Martial Peak

Fang Tian Ci had no idea how to console him, so he could only pat his back.

A long time later, Liu Jing Shan stopped sobbing and let out a breath. Embarrassed, he said, “I apologize for letting you see such a disgraceful sight.”

Fang Tian Ci didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent.

Perhaps it was because Liu Jing Shan was drunk, and he had no one to talk to about his grievances over the years, but he started speaking about the past, “I was invited to the Dao Temple when I was still young and naïve. At that time, the Dao Temple was bustling with noise with several thousand Seniors in total. Every day, there would be powerful Seniors who hosted forums and preached the Dao. Such experiences were invaluable.”

[Several thousand people?] When Fang Tian Ci learned that there was such a lively period in the Dao Temple back then, he couldn’t help feeling awestruck.

One had to know that the Dao Temple had strict criteria when selecting disciples. Those who could join the Dao Temple all had the potential to directly ascend to the Fifth Order at the very least. On average there would be just 10 new disciples every 100 years, though there were times when as few as four or five would be taken in.

Several thousand people must have been the result of accumulating several tens of thousands of years in the Void World. Furthermore, they were all powerful Emperor Realm Masters. Most of them had condensed their Dao Seals and refined the powers of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements as they were ready to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.

However, presently, there were only about 300 people in the Dao Temple, which was a significantly smaller number than in the past.

“I only started condensing my Dao Seal 200 years after my arrival in the Dao Temple when, all of a sudden, the Dao Lord ordered that those who were ready to make it to the Open Heaven Realm should gather together. Then, he brought them all away,” At the mention of this, Liu Jing Shan felt downcast as he wiped the tears with his sleeves, “It was a tough time for me. Several thousand Seniors were gone just like that, leaving just 20 or so people behind.”

Although Fang Tian Ci didn’t personally experience it, he could feel how helpless and aggrieved Liu Jing Shan must have been at that time.

The originally lively Dao Temple became silent all of a sudden, and all the Seniors Liu Jing Shan was familiar with were brought out from the Void World. It was only natural that he was dejected.

If he had also been ready to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm, he could’ve left with them; unfortunately, he had only started to condense his Dao Seal at the time.

“Junior Brother, do you know why there were so many disciples in the Dao Temple back then?”

“Certainly, it was because the Dao Lord didn’t bring them away.”

“Do you know the reason, then?”

Fang Tian Ci shook his head, “No.”

After taking a breath, Liu Jing Shan explained, “I have no idea either… I reckon that it was because the Dao Lord was held up by something urgent, which was why he hadn’t taken a look at the Dao Temple for several tens of thousands of years. That was why there were so many disciples here.”

After a moment of silence, Fang Tian Ci asked, “Is it possible that the Dao Lord had forgotten about it?”

The Dao Lord was extremely powerful, so it wasn’t likely that there was any emergency that could hold him up for several tens of thousands of years. He might have forgotten about the Dao Temple.

A tearful Liu Jing Shan looked at him as he found his words distressing. As though someone had jabbed a knife into his heart, he was deluged with a sense of melancholy as he cried, “That’s not possible. The Dao Lord will never forget about the Dao Temple. We’re in his Small Universe, so how is it possible that he’s forgotten about us?”

Fang Tian Ci nodded in agreement, “He must be cultivating in seclusion, then.”

Although it sounded strange that the Dao Lord might have cultivated in seclusion for several tens of thousands of years, he was a powerful Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, after all, so it was only natural that his cultivation sessions would be extremely long.

Liu Jing Shan pressed his hand against his chest as he felt heartbroken, “Keep quiet if you have nothing better to say, Junior Brother Fang. I’ve been waiting for 3,000 years…”

Fang Tian Ci let out a sigh as he shut his mouth.

After a moment of silence, Liu Jing Shan went on to say, “By the way, do you think the Dao Lord is cultivating in seclusion now?”

He was one of the earliest disciples in the current Dao Temple, and those who had arrived earlier than he did had all left for the outside world. On the other hand, he had been waiting in this place for 3,000 years, and he had no idea how much longer he had to wait to have a chance to leave the Void World.Nᴇw chapters are publɪshed on N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt

Fang Tian Ci shook his head. Certainly, he couldn’t possibly know what the Dao Lord was doing. Since his Senior Brother was in a terrible mood, he was worried he would say something wrong that might agitate him again. As such, he decided to remain silent.

In any case, he now knew why his Senior Brother was sorrowful.

It had come to a point where they could no longer improve their cultivation. If they wanted to make it to the Open Heaven Realm, they had to leave the Void World.

Nevertheless, they were in the Dao Lord’s Small Universe, so without the Dao Lord leading the way, they couldn’t possibly leave.

[Senior Brother Liu has been waiting for 3,000 years. It’s only natural that he’s feeling dejected. If we have to wait for several tens of thousands of years, just like what happened back then…]

Fang Tian Ci shuddered as he couldn’t imagine how tough their lives would be if that was the case.

Liu Jing Shan, who was quietly seated, got to his feet all of a sudden and roared, “Dao Lord! Please open your eyes and look at us! All of us at the Dao Temple are ready to fight the Black Ink Clan, but we’re trapped here, unable to put our skills to good use! Is this what you hope to see? Do you want us to wait here until our death? That’s not the kind of life I want!”

Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder rolled. The instant Liu Jing Shan was done roaring, a fissure appeared in the sky and even from a distance, they could see the fissure expand slowly.

Liu Jing Shan and Fang Tian Ci were dumbfounded.

In actuality, it wasn’t a fissure, it was an eye that looked authoritative with a hint of mockery in it. Liu Jing Shan could clearly feel that the eye was staring at him, which made him tremble and caused him to fall on his butt.

