Chapter 314 - 1: Awakening
Early spring.
It was supposed to be the time when the four seasons completed their cycle of life and death. The withering of deep winter had ended, and spring’s vitality was about to burst forth. And yet, the city of Shengjing was thick with the grim tension of drawn weapons.
In a hotel suite near the city center.
Chong Shanhu’s expression was grave as he asked in a low voice:
"Xiaoke, you and I will be entering the arena soon. Remember to be careful. If you’re outmatched, surrender immediately. Those Demon Children are vicious."
At this moment, Zhuge Ke also looked terrible, a hint of panic on her face. She performed a Divination as she said worriedly:
"Of course I know that... You can’t be reckless, either. If things look bad, just admit defeat..."
"I’m different."
Chong Shanhu said steadily:
"The [Zhi Xuan] the Temple Master taught you is the way of Divination—to discern fortune from disaster, point out Cause and Effect, and calculate heavenly secrets. You were never skilled in combat. What he passed down to me was [Heaven-Breaking Pillar], a Great Slaughter Technique... Since I wield Slaughter, how can I retreat?"
Zhuge Ke’s expression changed as she shot to her feet, her brow furrowing.
"Are you crazy? Haven’t you seen the atrocities these past few days? That Wang Zhiyao from the Langya Wang Family had already entered the Celestial Human Realm. She’s one of the top prodigies of this generation! And what was the result? Her limbs were brutally broken on the stage. If that old ancestor from the Wang Family hadn’t intervened, she would have lost her life right there!"
Zhuge Ke’s chest heaved, her face full of worry.
"And that Zhong Pongzi with the double pupils, hailed as the First Prodigy! Wasn’t he beaten half to death by that Demon Race member called Xuan Tong, who brutally gouged out one of his pupils and crushed his heart? He’s still on the verge of death even now!"
"I know," Chong Shanhu said calmly. "Who doesn’t know by now that those Demon Children want to break the backbone of our Ancestor Star’s younger generation? But that’s exactly why I can’t retreat."
He took a deep breath and said softly:
"Do you remember what the Temple Master said when he first took us in? The lineage of Sanqing Temple must enter calamity when we meet calamity, and enter hardship when we meet hardship. Only after experiencing three thousand calamities and three thousand hardships can one truly become of the Direct Lineage."
Zhuge Ke’s voice was tinged with pleading:
"But it’s human nature to seek fortune and avoid disaster! Why walk into a situation of certain death?"
"Because I cultivate the Heaven-Breaking Pillar, I cultivate a Killing Skill, and I bear a ferocious nature. You study Divination, so it’s understandable for you to seek fortune and avoid disaster. But I cultivate a Killing Skill, so I cannot avoid calamity, I cannot avoid hardship. What’s more..."
Chong Shanhu stood up and said gravely:
"Many people have lost their nerve. They’re terrified before the fight has even begun. At a time like this, someone has to step up and remind the younger generation that they cannot bend their backs."
"Why does it have to be you?" Zhuge Ke asked.
"Why can’t it be me?" Chong Shanhu replied with a smile.
He stretched his limbs, emitting the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound, and spoke softly:
"I’m just a Grandmaster, and my talent is dull. I can’t compare to those true prodigies. It doesn’t matter if I’m broken. This is an unavoidable calamity, a death trap that must be entered even knowing it’s fatal."
Zhuge Ke stood frozen, her lips trembling slightly. Her fingers traced out specks of profound light, and she tossed out several Copper Coins, activating the [Zhi Xuan] taught by the Sanqing Temple Master to perform a Divination on Chong Shanhu’s future.
The profound light melted the Copper Coins into molten copper, which shifted through a myriad of forms before finally tangling together, solidifying, and falling to the ground as three copper words that slammed onto the floor.
Death, Death, Death!
Zhuge Ke’s face turned deathly pale, but Chong Shanhu paid it no mind, letting out a hearty laugh.
Both of their phones vibrated and chimed with an alarm. It was time.
Chong Shanhu pushed open the door and strode out, marching forward without a hint of hesitation. Zhuge Ke stammered, a hundred emotions warring within her, but they all finally dissolved into a single sigh.
She too followed behind Chong Shanhu. The massive suite fell silent once more, with only the three copper-cast words for "death" lying quietly on the floor, as if foretelling the path ahead.
...
「Longque Technology Headquarters Building.」
Yan Huang, his expression grave, opened his eyes. He let out a slow breath and said:
"It’s starting again... What round is this?"
Beside him, Grand Speaker Li Yutong replied:
"One hundred Demon Race prodigies against one hundred Human Race prodigies. As of now, this is the third round. Of the fifty remaining combatants, thirty-three are Demon Children, and seventeen are prodigies of our Human Race."
He closed his eyes, as if sighing, as if muttering to himself:
"One hundred Human Race prodigies, eighty-three eliminated. Of those eighty-three, fifty-two were crippled, and twenty-one died. Heh..."
Yan Huang’s fists clenched tighter and tighter as he said in a low voice:
"I want to flip this board."
"You can’t," Li Yutong said wearily. "The Life and Death Second Floors have sent a Grand Grade expert to act as referee, and a Great Grade Level Demon Race Little Saint from outside the pass is here to observe. The rules were set in advance. No one is allowed to interfere with the arena battles."
Yan Huang sighed.
"These peace talks... do they really have to happen?"
"We could keep fighting, but the Life and Death Second Floors and the Upper Palace Earth Palace won’t allow it. The peace talks are mandatory."
