and pure.

It was his first time experiencing something like this.

Just then, Ai Hui’s body jolted and his mind rumbled, as if a

big gate had been opened within.

He seemed to have seen countless silvery light pouring out

like a flood from Silver Mist River, drowning him in an instant
as his mind went blank.
 All of a sudden, the area between his brows lit up and a silver
whirlpool gradually took shape. Elemental energy from the his
surroundings came pouring into the whirlpool from all
directions.

The elemental energy first entered and filled the sky palace, so
much that Ai Hui’s brain felt overfed and was about to explode.

Ai Hui’s remaining thread of consciousness told him that the

most important thing to do now was to start the Circulatory
Cycle Revolution!

Following the Circulatory Cycle Revolution, the congested sky

palace finally found an opening for drainage.

The influx of elemental energy was simply too high, causing

Ai Hui’s circulatory cycle revolution to lose control.

A huge volume of elemental energy was like a havoc-wrecking

deluge, destroying everything in its path and flooding whatever
possible openings and crevices. The speed of the Circulatory
Cycle Revolution far exceeded what was usual.
 A black, fishy-smelling matter started seeping out of Ai Hui’s
skin. This continued for a period of time before the black
substance gradually faded.

By now, Ai Hui had already recovered his spirits and could feel
the elemental energy within his body filling up. The absorption
of elemental energy by his sky palace had also slowed
down&nbsp;quite a bit and the whirlpool between his brows
started to shrink.

Once the whirlpool between his brows closed up completely,

he would attain elemental externalization!

Just then, the blood plum blossom in Ai Hui’s chest lit up with
a devilish bloody glow and started wildly sucking in elemental
energy. The circulating elemental energy, which had practically
come to a stop, began operating once again and the whirlpool
between his brows, which had started to close up, stopped
shrinking.

The sudden change of events caught Ai Hui off guard.

The blood plum blossom was like a bottomless pit, greedily

and incessantly swallowing elemental energy. The elemental
energy within his body started operating quicker and quicker.
What frightened Ai Hui more was the fact that the elemental
energy whirlpool between his brows had actually started to
enlarge.

Ai Hui’s body had already been cleansed by the elemental

energy and if the energy continued pouring in, his body would
gradually collapse and combust under the powerful current.

Overdoing was as bad as insufficiency.

The surrounding elemental energy formed a halo around Ai

Hui and elemental energy within a radius of about two miles
gushed wildly toward the valley. An underground metal vein of
ore exuded silk threads of silvery light, which seeped out
towards Ai Hui, who was above ground.

Ai Hui tried all sorts of ways but the current within his body
did not slow down and the blood plum blossom wasn’t affected
all as it continued absorbing the elemental energy avariciously.

What oozed out from Ai Hui’s skin was no longer that black,
fishy-smelling matter but drops of fresh blood. In the blink of
an eye, Ai Hui looked as if he was covered in blood .
 Ai Hui’s skin started to crack as silvery light seeped out. It
looked exceptionally scary.

Just then, the all along quiet bandage seemed to have smelled
the odor of a prey.

It moved.
Chapter 286: Woman in Red, She Yu
The blood-colored eye on the bandage lighted up slightly and
looked alive. It seemed as though there was a pair of invisible
hands untying the knot around Ai Hui’s wrist.

Sha sha sha was the sound made by the bandage rubbing
against the shirt. The bandage was like an agile snake, coiling
around Ai Hui body as it moved.

Its tip started to tremble slightly like a snake that sniffed

around constantly.

It quickly appeared on Ai Hui’s chest. The blood plum

blossom must have swallowed up a significant amount of
elemental energy for it to look this plump and tender. Its petals
reached out, as if it was going to peel off from Ai Hui’s chest.

The bandage shot out like a white, sharp sword, and entered
the heart of the blood plum blossom suddenly.

The flower trembled, as if breaking free, but was unable to no

matter how hard it tried.
 A fine wisp of blood thread extended along the bandage and
entered the blood eye .

The blood eye’s light brightened significantly. The initial

blurry and stiff eye now burst with life and carried a different
kind of grace.

The flower’s extended petal withdrew into Ai Hui’s body

again. It's&nbsp;once tender, beautiful and lifelike appearance
withered and dulled, becoming a dark red color.

The light cracks on Ai Hui’s body faded quickly and eventually

vanished.

The light whirlpool between his brows shrunk rapidly until it

closed up as well.

At this point, the blood bandage was full and satisfied. It

withdrew from the blood plum blossom and returned to its
original position, knotting itself up around Ai Hui’s wrist.

Jadeite City was located at the core of Jadeite Forest and was
the biggest city. Ever since Jadeite Forest was established,
instead of falling into a slump, this area became livier.
Everything went well and business within Jadeite Forest
flourished. The families involved in its establishment recovered
from their initial worry and became highly confident.

Power, status and so on were easily attainable for these core

families.

Quan family was one of the mightiest families in the whole of

Jadeite Forest.

There were three main supreme families.

The most reputable and unsurpassable clan would be the

Duanmu household.

Duanmu household was the most well-known family within

Avalon of Five Elements and possessed a lot of inside
information. Furthermore, Duanmu Huanghun was Dai Gang’s
disciple. Jadeite Forest never would’ve been possible without
Duanmu household’s support.

Other than the Duanmu family, there were two other

comparable families and one of them was Lu family. Lu family
used to be pretty influential in the past but still not as much as
Duanmu family. Now, with the chance to contribute to the
establishment of Jadeite Forest, Lu family made a great leapt
and became one of the most supreme families.

Like Duanmu family, Lu family had a disciple under a

Grandmaster. Not only was Lu Chen Dai Gang’s disciple, he was
the first disciple. Even Duanmu Huanghun had to address him
as Senior when they meet.

Able to squeeze its way into the top ranking families without
Duanmu Household’s inside information, Lu family had not
only Lu Chen to thank but also Lu Feng. That year where
Deathgrass’s division’s leader Zheng Yuanhong refused to
surrender, the whole division underwent a blood purge.
Thereafter, Yu Mingqiu left his village and Deathgrass Division
fell into a downward spiral.

At the time of calamity, Lu Feng undertook the role of leading

Deathgrass Division.

It was this appointment which people were not optimistic

about but the results were extraordinary favorable. Lu Feng was
outspoken, straightforward and loyal. Within a short period of
time, he managed to reorganize and transform the atmosphere
of the division, tidying up the previous ruins.

Other than Duanmu and Lu family, there was yet another

family that stood at the peak of the food chain – Quan family.

If one were to say that Duanmu family set Jadeite Forest in

place and Lu family took the opportunity to drive their
influence, then Quan family bore the first evildoer. The Deep
Sea Enterprise, created by Quan family, was the biggest
underground organization that had every commodity under the
sun.

Although Quan family was wealthy, they had no power and

did not bear any top-notch fighter. Since ancient times,
merchants were the lackeys of tyrannical aristocratic families.
They had plenty of money but were without status.

The head of Quan family, Quan Weide had his own

interpretation of the situation and initiated a provocation
regarding the establishment of Jadeite Forest. And in order to
gain the approval of Duanmu family, Lu family and
Grandmaster Dai Gang, Quan Weide spontaneously offered
Deep Sea Enterprise.
 The merchants of Jadeite Forest ridiculed Quan Weide’s
action and felt that he was simply being silly. Handing over his
own chamber of commerce was like trying to draw water with a
wicker basket. The greedy families would definitely take
thorough advantage of him and reduce him to nothingness.

Who would’ve thought that not only did Quan Weidie not get
swallowed up, a few big families joined hands to enter Deep Sea
Enterprise. They invested a large amount of money and
manpower to expand it.

From then on, the trading world also became Jadeite Forest’s
national policy.

More importantly, Quan Weide was Deep Sea Enterprise’s

authority figure. Just like Lu family, Quan family shot their way
up to become one of the most reputable families that carried the
money bag of Jadeite Forest. Even Dai Gang encouraged him to
do a proper job and Quan Weide did not disappoint. Under his
leadership, Deep Sea made astonishing gains, filling the big
families’ pockets with money and so, they were especially
courteous to Quan family as well.

It’d been said recently that Dai Gang might be taking in an

unofficial disciple from Quan Family. This was buzzing news
that drew many visitors to the household.

Quan residence was filled with visitors tonight as well. The

wine and food were intoxicating and the lights were bright and
splendid, as if it was day time. More than half of Jadeite Forest’s
most important figures were here and their usual stern faces
were replaced by cheeriness. Occasionally they raised their
glasses to celebrate and enjoy this moment of recklessness and
tipsiness. Many hoped to mingle with familiar-looking people,
going forward to start chats.

And beyond the high perimeter walls, so many people were

racking their brains trying to get in.

Quan family feasts were usually well-known since Quan

Weide enjoyed lavish fun and many other fresh things. Over
time, the family also became a place for many children from
influential families to hang out. They held an astonishing
record of hosting a party for over two hundred days straight.

Tonight’s feast was exceptionally grand. Quan family had

spent many days preparing for this.

When a lady in red appeared, the whole household quietened

down. That beautiful and tender face had already gotten the
gentlemen holding their breaths.

Her blooming red clothes floated gracefully like smoke,

carrying a tinge of languidness and charm. It was as if there was
a pair of invisible hands that grabbed everyone’s hearts.

Quan Minglong, who stood beside her, was looking at this

goddess-like lady passionately as well.

The lady in red smiled sweeting, instantly brightening up the

whole hall.

Quan Minglong’s heart was beating so fast, as if a voice was

booming inside. He must have her! No matter what, he must
have her!

This voice was raging within his chest like a fierce storm.
Quan Minglong radiated a whole new kind of vigor as he’d just
found the biggest desire of his life.

The lady in red was unaware of how the gentleman beside her
was feeling but she wouldn’t care even if she did. She did not
have time to care since so many men were interested in her any
way.

She handled the scene skillfully, giving the right amount of

smile, words and charm.

Everyone who met her couldn’t help but admire and praise
her inwardly. The emergence of Blood of God was indeed not a
fluke.

The lady in red, She Yu, was indeed out of the ordinary.

She Yu was sent by Blood of God on a diplomatic mission. She

had heard that Duanmu Huanghun was of a marriageable age
and Blood of God hoped to build ties with Jadeite Forest
through marriage.

Quan Minglong was somewhat jealous. If he was Duanmu

Huanghun, he would immediately accept the proposal.
Thinking about how the host was still indulging in fun while
here he was burning inside, Quan Minglong’s spirits fell
instantly.
 Everything will change once he became Dai Gang’s disciple!

"By sending such a beautiful angel like yourself on a mission,

God Nation is just trying to get poach Jadeite Forest’s best talent
over to Blood of God!"

A steady and grave voice sounded and others started

muttering in low voices. Guests who stood beside the old man
immediately moved aside to make space for him. A rather stout
middle-aged man went forward slowly. He was an authority
figure of Jadeite Forest, Gong Wenyou.

Quan Minglong quickly bowed. "Uncle You!"

"You’re here too, Minglong." Gong Wenyou said as he gave

Quan Minglong’s shoulder a pat.

She Yu blinked her eyes. "Mister Duanmu and I have had the
chance of meeting. I really hope you’re right, Sir. That way,
Mister Duanmu will not treat me so harshly."

Her words shocked everyone present. Gong Wenyou was

rather surprised as well. "Could it be that Miss She Yu and
Duanmu had a conflict?"

She Yu smiled playfully. "There was a time when I happened

to be near Central Pine City."

Everyone suddenly understood and momentarily, there was

an awkward silence.

The blood disaster in Induction Ground was a taboo topic

within Jadeite Forest. The peaceful relationship between
Jadeite Forest and Blood of God caused much controversy
within Jadeite Forest since many sons from Jadeite Forest
families had lost their lives in the blood disaster.

While both aligned with each other for mutual benefits, the
hatred did not disappear.

Gong Wenyou knew as well that this topic was not discussable
and so he simply laughed it off. "You youngsters go ahead and
get close to one another. There’s no need to care about us old
fellows. Minglong, I’ll leave Miss She Yu to you. I’ll hold you
responsible if anything goes badly!"
 Quan Minglong was overjoyed. "Yes!"

She Yu smiled as she gave Gong Wenyou a respectful bow

before following Quan Minglong to join the gentlemen from
respective families. The young ladies present observed She Yu
curiously, whereas the young masters acted restlessly as if
they’d been injected with chicken blood.

She Yu casually played along with her perfect smile.

Suddenly, her heart trembled as a peculiar sensation hit her

arm.

She remained composed as she casually placed her left hand

over her left arm. Over her clothes, she could clearly feel the
blood plum blossom on her arm emerging from her skin, as if it
was floating up to the water surface.

She got distracted momentarily. The many things that

happened three years ago and the frightening images surfaced
within her mind. For three years it seemed that Ai Hui had
vanished from this earth and she had practically forgotten
about this.
 Who would’ve expected the flower to bloom only after three
years.

At that time when she was shaken by Ai Hui, she picked an

opportune moment to plant a seed. Now that the seed was
actually about to mature, she was somewhat surprised but
largely pleased.

The seed took less than three years to mature, a sign that Ai
Hui had outstanding innate skills. But it also proved that her
foresight was accurate. Then, she had placed heavy faith on Ai
Hui and had to pay a high price for it.

It was all worth it.

The long destroyed secret technique reappeared in her hands.

If this news was to spread, it would definitely cause a huge
sensation.

She Yu was excited, her eyes bright and clear.

Suddenly, a voice rang.

"Did Miss She Yu encounter something happy? Care to share?"
Chapter 287: What Happened?
Quan Minglong’s words caught everyone’s attention.

A smile appeared on She Yu’s face. "I feel really happy to meet
everyone."

The smile on her face was genuine and her gorgeous eyes were
glittering. Her absolutely ravishing face was brimming with
sincerity, making everyone believed that she meant her words
without the slightest doubt.

However, at this point of time, she was actually placing all her
attention on the blood plum blossom on her arm. She could
clearly feel the petals of the blood plum blossom extending
outwards. The petals were already protruding halfway out of
her arm. Once the plum blossom was fully protruded from her
skin, it would fall off her arm.

No one knew how excited she was deep down.

Once the plum blossom fell off, it would be an exceptional

priceless treasure in the whole of Nation of God. It would be a
supreme elixir that everyone yearned for.
 Once she swallowed the plum blossom, she could effortlessly
rise through the premier ranks in the Nation of God.

Right now, what she needed to do the most was not to attract
any attention to herself. For any blood elementalist, this plum
blossom was an irreplaceable priceless treasure that could
directly raise his or her base level significantly.

If the High Priest was to know of its existence, even he himself

would covet after it.

In the past, she used to despise and disdain people looking at

her with such burning envy. However, at this moment, she was
extremely pleased by these gazes.

Was there better cover than hiding among these people? If

those old foxes were around, she would have let the cat of the
bag. The rest of the diplomatic mission were at least twenty
metres away from her, it would be impossible for them to sense
it.

The smile on her face became increasingly alluring

 Quan Minglong could not help but feel overjoyed and smiled,
"It seems that Miss She Yu gets along with us quite well."

At this point of time, even fools could tell that Quan Minglong
was very interested in She Yu.

"Has anyone realized that when Miss She Yu and Mr Quan

stand together, her radiating beauty and his imposing dignity
complement each other really well? Sigh, there’s really too
much pressure standing beside these two individuals. It’s okay
if we lose out to them in terms of capabilities. However, right
now, even our looks lose out to them. Someone please help us!"

A person in the crowd shook his head and sighed, putting on a

self-pity look on his face.

Quan Minglong was delight as an aloof smile appeared on his

face. Why didn’t he find this guy so pleasing to the eye in the
past?

"Can we even be compared to Brother Minglong? He is the

first young master of the Quan family!"
 The surrounding people started flooding the Quan Minglong
with flatters. The Quan family was powerful and influential. As
the first young master of the Quan family, Quan Minglong was
always highly flattered wherever he went.

Quan Minglong was born in a family of merchants. His father

had enforced strict discipline on him since he was young, and as
such, he was not tainted by bad business ethics. His father also
knew that if one did not have any fighting capabilities, he or she
would not survive and excel in an era of killing and bloodshed.
Since the day Quan Minglong was born, he had displayed
extraordinary talents and had become the main focus of the
Quan family to nurture and groom.

As a child, Quan Minglong trained diligently everyday. Even

though Quan family was well-known for its extravagance, Quan
Minglong was not fond of indulging himself in such habit.

Usually, those who wanted to bootlick Quan Minglong to win

his favor were not able to succeed as Quan Minglong did not
endorse such behaviour. However, today Quan Minglong
seemed to be a changed man. Apparently, he was very happy
and was beaming with joy. Thus, everyone started to flood him
with flatters.
 She Yu, who had been smiling brightly on the surface,
suddenly felt a shiver went down her spine. The blood plum
blossom that was emerging from her arm had stopped in its
tracks!

What happened?

Before she could find out what had happened, the blood plum
blossom began to sink back into her arm.

She became anxious instantly.

What was going on? What exactly had happened?

The blood plum blossom did not hear the the cries in her
heart and continued to sink back into her arm. The speed at
which it was sinking was much faster than usual as well.

She Yu had never panicked like this before. The exceptional

priceless treasure that she was about to get her hands on was
disappearing right under her nose. Her mind went into a blank
and she was stunned.
 Even though she was surrounded by a clamorous crowd now,
like a bright moon that was surrounded by a myriad of stars, she
felt as if she was in a boundless wilderness, lonely and isolated.
The feeling of losing something she just obtained felt so terrible.
The turn of events was so devastating that she thought how
ridiculous it was for her to feel so happy and excited just now.

Disappointment engulfed her like a black hole, leaving her

isolated and helpless.

Quan Minglong noticed the smile on She Yu’s face had

disappeared and she looked slightly pale. He was preparing to
ask her what had happened.

"In a few months’ time, Brother Minglong is going to become

Master Dai’s disciple. Come on, come on, let us congratulate
Brother Minglong beforehand."

She Yu’s body turned cold. The blood plum blossom had
completely sunk back into her arm. Her arm became smooth
once again and her face had turned deathly white. She was
being played by fate.

She felt extremely terrible.

 It just so happened that she heard someone was talking about
congratulating Quan Minglong and her patience in putting up
with everyone collapsed instantly. She coldly snorted,

"Disciple-in-name? If my memory serves me right, Duanmu

Huanghun is the last official disciple of Dai Gang?"

A dead silence swept across her surroundings. Everyone

widened their eyes and stared shockingly at She Yu.

Quan Minglong’s face turned ashen.

At this moment, She Yu also realized she had said something

wrong. However, she was too lazy to explain as she did not care
about these people at all.

With a cold and indifferent look on her face, she bowed and
bade everyone farewell, "I’m sorry, I feel unwell and I have to
leave in advance."

After finishing her sentence, She Yu turned and left the place
without bothering about anyone.
 …..

A valley in the wild.

Ai Hui woke up and opened his eyes unhurriedly. At the

instance when he opened his eyes, he was stunned. There were
numerous glowing wisps floating before his eyes, resembling a
veil of mist.

These glowing wisps were elemental energy.

Traces of wood elemental energy were emitting from the

plants and trees around him. The closer one got to the ground,
the stronger the earth elemental energy he or she could feel. In
the midst of the earth elemental energy, one could also see
speckles of silvery light. Those were the metal elemental energy
from the ore veins under the ground. The water elemental
energy in the sky was flowing with the moving clouds.
Occasionally, one could see a few faint traces of water elemental
energy lingering in the valley. The naked boulders that made up
the mountain peak was emitting a red glow. That was the fire
elemental energy. That must be the fire elemental energy that
was left over from the lava that formed the boulders in the
ancient past.
 The morning sunshine scattered fire elemental energy all over
the valley. The fire elemental energy was faint but its range was
extremely wide. It also contained a trace of wood elemental
energy.

The whole world was vivid, animated and full of vitality.

Elemental externalization!

He had attained elemental externalization!

Ai Hui was overjoyed. A wide grin spread across his face.

Eventually, he was grinning foolishly to himself.

Then, he suddenly remembered that the blood plum blossom

almost killed him when he was about to achieve a
breakthrough. How did he survive after that? Did the blood
plum blossom spare his life? Ha, what a joke. One Thousand
Yuan’s heart was extremely vicious, she only wanted to kill him,
not spare him.

The bloodstains all over his body indicated how dangerous his
condition was at the time when he was achieving his
breakthrough. Everything was not a misperception.

He quickly took off his clothes and looked at his chest. The
blood plum blossom was still there. Other than its color
becoming slightly fainter, there were not much changes.

Slightly fainter?

Ai Hui was baffled. From his understanding towards things

that were related to blood elementalists, the brighter the color
of something was, the more dangerous it was. Why did the color
of the blood plum blossom became fainter? What had
happened?

Ai Hui examined his body and remained confused. He then

thought of how the blood bandage had saved his life in the past.
Could it be the blood bandage?

He took off the blood bandage and examined it. When he saw
the blood eye on it, he immediately knew what was going on.

The blood eye had completely transformed.

 The color and luster of the blood eye did not change but it
gave Ai Hui a completely different feeling, an indescribable one.
It was as if the blood eye was a living thing. Ai Hui could not
help but take a closer a look at. His gaze gradually became blank
and a surprise slowly crept upon his face. He stared blankly at
the blood eye, motionless.

After an unknown amount of time, Ai Hui returned to his

sense abruptly as a cold shiver went down his spine.

Astonishment flashed across his face.

The sunset in the distant dyed the entire valley in orange. The
sunset glow was dazzling and golden-bright, extremely
beautiful. The evening breeze was cool and refreshing, and yet,
Ai Hui felt his body was doused in chilliness.

Just a moment ago, it was still early morning. Now, it was

already sunset.

He did not seem to have any recollection of what happened

between then and now. He did not even feel the passing of time
at all.
 An indescribable fear engulfed Ai Hui.

The blood bandage… the blood eye… it was indeed an

extraordinary object!

In the past, he already knew that the blood bandage was an

extraordinary object, but it was only at this moment that he
realized that it was far more powerful than what he expected.
Even though he had already attained elemental externalization,
he still fell into its trap. The blood bandage was indeed an evil
object.

Mistress never would have thought that her blood bandage

was so powerful.

When Ai Hui thought of his mistress, his fear towards the

blood bandage immediately reduced significantly. His gaze
became much gentle as well. No matter what, the blood bandage
had saved his life several times. So what if it was an evil object?

Ai Hui patted the blood bandage and said, "Don’t worry, I

won’t lose you."
 After the fright from the blood bandage, Ai Hui’s ecstasy over
his attainment of elemental externalization had dampened a lot.

He thought about the spoils of war he looted from Shi

Youguang. At that time, he was in a hurry to escape, hence, he
did not really see and check what they exactly were.

Since he was free now, he might as well arrange and account

for the spoils of war.

Shi Youguang had been a reputable expert for many years, he

definitely had an immense amount of wealth. At least, he was
not as poor as Ai Hui himself.

He took out the items one by one.

Initially, there was a bunch of earth elemental materials,

presumably for sand puppets. There were also a few rare items
that made Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. He had been thinking for quite
long on giving Lou Lan’s body an upgrade. However, earth
elemental materials were in high demand and those high-grade
ones were extremely expensive.
 Meteoric sand was an extremely dense and heavy material. It
was a well-known heavy sand and had a special ability of
breaking armor. The meteoric sand was produced in the depths
of the thick sand sea in Yellow Sand Corner. This type of heavy
sand were only flushed out of the ground by quicksand
occasionally. They were very rare and could not be found on the
market. They were usually used to make the offensive parts of
sand puppets, such as their fists.

Soft sand, also widely know as dough sand, was a very unique
type of sand. They behaved like dough, which shape could be
easily changed. Using this type of sand to make a sand puppet,
the sand puppet’s body could be pulled as long as noodles
without breaking. Soft sand was produced using clay. Even
though clay and sand were both earth elemental materials, they
had completely different characteristics. Soft sand was usually
produced at the border of sand sea and wasteland.

The other materials were of high grade as well. It was clear

that Shi Youguang’s sand puppet was of high grade tool.

He was an expert that had been reputable for many years!

Could he afford to be so petty with his money? How could he
have the nerve to be petty with his money in the first place?
What would other people say of him if he was to be so petty
with his sand puppet? Would he dare to use his sand puppet if
he was to be so petty with him? Would his sand puppet still be
capable of protecting him? (Sarcastic tone)

Ai Hui was over the moon. Even though he had made a small
name for himself after going through all kinds of battles during
the last three years, this was the first time he made such
bountiful gain.

As the proverbs in Avalon of Five Elements said,

A horse won’t get fat if it doesn’t secretly chomp on grass at

night, a man won’t get rich if he doesn’t have a windfall!

If you ask me how melancholy I am now, I can tell you I feel

like a poor man who is gifting his head away.

When Ai Hui took out the last item, he was so excited that he
jumped up from the ground.

This is an altered version of a line from Li Yu’s poem in the

Song Dynasty. Basically, this line means that it’s useless for one
to kill a poor man as he or she will not be able to reap any
benefit.
Chapter 288: Sand Compass And Bad
Reputation
It was a palm-sized sand plate that was covered with densely-
packed vein patterns and characters, resembling a compass.

Its name was called sand compass.

Sand compass was one of the greatest inventions by earth

elementalists. It was created by the great earth elemental
master Luo De seven hundred years ago.

Before Master Luo De, people treated the flow of the

elemental energies in the Nature like ‘water’ and ‘air’. Master
Luo De was the first one to propose that when the concentration
of an elemental energy had reached a certain point, the nature
of its flow started to change fundamentally.

At that time, Master Luo De’s theory was unconvincing and a

lot people thought that he was indulging in his own fantasy.

However, eventually, Master Luo De was able to use his

ingenuity and creativity to prove his theory.
 Sand compass was the&nbsp;what he used to prove his
theory.

Lou De realized that entire Avalon of Five Elements sat on a

huge continent. Even Jadeite Forest, which consisted of
numerous islands, shared the same continent as the other four
elemental factions. This implied that the earth elemental energy
at any places in the Avalon of Five Elements were
interconnected, forming a massive base of earth elemental
energy beneath the Avalon.

Deep under the ground, the concentration of such immense

amount of earth elemental energy was extremely high. This
knowledge formed the basis of the proof to his theory.

As such, he created the sand compass.

Beneath the ground, he opened up a stable earth elemental

space. Every earth elemental space would have a particular sand
compass that it corresponded to.

On the Mid-autumn festival seven hundred years ago, under

the invitation of Master Luo De, the Jadeite City was packed
with elders, division leaders and elementalists. Everyone in the
Jadeite City turned up as they wanted to witness the miraculous
night.

Under the watchful eyes of the people, Master Luo De and the
Great Elder jointly placed a mooncake that contained the
latter’s token onto the sand compass. Following which, the
mooncake was slowly devoured by the quicksand on the sand
compass.

The sand compass was immediately placed in an unique metal

box that was being sealed up afterwards. Then, the metal box
was being taken by the fastest flying elementalist at that time,
Zhou Mingkui, who was also known as the "Hurricane of the
North Sea", to the biggest city in Silver Mist Sea, Silver City. He
traveled day and night and flew towards his destination in his
fastest speed

And at this point of time, the Silver City was already fully
packed with people. They were stretching their necks, waiting
anxiously for the arrival of Zhou Mingkui.

Two days later, when Zhou Mingkui descended from the layer
of clouds in the sky, draped in the first glimmer of dawn and
mist, the people in Silver City exploded into cries of joy.
 The bone-tired Zhou Mingkui took off the metal box on his
back and passed it to the mayor of Silver City.

Under everyone’s attentive gaze, the mayor opened the metal

box and took out the sand compass and placed it on the ground.
Holding their breath, everyone looked on as the sand compass
transformed into a very small sand whirlpool. Following which,
a piece of mooncake emerged from the sand whirlpool. At this
moment, everyone cried out in surprise.

To the mayor’s surprise, when he broke apart the mooncake,

he saw the Great Elder’s token.

The mayor held the Great Elder’s token up high in the air.
However, at this point of time, his surroundings had already
broken into an uproar. Surging waves of deafening cheer almost
overturned this time-honored city. Everyone understood that
this day would definitely go down in history. They also knew
that this day signified the coming of a new era. The creation of
sand compass enable people to have a treasure box that could
open anywhere and anytime, not restricted by the dimensions
of space and time.

Master Luo De became everyone’s hero, receiving supreme

prestige and a terrifying amount of wealth.
 Those earth elementalists that followed Master Luo De kept
on improving the sand compass. They made it more safe by
adding a lock to it, increased its space, reduced its construction
cost and etc.

However, until now, sand compass was not something that

ordinary individuals could use.

Even Ai hui had only heard of it and not seen it before.

However, it was appropriate for him to feel so excited. After all,
a fugitive like Shi Youguang would hide his most valuable
things in it.

Unlocking the sand compass might be a problem to many but

not Lou Lan. To him, unlocking the sand compass was a piece of
cake.

The technology of sand compass might be improving, but so

did the technology of unlocking it as well. Ai Hui knew of
elementalists that knew how to unlock a sand compass. If he
used the identity of Chu Zhaoyang, he could definitely find
people to unlock it for him. However, by doing so, it would be
very difficult for him to maintain secrecy.
 Ai Hui looked forward to seeing what kind of treasure would
be kept inside the sand compass. If the items that Shi Youguang
brought along with him were already so valuable, the item that
he stored in the sand compass would definitely be an even more
valuable treasure.

Wiping off the saliva stain on his mouth, Ai Hui carefully kept
the sand compass.

It was already nighttime but Ai Hui did not want waste any
time. He had already wasted a lot of time.

He needed to find out where the nearest town was to

determine his current location.

Luckily, it was already nighttime and the layer of clouds in the

sky had cleared. This enabled him to quickly locate a dimly-lit
place in the distance after flying up to the sky.

The pair of azure wings on his back spread and he flew in the
direction of the dimly-lit place in a burst of light.

He could feel something different with his body. The

elemental energy in his body was surging violently, increasing
his flying speed sharply. At this moment, he realized why
everyone only cared about base level. He felt so powerful just by
achieving elemental externalization. Even though he was flying
with reservations, his current flying speed had already
surpassed the highest speed he achieved in the past.

Ai Hui became excited and increased his speed to its

maximum. He felt like an extremely sharp sword that was
slicing madly through the air.

It was too fast!

His current speed was at least twice his top speed in the past.
The Starry Gem Swordwings was able to withstand the test.
Even when Ai Hui was flying at such a high speed, the Starry
Gem Swordwings did not tremble the slightest bit. Not only
that, Ai Hui could also feel the pair of azure wings still had
potentials that had yet to be unveiled.

The thing that amazed Ai Hui the most was the metal
elemental energy in the wind kept on gathering around him,
forming a metal elemental force field around him.
 The wind around him was not metal wind and only contained
a small amount of wind elemental energy. After a while, the
metal elemental energy surrounding Ai Hui increased and was
extremely spectacular.

With the metal elemental energy surrounding him, Ai Hui felt

unusually comfortable. Not only did the metal elemental energy
negate the violent wind that was blasting against him, it also
greatly reduced the amount of elemental energy his azure wings
exhausted.

Ai Hui knew that achieving elemental externalization would

allow one to use the elemental energies from the Nature but this
was the first time he experienced it.

It was also at this moment that he felt fear when he thought

about the fight with Shi Youguang. He now then realized how
lucky he was to be able to kill Shi Youguang. If not for the fact
that Shi Youguang was severely injured beforehand, his sand
puppet was destroyed and he underestimated his enemy, Ai Hui
would not stand a chance against him.

Luckily, he eventually defeated Shi Youguang and attained

elemental externalization. The thrill from his extreme flying
speed made him felt on top of the world.
 It felt truly blissful to have a life like this.

After flying for approximately half an hour, a brightly-lit city

appeared in his sight.

At this time, the air traffic had become much more busy. Ai
Hui saw a lot of elementalists with a flustered look on their
faces. He did not activate the silvery light on his azure wings as
it would be very eye-striking at night. He used a black-colored
glow that was surrounded by swirling traces of metal elemental
energy, preventing people from getting a clear view of him.

He turned his body and lowered his flying speed and flew
towards the city.

After a few minutes, he landed in the city.

He finally knew where he was after enquiring with a

pedestrian.

Rain City.
 Ai Hui knew about this city. There were two given
explanations for the origin of its name.

The first one was that this city was located in an area where
there was an abundance of water elemental energy. This caused
a buildup of thick clouds and frequent occurrence of heavy rain,
and hence, the name "Rain City" was given to this city. The
second one was related to the ancient [Rain Spell]. The [Rain
Spell] was a spell that existed in the Cultivation Era. This spell
was commonly used for growing crops. Reportedly, the weather
of Rain City used to be bright and sunny whole year long. The
first mayor that the Elders Guild sent here to establish tillage in
the city was obsessed with [Rain Spell]. He wanted to develop an
inheritance that was of similar nature to [Rain Spell]. One day,
he accidentally succeeded in doing so and caused an immense
amount of rain clouds to form continuously over the city.
Eventually, the climate of the city became cloudy and rainy and
it lasted until today.

The reason why Ai Hui knew about [Rain Spell] was that many
swordplay manuals he read had mentioned about it before.
Reportedly, the first man who mastered this spell in the
Cultivation Era was called Zuo Mo. However, there were also a
lot of swordplay manuals that stated historical records of Zuo
Mo practising the [Rain Spell] were unofficial and inaccurate.
 Usually, when a spell was much more distinguishable when it
was associated with a legendary figure. However, when that
particular legendary figure lived in the ancient past, debates
over the accuracy of the historical records would arise.

After buying a map in a shop, Ai Hui was able to understand

the specific location of Rain City. There were five cities in
between Rain City and his destination, the Magic Cloud City.

However, Ai Hui did not intend to travel with caravans. Right

now, he was running tight on time. If he was to encounter any
trouble again, he would really be late.

He decided to fly straight to Magic Cloud City from Rain City

by himself.

Since Ai Hui had just attained elemental externalization, he

was extremely confident with his capabilities. Now, he had the
confidence to do things that he felt were impossible in the past.

As Ai Hui walked out of the shop, he suddenly sensed

something. After achieving elemental externalization, all his
senses had become sharper significantly.
 Not far away, there was a man staring furtively at him.

Ai Hui feigned ignorance and casually walked into a secluded

alley.

The man’s eyes lit up. After a while, he followed Ai Hui and
walked into the alley as well. However, when he saw the alley
was empty, he was stunned. When he noticed there was a side
road deep within the alley, he hurriedly ran over.

Just as he turned the corner, a powerful force blasted upon

him. His body flew across the air and slammed forcefully onto a
wall.

His eyes dimmed and he became dizzy. When he returned to

his senses, he realized a sword was placed upon his neck. The
ice-cold blade of the sword sent a cold shiver down his spine. In
an instant, his face turned deathly pale.

After a period, Ai Hui left the alley. He took off his mask and
revealed his true self. The color of his eye-striking azure wings
had turned muddy yellow, completely indistinguishable.
 He had killed the elementalist who followed him just now. Ai
Hui was extremely vexed by what he had found out from that
elementalist via torture.

Right now, there were rumors everywhere saying that Chu

Zhaoyang infiltrated the Great Wei Enterprise’s caravan,
Auspicious, to steal an ancient treasure and blew up the caravan
to make his escape afterwards. The Great Wei Enterprise had
ordered the arrest of Chu Zhaoyang and put a bounty on him
everywhere. The amount of the bounty was extremely
generous, prompting countless people into searching for Chu
Zhaoyang.

An individual who merely attained elemental internalization

could actually escape from the numerous experts in Great Wei’s
caravan. Because of this, everyone now knew of the name "Chu
Zhaoyang".

The information that Chu Zhaoyang was heading to Magic

Cloud City had spread everywhere as well. Even though a lot of
people felt that was a diversion tactic by Bandit Chu, there were
still many people guarding the road to Magic Cloud City. Not
only that, there were many people in the vicinity of the incident
searching for Chu Zhaoyang.
 In the Rain City, there were also many elementalists looking
for Chu Zhaoyang.

That killed elementalist unexpectedly saw Ai Hui’s face and

found him looked somewhat similar to the picture on the
bounty. As such, he decided to follow Ai Hui.

Ai Hui’s face turned ashen as anger blazed within him.

In the end, he still fell into the Great Wei Enterprise’s plot!

He spent three painstaking years to build the identity of Chu

Zhaoyang. It took him great pains to build a great reputation
that would not attract much attention for Chu Zhaoyang.

Right now, the reputation of Chu Zhaoyang was tainted and

his three years of painstaking effort had completely gone down
the drain. One could imagine how infuriated Ai Hui was.

The thing that troubled him the most was this turn of events
would have great impact on his subsequent operations.
 Until now, he did not know the impact was a positive one or a
negative one. He could only bitterly smile to himself.
Chapter 289: A Turn of Events
After changing back to his original appearance, a calm look
appeared on Ai Hui’s face. He swaggered along the street and no
one cared about him at all.

Nowadays, Ai Hui was slightly wealthy. Naturally, he had no

qualms about buying things. He found the shop he was looking
for, went in, replenished his equipment, and left the shop
without any hesitation. No matter how chaotic the situation
had become, he still had to get to Magic Cloud City first before
he could decide on doing anything.

Along the way, no one noticed him. No matter which angle

one looked at him from, he bore no resemblance to Chu
Zhaoyang. He had a youthful face, muddy yellow azure wings,
and attained Elemental Externalization. No one would suspect
him of being Chu Zhaoyang.

However, Ai Hui was still extremely vexed. Along the way, he

encountered several people who asked him whether or not he
had seen a middle-aged man with a pair of silver-colored azure
wings. It was at this moment that he realized how infamous Chu
Zhaoyang had become.
 He had a deep hatred for Great Wei Enterprise.

They’d better not bump into him. Humph.

After a few days, when Ai Hui landed in Magic Cloud City,

before he could even keep his azure wings, he heard a sneer
from nearby.

"Another fellow who fantasizes about getting rich. Does he

think Chu Zhaoyang is really that stupid? Why would he come
here when he knows that there are so many people waiting for
him? Bandit Chu purposely came up with this diversion tactic
and has already made his escape!"

"Money is the root of all evil! Look at him, he’s still so young.
It’s understandable why he’s doing this."

...

When Ai Hui heard the whispers between the two men, he

stumbled as he was landing on the ground.
 Alright, I will pretend I never heard what they said.

Ai Hui consoled himself. However, after he had walked a few

meters, he started to feel really uncomfortable. Everyone on the
street had their eyes twinkling brightly, skeptically and warily
examining each other. There were even some people who
occasionally twitched their noses to sniff at each other, looking
extremely like hunting dogs.

Having travelled extensively for so many years, this was the

first time Ai Hui came across such a scene.

Everyone was mad...

Ai Hui was filled with helplessness and agony. How could he

communicate with others like this? When he saw the wanted
poster on the street and saw the astronomical reward of ten
thousand essence elemental beans being offered, for a moment,
he had the urge to give himself up to Great Wei Enterprise.

Troublesome!

No matter how dull Ai Hui was, he still knew how

troublesome the situation he faced was.

Ai Hui felt unsure about his contact. If he was also interested

in capturing Ai Hui for the reward or coveted the so-called
ancient treasure, then Ai Hui would be in danger.

At this very moment, Ai Hui heard someone yelling, "Caught!

Caught!"

Ai Hui could feel that the street was about to erupt into a
commotion.

"Has Chu Zhaoyang been caught?"

"Who caught him?"

"Where? Where? Which bastard was so lucky?"

...

Everyone was annoyed. They could only look on helplessly as

the windfall of ten thousand essence beans disappeared into
thin air.

"No, it’s Great Wei Enterprise that was caught. The ancient
treasure was in their hands all along and the Chu Zhaoyang
incident is a cock-and-bull story set up by them!"

"Woah, the Great Wei Enterprise is so cunning! Thief crying

thief!"

"Too treacherous! Serves them right! I have said it before,

how can Chu Zhaoyang be so stupid? If he really wants to steal
something, why would he tell other people about his
destination?"

"You don’t say? That’s hindsight!&nbsp;Aren’t you here in

the end?"

"Why are you all still talking about Chu Zhaoyang? What
exactly is the ancient treasure? It’s in whose hands now?"

"Karakorum!"
 "Karakorum is rich this time around!"

Upon hearing the bits and pieces of everyone’s discussion, Ai

Hui was between laughter and tears. Nothing could describe
what he was feeling now. First, he boarded a caravan and was
made a scapegoat. Then, the incident got blown out of
proportion. In the end, Great Wei Enterprise got into big
trouble.

He rejoiced in Great Wei Enterprise’s misfortune. They

deserved it.

Great Wei Enterprise never expected themselves to screw up

this badly.

Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. He had spent so much effort

building the identity of Chu Zhaoyang and this identity was
extremely important to his subsequent operations. He would
vomit blood if he could not use it anymore.

This incident reminded him that he should make a few more

identities. Preparedness averts perils. In case something like
this happened in the future again, he would not be stuck with
just one identity.
 Instead of going straight to the meeting point, he stayed in
Magic Cloud City.

After two more days, no one talked about Chu Zhaoyang

anymore. The whole city was filled with heated discussions on
Karakorum and the ancient treasure. Some said that the ancient
treasure was actually an ancient sword art that had belonged to
Karakorum in the past. Some also said that the ancient treasure
was an exceptional elixir. There was not only one, but a
hundred of them.

Anyway, the main idea of every discussion was that

Karakorum struck a windfall and swordsmanship was going to
make the big time.

Ai Hui also learned that almost all of Great Wei Enterprise’s

experts had been killed. The captain, Madam Xiao, was nowhere
to be found and no one knew whether or not she was alive. A lot
of people lamented at the thought of her. It would be a pity if
such a great beauty died just like that.

It would be a real pity if she was just nowhere to be found, Ai

Hui mumbled to himself.
 He thought about how he had been set up by them. Alright,
now he did not even have the chance to take revenge after being
made a scapegoat for so long. Of course, he had long forgotten
about the one hundred essence elemental beans they had given
him that day.

After making sure the coast was clear, Ai Hui put on Chu
Zhaoyang’s elemental mask and walked onto the street.

"Eh, isn’t that Chu Zhaoyang? Sigh… There go my ten

thousand essence elemental beans."

"Forget it. He was able to blow up the Auspicious and escape.

You will only be seeking death if you take him on."

"Forget it, he’s not worth it."

...

Upon hearing these words, Ai Hui was finally at ease. It was

just that he felt these people seemed to be looking at him with
disdain. Perhaps it was his misperception.
 After roaming around the city for quite a while and making
sure no one was following him, Ai Hui walked into an alley.
After making several turns, he reached a huge residence. The
large vermillion entrance doors were tightly shut. Ai Hui
knocked on the door.

After a while, the door opened and a muscular man appeared.

When he saw it was Ai Hui, he said expressionlessly, "You’re
late."

"There’s nothing I could do about it," Ai Hui replied

helplessly. "You should know about my situation."

The muscular man grinned and stepped aside for Ai Hui to

enter.

Ai Hui walked into the courtyard and looked around. The

courtyard was unadorned and filled with various kinds of
flowers and plants. Deep down, however, Ai Hui knew that
these beautiful flowers and plants were actually hidden killing
machines.

This muscular man, who looked like a blacksmith, was

actually a wood elementalist, a very powerful one. Ai Hui had
once witnessed a rather powerful guy try to fight with this wood
elementalist and end up dying on the spot.

He did not know the muscular guy’s real name. Everyone

called him Hua Kui (In Chinese, it means Queen of Flowers).

Whenever Ai Hui thought about the muscular man being

named Hua Kui, his hair stood on end.

"The rest have left." Hua Kui cast a glance at Ai Hui and said,
"Since you have a valid reason this time around, the higher-ups
won’t pursue the matter of you being late. However, this shall
not be taken as a precedent."

Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows and his face turned ashen. "Of
course. I know this."

Hua Kui was not angry and smiled. "It seems like you have
attained elemental externalization. Congratulations."

He had never seen anyone in the organization that had merely

attained elemental internalization complete so many missions
before.
 "My reward," Ai Hui replied, not wanting to waste any time.

"You did a great job for your last mission. The higher-ups have
decided to double your reward." Hua Kui passed a piece of leaf to
Ai Hui. "This is the information on the secret arts of blood
elementalists that you wanted. Actually, given your scope of
authority, you have no right to read this information, but the
higher-ups made an exception for you. Of course, this
information is from three years ago. It is unknown whether or
not they have developed other secret arts during these three
years. Remember, don’t leak this information out. I don’t need
to remind you of the consequences."

Excitement arose in Ai Hui’s heart. The information from

three years ago was more than enough for him.

He acted nonchalant and kept the piece of leaf. Then, with an

unhappy tone, he said, "It seems like you have a lot to say
today."

Hua Kui chuckled and continued, "The second reward is an

opportunity for you to learn something new."

"An opportunity to learn? A swordsmanship inheritance?" Ai

Hui’s eyes lit up. "Don’t use some trash to fool me."

Hua Kui smiled and replied, "For a swordsmanship

inheritance, you will have to depend on yourself. However, we
can send you to Karakorum to train in [Sword Formation] for a
week. How about it? Are you interested?"

"Karakorum is our ally?" Ai Hui’s eyes shrunk.

Hua Kui smiled and did not say anything.

Three years ago, when Ai Hui left Central Pine City, he

brought along the message tree in Vanguard Training Hall. The
organization that the old prisoner was a part of was called
Assembly of Patriarchs. This organization was the arch-enemy
of the Blood of God. The enmity between the two organizations
could be traced back to the ancient past.

Ai Hui knew that one man was not enough to deal with the
Blood of God. He had too little knowledge of the Blood of God.

Since the old prisoner’s organization was the arch-enemy of

the Blood of God, then they must have a lot of information
about them.

Furthermore, the old prisoner had told Ai Hui that the blood
plum blossom on his chest must be a secret art of the blood
elementalists.

However, when Ai Hui suggested joining the Assembly of

Patriarchs, the old prisoner had raised a strong objection. This
surprised Ai Hui. The old prisoner did not give him many
details, but he revealed his suspicion and lack of trust towards
the organization. This made Ai Hui realize that there was more
than meets the eye with regards to the organization.&nbsp;

Putting the blood elementalist’s secret art that was on Ai Hui’s

body into consideration, the old prisoner and Ai Hui decided to
use a fake identity for the latter to use to enter the organization.
The old prisoner used to be a core member of the Assembly of
Patriarchs and he knew everything about the organization.

The Assembly of Patriarchs’ stringency and prudence

exceeded Ai Hui’s expectations. If not for the old prisoner’s
assistance, Ai Hui’s situation would have been very dangerous.

With the old prisoner’s guidance, Ai Hui started from the

position of an external member and rose through the ranks.
After spending two years in the organization and completing
numerous missions for them, he finally became an official
member.

Deep down, Ai Hui suspected a long time ago that Karakorum

was tightly linked to the Assembly of Patriarchs.
Swordsmanship inheritances!

When Ai Hui first discovered that the Assembly of Patriarchs

possessed a huge amount of swordsmanship inheritances, he
had been startled.

Swordsmanship had been irrelevant for many years. Even

sword moves like the three moves from his sword pill were
extremely hard to find. As such, how could Ai Hui not feel
shocked when he suddenly discovered an organization that
possessed so many sword inheritances?

Ai Hui soon realized that the Assembly of Patriarchs had been

experimenting with their swordsmanship inheritances and
obtained a lot of desirable outcomes. What surprised him the
most was that the outside world had zero knowledge about what
they were doing at all. It was at this moment that he realized
that he had underestimated the Assembly of Patriarchs in the
past.

With the sudden appearance of Karakorum, Ai Hui suspected

that the Assembly of Patriarchs might have something to do
with Karakorum. He could not help but feel suspicious about
the sudden appearance of a long-lost sword art in an
organization that specialized in swordsmanship.

Today, his doubts had finally been confirmed.

Hua Kui did not admit nor deny it. He merely cackled. "Sword
Formation was a secret sword art of Karakorum. Even though it
can’t be compared to the sword arts in the Cultivation Era, it is
still very powerful. Every time it is activated, two hundred
essence elemental beans will be consumed. It is usually reserved
for those core disciples to practise. You have made a bountiful
gain this time around."

Two hundred essence elemental beans!

Ai Hui’s eyes widened in an instant.

"I will go!"

Chapter 290: Back Home
The clean and unadorned room did not have a lot of furniture
nor decorative items. The old-fashioned table was filled with
ancient blotches of peeling paint. The elm wood, which made
up the pillars of the room, was rustic and firm. On the white
wall, there was a hanging scroll placed upon it. Two words were
written on the hanging scroll with forceful strokes: Beihai.

Plip, plop, plip, plop. The sound of raindrops falling on the

eaves of the roof could be heard.

Two cups of steaming hot tea were placed on the table,

separating the father and daughter sitting opposite each other.

Shi Beihai wore a blue-colored robe. His facial features bore a

resemblance to Shi Xueman’s, but his expression was grave and
stern, looking as if he was carved out of a coarse boulder. His
neatly trimmed beard exuded vigor and hardiness.

Looking at his daughter who bore a resemblance to himself,

Shi Beihai could not help but think of his late wife. Her gaze had
been much gentler and more heartwarming. He picked up the
cup of tea and took a sip. The aromatic bitterness of the tea
diffused in his mouth. If his wife was still alive, she would
definitely not have wanted him to raise Shi Xueman like this.

Shi Xueman did not drink the tea. Her father liked bitter tea,
the most bitter kind. She was not used to drinking bitter tea as
she preferred sweet-tasting tea.

"How do you feel about Duanmu Huanghun?" Shi Beihai

suddenly asked.

"Little Brother Huanghun?" Shi Xueman though of the rumors

that had been circulating around and seemed to understand
what was going on. "Don’t tell me the Elders Guild is trying to
matchmake me with him?"

"Someone mentioned it." Shi Beihai nodded.

"I’m not interested," Shi Xueman replied bluntly.

"Got it." Shi Beihai took another sip of tea and cast a glance at
his daughter. Even though his daughter had concealed her anger
rather well, he could still sense it.
 He smiled in his heart while his face had a nonchalant look. "I
have already dispatched the guy who mentioned it to the front
line."

Shi Xueman felt a hint of warmth in her heart, but was also
slightly worried at the same time. "Will anyone say that you are
disregarding the general interest?"

She disliked office politics, but that did not mean that she did
not knew what was going on among the higher-ups of the
Avalon of Five Elements.

"I am Shi Beihai."

His indifferent tone contained an overwhelming aura of

dominance.

He was more than qualified to say such words. Ever since the
Thirteen Divisions had collapsed, the status and importance of
division leaders had far surpassed what they had been in the
past.

Even though the Avalon of Five Elements preserved the

organizational structure of Mountain King, Lordsand, Icy
Flames, Ardent Flower, Deathgrass, and Truewood, these six
divisions only remained in name and had died out in reality.
Meanwhile, assassination attempts had been launched on the
division leaders of the remaining North Sea, Rainbow Raiment,
Sky Edge, and Infantry not too long after the blood catastrophe
broke out. Only the division leaders of the North Sea and
Rainbow Raiment Divisions had survived the assassination
attempts. The division leader of the Sky Edge Division had been
killed while the Infantry Division’s division leader was severely
injured and had yet to recover. The strength of the four
divisions had reduced significantly.

The vice-division leaders suffered an even more terrible fate.

Four of the vice-division leaders were either severely injured or
dead.

The only thing that set the Elder Guilds at ease was that three
central divisions were still completely intact. Otherwise, the
Avalon of Five Elements would not know how to withstand the
military offensive of the Blood of God.

Shi Beihai then continued, "We shall leave the issue of

political marriage to the Elders Guild. For now, you have to
make some preparations. I have decided to let you lead the
diplomatic mission this time around."
 "Why? I’m not good at negotiating." Shi Xueman was slightly
puzzled.

Indeed, Shi Xueman was not good at negotiating. She was

better at fighting while risking her life with real swords and
spears on the battlefield.

"The one leading Blood of God’s diplomatic mission is She Yu.

As such, I thought you might be interested in going."

Upon hearing the name She Yu, Shi Xueman nodded without
any hesitation. "I will go!"

She had been through many battles in the past three years,
but her most memorable one was still the Battle of Central Pine
City. Even when she thought about it now, her body would
tense up involuntarily. She did not know how many times she
had dreamt of Ai Hui kneeling in front of that grave in the
torrential rain.

Shi Xueman could not forgive She Yu for taking advantage of

Ai Hui’s misfortune at the most critical juncture.
 When Shi Xueman returned to her room, she sat in front of
the window and stared blankly at the sky.

After a while, she walked to the message tree in the courtyard

and fixed her eyes on the piece of age-old leaf. Numerous
thoughts formed in her head, but she did not know what to say
to him.

Suddenly, she broke into laughter and wrote: "When are you
returning my eighty million yuan?"

She felt an indescribable joy when she thought of the image of

Ai Hui being in agony after receiving the message. Every month,
she would send him a message to urge him to repay the debt.
This was such a great amusement for her, especially during
hectic and tiring days.

Haha, money-losing deal!

To this day, Ai Hui still did not know that the ‘money-losing
deal’ he had been talking about was her. She felt that she was
very quick-witted. Ai Hui thought he could hide from everyone,
but he did not know that the message tree he had brought with
him had had one of its leaves plucked off.
 Oh right, she was the one who had plucked the leaf.

However, that was not important as long as she could urge

him to repay his debt!

After writing down her debt-chasing message, Shi Xueman

felt her mind clear up. Right now, the Avalon of Five Elements
was unstable, having both internal and external problems. As
the daughter of Shi Beihai, she was also caught in the
maelstrom; however, everyone knew that Shi Beihai loved his
daughter. Given his domineering character, no one dared to
mess with her. Even so, she still frequently felt mentally and
physically exhausted.

Her father was as staunch and strong as a boulder.

Sometimes, she wondered if anyone around her was as strong

as her father. Perhaps Ai Hui was the only one? She did not
know when Ai Hui would be able to walk out of his nightmare.

Shi Xueman became lost in her thoughts.

.....
 Ai Hui made it back to Peace City looking travel-worn. He was
soon shocked by the bustling sight before his eyes.

Did he come to the wrong place?

The outside of the city was filled with densely-packed people

resembling colonies of ants. Trees were being cut down, ground
was leveled, ditches were dug, and canals were built. Countless
fully loaded bamboo carts were flying back and forth through
the air. Heaps of items were piled everywhere.

Fortunately, Ai Hui saw some familiar faces and knew that he

hadn’t come to the wrong place.

Avoiding the crowds, Ai Hui entered the city and returned to

his training hall.

"Lou Lan!" Ai Hui yelled at the top of his voice.

A crowd of mini Lou Lans ran out of the house holding sand
letters that were many times bigger than their body size.
 The sand letters read, "Welcome back, Ai Hui."

Ai Hui burst into a hearty laughter. Seeing Lou Lan always

made him happy.

The sand letters dissolved and transformed back into Lou Lan.

"What’s going on outside?" A puzzled look appeared on Ai

Hui’s face. "Just now, I saw a large-scale construction
happening outside. Are they trying to build something?"

"I heard they are trying to build a lesser Avalon of Five

Elements, Ai Hui," Lou Lan explained. "They want to provide a
place for fire elementalists, earth elementalists, and wood
elementalists to train, so they are building a lesser Avalon of
Five Elements. To build it, they are going to connect five cities
together. Peace City and Cloud Ridge City have already been
confirmed as two of the five cities."

"No wonder there are so many people." Ai Hui realized what

was going on. "Peace City is too small, so they need to expand it,
huh? We do need a lesser Avalon of Five Elements, otherwise
everyone will leave this place. Although, Peace City will be
much livelier from now on."
 Three years ago, the reason he’d chosen to come to Peace City
was that this place had fewer inhabitants and was quieter than
other cities.

He had not expected the main trade route to pass through

Peace City, making it a strategic trading hub. With Peace City
now being confirmed as one of the five cities in the lesser
Avalon of Five Elements, this place would definitely become
more prosperous and busy in the future.

"Yes, Ai Hui. Recently, there are many foreigners pouring into

Peace City," Lou Lan replied.

"Haha, we are foreigners too." Ai Hui chuckled. "Did anything

happen while I was away?"

"There are three things, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied. "The first is
that a person named Fu Yongwu has requested to be your
disciple. He has already been here twice."

"Fu family?" Ai Hui was slightly shocked. Touching his chin,

he muttered, "What are they trying to do?"
 "Lou Lan doesn’t know." Lou Lan shook his head innocently.

"He still came twice." Ai Hui pondered. "Is that considered

sincere? Lou Lan, how much is our enrollment fee?"

"One thousand elemental energy points, Ai Hui."

"We are that cheap?" Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows. With the
essence elemental beans in his pouch, he no longer cared for
this small amount of money. "Since he is already so old, the
enrollment fee will be different for him. Ten thousand
elemental energy points and two essence elemental beans."

"Alright, Ai Hui." Lou Lan did not raise any objections and
continued, "Second thing, someone wants to buy our training
hall. His offering price is five hundred thousand metal
elemental energy points."

"Not selling!" Ai Hui rolled his eyes. "He wants to buy such a
huge place for just five hundred thousand elemental energy
points? Is this guy stupid? How dare he come here and try to
take advantage of us!"
 Ai Hui completely forgot that he’d only paid one thousand
five hundred elemental energy points for this place three years
ago.

This place used to be Su Qingye’s family’s warehouse, but

since it was located in a secluded area, it was not used very
often. At that time, Ai Hui had needed a huge place near the
Silver Mist River, so he’d chosen this area.

Then, because Su Qingye’s father knew that Ai Hui had

wanted to open a training hall, he’d decided to send Su Qingye
to Ai Hui’s training hall. Thus, Su Qingye became Ai Hui’s first
student.

After becoming a part of the lesser Avalon of Five Elements,

Peace City’s status would rise sharply. One could see that Peace
City would definitely become a large-sized city, as well as one of
the most important cities of the Avalon of Five Elements in the
future. So why did the higher-ups want Peace City to be
expanded? That was because the current Peace City could no
longer hold and sustain the many elementalists. The land prices
in Peace City had skyrocketed an unknown number of times.
Using his toes, Ai Hui could also see that land in Peace City
would be extremely expensive in the future.
 As such, if he sold his training hall now, wouldn’t he suffer a
huge loss?

Ai hui definitely would not agree to a bad deal.

"Alright, Ai Hui." Lou Lan completely agreed with Ai Hui and

continued, "Third, the message tree has a new message for Ai
Hui."

"Who sent the message? What does it say?" Ai Hui asked

casually.

"Miss Debt," Lou Lan replied cheerfully. "She asked about

when you are going to return the eighty million yuan."

Ai Hui’s face turned ashen in an instant. "This money-losing

deal is killing me. She has to do this to me every month. This is
really killing me. I shouldn’t have let her pluck that piece of leaf
from the message tree."

"Ai Hui, are you trying to renege on the debt?" Lou Lan
widened his eyes.
 "Am I that kind of person?" Ai Hui put on a righteous front
and yelled, "Tell the Fu family that the enrollment fee is four
essence elemental beans! No discount!"

"Alright, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied happily. "There’s nothing

else from me. How did Ai Hui do this time around?"

It was at this moment that Ai Hui raised his eyebrows and

yelled with excitement, "Ha! I made a huge gain this time
around!"

"Ai Hui, really?" Lou Lan’s face was filled with surprise.

"Look, what are these?" Ai Hui smirked as he took out the

things to show Lou Lan.

"Meteoric sand! Soft sand!" Lou Lan’s voice was brimming

with surprise. With these two materials, his body could be
upgraded substantially. Right now, his body could not keep up
with the operating speed of his sand core, Midnight. He had no
choice but to limit Midnight’s operating speed to a very low
range.
 He could be of more assistance to Ai Hui after upgrading his
body!

"Are you breathless already? They are merely meteoric sand

and soft sand." Ai Hui smirked and took out another object to
show Lou Lan. "Look at this!"

"Sand compass!" Lou Lan’s eyes opened even wider.

Feeling pleased with himself, Ai Hui threw the sand compass

at Lou Lan and said, "That’s right! However, it hasn’t been
unlocked yet. I will have to depend on you to unlock it."

"No problem Ai Hui!" Lou Lan loudly acknowledged Ai Hui

with the demeanor of a soldier. "Leave it to Lou Lan!"
Chapter 291: I Don’t Like Your Face
Ai Hui sat in front of a table in a pitch-black room.

He had already placed the prepared film-spitting tortoise on

the table. The film-spitting tortoise was slightly bigger than Ai
Hui’s palm. On the surface of the tortoise shell, there was a
streak of dark-red blood trace.

The film-spitting tortoise was a product developed by the

Blood of God. Even though the Avalon of Five Elements and
Blood of God were arch-enemies, the elementalists were still
fond of using products developed by the Blood of God. What an
irony.

The Blood of God excelled at breeding and rearing blood

fiends. They had bred a lot of new species that had not existed
in the past. Some species were actually very useful, such as the
film-spitting tortoise.

The creation of the film-spitting tortoise had led to a decrease

in the use of mirage bean pods. Mirage bean pods had already
been replaced by film-spitting tortoises in high-end markets.
The quality of the film projected by a film-spitting tortoise was
much clearer than that of a mirage bean pod.
 This had created huge losses for the wood elementalists in
Jadeite Forest. As such, the wood elementalists were extremely
anxious to breed more remarkable species of plants. In the past,
the wood elementalists made big bucks off the mirage bean pods
and now they were facing an extremely powerful competitor.

Regardless, to an ordinary person, usefulness mattered more

than anything else.

Ai Hui fed the film-spitting tortoise a few elemental beans.

Even though it was a blood fiend, it had an insatiable thirst for
elemental energy.

When the film-spitting tortoise ate the elemental beans, the

blood trace on its shell began to glow. The green-colored
tortoise shell immediately became mixed-colored. The color of
every section of the shell was different; they were colorful and
gorgeous. The colorful sections glowed and dimmed
rhythmically, looking as if they were breathing.

Ai Hui took out the piece of leaf that Hua Kui had given him
and placed it before the film-spitting tortoise.

The film-spitting tortoise stretched its neck and completely

devoured the piece of leaf. Crunch, crunch.

The Blood of God was Ai Hui’s mortal enemy, yet he was using
their film-spitting tortoise. Ai Hui found it hard to describe
what he was feeling now. The only thing he could think of was
that the piece of leaf could only be used and seen once. This was
for the sake of maintaining confidentiality.

After eating the leaf, the film-spitting tortoise turned

motionless.

Even though Ai Hui had used the film-spitting tortoise several

times, he still felt the film-spitting tortoise was somewhat
dumb.

The rhythmically glowing tortoise shell suddenly released a

burst of light, following which, a beam of light erupted from
one of the sections on the tortoise shell and shot into the air.
One by one, the colorful sections of the shell lit up and beams of
light shot out.

All the beams of light converged at a point in the air twenty

centimeters above the tortoise shell. An image formed and went
from a blurry state to a clear one in an instant.
 "Blood Elementalist Secret Arts Database." Upon seeing these
few words, Ai Hui became energized and his body involuntarily
straightened up.

There were descriptions of numerous blood elementalist

secret arts, but each description was a brief one. Some of them
even mentioned the origins of these secret arts, none of the
information included anything about how to practise and
master those secret arts.

Ai Hui stared at the information very carefully. The Blood of

God was not only the Assembly of Patriarchs’ enemy, they were
also his mortal enemy.

Only the Assembly of Patriarchs, which had been fighting the

Blood of God for hundreds of years, would possess so much
detailed information about them. This information could not be
found outside and was extremely valuable.

This was the main reason why Ai Hui had wanted to join the
Assembly of Patriarchs. He knew that he would have limits if he
chose to fight the Blood of God single-handedly. He needed to
understand his enemy well if he wanted to take revenge, just
like how a hunter must understand his or her prey.
 On the other side of the training hall, Lou Lan was completely
focused on unlocking the sand compass.

The glow in his eyes kept flickering while his sand core,
Midnight, operated at full force.

The master and his sand puppet were working back to back
with extreme focus. At this point in time, the training hall was
filled with absolute silence.

.....

The most famous high-end brothel in Jadeite Forest had a

weird name, Circle of Flowers.

The Circle of Flowers was located in the northeast corner of

Jadeite City. That area used to be a crater, with the terrain
caving inwards like a bowl. Every time it rained, the crater
would be quickly filled with rainwater. Once it was summer, it
would become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies,
causing the air to be filled with stench. No one had been
interested in that plot of land.
 No one expected that a ring-shaped building could be built
there after terrain was dredged for a few hundred meters and
then miraculously transformed. Fresh spring water was directed
into the crater and flowed around the ring-shaped building
endlessly, forming a well-known Ring River. With such an
unique architectural style and a weather-resistant barrier in
place, it immediately garnered a lot of popularity on the day it
was opened.

If one considered Quan’s night feast as the gathering place for

influential government officials, then Circle of Flowers could be
considered as the gathering place for wealthy merchants. As
long as one was wealthy enough, he could have unlimited
pleasure in the Circle of Flowers.

Delicacies, fine alcohols, beauties; anything that one desired

could be found here.

If one wanted to vent his anger or stress, he could go to the

free-duelling arena beneath the Circle of Flowers. If one wanted
to gamble, the Circle of Flowers had the largest casino in Jadeite
City for his pleasure. The Circle of Flowers was well-known in
the Avalon of Five Elements for its money-squandering
establishments.
 A purple-clothed, frivolous-looking youngster was talking
animatedly. "None of you know how much those people wanted
to kneel down and bootlick Quan Minglong that day. Hahaha, in
addition, Quan Minglong is blind! He actually took a fancy to
She Yu! At least twenty members of the Quan family had died in
the Induction Ground. He’s such a forgiving guy!"

Wu Qirong’s face was filled with worry. He looked around

anxiously and lowered his voice. "Ziyi, speak cautiously!"

"Cautious my foot!" Ziyi agitatedly stood up. Not only did he

not lower his volume, he raised his voice instead. "Did I say
anything wrong? How many of our people have died in their
hands?! Are we going to treat them as if nothing happened?
Political marriage! Political marriage my foot!"

The guests seated at the surrounding tables shifted their gazes

in unison towards Yu Ziyi’s direction. Wu Qirong panicked and
tried to pull Yu Ziyi back into his seat. "Ziyi, you’re drunk!"

Yu Ziyi had yet to lose his last bit of sanity and sat down
grumpily. He and Wu Qirong were lucky to have made it out of
the Induction Ground alive. After witnessing so many of their
family members and friends die in the blood catastrophe, how
could they so easily forget their hatred for the Blood of God?
 Yu Ziyi’s words garnered a lot of approval from the
surrounding guests.

There were also some guests who were infuriated by Yu Ziyi’s

words. They wanted to confront Yu Ziyi, but when they saw the
guy sitting beside him, their facial expressions changed and they
quickly withdrew.

As if he had never heard Yu Ziyi’s grumblings, Duanmu

Huanghun picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
His devilishly handsome face contained a tinge of morbid
paleness. His hair was in a mess and his eyes were in a daze. A
strong smell of alcohol surrounded his body.

Every lady that walked past Duanmu Huanghun would look at

him with pity, wishing that they could pull him to their chest
and cuddle him.&nbsp;

There was nothing new about Duanmu Huanghun drowning

his sorrows with alcohol everyday. It was not only the citizens
of Jadeite Forest who knew about this issue, even the Avalon of
Five Elements and Blood of God were well aware of it.

Cup by cup, Duanmu Huanghun’s face became increasingly

pale and the melancholy in his eyes became more and more
obvious.

He’d rather stay in the smoke-filled and blood-soaked Central

Pine City than stay in Jadeite Forest for one more day.

Central Pine City, the place that had been overrun with blood,
appeared in his dreams countless times. Death, struggle, and
fear were always unforgettable. Similarly, the happy times that
he’d spent with everyone were also unforgettable.

However, the decision that his family and his master had
made for him turned these unforgettable memories into a joke.

He did not have the strength nor a method to resist the

decision. The entire family benefited from it, while he was the
biggest ‘beneficiary.’

Is this fate? His mouth curled into a bitter smile.

Fate… He suddenly thought of Ai Hui. A mysterious thought

crept into his mind.
 If it was Ai Hui, what would he do?

His fingers that were fiddling with the wine cup froze as he
became lost in thought.

Fate was really too cruel to that bastard...

Ai Hui’s expressionless face involuntarily appeared in his

mind, but in the blink of an eye, that expressionless look turned
into a smirk filled with disdain. In his mind, that disdainful
smirk was so clear, so hateful.

Suddenly, for some unknown reason, Duanmu Huanghun felt

that it was ridiculous for him to wallow in self-pity.

How could he lose to that bastard?

All of a sudden, he stood up. His face still looked drunk, but
his eyes were unusually limpid. "Let’s go!"

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong were stunned.

 "Go?" Yu Ziyi asked with a pair of sleepy eyes. "What time is it
now?"

"It’s only eight o’clock." Wu Qirong was puzzled as well.

What’s going on with Brother Huanghun? According to their
usual routine, this was only the beginning.

Duanmu Huanghun ignored them, stood up, and walked down

towards the basement. He wanted a good fight all of a sudden.
There were various types of arenas in the basement and
numerous experts. After being in a slump for so many days, he
needed an epic fight to revitalize himself and expel the
perplexity that he was feeling.

There was only one thought in his mind. How could I lose to
that bastard?

As Duanmu Huanghun walked down the staircase, his vision

became clearer and clearer. Even though he was still walking
with a bit of a stagger, his aura became sharper.

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong, who were following him, were

shocked. Both of them looked each other in the eyes and quickly
caught up to him.
 At this moment, Duanmu Huanghun heard a voice coming
from below.

"She’s too much! She should thank the gods for Brother
Minglong taking interest in her. Does she really think that she is
a goddess? Humph, she doesn’t know what’s good for her."

"She’s so arrogant at such a young age. Blood of God? They

still have to come and beg us in the end, right? If they are so
capable, then don’t come looking for help from Jadeite Forest!
Minglong treated her with so much respect, yet she reciprocated
with nothing but arrogance. She doesn’t know that we are not
to be trifled with. How dare she act so arrogant in our territory!
Is she tired of living? What did she say again?"

"Disciple-in-name? If my memory serves me right, Duanmu

Huanghun is the last official disciple of Dai Gang." Someone
mimicked She Yu’s words to perfection.

Just as that person was about to add in another sentence,

which was something along the lines of "a disciple-in-name can
still make her kneel in front of him if he wants to," an
indifferent and arrogant voice came from above them.
 "Is she wrong to say that?"

Quan Minglong, who was drinking his wine dejectedly, raised

his head in an instant while his eyes surged with fury.

A white-robed guy with a handsome, pale-white face slowly

walked down the staircase. His chin was slightly raised as he
stood high and looked down at the people below, not trying to
conceal the arrogance and disdain in his eyes.

The one who had been mimicking She Yu became tongue-tied

and froze on the spot.

When the surrounding guests saw Duanmu Huanghun and

Quan Minglong, they quickly kept quiet, but their gazes
continued to shift towards the direction of the duo
involuntarily.

Quan Minglong stared at Duanmu Huanghun. One by one,

these words left his clenched teeth: "What does Young Master
Duanmu mean by those words?"

"What do I mean by those words?" A smirk appeared on

Duanmu Huanghun’s pale-white face. He leaned his slightly
drunk body over the hand railing of the staircase, waved his
hand, and spoke in an arrogant and condescending tone. "I
don’t like your face."

Quan Minglong’s face turned ashen. He stood up slowly and

replied, "Today, I have to seek guidance from Young Master
Duanmu."

"Are you even fit to do that?"

Duanmu Huanghun sneered. Without taking a second look at

the fuming Quan Minglong, Duanmu Huanghun took a step
forward and disappeared like a ghost. Quan Minglong’s facial
expression changed slightly. Just as he was going to brace
himself for an incoming attack, a blur flashed across his eyes
and he lost sight of his target.

Duanmu Huanghun appeared in the air above the Circle of

Flowers. Following which, he shot upward like a comet and flew
to the sky above Jadeite City.

"She Yu, do you dare to come out and battle me?"

 A cold and arrogant voice blasted across Jadeite City like
thunder.

Everyone in the Circle of Flowers, including Quan Minglong,

had their facial expression change drastically.
Chapter 292: Life and Death Flower
Sacrificial Art
In the dark, Ai Hui carefully looked through the blood
elementalist secret arts database. Eventually, he found the
secret art for the blood plum blossom on his chest.

[Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art]. This was a blood

elementalist secret art that existed only in theory and had never
before been used in practice. Reportedly, this art was based on
the Cultivation Era’s [Flower Demon Secret Art] and blood sects’
[Nine Tripod Cauldron Secret Art].

The requirements for one to practice this secret art were

extremely stringent.

The one who cast the spell was known as the flower master
while the one whom the spell was cast upon was known as the
flower slave.

The flower master needed a powerful soul, while the flower

slave needed a vigorous life force.

To practice this secret art, the flower master had to first form
two seeds. One seed was to be placed in the flower master,
himself, while the other was to be placed in the flower slave.
The seeds were formed using the essence blood and spirit of the
flower master. Once the formation of the seeds was completed,
the flower master’s strength would be greatly reduced. On the
other hand, the seed was greatly beneficial to the flower slave.
In a short period of time, the seed could sharply raise the flower
slave’s strength. The flower slave’s body would be cleansed
until it was free of all impurities.

When the flower slave was in the process of being inoculated

with the seed, he had to be willing to do so. Otherwise, the seed
would either be destroyed or the flower slave would explode and
die.

Once the inoculation was successful, the flower slave would be

like a plot of soil, providing the seed with an endless stream of
nutrients. Even though the flower slave’s energy would be
devoured by the seed, the seed would also provide the flower
slave with immense powers in return. Eventually, the flower
slave would find himself addicted to the powers that the seed
provided him, unable to free himself from the addiction.

The seed in the flower slave’s body was an Embryo of

Emptiness, which would grow into a Flower of Destruction. The
seed in the flower master’s body was an Embryo of Fullness,
which would grow into a Flower of Life. Both flowers were
complementary embodiments of Yin and Yang. When the
flower slave’s embryo had matured, it would become the Flower
of Destruction and fall off his body. By then, the flower slave’s
life force would be completely devoured, and he would
eventually die. On the other hand, when the flower embryo on
the flower master matured, it would become a Flower of Life
and drop off from his body. The Flower of Life would contain all
the life force, elemental energy, the three incorporeal energies
of essence, breath, and spirit, as well as the soul of the flower
slave, becoming a supreme treasure.

The flower slave and the Flower of Destruction were the

sacrificial offerings.

Upon reading this information, a cold shiver went down Ai

Hui’s spine. He had never heard of or seen such evil secret art.

The information did not mention any methods to undo the

secret art.

Perhaps even the Assembly of Patriarchs would not believe

that anyone could master such a secret art.
 Ai Hui went into a daze before returning to his senses after a
while. He tried to suppress his fear and carefully read through
and memorizing the remaining information on the secret art.

This information broadened Ai hui’s knowledge of blood

elementalists and their secret arts. The blood elementalist
secret arts were weird and unique. The ideas behind these secret
arts were ingenious and evil at the same time, causing him to
exclaim in admiration. When compared to these secret arts, the
mysterious technique of developing a sword embryo did not
seem that mysterious anymore.

However, the database had also mentioned that most of the

secret arts were only theoretically possible. Some were
restorations of secret arts from the ancient blood sects and some
were newly developed by the blood elementalists.

Ai Hui heaved a long sigh. When he raised his head and looked
out of the window, the sky was speckled with the luster of
dawn.

Another night had passed.

At this moment, Ai Hui suddenly heard Lou Lan screaming

happily, "Ai Hui, Lou Lan did it!"

Ai Hui was stunned. Then, a joyful look appeared in his face.

He tiptoed, backflipped, and landed gracefully beside Lou Lan.

On the ground beside Lou Lan, there was a swirling whirlpool

of quicksand. The quicksand whirlpool kept on swirling as the
heart of the whirlpool caved in.

Ai Hui rubbed his hands as his impatient-looking eyes surged

with greed. "Let’s see what treasure the famous Shi Youguang
has for us!"

"Ai Hui! Come on!" Lou Lan yelled, brimming with

expectation.

Ai Hui reached his hands into the heart of the whirlpool. After
a while, he pulled out a box.

He opened the box and found that it was filled with sparkling
essence elemental beans. There were roughly 200 of them.
 "This is the way to go! How can the great Shi Youguang be a
poor fellow? Does that even make sense?

When Ai Hui saw these essence elemental bean, his eyes

glittered like a hungry wolf’s.

He continued to feel around inside of the quicksand whirlpool

with his hands. After a while, he dug out a piece of crystal.
Inside the crystal, there was a faintly discernible light flowing
about.

"An inheritance?" Ai Hui squinted his eyes and identified the

item. Then, he casually threw it to Lou Lan and asked, "Lou Lan,
take a look. What inheritance is it?"

Lou Lan’s palms transformed into a puddle of quicksand and

engulfed the piece of crystal. The red glow in his eyes flickered
for a while and he replied, "Ai Hui, it’s the [Earth Elemental
Deciphering Technique]. This technique can decipher the
chaotic earth elemental energy waves on the ground and obtain
relevant information. For example, this technique enables one
to track the path that someone recently took, identify the types
of ore veins underground, etc."
 Ai Hui thought about how he racked his brains and still could
not escape from Shi Youguang. The [Earth Elemental
Deciphering Technique].

"Can Lou Lan learn it?"

"No problem, Ai Hui," Lou Lan replied.

"Lou Lan should learn it then." Ai Hui chuckled. "Next time

Lou Lan will be my tracking master."

"Yes, Ai Hui!" Upon knowing that he could help Ai Hui in a

new way, Lou Lan was overjoyed.

Next, Ai Hui pulled out a yellowish tome entitled <Forbidden

Arts - Body Sandification>. Upon seeing this book, Ai Hui
suddenly came to a realization. "No wonder Shi Youguang was
so powerful. He was a transfigured elementalist!"

Upon learning that he had killed a transfigured elementalist,

he felt rather pleased with himself.
 "I will give this to you as well, even though you have no use
for it." Ai Hui threw the book to Lou Lan. Body transfiguration
was specifically designed for elementalists and was worthless to
sand puppets.

Lou Lan took a closer look at it and replied, "Alright, Ai Hui.

Lou Lan will treat it as updating my knowledge base."

Subsequently, Ai Hui pulled out a pile of stuff that was mostly

earth elemental materials. Currently, there were more than
enough materials to upgrade Lou Lan’s body.

Even though there weren’t many things that Ai Hui could use,
he was still very happy since these things could be used by Lou
Lan.

"Oh, oh, there’s one last thing. Is this a letter?" Ai Hui pulled
out a letter from the quicksand whirlpool. "By the way, does Lou
Lan know how to bind a sand compass? If you know how to do
it, then we won’t need to bring our luggage along when we
travel in the future."

"Ai Hui, Lou Lan knows how to do that!"

 "Lou Lan is great! All right, this really is a letter." Puzzled, Ai
Hui looked&nbsp;at the letter in his hand. "Who still writes
letters nowadays? Wouldn’t it be much more convenient to use
a message tree? Sigh, how good would it be if the skank wrote
letters instead? Then, I wouldn’t need to be vexed by her every
now and then."

"Yes, Ai Hui," Lou Lan agreed with Ai Hui.

"I like your honesty, Lou Lan! Haha, let’s see what’s written in
this letter?" Ai Hui flipped open the letter in his hand and read
it. Subsequently, he exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, I couldn’t tell
that Shi Youguang had such wide connections."

The letter was not really long and mainly asked Shi Youguang
to think of a way to snatch the ancient treasure from the Great
Wei Enterprise, explained how important that ancient treasure
was, etc.

Judging from the tone of the letter, the sender and Shi
Youguang were very familiar with each other. One could sense
an authoritative undertone from the sender as well. This
implied that the sender was of a higher status than Shi
Youguang.
 Ai Hui did not find this weird at all. After all, transfigured
elementalists had always been looked down upon by people.
There would also be underground organizations that accepted
them for who they were, mutually benefiting each other in
various ways.

It was a pity that the letter did not mention what exactly the
ancient treasure was. Ai Hui was extremely curious about this
so-called ancient treasure. The Great Wei Enterprise had
suffered a lot and lost almost everything because of this ancient
treasure.

In the blink of an eye, Ai Hui put all of these thoughts out of

his mind. The so-called ancient treasure had nothing to do with
him.

Lou Lan was currently sorting out the various materials and
treasures. Upon seeing Lou Lan working hard and seriously, Ai
Hui could not help but smile. This time around, he had gained
more than he had expected, especially with regards to the earth
elemental materials. Lou Lan’s body could now be significantly
upgraded.

He looked forward to an upgraded Lou Lan. How powerful

would he be then!
 Actually, Ai Hui felt that the current Lou Lan was already very
powerful. For the last three years, if Ai Hui had not had Lou
Lan, he would have led a miserable life. The only reason Ai Hui
could continue improving while his elemental energy was
devoured by the blood plum blossom was because Lou Lan kept
on making elemental food for him.

Ai Hui did not bother Lou Lan and began to think about the
blood plum blossom on his body.

He had regained his calm. The [Life and Death Flower

Sacrificial Art] was mysterious and unpredictable. The database
stated that no one had succeeded in perfectly executing this
secret art yet.

One Thousand Yuan was far more powerful than he expected.

Ai Hui felt fear and worry, but he did not harbor a grudge
toward her.

It had been a deal.

At that point in time, did he not know that the blood plum
blossom was something harmful? Yes, he knew. The iron lady
and the others hated One Thousand Yuan for taking advantage
of his misfortune. However, from Ai Hui’s point of view, what
One Thousand Yuan did was fair. Was One Thousand Yuan
obligated to help him? No, she was not.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Back then, he was like a penniless gambler who had lost it all.
Other than his wretched life, he had nothing left.

Without One Thousand Yuan’s blood plum blossom, he would

not even have had the power to make his final decision.

Actually, Ai Hui felt grateful for this deal since it helped him
to fulfill his master and mistress’s wish. He was willing to pay
any price just to fulfil this wish. Any price.

However, despite feeling grateful for the deal, Ai Hui did not
intend to resign to his fate. Right now, whether One Thousand
Yuan got what she wanted or Ai Hui broke free from the curse
would depend on their individual capabilities.
 A deal was supposed to be risky!

A cool-headed Ai Hui had recovered the clarity of his mind.

Even though the [Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art] was
powerful and mysterious, that did not mean it did not have any
flaws. The relationship between flower master and flower slave
resembled that of master and servant, but there was no
guarantee that the slave would be dominated by the master.

The Flower of Life and Flower of Destruction were

embodiments of Yin and Yang. They affected each other and
restricted each other.

For example, One Thousand Yuan definitely would not want

Ai Hui to die. If the flower slave was to die, the flower master’s
body would begin to devour itself. In mild cases, the flower
master would become a handicapped person. In severe cases,
the flower master would die.

This was an important factor that Ai Hui could take advantage

of.
 If he purposely went to some dangerous places, would One
Thousand Yuan followed him? His life was wretched anyway. If
he really died, then so be it. On the contrary, One Thousand
Yuan enjoyed a sublime status in the Blood of God and had
boundless prospects. Wouldn’t it be a pity if she died?

So what if she didn’t want to die?

Then she had to sit down and have a good discussion with
him!

How about compensating me with some capable bodyguards?

Nah, bodyguards would be rather inconvenient for me. It would
be more practical to compensate me with essence elemental
beans. If not, I’m fine with blood crystals and blood cores as
well.

How could I feel safe without money? How could I live

comfortably without money?

You must pay me some remuneration for helping you grow

your flower.
 All right, all right, let’s not talk about the remuneration right
away.

If you don’t nourish me, how can I provide enough nutrients

for your flower! How would the nutrients be enough!

Once Ai Hui started to think clearly, ideas flowed into his

mind endlessly.

The Yin and Yang relationship between the Flower of Life and
Flower of Destruction could be taken advantage of as well. Since
the Flower of Destruction was a projection of the Flower of Life,
if he could control the Flower of Destruction , then wouldn’t it
be possible for him to control the Flower of Life as well?

Sure, it might be unlikely for him to control the Flower of

Life, but what about affecting it? Could he affect the growth of
the Flower of Destruction and Flower of Life?

Ai Hui’s eyes became brighter and brighter.

The [Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art] was indeed a good
thing!
Chapter 293: The Sha Family
The city woke up from its deep sleep as the night scene
receded into the horizon.

After working hard for the whole night, Ai Hui let out a yawn.
He had yet to fully understand the nuances of the [Life and
Death Flower Sacrificial Art]. He did have some ideas about it,
slightly setting his mind at ease.

He would first need to test out whether or not One Thousand

Yuan would be injured if he died, or rather, if she would care
about him. Controlling the Flower of Death might sound easy,
but in reality, Ai Hui had no idea how to execute it.

The game had just begun.

After greeting Lou Lan drowsily, Ai Hui lay down and fell into
a deep sleep. For the past few weeks, he had been travelling
nonstop, and his mind was stretched taut. Only when he came
home could he then relax.

The esoteric [Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art], the

ancient treasure, the Great Wei Enterprise, the Assembly of
Patriarchs, and everything else had been cast to the back of his
mind. Right now, he only wanted to sleep until the end of time.

Lou Lan did not disturb Ai Hui.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Ai Hui

vaguely heard someone quarrelling in his dream.

"… Four essence elemental beans? Ha! Why don’t both of you
rob a bank instead? I have never heard of any training hall that
dares to quote such a price…"

"It’s not that I don’t have essence elemental beans. I just don’t
want to get scammed by the both of you! Do you think I’m
stupid?"

"Do both of you think that you’re some big shot? How dare
you both take me for a fool! Wait and you shall see!"

...

Soon after, Ai Hui again faintly heard someone quarrelling in

his sleep.

"Not selling? 500,000 elemental energy points is enough for

you to make a huge profit!"

"People who are too greedy don’t usually come to a good end. I
think both of you should reconsider your decision."

"Ask your master to come out now. What’s the meaning of

letting a sand puppet deal with me!?"

The person talking was getting increasingly agitated, and his

voice grew louder and louder. Ai Hui, who was in a stupor,
could no longer carry on sleeping. Awakened by the noise, Ai
Hui’s face turned gloomy. All he wanted was to have a good
sleep, but he kept getting disturbed by other people. Even a
gentleman would get angry at this point.

Wait, was Ai Hui a gentleman?

He stood up and walked out of the warehouse. From a

distance, he saw an obese middle-aged man, who seemed to be a
butler. As he spoke, his face was filled with anger and his arms
waved through the air from time to time.

When the obese butler saw Ai Hui, he became even more

agitated. He walked aggressively toward Ai Hui and asked
rudely, "Are you the owner of this training hall?"

Ai Hui tilted his head and looked at him.

"Let me tell you! No matter what, today you’re selling this

training hall to me! If you’re tactful enough, you can still get
500,000 elemental energy points. If you’re not tactful, don’t
blame our Sha Family for being ruthless. Your daddy, I, have
come across plenty of trash like you. How dare you put on airs
in front of our Sha Family! You must be tired of living!"

"Sha Family? What Sha Family?" Ai Hui looked baffled.

"What Sha Family?" The obese butler replied with arrogance,

"There is no sand that the Sha Family can’t make into sand
puppets!"

"Oh, that Sha Family," Ai Hui came to a realization.

 He had heard of this Sha Family before. They were also
known as the home of sand puppets and specialized in making
sand puppets. There was a famous saying: "There is no sand that
the Sha Family can’t make into sand puppets," which meant
that any type of sand could be refined and manufactured into
sand puppets in the hands of the Sha Family.

The obese butler looked extremely pleased with himself. He

cast a haughty look at Lou Lan and said, "Our Sha Family is
upright and fair. By buying your dilapidated warehouse for
500,000 elemental energy points, you will have made enough
profit. Lad, don’t be too greedy. I’m afraid you won’t have the
appetite to digest if we give you too much. If we can reach an
agreement today, we will even exchange your sand puppet for a
free Earth Dragon sand puppet from the Sha Family. I’m sure
you know the price of an Earth Dragon sand puppet."

Ai Hui put on an innocent look and replied, "Exchange? You

might as well just give me an Earth Dragon."

"No!" the obese butler answered in a stern tone. "If I do that, I

will be taking on a huge risk. If the higher-ups find out about
this, I will be in deep trouble. I need to take your lousy sand
puppet so I can keep the same number of sand puppets in my
warehouse. This way, the higher-ups won’t be able to tell what I
have done…"
 Thump!

The sole of Ai Hui’s foot landed squarely on the obese butler’s

face, sinking deeply into his fat, pudgy face.

As if he rammed by a wild beast, the obese butler flew out of

the training hall’s entrance.

The facial expression of the Sha Family’s guards changed

drastically. "How dare you!"

One of the guards reached out to catch the butler. The butler
was Madam’s relative and had gained the trust of both Master
and Madam. Hence, he had extremely high authority in the
family. If anything was to happen to the butler, all of them
would be in deep water.

Just as the guard made contact with the body of the flying
butler, his facial expression changed.

The guard felt a violent force pass through his body. By now,
it was already too late for him to respond. The body of the
butler collided heavily with his body.
 Bang!

Both of them smashed into the wall. Crash! The wall collapsed
like a pile of toy building blocks, burying the two.

Ai Hui withdrew his leg and muttered, "How dare you say my
Lou Lan is a lousy sand puppet. You must be tired of living."

At this moment, the rest of the guards summoned their sand

puppets.

Ai Hui’s gaze landed on these sand puppets and asked Lou Lan
curiously, "Lou Lan, are these Earth Dragons?"

The sand puppets looked very weird. Even though they had a
humanoid form, their spines were swollen. Each section of their
spinal column could be clearly seen. The Earth Dragon sand
puppets were entirely black in color. Their limbs were thick and
solid, but not swollen. Their gazes were cold and austere.

"Yes, Ai Hui." Lou Lan explained as if he was reciting from a

book, "Earth Dragons are the Sha Family’s elite sand puppets.
They are mainly composed of matt black sand, square stone,
and gray clay. They have powerful strength, outstanding
survivability, formidable fighting capabilities, and are very
obedient. Their weakness lies in their sand core. Their sand core
is made up of Thousand Water Stone, which is not particularly
intelligent."

Lou Lan’s words sent a cold shiver down the spines of the Sha
Family guards.

At a loss, they looked at each other. Who exactly were these

people? Why were they so familiar with Earth Dragons? The
Earth Dragon sand puppets were new sand puppets that were
developed only 500 years ago. Their construction blueprints
were the Sha Family’s well-kept secret, and they were the main
sale product nowadays.&nbsp;

A furious look flashed across the guard leader’s eyes. He yelled

angrily, "Audacious spy! How dare you spy on our sand puppets!
We will not forgive you! Everyone, shoulder to shoulder.
Advance!"

The guard leader knew that the butler was was a petty
individual. If they returned completely unharmed, the butler
definitely would bear grudges against them. The guard leader
also could tell that the training hall’s owner was someone not to
be trifled with, and as such, he charged him with a crime first.

Whether or not they won this battle, the Sha Family would
have an excuse to denounce him afterward.

No matter how powerful the training hall’s owner was, he still

could not contend against the Sha Family.

Upon seeing the incoming sand puppets and hearing the guard
leader’s words, Ai Hui laughed coldly. Ai Hui was experienced
enough to know what the other party was up to just by listening
to his words.

"Lou Lan, freeze the Earth Dragons.

"Okay, Ai Hui!" Lou Lan replied cheerfully as his eyes began to

glow.

All along, he could not help Ai Hui much during battles. He

often reminisced about the blind battle that he previously
fought with Ai Hui. Finally, he could fight alongside Ai Hui
again!
 Over the past three years, Ai Hui was not the only one
improving. Lou Lan had improved as well. Even though Lou
Lan’s body could not be completely upgraded due to the lack of
materials, he still managed to absorb many blood crystals and
blood cores and also made many minor alterations to himself.

Lou Lan was still unfamiliar when it came to dealing with

elementalists, but when it came to dealing with sand puppets,
Lou Lan was an expert.

Since he was a sand puppet just like the Earth Dragons, he

knew everything about their moves.

It was more than enough for Lou Lan to know that the Earth
Dragons’ weakness lay in their sand core. Furthermore, he even
knew that their sand cores were made up of Thousand Water
Stone. As such, he knew properties of the cores and how to
make them sluggish. He also knew that if the concentration of
elemental energy between the matte black sand and gray clay
was lower than a certain critical point, these two materials
would repel each other.

Lou Lan dissolved into a pile of sand and seeped into the
ground.
 Just as the Earth Dragons were about to reach Ai Hui, they
suddenly froze, looking as if a freezing spell had been cast on
them.

The glow in the Earth Dragons’ eyes continuously lit up and

extinguished. After around 10 seconds, the square stones on the
Earth Dragons’ backs loosened and fell to the ground.

The faces of the Sha Family guards became ashen as they

looked blankly upon this scene. What had happened completely
defied their logic.

Why…

When they saw Ai Hui striding toward them, they started to

panick. They tried to put on a brave front and asked, "What…
what are you trying to do?"

Ai Hui grinned and revealed his teeth. "Since all of you are my
guests, you will have to stay here today."

He did not give these earth elementalists any chance to react.

Like a lightning bolt, he knocked them out in the blink of an
eye.

Ai Hui silently shook his head. He really did not know what
these earth elementalists were thinking. Nowadays, earth
elementalists were in such a dire situation, yet they still had the
nerve to do things so arrogantly. Weren’t they seeking death?

"Lou Lan, tie them up!" Ai Hui waved his hand.

"No problem, Ai Hui!"

Simultaneously, countless voices came out from all corners of

the courtyard.

Pea-sized mini Lou Lans emerged from the ground and yelled
cheerfully in unison, "Lou Lan is coming!"

Happily, they rushed to the fainted earth elementalists and

jumped on their bodies.

A few mini Lou Lans carried ropes that were thicker than
their bodies, threw them on top of those elementalists, and
yelled together, "Lou Lan, catch the rope!"

The several mini Lou Lans standing on top of the fainted

elementalists spread their arms and yelled together, "Lou Lan
caught it!"

"Lou Lan is beginning to tie a knot now!"

"Lou Lan has completed tying the knot!

"Lou Lan is preparing to carry him!"

"Lou Lan is coming!"&nbsp;

"Lou Lan is coming!"&nbsp;

"Lou Lan is coming!"

...
 Upon seeing the bustling scene, Ai Hui was deeply moved. The
scene very much resembled the expansion project outside of the
city…

In the blink of an eye, the Sha Family guards and the butler
were tied up.

Ai Hui was very sly. When the butler said he wanted to trade
Lou Lan for an Earth Dragon, Ai Hui knew that they would not
peacefully resolve the issue. Even though the butler was fat, he
was sharp-sighted. He could tell that Lou Lan was an
extraordinary sand puppet and coveted him.

Even though the Sha Family was currently in a dire situation

due to the loss of the Yellow Sand Corner, they were still very
powerful. If Ai Hui had not attained elemental externalization,
he would be very fearful of them.

However, since he had attained elemental externalization, his

fighting capabilities had improved tremendously and his
confidence was greatly boosted.

The poor were not intimidated by the rich. It would only spell
trouble for a rich and powerful family like the Sha Family to
encounter a fellow like Ai Hui.

Ai Hui liked to keep a low-profile and did not like to stir up

trouble, but that did not mean that he was afraid of causing
havoc. No matter how powerful the Sha Family was, were they
more powerful than the Blood of God?

Since they could not resolve the issue peacefully, Ai Hui had
to resort to his fists.

Recently, there had been an increase in criminal activity in

Peace City. With the establishment of a lesser Avalon of Five
Elements, Ai Hui knew that many people would be interested in
his plot of land.

In the city, there were very few properties that were as big as
his training hall.

There were a lot of people eyeing his training hall. If he

displayed any sign of weakness, plenty of greedy individuals
would pounce and completely devour him.

Ai Hui was hoping that this training hall would sell for a good
price. The Sha Family was trying to scam him!

Looking at the empty entrance of the training hall, he gave a

sinister smile while his eyes glittered with the glow of essence
elemental beans.
Chapter 294: Rising Storm
The news that the Sha family had been beaten up spread
across the whole of Peace City as if it had wings.

The undercurrent surged in Peace City. It was apparent from

the number of property transactions that close to seventy
percent of houses in the city had new owners. The power of
money, fist and authority were displayed vividly through
different ways. Lucky home owners could earn a big sum of
money and unlucky ones would find themselves in a worse
situation. While it wasn’t to the extent of becoming bankrupt or
losing lives, injuries were common.

Peace City was like a feasting place, fertile and repleted.

Peace City was a small place and played no impressive roles. It

couldn’t provoke fellows that had a strong background. As for
other matters, it was fine as long as they did not go overboard.
Going overboard would bring shame to the family and they still
wanted to keep their reputation. Most families would choose to
offer a pretty decent price along with some threats in order to
achieve their goals.

A little bit of money meant nothing to big families. There was

no need to complicate matters over such an insignificant
amount of money.

While there were many undercurrents in Peace City, it was

buzzing with activity on the surface and there was no
sensationalized news. As such, the news of the Sha family
getting beaten up created such a big stir.

Some felt rueful over the Sha family’s decline.

The Sha family from three years back had still been a well-
celebrated family in the Avalon of Five Elements. Yet, in just
three years they fell into poverty and were taken over by a small
and remote training hall. The whole affair would make you
sigh.

The occupation of Yellow Corner Sand was a devastating blow

to influential earth elementalist families. It only took three
years for the Sha family to lose their power and fall into such
decline. In another three years there might not even be a Sha
family anymore.

It was no wonder the Sha family was so desperate. They had

no choice.
 A pity the Sha family wasn’t in luck and had stumbled.

The news of Wang Han and the swordsman school had

already reached the desks of respective homeowners. There
wasn’t anything noteworthy about the news other than the
interesting nickname, ‘King of Anglers’, given to Wang Han.

It was said that Wang Han had just attained elemental

externalization so how great could he be?

Could it be that the Sha family’s abilities had already reached

such a frail state? Some people were secretly affected. Although
they couldn’t make sand puppets without sand, there were still
many good things about the Sha family. At least the
manufacturing method was invaluable.The Elders Guild would
absolutely disallow only metal and water elements to exist long
term. It was evident from the establishment of the small Avalon
of Five Elements that Elders Guild was trying. Their
determination was apparent as well.

One could tell, from the construction of the small Avalon of

Five Elements, that Elders Guild had already realized that
regardless if it was the Fire Prairie and Yellow Corner Sand,
occupied by Blood of God, or the independent Jadeite Forest,
none would return to the hands of the Avalon of Five Elements
any time soon.

The war would not end soon and once the small avalon
succeeded, the rebuilding of the Avalon of Five Elements would
immediately begin.

As long as the Elders Guild pushed through the challenging

phase before them and gained strength, the situation would
improve greatly.

The difficult situation faced by earth, fire and water

elementalists was only temporary. They would recover their
elemental energy upon the reconstruction of the Avalon of Five
Elements.

These families were at their weakest right now, which meant

that now was the best opportunity to swallow them up. If these
weakened families were taken over now, the spoils of war
during the rebuilding of the Avalon of Five Elements would earn
them a large sum.

Quickly, many families became restless and threatening.

 Evergold Enterprise.

"Four essence elemental beans?" asked the Fu family’s elder

sister.

Fu Yonghao replied angrily, "Yes, Sister. This man is crazy

about money! Treating me as a fool? I was so angry that I almost
quarreled with them."

"So did you give them to him?" the lady asked while looking at
him.

Fu Yonghao felt weak from his sister’s gaze but answered

firmly, "Of course not! I’m not stupid!"

His sister shook her head. "Four essence elemental beans in

exchange for a fair chance to get close to him. What’s bad about
it?"

"In any case, I don’t want to be slaughtered like an idiot!" Fu

Yonghao stiffened his neck and repeated indignantly.
 The Fu family’s elder sister asked directly, "Then have you
seen the Sha family’s battle process?"

"I’ve seen it." Fu Yonghao felt at ease upon seeing that his
sister wasn’t angry. He continued, "I left the alley and saw them
not far away. I heard the housekeeper mumbling something
about buying over the training hall and immediately knew that
they were going after Wang Han."

His sister asked hurriedly, "How?"

Out of curiosity, others looked over as well.

Fu Yonghao had a strange expression. "Wang Han did not look

very impressive, but his sand puppet was pretty capable. The
guards’ Earth Dragons were all defeated by Wang Han’s sand
puppet.

"Taken down by Wang Han’s sand puppet?"

This outcome was surprising.

 "Yeah." Fu Yonghao was puzzled too. "Isn’t the Sha family
well-known for their sand puppets? While Earth Dragons are
not considered first-rate sand puppets, they are pretty good at
combat. How did they get defeated by a single sand puppet so
easily? Has the Sha family really fallen into such a sorry state?"

Fu Renxuan couldn’t help but ask, "Where’s Wang Han’s sand

puppet from? Isn’t he a metal elementalist?"

Fu Yonghao spread his hands out.

"Regardless, the Sha family can only brace themselves." the Fu

family’s elder sister added, "If they cower now, they will have to
succumb to their fate of getting swallowed up. Not only do they
have to win, they have to win beautifully in order to intimidate
those greedy fellows."

Fu Yonghao’s eyes lit up. "A good show’s coming up!"

Swordsman Training Hall.

"Ai Hui, am I really going to start upgrading my body? It’s

going to require a very long time." Lou Lan spoke.
 "How long?"

"Six to eight days."

"Oh okay, start as soon as possible once you’re ready."

"But what would you do if enemies appear?"

"Hah, don’t worry, what’s there to be afraid of? We’re in

school!"

...

Ai Hui really wasn’t worried. He wouldn’t be so sure if they

were in some other place, but since they were in Swordsman
Training Hall, he was highly confident.

This was his home ground.

As someone who was always cautious, he placed much more

importance on his nesting place as compared to most people.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep in peace.

Ever since he left Central Pine, he had accumulated a

significant number of Heaven Merit Points. He was supposed to
get an inherited manual but with additional points, he
exchanged it for an absolute art manual for training sky palaces.

He then used the rest of his points to obtain all sorts of

uncommon ingredients.

And he used most of these ingredients to make elemental food

for upgrading Lou Lan’s body and for Dragonspine tempering.
For Ai Hui to be able to progress steadily in spite of the Life and
Death Flower Sacrificial Technique Art, these ingredients
played an important role.

The remaining ingredients were used in his training hall.

All the resources were taken away by the Elders Guild for
Wang Shouchuan’s [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] plan
during the war of Central Pine City. Even Wang Shouchuan’s
daily notes that had been found were kept safely. The Elders
Guild saw these pieces of information as treasures and were
highly secretive about them.
 No one would’ve thought that there was still someone who
remembered the complicated and meticulous proposal from
that time.

And that person was Ai Hui.

He had been in touch with Teacher’s ideas on a regular basis,

and when the proposal was out he visited Teacher, who
explained it all to him without stopping. As such, Ai Hui had a
much deeper understanding of the whole plan since he’d been
following up with it from start to end.

The plan was so grand and full of complex scenarios, things

that Ai Hui wasn’t able nor required to try. Thus, he specially
made smaller scaled, simplified versions to fix up the hall and
increase security.

As his understanding of sword mastery and Teacher’s theory

deepened steadily, he continued improvising the installations.

No one would’ve thought that this shabby-looking training

hall had its own mysteries.
 Even people like Su Qingye, who practiced here regularly, did
not sense anything abnormal.

When Ai Hui knew that there might be danger, he informed

all the students that classes would stop for half a month so as to
prevent getting involved in this affair.

Lou Lan started upgrading his body and the hall quieted
down.

Ai Hui did not waste any time as well. He had just broken into
external externalization, which was the best time to train. The
change in elemental energy offered him a different revelation.

Attaining elemental externalization meant that elementalists

could directly engage Nature’s elemental energies, precisely the
reason for their formidability.

For example, currently, Ai Hui could engage elemental energy

from within a radius of fifty feet. As he upgraded his level of
training, this range would widen as well.

Attaining elemental externalization was merely the

beginning. There was a huge difference between being able to
engage elemental energy from within a radius of fifty feet
versus from within a radius of thousands of feet.

Along with a deeper understanding of elemental energy,

elementalists would not only be able to increase their control
over a larger area, they would even be able to engage elemental
energy that was not of their own element.

The finest thing about the five elemental energies was how
they affected one another.

Nature’s elemental energies in itself resided in circulations.

Those Masters were able to convert other elemental energies
into the one that they needed.

This was also the reason why although Han Yuqin’s combat
abilities weren’t as strong as Yu Mingqiu, she was able to
complete the [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] plan.
When one’s base level was high enough, elemental energy was
no longer divided. In her hands, any type of elemental energy
could be converted easily.

Of course, this was the ultimate goal for elementalists. None

had been able to achieve it so far.

According to recent rumors, the person closest to reaching

this goal was grandmaster Dai Gang.

To Ai Hui, these were beyond his reach. He had just attained

elemental externalization and was a thorough rookie. Many
experiences were still very foreign to him.

He could feel the elemental energy in the ground beneath his

feet dragging him along.

The elemental energy flow was completely different from

before. Ai Hui was full of curiosity, his eyes flickering brightly.

As he moved, the Dragonspine started operating slowly.

Within these three years, if there was one area which he

improved the greatest, it would have to be his sword mastery.

He had already attained a higher mastery level when he was

still in Central Pine. Three years of perseverance, fumbling and
bitter trainings really refined his swordsmanship.

He did not use Heaven Merit Points to exchange for the sword
techniques. He did not care for those.

But Karakorum’s swordplay really made his eyes light up.

Nevertheless, his own fighting style had started to infuse with

his swordplay. Learning swordplay from others would instead
be disadvantageous.

He could borrow them as references but could not completely

imitate them.

What he needed to do now was to persevere.

Chapter 295: The Three Smalls
"How can we help Teacher?"

Hua Xiaoyun was thirteen years old but her cute, apple-
shaped face was currently filled with worry. Her body was frail,
as if the wind could easily blow her away. The brown curls on
her head were the most eye-catching. Her fluffy hair resembled
that of a poodle. Because of this, she was often laughed at and
called Little Hua Doggy.

She was a feeble but kind girl. Upon hearing that Teacher had
offended the Sha family, she got extremely worried and
specially made a trip down to Peace City from Cloud Ridge City
via Three Leaves Bamboo Cart, in search of Su Qingye and Zhou
Wen.

Zhou Wen held onto his heavy sword without a word.

Su Qingye listlessly teased his new sand puppet. After his

previous sand puppet’s reported the expenses, his father finally
bought him a new one. Because of Su Huaijun’s praise of Su
Qingye, his father was more than happy to get him a new and
much more improved sand puppet.
 At the beginning, Su Qingye was extremely pleased with his
new sand puppet since it was much stronger than his previous
one.

But when he found out that an argument arose between

Teacher and the Sha family, Su Qingye became gloomy.

His new sand puppet, Cuttlefish, was a product of the Sha

Family.

Fate was fooling with people. Su Qingye’s child-like face was

now full of sorrow as he sighed toward the sky.

"Say something you guys!" Hua Xiaoyun spoke urgently. "Why

aren’t you guys talking! I’m so worried!"

"Teacher doesn’t need our help," the mysterious Zhou Wen

said all of a sudden.

"Are we just going to sit and watch? Teacher has to deal with
so many enemies. What if he can’t handle them?" The more Hua
Xiaoyun thought about it, the more worried she got.
 "We’re so weak, how are we going to help him?" Su Qingye
was a businessman’s son after all and had rich life experiences.
"What we should do now is make sure that we don’t become a
burden and a cause for worry."

Having said that, Su Qingye felt sullen himself.

Stupid Sha family!

How hateful!

"Then what’s going to happen to Teacher?" Hua Xiaoyun

asked on the brink of tears.

"I trust Teacher." Zhou Wen said.

"Me too." Su Qingye consoled, "Don’t forget that there’s still

Lou Lan. Lou Lan is powerful. We wouldn’t be able to win
against him even if we joined forces."

Just then, a group of hooligans appeared from not far away.

After some brief eye contact, they walked over with bad
intentions.

"Hey, take out all your money!"

As the three of them were too preoccupied with worrying, the

gangsters had already surrounded them when they were finally
able to react.

Zhou Wen stood up coldly and kept Hua Xiaoyun close to him.

Su Qingye wrinkled his brows and berated, "Who are you

guys? You all look unfamiliar. Why? Coming all the way here to
cause trouble?"

While Sea Pacific Enterprise wasn’t considered big, it had

been standing for many years and the local societies and
businesses were beyond familiar with it. Su Qingye had been
interacting with these people since he was young and had no
fear. What kind of storm could a small city like Peace City cook
up?

Su Qingye was more than certain that he’d not seen these
people before.
 There was an influx of foreigners into Peace City recently and
security had become less ordered.

"How arrogant!" The lead gangster stepped out, an evil green

appearing on his face. "You’d better take out all your money
now if you don’t wanna get beaten up. Or else, don’t blame us
for being impolite!"

"We can give you the money, but you have to let us go." Su
Qingye said while fishing out money.

Seeing that Su Qingye gave in, the hooligan let his guard down
momentarily, saying, "Don’t play any tricks and you’ll be fine…"

Even before he could finish speaking, he felt a sharp pain in

his thigh.

He looked down and saw a sand sword jutting out from his
thigh as fresh blood poured out.

Before he could react, his little brothers had already fallen

into a pitiful state.
 Zhou Wen had already completely powered his sword. It was
like a solid hammer. Taking a hit would usually cause a sore,
bone-shattering sound. While he did not look strong on the
outside, he was as brave as a fierce tiger.

Hua Xiaoyun followed closely behind as the swords made

from fog became agile and sharp arrows, unceasingly landing on
their enemies’ bodies and leaving wounds.

"You’re courting death!"

The leader had a sinister look on his face but right in front of
him, Su Qingye was all smiles. Even before he could react, his
other thigh got stabbed as well.

Plop!

The gang leader’s legs turned weak and he sank to his knees.

A sand lock chained around his neck transformed into a

collar, where sawteeth were spinning slowly around the inner
side of it.
 "Stop!"

Su Qingye spoke up as the sawteeth tightened suddenly and a

blood streak surfaced on the gang leader’s neck.

The gang leader turned pale as he quickly instructed, "Stop!

All of you, stop!"

Seeing the state their leader was in, the rest of the gang
hesitated a little before stopping.

Bang bang bang!

Ferocious Zhou Wen had no intention to stop. Instead, he

charged forward and took down the remaining hooligans in the
blink of an eye.

The gang leader’s expression worsened. He knew he had

provoked the wrong person and lowered his noble head.

Su Qingye asked calmly, "How long have you guys been in

Peace City?"
 The gang leader answered in all honesty, "Three days."

Chuckling, Su Qingye asked, "Three days and you guys are

feeling restless already?"

The leader hurriedly replied, "I must be blind to have

offended you all…"

"Heh heh, let’s talk things over." Su Qingye changed the topic
suddenly. "Who asked you guys to come over?"

The gang leader’s expression changed slightly but he

remained silent.

Zhou Wen and Hua Xiaoyun exchanged glances.

"I thought it was strange. Coming for money straight away,

how ignorant! Not even a greeting or an excuse, do you take me
for a fool?" Su Qingye smiled coldly. He was very familiar with
how things went on the street. "You better be honest with us or
I’ll kill you. Heard of Huang Dahai? Entering someone else’s
territory, have you paid your respects? Still have the guts to
rob? You’ll get seriously hurt if I hand you over to him. He
would have to thank me and invite me to attend the ritual!"

Upon hearing Huang Dahai’s name, the gang leader’s face

turned a deathly white.

Huang Dahai was the big boss of a few streets nearby and was
vicious and merciless. If the gangster fell into Huang Dahai’s
hands, he would have a miserable ending. The gangster’s body
shook uncontrollably at the mere thought that Huang Dahai
might deal with him cruelly.

He bit his teeth. "Yes…"

A green light flashed abruptly and hit the gang leader right
between his brows.

A grunt sounded and ended spontaneously. There was a

bloody hole in between his brows as blood flowed down.

This sudden change of events stunned Su Qingye for a while.

Because Teacher attached much importance to real combat, the
three of them were used to confrontation. He had fought before,
but killing people…
 The gang leader on the ground was no longer breathing, his
eyes wide open and expressionless. The emptiness was
uncomfortable to bear.

Su Qinye blanked out.

Boom! A huge force knocked him down, which also allowed

him to snap out of it.

It was Zhou Wen!

He had left a pit in the ground.

Habitually silent, Zhou Wen lived in an even harsher

environment and thus had a higher psychological endurance
than Su Qingye.

He was fighting against the attacker who launched the sneak

attack now.

Soon, Hua Xiaoyun threw herself out there as well. Her fish-
like cloud sword made concentrated shuffling sounds. The frail-
looking brown-haired girl was actually stronger that she
appeared.

Clap! Su Qingye gave himself a slap, shame filling his chest.

Cuttlefish seeped into the ground and went for the opponent
like a pool of ink.

The attacker was a middle-aged man. He had an average

appearance, a face that would fade in a crowd. However, he was
exceptionally strong, taking on three opponents by himself, yet
maintaining the upper hand.

Zhou Wen’s subtle sword strokes were effortlessly blocked off

by the man. The man could also easily dodge Hua Xiaoyun’s
crafty cloud sword, as if he’d long predicted its moves.

Cuttlefish’s speed increased and in the blink of an eye, it was

already under the man’s feet.

A pool of ink wrapped around his legs.

 Su Qingye saw the sneer in the man’s eyes. Boom! The man
did not move his legs but the black ink around them exploded
into a puff of sand.

Their opponent was simply too powerful!

His realm, fight and even battle experience far exceeded

theirs.

"If you meet an enemy that’s too powerful, don’t run. You
can’t outrun him. Keep in mind what I’m about to teach you…"

Teacher’s words suddenly floated into Su Qingye’s conscious

mind.

Su Qingye remembered these words very clearly since Teacher

made sure to explain the content to them when they were all
present. Teacher wasn’t very responsible in the sense that he
appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and just mostly wasn’t
around. Lou Lan was the one who had been monitoring their
trainings. They really liked Lou Lan and felt he was more like a
teacher.
 Su Qingye was somewhat vexed. They’d never tried practicing
what Teacher had taught them.

His relationship with Zhou Wen wasn’t considered friendly

and Hua Xiaoyun only visited twice a week so no one had
thought of practicing the drill together.

They could only push their way through, even if it was beyond
their abilities…

"Three elements!"

Su Qingye shouted suddenly and dashed behind Zhou Wen.

The dispersed ink sand on the ground assembled and moved
toward him as if it was attracted by something.

Upon hearing Su Qingye’s loud roar, Zhou Wen retreated

suddenly without the slightest hesitation.

He stood about ten feet to Hua Xiaoyun’s right as Su Qingye

stood about thirty feet to her left.
 The three of them formed a polyline angle.

Their opponent did not interrupt them. Instead, he observed

them calmly.

"... A pentagon has five points. The three of you occupy three
connecting points. Remember, Hua Xiaoyun right at the front,
followed by Zhou Wen and finally Su Qingye…"

At this moment, Su Qingye was beyond thankful for his daily

trainings.

Teacher had strict requirements when it came to their sense

of space. He felt that having a precise sense was very helpful in
battles. As such, the three of them had undergone countless
extra trainings and punishments. Basically, they suffered quite a
lot of hardships to perfect this part.

And finally, in this moment, all their hard work would be put
to good use.

Without any adjustments, Su Qingye knew their positions

were completely accurate.
 Teacher, you must mean what you say…

Su Qingye prayed inwardly to each and every god he knew.

His hand movements were super fast, his arms unoccupied. The
black ink sand shuffled its way up off the ground and formed a
sphere, which spun around between his arms.

Gathering all the elemental energy within his body, Su Qingye

made a strong push with his arms and the fast spinning black
sand ball in front of his chest transformed into a black sand
sword, flying toward Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen had a stern expression on his face as he used both

hands to grab his sword. Silhouette like a bow, he thrusted his
sword unhurriedly.

A silver bright glow swiftly lighted up.

The black sand sword, as if attracted by something, flew

toward the sword light from Zhou Wen’s attack.

The moment the black sand sword shot into the bright sword
light, the light dimmed and an indescribable grandeur shrouded
the whole place.

The sword ray appeared in front of Hua Xiaoyun in a flash.

Hua Xiaoyun condensed six cloud swords and like vines, they
wound around this sword ray.

The middle-aged man’s face changed greatly.

Just then, the sword ray made a shocking transformation.

Chapter 296: Probe
All the force within the sword ray collided with the vine-like
cloud sword.

Poof!

The cloud sword swiftly turned into a ball of fog that was even
more dazzling than a rainbow, but in the blink of an eye, the
splendid fog was torn apart into thin sword rays.

Su Qingye and gang were stunned by this sight. They were the
most beautiful sword rays ever.

The thin sword rays were as if they’d been ground into mica
sheets, overflowing with light and brilliance like the world’s
most beautiful colors. There were specks of golden sand on top
that appeared to be moving about.

The sword produced a sweet-sounding sword chime, which

spread across the whole city like surfacing ripples.

Upon hearing the sword chime, Ai Hui, who was meditating,

lowered his gaze and spread open his azure wings. He flew up
and saw the splendor from far away. Without hesitating, he
dashed toward that light.

Not just him, but many elementalists could be seen flying in

that direction.

Opposite the three students, the middle-aged man’s face had

completely changed. He saw the overflowing aura of death
emitted by the beautiful sword ray.

Beautiful things were usually fatal. He’d seen poisonous

snakes and beautiful women, but in front of these sword rays
they paled in comparison. Whether it was beautiful or fatal,
how did these three brats command such a sword ray?

There was a second where his heart was filled with regret. He
regretted offering his support and underestimating his enemies.

In a flash, the hesitation in his gaze was swept away and

replaced with unwavering determination. His experience taught
him that the more dangerous a situation was, the more he had
to risk his life. Any hesitation or fear would lose him his
chances of survival.
 With a bellow, the elemental energy within his whole body
started circulating and rich metal elemental energy crawled
from the ground up his body.

Elemental externalization!

Another egg-sized clay figure appeared in the middle-aged

man’s hand.

Concentrated earth elemental energy was channeled into the

mini clay figure and it shattered with a clap, transforming into a
ray of light before disappearing.

Rumble!

A huge rumbling sound emerged from underground as a huge

sandstone arm surfaced aboveground.

It was over ten meters long and extremely thick and solid.
Three people would be needed to surround it and still wrap
their arms around each other.
 While it seemed slow-moving, all this had happened in an
instant.

The enormous palm spread its fingers wide like a big web and
grabbed toward that splendid, yet fatal sword ray.

Boom!

The sword ray shot into the giant palm and the palm closed
up.

The middle-aged man sighed a breath of relief, but the next

moment, his face changed yet again.

Countless beams of light broke through the giant palm and

shot out as fragmented rays, each of which were extremely
dangerous.

The middle-aged man was unable to dodge and a blood streak

appeared on his shoulder. He had actually felt no pain when the
fragmented ray swept past, a sign that the shattered ray was
beyond sharp.
 The giant palm, at this point, looked badly damaged and only
four fingers remained.

The middle-aged man looked terrible. He was dealing with

three schooling brats with his Elemental Externalization realm,
but was still forced into this pitiful state. His face was scorching
red.

The giant sandstone palm wriggled about, and in a flash,

another finger grew out and the palm was just as good as before.

The middle-aged man had a malevolent look on his face as he

said viciously, "Good! Very good! Let’s see what other tricks you
have up your sleeves!"

The three kids turned pale. They had already consumed their
last bit of elemental energy and were on the verge of collapsing.
Their faces were white as a sheet but no one pled for mercy.

"... This move is pretty formidable, but most importantly, it

causes a big enough scene."

Su Qingye gasped roughly for breath as he muttered to

himself non-stop. Teacher, you’d better be reliable…

It seemed that he could only reduce his fear by doing this.

"Tremendous elemental devil palm, how impressive!" The

cold voice sounded from the sky.

Hearing this, Su Qingye’s tensed nerves loosened up

immediately as he plopped to the ground.

A short-haired lady descended and landed in front of the kids.

It was actually Huaijun.

Su Qingye was full of gratitude towards his aunt right now. He

shouted obediently, "Aunt."

Huaijun ignored him and looked the middle-aged man right in

the face, then said in all coldness, "Why? Sha Wuyuan, do you
dare not reveal yourself? Or does the Sha family only dare to do
such shady acts?"

The middle-aged man took the elemental energy mask off his
face, revealing a meager, apathetic face. "I heard Sea Pacific
Enterprise will be operating here for a long time to come. I’ve
been so curious as to who would have such foresight to prepare
the layout so early on. It’s a great honor to be able to meet you
today."

Huaijun remained unmoved. "Sea Pacific Enterprise is not big,

but we will not tolerate any humiliation. You’ve actually
attacked the younger generation, so there’s no way around this,
both families will have to settle all scores today no matter
what."

There was a jade bamboo as thick as a thumb in her hand. It

was a fresh, green jasper jade bamboo and there were even a few
bamboo leaves hanging on top of it.

Sha Wuyuan’s pupils shrank. "Su Huaijun!"

He said slowly, "I was wondering which Su family it was.

Turns out you are from the Sanmu Su family. My bad, my bad.
We have been at peace and close like family. This
misunderstanding was caused by my hastiness and I’d almost
disrupted our harmony. I heard you’re an earth elementalist.
This sand puppet, Shadow, is a little gift from me. Please accept
it, Sir."
 The Shadow was a precious treasure among the sand puppets
produced by the Sha family. It was difficult to obtain even
before Yellow Sand Corner was taken over. Unfortunately, it
was unlikely that the current Sha family would be able to
produce many of these Shadows anymore.

Huaijun’s face softened slightly as she said to Su Qingye, "It’s

okay, stop now."

Su Qingye gave Sha Wuyuan a hateful look, but knew he had

to listen. He could tell that while his father was the one
managing the enterprise, his aunt held a more admirable
position.

Sha Wuyuan heaved a sigh of relief.

Within the information gathered on Wang Han, Sea Pacific

Enterprise was Sha family’s only doubt. Su Qingye was Wang
Han’s student. What kind of relationship did Wang Han and Sea
Pacific Enterprise have? Who was backing up Sea Pacific
Enterprise?

The ways of the world were chaotic, enterprises without any

backing wouldn’t be able to survive. For being able to live in
Peace City for so long, Sea Pacific Enterprise must have its
backing.

Sha Wuyuan had bribed the gangsters to target Su Qingye in

order to scout out information about the Su family and to get a
gauge of Wang Han’s standards.

Who knew the gangsters would be so useless, causing him to

have to deal with the kids himself. Su Huaijun’s choice to end
the fight made him feel rather embarrassed as well.

The good thing was that he’d already gotten the answer he
wanted the most.

The whole Sha family knew that they simply couldn’t afford
to lose this time. Once they lost, it was inevitable that they
would be swallowed up. Sha family’s decline in the past three
years had been observed by many, and Yu Wei had been the one
bracing the family.

If they lost, their last semblance would be taken down and Sha
family’s vulnerability would be completely exposed, revealing
exactly how weak they were. The wolves in wait would pounce
on them without hesitation and swallow them whole.
 The Sha family simply couldn’t lose.

This put them under extreme pressure.

Sha Wuyuan’s gaze was shrewd and ruthless. He could feel the
whole of the Su family’s attitude from Su Huaijun’s bearing. Su
Huaijun did not mention Wang Han at all from start to finish.

The Su family did not want to get involved in the dispute

between the Sha family and Wang Han!

This was the outcome he wanted, so he felt much more

relaxed now. As long as the Su family did not chime in, what
kind of storm could Wang Han raise alone?

Almost losing his life, Su Qingye wasn’t planning to let things

go so easily, but his aunt had no intention of making a move. He
rolled his eyes and shouted out loud, "There are three of us!"

Su Huaijun gave him a look, warning evident in her eyes.

Sha Wuyuan was taken by surprise, but he’d been around for
a long time. Seeing that Su Huaijun glared but did not outright
oppose Su Qingye, he said calmly, "The other two kiddos, five
hundred elemental energy points each. A little gift from the
bottom of my heart. What do you think, Miss Su?"

Su Qingye’s gaze fell upon a silhouette within the crowd and

was stunned for a bit.

Su Huaijun nodded. "Okay."

Zhou Wen burst out, "Who wants your money!"

Surprise filled Su Qingye’s face. He knew how poor Zhou Wen

was, yet this fellow actually had backbone despite his horrible
personality. He quickly pulled Zhou Wen and winked at him
vigorously. Zhou Wen did not really understand what Su Qingye
was trying to do, so he just shut his mouth and said nothing.

Su Qingye winked at Hua Xiaoyun this time and she nodded

subtlely.

It wasn’t the first time Sha Wuyuan had heard an angry

rebuke like the one made by Zhou Wen. With a slight smile, he
threw a bag of essence elemental beans toward Su Huaijun
before turning around to leave.

Without opening it, Su Huaijun threw the bag to Su Qingye

before leaving as well.

The sky was packed with observing elementalists. The

resounding sword chim from earlier had alarmed all of them.

"Who would’ve thought that Sea Pacific Enterprise has the Su

family backing it up!"

"Sanmu Su family is also a well-known family."

"Why didn’t they go to Jadeite Forest?"

"We have to say something good about Avalon of Five

Elements. The Avalon’s never treated these families badly."

"Things are going to get lively in Peace City. The Sha family,
Su family, and perhaps other families are also here."
 ...

Tongues were wagging in the sky as the Sanmu Su family

suddenly emerged from beneath the water’s surface, causing a
stir.

Fu Renxuan was moved. "I can’t believe the Su family is here

too, but it makes sense. The earth elemental, fire elemental and
wood elemental families are all waiting for the construction of
the lesser Avalon of Five Elements."

The Fu family sister turned around suddenly to ask Fu

Yonghao, "Was that move worth four essence elemental beans?"

Fu Yonghao’s face turned red and he kept silent.

The move from earlier was beyond breathtaking. Although

people only saw the aftermath of the sword ray and heard the
sword chime, they were all shaken by the swordplay. Thinking
about it again, this impressive swordplay was executed by three
immature and inexperienced babies. How deep were Wang
Han’s sword mastery and achievements?
 Upon noticing this, Fu Renxuan hurriedly smoothed things
over. "Who knew Wang Han’s sword master would be this
excellent. Wonder if it has anything to do with Karakorum?"

The Fu family big sister seemed lost in thought as she

commented suddenly, "Sha family is likely going to have a
difficult time."

No one was surprised and Fu Renxuan couldn’t help but add,

"Perhaps Sister thinks Wang Han can win this battle?"

Fu Yonghao blurted, "Sister, you overestimate Wang Han! The

Sha family is a big family after all. A skinny camel is still bigger
than a horse. Can one person like Wang Han overturn the whole
family? Unbelievable!"

The Fu family big sister did not answer. Instead, she gazed at
Sha Wuyuan’s disappearing figure and said faintly, "Acting
cowardly before the battle. Not a good omen."

No one noticed a figure left the crowd quietly and followed far
behind Sha Wuyuan.
Chapter 297: Silent Strike
Although Sha Wuyuan had embarrassed himself somewhat,
he had still obtained the result he’d wanted and, compared to
victory, a blow to his pride meant nothing.

Ultimately, the Sha family was still a big family. It was

absolutely not an easy task to migrate and redevelop the whole
family.

Those managing now were only the vanguards.

Sha Wuyuan felt that he had enough power since there was
just one person in the so-called swordsman school. If not for the
association between Sea Pacific Enterprise and Wang Han, Sha
Wuyuan would’ve gone straight to the front door.

He was in a foreign land, so it did not hurt to be more

cautious.

After probing came a thunderous fury. Only then would the

world be able to witness the Sha family’s power, and only then
could the family crush the ingrates’ desire to take them down.
 Amidst the steady flow of people moving about the busy
streets, a heroic spirit rose suddenly within Sha Wuyuan’s
chest.

Having been poverty-stricken for three years, members of Sha

family had been indecisive and at a loss, but also held in a
certain enthusiasm. The construction of the mini Avalon of Five
Elements finally gave them some hope.

The Sha family of the past had been beyond well-regarded.

The no-puppet-without-sand, mighty and well-celebrated Sha
family had carried an unparalleled influence amongst all wood
elementalists. Countless numbers of them had travelled
thousands of miles to visit the family to request for a sand
puppet. When the Sha family had been about to release a new
series of sand puppets, all the business giants had responded
instantly by waiting anxiously outside the Sha family’s door.

The current situation was all thanks to that damned Blood of

God!

The claim over Yellow Sand Corner had not only caused the
Sha family to lose its most important raw material supply, but
had also swept away all its power in Yellow Sand Corner. Close
to seventy percent of the Sha family’s power had been in Yellow
Sand Corner, so its occupation greatly damaged the family’s
strength.

Otherwise, the Sha family wouldn’t have fallen into such a

predicament!

Sha Wuyuan’s thoughts started to float away.

During the decaying, bleak period of war, the big-scale

construction in Peace City was exceptionally attention-grabbing
and spirit-raising.

There was an endless stream of people brushing past him,

their faces full of urgency but also carrying an unique type of
liveliness, just like the Peace City which was full of vigor.

Just then, a warning signal rose in Sha Wuyuan’s chest.

Even before he could react, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his

lower back.

A wisp of sharp elemental energy had pierced into his lower

back!

Not good! Sha Wuyuan’s face changed completely. The enemy

was so good at concealing their odor that Sha Wuyuan wasn’t
even able to detect them standing by his side.

The moment the elemental energy invaded his body, the

elemental energy within his body started resisting. This wisp of
elemental energy was like a sharp awl, however, and broke open
his elemental energy to destroy his body effortlessly. Pop, a
faintly discernable sound rang in his ears like a clap of thunder.

Clap!

Densely packed cracks started surfacing on a round-headed

mini sand puppet that hung on Sha Wuyuan’s neck. Shortly, it
shattered into a pool of quicksand and spilled onto the ground.

His stand-in puppet!

Fear and anger flooded Sha Wuyuan’s heart simultaneously.

The shattering of the stand-in sand puppet meant that the
earlier blow would’ve killed him if not for the puppet. The
stand-in sand puppet was the Sha family’s supreme puppet. It
was absolutely not for sale and had no combat abilities. Its only
use was to help its owner take a blow during a disaster.

Every single one of the ingredients needed to manufacture a

stand-in sand puppet was extremely precious, and the secret
method used in the production process would overdraft the
creator’s life. Even during its peak, the Sha family had not
produced many of these stand-in puppets. The one on Sha
Wuyuan’s neck was one of the three left in the family.

Sha Wuyuan knew that the most important thing was not to
attack the opponent or attend to his injury, but to increase the
distance between the enemy and himself. Only then would he be
able to unleash his power and gain the opportunity to strike
back.

Ignoring the acute pain in his lower back, he suddenly

charged toward the side of the street.

Ai Hui felt the elemental energy that he’d released get

absorbed by something as a feeling of emptiness came through.

Stand-in sand puppet!

 Ai Hui immediately understood because thanks to Lou Lan, he
had a rather deep understanding of sand puppets. Why
wouldn’t Ai Hui know about the stand-in sand puppet? It was a
rare gem among all sand puppets. He was rather shocked that
such a precious item would be in Sha Wuyuan’s hands.

Stirred up by the Sha family’s riches and overbearing attitude,

Ai Hui attacked more ruthlessly.

Sha Wuyuan’s sudden dash forward sent the streets into

chaos.

There were people all around, but that did not give Sha
Wuyuan a sense of security. The wisp of faintly discernable odor
followed behind him like the undispersed soul of a deceased
person. It was like a bone gangrene.

A chill went down his spine and overtook his whole body.

He dared not turn around, but dared not hesitate as well.

There was no time for him to open his azure wings since the
enemy was a proficient assassinator. Currently, it was as if he
was standing on the edge of a cliff. Any mistake would mean a
horrible death.
 The elemental energy within his body rushed frantically
toward his back. A layer of thick, sandy soil armor appeared on
his back, growing visibly to the naked eye.

A ruthless expression flashed across Sha Wuyuan’s face as he

ran madly for his life. He had no intention to stop. He arched
his back, covered with the sandy soil armor, as if he was raising
a thick and solid shield and charged backwards with full force!

The next moment, Sha Wuyuan’s face changed thoroughly.

There was nothing but emptiness behind him!

How was that possible?

Wasn’t the opponent following close behind? Had it been an

illusion? No! It definitely wasn’t an illusion!

While Sha Wuyuan was feeling bewildered, a sword ray as

bright as stars rose high into the air from beneath his feet.

Sword ray!
 Sha Wuyuan’s pupils shrank as he realized who the
perpetrator was.

Wang Han! Swordsman Training Hall’s owner, Wang Han!

Was this fellow crazy? How dare he…

A fellow he’d never paid attention to, a fellow that was as

good as dead to him had actually… actually initiated an attack
on the Sha family!

What was the Sha family? A huge monster dominating the

food chain. A sneeze by the Sha family would cause many to
tremble in fear. Today, however, he had actually been harassed
by an insect-like, powerless fellow!

This slight to his dignity seemed to forebode the Sha family’s

decline. Disappointment and humiliation flashed past Sha
Wuyuan’s heart, accompanied shortly by an intense fury. His
rage was so intense that he couldn’t help but shake
uncontrollably.

How gutsy! What a daredevil!

 Not only did Sha Wuyuan not dodge, he charged toward the
sword ray with a bellow.

In front of the ray, the thick, sandy soil armor was like paper.
The pain in his abdomen seemed to have turned Sha Wuyuan
into a wounded wild elephant as he started acting even crazier.

With a flip of his hand, a yellow glowing ring appeared on his

palm.

[Heavy Soil Ring]!

This skill formed a confinement area with a radius of about a

hundred feet. Those trapped within would feel their bodies
become exceptionally heavy. Sha Wuyuan was particularly
skillful with this move. He could make his enemies feel as if
their bodies were twenty-six times heavier!

Those confined would be unable to move a single step and

their heavy bodies would make even breathing a challenging
task.

Unknowingly, a giant arm rose up from the ground far behind

Sha Wuyuan. With its fingers spread open, the palm swatted at
Ai Hui like a huge web.

A shadow descended upon Wang Han’s head. The giant palm

was pressing down towards his head with a horrifying whizzing
sound.

An evil grin appeared on Sha Wuyuan’s face.

Let’s see where you’re going to run!

Boom!

The giant palm clapped down fiercely and everything within a

fifty foot radius, Sha Wuyuan included, turned into fine
powder.

The solid ground rose up like a soft water surface and an

intense shockwave carried and blasted the shattered rock pieces
in all directions at a shocking speed.

"Hahaha…"
 Wild laughter sounded from underground. Sha Wuyuan was
still in one piece as he emerged from the sandy giant palm,
looking as if he were floating up to the water’s surface. The
fresh blood oozing out of his abdomen was a horrible sight, but
he did not care at all.

Earth elementalists usually disliked air warfare because their

elemental energy became thinner once they left the ground. As
for earth elementalists in the realm of elemental
externalization, they were like a firm fort, difficult to destroy as
long as their feet did not leave the earth.

The weakening effect was stronger in the city because he was

unable to control as much elemental energy as when he was in
wild areas. To Sha Wuyuan, however, this was sufficient.

He felt very clearly that he’d managed to trap the opponent!

The power of the devilish, giant elemental energy palm could

pulverize all living things!

The passers-by observing from afar were all terrified and in

awe, making him laugh uncontrollably. That was all. He had
thought that Wang Han had powerful tricks, but that was all.
 His laughter spontaneously came to an end as he suddenly felt
danger from somewhere below. He spread his azure wings
hurriedly and charged toward the sky.

A sharp, curved sword ray shot out from the giant elemental
devilish palm.

The palm was like a lump of soft dough, splitting into two
around the ray.

Sha Wuyuan opened his eyes wide, his expression stiffening

up. His giant palm wasn’t just an earth elementalist’s
inheritance, but also a sand puppet. It was just that this sand
puppet had a unique form. It was in the shape of a giant’s arm.
It possessed unmatchable power and force, and was
exceptionally solid. Even a diving, high speed javelin would not
be able to damage it at all.

Yet, it had actually split because of a sword ray...

What kind of sword ray could possible have such formidable

power?
 Fear overtook Sha Wuyuan like an oncoming darkness, abrupt
and boundless.

Ai Hui’s body and bones were about to fall apart as his limbs
went weak and his forehead started buzzing. He had suffered
greatly from that hit by the giant elemental devilish palm.

But thanks to One Thousand Yuan lady!

If not for the remodeling effect the blood plum blossom had
on his body, the fact that his body was much stronger than
others and that he had the protection of the blood bandage, that
hit would’ve sent him to his last breath instantly.

The elemental energy within his body recovered faster than

his flesh and shortly after he lost control, his speed returned to
normal, allowing him to execute [Crescent Moon]!

The [Crescent Moon] today was more powerful than it had

been when he was still in Central Pine City.

Be it his understanding of swordplay or the vigorousness and

purity of the elemental energy within his body, both had
improved tremendously and incomparably.

Ai Hui thought about how to claim victory with his weakened

limbs. His body was numb and he could only utilize elemental
energy. This was undoubtedly the most dangerous moment.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a change in Sha Wuyuan’s

expression. His eyes lit up.

Perhaps…

Ai Hui’s heart shook as the sky palace between his brows

started operating.

His body jolted and a devilish glow lit up in his eyes.

A few fine threads appeared within Ai Hui’s field of vision like

floating fishing lines in water. Each ‘fishing line’ tip was
connected to a mini Dragonspine sword that swam silently like
a fish and vanished in mid-air.

Fear overtook Sha Wuyuan’s last wisp of fighting will and so

he turned around to flee.

Just then, the silent strike happened.

Chapter 298: Sha Wuyuan’s Death
A fine sword ray flashed before Sha Wuyuan’s eyes.

Sha Wuyuan’s face turned pale in fear. He felt his enemy was
everywhere, appearing and disappearing, at times before him
and at times behind him. He simply couldn’t guard against such
unpredictability.

All he wanted to do now was escape. The further the better.

Hatred grew within his heart. He planned to show his best
hands when he got back and that damned fellow Wang Han
would have nowhere to run.

Sha Wuyuan’s attack was beyond vicious and once he’d

decided to escape, he did it without the least bit of hesitation or
sloppiness.

Protecting his vital organs with both arms, he operated the

elemental energy within his whole body as if he was getting
ready for battle. With a bellow and a spread of his azure wings,
he charged forward!

Bang!
 A sword ray that was directed at his throat hit his arms,
causing sparks to fly in all directions.

Sha Wuyuan noted that this fine sword ray was much less
powerful than the one from earlier.

At this point, elemental energy was circulating within his

whole body. He wasn’t operating any high-level moves, but
rather [Sand Armor], which was a skill most earth elementalists
knew. It was a staple, inherited skill that was actually
considerably practical when in the realm of elemental
internalization. Sha Wuyuan was in the realm of elemental
externalization, so the ordinary [Sand Amor] was impressively
formidable in his hands.

It appeared as if his whole body was heavily armored as the

light ray was circulating. The veined patterns on the armor
were exquisite and clear. A true armor indeed.

The most praise-worthy aspect of the [Sand Armor] was that

there were no blind spots. It could form successfully wherever
the elemental energy could reach and circulate.

Ding, ding, ding!

 Fine sword rays hit his body continuously but were unable to
break his sand armor. Sha Wuyuan could finally calm his
worried heart. He did not know if that curved sword ray was his
opponent’s fatal move, but at this point, being almost
exhausted, he dared not gamble. These consecutive hits left
quite a major trauma in heart and mind.

Going back for assistance was still the safer choice…

Just then, the wound on his abdomen ached suddenly.

Sha Wuyuan’s body stiffened as there seemed to be something

that pierced into his abdomen.

He was frightened soulless and his face turned deathly pale.

The sand armor covered every corner of his body, but he had
forgotten about his wound. Where there was a wound,
elemental energy would not be able to circulate smoothly, and
thus it became the armor’s only vulnerable spot.

A sword ray had entered his body through the wound.

 Sha Wuyuan did not understand how his opponent could do
something so unimaginable. What technique was this? No, what
swordplay?

He now knew he had been defeated thoroughly without a

chance of overturning the situation. Between life and death, he
had to make a choice. Decisively, he said, "I surren…"

The words that were about to come out stopped suddenly.

Flying at high speed in mid-air, Sha Wuyuan’s eyes flew wide

open and his body went rigid. He lost control of his wings and,
like a bird with a broken wing, dove straight down into the
signboard of a roadside shop.

Crash! Both Sha Wuyuan and the signboard smashed onto the
ground.

Alarmed cries could be heard on the street and no one dared

approached the scene. Those who recognized Sha Wuyuan
turned pale.

The devilish ray in Ai Hui’s eyes gradually dimmed and his

numbed qi and blood started to recover.

Shortly after, he landed beside Sha Wuyuan.

Sha Wuyuan’s eyes were wide open and completely absent of

life. A grievance-filled death. Without needing to check, Ai Hui
knew that the fellow was already as dead as could be. The mini
sword that had entered his abdomen had already destroyed his
body.

No one could, under any circumstances, survive this.

Without delay, Ai Hui skillfully swept up all the valuables

from Sha Wuyuan’s lifeless body.

Getting up, he saw a pale belonging to a shop assistant whom

he recognized as Zhang. With a flick of his fingers, an essence
elemental bean fell before the assistant. "Money to fix the
signboard."

He then turned around to leave.

 He moved fast as lightning and vanished into the crowd in the
blink of an eye.

Before, Ai Hui had held the Sha family’s housekeeper and

guards captive merely to collect a ransom. However, seeing how
Sha Wuyuan had attacked Su Qingye and gang, he felt the desire
to kill.

While the three smalls were not his official students, three
years of interaction had built a certain level of affection.

Ai Hui could more or less guess Sha Wuyuan’s intention

towards the three smalls, but that was unimportant. What was
important was the fact that Ai Hui would absolutely never
tolerate people hurting those around him.

Since it was going to be a death match, you should die first.

Ai Hui’s logic was simple and practical.

Alone, Sha Wuyuan was the ideal target to sneak an attack on.
Ai Hui had confidence in his assassination skills.
 The Assembly of Patriarchs was an underground organization,
so naturally it did not lack skills for assassinations. Ai Hui had
never thought that he was gifted since he had a poor affinity
with elemental energy. If not for Lou Lan’s elemental energy
soup, his energy growth would be as slow as a tortoise.
Swordplay wise, he had also been a mess. As compared to those
who had started creating their own absolute art even before
they hit twenty, Ai Hui wasn’t considered great.

But when he’d been introduced to assassination techniques,

he’d found his talent for the first time.

He wasn’t sure if it was because he had trained with the sword

embryo or because he had been battling in the Wilderness for
three long years, but he had a keen intuition when it came to
sensing danger. His calmness, patience, and perseverance made
him an even more dangerous assassin.

This was also the reason why Chu Zhaoyang, who had
achieved only elemental internalization, could gain a decent
reputation.

Sha Wuyuan never would have thought that Ai Hui would

attack him so soon, so timing wise, Ai Hui had already gotten
the upper hand. If he couldn’t even get rid of Sha Wuyuan at
such an opportune moment, it just meant that their disparity in
skills was too wide.

Then Ai Hui would immediately take Lou Lan and flee to the
other end of the world.

Su Huaijun sat herself down upon bringing the three smalls

back to Sea Pacific Enterprise’s training hall. The kids were in
low spirits and a sulky mood. Without straightening anything
out, Su Huaijun instructed, "Do not leave the hall these few
days. I will ask for letters to be sent to your families and they
will pick you up."

The kids ignored her, but she did not mind as long as they did
not cause any trouble.

She had Su family’s interests at heart. Getting involved in this

battle brought no benefits to the family.

Not just the Su family, but no family would get themselves

tangled in this war.

Wang Han simply overestimated his abilities.

 She shook her head and reached for a teacup.

Just then, Su Qingye’s father dashed in, looking flustered.

"Sha Wuyuan was killed by Wang Han."

The teacup stopped by her lips as Su Huaijun’s face froze up.

She spoke up not long after. "What happened?"

"After parting with you guys, he was secretly followed by

Wang Han and eventually got taken down in the middle of the
street. He died on the spot."

Father Su’s voice was trembling.

The three kids’ eyes lit up as they gave each other a look. They
saw the same excitement in each other’s eyes.

Su Huaijun’s mind was buzzing non-stop and only one voice

echoed within.

Wang Han had actually initiated an attack on Sha Wuyuan!

 How daring! How ruthless! How crazy!

It wasn’t any secret that the Sha family was after Wang Han,
but it was beyond her imagination that as the weaker party,
Wang Han had actually dared to make the first move.

An indescribable shock overtook her, but when she calmed

down, she realized how exquisite Wang Han’s move was.

She had to admit that she had belittled him. He was actually
such a powerful and fierce character!

Back in his own training hall, Ai Hui was sure that he would
face the Sha family’s outburst.

He’d better prepare for it.

Lou Lan was upgrading his body. If he hadn’t been, Ai Hui

would have gotten his assistance and not killed Sha Wuyuan
personally.

He was used to being hands-free. Now that he had to deal with

these things, Ai Hui couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

Dashing into the warehouse, he opened a chest lying in a

corner. The boss of the shop he frequented would go crazy if he
were to see this open chest!

The chest was filled with weasel bristle arrows, commonly

referred to as ‘See You Later’.

Why wouldn’t the boss go crazy? When had See You Later
ever come in a whole chest? Selling eight or ten arrows was like
dripping blood. As such, every time the boss sold See You Later,
he would feel an inevitable sense of guilt. There would always
be a devil-like voice urging him to sell one less arrow. Just one
less arrow...

When the boss finally became determined to sell them, that

voice started shouting, raise the price a little, just raise it a
little...

The whole chest was filled with See You Later and Ai Hui
hadn’t kept records on the exact number. Each time he made
them, he would keep a third aside for rainy days.
 Who knew that rainy day would really come.

Ai Hui took out another chest that was much smaller. It was
as small as a jewellery box.

Upon opening it, all kinds of light rays shone through the
cracks at the edges.

There were many compartments inside the chest and each

contained a piece of artifact remnant. The box was full of
artifact remnants. There were around forty pieces of them.
They were of different shapes and sizes, and were evidence of
the King of Angler’s military successes.

Within each compartment was a label indicating that these

remnants had been analyzed.

While Lou Lan’s Midnight sand core was unable to operate at

full force, it could still do many things like analyzing artifact
remnants. These remnants must be of excellent quality for them
to have survived the test of time. Other than that, there must
have been some kind of seal that allowed them to be preserved
during the elemental energy era.
 These seals were what Lou Lan had been trying to analyze.

Although they were in poor condition, the research value was

still exceptionally high in Lou Lan’s eyes.

Lou Lan had already drawn out many badly damaged seals and
even then, they were extremely complex. In this elemental
energy era that placed simplicity and practicality above all
things, no elementalist would waste time and effort on
something so fruitless, just as how few would practice
swordplay like Ai Hui.

The reason why Ai Hui was interested in these seals was

because he found similarities between them and some of
Teacher’s plans.

Teacher’s [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] had been

very complex and he knew every detail inside out. He would
even ponder over it at times.

This was the only way he could reminisce about his Teacher.

The forty artifact remnants all had different kinds of seals,

which gave Ai Hui sufficient options.

He had a few backup plans on hand that he and Lou Lan had
come up together. He offered ideas while Lou Lan perfected the
details. When it came to complicated and dull details and
calculations, no one could settle them better than Lou Lan.

Ai Hui took out whatever essence elemental beans he had.

There were a few hundred.

The biting cold rays of See You Laters, the brightly-colored

remnants’ glow, and the soft light of the elemental beans lit up
the whole warehouse along with Ai Hui’s somewhat agonized
but resolute face.

He had sacrificed everything and returned to the state of

poverty that he lived in before the blood catastrophe broke out.
He would lose too much if he created too small a stir. It’s time to
intensify the storm!
Chapter 299: God-subduing Peak
The golden wind whistled above the sea of clouds, and under
the jade blue dome of heaven. The sunlight here was much more
glaring and blazing as compared to when it reached the ground.

A rarely seen mountain peak was flying speedily.

Elementalists that flew past it looked at it with curiosity in their
wide open eyes.

The topography of the mountain peak was precipitous. From

its waist down, the mountain was enveloped by clouds so it
looked as if a big sheet of cloud was propping a mountain peak.

There was a metal-made silver pond on the summit and the

pond water was so clear that the bottom of the pond could be
seen. The walls surrounding the pond were engraved with
complicated, silvery patterns. Light circulated within these
patterns along the walls, one round after another relentlessly.

The pond spurted a steady flow of water. The fine vapor

which was floating around the summit converged with the
sunlight to form a rainbow.
 The overflowing pond water meandered down and along the
windings of the mountain to form a waterfall. From afar, it
looked like a snow-white stretch of shining silk. Pouring into
the clouds, the waterfall formed mist ceaselessly.

The mountain peak was lined with shade-providing trees and

the tough and solid old vines hung down, reaching within the
clouds and mist like an anchor and chains hung off a ship.
Threads and wisps of wood elemental energy flew into caverns
of the mountain. Deep within the caverns there was raging lava
and its entrance flickered with a blazing red glow, resembling
the breathing and heartbeat of a mythical animal.

Nine lava caves could be found throughout the mountain and

they were connected by a silver line, as if they were stars of a
constellation in the sky.

There were a few terraces of different heights laid out

disorderly on the mountain peak. There were buildings
everywhere: A pavilion, a pagoda, an arrow tower and an ice
castle hidden at the foot of the mountain amid the clouds and
mist. The most eye-catching was a palace located beside the
silver pond on the summit.

Each building emitted different, faint light rays. They were

the metal, wood, water, fire and earth elemental energies.

The emitted lights blended in with one another to form a huge

dome of light that enveloped and wrapped over the whole peak.
This layer of faint light cover was close to being transparent,
but occasionally a magnificent light ray would flash across the
top of the cover, reminding people of the dome’s existence.

The mountain moved steadily, the biting cold metal wind

unable to defeat it.

There were four vermilion words, ‘Guardian of Five Elements’

engraved on one of the cliff walls. The calligraphy was strong
and powerful.

Next to the words was the emblem of Elders Guild, a mark

that showed that this mountain belonged to them.

"It’s all thanks to you, or else we would have to travel by the

bamboo cart and not feel as comfortable."

The man who spoke up stood on the peak admiring the

scenery. He couldn’t feel the gale and shake at all. He could only
feel the sea of cloud beneath his feet moving backwards as fast
as lightning.

He was tall and had long arms. He looked older than he was,
which contributed to the majestic aura that surrounded him
even as he stood casually.

Shi Xueman looked at Jiang Wei from behind. They hadn’t

met for three years and Jiang Wei had become even more
mature and stolid. She had more inside news and knew that
many of the higher ups thought highly of this man, the young
leader of a small team in Sky Edge Division, and his future.

Sang Zhijun was very happy to see Jiang Wei as well since
they’d been partners for two years and got along well.

Three years ago, after Ai Hui’s departure, Jiang Wei rejected

Shi Xueman’s invitation and joined Sky Edge Division alone. He
worked his way from the bottom as a soldier, up to the small
team leader that he was currently.

Sang Zhijun took up the role of Shi Xueman’s assistant and

helped her to organize and manage the troops.
 Sang Zhijun introduced, "This is a newly manufactured God-
subduing Peak. It is faster than Fiery Floating Cloud and has
greater defense and combat power. This is, in these past few
years, Elders Guild’s greatest achievement. The release of
Guardian of Five Elements sent Fiery Floating Cloud and
bamboo carts to the bin. Elders Guild used this on a diplomatic
mission in order to display its power. You can tell who it’s going
to be used against just by its name "God-subduing Peak".

Jiang Wei’s eyes lit up. "Who knew Elders Guild kept
something this good hidden!"

Blood of God called itself God Nation and practitioners were

called god elementalists, so it went without saying that "God-
subduing Peak" aimed to deal with them.

Shi Xueman agreed. "Although they based it on Master

Wang’s theory, Elders Guild must have its own talent for them
to be able to fashion something so great."

Jiang Wei was stunned. "Which Master Wang?"

Knowing she had been unclear, Shi Xueman explained, "Ai

Hui’s teacher, Wang Shouchuan. Elders Guild has already
decided to confer the title of "Master" on Wang Shouchuan,
except that they have yet to announce it. The plan of [Treating
The City As A Piece Of Cloth] had been sent to Elders Guild as
top secret. I’ve heard that over these three years, Elders Guild
has been concentrating their research on it, and indeed, results
have been produced."

Ai Hui, Wang Shouchuan…

The stifling image of the final war of Central Pine

automatically surfaced in Jiang Wei’s mind, causing him to feel
all sorts of emotions rising in his heart. Wang Shouchuan
wasn’t a well-known individual with memorable
accomplishments. What was Ai Hui’s reaction upon hearing this
news?

Thinking about that unique fellow, Jiang Wei couldn’t help

but inquire, "Where’s Ai Hui? Haven’t heard about him as if
he’s evaporated from this world."

Shi Xueman replied, "That fellow will live very well, wherever
he is."

Jiang Wei felt at ease. "Haha, that’s true."

 The name "Wang Shouchuan" carried a certain graveness and
braveness and wasn’t suitable for casual chit-chat, so Jiang Wei
initiated a change in topic. "God-subduing Peak requires how
many elementalists? Are there any minimum requirements in
terms of the elementalists’ realms? When will the frontline be
equipped with it?"

Sang Zhijun answered in all familiarity, "Elementalists have to

attain elemental externalization and any element type will do. A
minimum of five is required to control it, but approximately
fifty will be needed to unleash its full potential. Of course, this
is in the case where there’s no expert. If there are experts, less
manpower is required. A Master can control the whole God-
subduing Peak alone. As to when the frontline will be equipped,
I’m not too sure."

Shi Xueman added, "The second God-subduing Peak is about

to be completed and will be given to Sky Edge Division. The
name your division suggested to Elders Guild has already been
approved. Sacred Blood. I heard that the name originated from
the remains of a book, which talked about the bizarre land,
where Sacred Blood was the first demonic sword. There was a
row of small words, ‘consume the Sacred Blood to know its
taste’, on it. Your division leader really liked this sentence.
Elders Guild felt that this name symbolized the determination
involved in this death match between the Avalon of Five
Elements and god elementalists."
 Jiang Wei muttered, "Sounds too aggressive."

"God-subduing Peak is a good thing but whether or not it is

able to change the outcome of the war, we can only find out
after combat. The problem now is that God-subduing Peak
consume ingredients too fast. Even the usually ample supply of
cloud material is starting to become a problem. The cloud-based
material produced by Palette Cloud Village has been stuffed into
all of it, causing the market price to rise exponentially. If this
supply problem isn’t solved soon, God-subduing Peak will not be
able to be engaged extensively at the frontline, and a third will
not be produced in the near future.

Shi Xueman pointed out this bottleneck calmly.

"It’s always a good thing." Jiang Wei was a practical guy. He

had always been on the frontline and understood it better. "The
people needed something to boost their morale. At least they
know that Elders Guild is actually doing something instead of
plotting against one another."

Shi Xueman couldn’t help but feel concerned. "The soldiers at

the frontline had such low morales?"
 "Very low." Jiang Wei added helplessly, "We haven’t clenched
any decent victories, and lost Yellow Sand Corner and Fire
Prairie instead. Many enemies used to be friends and no one
wanted to fight. Not just us, but the other side as well. Jadeite
Forest is independent as well so people are more separated now.
Sigh, the conflict between new citizens and influential families
is more intense than ever."

Shi Xueman stayed quiet for a while before asking him to

continue.

"Blood of God is putting in a lot of effort to rope in new

citizens. Furthermore, the process of elementalists converting
into blood elementalists is much more safer and easier now.
Blood of God promises that these elementalists could bring their
families along and even raise their family names. The new
citizens from Old Territory mostly had families, so being able to
take them along to live better lives wavered their decisions
naturally. You definitely know more about the aristocratic
families than I do."

Shi Xueman did indeed.

Ever since Jadeite Forest became independent, it had

undoubtedly set an example for the aristocratic families.
Although, having learnt their lesson from previous mistakes,
Elders Guild held even stricter control over Silver Mist Sea and
Palette Cloud Village. But the vast Wilderness carried unlimited
opportunities.

Shi Xueman knew much more. She hesitated before speaking

softly, "Elders Guild is considering whether or not to grant
people the liberty of building cities in Wilderness."

Sang Zhijun gave an alarmed cry as Jiang Wei stood

dumbstruck.

It pained Shi Xueman to say this but she did anyway, quietly,
"To the higher ups, it’s enough for the frontline to persevere.
What’s the point of snatching Yellow Sand Corner and Fire
Prairie back? Elementalists can become god elementalists but
not the other way round. The land there’s already been
corroded by blood poison. It cannot be restored even if we get it
back."

Seeing Jiang Wei’s soulless expression made Shi Xueman

crestfallen as well.

Getting Yellow Sand Corner and Fire Prairie back had been
their war slogan and Jiang Wei had witnessed countless people
sacrificing their lives for this. The fact that this was merely a
scam was hard for Jiang Wei to digest.

Jiang Wei asked suddenly, "If that’s the case, why fight
against Blood of God? Why not negotiate instead?"

"Blood of God is not down for negotiation." Shi Xueman shook

her head. "Don’t you think it’s strange? The speed at which the
blood poison is corroding Yellow Sand Corner and Fire Prairie is
so fast, but have you heard of the Wilderness being corroded?"

Jiang Wei was stunned.

Giving him a look, Shi Xueman continued, "While the reason

is still unknown, Elders Guild is certain that the blood poison is
unable to invade the Wilderness."

Jiang Wei understood it quickly. "So the Blood of God can

only expand in our direction?"

"Yes. Blood of God has three directions to expand itself: Silver

Mist Sea, Old Territory and Jadeite Forest, but ultimately it will
be us," Shi Xueman added, "On the contrary, if we are unable to
rebuild the Avalon of Five Elements and the elemental energy is
unable to circulate, it will only wither, causing us to weaken.
So, we can only advance in the direction of the Wilderness and
obtain resources from there. Breaking sufficient grounds would
allow us to rebuild the Avalon of Five Elements."

Thinking about his own mission, something dawned upon

Jiang Wei. "Lesser Avalon of Five Elements was a trial?"

"Yes." Shi Xueman continued, "The frontline is a protective

screen to obstruct Blood of God’s expansion. It’s purpose is to
win more time for the reconstruction of the Avalon of Five
Elements. Elders Guild created God-subduing Peak in the hope
that it can stand guard and advance forward steadily, so as to
reduce the number elite troops needed on the frontline. The
Elders Guild also hopes to find a method to destroy the blood
poison in the Wilderness."

All at once, the three fell into silence.

Only silence was appropriately describing their complicated

emotions. There was disappointment, hopefulness, uneasiness,
indecisiveness, and more so, they were at a loss.
 The future was clear to none, like a faraway place that was
enveloped by a thick fog.
Chapter 300: The Allure of Red Muslin
Sha family did not attack them directly, this took Ai Hui by
surprise.

They must be preparing for a big move!

He had to be better prepared. Unassured Ai Hui was like a

diligent bee. The details he had been too lazy to ponder over are
filling his mind up.

He was still unaware that Sha Wuyuan, whom he murdered,

was the in charge of Sha family’s branch.

After Sha Wuyuan’s death, Peace City’s Sha family branch

was leaderless. Plus, Ai Hui’s ruthlessness intimidated the
remaining people and none of them dared to make a move.

What made them feel more at ease was the fact that Sha
family’s elite troops were all deployed and were rushing to
Peace City without resting at all.

Sha Wuyuan’s violent death on the street shook Sha family

greatly.

With a big dip in Sha family’s strength, Sha Wuyuan was

considered the cream of the crop. Or else, he wouldn’t be sent to
lead the fight and be the in-charge.

It wasn’t Sha Wu Yuan’s death that shocked Sha family but

the absolutely unrestrained and powerful attack Wang Han had
displayed.

In the eyes of Wang Han, Sha family meant nothing.

This was a ruthless and firm, exceedingly strong, reckless yet

calm and meticulous enemy!

Sha family was having a headache already.

Enemies like Wang Han were those they did not want to
provoke. Even when the family was at its peak, these kind of
enemies were to be avoided, as learnt from past mistakes.

There used to be a well-celebrated An family that developed

an animosity towards a misfortuned earth elementalist. For
twenty years, that elementalist harassed and attacked the
family perpetually. An family brought together many to hunt
him down but he was extremely crafty and managed to escape
every time. What followed was an even more intense revenge
operation as An family branch kept getting wrecked. Their
disciples were killed and the enterprise was burnt.

Each revenge added a wound to the colossal An family.

After twenty years of feud and blood loss, the colossus finally
succumbed and collapsed. On the twenty second year, this earth
elementalist secretly persuaded seven less powerful clans to join
forces to dismember An family, causing it to perish.

No one knew this period of history better than Sha family

since they had been one of the seven clans. Sha family’s sudden
rise in status also attributed to that military campaign against
An family.

Revenge exacted, the earth elementalist went on to become a

grandmaster five years later. He then accepted Elders Guild’s
invitation and became the leader of Lordsand Division for
twelve years. Within these twelve years, Lordsand Division
leapt its way up from the bottom, into becoming the head of the
Thirteen Divisions. The younger generation he carefully
natured was as brilliant as he was and in the next sixty years,
Lordsand Division maintained its position as the top three.

Historically speaking, this earth elementalist was a legendary

Grandmaster, whom countless other earth elementalists
worshipped greatly, and his name was Mo Qishi, Lord Mo of
Sand.

Leading Lordsand Division, Mo Qishi charged to the frontline.

It was a piece of news that shocked the Wilderness, immediately
causing them to pull back over 900 miles. He was then crowned
Lord Mo of Sand, a name that rose to extreme fame. An family’s
land had already became ruins where weeds grew rampantly
and filled with jackdaws’ calls. The bones that covered the fields
were left unburied.

If Sha family knew how powerful Wang Han was, they would
never have provoked him.

It was a pity that this world did not allow what ifs.

Sha family’s only choice was to calm the dangers before the
bloom of Wang Han’s feather wings. The family’s current
situation was even more dangerous than that of An family’s.

Sha family was like a patient gasping for oxygen. They could
not afford to fail.

But their enemy was craftier than they had imagined. He had
seen through their weakness.

"Ah, if you ask me how melancholy I am now, I can tell you I

feel like a poor man who is gifting his head away!"

A sorrowful cry sounded in the shabby training hall. Ai Hui

looked at the organized spoils of war in front of him, his face
full of anxiety. Didn’t Sha Wuyuan have a high position in the
family? A significant figure?

‘Sha Wuyuan, Sha Wuyuan… Are these scraps that you

carried around worthy of your identity?"

As compared to Shi Youguang, the items found on Sha

Wuyuan was simply unpresentable.
 Sha family was really in a bad state, as evident from Sha
Wuyuan’s belongings. There wasn’t even a sand compass. Ai
Hui stroked his chin as he was thinking about how he could get
rid of the melancholy caused by his poverty-stricken self.

He was crazily poor!

War was indeed a gold-swallowing monster. Although he did

not once hesitate when fixing up the place, once it was
completed he felt a piercing pain. It was like he was a starving
beast, searching for food everywhere.

Since Sha Wuyuan was to be stationed here first, he should’ve

prepared many things including money.

Yet, Sha family had yet to make a move. They were most
likely still on the road preparing their big move, which required
time.

Wouldn’t Sha family branch be empty at this time?

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up and without a word, he dashed into the

warehouse and pulled the fat housekeeper out. Even before he
could question anything, the fat housekeeper started pissing in
his pants, his tears carried the music down his nose. As if
pouring beans out from a bag, he revealed everything he knew.

Sha Wuyuan was the in-charge of Sha family branch and also
the strongest member within the frontline troops. Sha family
branch was located at a compound in the east of the city, where
there were huge volume of goods and money. Their mission was
to construct the house ahead of time for the arrival of Sha
family’s main army force.

This fellow even revealed the exact positions of the guards in

full details.

The information he forced out of the fat housekeeper proved

his assumption right. The branch was meaningless and Sha
family was in a bad state. Ai Hui could even gauge the strength
of Sha family from Sha Wuyuan’s position in the household.

Being cautious, Ai Hui questioned a few other guards and

received unanimous information. The housekeeper wasn’t
lying.

Without hesitation, Ai Hui took this fleeting chance and

headed towards the Sha family branch when the sky turned
dark.

There were no starlight amid the pitch black sky. The Starry
Gem Swordwing Ai Hui carried with him transformed into a
deep black color allowing Ai Hui to silently glide across the sky
like a big black bat.

The city below was brightly lit and filled with pedestrians.
The construction site outside the city was buzzing with
activities.

What a great time for murder and arson!

Shortly, Ai Hui arrived and stopped above Sha family’s

compound.

The yard was a typical one within this locality, which had a
garden that was roughly two acre big. Previously the land in
Peace City wasn’t worth much, but highly priced these days.

The compound was also brightly lit and dog barks could be
heard occasionally. There was an elementalist guard standing
atop the arrow tower, which was built at the last moment.
There was an inexpressibly tense atmosphere that surrounded
the whole compound.

Sha Wuyuan’s death caused panic to the branch. Everyone

was feeling jittery and extremely nervous.

Ai Hui saw gaps and loopholes everywhere. For example,

there wasn’t any warning indicator neither was a light zone that
showed where flying was prohibited built.

Ai Hui chose not to infiltrate. Instead, he chose a more

provoking move.

The Starry Gem Swordwing on his back opened up in a swift

movement and he shot up into the sky like a sharp arrow.

Ai Hui only stopped when he was thousands of meters above.

The golden wind up in the sky was bitingly cold, just like
knives. However, it no longer caused any disturbance to him.

Holding the Dragonspine, Ai Hui loosened up his body,

allowing it to drop like a meteorite.
 His descending speed increased continuously as he fixed his
gaze on the compound that he was about to land on.

His wings were majestic and motionless. A spark lit up at the

edge of the wings, illuminating Ai Hui’s cold eyes. His grave as
stone face was filled with murder lust.

The spark became brighter as Ai Hui’s speed increased

continuously.

People on the ground started to notice something peculiar in

the sky and many stopped to look up. The spark that was
descending was like a meteor that lit up people’s faces, causing
them faintly discernable.

Their eyes were all wide open.

That was…

A whistle sounded and in a flash, the sky rumbled and shook,

as if there was a hurricane rolling in and sweeping across Peace
City.
 Countless people rushed out of their rooms and looked
towards the sky.

Boom!

The sparks surrounded Ai Hui burst into flames. The fiery

blaze that flickered and swayed amid the surging airflow was
like a demonic fire from netherworld, enveloping Ai Hui
completely.

The rumble was deafening and Ai Hui, who was wrapped in

raging flames, had cold-as-ice eyes that were expressionless,
desolate and deep.

Suddenly, a speck of ray lit up from the depths of his dark as

night pupils. It was as if a little glow had just lit up in a faraway,
absolutely dark place.

Ai Hui used his sword suddenly.

He thrusted the sword out unhurriedly. Dragonspine was as

heavy as a thousand catties and the elemental energy in his
whole body was stimulated to its greatest point as every bit of
his muscle was engaged. Sweat poured out but it evaporated
into mist in the blink of an eye, and the mist disappeared into
the raging blaze.

In the eyes of the audience below, the ball of flames seemed to

be stretched, by a pair of invisible hands, into an elliptic shape
with its front being slightly sharp.

The strange thing was, as the flames dimmed gradually, the

sword ray burned even fiercer, like a red hot branding iron.

Just then, the silhouette wrapped in flames revealed itself.

Rushing out of the room and looking up into the sky, Su

Huaijun shouted as her pupils shrunk, "It’s him!"

Wide in shock, the three young ones simultaneously cried out

in alarm while looking at that figure in the sky, "Teacher!"

Fu family members were all stunned upon witnessing this

scene. Fu Yonghao called out in surprise, "Wang Han!"
 The rest were all overwhelmed with shock.

By now, those in the Sha family compound had gotten a clear

view of that meteor-like figure in the sky and were all panic-
stricken. They were like a nest of ants, frenetically gathering
close together.

The sword in Ai Hui’s hand trembled incessantly but did not

take away his focus. His control over the sword was now
instinctive thanks to the arduous trainings he had been
through. His move had been majorly improvised but his
profound accumulation were like dried firewood, ready to ignite
and blaze up the moment an inspirational spark appeared.

The elemental energy circulated within his body.His sword

seemed to possess a boundless, attractive force as all of the
newly born flames entered Dragonspine’s sword ray.

The hurricane-like rumbling turned into a mosquito-like

lingering sound and finally into a silence that belonged to the
night. Everyone couldn’t help but to hold their breaths as the
whole scene unfolded before them. They were bound to
remember this for life.
 The figure that dove down from the the vast dark sky carried
a red hot sword ray, and the aftermath it stirred up was like a
long, dull red muslin that covered several hundred meters.

As the whistling sound gradually softened, the red muslin

seemed particularly alluring.

Time seemed to stop at this point where amid the silence,

people were staring blankly at the breathtaking scene that
happened in the sky.

The more beautiful things were, the more dangerous it was.

Chapter 301: Caught Off Guard
When Ai Hui landed along with the red muslin that filled the
sky, he thrusted his red sword ray into Sha family’s compound.

Thump. A dull and somewhat heavy sound rang. The next

moment, the eye-grabbing red ray lit up suddenly. The ball of
red glow illuminated the night sky radiantly.. Those with their
eyes wide opened were unable to avoid it and were temporarily
blinded and exclaimed alarmingly.

Their eyesight only recovered seconds later.

Far away, Sha family’s compound was extremely quiet. What

was happening?

Many were curious but dared not dash forward to look. Wang
Han’s powerful sword move was simply too terrifying. Plus, he
had chosen to charge straight for the family like a death god
figure. They couldn’t help but revere him.

Who exactly was this guy who concealed such dreadful

powers?
 "This is it, how am I going to bargain with him in future? How
am I going to run my business?" The shop owner held both
hands to his head and his face was pale, but quickly, as if he’d
thought of something, his face turned red and his eyes lit up.
"Aren’t Sha family’s belongings all going to land in Wang Han’s
hands? I’ll probably earn something by disposing them for him?
This Wang fellow is going to strike it rich. Sigh, this is a new
tyrant. I shall prepare a few good items for our new tyrant."

The boss was extremely familiar with Ai Hui and knew what
he lacked.

There were always bolder elementalists who had more

confidence in their abilities, so they flew slowly towards Sha’s
compound.

When they were close enough to get a glimpse of the yard,

they fell into great shock.

There were no intact corner. It was as if the big yard had been
plowed over and over again by steel and lava as there were holes
and burnt marks all over the place. The flipped soil were black
and there was steam coming out of it.
 The arrow towers had been torn apart into countless chunks
and none of the guards were still standing. Their bodies were
filled with burnt bloody holes. It was a pitiful sight.

The walls surrounding the yard were broken into pieces as

well. There were countless gaps, big and small, and there were
signs of melting within those gaps.

Wherever he looked there were fragmented remnants so it

was imaginable how intense and concentrated of a blow they
had been dealt with.

There was no trace of Wang Han in the compound.

Ai Hui was awfully busy in the underground warehouse. It

was located underground and hence undamaged, much to Ai
Hui’s relief.

In the center of the warehouse was a quicksand whirlpool that

constantly circulated. The core of the whirlpool was like a fish’s
mouth, opening and closing.

Ai Hui turned into a diligent porter, throwing things into the

whirlpool speedily. Sand compass was indeed a miraculous
object. The entrance of the whirlpool was definitely small but
no matter what he threw in, the whirlpool swallowed them up.

Ai Hui was very well prepared. He knew clearly where the

valuable items were. He was like a gust of wind, sweeping the
warehouse empty in the blink of an eye.

The most valuable objects were kept in the sand compass. His
biggest reward was two trunks of essence elemental beans,
which was Sha family’s Peace City branch’s initiation funds.

There were also many expensive earth elemental materials

around. Sha family was a wealthy and powerful family after all.

Ai Hui couldn’t be bothered packing the leftover big objects

that were of little worth.

After keeping the compass properly, Ai Hui walked out of the

warehouse openly.

Murdering without arson was simply unprofessional.

 With a jolt of Dragonspine sword, its sharp end glided across
the sky. Boom, a line of flame set off in the sky and landed
behind him, into the room full of holes.

His move instantly subdued the restlessness of some people.

Creating a fire was easy but only for fire elementalists. Wang
Han, a metal elementalist, had relied on his swordsmanship to
generate flames in such a relaxed and natural motion. The
depth of his swordsmanship and achievements was evident and
fear-inducing.

The wisp of flame was exceptionally hot and the house quickly
became a raging inferno, coating the sky with the color red.

Under the watch of everybody present, Ai Hui returned to his

usual calm and cool self without the least bit of uneasiness.

A man with his sword walked, as if he was strolling casually in

the park, to the entrance of the badly crumbled compound as
the blaze behind him soared.

He noticed the many observers and something clicked. This

was a good opportunity! He scanned the area and saw a broken
wooden board not far away. He went over to pick it up and
found himself a burnt chunk of a small wooden stick.

The surrounding elementalists were beyond amazed, guessing

what Wang Han was about to do.

They only saw Wang Han brushing a few words on it before

throwing the small wooden stick away. Carrying the wooden
board to the collapsed entrance, he picked a spot to hang the
board.

A row of words could be seen on the board.

"Swordsman Training Hall, special tuition rate, a hundred

essence elemental beans!"

The onlookers: "…"

Hidden in the crowd, Fu Yonghao almost choked on his own

saliva. A hundred essence elemental beans? Why don’t you rob
somebody? It was four beans previously! How can such an
unscrupulous businessman exist in this world! Eh, seemed like
I’m focusing on the wrong thing…
 In that period of silence, Ai Hui admired his own advertorial
board. Come to think of it, this was the first time he’d actually
promoted the training hall.

Thereupon, Ai Hui swaggered away amid the silence of the

onlookers, leaving only the fiery blaze and an advertorial board
on that broken door behind.

The morning sunlight came as scheduled, declaring that it was

a cloudless day.

Having checked his inventory of spoils of war through the

night, Ai Hui was simply too excited to sleep. The items, piled
up like a mountain, brought extreme bliss and made it difficult
for one to look away.

Murderers and arsonists were rich indeed!

All of Ai Hui’s investments paid off quickly. Those two trunks

of essence elemental beans were enough to dazzle him.
Moreover, that pile of ingredients was worth a scary amount of
money. What surprised Ai Hui was those twenty sand puppets
whose models he couldn’t recognize.
 He knew that these puppets were the newly and successfully
manufactured model, Earth Sentinel, that had yet to be released
in the market. Sha Wuyuan either brought twenty of these
along to strike a deal with other clans or because they had some
special uses. After all, many elementalists were not easily
swayed by money. Plus, it would be more appealing if there was
only one instead of twenty sand puppets.

Because it was a new release, there were only thirty of those in

the whole Sha household. Now, twenty had fallen into Ai Hui’s
hands.

Although Ai Hui did not know what models they were of,
being shrewd, he could still distinguish the differences they had
from ordinary sand puppets.

Feeling pleased, Ai Hui came out of the warehouse to welcome

the sunlight. It made him feel incomparably contented and he
couldn’t help but start to stretch. Sha family had better come a
few days later. By then, Lou Lan would’ve completely upgraded
his body and he would have more confidence. The set up in this
garden would be more formidable under Lou Lan’s commands.

Of course, he believed that Sha family wasn’t so sluggish. If

they were so slow, the family would’ve perished a long time ago.
 This wasn’t the era of peace after all. Fighting and killing
were the norm in this chaotic world. People who wasn’t fully
alert would die quickly.

Gazing into the distance, Ai Hui’s body suddenly stiffened up.

He stared at a black dot far away. After a while, that dot

magnified significantly. A mountain peak. It was moving
extremely fast and in a flash, it was already close by.

The huge mountain whizzed over in an alarming speed. The

pressure it brought was stifling and even someone as mentally
strong as Ai Hui couldn’t help but was a little shaken up.

Guardian of Five Elements!

The four red words on it was absolutely domineering.

Peace City was like a startled beast as it turned dead quiet all
of a sudden. But when people saw Elders Guild’s emblem on the
mountain peak, Peace City came alive!
 Ai Hui stared blankly at that mountain peak, as if his soul had
been drawn out of his body.

It was undoubtedly his first time seeing it but a strong sense of

familiarity rose within his heart.

The silver pond at the summit must have layers upon layers of
circling veined patterns; images of the cascading waterfall and
the hidden meandering river drew themselves out in his mind;
he even knew that there must be a thousand and eight hundred
trees; the vines were in multiples of six; there were nine faintly
discernible lava caverns that supposably shared the same core;
palace, pavilion, arrow tower, pagoda; he knew there was a
building amid the clouds that were dragged along by the bottom
of the mountain…...

He knew why he was so familiar with it and he knew why he

would know those set ups. It was because he had already
memorized that complicated proposal with all his heart and
knew every detail inside out.

He was caught off guard. Like a feather, he was being pulled

into the warmth and sunshine amid that remote, mini city.
 Tears rolled down, blurring his vision.

Master, Mistress.

…..

On the God-subduing Peak, Jiang Wei was bidding goodbye to

Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun.

"Peace City is just ahead. We won’t be stopping so fly there

yourself." Shi Xueman said, slightly apologetically.

Jiang Wei was rather surprised. "So rushed? I was even

planning to host both of you for a couple of days as a friendly
gesture."

"How are you a host when you’re a foreigner?" Shi Xueman

laughed and took a look at the thick smoke rising from the east
side of the city. "It doesn’t seem peaceful here eh, looks like
you’ll have to get busy. I’m busy too, I have to help Bangwan
seek justice."
 Shi Xueman’s last sentence carried a murderous spirit.

Jiang Wei was alarmed. "Something happened to Huanghun?"

Although Duanmu Huanghun was in Jadeite Forest, both

parties were loyal to their masters. Jiang Wei did not think this
was Huanghun’s fault.

"Just received the news."

Sang Zhijun passed a report to him.

"Duanmu Huanghun openly challenged She Yu, suffered a

bitter defeat!"

A murderous look flashed across his face upon seeing these

few words. Of course he remembered that She Yu participated
in the war of Central Pine. He recovered himself and returned
the report. Laughing, he said, "Do it on my behalf as well."

"Sure!" Shi Xueman agreed readily.

 "Then we’ll get going."

Jiang Wei waved and rose into the air before flying towards
Peace City.

God-subduing Peak whizzed speedily past and above Peace

City with a heavy whistle before disappearing far away.

When Jiang Wei left the peak, there was an equally lofty
group that descended from Fiery Floating Cloud.

When they arrived at the marked site and saw the thick fog
and ruins, the corpses and advertorial board on the badly
damaged door, their eyes instantly turn bloodshot and the veins
on their head were like they were popping out.

"I want to know everything that had happened!"

The leader of the group squeezed these words out from the
gaps between his tightly clenched teeth.
Chapter 302: The Society of Excellence
Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong stared at Duanmu Huanghun, looking
as if they had seen a ghost.

At this point of time, Duanmu Huanghun’s appearance was

extremely comical. His usual handsome face that even women
would be envious of was swollen and bruised. Many plasters
were stuck to his face in a disorderly manner, making it almost
unbearable to look at.

However, Duanmu Huanghun seemed to be in a good mood as

he wolfed down his food.

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong cast a glance at each other. Both of

them sensed an unusual aura coming from Brother Duanmu.

Something was not right!

The news of Duanmu Huanghun’s terrible defeat had been

spread throughout the Jadeite Forest. Various rumors were
spreading everywhere in the city. Those who rejoiced in
Duanmu Huanghun’s misfortune said that he had
overestimated his capabilities and he was just fishing for
compliments. Some also said that he had thoroughly
embarrassed the Jadeite Forest.

Even as observers, Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong felt extremely

pressured by the incident. They could sense a huge storm was
brewing in the Jadeite City.

However, as the person that was directly involved in the

incident, Duanmu Huanghun behaved as if nothing had
happened.

Coming from a powerful and rich family, Yu Ziyi knew that

nothing would go terribly wrong. On the other hand, Wu
Qirong was like a faithful little brother to Duanmu Huanghun,
and hence, he was deeply worried, "Brother Huanghun, next
up… what should we do?"

"What do you mean by what should we do?"

Duanmu Huanghun looked baffled.

Yu Ziyi began to look restless. Wu Qirong braced himself and

continued, "This time around, we failed so terribly. Everyone is
somewhat worried…"

Duanmu Huanghun put down his chopsticks and replied

solemnly, "I have indeed lost."

Upon seeing Duanmu Huanghun’s reaction, a cold shiver

went down Wu Qirong’s spine. He quickly said, "Everyone
makes mistakes. Defeats are very common in the battlefield…"

He could not continue his sentence as Brother Huanghun was

looking at him with an eye-piercing gaze. Wu Qirong felt as if he
was going to die soon.

"It’s better for me to lose the battle," Duanmu Huanghun said

suddenly.

"Ah!" Wu Qirong and Yu Ziyi let out a gasp of surprise at the

same time. They looked at Duanmu Huanghun for a while
before looking at each other.

Had Brother Duanmu Huanghun sustained a head injury?

 Duanmu Huanghun continued plainly, "Only by losing to her
then I can know how far do I lag behind her."

Wu Qirong and Yu Ziyi were stunned.

"I will defeat her in the future."

Duanmu Huanghun looked as if he was talking about

something casual. His facial expression was calm as he fiddled
with the wine cup in his hand, "For the past three years, I have
been troubled by many things, leading an unhappy life. I always
felt that I was being played by fate. There are a lot of things that
I don’t like but I felt like I should bear them on my shoulders, as
though my fate had already been decided. However, I
understand now."

"If one works for it and he doesn’t succeed, then it can be said
that his fate had already been decided. However, if one never
even tries then serves him right."

"One can either choose to let others control his life, or he can
choose to control others’&nbsp;lives."
 Duanmu Huanghun drained the cup of strong liquor in one
gulp and a burst of flames burned through his throat to his
heart.

His severely bruised face curled into a charming smile. At this

point of time, his limpid eyes did not bother to conceal the
craziness and fervor within them.

He suddenly asked, "Have both of you forgotten about the

Induction Ground?"

Wu Qirong and Yu Ziyi shuddered in fear.

"Honestly, I can’t forget that place," Duanmu Huanghun

muttered, "I have often dreamed about the Induction Ground,
our battles with the blood elementalists, and the process of my
fellow students being eaten alive by the blood fiends. However,
right now, we have to sit alongside them, drink with them, and
flatter them. Ah, I still have to marry a blood elementalist."

Wu Qirong and Yu Ziyi’s faces became distorted with anger,

clenching their teeth. Both of them made it out alive from the
Induction Ground and had deep hatred towards the blood
elementalists.
 "Of course, right now, I’m a trash and trash’s opinions don’t
matter." Duanmu Huanghun looked at the both of them and
continued, "I’m already in this state but what about the both of
you? Ziyi, if your family wants you to marry a blood
elementalist, what will you do? Qirong, if the higher-ups want
you to be the subordinate of a blood elementalist, what will you
do?"

Wu Qirong heaved a long sigh and replied, "Brother

Huanghun, I will follow whatever you say!"

Yu Ziyi nodded his head as well, "Huanghun, just tell us

whatever plans you have in mind. I will rather die than to
marry a blood elementalist."

"I still don’t have an exact plan yet," Duanmu Huanghun

shook his head, and then continued, "There’s one thing we have
to make sure and that’s to make our opinions matter to
everyone."

Both of them looked blankly at Duanmu Huanghun.

Duanmu Huanghun racked his brain. Suddenly, he thought of

Ai Hui. What would that bastard, Ai Hui do if it was him in this
situation?

After thinking for awhile, he seemed to have some ideas,

"First, we need to have strength. Only powerful individuals’
opinions would matter to everyone. We can’t waste our lives
like this, we have to start training."

Upon finishing his sentence, Duanmu Huanghun felt his face

burning. Upon realizing he had been wasting his life for the past
three years, he felt ashamed of himself.

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong nodded their heads heavily.

"Next, we need to have manpower. Unless we have reached

the level of my Master, otherwise, it is still about having
strength in numbers." Duanmu Huanghun continued, "We will
form a club that only accepts survivors from the Induction
Ground, regardless of their backgrounds. Everyone will train
together and I will hire a famous teacher to give everyone
pointers. Everyone will help each other in the process. Once we
become stronger, our opinions will then matter."

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong looked at each other, seeing the

excitement in each other’s eyes.
 Yu Ziyi chuckled, "I like this idea! Huanghun, pick a name for
this club!"

"Let’s call it Society of Excellence," Duanmu Huanghun

blurted out.

Upon finishing his sentence, Duanmu Huanghun was

dumbfounded. He did not expect himself to pick this name.

He did not have much memories of the Society of Excellence.

The memorable memories that he had of the club were the two
instructors, Zhou Xiaoxi and Li Wei. It was a pity that both
instructors had died in the Induction Ground.

"Nice name!"

"Nice!"

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong were energized.

The Society of Excellence was a student club that existed in

every city in the Induction Ground. It was a club that was
exclusive to Induction Ground. Since the Induction Ground had
been destroyed, the Society of Excellence was destroyed as well.

The Society of Excellence. There was no better name than

this. This name reminded them of the Induction Ground and
the blood catastrophe.

The Induction Ground might be extinct after the blood

catastrophe but not the Society of Excellence. In the hands of a
bunch of youngsters, the Society of Excellence was rising from
the ashes.

At this point of time, the Society of Excellence did not catch

anyone’s attention.

…..

The God-subduing Peak had given Ai Hui a huge shock.

His understanding towards God-subduing Peak even

surpassed Shi Xueman’s. Before Shi Xueman and her
counterparts even knew about the mightiness of the God-
subduing Peak, he could already imagine how powerful it was.
 The God-subduing Peak was a war machine that was specially
designed for huge situations.

He could see the numerous marvels surrounding the God-

subduing Peak. Even if one gave him enough materials and
manpower, he could not have built something like the God-
subduing Peak. He had no idea how much elemental energy was
involved in the process of building the God-subduing Peak.

Another thing was its structure.

Even if he had many materials, he would not have known how

to build God-subduing Peak. He does not have enough
experience to understand its structural blueprint.

Alright, for a poor fellow like him, there was no point talking
about the God-subduing Peak’s structural blueprint. Such a
money-losing issue was not something he could think of now.

His train of thought was cleared up all of a sudden.

When he looked back at his own formation, he felt that it was

an ugly-looking junk.
 He knew of his own shortcomings. His understanding towards
elemental energy was still shallow. He remembered every detail
of his master’s plan but he was far from really understanding
the concept behind it and how it worked.

The idea of "treating the city as a piece of cloth" was inspired

by the spell formations in the Cultivation Era. Its’ effect was
very similar to that of spell formations. His master’s plan was
complicated yet perfect, like an art piece.

It was so perfect that Ai Hui did not know where to start

studying it. It looked and behaved like a living thing, so much so
that Ai Hui could not add anything to it or remove anything
from it. He simply couldn’t make any changes to it.

Luckily, there was an expert who made it possible for him to

witness an application of his master’s theory in the God-
subduing Peak. All the questions he had in the past had been
answered.

The most important thing was the God-subduing Peak had

displayed to him how his master’s theory could be applied.

The creator of the God-subduing Peak would not have thought

that someone could have so many insights just by taking a
glance at his creation.

Ai Hui began to ponder about it.

The mightiness of the God-subduing Peak lay in its Cycle of

Five Elements and vigorous elemental energy. Like a
terrifyingly powerful volcano, it contained boundless amounts
of elemental energy. It was built with top-grade materials,
superb techniques and powerful elementalists. After going
through a perfect building process, the Cycle of Five Elements
was formed within it. The five elements were in harmonious
balance and a perfect structure was achieved. It had no obvious
weaknesses and its offensive capabilities were terrifying.

The God-subduing Peak was so mighty that Ai Hui could not

see any weaknesses in it even until now.

He definitely would not have so much money, rare materials,

elemental energy or superb techniques.

As such, it was not possible for him to build something like

the God-subduing Peak.
 When one’s strength was not adequate, he would usually face
defeat.

Only by launching a surprise attack then he could have a

chance of winning.

An extremely strange formation was like a sharp blade,

possessing a tremendous amount of destructive power.
However, if his enemy was able to see through the formation,
then he or she would be able to break it easily. Whether it was
the Cultivation Era or the Elemental Era, this was general
knowledge that everyone knew about.

How could he prevent the enemy from seeing through it?

There was only one way and that was to use something that
the enemy was not familiar with.

With a jolt of his mind, Ai Hui thought of his swordsmanship.

Swordsmanship was merely popularized two years ago. It was

still rather new and unfamiliar to the entire Avalon of Five
Elements. Furthermore, Ai Hu’s swordsmanship was self-
learned.

Why not… built a sword formation?

The moment this idea emerged in his head, it stuck there.

He thought of the sword formation because the Assembly of

Patriarchs wanted to reward him by sending him to Karakorum
to train in their sword formation. He had never seen a
legitimate sword formation before. His understanding towards
sword formations mainly derived from swordplay manuals.

If he wanted to use his master’s theory to build a sword

formation, how would he go about doing it?

Ai Hui unknowingly felt somewhat excited.

If setting up a spell formation was a test of his understanding

towards his master’s theory, then setting up a sword formation
would be a test of his knowledge on swordsmanship.

Since he was building a sword formation, he would need

many swords.

Ai Hui only had Dragonspine and Chu Zhaoyang’s Silver

Broadsword. Furthermore, Silver Broadsword still could not be
used. If he revealed anything by accident, Chu Zhaoyang’s
identity’s value might be lost.

However, this was not the first time Ai Hui encountered such
situation. After being poor for many years, he naturally had
ways to deal with it.

Ai Hui suddenly thought of his weasel bristle arrows.

After thinking about it for a moment, he was sure that the

arrows could be used. After solving the most important issue, Ai
Hui became even more excited!

Very soon, he realized that he did not need to overhaul and

rebuild his formation. All he needed to do was to make certain
alterations to it and he could implement his own ideas into it.

Hence, Ai Hui began to build his first ever sword formation.

Chapter 303: The Sha Guards
"Swordsman Training Hall, Special Price: One Hundred
Essence Elemental Beans!"

Sha Wuduan stood in front of the dilapidated wooden board

and listened to his subordinate's report of the investigation
results. His eyes had never left the wooden board for a single
second.

As the leader of the Sha Family’s elite unit, Sha Wuduan

would be extremely eye-striking wherever he went. He was
more than two meters tall and his body was muscular and
sturdy. His bulging bronze muscles were bursting through his
tight-fitted clothes. His eyes were very small and squinty.
Instead of containing the urge to seek revenge, his eyes
contained an abnormal calmness and steadiness.

He did not spend too much effort on investigating the

destruction of the Sha Family’s branch compound as there were
too many observers.

Every detail regarding the incident were clearly presented

before Sha Wuduan. The culprit was Wang Han, an elementalist
that had attained elemental externalization. His swordsmanship
was superb and he used a high-altitude diving technique to
cause the destruction. He was also able to use fire-type sword
moves.

The ruins of the Sha Family’s branch compound and the

corpses lying everywhere had proven this point. Every slash
inflicted upon the victims left behind a high-temperature
charred mark.

From this, Sha Wuduan conjectured that Wang Han was a fire
elementalist, not a metal elementalist. He felt that a metal
elementalist would not be able to unleash such scorching fire
attacks.

Wang Han’s capabilities did not surprise Sha Wuduan. If he

could kill Sha Wuyuan and attack the Sha Family’s guarded
branch compound, there was nothing odd with his capabilities.
For someone that dared to mount a sneak attack on Sha
Wuyuan, what was attacking the Sha Family’s branch
compound to him then?

Instead, there was another news that caught Sha Wuduan’s

attention.
 The Sky Edge Division’s elite unit, which had been ordered to
oversee Peace City, had arrived. A lot of people had seen them
descended from the God-subduing Peak and entered the mayor
residence in Peace City. Roughly within these two days, they
would have taken over the mayor office and took over the
control of Peace City.

Sha Wuduan knew that he had to be fast if he wanted to seek

revenge.

The captain of the Sky Edge Division’s elite unit was Jiang
Wei. Sha Wuduan had heard of this name. This fellow was
rather reputable in the Sky Edge Division and was viewed by
many as a young man with bright future. The fact that Jiang
Wei was chosen to oversee Peace City showed Sha Wuduan that
he was highly valued by Sky Edge Division. Once the lesser
Avalon of Five Elements was successfully established, his
mission of overseeing Peace City would greatly decorate his
resume.

Peace City used to be a small border city at the lowest part of

Silver Mist River’s lower reach. The mayor office was very weak
and could not resist against the invading powerful prestigious
families.
 In the current Avalon of Five Elements, the Elder Guilds could
no longer solely depend on their stature to suppress these
brazen prestigious families.

Sha Family needed to take action before Jiang Wei officially

taken control of the public security of Peace City.

If the Sha Family was to take actions after Jiang Wei officially
took over the city, they would openly challenge Jiang Wei. Sha
Wuduan was not worried about Jiang Wei, but rather, he was
afraid of offending the Sky Edge Division and Elder Guilds. If he
took action before Jiang Wei’s official takeover of Peace City,
even if he blew up the incident, he could say that he was
unaware of the new law. Worst came to worst, he could make
use of his personal connections to think of a way out.&nbsp;

A ruthless glint flashed across Sha Wuduan’s calm-looking

eyes.

He looked around at his subordinates. After taking a break,

everyone looked much energized. As they were rushing for
time, they could not travel using the slow-moving Fiery Moving
Cloud. Instead, they had to fly using azure wings and travel day
and night.
 Long-distance raid was a huge challenge to an elementalist’s
willpower and elemental energy. Even though Sha Wuduan’s
subordinates showed some signs of fatigue on their faces, they
still maintained their neat and orderly formation.

"I know everyone had worked very hard and are very tired,
but we don’t have time to rest. If Wang Han knows we had
arrived, there’s a possibility that he might escape. Listen to my
command, advance to the Swordsman Training Hall and kill
Wang Han to avenge the Sha Family!"

All the elite troops of the Sha Family stood up in unison. Their
faces were filled with sinister kill intent.

When Sha Wuduan led the Sha Family’s elite unit to the
alleyway of Swordsman Training Hall, various families’
informants received the news in an instant. After witnessing the
epic performance from Wang Han yesterday night, everyone
was extremely interested in the upcoming battle.

In a blink of an eye, Sha Wuduan discovered that they were

surrounded by many observers.

These observers looked from a distance and did not attempt to

get any closer. Occasionally, Sha Wuduan could hear
discussions that made him clenched his fists in anger
involuntarily.

"The Sha Family is really in a slump!"

"That’s right. Nothing can be done anyway, the Yellow Sand

Corner had already fallen to the Blood of God. What else can the
Sha Family do?"

...

Before he came here, Sha Wuduan’s master had already

reminded him that victory was a must. Victory was the only
way to ensure the survival of the Sha Family. Sha Wuduan
promised his master but it was only until now that he realized
his master’s worries were not unwarranted.

Not only must he win this battle, he must do it in a beautiful

and epic fashion!

Only by doing this then he could intimidate those who were

after the Sha Family.
 The signboard of the Swordsman Training Hall could already
be seen at the end of the alleyway.

Sha Wuduan maintained his composure and gave a stopping

hand gesture. The elite unit behind him immediately stopped.

If one counted the number of members in the unit, he or she

would realize that there were twelve people, including Sha
Wuduan.

"Muster the troops from the sandpit."

Sha Wuduan ordered. The elite unit immediately channeled

their elemental energy and the ground beneath their feet turned
into a yellow-colored sand sea. Sand puppets began to climb out
of the sand sea continuously.

These sand puppets were fully-armored. Their armors were

fully filled with fine decorative designs. A huge "Sha" was
written on the back of each of their armors.

Every sand puppet looked exactly the same. After they

climbed out of the sand sea, they stood quietly and motionless,
resembling a battalion of well-trained soldiers.

Initially, the observers were still exuberant. However, very

soon, they began to cry out in alarm.

The sand puppets emerged from the sand sea in a seemingly

endless stream.

Densely-packed armored sand puppets occupied more than

half of the alleyway. All of them were in a neat and orderly
formation.

There was a battalion of one hundred and twenty armored

sand puppets. They were motionless and expressionless. The
demonic yellow in their eyes were flickering in unison.

The sea of yellow sand beneath their feet looked as if it was

alive, slowly wiggling and climbing up the bodies of Sha
Wuduan and the eleven members of the Sha Family’s elite unit.

The yellow sand engulfed their bodies completely, only

exposing their eyes. The yellow sand continued to wiggle and
transformed into exquisite armors that were similar to the ones
on the sand puppets. A huge "Sha" was written on back of each
of their armors.

The twelve elementalists’ eyes were flickering with the same

yellow glow as the sand puppets’.

No one could clearly differentiate the earth elementalists from

the sand puppets.

Such a creepy sight sent a cold shiver down the observers’

spines.

"The Sha Guards!" someone yelled in astonishment.

Many of them came to realize that the Sha Family was serious
this time around!

The Sha Family was famous for their sand puppets. There was
not a single type of sand in the world that they could not make
into sand puppet. Among so many types of sand puppets in their
arsenal, there was one unique type of sand puppets, the Sand
Guards. The outside world knew little about this type of sand
puppets. However, every time the Sha Family encountered
crises, the Sha Guards would always appear.

So these were Sha Guards!

Everyone widened their eyes as they were afraid to miss out

on any fine details regarding the Sha Guards.

Boom!

As the Sha Guards took a step forward in unison, the earth

shook and the mountains trembled.

At this point of time, those doubtful observers had their faces

turned white and their bodies were trembling in fear.

Boom boom boom!

Every movement the Sha Guards made were sharp, precise

and uniform.

Every step they took gave off a thunderous boom. If it wasn’t

witnessed with their own eyes, they would have thought there
was a gigantic ancient beast walking towards Peace City.

A 132-men battalion of armored sand puppets was advancing

in a neat and orderly formations. Their movements were sharp
and uniform, giving off a surging aura of killer intent. Their
eyes were flickering with a devilish yellow glow in unison. Their
faces were emotionless, as if they were a battalion of lifeless
killing machines, sending a cold shiver down everyone’s spine.

Only their thunderous footsteps could be heard in the midst of

dead silence in the alleyway.

Su Huaijun’s face turned pale-white. She clenched her fists so

hard that they turned pale. She kept telling herself not to be
intimidated by the Sha Guards’ terrorizing aura.

An intense feeling of helplessness engulfed her.

They were unstoppable!

Anything that was standing in the way of this lifeless robotic

army would be crushed to death.
 After taking a few deep breaths, Su Huaijun regained her
composure and some rosiness returned to her pale-white face.

However, what she saw next stunned her. The twelve earth
elementalists that she locked onto previously had vanished into
thin air. The formation of the entire army did not seem to have
any changes. However, she knew that the twelve elementalists
had left their original positions. She did not know how they did
it. Usually, for a high-leveled elementalist like her, it was very
difficult for someone she locked onto to escape from her sight.
Furthermore, she did not once blinked her eyes!

The Sha Guards were indeed formidable!

With an imposing stance, the Sha Guards advanced towards

the Swordsman Training Hall slowly and steadily.

Even as the Sha Guards got closer and closer to the entrance of
the training hall, the Guards did not slow down their advancing
speed. They continued to&nbsp;walk uniformly with their eyes
blinking at the same frequency. It was as if they did not see the
training hall in front of them.

It was as if there was nothing but just a mere praying mantis

that was in their way.

At this very moment, everyone realized the Sha Guards were

going to raze Swordsman Training Hall to the ground just like
this! They wanted an awe-inspiring victory to show off Sha
Family’s might.

Yes, everyone understood what they were doing. Even so, they
were still shocked by Sha Family’s formidable display of
strength.

Without even executing any moves, the Sha Guards had

already made everyone believed that Wang Han would face an
imminent death!

All the observers had their eyes wide open. Even though they
knew the Sha Family was showing off their might, they did not
want to miss out on a single detail.

The Sha Guards had reached the entrance of the Swordsman

Training Hall.

The Sha Guards did not stop and continued to advance.

 Boom. The main door of the Swordsman Training Hall was
blasted to smithereens. Like crispy biscuits, the walls
surrounding the training hall were easily crushed to fine
powder.

Like an unstoppable flood of steel, the Sha Guards charged

into the courtyard of Swordsman Training Hall.

The various training equipments in the Swordsman Training

Hall were being stomped and crushed to smithereens.

Boom boom!

Wang Han was standing at the entrance to the main hall of the
training hall, motionless and alone. He looked especially
helpless and did not make any retaliation. Perhaps he
was&nbsp;shocked by the might of the Sha Guards that he had
lost the ability to think. Or perhaps he knew that all his tricks
would be useless against this unstoppable army of Sha Guards.

Every step that the 132-men Sha Guards took was filled with
power and viciousness, causing the ground to tremble.&nbsp;
 Wang Han stood alone with a sword in his hand. His eyes were
closed, looking fragile and helpless.

The contrast between the two parties was extremely distinct,

so much so everyone felt this battle was one-sided and Wang
Han was extremely foolish.

The battle had ended.

At this very moment, just as the last Sha Guard entered the
training hall, Ai Hui opened his eyes in an instance.

He plunged his Dragonspine into the ground and countless

dazzling light spots appeared in every nook and cranny of the
training hall. Following which, fine beams of light shot out
from the light spots, making the training hall looked as if it was
covered with glowing spider webs.

An interweaving light web appeared and revolved beneath Ai

Hui’s feet unexpectedly. Subsequently, the countless fine light
beams began to rise towards the sky.

The battle had just begun!

Chapter 304: Sword Chime And Swirling
Sandstorm
The hovering fine light beams energized everyone.

Wang Han was starting to retaliate!

This was what everyone wanted to see. The Sha Guards were
so powerful that everyone felt that Wang Han had slim chances
of winning. It would be dull and boring if Wang Han just placed
down his weapon and surrendered.

Wang Han was not a fool, but rather a vicious and merciless
expert. As such, why would he had stood there and waited for
his death? The skydiving fire sword move that he executed
yesterday night lit up the entire night sky and stunned
everyone, giving rise to an unrealistic expectation in everyone’s
heart.

What would Wang Han’s retaliation be?

Fine light beams shot out from the ground towards the sky
and stood tall and upright, looking like glowing light webs. The
light webs were stacked layer upon layer, completely enveloping
the air space above the training hall. The top of the stack of
light webs was narrow while the bottom was wide. It looked like
a gigantic bronze bell.

Everyone’s gaze was captivated by it. Wang Han’s offensive

methods had always managed to lit up everyone’s
eyes,&nbsp;however, they were still slightly doubtful. The Sha
Guards were indeed terrifyingly powerful, but at least everyone
still managed to understand what their offensive was . As for
Wang Han’s offensive method…... no one understood it at all!

Even the experienced and knowledgeable Su Huaijun and the

Fu family were completely lost.

Suddenly, the light webs started to tremble in unison.

An unexpected clear and melodious sword chime resounded

through the training hall.

A biting-cold chill struck everyone’s heart. It was as if a sharp

reflective sword had pierced through the back of their necks,
sending agony down their skins and bones. Those who were
brave and firm had their hair stood on end. Whereas, those who
were timid and soft could not help it but tremble in fear.
 "Sword chime!"

Su Huaijun widened her eyes abruptly.

Sha Wuduan’s feelings were different from the outsiders. The

Sha Guards felt that their visions were blurred and their world
was spinning. The unstoppable Sha Guards stumbled.This was
the first time chaos and disturbance broke out in their neat and
orderly formation.&nbsp;

The sharp and ethereal sword chime was like a soft yet
powerful energy wave, surging to and fro in the sword
formation.

This skill was called [Sword Chime], an inheritance that

originated from Nine Tones Sword Sect. After studying it
extensively, Ai Hui was able to bring back this melodious
ancient music.

For the past three years, Ai Hui had never stopped studying
and learning from the swordplay manuals that he had read
before. These ancient swordplay manuals were like fertile soil to
him, providing him with an endless stream of nutrients. He had
restored numerous lost and broken sword moves. Some sword
moves were derived and developed from it, whereas, some were
imitated and transformed into his own moves. At the end of the
day, no matter what he did, he gained a lot.

[Sword Chime] was one of the many moves he learnt.

The [Sword Chime] was the only move in the entire Nine
Tones Sword Sect’s swordplay manual that Ai Hui restored. Ai
Hui did not know whether or not it was similar to the original
[Sword Chime]. However, its unique chime of sword did contain
the similar wondrous power as the original’s.

In order to perform the [Sword Chime], the use of the unique

flying swords from the Nine Tones Sword Sect was needed.

"The Nine Tones Sword Chime rings and the nine swords shall
be unsheathed."

Back in those days, the Nine Tones Sword Chime that hung in
the swordsman school in the Old Territory was said to be the
sect treasure of the Nine Tones Sword Sect.

The Nine Tones Sword Sect was an illustrious powerful sect in

the past.

"When the nine swords are unsheathed, the heavenly music

will break through the void."

One could see how mighty and powerful they were in the past.

[Sword Chime] needed at least nine swords to be unsheathed

at the same time to work. Hence, after Ai Hui restored it, he had
yet to find a way to use it in actual combat. It was only when he
built this sword formation that he realized [Sword Chime] could
be used here.

The clear and melodious sword chime resembled the soft

tinkling of the wind chimes hung below the roof, extremely
pleasant to one’s ears. However, deep down, the sword chime
actually possessed an intense killer intent.

Sha Wuduan abruptly discovered there was a delay in the

channeling of elemental energy in his body.

The sand on some of the Sha Guards’ bodies began to tremble,

showing signs of instability.
 What kind of swordsmanship was this?

Sha Wuduan felt that his opponent’s swordsmanship was

freakish and unprecedented. This mellifluous sword chime was
able to unsettle one’s mind.

However, Sha Wuduan was a powerful veteran that had

survived countless bloody battles, and as such, he was able to
think of a solution in an instant. In Avalon of Five Elements,
there were inheritances that involved unsettling one’s mind.
Those elementalists who mastered their sky palace were
specialized in carrying out mental attacks.

Mental attacks…

Sha Wuduan furrowed his eyebrows. Normal attacks would be

completely useless against the Sha Guards. On the contrary,
mental attacks posed to be a troublesome problem for Sha
Wuduan.

He did not seem to understand Wang Han at all. He was a fire

elementalist that was proficient in swordsmanship and
specialized in developing the sky palace. This combination
seemed weird to him.
 Sha Wuduan did not have the luxury of time to think.
Elementalists that were specialized in developing their sky
palace were tricky and sly. They had various bizarre tricks up
their sleeves. He had to react fast because if he gave his
opponent too much time, the Sha Guards would fall and would
be subdued.

Elementalists that specialized in mental attacks had

weaknesses as well, for example, they had frail bodies.

It was highly possible that the scene before them might be an

illusion. This was the most commonly-used technique among
the various types of mental attacks. Powerful illusions could
shut down an elementalist’s six senses,&nbsp;which would
caused him or her to lose the ability of judgement and made
grave tactical errors.

However, no matter how real an illusion was, it was still an

illusion.

Something that was fake would never become real.

Sha Wuduan ignored the spinning world in front of him. As

long as his feet was on the ground, he would not lose his
confidence. Whether or not the scene before his eyes was real,
the fact that they were in the training hall was real.

"Swirling Sandstorm!"

The 132-men battalion of Sha Guards roared angrily in unison.

The yellow light beneath their feet began to float and drift.
The surging quicksand started to cover the web-like light beams
on the ground, which resembled the tidal waves in the sea. The
Sha Guards stood imposingly and motionlessly. Following
which, the rolling quicksand gathered in the mid-air and pieces
of stones appeared amidst the quicksand. The stones kept on
growing in size, which became larger. Eventually, the stones
became millstone-sized and rolled in the raging torrent of
quicksand.

At this point of time, the few sand pits in the training hall,
which were prepared for Su Qingye’s training purpose, had
been completely devoured by the Sha Guards. After devouring
the sand pits, the torrent of quicksand increased significantly in
its size and might.

Strong and violent winds swept up and swirled around the

Sha Guards.

The millstone-sized stones and the quicksand were swept up

from the ground by a violent gust of wind. The deep and low
whizzing sound produced by the torrent of quicksand
intimidated everyone. Eventually, the torrent of yellow
quicksand materialized into a terrifying yellow-colored sand
veil. Along with the millstone-sized stones, thick sand veil
covered the Sha Guards and expanded outward all of a sudden,
resembling a gigantic sand tornado.

Boom!

A huge tree in the corner of the training hall was smashed by

the flying stones in the air. Before it collapsed to the ground, the
whizzing torrent of quicksand and stones had already left
numerous densely-packed holes in the sturdy truck of the tree.

Crack!

The huge tree could not withstand the spinning sand veil and
shredded completely to smithereens in the air.
 Deep down, Ai Hui was glad that he kept the message tree,
otherwise, it would definitely be destroyed.

The brown-colored swirling sand veil destroyed everything in

the training hall like a crazy beast. The [Sword Chime] did not
have any effect on a gigantic beast like this.

Not only did the high-speed swirling sand veil had high
destructive power, it also blocked off the chime of the sword.

The sand veil was like a high-speed spinning millstone, if

anyone was to be sucked into it, he or she would have zero
chance of surviving.

Ai Hui did not expect his [Sword Chime] to be countered by a

simple move like the [Swirling Sandstorm]!

However, how could the sword formation that he

meticulously built contained only one type of attack?

Were the sand and stones the key to the might of [Swirling
Sandstorm]? No, it was the wind!
 Being a metal elementalist who was trained with the metal
winds in the Suspending Golden Pagoda, Ai Hui was extremely
familiar with the nature of wind.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up.

He pulled out his Dragonspine from the ground and shook the
sword hilt softly. The daggers that swirled around Dragonspine
flew towards every nook and cranny of the training hall,
resembling agile swimming fishes.

Pop pop pop!

Essence elemental beans ruptured and surging elemental

energy gushed into the sword formation. All the artifact
remnants lit up and the layers of light webs above Ai Hui’s head
dispersed, which caused the gigantic glowing bell to collapse. If
Ai Hui was to raise his head at this very moment, he would see
every light web had transformed into a light spot. Even though
it was daytime, they still looked like stars in the sky.

Every light web shot a silvery light beam that converged at the
Dragonspine in Ai Hui’s hand.
 The Dragonspine was engulfed by an intense silvery light,
resembling a silver-colored burning torch, dazzling and glaring.

A burst of metal elemental energy surged into the sky, as if a

sharp sword was thrusting toward the blue dome of heaven.

Instead of feeling surprised, Sha Wuduan felt overjoyed. The

enemy had abandoned his uncanny sword moves and was
relying on the elemental energy that he was familiar with. That
was equivalent to seeking his own death!

Ai Hui held the Dragonspine in his hand and dashed towards

the swirling sand veil. Just as he was about to collide with the
swirling sand veil, he thrusted his sword into the sand veil all of
a sudden and swirled along with it.

The thrust did not seem to contain any force and looked
extremely ordinary.

Ai Hui’s body flew into the air and swirled along with the
spinning sand veil. Before he landed on the ground, he twisted
his body, flew towards the sand veil and thrusted it with his
sword in the similar fashion as before.
 Everyone, including Sha Wuduan, were baffled and was
unsure of what Ai Hui was doing.

Every thrust he executed was ordinary and did not contain the
slightest bit of destructive power.

Ai Hui’s movements were abnormally fast. In a blink of an

eye, he had swirled around the sand veil and thrusted it with his
sword several times.

His Dragonspine had lost almost half of its metal elemental

energy.

Su Huaijun’s eyes lit up, "Nice!"

Sha Wuduan sensed something was up. As the metal energy

poured into the spinning sand veil, the violent wind that
swirled the sand veil gradually became metal wind. Even though
the insertion of metal elemental energy had caused the wind
speed to increase, Sha Wuduan realized he was losing control of
the spinning sand veil.

Something was not right. Just as he was about to disperse the

sand tornado, Ai Hui took action.

All six artifact remnants emitted a glow at the same time!

Suddenly, an astonishing chilliness erupted beneath the feet

of the Sha Guards.Unexpectedly, the Sha Guards were caught
off guard and became a battalion of ice statues. Even Sha
Wuduan was frozen.

Not good!

Chilling frost engulfed his body, freezing his elemental

energy.

The high-speed swirling sand tornado lost control and

exploded abruptly.

The frozen Sha Guards became the perfect target. The high-
speed spinning sand veil was mixed with razor-sharp metal
elemental energy, becoming terrifyingly powerful. Pop, pop,
pop. In an instant, the neat and orderly Sha Guards had their
bodies filled with holes.
 The millstone-sized stones were like cannonballs, heavily
smashing a few unfortunate Sha Guards into powder. When a
sand puppet was smashed, he would be reduced to a pile of
yellow sand. However, when the pile of yellow sand was mixed
with fresh blood and decapitated limbs, that was not a sand
puppet, but a fallen earth elementalist.

Sha Wuduan was most powerful among the Sha Guards.

Within a short period of time, he had recovered the control over
his elemental energy. The scene before him exasperated him
intensely. Only half of the Sha Guards were left standing. Those
who collapsed were mainly earth elementalists. Three earth
elementalists had already died and the rest were severely
injured.

"Kill him!"

Sha Wuduan pounced towards Ai Hui as his angry roar

resounded through the air. The rest of the Sha Guards followed
his suit and yelled angrily, "Kill him!"

All the Sha Guards flew into the air, resembling a huge net
that covered the sky.
 Ai Hui, who had nowhere to run to, stayed calm and stood up,
shook&nbsp;off the yellow sand on his body. It was a huge
taboo for earth elementalists and sand puppets to leave the
ground.

Ai Hui raised his Dragonspine and pointed it towards the

incoming flood of enemies.

The fine light webs that filled the training hall had
disappeared, which revealed Ai Hui’s main formation.

Su Huaijun cried out in alarm, "See You Later!"

Chapter 305: “See You Later” Sword
Formation
The sound of an intense battle could be heard from a distance.
Even from afar, he still felt a slight tremble on the ground.

Jiang Wei’s face turned ashen as he entered the mayor

residence.

Standing in front of him, the old mayor nagged long-

windedly, "You see, they just don’t know when to stop. My wife
told me that they don’t take me seriously and I couldn’t care
less. Now that you have arrived, I can peacefully find a place to
enjoy my life in retirement. Sigh, Murphy’s law—what can go
wrong will wrong. All I want is to enjoy my life in retirement
and that’s why I came to Peace City. However, Peace City
became a bustling trading hub and a city of strategic
importance, attracting and pulling everyone here. I know
myself very well…"

Jiang Wei bade farewell to the old mayor and flew toward the
battle site with his soldiers.

He knew that he did not have any background and if these

powerful prestigious families and tyrants were not suppressed
at this very instant, no one would care about him.

However, he was not here to enjoy his life in retirement.

…..

See You Later!