The next moment, he heard a sacred-sounding voice that ordered, “To the disciples who are ready to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm and are willing to battle the enemies of Humanity, come to the Open Heaven Palace at once!”

A shockwave rippled through the entire Void Dao Temple as all the disciples, who were ready to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, stopped whatever they were doing and streamed towards the Open Heaven Palace with excitement.

Although the fissure in the sky had disappeared, the intense pressure lingered.

Liu Jing Shan and Fang Tian Ci exchanged glances as both of them were astounded.

Following that, they were deluged with a sense of ecstasy as Liu Jing Shan cheered, “The Dao Lord has heard me! Hahaha! Come, Junior Brother Fang! Follow me to the Open Heaven Palace!”

Then, he raced towards the Open Heaven Palace, followed by Fang Tian Ci.

Liu Jing Shan was evidently excited. As he ran forward, he rattled on, saying, “You’re so lucky, Junior Brother. You’ve just finished refining your Yin, Yang and Five Elements Powers, and the Dao Lord is ready to bring us out of here. Had it taken you a couple dozen more years, you would have to wait for the next opportunity.”

Then, he appeared somewhat frustrated as he muttered, “Why didn’t I have your luck? In any case, we’re finally able to leave.”

When they arrived at the Open Heaven Palace, over 100 people had gathered together in the Grand Hall. There were more people who were still rushing over, all of them appearing joyful. Some of them were just like Liu Jing Shan, who were left behind in the Dao Temple because they were not ready to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm at that time. After waiting for 3,000 years, they finally had a chance to explore the outside world.

All these cheerful people congratulated each other, as though they were celebrating some sort of festivity.

…..

Outside the Star Boundary, Yang Kai was hovering somewhere in the void in High Heaven Territory with Hua Qing Si patiently waiting behind him.

Yang Kai had suddenly returned from Profound Nether Territory and summoned her. Hua Qing Si had no idea what the Palace Master wanted her to do, and when she arrived, the Palace Master said nothing, so she didn’t ask any questions.

Just then, a beam of light shot out from the Star Boundary and reached them in the blink of an eye.

Hua Qing Si saluted him, “Greetings, Senior Iron Blood.”

Zhan Wu Hen nodded gently, then turned to Yang Kai and asked worriedly, “I heard that you were badly injured. Is that true?”

It had been 300 years since the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters reached a ceasefire agreement in Profound Nether Territory.

During this period, Yang Kai had never shown up. It was rumoured that he was terribly wounded; however, the place where he cultivated was sealed with many layers of restrictions, and no one dared to disturb him. As such, no one knew if he was wounded or not.

Those from Profound Nether Territory dismissed such rumours; after all, Yang Kai had headed to the Black Ink Clan’s base and forced the peace deal with the Territory Lords on his own back then. There was no doubt it was a bold and impressive feat; one he would not have attempted if he was really seriously injured.

Certainly, such rumours were spread by the Black Ink Clansmen or ill-intentioned Black Ink Disciples to bring down the Humans’ morale.

Yang Kai simply replied with a smile, “Sort of.”

Zhan Wu Hen was stunned while disbelief was written all over Hua Qing Si’s face. They all thought that Yang Kai had only been cultivating in seclusion for the past 300 years. As such, they were surprised to learn he was indeed injured.

“I’ve fully recovered,” Yang Kai added.

His injury wasn’t caused by battling the Territory Lords, it was simply a result of cultivating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.

To practise this Secret Art, Yang Kai had to cultivate a Human Self and a Monster Self which were far different from ordinary Soul Clones. 

Ordinary Soul Clones wouldn’t be useful; however, the ones formed from the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art had endless possibilities.

To cultivate the Human Self, Yang Kai had practically split his Soul in two and become frail for the following 300 years. Fortunately, he could gradually recover with the Soul Warming Lotus’s help.

While recuperating, he had also been refining resources to increase his power; therefore, he wasn’t wasting any time.

“Why are you here, Senior Iron Blood?” Yang Kai asked.

When he returned to the Star Boundary previously, only Duan Hong Chen was in charge of this place as the other Great Emperors had left to kill the enemies. This time, however, Yang Kai could detect the auras of several Great Emperors.

Among the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, Zhan Wu Hen was the most skilful in combat and would never hesitate to volunteer to fight the Black Ink Clansmen. As such, it was a mystery that he was in the Star Boundary now.

Zhan Wu Hen replied calmly, “I have to give the young ones some chances, don’t I?” After a pause, he continued, “Moreover, we have to take advantage of the opportunities only we possess. As Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, we can cultivate far more efficiently by staying here. Only when we ascend to the Eighth Order can we maximize our contributions to the war effort.”

Realising the other man’s intention, Yang Kai replied with a smile, “You’re indeed a far-sighted person, Senior Iron Blood.”

Zhan Wu Hen stared fixedly at him, “I suppose you share the same sentiment.”

“Indeed,” Yang Kai replied, “I sacrificed our immediate advantage and arrived at a peace deal with the Black Ink Clan so that we could build a training ground for the next generation of soldiers. The Juniors will eventually grow to be powerful. When the Seventh-Order Masters ascend to the Eighth-Order, they’ll have to go to a new battlefield. It’s not like we can ask them to cultivate in seclusion forever.”

Zhan Wu Hen nodded, “I agree with you. It’s not fun killing those Feudal Lords anymore. It would be better to ascend to the Eighth Order sooner so that I can take a few Territory Lords’ heads.”

Then, he looked around and asked in puzzlement, “Who are you waiting for?”

Yang Kai explained, “Some of the people in my Small Universe are ready to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm. I have to bring them out.”

Hearing his explanation, Zhan Wu Hen nodded.