《Child of Light》 Volume 1: Chapter 1 The First Chapter Volume 1: Chapter 1 ¨C The First Chapter Early morning. It¡¯s so bright that I had to open my lazy eyelids. Why does my house have to face the sun. Waking up everyday to the sun¡¯s glare makes me want to cry. ¡°You lazy bum! Are you up yet?¡± Hearing this pleasant voice, I immediately jumped down from bed. ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up.¡± ¡°Hurry up and come eat breakfast! You¡¯re going to be late for school.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m coming.¡± Fortunately I reacted quickly, otherwise mother¡¯s pleasant voice would have started casting the elementary water magic, water bullet, to wake me up. But mother is an intermediate water mage, so if I got hit I would truly be miserable. (However this is not the primary reason, because if mother shoots the water bullet at me, the blanket will get wet. When I go outside to dry my blankets, all of my friends ridicule me as ¡°Bedwetting¡± Wu.) Right, I forgot to explain my background. Of course, I¡¯m the hero of this story. My name is Zhang Gong. The continent I live in is called Tianwu and in the West is the continent of Libo. In the whole world there are only these two continents and of course, the rest of the world is the covered by the ocean. In Tianwu there are three countries: the kingdom of plentiful resources, the Dalu kingdom, the kingdom of knights, the Xiuda Kingdom and the kingdom where I reside, the magic kingdom of Aixia. The kingdom of Dalu has the largest territory, with it spanning three-sevenths of continent of Tianwu¡¯s land. Furthermore it is a rich in resources, wealthy and is overall a powerful kingdom. The main army is composed of warriors, while mages supplement the main army thanks to the funding the army receives. With an army such as this, the kingdom of Dalu has the largest army of the three kingdoms. The kingdom of Xiuda is a country which upholds the honor of knights therefore the country does not have many mages residing in it. Their army is composed entirely of warriors, with their cavalry being the most powerful in the whole Tianwu continent. Furthermore, they possess three regiments of the unique Earth Dragoons which is composed entirely of knights at the intermediate rank or higher. On the plains it is impossible for any opposing army to withstand the assault of Xiuda¡¯s cavalry without a barrier. Speaking of my homeland, the kingdom of Aixia is in fact an authentic magic kingdom. Every single citizen, no matter how poor they are will receive an elementary education in magic. The kingdom possesses dozens of major magic schools as every citizen has the right to learn magic. (Of course, the prerequisite is that you have the money to pay the tuition.) Even if the citizen doesn¡¯t have money there is still the town¡¯s Elder who will teach some basic knowledge of magic. In this country, magic education is divided into three stages: The first stage: Elementary magic academy. Generally students enroll between the ages of 5 to 10 years old and will continue studying there for 5 years. Upon graduation the students will take an exam to become a magic disciple or receive the title of an elementary rank mage. The second stage: Intermediate magic academy. Admission is based on what the students scored on the elementary magic academy graduation exam and naturally students with better results will be able to enter better magic academies. Intermediate magic academy doesn¡¯t have a set number school years, instead it works on the basis of credits. Only 60 credits are required before students can graduate and obtain the title of an intermediate rank mage. In the duchy, the fastest record for graduating intermediate magic academy was still three years while it generally takes 5 to 10 years to graduate for the average student. Most of the kingdoms wealthy citizens stop learning magic sometime during intermediate magic academy. The number of intermediate rank mages in the kingdom is somewhere from 300,000 to 450,000. The third stage: Advanced magic academy. In order to be admitted into an advanced magic academy, not only is an intermediate rank mage certificate required, but it is also required to pass the examination of the Mage¡¯s Union. After passing the exam, students once again be admitted to the academy corresponding to their exam results. According the Aixia¡¯s regulations, all students who attend an advanced magic academy will not have to pay any tuition fees. The reason that all costs will be covered by the kingdom is for the kingdom¡¯s magic talent to flourish. The most prestigious magic academy is the Royal Magic Academy where only those with great magical talent are admitted. Furthermore, they have extremely rigorous examinations even for a prince. Princesses also must pass examinations before they will be admitted. After graduating from an advanced magic academy, the results of the graduation exam with determine which certificate the student receives. Tianwu continent¡¯s three human kingdoms are extremely united because they have a common enemy, the Western continent¡¯s demon race and beast clans. In the Western continent, there are two kingdoms. The Holy Light Empire is ruled by the demon race while the beast clans rule the Valiant Mist Empire. The demon race looks very similar to humans with the only difference being that their eyes are purple. Those of the demon race are naturally ambitious and aggressive while they inherently possess darkness magic. On the other hand, the beast clans are unable to use magic but their powerful bodies are their best weapon in addition to their high magic defense. The beast clan¡¯s ace corps in comparison to their main army is even more frightening. The Eastern and Western continents are separated by the Tianduo mountains. Humanity sacrificed millions of warriors in order to build the most powerful mountain fortress, Telun fortress. Since the magic fortress have been built the two beast clans could not climb past the pond called Lei, enabling the continent to enjoy peace for the last 200 years. In this world, there are six elements of magic: light, darkness, water, fire, earth and wind. Besides these six elements of magic, there are also special elements of magic such as summoning magic, spatial magic and so on. Mages ranks are divided into: novice mage (apprentice mage), elementary rank mage, intermediate mage, advanced mage, great mage, magic scholar, magister and the legendary Grand Magister. Magic spells are divided 9 ranks: ranks 1 to 3 are of the elementary class, ranks 4 and 5 are of the intermediate class, ranks 6 to 8 are of the advanced class and rank 9 spells are of the forbidden class. Forbidden class spells require six or more magisters working together in order to cast. A mage who is able to cast a forbidden class spell singlehandedly would be considered a Grand Magister and only one has ever appeared in the legends. Warrior ranks are divided into: elementary warrior, intermediate warrior, advanced warrior, knights, earth knight, heaven knight, holy knight, sword saint and the legendary War God. Battle spirit classes are divided into: battle spirit, earth battle spirit, heaven battle spirit, god battle spirit and holy battle spirit which enables whoever possesses it to be unscratched by all spells below the forbidden class. Summoned beasts have two types:the power growth type, which grow more powerful as they mature, and the body rank type where they will remain as powerful as they were when summoned. The higher the rank their body is, the more powerful the beast is. From ranks 1 to 9, power growth type are very rare. Furthermore, if the power growth type summoned beast encounters a body rank type summoned beast, they attempt to kill each other in order to prevent their opponent from growing any stronger. Money is divided into: 1 diamond coin = 100 gold coins = 10 000 silver coins = 1 000 000 copper coins Magic crystals from highest value to lowest is:purple, jade, red, blue, white, black, green. The background information is here, following this will be the main story. A new chapter is about to begin. The wheel of history is moving toward his destiny. Volume 1: Chapter 2 Choosing the Light Element Volume 1: Chapter 2 ¨C Choosing the Light Element Cong cong I quickly ate two mouthfuls of breakfast then left the house for school in a hurry. ¡°Walk faster, you don¡¯t want to be late otherwise the teacher will have a bad impression of you. Properly learn magic! Pay attention to the road and come home quickly after school! Mother sure is amazing, saying these words every day, it¡¯s impossible for me to not know them by heart by now. However, her concern for me makes my heart warm. My name is Zhang Gong, 7 years old this year and living near the landlocked kingdom of Aixia¡¯s second largest city, in a small village beside Senke city. As my family is relatively wealthy, my mother and father were very hopeful and brought me to the city¡¯s Sunke Elementary Magic Academy in order to learn magic. I¡¯m now in the third grade. Since a young age I have shown interest in magic but I¡¯m a lazy person by nature. In more than two years I have only learned some elementary class magic and some basic magic theory. Today is the day I have to tell the teacher what element of magic I chose. This will determine what class I¡¯m in. (Each mage has major and minor magic elements. They will only have one major element which they concentrate on while they can have up to three minor magic elements to supplement their major element.) What should I choose¡­? I like fire magic, but it feels a bit too dangerous. Since my motto is ¡®safety first¡¯, it really conflicts. So what should I choose¡­? Which magic is the safest? Thinking about it¡­. Ah, yes, light magic seems the safest. In the past, teacher said that there are basically no attack spells of the light element before advanced class. It¡¯s basically purely defensive or curative and I won¡¯t have to spar with others. Yea, I¡¯m choosing this. (Due to the kingdom of Aixia constantly promoting magic, students in magic academies often have to tests to increase their practical experience and confirm their magic level. However, because of our low magic levels, no one has come to test the lower grade¡¯s magic levels yet. Generally they will test it in grade 5 or in the intermediate magic academy. I¡¯m truly am smart! What minor magic to choose? I¡¯ll choose wind magic and learn some air blasting techniques (Major wind magic) or something. This way I can quickly escape in case of danger. Wait, no, no, wind magic is fast but it isn¡¯t capable of instant movement. Mother told me there was a spatial magic scholar who could teleport about 10km. (And he is still only a magic scholar!) Spatial magic is pretty good, so I¡¯ll choose it instead then! After such deep thought, I couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath. Later generations would praise a light system Grand Magister, Zhang Gong Wei, the Child of Light. Zhang Gong Wei will later become a powerful figure with a widespread name, unable escape the clutches of the hand of fate. Chosen, his light magic had been destined to be spread throughout the continent. (Not to mention his spatial system magic which he often uses to escape.) I happily walked to town and turned my thoughts to this beautiful life. I couldn¡¯t restrain myself from laughing due to my happiness. ¡°Zhang Gong¡± ¡°You¡¯re so annoying Ao De. You scared me!¡± He is both my best friend and my classmate. ¡°What elements of magic did you pick?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve chosen the light element for the major and the spatial element as the minor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just like you! Ha ha.¡± ¡°What do you know! Why don¡¯t you tell me why I picked these two then.¡± I¡¯m a surprised by Ao De. ¡°Of course, since your motto is ¡°safety first¡¯.¡± ¡°So annoying! You¡¯re correct. What did you choose then?¡± ¡°I chose water element as my major and spatial element as my minor!¡± said Ao De with his chest out and a proud look on his face. ¡°I understand why you picked the spatial element (of course he would pick the same as me), but why did you pick the water element?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand¡±, Ao De said while looking like a little adult. ¡°Hurry up and say why.¡± ¡°There are a lot of girls who pick the water element! There are basically no boys. I can bully them and take their snacks! Haha.¡± ¡°This young yet you¡¯re so spoiled. I¡¯m going to tell your father.¡± I raised my head high. But then I thought, though the water element has more girls, after entering an intermediate magic academy if he continued bullying the girls, there would be a tragic consequences. The older brothers of this village were beaten horribly when they bullied the academy¡¯s beauties. Ao De will truly be miserable after he grows up from a brat, thinking this I cannot help but look at Ao De with doubt. ¡°Come learn magic of the water element with me!¡± Because he doesn¡¯t want me to expose him, he¡¯s even trying to draw me in! ¡°No need. Just get me some good treats in the future and I won¡¯t tell you father. Okay?¡± ¡°Okay. No problem.¡± ¡°We¡¯re at the school. Hurry up, we¡¯re going to be late soon.¡± Sunke City¡¯s Elementary Magic Academy is the city¡¯s biggest magic academy. It occupies over 20 000m2 and there are a lot of practice fields and faculty buildings. Ao De and I are in class 3-4. ¡°Good thing we¡¯re not late, otherwise the old witch will punish us again.¡± Ao De muttered to me. ¡°Be quiet. The old witch is coming. (Of course, the old witch is our class¡¯s teacher. The 50 year old fire element advanced mage, teacher Lin. She very strict and she matured into an unattractive woman. So me and my classmates gave her the nickname of ¡®Old Witch¡¯).¡± ¡°Good morning students.¡± ¡°Good morning teacher.¡± As soon as the old witch came in the class fell silent, because no one wanted this old volcano to erupt. ¡°Have all of students thought properly about what magic element to choose?¡± ¡°Yes we have.¡± ¡°Good. Come line up in the front to register then.¡± When I registered, the old witch looked at me and said ¡°You¡¯re choosing the light element as your major?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right teacher.¡± ¡°Did you know that in the whole kingdom those who choose the light element as their major besides the professionals are only monks who use it for treatment?¡± ¡°What? Why is that? I didn¡¯t know!¡± It turns out that 200 years ago when the two continents first collided, there were a lot of humans learning the light magic because light magic is the weakness the demon race. In the war, intermediate light element mage had two main functions, as intermediate light spells are capable of basic treatment of the injured and damaging the demon race. Light and darkness spells also had two other functions. But today, 200 years later, due to the peaceful 200 years without war, people are able to live peacefully. Thus light spells have slowly become entirely useless. In comparison to the practical water, fire, earth and wind spells, the light element is fairly basic. Furthermore, in intermediate class light spells are almost entirely defensive or for healing purposes. So most people choose who favor being aggressive choose the water, fire, earth or wind element as their major and although slightly inferior to light spells, water spells are also able to heal. However, due to water spells having offensive spells and defensive spells in a more even ratio, even the girls who want to learn how healing spells give up the light element in favor of the water element. Leaving only the peace-loving monks to choose the light element as their major. For the seven year old me, of course I wouldn¡¯t know about this. After the teachers explanation, I told her about my motto of ¡®safety first¡¯ and that I was set on choosing the light magic. ¡°Well then, all of the students who have selected their magic element, it¡¯s an early dismissal today. Tomorrow, you will all be divided into classes according to the magic element you have chosen. Yea! Class is over! And so the Child of Light¡¯s light element education begins. How it will turn out tomorrow, we will soon find out. Volume 1: Chapter 3 My Teacher Volume 1: Chapter 3 ¨C My Teacher Feeling accomplished, I returned home and see that mom has already prepared dinner. ¡°You¡¯re home! Were you good today in class?¡± ¡°I was very good! Right, mom today I picked the major and minor magic elements I want to study.¡± ¡°Ah! Come quickly husband, our son has picked his major and minor magic elements!¡± ¡°Really? Son did you choose wind magic?¡± Hearing the news, dad quickly ran over. ¡°Definitely not, obviously our son chose to study water magic, right son?¡± With eyes brimming with hope mom looked at me. My mom is an intermediate water element mage and dad is an intermediate wind mage. Since the moment I have been born, they have been arguing about what magic element I should choose as my major. Watching their eyes brimming with hope, ah, what am I going to do? I had forgot all about them. My small brain thought quickly on how to answer them. ¡°No, no, not at all. The major magic element I chose was neither the wind element nor the water element.¡± ¡°What?¡± The two of them looked at me with surprised eyes. ¡°Then what did you choose? Did you choose the earth element or the fire element? Either of those is unbefitting of my son. You didn¡¯t even consult me or your mother of choosing your magic element. This month you¡¯re not getting an allowance!¡± ¡°Is your ass itching for a beating!?¡± Dad said with a threatening look. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s not like that. Mom, dad don¡¯t be upset. I didn¡¯t choose the fire element or the earth element, I chose the light element. I chose it for your sakes!¡± ¡°What? Because of us?¡± ¡°Yes, of course it¡¯s because of you two, but also for our family¡¯s harmony. It is like this, think about it, if I chose the water element, dad would be upset. If I chose the wind element, then mother would have certainly killed me, so I didn¡¯t choose either of them. Fire magic and mom¡¯s water magic mutually suppress each other, so for my gentle, beautiful and kind mom, I couldn¡¯t possibly choose it. Earth magic and dad¡¯s wind magic also mutually suppress each other, so for my handsome, charming and powerful dad, I couldn¡¯t possibly choose it either. So I chose the light magic which doesn¡¯t oppose anyone else¡¯s magic in the family. Because I was thinking about our whole family¡¯s happiness, this is what I chose!¡± As I said this I looked at mother and father with eyes brimming with tears. Looking at the teary eyed me, mother couldn¡¯t help but come and comfort me. ¡°Our Zhang Gong is such a good son, doing this for the sake of his parents.¡± Father also came and embraced us. I really like this loving and harmonious atmosphere but I did not expect some nonsense and two tall hats would have fooled them into uniting. Ha ha. ¡°Zhang Gong, in the future you must study properly. You must at the very least become an advanced rank mage!¡± ¡°Yes father, I definitely won¡¯t disappoint you two.¡± Mom looked like she suddenly remembered something. ¡°Zhang Gong, light spells in the elementary rank and intermediate rank didn¡¯t have any attack magic right since people rarely study light magic.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you two can be assured that I will definitely become an advanced mage.¡± I¡¯ve become so clever. If I wanted to work hard, I wouldn¡¯t have picked light magic. Haha, I¡¯ll trick them first then worry about it. ¡°Well fine, let¡¯s eat and celebrate our Zhang Gong¡¯s choice.¡± A night without words. The next day, in the morning working up by both the sun and mother¡¯s call. I eat some breakfast and Ao De is already here. ¡°Zhang Gong it¡¯s time to go to school. Today the classes will be divided.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming. Let¡¯s go!¡± Just like yesterday, we step into the classroom. The old witch walked in. ¡°Enough, quiet down students. We¡¯re going to start dividing the classes. In this group of 5 classes, everyone has already picked their major and minor elements to study. All 5 classes will be rearranged into new classes according to the element that was chosen. Three classes for fire, two classes for water, two classes for wind and one class for earth. Now I will announce the classes each of you will be in. As I read off the classes, go to the class you have been assigned.¡± There¡¯s no need to question the fire element¡¯s attack power. Impossible, how come there isn¡¯t a light element class? A huge question mark is produced in my mind. ¡°Tang Di, fire element class one. Li Cha, fire element class one¡­.. Ao De, water element class two¡­..¡± Except for me, all of my classmates have been assigned their class and one by one they left to for their assigned class. After the last student leaves for their class. ¡°Zhang Gong, follow me to see your teacher. Since there are only 10 light element mages in the world the academy has specially arranged for a teacher to give you a specialized tutoring.¡± Oh no! Specialized tutoring, it must be a temperamental teacher. My death is assured now. (I can¡¯t suffer this old witch¡¯s pain!) While thinking this, I walked with teacher out of the classroom. Arriving at the teacher¡¯s office on the third floor, isn¡¯t this the principal¡¯s office? ¡°Go on Zhang Gong, come in with me.¡± seeing me hesitating, the old witch gave me a pull. ¡°Oh, good, teacher.¡± Entering the principal¡¯s office, I see the principal behind a big office desk smiling at me. ¡°Teacher Lin, is this the Zhang Gong that chose to study the light element in your class? Let me introduce myself, I am a Great Mage with my major element being spatial and my minor element being light. My name is Xi Yu Xiu, but call me teacher Xiu.¡± My eyes followed the principal¡¯s hands. Ah, this is going to be my teacher? A 50 year old man? Looking him from head to toe, he looks like a spotless purple robed mage shaking with energy. On his chest is a mage badge with four stars. (A mage¡¯s rank can been seen by the number of stars on his badge. Each rank risen corresponds with an additional star while an apprentice mage has no stars.) Wearing a serious face, he seemed quite ominous. ¡°Hello Teacher Xiu, please look after Zhang Gong.¡± ¡°Teacher Lin, no need to be courteous.¡± ¡°So you are Zhang Gong. Hey, you better study magic properly under me. I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m very strict. I hope you will study hard as I will try my best to impart my knowledge onto you.¡± What can I say? My eyes had already lost hope. How could I have overlooked this? I¡¯m going to become cannon fodder! So miserable! God of Creation, you treat me so unfairly! ¡°Thank you teacher. I will put in great effort.¡± It seems from now on I am going to have a hard time. On the way home, Ao De asked me who my magic teacher was. In order to save face, I boasted that I had a very benevolent teacher. Ao De enviously told me that his class¡¯s teacher is extremely fierce. How could he possibly be fiercer than Teacher Xiu? I could only hope that Teacher Xiu has a heart attack tonight and becomes unable to teach me. Right as Teacher Xiu was eating dinner, he sneezed and thought ¡®Who¡¯s cursing me?¡¯ Later, historians records of Xi Yu Xiu (Teacher Xiu) show that: If there hadn¡¯t been the Great Mage Xi Lu Xiu to build the foundations in to the Child of Light when he was still a child, then there wouldn¡¯t be the Child of Light as we know it. Laying this so-called solid foundation had such a great effect that the Grand Magister, known as the Child of Light, trembles at the name of Xi Lu Xiu even thirty years later. Volume 1: Chapter 4 Basic Knowledge Chapter Volume 1: Chapter 4 ¨C Basic Knowledge ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, what time do you think it is right now?¡± Teacher Xiu said with eyes full of fury. ¡°Ah! Teacher why are you here? Ah, sorry I overslept this morning.¡± The truth is that I was terrified of meeting this terrifying teacher today, so I ended up walking in circles in the front of the school as I didn¡¯t dare to go in. I hadn¡¯t expected him to come out, I¡¯m doomed. As expected, ¡°You overslept? Then your willpower must not be good. The most important thing for a mage to practice is their willpower. Then you¡¯ll need to be stimulated first then. Go run five laps around the school until you¡¯re vigilant.¡± With no way out, I began running at a slow and leisurely pace. ¡°My name is Xi Lu Xiu. Obey my call, come forth my servant, Light Tiger.¡± This is a level five magical beast. (Every person who studies magic each has their own magical beast. They can have more than one, but summoning more than one will consume a greater amount of willpower.) ¡°Zhang Gong, you have to run faster. If you get caught by him, you know what will happen to you.¡± Seeing the light tiger who is four to five times bigger than me, gave me a lot of motivation. The fear of getting eaten drew my strength out and quickly ran straight ahead. Teacher¡¯s light tiger followed me not too slowly or not too close. When I slow down a bit, a light arrow flies over and scares me, so I immediately speed up again. (Elementary and intermediate light spells only have one attack spell that¡¯s at rank two.) Ah, I¡¯m truly miserable. Finally, I finished my run which was like a long journey. Teacher Xiu unexpectedly let me rest for fifteen minutes. Ah, how does my life have so much suffering? ¡°Resting time is over, now we¡¯re going to see what you have learned already. What spells do you know Zhang Gong?¡± ¡°I know the illumination spell.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Nothing else.¡± ¡°In two years you have only learned the illumination spell.¡± Carrying on, Teacher Xiu asked me many questions regarding my knowledge of basic magic theory and then some problem questions. My knowledge of basic magic theory was horrible since I mostly sleep in class. However, for the problem questions, my answers were really good, as after all I am very clever. Teacher Xiu looked at me for two minutes then let out a heavy sigh. ¡°How did I meet such a lazy student? Ah, no wonder Teacher Lin asked me to teach you. Although I know your scores are near the bottom, I still didn¡¯t expect it was bad to this extent. Well, let¡¯s end class for today. Don¡¯t be late tomorrow.¡± I encountered such a poor student and he¡¯s also helpless. What? He allowed me to finish class already, and it¡¯s still the morning. He¡¯s so great! ¡°Right, I¡¯ll give you some homework to do.¡± saying so, he handed me two thick books. Receiving them, I took a look. One of them says ¡°Basic Magic Theory¡± while the other says ¡°Major Light Element Spells and Explanations¡±. Giving me this, what does he expect me to do with it? I cannot help but wonder about his intentions. ¡°For tomorrow, you must memorize the basics of magic theory so you can make up for your originally poor knowledge of magic theory. I don¡¯t want my students to be lacking in comparison to others. The other textbook is for later but you can also take a look at it. Well, you can go home now.¡± ¡°Teacher, the whole book of basic magic theory must be memorized?¡± I still hold onto a miniscule bit of hope. ¡°Of course. Tomorrow I will check your knowledge. If you want to continue playing with light tiger, then you can choose not memorize it.¡± With these words, Teacher Xiu returned to the teacher¡¯s office, leaving me in a daze. What kind of teacher is this? Ah, he really is a demon, giving me only one day to memorize a 300 to 400 page book. Today¡¯s weather is quite good, sunny and no wind, makes a stark contrast with my mood. Back at home, mother and father weren¡¯t home, both of them were working. (Father is a metal molder while mother is the village healer.) I take out ¡°Basic Magic Theory¡± and flipped through it. Although I¡¯m lazy, thinking about this afternoon¡¯s demon¡¯s punishment¡­. My calf muscles are still clenching. What other alternative is there but to memorize it. Gradually the sun went down. With my tireless effort, I finally managed to memorize ten pages. Only ten pages. Ah, my life is over. ¡°Oi, who came home so early?¡± Usually the first to come home every day is my mother. ¡°Me.¡± Hearing my faint voice, mother quickly came over. ¡°My baby child, how come you¡¯re home so early today? Why are you so listless, did you do something wrong and got scolded?¡± ¡°No mother.¡± Thinking about the impossible task, I rushed into mother¡¯s arms and started crying. After all, I am only 7 years old. Hugging me, mother asked: ¡°What is it? Quickly tell mom. Is some bullying you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes! My new teacher is really horrible. The task he left for me, it was impossible to begin with, but he also punishes me too!¡± ¡°Ah! What task? How is this teacher punishing you?¡± Reluctantly, I told mother what happened today at school. ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s you who is wrong. In the past, mother knew your studies weren¡¯t too good, but mother didn¡¯t think your studies were bad to this extent. Unexpectedly, even after two years you haven¡¯t learned the basics. Teacher¡¯s actions are correct. For a slacker like you, a ferocious teacher is best for teaching you. Mom and dad have let you become so spoiled.¡± ¡°What your mother says is correct. Let father see what kind of impossible task you were given.¡± Father also came home. After looking at my homework, father smiled. ¡°My foolish son, aren¡¯t you usually very smart? How come you¡¯re so foolish right now? Although this book is very thick, you don¡¯t have to memorize it. Let your mother go cook dinner and father will coach you.¡± Afterwards, father taught me how finish this impossible task. ¡°Look Zhang Gong, this section primarily talks about applications of magic theory. In our world, there are many elements, the six basic elements you know about right. In order to use magic, you must communicate with your element properly, making it recognize you then gathering it around you. Afterwards, through an incantation you transform the magic essence gathered to achieve what you want. You see, this is magic.¡± ¡°My name is Li Ao Wei, wind essence hear my call, come to me, protect your friend ¨C Wind Shield!¡± Father, while explaining to me used actual examples to inspire me. He divided the whole book into several parts, with each part having a main idea. Then he explained each part¡¯s theory to me. Through father¡¯s pointers, the clever me immediately found a trick and gradually aroused my interest in magic. ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡°Well, it¡¯s very late now. Only a bit is left, so tomorrow morning we¡¯ll wake up early and finish it.¡± ¡°Okay father. I never thought magic was like this.¡± Receiving quite a bit of magic theory knowledge, I can¡¯t help but indulge in how profound magic is. (In one night I have gained more knowledge than the two years I spent leisurely.) ¡°Zhang Gong, before, mother and father were at fault, having too little concern for your studies. From now on, Father will tutor you often. Our Zhang Gong will definitely become an outstanding mage.¡± While patting my head, father kindly looked at me. ¡°Father, I will definitely properly study magic!¡± The Child of Light didn¡¯t yet know whether he was able to walk this path, but after this first time studying magic, he truly studied magic properly afterwards. (Regardless of whether or not he truly meant what he said, Xi Yu Xiu (Teacher Xiu) was there to make sure he didn¡¯t slack, heh.) Volume 1: Chapter 5 Lying Down Meditation Volume 1: Chapter 5 ¨C Lying Down Meditation As a result of father¡¯s tutoring, I was eventually able to master the basics of magic theory. ¡°Is it right? It seems like you¡¯ve worked diligently yesterday. Follow me.¡± In the morning just as I arrived, Teacher Xiu assessed my knowledge. Although I cannot answer immediately, given some time I could find the answer. Heh, my efforts weren¡¯t in vain. I finally passed Old Xi¡¯s (Teacher Xiu) test so I don¡¯t have to run laps today. I followed Teacher Xiu to a small house in the rear court. This is related to teaching me magic? ¡°Zhang Gong, you have an understanding of the basics now, but you must continue to enrich yourself. Do you know what magic power is dependent on?¡± ¡°Magic level.¡± ¡°Then how do we use advanced magic?¡± ¡°Incantations!¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± Teacher Xiu gave me a sudden fright. ¡°In order to use advanced magic, you must have a lot of spiritual power. Your basic knowledge is very simple. The most effective way to increase your spiritual power is through meditation. Starting today and for the next three months, you will meditate every day. Tomorrow I need to make a trip to the capital and I will probably be back in three months. My heart was overjoyed, I¡¯ll finally be liberated. However, Teacher Xiu¡¯s next words brought be back down to earth. ¡°Zhang Gong, teacher¡¯s major magic is spatial magic. Although I am only a Great Mage, teleporting back here is still possible. If I suddenly come back to investigate and find that you are slacking off, then you will become a national long distance running champion.¡± With a stern face, Teacher Xiu threatened me. ¡°While meditating you must concentrate spiritually, so you can feel the light element. Try to gather and store as much of the element as you can, this way you will gradually increase your spiritual power. During the time I am gone, you must meditate every day for at least eight hours. Are you listening? If I come back and your spiritual power doesn¡¯t satisfy me¡­.¡± Listening to the words of this demon, my heart has become discouraged. Meditating for eight hours every day will bore me to death. ¡°The basic method for meditation, I¡¯m sure you already know how to do it. Meditation also has some techniques, so you can go to the library and look up some books on it. Find a meditation technique you like, this way the effect will be even greater. Wait until I return then I will teach you the specifics of using magic.¡± ¡°Okay then, you can start meditating now.¡± Under his gaze, I sat on the mat, closed my eyes and began meditating. ¡­¡­ Although the demon is gone, I am unable to feel the beauty of forty-nine years. Located in the northeast corner of the academy is the library. I browsed through many books about meditation and finally found what I wanted. Haha, I¡¯m finally freed. While rummaging through books in the corner, I found a yellow book. It looks very old, but the author is actually a light mage who wrote the book a hundred and fifty years ago. The book said it is only necessary to sense the magic element in order to gather it. Any position is fine, and the book also had a few examples. There is lying meditation, sitting meditation and others. I can lay down and meditate. For a lazy person such as me, the lying position and the sitting position are two completely different concepts. Haha, this is very good! Back at the classroom (small cottage) I was the only person there. I follow the book¡¯s instructions, laid down, gathered myself and began feeling the light element in the air. Gradually, I begin to sense the abundance of light element in my surroundings. The light element gave me a feeling of kindness and affection, just like mother and father¡¯s embrace. Ah, so comfortable. ¡°You are the light element?¡± I asked the spiritual world. I felt a sense of warmth surrounding me. ¡°Uncle and aunty light elements, how are you? My name is Zhang Gong Wei. From now on will you play with me?¡± Again there was a sense of warmth. ¡°Then from now on we are friends!¡± I felt the light element forming thin threads that flowed into my Upper Dantian. A surge of warm energy surrounds me. If anyone was there to witness this, they would surely see a layer of white light surrounding me. This continued for a long time, even I don¡¯t know how long. I gradually began to sense the light elements through a communication channel located in my Upper Dantian. With my whole body so warm and comfortable, I unknowingly fell asleep. What I didn¡¯t know was that I unexpectedly gained the recognition of the light elements by accident. On the continent, every mage practices magic by sensing the surrounding magic element, then seizing control of them in order to gradually increase their own magic power. Following their increase in magic power, their spiritual power will also increase. In order to achieve this, they will cultivate. Personally, I don¡¯t want to meditate, so the lazy me had looked for a way to increase magic power without putting in any effort. Naturally, I hadn¡¯t force the elements to gather around me and instead I communicated with the light elements, appearing innocent. To my surprise, the light elements recognized me. Since then, my magic gathering speed and recovery speed was three times faster than the average person. I really had become friends with the light elements. Unknowingly, time passed by quickly and I felt someone push me. Bewildered, I opened my eyes to see that it was mother. ¡°Mother, why are you here?¡± ¡°Mother was almost worried to death. It¡¯s so late yet you still didn¡¯t come home. Just now I came to find the principal and he said you should be in this classroom. He said you studied so hard you fell asleep.¡± Ah! I looked outside at the sky and it¡¯s actually evening! It felt as if I had laid down for just a little bit. This method of meditation is really good! I quietly checked my magic power, unexpectedly it increased a lot for the tiny amount of magic power I had before. It has already become a small ball of light. Wow, the effect is so good, simply too good. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry home, aren¡¯t you hungry. Seeing you working so hard, mother is really happy!¡± How could mother know that actually, the teacher wasn¡¯t here at all and I just slept the whole day? Haha, this is too good! Every day I can practice while sleeping. After returning home and eating dinner, I went to my room. I truly am a genius, to actually come up with such a good idea. Hehe, I cannot help but be a bit narcissistic. Right, my magic power increased. Then the strength of my magic should have also increased, I better test it out. I held out my hand. ¡°My name is Zhang Gong Wei, light elements, for your friend, illuminate everything in sight!¡± I used the only spell I know ¨C Illumination spell. With my spell, I felt a warm energy flowing from my Upper Dantian along with my body¡¯s internal magic power, surging to my outstretched hand. A white ball of light emerged from my hands. It emitted a soft glow. Although it was very bright, it wasn¡¯t dazzling. Wow, the effect is so good. Before I could only produce a little bit of light in my hands. Yea, it¡¯s too great, my illumination spell already has the best lighting effects. I feel the energy continuously flowing into the palms of my hands, maintaining the ball¡¯s brightness. The light elements also continually flowed from my Upper Dantian; there wasn¡¯t a single sign of my internal magic power depleting. So good, this is the way to practice! In the future I don¡¯t have to use exhausting methods of meditating to increase my magic power. Well, time to sleep. I¡¯ll use the lying meditation method to sleep. This way of sleeping is very comfortable. So, my daily schedule is: get up early ¨C eat breakfast ¨C go to the school¡¯s classroom and meditate (sleep) ¨C go home for dinner ¨C then meditation again. Three months later, with my constant ¡°effort¡±, my internal magic power gradually increased. My ball of light is now five times bigger. Every time I meditate I feel more and more intimate with the light elements. They are like my elders who meticulously take care of me and I am like their child, every day in their arms like a spoiled child. And so, the Child of Light created a unique method of meditation. Which later became the source of this Grand Magister¡¯s endless magic power. Volume 1: Chapter 6 Once Again Meeting the Demon Volume 1: Chapter 6 ¨C Once Again Meeting the Demon Ow, that hurts. The meditating (sleeping) me didn¡¯t know what suddenly attacked me. Drowsily opening my eyes, a solemn face appeared in front of me. ¡°Old Demon!!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but shout. ¡°What? What did you just say?¡± Teacher Xiu just came back and is looking at me with some gruesome eyes. ¡°Ah, no it¡¯s nothing. I wasn¡¯t thinking of you just as you came back Teacher Xiu!¡± ¡°Really now? Then what¡¯s this about an Old Demon~?¡± My head became soaked with cold sweat. ¡°Oh, I just now had a nightmare where lots of demons attacked me. It definitely wasn¡¯t about you! How could such a kind teacher possibly be called a demon?¡± ¡°Oh, is it now?¡± said Teacher Xiu while giving me a doubtful look. ¡°I told you to come here to meditate but instead you came here to sleep. My name is Xi Yu Xiu, obey my call, come forth my servant, Light Tiger! Zhang Gong, go for a run right now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need teacher. I¡¯ve been meditating really hard lately. I was just a bit tired just now, so I took a small nap.¡± I can¡¯t possibly tell him I was doing lying meditation, who would believe that I could practice while sleeping. ¡°Really? Then I¡¯m going examine you. Come over here.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± I walked to Teacher Xiu. Teacher Xiu took out a magic stone (A magic crystal type. Specialized for detecting and measuring a mage¡¯s magic power) for magic appraisal from his dimensional space (A space that can store things. Only intermediate and above mages can use and the space is proportional to the mage¡¯s magic power) and gave it to me. ¡°Repeat after me. Hear my name, light elements, obey my call, and gather in front of me!¡± ¡°Hear my name, light elements, obey my call, and gather in front of me!¡± Following the incantation, both the light elements in my Upper Dantian and my internal light elements energies surged towards the magic stone in the palms of my hands. The magic stone emitted a faint glow. The faint glow gradually increased. I let my internal magic power continually flow into the magic stone, knowing that the magic power has reached equilibrium with the magic power flowing from my Upper Dantian. The light emitted by the magic stone lit up the whole house, enabling one to see all the details. Unexpectedly, my illumination spell is good enough now. Teacher Xiu was stunned. ¡°You really didn¡¯t slack off ah. I really didn¡¯t expect that in three months¡¯ time, your magic power as reached the level of an elementary mage. You must have meditated for at least 18 hours a day, wait, that¡¯s not right. Even 24 hours of meditation a day couldn¡¯t possibly achieve such a good effect.¡± On this continent, even with diligent cultivation it takes one year from not knowing any magic to becoming an elementary mage. ¡°It seems you really are a genius at light magic!¡± ¡°Of course I am, after all, I am extremely smart! Hahaha~~¡± I can¡¯t help but be proud of myself. ¡°What are you pleased about, this is nothing. I still need to see your future performance. What use is light magic power if it¡¯s not applied properly?¡± Seeing how proud of myself I was, Teacher Xiu immediately poured cold water on me. Teacher Xiu dismissed the light tiger so I secretly wiped my sweat. This event can be considered over; looks like I won¡¯t be having a funeral, haha. (These days I already regard lying meditation as sleeping. It¡¯s a lot more comfortable than the way I slept before.) ¡°It¡¯s very late now, hurry up and go home. Tomorrow you will start learning light magic. Remember to bring that book on light magic that I gave you.¡± ¡°Okay, goodbye Teacher Xiu.¡± I ran out of the classroom as fast as the wind. Looking at the figure of my back as I¡¯m leaving, Teacher Xiu revealed a faint smile. ¡®It seems this child is very suitable for learning light magic.¡¯ ¡­¡­ ¡°Morning Teacher Xiu!¡± Because I successfully completed the task yesterday, I thought I didn¡¯t have to run today and was in a particularly good mood. So today I came early. ¡°Today you came early huh. Did you bring the book?¡± ¡°I brought it.¡± ¡°Good, today we will begin learning light magic. A lot of intermediate and advanced magic spells are derived from elementary light spells. So learning elementary spells is very important. Today, the first magic you will learn ¨C Light Shield.¡± ¡°Light Shield?¡± ¡°Correct. After learning the basics of magic theory, you should know that elementary and intermediate light spells are basically all used for defense and recovery.¡± ¡°My name is Xi Yu Xiu, light elements obey my call, converge in front of me and block all evil!¡± A layer of faint, transparent light appeared in front of Teacher Xiu. ¡°Light Shield can block all elementary magic attacks. The duration of the spell is dependent on the amount of magic power infused into it. You try it now.¡± ¡°My name is Zhang Gong Wei, oh great light elements, converge in front of me and block all evil!¡± ¡°That¡¯s wrong. You recited it wrong. It should be ¡®obey my call¡¯. Ah, how can¡­.¡± A Light Shield thicker than Teacher Xiu¡¯s appeared in front of me, stopping the words from coming out of his mouth. ¡°You recited it wrong, yet the effect is greater than the effect of the proper incantation. How can this be?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just felt like the light elements is like my elder so I shouldn¡¯t command them and they also speak to me so I recited it this way.¡± Teacher Xiu tried using the incantation I used but it still had the same effect as the incantation he originally used. He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of this mystery. In fact, it is because the light elements has already approved of me due to me respecting them more. Therefore they are more willing to help me which has caused this situation. Although Teacher Xiu is a Great Mage, he is not a major in light magic nor is he recognized by the light elements. So naturally he is unable to reach the effect of my spell. ¡°Good, now test the effect of your Light Shield.¡± ¡°My name is Xi Yi Xiu, gentle water, obey my call, assemble in front of me and eliminate my enemy ¨C Water Bullet!¡± (When a mage reaches the rank of Great Mage, they can use any magic element as long as the spell is an elementary class spell.) The five centimeter diameter water bullet rushed towards me. I couldn¡¯t help but close my eyes in fright. I felt the light shield I had cast vibrated once and I hadn¡¯t feel any pain. Opening my eyes, I saw that the water bullet has already disappeared. Haha, it seems my light shield is full of power! Teacher Xiu seeing this situation, began attacking my light shield with various elementary class spells of various elements. When the barrage started, the light shield only convulsed a bit and nothing more. However, gradually the magic consumption of the light shield overcame my magic recovery rate. Near the critical point I shouted ¡°Teacher, teacher, I can¡¯t persist anymore. Please spare me.¡± Teacher Xiu finally finished his magical assault. ¡°It seems the effect of your light shield is pretty good. It¡¯s stronger than average. However, using the light shield also requires some technique.¡± After that, Teacher Xiu began teaching me techniques for using the light shield such as, as long as it¡¯s not an area magic attack, I can dodge as much as possible and use the light shield on attacks I can¡¯t dodge. This way, the magic consumption will be greatly reduced. Like this, I started learning my first elementary light spell. In the next 10 days, everyday Teacher Xiu would use all kinds of elementary magic to attack me in order to let me become familiar with using the light shield. This tired out the miserable me and when I asked him to change his teaching methods, he didn¡¯t say anything but just summoned his light tiger. I would immediately say his previous teaching methods were good. He truly deserves to be called the demon teacher. Ah, with great difficulty I solved the meditation problem and I am ready to take the next lesson. It seems that with my fate in the hands of this demon, I cannot be lazy. However, fortunately no matter how much magic power I consume during the day, I just have to do lying meditation at night and the next day I¡¯ll be full of life. Additionally, I feel that my magic power is increasing at an even greater rate than before. Thus, the great Child of Light began his life of endless learning. Volume 1: Chapter 7 Spatial Magic Volume 1: Chapter 7 ¨C Spatial Magic Due to Teacher Xiu¡¯s ¡°hands-on¡± teaching, in half a year my magic power level had a qualitative leap. Under the demon¡¯s harsh training, I am now able to endure two hours of the demon¡¯s magic assault. Every morning when I get to school I practice defense, defense and more defense. I do this until my strength is exhausted, then Teacher Xiu allows me to meditate and restore some magic power. In the afternoon, he continues attacking me with magic. In the last six months, I have learned all of the elementary light element defense spells. I always thought that Teacher Xiu was actually a sadist while I was just a pitiful little sand bag for him to ravage. When I arrived at the door of the classroom, I had first cast a light shield on myself then had cast a light mirror to reflect magic. (Light mirror is a spell I learned in this short period of time and is also my favorite spell. It¡¯s a reflection type defense magic that I am very skilled at.) Carefully controlling these two magics, I opened the door. I was really scared as everyday as soon as I enter I will be suddenly bombarded with magic. I will often get covered in dirt, so right now I¡¯m casting some good defensive spells on myself before I enter the classroom. ¡°Good morning Teacher Xiu.¡± What greeted me was a light arrow. I hastily leaned my body to the side while using the light mirror¡¯s plane to deflect the light arrow. So why did I deflect the spell? The reason was that although the light mirror can reflect spells, it will consume a lot of my magic power. However, deflecting it can greatly decrease the power of the incoming spell and the effect is really good. Currently, my control over these elementary spells was very strong. So, I fused the light shield and light mirror to create a new basin-sized shield on my left. For now I¡¯m calling it the light prism shield. Although it isn¡¯t an omnidirectional defense, due to the compression of light element, the defense power was enhanced greatly. Moreover, it can reflect magic so it¡¯s really effective. Teacher Xiu used an intermediate class spell to attack me but within this short period of time, it was unable to break my light prism shield. ¡°It reflects very quickly! Defensive magic will now temporarily come to an end and starting today, you will learn spatial magic. This is my major magic, so hopefully you can learn it well.