This was the first time Su Huaijun saw so many See You
Laters. She always thought that See You Laters were kept in
exquisitely-made wooden boxes and there would not be more
than ten of them. Every time she went to buy See You Laters,
the boss would always tell her that the arrows were out of stock.
It was only after she agreed to pay extra, those unscrupulous
businessmen would then put on a heart-aching look on their
faces and slowly took out a few arrows.

However, right now, the sky was filled with densely-packed

See You Laters. Su Huaijun was dumbstruck with this sight.

How could this fellow own so many See You Laters!

 Suddenly, something struck Su Huaijun’s mind. Upon
remembering that See You Laters were made in Peace City, a
bold thought emerged on her mind. Could this fellow be the one
that produced See You Laters?

See You Laters were in popular demand in Peace City.

However, since Su Huaijun’s primary weapon was not a bow
and arrows, she had not seen the real power of See You Laters.

Given its costly price, the power of See You Laters should be
extraordinary. Su Huaijun thought pensively.

Su Huaijun was not the only one that identified the See You
Laters in the sky, many onlookers did too and let out a wave of
alarmed cries. Those who did not know what See You Laters
were quickly asked the person standing beside them.

What’s so special about the arrows in the sky?

Very soon, See You Laters will be justified to these people why
its price was so expensive!

A colorful glazed radiance swirled around each and every See

You Later, giving off a soft ringing sound that resembled the
chime of sword.

Those elementalists who had previously used See You Laters

had their eyes light up. Top-grade arrows!

When a See You Later was being used, it would release a

unique ringing sound that resembled the chime of sword. This
was often used as an authentication method to examine the
authenticity of the arrows. Because of its costly price, there was
an abundance of imitation of See You Laters on the market.
However, not only were these imitations not powerful, the
unique sword chime wasn’t released when used.

A streak of glazed radiance flashed across the sky and

disappeared.

The next moment, an arrow emerged from the chest of a Sha

Guard in the air. Following which, a colorful glazed glowing
sphere rose from the chest of the Sha Guard. If one took a closer
look, he or she could see that the glowing sphere was spinning
rapidly, resembling a round-shaped rainbow cotton candy.

Subsequently, the spinning glowing sphere disappeared,

leaving a basin-sized cavity in the Sha Guard’s chest.

It only took one shot to completely destroy the sand puppet’s

sand core. Whoosh. The body of the sand puppet collapsed into
a pile of quicksand and fell from the sky.

So this was See You Later!

If the tinkling sound of the sword chime wasn’t stopped, the

glazed radiance would not have faded.

At this very moment, Sha Wuduan was in a dire straits.

The soul-reaping sword chime caused him to tremble with

fear. What kind of offensive tactic was this? He had never seen
such arrows and he sensed danger from its mighty power. If it
wasn’t for the sand puppet next to him that dashed forward and
blocked the arrows,&nbsp;during this critical moment, he
would have breathed his last.

Every arrow claimed one life or destroyed one sand puppet.

 Sha Wuduan knew this could not go on any longer. He
clenched his teeth and commanded twenty sand puppets to fly
up into the sky at the same time to form a sand barrier, which
protected the heads of Sha Wuduan and the rest of the earth
elementalists.

Boom!

One of the sand puppets self-detonated. A burst of dazzling

yellow light erupted and a powerful shockwave broke out,
severely disrupting the flight path of many See You Laters.

Sha Wuduan felt an extreme heartache. The sand puppets that

served as Sha Guards were specially made. Each of their cost
prices were extremely expensive. The annoying thing was that
most of the materials used to build them could no longer be
found. This implied that they were irreplaceable.

Right now, as long as that goddamn bastard was killed,

everything would be worth it!

Sha Wuduan’s face was completely covered by his sand armor,

and hence, he became unnoticeable when he blended into the
formation of sand puppets.
 Just as both of them got closer and closer to each other, Ai Hui
suddenly turned around. His movements were sudden and fluid.

Trying to escape?

Sha Wuduan sneered. He had already expected that his

opponent would not stay in the same spot and get surrounded
by the sand puppets. Poof, poof, poof. Several sand puppets
transformed into a huge mass of quicksand, forming an
inescapable "net" in the sky. No matter which direction their
enemy ran to, he would not be able to escape from this "net!"

Ai Hui, who had already turned around, stomped the ground

forcefully with his feet.

Crack.

The meticulously-built trap mechanism beneath his feet had

been broken and deactivated by him.

After Lou Lan’s inspection and verification, the artifact

remnants placed within the trap mechanism was verified to be
an ancient seal that was either related to "Wind Resistance" or
"Divine Movement". However, its effect was yet to be
discovered.

In this day and age, everyone had little understanding

towards ancient seals. Furthermore, the seals within the artifact
remnants had undergone the erosion of time and dispersal of
spiritual force. Most of them were badly damaged, having only
an extremely tiny portion left.

Ai Hui prayed in his heart, "Lou Lan bless me!"

The barriers between essence elemental beans, blood crystals

and the artifact remnants were broken. The ancient seal
appeared once more on this land. A wisp of green light swirled
around his legs, he felt as light and lithe as a feather.

It was magical!

The ancient spiritual force, seals and spells were extremely

profound in nature. This was the first time Ai Hui used the
ancient seal from the Cultivation Era. It felt entirely different
from elemental energy.
 However, at this point of time, his encounter wasn’t
important. He squatted down slightly and jumped towards the
air.

Swoosh!

Ai Hui’s vision blurred. When he clearly saw his

surroundings, he was shocked. He was already fifty metres away
from the ground in the air.

When Ai Hui lowered his head and saw the flight path of his
See You Laters being disrupted by the self-detonation of the
sand puppets, he twisted his body and dived downward.

Meanwhile, when Sha Wuduan lost sight of Wang Han all of a

sudden, his facial expression changed drastically and a strong
feeling of danger arose in his heart.

Without even thinking, he brought the rest of the Sha Guards

along with him and drilled into the ground.

However, there was an unexpected a layer of barrier beneath

the ground. This prevented them from drilling and digging into
the ground.

At this very moment, a deafening mournful sword chime

exploded above his head.

Sha Wuduan’s facial expression changed drastically. The

terrifying sword chime caused him to feel an unprecedented
danger. An intense feeling of danger engulfed him, prompted
his hair to stand on end.

Boom!

The sand barrier above his head suddenly exploded. A

mournful sword chime descended from the sky.

Like a legendary bird that spreaded it’s wings, Ai Hui

descended from the sky with his sword raised in his hand.
Numerous radiance-glazed See You Laters were attracted to the
Dragonspine in his hand. Like a gigantic school of fishes, they
flew nimbly through the air while Ai Hui’s Dragonspine acted as
the leader of the school of fishes.

Ai Hui felt an indescribable contentment.

 This was sword formation!

Within the sword formation, every See You Later had a

connection with the Dragonspine in his hand. If it was any
other individual, he or she would have found it difficult to
control. However, this was what Ai Hui needed and specialized
in. From the day he started to use the Red Dust Swordbox, Ai
Hui had developed an interest in the use of&nbsp;a normal-
sized sword to control many small swords.

On its own, a See You Later was already very powerful. Right
now, being brought together, their power became even more
terrifying!

Ai Hui’s body was completely engulfed by a colorful glazed

radiance, circled by numerous See You Laters. Amidst the
torrent of sword chime, he felt an indescribable excitement.

Like a frail piece of paper, the sand barrier above Sha

Wuduan’s head was easily pierced through.

Sha Wuduan couldn’t care less and hurled five sand puppets
at Ai Hui at the same time. At the very instant they made
contact with Ai Hui, they self-detonated once more.
 Like an inflated balloon, a burst of yellow glow erupted and
expanded outward. Following which, Ai Hui used his See You
Laters and punctured the burst of yellow glow in one shot.

A few of Ai Hui’s See You Laters had been broken down into
colorful glazed glowing luminous bubbles, gradually vanished
into thin air.

Boom, boom, boom!

The sand puppets looked as if they had gone mad, flying

toward Ai Hui and self-detonated in front of him.

The shock wave from the self-detonation of the sand puppets

was rather powerful. Every sand puppet was able to destroy a
few of the See You Laters that circled Ai Hui. It was as if Ai Hui
and Sha Wuduan were fighting a battle of attrition.

Boom!

When the last See You Later was destroyed, Ai Hui’s head was
hit by the shock wave from a sand puppet’s self detonation. He
let out a groan and his body flew backward.
 A tinge of blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth. His
enemy did not seem too well either.

There were only twenty-three Sha Guards left and all of them
were severely injured.

Sha Wuduan gave a sinister smile. Without See You Laters,

Wang Han had nothing up his sleeves to fight against him. Even
though there were only twenty-three Sha Guards left, six of
them were earth elementalists. He had enough confidence to
slay Wang Han.

From his perspective, See You Laters was Wang Han’s trump
card and his greatest reliance.

Suddenly, Ai Hui maneuvered his body in the mid-air and flew

towards a corner of the courtyard. Just as his feet barely made
contact with the ground, he plunged his sword directly into the
ground.

Pop. The soft popping sound made Sha Wuduan’s facial

expression changed slightly as a premonition crept up his heart.
 Ai Hui was abnormally swift and agile. Like a dragonfly, he
skimmed swiftly across the training hall. Every time his feet
made contact with the ground, there would be a soft popping
sound given off.

Even though Sha Wuduan wasn’t aware of what his enemy

was doing, he knew that he must stop him.

As such, the rest of the Sha Guards dashed towards Ai Hui at

the same time.

Some transformed into quicksand, while some transformed

into mini sandstorms. Some even transformed into sand spears
for their comrades to throw at Ai Hui.

There were a wide range of attacking methods, which widen

one's horizon.

One by one, essence elemental beans, blood crystals and

artifact remnants kept on rupturing. The surging elemental
energy transformed the training hall into a raging sea of
elemental energy. All the artifact remnants had been activated
and glows of various colors lit up in every nook and cranny of
the training hall.
 After fighting for his life this long, Ai Hui knew that there was
no point holding back now.

Sha Wuduan felt that he was going crazy soon!

Different colored glows kept on lighting up and Sha Wuduan

knew they belonged to artifact remnants. This fellow actually
had so many artifact remnants! There was one thing that he
found inconceivable. Was this fellow crazy to squander his
resources that recklessly? How could he have squandered so
many artifact remnants?

Various weird-looking glows and seals formed an utterly

chaotic performance in the training hall. Icy frost, violent
winds, lightning bolts, sword glints, spear auras, etc had
completely flooded this small training hall.

Those Sha Guards that just dashed toward Ai Hui had

encountered a cosmic catastrophe.
Chapter 306: Break Even
Even though Ai Hui had put in so many years of his savings,
he did not show the slightest bit of heartache or reluctance.
With a cold and indifferent look on his face, he did not retreat
and continued attacking. With a swing of the Dragonspine in his
hand, a crescent moon-shaped sword glint shot out and hit the
chest of a swaying Sha Guard.

That Sha Guard was spliced in half and he collapsed onto the
ground. After he twitched for a few seconds, the Sha Guard
became a pile of sand.

Ai Hui understood the physiology of sand puppets very well.

The main weakness of a sand puppet lay in its sand core. Once
the sand core was broken, the sand puppet would die. If one
could not destroy a sand puppet’s sand core, the sand puppet
would have an abnormally tenacious survivability.&nbsp;

The next instant, Ai Hui appeared on the other end of the

training hall like a ghost. Following which, he executed the
[Heavenly Thrust] and shot out a star-like energy beam at
another Sha Guard’s chest.

Plop!
 A spurt of blood shot out from that Sha Guard’s chest.

This time around, the Sha Guard who was attacked was an
earth elementalist. The glow in his eyes disappeared and every
last bit of vitality in his body was gone. Then, he collapsed onto
the ground, facing upward.

Why would Ai Hui waste the opportunities created by using so

many artifact remnants? He knew the arrangement of the
courtyard by heart. In the midst of the chaotic streaks of
radiance, he nimbly darted to and fro across the courtyard,
striking down the Sha Guards one by one.

One moment he was in front of the battalion of the Sha

Guards, the next moment he was at the back of the battalion,
appearing everywhere at almost the same time.

His swordsmanship was extremely ruthless. Every strike he

executed would definitely slay one Sha Guard. In a blink of an
eye, Ai Hui had killed six Sha Guards and two of them were
earth elementalists.

The intensity of the battle had caused all the observers to raise
their eyebrows in shock.
 Wang Han’s successive attacks were unwavering and ruthless,
which sent a cold shiver down everyone’s spine. No one had
expected the battle that they previously thought was one-sided
to reach such extremity.

Without much effort, the initial 132-man battalion of Sha

Guards had been reduced to eighteen Sha Guards. More than
half of these eighteen Sha Guards were severely injured.

Luckily, I never made an enemy of Wang Han. This was what

a lot of people were thinking at this moment.

If they were the ones who attacked the Swordsman Training

Hall, they would not do any better than the Sha Guards. Even if
the Sha Family could take down the Swordsman Training Hall
at the end of the day, they would have suffered a huge loss by
then. Right now, the Sha Family had already lost. This was a
battle whereboth sides had suffered greatly.

Wang Han should be proud of himself for pushing the Sha

Family to the brink.

However, everyone could tell that the artifact remnants was

Wang Han’s last trump card. Wang Han had used more than ten
artifact remnants in one go. Such lavishness had stupefied
everyone, including the Fu family.

When everyone thought of Wang Han’s nickname, King of

Anglers, they then realized that the gains he made for the past
few years had far exceeded their expectations. Furthermore,
with the addition of the numerous See You Laters, Wang Han’s
expenditure in this battle was indeed outrageous.

Upon seeing amount of resources he had invested in this

battle, even the members of those prestigious families were
trembling in fear, feeling heartache for Wang Han.

However, Wang Han’s performance had ended.

When Sha Wuduan saw the remaining sparse Sha Guards, he

felt devastated. From this battle, he knew that the Sha Family
had fallen. Even if he could kill Wang Han, he still could not
save the Sha Family from its imminent fate.

He felt grieved and despair. Before he came here, he was

brimming with confidence that he could save the Sha Family
from its imminent crisis, help it to establish a foothold in Peace
City and pave the path for its restoration.
 However, right now, the last hope for Sha Family had
withered in his hands.

Despair, self-blame, and guilt had completely destroyed his

rationality. In his heart, there were only anger, hatred, insanity,
and mindlessness. His bloodshot eyes were staring firmly at the
deft figure.

He must kill this bastard!

Sha Wuduan gave a secret command and the remaining

eighteen Sha Guards suddenly spread their arms and held each
other’s hands.

Dazzling yellow light lit up beneath their feet. The ground

began to fissure and countless cobweb-like cracks started to
spread outward.

"Sir!"

"No…."
 The few earth elementalists’ faces turned deathly pale and
they cried out in alarm. However, no matter how much they
cursed or begged, they could not move as the yellow sand from
the ground slowly crept up their bodies.

The scattered sand in the training hall started to flow towards

the Sha Guards like water. The sand within the sand pits, which
were prepared for Su Qingye to train in, flowed out and flew
towards the Sha Guards in an endless stream.

Not a speckle of sand was left in the huge sand pits.

In a bizarre fashion, the yellow sand wiggled up the Sha

Guards’ bodies and began to pile up.

Within seconds, the eighteen Sha Guards had been drowned

by the yellow sand, forming a twenty meters tall sand mountain
in courtyard. The weird thing was the sand mountain was
wiggling non-stop, looking as if there was something rolling
within it, making one’s blood ran cold.

"Devouring the soldiers to build a Sand Sentinel, Sha Wuduan

is insane!" the Fu family’s eldest daughter’s face turned pale.
 Not only her, but everyone that was witnessing this scene had
their faces turned deathly pale.

"Devouring the soldiers to build a Sand Sentinel" was a

technique that was commonly used on sand puppets. It involved
making the sand puppets devour each other to form a more
powerful Sand Sentinel. A Sand Sentinel was more than ten
times stronger than a Sha Guard. It was extremely huge in size
and was considered a large-scale combat sand puppet. And
because of its terrifying destructive power, the Elders Guild
banned the use of Sand Sentinels. Without permission from the
Elder Guilds, no one was allowed to build a Sand Sentinel under
any circumstances.

As such, wasn’t Sha Wuduan insane for building a Sand

Sentinel in the glare of the public?

Even though the Elders Guild was not as powerful as it was in

the past, the Sha Family was still finished for violating the
Elders Guild’s ban.

Furthermore, there were a few Sha Guards who were not sand
puppets but earth elementalists being devoured as well. A
monster like this had never existed before. A lot of people
widened their eyes to take a clearer look as they were afraid of
missing out on any details. Especially for those earth
elementalists, this unprecedented scene had provided them a lot
of information on Sand Sentinels.

Every time the sand mountain wiggled, a terrifying aura

would be released and it spread throughout the area.

The onlookers’ facial expression changed drastically as if they

themselves were in a perilous situation. The energy undulations
from the sand mountain were becoming increasingly stronger
and its imposingness was rising continuously. An endless
stream of elemental energy was drained from the ground by the
sand mountain.

Every time the sand mountain wiggled, its outline would

become a bit more distinct.

The quicksand on the surface of the sand mountain was

swiveling at ease. It was as if there was a pair of invisible hands
sculpting the sand mountain’s body.

Ai Hui’s face turned white. He was trying very hard to

suppress his urge to escape.
 If not for the fact that Lou Lan was upgrading his body now,
AI Hui would have already escaped with Lou Lan without a
trace.

Since he was the nearest to the sand mountain, the energy

waves emitted from the sand mountain were pounding his mind
continuously like torrential tidal waves. He felt that his body
was becoming heavier and heavier and he knew this was caused
by the waves of elemental energy pounding against his mind.
All he could do now was to clench his teeth and endure it.

He grasped his sword with both his hands and guarded his
mind tightly. The elemental energy in his body was carrying out
a series of Circulatory Cycle Revolutions.

Suddenly, his sky palace was erupted with a brilliant burst of

light. A wisp of flame stood imposingly and motionlessly in his
sky palace.

[Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp]. This was an absolute art that

he exchanged for a huge amount of Heaven Merit Points from
the Elders Guild.

[Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] was an extremely rare sky

palace-based absolute art. Since it only developed the sky
palace, its uses were rather one-dimensional. Some of these uses
included breaking illusion, protecting one’s mind, refining
inner demons and etc.

The purpose of Ai Hui obtaining the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus

Lamp] was to deal with One Thousand Yuan. One Thousand
Yuan specialized in mental attacks. If he was slightly careless,
he would fall into her traps, making it impossible for him to
defend against her.

Ai Hui was extremely worried about this.

After spending such a huge price on this precious absolute art,

Ai Hui naturally practised it diligently and relentlessly. Very
soon, he experienced the benefits of practising [Skyheart
Flaming Lotus Lamp]. His mind became clearer and calmer,
completely free of disturbances.

The most surprising thing was [Skyheart Flaming Lotus

Lamp] actually improved his body constitution. All along, his
body constitution did not match well with elemental energy. As
such, there was a time where he was being told that he could
not become an elementalist.
 Eventually, even though his strength had increased sharply
due to various opportunities and lucky encounters, his body
constitution did not improve and remained the same. With a
bad body constitution, he would absorb a smaller amount of
elemental energy at a slower rate than the others from drinking
the same bowl of elemental soup.

However, body constitution was innate and there was nothing

much he could do about it. When he knew that [Skyheart
Flaming Lotus Lamp] could improve body constitution, he
naturally put in more effort into practicing it. The process of
improving body constitution was very slow but he was still very
content with it.

He had read from ancient records that [Skyheart Flaming

Lotus Lamp] was inspired by [Skyheart Flaming Lotus], a spell
that originated from the famous sacred shrine in the world of
Dhyana, the Suspending Temple.

Cultivation Era’s Dhyana disregarded natural endowments

and took pity on all living things. It also emphasized on
sharpening and training one’s mind and nature.

However, this absolute art was not very popular in the Avalon
of Five Elements. Since the day it was created, only
elementalists&nbsp;practiced it. There was no elemental master
that had practised it previously. The fact that it only developed
the sky palace made many elementalists refrained from
practicing it. Furthermore, this absolute art did not possess any
offensive capabilities, making it unpopular in the practicality-
focused Elemental Era.

Out of the three elementalists that had practiced this absolute

art, two of them had left behind their memoirs of the absolute
art. When Ai Hui was exchanging his Heavenly Merit Points for
the absolute art, he exchanged for the memoirs as well. These
memoirs were extremely helpful to him.

As the elemental energy waves from the Sand Sentinel

continued to collide against Ai Hui, his body began to emit a
faint red glow, solemn and serene.

Elementalists were extremely sensitive towards the stability

of the elemental energy in the surroundings. When the
elemental energy in the surroundings was too unstable, the
elemental energy in one’s body would be affected too. He or she
might even lose control of the elemental energy in his or her
body. As such, even those powerful elementalists did not dare to
step into areas that elemental energy field was unstable.
 A gigantic humanoid sand puppet was formed.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Accompanied by a burst of surging elemental energy, an

unclear hysterical roar resounded through the air, resembling
thunderclaps. Immediately, it felt as if the elemental energy
field of Peace City had been stirred by a huge invisible hand.
Black clouds started to form in the sky and the earth began to
shake. The magma deep within the ground was becoming
restless and unstable. Sand and stones were flying up into the
air, while metal wind was blowing violently. It was as if the
Judgement Day had arrived.

Jiang Wei felt startled and angry when he saw the gigantic
monstrous sand puppet as he was flying through the air at a
high speed.

How dare you devour soldiers to build a Sand Sentinel!

You must be tired of living!

This Sand Sentinel was extremely enormous. On its gigantic

head, its eyes that were bigger than a door frame were flickering
with a demonic yellow glow. Intense earth elemental energy
was flowing frantically through its body. An armor was forming
on its body with a visible speed.

Jiang Wei’s facial expression changed drastically. This

monster’s aura and strength had caused him to tremble
involuntarily.

However, he did not stop and continued to fly towards the

Sand Sentinel.

He had the responsibility to take care of this city and he could

not possibly ignore what was going on now.

His soldiers clenched their teeth and followed tightly behind

him. No one was deserting him.

As they flew nearer to it, they could see the terror of this
enormous monster. The elemental energy waves it was
releasing were like violent gales, smashing trees and stones.

Jiang Wei flew towards it with great difficulty.

 So unlucky of him to encounter such incident the moment he
arrived at Peace City...

Suddenly, at this moment, Jiang Wei heard someone talking.

Jiang Wei was shocked. How could there be someone so near to
the Sand Sentinel! He resisted against the terrifying energy
waves and pushed a few meters forward. The voice became
much clearer. However, this voice seemed… somewhat familiar.

"...they should be starting to sprout now. Don’t tell me that

bastard sold me fake seeds? I spent two hundred thousand
elemental energy points on them. If he really did scam me, I will
destroy his store!"

"Hahaha, they are sprouting, they are finally sprouting! Have

a taste of my drought fire lotuses!"

"I have not nourished you and dug a sand pit for four hours in
vain."

"I have to remind Lou Lan not to eat strangers’ sand when he
goes out."
 Numerous fresh and verdant lotus leaves grew throughout the
enormous body of the Sand Sentinel, making it looked
extremely comical. The lotus leaves were frantically sapping the
earth elemental energy in the Earth Sentinel and began to grow
at a terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, the lotus leaves had
grown as big as a bath tub. The color of the lotus leaves turned
red and lotus flowers started to bloom, resembling a sea of
flames on the Earth Sentinel’s body.

The glow on the Sand Sentinel’s body began to dim. Its body
of sand started to dry up and was filled with cracks and crevices.
The flaming lotus flowers started to withdraw and transform
into bright red lotus seed heads. The bright red color of the
lotus seed heads deepened and became dark-red.

"Phew, I finally break even!"

Jiang Wei stared blankly at the familiar figure, who was

standing in front of the elemental energy-deprived Sand
Sentinel, as he wiped off the beads of sweat from his forehead
and heaved a sigh of relief.
Chapter 307: Troubles Lie Ahead
Wang Han became famous overnight.

Sha Wuduan led an army of Sha Guards to destroy the

Swordsman Training Hall and got his army completely
demolished, making everyone’s jaws drop. Even those who were
confident in Wang Han’s abilities did not expect this to happen.
Furthermore, this time around, Sha Family had utilized all of
their elite troops and even brought out the Sand Sentinel. In the
end, they still lost terribly, shocking everyone.

The sword chime, the See You Laters and the artifact
remnants had amazed everyone,&nbsp;especially in the last
moment where he used the drought fire lotuses to defeat the
Sand Sentinel. It was a flash in the pan.&nbsp;

No one knew the Sand Sentinel could be defeated using such

method!

Being on the ban list of the Elders Guild said a lot about how
dangerous and powerful a Sand Sentinel was. The usual
offensive methods were useless against a Sand Sentinel as it had
many sand cores. It could be defeated only when all of its sand
cores were destroyed at the same time. A Sand Sentinel’s
absorption rate of earth elemental energy was terrifyingly fast.
It could repair its body by absorbing an endless stream of earth
elemental energy.

And if it decided to self-detonate, half of Peace City would be

destroyed.

The fearsome powers and formidable survivability of the Sand

Sentinel made it a nightmare for one to face in the battlefield.
No one had ever found an effective way to deal with it before
this.

"Why did you think of using drought fire lotus? How did you
know they will devour sand?" Jiang Wei asked curiously.

Jiang Wei was filled with admiration for Ai Hui, who mixed
the seeds of drought fire lotus in the sand pits and reaped his
harvest after the Sand Sentinel absorbed them along with the
sand.

The drought fire lotus was an unorthodox and infamous

species of plant. The ground within ten miles from where it was
grown would be dry and barren.
 And because of this fact, it was very difficult to cultivate
drought fire lotus. One drought fire lotus would consume up to
ten miles of earth elemental energy. Once a plot of land was
barren, no plants could be grown on it anymore.

Every plot of land in the Avalon of Five Elements was earned

through diligence and blood from the Wilderness. Hence, why
would the higher-ups tolerate the growth of drought fire lotus?
The Sand Sentinel was like a small mountain that was made up
of earth elemental energy, which made it the best soil for
drought fire lotuses to grow in. Earth elemental energy was
highly addictive to drought fire lotuses, so they could deal a
fatal blow to the Sand Sentinel.

The logic behind it was not difficult to understand. After

everything ended, everyone gradually realized what was going
on.

Brilliant creativity did not necessarily have to be complex, but

rather, it was about being filled with the dazzle of wisdom and
knowledge. Otherwise, why would the methods used to defeat a
Sand Sentinel have been so limited before this battle?

Instead of feeling surprised at Ai Hui’s closely interlinked

arrangements in the battle, like the others, Jiang Wei was
unconcerned.

This fellow was already so powerful when he was in Central

Pine City.

"I’m being forced to do these things," Ai Hui was very happy

to see Jiang Wei. However, when the topic of money was
mentioned, he was filled with heartache, "When a poor man like
me is being pushed to dire straits, how could I not think of some
ways to break even? Otherwise, after this battle is over, I might
even have to pawn my clothes. Isn’t the Sha Family famous for
their sand puppets? How come their sand puppets aren’t as
smart as my Lou Lan? Stupid sand puppets are easy to deal with.
However, I really didn’t expect them to bring out the Sand
Sentinel. I really have to thank them for that, otherwise, how
can I break even? Do you know how much earth elemental
energy one drought fire lotus needs? Eh? This might be a good
way to earn money. I can ask Lou Lan to make a few Sand
Sentinels and I can grow some drought fire lotuses…"

Ai Hui’s eyes were sparkling as he continued to talk.

Jiang Wei laughed softly. The moment he saw Ai Hui’s facial

expression, he immediately knew what evil tricks this fellow
was up to. However, Ai Hui did seem slightly happier than when
he was in the Central Pine City.

When Jiang Wei thought of the pressure Ai Hui had to face in

Central Pine City, he could not help but sigh silently.

For the last three years, he had asked himself this question
countless times. If he was in Ai Hui’s shoes that day, would he
have had the courage to take on all that responsibility? Or
would he even be capable of taking on all that responsibility?

No, he would not.

"Where’s Lou Lan?" Jiang Wei looked around.

Ai Hui returned to his senses and replied, "He is currently

upgrading his body. It will take him a few more days to
complete the process."

"Sigh, it seems like there’s no chance for me to drink Lou

Lan’s soup," Jiang Wei gulped down his saliva, looking slightly
disappointed.
 Ai Hui chuckled and Jiang Wei laughed as well.

Jiang Wei started to talk about what he had been doing and
what battles he had taken part in during the last three years. For
some unknown reason, Jiang Wei did not like to talk to Shi
Xueman about such things. However, when it came to Ai Hui,
Jiang Wei would take the initiative to spill the beans to him.

He also talked about what Shi Xueman, Sang Zhijun and the
rest of A-1 unit’s members had been doing for the past three
years.

Ai Hui did not speak and listened attentively. He could sense

the excitement in Jiang Wei’s tone.

Both of them were filled with the joy of their reunion.

When Ai Hui heard that the iron lady and Sang Zhijun were
on the God-subduing Peak, he could not help but feel regretful.
If he knew they were on the God-subduing Peak, he would go
and say hi to them. Then, when he heard that Duanmu
Huanghun were defeated by She Yu, his eyes flickered and his
fists clenched involuntarily.
 This was the first time in the past three years that Jiang Wei
had talked so much.

While talking to his heart’s content, Jiang Wei ordered his

subordinates to buy them some alcohol.

The soldiers looked surprised at their captain. Usually, their

captain was extremely self-disciplined and would never touch a
single drop of alcohol. What happened to him today?

With alcohol to liven things up, both of them were chatting

non-stop, dancing and gesticulating with joy. When Ai Hui
heard that everyone was doing quite well, he was overjoyed.

This type of friendship could only be developed through life-

and-death battles, those who had never experienced it would
not understand how it felt.&nbsp;

Within a short period of time, both of them were dead drunk.

They were not intoxicated from the alcohol, but rather from
the happiness derived from a reunion of comrades-in-arms.
 Both of them had no idea how dead drunk they were.
Countless citizens of Peace City had trouble falling asleep.

…..

Sea Pacific Enterprise.

"Found it!" reported Fu Renxuan. "Jiang Wei, a survivor from

the Central Pine City. After leaving Central Pine City, he joined
the Sky Edge Division. Because of his outstanding military
service, he was promoted to a small captain. Jiang Wei’s
fighting style is firm and steady, possessing exceptional
abilities. He is highly recognized by his higher-ups. This can be
seen from the fact that they transferred him from the front line
to Peace City. Furthermore, he has a rather close relationship
with Shi Xueman as both of them were comrades-in-arms
during the Battle of Central Pine City. This time around, he
arrived at Peace City by taking the God-subduing Mountain." Fu
Renxuan reported solemnly.

Jiang Wei held great power by leading a team to take over the
mayor’s residence. From the task given to him, one could tell
that he had boundless prospects. As for Shi Xueman, she was
known to everybody.
 "Wang Han and Jiang Wei have an extraordinary relationship.
I have just received news that both of them were drinking and
chatting merrily for the entire night. According to our
investigation, Wang Han arrived at Peace City three years ago.
That happens to be the time when the Battle of Central Pine
City ended. We suspected that Wang Han might be a survivor
from Central Pine City. This possibly explains his relationship
with Jiang Wei. However, when we searched through the
database of the Battle of Central City, we did not find anyone
with the name Wang Han. Soon after, we suspected that Wang
Han might be a false name. Eventually, we managed to
determine his real identity. His real name is Ai Hui."

"Ai Hui?" Fu Yongwu had a pensive look on his face, "I have
heard of this name somewhere before."

"It’s him!" Fu family’s oldest daughter muttered as her face

turned pale.

Fu Renxuan’s face became pale as well. With a slight tremble

in his voice, he continued, "Ai Hui, a citizen from the Old
Territory. He worked as a laborer in Wilderness for three years.
He is one of the two survivors from that batch of laborers. He is
an average individual with mediocre natural capabilities. After
he finished his stint at Wilderness, he applied to study in
Induction Ground. Eventually, the Induction Ground made an
exception and accepted him as a student. Subsequently, he
received Teacher Wang Shouchuan’s recognition who later
accepted him as a disciple. After the blood catastrophe broke
out, Ai Hui led a team and fought desperately to save Central
Pine City. He had achieved outstanding military merit and
obtained the nickname, the Lightning Blade..."

Fu Yongwu finally responded and cried in alarm, "That

renegade-cum-murderer!"

"Shut up!" Fu family’s oldest daughter sternly berated Fu

Yongwu, a rarely-seen sight.

"Am I wrong to say that? Isn’t he the one who killed his
master with his own hands?" Fu Yongwu retorted.

The Battle of Central Pine City was a distant and fuzzy

memory to many people. In the past three years, there had been
numerous major battles. However, the incident where Ai Hui
killed his own master still remained fresh in countless people’s
memory.

Ai Hui, a highly controversial fighting genius, had single-

handedly saved Central Pine City. However, when he killed his
master with his own hands at the critical junction, it stirred up
a huge controversy and provoked countless debates over the
incident.

Sky Edge Division and Infantry Division had tried to enlist the
fighting genius but there were a lot of strong objections from
the people within the two divisions. There were even some
people who said that they would beat up Ai Hui if he was to
enter the Thirteen Divisions.

However, in the end, Ai Hui did not join the Thirteen

Divisions and vanished without a trace, seemingly as if he had
disappeared from the world.

No one had expected Ai Hui to be in Peace City.

The Fu family’s oldest sister stared coldly at Fu Yongwu and

reminded him, "If you don’t want to create trouble for our
family, you’d better keep your mouth shut."

"I don’t think it’s as bad as you think, Big Sister. What makes
you think he can create troubles for us single-handedly?" Fu
Yongwu defended himself.
 "That’s what the Sha Family thought too," Fu family’s oldest
daughter replied coldly.

Fu Yongwu was speechless.

After the last battle, the Sha Family was destroyed, completely
destroyed.

They witnessed how the unstoppable Sha Guards were

decimated by Ai Hui with their own eyes.

Fu Yongwu was rash but he was not stupid, "This Ai Hui is

indeed a strange individual. How can he be so powerful when he
has just attained elemental externalization! It doesn’t make any
sense! I don’t understand how he won the battle. Didn’t you say
he is an average individual with mediocre natural abilities? If
that’s case, why is he so powerful?"

"He is an individual who saves the entire city by himself, it’s

normal that you can’t understand him," the Fu family’s oldest
daughter answered coldly.

Fu Yongwu knew that he had offended his big sister and

quickly begged for forgiveness, "Big sister…."

"You better not offend him, he is a dangerous man," The Fu

family’s oldest daughter was concerned about Fu Yongwu and
reminded him once more with a serious tone.

"Big sister, don’t worry, I won’t spout any nonsense outside,"

Fu Yongwu quickly replied.

"This time around, Peace City is going to be lively," Fu

Renxuan felt a slight headache as well, "This time around, Ai
Hui has more than five drought fire lotuses. Since when does
the market have so many drought fire lotuses? There’s going to
be a lot of people drooling over them. Drought fire lotus has
always been unsellable due to the lack of market for it."

At this point of time, a subordinate hurriedly brought a piece

of intelligence to the Fu family’s oldest sister.

After she read the report, she laughed bitterly, "This time
around, more fuel is going to be added to the fire, things are
going to get serious."
 Upon reading the report, Fu Renxuan could not help but laugh
bitterly as well.

"The Elders Guild has agreed to confer the title of Master on

the late Wang Shouchuan of Central Pine City. Master Wang
Shouchuan assumed the position of teacher in the Central Pine
Academy for several decades, working diligently and sweating
blood and tears everyday. Not only did he play an important
role in the Battle of Central Pine City, his theory is
extraordinary and contains the wisdom of our ancestors. It is
deeply meaningful..."

If the Fu family could determine Ai Hui’s background, that

implied other people would be able to do so as well.

This decision of the Elders Guild had awakened many old

slumbering memories that could push Ai Hui to the heart of the
struggles in the Avalon of Five Elements...
Chapter 308: The Pagoda of Hidden Edge
Silver City was a city located at the upper most reach of the
Silver Mist River. It was also the largest city in the Silver Mist
Sea.

There was a grand dike standing between two tall and

imposing mountains, completely level with the peaks of the two
mountains. The dike was more than three thousand metres tall,
making the lofty mountain range surrounding it look
comparatively small and unintimidating.

The Silver Mist Dike was one of the most magnificent

constructions in the Avalon of Five Elements. After generations
of reinforcements, its height kept increasing. Its construction
lasted for eight hundred years. The construction was officially
completed when the highest point of the dike leveled with the
two peaks of the mountains beside it.

The most striking part of the Silver Mist Dike was its gigantic
sluice gate.

Like an enormous prehistoric monster, it was lying dormant

and only woke up from its slumber on the first of every month.
The roaring Silver Mist River would pour down in torrents,
becoming a massive waterfall. When sunlight was reflected
upon it, it resembled a powerful surging waterfall that was
made up of countless silver swords.

Beneath the Silver Mist Dike was a mountain range. On the

two sides of the Silver Mist River, there were densely-packed
pagoda forests. Pagodas were some of the most commonly seen
structures on the banks of the Silver Mist River. They also
possessed the unique characteristics of the Silver Mist Sea. Most
of these pagodas were shining with a metallic lustre, resembling
swords that were pointing towards the sky when seen from afar.

The lands on both sides of the Silver Mist River were

extremely expensive. This was the best area of the Silver City
and every plot of land was being fully utilized. Hence, the
pagodas, which was a type of structure that was seldom found in
other places, became the emblem of the Silver City and Silver
Mist Sea.

Silver Mist Sea was heavily-guarded to prevent anyone from

trespassing. In many people’s eyes, it was an extremely
mysterious place. A one-time entry would cost a considerable
amount of Heaven Merit Points.

The airspace of Silver Mist Sea was restricted to flying and

was guarded by patrolling elementalists as well.

The world that was shrouded by boundless silver mist behind

the majestic Silver Mist Dike was not as cold as what everyone
thought, though very few people knew it. In contrast, it was
abnormally bustling with activity.

There were also very few people who knew that there were
three islands in the Silver Mist Sea.

Each of the three islands had a pagoda. These pagodas were

called the Elders Pagodas, especially designed for the metal-
attributed Elders from the Elder Guilds. Metal-attributed Elders
would live and train in these pagodas, freely making use of the
metal elemental energy there. From this, one could see how
imposing and prestigious the Elders Guild was.

The training efficiency in Elders Pagodas was countless times

better than the outside world’s. Only an Elder could enjoy such
superior privileges.

And because of this, every term’s contest for the placings in

Elders Guild was extremely intense.
 There was a rule that every term of Elders Guild could have at
most three Elders with the same elemental attribute. This was
for the sake of bringing the five elements into balance in the
Elders Guild.

In reality, this current term’s Elders Guild only had two

metal-attributed Elders.

The three pagodas were called Pagoda of Purity, Pagoda of

Refinement and Pagoda of Hidden Edge. Currently, only Pagoda
of Refinement and Pagoda of HIdden Edge were occupied by the
Elders. The Pagoda of Purity had been empty for many years.

Each of the other two Elders Pagodas did not just house one
Elder. On the contrary, the two Elders Pagodas were
overpopulated.

The thirteen Elders were highly revered and powerful.

Everyday, there were plenty of important matters and trivial
issues for&nbsp;them to decide on and settle. The elders alone
could not even finish dealing with so many things.

Other than the Elders themselves, there were other people

living in the Elders Pagodas too. It was the greatest honor for
those who could be there to listen to the Elders’ teachings or
wait on the Elders. As such, these people were extremely proud
of themselves. They were specifically known as pagoda
attendants.

If the Sky Edge Division and the Infantry Division were the
backbones of Silver Mist Sea, then the three Elders Pagodas
were the brain of the Silver Mist Sea.

At this point in time, the Hidden Edge Pagoda was silent and
solemn, except for one lively voice.

"Wow, he’s really extraordinary. After vanishing without a

trace for the last three years, the moment he appeared he slayed
a Sand Sentinel. Drought Fire Lotus? Why didn’t I think of
that?"

All the pagoda attendants stood silently with their heads

lowered.

The voice came from a ten metre tall silver glowing cocoon.
The silver glowing cocoon was made up of concentrated metal
elemental energy. Wisps of metal elemental energy were
obtained from the silver mist through the weapons hung under
the roof eaves at each level of the pagoda, and then gathered at
the pagoda’s apex. Subsequently, the wisps of metal elemental
energy materialized into a silvery elemental energy pillar that
descended from the apex of the pagoda and formed this silvery
glowing cocoon.

The glowing cocoon might seem stationary but in actual fact,

it was spinning at a terrifying speed.

Within the glowing cocoon, there was a skinny figure seated

in a cross-legged position. He was one of the members of the
current term’s Elders Guild, Yuchi Ba.

The metal elemental energy that the Elders could not finish
absorbing would be dispersed in the pagoda. Hence, the
concentration of metal elemental energy within the pagoda
would be very strong, providing huge assistance for training the
pagoda attendants.

However, at this moment, no one was absorbing the metal

elemental energy. Everyone was listening attentively to the
Elder and trying to understand the implications behind his
words. The pagoda attendants had followed Elder Yuchi for
many years. They knew that Elder Yuchi had always admired Ai
Hui.
 Three years ago, Elder Yuchi had already thought about
enlisting Ai Hui into the Sky Edge Division. Even though he had
retired from the position of division leader of Sky Edge Division
so many years ago, he still had an enormous influence over the
Sky Ege Division.

In the end, Ai Hui did not join the Sky Edge Division and the
issue ended up with nothing definite. However, they did not
expect Elder Yuchi to still bring it up again.

"A genius will always be a genius. He’s always surprising me,"

Yuchi Ba muttered. After pondering for awhile, he suddenly
opened his mouth and said, "If I remember correctly, once the
Elders Guild decides to confer the title of Master on someone,
his or her descendants will be rewarded accordingly as well,
right?"

"Yes," a forty year old woman answered expressionlessly, "His

descendants must be within three generations of him. Besides
this, his descendants can only be rewarded once by the Elders
Guild."

"A merit will always be a merit, a mistake will always be a

mistake. We have to be fair in handing out rewards or
punishments. Pass down my orders and settle this issue."
 "Yes, what order shall the rewards be of?"

"Master Shouchuan has made an extremely huge

contribution. Of course we will prepare rewards of the highest
order for his descendants. Make sure this is well-publicised.
Anyone who has played a role in Master Shouchuan’s
meritorious service will be rewarded too. The Elders Guild will
not treat his disciples and descendants unfairly."

"Yes!"

"Promote Jiang Wei by one rank as well. He will continue to

oversee Peace City."

"Yes."

Yuchi Ba did not say anything else.

The Pagoda of Hidden Edge returned to a state of absolute

silence once more.

…..
 Peace City.

Ai Hui woke up with a hangover. His head felt heavy and his
body was aching dully.

The last time he drank was when he was still in the

Wilderness. At that time, they would always bring some alcohol
along with them to expel chilliness from their bodies. After
leaving the Wilderness, he had never touched a single drop of
alcohol again.

The reunion with Jiang Wei yesterday night was fabulous.

When the soldiers that were guarding the training hall saw
that Ai Hui had woken up, they bowed and greeted him, "The
captain is worried that someone might come here and cause
trouble for you, so he specially asked us to stand guard here and
wait until you are awake. Since you’re already awake, we shall
take our leave. Goodbye."

These few soldiers were very respectful to Ai Hui. Firstly, it

was because the abilities Ai Hui displayed were really powerful.
Secondly, they could tell that Ai Hui’s relationship with Jiang
Wei was extraordinary.
 After they’d bidden farewell to Ai Hui, they left immediately.
Having just arrived at Peace City, they had a multitude of issues
to tackle.

Ai Hui felt a tinge of warmth in his heart. He knew Jiang Wei

cared about his safety and ordered his soldiers to stand guard at
the training hall. When he saw his completely devastated
training hall, he could not help but chuckle bitterly.

The entire training hall was almost destroyed. Even half of his
warehouse had collapsed. All of the captives from the Sha
Family had died in the process. Sha Wuduan did not hold back
his offensive attacks on Ai Hui.&nbsp;

Ai Hui’s plan to use the captives to make money had

completely gone down the drain.

If not for the fact that Lou Lan’s seclusion area was well-
hidden and heavily-defended, Ai Hui might really be worried
that the Sand Sentinel would affect Lou Lan’s upgrading
process.

Upon thinking back to the battle, he felt that the whole

process was hair-raising and extremely dangerous. A slight
mistake would cost him his life. Furthermore, when he thought
about the materials and money he had expended, he felt
heartbroken.

Luckily, he had the drought fire lotus seeds. They were a

pleasant surprise to him.

He never thought that the drought fire lotuses could bear fire
lotus seeds. All along, he only planned to use the drought fire
lotuses’ ability of devouring earth elemental energy to deal with
his enemy and achieve victory.

The conditions needed in order to make&nbsp;drought fire

lotuses bear lotus seed heads were extremely demanding. Even
those naturally grown drought fire lotuses might not ever bear
the lotus seed heads. That was because the surrounding earth
elemental energy was not sufficient, causing them to die of
malnourishment.&nbsp;

Ai Hui did not expect the Sha Family to bring out the Sand
Sentinel. He also certainly did not expect the Sha Guards to
devour each other and form the Sand Sentinel. This
concentrated the&nbsp;earth elemental energy within their
Sand Sentinel to a point which exceed the usual Sand Sentinels’
energy.
 The drought fire lotus seed heads came as a surprise to him.
There wasn’t just one of them, but five.

Ai Hui carefully took out the drought fire lotus seed heads.

He had never touched such high-grade material before. He

could not help but look at them with curiosity.

Naturally, the seeds that were borne from such extreme plants
were extraordinary. The drought fire lotus seed heads were the
size of a baby’s palm. They were smooth and soft, and they were
dark-red in color. The seeds within them could be seen clearly
as well. Every seed was covered with a thick and solid outer
shell. Indistinctly, one could see a wisp of fire flickering within
each seed. That wisp of fire was called lotus heart.

Drought fire lotus was a wood-attributed plant and it fed on

earth elemental energy. However, the fruits that it bore were
purely fire elemental in nature. One could not help but praise
the Creator for creating such a wondrous plant.

The wisp of fire was a dry fire.

 Anything in this world that possessed two completely
opposite elemental attributes was usually considered an
extremely valuable material.

The most valuable part of the drought fire lotus was those
dry-fire-made lotus hearts.

Ai Hui did not know much about fire-attributed materials as

he was metal-attributed. As for Lou Lan, he needed earth-
attributed materials. The reason why Ai Hui knew about fire
lotus seeds, was because the lotus hearts of the fire lotus seeds
were top-grade materials for training the sky palace.

Among the five residences and eight palaces, the sky palace
was the most special and mystical one. The sky palace was
usually involved with psychic attacks.

However, one’s mind was formless and was extremely

difficult and dangerous to develop. This was also the main
reason why there were very few people that specialized in
developing their sky palace.

Everyone knew the benefits of having a powerful sky palace.

Even if ordinary individuals did not dare to develop their sky
palace, they would still think of ways to improve it. As such, a
top-grade material. like the fire lotus seeds, naturally became
the material that was highly sought after by people.

The fire lotus seeds were extremely useful for an elementalist

like Ai Hui who specialized in developing his sky palace.

Ai Hui carefully plucked out a fire lotus seed from one of the
drought fire lotus heads. As the fire lotus seed made contact
with his hand, he did not feel any burning feeling, but rather,
an ice-cold one. The color of its outer shell was dark-red, so dark
that it almost looked black. As Ai Hui lifted it closer to his eyes
to examine it, he discovered that there were fine veins growing
all over it that could not be easily seen by the naked eye.

When Ai Hui tried to determine what these veins were, the

elemental energy in his body suddenly began to surge, giving
him a shock. He immediately closed his eyes and did not look at
the veins on the outer shell anymore.

At this moment, the skin of the fire lotus seeds in his hand
suddenly emitted a faint glow.
Chapter 309: Skyheart Flaming Lotus
Lamp
The faint light lit Ai Hui’s face up and he felt the thread of
warmth flow between his brows.

In the sky palace, a lotus flower lamp suddenly glowed

brightly as the flame in the centre of the petals became bright
and concentrated. A roll of golden scripture surrounded and
circled around the lamp fire. The words on the scripture were
unclear no matter how closely Ai Hui tried to look. Following
the circling of the golden scripture, an indistinct and faintly
discernible sutra-chanting voice echoed through his sky palace.

Wisps of black smoke grew and were released from all parts of
his body, moving quietly like a beast upon smelling something
fishy.

Ai Hui’s face was quickly enveloped by a layer of thick black

smoke. It was as if he was wearing a mask made of fog. The
black smog wriggled like little weird and dangerous poisonous
worms. Cold and malevolent, it rushed unceasingly towards the
space between Ai Hui’s brows.

The black fog curled up within his sky palace as the lotus
flower lamp pulsed unhurriedly. The circling golden scripture
surrounding the flames spun just like before, making a full
circle. The black smoke burned cleanly and completely at mere
contact with the scripture and flames.

But, as if feeling nothing, the black smog continued pouncing

on the lotus flower lamp within Ai Hui’s sky palace.

The smog enveloping Ai Hui’s face gradually faded.

The malevolence reduced greatly as an indescribable peace

and calm started to appear on his face.

He would be surprised and unable to recognize himself if he

could see his face now. The grave lines on his previously stone-
like face started to soften and loosen up. The sharpness from
before was gone and the space between his brows carried a sense
of compassion.

It was said that the inspiration for the [Skyheart Flaming

Lotus Lamp] originated from the Suspending Temple’s
meditation formula.
 Ancient meditation meant inner peace, calmness and freedom
from suffering.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed.

Ai Hui woke up slowly from this tranquility and was surprised

to feel an inexpressible sense of comfort in his whole body. It
was as if he had been cleansed thoroughly, both inside and out.

Completely thoroughly. Right, this was the feeling.

Even his bones felt lighter. Ai Hui supposed he could start to

float if there was a gust of incoming wind.

This was the first time he’d felt this relaxed and at peace so
even he himself was rather shocked.

After observing his condition thoroughly, he fell into even

greater shock. The qi and blood flow in his body was
exceptionally smooth and full of vigor. Unlike the sluggishness
from before, it was completely unobstructed now. Even the
little internal and hidden injuries within his body were gone at
this point.
 [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] had its own unique qualities
which enabled it to cultivate the sky palace independently and
become an absolute art.

It could bring inner peace and calm to people. While there was
not much use for this on the battlefield, it was a fundamental
inherited nourishment. It could purify one’s body continuously
to purge any contamination within the body, so as to improve
the body’s constitution. It was said that upon mastering it, one
could start practicing the legendary "Skyheart Pure Body",
which was intimately connected with elemental energy.

Of course, this was only a legend. Until now, there hadn’t

been anyone who’d practiced "Skyheart Pure Body".

But the older generations that practiced absolute arts lived

long.

Compared to the unique aspects of [Skyheart Flaming Lotus

Lamp], this absolute art faced much more apparent abuses.
While it could improve one’s body constitution, it was a very
slow process where a day felt like ten years. The practicing
elementalists would have been above forty years old by the time
they were almost done mastering it and had greatly improved
their affinity with elemental energy.
 If a practitioner had already missed the golden age for
training, even if doing it could improve his aptitude, it wouldn’t
be of much use.

Ai Hui chose [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] mainly because

it was cheap. All along, very few people practiced this
technique, so the number of Heaven Merit Points needed for
this was the lowest as compared to many other absolute arts.
Once he reached the realm of nine lotus petals, he could
effectively restrain psychic attacks, preventing evilness from
invading.

Blood of God’s psychic attacks were strange, ever-changing

and difficult to guard against. It was very important for Ai Hui
to possess this ability to curb the attacks.

Improving his body constitution was just a convenient bonus.

But things were all different with the fire lotus seeds.

Ai Hui stared with his bright eyes at the drought fire lotus
seed heads on his hand and counted them meticulously. There
were five, some big and some small, and there was a total of
ninety-two lotus seeds.
 His thoughts fell on the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] in his
sky palace. It had a total of five petals and one of them was
slightly smaller than the rest. And before this, Ai Hui clearly
remembered that there were only four petals on that lotus
flower lamp.

The efficacy of the fire lotus seeds far exceeded Ai Hui’s

expectations.

If he were to absorb all ninety-two fire lotus seeds, what base

level could his [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] reach?

Without hesitation, Ai Hui took a fire lotus seed and started

practicing.

He focused and felt the growth of the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus

Lamp]’s fifth petal more clearly this time. On his fourth fire
lotus seed, the fifth petal was as big as the rest. The lamp’s
flame was much stronger and brighter than before.

That roll of golden scripture revolving around the flames

changed the most. It became more condensed and carried a
more solemn breath.
 According to what he had learnt from practicing for years, Ai
Hui knew that it was time to stop. He needed time to adapt to
his completely new body. Good preparation was the key to
success when it came to all breakthroughs. Blindly relying on
external objects would bring rapid progress but only in the
beginning. As one reached a higher base level, the hidden
dangers developed from having a weak foundation would break
out.

In this aspect, Ai Hui was exceptionally calm, neither arrogant

nor impatient.

The Circulatory Cycle Revolution felt super smooth as the

elemental energy evidently flowed much faster than before. Ai
Hui was pleasantly surprised to find out that the elemental
energy sword pills within his body became gentler with each
cycle.

From before, there was a thread of sharp sword consciousness

that remained in the pill. It felt as if there was a round rock with
thorns moving within his body, which unknowingly gave him
slight injuries. These fine bruises accumulated and turned into
internal injuries over time.

Such internal injuries were difficult to treat and they

destabilized elementalists’ fundamentals as well.

One cycle after another caused Ai Hui to lose track of time.

The sharpness throughout his body faded with each cycle. He

had the same face and body but his whole body and
temperament had changed thoroughly. The old Ai Hui was like
an unsheathed treasure sword, shivering and conspicuous
within a crowd.

Ai Hui now became more and more introspective, as if the

treasure sword had a concealed sharpness and protection,
making it less garish than before.

Ai Hui’s greatest experience was the fact that his control over
his elemental energy had improved once again.

When an elementalist achieved elemental externalization, his

elemental energy would improve greatly, but at the same time
such progress demanded more when it came to his control
techniques.

This was also a meticulous and delicate skill so Ai Hui wasn’t

the least bit anxious.

From early morning to evening, Ai Hui had been deep in

mystical thoughts and had forgotten about the time.

A cheery voice sounded.

"Ai Hui, Lou Lan is here!"

Chapter 310: Lou Lan’s Upgrade
Lou Lan didn’t change much.

Ai Hui noticed Lou Lan’s eyes first. His eyes were now clear
and bright, and heartwarmingly pure. Upon closer inspection,
one could see a very mild, yellow halo reflected within his clear
pupils. It was difficult for the naked eye to notice. The halo was
extremely sensitive as it shrunk and expanded slightly.

Ai Hui circled around Lou Lan once and commented, "Lou

Lan’s eyes became brighter."

"Yes, I learned [Earth Elemental Deciphering Technique]. And

there’s this, Ai Hui."

Lou Lan raised his arms cheerfully. Ai Hui could see the
ordinary yellow sand turning ink black. It carried an intense
gold luster.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. "Meteoric Sand?"

"Yes," Lou Lan explained, "I used all of the meteoric sand to
refine my hands so they won’t burn in flames and are resistant
to sword injuries. Be it in making elemental food or in battling, I
will be better able to assist you."

"That’s amazing!" Ai Hui cried out.

"There is silk floss sand and many other ingredients in my

body now, so my morphing and fighting abilities are much
stronger. My body can now unleash seventy percent of the
Midnight’s abilities.

Ai Hui wasn’t sure of the connection between morphing and

fighting strength. His concentration was on the later part of Lou
Lan’s sentence. He was rather shocked. "Seventy percent? Is
Midnight sand core that powerful?"

"I’ve not found any core better than mine," Lou Lan declared
proudly but his tone dropped shortly. "I wonder how Master
Shao is doing? I have not heard from him in a long time."

Seeing child-like Lou Lan being sad, Ai Hui patted his head
and consoled him. "There are things that people have no choice
but to do. This shows how brave Master Shao is."
 Lou Lan raised his head, his eyes opened wide. "Will sand
puppets experience such things?"

"Of course." Ai Hui couldn’t help but laugh. "Won’t you come
to my rescue if I am in trouble?"

Lou Lan said loudly, "Don’t worry, Ai Hui. I will definitely

save you!"

"Hahaha, you’re still the best, Lou Lan… Bah, how

inauspicious! Why would I be in trouble?" Ai Hui said with a
wretched face. He then thought about the fire lotus seeds and
took a lotus seed head out abruptly. "Lou Lan, look at this."

Lou Lan’s eyes lit up at the sight of the lotus seed head.
"Drought fire lotus seed head, fire lotus seeds!"

"So? Any suitable elemental soup in mind?" Ai Hui asked and

started drooling.

"Yes, Ai Hui," said Lou Lan. Thinking for a short while he

continued, "But more ingredients are needed. We don’t need so
much. Thirty fire lotus seeds and the shell of the lotus seed head
will be sufficient. Ai Hui, can we use the rest of the fire lotus
seeds to exchange for other things?"

"No problem!" Ai Hui readily approved.

Just then, Ai Hui saw Jiang Wei standing by the door with a
rather unpleasant expression on his face.

Walking in and seeing Lou Lan, Jiang Wei’s face brightened

up significantly. "Long time no see, Lou Lan!"

Lou Lan replied cheerily, "Long time no see, Jiang Wei."

"What happened?" Ai Hui enquired.

With a bitter laugh, Jiang Wei responded, "Ai Hui, your

identity has been found out."

"Oh." Ai Hui replied simply.

Hearing Ai Hui’s flat response, Jiang Wei couldn’t help but

ask, "Aren’t you worried?"

"Worried about what?" Ai Hui asked instead, "It’s going to be

revealed someday. We know each other, a little effort is all it
takes to trace my identity. It’s no big deal. Plus, so what if my
identity is exposed? Will someone find me bringing trouble?"

Jiang Wei answered anxiously, "I’m worried about Blood of

God."

"Blood of God?" Thinking about the blood plum blossom in his

body, he replied, "Other than She Yu, no one from there will
find me."

As long as She Yu wasn’t a fool, she would never, on her own

accord, reveal information about the [Life and Death Flower
Sacrificial Technique Art] in her body. Not only would she
conceal it, she would protect her own life. Otherwise, it
wouldn’t just be wasted effort but even her own safety would be
an issue.

If a strong player from Blood of God knew about this, he

would simply kidnap She Yu and him alive and wait for his
blood plum blossom to fall out in order to retrieve it.
 That would then be a dreadful period where neither living or
dying was bearable.

Such a smart person like One Thousand Yuan would not miss
this fact.

Although he wasn’t aware of how confident Ai Hui was, Jiang

Wei laid his worried heart to rest. He had almost given himself a
slap upon hearing the news. He knew that Ai Hui would be the
first victim since his identity had been exposed. While he didn’t
know why Ai Hui concealed his identity in Peace City, he also
knew that he must’ve had his own reasons.

Jiang Wei was beyond vexed. Why didn’t he think of waiting

for a quiet time to connect with Ai Hui?

Ai Hui saw through Jiang Wei’s anxiety and laughed, "Don’t

worry about it. I got rid of Sha Wuyuan, so there will definitely
be people checking on my identity and it was only going to be a
matter of time before they found something out. But since I’ve
been exposed, please help me with something."

"Go ahead and tell me." Jiang Wei calmed down as the same
steadiness from before returned to his face.
 In Central Pine City, Ai Hui always had all sorts of ideas.
Seeing Ai Hui’s expression, Jiang Wei knew Ai Hui had an idea
already.

"Since I’ve been exposed, we might as well announce it

publicly. You can release my true identity and it’s best that the
whole city hears it. At the same time let them know our another
piece of news, that I’m planning to dispose of my fire lotus
seeds."

"You’re going to use fire lotus seeds?" Jiang Wei turned pale
before dissuading, "You must keep it cool. Things like fire lotus
seeds cannot be bought at all right now. You should keep them
for yourselves."

"I don’t need that many." Ai Hui explained, "I plan to

exchange the surplus for essence elemental beans and other
ingredients that I need. You know, this war with Sha family
hollowed me out and I’m broke to death."

Jiang Wei muttered, "How many are you planning to take

out?"

"There were ninety-three and I used five so there’s eighty-

eight now. I’m going to keep thirty for myself so there’s fifty-
eight to be sold. I will write down a list of items that I need. My
priority is to exchange for things that I require, then I’ll sell the
rest to the highest bidder."

"Okay! The whole city will know of these two matters today."
Jiang Wei gave Ai Hui a glance. "You must beware of your
safety. Do not act tough. This is a signal for help, so use it when
you’re in danger."

Jiang Wei handed a signal arrow to Ai Hui but was still a little
worried inside. He had been through the controversy
surrounding Ai Hui years ago.

This time, Ai Hui was going to reveal himself on his own

accord. Conflicts might arise if people were reminded of past
events.

Jiang Wei was determined that he would not just sit and
watch if anyone, no matter who, came to seek trouble.

They were still weak and young at that time, but now they
were not without strength.
 No one knew what that war was about better than they did.

Ai Hui could see the determination in Jiang Wei’s eyes and

felt his heart warming up. He took the arrow, saying, "New
product eh, I’ve not seen it before. Don’t worry, I just killed Sha
Wuyuan so most will not dare to trouble me. If they do come, I
will not let them off easily."

Jiang Wei smiled upon seeing Ai Hui’s confident face.

Yeah, since when had Ai Hui been an easy target?

"Then I’ll go get busy! Bye, Lou Lan!" Without any superfluous
words, Jiang Wei waved goodbye.

"Bye, Jiang Wei!"

Seeing Jiang Wei’s disappearing figure, Lou Lan said

suddenly, "Ai Hui, everyone’s pretty good."

"Yeah." Ai Hui nodded. "Lou Lan, you gotta start working. Our
training hall needs to be reorganized and tidied up."
 "No problem." Lou Lan responded lightheartedly, but when he
saw Ai Hui picking up a broken wooden block and walking
towards the main entrance, he couldn’t help but ask, "You
are…"

"Choose a new price!"

Ai Hui replied without even turning his head.

Soon, there was a newly hung wooden board on the main

entrance of the swordsman training hall that said: " Fees, two
hundred essence elemental beans per person."

Publicity, good or bad, was still publicity. If he did not use this
chance to jack the price up, he would simply be letting down his
empty purse and conscience.

Ai Hui shook his head and swaggered his way back in.

God-subduing Peak flew speedily as the shadow casted by its

summit swept past violently like a beast stuck to the ground.
Alarmed cries could be heard wherever God-subduing Peak
passed.
 Whenever she had the time, Shi Xueman would be practicing
since, counting just training venues alone, there were about
seven. There were also quiet rooms designed for meditation and
there were wide ones for actual practicing of skills.

A stern looking middle-aged man in grey garments and cloth

shoes stood perfectly straight, his short hair stiff like steel
wires. His short mustache was well-managed and he looked
clean overall. His gaze was like lightning as he observed Shi
Xueman, who was practicing in the training hall.

There were no wisps of elemental energy waves around Shi

Xueman. Her moves looked very ordinary.

The middle-aged man looked on in admiration nevertheless.

Indeed, within the Shi family, she was the one who was most
likely going to continue Shi Beihai’s legacy. Not even a strand of
Shi Xueman’s elemental energy overflowed as she contained it
well inside. What seemed like ordinary spear moves were
actually difficult to execute and control.

Upon attaining elemental externalization, the barrier between

elementalists and Nature’s elemental energies was broken, and
utilizing the energy became second nature to the elementalists.
 Yet, Shi Xueman did the very opposite. She controlled her
elemental externalization without releasing it. Such training
allowed her spear mastery to go to an even higher base level.

Shi Xueman held her spear vertically beside her as the fog
lingered on around her whole body, surging ceaselessly without
scattering.

She opened her eyes, exhaled deeply and the surrounding fog
started to dissipate. She then walked toward the exit.

The middle-aged man praised her, saying, "Soon enough,

among the younger generation, no one will have better spear
mastery than you do."

"You flatter me, Uncle Cui. Please guide me along." Shi

Xueman replied respectfully, satisfaction absent from her face.

Uncle Cui was the real deal in God-subduing Peak. He was

Master Cui Tianzheng. Without a master overseeing it, no one
would dare to underestimate such a heavy weapon like God-
subduing Peak.
 Cui Tianzheng was very close to Shi Beihai and was asked by
him to guide Shi Xueman since he had the qualifications.

Cui Zhengtian said in a low voice, "You may be lacking in

certain areas but even jades have their flaws so don’t worry
about it. You have a strong foundation that no one can compete
with. You are on the right track, so as long as you remain
patient and continue this way, you can rise up to be one of the
strongest."

Shi Xueman bowed. "I’ll remember your wise words well."

Cui Tianzheng gave a slight smile. "I’ll practice with you from
tomorrow onwards."

Shi Xueman was overjoyed. "Thanks, Uncle Cui."

Uncle Cui caught sight of Sang Zhijun, who was standing not
far away. With a "Go get busy", he turned around and left.

Only when Cui Tianzheng was no longer in sight did Sang

Zhijun rush over to give her report. "Xueman, look!"
 She took the report over and gave it a few glances. Her eyes lit
up and blurted out, "So he’s here!"

Seeing Ai Hui’s open declaration of his identity, she felt

somewhat suspicious. "What is this fellow trying to do?"

She knew clearly that Ai Hui was someone who would not get
up early if there were no benefits, so he definitely wasn’t the
kind to act without thinking.
Chapter 311: Fervor
"It turns out that Wang Han is The Lightning Blade! No
wonder he is so brilliant! The Sha Family has met their
opponent and now they’re done for."

"The monster that killed his teacher with his bare hands? It is
a pity I am not strong enough. Otherwise how can I let such a
person exist in this world?"

"The magnificent Lightning Blade is going incognito in our

Peace City. What are his intentions? Could it be that our Peace
City has some sort of hidden treasure?"

"Even if there are any hidden treasures, they are not for you to
take."

"He could actually bear to use a good object like the fire lotus
seed! I can’t get over it!"

"If not that, then what could he have done? Wait till the
completion of the lesser Avalon of Five Elements, and the
reemergence of the fire elementalists materials? They might not
be able to produce such a good material like the fire lotus seed!"
 "Stop dreaming. Even if the lesser Avalon of Five Elements
were to be completed, you would have to wait an eternity for
them to produce such high grade materials like the fire lotus
seed."

"I heard that there is some fool that brought along two
hundred essence elemental beans to seek an apprenticeship with
him!"

"You are the fool, he is a nouveau riche after all!"

"To be an apprentice for such an infamous person? If he is not

a fool, what is he? If I was rich, I’d…"

"Wait till you are rich!"

"See You Later was actually created by him, he is so awesome!"

"I wonder if we can buy more?"

At the moment, there was only a name buzzing around Peace

City - Ai Hui. He was like a whirlpool, attracting everyone’s
attention and being the topic of their conversations.

Those who adored him praised his impressive battle success

and performance in Central Pine City unbridledly. It was due to
Ai Hui that Central Pine City was saved from a disaster. Ai Hui
was the most prominent figure in the earlier stage of the blood
disaster. He single-handedly killed the blood elementalist Tian
Kuan, who was one of the core members on the kill list of the
Avalon of Five Elements for a long time. Even those who were
under Tian Kuan had exceptional capabilities.

Those who had an intense hatred for Ai Hui described him as

an ingrate who resorted to unscrupulous means, turning on his
teacher to gain credit. Furthermore, his teacher treated him like
his own son. How could he be so cruel? What a cold and
heartless personality!

Previously, Peace City also had even more famous

personalities. However, this was the first time that they had
someone that was so controversial. With the topics of See You
Later Arrows, King of Anglers, Fire Lotus Seeds and more, Ai
Hui became the headline of every conversation starter.

Regardless of whether they understood, or whether they liked

it, people wanted to join in the conversation.
 Evergold Enterprise.

"Obliterated soul wood, this is a good object! It comes from the

century old immortal soul tree. It is then chopped into wooden
strips with dimensions three inches long, about two inches wide
and one inch in thickness. If you deposit them in the water of
the Yellow Springs, those that transform upon contact with
water are ash firewood, and those that float atop are overcast
firewood. Those that are half-submerged are withered soul
wood. Only the ones that are completely submerged and sink
right to the bottom are obliterated soul wood. A century old
immortal tree can only produce no more than three obliterated
soul wood pieces. As such, it is extremely precious."

The person who said that was a middle-aged man with a

goatee. He looked skinny and shriveled but his gaze was bright
and lively.&nbsp;His family name was Hu and he was known as
Mr Hu. He specialized in many times of precious natural
resources and his knowledge was extensive. He had just arrived
at Peace City the night before.

"The amethyst sword reeds are unusual as well. Sword reeds

can be seen everywhere and are extremely ordinary. If the
sword reed is not of a certain age, it will be delicate and weak.
There are few sword reeds that can grow for more than a
hundred years. However, when a sword reed manages to grow
over a hundred years, it has many impressive uses. It would be
able to absorb the essence of the other vegetation around its
surroundings and use the essence for itself. If there are
amethyst mica nearby, after thirty odd years it will transform
into amethyst sword reeds. The sword reeds will be fully purple
in color and can be used as a material in many weapons."

Mr Hu spoke assuredly and he was radiant with delight. He

liked talking about such unusual objects and when he started on
the topic, he could go on and on.

He went to sleep after he arrived the night before. He was

being summoned by Fu family’s oldest daughter early in the
morning and he rushed over hurriedly. The young mistress gave
him a list filled with many different materials. She wanted him
to introduce a few materials that were rarely seen. While he was
still not clear about the situation, he managed to explain it to
her in detail as per his expertise.

Fu family’s oldest daughter was intelligent and imposing. She

was trusted by the owner of the house and her authority was
almost on equal standing with the family head. She brought up
a few of her younger brothers as well and she was well-loved
and respected. The family head was often rueful that she wasn’t
born as a boy. Otherwise, he would have an heir.
 Mr Hu was even more motivated when he saw that the Fu
family’s oldest daughter nodded from time to time and did not
show any signs of impatience.

After Mr Hu stopped, the Fu Family’s oldest daughter praised

him, "Mr Hu is indeed knowledgeable. After hearing what you
have said, I have learnt a lot."

Mr Hu was elated while he hurriedly denied the praises.

Fu family’s oldest daughter continued, "I still have a question

to ask. Would it be worth it If I used these to exchange for the
fire lotus seeds?"

"Fire lotus seeds?" Mr Hu paused for a moment before saying,

"Drought fire lotus?"

"Yes!"

"Exchange it!’ Mr Hu said without hesitation and with an

agitated expression, "You do not know but within the perimeter
of where the drought fire lotus grows, the soil is dried up and
there are no signs of life. It originated from the Wilderness and
after meticulous breeding from the wood elementalists, they
managed to get a few seeds. Some of the wood elementalists
started to grow it but it led to the extermination of living things
within a perimeter of five hundred metres, which resulted in a
disaster. The elders were furious and forcefully exterminated
and prevented the breeding. The drought fire lotus is easy to
grow but it requires much ground elemental energy to produce
any fire lotus seeds. It is extremely difficult. Now, the seeds of
the drought fire lotus are mostly used by the wood elementalists
as some sort of weapon. However I have not heard of anyone
that is willing to sell off fire lotus seeds yet."

Mr Hu said all these things rapidly. He paused momentarily,

"As such, the fire lotus seed is extremely out of the ordinary. It
is usually used to train your sky palace as well. One effect of the
fire lotus seed is to strengthen your state of mind. Those who
have weak willpower usually are those who have a weaker state
of mind. As such, it is easy for them to be taken advantage of by
external forces. If their mindset is strong, then their willpower
will be strong as well.

The Fu family’s oldest daughter had maintained a composed

face all this time but finally showed a surprised reaction and
said, "There’s such an effect?"

Mr Hu had also toned down at that moment and replied, "Yes,

this is not a secret and there are many who know about it.
However, this knowledge is useless to most as the fire lotus seed
is elusive.

Fu family’s oldest daughter forced a smile and said, "This is

going to be interesting."

Mr Hu stared blankly at her while saying doubtfully, "Could it

be that someone is disposing of the fire lotus seed?"

Young Mistress nodded her head, "Yes, there is a total of fifty

eight. It is up to us to see how many we can get our hands on."

"Fifty…...Fifty eight?" Mr Hu felt light-headed and his face

was flushed like he was drunk.

"Since Mister thinks that we should exchange for it, our

family will try our best to get it." The young mistress said
solemnly.

At that moment, the smile on her face was gone. Her gaze was
resolute and her back was straight. Her petite figure radiated
power and influence. Everyone was scared into submission and
bowed in response.

"I need to consult you for one more thing." The Fu family’s
young mistress muttered, "From this list of things, what do you
think are the intentions and objectives of the person who wrote
it? For example, is it for refinement and what sort of refinement
is it for?"

Mr Hu shook his head and said, "Your humble subordinate is

unable to tell. I might need to gather some experienced artisan
and we can discuss it together?"

Fu family’s oldest daughter bowed slightly, "Thank you for

your help."

"No need to thank me," Mr Hu hurriedly bowed back in return

and was awed. The young mistress was always respectful and
never had any haughtiness about&nbsp;her.

Looking at Mr Hu’s retreating figure, Fu family’s oldest

daughter suddenly turned around and told Fu Yonghao,
"Previously you failed in becoming Ai Hui’s student. Do not fail
this time."
 Fu Yonghao was at a loss and said, "Ah…Older sister…"

"Work hard at the training hall."

"Older sister… I…"

…..

Swordsman Training Hall.

Ai Hui stared in surprise at the shop owner. That old face was
more than familiar.

While he had already released the list of things for a long

time, he had never imagined that the first person to trade would
be the boss of the store.

"Definitely Boss, I can’t believe it. You are like the sage that
disguises himself as an ordinary person."

The shop owner gave a simple and honest smile, "It is nothing
as compared to you. I am just trying to make ends meet, trying
to make ends meet."

Ai Hui did not bother with the formalities. He took the box
and threw it towards Lou Lan.

He did not ask further. Everyone had their own secrets.

He knew of the store owner’s background. In the past, he used

to purchase different types of materials from this store owner.
At that time, he already felt that the store owner had a vast
range of resources. Now, he knew that he had underestimated
the store owner. The store owner’s background was even more
extensive than what he had guessed. While everyone else was
yet to react, the store owner had already come over to do a
trade. Ai Hui was impressed by this.

Lou Lan took a glance and told Ai Hui, "Ai Hui, this is
obliterated soul wood. There is no problem with the quality and
there is a total of three."

The store owner said cheerily, "Lou Lan has good foresight."
 "Three?" Ai Hui nodded his head and took out three fire lotus
seeds. He wrapped them up in a piece of scrap paper that he
randomly found and thrusted it at the store owner.

The store owner’s cheeks twitched, "Can’t you put it in a

proper box?"

This was a precious natural resource!

How could he just use a random piece of paper to wrap up the

priceless fire lotus seeds? Even an unscrupulous businessman
like the store owner was unable to stand his way of handling
them.

"Are you going to pay for the box?" Ai Hui countered.

The store owner also felt that he had wasted his breath. He
was clear about Ai Hui’s character. His expression suddenly
cleared and a smile lifted up his cheeks "Hey little king, when
should we meet up to create See You Later? You have to leave
enough for me! We have so many years of friendship…"

Nobody knew that the shop owner took away with him three
fire lotus seeds. Just like nobody knew that he came.

When the shop owner left, Ai Hui’s mood lifted. At least it was
a good start.

After a moment, he heard Lou Lan shouting from the outside,

"Owner, someone is seeking knowledge."

Ai Hui was happy! There is business! A successful business is

equivalent to two hundred essence elemental beans!

However, when Ai Hui saw the face of the person, his face
became doubtful, "It is you!"

"So what if it is me?" Fu Yonghao said rudely and threw a

money pouch towards Ai Hui, "Two hundred essence elemental
beans."

Ai Hui took over the money pouch and counted it. He raised
his head and said, "You! Two hundred essence elemental beans
is not enough!"
 Fu Yonghao said indignantly, "What do you mean? Didn’t you
write down the price on the door?"

Ai Hui said righteously, "You are over-age, so naturally you

should pay a higher fee. Give over another one hundred essence
elemental beans."

"You!" Fong Yongwu was almost spitting fire now. But when
he thought of his older sister being angry at him, he trembled
and forced the words out of his mouth, "If you want that
additional hundred, I will give it to you."

With a disdainful expression, Ai Hui said reluctantly, "Alright,

since you are so sincere, I will make an exception and accept you
as a student. Come on, call me Teacher!"

Fong Yongwu was so angry that his neck turned red.

Chapter 312: A Group of People
"I can’t believe it is actually him."

Su Huaijun gave a soft sigh. While her emotions were in a

mess, she felt a sense of relief as well. How could an unknown
being defeat the Sha family? After knowing Wang Han’s true
identity, she was more at ease. To her, information on Wang
Han was the most important, regardless of what his background
was.

"What should we do next? Should Qingye still go to the

training hall?" Father Su was feeling conflicted as well.

No matter how controversial Ai Hui might be, his prestige and

capability were proven. Before, the Three Smalls had been able
to combine forces and block one of Sha Wuyuan’s moves. This
was sufficient to prove that Ai Hui was good at teaching his
students.

He was not highly regarded in his family, otherwise he would

not have been sent to Peace City many years back. He was
extremely happy that Qingye was able to practice under a
famous master. At the same time, he was also worried that this
might clash with his family’s interest. He had been doing
business for a long time and knew how complicated Ai Hui’s
background was.

Su Huaijun did not have the least bit of hesitation and said,
"Let’s go and see our master."

Looking at father Su’s happy, yet worried expression, she

knew he had some doubts. She quickly said, "You need not
worry about it. Even though there are many disputes over Ai
Hui, you should not underestimate the people supporting him.
Those that make him an enemy are extremely foolish."

Su Qingye’s father was surprised. "He has such capability?"

"The place which bore the brunt of the blood disaster was the
Induction Ground. None of the students managed to survive and
the Avalon of Five Elements’ backup strength was heavily cut
off. These people from Central Pine City went through such a
hard battle and performed tremendously. How are they not
valuable? Those lucky survivors from the battle, especially
those in the A1-unit that was led by Ai Hui, have gained a lot in
these three years. A few of them have ascended rapidly and
Jiang Wei is one of them. The Thirteen Divisions which was
severely impacted will definitely be rebuilt in the future. The
many vacancies that will open up will probably be filled by
those from the A1-unit."

Su Huaijun seemed to have thought of something and sat in

silence. Following which, she sighed "Ai Hui’s prestige in the
eyes of the survivors from Central Pine City is something we
will never be able to understand."

"Old Xu, guess who is near Peace City?"

"You have heard the news? Ge Laohei is here! I have already

requested something from him."

"You are so efficient! I only received the news today. Thank

goodness we finally have news of him."

"Yes, it has been three years. Time flies. If not for the fact that
I am really busy, I would have gone to Peace City myself.
Mingfeng has already left for Peace City. You can look for him
too."

"Alright, I will go look for them."

 "Peace City! He is in Peace City!"

"I did not manage to thank him personally previously. I have

always been thinking about it."

The dazzle of the message tree periodically lit up within the

crowd of people. Those who had partners in the same city
gathered and formed an even larger group. They sat together
drinking wine while reminiscing about the past. The blood and
fire from three years ago contributed to their fear and despair.
They talked about witnessing their own relatives and those
students lying in a pool of blood. Soon, tears started rolling.

The more they drank, the more drunk they got. They cried
and laughed together.

The memories that were buried deep inside their hearts

surfaced. The longing for their family members had never
ceased and was ignited by the alcohol.

They sobbed silently.

They had their arms around each other’s shoulders while

singing at the top of their voices.

They were like a herd of wild wolves that shouted towards the
sky, "Lightning Blade! Lightning Blade! Lightning Blade!"

None of them had forgotten the Central Pine City of three

years ago, just like none of them will ever, ever forget the lonely
silhouette of the youth who faced the blood fiends during the
Battle of Long Street. They would never forget the person who
fought in the battle in the Heaven Pit. Similarly, they were
unable to forget the scene where that youth stabbed the enemy
in the back while soaring in the sky. They could not forget the
back view of that youth who kneeled in front of the tombstone
under the torrential rain.

It was a figure they would never, ever forget, and a feeling

that only they could understand.

That was enough for them.

…..

She Yu leaned on the railings and unknowingly caught a

glimpse of a silhouette walking hurriedly. She gave a light gasp
in surprise.

Quan Minglong who was next to her looked over as well and
said smilingly, "Ah, Master Duanmu. After Young Master
Duanmu lost to my lady, he set up a society called the Society of
Excellence. Compared to the past, he is keeping a low-profile
now.

The relationship between Quan Minglong and She Yu became

tense after he was mocked in public by She Yu. For an unknown
reason, however, She Yu personally visited him and apologised.
She also attempted to butter him up whenever possible at the
various public areas. Pretty soon, his initial hard feelings
towards her dissipated.

Hearing the words "Society of Excellence", her body turned

rigid and she gave a sigh. Duanmu Huanghun had yet to forget
about the Induction Ground.

She suddenly thought of Ai Hui. That chap should still

remember too, right?

The hatred between Ai Hui and the Blood of God was deeper
than the ocean.

However, who would care about the deep hatred of a flower

slave?

She pretended to be surprised and said, "God Nation and

Jadeite forest was just about to form a sincere collaboration.
The Society of Excellence is ill-timed."

Quan Minglong said harshly, "Isn’t that the case! There are
many higher-ups who are displeased with him. However, he
usually acts like that. He is usually arrogant and despotic, he
does not take the big picture into account. Let’s see how he
salvages the situation in the future!"

She Yu covered her mouth and laughed daintily. "I can smell
the jealousy over here."

Quan Minglong let out a huge guffaw and was not the least bit
angry. Instead, he liked being teased by She Yu. All the other
women who talked to him always spoke respectfully to him.

He continued, "I have no other choice. He is the Jadeite Young

Master as well as a genius, so he can afford to neglect his
responsibilities. People like me, however, still need to work
hard."

While saying the above, Quan Minglong’s face was proud. In

fact, he had the ability to be proud. Prior to knowing She Yu,
he’d lived life like a monk who was obsessed with training. In
the Quan family famous for living it up, he was like a weirdo.

After witnessing first-hand the battle between Duanmu

Huanghun and She Yu, he realized the disparity between him
and Duanmu Huanghun in strength was not too far apart. This
spurred him further. Also, Duanmu Huanghun breaking hearts
everywhere he went enforced his notion that Duanmu
Huanghun was the perfect example of someone who was not
serious.

Every time he saw She Yu’s beautiful and alluring face, a ball
of fire rose in his heart. He wanted to become stronger, he
wanted to defeat Duanmu Huanghun, and he wanted to get the
beauty in front of him.

Facing Quan Minglong’s greedy and passionate gaze, She Yu

lightly ruffled her fringe. Hearing Quan Minglong’s heavy
breathing, she said carelessly, "Life is so boring. Does Minglong
know about anything interesting recently? Share so we can pass
the time."

Quan Minglong let out a smile. He was already prepared for

this. "There are actually two items, and they are both related to
our Jadeite Young Master."

Astounded, She Yu said, "Minglong, say it quickly!"

She Yu’s look of anticipation allowed Quan Minglong to feel

that his hard work had not gone to waste and he replied, "The
diplomatic mission from the Avalon of Five Elements is about to
arrive and the one leading the team is Shi Xueman, who once
fought alongside our Jadeite Young Master. She Yu, you are
going to have a new opponent now. I heard that they have also
brought with them a powerful weapon called God-subduing
Peak."

"God-subduing Peak?" She Yu was slightly surprised, but gave

a cold laugh. "Let’s see how they are going to subdue us."

"Many of them are displeased that the Elders are using such a
method to showcase their power," Quan Minglong replied.
 She Yu blinked while saying, "Shi Xueman is a one in a million
beauty. Doesn’t Minglong want to take a look?"

Quan Minglong replied firmly, "I only have She Yu in my eyes.

Nothing can waver my heart!"

She Yu’s glance wandered and she asked, "What about the
second item?"

A flicker of disappointment flashed across Quan Minglong’s

eyes. He had expressed his admiration toward She Yu many
times, but has never received a response. He knew that he
should not rush into this and regained his composure. "Our
Jadeite Young Master had another comrade who has also
recently come into the picture. It is the person who killed his
own teacher and who is currently very famous. Birds of a
feather indeed flock together. Looking at the Jadeite Young
Master’s choice of friends, we can see his character…"

"Are you referring to Ai Hui?"

Quan Minglong was somewhat surprised that his words were

stopped so abruptly. Then he realized that She Yu’s expression
was rather strange. He continued, "So She Yu has heard about
this incident before. It is indeed Ai Hui. Many of the people
from the Avalon of Five Elements do not want to meet him.
Apparently, many of the Elders were extremely disdainful of
him. The Sha Family is also in decline. They actually lost to a
scum like Ai Hui. Ai Hui had been living undercover for three
years. If not for the Sha Family, everyone would have forgotten
about him."

He suddenly thought of something. She Yu had been at the

battle in Central Pine City. "Could it be that She Yu has met him
before?"

She Yu’s expression was flickering. She was not listening to

what Quan Minglong was saying.

The first thing she thought of was the [Life and Death Flower
Sacrificial Art]. Subsequently she thought of how she had
almost achieved success, but ultimately failed. Previously, she
was anxious that she could not manage to find any trace of Ai
Hui despite using all her resources. Now that Ai Hui was gaining
everyone’s attention, however, she became even more worried
and anxious.

Damn it!
 Is that chap crazy? Doesn’t he know that his reputation was
poor?

She thought of how her investment might go to waste and

became frantic because their lives were tied. If Ai Hui was to
meet with any mishaps, her life would also be lost.

She had never been passive; instead she had been looking for
Ai Hui on the sly, not daring to be the least bit flamboyant.

Even when she’d been unable to find him, she hadn’t been
worried.

As long as the Flower of Life did not ignite, even though she
might meet with some injuries, it would not be life-threatening.
The Flower of Life would only ignite when the Flower of
Destruction ripened. Currently, almost nothing could prevent
the ripening of the Flower of Destruction.

Despite this, the Flower of Life had been about to ignite, but
was not yet ripened.

It was the problem she worried about the most.

 Even for a person who was usually calm and composed, when
she thought about the fact that she might lose her life at any
moment due to that damn chap, her thoughts went into a whirl
and she felt the chills.

What should she do?

Ask for help? Nobody would be able to help her. If any blood
elementalist was to learn that her [Life and Death Flower
Sacrificial Art] was successful, she would become a lamb waiting
to be slaughtered.

No! She will not let any mishap befall Ai Hui!

Ruthlessness flashed past her eyes. She calmed down and her
mind rotated at high speeds.
Chapter 313: Dragonrise Training Hall
"This is a little gift from us. It is Qingye’s good fortune to be
able to receive your guidance!"

The father of Su Qingye respectfully offered Ai Hui two

hundred essence elemental beans while Su Huaijun silently
sized him up. Su Qingye opened his eyes wide in admiration as
excitement filled his face. The Sha family was so powerful, yet
they’d crumbled in front of Teacher.

In the past, his aunt had always been wary of Teacher, but
now that she remained silent, Su Qingye felt rather pleased.

Plus, he could now focus on training in Swordsman Training

Hall since his father no longer required his assistance at the
shop.

Ai Hui looked at the money pouch in Mister Su’s hands but

did not accept it. He shook his head, saying, "No need, Qingye’s
tuition fees have already been paid. Qingye, go train. The rest,
please go back."

Su Qingye was moved. He knew Teacher would treat them

differently from the rest! He nodded and rushed into the
training hall excitedly.

Under Lou Lan’s maintenance, the training hall regained its

original layout. No signs of damage could be seen.

Father Su and Su Huaijun made eye contact. They were both

rather surprised. Ai Hui’s money grubbing nature was a topic of
ridicule in Peace City, but he had actually rejected their money.
No matter how hard they tried to wrap their heads around this,
they simply couldn’t understand.

Mister Su did not know what to do. He used to feel

unconstrained in front of Ai Hui, but today, in front of the same
person, he felt an unprecedented pressure oppressing him.

Delighted, Su Qingye greeted Lou Lan loudly. "Morning, Lou

Lan!"

Lou Lan replied happily, "Good morning, Qingye. Work hard

today!"

"I will!" Su Qingye hoisted his fist and ran towards the
sandbox.

Hearing the voices behind him, Ai Hui felt happy inside but
kept a straight face. He nodded at the two visitors before
turning around to leave.

"Why don’t they have to pay the fees?"

Fu Yonghao’s unhappy voice sounded.

"It’s none of your business!" Ai Hui replied casually before

walking past him.

"You…" Fu Yonghao seethed with anger.

Shortly, Ai Hui returned and told him, "Almost forgot. I’m

your teacher now so please mind your manners."

Fu Yonghao opened his eyes wide and glared at Ai Hui, but

saw not even the least bit of guilt on his face.
 Ai Hui waved at Su Qingye. "Come over here."

Su Qingye rushed over immediately. "Teacher!"

"This is your junior. Go teach him some basics."

Fu Yonghao couldn’t believe his own ears. His face stiffened

up. Jun... junior?"

Ai Hui said with a stern face, "He’s too old. His life will be
hopeless if he continues this way. Double the training intensity
temporarily. Lou Lan has many matters to attend to so you’ll be
in charge of supervising him."

Su Qingye’s young and tender face glowed, as if he was a

soldier who’d just received an important mission. He patted his
chest and said reassuringly, "Don’t you worry, Teacher, I will
look after him properly!"

Ai Hui left in satisfaction without even looking at Fu Yonghao,

who was dumbstruck at this point.
 Coincidentally, Zhou Wen and Hua Xiaoyun arrived. Upon
seeing them, Su Qingye shouted happily, "Quick, come over! We
have a junior!"

With regard to the fight against Sha Wuyuan, the three smalls
were feeling much better now.

"Shut up! Who’s your junior?"

Fu Yonghao suddenly lost his temper. He flew into a rage,

turning around to leave.

"Hey, Junior, you’ve not finished your training…" Su Qingye

called out hurriedly.

Fu Yonghao cursed. "Training my ass, you really think you’re

great, don’t you!"

The Three Smalls made eye contact before simultaneously

pouncing on him.

"You guys better not force me! Hey, you’re really hitting me!
You guys are dead! Ahhhh…"

Fu Yonghao’s bitter cries echoed throughout the training hall.

In the warehouse.

Lou Lan was analyzing the clips from Ai Hui’s latest battle.
Every fine detail was recorded from start to finish. If not for the
fact that there were sufficient mirage bean pods inside the hall,
it would have been challenging to obtain such clear images.

Lou Lan had been analyzing them for a long time. There was a
faint light ray in his eyes. The gentle glow resembled the light of
dawn.

His core, Midnight, had gotten stronger after he was

upgraded.

Lou Lan was the one who’d sorted out the veined patterns Ai
Hui had previously collected. It was thanks to his help that Ai
Hui could fix up the sword formation.
 Ai Hui stood beside Lou Lan, quietly observing the whole
battle process.

Ai Hui couldn’t help but get stirred up by the lighting up of

the sword formation. When it came to sword formations, Ai
Hui’s understanding wasn’t great since there were too many
areas which were badly damaged. His knowledge of them was
sloppy at best.

When he saw God-Subduing Peak, a few hazy thoughts

occurred to him and shortly became clear.

Ultimately, [Treating the city as a piece of cloth] had merely

been a spell formation. They’d had to sort out all the city’s
nodes, drill the gold needles into them, and then let the city’s
elemental energy flow in a regulated pattern. Afterwards,
Mistress was the key to activating the spell formation.

Central Pine City was the first place in Avalon of Five

Elements that had a spell formation being casted and it was
elemental spell formation.

The nucleus Teacher had referred to was the exquisite and

complicated vein patterns on the nine gold needles. Ai Hui
called them the elemental traces.

Even now, AI Hui still found it difficult to imagine. A city’s

elemental energy flow was beyond complicated, so how had
Teacher figured them out? He’d even managed to cleverly
connect them to form a perfect spell formation.

Teacher was simply too great!

Yet, he himself had yet to thoroughly understand these

elemental traces.

Deep admiration and a little distress enveloped his heart and

mind.

Ai Hui snapped out of it when the images closed up. Lou Lan
was done with his analysis. He handed a movie bean, which
contained his analysis, to Ai Hui. Rather than analysis, it was
more like a breakdown of events. Lou Lan could present many
fine details to Ai Hui and help him with trivial calculations and
so on.

He just was unable to help when it came to the comprehension

of details. Ai Hui had to do that on his own.

When it came to this part, every time, Ai Hui would feel that
he wasn’t smart enough.

The highest building in Dragonrise Training Hall was

Skydragon Pavilion. One could overlook the entire training hall
when standing on it.

On the pavilion, the teachers were drinking their tea in

silence. Their expressions did not look good.

Seeing that half a day had passed without any visitors, Ren
Haitong, who was standing in front of the railings, couldn’t help
but say, "What happened exactly? Why is business so bad all of a
sudden?"

There was a fang-bearing silver dragon embroidered on Ren

Haitong’s garment, which indicated his position in the training
hall. Teachers in Dragonrise Training Hall had a strict ranking
system where the most ordinary teachers wore a black dragon
on their shirt and those one level up wore a green one. The next
few levels would wear red, silver, gold, and jewelled
respectively.
 Only the owner of the Dragonrise Training Hall, Yang Zhen,
wore a jewelled dragon. He was a legitimate metal elemental
master. As the overseer of the compound, no one dared to
provoke or seek trouble with him.

Gold dragon teachers were usually the hosts of different halls,

whereas silver dragon teachers were strong, reputable players,
and also the core strength of Dragonrise Training Hall.

Other teachers kept quiet. No one dared to provoke Ren

Haitong when he was in a temper.

Business had been extremely poor these few days. While the
place wasn’t completely deserted, the number of students
enrolling had drastically declined.

Before then, business had been prosperous. Dragonrise

Training Hall was a big hall with branches in cities that were
slightly larger than the Silver Mist Sea. The general
headquarters located in Silver City was also extraordinarily
grand. There were as many disciples as there were clouds, with
no lack of noble people.

A truly influential family would naturally have plenty of

guidance from famous masters. If they were to suffer a reversal
of fortune, however, or if they weren’t as superb, it would be
difficult to receive beneficial nurturing from their own elders.

An outstandingly reputable training hall like Dragonrise

Training Hall was naturally extremely popular due to the
number of good teachers. It had inherited practical moves and
students improved significantly within a short period of time,
attracting a lot of public praise. Sons from noble families would
even frequent it regularly, seeking to improve their battle
experience with friendly matches.

To the citizens of Peace City, the opening of a new branch of

such a well-recognized and well-liked training hall was beyond
appealing. From its opening day, people had been arriving in an
endless stream to register for lessons.

Following the confirmation of the news regarding the mini

Avalon of Five Elements, a huge volume of visitors flocked to
Peace City, bringing even more business every day to Dragonrise
Training Hall.

Nevertheless, everything changed when the Swordsman

Training Hall’s owner revealed his identity.
 Dragonrise Training Hall initially hadn’t been bothered by
this. The ridiculous price of two hundred essence elemental
beans was simply a joke! Who would’ve expected that people
would still go! Upon investigating, they realized that it was a
noble visitor from the Evergold Enterprise. Unable to get a good
grasp of that person’s identity, Dragonrise Training Hall did not
dare to act recklessly.

Luckily, no one else had been foolish enough to spend so

much money. Yet, their own business had strangely been
declining.

Ren Haitong became angrier the more he thought about it.

"Blast it, it’s all because of that stupid Swordsman Training
Hall! Tsk, people might be afraid of that Ai fellow, but I’m not!"

The branch master of Peace City’s branch, Miao Hai, sat

calmly on his seat of honor with his eyes shut, pretending not to
hear anything.

Nevertheless, he was in a poor mood as well. Being sent over

to Peace city was a heavy responsibility for him.

The training hall had spent a large sum of money to obtain

inside information before opening the branch in Peace City. He
knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Without
the support of this training hall, it was going to be challenging
for him to upgrade himself in this era where resources were
becoming scarce.

Despite this, he did not act blindly without thinking. Ai Hui’s

identity was sensitive, and the flaming lotus seeds he’d thrown
out had stirred up the whole city.

He wasn’t afraid of Ai Hui’s abilities, but at the same time, he

knew very well how complicated the situation was in Peace City.

A subordinate rushed over to Miao Hai’s side and said in a low

voice, "Master, there’s news from headquarters."

Miao Hai suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight. He

took the wooden case over, opened it, and took the tree leaf
from within. There were no words on it. His heart trembled a
little. This was news to be kept confidential. Headquarters
would only use such a method when they had important
instructions to relay.

He channeled a wisp of elemental energy into the tree leaf and

words started appearing on its surface.

Shortly, the handwriting gradually faded and vanished.

Miao Hai carefully placed the empty leaf back into the case.

Upon raising his head, he noticed that all eyes were on him.

With his usual expression, he said indifferently, "Go. On the

next written war challenge, state that I admire The Lightning
Blade’s excellent swordsmanship and will make a visit three
days later to request a match."

His words caused an uproar among the teachers.

Some couldn’t help but ask, "Could it be that headquarters…"

Miao Hai waved them off. "Don’t ask too much. Follow my
orders. Remember, spread the news."

The teachers dared not ask too much. They moved hurriedly
to make the necessary arrangements.
Chapter 314: A Jinai
The news quickly spread all over Peace City thanks to the
efforts of those involved.

Jiang Wei got hold of the news early on and felt somewhat
anxious. He knew of Dragonrise’s good reputation of course. It
was the first time in the Avalon of Five Elements that a battle
master had established a training hall. Among his colleagues,
there was no lack of sons from Silver City’s influential officials.
He’d heard that Dragonrise Training Hall’s background was far
from simple.

Citizens coined this match the battle between the training

halls. Dragonrise Training Hall wasn’t willing to let Swordsman
Training Hall snatch their limelight and was determined to re-
establish their reputation through this method.

Jiang Wei wasn’t sure why, but he smelled danger coming

from the seemingly honorable war between the training halls.

In three years, not only had he been on the front line and
participated in countless battles against the blood elementalists,
he also witnessed many scheming fights. Places which seemed
unremarkable were usually unexpectedly dangerous.
 Jiang Wei straightened out his thoughts once more but found
nothing amiss.

He heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps he was just being overly

suspicious.

The soldiers under him reported that someone was here to

visit.

He stopped himself from overthinking, got up and walked to

the main hall, where a tall and sturdy man stood in the center.
Upon getting a clear look, Jiang Wei couldn’t help but smile. He
walked forward with big steps and gave a solid hug to the
visitor. "A Jinai! Long time no see! I’m so happy to see you!"

A Jinai grew a thick, forest green beard. He had deep set,

brown eyes and a high nose bridge. These features were the
evidence of his Grass Clan’s blood from the Old Territory.

Grass Clan was one of the better clans in Old Territory,

because each year there would be at least some youngsters who
would qualify to enter the Avalon of Five Elements. Most of
them moved on to become wood elementalists upon entering
the avalon.
 A Jina used to be Jiang Wei’s team leader, but was promoted
to the back as he’d sustained an injury from accomplishing a
meritorious deed for the team. A Jinai took great care of Jiang
Wei in the past, so naturally Jiang Wei was extremely glad to
see his ex team leader.

"Looks like I’ll have to call you master soon," A Jinai’s

resounding laughter filled the hall. "Elders Guild must really
have faith in you to hand such a huge responsibility over to
you!"

Jiang Wei smiled. "Don’t tease me, A Jinai. I’m not living as
comfortably as you. You’re living the life of an immortal."

"How so? I’m so busy I could die." A Jinai saw the doubt in
Jiang Wei’s gaze and smacked his head. "I forgot to mention
that I’m no longer a civil servant but am moving about and
around the Ling’s residence."

Jiang Wei was slightly taken aback but congratulated him

instantly. "How amazing for you to be socially connected to
them. No wonder you look so well-nourished."

Influential families were further divided into different ranks.

There were two top-notch metal elementalist families in Silver
Mist Sea, being the Ling residence and Gong residence. Their
statuses were similar to that of Shi family and Lian family of
Palette Cloud Village. These four families were currently the
most well-guarded residences in the whole of the Avalon of Five
Elements. Earth, metal and wood elementalists were all
declining in strength and struggling badly.

It wasn’t easy to be accepted by the Ling residence. These

influential families held up unimaginably high barriers against
outsiders. But similarly, their capabilities were beyond
imagination.

Although A Jinai tried hard to restrain himself, he couldn’t

help but feel a little pleased. "I’m still far from your level. Plus,
you’re still a single man. I wonder how many people have their
eyes on you. Haha, you’re shy now, have a sweetheart?"

Jiang Wei gave a bitter laugh. "I’m on the front line everyday
so how is that possible?"

A Jinai clapped his palms together, laughing, "That’s good!"

Jiang Wei said, displeased, "Such gloating. Looks like we will

have to talk with our fists."

This was A Jinai’s catchphrase from years back. Jiang Wei’s

voice imitation cause A Jinai to burst into hearty laughter.

Laughter faded as A Jinai said with a chuckle, "You’re a rare

commodity now. The second daughter of Ling Third Master is
about your age and there’s nothing to say about her looks other
than that she’s as beautiful as a fairy. She really admires you
after hearing about you. How about that? Such an opportunity
comes only once in a blue moon!"

Jiang Wei said in all seriousness, "Stop joking with me, A

Jinai. What have I accomplished? I’m unworthy of her."

Instead of getting angry, A Jinai smiled. "In the past,

definitely not. But your prospects are boundless now that you
are likely to win success and recognition in future. It’s not at all
strange that the Ling family thinks highly of you."

Jiang Wei shook his head. "I’ve no intention of talking about

love matters now."
 "This is not about love." A Jinai wiped the smile off his face
and said solemnly, "You must know that there will not be such a
chance again if you miss it. You need to get recognition from the
Elders Guild, but your current background is not good enough.
You can only enter a noble position if you marry Ling Third
Master’s second daughter and borrow her power."

Jiang Wei remained silent.

A Jinai couldn’t help but try to persuade him earnestly once

more, "You’ve been through many things so why are you still so
naive? How can you be safe in this chaotic, tough world when
you are all alone with no backing from anyone? You’re far from
the center and are unaware of lots of insider news. You do know
of God-subduing Peak right?"

Jiang Wei nodded. "I’ve seen it."

A Jinai added, "What do you think of it?"

Jiang Wei replied with a low voice, "Treasure of the nation!"

"That’s right," A Jinai gave a nod. "A few of those on the front
line will provide a solid defense. The next few years will be for
the avalon to recuperate and accumulate strength. Rebuilding
the lesser Avalon of Five Elements and Thirteen Divisions are
two of the agendas. The top priority is Master’s Glory.

"Five hundred high-aptitude youngsters with sufficient moral

characters will be selected in the so called Master’s Glory to
receive special training from Elders Guild and eventually
become Masters."

"How is this possible! How can a Master be cultivated so

easily?" Jiang Wei shook his head.

A Jinai questioned, "The power of Elders Guild is

unfathomable. It’s not something we can figure out. Take God-
subduing Peak for example, have you ever imagined that
something like this could actually be made?"

Jiang Wei was quiet.

God-subduing Peak was indeed very impressive . As a seasoned

soldier with rich experience, he knew very clearly that if this big
fellow were to be on the frontline, it could be of tremendous use
and help.
 "I might as well share some insider news with you. You’re one
of the five hundred seeds. But have you thought about it? What
happens when these people appear? How many empty seats will
there be after reconstruction of the Thirteen Divisions? It will
be difficult to get a good position if you don’t have any backing.
You might get eliminated even with good qualifications. I’m not
trying to scare you," A Jinai watched Jiang Wei attentively
before continuing, "Perhaps other families will find you, but
who offers better terms than the Ling residence? Who’s
stronger than them? Ling residence is an influential family with
a seat in Elders Guild."

Jiang Wei asked all of a sudden, "Is Ai Hui one of the seeds?"

With Jiang Wei looking straight at him, A Jinai hesitated a

little before shaking his head. "No."

"But why?"

"I’m not in the position to ask for details," A Jinai shook his
head before adding, meaningfully, "I know you’re a sentimental
person and you’re not going to like what I’m about to say, but I
still have to remind you. Stay away from him if you wanna
climb up."
 "I understand." Jiang Wei looked calm, without any hint of
joy or anger. "A Jinai, this issue is too important. I’ll need some
time to consider."

A Jinai nodded and warned, "You’re a smart man. I believe

you’ll make the right decision. Do not reject an influential
families’ symbol of peace. Not now, not ever. This world
belongs to them."

"Thank you, A Jinai."

Jiang Wei walked A Jinai to the door. Seeing A Jinai’s

disappearing figure, Jiang Wei turned around and went back
into his room.

He felt that he’d understood certain things.

He took out a carefully preserved pile of leaves and started

writing.

…..
 "Dragonrise Training Hall?"

Ai Hui read the written challenge over and over again but
could not wrap his head around it. "Lou Lan, have we ever met
them?"

Lou Lan answered in all certainty, "No."

"So they’re just bored?" Ai Hui tossed the written challenge

aside, mumbling to himself, "Challenging as he pleases? Is there
such a thing? Lou Lan, go hang a sign: Five hundred essence
elemental beans per challenge."

Fu Yonghao, who was initially just listening in to their

conservation couldn’t help but jump in, "Five hundred essence
elemental beans? Why not just rob somebody?"

Ai Hui looked at him as though he was looking at a fool. "It is

tiring to rob. How good is it to have people bringing money to
our doorstep!"

Fu Yonghao became flustered. "You…"

 Ai Hui turned around and asked the Three Smalls, "Is he done
with his training?"

"No," they shook their heads in harmony.

Harboring ill intentions, Ai Hui instructed, "I’ll double your

trainings if he doesn’t finish his today."

Fu Yonghao blew up. "Despicable…"

Before he could finish his words, he was manhandled by three

pale-faced kids. They were aware that Teacher meant every
word he said and definitely wasn’t joking.

Ai Hui shook his head, muttering, "There’s a problem."

He was in the limelight for recently defeating the Sha family

so what kind of concussed brains would want to find trouble
with him at this point in time?

Unless there was a deep feud, ordinary conflicts would not

push them to knock on his door now. Ai Hui simply could not
believe that they were initiating a battle when there was no
strong animosity between both parties. Something must be
going on.

But whether or not that was the case, friendly matches

weren’t a problem as long as they came with the money.

If they weren’t going to pay up but still came over to

challenge, he would have to take the money from them himself!

Ai Hui quickly forgot about this matter.

The signboard on the hall’s entrance obviously became

another hot topic of the city. It was the first time people heard
that accepting challenges could actually be chargeable.

Everybody was moved by Ai Hui’s money-making talent. He

was a natural profiteer and was compulsively money-minded.

Branch Master Miao had apparently been feeling extremely

terrible the last two days and many teachers had been unlucky
enough to step on his toes and receive a dressing-down.
 Everyone was very curious as to what would happen to Miao
Hai.

Was he going to pay up? Or not?

They realized that whether or not he took the money out, it

was going to be extremely embarrassing.

Even gambling dens started to take bets. Will he pay up? Will
he challenge successfully? Betters were all eager to find out.

In regards to these rumors, Ai Hui only smiled and paid no

heed to them. He was baffled by another matter.
Chapter 315: Aristocratic Families and
New Citizens
Ai Hui was wondering about the fire lotus seeds. Several days
had passed, but no one else came to buy them.

Fire lotus seeds were supposed to be hot sellers, as many

people came to ask about them and were interested in them.
Judging from the situation then, it shouldn’t be this
unmarketable.

He would look into this when he had time.

Having finished today’s training, the three students and Fu

Yonghao teetered home.

Before leaving the training hall, Su Qingye suddenly went up

to Ai Hui and whispered, "Teacher, my dad said you must be
cautious with the challenge."

Ai Hui paused for a second and then patted Su Qingye’s head,

"Got it. Go home now boy."
 Seeing Su Qingye leaving, Ai Hui was absorbed in thought.

Suddenly, the message tree began to flicker.

Ai Hui came back to his senses and walked to the message

tree. He was surprised to see the message. It was from Jiang
Wei.

When Jiang Wei left last time, he asked Ai Hui if he could take
a leaf of the message tree with him. At that time Ai Hui was
marveling that Jiang Wei was being as cautious as before. They
were now in the same city. If anything happened, he could just
fly here to convey the message. Why bother to use the message
tree?

"The challenge is dangerous!"

Ai Hui’s face looked extremely grave. The message was a

scrawl. It seemed that Jiang Wei wrote it down in a hurry.

Together with what Qingye had said just now, Ai Hui knew
that there would be something fishy.
 A dangerous light flickered in Ai Hui’s eyes.

"Don’t go to the training hall for the next couple of days."

Hearing what Fu family’s oldest daughter said, Fu Yonghao

paused for seconds before he realized what it meant, and asked
"Why?"

Fu family’s oldest daughter said, "Isn’t Miao Hai going to

challenge Ai Hui?"

Fu Yonghao laughed out loud, "Are you kidding me, Big

Sister? How stupid is Miao Hai to challenge Ai Hui with five
hundred essence elemental beans? I have to say that Ai Hui’s
demand is really shameless. I’ve seen so many people, but he is
the most shameless one."

Fu family’s oldest daughter put down the teacup in her hand

and gave him a glance, "Who told you Miao Hai isn’t going?"

Fu Yonghao was surprised.

 The gates of Dragonrise Training Hall were wide open.
Twenty teachers stood in two rows to see Miao Hai off.

The person walking in front of Miao Hai was Ren Haitong,

who was holding a plate in his hand, on which there was a pile
of glittering essence elemental beans like a hill.

Miao Hai was calm and unruffled. He was wearing a crimson

armor and carried on his back an iron box that was around his
height, exuding an imposing manner.

The teachers shouted in concert, "Branch Master is bound to

win!"

…..

The mayor’s residence of Peace City was heavily guarded with

sturdy soldiers.

But inside the mayor’s residence the atmosphere seemed

extremely harmonious. Three people were drinking and
chatting cheerfully at a table.
 A Jinai was good at maintaining a pleasant atmosphere. As
long as he was present, there would be no awkward silences.
The one sitting beside him was Huo Yaliu, Jiang Wei’s direct
leader. Captain Huo, who used to be serious and taciturn, was
now beaming with smiles and toasted with them again and
again. Captain Huo was born in a small family. Now that he had
an opportunity to build a relationship with those in the Ling
residence, he would definitely try his utmost best.

Captain Huo arrived all of a sudden with his subordinates to

take over the mayor’s residence.

Jiang Wei looked just as usual without any anger or joy. As

long as A Jinai proposed a toast, he would drink up the wine in
one gulp.

A Jinai was drunk. With hazy eyes, he said, "Wei, I know you
are feeling uncomfortable in your heart, but I’m doing this for
your own good. You are too emotional and impulsive. I know
this step that I take is not noble, but I have to. So I apologize to
you here. Wei, we have been friends for years. You can rest
assured that I wouldn’t do this if I had no confidence. When the
battle comes to an end, you will be promoted for sure."

Hearing what A Jinai said, Captain Huo also raised his glass
and said with jealousy, "Wei, your future is boundless. Don’t
forget me by then."

Jiang Wei raised his glass and drank a toast to them, saying,
"Thank you for your blessings. But I actually know Ai Hui very
well. I don’t think Miao Hai can defeat him."

A Jinai was elated to see that Jiang Wei was not getting angry.
He laughed out and said, "Wei, you should know that to those
big shots, we are just like ants. Even though Ai Hui is of higher
capability, he is just a bigger ant than most. The reason why he
could defeat Sha Wuduan was largely due to his wealth. But
now, he has run out of money, and there’s nothing he can
depend on."

A Jinai said jauntily, "He has fire lotus seeds, and thought that
everyone would scramble to buy them. But he didn’t know that
as long as the higher-ups gave the order, no one would dare to
buy from him. This is what aristocratic families can do. As I told
you, Jiang Wei, the world is theirs."

Captain Huo nodded repeatedly as he totally agreed with A

Jinai. His family was sort of influential locally, but they were of
the lowest class in the pyramid of aristocratic families.
 Jiang Wei drank up again and praised, "That’s really a
comprehensive plan."

A Jinai, having drunk up the last drop in the glass too, was
tipsier. "Not only this. The roads of Peace City and the sky above
have all been blocked, and anyone passing through will be
strictly checked. As soon as Ai Hui’s identity was exposed, the
higher-ups had started to take precautions against him, in case
those whom Ai Hui has helped before hear the news and come
to help."

Jiang Wei spoke loudly, "This is wise. Come on, cheers!"

They both drank up again.

Jiang Wei put down his wineglass and asked in a slurred

voice, "A Jinai, I have a question that I haven’t been able to
figure out for a while. You must answer it for me today."

A Jinai laughed out loud and squinted at him, "You want to

know why they have to crack down on Ai Hui like this?"

Jiang Wei nodded and blurted, "Yes. I don’t know why. Why
can’t they recruit him?"

A Jinai raised his glass to Captain Huo, "This is not weird at

all. Even Captain Huo can see through it."

Captain Huo drank the wine in his glass, wiped his mouth and
said, "It’s simple. Ai Hui is a new citizen, and his reputation
among the new citizens is too high. Therefore, he must die.
Back then, the whole Induction Ground was almost completely
destroyed, which has definitely led to a gap in the talent
reserve. The largest number of survivors are in Central Pine
City, and the higher-ups will depend on you the most in the
future. Many of the key talents like you are survivors from
Central Pine City, right? They now call all of you the Central
Pine Faction. Ai Hui has just exposed his identity, and so many
people are coming to him. You can see how highly admired he is
among you guys."

"What will the higher-ups think about this? If he was born in

an aristocratic family, then it’d be good for him because he
could be the leader of the next generation. But he is a new
citizen, which means he is a snake in the grass to the higher-
ups. If he stands out among his fellows in the future, and you all
follow him, will you still work for the higher-ups? It’s fine to
have new citizens in the team, but they cannot be leaders.
Otherwise, no one will obey the command of the aristocratic
families."

Hearing what he said, Jiang Wei was at a loss.

Captain Huo continued, "Wei, you are different. Once you

marry the Ling Third Master’s second daughter, you will be a
member of theirs and your future will be boundless. Besides, if
you want, maybe you can even start your own aristocratic
family."

Jiang Wei came back to his senses, and laughed. He proposed

a toast to Captain Huo, "Captain Huo, you are absolutely right.
Cheers!"

Captain Huo burst into laughter while drinking the wine in

his glass.

Jiang Wei was so drunk that he could not even sit steadily. He
laughed and asked, "Then why do they still need new citizens?
The aristocratic families can simply abandon them."

"Haha, of course not," A Jinai was already resting his head on

the desk. Hearing what Jiang Wei said, he struggled to sit up
and answered, "Aristocratic families don’t have enough men.
Without new citizens, who will do the dirty work?"

Jiang Wei shook his head and sighed, "This is…the reality!"

A Jinai said, "Reality? Haha…Good point! The aristocratic

families are never built in a day. Nobody knows how much
hardship they have been through. But as long as they are in
power now, they are the rulers. For our future, we new citizens
must follow their leadership."

Captain Huo also laughed loudly. He held up his glass and said
in a rough voice, "For our future!"

"For our future!"

The two raved in a high voice.

A Jinai flushed in excitement.

Jiang Wei beamed with smiles.

 No one noticed that under the table, his fist was clenched
tightly.

…..

"As per your requirement, here are five hundred essence

elemental beans. Although the challenge today is only an
exchange of fight skills, I will spare no effort, as this is the way
in which I show my respect to you. You don’t need to show
mercy either. If I can witness the essence of your
swordsmanship, I have no regrets even if I die."

Miao Hai’s voice was loud and vigorous like thunder that
could be heard throughout Peace City.

In the sky above Peace City, two figures stood still face to face.

Ai Hui spread his Starry Gem Swordwings in full. The black

wings were glittering under the sun like the wings of the devil.

Miao Hai didn’t use his azure wings. Instead, he was standing
on a cloud, which was his cloud deck. The crimson armor
sparkled like morning glow, shrouding him and his cloud deck.
The iron box was put to his side.

"Sure!"

Before he finished saying the word, Ai Hui had disappeared in

the sky.

Miao Hai looked solemn, eyes downcast. Suddenly he grabbed

the iron box and smashed it on the cloud, and with a thundering
sound, an intangible shock wave swept down in all directions
with a loud crash.

Ai Hui appeared again out of nowhere and bumped into the

shock wave. Like an agile bird, he stepped slightly on the shock
wave and then disappeared again.

On the cloud deck, the big iron box was open wide, inside
there were seven javelins altogether.

The crimson tips of the javelins were thin and sharp as if they
had been saturated in blood. The shafts of the javelins were
covered with blue and silvery streaks. This kind of javelin was
made of more than twenty materials that were integrated by
supreme elemental energy.

Someone shouted out loudly in surprise. "It's Baneslayer!"

"Baneslayer javelins!"

This greatly excited the bystanders and caused a stir. Among

all javelins, the Baneslayer were rare treasures. Its maker had
originally intended to make a set of Heaven-grade javelins, but
failed due to a lack of materials. Still, the Baneslayer was top
grade compared to other kinds of javelins, and was therefore
called the "Best Javelin" among Heaven-Grade javelins.

It was a common way of fighting, to throw javelins when

diving.

But this meant that javelins were consumables. Therefore, not

many people were willing to waste too much good material on
them. That was why javelins of high grade were not often seen.

This time Miao Hai chose to use cloud deck instead of azure
wings, which was an even rarer tactic. This meant that he
hadn’t considered dodging at all, which revealed his confidence
in his javelin attacks.

Ai Hui also understood this. The red light of Miao Hai’s armor
indicated his strong defensive power.

Miao Hai reached out his hand and grabbed the first javelin.
His palms were like cattail leaf fans, which were far larger and
wider than ordinary people’s palms. The instant he had the
javelin in his hand, his eyes opened widely, and terrifying
power burst out from his body.

His muscles tensed up, making his figure larger than before
like a giant.

Dazzling golden light suddenly burst out from the javelins.

Before anyone could clearly see his movement, the golden light
rippled like water and the javelin disappeared.

In that instant, Ai Hui, who was standing hundreds of meters

away, sensed great danger.

Without any hesitation, Ai Hui shook his waist and the

Dragonspine in his hand splashed starry lights into the space in
front of him.

Just at this moment, he unleashed ten [Heavenly Thrust]s!

Chapter 316: Gale Bat Slash
Compared to three years ago, Ai Hui’s [Heavenly Thrust]s
were much more massive and powerful now. Bright stars flew
out of nowhere, absorbing light around them and emitting
splendid brilliance.

Ai Hui casted ten [Heavenly Thrust]s within the blink of an

eye, which fully demonstrated the progress he had made within
the past three years.

A streak of glaring golden light appeared among the stars and

penetrated Ai Hui’s eyes.

An undefeatable power came from the tip, bending his sword

like a bow. Ai Hui gave a stifled groan.

It was so powerful!

Seven small swords circled around the tip of the Dragonspine

like a cyclone, weaving a dense net of sword rays that could
catch its target.
 Immense elemental energy exploded at the tip of the sword.

Then, like hitting a spring, Ai Hui bounced away and suddenly

disappeared in the sky.

The next moment he appeared again, he was already over a

hundred meters away from where he had been standing. He
looked as calm as usual, but in his heart he was greatly shocked.

His hand that was holding the sword was numb.

The javelin looked ordinary, but in fact was extremely heavy.

Ai Hui believed it must be more than one hundred kilograms.

At that time, Ai Hui didn’t know the javelin was the

Baneslayer, but his estimation was very precise. The weight of
each of the Baneslayer javelins was one hundred and fifteen
kilograms.

Miao Hai’s elemental energy was already strong and ferocious.

Coupled with the heavy weight of Baneslayer, the power of just
one attack was unimaginable.
 This was the first time that Ai Hui had met with such a violent
opponent who was good at long-range offense moves. Miao Hai
had completely abandoned any flexibility in his tactics, and
focused on vigorous long-distance attacks combined with a
strong defense. Ai Hui didn’t have to think hard to know that
the red glow shrouding Miao Hai was undoubtedly hard to
break through.

Playing to one’s utmost advantage and making up for one’s

weakness by using better equipment was nothing complicated,
but it was effective. You could see that Miao Hai was an
experience fighter.

Experienced fighters tended not to use complicated tactics.

Instead, they always preferred simple but effective methods.

It was impolite not to make a return for what one received.

Also, you would not know how hard the weapon was if you
didn’t try.

After a slash of the Dragonspine in the air, a bright light

appeared on the sword. It transformed into a moon-shaped
sword ray and flew out abruptly.
 [Crescent Moon]!"

A crescent moon dashed through the air soundlessly.

All those years ago, he had to exert himself for this sword
move, but now it was totally a piece of cake for Ai Hui.

"Good move!" Miao Hai shouted loudly. Armor clattering, he

put his hands together and looked down. The red light that was
shrouding the cloud deck was gilded with golden beams. Behind
Miao Hai, a towering figure could be vaguely seen.

This was nothing profound, but was a very common

inheritance for metal elementalists, called [Vajra Barrier]. Many
people practiced [Vajra Barrier], but only those who were
extremely persevering and had reached the highest level could
summon a [Vajra Body]. Therefore, those who were known to
have succeeded in summoning a [Vajra Body] were very rare.

Once the [Vajra Body] was summoned, although it was only a

phantom figure, it looked so powerful and solemn that nothing
could do the slightest damage to it. The elemental energy in the
air was almost stifling.
 In front of the mountain-like [Vajra Body], the cold and clear
crescent moon was like a moth darting into the fire.

The crescent moon looked slow but was actually moving very
fast. It transformed into a flowing light and dashed against the
red light surrounding the cloud deck.

The red light was rolling like mist and swallowed the crescent
moon. A complacent smile had just appeared on Miao Hai’s face
before it froze.

The crescent moon suddenly transformed into dozens of stars,

and drilled into the red light like slippery and sharp eels.

[Shattered Moon, Dotted Stars]!

Caught off guard, Miao Hai was awkward and almost failed to
maintain the [Vajra Body] behind him. The red light started to
flow, and the [Vajra Body] stretched its arms and grabbed at the
sword rays, which suddenly darkened in the red light and then
died down.

The start of the confrontation between these two dazzled

every bystander’s eyes.

Miao Hai’s javelin was used in a violent and fierce way while
Ai Hui’s Crescent Moon was silent and cool, but dangerous. If
Miao Hai was the burning sun at midday, then Ai Hui was the
silent moon at night.

The polar contrast between the two completely different ways

of fighting left a deep impression in everyone’s heart.

It was a rare sight to see the confrontation of two experts.

Miao Hai, who was standing on the cloud deck, no longer

thought lightly of Ai Hui. He realized that it would be an
arduous fight today.

Holding the second Baneslayer in hand, he didn’t throw it

immediately.

Ai Hui took the initiative. Stretching his Starry Gem

Swordwings, he bounced out like a flying arrow. With the huge
strength provided by the Starry Gem Swordwings, Ai Hui’s
flight speed was as fast as a flash.
 With the same momentum, Ai Hui waved his Dragonspine. A
moon-shaped sword ray appeared and dashed toward the cloud
deck.

Ai Hui’s figure kept flickering in the air. He was not flying

straight, but was zigzagging forward. Every time he popped up,
a [Crescent Moon] was used.

Different from the silent [Crescent Moon] from just before,

now the moon-shaped sword rays flying in the air were
whistling shrilly like dozens of lunar bats, flying from all
directions toward the cloud deck.

On the cloud deck, Miao Hai looked solemn. He turned his

wrists and put his hands together, holding the javelin
horizontally in front of his chest.

The [Vajra Body] behind him bowed its head and closed its
eyes. It was also putting its hands together like Miao Hai.

Golden light burst out from the cloud deck, and a layer of
golden light, like a colored glaze, suddenly contracted. Under
the light, Miao Hai’s crimson armor was being gilded and
became statelier.
 Clank, clank, clank!

Moon-shaped sword rays hit the red light of the cloud deck,
sounding out a roar like a sword smashing a huge copper bell.

Miao Hai staggered. He was surprised at the pureness of Ai

Hui’s elemental energy, as he didn’t expect that Ai Hui’s sharp
sword rays could penetrate his protection and cut his defense
like a knife. Was it [Big Dipper]?

This guy’s swordsmanship was frightening indeed!

Miao Hai marveled. He knew the swordsmanship of

Karakorum, which was nothing like Ai Hui’s. It was hard to say
whose was superior, but each sword move Ai Hui used was
aimed at killing with nothing gaudy about it.

Fortunately, as a Heaven-grade weapon, the Unbreakable

Hellfire Armor he was wearing lived up to its reputation. It
could well restrain the attack of metal elementalists. The red
light that was shrouding the cloud deck was the hellfire emitted
by this armor. It was not natural fire, but a recently-developed
flame that could only be made with ten kinds of fire flowers
from Fire Prairie, together with Thousand-face Ghost Tree Burl
cultivated by Blood of God.

Both of the materials were produced in Blood of God, but they

were sold to the Jadeite Forest, where wood elementalists made
them into hellfire and sold it to the Avalon of Five Elements at a
high price.

Hellfire could greatly restrain metal elemental energy, and

therefore was known as the bane of metal elemental energy.

If it weren’t for the protection of the armor, Miao Hai would

be uncertain about the result of the confrontation. Those who
survived the blood disaster and made a name for themselves
could not be easily dealt with.

But still, however tough he was, as long as he was an enemy of

the big shots, he was a dead meat!

Ferociousness flickered in Miao Hai’s eyes, and the Baneslayer

javelin suddenly scattered and transformed into dots of golden
light, which didn’t disappear, but stayed still in front of his
chest.
 His unclenched fist grabbed the javelin, the golden light of
which was reflected in his eyes and gilded his pupils. Between
the golden light, however, he could see a silvery spot was
becoming larger fast.

It was not moving straight!

The silvery light left a weird arc traced in the air. The arc was
about to fall down when it turned upwards abruptly. Shrouded
by the flat sword ray, Ai Hui flew fast across an invisible surface
of water.

He was unpredictable!

Miao Hai’s hair stood on its end. He grabbed one more

Baneslayer and held it vertically in front of his chest. Then the
javelin scattered and transformed into countless light spots.

Ai Hui had already mastered the sword move [Gale Bat Blade].
Now, combined with his slash attack, it had evolved into the
move he was now using, which was called [Gale Bat Slash]!

From the moment when this bit of inspiration had occurred to

him, it took Ai Hui a whole month to successfully design the
new sword move, and six months in total to perfect his ability to
use it.

A Jinai who was watching the fight in the courtyard had

become completely sober and cried out, "What is this sword
move?"

"I don’t know either." Jiang Wei tried to sound as calm as

usual, but inside his heart, he was extremely excited.

Captain Huo’s drunkenness was gone too. His face was pale.
Seeing the weird sword move that was disregarding of any
conventional wisdom, he had a premonition about the result of
the fight.

Not only they, but all the others in Peace City were also
shocked by the [Gale Bat Slash].

A bystander could better feel both the wonderful and weird

sides of the arc. Ai Hui in the flat sword ray was dangerous,
even lethal like a ghost assassin.
 Su Qingye was totally dumbfounded. His eyes lit up and were
full of admiration.

Su Huaijun who was standing beside him also kept her gaze
fixed upon Ai Hui in fear of missing any details.

Fu Yonghao’s eyes widened as if he was looking at a demon.

Fu family’s oldest daughter couldn’t believe what she saw and

murmured, "Bad times make monsters of men…"

Miao Hai, who was faced with this move, knew how powerful
it would be, and therefore didn’t dare to take it lightly. As the
light cross had already appeared in front of his chest, he quickly
pushed his hands forward.

The light cross collapsed with a loud crash and transformed

into two enormous circling, roaring, golden-light dragons that
consisted of countless small light shuttles. The dragons hovered
and suddenly dashed towards the oncoming Ai Hui.

Covered with sword rays all over his body, Ai Hui suddenly
gained height and left an arc in the air, avoiding a face-to-face
collision with the dragons. Then he descended rapidly and
punctured the abdomen of the golden dragons like a sword.

Boom!

Numerous light shuttles fell on the sword ray like heavy rain,
making the sword ray dim and unstable.

Ai Hui knew that at this moment, if the sword ray

surrounding him collapsed, he would definitely be immediately
riddled by the light shuttles.

The Dragonspine slashed again and again like crazy at an

incredibly high speed. More sword rays appeared after each
slash and merged into the larger sword ray. The sword ray from
[Gale Bat Slash] had just been lit up by the new sword rays when
more light shuttles crashed against it and dimmed it down. In
this way, it lit up and dimmed again and again.

Ai Hui didn’t know how many times he had slashed. His mind
was extremely focused.

Suddenly, his view became open and clear. All he could see
was red light.

He had pierced through!

Ai Hui had no time to cheer for this. He was less than ten
meters away from Miao Hai, and could even clearly see the
stunned expression on Miao Hai’s face, as if he couldn’t believe
that Ai Hui had already gotten so close to him.

Miao Hai seemed to wake up all of a sudden. He knew that

now came the critical moment. Having made up his mind, he
tore up the priceless Unbreakable Hellfire Armor he was
wearing.

A bright red hellfire leapt up silently like red demons from

hell, devouring Ai Hui who was shrouded by [Gale Bat Slash]’s
sword rays.
Chapter 317: Defeating the Hellfire
The billowing hellfire immediately devoured Ai Hui like a red
fiendish monster.

Miao Hai sighed in relief.

War was always the best catalyst for self-improvement.

Within three years, the normal training method had undergone
enormous and profound changes. God elementalists’ preference
for elemental materials and the elementalists’ study and
utilization of blood crystals had greatly improved both sides’
learning speeds and destroyed the conservative scruples
between them.

Many achievements had been made within these three years,

one of which was the hellfire.

Adopting the essence of both elementalists and god

elementalists, the formidable hellfire was known as Fire of
Demon. The name ‘hellfire’ was a word used by elementalists
who practised meditation in the old days. The elementalist who
created hellfire so named it to indicate its profoundness.
 Almost all elemental energy could be the fuel of hellfire,
which meant that hellfire was invincible to all elemental
energy.

The Thousand-face Ghost Tree Burl would form when a tree

took in a large amount of the souls of blood fiends.

The high-quality Ghost Tree Burls were produced in the

Induction Ground, where trees took in many elementalists’
souls. But instead of encroaching on this bloodstained place,
they sent a lot of god priests and soothed the souls at every
corner of the Induction Ground. They claimed that they had no
option but to start the life-or-death war by then. But now that
people had passed away, they should no longer suffer in misery.

Many people knew that this was just a gimmick, but the
reputation of Blood of God did improve because of this act.

The souls of the dead blood fiends contained within the Ghost
Tree Burls was the reason why the hellfire was so formidable.

Unable to avoid the sudden explosion of the hellfire, Ai Hui

was immediately trapped in flames. His facial expression
changed dramatically when he realized that the flames were
burning along the [Gale Bat Slash] sword ray.

The [Gale Bat Slash] sword ray was like dry firewood soaked in
the oil and was burning rapidly.

Just at that moment, the sky palace between his eyebrows was
suddenly activated, and a tiny point of light appeared. It turned
out to be the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp. The lotus was
spinning slowly and lit up Ai Hui’s body with faint red light.

Compared with the bright color of the hellfire, the red light of
Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp was too faint to be noticed.

But it was this faint light that kept the hellfire out of Ai Hui.
Without hesitation, Ai Hui stretched his Starry Gem
Swordwings in full and flew straight up into the sky like a sharp
arrow.

Whoosh!

A figure rose up from the sea of fire, leaving a trace of flames

behind him.
 Miao Hai was dumbstruck and his facial expression changed
sharply. How was it possible? This was hellfire! No one had
figured out how to defeat it yet. How could Ai Hui survive the
hellfire?

Meanwhile, Ai Hui’s survival also gave rise to chaos on the

ground below.

"Oh my god! How did he make it?"

"How can he resist the hellfire?"

The bystanders went ballistic like boiling water.

But those who had been observing the fight secretly now also
stirred in the exciting and tense atmosphere.

"What is the red light on him? We have never seen this

before!"

"Quickly go and check what other inheritances Ai Hui had

practiced!"
 "Sir, Ai Hui once exchanged Heaven Merit Points for
[Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp], an absolute art."

"So the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] can defeat hellfire.

This is a great discovery. Our previous study towards hellfire
was in the wrong direction. Now pay attention to absolute arts
concerning state of mind. Try to purchase them as early as
possible before their price goes up. The price of hellfire will
decline soon. Get them sold quickly."

...

Those with business acumen had started making

arrangements accordingly at once. The reason why the price of
hellfire had been held high for a long time was because it was
regarded as invincible so far.

Once its weakness was found, the threat of hellfire would be

largely weakened.

Ai Hui flew up and looked at the tiny black spot down there in
the upper air, his heart still fluttering with fear. The battle just
now was a narrow miss. If it weren’t for the Skyheart Flaming
Lotus Lamp, he would have already lost his life.
 The red hellfire was still writhing restlessly in the sky. It
didn’t die out, but was burning up the elemental energy in the
surrounding air.

After about half a minute when all the surrounding elemental

energy was burnt up, it began to become dim and finally died
down.

The hellfire was indeed formidable!

The spread of hellfire broke out all of a sudden without any

signal beforehand, and Miao Hai was good at making moves at
the right time. Ai Hui had no time to react at all just now.

The fear from barely escaping his death made Ai Hui breath
the fresh air greedily like it was a luxury.

After a few deep breaths, Ai Hui recovered from the shock and
returned to normal. His escape meant that the situation
between the two sides had totally changed.

Without the armor, Miao Hai was barely under protection.

Plus, the cloud deck itself could not move flexibly. As a result,
Miao Hai was the fish on the chopping board, and Ai Hui only
needed to take one last strike.

Up in the sky, Ai Hui stretched his Starry Gem Swordwings in

full and began to dive.

As his speed increased, bright flames began to appear at the

tip of his sword. Then the tip shivered slightly, and the flames
were attracted by the sword. Soon the sword with flames
became as red as hot irons.

Exclamations were heard at different corners of Peace City at

the same time.

Su Qingye cheered loudly, "It’s that move!"

Su Huaijun who was standing beside him knew what he was

talking about without explanation.

And at the same time, Fu Yonghao also blurted out, "It's that
move!"
 Miao Hai’s face became pale. He could clearly see what Ai Hui
was thinking.

His situation was very tough.

When he heard the thrilling whirr, when he saw the heaven

fire appear at the tip, he thought of the fiery sword ray that fell
down from the sky a few nights before.

The power of the sword move frightened everyone in Peace

City. After it had struck, the courtyard of the Sha Clan was
almost completely destroyed.

Escape?

Miao Hai never thought of escape. Compared with azure

wings, the cloud deck was as slow as a turtle. Where could he
escape to? He knew he was being used as a pawn, and there was
no way back. Those higher-ups who were watching him behind
his back were the real players.

Fortunately, he still had four Baneslayer javelins.

 Miao Hai took the javelins out from the box, and stuck them
on the cloud deck.

No happiness or sadness could be seen on Miao Hai’s face. It

seemed that he was not concerned about the foreseeable danger
at all. His big palms swept across and grabbed one javelin in
each palm. Then he leaned backward, bending his strong body
like a bow. Every muscle was glowing with golden gloss.

The elemental energy was surging, the javelins quivering like

they could fly out if they had not been firmly gripped by those
hawkbill-like hands.

There seemed to be an invisible wall in front of Miao Hai, who

stepped on the wall and ran in big strides while throwing out
the javelins, one by one, forcefully towards Ai Hui.

Boom, boom!

Two tremendous rumbles resounded, like the loudest thunder

in the sky, and golden light exploded in front of the tip of Ai
Hui’s sword, hindering his speed to some extent.
 The golden waves of elemental energy ejected needle-shaped
golden rays that spread out at a fast speed.

Miao Hai did a backward somersault, and staggered when he

landed. The two [Vajra Thunder]s he’d just utilized were killing
moves of absolute art and were energy-guzzling. However, even
the [Vajra Thunder] that usually never failed to prove its power
only slowed down Ai Hui’s speed for a while.

He smiled hopelessly. He had been too arrogant and shouldn’t

have underestimated Ai Hui.

But thinking of the higher-ups behind him, who also belittled

Ai Hui, he felt less depressed.

At that moment, he knew that there was no hope for himself

to win. That meant he must die. Only death could give the
higher-ups a satisfying answer. A pawn who was ready to die
should die heroically, so that those who had families could earn
them a considerable amount of compensation, and those
without families could earn themselves a glorious ending.

He grabbed the last two javelins. Different from before, this

time he was holding the tips in his hands.
 The crimson tips were extremely thin and sharp, and Miao
Hai’s hands were dripping with blood. The javelins seemed to
enjoy drinking the blood and became more delicate and
charming.

He crossed the two javelins in front of his chest, red blood

trickling down along the shafts in spirals.

He didn’t take action immediately, but was looking up at the

sky and waiting for the last opportunity.

However, he didn’t notice there were seven small swords in

the distance cruising silently like swordfishes in deep sea.

They were so inconspicuous that no one ever noticed them.

Everyone’s attention was on the reckless figure diving from

the sky, accompanied by a curtain of red light and fiery,
dazzling sword rays.

But at this moment, as if summoned, the seven small swords

flew towards the cloud deck silently from each direction.
 Still, no one ever noticed their presence.

Miao Hai, standing on the cloud deck, stared at Ai Hui

focusedly. He knew he had only one chance.

Whether it would result in his death or survival, he only had

this last chance.

But he wasn’t discouraged at all. Instead, he somehow became

excited. He couldn’t say that his life was without regret, but he
hadn’t wasted it either. Maybe he had been idle for too long,
and now at this life-or-death moment, his heart that had been
long at rest was stirring.

His eyes were as sharp as a sword. He could clearly see Ai

Hui’s stone-cold face behind the sword rays.

This lad had a bright future!

Come on!

He was more excited than ever, like a drunk man – his face
was red, and body was quivering.

Suddenly, something appeared in sight abruptly. They were

seven glowing small swords in a circle.

Miao Hai paused, and a thought occurred to him – he must

have seen a similar scene somewhere before.

The quivering of the small swords produced a clear chime,

making Miao Hai’s vision blur and his mind go absent.

He remembered! The light webs he used to defeat Sha

Guards…

[Sword Chime]!

The chime of the swords lingered in the air. The blazing

Dragonspine approached closer and closer with a thrilling
whistle as expected.

In the last minute before he was devoured by the blazing

sword rays, Miao Hai suddenly became sober.
 Even though Ai Hui was absolutely on the more advantageous
side, he still chose not to use his insidious moves just in case
something happened. What a smart yet callous lad!

He wanted to laugh out loud when he thought about how the

higher-ups would feel about dealing with such an annoying guy.

His figure withered away in the blazing sword rays.

Chapter 318: Coming!
"This guy is cunning."

On an unnoticed roof, a man with long hair murmured while

looking up at the red, muslin-like sword ray gradually falling
from the sky outside the city. He was tall and wore a long black
robe. His face was covered with a bronze mask and only his eyes
could be seen. The pupils were silvery rhombuses like the tip of
an arrow, which was very rare.

"Insidious," a lady who was standing beside the man said

coldly. In her eyes there was still a trace of shock.

The way the lady dressed was unique. She wore her hair in an
exaggerated bun. It was a high, tower-shaped bun that leaned
back, with throwing knives inserted into it. It resembled a
crown and also the horn of a unicorn. Together with her thin
waist, attractive breasts, long and slender legs and delicate but
cold face, her image was very impressive with massive visual
impact.

A group of men were standing behind the two. They were

silent and still, and looked indifferent as if they were statues.
 "Let’s go!" ordered the man with silvery rhombus pupils
coldly, and flew away before everyone else.

…..

At the mayor’s residence.

A Jinai looked pale, cold sweat trickling down his back. He

never thought that Ai Hui could kill Miao Hai in a direct
confrontation!

For this fight, Miao Hai was equipped with [Unbreakable

Hellfire Armor] and Baneslayers. To deprive Ai Hui’s of making
money, the superiors forbade anyone to purchase fire lotus
seeds from Ai Hui, so that he would have no money to prepare
for the confrontation. And to make him more helpless, they
blocked all the roads of Peace City and put Jiang Wei under
house arrest. They even chose a battlefield out of the city just in
case Ai Hui would set traps.

A Jinai had made every arrangement he could think of. He

didn’t belittle Ai Hui at all.
 With such detailed preparation, how could he fail?

Captain Huo, who was standing beside him, was also

dumbstruck, as if he had lost his soul.

Now, Jiang Wei was the only one who was happy and at ease.
He glanced at the other two and couldn’t help serving himself a
glass of wine and drinking it off cheerfully. He knew that it was
the worst idea to try to get Ai Hui killed in a fight.

That guy was best at fighting!

A Jinai suddenly said loudly with a tough attitude, "Captain

Huo, this guy killed Miao Hai in public. He should be arrested
and brought to justice!"

Captain Huo’s facial expression changed, but soon he made up

his mind. They had gone so far, and now except for riding on
Ling Residence’s coattails, he had no other options. Therefore,
he said determinedly, "I’ll do it right now!"

Jiang Wei suddenly slammed his wine glass on the table

heavily, stood up and said coldly, "Peace City is under my
administration. Captain Huo, I’m afraid you are acting beyond
your authority."

A Jinai looked at Jiang Wei gloomily, "Jiang Wei, I’d like to

remind you that one wrong move will lead to a grave mistake."

Jiang Wei didn’t flinch, "A Jinai, you are no longer the steed
of Grass Clan. But I am still Ai Hui’s brother. if you want to do
so, then you’ll have to kill me first. My fellow comrades of Sky
Edge Division, Captain Huo is interfering in the affairs of Peace
City without Elders Guild’s permission. He has already made a
mistake. Don’t you want to stop him before he does it again?"

Captain Huo’s soldiers looked at each other in confusion.

They all looked hesitant.

A Jinai knew things were not going well, but he had made up
his mind and said, "Jiang Wei, why are you so stubborn. If so,
then don’t beg for my mercy. Take him down!"

No one moved.

Captain Huo was also in a panic. If the plan failed this time, he
would lose everything. As Jiang Wei’s words had apparently
affected his subordinates, he also reproached them loudly, "Why
don’t you move? A Jinai has Elders Guild’s secret order!"

His words created a disturbance. Someone shouted, "Then

show us!"

With a hideous grin on his face, Captain Huo said, "How dare
you disobey my order! Are you are so eager to die?"

A Jinai smartly said, "Elders Guild? Elders Guild belongs to

the aristocratic families. So what are you afraid of? If you
render them outstanding service this time…"

Just at that moment, he heard a cold laugh.

"Elders Guild doesn’t just belong to aristocratic families."

Two figures were standing on the wall of the mayor’s

residence quietly. Before the one who was speaking had finished
his words, many figures appeared and besieged the Mayor’s
residence.
 "Vic… vice division leaders!"

Someone cried out.

A Jinai’s face turned pale. How could both vice division

leaders have arrived?

The one with silvery rhombic pupils was the vice division
leader of Sky Edge Division, Tong Gui. And the lady with the
knife bun was the other vice division leader, Yu Jin.

Why would they come?

Captain Huo was shivering all over. He looked frightened and

his teeth were chattering.

"I never expected we’d have traitors in Sky Edge Division.

This is disappointing." Tong Gui stared at Captain Huo as if
looking at dead meat, "You know what to do. I don’t want to get
my hands dirty."

Captain Huo knew he could not escape today, so he smiled

bitterly and said, "I beg for mercy for my family members.
Please consider the contributions I have made in these years and
let them go."

Having finished his words, he transformed his elemental

energy into a sword and stabbed himself in the heart. His body
froze and his eyes gradually became empty. Then he fell on the
ground, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

A Jinai, on the other hand, became more sober than ever, "So
you had made preparations long ago, and were waiting for us to
swallow the bait."

Tong Gui looked at A Jinai, and said in a bass voice, "You’ve

been with Sky Edge Division for a long time. Why do you work
for the Ling residence now?"

A Jinai laughed out furiously, "Winner takes all. Cut the crap.
Now I die here, but someone will avenge me. Jiang Wei, this
world belongs to the aristocratic families…"

A throwing knife penetrated his heart.

 Tong Gui smiled ironically at A Jinai, who could not say
anything anymore. "This world belongs to the aristocratic
families? Did you even ask us?"

Jiang Wei looked at what had happened in front of him

blankly. He had been in Sky Edge Division for almost three
years, but this was the first time he had seen the vice division
leaders. And since the features of the two vice division leaders
were very conspicuous, no one could impersonate them.

He could not be counted as smart, but he kind of understood

something from the conversation between A Jinai and Tong
Gui.

On the other hand, he was still grieved to see A Jinai’s death.

Now they were on different sides, but in those days A Jinai had
helped him a lot. If it were not for A Jinai, he would have
already died in many previous battles.

Tong Gui’s eyes fell on Jiang Wei with recognition, "You’re

not bad."

Jiang Wei didn’t feel happy. He simply bowed and said, "I beg
you, Sir, to allow me to bury A Jinai."
 Yu Jin, who hadn’t said anything so far, replied, "Approved.
He’s dead anyway."

"You can leave now. We have many things to deal with."

Hearing Tong Gui’s voice from behind him. Jiang Wei paused,
and wondered what else they had to deal with.

…..

Standing in the air, Ai Hui looked at the mess on the ground

and sighed, thinking that Miao Hai was strongest opponent he
had met in the last few years.

The challenge was different from previous battles. It was like

a big exam.

In the fight with Shi Youguang, he was in the dark, while his
enemy was in the open, and he won by ambush and sneak
attacks. But the fight today was a one-on-one confrontation,
during which he could not take advantage like that any more.
 The battle didn’t last long, but it was extremely dangerous,
especially the hellfire. If it were not for the [Skyheart Flaming
Lotus Lamp], he’d have already lost.

In this fight, he had also done his utmost. The [Gale Bat Slash]
and [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] that he had practiced long
and hard, and [Sword Chime] and [Soaring Flames, Cascading
Muslin] that he only comprehended recently had all been
utilized in this fight.

The fight lasted only a short period of time, but it was a battle
of wit and courage. The mental and physical pressure was
tremendous.

Now as the battle came to an end, Ai Hui felt that he had used
up everything he owned, which seldom happened to him.

He felt that anyone could defeat him now.

Miao Hai was completely destroyed by Ai Hui’s last move,

[Soaring Flames, Cascading Muslin], and both his spirit and
body had vanished. Even his cloud deck was destroyed and
turned into fog that dissipated into the air. The only things that
were left were the Baneslayers.
 Ai Hui picked up the two Baneslayers and sighed. Miao Hai
was not a vile guy, but he was an excellent opponent. It was a
pity that he almost didn’t leave anything behind. So Ai Hui
reluctantly had to take the two javelins Miao Hai left in memory
of this opponent.

Therefore, under the gaze of everyone of the city, he carried

the javelins and flew back to his training hall groggily.

Ai Hui looked exhausted and his azure wings were flapping

heavily.

It seemed that crossing the city had taken all his effort.

A puzzled look appeared on Ai Hui’s face.

This was not what he had expected. He thought that by now,

someone should have jumped out and accused him of being
heartless and cruel, and then a group of people would come to
take him down.

But why was there no one?

 No follow-up? That was it?

Even if there was no brotherhood between the conspirators,

didn’t they have brains? That was all they could think up?

If so, the rest of the tricks he had arranged would be wasted!

Ai Hui felt remorseful about the money he had used and the
time he had spent with Lou Lan on this follow-up arrangement.

And now it was wasted?

Ai Hui still could hardly believe this result. He knew that it

was less likely he’d get anything useful from Miao Hai, but he
thought they would definitely come to retaliate. So he had made
delicate arrangements in hope of getting some benefits this way.

But he now knew that this hope seemed no longer achievable,

which meant that in this fight, he only got two Baneslayers in
reward. Of course the whole set of Baneslayers was of great
value, but now as he only had two of them, it wasn’t worth
much.
 Thinking about the essence elemental beans he had spent, Ai
Hui almost cried. What a money-losing deal!

Because of this, everyone in Peace City saw something very

weird. Although Ai Hui was the one who won the fight, he
looked melancholy and not the slightest hint of happiness could
be seen on his face.

Those observing businessmen were also confused.

But they were calm enough. They were also all waiting,
including Sea Pacific Enterprise and Evergold Enterprise. The
purchase prohibition on Ai Hui’s fire lotus seeds was given from
the superiors. The shrewd businessmen knew that the Ling
residence must have been involved in this.

As the Ling residence had taken action, it would not stop so

easily.

So everybody was waiting.

Just at that moment, a group of people appeared in the sky far

away and were flying towards Ai Hui at a fast speed.
 This excited everyone, especially Ai Hui, who began to think
about how to act his part well enough to lure them into his trap.

The group of people soon came in front of Ai Hui. Their

clothes were all embroidered with the badge of Elders Guild.

Finally!

The bystanders said to themselves in their hearts, and

widened their eyes.

Finally!

Ai Hui said to himself, and began to prepare to feign defeat.

A middle-aged man, who looked cold and gloomy, stepped

forward and asked, "Are you Ai Hui?"

Ai Hui pretended to be suffering from severe injuries, and

asked with fright and vigilance, "Who are you?"
 The middle-aged man stared at Ai Hui. The flicker in his eyes
looked fierce. Then he took out a round insignia.

The insignia was about the size of a palm, with a red word,
"Order", on the front and the badge of Elders Guild on back.
This was called the Elders Guild Order, and it would be used
only when the order to be conveyed was officially issued by the
Elders Guild.

The bystanders were surprised. The Ling residence had

connections everywhere!

Ai Hui was desperate. If the manipulator was Elders Guild,

then he’d better pack up his things and prepare to run.

The middle-aged man unclenched his fist and the insignia was
suspended in the air. The moment he pointed to it with one
finger, the insignia began to shine with glorious radiance, and
an old, but dignified voice could be heard all over the city.

"As agreed by the Elders Guild, I hereby announce that Wang

Shouchuan, the deceased teacher of Central Pine Academy, is
honored with the title of Master. As a teacher of Central Pine
Academy, Master Shouchuan had been working conscientiously
with perseverance and consistency for decades. He had played a
key role during the battle in Central Pine City. Besides this, the
school of thought that he created was unique, unprecedented
and meaningful…"

Ai Hui was shocked.

The others’ facial expressions changed too.

Although they had already known this information, the Fu

family’s Big Sister and her brothers were also surprised. They
didn’t expect that it would be announced at this time in this
situation. They were further shocked by what they heard next.

"His great deeds blessed every one of us. And his disciple, Ai
Hui, followed in his footsteps and devoted himself to studying
his teacher’s theories. He had killed the Sand Sentinel to
prevent people in the Peace City from suffering. This is a
brilliant contribution. Therefore, Ai Hui is awarded as
follows…"

Ai Hui was dumbstruck.

Everyone else in Peace City was also dumbstruck.
Chapter 319: A Belated Reunion
Ai Hui was in a daze at Swordsman Training Hall.

He had been awarded with an absolute art for metal

elementalists, a Heaven-grade weapon, a thousand essence
elemental beans and a thousand Heaven Merit Points.

The Elders Guild’s rewards petrified Ai Hui, not because it was

too little, but because it was too much. Ai Hui instinctively felt
something was wrong with the rich rewards.

One who was unaccountably solicitous was hiding evil

intentions.

There was no free lunch. What lied behind such abundant

awards must certainly be a big pitfall. A lot of things were
beyond his expectations. For example, Miao Hai’s avengers
didn’t come after him, and the awards of the Elders Guild were
even more of an anomaly.

He hardly had any contacts with the Elders Guild.

 Ai Hui was quite bewildered. Suddenly, he was disturbed and
came to his sense.

There was a burst of commotion at the gate while a bunch of

people rushed toward him.

Ai Hui was refreshed. Finally!

He whispered, "Lou Lan, get ready!"

Lou Lan nodded vigorously, "Ai Hui, Lou Lan is ready."

As long as Miao Hai hadn’t made any further moves, Ai Hui

couldn’t feel relieved. He didn't believe at all that the
manipulator behind Miao Hai would accept being defeated so
easily.

Ai Hui was not worried about the retaliation attacks. What

was worrying was the lack of them.

Now at his own training hall, he didn’t even have to feign

defeat.
 Ai Hui picked up his Dragonspine and was ready to encounter
the enemy.

However, when he saw clearly the first person breaking in, he

came to a halt. Because the one in front of him looked familiar,
but for a while he couldn’t recall where he had seen him before.
After Ai Hui saw the second person coming in, he paused again,
as he found that this guy was familiar to him as well.

"Ai Hui!"

"A Hui!"

...

...

The excited calls came one after another, which suddenly

made Au Hui recall his memory. He finally realized why they
looked so familiar.

For a moment, his memory was drawn back to the city soaked
in blood, where he could still smell the smoke of gunpowder and
hear the screaming of the people fighting in battle. He felt
unspeakably cold and sad, as if being caught in heavy rain for a
long time.

After a shiver, those cold feelings and memories faded like

tidewater. He came back to reality.

"It’s all over." He told himself.

Those standing in front of him were so excited. Their eyes

were filled with tears, reflecting the warmth of sunlight.

Ai Hui smiled.

"You are...Black Ge!"

"You are Ming Feng!"

...
 ...

"Lou Lan, it’s been a long time!"

"Ming Feng, Lou Lan is so happy to see you!"

"So shall we have elemental energy soup today?"

"Of course! Leave it to Lou Lan!"

...

...

They hugged and gave high fives to each other. Sweet smiles
bloomed on every face.

The noise of dense traffic went on and people constantly

joined the reunion.
 …..

A high building, not far from Swordsman Training Hall.

"What a warm situation! Compared to those cold, pitiless

aristocratic families, this is so much more tender." Tong Gui
said with emotion, "Have you recorded it all?"

A subordinate beside him said promptly, "Yes, we arranged

enough workhands. Don’t worry, they are all very skilled."

A deep sound emerged from behind the copper mask, "We are
responsible for letting everybody know the truth."

"No problem!" a subordinate said reverently, "We have

arranged for extra people to get in touch with those survivors
and asked them how they felt when Ai Hui was called the
murderer of his teacher. They all expressed their rage."

Tong Gui turned his face, "Did you encounter any resistance
on taking over the checkpoint?"
 Yu Jin said indifferently, "Yes, three people were dead and
two wounded."

"So, they should already get the information." Tong Gui

nodded and turned his face back, "These mirage bean pods must
be sent out today."

"The first batch was already sent out." The subordinate said
reverently, "Tomorrow morning they will be on the shelves of
all bean pod shops. We have reserved all the best places."

Jiang Wei listened to their talking silently.

"You are promoted."

He heard Tong Gui’s voice.

Jiang Wei came to his senses but didn’t seem happy. He asked
in a low voice, "Have you been preparing for this from a long
time ago?"

"It’s
 , to be more accurate," Tong Gui corrected him and his voice
sounded as deep as the echo in the valley, "Although I don’t
want to admit it, to be frank, we are on the disadvantageous
side. So we’d better get prepared."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because we don’t want to give up our future without putting

up a fight."

…..

Morning sunshine always brought a stream of coolness. But to

those diligent ones who enjoyed the soberness and freshness
brought by the cool air, it was the start of an exhilarating day.

Wang Xiaoshan got up early as usual.

This was a habit he’d developed when he was in Central Pine

City. Ever since he’d met Ai Hui, he kept being assiduous, even
if he was now in charge of military supplies. He worked at a
large military warehouse. He could get this popular position
thanks to his contribution in the Central Pine City war as well as
Shi Xueman’s connection.

Wang Xiaoshan was different from other warehouse

managers. He was diligent and kept a low profile, and hardly
participated in social engagements. He was so indulged in his
earth elemental construction method that many of his men
called him "mud manager". He wasn’t mad about the nickname,
but was proud of it instead.

His father was a craftsman of mud and it was well-reasoned

for him to carry on his father’s career. He knew clearly that he
could get this position not because he was competent or
outstanding, but because of Shi Xueman’s help.

He had no outstanding merits, just as he couldn’t be a good

helper to Ai Hui and other friends in those years. It might be the
reason why he indulged in earth elemental construction
method. Deep in his heart, he had an unreachable dream to help
Ai Hui and other friends by being a master in earth elemental
construction method.

Every morning, while breathing the cool air, he would always

remind himself that the idea was ridiculous.
 Well, it was ridiculous indeed.

He was no longer the teenager who loved playing with mud at

that time. Having been a mud manager for three years, he
understood many things.

This was a mud pond where mudfish could live, but not
dragons.

He might be too pessimistic. Shi Xueman was a good person,

he thought. He knew that if Shi Xueman asked for his help, he
would never refuse. However, he would not help Shi Xueman of
his own initiative, maybe because Iron Lady lacked nothing. He
was not sure about that. But the picture of Ai Hui kneeling in
the heavy rain was rooted deeply in his head.

He couldn’t figure out why. It was neither sympathy nor

admiration. Instead, he thought many things fell on Ai Hui’s
shoulders alone, when they should have been dealt with by
everybody. Was it a sense of guilt or feeling lost? No, not like
that. In fact, he wondered, if he could do more, would the result
be any different?

Wang Xiaoshan admitted he was irresolute. Even if three

years had passed, he couldn’t feel relieved.

However, irresolute as he was, it shouldn’t impact his daily

life.

Like every other day, he came to a bean pod shop that he was
familiar with. The boss was placing the new bean pods on
shelves. Wang Xiaoshan asked casually, "Any new news bean
pods?"

Mirage bean pods were not the only mirage products on the
market for long. In the high-end market, film-spitting tortoises,
with a higher level of safety and sharpness, had replaced mirage
bean pods. Sensing the crisis, the wood elementalists didn’t give
up. They had been improving the mirage bean pods, resulting in
the exploding bean pod tree, a brand-new breed.

They grafted the traditional bean pod trees onto breeding

trees, a kind of tree with strong vitality, and got a newly
transformed breed - exploding bean pod trees that could
duplicate plentiful mirage bean pods within a short period of
time.

An exploding bean pod tree could produce tens of thousands

of mirage bean pods, which largely brought down the cost of
mirage bean pods. Due to the sharp decline in cost, a new thing
was brought out: news bean pod.

At the beginning, people recorded interesting things in life

using news bean pods and then sold it in markets. Soon, some
people found business opportunities in it, such as the
Dragonrise Training Hall. A teaching course from Yang Zhen,
the owner of Dragonrise Training Hall, in news bean pods had
been sold over four million times, and was still on sale now.

Before long, many professional elementalists emerged, who

made a living by recording frontline battle progress, new trends
of the Elders Guild and disasters in mirage bean pods. The news
bean pods became more and more popular, because common
people could afford to buy them due to their low price, and the
specialty stores of bean pods were everywhere.

Recently, the popularity of news bean pods gave rise to a

professional news-collecting group, called news village. Each
news village produced its own news bean pods including several
news beans with different contents.

Seeing Wang Xiaoshan, the boss of the bean pods shop smiled
warmly and said, "Good morning, Manager! We have new
arriving news bean pods. You must check them out. They are
definitely going to be popular, for the content was about The
Lightning Blade!"

Wang Xiaoshan didn’t expect that, "The Lightning Blade? Ai

Hui?"

"No wonder you can be a manager. You can even remember a

figure from ages ago!" the boss of the bean pods shop said
flatteringly, "He is a controversial figure. In those years, people
argued about him drastically. Now they have things to argue
about again."

Ai Hui…

A figure from ages ago… Yes, it’s ages ago.

Wang Xiaoshan said without hesitation, "I will have one of

each kind!"

Then he went back to his room hurriedly and shut the door.
 In the dark room, he stared at the mirage blankly.

"As agreed by the Elders Guild, I hereby announce that Wang

Shouchuan, the deceased teacher of Central Pine Academy, is
honored with the title of Master. As a teacher of Central Pine
Academy, Master Shouchuan had been working conscientiously
with perseverance and consistency for decades. He had played a
key role during the battle in Central Pine City. Besides this, the
school of thought that he created was unique, unprecedented
and meaningful…"

"His great deeds blessed every one of us. And his disciple, Ai
Hui, followed in his footsteps and devoted himself to studying
his teacher’s theories. He had killed the Sand Sentinel to
prevent people in the Peace City from suffering. This is a
brilliant contribution. Therefore, Ai Hui is rewarded as
follows…"

"An absolute art for metal elementalists, a Heaven-grade

weapon, a thousand essence elemental beans and a thousand
Heaven Merit Points."

A beautiful woman appeared on the mirage.

 A beautiful woman might not be convincing, but she was at
least attractive enough to keep people listening. Moreover, the
topic itself was hot.

The gorgeous woman talked vividly and movingly.

"The significant award by the Elders Guild is unexpected, but

does make sense. Needless to say, Master Wang and his wife
earned great achievements. Everyone living in the Avalon of
Five Elements should remember the miracle that they created in
Central Pine City at the expense of their lives. In those years, Ai
Hui earned great achievements on the battlefield as well. After
fading out for three years, he reappeared with a lofty stance. As
the successor of Master Wang, Ai Hui bears pressure far beyond
the amount that his age should take. The rumor of Ai Hui being
the murderer of his teacher hurts our hero the most. Just as
people in those years shouldn’t forget that Master Wang and his
wife fought for the city at the cost of their lives, now we
shouldn’t forget as well that when we were isolated, a young
hero stood out and led us to fight to the end. At the most crucial
moment, he was fearless and bore all the responsibility and
criticism. He saved us."

"He is accused of being ruthless for sacrificing his teacher in

exchange of this feat. At the same time, he is admired as a tragic
hero, who assumes the unbearable heaviness of his fate and
lives in seclusion for three years. So, what is the truth? Only the
survivors in Central Pine City know. They witnessed the whole
process of the miracle in Central Pine City, from the beginning
of the crisis to the ending. When the information that Ai Hui
was living in seclusion in the Peace City spread, how did those
survivors in Central Pine City react to it?"

"We noticed that many survivors in Central Pine City came to

visit Ai Hui. We were lucky to record the event of their meeting.
There were tears in their eyes. They hugged and sent regards to
each other excitingly."

"This is a belated reunion!"

The gorgeous woman in the mirage choked with sobs.

"We also interviewed several survivors in Central Pine City for

their opinions on Ai Hui being called the murderer of his
teacher. They all believe it’s slander and feel angry about it. For
those who are interested, please watch the C bean and D bean in
this bean pod, ‘Under the Name of Survivors’…"

Thinking that Ai Hui could get rid of the accusation of

murdering his teacher, Wang Xiaoshan felt extremely excited.
 Exactly at the same time, when he saw Ai Hui whom he had
been thinking about all the time, he smiled with tears in his
eyes.

Long time no see, Ai Hui!

Chapter 320: Five Elemental Eight
Treasures Porridge
Clash!

A clear, shattering sound could be heard. Perhaps it came

from the pot on the master’s table, which cost 2,000 elemental
energy beans, or from the crooked-neck porcelain vase outlined
in gold on the wall shelf. While the servants quietly waited
outside to clean the mess, there were still a few precious
decorative items that remained intact inside the master’s room.

The heavy breaths sounded like the roars of a trapped beast.

The red sandalwood carved door was made by a famous

craftsman. Its complicated and exquisite grass pattern swept the
sword. The emblem protecting the Ling residence was a soaring
golden eagle with its wings spread open.

The Golden Eagle Study Room is an important place in the

Ling residence. Many influential strategies that deeply affected
the Avalon of Five Elements were born here. Currently, the
tightly closed door was like a steel cage that trapped an angry
and violent wild beast.
 And a beast tamer.

Madam Ling sat on a chair beside the tea table, turning a blind
eye to the mess on the ground and the wild beast’s roars. Her
gorgeous, waterfall-like silk dress really accentuated her slim
waist and body. Above her half-revealed, delicate collarbone
was her long, snow-white neck. As if there was no one around,
she sipped on her tea slowly and indifferently.

The rough breaths gradually stopped as the bulging veins on

the angry man’s forehead disappeared. His bloodshot eyes
became clear once again. He walked in big steps before he
stopped in front of the lady, grabbed the teapot, raised his head,
and gulped a large amount of tea noisily.

The man put down the teapot, wiped his mouth, and said in a
low voice, "It must be that old fellow, Yuchi Ba. He has yet to
give up. How is the situation outside now?"

Madam Ling put her teacup down gracefully and replied with
her pleasant voice, "There aren’t many talking about Ai Hui
being a murderer that killed his master anymore. He is once
again seen as a hero. In fact, many are suggesting that he should
be compensated. Another piece of bad news is that after word
spread that Ai Hui could be coming out of his seclusion,
members of Central Pine Faction, which had already been
swayed, go back on their words now. Even those who’d agreed
to join the aristocratic families are now backing out."

The man opened his eyes wide. "Are they fools? Withdrawing
as they please? Is this a game? Do they think we can’t deal with
them?"

Madam Ling sipped on her tea, before saying, "It is true that
we can’t do anything to them. Just today, a few have already
tendered their resignations and are preparing to head to Peace
City. They were all previously A-1 unit members."

The man blanked out for a moment and found it hard to

believe. "Are their brains damaged? What can a positionless
fellow offer them? Power? Prospects? Wealth? Absolute arts?
Nothing!"

Madam Ling drank her tea unhurriedly. "Underestimating

your enemy… are you insulting yourself?"

The man sneered. "My enemy? Hah, do you really think Ai

Hui is qualified to be my enemy? Only Yuchi Ba has the right."
 "But the one raging is you." Madam Ling laughed softly, not
the least bit bothered by the man’s ashen face. She asked,
"Perhap you can kill everyone in Central Pine Faction to ease
your anger?"

The man calmed down. He had to admit that it was useless to

be angry at this point. He was unable to take Central Pine
Faction down since the Elders Guild would not allow it.

"Ai Hui’s sudden rise is unstoppable now." Madam Ling hit the
nail on the head. "Yuchi Ba and his gang chose him to be the
future leader of the new citizens. I have to say this move of
Elder Yuchi is very beautiful. He’s using this method to help Ai
Hui clear his bad name as a murderer."

The man clenched his teeth and said, "I should’ve killed that
kid long ago!"

"Many people are after his life, but he’s still living well."
Madam Ling put her tea cup down and looked at the man.
"Those who want his life aren’t able to find the chance. Ai Hui is
more vigilant than we think. He left suddenly three years ago,
changed, and concealed his identity. A wise choice, judging
from the current situation."
 The man was filled with bloodlust. "It’s not too late."

"You better stop this dangerous way of thinking," Madam Ling

warned sternly. "I do not want to wake up one day to the news
of my children getting killed. In the past, Ai Hui wasn’t a
member of the New Citizens Faction, so killing him will not
bring about any dispute. Now, as a selected successor of the
faction, my children will sink into the vicious cycle of revenge if
he gets assassinated. Yuchi Bai is not an unarmed and
defenseless old man."

The man knew Madam Ling was right, but felt somewhat
indignant. "Then what should we do now?"

Madam Ling had been waiting for this question. A charming

smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She said gently, "We
have a lot of time. Ai Hui is popular, but positionless. They are
trying to push up him, but they also have to choose a suitable
seat for him. For example, he can enter the Sky Edge Division
and eventually get promoted to become the division leader.
Even if things proceed smoothly, it will take a few years’ time."

The man nodded his head repeatedly.

 "The more important question is if Ai Hui is willing?"

The man was stumped by this funny question. He shook his

head. "Hahaha, don’t be ridiculous. Would anyone be
unwilling? Who wouldn’t be willing to achieve instant success?"

Madam Ling blinked. "You have to ask Ai Hui."

The man was stunned.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Dong, dong, dong.

A servant’s voice was heard from outside the door two

seconds later. "Master, there’s a new report."

…..

Swordsman Training Hall was already a lively gathering place

by now. Without needing Ai Hui’s instructions, the guests had
already prepared the bonfire, started to grill the meat, and
brought wine over. Everybody was taking in big pieces of meat
and big bowls of wine while chatting endlessly, crying, and
laughing at times.

"Really, Ai Hui?" Lou Lan looked at Ai Hui with his eyes wide
open and filled with surprise.

"That’s right." Ai Hui laughed. "Since everyone’s so cordial,

we have to do our part by returning the favor. Take out all the
fire lotus seeds. Prepare a bowl of elemental soup for everyone,
Lou Lan. Everyone misses it. I can’t sell those anyway."

"Leave it to me!" Lou Lan reassured happily. "I’m so happy to

see everybody today! I will work hard to prepare a bowl of Five
Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge!"

"Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge?" Ai Hui burst into

laughter and asked curiously, "Sounds like a pretty potent
porridge. What effect does it have?"

Lou Lan explained, "All five types of elementalists can

consume it. It raises people’s spirits and noticeably fixes
internal injuries, increases one’s connectivity with elemental
energy, and strengthens their elemental foundation. It helps
both the physical body and elemental energy greatly."

"Good stuff!" Ai Hui’s eyes lit up while drooling.

Lou Lan was a little hesitant. "But we’re missing quite a few
ingredients. Although we can find substitutes, the porridge will
be less effective…"

Jiang Wei, who’d been listening in on their conversation was

unable to hold back anymore. "What ingredients do you need?
Make a list Lou Lan. Everyone will think of a solution!"

Jiang Wei’s usual steadiness was completely absent as

anticipation filled his face.

"That’s right, that’s right, we will all think of a solution!"

Ming Feng spoke up while swallowing his saliva, a sound that
was ear-piercing.

Ai Hui stared blankly at the bunch of eager fellows. They ran

off like a gust of wind upon receiving the ingredient list, leaving
him alone at that spot and ignoring him.
 "Hey, hey, hey, fire lotus seeds are expensive. Aren’t you guys
touched by my generosity..?"

Before he could finish his sentence, everyone had already left

and not even their shadows could be seen.

Minutes later, the news of Lou Lan preparing Five Elemental

Eight Treasures Porridge, which used fire lotus seed as the main
ingredient, spread among all Central Pine survivors present at
the party and caused a commotion.

"Fire lotus seeds! Oh my god! How much money is that?"

"What’s important is that Lou Lan is preparing it himself!

Hahaha, we did right by coming. What a gain! Oh my! I can’t
control my drool, what should I do?"

"Judging by its name, it must be very powerful! Five

Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge! Damn it, who grilled this
meat? Why does it taste so bad?"

"Didn’t you just praise my grilling skills earlier?"

 "Missing ingredients? Hah, quick gather them everyone!"

"Gather, gather, gather!"

"For Eight Treasures Porridge!"

...

News about Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge spread

around in the blink of an eye!

Upon hearing it, survivors from Central Pine City quickly

gathered ingredients and flocked over from other cities.

"Manager, your ingredients are ready!"

"Are you going to participate in the Eight Treasures Porridge

feast? Is The Lightning Blade really that great?"

"Ai Hui is really amazing!"

 Wang Xiaoshan carried with his many bags, big and small,
and boarded the Fiery Floating Cloud with an excited heart. He
was going to get to Peace City as quick as he could. He heard
that practically all of Central Pine’s survivors had already
departed on their journeys, rushing over from all directions to
join in the reunion party.

Ai Hui did not expect his random idea to blow up so much.

Within a short period of time, the Swordsman Training Hall’s
Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge feast had already
spread widely across the Avalon of Five Elements. Even the list
of ingredients was disseminated widely.

As one of the most in vogue figures currently, Ai Hui was a

target of interest to many news villages.

Many cooking masters, who were proficient in cooking

elemental food, deduced the porridge’s recipe after analyzing
the ingredient list.

Perfect!

This was the word that came out of people’s mouths the most.
The porridge’s effectiveness was similar to that of a legendary
divine medicine that could cure all illness and extend life.

While there were people who tried replicating the porridge,

they were shocked to find out that the main ingredient, fire
lotus seeds, was not purchasable at all.

Advocation from many news villages triggered the interest of

some resolute people.

…..

Clash!

Yet another sound of something being shattered and an angry

snarl traveled from within the Golden Eagle Study Room.

"Bribery! Undisguised, plain bribery!"

The mayor’s residence.

Seeing the racket outside Swordsman Training Hall, Tong Gui

said ruefully, "Using so many fire lotus seeds to buy people’s
hearts. What a big move! That little fellow is treacherous, but in
a different way. It’s all because of those people who are so loyal
to him. Even Jiang Wei did not attract any attention when he
walked into the training hall."

Detecting the unhappiness in Tong Gui’s voice, Yu Jin

responded coldly, "All the divisions have already received a total
of 12 resignations and they’re all from Central Pine Faction."

Tong Gui was stunned and only opened his mouth after a little
while. "Okay, so that means Jiang Wei isn’t that bad. At least he
did not resign. Looks like we underestimated the influence he
has over this crowd."

Yu Jin replied, "We’ve yet to ask for his opinion."

Tong Gui fell into a daze once more before saying bitterly,
"Okay, looks like we are going to go get a bowl of porridge and
whatever else we can."
Chapter 321: Same Boat
"Think you guys can just do as you like?"

A messy haired old man guarding the door shot a side glance
at Tong Gui and Yu Jin. He leaned against a big, glossy black
wine jar and strange bubbling noises could be heard coming
from inside.

Without retorting the two vice division leaders, Tong Gui and
Yu Jin, bent over slightly and listened respectfully.

"Do you know how much blood and sweat I’ve poured for this
bowl of porridge? That’s right, blood and sweat. I found the
people and contacted them, but they refused to agree no matter
what. Said something about the portion being big, but barely
enough! Was I gonna give up just like that? Of course not! I
found out that they were lacking in ingredients. Let me tell you
that someone with willpower will not give up so easily!"

Tong Gui’s copper mask did not give off its usual cold luster.
Instead, it looked as if it was going to melt soon. Meanwhile, Yu
Jin’s high bun looked like a frosted carrot.
 The old man became increasingly excited and radiant as he
spoke. His saliva flew everywhere.

"I saw that they had yet to gather the best quality canna
flowers, hahaha. Coincidentally, I knew that the leader of a
bandit crew was in possession of them. I set off that very night
so you can tell how important this was. The canna flowers
might fall into the hands of others if I were to delay my journey
any longer. After a night of work I wiped the whole crew out.
For the next two hours I searched the whole mountain and
finally found this precious canna stump. What do you say, does
it sound easy?"

It could’ve been because of the blazing sun that beads of sweat

dripped onto the floor from the edge of Tong Gui’s mask and
that Yu Jin’s back was soaked.

The old man sighed. "Not easy! In exchange for this stump,
they finally agreed to give me a bowl of porridge, but what do
you know? They sent me out here to guard the door. I was
furious. Asking a person of my status to guard the gate? But on
second thought, wouldn’t all my previous effort be superfluous
if any brat simply stumbles over and tries to get a bowl of the
porridge that I’ve worked so hard for? That little fellow, Ai Hui,
made sense. If more people come over, wouldn’t my share be
reduced?"
 Tong Gui and Yu Jin sweat poured profusely.

Satisfied, the old man asked them, "What do you guys say?
Does it make sense?"

"Yes, yes, yes, Senior. You’ve worked so hard. No one should

freeload!" Tong Gui agreed repeatedly.

"You’re a sensible lad." The old man heaved a long sigh as a

nostalgic look appeared on his face. "Old fellows like us have
been slogging our whole life for the Elders Guild, but after
sustaining a full body of internal injuries the Elders Guild tosses
us aside. How mournful! Since I’m finally getting my hands on a
bowl of porridge, I’m going to be direct. If the old fogeys from
the Elders Guild come over for a free ride, they’re going to have
to fight me first!"

Tongue-tied, Tong Gui shuddered slightly. "Senior, you…

you…"

Under the attentive gaze of the old fellow, Tong Gui clenched
his teeth and continued, "… are completely right!"
 The old fellow was mollified. "Hahaha, well done! You ain’t
too bad, lad. Decent abilities. What vice division leader… you
can totally be a division leader!"

Amid the old man’s candid laughter the duo fled in fear.

Breaking news: The Green Dragon Bandits that took over

Green Dragon Mountain for years have all been wiped out.
Their corpses and valuables are lying everywhere. "Venerable
Volcano" is the current suspect.

Tian Huzun, 64 years old, nicknamed "Venerable Volcano,"

fire elemental master.

He was one of the former candidates for the division leader

position of the Ardent Flower Division. Because of his irritable
nature, he lost control in a duel, killed somebody, and withdrew
from the competition. He then went solo and accepted all kinds
of missions, accumulating a net worth of 330,000 Heaven Merit
Points. He was seventh on the recent list of wealthiest men.

At 46, Tian Huzun tried and failed to become a Grandmaster.

Instead, his old injury reappeared and infrequently relapsed.
 The friendship between Tian Huzun and Le Buleng ran deep.
They had fought numerous times.

This report was sent to the study table of every residence and
those who had seen it either gnashed their teeth or kneaded
their head in worry. No one wanted to face Tian Huzun as an
enemy. He had outstanding achievements, was very reputable,
and was strong. Furthermore, he had a fiery temper and was
easily triggered.

It was normal for a disagreement to lead to a fight. These

people were all too familiar with this and were not shocked
when a bloodbath occurred due to conflict.

The key was that they might not win.

These people banked on real abilities instead of hope. They

were all old foxes, sly and tough.

Yet, everyone knew that his internal injury was the main
reason why Tian Huzun had failed to break through. In order to
heal these injuries, Tian Huzun would make an enemy out of
anyone.
 Madam Ling exclaimed in admiration, "This young fellow is
simply too crafty!"

After a short while, feeling somewhat stifled, Family Head

Ling said begrudgingly with a pale face, "Withdraw! Get all of
them back here!"

Upon returning to the mayor’s residence, Tong Gui

immediately flipped out and started cursing, "Treacherous! Too
treacherous! How dare he ask Tian Huzun to guard the door!
Base, cheap, and cunning!"

Yu Jin added, "Ought to be killed!"

Tong Gui jolted. "Indeed! How do we kill him?"

After a short silence Yu Jin spat, "Suicide."

"…"

"Too treacherous, too cunning!"

 Ai Hui shook his head sorrowfully. "I did not expect
something like this from you."

No one on the outside would have imagined that having Tian

Huzun guard the door was not Ai Hui’s idea. It was the
brainchild of the seemingly honest, innocent, calm, and reliable
Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei simply smiled.

When compared to Ai Hui, he was more aware and

knowledgeable about the complexity of the current situation.
More and more people gathered at Swordsman Training Hall. It
was like a magnet, attracting Central Pine City’s survivors who
had assembled from all directions.

The crowd grew and, while everyone was cheering wildly, the
more clear-headed ones were already pondering over some
profound issues.

To outsiders, they were a community. In their hearts, they

were also a community.
 When Ai Hui stood up, people who were scattered everywhere
got in touch, as if brought together by invisible threads. In
normal times they would disregard such connections, but when
Ai Hui made an appearance, they were shocked to realize that
the connection they shared was actually this strong.

They were a community indeed. A community more tight-

knit than they, themselves, or anyone else had imagined.

For three years, they had been working hard at their own
posts. They were far from being shrewd and ruthless, but were
no longer naive and ignorant. The surging undercurrents and
lurking dangers served as a constant reminder that the outside
world was very real and daunting.

They needed to face up to their own strength, and they needed

to face up to their own ideas.

Aristocratic families or new citizens?

What would they gain and what would they lose?

Ai Hui had not expected things to turn out this way. His initial
idea was beyond simple. Seeing that everyone was happy, he
thought it was fine to share the leftover fire lotus seed with
everybody.

The fact that the Eight Treasures Porridge had caused such an
uproar left even the originator dumbstruck.

A smile followed.

Eating the porridge happily and training without mishap.

What did the battle between new citizens and aristocratic

families have to do with him? What did the future of the Avalon
of Five Elements have to do with him? He was just a minor
character without the will to carry the burdens of the world. He
was also incapable of saving those trapped in the abyss or the
fire pit.

He had but one mission. Revenge.

This was the only thing he had to accomplish in this life,

regardless of success, failure, or death. The moment his
Dragonspine pierced through his teacher’s chest, his tiny life
had been bestowed with the color of fresh blood.

Yet, he did not wish for the others to accompany him. He

knew that this was a brutal journey with no return route. He did
not want them to step into the abyss with him. All he wanted
was for them to live on properly.

With a slight smile, he listened to the ongoing discussion

quietly without expressing his opinions.

Perhaps the waves would return to their usual serenity when

their enthusiasm blew over.

Jiang Wei was the first to sense Ai Hui’s calmness.

They sat on the roof and looked over the training hall that was
illuminated by the bonfire. People were still arriving every day,
resulting in the hall being soaked in a perpetual merriment.

Jiang Wei gazed at the distant mayor’s residence and spoke

suddenly, "Ai Hui, are you afraid of dragging us down?"
 Ai Hui did not know what to say.

Jiang Wei added, "Ai Hui, are you of the opinion that hatred
toward the Blood of God involves only you?"

Ai Hui remained quiet.

"It is not, Ai Hui." Jiang Wei continued in a low voice, "Other

than the fact that we weren’t forced to kill our own teacher,
we’re all no different."

Ai Hui shuddered.

"Our teachers, classmates, friends, and relatives have died in

Central Pine City." Jiang Wei’s voice was a little hoarse at this
point as he continued with a slightly trembling voice, "How
many have died? We don’t even know. You’re not the only one
seeking revenge. All of us are after it and have never forgotten.
These people shall not die for nothing and bleed for nothing.
How can revenge simply be forgotten?"

"Ai Hui, do you really think we will be able to put aside the
hatred and live on peacefully? The Elders Guild can do that.
They have control over the Avalon of Five Elements and
countless citizens. A small city is negligible as far as the state of
the Avalon of Five Elements is concerned. They can tell
themselves that they are doing it for the greater good of the
Avalon of Five Elements, but we can’t. We’re unable to forget.
Not now. Not in future. Not ever."

"Central Pine City could have recovered its appearance with

the "Cloth City" plan, but would it have revived the corpses?
Could the lost lives be recovered? Would our relatives and
friends come back? Even now, we can’t forget that land full of
corpses and blood. People were falling to the ground nonstop.
We still remember the fear and dread. We can’t tell ourselves
that this was a war and that we deserved it. We’re unable to tell
ourselves that this was war so just forget about it and live
peacefully ever after."

"F*ing war!"

A sinister look flashed across Jiang Wei’s face.

"Why would you think that revenge belongs only to you? Why
did so many people resign? Because we did not forget about
revenge? It’s because we know that the Elders Guild is only after
stability. New citizens or aristocratic families, we are going to
pay blood with blood!"

"Ai Hui, we’re in the same boat," Jiang Wei concluded with
these words, regained his composure, and jumped off the roof.

Ai Hui sat motionlessly on the rooftop.

Chapter 322: Call Me Sister
Outside Jadeite City, the floating mountain peak pressed
down on everybody’s hearts like a big rock, suffocating them.

Every passerby couldn’t help but raise their head for a look at
the lofty mountain peak. Under the sunlight, the words
"Guardian of Five Elements" gave off an impression of boundless
prestige and austerity. A ray of light would flash past
occasionally, reminding people of its danger.

The God-subduing Peak entered Jadeite Forest and wherever

it passed it evoked intense panic.

The high officials and aristocratic families who had initially

called for an alliance with Blood of God all vanished without a
trace. And the elders, whom Shi Xueman invited on board to
tour around and view the demonstration of its attacking power,
were all ashen-faced with worry and unease.

People with foresight understood that the appearance of God-

subduing Peak would thoroughly change the battle form.

Shi Xueman did not care too much since she was distracted by
the latest news. Everything from the exposure of Ai Hui’s
identity, the destruction of Sha Guards and the public peddling
of fire lotus seeds, to Miao Hai’s challenge, Elders Guild’s
commendation, the mirage bean pod that swept across the
whole Avalon of Five Elements, and the attention-grabbing Five
Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge.

And she was still in high spirits, buying all the message bean
pods with news about Ai Hui.

The rest of the time she strolled in Jadeite Forest City, looking
around and buying things.

The sky was a dark blue color and the beautiful sunlight
penetrated the lush forest, illuminating this jadeite green city.
The season of blooming flowers had come again, with pink
petals appearing like pieces of dreamy feathers drifting in the
wind and making crisp bell sounds. It was the most beautiful
season in Jadeite Forest. At night the feather flowers would
emit a faint pinkish fluorescence. They were like night fairies.

Walking under the bright sunlight and falling petals, amid the
busy streets and crowd, Shi Xueman felt cheerful. She carried
big paper bags that contained pastries she’d purchased along the
way. There were long forest baguettes and soft, sweet
viridescent balls and seasonal fresh flower biscuits. There was
also a fluffy, fragmented pale-blue wild flower that was given to
her as a gift from the bakery boss.

She walked into an alley and arrived at the entrance of a

house. She knocked on the door.

Creak. The main door opened and the person behind it looked
at her, smiling. "You’re quite early today."

Shi Xueman smiled slightly. "I have nothing else to attend to

anyway."

She held onto the bags and stepped inside, closing the door
behind her.

Beside the main door was an old, broken wooden board that
had the words "Society of Excellence" on it.

Duanmu Huanghun, who was training, saw Shi Xueman

walking in. He couldn’t help but mockingly comment, "People
might think you’re here for a holiday trip. Isn’t it inappropriate
for you to be idling like this? You’re an honorable person in
charge of a diplomatic mission after all."

Shi Xueman tossed the snacks around to everyone while

answering, "I’ve accomplished my mission. To intimidate you
all with God-subduing Peak. What else do you want me to do?
Find a wife for you?"

Duanmu Huanghun stopped his training and responded in a

resentful tone shortly, "Solve your own problems first. Don’t
forget that you’re Iron Lady."

Shi Xueman handed out the last pastry and rolled up the bags,
throwing them into the bin. After that, she warmed up her fists
and sneered, "Do you know why I’m so early today? I’m here to
put you in order. If you can’t even beat that She woman, why
are you acting all mighty in front of me?"

Being wise, the others held their pastry in their mouths and
paved a space for them.

Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong were the quickest.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face paled. He feigned coldness,

shouting, "I’m a gentleman. I will not fight against a woman!
The relationship between Jadeite Forest and the Avalon is very
subtle. Do not jeopardize your mission. As Duanmu family’s…"

Shi Xueman remained unmoved. She raised her chin and

kneaded her fists. "Call me sister!"

Duanmu Huanghun flew into a rage. "Do not be a bully, Shi

Xueman. This is Jadeite Forest. You don’t want to provoke
me…"

Shi Xueman approached him while cracking her knuckles and

stretching her shoulders. An unfathomable gush of latent
elemental energy surfaced like a sea with a dangerous aura.

In everyone’s eyes, Shi Xueman seemed to have grown taller.

Tall enough to obstruct the sky and cast a devilish black and
dangerous shadow. Through the gaps between her teeth she
smiled eerily, "Call me sister!"

Duanmu Huanghun was like a frightened kitten, the hairs on

his body standing on end. The recent, torturous training had
sharpened his mental state and pushed his essence-breath-spirit
to its peak. He narrowed his eyes, dangerous light rays
flickering within. His voice was as cold and heart-piercing as a
knife as he released his concealed and fatal blow in a
straightforward manner, "Fine!"

The cold winter turned to warm spring as Duanmu Huanghun

broke into a big smile. "Sister Xueman!"

Dead silence.

Thud. The pastries in Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong’s mouths fell

onto the floor as they stood motionlessly with their jaws wide
open. Those around them were dumbstruck as well.

Brother Huanghun...

The dangerous aura Shi Xueman had been emitting just a

moment ago vanished in a puff of smoke.The raging sea
returned to its usual calmness in an instant as the sunlight
pierced through the black clouds above the sea.

A bright, sunshine-like smile appeared on Shi Xueman’s face.

"Did you call me Iron Lady earlier?"
 Duanmu Huanghun replied righteously, "Back in the day
when Ai Hui came up with that nickname for you, I was
strongly against it. However, my position was lowly and my
words didn’t carry much weight. He was domineering and out
of control, absolutely unrestrained and evil. You must teach
him a lesson, Sister Xueman!"

Gentleness returned to her face as she said, "You don’t have to

tell me that."

Expressionless, Duanmu Huanghun turned to Yu Ziyi and Wu

Qirong. "It seems like the training schedule is too empty since
you two are so free. Double the training today."

That scoundrel’s method is really handy!

Quivering, Yu Ziyi and Wu Qirong turned pale. They looked

pleadingly at Shi Xueman.

Shi Xueman sighed. "Should we discuss the training load?

Would tripling it be more reasonable?"

Shi Xueman was well aware of how Ai Hui had done it in the
past.

Everybody’s face turned whiter as they hurriedly sneaked

away, leaving only the four of them in the courtyard.

Shi Xueman turned around suddenly, "Aren’t you guys going

for the porridge feast?"

Duanmu Huanghun answered after a short silence, "I’m afraid

we might make thing more troublesome if we go."

Shi Xueman knew that he was speaking the truth.

Under the circumstances, the Avalon had been forced to rope

Jadeite Forest in. Jadeite Forest, which had just revolted against
the Avalon, was regarded as traitorous in the eyes of Elders
Guild. Because of its relationship with Jadeite Forest, the Elders
Guild would do anything to ensure Duanmu Huanghun’s safety
if he appeared in the Avalon. However, this did not mean that
the Elders Guild would tolerate his other behaviors.

Because of his special background, it was easy for his actions

to be misinterpreted, and yet he had no power to defend
himself. Even if the Elders Guild worried about their
association, they could send people to escort him back to Jadeite
Forest.

Shi Xueman spoke up. "I never expected him to stir up

something so huge."

"I’m curious as to what path he’ll take." A strange smile

emerged on Duanmu Huanghun’s face. "Ai Hui and his gang do
not understand the filthy affairs that are going on between the
aristocratic families and the new citizens, but we do. In Elders
Guild’s eyes, Ai Hui and his gang are together with Central Pine
Faction. Such a big group operating as the backbone of the
Avalon of Five Elements… how fun."

Shi Xueman shot him a sideways glance. "Are you gloating?"

Duanmu Haunghun laughed. "I’m looking forward to seeing

what that fellow will do. Don’t you think that whatever matter
he bumps into, he’s always making the unpopular choice?"

Shi Xueman smiled. "True."

 Duanmu Huanghun kept his smile and added coolly, "There’s
no space for Ai Hui in the aristocratic families. Joining New
Citizen Faction would be meaningless too. Otherwise, why
would Ye Baiyi rely on Blood of God for support?"

Shi Xueman remained silent.

"Ye Baiyi figured out that there’s no future for New Citizen
Faction. It’s been over a thousand years. The connection
between Avalon and Old Territory has long been severed.
Resources are required for the training of elemental energy.
When there were ample resources, talented practitioners were
picked out from Old Territory to add new blood to the Avalon of
Five Elements, which is a good thing. Now resources are so
scarce that even its own people are facing shortages. How was it
going to gather anything for Old Territory? Old Territory is
now a burden to the Avalon of Five Elements. It has been a
burden ever since before the construction of the new Avalon of
Five Elements was completed. But abandoning Old Territory is
equivalent to thoroughly abandoning its roots, so how did the
new citizens do it?"

Duanmu Huanghun spoke calmly but his words hit the nail on
the head.
 An intense helplessness rose in Shi Xueman’s heart. She knew
that he was right.

"The aristocratic families will win since they are purer. They
are the only ones who will have the Avalon of Five Elements’s
interests at heart. New citizens will lose because they have to
tend to everything. They are unable to think from both
perspectives of the Avalon of Five Elements and Old Territory."

Gloom took over Duanmu Huanghun’s handsome face. "Old

Territory belongs to Blood of God. I don’t know who created
blood elementalists. Damn it. Blood elementalists do not
consume much resources, which means that people from Old
Territory can train. Those who are unable to train can choose to
train as blood elementalists. Who do you think these people
would choose?"

A mocking look appeared on his face as he pointed to the

horizon where God-subduing Peak was. "Can’t you already tell
from that big fellow the Elders Guild has come up with? They’re
trying to stop the war, right? Using this big fellow to seal off the
front line before reconstructing the Avalon of Five Elements.
Heh heh, they never would’ve thought that Blood of God also
can’t wait for the battle to end so that they can take possession
of Old Territory. How many people are there in Old Territory?
How many times that of the Avalon of Five Elements’s
population? Ten percent of the population is going to become
blood elementalists. Hahaha, Elders Guild’s waiting to be
slaughtered! A bunch of short-sighted morons!"

These words fell on Shi Xueman’s ear like a sudden clap of

thunder. Her limbs were cold. She asked, "Any solutions?"

Feeling jittery inside, Duanmu Huanghun responded, "What

solutions can I possibly have? Go and ask Ai Hui."

At that he became distracted. On second thought he felt he

was a little mental. Ai Hui was rather powerful but far from
being able to solve such issues.

Noticing Shi Xueman’s pale face he sighed, "Don’t think too

much. Let the big guys fret. She Yu is preparing to slip away
tonight, probably because she’s figured out the Elders Guild’s
intention."

Shi Xueman asked abruptly, "How do you know?"

"Inside news." Duanmu Huanghun waved his hand.

 Shi Xueman walked toward the door without turning her
head back. With murderous eyes she yelled, "I’m gonna kill that
bitch!"

Duanmu Huanghun was stunned, but his face quickly

changed. He shouted for her while making chase.

"Hey hey hey! Don’t be rash, don’t be rash… Count me in!"

Chapter 323: Watch the Door
Cui Tianzheng observed Shi Xueman. He could vaguely see
Shi Beihai’s spirit in her perseverance and stubbornness. They
even had the same disregard for law and nature.

"Have you considered the consequences?"

His tone was peaceful.

"I did." Shi Xueman said calmly as she met Uncle Cui’s gaze.

"Bringing Duanmu Huanghun on board and revealing God-

subduing Peak’s secret. Using God-subduing Peak without
permission, killing Blood of God’s diplomatic mission in Jadeite
Forest… Have you thought about Elders Guild’s reaction?"

Shi Xueman answered in a low voice, "I did. These were my

selfish decisions. No one else is to be blamed so I’m willing to
take all responsibility for my actions."

Cui Tianzheng looked at her meaningfully. "Why are you so

anxious? With your current speed, you can take over your
father in another ten years. Twenty years after, and the future
of the Avalon of Five Elements will belong to you all. You just
have to follow the order. Everything is yours. Be it taking
revenge or returning favors, you can act according to your
wishes."

"I know," Shi Xueman nodded. "but I also know that once I
accept these things, I will have to obey them. I will have to
accept whatever task they give me, whether I like it or not. It’s
not mine if I don’t accept it. They need people who are willing
to conform."

Duanmu Huanghun, who was standing beside her, laughed

silently. He was born into an influential family and knew
exactly how Shi Xueman felt.

The one wearing the crown must bear its weight. Good things
were either too difficult to get a hold of, or obtained at the
expense of everything else.

Cui Tianzheng pleaded earnestly, "Youngsters need patience.

What can’t be done once you have the power? You have a long
life ahead of you."
 Shi Xueman shook her head. "I will be old by then. I should do
what the twenty year old me wants to when I’m twenty, do
what the thirty year old me wants to when I’m thirty, and do
what the forty year old me wants to when I’m forty. I should do
whatever, whenever I feel like. There’s no point waiting. I
won’t be able to do anything when I’m old."

Duanmu Huanghun was startled by her words.

Cui Tianzheng asked helplessly, "Aren’t you afraid of dragging

your father down?"

Shi Xueman blinked. "Those were my father’s words."

Cui Tianzheng sat mute, only shaking his head after a long
time. "Both father and daughter are really worrisome. Okay
then, since my duty is to ensure that God-subduing Peak does
not fall into enemy hands. You’re in charge of everything else,
so I’ll leave it up to you."

As a Master, Cui Tianzheng held a high position. As for God-

subduing Peak being snatched away? He wasn’t the least bit
worried. Even if Dai Gang were to attempt it personally, he
would have to pay a huge price in order to seize it.
 "Let’s go then."

Shi Xueman commanded straightforwardly.

Citizens of Jadeite Forest were shocked to see God-subduing

Peak light up suddenly in the night outside the city.

Whoosh whoosh. The thick and solid old vine was like a
chained anchor, freshly pulled up from the sea. On its faint,
transparent glowing shield, streaks of dazzling light scars were
flickering non-stop.

The giant peak sailed unhurriedly in the sky with its intense
elemental energy waves dispersing in the air. The gale swept
that across Jadeite City and God-subduing Peak was a gradually
migrating elemental energy windstorm.

Could it be that God-subduing Peak was really going to attack

Jadeite Forest City?

An intense fear shrouded the city.

 …..

Outside Peace City.

A typical yet eye-catching Old Territory-style caravan could be

seen.

It was different from the Avalon of Five Elements’s. Old

Territory was home to a vast jumble of people. The pace of
living was slower and many customs and habits from the
cultivation era remained here. Of course, in the eyes of people in
the Avalon of Five Elements, those traditions were in patches
and useless.

There was a shortage of resources and elemental energies was

scarce. Additionally, it used to be the core of the Cultivation
Era, so there were many artifacts and grotto-heavens left behind
by the sects that were now seen as garbage.

Old Territory’s patchy style had always been this way – the
upper body was covered in sturdy armor that was refined by
body-tempering sect from thirty thousand years ago, and the
lower body was covered in skirt armor fashioned by some sect
from seventy thousand years ago. People carried a cult-ish
chopper from an unknown period and they either had a priest
hat or conical bamboo hat on their head. Shoes were the most
cumbersome; only overflowing luck would allow someone to
find a matching pair.

Most wore different shoes on both feet and businessmen

racked their brains over this issue. For example, if one had
Tigerhead Wind-resistant Shoe on the left foot and
Greendragon-On-Cloud Shoe on the right, the combination is
called Walking Dragon, Sprinting Tiger. Other shoes like
Idlecloud Wild Crane, Double Sword and Flaming Wind
Assistance could fetch a good price.

But in these past few years, due to wars, prices rose

ridiculously. It was absolutely impossible for things to be like in
the past, where items were sold by weight.

Even Silver Mist Sea, which was unlocked twice every month,
changed to just once a month. In order to prevent the volume of
water from dropping too low, Silver Mist Sea tried to empty out
the golden ores to increase the metal elemental energy in the
sea.

Old Territory’s patchy style had been a topic of ridicule in the

Avalon of Five Elements. To them, it represented retrogress,
poverty and decay.

Nevertheless, when the Old Territory caravan appeared

outside Peace City, many pairs of eyes turned bloodshot. That
seemingly patched up bit of treasure was actually worth quite a
lot today.

All thanks to that damned Blood of God!

Blood of God practiced blood spiritual force so some artifacts

could still function in their hands. This led directly to a price
hike in those artifact remnants.

People’s eyes were red but no one dared to do anything. For

any caravan to move about so boldly in the Avalon of Five
Elements, it must not be an easy target. A few guards from the
caravan were legitimate elementalists with decent abilities.
They were swift and fierce, and their gears were impressive.

"Screw it, why am I feeling a little nervous? Let me have a

sweet to calm my nerves."

The leader of the caravan was a solidly armored fatty. He took

a malt candy out and popped it into his mouth with a cackling
sound.

I have to show Ai Hui the result of three years of hard work!

I haven’t just been doing nothing these three years!

A Hui, get ready to be shocked!

He chomped the candy down, gnashing his teeth. He’d been

suffering for three bitter years for this moment. He took a deep
breath and stopped a passerby.

"Excuse me, may I know how to get to Swordsman Training

Hall?"

…..

Swordsman Training Hall entrance.

There were two more figures beside Venerable Volcano this

time. Devilish Tong Gui and icily arrogant Yu Jin were in
discomfort. The duo had urgently gathered a batch of precious
ingredients, finally getting the chance to get a bowl of congee.

But they were called out by Tian Huzun to watch the door
with him even before they could step into the training hall.

When Venerable Volcano spoke, none dared to disobey.

The pitiful Sky Edge Division’s vice division leaders had never
guarded the door for anyone. With eyes on them, both felt
uncomfortable all over.

Yet, Tian Huzun directed them non-stop and they had no

choice but to lower their heads and obey.

"...Don’t let anyone in easily. This is our principle. Look, you

guys went to so much effort but have yet to drink the porridge.
Others got it so easily, can you bear this? If I were you guys, I
wouldn’t be able to. Hmm, since Old Yuchi is here, let’s just
fight first. It’s not like we haven’t fought anyway."

Cold sweat poured out of their bodies as they tried to breathe

as quietly as they could.

Tian Huzun became excited, waving his hand in big motions.

"The trick to guarding is to control your eyes! Like a staring
contest, you need a fierce gaze so those who are trying to take
advantage will cower upon meeting your gaze. As the saying
goes, a gentleman is magnanimous whereas a vile person
conceals his intention. Hey! Who let you in?"

Already in front of the entrance, the middle-aged man jumped

up in fright. His face changed upon getting a clear view of who
the three men by the door were.

The middle-aged man instantly gave a charming look and

dashed toward Tong Gui and Yu Jin, saying respectfully, "But
Tong Gui and Yu Jin? I’m He Cheng, a teacher of Dragonrise
Training Hall. The hall owner heard that Miao Hai’d challenged
Ai Hui to a battle without reporting to the headquarters and was
furious about it. In order to apologize, he specially sent your
humble one to prepare a gift that expresses our sincere
apologies toward Sir Ai Hui. Who would’ve thought that I’d be
lucky enough to bump into you masters here. How honored…"

He Cheng’s tone was passionate and he spoke really fast.

 "Dragonrise Training Hall…" A ray of light flashed across
Tong Gui’s eyes as he made eye contact with Yu Jin.

Dragonrise had a profound background. The owner, Yang

Zhen, wasn’t somebody they were willing to provoke.

Tong Gui was about to open his mouth when he heard Tian
Huzun’s impatient voice, "Put the things down and leave."

He Cheng flew into a rage. "You old fellow, I’ll have you know
that this is the owner’s good intention…"

Bang!

A foot smashed into He Cheng’s face. As if he’d been knocked

right over by a sprinting, violent, wild beast, he flew more than
thirty meters away, losing consciousness.

Tong Gui’s pupils instantly shrunk. That leg…

He’d seen it clearly. There was a golden dragon symbol on He

Cheng’s garment. He was a golden dragon teacher. If that
teacher wasn’t able to block that kick, would he himself have
been able to dodge it?"

Tong Gui broke out in a cold sweat. He wasn’t the least bit
confident.

Tian Huzun casually picked up the items off the ground. They
were the gifts He Cheng had carried with him. The old man was
extremely displeased. "That fellow is great and all, except that
he’s a stingy miser and will not stand losing out at all."

Fatty, who’d arrived at the entrance and witnessed the scene,

was dumbstruck.

The caravan guards had the same pale look on their faces.

A thought struck the guard leader, causing his expression to

worsen. He whispered in Fatty’s ear in a low voice, "That old
man is Venerable Volcano, Tian Huzun. He’s a Master! The
masked man is Sky Edge Division’s vice division leader, Tong
Gui, and Yu Jin is the woman beside him, a vice division leader
as well."
 "Watching the door is a small matter. How are you gonna
accomplish anything great if you can’t even handle something
so trivial…"

The old man lectured endlessly.

Sweat meandered down Fatty’s chubby face as his clothing

became soaked with it. Fear filled his beady eyes.

Watching the door...

Ai Hui’s doormen actually consist of a Master and two vice

division leaders of a division!

Why were his calves shaking?

Was he in the wrong place?

"Excuse me three gentlemen, is… is this Ai Hui’s Swordsman

Training Hall?"
 Fatty’s voice was trembling uncontrollably but no one behind
was mocking him. They were in a worser mental state. Before a
Master and two vice division leaders, it was already very brave
of those who dared talk to them without kneeling down.

The old man gave him a look. "That fellow said he has a fat
friend named Qian Dai. Is that you?"

"Yes yes yes!" Fatty answered agitatedly. In this split second,

he felt a sense of pride and had completely forgotten that he was
here to brag.

The team members beside him stood up straight, puffing their

chests out with a proud expression on their faces.

"You can go in, but not the rest."

The old man gave a wave.

Really watching the door...

Fatty swallowed his saliva with some difficulty, quickly

bending at his waist in agreeance. Damn it, he had never seen
such a VIP!

But another thought quickly filled his mind. Ai Hui was rich
now!

Oh my, I’m going to be rich too!

Walking into the hall muddle-headed, Fatty heard a joyful

voice suddenly.

"Long time no see! Fatty, I’m so happy to see you!"

Fatty jerked a little before raising his head.

He saw that familiar figure standing before him, smiling and

Lou Lan cheering at him with his arms raised.

Countless figures gathered before him. There were people

from the Wilderness and Central Pine City. Tears blurred his
vision and when he could see clearly again, Fatty’s mouth
trembled as he started to cry.
"Ai Hui!"
Chapter 324: Impossible To Understand
"Nonsense!"

An angry boom echoed through the meeting room. Great

Elder seldom got angry on the monthly Bigtree Meeting.

The Bigtree Meeting was the most highly regarded meeting in

all of the Avalon of Five Elements. Every Elder had to
participate in this monthly gathering. Because the Elders were
powerful and busy figures, it was difficult for all of them to
assemble. As such, the Avalon forked out a tremendous sum to
grow 13 elder trees.

Each elder tree had only 13 leaves and each leaf was about the
size of a tabletop. It could project an Elder’s silhouette onto the
leaf surface such that he appeared to be standing on it.

As such, this monthly Elders Guild meeting was coined the

Bigtree Meeting.

"Look, using God-subduing Peak without permission,

attacking the Blood of God’s diplomatic mission, and causing
heavy losses. Over 20 dead! Triggering panic throughout the
Jadeite Forest! And kidnapping Duanmu Huanghun! Look at
our diplomatic mission team commander! This is the future
leader whom we’d selected! What are we doing?"

"Is there such a thing? Is that girl crazy?"

"This must stop! How are we going to function if people come

in and do as they please? I suggest severe punishment!"

"It must be severe! Youngsters like her need to be taught a

good lesson, but we’d have to inform Shi Beihai first!"

The Elders were talking fervently over one another.

Just then, an Elder’s expression turned strange as he spoke,

"Wait, everybody."

The other Elders turned around successively.

"A report from Shi Beihai came earlier. Everyone should see
it."
 "North Sea Division member, Shi Xueman, has seriously
broken the rules. She was willful, irresponsible, and has
severely affected the interests of the Avalon of Five Elements.
After a discussion, the North Sea Division has agreed to expel
Shi Xueman as a disciplinary action."

The Elders looked at each other in confusion and did not

know what to say. Everyone quieted down.

Shortly, an Elder slowly started to speak up, "Why is Shi

Beihai being so rash? Don’t youngsters all make mistakes? It’s
normal for them to be impulsive. A little polishing should do
the trick."

"Yeah, it’s over, already over. Why the need to go this far!"

"I’ve seen Xueman grow up and she’s always been sensible and
clever. She’s been through the blood battle of Central Pine, and
her animosity toward the Blood of God did get the better of her,
but it shouldn’t be surprising. She’s young after all."

"The panic in the Jadeite Forest isn’t a bad thing from what I
see. Weren’t we trying to intimidate them by sending the God-
subduing Peak there? We did well!"
 "Shi Beihai is really too rigid and harsh!"

...

The Elders had a headache.

As the division leader of North Sea Division, Shi Beihai had

the power to make such a decision. Even as elders, they weren’t
able to stop him. However, they really did think highly of Shi
Xueman and saw her as the leader of the next generation. Shi
Beihai’s direct declaration of her discharge would damage her
future prospects heavily, especially in the next election.

Some Elders held flickering gazes since they were secretly

pleased.

In the competition among the new generation, Shi Xueman

was leading significantly and everyone saw it as foregone
conclusion. Who would’ve imagined that she would actually do
something as silly as this to withdraw from the race and ruin
her own future.

Elders with outstanding sons within their families started to

get restless.

Seeing the change in the Elders’ expressions, a bitter smile

appeared on the corner of Yuchi Ba’s mouth. His plans had been
completely messed up.

Flying at full speed, the God-subduing Peak was like a wave-

splitting whale, smashing the sharp, bitingly cold wind into
pieces that flew in all directions. Even as it was moving at such a
high speed, however, the God-subduing Peak remained as
motionless and stable as a boulder.

The sea of clouds in front was thick and the mountain range
could only be seen from the bottom.

"Cloud Ridge is just ahead." Sang Zhijun smiled gleefully. "It’s

great that we’ll be able to make it in time for Lou Lan’s porridge
feast."

Including Shi Xueman, there were many other Central Pine

survivors who’d tendered their resignation together and had
received approval.
 "Is it worth it?" Duanmu Huanghun asked suddenly. He
simply could not understand what these people were thinking.

"Of course!" Shi Xueman answered bluntly. "Just thinking

about being able to reunite with everyone makes me super
happy. I don’t know why but I’m just so happy. No messy and
complicated matters. No distracting thoughts and qualms."

"Yeah." Sang Zhijun smiled as well. "In the past, I thought that
battling blood elementalists and beasts was tiring and
terrifying, but after coming out, I realized that there were many
things that were more tedious and horrifying than those."

Duanmu Huanghun felt rather envious.

"Don’t forget that you’re a hostage!" Shi Xueman glared at

Duanmu Huanghun, but was unable to stifle a smile. "You have
a good brain and many evil tricks up your sleeves, so think hard
about what everybody should do. Ai Hui will whack you if you
can’t come up with any good solutions."

"Hostage?" Duanmu Huanghun reacted. "Yeah, I got

kidnapped. The Jadeite Forest is asking you guys what the
Elders Guild wants?"
 "Oh well." Shi Xueman blinked before saying, " I forgot to tell
you that I’ve been expelled from the North Sea Division."

"Ex… expelled by the North Sea Division?" Duanmu

Huanghun almost lost his voice. "Is that even possible?"

"No choice. That’s what you get when you have a great father.
Don’t worry, I’ve already written a letter to inform him that
you’re doing fine."

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes lit up. Yeah, he was a hostage. Did

that not mean that he was free? He felt cheery instantly, as if
the bright sunlight had driven away the dark clouds and night
sky. He was inexplicably agitated.

He was finally experiencing the happiness that Shi Xueman

and Sang Zhijun had just been talking about earlier.

That’s right, simply happy!

All of a sudden, he was looking forward to his future and

became overwhelmed by it all.
 The God-subduing Peak flew past Cloud Ridge and descended
rapidly, charging into the boundless pitch-black sea of clouds.
Amid the whistling wind, they held their breaths as if waiting
for something.

Crashing through the sea of clouds and the last wisp of fog, a
bustling city entered their field of view. Everybody cheered in
harmony.

"Uncle Cui, I’ll leave the God-subduing Peak to you. We’ll get
going now!"

Shi Xueman bid Cui Tianzheng goodbye confidently before

grabbing Duanmu Huanghun and leaping out.

"Let go! I can fly by myself!"

"Shut it! Such a pesky hostage!"

Duanmu Huanghun’s resentful voice and Shi Xueman’s

chiding tone filled the air.
 "Bye, Master Cui!"

Sang Zhijun and the others bowed, smiled at everyone else,

and cheered before running toward the edge of the summit and
leaping down.

Cui Tianzheng smiled slightly. How good it was to be young!"

Cui Tianzheng suddenly felt a fondness toward these

youngsters. He felt the thriving vitality they possessed. A
completely different kind of vigor when compared to that of the
Avalon of Five Elements.

When he looked at the vast land and the distant blue sky, he
was filled with hope all of a sudden.

…..

Swordsman Training Hall entrance.

"Shi Xueman was being expelled from North Sea Divsion?"

 A member of the Sky Edge Division quickly landed before
Tong Gui and gave his report in a low voice. Tong Gui opened
his eyes wide and even Yu Jin’s never-changing face revealed a
hint of shock.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin were genuinely shocked. Shi Xueman’s

popularity had been rising daily for three years. She had long
since been referred to and acknowledged as the number one
member of the new generation.

Of noble origin, Shi family was one of the longest standing

aristocratic family in the whole history of Avalon of Five
Elements. Furthermore, Shi Beihai was the division leader of
North Sea Division and had overflowing power.

Be it her family background, abilities, or character, she was

number one without contention.

Almost everyone opined that she would exceed her father’s

accomplishments and become the future leader of the Avalon of
Five Elements. New citizens thought so as well.

New citizens had never thought of fighting against the

aristocratic families for that position because they were simply
too weak. They occupied only three out of 13 seats in the Elders
Guild. Neutral Faction held three as well and the remaining
seven seats were taken by the respective aristocratic families.
Basically, when it came to decision making, the families could
easily put plans into effect without any hindrance.

New citizens absolutely did not think about fighting for the
first position. They merely hoped to expand their freedom of
speech.

Their previous target was Jiang Wei, but they realized later on
that Ai Hui was the better candidate.

The aristocratic families were worried that Ai Hui would steal

Shi Xueman’s limelight, whereas new citizens focused on the
unique relationship between those two. Ai Hui had better
abilities than Jiang Wei, and his reputation and influence were
not things Jiang Wei could compete with. Plus, Shi Xueman had
even once assumed the role of Ai Hui’s assistant.

Shi Xueman had more respect for Ai Hui than for Jiang Wei.

When Shi Xueman took charge of the Avalon of Five Elements

in future, they could push Ai Hui into the Elders Guild. That
way, Ai Hui would undoubtedly have decent speaking power,
something the new citizens intended.

Yet, in just one night, circumstances had changed drastically.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin were caught unprepared. They had a

clearer picture of Old Ba’s idea.

In this way, previous plans fell through just like that. If Shi
Xueman did not become the Avalon’s leader, Ai Hui’s value
would drop greatly as well.

Even worse, it was difficult for Ai Hui to become a threat to

Shi Xueman. Toward other candidates, however, it was a
different story.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin had splitting headaches.

This could lead the aristocratic families to erroneously think

that the new citizens were after the first position. If unresolved,
new citizens would be completely suppressed by the aristocratic
families. This was precisely what the new citizens wanted to
avoid.
 If both parties broke out in a full-fledged fight, the new
citizens were sure to lose.

What now?

Both of them were at a loss. Things changed too quickly,

catching them off guard.

Suddenly, a group of people appeared in the alleyway.

"I have not seen Lou Lan in a long time. I miss him!"

"Lou Lan healthcare!"

"I want porridge!"

...

Wait. Tong Gui and Yu Jin’s pupils shrank immediately as

they fixed their gaze on the foremost, beautiful figure.
 Shi… Shi Xueman!

They made eye contact and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.

Shi Xueman, who had just be expelled by the North Sea

Division, was actually in Peace City to visit Ai Hui’s Swordsman
Training Hall. Beside her was her assistant, Sang Zhijun. And
could that person she was carrying… be Duanmu Huanghun?

No way…

They both felt as if they’d been struck by lightning as their

minds turned blank.

What was going on?

Why was it getting harder and harder for them to

understand?
Chapter 325: Porridge Almost Done
The news that Shi Xueman was expelled and was heading for
Ai Hui’s Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge feast spread
across Avalon of Five Elements like a wildfire.

The whole Avalon was in an uproar.

As the number one of the new generation, Shi Xueman was

the most perfect goddess in the eyes of ordinary people. She was
born into a noble family, trained hard since young,
homeschooled, well-mannered, tenacious, and responsible. She
had never ever had any negative publicity.