After a pause, Li Yutong lifted his gaze and asked:
"There are three rounds of arena battles today. Why don’t you have Little Jiangxue... forfeit? She was lucky enough in the first two rounds to face Demons who hadn’t reached the Celestial Human Level, but now, the weakest of the remaining Demon Children are all Celestial Humans."
"I’ve tried to persuade her, but she’s stubborn," Yan Huang said with a wry smile. "But if something really happens, I’ll stop the match."
As he spoke, his expression turned cold.
"At worst, we’ll start a Grand Grade war. I don’t think I have to fear anyone."
Li Yutong could only offer a bitter smile in return. He then asked:
"By the way, what about Lu Zi..."
"Still no news. Xiaoxuan should still be in seclusion. We’ll just have to keep waiting."
Li Yutong nodded silently, stood up, and sighed softly.
"It’s about to start. Let’s go watch together."
Yan Huang didn’t answer, but he also rose to his feet. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Li Yutong, he strode toward the Celestial Vault.
For this so-called ’exchange,’ they had ultimately chosen the skies above Shengjing, casting ten great arenas upon the clouds, held aloft by True Immortals.
The two contemporary Grand Grade Bodies flickered. A Golden Great Dao materialized beneath their feet, and with a single step, they arrived at the clouds in an instant, each taking a cross-legged seat.
Ten great arenas hovered in the air, all of them stained with mottled patches of blood. Ninety percent of it belonged to the Human Race’s prodigies.
The Demon Race had a unique advantage. Through their bloodlines, some children of Little Saints were born at the [Jade Tower] level. For example, Xuan Tong, the direct son of that Immortal Demon Saint, was born a [Climbing the Divine Ladder] Celestial Human thanks to his lineage.
In comparison, although the Human Race possessed greater stamina and potential in the long run, their younger generation was clearly far, far weaker, no match for the Demons at all.
At this time, one Hovercar after another flew in, docking at the edge of the arenas. One by one, the Human Race prodigies stepped out and walked toward their respective stages.
Chong Shanhu, Zhuge Ke, Yan Jiangxue, Zhang Jifeng...
There were very few Celestial Humans; more than half were merely Grandmasters.
The disparity was too great.
Standing on the Floating Stone Platform in the waiting area, Zhuge Ke bit her lip.
"Shan Hu, you..."
"Say no more," Chong Shanhu said calmly. "My mind is made up."
Zhuge Ke slumped in defeat.
To the side, Zhang Jifeng of the Wudang Sect had his eyes lightly closed. Beside him, Zhang Huatian, the current Chief Disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain, asked faintly:
"Are you confident?"
Zhang Jifeng kept his eyes closed and replied softly:
"It depends on who it is. Against any Demon Child other than Xuan Tong, I have at least a fifty percent chance of winning."
"And against Xuan Tong?" Zhang Huatian asked again.
Zhang Jifeng opened his eyes, glanced at him, and said:
"A thirty percent chance."
After a pause, he added:
"A thirty percent chance of surviving long enough to surrender."
Zhang Huatian fell silent. The other fifteen prodigies beside them also lapsed into silence. Fear flickered in most of their eyes. That Xuan Tong...
In the first two rounds, of those who faced Xuan Tong, Zhong Pongzi had his heart crushed in an instant and his eye brutally gouged out. Another prodigy with an Innate Sword Bone had his spinal sword bone ripped out. He died on the spot, without even having time to surrender.
That son of a Demon Saint... he was just too strong.
All seventeen Human Race prodigies fell into a deathly silence, the only sound the vigorous beating of their own hearts. They were all wary, all terrified.
Xuan Tong was too strong—so strong they were beginning to despair.
Suddenly, amidst the dead silence.
CRUNCH!
Chong Shanhu, Zhuge Ke, and the other prodigies all unconsciously turned their heads toward the sound. They saw a peerless young woman, her beauty great enough to topple nations, with a cold and aloof air.
The young woman silently held the potato chip, which she had bitten into two halves, in her mouth. She didn’t dare to chew it anymore, instead quietly using her tongue to break it down bit by bit, afraid of making another sound and drawing everyone’s attention again.
"Sister Xiaoyan..." At that moment, Zhuge Ke’s eyes lit up as if she had just remembered something. She asked in a low voice:
"What about... that person?"
"Who?" Xiaoyan asked, her face a mask of cold indifference.
Zhuge Ke hesitated for a moment, then said:
"You know... Lu Zi."
"Oh, Xiaolu," Yan Jiangxue’s gaze grew distant. "I don’t know either... I miss him."
Zhuge Ke, Zhang Jifeng, and the others who knew about the special relationship between the two were fine, but the pupils of the Human Race prodigies who didn’t understand contracted sharply.
Who?
Lu Zi?
They looked at each other in confusion.
Xiaoyan said no more. She went back to silently chewing her little potato chip, her eyes gazing up at the sky as a thought formed in her mind.
’Xiaolu, are you back?’
...
「In a certain void.」
Within the courtyard of a Profound Daoist School, a sleeping young man with downcast eyes yawned and stretched lazily.
"Parted from the Human World for two hundred Years."
He chuckled and opened his eyes, but they held none of the vibrant energy a young man should have. Instead, his entire being was steeped in the air of one who had weathered the ages.
At the same time, back in the hotel suite in Shengjing, the three copper-cast words for "death" lying on the floor began to vibrate on their own. They melted back into molten copper, then solidified once more.
They transformed into three words for "Good Fortune."