¡± ¡°Wow, spatial magic! That¡¯s good too. In the future I can use it to flee.¡± In the future I won¡¯t have to fear this ruthless old man anymore as long as I learn this properly. If he abuses me, then I can just use spatial magic to go home. Haha. (Is it really that simple?) ¡°Now I will tell you the fundamental principles of spatial magic. Spatial magic is split into movement magic and attack magic. Spatial movement magic relies heavily on skill, where magic power determines the distance you can teleport and spiritual power determines how accurate your teleport is. The shorter the distance you teleport, the more accurate the teleport will be. The technique to use spatial movement magic is to use your spiritual power to designate the location you want to go to, then with a simple incantation you teleport you there. It is divided into short range teleportation, long distance teleportation and large-scale long range teleportation. Short range teleportation is generally used to dodge enemy attacks. However, large-scale long range teleportation and long range teleportation are rarely used, mainly due to the the requirement of high spiritual power, low accuracy and could potentially teleport several hundred kilometers off the target. Large-scale long range teleportation also needs magic support in order to cast.¡± ¡°Teacher, teacher, then you were deceiving me when you said that you would teleport back from the capital to inspect my studies?¡± Having accidentally leaking that out, Teacher Xiu had an awkward expression on his face. ¡°You go study magic properly and don¡¯t ask so many questions. Today you¡¯ll start learning short range teleportation of the spatial movement magic. If you have the magic power and spiritual power of a Great Mage, you will be able to teleport anywhere within 500 meters with this magic.¡± Having said this, Teacher Xiu suddenly disappeared right in front of me and there was a clap from behind me. It turns out that Teacher Xiu used teleportation magic to move behind me. Wow, so mystical. ¡°Teacher, how come I didn¡¯t hear an incantation?¡± ¡°This is what I was going to tell you next. The short range teleportation incantation is very short, just a single word. All you need to do is control the magic power, designate a place you want to go in your mind then mouth the word silently.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the word?¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°It¡¯s this simple?¡± ¡°You try it then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I begin to focus my spirit, setting the target as the corner of the classroom. Silently I thought ¡°Move.¡± I felt a whoosh, then I moved to a different area. How come there¡¯s nothing under my feet. Ouch! Thump. I teleported to the small pond outside the classroom. From the pond, I awkwardly climbed out and spit out water. What? This is not good at all, the mistake was too big. I returned to the classroom. Teacher Xiu seeing my embarrassed look, couldn¡¯t help but reveal a smiling expression on his serious face. ¡°Know that movement magic requires a high amount of spiritual power and during the transfer, your spirit must be focused. The slightest bit of carelessness can cause a huge difference. Today you will practice here. Try to teleport as far as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, Teacher Xiu.¡± Seeing that Teacher Xiu had left, I sat my butt on the floor. This is better than the last few days, I don¡¯t have to suffer the demon¡¯s training anymore. Because of my motto of ¡®safety first¡¯ (fleeing career), I must practice properly. In my mind, I secretly became determined. ¡°Move.¡± The place I transfer to is 3 meters in front of me. Ah, not bad. This time it was really a success. ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± ¡°Move.¡± I kept practicing short range teleportation until I ran out of magic power to sustain the spell. The result is not bad. I¡¯m becoming more and more skilled. In the range of this thirty square meter house, I am basically able to move to anywhere I think of. No more practice, it¡¯s time to rest. Tomorrow I will give the old demon a pleasant surprise. While I was thinking, I gradually entered the meditation (sleep) state. Since that day, I began to continuously practice short range teleportation. The thought of escaping the demon¡¯s training quickly left me; every morning I¡¯m abused for 1 hour. Afterwards I practice short range teleportation. Gradually, the range I could teleport expanded. From a radius of thirty meters to fifty meters, one hundred meters, two hundred meters and within a year I could already reach the limit of short range teleportation. I can casually teleport to anywhere within five hundred meters with a very high accuracy. ¡°Zhang Gong, come. I¡¯m taking you to a new training ground. I followed Teacher Xiu to the the rear courtyard. The whole area had an area of three hundred square meters with five meter tall wood stands installed and on every stand is a thick rope attached to a big sack. ¡°Teacher, what is this used for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for letting you practice short range teleportation! Watch.¡± Teacher Xiu all of the over a hundred sacks down from the stand. All of the sacks interweaved together, continuously swinging. ¡°Watch carefully.¡± Having said this, Teacher Xiu teleported to the sacks, and continuously teleported. The sack from beginning to end didn¡¯t touch him. After a minute, Teacher Xiu left the circle. ¡°You go try. From now on, you¡¯ll practice within the swinging sacks. I¡¯ll have light tiger help you push the sacks.¡± ¡°Teacher, please spare me.¡± ¡°Be at ease, there¡¯s no problem. Teacher¡¯s recovery magic is not bad. Or do you want to switch the sacks with iron balls.¡± ¡°Of course the sacks are good. The sacks are great.¡± Hearing this such terrifying words, I didn¡¯t dare to complain. I immediately entered the waves of sacks. I dodged. I dodged. Not even three times and I was hit outside by the sacks. It really hurts. Teacher Xiu immediately cast elementary recovery magic on me, then put me back in. I continually dodged and dodged. Quickly I got hit and came flying out. My young body is being ruthlessly destroyed by this demon. Another strange thing is that by enduring this inhuman torture, my body has really gotten more and more sturdy. Teacher Xiu told me that one cannot achieve glory and wealth without having been through trials and tribulations. Only by first protecting yourself will you be able survive. But the best way to protect yourself is to flee. (This matches with my ideology.) Every week Monday, Wednesday and Friday I study magic. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday is the sacks array. The sack array also gradually increases in difficulty according to my ability. (This so-called difficulty was nothing after Teacher Xiu gave me an omni-directional intermediate magic ¨C That of Lightning.) Volume 1: Chapter 8 Magic Evaluation Volume 1: Chapter 8 ¨C Magic Evaluation Time passed by very quickly and in the blink of an eye, I was already nine and a half years old. Although I suffered ¡°inhumane torture¡± every day, it hadn¡¯t affected my regular development, with the height of one and a half meters and weighing forty kilograms and a head of pale blue hair reaching the shoulders. Although my features weren¡¯t very pretty, they were gentle and adorable. (The villagers, my classmates and the teachers said this.) Father always said if you looked at my features separately, they¡¯re not that good, but together they¡¯re not bad. Every time, mother would glance at my mouth and sarcastically say this is due to my father¡¯s genes. However, mother is a great beauty and though she is in her 30¡¯s, you won¡¯t find a single sign of aging on her face. In the past few years, although my ideals conflicts with the old demon¡¯s teachings, I had no choice but to acknowledge them as I learned a lot of magic from him. The rate at which my ability increased surprised mother and father. Now in front of the sacks, I could almost dodge all of the attacks of the swinging sacks. Should I begin teleporting in the array, you would only be able to see a faint shadow. Teacher Xiu couldn¡¯t grasp my teleportation route and his direct magic attacks are completely unable to hit me. The me right now could already treat the array of sacks as a game, to the point that while practicing, Teacher Xiu would make a grimace. I annoyed him to the point where he thought about using advanced magic quite a few times to attack me. (Teacher Xiu is only able to use up to rank 7 spatial magic.) However, because his spatial magic is too powerful, he¡¯s afraid it will destroy the whole site. So due to my indignant behavior, he would summon the light tiger to chase me in the array. Anyways, my control of short range teleportation has already been brought to the point of perfection. Even Teacher Xiu had become unable to catch me. My magic power and spiritual power improvement speed is especially amazing. Now I can simultaneously use light prism shield and and teleportation and persist for more than 3 hours. Within these two years or so I learned a few spells. (The following list has relatively unique magics that I like) Elementary light defense magic: Light Shield ¨C Comprehensive light element defense magic. (Now due to the more useful light prism shield I don¡¯t use this anymore.) Light Mirror ¨C Light element reflection magic. Due to my enhanced spiritual power, I can already at will reflect magic at any angle. Light Prism Shield ¨C The light element defense magic I created myself. A small area where the defensive power is close to the rank of advanced magic. The serious Teacher Xiu ceaselessly praised my magic, however he is unable to use it. Haha. Divine Guard ¨C It can defend against poisonous gases and elementary darkness spirit magic. (A type of darkness magic that can confuse the enemy and make them crazy.) Because it can isolate harmful gasses (gas masks?), I use it whenever Teacher Xiu farts. The result is quite good. (Teacher Xiu doesn¡¯t know this, or else¡­.) Elementary light attack magic: Light Arrow ¨C Within the whole elementary and intermediate class light spells, there is only one attack magic. The light elements would condense into an arrow. Shaped attacks. Their power is small. Elementary light recovery magic: Restoration technique ¨C Elementary class recovery magic. It will generally heal minor injuries very well as well as treat fevers and colds. I really regret learning this magic, because ever since I learned this magic, mother has brought me to the village to help treat people. (I¡¯m also not getting paid. Sigh) Spirit Healing technique ¨C Used to treat a variety of chaotic conditions. Elementary spatial magic: Short range teleportation ¨C I¡¯m very good at this. Within a 500 meter range I don¡¯t think that a unidirectional magic is able to hit me. Long range teleportation ¨C I learned the theory of it, but I¡¯ve never used it. I might accidentally teleport to the territory of the demon race. Then I would be truly miserable. Small Dimensional Slash ¨C Spatial attack magic. The most powerful attack magic I know. It¡¯s able to tear space and everything within its range will be devoured. (Including magic.) For now, Teacher Xiu has prohibited me from using it because I had once devoured his beloved cup. I can now cast a one meter long dimensional slash. It¡¯s no problem to swallow an elementary class spell, but Teacher Xiu said its devouring power is very high so if your magic power can¡¯t sustain it, it might devour you. (Of course the one I¡¯m able to cast right now is unable to devour me. It would require a huge dimensional slash to devour me.) He told me not to use it carelessly. These are the spells I know right now. Teacher Xiu evaluation of me is: First-class escaping ability, second-rate defense, third rate recovery magic and bottom-tier attack. (In fact, within Teacher Xi¡¯s heart he was satisfied with me, especially in my talent in defense and movement magic. The degree of control I have over my teleportation magic is even better than his, even though his is a Great Mage. I also created a new defensive magic. Generally speaking, if you didn¡¯t take into account my attack magic, my strength would be close to the level of an advanced mage¡¯s.) Hey, I didn¡¯t do it intentionally. It was just that short range teleportation was to my liking. Haha, if I can¡¯t beat it then I can just flee. Hehe. In less than six months I will be graduating from here. Haha, I¡¯ll finally be able to escape this demon¡¯s grasp. (Despite the fact that the sack array is unable to torment me anymore, Teacher Xiu would often display his full range of intermediate magic attacks or I would often get exhausted.) I thought of my better future. Hehe. What made me even happier is that, in the morning when I got to the classroom, Teacher Xiu said he had to go to the capital. He said he would be gone for a long period of time, but would be back for my graduation exam. He instructed me to meditate properly at school and increase my magic power. (If I don¡¯t then he will conduct his demon¡¯s training.) The beautiful me straightened and blew out a snot bubble. For the following period of time, I can go back to sleeping every day. Volume 1: Chapter 9 Encountering Danger on the Return Home Volume 1: Chapter 9 ¨C Encountering Danger on the Return Home Currently, going to school is very relaxing! Every day I sleep at home and then I go to school and sleep some more. Haha, it feels like the forty-ninth year is here! I slept! While comfortably lying on the ground, I concentrated my spirit to sense the light elements in the air. Under their care, I gradually fell asleep. My internal light sphere already occupied two-thirds of all of my meridians. Teacher Xiu said I have enough magic power to cast rank five spells now. However, because I am too small, it would be biting off more than I can chew so he didn¡¯t teach me any intermediate class spells and instead told me to wait to go to an intermediate magic academy. (A mage¡¯s title corresponds to their magic: Generally speaking, mages capable of casting rank one spells are called apprentice mages. Those capable of using ranks two and three spells are called elementary mages. Intermediate mage¡¯s are able to cast rank four and five spells. Rank six spells are advanced mages, rank seven magic are great mages, rank eight are magic scholar and those capable of casting rank nine magic with other mages are magisters. Grand Magisters are capable of casting rank nine spells alone.) Ah! What time is it now? While stretching, I looked outside towards the sky. The sky was already dark, I should quickly go home and eat dinner, and my belly is calling out. In a lively mood, I walked out of the academy in the direction of my home. Having left Senke city, I followed the path I used every day to go to and from the academy. Because I¡¯m afraid of the dark, I used my left hand to cast an illumination spell, making everything within thirty meters of it to be as bright as day. Today mother doesn¡¯t know what to make for me to eat, the best would be bone soup, and this is my favorite. Thinking of a luxurious dinner, I smacked my lips and felt my stomach is even hungrier. Suddenly, I felt the surrounding temperature rise. Wa, what¡¯s going on? Who here is using fire magic? A sudden roar that shook the heavens rung in my ear. Wa, fire lion, a rank six magical beast, no, it¡¯s a demonic beast. (At birth if the magical beast isn¡¯t contracted with, it will then be called a demonic beast.) Already, my legs won¡¯t listen to me. With its blood-red eye it watched me. I thought it might have the same idea I had earlier as it smacked its lips. ¡°Ah! Fire lion big brother, I¡¯m still a child. Can you please not eat me? I am the homeland¡¯s flower, I don¡¯t have any meat. I¡¯ll go home and get you something to eat. Ah, no!¡± Without letting me finish what I was saying, the fire lion attacked me. I reflexively used teleportation, after all, before I was often chased by the light tiger. While dodging the fire lion¡¯s attack, I fired a flare towards the sky. (In fact, it is the illumination spell in the form of a ball of light which I fired into the sky using the light arrow spell. Naturally once the flare reaches the sky it burst open and become a big light. This is a mage¡¯s distress signal.) ¡°You foul fire lion, I refuse to comply. You can¡¯t possibly catch me.¡± Remembering that I have teleportation magic, my heart calmed down a lot. Towards this beast, I am still very confident. The fire lion is powerful, but it can¡¯t be more powerful than the light tiger and the old demon combined. At the very least, I can last until my magic power is completely consumed, after that, I would be helpless. (Before I consume all of my magic power, I would have ran away with teleportation. I can teleport five hundred meters, then I can just teleport several times. Hehe.) The air sure is hot. Because of the priority of safety, I decided to give the defensive spells I knew a try. The first of course is divine guard since it can filter the air and isolate the heat emitted by the fire lion. Afterwards I summoned a light prism shield on my left hand. The powerful fire lion grimaced while I recited an incantation and from my right hand fired off a light arrow towards it. Although its power is relatively small, it would still hurt to be hit by it. Angered, the fire lion fired one after another intermediate class fire magic towards me. I blocked and I dodged just like in the array of sacks. In a relaxed manner I circled him, causing him to become confused and disoriented. The flames atop the fire lion¡¯s body gradually weakened. I suppose its magic power is being quickly depleted. While panting unevenly, it watched at me. Haha. There¡¯s nothing great about this demonic beast. I have a method to deal with it. I dispelled the divine guard and the light prism shield. (Using this much magic, my magic power is also being consumed quickly.) Even without the magic, it cannot hit me. I can just wait for a rescue since the village isn¡¯t too far away from here. The village guards should be here very soon. The fire lion suddenly raised its head to face the sky then roared. All of a sudden I felt the air which was cooling down suddenly increase in temperature. Ah, how could this be? Not good. This is the sixth rank fire magic, Monstrous Flames. This is an area attack magic. I¡¯m unable to run away now. My name is Zhang Gong, great light elements, assemble in front of me and obstruct evil! I barely managed to cast a light shield. The monstrous flames came at me like they were hiding the sky and covering the earth. Everything within a three hundred meter radius was enveloped in the spell. As a result my careless teleportation, I wasn¡¯t enveloped in the spell. I used all of my body¡¯s magic power to fuel the light shield while continuously reciting the light shield incantation. However, the power of the monstrous flames is truly too great. In a moment I won¡¯t be able to withstand it, then I¡¯ll become a fire roasted Zhang Gong. ¡°The water elements in the air, listen to my call, transform into the conquering hail and eliminate all the evil before me!¡± Ah! I¡¯m saved. Following this incantation by an unknown person, the pressure on me is gone. The hail technique offsets the fire lion¡¯s magic. The fire lion is also nearly spent; his magic power is also nearly depleted like mine. Just was just his last attack. That¡¯s all. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s Zhang Gong. Hurry up and come Zhang Gong¡¯s mother. It¡¯s your son.¡± Mother came. It¡¯s finally alright now. I fainted. ¡­¡­ I don¡¯t know how much time passed. I gradually regained consciousness. I opened my eyes to see mother with her red eyes sitting by my side. ¡°Zhang Gong is awake. Father of the child, come over. Zhang Gong how are you feeling? Are you better now?¡± Yesterday my magic power was pushed to its very limits. My body was burned in various places by the fire lion¡¯s magic. Additionally, my spiritual power and magic power were depleted causing me to faint. Under the treatment of mother¡¯s water magic, I have basically completely recovered, but I still felt quite exhausted. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Son, how are you? Are you better now?¡± Father ran in from the other room. ¡°I feel much better now, father.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t grow old, then you wouldn¡¯t have been able to see mother anymore.¡± Saying this, mother hugged me and cried. ¡°Zhang Gong, how did this happen?¡± Father asked. I explained the circumstances as to what happened. Father said seriously: ¡°You little fool, you must remember to never show any opening to the enemy. With your magic as it is now, if you encounter an intermediate mage who is an enemy, then you must immediately flee. Because aside from fleeing, you don¡¯t have any method to damage the enemy. Moreover, when facing the enemy how could you be careless? If you had been using the light prism shield to guard, then you probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten hurt.¡± I hadn¡¯t listened to father¡¯s following words at all. But I remembered very clearly to flee when encountering an enemy. From that point on, no matter what kind of enemy I faced, I had always taken my protection seriously. The Child of Light passed his first difficult trial in life. Volume 1: Chapter 10 Between Friends Volume 1: Chapter 10 ¨C Between Friends Because I was injured, mother helped me get a leave of absence from the school so I can rest at home. After eating breakfast, mother and father went to work, leaving me alone to lie on the bed. Bored, I just watched the heaven¡¯s flowers blocks. ¡°Zhang Gong, Zhang Gong, are you home? Quick, come open the door.¡± ¡°Who is it? It¡¯s still so early.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Ao De. You can¡¯t even recognize my voice anymore?¡± ¡°Ao De, why did you come visit?¡± I said as I opened the courtyard door. ¡°Zhang Gong, I heard you got injured. Are you a bit better now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a lot better now. Yesterday was unbelievable, I was just in time. Say, why do you think there was a demonic beast on the outskirts of the village?¡± ¡°Who knows? Here, this is some Snow Spirit powder. I grinded this out for half a day at my dad¡¯s place. ¡°Ah. You brought your father¡¯s treasure for me to eat?¡± Snow Spirit powder is not only the village head¡¯s treasure, but it also took Ao De¡¯s grandfather many years to refine. ¡°No need Ao De. Thank you. I¡¯m already almost fully recovered; no need to waste the spirit powder.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. No need to be so polite, just hurry up and eat it. When you¡¯re better I want to exchange pointers on magic with you.¡± ¡°Ao De, thank you.¡± With red eyes, I ate the Snow Spirit powder. I felt a burst of cold seep into my whole body, thus making me feel very comfortable. ¡°Thanks for what. In the future don¡¯t tell my father and I hope in the future once we¡¯ve you¡¯ve developed that you won¡¯t forget me.¡± ¡°Good. From now on we are blessed brothers, we¡¯ll face our troubles together and live well together. Haha.¡± I¡¯m older than Ao De by two months and grew up with him since childhood so he calls me boss. (Why do I have to be older than him. We played together in our childhood, with us mutually respecting each other. It is said to respect the old and cherish the young. Sigh.) I really didn¡¯t think Ao De would treat me this well. The sincere feelings between children are something to be treasured. ¡°How come you didn¡¯t attend class today Ao De?¡± ¡°My class¡¯s teacher has recently let us meditate to increase our magic power at home. In a few months we¡¯ll be having our graduation exam, so they first let us have one month of leave. Meditation over there isn¡¯t the same at all.¡± ¡°Oh, you guys have it nice. Compared to your luck, I¡¯m just¡­ Sigh.¡± Looking at Ao De, I really regret not choosing water magic with him. ¡°Zhang Gong, we¡¯ve been so busy these last two years and haven¡¯t had any time to do something together. How has your light magic studies been? How is your teacher? Whenever I see you you¡¯re listless.¡± Since I¡¯ve started learning from the old demon, it¡¯s every day from morning to evening, causing me to rarely see Ao De. Even in the evening when I return in the evening and see him, I¡¯m too exhausted from the old demon¡¯s torment. So we didn¡¯t have any contact at all. I didn¡¯t think that Ao De is still thinking about me. A friend in need truly is a friend indeed. ¡°How could he possibly be good? He is simply a demon. The old witch isn¡¯t even one tenth as terrifying as he is.¡± ¡°Ah! Even worse than the old witch. Then you truly are miserable.¡± Bewildered, Ao De couldn¡¯t close his mouth. ¡°Ao De, what kind of good spells did you learn?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned a few water element therapy spells and water element attack spells. My minor magic of air element I¡¯ve learned quite well. Right now I am number one in my class at using the storm spell.¡± Haha. Looking at Ao De¡¯s proud look, I cannot help but have some doubts. To investigate, I asked: ¡°Is it because you took your class¡¯s girl¡¯s treats that they ran away?¡± Ao De¡¯s cracking laughter stopped. Astonished, he asked: ¡°How did you know??¡± Hahahaha. We both laughed. ¡°Zhang Gong how many days will you be resting at home?¡± ¡°It should be about four to five days!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll come every day to play with you. Then once you¡¯re better, us two brothers will exchange pointers for a bit.¡± ¡°Okay. Kids will bully me saying that I don¡¯t have attack magic. I will have to wait and see.¡± Ao De practiced well, but he couldn¡¯t possibly have more magic power than me, I¡¯ll just wait until he¡¯s exhausted. After all, we are still children; we still have strong ambitions. Quickly, two days passed and my injury has already healed. Ao De came to see me every day. Today we¡¯re having a contest. I¡¯m also very eager to see for myself to what extent his skills have reached. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m here. Hurry up and come out.¡± ¡°Coming, coming! Why are you so anxious to court death? Haha!¡± ¡°Heng Who is going to win isn¡¯t certain. You don¡¯t even have attack magic, how are you going to beat me?¡± ¡°Try it then!¡± Ao De assumed a fighting stance. He first cast a storm spell on himself, then a water shield and afterwards began reciting the incantation for his attack magic. I calmly watched him. I wasn¡¯t even a bit worried because I know at his rank, he wouldn¡¯t know any area attack magic. My teleportation magic can surely avoid it. As expected, a water bullet flew towards me. I used teleportation to move to the left 1 meter. The water bullet flew by and brushed against my side. Ao De rubbed his eyes, as he believed his eyes were deceiving him. Subsequently, all kinds of elementary water spells unceasingly attacked me. How could this kind of magic possibly hit me. ¡°Boss, what kind of magic is faster than my storm spell.¡± ¡°This is of course, spatial magic¡¯s teleportation.¡± ¡°Boss you¡¯re shameless. How can you call this a contest if you just dodge?¡± ¡°Fine then. Then I won¡¯t dodge anymore. Come now.¡± While saying this, I had cast a light prism shield on myself. Seeing that I¡¯m not dodging anymore, Ao De promptly fired a water bullet at me. I wryly smiled. I faced the light prism shield towards Ao De, then the water bullet hit it and bounced back. I didn¡¯t waste any of it when returning it to Ao De, causing him to be drenched from head to toe. The impact also caused him to fall down. ¡°No more, no more. What is this? I concede.¡± Ao De got up from the floor. ¡°You¡¯ve submitted. If it isn¡¯t an area attack spell then it¡¯s impossible for it to have any effect on me. My defense and dodging has already reached the level of an intermediate mage.¡± ¡°You indeed deserve to be called the boss. I didn¡¯t expect that even without attack magic boss is so powerful. From now on I¡¯ll follow you then.¡± Seeing Ao De¡¯s eyes full of admiration, I felt elated. ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll go to school together then. I¡¯ll bring you to a place that¡¯s good for learning how to dodge. Although you can¡¯t be like me and teleport, it will still greatly improve your storm spell.¡± ¡°Great! Thanks boss.¡± Hehe. Thanks? Tomorrow I¡¯ll let this kid taste the power of the sack array. Volume 1: Chapter 11 Royal Academy Volume 1: Chapter 11 ¨C Royal Academy Early in the morning Ao De came to find me. ¡°Why did you come so early? I still haven¡¯t slept enough. Let me sleep some more.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and go. Didn¡¯t you say you would help me improve my storm technique today? Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± I hugged my blanket and ignored him. ¡°Are you coming? If you¡¯re not, then I¡¯ll use water magic on you!¡± ¡°So annoying, so early in the morning yet you don¡¯t let other people sleep. I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up.¡± Hearing him begin reciting the spell, I immediately got out of bed. This fellow, how can he be so eager to suffer? I¡¯ll have to help him out then. Hehe. ¡­¡­ Within the sack array, Ao De is rapidly moving. He¡¯s not bad. This fellow really progresses quickly. In two months he can almost persevere for an hour in the sack array. (Of course, this is in circumstances where I¡¯m not using magic to sneak attack him.) I recall his sorry figure in the first few days, but now I want to smile. Ao De can now understand why I was returning home every day with my strength exhausted. ¡°Boss, I can¡¯t endure any longer. Let me come out.¡± If he tried to come out without my permission, then of course I teleport in front of him and push him back in. ¡°Fine then. In a few days is the graduation exam, you should preserve some strength.¡± Panting, Ao De flashed in front of me then sat his butt on the floor. ¡°Boss, my progress is quite fast right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still fairly average. After all, what you¡¯re using isn¡¯t teleportation. Being able to reach this level is still pretty good. In two more days we have exams. What kind of academy do you think you¡¯ll be accepted into?¡± In Senke city there are 13 intermediate magic academies. There are 2 A class, 4 B class and the rest are C and D class academies. The best academies are A class. Every year very few people pass the exam for the Royal Magic Academy. (The country¡¯s highest magic educational institution.) ¡°I think I might be able to manage to pass a B class exam. What about you, Boss?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Every year the exam is different so who know what this year¡¯s exam will be on? If the subjects are fleeing and defense, then for sure I can enter an A class academy. If the subject is attack magic, then I¡¯ll be pitiful and surely enter a D class academy.¡± Actually, I¡¯m not that interested in what academy I get accepted into. However, mother said that if I get accepted into an A class academy, then she will give me five silver coins of allowance every month. Five silver coins as far as I am concerned, is a huge amount of wealth. Because of my most beloved money, I¡¯ll try my hardest. ¡°Boss, didn¡¯t your teacher say he will return before the exam? The day after tomorrow is the exam, how come he isn¡¯t back yet?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It¡¯d be best if he didn¡¯t come back, otherwise he¡¯d give me training for the exam!¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking about training for the exam? In that case I¡¯ll help you succeed.¡± Suddenly, there was a familiar voice. ¡°Ah! Teacher Xiu, you¡¯re back. Exam training isn¡¯t necessary, I was just joking around just now.¡± ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll be leaving first then.¡± Seeing Teacher Xiu¡¯s strict appearance, Ao De, this fellow ignored his loyalties and escaped. ¡°Ao De, you despicable fellow, don¡¯t let me see you again.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong!¡± ¡°Teacher, I¡­¡­¡± I don¡¯t know why I feel uneasy when I look the old demon from head to toe. Unconsciously, my two legs began shaking all over. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯ll be graduating soon. Are you confident?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really say, I¡¯ll just have to take the exam and see how I do.¡± ¡°Foolish boy, you¡¯re learning light magic. You¡¯re the only one learning light magic in the past few decades. The academy won¡¯t test you on attack magic to be fair.¡± The serious Teacher Xiu unexpectedly revealed kindness. ¡°Ah! This is great. Then I¡¯m certain to pass an A class academy¡¯s exam.¡± I happily jumped up. Of course it is because of the future allowance that I¡¯m so happy. ¡°You¡¯re rather ambitious huh. However, this time I don¡¯t want you to participate in the academy¡¯s graduation exams. ¡°What??¡± I asked puzzlingly. ¡°This time I went the capital for your sake. So I could enroll you in the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. I wish for you to immediately participate in the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s entrance exam. Teacher has great expectation of you, so you must put in great effort.¡± The Royal Intermediate Magic Academy is the Royal Magic Academy¡¯s subordinate academy. The academy has a concentration of youths gifted in magic. Every year only a third of the students applying pass the Royal Magic Academy¡¯s exam. It¡¯s the best intermediate magic academy in the kingdom, deserving to be classified as an S class academy. ¡°Ah! What??¡± I don¡¯t want this! The Royal Intermediate Magic Academy is so famous, they¡¯ll for sure be especially strict. It¡¯s very difficult to escape from the old demon, he¡¯s both a tiger¡¯s den and a wolf¡¯s lair. ¡°Teacher Xiu, how could my level be compared the kingdom¡¯s most talented people with such weak magic?¡± I immediately tried to shirk this. ¡°Who said your magic is weak; you¡¯re the most remarkable student I¡¯ve ever taught. How would you know if you have never tested yourself?¡± This is the first time I heard Teacher Xiu praise me, but I didn¡¯t feel even the slightest bit of happiness. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go home and discuss this with my mother and father and give you a reply tomorrow.¡± ¡°No need. I¡¯ll go with you today to visit your family. Then I can discuss with them and they will surely agree.¡± No way. The always calm Teacher Xiu is so impatient today. Well, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it then. Once mother and father find out then I¡¯m going to the capital for certain. True to my expectations, once Teacher Xiu talked with mother and father, they were really excited for me. After all, when your own child has the prospective of entering the kingdom¡¯s best academy, then how could you not be happy?¡± ¡°But Teacher Xiu, to enter the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, a lord¡¯s recommendation is required. We¡¯re commoners, would they even let him take the test?¡± Father asked about a crucial issue. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this issue. I have already resolved it since I have a good friend who is a viscount. I asked him to recommend Zhang Gong. Mother suddenly gave father a push and quietly whispered to father: ¡°The Royal Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s tuition fee is really high though. We¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to sacrifice everything I have and throw caution to the wind in order to let my son go. How could we bury our son¡¯s talents?¡± Hearing my father¡¯s inspirational words, I felt that mother and father¡¯s expectations of me are unexpectedly high. ¡°Father, mother, be at ease, I will surely pass the entrance exam.¡± I emotionally said. Shortly after saying this, I regretted it. ¡°Zhang Gong truly is well-behaved.¡± Father patted my head. ¡°Mr. Wei, actually you two don¡¯t have to worry about these issues. Zhang Gong¡¯s tuition is already covered.¡± Seeing the three gaping mouths of the family, Teacher Xiu said: ¡°I extremely adore magic, but my magic aptitude is too meager. After investing 10 times the efforts of others, I am only a Great Mage. Even if I put in great effort, I would only be able to become a Magic Scholar in my lifetime. But Zhang Gong is different. I discovered that he has an unusual gift for light magic, so I hope my student can surpass me and reach the rank of Magister, and even more so to reach the realm of Grand Magister. Zhang Gong, you must not disappoint Teacher.¡± Hearing Teacher Xiu¡¯s words, it was only natural that mother and father thanked him ten thousand times for his thousand kindnesses. Since all the issues have been settled, what else did I have to say? I could only prepare to set off. Volume 2: Chapter 1 Arriving in the Capital Volume 2: Chapter 1 ¨C Arriving in the Capital ¡°Zhang Gong, you need to listen to Teacher Xiu, carefully take the test and strive to pass the exam to win honor for our family. If you truly are unable to pass the exam, then come home immediately. Don¡¯t let mother and father feel anxious. Teacher Xiu, please take care of Zhang Gong.¡± Mother hugged me and cried for nearly half the day. ¡°Well then, don¡¯t cry anymore mother of the child. It¡¯s not like Zhang Gong isn¡¯t coming back. Let¡¯s stop delaying them and let them be on their way.¡± After saying goodbye to mother, father, the academy¡¯s teachers, and classmates (of course that fellow Ao De told me to learn magic well then come back and cover him), me and Teacher Xiu set foot on the road towards the capital. ¡°Teacher Xiu, how far are we from the capital?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still very far. We need to pass through a province on a road roughly a thousand kilometers long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so far, ah.¡± ¡­¡­ During the journey we typically traveled forty-five kilometers in eight hours, taking us over twenty days of endless trekking to finally reach the capital. Me and Teacher Xiu couldn¡¯t use magic to fly, since only advanced wind mages are able to use wind soaring technique, Flight. The flight distance is naturally based on magic power. Originally I wanted to use teleportation, because one teleportation can move five hundred meters after all. But Teacher Xiu wouldn¡¯t let me use it. During the whole journey he taught me a lot of exam tricks as well as some magic applications. Because of mother, father and Teacher Xiu¡¯s hopes, and of course, for filling up my wallet in the future, I put in an unusually great effort throughout the journey. This astonished Teacher Xiu greatly, to the point where he believed I had a change of character. With these twenty some days of great effort in addition to the two months of meditation while Teacher Xiu was gone, right now my whole body is brimming with magic power. Teacher Xiu said that my magic power right now is at the very brink of a advanced mage¡¯s. Since my attack magic is awfully weak, Teacher Xiu taught me two more light spells during the journey. One of them is the Radiant Bind spell. This spell is mainly used for trapping the main enemy. It¡¯s classified as an intermediate class magic. (Intermediate class light spells only have one attack spell.) There¡¯s also the advanced class spell, Light Severing Sword. With my current magic power, I can only use this spell once. Teacher Xiu forbid me from using it before obtaining a significantly large amount of magic power, after all I can still just run away. The capital truly is a great city, ah. The city walls are so tall and thick. Then there¡¯s the city gate; it¡¯s really wide with an endless stream of pedestrians entering and exiting. A merchant¡¯s wagon speedily passed by. The sound of wheels never stops. There¡¯s also a luxurious carriage with delicate engravings on it. (There should be a noble sitting within the carriage.) The carriage driver crossed between us. This truly deserves to be called the capital of my homeland, Aixia City. Me and Teacher Xiu wandered within the city. Compared to Senke City, Aixia City is much bigger. On the side of the road there are many stores of various sorts and varieties. I really want to go looking for what kinds of new toys there are, but Teacher Xiu wouldn¡¯t permit it. While pulling me like a lightweight carriage on a familiar road, we arrived at the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy which is located on the east side of the city. ¡°Zhang Gong, look at that grand building over there. That¡¯s the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. In three days it will begin it¡¯s entrance exams. For now, let¡¯s look for a place to rest.¡± We found an inexpensive inn to stay at. Originally Teacher Xiu wanted to bring me to a better inn but the high class inns in the vicinity were all taken by the nobility who came from various regions of the country. So there was no alternative but to stay here. (Of course the nobility wishes for their children to be able to pass the entrance exam and enter the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy.) ¡°If it weren¡¯t for us arriving early, I fear we wouldn¡¯t have been able to stay here either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Nevertheless, teacher is wise. I only now comprehend why Teacher Xiu didn¡¯t let me delay during our journey by wandering aimlessly. ¡°Zhang Gong, we¡¯re going out. I¡¯ll bring you out for a stroll.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Me and Teacher Xiu arrived at the main street. Because it¡¯s the magic kingdom¡¯s capital, magic products are being sold everywhere. We entered a magic goods store. Wow. Inside there are all kinds of magic products. There¡¯s magic gowns, some low level magic crystals, magic staffs and there¡¯s also some magical beast eggs. Every mage has a magical beast but one¡¯s own magical beast needs to be incubated by themselves. All the magical beast eggs here have a seal on them. Blood is required to act as a medium to incubate them. When a magical beast hatches, it will attach the most importance to the first person it sees. In this kind of ordinary store, there are only a few lower level magical beast eggs since high level magical beast eggs are every expensive. High level magical beast eggs are too expensive for even the wealthy; in order to get a high level egg, luck is required. ¡°Zhang Gong, see if there¡¯s any that you like. Teacher will buy it for you as a present.¡± ¡°Okay! Thank you teacher.¡± With no trace of politeness I jumped up. Finally, I picked a pearl white magical beast egg and a magic staff embed with a white crystal. ¡°Your son really knows how to choose. Of the magic staffs we have here, that one is the best. The magical beast egg is a first rank magical beast, I¡¯ll give it as a present to you. The magic staff is fifty gold coins.¡± (That pearl white magical beast egg is of the light element. Of course nobody wants it.) ¡°That expensive?¡± Teacher Xiu scowled, however he promised me. To be a worthy teacher, he naturally bought it reluctantly. Back at the inn, Teacher Xiu helped me appraise the magic staff. The magic staff is able to increase magic attack power. Indeed, it¡¯s a pretty good staff. The pearl white magical beast egg is very ordinary, merely a rank one magical beast. ¡°You¡¯ve accepted the gift. Three days from now you must put in great effort during the exam! Don¡¯t disappoint teacher.¡± This staff continuously accompanied me for a very long period of time. Until I received¡­. Also, the magical beast incubated from the egg became my most important partner. Perhaps it was destined. The magical beast the Child of Light obtained had a very important effect on the events leading to his rise to the rank of Grand Magister. (The Child of Light will soon begin his intermediate magic academy life. What will his magical beast be?) Volume 2: Chapter 2 Entrance Examination Volume 2: Chapter 2 ¨C Entrance Examination First thing in the morning, Teacher Xiu woke me up with lessons. He made me repeat some details regarding the exam. Then he brought me to the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. ¡°Teacher Xiu, why are are we here so early. There¡¯s still a long time before the exam.¡± I said as I yawned. In these last two days I¡¯ve nearly been bothered to death. Everyday Teacher Xiu would explain all of the exam¡¯s rules, exam details and so on. Just from all his talk my head has grown bigger. Originally I wanted to hatch my magical beast egg and take a look at what it is. However, Teacher Xiu wouldn¡¯t permit it, saying that before the exam I need to have ample amounts of vigor and physical strength. He¡¯s even more nervous about the exam than me. ¡°First, look at the situation. Zhang Gong ah. As long as you act in accordance to teacher¡¯s method, then the exam should be finished without any problems.¡± ¡°Yes, I know.¡± An hour of waiting is as long as a year as far as I am concerned. (Due to Teacher Xiu¡¯s endless nagging.) ¡°Okay, you can go in now. Zhang Gong, do your best!¡± Teacher Xiu gave me a thumbs up. ¡°OK.¡± I gave him a thumbs up too. Entered the academy. Wow. It¡¯s worthy of being counted as the number one academy. It¡¯s very unique. There¡¯s a big practice ground that has an area of 15 000 square meters. Ah, there¡¯s also a lot of people. Teacher Xiu told me that this year there is roughly 10 000 students taking the exam. In the end, only 200 students will be qualified. Ah, only 1 in 50 will be admitted. At this time there was a magic broadcast (Through a magic crystal, sound can be amplified and spread): ¡°All the students who came to take the test, according to your registration number line up from east to west. For every 600 numbers, make one line. Follow these instructions in an orderly manner. Go line up in according to your registration number and prepare for the first exam. My registration is 1503, so I¡¯m in the third line. I went to the third line and lined up accordingly. Looking around, I see that all the examinees are wearing gorgeous magic robes. In comparison my plain clothes aren¡¯t flashy at all, so all the surrounding examinees look at me with a gaze of superiority. Some even spit in disdain and say ¡®even a commoner dares to take the exam¡¯. Hmph! What¡¯s wrong with commoners? Are commoners not people? So what if your family has a bit of power. ¡°Examinees, quiet down. The first exam will now begin. All the examinees from each line, according to your registration number, go up to your line¡¯s proctor one at a time to begin the exam.¡± There was another broadcast. Altogether there are twenty lines and for each line there are two proctors. One is responsible for directing the student on the exam, the other is responsible for recording the grades. The first exam is actually very simple. The teacher just needs to use a magic crystal to measure one¡¯s magic achievements and see if it meets the requirements. The whole entrance exam has four parts. Two hundred students will be admitted according to their overall score. As I waited, I was very bored. Ah, why¡¯s it so slow? One hour later. ¡°Number 1503, come up.¡± At last, it¡¯s my turn. I arrived in front of the teacher. ¡°Hello teacher. I am examinee 1503.¡± Teacher Xiu taught me that I must be courteous in order to leave a good impression on the teacher. Maybe it¡¯ll score me a few bonus points. ¡°You can start the test now!¡± The proctor nodded at my smile. I began condensing magic power and placed my right hand on top of the magic crystal. From my forehead, light element rapidly gathered then flowed through my right hand and into the magic crystal. The magic crystal began emitting a faint white light. As I released more and more magic power, the white light also grows more and more dazzling. ¡°That¡¯s good enough student.¡± ¡°Thank you teacher.¡± I stopped releasing magic power. ¡°Your magic power is strong. You¡¯re learning light magic? Learn well. Once you reach the rank of advanced mage, light magic is very powerful. Go recover in the rest area while you wait for the next exam.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I feel pretty good about this exam; there shouldn¡¯t be any problems with it. I look at the examinees in front of me. Not a single one of them could release as much magic power as me. Hehe. I proudly smiled. The next exam tests magic perception. The testing method is also very simple, one just needs to fire off their most powerful spell within a magic barrier. Exam in the afternoon. We¡¯re not permitted to leave during midday, but the academy supplies lunch for us. After eating, I slip away to go to take a stroll and wander around the academy grounds. This place sure is big! Apart from the main field, there are also many smaller practice grounds. The academy also has many buildings. The campus grounds are very elegant. Everywhere there is green grass like a cushion, inviting you to sleep on. Furthermore, there are many groves, rock gardens, fountains and so on. Indeed, it¡¯s pretty good. I see that coming here to study wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a bad thing. The afternoon exam began. The examinees are split into 10 different practice grounds. Every practice ground has 5 proctors. Each proctor will give a score. Add all of their scores together and that¡¯s the score for this exam. Wow. An intermediate magic academy¡¯s entrance exam is really abnormal. Most of the examinees magics are of the intermediate class. Some are even casting advanced class spells. The competition is very fierce. What are the proctors whispering into each other¡¯s ears? From the smiles on their faces I can see that they¡¯re very pleased with this examinees results. It¡¯s my turn on the field now. ¡°Number 1503, use your best magic.¡± ¡°Yes teacher.¡± I straightened my body then raised my left hand. ¡°My name is Zhang Gong Wei, great light elements, assemble in front of me and block and reflect all evil!¡± A never before heard incantation! Despite all of the proctors¡¯ suspicions, a light prism shield appeared on my left arm. ¡°This is¡­.. Light Shield?? No way. Light shield is an omnidirectional defensive magic.