As if the news of her abrupt expulsion was not already earth-

shattering, her appearance at the Swordsman Training Hall in
Peace City triggered endless wild thoughts.

Many people felt that it was a pity since it was now impossible
for her to become the next leader. None of the successive Great
Elders of the Avalon of Five Elements had ever made such a
grave mistake.

Other than regret, people also felt curious as to what Ai Hui

was like as a person.

When Central Pine survivors from all over gathered in Peace

City, everyone saw how much influence Ai Hui had over these
people. Even Shi Xueman came, pushing Ai Hui’s popularity up
a few notches.

Because of this matter, no one talked about the master

murderer incident anymore. Would Shi Xueman still have came
if Ai Hui was really such a vile character?

The most troubling issue was still regarding the New Citizen
Faction.

Without the support of the new citizens, Ai Hui was merely a

rootless duckweed. No matter how popular he was, he would be
no different from Tian Huzun and unable to contend for the
position of the next Great Elder. The aristocratic families
viewed this as insignificant.

Yet, with the support of the new citizens, Ai Hui was highly
likely to become the next Great Elder, thus becoming a threat.
 In other words, if the new citizens supported Ai Hui, it was
equivalent to them declaring their intention of taking the
position of the next Great Elder. Undoubtedly, that would lead
to a full-on protest from the aristocratic families’ side.

On the other hand, if they gave up on Ai Hui, it meant that

they would be offending the whole Central Pine faction. To the
aristocratic families, they would still have sufficient power even
without the Central Pine faction. To the new citizens, however,
losing the Central Pine Faction, where 90% of the members
were new citizens, would cause a long-term loss.

To the new citizens, it was a tough decision to make.

To Ai Hui and gang, they had no time to worry about these

fights and schemes.

Shi Xueman and her group’s arrival pushed the party

atmosphere to a new high.

The core group of Central Pine survivors were all here.

Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, Jiang Wei, Sang

Zhijun, Wang Xiaoshan, and the A-1 unit. One could easily
imagine the excitement and joy this reunion brought.

The busiest was Bangwan.

"Bangwan, I heard you got defeated by One Thousand Yuan?"

"Bangwan, I heard you’re here as a hostage?"

"Bangwan, I heard you got intoxicated in brothels every

night?"

"Bangwan, I heard you’re looking for a wife? Want us to help

you arrange a blind date?"

"Bangwan…"

"Big Sister is still the best! Or else Bangwan would still be

getting drunk in brothels!"

Lou Lan was busily boiling the Eight Treasures Porridge.

 There was a big iron cooking pot, and complicated patterns
were drawn on the ground. It was a spell formation. Up until
now, the earth fire had already been burning for a whole 10
days. More than 1,000 elemental essence beans and 200 blood
crystals had been consumed, while the number of precious
ingredients thrown in was uncountable.

In all of Lou Lan’s elemental cooking career, this was his first
time taking on such a large-scale project.

On one hand, seeing expensive ingredients carelessly being

thrown into the pot everyday made Fatty’s heart ache, but on
the other hand, the fragrance drifting out of the pot made him
drool freely.

Fatty could not endure it any longer. "Lou Lan, how much
longer do you need?"

"It’s almost done." Lou Lan cheered on, "Go, go, Fatty, hang in
there."

Fatty was a fire elementalist, and over the past three years, he
had never stopped training. He had long since attained
elemental externalization and could help Lou Lan brew the
Eight Treasures Porridge.

But, Lou Lan’s preparation method was quite different from

the others.

The drawings on the ground were spell formations were called

elemental energy formations, and they were products Ai Hui
had researched according to his master’s theories. Fatty did not
quite understand elemental energy formations, but as a fire
elementalist, he had a deeper understanding of flames than
most.

The flames used to cook the Eight Treasures Porridge were

from the subterranean earth fire, but Fatty could guarantee that
he had never seen such fierce flames. Plus, the flames were
exceptionally condensed. He could no longer feel any heatwaves
upon walking mere steps away from the fire.

As a fire elementalist, he knew just how difficult this was.

These three years, other than his artifact remnant business,

he had not been the least bit lazy when it came to training. He
was no longer that insensible and ignorant newbie. He was no
longer that lazy fatty who wanted to lie down all day to bask in
the sun.

Lou Lan was a sand puppet made for controlling earth, not
fire elemental energy.

The concentrated, blazing flame before his eyes came from

this so called elemental energy formation. Having done business
for three years, Fatty saw things very differently now. One look
and he could tell that this elemental energy formation possessed
an immense value.

"Ai Hui, this elemental energy formation is good stuff. Are

there any other types?"

Ai Hui looked at Fatty, somewhat flabbergasted. He never

thought that Fatty would the first person to notice its value. He
asked curiously, "What do you think this is good for?"

"Many things!" Fatty’s spirit rose. "I’ve never seen such a

powerful earth fire. It can be used to forge metal and brew
elemental soup. If it’s too expensive, can’t we find cheaper
ingredients to make a fire pool? Even if we use it to breed
Inferno Dragonsnakes, we will strike it rich. Fire type
ingredients are very valuable since the Fire Prairie is gone and
other earth fire aren’t powerful enough. Plus, isn’t the lesser
Avalon going to be reconstructed? There will be fire elemental
cities, so fire elemental ingredients will be in great demand. We
will make huge profits by obtaining batches of those
ingredients."

"Sure, Fatty. I see that the past three years have not been
wasted." Ai Hui sized Fatty up and commented in shock, "You
did not reduce in size, but your knowledge and experience have
increased decently, eh."

"Just a little less than you." Fatty acted humble, but the
satisfaction on his face simply could not be concealed.

Still, after seeing the luxurious lineup of door guards, Fatty

felt it was better for him to be less showy.

Just then, Lou Lan reminded them, "The porridge is almost

ready!"

Ai Hui and Fatty’s attention was immediately drawn to the

aroma that filled the air. The porridge in the big pot was like
gluey lava, bubbling nonstop. As each bubble burst, the
fragrance in the air thickened.
 The training hall turned quieter as everybody’s gaze fell to
where Lou Lan was standing. How sweet smelling!

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing his saliva rang loud and

clear through the hall, but no one laughed at him since they
could all feel their saliva starting to overflow.

The light in Tian Huzun’s eyes brightened. He felt touched.

He had the strongest abilities and could tell better than anyone
else that this exotic, delicate fragrance was not an ordinary
scent, but a type that was made up of extremely complex
elemental energy.

Elemental energy’s delicate fragrance!

No one else would recognize this, but being experienced and

knowledgeable, Tian Huzun had seen it before from the
strongest dire beast he had ever encountered in his life!

A deep space sperm whale!

 By chance, he had met a deep space sperm whale, thousands of
miles up in the sky. The sight of the whale swimming about
leisurely was unforgettable. Wherever it passed, a delicate
fragrance curled up like fallen petals.

That exotic, delicate fragrance was elemental energy!

Elemental energy fragrance was different from other forms.

One would still be unable to block it off even if he or she shut off
your sense of smell. This fragrance was essentially made up of
complicated, ever-changing elemental energy.

Tian Huzun clearly remembered that he was looking at that

whale with eyes wide open As it swam past him, his mind went
blank momentarily.

He was pleasantly surprised. Before, he was still somewhat in

doubt, but at this point, he was 100% sure that this porridge was
really extraordinary!

No one could resist this delicate fragrance.

Other organisms, not just humans, had no power to resist

such a scent as well.

"Ai Hui, I’m going to throw the fire lotus seeds in now!"

Lou Lan’s voice roused Ai Hui. Putting in the fire lotus seeds
was the last step. Ai Hui did not forget Lou Lan’s reminder that
this step might cause an accident.

Ai Hui asked Lou Lan what might happen, but Lou Lan was
also uncertain since he had never cooked such an expensive
elemental cuisine before.

"Be alert, everybody."

Ai Hui shouted at the top of his voice, asking everybody to

stand guard.

He was unsure what situation would arise, but it was always

better to be prepared.

Shi Xueman and the others quickly regained their alertness,

and their faces changed slightly. They stood guard in their
respective positions. They had always had complete confidence
in Ai Hui’s judgments. While they did not know why he asked
everyone to be on guard at this time, everyone knew that
something was definitely going to happen.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin’s eyes met, and they both saw the
bafflement in each other’s eyes. Could it be that someone was
here to steal the porridge?

Nevertheless, Tian Huzun picked up that greasy fire vat

without a word and hovered into the air gracefully. At this
moment, there was a solemn look on his disheveled face.

Perhaps there really was such a turn of events?

Right now, all of Lou Lan’s attention was on the big pot. The
light in his eyes flickered as he concentrated.

His fingers moved quickly as fire lotus seeds appeared and

disappeared out of sight. Moving very naturally, the shadow of
his fingers was like a blossoming flower. The sight of elemental
energy surging between his fingers was dazzling.
 The outer shells of the fire lotus seeds were like a mixture of
ice and snow, revealing the red ceramic-like lotus seed kernels.
In the center was a wisp of weak flame, the lotus seed core.

The sparkling and translucent fire lotus seed kernels drew a

beautiful parabola before falling into a bubble that had just
burst.

Whoosh. A wisp of flame flared up from the porridge. An

astonishing elemental energy wave spread with a loud rumble.

Lou Lan’s eyes flickered incessantly, his fingers moving

rapidly as he peeled the shells off the fire lotus seeds and threw
them into the big pot one after another.

Wisps of flames rose as the elemental energy waves grew

increasingly intense.

Each elemental energy wave triggered additional waves from

the surrounding elemental energy. Quickly, these waves
extended throughout Peace City and the elemental energy of the
whole city stirred.
 Everybody in Peace City put down what they were doing and
looked toward the Swordsman Training Hall in shock.

Thump, thump, thump!

Beating powerfully, it was just like a giant heart.

Chapter 326: Lesser Tribulation
Boom, boom, boom!

As if a monster was underground, the ground shook along

with the elemental energy waves.

The audience in the hall couldn’t stand properly on their feet.

They glanced around and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.

Ai Hui asked aloud, "Lou Lan, what’s going on?"

"It might be a Lesser Tribulation! Ai Hui!" Lou Lan replied

loudly.

What was that? Everybody was stunned. They’d never heard

of such a thing.

Lesser Tribulation? Ai Hui was also stunned. He’d come

across this term a lot in ancient books from the Cultivation Era.
Lesser Tribulations had been common in that era. For example,
when cultivators broke into higher realms, all sorts of
Tribulations might befall them. The birth of some powerful
weapons and elixirs could also face Tribulations.

In the cultivators’ understanding, Tribulations were God’s

test.

There were Great Tribulations and Lesser Tribulations, and

some powerful Tribulations which intimidated even the
strongest cultivators. During that Cultivation Era, countless
cultivators were destroyed, physically and mentally, by these
Tribulations.

Later on, the cultivators started regarding Tribulations as a

form of reaction when the resonance of elemental energies
occurred. The birth of powerful weapons often triggered a
response from Nature’s spiritual force; that was the so-called
Tribulation.

Now, however, it was the Elemental Era and there wasn’t any
spiritual force, so why would there be a Tribulation?

Was it possible that elemental energy could create

Tribulations?
 Was this Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge so amazing
that it could trigger a Tribulation?

As Ai Hui was feeling skeptical over this, the ground shook.

Boom!

A heavy sound rang from underground as the training hall’s

ground suddenly sank. Countless cracks suddenly appeared on
the surface, just like a spider web.

Everyone was frightened by this sudden change of events.

"This is an Earth Elemental Tribulation!" Lou Lan shouted.

Boom. With another sound, the hall sank further down. It was
as if a pair of invisible hands was underground, forcefully
dragging them downward.

The strange thing was that, despite the intense shaking of the
ground, that big pot of porridge remained motionless, without
even a single drop overflowing.
 Ai Hui asked urgently, "Lou Lan, any solution?"

Lou Lan stared at the ground, his eyes flickering quickly.

Shortly, he replied, "The earth elemental energy underground is
isolated from the surrounding elemental energy, so we have to
break this barrier in order to connect them!"

While Ai Hui did not really comprehend, Wang Xiaoshan got

it instantly. "Let me try!"

He crouched down and placed both palms on the ground. The

underground earth elemental energy surfaced and he
immediately felt the barrier Lou Lan was talking about. Where
the training hall was located and its surrounding land used to be
a whole entity, but now they were like pieces cut out from a
cake, isolated from the elemental energy in the surrounding
ground.

The earth elemental energy deep underground had become

exceptionally active, increasing its attractive force and causing
the unconnected training hall to sink unceasingly.

The ground surface around Wang Xiaoshan’s palms suddenly

turned soft like mud and a section rose up and instantly
hardened into rock. Countless lumps of mud flew up from a
quagmire in front of him like wyverns and a bridge made of
rocks was quickly created.

The other end of the rock bridge reached the ground outside
the training hall.

The moment the bridge was completed, the ground jerked and
stopped sinking.

Wang Xiaoshan remained expressionless as he started

building the second rock bridge. Upon construction, the ground
started to rise slowly. Upon the construction of the third bridge,
the invisible layer of barrier between the training hall and the
surrounding soil started to melt like ice.

Two minutes later, the cracks on the ground vanished and the
swordsman training hall returned to its usual condition, as if
nothing had happened.

Everybody heaved a sigh of relief at the same time.

Lou Lan reminded everybody, "Eight Treasures Porridge

contained all five elements, so there might be five types of
Tribulation."

"That was Earth Elemental Tribulation, so what’s the next

one?"

"How magical, this Eight Treasures Porridge is so powerful

that it could bring about a Tribulation!"

"Eye-opening!"

"Hey, do you feel a little hot?"

Everyone fell into a short daze as they immediately noticed

that the surrounding temperature had gone up by quite a bit.

"Fire Elemental Tribulation?"

But where was the fire going to come from?

The sunlight seemed to be getting more glaring. Wait, the

Sun?

Everyone started getting a sense of things and quickly raised

their heads. Unknowingly, the clouds, which were once above
their heads, were no longer there. Instead, the blazing sunlight
cascaded down.

It grew increasingly intense and, all of a sudden, a spark

flashed across the sunlight.

Fire Elemental Tribulation indeed!

Fatty was just about to speak when an excited voice boomed.

"Let me!"

Tian Huzun carried the greasy fire vat and appeared above the
audience’s heads the next moment.

The citizens of Peace City looked on in shock as a piercing

light beam descended from the sky, enveloping Swordsman
Training Hall. The beam became increasingly bright and sparks
started to flashed past. A minute later, the sparks turned into
bright orange flames that descended like rain.
 Alarmed cries sounded simultaneously.

What was that?

Peace City’s citizens were overwhelmed with shock.

Tian Huzun, who had positioned himself above the training

hall, felt inexpressibly excited as the light in his eyes grew. He
had a premonition that this Eight Treasures Porridge would be
extraordinary. Such exceptional phenomenon occurred even
before the porridge was fully cooked.

Plus… these flames were good stuff!

Tian Huzun inhaled deeply, his elemental energy surging. His

once crooked and stubby body appeared a little taller and
mightier now, and there was no anger on his face. He wrapped
the vat with both arms, his body slightly crouching. His overall
posture was akin to that of a golden toad carrying a jar that
swallowed light.

Then came a long laughter, bold and at ease.

 "Come, come, come, everybody come over to my bowl!"

The fire raining down from within the light beam flew
towards and into Tian Huzun’s fire vat. The red glow from the
greasy vat brightened dramatically like a heated iron vat.

The fire rain lasted for a whole five minutes. Tian Huzun’s
fire vat did not seem all that large, but it was like a bottomless
pit, taking everything in without any sign of overflowing.

When the last bits of fire rain flew into the vat, the splendid
light beam collapsed without a sound as countless fragments
flew about like snow, disappearing into the vat in the blink of
an eye.

Tian Huzun laughed out loud, landing on the ground with the
fire vat in his hands.

The big fire vat was like a raging volcano. The flames rolled
around inside and those nearby could feel the heatwaves coming
from it.

"Stay further away. It’s not completely refined yet so don’t

blame me if you guys get hurt."

Tian Huzun was beyond satisfied.

Ai Hui’s voice sounded abruptly. "Half each!"

Tian Huzun’s body stiffened but he responded nonchalantly,

"What do you mean, half each?"

Ai Hui gave a bitter smile. "If you don’t offer my share, don’t
blame me if I do the same."

Tian Huzun knew he couldn’t keep it from Ai Hui and could

only say, "You’re not even a fire elementalist so what do you
need this for?"

Ai Hui couldn’t be bothered. "Are you giving it or not?"

Tian Huzun was bleeding inside but he clenched his teeth and
replied, "Yes! Half each!"
 Tong Gui and Yu Jin were utterly shocked by what they’d just
seen. It was even more mind-blowing than whatever
Tribulations had just occurred. Ai Hui had actually talked to
Tian Huzun so boldly? Ai Hui had actually threatened Venerable
Volcano!

Ai Hui stopped caring about Tian Huzun as he turned his

attention to Shi Xueman. "Iron Lady, it will be your turn soon."

Earth Elemental Tribulation, Fire Elemental Tribulation… if

nothing went wrong, the next should be Water Elemental
Tribulation.

The reappearance of this nickname caused Shi Xueman to feel

somewhat familiar, yet embarrassed. She shot Ai Hui a death
glare, snorted, and grabbed hold of her Cirrus as she made her
preparations.

Ai Hui muttered to himself, "Iron Lady’s temper is rising, eh!"

Fatty played along, saying, "Everyone’s just been expelled and

aren’t feeling good, so don’t pour salt on their wounds, Ai Hui!"
 "Oh, is that the case!"

Shi Xueman was this close to dashing over and giving them a
good beating.

Just then, dark clouds gathered from all directions and

quickly turned pitch black. The intense pressure made everyone
feel as if a great enemy was approaching.

But time passed without any movements. No lightning,

rolling thunder, or rainstorms.

It was beyond silent.

Quickly, Ai Hui and the gang sensed something amiss; it was

simply too quiet!

Fatty felt somewhat sleepy. Something within his body was

draining away slowly as his eyelids got heavier.

"Stay awake people!"

 Ai Hui’s shout woke Fatty up with a quiver, but soon after, his
whole body felt weaker and weaker as his eyelids became
heavier and heavier.

"Do not sleep, this is a land of fantasy!"

Ai Hui shouted once again, anxiety rising within his chest. He

too, had almost fallen asleep. Just then, his Skyheart Flaming
Lotus Lamp had activated itself, thus jolting him awake.

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp’s spontaneous activation

made Ai Hui realize that this was the land of fantasy.

While the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp could shield him

from the effects of the fantasyland, it wasn’t able to do the same
for the rest.

What to do?

Ai Hui caught a glimpse of Iron lady from the corner of his eye
and was stunned. She held onto her spear, her eyes clear and
bright. She seemed to be completely unaffected by the illusion.
 "Let me!"

The Cirrus in Shi Xueman’s hand transformed into a ball of

mist. It started spinning and becoming a whirlpool.

Hissss!

Threads of bright light rays appeared amidst the darkness.

They gathered from all over and entered the mist-formed
whirlpool in Shi Xueman’s hand.

It was as if the mist-formed whirlpool was infected with the

clouds, causing it to become bright and multi-colored. Shi
Xueman maintained an extremely stern expression.

When the last wisp of light entered the whirlpool, Shi

Xueman opened her palms and caught it.

Clap!

The mist-formed whirlpool reappeared and turned into a

cloud spear, one that was completely different from Cirrus. A
pitch-black, veined pattern was now on the spear’s snow-white
body. There was an additional multicolored cloud within the
azure spearhead.

Ai Hui could see the grave expression on Shi Xueman’s face.

As if noticing Ai Hui’s troubled gaze, Shi Xueman blurted,

"I’m fine."

Ai Hui gave her a nod. "Don’t be careless," Ai Hui reminded.

Feeling the concern in Ai Hui’s voice, Shi Xueman felt

indescribably delighted. She nodded in understanding.

The surrounding darkness retreated like waves and the dark

clouds overhead vanished.

Many woke up, as if from a dream, not knowing what had

happened. People like Tian Huzun and Tong Gui, however, had
serious faces as they were aware of the danger that had just
passed.
 Yu Jin suddenly spoke up. "It was an illusion."

"Yeah, a very powerful illusion." Tong Gui spoke from behind

his mask. His tone was grave as he’d experienced its power for
himself.

Just that… the Central Pine FAction was indeed

extraordinary!

In a complex frame of mind, he diverted his gaze toward Ai

Hui.

Everyone was feeling tense. Two more Tribulations!

Chapter 327: Distributing the Porridge
Duanmu Huanghun was feeling unreasonably nervous, but he
was also somewhat excited.

What would the Wood Elemental Tribulation be?

He had no idea since he’d never heard of Tribulations. The

three that had happened earlier really widened his horizons.
Tension, anticipation, and the feeling of the unknown were
foreign, yet stimulating.

He thought of Jadeite Forest all of a sudden. Over there, he

had power, a high status, countless servants, and inexhaustible
wealth, but living with that rigid lifestyle full of fake smiles and
etiquette meant that corner fights were inevitable. Comradery
was dirt cheap and virtues were dazzling gold leaves attached to
decayed, dried up bones.

That beautiful cage was the battleground for ravenous wolves

and hyenas.

In Jadeite City, everything could be made into a deal.

Emotions like hatred could be balanced against benefits and
interests, but Duanmu Huanghun did not know how to convert
such emotions.

He preferred it here, where the air was filled with joy and
gratitude.

The intense wood elemental energy waves pulled him back to

reality.

Blades of grass broke through the ground and grew at crazy

speeds. They struggled free from the soil and flew toward the
big pot like green darts.

Everyone responded very quickly as they reached out their

hands to stop the incoming grass.

The grass blades released blood-curdling shrieks and

transformed into balls of mist upon being struck. Everyone’s
hair stood on end; it was their first time hearing such miserable
shrieks coming from grass blades.

When the last blade was struck down, the cries stopped.
 The green mist rose in spirals within the training hall. It did
not dissipate, but surrounded and circled the big pot instead.
They spun faster and faster, causing an ear-piercing, mournful
whistling sound that resembled the bawling of a certain wild
beast.

What in the world?

Everyone was bewildered.

It was even more strange that no matter how hard they tried,
they were unable to break up the green fog. The gale only
heaved it upward without dispersing it. Tian Huzun had
initially thought that his flames could restrain the green fog,
but who knew that they would be ineffective!

The faint fog thickened and squirmed about like a monster,

revolving non-stop around the Eight Treasures Porridge.

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes, which had been shut a moment

ago, opened wide as shock filled his face.

He automatically shifted his gaze to Lou Lan. What kind of

porridge was he cooking exactly?

Not only him, but other wood elementalists in the hall were
also startled.

When he saw Ai Hui and Shi Xueman’s distrusting gaze, he

spoke up. "These wood elemental energies have changed. To be
precise, a certain vitality contained within them has been
activated so general methods used against wood elemental
energy will be useless."

Shi Xueman looked on pensively. She was homeschooled and

had solid and practical knowledge.

Ai Hui, on the other hand, was baffled. Other than metal

elemental energy, he was only familiar with earth elemental
energy, and this was only because of Lou Lan.

Duanmu Huanghun understood that to other elementalists,

the wood elementalists’ field of "vitality" was very difficult to
understand. The "vitality" that wood elemental energy
contained was something that differentiated it from the other
elemental energies and it was also the most profound aspect of
wood elemental energy..
 After some thought, Duanmu Huanghun explained, "That
certain vitality has been aroused by the elemental energy odor
from the Eight Treasures Porridge. It can undergo
metamorphosis if it swallows this porridge. The wood elemental
energy will then regroup and form a new life. To put it in
layman’s terms, it could become an entity like that of the
ancient flower demon."

The green fog surged and released a head-numbing howl. As if

knowing that the porridge wasn’t ready, it only continued
circling around the big pot.

Ai Hui recalled the written accounts from the ancient books.

"It’s developing spiritual consciousness?"

"It’s similar, but not completely identical." Duanmu

Huanghun added, "These wood elemental energies can only
exist for a short period of time. If they do not seize the porridge
successfully, they will dissipate. I’m not too sure what will then
become of the entity, but the wood elemental energy will
reorganize its body constitution."

The audience was horrified upon hearing Duanmu

Huanghun’s explanation.
 Together with the fear, however, was also anticipation, since
the Five Elemental Eght Treasures Porridge had far exceeded
their expectations.

Tong Gui and Yu Jin made eye contact and detected the same
shock in each other’s eyes. They’d been in the battleground for
a long time and had seen and experienced all sorts of strange
things, but it was their first time seeing the scene that was
unfolding before them.

Ai Hui asked, "Any solutions?"

Duanmu Huanghun nodded. "Yes, but we have to wait a little

while. It can only cause chaos now since its spiritual
consciousness has not yet been activated. When the Eight
Treasures Porridge is about to finish cooking, its energy waves
will intensify and that will be our chance."

He stopped talking and started preparing by sprinkling

something in certain positions.

The surging green fog did not seem to see or care about what
Duanmu Huanghun was sprinkling.
 Tong Gui squatted down, moved closer out of curiosity, and
realized that they were bamboo stems. He was quickly stunned
to see that these shoots were all dried up and did not have the
least bit of life in them.

What’s so useful about dried up bamboo stems?

Everyone looked on curiously.

Duanmu Huanghun then proceeded to drop a drip of rootless

water on each dried-up shoot, a process that puzzled everyone.

The gluey and thick Eight Treasures Porridge bubbled as the

red color gradually disappeared. The elemental energy that each
burst bubble released was exponentially stronger than the ones
before.

The storm-like green fog started to intensify, its cries ear-

piercingly high and loud.

Just then, Duanmu Huanghun’s every movement caused a

ball of green glow to light up under his feet. Immediately
following this, viridescent flower vine traces made their way
out of the green glow like swimming green dragons.

A bamboo stem was wrapped within each viridescent flower

vine.

Eh?

Tong Gui’s pupils shrank. Each bamboo stem’s position had

been calculated carefully. If one were to look down from the
sky, it became apparent that each vine was like the flower petal
of a viridescent fresh flower that was blooming, and Duanmu
Huanghun was standing right in the middle.

Duanmu Huanghun’s pupils became two mini viridescent

flowers that rotated unhurriedly. An indescribable coldness
oozed out from his body.

[Viridescent Flower Eyes]!

He raised his palms suddenly and the vines wrapping around

the shoots flew up from the ground and floated in midair.
 Whoosh. The blossoming flower beneath his feet started
spinning.

Hisssss!

The dried-up bamboo shoots absorbed the green fog

ferociously, and as if sensing danger, the fog’s screech became
even more mournful. In spite of that, it continued to be sucked
into the shoots.

The shoots turned plump at a speed observable to the naked

eye.

The green fog slowed down and its howls gradually vanished.

[Viridescent Flower Command]!

Thick vitality seemed to overflow from within the bamboo

shoots. Suddenly, green buds sprouted out of them. Verdant,
glistening bamboo shoots rose up little by little, shedding off
their skin and growing leaves.
 In the blink of an eye, the training hall became a verdant
bamboo sea.

The leaves and branches swayed along with the rustling of the
wind. It was a beautiful scene.

Everybody’s jaws dropped. They wondered, was this whole

scene still part of the illusion from earlier? There had been all
kinds of inconceivable changes that did not make sense to them!

Amid the rustling of the wind, the bamboo sea, like raised
curtains, faded away unhurriedly.

Was this really an illusion?

Eh? No!

All eyes were on a small section of bamboo branch that was

fluttering in midair. A few fresh green leaves were hanging
from the branch. The vast bamboo sea disappeared, leaving only
this little branch that fell onto Duanmu Huanghun’s open palm.
 Joy flashed across Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes. With a turn of
his palm, the branch vanished as well.

The Duanmu family’s [Viridescent Flower] was indeed

unfathomably strange.

Tong Gui exclaimed in admiration but was on guard at the

same time. Duanmu Huanghun did not look like a hostage at all.
His abilities were even more immeasurable than rumored.
Rethinking She Yu’s victory over Duanmu Huanghun, could it
be that She Yu was really that powerful? Or perhaps Duanmu
Huanghun chose to conceal his skills?

At this point, he laughed bitterly to himself. Everybody had

underestimated the Central Pine Faction.

One more Tribulation was left and practically everyone

breathed a sigh of relief. As this thought surfaced within their
minds, the Metal Elemental Tribulation arrived spontaneously.

There wasn’t any sign at all.

Cracks started appearing on the ground surrounding the big

pot. These cracks were like wounds created by sharp blades,
crisscrossing and densely packed. They formed a circle, keeping
the big pot in the center.

Boom!

Metal wind violently surged up through the cracks.

Lou Lan reacted quickly by withdrawing from the metal

wind’s range just in time.

The concentrated metal elemental energy dyed the wind

silver-white. A solid, bitingly cold metal wind screen covered
the Eight Treasures Porridge.

It was Ai Hui’s first time seeing such a terrifying metal wind.

Where did this wind come from? It was practically a wind
screen made up of countless blade rays!

Yet, he did not panic. Metal wind was something he was

rather familiar with after all, since he’d borrowed it for training
in the past. Only it hadn’t been as intense as the wind currently
before his eyes.
 He held onto the Dragonspine and walked around the circular
wind screen.

His gaze fell upon the crisscrossed cracks on the ground. His
eyes lit up.

What people saw as intertwined, random cracks were not so

in Ai Hui’s eyes. The cracks seemed alive to him. Were they not
like scars left by a sword?

He subconsciously moved his sword along the crisscrossed

marks.

Eh?

There was clearly nothing on the sword tip, but it moved

sluggishly as if it were underwater, making his heart churn.

Having read countless swordplay manuals, Ai Hui was

astonishingly efficient since he knew those disordered cracks
thoroughly. He knew, however, that this wasn’t the time to
polish his moves. Breaking the wind screen was top priority.
 Eh?

Noting down every point of the cracks, Ai Hui realized that

this chaotic sphere looked very much like… the sword
formation he himself had fixed up.

Could it be…

Ai Hui shook. It seemed increasingly possible.

If it was a sword formation, then this…

Ai Hui continued drawing and dancing with his sword and

people knew that he must have found something. They held
their breaths in fear of disrupting his train of thought.

"Ai Hui, we’re running out of time!"

Lou Lan’s urgent voice interrupted Ai Hui’s thoughts.

No time!
 Ai Hui clenched his teeth. Silhouette like smoke, sword
extending out like electricity, he charged toward the wind
screen with a sword ray as bright as ten stars.

Clash!

Like glass, the wind screen shattered loudly.

Ai Hui blanked out. Success?

A figure rushed to his side. It was Lou Lan.

Elemental energy bubbled out from the big pot of crystal

clear, gluey porridge. The wisps were like colorful fog slowly
flowing.

The brightly colored fog blossomed into colorful flowers upon

reaching about a meter away from the pot. Each flower was
about the size of a thumb and dissipated in the air in a flash.
Some appeared as others faded, creating a beautiful image.

As each flower shattered, a wisp of indescribable fragrance

was emitted. As compared to the delicate smell from before, this
one was much weaker.

But this faint fragrance entered right into people’s hearts and
spleens, as if cleansing their bodies and purifying their spirits.

Everybody couldn’t help but swallow their saliva. Their noses

twitched and their necks stretched.

Tian Huzun’s eyes were practically shining like a torch in the

dark night.

"Get ready everybody! Time to distribute the porridge!"

Lou Lan called out joyously, attracting a round of cheers.

"Bangwan, ice bowl!"

"Coming!" Duanmu Huanghun’s spirits rose.

[Viridescent Flower, Icy Fissures]!

 Innumerable ice blocks burst open and before they reached
the ground, the mini knife-like vines cut them speedily, causing
bits and pieces of ice to splatter everywhere, forming ice bowls
one after another. When the ice bowl carvings were formed, the
vines suddenly turned into soft springs that flung the bowls
toward Lou Lan.

The ladle in Lou Lan’s hand moved fast like lightning yet light
like a dragonfly brushing over water, pouring the perfect
amount of porridge into each bowl.

Ice bowls filled with porridge flew toward and stopped in

front of the crowd.

Without a word, they cupped the ice bowl carefully and

started eating the porridge in small bites.

Upon entering their mouths, the Eight Treasures Porridge

instantly transformed into a warm stream that permeated their
bodies. The five residences and eight palaces within started to
operate. The elemental energy in their bodies raged incessantly
like boiling water.

Those with even just a little experience knew that it was time
to execute the Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

They hurriedly downed the whole bowl. Slurp, slurp.. With

no time to savor the taste, they quickly sat cross-legged on the
floor. They did not expect the energy of the Five Elemental
Eight Treasures Porridge to be this mighty.

Ai Hui was also caught off guard.

As he swallowed the porridge, his whole body started to burn

and turn red like a cooked prawn. He did not sit down, but took
out his Dragonspine instead and started to execute his unique
Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

Although the sword embryo was long gone, he preserved this

peculiar way of executing the Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

The brightness of the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp within Ai

Hui’s sky palace increased sharply.
Chapter 328: Discussion
The porridge feast in Peace City became a trending topic as
news travelled around with a marvelous speed.

The different phenomenons that occurred during the cooking

process really broadened everybody’s horizons. Elementalists
specializing in elemental food were all focusing on research. In
order to witness the legendary Tribulations, many made special
trips to purchase a message bean pod, causing a rise in sales of
message beans in every store.

Silver Mist Sea, Pagoda of Hidden Edge.

"Was it really that magical?" Yuchi Ba’s curious voice sounded

from the light cocoon.

Tong Gui stood in front of the cocoon and answered

respectfully, "Yes, it was very mystical. Old Tian’s old injury
healed completely and while my elemental energy did not
increase, I could feel my mental state becoming much more
stable and concise."

Yuchi Ba commented in praise, "There’s actually such a

capable person among Ai Hui’s subordinates."

Tong Gui reported, "Yes, he is a sand puppet named Lou Lan. I

don’t know which expert created him came from but he’s smart
and extremely talented. In Central Pine City, he kept by Ai Hui’s
side and was very familiar with the rest of the gang as well."

"Go investigate." Yuchi Ba said in a low voice, "I’ve not heard

of a sand puppet who is such an expert at cooking elemental
food. Making elemental food that triggered Tribulations, isn’t
he an elemental food master then? Being able to create such a
powerful sand puppet, there’s no way that earth elementalist is
an obscure figure."

"Yes." Tong Gui agreed. Hesitating, he asked, "Old Ba, this Ai

Hui… how and what are we going to do with him next?"

Yuchi Ba laughed. "The rain must fall, the ladies must marry.
Let him be."

"Ah?" Tong Gui was stunned. So much effort had been spent
on creating this situation, was he going to just let it go like this?
 "Shi Xueman seeks shelter from Ai Hui and the position for
the next Great Elder is vacant now. All aristocratic families are
fighting hard for this position so who has the time and energy to
care about him?" Yuchi Ba’s tone was filled with ridicule. "As
long as we don’t take Ai Hui in as our own, all will be peaceful.
Just wait, they might even try to get us involved."

Tong Gui said urgently, "But, the backbone of each division in

Central Pine has been taken away by Ai Hui. Isn’t this a messy
situation? And there’s Master’s Glory. Is Ai Hui getting a place?
If not, I’m afraid many from Central Pine will not join as well.
Old Ba, your humble servant has been staying in Swordsman
Training Hall for a few days now, and I feel that these people
are very united and have already developed the ‘all for one, one
for all’ attitude."

"What’s the rush?" Yuchi Ba laughed again. "The cooked meat

is in the pot so where else can it go? And so what if Ai Hui and
his people moved together? Where else can they go? As long as
they remain in the Avalon of Five Elements, we will have our
options. Since they’re so adamant on seeking revenge on Blood
of God, they can’t rely on Jadeite Forest."

Tong Gui’s eyes lit up.

 "Youngsters are often impulsive. Aren’t we also seeking
revenge on Blood of God? But the time just isn’t right yet. Ai
Hui is just a male eagle that has to be tamed, or else how is he
going to listen to us? How is leading a whole bunch of people an
easy task? Money, resources, inheritance… does he have them?
People are practical creatures. When comradeship is obliterated,
there will be nothing left after some time."

Tong Gui nodded his head repeatedly. "Old Ba is wise! Ai Hui

can only break in and inhabit the Wilderness if he wishes to
provide shelter and support for so many people."

"Youngsters have to be polished or how else would they

understand the vastness of the world? How are the aristocratic
families going to find time to care about him? They hold the
same opinion that since the cooked meat is already in the pot,
making a move earlier or later will yield the same result. As long
as Ai Hui experiences a little setback, Central Pine City will
collapse. That is when everyone will make a move. Aristocratic
families are different from us. They have no interest in Ai Hui
but they have their eyes on Central Pine Faction. These
youngsters need a little fine-tuning."

Yuchi Ba said leisurely, "Don’t be anxious. We have nothing

but time. The fight between aristocratic families is not going to
conclude any time soon."
 …..

A heated discussion was in progress in Swordsman Training

Hall.

"Are we going to choose Aristocratic Faction or the New

Citizen Faction? Right now, it seems that the new citizens are
friendlier…"

Before finishing, Shi Xueman interrupted by repeating

Duanmu Huanghun’s earlier judgments. Everyone nodded their
heads in agreement as she spoke.

Duanmu Huanghun’s words were convincing as they hit the

nail right on the head.

"There’s no need to mention the Aristocratic Faction. They’re

busy fighting for… the position sister Xueman discarded."
Duanmu Huanghun sighed softly, his voice taunting. "God-
subduing Peak is so mighty that the internal strife can carry on
without a problem. The New Citizen Faction deems the
situation to be lacklustre. As the fights within Aristocratic
Faction become fiercer, their loss will increase along with the
opportunities available to the New Citizen Faction. As such,
they will not lure us in now to avoid provoking the Aristocratic
Faction."

Everyone’s faces were ashen as the atmosphere was rather

stifling.

Only Silver Mist Sea and Palette Cloud Village were left in the
Avalon of Five Elements so Elders Guild was still battling
internally. It was bitterly painful.

"They don’t care at all. To them, people like us, high in

number but weak in strength, are good practice targets. Plus,
it’s too easy to deal with us. They just have to find someone to
get rid of Ai Hui and we will all fall apart. If they take action
again, it’ll be like plucking perfectly ripe fruit – effortless."

Duanmu Huanghun continued, "We don’t even have to

consider Jadeite Forest. Even I am unwilling to return to that
place."

These words silenced everyone further. The future seemed so

bleak.
 Thinking about the conversation he had with Shi Xueman
that day, Jiang Wei spoke up. "We can inhabit the Wilderness
and construct a city that belongs to us. Ai Hui is very familiar
with the Wilderness so if we can hunt more dire beasts, Lou Lan
can prepare more elemental food and our skills will improve
quickly."

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

"What if Elders Guild wants to take it back?" Duanmu

Huanghun asked. "We can build a city, but with a simple order
Elders Guild can revoke it. The Elders Guild may not deal with
the aristocratic families since they’re their own people, but
what about us? When the internal battle is over, our good days
are too."

Ai Hui spoke suddenly. "We can sell that city to an aristocratic

family and move to Old Territory."

Everyone was in shock. Old Territory?

"Don’t forget the purpose of our reunion. We are here to seek

revenge." Ai Hui said in a low voice, "The Avalon is urgently
undergoing reconstruction now, so there won’t be a war with
Blood of God for the time being. We can only head to Old
Territory if we want to battle with Blood of God. Old Territory
is where the key strategy to attacking Blood of God lies."

Fatty looked cheerful. Going to Old Territory was a good thing

since his family was still there.

"What about resources?" Duanmu Huanghun questioned.

"Why did the Avalon abandon Old Territory? It’s because there
aren’t much resources. How are we going to compensate for
that? Where are we going to get our regular training and
battling supplies? Plus, it is surrounded by enemies from three
corners. Anyone can attack us in that battleground. What are
we going to do if Avalon of Five Elements and Jadeite Forest
stab us in the back?"

Ai Hui kept quiet. Duanmu Huanghun made a lot of sense and

he was unable to refute this reasoning.

But he wasn’t angry. Such a big matter wasn’t going to be easy

naturally. "Let’s make use of these few days to train as much as
we can and digest the medication. Fists work better than
anything else. We’ll take our time to think of solutions. I’m sure
we will come up with something."
Chapter 329: The Fall Of Cloud Ridge
Scarlet Sand Forest was a small city at the border between
Jadeite Forest and Blood of God. Beyond this city, there was Fire
Prairie, a territory of God Nation now.

She Yu was leisurely sipping her tea. Beside her, Jadeite

Forest’s decision maker, Gongwen You, had a relaxed look on
his face as well.

The recent vicious attack by the God-subduing Peak on Blood

of God’s diplomatic mission had caused the diplomatic mission
to suffer heavy casualties. Jadeite Forest was severely
embarrassed by this incident. The higher-ups of Jadeite Forest
were extremely infuriated. Not only did they want the Elders
Guild to give an explanation for the incident, they also
requested that someone be dispatched to escort the Blood of
God’s diplomatic mission.

As such, Gongwen You was being dispatched to escort the

diplomatic mission.

At this moment, a report was being sent to him.

 After he read the report, a vexed look appeared on his face.
After a long while, he sighed and passed the report to She Yu
and said coldly, "Your henchmen have succeeded."

After She Yu read the report, she sighed as well, "What a pity,
the brave warriors of God Nation. However, it’s still worth
celebrating. We shall use tea in place of alcohol and toast to this
victory."

Gongwen You stayed calm and did not move.

She Yu was not angry. She finished the cup of tea herself and
said leisurely, "This time around, our partnership is flawless.
Mr Gongwen has indeed worked very hard. Without Mr
Gongwen, this victory would not be possi…"

"Enough!" Gongwen You interrupted She Yu and flew into a

rage.

She Yu merely smiled, "Does Mr Gongwen feel that you have

let down the Avalon of Five Elements? After all, you are born of
Avalon of Five Elements, it’s hard for you not to think of the
good old days. However, the Avalon of Five Elements is
outdated and the Elders Guild is obsolete. They are
fundamentally old and decadent. Take a closer look, do you see
how lazy they are? The God Nation’s warriors did not even meet
any resistance. Oh! They have much more important things on
their minds now. That future empty crown is much more
important than establishing a lesser Avalon of Five Elements."

Gongwen You stared at She Yu, resembling a furious lion that

was going to pounce on its prey at any moment.

She Yu smiled sweetly and continued, "Jadeite Forest is no

longer part of the Avalon of Five Elements. Mr Gongwen, where
does your loyalty lie?"

Like a punctured balloon, Gongwen You immediately calmed

down and replied, "Forget it, I’m going to have a bad reputation
this time around."

"Why does Mr Gongwen say that? I can see that Mr Gongwen

has worked your heart out for Jadeite Forest. You’re a
meritorious servant of Jadeite Forest."

Gongwen You regained his composure and replied, "Pardon

me for being unreasonable. It will be better for us if the Elders
Guild continues to be like this."
 "As long as God Nation and Jadeite Forest continue to
collaborate with sincerity, it will just be a matter of time before
the Avalon of Five Elements collapses. The God Nation is willing
to build an everlasting friendship with the Jadeite Forest." She
Yu said grimly.

"An alliance with God Nation does not really benefit Jadeite
Forest. The Avalon of Five Elements doesn’t need to be too
powerful nor too weak. As long as everyone is harmonious, then
our business can thrive." Gongwen You shook his head.

She Yu raised her eyebrows and replied, "The Elders Guild

might not think like this. If they knew the operation this time
around is being supported by Jadeite Forest, I’m afraid…"

Gongwen You burst into a laughter. However, his portly face

was filled with disdain, "Are you trying to threaten me? So what
if they know? Are they going to attack Jadeite Forest? Right
now, they are the ones who are begging us, not the other way
around."

"I wouldn’t dare," She Yu smiled, "No matter what, God

Nation and Jadeite Forest have a pleasant collaboration this
time around. In the future, our relationship might even be
closer."
 This time around, she had completed her mission flawlessly.

Sending a diplomatic mission to Jadeite Forest was a sham.

Their real motive was to capture the attention of the Avalon of
Five Elements.

"Pretending to advance along one path while secretly going

along another" was a simple stratagem that always worked.

Another thing that made her even more happy was that Ai
Hui was safe and sound.

…..

Peace City, Swordsman Training Hall.

Duanmu Huanghun furrowed his eyebrows and thought

pensively. Even though his questions had hit the nail on the
head, he did not feel any sense of achievement. Identifying the
problems was easy, but solving the problems was difficult.

Which path should they take?

 Duanmu Huanghun understood how important this question
was to them more than anyone else. Both he and Shi Xueman
were from aristocratic families, however, their situations were
completely different. He had seen more dark and treacherous
plots and experienced more failures than Shi Xueman.

The others were seizing the moment to train, digesting the

beneficial effects of the Eight Treasures Porridge.

Everyone knew that an opportunity like this was hard to come

by. If not for Ai Hui, they would not have enjoyed such
exceptional Eight Treasures Porridge. Amongst them, only
Bangwan and Iron Lady were capable of eating such a delicacy
without the help of Ai Hui.

Take a look at Venerable Volcano. He had paid such a huge

price for just one bowl of porridge. Before he left, he even bade
farewell to Ai Hui personally and promised that he would
definitely help him if he was to encounter any troubles.

Yu Jin stayed motionlessly in her training state. The aura

emitting from her body became increasingly concentrated.

In conclusion, Lou Lan’s Five Elemental Eight Treasures

Porridge had two obvious beneficial effects.

The first obvious effect was that it helped in healing old

injuries. Veterans like Tian Huzun and Yu Jin, who both had
been through hundreds of battles, had accumulated countless
internal injuries inside their bodies. These old injuries were
usually situated in the depths of their bodies, or places that
elemental energy was hard to reach, making it very difficult for
them to heal them. Not only would these internal injuries affect
their fighting capabilities negatively, they would also obstruct
their training progress.

The second obvious effect was that it improved elemental

energy’s connectivity within one’s body. Apart from Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun, the rest had rather ordinary
elemental energy connectivity. If not for the abundance of
blood crystals obtained during the Battle of Central Pine City
and Lou Lan’s elemental soups, everyone’s fighting capabilities
would not have reached their current level.

Improving one’s connectivity with elemental energy would

help him or her greatly in terms of future developments. This
effect would be on full display during one’s everyday training.

In terms of mind and sky palace, Ai Hui and Shi Xueman were
the only ones who benefited from the porridge. There were
little improvements in this aspect for the rest.

Suddenly, a soldier ran hurriedly into the training hall and

came before Lord Yu Jin. He hesitated, thinking whether he
should speak or not.

Yu Jin opened his eyes and asked indifferently, "What’s the

matter?"

"Sir Yu Jin, Cloud Ridge City is in trouble!" the soldier

answered hastily.

"Cloud Ridge City?" Yu Jin was slightly surprised, but she

maintained his composure and asked again, "What happened?"

"Blood elementalists have been discovered in Cloud Ridge

City!"

Yu Jin widened her eyes abruptly. She quickly stood up as an

ominous premonition arose in her heart.
 Blood elementalists had been discovered in Cloud Ridge City?

Ai Hui, Shi Xueman and the rest stopped what they were
doing. They could see the worry in each other’s eyes.

.....

Cloud Ridge City.

Yu Jin stood beside the Cloud Ridge City’s mayor and listened
to his account of the incident.

"... When our men discovered them, they did not run away.
They probably knew they couldn’t put up a fight and all of them
self-destructed and died. Subsequently, I’m afraid that there
might still be blood elementalists lurking around the city and so
I ordered a thorough search of the city. To our surprise, we did
find some in the city. However, they are rather strong-willed
and self-destructed the moment we found them. None of them
were alive. We have yet to discover the reason why they are
here…"

Yu Jin’s face turned ugly and interrupted the mayor, "Where

are the locations that they self-destructed?"

"There are several places…"

"Lead the way!"

Suddenly, at this moment, they heard someone yelling, "Look

at the sky!"

Yu Jin raised her head abruptly and her facial expression

changed drastically.

A demonic color of blood was spreading throughout the

everlasting sea of clouds above Cloud Ridge City. The color of
blood was spreading extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, half
of the sea of clouds was blood red in color.

"Blood poison!"

Two words came out of Yu Jin’s clenched teeth.

 On the third day of the Avalon of Five Elements’s Five
Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge Feast, nineteen blood
elementalists self-destructed in Cloud Ridge City.

The blood poison was spreading throughout the city with a

terrifying speed. The sea of clouds above Cloud Ridge City had
turned into a sea of blood. Yu Jin immediately ordered the
entire city to evacuate quickly, preventing a large-scale disaster
from taking place. The healers who arrived at the scene in haste
had failed to purify the blood poison. Eventually, they found out
that this was a brand new version of blood poison. This version
was far more potent and it had a greater destructive power.

To prevent the blood poison from spreading to other places,

Tong Gui and Yu Jin joined hands and smashed open the Cloud
Ridge Mountain, allowing the lava within it to erupt for three
straight days and flood the the blood poison-infected Cloud
Ridge City. The Cloud Ridge City had disappeared completely.

Upon witnessing this sight, the citizens of Cloud Ridge City

burst into tears.

Eventually, this disaster was known to many as "The Fall of

Cloud Ridge".
 Ai Hui and the rest looked at the sky and watched the Cloud
Ridge Mountain erupt. The Armageddon-like scene silenced
everyone.

Just like this, the Cloud Ridge City disappeared from the map.

…..

During the Elders Guild’s emergency meeting, the atmosphere

was extremely sombre.

"According to our investigation, this attack was planned. The

blood elementalists came through stolen trading caravans and
avoided our detection.Right now, there are two questions. Did
the Blood of God come up with a new method of disguise? And
did Jadeite Forest play a part in this incident?

"Definitely! We have investigated the places where the blood

elementalists self-destructed. All of these places are vital areas.
Clearly, the attacks have been meticulously planned. Without
help from Jadeite Forest, the Blood of God would not have
known so many details. Furthermore, those stolen trading
caravans are tightly linked to Jadeite Forest."
 "I suggest we do a thorough investigation on the trading
caravans. If the Blood of God can infiltrate the Avalon of Five
Elements that easily, then we have ourselves to blame.
Resources might be important, but I don’t want us to be fearful
everyday just because of resources."

"I support that idea!"

"I second that!"

...

"So how are we supposed to negotiate with Jadeite Forest

now? Start a war?"

The other Elders remained silent. They obviously knew that

Jadeite Forest had something to do with this incident, however,
they did not dare to open their mouths and say they wanted to
wage war on Jadeite Forest.

What would happen if they waged war on Jadeite Forest? If

Jadeite Forest became a turncoat and joined the side of Blood of
God, the Avalon of Five Elements would have zero chance of
winning this war.

If they didn’t wage war on them, should they just let the
incident go like this?

"We can’t start a war with them."

The Great Elder began to talk. His eyes were filled with the
vicissitudes of life. "We don’t have the evidence to prove that
they played a part in this incident. Even if we did, we can’t start
a war. We will ignore Jadeite Forest first, and we must retaliate
against the Blood of God. Send the God-subduing Peak to the
front line. We must secure a victory to redeem our reputation."

The other Elders nodded their heads in unison.

The Great Elder continued with a deep voice, "Our real issue
is, since Cloud Ridge City has been destroyed, our plan for a
lesser Avalon of Five Elements has failed. What should we do
now?"

The metal-attributed Peace City and the water-attributed

Cloud Ridge City were the cornerstones for the plan of
establishing the lesser Avalon of Five Elements. By building
another three cities, a lesser Five Elemental Cycle could be
established. The conditions for building a lesser Avalon of Five
Elements were extremely strict. One missing city would result
in the failure of this plan. Every city’s elemental attribute and
location was supposed to be fixed.

The loss of the water-attributed Cloud Ridge City implied that

the Five Elemental Cycle could never be achieved. This also
meant that the plan of setting up a lesser Avalon of Five
Elements had completely failed.

Cities like Peace City and Cloud Ridge City were chosen based
on their ideal strategic locations. Other than these two cities,
the remaining three cities’ locations were perfect as well.

Such places were hard to come by.

All the Elders became silent once more.

That’s right, the main issue they faced now was the failure of
the plan to establish a lesser Avalon of Five Elements.
Chapter 330: The Four Seasons of the God
Nation
The road leading into the God Nation was lined with blood
trees on both sides. They stood tall and imposing, like monsters
waiting to attack.

Taking in the familiar sweet scent made She Yu feel great.

The first batch of blood trees that were used to spread the
blood poison had been turned into fertilizer after they had
produced seeds. The blood trees she now saw were germinated
from those seeds. These second generation blood trees had
grown rapidly in the past year and were now extremely large.

This insane rate of growth completely defied the laws of

nature.

It was flowering season and blood tree blossoms could be seen

everywhere. Scarlet was the landscape’s dominant color, which
made it look completely different from the Avalon of Five
Elements. The flowers were not in shades of red though. They
were mostly a deep black or a dull white, with the occasional
sky blue. Many people enjoyed plucking these flowers as
decorations for their homes.
 A delicate yet intoxicating fragrance filled the air as She Yu
gently plucked one of the black flowers. This scent was enjoyed
by god elementalists, but would drive normal elementalists
mad.

By this time next year, the trees here would be filled with
fruits. Further refinement of these fruits would turn them into
a type of natural blood crystal that could be used to enhance a
god elementalist’s training. Known as jade fruits, they were
slightly different from the blood crystals nurtured within blood
fiends.

She Yu was looking forward to the appearance of the jade

fruits. The successful growth of jade fruits would further
strengthen the God Nation’s rule.

The domestication of blood fiends as a means to obtain blood

crystals was the main reason why the God Nation was able to
stabilize so quickly. Being able to farm blood crystals allowed
the God Nation to convert elementalists on a massive scale.
With the arrival of the jade fruits, the God Nation would have
even greater amounts of resources to further strengthen their
position.

The higher ups had also attached great importance to this

event and had already begun preparations to harvest these
fruits on a large scale.

The God Nation’s winter, which came once every four years,
would arrive one month after the harvest. Blood trees would
swiftly wither away after their fruits were harvested. They
would turn into ash, transforming the entire landscape. The
once vibrant and colorful sight would quickly become a world of
gray ash soon after the great harvest. Because of this, the God
Nation’s winter was known as the "Winter of Ash."

The God Nation’s vitality was splendid, but short.

The Winter of Ash was a long season and the citizens would
have to bear with the dull, lifeless environment for almost a
year.

During this period, however, the people had important things

to do. They would have to scour through the ashes to find new
life—the blood tree’s seeds. The gathered seeds would be sent to
a special facility for assessment. Seeds that were determined to
have a great degree of transformation would be kept and sowed
after Winter of Ash. Those that did not become stronger would
be destroyed.
 Only the strong survive. This was the God Nation’s number
one rule.

After the Winter of Ash came the popping spring. Blood trees
would sprout and grow to immense heights during this season
that lasted for a year. This season was named as such because
the trees would grow so fast that popping and crackling noises
could be heard from all over.

Next was the resplendent summer, a season of blooming

flowers. The flowers were so radiant that they shone brightly
even at night.

It was presently the resplendent summer.

The autumn of jade fruits came after.

Each cycle lasted for four years, and up until now, the God
Nation had yet to experience one full cycle. One of the high level
advisors in the palace had told her that the first generation of
blood trees were out of sync with the cycle. This new generation
should begin to settle into the correct rhythm.
 The God Nation was indeed a young nation.

All of a sudden, the ground trembled. A group of armored

wolf riders appeared with a bang. Their mounts were the
famous ardent flower night wolves.

Night wolves were native to the Fire Prairie and had a sleek
coat of jet black fur. The Beast Venom Temple had created a
new breed of night wolves that had red flowery patterns strewn
across their black bodies. Ardent flower night wolves were
larger and much faster than steeds. They had incredible
endurance as well and were reportedly able to continuously
charge forward for 10 days and 10 nights.

The Beast Venom Temple was unsatisfied with the ardent

flower night wolves as their true aim was to breed large flying
beasts. They felt that nothing on land could ever come close to
competing with something that could fly.

The Beast Venom Temple had adopted the name of these

wolves from the Avalon of Five Elements’ Ardent Flower
Division.

Ardent flower night wolves became wildly popular in the God

Nation immediately after they were released. These beasts were
cheap, easy to maintain, and extremely hardworking.

The ardent flower night wolves used by high ranking officials

were of the best grade and had immense fighting prowess in
addition to the aforementioned advantages. They were
extremely well suited for battle with a rider, never backing
down once the fight had started.

"Congratulations, the Young Master is extremely delighted by

your performance. He has specially ordered us to ride down and
give you a proper welcome! Salute!"

Clanging sounds could be heard as the other riders raised up

their weapons to salute She Yu.

She Yu bowed slightly in return and replied, "It’s all thanks to

His Highness’s meticulous arrangements. Has he been well?"

The rider said cheerfully, "His mood has improved of late, and
he has been going out into the sun quite a bit more than before."

"That’s good to hear. the Young Master’s health is of utmost

importance," said She Yu, her voice carrying a tinge of joy.

There was only one person who carried the title of "Young
Master" throughout the entire God Nation. He was the "Sick
Tiger of the Blood Nation" Bei Shuisheng. The Young Master
had been afflicted with a strange sickness since he was a young
and had almost died from it several times. Bei Shuisheng later
met the Holy Emperor. Being a man who cherished talent, the
Holy Emperor painstakingly saved him.

After the God Nation was founded, the Holy Emperor built a
palace for the Young Master. He filled it with all sorts of
artifacts that were capable of maintaining the Young Master’s
life force. Although his condition gradually stabilized,
the Young Master could never leave his palace.

The Young Master called his new home the "Cold Palace" and
often joked that it was even colder here than in the ones built to
incarcerate imperial concubines that had flouted the rules.

When his mood was good, the Young Master enjoyed

sunbathing by the palace’s main entrance. Those who knew him
well quickly picked this up and used it as an indicator for his
mood.
 Everyone loved and respected the Young Master for his huge
contributions to the God Nation. The Holy Emperor was too
engrossed in his training to handle the nation’s affairs. As a
result, most of the planning, strategies, and laws were the work
of the Young Master. Instigating Ye Baiyi to defect was also his
idea, and it was one that he managed to carry out with great
success.

After Ye Baiyi converted, the Young Master gave him control

of the army and ordered for a palace to be built for him.

Ye Baiyi did not let the Young Master down. He reformed the
entire army and began to devise military tactics that were suited
to the god elementalists’ fighting style. Under his reforms, the
God Nation’s military was able to stabilize the situations at the
front lines.

The Young Master was also behind many other highly

important actions, such as the exorcism of the Induction
Ground and the widespread domestication of blood fiends.

Every now and then, She Yu would think of how great it

would be if the Young Master was completely healthy again.
 She Yu arrived at the cold palace three days later.

A lazy youth was lying down behind the main hall’s doorway,
basking in the sliver of sunlight that came through the open
doors at an angle. Beside him was a teapot with a long handle
and half a cup of tea.

She Yu walked up to the doorway and noticed a neatly placed

floormat with a table on top of it. On the table sat a complete tea
set.

The two of them sat on opposite sides of the doorway.

A grin appeared on Bei Shuisheng’s pale face as he chipped,

"I’m sorry but you’ll have to do it yourself."

She Yu smiled sweetly and started to boil some water to brew

the tea.

"Come, tell me about the interesting things you saw on this

journey. Being stuck in this lousy place is boring me to death,"
said the young man, his eyes filled with wonder.
 She Yu felt a tinge of heartache as she looked at the young
man in front of her. In that moment, the almighty the Young
Master appeared to just be an ordinary boy. A smile crept up on
her lips, and she gently spoke, "Nothing much happened, really.
The Jadeite Forest is also experiencing a flowering season—a
season where plume flowers are in full bloom. Plume flowers
look like pink feathers and give off a melodious ringing sound
when scattered by the wind. I suppose girls are more interested
in stuff like that. At night though, the God Nation is much more
beautiful…"

The young man listened intently, not uttering a single word as

he did so.

After a while, he picked up his teacup and brought it to his

lips. "The tea has turned cold," he muttered with a frown on his
face.

He opened the teapot and saw that it was empty.

"Bring me some hot tea."

Half of the long-handled teapot crossed the doorway toward

She Yu.
 She finally understood why the Young Master used a teapot
with such a long handle.

She Yu hurriedly grabbed her pot of freshly brewed tea and

walked to the doorway.

The Young Master warmly reminded, "Be careful not to cross

the threshold. You won’t be able to handle the things inside."

She Yu carefully poured the freshly brewed tea into the long-
handled teapot.

The Young Master swiftly downed a cup of tea and said,

"Please continue. The world outside of this palace is indeed
interesting."

She Yu told him about Duanmu Huanghun getting drunk in a

brothel and challenging her to a fight.

The Young Master called him a proper man.

When she mentioned that Duanmu Huanghun had

reorganized the Society of Excellence, the Young Master sighed.

She moved on to talk about Shi Xueman’s use of the God-

subduing Peak to ambush the diplomatic mission, much to
the Young Master’s delight. He frantically clapped his hands
and praised Shi Xueman’s boldness.

The Young Master laughed heartily when he heard about the

conflict between the new citizens and the aristocratic families,
calling them a bunch of clowns who had long lost their edge.

She spoke of how Shi Xueman was discharged from the North
Sea Division after kidnapping Duanmu Huanghun and made her
way to Peace City instead. She Yu continued her story, talking
about Ai Hui’s Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge Feast
and how all the members of the Central Pine Faction flocked
from all over with the ingredients they needed for the porridge.

The Young Master had a faraway look as he commented that

the Central Pine Faction must be made up of truly loyal friends.

She got to the part where the Venerable Volcano dragged two
vice division leaders and stood guard at the door for a bowl of
porridge. All this talk about the Eight Treasures Porridge made
 The Young Master salivate as he imagined just how amazing it
must taste. He muttered that if they ever caught Lou Lan he
would definitely get him to cook lots of porridge.

The Young Master was glad to hear that their operation in

Cloud Ridge City was a success.

"I’m glad we didn’t choose Peace City as our target. It would

be a waste if such an interesting group of people were killed just
like that."

She Yu stared blankly at the Young Master.

The Young Master stretched his back and picked up the long-
handled teapot. Standing up, he said, "All right, rest time’s over.
Back to work. Everyone’s living such colorful lives, so I guess I
have to strive hard too. Thanks for the nice, long chat. I’m sorry
I can’t send you off."

The young man beamed. "All the best!"

He waved at She Yu before returning to the darkness.

Chapter 331: City Expansion Order
Peace City was devastated. The bustling construction site had
become deathly quiet.

People sat listlessly among the materials that were scattered

all over the unfinished construction site. Cloud Ridge City had
been destroyed overnight, and the plan to build the Lesser
Avalon of Five Elements had gone with it. All hopes had been
dashed.

Everyone was stuck in a daze.

The spirits of those in the Swordsman Training Hall had

plunged greatly.

Witnessing an entire city collapse with their own eyes would

certainly make anyone feel absolutely wretched. Moreover, this
destruction was caused by their sworn enemy.

Shi Xueman walked up to Ai Hui and informed, "The results of

the investigation are out. The blood sacrificial warriors were
specially created by the Beast Venom Temple."
 "Beast Venom Temple? What do they do? The name sounds
positively ghastly," commented Fatty, who could not help shiver
as he thought about it.

Without lifting his head, Ai Hui said, "It is where the Blood of
God nurtures and creates blood fiends and other strange things.
It has existed for a long time, and consists of the core members
of the Blood of God. The earliest blood poisons were created by
them. The Beast Venom Temple prides itself on the creation of
ever stranger things, and its members are high up on the
hierarchy."

Shi Xueman could not help but look at Ai Hui. She was quite
surprised that Ai Hui was this familiar with the Blood of God.
She, herself, had not even known that the blood poisons were
created by the Beast Venom Temple. Thinking further, she
deduced that Ai Hui had probably delved deeply into the Blood
of God’s working as part of his plans for exacting revenge.

Fatty looked unwell as he spoke, "But isn’t it terribly ruthless

to sacrifice people like that?"

"Would the blood disaster in the Induction Ground have

happened if they weren’t ruthless?" asked Sang Zhijun.
 Considering that the Blood of God had never respected the
sanctity of life, there was nothing to be surprised about.

Fatty was horrified. "What can we do then? All they have to

do is send a couple of these blood sacrificial warriors and it’s
over?"

Ai Hui shook his head, "It isn’t that easy to create blood
sacrificial warriors since the process requires people who have
an extremely high endurance. The subjects are usually less
talented blood elementalists. They would be infused with fresh
blood that came from all sorts of blood fiends. This seemingly
inhumane process is one of the Beast Venom Temple’s favorite
methods. Ancient methods of creating the strongest poisons
involved pitting venomous insects against one another in a
small box. The one that survived the massacre would naturally
be the most vicious."

Everyone’s faces lost some color. Listening to Ai Hui’s brief

explanation gave them the creeps.

Ai Hui continued, "The chosen blood elementalists’ bodies

work the same way as the box while the different types of blood
are like the venomous insects. Using this method, the Beast
Venom Temple has been able to create various types of blood
sacrificial warriors. However, the success rate is very low since
most blood elementalists cannot endure the toxicity of the blood
fiends’ blood."

Fatty felt his mouth go dry. "What will happen to those who
cannot endure it?"

"What do you think?" retorted Ai Hui.

Sang Zhijun’s face was drained of color. "That’s terrible! Have

they lost every last shred of their humanity? How can they
simply disregard human life like that!"

"No wonder the name ‘Beast Venom Temple’ gave me

goosebumps," uttered Fatty, his voice quivering a little.

"It is pretty ghastly, but not exactly what you guys are
thinking," said Ai Hui while he shook his head. "The creation of
blood sacrificial warriors is merely a tiny part of the work they
do, and the scope of their research is extremely extensive. They
are the reason why the Blood of God was able to establish
themselves so rapidly. Domesticating blood fiends as a source of
blood crystals was one of their brilliant ideas. The Beast Venom
Temple is highly regarded among the Blood of God."
 Shi Xueman could not help but ask, "Why?"

"They do not directly intervene in the God Nation’s affairs,

but constantly provide new types of blood fiends such as the
ardent flower night wolf. The god priests of the Beast Venom
Temple also make their rounds throughout the God Nation to
guide its people on how to harvest jade fruits, a type of blood
crystal that is grown on trees."

"Grown on trees?"

Everyone’s eyes were wide open with shock.

The Blood of God’s workings were extremely mysterious and

bizarre to most people.

"Since this harvest only occurs once every four years, nobody
can say for sure how big an impact it’ll make. As long as it goes
well, the Blood of God’s power will further consolidate.
Meanwhile, look at our Elders Guild, heh."

Ai Hui scoffed with disdain. He did not disguise his scorn for
the Elders Guild.
 Everybody felt a slight panic upon being reminded of the
Elders Guild. The Blood of God was actually surging forward
while the members of the Elders Guild were busy infighting.

"It’s actually not a bad thing." Duanmu Huanghun coughed,

waiting for everyone’s attention before continuing, "I’m talking
about about the lesser Avalon of Five Elements’ failure. The
lesser Avalon of Five Elements plan isn’t something new and is
actually just a rehash of an old plan that was stored away for
many years. This plan was drawn up shortly after the founding
of the Avalon of Five Elements as a fallback if their fight against
the Wilderness failed. After the Avalon of Five Elements became
more and more stable, the plan was shelved in the Induction
Ground and quickly became forgotten. Considering that the
entire Induction Ground was destroyed by the blood disaster,
the Elders Guild must have spent a lot of effort to dig up this
plan from elsewhere. Little did they expect the Blood of God to
act so swiftly and ruthlessly."

Duanmu Huanghun continued, "The requirements for

building the lesser Avalon of Five Elements are very stringent.
The biggest challenge for the Elders Guild now is to find a
suitable location as soon as possible. I’m guessing that they’ll
encourage more people to go into the Wilderness to search for
such a place. This is the only choice they have at the moment.
Failing at this will cause the fire, wood, and earth elementalists
to rebel."
 Just as he finished his last syllable, Jiang Wei hurriedly
walked in and announced, "The Elders Guild has just issued the
latest Bigtree Decree."

Everyone turned their attention toward him.

Every Elder had the power to send out a decree, but the
Bigtree Decree was an order that could only be passed if all the
Elders agreed to it at a Bigtree Meeting. In the Avalon of Five
Elements, it was a mandate of the highest degree.

"The Elders Guild has issued a city expansion order: any

family, group, or individual who registers with the Elders Guild
will be permitted to build a city in the Wilderness. Since cities
in the Wilderness do not have the typical elemental energy
system in Avalon of Five Elements, the Elders Guild has decided
to sell the blueprints for building all five types of elemental
energy pool. As long as they can build their own elemental
energy pool, each city will be able to operate independently.
The cities constructed will belong to the settlers, themselves."

"In addition, the mayor of the first city to build and operate
elemental energy pools of all five elements will become the next
Great Elder of Elders Guild."
 Jiang Wei finished the announcement in one breath.

Everyone instantly turned to look at Duanmu Huanghun.

His mouth was wide open in surprise.

"Wow, who would have thought that you’d have such

foresight!" Shi Xueman exclaimed excitedly. "Looks like you’ve
been actively engaging in petty political discourses during these
past three years!"

Duanmu Huanghun’s eyes almost rolled out of their sockets.

Was this how you praise people?

Upon seeing Ai Hui’s awestruck face, however, Duanmu

Huanghun felt much better. After suffering all that humiliation
due to him, Duanmu Huanghun finally managed to amaze Ai
Hui.

Ai Hui rubbed his chin pensively and muttered out loud,

"Looks like the Elders Guild is risking everything on this!"
 Everyone nodded their heads spontaneously. Although the
aristocratic families were powerful, they were still under the
control of the Elders Guild. Now that the Elders Guild was
allowing them to build their own cities, it meant that they
would be able to set up their own independent regimes.

Furthermore, even the position of the next Great Elder was up

for grabs. The Elders Guild actually had the drive to take such
bold actions.

Duanmu Huanghun sneered. "Drinking poison to quench the

thirst. They won’t be able to take their power back once it’s
been given away. If everyone has their own city, who is going to
give a hoot about the Elders Guild? The Elders Guild has to
consider the welfare of all elementalists, but the aristocratic
families are more likely to only be concerned with themselves.
Take the Shi family for example. All they need is a water
elemental energy pool. By giving up their absolute control over
elemental energy, the Elders Guild is giving up their power as
well. Nonetheless, the Elders Guild doesn’t have any other
choice. What they are trying to do is to subtly tell everyone that
they no longer have the power to control everything and that
everyone needs to find their own way forward."

Wry smiles could be seen throughout the group. Duanmu

Huanghun’s words were harsh, but they were the truth.
 "The elemental energy in the Silver Mist Sea and Palette Cloud
Village have dwindled significantly. If the lesser Avalon of Five
Elements isn’t ready in a few more years, these two places will
wither away. The Elders Guild is probably trying to divide these
issues and take alternative steps to address each one."

As he continued his speech, Duanmu Huanghun’s voice

changed from one of contempt to one of helplessness. Compared
to the prospering Blood of God, the Avalon of Five Elements was
like the setting sun, destined to fade away.

Ai Hui shook his head defiantly. "There can be no

construction without destruction. We’ll just have to make a new
path if the current one cannot be trod upon."

Shi Xueman asked, "What about us?"

All of the others, including Duanmu Huanghun, were looking

expectantly at Ai Hui for an answer.

Ai Hui thought for a moment before replying, "Everyone

needs to find out more information first. The Bigtree Decree has
just been announced, so things will take a while to happen.
Developing a city in the Wilderness isn’t a simple task, so we’ll
need to make preparations."

All of them nodded their heads in response to Ai Hui’s reply

and immediately got to work. They tapped into their different
networks to get as much information as they could.

Ai Hui fell into deep thought.

Come to think of it, things were really as Huanghun said. The

Elders Guild had run out of options. The destruction of the
lesser Avalon of Five Elements left the Elders Guild in a bad
state.

The Avalon of Five Elements was hanging by a thread.

The five elemental cyclical system was truly ingenious, but a

single missing link would affect the entire cycle. In the short
term, the wood, fire, and earth elementalists would be the ones
giving the Elders Guild the greatest amount of pressure.
However, if the cycle continued to be broken, then in the long
run, even the strength of the metal and water elementalists
would be lost.
 The Silver Mist Sea had already begun to dry up.

The present Avalon of Five Elements was like a wounded

person, weakening as the blood continued to pour out of his
wounds. Was he going to wait for death or fight for life before
his blood ran out?

The Elders Guild chose to fight, but could this plan really save
the Avalon of Five Elements?

Nobody knew.

Something this big was not going to be so easily addressed by

an individual. It was better to just focus on something more
realistic.

Upon hearing about the decree, the aristocratic families and

new citizens would both rush to develop the Wilderness. The
benefits promised by the Elders Guild were sufficient to
motivate everyone. Just the reward for being the first mayor to
establish a five elemental city was already enough to spur the
aristocratic families into overdrive.
 It looked like there were wise men in the Elders Guild!

Wasn’t building a city that had all five elements operating

pretty much the same as building the lesser Avalon of Five
Elements?

Ai Hui now understood that the Elders Guild had turned the
internal conflict into a public competition. Furthermore, the
end goal was still the creation of the lesser Avalon of Five
Elements.

Location was the key factor in building a five elemental city.

The location had to contain extremely pure forms of all five
elements that were in the right amounts and in the right places
before they could be incorporated into a cycle.

Ai Hui was struck by a sudden flash of inspiration. Perhaps

there was someone who knew about this.

The old prisoner!

Chapter 332: Clues
A dark and empty gallery deep within the Beast Venom
Temple.

Two god shamans were engaged in a quiet discussion as they

walked.

"Did you know? The iron man was moved to the blood pool
this morning under the elder god priest’s special order."

"That’s good, I hope he regains his consciousness soon. It’s a

waste for someone as tough as iron man to become a blood
sacrificial warrior."

"I agree, but who knows when he’s going to wake up. It’s
extremely strange that he has obvious responses towards
external stimuli but simply doesn’t wake up. To think he was
just going to be used as an expendable, but now nobody wants
him to die. One hundred and eight types of fresh blood. The
previous record was only sixty-two types!"

"Perhaps he has something in his heart that he just can’t let go

of. What a terrifying resolution that must be, if his will is still
intact despite being infused with one hundred and eight types of
blood. Is he from the first batch of blood sacrificial warriors?"

"Yeah, it was before this place even existed."

"If I remember correctly, that batch of blood sacrificial

warriors were made from maimed individuals?"

"Yes, they were all elementalists who failed to transform into

god elementalists. Recycling is all the rage, you know."

"That’s probably why he doesn’t want to wake up."

"That’s true, it’s quite the dilemma. Do you think he’ll

eventually wake up?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows."

...

The two silhouettes gradually faded out of sight as their voices

became fainter.

At the bottom of a deep, crimson pool surrounded by

countless troughs filled with blood, a motionless figure was
faintly visible.

…..

Swordsman Training Hall.

Ai Hui thought of the old prisoner because a plan like the

lesser Avalon of Five Elements was probably hatched by an
ambitious organization like the Assembly of Patriarchs. The old
prisoner had an amazing wealth of knowledge and even used to
have a high position in the Assembly of Patriarchs. The
likelihood of him being exposed to related matters was, as such,
relatively high.

"... Someone in the organization has indeed done research on

this. The idea of leaving the Avalon of Five Elements has been
played around with several times in the past. Because of this,
someone has broached the subject before. Later on, however,
the relationship between the Assembly of Patriarchs and the
Avalon of Five Elements became increasingly tight and this idea
was never mentioned again."

"I have seen the description of a place in the Wilderness that

was suitable for the establishment of a five elemental city back
when I’d looked through one of the seniors’ notebooks. There
was also a sketch accompanying the information. A pity this was
too long ago and my memory has blurred. What’s more, I
wasn’t particularly interested in the Wilderness back then, so I
only gave it a cursory glance."

"If you want to find out its exact location, you’ll have to make
a trip to headquarters. This particular notebook should be kept
on the seventh floor of the headquarters’ Hall of Ancient
Records, its author has the surname Xiao. I’ve completely
forgotten any other details. I hope this is sufficient to help you."

Headquarters?

Ai Hui hesitated for a moment. He knew that as Chu

Zhaoyang, he was qualified to join headquarters. Hua Kui had
mentioned it to him several times, but he never once agreed.

The relationship between the old prisoner and the Assembly

of Patriarchs was a strange one. He was sometimes very proud
of them and sometimes very angry with them. Every now and
then, he would sigh deeply when he spoke of the organization.

Ai Hui privately guessed that the old prisoner most likely

betrayed them or somehow got expelled. He wondered what
relationships inside the Assembly were like, but the old prisoner
always refused to talk about it.

The old prisoner was nice, but very cautious. He was on alert
most of the time and never spouted nonsense. The advice he
gave was largely pertinent and worldly, and his guidance had
been indispensable to Ai Hui’s progress during these three
years. Like Master Shao, he was an elementalist not geared
towards fighting.

Nothing had been heard from Master Shao yet. It was as if he

had suddenly vanished from this world.

Lou Lan missed Master Shao a lot, and worried about him
constantly. Master Shao had, after all, been a big part of Lou
Lan’s life ever since he could remember.

The message tree lit up again.

 "Judging from the current situation, building a five elemental
city shouldn’t be your goal. For those who are weak, having too
sumptuous a meal is no different from taking poison. Although
the Elders Guild has made such a commitment regarding the
selection of the next Great Elder, only those whose foundations
are strong enough will be capable of holding onto the post
firmly. You won’t be able to build a five elemental city or hold
the position of Great Elder if you don’t become much stronger
first."

Ai Hui laughed. The old man was too conservative, but he had
good intentions in mind.

Ai Hui quickly wrote on the leaf. "Rest assured that I do not

covet the position of Great Elder, and have never once thought
of lording over a five elemental city; however, having control
over a five elemental city is incredibly enticing for the
aristocratic families. I believe it would be a good investment if I
can sell one off at the opportune moment. A pauper dying of
poverty pays his respects to the great prisoner."

That’s right, Ai Hui never thought of fighting for the position

of Great Elder. This simply wasn’t something he hankered after.

However, he wasn’t sure whether this plan would work out.

 As more and more people returned to Swordsman Training
Hall, the information collected started to pile up.

The prices of various materials were soaring on the markets.

All the enterprises were desperately acquiring materials. The
elemental energy pool blueprints were already available for
purchase from the Elders Guild, but at a price of one thousand
Heaven Merit Points. Hunting groups’ commissions were easily
up tenfold, but those that were highly reputable commanded
even larger sums of money. Despite these exorbitant prices,
almost all of the hunting groups had been signed by various
aristocratic families. The first wave of elementalists had already
made their way into the Wilderness.

All of a sudden, the Avalon of Five Elements’s broken spirit

seemed to have been restored.

"The elemental energy pool costs one thousand Heaven Merit

Points, what a ludicrous price! The Elders Guild is ruthless."

"Shall we start moving? I see so many others frantically

rushing into the Wilderness."

"Nah, I don’t think so. Not many people can afford to buy the
blueprints anyway."

"Nobody’s even bothering about the elemental energy pool.

Anyone willing to go into the Wilderness can make a ton of
money. The commission for average elementalists has gone up
five times already. Who is going to remain here?"

"But it’s risky."

"There are so many of us, even the dire beasts will be afraid."

Everyone was engaged in lively discussion about the current

situation.

Ai Hui called Shi Xueman, Duanmu Huanghun, and a few

others to one side. Lowering his voice, he said, "I need your
opinion on something. Do you think we’d be able to sell a five
elemental city at a good price?"

"Five elemental city? Sell?"

They were all staring at Ai Hui blankly.

 Shi Xueman was the first to respond. "Do you know
something? Have you found the right location?"

Ai Hui thought for a moment before saying, "There’s a chance,

but it’s not certain."

Everyone was in high spirits. A five elemental city would

command the highest reward the Elders Guild had offered.

Fatty immediately asked, "If you had a five elemental city,

why would you want to sell it? Why not just directly take the
position of Great Elder and rule over the entire Avalon of Five
Elements?"

"Moron!"

Everyone spoke out in universal contempt.

Duanmu Huanghun said, "Selling is a good idea since

influential families would be willing to pay almost any price to
buy one. What I’m afraid of is that they may attempt to take it
by force. I have looked through the Elders Guild’s instructions
and nothing on it disallows snatching."
 Other people were also worried. After three hard years of
tempering, they were no longer the ignorant teenagers they had
once been. They knew very well that if the benefits were large
enough, people would become willing to take bigger risks.
Whether it was the influential families or the new citizens, they
would all be the same.

Ai Hui said, "Then I’ll give the city to Iron lady and let her be
the Great Elder."

Everybody’s eyes lit up. With the Shi family’s status and Shi
Beihai’s immense influence, anyone wishing to snatch the Shi
family’s assets would be out of their minds.

Fatty winked at Ai Hui. "Hey, check out this guy’s generosity.

The Lightning Blade is really something else, giving a city to a
lady as gift."

The others turned their faces aside.

Shi Xueman cracked her knuckles and clenched her fists. "Do
you really miss my beatings that much, Fatty?"
 Fatty turned pale at the thought of the iron lady’s fists
meeting his face. With a flattering smile, he quickly praised,
"Sister Xueman, how can you be given any ordinary gifts? You
should be given an entire city at least. Ouch, ouch…"

Staring at Shi Xueman’s iron fists, Fatty fled like a terrified

rat. Everyone else laughed heartily

After the humorous exchange, Duanmu Huanghun took a

good look at Ai Hui and said, "Actually, Iron… Sister Xueman
would make a pretty good Great Elder. With our reputations
and the Shi family name as our backing, we will have enough
leverage…"

"I disagree," Shi Xueman snapped. "The moment I make use of

my family’s influence to step up to that position, a lot of things
will move beyond my control. I would be stuck in the same
position I was before being expelled, what’s the point in that?"

Everyone was dumbfounded. It was indeed true that if Shi

Xueman hadn’t gone out and done some reckless things, she’d
definitely be next in line to become the Great Elder. Going back
to square one after doing so many things, what’s the point in
that?
 "Alright, publicly break all ties with the Shi family then. I
believe the other aristocratic families won’t go on the offensive
so soon anyway." Duanmu Huanghun continued, "I can’t say the
same for everyone else though."

Sang Zhijun coldly exclaimed, "It’s not like we’re made of

mud!"

Having this discussion helped Ai Hui to clarify his thoughts.

He said, "It’s okay, we can start finding bidders after the
construction of the fourth elemental energy pool. We don’t
have to wait until the entire city has been built to start selling.
This way, we’ll have ample time and it won’t be so eye-catching.
As long as we let others know that we plan to eventually
construct a five elemental city, I believe we’ll be able to sell it."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

For the influential families, a semi-finished five elemental city

was more suited to their needs. They would gladly throw more
money into the project to finish building the remaining
elemental energy pools.

Ai Hui left quietly after affirming the feasibility of the plan.

 Shi Xueman and the others continued to stay in Peace City.
Peace City was, after all, located at the border, making it a very
convenient location to enter and exit the Wilderness. Besides,
they could make use of the time together to build up their
camaraderie. They hadn’t fought together in three years and
would do well to catch up with one another.

Most of them had served stints in the combat divisions,

especially those who were a part of the A-1 unit. In terms of base
level or combat experience, all of them had become way
stronger than before.

As they became more familiar with one another, everyone

quickly regained the rapport that they once had.

Swordsman Training Hall that had captured everyone’s

attention soon became completely disregarded.

The city expansion order had caused some kind of frenzy.

Countless people were pouring into the Wilderness. All the
message trees were constantly filled with messages regarding
the Wilderness.

The messages were about things such as: Several families have
begun to lay the foundations for their cities, who will be the
first to complete theirs? Some lucky kid managed to take down
a dire beast that was wounded by others and made a fortune off
it.

The Avalon of Five Elements was brimming with action.

Chapter 333: A Test
Droves of elementalists were all over the place. The sky was
filled with bamboo carts that looked like swarms of bees.

Everyone had completely dismissed the bleak future, looking

short-sightedly at the exciting missions they were about to
complete. Everybody talked and dreamt of a better life.

Ai Hui watched coldly from the sidelines.

The Avalon of Five Elements had built their advantage over

the Wilderness for hundreds of years. People were still afraid of
the deepest parts of the Wilderness, but as long as one didn’t
venture too far in, the Wilderness was really just an expansive
hunting ground.

Where else would all the dire beast materials come from? How
else could so many hunting groups continue to thrive?

The fear of the deepest areas in the Wilderness was all in their
minds. They were only afraid because no one else had set foot
there before. If the elementalists truly wanted to delve deeper,
dire beasts wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop them. What’s
more, the Thirteen Divisions had joined the hunting groups in
the Wilderness. Combined, their strength would be more than
sufficient to take down any dire beasts they encountered. It
looked as though the Avalon of Five Elements was primed to
take over the Wilderness.

This was the most popular view of the masses.

Ai Hui, who had spent three years in the Wilderness, knew

how outrageous this idea was.

The elites of the Thirteen Divisions were definitely much

more powerful than the elementalists in the hunting groups,
but this wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Why did the hunting groups recruit so many untrained

laborers from the Old Territory? Even with the appalling death
rate of the laborers, why weren’t they stopping?

The dire beasts’ sensitivity to elementalists was far beyond

the elementalists’ sensitivity to dire beasts. In other words, dire
beasts were born with much keener sensing abilities. The more
powerful the elementalist, the more outstanding they would
appear in the Wilderness.
 Only those with strength as impressive as the Grandmasters
and Masters could make the dire beasts flee without even
putting up a fight. All other elementalists below the rank of
Master would attract stronger and larger amounts of dire beasts
the stronger the elementalists were.

Having had so many encounters with dire beasts, Ai Hui knew

that they weren’t as stupid as people believed. In fact, the dire
beasts were extremely cunning and sharp, banding together to
fight against larger groups of elementalists.

This was the main reason why Ai Hui didn’t rush to send
everyone in.

The first wave of elementalists would definitely suffer the

heaviest casualties.

Sensational news was constantly being spread through the

grapevines. All these fake news stories were probably being
spread intentionally. All these passionate people rushing in
probably didn’t know that they were just being used as cannon
fodder.

Ai Hui guessed that the Elders Guild was probably in on this,

but chose to let it slide.

To the Elders Guild, using such an approach to reduce the

number of elite elementalists lost was a great idea.

Ai Hui shook his head as he didn’t have the power to dissuade

these people. They were completely blinded by wealth and
merits.

He hurried along at a moderate pace, leaving the main road at

times to explore and trudge along the mountain paths. He took
his time to advance, slotting in time to train along the way. He
had ample time and did not need to hurry.

Well into the night, Ai Hui stood on top of a cliff and faced a
sea of clouds. He held onto his sword while he stood motionless.
Starlight bathed his entire body, making him shimmer.

If one looked closely enough, he or she would realize that Ai

Hui was utterly motionless. In actual fact, his body was
quivering almost imperceptibly with every breath he took.

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp in Ai Hui’s sky palace was

rotating slowly. The scriptures surrounding the lamp’s flame
flowed around like light. Ai Hui’s bodily rhythm, his breathing
rhythm, as well as the flame’s rhythm, were all synchronized.

Soft light shined through the circular scripture, magnifying

the words. The magnified words cycled throughout his body
unobstructed. These words from the scripture had a strange
pull on the starlight, making it congeal and create a layer of
light on Ai Hui’s body.

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp in his sky palace had

gained an additional two petals, bringing the number from four
to six. Looks like Lou Lan’s Eight Treasures Porridge was indeed
effective.

Attaining all nine petals would allow one to achieve the

[Skyheart Pure Body], which protects it’s user from all evils and
grants the ability to break all illusions.

Ai Hui could feel the changes in his body. The soft, bright
light and the circulating scripture text were constantly coursing
through his flesh. He would occasionally see tiny puffs of black
smoke rising and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
 His mind and body had a translucent quality to them and felt
extremely pure.

Ai Hui was inexplicably surprised. This phenomena was

mentioned in the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp’s scripture and
was called [Glazed Body]. While [Glazed Body] couldn’t match
up to the [Skyheart Pure Body], it already granted him some
interesting benefits.

He intuitively begun a Circulatory Cycle Revolution and felt

the elemental energy sword pills within his body become even
more refined. They had lost all traces of their sharp edge and
now flowed smoothly throughout the revolution. A faint
attractive force was now present between the elemental energy
sword pills, turning them into somewhat of a necklace made of
magnetic pearls.

In addition, Ai Hui’s body seemed to contain a whirlpool

within it that generated a suction force on the elemental energy
in the environment. This was indicative of his now increased
rates of improvement and recovery.

As the black mist dispersed, Ai Hui’s flesh and blood felt much
purer. Although it didn’t increase his strength, his muscles and
tendons were evidently more resilient than before. His physical
strength also appeared to recover at a much greater rate than
before.

His [Copper Skin ]had transformed as well. It was now the

colour of jade and had a shiny new lustre.

Ai Hui felt extremely refreshed; it felt as though he was back

in the sword embryo’s state. His sixth sense felt unnaturally
keen, allowing him to capture even the slightest changes in his
surroundings.

The metal winds atop the cliff were very strong. While they
contained only weak traces of metal elemental energy, the
winds were unyielding and ceaseless.

Metal elemental energy from the surroundings was

accumulating around Ai Hui’s body. His body was soon
surrounded by countless silver needles, giving one the
impression of a large school of whitebaits swimming
relentlessly around him. As the silver glow grew brighter, the
starlight became dimmer.

Unknowingly, Ai Hui’s mind wandered off with the wind.

 Floating and sinking, rising and falling, gathering and
scattering; Ai Hui no longer knew where he was.

He was abruptly awoken by an intense beam of light that

shone right into his eyes.

Ai Hui saw the rising sun leap out from beneath the sea of
clouds. The orange sunlight illuminated his face from the
horizon as he smiled at the majestic sight before him.

He sheathed his sword and stood up. The entire night’s worth
of practice did not leave him the least bit sore. Instead, he felt
unspeakably refreshed and at peace.

It had been a while since he achieved elemental

externalization, but last night’s experience was completely
different from anything he had experienced before. He was
thoroughly intrigued by it.

Achieving elemental internalization required constant

practice over long periods of time. Elemental externalization
required a profound understanding of the heavens and the
earth; the blind accumulation of elemental energy was no
longer of any use.
 Many elementalists were unable to become accustomed to this
external connection with the environment.

Relaxing his control on the surrounding metal elemental

energy, Ai Hui watched it slowly disperse into the wind. He
jumped off the cliff and spread his Starry Gem Swordwings,
soaring through the air before plunging into the sea of clouds.

After flying for hundreds of kilometers, he finally landed at

noon.

He was lucky to catch a bharal for lunch. He lit a bonfire and

started to roast it according to Lou Lan’s teachings. Under chef
Lou Lan’s tutelage, Ai Hui’s cooking skill had become pretty
good.

The aroma of the various spices mixed with the bharal’s

grease was simply irresistible.

Travellers passed by every once in awhile. They all appeared

to be heading towards the Wilderness.

"Are you the Silverwheel Swordsman, Mr. Chu Zhaoyang?"

asked a middle-aged man who happened to be passing by. He
looked like a housekeeper.

Ai Hui felt a bit helpless. He had met several groups of people

who greeted him along the way. The whole incident with the
Great Wei Caravan had made him famous and widely
recognized.

Ai Hui stared at the roast, carefully rotating the grill without

lifting his head. He replied, "I am indeed Chu Zhaoyang, do you
need something?"

"My master would like to ask whether Mr. Chu is heading into
the Wilderness. If Mr. Chu is going in, my master is willing to
pay…"

Ai Hui interrupted the housekeeper. "I’m not going into the

Wilderness."

This again…

Along the way, he had met a couple of guys who wanted to

hire him.
 After a satisfying lunch, Ai Hui decided not to waste anymore
time on the ground and flew directly to Silver City, his
destination.

Hua Kui’s meeting locations were always different. Ai Hui was

surprised that they were going to meet at Silver City this time
around.

Due to their past discussions about having him join the

headquarters, Ai Hui couldn’t help but wonder if the Assembly
of Patriarchs had their headquarters here in Silver City.

Ai Hui had been to Silver City twice. Both times, however, he

had had matters to attend to and so entered and left the city
hastily.

Heading towards the exact address given to him by Hua Kui,

Ai Hui managed to find him swiftly. Once again, they were
meeting in a courtyard filled with vast varieties of plants and
flowers.

Hua Kui was very pleased to see Ai Hui. Among his

acquaintances, Chu Zhaoyang was the most eye-catching
individual. Hua Kui saw him as someone truly worthy of further
grooming. From the information he received from the
organization, Chu Zhaoyang seemed like someone who had a
deep feud with the Blood of God.

Hua Kui curiously asked, "Why do you suddenly want to join

the headquarters when you weren’t willing to do so
previously?"

Ai Hui knew that while Hua Kui appeared to be asking this

casually, his response would determine whether or not he could
join the headquarters. He was, however, well prepared to
answer something like that. "The incident with the Great Wei
Caravan helped me to realize something - it is difficult to
survive without a strong backer."

Hua Kui burst out in laughter. "I believe you were just terribly
unlucky that time, but what you say is true. If you had joined
the headquarters then, the issue with the Great Wei Caravan
would have been settled with a single order. Joining the
headquarters isn’t going to be simple, I’m afraid. You’ll have to
pass a test first."

"What kind of test?"

 Ai Hui had already guessed that there would be a test.

"You have to find a way to join the Karakorum Sword League."

Hua Kui continued, "It’s just nice that you haven’t used your
opportunity to practice the Karakorum Sword League’s sword
formations."

Cold fear gripped Ai Hui’s heart. How did he know about this?
Clearly they had someone within the Karakorum Sword League.
Ai Hui nonchalantly asked, "Isn’t it easy to join the Karakorum
Sword League?"

Hua Kui explained, "It’s only easy to become an ordinary

external disciple. You need to find a way to get into the main
institution. Once you’re a part of them, you pass the test. If you
fail, you’ll have to wait until next year."

Ai Hui promptly nodded. "I understand."

Chapter 334: Karakorum Sword League
Silver City was also known as Pagoda City. As the most elite
city in the entire Silver Mist Sea, every inch of land was filled
with wealth. The tall pagodas blended well with the other
buildings and had gradually become a large part of Silver City’s
unique style.

Looking down from a bird’s eye view, one could see large
numbers of pagodas everywhere, each and every one them
standing tall like swords that were pointing towards the sky.
Bamboo carts, Fiery Floating Clouds and elementalists with
their azure wings spread opened shuttled amongst these
majestic pagodas. In the distance, the sparkling Silver Mist
River loomed. The towering dams in the upper reaches and the
mountains appeared to cover half of the horizon. This view was
simply breathtaking.

Being the largest city in Silver Mist Sea, Silver City consisted
of 13 towns of varying sizes. The furthest town was 220
kilometers away from Silver City and the nearest was 26
kilometers away. Every town was relatively busy and buzzed
with enough activity to rival that of a small city.

The headquarters of Karakorum Sword League were located

in a small, obscure town.
 Ai Hui initially thought that Karakorum Sword League would
be well-known throughout Silver City. However, upon reaching
Silver City, he realised that the locals had limited knowledge of
Karakorum Sword League.

Rather, the Dragonrise Training Hall was the most influential

place in Silver City.

The location of headquarters of Dragonrise Training Hall was

proof of this. Situated within Silver City itself, the training hall
covered quite a bit of land area. Its buildings were lofty and
grand, giving the area an extraordinary presence.

Money alone wasn’t sufficient to create such a spectacular

training hall in Silver City. Solid backing was definitely needed
as well.

In comparison, Karakorum Sword League was much more

low-profile. Ai Hui’s curiosity towards Karakorum Sword
League didn’t change because of this.

Karakorum Sword League was directly responsible for the

recent rise of swordsmanship’s popularity.
 It was rumoured that the chief of Karakorum Sword League
was a highly skilled young lady with a mysterious background.
She had also created numerous swordsmanship inheritances
and therefore had the power to nurture a new generation. But
as with all rumours, it was difficult to determine their
reliability.

The further away one got from Silver City, the less pagodas
could be seen. In their place stood low courtyards and shorter
buildings.

The headquarters of Karakorum Sword League were relatively

old and must have been around for many years. Collapsed and
shabby structures were everywhere, but the owners did not
seem to be interested in repairing them.

Countless broken swords were strewn about the place, many

of which were stabbed firmly into the surrounding walls and
green ceramic tiles. Some were coated with layers of rust, while
others shone brightly.

Racks made from bamboo poles lined both sides of the stone
road that led up to the main gate. The racks were filled with
grass swords placed out to dry.
 A gust of wind blew past, causing the grass swords to ring out
in harmony. The crisp, ringing sound was rather pleasing to Ai
Hui’s ear.

After walking two steps, Ai Hui saw the craftsmen who were
handling the grass swords dip them into vats of black starch
before swiftly taking them out. These shining black grass
swords were then hung onto the bamboo pole.

Rows of bamboo racks were stretched across a few hundred

feet in a spectacular display.

Although Karakorum Sword League’s location was a little

remote, it was not deserted at all. Groups of young ladies with
long swords hanging from their waists would brush past Ai Hui
from time to time. They would talk about their gains and losses
and discuss the day’s competitions.

Ai Hui was already enjoying the atmosphere - it reminded him

of Central Pine Academy.

There was no trace of the hustle and bustle found in the rest
of the Avalon of Five Elements.
 The word "Karakorum" was written on the top portion of the
main gates. Ai Hui found the handwriting rather familiar but
couldn’t figure out where he had seen it before.

Stepping through the gates, he found his field of vision

widened. Every single training ground was filled with people
practicing their swordplay.

There was a teacher allocated to each one, lending their

expertise and guidance to the students practicing within.

Upon seeing Ai Hui scanning the area, one of the youths in

charge of attending to guests walked up to him. "Honored
Guest, is there anything I can help you with?"

The youth looked no older than sixteen. A sword hung limply

at his waist, and he looked pretty nimble.

Ai Hui took a small sword about three inches long and said,
"I’m here to experience the sword formations."

The youth took a quick glance at the small sword and

repeatedly nodded, "Those who hold the small sword token are
Karakorum’s distinguished guests. Please, come this way. We
have six types of sword formations, which type would our
honored guest wish to experience?"

"Six types?" asked Ai Hui, slightly taken aback. He never

imagined that there would be several types of sword formations.

Upon hearing the surprise in Ai Hui’s words, the youth

suddenly displayed a strong sense of pride. "The swordsmanship
of our leader is unrivalled. All six types of sword formations
were invented by her and we’ll probably have even more in the
future."

"Truly impressive," replied Ai Hui sincerely. Come to think

about it, he couldn’t even create a complete sword formation,
yet here they had already invented six types. He couldn’t help
but feel impressed.

No wonder they dared to use Karakorum’s name, their leader

must be pretty powerful.

The youth had a favourable impression of Ai Hui. He

continued, "The sword formations are good for the training of
swordsmanship. However, it is extremely pricey and ordinary
people probably cannot afford it. Since you have the small
sword token, you’ll be able to experience three types of sword
formations."

Ai Hui asked curiously, "Don’t you usually use the sword

formations?"

"How can I possibly afford it?" the youth uttered as he shook

his head. "Activating a sword formation requires blood crystals
and essence elemental beans. Hang on, not just any essence
elemental beans, they must be of the highest grade."

High-grade essence elemental beans contained much more

elemental energy than ordinary ones. Furthermore, the
elemental energy within was also much purer, which was why
they were priced so highly.

A high-grade essence elemental bean was worth twenty

ordinary ones, although the market for them was extremely
volatile.

High-grade essence elemental beans were expensive and had a

low production rate. As such, people in general didn’t use them.
 The beneficial effects of high-grade essence elemental beans
were significantly better than that of the ordinary essence
elemental beans, but the discrepancy wasn’t exactly twenty
times, as the difference in value might imply. More often, they
were used to refine weapons or manufacture elemental food to
enhance the product’s quality.

"Doesn’t that make it super expensive?" Ai Hui asked as he

raised the small sword token in his hand. "How much is this
worth?"

The youth shook his head again and replied, "I don’t know the
specific price, but it’s definitely worth quite a hefty sum. The
thing is, you may not be able to buy it even if you have lots of
essence elemental beans."

Ai Hui followed the youth and walked along the training

grounds. He inquisitively asked, "How’s the standard of the
teachers here? Are their rates high?"

"The teachers are without a doubt the best you can find,"
answered the youth haughtily. "Other places like Dragonrise
Training Hall might be stronger in other aspects, but in terms of
swordsmanship, they aren’t even worth mentioning. The price
is reasonable, only five essence elemental beans per year,
something that most people can afford. Of course, this is only
for the daily lessons given by the teachers. If you’d like to learn
swordsmanship inheritances, you’d naturally have to pay
more."

"Reasonable indeed," nodded Ai Hui. "Looks like there are

quite a lot of students."

A fee of five essence elemental beans per annum wasn’t

expensive, especially since Karakorum was located around
Silver City.

The youth held his head so high that his chin almost pointed
towards the sky. "Of course! Karakorum Sword League in Silver
City is the best place to learn swordsmanship inheritances.
Everyone knows this!"

Just then, a man and a lady walked out from the backyard.

The man was charismatic, dashing and gracefully wielded a

longsword in his hand. The lady by his side had a demure and
refined presence.
 The lady’s face was filled with indignation as she exclaimed,
"This woman does not know her place. Ah Xian, you saved her
from those people yet she treated you with such disrespect! This
is too much!"

The man was however not angry at all. He replied, "Don’t be

angry, Junyu. Her behaviour isn’t exactly out of sorts either.
We saved her with the intention of taking a reward, which
wasn’t particularly well-intentioned of us anyway. If I hadn’t
heard that the ancient treasure she possesses is a swordplay
manual, I wouldn’t have concerned myself with this. Besides,
she’s probably still grieving over the unexpected massacre that
befell the Great Wei Enterprise."

"That’s true. The attackers were absolutely vicious," sighed

the lady. "Although, such things have been happening since
ancient times. Talented people will always draw others’
jealousy, sometimes resulting in their family’s misfortune. I
guess she’s quite pitiful too. Ah Xian, do you think someone will
find their way here?"

"Junyu, you shouldn’t be worried since Karakorum is not an

easy place to break into. Nothing will happen as long as they
don’t come. But if they do, we’ll just have to take revenge for
her and get rid of them all," said the man confidently.
 After hearing this, the lady calmed down and diverted her
gaze. Softly, she said, "Isn’t that Chu Zhaoyang?"

The man stopped in his tracks while his eyes followed the
lady’s gaze. His eyes immediately lit up, "He really is Chu
Zhaoyang!"

The two of them used to track Shi Youguang and stumbled

upon his body soon after Chu Zhaoyang had killed him. Upon
further inspection of the body, they were deeply shocked by
what they had seen.

The lady felt a little surprised. "He’s very powerful."

The man made a sound in agreement, "Check out his pace and
breathing rhythm, they’re both very relaxed, but completely in
sync. Also, there is hardly any trace of his elemental energy
around him. Doesn’t it feel like a sword hidden in its sheath?"

"Yes indeed," agreed the lady, astonished. "His entire body is

shrouded by a faint metal elemental energy that appears to be
well-concealed. This elemental energy around him seems to
extend a good distance away from his body as well… He’s
discovered us!"
 Sure enough, Chu Zhaoyang turned to face them.

The man felt a shiver down his spine. It seemed like Chu
Zhaoyang was much more powerful than he’d thought. He had
heard that Chu Zhaoyang had only recently achieved elemental
externalization, but upon seeing him for himself, he knew that
this wasn’t true.

With a gentle smile on his face, the man took the initiative to
greet Ai Hui. "Are you the Silverwheel Swordsman Chu
Zhaoyang, Brother Chu? I’m Qin Xian, and this is my fiancee
Lian Junyu. I wasn’t expecting to see Brother Chu here in
Karakorum, it’s such an honour."

"A good day to both of you," replied Ai Hui with a smile. The
other party’s friendly manner made Ai Hui less wary. "A friend
gave me this small sword token, which allows me to face
Karakorum Sword League’s sword formations as a learning
experience."

Qinxian laughed, "Brother Chu, you’re too humble. The

Silverwheel Swordsman is well-known by everyone."

Ai Hui self-deprecatingly said, "Being known by everyone isn’t

exactly something worth boasting about."

Qin Xian and Lian Junyu both smiled.

The youth who had been bringing Ai Hui around was

momentarily stunned. He had most certainly heard of the
Silverwheel Swordsman Chu Zhaoyang who had risen to fame
amidst the incident with the Great Wei Enterprise and his
various other exploits.

Qin Xian addressed the youth, "Go attend to your other tasks,
I will take care of Mr. Chu."

The youth made an indiscernible sound and immediately ran

off. He was so excited that he couldn’t wait to tell his friends
about what had just happened. Although they couldn’t enter the
sword formation training area, they were still able to watch
from the outside.

Being able to see such a famous swordsman in action was an

extremely rare opportunity, maybe even once in a lifetime.

In the blink of an eye, news about Chu Zhaoyang’s visit to

Karakorum Sword League’s sword formations spread like
wildfire.

Be it the teachers or the pupils, everyone immediately stopped

what they were doing and rushed towards the sword formation
training area.
Chapter 335: Sword Formations
"All six sword formations were created by Chief. Some were
developed when she was younger while playing games, and
others were new discoveries made in recent years. The newest
one is less than three months old. It is Chief’s sudden
conception that was built only after a long discussion with
everybody. Karakorum is different from most training halls. We
rarely get involved in concrete battles. You can see us as a
training hall that researches on and promotes sword mastery."

Qin Xian stood in front, introducing and guiding the way. He

spoke slowly but not imposingly. His voice was refreshing and
his elegant demeanor was admirable.

Lian Junyu, who followed behind him, looked at him

affectionately.

Ai Hui was absorbed in Qin Xian’s explanation. It was rather

different from what was rumored.

"There is a main and an external institution in Karakorum.

The main institution is where the teachers do their research on
inherited swordplays. We don’t have many of those, and those
that we do have are not of a high level, so there’s no need to
mention absolute arts. We usually train and ponder over ideas
on our own, but we gather once a week to share knowledge and
skills. Everyone says whatever they want, so arguments are
common. However, no one gets angry since they are all used to
it. If anyone has a new idea, he will also gather everybody
immediately to discuss it. Karakorum’s sword-related
discussions are unique to us and hard to find elsewhere."

Ai Hui raised his eyebrows. "What do you do if there’s any

absolute art that you do not wish to divulge?"

Qin Xian smiled. "We will not force it of course, since absolute
arts are used to save one’s life. Honestly speaking, our
swordsmanship inheritance are still of a lower grade, except for
Chief’s, which is slightly higher. As compared to the absolute
arts from aristocratic families, we are lagging far behind. We
don’t really regard absolute moves or what not as important,
but our first swordplay absolute art is taking shape."

Ai Hui was stirred. "How impressive."

Very impressive.

Till now, swordsmanship inheritance offered nothing great,

and it was needless to talk about absolute arts. If an absolute art
can emerge from an swordsmanship inheritance, it will
definitely cause a commotion.

Even though swordsmanship had declined, they still had some

influence over people. These were the brilliant results
accumulated over millions of years and left by the Cultivation
Era.

If Karakorum birthed the first ever absolute swordplay, it

would indeed live up to its name.

"I’m ashamed to say this, but this was accomplished by Chief’s

own efforts. We couldn’t help much at all." Qin Xian felt rather
embarrassed. He continued, "The external institution is where
swordplays are passed down. Whether a person has a
foundation or not, we are willing to impart knowledge to them.
If we meet a talented and impoverished person, fees are waived.
Most practitioners are taken care of by teachers in the external
institution. Teachers in the main institution will go over and
give a weekly, four-hour lecture about swordsmanship. They
will share information as they please, as a means of contributing
to the promotion of swordsmanship.

Ai Hui was in genuine admiration. "Karakorum Sword League

is indeed a noble one!"

To judge a person, one must observe what he does and not

what he says.

No matter what rumors were said about Karakorum, the fact

that Karakorum Sword league could come this far was indeed
worthy of respect.

Ai Hui practiced with swords but had never thought about

promoting swordsmanship. Even if he did open a training hall
that taught swordsmanship, it was merely to conceal his
identity. He truly respected Karakorum’s efforts, regardless of
their motives, in promoting swordsmanship.

Qin Xian smiled slightly. He’d said so much as he had his own
ideas. Chu Zhaoyang was an excellent swordsman. If recruited
into the main institution, he could assist them greatly in
completing their first swordplay absolute art.

"The sword formations are just ahead."

Six sword formations entered Ai Hui’s field of vision and he

couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and open his eyes wide.
"Grass swords?"

Karakorum Sword League’s sword formations were

completely different from the one he’d arranged.

Each formation was formed by grass swords. Some were

inserted into the ground while others were placed in midair.
Some of the grass swords cruised like fishes whereas other were
faintly discernable. But there was one sword formation, which
contained a pure, concentrated sword consciousness that Ai Hui
could feel. Some were massive like mountains, some were sharp
and harsh, some moved swiftly like wind while others were
extremely unpredictable.

Qin Xian said softly, "Deriving the sword formations consume

too much materials. Since we can’t afford materials that are too
expensive, we might as well use grass swords. The cost is lower
and we make them ourselves so that reduces the overall cost
even further."

Ai Hui finally realized that the grass swords he’d seen being
dried outside the entrance were meant for the sword
formations.
 Using grass swords to derive a sword formation was indeed a
decent idea so Ai Hui was impressed. The sword formation he’d
fixed up in the training hall consumed way too much to the
point where he’s practically used up all his fortune, evidence
that deriving sword formations this way was unsuitable.

Using grass swords could really minimize the production

costs. Of course, there were disadvantages of using grass
swords, since they wouldn’t be able to withstand too much
elemental energy. In that sense, the power of the sword
formation was reduced greatly as well.

This was also probably the reason why Karakorum Sword

League used these sword formations for training and practicing.

"How do I start?" Ai Hui turned around and asked Qin Xian.

"Stand in the middle of the sword formation. You’ll need to

use another grass sword." Qin Xian explained while handing Ai
Hui a different sword. "Which sword formation would you like
to start with?"

Receiving the sword, Ai Hui felt a sense of familiarity. He’d

been using a grass sword for so many years so it was easy for
him. "Let’s start from the first one."

Qin Xian nodded. "Okay, you can just step inside anytime and
when you’re stationed, the sword formation will be mobilized."

Hearing that, Ai Hui started walking towards the first sword

formation.

Many youngsters, upon receiving the news, had gathered

around the sword formation. They’d heard that Silverwheel
Swordsman, Chu Zhaoyang, was coming to experience the
sword formation so all of them rushed over. Swordsmanship
hadd been in decline for many years. While it did become a
slight trend in recent years, there hadn’t been many famous
swordsmen coming out of it. Silverwheel Swordsman was one
of the more outstanding practitioners so these young and
budding swordsmen had all came to observe.

Qin Xian and Lian Junyu kept their eyes wide open as well
since they were both very curious about Chu Zhaoyang’s
abilities.

Ai Hui held onto the grass sword and walked into the first
formation.
 There were thirty-six grass swords inserted into the ground
randomly and only half of the sword bodies were above ground.
Ai Hui was extremely familiar with sword manuals from the
Cultivation Era so he knew immediately, upon seeing the
positions of these swords, that the formation had been
completed in accordance to the Plum Blossom Numerology.

The Plum Blossom Numerology had been used extensively in

swordplays during the Cultivation Era. Many swordplays
involved this law, making it one of the staples.

But was the Plum Blossom Numerology functional in the

Elemental Ea?

Ai Hui was in doubt but concealed it with his usual

expression. He held the sword straight and remained calm.

To the bystanders, holding a sword turned Chu Zhaoyang into

a different person. If they were to say that Chu Zhaoyang was
the sheath of a treasure sword, now that the treasure sword was
unsheathed, his abilities were out there for all to see and there
was a cold aura surrounding him, making him seem sharp and
dangerous.
 Knowing when they saw something good, Qin Xian and Lian
Junyu’s eyes lit up.

The students did not say anything but they automatically held
their breaths.

Clang!

A sword chime sounded as one of the grass swords inserted

into the ground trembled before flying out.

A sword shadow flashed across the sky.

Without panicking, Ai Hui took a slight step forward and

thrust the grass sword in his hands forward cleanly.

Ding!

Ai Hui’s grass sword hit the sword shadow accurately.

Just then, another sword chime rang from behind him.

Without turning around, AI Hui pulled his sword behind his
back, and as if there were eyes on his back, he managed to aim
and strike the sword shadow precisely.

Clang clang clang. The sword chimes fell incessantly on the

ears as the densely packed sword shadows enveloped Ai Hui like
a swarm in midair.

Ai Hui appeared unhurried. His sword moves were neither

fast nor gaudy and complicated. Each move was simple,
practical and accurate.

Lian Junyu couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, "Such solid

swordsmanship."

Qin Xian kept quiet but his eyes said it all. It was obvious
when an expert made a move. Ai Hui’s sword moves weren’t at
all garish but the more this was the case, the more apparent it
became that Ai Hui had a profound understanding of
swordsmanship.

Standing in the middle, Ai Hui was trying to grasp the sword

formation.
 Ai Hui had no idea that the Plum Blossom Numerology could
be used this way.

After some handling, the ground beneath his feet was in

reality a sword scabbard. Thirty six grass swords were inserted
into the same sheath. On normal days, these thirty six swords
were placed into the ground for nourishment.

If he guessed correctly, there must be a hidden spring

underground which supplied water elemental energy and wood
elemental energy.

The Plum Blossom Numerology could be operated together

with water elemental energy, producing something marvelous.
This was something Ai Hui’d never explored before so he made
sure to take note of it. He could impart this to Hua Xiaoyun and
get her to mull over it herself.

Cloud Ridge City, where Hua Xiaoyun’s house was located,

had already been transformed into scorched earth. Her family
was killed in that catastrophe so Ai Hui naturally would not just
sit back and watch.

The well-nourished grass swords blended into one another, as

if they shared a core.

If Ai Hui had seen such a sword formation in Central Pine

City, he definitely would’ve been flustered.

Over the past three years, his elemental energy had been
growing slowly because of the blood plum blossom. However,
his swordsmanship improved so fast it could be said that he’d
become a whole different person.

Ai Hui understood that if the sword formation operated this

way, the thirty six grass swords would increase in speed and
become increasingly difficult for the center person to handle. In
other words, if a swordsman were to get caught up in the sword
formation, he would find himself in a troublesome situation if
he did not find the key to breaking the sword formation within
five minutes.

This excited Ai Hui. He wanted to see how far he could

persevere.

Clink clink clink!

 The sword shadows became increasingly blurred as the sword
chimes in midair started to become loud and clear.

Within the sword formation, the grass sword in Ai Hui’s

hands started to blur as well. It struck continuously and
forcefully, causing sparks to fly in all directions. Nevertheless,
Ai Hui’s body remained steady and motionless like a rock.

"Seven minutes."

Qin Xian checked the time repeatedly. He was well familiar

with the sword formation. This sword formation wasn’t
difficult to break. It only tested swordsmen’s understanding of
the Plum Blossom Numerology. If one understood it, it was
relatively easy to break the formation. This formation gave the
subject three minutes and once time was up, the swords’ power
would rise to an unresistable level. The longer it dragged on, the
mightier the grass swords became.

But it’d already been seven minutes and the sword shadows
were moving at a speed so fast it was difficult for the naked eye
to catch. The sharp, echoing sword whistles were soul-
shattering.
 Clink clink clink!

The sounds of grass swords crossing paths became louder and

higher in pitch.

Boom. A heavy explosion sounded suddenly.

The ground shook and dust filled the air. It was as if the whole
sword formation had been torn apart by an invisible hand.
Thirty-six grass swords flew all over the place like dried
seedlings in a crazy storm.

A figure holding onto a sword walked slowly out from amid

the smoke and dust.
Chapter 336: Madam Ling’s Guess
Only half a section of the grass sword was left in Ai Hui’s hand
but Ai Hui stood steady and dust-free.

Amid the sea of silence, he threw away the sword in his hand
and said with ease, "Please get me a new sword."

As if awakening from a dream, the teachers standing at the

side hurriedly handed over their swords to Ai Hui and felt
embarrassed upon realizing that many others had also offered
their swords.

Ai Hui took a sword from the nearest teacher and thanked

him.

He then gave the others a slight bow. "Thank you everyone."

People were only now coming back to their senses and a

clamor broke out.

The students were excited and in disbelief. Many had both

hands on their heads as they mumbled about things that they,
themselves, could not hear. They had seen many who managed
to break the sword formations, especially the first one since it
was the easiest. The fastest record was a minute and ten
seconds.

So far, Chu Zhaoyang was the slowest contender.

Yet, it was this fact that shook them completely. They had
never seen a sword formation being destroyed and falling into
ruins. The same voice echoed in all their minds, "How’s that
possible?"

How was that possible?

Qin Xian opened his eyes wide as the same question filled his
mind. He already had an idea when he saw that seven minutes
had passed, but to have that scene unfold right before his eyes
was still a shocking experience.

Lian Junyu had both hands over her mouth, and her face was
overwhelmed with shock.

The grass swords had scattered all over the place due to the
surging force from the formation. It was as if a violent beast had
just trampled across this area.

Ai Hui felt rather embarrassed. "I am so sorry to have

destroyed the sword formation. I’m willing to compensate."

He had no choice and had been pondering how to carry out his
mission of sneaking into the main institution. His conclusion
was that he needed to impress and shock them.

It appeared that he had accomplished his goal.

However, to come over to someone else’s territory, make use

of their sword formation, and still act so arrogantly, was this
not considered bullying?

Okay, maybe a little, but to complete his mission, he really

could not care that much! Plus, why did he feel… slightly
pleased? That final blow had really given him an adrenaline
rush.

Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Unlike Fatty, he was not an

immoral fellow!
 Qin Xian reacted by laughing joyously. "Don’t say that,
Brother Chu. We are more than happy that it’s broken since it
means that we, the swordsmen, are powerful. Do not feel
apologetic. You’ve really opened up our eyes. This experience is
far more valuable than the sword formation and also proves
something."

He deliberately pause before continuing in a deadpan manner,

"It was the right choice to use grass swords when deriving a
sword formation."

Those around roared with laughter, and even Ai Hui could not
resist revealing a slight smile.

It had to be said that Qin Xian was an extremely charming

fellow. He was likeable and approachable.

"The next formation then?"

"To the next!" Qin Xian added as a reminder, "Please do not go

easy, Brother Chu. It’s fine if you destroy it. It will teach the
younger ones a little something—that there’s always a higher
mountain to climb. Plus, grass swords aren’t expensive and
they’re easily replaceable."
 The last sentence caused the crowd to erupt into laughter
once more.

Ai Hui laughed out loud. Carrying the grass sword, he walked

upright and unafraid toward the second sword formation.

With unhurried steps, Ai Hui felt carefree and relaxed

Looking from the back, however, there was a mighty aura that
surrounded him. Those who witnessed this sight could not help
but feel admiration.

…..

The Ling residence, Golden Eagle Study Room.

The servants all knew that the family head would only call for
his wife if he had met with a challenging situation.

According to the rules set by the older generation, the women

in Ling residence were not allowed to enter the study. However,
when it came to this particular madam, there was no restriction
at all. The servants felt it was reasonable. Even the housekeeper
who had served the residence for over 50 years and across two
generations felt it was reasonable. No one had an objections.

Madam Ling had proven too many times that she was
knowledgeable, experienced, and a good judge. When the old
family head was still healthy, even he was full of praise when it
came to this daughter-in-law of his.

When Madam Ling was young, she was not considered the
most notable young aristocrat.

Back in the day, the most famous figure, also referred to as

"Flower of Aristocratic Families", was Ye Lin. Ye Lin was born
into the most respectable family in all of the Avalon of Five
Elements and later married the only son of the Elders Guild’s
Great Elder.

However, Madam Ling was different. She relied on her own

wisdom and personality to win the hearts of everybody. She had
the perfect family, and her children grew up well. Her virtuous
character was well-known to the aristocratic families. Her
husband treated her with utmost respect, and everyone in the
household adored her deeply.

There were people in the Ling residence who talked behind

the family head’s back and were let off with a few warnings.
However, those who talked bad about the madam were
undoubtedly going to get a beating.

"Have you found out what it is exactly?" Madam Ling sipped

her tea and asked unhurriedly, "How can it be an ordinary
object if Dai Gang set his eyes upon it?"

"Opinions differ." Family Head Ling Sheng anxiously

continued, "Some mentioned that it is a secret swordplay called
[Transcendence] from the Void Sword Clan. Some said it’s a
blood-refining spell, while others said it’s an important treasure
belonging to Karakorum, or even a demonic artifact. There are
also people who believe that it is an immortality pill. We
planned to enter from the Great Wei Enterprise, but they
reacted very aggressively and those people did not hold back
so…"

Madam Ling placed her tea cup down and sighed. "Why must
we take action? Didn’t we agree that no action should be taken
unless absolutely necessary? Don’t keep using those people.
They’re too murderous."

Ling Sheng replied in embarrassment, "I’ve already given

them a scolding, but you know what kind of people they are too.
It’s difficult for them to control themselves when they see
blood."

He elaborated, "There’s still some benefits. I heard that that

the Great Wei Enterprise has obtained this ancient treasure for
quite a long time now. The enterprise has a good relationship
with the Duanmu family and they had even presented a gift to
the family before. You do remember what happened next right?
Back in the day, Dai Gang accepted Duanmu Huanghun as his
disciple all of a sudden, and the Duanmu family specially
selected a bunch of gifts for Dai Gang. The thing that Great Wei
Enterprise gifted Duanmu family is likely to be in Dai Gang’s
hands."

"From what you’ve said, that’s actually possible. Otherwise,

why would the Great Wei Enterprise get noticed by Dai Gang?"
Madam Ling said thoughtfully as she mumbled to herself. "The
Great Wei Enterprise planned to send the ancient treasure to the
Jadeite Forest, but the news was leaked, attracting many who
lusted over the treasure. Why didn’t Dai Gang send
reinforcements at that time? Could it be that he hadn’t figured
out what was going on? Yeah, probably. This means that the
Great Wei Enterprise might not know what the treasure is for.
Dai Gang did not hesitate to request the help of an enterprise of
Avalon of Five Elements to search for this treasure. Evidently, it
is extremely important to him. Tell me, with his current status,
is there anything he would sacrifice everything to obtain?"
 Having thought for a long time, Ling Sheng shook his head.
"Can’t think of anything. Dai Gang is now a Grandmaster. He’s
the god of the Jadeite Forest, so what could he possibly not
have?"

A lightbulb went off in Madam Ling’s head. She shouted

excitedly, "Great Grandmaster! What if the treasure he’s looking
for could make him a Great Grandmaster?"

Ling Sheng sat dumbstruck. After some time, he stammered,

"Is there something so magical in this world?"

Madam Ling questioned him instead of answering. "Then tell

me, other than this kind of object, what else could be attractive
enough for Dai Gang?"

Ling Sheng stared absent-mindedly for a long time, muttering

to himself, "How can there be such a treasure?"

Deep down, he had already internalized his wife’s judgment,

but it was simply too shocking for him. He soon came up with
another question. "If it’s so important to Dai Gang, why doesn’t
he personally make a move?"
 The moment these words left his mouth, he knew he had just
asked a foolish question.

Indeed, his question put Madam Ling in a bad mood. "An

Muda isn’t dead yet."

Ling Sheng felt embarrassed once again.

There could never be two tigers on one mountain. This was

especially the case for Grandmasters. Between Grandmasters,
they were natural enemies and both parties could feel each
other’s presence from thousands of miles away. Dai Gang’s
infiltration into the Avalon could be concealed from everyone
except An Muda.

Grandmasters were the real treasures of a powerful nation.

Once they were deployed, that would be the decisive battle.

Unless Dai Gang was insane, he would absolutely never enter

the Avalon of Five Elements.

"An Muda doesn’t have many years left ahead of him," Ling
Sheng commented.
 This was also the reason why he would contact Dai Gang in
secret. It was to leave an escape route for the Ling residence.
The death of An Muda would break the equilibrium between
both sides and no one inside of the Avalon would be able to stop
Dai Gang.

An Muda was too old. No one knew how much longer he

would live.

Everyone understood that the moment of An Muda’s death

would be the moment when everything changed.

Anyway, the Ling residence was not the only family leaving a
way out for themselves.

"If this item is so important to Dai Gang, and he’s determined

to win it over, then the Ling residence wouldn’t be the only
family he’s utilizing. We must grab this opportunity to gain
merit so as to rise above the rest." Madam Ling’s voice was ice
cold. "Is she in Karakorum?"

Whenever Madam Ling used this murderous tone with him,

Ling Sheng would feel an indescribable excitement and would
want more than anything to pounce on and ravage her.
 He licked his lips. "Yes! She’s in the Karakorum Sword League
and is said to be a big beauty. Presumably, Karakorum Sword
League heard about the [Transcendence] secret swordplay and
wondered what it was for, but it’s a pity they have yet to find its
whereabouts and can only keep her confined at home."

Madam Ling asked, "What is Karakorum Sword League all

about?"

She had heard of this name, but was not concerned. Other
than the aristocratic families located there, Silver City was a
place where generations of families were replaced quickly.

Water-like Silver City, iron-made aristocratic families.

"What history? What history could a bunch of idiotic sword

lovers have? Swordsmanship has long been thrown into the
trash, yet there are always people who are trying to
commemorate it. Those who associate themselves with
swordsmanship are all fools."

Madam Ling responded with a straight face, "Just like Ye Lin."

 Ling Sheng was astounded. "Widow Ye Lin must have bullied
you quite a bit in the past for you to hold such a deep grudge."

"Capture that beauty." Madam Ling could not be bothered

with him. Her face remained ice cold as she spoke, " The
treasure must be where she is. Karakorum Sword League may
be unable to locate it, but we’re not as useless."

Ling Sheng was no longer able to hold himself back. With a

cry he pounced on her like a wild beast in heat.
Chapter 337: Uninvited Guests
Ai Hui was deeply shaken by Karakorum Sword League’s
sword formations.

He had broken through the second formation as well. To be

exact, it had been destroyed. Nevertheless, Ai Hui was not the
least bit complacent. The second sword formation was
completely different in style from the first.

The more complicated the sword formation, the mightier it

was.

Although they were just grass swords, that feeling of having a

blade on his back still caused him to break out a cold sweat. He
appeared calm, but inwardly, he felt far from it. The reasoning
behind the second formation was entirely different from the
first as it used firewind swords.

When it came to the third formation, Ai Hui was already

feeling the pressure. He recalled what Qin Xian mentioned
earlier, about how some sword formations were created while
the chief was playing games when she was young.
 When she was young…

Games…

All right then. He got rid of any sense of satisfaction. Yes, this
meant that he really was not an immoral character, unlike
Fatty.

Ai Hui’s competitive spirit had been triggered.

Being the weakling in other aspects was something that Ai Hui

was used to, but not when it came to swordsmanship. He had
spent a significant amount of time and effort on training and on
searching for functional objects amid the vast, boundless
garbage heaps. He would find it difficult to accept if he could
not even defeat a game that someone created at a young age.

Entering the third sword formation, Ai Hui was already

certain that the Chief of Karakorum Sword League had a more
holistic understanding and knowledge of the swordsmanship.

The third sword formation was actually a military-type

swordsmanship.
 Military-type swordsmanship appeared in the early days of
the Cultivation Era, but were quickly replaced by more complex
swordplays from swordplay sects. Only with the resurgence of
large military units had military-type swordsmanship risen
once again.

Military-type swordsmanship was unique in that it involved

straightforward moves. Each blow was sharp, murderous, and
without any excessive shifts.

With a flip of the sword in his hands, Ai Hui obstructed a

sword that came for him from above. The strong impact made
his wrist tremble. Before he could take a breather, another
sharp presence locked onto him. He spun around abruptly,
thrusting the grass sword out at a slight angle.

With a slight tremble, a faint glow appeared on the grass

sword.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding was painful to the ears.

 The grass sword rose up and shot backward.

Ai Hui did not cower at all. With a twitch of his sword, he

charged toward that recoiling grass sword. His strikes were
plain, and after 12 consecutive hits, he struck the tip of that
grass sword.

The blade of the recoiling grass sword split like a solid

bamboo being forced open.

Crack!

The grass sword broke completely, transforming into chaff

that drifted away.

Ai Hui lowered his body and dodged a grass sword that came
at him from behind before chasing after it. With a flick of his
wrist, a silver glow appeared. A silver sword wheel became
entangled with the grass sword in front of it.

Shattering explosions sounded as the grass sword within the

silver wheel snapped off inch by inch.
 Ai Hui’s desire to win was so strong that he had no idea that
those outside the sword formation were already flabbergasted
by what they had witnessed.

Stupefied, Qin Xian suddenly turned around to ask his fiance,

"Is he really going to destroy every sword formation?"

Lian Junyu did not even close her eyes for an instant. "It
seems like he does have that intention."

Suddenly, they both reacted together by turning their heads

and making eye contact.

The Karakorum Sword League’s sword formations had been

open to public for quite some time now. They had given away
many small swords and sold even more. This could be
considered as one of the Karakorum Sword League's important
sources of income. For the longest time, those who were able to
break through three formations were allowed to enter the main
institution and become registered teachers.

Break, not destroy.

 The best record so far was four formations. Even the chief had
mentioned that she might not successfully break through all six
if it was her first time trying.

Notice! Break! Not destroy!

Breaking through and destroying were two completely

different concepts. To break through meant to find a loophole
in the sword formation and escape. To destroy, not only must
the challenger find the loophole, he also had to attack the
formation in order to shatter it.

Sword formations had many loopholes that could only be

broken though.

To destroy… no one had even done that.

Even before the other students and teachers could process

this, they were already shaken by Ai Hui’s swordsmanship. All
sorts of cries and screams could be heard continuously.

"Oh dear, how did he do that?"

 "Did anyone see how many sword moves Ai Hui unleashed?
Nine or ten?"

"It’s 12!"

"Too… too crazy. How can anyone in this world do this?"

"I’m starting to see stars!"

Amid all the excitement, a silver sword wheel lit up, bringing
the chatter to its highest pitch.

"Silver wheel! Silver wheel!"

"Silverwheel Swordsman!"

Chu Zhaoyang’s nickname was Silverwheel Swordsman, so

this silver wheel was naturally his signature move. How could
the students not feel moved when they actually got to witness a
famous swordsman displaying his signature move?
 Ai Hui was unaware of the commotion outside. He was totally
in the zone and only had eyes on the grass swords within the
sword formation.

Crack crack crack!

After the third grass sword was entangled, the whole sword
formation was no longer able to keep up and it collapsed. The
remaining grass swords burst into flames, and in the blink of an
eye, the blaze engulfed the sword bodies, turning them all into
ashes.

The third sword formation had been destroyed.

The whole hall quieted down when this scene ended.

The audience looked at Ai Hui with respectful, but not

agitated nor shocked, eyes.

To the audience, the image of Chu Zhaoyang wielding a grass

sword seemed to become a majestic, towering mountain and an
extremely admirable sight.
 Ai Hui’s fiery fighting spirit surged. The sword formation had
already collapsed, but he had no wish to stop yet. He walk
toward the fourth formation with the grass sword in hand.

Qin Xian, who was trailing, opened his mouth and prepared to
stop Ai Hui.

This was enough validation. Destroying three sword

formations was a feat only he and the chief of Karakorum
Sword League could accomplish. Although the formations were
made up of grass swords, the cost was not low.

Deep down, Qin Xian already saw Chu Zhaoyang as member of

his group, so there would be many opportunities in future for
him to experience the sword formations. Plus, they could tackle
them peacefully. Why was there a need to be so violent… They
were all money…

Lian Junyu was quick enough to stop Qin Xian. "Notice his
state of mind," she reminded.

Qin Xian snapped out of it, stared at Chu Zhaoyang, and

immediately realized that something was amiss. Chu Zhaoyang
was becoming increasingly vigorous, and they could feel his
intense battlelust even from far away.

Qin Xian had experienced being in such a state.

To put it simply, it was an indescribable excitement and

passion that a fighter felt when competing against an evenly-
matched opponent.

The stimulation of violence was another easy way of

explaining it.

Since Chu Zhaoyang was in such a state, it was unsurprising

that he entered the fourth formation without even giving
anybody a second glance. He was in a senseless state, indicating
the beginning of a breakthrough.

This state was one that could be discovered, but not sought.

Qin Xian instantly shut his mouth as his eyes filled with
anticipation. It was clear to him that six sword formations in
exchange for an opportunity for Chu Zhaoyang to break
through was definitely worth it! Everything else aside, Chu
Zhaoyang would then owe them a favor.
 The more esteemed people were, the more they placed an
importance on favors. They would avoid owing favors, but at
the same time, they would definitely pay them back when
necessary.

Chu Zhaoyang’s abilities were already greater than what he

had imagined, so what kind of standard would he reach if he
were to undergo a breakthrough?

He had no idea, but he knew that if Chu Zhaoyang did

experience a breakthrough, they were going to strike it rich.

…..

A group of uninvited guests appeared in Small Leaf Town.

"Have you run a check on Karakorum Sword League’s

background?" The burly-looking leader asked in a low voice. He
looked ordinary and had no striking traits. He was the type that
could blend in and disappear into a crowd, but when he
narrowed his eyes, a thick bloody smell automatically oozed
out.
 "Nothing great." A petite man shook his head.

Someone beside them laughed softly. "How great would it be?

Opening a training hall in such a remote place. If Karakorum
Sword League really was something, why would it be
established in such a place rather than in the city?

The rest nodded their heads in agreement. These words made

too much sense.

Training hall owners with greater abilities would naturally

pick livelier places to open their training halls since the livelier
the place, the better the business.

"The chief of Karakorum Sword League Isn't around," the

petite man said somewhat regretfully. "I heard that the chief is a
young girl. She never ever removes her veil, but she has a
gorgeous figure with curves in all the right places. There’s no
doubt that she’s a great beauty, heh heh."

Someone immediately stirred restlessly, saying, "And that

Xiao Shuren, eh. She’s a great beauty too. We should not forget
about her."
 "Yeah, what a waste to let them go."

Enraged, the boss suddenly yelled, "Shut it, all of you!"

Everyone fell silent out of fear.

The big man narrowed his eyes like a tiger hungry for human
flesh as he coldly said, "I’ll say the ugly words first. Keep your
pants on. If anyone screws up, I will personally extract his brain
and kill his whole family."

No one dared to utter a sound. They all knew that their boss
was truly furious.

The burly-looking boss surveyed his people, and no one dared

to meet his gaze. "This is Silver City. Is Silver City a place for us
to create trouble? Know your place. You think those aristocratic
families are good people? They’ll be the first to get rid of us if
anything happens."

Finishing this sentence, he slowed down, adding, "We need to

get this done in the shortest time possible. Let’s capture Xiao
Shuren and leave immediately. Do not stir up any trouble at all.
Since the chief of Karakorum Sword League isn’t around, let’s
cut the bullsh*t and head straight for it."

The petite man hurriedly asked, "Boss, should we wait for

nightfall?"

"No." The boss lowered his voice. "There could be

competitors, so let’s stay alert and make our move."

Upon hearing that there were other people of the same trade,
their faces changed and all of them suddenly stood up straight
and became vigilant.

The boss looked pleased. "Let’s go. To the Karakorum Sword

League."

The gang arrived at the Karakorum Sword League’s entrance

and immediately felt suspicious.

There was no one standing by the big entrance.

"Let’s go in and see," the boss said in a low voice.

 The well-prepared gang walked through the entrance, but the
place was still empty, and not a single soul was present.

The boss’s gaze fell upon the petite fellow, and the latter
quickly said, "Boss, it was full when I came previously."

Just then, an alarmed cry sounded from somewhere.

A murderous look flashed across the boss’s eyes as he said

without hesitating, "Go. Let’s go and have a look."

They started walking toward the sword formations.

Chapter 338: Yin Yang Sword Formation
No one noticed these uninvited guests as everybody in the
hall, students and teachers, was standing around the sword
formation.

Ai Hui, who was in the middle of it, was also unaware of the
situation outside.

He was in trouble. It was the fifth sword formation.

That earlier cheer was from when he destroyed the fourth

sword formation.

The fourth was Big Dipper sword formation, an obvious

modification of Cultivation Era’s Big Dipper sword formation.

Ai hui had read more than one swordplay manual involving

Big Dipper. Plus, he practiced the inheritance of [Big Dipper] so
naturally, he understood it better than most.

Nevertheless, he still came across a minor problem. As

compared to his understanding of Big Dipper, the creator had an
even deeper comprehension of the whole system. Ai Hui had
been suppressed for a good eight minutes before getting a
chance to retaliate.

He used up a tremendous amount of strength. Clink, clink,

clink! Finally, the fourth formation was shattered.

But the moment he stepped into the fifth formation, he fell

into a tough spot.

This was actually a Yin Yang sword formation!

Ai Hui was astonished. Could it be that Karakorum’s

understanding of swordsmanship had already reached such a
level? There was Yin Yang in primal chaos, and it transformed
into five elements. It appeared that Yin Yang was simpler, but
when it came to practice the simpler things were actually
harder.

The same idea applied to battles. The simpler the reasoning,

the harder to fancify it. But when done, it would be extremely
powerful.
 This sword formation was like that as well.

The Yin Yang grass swords were like a shoal of fish cruising
around Ai Hui’s body. It looked harmless and ordinary, but the
more harmless it looked, the more dangerous it really was.

Ai Hui’s state of mind and awareness were completely shut off

from the outside world, as if there was an invisible wall
isolating him from it. What was even more unimaginable was
that these Yin Yang grass swords brought such turbulent flows
that disrupted and warped his perception.

The perception he’d been relying on all this while was

completely failing him. His sense of position and speed were
wrong because of the distortion produced by the turbulent
flows.

Ai Hui had never been in such a situation before.

Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp was powerless since this wasn’t

an illusion created by a psychic attack.

Outside the formation, Qin Xian subconsciously sighed a

breath of relief. "Looks like he’s going to be stuck in this one."

Not knowing why, he felt as though a weight was lifted off his
mind. Quickly, he realized that he wasn’t the only one feeling
this way. Lian Junyu, too, sighed, "Yeah, it’s simply too
shocking but luckily Yin Yang formation is obstructing him."

"Chief's mentioned that Yin Yang sword formation was an

accidental discovery. After building it, she spent quite some
time to find the solution to it." Qin Xian added in admiration,
"To be able to reach this stage, Chu Zhaoyang’s power is
undeniable. Destroying four sword formations is an impressive
feat that hasn’t been done before."

"What a pity. Such a good opportunity for a breakthrough."

Lian Junyu continued regretfully, "If he was in a slightly weaker
sword formation, he just might be able to do it."

Breakthroughs usually occurred under pressure, but if the

pressure was too great, not only was it difficult to break
through, it might cause injuries.

Sufficient accumulation, an opportune moment, the

appropriate level of pressure…Only when all conditions were
suitable would one be able to complete a breakthrough.
Breakthroughs were challenging because of this.

"There’s no choice, this is life." Qin Xian agreed in

disappointment.

If Chu Zhaoyang did break through and become more capable,

it would be even more advantageous for Karakorum. But failure
had its own benefits too. It showed Chu Zhaoyang the power of
Karakorum’s swordsmanship, which would make it easier to
keep him as a teacher in the main institution.

Qin Xian was already thinking about how he could persuade

Chu Zhaoyang to stay.

Just then, he sensed something, jerked his head up, and

looked toward the Yin Yang sword formation.

A big man looked at the impenetrable crowd before giving a

petite man a look. The petite man hurriedly shook his head,
expressing his confusion.

Deep down, the petite man was crying about his bad luck. All
had been normal when he’d snuck over to investigate. Boss
hated it most when people deceived him. If Boss developed
suspicions about him and killed him in a moment of fury, he
wouldn’t even get the chance to plead for justice.

The petite man felt Boss’s displeasure, but even before he

could speak up, Boss reached his arms out to push through the
crowd.

Those who were shoved aside were furious and were about to
display their annoyance, but seeing that the group wasn’t one to
be provoked, they swallowed the curse words that almost left
their mouths.

Boss continued pushing his way in and his subordinates

followed closely behind.

Suddenly, someone from the crowd starting scolding but Boss

turned a deaf ear to it. Others dared not to get as angry as they
pleased.

Reaching the inner crowd and getting a clear look at the

situation, Boss finally sighed a breath of relief.
 If he’d made his way in only to see Xiao Shuren’s corpse, he
definitely would have lost it.

Since what he saw had nothing to do with his mission, he

decided not to waste any more time. The news that there might
be people with the same motives shocked him greatly. Who else
did Xiao Shuren provoke?

He was even more alert at this point and did not wish to be
sidetracked any further. Catching Xiao Shuren was top priority.

As he was about to leave, Boss felt something and turned his

head around instinctively, looking toward the sword formation.

A splendid silver ray blossomed within it.

This silver ray was so piercing to the eyes that even the
vigilant boss was caught off guard and blinded by it.

Could it be a trap? His heart was jumping and as he was about

to move, a terrifying aura soared from within the formation.
 The big man’s heart tightened and the little rationality that
was left in him kept him on his feet.

Crack!

A sound like a shattering glacier sounded from underneath his

feet that made hearts palpitate. It seemed to explode by his ear,
causing his hair to stand on end.

His whole body turned rigid. He was motionless and felt that
any movement on his part would provoke his murderousness
and turn himself into dregs.

If he could see right then, he would’ve realized that not only

he, but everyone else was experiencing the same thing.

The timid ones fell onto the ground as their knees went soft
and gave way.

Inside, Ai Hui’s eyes were so bright they could combust and

the grass sword was wrapped up in the dazzling silver light. He
was like a gust of wind, moving swiftly and forcefully within the
formation and amid the glaring silver rays. The sword rays were
like long strands that were pulled out from melted silver liquid.

The strange thing was that these silver, strand-like sword rays
seemed to have imprinted themselves in the sky and there was
no sign of them vanishing.

The grass sword in his hand was like a bottomless pit. The
elemental energy within Ai Hui’s body was surging wildly
toward the sword, and every hair-like strand consumed a
shocking amount of elemental energy.

But it was as if Ai Hui was unaware. The blinding silver light

shone on his face, turning it into a white sheet. It also
accentuated his stone-like features, making them seem even
more cold and solid.

Only his pupils shone brightly, in spite of the already dazzling,

blinding silver light. They were so clear, distinct and
memorable.

His sword moved delicately yet imposingly.

It was as if Ai Hui was holding a brush rather than a sword.

 The sword rays drawn in midair were densely packed and
intertwined. Even if they were put in front of people, no one
would understand them. Even Ai Hui did not.

But he remembered every detail very clearly.

How could he forget about the metal wind sword screen that
rose from the ground in the final Metal Elemental Tribulation
from the Five Elemental Eight Treasures Porridge feast? Each
crisscrossed metal wind sword trace was engraved into his
heart. He felt the dense sword consciousness amid the
seemingly chaotic sword rays. The metal wind sword screen
proved its strength.

It was part luck that he managed to break the screen. He

thought back to that scene many times and felt lingering fear.

He’d tried figuring out these disordered sword rays but hadn’t
been able to find any clues.

Except this time, he thought about the sword rays from the
metal wind sword screen.
 The change of Yin and Yang was simple and mysterious at the
same time. He felt that the only thing he could fight against was
the metal wind sword screen.

Since there were no clues, he was going to duplicate it

completely!

This sudden thought jolted Ai Hui into action since he

couldn’t come up with any other method. Without hesitation,
he began drawing the metal wind sword screen’s messy sword
rays.

These messy rays seemed to have a bizarre power. When the

first ray was drawn in the sky, the turbulent flows of Yin and
Yang that were everywhere instantly weakened significantly.

This gave Ai Hui a huge confidence boost.

Following which, however, Ai Hui bumped into an

unexpected situation. The messy looking sword strokes
consumed way too much elemental energy.

He felt that the sword in his hands was like a starving leech,
desperately sucking away his elemental energy.

Ai Hui knew that he mustn’t stop. Once he did, the

incomplete sword rays would collapse. Moreover, he had a
feeling that once the sword rays collapsed, the causal effect
would be extremely terrifying and wasn’t something he could
endure at that moment.

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp operated at full force and

every elemental energy sword pill within his body was
mobilized.

As the turbulent flows were held down, Ai Hui reconnected

with the external elemental energy. Threads and wisps of metal
elemental energy shot out from the wind into Ai Hui’s body,
and into his sword following his Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

The grass sword was like an ever-starving monster, greedily

swallowing up every trace of elemental energy.

In the wind, the abundant metal elemental energy was being

sucked away violently.
 The leaves on the ground rolled up and the wind became
stronger.

The well-replenished grass sword shone even brighter. Not

only was Ai Hui being enveloped within this splendid silver
light, his body was surrounded by a silverish white halo of
metal elemental energy.

Everyone regained awareness when the wind became so

strong that their clothes started to make sounds. The glaring
silver light rapidly faded and everybody channeled their
elemental energy into their vision and finally saw the ongoing
situation clearly.

The metal elemental energy amid the crazy wind spiraled

down like a tornado and circled around Ai Hui’s body. His
sword moved naturally and each stroke was clean and carried a
tinge of indescribable flavor and mystery.

Ai Hui’s expression did not change but his vigor rose

continuously.

Not good, the big man thought. Where did such a powerful
fellow come from? At this point, he was already set on
withdrawing from the scene. The person involved had
unmeasurable powers and those messy sword rays made him
feel fear and trepidation.

An experienced person like him had an acute sense of danger.

Just then, Ai Hui stopped suddenly with a final stroke. It was

complete.

Time seemed to stop at this point.

Chapter 339: Elemental Energy
Suffocation
The last stroke was like the final brushstroke of a picture
scroll. Within the Yin Yang sword formation, the messy sword
rays formed a complete ring.

The roving Yin Yang grass swords slowed down and time
seemed to stop at this moment.

The ring, made up of disarrayed sword rays, was like a nest

built of tree branches picked by a bird. It emitted a delicate light
ray that shone on the stationary Yin Yang grass swords, making
them appear like a flock of motionless birds.

The fine and drawn-out whistle burst forth from deep

underground, as if a monster had been awakened.

The next moment, the Yin Yang sword formation seemed to

have sensed danger and started spinning wildly. The Yin Yang
grass swords brought wave after wave of turbulent flows. The
black and white, criss-crossed flows were like black and white
fishes, advancing dauntlessly toward the disordered sword ring.
 At the same time, the surging metal wind sprayed out from
within the messy sword rays.

The metal wind collided head on with the black and white,
crisscrossed Yin Yang turbulent flows.

Ai Hui was almost completely exhausted from the metal wind

sword ring, which was emptying out all his elemental energy. It
was getting so difficult for him to even move his fingers that he
could only watch on helplessly.

He saw an unforgettable sight.

The chaotic rumbling of the turbulent flows came endlessly,

wave after wave. The simplest black and white.. no, the
simplest Yin and Yang grew and multiplied without end in this
simple criss-cross pattern.

The metal wind that was swept into these black and white,
crisscrossed flows disappeared rapidly. The flows that
swallowed the wind constantly tangled with one another and
fused into each other, eventually extinguishing completely.
 Ai Hui, who had his eyes wide open, witnessed the whole
process, from the birth of the turbulent flows, to how they got
tangled with each other, and how they finally welded together
and were destroyed.

All was so simple, yet so profound that Ai Hui was deeply

attracted to what he’d seen unfolding before his eyes. He made
sure to keep his eyes open in fear of missing any detail. He
stared on with undivided attention.

The metal wind from underground surged violently and

unendingly. The Yin Yang turbulent flows thrived under the
continuous agitation of the metal wind.

But Ai Hui quickly realized that along with the incessant

interweaving motions, the Yin and Yang of the grass swords
started to converge unceasingly.

It seemed as if Ai Hui had started to understand something.

Ai Hui was so engrossed in the mysticality of it all he did not

feel that anything was amiss.
 The onlookers outside the sword formation, however, saw a
different scenario. The silver wind pillar, that carried an ear-
piercing whistle, soared into the sky, drowning Ai Hui
completely. The Yin Yang sword formation released a rumble
that shook the sky as it spun so wildly and quickly that it was
difficult for the naked eye to process.

The sword formation was like a cup attached to the ground,

sucking and locking the metal wind in.

The metal wind hit against the sword formation ferociously.

The whistling of the wind and the rumbling of the sword

formation blended together, but one could clearly feel the two
thoroughly different elemental energy waves surging within. It
was like two huge monsters tearing at each other.

Sparks flew and electricity flowed like a silver snake. The

colorful splendor was like an overturned paint bottle.They were
like fireworks, some appearing while others faded away,
magnificent and dazzling.

A mysterious sense of fear arose in everyone’s mind.

 Blended into the crowd, the big man reacted the quickest. His
face changed greatly as the fear within his eyes could no longer
be concealed.

He felt as if he was stuck in a pile of quagmire and unable to

move, or as if he was underwater, suffocating. He knew that
this was a sensory illusion that was caused by a reduction in the
concentration of the surrounding elemental energy.

Reduction in concentration of elemental energy…

He stared deadly at the main culprit – sword formation!

It was like a vacuum, frantically sucking in the surrounding

elemental energy.

Not only him but Qin Xian and the gang were unable to keep a
straight face as they too could feel the elemental energy being
emptied out.

Many students were unaware of this. Their mouths were wide

open as they looked on at the changing colors and the deafening
sword formation.
 Elementalists that had achieved elemental externalization
were no longer obstructed by the invisible wall between their
bodies and Nature’s elemental energies. And because of this,
they became more sensitive toward external elemental energies.
They would more or less absorb some heaven and earth
elemental energy even as they breathed. The absorption became
more apparent when they were executing their Circulatory
Cycle Revolution.

Elementalists that had achieved elemental externalization

were like fishes while Nature’s elemental energies were like
water.

Once the surrounding elemental energies thinned, elemental-

externalized elementalists would feel discomfort, but not to the
point where they really suffocated.

There was a specific terminology for this sensory

suffocation –"elemental energy suffocation".

Elemental energy suffocation would appear in battles at times.

The nature of battles between elemental-externalized

elementalists was to fight for control over Nature’s elemental
energies. Such a contest was extremely intense. The mysterious
interaction between the five elements would complicate the
fight, making it difficult to gain an absolute advantage.

Other than that, an elementalist must be able to extract his or

her surrounding elemental energies at an insane speed in order
to create elemental energy suffocation.

As such, elemental energy suffocation was often seen as an art

executed by Masters.

The elemental-externalized elementalists felt increasingly

uncomfortable. Their eardrums were about to burst and the sky
was spinning around in their heads. There were even some who
started to hallucinate.

While the elemental energy surged within his body, Qin Xuan
responded by calling out swiftly, "Retreat! Move back,
everybody!"

As if awoken from a dream, people started retreating.

Only after withdrawing about a hundred feet did everybody

start to loosen their tensed bodies.

The big man was bewildered. Just then, someone from beside
him called in a suppressed voice, "Boss!"

He turned around.

Fear was written all over the petite man’s face and bloodstains
could be seen below his nose.

He looked at the other subordinates and they were all in fear,

but he felt unwilling to leave just like that. He clenched his
teeth, saying, "Let’s look around a little more. We will leave if
we’re no match."

The others simultaneously heaved a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, the big man felt somewhat displeased, but on

second thought, he felt relieved too. These people had been
following him for many years. They were brave and good at
fighting since the weaker ones had already been eliminated.
They acted this way simply because the scene before them was
really pretty scary.
 Elemental energy suffocation was a rare phenomenon that
went far beyond their expectations.

Ai Hui wasn’t aware of the situation outside. He was standing

in the eye of the tornado, where no metal winds were present.

He took in all details before his eyes.

The Yin Yang turbulent flows formed an endless cycle of

engendered existence.

The metal wind opened his eyes to a whole new world. He saw
even more clearly this time, that the unprecedented power of
the wind was due to the metal elemental energy within. It
wasn’t wispy and strand-like, like in ordinary wind, but rather a
whole unique kind of sword ray.

This type of sword ray was special because it was made up of

many scattered and fragmentary sword rays.

Each crack on the sword ring released a sword ray that took a
different shape. They looked like pieces of broken porcelain.
 The amazing thing was that, together, these seemingly
irregular shapes formed a complete sword ray.

It looked like a mosaic sword ray, made from joining

fragmented porcelain pieces.

The fragmentary porcelain sword ray was astonishingly

mighty. It resisted the Yin Yang turbulent flows well, despite
the fact that the turbulent flows were extremely mutable. The
fragmentary porcelain sword ray hit the hardest on its first
strike, and after, the ray would shatter but not fall apart. The
pieces became countless small blades that formed a powerful
current, endlessly twisting and breaking the Yin Yang turbulent
flows.

What a powerful sword ray!

Yin Yang turbulent flows and the fragmentary sword ray were
both so exquisite. Ai Hui imitated the Yin Yang grass swords at
times and the fragmentary porcelain sword ray at times, as if
intoxicated.

He had forgotten about victory. The marvelous changings

around him were so captivating that he wanted so bad for time
to stop.

But Ai Hui’s hope was shattered quickly. He noticed that the

Yin Yang turbulent flows were starting to wane. Shortly, he
realized that the sword formation was vacuuming the nearby
elemental energy. The surrounding elemental energies had been
emptied out, but the sword formation’s consumption of it was
still high and rapid. Without the necessary replenishment, the
sword formation started to display signs of collapsing.

Ai Hui felt somewhat regretful. Was it going to end like this?

He had yet to understand the turbulent flows and fragmentary
porcelain sword ray fully…

All of a sudden, a bold idea came to him. Was it possible for

him to assist the sword formation to regain a new equilibrium
between both sides? That way, wouldn’t he gain more time to
observe and emulate it?

Immediately he became excited. He started thinking carefully

about how he was going to help strengthen the sword
formation.

He knew the root cause of the weakened structure. It was

because the materials used were of a very low grade. Yin Yang
grass sword swallowed the surrounding elemental energies to
sustain its Yin and Yang essence, but when the elemental
energies couldn’t catch up, the essences would gradually
disappear during the developmental process of the turbulent
flows. Eventually, the Yin Yang grass swords would all turn into
ordinary grass swords. Essentially, the core problem was the
grass swords’ limited ability in absorbing the surrounding
elemental energy.

Since it wasn’t possible to alter the grass swords’ nature, what

else could he do?

Ai Hui thought of something suddenly. What if he could

supply the sword formation with Yin Yang sword rays? Would
that increase its ability to absorb elemental energy?

At this point his body had already recovered, more or less.

Without hesitation, he thrusted the grass sword in his hand and
two sword rays, one Yin and one Yang, flew simultaneously into
the sword formation and toward the dancing grass swords.

Ai Hui could feel the sword formation stabilizing a little.

Feeling pleased, he struck unceasingly, imitating the Yin Yang
sword rays.
 The sword formation started to gain strength. Yes! It started
to take in the surrounding elemental energy once again.

The big man could only stare blankly as the terrifying

elemental energy suffocation occurred yet again!

The faces around him changed too.

Qin Xian fell into a daze and only regained his senses after
some time. He found it hard to believe that they were
experiencing the suffocation again, when they were already
more than a hundred feet away. Did this not mean that the
scope of absorption had increased…?

"Retreat further!" he shouted.

What exactly was going on?

Fifty feet!

Everyone withdrew another fifty feet, freeing themselves

from the discomfort. However, they were still feeling
bewildered and uncertain.

Coming to a stop, the audience started discussing in low

voices and with faces of disbelief.

"What just happened? Is his elemental energy suffocation

becoming stronger?"

"What a scary sight."

"Where did Chu Zhaoyang come from? Why is he so

formidable?"

"He seems stronger than rumored."

...

"Boss!" The petite man’s voice trembled a little as he called out

with a pleading look.

If elemental energy suffocation was a Master-level move, then

whose move was that? The move that increased the range of
elemental energy suffocation?

The big man was also considering leaving, but then he

thought about the importance of their mission. With an
unpredictable expression, he squeezed four words out from the
gaps of his tightly clenched teeth. "Wait a while more!"

Just then, the sword formation changed again.

Chapter 340: Where Are They?
Ai Hui realized suddenly that as the sword formation grew
stronger, the Yin Yang turbulent flows gradually regained an
advantageous position and started to suppress the metal wind.

Ai Hui started to think again. Could he strengthen the metal

wind?

Again, without hesitation, he decided to try, but how?

The Yin Yang sword formation covered a wide area, but the
change in Yin and Yang was extremely basic because the grass
swords could only endure so much. It was precisely because the
change was on such a very basic level that Ai Hui was able to
quickly understand the sword formation’s evolution under the
stimulation of the sword ring metal wind.

On the other hand, the sword ring metal wind, or

fragmentary porcelain sword rays, were much more difficult to
understand. Under the bombardment of the sword formation,
however, Ai Hui was able to witness the marvel within.

The success from earlier gave Ai Hui courage. He struck the

moment the fragmentary porcelain sword ray was complete.
With a shake of his grass sword, a sword ray entered the
fragmentary porcelain sword ray, appearing to give it an
additional porcelain piece.

The sword ray became slightly more powerful.

Ai Hui thought this was pretty interesting. He tried supplying

the "porcelain pieces" from different positions, which all
resulted in differing degrees of strength increment.

Ai Hui memorized each move and its result. It was as if he had

just opened the door to a whole new world.

Engrossed, Ai Hui noticed that the sword formation was

starting to fall into an inferior position.

He then started to strengthen it.

Ai Hui alternated between strengthening the sword formation

and the metal wind.
 People outside were all dumbstruck. The range of elemental
energy suffocation increased continuously at a constant tempo.

15 feets later, the area affected increased 1 feet by 1 feet…

What situation was this?

Those who witnessed this scene looked bewildered and

uncertain. They could not wrap their head around the situation
within the sword formation.

Hua Kui, who blended into the crowd, was flabbergasted as

well. He knew that Chu Zhaoyang’s skill had always been
decent, which was why the latter had been selected by him to
become an important nurturing target.

Yet, as far as Hua Kui knew, Chu Zhaoyang was merely a

decent warrior and definitely not the strongest.

Chu Zhaoyang’s current display of talent and power made

Hua Kui’s jaws drop.
 Chu Zhaoyang had soared ever since he attained elemental
externalization. He improved astonishingly fast, leaving
everyone stupefied.

It was not the first time Hua Kui had seen something like this.
Thinking back carefully, Chu Zhaoyang’s splendid performance
was not strange.

Generally speaking, similar situations often happened to

elementalists who had accumulated experience, but were stuck
at a certain juncture. Because of their profound and long
accumulation of wisdom, they usually progressed rapidly the
moment they broke through.

Chu Zhaoyang’s experience as a swordsman was extremely

profound. While it was surprising that he took a long time to
reach elemental externalization, it did not affect Hua Kui’s
evaluation of him.

Hua Kui could not help but feel somewhat excited.

He suddenly noticed that it was a marvelous decision to invite

Chu Zhaoyang into the sword league. Having attained elemental
externalization stage, Chu Zhaoyang’s swordsmanship
progressed rapidly. How could Karakorum not be interested in
someone like him?

Things progressed just as he had predicted. No, even better.

He had thought that Chu Zhaoyang’s ability to break one or two
sword formations was already commendable. Who knew that he
could actually destroy several sword formations…

Legend had it that the Karakorum’s chief was a genius

swordsman, but it seemed to Hua Kui that Chu Zhaoyang was
on par.

All was well, except for those uninvited guests.

He squinted and scanned the crowd, a murderous glint

flashing across his eyes. From one look, he was shrewd enough
to tell who the dangerous ones were.

The ordinary looking big man, along with his gang, were the
infamous Yellowsand Bandits. This group of bandits was
ruthless. The Great Wei Enterprise’s massacre was executed by
these fellows.
 In another corner, a fellow who looked like a simple merchant
was Jiao Dafeng, another ruthless character. The three brothers
from the Jiao family were inseparable, so the other two had to
be hiding nearby.

The harmless-looking lady standing by the wall reminded him

of a dangerous name.

...

After filtering all the suspicious and dangerous targets, his

face instantly turned grave. He’d heard some rumors, but had
not expected the situation to turn out like this.

He knew that these people were here for Xiao Shuren. Could it
be that the ancient treasure Xiao Shuren had obtained was
actually an important artifact?

He decided to investigate when the time came.

For now, his priority was to protect Karakorum. Weighing his

abilities against the people here, it would not be a problem for
him to defeat any one of them. Unfortunately, with so many
opponents, he was unable to manage them all at once, which
created a thorny situation.

He could not help but tremble at the thought of the

punishment that awaited him if he failed the mission.

The organization never had the least bit of patience and mercy
toward failures.

He really had been caught off guard!

Hua Kai’s gaze fell upon the sword formation once again and
was slightly startled. Perhaps this fellow could give him a nice
surprise. His rich experience told him that Chu Zhaoyang was
possibly undergoing a period of enlightenment.

For someone who had so much accumulated knowledge and

experience like Chu Zhaoyang, a sudden enlightenment would
increase his abilities exponentially.

There were diligent people who achieved success through

constant perseverance and there were also overnight prodigies
who succeeded without effort.
 Hua Kui quickly weighed the matter in his mind.

Ai Hui, with his increased strength, was in the open.

Karakorum’s Qin Xian and Lian Junyu had decent abilities. He
was in a hidden spot so even if he could not protect everyone
around him, this did not mean that it was a lost cause.

Eh?

Hua Kui raised his head suddenly, looking toward the sword
formation.

Countless bright light rays swam vaguely within the

formation. The silver metal wind was bright and dazzling. The
everchanging sword formation released a horrifying amount of
pressure and caused everyone to feel breathless, as if they had
been pressed down by a huge rock.

The sky was covered by dark clouds that had unknowingly

gathered from all directions. A glimpse of lightning could be
seen.

This was…
 Hua Kui opened his eyes wide in shock.

Boom!

A glaring wind pillar soared skyward from within the sword

formation, straight into the sinister black clouds.

The elemental energy surge had completely surpassed what

the grass swords could endure. The dancing swords started
exploding successively like firecrackers. They exploded into
countless colorfully fragmented rays that hovered around like
fog.

What was strange was the fact that the sword formation had
not actually collapsed.

The mobile and fragmented rainbow of rays faded bit by bit.

With the colors gradually dimming, the rays transformed into a
multitude of black and white whirlpools.

The whirlpools were attracted by a bizarre force and started

shooting into the wind pillar. The silver wind pillar started to
transform into many black and white eddies that attracted and
circled around one another, getting all tangled up.

Clink!

A crisp, shattering sound rang across the field.

The whistling wind pillar was like a fragile piece of porcelain

that shattered inch by inch. The broken wind pillar pieces that
were now black and white floated up like feathers, as though
raising a theater curtain.

A silhouette slowly entered the audience’s field of view.

Those present experienced the same illusion. It was as if they

had been slashed by an extremely sharp sword, but because of
its keen edge, they could not feel any pain. All they felt was a
slight chill in the places they were cut.

Qin Xian’s face changed, as if a storm raged in his heart.

Sword consciousness! This was sword consciousness!

 Legend had it that when an ancient swordsman’s aura reached
a certain level of concentration, it became like a substance that
could cause the skin of others to feel pain, making them felt as if
they were being slashed by a sword. This was sword
consciousness.

Every muscle in Qin Xian’s body was so excited that they were
trembling. He didn’t expect that he could witness the legendary
sword consciousness with his own eyes one day.

The sharp, bitingly cold, and substantial aura enveloped the

whole area.

Yet, the fellow emitting this terrifying sword consciousness

did not look at them at all.

He stood on tips of his toes with his straightened body arched

slightly backward. As he faced the sky, his right hand dangled
naturally by his side while wielding the sword.

There were no superfluous sword rays, but this scene was still
filled with an inexplicable tension. It felt as if there was an
invisible hand that gripped everyone’s throat and choked them.
It also felt like a kind of magic that attracted everyone’s gaze
like a magnet.

Suddenly, underneath his raised head, he scanned across the

field with apathetic eyes.

Those who made eye contact with him trembled inside and
felt a sting in their eyes.

Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze was literally sharp!

There were no emotions in his eyes. Calmly overlooking the

crowd, he stood god-like, aloof, and remote.

Faces in the crowd changed. Those with guilty consciences felt

as though they were being exposed and unable to cover their
tracks.

The Yellowsand Bandits fell into a daze, his back drenched in

sweat. All his toughness evaporated. In a trembling voice he
cried out, "Withdraw! Withdraw immediately!"

The only thing he could think of was to stay as far away from
this monster as possible! Escape his line of sight!

No one reacted to his order. He suppressed his fear with great

difficulty. He turned around, only to see his subordinates’ pale
faces and their shuddering bodies as well as hear the chattering
of their teeth.

The big man gave the petite man two tight slaps before the
latter finally regained his senses.

"Withdraw! Everyone withdraw!"

Completely exhausted, they squeezed their way out of the

crowd.

Jiao Dafeng’s face was as white as a sheet. He staggered out

and the other two brothers also ran away battered and
exhausted.

The harmless-looking lady was no longer at the corner by the

wall.
 Ai Hui was in a bizarre state of mind. He raised the silver
broadsword in his hand. His movement was very slow, as if the
sword he wielded was extremely heavy.

With each inch raised, there was a fragmented ray that shot
into the silver sword, slightly brightening it.

Raised half way, the silver sword exploded with a loud rumble
as it was no longer able to endure the power.

Ai Hui shook a little. The frightful aura that enveloped the

field suddenly vanished without a trace.

Ai Hui felt the strength in his body emptying. His legs gave
way as he fell onto the ground.

As if smashed by a hammer, his head started buzzing loudly.

He had no control over his body and was unable to even move
his fingers.

The feather-like fragmented rays that floated all over the sky
disappeared together with the sinister black clouds. The skys
were clear, while the sun was shining bright. It was as if the
apocalyptic occurrence had just been an illusion.

When Hua Kui finally recovered from his shock, all he felt was
regret. He knew that Chu Zhaoyang had failed to break through.

As he glanced through the crowd of people, his eyes almost

fell out. Where is he? Where are they?

All the dangerous targets he had previously picked out were

gone.

Hua Kui regained his bearings five seconds later. He turned

his head and looked at Chu Zhaoyang, his gaze becoming
complicated.
Chapter 341: Patriarch Grass, Silverfold
Plum
Just like that, Chu Zhaoyang became a hot topic.

Silver City citizens were broadminded and experienced, so he

was merely a topic for them to discuss leisurely over dinner and
tea. The majority of the residents agreed that swordsmanship
counted for almost nothing when it came to the training system
of the Avalon of Five Elements. Sword formations were merely
paltry toys made by old fogies who were unwilling to give up on
the glory of the ancient swordsmen.

What praise was there for a fellow who rose to fame as a

wanted criminal who had made an unexpected mistake?

The Ling residence, Golden Eagle Study Room.

Ling Sheng looked so gloomy that water could be squeezed out

of his face. He had just been talking about how there was
nothing in Karakorum for them to fear, but in the blink of an
eye, reality hit him square in the face. He felt as if someone had
just given him a tight slap, and his face still heatedly stung from
it.
 He clenched his teeth and said, "Those morons actually got
intimidated by Chu Zhaoyang!"

Madam Ling was not angry. Instead, it appeared that she had
noticed something interesting as her eyes flickered. She picked
up the report, which she had already looked over many times,
and read it word by word. "Could it be that Chu Zhaoyang
knows what Xiao Shuren’s ancient treasure is?

Ling Sheng paused slightly before raising his head abruptly.

He asked gloomily, "What do you mean?"

"He previously created a bunch of problems when he rode The

Great Wei Enterprise’s Fiery Floating Cloud." Madam Ling
waved the piece of paper in her hands, adding, "And now he’s at
Karakorum. Xiao Shuren’s there too. Don’t you think it’s too
much of a coincidence?"

While Ling Sheng felt moody, he was no fool. On the contrary,

in terms of temperament and wisdom, he surpassed most
people, especially since he wielded power over the residence.

The fury in his eyes vanished into thin air as he lowered his
voice and muttered, "Coincidental indeed. If he knows about the
ancient treasure that Xiao Shuren possesses, he is definitely an
object that we can exploit."

They had been curious all along. What exactly was this
treasure that Dai Gang was so interested in?

If it could offer Grandmasters the chance to become great

grandmasters, could it also elevate a Master into a
Grandmaster?

There were no Grandmasters in the Ling residence, but there

were quite a few Masters. There was only a single word that
differed between the two, but in actual fact, they were worlds
apart.

The highest a Master could achieve was to become a division

leader or the Great Elder of Elders Guild.

A Grandmaster, on the other hand, could rule the a region.

Without a doubt, the Jadeite Forest belonged to Dai Gang. The

Avalon of Five Elements belonged to Grandmaster An Muda if
An Muda said so.
 This was a Grandmaster.

As long as they lived, no one, except another Grandmaster,

could defy their will.

If there was a Grandmaster in Ling residence…

Just the thought of this possibility made Ling Sheng ready to

pay any price to realize it.

Madam Ling asked, "What’s Chu Zhaoyang’s history?"

Ling Sheng regained his senses and shook his head. "No
results yet. He had too minor of a reputation and had been
without a fixed residence. He behaved mysteriously, so I reckon
it would be difficult to find any useful information. It’s even
difficult to judge if this identity of his is real or false. Where do
you plan to start?"

"Whatever we can think of, the other families will as well. So

you’re right, Chu Zhaoyang is now a target for exploitation."
Madam Ling continued, "We can assume that many invitations
have been sent to him. No matter what he chooses, the ancient
treasure in Xiao Shuren’s hands is the crucial issue in the end.
We still have to think of a way to capture him. There’s only one
treasure chest, but there might be more than one key."

Ling Sheng wrinkled his brows. "There must be many eyes

watching Karakorum right now."

"Don’t be impatient." Madam Ling smiled meaningfully and

said, "I have a feeling that Chu Zhaoyang still has a surprise for
us."

…..

The Karakorum Sword League.

Chu Zhaoyang was enjoying the supreme treatment. The

Silverheel Swordsman had long since become a teacher of the
main institution and was given a courtyard of his own. Many
teachers visited in an endless stream, hoping to receive
guidance and tips, to the point where a queue had formed.

For consecutively destroying five sword formations, Chu

Zhaoyang’s popularity within Karakorum skyrocketed.
 When a veiled lady appeared by the doorway, the crowd
moved aside and bowed.

"Chief!"

"You’re finally back, Chief."

...

The veiled lady slightly nodded her head toward them.

Ai Hui was quite curious. The Karakorum Sword League’s

chief was called the "Karakorum Savant". No one knew her
name, but judging from her outfit, she appeared angelic and
magical.

The ordinary veil on the Karakorum Savant’s face was

obviously thin, but it completely concealed her face. She wore a
navy and white robe that was loose, yet accentuated her
graceful figure.

"Nice to meet you, Mister Chu. I’ve heard of your magnificent

feat on my way back. I can only regret that I wasn’t able to
witness such a spectacular event."

The Karakorum Savant’s voice was clear, carrying a certain

sternness and loftiness.

Ai Hui stood up to bow. "Nice to meet you. You flatter me. I’m
still far behind you in terms of attainments. I heard that you
want to create the first absolute art for swordsmanship. I have
always been interested in swordsmanship ever since I was
young, so this grand undertaking is something I simply can not
miss. Please forgive me for turning up without an invitation."

"You’re too modest sir." The Karakorum Savant spoke in a

clear voice, "Even I am unable to do what you’ve done."

She took out a wooden case and handed it over to Ai Hui.

"Inside is my first draft. There are many areas to consider, so
please be generous with your advice and comments."

Ai Hui was moved. She had handed over the compilation to

him so openly, without the slightest intention to conceal
anything. Such breadth of mind and boldness were not qualities
most people could possess.
 The Karakorum chief had not reached her current level
without reason.

Ai Hui respectfully received the case and gravely said, "Many

thanks. I will give it my best."

The Karakorum Savant bowed slightly and said in her clear

voice, "Then I will not disturb your rest any longer."

The Karakorum Savant left, and upon seeing this, the teachers
also started bidding their goodbyes.

In a flash, Ai Hui’s courtyard was back to its peaceful and

quiet state.

A voice chimed behind him before Ai Hui could even open the
case. "Your performance really shocked me."

Ai Hui’s body stiffened, and the hair on his body stood on end,
but he quickly relaxed. "You scared me."

Turning around, he saw Hua Kui laughing at him.

 Ai Hui trembled inwardly. He had not been able to judge Hua
Kui’s abilities. Now, it seemed that Hua Kui was stronger than
Ai Hui had guessed.

Was this a warning?

He asked with his usual expression, "How is that? My mission

is already completed, so how about joining the headquarters?"

"Congratulations, it has been approved." Hua Kui grinned.

"Your performance was more or less flawless. This is yours."

Ai Hui caught the wooden case Hua Kui threw to him and
opened it. Inside was a small glass bottle half-filled with soil. A
blade of grass grew within. A very ordinary blade of glass.

"What is this?"

"Patriarch grass." Hua Kui seemed to have predicted Ai Hui’s

reaction. Laughing, he said, "It is our token and also a way to
stay in touch."
 Patriarch grass? Token? Ai Hui was bewildered. He tossed and
turned the bottle, but no matter how he looked at it, it was just
an ordinary blade of green grass.

Hua Kui was amused by Ai Hui’s movements and burst into

laughter once again. "Hahaha, of course it’s not going to work
this way. You’ll need to use the Assembly of Patriarchs’ unique
fusion elemental energy."

"Fusion elemental energy?" Ai Hui felt dizzy from hearing all

the foreign terms that Hua Kui threw at him.

"It is different from any existing type of elemental energy. It’s

a unique creation from our Assembly." Hua Kui explained
proudly, "Only those who join us will be able to learn it. The
method of training fusion elemental energy is inside. You can
use the patriarch grass once you’ve learned this, and we will be
able to contact each other through it. You can also use it to read
books and records that have been accumulated by the
organization over hundreds of years. Then, you’ll know how
mighty the organization is. Before us, the so called aristocratic
families aren’t even worth mentioning."

Finishing his sentence, Hua Kui threw Ai Hui an oddly shaped

sword. "You did really well this time. This Silverfold Plum is
your reward."

Ai Hui grabbed it. The moment it reached his hand, he felt a

vigorous jolt. A good sword!

The Silverfold Plum was silvery white all over and shaped like
a chopped section of a plum tree branch. Its body was crooked
and strong, while its surface was bumpy like old tree bark. The
sword tip was actually made of three vivid, lifelike silver plum
flowers. Their stamens trembled, and on the whole, the sword
looked splendid and magnificent.

Seeing Ai Hui fondling it with admiration, Hua Kui was

pleased as well. "This Silverfold Plum was forged by a master
within the organization. It was made directly from artifact
remnants fished out from deep within the Silver Mist Sea. Upon
completion, it was immediately kept in a Heaven-grade weapons
storehouse and has never appeared outside, so you don’t have to
worry about its origin."

"This is a Heaven-grade weapon?" Ai Hui was beyond

surprised.

"That’s right." Hua Kui nodded. "You will have a lot of time to
experience its marvels. The organization will treat you well as
long as you’re diligent. Your next mission is to stay in
Karakorum, gain the chief’s trust, and keep her safe."

Hua Kui said with a stern face, "I heard that Dai Gang is
interested in something that Xiao Shuren has, so evil characters
from all over have started to come out one by one. You have to
be vigilant as Karakorum is likely to be attacked within these
two days, but don’t worry, because organization is prepared.
Tsk, else these aristocratic families will think they can hide the
truth from the masses."

"Xiao Shuren? The Great Wei Enterprise? Ancient treasure?"

Ai Hui’s expression turned strange.

He thought back to the unpleasant experience when he was a

wanted criminal.

Hua Kui could not help but laugh. "You should know that in
the eyes of these aristocrats, you’re an object for exploitation."

Ai Hui was befuddled. "Why?"

 Hua Kui was overjoyed. "You tangled with the Great Wei
Enterprise and now you’re here in Karakorum where Xiao
Shuren is. Is this a coincidence or not? It would be weird if you
did not know any inside information about the ancient treasure,
hahaha!"

Hua Kui was totally gloating over Ai Hui’s misfortune.

Chu Zhaoyang fell into that sticky situation with the Great
Wei Enterprise precisely because he was on his way to meet Hua
Kui. Currently, he entered Karakorum under the direct orders
of Hua Kui’s mission. What inside information?

Seeing Chu Zhaoyang’s dumbstruck face, Hua Kui rejoiced

even more.
Chapter 342: Fusion Elemental Energy
Beyond the noble doors were places as deep as the sea. With a
thousand years of inherited history, the aristocratic families
were full of mystery in the eyes of people.

In Silver Mist Sea, no clans could surpass the reputations of

the Ling and Gong residences. They were the strongest giants,
standing right at the top of the food chain. Then there were the
Zeng, Fu, Jin and Zhong families. While they had shorter and
less illustrious histories as compared to the Ling and Gong
families, these four had a considerable amount of influence in
Silver Mist Sea.

The Zhong residence had been declining over the past ten
years and was left with only an vice division leader from the
Infantry Division to keep up appearances. Many felt that if ten
years was all it took for the Zhong residence to reach this state,
another ten would eliminate them from the big four list.

But life was unpredictable. The sudden movement of Blood of

God inflicted heavy damages on the Sky Edge and Infantry
Divisions. The Infantry Division, specifically, first lost its
division leader in battle, and later on lost its vice division leader
due to severe injuries. Zhong Houjun then became the only
remaining higher-up in the Infantry Division. He’d suffered
pretty heavy injuries himself, but had been lucky to survive and
recover fully.

During the reconstruction of the Infantry Division, Zhong

Houjun instantly became a hot candidate for the new vice leader
position. Be it in qualifications or abilities, no one else was on
par with him.

The Zhong residence’s prospects immediately turned up and

people were sighing over the family’s good fortune.

But this was just anticipation. No matter how popular a

candidate was, it was a separate matter from being a legitimate
division leader. Plus, due to the Elders Guild’s city expansion
order, it seemed to the people that the Elders Guild’s priority
would be to open up the Wilderness and not to rebuild the
thirteen divisions.

Did the Avalon of Five Elements have the ability to rebuild the
Thirteen Divisions? No one really knew.

The Zhong residence had tight security. In a deep corner of

the courtyard was a darkroom.
 "What’s the current situation?" an ordinary looking lady
asked in a low voice.

Ai Hui and Duanmu Huanghun would be thoroughly shocked

if they were here, because this voice was extremely familiar to
them. It was the voice of She Yu.

She Yu had just arrived in Silver City.

No one knew that long before the blood catastrophe

happened, the Zhong residence had already been infiltrated and
seized by Blood of God. The reason why Infantry Division
suffered such huge losses was precisely because Zhong Houjun
coordinated with both internal and external forces. And with
his injuries at that time, he had managed to fool people and
remove suspicions.

And when one party became independent, the Zhong

residence received an order from Blood of God to draw close to
Jadeite Forest.

The news of Dai Gang and the ancient treasure immediately

caught the attention of higher-ups in Blood of God. Because of
She Yu’s outstanding performance in Jadeite Forest, she was
once again given a mission. She wore a special mask that
concealed her identity. Without elemental energy waves, no one
would notice her.

Zhong Houjun was about forty years old. He had a squarish

face, stately bearing and a natural mighty appearance. He said
in a low voice, "We’re not too sure what the ancient treasure
exactly is. We’re not the only clan getting involved. Quite a few
fellows appeared at Karakorum previously. If not for Chu
Zhaoyang’s moment of enlightenment, they might have gotten
hold of it already."

"Chu Zhaoyang?" She Yu had been reading relevant reports

and found this name rather familiar. "The Chu Zhaoyang who
appeared at Great Wei’s Caravan?"

"Yes." Zhong Houjun nodded. "He has a mysterious

background and is a sword expert. I wonder if his sudden
appearance in Karakorum is coincidental or planned."

"We will find that out very soon." She Yu was interested in
another matter. "Who is Chu Zhaoyang battling against?"

Zhong Houjun shook his head. "There’s no battle. Chu

Zhaoyang has destroyed five of Karakorum’s sword formations
consecutively. The abilities he’s displayed frightened every
passerby away. Our people were there at that time and they
witnessed the whole thing."

This piqued She Yu’s interest even more. "Oh, he mustn't be

ordinary, to be able to scare people off with his skills. Any
images?"

"No, they were all stunned and no one thought about

recording anything."

She Yu nodded her head. "Must have been a spectacular sight.

What’s the situation now?"

"According to inside news, quite a few people will take action

in the next two days." Zhong Houjun asked, "Do we need to
make a move?"

She Yu smiled slightly. "Do not be impatient. Let’s go watch

how things play out first."

The lady before him was clearly average looking, but

somehow her laugh charmed him greatly.

He did not know who she was but he knew that people from
Blood of God were always mysterious and cold.

…..

Karakorum Sword League. In a courtyard that stood on its

own.

Regaining his senses after the pleasant Silverfold Plum

surprise, Ai Hui thought back to what Hua Kui said about the
reading of ancient books through the patriarch grass. He felt a
sudden premonition.

This was completely different from what that old man had
said.

"This set of notes should be kept in the seventh floor of the

Hall of Ancient Records. The author’s surname is Xiao."

Where was the Hall of Ancient Records? Where was the

seventh floor?

Both parties said completely different things, but thinking

about how the old man had been imprisoned for so many years,
it wouldn’t be surprising if the general headquarters had
changed location in the past several decades.

Ai Hui only hoped that he would be blessed enough to find

Senior Xiao’s notes.

But before that, he needed to analyze [Fusion Elemental

Energy] first, since it was required to active the patriarch grass.

Because of the old man, probably, Ai Hui’d always felt that the
Assembly of Patriarchs wasn’t very strong. It had a loose
structure and nothing to offer, except that they were more
familiar with Blood of God.

But now, Silverfold Plum made him realize that the assembly
was wealthier and more imposing that he’d imagined. And the
fusion elemental energy that he’d never heard of shocked him
even more.
 Fusion elemental energy wasn’t any type of elemental energy
but a blend of the five elemental energy types.

This subverted everything Ai Hui knew.

How was this possible?

Who could simultaneously train five kinds of elemental

energies? Even training two was unheard of. The current five
residences and eight palaces system was extremely mature and
there would be different Circulatory Cycle Revolutions, but
there wasn’t any inheritances that required practicing two or
more types of elemental energies.

Ai Hui was scared witless. It was as if he was reading dark

books from dissenting sects.

Fusion elemental energy believed that everyone had five

elements in them and no one was purely of one elemental
energy type, so it was only natural that they practiced all five
elements.

The way to practice it was even stranger. It had something in

common with the system of five residences and eight palaces.
No. To be precise, their only similarity was that they both had
five residences.

Other than that, they had nothing else in common.

Fusion elemental energy required the practitioner to train five

residences of the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney
simultaneously. What was more odd, was the fact that fusion
elemental energy trained only the residences but not the
palaces, as if the eight palaces did not exist.

Such peculiar way of training elemental energy actually

existed. It was simply unheard of and Ai Hui felt that it really
widened his horizons.

The five residences formed the ring of five elements, where

elemental energies engendered one another in a marvelous
cycle.

A continuous deepening of fusion elemental energy would

form ring patterns, like that of a big tree’s age rings. The five
elemental ring patterns could rinse incessantly and temper the
practitioner’s body, gradually channeling every organ and flesh
into the five elemental ring patterns, allowing it to grow and
multiply infinitely.

When the whole body was fully consisted of the five elemental
ring patterns, the process was complete and known as [Fusion
Body].

Inside a [Fusion Body] was an endless circulation of the five

elemental ring patterns, and any elemental energy that entered
the body would blend into the ring patterns, restraining all
elementalists.

Ai Hui was lost for words, his face clearly in shock.

This was a completely different train of thought, but Ai Hui

did not find any loopholes within it.

The Assembly of Patriarchs’s five elemental ring patterns had

thoroughly subverted the system of five residences and eight
palaces.

The more amazing thing was that practicing fusion elemental

energy did not clash with the practicing of five residences and
eight palaces at all. Seeing this made Ai Hui realize why such a
powerful training method was unheard of. No one would notice
as long as the practitioner did not use it.

The old man wasn’t loyal. He knew of such an amazing

training method but chose to keep it quiet.

Ai Hui decided to blackmail the old man when he got back. He

must extort something from him at least.

The book Hua Kui gave him covered only the basics and
nothing too radical. He figured that he would have to continue
contributing to the Assembly before he could get better
information.

The Assembly of Patriarch’s abilities far exceeded Ai Hui’s

expectations.

Aristocratic families were powerful because they had control

over absolute arts. They constantly modified and deepened the
absolute arts, making them more formidable but easier for
practitioners to grasp.
 In this world, those with bigger fists would live better.
Aristocratic families possessing absolute arts could nurture
elementalists with big fists more easily.

Creating a training system would increase the Assembly’s

might. The exceptional disguise of fusion elemental energy
smelled like a conspiracy to Ai Hui.

The book Hua Kui gave him had only a few thin pages,
covering the most basic of the basics.

The training of fusion elemental energy was simpler and

smoother than Ai Hui’d predicted.

Four hours later, Ai Hui opened his eyes and could feel his
long suppressed heart, liver, spleen and kidneys becoming
stronger, as a faint wisp of elemental energy flowed between the
five residences.

Fusion elemental energy had a very unique aura that brimmed

with an intense life force!

That was the aura of life, which was completely different

from the elemental energy he had been training in the past. He
had never felt such a solid breath of life. Even his body became
livelier and more agile.

The fusion elemental energy that he had just trained was

extremely weak, but sufficient to activate the patriarch grass.

The only wisp of fusion elemental energy was channeled into

the patriarch grass.

The patriarch grass glowed faintly. Each leaf had another

layer like a velvety halo of light and Ai Hui was captivated. A fog
that came from nowhere engulfed the surrounding walls and
furniture and a spacious and solemn lobby took shape rapidly
amid the fog.

It was hazy in the lobby due to the surrounding fog. It moved

very slowly and fuzzily.

There was someone standing in the middle of the lobby. Upon

seeing Ai Hui, he said with a slight smile, "Hi, Swordsman."

Ai Hui could tell from one look that it wasn’t a human but a
sand puppet standing before him.

Swordsman was Ai Hui’s name within the Assembly of

Patriarchs. Other than Hua Kui, who knew his real identity, the
other members only knew him as "Swordsman".

The sight before him was so illusory yet real.

Ai Hui was dumbfounded.

Chapter 343: Grass Hall
Immediately, the Assembly of Patriarchs seemed more
powerful and mysterious in Ai Hui’s eyes. This was not
something that an ordinary organization could achieve.

Furthermore, the Assembly of Patriarchs’ ability to develop a

completely new energy system, fusion elemental energy, had
displayed its amazing strength and accumulated wisdom over
the years.

Wealth could be earned in one night, but things like fusion

elemental energy and patriarch grass needed a long period of
time and the effort of numerous geniuses’ to be developed. The
amount of manpower and resources expended to develop these
two things was astronomical.

What Ai Hui saw from the Assembly of Patriarchs was only

the tip of the iceberg, and he was already shocked.

He guessed that the technology of patriarch grass might have

been developed from message trees, but it definitely needed
more improvements. Ai Hui had already regained his
composure, "Hi, how may I address you?"
 Because of Lou Lan, Ai Hui clearly knew how to communicate
with a sand puppet. The method of communicating with a sand
puppet was actually very simple. One could just speak his or her
mind and ask any questions. There was no need for one to adorn
his or her language nor be tactful with his or her words. It was
better for one to be as direct as possible when it came to
communicating with a sand puppet.

"You can call me Manager."

"Okay, Manager," Ai Hui addressed the sand puppet

accordingly, "Can you introduce this place to me? This is my
first time here."

"Alright, Swordsman," Manager nodded and waved his right

hand. The great, serene hall and the countless hall pillars
behind him disappeared and materialized into a black mist.
Following which, the black mist transformed in a wall. Pieces of
wooden slabs were hanging on the wall. Small, densely-packed
words were written on the wooden slabs, giving off an
extraordinary glow.

Manager began to introduce the place, "This place is known as

the Grass Hall. From today onwards, missions will be issued
from this place. Upon joining the headquarters, you will be
supervised by the headquarters even if you’re not online. The
difficulty of the missions will directly correspond to your base
level. Right now, due to special circumstances, you already have
one mission and that is to protect Karakorum Sword League The
reward for completing the mission can be obtained from here as
well."

Upon hearing these words, Ai Hui was extremely shocked,

"This place is real?"

"If you think that this place is real, then it is real," Manager’s
words were rather abstruse. He then continued, "We will give
you a key. This key is a specially processed earth elemental
hoop. You can activate it from any place, at anytime to obtain
your rewards."

"A sand compass?" Ai Hui asked.

Manager nodded his head and replied, "It is a device that’s

much more complicated than a sand compass. To be exact, it is
also known as sea urchin sand compass. It is a brand new type of
enchanted sand compass. Every sea urchin spine corresponds to
an earth elemental space. Currently, the Assembly of Patriarchs
and Elders Guild are the only ones that possess this device."
 "The Elders Guild has it too?" Ai Hui widened his eyes. He felt
a lot of his perspectives regarding the Assembly of Patriarchs
had been completely overturned after joining the headquarters.
He used to think that Elders Guild was decaying and decadent.
He did not expect them to possess such a powerful device.

"Yes," Manager did not explain much about the Elders Guild
and continued, "In the future, you can sell your spoils of war
and purchase weapons and inheritances in Grass Hall as well."

Manager waved his hand and the wall behind transformed

into black mist.Dazzling artifacts appeared and hovered within
the black mist, looking extremely magnificent. Ai Hi almost
drooled upon this magnificent sight.

"There are absolute arts too," Manager waved his hand again
and countless light orbs hovered behind him. Each light orb had
a faint shadow flickering within it. Manager continued, "In
Grass Hall an absolute art will be twenty-five percent cheaper
than a similar one sold by the Elders Guild, and it’s one level
higher in terms of quality in Grass Hall. We accept Heaven
Merit Points as payment as well. Our prices are much more fair
than the market prices too.

Ai Hui was flabbergasted. To his surprise, this place sold

Elders Guild’s absolute arts at a cheaper price and accepted
Heaven Merit Points as payment. He was speechless.

"Of course, you can also buy training techniques for fusion
elemental energy here. In addition, you are allowed to purchase
our Heaven-grade weapons too. We also have the Hall of
Ancient Records, where the seniors’ knowledge, reading notes
and travel notes are contained. Most of the ancient records are
free to read, only a small amount of them charge a fee."

Upon hearing the words "Hall of Ancient Records", Ai Hui

quickly asked, "Can I take a look?"

"Of course," Manager waved his hand and the black mist
behind him transformed into a tall, unadorned bamboo tower.
Four bold and forceful words were written on it, "Hall of
Ancient Records".

Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that the tower had
multiple levels. His gaze fell upon the seventh level.

"Can I enter?" Ai Hui pointed to the Hall of Ancient Records.

 "No problem," Manager nodded his head, "However, I have to
remind you that your current amount of fusion elemental
energy only allows you to stay in Grass Hall for up to one hour.
If you want to stay longer, please continue to work hard to
develop your fusion elemental energy."

"Thank you for your reminder," Ai Hui bade Manager farewell

and entered the Hall of Ancient Records.

As Ai Hui reached the entrance of the bamboo tower, he

suddenly stopped in his tracks. His gaze fell upon the words
"Hall of Ancient Records", which were inscribed on a wooden
signboard.

The handwriting of these words… seemed somewhat

familiar...

Wait, didn’t he feel the handwriting of some other word was

also familiar previously? He quickly remembered that it was the
word "Karakorum" written on the wooden signboard hung
above the entrance of Karakorum Sword League.

He carefully compared the handwriting between the four

words "Hall of Ancient Records" and the word "Karakorum".
Indeed, their handwritings looked remarkably similar.

The simple and forceful brushstrokes contained an

unrestrained sword glint, conveying a sharp and intense killing
intent.

"Hall of Ancient Records" and "Karakorum" should have be

written by the same person. However, why would he feel a
sense of familiarity from these words? He must have seen this
handwriting somewhere in the past. Ai Hui was very confident
about his intuition. After racking his brain, he finally knew why
he found the handwriting of these words familiar.

Vanguard Training Hall.

There was a signboard hung at the entrance of Central Pine

City’s Vanguard Training Hall as well. When he first moved to
the training hall, the signboard was covered in dust and
cobwebs. He had to clean it before hanging it on the wall of the
lobby. The handwriting of the words "Vanguard Training Hall",
"Hall of Ancient Records" and "Karakorum" looked remarkably
similar to him, and as such, he felt that he had seen the
handwriting somewhere in the past.
 Could the inscriptions on these three signboards be written by
the same person?

If that was the case, things were getting more interesting.

The owner of Vanguard Training Hall was called Heng

Bingfeng and he had disappeared for many years. Given the fact
that the ancient message tree at the training hall was able to
connect with the old man, there was a high possibility that
Heng Bingfeng might be from the Assembly of Patriarchs.

If the inscription on the wooden signboard of Karakorum was

written by Heng Bingfeng, it only showed two things.

First, Heng Bingfeng was still alive.

Second, Heng Bingfeng was still in the Assembly of Patriarchs,

or his relationship with the Assembly had yet to break. There
was a very deep relationship between Karakorum and the
Assembly of Patriarchs. This was also why Hua Kui wanted Ai
Hui to protect Karakorum.

Ai Hui had decided to ask the old fellow about Heng Bingfeng
after he returned to the Swordsman Training Hall.

Several bizarre thoughts emerged in Ai Hui’s mind.

After leaving Central Pine City many years ago, Heng

Bingfeng had vanished without a trace and never returned. He
left such an important message tree in the training hall and he
did not even come back to retrieve it. This somewhat puzzled Ai
Hui.

Ai Hui also thought of Master Shao. In his mind, Master Shao

had always been a very mysterious individual. The more he
knew about Master Shao, the more powerful he felt Master Shao
was. Every sand puppet Ai Hui had encountered, including
Grass Hall’s Manager, was not as powerful as Lou Lan. Then,
there was also the sand core, Midnight, of which Lou Lan could
not fully utilize its powers.

Was it a coincidence that Master Shao lived beside Vanguard

Training Hall? What was the relationship between Master Shao
and Heng Bingfeng?

Ai Hui could not help but shake his head. It seemed that the
more he knew, the more doubts he had.
 "I’m very sorry, your fusion elemental energy has run out, you
will have to leave the Grass Hall. Goodbye, Swordsman."

Manager’s voice rang across Ai Hui’s ears and he returned to

his senses. Before Ai Hui could react, his vision blurred and his
surroundings disappeared.

The glow of the patriarch grass vanished and he was back in

his room.

It appeared that fusion elemental energy was the key to

establishing a foothold in the Assembly of Patriarchs.

The information he obtained today was somewhat too much.

The unfathomable depths of the Assembly of Patriarchs and the
conjecture regarding Heng Bingfeng had overwhelmed Ai Hui
greatly.

After around ten minutes, he finally calmed down. For

someone who had powerful self-control like Ai Hui, this kind of
situation seldom happened to him.

He threw all these distracting thoughts to the back of his

mind. Actually, both Karakorum and the Assembly of Patriarchs
had nothing much to do with him. The Assembly of Patriarchs
was only a channel for him to gather information. With the
addition of Grass Hall now, this process became much more
efficient.

Right now, the most important thing for him to do was to find
that notebook as soon as possible.

He guessed that the old fellow would be more interested in the

topic of Heng Bingfeng.

After Ai Hui regained his composure, he flipped open the

prototype inheritance that Karakorum Savant had passed him.
Very soon, he became engrossed in it.

Karakorum Savant had great achievements in the field of

swordsmanship. Unlike Ai Hui, who learnt swordsmanship by
putting together various pieces of knowledge from everywhere,
Karakorum Savant seemed to have learnt swordsmanship
systematically. Ai Hui could see some of his own techniques in
the inheritance. For example, [Oblique Slash] and [Heavenly
Thrust]. There was also a move that was somewhat similar to
his [Crescent Moon] but much weaker in power.
 The inheritance also contained a lot of Karakorum Savant’s
insights into swordsmanship. For example, it specifically talked
about the transformation of Yin and Yang, enlightening Ai Hui
on this topic.

Ai Hui was completely engrossed in it. This was the first time
he saw such a systematic and detailed swordplay manual.

Even though there were several areas that needed further

improvements, the contents of the swordplay manual were
enough for it to be considered a prototype. In an era where
swordsmanship was irrelevant, this inheritance was extremely
valuable.

Like a drug addict, Ai Hui was completely obsessed with the

swordplay manual.

There were some ideas mentioned in the manual that Ai Hui

had already verified, but there were also some that he had never
thought of. These novel ideas threw him into a deep thinking
process. Whenever he understood something or came across a
marvellous insight, he could not help but exclaim in
admiration. Those areas that he could not understand distressed
him, causing him to furrow his eyebrows and mumble to
himself. In order to focus on comprehending the inheritance, he
shut his door and declined to meet any visitor.

All the teachers in Karakorum Sword League knew Chu

Zhaoyang was reading a prototype inheritance. Everyone was
filled with the expectation that Chu Zhaoyang could add on
more insights and knowledge to this incomplete inheritance.

Numerous pairs of eyes were staring at the tightly shut door.

…..

Silver Mist Sea, Pagoda of Hidden Edge.

A domineering old voice emitted from the light orb, "What do

you think about this proposal?"

Tong Gui bowed and answered, "It’s an opportunity for us.

We can secretly send some people over."

"Then we will send unknown individuals."

 "Yes. But I’m afraid that we can’t stop them and will blow up
the issue."

"If they can’t be stopped, then they can’t be stopped. It’s their
business and it got nothing to do with all of you. Your mission is
to make sure Silver City is safe."

"What about the Great Elder…"

"Don’t worry, the Great Elder is still the Avalon of Five

Elements’ Great Elder."

"Subordinate understands."
Chapter 344: Night Attack On
Karakorum
The darkness of night engulfed the earth. On this dark night,
the moonlight was barely visible.

Hua Kui glanced at the tightly-shut door of the courtyard.

This action was rather eye-catching.

A lofty-looking guy that wore a golden mask on his face

sneered at Hua Kui. "It appears that our little friend has no
intention of coming out. Hua Kui, I heard that you’re his guide?
Your foresight doesn’t seem too good."

Before Hua Kui could reply, a guy who was seated beside him
and drinking alcohol alone chuckled. "Prince has rather good
foresight. I heard that the young fellow you brought in had
attracted some enemies, causing you to flee for 4,000 miles?
Both of you are evenly matched, so the two of you can have a
good talk with each other."

Hua Kui fiddled with a piece of a leaf from the potted plant
beside his feet and replied, "Cabinet, we are still better than you.
Until now, you haven’t even brought in a single person. If you
don’t bring in fresh blood within the next five years, you will be
expelled from the Grass Hall."

The guy who was drinking was called Jiu Gui [1]. Those who
were familiar with him called him Cabinet.

Prince felt a sense of schadenfreude and chirped in, "I didn’t

expect the cabinet to still be empty. No wonder you’re jealous of
us. You can’t even have a good conversation with us about this
topic."

Jiu Gui downed his drink in one gulp and changed the topic.
"What do you think the relationship is between Karakorum and
the Grass Hall?"

A solemn look immediately appeared on Hua Kui’s face.

"Cabinet, just keep on drinking your alcohol and don’t ask any
questions that we are not supposed to ask."

"Hua Kui, you’re being too prudent. There’s no harm in

talking about it. Even though the Grass Hall provides a lot of
rewards, we are still doing a job. This time around, the situation
is rather dire, and the enemies we are expecting will not be
ordinary individuals."
 The leaf that Hua Kui was fiddling with trembled. Annoyed,
he replied, "Prince, you and your inauspicious mouth."

Jiu Gui chirped in as well, "Sigh, if you have told me earlier

that Prince was coming, I definitely would not have come.
You’re truly deserving of the name ‘Inauspicious Prince.’
Anyway, how’re the preparations going on Xiao Shuren’s side?"

"The preparations have been made." Hua Kui nodded his head.

Upon hearing these words, the other two immediately felt

relieved. Hua Kui might look imposing, powerful, and reliable,
but in reality, he could be rather careless at times.

"I can’t wait for our little friend to take action." Jiu Gui shook
his head and shot a seemingly drunken look at a distant part of
the sky.

Hua Kui and Prince stood up at the same time.

A few shadows flew across the sky above Little Night Town,
overlooking the brightly-lit town beneath them.
 "How is it possible that a mere Chu Zhaoyang can frighten
them to such a state? A bunch of bums."

The person who had just spoken was standing atop a Fiery
Floating Cloud. His face was of two completely contrasting
complexion. The charred and dry left side of his face appeared
to have previously been burned by fire. His blazing, flickering
eyes looked exceptionally bright in the dark night. Beside him,
there was a half-a-meter tall, three-legged cauldron with a crow
design engraved on it. Dark-red lava slowly churned within the
cauldron.

This person was called Fire Crow. No one knew what his real
name was. He was infamous and guilty of monstrous crimes. His
hands were covered in the blood of numerous lives. Even
though he had countless enemies, he still led a carefree life.

Beside him, there was a person that was fully covered by a

cloak. He remained silent and flew through the sky like a ghost.

Ye Shuang did not try to conceal his disdain and hatred

toward Fire Crow at all. If they were in another place, he would
have slaughtered this troublesome fellow. The moment he
returned this favor, he would be a free man and owed nothing
to nobody.
 His weapons were very unique. In each of his hands, he held a
golden wheel. In the center of each golden wheel, there was
nothing but a handle. The edge of each golden wheel was filled
with sharp densely-packed teeth. The dark-red color of the teeth
made the golden wheels look as if they feasted on fresh blood.

Fire Crow knew Ye Shuang disliked him, but he did not care at
all. He grinned at Ye Shuang. However, when a grin appeared
upon that face of his, he looked exceptionally terrifying.

A delicate newbie like Ye Shuang would not survive very long

on the battlefield.

There were three people in total, and they were not familiar
with each other. They did not have the intention of
coordinating with each other either. Fire Crow directly made
his stance clear. "Each person takes on one opponent. We will
fight them individually."

After finishing his sentence, Fire Crow flew directly

downward without even waiting for the other two to reply.

The other two also had no intention of coordinating their

offense. They flew toward the Karakorum Sword League
separately.

A blazing streak shot down from the sky and flew toward the
Karakorum Sword League like a burning meteor.

At that moment, the half-drunk Jiu Gui let out a hiccup and
heaved a mouthful of white mist. Like an inflated balloon, the
white mist expanded as the wind blew and transformed into a
house-sized white cloud in the blink of an eye.

The fast flying blaze shot into the white cloud in a flash.
Afterward, the white cloud burst into flames with a loud bang,
disintegrating into ashes along with the blaze.

In the sky, Fire Crow’s eyes froze. From the attack of his
opponent, Fire Crow could immediately tell whether he was an
expert or not. The other party was no pushover.

Fire Crow licked his lips as a tinge of excitement appeared

upon his face. He was never scared of his opponents being too
powerful. He only feared that they were too weak and posed no
challenge to him.
 Smacking the cauldron beside him, raging flames surged out
of it and shot skyward. The raging flames were dazzling and
splendid, illuminating all of Little Night Town and making it
look as if it was daytime. The flames also caused Fire Crow’s
sinister-looking half-charred face to appear even more
terrifying. A grin appeared upon his face.

Three fiery birds flew out of the raging flames in the

cauldron. Apparently, they were three crows conjured from
fire. Their bodies intertwined as they dived toward the ground.

Mournful screeches engulfed the sky above the Karakorum

Sword League in an instant.

Jiu Gui broke into a hearty laugh. "A grape wine so fine that a
cup gleams at night. To drink on I’d love, but for the summons
to fight!"

Intoxicated, he picked up the wine cup from the table and

spilled its contents into the air.

The sparkling and translucent beads of wine rolled in the air.

Suddenly, concentrated water elemental energy erupted from
Jiu Gui and vaporized the beads of wine into a cloud of mist.
Crackling chords of a lute played from the mist. Subsequently, a
neigh from a steed rang out, and a mist-formed rider abruptly
surged out of the fog.

The horseman raised his sword and charged forward with

lightning speed. Eventually, it transformed into a shadowy
streak.

Meanwhile, the three screeching flaming crows in the sky

suddenly exploded into countless flaming sparks.

A cold glint flashed across Fire Crow’s eyes. He spread open

his right palm, and a flaming protective screen appeared before
him.

A shadowy streak blurred through the air. The charging

horseman hacked his longsword heavily against the blazing fire
screen. The anticipated boom from the clash was not produced.
The fire screen collapsed swiftly like a piece of soft paper and
engulfed the misty horseman.

The horseman only managed to struggle briefly before

vanishing into thin air with a pop.
 Grave expressions appeared on the faces of Jiu Gui and Fire
Crow.

On the other side.

The ghost-like cloaked man had encountered trouble as well.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at the potted plant not far
away from him. It was a hibiscus. Even in the dark night, its
beauty and brilliance could still involuntarily captivate his
attention.

He shifted his gaze and looked around elsewhere.

Potted plants were well spaced out around the courtyard. All
of them were placed in noticeable positions. Some were also
placed at the corners of the perimeter walls. At a glance, this
place looked like a normal courtyard with nothing out of
ordinary. This was also why the cloaked man did not care too
much about the potted plants.

He was slightly surprised that his opponent would deploy

such ordinary-looking potted plants.
 However, they were merely potted plants after all. Even if
they contained powerful plants, he would not be afraid of them.

He walked directly to the pot of hibiscus and stomped it to

smithereens.

He did not encounter any resistance, and the pot of hibiscus

had no reaction either.

An ordinary potted plant? The cloaked man became vigilant

all of a sudden. On a battlefield, the more harmless and ordinary
a deployment looked, the more dangerous it was.

Eh?

Suddenly, his pupils contracted. He did not know when, but

the crushed hibiscus had taken root on the ground. Right now,
the hibiscus was glistening and alluring. There was not the
slightest bit of dirt or mud on it. Its previously crushed stems
and leaves had completely recovered.

Something strange was going on!

 He felt that his control over the surrounding elemental energy
was gradually declining.

Had he been isolated from the elemental energy in the

environment?

Then, he saw a tall and sturdy man standing 30 meters away

from him. Like an experienced gardener, the man was pruning
the potted plants around him.

The cloaked man strode toward the burly man.

As long as he could kill this man, these potted plants would be

ineffective against him.

The potted plants around Hua Kui were arranged in an

irregular arrangement that had a charming effect. If Ai Hui was
to witness this sight, he would be dumbstruck. He would not
have expected Hua Kui to hide his killing intent within these
pruned potted plants.

The battle between Ye Shuang and Prince was much more

intense.
 Both of them were metal elementalists.

Ye Shuang’s golden wheels were like two dazzling golden

dragons, surging and whizzing through the air to display their
impressive might. The dragon roar that the golden wheels
produced contained a secret art. This roar was able to numb the
blood in one’s body, causing his or her elemental energy lose
control.

Prince wore a golden mask on his face. His hands wielded a

great sword forged from pure gold, which had a length that was
about equal to his height. He had no swordsmanship to speak of,
as he was just purely hacking and slashing at his enemy.

With an incredibly fast speed, each hack was heavier than the
previous one.

Every hack released a streak of brilliant golden light. Since his

hacking speed was too fast, before the previous streak of golden
light could disappear, the next streak of golden light had already
formed. This caused streaks of golden light to accumulate.
Eventually, his entire body was shrouded in surging golden
light, resembling a gigantic golden-glowing hurricane.
 This golden-glowing hurricane unreasonably blasted at Ye
Shuang.

Ye Shuang’s golden dragons collided with the golden-glowing

hurricane and let out waves of dragon roars, but the dragons
could not stop the hurricane which was becoming increasingly
thick.

Not a single tinge of panic could be found on Ye Shuang’s face.

He did not look like a rookie at all.

At this point in time, all of the Karakorum Sword League

teachers were startled by the ongoing battles. When everyone
saw the intensity of the battles and how the battles were surging
with violent elemental energy, their facial expressions changed
drastically. The fighting capabilities of the teachers were not
worth mentioning in such battles.

"Quickly run!"

It was not known who shouted these words. Everyone looked

as if they had woken up from a dream and started to hastily run
away from the ongoing battles.
 In an exquisite courtyard.

A beautiful woman gazed at a streak of blazing flames that

soared through the sky. The sound of intense battles fell
incessantly on her ears. Surging elemental energy waves in the
air sent a cold shiver down her spine.

"These people are here to abduct me?" Xiao Shuren asked

softly.

The Karakorum Savant did not look at her. She sat cross-
legged on the ground with her sword placed before her. She
replied coldly, "That’s right. Dai Gang wants your ancient
treasure, and a lot of people are willing to risk their lives for
him."

"Treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime for even an innocent

man. This saying is spot-on." Xiao Shuren laughed bitterly.

"What you want, what you get," Karakorum remained

unmoved.

Xiao Shuren regained her composure and replied, "Pardon me,

but haven’t you always wanted the ancient treasure?"

To Xiao Shuren’s surprise, the Karakorum Savant shook her

head and replied, "I don’t want it anymore."

"Are you afraid of Dai Gang?" Xiao Shuren stared at the

Karakorum Savant.

"Yes, I’m afraid," the Karakorum Savant replied.

Her face was still covered by a veil. Even though her features
were masked, one could see the unwavering calmness within
her eyes.

Xiao Shuren lowered her head and looked slightly downcast.

After a while, she raised her head as she returned to her senses.

The Karakorum Savant nodded her head in silence. Xiao

Shuren might appear weak and delicate, but her will and
determination far surpassed those of many men. She was truly a
woman that had managed an enterprise for many years.
 Xiao Shuren suddenly asked, "Where’s Chu Zhaoyang? I heard
he’s here. I am very happy that I can meet an old friend here.
I’m the one who was in the wrong during our previous
encounter, and I feel really guilty. If I get to meet Mr. Chu, I
have to apologize and compensate him.

"You better know your place. Since I don’t want the ancient
treasure, my sword will not hesitate to slay you," the
Karakorum Savant said coldly.

Xiao Shuren was not afraid of this threat, smiling gracefully.

"If I die, the ancient treasure will definitely be in the hands of
the Savant. Clearly, the Savant can’t bear to kill me. Eh? Given
such a huge ruckus, why hasn’t Mr. Chu appeared yet?"

The Karakorum Savant did not bother with Xiao Shuren.

Instead, her gaze shifted to the courtyard where Chu Zhaoyang
resided, feeling slightly puzzled.

Note:

[1] Jiu Gui is liquor cabinet in Chinese.

Chapter 345: Sword Glint And Tranquil
Night Breeze
To become a true Master, one must fulfill two conditions. The
first condition was to reach the Third Elemental Realm. The
second condition was to create an absolute art. These two
conditions were mandatory.

After one attained elemental externalization, he or she would

have to focus on controlling and channelling elemental energy
from the natural environment. Elementalists that had attained
elemental externalization must first learn how to control the
elemental energy of their base type. For example, Ai Hui, who
was a metal elementalist, could control the metal elemental
energy in the wind or the scattered metal elemental energy in
the ground.

As an elementalist’s control over elemental energy improved,

not only could he control the elemental energy of his base type,
he could also draw and convert other types of elemental energy
that engendered his base type.

For example, after Ai Hui had increased his base level, he

could draw and convert earth elemental energy into metal
elemental energy, thereby strengthening himself.
 Duanmu Huanghun’s [Perennial Lock] made use of this logic
as well. He drew water elemental energy from the ground to
nourish his own wood elemental energy.

This was also known as the Second Elemental Realm.

After attaining Second Elemental Realm, an elementalist

could eventually draw one more elemental energy type to
strengthen himself. This was the Third Elemental Realm. For
example, if Ai Hui reached the Third Elemental Realm, he could
draw and convert fire elemental energy and earth elemental
energy into metal elemental energy.

The ability to draw and utilize all five types of elemental

energy was the mark of a Grandmaster. Dai Gang, a
Grandmaster, was surrounded by only wood elemental energy.

The unique characteristic of Third Elemental Realm was the

reason why it became one of the two necessary conditions for
becoming a Master. When an elementalist reached the Third
Elemental Realm, he was no longer restrained by the cycle of
the five elements.

If Ai Hui was to attain the Third Elemental Realm, he would

be able to control fire, earth, and metal elemental energies. In
the past, fire elemental energy happened to be the bane of his
metal elemental energy. As such, if he attained the Third
Elemental Realm, he would no longer be restrained by fire
elemental energy. This also implied that his control over
natural elemental energies had reached a new level.

Reaching Third Elemental Realm allowed one to be filled with

vigorous elemental energy. The inheritances that everyone
practiced were focused on where this vigorous elemental energy
could be used and applied. Inheritances could display an
elementalist’s level of understanding toward elemental energy
as well.

The ability to create an absolute art indicated a deep and

unique understanding that an elementalist had toward
elemental energy.

An absolute art was a way for one to exhibit the "path" he

chose to embark on.

It was hard to determine the strength of an individual who

was below the level of a Master. Some people had a low
elemental energy level, but a strong comprehension of
elemental energy. On the contrary, there were other people
whose strength could easily be determined just by engaging
them in battle.

Right now, there was an unknown number of eyes looking

from the shadows at the ongoing war in Karakorum.

Fire Crow was an infamous villain As such, his fighting

capabilities were obviously powerful. Having achieved the
Third Elemental Realm allowed him to launch his attacks
continuously. Nonetheless, even though Jiu Gui was only at
Second Elemental Realm, he did not show any sign of being in a
disadvantageous position against Fire Crow. He had an
abnormally deep understanding ofs elemental energy. His
moves were extraordinary and transcended worldliness.

Meanwhile, the mysterious-looking cloaked man was actually

a transfigured earth elementalist!

Very soon, Hua Kui could feel the pressure from the cloaked
man. His opponent could transform his body at will.
Furthermore, his body was made up of an unknown material
that gave it immense strength as well as the ability to turn
invisible and vanish into thin air.
 If not for the traps that Hua Kui had put in the potted plants,
he would be in deep trouble. Even so, his current attacks were
not really effective against the cloaked man. He had yet to
discover the weakness of his opponent.

Both of them were in a deadlocked position.

Meanwhile, the battle between Prince and Ye Shuang was

extremely dangerous and sent sparks and flames in all
directions.

Both of them were fighting force with force.

Ye Shuang had been suppressed by Prince from the beginning

of the battle. Now, he was slowly pulling back the battle. His
sleeves were completely torn, revealing two muscular arms in
the air. It was at this point in time that the onlookers noticed a
dragon tattoo on each of his arms. Suddenly, the dragon tattoos
looked as if they came to life. Their eyes gave off a faint glow
that pulsated rhythmically.

The might of Ye Shuang’s golden wheels became increasingly

terrifying.
 Prince behaved as if he had not even noticed what was going
on with Ye Shuang. The golden-glowing hurricane around his
body became thicker and thicker.

The six individuals locked in combat were extremely

powerful. Those who covertly watched the ongoing battles were
shocked.

Out of the six combatants, they only recognized Fire Crow.

They knew nothing about the remaining five.

The cloaked man was a transfigured earth elementalist.

Transfigured elementalists were shunned individuals who lived
in the dark. As such, there was nothing unusual about the
cloaked man being unknown. As for Ye Shuang, one could tell
that he was a rookie with a glance. Hence, it was also normal
that not many people knew about him.

On the other hand, the three defenders of Karakorum were

terrifyingly powerful. Their moves were weird and constantly
changing. Most importantly, they had rich combat experience.
After having been through countless battles, how was it possible
that they were just some ordinary individuals?
 However, none of the onlookers knew who these three people
were. Those who were well-informed could only link these
three with some fragmented information.

However, all the onlookers knew one thing for sure:

Karakorum was not as weak as they thought.

A lot of people became solemn as they thought of this, but no

one had given up the hope of obtaining the ancient treasure.

Everyone knew that no matter how powerful Karakorum was,

it still could not contend against the superpowers.

How many families had taken part in this struggle? Nobody

knew the exact number, but they definitely knew that it was
huge.

No matter how powerful Karakorum was, under such a

situation, their members would be constantly exhausted and
weakened. Eventually, they would reveal their vulnerability.

As long as they were patient and waited long enough, they

would be able to strike out and reap the fruit of another’s hard
work after Karakorum’s experts were eliminated. Everyone felt
that they were the strongest hunter, that they would obtain the
ultimate victory.

A shadow silently approached Xiao Shuren’s courtyard.

Suddenly, a streak of sword glint swiftly appeared. Its

dazzling radiance illuminated the dark night in an instant.

A dazzling flash flew across the air as a human head flew up

into the sky. After a moment, blood spurted into the air as a
headless corpse fell heavily to the ground, twitching nonstop.

Everyone was stunned by the streak of sword glint.

They had never seen such a dazzling, sharp, and crisp sword
glint before.

A long time ago, swordsmanship had collapsed and was made

irrelevant by the elemental energy system.

It was only now that the sword glint reminded everyone of the
incomparable glory of swordsmen.

Was this true swordsmanship?

No one could clearly identify that sword move. Even Xiao

Shuren, who was standing beside the Karakorum Savant, was
dumbstruck and overwhelmed with shock. She was completely
unable to see how the Karakorum Savant had unleashed her
sword move.

The Karakorum Savant sheathed her sword. The veil on her

face prevented anyone from seeing her expression, but it was
obvious that her eyes were still as tranquil and calm as before.

It was at this point in time that everyone remembered where

they were right now.

"Karakorum…"

This name was a new face for the swordsmanship that used to
command reverence and respect in the distant past.
 Could it be that swordsmanship was on the rise again?

"Karakorum."

Those hidden onlookers muttered this word repeatedly,

revealing fear and excitement on their faces.

Karakorum!

Fire Crow was the first one to turn around and retreat. He had
no confidence in withstanding that previous sword move.

The cloaked man did not hesitate to escape either. He

transformed into a cloudy sandstorm and flew across the air.
After flying several hundred meters away from Karakorum, he
turned back into his original form and vanished into thin air in
the blink of an eye.

After hesitating for a while, Ye Shuang clenched his teeth and

turned around to escape as well.

The concealed onlookers scurried back to where they came

from like a bunch of rats.

The Hua Kui trio looked at each other. They could see the
astonishment in each other’s eyes. The Karakorum Savant’s
amazing sword move had left an unforgettable memory in their
heads. They had not expected such an intense battle to end in
this fashion.

The battle arrived abruptly and ended abruptly as well. Peace

and tranquility returned to the Karakorum Sword League once
again.

At this moment, the creaking sound of a door opening could

be clearly heard in the quiet Karakorum Sword League.

Everyone turned around at the same time.

The door to the courtyard was pushed open, and Ai Hui stood
at the doorstep looking absent-minded. His body wobbled,
looking as if he could be blown away by a gust of wind at
anytime. With a blank look on his face, he surveyed his
surroundings. Clearly, he had not returned to his senses after
delving into the world of swordsmanship.
 After a while, his eyes slowly regained their focus.

"Eh? What happened? How did things become like this? Why
did you demolish the floor and walls for nothing?"

Ai Hui looked surprised by the Karakorum Sword League that

had changed beyond recognition. Everything was messed up
with debris everywhere. A few lone figures stood nearby.

"Eh? Hua Kui, why are you here? Oh? Are you waiting for me?
Has the mission started? Are these two your assistants?"

Ai Hui suddenly realized what was going on.

Hua Kui remained silent as his face turned extremely grave.

Jiu Gui coughed softly, walked to Hua Kui, and patted his
shoulder. "Hua Kui, your little fellow is rather interesting. He
will have a bright future."

"Hua Kui, it’s okay. Your rating is very high."

 The relationship between a mentor and a rookie was
extremely tight. Usually, a rookie’s performance would have a
direct impact on his or her mentor’s rating.

If a rookie performed really badly, his or her guide’s rating

would be reduced.

After being teased by Prince and Jiu Gui, Hua Kui’s face
turned even uglier.

However, he was a shrewd individual after all. He regained his

composure after a while and asked calmly, "Did you fall asleep
just now?"

"Ha, how could I fall asleep?" Ai Hui quickly shook his head. "I
was too engrossed in reading a swordsmanship inheritance. Is
the mission going to start soon?"

Hua Kui could not be bothered with him and replied

expressionlessly, "Not yet."

"It seems that I came out too early." Ai Hui let out a yawn.
Since his body was on the verge of collapsing, he simply just sat
his a** down on the ground.

"What progress have you made?" Hua Kui asked casually.

"Great progress. It’s truly amazing. I didn’t expect that

swordsmanship could be used in such ways…" Ai Hui yawned
incessantly. He had made huge progress and obtained a lot of
revelations. Countless marvellous ideas were spinning in his
head. Like a piece of knotted rope, he had a lot questions that he
could not untangle. He vaguely remembered that he had a very
daring and powerful idea, an idea that would shock everyone…

His brain processed slower and slower as sleepiness

continuously seeped into him.

How could he be so tired after reading a swordsmanship

inheritance for a while…

Before the fatigued Ai Hui could understand why, he fell into

a deep sleep.

Apparently, he had not realized how many days and nights he

had spent reading the swordsmanship inheritance. The
continuous excitement and deep thinking had greatly exhausted
his physical energy. In reality, his body was extremely weary.

Facing the sky, he sprawled on the floor and slept.

After a moment, his snores pervaded the tranquil night

breeze, resembling the loud and rhythmic croaks of a frog in
pond.
Chapter 346: A Shameless Person
It was two days later when Ai Hui finally learned about the
epic battle that night.

It was not that Ai Hui was slow on the uptake, but rather, it
was because he had slept for two days and two nights straight.

On the first night, his snores were like the croaks of a frog in a
pond in the summer, refreshing and pleasant. Two straight days
and nights of his snores, however, were considered irritating, so
much so that one wanted to sprinkle poison all over the pond to
kill the frog.

The human race has always been heartless.

The frog, however, had not forgotten its mission.

Ai Hui’s schedule was fully packed. His most important task

was to find Senior Xiao’s notes in the Grass Hall’s Hall of
Ancient Records. The only way to increase the duration of time
he could spend in the Grass Hall was to develop his fusion
elemental energy diligently. In between developing his fusion
elemental energy and searching for Senior Xiao’s notes in the
Grass Hall, he would practise his swordsmanship.

His life was busy and fulfilling. He simply had no time to care
about other things, and he was not interested in them either.

Meanwhile, Karakorum had become extremely lively.

Currently, Karakorum Sword League was thrust into the

limelight. Its reputation surpassed even that of Dragonrise
Training Hall.

The battle in Karakorum that night had caused a sensation in

all of Silver City.

Karakorum Savant’s sword move was being described by

everyone as divine and supernatural. The three mysterious
experts had also displayed the unfathomable depths of the
Karakorum Sword League.

The climax of the incident happened when the identity of the

headless body was exposed.
 He was the leader of the Yellowsand Bandits, Chi Zun.

The Yellowsand Bandits had been going on a rampage for

many years, committing all kinds of heinous crimes. Even
though they had taken countless lives, they were still outside
the reach of the law. They were very powerful. Their leader, Chi
Zun, was a genius in his youth. He had been viewed by many as
a genius that could become a Master in the future.
Unfortunately, he eventually suffered a devastating injury and
his strength decreased greatly, causing him to lose the
opportunity to become a Master. Because of this setback, his
nature changed drastically and he sank further into depravity
day by day.

Even though he could not become a Master, due to his

immense talents, his strength still far surpassed that of ordinary
elementalists. Within a few years, he became an infamous
bandit leader.

In the past, the Yellowsand Bandits had been a bunch of petty

thieves. Under Chi Zun’s leadership, they gradually became a
group of notorious bandits that struck fear into people’s hearts.

Great Wei Enterprise’s strength was rather good, but they

were still exterminated by the Yellowsand Bandits. This showed
how vicious and powerful the Yellowsand Bandits were.

Nevertheless, the notorious Chi Zun was ultimately beheaded

with a single sword move. How could a sensation not stir up in
Silver City?

Just defeating or killing Chi Zun might not prove much, but
beheading him with a single sword move could only mean one
thing. A Master!

Only a Master could achieve such a feat.

An ordinary Master would not have sent everyone into a

frenzy. What the mysterious Karakorum Savant practised was
swordsmanship.

A master swordsman!

The first master swordsman in the history of the Avalon of

Five Elements!

The decline of swordsmanship began when the Avalon of Five

Elements was established. As the Elemental Era began,
swordsmanship became useless and irrelevant. There were only
some youths that continued to adore it for its grace and past
glory. Elementalists viewed those self-proclaimed "master
swordsmen" as just a bunch of clowns.

Its decline went so far that there was a hypothesis stating that
those who liked swordsmanship were a bunch of ignorant
people that liked to daydream.

No one could verify the worth of swordsmanship.

Occasionally, when one or two stunning sword moves were

placed together with exquisite and fully-developed inheritances,
the former would look insignificant and frail.

The mainstream idea was that swordsmanship had died out.

The fact that there had never been a legitimate master

swordsman verified this idea. A Master needed to seek his or her
own "path"; however, no Master had ever sought the "path" of
swordsmanship. This showed everyone that swordsmanship
could no longer exist in the world.
 Now, however, a master swordsman had appeared.

Everyone’s common understanding towards swordsmanship

completely changed in an instant.

It was not that swordsmanship did not contain a "path", but

rather, no one had found it yet!

Silver City went into a frenzy. The Silver Mist Sea went into a
frenzy. The Avalon of Five Elements went into a frenzy.

Even the Elders Guild immediately sent someone to commend

Karakorum. The Elders Guild was willing to provide Karakorum
Sword League with various resources, help them increase their
influence, and offered its collection of swordplay manuals
among other things.

Those bad elements that had hidden in Karakorum Sword

League’s surroundings suddenly vanished into thin air.

The Karakorum Sword League immediately became the holy

land of those elementalists who loved swordsmanship, which in
turn resulted in Little Night Town becoming extremely lively.
Swordsmanship had everyone’s new favorite field to train in. In
the extravagant and lavish Silver City, numerous rich and
powerful families employed a swordplay teacher. They behaved
as if not having a swordplay teacher was something to be
ashamed of.

Incidentally, even Karakorum Sword League’s swordplay

teachers had become hot in demand.

Under such circumstances, people began to remember Chu

Zhaoyang, who had previously destroyed five sword formations
in a row

"Teach swordsmanship at someone’s residence?"

Ai Hui, who was being disturbed, did not try to conceal his
annoyance at all.

The old prisoner had told him that the notes were on the
seventh floor of the Hall of Ancient Records. Ai Hui had thought
that he could easily find it with such precise information, but
when he arrived at the seventh floor of the Hall of Ancient
Records, he soon realised how naive he’d been.
 Looking into the distance, there was no end to the rows of
bookshelves. Every bookshelf was filled with tattered books and
ash-colored papers. Many areas on the seventh floor were
disordered and in a mess. It was unimaginably hard to find
Senior Xiao’s notes in this place. The worst thing was that he
did not have enough fusion elemental energy to stay long in the
Hall of Ancient Records. As such, he had to train hard to
develop his fusion elemental energy.

He wished that the amount of time he had could multiply,

then someone had to ask him to teach swordsmanship at
someone else’s residence.

He would not agree even if Karakorum Savant was the one to

ask him!

Even though Karakorum Savant was wearing a face veil, Ai

Hui could still see her helplessness.

Karakorum Savant continued to explain, "In the past, this

family took good care of me and treated me as one of their own.
If not for the fact that I’m busy right now, I would have gone
personally to show my sincerity."
 Ai Hui remained unmoved, maintaining a look of innocence in
his eyes.

Hua Kui, who was standing behind Karakorum Savant, kept

sending Ai Hui signals with his eyes. Ai Hui turned a blind eye
to them. After all, he was not the one who had been cared for by
that family.

"I’m very clear of the Karakorum Sword League’s teachers’

standards. The more I think about it, the more I feel that
Brother Chu is most suitable for this job. I hope that Brother
Chu can help me out…"

"No! I’m very busy; there are a lot of things I have to do!" Ai
Hui rejected her without any hesitation.

Hua Kui’s face turned extremely ugly as he stared at Ai Hui

fiercely. Ai Hui continued to pay him no attention.

"Brother Chu…" Karakorum Savant wanted to continue

persuading Ai Hui, but she had never been one to fawn on
others and did not know what to do.
 Hua Kui quickly interjected. "Savant, give me a moment and
let me have a talk with Brother Chu."

"Alright, I shall wait outside then," Karakorum Savant replied,

feeling relief.

After Karakorum Savant left the courtyard, Hua Kui sputtered

in Ai Hui’s face. "Didn’t you see my eye signals? Why can’t you
agree? She merely asked you for a bit of help and you act like
this. What’s the meaning of this?"

"I’m very busy, how would I have enough time to help her?"
Ai Hui replied.

"You? Busy? Every day you hang out in the Hall of Ancient
Records, how’s that considered busy? And you’re not in the
training section. What are you looking for in the seventh floor’s
miscellaneous section?"

A cold shiver went down Ai Hui’s spine. It appeared that

someone was already observing him; however, he had already
expected this to happen. A newbie like him who visited the Hall
of Ancient Records every day would indeed easily arouse
suspicion.
 "I am, of course, looking for treasures," Ai Hui replied
expressionlessly.

"What treasures?" Hua Kui’s face was filled with suspicion.

"There are so many seniors’ notebooks and records; If I search

carefully, I’ll definitely find something good," Ai Hui replied in
a deadpan manner.

"There are so many absolute arts you can learn, why are you
still searching for treasures?" Hua Kui was still filled with
doubt.

"Do I have enough Association Merit Points? Do I have enough

money?" Ai Hui gave Hua Kui a look of disdain.

Compared to the Elders Guild, the Grass Hall’s artifacts and

absolute arts were not only cheaper, but the way to buy them
was also more flexible. One could use Association Merit Points,
money, or Heaven Merit Points to purchase them.

The exchange rate between Heaven Merit Points and

Association Merit Points was one to one. From this, Ai Hui felt
that the Assembly of Patriarchs was really generous for aligning
with the Elders Guild regarding such matters.

Hua Kui was speechless, especially when he heard the line,

"Do I have enough money?" He began to sympathize with Ai
Hui. "I never expected you to not only be a rookie, but also a
poor man. This is all the more reason to agree to this job. You
don’t have money, right? You also don’t have Association Merit
Points, right? I can give them to you!"

Ai Hui looked at Hua Kui suspiciously. "Do you have money?

I’ve known you for so long, yet you’ve never even treated me to
a bowl of noodles."

"Fifty fusion elemental energy beans and two hundred

Association Merit Points." Hua Kui was very straightforward.

Ai Hui was momentarily stunned.

Fusion elemental energy beans were an unique product of

Grass Hall. These beans contained fusion elemental energy and
could speed up the development of fusion elemental energy. Ai
Hui still remembered the price of these beans. Each fusion
elemental energy bean cost two high-grade essence elemental
beans.

Two hundred Association Merit Points were equivalent to two

hundred Heaven Merit Points. Ai Hui knew their worth very
clearly. Grass Hall’s products were priced a lot cheaper than the
Elders Guild’s. As such, two hundred Association Merit Points
were worth a lot more.

"Pay first!" Ai Hui reached out his hand.

"Do I look like someone who will owe you anything?" Hua Kui
looked at Ai Hui with disdain.

Upon seeing Ai Hui remain unmoved, Hua Kui passed him the
fusion elemental energy beans while sulking. "In any case, I’m
still your guide, can you give me some face and not be so
mercenary?"

Ai Hui carefully kept the fusion elemental energy beans and

replied, "I’m a rookie and a poor man."

Hua Kui restrained himself from giving this fellow a tight

slap. After taking a deep breath, he started speaking again, "Be
careful. This time around, there are other people too.
Remember, once you reach that place, don’t ask questions
you’re not supposed to ask and don’t look at things you’re not
supposed to see."

"Don’t worry, I won’t be a busybody. I still need to search for

treasures in the Hall of Ancient Records." Ai Hui nodded.

"Didn’t I just give you Association Merit Points?" Hua Kui

furrowed his eyebrows.

"I’m a rookie and a poor man." Ai Hui gave him an innocent

look.

Hua Kui could no longer stand this fellow and turned around
to leave.

After a while, Karakorum Savant entered the courtyard

looking extremely happy. "Thank you so much, Brother Chu.
Don’t worry, Brother Chu, that senior of mine is a very nice
person. Brother Chu, if you have any difficulties, feel free to tell
me."
 "As a member of Karakorum, it’s my bound duty to make
some contributions to Karakorum. Since I will be there to teach
swordsmanship, I can’t embarrass the name of Karakorum, but
my sword is not really up to standard for this job…"

Hua Kui widened his eyes. Did you eat the Silverfold Plum or
something?

Without any hesitation, Karakorum Savant passed her sword

to Ai Hui. "This is a newly-forged sword. I shall gift it to Brother
Chu."

Ai Hui quickly accepted the sword and replied, "Chief, you’re

too generous. You can just give me a grass sword, really…"

Hua Kui was dumbstruck. He had never seen such a shameless

person before.
Chapter 347: [Six Moons]
Elegantly, his sword drew sparks.

Excellent sword, excellent sword! Ai Hui praised the sword in

his heart.

Even though it was not as good as the Silverfold Plum, it was

still a premium sword. The colors of snow and cherry blossoms
fused together, giving the body of the sword a rarely-seen faint
pinkish glisten. The sword was so light and graceful that it felt
weightless, extremely suitable for a girl to use. The sheath of the
sword was exquisite and gorgeous, clearly the work of a famous
swordsmith. On the sheath, there were two words written in
seal script, "Snow Cherry."

Ai Hui estimated that this sword could be sold for three

hundred Heaven Merit Points without much difficulty. There
were very few swordsmen, but even fewer good swords.
Karakorum Savant was truly the chief of Karakorum, anything
she gave was of high quality.

Should I sell it while I give swordsmanship lessons? Ai Hui

pondered to himself.
 A good sword like this belonged to whoever was destined for
it!

If one did not have at least four hundred Heaven Merit Points,
how could he or she be destined for it?

Ai Hui stretched his shoulders. In order to sell the Snow

Cherry for a good price, he decided to put on a good
performance and promote Karakorum’s swordsmanship. He did
not want to let down Karakorum Savant.

After stretching his shoulders, Ai Hui sat down and asked Hua
Kui, "It sounds like it will be far away. Which residence are we
going to?"

"You will know when the time comes." Hua Kui had an
irritated look on his face.

"Actually, all of you don’t need to send me. Can’t you just give
me the address? I can go there myself." Ai Hui wasn’t annoyed
by Hua Kui’s tone.

The Fiery Floating Cloud beneath his feet wasn’t any ordinary
product. It looked very normal and ordinary from the outside,
but as for the inside, one could tell that its master paid great
attention to design and quality when making it.

"Who says we are sending you off?" Hua Kui rolled his eyes.
He was beginning to regret his decision to become this
scumbag’s guide.

"Xiao Shuren is being kept in the trunk?" Ai Hui asked.

"You are quite sharp." Hua Kui was slightly surprised.

Even though Hua Kui had not said anything, Chu Zhaoyang
still knew that it was Xiao Shuren. He felt rather impressed.

"This Fiery Floating Cloud is more luxurious than the

Auspicious I destroyed last time. Furthermore, you are here as
well. Why would Karakorum spend so many resources? Xiao
Shuren can be the only reason."

Hua Kui nodded his head. Just as he was about to praise Chu
Zhaoyang for being smart, Chu Zhaoyang changed the topic. "So
now we have to talk about the escort fee. You see, I have gone to
great lengths to accompany you in escorting Xiao Shuren. What
a big risk I’m taking! I’m a rookie and a poor man…"

"Get lost!" Hua Kui could not stand Ai Hui and flew into a
rage.

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t think you can scold me just because
you’re my guide." Ai Hui widened his eyes.

Hua Kui decided to close his eyes and ignore this scumbag.

Very soon, the Fiery Floating Cloud landed in an unadorned

and serene courtyard.

This place was not located in the centre of Silver City. Instead,
it was located in a remote corner of Silver City. A simple and
unadorned manor like this was rarely seen in the extravagant
and lavish Silver City.

Even though Ai Hui did not know which family this residence
belonged to, he could sense the aura of a rich and powerful
aristocratic family coming from within.
 Ai Hui descended from the Fiery Floating Cloud. The green
ceramic tiles beneath his feet looked extremely old. The
surrounding walls were overflowing with aged vines and green
moss. Everywhere was filled with traces of extreme aging.

A long-established family.

This was the first thought that came to Ai Hui’s mind.

A butler that had been waiting for their arrival bowed slightly
and greeted Ai Hui respectfully. "Are you Mister Chu? You must
have had an arduous journey. Your living quarters have already
been prepared. Do you want to take a rest first? Madam is
currently out on business; she will be back by tonight. Madam
hopes to have dinner together with Mister Chu, will you be able
to make it?"

"No problem." Ai Hui nodded. "Bring me to my living quarters

first."

"Okay." The butler nodded at a servant on one side. That

servant quickly came forward and the butler instructed him,
"Bring Mister Chu to bamboo garden."
 "Yes," the servant replied respectfully.

The butler turned back and spoke to Ai Hui once again, "If
Mister Chu needs anything, feel free to tell me."

Ai Hui smacked his lips in silence. This was his first encounter
with such a meticulous and strict butler. Ai Hui did not really
like such aristocratic families, but fortunately, he just needed to
put on a good act as a teacher. The most important thing for
him to do was to sell the Snow Cherry for a good price. Oh,
wrong, he had to find the one destined for Snow Cherry.

For Xiao Shuren to be sent to this place, this family must have
a deep relationship with Chief...

As Ai Hui followed the servant to bamboo garden, he asked

the servant curiously, "May I know the surname of this family? I
have come in haste and Chief did not have enough time to brief
me."

As the servant continued to lead the way, he replied

respectfully, "Our family’s surname is Ye."
 Ye? Ai Hui racked his brain. He did not know of any
aristocratic families in the Silver Mist Sea that had the surname
Ye. From the looks of it, however, this family was definitely a
first class aristocratic family.

After replying to Ai Hui, the servant did not speak anymore

and focused on leading the way. Ai Hui also did not ask anymore
questions. He began to focus on training with fusion elemental
energy. With the fifty fusion elemental energy beans, his
training efficiency would improve significantly. Besides this, he
also hoped he could find Senior Xiao’s notes sooner so that he
could leave Silver City. For some reason, he had a premonition
that a maelstrom was approaching Silver City.

The ancient manor was extremely huge; Ai Hui followed the

servant for more than ten minutes before arriving at the
bamboo garden.

Ai Hui silently trembled with fear. Every plot of land in Silver

City was extremely expensive. He did not expect this residence
to be so gigantic.

Bamboo garden was a lone court. The surrounding bamboos

were swaying slightly, looking especially elegant. The
necessities provided were comprehensive. The things that
satisfied Ai Hui the most were the customized meditation room
and the training arena. Even though they were not really huge
in size, they were more than enough for Ai Hui alone.

Since Ai Hui was alone and had not brought a lot of luggage,
he began to start training.

As for where Xiao Shuren was placed or how powerful the Ye

Residence was, Ai Hui did not care at all. The Ye Residence was
far more quiet than he’d expected it to be. This was a good place
for training. It just so happened that he had a premonition that
a maelstrom was going to hit Silver City. As such, he was
exceptionally happy to have a quiet and serene place to train.

After developing his fusion elemental energy, entering the

Grass Hall, and completely depleting his fusion elemental
energy in the Hall of Ancient Records, Ai Hui headed to the
training arena in the courtyard to practise his swordsmanship.

He was not at all surprised that Karakorum Savant was a

master swordsman.

He had finished reading the inheritance compiled by

Karakorum Savant, and even though there were several areas
which were vague and unclear, he could sense that Karakorum
Savant had found the essence of swordsmanship.

He was slightly envious of her.

Despite this, he did not immediately practise his

swordsmanship according to the inheritance. It was not that Ai
Hui was prideful and wanted to create his own absolute art, but
rather, this inheritance was far from completion.

Ai Hui estimated that Karakorum Savant would need at least

twenty years to perfect eighty percent of this absolute art. The
remaining portion would have to be constantly polished and
improved by the future generations.

This was where the strength of the absolute arts of

aristocratic families lay. Their absolute arts had been polished
by many generations and continued to develop, becoming
nearly perfect.

Even though Karakorum Savant’s inheritance was still crude

and incomplete, it could serve as a verification for Ai Hui’s
theories and stimulate him. Ai Hui’s level of swordsmanship
was not low. Furthermore, after a long period of trial and error,
he gradually formed his own style of swordsmanship.

For example, Ai Hui’s elemental energy sword pills were

extremely unique. He was the only one who had come up with
the idea; it hadn’t been done before.

Karakorum Savant’s inheritance provided Ai Hui with great

revelations. Her outlook towards swordsmanship was very
systematic. There were a few times where Ai Hui exclaimed in
admiration. Her ideas were well-explained and were justified by
various teachers. Ai Hui could tell that Karakorum Savant had
compiled everyone’s knowledge in this inheritance, no, this
swordplay encyclopedia.

She was trying to revive swordsmanship...

This thought flashed across Ai Hui’s mind, but soon, he

thought of the word "Karakorum" and felt at ease. If Karakorum
Savant did not want to revive swordsmanship, why would she
name her school "Karakorum"?

The crudely compiled swordplay encyclopedia gave Ai Hui

endless inspirations. He felt he’d had a revelation.
 Indistinctly, he could sense a new sword move forming in his
mind. He had sensed this faintly discernible feeling on more
than one occasion when he’d been flipping through the
swordplay encyclopedia.

This made him excited.

He was familiar with this kind of feeling. Holding Snow

Cherry in his hand, he jumped into the training arena.

Without much deliberation, he brandished his sword

according to that feeling.

Time passed bit by bit and he became completely lost in his

own world. Sometimes, he would stop what he was doing,
furrow his brows, and ponder without moving his body for a
long time. Sometimes, he might engage in a disarrayed
swordplay, staggering everywhere.

Gradually, the sun began to set. The bamboo garden was dyed
orange by the afterglow of sunset.

Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed across Ai Hui’s eyes. He took

an explosive step forward and unsheathed his sword!

A blurry energy ripple swept up to the tip of the pinkish Snow

Cherry. The air surrounding the tip of the sword became
distorted. Six palm-sized crescent moons shot out from the
energy ripple.

A piece of bamboo leaf that had been swept up by the wind

was slashed by the six fleeting, weird sword glints. This was
only the beginning. The biting cold sword glints suddenly
gathered and burned fiercely, engulfing the piece of bamboo
leaf.

The bamboo leaf-turned fine green powder vaporised into a

green smog in the air. It gradually became faint and disappeared
completely.

The six fine crescent moons swirled around Ai Hui’s body. His
eyes lit up like the stars in the sky.

[Crescent Moon] was a very practical move, but it was too

straightforward and was easily seen through by his opponents.
Furthermore, as Ai Hui became stronger, [Crescent Moon]’s
destructive power became increasingly insignificant.
 Ai Hui brandished Snow Cherry lightly and the six crescent
moons flew along with it. He flicked his wrist and pointed the
sword downward.

The six crescent moons combined into one and Ai Hui felt his
elemental energy freeze, following which, a brilliant and
powerful sword glint suddenly appeared.

A paper-thin sword gash appeared on the ceramic ground

beneath Ai Hui’s feet. If one did not look closely, he or she
would not see it; however, no one knew that this gash was
actually more than thirty meters deep.

Holding the sword in his hand, Ai Hui flicked his wrist

upward. A powerful sword glint shot out from the gash on the
ground and separated into six crescent moons once more, then
danced around Ai Hui.

Not bad, not bad. Ai Hui was very satisfied. Regardless of

strength or flexibility, this move was much better than
[Crescent Moon].

Furthermore, Ai Hui discovered that he had used a very small

amount of elemental energy to execute this move.
 This move shall be called [Six Moons]. Ai Hui was already
thinking about how to utilize [Six Moons]. For example, he
could use it as a diversion tactic. Or maybe he could combine the
six crescent moons into one and split them up before making
contact with his opponent’s weapon.

Suddenly, Ai Hui felt some movement from the ground

beneath his feet.

Eh?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Surging water gushed out from the gash in the floor,

completely soaking Ai Hui.

Ai Hui immediately responded to it. His sword move must

have hit an underground spring.

It was his first day here and he’d already spoilt something…
Things were not going well...
 Ai Hui was flustered. The water flow was very strong and it
was very difficult for him to clog up the gash. If only Lou Lan
was here, he could have solved this problem within a second.

Suddenly, Ai Hui heard footsteps approaching. Not caring

about anything else, he clenched his teeth and stomped his foot.
Boom. A two-meter wide crevice appeared.

It was finally clogged up.

Having arrived at the doorstep a moment ago, the servant was

startled by the loud boom. After a while, he began to speak,
"Mister Chu, it’s time for dinner. Madam and the guests are
already waiting for you."

When the servant saw Ai Hui’s drenched appearance, he was

flabbergasted.

"It’s dinner time? Let’s go, let’s go, it just so happens that I’m
hungry now." Ai Hui gave him an innocent smile.

With a blank look on his face, the servant followed Ai Hui as

he walked out of the courtyard.
 Karakorum is Kunlun( 昆仑) in Chinese. Kunlun Sect is a
martial arts sect that is found in many Wuxia stories. This sect
is famous for their swordsmanship.
Chapter 348: To Hell With It!
Ai Hui, who was busy fixing the damaged floor, forgot to use
elemental energy to dry his clothes. As such, when he appeared
at the dining hall in drenched clothes, the lively dining
atmosphere quieted down in an instant.

There was a dignified and beautiful woman sitting at the seat

of honor. A surprised look flashed across her alluring eyes but
she soon regained her composure. Ai Hui’s gaze landed upon an
old woman who was standing by in attendance behind the
beautiful woman.

A cold shiver went down Ai Hui’s spine. The old woman

might appear inconspicuous, but Ai Hui could sense that her
strength was of an unfathomable depth.

After a momentary silence, the guests then broke into an

uproar.

"Such a boorish fellow, how dare he come for dinner in this

manner?"

"That’s right, he really has no manners!"

 "How can a guy who doesn’t even have basic manners teach us
swordsmanship?"

"It seems like Aunt Ye has made the wrong judgement this
time around."

...

Murmurs rang inside Ai Hui’s ears. He noticed the guests were

mainly kids that were around ten or more years old. He had to
teach these brats swordsmanship?

Eh? Ai Hui soon noticed some familiar faces among the guests.

The gorgeous Xiao Shuren was extremely eye-catching

amongst the crowd. When she saw Chu Zhaoyang, her eyes
involuntarily lit up.

Ai Hui was puzzled. Didn’t Chief send her here to put her
under house arrest? Why would they treat her like a guest now?

Ai Hui also knew the girl sitting beside Xiao Shuren. She was
Qin Xian’s fiancee, Lian Junyu.

When Lian Junyu saw Ai Hui, she smiled and winked at him.
She did not make a fuss over Ai Hui’s appearance. After all, she
had personally witnessed how Ai Hui destroyed five sword
formations in a row and she was very confident in Ai Hui’s
capabilities. It was normal for talented people to have some
eccentricities.

When Ai Hui saw Lian Junyu wink at him, he did not know
what she meant. However, it did seem like a sign of goodwill to
him. Hence, he winked back at her.

Then, when Ai Hui saw another two familiar faces, he

groaned silently. Isn’t that Fu family’s oldest daughter? And
isn’t that cold-looking fellow Qingye’s aunt? Is she called
Huaijun or something?

Ai Hui felt numb. If it was anyone else, he would not have

cared much. However, Fu family’s oldest daughter and Huaijun
stayed in Peace City and they had met his true self before. If
they recognized him, he would be in deep trouble.

The old man had reminded him many times that he should
not let the Assembly of Patriarchs know his true identity.
Otherwise, things would become very problematic for him.

To hell with it!

Why would he encounter acquaintances here?

If he had known earlier this would happen, he would not have

come to this place to teach swordsmanship!

At this moment, a teenager beside Madam Ye mumbled,

"Mum, Xiaobao is hungry."

Madam Ye’s son?

The teenager was around fifteen years old. He looked rather

handsome but his facial expression seemed somewhat half-
witted.

"Since Xiaobao is hungry, we will have our dinner now,"

Madam Ye told Xiaobao gently. Then, she spoke to Ai Hui, "Mr
Chu, please take your seat. I’m not sure what Mr Chu likes to
eat, please forgive me if the dishes are not to your standard.
Whatever Mr Chu likes to eat, feel free to order the servants to
make it. Don’t be shy."

Madam Ye seemed to be highly revered by these people.

Whenever she spoke, these proud and arrogant young masters
and mistresses would become well-behaved.

Without even giving a bow, Ai Hui burst into loud laughter,

"Madam, you’re too courteous. I’m fine as long as there’s meat."

After finishing his sentence, he sat his ass down and started
gobbling the food as though there was nobody else present.

The surrounding young masters and mistresses felt

uncomfortable in an instant. Since they were young, they had
been taught proper dining etiquette. This applied to their
surrounding friends as well. Since when had they ever met such
a boorish individual?

One by one, those who sat near Ai Hui walked away from him
with a look of disdain on their faces.
 Ai Hui, whose face was gleaming with oil from the food,
heaved a quiet sigh of relief. He was especially happy when he
saw a disgusted look flash across the face of Fu family’s oldest
daughter from the corner of his eyes. Following which, he
began to eat with more aggressiveness.

He was most worried about Fu family’s oldest daughter. Even

though they had not had many interactions before, her
shrewdness and capabilities had left a deep impression on him.

He did not have much of an impression of Qingye’s aunt, Su

Huaijun.

Who exactly was Madam Ye?

"I’m going crazy, who wants to change seats with me? The
sound of this fellow eating resembles thunderclaps!"

"I can’t take it anymore, can’t he be more civilized?"

"Oh my god, he did not spit out the bone! He ate the entire
chicken drumstick without spitting out the bone!"
 ...

On the other side of the table, Xiaobao was looking at Ai Hui

with his eyes wide open.

Ai Hui noticed Xiaobao’s gaze. Being in a relaxed state, he had

sensed that Xiaobao was slightly mentally challenged.

Suddenly, Xiaobao opened his mouth and said, "You look as if

you’re having a great meal! Let us compete to see who can eat
faster!"

Upon seeing Xiaobao filled with expectation, Ai Hui’s gaze

slightly softened and he replied cheerfully, "Come, come, come,
let’s compete!"

Xiaobao was overjoyed. Immediately, he lowered his head and

began to stuff food into his mouth.

Ai Hui could not stand to be outdone. He had been scared of

taking part in an eating competition.
 Everyone looked blankly at these two persons, especially Chu
Zhaoyang. Everyone looked puzzledly at him. Xiaobao suffered
from an illness when he was born. This caused a problem in his
mental development as he grew up. Currently, his intelligence
level was only equivalent to a three years old kid’s.

Chu Zhaoyang’s intelligence level doesn’t seem that high as

well....

Amidst the loud rumbles of both of them gobbling up food,

Madam Ye’s gentle voice could be heard constantly, "Xiaobao,
eat slower, don’t eat too fast…"

The rest of the guests were like wax statues, staring blankly at
the two of them gobbling up food.

Phew. Both of them stopped eating at the same time. They

could not eat anymore.

The two of them looked at each other several times. Heroes

appreciated one another.

Everyone heaved a deep sigh of relief. For civilized and refined

people like them, who ate their meals without making any
noises, this scene was no doubt hugely torturous to them.

Initially, they still could ridicule Chu Zhaoyang. However,

after Xiaobao joined in, all of them shut their mouths and stared
on blankly.

No one was interested in eating dinner anymore.

Ai Hui collapsed against his chair. He was so full that he could

not move, "Can I have some tea? I’m a bit thirsty."

Lian Junyu could not help but turn her face away. This was
far too embarrassing. Even she could not tolerate such
behaviour from Chu Zhaoyang. The rest of the guests were
annoyed. They had never seen such a crude individual!

On the contrary, Madam Ye was smiling. She then ordered

one of her servants, "Go and bring some tea here."

"Yes, Madam," the servant quickly went to pour some tea.

 Xiao Shuren looked interestingly at Chu Zhaoyang. She
clearly remembered Chu Zhaoyang wasn’t so boorish the last
time he was boarding Auspicious. Why did he seem to have
completely changed today?

When Chu Zhaoyang saw her, he was slightly surprised.

Clearly, this was the real Chu Zhaoyang.

She was a shrewd individual. Even though she was doubtful,

she did not show it on her face at all. Furthermore, she clearly
knew of the situation she was in now. Staying here seemed to be
better than staying in Karakorum Sword League. Madam Ye was
very friendly to her, but in reality, she was still a prisoner.

Xiao Shuren remained calm and collected. Her gaze casually

swept across the crowd, but she failed to observe anything
important.

The dinner’s leftovers were cleared and the tea was served.

Other than Ai Hui and Xiaobao gulping down the tea, the rest
of the guests were motionless. They were looking at Chu
Zhaoyang with contempt. Since when was the dining table a
place to drink tea?
 Today was definitely not a happy day for them.

Madam Ye casually picked up the teacup in front of her. After

taking a sip, she put it back down and her gaze swept across
everyone. Then, she began to speak with a gentle voice,
"Recently, swordsmanship has been very popular. Since all of
you are very interested in swordsmanship, I have invited
Karakorum Savant to my residence to teach everyone. Maybe
some of you might have a flair for swordsmanship."

Madam Ye changed her tone slightly and continued,

"However, Karakorum Savant is busy and she doesn’t have the
time to teach all of you. Therefore, she recommended Mr Chu
Zhaoyang to come in her place."

With a smug look on his face, Ai Hui raised his right hand and
waved to everyone.

Clap, clap, clap. Xiaobao was clapping enthusiastically.

Ai Hui gave Xiaobao a thumbs-up. The friendship built out of

an eating competition was indeed extraordinary.
 Upon seeing Ai Hui’s reaction, Xiaobao clapped with even
more enthusiasm.

Everyone’s face turned ugly as if they had swallowed a fly.

Lian Junyu was filled with embarrassment. Chu Zhaoyang was
not really young. When he was in Karakorum Sword League, he
was still alright. Why did he behave like this today...

Madam Ye had a panoramic view of everyone’s facial

expressions. With a stern voice, she continued, "I know why all
of you are here today. Actually, if you don’t come, it won’t
affect your chance of being selected. After all, everyone here is
an outstanding genius of the younger generation in the Avalon
of Five Elements. All of you will definitely be selected. I am just
a woman, and have no power to interfere with such an
important matter."

Everyone was bolt upright and remained silent. Whoever

believed these words was stupid.

Madam Ye smiled and continued, "Therefore, I hope everyone

can treat this as a break and relax. Swordsmanship is on the rise
these days and none of you have made contact with it before.
Therefore, I invited Mr Chu to teach all of you swordsmanship.
Maybe some of you might have a flair for swordsmanship. It
would be a pity if you neglect it. Of course, all of your respective
family absolute arts are very powerful. However, you still can
further improve yourself by exposing yourself to new things
and accepting criticism from others. Give the popular
swordsmanship a try and it might bring you some revelations."

"Madam, you’re right."

To Ai Hui’s surprise, after Fu family’s oldest daughter showed

her support for Madam Ye, the rest of the guests followed suit.

Ai Hui was slightly puzzled. Selection? What kind of selection

would make these pampered young masters and mistresses
come all the way here? Even the shrewd Fu family’s oldest
daughter was not excluded.

Furthermore, why did Madam Ye want these people to learn

swordsmanship?

The more Ai Hui thought about it, the more puzzled he felt.

Alright, why does he need to think so much? He should

quickly think of a way to get out of here. Otherwise, if his
identity was revealed, he would be in deep trouble. Ai Hui had
already decided that he would intentionally put up an inferior
performance later. These fellows had been tolerating him for so
long. They must be feeling very angry deep down. As such,
when he screwed up later, they would definitely heckle him.
When that moment came, he could act dejected and leave this
place earlier.

He did not really care about being embarrassed.

Who would be the first one to humiliate him later?

Ai Hui’s gaze swept to and fro across the crowd, trying to find
his target.

This guy seems shrewd, he might not want to defeat me. Oh?
How about this one? His eyes look sly and squinty, he is a good
choice...

"Actions speak louder than words. Why not everyone try for
themselves? I will give all of you a chance to challenge Mr Chu
and see his capabilities for yourself."
 Upon hearing Madam Ye’s words, everyone turned restless. A
lot of people stared at Ai Hui with vicious looks on their faces.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. The chance is here.

It was time to test his acting skills!

"Of course, this challenge can’t proceed without a reward. I

have a pair of gloves here. This pair of gloves is one of the
representative works by the late embroidery master, Han
Yuqin. It’s called Star Reaper. You must have heard of its name
before. Anyway, I shall not be so long-winded, we will just treat
this pair of gloves as the reward."

An uproar broke out among the crowd. Everyone’s eyes lit up,
feeling extremely eager to give it a try.

Ai Hui’s mind jolted and his entire body froze.

Mistress...
Chapter 349: I Will Give The Sky To You
"It’s just a trial and I don’t want all of you to destroy this old
manor of mine. Therefore, everyone will have to wear a
Suppression Bracelet. There’s no need for you to execute those
ultimate moves that exhaust a lot of elemental energy. Who is
up first?"

Madam Ye’s tone was relaxed as her gaze swept across

everyone.

Expressionless, Ai Hui stood in the arena while holding the

Snow Cherry, looking like a statue that gave off an austere aura.

Xiao Shuren’s eyes lit up.

She had a deep impression of Chu Zhaoyang. Emotionless,

decisive, calm and collected, always planning his next killing
move. Auspicious was destroyed by him. If not for him, she
definitely would not have led such an arduous life like this.

The current Chu Zhaoyang was exactly the same as the one
from her memory.
 The change in Chu Zhaoyang’s demeanour began from the
moment Madam Ye announced the reward.

Xiao Shuren thought pensively. It seemed that only practical

benefits could move Chu Zhaoyang.

Honestly speaking, she also did not expect Madam Ye to be so

generous. She actually used a rare artifact like Star Reaper as a
reward for such an ordinary competition.

Was this the might of a legitimate aristocratic family?

Xiao Shuren felt a cold shiver go down her spine.

A tall and sturdy teenager stepped out, "I will be the first one."

A delightful look appeared on Madam Ye’s face as she

encouraged that teenager, "Gui Hu, good job!"

Everyone began to cheer for that teenager.

 "Ah Hu, come on!"

"Defeat him!

"Let him have a taste of your strength!"

...

The teenager grinned as a glint of battle fervor flashed across

his eyes.

Among this group of young masters and mistresses, Gui Hu’s

family background wasn’t really impressive. However, he was
brave, aggressive, determined and resolute. He clearly
understood how important this opportunity was and he had to
make an all-out effort.

As Gui Hu spread his arms, all his muscles bulged out of his
clothes. His fingers were like iron pincers, giving off a bright
metallic lustre. Vigorous elemental energy flowed through his
blood vessels. Blub blub blub. His blood vessels sounded like a
monster swallowing its saliva. A violent and powerful aura was
emitted from his body.
 All the teenagers had their faces turned solemn as they
silently trembled in fear.

Gui Hu’s body tempering had actually reached such a high

level. His body had attained Silver Marrow Completion and was
beginning to step into Golden Blood Completion.

Copper Skin, Iron Muscles, Steel Bones, Silver Marrow,

Golden Blood.

When one attained Golden Blood Completion, it implied that

his or her level of body tempering had been maxed out.

A look of approval appeared on Madam Ye’s face as well. The

painstaking work that was needed to achieve such a high level
of body tempering would make one flinch.

Such determination was hard to come by.

"Big Chu, come on!" Xiaobao suddenly yelled.

An awkward silence swept across the arena. No one expected

Xiaobao to cheer for Chu Zhaoyang.

From the arena, Ai Hui waved to Xiaobao. He casually

brandished the Snow Cherry in his right hand, looking as if he
was stretching his joints.

Ai Hui remained expressionless. No one could tell what he was

thinking.

"This fellow is indeed motivated by only wealth," the old

woman whispered to Madam Ye with a smile on her face, "If
Madam never took out the Star Reaper as a reward, this fellow
would be thinking of ways to leave this place."

"Being avaricious is not a weakness. As long as one is wise and

just, it’s okay even if he or she is avaricious," Madam Ye laughed
involuntarily.

"Madam is right," the old woman nodded her head, "Now we

don’t need to be worried that he won’t reveal his true skills. It’s
a pity Karakorum Savant is not free, otherwise it would be
much better to let her teach these kids instead."
 "Chu Zhaoyang is no different from her," Madam Ye
continued, "Let him put up a good show for everyone."

"Yes," the old woman replied.

At this moment, Gui Hu bent his knees slightly and jumped

straight for the arena. He flew twenty metres through the air
and landed steadily in the arena. Just this move alone sent the
crowd into an uproar. Everyone could clearly see that Gui Hu’s
leap did not use any elemental energy at all. The leap depended
solely on his physical strength. This showed how powerful his
physical body was.

Viciousness was written all over Gui Hu’s face as his copper
bell-like eyes stared at Ai Hui. Just as he revealed a sinister
smile and was about to speak, Ai Hui suddenly asked, "Are you
ready?"

Gui Hu’s rhythm was disrupted and he froze. At this moment,

Ai Hui struck out.

A streak of crimson sword light gleamed suddenly before Gui

Hu.
 Apparently, Gui Hu had underestimated Ai Hui’s degree of
slyness. He could only cross his forearms and protect his face.

Unexpectedly, the sword gleam suddenly curved and pierced

towards Gui Hu’s chest.

Gui Hu’s reaction was extremely fast. With one hand

protecting his throat, he spread open the palm of his other hand
and aimed for the sword gleam with lightning speed.

His palm was brimming with elemental energy, making it

impenetrable.

He caught it!

Gui Hu was overjoyed. The strength of his palm was

terrifyingly powerful. There was once he broke an enemy’s
weapon with his bare hands. The moment he caught his
enemy’s weapon, he would gain control over the tempo of the
battle.

However, right now, he felt as if he had caught a mud fish that

was slipping out of his hand.
 A sharp and intense gush of chilliness suddenly blasted his
body. Gui Hu’s heart tightened as if it was being frozen by the
blast of chilliness.

The sword gleam was heading straight for his heart.

Gui Hu was shocked and enraged. He opened up his palm and

tried to smack the body of the sword.

It was as if Ai Hui had expected Gui Hu’s attack. The crimson

sword suddenly sprung up.

Bang!

A crisp explosion resounded through the air.

Together with his sword, Ai Hui plunged into the ground. His
Snow Cherry was stuck in the ground, looking extremely
pathetic.

"He’s not really that good!"

 "That’s right, he dares to be our teacher with that kind of
standard?"

A disapproving look appeared on many people’s faces.

Gui Hu’s body was sent flying into the air by the recoil. He
heaved a sigh of relief. The chilliness from Chu Zhaoyang’s
sword created a misperception in him that he was going to get
pierced. Fear still lingered in him.

However, that fellow must not have enjoyed his attack as well.

Gui Hu was feeling slightly pleased with himself. He lowered

his head and looked at the ground. When he saw Chu Zhaoyang
pull his sword from the ground and stretch his shoulder, he felt
even more pleased with himself.

On the ground, Ai Hui was stretching his shoulder while

looking at Gui Hu in the sky,

This boy’s strength is rather huge!

 His shoulder was sore and numb. This fellow’s strength was
terrifying. Ai Hui felt Fatty might be the only person to beat this
guy in terms of strength.

Looking in the direction that Gui Hu was falling, Ai Hui

exerted force through the balls of his feet and dashed forward.
On the way, he passed the sword to his left hand.

When Gui Hu saw Ai Hui dashing to the spot where he was

going to land, he did not panic, and just bent his legs and sucked
in his stomach.

A streak of sword gleam shot up from the ground towards

him.

Sure enough. Gui Hu sneered. The elemental energy in his

entire body began to surge. Suddenly, his bent legs straightened
abruptly and he shot down with his feet pointing downward.

The anticipated collision did not occur. He felt as if he had

landed on an elastic web. He went deeper and deeper, and
then...
 The surrounding scenery became a fleeting blur. He was being
sprung up into the air once more!

This time around, he flew even higher up than before, at least

eighty metres above the ground. From his perspective, Chu
Zhaoyang had become a tiny figure.

Gui Hu was at a loss. Around him, there was nothing but

air. A mysterious panic began to extend throughout his mind.
He had no azure wings!

Without azure wings, he lacked the ability to fly.

Actually, even if he had azure wings, they would not be of

much use. Flying had always been his shortcoming as he placed
all his attention on body tempering. He felt that his body alone
could crush and destroy everything.

However, right now, he could not find anything to hold onto

or step on in the empty sky.

Without something to hold onto, he was like a massive

weight. No matter how massive or sturdy he was, he was still a
weight that could be smashed to pieces if he landed on the
ground.

Gui Hu wasn’t stupid. He immediately knew what Chu

Zhaoyang was trying to do. His facial expression changed
drastically but he still could not think of any solution.

On the ground, Chu Zhaoyang was stretching his shoulder

once more. Clearly, the odd sword move he executed just now
was taxing to his body. This gave Gui Hu a glimpse of hope. The
higher he sprung up, the stronger the collision force would be
on the way down. How many more times could Chu Zhaoyang
catch him?

Ai Hui stretched his left arm and passed the sword to his right
hand.

When he raised his head and looked at the sky, he saw Gui Hu
had turned from panicky to calm and collected. When Gui Hu
got into the same previous position and prepared to dive down,
a grin flashed across Ai Hui’s face.

Alright, I will give you the sky.

 Without any hesitation, he appeared directly below Gui Hu.

Just like before, a similar sword gleam appeared. Gui Hu

channelled all his elemental energy as he bombarded the sword
gleam.

And just like before, he felt as if he had landed on a solid but

elastic net. Once again, the net sprung him up into the sky. This
time around, he flew up even higher.

Gui Hu continued to bombard Ai Hui.

Ai Hui continued to spring Gui Hu up into the sky.

After a few rounds, Gui Hu, who was being sprung up into the
sky, still wanted to continue. Suddenly, Chu Zhaoyang yelled
from below, "Hey, I am not catching you this time around."

Can’t hold on anymore? You’re dead. Gui Hu sneered in his

heart.

His body continued to ascend through the air. When he

looked back at the ground, Chu Zhaoyang had become a small
black dot.

Ai Hui stepped far away from the spot that Gui Hu was going
to land on.

Eh? Why was he so far away from the ground?

More than two hundred metres above the ground...

Gui Hu suddenly realized what was going on and his face

turned deathly pale. More than two hundred metres above the
ground!

Even if his body tempering had attained the level of Silver

Marrow Completion and his body was comparable to that of a
dire beast, he would still be smashed to smithereens when
falling from two hundred metres above the ground.

The more frightening thing was that the scenery on the

ground was expanding rapidly in his vision as he fell towards
the ground...
 He had never come so close to death before.

"Ahhhhhhh….."

A blood-curdling scream resounded through the air.

A figure flew across the air out of nowhere and caught the
falling Gui Hu. To Ai Hui’s surprise, it was the figure that had
directed him to his living quarters.

Not bad.

Ai Hui cast a glance at the servant. In his eyes, the Ye

Residence had become increasingly inscrutable. A random
servant already possessed such a large amount of strength. Was
this the might of a true aristocratic family?

The onlookers were dumbstruck. A lot of people had yet to

know what was going on,

However, when they saw the gaze of Ai Hui, their faces turned
solemn. Everyone who faced Gui Hu before knew that it was
impossible to defeat him so easily.

When the servant landed on the ground, one could see the
deathly pale face of Gui Hu. He had yet to recover from the fear
of encountering death.

Clap, clap, clap!

Applause could be heard. It was Madam Ye. With her face

brimming with admiration, she stood up and clapped loudly,
"Marvellous! Outstanding! Not only does Mr Chu have amazing
swordsmanship, your strategy is exceptionally unique as well!
Ingenious!"

Xiaobao was at a loss. However, when he saw his mother start

clapping, he clapped with enthusiasm as well.

Xiao Shuren had seen Chu Zhaoyang’s fighting methods

before. However, when she saw them once more this time
around, she was still filled with astonishment.

Following which, Madam Ye turned her head around and

encouraged the pale Gui Hu, "Ah Hu, don’t be too discouraged.
Losing to Mr Chu today is a good thing for you. Isn’t losing to
him better than losing to your enemies in a real battlefield?
You’re so young and yet you have developed your body
tempering to such a refined level, you will definitely have a
limitless future."

"Thank you Madam for the pointers!" Gui Hu returned to his

senses and thanked Madam Ye.

"Drink some tea, have a rest and take a look at other people’s
performances. Who is up next?

"Me!"

A cold and calm voice rang across the air. A pretty and petite
figure appeared on the arena. It was Su Huaijun!

Ai Hui had a slight headache.

Chapter 350: What Tier?
Su Huaijun held a jade bamboo stick in her hand. The verdant
bamboo stick seemed to be made of jasper. The few pieces of
verdant and glistening leaves on it swayed lightly, looking as if
they had just fallen off a bamboo tree.

Sanmu Su Family.

Ai Hui did not know much about the Sanmu Su Family. All he
knew was that this family was a well-known family in Jadeite
Forest in the past. Eventually, they left Jadeite Forest and
stayed in the Avalon of Five Elements.

From the restraining fear Sha Wuyuan had for Su Huaijun

previously, he could tell that Sanmu Su Family was rather
powerful.

There were too many aristocratic families in the Avalon of

Five Elements. Unless he personally knew members from a
particular aristocratic family, like how he knew Duanmu
Huanghun and Shi Xueman, he would definitely not know the
social status of that family.
 After spending three years with Su Qingye, Ai Hui knew his
character very well. To Ai Hui, a person’s character mattered
the most. As for a person’s family background, he did not really
care.

Ai Hui had heard from Su Qingye that his aunt was very
powerful.

He certainly did not expect he would face her one day.

Standing opposite him, Su Huaijun had a solemn look on her

face. After watching Chu Zhaoyang’s previous performance, she
did not dare to underestimate him.

"Mr Chu, your guidance will be appreciated," Su Huaijun said

with a deep voice.

Ai Hui brandished the Snow Cherry in his hand as his brain

went to work. Su Huaijun and Fu family’s oldest daughter had
seen the real Ai Hui in action before. To prevent them from
finding out his true identity, he could not use the same sword
moves that he’d used in the past.
 He was somewhat glad that he had just read Chief’s sword
encyclopedia and learnt a lot from it.

Ai Hui was slightly excited. He had not officially sorted out

the insights he gained and most of them were still scattered and
fragmentary. With such an excellent sparring partner now, it
was an extremely rare chance for him to do it now!

Which move should he use?

"Give me a moment," Ai Hui said subconsciously.

Su Huaijun was stunned. This was the first time she’d

encountered such a situation. Did her opponent just ask her to
wait in the middle of a competition?

All the onlookers went in an uproar.

"Ha, he dares to ask for a moment?"

"Don’t tell me he wants to use the toilet! Hahahaha, that’s a

lousy excuse!"
 "If you’re afraid, just admit defeat! Stop wasting everybody’s
time!"

"Maybe he has some crafty plots!"

...

In the arena, Su Huaijun felt slightly embarrassed. Wasn’t it

embarrassing to challenge someone like this? Since young, she
had been through a lot of competitions and she had never been
so embarrassed like this before.

Ai Hui, who had been in deep thought, suddenly had his eyes
light up. He had thought of a good move to use. Then, he raised
his head and told Su Huaijun, "I’m ready."

Ready...

Su Huaijun nodded her head with a blank look on her face,

"Mr Chu, your guidance will be appreciated."

"Here I come," Ai Hui boasted shamelessly. However, he did

not move forward and stood at his original spot. Following
which, he flicked the Snow Cherry in his hand.

The air around the pinkish tip of Snow Cherry suddenly

became distorted. The sword tip looked as if it was emitting
energy ripples. Suddenly, six palm-sized crescent moons shot
out from the energy ripples.

[Six Moons]!

Ai Hui’s newly developed move.

Su Huaijun’s eyes shrunk as all her distracting thoughts

disappeared.

The commotion from the onlookers had completely

disappeared as well. Everyone widened their eyes and looked at
the six dancing sword gleams. Even though the sword gleams
were only palm-sized, their razor-sharp aura was able to engulf
the entire arena. They were fast and nimble, resembling six
flying bats. They flew so fast through the air that one could only
see their afterimages.
 What kind of swordsmanship was this?

Before the onlookers could resolve their doubts, Su Huaijun

had already sensed the danger that was approaching and she
began to move.

A glint flashed across Su Huaijun’s eyes and she pointed her

jade bamboo stick towards Ai Hui.

A burst of green light erupted from the jade bamboo stick and
exploded in the air. The burst of green light transformed into a
green-colored glowing net that suddenly appeared on top of Ai
Hui.

The faint green glow from the net was in perpetual motion,
dancing and flowing. The area it covered was extremely huge.

All the onlookers bolted upright. They did not expect Su

Huaijun to start off with an ultimate move. [Inescapable Net]
was one of Sanmu Su Family’s ultimate moves. The threads that
made up the green net were as thin and fine as hairs, making
the net look as if it would break any moment. In reality, they
were impenetrable by swords or spears. No matter how hard
one tried to escape from it, he would still be a trapped fly.
 Chu Zhaoyang raised his head and looked at the glowing net
that was floating down slowly. He looked as if he was
dumbfounded at the sight of the glowing net, remaining
motionless.

The slow-moving speed of the green glowing net was just an

illusion.

Those who had sharp eyes had already noticed that a few
strands of green glow from the net were already embedded in
the ground.

Chu Zhaoyang was finished.

This thought flashed across everyone’s minds. Once

[Inescapable Net] embedded its roots in the ground, no one
could break from it.

The glowing net started to expand and become thicker. In the

blink of an eye, the glowing net looked as if it was made up of
thick and solid vines. Surprisingly, pieces of verdant bamboo
leaves began to grow on the glowing net.
 Chu Zhaoyang stared blankly at the sky above his head.

Disdain and disappointment appeared on the faces of the

onlookers one by one. This competition had already ended. Chu
Zhaoyang had admitted defeat.

Every bamboo leaf was like a single razor blade. When the
bamboo leaves started to fall, a great danger descended upon
Chu Zhaoyang. If this was a real fight, the trapped Chu
Zhaoyang would be sliced to smithereens.

The countless bamboo leaves gave rise to countless killing

intents.

A disappointed look appeared on Su Huaijun’s face as well.

Previously, after she saw how Chu Zhaoyang defeated Gui Hu,
she still thought that he was rather powerful. That was why she
decided to challenge him. However, she did not expect him to
stay motionless and fail to put up any resistance. A competition
like this was far too boring.

Suddenly, Chu Zhaoyang’s murmurs rang across her ears. She

was stunned.
 "Which tier should I start from?"

"Forget it, I will start from the first tier. Save time and
brainpower."

Tier? What tier? Su Huaijun’s mind was filled with doubt. She
widened her eyes and looked at the trapped Chi Zhaoyang.
Could it be that… he had some countermoves?

Such a pity, it’s too late for any countermoves!

She felt pity for Chu Zhaoyang in silence. Once the

[Inescapable Net] embedded its roots in the ground, anyone who
was trapped inside the net had practically zero chance of
breaking out of it.

Chu Zhaoyang continued to mumble to himself. He did not

look at Su Huaijun and brandished his sword by himself.

"Thirty-six plum blossoms are easier to count but I don’t have

thirty-six now. I only have six now, maybe I can make a
simplified version."
 The six sword gleams swirling around Chu Zhaoyang
suddenly began to spin faster. Swoosh swoosh swoosh.
Deafening sonic booms resounded through the air. The six
sword gleams intertwined together in the air. Woosh. The
bamboo leaves that were falling towards Chu Zhaoyang were
grinded to smithereens by the six sword gleams.

Su Huaijun’s eyes lit up. She could sense an unpredictable

killing intent coming from the intertwining sword gleams.

Interesting!

The onlookers broke into discussion as well.

"What kind of swordsmanship is that?"

"I’m not sure."

"It’s too late."

"That’s true!"
 ...

Indeed, the six sword gleams swirling around Chu Zhaoyang

were gradually suppressed by the falling bamboo leaves.

At this moment, Su Huaijun heard Chu Zhaoyang murmuring

again.

"It’s not powerful enough. Seems like I got to move it up to

the second tier."

Second tier?

The doubt in Su Huaijun became stronger. This time around,

she was sure that she hadn’t wrongly heard his words. What
exactly is second tier?

The six sword gleams suddenly transformed. Zoom.

Intertwining wind and flames were swirling around Chu
Zhaoyang now, appearing brilliant and powerful. Every sword
gleam was accompanied by intertwining wind and flames. They
were moving extremely fast and giving off scorching heat.
 Numerous bamboo leaves burst into flames with a loud
rumble.

The [Inescapable Net] was being stimulated. This time

around, not only bamboo leaves grew out of it, but there were
bamboo branches growing out of it as well.

Deafening sonic booms rang across the air. The bamboo

branches were like arrows, piercing through the protective
screen of wind and flames in an instant.

"Eh? It still can be transformed? The third tier!"

Su Huaijun felt that she was going to go crazy soon. Third

tier… what exactly is third tier?

None of the onlookers were talking now. Even though they

could hear Chu Zhaoyang’s murmurs, they could see the
successive changes of his sword moves. They noticed the
current situation was far from what they had expected it to be.

Chu Zhaoyang seemed like...he had the power of resistance.

 But it might just be his final struggle.

The onlookers quickly came to this conclusion. After all, this

was the [Inescapable Net]. Even if Gui Hu was the one that was
trapped in it, he would not be able to break out of it.

When Chu Zhaoyang completely depleted his elemental

energy, he would become a slave to the [Inescapable Net] like a
physically exhausted wild animal.

However, Ai Hui was actually immersing himself in the

pleasure of simulating sword formations.

The sword formations that he had destroyed previously were

extremely exquisite. The feelings of simulating sword
formations and destroying sword formations were completely
different. A sword formation could be destroyed just by
identifying its loopholes and weaknesses. However, to simulate
a sword formation, one needed to have a deep understanding
towards swordsmanship and sword formation.

"Okay, there’s something wrong with this area. Alright, I have

to increase its power."
 "I get it now, there’s something else in this area."

...

Ai Hui, who was lost in his own world, continued to mumble

to himself. The number of crescent moons he had now could not
be compared to the number of grass swords used in the sword
formation. As such, it was not an easy task to simulate the
sword formation. If not for those few detailed descriptions and
explanations on sword formations in Karakorum Savant’s
swordplay encyclopedia, Ai Hui would not have had such a deep
understanding of sword formations.

Because of the quantity issue, there were a lot of limitations in

using just six crescent moons to simulate a sword formation.
However, the six crescent moons were sword gleams and they
were naturally more powerful than grass swords. New insights
made Ai Hui’s eyes lit up.

The powerful and ever-changing [Inescapable net] forced Ai

Hui to speed up his thinking process. He was racking his brain
on how to increase the power of his sword formation.

A dead silence swept across the onlookers. Everyone was

staring in shock at the arena. They no longer had the thought
that Chu Zhaoyang would face an imminent defeat.

During the previous sword formation, Chu Zhaoyang had

displayed how swordsmanship could be used in a battlefield.

Everyone felt as if they were in a battlefield. They could see

corpses and blood everywhere. Thousands of men and horses
were fighting and colliding against each other. A feeling of
devastation engulfed them.

Even though they were young masters and mistresses from

prestigious families, most of them had seen blood before.
However, they had never seen such devastating and desperate
swordsmanship before.

Chu Zhaoyang, who was trapped in the [Inescapable Net], was

like a valiant general that was fighting with his life, bold and
powerful.

Chu Zhaoyang suddenly stopped what he was doing.

"It’s still not working... That means I have to move it up to the

fourth tier!"

Su Huaijun had already become numb at this point of time.

Fourth tier… what was he doing?

The fourth tier was the [Big Dipper Sword Formation]. This
was also the sword formation that Ai Hui had the most
understanding of. However, he only had six crescent moons.
[Big Dipper] needed a total of seven entities to work.

Suddenly, Ai hui hit upon an inspiration. He could count

himself as one entity and there would be seven entities in total.

The [Big Dipper Sword Formation] was being channelled

noiselessly. Ai Hui stood in the centre of the formation with his
eyes flickering.

The [Big Dipper Sword Formation] gave him a completely

different feeling. For the previous three sword formations, he
could clearly sense their tardiness and see their loopholes.
 He could infuse some of the marvellous ideas from these three
formations into his own swordplay but he could not completely
simulate them.

However, Ai Hui could feel that [Big Dipper Sword Formation]

was not a sword formation, but rather, a sword move!

That’s right!

The six sword gleams flew rapidly through the air. Ai Hui,
who was standing in the middle of the formation, emitted a
glow from his eyes.

No matter how the sword gleams danced and flew, the aura of
[Big Dipper] continued to exist.

Very soon, Ai Hui could see the marvel of this move.

It was as if the Big Dipper, in the depths of space, had shot out
a streak of starlight. A faint lingering aura of death spiralled
around the streak of starlight, cold and awe-inspiring.
 The trembling Su Huaijun was overwhelmed with horror. She
immediately made a hasty retreat!

Her [Inescapable Net] collapsed with a loud bang. An intense

sword gleam engulfed the entire arena like a flash flood.

Everything that stood thirty metres within Ai Hui was

completely obliterated to a fine powder.

Not a single voice could be heard.

Chapter 351: Sincerity
"I concede defeat," Su Huaijun announced straightforwardly,
breaking the silence.

Ai Hui recovered his senses and smacked his lips, as if wanting

to continue. He had been engrossed in the battle and many ideas
were still running through his mind, so it was simply too
dissatisfying to end it now.

Without giving Su Huaijun another look, he scanned across

the floor and asked urgently, "Who else? Hurry!"

Those who made eye contact with Chu Zhaoyang only felt
their hearts tremble as they instinctively tilted their heads
down. Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze was like a sharp, electric sword that
pierced deep into their hearts, giving them the illusion that a
hole had been drilled within them.

A word surfaced in everyone’s minds: Unstoppable!

Fully inspired, Ai Hui’s eyes were about to explode. He was

stuck at a crucial point and becoming anxious.
 "What? Is there nobody with any guts at all? Are all of you
scared?" Ai Hui rambled impatiently.

What disappointed him greatly was the silence that followed.

He did not realize that the more arrogant he sounded, the more
the crowd felt that he had strong confidence and unfathomable
powers. Sanmu Su family’s [Inescapable Net] was not the
strongest skill and also was not flawless. There was a decisive
opening if one was able to utilize the interval just before the net
deployed..

Shattering the inescapable net into pieces after it had

deployed and trapped its target was unheard of.

The spectators believed that they did not have such

capabilities.

Chu Zhaoyang’s strange sword techniques really opened their

eyes and even excited them.

Could this be the real abilities of a swordsman?

Su Huaijun realized that she had been disregarded and felt

displeased, but at the same time, she embraced her defeat. She
was just about to ask what exactly Chu Zhaoyang meant by the
number of tiers when she heard his shady, malicious voice.

"Since you guys are not coming to me, I’ll come to you guys."

Su Huaijun’s face froze.

Chu Zhaoyang soared with his long sword. Like a tiger

pouncing on a flock of sheep, he broke his way into the crowd
with an evil grin.

She was dumbstruck and flabbergasted.

"Ow, stop hitting, Teacher! Stop!"

"You’re unmatched. Respect!"

...

Xiao Shuren was in shock too. She had seen countless of

matches, but none were as preposterous as the spectacle before
her eyes.

Just as the old woman beside Madam Ye was about to make a

move, Madam Ye smiled and said, "You need not stop him."

Ai Hui became angrier the more he fought. There had been

contenders who retaliated initially, but none resisted now. They
either slipped away or merely howled in grief upon getting
attacked. The girls looked at him with teary eyes, as if offering
themselves to him willingly.

Was there any fellow who was not a troublemaker?

With his body built like an iron tower, Gui Hu wrapped his
head with his hands and crouched down on the ground like a
squirrel.

Looking at Chu Zhaoyang’s death god-like appearance and

sensing his murderous spirit through his piercing gaze, the
people were scared witless. If Teacher forgot to hold back and
chopped them into pieces, would they not be the ultimate
losers?
 Ai Hui firmly held onto the sword hilt, his stomach full of ire.

Just a little more…

He felt the inspiration in his mind disappear by more than

half. Inspiration did not emerge that often, and as he calmed
down, it meant that his active thoughts regained their calm.

In everyone’s eyes, Teacher Chu’s expression softened, and

the terrifying aura surrounding his body gradually disappeared
as well.

They collectively heaved a sigh of relief as the respect and

admiration in their gazes grew stronger. Since the beginning of
the Avalon of Five Elements, those with abilities were respected
and had the greatest clout. They used to doubt Chu Zhaoyang’s
skills, but now that they had seen for themselves, there was no
longer any suspicion.

Calm down… calm down…

Ai Hui exhaled a deep breath as he restrained his urge to spar

with the old lady beside Madam Ye. That woman’s abilities were
simply unfathomable.

His life was more important!

Ai Hui reverted to his usual self, sheathed his long sword, and
walked toward Madam Ye.

The old lady beside Madam Ye appeared vigilant. Chu

Zhaoyang’s earlier performance had already made him a
threatening target in her eyes.

Amid the old lady’s cautious gaze, Ai Hui took large strides
and stopped in front of the tea table that was beside her. He held
the teapot to his mouth and gulped the tea straight down
without a word.

No one mocked his boorishness and poor etiquette.

The noble sons and daughters sincerely stood on either side.

Clap, clap, clap. Madam Ye applauded once again. "Mister

Chu’s performance was really amazing and an eye-opener. It is
your good fortune to be able to learn from Teacher Chu. I hope
you guys will put in the effort and not waste such a good
opportunity."

The youths called out in unison, "Yes, Madam!"

Madam Ye nodded her head in satisfaction. "Teacher Chu, I’ll

leave them to you. Please give the housekeeper the names of
those who try to goof off or resort to tricks."

The students trembled in fear.

They clearly knew that Madam’s words were directed at

them.

Ai Hui bowed slightly. "All right, Madam."

The students were startled. Teacher’s temper was not too

good either. If he did give their names to the housekeeper, they
would completely lose their qualifications.

Madam Ye smiled sweet-temperedly. "Thank you for your

trouble, Teacher Chu."

She then turned to face Xiao Shuren, stopped smiling, and

said, "It’s peaceful, quiet, and also the safest place here. Feel free
to move about within the compound, but please avoid leaving to
prevent unnecessary misunderstandings."

Xiao Shuren responded respectfully, "I will never forget your

kindness for providing me shelter. Please do not worry, Madam.
I will not take a step beyond this property."

Madam Ye looked pleased. "That’s good. Do not worry, you

will naturally regain your freedom when the storm passes. Just
be patient."

Xiao Shuren bowed. "I understand. Thank you Madam."

Madam Ye bade her goodbye and left with Xiaobao.

Ai Hui looked at Xiao Shuren.

Xiao Shuren combed her fringe and remarked tartly, "Long

time no see, Mister Chu."

Ai Hui looked at her and could not help but feel sorrowful. "I
did not expect to meet you here, Madam."

The ancient treasure became such a hot topic that Ai Hui had
even heard about the Great Wei Enterprise’s pitiful state. How
could one not sigh over the fact that Xiao Shuren, who recently
had a retinue following her around, was now reduced to this
solitary, prisoner-like state?

Xiao Shuren could tell that Chu Zhaoyang sympathized with

her and felt regretful. While she felt as though her heart was
being pricked, she kept a straight face and bowed deeply. "Please
accept my bow as an apology for causing you trouble and
offending you."

Ai Hui did not dodge, accepting her apology instead. "I accept
it, so let’s forget about past grievances. The road in front is
going to be difficult. Please take good care of yourself, Madam."

Xiao Shuren met Ai Hui’s gaze and could feel the sincerity
within him. Her nose ached as tears almost flowed out.
 He did not make things difficult for her or mock her downfall,
but chose to leave the past behind and proved that he had an
open heart. She felt extremely regretful for the way she had set
him up.

If the Great Wei Enterprise was still around, Ai Hui would

definitely exact revenge and would not show the least bit of
mercy, be it on the lone Madam Xiao or the Madam Xiao who
had a retinue.

To take revenge on Xiao Shuren now was totally meaningless.

As they say, a man of character knew what to do and what not

to do!

He diverted his gaze toward the people standing respectfully

before him and sternly said, "Madam places high hopes on you
guys, so I hope you all will do your best to become outstanding
swordsmen and not disappoint her."

Everyone answered together, "Yes!"

The servants standing around nodded their heads in

agreement as their gazes toward Ai Hui became much friendlier.
Speaking on Madam’s behalf,Ai Hui really seemed to know how
to behave.

Xiao Shuren’s gaze flickered as she thought about certain

matters.

With a solemn expression on his face, Au Hui continued, "So

how can you perfect your swordplay? As the saying goes: to do
well, one has to sharpen his tools first. To become an
outstanding swordsman, you will have to choose a suitable and
good sword! With the decline in swordsmanship, however, a
good sword can be difficult to find. As your teacher, I can’t bear
to see you guys empty-handed, so I can only resign myself to
part with this treasure and hope for a brighter future for you."

The servants were stupefied.

The noble sons and daughters too.

"This sword, Snow Cherry, is two feet and seven inches long,
weighs seven kilograms, and was made by a famous craftsman!
It has a crimson sword body, and like cherry blossoms falling
onto the snow, it is beyond beautiful. Using it to practice will
produce twice the results with half the effort. Plus, it belonged
to the first ever master swordsman in the history of the Avalon,
the Savant from Karakorum.. The Karakorum Savant and I
discussed sword theories and enjoyed our time so much that she
gifted me this sword."

"As a teacher, it is my job to educate and clear your doubts!

What is this sword when compared to your future? Of course,
treasures should not be given out easily. This godly weapon will
land in the hands of the most sincere. Its base price is 300
Heaven Merit Points or the equivalent in essence elemental
beans. Bartering is allowed. Absolute arts, treasures, and
Heaven grade weapons are also accepted!"

Dead silence filled the courtyard.

The noble sons and daughters stood frozen.

Calmly, a bone-chilling voice rang in the audience's ears.

"Sincerity is the most important trait when learning sword

skills from me. Only when there’s sincerity within the heart can
there be sincerity within the sword! What skills are you going to
learn without sincerity? What future are you going to have? Go
home instead!"

Future… go home…

Everyone quivered. These words jolted them to their senses.

Although they did not understand why Madam Ye wanted

them to master the sword, they must learn it since that was
what she demanded! They would lose their qualifications if they
left this place and their future would be completely bleak.

Those with more agile minds were even guessing if this was
Teacher Chu or Madam Ye’s idea. Or perhaps this was Madam’s
test for them?

Yes! It must be Madam’s test!

Gui Hu said in a low voice, "Teacher, I’m the most sincere! 300
Heaven Merit Points! Please hand the godly weapon to me!"

Which one of these people had not grown up in an

environment full of trickery and corruption?
 Who would be that naive?

"Thinking about getting this authentic heirloom weapon for

300 points? What do you treat Teacher as? Teacher, I’m more
sincere. 400 Heaven Merit Points!"

"Is this what you guys call sincerity? I can’t look at this any
longer. Teacher, I’m willing to take out a Heaven grade armor!"

...

Xiao Shuren stared blankly at the strange sight before her.

Chapter 352: Madam Ye’s Background
"What does she mean? What is she trying to say? Despicable!"

A sharp, hysterical voice traveled from the Golden Eagle Study

Room as the servants stood outside quietly in fear. From what
they remembered, they had never seen Madam lose control.

Inside the study room, Madam Ling’s face was beet red, her
long hair spread out like angry water plants, and her chest
heaved.

She glared at her own husband with a vicious gaze, as if

looking at a mortal enemy.

Ling Sheng quivered and tilted his head subconsciously to

avoid eye contact.

Madam Ling gradually stopped panting as her anger faded.

She regained her usual composed and virtuous self. She held the
teacup up gently, placed it by her mouth, and pursed her lips,
revealing their plumpness and fresh red color.
 "Finally, Ye Lin no longer wants to be alone." Ling Sheng
laughed grimly.

Ling Sheng hesitated for a moment before asking, "But why?

Is Widow Ye relying on Dai Gang? Or the Blood of God?
Impossible. Could it be that she’s interested in the ancient
treasure? Xiao Shuren entering the Ye residence means that she
will be attacked from all sides. Widow Ye isn’t such a brainless
person."

"You’re not wrong." Madam Ling nodded. She knew very well
that her long time rival was not an easy target and said coldly,
"If she was interested in the ancient treasure, she would’ve
launched a sneak attack instead of creating such a huge
commotion. Where did she get her confidence from?"

Ling Sheng cried out in alarm, "Could it be the Great Elder?"

Madam Ling’s faced changed, and as they made eye contact,

both could see the shock in each other’s eyes.

They were already convinced that this matter was incited and
instructed by the Great Elder or there was no way Ye Lin would
be so flamboyant about it.
 If this was true, what message was the Great Elder trying to
convey?

Both were smart people who quickly grasped the significance

within, and their expressions worsened.

…..

Grass Hall, seventh floor.

Ai Hui diligently thumbed through note after note. While he

was still unable to find the notebook the old man was talking
about, he had gained a lot.

In fear of missing something, he chose to flip through the

books one by one.

All kinds of strange notes and bizarre personal letters

expanded his horizons, and he often read them with keen
interest and pleasure.

For example, he saw many kinds of travel notes written by

seniors who had stayed many years in the Wilderness to seek
their fortunes. Some spent more than 10 years going to the
deepest part of the Wilderness and even found antique relics.
These relics were very similar in composition to those from the
Avalon of Five Elements, so these seniors made a bold guess that
the Avalon had its origins in this place.

There were all sorts of similar speculations, which made Ai

Hui feel that the seniors from the Assembly of Patriarchs were
not as reliable in the past.

Of course, these were just interesting topics to talk about.

Ai Hui also saw some notes regarding fusion elemental energy.

These notes recorded some initial thoughts on it as well as all
sorts of conjectures. He could tell that fusion elemental energy
definitely was not studied by one person, but by many
researchers. Only through a significantly long period of
analyzing had fusion elemental energy become what it was
known as today.

The more Ai Hui thought about it, the more apprehensive he

became toward the Assembly of Patriarchs. They were not as
simple as he had thought.
 The words on the notes he was holding started becoming
blurry. Ai Hui knew that his fusion elemental energy was nearly
exhausted. Although he wanted to continue reading, he had no
choice but to exit the Grass Hall.

The scene before him vanished in a puff of smoke, while the

green and the tender Patriarch grass sprouted up, full of vitality.

Still not enough fusion elemental energy, Ai Hui thought as he

shook his head and walked out of the room.

The sun shone brightly outside. Ai Hui squinted his eyes and
saw a group of people practicing hard in the training grounds.

A few fellows with sharp eyes immediately adopted a more

focused look during training upon seeing Teacher Chu’s
appearance.

They had never seen a teacher like him.

Teacher was strong, irritable, and wild, especially when he

charged toward them during the match. If he was merely this,
he would just be a weedy man. Such weedy people were all
cannon fodder, fated to die by the hands of others.

Yet, Teacher Chu absolutely was not a weedy person. He was

completely despicable and treacherous, seeking and prioritizing
nothing but personal profit.

Among the students, even the stingiest fellow had already

spent over a hundred heaven merit points on Teacher Chu.
Teacher Chu charged fees for all kinds of made up things like
"sincerity." Just hearing this word made everyone ache.

Ever since the collapse of the Avalon’s currency, it had quickly

been replaced by essence elemental beans. Other than that, the
deal allowing Heaven Merit Points to be used instantly turned it
into the highest-end currency, causing a rapid circulation.

As the highest-end currency, its value was extremely high.

Most of the students had never spent so many Heaven Merit

Points, so the ache they felt was beyond piercing.

What angered them more was the fact that Teacher Chu was
incomparably lazy. He often arranged a big bunch of training
content and made them self-practice while he, himself, would
go back to his room to sleep.

He even encouraged them to snitch on anyone that goofed off.

Such a contemptible and crafty trick was as disgusting as the
fake smile on his face.

Ai Hui was strolling leisurely along the sides of the training

arena. He felt that the life he was leading now was really good.

With only two days of effort, he had already received 1,400

Heaven Merit Points, an amount that would cause many to be
envious. Plus, he could be idle and did not need to watch them
all day long. Such good days were simply too comfortable.

These rich and hardworking students were the best!

As he scanned across the training ground, his gaze finally

landed on Xiaobao.

Xiaobao surprised him the most. He had wisdom like that of a

child, but was gifted and matchless in swordsmanship. He was
naturally very sensitive to swords, and the level of his
swordplay was already rather solid.

Only after asking Xiaobao did Ai Hui find out that he had been
taught by a lady. Despite Ai Hui’s continuous questioning,
Xiaobao was not able to share her name. Ai Hui guessed she was
the Karakorum Sword League’s chief. It seemed that Chief was
related to Madam Ye, so she probably visited frequently. It
would not be a surprise, then, that she imparted skills to
Xiaobao.

Ai Hui spent the most effort guiding Xiaobao.

Xiaobao had the heart of a young child and was kind and
naive, traits that Ai Hui liked the most.

Ai Hui glanced across the field and his gaze landed on the "Fu"
family’s oldest daughter. No, "Fu" was a false surname. Her real
surname was Fu(note: written differently in chinese), Fu Sisi.

Fu Sisi was the complete opposite of Xiaobao when it came to

talent. Her talent in swordplay was incomparably lacking.
While she was exceptionally diligent, she improved the slowest
among all students.
 Previously, Ai Hui was worried that Fu Sisi would be able to
recognize him, but now, he realized that he had been worrying
pointlessly, so he laid his worried heart to rest.

He had heard some rumors about Fu Sisi these past two days.

The Fu family’s position was way above the aristocratic

families that other students came from. No one could compare.
She was always the most eye-catching person around and
always attracted the most discussion.

Sanmu Su Family, where Su Huaijun was from, was either

declining daily or simply not as good it used to be. To her
family, the opportunity to participate in the Master’s Glory
program was extremely precious.

Madam Ye’s capabilities shocked Ai Hui. Of course, he knew

about the Master’s Glory program. It was Elders Guild’s most
spirit-raising project.

He had not expected Madam Ye to control an admission slot in

Master’s Glory. More than one it seemed.
 With the Fu family’s standing, receiving an entry slot was like
hammering a nail into an iron panel, but their entry was for Fu
Yonghao, Ai Hui’s former student, not Fu Sisi. A marriage had
been arranged for Fu Sisi, and it was rumored that she was
unwilling, so the Master’s Glory became her only chance to
escape.

Even those superior to the Fu family would not be able to

overlook the existence of a master. In other words, a master’s
worth far exceeded the value that Fu Sisi’s arranged marriage
would bring.

Such a pitiful girl.

Ai Hui looked at her sympathetically before turning his head.

Just then, there was a disturbance among the diligently

training noble sons and daughters.

"Great Elder!"

"It’s the Great Elder!"

 ...

Suppressed cries could be heard since they were too excited.

They had not expected to see the Great Elder in the Ye
residence. It gave them full confidence in this training session.

Ai Hui was stunned. He shifted his gaze and saw Madam Ye

standing beside an old man with snow-white hair and a stern
face. He was surrounded and well-protected by guards.

This was the Great Elder? The Great Elder of the Avalon of
Five Elements?

Ai Hui had speculated a lot about Madam Ye’s background,

but being related to the Great Elder was simply beyond his
imagination!

Who had the most authority in the Avalon? The Great Elder!

The Great Elder was no mere Elder. He became a Master at the

age of 28 and was regarded as one of the candidates who had the
highest chance of becoming a grandmaster. He then joined the
Elders Guild and was the only Elder who never assumed a
commanding role. When he turned 40, he started wielding
power and became the head of the Elders Guild. Ever since then,
his position had never been threatened.

Since all of his heart was placed on government affairs, he had

yet to enter a higher realm. His senior, on the other hand,
fulfilled his long-cherished wish by becoming a Grandmaster
during the Great Elder’s second year of leading the guild.

This senior was one of the strongest grandmasters around, An

Muda.

The Great Elder had the most power in all of the Avalon of
Five Elements, period.

"Grandfather!"

Upon seeing the old man from afar, Xiaobao shouted

cheerfully before dashing over.

Ai Hui jolted. He finally understood why these youngsters

would come over here to join in the training.
 It was not the Great Elder’s first time in the Ye residence, so
he was very familiar with this place.

Feeling the bright and beautiful sunlight, he was in a good

mood. He strolled along while saying in a warm voice, "It’s been
hard on you to ask you to step in personally."

"Don’t say that." Madam Ye responded respectfully yet

amiably, "It’s no trouble. Having everyone over here in
harmony is a good thing too."

The old man nodded. "It’d be great if they’re as far-sighted as

you. Heh heh, I’m not dead yet, but they already can’t wait to
collude with Dai Gang. If it’d been five years back…"

There was a murderous tone in his voice.

Madam Ye quickly soothed the situation. "Why bother with

people like them?"

"Yeah, there’s no way." Great Elder sighed. "I’m old, the

Avalon can no longer rise, and this is it. Don’t count on them.
They have no minds of their own. We will still have to rely on
the young generation so guide them and don’t hold back."

His gaze fell on the youngsters.

"Grandfather!"

When he saw Xiaobao, who was covered in sweat, running

over, his stern gaze immediately softened and turned friendly.
"Slow down, slow down. What are you running so fast for?"
Chapter 353: The Ye Residence’s Origin
There was a nameless valley 90 miles south of Silver City.
Since it was far from the main road, human’s footprints were
rare and vegetation was very lush. The whole valley was rather
hidden.

Xiao Laosan’s triangular eyes lacked their usual vitality. Not

only him, but the people around him, who were swaying
unsteadily from side to side, all felt dispirited and listless.

Since Chi Zun’s death, the Yellow Sand Bandits had really
become became a sheet of loose sand.

They ran away from Little Night Town for several nights ago
and sought shelter in this obscure valley, but there was a huge
divergence in opinions as to what they were going to do next.

Some hoped to take revenge, some hoped to rally the gang,

while others thought it was better to run as far away as possible.

No one could convince anyone else.

 The Yellow Sand Bandits rose from being a bunch of nobodies
to a group of impressive, dauntless bandits all thanks to Chi
Zun.

Everyone wholeheartedly accepted that Boss Chi was the most

prestigious person in the Yellow Sand Bandits. His death meant
that the pillar of the crew was no longer around. As no one else
was up to his standard when it came to leading the team, the
whole situation became chaotic, with some fiery-tempered
fellows almost resorting to their fists.

Everyone was at a loss and feared for their future.

"Loose sand indeed."

A charming, languid voice sounded from the mouth of the

valley without warning.

"Who?" Xiao Laosan lurched as he asked in a stern voice.

The rest stood up in unison and looked maliciously toward the

mouth of the valley.
 A graceful, lovely silhouette stood at the valley entrance. This
lady had an ordinary appearance, but an extremely sensual
figure, and her fluttering red dress attracted a lot of fanciful
imagination.

The lady smiled sweetly. "Your new boss."

A few strong men instantly burst into laughter. Harboring evil

designs, they closed in on her with lascivious looks.

"Little girl, accompany me well and you can be the boss."

"Boss, better be good in bed eh."

...

Xiao Laosan’s pupils shrank. While inwardly cursing their

idiocy, he took steps backward without a word instead of
advancing.

Coming over alone and facing a bunch of tigers and wolves,

this lady was composed and not the least bit afraid. She was
certainly not someone to provoke.

The lady advanced with a sinister smile.

A short moment later, everyone was staggering and howling

in grief. Only the woman in red stood steadily among them.

"From now on, I’m your new boss, Fairy Chi."

…..

Ai Hui led his life comfortably in the Ye residence. The Great

Elder’s appearance boosted the youngsters’ enthusiasm. They
practiced crazily even without Ai Hui’s supervision.

Ai Hui liked it when others sought him for guidance. All

teachers liked students who were eager to learn.

Lecturing fees, instructing fees… There was no reason why

dispelling doubts should not be charged.
 His Heaven Merit Points were rising slowly but steadily, and
before he knew it, he already had 1,600. Madam Ye was unaware
of these fees. If not for the fact that he had agreed to go to the
Wilderness with all of them, he felt that his current life was
pretty decent. He had never earned so many Heaven Merit
Points before.

Ai Hui shucked a few bamboos to make a big parasol and

placed it at the training ground. He then took out a wooden
couch from his room and added a short coffee table next to it.
When he felt bored, he would lie on the couch, snack on a
frozen dessert, and watch the sweaty youngsters train under the
hot sun. The vitality of youth and the blazing heat completely
moved him.

Xiao Shuren appeared daily, watching everyone practice as

she stood under the parasol like a servant waiting for orders.
Initially, Ai Hui was not used to it, but soon, seeing that she
kept quiet all the time, he started disregarding her presence.

A tall and sturdy figure walked toward him, and he was

surprised to see that it was actually Hua Kui.

Xiao Shuren left upon seeing a stranger.

 Hua Kui glanced over at Xiao Shuren as she exited before
turning around and seeing Ai Hui’s carefree appearance. His
expression turned strange as he commented, "You’re enjoying
life, aren’t you!"

Ai Hui saw this as jealousy and offered his dessert. "Same old,
same old. What are you here for?"

"I brought herbs." Hua Kui took the dessert and gulped
everything down in one mouthful. Shortly, he spoke up, "I see
that you’ve not offended Madam Ye."

Ai Hui could feel his concern and laughed deliberately. "You

make it sound as though Madam Ye bites."

Hua Kui let out a cold laugh as he scanned his surroundings.

Seeing that the coast was clear, he said in a low voice, "You’ll
know in future how big of a deal Madam Ye is. She is reclusive
and does not like to show herself in public, but once she speaks
up, no one dares disobey. The Grass Hall too. Madam Ye is a VIP
of the Grass Hall. Her requests are conveyed to us by the Great
Elder, himself."

Ai Hui had a look of understanding. "The Great Elder’s

daughter-in-law."

Hua Kui shook his head. "Not just that. Her background is not
to be trifled with. She probably treats you favorably because of
your identity as a swordsman."

Ai Hui asked curiously, "Perhaps she’s a swordswoman

herself?"

"Remember that deep groove along the entrance of the

Induction Ground?" A look of respect flashed across his face.
"The last swordsman, Ye Huitang, was her ancestor."

Ai Hui stammered, "Ultimate… Ultimate defense line?"

There was a 1 meter wide and 200 meters long groove in front
of the Induction Ground’s metal gates. It had been the ultimate
defense line during the darkest era for humans in the
Wilderness.

During the crucial moments before the start of the Avalon of

Five Elements, enemies came like the tides, and the situation
was precarious.
 Under desperate circumstances, the last reputable swordsman
dealt a most resplendent blow to the enemy leader. This
effectively boosted the morale of the defenders, allowing the
team to persevere and ultimately open up the Avalon.

When Ai Hui had been admitted back then, he had especially

visited that "ultimate defense line" to admire and pay respects.

"Yes, that." Hua Kui said in a deep voice, "The Ye clan was
well-respected. Madam Ye’s husband died at the front line
during her pregnancy. Madam Ye was in serious sorrow,
causing her to prematurely give birth to an inherently weaker
baby. Not only did she not remarry, she placed all her efforts
into raising Xiaobao, never giving up on treating him. Her
requests for the Grass Hall have basically involved all sorts of
herbs. It’s been over 10 years already. For this, the Grass Hall
has always been well taken care of by Madam Ye, or else it
would not be what it is today."

Ai Hui could not help but feel deep veneration for her. Be it
the legendary swordsman Ye Huitang or Madam Ye, both were
worthy of respect.

He also came to realize the reason why Madam Ye was

particularly interested in swordsmanship. She came from a
family of swordsmen.

"I’m making a trip to the Wilderness, so be careful in the

meanwhile." Hua Kui reminded, "Something seems to be amiss
in Silver City. Do not get involved."

"Don’t worry, I don’t like meddling in others’ businesses." Ai

Hui reassured before asking, "What’s the situation in the
Wilderness now?"

"Countless casualties." Hua Kui’s expression turned grave and

sour. "It was reported that there had already been many waves
of dire beast attacks and more than half of the hunting team
perished, so the team was more or less destroyed. If not for the
fact that a few Masters rushed to the scene in time to stabilize
the situation, the team could’ve been utterly crushed.

Hui Kui did not forget to warn Ai Hui again. "Do not enter the
Wilderness now."

Both chatted for a bit before Hua Kui bid goodbye and left.

Ai Hui felt overwhelmed. Just a simple casual chat gave him

so much information to digest. The Ye residence’s history
startled him beyond belief. The devastation in the Wilderness
was expected, but to hear it for himself was still a rather
sorrowful feeling.

Many ordinary citizens were so agitated by this upsurge that

they ignited balls of blazing flames to burn down the trees,
grass, and also themselves.

There was nothing new under the sun.

It was not the first time such a thing had happened in the
Avalon’s history, and it would not be the last either.

Although he told himself repeatedly that he had nothing to do

with this, he somehow felt suffocated and anxious.

He rose from the couch and walked into the practice ground
with large strides, surveying the situation with evil intentions.

"Everyone has been training very hard recently, so in order to

encourage you guys, I’ve decided to guide each of you through
actual combat with me, free of charge. Such opportunities
knock but once. Miss it at your own loss."

Ten minutes later, everyone was lying on the ground.

Ai Hui felt entirely free from worry, his expression jolly as he

prepared to leave.

"Teacher."

Fu Sisi’s voice sounded from behind him.

Ai Hui stopped in his tracks and looked toward her

suspiciously.

Fu Sisi clenched her teeth and rose from the ground. "I would
like to choose a suitably advantageous sword, but do not know
how to do this. Could you take some time to select it for me?"

Ai Hui felt it was somewhat unfortunate that there was only

one Snow Cherry, or else it would be good if he could sell one to
Fu Sisi.
 As a well-known family in Silver City, the Fu family had
wealth and power.

Ai Hui shook his head and said aloofly, "I’m very busy."

"200 Heaven Merit Points!" Fu Sisi blurted out.

Without a word, Ai Hui supported Fu Sisi and asked with a

smile spanning his whole face, "Where to?"

This was the type of person that he adored. People who solved
problems simply by throwing money!

Walking out of the Ye residence, Fu Sisi sank into silence.

Ai Hui did not rush either since he had already been paid the
Heaven Merit Points, so he only had to follow through. He
enjoyed the scenery along the streets with some interest. He had
been to Silver City a few times, but had never taken a leisurely
stroll around.

There were many shops along the streets, which opened up Ai

Hui’s eyes. Each shop was decorated to look splendorous and
majestic, with the shop assistants dressed neatly and without
even a thread loose or hair out of place. The pedestrians he saw
on the streets were mostly dressed luxuriously too.

Indeed, this was the biggest city in Silver Mist City.

He followed Fu Sisi into a weapon shop. Due to the bedazzling

jewels that covered the weapons on display, AI Hui never would
have thought that this exceptionally exquisite shop actually sold
weapons.

Every weapon was exhibited in a fine crystal display case. The

perfectly adjusted lighting brought out and accentuated the
brilliance and vibrant details of each weapon.

Seeing all of this, Ai Hui could not help but drool. He was
someone who had seen enough good things, but these weapons
turned him feverish nevertheless.

After seeing the price, Ai Hui felt as though someone had

stuffed a big lump of ice cubes in his head, cooling him down.
 Even the cheapest weapon cost 2,000 Heaven Merit Points.

At that very moment, he finally understood reality. While the

fragrance of wine and meat drifted out from homes of the
wealthy, the poor froze to death on the streets.

Thinking about how he felt satisfied after earning 1,600

Heaven Merit Points, Ai Hui felt indescribably ashamed. He was
going to raise his prices!

"How’s this one?" Fu Sisi asked Ai Hui, pointing at a black

longsword right in the center of the hall.

Ai Hui followed her gesture, and as he was about to speak, he

felt something unusual.
Chapter 354: Life Is A Performance
Footsteps could be heard as a group of people entered the
shop.

Ai Hui was about to turn around when Fu Sisi continued

asking, "You haven’t told me how this sword is?"

Since he had taken her money, he should do what he was

supposed to. Instead of turning around, he inspected the black
sword and commented a second later without hesitation,
"Decent sword."

Could he be wrong?

2,500 Heaven Merit Points. How could he be wrong!

Ai Hui had initially thought that the Silverfold Plum in his

hands was an extremely good sword, but in front of this black
sword, it was not even comparable. It would already be pretty
good if the Silverfold Plum could be sold for 1,500 Heaven Merit
Points, but in front of this valuable sword priced at 2,500 points,
it still paled in comparison by quite a bit.
 "You have such a good eye!" the manager quickly praised.
"This was made by a weapon master, He Tuze, and is a Heaven-
grade weapon. Master He was not pleased with it, so he melted
in a huge volume of blood crystals and jade fruits before adding
36 expensive herbs to fashion this Blood Ink Sword. After 30
days of forging and a huge expenditure, this Blood Ink Sword
was finally completed. This sword is neither metal nor wood. It
does not repel against any element types. It is naturally sharp
and indestructible. The main reason for its high cost is that it
has an extremely rare property. It is psychic!"

"Psychic?" Ai Hui asked in shock.

He often saw many passages in different sword manuals

talking about famous swords being psychic. Swords with spirit
were common knowledge in the Cultivation Era, and it was said
that long hours of practice would cause a sword to develop a
special existence, known as sword spirit. Some manuals written
by sects even said that there were ways to nourish this spirit.
There were also some sword manuals that could make the
sword spirit appear as a corporeal existence. For example, the
sword, Transcendence, created by God King Zuo Mo’s senior
Luo Li, was like this.

When the Elemental Era came around and swordsmanship

declined, the sayings about swords being psychic were
forgotten.

Thus, when someone suddenly mentioned that this sword was

psychic, how could Ai Hui not be shocked?

"Yes. On the day this sword was completed, its aura cried out
for three days straight. Ordinary people could not even get close
to it, and in order not to hurt customers, the shop had to spend
a huge sum to make this crystal case seal to lock in the sword
aura. Master He said that the treasure sword would pick its
owner and would be owned by the fated one. We took it out in
part to test this."

The shopkeeper expertly knew how to promote his goods.

After his explanation, even Ai Hui, who was very low in funds,
was stirred.

"Why not you try it? I’ll give it to you if the treasure sword
chooses you," Fu Sisi said.

Ai Hui looked at her doubtfully. Something was wrong! 2,000

Heaven Merit Points was definitely a significant sum, so why
would she spend them on him for no reason?
 "Who is he, Sisi?"

An angry voice boomed from behind, and Ai Hui immediately

understood what was going on.

The task of helping to pick out a sword was an excuse. In

reality, he was being used as a shield.

What a cliche plot. Did aristocratic families all enjoy doing

such things?

Ai Hui turned around casually.

An angry, smart-looking man glared at him. Beside him were

a few gloomy looking fellows who were also staring at him.

"Who is he, Sisi?"

According to the recent news, Ai Hui could easily guess who

the speaker was.
 Ling Xiao, the noble son of the Ling residence. It was said that
both families hoped for them to get together. If that was it,
things would have been simpler, but Fu Sisi expressed intense
objection and other families did not wish to see this union
either.

Fu Sisi was the most outstanding among the younger

generation of the Fu family. The other sons had few
accomplishments.

The Ling residence was already powerful to begin with. If the

Fu family was to enter the picture, they would pose too big of a
threat.

While it had not been Ai Hui’s intention to wind up in such a

whirlpool, it seemed that there was no way out. As his mind
spun quickly, AI Hui instantly saw through the crux of the
matter.

Madam Ye represented the Great Elder, Fu Sisi was using such

a method to oppose the marriage, and the Fu family was
hesitating over what move to make with regard to Fu Sisi’s
resistance. Otherwise, how could a girl like Fu Sisi disobey her
family’s will?
 The Fu family’s hesitation was not unreasonable. It was a
good thing to be able to connect with the Ling residence by
marriage, but the Great Elder was not one to be provoked.

Ai Hui, himself, was a teacher in the Ye residence. In their

eyes, he was naturally a person of the Ye residence. To engage in
conflict with Ling Xiao and incite contradictions was not really
a wise strategy, Ai Hui thought. How could the Ling residence
sit and watch as such a big gift like the Fu family slipped away?
The family was most likely closing in step by step, wanting to
actualize the marriage before anything else.

The young lady‘s way of fighting for herself was indeed

smarter than her brothers’.

"Who is he, Sisi?" Ai Hui asked, imitating Ling Xiao’s tone

with a surprised look on his face.

Behind his back, his right hand pointed toward the Blood Ink
Sword at the side.

Since he was already rolled up in this, the real problem was

how he could reap the maximum benefit. He was well prepared.
If it appeared that the young lady would not get the upper hand,
he would retreat immediately. He would not do anything to
save face nor would he get all angry over a beautiful lady.

Fu Sisi had not expected that Chu Zhaoyang would be so

cooperative and became slightly distracted by this. When, out of
the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Chu Zhaoyang’s
finger, which pointed at the sword, her eye twitched.

2,500 Heaven Merit Points!

Was this fellow insane?

She could invite a Master to help her for 2,500 Heaven Merit
Points!

Did this fellow really think he was worth 2,500 Heaven Merit
Points?

"This man here is Young Master Ling Xiao," Fu Sisi explained

before turning around to Ling Xiao. "He’s Chu Zhaoyang."

She placed one hand behind her back and open up her fingers,
making a five sign.

Ai Hui sneered inwardly. 500 Heaven Merit Points for

bringing me such big trouble? What do you treat me as!

"I see. Nice to meet you, Young Master Ling!"

Ling Xiao’s face was full of gloom. Flames could be seen

pulsing in his eyes. He was extremely angry.

Young Master… he…

"Young Master" instantly displayed the distance between Fu

Sisi and himself.

This adulterous pair!

Ling Xiao was raging.

His mother demanded that he use whatever means to grab

hold of Fu Sisi.
 While it was true that Fu Sisi was beautiful, had he not seen
all kinds of women? In his eyes, Fu Sisi was his prey, and the
chase was merely an interesting hunt. His so called adoration
for Fu Sisi was only a tool in this hunt.

Yet now, his prey had landed in someone else’s hands.

He kept quiet as his murderous spirit rose in his chest.

Ai Hui placed all his attention on bargaining with Fu Sisi.

Eventually, both agreed to a price of 1,000 Heaven Merit

Points.

Ai Hu was pleased. These few days, he had already swindled

whatever points he could from the young aristocrats. He got
about 200 to 300 Heaven Merit Points from some and 600 to 700
Heaven Merit Points from others.

With the original 200 Heaven Merit Points he had already

been paid, he earned a total of 1,200 Heaven Merit Points.
 Previously, Ai Hui had racked his brains over the sale of the
Snow Cherry before finally milking 1,400 Heaven Merit Points
out of it. With an addition of 300 Heaven Merit Points to these
1,200 Heaven Merit Points, he could already afford another
Silverfold Plum.

Suddenly, as if the dark clouds had dispersed and the sun

shone brightly, Ling Xiao beamed. "I seem to have heard of your
name from somewhere. I wonder where you are currently
working at?"

Ai Hui was somewhat surprised. Why had he not made a

move? Ling Xiao was more shrewd than Ai Hui had imagined,
but this made sense. He could not be a simple person since he
was able to force Fu Sisi into such a pitiful state.

Life was a performance. Ever since Ai Hui took on the identity

of Chu Zhaoyang, his stature rose greatly day by day.

Full of shame, Ai Hui said, "I have accomplished nothing. Fu

Sisi has been the one helping me, so how can I just sit and watch
when she’s been so loyal to me? I came over to Silver City in
order to spend the nights with her. I’ve been in luck so far and
am currently a teacher."
 Fu Sisi stared blankly at Chu Zhaoyang as goosebumps started
surfacing.

Upon hearing the word "teacher," Ling Xiao instantly let his
guard down and sneered. "So he’s living off a woman."

"Your words are too…" Chu Zhaoyang’s face changed as he

glared at Ling Xiao. Five seconds later, he said in
disappointment, "You got me there. I’m so useless, yet Sisi
chooses to stay by my side. The heavens, sun, and moon could
testify how I feel about her. There’s mutual support through
thick and thin. Sisi, can you feel it?"

Finishing his sentence, Chu Zhaoyang looked passionately at

Fu Sisi.

He had been blindsided by Fu Sisi. While he had not lost out

in terms of heaven merit points, this did not mean that he
enjoyed being blindsided. How could he let Fu Sisi off so easily?

Fu Sisi wanted to kill herself. Her hair was standing on end

and she felt terrible, as if she’d just swallowed a fly. She was
beyond regretful. Why did she seek Chu Zhaoyang? She was so
disgusted by it all and felt horrible.
 Why had Ling Xiao, who had always been the aggressive sort,
not taken action as soon as he could? Why was he spewing so
much nonsense?

Her face was red from anger, but she forced herself to
suppress it. She lowered her head and asked, "Why are you
talking about this now?"

Seeing that Fu Sisi’s face blushed red and that she bowed her
head down so bashfully, Ling Xiao’s guards’ expressions
changed. They knew their master’s temper too well.

Ling Xiao was about to explode!

The fact that his prey had landed in someone else’s hands was
already maddening, yet this adulterous pair dared to display
their affection and passion for each other in public. Thinking
about how his prey had been played with by someone else
countless times, but still adopted such an ice-cold attitude
toward him, the fury within his chest burned through whatever
self-control he had left.

Ling Xiao’s face looked twisted as he laughed nastily. "Kill this

coward!"
 Ling Xiao’s guards pounced forward with a cry.

Fu Sisi’s face changed slightly. Just when she was ready to

shout "run," Chu Zhaoyang appeared before her and started
putting on an act. He shouted passionately, "Run, Sisi!"

The guards surrounded and closed in on them.

"Run? None of you shall run!"

Ling Xiao was pleased with this cat and mouse game.

Fu Sisi’s face paled a little, but she forced herself to remain

composed. She asked coldly, "Ling Xiao, do you dare to attack
me?"

Ling Xiao responded warmly, "Sisi, don’t worry, I’m not going
to touch you. I’m still waiting to marry you. I won’t kill your
little boyfriend either. I will soak him in a salt jug and make
sure he witnesses our marriage."

Fu Sisi’s expression worsened, fear evident in her eyes.

 "You’re utterly heartless and inhumane! Ling Xiao, let me ask
you!"

Chu Zhaoyang’s voice was filled with fear as he shook

uncontrollably, before he had a sudden change in tone.

"Why not a sugar jug?"

Everyone was stunned.

Splendid and dazzling sword rays erupted swiftly.

Chapter 355: Off Guard
Ling Xiao’s guards had not expected Ai Hui to initiate an
attack. They were distracted by his question, and before they
could even react, the sword rays suddenly came toward them
like balls of splendid fireworks that exploded right beneath
their eyelids.

Caught off guard, they were bedazzled.

Alarmed cries mixed in with curses as the guards hurried to

display their strongest defensive moves. A light screen appeared
in front of some, while others used weapons and stood before
Ling Xiao.

No one withdrew. Behind them was their young master.

The Ling residence’s rules were strict. Severe punishments

awaited those who failed to protect their young master.

Amid the dazzling sword rays, a pair of eyes remained still,

and the hands holding the Silverfold Plum were steady and
accurate. Following the sword momentum, Ai Hui hunched
over like a stealthily-moving black cat under the night sky, not
making the slightest sound.

Moves with flourishing and blinding brilliance were mostly

illusory and empty, whereas the simple, subtle, and
inconspicuous moves were mostly the real deal.

Ai Hui’s sword rays belonged to the latter group.

Ai Hui, who rushed forward, was like a tiger invading a flock

of sheep. It extended its sharp claws and bared its fangs. Not
only could the Star Reaper Gloves increase his agility 10 fold, it
also significantly increased his ability to mobilize elemental
energy.

His speed of attack was twice as fast as usual, and taking his
realm into consideration, such an increase was a qualitative
leap.

With a tremble of the Silverfold Plum and like the meandering

of lightning, [Six Moons] was unleashed!

Six palm-sized, arched sword rays sprayed out swiftly from

the tip of the sword.
 With a turn of his wrist, the sword hilt rotated.

The Silverfold Plum rotated like a clock hand as the six arched
sword rays seemed to be pulled in circles by an invisible thread.

Ai Hui’s new understanding of the [Big Dipper]!

The guards felt a cooling sensation behind their necks as the

sharp sword consciousness penetrated their skin, causing their
bodies to turn rigid.

There was a palm-sized sword ray sticking behind every

guard’s neck.

Their faces were ashen as they stood motionless. The piercing

sword consciousness made their hair stand on end. They had no
doubt that with any slight movement on their part, the sword
rays would slice and separate their necks from their heads.

No one had clearly seen what just happened.

Circumstances were reversed in the blink of an eye.

 Ling Xiao was dumbstruck and had not regained his senses.

Fu Sisi, too, was still in a daze. Her mouth was slightly open,
and she had on a look of disbelief.

This…

She knew that Chu Zhaoyang’s abilities were decent,

otherwise he would not have gotten into Madam Ye’s good
books. It was not surprising for him to defeat Gui Hu and Su
Huaijun as well. How could he become a teacher if he could not
even beat his students?

Those without outstanding abilities would never have the

right to teach in aristocratic families.

Yet, she never would have thought that the conflict would
come to an end this quickly. The guards by Ling Xiao’s side were
not nobodies. Since young, Ling Xiao had been arrogant and
despotic, often causing trouble. Afraid for his safety, Madam
Ling assigned guards to protect him. While they were not
Masters, they were extremely capable.
 Ling Xiao, who finally regained his senses, turned pale. The
Chu Zhaoyang in front of him was like a completely different
person.

There was even a faint smile hanging by his lips, but there was
no warmth in that smile. What gave him palpitations was the
fact that Chu Zhaoyang emitted a dangerous aura.

This was an extremely dangerous fellow.

Composing himself, Ling Xiao spoke up, "Who exactly are

you?"

"Chu Zhaoyang," Ai Hui answered with his usual expression.

What Ling Xiao saw, however, was sarcasm and mockery.

Being rather shrewd, he calmed down, saying, "Such good skills.
Unlike a teacher."

Ai Hui removed his sword and the arched rays behind the
guards’ necks dissipated into the air. He said with all smiles, "I
teach swordsmanship in the Ye residence."
 Ye residence!

Ling Xiao’s pupils shrank and many things started to add up.
He gave Fu Sisi a look before saying, "No wonder she’s always
going to the Ye residence. It’s because of you. But even the Ye
residence won’t be able to defend you for starting a fight with
me."

Ai Hui was not mad. He replied without thinking, "Perhaps I

will become a master swordsman someday? Hey, you got to
think about it. I must have something in me or why would Sisi
follow me around so loyally?"

Ling Xiao’s facial expression turned slightly sour. What Chu

Zhaoyang had just said hit him right where it counted.

According to his understanding of Fu Sisi, she definitely

would not fall for an incapable person. If Chu Zhaoyang really
was gifted, things would be different.

A young, talented, and loyal man marrying into the Fu family

would give the weakening family a new lease on hope.
 Plus, he was a teacher in the Ye residence and had Madam Ye
and the Great Elder’s support. While Ling Xiao had always been
proud of his own family, he had nothing to boast about in front
of the Great Elder.

Similarly, even a Master would not count for anything in

front of the Ling residence.

The most important thing was to figure out if this was the
Great Elder’s intention!

If so, he would have to reevaluate everything. Otherwise, he

would just have to get rid of Chu Zhaoyang and the problem
would easily be solved. He had to find out who the Ling
residence was really facing in order to take decisive action.
Dragging this matter any longer might lead to more
unpredictable changes.

"If that’s the case, we have to fight fair." Ling Xiao smiled
generously. "My love for Fu Sisi is genuine, so how can I give up
halfway? I believe she will make the right decision."

Finishing his words with a smile on his face, he gave them a

slight bow before leading his guards away.
 About 20 meters away from the shop, Ling Xiao’s smile
vanished as he ordered his guards coldly, "Go find out
everything about Chu Zhaoyang."

"Yes!"

On the way back to the Ye residence, Ai Hui counted his

heaven merit points joyfully. "Goods delivered, bill settled!"

He had a huge sum of 2,600 Heaven Merit Points on him in

total. Putting things into perspective, the blueprint for an
elemental energy pool cost 1,000 Heaven Merit Points, and Ai
Hui could now afford that Blood Ink Sword.

But Ai Hui could not bear to do so.

He was going to the Wilderness soon, and there were many

other things which required Heaven Merit Points.

Relishing his riches, Ai Hui’s footsteps were significantly

lighter. Fu Sisi, who was walking beside him, held her head
down silently as she was deep in thought.
 As the Ye residence’s gates came into sight, Fu Sisi asked
suddenly, "Are you interested in becoming the Fu family’s son-
in-law?"

Ai Hui was stunned. He turned around and looked at her as if

he was looking at a fool. "Do you think I’m stupid?"

Fu Sisi continued, "10,000 Heaven Merit Points."

Ai Hui looked at her in disdain. "Who are you trying to scare?

I can’t even sell you for 10,000 Heaven Merit Points."

Fu Sisi responded calmly, "Although the Fu family is not as

capable as the Ling residence, it is still not an ordinary family
without any foundation. If not Heaven Merit Points, there will
always be treasures suitable for you. If you don’t like me, you
can still seek outside pleasures after marriage. All I need is a
status."

Chu Zhaoyang’s earlier display had shocked her. She realized

that everyone had been underestimating his abilities. The Fu
family lacked a pillar of support right now.
 And she saw huge potential in Chu Zhaoyang.

Chu Zhaoyang had innate sword skills that exceeded her

imagination. Coupled with the Fu family’s financial resources,
he could become a Master within a short period of time.

Most importantly, she could use this reason to convince her

family.

"This ends now. It’s been purely business between us. I have
no interest in a flat figure girl like you. Plus, am I so free as to
provoke the Ling residence? Are you taking advantage of the
fact that I’m new to Silver City? I’ve already helped you once for
the sake of Heaven Merit Points. We will announce our breakup
when we get back. I do not want to be assassinated in the middle
of the night."

He felt pleased that his words had Fu Sisi speechless. He shot a

glance back out of the corner of his eyes. He’d long noticed that
there were people following them from afar.

Ai Hui inhaled deeply before putting a grieved look on his

face. He pointed at Fu Sisi with a trembling hand and turned his
pitch up a notch, saying, "Marry into your family? I’ve said it
before. Do not mention such things to me. I, Chu Zhaoyang, am
a capable man. How can I marry into your family? Blame it on
my ignorance for misjudging you! From today onward, let us
not cross paths. All ties shall be broken. Go on your way, while I
go on mine."

Fu Sisi fell into a daze, but reacted shortly after. She looked at
him with a bitter smile.

He noticed those following them had become restless, excited,

and evidently relieved. He could tell that Ling Xiao was
absolutely not going to let the matter rest. The Ling residence
was practically a tyrant in this city. Offending them meant the
end of peaceful nights.

Money making was important, but he had no plans to get into

trouble over it.

He had limited time. Other than practicing, he had been

searching for that notebook in the Grass Hall, so where would
he find the time to play house with these young aristocrats?

His acting had improved though!

 Ai Hui winked at Fu Sisi, glad that he had gained the upper
hand once again. This woman was very scheming, and he had
almost been made a fool. If he had not put an end to this affair,
he would most definitely be expecting a visit from an assassin
tonight.

Fu Sisi looked gloomy as she stared coldly at Ai Hui.

Just then, a gentle voiced sounded from close by, "You guys…"

At a cross street not far away, a person could be seen on her

way back to the residence. Madam Ye looked at the both of them
with suspicion.

Ai Hui’s heart jumped. Not good.

A grim smile appeared at the corner of Fu Sisi’s lips. Her eyes

turned red quickly and tears started spilling out generously.
Crying loudly, she dashed toward Madam Ye and threw herself
into her arms, bawling nonstop.

"What happened? What happened exactly? Don’t cry, tell me

what’s going on. I’ll help you!"
 Madam Ye comforted Fu Sisi gently.

"Huuuu…"

"Huuu… I’ve known him for many years and we had

something good going on. Huu…"

"He’s not made a name for himself, but not once did I abandon
him. I bought sword manuals for him and trained with him.
Finally he made progress, so I asked him to come over to Silver
City in order to be with him. Huuu…"

"He… he wants to end all ties with me. Wants… wants me to

go my own way… Huuu…"

A murderous glint flashed across her face as she threw

piercing glances at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was speechless this time. His body stiffened up like a

statue.
Chapter 356: Gift Him A Blow
The atmosphere was grave and suffocating.

There was a very stern expression on everybody’s faces. The

main hall was absolutely quiet and only Fu Sisi’s sobs could be
heard.

Ai Hui lowered his head. All eyes were on him, and it felt as
though he was being stabbed by knives.

Madam Ye’s usual smile vanished as well. She spoke with a

stern face and threatening look on her face, "I did not expect
you two to have this kind of relationship. It isn’t something for
me to get involved in, but when one of you is calling me aunt
and the other is a teacher in my residence, I can’t just sit and
watch as if it’s none of my business. So let’s talk. What are you
two planning to do?"

What?

Ai Hui felt like dying. If he’d known that this 1,200 Heaven
Merit Points was going to be so troublesome, he absolutely
wouldn’t have accepted it. But on second thought, it was a huge
sum and it would be unrealistic of him to expect a smooth ride.

With this thought, Ai Hui was set.

Fu Sisi’s feeble voice sounded in the hall.

"I… I’m not actually expecting anything. If he doesn’t want to

marry into the family, so be it. We could’ve come up with
solutions together so why was he so quick to sever all ties?"

Ai Hui instantly felt the looks thrown at him becoming

sharper and more murderous.

Ai Hui was crying bitterly inside. What a scheming woman!

Her wretchedness immediately evoked great sympathy! What

would you do if this young lady had already resorted to such
trickery?

He was in big trouble!

 His head throbbed.

It was his first time meeting such a lady.

Money-losing Deal was the most candid and readable lady.

She would spare you the trouble of guessing and just show you
with her fists. One Thousand Yuan was the most unpredictable
lady. She was vicious and sly. There was no need to guess her
thoughts since it would be fruitless. Fu Sisi surprised him the
most. She was, in reality, completely different from how she
appeared. She looked harmless and upright, but was in fact
dangerous and secretive.

Thinking about his time in Peace City when he had even

thought that this lady was generous and graceful.

How naive and silly he had been.

Madam Ye turned her gaze to Ai Hui and asked, "Zhaoyang,

what do you say?"

Ai Hui’s brain was spinning rapidly. This was definitely a big

hole and jumping into it would mean broken bones and a
horrible death. The Ling residence, the Fu family and the Ye
residence were all big shots. If he were to enter this massive
maelstrom, his small frame would be torn apart in no time.

But he must not offend the Ye residence either, since he had

not obtained the notebook yet.

Ai Hui could infer much from Hua Kui’s attitude toward the
Ye residence. He suspected that the Assembly of Patriarchs was
highly dependent on Madam Ye’s care. Otherwise, why would
the Grass Hall fawn over her?

If he offended Madam Ye, he would definitely cause trouble in

the Grass Hall, making it even more difficult for him to find the
notebook he had been looking for.

It was wiser to offend her after getting ahold of those

notebook.

What should he do now?

Just then, the housekeeper rushed in.

 "Teacher, Young Master Ling Xiao has been attacked by an
assassin and is seriously injured. His guards are all dead."

Everyone was shocked beyond belief. They looked toward Fu

Sisi and Chu Zhaoyang in unison.

Madam Ye’s expression changed a few times. The couple had

just parted ways with Ling Xiao and now he was severely
injured by an assassin. There was something seriously amiss
here.

Fu Sisi’s face turned as white as a sheet. She did not want to

marry Ling Xiao out of fear that the Fu family would be
swallowed up by the Ling family. Since the latter was strong
while the former was weak, the Ling residence had an excuse to
deal with the Fu family now that Ling Xiao was seriously hurt.

Ai Hui’s expression worsened. He had just gotten into a brawl

with Ling Xiao, and Ling Xiao was attacked soon after. How was
he going to clear his name? Plus, the Ling residence would not
even care if he was the one behind the assassination. A small
shrimp like him was best used as a warning against potential
perpetrators.
 Another guard spoke up urgently. "Madam, the Ling
residence’s people are here and wish for you to hand them over.
They assert that both of them are involved in Ling Xiao’s
assassination attempt."

Fu Sisi’s face paled even more. She had not expected things to
play out this way. The Ling residence’s agitation was akin to
that of a crazy beast, and the Fu family could very possibly
become the first sacrifice.

Ai Hui felt thoroughly down on his luck, but he remained

calm since he was already prepared to escape. He would have to
think of an alternative method of obtaining the notebook from
the Hall of Ancient Records.

The pitiful Chu Zhaoyang was going to feel to the other end of
the world soon.

Thinking about how the false identity he had fostered over

the years was about to die, all he could do was sigh.

As the saying goes, people die for money while chickens die
for food. This applied to his alias as well.
 Madam Ye replied coldly, "The Ling residence is really
demanding. Do they think they’re the Elders Guild? Or do they
see me as a widow who can be trampled on? Tell their people to
get an order from the Elders Guild before coming over."

Ai Hui gave Madam Ye an astonished look. She was usually

soft and gentle, but right now, she sounded extremely
domineering. It all made sense now since he was a teacher in the
Ye residence. In front of the Ling residence, the Ye residence
would definitely not appear weak. Without concrete evidence,
Madam Ye would protect the family with all that she had
instead of surrendering.

Ai Hui relaxed immediately.

Who would attempt an assassination at such a critical

juncture?

…..

The streets were in a chaotic state, and the ground was still
covered in bloodstains and corpses, displaying the evident
intensity of the battle. People observed from afar because no
one dared to come close to the scene. They discussed in low
voices instead. Which family had been brave enough to pull the
Ling residence’s beard? Some felt rueful over Silver City’s
plight. How long had it been since such a huge incident
happened here?

A few figures whizzed down from the sky and landed.

The two persons turned out to be Tong Gui and Yu Jin. Seeing
the Ling residence’s emblem on the guards’ uniform, their gazes
changed. They saw the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Dealing such a huge blow to a Ling residence’s descendent in

Silver City… how far would they have to trace this matter back
to?

Fights between aristocratic families were irreconcilable, but

there was a certain mutual understanding. For example, not
assassinating the sons of the families was an unwritten rule. To
the aristocratic families, a momentary benefit could not be
placed on par with the continuation of a family’s genealogy.
Families rose and fell, but the continuation of the family line
never failed to bring hope.

Any family that broke this unwritten rule would be the target
of public criticism.

Now, such a vile thing had actually happened in Silver City.

Both could feel a storm brewing.

Yu Jin checked the guards’ corpses and said rapidly, "The

perpetrator must have blended into the crowd and attacked
from the side. There were also archers lying in ambush above
the shops on both sides of the street. The attack was very
intense, and they had no time to retaliate. The opponent’s
target was Ling Xiao. Look at the arrowheads."

The densely packed holes on the ground formed a circular, but

irregular shape.

Most arrows had been blocked by the guards’ bodies, but the
attack was concentrated, so Ling Xiao’s injuries must be pretty
significant." Yu Jin rose and looked at Tong Gui. "They want
him dead."

Tong Gui muttered to himself, "Who would want his life?"

 Yu Jin gave no answer, but continued, "The perpetrator is
very experienced. The arrows he used are ordinary and without
any symbols."

Just then, a subordinate came forward to give his report. "Sir,

after checking with those nearby, they mentioned that there
were numerous perpetrators. Upon completing their task, they
escaped through the underground canal.

Tong Gui immediately ordered, "Form a group to check on

each and every exit of the underground canal. Take suspicious
characters down. Send another group to search within the
canal."

"Yes!"

The subordinate flew off immediately.

Yu Jin gave Tong Gui a look. "Only local families would be

familiar with such a canal."

Immediately upon completing his sentence, a bunch of

aggressive fellows, led by Ling Sheng, dashed over.
 Without even looking at the both of them, Ling Sheng walked
toward the corpses with an ashen face and started examining
them.

Shortly after, he stood up and looked at them coldly. "If I

recall correctly, the Sky Edge division has recently been in
charge of Silver City’s defense. The Sky Edge division has
evidently been neglecting its duty for such a nasty thing to
happen here. The division must take responsibility. You guys
wait."

Tong Gui responded lazily, "As you wish."

Ling Sheng was furious. His eyes spat fire, but he said nothing
and led his team away instead.

Seeing Ling Sheng’s disappearing figure, both also started to

realize the severity of this matter.

"They are heading toward… the Ye residence?"

"It’s been rumored that a swordsmanship instructor got

involved with Fu Sisi and both had just been in conflict with
Ling Xiao before he was attacked. Earlier, the Ling residence
sent people to the Ye residence to get ahold of the suspects, but
were rejected by Madam Ye."

"Is Ling Sheng planning to barge in?" Tong Gui shook his
head. "Things are about to get real messy."

…..

The Ye residence.

Ai Hui thought hard about who the perpetrator could be, but
to no avail. All right, no point in thinking if it’s not working
out. Silver City’s waters ran too deep. For a small shrimp
swimming in the big ocean, there were other things to worry
about. Letting his worried heart calm down, Ai Hui loosened his
mind.

Objectively, the Fu family and him were all victims. There

was no evidence to prove their relations, and Madam Ye
absolutely would not back down. If the Ye residence was unable
to protect Fu Sisi and himself, the Great Elder’s authority and
power would be obliterated, something unacceptable in the eyes
of the Great Elder.
 This gave the Fu family an opportunity to rely on the Great
Elder’s support.

Seeing Fu Sisi return to her usual state, Ai Hui knew that this
scheming woman had realized this too.

Just then, a furious voice roared from the sky, "Ye Lin! Hand
over that adulterous pair and I’ll disregard this matter!"

The voice was like exploding thunder, its volume reaching far
and wide.

Ling Sheng, who was in the sky, brought along a bunch of

murderous-looking guards. Looking mighty and powerful, it
seemed as though he was ready to crush this old house into
pieces.

Unexpectedly, Ye Lin retained her usual disposition and even

had a faint smile on her face. Except that this smile was
exceptionally cold.

"Our ancestors were right: the kind get bullied," she mumbled
to herself with a casual expression on her face. "I’m the only
widowed mother in the Ye residence, so people often think they
can trample on me as they wish. They forget the Avalon’s
origins. They forget that all elementalists owe their lives today
to the Ye family!"

Finishing her sentence, her expression turned cold and

murderous.

"Gift him a blow."

A loud rumble could be heard in the Ye residence. It was as if a

monster had been awakened from a thousand years of deep
sleep.
Chapter 357: Are You Willing?
Shiiiiing!

At first, the sound of a sword being unsheathed was fine and

soft, causing one to focus and listen to it carefully. Suddenly,
the sword chime increased in volume, becoming sharp and
reverberating. Upon hearing it, one would feel as if his or her
heart was being pierced by a sword.

Ai Hui’s hair stood on end, resembling an alarmed cat. An

indescribable feeling of danger enshrouded his body. He felt as
if a glimmering razor-sharp sword was being pressed against the
back of his neck. His hand subconsciously gripped the Silverfold
Plum on his waist.

He was overwhelmed with shock.

This was…

A streak of sword gleam shot out from an ancient well in the

back garden of the Ye Residence. The streak of sword gleam was
not really dazzling, but the sky suddenly darkened at this point
in time. The azure sky and the scorching sun looked as if their
colors had faded, becoming ashen. The only thing that
remained bright was that streak of sword gleam.

Upon sensing that something was not right, Ling Sheng

turned around to escape. However, the streak of sword gleam
was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, it had caught up with
Ling Sheng. He let out a blood-curdling screech as his left arm
was cut off, causing him to be drenched in blood.

"The blood feud between the Ye Family and the Ling Family
will last for generations, and it will only end if one of us is
dead!"

Ling Sheng’s figure disappeared into the distance, but his vile
curses continued to resound through the air.

Ai Hui’s face turned pale. After a long while, he finally

regained his composure. He simply could not describe the shock
he felt. That sword gleam’s aura alone was enough to freeze his
entire body. As the head of the Ling Family, Ling Sheng was at
least a Master. Even a Master had lost an arm to stay alive
against that streak of sword gleam. If Ai Hui was in Ling Sheng’s
position, he would have zero chance of surviving.
 Ai Hui thought about the sword gleams he had seen before,
but none of them were comparable to the one from the Ye
Residence. The sword gleam that the Karakorum Savant used to
kill Chi Zun was earth-shattering and could be considered the
apex of the present age’s swordsmanship.

However, it still paled in comparison to this one.

When this sword gleam shot out, it did not leave any trail of
smoke, fire, or aura, yet it could dominate all living things.

Ai Hui returned to his senses and looked at the others.

Everyone else reacted worse than him. Their facial expressions
were blank. Apparently, they had not recovered from the shock
of that sword gleam.

"Xiaobao, follow me," Ye Lin said solemnly.

Xiaobao acknowledged and quickly followed behind his

mother.

Ye Lin brought Xiaobao out of the main hall and walked to an

empty space outdoors that faced the back garden. Next, she
kneeled down and bowed. Xiaobao did not seem to understand
what was going on, but when he saw his mother kneel down, he
followed suit.

"Mighty Ancestor, thank you for protecting your descendants

today. I’m Ye Clan’s Ye Lin. My husband died when his son was
still young. Today, a powerful enemy arrived at our doorstep
and brought dishonor to our family. I had to summon you to
punish him. Sorry for disturbing your peaceful slumber. Mighty
Ancestor, please keep me and my son safe and sound. Ye Lin will
kowtow to you now."

With a solemn look on her face, Ye Lin kowtowed three times.

Upon seeing what his mother did, Xiaobao kowtowed three
times as well.

Ai Hui was flabbergasted. Could it be… that streak of sword

gleam was left behind by Ye Huitang?

A thunderbolt struck Ai Hui. No wonder the sword gleam was

so terrifying and powerful. Even a Master like Ling Sheng was
defeated by such a blow and had to lose an arm to stay alive.

Amazing!
 Ye Huitang’s era was a millennium ago.

What kind of sword gleam could be sealed for a millennium?

If Ye Huitang could do this, how powerful was he actually? In
the records that Ai Hui read before, most of them mentioned
that the "last swordsman" was an aged hero who no longer
possessed any strength. Having no options left, he had to use
the last bit of his vitality to unleash the ultimate sword move.

However, it was at this moment that Ai Hui realized that what

was written in those records might be inaccurate. The depths of
Ye Huitang’s strength were more unfathomable than he
expected! Suddenly, Ai Hui returned to his senses. No, it was he
who had misinterpreted those records.

As Ai Hui thought of the line mentioned in the swordplay

manual, that "the enemy leader was slain by a single sword
move," he involuntarily became lost in thought. Was this sword
move just like that streak of sword gleam?

The depths of the Ye Residence’s might were indeed

terrifying!

Madam Ye stood up and wiped off the dust on Xiaobao’s

knees. The old lady beside her returned to her senses and said to
Madam Ye with a worried tone, "Madam, I’m afraid the Ling
Residence will not take this incident lying down."

"Afraid?" Madam Ye chuckled. "Didn’t you hear him say that

the blood feud between the Ye Family and Ling Family will last
for generations, and it will end only if one of us is dead?
Regardless, you don’t need to be too concerned about a mere
Ling Residence."

The old woman wanted to say something, but she hesitated.

She knew her master was a decisive individual and might
already have a plan.

Fu Sisi’s face was deathly pale. She knew she had gone
overboard in provoking the Ling Residence this time around.
The Ye Residence was powerful and had the backing of the
Great Elder. For Chu Zhaoyang, as long as he stayed in the Ye
Residence, the Ling Residence could not do anything against
him. Therefore, the enraged Ling Residence would go after the
Fu Family first.

At its peak, the Fu Family could not contend with the Ling
Residence, let alone a Fu Family that was now on the decline.
 Trembling in fear, she kneeled down and begged Madam Ye,
"Madam, please save the Fu Family!"

Madam Ye sighed deeply without saying anything.

Ai Hui could see that Fu Sisi was truly scared now. Her entire
body shivered in fear, looking like quail that was crouching on
the ground. When Ai Hui saw this scene, he could not help but
feel sad for her. Fu Sisi had always been a shrewd and confident
individual. Since when had he seen her in such a panicked and
fearful state? The fighting and plotting between aristocratic
families were indeed dangerous.

Even though Ai Hui felt sad for Fu Sisi, he still had no

intention of speaking up for her. Right now, he was having a
headache over how to break free from this maelstrom. He really
did not want to get involved in the struggles between
aristocratic families. He knew everyone here was vicious and
despicable. For the sake of their families, they would not even
mind getting married to a stranger.

This must be the price of enjoying the benefits of being in an

aristocratic family.
 Suddenly, Ai Hui thought of Shi Xueman. Shi Xueman did not
seem to have these characteristics.

Oh? How did iron lady survive all these years? She had a good
father. Ai Hui felt that this was the key reason why she did not
possess these qualities.

Fu Sisi begged piteously, "Madam, please save the Fu Family!

From today onward, everyone in the Fu Family will be at your
disposal and will not hesitate to go through fire or tread on
water for you!"

Madam Ye smiled and helped Fu Sisi up from the ground.

With a kind and gentle tone, she replied, "Don’t be anxious,
Aunt Ye watched you grow up. Why would I not take care of
you? Aunt Ye is pondering how to get us all through this crisis?"

Fu Sisi heaved a sigh of relief as a grateful looked appeared

upon her face. "Thank you, Aunt Ye!"

From Ai Hui’s perspective, Madam Ye was not pondering at

all. Obviously, she was waiting for Fu Sisi to state where her
family’s loyalty lay. It appeared that Madam Ye was trying to
absorb the Fu Family. Fu Sisi was an intelligent girl and knew
what Madam Ye was trying to do. There were no other options
for the Fu Family except to hug the Ye Residence’s legs. At this
point of time, which family dared to provoke the Ling Residence
by protecting the Fu Family?

In the end, whether it was the Ye Residence or the Fu Family,

it had nothing to do with me. Ai Hui thought to himself.

Just as Fu Sisi began to feel nervous, Madam Ye continued, "It

has been a while since I last visited your residence. Aunt Ye and
Xiaobao want to stay at your residence for a few days What do
you think?"

"Thank you, Aunt Ye! The entire Fu Family will put up grand
preparations for your arrival!" Fu Sisi replied with great respect.

Madam Ye turned around and said to Ai Hui, "Teacher Chu,

you will follow us as well."

"Me?" Ai Hui was stunned.

Madam Ye smiled to Fu Sisi. "You see how happy he is. I think

he still cares about you. We will discuss your issue when we are
at your residence."

Fu Sisi lowered her head, looking extremely shy. "I will let
Madam make all the decisions."

Ai Hui was startled. This girl’s acting skills were terrifying.

However, he currently had no time to care about Fu Sisi’s acting
skills and was racking his brain to find a method to reject
Madam Ye. If he was to go to the Fu Family, would he not
become a lamb in a tiger’s den? How would he find a wife in the
future?

"I think there’s no reason for me to go," Ai Hui replied with a

solemn tone. "The students’ swordplay training has reached a
critical junction. If their training stops now, wouldn’t all their
effort go down the drain…"

"Stop? Are you thinking about slacking off?" Madam Ye

laughed. "They will be coming along. The Fu Family is a huge
family, and they have many training arenas and rooms. Sisi, it
won’t too much of a hassle for you, right?"

Fu Sisi smiled and replied, "Madam, your words are too

flattering. It will be more lively if everyone goes together. This
is what Sisi has been hoping for. Sisi and everyone enjoys a
harmonious relationship, and all of us are best friends. Please
treat my home as your own when you arrive."

Best friends my foot!

Ai Hui almost burst out in rage. All of you are fighting and
plotting against each other. Do you think I am blind?

Madam Ye’s gaze shifted to the youths as an affable smile

appeared on her face. "What about all of you? Are all of you
willing to come? Don’t force yourself if you really don’t want
to."

Everyone nodded their heads vigorously.

"Of course we are willing to go!"

"We will go wherever Madam wants us to go!"

"Sorry for the troubles, Sister Fu."

 ...

Ai Hui did not know that what happened today would have a
huge impact on these people. After all, Ai Hui was not from an
aristocratic family, so he lacked understanding toward the
significance of the current situation. These young masters and
mistresses were extremely sensitive to changes in the situation.

Madam Ye’s display of might implied that she was prepared to

step into the spotlight.

The smile on Madam Ye’s face might appear affable and kind,
but in reality, this was a dangerous and critical moment.

It was time for them to pick a side.

Fortunately for them, from the moment they stepped foot in

the Ye Residence, they had already picked their side. Now, it
was merely time for them to officially state where their loyalty
lay. When the last person finished speaking, everyone looked at
each other and smiled. The intense competitive atmosphere had
lightened up significantly. They belonged to the same camp
now.
 Except for Ai Hui.

A lot of gazes fell upon Ai Hui. The quiet Teacher Chu seemed
to be out of place.

Ai Hui realized that his situation was becoming precarious

once more.

He did not act recklessly and maintained his composure.

At this moment, the butler ran over to them in a haste.

"Madam, there is updated news. Many bodies and tools have

been found in the underground canal. After verifying the
bodies’ identities, they were found to be the Yellow Sand
Bandits. None of them survived. It has been suspected that they
were being silenced by someone."

"You reap what you sow. Who can they blame?" Madam Ye
replied leisurely.

"Xiao Shuren will be very happy when she hears this news."
The old woman smiled.

When she saw the puzzled look on Madam Ye’s face, she
quickly explained, "The entire Great Wei Enterprise was
massacred by the Yellow Sand Bandits."

"I see." Madam Ye nodded her head. After a while, she

instructed the old woman, "Tell Xiao Shuren to go with us as
well. She is also a pathetic individual."

Madam Ye suddenly looked as if she remembered something.

Then, she turned around and looked at Ai Hui and asked,
"Teacher Chu, what do you think?"

Ai Hui clenched his teeth and replied, "I will let Madam make
all the decisions."
Chapter 358: Pearblossom Pavilion
If one had to choose the most unique structure in the Avalon
of Five Elements, it would undoubtedly be Pearblossom
Pavilion.

In the cold deep space above the area where humpback cloud
whales lived, there was a six-hectare wide platform of clouds
floating silently. On the top of the cloud platform, there was a
small courtyard with green roof tiles and white walls that stood
alone in the upper atmosphere. A small curvy path made up of
wooden planks extended from the entrance of the courtyard to
an octagonal pavilion situated at the edge of the cloud platform.

Pearblossom Pavilion was where Grandmaster An Muda lived.

An Muda liked serenity. As such, he built Pearblossom

Pavilion at a high altitude.

At this point in time, there were two people sitting across

from each other in Pearblossom Pavilion. One of them was a
white-haired old man who slouched on his chair, the other was
a valiant-looking girl who sat upright.
 The old man was An Muda, the last Grandmaster in the
Avalon of Five Elements. The girl seated opposite him was his
disciple, Shi Xueman.

An Muda was very happy to see his disciple. He had been

smiling the whole time since he met her.

The wrinkles on his face were very deep, resembling ravines

that were formed by the gushing river water of time as it eroded
the land of life. His thick eyelids always reminded Shi Xueman
of a pair of tortoise shells that were filled with spots and traces.
His eyes were turbid and dim. Shi Xueman remembered only a
few times that his eyes lit up, causing one’s heart to palpitate.
His long snow-white hair resembled cascading clouds falling
from the sky.

The appearance of Shi Xueman’s master had never changed

from the first time she met him.

However, when she saw her master today, she felt a tinge of
an aura of defeat from him. This tinge of aura might be weak in
nature, but it was extremely eye-striking in the pure and
sparkling Pearblossom Pavilion.
 She suddenly understood why her master would ask her to
come visit him. An unsuppressable sorrow filled her heart. Even
a Grandmaster like him would be defeated by Father Time?

"Master has heard of your issue. That unior of mine is not

very happy with you and your father. Hahaha." An Muda
chuckled.

When An Muda thought of the scowling look on his junior’s

face, he could not help but burst into laughter

Shi Xueman knew that An Muda’s junior was the Great Elder.
When she saw her master laughing to his heart’s content, she
smiled and poured some tea for him.

An Muda’s snowy eyebrows shrugged lightly, looking

extremely comical. "Master feels that you don’t need to care
about them. Do whatever you like to do. You have a good nature
and a good father. Master can’t lose out to your father and has
to be a good master to you as well. Hahaha."

An Muda was very satisfied with this disciple.

 He then continued happily, "I’m not at all worried about your
future. You have a different path from everyone else. The path
you’re walking is a grand one. If you continue to train like this,
sooner or later you will become a Grandmaster. Master’s style
doesn’t suit you. Therefore, I have not given you many pointers
so far."

If the outside world was to know An Muda’s evaluation of Shi

Xueman was so high, everyone would be very shocked. Usually,
all An Muda said about his disciple was something along the line
of "she was a nice girl."

Shi Xueman was slightly surprised. This was also the first
time she had heard her master giving her such an evaluation.

Very soon, she regained her composure and bowed lightly.

"Disciple understands."

"I never taught you many things, so I can’t let you call me
Master for nothing. After I pass away, this Pearblossom Pavilion
shall belong to you. Treat it as a present from Master."

Immediately, Shi Xueman’s eyes became red and her nose

started to sniff. "Master…"
 An Muda waved his hand and continued, "Don’t react like
this. Ever since Master became a Grandmaster, I have set myself
apart from my rivals and enjoyed a happy life. My entire life has
not been wasted. Furthermore, I am not dying soon. The reason
why I asked you to come this time is because I have a few things
to remind you."

Shi Xueman choked with emotions. After a while, she quickly

raised her head and sat upright. With a solemn tone, she said,
"Master, tell me!"

"Master can live for another two to three years, so you don’t
need to be so worried. The first thing I want to talk about is
your training. I know you have resigned from your position and
have lost your opportunity to take part in Master’s Glory. I want
to remind you that even if you have the opportunity to
participate in Master’s Glory, don’t do it. It will clash with the
path that you are on," An Muda said smilingly.

"Disciple will remember it!" Shi Xueman replied solemnly.

An Muda waved his hand and continued, "No need to be so

serious. The second thing is that during this period of time, the
Elders Guild will do two things. They will build a God-subduing
Peak and promote Master’s Glory with all their might. By doing
these two things, even if I pass away, the Elders Guild would
still possess the ability to defend itself. Since you have left the
North Sea Division, you don’t need to care about the Elders
Guild anymore."

"Yes."

"Also, if one day the Avalon of Five Elements really collapses,

all of you shall return to the Old Territory.

Shi Xueman was extremely shocked. She stared blankly at her

master.

"Don’t look at me like that," An Muda said cheerfully. "I’m

just saying if it happens. The situation is not that critical right
now."

After remaining silent for a while, Shi Xueman asked, "Why

the Old Territory?"

"That’s the origin." An Muda appeared to be in a trance. He

stared into the distance as if he was looking forward to
something.
 While Shi Xueman digested the words of her master, she
gazed outside of the pavilion as well. Separated by the vast
empty space, the Silver Mist Sea beneath the pavilion appeared
blurry to her. Invisible energy waves were defusing in the
empty space beneath her. Those were the traces left by a
humpback cloud whale swimming in the upper atmosphere.

The Old Territory was an extremely unfamiliar place to her.

Why did Master want her to go to the Old Territory? Could

going to the Old Territory keep her safe and alive? What origin?

Shi Xueman was unsure. Just as she was about to open her
mouth and ask again, An Muda suddenly turned around and
said, "It’s everyone’s origin."

…..

The residence of the Fu Family was brightly lit. The servants

ran about like gushing river water, appearing to be extremely
busy.

The Fu Family had prepared the highest level of reception for

Madam Ye and her counterparts. The grand welcoming banquet
that the Fu Family prepared made it seem like they were
celebrating the New Year.

The banquet itself was extremely lively. Without a doubt,

Madam Ye was seated at the seat of honor. Seated beside her
was the head of the Fu Family, Fu Huaien. Ai Hui saw his
cheapskate student, Fu Yongwu, and his brother, Fu Renxuan.

There was a drunk fellow named Jiu Gui and a lecherous guy
called Prince.

Ai Hui did not expect them to know him and was puzzled by
this fact for quite a while. It was only when they mentioned Hua
Kui that Ai Hui knew they were from the Grass Hall as well.
This further proved that Madam Ye had a deep relationship
with the Grass Hall since two of their experts were members of
her entourage.

The Fu Family had never held a banquet for so many people

before. The long table extended from the great hall to the main
entrance.

The dinner was extremely sumptuous and the dishes were

alluring. However, Ai Hui did not have the mood to eat at all. He
absent-mindedly grabbed a few mouthfuls of food as he racked
his brain to think of a way to escape from here.

The news of the assassination attempt on Lin Xiao had spread

throughout Silver City. Every family was on tenterhooks.

The Fu Family’s guards were on high alert. Meanwhile, the

old lady that served Madam Ye was unfathomable. There were
more than a few times Ai Hui caught her surveying him. The
faint tinge of scrutiny behind her gaze made him feel as if there
was a sword placed behind his neck.

The great hall looked extremely lively, but in reality,

everyone’s attention was placed upon Madam Ye and Fu
Huaien. All of them had their ears perked up.

Madam Ye had an affable smile on her face, giving one the

feeling of warmth. After talking to her for a while, Fu Huaien
was completely overwhelmed by her. He had heard of her when
he was young. However, after she got married, there was no
more news of her. She led a low-profile life and was seldom seen
in the public.
 With the backing of the Great Elder and her shrewdness, what
was there to be worried about?

Fu Huaien held up a full wine cup and gave Madam Ye a toast,

"Madam is indeed an extraordinary individual. Huaien is willing
to play a second fiddle to Madam. From today onward, the Fu
Family will follow Madam wholeheartedly and be at your
disposal!"

After finishing his sentence, he downed his cup in one gulp.

"What disposal? You are being too courteous. From today

onward, we are all one big family."

Madam Ye did not allow herself to lose to a man. She poured

herself a full cup of wine and downed it in one gulp.

Fu Huaien was extremely touched by the Madam Ye’s respect

toward him. He immediately downed three straight cups of
wine.

The fate of the Fu Family was set after joining the Great
Elder’s camp.
 The atmosphere in the hall became harmonious and lively.
Everyone was drinking and toasting each other to their hearts’
content.

Suddenly, an arrogant voice rang across the room.

"Since today is a good day, how can we just drink alcohol

alone. Let’s have a bout to liven things up even more! Madam,
may I have your permission please!"

A youth stood up and walked to the center of the hall. To

everyone’s surprise, it was Fu Yongwu.

He bowed respectfully to Madam Ye and then to Fu Huaien.

"I have long heard that Fu Yongwu is exceptionally talented.

Today, I can see that you’re indeed an outstanding individual,"
Madam Ye praised him.

Fu Huaien was greatly consoled upon hearing Madam Ye’s

praises for his son.
 Madam Ye held up her wine cup and continued loudly,
"Yongwu is right! First, there was the blood catastrophe. Then,
there was the mutiny of the Jadeite Forest. The Avalon of Five
Elements has never been in such a perilous situation for the past
millenia. We are walking on eggshells, and our nation is on the
verge of collapsing. What can we do? Only by being brave, only
by taking up arms, and only by having a positive attitude can we
save ourselves from this crisis and have a clear conscience!
Cheers!"

She raised her head and downed her drink in one gulp.

Everyone was fired up as their emotions went out of control.

All of them stood up and yelled together, "Cheers!"

Even Ai Hui felt a sense of respect toward Madam Ye. He

silently praised Madam Ye in his heart. She was able to boost
everyone’s morale with just words alone, bringing a brand new
attitude to them. Upon seeing the reverence and zealotry in the
surrounding people’s eyes, Ai Hui simultaneously developed a
sense of admiration and vigilance regarding Madam Ye.

The atmosphere was extremely lively. Everyone’s gaze was

directed at Madam Ye at the same time.
 With a smile on her face, Madam Ye continued with an
attractive tone, "Of course, the Avalon of Five Elements cannot
just depend on the old fellows like us. It needs the younger
generation as well. All of you are the pillars, the future, and the
hope of the Avalon of Five Elements. Since you want to liven
things up, there has to be rewards. For the previous
competition, I took out the Star Reaper. This time around, the
reward is an elemental elixir."

The entire hall burst into an uproar.

Ai Hui’s face froze. He was shocked by Madam Ye’s

generosity.

Elemental elixir! It’s an elemental elixir!

A so-called elemental elixir was an elixir that was made from

the essence of a high-grade dire beast. After refining and
processing it, the elemental energy within the elemental elixir
could be directly absorbed by an elementalist.

This was also the only use for elemental elixirs.

 The old lady walked into the hall holding a plate in her hand.
On the plate, there were five elemental elixirs that were of
completely different colors and gave off five different lusters.
The noisy hall became quiet in an instant. Everyone’s face was
filled with incredulity.

Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Five types of elemental

elixirs!

"The ultimate victor can choose one of these five elemental

elixirs."

Madam Ye’s words were like adding fuel to flames, causing

the hall to burst into an uproar again. Everyone’s gaze was filled
with frenzy.

Should he do it…

Ai Hui was gulping his saliva as an internal struggle took place

within his head.

"I challenge Chu Zhaoyang!"

 Ai Hui was stunned and raised his head subconsciously.

With an arrogant look on his face, his cheapskate disciple was

pointing his sword at him.

Ai Hui was instantly overjoyed.

Chapter 359: A Renowned Master, A
Brilliant Disciple
The atmosphere in the Ling Residence was extremely
depressing. Everyone felt tense.

Madam Ling stroked Ling Sheng’s face lightly as her tears

continuously flowed down her cheeks. Earlier today, there was
an assassination attempt on her son, causing him to be severely
injured and falling into a coma from which he had yet to wake.
Subsequently, on the same day, her husband’s right arm was
chopped off, similarly rendering him in a comatose state.

Her world collapsed just like this.

She heard footsteps behind her. The butler stood at the

doorstep with a worried look on his face. He was about to say
something, but then hesitated.

"Spit it out, what more bad news do you have for me?" Madam
Ling regained her composure.

"The namelist that we submitted for Master’s Glory has been

declined by the Elders Guild," the butler bowed and reported the
news.

"All right, excuse yourself. I need some time to calm myself

down," Madam Ling said plainly.

The butler did not dare to say anything else. He bowed and
carefully closed the door before he left the room.

There was no one else in the room. In front of the bed, she
stood up and walked to the dressing table. Looking at the pale
and haggard woman in the mirror, she began to dress and
groom herself.

Very soon, the woman in the mirror became gorgeous and

charming once more.

Her slim and white hand grasped a colored glass lamp on the
dressing table and turned it lightly. An entrance to a tunnel
suddenly appeared in the corner of the room. Holding up her
magnificent long dress, she stepped into the tunnel and walked
down a flight of stairs.

The tunnel smelled terrible. Poisonous insects like centipedes

and scorpions could be seen everywhere. Madam Ling’s facial
expression remained the same, appearing as if she had never
seen them at all.

After walking for some time, she heard a clamor coming from
the tunnel exit. She came before the exit, unlocked the door,
and lightly pushed it open. When the door was opened, the
volume of the clamor increased significantly. She found herself
in a private room. Concealing the secret door to the tunnel in
the private room was a hanging landscape painting that reached
the floor.

No one would expect that this thriving and prosperous

restaurant would hide a tunnel that was connected to the Ling
Residence. The owner of this restaurant had no relationship
with the Ling Residence at all.

In the private room, food and drink had been set up on the
table. There was a middle-aged man eating and drinking by
himself.

The man had a squarish face with a pair of thick eyebrows. He

looked imposing and ferocious. He was a regular customer in
this restaurant, and all the employees were very familiar with
him. He was the head of the "number one training hall,"
Dragonrise Training Hall, Master Yang Zhen.

Upon seeing Madam Ling, the man sighed, "It has been hard
on you."

Madam Ling walked to the seat opposite Yang Zhen and sat.
With an indifferent voice, she replied, "This is life."

Yang Zhen put down his wine cup and asked, "What do you
want me to do? Assassinate Ye Lin? I’m afraid that is very
difficult to achieve. The old servant by her side is as powerful as
me."

A sneer appeared on Madam Ling’s face. The bitter

resentment in her eyes was intense and distinct. She replied,
"Can you make someone regret by killing him or her? No. The
only way to make her regret is to make her lose everything she
has now."

Yang Zhen looked slightly doubtful. He picked up his wine

cup, took a sip, and tasted it slowly in his mouth. Then, he
replied, "I can’t think of any ways to make Ye Lin lose
everything she has."
 "Who has never done anything stupid when they were
young?"

Madam Ling passed Yang Zhen a piece of paper.

Yang Zhen took over the piece of paper and looked at it.
Immediately, he was overwhelmed with shock. "Is… Is this
true?"

"What do you think?" Madam Ling retorted.

Yang Zhen became silent and drank his wine. After a long
while, he raised his head and asked, "What do you want me to
do?"

"Spread this out." Madam Ling fumed with rage between

gritted teeth. "I want everyone in the world to know the true
colors of this sl*t!"

The hand that Yang Zhen used to hold the piece of paper
trembled lightly.
 …..

The residence of the Fu Family.

Fu Yongwu’s sudden challenge to Chu Zhaoyang shocked

everyone, while Madam Ye’s encouragement and generosity
completely lit up the atmosphere of the hall.

Everyone’s gaze fell on Chu Zhaoyang.

Jiu Gui, who was drinking by himself, and Prince, who was
hitting on the girls around him, stopped what they were doing
at the same time.

Prince asked curiously, "What do you think of this young

fellow’s strength?"

Jiu Gui’s hazy and intoxicated eyes opened up slightly. With a

drunken voice, he replied, "Hua Kui is such a picky fellow.
Anyone that he chooses is more or less capable."

"It’s a pity that this fellow never fought the previous time."
Prince said with regret in his voice.

Jiu Gui heaved a deep sigh of intoxicated air, "We will get to
see later. It’s an elemental elixir. If not for the fact that I am too
embarrassed to fight for it with these youngsters, I would have
gone for it."

"I, myself, want to go for it too." Prince sighed as well. "The

depth of the Ye Residence’s might is really unfathomable. I
heard that the reward last time was a pair of [Star Reaper
Gloves]. This time around, she actually took out elemental
elixirs as a reward. When we were young, did we ever encounter
such good stuff?"

The two of them were filled with envy.

Under everyone’s gaze, Ai Hui stood up unhurriedly, walked

to the center of the hall, and asked, "You want to challenge me?"

Fu Yongwu stared fiercely at Ai Hui. He could tell that this

cold and gloomy middle-aged man, who could not even stand up
straight, was not a person of good character. How was he
compatible with his elder sister?
 "So you’re the one who has been bugging my elder sister?" Fu
Yongwu asked coldly.

Ai Hui was stunned. He pointed his finger at his own face and
asked with incredulity, "Me? Bugging your elder sister?"

He almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He finally understood

how it felt to be called a thief by a thief. He wished he could hug
his cheapskate disciple’s legs and beg him to let him off. Good
disciple, I beg you to ask your elder sister to let Master off!

If your big sister let Master off, Master will leave without even
wanting the elemental elixir.

It’s a pity Ai Hui could not…

Ai Hui flicked the Silverfold Plum in his hand and looked at

his cheapskate disciple with a regretful gaze. Life was always
filled with so many moments of helplessness.

When Fu Yongwu saw Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze, he was stunned.

He felt that Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze looked somewhat familiar.
Suddenly, he realized why this was so. Did Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze
not look somewhat similar to his teacher, Ai Hui’s?

Fu Yongwu became enraged all of a sudden.

If it was Teacher Ai Hui that looked at him like this, he would

not mind. Even though he was gradually set apart from Teacher
Ai Hui due to family reasons, his respect toward him had not
decreased the slightest bit. Teacher Ai Hui had accomplished so
many extraordinary feats. The moment he saw that Teacher Ai
Hui could rally multitudes with a single call, he knew of his
importance in everyone’s heart.

Coincidentally, Chu Zhaoyang was also a teacher that taught

swordsmanship.

Don’t think you can look at me like this just because you’re a
teacher!

Fu Yongwu stared ferociously at Chu Zhaoyang. Not backing

off, he said, "I advise you to give up on my elder sister. Humph,
you’re a toad that’s lusting after a swan’s flesh. Look at yourself.
Do you think you're compatible with my elder sister?"
 Chu Zhaoyang suddenly became furious, "Hey, can you then
tell me how am I not not compatible with her?"

With a disdainful look on his face, Fu Yongwu replied, "Do

you still need me to tell you? Look at how beautiful my sister is
and then look at how ugly you are. Since the ancient times,
married couples’ families were always well-matched in term of
social status. Let me ask you, are you from a prestigious family?"

"No." Ai Hui shook his head.

Fu Yongwu continued, "Since your family background doesn’t

match her, how can I watch her jump into a living hell with
you? I heard that you’re a swordplay teacher. I myself have
practiced swordsmanship for some time as well. Let’s have a
bout."

He stepped into his fighting stance and drew his sword and
pointed it at Ai Hui. "Come!"

Ai Hui examined his stance and felt slightly surprised. Fu

Yongwu’s stance was well-guarded and balanced. It seemed that
he had been practicing hard every day.
 "Not bad," Ai Hui nodded his head.

"My master is the renowned Ai Hui, the Lightning Blade. I

heard that your swordsmanship is very powerful, but in my
heart, my master is the best."

"His name is Ai Hui?" Chu Zhaoyang’s face turned pale with

fright.

"That’s right!" Fu Yongwu replied proudly.

"I have heard of Lightning Blade Ai Hui’s superb and

outstanding swordsmanship," Chu Zhaoyang’s face was filled
with adoration. Following which, the look of adoration on his
face became a regretful one, "It’s a pity he is not in Silver City.
Otherwise, I would want to have a drink with him and discuss
swordsmanship. Fine, fine, fine. Since you’re the Lightning
Blade’s disciple, you must be rather outstanding as well. A
renowned master, a brilliant disciple. I shall concede defeat
then."

A dead silence swept across the hall abruptly.

 Prince’s facial expression and movements froze. The meat
that was wedged between his chopsticks fell on the table, but he
was completely oblivious to it. Beside him, Jiu Hui choked on
his wine, and his entire face turned red.

Everyone else was caught off guard and became

dumbfounded.

Fu Sisi’s facial expression turned ugly. However, she regained

her composure very soon.

Currently, the Fu Family had already succeeded in hugging

Madam Ye’s legs and formed a feud with the Ling Residence.
Given the current situation, she did not need to use Chu
Zhaoyang’s status as the Ye Residence’s swordplay teacher to
protect her family.

Chu Zhaoyang had a mysterious background. His methods of

doing things were cunning and unpredictable.

Did he not know what Madam would think of him?

Right now, the Fu Family was hugging Madam Ye’s legs

tightly. What mattered the most was Madam Ye’s attitude
toward them.

Fu Sisi glanced at Madam Ye. Upon seeing that Madam Ye was

smiling cheerfully and in good mood, Fu Sisi felt relieved.

Fu Yongwu had not expected Chu Zhaoyang to admit defeat as

well. He could not help but feel shocked. However, very soon,
he returned to his senses. Could it be that his persuasive power
had increased?

He was overjoyed. His gaze toward Chu Zhaoyang

immediately became much friendlier. Other than being ugly,
poor, and having a lousy family background, Chu Zhaoyang was
a rather good guy.

He coughed softly to break the silence. Then, he spoke with a

dignified voice, "It’s a good thing for everyone that you can
come to your senses. Even though you can’t be my brother-in-
law, we still can be brothers. Your problems shall be my
problems as well! Whoever finds trouble with you is equivalent
to finding trouble with me!"

"You will be a loyal friend! Brother, you are indeed very kind!
In the future, if I encounter any problems, I shall find you for
help!" Chu Zhaoyang gave him a thumbs-up.

"No problem!" Fu Yongwu smacked his own chest.

Fu Sisi’s gaze was fixated on Chu Zhaoyang. She felt puzzled

and mindful at the same time. What was Chu Zhaoyang up to
this time around? She knew how avaricious Chu Zhaoyang was.
There was no reason for him to be enticed by 1,000 Heaven
Merit Points, but not by the precious elemental elixir!

Was he worried about the Ling Residence?

The Ye Residence and Ling Residence had completely fallen

out with each other. There would be a series of confrontations
between these two families. Chu Zhaoyang did not need to be
afraid of the Ling Residence at all.

Was there something that she missed out on?

When Chu Zhaoyang casually walked back to his seat, an

awkward silence swept across the previously vibrant hall. No
one knew how to react to this surprising outcome.
 Chu Zhaoyang cupped his hands in salute and began to
immerse himself in the food.

Gui Hu and the rest looked at each other in dismay. They were
puzzled since they were aware of this teacher’s morality and
conduct.

It was a fact that he had no shame. However, he did not seem

like someone who could ignore the enticement of an elemental
elixir.

Instantly, the young members of the Fu Family looked at Chu

Zhaoyang with disdain and contempt.

After a short period of awkward silence, the hall bustled with

activities once more. No one could ignore the allure of the
elemental elixirs. There were a few times when Ai Hui noticed
that someone was secretly observing him. However, each time,
he acted like he did not know, and he did not try to look for that
person.

Could it be that he had become a hot commodity as well?

 Ai Hui laughed bitterly in his heart as he continued to
immerse himself in the food.

The atmosphere was extremely lively. The entire hall was

filled with the smell of alcohol and toasts could be heard
incessantly. Those taking part in the bout were fighting
fervently, displaying all kinds of spectacular abilities. On the
two sides of the long table, servants were continuously shuttling
to and fro, bringing out good wine and delicious food in an
endless stream.

Ai Hui, who was indulging himself in the food, suddenly froze.

Chapter 360: Reunion
Silver City was really not a good place to be.

This was not the first time Ai Hui had such a feeling. It was as
if he was born to loathe this place.

At this point in time, the dining hall was like a boiling

cauldron of voices. Faces were intoxicated. Anything that was
put into one’s mouth was either delicious food or fine wine.
Anybody that one saw with his eyes was a beauty.

In this place, other than getting drunk and making a ruckus

with everyone, there was nothing else one could do. Everyone’s
face brimmed with joy, completely lacking in vigilance.
Everyone knew what distance to maintain from each other to
make sure they, themselves, were safe and that the other party
was comfortable.

Just like the fine wine and delicious food, exquisite lies and
fake smiles could be found everywhere.

As compared to tonight’s banquet, the last party Ai Hui had in

the Swordsman Training Hall was simple and crude. A party
that was specially for savage people, to be exact.

Everyone had had their arms around each other’s shoulders

while eating, drinking, babbling nonsense. There had been no
elegance to speak of. No one had to worry about bragging and
talking about their troubles. If one wanted to cry, then he or she
would cry. If one wanted to laugh, then he or she would laugh.
Everyone had acted like an idiot.

Ai Hui had never missed that moment more than now.

In this place, everyone put on a mask and tried their best to

outperform each other. An exquisite crystal chandelier hung
high above their heads, looking grand and resplendent. Even
though there were so many people around Ai Hui, he still felt
lonely.

Silver City was like an exceptionally beautiful lake. The

surface of the lake was like a mirror, reflecting the image of the
sky perfectly. However, beneath the tranquil lake, there were
numerous invisible whirlpools. These whirlpools were the
prestigious aristocratic families.

The aristocratic families’ influence could be found

everywhere in Silver City. Their tentacles had extended to every
nook and cranny of Silver City.

The moment one stepped into Silver City, he or she would be

swept into one of these whirlpools. No one could avoid this fate.
It was normal to lack the freedom to act independently in this
place. Even the mighty Madam Ye and Fu Huaien were in this
situation as well.

Silver City might look like an beautiful and alluring painting,

but in reality, it was a pale and hollow painting. Just like how
the beautiful and visionary speech that Madam Ye previously
gave had already been forgotten by everyone. Everyone looked
to the two individuals battling in the arena with their
bloodshot, intoxicated eyes.

Other than immersing himself in the food, what else could Ai

Hui do?

He wished he could leave this place now.

He was not someone who would back away from any problem
or danger he encountered. However, for some unknown reason,
in this brightly-lit, fully-packed, and bustling dining hall, his
urge to run away and leave this place became even stronger.

Unfortunately, he had not found the notebook yet.

He continued to gobble up the food. Only by doing this could

he get rid of the bad feeling within him.

At this moment, a feeling of extreme danger suddenly arose in

Ai Hui’s heart, freezing his body momentarily. After one
second, his body loosened up. He pretended to drink water and
raised his head, slowly scanning his surrounding.

The feeling of danger was extremely strong. The premonition

in Ai Hui’s heart did not disappear and became stronger instead.

Ai Hui appeared no different from the rest. However, he was

extremely focused, and his body was preparing itself for
something to happen. If anything bad was to happen, he would
be ready to strike.

The feeling of danger became faintly discernable. Ai Hui, an

experienced individual, knew that the danger was not targeting
him. The weird thing was that he indistinctly sensed a familiar
aura.

If the danger was not targeting him, then who was it

targeting?

Ai Hui’s brain began to operate rapidly as his gaze continued

sweeping across his surroundings. Suddenly, a thought flashed
across his mind. Who was the one that was most likely to be
assassinated?

Ai Hui turned his head around abruptly and looked at Madam

Ye, who was seated at the seat of honor.

If a crisis occurred, the one who was most likely to be

targeted… must be Madam Ye!

Madam Ye was chatting happily with Fu Huaien. The

unfathomable old woman guarded her from behind. Her
vigilant gaze scanned through her surroundings every now and
then.

Ai Hui’s eyes were extremely sharp. He immediately noticed a

servant that was getting closer to Madam Ye. The servant was
holding a plate of piping hot food, appearing as if nothing was
out of the ordinary.

Was he being too paranoid?

At this moment, the servant happened to turn around and

face Ai Hui.

Ai Hui’s eye pupils shrunk. The servant’s eyes contained a

tinge of blood-red demonic glow.

The Blood of God!

Horrified, Ai Hui stood up abruptly and yelled, "Be careful!"

He finally understood why he sensed danger. He was

extremely sensitive to blood spiritual force. His instinctive
hatred for the Blood of God was embedded within his body.

The old woman reacted the fastest. Just as Ai Hui stood up,
she was already protecting Madam Ye.
 When the servant saw that his surprise attack had failed, a
look of determination appeared on his face.

His body inflated rapidly like a balloon, and his face became
distorted, appearing extremely hideous.

"What is that?"

"Oh my god!"

The old woman’s facial expression changed drastically.

10 meters away from her, the inflated servant exploded with a

loud boom

A glaring red light momentarily blinded everyone. A

terrifying aura engulfed the entire dining hall. Blood-curdling
screams and cries of alarm could be heard incessantly.

Ai Hui reacted extremely fast. Immediately, he flipped up the

ironwood table in front of him with his foot and crouched
down. The table acted like a big shield in front of him.
 Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of densely-packed collisions fell nonstop on his

ears. Numerous bumps began to appear on the bottom of the
sturdy table. Pieces of torn flesh rapidly flew by him like arrows
that were launched from a bow.

The people surrounding Ai Hui collapsed in an instant.

The air in the dining hall was pervaded with the uniquely
sweet smell of blood poison. Ai Hui’s eyes suddenly reddened.
His inner hatred for the Blood of God caused him to
involuntarily tremble. The entire hall seemed to be shrouded in
a red blood mist.

At this moment, the blood plum blossom on Ai Hui’s chest

trembled, freezing his body.

This was…

Ai Hui widened his eyes. He suddenly realized that One

Thousand Yuan was nearby!
 The old woman received the most damage from the servant’s
explosion. She had endured more than half of the impact from
the blast. Her hair was dishevelled and blood flowed out from
the corner of her mouth, making her look extremely pathetic.

"Protect Madam!"

The old woman let of a bellow and a miserable shriek at

almost the same time. Amid the blood mist, two figures could be
seen separating upon making contact.

Not good!

Ai Hui’s facial expression changed drastically. He felt really

stupid. Other than Madam Ye, who else could One Thousand
Yuan possibly target?

With a pair of glaring eyes, the old woman stood motionlessly

in front of Madam Ye.

Suddenly, a streak of blood shot out from her neck. Following

which, blood began to flow out of her neck like gushing spring
water. She then collapsed onto the ground with a loud bang.
 Was… was she dead?

Ai Hui was flabbergasted. The old woman’s strength was

unfathomable, and he suspected that she was at least at the level
of a Master. However, a Master like her had just collapsed right
in front of him. Even a Master could be so fragile when hit with
a carefully planned assassination attempt.

For the first time, panic was written all over Madam Ye’s face.
When she saw the old woman collapse to the ground, the panic
on her face turned into fear.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ai Hui suddenly saw a weird-

looking figure dashing silently toward Madam Ye.

One Thousand Yuan!

She was trying to kill Madam Ye!

"Stop!"

"Be careful!"
 Jiu Gui and Prince both cried out in alarm. They were seated
at the entrance and far away from Madam Ye. As such, when
they witnessed this horrifying scene, they were unable to do
anything, regardless of how much they wanted to. They could
only cry out a warning.

Damn it!

Without hesitation, Ai Hui dashed forward. Sticking close to

the wall, he pounced forward like a ferocious tiger. As he flew
up into air, he unleashed a snow-white sword gleam that
streaked across the dining hall.

Fu Yongwu was very lucky. Because of the location where he

was seated, his brother, Fu Renxuan, had blocked most of the
attack. However, this unforeseen event still left him in shock.

Suddenly, a dazzling cold sword gleam flashed across his eyes.

He quickly returned to his senses and saw Chu Zhaoyang’s

tiger-like back and the biting-cold sword gleam.

The image of the silvery light expanded rapidly in Madam Ye’s

vision, A terrifying killing intent overwhelmed her, causing her
brain and body to freeze.

Chu Zhaoyang’s cold scarred face suddenly increased in size

from her perspective. His pair of eyes were filled with a deep-
rooted hatred and the viciousness of a predator. The dazzling
sword gleam was so cold that it did not contain a single tinge of
warmth.

Is he… trying to kill me?

The fear on Madam Ye’s face grew at a visible speed,

resembling the expanding ripples on a pond after a rock had
been thrown into it.

The figure that silently dashed toward Madam Ye flicked her

hand.

Clink!

At the instant when Ai Hui made contact with the figure, the
Silverfold Plum in his hand appeared as if it had been pierced
into a whirlpool of void. A powerful attractive force was sucking
him into the whirlpool. The glow in Ai Hui’s eyes flickered and
that mysterious force disappeared.

At this moment, Ai Hui was certain that the lady disguised as

a servant girl was She Yu!

The Demonic Girl of God Nation!

Wearing an elemental mask on her face, She Yu looked like an

ordinary servant girl. However, as her eyes lit up, a tinge of
liveliness flashed across her plain-looking face

The servant girl’s mouth curled into an enigmatic smile. Her

tongue involuntarily licked her luscious bright-colored lips,
resembling a predator that had discovered traces of its prey.

So you were here!

The surging energy wave from the collision knocked Madam

Ye a few steps back. When she stabilized herself, she noticed a
figure was standing in front of her and protecting her. By this
point, Madam Ye had realized that Chu Zhaoyang had just saved
her. A tinge of gratitude appeared within her eyes.
 Jiu Gui spat out a cloud of wine mist. A horseman dashed out
of the wine mist and charged at servant in front of Chu
Zhaoyang.

Prince flew up into the air and raised his great sword over his
head. Locking on to his target, he pumped all his energy into
this attack!

The third person to react was actually Su Huaijun. She waved

her hand and threw out her jade bamboo stick.

The bamboo stick landed beside Madam Ye’s feet and began to
grow. Following which, a green-colored light screen was
released and enshrouded Madam Ye.

She Yu winked at Ai Hui. Then, her body trembled in an odd

way, looking as if she was breaking away from some kind of
restriction. Suddenly, the charging wine mist horseman and
Prince’s overhead slash both completely lost their target.

The enemy was initially there, but they could not accurately
target her.
 The empty space in front of Chu Zhaoyang pissed off Prince so
much that he almost vomited blood.

Meanwhile, the wine mist horseman dissipated into the air.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the servant girl vanished

into thin air.

Those who saw this sight felt a cold shiver run down their
spines.

Only Ai Hui saw what She Yu silently mouthed to him before

she disappeared. The chilliness within his heart became more
intense.

"I will be back for you."

Chapter 361: Painstaking Investigation
The residence of the Fu Family was filled with anguished
wails.

The dining hall was messy and chaotic. Casualties could be

found everywhere. The impact of the servant’s self-destruction
was not that large, but the incident had happened too suddenly.
Being caught off guard caused devastating losses.

It merely took tens of seconds for merriment to turn into

bereavement.

The one who suffered the greatest loss was Madam Ye.

With a sorrowful pale-white face, she kneeled beside the body

of the old woman. She used trembling fingers to close the old
woman’s wide glaring eyes. This was the first time Madam Ye
had come so close to death. She was literally a few steps away
from death. If not for her loyal old servant using her body to
protect her, Madam Ye would also be lying in a pool of blood
right now.

She stared at the body of the old woman as her eyes filled with
intense grief. The old woman had followed Madam Ye for many
years and had gained her trust. Madam Ye treated her as part of
her family.

The death of a Master dealt a huge blow to Madam Ye’s

strength.

"Give her an honorable burial," Madam Ye said to a servant in

a low voice.

Madam Ye stood up from the ground. There were a lot of

things that she needed to do. The Fu Family had just pledged
their allegiance to her and immediately received such a huge
blow. The Fu Family’s confidence was definitely wavering.

Madam Ye was sure that the Fu Family did not know anything
about the surprise attack on their residence. This was because
most of the casualties were members of the Fu Family.

Even Fu Huaien, who had been near Madam Ye, was severely
injured by the impact of the explosion.

The Fu Family had suffered a crippling loss and might not be

able to recover from this setback.

She could not let the Fu Family collapse just like this.

The quest for talent needed a vast amount of effort and

resources. If the first family to pledge allegiance to her collapsed
just like this, how would the other families still dare to join her?

Madam Ye shuttled to and fro among the casualties. She

arranged medical treatment for them and maintained order in
the hall. Very quickly, even though the number of casualties did
not decrease, everyone’s morale had soon been elevated. Fear
and panic had been subdued.

Prince walked over and patted Ai Hui’s shoulder. "Good job!"

Ai Hui returned to his senses and understood that Prince was

referring to blocking the recent assassination attempt. "It’s
nothing. It’s my duty to do so," Ai Hui replied.

Jiu Gui nodded his head in approval at Ai Hui as well.

 If anything was to happen to Madam Ye, both of them would
be severely punished. Madam Ye and the Grass Hall had a deep
relationship. Since they had been in the Grass Hall for a much
longer period than Ai Hui, they naturally knew more things.

Ai Hui scanned his surroundings as his mind filled with

suspicion and doubt.

Why was One Thousand Yuan in Silver City? What exactly did
One Thousand Yuan want?

To assassinate Madam Ye? Ai Hui did not think so.

The assassination attempt was abnormally brief and precise.

No matter how one looked at it, it was meticulously planned.
Not only did it cause Madam Ye to lose an expert, it almost
ended her life as well.

However, for some reason, Ai Hui felt that there was

something wrong.

He calmed himself down and slowly sorted out his thinking

process. It was during the daytime that Madam decided to come
to the Fu Family’s residence. The assassination attempt took
place on the night of the same day. This meant that One
Thousand Yuan had approximately half a day’s time to prepare
for this assassination attempt, unless she had already been
hiding in the Fu family and the assassination opportunity just
happened to present itself.

However, Ai Hui felt that the possibility of this happening was

too low.

If this was not the cause, then that meant One Thousand Yuan
had the support of a local family who was powerful and
influential. Only a powerful and influential local family could
obtain the news of Madam Ye’s visit and infiltrate the Fu Family
in such a short period of time.

Could it be the Ling Residence?

Logically speaking, the Ling Residence was the main suspect.

It would not be unusual for this assassination attempt to be part
of their revenge against the humiliation and losses they had just
suffered. However, Ai Hui still felt that something was amiss
about this conjecture.
 Suddenly, Ai Hui thought of the assassination attempt on Ling
Xiao. His body froze as he seemed to catch on to something.

The assassination attempt on Lin Xiao was the flashpoint for

the animosity between the Ye Residence and the Ling Residence.

Assassination attempt on Lin Xiao… Assassination attempt on

Lin Xiao…

Ai Hui caught ahold of the main point. Was the assassination

attempt on Lin Xiao planned by One Thousand Yuan? When
this idea flashed across Ai Hui’s mind, his mind jolted abruptly.
If this was the case, then many things could now be explained.

The Ling Residence was the representative for aristocratic

families, while Madam Ye was the representative of the Great
Elder and the Elders Guild. A fight between these two parties
would cause the Avalon of Five Elements an immense loss of
strength.

Weakening the Avalon of Five Elements was something that

the Blood of God had always wanted to do.
 However, other than causing Madam Ye to lose an expert, the
assassination attempt this time around did not yield very many
results. Furthermore, the assassination attempt also exposed
the Blood of God’s involvement in this incident. Everyone could
identify the blood poison used in the attack.

Revealing the existence of the Blood of God’s spies in Silver

City would caused One Thousand Yuan more harm than good.

Unless…

At this moment, he heard Jiu Gui yell, "Be careful, the enemy
has not left yet!"

Everyone, including Ai Hui, became tense!

Despicable!

The enemy pretended to leave the area and hid in one corner,
waiting for the right opportunity to strike again.

Jiu Gui spat out a cloud of wine mist. A horseman emerged

from the wine mist and charged toward the corner of the room.
Suddenly, in the previously empty corner, a few figures
appeared out of thin air.

When the infiltrators realized that they were exposed, two of

them charged at the wine mist horseman and the rest split into
two groups that started attacking everyone.

The situation immediately became dangerous.

Most of the injured were lying on the ground. Everyone’s

attention was placed on treating the wounded. The sudden
outbreak of fighting sent everyone into a panic.

All of the Fu Family’s guards ran forward to stop the enemies.

However, what happened next frightened everyone. The guards
dropped down one by one, resembling wheat stalks that had
been reaped.

At this point in time, Fu Sisi’s face had already turned pale-

white. The heavy losses that the Fu Family suffered today made
her feel horrified. Initially, she wanted to carve a new path for
the Fu Family and prevent them from being annexed by the
Ling Residence. However, she did not expect that the new path
would be so cruel and devastating.

"Stop them! Protect Madam!" Fu Huaien stepped forward and

roared with a stern voice.

Among the many generations of family heads, Fu Huaien’s

aptitude was considered average. When compared to the young
and inexperienced Fu Sisi, however, he was still very capable.
When he saw his family guards collapsing one by one, his eyes
surged with rage. With a roar, he pounced on the enemies.

The absolute art of the Fu Family, [Green Dragon Art], was on

full display.

When Fu Sisi saw her bloodied father dash forward, tears

flowed down her cheeks.

Fu Huaien’s skin ignited with surging elemental energy.

Cracks began to appear on his skin. These cracks emitted a
green glow and looked like green dragon scales growing out his
body. The sclera of Fu Huaien’s eyes turned green as his eye
pupils disappeared.
 A terrifying aura shot into the sky.

When Fu Huaien enter the battle, the collapsing defensive line

was immediately strengthened. In a single breath, Fu Huaien
killed six enemies. The whole process resembled a fruit cutting
process, shocking everyone in the hall.

Could Fu Huaien… be a Master?

Ai Hui looked at Fu Huaien in shock. He had fought against

these enemies before and knew how powerful and vicious they
were. Just three of these enemies were enough to tie him up and
make him feel immense pressure.

Where did One Thousand Yuan find these powerful and

vicious experts?

By this point, Fu Huaien had entered a zone. There was a vast

difference in his strength before and after his transformation.

Jiu Gui and Prince were amazed. They were now certain that
Fu Huaien had reached the level of Master.
 "Defend! His transformation won’t last long!" An indifferent
voice could be heard from the enemy line.

The enemies’ faces remained gloomy. Apparently, when they

heard that Fu Huaien’s transformation would not last long, they
heaved a sigh of relief. Within a short period of time, Fu Huaien
had slain seven of their comrades.

Fu Huaien detested these people. These people almost caused

the Fu Family to be consigned to eternal damnation. As such, he
was very ruthless to them.

Both Jiu Gui and Prince were engaged in hard battles as well.
Their opponents were specialized in mounting joint attacks in
groups of five, causing the two of them to be in deep trouble.

"Fine, fine!"

Standing on the flight of steps, Madam Ye’s face was gloomy.

Saying "fine" two times in a row clearly showed that she was
enraged.

"The Ling Residence is indeed evil. How dare they use

Sacrificial Guards against me!"

Madam Ye hit the nail on the head about these people’s

background.

When everyone heard the term "Sacrificial Guards," their

facial expressions changed drastically. Sacrificial Guards were
the elite units of the Ling Residence. Every one of them was
specially chosen after layers of trials. They were trained
together from young, hence, they were well-coordinated.

At this point in time, Jiu Gui and Prince realized what was
going on. Their opponents were not powerful, but they could
pester the two of them and tangle them up.

A cold-looking man yelled indifferently, "So the Ye Residence

has pride and honor, but my Ling Residence doesn’t? Today, I
want one of your arms to seek vengeance for my brother!"

Ai Hui did not know of the background of these "Sacrificial

Guards," but when he heard the words "Ling Residence," he was
startled.
 He finally knew what One Thousand Yuan was trying to do.

She framed the Ling Residence and the Ye Residence for her
plot!

By framing the Ling Residence with the crime of colluding

with the Blood of God, it would deepen the enmity between the
Ling Residence and Ye Residence. The death battle between the
Ling Residence, which was a powerful representative of the
aristocratic families, and the Ye Residence, which was a
representative of the Great Elder and the Elders Guild, would
cause internal disorder and devastation in the Avalon of Five
Elements.

Colluding with the Blood of God to kill Madam Ye would

result in zero chance for both sides to reach a compromise.

Vicious!

Ai Hui broke out in cold sweat as he trembled with fear. A

mere scheme like this could cause a huge fissure in the
seemingly grand and magnificent Avalon of Five Elements.
 Demonic girl!

One Thousand Yuan’s shrewdness far surpassed his.

When Ai Hui thought of her parting words to him, he felt a

cold shiver down his spine.

Should he leave Silver City as soon as possible?

Silver City was a really dangerous place. A moment of

carelessness would cause him to meet with a tragic end.

Ai Hui was prepared to make an escape. The Sacrificial Guards

were gaining an advantageous position in the battle. If Madam
Ye’s old servant was still alive… Ai Hui suddenly thought of
something. What if One Thousand Yuan’s target was never
Madam Ye but the old servant with an unfathomable depth of
strength?

The more Ai Hui thought about it, the more he felt that it was
possible. If Madam Ye died by the hands of the Ling Residence,
it would widen the rift between the aristocratic families and the
Elders Guild and cause the Great Elder to lose his rationality.
 To ensure that the Ling Residence was capable of hurting
Madam Ye, the powerful and unfathomable old servant was
killed.

The demonic girl was too scary!

"As long as there’s one member of the Fu Family still alive,

you can forget about hurting Madam Ye!"

Fu Huaien’s roar was like a thunderclap.

"Vowing loyalty and devotion to your new master so soon?"

The cold-looking man sneered. "The Fu Family is like a dog. Are
you even qualified to bark at me? Kill him!"

Suddenly, Fu Huaien said, "From today onward, the head of

the Fu Family will be Fu Sisi. Madam Ye, Sisi is still young.
Please guide her along."

Afterward, Fu Huaien suddenly slapped the back of his head,

and a green light erupted from the back of his head.
The cold-looking man’s facial expression changed drastically.
Chapter 362: Finally, Overflowing
Inspirations
Surging green light flowed through Fu Huaien’s body. He was
rapidly losing his vitality, looking as if his soul had left his body.
Green dragon scales grew on his body. His eye pupils became
ice-cold, completely devoid of emotions.

When the dragon scales completely covered his body, an awe-

inspiring aura engulfed the hall. The air seemed to freeze at this
moment.

Fu Huaien became like a monster that was fully covered with

dragon scales. Two short horns protruded out of his forehead.

The cold-looking man’s face changed drastically. He quickly

roared, "Be careful!"

What was this? The [Green Dragon Art] had such a move? No
one knew about it. The reason why the Ling Residence racked
its brain to annex the Fu Family was to obtain this [Green
Dragon Art]!

The cold-looking man looked slightly worried.

 The [Green Dragon Art] was extremely powerful. Other than
elemental energy, it also depleted blood and qi. The Ling
Residence had an absolute art called [Swallow Moon]. This
absolute art happened to be a top-grade art that nourished blood
and qi. It complemented well with the [Green Dragon Art]. If
one could fuse these two absolute arts together, the [Moon-
swallowing Green Dragon Art] might be a transcendent absolute
art!

An absolute art and an heir were the keys to the perpetuation

of a family. If these two keys could be preserved, then the family
could be preserved. Even if a family did not have other
resources, it could still survive with the birth of a genius.

A transcendent absolute art was a deadly enticement for the

Ling Residence.

No one had expected so many unforeseen events.

By going against the Great Elder, the Ling Residence would

definitely not come to a good end. However, after what
happened today, everyone had lost their sense of logic. Other
than fighting each other to death, there did not seem to be any
other options.
 When the cold-looking man saw Fu Huaien burning his own
vitality to unleash the skill, he knew that a blood feud had been
formed between the Ling Residence and the Fu Family. The
hope of obtaining the [Green Dragon Art] was completely
dashed.

With a flick of his body, Fu Huaien materialized into a streak

of green light that flashed across the sky. At the same time,
blood-curdling screams could be heard.

A fist-sized bloody hole appeared on the bodies of two

Sacrificial Guards. Before the two could react, they collapsed
face down onto the ground. Fu Huaien was so fast that he could
not be seen by the naked eye. Like an odd-looking snake, he
rapidly slithered in and out of the crowd.

Blood-curdling screeches could be heard incessantly. Fu

Huaien was on a killing rampage.

Ai Hui was dumbstruck. When these families started to go all-

out, it was a terrifying sight to behold. Unlike his abnormally
swift movements, Fu Huaien’s breathing was calm and stable
like a sleeping dragon. The sound of his breaths were not loud,
but they sounded like thunderclaps to everyone. With every
breath he took, the surrounding elemental energy would be
sucked dry.

Many people in Silver City were alarmed by the noises, flew

up into sky, and looked in the direction of the Fu Family’s
residence.

The brightly-lit residence of the Fu Family looked as if it

housed a horrifying monster that devoured elemental energy
from the environment. Every time it inhaled an immense
amount of natural elemental energy poured into the Fu
residence like floodwater.

The facial expression of the onlookers changed drastically.

Master!

Only a Master could cause such an astonishing phenomenon.

Was that not… the Fu Family?

When everyone recalled the news of what had happened

during the day, they suddenly realized what was going on.
There were mixed reactions toward the current events. Some
people flew toward the Fu Family’s residence in haste, but most
families chose to look at the ongoing battle from afar.

The collision between the Ling Residence and the Elders Guild
was like a battle between two colossi. A direct confrontation
between two powerful forces like this had rarely been seen in
the history of the Avalon of Five Elements. If an ordinary
individual was sucked into this maelstrom, he or she would be
shredded to pieces in an instant.

Many people were deeply worried. Could the Avalon of Five

Elements withstand the battle between these two powerful
families? After this battle, what would become of the Avalon of
Five Elements?

No one knew what would happen. It was as if there was

nobody that could stop these two behemoths.

When the surrounding elemental energy was completely

depleted, it became a extremely miserable for the elementalists
in the vicinity. To the Sacrificial Guards, not only was this
torture, it was a nightmare as well.
 Every time the rhythmic breathing was heard, a body would
collapse.

Possessing a speed so fast that it sent despair into one’s heart

and completely dominating the surrounding elemental energy,
Fu Huaien was definitely winning the battle right now. The
Sacrificial Guards had been through extremely harsh training,
and they had extreme willpower and fighting spirit. However,
when they faced Fu Huaien’s continuous attacks, their defensive
line faltered and was on the verge of collapse.

Ling Yun’s facial expression changed.

Fu Huaien was burning his vitality and could not last long.
Initially, Ling Yun hoped to endure until Fu Huaien’s dragon
body crumbled, but he could not wait any longer now. Once the
defensive line formed by Sacrificial Guards collapsed, he would
be defeated.

The deployment of the Sacrificial Guards by the Ling

Residence would definitely lead to many criticisms. However, if
the Ling Residence could not obtain revenge even after they
utilized the Sacrificial Guards, then it would spell much deeper
trouble for them.
 The Ling Residence’s prestige would suffer a devastating
decline. Their allies and vassal families would feel that the Ling
Residence was strong in appearance, but weak in reality if they
lacked the ability to even retaliate. No one would pledge
allegiance to a weak family, just like how no one would choose a
weak family as an ally.

In this predatory world, the weaklings would become food for

the predators.

A look of determination appeared on Ling Yun’s face. As a

member of the Ling Residence, not only did the fate of the Ling
Residence depend on him, but the fate of the Ling Family’s
descendants as well.

A high-profile battle like this would definitely attract a lot of

attention. He had to resolve this battle in the shortest time
possible. If Ye Lin’s reinforcements were to arrive, this mission
would be a complete failure.

The Fu Family was not the only one that possessed desperate
measure like the [Green Dragon Art].

Ling Yun’s hair turned snow-white at a visible rate before

beginning to stand upright and point skyward. His skin rapidly
turned pale-white as well. A dark red mark, which was bright
and glistening, appeared on his glabella.

With a twist of his body, a streak of white light flashed across

everyone’s eyes and collided ferociously with the fleeting green
light on the battlefield.

Boom!

The impact from the collision crushed the surrounding sturdy

walls and half of the courtyard into fine powder.

Everyone was shocked by the impact of the collision between

the two combatants. They quickly retreated from the dueling
duo.

Both of them fought each other with force, neither prepared

to back away.

Everyone’s attention was on the battle between Fu Huaien

and Ling Yun.
 No one had noticed that Chu Zhaoyang, who was in a deep
trouble in one corner of the courtyard, was beginning to show
signs of turning the tables.

No one other than Xiao Shuren.

Xiao Shuren had been secretly observing Chu Zhaoyang.

Ai Hui had never fought with enemies that specialized in joint

attacks. Due to his inexperience, he was caught up in a bitter
struggle from the start.

The combined assault from the three people put immense

pressure on Ai Hui, forcing him into a passive position.
However, such a pressurized situation also stimulated Ai Hui’s
fighting spirit. He had an unswerving determination and was
not afraid of pressure. Pressure forced him to be more focused.
He had no choice but to think at a faster speed as well as use
extreme and risky moves to win the battle.

The form of his swordplay began to change.

The last time Ai Hui fought with Su Huaijun, he had to

restrain a lot of his inspirations. After a few days, he tried to
regain the inspirations he had touched upon the fight, but failed
to do so. The inspirations and ideas just shuttled to and fro in
his brain until today or, to be exact, until just a moment ago.

The joint attacks from the three opponents were well-

coordinated. The time interval between each attack was very
short, so short that Ai Hui almost could not ward them off. To
break out of this predicament, Ai Hui had to execute his sword
moves faster than his opponents’ attacks!

As fast as a lightning bolt, the Silverfold Plum moved nimbly

and gracefully in his hand. His [Six Moons] technique was
changing its form endlessly. Streaks of silvery light swirled
around him, appearing and disappearing at random.

His swordplay was not complicated, but simple and clean.

Usually, one would find it extremely hard to withstand his
attacks.

The three person team that attacked Ai Hui was complaining

incessantly. The dancing streaks of sword gleam flew at an
extreme speed and came from all sorts of weird angles. A
moment of carelessness would cause one to be injured by them.
 In the past, Ai Hui could control flying daggers. However,
these daggers were made up of solid matter while the [Six
Moons]’s sword gleams were formed by elemental energy. The
sword gleams were as light as a feather and several times faster
than the flying daggers.

As such, the difficulty of controlling the sword gleams was

also higher.

As Ai Hui’s control over the sword gleams improved, the [Six

Moons]’s destructive power increased sharply as well. Ai Hui,
who previously was outnumbered, began to turn the tables on
his enemy. The three Sacrificial Guards looked as if they were
facing seven swordsmen in one go.

This was not the only breakthrough Ai Hui had obtained.

Along with Ai Hui himself, the six crescent moon shaped gleams
formed by the Silverfold Plum just happened to form the exact
number of entities needed to activate the [Big Dipper]. As his
ability to control the sword gleams increased, his understanding
of sword formations escalated in an instant.

Other than the [Big Dipper Sword Formation], how many

more variations could the Silverfold Plum and the six sword
gleams derive?
 Next, he thought of the [Fragmented Porcelain Sword
Formation]. What would the power of a simple [Fragmented
Porcelain Sword Formation] be like?

How about the [Yin Yang Sword Formation]? Could the

Silverfold Plum be used as a central axis while the six sword
gleams formed three Yin Yang rings? Or could he form three
huge circular Yin and three huge circular Yang sword gleams?

If he excluded the Silverfold Plum, then would it not be

possible for the six sword gleams to attempt the [Plum Blossom
Count]?

...

Inspirations popped up in his brain one by one. The long-

awaited feeling of contentment overwhelmed Ai Hui. The
movement of the Silverfold Plum became increasingly refined,
swift, and erratic. There were times where wind and fire would
arise, while other times a dancing rain of razor-sharp sword
consciousness would form.

His brain was overflowing with inspirations. Ai Hui, who was

completely absorbed in his enlightenment, could not stop what
he was doing. The Silverfold Plum became alive in his hand and
came up with unpredictable forms of swordplay.

The three pitiful Sacrificial Guards were continuously ravaged

by Ai Hui’s successive unpredictable sword moves. There were a
few times when they were about to call for help, but Ai Hui’s
offense would weaken and give them a chance to gasp for
breath. This happened several times. Eventually, they began to
suspect that Chu Zhaoyang was doing this on purpose,

They felt as if there was a noose on each of their necks,

tightening and loosening at random.

By now, Ai Hui did not know what he was doing. He was

completely immersed in the inspirations in his mind.

Slowly, the three Sacrificial Guards realized that Chu

Zhaoyang’s swordplay was not really stable. Could he be trying
out new sword moves on them? The three of them felt
somewhat humiliated, but heaved a sigh of relief at the same
time. Chu Zhaoyang’s swordsmanship was really powerful and
really unpredictable. If he was in his peak form, the three of
them would have been dead.
 As Chu Zhaoyang’s swordplay became stable once more, the
noose around their necks tightened.

The three Sacrificial Guards clenched their teeth and endured

the incoming attacks. From their experience, if they could
endure a bit longer, Chu Zhaoyang’s swordplay would slacken
very soon.

Clink, clink, clink!

The densely-packed sounds of the collisions between the

sword gleams and their weapons was suffocating. The thing
that struck terror in three of them was that Chu Zhaoyang’s
swordplay did not slacken. Instead, it became increasingly sharp
and precise.

Swish, swish, swish!

Three human heads flew up into the air at the same time. A
terrified look still remained on their faces.

A few streaks of white light intertwined in the air. The razor-

sharp sword gleams looked as if they were even going to rip a
hole through the dimensions of space.

Ai Hui’s vision became clear and bright once more.

At this moment, there was an earth-shaking explosion.

Ling Yun’s right arm was severed, dripping fresh blood all
over his body. He glared at Fu Huaien, who was standing
opposite him.

The body of Fu Huaien, who was covered in dragon scales,

began to collapse. His legs were fracturing into numerous green
crumbs. The disintegration process began from his legs and
traveled upward.

His green glowing eyes had regained the warmth of a human,

but it was time for him to bid farewell.

He smiled at his tearful daughter. Just as he opened his mouth

and was about to say his last words, the disintegration process
reached his face.
 Before he could say anything, he disappeared along with the
wind.
Chapter 363: Three Huge Yin And Three
Huge Yang Sword Rings
When Ai Hui saw a real person disintegrating into the air like
a wisp of smoke, he felt an indescribable shock and a faint tinge
of sadness. He had seen many deaths. Some were heroic, some
were tragic. The withering of a life was like the withering of a
flower. However, when the next spring arrived on the earth, the
withered flower would blossom once more, but not the
withered life.

There were four seasons in life. The spring of adolescence, the

summer of youthfulness, the autumn of confidence, and the
winter of obsolescence. However, there would only be one cycle
of life.

What kind of reason would make one’s death justifiable?

Ai Hui’s gaze was fixated on the completely empty sky.

Suddenly, he laughed at himself. Since when did he become so
melancholy?

He did not know whether or not Fu Huaien vanishing into

thin air had caused him to feel an indescribable calmness.
 As if he had sensed something, Ai Hui turned around and
noticed that Xiao Shuren was staring and smiling at him. Ai Hui
felt slightly puzzled. Ever since the last time this woman tried to
plot against him, he had become wary of her.

He had long since decided not to pay any attention to Xiao

Shuren. He did not want to have anything to do with her. He
had zero interest in the so-called ancient treasure. All he wanted
to do was to find the godd*mn notebook and leave this scary
place as soon as possible.

In this city, a Master would pop out whenever a family fought

for its survival. This reality was far too much for a bum like him
to handle.

In one day, he had witnessed a Master-level family head's arm

being chopped off, the assassination of a Master-level
bodyguard, the disintegration of another family head, and the
severing of an arm of the leader of the Sacrificial Guards. As for
the grunts that had died, their number was uncountable.

It was too scary!

The front line was child’s play when compared to Silver City.
 At the front line, a Master was considered an important figure
who possessed powerful fighting capabilities. Every Master had
an impressive entourage of guards and these guards were in
charge of all the mundane tasks. The death of a Master would be
a devastating loss to an army.

However, in Silver City, it looked as if there was an abundance

of Masters.

If all the Masters from these prestigious and powerful families

were sent to the front line, the current situation of the Avalon
of Five Elements might have been different.

Ai Hui felt somewhat dejected. The Blood of God was

flourishing and full of vitality. On the contrary, the Avalon of
Five Elements was riddled with internal strife. All of its precious
fighting capabilities were wasted on these internal disputes.

The disparity between the two parties was clear and distinct.

As such, how could Ai Hui, an individual who had a deep

hatred for the Blood of God, not feel dejected?
 He forced himself to calm down and let out a deep breath. His
vision had regained its clarity. This time around, what he saw
and heard in Silver City had made him greatly disappointed in
the Elders Guild. The disappointment reinforced the belief of
depending on himself rather than depending on others.

Right now, he wished he could leave Silver City and return to

that small peaceful border city. He wanted to fight and seek
success together with his friends.

No one knew that Ai Hui thought of so many things in such a

short period of time. Even if they knew, would they care about
him? From their perspective, Ai Hui was being sour grapes for
having such thoughts.

Now that Fu Huaien had perished, the opponent’s next move

would be…

Without hesitation, Ai Hui dashed toward Madam Ye.

Before the notebook was found, Madam Ye could not die yet!

When Ling Yun saw Fu Huaien dissipating into the air, a tinge
of respect arose in his heart. However, he still heaved a sigh of
relief. Before he arrived, he never expected for Fu Huaien to put
up any resistance against him.

When he scanned the entire area and did not find the old
servant of Madam Ye, he felt slightly puzzled. It was no secret
among the aristocratic families in Silver City that the old
servant was a Master.

Eh?

Suddenly, his gaze landed upon a body on the floor. It

belonged to that mysterious old lady. Apparently, she had died.

Ling Yun was overjoyed. He had not expected for his greatest
hindrance to have been killed by someone else!

"Who are you, villain!? How dare you commit such violent
crimes in Silver City!"

A figure flew toward him with extreme speed. The surging

elemental energy within that figure’s thunder-like roar sent a
cold shiver down Ling Yun’s spine. If Ling Yun was to engage in
a deadlocked battle now, the situation would not be favorable to
him. The absolute art he used was going to expire soon. Once
the absolute art expired, he would fall into a state of weakness.
This state of weakness would last for exactly seven days and was
the price he had to pay for using the absolute art.

That figure must be one of Ye Lin’s reinforcements.

Ling Yun did not have enough time to determine which expert
had killed Ye Lin’s old servant. Right now, Ye Lin was at her
most vulnerable. A chance like this was extremely rare.

A killing intent flashed across his eyes, and his body suddenly
vanished into thin air.

As for the young fellow who dashed toward Ye Lin, Ling Yun
did not care about him at all. His main target was Ye Lin!

His pale-white palm acted as a sword and carved a mysterious

arc in the air in the direction of Madam Ye.

A dazzling glow emitted from his palm before an awe-

inspiring sword glint shot out from his palm and flew toward
Madam Ye. The transparent sword glint was like a thin slice of
mica. It looked extremely beautiful, but contained a deadly
danger within it.

Ai Hui, who had reached Madam Ye, could sense a piercing

killing intent descending from the sky. The killing intent was so
strong that his entire body froze.

An unprecedented sense of danger suddenly erupted in Ai

Hui’s heart. He immediately understood that if he could not
ward off this attack, today would be his death date.

He stopped and turned around smoothly with fluid

movements. He placed the Silverfold Plum before his body.
Three huge Yin and three huge Yang sword rings that were
made from six sword gleams slowly swirled around the vertical
silvery sword. Mysterious energy waves emitted from the
intertwining Yin and Yang sword rings.

In everyone’s eyes, Chu Zhaoyang’s eyes suddenly became

unusually bright, resembling the stars in the night sky. The
cold, scarred face unleashed an elegant aura of purity at this
moment.
 The descending sword glint collided with three huge Yin and
three huge Yang sword rings.

Clang!

Ai Hui’s hand trembled, causing him to lose control of his

sword. He was knocked back three steps before he could
stabilize himself. The radiance of the three huge Yin and three
huge Yang sword rings dimmed, and they looked as if they
would collapse at any moment.

His palms were numb and the qi and blood within his body
was vibrating. His ears were ringing loudly, causing him to
become temporarily deaf.

Was this the might of an attack from a Master?

The joy and excitement he derived from his previous

revelations regarding his sword moves had extinguished. He
immediately became clear-headed. Ai Hui had rich combat
experience. He had a clear judgement of the strength disparity
between himself and Ling Yun.
 There was no way he could stop Ling Yun.

He took in a deep breath of air and stabilized the elemental

energy within his body. Then, he stretched his numb palms.
The Star Reaper Gloves produced waves of warmth. Eventually,
his palms regained their flexibility. The advantage of wearing
an elemental mask was that it made his facial expression looked
as calm and composed as usual.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Jiu Gui and Prince
were coming his way and felt slightly relieved.

In the sky, Ling Yun could not believe his eyes. The attack
that he was so confident in was warded off by his enemy! The
ultimate attack that he had used all his strength to unleash was
actually warded off by an unknown youngster!

His base level was so low and his elemental energy was so
weak. He could not even be compared to an ordinary Sacrificial
Guard. How was this possible...

He stared blankly at Ai Hui.

 This weak-looking guy was the one that warded off his attack?
Those black-and-white sword rings were what kind of sword
move? He had never seen or heard of them before.

At this point, Ling Yun was engulfed by an intense feeling of

frustration. His eyes were lifeless, and his mind was in disarray.
He still could not believe that he had just missed such an
exceptionally good chance.

This fellow…

Ling Yun’s eyes rapidly regained the color of life. As a

Sacrificial Guard, he was not someone who would give up easily.
He might be very vexed that he had missed such a golden
opportunity, but now was not the time for to him to feel regret.

When things did not go well, one should try his best to escape
unscathed. When one could not escape unscathed, he should try
his best to conserve his strength.

He passed down an order to his subordinates.

Three determined-looking Sacrificial Guards emerged from

the crowd. Suddenly, the bodies of these three Sacrificial
Guards turned silvery-white, resembling metal men. They flew
up into the sky and launched a two-pronged attack against the
incoming expert.

"Get lost!"

A thunder-like roar resounded through the air. The incoming

expert was as fast as a lightning bolt. He unleashed a burst of
firm and powerful fist gleam with a loud rumble.

The three Sacrificial Guards did not retreat and continued to

advance forward. One person directed the silver luster on his
body to his fingertip and pointed his finger forward. Another
person directed his silver lustre to his right palm and swung his
right palm as if it was the blade of a sword. The last person
gathered his silver luster in his right fist and punched his fist
forward.

With a loud bang, the powerful whizzing fist gleam from the
incoming expert exploded.

"[Sacrificial Strike]!" a yell could be heard from air.

 The three Sacrificial Guards disintegrated to countless silvery
crumbs, which fell through the sky like silver snow.

The [Sacrificial Strike] was most famous killer move of the

Sacrificial Guards. The technique was derived from the name of
the Sacrificial Guards as well. It was a technique that every
Sacrificial Guard had to learn. This technique involved
sacrificing one’s life to unleash a terrifyingly powerful attack.

Many of the Ling Residence’s enemies had died from this

move.

The arriving expert was an imposing middle-aged man.

Currently, there was a lingering fear on his face. A hole could be
seen in one of his sleeves. If he had not unleashed his previous
punch with all his strength, he would have failed in his mission
today.

The Ling Residence’s Sacrificial Guards were truly suicidal

warriors. They would throw away their lives without any
hesitation. Almost every family was extremely fearful of the
Ling Residence’s Sacrificial Guards.

Soon after, the rest of the Sacrificial Guards disappeared into

the darkness like a receding tide.

This scene had shocked many people. Previously, they still

thought that by hugging the Great Elder’s legs, they would not
need to worry about the Ling Residence. Now, however, they
finally knew how dangerous and frightening the Ling Residence
was.

If they were given a chance to choose again, they might not

have the courage to participate in this conflict. Every time two
colossi fought, there would be countless corpses beneath their
feet.

However, those who had already boarded the boat had no

chance of disembarking from it.

The arrival of the reinforcements and the retreat of the

enemies loosened up everyone’s taut mental state. At this
moment, Ai Hui smelled a faintly discernable tinge of a sweet
smell.

His eye pupils suddenly dilated. One Thousand Yuan had not
left yet!
 She was hiding in the dark!

A strong feeling of anxiety forced the speed of Ai Hui’s

thinking process to increase significantly. Who was her target?
Madam Ye? No! If her target was Madam Ye, she would have
killed her given that there were so many opportunities for her
to do so. Who exactly was her target then?

She wanted to create internal strife within the Avalon of Five

Elements by aggravating the enmity between the Ye Residence
and the Ling Residence...

Ai Hui trembled and dashed forward instantly!

Chapter 364: Sir, Can You Open The Door
First?
Just as everyone heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed their
stressed minds, Ai Hui suddenly pounced forward like a nimble
cheetah.

Ai Hui’s movements were very swift and his sword gleam was
even swifter

In the mid-air, the Silverfold Plum’s sword gleam was like a

dazzling silvery lightning bolt, brightly illuminating Xiaobao’s
blank face.

Chu Zhaoyang was going for Xiaobao!

In an instant, Madam Ye’s face turned deathly pale.

The middle-aged man who had just arrived to reinforce

Madam Ye drastically changed his facial expression. He had not
expected such an unforeseen event to happen right under his
nose. The sword gleam was too fast. He was caught off guard
and could not react in time.
 The illustrious sword gleam outshone the remaining lights in
the residence of the Fu Family. It was so bright that it lit up the
night sky. Its overpowering sharpness and bone-piercing
chilliness momentarily froze everyone.

Xiaobao was terrified and stood motionless.

The sword gleam brushed past Xiaobao’s face. A few strands

of his hair were shredded to smithereens by the slipstream
spiralling around the sword gleam.

Did the attack… miss?

Everyone widened their eyes as they did not know what was
going on. Chu Zhaoyang’s swordsmanship was legitimately
powerful. There was no reason for him to miss such a short-
ranged attack.

40 centimeters behind Xiaobao, a brightly-colored mini vortex

suddenly appeared out of thin air without any warning.

The sword gleam brushed past Xiaobao’s face and collided

heavily against the brightly-colored mini vortex.
 Boom!

Like a balloon that popped, a crisp and clear sonic boom

resounded through the air. The shock wave from the collision
erupted in all directions. Xiaobao let out a blood-curdling
scream as his body rocketed up into the air.

The middle-aged man in the sky flashed across the air and
caught the flying Xiaobao. Following which, he landed beside
Madam Ye and quickly examined Xiaobao’s body. When he saw
that Xiaobao was merely bruised by the shock wave, he felt
relieved.

The middle-aged man was enraged. The person who launched

the sneak attack was vile. How dare this person do such a thing
under his nose!

She Yu, who was so confident in her attack, had not expected
it to fail!

Furthermore, the one who warded off her attack was Ai Hui.

A bitter sigh spiralled in the air like a wisp of smoke.

 "Destined nemesis, destined nemesis…"

Before the voice completely disappeared, She Yu had already

vanished into thin air. It was as if she had never even been here
at all.

Everyone felt a cold shiver down their spines. The other party
was able to appear and disappear unpredictably, and her
methods were unforeseeable and unguardable. Even now, they
did not know who the other party was.

"She’s gone," the middle-aged man standing beside Madam Ye

said in a deep voice.

Then, he turned around to face Madam Ye and bowed his

head. "Is Madam injured? Yuchi Qingshan has arrived late!"

The man had a dignified look on his face and the hair at his
temples was snow-white. He was the younger brother of Elder
Yuchi Ba, Yuchi Qingshan.

Back when Yuchi Qingshan was young, he had assumed the

position of vice division leader of the Sky Edge Division.
 The current vice division leader of the Sky Edge Division was
Yuchi Ba’s adopted son, Tong Gui. Meanwhile, Yu Lin was
Yuchi Qingshan’s adopted daughter.

"Thank you for the assistance, Mr. Qingshan! Otherwise, my

son and I would have reunited with my dead husband today,"
Madam Ye thanked Yuchi Qingshan with a mournful look on
her face.

Yuchi Qingshan had a headache. Initially, he had not wanted

to take part in the strife between the Ling Residence and the Ye
Residence. If not for the fact that the Sky Edge Division was
stationed in Silver City and was responsible for Silver City’s
public order, he would not have come. If anything was to
happen to Madam Ye in Silver City, the Sky Edge Division
would not be let off. Tong Gui and Yu Lin would have been
punished as well.

"I am glad you’re safe and sound." Yuchi Qingshan then

changed the topic. "The person who just mounted that sneak
attack has a weird attacking method and does not emit
any elemental energy undulations. He might be a blood
elementalist."

"The incident happened so fast that I couldn’t even clearly see

what was going on!" Madam Ye was choked with sobs. "Granny
She has been taking care of me since I was a child. Today, she
died by the hands of an evil scheme. If it was done by a blood
elementalist, there will definitely be leftover traces of blood
poison. Can I implore Mr. Qingshan to check if there are any
traces of blood poison on the body of Granny She?"

Yuchi Qingshan was shocked. The old servant who attended

Madam Ye had an unfathomable depth of strength. She was just
as powerful as him. Even so, she was murdered. With a solemn
look on his face, Yuchi Qingshan walked to Granny She’s body
and squatted down to examine it. Soon, he nodded his head and
said, "There are indeed traces of blood poison!"

"At the end of day, the fight between the Ling Residence and
the Ye Residence is like a mere family tiff. When a family has
many members, it is unavoidable to have occasional
disagreements. After all, we are one big family. Our enmity will
eventually be resolved as time goes by. However, why are there
blood elementalists among the Ling Residence’s Sacrificial
Guards?"

With tears still flowing down her cheeks, an incredulous look

appeared on Madam Ye’s face.
 Immediately, Yuchi Qingshan knew the Ling Residence was in
trouble.

"I am not an ungrateful person. Mr. Qingshan saved my life

and I shall never forget it. I will report this incident to the
Elders Guild and let them make the decision. When the time
comes, the Elders Guild might inquire Mr. Qingshan about this
incident. I’m sorry for troubling Mr. Qingshan."

Madam Ye bowed respectfully to Yuchi Qingshan.

Yuchi Qinghshan quickly returned a bow and replied,

"Madam, you’re being too courteous. When the Elders Guild
inquires me about this incident, I will speak and report
truthfully."

The Ling Residence had already lost this battle. Having blood
elementalists among their Sacrificial Guards was something
that the Elders Guild could not tolerate. The Elders Guild could
tolerate the Ling Residence’s collusion with Dai Gang, but
definitely could not accept their collusion with the Blood of
God.

Yuchi Qingshan could anticipate that a gigantic storm was

going to break out in Silver City. The seats in the Elders Guild
would face great changes as well. He was thinking that he
needed to immediately discuss this issue with his elder brother.
It might be an opportunity for them.

The Elders might be very divisive on other issues, but all of

them were unanimous in their attitudes toward the Blood of
God.

They would never ever tolerate or appease the Blood of God!

Yuchi Qingshan shifted his gaze to Ai Hui and asked curiously,

"Sir, your swordsmanship is indeed terrifying. May I know your
distinguished name?"

Filled with gratitude, Madam Ye introduced Ai Hui. "Mr. Chu

Zhaoyang is my family’s swordplay teacher. Even though he is
not particularly famous, his swordsmanship is superb. If
Zhaoyang was not present today, I’m afraid that Xiaobao and I
would have…"

"So you’re the Silverwheel Swordsman, Mr. Chu Zhaoyang!"

Yuchi Qingshan nodded his head respectfully. "Tong Kui and Yu
Lin told me how outstanding Lightning Blade Ai Hui’s
swordsmanship was when they were in Peace City. Today, after
witnessing Mr. Chu’s swordsmanship, I have to say yours is far
better than Lightning Blade Ai Hui’s."

Initially, when Ai Hui heard Yuchi Qingshan mentioning his

name, his heart thumped with anticipation. However, when he
heard Yuchi Qingshan’s last few words, he did not know
whether to laugh or cry. Still, he regained his composure and
cupped his hands in obeisance. "Thank you for your praises. My
chief from the Karakorum Sword League is the one with the
truly extraordinary and godly swordsmanship."

"The Karakorum Savant’s swordsmanship ushers in a new era

and is unequalled in her time!" Yuchi Qingshan showed a deep
veneration for the Karakorum Savant.