¡± After discussing among themselves, the proctor in the middle said: ¡°Examinee, please explain the properties of this magic.¡± ¡°Yes. This magic of mine was created with Light Shield and Light Mirror as a base. As a result of combining the two, the new spell has both defensive and reflective properties. Those two were originally elementary class defense spells but now after merging them, the new spell can stop 6th rank attack spells. All of the proctors looked at each other in astonishment. Finally, they reached a conclusion, a genius. (Fusing magics is very difficult, especially fusing two of the same element. I fused two elementary spells to create an intermediate spell, so how could they not be amazing?) Haha. Another obstacle passed. While harboring excitement in my mind, I walked away from the academy. (Due to there being many people left over, the last two exams will be conducted tomorrow.) How can it be this simple? Haha. Recalling the astonished faces of those proctors makes me want to laugh. As soon as I exit the academy¡¯s gates, I see Teacher Xiu. Seeing his anxious expression, for the first time I felt that originally Teacher Xiu is very adorable. Volume 2: Chapter 3 My Good Luck Volume 2: Chapter 3 ¨C My Good Luck ¡°How was it Zhang Gong?¡± I gave Teacher Xiu and ¡®OK¡¯ gesture. ¡°There should be no problems with today¡¯s two exams. You can be at ease Teacher Xiu¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be arrogant. Continue to put in great effort tomorrow. It ultimately all depends on your overall score. A quiet night. The next day we arrived at the academy at the same time as yesterday. The third exam is on magic control. Depending on the examinee¡¯s major magic element, there¡¯s a specific way to test this. For example, the test for the fire element is very simple; only need to control the basic fireball magic through a specified route without it exploding along the way, afterwards the time taken to finish is recorded. The tests for the other elements are about the same. Then what is the test for light element? Teacher Xiu told me he doesn¡¯t know due to there being no one in the capital whose major is light magic. Since I¡¯m the the only one who majored in light magic, I immediately went to the exam room. I arrived at the academy¡¯s right wing and the 5th exam room. Wow. I¡¯m the only one taking the exam but there are five proctors. Isn¡¯t this a bit too excessive. ¡°Hello proctors.¡± ¡°Hello student number 1503. Due to the recent years continuously not having any light magic majors, there is only you. Therefore the academy¡¯s proctors discussed this and established a new method to test you.¡± Said the teacher in the middle. Ah! No way. Unexpectedly they¡¯re giving me special consideration. ¡°Then what do I need to do Teacher?¡± The proctors looked at each other, then the middle one mysteriously smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s actually very simple. I heard that during yesterday¡¯s magic perception exam you used a spell you created yourself. Today we want to test it out. You only need to withstand thirty minutes of our elementary attack spells then you¡¯ll pass. Your grade will be based off of how well you ward off our attacks.¡± It can¡¯t possibly be this easy. I¡¯m indeed fairly strong but I¡¯m still a bit cautious. I try to ask: ¡°Is it only elementary attack magic? Can I use my minor element¡¯s magic?¡± ¡°Be at ease, it¡¯s only elementary magic. But I must warn you to take note that our elementary magic isn¡¯t that weak. You can also use your minor magic. Well then, we¡¯ll be starting now.¡± I immediately gathered light element and created a light prism shield then I cast a divine guard on myself. Furthermore, I prepare to teleport at any time. (Elementary class magic doesn¡¯t have any area attack spells. As far as I am concerned, only area attack spells are effective against me.) The five proctors began attacking. The exam concluded. Of course the outcome is that not a single one of my hairs was damaged. Furthermore the light prism shield was barely used. It was simply too effortless. Much easier in comparison to the sack array. Even if the elementary magic attacks of the proctors was like the howling wind and torrential rain, there would still be many gaps. Haha. Too easy. ¡°Teachers, did I pass?¡± The five teachers looked at each other in dismay. Helplessly they declared that I passed. ¡°This student, why do I feel like your major is spatial magic!¡± I scratched my head and meekly said: ¡°This is embarrassing. Teachers, when I was still in elementary magic academy, my teacher assessed me as top quality fleeing ability, second-rate defense, third rate recovery magic and bottom-tier attack magic. So¡­..¡± ¡°Student 1503, no need to feel embarrassed. When you actually meet an enemy, being able to flee from their attacks is very important. When a mage and a warrior does battle, it¡¯s even more important. Generally warriors won¡¯t give a mage the change to recite their incantations, so if you can maintain a safe distance to cast your magic, then your chances of success will be quite large. So by all means you must not regard it as shameful, but instead continue to put forth great effort.¡± Wow. I didn¡¯t expect fleeing has this many advantages. From now on these words are my motto. Haha. ¡°Thank you teachers.¡± I felt extremely heartfelt towards these teachers and bowed. Exiting the exam room, I can¡¯t help but ponder my good luck. In any case, it¡¯s not important. I wandered all over. Teacher Xiu had told me that after passing the third exam, according to each exam¡¯s grades, five hundred people will be selected to advance to the fourth exam. In other words, tomorrow they will announce the grades and the day after the final exam will begin. Right now I feel anxious about going back. Once I get back Teacher Xiu will probably nag me incessantly. I arrived outside the fire element exam room. I inadvertently looked at the corner and saw a red-haired examinee that¡¯s about the same age as me. (Male) He looks to be really depressed. Ah! I walked over. ¡°Hey! What happened? Did you not do well on the exam?¡± ¡°It¡¯s even worse than not doing well on the exam! I did too well on the exam.¡± A beautiful child¡¯s voice resounded. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My teacher said to not do too well, just well enough to pass is fine. If not then once I begin learning there will be a lot of people coming to challenge me. Then there won¡¯t be any time to practice magic.¡± ¡°Waa. Your teacher is even more abnormal than mine. At best, my teacher is a bit abnormal during practice. Your teacher won¡¯t let you do you best during exams. Fuuuu.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about my teacher like that. He told me for my sake. He also consider other people¡¯s needs!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about this anymore. How well did you do on the exam? ¡°Originally I wanted to test into the upper-middle ranks. But I saw a few students doing very well, so a momentarily displayed my ability. The result is that I was even faster than the fastest by 10 seconds.¡± ¡°Then how long did it take you?¡± ¡°Six seconds.¡± Wow. This guy guy is like me. He¡¯s also a genius. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you were so talented! Hello, let me introduce myself properly, my name is Zhang Gong Wei. My major is light magic and my minor is spatial magic.¡± I extended my hand towards him. He immediately stood up and shook my hand. ¡°Hello. My name is Ma Ke Sai. My major is fire magic and my minor is wind magic.¡± ¡°You want to be friends from now on?¡± ¡°Sure. Then we¡¯re friends from now on.¡± Two childish voices determined their lifelong friendship. Volume 2: Chapter 4 A Geniuss Fate Volume 2: Chapter 4 ¨C A Genius¡¯s Fate After saying goodbye to Ma Ke, I returned to the inn with Teacher Xiu. I suddenly thought of a question, so I went to look at my grades. I¡¯m certainly ranked first, then wouldn¡¯t I have many challengers in the future? Oh no, I didn¡¯t expect this. This time I¡¯m in trouble! It seems that Ma Ke¡¯s teacher is truly wise. ¡°Teacher Xiu, if my exam grades are particularly good, then after I begin attending the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, many people will come to challenge me?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Ah? Then why didn¡¯t you tell me to exercise a bit of restraint?¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, that¡¯s because you will only improve from actual combat. If you don¡¯t want to be knocked down by others, then you must put in great effort. Teacher did this for you sake.¡± This is for my sake too. It seems that the days from now on will be no good. With a heavy mind, it was very difficult for me to enter the mediation state. ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up Zhang Gong. We¡¯re going to go see the notice of successful examinees.¡± Hearing that we¡¯re going to look at the notice, I immediately get up from bed. I want to immediately go take a look; I hope that my position isn¡¯t too high up. Arriving at the Royal Magic Academy¡¯s gate, I saw four big yellow sheets of paper posted on the walls. The first three list the top five hundred examinees in each exam, while the last one lists the top 500 overall who would enter the last exam. From the back, I immediately ran over to take a look. I must be in the four hundred¡¯s and by all means, I must not be in the top one hundred. Right now, I didn¡¯t have any of the pride from when I had just finished the exams. No way. I felt dizzy. My grades are: magic power: 9th place, magic perception: 1st place, magic control: 2nd place. (Unexpectedly first place is that fellow Ma Ke.) Overall grades: 2nd place. (The first place is someone called Hai Long Yang. All of his grades are in the top five.) I¡¯m done for. From now on I¡¯ll be out of luck. Well, it¡¯s not too bad. At least I¡¯m not first place. Just at that moment, a teacher came out from the academy. He walked to the overall grades notice and covered up number 10 and 11, then wrote Hai Long Yang over it. ¡°Everybody, due to Hai Long Yang using some dishonest methods during the tests, the academy has decided to drop Hai Long Yang¡¯s ranking of first, down ten places to eleventh. Therefore the top ten students will all go up one rank.¡± Hearing the teacher¡¯s words, the examinees in the surroundings all exploded like a pot. One after another, they began to comment and discuss this event. ¡°Wow. I wonder what kind of method this Hai Long Yang used. He truly has bad luck. He was originally first.¡± ¡°Since Hai Long Yang¡¯s ranking dropped, then the top rank is this Zhang Gong person.¡± The remaining comments I didn¡¯t hear at all because I was already stupefied. Indeed, what good luck. No way, a genius can¡¯t be this way!!!!¡± Suddenly I became aware of someone behind me patting me, thus giving me a fright. I turned my head around and see that it actually turns out to be Ma Ke. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Zhang Gong? What¡¯s with the sullen face? Did you not get in? Let me go take a look at the notice.¡± My ranking is over here. My magic power: 18th place, magic perception: 16th place, magic control: unexpectedly it¡¯s 1st place. I¡¯m done for! But it¡¯s not too bad, my overall rank isn¡¯t that high at 12th place. It¡¯s still good. I¡¯ll go take a look at yours.¡± After looking at the notice Ma Ke had a blank look, afterwards he suddenly grabbed my pair of shoulders and cried out in fear: ¡°Wow! Zhang Gong, you¡¯re so awesome! Your overall rank is first place!¡± Yelling like this, Ma Ke attracted nearly four thousand people¡¯s gazes towards us in all directions. I immediately reflected on my choices, while blaming Ma Ke, I promptly used short range teleportation and fled five hundred meters from the encirclement. Afterwards I consecutively used several teleportations to directly return to the inn. Furthermore at the same time I was teleporting, I yelled out: ¡°Ma Ke, you¡¯re awful!¡± Now I can only hope no one saw my appearances clearly. Teacher Xiu also returned with an odd smile. ¡°Zhang Gong, you truly deserve to be called my good student. You unexpectedly got first place. Not bad, not bad. However, before the test tomorrow, it would be best if you didn¡¯t go out. At the very least there will be a thousand people outside waiting to challenge you. Hehe.¡± ¡°Teacher Xiu, can we go back to Senke city? I¡­.¡± Hearing that I wanted to go back to Senke city, Teacher Xiu immediately became angry. ¡°What? Go back? Fine. You don¡¯t need me to go back, maybe your parents will forgive you too. When you were setting out, your parents had such high hopes in you. Ah. You can go back and tell them you placed first in the exam but you were afraid of other student¡¯s challenges so you returned. Will they be able to forgive you? How will you continue learning magic from then on?¡± Recalling what mother and father told me before leaving, I have nothing to say anymore. (Even though I¡¯m really lazy, I still have one strong point, which is obedience to my parents. If there wasn¡¯t mother and father, then there wouldn¡¯t be me!) ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t be angry, I was just kidding. I¡¯m going to put in great effort!¡± Seeing that I have dispelled any thoughts of going back, Teacher Xiu immediately continued smiling from ear to ear. When all¡¯s said and done, my first place rank in the first round of exams has lit up his face. ¡°I already told you the rules for tomorrow¡¯s exam. It¡¯s like this, the top five hundred people draw lots to determine who they will fight with. The winner gets 50 points, the loser gets 30 points. The results of the first round of exams will be added to the second rounds. The score will be calculated in accordance to the one¡¯s ranking. The top ranker is you so in the second round there are 50 bonus points for you. In other words, even if you lose in tomorrow¡¯s exam, you¡¯ll have 80 points which will guarantee that you¡¯ll be one of the two hundred to advance. The first round¡¯s second place will have 49.9 bonus points in the second round, and so on. The last place will have no bonus points, so the preliminary round¡¯s results give you a great advantage. The exam will not allow use of magical beasts or martial skills. (It¡¯s a Magic Academy after all.) It seems that it¡¯s already impossible to escape the clutches of the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. It turns out that being a genius is to still be born under an ill star. (That¡¯s bullshit, Genius.) Tomorrow I must lose. I secretly made up my mind. Volume 2: Chapter 5 Meeting a Formidable Opponent Volume 2: Chapter 5 ¨C Meeting a Formidable Opponent At last, the final ¡°decisive battle¡±. I don¡¯t know who the final opponent is, but the best who be someone in the middle ranks. This way I can lose and appear weak. All of the examinees have already drawn lots. Following is the announcement for the battles. The first exam is 1st rank Zhang Gong against 12th rank Ma Ke Wei. The second exam is 2nd rank Li Zha Lun against 79th rank Lei Sai Heng Lan. What an unexpected coincidence. To my surprise it¡¯s this fellow Ma Ke. I¡¯m also throwing caution to the wind, otherwise I¡¯ll be ranked 1st. I would preferably achieve first today and have revenge for yesterday¡¯s grievances. I secretly made up my mind, I¡¯ll get revenge for informing the nobles. Hehe. Just you wait Ma Ke, see how I¡¯ll mess with you¡­.¡± The order of matches is according to the rankings, from the bottom to the top. People near the bottom will fight spar. Therefore I am the one to spar. Where did that loathsome fellow Ma Ke run off to? I searched within the crowd of people. Unbelievable, I can¡¯t find him. He couldn¡¯t possibly be afraid of me correcting him today that he ran off could he? Surely not. Otherwise his teacher wouldn¡¯t spare him. Hmph! I¡¯m not looking for him anymore. I¡¯ll see him when it¡¯s time for the match. The matches are held on 10 different stages. Actually, Ma Ke was in a small nook. When he heard his partner for the match is me, he nearly fainted. After saying those words yesterday, he immediately regretted it. ¡ª¡ª I¡¯m done for! Tomorrow elder brother Zhang Gong certainly won¡¯t forgive me. How could I be so foolish? It¡¯s all my fault. God. Please bless and protect me and permit me to have an intact corpse tomorrow. Wow! In order to enter the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, all the examinees are fighting like their life depends on it up on the stage. Right now I don¡¯t know which match number is happening at the moment. The current match has one water mage and one wind mage. The both of them don¡¯t use defensive magic at all, instead they exhaust all of their magic power with the most powerful attack spells they have. Up on the stage it¡¯s practically like they¡¯re calling the wind and summoning the rain. You use a hail spell then I use a tornado spell. Truly too frightening. I can¡¯t help but think of what methods will I need to use in order to win the match? After thinking for half a day I came up with one method, which is to use defensive and fleeing magic to exhaust the opponent¡¯s magic power then to defeat him. Fortunately my magic power should be higher than theirs. At last the match finished due to the water mage being careless, thus being defeated by the wind mage¡¯s wind blade. Because of these matches, the academy dispatched 10 great water mages, and 2 water magisters in case of any accidents. As a result of their presence, even though the matches are very intense, there haven¡¯t been any accidents. 3 hours later it¡¯s finally my turn. I stretched my muscles a bit then slowly walked onto the stage. ¡°This is the first round¡¯s top ranker, Zhang Gong Wei!¡± ¡°His appearance seems to be nothing extraordinary. Unexpectedly, someone who learns light magic and doesn¡¯t know any attack spells at all, is able to be the top ranker. He definitely bribed a proctor. ¡°How come his opponent still hasn¡¯t come up?¡± I arrived on the stage then looked all around. Ma Ke¡¯s figure still isn¡¯t here. It couldn¡¯t be that he actually ran away just before the battle? I already made plans earlier which required beating Ma Ke into a spectacle too horrible to endure. Thus giving the examinees in the audience a warning that it¡¯s not good to provoke me. In the future, the troublesome things will lesson. ¡°The first round¡¯s twelfth ranker, Ma Ke, hasn¡¯t come yet? If in 30 seconds this Ma Ke still hasn¡¯t arrived then we¡¯ll consider it him forfeiting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡± Helplessly, Ma Ke finally appeared. With a storm spell, he flew onto the stage. First he paid respects to the proctors then facing he quietly said: ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose yesterday. Don¡¯t be angry. Please do not be too harsh on me.¡± It turns out that he also knew I wouldn¡¯t forgive him. He¡¯s quite self-aware. ¡°Hmph! You already did enough. Could it be that you¡¯re telling me that the rice you¡¯ve already eaten can still be spit out. Let me beat up you up one time then I¡¯ll forgive you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t! Boss, I¡¯m really scared of pain. Please spare me!¡± ¡°You. Spare no effort and let me see you strength. Don¡¯t even hope that I¡¯ll show mercy.¡± ¡°Fine. Boss, you be careful then.¡± After saying this, he cast a fire shield on himself. I also immediately cast a light prism shield. I don¡¯t dare to be careless. This fellow¡¯s strength is actually quite strong. It wouldn¡¯t have been hard for him to have ranked first. ¡°Come, Boss.¡± Ma Ke also knew that it¡¯s impossible for me to be lenient on him. Without any better option, he¡¯s forced to use his full strength. Neither of us knew the the other¡¯s strength, but from the rankings, we both knew the other is a formidable opponent. Not using our full strength will lead to only one result, being beaten up by the other. The elementary spell, fireball, came flying towards me. I lifted my left hand and used the light prism shield to face the fireball. In a moment, the fireball arrived then suddenly moved, thus going around my light prism shield to my back. Truly worthy of being top ranker in magic control. As expected, he¡¯s difficult to deal with. I immediately used teleportation to dodge to the side while shooting a light arrow at him. The light arrow hit his fire shield, with absolutely no effect on it. At this moment, his fireball is once again chasing me. ¡°Your fireball won¡¯t explode???¡± ¡°Hehe. Boss, this isn¡¯t an ordinary fireball. It¡¯s concentrated fire element, so I can simultaneously control up to four fireballs. Can you avoid them all?¡± While saying this, he cast three more fireballs. Four fireballs came at me from different directions. With this, I can also handle it. I fled. The audience began booing. ¡°Unexpectedly the top ranker is running away from several fireballs that are chasing him. How could this be?¡± I think to myself, not being afraid of the fireballs is easier said than done, but I have the ability so I have to try. I used teleportation to run away for a while then I suddenly realized this won¡¯t do. Our magic power doesn¡¯t have much of a difference and right now my magic power consumption is even greater than his. I can¡¯t dodge anymore, otherwise I will lose. Looks like I have no other choice but to use a few dirty tricks. Thinking this, I immediately used teleportation to move to Ma Ke¡¯s side. Then I used my left hand¡¯s light prism shield to hit his body. Ma Ke¡¯s fire shield is this strong, almost as strong as my light shield. Furthermore, Ma Ke was proud of himself as he watched me be chased round and round by the fireballs but didn¡¯t think I would suddenly appear at his side. Due to being hit by my light prism shield, he fell down. As a result of losing his concentration, he released the fireballs causing them to explode in the corner. ¡°Wow. Boss is even capable of this.¡± I don¡¯t reply, but instead move to his side and give him a left hook. Ma Ke dodged to his left, while using sending the intermediate class magic, Cruel Flame, towards me. I move backwards out of the way. ¡°Boss, this is what you forced me to do. Oh, fire spirit, heed my summons, form boundless meteors and annihilate my enemy!¡± Crap! This fellow is still really fierce. Advanced area fire magic, Flaming Meteor. I can¡¯t help but recognize that his strength is powerful. The stage is too small after all. If he used this in open space, it would be able to cover two hundred square meters, so it definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hit me. However this stage is only fifteen by fifteen meters. I know that the light spirit shield definitely will be unable to resist it. So while risking my life: ¡°O great light elements, my friends, I earnestly request you all to assemble into countless numbers of sharp blades and annihilate everything!¡± Light Severing Sword VS. Flaming Meteor. I¡¯ll tell the outcome tomorrow. Volume 2: Chapter 6 Still Number One Volume 2: Chapter 6 ¨C Still Number One Sitting in the middle seat of the proctors, a white robed mage looking to be in his eighties sighed and said: ¡°The world is truly different now. Nowadays children who haven¡¯t even entered intermediate magic academy are able to use advanced magic. To think that in those days I was the same age as them.¡± On the seat beside him, an old red robed mage said: ¡°Yes. These two children are both quite good. They have good development prospects. You see, that one called Zhang Gong, he¡¯s so young yet he created a defensive spell. And that Ma Ke is also pretty good. His magic control is not only quite good to be able to properly control the fireballs path, but he¡¯s also to control energy to within a hair¡¯s width of his limit. Not bad. It seems that he majors in fire magic. I¡¯ll investigate his nature and see whether or not I can pass on my legacy to him.¡± ¡°Ma Ke is not bad. That Zhang Gong seems to major in light magic. There¡¯s no one besides Zhang Gong in this time period to learn my light magic. No matter what, I must make him my apprentice.¡± Wow. These two old mage¡¯s magic crest, (on the left side of a mage¡¯s robe, on the chest is the proof of a mage¡¯s rank, the magic crest) surprisingly are both made from purple magic crystals. That is to say they are two of the Tianwu continent¡¯s remaining ten magisters. On the stage, me and Ma Ke were fighting desperately, unaware of the schemes of two the magisters. At the moment, both of us are supporting our spells as if our life depends on it. This is the first time I have used Light Severing Sword, so I didn¡¯t know how effective it would be. I sensed my magic power being depleted. The first wave of light swords already met the flaming meteor. Ah. It seems my Light Severing Sword¡¯s power is a bit bigger. Some of the smaller flaming meteors burst open, while the larger flaming meteors were able to counteract the light severing swords. I see that my magic is winning, so I release even more magic power. My absolute magic power is a little bit higher than Ma Ke¡¯s. His greatest mistake was to use advanced magic to compete with me. If he used small spells with his magic controlling skill to compete, then the outcome would be truly hard to say. However, his Flaming Meteor wastes too much magic power. Right now he can only barely manage cast this spell, thus he¡¯s unable to concentrate and use his spirit to control it that well. The stage becomes scarred by our two spells. The Flaming Meteor scorched it black, while the Light Severing Swords cut the stage, thus leaving it riddled with scars. Ma Ke¡¯s mage robe has been cut in several places, while my clothes have been burnt black in many areas. (I don¡¯t have any money to buy a mage robe. Those are really expensive.) Both of our magic powers have already be overused, now we¡¯re only relying on willpower. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m on the point of death. Please spare me.¡± Ma Ke weakly said. Right after he said so, his all of his flaming meteors disappeared. Instead, he uses the fire shield to protect himself as he has no more magic power to sustain it. As a result of even his spiritual power being overused, he lost consciousness. I immediately ceased releasing magic power. I didn¡¯t want to accidentally wound him. If he was able to persist a bit more, I would also be on the point of death. Indeed, this fellow is very strong. My magic power is also nearly depleted. I slowly stood up and walked to his side. ¡°Hey, hey. You loathsome fellow, this still isn¡¯t enough!¡± Seeing that I could still stand, the proctor on the stage promptly declared: ¡°Ma Ke has exhausted his magic power. Zhang Gong Wei is victorious.¡± Hearing that I won, I felt a burst of joy. Right now I already don¡¯t have any strength to think about the future.¡± After declaring the result, the first-aid teachers immediately came to the stage and used recovery magic to treat us. I also follow Ma Ke¡¯s footsteps and lost consciousness. ¡­¡­ When I woke up I was already back at the inn. Teacher Xiu was sitting by my side guarding me. ¡°You¡¯re awake. Not bad. You¡¯re still number one. Now that you¡¯re awake, teacher is relieved. You go rest some more.¡± I don¡¯t know what to say, in any case, it¡¯s this way. I closed my eyes and began meditating. ¡­¡­ The next day when I woke up the sun was already setting. Teacher Xiu wasn¡¯t present. I got up and stretched. Good. I went downstairs and the boss just happened to be there. ¡°Uncle, is there anything to eat? I¡¯m really hungry!¡± ¡°There is. I¡¯ll get you some.¡± Maybe the boss also knew that I got first place on the exam so he treated me especially nice today. A moment later a piping hot pot of beef potato stew is given to me. It¡¯s really fragrant! My drool is leaking out. ¡°Thank you uncle. I¡¯ll be eating now then.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t eat so quickly! You¡¯ll choke.¡± Seeing me already wolfing down my food, the boss pats me head. As a result of my great effort in this struggle, the beef I acquired was annihilated in addition to six bowls of rice, a fine achievement. After this meal, I could go two days without eating. ¡°Teacher Xiu, you¡¯re back.¡± Just as I finished eating, I saw that Teacher Xiu is already back. ¡°Yes. I already went to get your admission notice. Let¡¯s return to the room now.¡± Back at the room, Teacher Xiu gave me the acceptance notice with gold engravings. ¡°Zhang Gong ah. Tomorrow you can go register. In 1 week you will official start attending class, but for now you can go get familiar with the school environment. Teacher will be leaving tomorrow. I have already paid your tuition fee for this semester. You must study properly. When teacher has time I will come back to visit you. For now I will go back to Senke city and inform your parents of your great results. Afterwards I might roam around, maybe I¡¯ll even visit the Xiuda kingdom. ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re leaving tomorrow? I would hate to part with you.¡± These words, at the very least, are half true. In this long period of time we have been together, Teacher Xiu has truly treated me very well. ¡°As long as you properly study, that will be enough to repay teacher.¡± Teacher Xiu revealed a benevolent smile while stroking my head. From within his clothes he took out a small pouch and gave it to me. It sunk into my hand. ¡°The academy is a closed environment, basically impossible to spend any money. Hold onto these fifty gold coins and only use them in an emergency. When the semester is over teacher will come and pick you up.¡± Wow. This is the most money I have ever held since my birth. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Last time we bought that magical beast egg. Take it out. Teacher will watch you hatch it today.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I¡¯ve been anticipating my magical beast for a long time. I immediately took out the white magical beast egg. Volume 2: Chapter 7 Magical Beasts Birth Volume 2: Chapter 7 ¨C Magical Beast¡¯s Birth I held the magical beast egg in my hands and began gathering magic power. (After a day of rest, my magic power has already recovered to seven-tenths.) Light elements flowed from my hand into the magical beast egg, causing it to float in the air. I used my left hand to draw a magic hexagram. With the magical beast egg in the center, I began reciting an incantation. ¡°All living creatures on this world, bear witness, I, Zhang Gong Wei, will share my energy with this creature before me, contract!¡± I bit my middle finger (it really hurts) and let a single drop of blood fall on top of the magical beast egg. Instantly, the magical beast egg began emitting a dazzling golden light. ¡°Ah! A growing type magical beast.¡± Teacher Xiu said in astonishment. The magical beast egg began to crack open. From within a small white triangular head peeked out. It turned left and right, looking at its surroundings. He flung his head back and when he saw me, he gave a joyous cry. Whoosh He scuttled over onto my body and licked my face with his small tongue. It turns out it is actually a small white snake. It sure is cute. On top of its triangular head there are two eyes that sparkle like black gemstones. A layer of unusually exquisite scale covers him. On his head there is a gold stripe that runs all the way to his tail. Indeed, he¡¯s really adorable. ¡°Teacher Xiu, what magical beast is this?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Teacher Xiu woke up from his astonishment and came over. ¡°Zhang Gong ah. You obtained a treasure. This is a growth type magical beast that is only met once every hundred years! Although he is merely a 1st rank magical beast, as your strength increases, his strength will increase in correspondence. However, before he has grown powerful, you must not by all means let other people see him. Because no rank of magical beast will permit growth type magical beasts to mature.¡± ¡°O!¡± I didn¡¯t really pay attention to Teacher Xiu¡¯s words to the extent that afterwards¡­. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a name that¡¯s good. What should it be? Xiao Bai? No, that¡¯s not good. It¡¯s like a small dog¡¯s name. You have a gold stripe from head to tail, so you¡¯ll be called Xiao Jin. All right?¡± I questioningly looked at Xiao Jin and asked. He seems to be very happy, scuttling back and forth. ¡°Well then, Zhang Gong, carry him on your body. Wait until his rank increases a bit then you can make a contract with him as your fate beast. A fate beast is able to have a spiritual connection with their master. Furthermore, they can be summoned with the simplest summoning incantation. For now let him cling to your body and absorb your energy.¡± I let Xiao Jin coil around my stomach as well as assemble some light element to the place he is coiled around. Xiao Jin greedily absorbed my energy. He absorbed half of my energy before he stopped. It seems he fell asleep on my body. ¡°Teacher Xiu, how can he absorb half of my body¡¯s energy? Don¡¯t normal magical beasts only require a bit of their masters energy to survive? If he absorbs this much, he¡¯ll absorb it until I die!¡± ¡°This is the first time he¡¯s absorbing your energy, of course he needs to absorb a bit more. In the future he shouldn¡¯t absorb that much. You must properly practice magic. Only if you grow stronger, then will your magical beast grow stronger.¡± At last I have a magical beast. Haha. It¡¯s a growth type too! Too wonderful! For the first time, I unexpectedly aroused a studious mentality due to wanting to grow my magical beast. The next day early in the morning, Teacher Xiu brought me to the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. He lectured me and lectured me again. Finally, with red eyes he left. Strangely, the me who always rejected him unexpectedly doesn¡¯t feel even a bit happy. I took a deep breath. Forget about it. Don¡¯t think about it. Teacher Xiu will still come back and visit me. I need to go report now. I arrived at the first story of the school building located in the center of the academy to report. I knocked on the door. ¡°Please come in.¡± A deep voice resounded. ¡°Hello teacher. I¡¯m here to check in. ¡°Oh, come in. You¡¯re this exam¡¯s top ranker, Zhang Gong right? In the future make sure to put in great effort and win honor for the academy.¡± Entering the registration department, I clearly saw that he¡¯s actually a wind element great mage. (From the emblem of on the mage robes I identified him.) Approximately fifty years old. ¡°As a result of your outstanding results during the match, the academy arranged for you to start in the second grade.¡± The second grade? I haven¡¯t even started school and they let me skip a year??? ¡°Teacher, may I ask how many grades there are in the academy?¡± ¡°There are five grades. In the fifth grade there are graduation exams. Advanced magic academy acceptance is in accordance with the graduation exam results. (Royal Intermediate Magic Academy graduates are all able to enter an advanced magic academy.) Since the establishment of the academy, the most outstanding student was able to achieve the rank of Great Mage before graduating. You must work hard. I heard from other teachers that you¡¯re already on the threshold of an advanced mage. Work hard and break the record. Crap! Advancing a rank is so easy! If I graduate from intermediate magic academy as a magister, won¡¯t I be a monster? ¡°Teacher, is it possible for me to start in the first grade?¡± ¡°I am unable to do this. This was arranged by the academy.¡± There¡¯s nothing to be done. I received a textbook and the dormitory key from the teacher. I departed from the registration department and went towards my dormitory. The academy¡¯s dormitories have 4 people per room. I arrived at the second year dormitory. My dorm room is number 208. I used the key to open the door. It seems like there¡¯s no one here yet. I suppose they¡¯re in class. There¡¯s only 1 empty bed left. After putting in order my luggage, I lied down on my bed and began meditating. (Sleeping) Who¡¯s hitting me? Bewildered, I opened my eyes. It¡¯s green hair. Just at the time, he hit my head. ¡°Get up, get up. How did you get in? Who let you sleep here?¡± So rude and unreasonable. He seems to be a noble¡¯s son. ¡°Ah! Hello, I¡¯m a new student.¡± ¡°Newly arrived? You couldn¡¯t be this year¡¯s exam¡¯s Zhang Gong Wei?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me. You know me?¡± ¡°I heard you¡¯re really pushy. Unexpectedly you¡¯re directly entering the second grade. Let¡¯s go have a contest for a bit.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to. Actually, I¡¯m just really lucky. That¡¯s all. In the future I¡¯ll recognize you as the boss. How about that? There¡¯s no way I can defeat you. As soon as I saw you I could tell you have reached the rank of Great Mage, how could I, an elementary mage, compete with you?¡± Because I didn¡¯t want to compete with him, I began flattering him. ¡°En. That¡¯s good. From now on you¡¯re my younger brother, so you must be obedient!¡± It really is a thousand wearing ten thousand wearing a horse¡¯s skin.¡± It seems from now on I¡¯ll depend on him to pass my days. Volume 2: Chapter 8 First Class Volume 2: Chapter 8 ¨C First Class ¡°Students, starting from today, our class will have two new students.This is this year¡¯s entrance exam¡¯s top ranker, Zhang Gong Wei and this is Ma Ke Sai. Let us welcome their arrival.¡± The classroom resounded with applause. Today at dawn, the education department¡¯s teacher assigned me to this second grade¡¯s A class. I didn¡¯t expect that Ma Ke was also assigned to the second grade, as well as the same class as me. From yesterday, I recognize Boss¡¯s green hair. He¡¯s also in this class. In the future, it seems that I will experience hardships. As I was continually contemplating, I basically didn¡¯t hear anything of what the teacher said and soon class was over. After finishing class, the teacher told me and Ma Ke about the academy¡¯s educational system. In the afternoon is self-practice. Both the students and teachers are surprisingly flexible. The students can follow their own preferences in how they practice. If they don¡¯t understand something, then they can ask the teachers or go to the library and consult some books. This is completely different from my expectations of strict, cut-throat students and teachers. ¡°Boss, where is your dorm room? I¡¯m in room 209.¡± As soon as we exited through the door, Ma Ke began chatting with me. ¡°I¡¯m in room 208, so we¡¯re neighbors. Do the students in your room bully you?¡± ¡°No way. They¡¯re all busy with magic practice and meditation. They don¡¯t even notice me. Boss, are you still mad about last time?¡± ¡°How could I be so petty? I already punished you during the exam. Even if it¡¯s in the past now, in the future, be careful when you speak!¡± ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Right at that moment, an uninvited guest came. ¡°Little brother, come over here and help me with my daily duties.¡± It¡¯s the green-haired Boss! ¡°Who are you to dare speak to my boss that way!?¡± Unexpectedly, Ma Ke is quite fierce. ¡°Then who are you? Are you already done with life? He is my newly accepted little brother from yesterday. I let him help me with a small matter, so what?¡± Green-hair spit to the side as he said this. ¡±What, you dare to treat my boss like your little brother!? Then wouldn¡¯t I be the little brother¡¯s little brother? Unacceptable, I challenge you to a duel.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s afraid of who? If you have the ability, then come. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re just a simple freshman with nothing extraordinary about him.¡± During their dialog, I had a feeling that Green Hair is quite strict. He probably wouldn¡¯t¡­. ¡°Fire elements, listen to my command, condense into a fireball and annihilate my enemies!¡± Because they didn¡¯t know each other¡¯s strength, Ma Ke first cast a small magic to test the opponent¡¯s strength. ¡°Don¡¯t! It¡¯s my fault. Please forgive me. My father is the prime minister. Read about my father in the newspapers (three hundred words have been omitted here).¡± No way. Me and Ma Ke glanced at each other. It turns out that he really is an oaf. Recalling how this oaf deceived me yesterday, I need to release some stress. Immediately, I signaled Ma Ke with a glance then we yelled: ¡°Flatten him!¡± We don¡¯t need magic (In fear of beating him to death). At once, we began conducted a beating education for Green Hair. ¡°Green haired bedbug, how come it¡¯s you again? You are truly the greatest loss of face for this academy. Why are you two lowering yourselves to this bedbug¡¯s level?¡± This last sentence was directed at us. The former is a second grade student (On the school uniform there is a mark to differentiate between grades) with thick black hair. Although he is only around 10 years old, his face has a steadfast expression. It seems like I¡¯ve seen him before today. I think he is a student in our class. ¡°Hello, it¡¯s like this¡­.¡± After hearing my description of the events, the black haired youngster can¡¯t help but laugh heartily. ¡°So you two are those two new students. The green haired bedbug is one of the highlights of our academy. He is trash that doesn¡¯t know anything at all. He was only able get accepted into the academy by using his father¡¯s reputation granted by His Majesty.¡± ¡°Hello, my name is Zhang Gong Wei. His father is the prime minister, yet you all seem to bully him? You¡¯re not afraid of being him retaliating?¡± I questioningly asked. ¡°Hello, my name is Wo Ke Nuo Shi, the second grade representative. I major in wind magic. Those who are able to enter the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy are all outstanding talents. Here, only strength speaks. Groan Trash like him¡­ Furthermore, our principle and vice-principal are two of the ten magisters in all of the eastern continent. Within the kingdom, they have an exceedingly high status. In the academy¡¯s affairs, only those with exceedingly high statuses have a say.¡± Wo Ke proudly explained. There are still this many reasons. Ah. ¡°May I ask, what is the grade representative?¡± Still puzzled, Ma Ke asked. ¡°You don¡¯t even know this? The representative is the grade¡¯s most powerful.¡± The green haired bedbug hurriedly answered. ¡°Oh. Then Boss, can it be said that you are the representative of the new students?¡± Ma Ke said to me. In Wo Ke¡¯s eyes were a violent radiance. I thought it that if eyes could kill, I would surely kill Ma Ke a hundred times over. Seeing me staring at him unwaveringly, Ma Ke knew that he once again said something wrong. ¡°You two are actually so strong. Then in our spare time we can spar for a bit.¡± As expected, a troublesome matter has come. This Ma Ke, in order to ensure my safety, I definitely can¡¯t be with him in the future. ¡°We¡¯re newly arrived students, how could we be on the same level as senior? Wait for us to study for two more years then we can spar.¡± Once again, I promptly used the miracle of flattery. Simultaneously, I suggest to Wo Ke that since we are new students, he would be the big taking advantage of the small. ¡°That¡¯s fine. You two must work hard! Don¡¯t lose face for our A class. Well then, I¡¯ll be going now. Green Hair, you still haven¡¯t gone to do you daily duty.¡± It turns out he was here to find Green Hair to do the daily duty. Me and Ma Ke walked around the academy. Everywhere we went, we saw many students. In addition to the newly admitted students, all of the higher grade students rarely make a sound. All of them are quietly practicing magic. This place¡¯s learning atmosphere is truly strong. ¡°Boss, it looks like we must work hard. Look at these students, they¡¯re all practicing diligently. I reckon those people dressed extravagantly are nobility, yet they are unexpectedly incessantly practicing magic. Indeed worthy of being the Royal Magic Academy.¡± I also sighed somewhat. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go take a look at the library and look for whatever magic books we require. Then we can properly practice.¡± The previously always lazy me, felt that I had no choice but to study. Witnessing this ambiance which is so wonderful. Volume 2: Chapter 9 Magical Beasts Magic Volume 2: Chapter 9 ¨C Magical Beast¡¯s Magic Me and Ma Ke arrived at the library. It truly is huge. It has a total of 6 floors, with each floor having an area of 3000 square meters. The library is divided into three sections, floors 1 and 2 is some basic magic theory and elementary spells(rank 1-3 magic), floors 3, 4 and 5 are intermediate spells (rank 4 and 5 magic), floor 6 is advanced spells. With our level, we can enter the second sector. (The sectors have restricted access, only those at the required level can enter.) The number of people on floors 3, 4 and 5 are the greatest. Me and Ma Ke entered the 4th floor and went to look for our respective interests in magic. There are very few light magic books; I only found one comprehensive intermediate light magic book and two intermediate spatial magic books. Ma Ke found quite a few books regarding fire magic and wind magic. We went to the reading area and began reading with keen interest. There was nothing special in the intermediate light magic book, leaving me awfully disappointed. I opened up a magic book called ¡°Spatial Combat Magic: 100 Examples¡±. This book really caught my interest. Inside is a spatial mage¡¯s combat experiences. Unknowingly, the time passed by quickly. ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s dark out now. We should go back now! We still need to attend class tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Oh, that¡¯s right. In the evening, I need to look for a place without anyone to examine my magical beast, Xiao Jin. After eating dinner in the dining hall, we returned to our respective dorm rooms. Green Hair doesn¡¯t dare to say anything when he sees me. The other two roommates are both meditating. I¡¯m still not familiar with them and don¡¯t know their names. I secretly snuck out to the academy¡¯s rear courtyard. ¡°Hear my name, my magical beast Xiao Jin, obey my command and come forth.¡± A mass of light essence flashed and Xiao Jin¡¯s adorable figure appeared before me. I hold in my hands, carefully inspecting him. It seems like he has grown a bit bigger than when he was hatched. His growth is quite fast. In just 1 day he has grown this much. ¡°Xiao Jin, do you know any magic!?¡± With anticipation I asked. Xiao Jin doesn¡¯t seem to really understand anything I said, simply using his head to rub against me. ¡°Xiao Jin, light arrow.¡± He shook his head. Nothing happened. No way, he¡¯s a growth type magical beast. He should be able to do anything I can. How can this be? ¡°Foolish child, in order to communicate with your magical beast, you must use your mind. If you speak to it, it won¡¯t understand you at all.¡± A benevolent voice came over. ¡°Who?¡± I immediately turned my head. Wearing an ordinary white mage robe (an unranked mage robe), an old fellow appeared behind me. ¡°Who are you? Are you a student¡¯s teacher?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You and I major in the same element. I¡¯m also a light mage!¡± The old fellow came up to me and patted my head. ¡°Try communicating with your magical beast using your mind. See if it works.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± In any case, there¡¯s nothing else I could do. For the time being, I¡¯ll try it out. I focused my mind and through my spiritual connection with Xiao Jin, I told him to release a light arrow. I also told him how to cast light arrow, as well as its effects. Xiao Jin looked at me for a bit, then his body began giving off a layer of white light. A light arrow came out of his mouth then hit the nearby tree stump. ¡°And it succeeded!¡± As I found out how to make Xiao Jin cast spells, I was exceedingly happy. After Xiao Jin cast the spell, his whole body became soft. It seems he has exhausted his strength. I immediately summoned him back into my body. ¡°Thank you old grandpa.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really talented in magic, so quickly mastering the communication method between you and your magical beast. Not bad. Do you want to study light magic under me!?¡± In the middle of his laughter, the old fellow faced me and asked. Ah! I don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t want someone looking after me. ¡°No need, no need. I prefer studying by myself. Old grandpa, goodbye. I need to go back and sleep. I still have to attend class tomorrow.¡± I immediately turn around and escape. I don¡¯t want to meet another demon teacher. As the white bearded old fellow watched my figure gradually get farther and farther, he said to himself: ¡°What personality! Other people beg me to accept them yet I still don¡¯t accept them as my student. Unexpectedly when I want to accept someone as my disciple, he doesn¡¯t want to study under me. Hehe¡± He can¡¯t help but shake his head. Returning to the dorm room, I find that green hair is already fast asleep, playing chess with the ¡°God of Dreams¡±. The other two are still meditating. I lie down on the bed and begin communicating with my uncle and aunty light essences. Light essence entered between my eyebrows. I amass a portion of the light essences in my body and the gather the other portion to Xiao Jin¡¯s location. With a satisfied appearance, Xiao Jin emitted a happy sound, expressing his pleased mood. Recently whenever I meditate, my strength doesn¡¯t seem to increase at all. If my body is a bottle, then right now it seems to be filled up. How come it¡¯s unable to increase? If it¡¯s like this, then I rather give even more light essence to Xiao Jin. I slowly began to will more light essence to gather at Xiao Jin¡¯s location. I felt Xiao Jin¡¯s pure light essence energy affecting his body. It seems like his body is gradually growing. It¡¯s a good sense of accomplishment. Oh. It¡¯s like feeding a child, yes that¡¯s right. (You¡¯re still a child yourself) Maintaining this state, I entered the land of dreams. ¡­¡­ First thing in the morning, Ma Ke came over to invite me to eat breakfast together. Today for breakfast there¡¯s steamed buns, eggs, congee, cow¡¯s milk and what not. I think I ate 2 steamed buns, 3 eggs, 1 bowl of congee and 1 cup of milk. The students beside me all looked at me foolishly. Even the dining hall teachers are considering whether or not to raise my food fees a bit. Who cares what they think, I eat my fill first then say: ¡°I¡¯m full. Let¡¯s go to class Ma Ke.¡± We arrived to the classroom bouncing. Wow. Apart from us two, everyone else is already here, including the green haired bed bug. Could it be that I remembered the class start time wrong? Now way. It¡¯s 8:30. ¡°Zhang Gong, Ma Ke, quickly go take you seats. In the future, arrive to class half an hour earlier. We¡¯re the A class, we¡¯re different from the other classes.¡± The teacher said with a very proper appearance. Yesterday she introduced herself as Xiu Lan Li, the second¡­ ¡°Yes Teacher Xiu Lan.¡± I rushed Ma Ke¡¯s tongue to spit, then quickly went to our respective seats. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll be beginning class. Today our main topic is long range delivery magic.¡± Teacher Xiu Lan began an unceasing torrent of explanations regarding the magic¡¯s origin and its applications. I have already been taught by these kinds of demon teachers. I want to sleep. I finally heard what seemed to be that position is very important in long range delivery magic and so on. The following sentence woke me up when I heard it. Class ended. Volume 2: Chapter 10 Academy Life Volume 2: Chapter 10 ¨C Academy Life ¡°Zhang Gong, what teacher talked about today was very interesting. Why were you sleeping the whole time?¡± Ma Ke asked me after class. ¡°I have already learned these topics before. I also know long range teleportation. It¡¯s just that I have never used it before. With this being the case, what else am I to do but sleep? Don¡¯t forget, my minor is spatial magic.¡± I lazily said. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s like this. What a pity that I didn¡¯t learn spatial magic. Then, can you teach me?¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go. I want to go eat. We¡¯ll go practice magic in the afternoon.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯m not going to sit with you anymore if you continue eating like this.¡± Watching me wolf down my food 5th bowl of rice, Ma Ke complained a bit. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m still growing. If I don¡¯t eat, then how will I grow? Who¡¯s going to prevent you from eating?¡± I indistinctly said. Finally finishing my 6th bowl of rice, Ma Ke began dragging me out of the dining hall. From this time on, I had a new nickname: Light Element Rice Bucket. ¡°Wow! Zhang Gong, quickly come watch. That water mage is really pretty.¡± Abruptly, Ma Ke said in awe. ¡°Really?¡± I turned my head. Wow! My blood went straight to my forehead. She truly is very pretty. Covering her body is an azure magic robe, dark blue hair, white skin and two big sparkling eyes. Even though she¡¯s still a child, she will definitely quickly grow up to become a beautiful woman. Indeed, pretty good. Although good is good, I still don¡¯t feel an instant attraction to her. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m too young. ¡°She¡¯s very pretty, but she¡¯s not my type. I¡¯m going to go back to the dorm room and sleep.¡± I say so in a big show for Ma Ke. ¡°Boss, if you don¡¯t want her, then I¡¯m going to go chase her!¡± ¡°You go chase her then. I¡¯m going now.¡± I¡¯ll watch how this youngster dies. Such a pretty girl surely has more than a few people chasing after her. Hey, I¡¯m not going to join on the fun. After returning to the dorm room, I once again began meditating for the sake of Xiao Jin (I give everything that I receive from meditating to Xiao Jin, so of course I¡¯m meditating for his sake). In the afternoon, I awaken from my meditation. In any case, it doesn¡¯t matter. I need to find a place without people to practice magic. I don¡¯t want to get punched in the face in the future due to a misfired spell. Today I¡¯ll practice this then, the intermediate class light spell, the Elemental Spirit Restoration spell. I recited the incantation in the book and began gathering magic power. (Of course I improved the incantation a bit). ¡°Great light elements, your friend requests you to save the creature before me!¡± Following my incantation, a layer of white light appeared around me. Little by little, the light gathered on my hands. Wa, I forgot something. Who am I supplying this to? I fell. I sure am crazy. However the Gods truly take good care of me. Right at that time, a man beaten to look like he had a pig¡¯s head quickly ran towards me. He loudly shouted: ¡°Save me Zhang Gong! I¡¯m about to die!¡± Who is this person and how does he know my name? I help but be somewhat baffled. Well, whatever. He¡¯s just in time for me to test out how powerful my magic is. I use the white light within my hands to cover up the pig head before me. ¡°This spell still consumes a lot of magic power, consuming nearly one third of my magic power before I could treat this pig head¡¯s injury. Wa, no way! To my surprise it¡¯s actually Ma Ke! ¡°Ma Ke, how did you end up like this?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring it up. Boss, what spell is that? It¡¯s really powerful! It only took a moment to cure me.¡± ¡°Hehe, this is the intermediate light restoration spell, Elemental Spirit Recovery. ¡°Ah, this is an intermediate spell. I thought it was an advanced class spell. The power of this spell is about the same as advanced water treatment magic.¡± It turns out that my restoration magic is this effective? Pretty good. I don¡¯t need to fear being injured in the future. ¡°Ma Ke, you still didn¡¯t say how you became like this?¡± ¡°Boss Zhang Gong, you must act in my place. Ah, the opponent is very fierce.¡± After saying this, Ma Ke began telling me the whole story. So it was actually like this, Ma Ke went to chase that girl and approached her to strike up a conversation be asking: ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to some popsicles all right little sister?¡±, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±, ¡°What grade are you in?¡± and so on. She basically took no notice of him and bluntly said: ¡°So annoying. This housefly should quickly get lost, or else I¡¯ll give you an ugly death.¡± Ma Ke obviously couldn¡¯t accept this, as he continued bragging about him skipping a grade and how he grew to be so handsome. Finally, she urgently called a fourth grade student to beat him into this state. After listening to his story, I couldn¡¯t help but rejoice in his misfortune. Serves his right. I¡¯ve already predicted this would happen. Haha! ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. Don¡¯t you know how to hit back? Aren¡¯t you able to use advanced magic? ¡°Fight back? You don¡¯t know how powerful that guy is. He can use 6th rank magic as he pleases. I¡¯m lucky he started of leniently with me, only using magic to bind me. ¡°Then how did you get that appearance?¡± ¡°Although he didn¡¯t use magic to beat me, he can still use his fists. I was binded and couldn¡¯t fight back, so of course I ended up like that.¡± Ma Ke had the appearance of someone remembering a painful past. ¡°Who let you hit on people as you please. Serves you right. In the future, don¡¯t provoke other people.¡± ¡°No, I still must go. You don¡¯t understand. Her angry appearance is really cute. She truly is very pretty!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eyes have already become heart shaped. ¡°There¡¯s no way you understand these things at such a young age. You¡¯re still only 11 years old. Even if it¡¯s puppy love, it¡¯s still too early. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being beaten?¡± ¡°Boss, the power of love is great. With the backing of your powerful restoration magic, what would I be afraid of? If worst comes to worst, you can use one of those recovery spells on me then I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ma Ke said with a virtuous face. It¡¯s the Elemental Spirit Recovery spell you idiot. Hnnng. If you continue to be troublesome, I¡¯ll stop caring about you. You can do as you see fit.¡± ¡°No, please! Boss¡­..¡± Ma Ke truly is a housefly, unceasingly bombarding me with his saliva. I really can¡¯t stand him. To get it over with, I promised him I¡¯ll help him in the future as he¡¯s doing his best. However, I also warn him that he¡¯s not allowed to tell anyone that I¡¯m healing him. Is that girl really that attractive? To the point that he¡¯s willing to sacrifice his life? It¡¯s really hard to imagine. (The me who didn¡¯t understand the male-female relationships couldn¡¯t help but laugh at Ma Ke through my nose.) Volume 2: Chapter 11 - Xiao Jins Growth Volume 2: Chapter 11 - Xiao Jin''s Growth ¡°Boss, boss.¡± Just as I finished preparations to go to class, Ma Ke came to find me. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Boss, I found out who beat up yesterday.¡± Ma Ke told me while he gasped for breath. ¡°Who is it?¡± Ma Ke¡¯s words caught my interest. ¡°Boss, it seems there is still hope. That man is the elder brother of the girl I¡¯m chasing! Haha. It seems like I still have hope.¡± Ma Ke excitedly explained. ¡°Oh! Really? That¡¯s not bad then. You don¡¯t need to take revenge then.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not taking revenge anymore. How could I possibly beat up my future wife¡¯s older brother!?¡± ¡°What! Your relationship hasn¡¯t even begun yet! What grade are they in?¡± Hearing me ask this, Ma Ke seems to become a bit discouraged. ¡°That girl is pretty good, she¡¯s in the third grade, so she¡¯s older than us by two years. She also majors in water element magic. Her older brother is an influential figure, he¡¯s the chief for the fourth grade. He majors in fire magic. I heard he¡¯s one of the academy¡¯s top ten!¡± ¡°Wow! Yet you still dare to tease his younger sister. I genuinely admire your courage.¡± I said as I rejoiced in his misfortune. ¡°The power of love is great. I must persevere. To persevere is to gain victory.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s face was brimming with enthusiasm. I smiled and said: ¡°Go do your best then. Just don¡¯t get beaten to death by other people.¡± ¡°So annoying, you¡¯re actually discouraging me. Let¡¯s quickly go to class.¡± While listening to the teacher¡¯s lecture, I was paying attention to Ma Ke. It looks like he¡¯s planning something. In one moment he¡¯ll frown and in another he¡¯ll giggle. It¡¯s kind of funny. I threw a paper ball at him. He quivered then pouted at me. Just as I was distracted, I heard the teacher say: ¡°Zhang Gong, answer this question.¡± ¡°Ah! Oh. Yes.¡± ¡°What is long range teleportation magic?¡± The teacher saw that I wasn¡¯t properly paying attention to the lecture so she deliberately picked me. Haha. Unexpectedly she ask me this one. I calmed my mind. ¡°Long range teleportation magic uses spatial magic as a basis to instantly move long distances. It¡¯s like opening an imaginary passage in space to travel through. With advanced spatial magic, other people can be teleported too, but the success rate is very low. Unless the mage has extremely high control of magic, they generally won¡¯t use it.¡± I orderly answered the question and proudly gave Ma Ke a glance. ¡°Correct. You can sit down now. Zhang Gong, your answer was very good, but in the future you need to pay attention to the lecture.¡± Somewhat embarrassed, I said: ¡°Yes teacher.¡± Having been warned by the teacher, I didn¡¯t dare to let my mind wander again. I concentrated my attention and listened to the whole morning class. Tired, I wanted to immediately go sleep. With great difficulty, I endured until noon. After me and Ma Ke finished eating lunch, this fellow went to go conduct a large scale project of picking up girls. This fellow really is an early bloomer. I just want to go back and take an afternoon nap. Otherwise I¡¯ll have dark circles under my eyes which would damage my image of being a great hero. After some beauty sleep, I felt that my whole body was brimming with light element. Although it can¡¯t grow anymore, the power all over my body is still pretty good. I opened the window curtains to see what¡¯s outside. Wow! It¡¯s already night. I slept for quite a long time. That¡¯s no good, I need to quickly go and eat dinner. Otherwise there won¡¯t be any dinner left. With lightning speed, I ran to the dining hall. Still not bad. Although dinner is about to end, they¡¯re still selling food. I quickly took enough food for three people like I was a gale sweeping up dead leaves. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s the Light Rice Bucket! You see, he can eat so much.¡± ¡°Yea, he¡¯s like a pig.¡± From behind me came the sounds of laughter and whispering. They still care about how much other people eat! Truly annoying. I¡¯ll just ignore them. I have a good temperament. I accelerate my eating speed. After I finished eating, I ran back to the place where I encountered the white robed old man and summoned Xiao Jin. In comparison to me, this fellow eats very little. I eat rice while he eats my painstakingly assembled light element! (Is it really exhausting? Isn¡¯t it assembled by sleeping!?) Wow! He grows very quickly. He¡¯s not eating all that for nothing. ¡°You¡¯re a small rice bucket. You can eat so much too!¡± Xiao Jin just kept rubbing himself against my hands. He already grown to three times his original size when he was just born. He¡¯s two feet long now and as wide as a cup of water. ¡°Let me see the progress that you¡¯ve made recently.¡± After saying this, I began giving Xiao Jin commands in my mind. Really not too bad. He didn¡¯t eat all that light element for nothing. Right now Xiao Jin can already use all of the elementary light magic that I can use. But it seems that he still can¡¯t absorb light element directly from the air. (Authors note: Growth type magical beast grow very quickly in the beginning and can learn all of their master¡¯s magics. Ranked magical beast can only learn magic according to the rank. As magical beasts grow in rank, their physical attacks also increase of course.) I cheerfully returned Xiao Jin to my body. ¡°Xiao Jin, we¡¯re going to go back and continue sleeping. You just need to continue growing properly.¡± My silhouette gradually faded. From a tall tree appeared that time¡¯s old mage. ¡°This youngster¡¯s magical beast doesn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary growth type magical beast. It¡¯s growing too quickly. I don¡¯t know what kind of special features it may have. This child will surely develop in a unique way in the future. I must make him my disciple. Hehe.¡± It truly isn¡¯t respecting the old. Without knowing that someone is scheming for me, I returned to the dormitory. Green hair is also here. ¡°Zhang Gong, last time was my fault. Please don¡¯t be mad!¡± Testing the waters, Green hair said this to me. ¡°No problem. Just don¡¯t make trouble for me in the future and that will do. I want to go sleep now.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, I heard that your friend Ma Ke was beaten again today. It seems pretty miserable for him!¡± ¡°Ah! Really? Thank you Green hair, I¡¯ll go see him.¡± Throwing off my sleepiness, I immediately arrived next door. Wa. No way! He¡¯s even more wretched than yesterday. ¡°Ma Ke, how come you didn¡¯t find a teacher to help treat you?¡± ¡°Boss, you came. I didn¡¯t dare because I¡¯m afraid of being expelled. In the academy, personal fights will cause you to be expelled. (But public competitions are allowed)¡± ¡°What good will telling me do? Great light elements, your friend requests you to save the creature before me.¡± Even though I laugh at Ma Ke¡¯s persistence on pursuing the girl, he still is my younger brother after all. How could I possibly not care about him! This time this fellow will grow to have a long memory. Ma Ke said something and immediately disrupted my train of thought. ¡°Boss, thank you! Today she told me her name.¡± I wildly fell. I looked at him with an expression as if I were looking at a freak. ¡°Boss, why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°If she told you her name, then how come you still got beaten?¡± ¡°Hehe. I found out when her brother called out her name. Her brother said that if I still keep looking for her, he¡¯ll break my leg. It seems that I¡¯ll have to wait. Not having a leg is not so good. Boss, do you know any methods to treat a broken leg???¡± Ma Ke exposed his idiocy to me. Fortunately his roommates haven¡¯t returned yet. Otherwise, with such an embarrassing younger brother, I wouldn¡¯t have the face to meet people. From within Ma Ke¡¯s dorm room a miserable shriek could be heard. ¡°Boss, don¡¯t hit me anymore. It was my bad. Please spare me¡­..¡± Volume 2: Chapter 12 Meeting Hai Yue Xing Volume 2: Chapter 12 ¨C Meeting Hai Yue Xing Time passed by quickly and in the blink of an eye, three months had already gone by. I have also gradually adjusted to life at the academy. Compared to the time I studied under the Old Demon, this place is a lot more carefree. Everyday there¡¯s not much to do aside from attending classes in the morning. The rest of the day is basically free time for me. It¡¯s really is not bad. During these three months my magic as a whole did not improve, especially in regards to my mana. However my spiritual strength has increased as well as my magic control. I really don¡¯t know how to further increase my mana. Ah, forget it. It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll think about it later. At light magic class, I¡¯ve learned just one light spell, Tribute of Light. (An intermediate light auxiliary spell, mainly used for large-scale dispelling of Invasive Toxic Gas, a low level dark spell, and is also used in a few unusual situations). I have also improved my Light Prism Shield (my current Light Prism Shield can cover my entire body and has become an omnidirectional reflective defence spell. Haha.) In regards to spatial magic, I have already reached the peak of short range teleportation. Obviously, it isn¡¯t possible to improve any further. I still don¡¯t dare to attempt long distance teleportation. The only improvement has been to Small Dimensional Slash. Right now I can finally control the spell. I tested it with MaKe, one of my Small Dimensional Slashes can engulf one of his intermediate level spells. This is truly not too bad. In this period of time the greatest growth will have to be credited to Xiao Jin. Right now, this little guy has grown to be quite impressive. He has grown to be 5 feet long. The gold stripe on the body has become much tougher than before, and most surprisingly of all is that he has grown a small golden horn on the top of his head. However, he is still very attached to me. Whenever I call him out to play, he only travels at most five meters away from me. He has also made further improvements with his ability. The current Xiao Jin already isn¡¯t inferior to 4th ranked magical beasts. He can use most of my intermediate level magic spells, but unfortunately I don¡¯t know why he can¡¯t use spatial magic. As I watch him continue to grow, I¡¯ve become really proud of him. I feel like he has already become part of my life. I would feel empty on days that I don¡¯t call him out to see it. A long period of peaceful time past by and I gradually forgot about the Old Devil¡¯s warnings. Until now I also did not want to come across any ranked magical beasts that meant harm to Xiao Jin. What really makes me depressed is that the white robed magic teacher is always appearing in my life. Every time I bring Xiao Jin out to play at night, I almost always encounter him. This teacher bothers me and I can¡¯t hide from him no matter how hard I try. For this reason, I have tried moving to many different places. But this old man is like a shadow, I can¡¯t hide from him after all this time. In any case, I definitely do not recognize him as my teacher. See if he can make me, hehe. I don¡¯t want to live a restricted life! This fellow, Ma Ke, is simply too willful. Everyday he always goes to bother whats her name (until now I still do not know what that girl¡¯s name is, and I haven¡¯t even met her. I don¡¯t want to be thought of as some kind of red haired rice cake (Note: Red haired rice cake is nickname students gave to Ma Ke. Who made it so that he stuck onto people in such a way. Haha.) Although he frequently wore a beaten nose and a clearly swollen face, he still never tires of it. It really suits him. According to what he says, he¡¯s making a lot of progress. Although all the girls don¡¯t bother to take notice of him, now he generally doesn¡¯t get beaten up anymore because that girl¡¯s older brother is the fourth grade¡¯s chief and may have been touched by Ma Ke¡¯s actions. He gave Ma Ke a mission, that is as long as Ma Ke¡¯s magic level exceeds his own, he will let Ma Ke chase after his little sister. Since then, Ma Ke desperately practiced everyday as if he were mad. Right now when compared to me, nothing is lacking. He is growing quite rapidly. ¡°Ma Ke, lets go eat.¡± Class had just ended. ¡°Oh!¡± I recently discovered that he practices himself silly. As if apart from practicing, there is nothing else worth caring about. ¡°That pretty girl has come looking for you.¡± ¡°Where, where?!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Boss, You don¡¯t have any other brothers, and yet you deceive me!¡± complained Ma Ke when he didn¡¯t see the girl. ¡°Brat, You¡¯ve been bewitched. Is she really that attractive?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know. When I saw her, I was already content.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eyes revealed hearts ?. He is truly insufferable. ¡°Right, whats her name? Even now I still don¡¯t know it.¡± ¡°What will you do with it ???¡± Ma Ke looked at me with an alert expression. I kicked him with my leg. ¡°Bah! When have you become so infatuated that I can¡¯t ever know the name of this pretty girl.¡° ¡°Oh, Her name is Hai Yue Xing. Her older brother¡¯s name is Hai Ri Xing.¡± ¡°Her name isn¡¯t bad. Have you made any progress recently?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still looking for an opportunity. She still doesn¡¯t pay attention to me. Compared to her, her brother is more friendly. Oh right. Boss, this brother asked me several times who treats my wounds!¡± ¡°Did you tell him?¡± I asked nervously. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I could never betray you. Truly.¡± Ma Ke said with a smile. ¡°You also suffer so much, letting them practice Kung Fu on you all day long.¡± ¡°I still have you to take care of me. For my life¡¯s happiness, I must practice magic diligently.¡± It seems having a goal isn¡¯t bad. I also have a goal. It is to be free! Hehe. ¡°Hurry, if we¡¯re late there won¡¯t be food.¡± Having Ma Ke remind me immediately brought forth my vigor and I ran. Eating food is a very important part of my life! I ate, I ate, I ate and ate and ate. After we finished eating, Ma Ke went to the dormitory to meditate, and I also thought of going back and taking a nap so I went with him. While walking, Ma Ke suddenly stopped. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I nudged him. ¡°Boss, look, it¡¯s her.¡± I looked where Ma Ke¡¯s finger pointed to, and sure enough it was Hai Yue Xing. By her side were 3,4 academy students. This was the second time that I have seen her. ¡°Boss, lets go over and say hello.¡± ¡°If you want to go, go by yourself. I don¡¯t want people to think I¡¯m like you, the academy¡¯s famous Red Haired Rice Cake.¡± ¡°Fine, boss. You want to see who¡¯s more famous? I can¡¯t possibly be worse than you, the White Rice Bucket.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking to get a beating, brat!¡± Am I really that famous? How did I not notice? ¡°Come on boss, I¡¯d feel a lot braver if you went along!¡± Really, there is nothing that can be done. Ma Ke pulled me across. ¡°Wa, today not only do we meet with Red Haired Rice Cake, even the White Rice Bucket came to pursue you too!¡± A girl at Hai Yue¡¯s side said with a smile. And yet I didn¡¯t notice them. I only saw the 15 year old student wearing a fire magic robe. Wa! He¡¯s really strong! With such a ferocious aura, he gave me the impression that he wasn¡¯t any weaker than the Old Devil. He also noticed me and our gazes met. Within his eyes burst a shining brilliance. Volume 2: Chapter 13 Competition Without a Choice Volume 2: Chapter 13 ¨C Competition Without a Choice ¡°You¡¯re that second year student known as the White Rice Bucket?¡± The student wearing the fire magic robe was not like the others, who had their attention focused on Hai Yue and Ma Ke. Rather, he was unblinkingly looked at me. He must be Hai Yue¡¯s older brother Hai Ri Xing. ¡°Hello, my name is Zhang Gong Wei, a second grader majoring in light magic. You are?¡± I replied. ¡°I am Hai Ri Xing. You¡¯re good friends with this piece of sticky rice cake?¡± Hai Ri pointed at Ma Ke. I hesitated and said, ¡°Yes, we are very good friends.¡± ¡°With that said, are you the one that treated his injuries from before?¡± Hai Ri menacingly questioned. ¡°Wa! Kind of..¡± ¡°It¡¯s either yes or no, what is it!?¡± ¡°Yes, I used light recovery magic to treat him.¡± ¡°Then today I will get to see how well you can treat your own injuries.¡±said Hai Ri from the bottom of his lungs with a formidable vigor. ¡°Let us exchange pointers.¡± Just when Hai Ri advanced toward me uninterrupted, Ma Ke did not fare much better than me. Everybody by Hai Yue simply didn¡¯t pay attention to him as he desperately tried to make them laugh. A third year girl by Hai Yue¡¯s side scolded him: ¡°You Red Haired Rice Cake, always coming to stick to us and asking how we¡¯re doing. You alone are like a toad that is trying to eat swan meat!¡± Ma Ke helplessly answered: ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about that. Who made me fall in love with her at first sight?!¡± This kid¡¯s skin isn¡¯t of ordinary thickness. As expected. Hai Yue finally said, ¡°You are very bothersome, can you not annoy me? You¡¯re so young and rotten; you¡¯ll grow up to be a playboy.¡± Hearing Hai Yue¡¯s words, Ma Ke was immediately enchanted by her voice, like that of a black-naped oriole. As for the words they contained, well¡­ Looking at Ma Ke¡¯s eyes change into hearts ? and not replying, Hai Yue impatiently said: ¡°Hey, did you hear me!?¡± ¡°Ah! What? What did you just say?¡± ¡°I said you were very bothersome¡­.¡± Hai Yue furiously repeated. Ma Ke chuckled, ¡°I promise you that if I annoy you to death that you alone will be the only girl I will have ever liked. Is this fine?¡± ¡°You, you, you!¡± Hai Yue had already become speechless from anger. At this time, Ma Ke discovered that the atmosphere at our side was amiss. ¡°Who is your boss? Answer quickly. Do you agree to exchange pointers?¡± The first sentence was addressed to Ma Ke. The sentence after is aimed at the poor and pitiful me. ¡°Elder Brother, can we not fight? I pay my respects to Elder Brother as your younger brother. You wouldn¡¯t bully your younger brother right?¡± Everyone forms a circle around us, ¡°This guy truly is a good for nothing. He doesn¡¯t have a backbone.¡± ¡°Come here! Backbone? I¡¯ll show you how much backbone I have. Do you still value your pitiful life?!¡± I secretly wanted to say. Even Ma Ke could not lift his head, ¡°Wa, I don¡¯t have such a boss, so shameful.¡± I step forward to grab Ma Ke, ¡°Brat, you still have the cheek to say something like that? Were it not for you, I wouldn¡¯t be forced by everyone to exchange pointers.¡± At this time, Hai Ri¡¯s words completely shattered my dreams of escaping: ¡°Don¡¯t want to exchange pointers, huh? Then you¡¯ll let me beat you like a sandbag, right? I don¡¯t care about my reputation. Who said I wouldn¡¯t bully my juniors? I see those I dislike and beat them.¡± He said as he extended his huge fists as if comparing them to my life. Finished, I¡¯m finished. It seems I can¡¯t run away. Are we still exchanging pointers? If we exchange pointers then at least I won¡¯t be killed. I helplessly said: ¡°Fine, I accept the exchange of pointers.¡± A group of people came to the training site and set up a defensive boundary. I came to the center of field with Hai Ri. I knew that it was too late to hide, so I will fight instead! ¡°Come out.¡± I waved my hand in the air. Immediately a small crack appeared in the air. I reached into it and pulled out the magic staff that I¡¯ve never used before. (Spatial Storage Bag, an intermediate spatial spell that I had just recently learned for convenience. I had put my magic staff inside it but I did not expect to use it today.) Hai Ri asked surprisingly: ¡°You also use spatial magic?¡± ¡°My minor is spatial magic.¡± I unenthusiastically replied. In any case, I can¡¯t avoid this and it¡¯s useless to act like a coward. I may as well be hard and unreasonable. Who¡¯s afraid of who? I didn¡¯t dare to hesitate so I immediately cast a Light Prism Shield on my whole body. With the increase in power due to my staff, I became surrounded by a thick layer of light element. I have already finished my adequate battle preparations. ¡°Fine then, let me take a look at your strength which allows you to interfere with other people¡¯s business.¡± Hai Ri had an imposing manner like the overreaching peak of a mountain. With a dark face, he recited an incantation and used his hands to brandish the intermediate fire spell, Chained Fire Ball, to send it flying towards me. I know that this attack is only probing me. In a calm and unhurried manner, I promptly teleported behind Hai Ri and sent a Light Arrow at him. Perhaps it¡¯s because he didn¡¯t prepare for it and he was excessively confident in himself, but he didn¡¯t dodge and unexpectedly was hit head-on by my magic. However, this is only an elementary class spell, it¡¯s unable to harm him at all. It was immediately dissolved by his fire shield but still gave him a fright. ¡°It seems I have underestimated you.¡± Hai Ri said this then began casting a Gale spell upon himself. Like a shadow, he roamed around the grounds, furthermore, as he began reciting the Gale spell¡¯s incantation, his speed was unexpectedly not much slower than my teleportation. I¡¯m only able to catch a glimpse of his shadow. Hai Ri¡¯s true power is actually so strong, an elementary class spell cast by him is actually as powerful as an intermediate class spell. It¡¯s truly unthinkable. I reckon that if we competed purely with speed, neither of us would be able to land a hit. But seeing him chant this way, I reckon that his spell won¡¯t be a minor. I can only calmly teleport. A fierce battle has begun. What will be the outcome? Will Zhang Gong be able to endure? Volume 2: Chapter 14 Xiao Jins Battle Volume 2: Chapter 14 ¨C Xiao Jin¡¯s Battle I brought together all my magic power and began chanting my strongest spell¨C Light Severing Sword. I intended to deal with Hai Ri in one all-out strike. I sensed that all of the nearby fire element went berserk. With Hai Ri rocking back and forth the entire arena became scorching hot. A layer of thick fire element gathered onto his body and hid him from plain sight. Currently, Hai Ri was in a huge fireball at the center of the arena, swaying back and forth. My vision became blurred, and I immediately closed my eyes and used my body to sense Hai Ri¡¯s location. I know that he is currently gathering fire element and when he stops, he will dispatch his ultimate strike. There is no skill involved in this exchange of pointers and Hai Ri¡¯s absolute power is certain to be stronger than mine. ¡°Boss, be careful. This is the advanced fire spell, Raging Inferno. I did not expect it to be used this way. I originally didn¡¯t learn this spell because of its slow chant and long casting time.¡± Ma Ke had yelled from the outside. ¡°Big brother, how are you going to use such a large spell? What¡¯s to be done if an accident occurs?¡± It seems that this young girl was still kindhearted. My heart was secretly touched. ¡°Little sister, be at ease. I have control.¡± Said Hai Ri from within the fireball. It turns out that he has control, haha. That¡¯s a relief. Let¡¯s see if I can endure his long charged attack. I have already secretly requested light element to gather to the point that I can use Light Severing Sword (however I had to get the light element¡¯s approval in order to gather magic power at a greater speed.) Now, I¡¯m waiting on Hai Ri. All of the traces of fire returned from the sky and converged in front of me. Hai Ri thickly surrounded with fire elements coldly said, ¡°Let us settle this match in one move.¡± ¡°Raging Inferno!¡± Following Hai Ri¡¯s voice, a huge wall of fire rushed towards me. How fierce! ¡°Light Severing Sword!¡± An innumerable amount of light element began to form a sword resembling a ray of light and faced the wall of fire head on. Light Severing Sword¡¯s might is not inferior to that of Raging Inferno, but my magic power was inferior compared to Hai Ri¡¯s. Therefore, my Light Severing Sword naturally was suppressed by Raging Inferno. However, Raging Inferno¡¯s advance had also been suppressed. The only thing I could do was slowly advance. When I came into contact with the spell, I became aware of the unexpectedly large gap in power between me and Hai Ri. It took all my might to gather enough light element to barely withstand it. I silently prayed to my heart, ¡°Light element uncle and auntie, can you help me? I can¡¯t endure much longer.¡± My forehead is already soaked with sweat. Hai Ri¡¯s wall of fire is only five meters away from me. Looking at Hai Ri¡¯s appearance, it seems like he still has a lot of power left over. The light element had understood my prayers. They gathered together at a slightly increased speed. The magic power¡¯s gathering speed gradually gave me an advantage. Although the light element¡¯s output is greater, the period of time that I had to endure greatly extended. Right now, Hai Ri was surprised. He had not assumed that my magic was so strong. Being able to withstand this attack this long is already pretty good. Right now he felt that maintaining Raging Inferno¡¯s attack has begun to cost a great deal of power. That¡¯s why my magic power could still unexpectedly endure. ¡°Fine! It seems that you can still endure. Then I¡¯ll let you see my true strength! Fire element! Ignite! Let your endless, raging flames burn!¡± This is a fire amplification spell! Even though I don¡¯t know its name, I know it¡¯s definitely nothing good. Actually Hai Ri was forced to use it, because he felt that he could not maintain Raging Inferno much longer. Had he not increased his power, I could have turned it around. Raging Inferno combined with the auxiliary spell, and I immediately felt twice the pressure. The wall of fire rapidly advanced and was right at my side. I¡¯m feel like I¡¯m on the brink of death! I can¡¯t hold on much longer. My body¡¯s light prism shield slowed down the firewall¡¯s advance. Even so, it still pressed forward centimeter by centimeter. Blood slowly dripped off of the corner of my mouth. I¡¯m already on the brink of collapsing. This damned Hai Ri. You said you had control yet you chose not to hold back. Hai Ri saw me continue to endure and pressed what meager magic power I had left against the Raging Inferno. I was sent flying, knocking heavily against the defensive boundary. The Raging Inferno had also scattered apart. ¡°How¡¯s that, Brat? Are you not satisfied? Haha!¡± Said Hai Ri while proudly panting with a smile. ¡°Humph! Are you any better than me? What so great about you?¡± A part of me was not convinced. Seeing Hai Ri proud appearance made my heart feel¡­ However Hai Ri is truly stronger than me. Were it not for me being able to gather magic power faster, I would have definitely lost earlier. ¡°Well what? You aren¡¯t convinced? Don¡¯t try to make excuses. If you lose, you lose.¡± How infuriating! Ah right, I still have Xiao Jin. Doesn¡¯t he still have power? Hehe. However, I did not think this through and made the first mistake of my life. It was a deadly error and had nearly doomed Xiao Jin. ¡°Hear my name, come forth and appear, Xiao Jin.¡± Along with my summons, a white light flashed and Xiao Jin appeared in front of me. It was swaying back and forth as if it didn¡¯t know what was going on. It seems that just a moment ago it had been deeply sleeping. (Young magical beasts generally sleep in their master¡¯s body. Without a master¡¯s summon, it wouldn¡¯t wake up.) ¡°Xiao Jin, hurry, attack that guy.¡± I used my mind to give Xiao Jin an attack command. Xiao Jin first looked at Hai Ri, then immediately shot a light arrow at him. Hai Ri was hit head on. Right now, he also doesn¡¯t have any magic power. He painfully said, ¡°You brat, you still have a magic beast! I also have one.¡± Hai Ri reluctantly used a wind spell on himself to dodge and summoned his magical beast. Ah! It¡¯s a Red Fire Tiger. How powerful! It looks like it should be about a 6th rank magical beast. Not good. As it turns out, he has a magical beast too (almost everyone has one, idiot!)! I must summon Xiao Jin back at once. Just as I thought of returning Xiao Jin, something strange had occurred. Volume 2: Chapter 15 Xiao Jins Death Volume 2: Chapter 15 ¨C Xiao Jin¡¯s Death Hai Ri¡¯s red tiger looked to the sky and roared. Like a red arrow, it charged at Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin was slightly scared and cast Light Shield on himself. After that, he continuously cast Light Arrows in an attempt to stop the red tiger¡¯s advance. Not good. I immediately felt that Xiao Jin was in danger and I had also felt his fear. ¡°Xiao Jin, return.¡± I had wanted to recall Xiao Jin, but it was already too late. Xiao Jin¡¯s light arrows were like a mere itch to the red tiger. The red tiger simply didn¡¯t pay any attention to them. At this moment, Xiao Jin heard my command to retreat back into my body. However, the red tiger denied him the opportunity. When he tried to come back, the red tiger had already cast a ring of fire around Xiao Jin, preventing his escape. The red tiger ruthlessly pounced towards Xiao Jin and cast three intermediate fire spells in succession. Seeing Xiao Jin in danger made me realize for the first time how important Xiao Jin was to me. Even though the period of time we spent together were only a few months, he already felt like family to me. ¡°No!¡± I wildly roared. I gathered my remaining magic power and cast a Light Prism Shield on Xiao Jin. But with such little magic power, would it be of any effect? Right at that moment, Hai Ri also noticed his red tiger¡¯s anomaly. ¡°Hong, return. It¡¯s over.¡± He promptly tried to call back the red tiger. The red tiger became sluggish for a moment, but continued charging Xiao Jin without the slightest hesitation. The red tiger¡¯s fire magic ruthlessly charged towards my Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin issued out a tender lament before being engulfed by the flame. ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± I cried out with a broken heart. But what was the use? All of the people watching in the surroundings were shocked, they didn¡¯t expect that this exchange of pointers would result in a slaughter. ¡°Boss.¡± Because he was no longer stunned and seeing my danger, Ma Ke immediately threw himself upon the red tiger. But when all was said and done, he was already too late. Xiao Jin had already been swallowed by the blaze. ¡°Hai Ri, you¡¯re too cruel! Although I chased after your younger sister, you didn¡¯t need to go to this extent!¡± Ma Ke furiously said to Hai Ri. ¡°No, it¡¯s not me! Hong Hong, wouldn¡¯t listen to me! Hong Hong, quickly return.¡± Maybe the red tiger felt that Xiao Jin already died, so he obediently returned to Hai Ri¡¯s body. Everyone became dumbstruck because they all knew what a magical beast meant to its master. The death of a magical beast has an incomparable impact on its master. I threw up another mouthful of blood. My sight became dark, then I fell unconscious. ¡­¡­ ¡°Xiao Jin, Xiao Jin, don¡¯t die!¡± I was awakened by a nightmare. There were many people at my side. My expression had already become lifeless. ¡°Xiao Jin. Where is Xiao Jin? Quickly return my Xiao Jin.¡± I faced the surrounding people and helplessly said. ¡°Boss, don¡¯t feel sad. Xiao Jin, he already¡­.¡± Ma Ke lowered his head as he said this. ¡®No! Xiao Jin wouldn¡¯t die! He can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Your magical beast is a growth type. It¡¯s my fault for dispatching Hong. A ranked type magical beast would immediately attack any growth type magical beast it meets.¡± Right now, Hai Ri wasn¡¯t arrogant at all. He lowered his arrogant head. I turned my head to look at Hai Ri. ¡°You! It¡¯s you! You return my Xiao Jin!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t want it to be like this. Take care of yourself properly. If you need anything in the future, don¡¯t hesitate to tell me.¡± Hai Ri turned his head and said to Hai Yue: ¡°Little sister, let¡¯s go.¡± Hai Yue also walked over: ¡°This is all our fault, we shouldn¡¯t have forced you to exchange pointers. We will try to compensate you to our greatest extent. My condolences for your loss.¡± Even Hai Yue¡¯s tender voice couldn¡¯t touch my sorrowful heart. I emotionally roared at her: ¡°Compensate? How could you possibly compensate? Are you saying you can make my Xiao Jin come back to life? That is a life! That¡¯s an adorable and small life.¡± Uncontrollably, tears fell from my eyes. ¡°Boss, don¡¯t be like this.¡± Ma Ke didn¡¯t know fear, he still defended Hai Yu from my sorrowful self. ¡°You! You only know how to chase after girls! Isn¡¯t it your fault that my Xiao Jin died! Xiao Jin. What about Xiao Jin! Where¡¯s Xiao Jin?¡± The current me was already beginning to lose control of myself. Ma Ke didn¡¯t dare to say anything. He held up a big sack and gave it to me. I untied the sack. The originally snow white Xiao Jin now has eighty percent of his body scorched black. Only his body¡¯s gold stripe is faintly discernible. ¡°Xiao Jin. sob sob¡± Bitterly, I began crying. ¡°Boss, don¡¯t be like this.¡± ¡°Get lost! Get lost all of you! I don¡¯t want to see anyone!¡± After seeing me go out of control, everyone somberly lowered their heads and left the room one by one. Green Hair and the two roommates I¡¯m not familiar with had also left. The only one left was me. I began to gather magic power with all my might and cast an Elemental Spirit Restoration spell on Xiao Jin. Bathed in light elements, Xiao Jin¡¯s body eventually returned to a snow white color. However, I knew this wouldn¡¯t bring him back to life. ¡°What you are doing won¡¯t work.. It¡¯s useless.¡± My ear heard a strange yet familiar voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you all to get lost! Why haven¡¯t you left yet? I don¡¯t need you all to look after me!¡± I emotionally clamored. ¡°Even if I can save your magical beast? You still don¡¯t need me here?¡± ¡°What?¡± My whole body began shaking. I quickly shook my head. So it¡¯s him! Volume 2: Chapter 16 Sharing Life Volume 2: Chapter 16 ¨C Sharing Life The white robed old mage walked in front of me and stroked my head. ¡°Foolish child, don¡¯t feel too sad. Let me take a look at your magic beast. Perhaps I can still save him.¡± ¡°Really? Here.¡± I am hopeful. You finally came to my side. I immediately handed Xiao Jin over. ¡°No matter what, you must bring him back to life. All I want is for Xiao Jin to come back to life, I don¡¯t want anything else. Please, I beg you.¡± I grabbed the old mage¡¯s hand, pleading helplessly. The old mage didn¡¯t reply. He put his hand on Xiao Jin¡¯s body and slowly emitted a white radiance. It wasn¡¯t blinding but very gentle. A moment later, the white radiance enveloped Xiao Jin¡¯s body. It looked like my spiritual recovery spell, but there seemed to be something different. After an arduous meal, I anxiously waited. The old mage took his hand off Xiao Jin¡¯s body and sighed. I immediately felt my hopes drop into the abyss, ¡°Is it not possible? Is there no hope to bring him back to life?¡± I impatiently asked. ¡°Child. Don¡¯t worry. Listen to me. Your magical beast is the best growth type magical beast that I¡¯ve ever seen. If you didn¡¯t think he could not defend himself, would you have sent him out? Could it be that your previous teacher did not tell you?¡± I shamefully lowered my head, ¡°He told me. I¡­ I was too excited at the time and I had forgotten.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself. Instead, you should take responsibility for the misfortunes you have brought upon yourself.¡± ¡°Then can we still save Xiao Jin?¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. It will depend on you.¡± The old mage meaningfully looked at me. ¡°Me!? Then quickly tell me what I need to do.¡± ¡°Currently, the circumstances are as such. Just a moment ago, I examined your magic beast, his injuries have already been healed by your spirit recovery spell. However, he exhausted his life energy upon receiving Hai Ri¡¯s magical beast¡¯s final attack. The main problem is how to provide enough life energy to sustain him and wake his consciousness.¡± As soon as I saw the old mage stopped speaking, I quickly interrupted, ¡°Then what must I do?¡± ¡°Before I tell you, I must first ask you a question.¡± ¡°Ask.¡± ¡°Do you love your magical beast?¡± ¡°Of course I love him. He¡¯s like family to me.¡± When I said it, my eyes were red. ¡°Good. Then are you willing to give him everything, even your own life?¡± Without the slightest hesitation, I said, ¡°I am willing. So long as he can live, I am willing to do anything.¡± Looking at my unwavering expression, the old mage revealed a hint of an approving smile. ¡°Good. Very good. In order to resurrect him, you must give him life energy. That is why you must be willing to divide your own and share it with him. Putting it in a different way, he will become a part of your body. Then by using your life energy, you will wake his consciousness. This is something only you can do.¡± ¡°Divide my life energy and share it with him? How do I do that? Will there be any consequences in the future?¡± ¡°If you succeed, there are several things that I can determine. First, in the future it will not be possible for you to have any other magical beasts. Second, his life will be linked to yours. If you die, he will certainly die as well. And third.¡± The old mage paused for a moment. ¡°Your life energy will be halved.¡± ¡°Halved? I understand the first two. But what do mean by halved? Is there really such a cost?¡± ¡°In other words, if your lifespan was originally a hundred and twenty years (the average human lifespan) and you were to give him your life energy, your lifespan will reduce to sixty years. Are you willing to use sixty years of your life in order to resurrect him?¡± I took a quick look at Xiao Jin. His body was still so very white, but his golden stripe had already begun to lose its former luster. I stroked his head. With a resolute determination, I answered, ¡°I am willing.¡± From this moment on, the Child of Light and his lifelong companion and comrade-in-arms entered an eternal, everlasting contract. ¡°Good child, you don¡¯t disappoint!¡± The old mage exclaimed. ¡°Be at ease. In the future, I will do my utmost to find a way to restore your life energy. But for now, let us begin.¡± I nodded. We went to a small, uninhabited room in the academy. Then the old mage created a strong, solid barrier outside. ¡°We are starting.¡± I nodded towards him. I carried Xiao Jin to the hexagram in the middle of the room. Carefully, I placed Xiao Jin at the center of the hexagram and gave him an affectionate glance. Then I raised my arms to either side of my body to the height of my head and began to chant a spell that I would only cast once in my life, Sharing Life. The old mage said this was an ancient spell he found in a ruin, carved upon a stone tablet. He never used it before and didn¡¯t know what would occur as a result. However, he did not know that this spell¡¯s use would someday be of great assistance to me when I became a Grand Magister in the future. This is because the use of this spell allowed me to comprehend the true nature of light element. That is: Love and Self Sacrifice. ¡°Oh, Great God of creation! I humbly request your aid. Use your endless strength to open my life¡¯s origin. I desire to take part in an eternal, everlasting contract with the creature before you. A contract to share my life!¡± Following the completion of my chant, my body began to emit a white radiance. It began gently and gradually grew brighter, until finally the white light had enveloped my body. The white radiance with gradual intensity changed to gold. Currently, I looked like a small star. At the golden radiance¡¯s strongest moment, my Upper Dantian emitted a golden light towards Xiao Jin. Below the golden light, Xiao Jin¡¯s body gradually faded. Afterwards, the golden light fused into a ball and slowly floated off the ground. After a sudden whoosh, it went from my Upper Dantian and into my body. The light that surrounded my body gradually faded away. I felt abnormally weak but at the same time I felt Xiao Jin¡¯s existence. I softly called out to him in my thoughts, ¡°Xiao Jin, you came back.¡± The ball of golden light that entered my body trembled for a moment. Then from the center of the golden light arrived a burst of warm thoughts. I know for certain, I succeeded. My Xiao Jin ¡ª He came back. With peace of heart, I closed my eyes and lost consciousness. Volume 2: Chapter 17 Becoming a Disciple Volume 2: Chapter 17 ¨C Becoming a Disciple When I awakened once again, I found myself within a very simple and unadorned bedroom. Where am I? Xiao Jin, how is Xiao Jin? Immediately, I looked within myself. Fortunately, although Xiao Jin seems to be fast asleep, I can still sense his lively life energy. My Xiao Jin, at last, you are alive again. Unconsciously, my tears began to flow. Right now I felt my heart at ease. In regards to losing half of my life energy, I didn¡¯t care at all. From the door came a sound. The old mage walked in. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°Yes! Where is this place?¡± ¡°This is my bedroom. You can feel at ease here and cultivate. You must be hungry right now, I¡¯ll go and get you something to eat. ¡°Thank you.¡± From my heart, I truly felt grateful to this old mage. Without him, Xiao Jin wouldn¡¯t have been able to return to my side. After a while, the old mage brought a lot of food in. I wolfed down my food until I was full. My mood was great, so naturally my appetite is also great. The food was very appetizing. Hehe. ¡°Eat slower, otherwise you¡¯ll choke.¡± ¡°How long have I been asleep?¡± ¡°Seven days.¡± ¡°Ah! That long!?¡± I said in astonishment. ¡°This is still very fast. You¡¯re magic studies is very strong, according to my estimations you should have needed 10 days to wake up.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why I¡¯m so hungry! It turns out I slept so long. Oh right, I still don¡¯t know your name!¡± ¡°My name is Lao Lun Di.¡± ¡°My name is Zhang Gong Wei.¡± ¡°I want to ask you something again. Would you like to take me as your master and inherit my light magic as my legacy?