Masters were usually well-respected and revered. However,

the first Master in any field always commanded an incalculably
greater degree of respect and reverence compared to ordinary
Masters. Even though the Karakorum Savant had just stepped
into the realm of Master, she had already become a well-known
individual. Her reputation far exceeded any ordinary Master’s.

The anguish and suffering that a pioneer had to undergo

qualified him or her to enjoy these fruits of success.
 When the Sky Edge Division’s elites arrived, everyone finally
felt at ease. Under the protection of Sky Edge Division’s elites,
Madam Ye and her entourage returned to the Ye Residence.
Tong Gui and Yu Lin were part of the the protection team as
well. The fact that they did not recognize Ai Hui made him felt
at ease.

Fu Sisi rejected Madam Ye’s invitation to follow her back to

the Ye Residence.

"Before my father passed away, his final words are for Sisi to
become the head of the Fu Family. Now that my home has been
half destroyed and every member of my Fu Family is feeling
anxious and fearful, how can I, the symbol and leader of the
family, abandon them and enjoy the luxury of peace and safety
alone? Without the Fu Family, there would be no Fu Sisi. Sisi
has to take up the responsibility of a family head and repay my
family for raising me!"

Ai Hui looked at the red-eyed Fu Sisi, whose face was filled

with stubbornness, in surprise. Even though this woman was
practical and shrewd, she was a responsible individual.

Madam Ye touched Fu Sisi’s hair and nodded her head.

"Having such will and responsibility shows that your father’s
effort in grooming you was not in vain. Don’t worry, Aunt Ye
has seen with my own eyes what your father did. The Fu Family
will not be destroyed. The Fu Family will only become more
prosperous. This is Aunt Ye’s promise to the Fu Family."

Fu Sisi could no longer restrain her emotions, threw herself

into Madam Ye’s arms, and started wailing in anguish.

Madam Fu requested for Yuchi Qingshan to deploy an elite

unit from the Sky Edge Division to safeguard the Fu Family for
two days. Naturally, Yuchi Qingshan immediately agreed to this
costless favor.

Under the protection of the Sky Edge Division’s elite unit,

Madam Ye and her retinue returned to the Ye Residence that
very night. At this point in time, the experts that the Great
Elder deployed had reached the Ye Residence as well. Finally,
everyone felt relieved.

Everyone had a mournful look on their face. They had been

through the most frightening day of their lives.

The battle between two top-notch aristocratic families was

brutal and cruel.
 More than half of Su Huaijun’s peers had died.

The good news was that Madam Ye had announced that all of
them had obtained the qualifications to join Master’s Glory.
Every one of them would be rewarded as well. Su Huaijun, who
had performed outstandingly during the battle, had received a
wood elemental elixir and an absolute art. These two rewards
caused everyone to turn green with envy.

After the Jadeite Forest declared their independence, the

prices of wood elemental materials and ingredients had
skyrocketed. A wood elemental treasure like the wood
elemental elixir could not even be found on the market. Only
the powerful and influential aristocratic families possessed
them.

Madam Ye was even more generous toward Ai Hui, who had

saved her and Xiaobao.

Three metal elemental elixirs, 10,000 Heaven Merit Points,

and one treasure that Ai Hui could freely choose from the Ye
Residence’s treasury. Ai Hui was also allowed to read any
swordplay manuals and encyclopedias that the Ye Residence
owned.
 An unexpected windfall!

Madam Ye’s generosity almost caused Ai Hui to faint.

By now, he knew that he had underestimated these

aristocratic families. Initially, when he first saw the plain and
old-fashioned Ye Residence, he had thought that maybe they
were a slightly poorer aristocratic family.

Poor?

When the butler led Ai Hui to the Ye Residence’s treasury, he

realized how naive and ignorant he had been.

"Our treasury was built five years after the Avalon of Five
Elements was established. It took three years to be built. The
first family head was a swordsman, so he kept many flying
swords and swordplay encyclopedias. The subsequent family
heads had different preferences, so the treasures in the treasury
begin to increase in variety. Every family head has to abide by a
traditional custom set by the first family head: no more than 10
artifacts can be put in the treasury during his or her lifetime.
One must know that a family head of the Ye Residence is well-
respected and highly revered. The treasures he or she has come
across in his or her lifetime are countless. As such, it is
extremely hard for a family head to choose 10 treasures to put
into the treasury!"

The butler grieved and lamented as he shook his head. He

looked as if the treasury had missed out on so many treasures
because of this custom.

Ai Hui could hear one underlying message in the butler’s

words. Flaunting your wealth! Blatantly flaunting your wealth!

"However, a custom will always be a custom. What can one do

about it? This means a family head can only choose the best, the
most expensive, and the most precious treasures to be stored in
the treasury! Every family head regards the limit of 10 treasures
as their ultimate goal. Each of them does not want to lose out to
his or her predecessor. Anything that goes inside the Ye
Residence’s treasury is definitely a treasure and is the best
treasure."

You are so good! Continue to show off!

"The custom has been continued for a millenia. Throughout

the history of the Ye Residence, other than the seven family
heads who encountered unexpected calamities, the rest have
succeeded in the goal of selecting ten treasures for the treasury.
Their treasures are on full display in the treasury. Throughout
the history of the Ye Residence, you’re the thirteenth guest to
enter the treasury."

A fancy-style of flaunting your wealth!

Continue to show off if you are capable of doing so! I want to

see how far you can go!

"Out of the previous twelve guests, five have assumed the

position of the Great Elder before, four were Grandmasters, and
the remaining three were illustrious individuals. Some of them
were revered by the world and had countless disciple, some
were so fearsome that they could contend against the Elders
Guild for years, some were so shrewd that they could dominate
the Avalon of Five Elements with words alone, and others were
so smart and evil that they could manipulate the Elders Guild
from behind the scenes."

Lou Lan once asked me why my eyes were glittering. I told

him there was someone flaunting his wealth to me.
 "You’re the thirteenth guest to enter the treasury, so you’re
destined to become an extraordinary individual in the future."

Standing at the doorstep of the treasury, the butler’s face

brimmed with sincerity and solemness.

Suddenly, a thought flashed across Ai Hui’s mind. He had

taken on the responsibility of caring for everyone in the world.
He was a being that descended from the sky to save the world!

Even Ai Hui, who was a shameless individual, had been

defeated by such a high level of flaunting.

"Sir, can you open the door first?"

Chapter 365: Treasury
The Ye Residence’s treasury had neither golden floor tiles nor
exquisite crystals. There was no magnificent and ornate velvet.
The treasury’s design was simple and generous and its green-
tiled wooden shelves were uneven. The soft light allowed
observers to admire the exceptional pieces from all angles.

Standing inside the treasury, Ai Hui was in awe.

Ai Hui finally understood the meaning behind "millennium

family." The treasury wasn’t big. It was more like a small
storehouse with roughly five to six hundred wooden racks. If it
was a storehouse, it would be the world’s most valuable
storehouse.

Each treasure emitted a pure and gentle radiance. Multi-

colored rays intertwined and reflected off the walls, brightening
up the whole treasury.

The ordinary looking shelves were, in fact, used to seal up

prohibited treasures. If not for these shelves, the elemental
energy waves released by the treasures would mix together,
causing the whole house to shatter into pieces.
 Ai Hui’s gaze regained its brightness as he inhaled deeply,
calming his inner agitation.

The butler did not expect Ai Hui to regain his senses so

quickly and was rather surprised. The Ye Residence’s butler
position wasn’t like its counterpart in other residences. It was
strictly an inherited status. The butler’s son would start
learning the ropes from his father at the age of ten. When the
butler turned old, the son would be in his prime and take over
his father’s role as the new butler. After nurturing and
educating them from a young age, these sons were most
definitely loyal to the Ye Residence.

The butler was one of the dearest and most reliable members
of the family and was trusted with a lot of confidential
information.

In the butlers' historical records, each guest tour had been

observed and noted down, wherein valuable guests were all
depicted as being dumbstruck and bedazzled upon entering the
treasury. Some were even in a daze for more than five minutes.
It must be said that these guests had all been outstanding
fighters and held great power and influence. The Ye treasury
was evidently amazing for causing them to temporarily lose
their souls.
 Generations of butlers enjoyed seeing these powerful figures’
blank faces. It made them feel proud and honored.

Yet, Chu Zhaoyang had managed to regain his senses after a

mere 22 seconds.

This surprised and displeased the butler. A guest had finally

arrived and he was naturally going to record and note down his
time for future generations to read. Thinking about how his
guest was stunned for only 22 seconds made him somewhat
unhappy. This 22 seconds wasn’t the shortest time, but it was
within the top three.

He asked with a straight face, in a respectful tone, "Mister

Zhaoyang, do you need a few introductions?"

Chu Zhaoyang’s status in the Ye Residence was constantly on

the rise. He had saved Madam and the young master’s lives, so
even if he had a bad name and was evil, the Ye Residence would
still regard him as a VIP.

People started calling him ‘Mister Zhaoyang’ instead of

‘Teacher Chu.’
 Ai Hui never would have thought that the butler would care
about how long he had been stunned. He shook his head. "It’s
alright, I’ll look around myself."

Quickly, he noticed quite a few empty frames and asked out of

curiosity, "Why are these unoccupied?"

The butler explained, "Some were given away while others are
being used by the previous family head. The first family head
once said that no matter how good a treasure is, it is useless if
not used. It is good to like and cherish treasures, but using them
when necessary is a bliss for the future generations. Apart from
the first family head, there have been no more Grandmasters.
Because successive family heads enjoyed making friends, treated
people with passion, and were generous and fair, the residence
has managed to expand until today."

Ai Hui praised, "Mister Huitang is great. The residence is

great."

The Ye Residence’s first family head, Ye Huitang, was also the

last swordsman. Not only was he strong, he also knew his way
around life and the later generations did not disappoint.
 The ancestors were well-celebrated while the descendants
were humble and kept a low-profile. Successive family heads
were good at networking, straightforward, fair, kind, and
charitable.

For a family with such a rich history, there must be something

unique about it.

The power the Ye Residence was able to utilize was greater

than appearances led one to believe.

The butler smiled slightly. "Madam would like to have you

select anything from the treasury. If you have any questions,
please feel free to ask me. I have been managing this treasury, so
I am familiar with every single item. Of course, I would like to
seek your cooperation in preventing thieves, and ask that you
do not divulge any of this information."

Ai Hui nodded. "I understand."

The treasures in the case emitted different types of light.

Although still separated by the seal, Ai Hui could nevertheless
feel how frightening the faint elemental energy waves were.
Items that could be called treasures were either retrieved from
the Wilderness or were formed from special elemental energy,
and they usually carried a rich, surging elemental energy. This
was also the reason why they were called treasures. Just like the
treasures from the Cultivation Era, they were usually filled with
spiritual force.

On the contrary, there were few treasures without many

elemental energy waves. These treasures were inherently
unique. Some had special characteristics, like a blue wisp of
flame that Ai Hui noticed. There was a clear shadow flickering
within the flame. This blue wisp did not have any elemental
energy waves, but it made Ai Hui’s hair stand on end.

He couldn’t help but inquire, "What flame is that?"

The butler looked at it before answering, "Blue Soul Fire.

Legend has it that a human soul is trapped within it. It is a piece
that belongs to the seventh family head, who found it among
historic relics when he was out exploring the world at a young
age. The successive family heads became really interested in it,
but no one has managed to unfold its secrets."

Ai Hui felt that the figure inside the flame was watching him,
and while he was a gutsy person, it sent a chill through his
bones.
 Suddenly, Ai Hui stopped in front of a big tree and asked in
shock, "Is this… a

message tree?"

It seemed as though the butler was very pleased by Ai Hui’s

surprised look. He replied in a mild manner, "Yes, this is a
message tree. To be precise, it is the first message tree."

Ai Hui opened his eyes wide. "The first?"

"Yes!" The butler tried to sound composed but his pride

couldn’t be concealed. "Its advent greatly changed the avalon
while also significantly altering our lifestyles. The family head
at that time saw the revolution coming, so he spent a huge
fortune to purchase it. While its practical value isn’t as high as
other treasures, it has witnessed the change of an era, and so is
extremely precious."

Ai Hui stared blankly at the message tree. His heart swelled

with the realization that this message tree was exactly the same
as the one he’d taken away from Vanguard Training Hall.
 Pride quickly turned into relief, as it was apparent that
Madam Ye and the Assembly of Patriarchs shared a deep
relationship. According to the Ye Residence’s style of handling
affairs, it wasn’t at all strange that she had such a good
relationship with the assembly. It was even possible that this
tree was brought over from the assembly.

Perhaps the elementalist who had invented this tree was from
the assembly?

The Assembly seemed to hold more power than he’d thought.

The butler was unaware of the many thoughts that were

running through Ai Hui’s mind, but seeing his astonished face
pleased him very much.

Such ‘one and only’ treasures like the first message tree were
not things money could buy. This was a real display of a family’s
influence.

"Your residence is really terrific."

Mister Chu Zhaoyang’s praise and admiration fed the butler’s

pride and joy.

Ai Hui continued walking forward and quickly realized that

many of the swords were rusty and difficult to use.

Noticing this, the butler explained, "These swords are mostly

treasures from the first family head’s generation. Seven of out
ten treasures are swords. Some are still spiritual in nature,
while others were once well-known. When elemental energy
was first created, these swords contained spiritual force, but as
generations passed, the last bit of spiritual force dissipated,
leaving these swords rusty and obsolete. Because the first family
head really adored these items, they have been kept all this
while."

Ai Hui was fascinated.

Being good at discerning thoughts from body language, the

butler added, "I do not recommend that you choose a sword.
The swords from the cultivation era are mostly unusable.
Swordsmanship has resurfaced these two years, so the
contemporary master craftsmen are only just starting to
attempt building treasure swords. Treasure swords from the
past, no matter their significant history or how exquisite they
are, are of no practical use in battles."
 Ai Hui was slightly disappointed, but very grateful. "Thank
you!"

What the butler said made a lot of sense.

Swordsmanship had declined over a long period of time and

sword users were pathetically few in number. So far, no famous
swords had been created by famous craftsmen either.

Finishing his words, the butler gave Ai Hui time to look

around.

To any individual, choosing a treasure from such a dazzling

line up was extremely challenging. Each treasure had its own
appeal and many contained intense elemental energy waves.
Separated by the seal, Ai Hui could still feel the sharp
consciousness of the elemental energy waves, as though they
were about to pierce through the seal.

A few times, Ai Hui palpitated with eagerness. Some

ingredients were extremely valuable. If he could find a skilled
workman to fashion a sword out of them, it would definitely
become an exceptional sword.
 Ai Hui forced himself to hold back. He decided that no matter
what he saw, he would first tour the whole treasury before
making a decision.

The butler nodded as he observed Ai Hui. Chu Zhaoyang was a

man of extreme willpower. Each treasure was shockingly
enticing and some could even aid elementalists to enter a higher
realm. Few had been able to browse the whole gallery before
selecting something.

Madam had initiated this tour not only to repay his kindness
for saving her life, but also to build a good rapport with him.
The Ye Residence often used this method to ensure its
continued existence.

Madam made such a decision because she really looked

favorably upon Chu Zhaoyang. Experience had taught
successive generations that they must not be petty when
investing in a talented individual. They would reap exponential
benefits if they invested at the right time, when the talent was
still nameless.

The butler did not know if Chu Zhaoyang had good prospects,
but greatly admired his determination.
Ai Hui stopped in his tracks.
Chapter 366: Selection
Mister Chu Zhaoyang’s sudden halt attracted the butler’s
attention.

The butler was very curious as to which treasure Mister Chu

would pick. Although each and every item in the treasury was
rare, they had their own merits and drawbacks. Each family
head had different financial circumstances and luck, so the
items they had collected were also different.

The butler, who was in charge of managing the treasure,

knew every treasure inside out, but if Chu Zhaoyang did not ask
him, he would not mention it.

He knew very well that people like Chu Zhaoyang had their
own views, and if he were to question them, it was best not to
insinuate anything.

Madam must have other reasons for taking such a big gamble,
so it was wiser for him to observe more by himself.

When faced with many choices, a person’s final decision often

said a lot about his or her personality. Especially when the
choices were so expensive, personality traits often became
magnified.

What would he choose?

The butler narrowed his eyes, his inquiring and deep gaze
falling upon the figure that came to a halt.

It appeared that Chu Zhaoyang had finally found his target, or

something must have attracted his attention.

Eh?

The butler quickly realized that things were not as they

seemed, because Chu Zhaoyang started looking everywhere, as
if in search of something.

Indeed, Ai Hui was searching.

Earlier, the bandage that Ai Hui had completely forgotten

about had reacted. It was a gift from Mistress and its history had
always been a mystery. Until now, it had saved his life many
times. Previously, it had revealed a tendency to devour blood,
but following the emergence of the blood eye pattern, the
bandage started to lose interest in blood.

It was as if it had fallen into a deep slumber, with no signs of

movements.

It was still resistant to injuries. Ai Hui had tried to destroy it

using all sorts of methods, but to no avail. He had no idea how
Mistress had been able to break it into two. Because it was such
an outstanding protective gear, Ai Hui kept it on him as the last
layer of defense. It had been extremely functional.

Naturally, Ai Hui was beyond shocked when the bandage that

had been lying dormant for a long time started to show signs of
life.

He kept a straight face, but was already in search of the

treasure that had triggered the bandage’s response. Ai Hui was
very curious about the item that could provoke a reaction from
it. Could it be an item that had been blood-refined?

Ai Hui saw the bandage as being extremely inhospitable. It

even was particular about the quality of blood that it consumed.
It had no interest in ordinary blood.

Looking around, the glittery lights had him feeling dizzy.

The bandage was still.

Had he imagined it?

Ai Hui tried taking two steps forward and the bandage moved
a little.

Ai Hui was startled. The first time might have been a mistake,
but if it happened a second time, it couldn’t be a coincidence.
There must be something that the bandage was interested in
within the treasury.

Feeling the butler’s gaze on him, Ai Hui slowed down his pace,
pretending to browse through the treasures in front of him.

The butler felt somewhat suspicious. He’d thought that Mister

Chu Zhaoyang had already set his eyes on something, when in
fact, he’d just been looking around.
 He followed behind Mister Chu Zhaoyang patiently. The
chance to admire the Ye Residence’s rich collection was hard to
come by. There had been guests who really took their time to
appreciate every single item in the treasury from start to finish.

Ai Hui continued pretending, stopping every two steps to

admire the items. He would ask about items he wasn’t familiar
with and the butler would answer accordingly and in great
detail.

Even as the bandage’s reaction grew stronger, Ai Hui couldn’t

help but drool upon seeing all these treasures. Each was
matchless in preciousness and rarity, having been made from
the best materials by the greatest Masters. Any randomly
selected item would cause a sensation when taken outside.

Seeing the passion in Chu Zhaoyang’s eyes, the butler felt

proud and pleased. He’d long guessed that this selection process
would take quite some time. If given such a rare opportunity, he
too would make use of it to the fullest. It would be an extreme
waste if he were to pick the wrong item since there would never
be a second chance.

Alright, the bandage’s reaction is weakening. Wrong

direction.
 Ai Hui pretended to be attracted by another treasure and
switched paths. He finally found the right direction after a few
consecutive switches.

Now, the bandage wound around Ai Hui’s body was moving

slowly, like a snake.

Its reaction was getting stronger.

Ai Hui avoided looking urgent. He kept a calm face and

continued appreciating the treasures along the way and asking
related questions. The thirst in his eyes, however, was genuine.

Just like that, Ai Hui and the butler passed case after case
before stopping at the deepest section of the treasury.

Seeing Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze fall upon the shelves in the

furthest corner, the butler spoke up. "This is the first family
head’s collection. They’re mostly swords, but are basically
useless now."

He thought that Mister Chu Zhaoyang had his eyes on these

swords. He was a swordsman after all, so it shouldn’t be
surprising, but as he’d mentioned, these rusty treasure swords
were only good for being put on display for future generations
to admire.

Mister Chu Zhaoyang diverted his gaze away from the swords
somewhat regretfully.

It must be said that the first family head was the last, pure
swordsman and he was extremely picky when it came to
selecting swords. These ancient swords were obsolete now, but
one could vaguely see the brilliance they had possessed in the
past. Some carried an indescribable sombreness that made it
torturous for the butler to clean.

Suddenly, Mister Chu Zhaoyang pointed at a stone statue

beside an ancient sword. "What is its origin?"

The statue looked very ordinary and was carved from a whole
piece of granite. The sculpting was simple and raw, as if the
statue had been chopped out using a big axe. Its face was blurry
and looked like a semi-finished product.

Yet, this crude looking statue had an inexpressible, implicit

charm that observers couldn’t turn their eyes away from.
 Ai Hui felt strange the moment his eyes landed on it. He had a
strong willpower and even practiced [Skyheart Flaming Lotus
Lamp], so he wasn’t someone who could be enticed easily.
Despite this, his gaze and state of mind were still focused on this
stone statue.

The butler retracted his gaze immediately. "This stone statue

was obtained by the first family head in his early years, by
chance. It isn’t clear whether or not someone carved it out. It is
an antique from the Cultivation Era. It has no name, but the
first family head said that with its heavenly charm, it must be
extraordinary and should be kept in the treasury."

The bandage’s reaction toward the statue was exceptionally

intense, as if it wanted to pounce on it.

The statue did not seem to be blood-refined, so Ai Hui felt

suspicious as to why the bandage was responding so strongly to
it.

There must be something strange about the stone statue!

On second thought, if the statue wasn’t at all magical, would

Ye Huitang have placed it in the treasury?
 Without hesitation, Ai Hui pointed to it and said, "I choose
this."

Giving Mister Chu Zhaoyang a look, it seemed that the butler

wanted to say something, but decided against it.

Upon seeing that, Ai Hui asked, "Is it not possible?"

"Not that. Madam has already instructed that you can select
any item." The butler shook his head. "This stone statue,
seemingly a gift from heaven, has been in the treasury for the
longest time. The first family head would often be immersed in
studying it, and successive family heads too, wanted to unlock
the secret within it. Much time and energy had been employed,
but there hasn’t been any result so far."

"Thanks for your guidance." Ai Hui cupped his hands and

offered his thanks before continuing, "I’ll choose it then. Out of
so many treasures, this caught my eyes the most. With Madam’s
elemental elixirs, my base level isn’t a matter of concern. There
are countless gems in this treasury, but no suitable sword. After
some thought, I feel that this treasure is pretty decent. If lucky,
I might even be able to unravel the marvels within?"
 The butler felt that Chu Zhaoyang’s explanation made some
sense, other than the part about unraveling the statue’s
marvels. Had there been any unintelligent family head in the
whole of the Ye Residence’s history? Successive family heads
had failed to unravel its secrets, so how was it going to be an
easy task?

Of course, he had to be civil about it. "With your wisdom, I’m

sure you’ll be able to unlock its mystery. Please do enlighten
your humble servant when that happens. The secret of the
stone statue has been torturing generation after generation."

Ai Hui laughed. "Haha, thanks. I will!"

The butler placed his palm on the case and engaged his
elemental energy. A light flashed and the seal’s glow
disappeared.

Ai Hui could tell that these seals were extremely elaborate. It

wasn’t going to be easy for intruders to break them. Ai Hui had
also long noticed that the materials used to build this treasury
were special and had a restraining and suppressing effect
against elemental energy.
 Situated in Silver City, which housed many experts and
Masters, it could be said that the Ye Residence’s defense was
very solid. Even capable intruders would find it impossible to
infiltrate without a soul knowing. If they moved too blatantly,
they would attract city guards, powerful fighters, and even the
Elders training deep within the Silver Mist Sea.

The bandage quieted down immediately when Ai Hui took

possession of the stone statue, but Ai Hui could still feel the
restlessness and desire beneath its calm state.

The stone statue was about two feet tall and because it was
made from ordinary granite, Ai Hui felt its weight to be as light
as air. Like jade and unlike granite, it was cool to the touch, but
no matter how Ai Hui looked at it, it was most definitely an
ordinary piece of granite. He couldn’t help but click his tongue
in wonder.

The butler smiled as he watched Mister Chu Zhaoyang tossing

and turning it around.

"Do you still want to look around?"

"It’s alright! Since I’ve already made my choice, I shall stop to

spare myself the heartache!"

"Hahaha, you’re right!"

…..

Study room.

Madam Ye asked in interest, "What did he pick?"

The butler answered respectfully, "The nameless stone statue

left by first family head."

"Stone statue?" Madam Ye asked in shock. She’d thought of

many treasures that Chu Zhaoyang might have picked, but not
once did she imagine that he would actually select that obscure
stone statue.

The butler repeated Ai Hui’s explanation for his choice to

Madam Ye, word for word.
 Madam Ye looked much more relaxed now, but instructed
nevertheless, "Pay more attention."

The butler retreated knowingly.

Chapter 367: Stone Statue
Carrying the statue back to the bamboo garden, Ai Hui closed
the door before placing it on his table. Like a snake, the
impatient bandage charged forward and coiled itself around the
stone statue.

Ai Hui almost let out a laugh; the stone statue looked like a
silly, lifeless mummy. Its heavenly charm was all gone.

Perhaps there was something powerful hidden within the

statue?

Ai Hui was very curious. Of course, he already knew the

power of the bandage, but for the family heads of the Ye
Residence to have been stumped over the statue for so many
years, it most definitely wasn’t a simple object.

Ai Hui dared not look down on aristocratic families at all.

Their accumulated power was shockingly deep, be it in terms of
riches, treasures, or even their grasp of elemental energy.

The construction of the treasury and the method of sealing

the cases were things he’d never seen before.
 Perhaps the family had no outstanding representatives, but
their hard work contributed to the succession of each
generation for hundreds and thousands of years. Along the way,
their accumulated experiences were intimidatingly profound
and and extensive.

Aristocratic families were the people standing at the peak of

the Elemental Era.

The bandage had actually responded to a secret these people

weren’t able to unravel. How exciting!

Eh?

Ai Hui suddenly stood up straight, his eyes glowing.

The face of the stone statue was starting to melt.

A change was occurring!

Ai Hui became very agitated, but calmed himself down

quickly. Pricking up his ears and listening, the coast was clear.
The stone statue had no elemental energy waves. It was like a
candle that, upon heating, melted gradually.

Ai Hui stared intently at that statue. It most definitely was

ordinary granite, he’d checked carefully!

Had his eyes deceived him?

As the statue’s face melted, its coarse lines smoothed out and
its uneven face softened significantly. The blurred facial
features became more distinct.

Seeing the face of the statue becoming delicate and refined,

that faint heavenly charm became more intense. Ai Hui was
completely captivated, as if the stone status was a gaze-
swallowing whirlpool. Ai Hui stared blankly at it, unable to turn
his eyes away.

The stone statue in his vision started to turn blurry.

The world turned hazy as the sky merged with the ocean. He
saw an unending chain of massive mountains, steep and
majestic. The ancient trees reached high up into the sky, the
fields were vast, and all kinds of unusual beasts were running
and flying around.

Ai Hui guaranteed that he’d never seen any of these unusual

beasts. Having stayed in the Wilderness for such a long time, he
could be considered an expert when it came to recognizing most
of the wild and dire beasts. These unusual beasts were even
more primitive and barbarous, definitely foreign to him.

Scanning across the towering mountains and precipitous

ridges, his gaze landed on a small valley.

From what he saw, Ai Hui reckoned this valley’s terrain was

very suitable for outdoor camping.

There was a meandering brook, its stream small so flooding

wasn’t a concern. The mountains on both sides served as
partitions. They were steep and made of granite. The valley was
wide, yet its mouth was extremely narrow, making it a place
that was easy to guard and difficult for intruders to attack.

There was a fence made of thick, solid logs at the valley

mouth. What use could such a crude defensive measure have? Ai
Hui couldn’t wrap his head around it. Inside, there was a tent
made of animal skin and cogon grass, and within it were people
lighting a fire for cooking and skinning the wild beasts. It was a
rather lively scene.

Savage tribe?

Ai Hui seemed to have thought of something.

Observing for a little while, Ai Hui felt that the savages had
tedious lives. They were uncivilized and appeared quite
ignorant. When Ai Hui and gang were in the Wilderness, their
lives had been arduous too, but compared to these savages, they
were much better off.

Some time later, the tribal chief took out a sheet of animal
skin and drew a rough human figure on it with charcoal and
beast blood.

His strokes were very crude. Saying that it was a human figure
was partially a guess.

The animal skin painting was propped up by a tree branch and

stones were piled up to form a simple sacrificial table. The chief
butchered a wild beast, placed it on the table as an offering, and
led the worshipping process as everyone started kowtowing.

Years passed and the chief kept changing. The clothes worn
by tribe members underwent developments too, from the initial
animal skin to sackcloth. The drawings on the animal skin
gradually became clearer and started to carry a unique,
heavenly charm.

Heavenly charm?

Ai Hui reacted suddenly. Could it be…

He took a closer look at the human figure on the animal skin

and found that it was indeed similar to the stone statue.

With changes to the animal skin, the tribesmen became

increasingly pious and offered sacrifices more regularly. As the
offerings grew, the human figure on the skin became more
exquisite and lifelike.

The tribe, having been through years of campaign, was now

influential and powerful. City walls were built and he
overlooked them all.

Enemies infiltrated into the sacrificial hall and burned the

animal skin.

The chief transmitted an order, seeking treasures from

respective cities in order to create and refine a demonic god
portrait. Gathering treasures, reputable priests, painters, and
warlocks from all over into the hall, after twenty-two years of
blood, sweat, and tears, a new demonic god portrait was finally
completed.

Campaigns against enemies and for power began abruptly as

well.

In the span of sixty years, countless captives were detained

and offered as sacrifices.

The heavenly charm of the demonic god portrait intensified,

making it terrifying to look at.

More years passed as the tribe rose and fell, prospered and fell
into decline. However, that portrait remained undamaged. It
was always as good as new and sacrifices were constantly being
offered to it.

On a windy, rainy night, a lightning bolt from outside the

windows illuminated the dark, spacious sacrificial hall and also
that portrait that hung down from the wall.

The demonic god’s eyes moved and a smile surfaced on the

corner of its mouth. This smile carried an evil energy, making
its gentle face appear increasingly flirtatious and enticing.

Suddenly, a leg extended out from the portrait.

The demonic god had actually come alive. He moved his body,
seemingly interested in all that was going on. All of a sudden, as
if he sensed something, he raised his head and looked in Ai Hui’s
direction.

Seeing the demonic god’s eyes momentarily disrupted Ai Hui’s

line of thought.

Just then, the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp sensed danger

and abruptly started operating, allowing Ai Hui to regain a trace
of clarity. He tried with all his might to shut his eyes and block
off his vision.

Hu… hu…

His rough breaths were like moving bellows, causing Ai Hui to

sweat profusely. That moment of struggle had practically
exhausted all his strength.

He calmed down five minutes later, but not without some

lingering fear. He’d always thought himself to be firm and
invulnerable to evil disturbances, especially after training his
Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp. He could remain unmoved even
when facing One Thousand Yuan.

Just then, however, his mental state had been completely out
of his control. He couldn’t think at all. If not for the lamp, he
wouldn’t have even been able to shut his eyes.

It was Ai Hui’s first time experiencing something so strange,

terrifying, and dangerous.

Unlike real combat, psychic attacks couldn’t be warned

against. Any slight inattentiveness would lead to an attack,
causing one’s body to lose all control. The mind would not be
able to overpower the body to execute even the most basic
resistance. The victim would be completely at the enemies’
disposal.

He never wanted to experience this ever again.

Demonic god…

Shortly after, Ai Hui’s body tensed up as the Skyheart Flaming

Lotus Lamp circulated unsteadily. He gathered all his focus so
that whenever something felt amiss, he would shut his eyes
again.

He slitted his eyes and looked outside.

Ah!

He saw a stone statue.

Where was the sacrificial hall? Demonic god?

 Ai Hui was stunned. Had he been dreaming? Those scenes
he’d just witnessed were too vivid. It felt as though he’d lived
thousands of years alongside the tribe and demonic god.

But at this moment, he was still in his room.

Fantasy? Possibly!

But such a lifelike fantasy…

Ai Hui looked at the time and realized that not even half an
hour had passed.

How mystical. That dreamlike sequence had simply been too

real and he could still recall all the fine details. The mirage bean
pods sold in markets couldn’t be compared to what he’d just
seen.

He felt somewhat regretful, but also relieved. The scene in

which the demonic god had walked out of the portrait left a
deep impression on him; he still had some lingering fear.
 His gaze fell upon the stone statue and his pupils suddenly
shrank.

The stone statue on the table looked exactly like the demonic
god!

Ai Hui remembered the demonic god’s appearance clearly,

there was no mistake. The statue was, at this moment, no
longer that crude piece of stone but extremely refined and
lifelike.

It had a graceful figure, its waist appearing weak and delicate

and its upper body masculine. It had an androgynous face with a
soft outline, but a masculine nose and lips. Its eyes were cold,
but the outer corners curved out beautifully.

It was Ai Hui’s first time seeing such androgynous and

conflicting features that somehow managed to fit nicely
together, leaving a deep impression on him.

Exactly the same!

Was that vision the demonic god stone statue’s doing?

 It was possible!

Was that the origin of this stone statue? Ai Hui was quite
convinced since there was no other possible explanation.

He never imagined that there would be such a story behind

the stone statue. Ai Hui clicked his tongue in wonder and looked
all over the statue.

The statue was now exquisite and lifelike, but its heavenly
charm was gone. It looked like an ordinary stone statue.

So, the heavenly charm had contained the statue’s history, Ai

Hui suddenly realized.

No matter how he looked at it, however, the demonic god

statue was still just the demonic god statue and the granite was
still the granite. There were no changes. Had he just spent so
much effort just to get a fine stone statue?

Ai Hui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

 What he saw next, on his bandage, shocked him.

Its blood eye was gone; it had regained its previous white
color and was now empty.

Seeing the two snow-white bandages on the table, a thought

came to him as he unfolded them and laid them flat, then pieced
them together. He remembered that they were originally one
piece when he’d first seen them.

When placed alongside each other, the middle sections started

to fuse together, forming a piece of white cloth.

This was actually possible?!

Ai Hui opened his eyes wide as he’d never thought they could
be welded together.

Wait a minute!

Ai Hui’s body stiffened. He stared blankly at the white cloth

on the table as an image of the demonic god portrait hanging in
the sacrificial hall emerged in his mind.

After the demonic god walked out of the portrait, it became a

sheet of white, and its size… was approximately the same size as
the white cloth in front of him.

The bandage… was the canvas of the demonic god’s portrait?

Chapter 368: Rumors
Silver City was in an unstable state.

Madam Ye and son were almost murdered, causing the Great

Elder, who often concealed his feelings, to fly into a rage.
Evidence of the Ling Residence colluding with blood
elementalists pushed them into a passive state. Ling Residence
denied it flatly, but the development of affairs went against
their favor.

"Are you guys just going to sit and wait for death?"

The person who spoke wore a black cloak that covered his
whole body. His voice was stiff and monotonous, awkward for
the listeners.

Ling Sheng glared at the other party. Ling Xiao had just
woken up and his face was pale. Although he had lost an arm
and lost a lot of blood and energy, his elemental energy hadn’t
been affected. His injuries, however, were very severe. The five
residences and eight palaces were badly damaged and he would
be unable to train from that day onwards. Even if he was Ling
Xiao, the noble son of Master Ling, he would be useless if unable
to train.
 Madam Ling appeared calm, but the white hair on her temples
revealed her anxious and haggard heart.

"Does Grandmaster Dai have any solutions?"

"As long as he doesn’t die, Grandmaster Dai will be able to do

something." The cloaked man trembled unpleasantly. "Even if
his whole body is damaged, he won’t die as long as his brain is
intact."

The man lifted his cloak, revealing his body.

Ling Sheng and Madam Ling looked at the man in shock, their
eyes wide open.

The man grinned at them, but their eyes were filled with fear.
The man before them wasn’t human-like. His body was made
from a mix of grass cord and lotus, and only his brain was that
of a human.

"I never thought that I’d be able to live until today. Although
this doesn’t feel like living, I feel pretty good. I forgot to tell you
guys my name. I’m Qing Feng. Doesn’t it sound like a servant’s
name? Haha, I’m actually a servant."

Qing Feng laughed merrily, but his voice remained rigid and
rough. His laughter was unpleasant to hear, blood-curdling, in
fact.

Madam Ling spoke up after a while. "The two arts, [Grasscord]

and [Lotus Chiropractic Technique] that Grandmaster Dai
founded are indeed freakish and brilliant."

Qing Feng shook with laughter. "What are you two going to
offer Grandmaster Dai for this?"

Madam Ling answered solemnly, "We will not forget about

him. Xiao Shuren is currently in the Ye Residence, so the time is
not yet right."

Qing Feng responded very directly. "Then what are your

plans? What happened is disadvantageous for your side."

"Don’t worry, we’ve already taken action." Madam Ling’s eyes

were cold. "Great Elder has already forgotten that he needs the
support of the aristocratic families. They are the pillar of the
Avalon of Five Elements. When the situation gets increasingly
chaotic, who’s going to be able to reinstate order?"

Qing Feng trembled once again. "I see that you guys are
prepared."

Madam Ling answered dully, "An old tree’s roots extend deep
down."

…..

Silver City became chaotic very quickly. Battered corpses and

blood filled the streets every morning. The situation became
increasingly intense as attacks spread across the whole city.
When night fell, fighting noises and flames could be heard and
seen in every corner.

A unit leader of the Sky Edge Division was attacked during his
patrol and died from severe injuries.

The family head of the slightly reputable Huo family died of

sudden poisoning, and evidence found at the scene pointed
toward the Gong Residence. The Gong Residence held an
unyielding attitude towards accusations as a few families joined
forces and reported the Gong Residence to the Elders Guild.

Accidents in the form of blatant attacks and poisonings

occurred consecutively and increasingly within small families.
While there wasn’t any concrete evidence pointing toward the
Gong Residence this time, smaller families still cooperated and
started pressuring the guild to investigate the matter.

Disorder spread unceasingly, sending citizens into a state of

panic.

The situation reached its peak when the Zeng and Zhong
Residences fought. There had already been bad blood between
both families, but this time, a conflict between servants fed
their feud and before they knew it, things escalated quickly to
the point of no return.

The number of families getting involved multiplied and the

Sky Edge Division did not dare come out; the patrolling teams
had been ambushed whenever making their rounds.

Silver City was completely out of control. Everyone was in

danger and all kinds of rumors started emerging and breeding
like flies.

Most rumors were about Madam Ye. The power she had
displayed had long been circulated without restraint. Some
news even said that the Great Elder’s plan to put Madam Ye in
charge of the Master’s Glory was to let her nurture henchmen
who would give her power.

The most sensational rumor was that Madam Ye’s son was
born to another man instead of her deceased husband.

The source of this rumor was unknown, but it very quickly

spread rhythmically. The Great Elder’s family members were all
born talents. Families above the Ye family had also never
produced any mentally challenged offsprings. Madam Ye’s son,
however, was born mentally challenged, hence fueling
suspicions.

Other rumors even said that before Madam Ye’s marriage, she
had lived in seclusion for more than a year, and that this was
actually a ruse to fool people; someone claimed to have seen her
travelling in Jadeite Forest with a man. There was a released
clip that was very blurry, but the figure within bore a
remarkable resemblance to Madam Ye. The man beside her was
tall and gigantic in stature, unlike that of her scholarly and
delicate husband.

The Great Elder had been under great pressure, but not once
did he lose his cool and get as angry as he did today.

He stared at the clip, his fists clenching automatically.

Initially, he had scoffed at the rumors, but upon viewing the

clip, he started feeling suspicious. The manners of the woman in
the clip were indeed very similar to Ye Lin’s. It was a fact that
even he was unable to deny.

Thinking about his deceased son, the Great Elder felt as if a

knife was being twisted in his heart.

Shortly, he loosened his fists, his eyes cold and sharp.

No one could deceive him. No one!

Thump, thump, thump. Someone was knocking on the door.

He raised his head, the sharpness in his gaze disappearing as his
expression returned to normal.
 His tone carried the same grandeur. "Come in."

A subordinate opened the door, reporting respectfully,

"Madam brought Xiaobao over and wishes to see you."

Great Elder’s heart shrank but his face remained unchanged.

"Let them in."

A moment later, Madam Ye and Xiaobao walked in. Seeing

Great Elder, Xiaobao shouted in delight, "Grandfather!"

Madam Ye bowed. "Father."

Great Elder chuckled. "Why are you guys here? Xiaobao, let
me see if you got any skinnier."

"No, Xiaobao became stronger recently!" Xiaobao puffed his

chest with a proud look on his face.

Great Elder burst into laughter.

 Madam Ye stood at the said, smiling at their conversation.

After asking Xiaobao about his recent activities, Great Elder

ordered a servant to bring him out for some food. Xiaobao left
obediently and the servant closed the door carefully upon
walking out.

Silence filled the room.

Great Elder observed that his daughter-in-law appeared calm

and easy, not the least bit abnormal.

Madam Ye spoke unhurriedly with a smile at the corner of her

mouth, "There’ve been a lot of rumors about me spreading and
I’ve dismissed them with a laugh, but those that say Xiaobao
isn’t your son’s, I can not sit idly and watch."

With a wave, Great Elder warned, "The town rumors

shouldn’t be taken seriously, don’t be affected by them."

"If the rumors are about me, I will not mind, but Xiaobao is
still young and naturally has a tough life. It would be better for
him if these rumors were dispelled as soon as possible." She
bowed and said respectfully, "Please invite all the Elders to test
if Xiaobao carries our family’s blood. Our family’s [Sinuous
Aqua Body] is pristine and unique."

Great Elder lowered his voice. "There’s no need."

Madam Ye continued to bow, never raising her head. "Please

grant my wish. Xiaobao has a long life ahead of him. Even if
these critics get things straight, their comments would still
leave a scar on Xiaobao. What’s the point of us doing so much?
As a mother, I’m unwilling to allow him to bear the criticisms.
The test will set everything right. Mouths will shut when the
truth is revealed."

After muttering to himself for some time, Great Elder spoke

up slowly. "All right! Since you’re so insistent, we shall do that.
Don’t worry, anyone who tries to smear Xiaobao will not be let
off."

…..

The Ling Residence received the news quickly.

 Ling Sheng was rather shocked. "Widow Ye is going to
publicize the test?"

He looked at his wife with uncertainty. "Is your news

accurate? She must be very confident if she wants to publicize
it."

Madam Ling was also somewhat swayed, but quickly calmed

down. "She’s just bluffing. The truth cannot be false, so let’s see
what she’s up to. Since she’s already set a date, it is our chance."

Qing Feng asked in a strange voice, "What chance?"

"The chance to seize Xiao Shuren." Madam Ling continued, "If

Ye Lin is going to bring Xiaobao for the test, she’s definitely
going to be escorted by a strong guard. When the house is
empty, that’s the best time for us to strike. According to inside
news, Ye Lin does not value Xiao Shuren as she’s not interested
in the ancient treasure."

Qing Feng responded, "The earlier we get her, the faster we

can heal young master."
 Ling Sheng made eye contact with his wife and both saw the
determination in each other’s eyes.

…..

Zhong Residence, secret room.

She Yu was listening to Zhong Houjun’s report.

"I’ve followed your orders and created some conflicts with the
Zeng residence. There are casualties on both sides. Silver City is
in chaos now and it started with the Ling Residence’s strike.
Later on, attacks became complicated and difficult to
distinguish. Respective families are all very vigilant. Some
suspect that the Ling Residence was creating trouble on the sly,
some reckon that the residence has secret connections, while
others even suspect that the new citizens are sowing discord
since Yuchi Qingshan’s appearance was way too coincidental.
Following your instructions, we did not make any moves, so no
one suspects us."

Zhong Houjun admired this Blood of God’s envoy greatly. She

was unpredictable and her hot and cold way of dealing with
things was astonishing to see.
 Without exerting much effort, she had managed to turn the
Ling Residence and the Great Elder into mortal enemies,
sending Silver City into a state of disorder.

No one would’ve thought that this unprecedented unrest was

orchestrated by this woman before him.

She Yu was very pleased. "Very good. The Zhong Residence

and your contributions will not be forgotten by Mister Bei. He
will treat you guys well. Looking at the current situation of the
Avalon of Five Elements, I believe you can tell who’s going to
have the last laugh."

Zhou Houjun answered without hesitation, "Yes! The Zhong

Residence vows loyalty and devotion to Mister Bei! To God
Nation!"

This chaos in the Avalon of Five Elements disappointed him

very much, but also made him even more determined to follow
the Blood of God.

She Yu looked satisfied. She asked directly, "Have you found

people?"
 Zhong Houjun reassured hurriedly, "Done. They’re all
professional and not from the Zhong Residence."

"Don’t worry. You guys are not going because I do not want
your identities to be exposed and not because I don’t trust you
all." She Yu added, "We might bump into Dai Gang’s people, but
I’m looking forward to it slightly. He’s determined to obtain the
ancient treasure. How exciting."

"Dai Gang’s people!" Zhong Houjun shuddered before asking

somewhat suspiciously, "Why isn’t Ye Lin bothered by this?"

"She plots too much and is too ambitious." She Yu laughed

coldly, "She probably already checked Xiao Shuren’s
background when the latter was still in Karakorum. Not only
that, but reunions with old friends and what not are the most
exciting."

Her radiant eyes flickered.

Chapter 369: Metal Elemental Elixir
Compared to the turmoil outside, the Ye residence was much
more peaceful.

The current situation was messy. Students had been told to

return home, so the Ye residence was empty.

Ai Hui could feel that the atmosphere in the house wasn’t too
good. He sensed that the servants were talking under the table,
and since Ai Hui had keen ears, it did not take much effort for
him to figure that they were discussing the rumors revolving
around Madam Ye and Xiaobao.

Xiaobao wasn’t the biological son of the deceased Master Ye?

Ai Hui couldn’t help but shake his head. These people had too
much time and would do anything to win those internal strifes.

He had no time or effort to waste on such nonsensical rumors.

The stone statue had returned to its original state and did not
react to anything. Even its initial heavenly charm was gone.
 Are you going to give me just one episode after I’ve spent so
much effort to get ahold of you?

Ai Hui stared at the bandage and stone statue unkindly. If

they were alive, he would smash them against the brick wall.

When the bandage had been removed from the stone statue, it
split into two pieces again and they coiled themselves around Ai
Hui’s body like a snake, even knotting themselves. Many a time
Ai Hui felt that the bandages were very spiritual and alive.

The stone statue did look more exquisite, but was useless.

To a practical snob like Ai Hui, useless things were naturally

treated as less. As such, the once mighty and impressive
demonic god portrait was thrown aside by Ai Hui.

Ai Hui placed his attention on the metal elemental elixir. He

had received a total of three metal elemental elixirs from
Madam Ye.

These metal elemental elixirs came from high-level dire

beasts, so none of the beasts producing them were weak. Such
dire beasts were generally left alone by hunting teams; the
hunters would even flee at the mere sight of them. Only
elemental masters had the ability to hunt them down. Many
new elemental masters would visit the Wilderness to hunt for
these high level beasts as not only did doing so allow them to
practice their inheritances, but it also helped them to lay the
foundations of their training in the future.

Becoming a Master meant that the elementalist had entered a

higher level of combat capability, so upon joining combat
divisions, he or she would receive better treatment and
privileges; the assistance rendered by aristocratic families
thereafter would also be rather shocking. The masters’ training
costs, however, also rose significantly. Ordinary elemental food
and ingredients were no longer effective for them. In other
words, the elemental energy within their bodies was purer than
that found in most ingredients.

This was also the reason why elemental masters were preyed
on by high-level dire beasts.

The three metal elemental elixirs were of different sizes, with

the biggest being the size of a fist while the smallest was the size
of an egg. Their shapes were also irregular. Each metal
elemental elixir was covered by silver, hair-like threads. They
were densely packed and formed a very complicated but fine
decorative design; these were commonly known as elixir traces.

Many elemental masters believed that elixir traces

represented a certain rule of elemental energy. Some
aristocratic families and the Great Elder had researched them,
but had formed no conclusive theories thus far.

Metal elemental elixirs needed to be kept in special light-

swallowing sand cases. They could not be out in the air for a
long time or they would develop intense elemental energy
waves that altered the composition of the elemental energy in
the nearby region.

It was Ai Hui’s first time taking the elemental elixir, so he was

excited but also slightly nervous.

Elemental elixirs were undoubtedly good items, but absorbing

them was a test for elementalists. The surging elemental energy
contained within was accumulated over a long period of time by
the dire beasts, so it was exceptionally pure.

Being pure meant that the elemental elixir would be more

difficult to absorb.
 Furthermore, the remnant fiendish aura was another issue.
The beasts which produced the elemental elixirs were vicious
and must have gobbled up countless beasts and elementalists.
Other than containing pure, surging elemental energy, the
elemental elixirs also carried huge volumes of remnant fiendish
aura.

This remnant energy was adverse to elementalists and a

hindrance to the absorption process.

Elemental elixirs were the quickest way to raise one’s

elemental energy realm since the elemental energy they
contained was much purer than that found in any other part of
the beasts’ bodies.

Ai Hui had always been lagging in this aspect because his

body’s aptitude was naturally terrible. If not for the elemental
food prepared by Lou Lan, Ai Hui wouldn’t have attained
Elemental Externalization so easily. The good thing was that the
glass body of his Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp, upon
completion, improved his aptitude significantly.

It was a pity that Lou Lan wasn’t around, otherwise he would

know how to eliminate the fiendish aura from the elemental
elixir.
 He could only rely on himself now.

Without Lou Lan, Ai Hui felt as though a storm was brewing.

He had to grab hold of whatever time he had to upgrade his
abilities, so as to protect his own life.

It was fortunate that he had already trained the [Skyheart

Flaming Lotus Lamp] as it could possibly help to remove the
elemental elixir’s fiendish aura.

The lamp in his sky palace turned much brighter as it

operated fully. Ai Hui swallowed the smallest elemental elixir.

Boom!

The surging elemental energy exploded suddenly with a howl

like that of a tyrannical beast, then rushed into Ai Hui’s brain,
causing his mind to turn blank. His frail elemental energy was
like paste in front of even stronger elemental energy.

Ai Hui had underestimated the strength of the elemental

elixir.
 In reality, when most young aristocrats consumed the
elemental elixir, there would be an accompanying senior to
prevent them from experiencing what Ai Hui was experiencing
now. No matter how talented a genius was, they weren’t worth
a mention before this fearful energy that had been accumulated
by dire beasts over hundreds of years of slaughter.

Ai Hui knew only the benefits of the elemental elixir, not the
right way to consume it. When it came to precious treasures like
these elemental elixirs, ordinary folks might never get the
chance to see one, let alone learn about the minute details
involved about consuming one. That information circulated
among aristocratic families only.

If Ai Hui could see what was going on in his body, he would

realized that wisps of black fog were seeping out from amid the
elemental elixir’s elemental energy.

The Skyheart Flaming Lamp operated unceasingly to remove

some of the fog, but more quickly emerged.

The fog gathered without dissipating and formed a mighty

beast, which appeared blurry but emitted intense disdain,
arrogance, and a dense, ice-cold, murderous spirit.
 The beast suddenly opened its mouth and silently bellowed
towards the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp.

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp’s flames shook once before

dimming significantly.

Out of control, the metal elemental energy scattered within Ai

Hui’s body and black fog seeped out. The fog gathered and did
not dissipate at all. It was a horrifying sight.

Just then, in a corner, the eyes of the demonic god statue

glowed slightly.

Suddenly, the fog-formed beast appeared to be frightened, as

if it’d seen a most terrifying enemy. It struggled wildly, but
there seemed to be an invisible lock holding it down, preventing
it from breaking free.

The stubborn black fog pointed towards the stone statue. The
fog appeared to be very attracted to the statue as it continuously
extended and stretched towards it frantically, like water plants.

The frontmost wisp of black fog entered the slightly opened

mouth of the statue.

The demonic god statue’s eyes glowed brighter.

Staring blankly, Ai Hui heard a dire beast’s anguished wailing.

It was a howl filled with despair and fear.

Ai Hui quivered and snapped out of his daze. What he saw

next made his jaw drop.

Innumerable wisps of black fog seeped out of his pores to form

black hair-like threads that eventually ended up in the statue’s
mouth.

Demonic god statue…

He watched on helplessly as the statue swallowed the black

fog incessantly.

Ai Hui’s body shook as the last wisp of black fog left it and an
indescribably comfortable and light feeling rose from deep
within his body.

This was...

Overwhelmed, Ai Hui felt very suspicious, but quickly lost the

desire to ponder over the stone statue. Without the fiendish
aura, the force of the pure metal elemental energy was also
immediately released. It became small knives that circulated
throughout his body, causing him to feel sharp pains all over.

The metal elemental energy released by the elemental elixir

was much purer than Ai Hui had imagined.

Fortunately, he was quite experienced when it came to things

like this. Long ago, starting from his time in the Suspending
Golden Tower, he’d had to refine even purer metal elemental
energy.

Ai Hui was good at persevering and being patient.

He stood up with some effort while holding onto the

Silverfold Plum Sword. Without being showy, he got into a
comfortable position. Enduring the acute pain, he started
operating his one and only Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

Most people required a quiet room for this as they had to be in

a very relaxed state of mind. It was hard to imagine anyone
being able to do it under such terrible conditions.

For Ai Hui, however, it had always been this way.

While this pain was not like anything he’d felt before, he got
into the momentum of things gradually.

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp, which had been restrained

by the black fog earlier, regained its vigor. Its light started to
circulate within Ai Hui’s body, illuminating his flesh and
making it appear glassy.

The sky dimmed slightly, but Ai Hui’s glass-like body

continued to glow and operate.

The blood plum blossom on his chest started moving. It could

feel the abundant elemental energy; it was exactly what it liked.
Just then, the bandage around his chest stuck itself onto the
blood plum bosom, instantly calming it down to a motionless
state.

Wisps of silver fog oozed out from Ai Hui’s pores. They were
like soft cow hair needles, needle-like but also fog-like. The
absorption process consumed part of the elemental energy. The
amount of elemental energy consumed was directly linked with
the body’s aptitude. The better the body’s aptitude was, the
lower its elemental energy consumption and higher its
absorption efficiency would be.

While Ai Hui had already mastered [Glass Body], he still lost

about twenty-five percent of the elemental energy. Thick metal
elemental energy circulated throughout his whole body like an
enveloping ball of silver fog.

The stone statue remained still this time. The silver fog
seemed to be of no interest to the statue. The glow in its eyes
vanished and the statue returned back to its charmless, ordinary
granite rock-like state.

Time passed slowly as Ai Hui completed one Circulatory Cycle

Revolution after another.
 At dawn on the second day, a faint glow appeared outside the
windows and on the horizon far away. The room was still dark,
but a glassy sculpture of a human figure, seemingly fresh out of
the oven, could be seen. The glow had yet to disperse and he was
still surrounded by silver fog. He was like thunder and lightning
amid the thick clouds.

He quivered suddenly before slowly opening his eyes.

Those eyes were peaceful and deep, like the night sky still
lingering on the horizon.

He’d stepped into the Second Elemental Realm.

Chapter 370: The Will
Upon stepping into Second Elemental Realm, Ai Hui could
clearly feel his control over elemental energy improving greatly.
There were even fine traces of elemental energy swirling around
his body.

Ai Hui knew that this phenomenon was occurring due to his

being unable to absorb and emit elemental energy with ease, as
he had just achieved the breakthrough.

Even after achieving the breakthrough, he wasn’t particularly

overjoyed. On the contrary, he was abnormally calm. He seemed
to be lost in thought as he looked at the dawn sky outside the
window.

Human beings’ understanding towards the world was ever-

changing. Men from the Cultivation Era used to think that the
world was made up of spiritual force. In the current Elemental
Era, men felt that the world was made up of various elemental
energies.

From mankind’s perspective, the world was ever-changing.

 Perhaps from the world’s perspective, it was mankind that
was ever-changing.

Ai Hui returned to his senses when the first trace of sunlight

shone through the window and into his eyes. After stretching
his arms and feet, the elemental energy within his body surged.
The abundance of power within his body made him feel as if he
could capture a tiger alive.

Stepped into Second Elemental Realm had also boosted his

fusion elemental energy level. It was a happy surprise to him.
Despite spending so many days in the Grass Hall, Ai Hui still
could not find the notebook; however, he did not become
impatient and continued to look through the ancient records
one by one.

Now, even Grass Hall pretended that they didn’t see him
searching through the ancient records almost every day.

As time went by, his fusion elemental energy depleted and

was about to run out. Ai Hui lifted his gaze from the book in his
hands. Just as Ai Hui left the Ancient Hall of Records and was
about to leave Grass Hall, Manager called for him.
 Slightly surprised, Ai Hui asked, "Is there anything that I can
help you with?"

During the trips to Grass Hall these few days, other than
greeting Manager, he had not really talked with him.

"Hua Kui is dead," Manager said bluntly. "He doesn’t have any
family members. According to his will, he is leaving you all his
inheritance."

Manager passed Ai Hui a key.

Ai Hui was stunned momentarily. After a while, he returned

to his senses. He took the key, thanked Manager, and left.

After leaving Grass Hall, Ai Hui stood motionless, in a daze.

He’d entered the Assembly of Patriarchs with a strong sense of

purpose. He’d known Hua Kui for a few years, but had not
developed a friendship with him. Even when Hua Kui became
his guide, he did not really feel anything for him. Being a
member of the Assembly of Patriarchs, he needed to make sure
his identity was not exposed at all times.
 Ai Hui had always felt that Hua Kui knew about his disguise,
but then he loosened up as he realized that the Assembly of
Patriarchs did not really care about aliases.

Deep down, he had never treated Hua Kui as someone he

could rely on.

As such, when Manager told him that Hua Kui left him with
his inheritance, he was slightly shocked. To Ai Hui, one’s
inheritance was usually left to his or her closest family
members.

Ai Hui did not expect himself to have held such an important

place in Hua Kui’s heart. Not only did this fact surprise him, it
also put him at a complete loss. He did not feel the same way
about Hua Kui.

Ai Hui could accept death calmly. From the Wilderness to

Central Pine City and from the outbreak of the blood
catastrophe to now, he had seen a lot of people die almost every
day. There was nothing strange or unusual about death.

Death was the ultimate end of one’s life. Facing the news of
someone’s death, he might feel sad, but not overly sad. As long
as he or she did not die the way his master and mistress had
died, then it would still be alright. If he was the one to die, then
how it happened would not matter to him at all.

Right now, he did not want to die because there were still
things that he had not yet accomplished.

There were times when he would worry about death.

For instance, if he died, who would he leave his inheritance

to? Lou Lan? Lou Lan was a sand puppet, would money be
useful to him at all? If he died, Lou Lan would be rather pitiful.
Then, should he leave his inheritance to Fatty? Leaving his
inheritance to Fatty made him feel as if he was feeding a huge
meat bun to a dog. Iron Lady probably wouldn’t care about his
money. Maybe he could ask her to help repay his debt. Ha, why
would he need to care about repaying his debt when he was
already dead?

Ai Hui finally returned from his daze and laughed at himself.

After thinking for a while, he found a wooden board and used

his sword to carve two words, "Hua Kui", into it. He would use
the wooden slab as Hua Kui’s spirit tablet. In a huge household
like the Ye Residence, burning incense was an everyday task. As
such, he easily found some incense sticks.

Following which, he lit up a few incense sticks for Hua Kui.

After accepting Hua Kui’s inheritance, he had to do something

for him.

"Hua Kui, as your hands are full of blood, it’s most likely that
you can’t enter Heaven. I hope you can still grow and cultivate
flowers in Hell. At least that way you can resume your old trade
and live a happy life."

After kowtowing to Hua Kui’s spirit tablet, Ai Hui walked out

of his room and was sprinkled with sunshine.

At this point of time, he did not want to do anything. He lay

down on a rattan chair and basked in the sunshine.

Without his students, the place was quieter. Even the servants
became slightly slack. What happened recently had dealt a huge
blow to them. The usual paradise-like Ye Residence suddenly
became the centre of a gigantic maelstrom. All of them felt
extremely nervous and uneasy.

The sunlight began to turn harsh, however, Ai Hui remained

motionless. Relaxing completely was a type of pleasure for him.

Suddenly, his hand grasped the Silverfold Plum.

…..

All the influential figures had gathered at Silver City.

From the Elders Guild alone, there were already four people in
attendance. Great Elder, Yuchi Ba, Elder Song, and Elder Ling.
Other than that, there were also Yuchi Qingshan, Zhong
Houjun, Gong Residence’s family head, Zeng Residence’s family
head, and Ling Sheng with his wife.

Ling Sheng’s gaze was bitter and enraged while Madam Ling’s
was as calm as usual. In front of the four Elders, they were just
insignificant individuals.

Needless to say, Great Elder was the leader of the Elders Guild.
Elder Ling was the leader of the Aristocratic Faction while Elder
Song was the number two figure in the Aristocratic Faction.
Both of them were bosom buddies. Meanwhile, Yuchi Ba was
the leader of the New Citizens Faction.

All of them surrounded a gigantic pool. In the central of the

pool, there was a platform on which only one person could
stand. The pool’s surroundings were fully carved with
complicated and fine decorative designs that flickered with
light. The water within the pool was multicolored and the
colors were clearly distinctive, looking like strips of brightly-
colored ribbons.

"I am sorry for bringing inconvenience to everyone over such

a small matter."

Great Elder saluted and thanked all the people present.

Everyone did not dare to hesitate and quickly stood up to return
Great Elder’s salute.

"However, Lin-er said that gossip is a fearful thing. As a

mother, she doesn’t want Xiaobao to be disturbed by the rumor
in the future. Therefore, I have to bring an end to this issue.
Xiaobao is my only grandson. Ever since his birth, he has led
troubled life. His father died young and I’m not frequently in
Silver City to take care of him. As such, I feel extremely guilty
and have to brazenly invite everyone here today.

Yuchi Ba opened his mouth and spoke first. "This rumor is

mean and evil. Great Elder, don’t take it to heart. All of us have
watched Xiaobao growing up since he was a baby. He looks
exactly like his father, how can he not be his own child?"

Yuchi Ba had a pair of naturally scowling eyebrows,

resembling King Kong with glaring eyes. At this point of time,
his face was brimming with resentment and anger.

Elder Ling had a refined appearance. His eyebrows were

drooping and his mustache was long. With a gentle voice, he
advised, "That’s right. When I heard this rumor, I immediately
knew it was a lie. Don’t we know Lin-er’s character?
Furthermore, the Ye Residence’s family values are matchless."

Everyone agreed with what he said.

Ye Lin smiled and half rose from her chair to thank everyone.

"Everyone, I believe there are a lot of people in this world that

are capable of coming up with lies," said Great Elder.

"That’s true!"

"You’re right!"

All the Elders nodded.

With a deep and solemn tone, Great Elder continued, "If

Xiaobao is not a member of the Gu Family, then it would mean
our family values have been corrupted and that we have
humiliated the world; however, if it’s proven that the rumor is a
lie, I will not let Xiaobao receive injustice for nothing. My only
grandson has been severely sick since he was born and has led a
troubled life. I hereby swear that I will use whatever methods to
seek revenge for him!"

A cold shiver went down everyone’s spine. They knew that

Great Elder was truly enraged this time around. Given his
status, one could tell how angry he was to say such words.

Elder Ling cast a glance at Ling Sheng and the latter shook his
head subtly to signal that the rumor was not his doing. Upon
seeing that, Elder Ling felt slightly at ease. As long as the rumor
had not been spread by members of his family, no one could
blame it on the Ling Residence.

If it had been another family that had colluded with blood

elementalists to attack the Fu Family and Ye Lin and her son,
then that family would definitely be destroyed. With the
backing of Elder Ling, however, the Ling Residence would not
be affected by the so-called "evidence."

As long as this rumor had not been started by Ling Sheng,

Elder Ling could just wait and see a good show.

If the rumor was a lie, then it would not affect them in any
way. If the rumor was true, then things would get interesting.
Elder Ling, who had been thinking of ways to neutralize Great
Elder, realized that if the rumor was true, then it would create a
good opportunity for him to do so.

To everyone, the look of bitter resentment and hatred on

Madam Ling’s face was normal. Ye Lin had chopped off one of
Ling Sheng’s arms. The feud between them was unsolvable.

Great Elder’s prestige was matchless. Elder Ling was no

pushover as well. With the addition of the New Citizen Faction’s
Yuchi Ba, the situation was extremely subtle.

When Xiaobao saw that everyone’s gaze was on him, he felt

slightly afraid. He hid behind Ye Lin and said, "Mama, Xiaobao
is scared."

"Xiaobao, don’t be scared, Mama is here." Ye Lin stroked

Xiaobao’s head gently.

Xiaobao felt slightly more at ease, but he still clutched Ye

Lin’s clothes and was unwilling to let go.

When Great Elder saw this scene, he felt as if his heart was
pierced by a sword, but then he hardened his heart and said,
"Let’s begin. Xiaobao, stand on the platform in the centre of the
pool."

Xiaobao continued to hide behind Madam Ye.

"Xiaobao, be good. Listen to Grandpa and stand on the

platform in the centre of the pool. It will not hurt at all," Ye Lin
said with a gentle voice.
 Xiaobao turned his face and asked, "Really? It will not hurt?"

"It’s really not painful."

The gentle smile on his mother’s face calmed Xiaobao down,

following which, he sobbed. "Xiaobao shall go then, Mama must
wait for Xiaobao."

"Mama will not go anywhere and wait here," Ye Lin reassured

Xiaobao.

"Xiaobao is the bravest! Xiaobao is scared of nothing!"

Xiaobao closed his eyes and encouraged himself loudly. Then,

he opened his eyes and walked towards the platform.

When everyone saw this scene, feelings of empathy rose in

their hearts. Whether it was their Gu Family or the Ye
Residence, they were all top aristocratic families. They did not
expect their younger generation to be reduced to this.

To an aristocratic family, nothing was more important than

its heir and inheritance.

How could a mentally challenged individual carry such an

enormous family on his delicate shoulders?

Some people could not help but harbor evil thoughts. Even
though Great Elder was powerful and influential, he still did not
have a qualified successor to carry on his undertakings at this
old age. This was Great Elder’s deadliest weakness.

Great Elder looked deeply at Xiaobao. He opened his mouth to

say something, but nothing came out.

Following which, he cut his finger and let his blood drip into
the pool.
Chapter 371: Powerful Enemies
Ai Hui sat up from the rattan chair. He could sense someone
was nearby.

A faint, seductive voice suddenly rang acrossed his ears,

"You’re truly worthy of being my chosen one. The last time I
left in a rush, but today we shall have a good, intimate time
together."

"Long time no see," Ai Hui grinned, appearing rather fearless.

A lightning-fast silvery sword gleam erupted without any

warning.

"I’ve been expecting you to do this. I know how ruthless you

are. If you can even kill your own master, why wouldn’t you kill
me now?" Like a ghost, She Yu was maneuvering and dodging Ai
Hui’s sword gleam with ease.

Ai Hui turned a deaf ear to She Yu. His facial expression did
not change but his sword gleam became increasingly intense.
Having just achieved a breakthrough, his essence-breath-spirit
was at its peak. One Thousand Yuan was trying to use her words
to disrupt his mental state but her words actually made him
even more powerful. He had never regretted killing his master
with his sword three years ago.

He would be sad, he would grieve, but he would never regret

it.

Six crescent moons were dancing in the sky and they were
accompanied by streaks of odd-looking sword gleams.
Meanwhile, the buzzing sound of Silverfold Plum rang
incessantly through the air. Even though it was not loud, it
would still cause one to tremble in fear.

A red figure was darting in and out of the fleeting streaks of

sword gleam, appearing and disappearing like a wisp of smoke.

Clink, clink, clink!

The brief and repetitive sounds of collisions could be heard

constantly. The flying sparks gave the two hazy figures a
demonic sense of beauty and an awe-inspiring aura of killing
intent.
 As compared to three years ago, Ai Hui’s strength had
improved tremendously. Similarly, She Yu’s strength had also
increased sharply. Three years ago, She Yu was unpredictable.
Three years later, She Yu was still unpredictable.

Three years ago, when he fought One Thousand Yuan, all he

could feel was a deep sense of helplessness. However, right now,
he finally had the capabilities to put up a fight with her!

A sense of fervor arose in Ai Hui’s heart. Sword moves poured

out of him like a torrential river.

She Yu was seemingly smiling, but really she was shocked.

When they were still in Central Pine City she’d already

thought highly of Ai Hui’s future, even though his aptitude was
not really outstanding. However, now that she looked at Ai Hui
again, she knew that he definitely would have a great future
given his outstanding mind, cool-headed mentality and
diligence.

She was still shocked by Ai Hui’s improvements.

 Even though his sword gleams were not fast, they came out in
huge numbers. Furthermore, his sword gleams intertwined
among each other, seemingly containing a mysterious force
within them. She Yu tried to block a few streaks of sword
gleams and noticed that her palms went numb, sending a cold
shiver down her spine.

As the seed of Blood of God and a rare God Priest, the God
Nation had spared no effort in cultivating her. She learnt the
most profound and high-leveled techniques and spells in Blood
of God.

[Star Divine Hallucination] was the most profound and the

most difficult spell to learn in God Nation. Up till now, she was
only the second person to master it. The first person who’d
mastered this spell was Holy Emperor.

[Phantom] and [Smoke Saunter] were two completely

different spells. She combined these two spells and granted
herself the ability to become half-phantom, half-smoke. By
combining these two spells, her attacks were unpredictable and
impossible to defend against.

Not only that, she’d also mastered a spell that only a god
shaman could practise, [Demonic Nine-step Dance]. By
combining this spell with [Phantom] and [Smoke Saunter], she
created the unique [Phantom Smoke Dance]. Every movement
she made would create distortion in the space surrounding her,
making her almost omnipotent.

She had fought with many elementalists and had seen many
absolute arts before. However, Ai Hui’s sword gleam was
completely different from the others’ absolute arts.

When the attacks from the usual absolute arts entered the
distorted space surrounding her, most of them would be
displaced. However, She Yu discovered her [Phantom Smoke
Dance] had very little effect on Ai Hui’s sword gleam. Ai Hui’s
dazzling sword gleam contained a mysterious force that
rendered her [Phantom Smoke Dance] ineffective.

The sword gleam had another characteristic that was trouble

for She Yu.

The sharpness of the sword gleam.

This was absolutely something that She Yu had not expected.

Fundamentally, blood spiritual force was spiritual force. Even
though blood spiritual force could not be compared to the pure
spiritual force of the Cultivation Era, it was still more powerful
and of a higher level than elemental energy. When blood
spiritual force collided with elemental energy, the former had
an extremely huge advantage over the latter. This was also the
main reason why blood elementalists could maintain
superiority over elementalists during battles.

The only time where elemental energy was more powerful

than blood spiritual force was when an elementalist became a
Master, and the structure of his elemental energy was enhanced
greatly.

She Yu discovered that Ai Hui’s sword gleam remained

abnormally firm and strong, even when it collided with blood
spiritual force.

So this was swordsmanship?

She Yu clearly knew that Ai Hui wasn’t at the level of a Master

yet. She immediately came to realize that swordsmen might
become the biggest threat to Blood of God in the future. There
was a high possibility that Blood of God’s superiority in fighting
capabilities might come to an end.
 Now, she slightly regretted that she’d planted [Life and Death
Flower Sacrificial Art] on Ai Hui. Otherwise, she would have
killed Ai Hui at all costs.

Swordsmanship, which had been obsolete for so many years,

should continue to stay obsolete. By staying obsolete, it would
benefit Blood of God in the long run.

However, [Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art]...

She was having a headache. This time around, she had to

capture Ai Hui alive and bring him back to Blood of God at all
costs. Ai Hui had become her greatest weakness. Luckily, she
was the only one who knew this.

If She Yu knew that Ai Hui had already found out about [Life
and Death Flower Sacrificial Art], she would die of pure regret.

"Go and find Xiao Shuren."

When She Yu finished her sentence, a few figures appeared on

top of the surrounding walls.
 Ai Hui’s facial expression changed. The aura of these people
was powerful and fierce. Their strength was comparable to Jiu
Gui’s and Prince’s, However, Jiu Gui and Prince had followed
Madam Ye on her trip. At this point in time, Ye Residence had
almost zero defenses.

Following which, those figures flew towards the court that

Xiao Shuren was staying in.

Suddenly, an extremely awful voice resounded through the

air, "Keke, all of you get lost."

A wall of vines suddenly blocked their path. Numerous streaks

of green light shot out from the wall. These streaks of green
light were actually straight and sharp rattans. A faint and sweet
aroma was emitted from them, proving that they were highly
toxic.

The elementalists that were flying towards Xiao Shuren’s

court changed their facial expressions drastically, and they
quickly dodged out of the rattans’ way.

She Yu had just struggled free of Ai Hui’s sword gleam, when

her eyes froze momentarily. "Grass puppet!"
 "I don’t like that name," Qing Feng shook his head. His torso
was made up of thick, solid grass tendons and white-colored
lotus roots. Atop that torso was a human head, making him look
extremely creepy.

"I am Qing Feng," he grinned.

Ai Hui was dumbstruck. This was the first time he saw such a
monster. Suddenly, he thought of Shi Youguang. Actually, this
grass-lotus puppet was no different from a transfigured earth
elementalist’s. One was from an earth elementalist, the other a
wood elementalist.

Now that he thought of it this way, he felt relieved.

Body transfiguration was a forbidden art. Its process was

complicated and high-leveled. Ai Hui did not favor this method
of increasing one’s strength as well.

"Such an interesting thing," She Yu’s eyes flickered.

The Beast Venom Temple would be very happy if she could

capture and bring this thing back. Beast Venom Temple loved
all kinds of weird stuffs.

Furthermore… it seemed like Dai Gang was determined in

obtaining the ancient treasure!

She Yu felt more and more curious. What exactly was the
ancient treasure? A Grandmaster actually wanted it so bad that
he was willing to obtain it at all costs.

"Interesting thing?" Qing Feng shook his head, "Today, you’re

going to die here."

At this moment, a cold sneer resounded through the air.

Even though it was just a sneer, it felt as though the

surrounding elemental energy was being stirred by a pair of
invisible hands.

She Yu’s facial expression changed drastically. A master!

Her gaze was locked on the old man beside Qing Feng. That
old man was actually a Master!
 There’s trouble this time around!

Very soon, she understood what was going on. After she
forced them into dire straits, the Ling Residence had no choice
but to hug Dai Gang’s legs.

Since they wanted to hug Dai Gang’s legs, they had to get Xiao
Shuren for him.

Upon seeing what was going on, the elementalists that She Yu
had hired started to feel the urge to retreat. They did not expect
to encounter a Master in the mission this time around.

One of them opened his mouth and said to She Yu, "This
mission is too dangerous, pardon me for being powerless.
Goodbye!"

The others retreated without any hesitation.

The old man ignored those elementalists who had just

retreated. He knew that his main target was Xiao Shuren. As
long as he could get Xiao Shuren, he wouldn’t care about other
small matters.
 As long as he got Xiao Shuren it would be alright, even if the
Ling Residence fell out with Elders Guild. If Dai Gang personally
invited Ling Residence to join him, what could Elders Guild do?

An Muda was old and dying, while Dai Gang was at his peak.
Would Elders Guild be so stupid as to fall out with Dai Gang
over the Ling Residence?

Elders Guild and Dai Gang were merely vying for power. Both
parties were elementalists. Ultimately, there was nothing that
could not be solved.

From the perspective of aristocratic families, if they had

served and worshiped An Muda in the past, why couldn’t they
do the same to Dai Gang as well?

If An Muda passed away, other than Dai Gang, who was there
to stop the Holy Emperor of God Nation? Even if Elders Guild
didn’t think for themselves, they would still think for their
future generations, right?

Just like She Yu, Ai Hui’s facial expression changed

drastically. The energy fluctuation from the metal elemental
master had a huge impact on him. All the surrounding metal
elemental energy was out of his control. He felt as if he was in a
turbulent, stormy sea.

So this was a Master….

"Brother Chu, let us join hands. We can split the ancient

treasure evenly!"

Goddamned demonic girl!

Ai Hui cursed She Yu in his heart. When Qing Feng and the
old man’s gaze landed upon him, he knew something was
wrong. He quickly explained, "All of you can continue what
you’re doing. I have zero interest in the so-called ancient
treasure!"

After he finished his sentence, he wanted to make an escape.

"So you’re Chu Zhaoyang?" the old man squinted his eyes as
his voice was filled with a chilling, killing intent, "So you’re the
one who fought with Xiao-er over Fu Sisi?"
 "It’s a misunderstanding! It’s definitely a misunderstanding!
All along I felt that Brother Ling and Miss Fu were a match
made in heaven!" Ai Hui laughed.

"I heard that both of you are deeply in love, but it turns out
that the two of you are just cowards," the old man had a
disdainful look on his face. However, the killing intent within
his eyes did not decrease in the slightest. "My poor Ling-er is
still unconscious even now. How can the both of you still be
alive? Today, I shall seek revenge for Ling-er!"

Ai Hui sighed in his heart. Men died in the pursuit of wealth,

and birds died in the pursuit of food. The price of avarice was
death. These were truly words of wisdom.

If he’d known at the time that the small amount of money

he’d made would bring him so many troubles, he would have
stayed away from Fu Sisi.

"It seems like we will either live or die together!" She Yu

chuckled.

Ai Hui knew what She Yu’s words actually implied, but he

acted as if he did not know anything. [Life and Death Flower
Sacrificial Art] had a lot of areas that could be exploited.

If he could not escape, then he could only fight.

Ai Hui was not confident about facing a metal elementalist

master. As such, he quickly yelled, "I will take on the grass-lotus
puppet and you will take on the old man!"

"Deal!"

Before She Yu even finished her sentence, both of them struck

out at the same time.
Chapter 372: An Enraged Qing Feng
Ai Hui had never seen a grass-lotus puppet before. However,
he thought that a grass-lotus puppet should be something
similar to a sand puppet. The performance of a sand puppet was
usually closely linked to the character and fighting style of its
master.

Ai Hui did not know Dai Gang well. All he knew was that Dai
Gang was Bangwan’s master, but there was nothing very special
about their relationship.

However, Ai Hui had a rich amount of experience in handling

sand puppets. Lou Lan was his number one training partner.

Since a grass-lotus puppet and a sand puppet were very

similar, a grass-lotus’s mechanics should be similar to a sand
puppet’s as well.

Ai Hui’s brain was working rapidly.

For example, a sand puppet’s body was usually quite big. Most
of their bodies had a unique ability. Some could change their
forms, some were very sturdy, some hid numerous weapons
within them and so on.

Qing Feng’s body was made up of grass tendons and lotus

roots.

Ai Hui’s gaze was first directed at Qing Feng’s completely

exposed grass tendons. Could the grass tendons be his
weakness? Generally speaking, grass-type materials were not
sturdy and hard.

With a jolt of his mind, Ai Hui brandished his Silverfold Plum

and the six dancing streaks of sword gleams formed an odd-
looking arc in the air.

Upon seeing this, Qing Feng spread his palm and his five
fingers grew in length frantically. Eventually, his fingers
became five thick rattans that shot towards the sword gleams in
the sky.

Ai Hui was very familiar with this type of attack. Wasn’t this
attack something like Bangwan’s [Viridescent Flower]?

With a flick of his wrist, Ai Hui slashed his Silverfold Plum

downward. The six streaks of sword gleams shot towards Qing
Feng. Suddenly, the sword gleams changed direction in the air
and flew through the gaps in between Qing Feng’s five rattan
fingers.

Qing Feng did not expect Ai Hui to be able to control the flying
sword gleams.

The six streaks of sword gleams were like six nimble swallows,
slicing Qing Feng’s naked grass tendon joints.

Clang, clang, clang!

Sparks were flying everywhere.

The grass tendons were much more tougher than Ai Hui

expected. When the sword gleams sliced them, it merely left a
small and fine mark on them. However, Ai Hui was not
discouraged. If these grass tendons were exposed like this, that
meant they had definitely been through some process and
possessed excellent resistance.

Furthermore, this was a grass-lotus puppet that was produced

by Dai Gang. Ai Hui did not think that a Grandmaster would
make such an amateur mistake in his work.

With a twist of his body, Ai Hui flitted by Qing Feng in a

slanted position. The movement of the Silverfold Plum in his
hand was changing.

The six crescent moons dispersed again and swirled toward

Qing Feng.

Once again, Qing Feng tried to block them, but failed. These
palm-sized sword gleams were a lot faster and nimbler than he
thought.

Clang!

The crisper and louder sound of Ai Hui’s attack hitting Qing

Feng rang across the air. In fact, there was also a sound
produced by the six streaks of sword gleams colliding together.
However, due to the extremely short time interval between the
two sounds, it sounded as if there was only one sound.

The six streaks of sword gleams had sliced the same position
on Qing Feng’s grass tendons at the same time!

This attack displayed Ai Hui’s brilliant and outstanding

control over his sword gleams.

The grass tendons were sliced off!

Ai Hui was overjoyed. However, when he saw the severed

grass tendons begin to wiggle and connect back together with
the wound starting to heal, the joyful look on his face
disappeared completely.

"So this is swordsmanship? Interesting!"

Qing Feng shook his head. He did not seem to care about his
grass tendons being sliced off.

Ai Hui’s brain was working speedily. Grass tendons had

regenerative powers. Alright, that was nothing unusual. A lot of
wood elementalists possessed this type of inheritance. A war of
attrition was something that wood elementalists specialized in.
 The good news was that his sword gleam was able to deal
damage to Qing Feng’s grass tendons.

What about the lotus roots?

Ai Hui tried to attack Qing Feng’s lotus roots, but soon

realized that the lotus roots were harder and sturdier than the
grass tendons. His sword gleam could not even leave a single
mark on them.

He decided that he shall attack the grass tendons then!

Ai Hui kept on brandishing his Silverfold Plum. Every now

and then, there would be six streaks of sword gleams shooting
towards Qing Feng.

The number of sword gleams surrounding Qing Feng was

increasing gradually. Seen from a distance, it looked as if there
was a gigantic school of fish swimming and dancing around
Qing Feng.

Qing Feng tried to use his grass rattans to whip the sword
gleams, but they were too fast and nimble for him to hit them.
 Very soon, Qing Feng realized that something was not right.
These sword gleams were flying faster and faster and he felt like
he was trapped in a tornado. Woosh! A streak of flames
suddenly ignited within the tornado.

Very soon, the tornado became brighter and brighter and the
sword gleams flew faster and faster.

[Flaming Wind Sword Formation]!

When the swishing sound of the sword gleams and the

whooshing sound of the flames merged together, they created a
sound that struck fear into one’s heart. A flaming tornado shot
into the sky and engulfed Qing Feng.

Phew, Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. This sword formation

should be able to deal some damage to Qing Feng.

At this moment, the [Flaming Wind Sword Formation]

suddenly exploded with a loud bang, revealing the figure within
it.

"Very interesting."
 An awful voice echoed through the air.

Ai Hui was stupefied. Qing Feng’s head, limbs and all his grass
tendons had withdrawn into his lotus root body’s torso. The
[Flaming Wind Sword Formation] did not do any damage to
him, other than leaving traces of burn marks on his white-
colored lotus root torso.

Qing Feng was like a man made of rubber bands. His head,
limbs and grass tendons extended out of his lotus root torso in a
grotesquely weird way.

He could… do this?

Qing Feng stretched his body and shook his head, saying, "If
your capabilities are only this much, you won’t survive today."

After finishing his sentence, Qing Feng crouched his body

slightly. His thick and strong grass tendons resembled a bunch
of compressed springs.

Ai Hui widened his eyes abruptly.

 Swoosh! Qing Feng became a blur and appeared before Ai Hui.
Like a bunch of vipers, ten grass rattans attacked Ai Hui from
different directions.

Ai Hui’s reaction was extremely fast. Instead of retreating, he

moved forward and attacked. He crouched his body slightly and
then dashed forward like a cheetah. The elemental energy
within his body had been channeled to its maximum level. The
Silverfold Plum in his hand went for Qing Feng’s head directly!

He did not integrate any complicated techniques for this

attack. This attack was a simple, piercing strike!

When he was trying to survive, he would go all-out. This

simple-looking piercing strike was actually extremely powerful
and vicious.

Qing Feng felt a strong sense of danger when he saw a cold

glint flashed across Ai Hui’s eyes. He did not expect Ai Hui to go
all-out on his offense. As such, he was caught off guard and
landed himself in a dangerous situation..

Upon seeing that he could not avoid Ai Hui’s attack, Qing

Feng suddenly opened his mouth to reveal two rows of shiny
sawteeth. That two rows of sawteeth were flickering with a
horrifying cold glint.

Clang!

Two rows of dazzling sawteeth bit onto Silverfold Plum

tightly.

The powerful force from the inertia caused Ai Hui to lose

control of his body and he swung up into the air like a ragdoll.

Ai Hui did not expect Qing Feng to modify his teeth.

Apparently, the two rows of shiny sawteeth were a sharp
weapon made up of precious materials.

Crack, crack, crack!

Cracks began to appear on the two rows of sawteeth.

However, at this point of time, Ai Hui had already used up his
momentum. A premonition arose in his heart and he quickly
withdrew his sword and retreated.
 Clang, clang, clang!

A few spear-like grass rattans pierced the position that he was

previously at.

Crash! As Ai Hui withdrew his sword, countless fragments of

Qing Feng’s sawteeth flew out from his mouth and scattered in
the air.

Ai Hui pulled away, distancing himself from Qing Feng. He

was panting heavily. Even though the exchange was short, it
was extremely dangerous. A moment of hesitation would have
cost him his life. Such a short and intense exchange depleted his
physical energy and strained his mind greatly. At this point of
time, he could only feel numbness in his limbs.

Qing Feng was a powerful grass puppet.

His defensive capabilities were very powerful and he could

heal himself. His thick and strong grass tendons were like a
bunch of springs. His lotus-root torso was extremely light,
making him as fast as a gust of wind. Even the teeth in his
mouth were a weapon.
 Damn it! He was truly a fully weaponized creature!

Ai Hui’s plan on defeating Qing Feng through elemental

energy fell through as well.

Metal overcame wood. This was a natural interaction The

reason why he’d chosen Qing Feng as his opponent was because
he wanted to make use of this natural interaction. The
relationships among the five elements could be very effective
against an opponent that had not reached the level of a Master.

Initially, Ai Hui still thought that he might have some

advantage over Qing Feng. However, after that previous
exchange, Ai Hui realized he was completely wrong. Qing Feng’s
wood elemental energy was extremely weird. Ai Hui’s metal
elemental energy could not restrain Qing Feng’s wood elemental
energy at all.

Could Qing Feng be a Master-level grass puppet?

Don’t tell me he is that powerful….

Ai Hui groaned in his heart. He did not dare to get distracted

and fixated his gaze on his opponent. Even though his previous
attack had shattered Qing Feng’s teeth, he did not do any
practical damage to him.

Such a pity...

A chance like that would not occur again.

Furthermore, that attack seemed to have infuriated Qing

Feng.

That’s right, Qing Feng was indeed enraged. His gaze was cold
as he spat out his shattered teeth. His metallic tooth fragments
were mixed with traces of blood. The previous dangerous
exchange had left a tinge of fear lingering in him. However, he
still felt more anger than fear.

Initially, he treated this battle as a cat-catch-mouse game. In

the end, he almost got killed by the mouse. As such, why would
he not be angry?

"I em koing do shre yoou do peethes…"

 Ai Hui, who was feeling tense and anxious, could not help but
laugh. However, when he saw the killing intent in Qing Feng’s
eyes, he quickly explained, "I didn’t laugh at you intentionally.
Really, I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s not your fault that you
don’t have teeth! Come, follow after me, ‘I’m going to shred you
to pieces!’"

Qing Feng’s face swiftly became red with anger. He let out a
beast-like roar, "Go ann dlie!"

Ai Hui almost laughed until he collapsed.

It was a surprise to him that he could infuriate Qing Feng.

However, when Ai Hui saw what Qing Feng did out of the
corner of his eyes, he was so scared that he retreated in haste.

Qing Feng withdrew his palms and grass tendons, leaving two
holes at the end of his lotus root forearms. At this moment, he
began to emit a green glow. A strong feeling of danger engulfed
Ai Hui.

Pop, pop, pop!

 The sound of beans exploding suddenly resounded through
the air.

Qing Feng’s two arms were spinning frantically as numerous

lotus seeds rained down on Ai Hui.

Ai Hui brandished his Silverfold Plum with all his might. The
six crescent moons around him formed a protective screen for
him. The impact of those lotus seeds was extremely terrifying.
After a while, the protective screen formed by his six crescent
moons collapsed.

Ai Hui had a very fast reaction. He quickly unleashed another

six crescent moons.

Qing Feng’s intense offense caused Ai Hui to gasp for air. All
he could do was unleash the six crescent moons repeatedly to
block the incoming lotus seeds.

However, he did not notice that when those lotus seeds were
warded off and landed on the ground, they immediately
burrowed into the dirt. As for those lotus seeds that missed him,
they burrowed straight into the ground.
 A lot of lotus seedlings emerged from the ground. They lay
flat on the ground, resembling water lilies floating on a pond.
The ground was becoming soft and transforming into a swamp
rapidly..

By the time Ai Hui felt that something was not right beneath
his feet, he realized that he was stepping on a lotus leaf.

Lotus leaf?

At this point of time, the torrential attacks had disappeared.

Ai Hui knew something was not right, and raised his head. All
he saw was boundless lotus leaves.

Fifty meters away, Qing Feng was standing on a single lotus

leaf. He was chuckling as he withdrew his lotus root arms.

Not good!

Ai Hui’s facial expression suddenly changed drastically.

Chapter 373: Lotus-leaf-made Mouths
Ai Hui was groaning in his heart.

Suddenly, the lotus leaves beneath his feet transformed into

big, sinister, green-colored mouths. The inside of every mouth
was a dark void, resembling a gateway to the netherworld. Even
with scorching sunlight shining on him, Ai Hui’s hair still stood
on end.

A terrifying, attractive force erupted from the huge mouths.

Ai Hui’s body trembled. He could feel the elemental energy in
his body was out of his control and was flowing towards those
mouths.

Ai Hui was flabbergasted. After he stepped into the Two

Elemental Realm, his control over his elemental energy had
become very strong. Even though most of the time he could not
control the elemental energy in his surroundings, he could still
maintain a great control over the elemental energy within his
body. A situation like this seldom happened to him

His surroundings rapidly became dark.

 Even the sunlight was being devoured by the huge lotus-leaf-
made mouths.

What kind of weird technique was this?

A cold shiver went down Ai Hui’s spine. He had to take off

from the ground immediately! He spread the Starry Gem
Swordwings on his back and flew towards the sky.

However, what happened next set him in fear and trepidation.

The darkness beneath was rising and catching up to him

swiftly. Like the darkness from the netherworld, the
surrounding light was being devoured with a horrifying speed.
The speed of the rising darkness was much faster than Ai Hui’s
flying speed. In an instant, the darkness surpassed him, rising
over him into the distance.

Ai Hui was in a void of darkness now. A beam of sunlight

shone on his head from above him.

Half of his body was being illuminated but no shadow was

produced. The beam of light continued on its path towards the
boundless void beneath his feet. The worst thing was the beam
of light was shrinking rapidly.

Ai Hui felt as if he had fallen into a huge drawstring bag and

the beam of light that was shining on his head was shrinking
due to the drawstring being pulled and tightened.

No matter how much effort he put in, he could not get closer
to the mouth of the drawstring bag above him. The opening was
becoming smaller and smaller.

When the last trace of sunlight vanished, the sky above Ai

Hui’s head had disappeared and his surroundings were engulfed
by darkness. Only the huge lotus-leaf-made mouths beneath his
feet were still emitting a faint glow. However, very soon, the
mouths started to close one by one. All of them had withdrawn
back into the void of darkness like nimble jade snakes.

When the last traces of faint light disappeared, there was

nothing left except for the void and darkness.

Dead silence. Absolute dead silence. Ai Hui could hear his own
heartbeat. The speed at which his elemental energy was
depleting was becoming increasingly fast. Eventually, it was so
fast that Ai Hui became panicked.

An unknown amount of time had passed.

Ai Hui seemed to lose his gauge of time. He sensed something

was amiss. To a veteran with rich combat experience like him,
sensitivity towards time was an instinct to him.

However, at this point of time, his instincts had failed him!

Before Ai Hui could understand what was going on, he

suddenly heard a sound.

Thump, thump, thump!

It sounded as if someone was beating a drum. With every hit

of the "drum", the sound got louder and louder. It was so loud
that Ai Hui’s head was throbbing.

Wait, wasn’t that the sound of his own heartbeat?

 He was stunned. Whatever happened here was filled with a
weird aura.

The sound of heartbeats became increasingly loud, so much so

that he felt he was flooded by it. Suddenly, he realized that his
fingers did not seem to follow his commands. By the time he
could react to it, a feeling of numbness was spreading
throughout his body.

His entire body froze.

In the dead silent void, Ai Hui was like a motionless statue.

Like a venomous snake, the feeling of numbness drilled into

his brain. He could feel that his thinking process was gradually
becoming sluggish and numb.

Helplessness arose within his mind. The strength disparity

between him and Qing Feng was so great that he could not even
retaliate.

The grass-lotus puppet created by Dai Gang was so powerful!

 Ai Hui remained motionless. Like a corroded gear, his brain
was operating with sluggishness and difficulty. He felt as if he
was taking countless years to even let out a sigh of regret.

His stationary eyes stared blankly at the void in front of him.

She Yu did not expect herself to be so passive today.

Even though Old Ling was a Master, his strength was not
enough to push her into such a difficult situation. Her attention
was mainly focused on the green glowing ball. Every single lotus
leaf emitted a beam of green light. All the beams of green light
converged in the air and formed a green glowing ball.

Chu Zhaoyang was motionless like a statue in the green

glowing ball. His eyes were hollow and devoid of any life.

She wondered whether or not Ai Hui was still alive in the

green glowing ball.

What inheritance was this?

 She shivered with cold. Anything or anyone that was related
to Dai Gang was complicated in nature. Even a grass-lotus
puppet built by Dai Gang was so terrifying...

No wonder Holy Emperor was most scared of Dai Gang.

This was no secret among the higher-ups of God Nation.

Holy Emperor referred to An Muda as a pile of dried up bones.

Every time the name of An Muda was mentioned, Holy Emperor
would snort disdainfully. As a Grandmaster, An Muda still let
the Avalon of Five Elements fall apart. Holy Emperor saw this as
incompetence.

On the other hand, Holy Emperor feared and admired Dai

Gang at the same time. He viewed Dai Gang as a powerful
enemy.

Before today, She Yu did not really have a high regard for Dai
Gang. She felt that he was not qualified of becoming Holy
Emperor’s enemy. She was fortunate to be taught by Holy
Emperor before, and therefore she clearly knew how
unfathomable Holy Emperor’s strength was. However, the
terrifying capabilities that Qing Feng displayed today had
certainly startled her.

She clearly knew how difficult it was to deal with Ai Hui.

Strength-wise, Ai Hui was much weaker than her. However,

every time she fought with Ai Hui, he would give her so much
trouble.

Ai Hui was extremely vigilant and cunning. Whenever he was

in dire straits, he would become extremely determined and
ruthless and fight with all he had. A moment of carelessness
would cause her to be severely injured. The Ai Hui from three
years ago was already very hard to deal with. The current Ai Hui
was even harder to deal with.

Hence, when She Yu saw Ai Hui stay motionless like a statue

in the green glowing ball, she was extremely traumatized.

Luckily, Ai Hui had not died yet.

Without batting an eyelid, she flitted to and fro among Old

Ling’s attacks like an ever-changing wisp of half-smoke-half-
phantom.
 Old Ling’s face was slightly pale. Qing Feng had already
gained the upperhand, but he had not even taken down his
opponent yet. This made him feel ashamed. After all, he was a
Master, how could he lose to a grass-lotus puppet?

Old Ling’s offense became increasingly aggressive. This

caused She Yu’s situation to become increasingly difficult.

A smile appeared on Qing Feng’s face. He cackled, "Such

powerful skills? This can only mean that you’re one of the seeds
of God Nation. And since you’re a girl, that means you’re Red
Dress She Yu."

She Yu was overwhelmed with horror. There was nothing

unusual about finding out who she was. However, the seeds of
God Nation were confidential and unknown to many. Even in
the internal department of God Nation, there were not many
people who knew about it. How did Qing Feng know about it?

Could it be… Dai Gang?

Dai Gang actually knew so much about God Nation!

 She Yu’s first thought was that there was a traitor in the
internal department of God Nation. However, she shut down
this notion very soon. No traitors could avoid Holy Emperor’s
eyes.

"I heard that She Yu is a great beauty. No wonder your figure

is so good. It’s a pity I don’t want to be a woman. I’m wasting
such a good body."

Qing Feng’s voice was cackling and abnormally awful. Right

now, his voice was leaking and unclear.

Upon hearing Qing Feng’s words, She Yu’s blood ran cold.
Could Dai Gang replace Qing Feng’s grass-lotus body with a
human body?

The only human part on Qing Feng was his head. Wouldn’t
that mean Dai Gang could switch heads?

This kind of forbidden art had not even been developed yet in
God Nation’s Beast Venom Temple.

Having been distracted, she was almost injured by Old Ling’s

attack.

Qing Feng shifted his gaze from She Yu to Ai Hui, who was
still trapped in the green glowing ball. After examining Ai Hui
for a while, he could not help but gasp in admiration, "This body
seems not bad."

The more Qing Feng looked at Ai Hui’s body, the brighter his
eyes grew. This was body was simply perfect.

Ai Hui had a well-proportioned body frame and his muscles

contained terrifying power. Even his eyeballs were sparkling
and translucent. Qing Feng had never seen such a perfect body.

Qing Feng was overjoyed. He then chuckled loudly, "Hahaha!

How unexpected! It’s really unexpected! I actually found the
body I need in this place. With this body, I can become human
again! I want to become human again! Hahaha!"

Qing Feng suddenly stopped laughing. He turned around,

looked at She Yu and grinned, "Speaking of becoming human
again, don’t the blood elementalists always keep elementalists
as captives to interrogate them?"
 His voice was already awful. This made his words sound even
more frightening.

She Yu shuddered in fear. After getting grazed by Old Ling’s

attack, there was a deep cut on her left arm. The cut was so deep
that her arm’s bone could be seen. At this moment, the corner
of She Yu’s eyes suddenly caught sight of something. She
turned, slightly shocked.

Inside the green glowing ball, Ai Hui remained stationary like

a statue. However, within the depths of his hollow eyes, a
needle-like radiance was silently appearing. Upon seeing this,
She Yu’s eyes lit up.

After floating in the void of darkness for an unknown period

of time, Ai Hui’s consciousness was slowly returning. Even
though he was still very sluggish, he did not completely lose his
ability to think.

Was the void of darkness an illusion?

As this thought emerged in his mind, the [Skyheart Flaming

Lotus Lamp] in his sky palace began to operate.
 It was operating very slowly. A wisp of a small flame rose
from the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp].

After this, the operating speed of the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus

Lamp] started to increase slowly. The light from the [Skyheart
Flaming Lotus Lamp] slowly scanned Ai Hui’s body.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a faint layer of flames appeared all over Ai Hui’s

body. The flames were extremely weak and appeared almost
colorless. However, when the layer of flames appeared, Ai Hui
felt his entire body become lighter all of a sudden. His sluggish
mind became much clearer in an instant.

Ai Hui immediately calmed down.

Since the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] worked, this proved

that the void of darkness he was in was an illusion. [Skyheart
Flaming Lotus Lamp] specialized in breaking illusions. It was
exceptionally effective against this kind of illusion. What
happened next also verified Ai Hui’s conjecture.
 Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Wisps of black smoke rose around Ai Hui’s body. His body

began to emit traces of weak flames. These weak flames looked
as if they could burn the void of darkness.

After a while, Qing Feng lost interest in the battle between

She Yu and Old Ling. He already felt extremely content about
capturing such an outstanding body. If he could bring Xiao
Shuren back to Grandmaster Dai, that would be perfect!

If he achieved such a great meritorious service for

Grandmaster Dai, the Grandmaster would replace his body with
the perfect body of Ai Hui.

No, there was no such word as ‘perfect’ in Grandmaster Dai’s

dictionary. Nevermind, Grandmaster Dai could make his
already perfect body even more perfect.

He would become more powerful as well!

When Qing Feng thought of becoming more powerful and

having a new body, an excitement swept across his mind.
 As his gaze landed upon Xiao Shuren’s court, a sinister smile
appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he sensed something was amiss. He turned his body

around abruptly and looked at the green glowing ball above the
ground of lotus leaves.

Both of them looked at each other in the eyes.

Chapter 374: [Nether Lotus Glow]
Beast Venom Temple.

The figure lying at the bottom of the blood pool was

motionless, resembling an ancient monster in slumber.

A middle-aged man stood beside the blood pool and observed

the bottom of it. The man was approximately forty years old. He
was thin and weak looking,his face was pale-white and his eyes
were sunken. The scholar’s robe that he wore was wrinkled.

This seemingly haggard and sloppy middle-aged man had

single-handedly established Beast Venom Temple. He was also
the one who devised the blood catastrophe that struck
Induction Ground. A lot of policies in God Nation today were
planned by him.

He was the master of Beast Venom Temple, Nangong Wulian.

Nangong Wulian stared at the figure lying at the bottom of the

blood pool. Without turning his head, he asked, "How many
times have you changed the blood water?"
 One of his subordinates quickly replied, "Six times. We have
to keep on increasing the concentration of the blood water. Up
till now, the concentration of the blood water has broken the
all-time record, so much so that it has surpassed the
concentration used for most of the blood fiends. Will it be too
dangerous?"

The most important material in the blood water of the blood

pool was blood core. Blood core was a material that was of a
higher grade than a blood crystal. It could only be produced by
using high-level blood fiends. The price of a blood core was not
cheap in God Nation as well. For a blood pool like this, the
number of blood cores used was astonishingly huge. And Beast
Venom Temple was the only department that could spare no
effort in carrying out such an operation.

Nangong Wulian’s eyes lit up with a demonic glow, as if he

was admiring an exceptional treasure. Without turning his
head, he replied, "Continue to increase the concentration. Don’t
underestimate his limit, he will be a legend in Beast Venom
Temple."

His voice seemed to contain an indescribable excitement and

anticipation.
 After a slight hesitation, the subordinate replied, "It seems
that he does not want to wake up."

Nangong Wulian burst into laughter as his eyes filled with

fervent joy, "Don’t worry, he will wake up. I have already found
the key to wake him up and I have spent a lot of effort finding
it."

All of his subordinates looked at each other with blank looks

on their faces.

"Everyone has a weakness. If one loves money, then you give

him money. If one values comradeship, then you will use
comradeship to move him."

A water coffin was carried over and placed beside the blood
pool. Indistinctly, one could see a female figure lying in the
water coffin.

"Even though I don’t know how to make grass-lotus puppets,

my understanding towards human anatomy far surpassed Dai
Gang’s," Nangong Wulian muttered. He shifted his gaze from
the water coffin to the blood pool and grinned, "This is my
present to you. As long as you are willing to open your eyes and
start a new life, she will be yours."

The blood pool remained tranquil, resembling a smooth

mirror. The figure lying at the bottom had no reaction.

Nangong Wulian chuckled and turned around to leave.

After a few minutes, the peaceful blood pool suddenly tossed

and turned frantically.

…..

An intense battle was a disaster for the ancient Ye Residence.

Its old structures had received irreversible damage and the
fragments of its old, moss-covered walls could be seen
everywhere.

Upon sensing that Ai Hui had not completely lost the ability to
retaliate, She Yu became energized and focused on fighting Old
Ling. Gradually, she recovered from the difficult situation she
was in previously.
 Qing Feng’s awful voice could be heard incessantly, making
one feel as if his or her head was going to explode.

The beams of green light from the lotus leaves on the ground
became thicker and stronger. These beams of green light
converged at the body of Ai Hui.

Faint flames were emitted from Ai Hui’s body. When the

beams of green light made contact with the flames, they
immediately turned into wisps of black smoke.

What kind of flame was this?

Qing Feng widened his eyes. He could not believe what he had
just seen.

Since he was a grass-lotus puppet, he naturally did not have

the system of five residences and eight palaces. However, his
master was an exceptional genius. Using the technique of
making elemental elixirs from dire beasts as a reference, his
master produced a man-made elemental elixir for him.
Possessing the man-made elemental elixir, Qing Feng could
train like a dire beast. Furthermore, after his master made some
modifications to him, his training efficiency was higher than
the usual dire beasts’.

Elementalists had a wide variety of fighting styles and the

system of five residences and eight palaces was just a
framework. Everyone used the framework differently and
uniquely. The training method and fighting style of a dire beast
was much more simpler. A dire beast usually had a few killing
moves and these killing moves complemented their natural
instincts. Daily training would make their strength terrifyingly
powerful.

Qing Feng, being a grass-lotus puppet, had a human head. His

killing moves were extremely powerful. With three ultimate
killing moves and a unique and unmatched grass-lotus body, he
possessed the strength of a Master.

And [Nether Lotus Glow] was one of his three ultimate killing
moves.

These lotus seeds were not the usual lotus seeds. They were
the lotus seeds of the extremely rare nether lotuses. Reportedly,
the nether lotuses only grew in the Yellow Springs of
Netherworld. They were exceptionally precious. Of course, no
one knew where the Yellow Springs was. In reality, nether
lotuses grew on dead lands that were completely devoid of life
and vitality. For example, a necropolis.

Dai Gang had obtained the nether lotus seeds in Qing Feng’s
body by chance when he was roaming across Wilderness in the
past.

The nether lotus seeds might have come from Dai Gang, but
[Nether Lotus Glow] was created by Qing Feng himself. Even Dai
Gang marvelled at this technique. After so many years,
countless experts had been killed by this move.

From Qing Feng’s perspective, even though Chu Zhaoyang’s

swordsmanship was rather good, his base level was only at
Second Elemental Realm. The moment [Nether Lotus Glow] was
unleashed, his hands would be tied and he would only wait to be
captured.

As such, when Qing Feng saw his time-tested ultimate killing

move facing resistance from Chu Zhaoyang, he was startled.

[Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] was not a very well-known

inheritance and not a lot of people practiced it. When Qing Feng
saw the weak flames on Chu Zhaoyang’s body, he did not
recognize them.
 Luckily, he intensified the strength of [Nether Lotus Glow]
and the flames on Chu Zhaoyang’s body became much weaker.

Qing Feng heaved a sigh of relief. This was the first time he’d
encountered such a situation.

Qing Feng might appear muddle-headed and careless, but in

reality, he was extremely cunning and paranoid. He did not like
to fight with unknown enemies. Even though he was a grass-
lotus puppet that trained like dire beasts and had many
marvellous tricks up his sleeves, he still had weaknesses.

His body was not as strong and sturdy as a dire beasts’. If he

was struck by a brutal attack, his body could get damaged easily.

Once his body was damaged, he had to return and stay in his
master’s lotus pond for a long time to recover fully.

He did not like staying in the lotus pond at all. His entire body
would be lodged under the sloshy mud with only his head left
outside. That was a terrible experience.

Usually, if he sensed something was not right, he would

immediately retreat and wait for a new opportunity to strike
again.

Even though Qing Feng had loosened up, his gaze still did not
leave the trapped Ai Hui.

He did not go and capture Xiao Shuren immediately. Since the

situation was well under his control, how was it even possible
for her to run away?

Ai Hui noticed that [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] was

beginning to dim. The surrounding emptiness and darkness was
boundless. Gradually, the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp]
dimmed and its operating speed became very slow.

The glimmer of hope he had just seen was being extinguished

in an instant. However, Ai Hui’s mind did not falter because of
this. At this point in time, his mind had already returned to its
normal state.

What should he do?

Ai Hui was exceptionally calm. His brain was operating very

fast as he thought of ways to break out of the green glowing ball.

[Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] suppressed illusions and

psychic attacks. Since it worked against the void of darkness,
this meant that the surrounding emptiness and darkness was
some kind of illusion.

This illusion was so real that Ai Hui could not even budge the
slightest bit when he tried to move his body,

The [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp]’s operating speed

decreased. This showed that the other’s party’s psychic attack
was very strong and the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] was
being suppressed.

His body was imprisoned but his mind was free. What else
could he do?

Eh? Ai Hui suddenly realized that the elemental energy in his

body could still flow. Previously, he felt that his elemental
energy was being devoured. Apparently, that was also an
illusion.
 It was incredible to see an illusion being so real.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up when he knew he could still channel his

elemental energy. But every time his elemental energy reached
the periphery of his body, the elemental energy could not
proceed on. This applied to his palms as well. When the
elemental energy reached his palm, it could not escape his palm
and entered the Silverfold Plum.

His elemental energy could only flow within his body...

Ai Hui was slightly disappointed. If his elemental energy could

not enter Silverfold Plum, he could not utilize his
swordsmanship.

Almost all of his fighting capabilities were based on his

swordsmanship. The inability to utilize his swordsmanship was
equivalent to him losing more than half of his strength.
Furthermore, with the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] being
suppressed, he lost the tiny bit of strength that he was left with.

The situation was becoming worse. However, Ai Hui did not

intend to give up just like this.
 He kept on channeling the elemental energy within his body
and the elemental energy flowed faster and faster. Ai Hui
wanted to see if the elemental energy could break through the
confinement of the illusion. An illusion spell that could confine
elemental energy had surpassed the usual illusion spells in
terms of strength and level.

Ai Hui’s movements immediately caught Qing Feng’s

attention.

When Qing Feng saw what Ai Hui was doing, he could not
help but laugh. He was very proud of himself.

He stepped on the lotus leaves and walked nearer to the green

glowing ball. He widened his eyes and admired his masterpiece.

The fact that Ai Hui could still channel his elemental energy
was a trap set up by Qing Feng on purpose. Just as Ai Hui had
expected, the illusion wasn’t any ordinary illusion. He certainly
did not expect that what he had encountered was a type of
illusion poison.

Nether lotus seeds grew in places which had the highest

concentration of aura of death. These places were also known as
gateways to the netherworld. The green light emitted by the
lotus leaves was actually a bizarre mixture of light and smoke.

The light could imprison Ai Hui and create illusions, but it

was not deadly. The deadly thing was the smoke. The smoke
was a formless and invisible poisonous smoke. It could seep into
an elementalist’s body without him knowing.

The faster the elementalist channeled his elemental energy,

the faster the poisonous smoke would seep into his body and the
stronger its toxicity would get. It would draw the elementalist
nearer and nearer to his death.

Qing Feng purposely designed the green light to only imprison

an elementalist’s body and not the elemental energy within his
body. By designing the green light this way, an imprisoned
elementalist would see this as his only chance to escape and
keep on channeling his elemental energy. Doing this would only
give the poisonous smoke the chance to strike.

Therefore, when Qing Feng saw that Ai Hui kept channeling

his elemental energy, he broke into laughter. It was a pity that
his smile was extremely ugly and weird-looking.
 The numbness caused by the poisonous smoke was very
subtle, making it difficult for one to sense it. However, Ai Hui
could immediately sense something was wrong.

When Ai Hui was in Wilderness in the past, other than the

sword embryo, poison was the greatest helper. He had spent a
lot of time and effort studying and using poison. As such, he was
extremely sensitive to the presence of poison.

When the first trace of poisonous smoke entered his body, he

could already sense it.

Poisonous!

The first thing he did was to stop channeling the elemental

energy in his body. He knew of a lot of poisons that could use
elemental energy as a medium of travel to spread throughout a
body.

At this moment, a trace of weird energy suddenly emerged

from his body.

Ai Hui was stunned. Wasn’t this fusion elemental energy?

 In order to spend a longer time in the Hall of Ancient Records,
Ai Hui trained diligently to develop his fusion elemental energy.
His training progress in fusion elemental energy had improved
extremely fast.

The trace of fusion elemental energy pounced towards that

trace of poisonous smoke, like a predator that spotted its prey.
Chapter 375: The Opportunity To Live
The reason why Ai Hui had developed his fusion elemental
energy was so he could enter the Grass Hall to find that
notebook.

In his eyes, the person who created fusion elemental energy

was a genius. Developing fusion elemental energy was
equivalent to developing five elemental energies at once. This
defied the current system of developing only one elemental
energy at a time. A lot of theories and designs related to fusion
elemental energy were eye-opening and marvellous.

Even though Ai Hui marvelled at fusion elemental energy, he

did not spend much time or effort on studying it in depth.

Being heterogeneous might not be a good thing to an

elementalist.

Ai Hui’s attention was mainly placed on swordsmanship.

There was no limit to what he could learn from swordsmanship
and he was just getting started on this path. The
swordsmanship of today was not as prosperous and flourishing
as it was in the past. As such, there were not many references or
teachers that he could learn from and he had to learn a lot of
things by himself. This required a lot more energy than for
other more prominent fields, where one could just learn and
copy slavishly.

As for Master’s [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth], how

could he lose it? Using [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth], a
powerful weapon in God-subduing Peak had been created.
Similarly, the [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] was deep
and profound and there were a lot of areas that Ai Hui had yet to
understand.

Ai Hui was fully aware that a person’s energy was limited. He

knew that he himself wasn’t a genius and he did not want to
waste too much time on developing fusion elemental energy.

Fusion elemental energy might be powerful, but it was not

what he wanted to develop.

Hence, when a trace of fusion elemental energy suddenly

appeared and pounced towards the trace of poisonous smoke, Ai
Hui was shocked.

As the fusion elemental energy wrapped around the poisonous

smoke, the latter, which was previously invisible, suddenly
emitted a strong decaying aura of death.

Ai Hui seemed to have seen countless white skeletons rise

from the decaying mud. Any living beings nearby lost their
vitality rapidly and were reduced to grey ashes.

What kind of poison was this?

Ai Hui, who was very knowledgeable on the topic of poison,

had his facial expression change drastically. He could
immediately sense how dangerous and frightening this
unknown poison was.

The trace of fusion elemental energy that wrapped around the

poisonous smoke swiftly transformed into a cloud of bright,
multi-colored mist. After this, the multi-colored mist engulfed
the poisonous smoke.

Like a chameleon, the cloud of mist kept on changing its color,

and was extremely beautiful.

The aura of death suddenly reduced sharply.

 The multi-colored mist was like the natural enemy of the
poisonous smoke.

Ai Hui widened his eyes and focused his attention completely.

After a while, he seemed to come to a revelation.

The fusion elemental energy contained all five elements. It

happened to form a cycle of five elements that grew and
multiplied without an end.

Even though the mysterious poisonous smoke’s toxicity was

overpowering, it was still part of the five elements. As long as it
was part of the five elements, it would be affected by the fusion
elemental energy’s cycle of five elements. When it entered the
cycle of five elements, its elemental nature would be evoked and
it would be broken down by whichever element it was typically
restrained by.

No matter how deadly a poison was, once its elemental nature

underwent changes, its physical nature would undergo changes
too. When this happened, the poison’s toxicity would be
removed.

Did that imply fusion elemental energy was the bane of all
poisons?

Theoretically, this was true. Once something’s elemental

nature underwent changes, its physical nature would undergo
changes as well.

Ai Hui’s brain was operating vigorously. Without any

hesitation, he quickly channeled his fusion elemental energy.

Suddenly, the amount of fusion elemental energy in his body

increased sharply. Ai Hui felt his body become lighter. His
previously unmovable body regained its mobility.

Ai Hui’s mind jolted. This method was effective!

The changes taking place within the lotus glow could not slip
past Qing Feng’s eyes unnoticed. He saw Chu Zhaoyang’s body
suddenly light up with a dazzling, multi-colored glow. As
compared to the previously weak flames, this multi-colored
glow was able to make Qing Feng feel extremely uncomfortable.

What was that?

 Qing Feng felt bewildered and nervous. This was the first time
that he’d felt this way.

His instincts told him that this multi-colored glow might

cause harm to him.

Clink, clink, clink!

It sounded as if an ice chunk was being hit by numerous

needles, striking fear into one’s heart. Qing Feng’s eyelids
twitched as he stared at the green glowing ball. Densely-packed
light spots suddenly appeared on the surface of the green
glowing ball.

That was...

The needle-head sized light spots began to inflate and become

coin-sized, multi-colored spots in an indescribably weird way.

The multi-colored spots were expanding at a visible speed. In

the blink of an eye, the green glowing ball transformed into a
multicolor-spotted glowing ball, resembling a huge soap bubble
that was under the sun.
 Pop!

The bubble popped and revealed an uninjured Chu Zhaoyang.

They made eye contact.

Qing Feng’s facial expression changed drastically. He suddenly

realized that the distance between him and Chu Zhaoyang was...

Too close!

Damn it!

Previously, Chu Zhaoyang’s swordsmanship had left a deep

impression on him. As such, he knew how dangerous it was to
be so close to Chu Zhaoyang. Without any hesitation, Qing Feng
made a hasty retreat.

A streak of sword gleam lit up.

When the retreating Qing Feng saw that the sword gleam was
only palm-sized, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Eh? There was one more streak of sword gleam. No, there
were two more…

Very soon, Qing Feng discovered that something was not

right. The number of sword gleams was increasing rapidly. In
the blink of an eye, a mass of sword gleams was formed. Like a
school of fish, the mass of densely-packed sword gleams shot
towards Qing Feng.

There was one more thing that caused him to tremble with
fear. These fragmentary sword gleams had assembled together
to form an unblockable, powerful force and it was locked on to
him!

Qing Feng’s face paled. Damn it. What the hell was this thing?

The mass of sword gleams were getting closer to him. He felt

more and more appalled. Even though these sword gleams were
fragmentary, their aura had fused together well. The aura was
solid in nature, biting cold and sharp and it was heading
straight for his head.
 In a moment of desperation, he couldn’t care less and plunged
himself deep into the sloshy mud beneath the lotus leaves.

At the same time, the glow of the lotus leaves intensified and a
screen of green-colored light appeared above the lotus leaves.

The mass of fragmentary sword gleams collided violently with

the green-colored light screen.

Boom!

The sound of the collision resembled a thunderclap.

The front part of the mass of sword gleams exploded into

countless fragments that rained torrentially all over the place.
The green-colored light screen began to wobble, and then
trembled violently. Finally, the light screen could no longer
hold on and shattered.

The rear part of the mass of sword gleams plunged ferociously

into the sloshy mud.
 Boom!

The sloshy mud flew up high into the sky while the
fragmented sword gleams rained down on the lotus leaves.
Without protection from the green-colored light screen, the
lotus leaves were extremely fragile. In an instant, they were
punctured with countless holes and their stems were broken.

She Yu and Old Ling, who were engaged in a fierce battle with
each other, were alarmed by what happened on the other side.

The sloshy mud that flew up in the sky came flying down like
a rain of arrows and covered everything in mud.

Both of them stopped fighting at the same time and quickly

pulled away from each other. They waved their hands to protect
themselves from the torrential mud rain. The rain-like mud
landed on the surrounding walls and made densely-packed
popping sounds. Numerous honeycomb-like holes were created
on the walls.

She Yu and Old Ling shifted their gazes in unison to the area
where the explosion had just occurred.
 The verdant green that filled the courtyard had disappeared.
Broken branches and torn leaves were scattered everywhere.
Sloshy mud was everywhere on the surface of the ground. A
gigantic pit was formed in the center of the courtyard. Qing
Feng stood in the middle of the pit, appearing extremely
pathetic.

At this moment, incredulity and fear appeared on his face. He

could not believe a fellow who had only just reached Two
Elemental Realm could unleash such a powerful and frightening
attack.

However, the fear and incredulity he felt soon turned into

pain.

Only half of the lotus leaves were left in the badly damaged
courtyard. When Qing Feng saw the leaves dispersed
everywhere, he could only think of three words.

A heavy loss!

Approximately one-third of his nether lotus seeds had been

completely destroyed and these nether lotus seeds were
unrestorable. He only had three completely intact nether lotus
seeds left! As for the remaining nether lotus seeds, they had to
be thrown into the Well of Netherworld to be nourished and
restored.

Agonizing pain spread throughout his body as an angry flush

rose from Qing Feng’s neck all the way up to his head.

The nether lotus seeds were not easy to come by.

When Grandmaster Dai was young, after he obtained the first

batch of nether lotus seeds from the depths of Wilderness, he
painstakingly built the Well of Netherworld. Only after he’d
built the well could the number of nether lotus seeds slowly
increase.

If every nether lotus seed was converted into money, the

amount of money yielded would be astronomical.

Any damaged nether lotus seed would make Qing Feng feel as
if his heart was bleeding. The heavy loss that he suffered this
time around made him felt as if he was being pierced by a
sword. In this case, his heart was not bleeding but spouting out
blood!
 "Gie! Gamn it! You fhall gie!"

Qing Feng’s words were still unclear, yet filled with an intense
killing intent.

He swayed his head as he tried to look for Chu Zhaoyang. He

wanted to shred that bastard to smithereens.

However, even after he scanned through every nook and

cranny of the courtyard, he still could not find Chu Zhaoyang.

With a pair of bloodied eyes, Qing Feng aggressively flew up

into sky. He swept his eyes across the area and still could not
find Chu Zhaoyang.

Qing Feng calmed down slightly. It was not possible for Chu
Zhaoyang to escape in such a short period of time.

At this moment, Old Ling yelled anxiously, "Xiao Shuren! He

is going to hold Xiao Shuren hostage!"

Qing Feng’s facial expression changed slightly. His anger-

filled mind calmed down abruptly.

Before he embarked on this mission, his master had exhorted

him to bring the ancient treasure or Xiao Shuren back to him,
no matter what.

Qing Feng clearly knew that all he had was owed to his
master. His master’s interests were of paramount importance.

Until now, he still remembered the angelic voice that rang

across his ears when his body was in anguish and his eyes were
filled with blood.

"Do you want to continue to live?"

Henceforth, he had become the monster now, a grass-lotus

puppet.

He did not like being a grass-lotus puppet. Very often, he felt

that he was like a monster. His master told him that he could
become a human again only if he found a suitable body.
 Becoming a human again held an absolute temptation over
him.

However, he must first fulfil his master’s interests. Whether

he could become human once more or remained as a grass-lotus
puppet, he must not defy his master’s orders.

His master had seldom reminded him of his mission with such
solemness. As such, Qing Feng knew that he definitely had to
complete this mission at all costs.

If he lost the nether lotus seeds, his master still could grant
him more.

However, if he failed to complete the mission, he would fall

out of favor with his master.

What was the point of having a useless grass-lotus puppet

around?

All his anger disappeared without a trace in an instant. The

cunning grass-lotus puppet had returned.
 This time around, he had encountered a troublesome
opponent.

After Ai Hui had unleashed the fragmentary sword gleams, his

elemental energy was almost depleted completely. Therefore,
he turned and ran without any hesitation. He did not even have
the time to see what his attack had done.

He was completely uncertain about the power of [Fragmented

Sword]. This was the first time he’d used [Fragmented Sword]
in a real battle. He did not have much time to decide what to do.
A slight hesitation could have caused him to lose the chance of
making any moves at all.

The strength of the grass-lotus puppet was definitely at the

level of a Master.

Ai Hui made a precise assessment of Qing Feng.

Ai Hui did not try to escape directly. The strength disparity

between him and Qing Feng was too great, it was impossible for
him to try to escape.
 The cool-headed Ai Hui thought of a lifeline at this instant.

Xiao Shuren!

As long as he could hold Xiao Shuren hostage, Qing Feng

would not dare to attack him for fear of injuring Xiao Shuren. Ai
Hui could tell that Qing Feng was determined to capture Xiao
Shuren alive.

Like a flying arrow, he flew into Xiao Shuren’s court.

Xiao Shuren was not shocked to see him. On the contrary, she
was smiling at him.

Ai Hui was startled. However, there was no time for him to

hesitate at this moment. He could hear Qing Feng’s roar coming
from outside. Like a lithe bat, he landed behind Xiao Shuren and
placed his Silverfold Plum on her throat.

Xiao Shuren did not resist him and looked smilingly at him.

Upon seeing this, a cold shiver went down Ai Hui’s spine.

 Step by step, Qing Feng moved closer to the court. With a
chilling voice, he said, "Let go of her and I shall spare your
life…"

Just as Ai Hui was about to open his mouth to speak, he

suddenly sensed something and raised his head to look at the
sky.
Chapter 376: Destiny
In Silver City, high in the sky, there was a man and a woman
floating on a cloud.

The woman’s deep green and white robe was fluttering

loudly, while the veil on her face was drifting in the wind
behind her. Karakorum Savant was holding a sword with one
hand. The silver-white azure wings on her back were light and
dazzling. They were covered with exquisite feather-shaped
patterns, looking unimaginably beautiful.

Beside her, there was a tall and burly man. He was wearing a
silver-white mask on his face. The mask was so well-polished
that it looked sleek and glossy. There was a simple and
unadorned word engraved onto his forehead, "Infantry".

Behind the mask, his exposed eyes were deep and reserved.

The most attractive part of his body was his arms. He had a
pair of muscular, metallic arms. From his shoulders down,
everything was made of metal. The joints were elegantly built.
Mysterious and complicated veined patterns were engraved all
over his two arms.
 Similarly, the azure wings on his back were also silver-white
in color. However, his azure wings had a bigger framework and
were sturdier and stronger than Karakorum Savant’s.

"Senior, let’s go down."

Karakorum Savant’s voice was very light, so much so that it

sounded as if it could be carried away by the drifting wind.
Beneath her veil, her beautiful eyes emitted a faint glow that
seemed to bring an indescribable sense of hope.

The burly man could hear her light and gentle voice clearly.
He nodded his head and replied, "I will be at the front. Take care
of your safety."

"Ok," Karakorum Savant replied.

The burly man spread the azure wings on his back. Like a
vigorous winged dragon, he swooped down from the sky.

As the thick and solid azure wings flapped, they produced a

heavy wind sound.
 His speed increased. The eyes that his silver-white mask
exposed remained deep and composed.

As he got nearer to the ground, the azure wings on his back

withdrew. Like a meteor, he was approaching the ground at a
terrifying speed. His entire body was lit up with a dazzling
blaze. The blaze was flickering non-stop and the light it emitted
was reflected in his eyes.

The sharp sound of wind rapidly became deep and trembling.

The blaze became increasingly intense as it was stroked by the
fluttering wind. The deep, trembling, whizzing sound of wind
was combined with the whirring sound of the intense blaze.

Everyone on the ground immediately sensed something

strange and raised their heads.

A faintly discernable figure that was engulfed in flames was

falling from the sky like a meteor. His momentum was
terrifying.

Everyone’s facial expressions changed drastically. This person

did not show any sign of slowing down. On the contrary, he was
still increasing his speed.
 A similar thought appeared in everyone’s mind. Was this man
crazy?

Flying down at such a high speed would make it impossible for

him to slow down before he landed. The powerful impact would
smash his body to smithereens on first contact.

The flight speed of the fire-engulfed figure did not change the
slightest bit. The two eyes that his mask revealed were calm and
deep.

Following which, his body began to transform. An intense,

metallic luster rapidly extended over the surface of his body. In
the blink of an eye, his entire body was covered with an intense,
copper-yellow luster.

[Copper Skin]!

The most basic level of body-tempering looked completely

different on his body. The copper-yellow luster gradually
became brighter, eventually becoming silver-white in color. The
clothes on his body emitted a silver-white luster as well, as if
they were made up of thin pieces of silver. Under the
illumination from the blaze around his body, his clothes became
blinding to the eye.

Everyone’s facial expressions changed. Without any

hesitation, they quickly retreated to safety.

This fellow was going to land without slowing down his speed!

A streak of blaze descended from the sky with 10,000 newtons

of force.

Boom!

An earth-shaking explosion erupted and released a terrifying

shock wave that was mixed with flames and debris. The shock
wave rushed towards everyone like a whizzing iron wall filled
with chaotic elemental energy.

She Yu disappeared into the air like a wisp of smoke and

appeared a hundred meters away from the explosion.

Old Ling shrieked and flew towards the sky abruptly. His
figure flew higher and higher before barely avoiding the
whizzing, violent shock wave.

Ai Hui’s reaction was extremely fast as well. He could already

sense the presence of the person when they were still in the sky.
Then, when the person began to swoop down from the sky, Ai
Hui immediately knew what he was trying to do.

Ai Hui knew because he had used a similar type of move

before. The only difference was Ai Hui used a sword move to
negate the recoiling impact, while the man used his body to do
it.

Previously, Ai Hui was already very impressed by Gui Hu’s

tempered body. However, in front of this freak, Gui Hu’s
tempered body was not even worth mentioning.

This was too sick!

At the first instance, Ai Hui dragged Xiao Shuren along with

him and made a hasty retreat.

Initially, Xiao Shuren still did not know what was going on.
However, when she saw the descending streak of blaze in the
sky, her facial expression changed. As she retreated with Chu
Zhaoyang, she saw the surrounding walls in the courtyard being
destroyed by the shock wave. The walls collapsed and a wave of
debris flew towards her like a grey-colored monster that was
baring its fangs and brandishing its claws at her.

In an instant, her face turned deathly pale.

At the most critical moment, her vision went dark. She had
being dragged into a tall drain by Chu Zhaoyang. The whizzing
shock wave blew over the top of her head while the ground
trembled. Xiao Shuren’s mind went blank as her body shivered
with cold involuntarily.

The one who suffered the most was Qing Feng. He had just
sustained huge losses after being severely injured by Chu
Zhaoyang. Hence, when such a powerful attack suddenly came,
he could not react in time. As the violent shock wave swept
across the courtyard and hit him, he felt as if he had collided
head-on with a monster that was charging wildly.

With a groan, he suddenly burrowed his feet into the ground.

Like a tree that had embedded its roots deep into the earth, he
held on tightly to the ground.
 Crackle, rattle. The rain-like debris hit his body and produced
sparks that flew in all directions. His body was swaying
violently but luckily his feet had grown roots to stabilize his
body by force.

He felt that he had been swept into a hurricane.

Crack, crack, crack!

Every second felt like forever.

Huff, puff, huff. Qing Feng was panting heavily as he held on

tightly to the ground. At this moment, he looked extremely
pathetic. The previously bright and clean surface of his lotus
roots was covered with cracks now.

When he raised his head, the cracks on the surface of his lotus
roots disappeared and became as good as new. However, Qing
Feng knew that it was only the surface that had recovered. In
reality, his body was severely damaged. After he returned home,
he would have to stay in the lotus pond for a period of time to
have his body completely healed.
 However, now was not the time to think about that.

His gaze was fixated on the half-crouching, silver-colored,

burly man in the middle of the courtyard.

The entire body of that man emitted an intense, metallic

luster. He looked like a metal man that was cast out of silver.
His sturdy muscles resembled the most perfect masterpiece of a
classical sculptor.

Any pose he made was filled with the beauty of power.

The most attractive part of his body was his silver-colored

metallic arms. The exquisite veined patterns on his arms exuded
an indescribable surrealness. By taking a single glance at them,
Qing Feng could tell that they had been made by a master.

When the silver-colored burly man stood up straight, Qing

Feng could see the simple and unadorned word carved on his
forehead.

"Infantry!" Qing Feng’s pupils dilated.

 Infantry Division was one of the Thirteen Divisions. Was the
word "Infantry" engraved on his forehead referring to Infantry
Division? What unique meaning did it convey?

Suddenly, a phantom appeared behind the silver-colored

burly man. It was She Yu and her eyes were filled with killing
intent.

Similarly, when she saw the word "Infantry" on the man’s

forehead, her heart skipped a beat. Certain secret information
emerged in her mind and her killing intent arose all of a sudden.

A cold shiver went down She Yu’s spine as she sensed

something was wrong.

A cold and sharp aura locked onto her from above her head.

The other party had an ally with him!

She made a prompt decision. Following which, her body

became light and wavy, like a willow branch fluttering in the
wind. Suddenly, her body split into three phantasms that flew
away in three different directions.
 A cold dazzling sword gleam descended from the sky. Its crisp
and clear sword chime gave off an aura of killing intent that
engulfed the place.

The three phantasms could not escape in time and were

pierced by the sword gleam. They vaporized into three clouds of
black-colored mist and vanished into thin air.

A hundred meters away, She Yu was looking with fear at the

veiled lady that was holding a sword.

Karakorum Savant!

The first master swordsman in the Avalon of Five Elements.

When everyone saw Karakorum Savant, everyone

immediately thought of one name, Madam Ye!

Karakorum Savant’s relationship with the Ye Residence was

very deep. Was it a coincidence, or was it pre-planned that
Karakorum Savant brought such a powerful assistant all of a
sudden?
 Everyone’s faces turned slightly ugly.

Old Ling’s gaze was fixated on the silver-colored burly man.

He looked like he’d thought of something and his facial
expression changed slightly. With killing intent in his eyes, he
suddenly said, "Shall we join hands?"

At this point of time, arrogance could no longer be found on

Qing Feng’s face. He replied, "Let’s kill these two persons first!"

"I second that," She Yu smiled lovably.

The three of them immediately spread apart and surrounded

the two people.

The silver-colored burly man did not show any sign of fear
and remained calm and cool-headed. Karakorum Savant held
her sword firmly as her gaze remained calm and composed as
well.

Ai Hui dragged Xiao Shuren along with him and hid behind a
half-destroyed wall. He felt that life was really unpredictable.
Just a moment ago, She Yu was engaged in a bitter battle with
Old Ling. But now, they had joined hands.

When Ai Hui saw his chief and the silver-colored burly man,
he instantly felt at ease. The two of them were really too
powerful!

However, for some unknown reason, the silver-colored burly

man gave Ai Hui a mysterious sense of familiarity.

…..

At Beast Venom Temple, the hall where the blood pool was
situated was spacious and empty.

The scarlet red, thick and bloody water in the pool had
become clear without any impurities.

There was a man lying at the bottom of the pool. His body was
naked and his eyes were tightly closed. His long black hair was
scattered and wavy, resembling graceful seaweed at the bottom
of a sea.
 He slowly opened his eyes. The world gradually became
clearer in his vision. Through the clear water of the pool, he saw
a beautiful mural on the domed ceiling. The mural depicted the
story of a man who defeated a monster and kept it as a pet. It
showed red-colored blood, a blood-stained weapon and
numerous hollow tree trunks that were flowing with blood. He
seemed to have seen his own destiny.

He sighed in his heart as his body slowly rose from the pool.

When his head left the surface of the water, cold and crisp air
filled his lungs. The familiar water elemental energy that filled
his body had disappeared and was replaced by a unfamiliar
power.

It was a type of scorching and surging power that made him

stronger than before.

He did not feel surprised or happy at all. All he felt was

emptiness and despair.

‘Since I have already accepted it, I can’t be wishy-washy about

it,’ he told himself.
 His gaze landed upon the water coffin on the side of the pool.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw the vague yet familiar
figure lying in the water coffin.

He stood up and stepped onto the surface of the water. Under

his feet, the water was like a level road.

He walked to the water coffin and stared at the girl lying

within it. That beautiful and familiar face made him feel as if he
had gone back to the past.

If only… things could go back to the way they were, then how
good would that be...

"I’m very sorry. When we found her, her body was already
badly injured and incomplete. Luckily, she hasn’t died yet."

A voice came from behind his back.

The voice belonged to a shabby-looking scholar. It was the

master of Beast Venom Temple, Nangong Wulian.
 The man did not turn his head and asked, "Have you healed
her?"

Nangong Wulian smiled, "It’s very difficult, I can only try my

best."

"What do you need me to do?" the man asked plainly.

Nangong Wulian threw him a red-and-black mask and he

caught it.

The color of the black was deep and dark like the night sky,
while the color of the red was blazing like scorching flames.

"From today onwards, you are the Red Devil!"

Nangong Wulian’s fanatic voice echoed through the spacious

and empty hall.

Without saying a word, under the gazes from the hero and the
monster in the mural on the domed roof, the man put on the
red-and-black mask.
Chapter 377: An Old Friend
Ai Hui dragged Xiao Shuren along with him and hid behind a
wall. All his attention was caught by the intense battle.

Chief and Silver Soldier could actually withstand the

combined offenses from Old Ling, Qing Feng and She Yu.

Karakorum Savant’s robe was fluttering and her veil was

dancing. Her beautiful eyes remained calm and composed. The
elegance of the first ever master swordsman had been displayed
without restraint. The sword in her hand emitted an extreme
chilliness. Every time she brandished her sword, she would
unleash a sword gleam that criss-crossed in the air.

Ai Hui had no choice but to admit that Karakorum Savant’s

swordplay and her understanding of swordsmanship were
better and more powerful than his.

For example, sword formations. Ai Hui always utilized sword

formations in his sword moves as he felt that sword formations
would be an important aspect of swordsmanship in the future.
But compared to Ai Hui, Karakorum Savant’s sword moves
could display traces of sword formations at will.
 She used sword formations with more flexibility and ease
than Ai Hui did. One could tell that her understanding of
swordsmanship was much deeper than Ai Hui’s.

Furthermore, her fighting style lit up Ai Hui’s eyes as well.

Her body moved along with her sword.

Her body seemed to be weightless, behaving as if she was the

tassel that hung on her sword hilt. As her sword moves lit up
and whizzed towards her target, she hid herself behind the
sword gleam and flew along with it.

Immediately, AI Hui could see the marvel behind this unique

fighting style.

The range of a sword gleam was not as far as an arrow’s.

However, in terms of short-distance explosive power, it was
much stronger than an arrow’s. Accompanied by the sharpness
of a sword gleam, this kind of explosive power was extremely
deadly at short distances.

And by hiding herself behind the sword gleam, she could

reduce her exposed surface area, making it nearly impossible for
her enemy to land an attack on her. Karakorum Savant’s enemy
had to first destroy the sword gleam before he or she could
attack her.

Of course, this kind of fighting style had its weakness too.

Even though this fighting style was fast and precise, it was too
straightforward and lacked variability. As long as the opponent
could dodge the sword gleam and launch an indirect attack,
they could obtain the opportunity to injure Karakorum Savant.

However, with Silver Soldier by Karakorum Savant’s side,

this kind of simple and direct fighting style immediately became
extremely powerful.

Karakorum Savant moved like a flying treasure sword that

swirled around Silver Soldier. At this point of time, Silver
Soldier was surrounded by a streak of sword gleam that was
striking its enemies from all directions unpredictably.

Silver Soldier’s burly body was like an unreasonable monster.

When an ordinary attack landed on his shiny silvery body, it
could not even leave a single scratch on him. His metal-made
arms were changing its form unpredictably. Sword, fist,
hammer, polearm, axe, truncheon….

A variety of moves were unleashed in an innumerable

succession.

However, even so, this was not enough to cause trouble for his
opponents. The most troublesome aspect of his offense was that
his variety of moves was accompanied by a straight-on and
explosive attacking style. This type of offense was
overwhelming and terrifying for his opponents.

No one dared to fight him head-on. Old Ling, who was metal-
attributed just like Silver Soldier, had his face turn ugly after
exchanging a few blows with him.

Qing Feng was suppressed by him until the point that he no

longer had any fighting fervor in him. Right now, he only
focused on dodging Silver Soldier’s attacks. After his nether
lotus seeds were severely damaged by Ai Hui, he’ lost his trump
card and his strength had reduced sharply. This put him in an
extremely pathetic state.

Karakorum Savant swept up streaks of biting-cold sword

gleams around Silver Soldier. There were a few times where She
Yu tried to mount a sneak attack on Silver Soldier but failed to
find an opening to attack. Instead, she was almost injured by the
swirling sword gleams.

The injury that Old Ling had previously inflicted on She Yu

was making her movements sluggish at this point of time.

Even when Karakorum Savant and Silver Soldier fought

against three experts at once, they did not succumb to a
disadvantageous position. Ai Hui could not take his eyes off the
intense battle.

To be able to see such an intense battle between experts was a

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was highly beneficial for Ai
Hui to be able to observe and learn from the battle while on the
sideline.

Ai Hui was not surprised at Karakorum Savant’s superb

swordsmanship. However, he was slightly shocked at how
powerful Silver Soldier was. From what he knew of Infantry
Division, they were not really popular among the public.

Even though Infantry Division was part of Thirteen Divisions

and was one of the two major metal elemental divisions, their
status differed greatly from Sky Edge Division, the other metal
elemental division.

Sky Edge Division’s fighting capabilities were more

outstanding and their inheritances were more formidable than
Infantry Division’s. There were a lot of areas in which Sky Edge
Division was better than Infantry Division. Honestly speaking,
Infantry Division was a ‘laborers’ division. The missions and
things they did were strenuous and unrewarding.

There were many reasons why Infantry Division was not

popular. However, the main reason was their choice of training
specialization. Infantry Division specialized in body-tempering.
Out of so many specializations, body-tempering was the most
challenging and arduous.

At the initial stage, practicing body-tempering was relatively

less difficult. However, as one progressed along this path, the
difficulty of practising body-tempering increased sharply.
Furthermore, when it came to battles, the elementalists from
Infantry Division would usually play the role of meat shields in
the front line. This caused their casualty rate to be extremely
high. The tasks they did were difficult and tiring. It was no
wonder that they were so unpopular.
 And because of all these reasons, Infantry Division was the
lowest ranking division among the Thirteen Divisions.

Ai Hui knew little about Infantry Division. The only person he

knew from Infantry Division was Brother Li Wei, whom he’d
first met in Central City.

As this thought emerged in his mind, Ai Hui was suddenly

stunned.

He raised his head abruptly and started at the view of Silver

Soldier’s back.

Countless fragmented memories appeared in his mind. These

blurred fragmented memories began to stack on top of the silver
figure.

Ai Hui stared blankly at the silver, burly figure and found him
to be more and more familiar.

Brother Li Wei… He did not!

 Ai Hui’s mind went blank upon realizing that Li Wei did not
die.

Three years ago, when the blood catastrophe had just broken
out, there were only two elites from Thirteen Divisions. They
were Li Wei and Zhou Xiaoxi. Zhou Xiaoxi was the one that
accompanied Ai Hui and the other students to Garden of Life.
After the blood catastrophe broke out, Zhou Xiaoxi, who was
then infected with blood poison, had to seek reinforcements for
the students by himself. Eventually, he met with a mishap and
died. As for Brother Li Wei, he’d disappeared without a trace
after taking part in an operation.

Senior Mingxiu had grieved over Li Wei’s death for a long

time.

He did not expect Brother Li Wei to still be alive...

Ai Hui’s gaze landed upon Li Wei’s metallic arms. It was then

he remembered that Brother Li Wei lost his arms during the
fight with Tian Kuan three years ago. Eventually, Ai Hui calmed
himself down from the excitement. The silvery figure looked
more unfamiliar than familiar.
 He was exuding such an invincible and overbearing aura.
Brother Li Wei had changed completely.

Brother Li Wei was not the only one who had changed
completely. If the old Brother Li Wei saw what he had
transformed into now, he would be surprised as well, right?

In troubled times, everything was changing every day. Every

life was as fragile as a blade of grass. If one did not want to die,
he or she had to become stronger at all costs.

Would Brother Li Wei still remember Senior Mingxiu?

The excitement in Ai Hui’s heart had disappeared and was

replaced by an indescribable tinge of sadness.

He did not want to know the answer at all.

Suddenly, Xiao Shuren, who was in his embrace, fidgeted and

said, "You are hugging me too tight."

Ai Hui returned to his senses and warily tightened his sword

against her neck. Previously, in a moment of desperation to
avoid the impact from Li Wei’s landing, he’d dragged Xiao
Shuren with him and made a hasty retreat.

At this point of time, both of them were in a rather dubious

position. To restrain Xiao Shuren and prevent her from getting
injured by the shock wave, Ai Hui pressed her against his chest
and placed his Silverfold Plum on her neck.

"Don’t move about!"

Ai Hui warned her coldly. He loosened his grip as he could

hear Xiao Shuren had slight difficulty breathing properly.

Xiao Shuren panted heavily. She looked extremely pathetic

now. Her head and face were filthy with dirt and her fringe was
messy. Even so, her beauty still could not be concealed.

Ai Hui was extremely wary of her. Every movement Xiao

Shuren made, he would react to it. No matter what ancient
treasure she had, he did not care about it at all. This woman was
cunning and vile. A slight moment of carelessness would cause
him to fall into her trap.
 "Let’s make a deal," said Xiao Shuren calmly as she composed
her breathing.

"You better not play any tricks," Ai Hui said coldly as doubt
filled his mind.

"A person who is about to die has no reason to do that," Xiao

Shuren smiled sadly and continued, "Don’t tell me, does Mr Chu
still think that I can continue to live?"

Ai Hui was stunned.

…..

On the platform at the center of the pool, Xiaobao had a blank

look on his face. He did not know what was going on.

Bendy strips of dazzling light appeared on his body. These

translucent light strips swirled around his body like meandering
roads on a mountain.

[Sinuous Aqua Body]!

 This was a body constitution unique to the Gu Family.

Great Elder widened his eyes. One could see the excitement
and happiness in his eyes.

One by one, everyone on the side of the pool widened their

eyes as well. Nine sinuous traces! It was the most outstanding
level of body constitution in [Sinuous Aqua Body]

Very soon, a look of marvel appeared on their faces.

However, they also felt that it was a great pity for a mentally
challenged boy to have such an excellent body constitution. The
gods were really too cruel to the Gu Family. However, even if
Xiaobao wasn’t too smart, as long as he was physically healthy
and he could make use of his natural gift, his future would be
limitless with the backing of Great Elder.

The Gu Family was unlikely to go so far as to go without

having a qualified successor to carry on its undertaking.

A look of disappointment flashed across Elder Ling’s face.

 Great Elder was very emotional. Even though he tried to
suppress his emotions, those who knew him well could still see
how emotional he was. The malicious rumor that had been
spreading the last few days had taken a toll on his mind. Even
though he kept telling himself that it was only a plot set up by
his enemies, he was still disturbed by it.

His only son had died young and his grandson was born with a
mental disability. These no doubt made him feel forlorn.
However, no matter how big of a weakness Xiaobao had, he was
still his only grandson and mental support.

The vicious rumor found his weakness so easily.

At this point of time, Great Elder looked at Xiaobao with a

gaze which was filled with a mixture of love and guilt.

When he shifted his gaze to Madam Ye, he felt even more

guilty. All these years, his daughter-in-law had been taking care
of Xiaobao by herself, and she still had to go through such
unredressed injustice. However, he knew that he was mainly
responsible for this incident as well. He had a lot of things that
he wanted to say, but could not do so.
 Madam Ye understood how he felt and smiled gently. Even at
this point of time, she was still composed and virtuous

Elder Ling cast a glance at Elder Song, who shook his head to
imply that the result was real. Elder Ling was extremely
disappointed. He thought he would obtain a good opportunity
this time around. If Great Elder’s family was involved in a
scandal at this point of time, Great Elder would not be able to
stay in his position for long.

Even though Elder Ling was disappointed deep down, his face
was brimming with joy. He said in a loud voice, "I told you so.
We watched Lin-er grow up, how can we not know her
character?"

Yuchi Ba smiled, "That’s right. Why would one doubt Ye

Residence’s family values? Their family values are matchless! I
can’t fathom how there are people who actually believe in such
an absurd rumor. This time around, with everyone present as
witness, no one can harass Xiaobao with such a rumor again."

The speaker had no particular intention in saying this, but the

listener read his own meaning into it. Great Elder felt more
guilty upon hearing what Yuchi Ba said. However, he still felt
more anger than guilt. With a cold voice, he said, "Everyone,
please be my witness. If I find out who started the rumor, I will
not hesitate to punish him ruthlessly."

"Indeed! That person has to be punished! A rumor like this is

far too malicious!"

"The person who started this rumor is too malicious! The

person deserves to die!"

The rest agreed as well.

Madam Ling’s face turned deathly white. She stared at

Xiaobao and could not believe her eyes. How could it be? How
could it be? She definitely would not make a mistake!

Madam Ye smiled as usual. Her gentleness could make one

enchanted with her.

At this moment, a scout from Sky Edge Division walked to

Tong Kui and whispered something in his ear. Tong Kui’s body
froze momentarily. Then he walked silently to Yuchi Ba.
Everyone present was an influential individual and all of them
were shrewd and sharp. At once, they knew something was
wrong.

A premonition arose in Great Elder’s mind. He withdrew his

smile and asked, "What has happened?"

Yuchi Ba nodded his head and told Tong Gui, "Report

everything to Great Elder."

Tong Kui bowed and replied, "Yes. Ye Residence has been

attacked."

An absolute silence descended upon everyone.

Chapter 378: The Ancient Treasure
The fierce battle sounded nonstop but Ai Hui’s attention was
completely on Xiao Shuren’s words.

"Madam Ye’s strategy is brilliant, I’m impressed." Xiao

Shuren’s voice was full of praise, "First was the empty residence
after Madam took Xiaobao out. And the ancient treasure I have
on me is a bait to attract intruders, especially those from the
Ling Residence. Karakorum Savant and this Silver Soldier are
her assistants and their mission is probably to tangle the
enemies."

Upon hearing her words, Ai Hui automatically looked toward

the battleground.

He’d not felt it previously, but upon hearing Xiao Shuren’s

comments, he couldn’t help but notice some of these clues.
"Why?" he asked, unable to bear his curiosity.

Xiao Shuren’s tone carried admiration. "Because Madam

wishes to use this opportunity to annihilate the Ling Residence.
Madam Ye put on a weak front in regard to the relentless
spreading of rumors involving Xiaobao. When the truth gets
out, the grievances she felt before would intensify, evoking
more sympathy from the people. And if people saw how the Ye
Residence is being bullied, what would they think?"

"They would only feel that Madam Ling went overboard and
that the orphan and widow are extremely pitiful. If Ye
Residence is really weak, there might not be anyone who would
dare stand up for her. But there’s Great Elder behind Madam Ye.
Great Elder is beyond furious about the rumors that smear
Xiaobao’s reputation so it’s inevitable that he will take action.
And if Great Elder teaches the Ling Residence a lesson, would
anyone stand up for them? No. This is true power."

Xiao Shuren said laughingly, "Madam Ye will have everyone

see for themselves. Look, it’s the Ye Residence. The residence
that houses all elementalists with the surname Ye, an orphan
and a widow is about to be razed to the ground by the Ling
Residence. Aren’t they wretched? Aren’t they pitiful? Shouldn’t
the Ling Residence die?"

Ai Hui’s heart turned cold. These people’s shrewdness and

cunningness was absolutely frighteningly.

"Ling Residence is done for." Xiao Shuren sighed softly. "And

the bait? It will be handed over to Elders Guild of course. Ye
Residence, being sensible, has no interest in the ancient treasure
at all. Why wouldn’t the Elders Guild be enticed by the ancient
treasure, when even Dai Gang is drooling over it and they can
shut everyone’s mouth with it?"

Ai Hui remained silent. He wasn’t proficient in crafty plots

and manipulations, but he wasn’t foolish. He understood what
Xiao Shuren was saying about the gains and losses involved.

And unfortunately, Xiao Shuren was right.

"Actually, I’ve been thinking about some questions for the

past few days. How did I land myself in the Ye Residence? It was
because I fell into the hands of Karakorum chief, and her
relationship with Madam Ye wasn’t superficial. Why did I fall
into the hands of the chief? Because rumor had it that the
ancient treasure was related to swordsmanship. And where did
that rumor come from?"

"Don’t you find it too coincidental, Mister Chu?" Xiao Shuren

asked with a smile.

Ai Hui found it unbelievable. "Could it be Madam Ye?"

 "I have no proof," Xiao Shuren said faintly. "But if that’s the
case, our Madam Ye is really not a simple character."

Her next sentence was even more shocking. "Only two people
from Great Wei Enterprise know about the ancient treasure.
One is already dead and the other is me. Other than that, there’s
only Dai Gang. If my theory is valid, I’m afraid that Madam Ye’s
people are beside Dai Gang."

Ai Hui was dumbstruck. Reason told him that Xiao Shuren’s

guess was simply too out of this world, but somehow, intuition
told him that it was possible.

"Isn’t our Madam Ye amazing?"

Xiao Shuren spoke with admiration and regret. While she

combed this theory out from threads and traces, it was very
difficult for her to link it with this single mother who had raised
a handicapped son for over ten years.

"I do not want to fall into the hands of the Elders Guild. Plus, I
have personal matters to take care of, so I’m willing to hand
over the ancient treasure. I only seek your compassion."
 Xiao Shuren’s tone was sorrowful.

Ai Hui shook his head. "I’m not interested in the ancient

treasure."

The ancient treasure was a big inconvenience that brought

bad luck to its possessor. Countless people had died because of
it, including those who perished in the Great Wei Enterprise
massacre.

There were still many things Ai Hui had to do, so he did not
wish to get involved. If he did get involved, he wouldn’t be able
to accomplish anything anymore.

Xiao Shuren was rather shocked and also extremely surprised.

She could tell that Chu Zhaoyang was speaking the truth.

She let out a distressed, bitter laugh. "Those who heard about
the ancient treasure scrabbled for it like moths for a flame. Who
would’ve expected you to deem it as trash."

Ai Hui did not respond.

 No one disliked treasures. Himself included, but in this world
there were always things more important than money and
wealth.

Xiao Shuren’s tone changed. "A virtuous man should have the
ancient treasure, so I’m giving it to you."

Before Ai Hui could open his mouth, Xiao Shuren’s next

action had him dumbfounded.

She stuck her palm into her own chest!

Was she committing suicide?

Ai Hui was extremely shocked, but he reacted quickly and

noticed that there was no blood coming out from her chest at
all.

He cried out involuntarily, "Transfigured elementalist?!"

"I had been severely injured and almost lost my life. To

survive, I had to transform my body into sand," Xiao Shuren
explained gently. The image of her drawing her tender, snow-
white palm out from her snow-white chest carried an
inexpressible, devilish beauty.

There was a trace of satisfaction and craftiness in Xiao

Shuren’s tone. "They did not expect that I would place the
ancient treasure inside my body."

Ai Hui had not expected that too.

Her snow-white palm opened, revealing two transparent and

flawless crystals.

Each was about the size of a finger and in the centre of each
was a drop of golden liquid.

Ai Hui couldn’t take his eyes off of them. The golden liquid
within was swiveling and changing in countless exquisitely
complicated patterns. He could feel its extraordinariness.

Before he could react, a white cloth flew out from his palm
swiftly, and like an agile white snake it coiled itself around the
crystals.
 Ai Hui was stunned.

Xiao Shuren was taken aback as well but she dismissed it with
a smile. "It’s for you anyway."

Regaining his senses, Ai Hui immediately felt a headache. He

hadn’t intended to get involved in this inconvenience, but alas,
it came and stuck itself onto him like a stubborn stain, unable to
be removed.

The bandage was very interested. Could it be that the golden

liquid inside the crystals was some kind of blood?

Gold-colored blood was very rare.

Ai Hui looked on helplessly as the bandage went on to swallow

its food, a sight scarier than a tiger seizing its prey. He said, "Do
you have any unfulfilled wishes, Madam?"

Xiao Shuren became excited. "You’re a good man of honor

indeed, Mister Chu!"
 Man of honor?

Ai Hui laughed in spite of himself. He shook his head,

replying, "I’m no man of honor. Men of honor die early. I would
like to live a little longer. Cut to the chase, tell me."

Xiao Shuren, too, understood that time was tight. She

responded speedily, "At that time, I was worried that something
would happen, so I had the caretaker take my young son out of
the enterprise to live in another city with a different identity.
Now that Great Wei Enterprise is gone and nothing remains, I
can only beg that Mister Chu accepts him as your disciple."

Ai Hui did not agree immediately. He muttered, "I’m homeless

and miserable, and the things I do come with danger. Not only
will he suffer, he might also lose his life if he follows me."

With a steady gaze, Xiao Shuren spoke up. "Is there any
permanent haven in this chaotic world? Silver City was a
beautiful city that flourished but with some dried grass and a
fire, it has now turned to ashes. This is all that I can do to help
him. Whether or not he lives well from now on, it’s his life."

Upon hearing that, Ai Hui nodded his head solemnly. "In that
case, I’ll agree."

Xiao Shuren heaved a sigh of relief and handed her son’s

address and the caretaker’s name to him. She also gave him a
keepsake.

Ai Hui recorded the information and felt rather curious. "Why

me?"

Xiao Shuren replied, "You put aside your own safety to save
Xiaobao. You have compassionation."

Ai Hui then understood that with her wisdom, tactics and

ways of doing things, she was not a simple person. He couldn’t
help but feel admiration for her.

A group of tiny black dots appeared on the faraway horizon.

Looking around, Ai Hui realized that people were also closing in
from other directions.

The Ye Residence had been surrounded.

 Till now, Xiao Shuren’s conjecture had been proven right,
impressing Ai Hui even further. "What plans do you have next?"

Since she’d guessed Madam Ye’s plan, she must be prepared.

Xiao Shuren combed her fringe, answering, "Just hand me

over to Madam Ye later on."

Ai Hui felt somewhat suspicious. Xiao Shuren had mentioned

earlier that she did not want to fall into the hands of the Elders
Guild.

Xiao Shuren smiled slightly. "My heart had been damaged

from past injuries and I have to change the sand material every
two months. But I’ve not changed it for four month so my time
is limited, there’s no cure."

Ai Hui understood instantly and kept silent.

"Please do not feel sad. I am beyond happy that you’re willing

to accept my request." Xiao Shuren consoled him genuinely
without the least bit of sorrow. "The people on this side only
know about the ancient treasure, but as to what it is exactly,
they aren’t clear. Although Dai Gang never said it outright, I
believe he knows what these crystals are. They are extremely
important to him, so he will not step down. I’m afraid that as a
Grandmaster, he would have special means to get what he
wants, so please be careful."

Ai Hui nodded. "I will."

As the crowd grew close, Madam Ye, Great Elder and some
others’ silhouettes could be seen clearly.

"The dust has settled." Xiao Shuren seemed to be sighing and

reminiscing at the same time. She smiled suddenly. "I’ll not bid
farewell. The bad thing about transfigured elementalists is that
we die uglily."

Before Ai Hui could respond, Madam Ye’s voice sounded,

"Mister Chu, please release Madam Xiao!"

Ai Hui took away the sword on Xiao Shuren’s neck.

Many of them exhaled in relief.

 Immediately after, countless burning and avaricious gazes fell
upon Xiao Shuren. The rumors about the ancient treasure had
many palpitating. How could something that Dai Gang had
spent so much effort and strength in obtaining be anything
ordinary?

Freed, Xiao Shuren looked ecstatic upon seeing Ling Sheng

and his wife. She cried out urgently, "Save me Master Ling! Dai
Gang said that you…"

She caught herself in time and closed her mouth immediately.

The expressions of those present changed instantly. They

looked toward Ling Sheng and a look of enlightenment flashed
across their faces. The Ling family was here to seize Xiao Shuren
on Dai Gang’s behalf!

People from the Ling family turned pale. It was okay to have
secret connections with Dai Gang, but they absolutely must not
publicize it.

Ling Sheng glared at Xiao Shuren and saw the hatred and
pleasure in her eyes. He then recalled how Great Wei Enterprise
was destroyed with his own hands.
 This woman had finally found her chance for revenge.

His expression worsened. It was his doomsday.

"Elder Ling, anything else to say?"

Great Elder’s tone was flat, joy and anger absent. But everyone
knew that he was seriously furious.
Chapter 379: The Tides Turn
Elder Ling’s throat was dry. He looked at his close friend Elder
Song, whom he had known for decades.

Elder Song stood still and expressionless, with no intention to

speak up for him.

Elder Ling had given up. If even Elder Song would not help,
the others definitely wouldn’t as well.

Yuchi Ba announced, "I think Elder Ling is no longer suitable

for his role as an Elder in the guild. As such, I propose to dismiss
him from his formal duties."

Yuchi Ba was the leader of the New Citizen Faction, while

Elder Ling led the Aristocratic Faction. The two were rivals, so
he didn’t feel any guilt about adding insult to injury.

Elder Song momentarily fell silent before suddenly speaking,

"I second the motion."

Elder Ling’s face turned ashen. Any proposal required the

support of two elders before it could be brought up for voting by
the Elders Guild. Although he knew he had little chance of
emerging unharmed this time, he didn’t think that the fatal
blow would be delivered by his most trusted friend, Elder Song.

Elder Song sat quietly and averted his gaze, deliberately

avoiding Elder Ling’s eyes.

The Great Elder said flatly, "We will vote during the next
meeting. Elder Ling will have to wait to hear the verdict."

Elder Ling did not resist, as resistance was futile. He and the
Ling Residence were finished. The Aristocratic Faction had
always been behind him, and Elder Song was someone he
trusted deeply. Now, he realized that they had switched sides
long ago.

His gaze fell on the dull and plain looking Great Elder. He
suddenly had suspicions that the Great Elder was the true
mastermind, even though Yelin was the one who’d pulled the
trigger.

Only the Great Elder was capable of taking down the Ling
Residence without any bloodshed.
 Elder Ling trembled slightly when he looked upon the
mountain peak floating in the sky. The majestic God-subduing
Peak seemed to sparkle brilliantly under the sunlight. This one
had yet to have anything written on it, indicating that it had
just been constructed.

Beneath the God-subduing Peak was the Ling Residence.

Such ruthlessness!

Elder Ling felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. He

shut his eyes in despair, as all ideas of fighting to the death
vanished from his mind.

The God-subduing Peak was like a guillotine hanging

ominously over the Ling Residence. If he were to have any
thoughts of resistance, the entire Ling family and its legacy
would be erased from the Avalon of Five Elements forever.

Elder Ling looked as though he had aged several decades. He

said, "Tianjiang is willing to accept whatever decision the guild
makes. Considering our many years of working together, I hope
that you’ll spare my family."
 The other Elders were too shocked to speak. They were taken
aback by the Great Elder’s ruthless moves. Nobody had expected
the Great Elder to just simply deploy the newly constructed
God-subduing Peak like that!

What was more frightening was that no one knew of the Great
Elder’s plans to make use of the God-subduing Peak prior to
this. They had spies stationed throughout Silver City, yet none
of them were able to provide any information.

The Great Elder had appeared to switch to a policy of non-

interference over these past few years. He was hardly involved
in any of the conflicts between the various factions. The other
elders now realized that the Great Elder hadn’t changed one bit.

The tiger was merely taking a nap.

The Great Elder said flatly, "As long as the Ling Residence is
willing to cooperate with the Elders Guild’s investigation, we
will not treat them unfairly.

The last shred of hope in Elder Ling’s eyes dimmed as his final
plea for mercy was turned down.
 Elder Song came forward and sealed Elder Ling’s elemental
energy. Elder Ling accepted his fate solemnly.

Following Madam Ye’s instructions, Ai Hui stood beside her

and XiaoBao.

Having witnessed the cruel fights between the aristocratic

families, Ai Hui felt even more compelled to leave. The bright
sunshine was unable to give him any warmth, making Silver
City feel like an extremely depressing place to be in.

The Avalon of Five Elements only had Silver Mist Sea and
Palette Cloud Village left, yet these people were still involved in
merciless internal fighting.

Countless other families happily struck at those aristocratic

families that had collapsed. Such disgusting and ridiculous
behaviour appeared to be driven purely by jealousy and
competition.

The Avalon of Five Element’s precious remaining fighting

power was constantly being wasted by internal conflicts. If
these forces were instead channeled to the front lines, they’d
probably be in a much better state.
 It didn’t matter much to him.

Ai Hui was increasingly missing his companions in Peace City.

He did not like Silver City one bit.

Ai Hui now understood how difficult it was to work with

people who had different goals.

Keeping his emotions in check, Ai Hui secretly observed the

audience. He was worried about She Yu.

The [Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art] was going to cause
him trouble again.

It would be problematic if She Yu was caught by the Elders

Guild.

His head started to hurt.

"No! You can’t do this!" screamed the pale-looking Madam

Ling. "They’ve all been fooled by you! Ye Lin! You liar! You
skank! I saw that man with my own eyes…"
 Madam Ye expressed incredulity.

A commotion broke out.

To think Madam Ling was the source of the rumors!

Two elites from the Sky Edge Division swiftly stepped forward
and restrained Madam Ling.

Using elemental energy, they rendered her unable to speak.

The scene became all the more dreadful as Madam Ling’s face
became twisted with agony from being unable to voice out her
grievances.

Just as everyone heaved a sigh of relief, the Sky Edge Division

elite who was standing on Madam Ling’s right sprang into
action.

Bang!

A flash of silver light, as quick as lightning, smashed into the

other elite’s body.
 Caught off guard, he had no means of defending himself.
Blood splashed everywhere and he died on the spot.

The attacker grabbed Madam Ling and fled the scene.

Everybody was stunned by the events that were unfolding

before their very eyes. They were completely blindsided and
nobody could even react.

The attacker was incredibly fast, demonstrating power far

beyond that of any Sky Edge Division elite.

Recovering from the initial shock, Yuchi Ba snorted, "Let’s see

how far you can go!"

He extended his palm towards the figure that was now fairly
far away. There were no visible signs, but a slight fluctuation of
elemental energy could be felt.

A sharp ray suddenly appeared half a foot behind the attacker.

The ray took the form of a skull with razor sharp teeth.
Ghostly cries and haunting howls filled the air, creating an eerie
atmosphere.

Ai Hui could not help but shudder in fear when he felt the
elemental energy in his body fluctuating uncontrollably.

The Elders had such incredible strength!

Just before the ray could strike him, the "Sky Edge Division
elite" swung his right palm behind him.

A thunderous roar resounded through the air.

A silver dragon shot out his palm and rammed head on into
the ghastly skull behind him.

Boom!

A dazzling bright light burst forth from the point of collision.

A vast expanse of white washed over the entire area. Nothing

could be seen.

After a second, the blinding, silver light disappeared.

However, Madam Ling and the attacker were nowhere to be

seen by the time everyone’s vision was restored. What made
everyone even more furious was the fact that the mysterious
lady and the grass-lotus puppet had taken the chance to flee as
well.

"It’s Yang Zhen! Yang Zhen from Dragonrise Training Hall!"

Yuchi Ba was enraged. Dragonrise Training Hall was Silver

City’s, as well as the Avalon of Five Elements’ largest training
hall. Yang Zhen, a master of combat, was its chief.

The profound relationship between Dragonrise Training Hall

and the Ling Residence was not a secret. In fact, Dragonrise
Training Hall was close to many families. However, nobody
expected that Yang Zhen would dare to risk universal
condemnation just to rescue Madam Ling.

Great Elder ordered in a grave tone, "Seal the entire

Dragonrise Training Hall and investigate the matter
thoroughly. Since the rumors came from the Ling Residence,
Yang Zhen is likely to be the accomplice. Send out an order to
arrest Yang Zhen and Madam Ling!"

Just as Tong Gui was about to execute the order, Yuchi Ba

exclaimed, "You’ll go personally!"

Ling Sheng’s face was drained of all colour.

Earlier, Madam Ling’s hysterical scream had exposed her as

the source of the rumors.

The Ling Residence was doomed!

Those who initially still had some compassion for the Ling
Residence no longer did.

Such vicious rumors and they turned out to have come from
the Ling Residence!

Using unscrupulous means was not uncommon, but getting

caught meant losing the trust of all others.

The Ling Residence was now facing such a situation. Nobody

would be willing to lend them a helping hand.

Upon seeing She Yu escape, Zhong Houjun felt a burden lifted

off his shoulders. However, as his gaze landed on Silver Soldier,
his expression turned grave.

The Zhong family had a long history, and Silver Soldier

reminded him of some rumors he had gotten wind of. Zhong
Houjun was slated to become the next division leader of the
Infantry Division, but with the appearance of this guy, things
were not looking good for him.

The mysterious lady and the grass-lotus puppet had fled. Old
Ling had lost every bit of fight he had in him. He remained
listless and passive as the guards led him away.

The battle had ended, and the Ye Residence lay in ruins.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on the Karakorum Savant and

Silver Soldier.
 The Great Elder smiled, "I’ve seen the Karakorum Savant
before, but it’s my first time seeing this hero with such
extraordinary skills. Yelin, would you please introduce him to
us."

Madam Ye smiled in return and replied, "All of you must be

making wild guesses right now. His mentor’s family name is
Heng, and the Heng family has many quirky rules. Silver
Soldier has inherited the Heng’s Infantry bloodline. The
Karakorum Savant is his junior. She has inherited the Heng
family’s Sky Edge bloodline. However, she has an innate passion
for swordsmanship and is the first ever master swordsman."

Silver Soldier and the Karakorum Savant bowed to the elders

in respect.

The Elders quickly returned the gesture.

Elder Song exclaimed, "Ah, disciples of a prestigious family!

According to past records, the Sky Edge and Infantry originate
from the Heng family. Looks like this is indeed true. The
preservation of the Heng’s heritage deserves our utmost
admiration. Looking at our young brother here with his
Infantry inheritances made me wonder if the Infantry Division
actually produced a new talent! But no, his heritage is much
purer than that!"

Both Yuchi Ba and Zhong Houjun did not look pleased.

The Sky Edge Division’s division leader had not recovered

from his serious injury. At present, the division was led by the
two vice division leaders Tong Gui and Yu Jin. As the first ever
master swordsman and a disciple of Heng family, the
Karakorum Savant was well-qualified to be the head of the Sky
Edge Division.

The Infantry Division was in an even worse state. Zhong

Houjun was the only one left to take over the division. After
seeing Silver Soldier’s strength, however, he no longer had the
confidence to do so.

Moreover, this name made Zhong Houjun feel like vomiting

blood. According to their practices, only the division leader of
the Infantry Division was qualified to be addressed as "soldier".

And here was this guy, calling himself Silver Soldier and
possessing such a pure heritage. Zhong Houjun was simply not
on par with him.
 The Great Elder was about to wrest control of two divisions,
but nobody dared to say anything.

The older, the wiser, it seemed. He was still the Great Elder
after all!

Ai Hui looked at Silver Soldier up close and was a hundred

percent sure that the man hidden behind that mask was Brother
Li Wei. He was very sure that Brother Li Wei and the
Karakorum Savant’s mentor was the long lost Heng Bingfeng
from the Vanguard Training Hall.

He felt extremely vexed. It was as if the threads of fate were

linking them all together.

What lied ahead?

Nobody knew.
Chapter 380: Leaving
Ai Hui observed Silver Soldier - his position beside the
Karakorum Savant, the way he talked leisurely with the Elders -
and saw a man born destined for great things.

His mild sorrow began to fade and was soon replaced by a

slight tinge of happiness.

Regardless of how the lines of fate intertwined, regardless of

what Brother Li Wei had experienced during these tumultuous
three years, being alive was a good reason to be happy.

Ah, I should find a time to visit Senior Mingxiu.

Ai Hui thought to himself.

After talking to the Elders, the two of them went back to see
Madam Ye.

The Karakorum Savant respectfully addressed her, "Aunt Ye."

 Silver Soldier bowed, "Madam."

Ai Hui noticed that they addressed Madam Ye differently. The

way things looked, Heng Bingfeng appeared to be closely related
to the Ye Residence. Ai Hui guessed that Heng Bingfeng must
have been a core member of the Assembly of Patriarchs, just like
the old prisoner. No wonder Madam Ye seemed to be closely
related to the Assembly of Patriarchs as well.

Madam Ye beamed at the two of them and began to introduce

Ai Hui, "This is Mister Chu Zhaoyang. He has exceptional
swordsmanship and previously saved Xiaobao and I. We’re all
one big family and I’d like for the three of you to know each
other better."

Karakorum Savant said to Silver Soldier, "Zhaoyang has

excellent swordsmanship, and I hope that he can assist me in
compiling a swordsmanship encyclopedia."

Ai Hui humbly replied, "My swordsmanship cannot be

compared to that of Chief. My thanks to the two of you for
saving my life in the nick of time."

"Brother Chu, you are too humble. We’d have been in deep
trouble if you hadn’t dealt such a heavy blow to the grass-lotus
puppet," replied Silver Soldier.

Madam Ye laughed, "Alright, alright, all this modesty is

making me tired. Give me a moment, we’ll speak again later."

She turned towards Xiao Shuren and said, "Madam Xiao, you
must have been frightened. We still need you to cooperate with
the Elders Guild in their investigation of the matter. I sincerely
apologize."

After hearing what Madam Ye said, Ai Hui couldn’t help but

glance at Xiao Shuren. She had completely preempted Madam
Ye’s actions.

Xiao Shuren did not look at Ai Hui, her eyes were fixed on
Madam Ye instead. The corner of her mouth curved up in
contempt as she spoke, "Madam, are you burning bridges now?
Didn’t you promise to ensure my safety when I disclosed the
location of the treasures? Are you trying to go back on your
words?"

All eyes were on Madam Ye. Suspicion filled the air.

 Ai Hui mused that she was really cunning!

Xiao Shuren’s move was truly brilliant.

Madam Ye immediately stopped smiling and said in a serious

manner, "Madam Xiao, are you trying to mislead the public?
Wrong move. Don’t forget that there’s still the Judgement
Division, and you won’t be able to fool them. I urge that you
think before you speak."

Her rebuttal greatly reduced the number of suspicious looks

from the crowd.

Surveillance, Judgement, and Dread were the ever mysterious

three central divisions. The Surveillance Division was
specialised in gathering intelligence, the Judgement Division
gave unparalleled judgment, while the Dread Division was also
known as the "King of Warfare".

Once the Judgement Division became involved in an

investigation, attempting to falsify information would only end
badly. The Surveillance Division had a myriad of methods at its
disposal. It was practically impossible for any criminal to evade
their inquisition.
 Xiao Shuren became even more sarcastic. "That’s true, why
should a high and mighty person like you keep your promise to
a small fry like me? You used me as bait, and even used me as
Chu Zhaoyang’s shield. But a word of warning, Mr Chu
Zhaoyang, even though you’ve saved their lives before, she has
never truly considered you as one of them. Why else would she
leave you alone in Ye Residence?"

Madam Ye furrowed her brows, "What a load of nonsense!"

She felt an ominous premonition as she looked into the lucid

eyes of this seemingly insane woman.

‘Spouting rubbish like that, isn’t she worried that I’ll just
finish her off right now?’

Unless…

Madam Ye’s heart was beating wildly.

Ai Hui silently observed Xiao Shuren since he already knew

what she was going to do. Xiao Shuren had not looked at Ai Hui
the whole time, but Ai Hui knew that whatever she was doing
was meant to remove all suspicions from him. After this,
nobody would think that Ai Hui had the ancient treasure.

Even though he already knew that Xiao Shuren didn’t have

long to live and was doing all these things for her son, Ai Hui
invariably still felt sad about what was about to happen next.

"An ancient treasure that even Grandmaster Dai covets. It was

first rumoured to be related to the swordsmanship, and shortly
after it landed in the hands of Karakorum. Next thing you
know, I was sent to the Ye Residence. Madam Ye, isn’t this too
much of a coincidence? Since you’ve spent so much effort
obtaining it, I hope you manage to utilize it well."

Her words immediately made everyone else suspect Madam

Ye again.

An eerie smile appeared on Xiao Shuren’s face.

Madam Ye suddenly shouted, "Stop her, she’s going to commit

suicide!"

Just as she finished her sentence, Xiao Shuren’s body began to

crumble into a pool of sand. The upper half of her body lay in
the sand, her beautiful face was like that of a lifeless doll.

"Transfigured elementalist!"

The crowd was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Madam Ye stared blankly at the sand, recovering after a

moment. She had a perplexed look on her face.

Her plan had gone perfectly, and the Ling Residence was
finished. To think that this Xiao Shuren would give her a direct
hit just as she was about to enjoy her sweet victory.

Madam Ye knew she was in big trouble.

It was going to be hard for her to maintain her innocence and

prove that she didn’t know anything about the ancient treasure.
What’s more, now that it was exposed, her relationship with
Chu Zhaoyang was going to be equally difficult to explain.

Xiao Shuren’s last offensive was merciless.

 Since she was already dead, Madam Ye found it hard to get
angry. She instead felt some admiration for the lady.

The entire place was dead quiet.

Xiao Shuren’s last move had left everyone deeply shaken.

Soon after, one of the many bodyguards beside the Great Elder
walked towards the pool of sand. He crouched down and
grabbed a handful of it. After examining it for awhile, his face lit
up in realization.

"The sand within her body hasn’t been changed for quite some
time. She was doomed anyway."

Everyone now understood why Xiao Shuren had committed

suicide - she had known that her time was almost up.

Even though Madam Ye had already guessed the reason, she

still felt extremely annoyed. Why didn’t she examine Xiao
Shuren earlier? She would definitely have been able to discover
that she was a transfigured elementalist if she had done so.
 While her final frenzy managed to convince some people, it
wasn’t able to win over all of them.

Despite that, the seeds of suspicion were now firmly planted

and would be difficult to eliminate.

Regardless, dead men tell no tales, and Xiao Shuren was no

longer around for questioning.

Madam Ye remained composed. To her, this was just another

inconvenience.

She wasn’t some powerless civilian. Without solid evidence,

who would dare to openly question her?

Rumors and suspicions were only devastating against the

weak. They were completely useless against those in power, just
like sparrows chirping away in the darkness. A little noise could
be heard every now and then, but they presented no harm
whatsoever.

Except for the Great Elder and her, the rest of them were
sparrows.
 Today’s drama had pried opened everyone’s eyes. They had
just witnessed the collapse of a one-thousand-year-old
influential family, the appearance of descendents from the Heng
family who had disappeared for many years, the chief of
Dragonrise Training Hall sacrificing everything to save Madam
Ling, as well as the final, sorrowful, yet resolute, counterattack
of Xiao Shuren.

All of them were dazed, and the Elders had a grim look on
their faces. They knew that a storm was brewing.

The Avalon of Five Elements’ power hierarchy would change

dramatically.

But all these things had nothing to do with Ai Hui, and he

took the opportunity to leave the Ye Residence.

The recent spate of infighting was considerably disturbing to

Ai Hui, who had not seen anything like that before. He had
previously thought that Silver City would be an easy place to
make money, but had since realized the true costs involved. The
slightest mistakes could easily cost him his life.

The Ye Residence was severely damaged. Madam Ye had

brought Xiaobao to stay at the Great Elder’s other villa to avoid
the chaotic situation.

Madam Ye invited Ai Hui along, but he politely rejected. He

claimed that he needed to further explore his recent
breakthrough in base level.

Madam Ye thought that Ai Hui was still brooding over Xiao

Shuren’s last words. She smiled faintly and didn’t probe
further. After all these days of contact, she understood that
Mister Zhaoyang was a pragmatic person.

Who is able to offer a higher price than me? Who dares to

offer a higher price than me?

She would soon find out.

Madam Ye gently told Chu Zhaoyang to train well since she

might require his assistance in the future.

Karakorum Savant invited Ai Hui to stay in Karakorum Sword

League for a short while so that they could learn from each
other and compile a swordsmanship encyclopedia.
 This suggestion tugged on Ai Hui’s heartstrings, but he
rejected the invitation. He did not like Silver City one bit and
wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. He had been
contemplating whether to catch up with Brother Li Wei, but
after some deliberation, he decided that it wasn’t a good time to
do so.

Chu Zhaoyang’s identity was a complex matter.

However, taking into consideration the relationship between

Karakorum Sword League and the Assembly of Patriarchs, Ai
Hui didn’t say much else. He only mentioned his recent
realizations and how he’d like to reflect deeper on them. Once
the dust had settled he’d come back to swap pointers.

He wasn’t going to get barred from entering the Hall of

Ancient Records before he found those notes.

Although Karakorum Savant felt slightly disappointed, she

was still extremely understanding. However, she kept
emphasising repeatedly that Mister Chu must eventually return
to aid in the compilation of her swordsmanship encyclopedia.

Ai Hui bade farewell to the crowd and ventured out of the city
alone.

Karakorum Savant noticed her senior looking at Chu

Zhaoyang quizzically. Slightly worried, she asked, "What’s
wrong?"

Silver Soldier was roused from his contemplation. He shook

his head, "Nothing, just thinking of an old friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah."

Ai Hui was a good distance away from Silver City. He felt like
someone who had just successfully escaped from prison, feeling
unspeakably free and relieved.

The treasures of Silver City weren’t meant for him, and he no

longer cared for them.

Silver City may be a paradise for others, but it was a hell for
him.
 The Starry Gem Swordwings flapped powerfully against the
strong winds, creating a trail of lightning as he flew through the
clouds while the sun shone beautifully in the sky.

Ai Hui felt agitated. The suppressed emotions he had felt over

the past few days were now gushing out like an exploding
volcano.

Amidst the strong gales, Ai Hui screamed and howled at the

top of his lungs. Awful singing? Who cares as long as I’m
enjoying myself! No rhythm? Who cares as long as I’m happy!

Singing loudly with sword in hand, Ai Hui felt like he could go

anywhere.

He’d enjoy his time with the others, taking revenge, fighting
and exploring with them.

Before old age and death arrived. YOLO.

Chapter 381: Recouping Losses
A long, arduous journey filled with trials and tribulations.

After flying consecutively for three days and three nights, Ai

Hui finally stopped in his tracks and landed in a hidden valley.
He continuously shifted his location during the journey to
ensure that no one was following him.

After experiencing days of heavy rain rushing on the road, Ai

Hui looked rather haggard, but his eyes were unusually bright.
They shone like two endlessly burning flames, which could not
be wiped out by the rain.

As he brushed the gloominess aside, Ai Hui felt like he was

born anew.

The elemental energy within his body was depleted and he

desperately needed a rest.

Silverfold Plum in hand, he heaved a heavy sigh and started a

Circulatory Cycle.
 A sharp hissing sound could be heard as Ai Hui absorbed
strand after strand of metal elemental energy. A spring of clear
water began to gurgle out of the dried earth around him,
shooting into the air and whirling around his body. The water
condensed itself into balls of elemental energy sword pills which
became a part of the Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

A white mist slowly creeped over Ai Hui’s body, shrouding

him in a cloak of fog. Rain began to fall from the sky, each drop
vaporizing as they came into contact with the mist.

If there was a metal elementalist flying in the vicinity, he

would notice that the impending storm’s metal winds were
being channeled into this small valley.

A circle of light that had two distinct colors could be seen on

the ground beneath Ai Hui’s feet. A brown colored outer ring
surrounded a white circle.

The outer ring of the circle was extremely dense earth

elemental energy. The brown color faded towards the centre of
the circle, which was purely silver in colour. The pure silver
circle in the middle was metal elemental energy.
 In the Second Elemental Realm, Ai Hui was able to transform
earth elemental energy into metal elemental energy. This meant
he could control both types of elemental energy.

As he recovered his elemental energy, the stress on his body

rapidly decreased and Ai Hui’s mind became more lucid. He had
clearly improved after his experience in Silver City. Having
been through all sorts of physical and emotional obstacles, Ai
Hui was now much more resilient.

Having a clear mind and understanding one’s self was

essential to achieving a higher level of consciousness.

He experienced a slight improvement in his control of

elemental energy as well.

Ai Hui was enlightened. He realized that achieving elemental

externalization meant that a deep understanding of one’s own
spirit was required in addition to a profound understanding of
elemental energy.

He remembered something he’d once read in a book.

 ‘A strong body needs an equally mighty soul.’

The Circulatory Cycle Revolution was executed in perfect

order.

The round, spinning elemental energy sword pills were his

secret weapon. The explosive power granted by the elemental
energy sword pills were the reason why his sword skills were so
powerful.

With his attention focused on the Circulatory Cycle, he soon

discovered a problem.

The elemental energy within his body was exceptionally

dense. After reaching the Second Elemental Realm, his control
of ambient elemental energy was greatly enhanced. He had
since been able to increase the concentration of elemental
energy around him. However, his rate of absorption did not
increase much.

This was not surprising. In fact, this was a problem that all
elementalists would eventually face.
 Attaining elemental externalization meant that the body had
already reached the upper limit of the amount of elemental
energy it could store. The rate of absorption would also be at its
maximum. The body of an elementalist was like a valve, and by
the time he achieved elemental externalization, this valve would
have been opened to its maximum capacity. Most people found
this amount adequate, and instead focused on controlling
elemental energy that was external to the body.

Ai Hui had a different perspective.

During his battles, he noticed that the control of external

elemental energy was directly affected by the elemental energy
within the body. If the elemental energy within his body was
depleted, his control over external elemental energy would
likely be lost as well.

In a high intensity battle, the ability to quickly restore

elemental energy significantly improved combat effectiveness.
There were only two known ways to improve recovery speed.
The first was to expand the "valve", and the other was to
increase the power of extraction. The power of extraction came
from one’s Circulatory Cycle Revolution. The faster the
revolution of the cycle, the faster the rate of absorption of
elemental energies. However, this speed could not simply be
increased at will, since external elemental energies contained a
large amount of impurities. Continuous, effortful refinement
through the use of the Circulatory Cycle was necessary to
properly purify external elemental energies.

If the cycle was too fast, impurities might remain in the

elemental energy during absorption. Elemental energy that was
not pure enough could be extremely harmful to elementalists.

Since increasing the speed of the Circulatory Cycle Revolution

wasn’t possible, could the "valve" become larger?

A bold idea suddenly sprang out of his mind. Was this

possible? Ai Hui was captivated by his own idea and he
promptly began to explore its intricacies.

The Circulatory Cycle Revolution largely involved the five

residences and eight palaces within the body. As such, elemental
energy from the surroundings must go through the body before
it could be fully incorporated into the Circulatory Cycle
Revolution,

Hang on!
 Ai Hui remembered that his Circulatory Cycle Revolution was
different from others’. In addition to the five residences and
eight palaces, his Circulatory Cycle Revolution had an
additional aspect - his sword.

This was a practice he had continued with even after the

sword embryo had shattered. Back when he still had the sword
embryo, holding a sword had helped to improve his control of
elemental energy.

Absorbing elemental energy through the sword instead of his

lungs and skin? Would it not greatly increase the Circulatory
Cycle Revolution’s efficiency?

Feeling motivated, Ai Hui began to test his hypothesis.

He had tried to absorb elemental energy directly from his

sword before, but it wasn’t particularly effective. This time
round, Ai Hui stopped all other parts of his body from absorbing
elemental energy before attempting to directly absorb elemental
energy via the Silverfold Plum.

What happened next gave him a surprise.

 Metal elemental energy from his surroundings accumulated
around him. The sheer amount of it gave him a shock.

The Silverfold Plum was forged from metal and as such had an
extremely high affinity for metal elemental energy. Metal
elemental energy flowed easily into the sword, and not even the
slightest resistance could be felt.

Humans were creatures of flesh and blood. Even if their

bodies was fully tempered, they were still made of flesh. As
such, despite being stronger and having a higher affinity for
metal elemental energy than usual, Ai Hui’s tempered body
would still never be able to match up to pure metal’s affinity for
metal elemental energy.

However, Ai Hui soon ran into new problems. The amount of

ambient elemental energy was too large, and the Silverfold
Plum quickly became saturated with elemental energy. The
excessive amount of elemental energy caused an obstruction in
the Circulatory Cycle and the revolution ground to a halt.

The Silverfold Plum appeared to encounter some issues as

well. It exuded an intense, dazzling light, as if the entire blade
was covered in a layer of mercury. A continuous buzzing sound
could be heard.
 It was overburdened.

Metal was the material that contained the greatest amount of

metal elemental energy. Metal that was formed in areas rich in
metal elemental energy would constantly be bathed in it. This
process greatly increased the grade of the metal, and could even
make it transform.

However, all kinds of metal still had a limit on how much

metal elemental energy they could withstand. A sudden influx
of excessive metal elemental energy could cause it to blow up.

Silverfold Plum was a high-grade product from the Assembly

of Patriarchs that was as powerful as Heaven-grade weapons.
This meant that it should be able to last till Ai Hui became a
Master.

The stronger an elementalist, the purer and more explosive

the elemental energy. Weapons made of ordinary materials
were unable to withstand such pure and powerful elemental
energy.

Ai Hui wasn’t expecting his idea to work this well, to the point
where even the Silverfold Plum would become overloaded.
 He hurriedly forced the excess elemental energy out of the
Silverfold Plum.

Ai Hui then started his second attempt. This time, he tried to

slow down the speed of his Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

A thin strand of elemental energy flowed from the Silverfold

Plum’s blade into Ai Hui’s right hand palace and seamlessly
became integrated into the Circulatory Cycle. As it flowed
through the cycle, the thin strand of elemental energy was
condensed into sword pills.

After completing one revolution, the elemental energy sword

pills were now flowing back into the Silverfold Plum.

The first elemental energy sword pill to enter collided with

the external elemental energy that was being absorbed through
the Silverfold Plum. The strands of elemental energy began to
wrap around the rapidly rotating elemental energy sword pill,
increasing it’s size. The same thing happened to the subsequent
elemental energy sword pills.

These new elemental energy sword pills would then continue

flowing within the Circulatory Cycle.
 As he continued with the process, Ai Hui soon discovered that
he was unable to speed up the blade’s absorption of elemental
energy. The Circulatory Cycle would become jammed once the
amount of elemental energy being absorbed was increased.

Increasing the recovery rate of elemental energy wasn’t going

to be that easy after all.

However, Ai Hui was not disappointed by this. He was

completely focused on the elemental energy sword pills within
his body. A few of them were very large, almost twice the size of
those he was previously able to form.

Up till then, he had never once thought of forming larger

elemental energy sword pills.

Ai Hui wondered what new changes these enlarged elemental

energy sword pills would bring.

After finishing one last revolution, Ai Hui opened his eyes.

Sure enough, his judgment was correct. He took slightly longer
to recover his elemental energy this way.
 He decided to experiment with the enlarged elemental energy
sword pills.

With a flick of his wrist, the Silverfold Plum emitted a

brilliant sword ray across the empty space in front of him.

[Heavenly Thrust]!

A small hole silently appeared in a rock that was about twenty

feet away .

Ai Hui could sense the difference from this move alone. The
enlarged elemental energy sword pills were much more
explosive - it felt as if he was firing a cannon.

He flew over to the rock and inspected it. His move had bored
a clean hole right through the 3 meter wide rock. Ai Hui was
pleased with the power he had just unleashed.

Taking to the sky, he executed the [Heavenly Thrust] again.

A slender sword ray soared through the air like an arrow.

 The ray flew a good two hundred meters before gradually
fading away.

His eyes lit up in delight. Right up to that instant, [Crescent

Moon] had been his only long range attack. Skills like [Six
Moons] had a maximum range of only thirty meters.

The [Heavenly Thrust] he’d just executed was very similar to

shooting an arrow. However, the sword ray produced was even
sharper and quieter than an arrow.

On the other hand, it’s range was pathetic when compared to

a bow and arrow.

A master bowman could easily hit a target a dozen miles away.

So far, the record stood at a hundred and fifty seven

kilometers.

It was set more than six hundred years ago, when a master
bowman managed to kill a dire beast with one shot at that
range. This feat took the world by storm and made archery
immensely popular. It was then that careers as long-ranged
assassins took off as well.

Insane shots like these were, of course, extremely taxing to

fire. Even a Master wouldn’t be able to fire more than a handful
of them over short periods.

Ai Hui was satisfied with the two hundred meters he had

gained.

Moreover, this was only the beginning. He was confident that

he could improve even further.

While he may not have been successful in increasing his

recovery rate, Ai Hui unexpectedly managed to greatly enhance
his attacking range.
Chapter 382: Seeds
With his elemental energy restored, Ai Hui was feeling
refreshed, just like the treasure sword that had been inserted
into its sheath, its vigor contained.

Even the rain, that had been pouring consecutively for days,
was gradually stopping. The thick clouds overhead cleared,
revealing the clean sky. The bright and beautiful sun shone
down along with a slight breeze, and a cozy and slightly
intoxicating feeling spread throughout his body.

How comfortable.

Basking in the beautiful sunlight after days of pressure relaxed

his body completely.

Ai Hui casually chose a flat grass surface to sit on, before

plucking a blade of grass to chew on.

The unripe taste of the grass spread throughout his mouth as

he studied the crystals in his hand meticulously.
 They were transparent and flawless, without the least bit of
impurity. Examining them closely, Ai Hui noticed that he was
actually unable to confirm if they were actually crystals, since
he’d never seen such pure ones before.

The sunlight shone down on the golden liquid, instantly

producing a faint golden halo. Strangely, this layer of golden
halo changed irregularly like layers of flickering, delicate
ripples, fading and reappearing, and multiplying without end.

How beautiful!

Ai Hui gasped in surprise. While he felt that he wasn’t an

artistic person, he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by this ever-
changing halo.

While admiring it, Ai Hui noticed something amiss.

He’d suspected before that the golden liquid was blood from a
certain monster, thus attracting the bandage’s interest. But Ai
Hui suddenly realized that if that were really the case, the
bandage would’ve swallowed them mercilessly instead of
keeping them.
 Were the crystals encasing it obstructing the bandage?

Wrong!

Perhaps the bandage had been wrapped around his body for a
long time, so it had developed a faint connection with Ai Hui.

He suddenly recalled that the bandage did this exact same

thing to that demonic god stone status! The moment this idea
popped up, Ai Hui’s eyes lit up and a bold thought surfaced in
his head. Is there any link between these items?

The more he speculated, the more he thought it was possible.

He quickly opened the sand compass to retrieve the stone

statue. Previously when he had consumed the metal elemental
elixir, the statue had been of great use to him as it sucked all of
the elixir’s fiendish aura away, cutting his pain short.

Otherwise, just eliminating the fiendish aura alone would

have required much effort and energy on Ai Hui’s part, not to
mention that it was a very dangerous process too.
 The moment Ai Hui took the statue out, the bandage
slithered, like two white snakes, down his body. Two bandages
joined together unhurriedly to become a big white cloth. It slid
underneath the statue, as if worried that the statue would get
dirty.

Ai Hui’s heart turned cold from witnessing this strange sight.

The statue and bandage carried a tinge of evilness. If not for

the fact that the bandage was a gift from Mistress and had been
with him for a long time, Ai Hui most definitely would’ve been
on guard.

Seeing the bandage at work made him miss her again.

Emotional people were like warmth that surrounded an ice-

cold object, or a slight glimmer amid the lonely void.

Even if the bandage was really evil, AI Hi would find it

difficult to detest it, since to him, righteousness or evilness was
insignificant. He’d never felt himself to be important. It made
no difference whether there was another good or bad version of
him in this world.
 However, to him, some feelings were more important than
himself.

He placed the two crystals on the white cloth.

Ai Hui felt that the sight before him was pretty interesting. It
was as if he had just given the statue some offerings, and all that
was left to do was pray. Yet, the statue did not seem the least bit
grateful or appreciative. It gave the same, aloof look.

Could he be wrong?

Ai Hui was having a headache. Guessing wasn’t his forte. He

picked up a crystal and placed it by the statue’s mouth,
mumbling, "Old demon, be sporting, give one a try!"

The stone statue remained unmoved, as if despising the food

of mere mortals.

Still wrong?

Or was he supposed to crush the crystal?

 Ai Hui was slightly spooked.

He had a feeling that the golden liquid within the crystal was
something extraordinary, and extraordinary objects usually
meant money and risk. Good things were valuable of course, but
what if it was a potent poison?

Ai Hui knew himself well. His current abilities had given him
a chance against the grass-lotus puppet and She Yu. But against
ancient evil, he simply wasn’t qualified enough.

And of course, these crystals had to be the "ancient treasure".

‘Alright,’ he thought. He would not achieve anything from

inaction. He would smash one and see, since he’d gotten this
"ancient treasure" by luck anyway.

Considering that fact, he felt more calm instantly.

Getting into the moment, Ai Hui smashed the crystal hard.

Crack!
 The crystal broke open immediately and the golden liquid
seeped out. Ai Hui carefully placed the liquid on the bandage.

The bandage had always been extremely interested in, and

thirsty for, fresh blood, especially stronger ones.

What made Ai Hui’s eyes fall out was the fact that the bandage
showed zero interest in the golden liquid. The golden liquid was
like a dewdrop on a lotus leaf. It was round as a ball, bright and
dazzling. Without the crystal’s protection, the golden liquid
rapidly formed a ball of condensed, golden fog. The sunlight
shone on the fog, reflecting its vibrant rays. It was very
beautiful.

Those abstruse ripples became more exquisite upon touching

the sunlight. Their movements were indeterminate and Ai Hui
couldn’t take his eyes off them.

Suddenly, the golden fog surged and pulled out into a fine,
long thread of fog.

As if awakened from a dream, Ai Hui raised his head and

looked toward the statue.
 He saw the demonic god’s eyes open slightly as its gentle,
androgynous face carried a layer of exotic luster. Then, its
mouth opened slightly.

Ai Hui shuddered. Something was happening indeed!

The fine golden thread of fog entered the demonic god’s

mouth steadily, its needle-like golden luster lighting up the
statue’s pupils.

The aura of the stone statue was undergoing rapid changes as

an ancient, bleak odor pervaded the air.

When the last wisp of golden fog entered the statue’s mouth,
there was nothing left on the bandage.

Ai Hui inspected the demonic god stone statue curiously in

anticipation. What sort of changes would occur now that the
statue had swallowed this drop of golden liquid?

Suddenly, the demonic god’s eyes lit up in a ball of golden

glow. Ai Hui opened his eyes wide for fear of missing any
details.
 The golden glow transformed into two balls of golden
whirlpools. Unguarded, Ai Hui found himself getting swept into
it. All he could feel was the sky spinning before him as the
surrounding scenery skimmed past him at flying speed.

Not again?

Having experienced this once already, Ai Hui couldn’t help

but curse inwardly. But at the same time, he was no longer as
terrified. He was somewhat curious as to what kind of images
the demonic god statue was going to present him.

He lept back in time once again.

Some time passed and all of a sudden, Ai Hui saw the demonic
god.

It floated above a valley, fixing its eyes somewhere far away.

Ai Hui automatically looked toward that faraway place and the
blurry scene became clear immediately.

Countless sword rays cut across the sky and scarily thick
lightning dove down like silver snake monsters. Underground
flames soared into the sky and collided with the lightning bolts,
splashing flames all over the sky like floating cherries and
painting the sky red.

The flying swords brought blinding rays that filled the sky,
making the sky looked as if it got slashed into pieces.

Ai Hui was stupefied. His heart palpitated.

He’d never seen something so spectacular. The sun had lost its
splendor as the mountain range was shattered. Sword scars
stretched over hundreds of miles as the ocean seethed and the
flames burned boundlessly.

‘This is… a battle between ancient cultivators?’ Ai Hui

thought absentmindedly.

When he first saw God-subduing Peak, he’d felt that it was the
most powerful combat weapon. But placed in this battlefield,
the majestic and imposing God-subduing Peak became as
insignificant as dust.

So the descriptions in those swordplay manuals were true…

 Ai Hui was deeply moved.

He gradually calmed down upon seeing the same shock and

absent-mindedness on the demonic god’s face.

The battle ended and the ground was completely smashed, but
the demonic god had a great harvest. Remnant treasures, secret
arts, and so on...

The demonic god did not leave the valley, as his abilities grew
stronger. He was preparing to leave.

But when his strength grew to its peak, he suddenly felt the
heavenly law starting to crumble as the spiritual force
weakened. He realized that the collapse was inevitable and the
spiritual force would eventually vanish.

He sat, deep in thought, in the valley through many long

years.

The way he had been formed was very unique and different
from conventional cultivators. This gave him a chance for
survival amid the collapse of the heavenly law.
 A chance for survival in the far future.

For someone who’d lived as long as he had, a thousand years

of waiting wasn’t unacceptable. He gathered his essence blood
and soul and formed ten drops of true blood of God, which were
also known as the ten seeds.

During the afternoon of the seeds’ formation, the intense sun

shone overhead, but the sky darkened momentarily and the sun
was dull and lightless, like a blown out candle in the wind.

Ten drops of blood of God bore the weight of his resuscitated

wish, and were sprinkled over different corners of the earth.

And his body turned into a statue.

Ai Hui finally understood the history of the golden liquid!

It was actually the genuine blood of God!

Thinking about the blood of God made Ai Hui feel suspicious.

Could the origin of the blood of God be related to the demonic
god?

Alright, he was thinking too much.

It’d been over a thousand years since mankind had stepped

into the elemental era, and the demonic god was after
something of the Cultivation Era. Only the heavens knew if it
still contained some power!

Wait!

Ai Hui suddenly recalled that the bandage appeared to be able

to restrain the blood poison and even swallow it.

This… isn’t a coincidence right?

Ai Hui was somewhat uncertain. Just then, the skies started

spinning, and once again it felt as if he’d been swept into the
whirlpool as the surrounding light receded speedily.

Ai Hui steadied his body as he opened his eyes. Everything was

back to normal and he was amazed to find out that he was still
standing in the exact same spot, not even a step off.

His gaze fell subconsciously onto the stone statue.

He was stunned.
Chapter 383: Choice and Path
The stone statue was gone, replaced by black armor.

Ai Hui had never seen this type of armor.

It looked like a human skeleton, its whole body made up of a

type of unknown black bone. It was dark and rough. These
black bones of different sizes were actually naturally woven
together. Completely sealed off, the skull had a slightly
indented surface and its empty eye sockets were like two black
whirlpools, mildly captivating. A ring of sharp bone grew on top
of the head, pointing straight at the sky like a crown.

There was a pair of wide, black wings attached to the back of

the armor. Thin, black spicules grew on the solid framework
and covered it like black feathered wings.

Rough, evil, strong… what a freak!

Ai Hui swallowed his saliva with some difficulty. Thinking

about what he’d just seen made his heart feel weak. There’s no
way this black armor is the demonic god’s body… right?
 A body becoming an armor… How economical!

No matter how he looked at it, the black armor before his eyes
possessed an evil aura that suited villains guilty of heinous
crimes.

Ai Hui felt his mind was in a state of confusion as there was

too much information to take in. The scenes he’d seen were
likely to be messages left by the demonic god.

But, demonic god reviving? Sounded like a load of bull crap.

Alright, since that was the case, he would play along seriously.

He sorted his thoughts out according to his own

understanding of these chaotic, primitive, blurry and strange
images.

The bandage used to be the canvas which the demonic god

was painted on, and the demonic god came alive and walked out
of the portrait after some thousands of years of worship. Some
time passed again and the demonic god realized how terrifying
the world was, upon witnessing a big battle between cultivators.
And the demonic god was spooked!

At this point, Ai Hui paused and suddenly felt that the

demonic god wasn’t very scary after all. His tensed heart
loosened up significantly.

A demonic god that knew fear seemed less threatening indeed.

After being frightened, the demonic god stayed devotedly in

the valley and even cleaned up the battlefield and picked up a
bunch of artifacts remnants, remnant books about spells and so
on.

Momentarily, Ai Hui felt close to the demonic god. They spoke

the same language and even the cleaning up of the battlefield
was something he did often.

The demonic god trained diligently for countless years and

when he finally felt a surge in his abilities, he got ready to step
out of the valley. Yet, he realized that the skies were about to
fall apart and the spiritual force in the world was dissipating.
Thus, unwilling to die just like that, the demonic god started
preparing his revival plan, in the hope of dodging this major
ordeal.
 Ai Hui felt an indescribable sympathy toward the demonic
god. Having landed in this plight, he did seem a little pitiful.

He’d undergone thousands of years of formation before

arriving on this world, and had been frightened, by the
cultivators’ battle, into residing and training in the valley for
yet another thousands of years. And as he was finally about to
leave, the heavenly law started to crumble...

Pitiful. How pitiful!

Ai Hui looked at the black armor ruefully before placing it

simply into the sand compass. He also placed the remaining
drop of the demonic god’s blood back into the sand compass.

To feel sorrowful was one thing and to gloat was another. Ai

Hui had not lost his reason.

He was dealing with a demonic god.

It would be foolish of him to underestimate a demonic god.

 Was what he’d seen real? Debatable. It was certain, however,
that regardless of authenticity, the images were what the
demonic god wanted him to see.

The demonic god could easily pull him into that fantasyland,
so surely he could also easily create confusing scenarios. If those
scenes were false, what would the demonic god’s intentions be?

Ai Hui did not want to risk his life testing the demonic god’s
limits.

Especially in regards to his revival plan, the demonic god

would definitely achieve it by hook or by crook. The liquid
sealed within the crystal was the demonic god’s blood and also
the seed for his revival.

How would the demonic god be revived?

Ai Hui felt that the likeliest method was to seize another’s

body!

Perhaps he was thinking too much, but Ai Hui did not want to
take the risk. Except, the bandage had been following him for a
long time and had even saved his life, so it was definitely safe.

However, be it the blood of the demonic god or the black

armor, nothing was certain about them.

Ai Hui’s abilities were going through a period of steady

improvement. To be exact, it was currently in a skyrocketing
phase, so it wasn’t worth taking this risk.

Choosing the demonic god’s blood could either bring him

instant success or leave him with no hope of reprieve.

Ai Hui hoped that he would never need to use them because

that would mean that he was in a perilous situation, so
precarious that he had to place his bets on them.

Ai Hui was delighted. It was as if he’d finished a film from the

mirage bean pod, and the story within was a very memorable
one which filled him with sorrow and tears.

At least the scene was rather huge.

 The battle scene between the cultivators was really shocking.
Seeing the sky-shattering rays produced by the swordsmen
really made Ai Hui’s own sword rays seem like tiny bean
sprouts.

The pleasure he’d felt from his recent breakthrough vanished

in a puff of smoke.

Shaking his head, Ai Hui sat himself down again, activated the
patriarch grass and entered Grass Hall. As usual, he stepped into
the Hall of Ancient Records to look for information. The fusion
elemental energy within his body was about to be used up, but
he still wasn’t able to find anything.

He saw that there was still half a shelf left to look through, but
this time he wasn’t overly impatient. Instead, he felt hopeful.

Having witnessed the cultivators’ battle, Ai Hui’s restless

heart regained its calm.

Many things seemed insignificant when viewed from a

historical perspective. How many people today would even
remember the names of those cultivators who had the ability to
destroy the world?
 Legends belonged to heroes, and he was just an ordinary man.

He checked through the information steadily and trained

steadily. He did his utmost best every single day, and left
worrying about the outcome to the future.

Feeling peaceful, Ai Hui waited for his elemental energy to

recover before starting his sword training.

He’d read the swordplay manuals and had witnessed the

swordsmanship of Karakorum Savant, the first ever master
swordsman in the whole of the Avalon of Five Elements’s
history. He had also seen the exceptional sword consciousness
sealed within the Ye Residence, he’d crashed his way through
sword formations, fought with the Ling residence, She Yu and
even the grass-lotus puppet, Qing Feng…

He had learned a lot and felt more appreciative. He needed

time to confirm the swordsmanship insights he’d gained during
this period.

As such, Ai Hui stayed in this nameless valley to search for the

notebook, train, ponder and consume the elemental energy
from the remaining elemental elixirs.
 His days were extremely packed, but he did not feel tired at
all. In fact, he felt very enriched. His method of using his sword
to absorb elemental energy had been perfected and named
[Sword-style Breathing Technique].

The elemental energy sword pills were strengthening non-

stop, along with the range from which Ai Hui’s sword rays could
attack. The range had increased from its initial six hundred feet
to over nine hundred feet.

These few days, Ai Hui had been using this move to hunt, and
the nearby prey in flight had all been taken down.

Swordsmanship wasn’t like archery. Ai Hui had no intention

of blindly increasing his range of attack.

The most unique aspect of swordsmanship was its variability.

In the Cultivation Era, swordsmen produced the most variable
kinds of systems. Ai Hui had to find his own, and this was the
greatest problem he was currently facing.

His sword moves weren’t weak. With the addition of [Sword-

style Breathing Technique], his moves became even more
outstanding. But his moves, from [Heavenly Thrust] to
 [Oblique Slash], [Crescent Moon] to [Six Moons] and [Dust
Fall], [Night Epiphyllum], [Gale Bat Slash], [Red Muslin], [Sword
Chime], [Fragmented Sword], [Three Yin Yang Sword Ring] and
so on, did not form a system. Some were moves from the sword
pill, while others were created in passing. They were all
powerful moves but were very scattered and did not form a
system.

Ai Hui tried to form his own system, a huge task to undertake.

There wouldn’t be any effect short term but it was extremely
important to him in the long run.

Karakorum Savant served as the best example.

Yet, his circumstances were more challenging than

Karakorum Savant’s. Her swordsmanship originated from the
Ye Residence, and Ye Lin had been perfecting this project
unceasingly for generations. Thus, Karakorum Savant had been
practicing the completed system of swordsmanship since young.
She became the first ever master swordsman largely due to Ye
Residence’s swordsmanship inheritances. The hard work of
many generations finally bore fruits.

Ai Hui wasn’t so lucky. From the time he’s stepped into the
Wilderness to the day he met Karakorum Savant, whatever
insights he’d gained in regard to swordsmanship were obtained
personally.

He was walking a different path.

Ai Hui was very clear of the fact that his path was different
from that of Karakorum Savant. He would read swordplay
manuals and try to understand sword formations, but instead of
imitating, he tried developing his own moves from his
comprehension of things.

This was an arduous, rugged path, but Ai Hui did not hesitate
at all.

As Ai Hui was training hard in the valley, the Avalon of Five

Elements was experiencing raging turbulence.

The series of changes dazzled everyone.

The battle between the Ling and Ye families erupted and then
ended abruptly. Great Elder’s profound scheme and terrifying
means of doing things intimidated numerous aristocratic
families. Elder Ling resigned from his post in the Elders Guild
and was dispatched to the front line. Such a huge residence
disappeared just like that. Its sudden collapse had everyone
sighing and feeling terrified.

Were there aristocratic families who dared to believe they

were stronger than the Ling family?

But the Elders in the Elders Guild were mostly reserved and
dared not to act rashly.

Madam Ye’s prestige soared. Because of her splendid

performance in this "riot", she started moving to the
foreground. She received her first mission to host Master’s
Glory.

No one had objections. Great Elder was in his most powerful

state now, so standing up to him now meant death.

Many were guessing that Great Elder was laying a path for
Madam Ye. As the host of Master’s Glory, wouldn’t she also
become half a teacher of the Avalon of Five Elements’s future
Masters?
 Great Elder did not pull back. What he did next confirmed
people’s guess.

Great Elder headed toward the Pagoda of Hidden Edge, which

was deep within Silver Mist Sea, to have a deep, overnight
conservation with Yuchi Ba before leaving the next morning.

Three days later, Karakorum Savant was appointed as the

division leader of Sky Edge Division and she was renamed
"Karakorum Polaris".

Two more days passed and Silver Soldier became the division
leader of Infantry Division. Fame followed merit and he started
rebuilding his combat division.

Within a short period of time, a small team that had

surrounded Madam Ye appeared within the people’s field of
vision. The path laid down for her by Great Elder was a clear
display of his intentions.

Soon after the circulation of Madam Ye’s brave speech, she

became an overnight sensation, leaving many to look forward to
her performance.
 Just as everyone was waiting for Madam Ye to take action,
Madam Ye did something that shocked the world.
Chapter 384: Awkward Silence
Peace City, Swordsman Training Hall.

"Morning, has everyone seen the latest news through the

mirage bean pod?" Fatty pulled a chair out and sat down before
shouting, "Lou Lan, a cup of tea, thanks!"

"Morning Fatty, any sugar for you?"

Fatty smiled widely. " More, please. Thanks, Lou Lan."

Among these people, they had to fawn and favor Lou Lan the
most, since he had control over their elemental food.

Lou Lan poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Fatty

after adding some sugar. "Fatty, your tea."

"Fatty, you have to cut down on sugar," Sang Zijun persuaded.

"You’re severely overweight."

Fatty took a big gulp without the least care in the world.
"Little Sang Sang, life is shoooort," he cried, dragging out the
last syllable.

Jiang Wei sipped on his tea before commenting, "What

Madam Ye has done has probably made her rather popular, but
at the same time she’s probably offended all the other
aristocratic families."

His indifferent tone carried a trace of admiration.

In these past two days, Madam Ye announced her plan of

Master’s Glory and opened it to the whole of the Avalon of Five
Elements. Anyone could enter Master’s Glory regardless of their
origin and background as long as they were gifted, capable, and
passed the initial selection.

Immediately upon the release of the news, it captured the

whole Avalon of Five Elements’s attention.

The aristocratic families kept quiet, but the new citizens were
celebrating.

The treatment of new citizens was incomparable to

aristocratic families in all aspects. Past selections had always
favored the aristocratic families and the new citizens had long
felt resentful. But at that time, the Avalon of Five Elements did
not believe in internal worries and foreign aggressions, so the
higher-ups did not pay attention to the new citizens’ appeals. In
regard to their attitude toward new citizens, the higher-ups
were split.

Some felt that new citizens occupied the majority of the

Avalon of Five Elements and so they had to be treated better
since they were the future of the Avalon of Five Elements.
Others, however, believed that the new citizens were unable to
represent the Avalon of Five Elements. They were often
associated with Old Territory and hence unable to truly fight for
the Avalon of Five Elements. Ye Baiyi was the best example.

Madam Ye’s move evoked an intense response from the new

citizens because they saw it as a new beginning.

Jiang Wei was a new citizen and naturally admired Madam

Ye’s conduct.

Duanmu Huanghun sneered. "Don’t be naive, is it really open

to the public just because she says so? She’s already made deals
with other aristocratic families. They have a silent agreement
and she’s merely placating the public with these words. But,
this woman is formidable indeed."

Jiang Wei knew that Duanmu Huanghun was right but he

didn’t mind. He was worried about something else. "I wonder if
she can stabilize the situation? Is Master’s Glory really that
powerful?"

"Do not participate in it."

Shi Xueman’s voice sounded from behind the group. Her hair
was wet and a white towel was hung around her neck. She’d just
come out of the shower after a training session.

Lou Lan was very happy to see her. "Morning, Xueman.

Breakfast for you?"

Shi Xueman smiled. "Morning, Lou Lan. One set please.

Thank you!"

A gossipy expression flashed across Fatty’s face. "Any inside

news?"
 Those around had a curious look on their face too. Why would
Iron Lady say that? They knew that she had special news and
connections.

"My teacher warned me repeatedly." Shi Xueman tore the

pastry into smaller pieces and ate them seriously.

The atmosphere instantly became solemn. Shi Xueman’s

teacher was Grandmaster An Muda. A Grandmaster’s repeated
warnings about Master’s Glory toward his student surprised
everyone.

Shi Xueman continued, "Teacher’s words have always been

more reserved, but I understand the meaning behind them. Do
not ask me for the reason because I don’t know either. Teacher
did not mention it."

Everyone pondered over her words.

Shi Xueman turned toward Duanmu Huanghun. "Didn’t your

teacher say anything, Bangwan?"

"No." Duanmu Huanghun shook his head and said self-

mockingly, "My teacher… Hah, he’s most probably forgotten
about me already. But that’s good too, or else I wouldn’t be
standing here."

"Ignore Master’s Glory. Although I think Madam Ye is

powerful, only time will show the results." Shi Xueman added,
"The situation at the front line isn’t too good."

"What happened?"

Everyone was more concerned about the front line than the
complicated internal fightings and schemings that were going
on in Silver City.

Shi Xueman ate her pastry seriously without even lifting her
head. "There’s a powerful figure named Red Devil in Blood of
God now. We’ve lost a lot because of him."