¡± The old mage raised an old topic. I thought about it for a bit. ¡°I am willing.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t help you save your magical beast to blackmail you. You must think about this clearly. I hope you will do this voluntarily.¡± ¡°Teacher Di, I am doing this voluntarily. I feel that you are very powerful. I wish to study under you. I have understood from this time¡¯s lesson that my strength is truly weak. I desire to become strong.¡± ¡°Then why do you want to become strong?¡± Teacher Di asked me with great interest. ¡°I want to rely on my own strength to protect my family and my friends.¡± I resolutely replied. ¡°Very good. I will accept you as my disciple. You are my sole disciple as well as my last.¡± ¡°What kind of strength do you possess to not have a disciple?¡± Baffled, I asked. Teacher Di sighed. ¡°Currently, there are very few people who wish to learn light magic. And those that wish to and have the talent are ever rarer. This is the reason that I wish to receive you as a disciple.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t you need to test me? I heard from my previous teacher that all of the powerful mages require their disciples to pass many tests before they would be accepted.¡± ¡°Foolish child, the previous event with your magical beast is already the best ordeal to test you with.¡± ¡°Thank you. Teacher, I will definitely earnestly study magic under you in the future. In the past I was very lazy, but this time¡¯s bloody lesson has awakened me. It is only with strength that one can protect others as well as themselves.¡± ¡°Your way of thinking is very good. Almost like a small adult.¡± Teacher Di couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Teacher, when will we begin studying?¡± ¡°Look at you being so anxious, it seems you really want to immediately begin improving yourself. Actually, I want to start even more than you, but I have one request. That is for you to become a legendary Grand Magister.¡± Teacher Di seriously said. ¡°You can be at ease, I will definitely become a Grand Magister.¡± I issued out an oath. ¡°Oh that¡¯s right! Teacher, I haven¡¯t attended class is so many days, what am I going to do?¡± ¡°You can rest assured, I have given you a leave of absence. You can be at ease and rest here.¡± ¡°The academy is actually so kind?¡± I can¡¯t help but have some doubts. ¡°I forget to tell you, I am the headmaster of the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. Hehe.¡± Teacher Di revealed a devious smile. ¡°What?¡± I was obviously stupefied by this information. ¡°Then what mage rank are you?¡± ¡°Magister. I¡¯m also the honorary vice-president of the Magic Union. How about that, am I capable of being your teacher?¡± ¡°Wow! You¡¯re so powerful! You¡¯re one of the top ten Magisters in the continent!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Within the top ten mages, I am ranked number 4.¡± Evidently, Teacher Di said this with some regret. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be disappointed. You¡¯re already so strong. What¡¯s more, although you¡¯re only ranked fourth, in the future you will have the number one student in the continent. You¡¯ll have so much honor and glory. Hehe.¡± ¡°The number one student in the whole continent? Who is that?¡± Obviously he still hasn¡¯t reacted properly. I pointed at my own nose, ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Teacher Di suddenly hit me, exposing a chestnut sized bruise. ¡°You brat, you¡¯re really thick skinned! You must put forth great effort for me. My education is very strict, you better not let me lose face, or else, hehe¡­..¡± Although I haven¡¯t begun studying magic under him, I could already sense that Teacher Di is a very benevolent and humorous senior. He wouldn¡¯t teach me like the Old Devil. I earnestly stood up. ¡°You can be reassured that I absolutely won¡¯t let you lose face!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to attend class at the academy anymore, I have already told your teachers. From now on you will live here. I will teach you magic by myself. For this time¡¯s affair, you must not blame Hai Ri. He also couldn¡¯t control the situation. Moreover, I hope you won¡¯t tell others about resurrecting your magical beast, but instead it would be better to let them believe that Xiao Jin is dead. Wait until he can defend himself before you reveal him.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Jin didn¡¯t die, so I don¡¯t blame Hai Ri anymore. If I really wanted to blame someone, then I ought to blame myself. It was me who summoned Xiao Jin after all! ¡°You rest here properly then. Currently your body is still extremely weak. After all, you have already spent half of your life energy. I have already used advanced light magic to treat you, but it doesn¡¯t seem to have much effect. Perhaps I am treating the wrong illness. Even I don¡¯t know what residual effects will be left by the spell you used this time.¡± Teacher Di said somewhat sadly. ¡°Teacher, it doesn¡¯t matter. This is what I did voluntarily. I will assume responsibility for any matters in the future.¡± I said to console him. ¡°Zhang Gong, you truly are a good child. How come light element constantly assembles towards when you¡¯re sleeping? The speed is also very astonishing.¡± After hearing teacher ask this, I felt somewhat embarrassed. I explained to him from start to finish about my lying down meditation. ¡°Foolish child, I don¡¯t know whether to call you a genius or to call you a lazy slob. I didn¡¯t expect that would¡¯ve accidentally obtained the light element¡¯s approval. I only obtained this when I was 60 years old!¡± I could only giggle in return. Volume 2: Chapter 18 Magic Power Compression Volume 2: Chapter 18 ¨C Magic Power Compression After about a month of rest, my body finally recovered to its original state. ¡°Zhang Gong, You¡¯ve just about fully recovered. Today we¡¯re going to start class.¡± ¡°Alright. Teacher Di, what do you want to teach me?¡± ¡°First, I want to see what level of magic you are currently at. I want to teach in alignment with your level.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what level I am anymore.¡± ¡°What level can your magic power reach when you meditate?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t made any progress with my magic power for a long time. Right now, I feel like my magic power has already reached a bottleneck. No matter what I¡¯ve tried, I can¡¯t break through this bottleneck.¡± ¡°Then your magic power should be at the level of an intermediate mage. Not bad. Do you know why your magic power is incapable of progressing?¡± Teacher Di asked with a smile. I scratched my head puzzlingly. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you an analogy. How much water and air can one bottle hold?¡± ¡°Depends on how big the bottle is.¡± Teacher Di had asked what seemed to be an idiotic question. ¡°Then can a similar bottle hold the same amount of air and water?¡± ¡°Of course. It has the same amount of space. It just holds different things.¡± Even this genius couldn¡¯t grasp such a simple riddle. Teacher Di nodded with approval, ¡°You are correct. Similar bottles can hold the same amount of air and water. But if you take the water and turn it into steam, can the bottle still hold the same amount?¡± Right then I had seemed to understand, but Teacher Di¡¯s words were still a bit vague. Teacher Di saw me fall into a state of contemplation so he didn¡¯t disturb me. ¡°Good. This is the subject of today¡¯s class and tonight¡¯s homework assignment. Think about it thoroughly. The question I just asked is related to your bottleneck. Magic knowledge is mainly something that should be comprehended by one¡¯s self. That is why a master¡¯s closed door cultivation is an individual effort. How much you can learn will depend on yourself. I will leave first. This semester still has two months left. You will be train here with me for a month. After that, you will return and attend class with everyone else. The main purpose of the training that I¡¯ve given you is to allow you to participate in the magic academy¡¯s end of semester tournament. ¡°Ah! Participate in the tournament? Teacher Di, am I capable enough?¡± After having experienced Hai Ri¡¯s magic, I had lost confidence in myself. ¡°How are you not? You are my disciple after all. You mustn¡¯t let me lose face. Be sure to practice diligently.¡± Teacher Di turned around wanting to leave. ¡°Is it possible to not participate in this tournament, teacher?¡± ¡°That is of course out of the question. This competition is the end of semester final exam that every student must take. If your grades are too low, then you might have to repeat the year.¡± Humph! This brat wants to be lazy. Don¡¯t bother asking. As if I would change school rules for you. Seeing Teacher Di¡¯s slightly sinister smile, I became aware that it looked like I was scheming. In any case, I also wanted to start diligently practice magic. When the moment comes, I will ask him again. Teacher Di left after I had started to think about what he assigned me for homework. Water¡­ Steam¡­ Air¡­ Bottle¡­ What do they have to do with each other? Steam can turn into water. A bottle can only hold so much water (I pretended a bottle was in my hand). Similarly, a bottle can only hold so much steam. If the steam becomes water¡­. Ah! I understand now, so it is like that. Then I shall explain. Let¡¯s say I was a bottle and steam was my current magic power. My magic power is already incapable of growing inside the bottle. But if magic power is like steam, then I can condense it into water and hold more magic power. Yea!!!! I¡¯m far too smart. After I understood, I felt as if I could break through. Good, I¡¯ll try it now. I began to meditate. No, I didn¡¯t sleep this time. I retained awareness of the magic power within me. I suddenly began to think about that one question. How do I compress my magic power? No matter, it will come to me. I used my spiritual power to grasp the magical power within my body and separated about a fifth of it. The rest of the magic power scattered throughout my body. This one fifth of magic power gathered to my upper dantian (also between the eyebrows). I began to use my spiritual power in an attempt to compress it. How difficult. It¡¯s almost as if it doesn¡¯t want to compress, opposing me with all it¡¯s might. Why does it not reduce in size? What sort of problem is this? I said to the light element within me, ¡°Elders, uncles and aunties, you are so far away from each other. Everyone is so lively together. Quick, won¡¯t you help me? Is it alright if you come closer to each other? The light element inside my body seemed to have understood my words. They began to gradually compress, slowly taking the shape of a small sphere of light. It was about one fifth of its original size. Success! I succeeded. After the successful compression, the light element made me unusually excited. Then I immediately entered the land of dreams. (The compression of magic elements consumes an exceptional amount of spiritual energy. My spiritual energy had been stretched to its limit. I could not persevere and naturally fell asleep.) The morning of the second day, I went to the same place, I felt that the light element within me was much richer than before. The high purity sphere of light that I compressed yesterday still resided in my upper dantian and space that I manipulated already replenished by itself. (My sleep meditation skill has reached the point of perfection, hehe.) Yes, this kind of feeling isn¡¯t bad at all. Teacher Di pushed the door and entered. He did not speak, he only stared at my face. His jaw gradually dropped. After a while, I met his blank stare. ¡°Teacher Di , What happened? Why have you been staring at me for so long?¡± I hesitantly asked. ¡°Zhang Gong, you truly don¡¯t disappoint! Out of all the people I¡¯ve known, you were the quickest to comprehend the method of compressing magic power. Not only that but you are still so young. Your future potential is immeasurable. Hahahaha! I picked up such a genius, Oh Yes!!¡± Teacher Di had unexpected acted like a child, jumping in excitement. ¡°Huh? What? How did you know I understood the method to compress my magic power?¡± I asked bafflingly. ¡°Fool. Just look in a mirror and you¡¯d already know why.¡± ¡°Ah. Really? I¡¯ll take a look.¡± I walked in front of a mirror and I was slightly stunned at myself. This is me? Although my previous complexion was quite good, compared with now, it was entirely different. There a layer of gentle luster on top of my face. The skin below had a wandering brilliance, like that of polished jade. How awesome¡­ ¡°Teacher Di, How did this happen!?¡± Volume 2: Chapter 19 The First Gold Dan Volume 2: Chapter 19 ¨C The First Gold Dan ¡°This is because you have grasped the method to compress magic. Light element has started to transform your body. In addition, your appearance will make this more and more obvious. According to the study of magic, those who study different elements would have different types of bodies. To demonstrate this, the color that one emits all differ. For example, a fire mage would be red. A water mage would be blue. An earth mage would be yellow. A wind mage would be cyan. And of course light mages such as us are white. When your whole body becomes surrounded with white light, you would have succeeded in compressing all of your magic power. Whenever such a person appears, the magic union pays close attention and in addition they would request such an individual to come in and test their rank. I believe that you are capable of being the youngest to be able to achieve this. You turn eleven years old this year?¡± Teacher Di gratifying said. ¡°That¡¯s right. This year I turn eleven. How about Teacher Di?¡± ¡°Do you know what age this teacher completed the compression of his magic power? I was twenty six years old that year. At the time, I had shook the entire nation. Aside from the continent¡¯s rank one spatial magister, Di Nuo Lun, I had been the fastest. He took the title of fastest, as he completed his magic power compression at the age of 20. ¡° ¡°Then why am I capable of completing it so fast?¡± Since it turned out to be so difficult. ¡°I don¡¯t really understand why either. It might be because you¡¯re already acknowledged by the light elements.¡± ¡°How long does it take to completely compress light element magic power?¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be said precisely. Compression of magic power is generally very hard in the beginning. It is necessary for one to comprehend this on their own. Therefore I didn¡¯t teach you. After comprehending, the speed would be very quick. If you put in great effort, you ought to be able to complete it in a month.¡± ¡°Teacher Di, then after I finish compressing won¡¯t I be called a freak since light element gathers around me all day?¡± I don¡¯t want to be considered a freak. ¡°Be at ease, that won¡¯t happen. After completely compressing you magic power, its state will return to be like before you began compressing magic power. Which is what it appears like now.¡± Teacher Di said with a smile. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s good then. Teacher Di, will I be taking the Mage Union¡¯s exam?¡± Teacher Di thought for a moment. ¡°It would be best to not do it right now because your magic application skills are still very weak. Moreover, if you took the Mage Union¡¯s exam you will become quite famous. That would be very tiring. I was hoping you would be able to steadily practice magic properly. You must understand, if you completely compress your magic power, your strength will approach that of a magic scholar¡¯s. A child of about ten years of age reaching this level would cause a sensation throughout the kingdom.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t want to be famous.¡± Recalling the scene when I first achieved first place during the entrance exams still instills fear in me. (But how would I know that in the future I would become the most famous figure in the whole continent.) ¡°Your assignment for this month is to compress your magic power. When you return to class, you mustn¡¯t let others know about this. After you finish compressing your magic power, I¡¯ll begin teaching you some applications for magic. You should be able to use them throughout the competition.¡± Teacher Di paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Originally, I didn¡¯t expect you to comprehend the method to compress magic power so quickly. I think I¡¯ll start with teaching you how to write some magic applications. I didn¡¯t expect to have to teach a genius. Even a student can be so talented.¡± Wow! No way. To my surprise, he¡¯s even more arrogant than me. He¡¯s worthy of being my master. One word: admiration. ¡°Master, that genius sure seems like it¡¯s me.¡± I cautiously asked. Unexpectedly, Teacher Di¡¯s expression was exceptionally intense. ¡°What? You brat, if not for my pure and honest invitation and my careful guidance, would you be able to comprehend so quickly? You¡­ You, you truly infuriate me.¡± After hearing my words, he immediately blew at his mustache and stared at me. ¡°Yes, it was thanks to your guidance, your good guidance.¡± For the sake of my future life, I had no choice but to comfort this old man. If I don¡¯t, he would tell me a story like yesterday. What so good about them anyways? Humph ¡°This is good enough. You go and diligently meditate now. I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± As I watched Teacher Di¡¯s silhouette leaving with some anger left, I felt helpless. I¡¯ll stop caring about him and just go and meditate instead. Actually, generally speaking Teacher Di is really quite good. At the very least, he won¡¯t punish me. He would just make me think about it by myself. I sat cross-legged on my bed and dismissed all of my distracting thoughts. I willed a portion of the gaseous light element within my body to split. And then within my upper dantian, I began to compress it into a solid sphere of light element. I slowly relaxed. Relying only on my spiritual consciousness, I drove the light elements to assemble together. The gaseous light elements and the already solid light elements fused. Not bad. The result is very good. My spiritual force still hasn¡¯t been completely depleted. I¡¯ll do this for a bit more. Once again, I inputted a bit of gaseous light element and used the same method as before to gather them together. The sphere of light element is a bit bigger than yesterday¡¯s. Well then, it¡¯s time to sleep. I¡¯m so tired that I feel like I¡¯m dying. So it¡¯s like this. Every day besides eating and using the toilet, I would be condensing these light elements. When my spiritual strength was depleted, I would go to sleep. (I would automatically meditate) After waking up, my gaseous light elements would definitely be replenished. Then I would continue condensing. As the solid sphere of light element of light element grew larger and larger, my outer layer of white radiance also grew more and more intense. Everyday Teacher Di would examine me when he came by to deliver food, but he wouldn¡¯t disturb me at all. This kind of peaceful environment is definitely the best for meditation. Thanks to me having received the acknowledgement of the light elements and me unwittingly comprehending the true meaning of light, my light element gathering speed was simply astonishing. Finally, the most crucial moment had arrived. The light element within me has already completely compressed into a solid state successfully. Right now I felt like I am a part of the light element. My whole body is almost like it¡¯s composed of only light element. The light element within my body passed on the feeling of their joyful mood. I sense that they have begun to change. Unexpectedly, the seemingly solid sphere of light element began to slowly squirm. Originally it felt very stiff, but now it¡¯s gradually softening. Furthermore, it began to circulate within my body and its color seemed to be getting brighter and brighter. No, this isn¡¯t right. The color is beginning to change. What was originally white light element had become golden. However, the volume of the sphere became smaller and smaller. Finally, it became like a golden brook circulating within my meridians seven times before turning into a small gold dan within my upper dantian. If there was anyone watching me right now, they would discover that my whole body¡¯s white radiance would be spilling out of my body. I felt my whole body brimming with warm breath. I tried to absorb light element, but not matter what, I was unable to. Why can¡¯t I? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ this is another bottleneck? Not only did I felt that my body was not different, but I also felt that within my body, Xiao Jin had also changed. It seems like he has also discovered the change of the light elements within my body. He woke up from a deep sleep and gave me some cheerful news, afterwards he began absorbing the light elements within my body. Following Xiao Jin¡¯s absorption, the gold dan began to circulate within my body. I was able to gather light element once again. It actually turns out that the gold dan is able to absorb energy! What Xiao Jin absorbed is actually the gold dan¡¯s energy. The gold dan is circulating within my body in order to replenish my energy. Volume 2: Chapter 20 Another Evolution Volume 2: Chapter 20 ¨C Another Evolution I don¡¯t know how much time had passed but Xiao Jin seemed to have already reached the limit of how much magic power he could absorb. The golden ball had also returned to its original state and no longer circulated in my upper dantian. I woke up from meditating. Opening my eyes, I saw Teacher Di¡¯s concerned eyes. ¡°Teacher Di, It seems that I have succeeded.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! You already have completed the compression of all of your magic power. Looking solely at your magic power, you can already be considered a magic scholar.¡± Teacher Di said gratifyingly. ¡°Really? Thats amazing.¡± Having my magic power ascend so fast made me extremely excited. ¡°No matter, you still have to diligently practice. Also, Teacher wants to know how you¡¯re feeling right now.¡± First I took a look at myself, the white light surround my body had begun to disappear. My skin was unusually smooth, almost making me want to take bite. ¡°It seems that I have finished compressing my magic power into a small golden ball. Is this correct?¡± ¡°Not bad, not bad, just like that. That small, golden ball is the combined total of your current magical power. In the future, it will greatly aid your magical studies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing. Teacher Di, How am I not a genius? Hehe.¡± I asked proudly. ¡°You smelly brat, don¡¯t be proud so soon. You still have a long way to go. Although you have already compressed your magic power, it still isn¡¯t very stable. Making it stable is a long, demanding process. Don¡¯t believe that just this much could make you a magister. You still have much to learn.¡± In order to make sure I would not grow too arrogant, Teacher Di poured a bucket of water over my head. ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said slightly dissatisfied. ¡°Do you know what a mage¡¯s highest state of magic power is?¡± Teacher Di asked me a question that I¡¯ve never thought about before. It immediately drew my interest. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It is when they have six spheres of magic power. Furthermore for us light mages, they must not only be gold but they must also become transparent. Understand?¡± ¡°A transparent gold? Teacher, what level can your current magic reach?¡± Teacher Di scratched his head troubled and said with slight embarrassment, ¡°Right now I have one transparent, golden magic sphere.¡± ¡°Ah! Your capacity as a magister can only produce one transparent, golden magic sphere?¡± I asked with awe. ¡°Yes! Not only me, but all magisters have only one of such spheres.¡± Saying this he could not help but sigh. ¡°Why is this?¡± ¡°To possess six transparent magic spheres is only something that the Grand Magisters of legends have achieved. Up until now, us old men are still unable to find a means to raise the number of transparent magic spheres we possess. In the future, this is something that you must diligently strive for.¡± Teacher Di meaningfully answered. ¡°Teacher Di, rest assured. I will definitely achieve this.¡± And just like that, the Child of Light had set foot on a lifelong journey to pursue the pinnacle of magic. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Later you will still want to carefully stabilize your magic spheres. You should know that practicing magic is much like rowing a boat upstream. If you stop practicing, you will fall back. Therefore it is necessary to continuously practice. For today, you should rest well. Tomorrow, I will teach you a few magic applications. After that, you will be returning to your regular classes, preparing for the end of term competition.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± In any case, I will complete this formidable training. But the thing I am currently thinking about the most is wanting to eat a whole lot. Teacher Di had sealed me away for a period of closed door training. That is why all I could tell him was how much I wanted to eat. After listening to my menu, Teacher Di could only think that I was a pig. Hehe, I don¡¯t want much. I only to wanted to feast on a banquet¡¯s worth of food, nothing more. What so surprising? Everyone¡¯s at their growing age right now after all. ¡°Teacher Di, Do you know what my nickname at the academy is?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The White Rice Bucket, hehe.¡± I said with a shady smile. ¡°You, You, You truly make us light mages lose face!¡± He immediately scowled at me, puffing his mustache. Although Teacher Di didn¡¯t let me eat as much as I had wanted, he still gave me enough food to satisfy my ¡°small¡± desires. Done eating, done drinking. What else would you want to do? I don¡¯t know about others, but for me, I obviously sleep. This is definitely the best way to digest food! (Don¡¯t learn from me, children! My digestive capabilities are quite powerful, hehe. ) When I woke up, the sky was still dark. Apparently it¡¯s still very early, my whole body felt very relaxed. What should I be concerned with right now? Xiao Jin seems to have evolved. Ever since last time¡­. I still haven¡¯t seen him. I¡¯ll let him come out and play. I had learned from last time. I made sure the window curtains were closed and the door was locked. Only after I checked the room for any vulnerabilities did I summon Xiao Jin, ¡°Xiao Jin, here my name, come out in front of me.¡± A golden light had flashed before my eyes and a strange thing had appeared before me. Not only that but it had threw itself at me, I was really scared. ¡°Wo. What this?¡± I teleported to the side. This strange thing looked like it had been wronged. I felt a voice speak to me from within my mind. ¡°It¡¯s me, Master. It¡¯s your Xiao Jin, ah.¡± Ah! Xiao Jin can speak!? I carefully examined the strange creature before me. It looks to be a large golden python, about 6 meters long. On top of his head were two small, adorable golden horns. Its body from head to toe had fine golden scales. Looking at those two small golden horns, it vaguely resembled Xiao Jin¡¯s appearance. ¡°You¡¯re Xiao Jin?¡± I hesitantly asked. He seemed to understand what I said and nodded at me. ¡°Xiao Jin, you¡¯ve changed so much. Weren¡¯t you originally white?¡± I asked with doubt. ¡°Master, it¡¯s because your magic had greatly improved. We are currently linked as one. With your progress, it¡¯s only natural that I evolve. Master, could it be you don¡¯t want me anymore?¡± I heard from the strange voice from within my mind. It really is Xiao Jin. I threw myself at him and hugged his large head. ¡°Xiao Jin, there¡¯s nothing wrong with you. I missed you very much.¡± Xiao Jin had a very emotional appearance and used his long and thick ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã) body to coil around me. His smooth scales softly surrounded me and his warm feelings spread throughout my body. Volume 2: Chapter 21 Meeting Ma Ke Again Volume 2: Chapter 21 ¨C Meeting Ma Ke Again I lightly caressed Xiao Jin, huh? What¡¯s this? Unexpectedly, I felt what seemed to be a very large protrusion sticking out of his body. I asked Xiao Jin (using telepathy), what is this? Xiao Jin replied that he also didn¡¯t know. Furthermore, that was not the only one. I immediately got away from Xiao Jin¡¯s embrace and carefully observed. Sure enough, below his abdomen were five small protrusions. It seemed as if there were bones sticking out. On top of his back, between his three golden stripes sprouted upward two sheets but they weren¡¯t very distinct. Ah, what¡¯s this? Don¡¯t tell me that Xiao Jin isn¡¯t a serpent? No, I should ask Teacher Di. I continued to play around with Xiao Jin for a while. Seeing the sky quickly brighten, I had Xiao Jin withdraw. Xiao Jin¡¯s progress is amazing. I could feel the strength of his magic power. Not only that, but Xiao Jin seems to still have outstanding changes that I still don¡¯t know about. Also, his abilities have improved accordingly and gained a few unique abilities. As for what they are, even Xiao Jin still doesn¡¯t know. In addition, compared to his previous self, he now provides me with cultivation and I also feel a stronger, more intimate bond with him. With the sky bright, Teacher Di came. ¡°Did you rest well yesterday, Zhang Gong?¡± Teacher Di asked softly, putting down what was in his hand. ¡°Well enough.¡± Delicious, so good, I continued eating. Not taking of notice of Teacher Di, I threw myself into the sea of food. Striving to finish it, ¡°Teacher Di, you¡¯ve brought such delicious food, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°Humph, you¡¯re the kind of brat that only after eating, will you be at your strongest.¡± Teacher Di said with a discontent voice. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Am I not talented at learning magic?¡± I began to employ the spoiled child strategy. (Since I¡¯m still a kid.) ¡°Fine, blow your own trumpet. Whether or not you have talent will depend on today¡¯s performance. There isn¡¯t much time, only seven days. I hope you can learn useful magic in that time. You must take this seriously. ¡° Seeing him speak in earnest, I dare not joke around, ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t gone outside for quite a while. Let¡¯s go outside and have a walk on the grass.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± How refreshing. It¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve had a breath of fresh air. I gave myself a large stretch and breathed deeply. Even if the sunshine outside was a bit dazzling, this feeling is truly comfortable. Teacher also hadn¡¯t disturbed me, letting me have some free time for the moment until I¡¯ve calmed down. ¡°Very well, I am going to start teaching now. First I¡¯m going to give you a lecture on advanced magic theory. Do you know what kind of magic I use at my level?¡± ¡°Do different levels have different methods of using magic? In order to use magic, all you have to do is recite a chant. Is there anything else to it?¡± Teacher Di gave me a tilted glance, ¡°Observe, this is true magic.¡± He waved his hand outwards and white rays of light came out the palm of his hand. Like a sharp blade, they split open the huge rock in front of us. It¡¯s upper half slid to the ground. ¡°What? Is that really magic?! There was no chant. Just a wave of a hand could produce such a result. Teacher Di, how did you do that?¡± ¡°Hehe, this is the strength of a Magister. With my understanding, ordinary spells can become like this. In order to understand magic elements, you must be exceptionally thorough. Therefore, so long as you fully understand an element, it is possible. What I had just used is somewhat similar to a warrior¡¯s Dou Qi slash. In fact, magic and Dou Qi at later levels are to a certain extent quite similar. Later on, you must study well, practice well and strive to the master the method to directly use the elements before you graduate from the academy. But for today what we learn will not be this. This isn¡¯t something that can be easily learned. Only after tempering yourself for a long period of time can you accomplish this. Currently, you only know a few advanced light attack spells. In comparison, defense spells are more important. Wait until the competition is over. Then we will practice the method to control the elements.¡± ¡°Teacher Di, you¡¯re so powerful! So it turns out magic can be used in such a way.¡± I looked at him with an expression of admiration. ¡°Naturally, I am a magister after all! Let¡¯s not talk about these useless things. First, let¡¯s start with learning this spell¡­.¡± ¡­¡­ Seven days had quickly past. Under Teacher Di¡¯s instruction, I truly learned no small amount, especially in regard to my control over magic. With the support of my formidable amount magic power, I made ample progress toward my control of magic. The golden sphere within my body had also stabilized somewhat. I had asked Teacher Di concerning Xiao Jin¡¯s change in body. After thinking about it for a long period of time, he then told me that he had never seen such a magic beast. It is possible that this transformation occurred because I had casted the spell ¡°Sharing Life¡±. Regardless, there is nothing that we can do about this. With this, I had felt relieved. So long as Xiao Jin is alive and well, I don¡¯t care what form he takes. Within these seven days, I¡¯ve received a piece of good news. Teacher Di said that 20 days ago, Ma Ke had been made the direct disciple of the Vice Principal. This time we can both graduate class together at the same time. You should also know that the Vice Principal is also a magister. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll be returning to everyone¡¯s side. When Teacher Di departed today, he reminded me once again to not speak of Xiao Jin¡¯s survival or of me becoming his disciple. Teacher Di sure is an amusing old fellow. His educational method is unusually simple. He just gives you an explanation then lets you go think about it yourself. Or he¡¯ll just give you an incantation and let you go try out the spell yourself. He gives exceptional freedom. Not taking into account his age, he acts like my grandfather, but sometimes he also acts like a child and gets noisy like me. I discovered that I already like this amusing old fellow. ¡­¡­ After entering the classroom, everyone looked towards me with astonished gazes. I didn¡¯t say anything as I went to my seat. ¡°Boss!¡± My ear heard a familiar voice. ¡°Ma Ke.¡± I turned around and replied to my good friend that I haven¡¯t seen in a long time. We fixed our eyes on each other. Afterwards, we tightly embraced each other. Ma Ke whispered into my ear: ¡°Boss, I already know about your matter. Do your best during the competition!¡± ¡°Yes. You too.¡± The bell rung, signaling the start of class. Everyone returned to their seats. In today¡¯s class, the end of term competition rules will be announced. Tomorrow, the preliminary matches will begin. Recalling the objective Teacher Di gave me, I received a headache. Volume 2: Chapter 22 Competition Rules Volume 2: Chapter 22 ¨C Competition Rules The teacher in charge walked over. She glanced at me and gave me a slight smile. ¡°Now then, quiet down students. Due to some special circumstances, Zhang Gong hasn¡¯t been able to attend class. Let us first welcome back Zhang Gong on his safe return.¡± The classroom rang with applause. I stand up and bow towards everybody. ¡°Thank you everyone.¡± ¡°Okay then. I hope Zhang Gong will be able to achieve good results in tomorrow¡¯s competition.¡± I also desire that. This is also the ordeal which I invested so much effort towards, while at the same time, it¡¯s also the mission Teacher Di assigned me. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to complete the mission. ¡°Today, we¡¯re not learning anything new. I¡¯m only going to explain the rules and regulations of the competition. Everybody pay attention. This upcoming competition will be of greatly help to your end of term exams.¡± Due to the fact that first graders don¡¯t need to participate in the end of term competition, this is the first time the second graders will be participating. The teacher began to explain the details of the rules and regulations. Although it¡¯s called a competition, in truth, we just draw lots. It is only a true competition after a genius begins. The competition rules are as follows: 1: The competition is based on the principle of fairness, in order to reflect the student¡¯s magic level. The use of magical beasts is forbidden during the competition. (This part really puts me in an advantageous position, since I don¡¯t dare to use my magical beast.) 2: The competition will be conducted according to grade. Each grade¡¯s competition will be conducted independently. The top 100 students will be free to enjoy their winter vacation, while the students below the 100 will have to study at school until the start of the new term. (I think everyone will do their best now. Hehe.) 3: The matches will be decided by drawing lots. Besides the first time participants, the second graders, the other three grades all have seeded students that can directly enter the grade finals. 4: The competition implements a cycle of drawing lots. First, ten people are divided into a group. In other words, everybody needs to compete in nine matches. According to the number of wins, five people will be able to enter the finals. Then lots will be drawn again to determine knock-out matches, which will be conducted until there is a champion. (However, the preliminary contest is also extremely intense.) 5: Once the match has been stopped, deliberately injuring the opponent will result in disqualification. Being knocked out of the arena, hitting the barrier in the sky and admitting defeat will also be considered a loss. If the winner isn¡¯t determined within the set time frame, the refereeing teacher will determine the outcome. 6: Whoever is the champion or the runner up within a grade is able to challenge the champion or the runner up of a higher grade. If a challenger succeeds, they can directly skip a year. The champion and runner up of the fifth grade is exempt from entrance exams and can directly enter the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. The student who challenges the champion or runner up of the fifth grade and wins will also be able to enjoy these privileges. 7: The champion of the grade will receive an award of 100 diamond coins. A successful challenger will also receive double the award money. After listening to the competition rules, I felt that it was awfully fair. The award money for the champions is truly quite a lot. The grade champion receives 100 diamond coins, that¡¯s equivalent to 10,000 gold coins. If I become the champion, I¡¯ll be able to return home with a nice surprise for mother and father. The teacher talked about some more details of note regarding the competition. She told us that we must strive to do our best during the competition and to fully display the fruits of our learning. We must win honor for class A. If we don¡¯t enter the top 100, winter vacation will definitely turn into the devil¡¯s training punishment and such. After finishing class, while I was still enchanted with the prospects of enjoying all of that money, Ma Ke came over and nudged me. ¡°Boss, what are you thinking about? Everyone else has already left the classroom. Let¡¯s go.¡± I recovered due to this. ¡°Oh. Let¡¯s go.¡± Right after exiting the classroom, I ran into Wo Ke. ¡°Zhang Gong, where have you been running off to lately? You haven¡¯t been attending class at all.¡± Wo Ke asked with a smile as he patted me as if he were an old friend. Was I really this familiar with you?? I thought to myself. ¡°Hey. Last time when I had a match with Hai Ri, my magical beast died. The academy put me on vacation to disperse my distress.¡± I already knew that others would have many questions. I have long since come up with my replies. Hehe. ¡°Oh! Then you were grieving. It sure is a pity that your magical beast died. In the future, you should have another opportunity to find a new magical beast. The competition is tomorrow, so we need to do our best. If happen to encounter me, I won¡¯t start off leniently. I hope that I¡¯ll be able to face you and have a fair contest. Did you know? Last time during your battle with Hai Ri, you persevered for so long. You have already become the pride of the second grade.¡± It turns out that he was afraid of me taking his position as the second grade representative. Fear truly is something to fight over. (Other people aren¡¯t fundamentally as bad as your think.) ¡°Thank you. I will do my best. If I face you, I also won¡¯t be lenient on you.¡± ¡°Then we can do our best together. I¡¯ll be leaving first then.¡± ¡°Boss, is this fellow attempting something?¡± Ma Ke said as he watched the figure of Wo Ke¡¯s back. ¡°I can¡¯t say exactly. His strength is very powerful!¡± However, compared to me there¡¯s still quite a gap. After all, my magic power has already been condensed. Due to this fact, he¡¯s already inferior to me. ¡°Hnggg. I¡¯ll watch and report to you.¡± Ma Ke curled his lips. ¡°No, don¡¯t. Battling him on stage will be fine. Let¡¯s go and eat first then. Afterwards we can go back and have a nice rest. We¡¯ll see if our luck is good or bad when we draw lots tomorrow. After eating dinner, me and Ma Ke encountered a few students on the road to the dorms. It truly is an encounter with enemies on a narrow road. It¡¯s Hai Ri and his younger sister, Hai Yue. I still don¡¯t recognize the others in the higher grades. Hai Ri walked in front of me. He looked at me with his eyes that had a brilliant expression within them. Without yielding a step, I replied by glaring at him. Just a moment ago while we were eating dinner, I heard Ma Ke say that since last time¡¯s affair, Hai Ri has become very low-key. He very rarely shows his face around the academy. Hai Yue is also like this. Ma Ke hasn¡¯t gone to bother Hai Yue at all. He truly is worthy of being acclaimed as my true friend. ¡°Zhang Gong, you have made so much progress. I can¡¯t even see through you anymore. I have come to apologize to you. I¡¯m truly sorry for what happened at that time. Letting your magical beast¡­.¡± I raised my hand, preventing him from continuing his speech. ¡°We will meet on the field. This time I won¡¯t lose to you.¡± After saying this, I pulled Ma Ke in the direction of the dorms. Hai Ri¡¯s voice resounded from behind me. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± ¡°Boss, you were so awesome just now! So stylish!¡± ¡°Go, hurry up and go to bed. I¡¯ve just eaten so I¡¯m feeling sleepy.¡± Volume 2: Chapter 23 The Competition Begins Volume 2: Chapter 23 ¨C The Competition Begins When I returned to the dormitory, only Green Hair was present, ¡°Zhang Gong, where have you been recently?¡± I gave him a cold glance and with a neutral tone said, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Come on, what have you been up to? They say that you and Hai Ri exchanged pointers and that he killed your magic beast.¡± You truly don¡¯t want to open the lid to that pot, Green Hair. ¡°You want to be a bother? Irritate me and I won¡¯t be so polite.¡± Green Hair saw that I was getting angry and returned to his bed with his tail tucked between his legs, not daring to continue. Just at that moment, my two other roommates had also returned. They were also in the same year but I did not know their names. To be honest, even though I¡¯ve attended this academy for a year, I could count the people whose name I knew on my fingertips. Everyone is so busy practicing that they rarely have the chance to speak to each other. ¡°You¡¯re Zhang Gong? Have any plans for tomorrow¡¯s competition?¡± Perhaps it¡¯s because the competition is tomorrow that everyone is a little nervous, one of them had actually taken the initiative to greet me. ¡°Hello, I don¡¯t really have a plan. I only have one goal, to be the second year champion.¡± When I finally said it, my voice became exceptionally resolute. ¡°Ah! The second year champion?¡± The two roommates looked at each other in shock. Green hair also came over. ¡°Zhang Gong, You aren¡¯t mistaken, right? You would go so far as to want to become the year¡¯s champion? For you to overcome the boss would be a joke.¡± I got sick of looking at Green Hair, ¡°What does this have to do with you? Go away.¡± ¡°Everyone has a goal. Even if you strive diligently, you might not be able to reach it.¡± I said dully. ¡°Zhang Gong¡¯s right. My name is Long De An and his name is Shui Yan Ming. Let¡¯s get along.¡± The slightly taller roommate said admiringly. ¡°Right, let¡¯s get along then.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, come over here.¡± I heard Teacher Di¡¯s voice ring in my mind. What he used was telepathy. Currently, I could barely use it. ¡°You guys should rest first. I¡¯m going to go out for a bit.¡± I informed my roommates. I went out of the dormitory and went straight to Teacher Di who was at the faculty¡¯s dormitory at the back of the school. Teacher Di was already waiting for me outside on the grass. ¡°Teacher, what is so urgent that you must call me?¡± I asked panting. ¡°Tomorrow is the competition, are you confident?¡± ¡°Of course I am! My current magic power is very powerful!¡± ¡°Tomorrow you will start drawing lots. You can¡¯t always be wearing these clothes. Come with me.¡± Following Teacher Di, I entered his dormitory. He took out a magic robe from the wardrobe and gave it to me. ¡°Try it on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving this to me?¡± Looking at the gorgeous magic robe, I was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Yes, how could I let my student be so wretchedly unpresentable? From now on, this is yours.¡± Teacher Di said with a smile. ¡°Thank You, Teacher Di.¡± I promptly unfolded it, it was very beautiful. A pure white, unknown cloth which was embroidered with gold. The entire magic robe was very large (it actually looked like a cloak.). It was tied together at my upper abdomen. Each side had a pure, white magic stone emitting faint rays of light. There was also a large, golden magic hexagram on the back of the magic robe. ¡°It¡¯s very beautiful. However, isn¡¯t it a bit big?¡± ¡°Foolish child, try it on. Come over here, I¡¯ll help.¡± Teacher Di walked over and held the robe out according to my body and took the two white magic stones on my chest and tied them together. After clacking a bit, the two stones blended together and quickly turned golden. How miraculous. ¡°How did this happen?¡± ¡°Child, this magic robe was passed down to me by my master. Now, I¡¯m passing it down to you. It uses unknown means. During winter it warms you. During summer it cools you. In addition, the magic stone at your upper abdomen speeds up the condensation of your magic power. It is not inferior to a purple magic stone. Furthermore, it can change its dimensions according to its user¡¯s size. You could consider it a treasure. I hope that you would wear it and strive for great success.¡± Teacher Di looked deeply into my eyes. ¡°¡­¡­..I will.¡± I answered with unwavering determination. I lightly stroked the soft magic robe. This was the first time in my life I¡¯ve ever received such fine clothes. They were stunning. In order to fulfill Teacher Di¡¯s great expectations and in order to not shame this wondrous gift, I must win, I must! ¡­¡­ ¡°Good, below they are about to begin ceremony to draw lots, second year students are at the front courtyard. They will begin picking lots according to your year. Drawing lots happened very fast. I drew 11-4, in other words I am group 11¡¯s 4th member. So the group competition is like this; number 1 competes with number 2, number 3 competes with number 4, and so on. That was the first round. The second round has numbers 1 and 6 competing, numbers 2 and 7 competing and numbers 3 and 8 competing and so on. This is how we advance in the competition. For the nine members, winning one time scores 3 points, losing gets zero. If victory is not certain when the allotted time ends, they each get one point. Everyone had finished drawing their lots. In accordance to the proctoring teacher¡¯s instructions, everyone lined up according to the lots they drew. Ma Ke was in group 5. Wo Ke was in group 9. I was standing at group 11 number 4¡¯s position. Standing in front of me was my first opponent in this competition. I haven¡¯t seen him before. It seems he attended a different class. (Each year had four different classes and every class had 50 students.) He turned around and gave me a greeting. ¡°You are my opponent tomorrow. My name is Tian Feng Yang, wind magic major, class B.¡± ¡°Hello, my name is Zhang Gong Wei, light magic major.¡± I replied with a smile. He also clearly didn¡¯t know who I was. We politely exchanged a few words. I felt his magic power fluctuate quite strongly. It seems he can only practice that kind of magic, how unfortunate that he was matched against me. ¡°Boss, your clothes today are very beautiful. How come I¡¯ve never seen you wear them before?¡± After we disbanded, Ma Ke ran over to see me. I whispered into his ear that Teacher Di had given it to me. He immediately jumped, wanting his teacher to give him one as well. He left me behind and went off to find his own teacher. I shook my head. Tomorrow will be the start of the competition. I took a look at the golden stone at my upper abdomen, it filled me with great confidence. I must become the second year champion. I must also challenge Hai Ri. Even though I bear no grudge, I wanted us to have a fair match. Volume 2: Chapter 24 Advancing Without a Hitch Volume 2: Chapter 24 ¨C Advancing Without a Hitch The tournament started. Altogether there are 20 stages in the tournament. Every stage has two proctoring teachers in charge. One of them was responsible for setting up the defensive barrier (Each of the tournament stages had a magic setup array in the center. This teacher is only responsible for starting the match and maintaining the defensive boundary enchantment.), while the other teacher was responsible for determining the winner. The magic competition went by very quickly. You only need ability to dominate, then the outcome of the battle can be determined very quickly. Soon it was my turn. Tian Feng and I walked to the center of the stage and greeted each other. ¡°Come, let me witness your strength.¡± I said to him with a smile. ¡°Very well, I won¡¯t hold back.