Jiang Wei asked in shock, "Even Shi Beihai?"

Shi Xueman placed her food down and answered gravely, "It
appears that he is avoiding a fight with Father by keeping away
from Father’s protection zone. Cloud Cicada Division sustained
greater losses, with a few captains and a vice division leader
injured, so Father suspects the opponent is an acquaintance."

Everyone looked extremely solemn.

The captains of the Thirteen Divisions were all the cream of

the crop. They were basically powerful players with excellent
skills. As for the vice division leaders, they were either Masters
or pseudo Masters. Yu Jin and Tong Gui, for example, were just
a step away from becoming Masters and could break through at
any time.

Duanmu Huanghun asked abruptly, "Are the combat masters

activated yet?"

Shi Xueman replied, "Yes but the opponent is very sly and
seems to be very familiar with our habits, hence they escaped a
few times. Plus, the Masters who have had a match with him are
very worried as his skills are improving extremely quickly."

The daily affairs of a combat division were mostly managed by

three vice division leaders. When a vice division leader became
a Master, they could either choose to continue serving their
role, or if they wished for more time to train, they would
become combat masters.

Combat masters had nothing much to take care of so they had

ample time to train, and adequate resources were provided as
well. Only important missions would require them to step up.

For those who were certain about going down the training
path, becoming a combat master was a very decent choice.

Even the division leaders had to show respect toward the

combat masters. The former had no power to press the latter
into service, and the number of combat masters in a combat
division would depend on the capability of the division leader.

North Sea Division used to have only one combat master, but
after wielding power, Shi Beihai managed to increase the count
to six. He quickly won the support of his troops and North Sea
Division lept to the top within a short period of time.

Jiang Wei asked, "What about God-subduing Peak?"

His experience on God-subduing Peak had left a deep

impression.
 "The opponent’s found its weakness and Father is really
worried about this." Shi Xueman added, "God-subduing peak is
very powerful but isn’t very effective when dealing with a
single, small target."

Duanmu Huanghun spoke up after some thinking, "They

might have been told by Ye Baiyi. No one would be more
familiar with your father and his subordinates than him."

The situation at the front line was what everyone was

concerned about. Failing to keep hold meant a disaster for
everyone. How could there be intact eggs when the whole nest
had collapsed?

An awkward silence filled the table.

In response, Wang Xiaoshan hurriedly changed the topic,

"How’s the Wilderness expansion project coming along?"

"Luckily we weren’t the first batch to go," Fatty commented

with an exaggerated look on his face. "You don’t know how
many died there, it was disastrous."
 Dunmu Huanghun laughed grimly. "The higher-ups meant for
this to happen. It doesn’t matter how many cannon fodders lose
their lives."

Another awkward silence took over as no one knew what to

say.

Shi Xueman finished her food, pulled out her chair and stood
up. "I’ve gathered some inheritances and absolute arts so go
choose from them yourselves. We have to use whatever time we
have to train before Ai Hui comes back! Lou Lan, supervise
Fatty."

Lou Lan cheered, "No problem!"

With a defeated look on his face, Fatty asked, "Why me

again?"

"Do you want to learn the absolute arts?"

"Yeah…"
 "Then practice hard. Lou Lan, draw up a training plan!"

"No problem!"

Duanmu Huanghun seemed to have realized something and

started mumbling to himself, "I know! The aristocratic families
suffered great losses and are starting to face a manpower
shortage. They would need to replenish themselves with new,
fresh blood in order to live on! No wonder no one objected to
Madam Ye’s plan…"

Everyone looked at him before resuming their respective

work.

Awkward silence.

Standing in the training hall’s garden, everyone looked at the

mountainous pile of books and was astonished. They looked at
Shi Xueman somewhat suspiciously. To the aristocratic
families, absolute arts were the real riches. They were the key to
their continued existence.

"Most of these are from my family’s collection. I took all of

them out with the permission of father. They’re yours to keep
so please treasure them and practice hard."

Everyone looked at her but no one dared to make a move.

Even Fatty, the money grubber, had a solemn look on his face.

Shi Xueman looked carefree. "This is all of the family’s

inheritance, but what would become of the family if the Avalon
of Five Elements is destroyed? These books won’t mean
anything when that happens. They would be no different from
the artifact remnants left over from the Cultivation Era. In that
case, we might as well make use of them when they’ve still got
value. There’s nothing to lose."

The doubt vanished from the faces of those who were

listening, and was replaced by smiles and excitement. Everyone
was looking forward to it.

"Haha, if only aristocratic families were as good as Iron Lady’s

family!"

"That name is not for you to call! Kneel before your goddess!"
 "Long live the Goddess!"

...

A faint smile appeared on Shi Xueman’s face. She set the gaze
far away, worry somewhat filling her heart.

How was Ai Hui doing? He shouldn’t be in trouble right?

At this point, she laughed involuntarily.

Why was she even worried about that when she should be
worrying about the trouble her people might cause him?

She said, in all alertness, "From today onwards, increase your

training capacity by thirty percent."

Cheers instantly turned into cries.

"Nooo, Goddess!"
 "You’re asking us to die!"

Shi Xueman responded with a steady face, "I will train with
you guys and increase mine by forty percent."

"Ahh let me die. I don’t want the absolute arts anymore."

"Ahhhhhhh, my ideal goddess is gone just like that. Scary Iron

Lady has returned!"

No one knew when, but Duanmu Huanghun was already

squatting before the pile of books.

"I’ve seen this."

"Learned this."

"Seen it."

"Done it."
 ...

"Eh, this is new. Yes, I haven’t seen it. Interesting. Oh, I’ve
read it."

Awkward silence.
Chapter 385: A Small World
There was no ending in learning.

Ai Hui rubbed his eyes. After reading for a long time, he felt
exhausted. But about one fourth of the books on this level were
still left unread.

It seemed that luck was not on his side this time.

Now what worried him the most was that the reading note
had disappeared. After all, so many years had passed, and
anything could happen. Of course, during these days of reading,
Ai Hui had gained a lot. The fantastic ideas, the wonderlands
deep in the Wilderness and the disappearing legends and
customs had largely broadened his horizon.

Well-written books could be read with pleasure, and time flew

very fast. But even if the books he fell on were the types that he
didn’t really like, he would still force himself to finish them,
because he didn’t want to miss anything.

When he was about to leave, Manager suddenly said, "Wait a

minute. Here’s a letter for you."
 A letter?

Ai Hui paused, and then asked with curiosity, "Where?"

A luminous ball appeared in Manager’s hand, in which there

was a letter.

Ai Hui took the ball. As soon as he touched it, he knew who’d

sent it: it was Prince. The luminous ball was created with
elemental energy and had Prince’s special mark.

In the Elemental Era, it was easy to change one’s appearance

or name, but there was one thing that could not be forged,
which was elemental energy. Each elementalist’s elemental
energy had unique features.

Just as there were no two identical leaves in the world, there

were no two elementalists with the same elemental energy.

Even if there were two people who were of the same attribute,
and who practiced the same inheritance, there would still be
apparent differences between their elemental energies. Its
uniqueness enabled identity authentication through elemental
energy, which was a significant method of identity verification
in the Elemental Era.

The luminous ball was Prince’s way of delivering letters. It

was like the mud seal of a letter, which would no longer be
intact when the letter was read. So the existence of the
luminous ball indicated that no one had ever read the letter.

There were also luminous balls that had certain passwords. If

anyone who didn’t know the password wanted to open it with
force, the letter inside would explode or be devoured by fire.

Ai Hui reached out to the luminous ball, breaking the ball to

get the letter. Then he began to read it carefully.

In the letter, Prince said he was informed of Hua Kui’s death,

and knew Ai Hui must be very grieved. He also reminded Ai Hui
that the Assembly of Patriarchs would recruit many new
members as it was expanding, and the competition would be
more fierce. If anything happened, Ai Hu could directly contact
him or Jiu Gui. Besides that, he mentioned that there was a task
in the Wilderness, and asked if Ai Hui was coming with them.

Having finished reading the letter, Ai Hui folded the letter and
asked Manager, "How can I write back?"

Manager took out a brush and paper and said, "When you
finish, seal it and give it to me. I’ll deliver it to him."

Ai Hui nodded, and soon began to write, saying that

everything was going well, and wished them good luck and a
safe journey. He didn’t know what else to say.

Just like he hadn’t opened the things Hua Kui left him, he
didn’t think he and Hua Kui were so close. But Hua Kui’s former
friends, Prince and Jiu Gui, did treat him very well.

Actually Ai Hui didn’t know how to face them.

Many new faces had appeared in the Assembly of Patriarchs,

which indicated its rapid expansion. Ai Hui knew that the
Assembly of Patriarchs was under the support of Madam Ye.
Now it was a good time for her, so she didn’t even need to lift a
finger to help them. Besides, Madam Ye had deep connections to
the Assembly of Patriarchs as both Heng Bingfeng and the old
prisoner were the previous backbones of it. Ai Hui did suspect
long ago that Heng Bingfeng was a relative of Madam Ye.
Otherwise, why would Karakorum Savant call Madam Ye
"aunt"?

Madam Ye also needed the help of Assembly of Patriarchs to

step up.

Each side took what they needed.

Ai Hui was glad to see the smooth development of the

Assembly of Patriarchs. Although the management of the
Assembly of Patriarchs was still a secret, one thing was for sure -
the Assembly of Patriarchs and the Blood of God were sworn
enemies. As the proverb goes, the enemy of one’s enemy is his
friend. The more powerful the Assembly of Patriarchs was, the
more troubles the Blood of God would face.

Ai Hui left the Grass Hall, and planned to get moving after a
quick rest.

He had been making progress in elemental energy level every

day. Now that the two metal elemental elixirs had been fully
absorbed, his level was further improved. He had the feeling
that he would be able to reach Second Elemental Realm very
soon.
 These days his elemental energy had been growing extremely
fast, like a jetpack.

If the elemental elixirs could be made into elemental food by

Lou Lan, it would be more fully usable. Besides, Lou Lan could
remove the impurities of the elemental elixirs to reduce its
potential risks. The way Ai Hui used the elemental elixirs could
be counted as extravagant. Fortunately, the demonic god statue,
which was called demonic god armor now, could also absorb the
fiendish aura of the elemental elixirs.

It would be great if there was one more elemental elixir. If

only he had elemental elixirs, he would be confident that he’d
be able to make it to the Third Elemental Realm.

Then he shook his head and smiled. When did he become a

discontent person? Elemental elixirs were priceless treasures
that were hard to find. The fact that he had already taken three
elemental elixirs was a rare opportunity. He shouldn’t waste
more time on such wishful thinking.

He reminded himself not to indulge on improving his

elemental energy level depending on external stimuli only.
 The process of training was boring and insipid, and the
progress one could make every day was so little that it was
almost unnoticeable. Therefore, training was also to hone one’s
heart and spirit. A person who was not steadfast and tough, but
had only strong elemental energy could be defeated as easily as
poking a soap bubble.

Ai Hui decided to leave the valley.

Having flown for five to six hours, a village appeared in the

wood.

The village was small both in size and population, and looked
destitute. There was only one inn with a few guests. The owner
of the inn was taking a nap at the front desk.

Ai Hui woke up the owner.

The owner opened his eyes blankly, but immediately became

sober when he saw there was a guest. He smiled and asked, "You
want to check in?"

"Find a clean room for me." Ai Hui threw an elemental energy

bean to him.

The owner caught the bean and smiled even kinder. "I’ll get
the best room for you."

Ai Hui waved his hand. "The room can be prepared later. Get
me something to eat first."

Having stayed in the mountains for such a long time, he was

missing having delicious food very much.

The elemental energy beans were well spent. The owner soon
got him dishes that filled the whole table. Ai Hui sat in the hall
alone, glutting himself with the delicacies.

Having dined to satiety, Ai Hui chatted casually with the

owner, "You don’t have much business here, do you?"

The owner sighed in despair, "This inn was started by my

grandpa, and now it’s been passed to me. I never thought that it
would be closed by my hands. But there’s nothing I can do in
such troubled times. You see, there are hardly any people in the
village."
 Ai Hui asked in thought, "They’ve all gone to the Wilderness?"

"Yes." The owner was morose, "If I were younger, I would

have gone with them. Before the blood catastrophe broke out,
everything was fine. But the war lasted for several years, and
business became worse and worse. Our village does not have any
specialties. So there’s no hope."

Ai Hui fell into silence.

The war could make small cities like Peace City flourish, but it
brought more destruction and ruins. The life of the residents of
many cities and towns became hard. Without the Yellow Sand
Corner, the Fire Prairie and the Jadeite Forest, they lost three
material-producing places. This also implied that they lost three
markets.

Most of the industries were shrinking, and most of the

elementalists had nothing to do. Now the destitution of all
walks of life could be seen anywhere in the Avalon of Five
Elements.

The experience and progress he had achieved in these years

had broadened Ai Hui’s horizon and strengthened his mind.
 He stayed in the inn for only one night, and he was the only
guest. There was a message tree in the inn, through which Ai
Hui communicated with the Swordsman Training Hall and
informed them of his current situation. He also told them that it
would take him a while to get back.

Hearing the Iron L say that everyone was practicing hard, Ai

Hui was relieved.

He left the village early the next morning.

Having flown hundreds of miles away from the village, Ai Hui

suddenly changed his direction and rushed into a cloud. In the
cloud, he took off his elemental mask, and his Starry Gem
Swordwings returned to black. Then, he changed from his Star
Reaper Gloves to a different pair and switched his Silverfold
Plum back for his Dragonspine.

When Ai Hui flew out of the clouds, his appearance had totally
changed.

Although he had detected and confirmed that no one was

around, he still remained cautious.
 He decided to pay Senior Mingxiu a visit. He would be going to
the Wilderness later, and didn’t know how long he would spend
there. When he saw Li Wei, he couldn’t help thinking about
Senior Mingxiu, and decided to pay her a visit.

When he thought of Senior Mingxiu, Ai Hui felt guilty.

Before Mistress had passed away, she told Ai Hui to take good
care of Mingxiu, but Ai Hui failed to fulfill his promise. Ai Hui
didn’t live close to Mingxiu. Many of the things he did were too
dangerous, and he didn’t want her to be involved.

But he had been in contact with her.

Mingxiu didn’t go back to the Lu family, but was living in

Asakusa City, a city that was not far away from the border of
Jadeite Forest and Palette Cloud Village.

She was running an embroidery workshop there and the

business was good. The Lu family was so powerful that Ai Hui
didn’t worry about Mingxiu’s safety in the Jadeite Forest at all.

Stretching his Starry Gem Swordwings in full, Ai Hui flew to

Asakusa City like a big bird.

On his way, he witnessed many destitute cities. The once

flourishing streets were now empty. The prosperity of the
past was now gone, like yesterday. The most striking
impression on Ai Hui was the decrease in population. Now only
the elderly and the children were left, and all the youngsters
and adults had gone to the Wilderness.

They needed to create their homeland in the Wilderness,

which was a hard journey. In the process, many people would
sacrifice their lives. They came one after another, like tides that
aimed to wash the Wilderness and turn it into a fertile plain.

The issuance of the city expansion order meant that the

management had abandoned the idea of rebuilding Avalon of
Five Elements, and that Silver Mist Sea and Palette Cloud
Village were abandoned too.

In their eyes, the Wilderness was the only hope.

Were the civilians thinking the same? No one knew.

 They had no choice.

Well, he was not a hero anyway. He didn’t have the power to

save anyone from their sufferings.

Suddenly he looked ahead, as he sensed a strong flow of

elemental energy. There was a fight!

Ai Hui wanted to avoid whoever was there, since he was not

interested in poking his nose into other’s business. But suddenly
his expression changed and he looked weird. It seemed that they
were flying toward him now.

Bad luck!

After a few breaths, two figures appeared in front of him.

The one who was running in the front was a young man. He
was extremely panicky. And the one chasing after him looked
fierce.

But the moment he saw the chaser clearly, Ai Hui laughed out
loud.

It was indeed a small world.

Chapter 386: A Free Gift
Zhao Boan was fleeing for his life and his brain was
completely blank.

He had just witnessed his caravan being cleared up within a

very short period of time. Yes, it was "cleared up", as if the
guards he’d hired with a large sum of money were nothing more
than rubbish and were cleared up immediately by a broom.

And his enemy was only one person.

Zhao Boan’s heart was like dead ashes.

He had spent all his savings and a huge loan he borrowed in

order to knock together this caravan, which was fully loaded
with wood elemental materials. If he’d managed to make it to
the Wilderness, he could have made at least ten times profit.

If he succeeded, he would become famous. But if he failed, he

would be doomed eternally.

The huge amount of debt would kill him. All the creditors
would come to him and take away everything he had, including
his life.

He didn’t want to die.

He tried to negotiate with the looter and implored him to let

him go. But the looter seemed to have heard nothing. All his
guards had run for their lives, as life was the most critical thing
at this critical moment.

Zhao Boan, however, could not escape. Without the goods, he

was dead meat anyway.

Pale-faced, he was shivering all over and was stammering to

beg for mercy. But the next scene he saw made him desperate.

The person removed his cloak, and it turned out to be a grass-

lotus puppet. It opened the carriage gates of the Three Leaves
Bamboo Carts and poured all the materials into its mouth. Its
grass and lotus body was not strong, but was like a bottomless
pit that could never be filled.

The grass-lotus puppet poured the wood elemental materials

from each cart, one by one, into his mouth.

Zhao Boan became more and more desperate. When half of

the materials were gone, Zhao Boan knew he was finished.

But as soon as this idea occurred to him, he was no longer

afraid, and suddenly broke out into curses.

He was not good at cursing at all, but he racked his brains to

collect all the curses in his mind and used them on the puppet.

The grass-lotus puppet was stunned, and came to his senses

only after a while. He was irritated, and rushed towards Zhao
Boan furiously.

Zhao Boan thought he no longer cared about life or death, but

when he was faced with the ferocious grass-lotus puppet, his
mind went blank and all his courage was gone. He howled in
fear and turned to run at once.

The instinct to survive didn’t leave him any room to think

further.
 Zhao Boan never knew that he could run so fast, like a mad
dog. Even the grass-lotus puppet was left far behind him.

Just at this moment, he noticed that someone was not far in

front of him. Like a drowning man who grabbed a straw, he
would not miss the chance and shouted loudly, "Help! Help!"

Qing Feng also noticed the figure in the front, but he didn’t
intend to stop at all. He was also outraged.

His mission had completely failed. The Ling Residence

collapsed, the ancient treasure was missing, Xiao Shuren
committed suicide, Qing Feng himself was severely injured, and
the nether lotus seeds suffered a great loss.

Qing Feng had been working for Grandmaster Dai and had
accomplished numerous tasks. This was the first time that he
had been so awkward. He was an arrogant guy, and the failures
were a slap in the face.

He was furious and resentful.

If his opponent was Karakorum Savant, he would not be so

furious. After all, it would be normal for him to lose to the first
ever master swordsman ever.

But who was Chu Zhaoyang?

A nobody!

He was wounded by a nobody’s sword!

Not only his body, but his mind and spirit had also been
wounded by this accident. These days he always woke up with
nightmares at midnight. Fragmentary mind and spirit were
taboos for elementalists, because mental recovery was far more
difficult than physical recovery.

The sky palace had always been the most mysterious palace.

Moreover, Qing Feng was a grass-lotus puppet. His body was

not his own, but consisted of grass and lotus, and therefore
rejected his mind in many aspects. Many of his weird behaviors
were due to such rejections.
 Usually he had to take medicine to restrain these adverse
reactions.

The medicine was prescribed by his master, who once told

him frankly that so far he could not solve the problem of
adverse reactions.

After the injury, all the adverse reactions that had been
restrained before immediately reappeared. Qing Feng realized
that his body was like a broken machine that went out of
control now and then. Sometimes his hands and feet came loose
and became knotted grass ropes, or his body lost balance. Such
incidents occurred endlessly. Otherwise he would have already
killed this little bug.

The wood elemental materials he had devoured had largely

restored his elemental energy. Although not as effective as his
master’s mud pool, the wood elemental energy he extracted
from the materials was nourishing for his body.

This place was far away from the dangerous Silver City. So
there was nothing to fear.

Silver City was really horrible. It seemed to be a shabby house

that might fall down at any moment, but once you stepped into
it, you would find that crisis and traps were everywhere.

Seeing the figure ahead, Qing Feng didn’t pay much attention.
He wouldn’t bother to kill them both.

It was a pity that eating human beings could not restore his
elemental energy. Qing Feng licked his lips in disappointment.

Wood elemental materials were hard to find, but

elementalists were everywhere.

Qing Feng was annoyed that Zhao Boan cried for help and hid
behind some passer-by.

Little Bug, if you thought that anyone is competent to fight

against me, then you’re too naive!

With a grim smile, Qing Feng said ambiguously, "I didn’t want
to kill you. You asked for it!"

Qing Feng opened his palms and the grass cords stretched and
almost covered Ai Hui like five whips.

He was wounded by Chu Zhaoyang, which made him resentful

towards all swordsmen. Now that he saw a bone sword in Ai
Hui’s hand, his killing intent was stronger than ever.

Ai Hui was happy when he realized, after a glance, that Qing

Feng hadn’t recovered from his injuries. Ai Hui had absorbed
two elemental elixirs in the last few days that greatly improved
his elemental level. Moreover, he was devoted to in
summarizing his understandings which largely improved his
swordsmanship.

So he shouted loudly, in a similar tone to Qing Feng, "I didn’t

want to kill you. You asked for it!"

And the Dragonspine directly confronted the grass cords.

Qing Feng was surprised by Ai Hui’s shout, and became more

furious.

Their speeds were very fast. The five grass cords constituted a
thick net and swept towards Ai Hui like a violent storm. But to
his surprise, his enemy was not slower than him at all.

The thick sounds of crashing was like rain rattling on banana

leaves.

Ripples of elemental energy appeared, spread and were

smashed between them.

At this moment, Qing Feng realized something weird. This

guy’s swordsmanship was good!

He couldn’t figure it out why so many strong swordsmen had

emerged all of a sudden. They seemed to be neck and neck, but
Qing Feng already wanted to quit, since he hadn’t fully
recovered and he still feared swordsmen from the bottom of his
heart.

So once he encountered a master-hand, he wanted to escape.

But then he noticed, in fear, an attraction to his grass cords

coming from the guy’s sword. His grass cords were sucked in,
making him unable to escape.
 What kind of swordsmanship was it?

He felt more fearful.

But Ai Hui felt fine. After all, Qing Feng had a solid foundation
and great strength. The grass cords that stretched from his
fingers were like the tentacles of an octopus that were extremely
flexible and fast.

Ai Hui realized that his stabs could hardly follow the grass
cords’ speed. He had never met with an enemy whose attacks
were so fast. With such a high frequency, there was no time for
him to use any fancy moves, and he could only fight back with
the basic stabbing attack.

Crack, crack, crack!

Sounds of explosions could be heard up in the sky. Each

collision was accompanied by a light that flickered between the
two.

Realizing that he was on the disadvantageous side, he put his

other hand into the fight. Ten grass cords immediately caught
Ai Hui unprepared and whipped him several times.

Qing Feng was overjoyed. The ten grass cords attacked

towards Ai Hui at the speed of lightning.

Ai Hui was awkward dodging the attack and was almost

pierced by the cords several times.

This made Qing Feng more excited. As long as his enemy was
pierced by his grass cord, his blood could be drained within a
short period of time.

The ten grass cords were even more faster and transformed
into an illusory image.

Crack, crack, crack!

The sound became louder, and the light shrouding Ai Hui

became brighter.

One second, two seconds…five seconds…ten seconds…

 Qing Feng found, in astonishment, that Ai Hui was wobbling
and seemed as if he was about to fall, but he never really fell.

Damn it! Why?

Qing Deng began to feel anxious. His elemental energy was

being consumed fast. He had accumulated this energy from the
elemental materials he had just devoured.

Once his elemental energy was used up, he could not even run
for his life.

So he suddenly started an even faster attack that suppressed

Ai Hui and made him very awkward. But this time, he didn’t
hesitate and decided to turn and run at once.

Wheeze, wheeze, wheeze…

Ai Hui was soaked in sweat. This was the first time that he’d
encountered such a high-frequency attack. If it were not for the
improvement of his swordsmanship, he would be doomed this
time.
 But luckily, he managed to withstand the attack. When his
enemy’s moves were at their fastest, he totally reacted with his
instincts. The speed at which he stabbed with his swords was
faster than his thinking.

Under such high pressure, Ai Hui could feel the change in his
moves. His stabs became faster, and the gestures and angles of
his attack became more reasonable.

Ai Hui, soaked in sweat, breathed heavily. He stared at Qing

Feng who was running away as if he was a priceless treasure.

Trying to escape?

Ai Hui smiled evilly. No precious things could escape from

him!

Flapping his Starry Gem Swordwings, he rushed forward like

lightning.

The Dragonspine was as flexible as a snake. It stabbed forward

and kept dispersing the air in front of Ai Hui to reduce the
resistance. Thus, Ai Hui’s speed was again raised to a higher
level.

Qing Feng, who was fleeing, heard the thundering sound

behind him. He turned back and was scared by what he saw.

Behind them, Zhao Boan was dumbstruck to see that the

grass-lotus puppet that was trying to kill him was now running
for his life in a huge panic.

And then, the swordsman also rushed out at an amazing

speed. He watched the swordsman speeding up and up and up in
a supernatural way. Suddenly, after a deafening thunder, the air
around him suddenly exploded, creating a ring-shaped shock
wave.

The ring-shaped shock wave seemed to freeze in the air, but

the figure in the circle disappeared.
Chapter 387: A Deal
Bang!

Qing Feng felt as if he was bumped by a wildly running beast

from the back. The huge impact greatly distorted his body. He
flew out, body almost parallel with the horizon. The azure sky
was reflected in his glazed eyes.

What on earth happened?

The impact made him confused.

In the air, Ai Hui was still in the motion of swaying his

Dragonspine like he was swaying a hammer. He exerted all his
strength, and even his shoulders were numb. Seeing Qing Feng
who was thrown away in the sky, he slowly breathed out in
relief.

Wheeze, wheeze, wheeze…

Ai Hui was breathing heavily in the air. Sweat gushed out

from each of his pores all over his body like springs. His clothes
were all soaked in sweat as if he was just pulled out of the water.

After a while when Ai Hui could finally calm his breathing

and his chest, which expanded and contracted, became stable,
he shook his body, and the sweat transformed into white fog
that rose up and disappeared in the sky.

The sudden attack just now was only a variant move he

thought of during the emergency. At that point, his speed had
reached the highest level, and the huge pressure from the wind
was like an iron wall. Piercing the wind wall with his sword was
only an impromptu action, and it turned out to be surprisingly
effective.

But on the other hand, the move consumed too much energy,
and for an instant Ai Hui felt that his body was almost torn
apart by a huge force.

He decided to improve this move later. If he could make a

breakthrough in this, his opponents on the battlefield would
definitely be taken by surprise.

Calming himself down, Ai Hui landed near Qing Feng.

 It was a coincidence that Qing Feng happened to fall into the
caravans. He was the one who was holding the power over Zhao
Boan’s life just now, but he was likely to be killed at any minute.
On this day, Qing Feng experienced the transience of life.

His body was totally scattered by Ai Hui’s attack. The grass

cords fell on the ground in a mess, some of which were attached
with a lotus root.

Crack, crack, crack. The grass cords convulsed now and then
like eels. The scene looked very weird.

Qing Feng had completely lost control of the grass cords. Now
he was like an octopus with a human being’s head.

Qing Feng said with hatred, "Grandmaster Dai will not let you
off!"

Ai Hui burst into laughter, and then managed to hold it back

and said like a hooligan, "What can I do? I didn’t want to kill
you. You asked for it."

Qing Feng didn’t know what to say and his face flushed. He
said with hatred, "Then kill me! I don’t want your humiliation!"

Ai Hui seemed surprised. "Kill you? Why shall I kill you."

Hearing what he said, Qing Feng was a bit relieved. Although

he was talking tough just now, deep in his heart he was really
afraid to die. So he said at once, "Then let me go. I’ll pay you
back. How much do you want?"

"Let you go?" Ai Hui shook his head, "What if you come back
to take revenge on me? You work for Grandmaster Dai whom I
dare not provoke."

Qing Feng’s face became gloomy. "Then what do you want to

do?"

Zhao Boan ran to them in gasps. He heard their conversation

and said loudly, "Sir, don’t listen to him. As long as he devours
wood elemental materials, his elemental energy will be
restored."

Qing Feng’s expression changed drastically. He intentionally

chatted with Ai Hui to divert his attention, and meanwhile was
stretching his grass cords to the goods in the caravan. But now
his plan was revealed by Zhao Boan.

This made him very angry, "You are dead meat!"

A grass cord suddenly bounced and rushed straight towards

Zhao Boan like a flying arrow.

Suddenly, with a cracking sound, the grass cord was again hit
and thrown away by Ai Hui.

"What an arrogant captive! I like your temper!"

Ai Hui again landed near Qing Feng, and looked at him with a
spurious smile.

Qing Feng was frightened in his heart, but still said in a

threatening manner, "What do you want to do? Let me tell
you…"

Ai Hui interrupted him and said fluently, "Grandmaster Dai

will not let me go. I know."
 Being interrupted, Qing Feng was embarrassed and his face
flushed.

Then Ai Hui turned to Zhao Boan, "You said his body can
recover with the wood elemental materials?"

Zhao Boan said cautiously, "Yes, Sir. You see, half of the goods
on the caravan have been devoured by him."

Ai Hui murmured, "I see."

But his next move totally astounded Zhao Boan. He lifted up

Qing Feng with his sword and threw him into the Three Leaves
Bamboo Cart.

Smashing into the goods, Qing Feng felt dizzy, and it took him
a long time to come to his senses. But the moment he realized
that he was surrounded by wood elemental materials, he
rejoiced with wild excitement and began to devour the materials
crazily without saying anything.

The scattered grass cords began to gather towards its body.

 Having devoured the materials in several carriages, Qing Feng
returned to what he was like before. While he was eating busily,
his eyeballs were rolling.

Soon there were less than half of the goods left in the carriage,
and Qing Feng, who was eating, suddenly turned to run.

But this time he didn’t fly up to the sky. Instead he was

running wildly towards the forest. The grass cords constituting
his legs dispersed, and he was like a fast-moving spider.

The moment he was about to rush into the wood, an

expression of great joy appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he was caught by a chill in the air.

Qing Feng’s body froze. The chilled air accompanying the

sword almost made him frozen. Ai Hui’s aura of killing intent
covering him was so real that he knew if he dared to move, the
killer move would immediately arrive.

"You…"
 Qing Feng trembled in fright.

"I know, Grandmaster Dai will not let me off," Ai Hui said
lightly.

The joke made Qing Feng feel as if he was in the icehouse.

He didn’t understand why he always encountered swordsmen

with strong fighting skills. This guy standing in front of him
came out of nowhere, but was even stronger than Chu
Zhaoyang.

"Come here."

His tone was relaxed but indubitable.

Qing Feng stepped back tamely. He was dejected, but was also
a bit relieved. He was sure now that the swordsman didn’t want
to kill him.

Although he didn’t know exactly why, he was sure it was not

because of Grandmaster Dai.
 The killing intent totally disappeared as if it was just his
imagination.

The swordsman smiled like a friendly boy next door. But this
made Qing Feng more scared.

"Your move just now was good. Come on, let’s try again."

Ai Hui’s tone was soft and even encouraging, which, however,

made Qing Feng even more fearful and desperate. His enemy’s
face was so young, but was like a demon in his eyes. Qing Feng
was trembling, and wondering why the guy who came out of
nowhere could be so strong.

Young and strong as he was, this guy was more sophisticated

than people of his age.

But even so, he would not obey any of his commands, Qing
Feng thought.

But the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back,
and he blurted out, "Try…try what?"
 But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Qing Feng felt
extremely ashamed. After all he was a follower of Grandmaster
Dai. How could he be frightened by a young guy.

Ai Hui didn’t know what Qing Feng was thinking. He

gesticulated with the stab move, "This one. You are my sparring
partner now. if you can do a good job, I’ll set you free."

This was a great humiliation to him. My God! How could the

dignified Qing Feng be some small potato’s sparring partner?

Who was he? Qing Feng! A violent, and wicked guy who held
the power to take other’s lives, and who had killed numerous
people! Now a kid regarded him as a sparring partner?

If this could be tolerated, what else couldn’t?

Better die standing than live kneeling.

He was an outstanding person when alive. And he would be

the hero of all the ghosts after he died.
 With an impulse, he blurted out, "Really?"

After having said this, he couldn’t wait to slap himself on the

face. His face was now flushed as if a fire was burning beneath.

Ai Hui blinked and said sincerely, "Of course. A gentleman

always keeps his promises."

Then he further lured him, "You see, I can provide you with
enough wood elemental materials. Why do we have to fight
against each other? There’s no hatred or rancor between us,
right? I need a sparring partner, and I’ll pay you. This is a fair
deal, or a business transaction, isn’t it?"

Qing Feng was kind of persuaded by him. His mission had

completely failed this time. He didn’t know what his master
would do to him. This was a question he had not thought about
before.

Before he left, his master had told him again and again that
they could afford no failure this time.

Now he had to go back empty-handed, and his body was so

broken - the nether lotus seeds were also destroyed and it would
take a long time and many precious materials to restore it to its
previous status. Besides, his mind and spirit were also
disturbed. Even if his body recovered, he could hardly recover
to his best condition.

His master would not waste so many precious materials on a

useless puppet.

This was the worst day of his life. And it came earlier than he
thought.

Qing Feng felt dejected, but also a bit relieved.

The destiny awaiting him made him quail. Therefore, the fact
that he could not go back made him feel relieved, and a bit at a
loss too. After all, it was his master that gave him this second
life. He was grateful for his kindness, and was used to following
the commands of his master to kill one after another. Actually
he didn’t know what to do in the current situation.

Being silent for a long time, he suddenly said, "If I want to

leave one day, you cannot stop me."
 Ai Hui answered quickly, "No problem! Then let’s make it a
deal!"

"Okay," Qing Feng said. Then he walked to the caravan and

began to devour the goods left in the carriages.

Ai Hui was satisfied. After all, it was difficult to find a good

sparring partner. Those too weak could not improve his
strength, but no strong fighters were willing to be a sparring
partner.

Then he looked at Zhao Boan, who was standing aside in

shock, "I’ll buy all your goods. How much?"

The situation was changing too fast for Zhao Boan to

understand. Wasn’t it a life-or-death fight just now? Why did
they become so harmonious at this moment?

Hearing Ai Hui’s question, he suddenly came to himself and

said, "I’m willing to follow you, Sir!"

He became disillusioned with his previously unrealistic

dreams from today’s experience. Now he knew that in troubled
times, without strong fighting skills, one’s fortune would be
gone sooner or later.

Ai Hui was surprised, but didn’t refuse. Instead, he asked,

"What are you good at?"

His horizon had been largely broadened. He knew his limits,

and knew that many things should be done by others, especially
by people with that particular profession. His fellows at the
Swordsman Training Hall were good at fighting, but not at
other things.

Ai Hui felt inspired. Maybe he needed to recruit some

experienced people, such as blacksmiths and businessmen.

No city could be built by fighters and killers alone.

Chapter 388: Sharpening Skills
Zhao Boan was born to a merchant’s family. His father was a
small itinerant merchant. Now the family property was in his
hands, but the business environment had become harder than
ever.

Small merchants needed a stable society. To them, troubled

times were like natural disasters were to peasants. They could
hardly fight against them.

Now was the time for bandits and robbers to rise, because one
could earn more by robbing than by doing business. If you had
strong fighting skills, you could protect yourself and make a
fortune, but if not, then you could only become a target for
bandits.

The trade route between Jadeite Forest and the Avalon of Five
Elements had not been formally recognized by the Elders Guild,
which meant that it was still a smuggling route. Despite this,
the caravans were secure as they all had aristocratic families
backing them.

To small traders like Zhao Boan, however, participating in the

smuggling business was like dancing on the edge of a blade. Any
carelessness might send them down the road of destruction. As
a result, Zhao Boan hadn’t dared involve himself in such
practices, but nowadays, business was getting increasingly
worse as trade in the Jadeite Forest was almost entirely
monopolized by Deep Sea Enterprise. If he didn’t do anything,
his family would go bankrupt by next year.

Overtaken by circumstances, Zhao Boan made his decision. He

borrowed a considerable amount of money from his relatives
and sold all his possessions to purchase a caravan of goods.

However, he didn’t expect the situation to be even worse than

he’d imagined.

After the city expansion order was issued, elementalists from

the Avalon of Five Elements all left for the Wilderness, leaving
depressed and dilapidated cities and towns behind. The decline
in population and the transfer of the enterprises’ power forced
the guards to focus on the Wilderness.

This led directly to a state of lawlessness and havoc caused by

bandits and robbers. They were almost everywhere in the cities,
like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
 The caravans of the large enterprises were heavily guarded;
no robbers dared to attack them. Instead, they focused on
robbing small merchants like Zhao Boan.

Zhao Boan had been forced to spend heavily to hire guards for
protection.

Although they did not have the qualifications to be caravan

guards during peacetimes, Zhao Boan had no alternatives and
was forced to hire them.

Unfortunately, he had been too unlucky and met the grass-

lotus puppet, which was even worse than robbers. After the first
round of confrontation, except for those who had been killed,
the rest of the guards all fled for their lives.

Zhao Boan became desperate and thought he would be killed

for sure, but unexpectedly, he met his new boss.

Yes, he had been hired by Ai Hui and was now his manager.

At the time, seeking refuge with his boss was the only choice
he could make, but later he felt that his new boss was good.
When his boss learned that he’d borrowed a lot of money from
his relatives, he generously paid him an amount equal to half
the goods and told him to repay the loan first.

This alone was enough to make Zhao Boan grateful. He was

now willing to die for Ai Hui without saying a word.

Two years ago, morals had not been as terrible as they were
today. Elders Guild was still influential and powerful then. This
year, however, especially this half of the year, righteousness
and justice no longer seemed to exist and the rules of society
quickly collapsed. It was like an avalanche; once the layer of
snow covering the mountain peak collapsed, it poured down
with a roaring sound and an unstoppable momentum.

The strong overlooked those beneath them while the weak

were as minor as mites. They were bullied more and more often,
almost everyday. Bandits and robbers were everywhere, but no
one stopped them.

Nowadays, a robber could be praised and called a righteous

robber as long as he didn’t kill anyone during a robbery. It was
perfectly justified for the strong to take your belongings
without paying.
 Anyone capable had already gone to the Wilderness.

Except for pivotal huge cities like Silver City, the Silver Mist
Sea, and Palette Cloud Village, the rest of the cities were like
dried up corpses. The Elders Guild didn’t bother to pay them
any attention and just left them to rot and die.

The rotten atmosphere could not give birth to vigor; it would

only attract vultures that were fond of carrion.

His boss had done more than he could.

Zhao Boan glanced at Qing Feng in fear. He knew that he’d

better not provoke this monster, especially so after hearing
from his boss that Qing Feng was a follower of Grandmaster
Dai. He completely gave up the idea to revenge.

In the Jadeite Forest, no one dared to disobey Grandmaster

Dai. He was the god of Jadeite Forest, and even his followers
were beyond the reach of ordinary people.

It seemed that his boss was not afraid of Grandmaster Dai. He

was a bit worried at first, but when it occurred to him that his
boss was not a member of Jadeite Forest, he was more or less
relieved.

His gaze focused on his bossr, who was training.

Zhao Boan marveled; he had never seen anyone more

hardworking than his boss. No, the word "hardworking" was
not enough to describe his boss’s training. It should be "crazy."

His boss seemed to be extremely stubborn about power. When

he was practicing, it was as if he was possessed by the devil.

This made Zhao Boan more relieved. In these troubled times,

nothing could comfort one better than strength.

He stood reverently aside and waited for his boss’s training to

end.

Ai Hui was more focused than ever and the Dragonspine

moved so fast that naked eyes could hardly follow it. In front of
him, grass cords flew like ghosts, making whistling sounds that
could get on your nerves.
 Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!

Each collision between the Dragonspine and the grass cords

would produce sparks.

After a while, Ai Hui was soaked with sweat and white fog
slowly rose from his body, but as if he felt nothing, he simply
moved his sword faster. Standing opposite him, Qing Feng’s
mood was complicated and hard to describe.

This guy’s sword moves were a bit faster than yesterday.

Although it was not readily apparent, Qing Feng was sensitive
enough to feel it.

Qing Feng had always been described as a monster by others,

but now he felt that those people had just never met this guy
here. This guy was the real monster.

Since he’d agreed to be Ai Hui’s sparring partner, only one

hour had passed before he was made to work.

Qing Feng was completely unprepared. Although they had

made a deal, shouldn’t they start the next day?
 An hour’s training had drained every bit of his energy and his
mind was totally blank. Fortunately, his boss was generous
enough to supply him with food. After devouring all the
materials, he more or less recovered.

Coming back to his senses, Qing Feng realized that being a

sparring partner was not an easy job.

Unfortunately, it was too late. After only two hours, he

realized that he had still underestimated the difficulty of this
business.

He was asked to spar with Ai Hui again.

When he heard the guy call, his face almost froze and he
wondered if he’d heard wrong. He clearly remembered how that
guy had been lying on the ground as tired as a dog just now.
When he blankly turned his face and saw the energetic Ai Hui,
he thought he might have a problem with his eyes.

Then Qing Feng finally learned what a nightmare was.

Basically, he could only rest for two to four hours before being
asked to train. The frequency was abnormally high.

It went on like this for a consecutive three days. Qing Feng

finally couldn’t bear it. The training was driving him crazy.
Even when he’d been training before, he’d never been so crazy.
He didn’t understand why his boss had so much energy and why
he fought so hard.

To Qing Feng’s ears, Ai Hui’s voice was like that of a demon.

Moreover, he marveled at Ai Hui’s progress. He improved at a

speed Qing Feng had never seen before. As a sparring partner,
he could sense more clearly than anyone else how horrifying it
was every day.

His pressure increased day by day.

He was becoming more and more proficient in using grass

cords each day, from using one at a time, to five, six, and
seven...

During the last fight, Ai Hui had been awkward when

resisting Qing Feng’s attacks using ten grass cords, and was
whipped several times. Now, however, Qing Feng knew he
would no longer be able to whip Ai Hui at all, no matter how
many grass cords he used.

Ai Hui’s sword moves became more and more simple, but his
speed became increasingly fast and fluent.

Qing Feng was not stupid. He knew Ai Hui wanted to sharpen

his swordsmanship, but what surprised Qing Feng was that Ai
Hui thought of doing so at such a young age. Other people his
age were all practicing inheritances or absolute arts.

Ai Hui was just a young man, but Qing Feng felt that he
couldn’t see him through at all.

"Stop!"

Hearing Ai Hui’s shout, Qing Feng came back to his senses and
immediately stopped.

Ai Hui sat on the ground and his sweat flowed in a stream

beneath him. His breath was so heavy that he sounded like
bellows. Qing Feng was extremely tired as well. He lay on the
ground without caring about his image at all. He did not even
want to move his fingers, no, grass cords.

Ai Hui’s heavy breathing finally died down and his blank eyes
returned to normal.

He struggled to stand up with the Dragonspine in his hand,

then began his unique Sword-style Breathing Technique.

Fizz, fizz, fizz.

The sound of inhalation could be heard around the sword, like

a snake hissing, making people feel scared and nervous. The
metal elemental energy around them converged from all
directions and soon infused into the sword.

Ai Hui’s face became ruddy again and his breathing became

stable, until it was finally soundless.

Time flew by quietly. When Ai Hui opened his eyes again, he

looked mild.
 He stretched his limbs and waved his sword. Seeing several
sword rays flash in the air, Ai Hui looked complacent. Qing Feng
was indeed a good sparring partner. His grass cords gave him
huge pressure.

To block such intense attacks, Ai Hui had to continuously

revise how he attacked and the flow of his elemental energy.
Previously, he had taught himself sword moves according to the
ancient swordplay manuals using trial and error, but had never
wondered if there was room for improvement.

Some details were continuously adjusted and improved to

make his moves faster and more accurate. That was why Qing
Feng could feel Ai Hui’s progress every day.

This was because Ai Hui was indeed improving every day,

which he himself could feel.

Having tasted the benefits, Ai Hui wondered if he could

improve things other than swordsmanship in this way. He kept
this idea in mind and decided to think about it further after the
training for this period.

Faster moves meant you could gain advantages faster in a

fight.

He glanced at Qing Feng, who was apparently too tired to

stand up. He lay on the ground with his grass cords scattered
around him, like he had just been ravaged.

Qing Feng’s elemental energy recovery was not as fast as Ai

Hui’s. The Sword-style Breathing Technique was Ai Hui’s
exclusive secret and the reason why he could bear highly-
frequent practices like this. Although his sword breathing had
not yet reached the efficiency level Ai Hui expected, the
elemental energy it absorbed was stable and placid enough.

Seeing Zhao Boan standing aside, he walked to him and asked,

"How is it going? Any progress?"

After days of interaction, Ai Hui believed Zhao Boan was a

competent man, so he told him what he was thinking and asked
him to look into it for him.

It seemed that he had brought back some news.

Chapter 389: Inquiring Information
Zhao Boan said reverently, "Boss, we are close to Crooked
River City, where craftsmen are the most reputable. I heard that
the living conditions of the local craftsmen is not good,
especially in recent days. One reason is that they are short of
raw materials and it’s hard to collect all the ingredients, among
which the wood elemental materials are the easiest to find, but
the earth and fire elemental materials have almost disappeared
from the market. As a result, they cannot produce anything but
simple and primary goods. The other reason is that the trade
route is cut off now and the total population has dropped, so
buyers are very few. Now, their incomes can barely support
their families, which has driven many people to find
opportunities in the Wilderness, although the majority are still
hesitating about it."

Hearing what he said, Ai Hui couldn’t understand. "What is

holding them back?"

Zhao Boan explained, "The climate of the Wilderness is

unpredictable and there are no cities of a proper scale located
there. Even if they go, they do not have the ability to build a
workshop in those conditions. In addition, there have recently
been many casualties in the Wilderness. It will be extremely
risky for them since they cannot protect themselves if they run
into danger. That’s why they are still hesitating."
 Ai Hui said in a low voice, "We will be going to the Wilderness
in the near future. If anyone wants to go with us, we can
guarantee his or her safety. In your opinion, what kind of
craftsman do we need?"

This answer excited Zhao Boan. Although he foresaw that

Boss would go to the Wilderness, he was still thrilled when he
admitted it in person.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed down and said after thinking

for a second, "My understanding of Boss is limited, so I can only
give opinions from my point of view. The Wilderness is home to
numerous dire beasts that will be our daily targets for hunting,
so elementalists who have the ability to turn dire beast corpses
into food are essential to our team."

Ai Hui nodded and said, "We don’t need extra hands on that."

Ai Hui could deal with the dire beasts and Lou Lan was good at
cooking.

Zhao Boan continued, "We need masons for building camps

and constructing a city."
 Ai Hui nodded again, "We have an expert in that field as well."

Wang Xiaoshan was outstanding and trustworthy in that

respect, for he had been practicing his skill throughout these
years.

That did not surprise Zhao Boan. His boss seemed wealthy, so
it was impossible that he was all alone. He continued, "In that
case, we need several craftsmen who can produce weapons,
especially weapon craftsmen who are familiar with metal
elemental energy and Grass-grade weapons, craftsmen who are
familiar with wood elemental energy. Also, we need farmers
with high-standard skills so that more people can count on
them. Besides these, two physicians specializing in wood and
water elemental energy respectively are also required.
Herbalists are also essential to us, because the Wilderness will
be short of all kinds of herbs for a long period of time."

Ai Hui thought about it and asked, "What is the current price

for hiring these elementalists?"

Zhao Boan had compiled a detailed and comprehensive report.

"Different prices for different professionals. The price for
physicians is the highest, and the better physicians have already
been employed by others. According to the market, to hire a
physician, we have to pay about five hundred Heaven Merit
Points each year for at least 3 years. After all, Wilderness is our
destination, so risks are unavoidable."

Ai Hui was shocked by the price, "So expensive!"

Then it would be one thousand five hundred Heaven Merits

Points for three years, which was a great deal of money.

He had twelve thousand Heaven Merit Points with him in

total, so that was a tenth of his wealth altogether.

Zhao Boan nodded. "That is so. Physicians have always been

popular because they are vital to every team. Physicians with
rich experience have long since been hired."

Ai Hui said without hesitation, "We have physicians. How

about others?"

Lou Lan was equipped with high-standard healing skills.

Zhao Boan relaxed and continued, "Good. The physicians

within our pool of choice barely meet the average standard. As
for the other professionals, herbalists are not cheap - about
three hundred Heaven Merit Points per year. The Jadeite Forest
has almost all the high-class herbalists, but normally they are
not willing to go to the wilderness. Farmers are easy to find, but
the superior ones also live in the Jadeite Forest. Their price is
acceptable, which is one hundred Heaven Merit Points per year.
We need at least five. Those who can plant elemental energy
beans will cost even more, at least five hundred Heaven Merit
Points per year, and are hard to find. Grass-grade weapon
craftsmen and weapon craftsmen can be hired at two hundred
Heaven Merit Points per year. Their price is cheaper because
Grass-grade weapon craftsmen can only produce low-level
weapons and weapon craftsmen lack the necessary materials."

Ai Hui did the math and said, "We need an herbalist, five
farmers, a Grass-grade weapon craftsman and a weapon
craftsman, which makes the price amount to one thousand two
hundred Heaven Merit Points per year."

Ai Hui didn’t bother to count in farmers who could plant

elemental energy beans.

Zhao Boan reminded Ai Hui, "Those prices are only for the
average professionals. Superior ones would charge double or
even higher. Besides, we’d better get a cook, because the
Wilderness is short on elemental energy beans. It will be more
practical for us to take elemental energy food to support our
practice."

Ai Hui smiled and said, "We have an excellent cook."

Who could be a better cook than Lou Lan?

Ai Hui thought for a second. "You are from the Jadeite Forest,
so you should be familiar with Asakusa City."

Zhao Boan responded quickly, "Yes."

Ai Hui said, "Our destination is Asakusa City, so we will hire

farmers and herbalists there. We can seek out weapon
craftsmen and Grass-grade weapon craftsmen in the cities we
will pass by on our journey. If there are any proper ones, we can
hire them."

Ai Hui and Lou Lan were capable of making weapons, but Ai

Hui couldn’t spend much time on doing so. Producing weapons
would cost too much time that could be used to practice and Lou
Lan was already overloaded.
 Zhao Boan nodded and bore it in mind.

"Are you going to the Asakusa City?"

Qing Feng asked from behind Ai Hui.

Ai Hui turned around and said, "Yes, do you have enemies

there?"

Qing Feng didn’t answer and was lost in his thought.

Crooked River City was a small city located on the riverbank

of the branch of the Silver Mist River. The city was surrounded
by the river on three sides; it encircled the city in an "n" shape
and the city had been named after it.

This unique feature of the landscape infused Crooked River

City with intensive metal elemental energy, which was
beneficial to producing weapons. That was why the city was
home to plenty of weapon craftsmen and Grass-grade weapon
craftsmen.
 The weapons of Crooked River City enjoyed a certain
reputation in the Silver Mist Sea.

Unfortunately, as a branch channel, the Crooked River’s

metal elemental energy was weaker than that of the trunk
stream. Although the advantage of the landscape improved its
metal elemental energy, it was hard for the city to further
enhance its metal elemental energy.

Workshops along the Crooked River were all closed except for
a few. The whole place was desolate.

In order to practice, Ai Hui found an independent courtyard

so that others would not be scared by Qing Feng’s appearance.
Zhao Boan was sent to inquire about the market information
and hire weapon craftsmen and Grass-grade weapon craftsmen.

Oddly enough, the Elders Guild had issued an order to arrest

She Yu, but there was no such thing for Qing Feng.

Ai Hui was curious, so he led the topic to it. "Those from the
Blood of God are under surveillance in the Avalon of Five
Elements. Why can you be so free as a disciple of Grandmaster
Dai?"
 Qing Feng smirked. "Who dares? Although Madam Ye has
complained about Grandmaster Dai out loud, she still doesn’t
dare to make any trouble with him. An Muda is about to die, so
if Grandmaster Dai is offended and wants to strike the Avalon of
Five Elements, no one would be safe."

Ai Hui was shocked that An Muda was about to die. This

would trigger turmoil in the Avalon of Five Elements. The
Avalon of Five Elements could stay peaceful not because of the
Elders Guild or God-subduing Peak, but because of An Muda.
What would it become if An Muda died?

This was beyond Ai Hui’s imagination.

Ai Hui was shocked by the news and his mind wandered the
whole day because of it. He finally understood why the Elders
Guild had issued the Master’s Glory and the city expansion
order. This was the reason.

Without its patron saint, the Avalon of Five Elements would

confront an even tougher situation.

By nightfall, Zhao Boan had not yet returned and Ai Hui

returned to his senses.
 Qing Feng mocked, "Your subordinate must have fled."

Ai Hui guessed that Zhao Boan must have encountered some

accident, because after getting along with him for several days,
he believed that Zhao Boan didn’t intend to leave.

"Don’t count on me. I’m your sparring partner, not your

subordinate."

Qing Feng was gloating obviously.

Ai Hui glanced him and said, "You’d better stay here. If you
run away, I will report you to the Elders Guild. Let’s see if they
really are that scared of Grandmaster Dai."

Hearing that, Qing Feng’s face turned pale. Creating such a

disturbance in Silver City, he had been worried all this time that
the Elders Guild would hunt him down. Although he was not in
the arrest order, he’d heard from the others that the Elders
Guild was very likely to choose to arrest him as well. Qing
Feng’s power was largely reduced now. If he encountered any
powerful elementalists, he would be defeated easily.
 The thought of running away had completely vanished from
Qing Feng’s mind. By staying with Ai Hui, he at least didn’t
need to worry about his safety.

Ai Hui flew to the district where many weapon craftsmen

lived and asked the shop owners about Zhao Boan. It didn’t take
him too long to figure out what had happened.

Zhao Boan had been kidnapped!

Ai Hui’s face grew serious.

Although Zhao Boan was the newly hired manager, he’d

already became a member of the team. A team member being
kidnapped triggered Ai Hui’s intent to kill, but he didn’t show
his anger. Instead, he focused on asking about the minute
details of the situation.

"What a sad story! Many years ago, Old He produced a

Heaven-grade weapon, but it led his whole family to ruin. Some
members of the family died and others were severely injured.
Only one blind son survived. The son, Blind He, is a brilliant
guy. Although blind, he produced a Heaven-grade weapon.
Unfortunately, this news was discovered by the bandits of Sky
Capital Peak, so they kidnapped him. Your manager unluckily
happened to encounter the kidnapping and was also brought
away. Don’t bother to think about saving him. Those from Sky
Capital Peak are all cruel killers. You will also be killed if you
insist on going there. No one here would try to challenge them.
Gosh, how can we survive in such troubled times…"

Blind He’s workshop was in a total mess, almost ruined.

In Peace City, the impact of war only influenced the price of

commodities. Here, within less than one year, the public
security had declined sharply. Bandits were everywhere and
could even openly kidnap people. The residents here were too
afraid to contend with them.

Ai Hui knew that as time went by, the situation here would
only get worse. The city would be left behind and become a nest
of chaos and sin.

No one could change it.

Ai Hui thanked the shop owner and left.

 Ai Hui walked back to the street. Having confirmed the
location of Sky Capital Peak, he disappeared into the dark night.
Chapter 390: Sky Capital Peak
Even though Sky Capital Peak had a "peak" in its name, it was
actually a vast stretch of mountain range in reality. It had
numerous karst caves and its terrain was extremely
complicated. Those who were not familiar with the area would
get lost easily.

In the dark night, a few figures lying in ambush in the

shadows were whispering to each other.

"Brother Ning, will they really come?"

"Definitely. We are really unlucky. We only wanted to kidnap

Blind He, but then the manager popped out of nowhere. Tell
me, if you lost your manager, would you look for him? From the
manager’s words, it seems like his master is rather powerful.
We have to be careful."

"I will listen to Brother Ning."

"Alright. Don’t panic later on and listen to my commands.

Don’t be afraid."
 "Brother Ning, don’t worry, this is not our first time."

"Shh, he is here."

Ai Hui flew one round around the sky above Sky Capital Peak.
Upon seeing that there was not a single trace of light coming
from the mountain, he conjectured that the robbers must be
hiding within the karst caves. He did not land directly on the
mountain itself, but rather, at the foot of the mountain.

He silently advanced along the terrain of the mountain.

He was going at a very high speed. The precipitous terrain did

not seem to have any effect on him.

Suddenly, Ai Hui raised his head and looked in a certain

direction. He could sense someone was spying on him from in
the dark.

The other party was prepared for him!

Knowing that he could not mount a sneak attack, Ai Hui

blatantly flew forward at top speed.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Sharp whizzing sounds suddenly rang across the air. A few

streaks of arrow gleams shot towards Ai Hui from different
positions of the mountain.

Seven arrows!

In the blink of an eye, Ai Hui accurately identified the

positions of where the arrows were shot from. A cold shiver
went down his spine. The positioning of the seven arrows was
ingenious. The seven arrows were locked onto the areas that he
would possibly try to move into.

The other party was a veteran.

Ai Hui immediately made a judgement in his mind. His hand

moved swiftly into action and a sword gleam streaked across the
air.
 Training continuously for the past few days had sharply
increased his attacking speed. This improvement was very
obvious in such a sudden situation. The tip of his Dragonspine
accurately struck the first arrow.

Keeping his arm stationary, he flicked his wrist gently, drew a

minute arc in the air with his Dragonspine and struck the
second arrow.

Making use of the force coming from the tip of his sword, he
sprung Dragonspine upward and struck the third arrow from an
oblique angle.

Ai Hui was one-hundred percent focused.

Clink, clink, clink!

Concentrated sounds of collision rang across night sky. The

process was a feast for the eyes. Sword gleams were blossoming
in the dark night. The sparks produced from the collisions
between the sword gleams and the arrow gleams floated before
Ai Hui’s eyes like a cloud of shining mist.
 Phew. Ai Hui finally breathed out. His hand felt slightly
numb. The force from the seven arrows put together was not
something to be reckoned with.

The arrows would likely have been shot out from some kind of
trap-like mechanism. He could not sense any elementalist’s
aura.

He was very satisfied with the seven strikes that he’d

unleashed just now. This proved that his recent training was
effective. In the past, he would have been able to ward off this
type of attack as well, but he certainly could not have done it
with such ease. In the past, he would strike three or four arrows
and find an opening to escape. He definitely could not strike
down all arrows.

This scene left the robbers dumbstruck.

"Brother Ni… Ning, this guy is very powerful!" said the

robber, his voice trembling slightly. It sounded as if he was
stuttering.

The robber who was called Brother Ning was very shocked as
well. After all, the traps were set up by him. He had
meticulously set up the traps in such a way that they would
attack the possible areas where the enemy would move to. No
matter which direction his opponent moved to avoid an arrow,
he or she would be hit by a follow-up arrow.

He absolutely did not expect the other party to strike down

the arrows instead of avoiding them. This caused his traps to
fail.

"He’s an expert."

Brother Ning’s voice was composed. This made the others felt
a lot more at ease. Brother Ning was their backbone. As long as
Brother Ning could hold his own, they felt they would have a
chance at victory.

"However, this is only the beginning."

A cold glint flashed across Brother Ning’s eyes in the dark. His
voice contained a strong sense of confidence.

Everyone felt energized as Brother Ning’s confidence

motivated them. They had followed Brother Ning through
countless battles, and they had obtained victory in every single
battle. They respected and had absolute confidence in Brother
Ning.

Ai Hui scanned his surroundings warily. The traps set up by

the other party were well thought out. A moment of
carelessness would cause him to fall for them.

After waiting a while, there were no more arrows shooting at

him.

The precipitous Sky Capital Peak was like a gigantic monster

hiding within the darkness, containing countless dangers and a
murderous intent.

Ai Hui did not wait any longer and continued to advance.

A weird feeling came from beneath his feet.

Ai Hui’s facial expression changed slightly. Oh no... Before he

could react in time, the seeds buried deep within the ground
beneath his feet suddenly exploded. A few demonic-looking
green vines erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves
around Ai Hui’s feet.

Beast-trapping grass seeds!

This was a very useful type of grass seed. Once something

made the slightest contact with the seed, its husk would break
instantly and a grass vine would grow frantically out of it to
wrap itself around the nearest living thing. In the hands of a
powerful wood elementalist, the beast-trapping seeds could
strangle a ferocious wild beast to death.

The grass vines kept tightening their grip on Ai Hui, slowly

digging into his skin.

Ai Hui could not struggle at all. At this moment, a huge, dark-

green net came flying down on his head.

Green flames spiderweb!

Green flames spiderweb was produced by green flames

spiders. The spiderweb was dark-green in color and more than
ten meters long. The dark-green color flowing along the
spiderweb came from a very deadly, poisonous fire. A tiny
amount of it was enough to pose an extreme danger to an
elementalist. It could seep under one’s skin rapidly and infect
his elemental energy, causing the nature of his elemental energy
to change drastically.

The poison fire was extremely dangerous to an elementalist.

The probability of an elementalist getting killed by it was
extremely high. Even if he did not die on the spot, the nature of
the elemental energy within his body would change abruptly,
causing him to be in anguish.

For example, a metal elementalist’s body was both filled with

and made up of metal elemental energy. This way, his inner
body and physical body complimented each other very well.
However, if the metal elemental energy within his body
suddenly became another type of elemental energy, his body
would strongly reject the new elemental energy.

When an elementalist’s body and the elemental energy within

his body clashed, the pain he suffered was worse than being
tortured by the cruelest torture machine.

Ai Hui did not dare to let the green flames touch his body. He
made small movements with his arm, and then with his arm he
held his Dragonspine upright.
 A faint red-colored sword gleam, that resembled a red muslin
cloth, was released from the tip of his sword.

[Lesser Red Muslin]!

[Red Muslin] was the move that he’d used to destroy the Sha
Family’s residence. At that time, he used the momentum from
the high-altitude dive to unleash that breathtaking sword move.

At that time, the impact of [Red Muslin] almost completely

razed the Sha Family’s residence to the ground.

[Lesser Red Muslin] was developed from [Red Muslin]. Since

he was in a confined space now, [Red Muslin]’s destructive
power was greatly reduced. Hence, he named it as [Lesser Red
Muslin]. Even though [Lesser Red Muslin] was not as powerful
as [Red Muslin], it required less time to be unleashed. This, in
turn, increased the difficulty of unleashing the move sharply.
Despite this limitation, the practicality of the move had
increased tremendously from [Red Muslin]’s.

[Lesser Red Muslin] was proof of Ai Hui’s improvements in his

swordsmanship. This new move proved that his swordsmanship
had moved on to a higher level.
 In the night sky the red-colored, muslin-like sword gleam was
like an illusion. It flew gracefully towards the green flames
spiderweb.

When the red sword gleam made contact with the green
flames spiderweb, surging elemental energy erupted through
the air with a loud bang. Following which, the elemental energy
transformed in a violent and chaotic burst of flames. Even
though the green flames spiderweb was very dangerous, it did
not have high durability. It was shredded to smithereens on the
spot by the violent burst of flames.

Directional impact was an important characteristic of [Lesser

Red Muslin].

The robbers on the mountain saw a huge burst of flames rise

into the sky. As it rose higher and higher, it suddenly exploded
into a drizzle of flames that sprinkled all over the mountain,
resembling a gigantic fire umbrella.

The rain-like flames disappeared rapidly into the night sky.

Tranquility and darkness returned to the sky once more.

 A commotion broke out among the robbers. Their traps had
been destroyed once again.

"He is troublesome!"

"Since when did Crooked River City have such a powerful

individual?"

"Who knows him?"

"I don’t"

The leader of the robbers, Brother Ning, did not say anything.
His face had turned slightly ugly. He had spent a huge sum of
money on the green flames spiderweb and beast-trapping grass
seeds. Initially, he still thought he had the victory in the bag. He
did not expect the other party to completely destroy his traps.

He felt slightly anxious. He had provoked a powerful fellow

this time around.

Beads of perspiration appeared on Ai Hui’s forehead.

Whenever he was being attacked, he would be extremely
focused and felt nothing else. However, this time around, he
was slightly afraid. The traps on this mountain were in an
innumerable succession.

When Ai Hui hacked at the grass vines, he realized that the

grass vines were unusually strong. He did not sever even a
single grass vine, making him feel slightly shocked.

He channeled his elemental energy and severed all the grass

vines with a few slashes.

Brother Ning’s heart was bleeding. The losses he suffered this

time around were huge.

If the beast-trapping grass seeds’ grass vines were not

destroyed completely, he could sprinkle a specially concocted
restoration potion on them to restore them to the state of beast-
trapping grass seeds. From there, they could be used again.
However, if the grass vines were badly damaged, the seeds
which they grew from could no longer be used.

Ai Hui took a deep breath and continued forward.

 This time around, he learnt his lesson. It seemed that he was
advancing as usual, but in reality, his feet were not touching the
ground. He was actually hovering slightly above the ground.
The Starry Gem Swordwings on his back were flapping
indistinctly.

He no longer saw the other party as just a bunch of ordinary

robbers.

Ai Hui was specialized in setting up traps. The two traps that

he’d just consecutively encountered did not seem complicated,
but they were very powerful and dangerous. From these two
traps, he could gauge the strength of the other party.

However, he did not show any signs of retreating. Instead, he

plucked up his courage and continued forward.

Along the way, there were rugged rocks that resembled oddly-
shaped monsters in the dark night, surrounding him with
killing intents.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, Ai Hui saw some rocks
vibrating on the ground.
 At this moment, the rocks in other areas began to vibrate as
well. Soon, all the rocks on the mountain were vibrating,
resembling monsters that had woken up from their slumber.

All the rocks within his line of sight were vibrating. The scene
appeared extremely weird.

Before Ai Hui could understand what was going on, those

numerous vibrating rocks began to rise from the ground. To his
astonishment, the rocks subsequently fused together and
formed humanoid rock monsters everywhere on the mountain.

Rock puppets!

Ai Hui’s eyelids twitched. Rock puppets were the lowest

ranking among all the earth elemental puppets. Their rank was
even lower than that of sand puppets. The only good thing
about them was that they had huge strength. They were usually
used by earth elementalists as laborers.

Other than having huge strength and the ability to throw

rocks, the rock puppets’ fighting capabilities were not really
powerful.
 However, when they appeared on mountains, they would pose
a great hassle to anyone who encountered them.

Rumble, rumble. The earth shook. With clumsy-looking and

abnormally heavy footsteps, the rock puppets flooded towards
Ai Hui from all directions.
Chapter 391: An Old Friend
Ai Hui felt that the entire mountain beneath his feet was
trembling.

Normally, anyone who encountered such a situation would be

shivering with fear. However, Ai Hui did not. Even though these
rock puppets looked frightening, they paled in comparison to
the Sha Guards, let alone a Sand Sentinel.

Ai Hui spread the Starry Gem Swordwings on his back and

flew up into the sky abruptly.

The rock puppets on the ground began to throw rocks at Ai

Hui. The millstone-sized rocks were emitting a faint glow as
they flew towards Ai Hui like torrential rain.

Ai Hui was shocked by this scene.

He hastily flapped his Starry Gem Swordwings and

disappeared from his current position.

When a piece of rock brushed past Ai Hui’s body, he broke out

in a cold sweat. If he was hit by that piece of rock, he would not
be able to tolerate the pain even if his body had become strong
and sturdy now.

He realized he had underestimated these rock puppets.

Apparently, their fighting capabilities had been upgraded.

The rocks that the usual rock puppets hurled were not imbued
with elemental energy. That was because the base level of rock
puppets was very low and they did not possess any elemental
energy. However, all of the rocks that these rock puppets threw
had been imbued with elemental energy.

Someone was controlling them from the dark.

In the sky, Ai Hui quickly discovered that the entire mountain

was filled with rock puppets. They might have looked very
messy, but in reality, they were in order and their attacks were
orchestrated. For a moment, Ai Hui looked to be slightly
helpless in the sky. He had no choice but to fly higher. When he
saw the mountain was filled with densely-packed and chaotic
rock puppets, he felt a slight headache.

Should he use [Red Muslin]?

 Ai Hui shook his head and rejected this idea. He was uncertain
if [Red Muslin] could beat so many flying rocks being hurled at
him. He felt that it would be rather painful if his physical body
collided against so many flying rocks. He couldn’t believe that
he could defeat a fearsome Sand Sentinel, but not a bunch of
mere rock puppets.

Ai Hui began to admire this brigade of robbers.

The other party did not do much for this trap other than
upgrading the rock puppets’ base level, increasing their
numbers greatly and finding a suitable terrain to create a trap
that was difficult to escape from.

If he wanted to enter the karst cave, he had to land on the

mountain. By doing this, he would be surrounded and attacked
by the overwhelming number of rock puppets.

Such a thoughtful bunch of robbers.

Now, Ai Hui was filled with interest towards this brigade of

robbers. However, he had to resolve the issue in front of him
now.
 Inside the karst cave, the robbers’ morale was boosted
sharply.

"I knew he wouldn’t break this rock puppet formation!"

"That’s the ultimate move of Brother Ning. Tell me, who is

able to break it?"

Everyone started talking at once and their voices were filled

with excitement. Ai Hui’s outstanding performance against the
previous two traps was somewhat nerve-racking for them.

"Keep your guards up, the battle hasn’t ended yet," Brother
Ning reminded them in a low voice.

Everyone shut their mouths.

Brother Ning observed the figure flying in the sky outside and
found that he looked slightly familiar. Then, he shook his head.
He did not have the time to think about such a thing now. He
had a premonition that the other party would not give up just
like this. He felt somewhat vexed too. If he had known that the
other party was so troublesome, he would not have kidnapped
the manager as well.

Suddenly, Brother Ning’s eyes froze. The other party started

to dive down from the sky.

Ai Hui felt as if he was flying through a rain of rocks. He kept

on changing his flight path as he avoided those flying rocks
narrowly every now and then. He was more and more sure that
these rock puppets were indeed controlled by someone. There
were a few times where the rocks appeared right in front of his
flight path and he almost crashed into them. Rock puppets did
not have the intelligence to predict his flight path.

When the robbers saw Ai Hui fly aimlessly for a few rounds in
the air, they heaved a sigh of relief.

The enemies they encountered in the past were all the same.
They would flew a few rounds in the sky and if they still could
not find any opening, they would take the initiative to leave.

As long as they had no blood feud with them, why would

anyone waste so much time on a bunch of robbers? The more
powerful an elementalist was, the more precious his time was.
Time was money. These words of wisdom were indeed true.
 For a small place like Crooked River City, there were very few
experts. Occasionally when they encountered one, they would
use this tactic to exhaust that expert’s patience and force him or
her to take the initiative to leave.

After all, they were just a bunch of robbers. They did not care
about their reputation.

Brother Ning’s gaze had not left the other party once. Even
though the mountain was pitch-black and they were separated
by a huge distance, he could see the facial expression of the
other party.

The other party was grinning.

Suddenly, Brother Ning’s mind jolted as a strong sense of

danger engulfed him. He yelled involuntarily, "Be careful!"

At this moment, Ai Hui suddenly increased his speed and

lowered his flying altitude. Everyone quivered and controlled
the rock puppets, making them hurl rocks hastily at Ai Hui.

However, Ai Hui made a turn toward an unexpected direction

and increased his speed abruptly. All of a sudden, a thunderclap-
like explosion resounded through the sky.

Ai Hui’s figure suddenly disappeared!

The unforeseen event shocked all the robbers.

Brother Ning’s facial expression changed drastically, "Quickly

retreat! He has discovered our position!"

Brother Ning turned around and dashed towards the depths of

the karst cave. Now he realized that the other party had not
been circling in the air aimlessly, but rather, he was searching
for them.

Boom!

The concealed cave entrance suddenly exploded. Surging

elemental energy gushed in like a torrential flood with a loud
bang.

All the robbers flew up in the air and slammed heavily against
the cavern walls. They felt extremely dizzy and their visions
blurred. After a long while, they still could not stand up
straight.

In the cave, there was a figure holding a sword. He looked

extremely prominent among the swaying and wobbly robbers.

"We surrender."

A hoarse voice rang across the air. Brother Ning stood up from
the ground. His face was brimming with agony.

Ai Hui’s gaze swept across everyone and felt slightly

surprised. He wasn’t surprised at how strong these robbers
were, but rather, how weak and fragile they were.

They had very little and shallow elemental energy in their

bodies. The only strong one was the guy who had just initiated
their surrender. He should be the leader of this brigade of
robbers. However, even he had merely achieved elemental
externalization.

This bunch of low-leveled and weak robbers were able to give

him so much trouble?

The killing intent within Ai Hui’s heart had disappeared. Not

wanting to waste his breath on these people, he asked bluntly,
"Where’s my man?"

The robber who was known as Brother Ning replied, "He’s

inside and he’s alright. I will lead the way. If you want to kill
someone, kill me. The only request I ask of you is to let them
off. They have just arrived here from Old Territory and they
didn’t commit any heinous crimes."

"Brother Ning!"

"Let’s die together!"

A few of the robbers returned to their senses and became

extremely agitated.

"All of you shut up!" Brother Ning roared.

Ai Hui could tell that Brother Ning was well respected among
these people. Everyone immediately shut their mouths after
Brother Ning told them to do so.

Ai Hui was very surprised. No wonder these people were so

weak. Their strength would not even compare to the strength of
those students in the Induction Ground last time.

Ai Hui remained calm and collected. "They are from Old

Territory? Since when could people from Old Territory enter
Silver Mist Sea anyhow?"

"Not long after the city expansion order had been enacted, the
border no longer had any guards anymore. One can make it here
as long as he or she can cross the Lava River. Since it’s difficult
to cross the Lava River, we have to use Three Leaves Bamboo
Carts to fetch them over. This way is much easier."

Ai Hui had a lot of questions, but he did not ask them

immediately. He merely said, "Lead the way and don’t play any
tricks."

"Understood."
 Brother Ning nodded his head and led the way.

Ai Hui had a whole new level of respect for the leader of the
robbers. He remained composed even after he had surrendered.
He was rather capable considering he led a bunch of weak
individuals into giving Ai Hui such a big headache.

Very soon, Ai Hui saw the tied-up Zhao Boan. Beside Zhao
Boan, there was a very young man who was being tied up as
well. That young man’s eyes were tightly shut. He must be Blind
He.

When Zhao Boan saw Ai hui, he was extremely emotional.

"Boss!"

Even though he believed his boss would come and save him,
he was still very emotional when he saw his boss appear before
him.

With a swipe of his sword, Ai Hui severed the ropes tied

around Zhao Boan and Blind He.

"Give me a moment, I have something to ask them," Ai Hui

said to Zhao Boan.

Then, Ai Hui turned around and asked Brother Ning, "Are

there a lot of people here from Old Territory?"

"Yes, there are a lot of them here. Initially, there were some
new citizens who went back to fetch their fellow clansmen over.
Later on, some people began to start businesses of illegal
immigration. As such, there are more and more people from Old
Territory coming here." Brother Ning replied.

"Why do they want to come here?" Ai Hui asked.

After Ai Hui finished his sentence, he realized he asked a

stupid a question.

"The concentration of elemental energy here is higher,"

Brother Ning explained plainly, "Even though it’s not as high as
it was in the past, and it will still continue to drop in the future,
it’s still higher than Old Territory’s. In the past, everyone could
only dream about coming to the Avalon of Five Elements. New
citizens like us are luckier, however, most of our clansmen are
still in Old Territory. Since the Elders Guild has given up on this
place, we decided to bring our clansmen here. At the end of the
day, this place is still better than Old Territory."

Ai Hui felt slightly sad. He was also from Old Territory, even
though he did not have any family members there.

After staying silent for awhile, he asked again, "Do a lot of

people become robbers?"

"Basically, yes," Brother Ning said in a low voice, "Even

though Elders Guild is not here, there are still a lot of people
from the Avalon of Five Elements here. No one welcomes us and
we can’t enter the city. Even if we want to buy something, no
one is willing to sell anything to us. The currency of Old
Territory is not worth anything here and we can’t find any jobs
as well. They feel that this is their homeland and as long as they
are here, they won’t welcome us."

Ai Hui was speechless. This was an intractable problem.

He knew that the situation would continue to worsen. The

deep estrangement between Avalon of Five Elements’ people
and Old Territory’s people had intensified over a thousand
years. Even new citizens had difficulty integrating into the
society of Avalon of Five Elements. It was impossible for them
to integrate into the upper class of Avalon of Five Elements,
even though they make up a relatively huge portion of the
population of Avalon of Five Elements.

"Have you thought of going back?"

"No," Brother Ning shook his head, "I don’t want them to turn
into blood elementalists. I have been through the blood
catastrophe in Induction Ground and I hate Blood of God. Blood
of God has been devouring Old Territory."

When Ai Hui heard the word "Induction Ground", he quickly

asked, "What’s your name?"

"Gu Tianning."

Ai Hui found this name somewhat familiar. He was a student

that was of a rather remarkable ranking in Induction Ground. If
he hadn’t remembered wrongly, this student was defeated by
Bangwan before. It was not easy for Gu Tianning to survive the
blood catastrophe in Induction Ground.

A smile appeared on Ai Hui’s face. "I didn’t expect to meet a

fellow schoolmate here, my name is Ai Hui."

Gu Tianning widened his eyes and became emotional in an

instant, "It’s you! Yes, I should have known it was you. No
wonder I find you familiar! You’re Ai Hui from Central Pine
City, the Lightning Blade! You and your unit are indeed
powerful. Your unit had the most people who made it out alive
of Central Pine City. Our unit was not that lucky. Only sixteen
of us made it out alive. My teacher and fellow students all died.
At that point of time, I thought I would die as well. Then, my
teacher saved me…"

Initially, there was a smile of joy on his manly-looking face

that was derived from his reunion with an old friend. But as he
continued his story, tears began to flow down his cheeks drip by
drip.

All of a sudden, the grey memories that were buried deep

within his mind were suffused with the color of blood.

He could not continue.

All he wanted to do now was to hold back his tears.

 His smile was trembling. He used all his might to control his
facial expression and make it look calm. It was as if he tried to
stay calm as he faced the feelings of regret, reminiscence and
anguish from those bloody memories.

Tears flooded his cheeks silently.

Chapter 392: Blind He
Zhao Boan felt that he was really stupid.

His boss was actually Ai Hui!

Even though he lived in Jadeite Forest, he still knew who Ai

Hui was. There was a period of time where the mirage bean
pods of Ai Hui were spread around. Everyone knew about his
history and achievements. Born as a laborer, got accepted into
the Induction Ground as an exception, the key player in the
Battle of Central Pine City, the current leader of Central Pine
Faction.

After staying low for several years, he had risen once more.

Zhao Boan felt as if he was in a dream. In this era, those who

had excellent reputations were powerful individuals, and those
who could establish a faction were definitely heroes.

Even the almighty heir of the Duanmu Family in Jadeite

Forest and disciple of Grandmaster Dai, Duanmu Huanghun,
followed Ai Hui as well.
 In Zhao Boan’s eyes, Duanmu Huanghun was definitely an
extraordinary individual.

Zhao Boan could not help but cast a glance at his boss. That
absurdly young face exhibited a calmness that surpassed his
young age.

Zhao Boan could roughly understand the low-volume

conversation between his boss and the robber leader. The
robber leader was a student of Induction Ground in the past and
his brigade of robbers had just illegally immigrated from Old
Territory to Silver Mist Sea. His boss was from Old Territory
and he naturally sympathized with these people from Old
Territory. However, Zhao Boan also knew that this issue was
unresolvable.

Gu Tianning had regained his composure. If not for the fact

that his eyes were still slightly red, one definitely could not tell
that this burly-looking man had just cried his eyes out.

When Gu Tianning’s clansmen heard that Ai Hui was also

from Old Territory, the wariness in their eyes disappeared in an
instant and became much more amiable.
 Ai Hui followed Gu Tianning to the depths of the karst cave
and arrived at an area where they spent their daily lives.

In the damp and gloomy karst cave, clansmen who were

sitting in meditation were everywhere. When Gu Tianning
walked in, all of them stood up. Most of them were still very
young. They looked curiously at Ai Hui and his counterparts.

"The elderly clansmen don’t want to move, therefore, those

who have come here are the youngsters in the clan. Even
though it’s too late for them to train now, it’s still generally
better than staying in Old Territory." Gu Tianning said with a
low voice.

"Everyone is earth-attributed?"

Gu Tianning nodded his head and replied, "Basically, yes. We

can’t go to Yellow Sand Corner. Even though Silver Mist Sea is
metal-attributed, there is a Silver Mist River. Since we are
staying in the mountain, the concentration of earth elemental
energy here is rather strong and much better than Old
Territory’s.

This place was indeed better than Old Territory. Ai Hui knew
what it was like in Old Territory.

The concentration level of elemental energies in Old Territory

was very low and the training efficiency there was so low that it
raised one’s hackles. Not only was the concentration level of
elemental energies in Old Territory very low, the materials and
equipment available there were pathetically little.

When a person from Old Territory was selected to enter

Induction Ground, he or she would stay in Avalon of Five
Elements forever. There were extremely few elementalists that
would return to Old Territory and build training halls to train
the locals after they grew old.

Once an elementalist returned to Old Territory, not only

would he be unable to train, it would be difficult for him to
maintain his current base level as well.

Ai Hui was not surprised at all that people from Old Territory
would illegally immigrate to this place. Compared to the poor
and barren Old Territory, a piece of land that was abandoned by
Elders Guild would still be considered rich and fertile.

Ai Hui could see that the youthful faces of Gu Tianning’s

clansmen were brimming with hope.

Ai Hui suddenly thought of those laborers that had died in the

labor camp and became silent. After a while, he raised his head
and said, "Perhaps I can help all of you to raise the
concentration level of earth elemental energy here."

A surprised look flashed across Gu Tianning’s eyes. Before he

could say anything, his clansmen began to crowd around and
break into a lively discussion with everybody talking at once.

"Really?"

"That’s good!"

"Our training efficiency can be increased now."

Gu Tianning quickly chased them to one side and said, "What

are all of you doing here? Quickly disperse and start training."

Peace and silence returned to Ai Hui’s surroundings once

more.
 Gu Tianning could not help but ask, "Really?"

"It’s just an idea. However, I can’t promise you that it will

work," Ai Hui smiled.

Gu Tianning rubbed his hands and said with excitement, "We

can try first, what if it succeeds? What do you need us to do? We
will fully cooperate with you!"

"I only have a rough idea so far. I need to go back and think
about it in detail. I also need to prepare certain things. All of you
stay here for the time being and don’t go out."

Without any hesitation, Gu Tianning replied, "Alright, I shall

wait for your good news!"

Ai Hui brought Zhao Boan and Blind He with him and flew
back to Crooked River City.

Along the way, Zhao Boan could not help but ask, "Boss, can
you really raise the concentration level of elemental energy?"
 He had never heard of the idea of increasing the concentration
level of elemental energy in the surroundings. If this idea was
possible, then wouldn’t anyone be able to train anywhere in this
world?

"Yes," Ai Hui gave a simple one-word reply and did not say
anything else.

When they reached the tavern, Qing Feng was already very
impatient. "Did you really need so much time to deal with a
bunch of robbers?"

He was extremely curious as he knew Ai Hui was strong. Even

though it was due to the sharp decrease in his strength that
allowed Ai Hui to dominate him like this, Ai Hui’s strength was
still very powerful to begin with.

Ai Hui could not be bothered with Qing Feng. After he put

down Zhao Boan and Blind He, he said to Zhao Boan, "Start
from the beginning."

Zhao Boan quickly explained how he had made enquiries

about weapon craftsmen, how he met Blind He and how they
ended up in the hands of Gu Tianning and his counterparts. Ai
Hui listened carefully as his gaze fell upon Blind He.

Throughout Zhao Boan’s narration of what had happened,

Blind He remained silent.

Blind He looked completely different from Ai Hui’s

impression of a weapon craftsman. Unlike the usual fat and
burly weapon craftsmen, Blind He looked thin and weak, and
his face was pale-white. His eyes had always been closed. He
looked more like a delicate and frail scholar rather than a
weapon craftsman.

"May I know Mr He’s full name?" Ai Hui asked politely.

Blind He, who was sitting on the floor, bowed slightly and
introduced himself, "My full name is He Wei. Sir, are you the
Lightning Blade, Ai Hui?"

Ai Hui returned the greetings and replied directly, "Yes, I am

Ai Hui."

At this moment, Qing Feng jumped up in shock, "So you’re Ai

Hui. I have heard of your name before. No wonder your
swordsmanship is so powerful. You are definitely on par with
that guy whose surname is Chu. It’s a pity that I didn’t make it
in time for your porridge feast. Such a pity."

Due to the constant reporting of news through the message

trees, everyone knew about Ai Hui’s feats in Central Pine City.
He was considered an influential figure.

A man’s reputation would follow him throughout his entire

life like his shadow. Qing Feng’s embarrassment disappeared in
an instant. There was nothing embarrassing about getting
defeated by Ai Hui. Then, when he thought of Ai Hui’s recent
improvements, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in
amazement. No wonder, no wonder….

Blind He regained his composure and replied, "Sir, if you need

a weapon craftsman, why not allow me to offer my services to
you."

His voice was calm and steady, sounding as if he was talking

about something casual.

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Boan could not help but look
at Blind He. Previously, he had talked until his jaws ached, and
Blind He still wouldn’t agree to his request. Now, when he saw
Blind He recommending himself to his boss, he was deeply
moved by his boss’s reputation.

Ai Hui was slightly pleased with himself as an indistinct smile

appeared on his face.

This life had been tough on him so far! It was finally the day
for him to actually make some gains with his reputation!

Ai Hui could not help but ask, "May I know what’s the
reason?"

"My parents died in the blood catastrophe," Blind He replied.

Ai Hui withdrew the smile on his face and said solemnly,

"Understood. I heard that Mr He has forged one Heaven-grade
weapon before?"

"Two to be exact," Blind He replied as if there was nothing

unusual about it.
 Zhao Boan and Qing Feng were shocked. As long as one could
forge a Heaven-grade weapon, he or she would be qualified for
the title of "weaponsmith". "Weapon craftsman" might differ
from "weaponsmith" by one word, but the difference between
their statuses was immensely huge.

There was a lot of luck involved in forging a Heaven-grade

weapon. Most weaponsmiths could only forge one Heaven-
grade weapon in their lifetime.

Most of the weaponsmiths had been hired by various powerful

aristocratic families. Only an aristocratic family could provide
ample precious resources for a weaponsmith to practise his
forging skills constantly. Only with the right conditions and
amount of resources could a weaponsmith then improve and
become a master weaponsmith.

For someone who had forged two Heaven-grade weapons, his

strength definitely surpassed any ordinary weaponsmiths’.

Ai Hui was very surprised and happy. Initially, he thought it

would be good enough if he could hire a weaponsmith.
However, he’d managed to encounter an outstanding
weaponsmith in the end. Even though he was very happy, he
still warned Blind He, "We will be heading toward the
Wilderness and it will be very dangerous and arduous on the
way there. Mr He might want to think over this issue properly."

"I can agree now so as to save time," Blind He replied calmly.

"However, my price will not be cheap. I want one thousand
Heaven Merit Points for my yearly salary. Sir, you should think
over this properly before hiring me. I also have another request.
That is, you, Sir, and other people shall not interfere with my
work."

Ai Hui, who had always been a miser, was unusually decisive

this time around. He replied, "I have no problem giving you a
yearly salary of one thousand Heaven Merit Points. As for the
issue of interfering with your work, we will definitely not do
that. However, if an emergency arises, then we may have no
choice but to do that."

"Sir, don’t worry. When an emergency arises, overall interests

naturally come first." Blind He agreed.

Upon hearing that, Ai Hui replied, "We have come to an

agreement then. Right now, I need Mr He to forge something
for me."
 "I wonder what it is?" Blind He asked.

"Its design is rather complicated, I really don’t know how to

describe it," Ai Hui felt slightly embarrassed.

"No problem, Boss can just draw a blueprint for me," Blind He
replied plainly. His way of addressing Ai Hui had changed
automatically.

Ai Hui knew Blind He must have some unique methods,

hence, he began to draw the blueprint. To everyone’s surprise,
he drew a pillar with numerous exquisite decorative patterns on
it. Every decorative pattern was uniquely drawn by Ai Hui.

"You can just place the blueprint in front of me."

Ai Hui quickly placed the completed blueprint in front of

Blind He.

Facing the blueprint, Blind He reached out his right hand and
spread out his palm.
 Suddenly, the center of his palm lit up with a silvery glow,
which extended and became a silvery glowing line. The line
opened up and revealed a silver-colored eye. Then, the eye shot
out a faint white light that engulfed the blueprint in front of
him. Immediately, the blueprint projected a hologram into the
white light. It was a hologram of the pillar drawn on the
blueprint. The hologram of the pillar was spinning slowly and
one could observe it from all angles.

This method stunned everyone, including Ai Hui. Previously,

he was thinking, ‘How could Blind He look at the blueprint if he
was blind?’

"Understood."

Blind He’s indifferent voice pull everyone back to their senses.

The faint white light disappeared as the silver-colored eye in the
centre of his palm slowly closed. The drawing of the pillar on
the the blueprint had disappeared, leaving a piece of blank
paper again.

Blind He continued, "The materials needed for this pillar are

rather easy to find. How many pillars does Boss need?"
 Ai Hui returned to his senses and replied, "Twenty."

"I can complete them by sunset tomorrow," Blind He replied.

Ai Hui almost thought he’d heard Blind He wrongly.

Naturally, the rest did not know what this pillar was. However,
Ai Hui knew clearly what it was. This pillar followed the
original design of the gold needles used for [Treating The City
As A Piece Of Cloth] in Central Pine City three years ago.
However, the pillar was a simplified version of the gold needles.
Even though it was a simplified version, Ai Hui still made some
modifications to its design. The decorative patterns on the pillar
were extremely exquisite and complicated-looking.

Complete twenty pillars by sunset tomorrow?

Ai Hui absolutely could not believe what he heard until he saw

Blind He’s smithing process with his own eyes.
Chapter 393: Excavation
The stone materials Zhao Boan bought were stone cuboids
that were as tall as a full-grown man.

Blind He squatted in front of the stone cuboids. He did not

start working immediately, but merely felt the coarse stone
cuboids with his hands.

It was at this moment that the onlookers noticed his palms

were snow-white and sparkling, and his fingers were slender
and long. Every movement he made with his hands was filled
with an indescribable sense of beauty.

Blind He’s slim figure resembled a bamboo pole, appearing as

if he was extremely delicate, but now, he seemed to have
become a completely changed man. His eyes were tightly shut,
and his face was solemn. Currently, he was exuding an aura of
extreme confidence. It was as if he was confident in every move
he made.

The onlookers were infected by his overwhelming confidence.

They involuntarily held their breaths and widened their eyes.
 Blind He’s long and slender fingers slid gently across the stone
cuboids like a bamboo branch skimming across a smooth water
surface.

He withdrew his palms and stood up straight. Then, he spread

his legs slightly apart and extended his two hands with his
palms facing down over the stone cuboids.

A silver eye appeared on each of his palms, followed by a

white glow that shot out from the pair of eyes and engulfed the
stone cuboids. Suddenly, numerous tiny objects began to form
within the faint white light.

These glittering, silver tools were very elaborated. Drill bits,

saws, chisels, etc. There was a huge number of each item. Just
counting drill bits, there were ten of them. Some were as thick
as a person while some were smaller than a toothpick. This
equipment appeared to be controlled by a pair of invisible
hands, flying and dancing around the stone cuboids. Even
though there was a huge number of them, they were working in
an orderly manner and were not at all messy.

Every now and then, the stone cuboids would release flying
sparks and stone fragments. However, not a single noise was
made.
 The coarse and rough stone cuboids became circular stone
pillars. Decorative patterns were forming on the stone pillars at
a visible speed. Subsequently, with a perceptible speed, these
patterns became increasingly fine and distinct!

The whole process was smooth and natural, warming and

delighting one’s heart and eyes, respectively. It was unusually
precise and exhibited a matchless sense of beauty.

Within two hours, a stone pillar that was covered with fine
veined patterns appeared before Ai Hui. Ai Hui walked closer to
take a clearer look. The stone pillar was flawlessly made, and
the detail of its vein patterns had exceeded his expectations.

Ai Hui was trembling with astonishment. However, at the end

of the day, he still felt more joy than astonishment. It was
extremely worth paying a yearly salary of 1,000 Heaven Merit
Points for such an exceptional weaponsmith!

Blind He’s performance had not ended yet.

He took an even shorter amount of time to make the second

stone pillar. Within one hour, he had completed the second
stone pillar. The time taken for the third stone pillar was
reduced once again. His final speed was maintained at two stone
pillars per hour.

Within 12 hours, he had completed all 20 stone pillars. Right

now, it was only noon.

Everyone was shocked by Blind He’s skills after witnessing the

whole process with their own eyes. From the first stone pillar to
the last stone pillar, their eyes had not shifted away from Blind
He.

Qing Feng was no doubt the most knowledgeable among all of

them. Even he exclaimed in admiration, "I can’t believe there is
such an expert in a small place like Crooked River City. I have
come across many weaponsmiths, but I have never seen such
skills before. Incredible, incredible!"

He uttered "incredible" twice in a row to describe the shock he

was feeling.

Meanwhile, Zhao Boan stuttered, "You’re indeed brilliant!"

Blind He just sat silently on one side. Other than have a

slightly pale face, he looked no different from his usual self. The
praises from everyone did not seem to cause any changes to his
facial expression.

"It is an eye-opening experience," Ai Hui praised. Then,

without saying anything unnecessary, he continued, "Since the
stone pillars have been completed, I will move out now. Boan
and Mr. He, go and see if there are anything else that we need to
buy. We will not be staying in this place for too long. Oh, please
remember to buy a Bamboo Cart."

Zhao Boan quickly replied, "Yes."

Blind He stood up quietly and stood beside Zhao Boan.

Ai Hui had Qing Feng haul the stone pillars, while he carried
Qing Feng and flew toward Sky Capital Peak.

"Are you afraid that I might harm them?" Qing Feng suddenly
sneered.

"That’s right," Ai Hui replied bluntly without denying it.

 Qing Feng flew into a rage. "Do I look like someone who will
go back on my word?"

"You have to ask yourself that." Ai Hui remained unmoved.

Qing Feng froze.

Ai Hui knew how cunning and treacherous Qing Feng was.

Even though Qing Feng did not seem to have any chance of
making a comeback, Ai Hui still would not lower his guard
against him.

"I am already in an impasse. I don’t even know what are you

afraid of?" Qing Feng asked coldly.

"Nothing can go wrong by being a bit careful," Ai Hui replied

casually.

Qing Feng was speechless.

Gu Tianning had been waiting on the mountain. When he saw

Ai Hui’s figure, he was overjoyed. He had heard of Ai Hui’s
reputation, but had never interacted with him when they were
in the Induction Ground. He did not have much confidence in Ai
Hui’s promise.

Gu Tianning ordered his clansmen to handle the stone pillars

and reminded them to be careful and not to ruin them. Every
Gu clansman cautiously and gently carried the stone pillars as if
they were holding precious porcelain wares.

Qing Feng took a sweeping glance at the Gu clansmen and said

disdainfully, "The quality of the people you’re encountering is
getting lower and lower. I can’t believe you spent so much effort
on such a bunch of weak fellows. Are they from the Old
Territory? Ahh, I get it. You’re from the Old Territory as well.
No wonder you’re willing to help them. However, there are so
many people in Old Territory. Are you able to help them all?"

Most of the Gu clansmen that made it to Sky Capital Peak

were youngsters. Hence, when they heard Qing Feng’s words,
they glared at him angrily.

Ai Hui could not be bothered with Qing Feng and replied

bluntly, "You better shut up."
 Qing Feng flew into a rage, "I am a follower of Grandmaster
Dai, how dare you behave so rude toward me!"

The Gu clansmen who had been glaring at Qing Feng quickly

withdrew their gazes. Even though they had not spent a long
time in the Silver Mist Sea, they still knew who Grandmaster
Dai was.

Even Gu Tianning cast a bewildered look at Qing Feng.

"Have you forgotten the pain after your wounds recovered?"

Ai Hui sneered.

Qing Feng became terrified at once. Initially, he thought Ai

Hui was a carefree lone wolf who was not afraid of Grandmaster
Dai. When he discovered Ai Hui’s identity, he expected Ai Hui to
be afraid of provoking Grandmaster Dai.

However, he now realized that Ai Hui did not seem to care

much about Grandmaster Dai.

Qing Feng was confused. Was Ai Hui really not afraid of

Grandmaster Dai? He was not a carefree lone wolf.
Furthermore, he was the leader of the Central Pine Faction. Was
he not scared of causing troubles for the Central Pine Faction?

Or was this fellow already thinking of silencing him?

Qing Feng gulped his saliva with difficulty as a tinge of fear

arose in his heart. He was a paranoid individual. Just now, he
purposely said those words to feel out Ai Hui. Qing Feng
thought that his mission was a well-concealed secret and that Ai
Hui did not know he had fallen out of favor with Grandmaster
Dai. Clearly, he did not realize Ai Hui was Chu Zhaoyang.

The result he had gotten disappointed him greatly.

Ai Hui did not seem to have any respect for Grandmaster Dai.
He did not know whether Ai Hui was extremely daring or if he
had someone’s backing. Regardless of the reason, disrespecting
Grandmaster Dai would not benefit him in any way.

Ai Hui could not be bothered with Qing Feng. As long as Qing

Feng did his job properly as a training partner, Ai Hui would not
purposely make things difficult for him. However, if Qing Feng
was up to no good, he would kill him on the spot.
 As for Grandmaster Dai, he was still something that was too
far for Ai Hui to think about.

When Qing Feng saw that Ai Hui was not afraid of his threat,
he quieted down.

The way that Gu Tianning and his counterparts looked at Ai

Hui could not help but change again. Gu Tianning knew about
Ai Hui’s past achievements. Now, he realized that Ai Hui was far
more powerful and unfathomable than he had expected.

This made Gu Tianning and his counterparts feel filled with

hope and expectations for Ai Hui.

Ai Hui did not think so much. All he wanted to do was to help

them. As for the people that were still in the Old Territory, they
were the responsibility of the Old Territory’s native heroes. Ai
Hui did not think that he was a hero. The outside world might
praise him to the skies, but he knew how much he was really
worth.

"We need earth fire. Is this place the deepest karst cave?" Ai
Hui asked Gu Tianning.
 "There is still a deeper one," Gu Tianning quickly replied.

After finishing his sentence, he began to lead the way. He and

his counterparts knew all about the karst caves in Sky Capital
Peak.

With Gu Tianning leading the way, they advanced toward the

depth of the karst cave. Within a short period of time, they
reached the depths. They could hear sound of underground
rivers. Usually, the deepest parts of karst caves would contain
underground rivers.

Gu Tianning did not stop and continued moving forward. As

he walked, he said, "This region is filled with underground
rivers. The region where earth fire can most likely be found is at
the deepest cavern."

As they advanced forward, the cavern became smaller and

narrower. The surrounding cavern walls had become dry as
well. The air was pervaded with a faint smell of sulfur.

Ai Hui was energized. His plan could only be carried out if he

had earth fire.
 Finally, they came to a small cavern that could only fit three
to five people. The temperature of this cavern was also much
higher than the other caverns.

"This is the place."

Gu Tianning looked expectantly at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui examined his surroundings and nodded his head in

silence. This cavern should not be far from the earth fire.

"This is the place I’m looking for. Excavate this cavern and
make it bigger and wider. How many people do you have?" Ai
Hui asked.

"56," Gu Tianning replied swiftly.

"Expand this place until it can fit 100 people. Excavate through
four directions and maintain the height of the cavern at around
3.5 meters."

Gu Tianning acknowledged Ai Hui and quickly got everyone

to work. Even though their base level was low, they had
developed elemental energy before. Furthermore, the elemental
energy they developed was earth elemental energy.
Underground rocks were similar to the ordinary rocks above the
surface. When everyone worked together, the process became
faster.

After around four hours, they had already expanded the

cavern to the point that it could fit 100 people.

Gu Tianning placed some glowing stones on the surrounding

walls of the wide and spacious cavern to serve as lighting. The
cavern was illuminated in an instant.

These glowing stones contained a small amount of elemental

energy that enabled them to give off light. Other than that, they
did not have many uses and were very cheap.

Ai Hui pointed to the center of the cavern and instructed, "Dig

a fire well at this spot. The diameter of the fire well should be
around 1.5 meters."

"Yes."
 Without any hesitation, Gu Tianning started digging at the
center of the cavern. He was an earth elementalist, so the hard
underground rocks were like soft mud to him. Meanwhile, his
clansmen kept on transporting away the underground rock that
he had dug up.

As he dug deeper and deeper, the underground rocks got

hotter and hotter. The color of the rock had turned from green
to black. Beads of perspiration began to appear on Gu
Tianning’s forehead.

Bang.

The sound of an underground rock cracking resounded

through the air. A flash of red glow emitted from the crack.

After the cracked underground rock was removed, a dazzling

red light shot out from the fire well and lit up the entire cavern
with a bright red color. The temperature of the cavern rose
rapidly. The low-level Gu clansmen could not tolerate the heat
and began to retreat from the cavern.

Gu Tianning heaved a sigh of relief. "I’m glad I did not fail

you."
 Unwittingly, he used boss-subordinate tone.

"All of you leave the cave now."

"Yes."

Gu Tianning quickly led his clansmen out of the cave. While

he guarded the entrance, he kept on looking curiously into the
cave.

Qing Feng stood at the entrance of the cave with a curious

look on his face. Initially, he still did not know what was going
on. Now, he knew that Ai Hui wanted to help the Gu Clan by
increasing the concentration of earth elemental energy in this
place.

He did not believe in this plan. Briefly increasing the

concentration level of elemental energy in a place was not
difficult. The difficult part was maintaining the increased level
of elemental energy. This would require a huge amount of high-
grade materials. The gains simply could not make up for the
losses.
 The Gu Clan was in a destitute state. How could they afford
high-grade materials?

Qing Feng disapproved of this plan in his heart.

Suddenly, he froze. He had just that remembered that Ai Hui’s

master was Wang Shouchuan.

The Wang Shouchuan who came up with [Treating The City

As A Piece Of Cloth]!
Chapter 394: Success
"Wang Shouchuan, who had been working diligently and
conscientiously throughout his life, probably did not expect that
his last brilliance would have such a deep impact on the world.
The Elders Guild conferred the title of Master on him without
knowing that his research possessed the power of changing the
world. They did not know this even after they built the God-
subduing Peak using his knowledge. Perhaps the Elders Guild
did not care about this at all. Seizures of power, fighting, and
scheming among one another had depleted their time and
energy, causing them to lose interest in knowing how the world
would change. Far away from them, Wang Shouchuan’s
disciple, Ai Hui, who had a bit of fame at that time, understood
the value of his master’s research and became a forerunner in
the field of elemental energy development. It was certainly
unnecessary to elaborate on how Ai Hui’s later
accomplishments were engraved in everyone’s memory."

—— <An abstract from The History Of Elemental Energy

Development>

The emergence of the God-subduing Peak had made a lot of

people realized the value of Wang Shouchuan’s research.
However, all of his research was confiscated by the Elders Guild
and not a single piece of paper was left. The God-subduing Peak
was a powerful and precious war machine, so it was heavily
guarded. It was extremely difficult for someone to get close to it,
let alone study it.

The Elders Guild was very pleased with themselves for their
fast reaction in confiscating Wang Shouchuan’s work.

However, everyone overlooked one person: Ai Hui.

Logically speaking, no one would overlook Wang Shouchuan’s

disciple. However, everyone quickly realized that [Treating The
City As A Piece Of Cloth] was Wang Shouchuan’s last-minute,
custom-made plan and that the science behind it was poles apart
from his earlier theories.

At that point in time, Ai Hui was still fighting with blood

fiends and blood elementalists. By the time he first came into
contact with the plan, he was already preparing to lead a team
to execute it. The science behind [Treating The City As A Piece
Of Cloth] was extremely complicated and there were many
blueprints on it. The Elders Guild did not believe that anyone
could memorize everything about it in such a short period of
time. All the craftsmen that were involved in building the gold
needles were taken away by Elders Guild as well.
 Furthermore, Ai Hui was only interested in swordsmanship.
He was a typical fighting elementalist.

No one expected Ai Hui to not only memorize all the

blueprints, but also to know the plan inside and out. For the
past three years, he had never stopped studying the plan. To
him, this was the last gift that his master had left him. If he did
not understand it at all, how was he fit to be his master’s
disciple?

There were two key points to setting up [Treating The City As

A Piece Of Cloth]. The first one was to find the nodes of
elemental energy, and the second one was to form the elemental
traces.

The regions where elemental energy was distributed were

important and would affect the flow of elemental energy. This
logic applied to regions where multiple types of elemental
energy existed as well.

Wang Shouchuan named these regions as nodes. If one

wanted to control the elemental energy of a particular place, he
or she would have to control the node of this region first.
 So how does one control a node? Here was the second key
point, elemental traces.

Elemental traces were nothing new to this time and age. The
theories behind them were based on the spiritual traces from
the glorious Cultivation Era. Forbidden arts, spells, and
refinement of equipment were applications of spiritual traces.

Wang Shouchuan was not the first person to research

elemental traces. There were countless people before him that
desired to find the most important power of the Elemental Era,
but they eventually failed to do so.

The reason why Wang Shouchuan succeeded was that he was

the first who understood the importance of nodes. The energy
level of elemental energy paled in comparison to that of
spiritual force. Thus, only at nodes would the energy level of
elemental energy be higher than the spiritual force. This was
where the elemental traces would be formed.

Right now, Ai Hui was finding these nodes.

He had personal experience with finding such nodes. All the

gold needles from the original [Treating The City As A Piece Of
Cloth] plan were personally nailed by him.

In other people’s eyes, Ai Hui was just pacing around the

cavern nonstop. There would be times where he stopped for a
while and drew a circle on the ground with his sword.

They did not understand what Ai Hui was doing, but they
could see the solemn look on his face. Everyone could not help
but hold their breaths in anticipation.

For two hours, Ai Hui paced around in the cavern. More and
more circles appeared on the ground.

When Ai Hui drew his last circle, he stopped and heaved a sigh
of relief.

Then, he told Gu Tianning, "Nail the stone pillars 30

centimeters deep into these circles."

Gu Tianning acknowledged Ai Hui and quickly set off to work.

He noticed a layer of perspiration on Ai Hui’s forehead and
realized that he had exhausted a lot of energy just by pacing
around the cavern for the past two hours.
 "Let me do it as well!" Qing Feng volunteered.

He was filled with curiosity and wanted to see what was so

special about the stone pillars and the circles that Ai Hui drew.

However, when he nailed a stone pillar into a circle on the

ground and saw that there was no reaction, he was slightly
disappointed.

When all 20 stone pillars had been inserted into the ground,
the initially spacious cavern looked cramped and small. At this
moment, everyone noticed that the positions of the 20 pillars
did not correspond to one another. They were randomly
scattered all over the cavern, appearing to be in disarray.

A lot of people felt apprehensive. They really could not see the
use of these stone pillars.

Ai Hui found a corner, sat down ,and called out to Gu

Tianning, "We need to wait for two hours."

Gu Tianning walked over to Ai Hui and sat beside him. He was

not worried that Ai Hui was just talking big about increasing the
concentration level of elemental energy in this place. Why
would someone spend so much effort if he was just talking big?

Ai Hui did not have the free time to do that. If someone said
that Ai Hui was trying to scam them, then what would be the
point of him scamming them if they had nothing and were poor
to begin with?

The two of them began to chit-chat. It had been a long time

since Ai Hui had left the Old Territory. He did not know what
the current situation there was like.

Upon seeing that Ai Hui was interested in the situation of the

Old Territory, Gu Tianning tried his best to tell him more about
it.

The advancement of the Blood of God in the Old Territory was

not smooth at all. Since the people in the Old Territory
possessed a tiny amount of elemental energy, the speed at which
the blood elementalists developed their blood spiritual force
was very slow. Furthermore, the Blood of God still needed a
very long period of time before they could fully absorb the
Yellow Sand Corner and Fire Prairie. This was also one of the
reasons why the Blood of God was not anxious about their
expansion in the Old Territory.
 When compared to the decaying Avalon of Five Elements, the
Old Territory was less impacted by the Blood of God because the
Old Territory was poor and barren to begin with.

For the past few years, after the collapse of the Induction
Ground, youngsters from the Old Territory did not have the
chance to even be selected for schooling. This caused a lot of
youngsters to feel disappointed. For the last 1,000 years, no
matter how much everyone disliked the Avalon of Five
Elements, gifted youngsters from the Old Territory were always
given a chance to study in the Induction Ground and change
their fates.

The Elders Guild, which could hardly look after itself, no

longer cared about the Old Territory.

Gu Tianning was very worried that these gifted youngsters

would swear allegiance to the Blood of God.

When Ai Hui heard Gu Tianning’s worries, he could not think

of any good solutions either. Nowadays, with a shortage of
resources, price inflation, the issue of rebuilding the Thirteen
Divisions, and the project of constructing God-subduing Peaks,
how would the Elders Guild have the strength to care about the
Old Territory? Ai Hui, himself, was a poor fellow too.
 Two hours of idle conversations passed just like this.

"The stone pillars are changing color!" someone cried in

alarm.

The cry of alarm interrupted the chit-chat session between Ai

Hui and Gu Tianning and made everyone look in the direction
of the stone pillars.

At this moment, the granite stone pillars had become dark-red

in color, resembling heated iron pillars.

The weird thing was that the temperature of the cavern had
not increased by much. The dark-red stone pillars rhythmically
lit up and extinguished.

As Ai Hui walked among them, a look of satisfaction appeared

on his face. It seemed that the positions of the nodes he found
were rather accurate. Setting up the stone pillars was merely
the first step. They absorbed the fire elemental energy from the
earth fire and converted it into earth elemental energy.

If one took a closer look, he or she would realize that rich

earth elemental energy was gathering at the top of each of the
stone pillars.

Ai Hui took out 20 Earth Sentinels from his sand compass.

These were the spoils of war that he obtained after defeating the
Sand Sentinel. An Earth Sentinel was a particular sand puppet
model from the Sha Family. Their quality was first-class and
considered one of the best sand puppet models currently
available.

When Gu Tianning and his counterparts saw the 20 Earth

Sentinels, their jaws dropped. After the Yellow Sand Corner was
annexed by the Blood of God, the prices of sand puppets had
been continuously climbing. With a single glance, one could tell
that these Earth Sentinels were of superior quality and that
their prices were extremely expensive.

Furthermore, there were 20 of them… How much would that

cost?

The sound of heavy gasps resounded through the cavern in

unison. The faces of the Gu clansmen were bright-red. They
wished they could pounce on the Earth Sentinels.
 Qing Feng was an individual who had experienced a lavish
lifestyle. As such, he was not fazed by the mere 20 Earth
Sentinels. However, he was rather curious about what Ai Hui
was going to do next. The dark-red glow of the 20 stone pillars
was pulsating rhythmically, and he could sense the powerful
auras of fire elemental energy and earth elemental energy from
them. He could also feel another mysterious aura within them
as well.

Ai Hui picked up a Earth Sentinel and placed it on top of a

stone pillar.

Following which, something weird happened.

The Earth Sentinel melted and became a pool of quicksand

that flowed down the stone pillar. After a while, the pool of
quicksand completely engulfed the stone pillar. Like a yellow
snake, the quicksand wrapped around the stone pillar and kept
on swirling around it. Its swirling speed became faster and
faster.

Eventually, the quicksand became a high-speed spinning sand

tornado that engulfed the stone pillar and gave off a vibrating
buzzing sound.
 The sand tornado began to grow taller and taller. The top of
the sand tornado opened up and the border of its mouth started
to extend outward, resembling an umbrella that was being
opened up.

Gradually, more sand tornadoes were formed with their

mouths opened up and extended outward.

The buzzing sound of the sand tornadoes was intolerable.

Other than Gu Tianning and Qing Feng, the rest retreated in
panic and stayed away from the cavern.

Gu Tianning’s face turned white. He felt that his entire body

was trembling violently, causing him to feel extremely
nauseous.

Excitement swept across Qing Feng’s face as he widened his

eyes. He was afraid of missing out on any details of the process.
Until now, he still did not know what was going, but this did
not stop him from acknowledging that the scene before him was
spectacular.

Ai Hui had inherited Wang Shouchuan’s knowledge!

 This thought flashed through his mind.

When the last sand umbrella opened up, the 20 sand

umbrellas extended toward each other and fused together,
appearing as if they were attracted to each other like magnets of
the opposite polarity. When the last gap was closed up, all the
vibrating buzzing sounds suddenly disappeared. A dome-shaped
sand canopy was formed at the roof of the cavern. The 20 sand
tornadoes supported the dome-shaped sand canopy like 20
pillars.

If one took a closer look, he or she could clearly see that

ripples were formed continuously on the dome-shaped sand
canopy.

The sudden moment of silence stunned everyone.

Very soon, Gu Tianning yelled in alarm. His voice was filled

with ecstasy "The concentration level of the earth elemental
energy is rising!"

The rest of his clansmen rushed into the cavern. Cries of

alarm and surprise resounded through the air incessantly.
 "Oh my god, it feels so comfortable!"

The concentration level of the earth elemental energy is still

rising!"

Shocked, Qing Feng stared at Ai Hui. He had not expected Ai

Hui to succeed!

At this point in time, Ai Hui felt a sense of achievement. This

was the first time he put his master’s theories into practice.
Even though it was a simple process of convert fire elemental
energy into earth elemental energy, it was still not easy to create
a well-distributed amount of rich earth elemental energy.

The earth elemental energy within the stone pillars was

transferred to the dome-shaped sand canopy and gushed out
from the countless grains of sand. This in turn caused the
concentration of earth elemental energy in this area to rise.

Gu Tianning was unable to control his emotions. Since when

had he trained in such an area that contained so much earth
elemental energy?
 A lot of Gu clansmen embraced each other and cried tears of
joy. The concentration level of elemental energy in the poor and
barren Old Territory was pathetically low. After they arrived at
Silver Sea Mist, they did not know what to do next and their
future was bleak. The earth elemental energy in Silver Mist Sea
might be more concentrated than Old Territory’s, but the place
was still metal-attributed after all.

It was only until now that their bodies were filled with
immensely rich earth elemental energy. This was a scenario
that they did not even dare to dream of.

"Brother Gu, I have completed setting up this place. However,

there is one flaw with this place that Brother Gu must take note
of."

Ai Hui’s voice rang across the air in an untimely manner.

When everyone heard that there was a flaw with this place,
their palpitating hearts stop momentarily in unison.
Chapter 395: Overflowing Elemental
Energy
The cavern suddenly quieted down. Everyone looked
anxiously at Ai Hui in unison.

Gu Tianning took in a deep breath of air and appeared slightly

calmer, "Brother Ai, please tell us what’s wrong!"

As compared to the rest of his clansmen, Gu Tianning was

more knowledgeable and experienced. He knew the Avalon of
Five Elements wasn’t the paradise that everyone from Old
Territory thought it was. He knew this wasn’t the most
advanced technology right now, but he also knew that it was
not easy to set up such a wonderful training ground. Having one
or two weaknesses was normal. On the contrary, it wouldn’t be
right if there were absolutely no weaknesses.

Otherwise, wouldn’t there be training grounds like this

everywhere?

Ai Hui replied with a solemn look on his face, "The

concentration level of earth elemental energy will keep on
increasing. If the elemental energy can’t be consumed in time,
the grains of sand will become heavier and the sand canopy will
eventually fall. So everyone has to make good use of their time
to train and to make sure they don’t let the elemental energy
overflow."

Don’t let the elemental… elemental energy overflow...

Gu Tianning was stunned momentarily. He thought he’d

heard wrong. Not only he, but the rest of his clansmen were
stunned as well. They were always in lack of elemental energy.
Now, suddenly someone was telling them the elemental energy
would overflow...

"Brother Ai, stop joking…" Gu Tianning muttered.

"I’m not joking." Ai Hui had a serious look on his face and
said, "All of you have to quickly absorb the earth elemental
energy surging out from the sand canopy. If the earth elemental
energy accumulates and overflows, the sand canopy will
collapse."

Gu Tianning’s facial expression changed drastically. He

turned around and roared, "What are all of you waiting for!
Start training! Make good use of your time and start training!"
 The Gu clansmen immediately went into a state of panic and
hastily sat down to meditate and train.

When Qing Feng, who had seen various aspects of society

before, saw what happened, he could not help but feel slightly
envious. "You’re making it too convenient for these poor bums.
Now that they have fallen into a pile of sh*t, they can fill their
stomach with it!"

Gu Tianning was smiling and feeling extremely content. He

did not get angry even after hearing Qing Feng’s words. Other
than feeling slightly annoyed that they were being called bums,
he was actually quite happy as Qing Feng spoke his mind!

Actually, Ai Hui was partly joking about the flaw. Gu

Tianning wouldn’t believe him anyway. But both of them never
expected that this flaw-cum-joke would keep on increasing the
Gu clan’s training efficiency till the point where they eventually
became successful in the future.

"Brother Ai, hold on."

After Gu Tianning finished his sentence, he went away for a

while and came back with a wooden box on his hand.
 He passed the wooden box to Ai Hui and said gratefully,
"These are some artifact remnants that we obtained by chance.
Initially, we intended to ask Blind He to make us a Heaven-
grade weapon using these artifact remnants. But right now, we
don’t need them. This is a small present from us to thank you,
please don’t be courteous with us. The Gu clan will forever
remember your kindness for giving us a new lease on life. In the
future, if Brother Ai needs any help from us, the Gu clan will
not hesitate to go through fire and tread water for you!"

Without any hesitation, Ai hui took over the wooden box and
bade farewell to Gu Tianning, "Thank you very much, Brother
Gu. It didn’t take much effort, you’re welcome, Brother Gu. I’m
from Old Territory as well. Even though my capabilities are
limited, I will still do whatever I can to help. I still have things
that I need to attend to, and I shall bid you farewell here. This is
my message leaf. If Brother Gu wants to find me for anything,
you can contact me through a message tree. I will stay in
Crooked River City for a few days. If you have anything that you
need help with these few days, you can find me at Crooked River
Tavern."

Gu Tianning carefully took over the message leaf.

Ai Hui carried Qing Feng and spread his Starry Gem

Swordwings like the gigantic wings of a roc. He rose into the sky
with Qing Feng and flew into the distance.

Gu Tianning stood motionlessly as he watched the tiny black

dot disappear into the distance.

On the way back, Qing Feng suddenly said, "Giving such a

treasure to a bunch of weak and frail fellows, don’t you feel
you’ve suffered a loss? If you are willing to present a treasure
like that to Grandmaster Dai, no matter what you want,
Grandmaster Dai will agree to it! What in this world is
Grandmaster Dai not capable of doing?"

"I want my master and mistress to come back to life."

Qing Feng was speechless.

Refusing to submit to Ai Hui, Qing Feng continued after a

while, "A person who is dead is unable to come back to life. One
should always move forward in life. Why do you have to be so
obstinate?"

Ai Hui was slightly surprised by Qing Feng’s words. Then he

replied, "I thought you said a dead person could at least become
like you?"

Qing Feng shook his head and replied, "There’s nothing good
about being something that is neither dead nor alive like me."

"Why?" Ai Hui was surprised.

"I can’t do whatever I want and I am created to be used by

someone else," Qing Feng replied. "It doesn’t matter if one lives
in degradation and drags out their ignorable existence. Aren’t
most people living like that as well? It also doesn’t matter if one
has a body that he can’t control. Aren’t there many disabled
people in this world as well? However, if one’s memory is
erased every now and then, what’s the difference between him
and a sand puppet?"

Ai Hui was speechless.

For the remaining part of the journey, both of them didn’t

talk to each other.

Carrying Qing Feng in his arms, he flew back to Crooked River

Tavern.
 When they arrived back at the tavern, Zhao Boan had already
bought back a Three Leaves Bamboo Cart. Its price was
extremely cheap as it was second-hand. Not many trade routes
went through Crooked River City, as such, there weren’t many
transportation businesses and a huge number of Three Leaves
Bamboo Carts were available for sale.

However, Ai Hui did not prepare to leave at once. Recently,

his swordsmanship had improved by leaps and bounds and he
did not want to disrupt his excellent training momentum. As
such, he decided to stay in Crooked River City for a few more
days, and made good use of the time to train with Qing Feng so
he could achieve the next breakthrough soon.

…..

Silver City.

The debris in the Ye Residence had not been cleared up yet.

Everywhere was littered with broken wall fragments. From the
amount of debris in the Ye Residence, one would instantly know
how intense the multiple battles that took place that day were.
During daytime, there would be a lot of servants clearing up the
debris. During the night, everywhere would be filled with
guards.
 Right now, Madam Ye was gaining reputation day by day. She
had become a powerful and influential figure in the Avalon of
Five Elements. However, since she had to host Master’s Glory,
she was extremely busy and she had to travel nonstop. It had
been many days since she’d last returned to the Ye Residence.

The Ye Residence still needed a long period of time before it

could return to its former self.

The night was quiet and tranquil. One tall figure and one
short figure were standing on a heap of debris in the Ye
Residence. The guards in the distance could not sense their
presence at all.

The tall figure looked as if he was standing on a pair of stilts.

His clothes were huge and airy. His face was deathly pale and
his cheekbones were sunken, resembling a dried corpse. His
gaze swept across his surroundings and his nose was twitching
every now and then. He shook his head and said, "Xiao Shuren
self-detonated in this spot."

The short figure could not help but ask curiously, "But I can’t
sense the aura of the ancient treasure. Could it be that the
ancient treasure isn’t with her?"
 The short figure was short and round, resembling a
watermelon. His nose was bright red, looking extremely joyful.

"No, it must be with her," the tall figure shook his head and
replied.

He inserted his fingers into the debris. After he took them out,
there were a few grains of sand between his fingers. He then
continued, "Her body had undergone transfiguration before.
She had placed the ancient treasure within her body. These
grains of sand contain the aura of the ancient treasure. Judging
by the time, the ancient treasure was still in her body before she
died. Whoever came into contact with her before she died is the
greatest suspect."

Upon hearing these words, the short figure replied, "Who

came into contact with her before she died? Chu Zhaoyang! He
was holding Xiao Shuren hostage!"

The tall figure replied with a deep voice, "That’s right, he is

the biggest suspect. Furthermore, he left Silver City
immediately after the incident. This makes him an even bigger
of a suspect."
 "How do we carry out our investigation on him?" The short
figure looked worried. "We have suffered a huge loss this time
around. Recently, none of the families would dare to contact us,
not to mention how we wouldn’t go seeking their help. The two
of us alone are not capable of tracking down Chu Zhaoyang."

"That’s Grandmaster Dai’s business," the tall figure replied

without any hesitation. "We will just report our findings and
then more powerful people will take over the case. I will chase
down Demonic Girl and you will go after Qing Feng. Until now,
he hasn't made any contact with any enterprise. I guess he is
trying to run away."

"Alright! Qing Feng’s body has been marked, he can’t run

away," the short fellow agreed. Then, he asked again, "Are you
confident in handling Demonic Girl?"

"She can’t run away." The tall figure was very composed.

"We shall split up."

The two figure split up and flew off in different directions

without the guards in Ye Residence noticing at all.
 …..

Crooked River City.

Ai Hui was extremely focused. The sword gleam from his

Dragonspine was fast like a lightning bolt as it warded off the
incoming torrential grass vines.

Now, Ai Hui could already ward off the ferocious attacks from
Qing Feng’s 15 grass vines. He could feel the improvements he
had made. His attack speed had become faster as well.

Having an increase in attack speed, his degree of control of his

elemental energy increased sharply too. This allowed his sword
moves to be more complete and perfect. Furthermore, the
process of switching between sword moves and the flow of his
elemental energy also became much smoother.

Every day, he would train, ponder and search for the

notebook in the Hall of Ancient Records. In other people’s eyes,
Ai Hui’s life was as dry as a monk’s ascetic life, but still
admirable.
 Another person who was leading an ascetic life was Blind He.
Blind He was a very quiet individual. He would always sit in one
corner by himself and his hands would always hold something.
He might hold a piece of wood, a rock, or a metal ingot in his
hands. No matter what he held in his hands, he would always
carve something on it and treat it as carving practice.

Anything that he held in his hands would become smaller bit

by bit and eventually became a small heap of fine powder. After
this happened, he would take out another block of material and
repeat the process again.

Meanwhile, ever since Zhao Boan found out his boss was Ai
Hui, he worked extremely hard. Every day, he would go out and
see if there was anyone that was worth hiring. Eventually, he
managed to hire a craftsman who forged Grass-grade weapons.

Mo Zhong was a miserable-looking old man. He also brought

along his granddaughter, who was around seven to eight years
old.

Initially, Zhao Boan wanted to hire a Grass-grade-weapon

weaponsmith but there weren’t any in Crooked River City. In
the end, he only managed to find a Grass-grade-weapon
craftsman and he wasn’t too satisfied with him. If Ai Hui
showed the slightest bit of disinterest in Mo Zhong, Zhao Boan
would fire him straightaway.

However, he did not expect the reserved and mysterious Blind

He to praise Mo Zhong’s capabilities in forging Grass-grade
weapons.

Eventually, Mo Zhong decided to stay after Ai Hui agreed to

pay him a yearly salary of 300 Heaven Merit Points.

Ai Hui felt that his swordsmanship had reached a plateau and

it was very hard for him to make any improvements for the time
being. As such, he decided to leave Crooked River City and
headed for Asakusa City.

The Three Leaves Bamboo Cart rose in the air.

Even though Zhao Boan had weak fighting capabilities, he was

still a wood elementalist from Jadeite Forest and he was adept
in driving the Three Leaves Bamboo Cart. Meanwhile, Qing
Feng was an abnormally fast driver. With both of them taking
turns to drive the bamboo cart, they did not really feel tired at
all.
 Of course, Qing Feng grumbled throughout the whole
journey. He kept on stressing that he was a sparring partner,
not a driver.

In order to get to Asakusa City earlier, Ai Hui decided to take a

shortcut

If they went by the usual route, they had to fly across Silver
Mist Sea to Peace City. From there, they would enter Palette
Cloud Village. After they flew across the entire Palette Cloud
Village, they would reach Asakusa City.

As such, Ai Hui wanted to take the shortcut.

By taking the shortcut, they would cross the Lava River from
Crooked River City and enter the Old Territory. From there,
they could fly straight to Asakusa City. This route could greatly
reduce the travelling time.

Ai Hui wanted to see what the Old Territory looked like now.

But it was not only him. The rest were curious as well.
Chapter 396: Bitterstone Seeds
When Ai Hui and his counterparts flew across Lava River, a
lot of people crowded around their bamboo cart. These people
thought this was a bamboo cart for stowaways. However, just as
soon as they appeared, Qing Feng, who was sitting at the driver
seat, began to whip them and chase them away with his grass
vines.

However, on the behalf of Ai Hui, he did not try to injure

them.

It was at this moment that these Old Territory’s citizens

realized the bamboo cart was not for stowaways and there were
honorable elementalists sitting in it. They turned green with
envy when they saw Ai Hui and the rest.

Having a panoramic view of this scene, Ai Hui did not feel

happy at all.

After a while, everyone began to feel discomfort as the

surrounding concentration level of elemental energy was too
low. In the Avalon of Five Elements, whether one was in
Wilderness or a city, he or she would be surrounded by an
abundance of elemental energy. Everyone was accustomed to
those environments.

However, the elemental energy concentration level in this

place was unusually low. Everyone felt as if the elemental
energy within their bodies was escaping into their
surroundings.

Qing Feng could not help but ask, "How do people live in this
kind of place?"

"The population of Old Territory is ten times more than the

population of Avalon of Five Elements," Ai Hui replied plainly.

Qing Feng decided to shut his mouth. If he provoked Ai Hui,

then Ai Hui might make him suffer again.

Ai Hui felt very uncomfortable as well.

If one attained elemental externalization, he could control the

elemental energy in a particular region. However, what would
happen to him if the surroundings were filled with little or no
elemental energy? He would feel breathless and his elemental
energy would keep on draining without any chance of
replenishment.

Ai Hui laughed bitterly in his heart. He did not expect himself

to face such a situation upon returning to the Old Territory.

"My elemental energy is draining faster than usual. What do I

do if my elemental energy is completely drained?" Qing Feng
grumbled.

"I have elemental beans."

Ai Hui’s words made everyone feel at ease. As long as they had

elemental beans, they could replenish elemental energy. And as
long as they could replenish their elemental energy, no one
could threaten them.

The region surrounding Lava River was barren. As they flew

deeper into the depths of the Old Territory, the vegetation on
the ground became more luxuriant.

Everyone curiously stuck their heads out of the bamboo cart

and looked at their surroundings. Apart from Ai Hui, this was
the first time that everyone else had come to the the Old
Territory. Actually, Ai Hui also found the surroundings to be
unfamiliar.

Ai Hui felt embarrassed to even talk about it. When he was

still in the Old Territory, he did not go to the countryside at all.
He also knew nothing about the plants and animals beneath the
ground. However, he was extremely familiar with the plants
and dire beasts in the Wilderness.

When it was evening, their Three Leaves Bamboo Cart had to

land on the ground as Qing Feng and Zhao Boan’s elemental
energy was completely depleted.

Ai Hui had to admit that he underestimated the situation in

the Old Territory.

The speed at which their elemental energy was depleting was

faster than he expected. If they were in the Avalon of Five
Elements, Qing Feng and Zhao Boan could fly for two to three
days straight.

However, Ai Hui did not give up. He had another purpose for
entering the Old Territory this time around.
 He thought of the discussion that everyone had had about
Central Pine Faction’s future direction back in Swordsman
Training Hall. Ai Hui told everyone that the Old Territory
would be the key area for their battle against Blood of God in the
future. That was because the Old Territory had the human
resources and artifact remnants that Blood of God needed
urgently.

This idea was suggested by Ai Hui. As such, Ai Hui now

wanted to see if this idea was possible or not.

From the look of it, the Old Territory was an extremely

unsuitable place for elementalists to be stationed for long. Due
to the low concentration level of elemental energy,
elementalists would make progress only with great difficulty.
Previously, Ai Hui had already known that the low
concentration level of elemental energy in the Old Territory
would impact elementalists. However, he did not expect the
impact to be so great.

If this was the case, they would not be able to execute their
expansion plan into the Old Territory.

Wait!
 Suddenly, Ai Hui thought of something. He asked Qing Feng,
"How do the three central divisions that are stationed in the Old
Territory solve the issue of the low concentration level of
elemental energy?"

"God knows," Qing Feng mumbled.

The rest had blank looks on their faces.

Ai Hui noted this down in his mind, intending to ask Iron

Lady to find out more about the three central divisions. If the
three central divisions could be station here, that implied they
had a solution for the low concentration level of elemental
energy in this place.

Furthermore, if elementalists encountered this problem in the

Old Territory, what about blood elementalists? Blood
elementalists practised blood spiritual force. Since spiritual
force had a higher energy level than elemental energy, that
meant blood spiritual force would be drained at a higher rate
than elemental energy. That also implied that blood
elementalists would have a harder time surviving in the Old
Territory than elementalists.
 Was this perhaps the reason why Blood of God’s expansion
into the Old Territory was not successful, even now? Even the
plants in the Old Territory lacked elemental energy. This would
cause the power of blood poison, which used elemental energy
to proliferate, to reduce greatly.

Ai Hui was excited. He already found it hard to survive here

and his enemies found it even harder to do so. This was a huge
advantage to him.

They landed beside a creek. The flowing water of the creek

was bubbling and there were pebbles all around the creek. In
the distance, there were a few huge rocks as well.

Very soon, Ai Hui and the rest found a piece of flat land to set
up camp.

Zhao Boan was a travelling merchant and he had travelled

extensively. For him, camping in the wild was nothing out of
ordinary and his camping skills were adept.

Qing Feng ran to the creekside and caught a few fish.

 As compared to the dangerous fish in Wilderness, the fish
here were not only small, but they were not aggressive at all.
The fish in Wilderness were extremely aggressive. If one
encountered a fish-type dire beast, it would spell trouble for
him or her. The rivers in Wilderness were places where
massacres took place. A low-level elementalist would not dare to
get close to a river in Wilderness.

Even though the fish here did not contain elemental energy,
they still tasted very fresh and delicious.

After they finished eating the fish, the color of the sky
dimmed gradually. The glow of sunset shone upon their bodies.
Due to the lack of water elemental energy, the clouds in the Old
Territory were not as thick as the ones in the Avalon of Five
Elements. As such, the sky in the Old Territory was usually
cloudless.

Ai Hui noticed Blind He had a fist-sized pebble in his hand and

he was carving it. Apparently, he picked it up from the
creekside.

Ai Hui could not help but smile.

 He often admired focused individuals like Blind He.

Mo Zhong had brought along his granddaughter on this trip.

At first, he was still worried that his granddaughter might not
get used to their new lifestyle. However, he had not expected his
granddaughter to be even more daring than him. She was filled
with curiosity towards her surroundings.

The small girl was called Mo Buyu. Initially, she was slightly
shy and constantly on her guard. After she familiarized herself
with everyone, she became much more active. She would pluck
grass stalks, climb up onto rocks, and even try to catch river
crabs in the creek. Mo Zhong could not do anything about her.

Ai Hui enjoyed the glow of the sunset as distant memories

flashed across his mind. He thought about the times when he
was still in the swordsman school in the Old Territory. Usually,
around this time of day, he would bring a chair to the courtyard
and sit down to read his swordplay manual.

At that time, he did not possess any elemental energy. He only

knew how to enjoy the satisfaction and tranquility derived from
the cool breeze.
 Clink.

Suddenly, a crisp and clear sound echoed through the air.

Ai Hui’s thoughts were disrupted. He followed the direction of

the sound and realized that it was made by Blind He.

Blind He had a weird look on his face. The pebble in his hand
had been carved and reduced to the size of a finger. Stone
crumbs were all over his clothes and his face.

Ai Hui felt slightly puzzled. Did the sound come from Blind
He’s hands?

Previously, he had closely observed the way Blind He carved

materials. Even those hard metal ingots would melt like butter
and crumble like biscuits in his hands. All the materials would
be reduced to a pile of fine powder without the slightest bit of
noise.

"Boss, look at this!"

 Blind He yelled and threw the finger-sized pebble at Ai Hui.

Ai Hui felt slightly puzzled and caught it.

When Ai Hui caught it in his hands, he felt that something

was unusual about it. When the tiny pebble was placed on his
palm, it felt dense and heavy, resembling a metal ball. Ai Hui
tried to channel a trace of elemental energy into it and realized
it was very difficult for the trace of elemental energy to go
through it.

He furrowed his eyebrows and pinched the pebble. The shape

of the pebble remained the same.

Its degree of hardness was very high!

Ai Hui whipped out his Dragonspine and a streak of sword

gleam slashed across the pebble. Ai Hui could feel an obvious
sluggishness in the slashing motion. The thing that surprised
him was that his sword gleam did not shatter the pebble, but
only split it in half.

Ai Hui was very shocked. Given the current sharpness of his

sword gleam, he still could not shatter the pebble!

Only upon his second try could he then shatter the pebble.
The inner part of the pebble was slightly darker in color and
smoother in texture than its surface. If Blind He had never
practised his carving skills on this pebble, no one would know
how hard the core of the pebble actually was.

Blind He found another pebble from somewhere. Both of his

hands were flickering with light as fine stone powder fell on the
ground with a rustling sound. After a while, a stone that was
even smaller than the previous one appeared in his hand. At this
moment, a serious look appeared on his face. A thin beam of
light shot out from his fingertip and he began to carve it.

Qing Feng let out a soft gasp of surprise. He saw what was
going on and used the grass vines in his hand to take a pile of
pebbles from the creekside.

He chose a pebble and whipped it with one of his grass vines.

Immediately, the little pebble was shattered, revealing the
slightly darker core within it. Subsequently, he whipped the
entire pile of pebbles violently with his grass whips and
shattered all of them to smithereens. Then, he collected the
cores that were leftover.
 Mo Zhong brought his granddaughter along and quickly ran
over to see what was going on. Mo Buyu was inquisitive, while
Mo Zhong was extremely sensitive to materials, as he was a
Grass-grade-weapon craftsman.

He picked up the inner core of a pebble and examined it

closely with his eyes. His eyes were darting non-stop. Suddenly,
he did something weird. He stuck out his tongue and licked it.

"Boss, this is a stone core."

Mo Zhong’s voice was filled with certainty and surprise.

Ai Hui did not expect Mo Zhong to know anything about it. He

could not help but ask, "Stone core?"

"Ancient records have mentioned that there are cores within

stones. These stone cores are as hard as metal. When one first
tastes a stone core, he or she will taste saltiness and bitterness
together. Subsequently, its taste will turn purely bitter. As such,
they are also known as bitterstone seeds."

Upon hearing Mo Zhong’s words, Ai Hui gave it a taste.

Indeed, he tasted saltiness and bitterness at first. Quickly after,
he could only taste bitterness.

It was magical!

As a citizen of the Old Territory, Ai Hui knew nothing about

bitterstone seeds at all. He asked, "What uses does a bitterstone
seed have?"

"This is the first time I’ve seen one in real life too. I have to
study it before I can identify its characteristics and uses.
However, since it’s a new type of material to us, there are
definitely some uses for it," Mo Zhong replied respectfully.

"Thank you for your trouble," Ai Hui nodded his head.

"It’s part of my duty," Mo Zhong quickly replied.

Ai Hui cast a glance at Blind He and saw him carving

something on the stone core with all his attention. The surface
of the stone core on his hand was covered with many finely
veined patterns. Suddenly, Ai Hui noticed there were beads of
perspiration on Blind He’s forehead. He could not help but take
a closer look. Usually, no matter what material Blind He was
holding, he would easily and skillfully carve something on it.

This was the first time Ai Hui saw such a strenuous look on
his face while he was carving something.

Ai Hui picked up a bitterstone seed as well. He was filled with

curiosity towards this material. Apparently, the bitterstone
seeds were not compatible with elemental energy at all. They
were extremely repulsive towards elemental energy

Could they be used to make weapons? But they did not seem
to be strong enough.

How about shields? Alright, the bitterstone seeds were too

tiny.

Then what could they be used for? Ai Hui was racking his
brain.

This was a brand-new type of material, unknown to everyone.

No one knew what opportunities were contained within these
bitterstone seeds. It was absolutely great news to Ai Hui. This
also made Ai Hui realize that the Old Territory was not as
barren as he thought.

Would there be other materials that were unknown to people,

like the bitterstone seeds?

This thought excited Ai Hui in an instant.

Chapter 397: An Impromptu Trip
Everyone’s interest had been piqued and they began to look
for other materials, hoping to discover something unique.

After searching the whole night, no one found any unique

materials like the bitterstone seeds. However, the bamboo cart
was still filled with various unknown stones, timbers, plants
and animal bones. Ai Hui intended to study them when they
reached Peace City, or after they had arrived at the Wilderness.

When the sun rose, everyone was so tired that they sat on the
ground motionlessly.

Even someone like Ai Hui, who had a physically strong body,

felt fatigued. Their elemental energy depleted faster in this
place than when they were in the Avalon of Five Elements.
Similarly, the physical energy also depleted at a faster rate too.

Ai Hui had mentally noted down that he must find a solution

to this problem before he came to Old Territory again in the
future. There was certainly a solution to this problem,
otherwise, how would it be possible for the three central
divisions to station themselves here long-term?
 As Ai Hui thought about the three central divisions, he felt
something was amiss. The three central divisions were widely
regarded as the three most powerful divisions, and they were
the ones that led the Thirteen Divisions. Logically speaking,
they should be stationed in vital, central areas, but why were
they stationed in Old Territory?

It would be complete bullshit to say that Elders Guild valued

Old Territory.

Ai Hui intended to ask Iron Lady or Bangwan about this when

he went back. Both of them should know the reason behind it.

Even though it was painful for his wallet, Ai Hui still took out
his essence elemental beans and asked everyone to come over,
"We can only absorb the elemental energy from these essence
elemental beans for the time being."

Essence elemental beans were extremely expensive. Using

these to regain elemental energy would indeed hurt one’s
wallet. Currently, Heaven Merit Points were the most approved
form of currency. As long as Elders Guild did not collapse,
Heaven Merit Points would still be a powerful currency.
Similarly, essence elemental beans were used as a form of
currency as well. If Elders Guild collapsed, elemental energy
beans would continue to exist in this world. No matter what
happened, everyone still needed elemental energy to survive.

Basically, Heavenly Merit Points were used in a few, high-end

markets while essence elemental beans could be used
everywhere.

Now was too late for regret. Old Territory’s impact on their
elemental energy had exceeded Ai Hui’s expectations. It was not
a bad thing to experience it for himself. Ai Hui said these words
to console himself. Other than this minor issue, they weren’t
met with any serious troubles. This trip to Old Territory could
be considered as setting out in advance to make the necessary
arrangements. This could prevent the main party from being ill-
prepared when they came here in the future.

Just as Ai Hui thought that there wasn’t any serious

problems, an unforeseen situation happened.

"There are only this many wood essence elemental beans?"

Qing Feng counted the essence elemental beans and looked at

Ai Hui.
 Ai Hui had two hundred plus essence elemental beans, but
most of them were metal elemental and water elemental. There
were only twenty-six wood essence elemental beans. This
implied that Qing Feng and Zhao Boan would each get thirteen
wood essence elemental beans.

Ai Hui began to reflect on himself. He was really ill-prepared

for the operation this time around.

After muttering irresolutely to himself for a while, Ai Hui

made a decision, "You will take all the wood essence elemental
beans since your elemental energy usage is higher than Boan’s.
We will cancel the original plan of staying here. Right now, we
fly straight to Asakusa City at full speed. Are twenty-six wood
essence elemental beans enough?"

After pondering for a moment, Qing Feng shook his head and
replied, "It’s hard to determine now. If we encounter any
situation along the way, then this amount is definitely not
enough."

Upon hearing these words, Ai Hui continued, "We will fly

towards Palette Cloud Village then. It’s much nearer this way.
We will fly along the Lava River. If we run out of essence
elemental beans, we will fly across Lava River and enter Palette
Cloud Village."

He did not choose to backtrack. They had already entered the

Old Territory and it would be a waste of time and resources if
they didn’t explore it.

No one had any objections and Ai Hui began to distribute the

essence elemental beans.

Since all the wood essence elemental energy beans were given
to Qing Feng for him to drive the Three Leaves Bamboo Cart,
Zhao Boan had no choice but to endure the lack of elemental
energy in his body.

When everyone completed absorbing the elemental energy

from the essence elemental beans, the Three Leaves Bamboo
Cart rose into the air and flew towards Palette Cloud Village.

…..

Several days had passed. A plump and short figure appeared

beside the Lava River and there was a surprised look on his face.
 Qing Feng actually hid in Old Territory?

After having second thoughts, his facial expression returned

to normal. Other than Old Territory, where else could Qing
Feng escape to? As long as he was in the Avalon of Five
Elements, he would be tracked down by them. Qing Feng clearly
knew about this. Escaping to Old Territory was his only option.

However, could he survive if he escaped to Old Territory?

There was no way for him to replenish his elemental energy

here. This place was like a dead end for him. Qing Feng only had
himself to blame.

Not only did he fail to obtain the ancient treasure, the fall of
the Ling Residence also caused Deep Sea Enterprise to suffer a
huge loss and sharply reduced its influential power over the
Avalon of Five Elements.

The worst thing was that the few families who used to keep in
contact with their enterprise refused to do so nowadays. These
families were mainly the ones that provided Deep Sea
Enterprise with intelligence on Elders Guild. Right now, the
intelligence gathering ability of Deep Sea Enterprise had
decreased significantly.

Deep Sea Enterprise had stringent rules and regulations and

was fair in giving out rewards and punishments. Failing such an
important mission would result in absolute death for Qing Feng.
If Qing Feng still had family members, they would be implicated
as well.

The plump and short fellow turned around to return to the

enterprise to report his findings.

…..

A rarely seen Three Leaves Bamboo Cart was flying through

the air in the desolate Old Territory. The whirring sound
produced by the flapping of the three leaves on the bamboo cart
alarmed the wild beasts in the forest and caused them to run in
all directions in panic.

There were more and more timbers and stones piled onto the
bamboo cart, all of which were collected by everyone along the
way. Every piece of stone or timber had been marked with the
location of where it was found. If they were to discover
anything unique about a particular material in the future, they
would know where it was from and this made the gathering
process easier.

Since there was a lack of earth elemental energy in Old

Territory, Ai Hi could not use his sand compass. All the
materials they gathered had to be put on the Three Leaves
Bamboo Cart.

Even though the trip to Old Territory this time around was
done in haste, Ai Hui had learned a lot of new things. He had
worked as a laborer in Wilderness for three years and spent
nearly a year as a student in Induction Ground. After the blood
catastrophe broke out, he left Central Pine City and stayed in
Peace City under a disguised identity for three years. Now,
another half a year had passed.

It was almost eight years since he’d left Old Territory.

Eight years was not a short period of time to anyone.

When Ai Hui was in the Avalon of Five Elements, other than

reminiscing about the times he’d spent in swordsman school, he
seldom thought of Old Territory. Before he arrived at the
swordsman school, he wandered about Old Territory in a
desperate plight. He did not have a home and he was poverty-
stricken. He did not know when that kind of life started for him.
It appeared that he had been leading this kind of life since the
day he was born.

He did not have any family members in Old Territory. As

such, there was nobody and nothing for him to reminisce about.

All kinds of situations had happened on this impromptu trip

to Old Territory and most of them got to do with the low
concentration level of elemental energy in the surroundings.
However, to Ai Hui’s surprise, unlike the desolate cities in Old
Territory, the wilderness of Old Territory was full of vitality.

The concentration level of elemental energy in surroundings

was very low but plants continued to grow and wild beasts
continued to breed.

Sometimes, Ai Hui felt that this place was not a vassal state of
the Avalon of Five Elements, but rather, a completely different
world of its own.

Having a lack of elemental energy, Ai Hui could not carry out

his usual trainings or enter the Grass Hall. There was no way for
him to use the message tree as well. How did the three central
divisions convey messages to Elders Guild? If one needed to
differentiate directions, he or she had to use the traditional
compass.

Ai Hui meticulously noted down these questions. If they really

were to come to Old Territory in the future, the answers to
these questions would be very important.

However, Ai Hui discovered something unique. In Old

Territory, the speed at which fusion elemental energy was
depleting was much slower than elemental energy’s. Amidst his
surprise, Ai Hui was thinking about whether or not it was due to
the five elemental cycle in fusion elemental energy. The five
elemental cycle grew and multiplied without an end. To a
certain degree, this could prevent the fusion elemental energy
from escaping one’s body. If this was the case, a killing machine
that possessed the five elemental cycle like God-subduing Peak
would be very suitable for Old Territory.

All these were Ai Hui’s conjectures. Since he could not verify

them now, he noted them down as well.

Not having enough essence elemental beans would put Ai Hui

and his counterparts in a precarious situation. Especially Qing
Feng, whose body was formed of elemental materials, had a
high usage of elemental energy. In Old Territory, a place where
the concentration level of elemental energy was low, Qing Feng
was like a fish that had left the water. An intense feeling of
suffocation engulfed him incessantly.

Not needing Ai Hui’s supervision, Qing Feng drove the Three

Leaves Bamboo Cart, day and night, like a madman.

Sometimes, they would pass by some of Old Territory’s cities.

Most of these cities were very small in size and they were widely
scattered. A city like Silver City was rarely seen. In Old
Territory, flying was considered a very powerful ability. Very
few people possessed the ability to fly. As such, the structures in
Old Territory were very short and there were very few tall
buildings. Occasionally, one could see a few pagodas. These
pagodas were from the Cultivation Era and they were covered
with traces of age and time.

There were a lot of ruins in Old Territory. Even now, the

ruins of grotto-heavens were found occasionally. For the past
two years, the prices of artifact remnants had been rising
continuously. Elders Guild was not the only one who was
buying them, the Blood of God was doing so as well.
 A quick glance and a hasty passing-by was enough to wake the
countless memories of Old Territory in Ai Hui.

The Three Leaves Cart flew across the sky of Old Territory.

They flew at top speed for a few days and nights. When
everyone saw the bright-red Lava River in the distance before
the wood essence elemental beans ran out, they heaved a sigh of
relief. There many people around the Lava River. They were the
citizens from Old Territory and all of them were waiting for a
chance to steal across the border to Avalon of Five Elements.
From the sky, the people below them looked like ants. When the
Old Territory’s citizens saw their Three Leaves Bamboo Cart, a
commotion broke out. Some people were waving their arms
frantically while some were screaming at the top of their voices.
All of them looked extremely agitated.

The citizens of Old Territory viewed the Avalon of Five

Elements as the shore they had to get onto, while the citizens of
the Avalon of Five Elements placed their hope on Wilderness.

Which one would be the shore they reached then? Who knew?

The Three Leaves Bamboo Cart did not stop and flew across
the Lava River. It flew away from the fervent gazes and anxious
shouts of the onlookers. After they flew across the Lava River,
everyone was energized by the vigorous elemental energy from
their surroundings. Their dried-up bodies were being nourished
by the elemental energy in the air. Qing Feng quickly found a
flat piece of land to land on.

Everyone jumped down from the bamboo cart and began to

carry out Circulatory Cycle Revolution.

Ai Hui used his Sword-style Breathing Technique. The hissing

sound of wind from his Dragonspine was remarkably striking.
Elemental energy flowed in from all directions and entered Ai
Hui’s body through his sword. The elemental energy formed
numerous huge sword pills that whirled around within his
body. Traces of elemental energy seeped into his muscles and
nourished them. If an elementalist that specialized in body-
tempering spent too much time in Old Territory, and his
muscles lacked the nourishment of elemental energy, the
tempered muscles would degenerate.

Not too long later, a few Three Leaves Bamboo Carts flew
over. These bamboo carts were for conducting illegal
immigration businesses. When they saw Ai Hui’s Three Leaves
Bamboo Cart, they thought Ai Hui and his counterparts were of
the same trade. However, when they realized Ai Hui’s base level
was a lot higher than theirs, they quickly came over to greet
him.

Those who ran illegal immigration business were usually

elementalists that possessed Three Leaves Bamboo Carts. Their
strength was average and most of them used to do
transportation businesses in the past. Since the trade routes
nowadays were broken, they could not carry on with
transportation businesses. Since they were not powerful either,
they did not dare to head to Wilderness as well. They could only
rack their brains to find a new lease on life.

In times of chaos, strength was everything.

They stood respectfully at one side while waiting for Ai Hui

and his counterparts to complete their Circulatory Cycle
Revolutions.
Chapter 398: Grass Bandits
Qing Feng watched Ai Hui attentively as his sword-style
breathing technique posture was simply too odd. While he’d
already seen it many times, he just couldn’t help but feel
curious. Elemental energy was being absorbed through the
sword and added into the circulatory cycle revolution. He’d
never heard of such a technique.

He’d always felt that Ai Hui kept many secrets and behaved
mysteriously, but when he tried to recall, he realized that Ai
Hui’s actions appeared very normal. What he found weirdest
was the fact that he felt a sense of familiarity around Ai Hui, as
if he’d seen him somewhere before. But his memory failed him
regularly, so even if he felt that he’d seen something before, he
simply couldn’t remember the details.

Ai Hui was the last to complete his circulatory cycle

revolution as his sword-style breathing technique needed more
time than a regular cycle.

Seeing that the others were waiting for Ai Hui to complete his
circulatory cycle revolution, the waiting elementalists instantly
understood that Ai Hui was the leader of this group.
 Ai Hui opened his eyes and saw the elementalists standing
respectfully by on side, and knew what was going on.

But he was still not used to receiving such treatment.

Because of these elementalists here, Ai Hui knew that they

were in Palette Cloud Village and were still quite far from
Asakusa City, a fact that made everyone happier.

Ai Hui asked more about the stowaway business, about how

good it was, how many people they could stow away in a day,
and so on. These elementalists knew that the small businesses
wouldn’t be targeted by this group, so they answered candidly.

It was through this that Ai Hui gained some insights into the
stowaway business.

They could make seven to eight trips a day, but they weren’t
without dangers, especially during the boarding process. It was
easy for accidents to happen when there was a crowd. They took
flight the moment they sensed something amiss. And they
complained more than once about how poor the people from
Old Territory were, and how the only thing they could offer as
payment was artifact remnants. As such, all they could
accumulate at the end of the day was a pile of old remnants.

The good thing was that the value of these remnants had
increased significantly and were easier to sell. The cumbersome
part was that they had to head toward larger cities in order to
find merchants who would buy them. A lot of their time was
spent on this.

Ai Hui took out some elemental energy beans and gave them
to the elementalists as his transportation fee.

The elementalists were beyond joyful. They hurriedly

reminded him that there was a group of Grass Bandits lurking at
the edges of Jadeite Forest, waiting to ambush caravans, so he
should be extremely careful.

Bidding them goodbye, Ai Hui waited for the man driving

Three Leaves Bamboo Cart and headed toward Jadeite Forest.

On the cart, Ai Hui asked Zhao Boan, "Do you know anything
about Grass Bandits?"

Zhao Boan quickly answered, "I know a little. The group was
created by Zheng Xiaoman, who was ex-Deathgrass Division’s
Division Leader Zheng Yuanhong’s adopted daughter.
Deathgrass Division had refused to surrender to Da Gangi, and
was massacred. It was said that someone secretly leaked the
news, so Zheng Xiaoman and some principal members escaped
the misfortune and named themselves Grass Bandits. There
hadn’t been much movement from them before, but now that
the number of citizens in Palette Cloud Village has reduced,
they’re becoming more active. Many elementalists, who are
displeased with Grandmaster Dai, joined upon hearing the
news, so the group has been pretty influential recently. Grass
Bandits was most ruthless toward caravans from Deep Sea
Enterprise, letting neither the goods nor their people off. They
will extort money from big enterprises and let them pass, while
they are harmless to small enterprises."

From his speech, it was apparent that he rather admired the

Grass Bandits.

Ai Hui was somewhat surprised. "These Grass Bandits seem

pretty decent?"

"Not bad indeed," Zhao Boan explained. "Although Zheng

Xiaoman was a fiery character, she never harmed the innocent.
Grass Bandits have strict and righteous laws of conduct, much
better than the current Deathgrass Division. Grandmaster Dai
often isolates himself, but the greedy fellows beneath him are
trying to damage his reputation."

Ai Hui asked, "Deep Sea Enterprise?"

"No!" The anger in Zhao Boan’s tone increased a few folds.

"Deep Sea Enterprise gets their hands on all big and small
businesses going on in Jadeite Forest. If you want to earn
money, you have no choice but to join them, or they will smear
your business, seek trouble or frame you. They are
unscrupulous in all ways. But if you join them, a big cut of the
profits goes to them and gifts must be offered monthly, so your
hard work amounts to little eventually. Plus, your whole family
will be under strict restrictions in all aspects of life. Any mistake
that you make will implicate your family too."

Qing Feng stared blankly for a while before asking, "It’s that
serious?"

Zhao Boan looked at him. He’d heard Qing Feng calling

himself one of Grandmaster Dai’s fellows and couldn’t help but
mock him, "Those under Grandmaster Dai are naturally
flowery, but they are extravagant, wasteful and without
substance. Why would they care about our wellbeing? We’re
merely commoners."
 Ai Hui asked, "With Deep Sea Enterprise’s abilities, it
shouldn’t be difficult to eliminate the Grass Bandits right?"

Zhao Boan shook his head. "Just the opposite. Deep Sea
Enterprise has lost many battles and can’t do much to the Grass
Bandits. The backbone of the people comes mainly from the old
Deathgrass Division. They have a rich family history and
imparted many skills, and they are good at handling military
affairs. Plus, either out of affection for the Grass Bandits or
hatred toward the enterprise’s avariciousness and ruthlessness,
many people in Jadeite Forest secretly relay news and
information to the Grass Bandits. The enterprise has punished
many families for this, but they are unstoppable."

Ai Hui nodded. "So now that there are fewer people in Palette
Cloud Village, Elders Guild isn’t bothered that the Grass Bandits
have more freedom to move."

Zhao Boan answered confidently, "Yes, don’t worry, Sir. As

long as it’s not Deep sea Enterprise, the Grass Bandits will not
make things difficult for us."

Ai Hui shook his head. "It’s better that we don’t bump into
them."
 He just wanted to visit Senior Mingxiu and did not want to
complicate things.

Qing Feng spoke up suddenly, "Let’s bid our goodbyes if you

guys are going to Jadeite Forest."

Ai Hui was taken aback. "Why?"

Qing Feng replied frankly, "Grass Bandits has nothing against

you all, but they will not let me off. Plus, the moment I set foot
into Jadeite Forest, Deep Sea Enterprise has its way of tracking
me down with their forbidden arts. I see that your sword skills
have been stymied by a bottleneck and it’s meaningless to train
with me, so let’s bid farewell."

Ai Hui thought over his words for a bit and felt they were
logical. He stood up, saying, "Since that’s the case, goodbye.
Take care of your safety and let’s not turn into enemies,
hopefully."

Qing Feng shook his head. "Why would I do that? You are
eventually going to become a Grandmaster and will have a
limitless future ahead of you. I’m not one to overestimate my
capabilities. Farewell!"
 Finishing his words, he flew down from the cart and
disappeared in another direction.

Ai Hui watched attentively for a bit before retracting his gaze.

In this chaotic world, people come and go like duckweeds.
Nature messes with people so who could tell the future?

Without Qing Feng, only Zhao Boan was left controlling the
cart.

Zhao Boan’s speed was evidently much slower than Qing

Feng’s, but Ai Hui did not rush him. He pondered over
swordsmanship and analyzed them, and when they pitched
camp, he would enter Grass Hall to continue his search for the
notebook.

Entering Grass Hall each time, Manager would recommend a

few missions to him. The development of the Assembly of
Patriarchs had been going extremely well, so the range of
missions received was much wider than before. Plus, due to
public appraisal between aristocratic families, there was a
shortage of manpower. Manager even handed him a letter
written by Madam Ye.
 In her letter, Madam Ye told him in all earnesty that there
were few whom she could trust over there, and hoped that he
would go over to help. She then implicitly suggested that she
had much power and influence, and could offer him greater
prospects and so on.

Ai Hui returned a letter, saying that he had decided to travel

the world to hone his swordsmanship. He thanked her for her
recognition and added that he would express his gratitude if
there was a chance and so on.

As for the recommended missions, he rejected them all.

His daily life was exceptionally simple.

Blind He and Mo Zhong had no time to care about him as they

placed all their heart into the cart’s tree roots, logs and stones.
In Old Territory, they were deficient in elemental energy and
were unable to analyze these materials. Now that there was
nothing bothering them, they immediately threw themselves
into the research.

Before this, they’d neither been to Old Territory, nor been in

touch with materials from there. To them, it was like a whole
new world.

Silent Mo had a lively personality but was quiet and focused

when it came to work. She had inherited Mo Zhong’s
craftsmanship, and while she seemed inexperienced, it was
obvious that she had real talent. She had a natural intuition
when it came to plants and for a grass-grade weapon craftsman,
this was the greatest gift.

Weaponsmiths and grass-grade weapon craftsmen were

slightly different in that one forged weapons with metal
element, whereas the other forged them with wood element.
Other than that, they had many similarities.

Blind He was usually a taciturn person, but when theorizing

with Mo Zhong he became a chatterbox and his words were
harsh. Mo Zhong, on the other hand, was honest and sincere,
but when discussing refinement, he became an angry person
who was adamant about his ideas. Any slight disagreements
with him and he’d look as if he was about to throw his fist.

While Zhao Boan came from a family of itinerant merchants,

Ai Hui thought that he was much more of a scholar than a
qualified merchant. The good thing was that despite his lack of
experience, Zhao Boan had been influenced from a young age
and had been through practical training. As such, he gradually
became a seasoned merchant too.

The desolate scenes along the way were graver than those in
Silver Mist Sea.

The once busy trade routes were mostly empty and only a few
caravans could be seen. This was partly due to the havoc the
Grass Bandits had been wrecking, but it was more so the fact
that the number of people in Palette Cloud Village had
decreased. The cities along the way fell into a slump and
caravans’ profits were scanty.

They could only make significant profits if they transported

the goods to the Wilderness. Otherwise, they basically had
nothing to earn. But it was a risky task as there were too many
bandit attacks. Plus, the Wilderness was no peaceful land. For
the groundbreakers, their lives were already on the table, so
there wasn’t any way they could resist the temptation of the
goods in the caravans. They could easily and willingly take that
risk out of desperation.

The closer they got to Jadeite Forest, the fewer caravans they
saw.
 Zhao Boan reminded Ai Hui that they’d already stepped into
the territory of the Grass Bandits.

Although Zhao Boan seemed rather confident in the Grass

Bandits from the way he spoke about them, Ai Hui could still
tell that he was somewhat nervous.

Ai Hui wasn’t too worried about himself. He was worried

about Senior Mingxiu, who was in Asakusa City. She was from
the Lu family and her brother, Lu Chen was one of Grandmaster
Dai’s oldest disciples, so even if the Grass Bandits did not hate
her to the bone, they would not let her off easy, that was for
sure.

Plus, if they could seize her, they would be able to blackmail

the Lu family and demand a ransom.

He hoped there were enough guards around her. With the Lu

family’s status in Jadeite Forest, they probably wouldn’t neglect
her safety.

Ai Hui wasn’t sure if he was feeling slightly uneasy due to the

fact that he was about to meet her.
 He had Zhao Boan stop in the closest small town and wait for
his return.

He’d decided to fly into Asakusa City himself to speed things

up.
Chapter 399: Encounter
Ai Hui’s Starry Gem Swordwings flapped powerfully. Ai Hui
was like a giant crane soaring high up in the sky. Amid the
humming of the wind he focused his gaze far away.

The distant, green forest extended on and on and Ai Hui

couldn’t see where it ended. Its vastness was admirable. A slight
wiggle for it was like a big, furious wave, its surging force
overflowing.

Jadeite Forest had never been this formidable.

Be it Elders Guild or Blood of God, both held it in high regards.

With a Grandmaster who was at his peak overseeing it,

Jadeite Forest was like a green monster and no one could ignore
its power.

Ai Hui was startled as the closer he got to the forest, the more
he felt it was different. The Nature’s elemental energies were
different from that in other places.
 Jadeite Forest’s elemental energies were flowing toward a
certain direction, and it seemed as though there was a
bottomless pit in that area, constantly absorbing the energy.

The energy flow was very slow. He wouldn’t have sensed it if

not for the fact that Ai Hui had knowledge about his teacher’s
theories, and was extremely sensitive to the flow of elemental
energy.

Generally speaking, Nature’s elemental energies rarely flowed

toward one direction. Instead, they would intertwine through
many, tiny, turbulent flows. The energy flow here was
abnormally neat.

Where are these energies flowing toward?

Ai Hui was full of curiosity.

Such a large-scale energy flow would require a terrifying

force. Only an area like Silver Mist Sea could create such a huge
motion. But Silver Mist Sea, blocked by a dam, had only
managed to accumulate such strength through over a thousand
years of expansion. Jadeite Forest wasn’t like that in the past.
Who could have developed a scene like this within such a short
period of time?

There was only one person of course. Grandmaster Dai Gang!

Only Grandmasters’ profound and immeasurable knowledge

and power could produce such a breathtaking sight like this.

Could it be that Grandmaster Dai was trying to build a miracle

like that of Silver Mist Sea?

Furthermore, Ai Hui had yet to figure out how to recycle

elemental energy. If the energies in this large-scale flow weren’t
recycled, this place would have long become an elemental
energy desert, like Old Territory.

Nevertheless, Jadeite Forest had not dried up so there must be

something special about the way elemental energy channeled.
Ai Hui was brimming with curiosity now. This unexplainable
method of energy flow interested him greatly. Teacher’s plan of
[treat the city as a piece of cloth] essentially controlled
elemental energy flow through nodes and elemental traces.

Was Dai Gang using this method as well?

 But this wasn’t the time to delve into it.

Ai Hui noticed a group of people flying in his direction from

far away. There were about ten of them.

Grass Bandits?

Ai Hui was rather curious, but seeing that they did not slow
down, his gaze sharpened.

"This path is blocked! Retreat quickly!" Someone shouted

from over there.

Ai Hui furrowed his brows and raised his voice, "I’m heading
towards Asakusa City, if you guys could make it easier…"

Upon hearing that, a cold gleam flashed across the lead

elementalist’s eyes. He cried out in a stern voice, "Dubious
intentions, arrest him! Resist and you shall be killed instantly!"

The Grass Bandits split up and got into their formation

quickly. They formed three sections and the few in the middle
section pounced on Ai Hui, while the other two groups closed in
from both sides to prevent him from escaping.

Ai Hui had not expected their response to be this aggressive.

He then thought about how he had mentioned Asakusa City.
Could it be that the Grass Bandits were doing something in the
city?

A murderous glint flashed across his eyes.

If the Grass Bandits were doing a big operation in Asakusa

City, the only thing Ai Hui could think of was that they were
targeting Senior Mingxiu. From Zhao Boan’s description, Ai Hui
felt no malice toward the Grass Bandits, in fact he felt
sympathetic. But if it involved Senior Mingxiu, Ai Hui
absolutely would not relent, no matter who the opponents
were.

Senior Mingxiu was Ai Hui’s Achilles’s heel.

Ai Hui’s temperature decreased abruptly, emitting traces of

coldness. Seeing the incoming groups, he narrowed his eyes and
flapped his Starry Gem Swordwings forcefully, his body dashing
straight for the people in front.
 Ai Hui’s move alarmed this group of Grass Bandits instantly.

"Watch out!" The elementalist at the front shouted. He took

the lead and threw pine needles toward Ai Hui.

The flying needles exploded and split up. One became two and
two became four…

In the blink of an eye, closely packed pine needles flew toward

Ai Hui like dark green drizzle. Each needle had a wisp of fine
green fog. It was a type of highly toxic poison.

The other elementalists were in shock. They did not expect

their leader to execute such a fatal blow the moment he
attacked.

Not only did [Autumn Drizzle] have plenty of pine needles, the
area it covered was very wide, leaving enemies with no place to
escape to. After a long period of refinement, pine needles could
break elemental energy, and the fine wisp of green fog that was
wound around them was highly poisonous. It had a very good
affinity for elemental energy and could easily infiltrate it and
enter the enemies’ bodies.
 Ai Hui had no intention of dodging them, causing everyone to
relax their beating hearts.

As the distance between the needles and their target closed in,
even the head elementalist smiled. According to the effective
range, his target was no longer able to escape.

Ai Hui had never thought of escape.

He increased his speed further and the familiar wind barrier

reappeared as he thrusted his Dragonspine repeatedly. The
results of his sparrings with Qing Feng were thoroughly evident
in his strikes. They were faster and sharper, and three
consecutive thrusts were all it took to shatter the barrier.

Ai Hui felt his body become lighter.

The Grass Bandits, who thought they’d succeeded, became

dizzy as the pine needle rain disappeared suddenly.

A hole appeared in the densely packed needle rain, facing

them directly.
 A blurry silhouette appeared before them and the sharp and
fast sword momentum overwhelmed them. An explosion
resounded like rolling thunder from deep with the cloud layers,
arriving a little later.

The leader of the Grass Bandits opened his eyes wide as his
pupils dilated. He cried out in alarm, "Stop…"

Ai Hui was like a ferocious tiger breaking free from its cage.
With an indistinct shadow, his rainbow-like sword gleams drew
breathtakingly cold light traces that went straight for the
leader.

The other Grass Bandits, as if awoken from a dream, were pale

faced, but proceeded to defend out of instinct.

Multi-colored light screens appeared before them and before

things could stabilize, the sword rays struck them like meteors
from outer space.

Upon breaking the wind barrier, Ai Hui’s speed was so fast

that he couldn’t change moves. But at such a terrifying speed
even a small stone had shocking destructive power, so he didn’t
need to change moves.
 Boom!

A dull, drum-like sound resounded throughout the plains as

all the light screens collapsed in a split second and the
fragmented rays vanished into a surging puff of colored fog.

Under the strong impact, four elementalists were being tossed

about and started spurting blood.

Four were injured with one hit!

The faces of the other bandits changed greatly and they threw
themselves on Ai Hui simultaneously. One of them hoisted his
arm up and shot an arrow towards the sky. The arrow travelled
miles up and with a cry it transformed into a huge ball of flame.
At such a height, the bright red, eye-catching flame could be
seen from far away.

Ai Hui shot a glance over and knew that they were calling for
backup but he did not mind.

Guessing that Senior Mingxiu was likely to be in danger, Ai

Hui’s murderousness intensified.
 With a bend of his body, he pounced on the remaining few
Grass Bandits. He was fast as lightning and his moves were
sharp, without the least bit of compassion. Executing [Six
Moons], he drew six fatal arcs which emerged quietly in
unguarded spots, looking like six deadly bats in the sky.

Fresh blood spattered everywhere as a few Grass Bandits held

onto their throats with their eyes were wide open.

"No!"

The leader had a look of desire on his face but in the next
moment, his eyes bulged out as a sword ray pierced through his
throat, squirting blood foam out.

Ai Hui did not hold back. He had not planned to provoke

them, but their attack had been too sudden. He was not afraid of
offending them, and he would not place his hopes on them
being courteous and moderate.

None of the twelve Grass Bandits survived.

Ai Hui was not in the mood to collect the spoils of war. He

held onto his sword with a cold expression on his face as he
continued his journey toward Asakusa City.

While he was expressionless and apathetic, the murderous

spirit enveloping his whole body was so thick that it seemed
substantial.

The gale whistled past as Mistress’s last words echoed in his

ears. If anything happened to Senior Mingxiu, he would never
be able to forgive himself. The war of Central Pine City, the
rainy night and the color of blood buried deep within his
memory came back to him and spread throughout his whole
body.

He felt as though he had returned to the final battle in Central

Pine City.

The thick, black sky and the fresh blood mixed together. He
looked at the blurry figure in the sky, his heart sinking bit by
bit. On the verge of desperation, he tried with all his might to
search for a chance until he realized that he was in a plight with
no way out, and his last trace of hope was lost. Then, a sudden
grief and sadness overtook him and destroyed him in an instant.
 Peace came after grief. There was a certain consolation in
knowing that whatever he did would not be enough to save him
from despair.

He had fallen into an abyss, lightless and isolated.

It all felt clear to him.

A murderous spirit engulfed Ai Hui. He was like a dried up

mummy, walking out from his rotten grace with the aura of
death lingering around him.

Many closely packed black dots appeared on the horizon.

More Grass Bandits had come upon seeing the signal for help.

Ai Hui turned a blind eye to it. Alone, he held onto his sword
and flew toward that very direction.

There were about three hundred of them and the leader was a
towering and fierce looking man. Seeing that Ai Hui was alone
and that he wasn’t trying to avoid them, but was instead coming
for them, the leader knew that he must be a strong fighter.
 Plus, they did not see any of their own elementalists. Needless
to say, they could tell just how disastrous the situation had
been.

While he looked crude and forthright, he wasn’t rude and

impetuous. He was extremely calm.

Provoking a strong fighter was the last thing these Grass

Bandits wanted. Many of them had died because of that. Some
enraged Masters were taken down immediately. Others started
feuds but let their opponents slip away, eventually losing their
lives when those opponents became stronger and came back for
them.

Bandits were bandits. What kind of bandits would they be if

they were living harmoniously and amiably?

Real bandits were those who were pleased to avenge, kill for
property and plunder like the wind.

They weren’t afraid of death to begin with, and killing was a

common occurrence. It was kill or be killed.
 No matter how powerful the fellow before them was, he
wasn’t a Master. Since that was the case, they would not give
him the chance to become a Master.

"Kill!"

With the burly man’s order, three hundred Grass Bandits sped
up. Sharp, non-stop hissing noises sounded like waves as
murderous spirits permeated the whole place.

With an aura of death lingering around Ai Hui, he advanced

forward, carrying an apathetic expression like that of a death
god when walking out of hell.
Chapter 400: Big Biscuit and Red Muslin
Zheng Xiaoman was the leader of the Grass Bandits and Cao
Ning was her right-hand man, just as Cao Ning’s father was
Zheng Yuanhong’s. Both families had been been acquainted for
a long time and their friendship wasn’t ordinary. Once again,
they escaped the bloodbath of Deep Sea Enterprise together and
they strongly trusted in each other.

Cao Ning was a brave and attentive character with

outstanding capabilities and a shrewd gaze.

The stranger before him was faintly familiar looking and he

felt as though he’d seen him somewhere. But at that point, he
had no time to entertain that thought, since once the battle
started, he was going to use his sword to talk.

Three hundred people besieged one man, giving him no

chance to flee. He heaved a sigh of relief before worry set in. If
that man came over so boldly, he must have something up his
sleeves.

Cao Ning increased his guard and the incoming Ai Hui sank
down suddenly.
 The distance between them decreased and everyone’s hearts
tensed up continuously. Ai Hui’s abrupt move caused some of
the more tense Grass Bandits to react instinctively.

Cao Ning’s face changed slightly. He wanted to make a sound

to stop them but was too late.

Quite a few of his comrades had already struck and some

others quickly joined in upon seeing that.

"Ooh… My goodness!"

Initially, the cries were fragmentary. Soon, they became

clearer and more resounding.

The sight of three hundred people releasing an attack was

beyond spectacular. Multi-colored elemental energy light rays
gathered together like surging waves. Ai Hui threw himself
forward and the hiss that filled the sky abruptly increased in
pitch, drowning their bellows.

Cao Ning did not look too good. Their attack appeared mighty
but was in fact far from passable. For them to have survived in
this chaotic world and resisted Deep Sea Enterprise, they
naturally had their own means of existing. Their attacks were
skillfully coordinated and ingenious. Those who weren’t of the
level of Master absolutely wouldn’t be able to directly withstand
the elemental energy current amassed by hundreds of
elementalists. Plus, under their meticulous arrangement, their
scope of attack was extremely wide, so it was difficult for their
target to escape once they were close enough to him.

Even Deep Sea Enterprise hadn’t managed to take advantage

of them.

This was the correct way of battling – the way Cao Ning had
been taught since young, so he had precise control over this type
of battling method.

What this meant was that in the battling aspect, the current
Deathgrass Division couldn’t compare to the Grass Bandits.

But Cao Ning looked grave at this point as his opponent was
slyer than he had expected. His sudden downward movement
was made with perfect timing. Not only did he disrupt their
momentum, he also triggered some impetuous members to
strike first, throwing the team’s rhythm off.
 Any elementalist could do what he’d done but the key was to
grasp the correct timing. His opponent was evidently a seasoned
fighter with rich experience.

An absolutely simple move could actually lead to an

extraordinary outcome.

An expert!

Their seemingly powerful attack was unlikely to intimidate

him.

Indeed, Ai Hui, who had made that sudden drop, rose upwards
suddenly and flew straight for the Grass Bandits from the side.
His azure wings flapped full force but the hissing elemental
energy current was approaching him at a rapid speed.

A trace of joy was seen in Cao Ning’s eyes. It was too late for
his opponent to escape from this wave of attacks!

While this wave of attacks was somewhat messy, it was of a

tremendous volume, so once the target was caught in its ripples,
it was very difficult to escape.
 Suddenly, Cao Ning noticed his target’s posture.

Ai Hui’s posture was very unique. His azure wings stuck close
to his back and his body was extended. The sword in his hand
swallowed and spat light rays like a swordfish migrating deep
underwater at a high speed.

Cao Ning’s pupils contracted.

The elemental energy current appeared to be swallowing the

target, but then he vanished from his line of sight suddenly.

This…

Cao Ning had seen many speedy elementalists. During his

time in Deathgrass Division, their scouting speed was usually
astonishing. Some could even leave a lifelike afterimage in the
sky. Some moved like fog while others could conduct long
distance raids lasting for days. But he’d never seen such a
valiant and short-range sprint.

For that split second, he was actually unable to catch sight of

his opponent’s silhouette.
 A delayed boom sounded.

Cao Ning was stunned. Wind barrier?

Did he break the barrier in that moment?

He raised his head abruptly, fixing his gaze on the left side of
the sky. The zooming afterimage was like a black dot.

So fast…

Was he escaping?

He did not know why, but this thought relaxed his tensed
mental state. When he came around to react to it, he couldn’t
help but mock himself. Although his opponent’s attack was very
brief, his performance had far exceeded theirs. He had a
profound understanding of battling and had a perfect grasp on
timing.

This was the kind of enemy he had hoped not to meet, because
even if they did win, a substantial amount of damage would be
inflicted on them. Cao Ning thought about who his opponent
might be. To possess such skills, he mustn’t be someone
nameless.

Upon failing their first wave of attacks, the team readjusted

themselves, albeit in an unorganized manner.

It was always like that when it came to battling. The moment

they lost the upper hand, it meant that their rhythm was also
disrupted. If it had been the former Deathgrass Division that
was in their position, the team would’ve been able to readjust
themselves quickly because of their experience and cool-
headedness.

A pity Grass Bandits were Grass Bandits and the Deathgrass

Division, the Deathgrass Division.

Alright, even the current Deathgrass Division wasn’t as

impressive as before.

Cao Ning also felt that he’d been over-demanding. Although

the team was somewhat disorganized, they were still adjusting
and their daily trainings hadn’t been for nothing. He replaced
his focus onto the target high in the sky. Eh?
 His opponent was already in position and facing them. This
is...?

Cao Ning and Ai Hui made eye contact.

Not good!

Cao Ning realized in an instant that his opponent hadn’t

planned to flee. He was going to attack!

His Starry Gem Swordwings spread open mightily and Ai Hui

swooped down like a falcon.

His posture diving down was extremely sharp and agile. The
grass bandits below were taken aback, messing up the team’s
formation once again.

"We have a lot of people!" someone shouted, instantly giving

the team a confidence boost. That was right, there were three
hundred of them.

"Kill!"
 "Get rid of him!"

The crowd was stirred. A few archers initiated an attack,

shooting raindrop-like arrows toward the figure in the sky.

Cao Ning knew things were bad. The opponent was a seasoned
battler with rich experience. Once he gained an upper hand high
in the sky, it wasn’t going to be easy to stop him.

Ai Hui dove down fast, his figure rapidly swaying and his
flight path instantly becoming strange and unpredictable.

Ai Hui’s rapid speed brought an oppressive atmosphere to the

sky, where many Grass Bandits felt themselves being locked
into place. They were trying wildly to attack and stop him but
they couldn’t even get hold of the corner of their enemy’s
garments. Intense fear caused them to lose all coordination.
They battled individually, creating a complete mess.

Ai Hui, on the other hand, was like a nimble fish, dodging the
raindrop-like light rays.

His swiftly moving figure produced layers of aftershadow,

which magnified within everybody’s field of vision and became
increasingly daunting.

His apathetic and cold face carried not the least bit of warmth.
There was no malevolence, no clenching of teeth. He was
exceptionally calm.

Amid the countless elemental light beams, his unusual

calmness became jarring.

It was fear evoking.

Even Cao Ning shuddered. His judgment had once again been
overthrown. How many times had it been today? He couldn’t
remember but he knew that he’d provoked a truly ruthless
person.

"Big Biscuit!"

He shouted with all the voice he had. Because he used too

much force, the veins on his neck and forehead surfaced. It was
a scary sight.
 A faint, red muslin appeared at the tip of the sword held by
the swooping figure.

Old Five was the backbone of the team and also a member of
the younger generation of Deathgrass. In the team, there were a
total of six members who were like him. They were all well-
coordinated and had outstanding battle tactics, as well as rich
family histories. They instantly understood Cao Ning’s
intention.

They had to block off the opponent’s attack or there was going
to be a bloodbath.

As if their hearts were linked, the six of them executed their

own defensive moves simultaneously. They practiced different
inherited arts but knew guarding moves. Wood elementalists
emphasized control and guarding techniques needed training.

Six multi-colored light screens with different thicknesses

stacked over each other, like a glazed, thousand layered biscuit.

This move was named [Overlapping Defense], a standard

battle technique of Deathgrass, but everyone liked calling it "Big
Biscuit". Cao Ning had been following his father since young
and under his influence, he too, started calling it big biscuit.

The six light screens were not stacked randomly but instead,
meticulously arranged in a way whereby some were solid and
others were flexible. That way, they would be able to keep off
the opponent’s attack more effectively.

Ai Hui appeared unconcerned, but the Dragonspine in his

hand was trembling rapidly.

The red muslin was spreading and becoming increasingly

vivid. It was about ten meters long. It was as if he was wearing a
long, dull red muslin belt while descending from the sky.

[Red Muslin]!

Having seen Brother Li Wei’s domineering move in the past,

Ai Hui had made some minor adjustments to create this move.
Brother Li Wei’s body was incomparably strong, so coupled
with a soldiers’ inherited art, the combination was
indestructible. Launching such an explosive attack was
extremely complementary.
 With Ai Hui’s [Red Muslin], it was the sword which bore the
attack. His body wasn’t strong enough to endure such a
terrifying attack.

Upon witnessing Brother Li Wei’s attack, Ai Hui thought to

himself, "How can I increase the force of the impact?"

His speed increased unceasingly as the sword in his hand

underwent changes. Because of Qing Feng’s accompanied
trainings, Ai Hui’s execution was much more concise and
efficient, thus allowing him to significantly increase the number
of blows. Furthermore, with better controlling ability, Ai Hui
was able to shorten the length of the red muslin, making it more
formidable.

Previously, Ai Hui’s red muslin could clearly be seen by the

whole of Peace City but now, it was only about ten meters.

The reduction in length made it denser and sturdier.

Ai Hui was like a meteorite falling from the sky, and the soft
and gentle red muslin belt around him smashed onto the light
screen forcefully.
 Bang!

When his speed reached its peak, the impact it brought was
exceptionally terrifying. The power contained in the red muslin
belt exploded at the same time.

In a split second, the six layers of light screen had been

pierced and the Big Biscuit shattered with a loud rumble.

The enormous recoiling force made Ai Hui dizzy, but he knew

that this was a crucial moment so he forced himself to stay
calm. He thrusted the Dragonspine sword, which he held tightly
in his hands, toward the crowd.

The force of the thrust was extremely tremendous, as evident

from a few additional cracks that appeared on the sword.

Cao Ning and his gang were in a much worse state. The force
of the impact had injured them on the spot. [Red Muslin], still
yet to release its complete power, stirred up a burst of bloody
rain onto the troop when it hit them. A few unlucky
elementalists were blown into pieces even before they could
utter a cry. The tremendous force of the impact threw them all
into a state of complete chaos.
 What was worse was that their enemy had crashed into their
formation.

The thing Cao Ning dreaded the most had happened after all.

The tiger had invaded the herd!

These words emerged in his mind.

Killing close-range required a lot of willpower and courage,

something ordinary elementalists weren’t able to do. Plus, now
that the opponent had intruded, his soldiers would refrain from
attacking in fear of hurting their own people. Their hands were
tied in that case, and their opponent could easily take advantage
of them.

But at this point, it was too late.

What Cao Ning had to do now was to cling onto his enemy so
as to allow his people to regain the upper hand in terms of
numbers.
 He gritted his teeth and charged toward Ai Hui, who was
coming for them, set to kill.
Chapter 401: Killing Numbly
When Ai Hui stuck himself onto his opponent’s back, his
somewhat trembling wrist had already regained stability and
his expression had returned to its original calmness. That blow
from [Red Muslin] had mostly been endured by his sword.
Although Ai Hui used many techniques to dissolve the impact,
the remaining force still made his wrist numb.

From the corner of his eyes he noticed Cao Ning and the gang
charging toward him, but his hands moved without the least bit
of hesitation or inaccuracy. With a flick of his wrist, the sharp
sword ray pierced directly into his opponent’s back while his
body was like a swimming fish, nimbly making his way into the
crowd.

The Grass Bandits were a mess. They knew that their enemy
had intruded and in a panic they rushed, one after another, to
defend. The disordered group hindered Cao Ning and a few
other backbone fighters, aiding Ai Hui’s shield against them.

Ai Hui was extremely fast. Be it his attack or body movement,

he was going to finish it quickly and regardless of the battle
outcome, he wasn’t going to stay unnecessarily long.
 He executed a simple [Heavenly Thrust] with his Dragonspine
and sword rays flew toward the crowd like raindrops. Some
smashed onto the defense barrier, producing sparks, while
others collided with the grass rattan, causing leaves to fly
everywhere. Some entered the bandits’ bodies, causing blood to
splatter.

In reality, these sword rays did not cause great damage.

Instead, it triggered mass confusion and panic.

Ai Hui knew very well that one could only catch fish in muddy
water.

No one noticed that Ai Hui was drilling his way through the
crowd like a swimming fish. The number of leaf blades on the
black wings on his back was reducing in number. Black tree
leaves fell silently from his Starry Gem Swordwings like small
black fishes cruising underwater.

Ai Hui had spent a lot of effort on building the Starry Gem

Swordwings and he was finally able to unleash its potential.

A black shadow flashed past, causing Cao Ning to feel dizzy.

 His pupils shrank. What was that?

A black leaf!

Black…

He suddenly thought of the wings on his opponent’s back. He

scanned his surroundings quickly and saw countless black
leaves floating close to the crowd. Lights were flickering,
explosions rang across the skies and angry cries could be heard
everywhere. Amid this chaotic scene, no one noticed these
rather motionless black leaves.

Cao Ning spotted the enemy within the crowd and noticed
that his black wings had disappeared and only the skeletons
were left.

He quickly understood what was going on and his face paled.

"Be careful…"

Before his frightened but loud voice could be heard, the

quietly floating black leaves moved suddenly.

Each leaf was a mini black sword and Ai Hui’s Starry Gem
Swordwings had a total of three hundred and sixty tree leaves,
which equated to three hundred and sixty mini swords.

The three hundred and sixty mini swords moved

simultaneously.

The black sword rays were like rain, intertwining in the sky
and forming a deathly black light net.

Anguished shrieks sounded simultaneously and a huge

amount of blood splattered all over the place at the same time.

Ai Hui’s premeditated move revealed its malicious fangs with

its first blow. Ai Hui had progressed tremendously and was no
longer comparable to when he’d first created the swordwings.
But when he was creating it, he had already taken his future
progress into consideration.

Even then, Ai Hui did not expect this move to be so

formidable.
 It was his first time operating so many mini swords and hence
he was unable to exercise precise control over them. The good
thing was that there were many enemies and he was alone
without companions, so he need not worry about hurting the
wrong people. His opponents were unguarded so whether or not
his attack was fatal, this battle would end as long as their speed
was quick and their power destructive enough.

The majority of the Grass Bandits did not notice the tiny black
leaves and some even thought that Ai Hui’s wings were faling
apart as they weren’t able to endure the intense battle. As such,
they were caught off guard when the sword rays rose up
violently.

Ai Hui succeeded on his first blow. Not daring to hesitate he

quickly summoned his mini swords back.

Without the mini swords, the buoyancy of his skeletal wings

was pathetically lacking. He would fall into a miserable plight if
the situation before him lost its flexibility.

Countless black leaves flew onto Ai Hui’s back from all

directions, like many wiggling black snakes.
 "Stop him!" Cao Ning bellowed, the horrifying situation
making his eyes pop. He’d never seen such a terrifying scene.
The sight of over a hundred people spurting blood was beyond
impactful.

Intense fear enveloped him. His opponent’s abilities, and even

his ruthlessness, had far exceeded his expectations. He killed
people as if he was picking dried grass. Even as a bandit, Cao
Ning’s heart felt cold.

Who exactly had they offended?

The scary sight before his eyes had completely aroused Cao
Ning’s determination. No matter how big a price they had to
pay, even if this bunch of people were all to die, they must kill
that fellow!

If that fellow was playing hide and seek with them in future,
they would not be able to live another peaceful from then on.

In actuality, Cao Ning was frightened. Although Ai Hui’s

attack seemed dreadful, only just over thirty people lost their
lives. Other elementalists weren’t badly injured and their
battling abilities weren’t badly affected. There were also many
who guarded themselves vigilantly and managed to avoid
getting struck by the mini swords.

But regardless of whether they were injured or not, they were

taken aback by this sudden move.

From the start of the battle up till now, their opponent had
been alone. Yet, the rhythm of the battle had been under his
control all this time. The number of casualties on their side
continued to increase but that fellow remained unhurt.

Ai Hui’s strength and agility intimidated the grass bandits,

effectively destabilizing their morale.

The Grass Bandits were very different from Deathgrass

Division.

Although Zheng Xiaoman and Cao Ning had rich family

resources and hoped to train and develop Grass Bandits into
another Deathgrass Division, it was just wishful thinking.
They’d learnt from their experienced older generations when it
came to selecting and training members, but what they created
was still a group of roving bandits. Perhaps they were stronger
than regular bandits, but they were still far away from
becoming a legitimate combat division.

At least Grass Bandits had courage, were swift and wear

fearful.

Upon seeing that Ai Hui’s wings were not completely filled

and that his movement was affected, a few grass bandits
charged over without hesitation.

Like a javelin, the grass rattan shot out, releasing a sharp

whistle.

A handful of grass seeds were thrown toward Ai Hui. As long

as they were within three meters of him, they would burst into
big nets, effectively trapping him.

A green snake, formed from strange green ripples, passed

through the crowd silently and pounced on Ai Hui.

But he was faster than all of them.

It wasn’t that Ai Hui had long predicted their moves. He was

just very aware of his flaw and chose not to bet his life on the
assumption that his enemies were going to ignore it.

He swatted his Dragonspine downward in a light movement.

With a clap, as if hitting a water’s surface, his body shook and
an injured grass bandit appeared beside him.

There was a bloody hole on the bandit’s neck. This small

injury was practically non-existent to him. He growled and
many grass rattans appeared around him, moving toward Ai
Hui like the tentacles of an octopus.

Clap, clap, clap!

The sword in Ai Hui’s hand accurately struck all of the grass

rattans. The bandit’s body stiffened as a sword ray shot through
a grass rattan, pierced his chest and exited from his back.

Ai Hui’s legs were like springs. He stepped on the grass rattan

forcefully like an agile cheetah, and with a change of direction,
he entered an empty spot in between two grass bandits.

The black leaves formed a black snake that flew nimbly

toward the skeleton wings on Ai Hui’s back. The leaves quickly
adhered themselves onto the wings.

Ai Hui was fast like lightning. His outstanding body was of an

important use in this crucial moment. In that small space, his
body’s burst of energy made his movements exceptionally
quick.

At times, he would borrow the power of his Dragonspine. He

would also borrow the momentum gained from his thighs or use
his enemies’ bodies as a shield.

He was like a demonic bolt of lightning, traveling back and

forth through spaces between his enemies. His cool-headedness
allowed him to make the most suitable choices amid this chaotic
battle. His ability to react quickly also allowed him to deal with
unforeseen circumstances with ease.

Wherever he passed, fresh blood splattered.

His sword rays were always striking the enemy’s vital points
from unexpected angles.
 Cao Ning and his gang were chasing wildly behind, but Ai Hui
was like a slippery loach, always finding ways to dodge them
and throw them off. At the same time, he was like a wandering
death god, accurately and efficiently collecting souls with a lack
of regard for anything else.

The Grass Bandits fell from the sky like dumplings.

The once densely packed team was now much sparser, and in
the blink of an eye there were less than two hundred of them
left, and many of them were injured and dripping blood.

Fear started creeping onto their faces. They were all desperate
criminals, but seeing the number of lives being taken away so
rapidly had their hearts and limbs turning cold nevertheless.
Whatever courage they had vanished in a puff of smoke.

Ai Hui had that same expressionlessness plastered onto his

face, and his sword thrusts were still fast and precise, without
the slightest wavering.

The Starry Gem Swordwings on his back were back to normal,

with all the leaves back in place. Mobility restored, Ai Hui was
like a tiger that had grown wings, his sword moves became
much swifter.

[Six Moons] appeared as six scythes, like that of a grim reaper.

They would harvest a soul the moment a weakness was being
exposed.

Suddenly, someone started to flee.

Once an avalanche occurred, it became difficult to contain.

This was a unique characteristic of the bandits. No matter how
surly bandits were, they crumbled easily when met with danger.
Yet, the Thirteen Divisions had to, time and time again, battle
until there were only a few people left and a definite victory was
won.

Cao Ning and Zheng Xiaoman might have been able to

duplicate the discipline and code of conduct of the former
Deathgrass Division, but they were unable to instill in them the
spirit of Deathgrass.

What were they fighting for?

For the place where all power and weakness originated from.
 When things were going smoothly, they saw it as a joke that
was being played on them. There was no need for reason when
there was talent. Only at the end of the road did they realize
that there were always things that made them afraid, unwilling
and unable to retreat even if a blade was held close to their eyes.

The mental breakdown hit them hard. To the grass bandits,

this battle was merely a one-sided massacre. They’d seen for
themselves how Ai Hui, alone with a single sword, killed their
people numbly and indifferently.

But not everyone was feeling defeated. Cao Ning and more
than ten other people stood where they were and surrounded Ai
Hui, trapping him in the middle. They glared at him like wolves
on grassland.

Influenced by their older generations, they had been kids with

lofty aspirations. Even if fate made it tough for them, even if
Nature played tricks on them, and even if their faith had been
destroyed, they stood strong and proud, their courage and valor
unwavering.

They weren’t afraid to die in a battle!

Chapter 402: Fight Till The End
Many of the Grass Bandits who’d fled turned around and
observed the battle from afar. They were afraid of receiving
punishment upon return. What if Cao Ning and the others
claimed victory? It wouldn’t be too hard for them to escape even
if Cao Ning lost. If so many of them dispersed like birds, how
could their opponent, alone, chase all of them down?

They scattered around, keeping their gazes on Cao Ning and

the gang.

Cao Ning glared firmly at his opponent’s young face. He still

found it hard to believe that this young fellow, close to his own
age, could defeat almost all of his people.

Through his gritted teeth he asked, "Who are you, Sir?"

Ai Hui kept an indifferent face, as if unconcerned about the

fact that he’d been surrounded. "I’m Ai Hui."

Cao Ning opened his eyes wide. He finally understood why

that fellow looked so familiar.
 The Lightning Blade’s mirage bean pod had spread across the
whole Avalon of Five Elements and Jadeite Forest as well. And
why wouldn’t the Grass Bandits located between Jadeite Forest
and Palette Cloud Village know about it? In fact, at that time,
Cao Ning couldn’t help but praise that good fellow.

Ai Hui’s performance in the battle of Central Pine City was

admirable even to those who were judgemental.

A complicated look flashed across the faces of not only him,

but of the other bandits as well. They’d all seen the clip and
were aware of Ai Hui’s past achievements.

Only after their real-life match did they realize that Ai Hui’s
abilities were much stronger than what awas reflected in the
movie beanpod.

A person’s reputation was like the shadow of a tree – never

disappearing. Ai Hui showed potential in becoming Central Pine
Faction’s leader. While the faction never did address him as
their leader, they assembled from all around to serve him
whenever he appeared.

If he wasn’t a leader, who was?

 Cao Ning took a deep breath, suppressing his murderousness.
He said in a low voice, "The Lightning Blade, why do you take
Grass Bandits as your enemy?"

Ai Hui thought it funny, but kept a straight face. Instead, he

asked, "Why did you guys block my path?"

Cao Ning thought back to their earlier actions and felt that
things had gotten inconvenient.

Thinking about the help signal, he realized that it must have

been because of the conflict his subordinates had gotten into
with Ai Hui. But none of those who called for help survived, so
he wasn’t able to know exactly what had happened before he
arrived.

He did not mind losing a small team; the problematic part was
the fact that they’d offended a strong fighter. Other than the
main players from the team, all other Grass Bandits were
merely cannon fodder. In this messy world where people were
like grass, mere cannon fodder was easily replaceable. He was
more agitated because the small team leader was someone he
thought highly of.
 He asked in the same low voice, "There had been a
misunderstanding but why did you have to kill all of them? We
know about The Lightning Blade, and if the team from earlier
had known about your identity, why would they have made
things difficult for you?"

Ai Hui looked at him before responding, somewhat

mockingly, "That was not what your noble subordinate said.
Resist and be killed was what they said. After thinking about it I
was certain that I could not allow that to happen, so killing
them was the only way out."

Cao Ning replied harshly, "Seems like you’re belittling us,

with no desire to dissolve the misunderstanding or give us a
proper explanation. In that case, we will have to talk with our
swords and fight till the end!"

"Fight till the end?" Ai Hui nodded. "Alright, I did not say all
that wanting to resolve this misunderstanding. I’m also
uninterested in your explanation and words. I just want to let
you know something."

He scanned slowly across the observing Grass Bandits with a

piercing gaze, his voice sonorous and impactful.
 "I, Ai Hui, am heading toward Asakusa City to visit Senior
Mingxiu. Those who obstruct my path shall die and those who
stop me shall be killed. Senior Mingxiu stays away from worldly
affairs, so whoever tries to do her harm will have to face me
afterwards. I will do whatever it takes to track and destroy him
and all three generations of his family. Just to let you know!"

The last sentence seemed to echo, rising in spirals along with

the surge of elemental energy, causing those present to turn
pale.

Silence.

There was an ominous glint in Cao Ning’s eyes when he

muttered softly, "So you’re here for her…"

A few others made eye contact and a vengeful look appeared

on their faces.

A murderous looking Ai Hui lowered his head suddenly and

laughed. "There, a simple test was all it took."

With an intense murder-lust filled smile, Ai Hui’s body shot

forward toward Cao Ning in a swift manner.

Confirming his suspicions, Ai Hui wasn’t the least bit elated.

He would rather have guessed wrongly and would rather have
been overly sensitive.

Grass Bandits had plans for Senior Mingxiu indeed!

Before, he had no malice toward the Grass Bandits. There was

nothing strange about getting to the top by ridding oneself of
those at the bottom, just like the poor folks, Gu Tianning and so
on. In this chaotic world, there was no disguise. The law of the
jungle became even more direct and bloody.

The feud between Grass Bandits and Deep Sea Enterprise

would make one sigh.

To Ai Hui, that was nothing. Whether or not Grass Bandits

was admirable, good or evil, it had nothing to do with him. He
wasn’t the guild and wasn’t required to determine others’ fate.
He need not rule the world.

His world was very small and only a few people existed within
it.

Whether those outside it lived or died, whether the world

lived or died, he did not care.

Such was his relationship with the Grass Bandits. Before this,
they were neither friends nor enemies and had nothing to do
with one another.

But Senior Mingxiu was included in his small world, so

whoever made her their enemy made him theirs as well. Those
who targeted her, targetted him too.

He did not care if people treated him as an enemy. He

wouldn’t take it to heart. In fact, when killing, he could even
understand where they were coming from. No one had it easy,
right?

But he could never forgive those who try to harm his senior.
No, rather than being unable to forgive, he couldn’t stop
himself detesting them.

He seldom developed such intense emotions, but when those

in his world were involved he just couldn’t control the hatred
within.

It was just the way he was, selfish and narrow-minded.

He was like a stingy landlord, guarding whatever barren land

he had. He was just a nobody and had little tolerance.

But once his limited land had intruders, Ai Hui’s

counterattack would be exceptionally ferocious and reckless. No
matter how strong his opponents were, he wouldn’t hesitate to
charge toward them like moths toward flames.

His world was barren and desolate to begin with and the
things he cherished were few, so why wouldn’t he protect them
with all that he had?

The hatred emerging from deep within his heart had no

influence over his actions. He kept his usual calmness, throwing
himself and his enemies onto the chessboard.

Ai Hui’s objective had never been this resolute. He just wanted

to kill all of them right now.
 Facing Ai Hui, who was charging toward him, Cao Ning
rushed forward with a growl. The elemental energy within his
whole body was bubbling. Earlier, Ai Hui had been slippery, like
a loach and Cao Ning couldn’t even grab hold of his clothes. He
could only watch him slip away and slaughter his members. It
was only natural, then, that flames were raging within his
heart.

Right now, Ai Hui chose to meet force with force, striking

those below him. They had the advantage in terms of numbers,
and regardless of how strong Ai Hui was, he wasn’t a Master. He
was still in Second Elemental Realm after all, so no matter how
powerful his inherited arts and skills were, his elemental
consumption was significant and definite.

Cao Ning practiced [Three Sun Hatchets of Aoki]. He had a

tall, naturally powerful and sturdy frame, which was extremely
well-suited for this absolute art. Practically every generation of
the Cao family had served Deathgrass Division and had rich
battling experience.

Cao Ning held onto two solid hatchets, a stopgap for the Cao
family’s most valued Three Sun Hatchets since they’d fallen
into Deep Sea Enterprise’s hands.
 His moves were well-controlled, each axe producing a big
sheet of green light. These green lights were firm and forceful.
Ai Hui’s sword rays fell onto them, but only sparks lit up. His
rays were unable to deal a blow to them at all.

Furthermore, they did not disperse immediately upon

appearing, causing Cao Ning’s surroundings to be covered in
layer upon layer of green lights that became increasingly thick.
His whole body was completely engulfed in the lights, which
became an incomparably solid armor.

Ai Hui executed different moves consecutively, but was

unable to shake up these dense green lights.

Some others made eye contact before moving forward to

surround Ai Hui.

One of them reached about twenty to twenty five meters

behind Ai Hui before throwing a handful of grass seeds forward.
In order not to catch Ai Hui’s attention, he did not shoot them
directly at Ai Hui. Instead, the seeds floated toward him slowly
like how duckweeds would on water.

The others started attacking as well.

 Suddenly, the elementalist who was carefully controlling the
seeds shuddered, as if being spotted by a lurking poisonous
snake.

Cold air tingled the back of his neck. With his rich battling
experience, he just knew that he was in trouble. Not good!

With a hand summoning elemental energy, he patted his neck

at lightning speed, but to no avail as nothing had been struck.

A moon-shaped sword ray about the size of a palm coiled

around his neck and spun.

A head fell onto the ground.

The grass seeds lost control in mid air and exploded like stir-
fried beans.

Cao Ning, who was surrounded by the green lights, shouted

with his eyes popping, "Old Five!"

He realized at this point that he had fallen into Ai Hui’s evil

plan!

Ai Hui had long figured out their intentions.

Cao Ning would cling onto the enemy while the rest mounted
sneak attacks. This strategy was something they were very
familiar with. Ai Hui pretended not to sense it and appeared as
though he’d been distracted by Cao Ning when in fact he had his
eyes on the others. The time that the remaining few got ready to
attack was exactly the time they had their guard down.

[Six Moons] was like a silent killer, dealing them a fatal blow.

Fresh blood splattered everywhere simultaneously once again,

but the areas of attack were different. Some were wounded in
their necks and hearts while others were hit in their lower vital
organs, extremely treacherous and vicious on Ai Hui’s part.

The sudden form reversal had everyone dumbstruck.

Cao Ning sensed danger and the odor of death. Even during
the night of the bloodbath, the aura of death wasn’t this intense
and palpable.
 He was going to die here today, he thought all of a sudden.

The Lightning Blade indeed, living well up to his name, Cao

Ning thought in admiration, without the least bit of regret.

They had been planning this strategy for a long time. Lu

Mingxiu was their enemy and so was the whole Lu family. Who
could stand alone in this chaotic world? Who could isolate
themselves completely? A white cloth that was stained with
blood was no longer a white cloth.

They had to take revenge! They had to live!

Cao Ning was obdurate. Determined to fight with his life on

the line, the elemental energy within his body surged as he
threw the two axes toward Ai Hui with all the strength he had.
Cracks started to appear on the surface of the axes, revealing a
dazzling green light beneath. As the cracks started to peel off,
the light became increasingly brighter.

A carefree smile appeared on Cao Ning’s face. He was finally

going to die!
 To die for a greater cause… It was worth it!

Xiaoman, live on! Avenge us!

He grabbed both axes, his flesh rupturing inch by inch, but he

seemed to feel nothing. He utilized all the strength he possessed
in his body as fresh blood sprayed out. The two solid axes,
wrapped in green light, got closer and closer.

As long as two balls of green light touched, [Three Sun

Hatches of Aoki] would end in a final blow.

[Duo Sun Destruction].

A strange sword chime sounded overhead and Cao Ning’s

movements became rigid. He got distracted and his eyes glazed
over.

[Sword Chime]!

Regaining awareness, Cao Ning saw that his green lights had
already collided.
 His final thought upon getting swallowed up by the boundless
green light was this: What a pity...
Chapter 403: Great Waves
The news of Ai Hui heading towards Asakusa City spread like
a hurricane. Bandit brigades of all sizes on the borders of Palette
Cloud Village and Jadeite Forest knew of this news.

Before this incident, even though the Lightning Blade was

rather reputable, everyone merely viewed him as a hero whose
image was built by Elders Guild. Three years ago, Ai Hui’s base
level and strength was still very low. Furthermore, he was still a
student. His achievements might be impressive, but the ones
who’d really put the last nail to the coffin in the Battle of
Central Pine City were actually Wang Shouchuan and Han
Yuqin.

Many had believed that Central Pine Faction’s absolute

allegiance to Ai Hui was due to his outstanding charisma.

Until this battle happened.

Grass Bandits and Ai Hui had come face to face and a grave
conflict ensued between the two sides. Ai Hui was not injured at
all, while the Grass Bandits suffered disastrous losses and
sustained over two hundred deaths. This was the first time the
Grass Bandits had encountered such a situation since their
establishment. Furthermore, the death of Cao Ning by Ai Hui’s
hands awed various outstanding heroes and raised Ai Hui’s
reputation to a new level.

Everyone had no choice but to see the legendary Lightning

Blade in a completely different light.

The strength of the famous Lightning Blade was actually so

powerful!

He single-handedly took on all of the Grass Bandits and

slaughtered them with total disregard for their lives. He’d slain
one of their key commanders and routed his men. These
accomplishments had certainly shocked everyone. The number
of deaths in this battle also demonstrated another side of the
Lightning Blade. Similarly, this result also shocked everyone.

A lot of people had realized that the Lightning Blade was

somebody that was not to be provoked.

Another person who became famous from this battle was

Mingxiu.
 Lu Mingxiu led a low-profile life in Asakusa City.
Furthermore, the Lu family was under secret protection. Very
few people knew of Mingxiu’s true background.

In the past, the area surrounding Asakusa City was like a

tranquil and peaceful lake. However, Ai Hui threw a huge rock
into it and swept up great waves. The sensation caused by Ai
Hui caught various powers, that were hiding in the dark, off
guard. The serene lake had been disturbed.

Before Ai Hui even reached Asakusa City, the impact of this

battle had already spread across the state.

The stronghold of the Grass Bandits was very far from

Asakusa City. One would need to fly for two days and two nights
straight to get there. For the last two years, in a time of chaos,
the expansion of the Grass Bandits had been very fast. From the
initial thirty members, their numbers had grown to over four
thousand members.

The current Grass Bandits had become an influential

powerhouse on the border of Jadeite Forest.

The stronghold of the Grass Bandits had grown from a few

tree houses to a heavily-guarded stockade that had a perimeter
of over five kilometers.

The canopy of numerous tall and imposing trees had covered

the sky. If they were to be invaded by their enemies, the canopy
would emit a protective light screen that possessed outstanding
defensive capabilities.

Additionally, the branches that were near the canopy were

overgrown with bone umbrella reishi.

The bone umbrella reishi was a type of reishi mushroom that

was specially cultivated for defensive purposes. Its cap looked
like a round plate and was covered with veined patterns. Since it
looked like an umbrella made up of bones, it was called bone
umbrella reishi. Each bone umbrella reishi had five to ten bone
arrows grown within it. Whenever they encountered enemy
attacks, they would fire these bone arrows continuously.

Vines could be seen everywhere on the trees, and calabashes

of various colors were also hung on some of these vines. These
calabashes were the famous calabash cannons. They could shoot
out the calabash seeds within them. The color of a calabash
cannon represented its elemental type.
 Beneath the thick and dense canopy, the houses were neatly
built. Pumpkin lamps that emitted a gentle glow could be found
everywhere. As such, the stronghold was not at all dark even if
it was beneath the thick and dense canopy.

If a stranger came to this place, he or she would have thought

this was an encampment of a wood elemental combat division.
In reality, this stronghold was in fact built based on the
standards of a combat division.

The discussion hall was formed by four extremely sturdy and

durable diamond fleabane trees. Their trunks and branches had
completely fused together to form a gigantic hall.

The discussion hall was not really spacious. It could only hold
up to seventy to eighty people. Out of these people, twenty of
them were Zhen Xiaoman’s trusted comrades that had been part
of the Grass Bandits since the beginning.

"Who exactly is the one that leaked out the news?"

"How did Ai Hui know that we want to target Lu Mingxiu?"

 "It must be that Ai Hui had already gotten the news
beforehand and he rushed over just for her."

Everyone was talking at once and all of them were in the state
of panic. The plan to kidnap Mingxiu was devised by them
meticulously. However, before the plan was even carried out, it
had been leaked to the outside world. How could everyone stay
calm?

Bang! Smashing her fist on the table, Zheng Xiaoman roared

angrily, "Everyone shut up!"

Zheng Xiaoman was around twenty-five years old. She was

tall and thick. She could not be considered a beauty. However,
her coarse and wild temperament, as well as her outstanding
stature always made her the focal point of everyone’s eyes.

The Grass Bandits was single-handedly established by Zheng

Xiaoman and she was highly respected. Everyone shut up and
the discussion hall was so quiet that one could even hear the
sound of a pin dropping on the floor.

When Zheng Xiaoman thought of Cao Ning, a tinge of sadness

flashed across her eyes. She raised her head and spoke with a
voice that was filled with hatred, "We will put aside the issue of
Lu Mingxiu first. We can’t let Old Cao die for nothing and we
have to seek revenge for him! Until we have sought our revenge
for Old Cao, don’t talk to me about other issues!"

After finishing her sentence, she stomped out of the

discussion hall without turning back.

Everyone in the discussion hall looked at each other blankly.

A lean man seated at one corner of the hall swept his gaze
across everyone occasionally while a pensive look appeared on
his face.

Boss’s words had made everyone feel ashamed and

embarrassed. Subsequently, all of them dispersed from the
discussion hall.

Remaining calm and collected, the lean man returned to his

home. Upon checking that no one was following him, he closed
and locked the door.

"Why could Ai Hui get this news?" a voice suddenly sounded

off behind him

The lean man already knew there was somebody behind him.
Upon hearing these words, he sneered, "I should be the one
asking this question. For the past few days, the stronghold has
been completely disconnected from the outside world and no
news or information could travel out of this place."

Hiding his face in the shadow, the cloaked figure replied

coldly, "My side will never divulge this information."

"Nevermind, it’s not the time to talk about this. So what do

we do now? Boss has already made it clear that we will not do
anything if we don’t seek revenge for Cao Ning. Our deal is
going to fall through soon," the lean man replied with
impatience.

"A mere Lightning Blade is enough to scare all of you to this

extent?" the cloaked figure in the shadow mocked.

"Alright then, you shall go and kill the Lightning Blade and I
will pass his head to Boss. We can immediately start planning
now." The lean man laughed coldly.
 The cloaked figure was speechless.

Cao Ning was slain and his three hundred followers were
either killed or severely wounded. This was indeed an
impressive accomplishment.

The cloaked figure muttered to himself irresolutely.

Following which, he softened his tone, "We really have to think
of a way. We can’t blankly watch on as this great deal falls
through."

The lean man’s facial expression became solemn as well. He

knew this deal was something that the Grass Bandits definitely
could not give up on.

…..

Jadeite Forest.

A Fiery Floating Cloud that bore the emblem of the Lu family

was flying at top speed in the sky. Apparently, heading for
Asakusa City. Upon seeing that the Fiery Floating Cloud bore
the emblem of the Lu family, the bamboo carts along the way
quickly got out of its way. One could see how powerful the Lu
family was in Jadeite Forest.

Within the Fiery Floating Cloud, in a simple and unadorned

study room, an imposing man was immersed in his work. An old
servant was standing in one corner of the room.

An unending stream of subordinates were entering and

exiting the room, stacking his tables with countless reports.
Everyone that entered or exited his room was extremely careful.
They tried to make as little noise as possible for fear of
disturbing their division leader.

The person who was immersed in his work was the current
division leader of Deathgrass Division, Lu Feng.

Without raising his head, he asked, "Have you prepared the

gifts for Mingxiu?"

The silent old servant standing in the corner of the room

quickly replied, "The gifts have already been prepared. All of
them are Miss Mingxiu’s favourite items. Textiles that have
been passed down for past generations, some famous paintings
and an ancient artifact remnant."
 "Artifact remnant?" Lu Feng’s hands trembled.

"It should be a flag and it is badly corroded. However, the

embroidery on the flag is extremely exquisite. I think Miss
Mingxiu will like it and I made my own decision to add it as one
of the gifts," the old servant replied respectfully.

"Well done," Lu Feng praised the old servant.

After staying silent for a while, Lu Feng continued, "Since you

have worked diligently in handling your daily chores, I will not
treat you unfairly. Ask that nephew of yours to report to the
division next month."

A look of happiness appeared on the old servant’s face and he

quickly thanked Lu Feng, "Thank you, Sir!"

At this moment, one of Lu Feng’s subordinate ran into the

room hastily, "Sir, this is the report that I have just received and
it’s related to Miss Mingxiu. I sent it over here as soon as
possible."

"Related to Mingxiu? Pass it to me now!" Lu Feng stopped

what he was doing and raised his head. He had a majestic
appearance. His lips were thin and long and his nose bridge was
high and imposing. His forehead was sparkling and prominent
and his eyes were bright and full of expression.

After taking the report, Lu Feng began to read it carefully.

Following which, he could not help but let out a gasp of
surprise, "Cao Ning was killed?"

The more he read the report, the more shocked he felt. More
than two hundred out of Cao Ning’s three hundred followers
were either killed or severely wounded. This forced Cao Ning to
use a move that ensured mutual destruction. However, in the
end, not only was Ai Hui uninjured, but all of Cao Ning’s trusted
subordinates were killed.

Lu Feng definitely knew about Cao Ning.

The Grass Bandits were Deathgrass Division’s arch-enemy. Lu

Feng had been thinking of ways to deal with them. However,
the Grass Bandits’ fighting capabilities were outstanding and
they were swift moving. Cao Ning was one of the Grass Bandits’
generals but Ai Hui was actually able to take him down single-
handedly. From the number of casualties, Lu Feng could tell
that Ai Hui was a vicious and merciless individual that killed
people with total disregard for their lives.

Without raising his head, Lu Feng ordered the old servant,

"Go and bring me Ai Hui’s file."

"Yes!" the old man quickly replied.

Very soon, the file containing information about Ai Hui was

placed before Lu Feng. After comparing the file to the report, Lu
Feng discovered that there was a huge difference between what
was being reported on both of them.

On the file, it was written, "Base Level: First Elemental Realm.

Evaluation of Strength: Weak. Strengths: Charismatic, good at
winning over people’s hearts, well-supported by many people."

Lu Feng ripped the file to shreds and instructed the old

servant, "Rebuild the file on Ai Hui."

"Yes!" A cold shiver went down the old servant’s spine.

Lu Feng sat down and delved deep into his thoughts. He began
to strum his fingers on the table subconsciously. Of course, he
knew about Ai Hui. He knew everything about Mingxiu and the
people around her. Ai Hui and Mingxiu had a close relationship.
However, a few years back, Ai Hui was still very weak and he
did not think of making friends with Ai Hui.

He did not expect Ai Hui to become so powerful in such a

short period of time!

He picked up the report again. He knew everything that was

written in it by heart without even looking at it. This report had
given him a huge shock.

He let go of his emotions and pondered over this issue

carefully. Very soon, he came to a decision.

The report had stated that Ai Hui had reached Second

Elemental Realm and the speed of his progress was terrifyingly
fast. However, the thing that shocked Lu Feng the most was
that Ai Hui single-handedly killed Cao Ning and slaughtered
more than half of his subordinates.

The talent for combat that Ai Hui had displayed was

extremely powerful. Taking his age into account, Lu Feng
predicted that the possibility of Ai Hui becoming a Master in
future was very high.

Suddenly, he raised his head and said, "Prepare a gift for Ai

Hui."

"Yes, what standard should the gift be of?" the old servant
asked.

"The highest standard," Lu Feng replied without any

hesitation.

The old servant was stunned by Lu Feng’s words. He looked

slightly troubled and replied, "I’m afraid… it’s a bit too rushed."

Lu Feng cast a glance at him and said, "Get it done."

The old servant trembled. He summoned his courage and

replied, "I will get it done right away!"
Chapter 404: Entering The City
Ai Hui did not stop flying and headed straight for Asakusa
City at full speed.

Asakusa City was a small border city. It was of a similar size to

Central Pine City. Due to the rise in illicit businesses, it had
flourished significantly; however, as the illicit businesses had
taken a hard hit recently, the city became rather desolate.

With a bad economy, there were many idlers on the streets.

They filled the city in small groups, chatting with one another.

Most likely because of the recent increase in bandit activities,

Asakusa City’s defence system was on high alert. The treetop of
the towering and imposing ancient tree emitted a faint green
glow. Defensive ancient trees had been planted in strategic
positions around Asakusa City. Altogether, they formed a
defensive light screen.

Defensive ancient trees only had one purpose: to defend.

Their roots were embedded deeply into the ground. A defensive
ancient tree could grow to over two hundred meters in height.
As its height increased, so would its defensive power.
 In Jadeite Forest, the first thing that every city built was a
defensive ancient tree. Defensive ancient trees that were in
their premature stage had weaker defensive power, but as time
passed, their defensive power would continue to increase.

The light screens formed by defensive ancient trees were

useful in protecting a city from aerial attacks.

Even though Asakusa City was not really huge, it was an

extremely old city. It had three defensive ancient trees that
were over one hundred meters tall. These three defensive
ancient trees had extremely strong defensive power. Any
ordinary bandits that wanted to invade a city like Asakusa City
were simply indulging in wishful thinking.

Actually, Ai Hui felt that wood elementalists were the most

suitable ones to build cities in the Wilderness. Defensive ancient
trees could only be cultivated by specialized wood elementalists.
If a defensive ancient tree was cultivated by a wood elemental
master, its defensive power would be even stronger.

Given the current relationship between Elders Guild and

Jadeite Forest, however, asking these two factions to join hands
was being even more delusional than the bandits that wanted to
invade Asakusa City.
 Ai Hui only knew that his senior’s embroidery workshop was
somewhere in Asakusa City and had to ask around for its exact
location. He descended from the sky and landed at the city gate.

The guard at the city gate looked at him lazily. Ai Hui did not
care about him at all. When a city was not under attack, the
guards at the city gate would always behave like this.

All of a sudden, the guard’s lazy gaze froze. His hand

involuntarily pulled on his comrade’s sleeve.

His daydreaming comrade returned to his senses and asked

with irritation, "What?"

He noticed his comrade’s gaze and followed its line of sight...

Oh, an ordinary-looking fellow. His base level is only at

Second Elemental Realm. Isn’t this kind of individual found
everywhere? What’s the fuss about? Erm, he still uses a sword.
A swordsman… with black-colored azure wings… a slightly
familiar face...

He was dumbstruck.
 Ai Hui did not really care about the two guards looking at him,
but felt slightly uncomfortable when the two guards’ gazes fixed
onto him. He turned his face around and asked bluntly, "Is there
any problem?"

The two guards returned to their senses. Their faces turned

deathly white as they kept on shaking their heads.

Ai Hui cast a puzzled look at both of them, but since they were
not finding trouble with him, he did not care about them and
walked right through the city gate.

The entrance into the city was very long, resembling a dark
and gloomy tunnel.

Exiting the tunnel was like walking out of the darkness, as Ai

Hui was engulfed by sunlight. The clamor of the streets was
filled with an aura of vitality. Ai Hui shut his eyes and enjoyed
the warmth of the sunlight. The lively aura of vitality made him
feel comfortable.

Holding his sword in one hand, he spread his arms wide open
and looked as if he wanted to embrace this world.
 The sunlight was warm and comfortable as usual. The lively
clamor of the streets seemed to be slightly softer than just now.

It got slightly softer once more...

Silence.

Dead Silence.

What had happened? Ai Hui was stunned. He did not sense

any signs of impending doom or the presence of an expert.

Ai Hui quickly opened his eyes to see what happened.

Following which, he froze.

Everyone on the street looked as if they were being cursed by a

petrification spell. They were motionless. The weird thing was
that their gazes were fixated on him.

Silence. An awkward silence.

 Ai Hui subconsciously looked at himself.

Oh, my clothes are slightly tattered, old, and dirty. What else?
I did not wear my pants wrong...

He raised his head.

Whoosh. The previously statue-like figures came to life and

ran off in a panic like alarmed birds. A few of them were so
terrified that they tripped and fell before scrambling away.

Before Ai Hui could react, the previously bustling streets had

become empty.

Dead silence.

The dumbstruck Ai Hui took a long while to return to his

senses.

How do I ask for directions now?

 …..

One hour later, Mingxiu was reprimanding Ai Hui inside the

embroidery workshop.

"You’re no longer a teenager but a leader now, why are you

always so rash? Well done, now everyone in the city knows
what you did. All I want is a peaceful life and you have to mess it
up. Today, the manager who is in charge of sending materials to
us didn’t even dare to raise his head to look at me. He was so
scared that he almost laid on the floor to talk to me. He didn’t
even dare to accept payment from me. I had to spend nearly half
an hour to persuade him to take the money. You tell me, how
am I going to carry on my business if this goes on?"

"Do you know what everyone is calling you now? Death god!
Executor! They’re saying that you have total disregard for the
lives you take! You have really scared me this time around."

"Your aura of death is too strong! You only know how to

resort to violence when things don’t go your way. How long
have you not been practising embroidery? It’s not that I want to
nag at you, but it’s time for you to grow up and stop resorting to
violence for everything. You’re not young anymore. Even if you
want to kill people, you have to do a clean job out of it. Why did
you leave so many survivors this time around?"

"Do you need me to help you?"

Initially, Ai Hui had an obedient look on his face. Every now

and then, he would say, "Yes, yes, you’re right," or "Why didn’t I
think of that?" or even something like, "The next time I see
them, I will be polite and amiable and talk about life with
them."

However, as he continued to listen to Senior Mingxiu’s

nagging, his facial expression became more and more blank.
When he saw Senior Mingxiu got more and more excited in
nagging him, the blank look on his face became even more
distinct.

Mingxiu was very pleased with herself. Within seconds, she

turned back to her usual gentle self. She softened her tone and
said with a demure voice, "Junior, no one understands your
temperament more than I do. To be able to make you take
action, they must be the ones who provoked you first. To be
able to make you treat them so ruthlessly, they must have
provoked you quite badly; however, killing people is still a sin
after all. Killing people will demonize you. Junior, don’t be like
them. Be more forgiving and treat people with kindness. Don’t
endanger yourself. Furthermore, how can I let you draw your
sword when you’re in Jadeite Forest? Wouldn’t that make me a
useless Senior?"

Her tone was as gentle as water. Ai Hui felt weak just by

listening to her.

"Don’t make this kind of mistake in the future again, okay?

Master and Mistress are not around, so Senior has to take good
care of you."

"Yes," Ai Hui replied obediently.

The female embroiderers of the embroidery workshop were

peeking at Ai Hui. Their eyes were filled with curiosity as they
discussed him in a low volume.

One female embroiderer’s face was filled with infatuation. "So

he is the Lightning Blade? He doesn’t look fierce or ruthless at
all! He is so cute!"

"Cute? Do you know how many people he has killed? There

are enough corpses to fill up the entire embroidery workshop,"
another short-haired girl sneered.

Upon hearing these words, an uproar broke out among the

rest of the female embroiderers. The way that the short-haired
girl described the scene was too vivid.

"If I have nightmares tonight, it’s all thanks to you!"

"How can you say such frightening words! It’s scary!"

"Oh my god, how do I work overnight shift in the future?"

After hearing these words, the short-haired girl’s face also

turned slightly pale. Apparently, she had been frightened by her
own words.

A female senior embroiderer looked deeply worried. "Boss is

even fiercer than him. She has already scolded him for so long. I
really hope she doesn’t piss him off. What if he decides to create
a ruckus in the workshop?"

"Then all of us will be killed like a bunch of chicks."

 The infatuated girl’s eyes lit up and she replied, "Am I the only
who thinks that he is cute? Look at how bright his smile is!"

"I’m sure his smile is also that bright when he kills someone,"
the short-haired girl sneered and blurted out.

"Are you trying to keep us from having a peaceful sleep

tonight?"

"Beat her up!"

"Hehe, me too!"

"No point begging for mercy now, I will support everyone!"

The female embroiderers raised a huge ruckus.

Time did not seem to have had any effects on Lu Mingxiu. Her
gentleness made Ai Hui feel a sense of warmth and familiarity.
Standing in the embroidery workshop with all the female
embroiderers looking curiously at him brought him back to the
day when he’d first stepped into Mistress’s embroidery
workshop in Central Pine City.

It was then that Ai Hui realized that the arrangements of his

senior’s embroidery workshop were exactly the same as his
mistress’s.

Senior must miss Mistress very much.

"Come and help me out. Recently, the deadlines are rather

tight and there are a lot of orders. We don’t have enough
employees as well. Luckily, you are here."

"Alright!"

All the female embroiderers were dumbfounded when they

saw the legendary executor, Ai Hui, obediently pick up a needle
and start to help out. Every now and then, their boss would
continue reprimanding him.

"Your skills are too rusty!"

"Wrong, wrong! Here! You wouldn’t have committed such a

mistake in the past."

"The way you hold your needle is wrong!"

When Mingxiu saw the serious look on Ai Hui’s face and his
rusty hand movements, her gaze turned gentle and warm. If
Master and Mistress were still alive and saw Junior’s
accomplishments, they would definitely be proud of him.

A lot of memories emerged in her mind.

When she thought of how Junior had passed Mistress’s test,

how he’d blown up the embroidery workshop and contracted a
huge debt, and how concentrated he’d been when spinning silk
from the cocoons, her lips curled into a loving smile.

The days she’d spent in Central Pine City had become her
most beautiful memories. There were Master, Mistress, and
Junior. All of them had been together with her.

A guy with a thick and broad back was with a girl with a sweet
and sincere smile on her face.
 When Lu Feng arrived at the embroidery workshop, this scene
was exactly what he saw. He was flabbergasted. Not just Lu
Feng, but all the subordinates behind him were also frozen like
a bunch of clay figurines.

After a while, Lu Feng returned to his senses and shifted his

gaze to Mingxiu. With an apologetic tone, he said, "Recently I’ve
been busy with work and couldn’t come and visit you. Mingxiu,
please forgive me."

Ai Hui cast a curious look at Lu Feng. Who is this fellow?

"Second Brother, you are being too polite," Mingxiu replied

with indifference.

Ai Hui cast a glance at Senior Mingxiu. The moment he saw

Senior Mingxiu’s facial expression, he knew that this fellow had
no chance. He’d seen how sweet and gentle Senior Mingxiu’s
smile was when she’d been together with Brother Li Wei in the
past.

Wait, did he hear incorrectly? Just now, Senior had called

him "Second Brother," right? Ai Hui felt so curious that his
heart was about to jump out!
 Lu Feng looked as if he did not sense Mingxiu’s indifference as
he maintained the smile on his face. Shifting his gaze to Ai Hui,
he said with a bright tone, "Is this Mingxiu’s Junior Ai Hui, who
is also known as the Lightning Blade? I have long heard that
Mingxiu has a junior who’s a genius. Having met you today, you
are indeed worthy of your reputation! An extraordinary
individual!"

Immediately, Ai Hui withdrew his disdainful gaze.

Such a thick-skinned individual, this fellow is not simple!

Chapter 405: Wintry Jade Blade
Even though Lu Feng was very warm, Ai Hui still had his
reservations about him. Whoever Senior dislikes, I dislike!

"Mingxiu’s junior is also my junior! I shall call you Junior Hui.

From today onwards, we are a family. Feel free to ask me if you
need help with anything. Since this is the first time we are
meeting, I have prepared a small gift for you. Junior Hui, please
don’t decline my kind intentions."

Lu Feng enthusiastically passed Ai Hui a long, rectangular

wood box. The wooden box was exquisite. Its surface was neatly
embedded with dark green fish scales which gave off an elegant
lustre, looking unspectacular yet luxurious.

Ai Hui glanced at Mingxiu and she winked at him.

"Junior has exquisite taste," Mingxiu said plainly.

Lu Feng smiled and did not seem to be at all flustered by her

words.
 Ai Hui immediately understood what Lu Feng’s facial
expression meant. He opened up the wooden box and found a
sword lying in it.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. He grabbed the sword hilt and held the
sword before his eyes to examine it closely.

The sword was dark green in color. Its texture felt unique,
seemingly carved out of a dark green jade. The wave-like dark
veins on the sword overlapped each other, looking like a body of
limpid autumn waters moving under the sun; it was extremely
beautiful. The body of the sword was straight and thick while
its blade was thick and blunt; however, when Ai Hui channeled
a trace of elemental energy into the sword, two extremely sharp
sword gleams appeared on both sides of the blade.

The material that made up the sword hilt felt like metal, but
was not. The sword hilt was extremely heavy, causing the
sword’s center of gravity to shift towards it. This made wielding
the sword effortless. Almost instantly, Ai Hui knew that this
sword was very suitable for carrying out stabbing and piercing
attacks. The sword hilt was covered with unknown fish scales,
making it extremely comfortable to hold. Ai Hui did not want to
let go of the sword.
 "Good sword!" Ai Hui blurted out.

He channeled his elemental energy into the sword and it gave

off slight vibrations. These slight and indistinct vibrations
involuntarily formed a resonance with the elemental energy in
his body, sparking off the desire to fight in him.

This was a Heaven-grade weapon!

The smile on Lu Feng’s face became wider as he cast a glance

of approval at the old servant standing in a corner. It was not an
easy task to prepare a satisfactory gift in such a short period of
time.

"This sword is called Wintry Jade Blade. It’s the first treasure
sword forged by master weaponsmith Wei Hong and I came
across it by luck. I have long heard that Junior Hui’s
swordsmanship is superb and extraordinary. Giving a treasure
sword to a hero will bring out the best in both!"

"Oh, Second Brother is too courteous. Then I shall accept this

sword."
 Ai Hui carefully took the Wintry Jade Blade and winked at
Senior Mingxiu.

Whoever Senior dislikes, I dislike! Even if I accepted his gift, I

still dislike him!

When Mingxiu saw the scoundrelly look on Ai Hui’s face, she

almost laughed out loud. She knew her junior’s character
extremely well.

When Lu Feng saw Ai Hui accept the gift and the appearance
of a rarely seen smile on Mingxiu’s face, he was overjoyed. He
had given Mingxiu many gifts in the past, but nothing had
caused her to smile like this.

Lu Feng engaged in a little self-reflection. It seemed that

Mingxiu and her junior had a very deep relationship. How had
he not realized this earlier?

Luckily it wasn’t too late yet!

The smile on Lu Feng’s face became even friendlier. He patted

Ai Hui’s shoulder cordially and said, "What’s there to be polite
about with your Second Brother?"

Following which, he gave Mingxiu her gifts. Mingxiu

conveniently placed the gifts on the table without taking a
second look at them. This action reinforced Lu Feng’s resolution
to use Ai Hui to improve his relationship with Mingxiu.

At this moment, Ai Hui noticed that Lu Feng’s unit of

subordinates were looking at him. Their bodies emitted a fierce
and powerful aura. From the faint energy waves coming from
their bodies, Ai Hui could tell that their strength was not to be
underestimated and that they had rich combat experience.

Every now and then, their gazes would hold an eagerness and
the desire to fight him.

At this moment, a tall and burly man stood out and said, "Sir,
do you want to try out your new sword? I can be your sparring
partner."

His tone contained a hint of arrogance, sounding as if he was

challenging Ai Hui.
 For the past few days, the Lightning Blade had been rather
reputable in this region. Everywhere they went, they would
hear Ai Hui’s name. News of his feat of single-handedly
massacring the Grass Bandits had spread to various cities
nearby. All of Lu Feng’s subordinates were elites of the
Deathgrass Division. Every one of them was proud and
arrogant. Naturally, they were unhappy with Ai Hui’s growing
reputation.

"Don’t be so rude towards Junior Hui! Behave yourself!" Lu

Feng reprimanded the burly man.

Even though the man withdrew, he still looked at Ai Hui with

an arrogant gaze.

Initially, Ai Hui did not really care about him; however, when
he saw a hint of anger sweep across Senior Mingxiu’s eyes, he
said, "I really want to try out this new sword, but the sword
doesn’t have eyes. It wouldn’t be good if I accidentally injure
you."

Upon hearing these words, the burly man broke out in

laughter and mocked, "I have fought an unknown number of
battles. I am not even afraid of death, why would I be afraid of
getting injured? I am only afraid of injuring you accidentally. If
I injure you, I will be scolded by Sir."

The intention to provoke Ai Hui in his words was very

obvious.

"Shut up!" Lu Feng glared at the burly man, following which,

he turned around and told Ai Hui, "Junior Hui, don’t mind this
brainless fool. He is very good at charging into and breaking
through enemy lines, but he is brainless. All he knows is how to
make trouble for me."

Ai Hui realized that these people were used to charging into

and breaking through enemy lines; they were a bunch of
arrogant and valiant individuals. From their arrogant and
despotic attitudes, Ai Hui could tell that they must have brought
a lot of troubles to Senior Mingxiu and her embroidery
workshop. If even a friendly and gentle individual like his
senior disliked them, then one could certainly tell how irritating
they must be.

Previously, Ai Hui had also noticed something else. One of Lu

Feng’s subordinates looked at the workshop’s female
embroiderers continuously, and when his eyes met theirs, their
faces turned white with fear. Apparently, they were terrified of
Lu Feng’s subordinates.
 Ai Hui smiled. "Second Brother is being too serious. Only a
true hero has such a straightforward nature. Why would a true
man be afraid of getting injured? Only by engaging in a real
fight can a weapon then display its true capabilities. I am truly
interested in trying out this new sword gifted by Second
Brother."

"Er…." Lu Feng pretended to be hesitant.

He wanted to see Ai Hui’s capabilities for himself as well.

After all, he only knew the rumors about Ai Hui. Rumors
couldn’t beat watching him in action with his own eyes. His
strategy for dealing with Ai Hui would change according to his
actual strength.

Ai hui continued, "Of course, it is not possible for me to fight

with him."

Upon hearing this, a mocking look appeared on the burly

man’s face. A similar look of contempt also appeared on the rest
of Lu Feng’s subordinates’ faces. They felt Ai Hui had bragged so
much just to withdraw at the last moment.

Lu Feng felt slightly disappointed as well. Just as he was about

to say something, Ai Hui spoke again, "After all, I am a slightly
reputable individual now. Where will I hide my face if the news
of me bullying an unknown individual like him spreads to the
outside world?"

Mingxiu chuckled when she saw her junior talking nonsense

with a straight face.

Lu Feng was stunned.

The burly man’s face flushed with anger and his eyes looked
as if they could spit flame. After being called an "unknown
individual," a strong sense of humiliation engulfed his body like
blazing flames; he felt as if he was going to explode. He clenched
his fists so hard that they produced cracking sounds.

The rest of Lu Feng’s subordinates’ faces turned ugly. Ever

since the rebuilding process of the Deathgrass Division began,
all of them had achieved countless accomplishments. As such, it
was natural for them to be infuriated after being humiliated by
Ai Hui.

Ai Hui put a reluctant look on his face. "Therefore, I have to

trouble Second Brother to find an assistant for him. Eh? I think
this fellow looks rather extraordinary. How about him then?
Even though defeating two unknown individuals isn’t
something to be proud of, it’s still not that embarrassing. I hope
Second Brother can grant me this wish. Reputation doesn’t
come by easily and I need to depend on my tiny bit to make a
living."

The lean guy Ai Hui had chosen was the one who had
previously been checking out the workshop’s female
embroiderers.

The lean guy did not expect to be chosen. Soon after, he

stepped out and sneered, "An unknown individual like me really
wants to learn a thing or two from you. I want to see how sharp
the sword of a reputable individual is."

Ai Hui’s words had also made Lu Feng’s face turn slightly

ugly. These trusted elites of his had been specially chosen by
him. They had followed him through countless battles and were
his pride. He did not expect Ai Hui to look down on them, but
after all, he was someone that had a renowned status. Very
soon, his facial expression returned to normal and he shifted his
gaze to Mingxiu to ask, "Mingxiu, can you persuade him not to
do this?"
 Even though Mingxiu was slightly worried, her facial
expression remained the same. She replied indifferently, "I
think what Junior said is right."

Actually, she knew that these two were not some unknown
individuals.

The burly man was called Huo Dun. He specialized in

spearmanship and his attacks were both ferocious and precise.
Among Lu Feng’s subordinates, he was always the one who led
the charge against their enemy lines. He was brave and valiant.
The lean one was called Xiao Sen. He specialized in using grass
seeds and his attacking methods were cunning and
unpredictable.

All of Lu Feng’s subordinates were experts that had been hired

by him after he became the division leader of the Deathgrass
Division. All of them had accrued countless military
achievements, but due to the lack of overall experience and
exposure, they were not well-known. Regardless, they were still
considered elites among elites.

These powerful subordinates were directly connected to why

Lu Feng could control the Deathgrass Division with absolute
power.
 Lu Feng nodded and said, "Since this is the case, both of you
shall do your best to learn from the Lightning Blade. Weapons
don’t have eyes. You can’t complain if you suffer from any
injuries. Mingxiu, what do you think?" One could not tell
whether Lu Feng was happy or angry.

"I agree."

Mingxiu’s voice was calm. She would be lying if she said that
she wasn’t worried about Ai Hui, but she had a lot of confidence
in her junior. She knew that her junior was gifted in combat.
Since he had agreed to this sparring session, he must have the
confidence to defeat them. Her junior would never seek to
impress others by bragging about his capabilities.

"Alright, a battle between experts can also be considered a

grand occasion. Let us find a location and not destroy Mingxiu’s
embroidery workshop," said Lu Feng.

"No need, there is a training arena in my embroidery

workshop. Follow me," replied Mingxiu.

She led everyone to the backyard and a training arena

appeared before their eyes.
 The arena was very big and was surrounded by specially made
protective fences on which hung numerous cloth strips. These
cloth strips were covered with complicated-looking designs that
emitted a faint glow. Four defensive ancient trees were planted
at the four corners of the arena. Even though the defensive
ancient trees were still young, the glow they gave off was
enough to engulf the entire arena.

"I didn’t expect the embroidery workshop to have such a

beautiful arena," remarked Lu Feng.

The protective glow from the four defensive guardian trees

and the cloth strips hanging on the fences formed a powerful
protective light screen around the arena. Unless one was a
Master, he or she would not be able to break through this
protective light screen.

Mingxiu ignored him and opened up the arena.

Without any hesitation, Huo Dun and Xiao Sen entered the
arena. Every now and then, both of them cast a malicious glance
at Ai Hui.

"Be careful," Mingxiu reminded Ai Hui.

 "Don’t worry." Ai Hui smiled.

Holding the Wintry Jade Blade in his hand, Ai Hui strode into
the arena.
Chapter 406: [Fragmented Sword] vs.
[Swirling Dragon]
The feeling of holding the Wintry Jade Blade in his hands felt
really good and comfortable. Ai Hui actually enjoyed holding it.

His Dragonspine had been forged back when he was still in

Central Pine City. Now, it had already become slightly unusable.
After the intense battle with the Grass Bandits, cracks had
formed on the body of the sword. Using the Silverfold Plum
would expose his identity as Chu Zhaoyang, making it
unsuitable for him to use it as well. He had been troubled over
this issue for quite a while.

The best feeling in the world is when someone passes you a

pillow while you’re dozing off.

Ai Hui cast a grateful glance at Lu Feng. I will definitely

display the might of the Wintry Jade Blade and teach your
subordinates a lesson!

As Huo Dun and Xiao Sen stepped into the arena, the look of
anger on their faces was replaced by a solemn one. Both of them
were veterans that had been through countless gruesome
battles. They knew that anger had no place in a fight.
 The positions where they stood were well-coordinated as well.
One was standing in front while the other was standing behind.
Holding a thick vine spear in his hand, Huo Dun was standing in
the front. Xiao Sen stood at an inclined angle behind him. In
between his fingers, there were different types of grass seeds as
he prepared to attack at any moment.

They were indeed experts!

Ai Hui praised them in his heart. His facial expression was

calm as he channeled his elemental energy into the Wintry Jade
Blade. The sword vibrated slightly, resembling a wild beast
pawing the ground before it charged toward its prey.

The reason why Ai Hui chose to fight two opponents at once

was not because he was trying to show off. He actually had
something else in mind.

After training with Qing Feng, Ai Hui’s swordsmanship had

improved tremendously. He could sense these improvements
from his battle with Cao Ning. Recently, he was on a spree
where his improvement rate was exceptionally high. The more
battles he went through and the stronger the enemies he
encountered during this period of time, the better it would be
for his growth.
 This was the main reason why he chose to fight two people at
once.

Another reason was that Ai Hui could sense that Lu Feng was
pressuring Senior Mingxiu, which he did not like. Whether Lu
Feng behaved like this because of his nature or because of the
authority and power he had, Ai Hui still did not like the way he
was treating his senior. Ai Hui was worried that Lu Feng might
use certain forceful measures on Senior Mingxiu in the future.

Senior Mingxiu had spent a lot of time and effort on the

embroidery workshop. It was unlikely that she would leave the
workshop so soon. Furthermore, her home was in the Jadeite
Forest and Ai Hui would depart for the hazardous Wilderness
very soon, so he was very worried about her.

Senior Mingxiu would stay in Asakusa City for a long period of

time. Even though Senior Mingxiu would be under the
protection of her oldest brother, Lu Chen, and no one would
dare to touch her, Ai Hui still decided to intimidate Lu Feng to
dissuade him from harming his senior in the future.

Ai Hui could see that Lu Feng was a strongly ambitious and

unscrupulous individual.
 He wanted to let Lu Feng know that no one could harm Senior
Mingxiu with him around. He wanted to let Lu Feng know that
his rage was not to be trifled with.

In an era where brute strength dominated, fear and worry

could only be eradicated by force.

Ai Hui had a calm look his face as he slowly brandished the

Wintry Jade Blade in his hand.

Even though this was the first time he wielded it, he did not
feel tardy using it at all. Instead, the Wintry Jade Blade was like
part of his body.

It was indeed a work of a master weaponsmith. Ai Hui

mentally noted down the name of Wei Hong.

The vibrating Wintry Jade Blade looked as if it was

summoning the god of fighting. The killing instinct in Ai Hui
intensified. Without fooling around, he flicked his wrist and a
few streaks of sword gleams were released from his sword that
shot toward Huo Dun and Xiao Sen like flying arrows.
 The base level of the Wintry Jade Blade was higher than the
Dragonspine’s. As such, the sword gleams it produced were
different from the Dragonspine’s. This also meant that the
Wintry Jade Blade’s sword gleams had a higher destructive
power.

Facing the incoming streaks of sword gleam, Huo Dun took a

heavy step forward and charged toward Ai Hui. It appeared as if
he never saw the incoming whizzing sword gleams.

Just as the streaks of sword gleam were about to hit him and
leave a few huge holes in his body, a grass seed suddenly
exploded in front of him. The grass seed transformed into a
basket-sized, gray air bubble.

The gray air bubble blocked the whizzing streaks of sword

gleams and disintegrated them and itself at the same time.

Huo Dun had anticipated this to happen. His movements were

not slowed down and his charge was unaffected.

The sword gleams released by Ai Hui were warded off by Xiao

Sen’s grass seed.
 Every time Huo Dun took a step forward, his aura intensified
and his elemental energy undulation became stronger. By the
time he was near Ai Hui, the intensity of his aura had reached a
terrifying level. His entire body was like a parcel stuffed with
raging flames. As he exhaled, a burst of swirling elemental
energy erupted from his thick spear and pierced toward Ai Hui.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. At this point of time, his eyes resembled
the stars in the night sky.

Good spearmanship.

This spear move was extremely powerful. It could be

considered the best among the moves he had seen before. The
weakness of the slow build-up of this move was offset by his
comrade’s help.

Ai Hui did not have any intention of going easy on them.

Upon witnessing such an unique spearmanship, the fire

within Ai Hui’s heart burned with more fervor. He took a
powerful step forward and his Wintry Jade Blade moved like
flowing water. His sword move did not seem very fast. Every
movement he made with his sword was clear and distinct. Every
time he brandished his sword, a different sword gleam would be
shot out. The different-shaped sword gleams that he shot out
resembled fragmented pieces of porcelain.

The slow movement of his sword was an illusion. In the blink

of an eye, 13 sword gleam streaks shaped like porcelain shards
shot out and formed a sword screen that braced for Huo Dun’s
terrifying spear move.

When the last streak of sword gleam inserted onto the sword
screen like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, the screen suddenly
trembled as the elemental energy in the arena froze.

[Fragmented Sword]!

Ai Hui’s strongest offensive sword move.

Meeting brute force with brute force. Ai Hui did not bother to
use other strategies.

[Fragmented Sword] collided head-on with the blazing spear

move. A slight dazzle erupted from the collision. The dazzle was
only pinhead-sized, yet it had blinded everyone.
 The sound of the collision was seemingly devoured by the
dazzle

Even with the protective light screen of the defensive ancient

trees, the onlookers could feel the impact, and their facial
expressions changed drastically. All of them were shocked by
the scene before their eyes. What kind of swordsmanship was
this?

After about 10 seconds, everyone regained their vision.

They saw Ai Hui’s figure appearing all over the arena like a
phantasm. The sword gleam from his Wintry Jade Blade flashed
across the air every now and then, warding off Xiao Sen’s grass
seeds.

Upon taking a closer look, they discovered Ai Hui’s eyes were

closed!

When the [Fragmented Sword] and Huo Dun’s attack collided,

Ai Hui knew that Xiao Sen, who was standing at the back, would
mount a sneak attack. This was because he knew that it would
be the best chance for Xiao Sen to do so.
 Executing the [Fragmented Sword] technique exhausted a
huge amount of elemental energy and was when his body was at
its weakest. Before the collision took place, he had already
closed his eyes.

As anticipated, Xiao Sen indeed mounted a sneak attack.

However, having prepared for it, Ai Hui was able to react to it
calmly.

Even though Xiao Sen’s grass seeds were unpredictable, their

destructive power was rather limited. They might be very useful
as a form of support, but as a main offensive weapon, they were
pretty weak and useless.

This gave Ai Hui the breathing room to recover his elemental

energy.

Ai Hui’s way of dealing with the grass seeds was very

effective. Since the grass seeds were very unpredictable, he did
not allow them to get close to him at all. He simply made
stabbing motions with his sword and shot out sword gleams.

At the moment, Ai Hui was like an archer. Like flying arrows,

his sword gleams accurately shot down the grass seeds in
midair. One by one, the grass seeds exploded and could not do
anything against Ai Hui. Just in case some of the grass seeds
would release poisonous gas when they erupted, Ai Hui
destroyed them with his sword gleams and followed up by
forming a powerful gust of wind with his sword to blow the
erupted grass seeds back to his opponents.

Ai Hui quickly gained the upperhand in the battle and headed

for Xiao Sen.

Xiao Sen had not expected Ai Hui to anticipate his sneak

attack. Without the protection of Huo Dun, he became
unusually weak and fragile. Since he was unable to contend
against Ai Hui, he could only continuously dodge. However, he
had good dodging techniques and was abnormally slippery.
There were a few times Ai Hui thought he was going to
successfully pierce Xiao Sen, only to narrowly miss.

Xiao Sen might have done a good job in avoiding Ai Hui’s

attacks, but he did not lower his guard at all. His face was
deathly pale. There were a few times when his heart stopped
beating because Ai Hui’s sword gleams were mere centimeters
away from his neck.

His opponent was like a vengeful ghost that refused to go

away.

The thing that scared Xiao Sen the most was that his
opponent was beginning to grasp his dodging patterns. His
dodging techniques were what he was the most proud of. The
elemental energy within his body flowed differently from
ordinary people, as such, he could make many movements and
maneuvers with his body that defied logic.

Huo Dun looked extremely miserable. His entire body dripped

with blood, while a section of the spear in his hand had broken
off.

He was at a loss. His [Swirling Dragon] technique had never

failed before. No one had ever dared to directly clash against his
[Swirling Dragon]. Whenever he encountered dire beasts, he
had always used this move to finish them off.

What kind of sword move was that?

Along with the terrifying vibration, the sword move that

resembled fragmented porcelain reappeared before his eyes.
 "Old Huo!"

Xiao Sen’s alarmed shriek woke Huo Dun up from his stupor,
and he quickly turned around. When he saw the battered and
exhausted Xiao Sen running about in the arena, he instantly
returned to his senses.

Holding his broken spear, Huo Dun roared and charged

toward Ai Hui.

Outside the arena, Lu Feng and his counterparts heaved a sigh

of relief. With Huo Dun returning to his senses, they saw a new
glimpse of hope in the situation. The prior unforeseen event
had occurred too abruptly. Everyone had yet to regain their
composure.

No one had expected both parties go straight for a head-on

collision instead of testing each other out!

This logic-defying battle tempo stunned all the onlookers. By

the time they returned to their senses, the battle had become
completely lopsided. When Lu Feng and his counterparts saw Ai
Hui chasing after Xiao Sen all across the arena, their faces
turned extremely ugly.
 It was only now, when Huo Dun re-entered the fight, that
everyone could feel at ease.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up when he saw that Huo Dun was still
capable of fighting.He immediately turned his body around and
pounced on Huo Dun.

Ai Hui had the upperhand in the collision between the

[Fragmented Sword] and [Swirling Dragon]. This was because
the [Fragmented Sword] was a ranged attack, while Huo Dun
had to follow along with his attack.

As such, Ai Hui was able to avoid the impact of the collision,

but Huo Dun had to endure the full brunt of the impact. Huo
Dun’s body might appear to be drenched in blood, but if one
wiped away his blood, he or she would discover that there were
no wounds on his body. The blood on his body had directly
seeped out of his skin.

Even Ai Hui slightly admired Huo Dun’s ability to withstand

the [Fragmented Sword]

Huo Dun roared and pierced his spear toward Ai Hui. This
attack was not as powerful as the [Swirling Dragon], but it
arrived from an extremely awkward angle, resembling a
poisonous dragon striking out from its dwelling.

In the midair, Ai Hui spun his body around and struck the
incoming spear with his Wintry Jade Blade.

The anticipated sound of a collision did not happen. Suddenly,

Huo Dun’s spear became soft and flexible like a piece of rope
and snaked toward Ai Hui.

Ai Hui’s reaction was extremely fast as he jerked backward.

Bang!

A shadow flew past him as the strong gale that accompanied it

inflicted an extreme pain to his face.

Bang, bang, bang! At this moment, explosions continuously

erupted around him.

Xiao Sen threw out 20 grass seeds in one go. All of them
simultaneously exploded around Ai Hui.
Ai Hui was in danger.
Chapter 407: Cut Some Slack?
Why did they always say that real combat could sharpen the
fighting capabilities of an elementalist?

It was because in real combat, one would encounter various

types of elementalists and fighting styles. In real combat, one
would also face bizarre and unpredictable situations that forced
him or her to progress, think faster, and react quicker. As long
as one could survive real combat, he or she would gain a new
level of understanding toward the type of enemy he or she had
just defeated.

Life-and-death situations could unleash one’s potential,

allowing him or her to make incredible moves, display
wondrous creativity, and possess unimaginable endurance.
During peacetime, one could never achieve these.

These were all because of fear, intense fear. Mankind had an

instinctive fear of death. Whether it was a man or woman, an
elderly or a youth, a genius or a mediocre individual, it made no
difference. All of them had an instinctive fear of death.

And right now, Ai Hui could feel the instinctive fear of death.
 The 20 grass seeds exploded at the same time, so there was not
a single gap in between the explosions for him to escape!

Even at this point in time, Ai Hui could not help but admire
the precision and viciousness of Xiao Sen’s attacks. The 20 grass
seeds had various types of effects. There were spiderwebs,
clouds of poisonous smog, flying masses of needles, etc.

No matter how one looked at it, Ai Hui had nowhere to escape

to.

Even if he managed to break out of the surrounding

explosions, Huo Dun’s deadly strike would be waiting outside
for him.

At this moment, Ai Hui, who was falling through the air while
facing the sky, did something that no one expected.

He curled up his body and fell ferociously toward the ground.

At the instant when his back made contact with the ground,
he abruptly arched his back.

[Arching Fish Back]!

 Even though Ai Hui had not used this move for quite a long
time, he was still adept when using it now. The hard work that
he had put in day and night outside of the Suspending Golden
Pagoda had made this move instinctive.

The surface of the ground silently crumbled into fine powder,

resembling crumbs from crushed crisp biscuits.

When Ai Hui was still in Central Pine City, his elemental

energy was very weak. Now that he had reached Second
Elemental Realm, the strength of his elemental energy had
increased several hundred times!

Boom!

All of the onlookers lost their balance. It was as if someone

had heavily slammed a gigantic hammer on the ground.

Huo Dun and Xiao Sen felt the direct impact of Ai Hui’s move.
The ground beneath their feet trembled. A powerful dusty
shock wave suddenly erupted in the arena like a gray ring.

The first thing that was hit by the shock wave were the grass
seeds. Like weak and delicate rice straws, the grass seeds were
dispersed and shattered by the shock wave.

What kind of move was this?

Huo Dun and Xiao Sen’s faces paled as they quickly put up
their defenses.

As the shock wave swept past them,their bodies trembled, but

they were still safe and sound. Both of them were stunned. They
were not surprised by how powerful the shock wave was, but
rather, how weak it was!

However, in the next moment, their facial expressions

changed.

The shock wave that swept across the area was accompanied
by an immense amount of dust. Currently, the entire arena was
shrouded in dust.

Not good!
 Xiao Sen was an expert in sneak attacks. As such, when he
discovered he was surrounded by dust and that his vision was
impaired, he knew something was wrong. He channeled his
elemental energy and moved toward Huo Dun’s location. This
was the only way he could survive.

Suddenly, three streaks of green sword gleam silently

emerged from the fog of dust.

The three streaks of sword gleam were executed marvellously

in the sense that they locked onto the position he was heading
to.

Xiao Sen, whose mental state was stretched taut, suddenly

stopped in his tracks. His body bent awkwardly like a piece of
paper. Without making use of any external force, he changed
his direction abruptly and headed for another direction.

He had just used his dodging techniques to change the

outcome of the situation and heaved a sigh of relief. Success!

Luckily, his opponent had not figured out his dodging

techniques. This was the first time he encountered such a
powerful opponent. Ai Hui’s keen observation was indeed
terrifying. Xiao Sen suspected that if the battle continued, Ai
Hui might figure out his dodging patterns.

Suddenly, Xiao Sen had a premonition, and his facial

expression changed drastically.

Not good!

An excrutiating pain erupted through his lower body, and he

could not help but release a blood-curdling scream. His body
curled up as the elemental energy in his body went into chaos.
His completely lost control over his body and landed heavily on
the ground like a sandbag.

Xiao Sen’s scream came too suddenly and sounded extremely

dreadful. Everyone’s facial expression changed drastically. Xiao
Sen’s scream had set off their fear and trepidation. Everyone
knew Xiao Sen was a tough individual who would not have
screamed if it was a normal injury.

"Stop it!" Lu Feng yelled in panic.

Huo Dun’s face turned deathly white as well. Since he was

closer to Xiao Sen, he was more frightened than the rest upon
hearing Xiao Sen’s scream. Huo Dun had rich combat
experience and knew that this fog of sand was the enemy’s
greatest cover. Huo Dun adopted an impregnable defensive
stance and used his vine spear to sweep up a gust of wind to
blow the dust away.

Immediately, he could see clearly within a ten meter range.

Suddenly, a figure shot out from the fog of dust. To Huo Dun’s
surprise, it was Ai Hui, who was moving together with his
sword.

Huo Dun clenched his teeth as killing intent swept across his
eyes. Unwilling to retreat, he simply pierced his vine spear at Ai
Hui.

All of a sudden, his vine spear split into five thinner vine
spears that simultaneously pierced toward Ai Hui!

Apparently, his vine spear was made up of five thinner vine

spears. Usually, he would use it as a single vine spear. Only
when a critical situation arose would he split it into the five
thinner vine spears. Usually, this move would work perfectly in
a critical moment of battle.

However, he did not expect Ai Hui’s body to change direction

and fly over his five vine spears.

[Gale Bat Slash]!

Huo Dun’s face froze as his eyes widened with incredulity.

How could Ai Hui increase his speed to such a terrifying level
without a single sign?

A sword gleam flashed past his vine spears.

"Ahh!"

Huo Dun let out a blood-curdling scream. His right arm flew
up into the sky as blood incessantly spurted out of his right
shoulder.

The sand and dust had completely settled, revealing the entire
arena.
 Ai Hui was the only one standing in the huge arena. His
Wintry Jade Blade was not stained with a single drop of blood.
Not far away, Huo Dun was half-kneeling on the floor while
holding his right shoulder. He had an anguished look on his
face. Meanwhile, Xiao Sen was lying on the ground and howling
in pain. His body was curled up, resembling a dried shrimp. The
lower part of his body was drenched in blood.

Mingxiu was flabbergasted. She knew her junior’s strength

had increased greatly but she still had not expected that he was
actually so powerful!

Even though Ai Hui was fighting against two people, he was

not injured at all, while the opponents were severely injured.

Lu Feng and his counterparts had ashen faces. They could not
believe what they had just seen. No one knew Huo Dun and Xiao
Sen’s strength better than them. Both of them suffered a
crushing defeat despite joining hands to fight Ai Hui!

Ai Hui calmly walked out of the arena and stood beside

Mingxiu. "Senior, your arena needs to be repaired."

It was at this moment that Mingxiu saw an enormously deep

hole in the center of the arena, which looked as if it had been
created by a falling meteor. She suddenly thought of Ai Hui’s
[Arching Fish Back] and remembered the marks that he left
outside of the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

So, Junior had already grown to such a level…

She was deeply moved.

One of Lu Feng’s subordinates flew into the arena and checked

on Huo Dun and Xiao Sen’s injuries. Following which, he shook
his head at Lu Feng. Lu Feng’s face immediately blanched. How
would he not know that these two had been completely
incapacitated?

Xiao Sen’s vital body part had been severely injured, and it
was unknown that whether or not he would survive. Even if he
survived, his nature would drastically change. Meanwhile, Huo
Dun’s right arm had been severed. How could he still wield a
spear in the future?

For a moment, the rest of Lu Feng’s subordinates sympathized

with them. Their eyes blazed with fury as they glared at Ai Hui,
wishing that they could rip him apart.
 "Sir, do you not think your attacks were too ruthless!"
someone yelled with hatred.

A tinge of rage flashed across Mingxiu’s face. Just as she was

about to say something, Ai Hui held her back.

He turned around and replied calmly, "Is it? It’s on the behalf
of Second Brother that I spared their lives. It seems that I
should have killed them to live up to my reputation of having
total disregard for human lives."

Everyone’s facial expression changed as they trembled with

fear. It was at this moment that they remembered that this
seemingly calm and indifferent man was an executor who
massacred people without blinking.

Ai Hui smiled at Lu Feng. "I am a straightforward individual. I

will pay a debt of gratitude if I need to and will seek revenge if I
need to. Second Brother gifted me this treasure sword, so I have
to think on behalf of Second Brother. The Grass Bandits desired
to harm Senior Mingxiu, so they deserved to be killed. Haha,
this issue has not been settled yet. Sooner or later, I will still
have to go and deal with them. I would rather cut the weeds and
completely eliminate the roots than cut them some slack.
Second Brother, what do you think?"
 Ai Hui’s smile and words made everyone’s hair stand on end.
One could sense a strong sense of killing intent in his words.
They had met all kinds of ruthless people before, but they had
never encountered someone like Ai Hui who spoke so lightly of
killing people.

Everyone was speechless. They knew this seemingly young

fellow was a merciless individual who was not to be trifled with.

Lu Feng had a very stiff look on his face. He forced a smile and
said, "Junior Hui is indeed an extraordinary hero."

"Second Brother is the true hero. You’re a division leader and

hold great power and wealth. Everyone envies you. Everything
about Second Brother is great. The only thing that you lose out
compared to me is that I live my life as I please and I fight alone.
If I want to kill somebody, I kill somebody. If I want to walk
away, I walk away."

By now, Lu Feng had already regained his composure, and he

chuckled. "I really envy Junior Hui! Every day, I’m busy with
work and fussing over trivial matters. How can a person be
carefree and happy like you?"
 Both of them shook hands happily. One could not see any ill-
feelings between them.

After chatting for around two hours, both of them unwillingly

ended their conversation as Lu Feng and his men bade farewell
to Ai Hui and his counterparts.

Ai Hui even personally sent Lu Feng and his counterparts to

the entrance of the embroidery workshop.

As Ai Hui watched Lu Feng and his men walk into the

distance, the smile on his face disappeared and a keen look
flashed across his eyes.

Suddenly, an intense pain spread across his ear. Apparently,

Mingxiu was wringing his ear.

"Tell me, where did you learn this bad habit from? Hehe,
killing people with total disregard for their lives, right? So you
only learned how to fight and kill after you grew up? Ah! You
have become so bad after just a few years! Where has my
innocent junior from the past gone to? Now you even learned
how to boast! One against two! Arrogant, huh! You would rather
cut the weeds and completely eliminate the roots than cut
others some slack, right! Tsk, tsk, such domineering words!

"Hey, hey, hey!, Ouch, ouch, ouch! Senior, don’t use so much
strength! Ouch! We can discuss this nicely. Yes, yes, yes, I will
cut them some slack, I will cut them some slack! I will do
whatever they want!"

Mingxiu released Ai Hui’s ear from her hand as her voice

reverted to her usual gentle and refined tone. No one had
expected her to do this.

Ai Hui grimaced in pain and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Junior."

Senior Mingxiu’s tone was gentle and soothing. She gently

brushed the dust off from Ai Hui’s body.

A cold shiver sped down Ai Hui’s spine as he froze like a clay

figurine. "Senior, feel free to order me around!"

"After thinking about it, Senior thinks that it’s better for you
to clear the weeds."

"..."
Chapter 408: Using a Pretext to Make a
Fuss
In a room within the Fiery Floating Cloud, Lu Feng’s roars
were so loud that they could tear off the roof.

"He is trying to give me a warning! He is trying to give me a

warning! Who does he think he is! How dare he try to give me a
warning! I know what he’s trying to say! Bastard! All of you are
a bunch of trash! Can’t even defeat a premature bastard! Trash!
Morons! Bums!"

"I want to kill him! I want to kill him!"

"Who does he think he is! Who does he think he is!"

...

Crackle! Rattle! The sound of things breaking could be heard

incessantly. Eventually, only a heavy panting sound could be
heard. It was as if there was a wild beast in the room.

The faces of everyone outside the room turned white. This

time around, they had really screwed up and embarrassed Sir.
They could tell from Ai Hui’s words that he was trying to give
Lu Feng a warning, but none of them dared to challenge him.
What had happened to Huo Dun and Xiao Sen terrified them
greatly.

After a long period of time, the heavy panting sound in the

room disappeared.

The door opened.

Lu Feng walked out of the room and his facial expression had
returned to normal. "Where are those two morons? How are
their conditions?"

"Xiao Sen’s wound has stopped bleeding. However, due to the

severity of his injury, he will most likely be disabled for the rest
of his life. As for Huo Dun, his right arm has been frozen and
can be re-attached to his body. However, from today onwards, it
can only be used for simple daily tasks and not for fighting
anymore. Furthermore, the medical expenses...."

"Those two morons!" Lu Feng yelled vehemently. However, he

managed to regain his composure very soon. "What medical
expenses? Make sure they recover! Prepare the pension for both
of their families and arrange lighter jobs for both of them, even
though they have thoroughly embarrassed me... Bloody
morons!"

"Sir is magnanimous!" the old servant quickly said.

The rest of Lu Feng’s subordinates also yelled, "Sir is

magnanimous!"

A grateful look appeared on all of their faces. Even though

Huo Dun and Xiao Sen were completely incapacitated, Sir was
still willing to treat them with kindness. He had indeed treated
them with extreme benevolence. In a division, those who were
from wealthy and powerful families could obtain their pension
easily. However, those who were of a commoner background
would be constantly delayed from getting their pension.
Disregarding these people was nothing out of the ordinary for
the high-ups.

"Magnanimous my foot!" Lu Feng’s rage had yet to subside.

"All of you, keep your spirit up. It is normal to lose sometimes. I
am not angry that Huo Dun and Xiao Sen were defeated. Being
not as skilled as others is nothing to be ashamed of. However, if
you are intimidated by others, then that is something to be
ashamed of. Look at the terrified look on all of your faces! How
can all of you be afraid of him when there are so many of you
here. At that moment, I almost want to go up against him
myself."

All of Lu Feng’s subordinates lowered their heads in shame.

"Think about it, have I ever mistreated any of you before? Do

you know how many people are envious of your status and
salary? Aren’t people out there gossiping about what all of you
do to deserve these? They say Deathgrass Division is Straw Bag
Division and that all of you are undeserving of your status and
salary. Are all of you from powerful and rich families? No. Your
strength is rather good, but there are plenty of people like you
out there. Other than me, who will hire you? Other than me,
who will give you such a high salary? Without me, all of you are
like the dead dogs on the streets! What do you have? A pathetic
life! Do you want to go back to the days when you had nothing
at all? If you don’t want to, then work hard and do your best! If
you’re alive, you will enjoy a high position and great wealth! If
you’re dead, I will take care of your families! If you don’t want
to work hard and do your best, then get lost! I don’t want to
take care of trash!

"All of you are a bunch of wolves! Do you know what a wolf

does? A wolf will take one or two bites of its enemy even if it is
dying! Look at yourself now!

"Get lost!" Lu Feng shouted.

Bang!

The door slammed shut loudly.

All of Lu Feng’s subordinates were ashamed and resentful at

the same time. Their faces were flushed and they were panting
heavily. Everyone looked at each other and saw the blazing
flames in each other’s eyes.

Upon returning to his room, Lu Feng regained his composure

as a smile appeared on his face, without the slightest trace of
anger? Ever since his Deathgrass Division was established,
everything had been smooth sailing for them and they seldom
encountered any setbacks. As such, these fellows had become
complacent. He had been wanting to teach them a lesson for a
long time, but could not find the right opportunity to do so.

This opportunity came at the right time. Half of his rage was
real, while the other half was making use of the current
situation as a pretext to make a fuss. Even if his subordinates
died, he wouldn’t mind the humiliation, let alone if they were
injured. The feeling of humiliation was not enough to make him
lose his mind.

As an adopted son of the Lu family, he had been bullied and

looked down on for an unknown number of times since he was
young. People only looked at how fortunate he was. They did
not see how he was being neglected and looked down on.

His heart had already become as cold as steel.

Ai Hui had given him a huge "surprise".

It was at this moment that Lu Feng realized the Lightning

Blade he previously ignored was not a simple individual. The
wisdom and tactics that he displayed had shocked Lu Feng. He
knew that Ai Hui wasn’t a rash individual and certainly wasn’t a
smooth-talker.

Lu Feng seemed to understand why Central Pine Faction

would follow Ai Hui’s leadership.
 There were a lot of new citizens in Central Pine Faction. There
were also members from first-class aristocratic families like Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun. He was not familiar with Shi
Xueman. As for Duanmu Huanghun, he had been observing him
from the dark for quite some time. Duanmu Huanghun was a
highly intelligent individual. Other than being slightly
emotional and sensitive, every aspect of him was great.
Whether it was his innate gifts or his intelligence, they were
extremely astonishing.

There were actually so many outstanding individuals that

were willing to follow Ai Hui.

Lu Feng was drooling over the talents that Ai Hui had and
wished he could snatch them over. When he looked at Ai Hui’s
subordinates and then looked at his own ones, he could see the
huge difference in the quality between them.

However, he would definitely surpass Ai Hui!

Lu Feng involuntarily clenched his fists tightly.

After a while, he loosened his fists and took out a small

wooden box from one of his drawers. A stack of palm-sized
cards was placed inside the wooden box. On the top of the stack
of cards, there was a card with the name "Lu Chen" written on it

Lu Feng drew another card and solemnly wrote down two

words.

—— Ai Hui.

…..

Embroidery workshop.

Ai Hui and Senior Mingxiu were talking about Lu Feng.

"Second Brother was adopted by our family when he was still

very young. In the beginning, he was bullied terribly. I felt very
sorry for him and so I asked my father to help him. When we
were young, we enjoyed having a rather great relationship. He
would take good care of me. However, that was when we were
around four to five years old. After that, I went to the
embroidery workshop in Central Pine City and learnt
embroidery from Mistress. Since then, we have not been in
contact much and we grew apart. I often heard my clan
members praising him. They said that even though he is not as
gifted as First Brother, he is brave and tenacious.

"After that, he somehow became the division leader of

Deathgrass Division and he began to rebuild the division. These
few years, he has done a remarkable job in rebuilding it.
However, there are still a lot of critics saying that he is not
capable of the job. Even his higher-ups don’t agree to him using
the title of ‘Deathgrass Lu’. It’s most likely that he became the
division leader of Deathgrass Division without the approval of
his higher-ups. He is rather stressed too."

Senior Mingxiu’s tone contained a tinge of sadness. She

continued, "I only met him again when I came to Asakusa City
to build my embroidery workshop. I disliked him the first time I
met him. From his eyes, I could tell that he was extremely
ambitious and unscrupulous. I don’t like these kinds of people."

Ai Hui nodded his head and replied, "Even though this is my

first time meeting him, I can also sense that he is an ambitious
and unscrupulous individual!"

Ai Hui knew that Senior Mingxiu was exceptionally intelligent

and he was not worried about her. He could tell that Senior
Mingxiu disliked Lu Feng based on why she would like Brother
Li Wei. At that time, Brother Li Wei was merely a member of
the Infantry Division. His status paled in comparison to Senior
Mingxiu’s. However, Senior Mingxiu did not care about it at all
and still liked him.

The main thing was that Brother Li Wei was a genuine and
candid individual.

When Ai Hui thought of Brother Li Wei, he had complex

feelings. The Brother Li Wei of the past had become Silver
Soldier now.

Mingxiu smiled and continued, "You don’t need to worry

about me too much. Even though First Brother seems like a
nonchalant individual, no one dares to oppose him. Even the
clan leader is scared of him, let alone Lu Feng. First Brother
loves me dearly and he will take good care of me."

Now that Ai Hui thought about it, he agreed with his senior
too. Senior Mingxiu’s first brother was White-robed Divine
Physician, Lu Chen. He was also Dai Gang’s eldest disciple. Lu
Chen’s influence and reputation in Jadeite Forest were
undeniable. Anyone that wanted to harm Mingxiu would not
ignore Lu Chen’s existence.
 Suddenly, a tinge of doubt arose in Ai Hui’s mind.

Weren’t the Grass Bandits scared of Lu Chen’s rage when they

decided to target Senior Mingxiu? The Grass Bandits must have
known the deep relationship between Senior Mingxiu and Lu
Chen. If that was the case, why did they still target Senior
Mingxiu? Unless… Unless they had a way to deal with Lu Chen’s
rage?

The only one in the entire Jadeite Forest that had the
capability of stopping Lu Chen was Dai Gang.

However, Grass Bandits and Dai Gang were arch-enemies,

how was it possible that they’d joined hands?

No, there was one more possibility!

The Grass Bandits’ target was Lu Chen!

When this emerging thought flashed in Ai Hui’s mind, he felt

that the Grass Bandits were crazy!
 Not only was Lu Chen a wood elemental master, his healing
skills and combat skills were exceptionally outstanding. Out of
Dai Gang’s three disciples, Lu Chen was his favourite disciple.
On more than one occasion, Dai Gang had said that Lu Chen
resembled his younger self.

Being a member of the Lu family, he was wealthy and

powerful. His healing skills were superb and he had healed
numerous experts before. He had great relationships with
everyone and even Dai Gang paled in comparison to him in
regards to this aspect. The moment Lu Chen asked for help, a lot
of people would certainly come forward to his assistance.

It was not a difficult task for Lu Chen to raze the Grass Bandits
to the ground. Where did they get the confidence to target Lu
Chen?

Upon realizing that the Grass Bandits were not as simple as he

thought, Ai Hui decided to stay in Asakusa City for a while
longer. He did not care what plots the Grass Bandits were
hatching. As long as he destroyed all Grass Bandits, all their
plots would be strangled to death in their cradles.

He indeed had to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots

completely.
 Ai Hui’s facial expression remained the same as he made his
decision. He changed the topic and asked, "Senior, have you
reached the level of Master in embroidery?"

The embroidery-related question immediately captured

Mingxiu’s attention. She replied with a distressed tone, "I feel
like I am very close to achieving it. However, there is this area
that I have stagnated in for quite some time."

Upon hearing that, Ai Hui could not help but ask with deep
concern, "Which area? Tell me about it, perhaps I can give you
some advice."

For one to become a Master, he or she must create his or her

own absolute art. This applied to the field of embroidery as
well. Mingxiu had to create her own embroidery technique. Han
Yuqin was excellent with regards to this aspect. She had created
more than ten embroidery techniques by herself. Her
embroidery works had a special name, Rainbow Embroidery.

It was not an easy task for one to create his or her own
embroidery technique.

Senior Mingxiu cast a disdainful look at Ai Hui and replied,

"Look at your embroidery level, other than spinning silk from
cocoons, what else do you know? Based on your level, you want
to offer me advice?"

"Senior, you have underestimated me. I have travelled

extensively and I am very knowledgeable. I might be able to
come up with one or two ideas for you," Ai Hui boasted
shamelessly.

"You have indeed become a bad boy. Your words have become
flippant and insincere. My loom is spoilt. A hero that has
travelled extensively, helping me to fix it." Mingxiu replied with
contempt.

Ai Hui’s face was brimming with confidence as he walked to a

non-operating loom and asked, "Is this the one? Leave it to me. I
can easily fix this small problem."

"That is a shredder."

"No wonder it looks so ugly."

"..."
Chapter 409: Mr Small Ai
"In the past, all the looms in Mistress’s embroidery workshop
were made by Master and they were very easy to use. Before I
left Central Pine City, I even went back to Jade Embroidery
Workshop and found the most intact loom to bring here. I don’t
know which part of it is spoilt. Initially, it worked very well and
smooth. However, it soon became stuck. I have found some
blacksmiths to take a look at it, but they just can’t fix it. I have
tried other models of looms but I am just not used to them."

Mingxiu recalled the past fondly as she spoke these words.

"This is made by Master? Master knows how to make looms? I

have never heard of this from him before."

"Yes," Mingxiu nodded her head, "Almost everything in

Mistress’s workshop was made by Master. Mistress will request
for something and Master will make it. As the disciple of
Master, it’s time for your test now. Little fellow, work hard."

Ai Hui was already standing in front of the loom that his

master made and examining it very carefully.
 This was actually the first time Ai Hui examined a loom so
closely.

When he was in Central Pine City, he was specialized in

spinning silk from cocoons. After arriving at Peace City, he was
still spinning silk from cocoons to make See You Laters. Ai Hui
was merely a rookie in the field of embroidery.

Fortunately, the science behind a loom was not complicated.

Thanks to the weaving experience that he’d learned from his

mistress in the past, Ai Hui was able to understand how a loom
worked in an hour’s time.

In the past, Ai Hui used a very basic type of weaving technique

called [Twin Weaving Technique]. This technique involved
weaving horizontally and vertically at the same time. [Twin
Weaving Technique] was the fundamental of almost all weaving
techniques. Most of those complicated weaving techniques were
just evolved versions of [Twin Weaving Technique].

The loom was made of a table with a pond-like hollow in the

centre of it. Surrounding the tabletop was a square-shaped
needle trough. Needles of all sizes were arranged neatly within
the needle trough, resembling ships parked at the harbor.

On each side of the loom, there was an imprint of a palm. An

elementalist needed to place his or her palms on the imprints to
channel elemental energy into the loom.

Ai Hui placed his palms on the imprints and channeled his

elemental energy into the loom.

The pond-like hollow in the centre of the loom emitted a layer

of faintly glowing membrane, like a pond that was filled up with
water. Then the needles gave off a faint glow. The glowing
needles were slowly ejected from the needle trough, resembling
small ships that were leaving the harbor. The flat layer of
glowing membrane was like the surface of the sea outside the
harbor as the needles travelled back and forth on the
membrane. Dazzling, fine streaks of light were created as the
needles moved randomly on the membrane. These streaks of
light looked as if they were tangled up terribly.

Under the guidance of the needles, the silk yarn was rapidly
woven into a piece of cloth.

As compared to the cloths he woved in the past, this piece of

cloth was of a much higher quality.

Ai Hui could not take his eyes off the weaving process. The
needles were moving at an extremely fast speed. An embroidery
craftswoman would need to take years of practise to move the
needles with such a terrifying speed.

Ai Hui could also see that there were a huge number of needles
in the loom. This implied that the loom could execute
complicated weaving techniques. The more needles there were
to be controlled in a loom, the more demanding it would be on
the embroidery craftswoman that was using it.

Interesting!

The dazzling streaks of light interwove with the yarn silk. The
elemental energy and the yarn silk had reached a magical
balance.

Ai Hui exclaimed in admiration. He felt that the apparatus in

front of him was very exquisite. He thought of the pile of
rubbish that his master placed in his courtyard and the armor
that evaluated one’s eight palaces. His master seemed to like
playing around with various bizarre objects. To be able to see
his master’s opus and have a taste of what his master had been
through in the past created a deadly temptation for Ai Hui.

The most difficult part of weaving was controlling the

needles. Even though the needles in the loom looked confusing
to one’s eyes, they actually moved in a systematic manner.

When Mingxiu saw her junior had turned a deaf ear to her and
completely forgotten about her existence, she pursed her lips,
smiled and silently left the room.

Ai Hui was half-squatting as he attentively stared at the fast-

moving needles on the glowing membrane.

Crack!

Suddenly, the needles on top of the glowing membrane lost

control and flew around like headless flies. Very soon, the yarn
silk was tangled up terribly.

Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows but soon loosened them up. He

stopped channeling elemental energy into the loom and the
glowing membrane disappeared. The glow on the needles
disappeared too as they fell into the hollow.

Where had gone wrong?

Unconsciously, Ai Hui tried over and over again.

Mingxiu did not disturb Ai Hui. She knew that once her junior
was in the zone, he would be completely lost in his own world.
She made an inspection round of her embroidery workshop, just
like how she did in the past. Actually, her motivation for
starting an embroidery business was more just so she could
continue a routine that she was used to, rather than because she
was pursuing a personal goal. Since she was very young, she had
been helping her mistress to manage her embroidery business.
Every little detail of the embroidery workshop helped her to
relax.

A travel-worn butler entered the workshop. When he saw

Mingxiu, he heaved a sigh of relief, "Miss!"

"Why is Uncle Yu here?" Mingxiu looked slightly surprised.

Uncle Yu was the Lu family’s butler. He had served the Lu

family for decades and watched Mingxiu grow up. As such, the
family head of the Lu family trusted him very much.

Uncle Yu quickly explained, "During this period of time, a lot

of people have visited our residence. Upon hearing that the
Lightning Blade was visiting Miss, all of them wanted to make
friends with Mr Small Ai and invite him to our residence.
Family Head has told us not to worry about other families.
However, since a VIP like Mr Small Ai is here in Jadeite Forest,
our family has to invite him to our residence. Mr Small Ai and
Miss are both disciples of Wang Shouchuan and Han Yuqin,
therefore, he is part of our family as well. We have a special
relationship with him and we definitely can’t commit any faux
pas."

Mingxiu furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "How do they

know Junior is here? And why are they calling him Mr Small
Ai?"

Uncle Yu chuckled and replied, "Mr Small Ai is so famous, yet

he is still so young. Everyone feels that calling him Mr Ai Hui
would make him sound very old. As such, they have decided to
call him Mr Small Ai. The news of Mr Small Ai slaughtering the
Grass Bandits has been spread throughout Jadeite Forest.
Everyone has suffered a lot at the hands of Grass Bandits.
Therefore, when they heard of Mr Small Ai’s feat, they rejoiced
in his victory. All of them said that it’s a matter of time before
Mr Small Ai becomes a Master. They even said that he might
become a Grandmaster in the future. Furthermore, he is the
leader of Central Pine Faction and his future is limitless. They
hope to make friends with him so that they can keep in contact
in the future."

Mingxiu was shocked. Her junior had unconsciously become a

celebrity.

Even though she did not care about what was going on in the
clan, she roughly knew what these people were up to.

Jadeite Forest and Elders Guild had an unique relationship.

Ever since Grandmaster Dai established independence, even
though Jadeite Forest and Elders Guild were set against each
other, their relationship wasn’t really tense.

After all, Grandmaster Dai was at the prime of his life while
An Mu was in his twilight years. One couldn’t say for sure
whether or not Elders Guild and Jadeite Forest would join
hands once again in the future. On the contrary, Elders Guild
and Blood of God were arch-enemies.
 Ai Hui’s past achievements were what made him the leader of
Central Pine Faction. The feat he had achieved in his battle
against the Grass Bandits had completely eradicated the doubts
that everyone had about his strength.

If a leader was not powerful enough, his followers would not

have confidence in him. In an era where brute force mattered
the most, the strength of a powerful individual could change the
world. This world would always belong to someone like
Grandmaster Dai.

Numbers did not matter to a formidable being like

Grandmaster Dai.

Everyone below the level of Grandmaster would not differ

much from each other. It was true that a Master was much more
powerful than an ordinary elementalist, however, a Master
dying on the battlefield was also a common occurrence.

Only a Grandmaster could contend against another

Grandmaster.

Dai Gang had personally displayed the power, wealth and

strength of a Grandmaster.
 People now realized that the best investment to make was in a
future Grandmaster. Becoming a Grandmaster was extremely
difficult and the probability of becoming one was extremely
low. However, if one succeeded in becoming a Grandmaster,
they would reap an astronomical amount of gains.

In other words, Ai Hui had finally come out from under

everyone’s radar. He was one of their candidates that would
most likely become a Grandmaster. Every family desired to
make friends with a genius that had the possibility of becoming
a Grandmaster in the future.

What kind of person could become a Grandmaster? This was a

difficult problem that all aristocratic families were troubled
over. It was very difficult to determine whether or not an
individual would become a Grandmaster based on factors like
his strength, his innate talents, his teachers, etc. However,
there was one essential factor that everyone would look at the
most. This essential factor was age. The younger an individual
was, the more time he had to reach the level of Grandmaster.

The younger a genius was, the more favored he or she was.

Among so many geniuses, Ai Hui was not especially young.

However, he possessed a rather impressive reputation and
numerous accolades for someone of his age.

The road to becoming a Grandmaster was arduous and

relentless. A moment of carelessness would consign a candidate
to eternal damnation. A mentally weak genius would always be
the first to fall among the batch of candidates for Grandmaster.

Having a rather impressive reputation, an outstanding

resume, a firm and ruthless nature, and talents that were
displayed in his recent improvements had not turned Ai Hui
into an arrogant individual, but rather, attracted some ‘fans’ to
him.

Mingxiu was indifferent to fame and glory naturally. She had

zero interest in the scramble for power and wealth, otherwise,
she would not have settled in Asakusa City and focused on
managing her embroidery workshop.

"Junior has no interest in making social connections,"

Mingxiu said as she shook her head.

"Family Head said that if Mr Small Ai is not free, then he shall

not disturb him. Family Head has specially prepared a small gift
for him and asked me to pass it to him." Uncle Yu replied
politely.

"I will pass it to him," Mingxiu replied.

Naturally, she was very happy that her family valued her
junior. However, she did not wish her junior to be distracted by
so many trivial matters. Her junior’s strength had improved
greatly and he should be focusing on his training now.

"There’s a request from a particular family that Family Head

is unsure whether or not he should agree to. Eventually, he
decided to ask me to convey the message and let Mr Small Ai
decide for himself." Uncle Yu paused for a while before
continuing his sentence, "Duanmu family wishes to meet Mr
Small Ai."

Mingxiu was stunned momentarily. She just remembered that

Duanmu Huanghun was "kidnapped" by Shi Xueman and taken
to Peace City.

Obviously, everyone knew what the "kidnap" was all about.

The news of Duanmu Huanghun living a carefree and happy life
in Peace City had already been spread throughout Jadeite
Forest.
 The Lu family and Duanmu family were very close. As such,
she knew a lot of things about Duanmu Huanghun. In the past,
because of Ai Hui, she also came across the name "Student
Bangwan" and both of them had gotten closer since then. She
felt that it was better for Duanmu Huanghun to stay in Peace
City than in Jadeite Forest.

"I will go and ask him. Uncle Yu, stay in the embroidery
workshop for the time being," Mingxiu replied.

"Sorry for bothering you, Miss," Uncle Yu smiled.

Following which, he left discreetly.

Mingxiu felt slightly excited as she strode towards the

warehouse. Had Junior fixed the loom? If there was someone in
this world that could fix the loom, that person must be her
junior. After all, he was the disciple of Master!

When she entered the warehouse and saw Ai Hui lying on the
ground and fixing the loom, she could not help but smile.

However, when her gaze landed upon the loom, her face froze.
Chapter 410: Glimmer of Autumn Moon
Translated by: TYZ

Edited by: Kevin

Chapter 410 - Glimmer of Autumn Moon

The appearance of the loom had completely changed. No

matter how Mingxiu looked at what Ai Hui was fiddling with,
she could not link it to an ordinary loom.

If this thing was a loom, it would be the oddest looking loom

in the world.

Whenever the previous loom was switched on, the hollow at

the centre of it would be filled with a glow, resembling the
peaceful surface of a sea. In the current loom, the hollow had
disappeared and was replaced by a peak-like object.

"Wait for a while more."

 Ai Hui’s voice came from beneath the loom. Apparently, he
had crawled under the base of it.

After a while, Ai Hui crawled out from the base. His entire
body was covered in dust, but he not mind at all. "It’s fixed!" Ai
Hui said cheerfully.

"You have fixed it?" Mingxiu had a puzzled look on her face.

"Yes," Ai Hui nodded his head with confidence. When he

noticed Mingxiu’s facial expression, he immediately knew what
she was thinking. He replied with satisfaction, "Oh, I feel that
the previous loom has a lot of room for improvement and I
conveniently made some modifications to it. When Master
made this loom, a lot of theories that he applied to it were not
fully developed yet. As such, the previous loom can be
considered an outdated version."

Mingxiu was filled with complex feelings. To her, this was not
only a loom but an inheritance to commemorate her master and
mistress. Originally, she did not wish for anything on this loom
to change at all, as she did not care whether or not the loom was
useful. If it was a random blacksmith who wanted to make this
many modifications to it, she would not have allowed it.
 However, the one who modified it was her junior, a person
who had the same sentiments as her towards the inheritances
from their master and mistress.

"I think Master and Mistress would want us to carry forward

their theories, not leave them in the corner of a warehouse for
us to commemorate them with."

Ai Hui’s voice was very calm. The sentimental feeling in

Mingxiu’s heart was soothed by Ai Hui’s voice. She smiled
saying, "Junior is right. Junior, come and introduce me to this
brand-new loom."

Looking pleased with himself, Ai Hui replied, "In the previous

loom, the operating path of every needle is fixed. Master has
created a brilliant yet complicated setting for them. However,
this setting has a flaw, that is, its low operating efficiency rate.
The modifications I’ve made are inspired by God-subduing
Peak. Look at its shape, does it look somewhat like the God-
subduing Peak? God-subduing Peak’s elemental energy flow
follows the five elemental cycle that grows and multiplies
without an end. Using it in the loom, it optimizes the use of
elemental energy. Then, how do we move the needles? I solved
this issue by using the theories behind sword formations. Can
you see that every needle actually resembles a small flying
sword? A sword formation can make swords do complicated
maneuvers and its operating efficiency is extremely high.
Unlike swords, the difficulty of controlling the needles is much
lower. The loom will work as long as you can stabilize the flight
path of the needles."

"It’s so powerful?" A doubtful looked appeared on Mingxiu’s

face.

"This is a brand-new model. Its efficiency rate far surpasses

the previous model. If Senior doesn’t believe me, you can give it
a try." Ai Hui said proudly.

"I will definitely give it a try," Mingxiu cast a glance at Ai Hui,

"If your modifications fail, that means you have destroyed
Master’s and Mistress’s inheritance. Ahhh…"

Mingxiu’s words made Ai Hui feel bad. However, he was very

confident with his modified loom. "Do you want me to give it a
try first?" Ai Hui asked.

"No need," Mingxiu rejected Ai Hui’s offer with confidence.

She had been trained in embroidery since she was very young.
She had fiddled with all kinds of new looms in the market and
she was extremely knowledgeable in this aspect.
 She placed her palms on the imprints and channeled her
elemental energy into the loom. A buzzing sound came out of
the loom as the mini peak on the table suddenly shot out a few
finger-sized beams of light. Then a radiance was emitted from
the peak and flowed down the peak like liquid. Everywhere it
passed through began to buzz loudly.

Mingxiu suddenly yelled in surprise, "Oh my god! There are so

many needles!"

Mingxiu understood a lot of types of looms very well. The

science behind each loom was quite different. However, the
logic behind the number of needles would always be the same.
The more needles there were, the higher the grade of the cloth
that was produced.

The previous loom that was left behind by her mistress had a
total of one hundred and eight needles. This was already a huge
amount. Now, there were so many needles within the peak that
Mingxiu could not tell how many there were.

This entire peak was made up of needles!

Ai Hui’s proud voice rang across Mingxiu’s ears.

 "Nine hundred and seventy-two needles. This is already the
limit of its capacity . If more needles are added in, the size of the
loom will be terrifying."

Mingxiu was thoroughly shocked by the number of needles in

the loom. For a moment, she forgot to channel her elemental
energy into the loom and the buzzing sound immediately
became softer.

Upon seeing this, Ai Hui quickly reminded her, "Don’t stop.

Since this loom has more needles, you must channel enough
elemental energy into it to activate the needles."

Mingxiu’s mind jolted. She quickly regained her composure

and continued to channel her elemental energy into the loom.

The shock she felt had yet to disappear. An unprecedented

feeling arose in her mind. To her surprise, she discovered that
she could easily sense the specific position of every needle.

Every single position of the nine hundred and seventy-two

needles could be clearly sensed!
 Mingxiu felt incredulous. How did her junior do it?

Just as this question flashed across her mind, a whizzing

sound rang across her ears. Traces of fine glowing silk erupted
from the peak. They were so resplendent that she was entranced
by them.

Wait!

This indescribable feeling of familiarity came silently and

suddenly.

This was… [Waterfall Weaving Technique]?

Her junior’s irritating and proud voice rang across her ears
again.

"Do you find these needles familiar? Since there are too many
needles, the usual weaving technique will not work. That’s
when I thought of Mistress’s [Waterfall Weaving Technique].
Don’t tell me you don’t know Mistress’s masterpiece?"
 "I don’t know? Of course I know!"

However, Han Yuqin, the person who created [Waterfall

Weaving Technique], controlled a total of nine hundred and
forty-seven needles! Up till now, she held the record for the
most number of needles controlled at once.

This loom had nine hundred and seventy-two needles. That

was twenty-five more needles than her mistress’s record!

Mingxiu felt that her brain was in chaos. Her ten years worth
of experience and knowledge about embroidery had been
overturned in an instant.

"Focus!"

Ai Hi’s reminder brought Mingxiu back to her senses. She

took in a deep breath of air and got rid of the distracting
thoughts in her head. Following which, her gaze became
focused.

Wisps of light rose from the peak, resembling a school of fish

that were swimming nimbly and swiftly. An observer would see
a dazzling and gorgeous waterfall falling down the peak.

The focused Mingxiu could immediately sense the marvels of

the loom. [Waterfall Weaving Technique] was a technique that
she was very familiar with. Even though she could not control
nine hundred and forty-seven needles like her mistress, she
could still control six hundred needles. There were very few
people of her age and base level that could achieve this feat.

However, she had never controlled so many needles before.

The surprising thing was that she did not feel it was strenuous
at all to control so many needles. The pain of controlling several
hundreds of needles had completely disappeared. These needles
were unusually tame and obedient. Every needle would react
the instant she jolted her mind.

Mingxiu became excited as she understood what this meant.

Elemental energy flowed into the loom in an unending

stream. Traces of fine needle gleams were swirling around the
peak and interweaving with each other, releasing a magnificent
burst of sparks in every direction. Deafening sonic booms,
hollow sounds of wood and hissing sounds created by the silk
yarns rubbing against each other were produced at random.
 Ai Hui was entranced by the process.

The needles were moving in a very shocking way. The way the
elemental energy fluctuated had certainly amazed him as well.
Even though he was the one that created this loom, he could
never weave at such a level.

Senior Mingxiu’s achievements in the field of embroidery

were displayed in great detail at this instance.

A piece of pure white cloth was formed and it swirled around

the peak like a huge, snow-white fish. Countless brilliant
glimmers of various colors gathered at the tail of the cloth.
Needles were flying around each other with a terrifying speed at
the tail of the cloth. Looking from afar, the cloth looked like a
huge, snow-white fish that had a tail like colorful fireworks.

The length of the cloth was slowly increasing.

The elemental energy in the air was slightly changing as well.

The moving piece of cloth absorbed elemental energy from its
surrounding as the elemental energy undulations coming from
it became stronger and stronger. Like a whirlpool, the swirling
piece of cloth was devouring its surrounding elemental energy
endlessly.

Ai Hui’s face displayed astonishment. Anything that could

cause changes in Nature’s elemental energy was definitely an
extraordinary object!

A layer of faint glimmer enshrouded the white-colored cloth.

The needles gleaming at the tail of the cloth became

increasingly magnificent. Beads of perspiration appeared on the
tip of Mingxiu’s nose and her forehead. Her gaze remained
focused.

Ai Hui was slightly nervous as well. He knew that when a

piece of cloth was about to be finished it was at its most critical
stage, and this moment was where mistakes could be made the
easiest. At this stage, Mingxiu was already very tired and the
elemental energy in her body had been almost completely
depleted. A moment of carelessness would cause her to fail and
waste all the effort she had put in.

Destroying the entire bolt of cloth while one was finishing it

up was a common occurrence in the world of embroidery.
 The densely-packed needle gleams began to give off fine,
whizzing sounds. The whizzing sounds got louder and louder.
At this moment, the needle gleams were moving at a speed that
human eyes could not see while the whizzing sounds had turned
into crisp and deafening sonic booms.

The deafening sonic booms made Ai Hui so nervous that he

was gasping for air.

When the last streak of needle gleam pierced through the

white cloth, all the sonic booms disappeared.

The piece of white cloth hovered above the peak while its
entire body was emitting a glow. The glow was actually
concentrated elemental energy.

Mingxiu lifted up her palms as she gasped for air. Her

forehead was dripping with perspiration but her eyes were filled
with excitement.

"Impressive! Impressive! I didn’t expect myself to weave

Glimmer of Autumn Moon!"
 Ai Hui froze momentarily. After a while, he returned to his
senses and asked with incredulity, "This… this is Glimmer of
Autumn Moon?"

In any case, Ai Hui had spent a reasonable amount of time in

the embroidery workshop to know what Glimmer of Autumn
Moon was. Glimmer of Autumn Moon was a top-grade cloth
material. Naturally, it could emit a gentle and cold glimmer,
resembling the magnificent glimmer of an autumn moon.

The concentrated elemental energy surrounding the hovering

white cloth gradually disappeared and became a gentle glimmer,
resembling the glow of a moon. Nothing could be more
beautiful than the glimmer.

Mingxiu was mesmerized by the piece of white cloth as well.

"Yes, this is Glimmer of Autumn Moon."

Every top-grade cloth material had its unique characteristic.

Glimmer of Autumn Moon could only be produced using nine
hundred or more needles at the same time. The weaving
technique required for this cloth was extremely complicated.
Since Mingxiu could only control up to six hundred needles, the
piece of cloth she produced was actually Glimmer of Moon,
which was a grade lower than Glimmer of Autumn Moon. The
lustre of Glimmer of Moon did not contain the cold gleam that
Glimmer of Autumn Moon uniquely possessed. Furthermore,
the uses and prices of these two materials was extremely
different.

Mingxiu never expected her first bolt of Glimmer of Autumn

Moon to be produced in such a situation.
Chapter 411: Mingxiu’s Breakthrough
Uncle Yu was resting in the room, pondering over things.

He could obtain the family head’s trust because he knew how

to use his brain by analyzing the family head’s thoughts. He felt
that an eligible subordinate had to be able to see and think
more, and figure out the higher-ups’ true intentions in order
not to mess up.

A pity he hadn’t seen Ai Hui earlier.

He was very curious about Ai Hui since rumors involving him

had been on the rise, as if he had quickly entered the radars of
people all over. The residence had been unconcerned about him
previously, because, in spite of his position as little Miss’ junior,
his abilities were simply too lacking.

Lacking in abilities was another phrase for trash.

Although news of Ai Hui’s doings in Peace City had been

spread extensively, it wasn’t worth mentioning in front of the
big figures. Many felt that because of Ai Hui’s imcompetence,
people like Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun were bound to
replace him in future. The internal disorder within Central Pine
Faction was predestined.

But recently, everyone had been dismissing their previous

standpoint, since Ai Hui had displayed great powers and
astonishing progress.

There were quite a number of families, like the Lu residence,

who had been analyzing Ai Hui’s progress from the porridge
feast up till now. It allowed them to shockingly conclude that
his abilities indeed took a major leap within this short period of
time.

If Ai Hui could keep up with this pace and have people like Shi
Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun by his side, Central Pine
Faction would instantly become a force not to be reckoned with.

The Lu family had an advantage in this aspect since there was

an unbreakable bond between Ai Hui and Mingxiu. He’d come
over especially for her, evidence that they were close like
siblings. As long as the Lu family did not act recklessly, they
would always be ahead of the others.

The key now was for the family to express their sincerity and
maintain a friendly relationship with him.

He suddenly recalled that two of Second Young Master’s

subordinates had been severely injured from a conflict they’d
had with Ai Hui. This news made him furrowed his brows. He
would have to remind Second Young Master not to go
overboard.

Second Young Master adored the little Miss. Many knew that
the family head held an ambivalent attitude toward it.

But Uncle Yu knew the person the family head really took a
fancy to was Yu Mingqiu, who was missing. Yu Mingqiu and
Miss had been childhood friends. Plus, he was the junior of First
Young Master and a disciple of Dai Gang. Who could be a better
candidate than him?

But while Miss was quiet and contented, she would make sure
the whole city knew of her opinions whenever she had one.
Plus, she was about to become an embroidery master, so the
family would require a lot of support from her. As such, her
opinions weighed heavily on the family head. On top of that, a
noble man admired her greatly. If the family placed
considerable weight on the little Miss’ opinions, Yu Mingqiu’s
words were basically sacred.
 He was rather worried about Second Young Master. Although
Second Young Master was diligent, he was overly impatient.

Suddenly, Uncle Yu stood up. Where the embroidery

workshop was, an intense elemental energy wave was soaring
into the sky.

A look of joy appeared on his face.

The female embroiderers rushed out, the same joy evident on

their faces.

…..

In the courtyard of a house located in another corner of

Asakusa City, a few big fellows, who were talking in low voices,
stopped suddenly to look at the sky.

"That is… Lu Mingxiu’s embroidery workshop!"

"She’s experiencing a breakthrough!

 The few of them looked around and saw the shock in one
another’s eyes. They’d not expected Lu Mingxiu to undergo a
breakthrough at this time.

"What do we do? Are we going to just sit and watch?"

The leader was calmer. He responded, "We’re here to seek

information, not to get involved in other issues. Boss is still
waiting for us to get back. Lu Mingxiu can’t run away!"

"How can we let such a rare opportunity slip? I disagree!"

A tall, grim fellow with long arms stood up, saying, "One shot
is all it takes."

The rest immediately fell silent. The grim looking man was
called Ban Yan, one of the strongest fellows in the Grass
Bandits. He had perfected his bow techniques and countless
people had died from his arrows.

The leader clenched his teeth. "You only get one shot! The rest
of you, disperse first!"
 The others did not resist and left without fooling around.

…..

In the warehouse, having completed [Glimmer of Autumn

Moon], Mingxiu did not immediately stop but instead, closed
her eyes while standing in the same spot, soaking in and
reminiscing about the feeling from earlier.

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. He’d felt the change in the elemental
energy within Senior Mingxiu’s body and became speechless.

Mingxiu had, for the longest time, been just a step away from
becoming a Master, but was stuck and unable break to through.

Earlier, it had been her first time controlling so many

embroidery needles so it was very fresh to her. Especially since
the flow of the needles was completely integrated, like the
natural movement of running water, it shocked and stimulated
her greatly.

So embroidery needles could be this smooth flowing!

 After all, Ai Hui had limited achievements when it came to
embroidery. He hadn’t modified this loom from the perspective
of an embroiderer but instead, he’d done it with his
understanding of elemental energy and Teacher’s theories.
Also, he’d blended in his knowledge of sword formations to
create this unique loom.

All of this impacted Mingxiu significantly. The feeling of

inspiration surged like an erupting volcano and whatever
questions she’d been puzzling over were easily solved.

She relished in it all, completely engrossed.

The dried up elemental energy within her body moved

suddenly, as if a turning point had emerged. The surrounding
elemental energy surged wildly toward her, making
increasingly huge motions as all the energy flowed backward
and into her body.

Ai Hui’s face changed greatly. The elemental energy around

him had been vacuumed out!

Despite the fact that he was in the Second Elemental Realm

and that he had a very strong control of his surrounding
elemental energy, the energy was still being sucked away
uncontrollably.

This is…

A light bulb went off in his head. An ecstatic look flashed

across his face as he rushed out of the warehouse.

Only then did he realize that people were already crowding

around outside and that many of them had their eyes on him.

Uncle Yu saw him too. He’d seen Ai Hui’s mirage beanpod and
recognized him immediately. The elemental energy waves
within the warehouse were obviously Miss’ doing but now that
Ai Hui was here, could it be that Missus’ breakthrough had
something to do with him?

The others looked on with curious gazes.

Along with the increasing commotion within the warehouse,

everyone had no choice but to retreat further. Elemental energy
gathered from all over and headed toward the warehouse like a
hurricane.
 Boom!

The strongly resistant tile roof ripped apart and shattered as

the whole warehouse shook.

The female embroiderers turned pale.

Ai Hui, on the other hand, was filled with joy. Master! Senior
was becoming a Master!

He raised his guard quickly, however, as his face tensed up. He

wouldn’t be this nervous if he was in her shoes.

Nothing must happen at this time!

Just then, Ai Hui sensed a dangerous odor and like a cat, his
hair stood on end. He retrieved his sword instantly, suspiciously
surveying the surroundings but finding nothing peculiar despite
scanning every corner within his field of vision.

Ai Hui was in a highly nervous state. It was his first time

experiencing something like this.
 Uncle Yu was the first to notice his unusual behavior. He
raised his guard immediately. Could it be that someone was
trying to disrupt Miss’ breakthrough? Better safe than sorry, he
yelled hurriedly, "Stay away, everyone."

Right then, quite a number of citizens had already been

alarmed. With such a huge commotion, anyone in the city
would’ve sensed it as long as they weren’t daft.

"Is Miss Mingxiu attaining the level of Master? Asakusa City is

about to have a Master too!"

"Great teachers produce great disciples. Seeing how Han

Yuqin was such a formidable Master, Miss Mingxiu is sure to
excel as one too."

"Could it be that Ai Hui knew that she was about to break

through and hence came over specially to protect her?"

"Possible. But why would she seek help from far away? Isn’t
the Lu family’s power fearful enough?"

"True."
 ...

Seeing that Ai Hui hadn’t relaxed at all, Uncle Yu felt even

more nervous. Just then, upon seeing a few swift and fierce
figures appearing, he finally let out a breath of relief.

Mingxiu’s safety was an issue since she lived in Asakusa City

alone. As such, the Lu residence had specially arranged some
men to protect her from the sly.

"Uncle Yu!"

The guards heaved a sigh of relief as well, upon seeing Uncle

Yu.

Without letting his guard down, Uncle Yu shouted sternly, "Be

alert! Someone might cause trouble."

The guards shuddered and answered hurriedly, "Yes!"

They would all be dead if something were to happen to little

Miss at this time. They stiffened their faces, sweeping their
sharp eyes over the surrounding crowd. Wherever they looked,
the crowd quietened down out of fear. These guards were
clearly the elites of the Lu Residence so to provoke them was to
dig their own graves.

The embroidery workshop was about to face a great enemy,

currently located in another corner of the city.

In the courtyard, Ban Yan took out his bow with a solemn
expression on his face. His bow was ash-colored, and appeared
to be made from a kind of rotten wood block. However, the
bowstring was blood red in color, exceptionally eye-catching.

The arrow was over a meter long and emerald in color,

resembling a mini javelin. The arrow was made from three fine
rattan vines twisted together. It was aesthetically pleasing, with
its perfectly straight and slender form. There were three
thumb-sized, black fruits spinning around the arrowhead and
the arrow tail was carved like a golden feather, vivid and
lifelike.

The leader couldn’t help but ask, "Are you confident?"

Ban Yan responded coldly, "Within 5kilometers, success is

guaranteed."

The big fellow knew he’d asked for nothing the moment the
question left his mouth. They were less than two miles away
from the embroidery workshop so there was no way Ban Yan
would miss. Ban Yan had even successfully struck a wood
elementalist from five miles away.

Ban Yan wrapped his fingers around the golden arrow tail,
placed it on the bowstring and pulled the bowstring in one go.
His moves were indescribably pleasing to the eye.

He did not release the bow immediately. Instead he shut his

eyes tight and remained motionless like a statue.

Only the three black fruits continued spinning around the

arrow head.

A long time later, he opened his eyes suddenly and at the same
time, with a cry, his whole body rose in green flames. The green
flames extended from his arm to his fingers and onto his
bowstring, causing a devilish red glow to appear on it. Mixed in
with the green flames, the overall sight was unexplainably eerie.
 The green flames spread to the arrow and bow, and when it
reached the arrow head, the three black fruits turned into
burning red metal balls, emitting a bright red light.

Ban Yan was, at this point, extremely imposing and lofty.

Exhaling, he released the bowstring in a swift manner.

The arrow quickly transformed into a tiny speck of light,

disappearing into the horizon.
Chapter 412: Two Masters Under One
Roof
The Lu Residence’s guards acted cautiously, as if a great
enemy was approaching.

"There shouldn’t be any fools right?"

"Shut it! It’s always good to be careful."

"No suspicious targets."

"No suspicious targets."

...

Uncle Yu glanced over at the reverse flowing elemental energy

and breathed a sigh of relief. He could tell that the most
dangerous period had past and that Miss’s elemental energy
waves were gradually stabilizing.
 Just then, an intense uneasiness rose within his heart,
abruptly alerting him.

A shadow flashed across the corner of his eye. So quick!

That was… Ai Hui!

Ai Hui’s intuition toward danger grew, and he could feel the

bitingly cold and terrifying blood lust. More importantly, he
had locked onto the position where it was coming from–the sky!

He reacted extremely fast. Both legs sprang off the ground,

and his whole body was like a loosed arrow, shooting into the
sky.

A speck of cold ray appeared before Ai Hui, who was now in

midair, causing his pupils to shrink.

How fast!

Right then and there, simply no words were able to describe

the swiftness of the sword ray that appeared in front of him.
Without any time for consideration, Ai Hui had instinctively
brandished his sword.

Without any false or fancy moves, Ai Hui executed the

simplest and most basic sword thrust!

Facing such an intense crisis, Ai Hui struck nine times in one

breath!

Due to the practical training with Qing Feng, the

improvement in Ai Hui’s execution speed was clearly displayed
at this instant. He was extremely speedy and managed to
complete nine strikes within such a short period of time.

Without holding back, he attacked with all the strength he

possessed!

To the average person, there was only a single sword ray. A

strangely resplendent and dazzling sword ray appeared in the
sky all of a sudden. It was so bright that even the sun paled in
comparison.

The three fruits exploded instantly upon getting hit by the

first sword ray, but even before they dispersed, the second
sword ray followed closely behind. And then the third, fourth…

Nine sword rays struck the arrow consecutively, all within an

exceedingly short amount of time.

It was a bizarre sight.

An abrupt explosion occurred in front of the sword ray. It was

as though the surging devilish flames had smashed onto a layer
of invisible elemental energy and were unable to advance. The
flames emitted burning heat and dripped from the sky like lava.

"Lava fruit!" Uncle Yu’s expression changed as he

involuntarily cried out.

He was experienced and knowledgeable, hence he was able to

recognize at first glance that these scarlet, lava-like flames were
actually lava fruits. Lava fruit was an extremely dangerous
material and highly explosive. If elemental energy was first
channeled into these fruits, the range of the resulting explosion
would expand.
 All it took for the embroidery workshop to fall into ruins was
a single lava fruit.

And the perpetrator had used at least three!

Uncle Yu’s face turned ashen. The opponent had actually used
lava fruits and definitely wanted Miss’s life. Who was this
vicious person? Uncle Yu was shocked and furious at the same
time. He had watched Miss grow up, so it was only natural that
he felt strong affection for her. Plus, Miss stayed away from
worldly affairs and never made enemies, so who in the world
wanted her dead!

As if drunk, Ai Hui swayed as he descended, but no one

laughed at him right now. His sword thrusts had left them
dumbstruck.

That solid strike against the lava fruit arrow… what technique
was that?

The impact from the explosion of the three lava fruits was
appalling. Ai Hui’s right arm went numb and the qi and blood
within his body churned violently. He had no strength left to
battle.
 Uncle Yu, who had just recovered from his shock, rushed
forward.

Ai Hui pointed in the direction of the incoming arrow. "That

way, about one and a half miles. He’s injured."

Having no time for questions, Uncle Yu quickly ordered two

guards to pursue.

Ai Hui’s right arm was still numb and fear rose within his
heart. That arrow was simply too frightening. He felt that it was
unbelievable that he had actually been able to block that
terrifying arrow!"

In the courtyard, as if inflicted by a heavy blow, Ban Yan spat

out a mouthful of blood, his face white as sheet. "Run, quick!"

The leader turned pale with fright. Without a word he pulled

Ban Yan up and fled. Fear filled his heart. He had thought about
the possibility that Ban Yan would fail, but had not expected
him to be injured.

Shortly after they disappeared, two figures descended from

the sky.

Seeing the blood stains in the courtyard, their eyes lit up.

"Here!"

"He’s injured!"

They saw the joy in each other’s eyes. If the perpetrator had
been unhurt, they would absolutely lack the courage to chase
after him. Those able to hit their target from a few miles away
were definitely strong individuals and not people they would
want to provoke. Since the enemy had lost so much blood,
however, it was a golden opportunity bestowed by heaven!

"Chase!"

Both left hurriedly.

In the courtyard of the embroidery workshop, Ai Hui’s whole

right arm was swollen and looked like a radish bloated with
water. Ai Hui crinkled his brows. Poison? His arm was still
numb, and his hand palace was unresponsive as well. He used
his left hand to grasp the Wintry Jade Blade.

"Mister Ai, this is my family’s antidote. It was refined by our

First Young Master. Lava fruit is very toxic and can easily inflict
internal injuries."

Uncle Yu promptly delivered a transparent, jade green

bamboo joint. There was only one section, about the thickness
of a thumb. A pill could clearly be seen inside.

Just from the look of it, Ai Hui knew that it was considerably
valuable!

Afraid to delay, he stuck his sword into the soil and used his
left arm to retrieve it. He then proceeded to smash the bamboo
joint somewhat regretfully.

This was a jasper bamboo, sold by joints.

Extravagant! Wasteful!
 The light fragrance of the pill entered his nose, and he could
not help but swallowed his saliva. Ai Hui placed the pill, refined
from unknown herbs, into his mouth. It melted instantly
without leaving any dregs.

A wisp of refreshing energy spread throughout every part of

his body. He trembled involuntarily and was soon shocked to
realize that his right arm had regained its feeling. The swelling
reduced rapidly, and his arm quickly returned to normal along
with his right hand palace.

How effective!

Seeing its effectiveness, Uncle Yu started to relax. Ai Hui was

an important guest. If anything were to happen to him, they
were all going to be punished without fail.

Boom!

The warehouse, which was in imminent danger, was finally

unable to endure the elemental energy blast and transformed
into countless shattered pieces that flew everywhere.
 Mingxiu’s silhouette entered everybody’s field of view. She
had a gentle and refined demeanor, fluttering long hair, delicate
and pretty face, and eyes a bright as stars, but right now, her
bearing was imposing and lofty, producing an air of
inviolability.

Everyone understood that a new embroidery master had just

been born. Considering who her teacher was, this came as no
surprise, but to witness it for themselves, they could not help
praising her. She really was a fairy-like figure.

Quickly, many started to notice the table and the artificial

rockery.

What was that?

Many looked on curiously since the whole warehouse had

been destroyed by the wild elemental energy. Only this table
and artificial rockery were intact.

"What is this?"

"No idea. A treasure probably, or else why would she preserve

it?"

"Definitely not any ordinary treasure. What treasures does the

residence not have? Why would they protect that one at this
crucial time?"

"Probably an embroidery object. Miss Mingxiu, no, we have to

call her Master Lu now."

"The Lu brother and sister, two Masters under one roof. How
impressive of the Lu Residence. There’s nothing exceptional
about having Masters within a residence, but to have two in the
direct lineage? The Lu Residence’s geomancy is done right!"

"Indeed! And they’re both so young. The Lu family’s fortune

has just started!"

Uncle Yu also noticed the table and artificial rockery beside

Miss, but quickly diverted his attention toward her. Happiness
filled his face as pride suffused his heart.

The second Master of the Lu Residence was born!

 This news spread like wildfire across Jadeite City, causing a
sensation.

Uncle Yu felt somewhat rueful. Miss’s position in the family

will shift. Her attitude toward matters will not be overlooked
from now on. She had been quiet and content since young,
stayed away from worldly affairs, and everybody loved her.
After following Han Yuqin, she became even more sensible and
business-minded. More than once, the family tried to get her to
return home. With regard to her marriage, many had opinions
about it.

There would no longer be any of those vexing matters to fret

over from now on. Miss would be free.

The Lu brother and sister, two Masters under one roof. If this
news spread, the Lu Residence would once again occupy the
spotlight. Judging from the siblings’ characters, however, Uncle
Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. They enjoyed peace
and were uninterested in worldly affairs. If one was committed
to handling the family affairs, wouldn’t there be nothing left for
Second Young Master?

He shook his head. This major matter was not something a

mere servant like him should think about.
 The turbulent elemental energy waves around Mingxiu
gradually calmed down. Her fluttering hair fell gently in place
as the external imposing aura faded as well.

She opened her eyes and smiled, looking at everybody.

Uncle Yu bowed. "Congratulations, Miss!"

The other guards cheered in unison, "Congratulations, Miss!"

The audience quickly bowed and made their salutations,

crying out loud, "Congratulations, Master Lu!"

Mingxiu returned their bows. "Thank you everyone."

"Master Lu’s bearing is really worth learning!"

"Yeah, not the least bit arrogant. Wonder who’s going to be

the lucky fellow to marry her!"

The crowd ceasely praised, each offering their own

compliments.

Mingxiu walked toward Ai Hui and said in all seriousness,

"Thanks, Junior!"

Ai Hui scratched his head. "I’m not used to you being so

solemn, haha!"

Without smiling, Mingxiu expressed her gratitude. "If not for

you, I really don’t know when this breakthrough would happen!
Your contribution is the greatest!"

Ai Hui smiled inwardly and was just waiting for her to say, "I
really don’t know how to express my gratitude" so he could
uprightly answer her with, "You can convert my service into
money."

Instead, Mingxiu laughingly changed her tone, "Since we’re

all family, let’s speak like one. I’m your senior and you’re my
junior, so I’ll cut the formalities."

Ai Hui had a sluggish expression on his face. His opened

fingers were hanging in midair as he stood motionlessly.
 Upon seeing this, Mingxiu pursed her lips and smiled lightly,
but her smile broadened like ripples and eventually erupted into
a fit of laughter.

Uncle Yu smiled too. He was somewhat shocked since he

seldom saw her laughing this heartily. Plus, the thing she said
about Ai Hui contributing the most, could it be that this
breakthrough was also thanks to his efforts?

It seemed like Master had underestimated this guy’s potential.

He regained an awareness of his surroundings upon hearing

the sounds made the gnashing of Ai Hui’s teeth.

"Accounts must be kept! Gratitude isn’t important, money is!"

"Junior, if not for me, how would you have been able to repay
Teacher’s debt? How can you be so ungrateful?"

"Heh, then I’ll take this loom away."

"This was left behind by Teacher, how can you take it away?
Oh yeah, you haven’t given it a name yet."

"Oh right. What should I call it? Fish Waterfall Machine? God-
subduing Peak Loom? Hah, let’s call it Needle God Peak! Our
loom is the God-subduing Peak of all looms!"

"Junior, you just might get beaten up if you keep going on

about the God-subduing Peak in Jadeite Forest…"
Chapter 413: Farewell
Grass Hall, Hall of Ancient Records.

Ai Hui was busily browsing through the collections. Many

guests had come forth in an endless stream upon receiving news
about Mingxiu’s embroidery master attainment. Ai Hui happily
withdrew himself to the backyard to continue his search.

Just when he thought he was going to go home empty-

handed, his eyes lit up. The handwriting on the notebook he
was holding was careless and almost illegible, but his eyes
widened in fear of missing a single word nevertheless.

When he had almost finished flipping through this stack of

the collection, Ai Hui finally found the notebook that the old
man had been talking about. The old man correctly
remembered the author’s name. The notebook indeed belonged
to someone with the surname Xiao, but the only difference was
that these notebook were actually a compilation of different
records.

Ai Hui rejoiced. He would have missed this collection for sure

if not for the fact that he had flipped through each and every
book from start to finish.
 Suppressing his excitement, he attentively skimmed over the
notebook.

The old man was right. The notebook did talk about A land
with all five elements.

"Sixteenth, cloudy, strong wind. Met a pterosaur dire beast

yesterday, fought and won after half a day, completely
exhausted. Found a valley to recuperate and there were many
red rocks. The slopes were precipitous. Trekked two miles to
arrive at a wide clearing. It was a land containing all five
elements and each position was specially marked out.

"Ninth, heavy rain, couldn’t see anything beyond 100 meters.

Chased by two unknown dire beasts, entered deep into the
forest by mistake, and found a land containing all five
elements."

"Twentieth, night. The moon was bright and stars sparse.

There was a red glow flickering at the mountain peak. Thought
a treasure was being born, went closer only to realize that it was
actually lava in a volcano. There was low-lying ground at the
side of the mountain peak that contained all five elements. The
five elements bred and flourished, starting from the fire
element. Bizarre."
 ...

Ai Hui finished reading every word and felt increasingly

impressed. Alone, Senior Xiao had entered deep into the
Wilderness, was surprised to chance upon a land with five
elements, and started to pay attention. Later on, he would mark
the position whenever he spotted a land with five elements.

There were a total of six locations mentioned in the notebook.

Ai Hui was ecstatic. He had thought that one region would be

good enough, but there were actually six. However, the words at
the end of the notebook made his heart sink.

"Lands of five elements, containing all five elements, form an

integral whole. They circulate and recycle, with some
regenerating and others extinguishing. There’s been a slight
change as the balance is disrupted. Five elements wiped out.
How many of these precious lands will survive the test of time?
I’m old and past my prime, no longer youthful. I’ll take in what
I can as I go wherever I can with the company of my sword. I’ll
ride the wind and leave no regrets even as my hair turns white."

The message was clear. The balance of these lands with five
elements was very fragile. They could not be restored the
moment this equilibrium broke.

How many of those six regions remained?

A sense of urgency overcame Ai Hui as he memorized the six

locations written in the notebook. He decided that he would
return to Peace City immediately after completing his goals in
Asakusa City.

He did not exit the Grass Hall right away. Instead, as if

nothing had happened, he placed the notebook back in their
original position, took out another book, and started reading.
He only left when the fusion elemental energy within his body
had been completely exhausted.

When he left the Grass Hall, the embroidery workshop was

finally clamor-free, but this was because the workshop was
refusing visitors.

Ai Hui saw the tiredness in Mingxiu’s face.

Mingxiu laughed bitterly. "Receiving these guests is even

more tiring than breaking through."

Ai Hui responded, "Getting cramps from receiving too many

gifts is only natural. I’m planning to go out for a walk for a few
days."

Mingxiu looked and him before asking, "Because of the Grass

Bandits?"

Ai Hui had not expected her to see through him and did not
deny it either. He replied bluntly, "If not for me, you would’ve
been in danger. Although their motive is unclear at the
moment, it’s a fact that they were aiming for you."

Mingxiu smiled sweet-temperedly. "So you want to make the

first move?"

Ai Hui nodded. "That’s right!"

"You’re my junior indeed. Your reasoning is logical." Mingxiu

fiddled with her fringe and asked in a different tone, Now that
you’ve come to Jadeite Forest, how can I, your senior, allow you
to go out to fight and even murder?"
 Ai Hui shook his head. "That’s what a junior should do…"

Mingxiu smiled gently. "Why would I put on a brave front

before you? After hearing about the sneak attack, First Brother
was extremely angry. News has just arrived saying that he’s
bringing six other battle masters to get rid of the whole group."

Six, six combat masters?"

Ai Hui was stunned and completely shocked. Six combat

masters…"luxurious" was no longer a sufficient description for
such an arrangement. He could only describe it as "terrifying."

From what he remembered, Senior’s first brother was

scholarly and refined, a gentleman who bemoaned the state of
the universe and pitied the fate of mankind. Who would have
thought that he could be this terrifying.

Mingxiu explained, "First Brother feels that there’s another

conspiracy within, so he had to use this earthshaking method in
order to intimidate the sneaky evildoers."

Earthshaking indeed. Intimidating indeed…

 Ai Hui had no opinion at this point. Thinking about a lineup
of six battle masters made his eye twitch, but at the same time,
he was completely relieved. With such an "earthshaking"
brother, Senior’s safety in Jadeite Forest was no longer a cause
for concern. Lu Chen’s upcoming operation would make those
who have designs on Senior reconsider.

The heaviest weight was lifted off his chest. Feeling relaxed,
he laughed. "Things are indeed different when you have such a
great brother!"

Mingxiu stretched and replied lazily, "We’re closed already, so

let’s study this loom over the next few days. There are still
many areas that I can’t seem to figure out. Perhaps the secret to
attaining Grandmaster is within."

Ai Hui righteously rejected, "I’m not as free as you. I have to

find people."

Mingxiu was taken aback. "Find people? What people?"

Ai Hui then told her about his plan to enter the Wilderness
with Iron Lady and said that he needed herbalists and farmers.
 Mingxiu had a blank look on her face and only regained her
senses after some time. "That’s true. There’s no place that suits
you better. It’s a man’s role to accomplish goals, but please be
careful. They have all been your companions at one point and
have complete trust in you, so do not let them down."

Ai Hui reassured her with a serious expression, "Yes!"

Mingxiu laughed. "Leave the sourcing of the herbalist and

farmers to me."

It made sense, so Ai Hui agreed gratefully, "Thank you,

Senior."

Mingxiu was quick in carrying out this favor. The next day, a
herbalist and five farmers appeared at their door. They looked
honest and had a reserved look on their faces.

"Mister Zhou is a veteran herbalist, has over 20 years of

experience managing a herb farm, and is able to grow most
herbs. His salary will be 500 Heaven Merit Points a year. If he
breaks into the realm of master herbalist, his pay will increase
to 2,000 Heaven Merit Points a year and a fifth of the farm’s
yield. The five farmers are all decent, and Mister Tian here can
grow elemental energy beans. Mister Tian’s salary will be 500
Heaven Merit Points a year while the rest will be 100 a year."
She added, "They’ve been sourced by First Brother."

What this implied was that these people had no associations

with the family.

Ai Hui was pleasantly surprised. The herbalist and farmers

before him were much better than what he had wished for.

Without hesitating, Ai Hui cried, "I’ll take all of them!"

While 1,400 Heaven Merit Points was over his budget, they
were worth it. A farmer who was able to plant elemental energy
beans was hard to find. It was even harder for him to find a
herbalist who was about to experience a breakthrough.

Everyone exchanged bows.

Ai Hui did the same. "Nice to meet you all."

Mingxiu waited for the ceremony to end before saying, "Since

you’re set on your plans, I shall not keep you any longer. I’ve
already arranged for a Fiery Floating Cloud, and the things on
board are for you to keep. Do let me know your location in the
Wilderness when you settle down."

Ai Hui greatly admired Senior Mingxiu’s generosity and

sincerity She was never bashful and high-maintenance.

He sincerely bowed. "Thank you so much, Senior. I’ll leave

now. Take care."

The Fiery Floating Cloud, having transported a whole load of

goods, had long since been waiting in the garden. Ai Hui was not
overly sentimental either as he quickly boarded with the
herbalist and farmers and waved goodbye to Senior Mingxiu.

Mingxiu waved enthusiastically.

Fixing her eyes on the disappearing Fiery Floating Cloud, she

was somewhat lost in thought.

Uncle Yu could not help but chime in, "Miss, why didn’t you
make him stay a little while longer?"
 Mingxiu replied dully, "He’s carrying a heavy burden: Born to
be heroic and well-known, overcoming all obstacles within the
Wilderness, and having no regard for anyone. How could he fall
into this maelstrom?"

Uncle Yu shuddered. Miss’s words carried a deeper meaning,

and he knew that it was not something he could grasp. After
thinking for a bit, he changed the topic. "Where are the people
from the Duanmu family?"

Mingxiu shook her head. "Let them settle their own matters."

Uncle Yu left it at that upon hearing her response. Instead, he

asked curiously, "What are your plans?"

Mingxiu’s gaze fell upon the loom as a smile appeared at the

corner of her mouth. "Rebuild the workshop."

Uncle Yu nodded. "That’s indeed necessary. It’s quite badly

damaged."

Mingxiu corrected him, saying, "No, I’ll build a workshop in

Jadeite City."
 The familiar workshop had been destroyed and thrown into
disorder, while Teacher’s loom was beyond recognition. She
had just entered the realm of master, and everything was
changing and becoming part of the past.

The image of a silhouette kneeling before a grave under the

pouring rain made her heart ache. She did not know how many
times she had blamed herself for being weak and indecisive
during that time. She dared not imagine the pain and despair Ai
Hui had felt when stabbing that sword.

She knew very well how she had been holding up for the past
few years. She could not imagine how Ai Hui had kept it
together since the pain he felt must have been a hundred times
worse.

Now that there were expectations set for him, he stood up

once again. Those so-called heroes probably referred to people
like Junior.

People who were as brave as him, she thought to herself.

Ai Hui was shocked by the pile of supplies on the Fiery

Floating Cloud. All kinds of seeds, wood elemental ingredients,
wood elemental energy beans, defensive equipment, and
weapons. They were all of outstanding quantity and quality.
Other than those, there were blood cores, blood crystals, and
jade fruits. It was extremely challenging to gather so many
materials within such a short period of time.

Ai Hui was beyond moved. Not only was the value of the
goods astonishing, Senior had spent a lot of thought on these
supplies.

After taking Zhao Boan and the others onboard, the Fiery
Floating Cloud headed straight for Peace City.

Seeing the faraway horizon, a myriad of strong feelings filled

Ai Hui’s heart. He was looking forward to the future. He was
about to have a brand new beginning.

Little did he realize that this brand new beginning was not
just for him.

It was for the world as well.

Chapter 414: Crossing Over
Lemon Camping Ground was seldom as lively as today. Many
had walked out from their tents and wooden houses. It must be
a big troop.

Lemon Camping Ground was an forward camping ground

located at the edge of the Palette Cloud Village. It was famous
for its wild lemon trees found nearby.

Ever since the city expansion order was issued, respective

forward camping grounds were greatly excited. They were
temporary camps built at the fringe of the Wilderness, the final
supply station for those who were about to enter deep within
the Wilderness.

They housed mostly small merchants and some elementalists

who’d retreated from the Wilderness, who made a living there.

When Lemon Camping Ground was first built, it was bustling

with activities. Back then, Elders Guild had just declared its city
expansion plans, and everyday, mirage bean pods shared a story
about how a penniless pauper found an unremarkable stone
from the Wilderness and sold it for a heavenly sum upon his
return to the city, hence he became a wealthy person overnight.
 This story brought about many fanatics who rushed forth to
the Wilderness, as if treasures could be found in every corner.

But the cruelty of the Wilderness quickly dealt these ignorant

people with a heavy blow. There were many casualties and the
fever died down gradually. People then realized that not only
did the Wilderness offer opportunities and wealth, it was also
lurking with dangers.

Nevertheless, the huge influx of elementalists had

significantly expanded the volume of human activities within
that region.

Following that, several mini cities were built like the

sprouting of bamboo shoots after a rain. Although these cities
were very small, they possessed an elemental energy pool which
attracted surrounding elementalists, causing the forward
camping grounds to decrease in popularity.

Lemon Camping Ground was in a better state compared to the

others, since the city closest to it was about a hundred and
eighty miles away. Because it was situated further in, it was
basically the last depot. Nevertheless, its popularity was still
affected.
 What had arrived was a majestic team of groundbreakers.
There were at least a few hundred of them.

Were they planning on establishing cities?

Li Yuanliang sized up the team rather curiously.

Generally speaking, one could tell the scope of a team’s

mission by looking at the scale of it. An exploration team would
not usually have over twelve members. The greater the number
of people, the easier it was to attract unwanted attention from
the dire beasts and encounter ambushment.

A team of hundreds of members usually meant that positions

had already been marked and they were ready to build the
cities.

It’d been over a year since the order had been issued. As long
as they hadn’t been destructed, most expansion teams that were
slightly larger-scaled had most likely started on their
construction. Currently, many cities were already significantly
developed. The new ones for example, had already gathered a
huge volume of new citizens, and already surpassed two
hundred thousand people. Wild Palace City, built by Silver Mist
Sea’s governmental residence, housed over a hundred and fifty
thousand citizens and became famous for it’s capability to
modify the elemental energy pool.

Several months prior to that, Elders Guild had announced

that Silver Mist River was going to be cut off, causing a
commotion within Silver Mist Sea. When the river stopped
flowing completely, the mist that had initially filled Silver Mist
Sea dissipated. It was the first time, since the construction of
the Avalon of Five Elements, that the silts lying on Silver Mist
Sea’s seabed saw the Sun. Elders Guild then organized a
cleaning up of the seabed, which were silted with artifact
remnants and migrated to the Wilderness after extracting all of
the remnant pieces.

Everyone understood that this meant that Elders Guild’s plan

to build cities in the Wilderness was unstoppable.

Two months ago, the consequences of cutting of Silver Mist

River worsened. The mouth of Palette Cloud Village’s spring
started to dry up significantly and the water elemental energy in
the air deconcentrated rapidly. But currently, only a few of
them could be seen in Palette Cloud Village.

To prevent wood elemental energy from declining, Jadeite

Forest started to plant trees extensively and attempted to
channel the water elemental energy from the sea to nourish the
forest. The sea was on the other side of the forest, a
geographical location blessed by heaven but so far, the
channeling process hasn’t been progressing.

If one were to overlook the forest from the sky, he would be

able to see countless clusters of small towns scattered in the
border region that Wilderness shared with the Silver Mist Sea
and the Palette Cloud Village.

Could it be an expansion team dispatched by a certain family?

After their positions were steady, the aristocratic families

moved about more frequently. They had rich resources and
manpower, and weren’t satisfied with such small cities.

But Li Yuanliang was shocked to see someone whom he

recognized from that group.

The Lightning Blade, Ai Hui.

For a period his mirage bean pod had been spreading wildly
but later on, there were no news of him. But no one really
minded since such sagas were merely temporary in this
mayhemic era.

He’d stopped at the camping ground.

Li Yuanliang went forward and greeted him cordially,

"Welcome welcome, it’s an honor to be able to meet The
Lightning Blade here. I’m Li Yuanliang, may I know how can I
help you?"

Ai Hui cupped his hands in greeting. "Nice to meet you! We

are going to station ourselves here for a night and set off
tomorrow. Sorry to disturb."

He then threw over a small pouch containing elemental

energy beans.

Li Yuanliang caught it and upon feeling what was inside, a

smile flashed across his face. "Not at all not at all, you can use
any empty ground nearby. Do let me know if you require any
assistance."
 "Thank you." Ai Hui turned around and ordered, "Pitch
camp."

Without a word the team dispersed.

An unremarkable looking fellow lightly patted the ground

with both his hands. The ground shook and a clay city wall rose
up.

In the blink of an eye, a miniature city made from four six

meter tall walls appeared before Li Yuanliang and others’. Four
twelve meter tall buildings were built on four corners.

Just then, a thin looking but elegant youth casted a handful of

grass seeds within the clay walls. Moments later, pointy black
thorns and thistles grew and covered the walls. The coarse and
solid looking barb was beyond intimidating. The youth flew to
the top of one of the buildings and planted a tuning grass. Four
different vegetations were planted on each building, evidently
for different purposes.

The whole process was done openly so those who saw it

happened were left in awe.
 Within the short period of time, a strictly guarded camp
appeared before their eyes. These fellows were well-trained and
weren’t simple people.

The team entered in a line as a few fierce looking elites stood

outside the buildings, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

They had no idea what methods were used but they couldn’t
hear anything from the outside.

A broad faced fellow walked to Li Yuanliang’s side and looked

at the heavily guarded camp. "Where are they from? Very elite."

Li Yuanliang asked, somewhat flabbergasted, "You don’t know

about The Lightning Blade?"

The broad faced fellow shook his head. "Nope, powerful?"

Li Yuanliang gave him a look before saying, "My advice to you

is to give up whatever you have in mind. Do not try anything
funny."
 The broad faced fellow shook his head again. "I’m not that
bold. There’s so many of them and none should be provoked.
They’re here to build a city. Tell me, is this going to be
beneficial for our camping ground?"

Li Yuanliang’s eyes lit up. "You think fast! It will be good for
us if they build their city here. They’re going to stop by here
often and we’ll more or less be able to gain some profits."

Within the clay walls.

Everyone sat down to rest as Jiang Wei explained the

situation. In regards to the six targeted stepping points, he’s
been following Ai Hui from the start so he was extremely
familiar with them.

"Lemon Camping Ground is our last supply station. There

isn’t any good resting place further down. Please take this time
to rest. From tomorrow onwards, if things proceed smoothly,
we will reach our destination in about five days."

Fatty asked curiously, "What’s considered smooth?"

 "It’s smooth if we don’t bump into dangerous dire beasts."
Jiang Wei smiled bitterly. "We took twelve days previously
because of those beasts. From tomorrow onwards, we are going
to enter battle mode so please be mentally prepared."

This exploration process for the six potential locations took a

whole four months as Ai Hui brought only Iron Lady, Jiang
Wei, Bangwan and Lou Lan. Previously, someone suggested to
split the group up to explore respective spots but the idea was
turned down by Ai Hui. While he knew that everyone’s abilities
had improved tremendously, they’d never been to the
Wilderness after all.

In the Wilderness, at times, experience was more practical

than abilities.

Facts proved Ai Hui’s apprehensions and worries were a

necessity as the five of them almost lost their lives several times
within the past four months of exploration. It was throughout
this period that Iron Lady and the others truly experienced the
dangers of the Wilderness.

Only one out of the six locations was still a land of five
elements. Even if it was the only spot left, there were many
other issues. Nevertheless, after much consideration, the team
decided to build the city there.

While the issues were tricky to handle, it was even more

difficult to get hold of a land with five elements. So far, even
with the innumerable cities being built, they hadn’t heard of
one that contained all five elements.

Just this point alone was sufficient for them to take a gamble.

After a night of rest, everyone felt energized, their weariness

vanished.

A few children, weapon masters, herbalist and so on were told

to stay in Fiery Floating Cloud while all kinds of supplies and
materials were piled in other corners.

The battle crew, all fully armed, surrounded Fiery Floating

Cloud as if they were expecting the arrival of a great enemy.

Li Yuanliang and the broad faced fellow saw them off.

The broad faced man asked, "How many of them do you think
will survive?"

"I don’t know." Li Yuanliang shook his head. "But I hope they
all do."

The broad faced fellow was rather surprised. "Eh, Old Li,
you’re kind hearted now?"

"Or else who’s going to give us the money in future?" Li

Yuanliang asked as a matter-of-factly. His gaze followed the
disappearing team and said moments later, "I’ve seen their
mirage bean pod. They’re decent fellows."

As the team left the camping ground, the atmosphere tensed

up.

Not only them but even Ai Hui was very nervous. It was his
first time leading so many new hands deep into the Wilderness
so the pressure on him was tremendous. In spite of how he was
feeling, there was no indication on his face at all, which actually
made people feel calm and composed.

"Bangwan, use the tuning grass to listen for any sounds of

activities."

"Iron Lady, guard the side."

"Fatty, hold the shield properly and don’t glance all around."

The team’s speed wasn’t fast and occasionally they bumped

into a few small dire beasts. Soon after their initial fluster,
everybody quickly adapted to the situation. Their attacks
became much more orderly. Practice would never replace real
combat since many issues would only surface during real
battles.

But they’d been unlucky, getting caught in a rainstorm, lost

their way and had to take a detour.

But the team did not fall into disorder. In fact, because of
these small setbacks, everybody became even more serious.
They weren’t beginners but experts who’d experienced real
combats. It was just that they had not been to the Wilderness
but even then, they adapted quickly.

Everybody found a spot at the valley to rest and to take shelter

from the wind.

Sitting down, Ai Hui caught a glimpse, from the corner of his

eye, of a red light that flashed past. His expressions changed as
he yelled, "Enemy attack!"
Chapter 415: Lava-spitting Beast
Ai Hui’s warning made the team tensed up and everyone
stayed vigilant, as if awaiting a big enemy.

A red glow flashed across and hit Fatty’s shield.

Dong, a stifled sound rang.

Fatty was trembling, his face flushed as though he was drunk.

He staggered backwards before his legs gave way, causing him
to fall onto the ground. A spider web-shaped crack appeared on
the surface of his shield.

Piang, the shield shattered, its fragments scattering all over

the ground.

This scene had everyone turn pale.

Fatty’s strength surpassed everyone in the team yet he’d failed

to resist the blow from that red glow. And no one could clearly
see what exactly was that red glow.
 Another red glow flashed across and struck Fiery Floating
Cloud.

Dong!

The defense cover of Fiery Floating Cloud had been activated

all along so it managed to block off that glow.

They then saw clearly that the red glow was actually a ball of
red lava. It slowly flowed down from the protective cover.

Ai Hui reacted the quickest, shouting at the top of his lungs,

"Lava-spitting beast! Hide behind Fiery Floating Cloud,
everyone!"

Then he picked up Fatty and quickly went over to the other

side of the vehicle. Upon seeing that, everyone else followed
suit.

Yet another red glow struck onto the defense cover. With
another dull boom, Fiery Floating Cloud rocked.
 Ai Hui was beyond frustrated. The lava balls spat by the beast
were as mighty as cannons. Slightly weaker bodies would
shatter into pieces if they were hit by them.

He’d previously seen a lava-spitting beast destroyed a camp bit

by bit in the past. At that point in time, he’d never expected
himself to encounter such a beast himself.

"We have to take it down!" Ai Hui turned his head and shouted
to Iron Lady, "A few more hits and Fiery Floating Cloud won’t
be able to hold up."

Iron Lady raised her brows. "How?"

"I’m going to distract it," Ai Hui replied speedily, "and you

need to try to get close to it. Your attacks will be effective."

Luckily, Iron Lady’s water elemental energy could restrain a

fire elemental wild beast like this one.

Without hesitation Iron Lady agreed.

 Within the short span of their conversation, the beast had
already spat two lava balls and Fiery Floating Cloud’s defense
cover was evidently dimmer.

Ai Hui took a deep breath and rushed out from the back of the
vehicle.

He had no choice but to fly upwards. The lava balls spat by the
beast moved rapidly and were too difficult to dodge. It was
wiser for him to interfere with its aim.

With a complicated topography like this valley’s, he could

move about more nimbly on the ground rather than in the sky.

Ai Hui crouched slightly like an agile wolf and dashed towards

the mouth of the valley in a zigzag pattern.

Lagging five seconds behind him, Shi Xueman flew forward

from the other side. She followed the way he positioned himself
and changed directions constantly to avoid getting hit, her high
speed made her hair flutter.

Shielded by the Fiery Floating Cloud, everyone retreated

slowly in search for another hiding place.

Ai Hui, who was the first to rush forward, had indeed

managed to capture the beast’s attention. A ball of red glow shot
past him but not without brushing across his body.

Boom, a big sheet of soil was raised off the ground as black
smoke rose from a big scorched hole.

Ai Hui kept a straight face.

The beast’s enormous body was like a lava-filled flood bag.

When quiet, it was like a lava lake but when faced with enemies,
it’s hidden snouts will be extended and sprayed them with its
lava. The lava-spitting beast had two types of snouts, one long
and one short. The long one was extremely formidable and
terrifying but its accuracy pales in comparison with the short
snout, which was the exact opposite.

The lava-spitting beast could not fly high but floated and
moved easily in mid air. Having lived amid the lava for a long
time, its eyes had already deteriorated. Nevertheless, its
perception was still very keen.
 Even tiny targets couldn’t escape his sharp senses.

Ai Hui’s heart stirred. Perhaps he could make use of this. Ai

Hui kept changing direction at a high speed and black leaves
flew up from the Starry Gem Swordwings on his back,
dispersing like many nimble fishes. They drew strange arcs in
the sky, which whizzed toward the lava-spitting beast from all
directions.

While he was running, Ai Hui could feel the delay in the

beast’s movement. Although it was a very short delay, Ai Hui
managed to catch it.

The red glow appeared once again but what Ai Hui did not
expect was for it to shoot toward Shi Xueman’s direction.

By now, Shi Xueman had already followed Ai Hui into the

Wilderness a few times so she was rather experienced and had
been careful as she was dashing and switching directions. The
red glow swept, about a meter away, went past her, causing her
to tremble.

Ai Hui rushed towards her, shouting, "It’s sensitive to water

elemental energy!"
 Lava-spitting beasts were purely fire elemental beasts that
lived amid the lava. They absolutely abhorred water elemental
energy.

Being exceptionally intelligent, Shi Xueman understood

immediately and three short water candles appeared on her
hands. She channeled water elemental energy into those candles
and upon lighting them up, they transformed into balls of
vapor. As they left her palm, they became an exact copy of Shi
Xueman, dashing forward with that same posture.

In a flash, three vapor forms of Shi Xueman appeared by her

side.

Smart, Ai Hui praised inwardly.

Previously, Shi Xueman never would had used water candles,

a move she deemed inferior and harmless. After she followed Ai
Hui around the Wilderness a few times, she realized that
combat strength solely wasn’t sufficient at times. Many
seemingly unremarkable moves usually had great potential.

The vapor images formed by the water candles could easily be

distinguished by capable elementalists but not the wild beasts.
All the lava-spitting beast could perceive was the water
elemental energy that it loathed so much.

With her current abilities, controlling the vapor image was

extremely easy for Shi Xueman.

And the people being shielded by Fiery Floating cloud were

already hiding in another corner. Everyone heaved a sigh of
relief and were ready for battle. They did not wish to see Ai Hui
and Shi Xueman risked their lives .

Duanmu Haunghun had a grave look on his face. Proud and

arrogant, he felt extremely unpleasant that he wasn’t able to be
of any crucial help.

Without a word he retrieved a grass seed from his waist

pouch. He unfolded his palm, allowing the seed to roll onto the
center. He channeled wood elemental energy into the seed,
which caused it to sprout and to grow quickly. A few seconds
later, a jade crystal grass appeared on his palm.

He said coldly, "Archers shooting beyond a two mile range,

tear a leaf and swallow it."
 Sang Zijun and Jiang Wei made eye contact before tearing out
a leaf each and which was then swallowed. A few other decent
archers came over and did the same.

Entering their mouths, the leaf transformed into a green

liquid.

Sang Zijun couldn’t help but ask, "What is this?"

"Eagle Eye Grass. Time is limited, only thirty seconds."

The archers flew off immediately.

Sang Zijun exclaimed, "I see it!"

The rest jolted as they spotted the beast too. Their visions had
sharpened significantly and they could see Ai Hui and Shi
Xueman sprinting at the faraway valley. They could even spot
Shi Xueman’s vapor figures from where they were.

Jiangwei said gravely, "Let’s not waste time."

 He drew out a shockingly long arrow and the others followed
suit.

Ai Hui’s black swords were the fastest. They were like a group
of black bees, which appeared over the beast’s head. Feeling
threatened, the beast started to spray lava unceasingly from its
short snout.

It’s short snout was exceptionally precise. In the blink of an

eye, Ai Hui’s black leaves shattered into pieces, stinging his
heart badly.

But the black leaves had a number advantage. While many

had been destroyed, there were a lot more to intervene with the
beast’s attack. What Ai Hui did not expect, however, was that
the black leaves brought no substantial harm to the beast, only
causing concentrated clanking sounds upon landing on its body.

Just then, sharp whistling sounds rang across the sky.

As the lava-spitting beast sensed danger, it raised its short

snout and quickly spurted a huge volume of lava. The lava left
its snout and opened up like a web, layer upon layer, which
formed a red lava shield above it.
 Clang!

An arrow pierced through the shield, which revealed its head.

Clang clang clang!

The lava shield trembled continuously.

An extremely low whistle sounded and the lava shield

crumbled. An arrow struck the beast’s body with astonishing
force. Dong, it pierced the beast’s round body.

The lava-spitting beast let out a sharp shriek as flames rose,

which burnt the arrow in split seconds. The lava within its body
surged and its wound was quickly patched up, although the
color of its new skin was obviously darker. It looked like a scar.

The lava-spitting beast stopped suddenly.

As he sensed danger, Ai Hui called out, "Be careful!"

 An unprecedentedly bright ball of red glow shot out from the
beast’s snout like a red saber and towards Shi Xueman.

Shi Xueman reacted the moment Ai Hui shouted. She twisted

her body and threw herself in another direction.

Boom!

An area of approximately two hundred square meters were

raised by an invisible pair of hands as fresh red flames burst and
mixed together like an advancing splash of molten iron. The
three vapor figures had no time to struggle and were quickly
enveloped and destroyed by this wave of terror.

Ai Hui was overwhelmed with shock. The horror of the

thundering fire elemental energy surge could be felt even from
afar.

Iron Lady’s face changed slightly as well. She would’ve been

struck if it weren’t for the fact that she’d reacted immediately
upon hearing Ai Hui’s warning. Having followed Ai Hui
regularly into the Wilderness for the past few months, she was
highly convinced of his acute judgements. Several times, her
belief that Ai Hui’d made a mistake was ultimately proven
wrong as Ai Hui had been correct.

Regaining his senses, Ai Hui realized that he had unknowingly

closed the distance between the lava-spitting beast and himself.

He was supposed to be the screen and Shi Xueman the main

assaulter. Yet, Shi Xueman had successfully lured that beast’s
attention and had given him the chance to strike.

That terrifying blow from earlier took a rather heavy toll on

the lava-spitting beast. The red glow within its whole body was
visibly dimmer.

Although water elemental energy attacks were effective

against the beast, it had the ability to restrain metal elemental
energy attacks.

But Ai Hui believed in his swordsmanship.

He was unprecedentedly focused as the elemental energy

within his body surged and every piece of flesh was completely
adjusted.
Without the slightest delay, he brazenly thrusted his sword.
Chapter 416: Nature’s Precious Land
A sword ray made from many fragmented pieces stabbed
forward with a sharp hiss.

[Fragmented Sword]!

Ai Hui’s [Fragmented Sword] was quite different from before.

The ray was now half the bulk but consisted twice as many
fragmented pieces.

With more fragmented pieces, more speed was required

during execution, and a smaller bulk meant that it had more
compressed elemental energy.

Ai Hui was much stronger than before; he hadn’t been

frittering away his time.

Sensing danger, the lava-spitting beast blew up its body like a

balloon and floated backwards as its short snout sprayed wildly
at the sword ray.

Balls of red glow flickered incessantly as they struck the sword

ray consecutively. Yet, as each lava ball hit the ray, it splitted
cleanly into two.

With its sharp whistling and unstoppable nature, the

fragmented sword ray was like a rare treasure sword that could
easily break through obstacles.

When the fragmented sword ray reached the lava-spitting

beast, its round body released a dazzling red glow as the
blazingly condensed fire elemental energy formed a layer of
solid defense cover.

Sss!

The sound of a knife slashing across a piece of cloth was

heard.

The fragmented sword ray broke through the flaming cover

and shot the beast’s body in a swift manner.

Pfff, a sound alike to the slashing of cowhide could be heard.

 Another scar, more distinct this time, appeared on the beast’s
body, causing it to stiffen. The next moment, a piercing whine
swept over the whole area like a high-rise tide.

Red lava splurt out from its wound and its balloon-shaped
body deflated rapidly.

The lava-spitting beast turned around and floated away as its

two snouts extended backwards and sprayed flames in a steady
flow, its speed gradually increased.

Ai Hui immediately realized that it was trying to escape!

But he’d expended more than half of his elemental energy in

his earlier pursuit for a destructive [Fragmented Sword] blow,
leaving his body weak and empty and unable to recover in time.
He could only watch as the beast sped up.

A white figure whizzed across, along with a spear as her long

black hair fluttered.

It was a plain, non fanciful thrust that produced no whistling

but managed to hit the beast nevertheless. The lava-spitting
beast’s body, as if struck by lightning, instantly exploded with a
boom.

Like rain, lava sprayed at the direction where it had been

fleeing.

Shi Xueman stood victorious.

Ai Hui was dumbstruck. Iron Lady’s skills were becoming

increasingly terrifying. That ordinary-looking thrust made it
apparent that she’d already perfected her control over all her
elemental energy, which kept it contained yet powerful.

Her execution had reached the realm where it appeared light

as feather yet struck solid as a mountain.

Ai Hui felt that her current abilities were already of a Master’s

standard but she’d somehow been suppressing her base level.
When asked, she mentioned that this was a special kind of
training method.

Alright, Ai Hui was actually envious.

 While he had been progressing significantly, there was still a
relatively long path for him to become a Master.

Ai Hui regained his senses, shouting, "Clean up!"

The tense atmosphere lightened up. Dire beasts were

extremely dangerous but if a victory yielded, rich will be
harvested.

Fatty flew over and reminded everyone, "Do not miss any
pieces of skin and lava."

Everybody burst out in laughter. It was their first time

collecting war spoils from dealing with such a powerful beast
without any casualties so they were all in high spirits.

Dire beast is full of treasure. How true a phrase.

The lava-spitting beast had yet to refine fire elemental elixir

but its skin was a fire elemental ingredient of supreme quality.
Its snouts could be reactivated by skilled workmen, and were
the best defensive weapons when it came to guarding the cities.
Even the lava in its body was extraordinary. It had been
harvested from earth fire and was therefore, through constant
refinement, it would be richer and purer. In the market, each
gram was sold for an alarming price.

Lava-spitting beasts lived in a land of ample earth fire. Rarely

straying away from their homes, they were extremely difficult
to hunt.

The gang swept everything within a meter radius, not

overlooking any fragmented pieces at all. Their actions clearly
expressed what it meant for one to be influenced by his or her
environment.

Ai Hui was rather moved, "I did not expect that I would’ve had
the opportunity to hunt down a lava-spitting beast..."

No one responded.

Among the team, Iron Lady already possessed a standard

equivalent to a Master’s. Ai Hui and Duanmu Huanghun
excelled as well. While the others were slightly weaker, they
were all in the Third Elemental Realm. Plus, none of them were
lacking in standard. In fact, they made an outstanding city
expansion team.
 Only Lou Lan praised loudly with an approving look on his
face, "Ai Hui is amazing!"

No one let down their guard. They rested and recovered their
elemental energy on the spot.

The thick fire elemental energy in the valley was

exceptionally eye-grabbing. Lava-spitting beasts’ breath would
disperse weaker dire beasts.

Elemental energy in the Wilderness was in a mix, so to

everyone, training efficiency was drastically reduced as they
needed a longer time and more revolutions in order to recover
their elemental energy.

The team set off upon full recovery. They were in the right
direction since they bumped into a lava-spitting beast. Their
destination was exactly a place where earth fire surged.

The team did not meet any dangerous dire beasts again.
Instead, they were caught in a rainstorm once again.
Rainstorms in the Wilderness were much colder. It was bone-
chilling. Advancing through a storm like this required active
elemental energy to withstand the cold, hence, elemental
energy consumption was very high. And because the elemental
energy amid the rain was very disordered, the team could had
easily lost their way.

Having learnt from their previous experiences, the team

stopped in a cave on the cliff to wait it out.

No one had expected Wang Xiaoshan to be the most useful

person in the Wilderness. A simple technique of turning rocks
into clay had been perfected and was made magical by him.

Drinking Lou Lan’s brewed soup in the cold night was simply
a wonderful indulgence.

The rain went on for a whole night and was taken over by a
clear and boundless sky the next day, raising everyone’s spirits.
Nevertheless, no one dared to fly high as the extremely strong
dire beasts residing in high altitudes weren’t monsters they
could contend against right now.

Fiery Floating Cloud was only a few feet above ground and the
gang scattered around in pairs, strongest with the weakest,
strictly guarding.
 A few days were all it took for everyone to feel the difference
between the Wilderness and Avalon of Five Elements. Take the
rainstorm as an example, rainstorms in the Wilderness were
more powerful, cold and even more dangerous. In the avalon,
rainstorms had no effect on their flight. They could still pass
through cumulonimbus clouds and fly freely.

Ai Hui was at the far front. There were many extremely

dangerous plants and he had to remind the gang to avoid
poisonous plants, swamps and so on.

The Wilderness was a place where experience reigned

supreme. Even with master-like abilities, one would not survive
long in the Wilderness without experience.

Apart from dangerous dire beasts, there were many hidden

poisonous insects,which was a pain in the ass. Although Ai Hui
was equipped with insecticides, there were some poisonous
insects that were immune to it and hence unaffected.

After twenty days of arduous travelling, they had finally

reached their destination. In the Wilderness, teams consisted of
more than ten members operated in diminishing efficiency.
 It was difficult to calculate the exact number of attacks they
had been subjected to. The only glad worthy fact was that they
hadn’t met any other dangerous dire beasts aside from that lava-
spitting beast.

Fatty looked at the towering and fuming volcano before him,

his eyes lit up. "Is that our destination?"

The fire here was exceptionally rich, a good training place for
him.

Sang Zijun disliked the sulfur smell very much. "This stinks",
she said while crinkling her brows.

Fatty responded with a drunk look on his face. "Stinks? Not at

all! Such a beautiful fire elemental energy odor."

Ai Hui ignored both of them. He brought everyone across a

mountain range and pointed towards the front. "This is the
place!"

Crossing over the range, everybody looked over and were

pleasantly surprised.
 The huge valley was enveloped in a thin layer of mist. The
lush green forest could faintly be seen and even the babbling of
river streams could be heard.

"How magical!"

"How can there be such a lively and flourishing place near a

volcano?"

"Is it dangerous inside?"

The gang was excited. Other than fire elementalists like Fatty,
no one liked the blistering hot and barren volcano land.

"Already checked. No dangers." Shi Xueman, too, broke into a

smile. She remembered how happy she was to see this valley
when she accompanied Ai Hui over to explore.

Ai Hui was excited as well since he’d finally brought everyone

over safely. In time, they were going to build a city in this
valley. A city that belonged to them and a city that was going to
be the foundation of their future.
 "Alright, this is our territory now." Ai Hui declared. "Go down
and take a look."

He led the way as others followed suit, excitement evident on

their faces.

Upon entering the valley, it was as if they’d been transported

into an entirely different world. The unpleasant sulphur smell
was completely gone. The air within the valley was filled with
the scent of grass and flowers. The exterior of the valley
appeared to be engulfed in mist but the mist seemed to become
milder and did not affect their vision at all on the inside.

The terrain in the valley was uneven so they were able to spot
lakes, grasses and trees.

With a closer look, one would notice that the valley’s shape
was like an irregular pentagon and could be divided into five
sections. Its topography was also structured in a way that
promoted the engenderment of the five elements. It was like a
shrunken Avalon of Five Elements.

A mound was located at the highest terrain, it was likely

formed from accumulated volcanic ashes. Under it was a weird,
rugged cave. They did not know where it led to and the
subterranean metal wind blew day and night, causing a weird
whistle occasionally. The metal wind exited from the cave swept
across the area, producing many gorges in a fan-like manner
over time. These gorges were extremely glossy and carried a
metallic luster as if the cave had sprayed silver lines outside.

Following these silver gorges of uneven thickness, the metal

wind plunged straight into a mini waterfall located mid-
mountain, creating a big sheet of mist. It was this mist that
enveloped the valley.

The small lake was situated at a low-lying area of the valley.

Abundant underground water rushed out from cracks on the
waist of the mountain, forming a small waterfall that eventually
formed a small and clear jade-green lake.

By the lake was the lowest-lying piece of land. Grass and vines
filled the ground and a few tall trees grew sporadically. The
brimming lake water formed small brooks that covered the
whole area.

Beside the grassland were raised black rocks in wrinkled folds.

Red glow could faintly be seen within the folds as they emitted
great heat. Not even a blade of grass grew on those rocks.
This natural land of five elements had everyone enchanted.

Nature’s precious land!

Chapter 417: Difficulties Starting Out
Seeing the precious land with their own eyes had undoubtedly
boosted the gang’s morale. Even without Ai Hui’s instructions
they dispersed to survey the surroundings.

Benefits of having enough people were made apparent here

since quickly, all kinds of information were gathered one after
another. Soon, everyone had a rough understanding of this
precious land, which surprised them even more.

The volcano sat in the west of the valley and would not block
off the morning sun. This was also an important reason why the
plants could grow so healthily here. This valley’s formation and
the engenderment of the five elements relied on many natural
coincidences.

Ample earth fire supplied unlimited elemental energy like an

energy source powered by the elemental energy cycle. There
were countless tunnels and holes underground, a key condition
for the metal wind to flourish. It was also a coincidence that the
metal wind came out from an exit beside the volcanic ash
mound, and on the eastern part of the valley, the waterfall that
flowed out from the cracks on the cliff carried water elemental
energy. Having the high and low-lying land in the west and east
respectively also gave the valley sufficient sunlight for plants to
grow. With consistent vegetation growth, there would be
endless amount of wood elemental energy. It could take root in
the valley and stabilize the whole elemental energy cycle.

It took many coincidences from the nature to develop this

precious land; nothing was dispensable.

The longest distance from east to west was about 2.5

kilometers, and 2 kilometers from south to north. The place
wasn’t considered big but was more than enough for now. They
could always expand outwards in future, when necessary.

What shocked them even more was the fact that the highest
tree in the valley was actually an defensive ancient tree,
approximately fifty meters tall, grown for defense. Judging
from time, it was probably planted by Senior Xiao.

Perhaps Senior Xiao had hoped that one day this valley would
be used by future elementalists.

The defensive ancient tree strengthened the valley’s defense,

proving the phrase "trees grown by predecessors would become
shades for later generations" right.
 Ai Hui and the gang had already done their preliminary
checks and made initial plans before they came over.

"Wood-type defense will be constructed, using this defensive

ancient tree as core. According to our plan, Bangwan will be in
charge of this." Ai Hui looked over at Duanmu Huanghun and
asked in a deliberately uncertain tone, "Will you be able to
handle it, Bangwan?"

Despite being aware of Ai Hui’s tactic, Duanmu Huanghun

still felt blood rushing to his head. In an instant his white face
turned flushed, as if blood was about to seep out. He shouted in
fury, "You watch out!"

After that he turned around and flew towards the tree.

In mid air, Duanmu Huanghun felt his anger rising. He must

show Ai Hui a little something! Whatever dog crap Lightning
Blade, I’ll let you know who’s the real talent!"

Plus, he had already made preparations before coming over!

Imagining Ai Hui kowtowing in front of his masterpiece gave

Duanmu Huanghun an adrenaline rush. He had inexhaustible
energy in him. Excited, a devilish blush appeared on his white,
handsome face as his eyes emitted an unnegligible ray.

Seeing Duanmu Huanghun’s aggressive departure, Shi

Xueman couldn’t help but be annoyed. "Provoking him again!"

Ai Hui replied joyfully, "What a good deal, getting him all

fired up without spending a single cent."

Shi Xueman laughed before asking, "What’s my task?"

"Bring a few down to the cave and explore." Ai Hui kept the
smile on his face and reiterated in all seriousness, "This is our
territory now so safety over everything."

Iron Lady was the strongest so this mission was hers to

complete.

"Got it." Shi Xueman nodded resolutely before turning around

to make her selection.
 Fatty the meat shield was a definite choice. An outstanding
meat shield was a great asset to the team.

Ai Hui’s gaze fell onto Wang Xiaoshan. "You’ll have to work a

little harder, Xiaoshan. With the defensive ancient tree, there’s
temporarily no need for city walls but we will have to build
everybody’s homes first."

Wang Xiaoshan agreed immediately. "No problem, Ai Hui! I’ll

just build them according to the initial plan?"

Ai Hui nodded. "Yes, just follow that and don’t get the
directions wrong."

The locations of each house were strategically arranged.

Houses in different regions would have different properties to
suit different types of elementalists. They were also positioned
in a way to stabilize the elements’ frail engenderment process.

For example, houses in the wood elemental energy region

would be constructed with wood, while houses in fire elemental
energy region would be built with special volcanic lava.
 Wang Xiaoshan nodded and left hurriedly. Building houses for
a few hundred people wasn’t an easy task. Even if he came
prepared, he needed to work fast.

The farmers and herbalists were already searching for suitable

areas for cultivation.

Grass-grade weapon craftsman Mo Zhong was also scouting

for areas that would be suitable for planting sword reeds and so
on.

Weaponsmith Blind He and Lou Lan were examining the earth

fire since Blind He needed it to refine weapons, while Lou Lan
needed it to brew elemental food and soup.

After delegating jobs for the rest of the group, Ai Hui started
on his own task.

His job was unique–modifying the mist stirred by the metal

wind. The moment he realized that the mist enveloping the
valley was a result of the metal wind, an idea popped up in his
mind.
 Fantasyland!

The mist blown up by the metal wind surrounded the whole

valley. It was definitely the best material since it was condensed
and did not disperse. There had always been a close relationship
between mist and fantasy land.

Here they faced the greatest threats, not from Blood of God or
elementalists but dire beasts. With their current abilities,
bumping into dire beasts who had yet to produce elemental
elixirs wasn’t so big a deal. On the other hand, if they were to
meet those that had done so, they wouldn’t be able to withstand
it.

It would be best if they could deceive the beasts.

If it was impossible, coupled with the valley’s defense, the

mist would make it difficult for the dire beasts to pinpoint their
target accurately.

Battles were never about both parties standing still. It’s not
about you stabbed me once and I returned the favor.
 Many times the so-called advantage stemmed from an
accumulation of tiny details.

Since his previous inspection, Ai Hui had already been

thinking about how to complete this illusion and finally, a
rough idea came upon him.

After a thorough investigation of the mini waterfall flowing

out from the cracks, he was quickly satisfied. He started carving
on the rocks, marking out spots before fixing Color Clam Pearls
that he had prepared beforehand on the cliff.

Color Clam Pearls were a kind of water elemental material

that lived on the seabed and were produced by clamshells.
When a bright ray casted onto the pearls a bizarre illusion
would be created, just like a mirage.

Color Clam Pearls were extremely unorthodox, but Ai Hui

needed many of them so he relied on Iron Lady’s family to
purchase them.

He had thirty-six of them with him. They were like thirty-six

elemental energy needles, stuck on the cliff, instantly filling it
with overflowing colors and brilliance. Ai Hui then fixed an
elemental energy bean in the middle of the pearls.

Thirty-six Color Clam Pearls immediately lit up in drizzles of

colors, which gathered to form a sheet. The colored lights
altered unceasingly and gradually formed a cylindrical shape,
where the colors appeared to flow within its body continuously.

As if attracted by the colorful cylinder, the mist underneath

was sucked into it.

Hu, a soft sound was heard.

A wisp of colorful flame rose from the cylinder that looked

like a colorful candle.

That was right. Ai Hui was borrowing the idea of water

candles. The flame was bright and colorful but made from water
vapor. However, the materials he used were better and his
design was elaborate, allowing this "water candle" to be far
more effective than ordinary ones.

The flame rose in spirals, producing wisps of colored mist that

continued to circle within the valley, along with the metal
wind.

If you looked down from the outside, you could see that the
colored mist enveloping the valley were undergoing changes.
Quickly, the valley would seem to vanish into thin air and
blended in together with the surrounding black volcanos. No
matter how closely you look you won’t find any abnormalities.

Nevertheless, no one in the valley was affected. In fact, no one

sensed the changes in the mist.

Ai Hui did not stop after finishing his first task. The missions
awaiting them were arduous. This extremely precious land had
all five elements, which meant that they would need to build
five elemental energy pools. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth.
Each elemental energy would require an elemental energy pool
of their own.

Ai Hui and the gang contributed mostly on this aspect. One

blueprint was enough but five sets of materials were needed.

Lou Lan carefully leveled off the creases from the black
volcanic rocks, which revealed the dark red rocks. He continued
to dig inwards and finally reached the red lava within.
 Blind He reached his palm into the lava for a short period of
time, and had sustained no injury at all upon taking it out.

He shook his head. "Not hot enough."

Lou Lan exclaimed in shock, "He Wei, you’re amazing! Such a

hot earth fire isn’t enough for you? Ai Hui and I haven’t used
anything like this before!"

Blind He responded warmly, "Nothing amazing."

He liked Lou Lan a lot. He appreciated his delicious elemental

soup and his ever cheerful voice. With Lou Lan around it was as
if he was basking in the sun. His blindness caused him to be
extra sensitive to the outside world so he could feel Lou Lan’s
genuinity.

He felt that Boss was really lucky to have such a great sand
puppet.

Lou Lan shook his head. "Really amazing. The heat here could
breed fire-winged serpent eggs."
 Blind He was somewhat embarrassed. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes." Lou Lan looked around, the red glow in his eyes
flickering incessantly. "If the temperature here isn’t high
enough then… there! Found it!"

Lou Lan’s cheer brought out a slight smile at the corner of

Blind He’s mouth.

Lou Lan walked in front as Blind He’s feet left the ground,
floating slowly behind.

Lou Lan stopped and said in certainty, "Here!"

Blind He stopped as well. Surprise was evident in his pale,

thin face as he shut his eyes tight. He did not feel that there was
anything special about this area. He had extremely sharp senses
when it came to his surroundings ashe could sense even the
slightest differences between temperatures. If the earth fire was
even stronger, the temperature here was only a little higher
than other places.

But he did not speak up. Instead he floated quietly at the side
with a gentle smile on his face. It did not matter even if Lou Lan
had made a little mistake.

"I’m going to start!"

At that he transformed into a high speed spinning sandsaw

that buzzed loudly.

Sparks flew everywhere the moment the sandsaw landed on

the black volcanic rocks.The rocks were super thick and solid
but it was as if the sandsaw had an invisible hand, cutting it
cheerfully and unceasingly. Shortly a precise square cut out was
created.

With a slight smile still kept on his pale face, Blind He looked
rather sluggish.
Chapter 418: A Languished Top Student
A perfect square that looked as if it was drawn using a ruler
appeared on the black-colored rock.

Pop. Lou Lan transformed into a fork and pierced effortlessly

into the centre of the square on the rock. It felt as if he was
piercing into a piece of stewed pork belly. Accompanied by Blind
He’s astonished gaze, the fork trembled and pulled out a cube of
black rock wobbily.

The thickness of the back rock cube was at most one meter. It
was thicker than what Blind He had expected. The bottom of
the black rock cube was dark-red and it was still dripping with
lava. For some reason, when one looked at it, he or she would
think of a chunk of red braised meat that was dripping
glistening braised sauce.

Of course, Blind He couldn’t link it to a chunk of red braised

meat. He was only surprised at the temperature of the earth fire
in the square-shaped hole.

Heat waves blasted his face. Without using his hand, he could
clearly gauge the temperature of the earth fire here. The earth
fire in this area was much hotter than the previous area’s.
 However, he was still a meticulous weaponsmith.

Blind He floated down slowly from the air and kneeled on the
ground. He inserted his fair and flawless palm into the square-
shaped hole and shut his eyes tightly with a solemn look on his
face.

With a bang, Lou Lan transformed back to his usual form and
looked curiously at Blind He.

Lou Lan also knew how to forge weapons. However, his

forging skills still paled in comparison to Blind He’s. Most of
Lou Lan’s knowledge of weapon-forging came from books.
When Master Shao was still around, he spent all his resources
on upgrading Lou Lan’s sand core. This was how Lou Lan’s
Midnight came about. As for Lou Lan’s second master, Ai Hui,
he was also a poor bloke. However, in the process of making See
You Laters, Lou Lan had gained a decent amount of experience
in weapon-forging.

Lou Lan was like a baby that was filled with curiosity towards
everything new.

This characteristic of Lou Lan completely set him apart from

his master Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was a practical individual. Whether or not he would be

interested in something depended on the utility of thing itself.
If it was something that he deemed useless, he wouldn’t be
bothered looking at it. However, if it was something that he
deemed useful, he would become abnormally greedy and thirsty
for it and would try to obtain it at all costs.

Lou Lan’s eyes were flickering with a red glow. He was

recording and analyzing Blind He’s elemental energy flow. Even
though there were multiple areas that he did not understand, he
still recorded the entire process patiently.

The new sand core was exceptionally powerful. Lou Lan could
feel the surging power that it contained, which resembled the
unpredictable, calm and tranquil sea. Even though he still had
not figured out how to activate and use this powerful force, up
till now, all his abilities had not reached Midnight’s limit.

Sometimes, Lou Lan would wonder why Master Shao named

the new sand core as Midnight. Midnight was the darkest
moment of a day and the darkest moment of nighttime. Was the
name implying that the sand core was as unpredictable as the
darkest moments of nighttime or as bright as the daybreak that
would come after midnight?

Did Master Shao fulfill his wish? How was his life now?

Distracting thoughts flashed across Lou Lan’s sand core.

Sometimes, Lou Lan felt that he behaved lesser and lesser like a
sand puppet. It was really abnormal for a sand puppet to have
distracting thoughts.

His gaze returned to Blind He.

Blind He withdrew his palm and stood up slowly. "Let’s build

the smelting furnace here."

After settling a huge issue, Lou Lan was very happy. "We shall
build the smelting furnace according to Ai Hui’s design?"

"Yes," Blind He replied.

"Lou Lan shall begin then!" Lou Lan said cheerfully.

 A faint smile appeared on Blind He’s pale face. He did not say
anything, but he was filled with expectations. The earth fire in
this area was abundant. This was the best spot to build a
smelting furnace. Furthermore, the design of the smelting
furnace had been improved by Ai Hui’s modifications.

That’s right. This was the first time he met a metal

elementalist that knew how to modify a smelting furnace to
such a successful extent. Even though they had only roughly
tested out the modifications, the trial was enough to prove that
the fire power of the smelting furnace did increase significantly.

No wonder Elders Guild would confer the title of Master on

Wang Shouchuan. The standard of abilities Ai Hui displayed
had certainly enlightened Blind He.

Blind He was filled with anticipation for the resulting flames

produced by the modified smelting furnace coupled with the
abundance of earth fire.

Clink, thud, clink! Lou Lan’s movements were very fast. Very
soon, the building process was in full swing.

Shi Xueman and her counterparts returned to the valley

without good news nor bad news.

The inside of the cave was shaped like an inverted trumpet.

The entrance of the cave was small but the inside of the cave
was enormous in size. And the powerful metal wind was formed
precisely because of the unique shape of the cave.

There were numerous passageways in the cave. This was also

why Iron Lady and her counterparts had to turn back. Scouting
a cave was an arduous process that would take up a lot of time.

There were pros and cons to having a cave that was connected
to the outside world. The terrain of the valley was small and
narrow. It would be impossible for them to escape if someone
had blocked the entrance of the valley. The good thing of to
have a cave connected to the outside world was that it provided
the best escape route for them. However, the bad thing about
the cave was that it also provided a route for dire beasts to
invade the valley.

Therefore, appropriate arrangements had to be made.

Iron Lady looked at the drifting fog that dazzled with a flash
of radiance every now and then above the valley. A look of
amazement flashed across her eyes.

Was this inspired by water candles?

Sometimes, she really wanted to crack open Ai Hui’s head and

see what was contained inside of it.

She saw that Ai Hui was busy, hence, Iron Lady did not
disturb him. She began to deploy sentries and patrols around
the valley. Right now, they were situated in the depths of the
Wilderness where danger might occur anytime.

Meanwhile Duanmu Huanghun was leading a team of wood

elementalists to perfect the wood elemental defense system.
Various types of seeds were meticulously planted in different
positions. Using their wood elemental energy, the wood
elementalists were able to speed up the growth of the seeds.
Within two days, there were lots of young sprouts around the
defensive ancient tree.

If Ai Hui was an unorthodox elementalist, then Duanmu

Huanghun would be an orthodox elementalist. Due to the talent
he displayed since young, his family had placed high hopes on
him. Duanmu family was one of the oldest families in Avalon of
Five Elements. Since young, Duanmu Huanghun received the
most traditional and orthodox education.

If Duanmu Huanghun never met Ai Hui or encountered the

blood catastrophe, he would have graduated from Induction
Ground as the best student and became a role model for all the
students in Induction Ground.

His style of defensive arrangements were very traditional.

One could even say it was a classical style. His style of defensive
arrangements was completely different from his arrogant and
elitist nature.

In the hands of a so-called genius, any theories or styles could

shine brightly and amaze everyone in the world.

Initially, the rest of the wood elementalists did not find

anything special about Duanmu Huanghun’s defensive
arrangements. All they could see was that some of his
requirements were too demanding and unnecessary.

For example, every plant must be of a certain distance from

each other or the order in which the wood elementalists sped up
the growth of the seeds must be correct. On the contrary, the
concoctions that Duanmu Huanghun used to prepare these
plants were commonly-seen and ordinary. There were nothing
special about these concoctions at all.

However, as time passed, everyone began to shut up. All their

complaints had disappeared. Everyone sincerely admired
Duanmu Huanghun’s defensive arrangements. They had been
convinced by his genius.

If this was a wood elementalist’s homework or examination in

Induction Ground, Duanmu Huanghun would have received full
marks. Everyone believed that even the teachers in Induction
Ground could not have handled this task better and more
impressive than Duanmu Huanghun.

Perfect! Meticulous! Impregnable!

His defensive arrangements did not seem to compliment each

other, but in reality, they did fit together perfectly. The ideas
behind his arrangements were ingenious and the details
involved were brilliant. Jiang Wei and his counterparts had
been through multiple battles before and they had rich combat
experience. As such, they were familiar with storming heavily
fortified positions.
 However, when they faced Duanmu Huanghun’s defensive
arrangements, their faces turned white with fear.

Up till now, no matter how hard everyone tested and

rehearsed, they could not find a single loophole in his defensive
arrangements.

Just by the make of the distribution chart of the seeds that

had been planted and looking at it, everyone’s eyes tangled up.
At this point of time, all the wood elementalists then
remembered that Duanmu Huanghun was the legendary top
student of Induction Ground.

Didn’t everyone say that he had languished? Didn’t everyone

say that he fooled around in brothels day and night? Didn’t
everyone say that he was utterly defeated by She Yu?

All the wood elementalists submissively followed behind the

top student, sowing seeds and channelling their elemental
energy.

After being crushed by Duanmu Huanghun’s superb

intelligence, everyone seemed to have gone through a mental
rollercoaster. Right now, all of them were filled with
anticipation. They could not wait to see the facial expression of
their enemies when they encountered these fully grown
defensive plants.

Duanmu Huang’s facial expression remained calm. However,

deep down, he was actually extremely pleased with himself.

The time and effort he spent were not in vain!

He had long thought of how to build an impregnable defense

system for the valley. All he wanted was to give Ai Hui a big
shock.

Duanmu Huanghun casted a glance of haughty disdain at Ai

Hui. When he saw Ai Hui examined the ground full of sprouts,
his mind became restless and his lips curled into a haughty
smile.

Hehe, you must be shocked, right!

Suddenly, Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Everyone,

stop!"
 A look of excitement flashed across Duanmu Huanghun’s face.
The chance is here. He nonchalantly asked, "Is there anything
wrong?"

The rest looked at Ai Hui with a puzzled look. From their

perspective, Duanmu Huanghun’s defensive arrangements were
perfect.

Ai Hui looked at Duanmu Huanghun and asked, "Have you

figured out how much wood elemental energy would these
arrangements need after three days?"

Everyone still remained baffled. However, Duanmu

Huanghun’s facial expression had already changed drastically.

At this moment, all he wanted to do now was to find a hole

and hide in it.

Damn it!

How could he overlook such an important issue!

 After the growth of these seeds had been sped up, their
elemental energy usage would increase sharply. Furthermore,
there was a limit to how much wood elemental energy that this
wood elemental land could provide. It definitely could not
support the growth of so many plants.

Duanmu Huanghun’s mental arithmetic ability surpassed

everyone’s. In a blink of an eye, he had already computed the
result. The critical point would not be reached on the third day,
but rather, 3pm in the afternoon of the second day.

Once the supply of wood elemental energy could not keep up

with the growth of the plants, the plants would not developed
healthily. After they were fully grown, their powers would
decrease sharply.

"All of you have to wait until my wood elemental energy pool

is ready," Ai Hui told them.

After the wood elemental energy pool was built, the supply of
wood elemental energy would then rise sharply.

After finishing his sentence, Ai Hui hastily left to take a look

at the building progress of the smelting furnace. He had
modified the design of elemental energy pool that Elders Guild
had provided. There were a lot of components to be forged.
Therefore, he needed the smelting furnace to be built first.
Furthermore, he had to consult Blind He on some of the
components needed for the five elemental energy pools.

Duanmu Huanghun’s face turned black, resembling the

bottom of a wok.

An extremely strong aura of anger emitted from his body,

causing the rest of the wood elementalists to steer clear of him.

At this point in time, they definitely must not provoke

Duanmu Huanghun.
Chapter 419: An Chouchou
The smelting furnace that Ai Hui had modified was very
different from the usual smelting furnaces.

The body of his smelting furnace was larger than the usual
smelting furnaces, resembling a house that sat on top of a lava
pit. On the roof of this smelting furnace, there were twelve
flying pipes that resembled inverted bull horns. Surrounding
the smelting furnace, there were twelve small fire pits. Each fire
pit would shoot out a curved stream of flames, which would
then enter the flying, inverted-bull-horn-shaped pipe
corresponding to that fire pit. Upon entering the flying,
inverted-bull-horn-shaped pipe, the stream of flames would
come out from the other end of the pipe and shoot towards the
centre of the smelting furnace.

Eventually, twelve curved streams of flames would gather in

the center of the smelting furnace. The flames within the
smelting furnace were white-hot and dazzling.

Even if one stood far away from the smelting furnace, he or

she could feel the terrifying heat of it.

Everyone was looking at Blind He and the smelting furnace

with curiosity and amazement .

Blind He was standing in front of the smelting furnace. He

rolled up his sleeve and revealed his fair arm. Following which,
he placed his palm into the furnace, which was then engulfed by
the scorching and brilliant flames. Suddenly, a glowing eye
appeared in the hollow of his palm. Then, the eye emitted a
beam of silvery white light. The scorching flames did not seem
to be able to cause any damage to Blind He’s palm.

In everyone’s eyes, Blind He’s strength was unfathomable and

his entire body exuded the air of an extraordinary expert.

Ai Hui was even more formidable for being able to hire such a
formidable weaponsmith.

Actually, Blind He was not as calm and collected as what his

facial expression was showing. Deep down, he was unusually
excited.

The quality of the flames in the smelting furnace far exceeded

his expectations!
 To a weaponsmith, high-level flames was something they
longed for. The higher the base level of the flames, the higher
the base level of materials it would be able to melt. Those truly
capable weaponsmiths would always forge their weapons in Fire
Prairie. The base level of the earth fire in Fire Prairie was
extremely high. It was most suitable for forging weapons. That
was also why the cities of Fire Prairie were built underground.
Being underground, the cities would be able to better utilize the
earth fire.

High-level flames!

He had never seen such high-level flames

He forcibly regained his composure and asked, "What kind of

flames is this? Does it have a name?"

Ai Hui was stunned momentarily and shook his head, "No."

"Give it a name," Blind He replied.

Actually, Ai Hui felt that as long as the smelting furnace was

complete, he did not really care about the name of the flames.
However, he knew that Blind He’s temperament and nature was
not like an average person’s. Therefore, Ai Hui decided to treat
him with deference and replied casually, "Since this kind of
flame is formed by clustering earth fire, and its color is whiter
than the usual flames, let’s call it White Cluster Flames."

With a serious look that contained a tinge of sincerity on his

face, Blind He replied solemnly, "Then it shall be called White
Cluster Flames."

Upon seeing the nonchalant look on Ai Hui’s face, the rest did
not care much about the flames too. But no one had expected
that White Cluster Flames would make an immense reputation
for itself in the future. Eventually, it would be carried forward
by future generations and a series of high-level cluster flames
would be developed.

In the future, there would be an addition of the title "Creator

of High-level Cluster Flames" to Ai Hui’s resume, and he would
be revered by countless weaponsmiths.

Only Blind He seemed to have vaguely realized this.

"As long as you’re happy," Ai Hui did not care about the name
of the flames at all. Following which, he asked, "When can we
start the forging process?"

"Let me get familiar with the smelting furnace first."

After finishing his sentence, Blind He did not pay attention to

Ai Hui anymore. He only cared about adjusting the smelting
furnace.

"Does He Wei need Lou Lan’s help?" Lou Lan widened his eyes
and asked.

"Thanks Lou Lan!" Blind He smiled at Lou Lan.

Upon seeing this, Ai Hui rubbed his nose. Even as the

employer, he did not get the same level of respect and fondness
as Lou Lan from Blind He.

…..

Newlight City was a city designed and built for new citizens. It
was also the second largest city in Beyond Avalon. Elders Guild
had named the Wilderness regions that were expanded into and
developed as Beyond Avalon.

Back then, the number of cities in Beyond Avalon had

exceeded ten thousand. However, most of the cities were
pathetically small. The largest and most top-rate city was
Skyheart City, which was built by Elders Guild.

That day, Yuchi Ba came as the representative of Elders Guild

to inspect Newlight City. He was standing at the highest pagoda.
As Yuchi Ba looked at the continuous stretch of buildings in the
distance, his facial expression became solemn.

The faces of the few Elders from New Citizen Faction standing
behind him turned emotional.

Standing beside Yuchi Ba, there was a short fellow. His body
was fat and round and his legs were stout. The luxurious-
looking robe on his body was tightly stretched, making one
worry that it would burst any moment. On his round, biscuit-
like face, there were two squinty eyes that resembled two fine
slits. His facial expression was solemn, but the attire on his body
made him look rather comical.
 He had an odd name, An Chouchou.

However, no one dared to laugh at him.

Among the new citizens, An Chouchou had become a legend.

His strength was very weak and he had not even attained
elemental externalization yet. No matter how one looked at
him, he or she could not see any worth in him.

However, he was the mayor of Newlight City now.

No one knew where Elder Yuchi had found him. Initially,

when Elder Yuchi gave such a heavy responsibility to an
unknown individual like him, everyone raised their objections.
When the internal department of New Citizen Faction saw him
in person, everyone was disappointed. Even the Elder who’d
previously supported Elder Yuchi prepared to raise his
objections when he saw An Chouchou.

However, after having a debate with An Chouchou, the entire

internal department of New Citizen Faction was shocked by
him.
 No outsider knew what An Chouchou exactly said in that
debate. There were countless different versions of what he had
said circulating everywhere. From that day onwards, An
Chouchou defeated his opponents and became the person in
charge for New Citizen Faction’s city-building project.

And reality had proven that An Chouchou did not let the
Elders in New Citizen Faction down.

This unprepossessing fatty, who merely attained elemental

internalization, had made Newlight City into the second biggest
city in Beyond Avalon.

An Chouchou tiptoed and stretched his neck with difficulty.

Even so, one could barely see his neck.

"It’s beginning!" someone yelled in alarm. Everyone became

excited in an instant.

Brilliant lights blossomed from the spires of the pagodas

situated at the edges of the city. The lights began to extend and
come together, forming a layer of pure and holy light around
the border of Newlight City. The layer of light slowly rose into
the air and transformed into a silvery light screen. It extended
towards the sky, appearing as if a piece light muslin cloth had
been pulled over the sky of Newlight City.

The enormous Newlight City was unusually quiet. On the

streets and rooftops of houses, everyone was stretching their
necks and staring at the light screen that was extending towards
the sky.

When the light screen reached the other side of the city and
merged with the layer of light from the pagodas there, a
powerful elemental energy hurricane suddenly erupted from all
the pagodas.

A breeze swept across Newlight City.

The light screen stabilized, looking as if a huge, transparent,

bell of glass had been placed over Newlight City.

YAY!

Everyone in Newlight City exploded into a frenzy. Numerous

cries of joy broke out from every nook and cranny of the city. At
this point of time, Newlight City was like an erupted volcano.
Joy was written all over the faces of everyone.

Newlight City’s greatest defensive structure, Pagoda Screen,

had been completed. From that day onwards, the defense of
Newlight City improved to a new level.

The citizens of Newlight City were overjoyed because the

safety of their homes had been improved greatly. In Wilderness,
where they were surrounded by danger, nothing made a person
more happy than having safety.

Newlight City was the second city after Skyheart City to have
a complete defensive system. This would greatly boost Newlight
City’s reputation and attract more new and powerful citizens to
the city.

As compared to Skyheart City’s Five Peaks, Pagoda Screen was

more innovative.

In the early stages of building Skyheart City, Madam Ye

suggested an extremely daring idea. She wanted to use five God-
subduing Peaks to form a brand-new city defense system. This
was how Five Peaks came about. Madam Ye’s Five Peaks was not
simply about putting five God-subduing Peaks together. There
were a lot of marvellous and intricate designs to it. Reportedly,
this proposal was given to Madam Ye by one of her subordinates
named Ma Shiji.

Ma Shiji had a mysterious background. No one had heard of

him before. This person had an extremely deep understanding
of Wang Shouchuan’s research works and theories.

Even though Yuchi Ba was an Elder of Elders Guild, he could

not deploy a God-subduing Peak to Newlight City without
explicit approval. Luckily, Wang Shouchuan’s research works
and theories were in high demand. Apparently, the birth of
God-subduing Peak had popularized Wang Shouchuan’s
research works and theories. Even though Elders Guild tried its
best to withhold this information from the outside world, the
information continued to leak. Since the leakage of the
information could not be stopped, Great Elder decided to sell
the information on [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] to
the public. Its price was exorbitant.

However, for aristocratic families and powerful forces, they

did not mind paying such a small price for it.

Pagoda Screen was built upon Wang Shouchuan’s theories but

it was developed and produced by New Citizen Faction.
 This was something that Yuchi Ba was extremely proud of.

"It has been hard on you, Chouchou!" Yuchi Ba turned around

and thanked An Chouchou with gratitude, "From today
onwards, new citizens finally have a home."

Everyone surrounding Yuchi Ba became very emotional. All

along, new citizens had not been well-received in the upper
society of the Avalon of Five Elements. The conflicts between
new citizens and old citizens had never ceased before.

Similarly, Elders who were new citizens in Elders Guild were

always at a disadvantage.

"Not hard at all!" An Chouchou replied solemnly, "No one else

has the boldness and drive of you and your fellow Elders. If I
was in elsewhere, I might not have been able to work hard even
if I wanted to."

Elder Yuchi was very pleased with himself. An Chouchou was

personally nominated by him. Therefore, when An Chouchou
did a good job, he felt proud as well. With an affable look on his
face, Elder Yuchi asked amiably, "Do you have any issues that
are troubling you? Feel free to tell me if you do."
 "Chouchou is somewhat ambitious," An Chouchou gave Yuchi
Ba a bow before giving a bow to the rest of the Elders as well.

Yuchi Ba withdrew the smile on his face and signalled to Tong

Gui and Yu Lin. Tong Gui and Yu Lin quickly instructed their
subordinates to fall back and guard the area to prevent anyone
from eavesdropping.

A solemn look appeared on the other Elders’ faces too. All of

them knew An Chouchou definitely had something astonishing
to say. Now, everyone no longer dare to underestimate this
short fatty. All along, no one had confidence in the construction
of Newlight City. They blamed it on the lack of experience and
resources that the Elders in New Citizen Facton had. However,
now Newlight City had surpassed everyone’s expectations and
became the second largest city. An Chouchou had played the
main role in this achievement.

Some of the outsiders had called him Ugly Elephant.

After bowing to everyone, An Chouchou straightened his

body. Even though he was the shortest in height among
everyone, he looked the most majestic and towering out of all of
them.
 "Right now, Newlight City has been completed. As long as all
of you can manage it properly, it will be the holy land for new
citizens in the future. However, it’s difficult to achieve anything
without sufficient support. Even after Newlight City has been
built, we are still lacking the cities for the other four elements."

"We know the benefits of having cities for all five elements.
However, the regions around here are not suitable for building
cities of the other four elements. The distance between each city
is too far. The elemental energies can’t react each other well."

A smile appeared on An Chouchou’s face as he replied,

"Chouchou has a premature idea."
Chapter 420: Energy-stabilizing Pillars
Ai Hui squatted at the volcanic crater and looked at the
surging red-colored lava beneath him. Waves of scorching heat
hit him in the face while a strong smell of sulfur choked his nose
and mouth.

He squinted his eyes and carefully and examined the fire

elemental energy below him. The surging lava had made the fire
elemental energy look as if it was in total chaos. However, Ai
Hui knew this was not the case in reality.

This volcano was out of the ordinary and it did not have a
name. Since they were going to be staying here for a long time,
they had to come up with a name for it. Thus, everyone had
decided to call it Blackfish Mouth Volcano.

The volcano was like a huge black-colored fish that jumped

halfway out of the ground. The fish head was facing the sky
while the volcanic crater was the mouth of the black-colored
fish.

Pop!
 A sharp and clear popping sound exploded behind Ai Hui. He
returned to his senses with a start and turned his head around.

A ball of sand had rolled to the volcanic crater from the valley
and exploded in the air not far away from Ai Hui. It exploded
into a clear and distinct line of words made of sand in the air.

"Ai Hui, meal time!"

At the end of the line of words, there was also a vivid and
lifelike sand portrait of Lou Lan. In the sand portrait, Lou Lan
was wearing a chef’s robe with a wok in one hand and a ladle in
the other hand. The ladle in his hand was pointing to the line of
words. On his face, that was covered by a mask, his eyes had
curled into two curved slits.

Ha. Ai Hui could not help but laugh.

Lou Lan was getting more and more fancy.

Due to having maintained his facial expression for a long

time, Ai Hui’s face muscles were slightly rigid. He rubbed his
numb face and jumped down from the volcanic crater.
Following which, the Starry Gem Swordwings on his back
spread with a whizz. Like a huge, black-colored eagle, he
swooped down from the sky and flew towards the valley.

Looking down from the sky, he could not see the valley. He
could only see a continuous stretch of mountain range that was
formed by the rocks of the black volcano.

As Ai Hui flew closer to the surface of the ground, he did not

lower his speed. The scene of him smashing into smithereens
did not happen as he flew right through the rocks and
disappeared.

A slight chill blasted him in the face as he flew through a layer

of fog-formed mirage. The scenery in front of him transformed
as an exuberant valley appeared right before his eyes.

The first thing Ai Hui saw was Fatty licking his plate. The rest
were busy eating as well. Other than Lou Lan, no one raised
their heads to look at him. Gulping his saliva, Ai Hui landed
beside Lou Lan.

Lou Lan served Ai Hui the long-prepared elemental food and

yelled, "Ai Hui, it has been hard on you!"
 "Thank you, Lou Lan," Ai Hui carefully took over the food.

An alluring fragrance seeped into Ai Hui’s nostrils as his

mouth uncontrollably overflowed with saliva. Like the rest, Ai
Hui wolfed down his food.

Even though he had eaten Lou Lan’s food many times, he still
felt extremely blissful whenever he had his meal cooked by Lou
Lan.

At that point of time, a lot of people were thinking, "Ai Hui is

not important at all, the most important person is Lou Lan! Lou
Lan is the morale-booster! Wherever Lou Lan points his ladle at,
we will go through fire and tread on water for him! Ai Hui?
Who’s that! How can someone like him enjoy the delicious food
that Lou Lan makes? Why don’t we split his share among
ourselves? We can eat more of Lou Lan’s food that way then…"

Those who had finished their meals were staring fiercely at Ai

Hui. They were struggling with their emotions. Should they
snatch the food from the tiger’s mouth?

"Ai Hui, did you make any developments today?"

 Lou Lan’s voice rang across Ai Hui’s ears. His face was nearly
buried in the bowl of food. Everyone’s gaze was fixated on his
back.

"I still need some more time…" Ai Hui replied unclearly with
food stuffed in his mouth.

Being situated in the mountain range of the Blackfish Mouth

Volcano, the valley had an abundance of fire elemental energy.
Right now, Ai Hui’s biggest problem was to figure out how to
use this fire elemental energy.

In theory, as long as the layout where the five elements could

engender each other was formed, any type of elemental energy
could become the fountainhead of the five elemental cycle.
However, this was only proven in theory. In reality, there were
still many limitations as to how one could utilize elemental
energies.

Blackfish Mouth Volcano had an abundance of fire elemental

energy. However, the fire elemental energy was extremely
violent. If Ai Hui wanted to use fire elemental energy, he had to
first understand its nature. Just like what his master had told
him in the past, he had to find the nodes of the fire elemental
energy first.
 Only by understanding how the fire elemental energy was
distributed in the area and by identifying the nodes could Ai Hui
then put a leash on the ferocious "beast" and tame it.

The defensive system for the valley and the elemental energy
pools had been built. All these needed a huge amount of
elemental energy, which would be coming from this volcano.

Right now, they still did not dare to explore the surrounding
terrain. If they were to encounter any formidable dire beasts,
they could not even retreat back to the valley.

That was because the valley did not have any defensive
capabilities. The fog merely provided them with an illusive
mirage.

Ai Hui quickly finished up his food, leaving the food bowl

spotless. The gazes that were gathered upon him shifted
elsewhere immediately. Ai Hui raised his head from the food
bowl with satisfaction.

After Ai Hui returned to his senses from the delicious food, he

looked around and asked, "Where’s Blind He? How’s his
progress?"
 "He is still making energy-stabilizing pillars. Since we need a
huge number of them, he is still working on them and has not
had his meal yet."

The energy-stabilizing pillar was a structure designed by Ai

Hui. It was somewhat similar to the sand pillars that Ai Hui
made for Gu Tianning.

The name of "energy-stabilizing pillar" was given by Blind He.

Ai Hui thought that Blind He found the name of "White Cluster
Flames" was given too negligently. Therefore, he decided to let
Blind He choose the name this time around.

Upon hearing Lou Lan’s words, Ai Hui was stunned. This was
the first time he’d met someone who was able to resist Lou
Lan’s delicious food. Such a high level of focus was indeed
formidable. A tinge of shame arose in Ai Hui’s heart. When
comparing himself to Blind He, he felt slightly inadequate.

However, when Ai Hui saw everyone else, the tinge of shame

in his heart disappeared into thin air. He said solemnly,
"Where’s his share of food? I will help him finish it!"

"No, Ai Hui," Lou Lan shook his head, "He Wei has forged so
many energy-stabilizing pillars and his elemental energy has
been greatly depleted. He needs to replenish his elemental
energy in time."

Ai Hui was defeated by Lou Lan’s bright and clear gaze. He

laughed unctuously and replied, "Ahh, that’s true, I forgot about
that. Otherwise, I would have given him some of my share."

Disdainful sneers broke out around him, unrestrained.

Ai Hui glared at Iron Lady. What are you laughing at?

"Finished."

Blind He’s weary voice suddenly rang across Ai Hui’s ears.

Like a weightless ghost, he slowly drifted from Ai Hui’s side to
Lou Lan.

Blind He’s unique way of walking resembled the drifting of a

ghost.

His seemingly weightless body hovered a few centimeters

above the ground and moved forward slowly, resembling a
ghost. Initially, when everyone saw him moving around like
this, their hairs stood on end. However, as time passed, they got
used to it.

Blind He was blind and he created this moving method. Since

there were too many obstacles on the ground, hovering a few
centimeters above the ground would allow him to avoid these
obstacles. Moving around at a slow speed allowed him to utilize
his sharp sense of awareness. With a sufficient amount of time,
he could avoid obstacles like huge trees or walls.

Ai Hui was stunned. He blurted out, "So fast?"

In Ai Hui’s modified design plan for the five elemental energy

pools, each elemental energy pool would need twelve energy-
stabilizing pillars to be set up. Since they had five elemental
energy pools, they had a total of sixty energy-stabilizing pillars.

The design for these energy-stabilizing pillars was much more

complicated than Gu Tianning’s sand pillars. Initially, Blind He
said that he would need at least five days to complete building
sixty energy-stabilizing pillars. In the end, he’d unexpectedly
completed them in two days.
 Blind He ignored Ai Hui and smiled at Lou Lan, "Thank you,
Lou Lan."

Following which, Blind He began to eat his food slowly. After

a while, he suddenly said, "The flames are good."

It was at this moment that Ai Hui realized the White Cluster

Flames was the reason why the energy-stabilizing pillars could
be completed so fast.

He did not expect the White Cluster Flames to provide such

great help to the forging process. This certainly surprised him
greatly. Ai Hui was not really well-versed in the art of weapon-
forging, however, he certainly knew what it meant when five
days’ worth of work was completed in just two days.

He was palpitating with eagerness. If he could bring about

such a huge impact just by modifying a smelting furnace, what
would happen if he applied his master’s theories on other
things?

He suddenly realized that his master’ theories had had more

potential than what he had expected. Ai Hui was filled with
pride and longing for his master. When Ai Hui recalled that his
master was a nobody when he was still alive, he made a firm
resolution to promote and develop his master’s theories and
research works.

Brimming with emotions, Ai Hui flew towards the smelting

furnace.

The sixty energy-stabilizing pillars were piled up like a small

mountain in front of the smelting furnace. Ai Hui landed on the
ground and examined the energy-stabilizing pillars carefully.

As Ai Hui understood his master’s theories more and more,

his new designs of the energy-stabilizing pillars became smaller
and smaller in size. Their effects were more remarkable as well.

Every energy-stabilizing pillar was as thin as the size of a fist.

Each pillar was one meter in length. Different materials were
used for different elemental types of energy-stabilizing pillars.
Some were made up of silvery metal, some were carved out of
wood and some were made up of rocks. All of them were
extremely exquisite and their bodies were covered with
complicated and mysterious veined patterns. A faintly
discernible glow was circulating through these veined patterns
silently, looking like an art piece.
 "Beautiful!"

Shi Xueman’s voice rang across the air as she landed beside Ai
Hui. She was admiring the energy-stabilizing pillars as well.

"Let’s go and set up the elemental energy pools," Ai Hui was

high-spirited.

The rest had also gathered around them by now. Setting up

the elemental energy pools was no doubt the most important
thing for them to do. With a sufficient supply of elemental
energy, their defense system could be activated and they no
longer needed to ward off dire beasts with their physical bodies.

The effects of Ai Hui’s modified smelting furnace were

remarkable. Everyone was filled with anticipation. What would
Ai Hui’s modified elemental energy pools be like?

Everyone in the valley went into a frenzy as all of them

stopped what they were doing.

Ai Hui decided to set up the water elemental energy pool first.

His partner for this task was Iron Lady.
 The lake in the valley was not really big. Ai Hui had already
identified the locations of the nodes.

Under Ai Hui’s instructions, Iron Lady nailed the energy-

stabilizing pillars in the bottom of the lake. This was a task that
needed to be carried out meticulously. Not only must she
accurately nail the energy-stabilizing pillars in the exact spots,
she must also make sure that the pillars were not damaged at
all.

A solemn look was upon Shi Xueman’s face as she cautiously

nailed the twelve energy-stabilizing pillars into the nodes.
Doing this caused her to be drenched in sweat.

When the last energy-stabilizing pillar was nailed, Shi

Xueman heaved a long sigh of relief. Her tense mind was finally
able to relax. Now she was only scared of doing something
wrong.

Now that she thought of how Ai Hui nailed all the golden
needles to execute [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] in
Central Pine City, she felt that Ai Hui could handle stress and
pressure very well.
 At this moment, the ground suddenly trembled.

Shi Xueman returned to her senses. Everyone’s gaze was

directed at the small lake.

At this point of time, the usually tranquil lake was rolling and
surging, resembling a lake of boiling water. Powerful water
elemental energy was spreading throughout the valley.

Ai Hui looked slightly nervous and yelled, "Stay on guard!"

Powerful elemental energy undulations could attract dire

beasts easily. However, Ai Hui and the rest were already
prepared for this scenario. If a dire beast really appeared, they
would have someone to lure it away.

Everyone was feeling extremely tense now. Fortunately, no

dire beasts appeared.

The boiling lake began to change.

Chapter 421: Elemental Energy Pools,
One By One
The surface of the previously boiling lake suddenly became
sleek and smooth like a mirror. It looked like a hand had
smoothened out a creased bedsheet. Wisps of mist rose from the
surface of the lake, making the lake looked like a misty
fairyland.

A small mass of cloud formed in the air seven meters above

the surface of the lake, resembling a lump of soft cotton candy.

No one had ever seen such a mini cloud that flew so low to the
ground. Its reflection was projected on the tranquil surface of
the lake, resembling a phenomenon that could only be found in
fantasyland. Shi Xueman, Sang Zhijun and a few other girls
wished they could touch it.

The level of the lake decreased visibly while the mass of the
cloud increased with a visible speed. As the mass of the cloud
increased, the cloud slowly rose towards the sky.

Disappointment flashed across the girls’ eyes. After the mass

of the cloud had increased, it was no longer as cute as its
previous smaller self. At this moment, the size of the cloud was
somewhat similar to the lake’s. It had flown to a height that was
level with the highest point of the valley.

"It’s raining," Sang Zhijun’s eyes lit up.

Everyone reached out their palms at the same time. A soft

drizzle, as fine as hair, rained down from the sky. In the blink of
an eye, the area around the lake was draped in a misty rain.

The concentration level of water elemental energy in the area

increased significantly. A slight chill engulfed the area, making
it looked as if they were in the misty depths of a mountain. The
peculiar thing was that the misty rain only covered a small area
surrounding the lake and would not extend beyond that by the
slightest bit.

Shi Xueman closed her eyes to feel the air around her. After a
while, she opened her eyes and said, "The concentration level of
water elemental energy has increased by approximately ten
percent."

Upon hearing Shi Xueman’s words, Ai Hui replied, "The

concentration level of water elemental energy here is too low.
Using the elemental energy pool alone won’t increase the
concentration level greatly."

An elemental energy pool did not have the ability to create

something from nothing. It could not generate elemental energy
on its own and there were a lot of requirements in building it. A
suitable location for building it was more important than
anything else.

For example, an area that had a high concentration level of

metal elemental energy would be suitable for building a metal
elemental energy pool.

An elemental energy pool worked in the way that it would

first absorb all elemental energies from its surrounding. Then,
it would preserve its target elemental energy and filter out other
types of elemental energy. By doing this, the concentration level
of its target elemental energy in the surroundings would
increase.

The valley was generally low in water elemental energy,

therefore, the water elemental energy pool could not work to its
full effect. However, since the water elemental energy in the
lake was pure in nature, it satisfied the requirements for a water
elemental energy pool to work. Similarly, an elemental energy
pool needed to consume elemental energy for it to operate. If
the concentration level of a particular elemental energy was too
low, the elemental energy pool would not work.

This was also why some places were worthless, even though
they had all five elemental energies.

Ai Hui anticipated that this would happen and he had

explained it to everyone beforehand. As such, all of them were
not really disappointed.

Successfully setting up the water elemental energy pool was

only the first step. There were still four more elemental energy
pools to be set up. The fire elemental energy pool would be set
up the last.

One could tell that Ai Hui was an ambitious individual despite

his low-profile nature. His design plans had completely
displayed his lofty aspirations.

The wood elemental energy pool would have to depend on

Duanmu Huanghun.

Duanmu Huanghun worked extremely fast. He knew the

design plan for the wood elemental energy pool thoroughly.
With regards to this aspect, he was better than Shi Xueman. The
first time he saw Ai Hui’s modified design plan for the wood
elemental energy pool, he was flabbergasted. However, two
days later, he understood all the details clearly. By the third day,
he could even come up with suggestions to improve the design.
This proved that he had a deep understanding of the structure
of the elemental energy pool.

The use of drifting jadesword bamboos was his suggestion and

it was accepted by Ai Hui.

Right now, Duanmu Huanghun was cultivating drifting

jadesword bamboos. He planted them near the brook so as to
ensure there was a sufficient amount of water elemental energy
flowing into the bamboo forest.

Before this, Duanmu Huanghun had already nailed the twelve

energy-stabilizing pillars into the ground.

The body of a drifting jadesword bamboo was long and thing.

Its bamboo leaves were long and narrow like the blade of a
sword. The bamboo was jade-green in color. These were the
reasons why it was called drifting jadesword bamboo. The
bamboo leaves of drifting jadesword bamboos fell throughout
all four seasons. When they fell and drifted in the air, they
resembled dancing butterflies, looking extremely beautiful.

There would be swishing jade-green bamboos, the whispering

of the wind and the sword chimes from the fallen leaves.

Such beautiful scenery...

Other than its good-looking appearance, Duanmu Huanghun

had chosen drifting jadesword bamboos for its other advantages
too. Drifting jadesword bamboos were naturally suitable for
being used in sword formations. They had defensive capabilities
that could kill enemies. The bamboo leaves were also an
excellent type of weapon. If there was an ample amount
elemental energy in the future, they could sell the bamboo
leaves to create a source of sizeable income.

Because of this suggestion, Ai Hui began to see Duanmu

Huanghun in a new light.

Duanmu Huanghun could sense it and was extremely pleased

with himself for a long time. He thought that Ai Hui was finally
bowled over by his superb aesthetic sense. Unexpectedly, Ai Hui
was already inquiring about questions like how much a piece of
bamboo leaf would cost, how big the bamboo forest would be,
what would be the output value and etc.

The drifting jadesword bamboos were planted on both sides of

the brook. Ai Hui applied some of the insights he’d obtained
from [Yin Yang Sword Formation] on them as well.

The forest of one hundred and eight drifting jadesword

bamboos, each with the width of a thumb, would be split into
half by the brook. On each side of the brook, there were six
energy-stabilizing pillars. If one looked down at the forest from
the sky, he or she would see the shape of Yin and Yang.

Even for someone like Duanmu Huanghun, it was extremely

exhausting to plant one hundred and eight drifting jadesword
bamboos.

When he planted the last drifting jadesword bamboo, the

nature of the wood elemental energy in the area began to
transform. Unlike the turbulent transformation of the water
elemental energy previously, the wood elemental energy’s
transformation was very calm and gentle.

The drifting jadesword bamboos were growing at a visible

speed. Section by section, the bamboo grew longer while the
jade-green bamboo leaves grew on the branches continuously.

After around one hour, the sparse, young bamboo sprouts

began to look somewhat like a bamboo forest. The bamboo
leaves looked like tiny jade-made swords that hung on the
branches of the bamboos.

At this moment, a bamboo leaf fell and drifted across the

bamboo forest.

After a bamboo leaf broke away from the branch of a drifting

jadesword bamboo, it would drift in the air forever, not
touching the ground at all. Eventually, it would vaporize into a
puff of wood elemental energy and dissipate into the air. This
was how the word "drifting" in its name came about.

"It’s beautiful," Shi Xueman could not help but say.

"We can make money off them as well!" Ai Hui quickly added
in, "Once there are more of these bamboo leaves, we can gather
them. I have already done my research. When the wood
elemental energy in the bamboo leaves becomes more
concentrated, the bamboo leaves will become clear and pristine
like pieces of jade. They will be worth more money that way.
We will earn a huge income just by selling the bamboo leaves
every year!"

A vision for the future appeared in Ai Hui’s eyes.

All the wood elementalists entered the bamboo forest to

experience it for themselves. This could be an ideal place for
them to meditate in the future. The wood elemental energy in
the bamboo forest was clearly more concentrated than in the
other areas’. Furthermore, the wood elemental energy in the
bamboo forest was flowing in some kind of unique way. There
was a tiny difference between the two bamboo forests. The
difference was subtle and thought-provoking. Some sharp wood
elementalists wished they could stay in the bamboo forest
forever.

However, right now, they could not do so.

The wood elementalists reluctantly walked out from the

bamboo forest. Before the entire set of design plans was
executed, all the five elemental energies in the valley would be
extremely weak.
 The job of setting up the earth elemental energy pool was left
to Wang Xiaoshan.

The hillock was made up of soot from the volcano and it was
extremely sturdy and thick. However, it wasn’t much of a
problem to Wang Xiaoshan. Even though his fighting
capabilities were not as good as the others, his construction
skills far surpassed everyone else.

The shape of the earth elemental energy pool was octagonal.

There would be a stone-made energy-stabilizing pillar in each
corner of the earth elemental energy pool.

The other four pillars would be placed in the direction of the

metal wind cavern.

When the earth elemental energy pool was set up, the ground
in the centre of the eight energy-stabilizing pillars suddenly
became soft and caved in, forming a hole that was of an
unfathomable depth. The hole resembled a deep well.

Through the hole, loud rumbles could be heard from the

depths of the ground, sounding as if there was an army with
thousands of men and horses marching underneath.
 The rumbles got increasingly close while the ground shook
more and more violently.

With a loud boom, quicksand erupted from the hole like a

fountain. Very soon, the quicksand began to flood the surface of
the ground and kept on extending outward.

Quicksand gushed out from the hole endlessly. Using the

other four energy-stabilizing pillars as direction markers, a
portion of the quicksand slowly flowed towards the entrance of
metal wind cavern. A small river of quicksand was formed.

Wang Xiaoshan could not contain the joy on his face as he

stood on the quicksand. The earth elemental energy made him
felt extremely comfortable. In the blink of an eye, the earth
elemental energy pool’s surroundings was fully covered with
quicksand.

Lou Lan curiously asked Ai Hui, "Ai Hui, will this place
become the next Yellow Sand Corner in the future? Lou Lan has
never been to Yellow Sand Corner. Master Shao said that Yellow
Sand Corner has many types of sand materials."

Ai Hui blinked his eyes and replied, "You might be right. Give
it another one thousand years and there will be a sea of yellow
sand here."

When the rest heard Ai Hui’s words, they could not help but
roll their eyes. Was Ai Hui trying to bully Lou Lan just because
he was innocent and naive?

"Ai Hui, really? If that’s the case, Lou Lan must make sure this
place can last for another one thousand years," Lou Lan widened
his eyes and replied happily.

"Alright, this shall be Lou Lan’s territory in the future. All of

you better not vie with him over this area," Ai Hui put on a
solemn look on his face and announced.

"Thank you Ai Hui! Thank you everyone!" Lou Lan was

overjoyed.

The rest cast a look of disdain at Ai Hui. They had never seen
such a shameless individual before. How could he even lie to the
kind-hearted Lou Lan! One thousand years? Sigh, Lou Lan is
really innocent and naive!
 Shi Xueman, San Zhijun and the rest were filled with jealousy.
They wished they could take Lou Lan for their own.

The earth elemental energy pool had been set up and the
entire earth elemental section of the valley would become
sandy. This process would continue slowly as time passed. But if
there was an abundance of earth elemental energy, this process
would speed up greatly.

Ai Hui was duty-bound to set up the metal elemental energy

pool.

Everyone was amazed by Ai Hi’s actions.

He carried twelve elemental energy pillars and a huge bundle

of See You Laters on his back. Following which, he closed his
eyes and his body slowly floated up into the air. At this point of
time, he resembled Blind He who drifted around like a ghost.

He slowly rose into the air and reached a point that was
twenty meters above the ground. Everyone was holding their
breaths.
 Suddenly, he stopped rising and took out a silver-colored
energy-stabilizing pillar. He used his fingers to hold one end of
the energy-stabilizing pillar. Naturally, the pillar drooped down
and pointed towards the ground.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, he let go of the pillar.

Everyone widened their eyes in an instant. To their surprise,

the heavy pillar stayed motionlessly where it was. It was as if
there was an invisible platform supporting it.

However, there was really nothing there!

Ai Hui carefully unbundled the See You Laters on his back and
took out one arrow. Following which, he pointed the tip of the
arrow at the top end of the energy-stabilizing pillar such that
the arrow and the pillar formed a wide angle.

Once again, he let go of his hand and the See You Later stayed
motionlessly where it was.

Ai Hui took out the second See You Later and placed it beside
the first arrow while pointing its tip at the top end of the
energy-stabilizing pillar at the same time. When he finished
placing the twelfth See You Later, he’d formed a circular canopy
of See You Laters. Suddenly, each of the twelve See You Laters
emitted a faint silvery glow. The twelve silvery glows came
together and formed a silvery light screen.

A silvery glowing umbrella floated silently in the air.

Ai Hui did not take a break. One by one, the silvery glowing
umbrellas were propped up in the air.

Twelve silvery glowing umbrellas hovered in the air above

everyone’s heads, looking extremely beautiful.

Everyone suddenly realized that the piercing metal wind had

disappeared. Numerous gentle air vortices appeared in their
surroundings. Apparently, these silver-colored air vortices
contained an extremely high concentration level of metal
elemental energy. Each of them resembled an impish sprite.

Everyone was dumbstruck by this sight.

Ai Hui’s words became exceptionally loud and clear.

"Now we are left with the fire elemental energy pool."
Chapter 422: Skyheart City
While Newlight City was making triumphant progress,
Skyheart City did not stand still without advancement as well.

Skyheart City remained indifferent when they heard of the

success of Pagada Screen in Newlight City. That’s right.
Indifferent. Skyheart City was a city where the rich and
powerful aristocratic families gathered. To them, Newlight City
was just a city with weak foundations and it would suffer a total
collapse after a few rounds of attacks from powerful dire beasts.

Furthermore, what was so powerful and special about Pagoda

Screen?

At this point of time, the construction of the newest elemental

energy pool was about to begin in Skyheart City.

"This new elemental energy pool will produce a result that is

fifty percent better than the old model’s. The building process
will take about three months. Once the new elemental energy
pool is built, the size of Skyheart City will expand again. When
the time comes, we will attract a huge number of elite
elementalists here. They will be the nucleus of the Avalon of
Five Elements."
 Madam Ye was speaking with assurance beside Great Elder. At
this point of time, she was doused in glory and honor. Her body
was exuding magnificence and brilliance. The Elders behind her
looked at her respectfully. She was like a bright moon
surrounded by a myriad of stars. Who would have expected the
pitiful-looking widow from not long ago to become the woman
who held the highest authority in Skyheart City today?

It was no longer a secret that Great Elder wanted to give

Madam Ye absolute authority over Skyheart City. In fact, this
process was already beginning. Those Elders who had good
foresight had already made their moves.

It wasn’t that no one raised objections to Great Elder’s

decision. But Madam Ye had shut up all her critics with the
capabilities that she displayed. Right now, there were only some
obstinate and conservative Elders that still raised objections.
They were saying that Great Elder’s decision did not conform to
traditions.

However, in the face of an imminent crisis, who would care

about traditions?

In fact, those people who’d initially raised objections against

Madam Ye gradually changed their perspectives towards her.
Didn’t Madam Ye do a great job? As compared to the slow-
reacting Elders Guild, Madam Ye’s efficiency was much higher.
Otherwise, Skyheart City would not have become the largest
city in Beyond Avalon in such a short period of time.

The aristocratic families were overjoyed that Newlight City

was beneath them.

The thriving Skyheart City had brought in waves of migrating

aristocratic families. Those aristocratic families that initially
ventured into Wilderness on their own eventually bowed their
heads to Madam Ye in a servile manner after encountering
endless obstacles and seeing Skyheart City had progressed so
well.

Madam Ye not only let bygones be bygones, she also invited

them with open arms. After struggling in the cruel and cold
Wilderness, these fragile and weak aristocratic families were
extremely touched by Madam’s gestures.

Because of this, Madam Ye’s public reputation had risen

significantly.

In many people’s hearts, Madam Ye had obtained the people’s

mandate. Some fanatics even called her "Empress." The
powerful Ling Residence had long been forgotten by the people
and became part of the unwanted history.

Great Elder clearly looked much older than he was last year.
His eyes were sunken and the wrinkles on his face had become
deeper, resembling deep trenches. His eye pupils had become
turbid. It was only when a rare glint flashed across his eyes that
people remembered this old fogey was still in absolute control
over this piece of land.

Madam Ye was holding on to Great Elder. She smiled, "The

new elemental energy pool doesn’t have a name yet. Everyone is
waiting for you to give it a good name."

Great Elder looked at the prosperous city before his eyes and a
gratified look appeared upon his face. He sighed with sorrow, "I
have been wondering whether or not I made the right choice by
authorizing the Wilderness Expansion Order and throwing
away the territory left by our ancestors. Every time I think of it,
I feel as if a knife is being plunged into my heart.

He gradually increased his volume as his turbid gaze became

sharp and clear, "However, what can we do? This is the reality
of the situation we are in now. If we make changes, we might
survive. If we don’t make any changes, we will definitely not
survive! Today, after taking a look at Skyheart City, I suddenly
realize that the difficulties and dangers we have encountered
are merely the path that our ancestors walked on before. The
difficulties that our ancestors encountered were much more
tougher than ours. However, they were still able to overcome all
obstacles and take on the great task of establishing the Avalon of
Five Elements. Since the ancestors’ blood runs in my body, how
can I be a death-fearing individual that holds a sinecure?"

Everyone lowered their heads in shame.

Great Elder looked at the sky, appearing to be lost in thought.

No one dared to say anything. A dead silence descended upon

them.

"An Muda’s life is coming to an end soon," Great Elder

suddenly said.

A commotion broke out as a look of fear and panic arose on

everyone’s faces. This rumor had been spreading around like a
forest fire, but no-one completely believed it. Several families
that kept in contact with Jadeite Forest in secret were not really
worried as well.

Everyone still carried a tinge of hope. After all, An Muda was a

Grandmaster, maybe he could come up with a way to extend his
life?

However, when this news came out of Great Elder’s mouth,

everyone knew for sure that An Muda’s life was indeed coming
to an end.

A dead silence swept across the crowd. All of their faces were
deathly pale. Hearing this news with their own ears had dealt a
huge blow to them.

"This new elemental energy pool shall be called "An Muda".

Let’s hope that it can safeguard the Avalon of Five Elements,
like what An Muda did," Great Elder could not suppress the grief
on his face. Not only was An Muda the Grandmaster of the
Avalon of Five Elements, he was also his older brother.

The atmosphere was dead and depressed. Suddenly, someone

began to weep.
 Great Elder straightened his crooked back abruptly as his
sunken eyes widened with rage. He said with a stern voice,
"What’s there to cry about? Can crying prolong An Muda’s life?
Can crying keep the Avalon of Five Avalons intact? Such a
disgrace! An old fellow that has been safeguarding all of you is
going to die soon. Look at all of you, looking like a bunch of
timid quails!"

Madam Ye hurriedly reached out her hand to pat Great Elder’s

back to calm him down.

Great Elder’s rage subsided significantly as his gaze became

sunken once more. With a softened tone, he continued, "Old
fogeys like us are going to die soon. All of you have to continue
walking this path on your own in the future. Whether you die or
survive, it will depend on your individual capabilities. I tell all
of you this news to let you know that time is running out."

After Great Elder finished his sentence, he unenthusiastically

said, "All of you, take your leave now."

The rest looked at Madam Ye and she waved her hand to

signal them to take their leave. Following which, everyone bade
farewell and left.
 The surroundings became silent in an instant.

"Father-in-law, why do you have to be so angry with them?

Anger will harm your body. You can’t depend on these people to
do anything. It’s already good enough if they don’t create any
troubles," Madam Ye said gently.

"I’m angry at them precisely for not living up to my

expectations. All of them come from powerful families and their
ancestors are heroes. Why is everyone trash when it comes to
this generation?" Great Elder sighed.

"There are a few who are not bad," Madam Ye consoled Great
Elder.

Great Elder did not comment on her words. Then, he spoke

with gratitude, "Lucky you’re here. Otherwise, I can’t imagine
what will happen to us. It’s a good thing that they listen to you
now. However, it’s still not enough. I told them the news of An
Muda because I want them to be afraid. Now that they are
afraid, they will listen to whatever you say. The new citizens are
becoming more ambitious and they are untrustworthy."

"Lin-er appreciates Father-in-law’s painstaking efforts,"

Madam Ye replied gently.

"How’s Master’s Glory coming along?" Great Elder asked.

"It’s proceeding smoothly. The first year, which is the most

dangerous stage, has already passed. There are around thirty-
seven people that can’t adapt. Out of these thirty-seven people
six did not survive."

"Look at the big picture, don’t be soft-hearted," Great Elder

reminded Madam Ye.

"Lin-er will bear this in mind."

Suddenly, Great Elder looked as if he thought of something

and asked, "I remember Wang Shouchuan still has a disciple,
right?"

"Yes, his name is Ai Hui. He was personally chosen by Wang

Shouchuan as his disciple. It’s a pity half a year later the blood
catastrophe struck," Madam Ye quickly replied.
 "It’s really a pity," Great Elder’s face was filled with
disappointment.

He was feeling that it was a pity Ai Hui spent too little time
studying under Wang Shouchuan. What could he possibly learn
in half a year’s time? Wang Shouchuan’s theories were in high
demand now. God-subduing Peak, Skyheart City and elemental
energy pools were created based on Wang Shouchuan’s theories
and research works.

Smart individuals would know that Wang Shouchuan’s

theories and research works were changing the world at a
terrifying speed right now.

"It’s really a pity," Madam Ye continued, "Ai Hui and the

survivors of Central Pine City have gathered together. They
called themselves Central Pine Faction. Shi Xueman and
Duanmu Huanghun are in it too. Reportedly, Duanmu
Huanghun was kidnapped by Shi Xueman. During that period of
time, Jadeite Forest had been asking us for an explanation for a
long time."

"Is Shi Beihai behind this?" A vigilant look swept across Great
Elder’s face.
 "I’m not sure," Madam Ye replied with prudence.

"What are they doing now?" Great Elder asked bluntly.

"Some time ago, they were spotted at a place called Lemon

Camping Ground. This place is in the east of Palette Cloud
Village. It is located in the depths of Wilderness." Madam Ye
recalled. Luckily, she had a highly retentive memory, otherwise,
she would not have remembered this unremarkable piece of
intelligence.

"Take note of Shi Beihai," Great Elder said with a deep voice.

"Yes," Madam Ye made a mental note.

Suddenly, Great Elder became infuriated, "Out of everyone

from the aristocratic families, Shi Beihai was the most obedient.
In the end, he still turns out like this. Devotion on the outside
but opposition on the inside. Simply outrageous!"

"This is not the first day he’s acted like this," Madam Ye
laughed bitterly.
 In everyone’s eyes, Shi Beihai was a weirdo. No one knew
what he was thinking and what he wanted. Most of the time, he
kept a low-profile and his existence was completely
unnoticeable. However, when one tried to pressure him, he or
she would not get anything out. Other than boundlessly loving
his daughter, this person did not leave much of an impression
on other people.

"This is why I let him be a division leader," Great Elder replied

plainly.

…...

The valley, Blackfish Mouth Volcano.

Ai Hui was encouraging Fatty, "Just do it according to what

you have practised so far. Didn’t I ask Lou Lan to arrange many
practices for you? Just relax and don’t worry. There’s nothing
scary about it. It won’t eat you, right?"

"I’m afraid that I might break the energy-stabilizing pillars…"

Fatty answered with a wobbly voice as his legs trembled.
 Upon seeing the terrified look on Fatty’s face, Ai Hui was
filled with anger. Smack. He slapped the back of Fatty’s head
and said, "If you continue to behave like this, you’re going to be
dead today!"

"Ah Hui, if I mess it up, don’t blame me…" Fatty was crying
miserably.

"I will not blame you! No one will blame you! It’s okay as long
as you try your best!" Ai Hui was trying to suppress his anger.

"Ah Hui, why do you have to set up the fire elemental energy
pool last? Why do you have to choose me to set it up when there
are so many fire elementalists around? If I mess it up, you will
definitely blame me, beat me and…" Fatty was still trembling
with fear.

After persuading for nearly an hour, Ai Hui finally lost his

patience and exploded with rage, "I’m going to beat you now!"

Fatty curled his body up on the ground with his hands

covering the back of his head. Iron Lady quickly ran over and
stopped Ai Hui.
 Ouch! My chest hurts! How can she elbow my chest so hard!
Iron Lady has such huge strength...

Ai Hui heaved a deep sigh. When he turned around and saw

Lou Lan, his eyes lit up. He beckoned to Lou Lan, "Lou Lan."

"Ai Hui, do you need Lou Lan’s help?" Lou Lan widened his
eyes and asked.

"I’m very hungry, make us some elemental soup," AI Hui

winked at Lou Lan.

"No problem, Ai Hui!" Lou Lan yelled.

From the corner of his eyes, Ai Hui saw Fatty’s ears twitch.
Following which, Ai Hui sneered, "Lou Lan, go and make the
elemental soup. We will drink the soup first. Fatty will only
drink the soup whenever he is done with the fire elemental
energy pool."

Fatty stood up with grief and indignation written all over his
face. He looked as if he was going to the battlefield while facing
death with equanimity.
"I will kill whoever drinks my share!"
Chapter 423: Are You Looking for a
Fight? Come On, Come On
Trembling with fear and trepidation, Fatty finally completed
setting up the fire elemental energy pool. The fire elemental
energy pool was shaped like a mini volcano and was about a
man’s height. If one took a closer look at it, he or she would
notice that it looked somewhat similar to Blackfish Mouth
Volcano.

The mini volcano continued to spout flames. The

concentration of fire elemental energy in the surroundings rose
sharply. Similarly, the temperature of the surroundings
increased significantly. Pleasure and comfort were written all
over the faces of the fire elementalists. Meanwhile, the rest
quickly retreated from this blazing hot place.

Ai Hui was about to ask Fatty how much the concentration

level of fire elemental energy had increased, but when he turned
around, Fatty was already squatting in one corner and hungrily
devouring his soup. The look of satisfaction and prudence on his
face made Ai Hui smile involuntarily.

Such a useless fellow!

 Luckily there were still other fire elementalists available.

"The concentration level of fire elemental energy has

increased by three times! Oh my god! Training in this place feels
so good!"

"I want to become a fire elemental master!"

The air was dyed crimson, a distinctive feature of having

extremely concentrated fire elemental energy in the
surroundings. The fire elemental energy that was given off by
the fire elemental energy pool was extremely pure in nature,
making it very suitable for fire elementalists to train with.

Suddenly, a brilliant ball of flames shot out from the fire

elemental energy pool. Like a feather, it gently and gracefully
floated to the ground. When it landed, instead of extinguishing,
it transformed into a dazzling blazing flower.

"Fire flower?" Shi Xueman was startled.

She ran over and squatted to take a look, following which, she
yelled in excitement, "It’s really fire flower!"
 Each petal was as thin as paper, bright-red in color, and
shaped like a ball of flames. Its black-colored stem was thick and
short. Its texture felt exactly like that of volcanic rock.

The rest reacted immediately upon hearing the news and

crowded around Shi Xueman. A look of joy appeared on their
faces. Fire flowers were a unique material found only in Fire
Prairie. Ever since Fire Prairie was annexed by Blood of God,
fewer and fewer fire flowers were appearing on the market.

Upon seeing the fire flower, everyone felt happy and deeply
moved. Who would have expected to see fire flowers in this
nameless valley?

Another ball of flames shot out from the fire elemental energy
pool and swayed as it floated to the ground.

No one could take their eyes off the flowers. Most of them had
never seen a fire flower from Fire Prairie before and would not
be able to see one in the future either.

"When I was young, my grandfather brought me to Fire

Prairie once. It just so happened that Calabash Mountain
erupted and flames rained down from the sky, engulfing fifty
kilometers around the mountain. On the ground, there were
numerous fire flowers. When we arrived, there was nothing on
the black-colored plains. In a night’s time, fire flowers grew and
filled the plains. It was a breathtaking sight to behold. People
rushed in from all directions to gather the fire flowers.
Everyone was in high spirits, looking as if they were celebrating
a festival. It’s a pity that we will never witness that kind of
grand occasion again," Shi Xueman recalled fondly.

A faint sadness engulfed everyone’s heart. They felt unusually

sad when they thought of the fallen Fire Prairie. The excitement
and joy they felt earlier diminished significantly.

"Be careful, don’t touch their roots. I really didn’t expect to

find fire flowers here. A windfall indeed! Fence off the area
thirty meters within the fire elemental energy pool. Fire flowers
are extremely valuable. Now we have one more source of
income! A land of treasures! This really is a land of treasures!" Ai
Hui’s voice broke the emotional moment.

The emotional and grief-filled atmosphere was immediately

spoiled.

"Why are you thinking of money all day long?" Shi Xueman
glared at Ai Hui.
 "Duh? What will happen if we have no money? Everyone will
be cold and hungry. Money is justice!" Ai Hui replied and gave
Shi Xueman an innocent look.