¡± Tian Feng had cast a gliding wind enchantment on himself and began circling around me. He started with a lightning fast rush to my side and started to chant an attack spell. I chuckled in my mind, he had no idea that I excelled at speed. I could easily catch up to him. I cast light prism shield covering me from all directions. I should pay attention to what attack spell he cast at me. ¡°Free winds, obey my call, transform into a violent tornado.¡± Huh, it turned out to be the intermediate wind attack spell ¡°Wind Tornado¡±. It seems to be a probing attack. Following spell cast of the small tornado, he went to the center of the stage and flew towards me. I let out a faint laugh, ¡°If intermediate attack spells are all you are capable of, you¡¯ve already lost.¡± I softly waved my magic staff, ¡°Tear open the space before you, and swallow everything foreign.¡± This is the spatial spell ¡°Dimensional Decapitator¡±. Currently I can already skillfully control this spell. A black crevice appeared between me and the Wind Tornado. After a moment, the wind tornado was completely absorbed. This made even Tian Feng¡¯s breath sluggish, causing his speed to dramatically slow down. A student in the audience called out in an amazed voice, ¡°A spatial attack spell!¡± I willed the Dimensional Decapitator to return, ¡°Do you want to continue?¡± Tian Feng helplessly stopped to glance at me, ¡°Forget it, I admit defeat.¡± Dimensional Decapitator could indeed be compared with advanced attack spells, but it was quite difficult to control. Seeing me use Dimensional Decapitator with ease, he knew the strength between us differed greatly. Rather than being beaten, might as well take the initiative to admit defeat. ¡°You are very strong, though it is unfortunate for you to have come across me. Continue to do your best.¡± ¡°In the future, I¡¯ll come back and challenge you again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be ready any time.¡± The current me was no longer afraid of the challenge of any person, because I was fully confident in my own strength. Due to the rules of the preliminary competition, everyone must everyday compete in two matches. That¡¯s why when I went back to the dormitory, Ma Ke also returned a moment later. ¡°How are things going, Ma Ke?¡± Looking at his brand new magic robes, I asked with a smile. ¡°Is there any use in saying? A cast of Raging Flames of the Burning Heavens already settles it.¡± Ma Ke was also talented in magic. With his teacher¡¯s knowledge and his own hard work, such a worthy opponent is rarely found amongst second years. ¡°Let¡¯s go, first we¡¯ll go eat, then we¡¯ll come back and rest. We still have a match in the afternoon.¡± Afternoon¡¯s match as far as I¡¯m concerned should also be quite easy. The year¡¯s overall strength is little different than Tian Feng¡¯s. After only a few blows, they concede. At the preliminary contest¡¯s final match, I came across a fire mage of great strength. ¡°Are you from class A?¡± He seemed familiar. ¡°That¡¯s right. I know I might not be your opponent, but I would still like to spar with you a bit.¡± He had yet to be defeated from his previous matches. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this.¡± Unlike Tian Feng, he hadn¡¯t dare to send any probing attacks. He first cast a defensive spell and immediately followed up with an advanced fire attack spell. ¡°Passionate flames, hear my call and take on a worldly form, become an endless, raging flame, burning everything before you.¡± This is Raging Flames of the Burning Heavens. It¡¯s always this old spell. How bothersome. I held my hands high and raised my head, ¡°Great light element, my friend, use your gentle light to purify everything before you.¡± What I used was Purifying Light. This purifying light is not the same as before, it is something I created. Purifying Light was originally a divine protection spell, meant to use in a large area to remove different kinds of abnormalities. Yet the one I created not only produced this result but also forms a thick, protective barrier, becoming an advanced defense spell. He used all his might to urge the burning flame to continuously charge into my Purifying Light. Within the defensive barrier, I leisurely looked at him. I had always thought that forcing a person off the stage was quite embarrassing for them. Still they had to know when to withdraw. I was waiting for his magic power to run out, so he would forfeit. At this moment there was an unexpected change, the head of red hair stood upright and said, ¡°Burn, my life¡¯s flame.¡± The proctors in the audience all stared blankly, ¡°Why would this student burn his own life energy? This will reduce his lifespan. What a competitive child. ¡°Life¡¯s Flame is a fire mage¡¯s means of igniting their own life in order to release a greater level of magic. In other words, his Raging Flames of the Burning Heavens was originally a rank six spell, by igniting Life¡¯s Flame, it is possible to immediately escalate it to a rank seven spell. The fire outside the barrier from its originally fiery red, gradually became darker. Then it changed into a somber, dark blue. The pressure against me immediately increased. ¡°How unexpected. You still had a skill like this. Look, this is my true strength, don¡¯t you concede now!¡± What I sensed from him wasn¡¯t inferior to that to Hai Ri¡¯s. ¡°Great light elements, please allow me to borrow your formidable strength, let the infinite light of the earth shine.¡± Light attack spell, Brilliant Empire, a seventh rank light spell. This is currently the most powerful spell I could use. Following my chant, I slowly floated above the ground, a blinding white light covered me from head to toe. My magic robe was fluttering behind me. The golden magic stone on my magic robe released a golden light. The white light that I released was projected, brightening the stage. I raised my head. Within my Upper Dantian, the gold dan released a third of my magic power to cover my body. The rays of light that earlier surrounded me shrank back for a second and then suddenly burst forth. The blue fire was rapidly engulfed by my white rays of light. The match¡¯s barrier after continuously enduring, started to show cracks. ¡°This student is so competitive. He¡¯s only in the second grade yet he can already use rank seven spells. These second year students have such powerful magic, they can already use rank seven spells. Have they already reached the level of a magic scholar?¡± The two proctors immediately poured their energy into maintaining the barrier. After the barrier stabilized, my opponent had already fallen to the ground and had not risen. All of the people present were temporarily blinded by the magnificent white light I had released. In truth, I could only exhibit a third of this spell¡¯s strength. That¡¯s because I am only able to use a third of my magic power, even so it is still a rank seven spell. However, he raised the rank of his spell with great difficulty, I could cast the spell without assistance, but the attack light spell was also at least as powerful as a normal rank seven spell. That being said, dark and spatial magic attack spells are slightly more powerful than the other elements but also require more strength to use. Not only did he exhausted his Life¡¯s Flame but it had also begun to dim. ¡°Great light elements, act for your friend, I humbly request you to save the being before me.¡± I quickly cast a Spiritual Restoration spell on him. My Spiritual Restoration spell had the power of an absolute advanced class restoration spell. As they regained their vision, it became clear to everyone present that I was ultimately the victor. Volume 2: Chapter 25 Advancing to the Semifinals Volume 2: Chapter 25 ¨C Advancing to the Semifinals Under my strong recovery magic, he gradually regained consciousness, but he was still very weak. After all, he did draw from his life energy. ¡°Thank you, you are truly strong. I totally accept this loss.¡± He helplessly said. ¡°Don¡¯t use magic like that anymore, drawing from life energy is very dangerous.¡± Because I¡¯ve also used life magic before, I know what the consequences are for using one¡¯s life energy. ¡°Thank you, I will keep this in mind.¡± The proctoring teacher walked on stage and gave me a nod of approval. He obviously approved of me giving aid to my opponent. ¡°I proclaim, Student Zhang Gong Wei wins first place in the 11th group, Student Cha Li Ao Te gets second place¡­¡± the teacher announced the results of the 11th group. I didn¡¯t know his name until now. He has already been carried back to the dormitories by some of his friends. I have also made a solid step towards my goal. I see that Teacher Di has arrived in the audience, he must have come because of the magic fluctuations that occurred. Seeing me, he waved. His voice then sounded in my head: ¡°What happened? Zhang Gong, was it you who used that impressive spell?¡± I¡¯m currently not skilled in using telepathy so I don¡¯t dare use it lightly. I just answered very simply: ¡°Wait until I find you and I¡¯ll tell you then.¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll go now.¡± Coming out of the grounds, I immediately left using a couple of short-distance teleportation spells because I was scared of everyone asking me this and that. First I¡¯ll go find Teacher Di, he must still be waiting for me. ¡°Teacher Di, I¡¯ve arrived.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± I walked into Teacher Di¡¯s office and he signaled me to sit down. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°It was like this¡­.¡± I summarized what happened during the competition. ¡°Ah¡­..¡± Teacher Di let out a long sigh, ¡°You kids nowadays, how could you guys use life magic so lightly? You should know your body was given to you by your parents. Last time, you used it in order to save another life. However, this is just an ordinary competition. The desire to win was far too great.¡± Teacher Di shook his head. ¡°Looks like I will need to add a counseling class to the academy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be upset sir, it will be fine as long as you strengthen our education in that area.¡± I comforted him. ¡°You brat, today you used such an impressive spell, who in the second year would still dare compete with you.¡± ¡°Impossible, my Brilliant Empire is still very immature and I can¡¯t control it very well either. I can only use about one third of its power. Also, I didn¡¯t want to use it so early, but if I didn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to block that shot.¡± I said, feeling hurt. ¡°Only you know that you can¡¯t use its full power. How many people do we have using light magic? Everyone¡¯s evaluation of you must be very high. This time, you can be as lazy as you want without a problem.¡± ¡­¡­ Just as Teacher Di had predicted, none of the other students wanted to compete with me after seeing my performance the other day. Since the semi-finals started, all my opponents would concede after just a couple of moves. The first thing anyone who got me as their opponent would say is: ¡°Why am I so unlucky?!¡± With hardly any effort, I became one of the top four. I even outshined Wo Ke, who originally was the most popular contestant. In comparison, Ma Ke had to work a lot harder. After getting into the semi-finals, every match was won with great difficulty. Even with it being that hard, he still felt that he was lucky because he didn¡¯t get me, hehe. In the top four, there were three from A class: me, Ma Ke and Wo Ke. Unexpectedly, the last spot in the top four went to a girl from D class who majored in water magic. I haven¡¯t seen any of her matches. I really didn¡¯t expect that D class had someone so strong. The draw to decide our opponent has started, I went up first and drew an A lot. Ma Ke, this kid, was mumbling something the whole time. Looks like he really doesn¡¯t want to get me. However, life doesn¡¯t work that way and he also drew an A lot. Hehe, looks like there¡¯s going to be a good show this time. Coming down from the stage, Ma Ke was like a frosted eggplant. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ma Ke.¡± I poked him. ¡°Boss, why am I so unlucky? I got you so early!¡± ¡°Why is this so bad? I might not necessarily win against you!¡± How come he has so little confidence in himself! ¡°How can that be??¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know, but Teacher Long told me that you and I are not even on the same level. He said that I¡¯m a lot weaker than you are and told me to keep on working hard.¡± Turns out, that it was something his teacher said, hehe, or else why would this kid be so scared of drawing the same lot as me. His teacher is the vice-principal of the academy, Magister Xing De Long. Naturally his words would contain authority. ¡°Let¡¯s work hard tomorrow. I hope we can have a good match, just like on the examination day. How do you know you can¡¯t beat me without trying?¡± ¡°Alright!¡± It certainly is the top four competition, nearly all the second year students have come to watch, and it¡¯s so lively. Ma Ke and I step onto the stage, ¡°Ma Ke, don¡¯t humiliate yourself, there¡¯s so many people watching!¡± Ma Ke gave me a helpless smile and started his attacks. Ma Ke¡¯s biggest advantage is that his magic control is very strong. He¡¯s not scared of my teleportation, so he started with a single, advanced attack spell. ¡°Oh great fire elements, gather at my side, become a dragon of fire and annihilate the enemy before you.¡± Damn! Yesterday this kid was still saying that he couldn¡¯t win against me. Today he¡¯s so fierce, a fire dragon as soon as we start. This fire spell¡¯s attack is not any weaker than the strengthened Raging Flames of the Burning Heavens from the other day. A huge fire dragon appeared from Ma Ke. It circled him once and then it pounced towards me. Although I have already strengthened my Light Prism Shield, I still don¡¯t dare collide head on with his fire dragon. What should I use? Purifying Light probably won¡¯t block it either and Dimensional Slash can¡¯t handle such a large attack. ¡°Oh great light elements, hear my prayers, become a divine halo and halt the enemy¡¯s advance.¡± Advanced defensive light spell, Divine Halo, appeared on my body. The white halo formed a solid barrier three feet in front of me and threw the fire dragon back. However the fire dragon hadn¡¯t yet disappeared, it turned around and immediately pounced back. Ma Ke¡¯s strength is really strong, I¡¯ve never seen him use this spell in the preliminaries or the semi-finals. I summoned my magic power and blocked his attack again and again. I can tell, it takes him a lot of effort to control the fire dragon. It looks like he won¡¯t last much longer. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m going to use my trump card!¡± What, this kid has a trump card¡­ Ma Ke took a fire red magic staff and starting chanting. In the audience, Teacher Di immediately grabbed Teacher Long¡¯s mustache, ¡°What?! Out of all the things you fished out of your trunk, you¡¯d actually give that kid the Fire God¡¯s Fury?¡± Teacher Long didn¡¯t take it lying down and also grabbed Teacher Di¡¯s mustache, ¡°What about you? Didn¡¯t you also give him the Light God¡¯s Robe?¡± While the two old men in the audience were busy fighting, I entered my greatest challenge since the beginning of the competition. Following Ma Ke¡¯s chant, a small, red ball appeared from the top of his magic staff, about the size of a ping-pong ball. However, I know that it¡¯s nothing fun. That¡¯s a ball of pure energy, much, much scarier than a mere fire dragon. Volume 2: Chapter 26 Knocking Out Wo Ke Volume 2: Chapter 26 ¨C Knocking Out Wo Ke It seems like his magic staff has very powerful amplification effects. I could tell since I knew that at his current level, he wouldn¡¯t be able to release such a pure energy ball. It would be strenuous even for me. In the wake of the appearance of Ma Ke¡¯s magic ball, his fire dragon gradually became dull. It seems that to support it, a lot of effort is required of him. I took advantage of the decreased pressure and quickly began chanting an incantation. It seems like there¡¯s no other choice but to once again use Brilliant Empire, but I wasn¡¯t sure this would be able to stop it. Actually, I also wanted to use an energy ball, but I know that my magic control couldn¡¯t compare with Ma Ke¡¯s. I would surely be hit by him, but I wouldn¡¯t necessarily hit him. Only an area attacks could match it. ¡°Oh great light elements, please allow me to borrow your formidable strength, let the infinite light of the earth shine.¡± While covered in a dazzling white light from head to toe, I slowly began floating upwards from the ground. My magic robe fluttered behind me. The golden magic stone at my upper abdomen emitted a gold light, complementing my white light so that it is even more dazzling. As I raised my head, the gold dan within my upper dantian used one third of my magic power to cover up my whole body. However, the difference this time is that this time I used an additional one third of my magic power to control this magic since I knew that Ma Ke¡¯s energy ball wasn¡¯t inferior in any way to my Brilliant Empire. I exhausted my remaining magic power to make my Brilliant Empire gather in the middle and form a pillar with a diameter the size of the stage to hit Ma Ke. ¡°Ah Boss, you¡¯re so fierce. I¡¯ll stake it all too then.¡± Ma Ke waved his hand, then the energy ball on top of the magic staff flew towards my pillar of light. Contrary to expectations, because the Brilliant Empire is too dispersed, it doesn¡¯t stop the energy ball, but instead slows it down. I advance bravely while using all of my body¡¯s remaining magic power to form a Light Prism Shield. The Fire Energy Ball reached me then it shatters my Light Prism Shield. This is the first time ever that my Light Prism Shield has been shattered. I felt a burst of scorching heat throughout my whole body, I knew I was finished. I was hit by the energy ball. In this moment that was as if a thousand pounds was hanging by a thread, a change that I never would have expected occurred. My magic robe¡¯s central magic stone burst into a dazzling golden light. The gold light formed a transparent membrane that enveloped me and protected me from the energy ball. I recalled from the bottom of my heart Teacher Di¡¯s words: ¡°Quickly pour the remainder of your magic power into the magic stone at your upper abdomen.¡± I had unconsciously acted in accordance to his words. The collision between the energy ball and my defense cover produced intense friction, causing waves and waves of formidable pressure to push me back. Step by step, I retreated. I had already reached the edge of the stage. I can¡¯t retreat any further. I cannot lose. I must not lose. I held my magic staff horizontally across my chest and shouted: ¡°AH!¡ª¡ª¡± At the same time as my outburst, a warm energy came from within my body and through my arm it entered my magic staff. My whole body felt light. At last, the energy ball had been depleted by the light. I sat my butt on the ground, gasping for air in big breaths. From the corner of my mouth trickled a stream of blood. Just now, that portion of warm energy had slowly enveloped my body and restored my damaged meridians. Ah! That was Xiao Jin. It was him who helped me at the crucial moment. What about Ma Ke? Where did Ma Ke go? Sluggishly, I began looking for his figure. ¡°Student Zhang Gong, if you can¡¯t get up within five seconds, I must announce that you have been defeated.¡± Ah! It seems that Ma Ke is also unwell. Haha. I stood up at once. It turns out that while Ma Ke¡¯s energy ball collided with me, Ma Ke was hit by my Brilliant Empire in half the time. He doesn¡¯t have any energy left after enduring my compressed Brilliant Empire. Right now Teacher Di is giving him treatment. (The beating I gave him wasn¡¯t light.) I truly didn¡¯t expect that victory would have been that difficult. At the final moment, Xiao Jin¡¯s energy was used to ensure victory. (Hehe. I violated one of the rules, but surely no one knows since magical beasts generally can¡¯t produce energy while within their master¡¯s body. They must be summoned before they can do anything.) Due to a powerless body, two of my roommates took my arms and assisted me in returning back to the dorm. Just as I was about to sleep, I heard Teacher Di¡¯s voice. ¡°Young fellow, what¡¯s the matter? Winning against that Ma Ke who was a whole level lower than you required so much effort. You truly are so stupid.¡± Since I didn¡¯t understand Teacher Di¡¯s meaning, I didn¡¯t have a reply. (Granted that, even if I understood, in my current state¡­..) Perhaps Teacher Di also knew I couldn¡¯t answer, so he started madly bombarding me with lectures. The general idea of what he said was that if I had taken the initiative to attack in the beginning, my victory wouldn¡¯t has been so disastrous. He also said that I was careless and that magic still has many defects and so on. I really couldn¡¯t stand this, so I used the bit of magic power that I have recovered to seal my mind. Smoothly, I entered the realm of dreams. Due to the excessive magic consumption, I didn¡¯t go watch Wo Ke and the D class girl¡¯s match the next day. Who cares about it, Wo Ke will definitely win. Although Wo Ke is also powerful, he probably won¡¯t have Ma Ke¡¯s energy ball. So I¡¯ll surely beat him tomorrow. After eating lunch, I arrived at Ma Ke¡¯s dorm room to take a look at how he is. This fellow is also in very poor health. In comparison, I¡¯m much better off, since getting off of bed for him takes much effort. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re really too ruthless. I¡¯ve already been beaten to a crisp by you.¡± ¡°You are still say I¡¯m ruthless, yet you deny that you¡¯re ruthless. Damn. I also received quite the beating from you. You have really made a lot of progress. Before the match, I didn¡¯t expect that your strength would have such a small gap between mine. It seems that I must strive hard, otherwise I¡¯ll be exceeded by you and then I¡¯ll have to call you Boss instead.¡± We looked at each other and simultaneously began laughing. Then we chatted for a bit before I returned to my dorm. I must seize the moment and properly condense magic power to prepare for tomorrow¡¯s match. When I woke up, it was already evening. Green Hair and the other two roommates have already returned. ¡°Zhang Gong, you truly are my idol. My reverence of you is like the unending torrent of a river.¡± ¡°Damn, you see that I¡¯m powerful so you want me to support you! Go away, don¡¯t bother me.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, I have some astonishing news. Do you want to hear it?¡± ¡°You! What kind of good news do you have?¡± I asked him with a doubtful expression. ¡°It is definitely useful for you. Did you know? Today Boss Wo Ke unexpectedly lost. Furthermore, he lost very quickly!¡± Green Hair mysteriously said. ¡°What! What did you say? Wo Ke unexpectedly lost?¡± Impossible. To my surprise, Wo Ke lost to a girl from class D. Although I haven¡¯t faced him, Wo Ke¡¯s strength is very clear since I knew that becoming the second grade representative wasn¡¯t that easy. ¡°Are you lying to me? If you¡¯re lying to me, then you¡¯re dead.¡± I began to condense magic power on my hands to frighten Green Hair. ¡°Boss Zhang Gong, please don¡¯t. What I said is the truth. If you don¡¯t believe it then ask them.¡± I turned my head and doubtfully looked at my other two roommates. Long De An said: ¡°Zhang Gong, Green Hair didn¡¯t lie. Wo Ke truly lost miserably today. I¡¯m afraid that aside from him, no one else really understands how he lost.¡± Volume 2: Chapter 27 Absolute Disruption Volume 2: Chapter 27 ¨C Absolute Disruption ¡°Quick, tell me what happened.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this. Today, we all thought that Wo Ke would win. However, as soon as they got on stage, that girl from D class used a water spell we didn¡¯t recognize, it seemed to be a sealing spell. Wo Ke caught by these blue circles, and he couldn¡¯t get out no matter what he tried. Then that girl from D class used a water bullet and easily knocked him off the stage. According to my observations, those blue circles prevented Wo Ke from using his magic. It was an injustice for him to lose.¡± ¡°So unfair!¡± I¡¯m not so sure that I can win anymore. ¡°Zhang Gong, you can¡¯t lose tomorrow. Our A class can¡¯t let D class become the champions.¡± ¡°You guys can rest assured. I will definitely win.¡± Although I said that to them, I¡¯m actually not too sure about my chances. No, I must quickly go ask Teacher Di. I used the excuse of taking a stroll and went to Teacher Di¡¯s dormitory. He was reading a magic book. Seeing that I came, he gave me a faint smile, ¡°I just knew you would come find me as soon as you heard Wo Ke lost.¡± ¡°Then please hurry and tell me how Wo Ke lost. How can I avoid becoming trapped?¡± Teacher Di sighed. ¡°You should just concede tomorrow!¡± His words were like a bomb (had they existed), stunning me. ¡°Is that girl really that strong??¡± ¡°Not necessarily that, you can only say that her family is strong. I also only learned about this today, that girl is the younger sister of Hai Ri. She¡¯s called Hai Shui Xing. You might not know but, Ri, Yue and Xing are the three most ancient families in our Aixia Kingdom. Each family has an inheritance spell, spells that are directly inherited from their ancestors. The spell Hai Shui used today is the most mysterious spell in the Xing family, it¡¯s called Absolute Disruption. This sealing spell is very strange, each generation can only have one family member inherit it. No matter how strong your magic power is, the spell consumes one third of the user¡¯s magic power every time it¡¯s used. In other words, the spell can only be used three times each day, but that is more than enough for the competition.¡± So there was actually such a complicated story behind all this, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me even you can¡¯t break this sealing spell.¡± ¡°It not that I can¡¯t, but I will have to fiercely attack with rank 8 attack spells or ride it out with defensive spells. Can you use rank 8 attack spells? While her opponent is sealed, she can use attack spells and her opponent can only passively take the attacks. You can¡¯t win tomorrow unless you can last until she runs out of magic power. However that is literally impossible because the defensive spell consumption will be very fast under the effects of Absolute Disruption. Those that come in direct contact with Absolute Disruption can¡¯t use magic for a whole day. It is exactly because of this that I lowered my expectations for you. You think I don¡¯t want you to win. Not only you, there isn¡¯t a single student in this academy that can break her Absolute Disruption.¡± Coming out of Teacher Di¡¯s place, my head was filled with thoughts about Absolute Disruption. Who cares, I want to give it a try tomorrow even if I¡¯m destined to lose. You never know, a miracle might happen. Back in my dormitory, I spent half the night brainstorming and still could not find a way to deal with Absolute Disruption. In the end, I finally fell asleep in a daze.. When I woke up, the sun was already high in the sky, furthermore it was Green Hair who shook me awake. ¡°Zhang Gong. Get up quickly, it¡¯ll soon be time for the match.¡± I barely managed to open my eyes, ¡°Ah! What are you doing! Let me sleep for a bit longer.¡± ¡°You have a match soon. You¡¯ll be late if you sleep any longer.¡± Green Hair yelled into my ear. That scared me awake, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right. I still have a match today.¡± I flew out of bed, got dressed and sprinted out. As I was leaving, I said, ¡°Thank you Green Hair. I¡¯m going to go ahead of you.¡± Green Hair obviously wasn¡¯t paying attention. Look at my retreating back, he started mumbling to himself: ¡°He actually said ¡®Thank You¡¯ to me. Living up till now, this is the first time someone said Thank You to me. Looks like helping people is very nice.¡± By the time he finished, he had a silly smile on his face. I didn¡¯t know that one unintentional sentence from me changed the whole life of a person. I ran at lightning speed to the center of the competition area. The first two people I saw were Long De An and Shui Yang Ming. Both of them seemed to have let out a sigh of relief when they saw me. The came over to greet me, ¡°Zhang Gong, how come you only just got here.¡± I sheepishly replied: ¡°I overslept. Thankfully, Green Hair woke me up.¡± ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s not talk about this. Get up onto the stage quickly, the match is about to begin.¡± I looked up at the stage, the proctor and the other competitor were already at their stations. I used teleportation to arrive on the stage. I first gave my greetings to the proctor and then started to size up my opponent. It was a really cute little girl. Looks like this is Hai Shui Xing, there are indeed some similarities between her and Hai Yue¡¯s looks. However, she was tad bit cuter and a tad less calm. She also started observing me curiously when she noticed me looking at her. Practically all the second grade students are here, even Teacher Di is in the central VIP section. He doesn¡¯t hold any hope of me winning, but he still came. ¡°Alright, since both sides have arrived, I declare that the match begins now.¡± The proctor got off the stage as soon he finished speaking. Because they know that the finalists are strong, today¡¯s defense barrier was jointly created by five proctors, just in case something happens. First, Hai Shui and I bowed to the proctors and the audience, ¡°You must be Hai Shui. Hello, my name is Zhang Gong.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± She¡¯s still a little girl, she started blushing. From her magic fluctuations and the fact that I¡¯m still quite a distance away, looks like I can only take the initiative and attack. ¡°I know that you have a very special spell. Let¡¯s have a good match today.¡± Seeing her nod, I immediately began my magic attacks. Because I know that her Absolute Disruption doesn¡¯t need much time to activate, I don¡¯t dare use advanced attack spells. I first teleported behind her and immediately shot a Light Arrow at her. (My Light Arrow is a strengthened form, its attack power is not any lower than an intermediate spell.) She seemed to slightly panic, but her reaction was still really fast and used a water shield to block my attack. Now I can¡¯t give her an opportunity to retaliate or else I¡¯m done for. I began a speed attack, only using the lowest levelled Light Arrow because it is the only spell that can beat Absolute Disruption¡¯s short casting time. I won¡¯t let her gather enough magic power to seal me. The audience were just seeing me flying all over the place. Sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes in front, sometimes behind her. As soon as I got to each position, I would immediately shoot a Light Arrow at Hai Shui. For the time being, I made Hai Shui struggle to manage the situation. In the audience, Teacher Di was looking at me with approving eyes. Regretfully, I wasn¡¯t able to see it. Volume 2: Chapter 28 Breaking the Magic Seal Volume 2: Chapter 28 ¨C Breaking the Magic Seal Hai Shui let her guard down for a moment and gave me an opportunity to attack her. Although she used a defense spell, I feared she did not receive it well. Perhaps it was because she felt pain from the blow, Hai Shui wrinkled her cute little nose and her eyes flashed with anger. While she was defending from the assault, her mouth was chanting something. She chanted extremely fast. It didn¡¯t seem to be an incantation and I also had no idea what it was. I continued on with my assault. Wait, something¡¯s wrong. Why do I feel like her speed is gradually increasing? Ah, no! It¡¯s me gradually slowing down. Why is this happening? I began to hear a buzzing sound and it gradually increased more intensely. Is this not Absolute Disruption? Teacher¡¯s description of Absolute Disruption doesn¡¯t match with this one. It grew larger, like a sea wave pounding against my ear. My head becoming a bit dizzy. My spells and my movement slowed down. On the viewing platform, Teacher Di said to himself ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡± He said to Teacher Long next to him, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this young girl to be able to use one of the Xing clan¡¯s three great secrets, the Water Dragon¡¯s Chant, combined with Absolute Disruption. This time Zhang Gong will certainly lose.¡± ¡°Right, this student is certainly powerful. Stronger than we were back then. Your disciple is done for, hehe.¡± Because of Ma Ke¡¯s defeat at Zhang Gong¡¯s hand, Teacher Long took a bit of pleasure at his misfortune. ¡°You, you, you!¡± Teacher Di angrily puffed his mustache and glared at him. At the middle of the stage, I already realized that my situation was not good and hurriedly cast divine protection on myself. It wasn¡¯t very effective but I felt a little bit better. Hai Shui saw an opportunity arrive and raised her arms in the air, moving them in circles. A green ring of light surrounded me, I knew this was her clan¡¯s skill- Absolute Disruption. Currently I haven¡¯t found a way out. I could only cast defensive spells on myself in hopes that Hai Shui would exhaust her magic power. I¡¯m finished. My great future prospects, ruined. Big or small, I don¡¯t know how many spells were blocked by the white halo surrounding me. Currently, I was like a green sphere of light. In the middle of the sphere, I felt an indescribable amount of pressure fiercely charging at me from all directions. The golden sphere within my body rapidly worked. A layer of defense enchantments continuously resisted the invading seal. Currently, I truly understand how formidable the seal is. My magic power rapidly diminished at a speed far surpassing what I imagined. What am I going to do? I thought of every action I could take, not one of them could solve this predicament. At this time Hai Shui¡¯s face wore an adorable smile. She knows victory is close at hand. She didn¡¯t continue her magic assault because she was waiting for my magic power to exhaust. Her seal was going to win her the match anyway so why bother expend wasted effort. Therefore she just smiled looking at an enemy that was just about to be defeated, me. My defensive barrier continuously grew smaller. A burst of intense pressure pushed into the center, cramming me in. In the end, my defensive enchantments were broken through by the seal. A green ring of light bound me like a sticky rice dumpling. It wasn¡¯t painful, only because the light consumed magic power and didn¡¯t think I had any left. The only difference is that I am unable to communicate with the magic elements. I then realized, I already been completely sealed. Looking at Hai Shui condensing a ball of water in her hand, I didn¡¯t feel like conceding. I¡¯m about to lose. Just when I was about to concede, Xiao Jin unexpectedly woke and stirred strongly within my body. What¡¯s the matter? I was baffled, because my magic power had already been sealed. Inside my body, Xiao Jin should also have been sealed. How can he be awake and stir so restlessly? Along with his restlessness, my head felt a sharp pain as if it were a pincushion. The pain grew stronger and stronger, like it wanted to tear my head apart. I couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. I put both hands on my head and let out a mind splitting scream from my lungs. It was this scream that saved me. Looking at me suddenly change, Hai Shui was startled to the point where the water ball fell apart. (In order to use magic, you must have a highly concentrated mind.) She thought to herself, This can¡¯t be. The Absolute Disruption I cast on him doesn¡¯t have any attack properties, what could possibly have happened to him? I felt pain as if I were dying. Just when I was on the verge of falling to the ground, I felt an explosion come from within my brain. I felt as if I no longer existed. Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, Body, Thought. I felt my six senses simultaneously disappear. The people present looked at each other in marvel. From my Upper Dantian, a brilliant spot appeared between my eyebrows. Afterwards it gradually spread as a circle of golden light, turning into a halo encompassing me. The golden halo bound the Absolute Disruption and melted it as fast as snow. This breathtaking appearance rendered all the people present stunned. Hai Shui¡¯s small mouth had become an O shape. Teacher Di and Teacher Long glanced at each other, speaking in unison with different voices, ¡°He broke the magic seal!!!¡± Teacher Di said with extraordinary excitement, ¡°How did he do it? How did he break the seal? This is a skill that only the dragon race possesses!¡± Dragons 101: The dragon race is the most formidable species on the continent. Possessing a tyrannical body, they all have an exceptionally strong resistance towards magic. They also possess the strongest physical attacks on the continent (second is the Mist Behemoth). Higher ranked dragons can use magic and possess wisdom and intelligence surpassing that of humans. Dragons are a peace loving race and very few of them appear in the continent. There are only a few you could come across and you must be as strong as they are in order to be deemed worthy enough of forming a pact of companionship with one. The number of existing dragons do not exceed three hundred. Dragons can exist for an extremely long period of time, they could live up to ten thousand years or higher. Contrasting this however, dragons find it extremely difficult to reproduce. Not only is the time required to hatch from an egg long, but the amount of eggs are also extremely sparse. The continent¡¯s dragons are also only known from legends. People who have truly seen dragons are very few. As a result, the dragon specific magic presently appearing on my body left the knowledgeable Teacher Di and Teacher Long exceptionally astonished. As for the others, they were amazed that I was unexpectedly able to get rid of Hai Shui¡¯s sealing spell. I don¡¯t know how the present circumstances came to be. I could only feel that my body was a space of nothingness, unable to perceive anything. I gradually regained my perception, one by one my six senses returned to my body. I used the magic staff to prop up my own body. I raised my head to look at Hai Shui, and saw that she still had not recovered from her astonishment. I tested what magic power I had left. I could only use a pitifully small amount, roughly enough for an elementary spell. I cannot lose. For Teacher Di, I cannot lose. For Xiao Jin, I cannot lose. For Teacher Xiu, I cannot lose. For myself, I cannot lose. With strong willpower, I gathered what little magic power I had left with difficulty. I then teleported behind Hai Shui and exhausted my body¡¯s strength, tackling into the defenseless Hai Shui. The defenseless Hai Shui took my blow and dropped off the stage. ¡°Shameless scoundrel.¡± ¡°Truly undeserving of face. Using such a shameless trick.¡± ¡°To go as far as to tackle her.¡± ¡­¡­ Countless scolding voices reached my ear, I used my magic staff to support my body. I said to the stupefied proctoring teacher, ¡°Teacher, you still haven¡¯t announced the winner.¡± The proctor immediately responded, ¡°Student Hai Shui has left the stage, Student Zhang Gong is victorious.¡± Volume 2: Chapter 29 Five Clawed Golden Dragon Volume 2: Chapter 29 ¨C Five Clawed Golden Dragon After finally winning, I sat down on the ground, exhausted. My two roommates and Green Hair rushed onto the stage and hugged me excitedly, ¡°Boss. You won. You won.¡± I looked at them tiredly, ¡°Stop shaking me. Go away. I want to sleep¡­¡± I fainted midway through my sentence. I¡¯ve already overused my magic power, plus it was the first time I¡¯ve used someone else¡¯s power. My body couldn¡¯t take it anymore and passed out in safe hands. ¡°Eh? Why am I in Teacher Di¡¯s room?¡± Waking up, my body was sore all over with no strength remaining whatsoever. I tried to condense my magic power, but I¡¯ve only recovered I tiny portion of it. The pitifully small golden ball inside me was slowly spinning, continuously recovering my power. Looks like I won¡¯t be able to recover within a day or two. I was alone in the room. The sun was out but I didn¡¯t know exactly what time of the day it was. The door opened with a creak and Teacher Di walked in, ¡°You¡¯re awake. How¡¯s your body? ¡°It¡¯s fine, just feeling a bit weak. Teacher Di, how come I¡¯m here??¡± ¡°I wanted to ask you something when you woke up, so I brought you over here. At the end of the competition, how were you able to use Magic Seal Destruction?¡± Teacher Di urgently asked me. ¡°Ah! I don¡¯t know either. What is Magic Seal Destruction?¡± I honestly don¡¯t know. Right now, my memory of that day¡¯s victory is very fuzzy. Even more so in terms of how I won. ¡°How could you not know? You clearly used it. How could you not know?¡± Teacher Di was anxiously walking in circles. ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t worry. Just explain slowly. What exactly is going on?¡± What is there to be anxious about? Looking at Teacher Di¡¯s condition, it seems that Magic Seal Destruction something is very important. After listening to my words, Teacher Di also realized that being anxious would not solve anything. After calming himself down, ¡°It¡¯s like this. That day, just as we thought you weren¡¯t going to make it, when you were sealed by Absolute Disruption, a spell unique to the Dragon race, Magic Seal Destruction, appeared on your body. Its exact form is the same as that golden halo that appeared around you.¡± ¡°A golden halo? Let me think.¡± I tried really hard to recall what happened that day, ¡°I think there was a golden halo, it seemed to have broken Hai Shui¡¯s Absolute Disruption upon contact. However I don¡¯t know what happened either. Is this very important?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s very important. Very, very important. Have you realized, that golden halo you used is a spell unique to the Dragon race? Only the esteemed Dragon race can use it, there has never been a case where one of the human race used the dragon¡¯s Magic Seal Destruction. Recall carefully, have you concluded any sort of contract with a dragon?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. Other than Xiao Jin, I haven¡¯t made a contract with anyone else. Ah, that¡¯s right, Xiao Jin.¡± My eyes brighten, Xiao Jin¡¯s unexpected stirring that day was what had made my head hurt. Afterwards, that golden halo appear. It must be related to Xiao Jin. ¡°What about Xiao Jin?¡± Teacher Di urgently asked. I recounted the whole situation to him in detail. Teacher Di muttered, ¡°If you look at it like this, Xiao Jin is not a snake type magic beast, but a¡­¡± Teacher Di and I glanced at each other and spoke at the same time. ¡°¡­.Dragon.¡± Xiao Jin is a dragon? Is it possible??? ¡°Quick, summon Xiao Jin.¡± I also wanted to see if Xiao Jin actually is a dragon. Furthermore, it had been a long time since I¡¯ve let him out, don¡¯t know if there has been any changes. After Teacher Di set a barrier around the room, I started to chant, ¡°My friend Xiao Jin, appear before me.¡± Following my simple chant, a white light flashed and Xiao Jin appeared in front of me. Xiao Jin had grown quite a bit compared to the last time I saw him, however he had a lazy look. Through telepathy, I learned that he had used a large portion of his magic power during the competition and still hadn¡¯t recovered yet. His two horns seem to be growing towards the middle of his head and the golden stripes goes down his whole body, from head to tail. The fin shaped objects on his back have become sturdier and longer, they practically took up the whole upper half of the back of his body. The five protrusions on his underside have not only grown quite a bit, but at the very front they also seemed to each have a small round pad at the end. ¡°He¡¯s already this big?¡± Teacher Di had not seen Xiao Jin¡¯s grown up appearance yet. ¡°Yeah. He grew after we shared life energy, but he wasn¡¯t as big as he is now. Teacher Di, is he a dragon?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really say, I¡¯ve never seen a dragon before either. However, my memories tell me that dragons are supposed to have two claws. If those bumps on his underside are claws, then that¡¯s a bit too many. Wait, I¡¯m going to look through my book. It¡¯s been many years since I have read it.¡± While talking, Teacher Di took an ancient book from his huge bookshelf. I moved closer to take a look, the title of the book is ¡°The True Rulers of the Mainland ¨C Dragons¡±. Looks like it¡¯s a book specifically on dragons. ¡°Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see.¡± Teacher Di mutters as he flips through the book. He goes through the book extremely fast, practically only scanning each page before moving on. Suddenly, he stopped, looks at Xiao Jin and then looks back at the book. As if he was comparing something. ¡°Did you find it? Is Xiao Jin actually a dragon?¡± I stood on my tippy-toes to read the book in Teacher Di¡¯s hands. ¡°Zhang Gong. If the information on the book is correct, then you have really picked up a treasure.¡± ¡°What does the book say?¡± ¡°You take a look, this article here.¡± Teacher Di handed the book over to me and just stared at Xiao Jin, as if he was admiring a long extinct treasure. I took the book. On the book was this: Title: Ruler of the Dragons ¨C Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Introduction: The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon is the ruler of the Dragon race, also known as the Dragon King. The Dragon King of each generation is the strongest of his kin and possess abnormally strong strength. The life span of a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon is approximately 20,000 years. Only when he turns 15,000 years or when he feels that his life span is ending will he mate with the most beautiful female dragon at the time. After a pregnancy period of over 1,000 years, the next generation would be born. When the new Five-Clawed Golden Dragon has grown and matured at 3,000 years old, he will become a true Dragon King, replacing his father in ruling the dragon race. At this point, the previous Dragon King¡¯s body would have already gradually aged and would be enjoying his retirement in the Dragon race¡¯s territory. Therefore, there is only one Five-Clawed Golden Dragon in every generation that is the true ruler. The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon not only possesses an abnormally strong physical strength, it is also an expert in the Dragon race¡¯s language spells showing that it is extremely intelligent. ¡°Teacher Di, this can¡¯t be true. Xiao Jin is a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon? If he is, he needs 3000 years to mature. By that time, I would have already turned to ashes. He isn¡¯t even a year old yet!¡± I asked the question lingering in my heart. Volume 2: Chapter 30 I Want to go Home Volume 2: Chapter 30 ¨C I Want to go Home ¡°Let me think.¡± Teacher Di contemplated for a moment. ¡°Xiao Jin is maturing at an unusually fast rate, much faster than the rate of growth mentioned in the book. In only a year, he almost grew out of his infant stage. The book stated that the minimum amount of time to mature past the infant stage is 600 years. But it hasn¡¯t even been a year since Xiao Jin was born and he has almost finished maturing past infant stage and will soon enter the growth stage. I suppose there is a relationship between Xiao Jin¡¯s rapid growth and sharing your life with him. Was it before the accident or after that he started growing so quickly?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! After the accident, Xiao Jin grew wildly, absorbing magic power much greater than before.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, you truly picked up a treasure. No matter what, you musn¡¯t let other people know that Xiao Jin is a dragon. Wait until after Xiao Jin entered the growth stage, then no longer have to worry. By that time, his wings and claws should have already sprouted out and he will be of great assistance to you.¡± ¡°Yea, this is great. My magic beast is a dragon.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be happy so soon. First I¡¯ll give you this book. This book has been passed on from master to student throughout the generations. You must preserve it well. It will be useful to you in the future. On the last page of the book, a map and the means of travelling to the Dragon race¡¯s territory is written down. After you graduate from the advanced magic academy, you should go visit. In the case that the current Dragon King wishes to take back Xiao Jin you should return him. We truly don¡¯t know how Xiao Jin wandered out of their territory.¡± ¡°Do I have to return him?¡± I don¡¯t want Xiao Jin to leave me, even if he weren¡¯t a dragon I¡¯d still feel the same. ¡°You must. Zhang Gong do as you¡¯re told. You must know that for a mother and father to lose their children is painful to no end. You should think about Xiao Jin as well!¡± That¡¯s right! If mother and father can¡¯t find me, they would definitely be very sad. After I graduate school and have the opportunity, I¡¯ll go pay a visit to Dragon¡¯s Valley. If worst comes to worst, I¡¯ll have to persuade them to let Xiao Jin accompany me. Ah, I haven¡¯t seen mother and father for such a long time. When I finally have a vacation, I want to go home and see them. When they see how awesome my magic has become, they will definitely be happy. ¡°Teacher Di, when can I go home? I miss mother and father.¡± I didn¡¯t have any ulterior motives, it was just that I suddenly recalled a longing for home! ¡°Homesick? Rest for two days, wait until your body has recovered and then go home. The day after tomorrow is an official school vacation. ¡± Teacher Di said brightly. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Teacher Di, I don¡¯t want to challenge the upperclassmen anymore. I feel like I am still lacking. I want to diligently practice magic and become stronger before thinking about challenging them again.¡± ¡°Your attitude is great. I feared that you would have become satisfied with your progress thus far. Without Xiao Jin, you wouldn¡¯t have been the champion. I also wish for you to diligently practice. Wait until you attend advanced magic academy, then you can graduate early. Why don¡¯t you rest? I still have many matters to attend to.¡± Teacher Di kindly patted my head, then turned around and left. I truly didn¡¯t expect that this competition would be so eventful. But it¡¯s not too bad, at the very least I found out what Xiao Jin was. Once I enter society, I¡¯ll definitely find the time to go and help Xiao Jin find his parents. I looked at Xiao Jin warmly, stroking his large head. Xiao Jin seemed to feel something, lazily leaning toward me. Teacher Di had already left and his barrier should have also expired. I immediately sent Xiao Jin back into my body. Wanting to sleep, I laid down on the bed, however I couldn¡¯t sleep at all. Teacher Xiu should be coming to pick me up the day after tomorrow. With his high expectations of me, he will surely be extremely happy once he learns of my progress. I don¡¯t know about mother and father, but they definitely miss me. I really miss them too. I watched the starry sky through my window with feelings of homesickness. Since I couldn¡¯t sleep, I began cultivating my magic power. Restoring as much of my magic power as possible is also very important. I began absorbing the condensed light elements. The light elements unceasingly rushed forth and compressed to become like the golden ball in shape before they were absorbed by the golden dan. It¡¯s much faster to restore my magic power using this method in comparison to slowly using my own golden ball. ¡­¡­. Two days later. Early in the morning I went to go find Teacher Di. ¡°Teacher Di, my magic power has been nearly fully recovered. Can I go home now?¡± He lifted his head up from the book he was reading and gave me a slight smile. ¡°Foolish child, why so urgent? Are you trying to avoid this old man by leaving early?¡± ¡°No way, no way. I would hate to part with you. You are the best teacher I have ever met.¡± These were words that came from my heart. It was precisely because of Teacher Di¡¯s guidance that I was able to improve this quickly. In just one year, I was able to become the second grade¡¯s representative. Teacher Di¡¯s smile became even wider once he saw my anxious expression. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you. Quickly go. Once you¡¯ve packed up your things, you can go home. Be careful on the road. Is there anyone picking you up?¡± He only asked me this because he knew my home was very far. ¡°There is. But I don¡¯t know if he has arrived yet. He¡¯s my previous teacher from the elementary magic academy.¡± ¡°Oh! If I have the opportunity I would really like to meet him and ask what methods he used to enable you to have such a strong foundation.¡± (This is however out of the question, because currently Teacher Di doesn¡¯t want others to know I¡¯m his student.) ¡°No need, no need.¡± I immediately rejected Teacher Di. If I let him use Teacher Xiu¡¯s methods to deal with me, how could I possibly live out the rest of my days? ¡°Your education methods are superior to all other teachers, so you don¡¯t need to compare notes.¡± Without delay, I gave him a lofty hat to wear. After hearing my words, Teacher Di was extremely cheerful. ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t teach you in vain then.¡± From his appearance, I could tell that he was pleased with himself. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve got something to give you since you¡¯re leaving now.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to give me anything. They magic robe you gave me last time is already good enough.¡± Although the magic robe¡¯s effect on the sealing effects of Absolute Disturbance wasn¡¯t great, it still had a powerful effect on common attack spells. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you a gift this time, it¡¯s something you earned.¡± Saying this, he pulled out a precious amethyst card from his chest. ¡°What is this?¡± I curiously asked. ¡°This is an amethyst card containing diamond coins. There are very few people on the continent who are able to possess such a card. It can¡¯t be used by anyone but you since I have already inputted your data into it. It can¡¯t be altered in the future. Within it is the 100 diamond coins you earned by becoming the champion. Enough for you to spend. In the future when you want to use it, you only need to take it out and that will be enough. Its biggest benefit is that it can only be used by you, so you absolutely must not lose it. You can summon the amethyst card with summoning magic, so should ordinarily be keeping it within your body.¡± It¡¯s so pretty. After receiving it, I¡¯ve become quite wealthy. Furthermore, it¡¯s not a small fortune either! This is great! ¡°Teacher Di, I¡¯ll be leaving then. Take care of yourself. I¡¯ll be back after my vacation is over.¡± After saying this, I turned around and began ran towards the dormitory. I just need to pack up my stuff then I can go home! Yep, yep yep. ¡°Pay attention to safety on the road, don¡¯t let your magic decline while you¡¯re at home.¡± From behind me came Teacher Di¡¯s repeated warnings. Volume 2: Chapter 31 I Have Killed Volume 2: Chapter 31 ¨C I Have Killed I jogged back to the dormitory. All of my roommates were out, I suppose all of them went home. I quickly packed my things as I also wanted to return home. After I finished packing away my things, I went to a neighboring room. Ma Ke was still there and had almost fully recovered from his injuries. Seeing me come in, Ma Ke rose from the bed, ¡°Boss, you came back. How¡¯s your recovery fairing?¡± ¡°Pretty good, How about you? I¡¯m just about to head home.¡± Ma Ke extended his arm toward me, ¡°No problems, I¡¯ve just about recovered. Don¡¯t visit me again, I¡¯m just about to leave!¡± ¡°Then let us say our end of term goodbyes. I want to quickly go home, I¡¯ve become very homesick.¡± ¡°Wait for me a bit, I still have to pack a bit. Let¡¯s leave together.¡± Ma Ke packed a few more things and a moment later we head out of the dormitories together. ¡°Ma Ke, Did Hai Ri come visit?¡± After all, I didn¡¯t fulfill my promise with myself, to challenge him once more. ¡°He visited. He asked about the condition of your injury and said that you were truly ferocious. I reckon even he may not be able to win against you. There will be many chances in the future. There is nothing to really regret. You gave a great show with the match.¡± ¡°Hehe. I¡¯ll wait until the next term. There should be many opportunities to challenge Hai Ri then.¡± At the academy¡¯s entrance, when we were about to go our separate ways, ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± I patted his shoulder. Ma Ke¡¯s eyes were red. ¡°Boss, the days we spent together were truly happy. Take care of yourself too. My home is at the capital. I¡¯ll see you next term.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡± I turned around and ran as fast as I could. I was afraid that I would be reluctant to leave. Not far a distance away, I heard a person call to me, ¡°Zhang Gong!¡± I turned my head around for a look, and immediately felt very moved, ¡°Teacher Xiu, you actually came. I thought you weren¡¯t going to pick me up!¡± Teacher Xiu was still the same as ever, but there was a trace of emotion on his serious face. ¡°How could I not come? Come on, We¡¯re heading home.¡± Together, Teacher Xiu and I, set foot on the path home.¡± ¡°Teacher Xiu, Have you seen my mother and father lately?¡± ¡°Before I left, I paid a visit to your house. They are doing great, but they really miss you. How are you doing at the academy?¡± ¡°Very good. Did I not place first in the entrance exams? I am at the top of the second year students at the academy!¡± ¡°Is that right? You are first out of all the second years?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I also made a very good friend. His name is Ma Ke.¡± I unleashed an unceasing torrent of words about my time at the academy. We talked happily on the road. Only, I concealed the fact that I used to spell ¡°Sharing Life¡± in order to save Xiao Jin. I didn¡¯t want Teacher Xiu to worry. I also didn¡¯t want let my family to know either. Teacher Xiu knew I became Teacher Di¡¯s disciple. With great admiration, he continuously congratulated my great luck. He also repeatedly warned that I must study magic diligently under Teacher Di¡¯s tutelage. He also said that Teacher Di was indeed one of the continent¡¯s greatest mages. I didn¡¯t know how lucky I was. We took a short rest. When no people were around, we used teleportation magic to travel onward. Quickly, we traveled about two-thirds of the way through. It was when we reached an unknown forest that a small problem arose. About a dozen men scuttled from the middle of the woods, barring our way. They all looked rather burly. Teacher Xiu glanced at me and whispered, ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯m going to go and see what the matter is. Wait for me here. When I¡¯m done talking, we¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Gentlemen, Is there a problem?¡± The burly leader twitched his mouth, ¡°There¡¯s no problem, it¡¯s just that we have a shortage of money when we want to play around with some pretty girls. Seeing you like this, you ought to be mages. I advise you don¡¯t resist or else, hehe, us big brothers won¡¯t play nice. Obediently come and hand over your coin.¡± ¡°Moneyless Gentlemen, here, I have ten gold coins. Why don¡¯t you take this out to go drink and let us pass?¡± The burly leader grew angry, ¡°Do you think we¡¯re beggars? You think this is enough to let you pass? This won¡¯t do. Hand over everything!¡± The ten men seemed ready throw themselves at us. ¡°Alright, alright. Then wait for me, I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Teacher Xiu quickly walked to my side and whispered, ¡°Zhang Gong, These bandits¡¯ magic fluctuations aren¡¯t strong. Let teacher see the fruits of your efforts.¡± ¡°What? You want me to fight? Teacher Xiu, I can¡¯t. Why don¡¯t you?¡± This is the first time I¡¯ve come across this kind of situation, I¡¯m really scared. ¡°Out of the question. Magic when used in real combat allows it to improve. I¡¯ll be at your side protecting you. Fight fearlessly.¡± Teacher Xiu stopped smiling and raised his face. Truly deserving of being called the devil teacher, I knew I¡¯d be unable to escape. I could only brace myself and walk over. ¡°Gentlemen, Look at us, we also don¡¯t have any money. Could you let us off?¡± ¡°Enough rubbish.¡± Saying that was like slapping him, inciting him to come over. From reflex, I could feel a teleportation arriving from five meters away. I immediately cast several defense spells on myself. ¡°Mage! This child is actually a mage. Everybody come together!¡± The group of ten large men charged toward us. What do I do? I¡¯ve never experienced real combat before, I felt panicked. Forget it all. I¡¯ll just fight! I¡¯ll give them a strong spell and it¡¯ll be over. I began using instantaneous teleports to change my position, and then I chanted my most powerful attack spell. ¡°Oh great light element, please allow me to borrow your formidable strength, let the infinite light of the earth shine.¡± With me at its center, Brilliant Empire let out a blinding, overpowering brilliance. ¡°Wa, using such a powerful spell.¡± From a short distance away, Teacher Xiu immediately teleported out of harm¡¯s way. Because there wasn¡¯t a protective barrier, Brilliant Empire was able to fully display itself. Anything within a two hundred meter radius were entirely enveloped by the dazzling rays of light. The ten large men within my powerful spell had already turned to ashes. I only saw when the spell had him them, they were entirely engulfed by it. They turned into tiny specks of ashes; Afterwards, you wouldn¡¯t be able to completely find them. I blankly withdrew my magic power. At this moment, Teacher Xiu had already returned. ¡°Zhang Gong, your magic is formidable. What was that spell you had just used? It gave me a fright. Why would you use such a strong spell to handle such small vermin? Using your strengthened light arrows would have been enough.¡± ¡°I was really scared. I couldn¡¯t help but use Brilliant Empire. That was the most powerful spell I could cast. Teacher Xiu, where did they go?¡± I was complete unaware that I had already killed them. ¡°They¡­ They turned to ashes. Did you think this was the academy? Those men were all only advanced mages.¡± ¡°What? I killed them?¡± I suddenly wore a blank stare. ¡°Let it pass. In any case they were only villains.¡± Teacher Xiu consoled me. I killed but it doesn¡¯t matter. First of all, they were only bandits. Secondly, I was still a child. Lastly, the most important point, was that I was an outstanding student at the intermediate royal magic academy. I was a pillar of the nation. I definitely had some privileges. Furthermore, how could anyone else know that I¡¯ve already killed people? Hehe. Volume 2: Chapter 32 Five Years of Learning Volume 2: Chapter 32 ¨C Five Years of Learning The remainder of the journey was very dull. Gradually, I have also gotten over my dismay about killing people. Although I don¡¯t wish to kill people, it was for my own safety and I can¡¯t just wait and let myself be killed either. I resolved to defend and flee as much as possible in the future. Teacher Di said that everybody, that is all organisms, have a right to live. No one has the right to deprive others of their life as they wish. As long as one¡¯s own life is secured, that¡¯s enough. So I chose the path escaping. It truly is Teacher Di¡¯s teachings that affected me throughout my life. In the end, I arrived at home. As soon as I entered the village, a familiar feeling came from the pavements. I have returned to my hometown. I took a deep breath of the fragrance of my hometown¡¯s soil. A warm and cozy happy feeling overcame my body. Teacher Xiu accompanied me all the way to the gate of my house. Once again, I saw the familiar fence surrounding a familiar house. ¡°Mom, Mom! I¡¯m home!¡± I shouted loudly. ¡°Foolish child, they should both be at work.¡± Teacher Xiu reminded me. Ah, that¡¯s right! Right now it¡¯s still morning and they should be at working in the morning. I used teleportation to enter the house. Nothing had changed at all. My room was unusually clean. It¡¯s definitely because mom cleaned it often. I invited Teacher Xiu into the house. ¡°At last, I¡¯m back.¡± I really want to see mom and dad right now. ¡°Teacher Xiu, wait here for now. I¡¯m going to go look for them.¡± After saying this, I quickly ran towards the village committee that mom works at. Just as I reached the village committee¡¯s gate, I saw a familiar figure. ¡°MOM¡ª¡ª!¡± I threw myself at her. Mom still hadn¡¯t turned around, so I was able to throw myself at her. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back.¡± Mom had me in her embrace. ¡°Quickly let mother take a look at you.¡± While holding my face, mom attentively examined me. ¡°My Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve grown up to be so vigorous.¡± Mom¡¯s tears were flowing down her face. Finally, I have reunited with mom. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a surge of emotions as I threw myself into mom¡¯s embrace and began crying loudly. ¡°Mom, I really missed you!¡± While hugging me, mom said: ¡°I also really missed you too Zhang Gong.¡± The villagers also came by and only after a long time did I separate from mom. After seeing mom again, my attachment to her had grown deeper. I firmly clutched onto mom¡¯s sleeves, unwilling to loosen my grip even a bit for fear of being separated from her again. The village chief walked over. ¡°The talented student has come back on vacation. How were your studies in the capital?¡± ¡°Uncle Village chief. It was quite good. How is Ao De? Where did he go?¡± ¡°That youngster doesn¡¯t have future prospects like you but he¡¯s also on vacation. So he went out to play.¡± The villagers were extremely enthusiastic while ceaselessly asking me questions. Ordinarily I would really loathe these kinds of things, but today I wasn¡¯t fed up with it at all. Out of goodwill, the village chief let mom off so we could go home together. After returning home, we found that dad was already home. It seems like someone notified home. He was currently chatting with Teacher Xiu. Another surge of affection came once I saw dad. Mom and dad continuously questioned me on my academy life. I took out 80 diamond coins granted by the magic union and gave it to them. (I left 20 for myself. Hehe.) Mom and dad were extremely surprised, but they knew I acquired it with my own efforts so they were very happy. I think that with this money, they won¡¯t have to work so hard to let me attend the academy. Mom and dad have aged a bit in comparison to before I left. I know that this was all for me. Because of me they had to pay so much. I sincerely wish for them to not have to work so hard. With these feelings, I told them that my strength is already not inferior to that of a great mage¡¯s. So in the future, I won¡¯t need to rely on the for my tuition fee. I will be able to rely on my own efforts. Just like this, I began my vacation. Apart from accompanying mom and dad, I spent my days playing with Ao De and other village children. However, the days passed by very quickly and the vacation ended. I had to return to the capital and continue my studies. Although I didn¡¯t want to leave everyone, but in order to let them live a better life as well as to increase my strength so I can protect them, I must continue improving myself. Teacher Xiu didn¡¯t accompany me this time since I already knew the road. With tearful eyes, I waved goodbye to my family and set foot on the road back towards the academy. My five years in the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy were the most crucial five years of my life. (It was originally supposed to be four years but Teacher Di wanted me to have a stronger foundation so I spent a second year in the second grade). During these five years I laid a deep foundation for my magic. Although there was still a small gap, in the fifth grade my magic level had nearly reached Teacher Di¡¯s. However, Teacher Di told me that I had become a well-known figure even among the magisters. My gold ball of magic power was already approaching the state of being completely transparent. Even more important were the many magic techniques I created which even amazed even Teacher Di. In the fifth grade, there wasn¡¯t anyone would could compete with me for the position of the grade representative. The gap between me and Ma Ke also gradually widened to the point that I am now the academy¡¯s top expert. Something else worth mentioning was that Xiao Jin¡¯s growth rate was extraordinarily fast. He was already at the later stages of his growth period so he already had the basic form of a dragon. His body length exceeded 15 meters and his strength surpassed all the other magical beasts that Teacher Di knew of. Especially his physical attack power, it was exceptional strong and could easily break through intermediate class defense magic. If me and Xiao Jin fought, there was no certainty that I would be able to beat him. Maybe it¡¯s because we shared our lives, but any magic that I could use, Xiao Jin could also use. Any dragon magic that he could use, I could use too. This caused my strength to have a qualitative leap. Teacher Di said that if Xiao Jin and I worked together, we would be a match for a magister. I¡¯m already 16 years old. Every year I went home once, and when mom and dad saw how much I had grown, they were very happy. Using the money I won every year from the graduation competition, I let mom and dad live a more prosperous life. ¡­¡­ ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re going to be graduating soon. What plans do you have?¡± Teacher Di called me to his office today. ¡°Sigh What kind of plans could I have? I¡¯m planning on going to advanced magic academy.¡± With my strength as a grade representative, I don¡¯t need to take the entrance exams and can be recommended directly into the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. ¡°No. I don¡¯t wish for you to do this.¡± Teacher Di muttered to himself. ¡°What? What did you say? You won¡¯t let me attend the advanced magic academy?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°Correct. Because if you follow the same path I did, do you know what would happen? Although you¡¯re very strong right now, you forever won¡¯t be able to surpass me.¡± Teacher Di¡¯s profound words shocked me. Volume 2: Chapter 33 Not Returning To School Volume 2: Chapter 33 ¨C Not Returning To School ¡°Why?¡± I immediately asked because I knew that I was the youngest to become a magic scholar. Why was it that I could not surpass Teacher Di? I had deeply believed in the past that I held extraordinary talent, enough to certainly become a Legendary Grand Magister like that of yore. Teacher Di¡¯s words had astonished me, enough to shatter my self-confidence. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Listen to me explain,¡± Teacher Di paused for a moment, ¡°You know how old I am this year?¡± ¡°About 80?¡± ¡°This year I¡¯m 83. Do you know how old the vice principal is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d think he¡¯d be a bit younger than you!¡± ¡°This year he is 62. Before you came, he was the youngest to become a magic scholar. At the age of 20, he had already graduated from the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. At the age of 30 he had become a magister. Do you know why he hadn¡¯t made an inch of progress with these remaining 30 years?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Although they say there have been very few magisters, thousands of years ago, several hundred magisters existed. But there wasn¡¯t even a single Grand Magister. After achieving the level of a magister, you will enter a bottleneck. You could only increase your magic skills and your magic foundation, incapable of increasing your magic power. At present, of the ten magisters on the continent there is no difference in the amount of magical power. We are only ranked by our fame and magic skill.¡± ¡°Is the bottleneck that difficult to break through? Then how do I have a chance?¡± I said a bit discouraged. ¡°Until now, there hadn¡¯t been any great methods. Long ago, there had be many magisters experimenting but only three who bore fruit. One had given up. Another went insane. The last had injured his body with magic power and died.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s that hard?¡± I thought about giving up. After all, I¡¯ve already made it this far. I¡¯ll definitely become a magister, not a bad choice at all. ¡°This is why I didn¡¯t want you to walk along my beaten path and attend the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. I know that if you attempt to improve your own magic power there, your final conclusion would be to give up. These years that we spent learning magic together, I¡¯ve grown to understand your temperament.¡± I scratched my head with an embarrassed chuckle. ¡°I don¡¯t think that you must become a Grand Magister at any cost, but I do want you to try a new, different method. At the very least there is hope you will become a Grand Magister without using dangerous means.¡± ¡°Yes, there is hope. There is a final, crucial reason why magisters are incapable of improving, that is because their bodies are incapable to bearing that magic power. Furthermore, it is also because we are unable to genuinely understand the magic elements. Right now, your greatest advantage is your ability to become one with the magic elements. This is also the reason you are capable of creating many new spells.¡± ¡°Then what must I do? I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Rotating around such a large circle, at last the final conclusion is said. ¡°It is actually quite simple. You will still attend the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. Just that I wish for you to attend it at a later time. I want you to travel for a few years and learn from that experience, and afterwards, return and continue advancing your studies. ¡°Travel and learn from experience?¡± This simple? I thought it would be something hard. But it is actually just to travel and have fun. ¡°Alright, I also wanted to try traveling.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be too easy. I do want you to travel and learn from your experiences but also want you to complete a few assignments. On your own terms, through your experiences of travel, you must raise your magic power to that of a magister. This is a truly difficult process. Therefore, you must not believe that you can just laze around while traveling. Secondly, you must temper your body and strengthen your physical capabilities. To the point that you may even learn to use some simple Dou Qi. I interrupted Teacher Di, ¡°A warrior¡¯s Dou Qi? It is possible to use both Dou Qi and magic at the same time?¡± ¡°In theory, it is possible. But if you learn both, the final result will be that you will master neither. I don¡¯t want you to practice Dou Qi to the point of ferociousness, only to the point where you have a strengthened, healthy body to use. You will still primarily practice magic.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like that.¡± ¡°There are many advantages to learn from experience, for example to increase your battle experience, to increase your understanding of magic through real combat. This is very significant. However, to learn from experience is also very dangerous. I will try to keep you away from these dangers as much as possible. While you are traveling and learning, I will still teach, giving you difficult assignments, such as looking for divine artifacts of the legends, a weapon that had once been used by the God of Creation- Holy Sword. ¡°Holy Sword? It truly exists?¡± ¡°Yes, in addition I also know its approximate location. As for whether or not you can obtain it will depend on your luck. It should prove to be of great assistance to you. Within the Holy Sword contains a remnant of the God of Creation¡¯s holy power. This is a crucial to whether or not you can become a Grand Magister. That is why you must spare no effort looking for it. There is such a great thing? Not bad, I must diligently look for it. ¡°Be at ease, I can do it.¡± ¡°Right now, it isn¡¯t far away from your graduation. In these coming days you must make a great effort with great diligence. Strive to improve a bit. This way you will be safer while traveling. After about a month, I can accompany you to your home and explain the situation to your parents. Afterwards, you can begin to travel and learn. My initial plan is to give you two years¡¯ worth of time. After those two years, regardless of whether you completed your assignment, you must return.¡± I nodded my head. It seems I won¡¯t be able to have fun, this assignment is very important, I can¡¯t fail to live up to Teacher Di¡¯s expectations. I must try hard, I don¡¯t want to become famous, but I wanted to become strong. Leaving Teacher Di¡¯s office, I immediately went back to the dormitory looking for Ma Ke. Currently he is my only close friend. (Because we had both chose to repeat a year. Apart from Green Hair, there was no one else that hadn¡¯t advanced to Advanced Magic Academy. From the time I had placed first at the end of term competition, he suffered my influence. No longer was he annoying like before. As a result, he had become our friend. However, we didn¡¯t stop calling him Green Hair. I should also mention that we had also befriended Hai Ri¡¯s three siblings. Also, last year Hai Shui passed the entrance exam to the Royal Advanced Magic Academy.) Currently, Ma Ke had almost reached the level of a Magic Scholar. The reason why I immediately went to go look for him was because I wanted him to travel with me and also learn from experience. With his assistance, achieving the goal ought to be much easier. He had already called me ¡°Boss¡± for many years, there is no way that he¡¯ll decline my request. I walked toward his dormitory, brimming with confidence. Volume 3: Chapter 1 Brotherly Feelings Volume 3: Chapter 1 ¨C Brotherly Feelings At the moment, Ma Ke was reading a book in his dorm. ¡°Boss, why was Teacher Di looking for you?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t want me to enter the Royal Advanced Magic Academy.¡± At the time, Ma Ke and I were facing each other when I gave him the big surprise. ¡°Boss, your magic is excellent, not attending would be a waste. Why would Teacher Di think this way?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. It¡¯s like this.¡± I repeated the explanation Teacher Di told me in his office. ¡°How about it? Come with me to and get some experience. Us two brothers, even if we don¡¯t increase our magic power we will still increase our knowledge¡± Ma Ke didn¡¯t agree happily like I thought he would. After muttering to himself for a bit he spoke: ¡°Boss, let me think on it a bit. I want to go home and discuss with my family first and I¡¯ll tell you my decision tomorrow. Is that fine?¡± I hit him with my fist. ¡°You brat, this isn¡¯t like you at all. I don¡¯t remember you being so straightforward. Fine then. I won¡¯t force you. We¡¯ll talk again tomorrow.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s answer made me a bit angry, so without saying anything else, I went to practice magic by myself. I¡¯m already fully grown, from my appearance alone you would think that I¡¯m an adult. However, my face still has a juvenile look I haven¡¯t outgrown yet. The following is the personal data of me and Ma Ke: (The following data regarding the protagonist¡¯s body is all according to what the author set for them at this age.) Name£ºZhang Gong Wei Height£º181cm Weight£º70kg Major Magic£ºLight element Minor Magic£ºSpatial element Magical Beast£ºXiao Jin£¨Five Clawed Golden Dragon£© Overall Magic Strength£ºMagic Scholar£¨Hasn¡¯t been authenticated by the Mage Union£© Magic Control£ºS £¨Grades are divided into S¡¢A¡¢B¡¢C¡¢D¡¢E¡¢F£© Magic Power£ºA Magic Perception£ºSS Magic Defense£ºA Magic Attack£ºA Speed£ºA£¨Unable to fly£© Physical Attacks£ºF Physical Defense£ºF Stamina£ºD Name£ºMa Ke Sai Height£º180cm Weight£º74kg Major Magic£ºFire element Minor Magic£ºWind element Magical Beast£ºFire Lion£¨I don¡¯t know where this brat obtained a growth type Fire Lion. It has already reached the 8th rank.£© Overall Magic Strength£ºMagic Scholar£¨Hasn¡¯t been authenticated by the Mage Union£© Magic Control£ºS Magic Power£ºB Magic Perception£ºA Magic Defense£ºA Magic Attack£ºA Speed£ºA£¨Able to fly£© Physical Attacks£ºF Physical Defense£ºF Stamina£ºE Due to the fact that Ma Ke and I are big eaters, our bodies grew very quickly. Especially our height which has already surpassed most adults. With our refined appearances, we have become very popular with the female students. However, I not very interested in these kind of matters. In addition, I find girls very annoying so there hasn¡¯t been any real developments with anyone. On the other hand, Ma Ke was all over Hai Yue, and he hadn¡¯t bothered to acknowledge any other girls. Yet the funny thing was although me and Hai Yue have become friends, she still refuses to acknowledge Ma Ke. It seems he has been greatly influenced by his nickname, the Red Haired Rice Cake. The next day, I could not wait much longer and I went to go find Ma Ke, but he found me first. Ma Ke was listless like a frosted eggplant. Seeing him like this, I immediately had an ominous premonition. As expected, Ma Ke rejected me without even facing me. ¡°Boss¡­.. I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t accompany you on your journey.¡± Ma Ke said in a low voice. I stood up straight away. ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t you come? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ You don¡¯t want to go adventuring with me? Aren¡¯t we good brothers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ma Ke resolutely replied. ¡°Boss, I have a secret trouble that I can¡¯t tell you. I¡¯m sorry. I really can¡¯t go with you.¡± ¡°What kind of secret trouble can¡¯t you tell me? We can settle it together.¡± I was unwilling to give up. After all, I don¡¯t want to separate with someone who¡¯s been my brother for so many years.¡± ¡°I truly can¡¯t tell you. I can only tell you this, it¡¯s a problem with my family. My family won¡¯t let me go.¡± In all these years we have been at the academy together, not once have I been to Ma Ke¡¯s home. I only know that his family is very wealthy. After hearing this, I gradually calmed down. After all, I can¡¯t force others to do what they don¡¯t want to. We faced each other in silence for a long time but I broke the silence. I helplessly said, ¡°Forget about it. Since your family refuses to let you go, then its fine. Study diligently when you go to the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. I¡¯ll be back in two years anyways.¡± At that moment, I felt very helpless and lonely. It seems that I will have to face everything by myself in the future. This may have been fate¡¯s plan. I must walk down my path by myself. Ma Ke suddenly threw himself onto me and tightly hugged me. ¡°Boss¡­..¡± While he was breaking down in tears, I tolerantly held him by the shoulders as my own tears uncontrollably flowed too. Our emotions gradually settled down and I gently separated from him. ¡°Although we¡¯ll be separated temporarily, we will still be brothers for life.¡± ¡°Of course. Brothers for life.¡± Pausing for a moment, Ma Ke continued: ¡°Boss did you know I really want to go with you on the journey, but I have no control over my destiny. I must listen to my family and do as they arrange. Although I¡¯m not the eldest son, I still have responsibilities and obligations to my family. We¡¯re a really big clan so I must do my best for my clan.¡± ¡°Okay then. No need to say it again. I understand. You don¡¯t need to explain to me since we¡¯re brothers. Let all of our words be said.¡± The sincere friendship between me and Ma Ke was practically permeating throughout the room. Neither of us wanted to speak. I already wanted to go tell Teacher Di that I no longer wished to go on a journey. But then I thought of Teacher Di¡¯s ash gray hair and his earnest expectations for me. I couldn¡¯t. I can still see Ma Ke again, but what about Teacher Di? Does he still have the vitality to fulfill his dreams and cultivate another person who has the possibility of becoming a Grand Magister? (Note: After my third year, Teacher Xiu didn¡¯t come visit me anymore. According to him, he wanted to go out and travel.) During the final month, me and Ma Ke were practically inseparable. Both of us highly treasured these final period of time we had together. Every day we would stay in the same dorm, practice magic and eat together. But the day of departure finally came. With my strength, I didn¡¯t even need to participate in the graduation exam and just smoothly attained my authentication as a Great Mage from the Mage¡¯s Union. (Teacher Di didn¡¯t want me to reveal my strength too early. A 16 year old Magic Scholar would shock the whole world. But like this, many people would still drop their jaws in shock.) Volume 3: Chapter 2 Departure from the Academy Volume 3: Chapter 2 ¨C Departure from the Academy I will have to leave the school that I lived in and learned in, my second home. I truly hate to part with this place. I looked fondly at every shrub and tree at the academy. Why did time pass by so fast, making me come and go in a flurry? At my side, Teacher Di looked at my reluctance to leave, and with a soft sigh said, ¡°If you must to leave, you have to leave. You can always return. When you come back, I am sure that you will bring much glory to this academy, and also to me. You are already a grown boy, don¡¯t act like a small child. Go.¡± We walked slowly toward the academy¡¯s gate. I turned my head around, looking at the large words engraved in solid granite, ¡°Royal Intermediate Magic Academy¡±. My eyes grew moist once more. ¡°Boss, Wait! I¡¯ve come to send you off.¡± Ma Ke ran over, panting. Originally I didn¡¯t tell him that I was leaving today because I didn¡¯t want to experience such a depressing occasion. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you were leaving? I¡¯m your only brother!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s face wore an expression indistinguishable from laughing or crying. ¡°This is for you. You must quickly return. I¡¯ll wait for you at the Advanced Magic Academy. We are still going study together.¡± Ma Ke took out a dagger from his bosom. It had a gorgeous exterior appearance, the dagger¡¯s sheath was embedded with all kinds of gems. I went over to receive it. I didn¡¯t observe it carefully. After all, my heart was completely filled with feelings of separation, I couldn¡¯t be concerned with anything else. Aside me, Teacher Di¡¯s eyes flashed with a peculiar vigor. I can¡¯t stop now, else it will be even harder to leave. I grit my teeth and turned around and set foot on the journey home with Teacher Di. With great difficulty, I resisted the urge to look back. But I could not hold back my tears, they flowed freely. ¡°Don¡¯t miss Ma Ke too much. Do you want to go up to the sky and have a look?¡± Teacher Di¡¯s words diverted my attention, ¡°The sky? How would I go up to the sky?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you forgot? My minor is wind, we can fly.¡± Teacher Di cast a wind soaring enchantment on himself and slowly floated off the ground. ¡°This is my first time seeing you fly. So then how do I fly?¡± I can¡¯t possibly use wind magic. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you. Hold onto my waist.¡± Like that, Teacher Di and I ascended to the skies. It didn¡¯t feel bad at all. The forests and villages underneath looked just like ants. A light breeze brushed against my face. It truly felt like we were immortals. I enviously said, ¡°When will I be able to fly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. Even if you can¡¯t use wind magic, later on you will have opportunities to study some top class Dou Qi with similar effects. After that you will definitely be able to fly. ¡° ¡°You can use Dou Qi to fly?¡± I asked with doubt. ¡°That¡¯s right. In addition, flying with Dou Qi is much faster than flying with magic. It¡¯s just that it cannot be sustained nearly as long. Teacher Di¡¯s words arose a yearning to learn Dou Qi, being able to fly is truly good. In the future when I have an opportunity, I must diligently learn Dou Qi. So long as I can use it to fly, that¡¯ll be enough. About an hour of flying in the sky, I saw Teacher Di¡¯s complexion turn a bit pale. After all, flying for such a long period of time would consume a great amount of magic energy. In addition he had also carried a person. Even though Teacher Di was a magister, the burden was quite large. ¡°Teacher Di, let¡¯s go down and let you rest.¡± I said with concern. ¡°Alright, Ah¡­ I¡¯m already old, my body feels like dying. It seems I can no longer bear the burden of using magic for a long period of time.¡± We landed on a small hillside and rested a while. Then we continued on our journey. By flying, we finally made it to my hometown. Currently, I am the pride of the village. When everyone finds out that I have the means to become a Grand Magister, the endless amount of praise and flattering would send me to the sky. When Father and Mother saw me come back, they were so happy, they didn¡¯t know what to say. I don¡¯t dare tell anyone that I returned with one of the only ten magisters on the continent, otherwise the pot would surely explode. After we rested for a day, Teacher Di talked to my mother and father about letting me learn from traveling. They were both silent. In their minds, the Royal Advanced Magic Academy was the most orthodox and proven path. In addition they were also concerned for my safety. However, they revered Teacher Di and couldn¡¯t say anything. How could the experienced Teacher Di not see this? He patiently explained to them the purpose of allowing me to learn from my travels and his expectations of me, as well as the various means he will use to ensure my safety. In the end, Father and Mother were satisfied and allowed me to travel. At night, Teacher Di and I took a walk outside the village. I was immersed in the enchanting scenery of the night. Teacher Di had suddenly stopped and solemnly said to me, ¡°Zhang Gong, this traveling assignment is truly formidable. For your safety, I will gift you with many, different things.¡± He took out three magic scrolls from his bosom. ¡°The ability of these three magic scrolls are the same. In short, they are escape scrolls. They can immediately move you 50 kilometers away. Hold onto them well.¡± Taking the magic scrolls I said, ¡°Thank you, Teacher.¡± In addition, I asked the Continent¡¯s number one magister to set up a magic array at the academy. When you encounter a problem you are unable to solve during your assignment, you can use this magic array to return to the academy. The drawing and activation method are written in this booklet. You should memorize it as quickly as possible, and become able to achieve a teleportation accuracy of at least 90% or greater.¡± Done talking, Teacher Di handed me a small, frail booklet. After I took the booklet, Teacher Di also said, ¡°Pay attention. When you use this magic array, your magic power must be in top condition, otherwise a deviation will occur. ¡°I understand, I will practice it well.¡± Also, I¡¯ve deposited a thousand diamond coins into your amethyst card, it should be enough for you to use. Don¡¯t be too stingy. For your assignment, the divine artifact¡¯s approximate location is in a Dalu Kingdom¡¯s province within a valley. You will go there to look for it. That¡¯s it. That is all I wanted to tell you.¡± I attentively memorized what Teacher Di said. Suddenly he remembered to say something else, ¡°That¡¯s right! Last time before you departed, Ma Ke gave you a dagger. It isn¡¯t any ordinary dagger. Although it isn¡¯t comparable with a divine artifact it does contain some power. It can penetrate magic and Dou Qi defenses. Use it with caution.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 3 Being Away from Home Volume 3: Chapter 3 ¨C Being Away from Home The dazzling sunshine woke me from my sleep, reminding me of the loathsome sun from my childhood. It truly does feel like I have grown up. After washing my face, I went outside and took a deep breath. When the light elements within me sensed the fresh air, they grew excited, thus giving me much vigor. Today is the day I set off. I¡¯ll be separated from the most familiar places of my life. ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s time to eat breakfast.¡± Mom¡¯s voice carried over from the kitchen. ¡°Coming!¡± At this moment, I truly wish to cherish the short amount of time I have left with my family before my departure. I hurriedly ran downstairs. The whole family was there sitting in a circle around the dining table. ¡°Ah. Eat some more Zhang Gong. You won¡¯t be able to eat mom¡¯s cooking for a long time.¡± Mother benevolently added more and more food onto my bowl. ¡°You should eat too mom. You can be at ease, I will definitely return home safe and sound.¡± ¡°After seeing you two like this, I don¡¯t know if letting Zhang Gong go on a journey is a good choice anymore.¡± Teacher Di jokingly said after seeing a meal full of deep affection. At last, the time of departure has come. ¡°Pay attention to your safety on the journey.¡± Mom said with red eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Dad said with trembling hands. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the escape scrolls I gave you.¡± Said Teacher Di. Although I was reluctant to part, I bid farewell to them and set foot on my journey of learning. As I walked away from the village, I repeatedly turned back to take a look. I¡¯ve left home already. The melancholy I¡¯m feeling within my heart is impossible to resolve. According to Teacher Di¡¯s plan, I first have to go to the Xiuda kingdom to find his good friend. The Dean of Xiuda¡¯s Knight Academy, Teacher Li Ke Wen. I¡¯ll cultivate there for a bit before continuing my mission. Without any feelings of anxiousness, I slowly walked on upon the road while admiring my surroundings beautiful scenery. My homeland is actually so beautiful. Ahead of me there was some steam drizzling down. I opened up the map Teacher Di gave me and inspected it. My walking speed truly isn¡¯t that slow. I have already reached Serene Dream Lake. After crossing another province, I¡¯ll be at the Xiuda kingdom¡¯s borders. In the past, I heard Teacher Di say that this area¡¯s scenery was exceptionally beautiful. I want to hurry up and go take a look. I increased my pace and advanced towards Serene Dream Lake. Ah! The lake sure is big. I can¡¯t even see the shore on the other side. I can even see the fish in the clear dark blue lake water. Truly beautiful. I crouched down beside the lake and splashed my face with the clear lake water. It felt so cold. So comfortable. Right now it was the start of summer so soaking in the ice-cold lake water is indeed extremely comfortable. I took off my shoes and began walking in the water. Enjoying this scenic lake and mountain gave me a wonderful feeling. Suddenly, there was a rustle behind me. I turned my head to take a look. I saw seven or eight people in black running in my direction. It looks like their figures are awfully vigorous. It seems that they practice martial skills. From their slender figures, I can make out that they¡¯re all women. As they progressed, I counted how many there was. There was nine people. Today there was such a great heat yet they¡¯re wearing cloaks that cover up their whole body. It looks like the tallest one is their boss while all the other one¡¯s seemed like stars holding up the moon. I don¡¯t know how they grew up, but why do they all need to wear cloaks that cover up their whole body? I can¡¯t help but stare at them. I don¡¯t know if it was my stare that was too glaring, but one of them noticed me. ¡°Hey, that brat over there. What are you looking at! Hurry up and get lost. We want to rest over here. If you keep looking we¡¯ll scoop out your eyes.¡± Wow! They¡¯re so violent. She truly is a loathsome woman. It goes without saying that the lady wants to rest and being the gentleman that I am, I was going to go to the side. However, after hearing her words I¡¯m not going anymore. I refuse to acknowledge her. I raised my head to her and hummed a tune from my hometown. ¡°Sometimes the hurriedly worn socks will be inside-out, sometimes I really want to wash dishes tomorrow since I¡¯m too muddle-headed and just a bit lazy. Don¡¯t bother me and let me be a spoiled child sometimes~¡± This song was something dad was often singing called ¡°Great Woman¡±. Maybe he sang it because he was afraid of mom. After listening to it for so long, naturally I learned it. Seeing that I didn¡¯t react, the one who shouted angrily at me before began walking towards me while spitting anger. Apparently she wants to be rude to me. Hmph! Who¡¯s afraid of who here? The leader of the young women began speaking. ¡°Ling Zi, don¡¯t cause trouble. Have you already forgotten what my dad told you to do when going out?¡± What a sweet-sounding voice. Even a skylark¡¯s chirping would be eclipsed by her splendor. In comparison to my own voice, it¡¯s so much more compelling. If she sang a song, I wonder what it would be like. I began letting my imagination run wild. That girl called Ling Zi ferociously groaned before saying: ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you this time. Hurry up and get lost!¡± I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of her resentful words or if I just wanted to listen to their leader¡¯s beautiful voice some more, I hid my disdain beneath my contempt and provoked her. ¡°Is this place part of your property? It¡¯s so amazing. Even if you try to drag me, the young gentleman that is I, won¡¯t leave.¡± Sure enough, my desire was achieved. That girl¡¯s leader spoke again. ¡°Ling Zi, go teach him a lesson. But don¡¯t kill him.¡± So pleasant to hear, it truly is pleasant to hear. Why won¡¯t she speak a few more sentences? While I was being infatuated with her, something troublesome came. Maybe that girl called Ling Zi already thought I wasn¡¯t pleasing to the eye, but when she heard her master¡¯s command, she immediately fluttered over. She took out a jeweled sword from her waist and swung, just barely missing my head. A cold wind attacked me, causing me to struggle with shivers. I said: ¡°Aiya! Resorting to killing already?¡± With a single teleport, I moved 10 meters away. Dangerous, simply too dangerous. A few locks of my hair seems to have been cut. What a fast sword! ¡°You¡¯re actually coming at me!¡± ¡°So you¡¯re actually a mage. No wonder you¡¯re so shameless.¡± I was currently wearing clothes that commoners wear. So she only knew I was a mage after seeing me use magic. Wa! Are all mages shameless? I gloomily said within my heart. It doesn¡¯t matter if you insult me, but my teacher, friends and my parents are all mages! For their sake, I will teach you a lesson. ¡°Oh light elements, my friend, congregate into sharp arrows and annihilate the enemies before me!¡± The strengthened light arrows were fired from my hands. She appeared to have a very hateful appearance after seeing me fire off some light arrows. The sword in her hands began emitting a week silver colored light and in a moment, she cut down my light arrow. Following that, she immediately rushed towards me. After all, it is only natural that a warrior would try to engage a mage in close quarters combat. Wa! That¡¯s Heaven Dou Qi. I¡¯ve heard of it before, but this time I¡¯m actually seeing it! It seems that I¡¯ll have to use some of my actual skill. ¡°Oh light elements, my friend, transform into Holy Light.¡± Brilliant rays of white light rushed forth from my body, enveloping everything in my surroundings. It formed a defensive screen. This is the advanced class defensive light magic: Holy Light. When she clashed with my Holy Light, it looked as if she was suffering in pain. She retreated with lightning speed. From head to toe, she was trembling. ¡°You. You¡¯re a light mage.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 4 First encounter with Magic Race Volume 3: Chapter 4 ¨C First encounter with Magic Race Not yet finished talking, she fell down. That isn¡¯t possible. My ¡°Holy Light¡± is a defense type spell, it doesn¡¯t contain any offensive qualities. How did it become like this? While I was completely confused, the young woman in charge took out her hand. She murmured many incantation verses. On her hand appeared a dark violet sphere. With a wave of her hand, she did not attack me but rather aimed at the girl named Ling Zi. Ling Zi seemed to feel much better. She no longer trembled and started to breath deep breathes. What kind of magic is this? I¡¯ve never seen it before. ¡°Young woman, what magic did you use? I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡± I curiously asked. The sound of the young woman¡¯s beautiful voice came, ¡°Don¡¯t let him run. Kill him.