"If money is justice, then what about owing people money?"

Shi Xueman sneered.

Upon hearing "owing people money," Ai Hui felt an

indescribable guilt. Suddenly, he thought of Eighty Million
Yuan. All he knew was that Eighty Million Yuan was still alive
and she would prompt him to repay his debt every now and
then; however, they had not yet actually met. Thinking about it
now, he felt rather puzzled. Every time he asked Eighty Million
Yuan where she was, she would never answer him.

Other than this matter, Ai Hui had never committed any

shameful deeds. It was becoming a secret worry for him.

Poverty stunts ambition!

Once I am rich, I will repay the debt with interest, lest you
haunt me like a ghost every now and then!
 "Justice might arrive late but it will never be absent," Shi
Xueman snorted.

Ai Hui felt as if his secret had been revealed. Fying into a rage
out of humiliation, he said, "Are you looking for a fight?"

Shi Xueman sneered as she took the red hairband from her
wrist and calmly tied up her long hair. "Come on, come on."

Ai Hui touched his aching chest and felt slightly nervous in an

instant. This woman had such huge strength...

Immediately, a look of disdain appeared on his face and he

replied, "Childish!"

After finishing his sentence, he turned around and yelled at

the meddlesome onlookers, "Why are all of you standing here!
Go and take a look at the elemental energy pools!"

"Ah Hui, how can a man say no to a girl?" Someone yelled out.

"True Hero Ai Hui, Big Sister is asking you for a fight,"

heckled another person.

"Ai Hui is asking, where can they fight?" Another person

joined in the fun.

"Bed..."

An aura of death engulfed the air. Shi Xueman’s hand was

already touching her Cirrus.

Everyone roared with laughter and dispersed instantly like a

bunch of alarmed birds. Most of them had spent the last three
years as members of various divisions. They were no longer the
innocent students they used to be.

Shi Xueman held her spear and stood in an imposing manner.

The faint blush on her beautiful and alluring snow-white face
set off a contrast that made her looked even more gorgeous, so
much so that her murderous-looking gaze displayed a tinge of
gentleness and sweetness.

Puzzlement was written all over Ai Hui’s face. He was still

thinking of the word "bed" that had ended all the heckling
instantly.

What’s fighting got to do with beds? Beds have so little

space...

He subconsciously cast a glance at Iron Lady. Following

which, his body froze. Ai Hui had never seen Iron Lady in this
manner. He’d always felt that Iron Lady was an iron warrior
who possessed terrifying fighting capabilities. She was cool-
headed, brave, and fearless. She was definitely a trustworthy
comrade and a good partner.

Right now, there was an indescribable fascination about Shi

Xueman. Like a magnet, she firmly attracted Ai Hui’s gaze. He
was dumbfounded by her.

When Shi Xueman noticed Ai Hui looking at her, her slightly

blushing face suddenly turned bright red. She looked like blood
would seep out from her face at any moment.

"What are you looking at? Are you looking for a fight?" She
said fiercely to Ai Hui.
 The moment she finished speaking, she knew she’d said
something wrong. Right now, she wished she could find a hole
and hide in it.

Ai Hui returned to his senses and blurted out, "You looked

quite pretty just now."

After Ai Hui finished his sentence, he knew something was

wrong as well. Iron Lady was going to flip out!

He smacked his head and exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot to do

something important!"

Following which, he turned around and ran away in a panic.

An aura of death erupted behind Ai Hui. He trembled in fear

and ran even faster.

Am I tired of living? How can I praise an iron warrior like Iron

Lady for being pretty? How can I humiliate a true warrior like
her?
 Feeling fearful, Ai Hui touched and checked his body. Luckily,
there weren’t any spear gashes.

Oh my god, why did I think Iron Lady was pretty? Since when
did my taste become so bad?

I used to have great taste in the past. Why did it turn out like
this?

After thinking it through, Ai Hui came to the conclusion that

he had been influenced by the sissy Bangwan.

That’s right, it must be him!

Currently, Ai Hui was doing serious, deep self-reflection.

The fire elemental energy pool was the last elemental energy
pool to be set up and was also the most important one. Fire
elemental energy would be the fountainhead of propulsion for
the five elemental cycle. As long as there was an endless stream
of fire elemental energy, the five elemental cycle would grow
and multiply without end.
 The concentration level of fire elemental energy would
continue to increase. The air would be dyed crimson, looking as
if a piece of red-colored muslin was draped over the air.

When the concentration level of fire elemental energy reached

its limit and could no longer rise, the surplus fire elemental
energy gushed towards the earth elemental energy pool. The
concentration of earth elemental energy then began to increase
continuously. The amount of quicksand gushing out of the
earth elemental energy pool increased. Eventually, the hillock
became a sand dune.

When the earth elemental energy’s concentration level

continued to increase, the air became dry and the sand dune
increased in size. When the earth elemental energy’s
concentration level reached its limit, the narrow river of
quicksand started to flow.

The river of quicksand flowed towards the metal wind cavern.

The metal wind cavern was situated at a lower ground level

than the sand dune. The quicksand gathered around the
entrance of the metal wind cavern, which looked as if it had put
on a ring made of quicksand.
 The wind speed of the metal wind in the metal wind cavern
became stronger.

Ai Hui was extremely familiar with metal wind. The wind

speed of metal wind could be determined just by listening to the
nature of its whizzing sound. If the wind speed increased, the
whizzing sound of the metal wind would become sharper and
more intense.

The metal wind became stronger and stronger.

The ear-piercing whizzing sound had become deep and low.

The deep-sounding booms made everyone tremble in fear and
trepidation. There was also an obvious change in the color of
the metal wind.

The metal wind gave off an abnormally bright metallic lustre.

Every now and then, one could even see silvery lines within the
metal wind.

However, no matter how violent the metal wind was, the

twelve silvery umbrellas hovering in the air stayed motionless.
When the violent metal wind collided against these silvery
umbrellas, they were broken down into numerous gentle-
spinning air vortices.

Ai Hui felt an indescribable sense of comfort. Streaks of faint

silvery light swirled around his body. These streaks of silvery
light were metal elemental energy.

He had never been to a place that had such high

concentrations of metal elemental energy. At this point in time,
he was filled with an extremely strong sense of achievement. He
felt that all the hard work he’d put in was not in vain.

He immediately restrained himself from carrying out a

Circulatory Cycle Revolution. He could not start training now.
He had to wait for the other elemental energy pools to stabilize
before he could truly train at ease.

When Ai Hui sensed that the metal elemental energy’s

concentration level had reached its limit, he quickly flew over to
the lake.

Shi Xueman was already keeping watch at the lakeside. She

looked normal and calm. Ai Hui sneaked a glance at her and felt
at ease when he had made sure that Iron Lady would not
suddenly attack him.
 Shi Xueman did not look at Ai Hui. It was as if she did not see
him.

The surplus metal elemental energy gushed into the mini

waterfall. The waterfall did not become stronger, but the color
and the lustre of the lake began to change. The lake became
sparkling and clear, resembling a gigantic sapphire.

The cloud above the lake began to change as well. It became

spotlessly white and thick.

The misty rain became denser as the fine raindrops drifted

and danced in the air. One could feel an abundance of water
elemental energy entering his lungs every time he took a breath.

Ai Hui raised his head and stared attentively at the

transformation of the cloud.

Shi Xueman closed her eyes and reached out her palm to
experience the vigorous water elemental energy in her
surroundings.

Two figures stood side-by-side at the lakeside that was

shrouded in misty rain.

The rest of the people dispersed. They looked at each other

and smiled.

Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief and withdrew his gaze. He was

relieved when he saw the condition of the cloud was very good.
Following which, he could not help but sneak a peek at Iron
Lady, who was standing beside him and had her eyes closed.

He almost gave himself a slap on the face. It appeared that he

had not done enough self-reflection just now.

The guilty Ai Hui began to tiptoe toward the bamboo forest.

Ai Hui walked past Iron Lady behind her back.

On Shi Xueman’s beautiful snow-white face, the eyelashes on

her closed eyelids flickered unnoticeably.
Chapter 424: Central Pine Valley
The wood elemental energy pool in the bamboo forest
operated smoothly. Nothing went wrong.

The awkward atmosphere between Ai Hui and Shi Xueman

had finally disappeared, appearing as if nothing had happened.
Ai Hui had enough of his mysterious feeling of guilt. He did not
even know why he felt guilty. After all, he did not owe Iron
Lady any money!

This was something that continued to trouble Ai Hui. From

his understanding of himself, he would only feel guilty when he
owed other people money.

If Shi Xueman knew what Ai Hui was thinking, she would

have sneered at him nonstop.

After three days, the elemental energies in the five elemental

pools finally stabilized.

The valley looked completely different from before.

 If one looked down at the valley from the sky, he or she would
discover that the entire valley had been divided into five zones,
each with a distinct color. The water elemental zone was like a
dreamland shrouded in misty rain. The wood elemental zone
was covered with lush and verdant trees. The fire elemental
zone was a piece of naked, crimson land. The earth elemental
zone had a prominent, yellow-colored sand dune. The metal
elemental zone gave off a bright metallic lustre.

The five elemental zones were completely different from each

other.

In the center of the valley was an empty circular space. This

space was where everyone lived together. The point of them
living together was to enable them to react aptly to sudden
situations. If all of them lived separately in the valley, then they
would easily get caught in individual battles if they were
attacked by dire beasts. Safety would be everyone’s main
priority for the time being.

Ai Hui was still pondering over this issue.

As the elemental energies became plentiful, Duanmu

Huanghun’s plants began to grow frantically, becoming verdant
and lush. The glow that the defensive ancient tree emitted
became brighter while its defensive capabilities became more
powerful.

However, Ai Hui still felt that these were not enough.

The area of the valley was too large. The defensive coverage of
just one ancient defensive tree could not cover such a huge area.
Wood elemental defense systems had the unique characteristic
of being directly connected to time. As time passed, the wood
elemental defense system would gradually become stronger.
Duanmu Huanghun’s defense system was flawless, but it still
needed time before it could take complete effect.

However, the dangerous dire beasts would not wait for their
defense system to be completely set up.

Not only did they need to guard against dire beasts, they also
needed to guard against other elementalists. This valley
possessed all five elements. If the news were to spread out, the
valley would attract powerful and covetous elementalists,
including the Elders Guild.

No one could resist such a powerful temptation.

 Even if Iron Lady’s father was to try to protect them, he would
not be able to single-handedly contend against so many people.

Shi Beihai would be unable to protect the valley, let alone

bums like them.

The Wilderness Expansion Order clearly stated that whoever

completed building a city possessing all five elements first
would be granted the position of Great Elder, but Ai Hui and his
counterparts knew that this was too good to be true. Just
because one was named Great Elder, would he or she really be
the Great Elder? Could he or she then govern the Elders Guild
without any obstacles? Stop dreaming!

Ai Hui and his counterparts had no interest in the position of

Great Elder. It was worthless to them.

Originally, the plan had been to sell this city, but now no one
could bear to do so. This city had high concentrations of
elemental energy and exceptionally fertile lands. Where could
they find such a place again after selling it?

They might put it up for sale in the future, but definitely not
now.
 They needed to think about how to safeguard the city. Ai Hui
and his internal department had come to a common
understanding that they could not let the outside world know
about the existence of Central Pine Valley before they developed
enough defensive capabilities.

Central Pine Valley was the name everyone had come up with
for the valley. It was to remind them not to forget where they’d
come from.

Ai Hui wanted to turn Central Pine Valley into an impregnable

fortress. Doing so would make those covetous elementalists
think about the heavy price they would have to pay if they were
to invade Central Pine Valley. Only then would they negotiate
and do business with Ai Hui.

The rest understood this as well. Every combat elementalist

was training with all their might. It would be a waste if they did
not train hard in such a perfect training ground!

Meanwhile, the herbalists and farmers were preparing to

grow herbs and elemental beans respectively. They were
extremely enthusiastic and hardworking. They had never seen
such fertile lands before. They could cultivate any types of herbs
and elemental beans in this place. One should take note that the
prices of fire elemental resources and earth elemental resources
were exorbitant nowadays.

With such high concentrations of elemental energy, they were

very confident that they could cultivate high-grade herbs and
high-grade elemental beans. If they could do this, the valley
would not need to worry about a lack of financial capabilities.
Even the herbalists and farmers themselves would benefit.

They were filled with gratitude towards Miss Mingxiu.

At this time, nothing was more important than joining a

faction with a bright future. Unless one was a Grandmaster, his
or her individual strength would be extremely insignificant.

After spending some time together, all of them grew to love

being in this team. No one asserted his or her authority and
there were no complicated etiquettes to follow. Those who were
capable would be respected. In battles, everyone was taken care
of and no one would be neglected. Furthermore, with Ai Hui
and his friends taking care of the front line, what was there to
be worried about? Could this place get any better?

They were already envisioning the countless

accomplishments they would achieve in the future.

Everyone was extremely busy. Not an idle soul could be

spotted. Even the children were helping out.

Wei An followed behind everyone. His body was thin and

weak, resembling a bamboo pole. He had left his aunt who had
been taking care of him since he was very young to follow his
teacher. Naturally, he knew who the legendary Lightning Blade
was. When Ai Hui suddenly visited Wei An at his house and told
him that he was his teacher, he felt as if he was dreaming. If not
for the fact that Ai Hui’s face was rather recognizable, he would
have thought that he had encountered a swindler.

Wei An certainly had not expected his aunt to agree to Ai

Hui’s request without any hesitation after seeing the token Ai
Hui gave her.

Following which, he’d boarded a Fiery Floating Cloud and was

sent to this valley.

The period of time he spent here felt like a dream. Even until
now, he still felt that he was in a dream. Fortunately, there were
other children in this valley as well. Otherwise, he would be
bored to death. Su Qingye and the rest were longtime disciples
of his teacher. Since he came the latest, he was the youngest
disciple.

Being the weakest and the youngest disciple, everyone took

great care of him .

Wei An had only been through some basic training in the past.
His strength paled in comparison to that of his seniors. Other
than the daily trainings, they had to follow Grandpa Mo Zhong
to cultivate plants like sword reeds.

Everyone in this place worked very hard. No one dared to idle

around.

The busiest person was his teacher. Wei An seldom saw his
teacher take a rest. Sometimes, he did not even have the time to
teach them. Whenever this happened, Lou Lan or Aunt Xueman
would come and teach them.

Wei An felt that Aunt Xueman was the most beautiful woman
he had ever seen, but they still liked Lou Lan more. Other than
teaching them, Lou Lan would supervise their trainings and
give them snacks.
 When Wei An thought of snacks, he could not help but start
drooling. He could never let the hateful Uncle Fatty see that he
had snacks, otherwise, Uncle Fatty would use his malt candies
to "swap" with their snacks. Wei An heard that Uncle Fatty and
his teacher had been through numerous life-and-death
situations in the past. Wei An could not understand why their
characters were so different.

Uncle Fatty always liked to idle around. Furthermore, he was

so fat…

Fortunately, there was Lou Lan to supervise Uncle Fatty and

stop him from idling.

Wei An’s teacher was the most hardworking man he had ever
seen. Everyone admired his teacher. When he grew up, he
wanted to be someone like his teacher.

Wei An raised his head to look at the small black dot at the
volcanic crater of Blackfish Mouth Volcano. He could not see
the black dot clearly, but he knew it was his teacher.

His teacher had already stayed at the volcanic crater for a day
and a night.
 …..

Ai Hui was finding the nodes for fire elemental energy in the
volcano.

They ultimately had to depend on the volcano to ward off dire

beasts and elementalists.

The volcano contained a boundless amount of fire elemental

energy. It was their greatest resource.

Before they could use the immense fire elemental energy of

the volcano, however, they first had to identify the nodes
within it.

Despite this, due to the surging lava, the high temperature,

and the terrifying destructive power of the violent fire
elemental energy, even Ai Hui did not dare to step into the lava.
This was the most complicated elemental energy flow Ai Hui
had ever encountered. Since the fire elemental energy was
extremely violent, Ai Hui’s perceptive energy could not reach
the depths of the lava. The fire elemental energy in the depths
of the lava was unusually turbulent.
 Ai Hui heaved a sigh. He knew that he still could not fully
grasp the energy flow of the fire elemental energy in the volcano
with his current capabilities.

He had to wait until he reached the level of Master before he

could utilize the elemental energy of the volcano. As Ai Hui
thought of this, he felt that he was too greedy. One step at a
time.

Upon realizing that his idea was unrealistic, Ai Hui

immediately changed the direction of his thinking process. A
plausible defensive design plan quickly emerged in his mind.

He thought of the lava-spitting beast that they had previously

encountered. Among the spoils of war, there were two intact
spitting snouts.

Perhaps he could think of some uses for these two spitting

snouts…

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up.

Blind He was fiddling with the White Cluster Flames. He was

feeling slightly bored. Right now, there were a lot of things to be
done in the valley. Everyone was busy with either training or
cultivating plants. No one needed him to forge any weapons.

By having nothing to do, Blind He felt that he was wasting

such high-grade flames; however, the amount of materials that
they had brought on this trip was limited. They only brought
the bare necessities. There was still some time before they
searched for new ore veins. Furthermore, since the valley was
cut off from the rest of the world, he could not buy any
materials.

Blind He felt that if the city expanded in the future, the

smelting furnace could be rented out.

The White Cluster Flames were burning for nothing now.

Such a waste. Whenever Blind He thought of how the high-
grade flames were being wasted, he felt as if his heart was
bleeding.

Who wants to forge something? If you don’t need weapons, I

can forge farming tools as well!

Blind He had already put away his ego and aloof attitude.
Asking a master weaponsmith to make farming tools? What a
joke!

Very soon, the news of Blind He’s willingness to forge farming

tools spread among the farmers and herbalists. Everyone
thought they heard the news wrongly. Their farming tools, such
as hoes and sickles, needed to be forged specifically.

Then again, there weren’t master weaponsmiths that would

lower themselves to forge farming tools.

As such, when Blind He told everyone his intention, all the

farmers and herbalists came over anxiously, including Mo
Zhong.

Blind He took over a hoe and examined it. With an indifferent

voice, he said, "Its sharpness is passable. Hmm, the materials to
upgrade it are not of high-grade. Alright, I get it. Elemental
energy needs to be channeled into the blade of the hoe. It can’t
be too sharp, otherwise, it will damage the roots of the plants."

Blind He’s casual remarks won everyone over easily. He was

truly a Master. Anything he said hit the nail on the head.
 "Thank you, Master He. Master, sorry for troubling you." The
farmer bowed respectfully to Blind He.

"No big deal," Blind He replied plainly.

Following which, he picked up the hoe and placed it in the

White Cluster Flames. The white-colored flames spurted over
the surface of the hoe while Blind He continued turning his
wrist. He was adjusting the angle from which the White Cluster
Flames were spurting at the hoe. The surface of the hoe became
bright red. As Blind He’s wrist continued to turn, layers of
wave-like patterns began to appear on the surface of the hoe.

The hoe became smaller and the glow on the hoe’s blade also
disappeared, but all the farmers’ eyes turned red at this
moment. They had rich experience and could tell that the hoe’s
quality had improved by one grade with a glance.

"Thank you Master He! Thank you Master He!" The farmer
thanked Blind He incoherently.

"No big deal," Blind He blurted out and continued

involuntarily, "Is one hoe enough? How about five hoes? Each
for one type of elemental energy. Don’t all of you want to grow
all five types of elemental energy beans?"

The farmers were stunned. They had never heard of anyone

willing to forge such a high-grade hoe for every element.

A covetous-looking herbalist ran over. "Master…"

"No big deal. Is it enough? I thought there were five types of

elemental energy? What about herb baskets? Cannot be forged?
Nonsense! I shall forge it for you! Do you need a millstone? No
big deal. Equipment for forging Grass-grade weapons? No big
deal. One set? Do you want a spare set? Troublesome? No, it
won’t be troublesome. No big deal."
Chapter 425: Scarletfire Flying Foxes
By the time Ai Hui came to Blind He to talk about his idea,
Blind He had already satisfied his cravings for using White
Cluster Flames. As such, now he responded indifferently to Ai
Hui.

Ai Hui felt that Blind He seemed to be unhappy with him ever

since he’d met Lou Lan.

Eh? Why was he unhappy with him?

Ai Hui couldn’t wrap his head around it. He had not really
offended Blind He before.

If Blind He wasn’t blind, he would have rolled his eyes. How

could someone like Ai Hui have such a good sand puppet in Lou
Lan? Fortunately, Blind He had not forgotten that Ai Hui was
his employer and his salary was paid by Ai Hui.

However, after he used the eyes on his palms to scan Ai Hui’s

design plan, he was startled. "You want to use lava-spitting
beast’s snout?"
 Ai Hui could not help but praise Blind He in his heart. Blind
He was indeed a Master. He knew Ai Hui’s intentions with a
mere glance at this design plan.

However, Ai Hui did not praise Blind He openly and asked,

"How? Can you make it?"

When it came to work, Blind He immediately went into his

zone. He became a completely different person and his
nonchalant attitude disappeared without a trace. He sat up
straight with his back bolt upright and his facial expression
turned cold. His perception became sharp and his entire body
was brimming with confidence.

"This area needs to change, this area as well. I roughly

understand your plan. This area can be changed in this way.
You see, am I right?"

As Blind He was explaining to Ai Hui, a rough structure model

was forming in his hands.

The more Ai Hui listened to Blind He, the more he admired

him. When Ai Hui took over the structure model, he adulated
Blind He, "The strength of a Master is indeed formidable!"
 One could tell whether or not a person was an expert just by
looking at his actions. Even though Blind He had not completely
understood Ai Hui’s idea, his rich experience allowed him to
give a lot of valuable suggestions. These suggestions stemmed
from Blind He’s years of accumulated experience, something
that Ai Hui was lacking in.

Theoretically, Ai Hui had memorized the entire [Treating The

City As A Piece Of Cloth]. During Ai Hui’s last visit to his master
before he died, his master still talked long-windedly to him
about some of his theories. Furthermore, even before Elders
Guild began to study Wang Shouchuan’s research works and
theories, Ai Hui was already immersing himself in [Treating
The City As A Piece Of Cloth]. At that point of time, Ai Hui did
not realize the brilliance of his master’s theories. He was only
studying them based on one very simple mentality. He was his
teacher’s only student, how couldn’t he know his teacher’s
theories and research works?

After studying his master’s theories for quite some time, Ai

Hui had a deeper understanding towards them now.

In practice, Ai Hui still faced the problem of his lack of

experience. He couldn’t do anything about this problem. After
all, he did not have many opportunities to practise and there
was no one to guide him along. For example, he could
understand the science behind God-subduing Peak, but he did
not know how to build it. Other than knowing that an immense
amount of materials was needed to build it and how these
materials could come together to create the highest possible
destructive power, Ai Hui knew nothing else.

Only if he possessed a huge number of skilful blacksmiths, like

Elders Guild, could he then build a powerful war machine like
God-subduing Peak.

Blind He’s superb attainments in his craft were extremely

important to Ai Hui at this point of time. This could be seen in
the energy-stabilizing pillars. Blind He’s completed energy-
stabilizing pillars were finer than the ones in Ai Hui’s design
plan. The slight reduction in the thickness of the energy-
stabilizing pillars was derived from a countless amount of
experience and wisdom.

Ai Hui’s previous unhappiness had vanished without a

trace. It was alright for a Master of his level to treat him with
slightly less respect.

Suddenly, the warning alarm rang in the middle of their

discussion.
 Ai Hui’s facial expression changed. He quickly ran out and
looked at the sky.

A bat-like dire beast was circling in the sky above the valley.

Scarletfire flying fox!

Scarletfire flying fox was a type of dire beast that lived in

caverns that were near a volcano. Their faces looked like a fox’s
and they had pointed mouths. Their bodies had a wide, darkish
red membrane that allowed them to fly.

Even though their flying ability was not as good as a real bat,
they were very clever. They were extremely nimble and agile
when they were running on the ground as well. A scarletfire
flying fox’s nose was very sensitive. Even though the fog-formed
mirage of the valley had deceived their eyes, they still could
detect the smells of elementalists with their noses.

They circled in the sky above the valley as they were not sure
what was beneath them.

Ai Hui had a headache when he saw the scarletfire flying

foxes. The scarletfire flying foxes were not powerful, but they
liked to operate in a large group. If one of them was provoked,
the rest of the group would be provoked as well. The
consequences of that were worse than poking a hornets’ nest.

Ai Hui signalled to everyone not to do anything rash.

Shi Xueman furrowed her eyebrows. She was having a

headache too, "Why are there scarletfire flying foxes here?"

"This is a volcanic terrain. There are more fire elemental dire

beasts here," Ai Hui replied in a helpless tone, "Luckily it’s just a
bunch of scarletfire flying foxes. If it was a group of lava-
spitting beasts, this valley would be razed to the ground."

Upon hearing the alarm, Jiang Wei and the rest ran over.

"What shall we do?" Sang Zhijun was unhappy with this

situation, "Are we going to let them circle above our heads like
this?"

Initially, Ai Hui wanted to find something to assail their

nostrils with. Scarletfire flying foxes had sensitive noses and
this was something they could make use of. However, when Ai
Hui’s gaze swept across the distant mountain ridge, a cold
shiver went down his spine.

Ai Hui had just spotted a red glow. He subconsciously knew

that he had just seen the eyes of some dire beast!

He was sure that he was not mistaken. He took a deep breath

and carefully scanned the mountain ridge with his eyes.

Shi Xueman cast a puzzled look at Ai Hui. Ai Hui was

motionless and he was staring at somewhere with his pair of
fixed eyes. It was as if he was frightened by the scarletfire flying
foxes. However, Shi Xueman knew that Ai Hui would not be
afraid, even if there were a few hundred scarletfire flying foxes.

She looked at the direction Ai Hui was staring in but she could
not see anything.

At this moment, Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief, "Phew, I almost

missed it. There is a rockback earth dragon!"

"Rockback earth dragon?"

 Rockback earth dragon was not of the same level as scarletfire
flying fox. It was more dangerous. Rockback earth dragon had
four stout and short limbs. Its head was shaped like a triangle,
resembling the head of a giant frog. Its back was black in color,
cragged, and had a rocky texture. It looked as if it was carrying a
fake mountain on its back. This was how rockback earth dragon
got its name.

Rockback earth dragon was a dire beast that lived in the

depths of earth fire. It had immense strength and it could knock
down those slightly smaller peaks. It also loved to devour the
fire marrows within the lava.

"Our auras are beginning to attract the dire beasts from

nearby. The scarletfire flying foxes are the advance party while
the rockback earth dragon is here to spy on us. If we don’t put
up a powerful front, they will invade this place."

"The dire beasts are so clever?" Sang Zhijun was slightly

surprised.

"These dire beasts are old and experienced. What’s so clever

about them? They are just cunning. If you’d encountered those
really clever dire beasts, they would not have used scarletfire
flying foxes as their advance party."
 "We have a lot of people with us and most of us are quite
powerful. The aura of our elemental energy will definitely
attract the dire beasts nearby. In the eyes of the dire beasts, all
of us are human-shaped elixirs," Ai Hui maintained his
composure as a tinge of worry swept across his eyes, "Everyone,
brace yourself. This will be a tough battle. However, the more
powerful we display our strength to be, the more they will be
scared of us and the safer we will be then."

Ai Hui knew that they were not the only ones that had
attracted the dire beasts, but the five elemental energy pools in
the valley as well. Pure elemental energy was a huge
supplement, not only for elementalists, but for dire beasts as
well. They could not hide such powerful elemental energy
undulations from these sensitive dire beasts. Now that Ai Hui
thought about it, he realized he had overlooked a lot of things.

The earth fire that a huge volcano like Blackfish Mouth

Volcano contained definitely nourished a huge number of fire
elemental dire beasts. He was too greedy as he tried to get
everything done at once. Now that he had encountered a
problem which was too difficult for him to handle, the time and
effort he spent on building a large-scale defense system had
gone to waste.

At this point, it was too late for him to think about all these
things.

Ai Hui calmed himself down and got rid of all the distracting
thoughts in his head. A tinge of ruthlessness swept across his
eyes. He quickly instructed, "Ask Master He to quickly finish up
the components that I asked him to make. All non-combat units
hide under the defensive ancient tree. As for the rest, prepare
for battle."

Everyone in the valley started to work.

"Jiang Wei and Sang Zhijun will lead the archers to set up a
formation on the sand dune. Fatty, you will lead some people to
guard the front position of their formation. If there’s any
scarletfire flying foxes approaching them, you have to block it
for them."

Ai Hui looked at Fatty.

Fatty looked slightly scared but he still nodded his head, "I
understand."

"I will be careful. Ai Hui, don’t worry," Fatty added.

 Ai Hui patted Fatty’s shoulder and turned to Shi Xueman and
said, "Both of us will go and kill the scarletfire flying foxes first.
How about this? Do you want to bet who can kill more
scarletfire flying foxes?"

A tinge of fire flashed across Shi Xueman’s eyes. She replied

bluntly, "Alright."

Following which, Ai Hui turned around and told the rest,

"After we kill these few scarletfire flying foxes, there will
definitely be many more to come. I will think of a way to lure
them into the valley. Jiang Wei, Sang Zhijun and all the archers,
make sure all of you are prepared and launch a frontal assault.
There’s no need for you to hold back. Attack with all your
strength and send them into chaos. Bangwan, prepare as many
high-grade grass seeds as you can. Once Bangwan takes action,
the rest will follow me and Iron Lady to charge the enemy lines.
Everyone understand?"

"Understood!

Everyone had a serious look on their faces. They knew the

upcoming battle would be extremely important. Even hunting
groups did not dare to attack a group of scarletfire flying foxes
head-on. However, Ai Hui and his counterparts had to do this.
Otherwise, the dire beasts would join hands and they would be
in deep trouble then.

An austere and nervous atmosphere arose in the valley.

Everyone had rich combat experience. Furthermore, they had

spent a lot of time carrying out offensive drills. Whether it was
setting up formations or carrying out preparatory work, they
were adept at it.

This upcoming battle would be the biggest battle they’d

encountered ever since they entered Wilderness.

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman stood side-by-side as an absolute

silence descended upon the valley.

Shiiinnng! Ai Hui unsheathed his Wintry Jade Blade and held

it beside Shi Xueman. Shi Xueman smiled with her eyes as she
passed her Cirrus to her left hand and used it to touch Wintry
Jade Blade lightly.

Clink!
 A crisp and sharp clink resounded throughout the valley as
two figures ascended into the sky together.
Chapter 426: Well-coordinated
Ai Hui knew that if they did not display their strength in this
battle, the dire beasts hiding in the dark would pounce on them.
Powerful dire beasts were very cunning. Bullying the weak and
avoiding the strong was one of their key characteristics.

Therefore, not only must they kill this bunch of scarletfire

flying foxes, they also must do it in a fearsome fashion!

Ai Hui’s brain was working extremely fast. The Starry Gem

Swordwings on Ai Hui’s back gave off a layer of faint glow as
their operating power reached its maximum.

Like a streaking arrow, Ai Hui shot out from the fog-made

mirage.

The scarletfire flying foxes were circling over the valley. They
were feeling slightly puzzled. The black rocks beneath them
weren’t any different from their surrounding terrain but they
could smell the scent of humans from within them.

A cold streak of sword gleam appeared below them.

 The scarletfire flying foxes dispersed in panic.

Suddenly, the streak of sword gleam exploded into a mass of

rain-like sword gleams that blasted towards the scarletfire
flying foxes like a huge net.

Pop pop pop. A few bloody holes appeared on the bodies of

two slow-moving scarletfire flying foxes. Their blood spurted
everywhere.

Scarletfire flying foxes lived in caverns that were situated

nearby a volcano and they devoured fire elemental energy to
survive. A scarletfire flying fox was around the size of a dog. It
was not really powerful but it was extremely agile and nimble
on the ground. It had a fire sack within its body that converted
fire elemental energy into a unique type of scorching flame.
This type of unique flame was called scarlet fire.

Scarlet fire was stable and easy to use. As such, many fire
elementalists loved to use this type of fire. Since it was
extremely hard to hunt down scarletfire flying foxes, the
market price of scarlet fire was very costly.

In the hands of scarletfire flying foxes, the stable scarlet fire

could be a very powerful weapon. One of their powerful moves
was called scarlet fireball. The egg-sized scarlet fireball was
dark-red in color. Any slight contact with it could cause it to
explode.

One of the scarletfire flying foxes had its fire sack punctured,
causing scarlet fire to leak out from it. In the blink of an eye, the
leaking scarlet fire exploded into a burst of blazing fire and
engulfed the scarletfire flying fox.

The traces of white mist from Shi Xueman’s spear gleam

spiralled forward rapidly and went in between two scarletfire
flying foxes.

Like a bunch of white-colored whips, the traces of white mist

sucked the two scarletfire flying foxes into them.

After being struck by the traces of white mist, the two

scarletfire flying foxes exploded into a rain of blood with a loud
bang. It was as if they were being struck by lightning.

The whip-like traces of white mist were made up of

concentrated elemental energy, possessing terrifying
destructive power. Once they entered the body of a scarletfire
flying fox, they would explode at its weakest body part.

This was Shi Xueman’s typical attacking style. It looked

ordinary and wasn’t dazzling at all. However, the destructive
power it contained was horrifying. Only a combat veteran
would know how powerful it was.

Out of the four scarletfire flying foxes, not a single one

survived.

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman looked at each other and they could
see the solemness in each other’s eyes. Before the scarletfire
flying foxes died, an invisible elemental energy wave had
erupted.Without any doubts, both of them knew that this
elemental wave was a distress signal.

After ten seconds, a black-colored cloud rose from the other

side of the mountain ridge and flew towards them with a
terrifying speed.

"They are coming," Ai Hui told Shi Xueman without shifting

his gaze.
 "Ok," Shi Xueman acknowledged Ai Hui.

Ai Hui stretched his wrist and released a few sparks from his
sword. With an emotionless look on his face, he said, "Let’s
exhaust their scarlet fireballs first."

He did not want to test the immature defense system of the

valley with scarlet fireballs.

"Alright," Shi Xueman replied.

Following which, both of them flew towards the army of

scarletfire flying foxes.

In the shortest amount of time, they increased their speeds to

the maximum. Both of their speeds were similar as they flew
forward side-by-side. Ai Hui involuntarily cast a glance at Iron
Lady, who was beside him. He felt that both of them had
coordinated quite well with each other today. They were rather
well-coordinated after all!

Shi Xueman noticed Ai Hui looking at her and asked, "What

are you looking at?"
 "Iron Lady is rather energetic today, huh!" Ai Hui replied
cheekily.

"Are you implying that I’m usually not energetic?" Shi

Xueman replied expressionlessly.

"I’m saying you’re more energetic than usual! Battles would

always make one energetic! Here they come!" Ai Hui chuckled.

Ai Hui raised his volume abruptly as he said the last three

words "Here they come". Excitement arose upon his face. He had
never thought that one day he would face an army of scarletfire
flying foxes like now!

This felt extremely good.

Less than six hundred meters away from the black-colored

cloud, they could already clearly see the densely-packed
scarletfire flying foxes that would make one’s hair stand on end.

Numerous red, glowing spots appeared in their line of sight.

 A cold shiver suddenly went down Ai Hui’s spine. At this
moment, the strong sense of danger had created a strange
feeling of excitement in him. Every inch of his muscles was
twitching and burning right now.

At this moment, it just so happened that Ai Hui and Shi

Xueman were looking at each other.

Shi Xueman saw the excitement and battle fervor on Ai Hui’s

face and Ai Hui saw the glittering star-like eyes on Shi Xueman’s
face.

All of a sudden, a knowing smile appeared in both of their

eyes at the same time.

Like a dragon that emerged from a sea of clouds, Cirrus flew

towards Ai Hui. Like a star that fell from the sky, Wintry Jade
Blade flew towards Shi Xueman.

The sword and the spear collided.

A terrifying force erupted at that instant. Like two rubber

balls colliding against each other, both of them bounced apart
ferociously.

The force was so great that both of them looked as if they’d

just disappeared into thin air.

Boom!

The next moment, rain-like scarlet fireballs flooded the

position that both of them previously were at.

The scarlet fireballs missed their targets and bombarded the

mountain ridge below, causing countless deafening explosions
to go off continuously. The mountain ridge was shrouded in
smoke and dust and the ground beneath it was shaking.

After the smoke and dust dispersed, everyone in Central Pine

Valley could see a huge chunk of the rocky mountain ridge
disappeared. It was as if a huge spoon had scooped a spoonful of
rocks from it. The hole was three hundred meters deep,
resembling a mini valley. Pieces of huge rocks surrounding the
hole were collapsing.

Everyone’s face turned white. Now they understood why no

one dared to provoke the scarletfire flying foxes. How many
scarlet fireballs had they shot out just now? No one could grasp
the exact number. Its area of damage was extremely huge. If one
was to get caught in the attack, he or she would not be able to
escape. A small city would not even be able to withstand a single
scarlet fireball.

Duanmu Huanghun’s facial expression turned ugly. He was

the one that understood the defense system of Central Pine
Valley the best. Right now, their defense system could
withstand, at most, three waves of attack of such a degree.

A cold shiver went down Ai Hui’s and Shi Xueman’s spines.

However, both of them did not have the luxury of time to be

frightened at this moment. A slight moment of negligence in
battle would result in a defeat. In a high intensity battle like
this, defeat would lead to only one result, death by being
shattered to smithereens.

The two of them had no time to think about any plans. That
was because the army of scarletfire flying foxes had split into
two smaller armies. Two arc-shaped armies of scarletfire flying
foxes flew towards Ai Hui and Shi Xueman separately.
 After the two of them witnessed the destructive power of the
previous wave of scarlet fireballs, they did not dare lower their
guards at all. If they were hit by the rain-like scarlet fireballs,
they would face absolute death. Furthermore, the scarlet
fireballs were extremely huge in number and their area of effect
was extremely huge. It would be very hard for Shi Xueman and
Ai Hui to dodge the scarlet fireballs.

Ai Hui’s brain was operating at a very fast speed. The

destructive power of the scarlet fireballs was extremely
powerful and there were many scarletfire flying foxes. The only
weakness of the scarletfire flying foxes that they could make use
of was their poor flying ability.

At the same time, Ai Hui realized that they had to exhaust

more of the scarletfire flying foxes’ fireballs. Otherwise, the
valley would be razed to the ground after a few more waves of
bombardment by the scarlet fireballs.

If they wanted to exhaust the scarletfire flying foxes’ scarlet

fireballs, they could not let the scarletfire flying foxes think that
they couldn’t hit them. In other words, Ai Hui and Shi Xueman
had to get closer to the scarletfire flying foxes

This was the time to test their dodging ability!

 Luckily, the fire sacks of the scarletfire flying foxes were not
huge and they could not contain too much scarlet fire.

Ai Hui was very calm and his mental state was unwavering.
He began to make continuous maneuvers in the sky.

The pressure on Ai Hui decreased significantly after the

scarletfire flying foxes split up into two smaller armies.
Furthermore, the scarletfire flying foxes had poor flying ability.
These two factors had given Ai Hui a lot of confidence. Ai Hui
was extremely nimble and deft. Not only could he change
direction horizontally, he could also change direction vertically.

There were a few times that the scarletfire flying foxes

became dizzy after they tried to lock onto the constantly
maneuvering Ai Hui.

Only by locking onto Ai Hui would their scarlet fireballs work.

That was the only way they could form an accurate rain of
scarlet fireballs.

Ai Hui, who had been changing his flight path constantly in

the air, suddenly stopped and spurted towards the army of
scarletfire flying foxes. His change of direction was very sudden
and his flying speed was extremely fast.

Just as he was about to collide with the scarletfire flying

foxes, he twisted his body and drew an arc in the air. The
Wintry Jade Sword in his hand whipped across the air
frantically and released a burst of sword gleam.

The scarletfire flying foxes had strong offense but weak

defense. Since they had weak defense, Ai Hui did not need to use
a powerful attack against them. This meant Ai hui’s [Heavenly
Thrust] would be useful in this scenario. Facing such a crowded
formation, [Heavenly Thrust] would work better than [Six
Crescent Moons] as it had stronger piercing power.

A torrential rain of sword gleams erupted from Ai Hui’s sword

and blasted towards the densely-packed scarletfire flying foxes.

At the same time, the scarletfire flying foxes shot out their
scarlet fireballs that flew towards Ai Hui in a rain-like
formation.

Ai Hui’s Starry Gem Swordwing flapped and he flew along the

rain of scarlet fireballs in an awkward arc.
 However, Ai Hui got too close to the rain of scarlet fireballs
and he saw a scarlet fireball coming at him at a rapid speed.

Ai Hui’s pupils dilated abruptly. At this point of time, his

Starry Gem Swordwings’ operating power had already reached
its maximum. He could no longer make another maneuver.

Damn it!

Without thinking, Ai Hui placed his Wintry Jade Blade

horizontally in front of his chest. Six crescent-moon-shaped
sword gleams formed in front of his sword in a dazzling
manner. Following which, the intertwining streaks of sword
gleam transformed into six ring-shaped sword gleams. A
mysterious aura suddenly erupted from the ring-shaped sword
gleams.

Three huge Yin and three huge Yang sword rings!

The scarlet fireball flew into the centre of the six sword rings.

At this moment, Ai Hui’s concentration had reached an

unprecedented level. A cold glint flashed across his eyes as he
stared tightly at the scarlet fireball within the sword rings. He
could clearly feel the violent fire elemental energy contained
within the scarlet fireball. This was caused by compressing the
usually stable scarlet fire numerous times.

However, Ai Hui was able to come up with a solution in an

instant.

At this moment, the huge sword rings erupted with a burst of

radiance. Six streaks of sword gleams shot out at a terrifying
speed.

The surprising thing was that the scarlet fireball did not
explode and it looked as if it had fallen into a puddle of
quicksand. The intertwining sword gleams created traces of
pulling force. These traces of pulling force were not strong, but
gentle.

The traces of gentle pulling force caused the scarlet fireball to

spin in the sword rings.

Ai Hui widened his eyes as he increased his focus. He came up

with this solution at the last minute. He was unsure whether or
not would it work.
 The scarlet fireball within the sword rings began to spin faster
and faster.
Chapter 427: Well-coordinated Once
Again
The three huge Yin and three huge Yang sword rings were a
seldomly seen defensive move in Ai Hui’s arsenal.

The trip to Silver City was the turning point for Ai Hui’s
swordsmanship.

In Karakorum Sword League, he had witnessed various

impressive sword formations. He also read the incomplete
swordplay encyclopedia compiled by Karakorum Savant, who
was now known as Karakorum Polaris.

The swordplay encyclopedia was divided into six chapters,

Variations, Flaming Wind, Anatta, Big Dipper, Yin Yang, and
Life-and-Death.

The ‘Variations’ chapter discussed the numerous variations in

swordplay. ‘Flaming Wind’ discussed complementary forces.
‘Anatta’ talked about how one’s swordsmanship should be
decisive and unrelenting.

‘Big Dipper’ talked about how the Big Dipper had shifted and
how the stars had moved. ‘Yin Yang’ was about the marvels of
Yin and Yang. ‘Life-and-Death’ discussed deep and profound
questions in-depth. But Karakorum Polaris did not have many
insights on the last chapter as well.

From the content of the sword encyclopedia, Ai Hui could see

that Karakorum Polaris was an ambitious individual. She
wanted to compile a bible on swordsmanship that would be
passed on for thousands of years.

Whether or not Karakorum Polaris could do it, Ai Hui still

respected and admired her for having such a great ambition.

The three huge Yin and three huge Yang sword rings was
developed on Ai Hui’s trip to Silver City. It was derived from the
chapter on Yin Yang in the swordplay encyclopedia and [Yin
Yang Formation]. This move had saved Ai Hui’s life by warding
off an attack from a Master.

For the past year, Ai Hui’s understanding towards

swordsmanship had increased day by day. Like an artisan, he
had been constantly polishing his swordsmanship.

Ai Hui learnt his swordsmanship by himself and there were a

lot of areas that he was still unclear of. However, as he spent
more and more time in practising his swordplay, his
understanding towards swordsmanship increased and his skills
improved. The sword encyclopedia and the various sword
formations in Karakorum Sword League had helped him a lot.
He began to come up with his own system that conformed with
his swordsmanship.

The three huge Yin and three huge Yang sword rings were
being improved constantly.

Within the sword rings, the scarlet fireball released a trace of

red glow with a hissing sound. As the hissing sound continued
incessantly, the number of traces of red glow accumulated. Like
a potato that was being peeled rapidly, the scarlet fireball was
quickly becoming visibly smaller and smaller.

Pffff.

The scarlet fire ball was destroyed completely.

Ai Hui loosened his facial muscles as beads of perspiration

appeared on his forehead.
 The entire process took only a tiny amount of time but Ai Hui
had still exhausted a significant amount of mental energy as he
was required to stay highly concentrated all that time. Even so,
he was still very happy that the sword rings could stop the
scarlet fireball.

Upon feeling slightly at ease, Ai Hui whipped his Wintry Jade

Blade through the air and he abruptly rose higher into the sky
with a crisp swooshing sound

The scarletfire flying foxes were too densely-packed. The

burst of sword gleams that Ai Hui shot out had inflicted heavy
casualties on them. However, he was fully occupied at that
moment to witness the scene.

Like a water bird that skimmed the surface of a lake, Ai Hui

flew gracefully through the air.

How’s Iron Lady doing so far?

Ai Hui was slightly curious but he was not worried. Iron Lady
was more powerful than him. If he could handle the scarletfire
flying foxes, there was no reason for Iron Lady to fail. Ai Hui
had never linked Iron Lady with the word "weak" before. On the
battlefield, she was a trustworthy comrade.

The Starry Gem Swordwing on Ai Hui’s back flapped as he

rose higher into the sky. His field of vision expanded as he flew
past the black-colored mountain ridge beneath him. He directed
his gaze towards the other side of the battlefield.

A blue-white figure entered his line of sight. Scarletfire flying

foxes were constantly dropping from the sky behind her.

The scarletfire flying foxes were extremely clumsy when they

faced the nimble Iron Lady.

Iron Lady’s azure wings were much lighter and nimbler than
Ai Hui’s. Starry Gem Swordwings were heavy and powerful. In
terms of power, they were definitely much better than Iron
Lady’s azure wings. However, in terms of maneuverability, they
paled in comparison to Iron Lady’s azure wings.

How could he make use of the scarletfire flying foxes’ clumsy

nature?

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s mind jolted as a daring thought emerged in

his brain.

At this moment, Shi Xueman happened to cast a glance at Ai

Hui. Quickly, Ai Hui made a hand signal and pointed to his
front-left. Following which, the screeches of the scarletfire
flying foxes erupted behind him, causing him to change his
direction abruptly.

Ai Hui did not know whether or not Iron Lady had seen his
hand signal. His movements did not slow down and he changed
his direction a few times in a row. There were too many
scarletfire flying foxes and their attacking range was very wide.
As such, they just needed to tweak the angle of their flight path
by a bit and Ai Hui would be within their line of sight. Ai Hui
had no choice but to keep changing the direction of his flight
path.

Only by changing the direction of his flight path constantly

could he then prevent the scarletfire flying foxes from locking
onto him and break free from their line of sight.

After Ai Hui finished a few maneuvers in a row, he was

panting slightly. It was rather strenuous for Starry Gem
Swordwings to make continuous maneuvers. Furthermore, ever
since they Starry Gem Swordwings were damaged, he had not
had the opportunity to fix them. The maneuvers had consumed
his energy greatly.

Ai Hui finally completed his series of maneuvers and shifted

his gaze in the direction of Shi Xueman. His eyes lit up at what
he saw.

Iron Lady was flying towards the direction that he was

pointing at!

She understood his intention.

As compared to Ai Hui, who was already panting, Iron Lady

appeared calm, her hair was neat and tidy, and her movements
were lithe.

However, Ai Hui did not have the time to admire Shi Xueman
now. The Starry Gem Swordwings on his back erupted with a
burst of radiance and shot towards his destination.

If one looked down at them from a higher height, he or she

would see two figures being followed by two black-colored
floods of scarletfire flying foxes. The two figures kept on
changing their directions while the black floods behind them
were pursuing them tightly. Unwittingly, the two figures were
getting closer and closer to each other rapidly.

The two black floods were getting closer to each other as well,
but their fervent eyes did not notice it completely. They might
have a certain level of intelligence but their killing instinct had
completely taken over their minds like raging flames at this
moment.

Ai Hui flew in an arc and his movements looked slightly

sluggish. He had yet to break from the scarletfire flying foxes’
line of sight.

Numerous dark-red glows lit up behind him.

At this moment, Ai Hui changed his direction again. The

scarletfire flying foxes did not fire the scarlet fireball in each of
their mouths. They somewhat identified Ai Hui’s flying
patterns and changed their direction according to his. The speed
of them changing their direction was slightly slower, but they
were certain that their prey could not avoid their attacks given
their wide attacking range.
 Now is the time!

Without any hesitation, the scarletfire flying foxes fired the

scarlet fireball in each of their mouths! The dark-red glows
suddenly intensified in brightness and became densely-packed.

Boom!

The sound created by the huge number of scarlet fireballs

being fired at the same time struck fear into people’s hearts. A
glaring red brilliance suddenly erupted behind Ai Hui.

At the same time, densely-packed red glows lit up in front of

him as well. Similarly, they gave off a horrifying sound.

The red glows in front of Ai Hui became brighter and brighter,

turning into a red brilliance that engulfed his vision. In the
midst of the red brilliance, the image of a valiant-looking figure
was expanding in Ai Hui’s eyes.

Ai Hui’s lips curled into a smile. She was truly an iron lady!
 The distance between Ai Hui and Shi Xueman was closing
rapidly. Numerous scarlet fireballs were following tightly
behind them.

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman looked at each other and smiled.

It was as if time had frozen for them.

Ai Hui was very happy. Iron Lady must’ve been happy because
of their good coordination as well. He merely made a hand
signal and both of them could coordinate perfectly. It was as if
they had been partners for many years.

Wintry Jade Blade and Cirrus collided against each other once
more. Perfect coordination!

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman flew towards each other in a straight

line. As they got closer to each other, they abruptly soared
upwards at the same time.

The scarletfire flying foxes realized they were going to get

caught in a head-on collision with their comrades and the
scarletfire fireballs. They were panic-stricken and their
formation went into a chaos. Sharp screeches resounded
through the air incessantly.

They wanted to escape but it was already too late. In the face
of the fast-flying and densely-packed scarlet fireballs, they were
extremely clumsy.

The two masses of scarlet fireballs collided against each other

in the air and released a dazzling burst of blaze. Most of the
scarlet fireballs flew past each other and smashed heavily into
the two black-colored floods of scarletfire flying foxes.

Boom, boom, boom!

Huge bursts of blazes and radiance dyed the sky red. The
incessant deafening explosions resembled thunderclaps within
the depths of storm clouds, striking fear into people’s hearts.

The scene was exceptionally spectacular, causing even Ai Hi

and Shi Xueman to be dumbstruck.

The scarletfire flying foxes’ charred bodies fell from the sky
like dumplings. Most of them were ripped to shreds by the
violent shock wave. The fact that the fragile scarletfire flying
foxes couldn’t withstand their own scarlet fireballs was indeed
an irony.

Cries of joy broke out in Central Pine Valley.

No one had expected Ai Hui and Shi Xueman to be able to

create such heavy casualties in the ranks of scarletfire flying
foxes. All of them were dazzled by the battle. Children like San
Xiao and Wei An were jumping and yelling in excitement. Their
faces were filled with pride and adoration for Ai Hui and Shi
Xueman.

However, not everyone in the valley behaved like this. There

was an indifferent-looking individual, Duanmu Huanghun!

Duanmu Huanghun hovered above the bamboo forest,

appearing as if he was standing on a green-colored sea of
bamboos. He was trying his best to keep his facial expression
calm but he still could not hide the flickering flames in his eyes.

He’d let this fellow take the limelight again!

 He subconsciously ignored Shi Xueman and stared at Ai Hui
with a pair of blazing eyes. He did not know whether or not it
was the traumatization he’d received from Ai Hui in Central
Pine Academy that caused him to act like this. As long as he saw
Ai Hui was in the limelight, he would be triggered.

No, there was a switch in his head!

Once this switch was flicked on, his brain would only hold one
thought.

He must not lose to that fellow!

A strong sense of battle fervor spread throughout his body like

a forest fire. Duanmu Huanghun withdrew his gaze and his face
turned ashen. He snorted with disdain while his robe fluttered,
even though there was no wind.

A green-colored glow rose from the sea of bamboos beneath

his feet, resembling the mist above the surface of a sea. This
green glow was the pure wood elemental energy.

The wood elemental energy became increasingly concentrated

and slowly swirled around Duanmu Huanghun. Bamboo leaves
from the bamboo forest began to rise up into the air as well.
Like numerous jade-made tiny swords, they swam and danced
silently in the green-colored mist

After Duanmu Huanghun withdrew his gaze, his facial

expression became focused. He took out a bag of grass seeds and
scattered the grass seeds all around him.

The grass seeds hovered in the green mist and moved along
with the flowing wood elemental energy.

Very soon, the bag of grass seeds was emptied. Duanmu

Huanghun’s facial expression did not change as he took out
another bag of grass seeds and scattered them around him. His
movements were smooth-flowing like water. He looked
extremely casual but one could tell from his facial expression
that his ordinary-looking movements weren’t easy to carry out.

Everyone in the valley was focused on Ai Hui and Shi Xueman

in the sky. No one noticed that Duanmu Huanghun had already
scattered a lot of grass seeds above the bamboo forest.

As the number of grass seeds being scattered increased,

Duanmu Huanghun’s gaze became increasingly excited and
zealous. His devilish, handsome face looked charmingly
demonic.
Chapter 428: Where’s the Promised
Chemistry?
Ai Hui had not expected the coordination between Iron Lady
and himself to actually cause such a colossal amount of damage.

When the aftermath of the explosion dispersed, fear and

confusion could still be seen on the faces of the sparse scarletfire
flying foxes in the sky. Approximately only half of the
scarletfire flying foxes survived.

The scarlet fireball was simply too powerful, as its explosion

reached across an extremely wide range.

Who would’ve thought that heaven had blessed the scarletfire

flying foxes with such strong scarlet fireballs, but such frail
bodies and even an exceedingly revengeful character.

The fear and confusion in their eyes vanished and was

replaced by hatred. Deep-rooted hatred!

That disastrous impact taught the scarletfire flying foxes a big

lesson. They did not return to their originally concentrated
formation but dispersed instead. They also did not continue
their chase but flew toward the valley instead.

Ai Hui and Shi Xueman’s faces turned grave simultaneously.

Only half the scarletfire flying foxes were left but there were
still over three hundred of them. Especially since they were
moving separately now, the pressure brought by the whole
crowd of them was tremendous.

They looked at each other before dispersing swiftly.

They harassed and disrupted the big team of scarletfire flying

foxes from different directions, but only those closest to them
were affected. The whole team was still flying toward the valley
slowly but steadily.

Ai Hui felt a sense of urgency. If these scarletfire flying foxes

were to appear overhead and release a few waves of scarlet
fireballs, the valley would be razed to the ground.

What should they do?

Ai Hui racked his brains searching for a solution but to no

avail.
 He took a deep breath. The more tense a situation was, the
more he had to remain calm. Only then would he be able to find
a way to solve the issue. Nervousness would only consume time
and energy.

Ai Hui had considered the fact that while there was the vapor
illusion disguising the valley, the scarletfire flying foxes would
simply blow up the ground with their scarlet fireballs.

The scarlet fireballs would instantly expose the disguise.

Face the scarletfire flying foxes head on? Ai Hui denied this
plan since the scarlet fireballs were extremely fast and not many
from the gang could withstand or dodge them. Facing their
rainscreen-like attack would only cause more casualties and
damages.

The scarletfire flying foxes were determined to attack the

valley, so no matter how Ai Hui and Shi Xueman tried to
intervene, they continued toward the direction in which the
elementalist’s odor was the richest.

The atmosphere in the valley became tense as everyone could

sense the scarletfire flying foxes’ resoluteness. Ai Hui and Shi
Xueman’s perfect guidance was due to the fact that they had
managed to attract the scarletfire flying foxes’ attention. Now
that the scarletfire flying foxes were clear-headed they were no
longer lured by them.

The scarletfire flying foxes’ intelligence shocked everyone.

Having seen the scarletfire flying foxes’ power, no one

believed that the valley’s defense would be able to withstand so
many fireballs. The only thing in the valley that they could
count on was the defensive ancient tree. Other plants needed
more time to grow.

If the scarletfire flying foxes did not charge into the valley, Ai
Hui’s previous plan would be fruitless. Judging from the
situation, it wasn’t very likely that the scarletfire flying foxes
would enter the valley. These clever dire beasts were very alert
and would not go down until the disguise of the ground was
removed.

Everybody had a solemn expression on their faces. The battle

that was about to come was going to be exceptionally
challenging.
 Having three hundred scarletfire flying foxes was like having
black, gloomy balls of cloud floating toward the valley, doubling
the pressure the gang felt. But while the atmosphere was
extremely grave and tense, no one panicked in fear since they
were all experienced by now.

A battle between elementalists and dire beasts was crueler

than a battle between elementalists only, since it always ended
with the death of the defeated.

A lightbulb lit up in Ai Hui’s head. He shouted at Shi Xueman,

who wasn’t very far off, "Return to the valley!"

Shi Xueman’s eyes, which had practically not left Ai Hui from
the start, lit up. She relaxed her tensed heart and mind as well.
From the time she’d realized that the situation was worsening,
she’d been waiting for Ai Hui to come up with a solution. Ever
since the blood catastrophe, Ai Hui had always been the one
providing answers whenever they faced problems.

In certain aspects, Shi Xueman was no different from the rest

of the gang. They had a kind of blind trust in Ai Hui.

Hearing his voice abruptly lightened her tensed heart. She

knew that Ai Hui must have found a viable solution.

Her figure disappeared and at the same time, Ai Hui felt his
whole body tighten, realizing shortly after that he’d been
grabbed by Shi Xueman.

Ai Hui’s face flushed, his heart about to crumble.

What a joke! He could fly by himself! No matter how tough

Iron Lady was, how could she grab him? How was he going to
face people? Where’s the promised chemistry? Did she not
understand what respect was? Did she not understand what a
real man was?

"Hey, hey, hey, let me go. Release me, I can fly by myself!"

In spite of Ai Hui’s struggling limbs, Shi Xueman responded,

deadpan, "You’re slow."

Nevertheless, the corner of her eyes curved as she couldn’t

help but smile.
 Ai Hui, as if struck by lightning, stiffened up.

You’re slow… He was actually unable… unable to refute this!

He’d been mocked by Iron Lady!

When Ai Hui realized this cruel fact he wanted to cry. Didn’t

everyone agree to have a mutual understanding? Didn’t they
promise to fight the battle together, shoulder to shoulder? What
about the ‘you’re made of iron and I’m made of steel’?

Feeling dejected, Ai Hui turned limp like a dead fish, allowing

the gale to penetrate his heart. But the situation was tense now
and his idea required Shi Xueman’s implementation.

He needed to use this time to tell her what to do but with their
strange postures, he would have to roar for her to be able to
listen clearly.

He had to get slightly closer… more importantly, this position

was seriously too embarrassing!
 Ai Hui grabbed onto Shi Xueman’s wrist to borrow some
strength. His body was like a nimble snake and he crawled
upward with his limbs as if climbing a tree. He turned around
and grabbed hold of her body.

Hah! Ai Hui was rather pleased. This position was much

better than the previous one.

Caught off guard, Shi Xueman turned rigid and her mind went
blank.

Ai Hui suddenly felt them plunging downward and was

frightened. "Hey! We’re dropping!"

Shi Xueman quivered and regained her senses, her azure

wings spreading open once again, bringing them back up.

Using all his limbs, Ai Hui was hanging onto her body like a
sloth onto a tree. She felt feverish. No one had ever held her so
tightly before and she’d never been this intimate with a man.

Wait a minute. A memory surfaced in her mind.

 Amid the darkness a figure locked onto her from behind, his
arms steel-like. Then…

Then… another image invaded her brain.

Those despicable arms!

All of a sudden Shi Xueman’s nervousness and anxiety

vanished. He was merely grabbing her.

Wait. Why was she at this stage whereby grabbing was

acceptable?

She bit her lips hard, her heart in a tremendous muddle.

Ai Hui did not know that his actions would cause such a huge
impact on Shi Xueman. He was still slightly traumatized from
their earlier plunge. They were hugging onto each other at this
moment, their postures abnormally ambiguous. The good thing
was that they were now close enough!

Ai Hui’s mouth was just by Shi Xueman’s ear.

 He quickly relayed the details of his plan to her, speaking
rapidly.

Ai Hui’s tone was very calm as usual, which helped Shi

Xueman clear whatever distracting thoughts she had from her
head. She was now clear-headed and her expression returned to
normal.

Ai Hui felt her change as her body, initially rigid as tree trunk,
loosened up.

Without time to overthink, the both of them arrived at the

valley mouth.

They were slightly ahead.

Still hanging off of Iron Lady’s body, Ai Hui was determined

to get a new set of top-notch azure wings the moment he had
enough money!

He was still glad that he’d been smart enough to alter their
positions. Entering the valley while being grabbed by his collar
would simply have been too embarrassing.
 They were like a sharp sword, diving through the mist and
into the valley.

The audience in the valley was stunned.

"Ai Hui is amazing!"

"Aren’t they progressing too quickly?"

Seeing how everyone was looking at them, Shi Xueman kept

biting on her lips, forcing herself to remain calm. Battle first,
battle first, she thought to herself.

...

Ai Hui’s face was covered by Shi Xueman’s hair so he couldn’t

see clearly. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Change of plans!
Archers, get ready!"

As if awakened from a dream, everyone regained their focus,

albeit with a strange expression on their faces. Could it be that
their posture was part of the plan?
 Luckily they had confidence in Ai Hui’s judgments and so they
prepared themselves attentively.

Carrying Ai Hui, Shi Xueman descended from the sky like a

sharp arrow, landing steadily by the lake that was covered with
fog.

"Bamboo cart has reached its station, passengers get ready to

alight."

Shi Xueman imitated the brief station announcement in a

clear, confident voice without any shyness.

Ai Hui burst into laughter. Iron Lady was really interesting.

He jumped off while asking, "What about the fare?"

A leg appeared behind Ai Hui’s head without warning.

Bang! Ai Hui, who was unprepared, got kicked into the lake.

Shi Xueman left him with a snort before turning around to

leave.
 Crash! Ai Hui flew into a rage out of humiliation as his furious
voice sounded from the lake, "Hey!"

Shi Xueman was satisfied. She flew toward the mist-

controlling Color Clam Pearls. Thirty-six of them had been fixed
onto the waterfall cliff. They were the key to controlling the
mist.

The haze and misty rain, as if blown by the wind, moved

toward and gathered around Shi Xueman. The water elemental
energy within the whole water element region was under her
control.

Ai Hui was rather nervous as he kept his eyes on Iron Lady.

Only she could utilize such a huge amount of water elemental

energy.

Above, the gloomy crowd of scarletfire flying foxes had

reached them after seeing the two figures flying down amid the
rocks. They did not prepare to land, but instead got ready to
drop their scarlet fireballs.
 Just then, a highly abundant amount of water vapor rose
from the valley like a monster opening its bloody mouth wide,
effectively swallowing them up.

They suddenly realized that they were surrounded by many of

the elementalist they’d seen earlier!

Ambush!

Having accumulated their power, the scarletfire flying foxes

released their scarlet fireballs toward those elementalists.

They only realized that they had fallen into a trap when the
scarlet fireballs passed through the elementalists’ bodies!

This was Ai Hui’s idea. Since the scarletfire flying foxes did
not enter the valley, he would expand the illusion to disrupt
them.

Bang, bang, bang!

They’d sprayed the scarlet fireballs in a moment of

desperation, forgetting that around them were their own
companions, instantly causing explosions everywhere.

The flames blossomed upward like a devilish red flower as the

scarletfire flying foxes’ shrieks drowned amid the incessant
explosions.

Just then, Jiang Wei and Sang Zijun’s rain-like arrows

whistled through the air.
Chapter 429: Victory
The arrows filled the sky like rain and whizzed into the flames
and into the crowd of scarletfire flying foxes.

No one had imagined that Sang Zijun would be the one to deal
the strongest blows. In the face of such dire beasts, who
attacked strongly but defended weakly, Golden Silk Longbow’s
shocking speed carried a huge advantage.

She single-handedly shot out consecutive streaks of rain-like

golden silk arrows.

The scarletfire flying foxes dropped one after another,

sprinkling fresh blood all over the ground like raindrops, as the
incessant whines of the scarletfire flying foxes rang across the
field.

The scarletfire flying foxes fell into complete disorder.

Ai Hui had already come out from the lake and couldn’t care
less about the fact that he was drenched. He yelled, "Bangwan!"
 A cold snort was all he heard.

Duanmu Huanghun, who had long accumulated enough

power, channeled the wood elemental energy surrounding him
and swept it over the huge volume of grass seeds like a green
python, raising them high into the air before throwing them
right at the scarletfire flying foxes.

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

The sounds of beans being fried filled their ears momentarily.

The grass seeds burst no matter what they touched. The

scarletfire flying foxes that had yet to regain focus from all this
confusion were quickly hit by these destructive seeds.

There were simply too many seeds and even Duanmu

Huanghun had no idea exactly how many he’d thrown out. He’d
practically utilized whatever usable amount he had on him.

His wildness was without reservation. If they did not survive

this ordeal, it did not matter how many grass seeds he had
remaining.
 The scarletfire flying foxes fell in succession. Some were even
struck by a few kinds of grass seeds and had all kinds of vines
appearing on around their bodies and winding like spider webs,
making them look like dumplings.

Nevertheless, wild Duanmu was never a passable sidekick

since he had always wanted to be the lead character.

After the grass seeds came the mini, sword-like, jade green
bamboo leaves that were hidden behind the seeds.

Whimpers came after the explosions of the concentrated grass

seeds. It was as if beautiful women were playing the flute in the
bamboo forest under the moonlight. However, amid the mellow
tunes was a quietly rising murderousness.

The drifting and floating bamboo leaves were as sharp as

sword blades.

scarletfire flying foxes that were wrapped up by the seeds had

no time to struggle free as they were quickly killed by these
silent, yet powerful assassins. The leaves pierced the scarletfire
flying foxes’ bodies effortlessly without getting any bloodstains
on them, remaining ever new and jade-green.
 About to lead his team in the attack, Ai Hui suddenly noticed
that there weren’t any targets left in the sky.

Duanmu Huanghun’s knees went weak, causing him to fall

onto a bamboo branch bottom first. This attack required a scary
amount of control over the wood elemental energy and he knew
that he only had one chance to attack, so he’d channeled all his
elemental energy into it. His body was now an empty vessel as
sweat, albeit delayed, poured out from every part of his body.
His pale cheeks were now flushed and his sweat meandered
down his face. His breaths were heavy, like moving bellows and
he had absolutely no energy to even lift a finger.

But when he saw the amazement and lifeless expression on Ai

Hui’s face, he couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Except before he
could laugh properly, it turned into an intense bout of coughs.

Everyone looked toward the sky.

After a moment of silence came thunder-like cheers.

Everyone was moved as the joy of having survived filled their

chests. They were really being put under tremendous pressure
upon seeing the number of scarletfire flying foxes that they had
to deal with and the formidability of their scarlet fireballs.

No one would’ve thought that the battle would proceed and

end so smoothly with them reigning in a victory.

Ai Hui turned around and looked toward the bamboo forest,

where he saw Duanmu Huanghun laughing, wild and proud.
Iron Lady, too, was close to being exhausted. In order to
interfere with more scarletfire flying foxes, she’d used up all her
water elemental energy.

Ai Hui flew up into the sky and saw a few lonesome scarletfire
flying foxes attempting to escape. His eyes lit up.

Scarletfire flying fox cave!

They’d battled so diligently and consumed so much, but their

harvest was unjustifiable. The scarletfire and fire sacks of the
scarletfire flying foxes were the most valuable. There was no
need to consider the scarletfire since they’d practically become
scarletfire bullets and were all used up. It was the same for the
fire sacks since most of the scarletfire flying foxes were killed by
explosions, arrows or bamboo leaves so there wouldn’t be many
well preserved fire sacks.
 Ai Hui, now out of the crisis, immediately felt the pain. As
such, when he saw the scarletfire flying foxes desperately trying
to flee he immediately thought of the cave that they lived in.

It seemed like not many had gone into the caves of scarletfire
flying foxes!

But it made sense. These scarletfire flying foxes lived in a

colony and were revengeful dire beasts that even the hunting
teams avoided provoking, since they could all be destroyed if
they were careless.

The scarlet fireballs were simply too powerful.

Ai Hui shouted at those below, "A few of you, follow me to

their cave!"

In a split second a group of them rushed up. They were

members who had been arranged to deal the final blows. They’d
expected more from the toughest mission, but did not even
manage to secure any soup. Feeling regretful, it was only
natural that they would be the first to volunteer upon hearing
that there was a follow up mission.
 Ai Hui selected a few decent members who had faster speeds.
The rest would stay in the valley to guard it from sneak attacks
by other dire beasts.

With a firm look on his face, Fatty spoke up, "Ai Hui, I’ll go
too!"

Collecting spoils of war was simply Fatty’s favorite pastime.

Just thinking about it made his eyes shine.

"No!" Ai Hui replied disdainfully. "Why are you trying to join

the buzz when you fly so slowly?"

Fatty gave a bitter look. "You can’t be so heartless. During our

time in the Wilderness, when have I ever been absent from the
clean ups?

Ai Hui was already immune to Fatty’s tactics. He shouted to

Lou Lan, "Keep an eye on him!"

"No problem, Ai Hui!"

 Fatty yelled indignantly, "Mister Ai, are you just going to
disown me? Are you feeding our years of friendship to the dogs?
You’d better give me a proper explanation!"

Ai Hui bore his teeth as he responded, "I’ll clear things up

with you today!"

Fatty sensed that the situation was amiss and got frightened.
He smiled meekly before saying, "Brother Hui, calm down, we
can talk things over slowly. There’s no using of fists among
brothers. You’re really hitting! Ow, easy, easy! I’m wrong, I’m
at fault, it’s my bad! Brother Ai! Father Ai! I’m going to flip if
you keep hitting me! I’m about to flip! The scarletfire flying
foxes are escaping…"

His last sentence convinced Ai Hui. "I’ll teach you a lesson

when I’m back!"

He then led the team and made chase.

Fatty let out a sigh of relief. He’d pulled a fast one fortunately
and saved himself by luring the enemy!
 He raised his head and saw Lou Lan looking back at him. He
walked toward Lou Lan with a solemn expression on his face.
"Lou Lan, Ai Hui asked you to keep an eye on me."

Lou Lan opened his eyes wide. "Yes he did."

Fatty continued seriously, "Lou Lan, I’ll promise not to go

anywhere if you bring out your elemental food."

Lou Lan blinked. "Really?"

Fatty was secretly delighted but kept a straight face, replying

in a righteous manner, "I’m a man of my word!"

Lou Lan cheered. "Then we have a deal!"

Lou Lan brought out pieces of elemental food and placed them
in front.

Fatty swallowed his saliva greedily, his heart bursting with

joy. "You’re still the best. There’s so much! I’ll enjoy them."
 Fatty reached his palm out but was blocked by Lou Lan. Fatty
asked in shock, "Didn’t we have an agreement? You’re going
back on your words!"

Lou Lan shook his head. "You asked me to bring them out,
which I did. I kept my word."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

"I did not agree to let you eat them."

Fatty wanted to run himself over. Why! Why did he make

such a fatal mistake! The pain of being able to look but not eat
was more unbearable. The enticing fragrance filled his nostrils,
yet he wasn’t able to taste them. Fatty was convinced that this
must be the world’s cruelest punishment.

"Fatty, do you want me to keep these? You don’t look good."

"No! Even if I can’t taste them, I’m going to look all I want! I
can still smell their fragrance!"
 Fatty’s voice was filled with struggle and determination. He
sprawled out in front of the food, his eyes wide open.

Ai Hui led the small team and followed the remaining two
scarletfire flying foxes.

The entrance of the elementalists into the Wilderness turned

it into an even more brutal place. Elementalists were all dire
beasts’ number one enemy.

The scarletfire flying foxes weren’t fast enough, so Ai Hui and

his team quickly caught up and were following them from far
behind. The scarletfire flying foxes were already beyond
frightened, so all they wanted to do was to return to their warm
and safe cave, and couldn’t care for anything else.

Ai Hui paid attention along the way and noticed that the place
where he’d been ambushed by the rockback earth dragon was
now empty. He did not notice any other beasts’ odor. The
earlier battle had raised too big of a commotion, so few dire
beasts would provoke the scarletfire flying foxes. The scarletfire
flying foxes had frail bodies but were powerful in their attacks.
Plus, with that many of them, there could easily be trouble.
 The rockback earth dragon, too, would not initiate an attack
on the scarletfire flying foxes.

Following far behind, Ai Hui and gang maintained a strong

defensive stance. Danger lurked in every corner of the
Wilderness. The seemingly barren and desolate Blackfish Mouth
Volcano was home to many dangerous dire beasts. Any slight
negligence could possibly cost them their lives.

Over the mountain range, the scarletfire flying foxes’ cave was
no more than three miles away from Central Pine Valley.

The close proximity shocked Ai Hui. It was no wonder these

scarletfire flying foxes appeared near the valley.

But this fact increased his vigilance. He would have to conduct

a thorough exploration of Blackfish Mouth Volcano once the
valley’s defense was constructed.

How could one sleep soundly knowing that his territory was
susceptible to invasion?

If there were powerful fire beasts, he must think of a way to

get rid of them. Just a rockback earth dragon was enough to
give all of them a headache.

Suddenly, the scarletfire flying foxes flew down and into the
rocks.

Ai Hui and gang flew closer and realized that there was a deep
crack behind the rocks. The crack was about six meters tall but
its width was wide enough for a person to go through.

Ai Hui stood in front since he was the strongest and had the
most experience.

The cave mouth was narrow but it was actually wide and big
inside. It was spacious and the ceiling of the cave was about
twenty meters above the ground. No one could’ve imagined
how such a narrow opening could lead to such a huge paradise.

It was very dry inside the cave and there was a faint sulphur
smell as well, the most distinct feature of caves near the
volcanoes.

Advancing into the cave, Ai Hui did not walk quietly on tiptoe.
He knew that the scarletfire flying foxes had incredible hearing
and must have already sensed their presence the moment they
stepped in. What they had to do now was to guard against the
scarletfire flying foxes’ sneak attacks.

The passage within the cave was curvy and uneven. The
scarletfire flying foxes’ excrement could be seen everywhere.
Fortunately, there wasn’t any odor or else the smell within the
cave would be even worse.

Ai Hui did not feel any obvious air movement, a clear sign that
this was a cave with only one opening.

He dared not let himself be even the least bit careless.

Chapter 430: Hellfire Pagoda Cannon
The sneak attacks he’d been expecting did not happen.

When Ai Hui and gang reached the deepest part of the cave
they finally caught sight of the two surviving scarletfire flying
foxes. They were already at their last breaths and were severely
injured. Flying into their cave had exhausted their last bit of
energy.

This land was probably the bat community’s place for

activities and rest. The cave was shaped like a copper bell,
narrow on the top and wide at the bottom, its height not
exceeding sixty meters. A vague, dark red glow could be seen
through the cracks on the black, rugged cliff. The fire elemental
energy within the cave was plentiful, no surprise why the
scarletfire flying foxes chose to reproduce and inhabit this
place.

The cave was absolutely empty. save for a huge pile of ash-
colored skeletons in a corner, covered in dust and spiderwebs.

The last two scarletfire flying foxes were killed by Ai Hui and
everyone finally let their tensed hearts down. Ai Hui called
them over to flip the mountain of skeletons.
 Lifting the dust-filled skeleton mountain, they noticed that
most of the bones belonged to the scarletfire flying foxes. The
scarletfire flying foxes’ bones were easy to recognize since their
bodies were very small. Ai Hui recalled how some wild beasts
that were about to die would select a certain spot to await death.

Judging from the luster on some of the bones, it could be

concluded that the scarletfire flying foxes had been residing in
this cave for many years.

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. He found a dark red pearl

among the pile of bones. The pearl was about the size of an egg
and was warm to the touch. He wiped off the dust on the surface
and the pearl’s dark red color reflected in his eyes.

"Fire elemental elixir!"

Ai Hui was indescribably shocked. He’d used elemental elixirs

before and could tell from one glance that the dark red pearl he
was holding onto was indeed an elemental elixir.

Ai Hui rejoiced. They were right to come here! He was also

glad that these bunch of scarletfire flying foxes had yet to
formulate their own elixirs or else they situation would’ve been
much more precarious.

If he were to say that level of Master was the dividing line

between a powerful elementalist and an ordinary elementalist,
the possession of an elemental elixir was the dividing line
between a powerful dire beast and an ordinary dire beast.

Dire beasts that could produce elemental elixirs possessed

many mystical qualities. They were much more dangerous and
clever.

An elemental elixir was extraordinarily expensive, so upon

seeing it the gang’s faces lit up in joy and they started searching
around. Shortly, someone found another elemental elixir from
within the pile.

In fear of missing out, everyone searched long and carefully,

such that their bone picking movements became much more
nimble.

Bones of scarletfire flying foxes that died from old age were
known as flaming bones, a decent fire elemental ingredient.
When a scarletfire flying fox reached the end of its lifespan, the
scarletfire within its fire sacks would be at its strongest. As it
inched closer to death the fire would surge out from the sack
and burn its flesh and fur, eventually leaving only a complete
set of skeletons. Having gone through the scarletfire’s burning
and tempering, the quality of the bones increased drastically,
hence the name "flaming bones".

But because the scarletfire flying foxes’ bones weren’t robust,

they were only considered to be of a decent quality even after
the upgrade.

At the end of their search, Ai Hui and gang picked five fire
elemental elixirs out.

Their faces were brimming with joy. Fire elemental elixirs

were good stuff. If they were to sell them, each elixir would
fetch a sky-high price. Many would be willing to purchase them
at five thousand heaven merit points each. But Ai Hui had no
plans to sell them because what was the point of having money
at this moment? The priority should be to improve their
abilities, since without skills they wouldn’t be able to survive.

This victory had come after a fierce battle process and

involved much luck. Any slight incautiousness would’ve caused
the whole of Central Pine Valley to fall into eternal damnation.
 Scarletfire flying foxes weren’t the most powerful dire beasts
around. The rockback earth dragon was even stronger and
harder to deal with.

Passing Lou Lan the five fire elemental elixirs would provide a
huge boost to the fire elementalists in the team, allowing them
to enter a higher realm.

Suddenly, Ai Hui noticed a section of thick and solid bone and

picked it up after a short pause. The bone was exceptionally
robust and heavy, with the thickness of a bowl’s mouth and the
length about a meter and a half. The two ends were of an
irregular, round shape, probably the leg bone of a certain dire
beast.

The bone was spotlessly white and very beautiful. Ai Hui

knocked it and heard a metallic sound, which revealed its
solidness. What surprised Ai Hui was the fact that a few chops
from his Wintry Jade Blade left no scars on the bone. It was still
surprising, even though he did not channel any elemental
energy into his hits.

Plus, it was really strange to find a bone, not belonging to a

bat, among the pile of flying foxes’ bones.
 Ai Hui said to the rest, "Find more bones of this type."

Everyone, too, noticed that the bone Ai Hui was holding was
special. They dispersed in search of similar bones and ended up
with four of them in different sizes. The biggest one had been
found by Ai Hui and the smallest one was only half a foot long
and was thin as chopsticks.

If not for the identical color and aura, Ai Hui wouldn’t be

certain that these four bones came from the same species of dire
beast. What kind of dire beast would have such strange looking
bones?

He couldn’t tell what was special about these bones and would
have to hand them over to Blind He for analysis when he
returned. In the past, he had thought that he was half an expert
when it came to dire beasts, but after seeing what Blind He
could do, he realized he was lagging far behind.

Keeping the bones that belonged to an unknown beast and

packing numerous flaming bones, Ai Hui and gang made their
way back.

Ai Hui was being cautious as usual. He’d already found their

first goal, which was to rule Blackfish Mouth Volcano and
dominate it!

The battle that occurred not long ago made Blackfish Mouth
Volcano appear tranquil, which was a rare sight. Ai Hui and
gang did not bump into any trouble on their return journey.

The dire beasts, including other rockback earth dragons, were

already aware that their neighbors weren’t weaklings. But the
naturally antagonistic relationship between dire beasts and
elementalists would not see any changes just because of the
destruction of the scarletfire flying foxes.

Ai Hui and gang arrived safely at the valley, allowing everyone

to finally let out a breath of relief.

Their harvest pleased everyone further, especially the fire

elementalists, who were filled with anticipation.

Ai Hui’d wanted to ask Blind He to analyze the four pieces of

bones, but seeing that he was busy forging parts that he needed,
Ai Hui chose not to disturb him.
 Central Pine Valley could finally take a breather, but no one
dared to slack off at all.

Their battle with the scarletfire flying foxes consumed a lot of

their water and wood elemental energy. Although it was a single
attack, Shi Xueman and Duanmu Huanghun had mobilized the
maximum amount of elemental energy possible.

And the five elemental energies within the valley had been in
equilibrium, causing the elemental energy concentration to
reach a trough these past few days. Ai Hui estimated that the
valley would need three days of replenishment to restore its
energy concentration’s usual state of equilibrium.

It was as if they were expecting a mortal enemy for three days,

and if nothing cropped up, the valley’s defense would finally be
restored.

Another good piece of news was that the parts Ai Hui needed
were ready.

Upon hearing that Ai Hui wanted to fix up something new,

everybody abandoned what they were doing and ran over to join
the buzz.
 Clanking sounds could be heard as Ai Hui was hard at work.

He’d piled the parts up not far away. They were all items
forged by Blind He, and quality wise there was nothing much
for Ai Hui to complain about.

Ai Hui had long been used to being watched and so his actions
weren’t the least affected.

First, he chiseled a fire well mouth, the red lava shining upon
his face, making it appear bright red in color. His eyes were so
focused, as if there were flames burning within. He then started
to put the parts together in a swift manner, as if he’d long
visualized how the final product would look like.

As the parts came together slowly, everybody finally saw some

development.

It was actually a pagoda!

Following the capping of the roof, a black pagoda appeared

before their eyes. It was about ten meters tall and had three
stories. Its entire body was forged from a mix of volcanic rock
and metal.

At the tower peak was a stem of round tube which everyone

found familiar looking.

Wasn’t that the long, spraying snout that belonged to the

lava-spitting beast?

The long snout on the top of the pagoda changed angle

constantly and was very nimble.

Ai Hui had a satisfied look on his face. Clapping his hands he

declared, "Finished!"

The audience, who’d long felt impatient, started crowding

over and discussing.

"What’s that?"

"The long snout that belonged to the lava-spitting beast!"

 AI Hui was pleased. He cleared his throat gently and answered
earnestly, "This is a Hellfire Pagoda Cannon!"

"So it spits lava like the lava-spitting beast?"

Ai Hui quietened the crowd. "We’ll do a demonstration now so

you guys will see for yourselves."

Everyone became silent and looked on in anticipation.

Fatty was called over since the Hellfire Pagoda Cannon

required a fire elementalist to control it. Fatty went inside the
spacious tower, where each level was over three meters tall.
Getting inside was effortless despite his bigger size.

The black pagoda cannon turned red rapidly like burning

steel. A wave of heat surfaced instantly and spread to its
surroundings.

The others moved away.

Suddenly, a bright earth fire rose up the six pillars in spirals

before entering the eaves of the first storey. Shortly after,
flames surge up the pillars on the second storey. The flames
were brighter than before, appearing whitish.

This scene seemed quite familiar as well.

Someone shouted, "White Cluster Flames!"

It was no wonder everyone felt that this sight was familiar.

Wasn’t this the smelting furnace Ai Hui’d made for Blind He?
Their eyes fell subconsciously onto Blind He. He was floating in
mid air, looking unconcerned.

They quickly noticed that the Hellfire Pagoda Cannon was

more powerful that the furnace since the earth fire had
undergone three amassments. The flames got increasingly
white with each level and everyone could feel the terrifying
power the flames contained.

When the flames gathered at the third layer they were snow-
white and actually seemed cold. But everyone was aware that
they were in fact unbelievably hot.
 Blind He appeared extremely calm, but his heart was actually
greatly stirred.

The White Cluster Flames seemed to be a genius’s invention.

He’d not expected Ai Hui to give him an even bigger surprise so
quickly. The appearance of this layered cluster meant that the
flames could be upgraded again. To him, this was beyond
ingenious.

After three levels of amassments, the aura released by the

white flames made Blind He palpitate. As a weaponsmith, he
was exceptionally sensitive to the auras of flames. Just from
smelling the emitted aura he knew that the white flames,
having gone through three layers of amassments, were no
longer endurable by ordinary materials.

Ordinary ingredients would instantly be destroyed under such

powerful flames.

If a three layered amassment produced such good results,

what would six layers do? What about nine?

A whole new world seemed to be opening its door for him

with a loud bang.
Chapter 431: Snow Lava
Not everyone was as far-sighted as Blind He. Their eyes were
fixed on the spray snout on the pagoda roof.

They were curious and excited. Since the pagoda cannon was
actually called a cannon, it should work similar to the lava-
spitting beast. The lava spat by the beast was shockingly
formidable and had left a deep impression on them. If the
pagoda cannon was anything like the beast, it meant that
valley’s defense had been added with a lava-spitting beast. This
could enhance its attacking powers.

Gulu-gulu! The sound of lava being extracted was heard,

intensifying the curious looks on everybody’s faces.

Only Fatty, who was inside the pagoda cannon, could clearly
see what was going on. The lava was being extracted from the
fire well before being tempered within the White Cluster
Flames, its volume rapidly shrinking.

Standing outside, Ai Hui explained, "The lava will undergo

three phases of tempering, causing it to shrink significantly but
also increase in quality. As to how much its quality will
improve, we will only know after some tests. Oh, the pagoda
cannon can temper lava consistently on normal days so it will be
ready for battles. I feel that tempered lava is a very good fire
elemental material. Wonder if it’s possible to sell? I’ll get Blind
He and Lou Lan to evaluate when the time comes. We will have
an additional income source if it’s sellable."

Everyone was used to Ai Hui’s habit of linking everything to

money.

People who did not know him would definitely think that he
was the president of an enterprise, opening his eyes wide at the
sight of profit.

Iron Lady had a different perspective. "How powerful is it?"

After some thought, Ai Hui answered uncertainly, "We would

have to try it to know. We got to wait for a bit more. There’s a
lava reservoir in the pagoda to store tempered lava so there’s no
need to do it at the last minute when there’s a battle. But we will
have to wait for the first batch to be completed before firing the
first cannon."

Ai Hui answered her freely, as if nothing had happened

between them. Ah, he’d done it in battle and under urgent
circumstances. As an outstanding fighter, how could he have
bothered about these minor details?

Nothing had changed between Ai Hui and Iron Lady on the

surface, but what went on in their minds wasn’t clear to
outsiders.

The only change was that they knew not to talk about bamboo
cart in front of Iron Lady and not to mention that Ai Hui was
slow unless they wanted to get beaten up. Both of them had
solid fists and a bad temper so they wouldn’t get any
explanation even after enduring the beating.

These two guys were really unfathomable.

The spray nose on the pagoda started to rotate, catching

everyone’s attention. They opened their eyes wide, in fear of
missing any detail.

Boom!

The sound of the cannon blowing off wasn’t loud at all in spite
of their expectations. It was really soft and if the pagado cannon
had been further away, they might not have heard it at all.

A splendid white light shot out from the cannon barrel,

toward another mountain ridge outside the valley.

It was definitely nowhere as mighty as the lava-spitting beast.

The oppressive hissing made by the beast when spitting lava
was sky-shaking.

Just as everyone was getting slightly disappointed the white

light struck the mountain ridge far away.

There wasn’t any of the predicted boom, rising smoke or

earthquake.

It was as if nothing had happened.

But Shi Xueman’s pupils shrank suddenly. Without a word

she flew toward that mountain ridge speedily. Upon seeing her
go, the rest followed in unison. They knew that she must have
noticed something.
 Ai Hui’s gaze fell upon that mountain range and fell into a
short daze. Lagging half a beat he immediately took flight.

The mountain ridge was about two miles away from the
valley, a distance that required little time and effort to reach.
Everybody got there in the blink of an eye.

Upon reaching it, everyone took in a breath of cold air,

disbelief evident on their faces.

There was a table-sized tunnel in the mountain ridge that

reached all the way to the other side. The pagoda cannon had
actually bored a hole through the whole mountain ridge!

While the light had struck a weaker region, the rocks that had
been blasted off were forty meters thick.

Boring through three to six meters of rock wasn’t so big of a

deal.

But no one was able to blast through forty meters of rock.

There was a hole the rough size of a table and the glossy inner
wall had a melted ceramic texture, a clear sign that the strike
was not only shockingly forceful but also shockingly hot.

No one dared to imagine what such a terrifying attack would

do to a person.

Would the defensive ancient tree’s energy screen be able to

withstand such an attack?

Duanmu Haunghun thought this over and the conclusion he

arrived at distorted the expression on his face. Perhaps once? He
noticed Ai Hui’s satisfied look and felt even more displeased.

Amid the shock, everybody was cheering and celebrating.

With such a strong firepower, just one hit was more than
sufficient to send the dire beasts crying.

This murderous weapon could catalyze their establishment in

Central Pine Valley. No matter how powerful a dire beast they
met, they would be able to defend themselves. This fact
instantly took a whole load of pressure off their chests.
 Seeing everybody’s excitement, Ai hui called out softly, "The
Hellfire Pagoda Cannon can also shoot flames."

His words caught everyone’s attention immediately.

"Shoot flames?"

"How?"

They then followed Ai Hui excitedly back to the tower.

The flames sprayed by the cannon were White Cluster Flames,

but because of the layers of clustering the result was a flame of
small volume, about a foot long or so.

Having witnessed the lava attack, the audience had high

expectations of the flames. Upon seeing this pathetically short
and white flame, all of them gave Ai Hui a strange look.

Ai Hui looked very embarrassed. He did not expect the flames

to be this tiny.
 But he had thick skin and laughed it off.

Blind He, on the other hand, felt that a foot long flames were
just right for tempering some high grade materials. With three
layers of clustering, the flames were more powerful than his
White Cluster Flames. But they did not have many rare
materials. Ordinary materials were forged by the smelting
furnace and would not be able to endure such a strong flame.

As long as it works, Ai Hui thought and quickly forgot about

his embarrassment.

He had one more spraying snout and it mustn’t be wasted. Ai

Hui started building his second Hellfire Pagoda Cannon. Having
gained experience, Ai Hui and Blind He’s speed was clearly
much faster.

They took only one day to complete the second pagoda

cannon. For convenience’s sake the new cannon was called
"short pagoda cannon" and the first one was called "long pagoda
cannon".

Short pagoda cannon attacked much more frequently than

long pagoda cannon, but its range and power of attack was
much smaller and hence more suitable for short-range defense.
Having learnt his lesson, Ai Hui did not add a flame shooting
function on the short pagoda cannon.

The two pagoda cannons were like two guardians, defending

the valley and securing peace. The grave atmosphere, that once
enveloped the valley, had lightened up significantly. The merry
laughter of a few children, especially, made the valley livelier.

Life seemed to have gone back on track as the elemental

energy was gradually recovering. All kinds of plants started
undergoing a growth spurt and the valley was overflowing with
the charms of spring.

Having undergone the long pagoda cannon’s tempering, the

lava was of a superb quality and its body was only one twelfth
its original volume. Its fresh, red color was now a splendid
white. Peculiarly, its initially viscous texture was now fluid and
flowed like water.

No one had seen such a lava before, and as usual, a name

should be given to it. With their previous experience, everyone
automatically disregarded Ai Hui despite the fact that it was his
contribution.
 Ultimately this completely new type of lava was named Snow
Lava.

Ai Hui muttered to himself non-stop. That name wasn’t any

different from the one he had in mind so how dare they ignore
them.

Nevertheless, everyone ignored him.

The long pagoda cannon could produce about three liters of

snow lava whereas the short one could produce two.

Much practice was necessary to teach everyone how to control

the cannon. At least three liters of snow lava would be
consumed so only two would be left.

Although the quality of snow lava was decent, no one knew

how much money it was worth.

Time had been flying past for the fire elementalists in the
valley. One of the five fire elemental elixirs had already gone
into their tummies. Not only did their elemental energy
improve greatly, they also got to enjoy the fire elemental soup
specially brewed by Lou Lan.

The only challenge was that the pagoda cannon wasn’t easy to
control. Training everyday really consumed a lot of their
elemental energy and they were all close to collapsing. The
flames from the pagoda cannon were of an extremely high
grade, so exercising any control over it was very difficult.

What surprised Ai Hui was the fact that Fatty performed the
best in this aspect.

Ai Hui had to interrogate him by grabbing him before he

spilled the reason. He felt safer in the pagoda cannon and hence
was at ease. Another reason was that whenever he was close to
exhaustion, Lou Lan would give him a little elemental food. The
more tired he was the more he would get.

Fatty sneaked guilty glances at Ai Hui as he spoke.

Ai Hui knew not whether to laugh or cry at Fatty’s

explanation, but on second thought he had just found a method
to deal with Fatty in future!
 Blind He had never seen bones like the four Ai Hui and gang
had picked from the scarletfire flying foxes’ cave so he couldn’t
be sure what kind of dire beast those belonged to.

Peace was restored in the valley. The daily bombardment of

the cannons also quieted the surrounding beasts. While they
were still unable to walk across Blackfish Mouth Volcano, no
beasts dared to have their sights on the valley as well.

The situation seemed stable, so all they had to do was to

continue their development plans patiently. However, a new
problem arose shortly.

The resources in the valley were running out!

Lou Lan couldn’t even gather sufficient ingredients for his

elemental soup. Blind He was facing the same problem. No
matter how ample the team’s initial preparations were, there
were still many incalculable aspects.

Just the elemental energy pools alone consumed a significant

amount of resources.
 Central Pine Valley was a closed one, so resources did not
replenish themselves. The more they used, the less they had
left. While the medicinist and farmers had already started
sowing the seeds, time was needed for those to grow.

The team had to replenish the goods. They were about to

embark on their first trading journey.

Everybody had already spent most of their Heaven Merit

Points on the previous batch of materials and had little points
left. They needed to sell produce from the valley in order to
earn some points to buy other goods.

This was also going to be their experimental journey, albeit a

month ahead of schedule.
Chapter 432: Fairy Devil Palace
A snarl, seemingly coming from a beast on the verge of death
and who was slightly trembling, could be heard. There was pain
and wildness in that growl, which echoed throughout Beast
Venom Temple, piercing through layers of wall and dispersing
into the clouds.

The people in Beast Venom Temple quickly dropped what

they were working on. They seemed to be listening, their
expressions complicated. They were shocked, sympathetic and
in fear.

"You’re like an exceptional dire beast, Sir!"

"What dire beast! Sir is the Devil himself, Red Devil."

"Not human, that’s for sure. How can any human reach this
stage?"

"Is the biscuit ready? Give some to Xianzi. She’s loyal and
honest. I hope Sir Red Devil can lead a peaceful life, or else,
what is Xianzi to do?"
 "It’s already been prepared. How can I forget about Xianzi?
Ahh. It’s not easy being Sir. It’s like raising a kid. Teaching
Xianzi how to talk, walk and be a sensible person. Were they a
married couple?"

"Definitely, otherwise why would Sir be so kind to Xianzi?"

"Sir and Xianzi are both good people but they were born under
an unlucky star."

"It’s a chaotic world, who isn’t suffering?"

They sighed and lost the mood to talk.

The sunlight that day was glaring. As the palace hall doors
opened one by one, a tall and sturdy figure wearing a black and
red mask walked out from the darkness, his black cape
surrounding him like the night sky. Sweat could be seen on the
lashes of the eyes behind the mask. His blue, seawater-like
pupils were steady and motionless, but beneath these deep blues
was a faint blood color.

"Congratulations, Sir."
 The guards outside the door bowed simultaneously with their
heads lowered, the zeal and worship on their faces unconcealed.

This figure, appearing to be shrouded by darkness, had

broken the previous record of Beast Venom Temple. It was his
twenty-first time undergoing blood refinement. No one could
even begin to comprehend this number. Even the Holy Emperor
was greatly moved and bestowed him with countless treasures
before his refinement.

Today, Red Devil has become Beast Venom Temple’s emblem.

Each time one went through blood refinement was like

charging through hell.

Steel-like willpower wasn’t enough to bring the blood refiner

back from hell. Countless iron men had died from explosion.
Red Devil really was a miracle. A living miracle.

No one knew how he’d done it.

But he did.
 He did not reek of blood at all. He stood at the entrance, his
gaze pouring down. He was like an unmeltable ink block,
blocking off all sunlight.

A group of powerful looking guards, dressed in armor

platings, whizzed down while supporting a woman in red and
landed in the temple. The golden flag represented the Blood of
God’s supreme Holy Emperor.

The temple guards kneeled down with a panicked cry. Only

Red Devil stood motionless.

The lady in red was She Yu. Her gaze fell upon Red Devil.
While she looked indifferent, she was actually beyond shocked.
Red Devil was obviously standing about ten meters away, but
she felt only emptiness.

Twenty-first blood refinement… simply too terrifying.

She dared not forget her manners, bending her head down
respectfully. "Congratulations, Master! His Majesty had heard of
your success and was very excited about it, mentioning that our
nation has another pillar. He’d specially instructed me to
congratulate you and gift you a palace hall, ninety thousand god
cores, three hundred carts of jade fruits, ten thousand servants.
Daily expenses will be allocated to you by the palace. His
Majesty wishes to become Xianzi’s godbrother and wants me to
ask for your opinion."

As if he’d heard nothing, Red Devil threw his gaze far away
and stood still like a statue.

She Yu maintained her posture, not daring to move even the

slightest. She was dumbstruck in fact. It felt as if the
surrounding air had been frozen. She seemed to mistakenly feel
that any slight movement on her part would result in an instant
blood splash.

She would have blown him up if it had been anyone else who
was being rude, but at this point She Yu simply couldn’t get
herself to feel resentful.

Anyone who had the ability to survive twenty-one blood

refinements had the right to be rude. Sir Red Devil was now one
of the most powerful people in the whole of God Nation.

A beautiful figure charged into the temple and upon seeing

Red Devil her eyes lit up. She shouted cheerily, "Little Devil!"
 Her tender yet crisp voice carried a deep yearning and
admiration.

The icy atmosphere melted instantly as the dull sunlight

regained its dazzle. She Yu and the rest relaxed their muscles
only to find their backs filled with sweat.

The beautiful lady rushed over and stopped before Red Devil,
putting her pitiful looking face close to his. She pleaded, "Little
Devil, stop undergoing blood refinement."

The lady looked over twenty years of age but her voice
resembled that of a seven or eight year old child, tender and
crisp.

All the graveness and darkness had vanished, as if a dire beast

had quietly retracted its sharp claws or a hedgehog had
flattened all its spikes, in fear that she would be hurt the
slightest.

The king, who had returned from war, took down his crown,
placed his scepter down, untied his sword, removed his war
clothes and washed himself.
 Without all the halos, Red Devil looked ordinary.

He placed his warm palm on her tear-stained cheek, gently

removing them. The lady shut her eyes, revealing an expression
similar to that of a relaxed kitten.

"Alright, I won’t do it anymore."

He reassured her in a low voice, a slight smile appearing on

his face.

With her eyes closed Xianzi acknowledged his words with a

face full of joy.

A good while later he answered without even turning his

head, "I’ll thank His Majesty on the behalf of Xianzi."

She Yu let out a breath, exultation filling her heart. She

responded deferentially, "His Majesty will be ecstatic to know. I
shan’t disturb your rest any longer. I’ll ask to be excused."

At that she left quietly with her guards.

 "Thanking His Majesty on my behalf?"

"You’re about to have a powerful brother."

"Is it you, Little Devil? But I don’t want Little Devil to be my

brother."

"Haha, it isn’t me of course."

A pair of guards entered the palace with a huge pile of gifts,

bowing respectfully. "Congratulations, Sir! Mister Bei’s heard
about your success and was unable to contain his joy. He
specially instructed us to bring you some congratulatory gifts…"

Yet another group entered the courtyard as the head greeted,

"Congratulations, Sir! I’m the person in charge of War God
Palace and am here to present you with a little something on
behalf of my master. He couldn’t stop praising you upon
hearing about your success, calling you a heroic youth…"

Group after group entered to congratulate Red Devil and offer

gifts, filling up the courtyard quickly.
 As though nobody was present, Red Devil paid no attention at
all. His gentle and warm gaze was only focused on the beautiful
face in front of him.

"We’re about to have a palace. You are going to name it."

"Really? Let’s call it Devil Palace!"

"But Xianzi’s living in it? Let’s call it Fairy Devil Palace."

"Little Devil, I’m hungry…"

The sunshine was perfect now.

…..

In Skyheart City, citizens suddenly noticed that there were

many elementalists from Infantry Division and Sky Edge
Division walking on the streets, emitting an unusual trace of
odor. People became more careful as they knew that something
major was likely to happen whenever such a situation arose.
 Madam Ye stood guard before the bed couch, her eyes red.
Xiaobao had fallen asleep while leaning on the edge.

On the bed lay an unconscious old man.

This old man wielded the most power in the Avalon of Five
Elements but was missing his former might. He was merely an
old man who was almost reaching the end of his road.

No different from any other old person.

Worry was evident in one servant’s eyes. She urged in a low

voice, "Madam, please get some rest. I’ll keep watch. You
haven’t had any rest since yesterday."

Madam Ye shook her head. "I’m fine."

A lady in a veil walked into the room with a long sword in her
hand. Seeing Madam Ye she called out softly, "Aunt Ye."

Madam Ye let out a breath upon seeing her guest. "How is it?
How’s the situation outside?"
 This young looking lady was today’s Karakorum Polaris.

"We’ve already sealed Skyheart City off. Families are still at

peace but they’re all asking around so I reckon it will be difficult
to hide it for long. Elder Yuchi from Newlight City had fallen ill
as well and is unable to return to Skyheart City as scheduled.
We suspect that he’s already gotten hold of the news."

Having learned through experience over a period of time, the

lady was no longer the chief of Karakorum Sword League but a
division leader of Sky Edge. She did seem more capable and
experienced.

Madam Ye couldn’t help but let out, "That old fox!"

She massaged her forehead.

Just then, a weak cough was heard from above the bed,
startling the two of them. They turned their heads to the side
immediately. Great Elder was slightly awake.

"Father!"
 "Great Elder!"

Sorrow filled their hearts. The Great Elder, who used to

dominate the Avalon of Five Elements, did not even have much
energy to cough.

Great Elder opened his eyes slowly. The glimmer in his eyes
was like a candlelight in the wind, causing much worry that it
could go out at anytime.

His voice was frail and carried a bit of a self-mocking tone,

"Looks like I’ll leave before Junior, how unexpected. But this is
good too. He’s a Grandmaster after all and I’m just an ordinary
man."

Madam Ye responded softly, "You have to stay strong, Father.

Everyone’s waiting for you to lead us again. You’re our
backbone."

The Great Elder did not answer. He was rather absent minded.
Countless images appeared before his eyes. He’d had the glory of
ruling over the world. Every one of his strategic decisions
affected and changed the Avalon of Five Elements. But thinking
about how they had to resort to struggling their way into the
Wilderness, an intense guilt rose within his chest. He did not
know what he’d done wrong.

But he knew that he must have done something wrong.

As the Great Elder, he was definitely accountable for the

plight of the Avalon of Five Elements.

His faint breaths contained an inexpressible guilt, remorse

and blankness.

He said, somewhat at a loss and somewhat relieved, "Avalon

of Five Elements is yours from now onward. You’re stronger
than me. Maybe you’ll think of a solution. Do not lose to Blood
of God."

Madam Ye reassured unhesitatingly, "We won’t lose to them."

Her voice carried such an intensity that sent Karakorum

Polaris and the servants trembled inwardly. Madam had always
been composed, virtuous and sweet-tempered. It was their first
time seeing Madam so resentful.
 But thinking about her dead husband and her muddleheaded
boy, everyone was relieved.

The Great Elder’s eyes lit up a little. "Order the three central
divisions to withdraw from Old Territory and defend Skyheart
City. Have the three division leaders meet me. Order North Sea
Division to launch an attack against Blood of God. There’s a
need to boost the morale of the Avalon of Five Elements. Tell
Shi Beihai not to worry about casualties. The three central
divisions will provide assistance when the time comes."

Karakorum Polaris shuddered and couldn’t help but take a

quick glimpse at Aunt Ye.

Madam Ye stood up immediately. "I’ll get to it right now."

Chapter 433: Clearwater City
Yuchi Ba looked at the distant, flourishing city with fear and
bewilderment in his eyes.

Up until now, the situation had been very optimistic.

From now on, all of their hope and fate was placed in this
newly-built city. There was no other way out for them.

The other Elders beside him looked absent-minded as well.

Their faces contained an unconcealable worry.

When the news of Great Elder being seriously ill was

disseminated,Yuchi Ba knew that the fragile balance of power in
Elders Guild would be immediately toppled. The conflicts and
divergences between new citizens and aristocratic families could
no longer be concealed.

Both parties would try to limit each other’s strength and

authority. No one would be able to stop the collapse of Elders
Guild.
 Yuchi Ba knew that Madam Ye was shrewd and formidable,
but he still did not think that she could pull Elders Guild out of
this critical crisis.

How could the prestige that Great Elder had built up over his
lifetime be replaced by a newcomer just like this?

New citizens were filled with both fear and respect for Great
Elder.

Yuchi Ba had fantasized about taking over the position of

Great Elder numerous times. However, when he knew that
Great Elder was gravely ill, his first reaction was to panic.

Where would their path lie in the future? What would happen
to Newlight City in the future? Where could he lead the new
citizens to? Were they able to withstand Blood of God?

He did not know the answers to all of these questions.

Now he truly understood that there was an uncrossable gap

between him and Great Elder.
 Initially, everyone resented Great Elder. Whenever things
went wrong, they would direct numerous complaints at him.
However, now that Great Elder suddenly collapsed, they came
to the realization that he was the pillar supporting everyone.

In the past, New Citizen Faction felt that Great Elder was their
number one enemy. However, now that Great Elder was on the
verge of collapse, instead of rejoicing, they were feeling deeply
troubled.

"Great Elder truly lived up to his status. He was a ruthless

individual," Yuchi Ba regained his composure, "Shi Beihai is in
trouble."

The other Elders understood what Yuchi Ba was trying to say.

The New Citizen Faction and the Aristocratic Faction were

clearly at odds. Both parties had relatively strong foundations.
Neutral Faction would most likely be devoured by Aristocratic
Faction first. Being a member of Neutral Faction, Shi Beihai was
neither favored by New Citizen Faction nor Aristocratic Faction.

This could be seen from Great Elder’s order as well. Great

Elder sent the three central divisions to guard Skyheart City,
but he’d sent Shi Beihai to attack Blood of God. Obviously, he
was trying to diminish Shi Beihai’s strength.

Another Elder could not help but ask, "Can we win over Shi
Beihai? We used to have a rather good relationship with the
Neutral Faction."

Aristocratic Faction always made up the majority of Elders

Guild. As such, New Citizen Faction often collaborated with the
Neutral Faction to contend against Aristocratic Faction.

The relationship between New Citizen Faction and Neutral

Faction was rather harmonious.

"We can try, but we can’t have too high of an expectation.

Even though Neutral Faction sympathizes with New Citizen
Faction, they are mainly made up of aristocratic families as
well." Yuchi Ba replied with a non-committal tone.

Taking a deep breath, Yuchi Ba continued, "From today

onwards, Elders Guild ceases to exist except in name. We have
to depend on ourselves for our future. If we are powerful, we
can do anything we want. If we are weak, even if the
Aristocratic Faction don’t devour us, Blood of God will not let us
off. Everyone, please work hard."

Everyone bowed respectfully and replied, "Yes!"

Yuchi Ba’s eyes were blazing as he spoke with an aggressive

tone, "Right now, since the situation hasn’t been fixed, we will
wait for Tong Gui and Yu Lin to come back and build a combat
division that can safeguard Newlight City. We will have a
combat division that belongs to the new citizens."

He turned and said to Chouchou with a deep voice, "Prepare to

execute your plan."

"Yes!" Chouchou’s chubby face was filled with excitement.

…..

The news of Great Elder being severely ill did not only affect
the higher-ups. Its effects were spreading and developing
gradually.

Clearwater City, situated in the east of Palette Cloud Village,

was not affected much by the news. The locals’ lives still went
on as usual.

Clearwater City was a medium-scale city. It was also the

nearest medium-scale city to Central Pine Valley. Even so, Ai
Hui and his counterparts needed to go on an arduous journey of
twenty-six days to reach there.

In Wilderness, the distance between each city was

exceptionally long. Dangers lurked everywhere and they needed
to be vigilant at all times for surprise attacks by dire beasts.
Other than the developed trade routes set up by the few large-
scale cities nearby, the rest of the cities still lacked the
capabilities to solve this issue.

There had been situations where trading caravans were being

attacked by dire beasts. Some cunning and vicious dire beasts
were even specialized in hunting elementalists.

Those small-scale cities that lacked sufficient defensive

capabilities would become the main targets for dire beasts.
Some dire beasts even formed groups to attack these small-scale
cities. In areas where the situation was critical, organised
attacks were being launched upon some small-scale cities. The
dire beasts that carried out these organized attacks were able to
form elemental elixirs.

Mankind had no choice but to invade Wilderness. Like their

ancestors, they were trying to establish a new home for
themselves.

This war had just begun. Who was the real prey? Who was the
overlord of Wilderness? Only time would tell.

The number of small-scale cities was decreasing sharply as

they were starting to gather to form medium-scale to large-scale
cities. This trend was becoming an undeniable reality. Some
people even predicted that only large-scale cities would survive
in Wilderness in the future.

Clearwater City also gradually strengthened itself and became

a middle-scale city under such circumstances. The city kept on
expanding and it would become a large-scale city very soon.

Other than being a relatively short distance away from them,

the healthy economy of Clearwater City was another reason
why Ai Hui and the rest chose to come to this city.
 Clearwater City owed its healthy economy to its mayor, Qiao
Meiqi.

Before Qiao Meiqi built Clearwater City, he possessed a

powerful and rich enterprise, Meiqi Enterprise, Qiao Meiqi
knew how to manage his business properly and he had deep
relationships with some aristocratic families. For example, he
and the Gong Residence’s eldest young master, Gong Chengxiu,
were bosom buddies.

When the Wilderness Expansion Order was announced, Qiao

Meiqi knew that the future lay in Wilderness. Without any
hesitation, he decided to build a city in Wilderness and his
decision was supported by the Gong Residence.

After expending a huge amount of time and effort blazing a

new trail into Wilderness, Qiao Meiqi finally built Clearwater
City in the east of Palette Cloud Village.

After Clearwater City was established, he actively supported

people to open up trade routes and start businesses. He even
offered highly-priced bounties for the surrounding dire beasts.
After annexing a few small-scale cities that were defeated by
dire beasts, Clearwater City strengthened rapidly. Now,
Clearwater City had become a prosperous city.
 Dangers could not stop people’s desire for wealth.

Clearwater City was hugely appealing for combat

elementalists. As long as one could hunt down a dire beast, he or
she could obtain a huge bounty. The purchase prices for dire
beast materials were very fair and generous as well. Those
capable elementalists could obtain prestige and wealth in
Clearwater City.

Having a huge amount of dire beast materials also attracted

many trading caravans to the city.

Among the crowd of trading caravans and travellers, Ai Hui

and his counterparts were not really noticeable. This time
around, there was only Ai Hui, Iron Lady, Lou Lan and Zhao
Boan.

Ai Hui and Iron Lady were in charge of safety for this trip.
Zhao Boan was in charge of handling business deals and Lou Lan
was in charge of replenishing supplies.

Central Pine Valley’s exports were pathetically little. Other

than the snow lava, they only had some fire sacks from the
scarletfire flying foxes. These were their spoils of war. They had
very few intact fire sacks. Ai Hui and his counterparts could
only gather forty of them.

The cleverest housewife could not cook without rice. How

could they buy or trade for anything if they did not have exports
to sell in the first place?

Ai Hui thought of the flaming bones in the scarletfire flying

foxes’ cave and ordered everyone to bring them back. Even
though the selling price for the flaming bones was not high,
there were a huge number of them.

All the flaming bones had been tempered with the smelting
furnace’s White Cluster Flames to increase their quality. The
base level of Hellfire Pagoda Cannon’s Snow Cluster Flames was
too high for the flaming bones. They could not take it and were
reduced directly to ashes.

After the flaming bones were tempered, their quality had

clearly upgraded. Blind He’s interest was piqued and he used
some of these flaming bones to create a few unique weapons.

However, all of these weapons were fire elemental ones and

they were only suitable for fire elementalists. They did not need
to worry about market demand for fire elemental weapons.
After Fire Prairie was annexed by Blood of God, there was a
shortage of fire elemental materials and production of fire
elemental weapons was stopped. Right now, the market prices
of fire elemental weapons were exorbitant.

When everyone heard of this news, all of them became very

excited.

Especially Iron Lady, this was the first time she was doing
business and this was a completely new experience for her.

In the past, she had never fussed over money. Her family
would give her anything that she needed. The price of her
clothes and her daily necessities was exorbitant. She did not
understand the concept of money in the past. Otherwise, she
would not have offered up her Calming Indigo Bracelet as
collateral for the money for a bowl of noodles.

However, now she would be happy over the small sum of

profit that everyone was going to make.

Generally speaking, the cities in Wilderness were smaller than

the cities in the Avalon of Five Elements. The cities in
Wilderness placed emphasis on their defence first. The smaller a
city was, the easier it was to defend it.

Most of the cities in Avalon of Five Elements were built after

Avalon of Five Elements had completely stabilized. A stable
social environment allowed them to not think so much about
the issue of defence. This was why the cities in Avalon of Five
Elements could be so big.

Clearwater City was considered a middle-scale city in

Wilderness, however, its actual area was smaller than Peace
City.

Even though the city was small, its population was a lot larger
than Peace City’s.

Everyone was puzzled about how so many people were

gathered in such a small city.

Every now and then, a group of draught beasts would pass by

them with a jingle. This was the first time Ai Hui and his
counterparts saw these draught beasts. They had thick limbs
and they had a circle of thick and strong bone spikes growing
out from the edge of their wide backs. The circle of bone spikes
acted as a huge basin for people to place their goods within it.

These draught beasts had a huge amount of strength and

exceptional endurance. They were very cheap to rear as well.
Since they looked like they carried a huge basin on their backs,
they were called load basin beasts.

The rise of load basin beasts began after the Wilderness

Expansion Order was announced.

In Wilderness, it was much more difficult to obtain elemental

energy than in Avalon of Five Elements. Transporting vehicles
like Three Leaves Bamboo Carts and Fiery Floating Clouds
required drivers to expend a huge amount of elemental energy.
They were gradually replaced by load basin beasts.
Furthermore, the air space above Wilderness was lurking with
dangers everywhere. Travelling on ground was much safer than
travelling through air.

Reportedly, load basin beasts were somewhat related to Blood

of God.

It was reported that load basin beasts were initially a failed

experimental blood fiend that Beast Venom Temple bred. Soon
after, they were sold to a businessman who later brought them
to Wilderness. Very soon, people began to discover their worth.
They used forbidden spells to induce reproduction and multiply
their numbers. After a few generations of the load basin beasts
being bred, the blood poison within their bodies became more
and more diluted. Eventually, the load basin beasts no longer
contained any trace of the blood poison.

Strangely speaking, blood poison was invincible in the Avalon

of Five Elements, spreading everywhere without much
difficulty. In Old Territory, it spread and progressed much
slower. In Wilderness, it could not even spread at all.

One could not help but be amazed at how mysterious this

world worked.

Groups of load basin beasts that were carrying tons of goods

walked on the road. Elementalists that were draped in animal
hides were riding on top of these load basin beasts. Copper bells
were hung on the bone spikes of the load basin beasts,
producing jingling sounds as they walked through the market.

Ai Hui and the rest felt as if they had returned to the primitive
ancient times.
Chapter 434: Bargain
For the past two years, the world had undergone great
changes.

These changes had impacted various aspects of the cities, for

example, commodities. A huge amount of dire beast materials
could be found on the market. Two years ago, these dire beast
materials were considered rare commodities. Nowadays, they
could be found almost everywhere. The products that could be
produced or obtained readily two years ago were in scarcity
now. For example, the prices of artifact remnants had increased
more than ten times in the last two years. Sometimes, they
could not even be bought on account of their exorbitant prices.

Those who’d barged into Wilderness to vie for territories with

dire beasts without sufficient preparation had gone through
countless cruel struggles. The mysterious Wilderness was filled
with unknowns. For example, unknown species and unknown
ores. These mysterious unknowns might provide either
boundless wealth or nothing at all.

The endless stream of new materials emerging on the market

had given rise to a group of appraisers who were specialized in
appraising these unknown materials.
 Most of them used to be smiths with rich experience and
knowledge in various materials in the past. It was initially
because they could not get any jobs and were very free that they
decided to help people to appraise these unknown new
materials. Soon after, someone identified the business
opportunity behind this and changed his profession to being an
appraiser.

Usually, a material’s selling price was decided by an

appraiser’s evaluation of it. As such, an appraiser viewed his
reputation and authority with great importance. Once his
reputation suffered a blow, it would be very hard for him to
regain everyone’s trust.

Clearwater City, which possessed a healthy economy, was

filled with appraisers. The most famous and authoritative
appraiser in Clearwater City was Appraiser Kang Ding.

Kang Ding was not a smith in the past. He was the disciple of a
smith for fifteen years. In these fifteen years, he carried out
basic treatments on various materials every day.

Even though he did not become an outstanding smith, he had

fifteen years of experience in handling materials. This allowed
him to give exceptionally precise evaluations of materials.
 Changing his profession to an appraiser allowed him to do
what he was best at.

Kang Ding rose to fame around one year ago when he

appraised a brand-new type of beast bone. That was a very
unique type of beast bone. It had a honeycomb-like structure
and its texture was soft. One could crush it into a fine powder
with a little bit of strength.

At that time, other than Kang Ding, all the other appraisers
gave it an appraisal grade of "Inferior". This result implied that
the bone was a type of material that could not be used to forge
any equipment. Perhaps it could only be used as fertilizer for
soil and was basically worthless.

The emergence of a huge amount of new materials had

rendered the conventional grading system for materials
obsolete. Everyone was trying to come up with a new grading
system.

Kang Ding was not affected by other appraisers’ evaluations of

the beast bone. Fifteen years of experience told him there was
something extraordinary about that piece of delicate beast bone.
Three days later, he gave his evaluation and it caused an uproar
in the public. The grade he gave was "B-Excellent".
 Upon receiving the news of Kang Ding’s appraisal grade, the
other appraisers flew into a rage and denounced Kang Ding.
They claimed that Kang Ding had some insider relationship
with the owner of the beast bone for giving the grade of "B-
Excellent" to such a trashy material

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Kang Ding took out a bottle

of metal elemental floral water and sprinkled it over the piece of
beast bone. Following which, something miraculous happened
to the piece of beast bone. A faint golden lustre erupted from the
deathly white beast bone and dazzled everyone’s eyes.

The nature of the beast bone had undergone a terrifying

transformation as well. The previously delicate and weak beast
bone had become tough and solid, so much so that a sword
couldn’t even leave a scratch on it. Furthermore, it could float
in the air without ever landing on the ground like a feather.

The owner was exceptionally excited. He named this

unknown piece of beast bone as Kang Ding Feather Bone.
Eventually, twelve Kang Ding Feather Bones were being bought
by Mayor Qiao Meiqi for an astronomical price.

The owner of the Kang Ding Feather Bones wanted to pay

Kang Ding ten times the usual appraisal fee but Kang Ding
rejected him tactfully and accepted the normal fee.

This incident helped Kang Ding to attain an extremely good

reputation. If it was a greedy appraiser that appraised the beast
bones, he might have bought the beast bones from the owner at
an extremely low price and then resold them to earn a huge
profit.

From that day onwards, Kang Ding became the most

authoritative appraiser that charged the highest appraisal fee in
Clearwater City.

He even established his own appraisal shop, Kang Appraisal

Shop.

The appraisal fee was not a big issue to Ai Hui and the rest.
They handed over their items to Kang Appraisal Shop and went
to explore the market in Clearwater City.

They were filled with curiosity towards this city.

Even though the city was smaller than Peace City, its
population was five times larger than Peace City’s. It was hard
to find a corner in the city that was cold and isolated. This had
something to do with one of Qiao Meiqi’s policies as well.
Clearwater City did not collect city admission tax.

Cities like Skyheart City and Newlight City were good for
elementalists to train in, as they had a high concentration level
of elemental energy. However, not everyone could stay there.
Anyone who entered these two cities had to pay a city admission
tax first. Only the elites could establish a foothold in these huge
cities.

By exempting the city admission tax, Clearwater City had

attracted a huge number of elementalists.

Qiao Meiqi was fully aware that a sufficient human population

was the basis of a prosperous economy. Clearwater City was
situated in an isolated location, which was a huge disadvantage.
However, Qian Meiqi’s painstaking efforts to manage
Clearwater City had made it far more prosperous than most of
the other cities in Wilderness.

The market in Clearwater City was bustling with noise and

excitement and completely filled with people. Since the market
was not spacious enough, many people placed their goods on the
ground and hawked them. Most of these people had just
returned from the Wilderness. They did not have many goods
and the quality of their goods was not high. If they sold them to
shops, they would not make much profit. As such, they decided
to set up their own makeshift stores on the streets.

Many people liked to shop here as a lot of the things sold here
had been appraised.

Not everyone could afford the expensive appraisal fees.

There were a lot of times where one would buy a seemingly

good item only to discover that it was worthless after having it
appraised. Every time this happened, the one who got scammed
would feel extremely regretful.

Whether or not a person could pick up a good item in this

market had to depend on his luck and foresight. However, not
everyone could handle such a situation calmly and peacefully.
Elementalists that roamed Wilderness were mostly hot-headed
and brash. It was normal for elementalists to resort to violence
when things went wrong.

Even so, Clearwater City still enjoyed good public order.

 On the surrounding towers, fully-armored combat
elementalists would scan the city with their eyes every now and
then. If they discovered anyone who was creating a nuisance,
they would descend from the sky and arrest that person. If the
troublemaker tried to resist, the guards would have the right to
kill him on the spot.

After a few incidents of tough love, all the elementalists in the

city became well-behaved. After all, they understood that they
were here to make business deals.

Ai Hui and his counterparts were extremely eye-catching

among the crowd.

The focal point was Shi Xueman. She was tall and slim and
her face was beautiful and alluring. The decorative motif on her
blue-white armor was magnificent, highlighting her perfect
figure. She carried a magnificent spear on her back and her
frosty gaze would occasionally sweep across her surroundings.

Clearwater City was located in the depths of Wilderness. The

living conditions in Wilderness were extremely terrible and
those elementalists that lived here were mainly boorish and
intrepid individuals. How often could they see such a gorgeous
girl? Every pair of eyes was fixated on Shi Xueman.
 Something bizarre happened. Everywhere Shi Xueman went,
the clamor would freeze like ice.

Shi Xueman had been used to this kind of situation since she
was young. When she was in Induction Ground, she was already
a goddess that was widely adored. With a relaxed facial
expression, she walked with confidence beside Ai Hui.

Ai Hui teased her, "Tsk tsk, our Iron Lady is truly formidable.
She is way more formidable than any of our killer moves. Iron
Lady, you will be in charge of bargaining with the vendors later.
They might even give us some freebies."

Shi Xueman was already used to Ai Hui’s shameless and

avaricious character. However, she felt that Ai Hui’s words
made sense. Since they were so poor now, it would be best for
them to save as much money as possible. She nodded her head
and replied solemnly, "I don’t know how to bargain. So how do
you bargain? Teach me, do I use a sword or a spear?"

Ai Hui stopped in his tracks. Use a sword or a spear...

He could envision Iron Lady placing a sword on a vendor’s

neck with an ice-cold look on her face while asking coldly, "Half
price, are you selling it?"

The scene was beautiful...

Ai Hui gave a soft cough and replied, "Actually I shall leave it

to the professionals. Boan, I shall leave it to you."

Zhao Boan quickly nodded his head and replied, "Don’t worry,
you can leave it to your subordinate."

He was afraid of replying too slow. When he heard Miss Shi

Xueman’s words just now, his facial expression froze. After
spending so much time with her, he knew that Miss Shi would
really do this kind of thing. If she really did this kind of thing,
they would be in deep trouble.

Eventually, the market regained its bustle. Even though there

would be people looking at Ai Hui and his party every now and
then, they did it in a very subtle way. In times where public
order could break down easily, a girl who dared to roam around
in Wilderness must be very powerful. Furthermore, everything
on Shi Xueman’s body looked extraordinary. Those who were
sharp could tell that she came from a remarkable background.
 She had a servant, a guard, a butler and a sand puppet.

The guard looked somewhat arrogant. How dare he walk

alongside with his mistress...

If Ai Hui knew that people thought he was Iron Lady’s guard,

he would be seething with anger.

However, at this point of time, his attention was on the goods

placed in the stores on both sides of him. There were many
things that he had never seen before. Similarly, Lou Lan was
filled with curiosity too. Lou Lan had seen almost every
material sold in Central Pine City. However, most of the things
sold here were not recorded in the books he’d read. He found
them to be very fascinating.

Ai Hui and Lou Lan stopped and squatted down at almost

every store to look at their goods. A human and a sand puppet
were conversing in high spirits.

"Lou Lan, do you know what is this?"

"Ai Hui, Lou Lan has not seen it before. Boss, may I know
what this is?"

...

"Lou Lan, this looks rather delicious."

"Ai Hui, this cannot be eaten. This is the poison sack of a

smoke beast."

...

"Lou Lan, this mud is very sticky."

"Ai Hui, this is an earth elemental material, unceasing mud. It

is a very practical earth elemental material. It has excellent
ductility. It can be pulled into a very fine string to be used as a
drawstring for a bow."

Upon hearing Lou Lan’s words, the vendor could not help but
exclaim in admiration, "Brother, your sand puppet is very
formidable."
 "Is that why Boss wants to give us a discount?" Ai Hui took
advantage and answered cheekily.

The vendor chuckled, "Alright, since you’re quite an

interesting fellow, I shall give you a twenty-percent discount. I
will give you a twenty-percent discount for whatever you
choose."

Ai Hui was energized.

"But your goods are still more expensive than the other stores,
even after the twenty-percent discount," Lou Lan suddenly
chirped in.

"Don’t say such nonsense," the smile on the vendor’s face

froze.

Lou Lan lifted up his fingers and replied with a serious look on
his face, "The sixth store from our left sells an owl plume for
forty elemental energy beans. Boss, if you give us a twenty-
percent discount for an owl plume here, it will be forty-five
elemental energy beans. The ninth store from our right sells an
owl plume for thirty-eight elemental energy beans. The body of
that plume is thick and strong. The feathers are fine and
durable without any flaws. It is of a high grade. The fifteenth
store from our right…"

The vendor was dumbfounded. After a while, he suddenly

grabbed the unceasing mud on the ground and passed it to Lou
Lan, "I will give it to you for free!"

Lou Lan happily took over the unceasing mud. The two eyes
on his mask curled into two curved, smiling slits as he stood up
and thanked the vendor politely, "Thank you, Boss!"

As the vendor watched Ai Hui and his party walk away, he

muttered to himself, "That sand puppet has come alive…"
Chapter 435: Your Mistress
Kang Ding arrived at his appraisal shop as usual.

He put on a silvery black working apron that was made out of

a cowhide from a three-year-old sharp-horned ink cow. After
going through a unique sewing process, it gave off a silvery
black metallic lustre. The most valuable part of a sharp-horned
ink cow was its cowhide. The cowhide was covered with natural
vein patterns that flowed with a thin layer of elemental energy.
This thin layer of elemental energy allowed the cowhide apron
to protect its wearer from reactive and dangerous materials.

This working apron costed Kang Ding one hundred and fifty
essence elemental energy beans.

Currently, elemental energy beans and essence elemental

beans were much more valuable than they were two years ago.

There was practically no trade route between Wilderness and

Jadeite Forest. In Wilderness, one had to grow his or her own
elemental energy beans and essence elemental beans.

This made it harder for mankind to obtain elemental energy

in Wilderness.

As Kang Ding’s prestige increased, his workload increased

sharply as well. However, he still insisted on handling all his
work by himself. After all, his customers’ wealth and his own
reputation were on the line.

He began his work proficiently and appraised the items in the

order they were sent to him.

Once Kang Ding started to work, his facial expression became

unusually focused. Every movement he made was meticulous.
He was filled with passion towards his job. As compared to
being a disciple of a smith, this job was much more interesting
and offered him a greater sense of achievement. He felt very
grateful for this job. Thanks to this job, his life had become
better. The respect and reverence from everyone made him
understand how valuable he was.

The passionate Kang Ding had developed many new and odd
appraising methods and formed his own appraising system.

His movements were natural and smooth-flowing like water,

aesthetically pleasing to whoever was watching him work.
 Right now, he was a reputable appraiser with rich experience.
He had appraised a lot of unknown materials from numerous
goods owners and vendors.

After one hour, more than half of the materials on the table
had been appraised.

Suddenly, a package waiting to be appraised caught his

attention.

He first saw a piece of flaming bone. Even though it looked

slightly different from the ordinary flaming bones, he could still
recognize it at one glance. He took out the piece of flaming bone
and examined it carefully.

Flaming bones were the bones of scarletfire flying foxes and

they were considered a pretty good type of fire elemental
material. However, the most valuable parts of a scarletfire
flying fox were its scarlet fire and fire sack. Flaming bones were
its most worthless part.

However, this piece of flaming bone had been tempered

before and its base level had increased. The person who
tempered it was pretty high-leveled and the flame he used was
perfect. The performance of this piece of flaming bone had
clearly been upgraded without any lingering damage.

He wrote down "C-Ordinary" on the appraisal grading slip.

The ordinary flaming bones were mostly graded as "D". This

piece of flaming bone was given a grade of "C" due to the
excellent workmanship on it.

The old grading standards for materials were no longer

suitable for the current times as the world had changed too
much. Every appraiser’s grading standards were different. Up
until now, a unified grading system had not been formed yet.

Kang Ding appraised a material based on two things, its

physical nature and its elemental nature. Physical nature
referred to physical characteristics such as toughness, weight,
durability etc. Elemental nature referred to elemental
characteristics such as elemental energy capacity, elemental
energy purity level, special elemental effects etc.

From the best grade to the worst grade, there were four
grades, A, B, C, and D. Each grade was further classified into
"Excellent", "Good", and "Ordinary".
 Kang Ding estimated the selling price for such a piece of
flaming bone to be, at most. fifty elemental energy beans, and
that was given the fact that fire elemental materials were in
scarcity nowadays.

For the other party to have brought a piece of flaming bone to

be appraised, they must have a huge amount of them.

Was it possible that they wiped out an entire clan of scarletfire

flying foxes?

Kang Ding was somewhat curious. After all, his conjecture

wasn’t baseless. Whether it was flaming bones, fire sacks, or the
more expensive scarlet fire, they were in scarcity on the market.

Groups of scarletfire flying foxes spelled disaster.

He thought of a regular customer who often purchased low-

level fire elemental materials in bulk. This kind of flaming bone
was suitable for him. He did not immediately notify that regular
customer, but merely noted it down.

Due to Kang Appraisal Shop’s prestige and authority, many

enterprises kept their eyes on it. If there were any good
materials, they would get the news first-hand. Kang Appraisal
Shop had connections with many huge enterprises. This was
why so many people got their goods appraised at Kang Appraisal
Shop, so that their goods could be recommended to those huge
enterprises.

Of course, Kang Ding was only in charge of appraising

materials and setting up connections between sellers and
buyers. He would definitely not interfere with the price
negotiations.

These issues came after the appraising stage. He regained his

focus and opened up the second package.

There was a thumb-sized transparent bamboo bottle. Inside

the bottle, there was a crystal-clear liquid.

Kang Ding’s eyes lit up.

The transparent bamboo bottle was made up of colorglass

bamboo. The body of a colorglass bamboo was bright and
colorful like a piece of colored glass, extremely gorgeous.
Colorglass bamboos that were colorless and transparent were
considered to be top quality. Colorglass bamboos were usually
used to make containers. These containers could not be
damaged by fire or water easily and they would not affect the
nature of the substances they were holding as well. Colorglass
bamboos were the best material for making containers.

However, colorglass bamboos took very long to cultivate and

they were very costly. Generally speaking, colorgrass bamboo
containers were mostly used to hold valuable substances.

Boom. When he took off the lid of the colorglass bamboo

bottle, a mass of red-colored, blazing cloud gushed out of it.

Just as the mass of blazing cloud was about to hit Kang Ding,
his cowhide apron suddenly gave off a layer of faint glow and
blocked the blazing cloud.

Kang Ding remained calm as a look of amazement swept

across his eyes. Such a powerful aura of fire elemental energy!

Taking off the lid already produced such a weird effect, what
exactly was the crystal clear liquid in it?
 Given his experience, he could roughly guess that it was a kind
of fire liquid. Fire liquid was a necessity for fire elementalist to
train with. Most of the fire elementalists would carry a
container-like vat or calabash to hold the fire liquid.

The most commonly-seen fire liquid was lava. A lot of types of

fire liquid used by elementalists were concocted using special
methods. There were many types of fire liquid and most of them
had high viscosity. Kang Ding had never seen such a crystal
clear fire liquid before.

This was a brand-new type of fire liquid!

Kang Ding’s eyes lit up. As an appraiser, there was nothing

more exciting than coming across an unknown material.

…..

The market of Clearwater City.

Han Li’s gaze had never left that beautiful and frosty girl.
Even though she was most likely from an influential family, he
had not shown any fear at all. An infatuated look was upon his
face. The girl did not talk much but her ice-cold nature had a
deadly enticement over him.

When he thought of conquering a girl like this, his heart was

blazing with flames.

Han Li’s partner noticed his odd behaviour.

His partner had a common-looking face and there was nothing

special about his body. If he stood among the crowd, he would
be practically unnoticeable. However, at this moment, his eyes
were flickering with wariness. He lowered his voice and
reminded Han Li, "Don’t cause any trouble, we are not here to
have fun."

"Why would I cause trouble in front of such a beautiful girl?"

Han Li chuckled.

After finishing his sentence, Han Li walked towards his prey.

His partner felt helpless and he could not do anything to stop

Han Li.
 Shi Xueman bent down and pointed to a blue pearl in the stall
and asked, "Can I pick it up and take a closer look at it?"

The vendor was a boorish man. When he saw such a goddess-

like girl, his face turned bright-red. He stuttered, "You… you
can."

Shi Xueman picked up the blue bead and looked curiously at

it. This was the first time she’d seen such a pearl. The pearl was
around the size of a thumb. It was sparkling and translucent,
resembling a sapphire. She could sense a strong aura of water
elemental energy within it. Initially, she thought it was some
kind of elemental elixir from a fish-type dire beast. However,
she rejected this conjecture very soon. She had a water
elemental elixir back at home, therefore, she knew that a water
elemental elixir was of a higher base level and contained more
vigorous water elemental energy than this pearl.

"I will buy this pearl."

Suddenly, a male voice came from behind her.

Everyone’s eyes turned around at the same time. The voice

belonged to a tall, young male who was around twenty-seven
years old. He smiled at Shi Xueman and gave a light bow, "Miss,
is it possible for you to part with this pearl and let me have it?"

Ai Hui glanced at the sword in the man’s hand and withdrew

his gaze.

Shi Xueman’s gaze stopped at the man’s face for a second

before turning to the vendor and asked, "How much is this?"

Upon hearing this, the vendor quickly replied, "Fifty essence

elemental beans."

"I’m not going to sell it to him, I’m selling it to you," the

vendor added on.

Shi Xueman felt that the vendor was rather cute and smiled,
"Thank you, Boss."

Shi Xueman’s invigorating smile looked as if it could melt ice

and snow. Even Ai Hui’s eyes lit up.

A blank look flashed across Han Li’s face. Han Li was

suffocating, appearing as if his heart had been assassinated by
Shi Xueman’s smile. However, he regained his composure very
soon. There was a voice screaming in his heart, ‘You must get
her!’

Just as Shi Xueman was about to pay for the pearl, Han Li
threw a pouch at the vendor, "I didn’t know there was such an
alluring smile in this world. Miss, you are a once-in-a-lifetime
beauty. It’s my luck to be able to witness such a beauty like you
with my own eyes. This pearl shall be my small gift to you."

Shi Xueman did not bother to look at him. Suddenly, Ai Hui

blurted out, "It’s merely fifty essence elemental beans. Do you
think we need you to pay for it?"

Han Li was shocked. He was still afraid that the other party
would ignore him. As long as the other party ignored him,
things would be easier. He continued, "Brother, you’re right.
Fifty essence elemental beans are not enough to represent my
feelings. What else does your mistress want to buy? I will buy
everything for her!"

Your mistress...
 Zhao Boan was stunned.

Ai Hui was stunned as well. However, he quickly returned to

his senses and replied, "There are still a lot of things that my
mistress wants to buy. Since you want to court her, I shall give
you a chance. But I’m afraid that your wallet might be too small
and can’t handle what she wants. Or are you a miser?"

Han Li replied with confidence, "There is an old saying, all the

gold that a man spends can be earned back again. Wealth is
merely a worldly possession, I will do whatever it takes to see
your mistress smile. Brother, don’t worry, I am rich enough to
do that."

Shi Xueman knew Ai Hui was up to no good and she decided

not to say anything.

"Really? Lou Lan, do you still remember all the good things
that we came across just now?" Ai Hui put on a doubtful look on
his face.

Lou Lan nodded his head obediently and replied, "I still
remember them, Ai Hui."
 Ai Hui?

Han Li found this name somewhat familiar. However, he soon

put his doubt aside. After all, this fellow was just a servant.

"Let’s go and witness the sincerity of this mister," Ai Hui said

and smiled.

Han Li smiled. Like a gentleman, he replied sincerely, "I am

truly sincere towards your mistress. Heaven and earth can
vouch for my sincerity."

Deep down, Han Li was delighted and sneering. You can spend
all my money. The more the merrier. Do you think you can get
my money so easily?
Chapter 436: The Wicked Servant
Han Li’s face became uglier and uglier.

The hateful servant, along with his sand puppet, was milking
him dry. Every store they passed by closed down.

When Han Li took out his last elemental energy bean, his face
had turned ashen. Finally, he could no longer take it and yelled,
"Enough!"

Ai Hui put on a blank look on his face and replied, "But we

haven’t bought enough... There are still a lot of things that we
need."

Ai Hui gave Han Li an innocent look. After a while, he acted as

if he came to a realization and said, "Eh? No more money? Sigh,
you should have told me you don’t have anymore money. Now
you’re embarrassed, right? Sigh, Brother, you’re an honorable
individual after all, don’t do such an embarrassing thing in the
future again. Come on, come on, I will return everything. Give
me a moment."

Ai Hui ran to a nearby store and used one elemental energy

bean to buy a piece of rag.

Ai Hui carefully spread the rag on the ground and placed all
the things he had bought with Han Li’s money on it, piling
everything up like a small hill

With lightning speed, Ai Hui finished placing all the things on

the rag and heaved a sigh of relief. Following which, he said
sincerely to Han Li, "Brother, you don’t have much money now
and it’s all my fault for not knowing your situation. I don’t
think we can get any refunds for these things. Hmm, since we
are here, you can set up a store and get back as much money as
possible. Now that I think about it, at least you can earn some
travel expenses and we can get to know each other."

Han Li’s face reddened as his body trembled with anger. Even
after he’d been through so many different situations in his life,
he still felt ashamed and wanted to find a hole to hide in at this
point of time.

Up to this moment, how could he not have known that he was

being fooled by the other party?

Furthermore, since the other party did not want to keep the
things, he couldn’t find an excuse to be angry with them as well.

He suppressed the anger within his heart and forced a smile,

"Brother, you’re being courteous with me. These things…"

Before Han Li could finish his sentence, Ai Hui interrupted

him with an indignant tone "Sigh, Brother, why are you still so
stubborn at this point of time? A true man has to be flexible.
How can you be stumped by such a small problem. This is a
good place to set up a store. I believe you will earn some travel
expenses within a short period of time. Brother, if you’re
capable, you might even be able to make a small fortune."

By the time Ai Hui finished his sentence, his indignant tone

had changed to a caring one. Ai Hui put on an encouraging look
on his face as he patted Han Li’s shoulder.

Han Li was at a complete loss. He had a blank look on his face

as he stood there motionlessly.

Shi Xueman watched the entire incident unfolded from a

bystander’s point of view. She finally knew how evil Ai Hui
could be!
 When she heard Ai Hui’s last sentence, she almost broke into
laughter.

Previously, she was still very curious about how Ai Hui would
conclude this situation. She could tell that the other party had
bad intentions and she expected them to break into a fight
eventually. To her surprise, Ai Hui, being a pain in the neck, did
not cause any unnecessary trouble. As Shi Xueman watched Ai
Hui’s performance, she tried her best to suppress her laughter.

Since she was young, there had been countless boys that had
tried to fawn over her. She had seen various methods these boys
used to demean each other in front of her. However, none of
them could put up such a marvellous performance like Ai Hui.

Ai Hui was different from other guys. Other guys would try
their best to show how chivalrous and how kind they were in
front of her. Ai Hui was the only one who did not conceal his
wickedness from her.

Such an evil guy!

Shi Xueman exclaimed in admiration. With an emotionless

look on her face, she took out the blue pearl and placed it on top
of the heap of unwanted things. She had just plunged a knife
into Han Li’s already bleeding heart.

Han Li felt a gush of blood rushing to his brain. His entire

brain was buzzing and he could not think of anything.

He was at a complete loss.

Should he blow himself up now? He wanted to do this, but his

rationality told him that this would be a bad choice. The
surrounding guards had been looking vigilantly in his direction.
If he made any wrong moves, he would attract these guards to
him. He was not afraid of them, but rather, he was on a mission
now. As such, he could only suppress his anger.

If he caused trouble in the market now, he would be expelled

from the city and he would fail his mission completely.

Right now, he was filled with resentment and regret. Why

didn’t he make some preparations before he took action?

It was that hateful servant’s fault!

 That fellow had been waiting for him to fall into this trap!

That goddamned servant!

Han Li’s face was bright red as fury engulfed his mind. He
stared at Ai Hui and his party, who had walked off without
minding him at all. If Han Li’s gaze could kill people, Ai Hui’s
body would be filled with holes now!

Everyone in the market was looking at Han Li. Mocking

comments rang across his ears incessantly, tormenting his mind
that was going to go insane.

"Haha, this idiot is being fooled."

"He deserves it! No one asked him to act like a wealthy man!
From his arrogant face, I can tell that he is up to no good."

"How dare he try to pick up girls with such skills? He should

start a store and make an honest living here, hahaha."

...
 Han Li was going to go crazy soon. He had become the biggest
joke in the entire market. Everyone was looking at him with
mockery. Even his partner turned around and laughed at him
behind his back without any intention of helping him out of this
embarrassing situation.

Bastard!

The infuriated Han Li unsheathed his sword and slashed the

pile of unwanted things in front of him.

A streak of resplendent sword gleam was suddenly released

from his sword. All the laughter in the market came to an end
abruptly.

When Han Li unsheathed his sword, the surrounding guards

stopped laughing. The sudden streak of resplendent sword
gleam caused their pupils to dilate involuntarily.

In the midst of a dead silence, Han Li sheathed his sword.

With an ice-cold look on his face, he walked through the
market. Everyone in the market subconsciously made way for
him to walk through.
 Pffff. A soft burst sounded through the air, resembling the
sound of a water bubble popping.

The heap of unwanted things on the rag had been reduced to a

pile of ashes. Following which, it burst into colorful flames. The
colorful flames were formed by a mixture of elemental energies.

Everyone, including the surrounding guards, was stunned.

Their eyes were widened and their facial expressions froze.

They did not expect the fellow, whom they’d just mocked, to
be so powerful. The surrounding guards looked at their leader
for instructions, but he merely shook his head and signalled for
them not to be meddlesome. Han Li destroyed his own things so
they had no reason to confront him.

Han Li’s face was gloomy as his eyes flickered with the blaze
of anger.

You shall wait and see. I, Han Li, will seek revenge for the
embarrassment you have given me today!

Han Li’s partner shyly walked up to him. Just as he was about

to speak, a slap landed on his face. Smack! The loud and crisp
slap resounded throughout the market. The impact from the
slap sent Han Li’s partner flying in the air. Following which, he
landed on the ground and stayed there motionlessly.

Han Li left immediately without looking at his fainted

partner.

Ten seconds after the devil-like figure had left, the quiet
market began to regain its liveliness.

"Such a terrifying fellow," the guards exclaimed in fear.

"That’s right, he is too cruel."

"I think I know who he is. He is Han Li!" The guard leader’s
facial expression turned slightly ugly as well.

Hiss. Everyone took in a gasp of cold air.

At this point of time, the guard leader stood up and said,

"Keep your eyes on the market, I have to report this to the
mayor."

Every mayor cared about the experts that entered his or her
city. The presence of an expert posed an uncertainty to a city.
One major battle could destroy a city. No mayor would remain
indifferent to an expert that could pose a threat to his or her
city’s safety.

An ally or a foe could determine whether they lived or died.

Only by becoming stronger could one gain more respect.

…..

Kang Appraisal Shop.

Kang Ding’s apprentices were peeking at him. Today, their

teacher seemed weird. From morning until now, their teacher
kept on gasping with surprise. They had never seen their
teacher behave like this before. From their impressions of their
teacher, he had always been a solemn and meticulous
individual.
 Was it possible that he had come across something good?

They were filled with curiosity. What kind of good thing

could make their teacher gasp in surprise like this?

Inside Kang Ding’s room, he had finally completed his

appraisal of the crystal-clear fire liquid. His face was filled with
incredulity as he muttered to himself, "A refined fire liquid, it’s
actually a refined fire liquid?"

The difference between a natural fire liquid and a refined fire

liquid was that the former could only be found in small amounts
while the latter could be mass produced.

In an instant, Kang Ding knew what the other party’s

intention was for having this fire liquid appraised. The other
party had a huge supply of fire liquid.

Not only that, the other party must also have mastered the
method for refining this unique type of fire liquid. This also
implied that the other party could produce a steady supply of
this fire liquid.
 This was extremely important to any city.

The crystal-clear fire liquid was the most outstanding fire

liquid that Kang Ding had ever seen. Ever since Fire Prairie had
been annexed, the supply of fire liquid on the market was
scarce. Expanding into Wilderness alleviated the situation
significantly. Several volcanoes had been discovered and a lot of
fire elemental cities had emerged around them.

From that point onwards, the supply of fire liquids on the

market increased slightly. However, the supply still did not
meet the demand. Such a small amount of fire liquid would be
sold-out in an instant.

Most of these fire liquids were low in base level and they were
mainly lava. Even deep lava was also scarce.

All those fire liquids paled in comparison to this crystal-clear

fire liquid.

"A-Ordinary". This was the final appraisal grade he gave to the

crystal-clear fire liquid. He had appraised more than one
hundred types of fire liquid and this fire liquid was the only one
with grade "A".
 He could imagine how much commotion this fire liquid would
cause when it appeared on the market.

He was proud of himself for being able to appraise this fire

liquid personally.

Kang Ding became excited. A few buyers that might be

interested in this fire liquid had already come to his mind.
Whoever could afford this fire liquid would not be an ordinary
individual.

No matter who bought it, Kang Ding would receive a portion

of the profits made as well.

He earned the profits fair and aboveboard and he had no

qualms about it.

He did not want to drag the issue any longer and walked to a
short message tree in the corner. Following which, he began to
write down the same content on different message leaves.

"A-grade refined fire liquid. Those who need it, come to my

shop quickly."
 This message tree could only transmit messages within
Clearwater City. in reality, message trees, which were
commonly used in Avalon of Five Elements, faced great
obstructions in Wilderness. The distance that messages could
travel had been reduced greatly. Connections with the nearby
cities could still be established, but anywhere further than that
and the message trees would be useless.

After Kang Ding finishing writing to all the enterprises that

might be interested in the fire liquid, he felt much relieved.

Even so, he still looked very excited.

After a few seconds, the pieces of leaves lit up one by one with
words appearing on them.

"Arriving soon!"

"Coming!"

"Give me ten minutes!"

 ...

Kang Ding smiled. So this is the might of an "A-grade" fire

liquid.

Very soon, his appraisal shop was crammed with people.

He did not like liveliness, but he still had to work regardless.

Kang Ding could still take a break for a few minutes and he sat
down. Just as he was about to place this completed appraisal job
aside, his hand felt something else left in the package.

Kang Ding was stunned. The other party still had something
else for him to appraise?

An unknown piece of beast bone appeared in his hand.

Chapter 437: Stupefied
What a pity. Kang Ding’s desire to identify the beast bone now
was quickly shattered because of the visitors that came
knocking one after another, disallowing him to continue his
study.

A few minutes later the shop was filled with people. Kang
Ding scanned the room and noticed that some of the enterprises
which he hadn’t notified were here as well. They’d probably
heard the news since these fellows were well-informed.

Those who came weren’t of low ranks. They were, at the very
least, major persons in charge and they’d all brought along
appraisers from respective enterprises. Each in charge had a
solemn expression on their faces. The A-grade liquid was worth
getting involved in.

During an era where there was a fire liquid deficiency, there

was never an over-emphasis on the significance of an A-grade
fire liquid.

There wasn’t any more space in the shop, but visitors came in
an unending stream. Kang Ding felt a headache upon realizing
that he’d underestimated people’s interest in the high grade fire
liquid.

Without any better options he said, "There’s a bigger room

outside, let’s go there."

He did not wish to offend any enterprise, big or small.

There had been more than one enterprise that came to look
for him, seeking first-hand, exclusive news and that were
willing to offer a bountiful reward.

Kang Ding rejected them since he was very clear about his
own position. Once he branded himself as an associate of a
certain enterprise, it was going to be difficult to gain trust from
others. The entrusters would also lose confidence as well
thinking that he was servicing a certain enterprise, and lacked
fairness.

As such, whenever he had something good, Clearwater City’s

main enterprises would be informed so he had decent
relationships with respective enterprises. None of them were
willing to offend him, in fear of losing their rights to acquire
news.
 The big room outside the shop was originally a warehouse,
but was modified into a place to receive his entrusters. It was
very spacious inside, but the crowd filled it up nevertheless.

There was no noise as respective witnesses were all looking on

in all seriousness. Those accompanying were even more
cautious. The atmosphere within the room was grave and
solemn.

Kang Ding stood on the stage. Knowing what those below

were thinking, he kept himself from being superfluous, and
instead took the colorglass bamboo out directly. There was still
about a quarter of fire liquid left in it.

"This is a new kind of fire liquid. Till now, I’ve not seen
anything similar in any records. It’s very clear, like water, and
looking at it from outside the bottle, it’s difficult to imagine that
it’s actually a kind of fire liquid. It’s made from lava."

The crowd stirred. The liquid in the bottle was as clear as

water, so it was difficult for them to associate it with sticky, red
lava.

"It’s not clear how this type of fire liquid is being refined, but
what’s certain is that it’s been through repeated refinements.
We have no concrete information, but I predict it to have gone
through over ten refinements before reaching such a clear and
transparent state."

Admiration and confidence was present in Kang Ding’s tone.

"Being able to be classified as A-grade, this fire liquid’s most

unique feature is its pureness and highly perfected state. It has
no impurities at all, hence its transparency. At the same time,
the fire elemental energy it contains is of an extremely high
grade, which is why I believe it’s been through multiple
refinements. If it serves as a fire liquid, it can practically blend
in with any other fire liquids. In other words, a few drops of it is
enough to raise the grade of a fire elementalists’ ordinary fire
liquids."

The crowd stirred even more now. They were all proficient
business people and understood what this meant.

It meant that more people could utilize this kind of fire liquid.

The rich could use all their fire liquid on this type of new fire
liquid, whereas poorer fire elementalists could also purchase a
few drops to upgrade their own fire liquid.

Before finishing his explanation he threw an even heavier

surprise toward the audience below. "If it doesn’t serve as fire
liquid, fire elementalists of Master level and above can consume
it directly to quickly replenish their fire elemental energy.
There’s no side effect."

Boom! The crowd below dispersed in an instant.

Each face was filled with agitation. They’d already seen a

golden light path from earlier and now they saw an even more
dazzling and luxurious path.

It might be difficult to pick out the richest people, but masters

were definitely the richest bunch.

They were all of high statuses and countless people were

willing to pay them huge sums in exchange for protection.
Money to them was just a number. And wasn’t this type of fire
liquid, with its ability to immediately replenish their fire
elemental energy, considered a life-saving item? When it came
to guarding their lives, cost wasn’t an issue at all.
 And with this, what an enterprise could acquire wasn’t just
money, but also a master’s friendship.

A Master’s friendship was much more important than money.

Before the city expansion announcement, society had been

stable and orderly. Under Elders Guild’s suppression, being a
Master wasn’t a great deal. Which family did not have at least a
few Masters under their roofs?

In the Wilderness, however, whatever order there was

collapsed and Elders Guild had no time to oversee things as well
as before. Powerful Masters then became the real despots.

Luckily, Masters weren’t as powerful as Grandmasters, who

were able to laugh at the world beneath their feet and disregard
the huge number of elementalists.

But a Master did gain more privileges. Their words carried

more weight. No city chief would carelessly dismiss a master’s
opinions. It was ten times more expensive to engage a Master
now.
 This was the new era.

In this context, a Master’s requirements instantly became top

priority. This was no different from the situation in Jadeite
Forest, save for the fact that the strongest player in Jadeite
Forest was Dai Gang, a Grandmaster, and his needs were always
the most important needs.

Upon hearing that this type of fire liquid could be consumed

directly by Masters, everyone had trouble restraining
themselves.

Amid their excitement, they felt rather curious as well. If it

was a rare and special treasure they could simply attribute its
existence to luck. However, this magical fire liquid had been
refined, so who was the refiner?

Who could produce such a high grade fire liquid?

Such a high grade fire liquid would most definitely be

produced in low quantities. How many drops were there?

Doubts filled their hearts and at the same time, they were
thinking about how to win this intense competition.

Their heads were aching, but soon there was no time for that.

Kang Ding looked at the record chart in his hand, saying, "The
entruster lives in Cotton Tree Tavern. Mister Ai."

The moment he finished his sentence, sounds of chairs

crashing down were heard as some anxious people were already
rushing forward.

Ai Hui did not know that Cotton Tree Tavern was already
packed. His gang was still strolling leisurely. That brief episode
at the market had been long forgotten.

The market was a place to get a hold of goods, but they needed
them in large quantities, which only enterprises supplied. Most
importantly, they had no money. They had to sell off some
goods.

Ai Hui and gang had sold their fire sacks. The market value of
scarletfire flying foxes’ fire sacks was stable and each was sold at
about a hundred essence elemental beans.
 The main use of fire sacks was to refine fire pouches.

Fire sacks weren’t as big as fire vats. They were more

portable, but weren’t able to store sufficient fire liquid. Since
there was a lack of fire elemental materials, the forty sacks on Ai
Hui’s hands were quickly sold off.

Four thousand essence elemental beans gave Ai Hui and gang

their first income.

It would’ve been a generous amount if it had been one

elementalist to possess all of it. But for it to belong to a whole
city, it was merely a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood.

Flaming bones were priced much lower than the fire sacks.
One piece was worth only twenty elemental energy beans. Mind
you, elemental energy beans and not essence elemental beans!

The exchange rate between essence elemental beans and

elemental energy beans changed daily. An essence elemental
bean could be converted into three hundred elemental energy
beans today. The conversion rate was significantly lower than
before since elemental energy beans were more valuable these
days. This also highlighted the fact that the Wilderness needed
more lower grade elemental energy beans than higher grade and
purer ones.

The market price of flaming bones meant that the pile of

bones they’d brought weren’t even worth forty fire sacks.

Ai Hui’s intestines were turning green from regret. If he’d

known that fire sacks were this valuable, he would’ve treated
the flying foxes with more care. When facing the bats, he’d
completely forgotten how difficult a situation they were being
put in.

Ai Hui was a little anxious. Where were they going to get the
money?

He felt a different kind of pressure.

In the past, he was only responsible for himself and, at most,

Lou Lan and Fatty. Now, hundreds of people and a whole valley
were involved, so the pressure was definitely different. If they
did not earn enough money and weren’t able to replenish their
goods, all work would held back. There wouldn’t be elemental
food to provide and trainings would be affected.
 Being a leader wasn’t easy!

Seeing Ai Hui’s frowning face, Shi Xueman couldn’t help but

ask, "Should I ask my family for assistance?"

Shi family had valuable inside information so providing some

funding wasn’t a big problem.

Ai Hui shook his head. "We’ll continue to think of solutions,

the appraisal result isn’t out yet. It’s not that simple to borrow
money from your family. It doesn’t matter if we owe you money
but owing your family money would be troublesome."

Shi Xueman kept quiet. He was right.

Father would be glad to support her when it came to her own

affair, but things became inconvenient when her family was
involved. The money belonged to the family, so many pairs of
hands would reach out for payment if they were to borrow
money from the family. She wasn’t in favor of using her
family’s money as well, unless there was absolutely no choice.

Wait a minute. It didn’t matter if the money belonged to her?

Was he not planning to return that eighty million yuan?

Shi Xueman glared at Ai Hui.

Lou Lan spoke loudly and confidently, "Ai Hui will think of
something!"

At that, Ai Hui’s worries were forgotten. He raised his brows,

laughing, "You have foresight, Lou Lan!"

Shi Xueman, who was staring at him just a moment ago,

couldn’t help but smile too.

The tavern wasn’t far off from the alley.

At the entrance of the alley Ai Hui stopped.

There was a huge crowd in front blocking the whole path.

Many pulled their collars and waited excitedly, their faces
flushed.
 Ai Hui asked uncertainly, "Have we come to the wrong place?"

He remembered very clearly that their tavern was located in a

remote spot and its surroundings were rather unfrequented. It
wasn’t this lively before.

Zhao Boan had a suspicious look on his face. He looked

around, saying, "I think it’s here."

Ai Hui looked at Lou Lan. There was no way Lou Lan would
get them lost.

Before Lou Lan could speak, the crowd noticed the gang
standing by the entrance. Quickly, all eyes were on them.

Ai Hui cleared his throat, feeling as if he was being watched by

a pack of wolves with rapacious and thirsty eyes.

"He’s here!"

"Is that him?"

 "Go ask!"

...

The crowd stirred and gushed, flood-like, toward Ai Hui and

gang.

What was going on?

Standing by the alley entrance, Ai Hui was stupefied.

Chapter 438: Rules
Calm down… calm down…

Zhao Boan repeatedly encouraged himself. Seeing the dense

crowd raised his heartbeat. Heavens have pity on him, he was
merely a small merchant and had never seen such a scene.

Cotton Tree Tavern was just a small guesthouse, its narrow

lobby about to explode because of this crowd. The boss, who
was initially displeased, quickly became friendly and even
offered tea upon seeing major figures.

Of course, everyone ignored him and rushed toward Zhao

Boan instead.

"Snow lava right? Is that what it’s called? Can I buy it now?"

"How much is it? Is there a special price for bulk purchase?"

"How do we establish a long term business relationship with

you?"
 ...

The crowd asked their questions all at once. The alleyway was
bustling.

A few in charge from big enterprises sat at a corner without a

word. They looked on cooly as those small enterprises moved
about eagerly, trying to secure the lowest price.

They shifted their gaze to Shi Xueman, bewilderment rising

within their chests.

Among the gang, Shi Xueman was undoubtedly the most eye-
catching person, since she was very beautiful. Plus, she was out
in this world alone so she must have outstanding abilities and a
powerful background. Her clothing and armor were evidence of
that.

Who was she?

The managers were racking their brains, trying to search for

similar targets in their minds.
 When they first realized that the owner of the fire liquid was
staying in an unknown guesthouse, they figured he must be
hard pressed for money. They formed an alliance privately,
agreeing to place pressure on the owner.

They’d cooperated many times for similar matters. Their

enterprises were the three biggest ones in Clearwater City. Once
they made a joint decision, other enterprises dared not disobey.

But seeing Shi Xueman made them uncertain.

They made eye contact and agreed to wait it out.

Ai Hui mumbled softly, "Luckily Zhao Boan is here or else us

non-businessmen would be at a loss."

Shi Xueman rolled her eyes involuntarily. She’d wanted to

comment that he was the real unscrupulous businessman, but
seeing him looking all innocent and sincere she knew it
would’ve been a waste of time talking to him. This fellow had
the thickest skin ever.

Lou Lan nodded his head repeatedly. "Yes, Ai Hui’s right."

 Shi Xueman wanted to turn around. How could you say such
unconscientious words? However, she felt more envious than
anything else. Ay, this fellow is really lucky to have Lou Lan!

Seeing the crowd closing in, Ai Hui licked his lips, his eyes
lighting up. "Snow lava is actually A-grade! Hahaha, Lou Lan,
we’re going to be rich."

Lou Lan smiled widely, his eyes forming two lines. "Ai Hui,
we’re going to earn lots and lots of money."

"That’s right! Lots and lots indeed!" Ai Hui answered

excitedly, waving his hand. "We’re going to have money so what
do you want, Lou Lan? I’ll give it to you!"

Lou Lan opened his eyes wide. "Really?"

Shi Xueman couldn’t endure it any longer. "Whatever you

want, I’ll buy it for you now, Lou Lan."

Lou Lan opened his eyes even wider and exclaimed even more
gleefully, "Really?"
 Ai Hui was displeased. What’s the big deal? Acting so
arrogantly just because you have the money? Teasing other
people’s sand puppet just because you have the money? Ai Hui
decided to use reality to teach Iron Lady a lesson.

He snorted and said in all self-righteousness, "I want it too!"

Shi Xueman was slightly taken aback. She was shocked by his
shamelessness.

Ai Hui felt more than accomplished knowing that he was

responsible for the exciting expressions that emerged on Iron
Lady’s ice-cold face.

Zhao Boan seemed satisfied and had gradually calmed down

from his initial fluster and confusion.

He was born into a merchant family after all. How could he

have possibly missed the fact that they were in possession of a
rare commodity after seeing the commotion before him?

He’d accompanied Ai Hui and gang to the market for the past
two days and hadn’t seen even a drop of A-grade fire liquid. B-
grade fire liquid was sold at ten essence elemental beans per
drop so for how much should he sell snow lava, which was a
grade higher?

He had no idea, but did not make it apparent.

Zhao Boan smiled. "It’s been a long time since an A-grade fire
liquid made an appearance in the market. It is very difficult to
determine its price value. In order to allow more people to
utilize snow lava without spending excessively, we are going to
auction them off in batches. Don’t worry, everyone. We’ve
prepared enough, so hopefully everyone will get to purchase
some."

A few major managers made eye contact and saw the haze in
their eyes. Auction was their most hated sales method since it
meant that they were likely to pay much more than needed.

Bullshit like "everyone will get to purchase some" did not cool
the crowd down. They weren’t dumb. Even if snow lava was a
refined fire liquid, the refining process required much
manpower and resources, and was definitely challenging.

In this era where ordinary fire elemental energy materials

were in deficit, no supply of A-grade fire liquid could satisfy the
market demand.

Zhao Boan continued, "Of course, other than holding

auctions, we are very willing to work with capable enterprises.
We need to procure large volumes of goods. Here’s a list for
everyone to see what your enterprise has to provide. Enterprises
able to supply us with more goods at better prices will be on our
priority list for the sale of snow lava. We will also offer you a
special price and consider establishing a long term cooperation."

Faces of a few major managers cleared up slightly. These

conditions were targeted at big enterprises.

When they took the list over their gazes stiffened. The
numbers had given them a shock. They were all experienced
and could tell a lot just from looking at this list.

Personal training would not require this much material. They

were convinced that there was a city behind these fellows.

Only a city would consume this much material.

 They had a grave expression on their faces. Their wish to push
prices down disappeared instantly. The opposite party was more
than what he’d revealed. And Zhao Boan did talk about
establishing a long term cooperation, which moved these big
enterprises.

If their enterprises could sell A-grade fire liquid steadily and

for the long term, their influence would increase exponentially.

The few enterprises that had a secret agreement immediately

turned hostile.

A few major managers were about to stand up when a cold

voice rang from the entrance of the tavern. "I heard someone’s
selling A-grade fire liquid here?"

The cold voice was like a breath of cold wind, blowing

through the tavern lobby. The lobby, lively just a moment ago,
was now in dead silence.

A skinny, bamboo-like figure appeared by the door.

He walked forward, as if no one was around, and the crowd

opened up a path for him.

He was thin and ugly. His face resembled that of a horse and
his features were flat, as if drawn on. His expression was very
cold and terrifying. Five big fellows followed behind, each fierce
and ominous looking. The elemental energy waves radiating
from their bodies carried strong murderous spirit.

The tall and skinny man was Yang Wuchang, nicknamed

Fickle Yang. He was a terrifying scoundrel from Clearwater
City, known to extort and blackmail, collect protection fees, poll
tax and do the dirty on other villains. Basically, he did not
shrink from any crimes.

His was ruthless and domineering. Those who made him an

enemy either died dubiously or disappeared.

Even though he’d offended many people, he was living free

and unfettered because he had solid backings.

Master Yang Xiaodong, consecrated by Clearwater City, was

his uncle.
 Even the mayor, Qiao Meiqi, had to bow down to Yang
Xiaodong.

Yang Wuchang was aware of the power he had, but never

committed sabotage when it came to the mayor’s properties. He
knew that his uncle wasn’t interested in his insignificant
income but if there were any rare items or objects that appeared
mysterious, he would immediately present them to him.

He’d done it a few times in fact. Seeing how sensible his

nephew was, Yang Xiaodong protected him even more.

Yang Wuchang also borrowed his uncle’s might to get fighters

onto his side. The notorious guys following behind him were
known as the "four fickle devils". Evilness stained their hands.
The hands that killed countless lives.

Yang Wuchang strutted in and threw out a money bag. "I’m

buying all of the fire liquid."

Faces around him turned ashen, but because of Fickle Yang’s

evil reputation no one dared utter a sound.
 Zhao Boan looked at the money bag on the ground. Just by
listening to the sound it made he knew there couldn’t be more
than a hundred essence elemental beans inside. He responded
coldly, "Did you not hear the rules? I’m not selling!"

"Rules?" As if he’d just heard a joke, Yang Wuyang laughed it

off, his expression abruptly turning malicious. "You’re here in
Clearwater City and you want to talk rules with me? I’ll let you
know what rules are!"

Before he finished his sentence Yang Wuchang reached his

palm out toward Zhao Boan.

Zhao Boan’s teeth would shatter if this hit landed.

Clap!

A resounding slap sounded.

Zhao Boan remained motionless. Yang Wuchang flew

backward like an empty burlap bag.
 No one knew when, but Shi Xueman’s ice cold figure had
appeared in front of Zhao Boan and that resounding slap was
produced by her.

Ai Hui stood behind her, mocking, "Is this the rule? What a
good rule!"

He wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about hiding behind a

woman’s back, his voice cheerful and satisfied, as if that slap
had been let loose by him.

The onlookers looked at him disdainfully.

Wicked servant!

As a servant, how could he let his master take actions

personally? What was he for then?

Shi Xueman’s slap shook everyone present.

Faces changed and even a few managers from respective

enterprises turned pale. They knew that their fire liquid was
about to slip through their fingers.

When had Yang Wuchang ever suffered such humiliation?

This turn of events came too suddenly and shockingly,

causing the lobby to fall into dead silence within ten seconds.

Yang Wuchang was out of it, his ears buzzing non-stop. He

regained his senses ten seconds later, half his face swollen like a
bun. He flew into a rage. "Are you idiots waiting for death? Kill
this slut! Do not let anyone off!"

As if awakened from a dream, the four devils saw the

malevolence and murderousness in their master’s eyes and
knew that he was thoroughly pissed.

They looked at each other before drawing their weapons and

pouncing on Shi Xueman.

Ai Hui had no intention of assisting her. Instead, he stood

behind her watching in sympathy and admiration at the four
quickly approaching figures.
Did you call her a slut? You guys are daredevils.
Chapter 439: A Very Angry Iron Lady
The chillness Shi Xueman emitted was piercing. The
temperature within the tavern lobby dropped abruptly.

She was angry.

Those in the lobby had long dispersed. They’d known that

something terrible was going to happen the moment Yang
Wuchang walked in. Yet, they never would’ve expected that this
outsider had actually dared to give him a tight slap.

Too crazy!

Their faces were white as a sheet. All they wanted to do was to

stand as far as possible. A furious Fickle Yang spoke no reason,
so those involved in this would definitely be dead.

Yang Wuchang had very decent abilities. He’d merely been

careless earlier. He was different from other rich fellows who
enjoyed life all day. While he was a lowly scum, he never did
compromise on his own training. Plus, his uncle was a combat
master and often guided him, so his abilities were rather
commendable.
 He threw himself toward Shi Xueman.

To the elementalists, these last two years of training had been

the hardest. Elemental energy deficiency was a problem that the
majority of the elementalists faced. Things changed ever since
Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand Corner fell into the hands of the
enemy. The five elemental cycle of life and the concentration of
elemental energy in Silver Mist Sea, Palette Cloud Village and
Jadeite Forest was starting to decline.

In the first two years, the change wasn’t as severe. Silver Mist
Sea, Palette Cloud Village and Jadeite Forest possessed
thousands of years of accumulated elemental energy, and as the
saying goes, a thin camel is bigger than a horse, they continued
operating tenaciously.

However, three years passed and the accumulated elemental

energy continued to be used up, to the point where it couldn’t
be effectively replenished. As such, the concentration of
elemental energy started to drop drastically. The mist in Silver
Mist Sea thinned and rivers stopped flowing. Palette Cloud
Village’s springs started drying up and Jadeite Forest was also
conducting effortful searches for solutions.

When their accumulated energy was about to be exhausted,

the situation worsened quicker than people had imagined.
Elders Guild attempted to use the lesser Avalon of Five Elements
to bring more vitality, but to no avail.

The enactment of the city expansion order marked the end of

the era of Avalon of Five Elements. After a thousand years of
elemental energy nourishment, elemental energy was no longer
easily obtainable and no longer cheaply-priced.

People had to establish cities in the Wilderness and build

elemental energy pools in order to barely sustain themselves.

That’s right, barely sustain.

How many elementalists had been sacrificed because of the

city expansion? No one could keep proper count. Each city’s cost
was extremely high so it wasn’t without reason that many cities
collected high taxes from people entering.

Even then, any city’s elemental energy concentration wasn’t

comparable to the past.

Many were stuck in their current base level and unable to

achieve breakthrough.

There was a popular saying spreading in the market now.

From the beginning of the city expansion order, they’d entered
Elemental Desolation Age. This "desolation" referred to both the
Wilderness and also famine, since the elemental energy was
drying up.

So the city expansion order was regarded as the beginning of

the Elemental Desolation Age. That year also became the first
year of reign for elemental desolation.

Could they ever return to the era of Avalon of Five Elements?

No one dared to have such extravagant hopes anymore. What
about recovering the fallen Fire Prairie and Yellow Sand
Corner? You must be joking!

God Nation’s power was on the rise each day, and yet the
Avalon of Five Elements had to resort to seeking shelter in the
Wilderness. Protecting themselves was already a challenging
task.

The Avalon of Five Elements was deteriorating fast, leaving

people at a loss for words. All they could do was sigh in
resignation.

It was difficult for them to enter a higher base level, but at the
same time their battle abilities were obviously improving. As
compared to the peaceful and worry-free lifestyle in the Avalon
of Five Elements, the Wilderness was full of fresh blood and
danger. Weaklings were buried there. Only the strong prevailed.

Although his uncle was a Master, Yang Wuchang had never

slackened off when it came to training.

This punch was apparently very well controlled, its elemental

energy contained. While he looked arrogant and despotic, he
was actually very clever and knew how not to overstep his
boundaries and irritate the city chief or even trigger an
investigation.

Clearwater City wasn’t just consecrating one Master.

The sinister look on Yang Wuchang’s face disappeared and

was replaced by a thick, murderous and cold aura. He was like a
whole different person now.
 The elemental energy surrounding him surged toward Yang
Wuchang’s right fist. Fwoom! His right fist rose in flames,
rolling intensely, transforming into a brightly colored,
suspended tiger head. Its deep roar sounded like a ferocious,
hissing tiger that was coming out of the forest.

Just this hand alone revealed Yang Wuchang’s solid

foundational skills.

[Tiger Roar]!

[Tiger Roar] wasn’t considered the finest inheritance, but its

most unique point was that each strike had to take the shape of
a tiger. The tiger-head-like energy blast, from Yang Wuchang’s
punch, was splendid and fierce, vivid and lifelike.

The abrupt roar seemed to have exploded right by the

audience’s ears, causing their hairs to stand on end. The calves
of those standing near were trembling.

Those caught off guard were mentally shaken!

But Shi Xueman remained motionless, her ice cold eyes

lighting up. She perceived more than the rest.

Within a three meter radius from where Yang Wuchang was

standing there wasn’t any elemental energy at all, since all of it
had been drawn away by his fist. This strange phenomenon was
hauntingly familiar. Elemental energy suffocation!

She never imagined she would be able to see this phenomenon

happening on a hooligan.

But that was all.

Yang Wuchang’s vile conduct had angered her already and she
quickly enlightened them as to what level of an opponent they’d
just provoked.

Shi Xueman did not retrieve Cirrus from her back. Instead,
she placed her right palm horizontally, faced down, in front of
her chest like a knife.

Ss!
 The strange sound seemed to have come from the movement
of wind from deep within a cave. A layer of light appeared on
her snow-white and flawless palm.

It was as if a gust of wind had just started blowing throughout

the whole lobby as the calabash lights hanging on the lobby
beams dimmed into a dull yellow, like they could extinguish at
anytime.

What followed after was an indescribably intense feeling of

suffocation.

A few managers’ eyes were about to pop out, their expressions

plentiful and varying.

This… elemental energy suffocation!

They’d never experienced such an intense and overbearing

elemental energy suffocation. In fact, they felt as though the
elemental energy within their bodies was about to be drawn out.
This suppression made them feel an instinctive fear.

Yang Wuchang’s eyes revealed fear. He opened his mouth,

attempting to call for help but he had no voice. The surrounding
space affected by the elemental energy suffocation broke
everything that touched it. The tiger head that enveloped his
right fist started to distort.

In the contest of elemental energy he had fallen into an

unfavorable position and he knew what it signified.

Boundless fear, like the violent sea, was about to drown him.

To others, the air around Shi Xueman seemed to be warping.

Ai Hui was, at that moment, in shock and admiration. Iron

Lady’s plain, non-technical move only displayed her superb
control over elemental energy!

The moment this ability, completely honed through an

accumulation of experience, was developed, it could throw
people into despair even without technique.

At that point, Shi Xueman and Ai Hui did not realize what
effect this move would produce.
 The elemental energy pool in Clearwater City was a large one.
Qiao Meiqi came from a rich family and did not hesitate to
splurge on this water elemental energy pool, the largest within
the region.

The sky above Clearwater City was covered in a thick layer of

mist, formed from water elemental energy. It also served as the
city’s defense layer, which could transmit sunlight but block off
the spying eyes of flying dire beasts.

A moat, connected to an underground spring, surrounded the

city and flowed unceasingly.

Rain sprinkled over the surface of the moat, as if pulling up

the curtains around the city. The ring-shaped rain screen
outside the city constructed an environment with sealed
elemental energy, diverting the obstructed water elemental
energy outward. It also possessed great defensive power.

And every day, there were elite combat elementalists

stationed amid the cloud defense layer above the city. These
elementalists were tasked to guard against attacks from flying
dire beasts and to monitor alterations in elemental energy
within the city.
 This wasn’t the era of peace. Bandits were on the rampage and
the city had to be vigilant at all times.

Tu Xiaojun was training among the clouds as usual. He was a

water elementalist and being stationed in the cloud defense
layer was a lucrative job. The water elemental energy within the
cloud defense layer was twice as concentrated as that within the
city.

The only regrettable thing was that he had to check for

changes in the city’s elemental energy every hour, hence
disrupting his trainings. But he had no complaints and work
mustn’t be delayed.

Tu Xiaojun, who’d just detached himself from his circulatory

cycle revolution, was checking for energy changes as usual.

The concentration of elemental energy wasn’t consistent

throughout the city. Some key regions possessed much denser
elemental energy. Examples included the mayor’s residence,
Masters’ residences and so on.

Living high, a panoramic view of Clearwater City could be

taken in. With such a magnificent field of vision, it was easy for
Tu Xiaojun to check, at a glance, the concentration of elemental
energy in respective regions

As a water elementalist, he was extremely sensitive to the

water elemental energy concentration. One look was all he
needed. Within his field of vision, places with denser energy
would be bluer and places with a lower concentration would
appear dimmer.

He scanned across the whole city unhurriedly and did not

notice any abnormalities.

Eh?

He paused. There was a white space down in the northwestern

part of the city.

He wrinkled his brows, thinking that there was a battle going

on.

The white dot indicated that the concentration of elemental

energy was practically zero, a rare phenomenon.
 While many were stuck in their base levels over the past two
years, their battle standards had increased greatly. The
legendary elemental energy suffocation, which had once been
almost unattainable, was now in sight and reachable.

Survivors were not weaklings.

But white dots formed from elemental energy suffocations

were usually small, rarely expanding over a twelve meter
radius. When seen from above, that area appeared no bigger
than a needle point.

The front line separating Clearwater City and the Wilderness

was the cruelest place where blood and courage were most
abundant.

It was common for any disagreement to result in flying fists.

But everyone exercised careful control since the guards

weren’t vegetarians. They needed to be swifter and fiercer when
dealing with these powerful fellows.

Overall, Clearwater City was a place with decent security. The

mayor was a businessman and absolutely abhorred disorder.

Also, since the city had two consecrated Masters, evildoers

had to think twice before attacking.

The number of consecrated Masters in a city was directly

related to the city’s abilities.

Wait!

That white dot was increasing in size. Tu Xiaoqun was

stunned and couldn’t help but take a closer look.

It’d grown in size indeed!

This area of elemental suffocation covered over thirty square

meters!

Over thirty square meters of elemental energy suffocation!

Tu Xiaoqun understood what level of abilities this dot

signified. He was going through familiar names in his mind,
trying to figure out who was responsible for it.

Before he could get a name out the white dot below grew yet
again. Over fifty square meters!

Fifty square meters!

Tu Xiaojun inhaled a breath of cold air.

What happened next was even more unbelievable and

shocking.

Sixty square meters… eighty square meters, ninety square

meters, a hundred and fifty square meters…

It was as if there was a thirsty monster, greedily swallowing

up all the surrounding elemental energy.

Tu Xiaojun was frightened and his face was colorless. Both

Masters were out of town… He stared blankly for a few seconds
before ringing the emergency alarm frantically.
 The mournful alarm tore through the city, thoroughly
invading every corner of it. There was only one possibility.

Intrusion of a powerful enemy!

Chapter 440: Mist Cage
Translator: YH Editor: TYZ, KLKL

The guards came from all corners of Clearwater City. Fear and
anticipation filled their faces as they were about to face a
situation that they had only been practicing for.

They took to the skies and managed to locate their target

swiftly.

The target was extremely eye catching.

A black hole lurked in the northwestern corner of the city. It

was frantically sucking in elemental energy from all directions.

Elemental energy suffocation!

Clearwater City’s guards were of the highest calibre.

Elementalists who joined their ranks had to be powerful,
skillful, and rich in combat experience. Clearwater City only
recruited guards with superior qualities, and applicants were
mostly of a certain calibre. Those who eventually rose above the
competition to become guards of Clearwater City were
definitely among the very best.

However, colour drained from these elite guards’ faces when

they saw their target.

They knew what elemental energy suffocation was, and many

of them had already mastered it. But the chaotic way in which
the black hole before them expanded made them slightly afraid.

This range…

Only a Master was capable of something like that!

On any other ordinary day, they wouldn’t be this flustered,

since Clearwater City had consecrated two Masters for
protection. Unfortunately, today was one of those rare
occasions when both Masters were away.

There was usually at least one Master keeping watch over the
city.

It appeared that the enemy knew exactly when to strike.

 Everyone looked pale, but they gritted their teeth and flew
towards the area of emergency. The present situation did not
look good, but a prestigious job like this was hard to come by.
They had achieved their standing today by emerging victorious
in a fierce competition. Fleeing instead of fighting would
definitely cost them their job, and there won’t be any second
chances.

A guard with a tarnished reputation would never be employed

by any city. No man would put his life and wealth in the hands
of a coward.

Inside the tavern, Yang Wuchang’s face turned ashen. He

knew that this was the end.

He had been extremely cautious all this while, and had

effortfully avoided the big shots. He had a clear understanding
of the law of the jungle, which dictated that only the strong
survive. Even having an uncle who was a Master couldn’t
guarantee anything. In the eyes of most people, Yang Wuchang
was arrogant and defiant. What they didn’t notice was that he
never set foot in the richer districts and never provoked sectors
that were thriving. He only ever targeted corners that these
people probably didn’t even know existed.
 Cotton Tree Tavern was a nearby budget tavern. Only the
poorest of people would stay in such a place.

When he learnt that the target was staying there, he couldn’t

control his greed any longer.

Even so, he did not let his guard down. Yang Wuchang had
gone after Zhao Boan only after he was sure that the guy was a
servant.

He had it all thought out.

What’s a little extra suffering to a servant?

If the other party was someone remarkable, he would simply

lower himself and apologize. He was sure that the other party
would let the matter go out of respect to his uncle.

Nobody would risk offending a Master over a mere servant.

However, it seemed like he had miscalculated. He did not

expect the other party to react so fiercely, going so far as to give
him a tight slap.

Yang Wuchang had never been so humiliated before.

Infuriated, he had responded with even greater force.

He soon realized his folly. As he lost control over his own

elemental energy, Yang Wuchang became filled with fear.

His eyes were focused on his adversary’s palm. It grew

brighter by the second and was now almost as bright as the sun,
making his eyes tear involuntarily.

Yang Wuchang’s body instinctively tried to turn around. Like

an agile cat, he immediately shifted his stance.

Escape!

A strong suction force suddenly grabbed him from behind. It

felt like an invisible palm was gripping him hard,

A Master!
 Fear was swiftly spreading through Yang Wuchang’s body. He
was no stranger to this feeling, it was the same kind of fear that
he experienced whenever he went up against his uncle. A casual
attack by his uncle was enough to send his mind racing, making
him feel like there was nowhere to run.

Yang Wuchang bit down on his tongue. The severe pain, along
with the strong taste of blood, gave him a moment of clarity. He
ripped the blue water droplet off his neck and crushed it with all
his might.

With a pop, the blue water droplet turned into a large bubble
that encased Yang Wuchang within. The bubble was very thin
and almost imperceptible to the naked eye. No one would have
noticed it if not for the ripples that occasionally appeared on the
bubble’s surface.

Yang Wuchang finally managed to break free from the

immense suction. Given to him by his uncle, the Mist Cage
could last for up to four hours upon activation.

Bang!

An explosive sound blasted through the air as a streak of

dazzling light whipped at the bubble. The impact sent the
bubble flying through the tavern’s front doors at an insane
speed.

Yang Wuchang felt the world around him spin and lost all
control of his body.

Loud ringing filled his ears while he slumped in a daze. It was

quite a while later before he realized that the bubble had
become embedded in a wall. Realizing he was still alive, Yang
Wuchang felt a wave of happiness rush through his body.

Shi Xueman was slightly shocked by the bubble’s durability.

Taking a second look at it, she realized that it was the work of a
Master.

She calmly strolled out of the tavern and headed towards the
bubble.

A spark of interest lit up in her cold eyes. She was excited to

see a master water elementalist’s creation up close.

Yang Wuchang had just recovered from his daze when he

noticed Shi Xueman walking towards him. The curiosity in her
eyes gave him a bad feeling. Trembling, he hastily said,
"Misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding!"

Shi Xueman ignored him. She looked up and noticed that

there were many elementalists advancing to their position.

Out of nowhere, Ai Hui appeared behind her, "These are

guards from Clearwater City."

"It’s a misunderstanding, really!" Yang Wuchang mopped his

face and whimpered. "My uncle is Master Yang Xiaodong, you
can ask around to verify. I deserve to die for offending you, but
please give my uncle some face and let me repay you for my
transgression!"

He had seized the slightest opportunity to bring up his uncle’s

name.

He was truly frightened this time.

Ai Hui saw Shi Xueman brush her hand against Cirrus that
was strapped against her back. He said, "Go finish him off, I’ll
handle these guys."

Shi Xueman retracted her palm. Acknowledging Ai Hui’s

words, she continued to walk towards Yang Wuchang.

Yang Wuchang cried out in despair, "Spare me please Madam!

Mercy! Surely a great person like you won’t bother with a
lowlife like me! I must have been blind…"

Shi Xueman completely ignored him. She stood silently in

front of the bubble, her beautiful eyes unusually bright. She was
intrigued by the Mist Cage and very much wanted to explore its
capabilities.

"Identify yourselves! Stop whatever you are doing!"

One of the guards shouted down at them. Their sheer

numbers gave them courage.

Ai Hui stroked his chin as he rolled the Wintry Jade Blade in

his palm. He had no intention to attack, but the day’s events
reminded him of something. The A-grade fire liquid was highly
coveted, and others would jump at any chance to rush them.
The only way to deter these greedy people was to scare them
back with a display of pure power.

A show this big was going to be a pain.

Ai Hui was motivated by the thought of earning some more

money. He called for Lou Lan, "Lou Lan, grass sword!"

"Coming, Ai Hui."

Lou Lan answered loudly and threw a bundle of grass swords

to him.

Ai Hui grabbed the bundle, separated them and methodically

inserted them into the ground.

Thump!

The earth trembled and the mountains swayed.

Shi Xueman suddenly gave the bubble a good, solid punch.

Yang Wuchang, who was still inside, felt as if he had been
struck by lightning.

The guards who had rushed over were furious when they
found Shi Xueman continuing with her assault. They glanced at
each other before diving towards her.

Shrill howls resounded throughout Clearwater City. More

than a dozen streaking lights sped towards Shi Xueman like
unstoppable arrows.

Ai Hui was completely immersed in placing the grass swords

in the ground and was blissfully unaware of the approaching
guards.

Ai Hui put the last sword in place just as the guards were right
above his head. Surrounding him were thirty or so grass swords
that were sticking out of the ground at all angles.

Ai Hui stood in the middle of the swords and looked up at the

sky.

His eyes shone faintly, like stars in the night. He solemnly

mumbled to himself.

"My dear swords, please let us make more money."

…..

In the mayor’s residence, Qiao Meiqi’s face turned ghastly

pale when he heard the alarm wailing.

He felt embarrassed that his guests had to witness this

unpleasant situation.

There were two guests sitting in front of him, an old man and
a young lady. The young lady was about eighteen or nineteen,
naive and innocent. The elderly man was lying on a long couch,
eating snacks non stop while humming a tune.

The mayor’s residence entered defensive mode.

The river that surrounded the mayor’s residence created a

water screen that enveloped the entire place.
 Qiao Meiqi gloomily asked, "What’s happening? Who sounded
the alarm?"

His subordinate quickly reported, "It was from the cloud

defense layer, Tu Xiaojun is on duty today."

Qiao Meiqi calmed down slightly. He remembered Tu Xiaojun

as a steadfast individual.

Further updates came two minutes later, "A fight broke out in
the northeast corner. We have detected elemental energy
suffocation across a large area, its range is about 150 meters. Our
troops are rushing over as we speak."

The old man who was busy snacking paused and sat up. An
elemental energy suffocation of such a scale implied that
someone who was almost as strong as a master was involved.

Qiao Meiqi felt a chill running down his spine. He asked, "Is it
Han Li?"

His subordinate reported, "No, not Han Li. It’s a lady who we
have yet to identify."
 The young lady became excited upon hearing that the other
party was a woman. "Uncle Qiao, let’s go check it out!"

Qiao Meiqi looked at the old man, who nodded. "I would like
to take a look as well."

Qiao Meiqi felt relieved. With them around, things shouldn’t

get too out of hand.

He stood up and sneered, "Let’s go and take a good look at

these ‘heroes’!"
Chapter 441: The Bigger the Scene, the
Bigger the Earnings
Translator: YH Editor: TYZ, KLKL

Han Li was alarmed by the siren. He furrowed his brows and

walked faster, following the direction the guards were flying in.
He did not take to the sky after the alarm sounded, as the sky of
the city had become a no-fly zone. Unauthorised flyers would be
treated as the enemy and attacked violently.

He wondered who the assailants were.

It was common to have disturbances in the city, but to have

the alarm activated was another matter.

If the situation was minor, the invaders would merely be

punished as unwelcome guests. Those who caused major
disturbances would be seen as an enemy of the city and would
be marked for death.

Who could it be?

 Could it be an enemy of Qiao Meiqi? Han Li’s heart skipped a
beat. He walked faster and thought that if this was the case, he
might be able to make use of the situation.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A dull, rhythmic sound, like the beating of a drum, could be

heard. Han Li was keenly aware of the vibrations moving along
the ground. He immediately associated it with heavy weapons,
such as heavy hammers or siege rams.

He hopped lightly onto the roof of a shop and from there,

gently bounced across several other roofs until he reached a
higher vantage point.

There were guards forming up in the sky above the city. Even
Han Li, who was only there to take a peek, could feel the
tremendous pressure.

The guards were about to act.

He focused his mind. He was curious to see who the

troublemakers were and was contemplating if he should lend
them a helping hand. While the saying "an enemy of my enemy
is my friend" wasn’t always true, actual circumstances usually
didn’t stray too far from it.

Han Li’s eyes opened wide with shock when he looked

towards the source of the sound.

A beautiful lady clad in blue and white armour was

continuously punching a thin bubble. The guy within the
bubble was completely knocked out.

Visible ripples would appear on the bubble whenever her

snow-white fists struck it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Han Li was transfixed. He was unable to associate this

beautiful, esteemed lady with the sledge hammer-like blows she
was dishing out. He recognized the thin bubble as being a Mist
Cage, something that only a handful of people were able to
create. One of them was Master Yang Xiaodong.

Han Li had read about Yang Xiaodong before he came and so

knew that the man in the bubble wasn’t him. The Mist Cage was
still intact, but they lady’s terrifying power was able to
penetrate it.

The man in the bubble was completely overwhelmed by the

armour-clad lady’s powerful blows. He was unconscious and
foaming at the mouth.

Was there a need for this much force?

Despite her terrifying display of force, Han Li actually had

thoughts of flirting with her. A moment later, he snapped out of
it and shuddered. Just what was he thinking!

Was an ancient dire beast hidden within that graceful body?

Flying overhead, more guards arrived. They were bewildered

by the chaos below them.

Being more resilient and powerful than the rest of the guards,
the head guard regained his composure in half the time. He
recognized the man in the bubble as Yang Wuchang, the
nephew of Master Yang. He had heard of the man’s many shady
misdeeds and despised him greatly. The head guard however,
still had a duty to fulfil. If Yang Wuchang was to die under his
watch, Master Yang might blame him for dereliction of duty.

He ordered, "Hands off!"

By then, the other guards had recovered from their shock as

well. They looked at Shi Xueman with fear. Although they were
afraid, they didn’t dare to retreat. Unable to advance or retreat,
the guards fanned out and surrounded the area.

The lady below continued to land blow after blow. It was as

though she hadn’t realized what was happening.

"I’ll have to take action if you don’t stop!"

The head guard wavered a little inside. He wasn’t as confident

as he looked or sounded, but at this point he had no choice but
to advance. He gritted his teeth and signaled his men to get
ready.

"Hey, hey, hey, am I really that unremarkable?"

 A languid voice came from below.

Ai Hui felt a little annoyed that he had been overlooked. There

were so many people yet not a single one had bothered to look at
him even once. He’d created such an eye-catching scene yet was
completely ignored.

Although Ai Hui wasn’t someone who sought fame and

attention, he still felt really unhappy about this.

It doesn’t pay to be too nice…

Before he even finished his sigh, the Wintry Jade Blade in Ai

Hui’s hand had already traced out several sword rays. Oddly,
they didn’t vanish, but instead lingered in the air.

Haphazardly inserted into the ground were a pretty large

number of grass swords. A soft, high-pitched whistle could be
heard from the grass swords that were trembling in unison.

Upon noticing Ai Hui’s movements, the guards became

aggressive. They couldn’t quite explain it, but the sight of Ai
Hui made them feel threatened.
 "How dare you!"

"What insolence!"

...

The guards cried out and gathered into a large mass. Below,
an innocent-looking young man flashed a bright smile as he
gracefully brandished his sword.

A faint light erupted from the sword’s blade, dancing around

the guards.

"Welcome!"

The young man’s languid voice momentarily lulled the guards

into a false sense of comfort.

His soothing voice was soon swept away by the grass swords’
high-pitched whistle.
 The guards could see bright spots in the sky around them that
looked like stars amidst a lightless night sky. Out of nowhere,
immensely sharp sword rays began to fly towards them at a high
speed.

Without thinking, the guards instinctively dodged and

attempted to deflect the attack.

The anticipated attack, however, did not take place. The

piercing rays vanished, as if they had never existed.

Have we been fooled?

After they recovered, the guards noticed that there were many
grass swords floating around them. The grass swords were
nimbly weaving their way amongst them, like agile fishes
swimming down a river.

What was happening?

Utterly confused, none of the guards were able to figure out

what these grass swords were for. They were emitting a faint
light, but did that even matter? Grass swords were weak and
unsuitable for large scale attacks.

What’s more, the grass swords didn’t seem to have any

intention of attacking them. They merely drifted through space,
completely ignoring the guards’ existence.

Han Li was so distracted by Shi Xueman that he was taken

aback when he heard Ai Hui speak.

He would never forget that mockery-filled voice for as long as

he lived!

Looking towards the direction of the sound, he saw Ai Hui

standing in the middle of many grass swords.

Han Li was deeply annoyed.

The smirk on that fellow’s face was incredibly detestable!

One of the guards had enough of his games and prepared to

rush down.
 He felt resistance the moment he tried to move. It was as
though they were all suspended in some sort of liquid, making it
difficult to move.

He quickly shouted, "Be careful, something’s not quite right!"

The others were finally waking up from their daze. They were
disconcerted upon discovering that their physical and elemental
energy movements were hampered.

"Crap!"

"Let’s break out!"

Their immense collective combat experience allowed the

guards to quickly think of a solution. They coordinated their
efforts and aggressively attempted to fly out of the area.

Ai Hui nonchalantly stayed on the ground. He glanced at Shi

Xueman who was still happily punching the bubble, and felt a
bit sorry for the guy inside.
 He retracted his gaze and looked upwards when he detected
the guards’ movements.

Shi Xueman is obsessed with the bubble.

It’s rare to see my good friend here actually show interest in

something… Please stop trying to disturb her…

"The bigger the scene, the bigger the earnings," Ai Hui

murmured, as he drew a circular sword ray in the air with the
Wintry Jade Blade. An indescribable feeling pervaded the air
around him.

The faint light from the floating grass swords began to

change. Half of them were shining even brighter, while another
half became much dimmer, as though they were covered by a
layer of fog.

The two distinct versions of the grass swords intertwined

with each other, creating strange, undulating waves.

The airborne guards had a grim look on their faces. If they

were previously stuck in water, they were now rapidly sinking
into quicksand. The resistance they felt was ten times greater
than before!

"Elemental energy suffocation!"

Tu Xiaojun, who was standing guard in the cloud defense

layer, was mortified.

Beneath him, a circular void was expanding wildly. This one

was somehow even more terrifying than the elemental energy
suffocation from before.

Two hundred and ten meters…Two hundred and forty meters

…Three hundred meters..

The huge expanse of nothingness below him left his limbs

numb with cold.

The mayor and the others, who’d just flown over, arrived just
in time to see the grass swords flying up into the sky. They
hadn’t thought much about the grass swords.
 The old man soon picked up on the mysterious elemental
energy waves that were propagating through the air.

"Be on your guard! The other party is very powerful!"

It was as if the old man had become someone else. His hair
was standing on end and his gaze was as solid as a rock. He was
emitting strong elemental energy fluctuations and not a trace of
his typically leisurely manner could be seen.

Qiao Meiqi knew that something was up. For the old man to
say something like that, the other party must be incredibly
strong.

—— A Master!

He took a deep bow and begged, "Respected elder, you must

save us! All of my assets are in Clearwater City. I’ll be left with
nothing if it’s ruined."

The old man looked at the young lady gravely as he sighed,

"Don’t worry, I’ll not let them mess around."
 "Uncle Qiao, you shouldn’t be too worried," the young lady
gently reassured Qiao Meiqi.

Hearing the old man’s words made Qiao Meiqi feel slightly
more secure. All they needed to do was to survive for the next
two days until the Masters returned. Qiao Meiqi wondered
whether he had offended someone recently and was reminded
of some gossip he had picked up some days before.

The old man lowered his tone, "I’ll go take a look."

Han Li, who was perched atop a high roof, was as pale as a
sheet. He stared at the floating grass swords in utter disbelief.

Hailing from the Karakorum Sword League, he naturally

knew exactly what he was looking at. Anyone who had stayed
for an extended duration in Karakorum would definitely
recognise this.

Yin Yang Sword Formation!

However, he had no deeper understanding of it beyond mere

recognition.
 He once believed that he would be able to break through the
enigmatic Yin Yang Sword Formation, but the sight in front of
him shattered every last shred of that belief.

The Yin Yang Sword Formation was truly beyond his

comprehension. It appeared to exist in a realm beyond
Karakorum’s understanding.

Han Li’s world had been turned upside down.

Chapter 442: Old Friend
The dancing and circling grass swords drew a cylindrical area
of over sixty cubic meters in the faraway sky. It looked like a
huge, invisible wind pillar with circles of ripples raging back
and forth within. The guards floated and sank but were unable
to struggle free.

The closer they got the more the interwoven and fluctuating
wave motion brought fear and trepidation, even to the old man
beside Mayor Qiao Meiqi.

The wave motion was indistinct and unpredictable. Weaker

elementalists were unable to sense it, but the old man felt its
threat. Even when sensing unfamiliar forces, Masters would
still be able to instinctively detect the danger within.

Their understanding of force far exceeded ordinary

elementalists.

The old man was rather curious. Who could it be?

He glanced slightly toward the mayor and wondered to

himself, ‘When had this guy offended such a powerful
opponent?’ He had a high position in the Gong residence and
was seldom kept from secrets. In this era, however, carelessly
antagonizing others wasn’t a wise choice.

Qiao Meiqi was worried sick, sweat unknowingly surfacing on

his forehead. He had a majestic appearance, face squarish and
broad, that gave him an air of grandeur even without trying. He
was definitely not an ordinary businessman, since it wasn’t easy
to build a friendly relationship with the son of an official. Many
times he’d made people forget his identity of a great merchant.

But a hostile enemy of Master level had to enter the city when
both consecrated Masters weren’t around. This was worse than
the invasion of the Wilderness.

The dancing and circling grass swords in the sky were like a
leisurely swimming arrowfish that carried little malice. Upon
seeing the guards’ clumsy moves and blunders, however, a
coldness rose from Qiao Meiqi’s tailbone and spread throughout
his whole body.

He tried his best to keep cool, asking, "Look, what is that?"

The old man was knowledgeable, but did not answer

immediately. He observed for some time before responding, "It
looks like a kind of sword formation, but one of such scale is
rarely heard of.

"Sword formation? Isn’t that something from Karakorum

Sword League?" Qiao Meiqi raised his brows, fire flickering in
his eyes. "Could it be Han Li at the bottom?"

Hearing Han Li had just caused trouble and seeing

Karakorum’s sword formation, it wasn’t surprising that he
would associate one with the other. He appeared to be seething,
but was actually relieved. As long as they were certain
Karakorum Sword League was involved, the Gong residence
would not just sit and watch.

It was only after Karakorum’s chief became Sky Edge

Division’s division leader, Karakorum Polaris, that her secret
relationship with Madam Ye gradually became apparent.

Karakorum Polaris did not emerge alone, but brought along

newly recruited soldiers.

As a despot, Qiao Meiqi naturally wasn’t someone with a

simple brain. He’d understood that with Great Elder falling sick,
Madam Ye was now unstoppably powerful.

Karakorum’s Han Li’s appearance in Clearwater City made

people ponder and question.

Qiao Meiqi felt calm instead, since Gong Residence would not
sit idly as Madam Ye roped them in. Qiao Meiqi had no
intention to rely on Madam Ye as well. He had a few decades of
friendship with the Gong Residence so the trust they shared was
foundationally deep.

Plus, Qiao Meiqi was clear that Madam Ye’s army was well-
trained and powerful and her subordinates were valiant. If he
were to go over to her side at this time, he wouldn’t be able to
reap much benefits and wouldn’t be much valued, so why would
he do that?

Clearwater City was remotely located, deep within the

Wilderness, so within such a short period of time, repairing the
situation was beyond Madam Ye’s abilities.

Han Li’s appearance in Clearwater City… he’s coming for

Gong Residence!
 Qiao Meiqi quickly found the crux and came to a realization.
The relationship between the Gong Residence and Madam Ye
was already hostile, and now they were establishing themselves
in the few aristocratic families, doing as they please without
adhering to Madam Ye’s order. This was made apparent when
they constructed Palacefield City instead of entering Skyheart
City.

He composed himself. The battle between Gong Residence and

Madam Ye wasn’t something a person of his rank should
participate in.

As the target flew closer, the old man and young lady cried out
simultaneously.

"It’s him!"

"It’s her!"

Qiao Meiqi snapped out of it instantly. Were they acquainted?

In charge of the Yin Yang sword formation, Ai Hui couldn’t

help but howl at Iron Lady. "Done?"
 He was answered with an even more intensive whisking that
sounded like metals clanging, a plaintive lament.

Finally, a loud crash, surpassing all previous sounds, was

heard. Ai Hui breathed a sigh of relief.

While his Yin Yang sword formation was powerful, grass

swords were still grass swords and were unable to be sustained
for long. He attacked because there was more to gain. It would
be embarrassing if things backfired.

Iron Lady pulled back and returned to Ai Hui’s side without

even looking at Yang Wuchang, who was lying unconscious on
the ground and bleeding from his nose and mouth.

Just then, the circling grass swords in the sky started flaming.
There were white flames and black flames. In the blink of an eye
they turned to ashes.

That strange, invisible force disappeared all of a sudden and

the trapped guards instantly felt their bodies loosen up as the
resistance all around vanished completely.
 Below, Ai Hui and Shi Xueman stood back to back, holding a
sword and a spear respectively.

Making such a big scene and disregarding their honor… no

one would take it lying down.

There was no need to worry about not having the chance to

speak. With a sword and with skills, anyone would get a chance
to speak up.

Only weaklings’ voices would be drowned out.

Without turning his head Ai Hui asked, "How did it feel?"

Shi Xueman replied, "Very sturdy."

She hesitated for a bit, but added nevertheless, "That last one
was gratifying."

Ai Hui burst into laughter. It was difficult to imagine such

words coming out of Iron Lady’s mouth. She sounded like a
mischievous little girl who’d just done something naughty.
 The guards in the sky were raging at this point, their eyes on
fire. They’d been immobilized by their opponent in the eyes of
everyone. It was utterly embarrassing.

Right at this moment someone shouted, "Stop it!"

The guards who were about to attack turned rigid. That

imposing voice was beyond familiar to them. The mayor!

They turned around and saluted, "Mayor!"

Before Qiao Meiqi could speak, the two old and young people
beside him flew down.

"Sister Xueman!"

"So it’s you!"

The familiarity in their tones made Qiao Meiqi let all his
guard down. Wait a minute, Sister Xueman? Who could have a
little princess of the Gong Residence address her that way? A
name came up to him suddenly, causing his eyes to open wide.
 Ai Hui looked at the luxuriously clothed man in front of him
and asked in puzzlement, "You are...?"

He found the old man vaguely familiar looking but had no

idea where he might’ve seen him. Even his voice sounded
familiar.

Seeing that Ai Hui had not recognized him the old man was
somewhat pleased. "No recollection eh? I drank some of your
porridge before."

Drank his porridge? Ai Hui reacted all of a sudden, his eyeballs

about to fall out. "Volcano Old Man!"

The old man smiled in satisfaction. "Can’t recognize me eh,

have I changed a lot?"

Ai Hui clicked his tongue in wonder. "Couldn’t recognize you

indeed. You were like a beggar when I last met you, but now
you’re acting all elegant. I can tell from one glance that your
clothes are expensive stuff!"

Upon hearing the words "acting all elegant" Qiao Meiqi

trembled slightly. He raised his head forcefully and look toward
Ai Hui like a madman.

How dare he say that to a Master? Not just any Master but
bad-tempered Venerable Volcano. Was he trying to die?

What threw him off even more was the fact that Venerable
Volcano wasn’t the least bit offended.

He smiled, saying, "I have recovered and was able to live on,
thanks to your porridge. I wanted to look for you guys after to
return the favor but it slipped my mind, hahaha."

He seemed to have felt that forgetting someone else’s kindness

wasn’t something to feel embarrassed over.

Ai Hui did not mind it. He smiled, "That’s not true. If not for
the fact that you guarded the door, we wouldn’t have been able
to enjoy the porridge."

Just then, Shi Xueman brought an innocent and unaffected

girl over. "This is Ai Hui, we all call him Ah Hui. This is Yaoyao,
Gong Peiyao. She is Uncle Gong’s daughter, we used to play
together in the past"

Gong Peiyao greeted hurriedly, calling out respectfully,

"Brother Ah Hui."

Ai Hui returned the greeting, "Yaoyao."

Shi Xueman recognized Venerable Volcano at this point and

was rather shocked. "You changed so much."

Venerable Volcano laughed out loud. "The young lady’s eyes

are working better after all. Better than yours."

Shi Xueman had already pulled Yaoyao to another side.

"Lou Lan, this is Yaoyao."

"Hi, Yaoyao. I’m Lou Lan, very pleased to meet you."

"Wa, Lou Lan is so cute! Can I hug you, Lou Lan?"

 "Of course!"

"Wah, you’re so soft! Do you wanna hug him, Sister Xueman?"

"I"m not a little girl like you!"

"You don’t want to? Really? He’s so soft and comfortable to

hug! Why are you so soft, Lou Lan?"

"There are two reasons. Firstly, I’m made of millesimal soft

sand. Secondly, my sand core is constantly optimizing and I can
simulate about three thousand four hundred and sixty different
sand textures."

"Lou Lan, Lou Lan! Can you become a bed?"

"Yes I can!"

Boom, a sand bed appeared before the two of them.

Gong Peiyao threw herself on it, instantly becoming excited.

"Ahhhhhh so soft! Lou Lan is so amazing! Quick, come up, Sister
Xueman!"

Shi Xueman was rather tempted, but looking at her

surroundings she decided to resist the urge. She coughed, "Get
up quick, Yaoyao. You shouldn’t act like this…"

"I’m not getting up, I’m not getting up, I’m not getting up…"

Shi Xueman pulled her up with one hand, ignoring her

squirms and struggles. She said, somewhat embarrassed, "Sorry
to have made you suffer, Lou Lan. Yaoyao has always been
mischievous."

Lou Lan broke into a wide grin. "Not at all, I’m very happy."

Qiao Meiqi was now in front of Ai Hui. He spoke cordially, "I

did not expect to see the renowned Lightning Blade over here.
Your presence really brings light to my city. I’m deeply
honored. My name is Qiao Meiqi and I am guilty of calling
myself the mayor. Unable to take care of my people properly, I
feel utterly ashamed. Really sorry to have caused you an
unhappy experience. Please do me the honor and give me a
chance to make up for my negligence."
 Yang Wuchang woke up from his coma, but upon hearing the
humble tone in which the mayor was addressing them with, he
blacked out once again.
Chapter 443: The Grief of Balls
The mayor’s residence was bustling with noise and
excitement that night. The ill-feelings between everyone had
disappeared. People were toasting each other while laughing
and cheering happily. Qiao Meiqi was exceptional at adjusting
the atmosphere of a social setting. The atmosphere of the
banquet was very lively now.

Everyone had heard of the renowned Lightning Blade. In front

of the wealthy and powerful Shi family and Gong family, the
local rich men were nobodies.

"So you own the A-grade fire liquid?"

Venerable Volcano asked impatiently, looking as if he was

about to run up to Ai Hui’s face.

The lively banquet quieted down in an instant. Among the

invited guests tonight, many of them were presidents of
enterprises. They had obtained the news of the fire liquid at an
earlier time. Those who had a general knowledge of business
knew the worth of an A-grade fire liquid.
 Qiao Meiqi knew very well how to conduct a business.
Similarly, he knew the worth of an A-grade fire liquid.
However, instead of withholding the news, he released the news
with great fanfare. He’d invited numerous enterprises to the
banquet that night.

He clearly knew what was important and what was not. The
A-grade fire liquid might be important, however, it paled in
comparison to the worth of Ai Hui’s presence. Furthermore,
there had been some misunderstandings previously and this
banquet would be the best chance to remedy everything.

Qiao Meiqi had a smile on his face the whole time. Every now
and then, he would fawn over Ai Hui and advertise his fire
liquid to everyone.

"It’s A-grade refined fire liquid," Qiao Meiqi added

motionlessly.

All the guests became restless. The word "refined" implied

that the fire liquid could be produced indefinitely. Everyone
loved treasure, but most treasures were exhaustible. To
businessmen, the only way to make money was to sell
something that was inexhaustible.
 Ai Hui looked at Qiao Meiqi with surprise. This mayor was
indeed a shrewd individual.

"Mr Kang knows this fire liquid the best. Why don’t we have
Mr Kang give us an introduction of it?" Qiao Meiqi smiled.

Qiao Meiqi clearly knew of Ai Hui’s intentions so he invited

Appraiser Kang Ding to this banquet. With Kang Ding’s
endorsement of the fire liquid, everyone would not have no
qualms about purchasing it.

Everyone’s gaze was directed at Kang Ding. He stood up to

greet Ai Hui and Qiao Meiqi and began the introduction, "It’s
my honor to have Mr Ai Hui place his faith and trust in me.
Right now, I will introduce snow lava’s characteristics to
everyone…"

Everyone, including Venerable Volcano, listened to Kang Ding

attentively.

Ai Hui raised his cup and gave Kang Ding a toast. Kang Ding
smiled and raised his cup to return the toast.
 Both of them smiled at each other and downed their wine
cups.

Such a shrewd individual.

The same thought arose in both of their minds at the same

time.

Every now and then, an alarmed cry would ring across the
meeting hall. A-grade fire liquid was seldomly see on the
market. Kang Ding was fully aware of his role. His introduction
of the snow lava was filled with flowery compliments. Of
course, being an A-grade fire liquid, the snow lava deserved
such compliments.

As the fine wine slid down his throat, a fragrant and burning
sensation erupted in his chest.

Ai Hui seldom drank alcohol. However, he felt a rare

satisfaction at this moment.

Beside him, Iron Lady was whispering something to Gong

Peiyao. Wrong, Gong Peiyao was whispering something to Iron
Lady. Like a bottle of glue, the little princess from the Gong
Residence had been sticking to Iron Lady and chattering
nonstop since the moment she met her.

The bright, swaying light, the tipsiness from the fine wine
and the clamor from the guests in the meeting hall made Ai Hui
feel as if his mind was shrouded in mist.

Since the atmosphere is so lively, I should be able to sell the

snow lava for a good price...

Ai Hui did not know whether it was because of the tipsiness

from the fine wine or because his pressure was relieved that his
entire body felt relaxed.

Every step I took, they are all still vivid in my mind.

My heart is filled with regret, my life is filled with tears.

The hardships of beginning an undertaking.

Is it easy? No, it’s not. Is it hard? It’s very hard.

 What if I could restart my life? Which path would I choose?

It will still be the same.

One who holds the sword feels fear. One who bears
responsibility is tied down. One who seeks revenge has
difficulty in recovering from his wound.

Since when have I forgotten the warm sunshine, the cool

breeze, the tranquil morning, the whooshing sound of Three
Leaves Bamboo Carts, the sleepy shop assistants, the dancing
smoke from the kitchen chimneys… in Central Pine City?

Ai Hui’s turbid eyes slowly regained their clarity and his hazy
vision became clear once more.

At this moment, someone asked, "May I know how much does

the snow lava cost?"

Ai Hui raised his wine cup and took a sip. Just as he was about
to speak after moistening his lips with the wine, someone
interrupted him.
 "No matter how much it costs, I want all of it!" Venerable
Volcano roared with his eyebrows raised.

At this point of time, no one dared to say anything. Whether it

was because of his status as a Master or because he had the
backing of the Gong Residence, these businessmen did not dare
to offend him.

Ai Hui laughed involuntarily, "You want all of it? Do you have

enough money?"

Venerable Volcano replied proudly, "You have underestimated

me. When I attained the level of Master, your balls were not
even fully grown yet."

Laughter broke out in the meeting hall. Ai Hui gave a soft

cough as a tinge of embarrassment appeared on his face.

Hey, hey, hey, you better leave your insults off my balls.

Old fogey!
 Deep down, Ai Hui was fuming with rage. On the surface, he
put on a nonchalant look and replied, "You want all of it, right?
On the account of our deep relationship, I shall give you a
discount. One hundred essence elemental beans per drop, what
do you think? I’m not scamming you!"

"Alright. There’s some conscience in you after all. Give me

one hundred and eighty drops!" Venerable Volcano replied.

He was a fire elemental master and he was very familiar with

the market prices of various fire elemental materials. This price
was not expensive at all. Even B-grade fire liquid costed around
twenty essence elemental beans per drop.

"One hundred and eighty drops?" A mysterious smile appeared

on Ai Hui’s face.

Venerable Volcano looked slightly worried and replied, "You

don’t have one hundred and eighty drips? Sixty drops will do
for me as well."

Even though high-grade fire liquid was sold in drops, they

could not be used in singular drops. In the terminology of fire
elementalists, there was a very special term used for drops,
which was called "seal". "Seal" was used as a unit of
measurement for many types of fire liquid. One seal of fire
liquid was equivalent to around twenty drops of fire liquid.

A tiny amount amount of fire liquid was useless to a fire

elemental master like Venerable Volcano.

An ordinary individual definitely could not afford to use an A-

grade fire liquid for battles. However, for a Master, this wasn’t
much of a problem. One hundred essence elemental beans per
drop. Therefore, a seal of fire liquid would only cost at most two
thousand essen