¡± ¡°Stop. I only said a few words yet all of you want to kill me. You¡¯re all too fierce.¡± By the time I finished speaking, they had already surrounded me. I continuously strengthened my defensive enchantments, waiting to see how they will handle me. Their leader still hadn¡¯t acted, it was only that the eight had surrounded me under her command. They had started to form a circle, I believe they are using a martial skill. However, I discovered they actually haven¡¯t moved. Not good. They started chanting an incantation. A thick, black fog came out from their bodies and completely enveloped me. I protected my body with Holy Light and when the black fog touched it, it made a fizzling sound. It seemed to be some sort of corroding acid. I immediately felt a large increase in pressure. It was truly formidable but Holy Light continued to resist it. ¡°Oh Great Light Elements, I request you to allow me to borrow your formidable power. Allow the limitless light of the earth to shine!¡± The current Brilliant Empire was unlike before, I could fully control the spell¡¯s strength and position. So naturally, I surrounded them using an area release spell. Following my chant, I slowly floated off the ground, surrounded in blinding white light. I lifted my head and the gold dan within my upper Dantian enveloped my body with a third of my magic power. The radiance surrounding me shrunk back for a moment and then instantly burst forth. The white rays of light rapidly engulfed the black fog, counter attacking the surrounding eight women. I held back, not using my full strength. I didn¡¯t want to kill. I still had a lingering fear when I remembered the scene when I had first killed. In face of the eight women¡¯s critical situation, their leader rapidly cast a ring of purple energy, wrapping around them and protecting them from my Brilliant Empire¡¯s attack. Their defensive spell was obviously hurried. Although they managed to react against my attack, they were still injured to an extent. The eight women¡¯s cloaks were all destroyed by the threads of light element, exposing their form fitting magic armor. A few cracks had appeared on their armor. Ah, what beautiful girls. Not only were their appearances beautiful but even their figures had no flaws. Even I, who held little interest in women, had a quickened heartbeat. But when I lifted my head, I was astonished. It was impossible words to describe the beautiful scene before me. This was beauty unlike that of Serene Dream Lake. To compare the two would be like comparing a glimmering ember and the luminous moon. Their leader wasn¡¯t in the same, sorry condition as her eight subordinates. But the cloak that concealed her face had fallen off, revealing her indescribably beautiful appearance. It was that beautiful scene that stunned me. So beautiful, so very beautiful. Out of all the beautiful women I¡¯ve met, they are incapable of being compared with her. She by no means held a vulgar beauty but a delicate and graceful one. If all the woman of the world were to be compared, she alone would stand above the rest. I, who had never wavered before, started salivating. The beautiful woman saw me act like a lecherous pervert and noticed her own cloak had fallen off, quickly covering herself. ¡°Teacher, quickly, help me kill this pervert!¡± An eerie voice arrived, ¡°Who dares to vex my little princess?¡± A chilly wind blew, the ice cold voice removed ¡°passion¡± from my heart, and not even a sliver remained. In the wake of the terrifying voice, a black smoke flashed. Then at the beautiful girl¡¯s side appeared a completely bound bamboo pole. To say he was a bamboo pole would wouldn¡¯t be a slightest bit an exaggeration. Although I couldn¡¯t clearly see his stature, it would appear that out of his entire body, only the palm of his hand could be considered wide. ¡°Teacher, it is him. He already knows our secret and have seen our appearances. Quickly, help me kill him.¡± This beautiful woman is truly not capable of love. How could such a sweet voice say such vicious words, so readily willing to kill? ¡°Beautiful woman, you are very vicious. However, I like that. How about we become friends?¡± I frivolously tried to stop her. Without waiting for her to speak, the bamboo pole had float over. Approaching me, he released a formidable, imposing pressure, rendering me unable to breathe. A master! I went on guard. A true master. Aside from Teacher Di or Teacher Long, I haven¡¯t encountered anyone else capable of making me feel this pressure. I immediately became wary, covering my body with light element and defensive enchantments. That shady, ominous voice emerged once more, ¡°So it turns out to be a light magic boy. Aren¡¯t those who learn light magic few in number?¡± ¡°Who said very few? How would you know, bamboo pole? Right now, light magic is very popular throughout the continent and I am the worst one!¡± Humph, I must confront and mislead him. But I hadn¡¯t expect that these precise words had allowed humanity to avoid a calamity. ¡°What did you say, is this true? The continent¡¯s people use light magic? The intelligence I received as not as such.¡± He is truly frank and outspoken, unable to differ lies from truth. I deliberately put on a serious face and said with exceptional earnest, ¡°Of course it is true, do I have reason to lie to you?¡± Of course I do, you can¡¯t tell lies from truth, even with your life on the line, hehe. Within my mind I sinisterly laughed. ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. Kill him first, you cannot let him reveal our secret.¡± The beautiful woman yelled from the side. This beautiful woman is really out to get I, her daddy. There isn¡¯t a single good thing about beautiful women. In the future, I¡¯d better not take a beautiful woman for a wife. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll first settle this, and then you¡¯ll go out and verify.¡± The bamboo pole began chanting an incantation, ¡°Mighty god of darkness, your servant humbly requests you, become an insatiable devourer. For this, I willingly offer my soul.¡± Though I was ignorant, I could feel that his incantation used dark magic. I loudly yelled in surprise, ¡°Magic race!¡± A black shadow emerged from behind the Bamboo Pole and came flying at me. I immediately cast Brilliant Empire trying to meet his attack. But something unexpected happened. The black shadow did not engage with Brilliant Empire but rather turned into a large cover, gathering Brilliant Empire¡¯s pillar of light and trapping it within. I lost control over my spell, and soon the light element within the black cover gradually faded away. Volume 3: Chapter 5 Successful Escape Volume 3: Chapter 5 ¨C Successful Escape So powerful! Darkness magic is actually so powerful! They¡¯re of the demon race, so they have a hatred for humanity carved in their bones and engraved in their hearts. How could they possibly spare me? In the first place, I have never encountered them before so I didn¡¯t know how to deal with darkness magic. This won¡¯t do, I need to run away. Safety is the most important after all. I can think of a method to deal with them in the future. I took advantage of the fact that the darkness magic was still covering up my Brilliant Empire to quickly use a short range teleportation to leave the site. I picked a direction and did my best to flee. In fact, I didn¡¯t need to be so anxious about escaping. They didn¡¯t chase me at all. Even though that bamboo pole counteracted my Brilliant Empire, it still consumed a lot of power. Darkness magic and light magic are mutually restrictive after all. In the first place, he didn¡¯t have any advantages at all. After counteracting the Brilliant Empire¡¯s energy, the bamboo pole took a deep breath. ¡°That light magic was very powerful but he also knows spatial magic. It seems that it will be impossible to chase him. He¡¯s so young yet he has so much strength. Ah. Princess, it seems that you still can¡¯t compare with him.¡± ¡°Teacher, how are you? Don¡¯t tell me¡­. Even you can¡¯t deal with him? Is he actually that powerful?¡± The beautiful lady quickly went over to assist the bamboo pole. She had said that since she was unconvinced. ¡°Ah, Princess. If what that youngster said just now is true, then our demon race is in danger.¡± Sure enough, they are of the demon race. ¡°Their light magic is something we haven¡¯t faced for a long time. Its power is extraordinarily strong. It was clear that he hadn¡¯t used all of his strength yet. Although he can¡¯t be considered my match at the moment, in a few years he will surely surpass me. He also know that the demon race has invaded humanity so he will certainly take appropriate measures. It seems that we will have to temporarily stop our invasion of humanity. We will have to make clear the strength of humanity first before we can continue with our plans.¡± ¡°Okay. I will listen to you. Then are we still going to the kingdom of Aixia?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still going. However, all of you should go ahead and find a place to set up first. I must return to our country and report the situation to His Majesty first. I¡¯ll ask His Majesty whether or not we will alter our plans.¡± ¡°Good. Then we will immediately set off.¡± The beautiful lady turned towards the eight maids and said. ¡°How are your conditions? Quickly change into good clothes. We¡¯re setting of now. Once we¡¯ve arrived at the city walls, we¡¯ll look for a place to rest and heal.¡± Back to me. After running for who knows how long, I was gasping for breath. Ah. I¡¯m so tired. I turned my head around as I ran and saw that there wasn¡¯t anyone chasing after me. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems if I stop running then. I found a shady tree and sat down before wiping away the sweat on my forehead. What did those demon race people come here to do? What kind of bad luck do I have to let me run into them? My luck is really bad today. Right after setting off on my journey I have already met such a powerful enemy. It¡¯s a good thing I can run away quickly. I still felt a lingering fear when recalling the black cover the bamboo pole used on me. However, the leader of those girls was simply too beautiful. Does the demon race have many beautiful women? I originally thought those two elusive sisters were already very beautiful women, but this demon race women is even more beautiful! I can¡¯t help but shake my head. Although my heart has never raced for any women before, this time I¡¯m a bit tempted. But she¡¯s a bit too fierce. When she saw me, she didn¡¯t just want to beat me, she also wanted to kill me. If I married her in the future, then wouldn¡¯t my life be awfully miserable? A few passionate words and she¡¯ll give me her blade. It¡¯s already over. It seems that all beautiful women are fierce. In the future, it¡¯ll be fine if I just find an ordinary looking girl to be my wife. It¡¯s enough to just look at beautiful women. I truly don¡¯t know what our protagonist is thinking. Right now he is continuously thinking about the issue concerning them and himself. He was unexpectedly thinking about how the demon race passed through the Si Te Lun stronghold and arrived at the Tian Wu continent. What is their purpose? With my body exhausted and my spirit drained, I unconsciously fell asleep in the shade. I slept very well, and I woke up freezing. I opened my eyes and saw that it was already night. My body was wet with dew and sweat; I felt unbearably sticky. I wanted to immediately find a place to wash. Where is this? There seems to be light a small distance away. It looked like a village. Without any delay, I immediately ran toward it. I walked close and carefully looked. As expected, it is a village, a very small village. Probably about only twenty households. I walked toward to the largest house and knocked on the door, ¡°Is anyone there?¡± An old voice passed through the door, ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Hello, sir. I am a traveler. On a whim, I came here first. Could you let me stay here for the night? I will leave tomorrow, thank you.¡± After a moment, the door opened. It was a wrinkly old grandpa. After he spent a moment examining me head from toe, he said, ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I answered at once and then followed the old man into the house. The house had about three different rooms. The living room was very simple; it only had a bench, a small table, a small stool, and a few domestic necessities. The old man poured a glass of water for me. I immediately answered, ¡°Thank You.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite. Where did you come from, young man?¡± The old man asked with a smile. ¡°I came from the city of SenKe. I wanted to take a tour around the Xiuda Kingdom.¡± I didn¡¯t conceal anything with these words. This isn¡¯t a secret that I have to hide. ¡°Ah SenKe, that¡¯s the second largest city. I visited there when I was young. Oh that¡¯s right, you still haven¡¯t ate. Look at me, old and senile. I¡¯ll go get you something to eat.¡± I was indeed very hungry, I cannot be polite about this, ¡°In that case, I will trouble you.¡± Actually, in my mind I still wanted to say, ¡®You should bring more, I eat a lot.¡¯ I found a basin, and I scooped up a bit of water from the yard¡¯s water jar and washed my face. As expected, it was very refreshing. After I finish eating, I¡¯ll give myself a good wash. ¡°Time to eat, young man.¡± The old man called from within the room. ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± When I entered the room again, the small table already held many dishes on top of it, including a bamboo basket filled with steaming sweet potato and corn. There was also a bowl of fragrant sweet potato congee. This is great. Smelling the fragrant aromas of the meals, I felt like I was eat. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and eat. Rural folk like me don¡¯t have anything good to treat guests with.¡± ¡°This is already very good. At home, I always eat like this.¡± I could no longer help it. I threw myself at the table¡¯s various foods and with all my might, tried to stuff it all in my stomach. The old man watched me eat with a knowing smile. With the battle concluded, I had cleared off all the food. I patted my bulging belly, satisfyingly said, ¡°I¡¯m very full, I haven¡¯t eaten this much ever since I left home. Thank you truly.¡± The old man rose and cleaned the battlefield. I also quickly set to the task. Letting me wolf down so much food, how could I possibly push the cleanup onto someone else. The old man didn¡¯t bother being polite and told me where the kitchen was. Volume 3: Chapter 6 Mercenary Guild Volume 3: Chapter 6 ¨C Mercenary Guild Finished cleaning, I went back to the living room. The old man seemed to be waiting for me, ¡°We¡¯re done. Let me bring you to where you¡¯ll be sleeping.¡± ¡°Young man, you¡¯ll be sleeping here. Straight and simple, put it together. Ah that¡¯s right, I still don¡¯t know your name. This old name is called Lei Jie. You can call me uncle. I haven¡¯t married, I¡¯ve been by myself.¡± ¡°Here is good. Uncle, my name is Zhang Gong. Thank you.¡± I sat on the bed and chatted with uncle. I heard him say we were near the Aixia kingdom¡¯s border. In the past, this place had once belonged to the Kingdom of Xiuda. The folk on this side are sincere and down to earth, and they all treated their guests well. After all, they are at the border, there aren¡¯t that many people who can use magic here. He also said that if I still wanted to go to the Xiuda Kingdom, I must be careful. Recently, it hadn¡¯t been very peaceful and secure over there. At our border, there are a few bandits that come and go as a result of our friendly relations. The territory¡¯s sovereignty is a sensitive topic, therefore it wasn¡¯t properly guarded. Hearing him talk about this location, I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then currently, is it impossible to go over there?¡± ¡°No, everything is ordinary at our border city. Polima city assembled a large group of people and hired a few mercenaries as escorts. With this, it¡¯s already much safer.¡± ¡°Oh, Then I should go to Polima.¡± Haha, there was still such a great thing. I should try out becoming a mercenary. I might even make some pocket money, hehe. That uncle had clearly misunderstood my meaning, ¡°Right, since you want to go to the Xiuda Kingdom, it is better to travel from that place. Going together with merchants will also be much safer.¡± Without needing to explain, I asked where I could wash. He told me there was a brook behind the village I could bathe in. I used the clear and cold river water to wash the dirt and fatigue. So comfortable. After washing, my body felt indescribably refreshed. From the dimensional storage I took out a set of clean clothes, and changed into them. Then I took the washed clean clothes and returned to that uncle¡¯s house. I lied down on the bed, thinking about today¡¯s events. Although I said that from now on I wouldn¡¯t take a beautiful woman as a wife, their fairy-like appearance continuously swam in my mind, and I dazingly entered slumberland. At dawn, I had finished eating breakfast with uncle and we said our goodbyes. According to his directions, I went forward to Polima city. Perhaps it is because merchants from both countries pass through here, even though it was a border town, Polima was a very prosperous city. The main street was bustling with activity. All kinds of shops were dazzlingly light up like glittering jewels. I inquired the location of the mercenary guild from a passerby. The mercenary guild¡¯s sign is a diamond coin with sword passing diagonally through it. I suppose the idea behind it was that mercenaries used their own skill to get their coin. Walking through the mercenary guild¡¯s entrance, I faced a very large hall. The hall had various sorts of desks all around. At center of the hall were many differently dressed people. There were those who wore warrior¡¯s clothing, mage¡¯s clothing, and there were even a few sharp eared elves and a few short, rugged dwarves. Elves and dwarves are both classified as minorities, both are peaceful races. Elves are born archers, possessing keen senses and impressive eyesight and capable of learning any natural magic. Dwarves are powerful warriors and very skilled craftsmen. A great many high quality weapons were forged by them. I walked to what I believed to the front desk, and inquired to the young lady behind it, ¡°Excuse me, where could I receive mercenary missions?¡± The service lady took a glance at me. Seeing that I wore only ordinary clothing, she obviously wasn¡¯t very enthusiastic. She lazily said, ¡°First go to the left over there and get a form and apply to become a mercenary. After that, you will get a mercenary¡¯s mission card. Then you can go to the right and receive missions.¡± ¡°Oh, Thanks.¡± I answered quickly and took a form. The asked for name and surname, profession, degree of ability and so-on. On the form, for ability, I put that I was a great mage. When I gave the registry form to service lady, she said with surprise, ¡°You¡¯re a great mage?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, what¡¯s the matter?¡± I, who diligently studied at royal magic academy for a very long time, naturally didn¡¯t know that great mages were uncommon. ¡°Do you have identification from the magic union?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± I took a magic union capability card from my bosom. (A mage¡¯s ability and experience are all verified and confirmed within the magic union¡¯s record card. Everyone had their own unique magic card.) That service lady anxiously authenticated it for a moment. She read it and mumbled: ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, graduated from the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, representative of his year. As a result of his exceptionally outstanding achievements at the academy, he was exempt from testing and awarded with the title of great mage. Wow! You¡¯re a great mage that graduated from the Royal Magic Academy?¡± Because of her voice was relatively loud, everyone present had heard. At the time, I became everyone¡¯s focus and felt somewhat embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s right, what¡¯s the matter? Can I become a mercenary or not?¡± Distracted for a moment, she promptly said, ¡°You can, of course you can. Because you¡¯re a great mage, you are directly promoted to a rank C mercenary. You can accept any missions you believe you are capable of.¡± ¡°Rank C Mercenary? Mercenaries are ranked?¡± I asked with doubt. She smiled at me, I suppose it because I was ignorant and inexperienced. ¡°Naturally, Mercenaries have high to low ranks from S, A, B, C, D, E, F, to G. What missions a mercenary can accept depends on their rank. They are promoted in accordance to the difficulty and quantity of their completed missions.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like that, thank you.¡± I took the mercenary card that she handed to me, and then I walked to the desk on the right to look for a mission that went to Xiuda. The service staff at the desk to the right knew that I was a great mage and treated me with an exceptionally friendly attitude. Seeing me walk over, they approached me and asked, ¡°What rank of mission would you like to receive?¡± ¡°The rank doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is if it goes to the Xiuda Kingdom. I want to travel there, so a mission heading there would be best.¡± ¡°Wait one moment, sir. I¡¯ll help you check.¡± While she was searching, I was looking at the top tile of the mission board and it was unexpectedly the first assignment that Teacher Di had given me, to acquire Holy Sword, the weapon that the God of Creation had once used. Rank SSS, Ah, there are three S¡¯s! It is clearly going to be very difficult. The reward was also extraordinarily high, to go so far as to offer a hundred thousand diamond coins. I reckon that is about how much my country receives from taxes annually. Volume 3: Chapter 7 Eating and Eating Volume 3: Chapter 7 ¨C Eating and Eating I asked the service lady: ¡°The reward for these three S rank missions are so big, who could afford this?¡± This time not only did she laugh at me, but all the people around me looked at me as if I was an idiot. What are they looking at? It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know since it¡¯s my first time out in the world. I¡¯ll just ignore them then. ¡°Since the beginning of the Mercenary guilds, this mission has had the highest rank. It¡¯s already been like this for over 1000 years. If someone actually managed to complete this mission, they can just go to the capital and claim this reward. The power of the divine artifact will be even greater if it recognizes its master. (Teacher Di has already told me that even if I happen to find a divine artifact, I won¡¯t necessarily be able to obtain it. I must obtain the divine artifacts approval first before I can attain it. This much I already know.) ¡°Oh. So it¡¯s actually like this. Have you found the mission I wanted yet?¡± With so many people staring at me, I really want to leave at once. ¡°Here¡¯s a mission that suits you quite well. It¡¯s a B rank mission. The mission is to escort a merchant to the capital of the Xiuda kingdom, Xiuda City. The reward for this mission is 300 diamond coins. However, this type of mission is usually accepted by a whole mercenary company. Will you be fine by yourself?¡± ¡°Ah. How many people are there in a mercenary company?¡± It would be better to find some other people to accept this mission with. Safety is the most important thing after all. ¡°It¡¯s not exact, but the minimum is around ten people.¡± I surveyed my surroundings then abruptly shouted: ¡°Any mercenary groups that want to take this mission, I want to join.¡± This truly is clever of me. If I don¡¯t want to do this mission by myself, then I can just find a mercenary company to join. How wonderful, I probably won¡¯t meet any bandits and even if I do, they¡¯ll take care of it. I¡¯ll certainly be safe this way. I truly am too clever. While I was being infatuated with my cleverness, I heard a loud voice. ¡°Then you can join us since we¡¯re also thinking about taking this mission.¡± Ah, what a loud voice! It frightened me just now. I turned my head to look at the owner of the voice. Waa! He¡¯s so huge! His height is over 2 meters and a foot! He had a wild beard on his face and he was carrying a huge axe on his back. With a single look I could tell that he had the strength of one who trains in martial skills. ¡°Hello, you guys are a mercenary company?¡± I courteously asked. ¡°Ah, yes that¡¯s right. We¡¯re the famous Holy Sword Mercenary Company.¡± The huge person said in a straightforward manner. ¡°How many people are in your group?¡± ¡°We have about 20 people in our company but they¡¯re all martial practitioners. We¡¯re from the Xiuda kingdom so we wanted to take this mission as we could use it to go home conveniently. We¡¯re lacking a mage. So how about it? Do you want to join us?¡± 20 people. That¡¯s not a small number, but I don¡¯t know how their strength is. Looking at his appearance, I estimated that he if he had Earth Battle Spirit, it would be quite good. ¡°Then what warrior rank are you right now?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m on the verge of reaching the level where I can get the authentication of a knight. Most of the people in the company are intermediate rank warriors.¡± (An intermediate warrior is equivalent to an intermediate mage.) ¡°Oh. So that is to say you¡¯re an advanced warrior. That¡¯s fine then. I wish to join your ranks until we finish this mission. However, I have a few conditions I hope you can agree to.¡± Although their strength isn¡¯t that powerful, I really like this big guy. The big guy blanked out for a moment. ¡°What conditions?¡± I muttered to myself before saying: ¡°There are three conditions. Number one: I want you guys to prepare a carriage for me during the journey since I¡¯m a mage so I don¡¯t have much physical strength. Number two: I won¡¯t be considered to be part of your mercenary company but simply as an ally. I don¡¯t want you guys to command me. Naturally, I will dispose of any dangers. Number three: I want a tenth of the reward money.¡± The first two conditions were a bit harsh, but the last condition was actually advantageous to them. The big guy thought about it for a bit before agreeing to them, he only needs a passable carriage and it¡¯ll be done. What would I do with all this money? It would just be pocket change to me. What¡¯s more, they have to split it among twenty people. If I asked for more they wouldn¡¯t make much profit. I¡¯m still outstandingly kind and honest after all. After accepting the mission and deciding on when we would assemble, we left the Mercenary Guild. First off, I want to go find a good restaurant to comfort my stomach. Apart from that time I ate my fill at that uncle¡¯s house, I¡¯ve been eating rations for the rest of the journey. My stomach nearly revolted after that. After exiting the Mercenaries Guild and walking quite a bit, I saw a restaurant with a big sign called the Signature Tavern.¡± What an interesting name. I¡¯ll eat here then. As soon as I entered the restaurant, a server came over to welcome me. ¡°Hello Mister. May I ask how many people are with you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just me. Please give me a more peaceful area.¡± ¡°Okay then. The second floor is a bit more peaceful. I¡¯ll bring you over then.¡± I followed the server to the second floor then sat down at a table beside the window. As expected, it¡¯s really peaceful here. Maybe it¡¯s because it isn¡¯t dinner time yet, but there was only a sparse number of people. ¡°What kind of special dishes do you guys have here?¡± I was already a bit impatient, since my stomach wouldn¡¯t wait for them. It continued to protest. ¡°Our specialty here is stir-fried duck hearts, dong po pork¡­¡± He continuously listed off ten different dishes. They all sounded quite good. I¡¯m already beginning to drool. ¡°It¡¯s fine now. You don¡¯t need to continue. The dishes you said just now, bring me all of them. I also want ten steamed buns and a bowl of porridge. Hurry up.¡± ¡°Can you eat this much?¡± The skeptical server has met the Rice Bucket. ¡°Just hurry up and do it. What are you asking so many questions for? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not paying for it.¡± After driving away the server, I was already beginning to anticipate my delicacies. They were really fast. In not too long, my table was filled with an incomparable feast. (There wasn¡¯t any wine. I haven¡¯t started drinking yet. I¡¯ll speak about it when I have the change in the future.) My mouth suddenly opened wide. I took the chopsticks and began my struggle. My speed isn¡¯t that slow. It only took me about one hour to finish it. Actually, I didn¡¯t really take my time eating a lot of the dishes. No matter the taste, it just slipped straight into my stomach. Not bad. Truly not bad. ¡°Server, the bill please.¡± The server walked over. ¡°In total that was 3 gold coins and 4 silver coins. ¡°Oh.¡± I took out the amethyst card from my chest pocket and gave it to him. ¡°Will the card be fine?¡± When the server saw me take out an amethyst card, his face had a look of reverence on it. ¡°Please wait a moment. I¡¯ll go look for my boss.¡± In order to use the card, he needs to find the boss. So troublesome. Forget about it. I¡¯ll just wait then. In any case, I sat there motionlessly. (Authors note: Who told you to be such a good for nothing Zhang Gong. Recklessly eating so much. There are people who are saving money who can¡¯t eat. Yet you have so much waste. Corruption and waste are the biggest sins. Author: Speechless.) Volume 3: Chapter 8 Encountering Bandits Volume 3: Chapter 8 ¨C Encountering Bandits A short and stout middle aged man walked over, ¡°Hello sir, was it you that wanted to use the amethyst card to pay the bill?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. What¡¯s the matter?¡± I lazily answered. I¡¯ve eaten my fill, right now my greatest concern was going to bed. ¡°May I ask you what your profession is?¡± The middle aged man asked with a smile. ¡°I am a mage. What does this have to do with the meal? Let me pay the bill immediately, I want to go.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this, the reason why we are called Signature tavern is because every person that eats here either has great ability or a position in society. So long as you write your signature here, you can eat a meal for free.¡± ¡°So there was such a good thing. Then I¡¯ll give you my autograph.¡± Eat a meal without paying, not bad. ¡°Then what is your mage rank?¡± I took out my magic union identification card, ¡°Great Mage, is this a high enough rank?¡± The shop keeper¡¯s face showed a pleasantly surprised smile, ¡°That is high enough. Without doubt. Then I will inconvenience you.¡± With just a casual signature on the names of four delicious dishes, I was excused from paying for several gold coins worth of food. It seems that the magic identification card has it uses, not bad. Later generations testified to the shop owner¡¯s wisdom, for the Child of Light¡¯s autograph was later auctioned off for 20,000 diamond coins. I randomly picked a hotel to stay the night. Tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll go to the east city gate. That was where I made an appointment with the strong man yesterday. There were a truly great amount of people and great many carriages parked on the roadside. I suppose this is the caravan I¡¯m supposed to escort. Isn¡¯t that the strong man? From a glance, he looked like he was chatting with a few merchants. ¡°Hi, I¡¯ve come. When are we leaving?¡± ¡°Ah, you came. Let me introduce you. This is the leader of the caravan we are escorting, Mr. Li Ci Meng.¡± He said pointing at a stout merchant. ¡°This person is a great mage. Ah that¡¯s right. I still don¡¯t know your name. My name is Long Meng Hai.¡± ¡°My name is Zhang Gong Wei. Greetings everyone, I am honored to be escorting you all with Long Meng.¡± Mr. Meng looked at me be doubt, ¡°You are a great mage?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, what? Not convinced? Oh great light elements, heed my call, friends. Congregate in front of me, become a holy light annihilating everything.¡± I only displayed my own strength, so that I could take it easy during the journey. Following my incantation, my body suddenly dispatched a dazzling white light pushing away everyone within five meters of me. ¡°If any of you have the slightest knowledge of magic, you should that was a rank six spell.¡± My voice transmitted from within the Holy Light. My powerful spell caught the interest of everyone present, and they all gasped with surprise. I withdrew my holy light, ¡°With this you should be convinced.¡± As expected of a merchant, Mr. Meng immediately walked over with a smile across his face, ¡°Excuse us, we shouldn¡¯t have doubted you, great mage. With you on this journey, our safety is guaranteed. Long Meng also walked over. A moment ago when I released the power of Holy Light, he hadn¡¯t been able to resist even the slightest. He said ashamedly, ¡°To tell the truth, I had also doubted your abilities at the beginning. Now I know how silly I was. In this escort mission, my mercenary company and I have decided to listen to your orders. With everyone flattering me, I got a bit carried away. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. I just didn¡¯t want everyone to think I was only here for food, hehe. You¡¯ll still be in charge, I don¡¯t want to. If something happens, it will be fine to just call for me.¡± Like that, the journey had started with me and Long Meng¡¯s mercenary company escorting about a hundred merchant carriages. Because I had displayed my strength, everyone had treated me with admiration, letting ride in the most luxurious carriage and receiving the best rations during meal time. I also became a freeloader. It seemed that magic was truly not widely learned. Knowing magic had many benefits, not only having to not pay for food at a restaurant but I can also freeload off of the mercenaries, haha. My carriage is at the center of the caravan. It is said so that I could look after the entire caravan from front to end. Just when I was about to fall asleep, someone had shook me awake. It was Long Meng. He looked exhausted, his brow beaded with sweat. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± I lazily asked. ¡°It¡¯s bad. It seems we¡¯ve come across bandits.¡± Long Meng said nervously. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. There are people that dare to rob such a large caravan?¡± In my mind, I imagined about twenty to thirty bandits. ¡°We have a large amount of men? Why don¡¯t you go out and take a look?¡± Long Meng was clearly a bit nervous. It seemed somewhat amiss, I dropped from the carriage, and was stunned by the situation before me. Now I knew why Long Meng had sweated so much, because I had also broke a cold sweat. On top of the hills, I saw group of more than three hundred men before me. Such a large bandit group, how did I end up with such terrible luck? I originally believed I could comfortably complete this mission, but it seems this time there¡¯s going to be a bit of trouble. Long Meng¡¯s mercenary company and I came together to the front. The bandit group had arrived in front of us in a flash, and scattered in every direction, creating an impenetrable encirclement. ¡°Tell your leader to come out and answer.¡± A bandit arrogantly yelled. Long Meng, Mr. Meng, and I all looked at each other, who will go? They suddenly pushed me out. This, this is too unjust! But I already came out. Let¡¯s take a look. Honestly, to run away by myself is unacceptable. It¡¯s possible to flee but I¡¯m not that afraid. I walked forward a few steps. ¡°May I ask how we may help all of you gentlemen?¡± After I asked, the bandits immediately gave an arrogant, heartily laugh. ¡°Who do you think we are? Leave all of your belongings behind at once and I, your father, will release you. Or else, hehe.¡± Their black battle armored boss said loudly. ¡°Elder brothers, we all aren¡¯t that easy. Won¡¯t you let us go?¡± I pleaded. ¡°Let you go? We waited a month with great difficulty for an attractive, wealthy target and you want us to let you go? What a delusion.¡± It looks like it¡¯ll be impossible to pass. I was suddenly hit with a bright idea, and recalled what Teacher Di and I had discussed. The people of the Xiuda Kingdom truly value face, especially the pride of a knight. It seemed I can exploit this. ¡°Excuse me, you, leader, are you a knight?¡± My words were hard and firm, piercing through the leader¡¯s black battle armor. Before he replied, a bandit viciously said, ¡°Of course. Our boss is a heaven knight.¡± That leader wore an obviously proud appearance. Not bad, they fell into my trap. Volume 3: Chapter 9 Bandit Leaders Charge Volume 3: Chapter 9 ¨C Bandit Leader¡¯s Charge ¡°Then how about we make a bet?¡± ¡°What sort of bet?¡± He obviously didn¡¯t put me in his eyes. I pretended to think for a bit, ¡°Let¡¯s just bet you won¡¯t be able to beat me.¡± My words immediately made all the bandits burst out in wild laughter, apart from the silent bandit standing beside the bandit chief. The chief bandit didn¡¯t even stop to think and immediately replied: ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll bet with you. But we won¡¯t just be betting on all of your merchandise, we¡¯ll also be betting the lives of everyone in your party. You still want to bet?¡± It seems he wasn¡¯t foolish, to make use of my group. Now I¡¯m put into a difficult position, I have to take into consideration the lives of several hundred people. ¡°Please let us discuss this for a moment.¡± I returned to our party, ¡°You all heard my conversation with the chief bandit, what do you guys think?¡± Long Meng excitedly said: ¡°I hand my life over to you, Great Mage, I¡¯m sure you can win against him. How about it brothers?¡± All the mercenaries under Long Meng shouted in uniform: ¡°We¡¯ll bet.¡± A proper group of brave men. I turned to the caravan leader, Mr. Meng, ¡°What about you guys, are you willing to put your lives in my hands?¡± Mr. Meng was very hesitant, ¡°Can you let me discuss it more with that chief bandit?¡± Everyone has the right make their own choices. Although Long Meng¡¯s mercenaries were glaring at him, I didn¡¯t express anything, ¡°Alright, you can try to negotiate again.¡± I accompanied Mr. Meng to the bandits, Mr. Meng very politely said, ¡°If us merchants don¡¯t participate in this bet, can you let us just give you the merchandise and not die?¡± The chief bandit impatiently said, ¡°Fine, you are so troublesome. Quickly decide what you¡¯re going to do. Originally, we could easily capture you guys. We just agreed to your request to let you guys accept defeat. I¡¯m not going to be so polite anymore if you don¡¯t decide soon.¡± Mr. Meng pondered for a bit. First he helpless said to me: ¡°I have to insure everyone¡¯s safety. I hope you can understand.¡± Then he turned to the chief bandit: ¡°We are willing to hand over all the merchandise.¡± I silently sighed. Originally, there was an opportunity to withdraw without loss. But now I¡¯d rather not fight, as there¡¯s no longer any reason to. However spoken words are like spilled water, they can no longer be taken back. Seeing the chief bandit¡¯s pleased look, I, who is rarely angered, was somewhat upset. First I calmly said to Mr. Meng, ¡°Since you do not trust me, then from now on I along with Long Meng¡¯s mercenary company will hereby end our employment under you.¡± Mr. Meng shook his head and went back sighing. It seems that he was going to prepare his goods for delivery. ¡°I represent myself and these twenty brothers of mine in an exchange of pointers with you. If I win, you let us go. If I lose, our lives are yours.¡± I said resolutely with gritted teeth. With my strength, I believed that there was no way I could lose against a Heaven Knight. ¡°Good. Boy, you have courage. Come!¡± All of the bandits went out, leaving a large, empty expanse. It seems that the people of Xiuda greatly care about the fair nature of an exchange of pointers. Long Meng¡¯s company were also in the surrounding encirclement, giving me confidence. Those merchants were looking from the distance, waiting for our match to end to hand over their goods. I gave the brothers in Long Meng¡¯s mercenary company a confidence smile, and loudly said, ¡°Brothers, believe in me, I will definitely bring everyone out of this troubling situation. At the center of the site, the bandit leader and I stood face to face. I calmly threw off my outer robe and waved my right hand, ¡°Come, dimensional storage.¡± ¡°Boy, you are a mage. Then you certainly won¡¯t use a horse. I will not use one either. Let us immediately start this match.¡± It seems this bandit is truly worthy of being considered a heaven knight; he truly has a knightly demeanor. From the dimensional pocket, I took out my Light God¡¯s Robe and wore it. After all, I am bearing the lives of tens of people. I must be cautious. Wearing the Light God¡¯s Robe, I immediately gained much spirit power. I cast several defensive enchantments on myself. ¡°Come, let me experience this heaven knight¡¯s strength.¡± The bandit wildly laughed, drew his sword, and flew straight towards me. So fast, I only saw a dim shadow for a flash of a moment, and he had arrived in front of me, in one blur, chopping at my shoulder. He is truly fast, so fast that I don¡¯t even have enough time to teleport. I waved my right hand and brilliant rays of light came forth to obstruct him. The bandit stopped for a moment. ¡°Are you a mage or a warrior? How come you have Heaven Battle Spirit?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not using battle spirit. This is just another method of using magic.¡± This is my real strength. Right now I could even cast some rudimentary spells without chanting. I only need to will it then the light elements will congregate into the result I want. This took me three years to comprehend. Although there¡¯s still a gap between me and Teacher Di, my power is unexpectedly similar to using battle spirit. At the moment, the bandit wasn¡¯t attacking me at all since I was simply too great. Even though I managed to block his attack earlier, my whole right side is numb now. After all, fighting each other like soldiers with short weaponry certainly isn¡¯t a mage¡¯s strong points. I won¡¯t give him this sort of opportunity again. Using teleportation, I moved out of his range. It seems like I¡¯ll have to use some stronger spells since his battle spirit is actually so powerful. His probing attack just now nearly injured me, if he had used all his strength I would have been unable to resist. I continuously used teleportation to change my position. He¡¯s actually really quick as he was only a bit slower than me while I was using teleportation magic. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll cut me down if I stop. This situation can¡¯t continue on. I dodged to the side and starting chanting an incantation. My hands started to emit a faint white light. The radiance grew stronger. This is a different spell than the one I had just used. This is my improved Light Severing Sword. With a wave of my hand, I can control my magic, using it to directly attack. It is a rank 6 spell, and its single target attack power is exceptionally strong. It is greatly suited to this situation. If Brilliant Empire isn¡¯t necessary able to hit him because of his speed, and area attacks too large are spread too thin to be able to harm him, then currently, I can only use Light Severing Sword and stake it all. I suddenly stopped and turned around with a white light. He immediately used a battle spirit movement technique and slashed at me with his knight swords that were emitting the same white light. I willed my magic to block it. ¡°That¡¯s right! Don¡¯t run away. It¡¯s isn¡¯t satisfying if you run away.¡± ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll give something satisfying.¡± Fast as lightning, I shot one Light Severing Sword after another at him. In return, he brandished his knight¡¯s sword to block them. Although I was unable to injure him, he was also unable to attack me. Now we¡¯ll see who lasts longer, my magic power or his battle spirit. Volume 3: Chapter 10 The Formidable Xiao Jin Volume 3: Chapter 10 ¨C The Formidable Xiao Jin The whole area we were fighting in was filled to the brim with my magic and his battle spirit. I secretly complained within my heart, why did I have to encounter such a powerful bandit? Don¡¯t tell me¡­. Are all the people of Xiuda are this strong? That¡¯s too scary to imagine¡­ His battle spirit seemed to gradually dwindle, it seems that this was more than he could handle. I finally saw a ray of hope. Even though I used up a lot of magic power, I could still sustain this. Immediately, I took advantage of this opportunity and accelerated my attacks. My efforts weren¡¯t in vain. He was careless and got hit in the shoulder. He was sent flying quite a far distance. The power of a rank 6 attack spell is truly frightening. Even if he had battle spirit protecting his body, I don¡¯t think he would get off with light injuries. I stopped my magical assault since I knew that an exchange between knights stops when the opponent is unable to fight back anymore. Since he has his grace, why can¡¯t I also act like a knight? After he got up from the ground, I saw that his left shoulder was somewhat unnatural. He gave me an eccentric laugh and roughly said: ¡°Brat, I didn¡¯t expect you to be this strong. It¡¯s admirable that at such a young age you have already reached this level. Regardless of the outcome of this exchange, I¡¯ll release you guys. Actually, I knew that if you guys truly wanted to run, we wouldn¡¯t be able to stop you at all. But you stayed behind for your friends. I can really admire this as a fellow man.¡± Regardless of the outcome? What does that mean? Could it be that he still has enough strength to strike back? I indifferently replied: ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you first. I also admire your chivalrous spirit.¡± These were my heartfelt words. As he brushed off the dirt on him, he said: ¡°I¡¯ll let you see my true strength. Come out, War Tiger.¡± In the wake of his words, a big brightly colored fierce tiger came out with a majestic roar. ¡°This is my magical beast, War Tiger. You can also summon your magical beast, then we can fight each other with all of our strength. I haven¡¯t enjoyed myself for so long. War Tiger, fusion.¡± The War Tiger gave out a long roar before charging into the bandit. In a flash, the man and tiger fused into one. On his body appeared some tiger striped armor. It covered up all the important parts of his body, in total covering about 60% of his body. Even on his knight¡¯s sword appeared some stripes. His hair was let down magnificently. This imposing manner of his gave me a sense of being overwhelmed. Wa! This is the armor of a successful fusion between a warrior and his magical beast! Teacher Di told me before that a warrior¡¯s magical beast is similar to a mage¡¯s magical beast. They both aid their master to attack and defend. However, if the magical beast reaches rank 7 and the master has Heaven Battle Spirit, it can fuse with the master and become armor. This will also increase the master¡¯s attack abilities. In comparison to individual combat, this way was much more powerful. Being able to create armor by fusing with his magical beast means that he¡¯s already approaching the level of a Radiant Knight. (Equivalent to a magister) ¡°Let me experience your magical beast too.¡± It seems that I¡¯ll lose if I don¡¯t let Xiao Jin out to fight with me. I still haven¡¯t pieced myself together from the shadow of Xiao Jin¡¯s last battle. I¡¯ll try it out and let Xiao Jin out. It¡¯s different from those days. Xiao Jin shouldn¡¯t be defeated that easily now. ¡°Come out Xiao Jin.¡± In a flash of golden light, Xiao Jin¡¯s huge body appeared and nestled up against my side. It was clear that Xiao Jin¡¯s appearance gave him a fright. He said in surprise: ¡°Ah! What kind of magical beast are you? You¡¯re so big.¡± The current Xiao jin was over 10 meters long and from head to toe he was covered in white scales with three golden stripes flickering with light. The horn on his head has also grown a lot and the large wings on his back were only slightly shorter in length than a person¡¯s height. On his abdomen five sharp claws scratched the ground. He looked extremely domineering. I discovered that Xiao Jin didn¡¯t want to fight at all. He gave out a cheerful roar since he hadn¡¯t been outside for so long. It might be that he thought I brought him out to play. It wasn¡¯t until I told him we had enemies through telepathy that he nervously shook his adorable head to look around us. He sensed that only the bandit¡¯s there were a threat to me and asked telepathically: ¡°Are these the enemies?¡± I gave him an affirmative response. Unexpectedly, Xiao Jin suddenly had the imposing manner of a king and began to ferociously glare at the opposing bandits. All of his scales were erect and he even unfurled his wings and waved them, causing a small sandstorm. This frighteningly imposing manner caused all of the surrounding bandits to scatter in all directions as they shouted: ¡°Monster!¡± ¡°Stop, stop. I don¡¯t want to battle anymore.¡± From within the sandstorm came the bandit¡¯s voice. I promptly told Xiao Jin to stop, but within my heart, I couldn¡¯t help but be baffled by the bandit. Neither me nor Xiao Jin have attacked him yet he had already surrendered. ¡°Damn. What kind of magical beast is this? It¡¯s way too terrifying. My War Tiger already seems to be afraid of him and wants to separate from my body. I admit defeat so hurry up and recall him.¡± It turns out that when the bandit confronted Xiao Jin, he already knew that he was unable to contend with me. So he took the initiative to admit defeat. Indeed, Xiao Jin is so strong that even I can¡¯t believe it. I know that right now I¡¯m absolutely not Xiao Jin¡¯s opponent. Especially considering his imposing manner of a king just now. I was flabbergasted, was this actually my Xiao Jin who was so cute and adorable before? Xiao Jin unwillingly returned to my body. I suddenly felt weak. I have consumed a lot of magic power. Even though I wasted a lot of magic power during the exchange of pointers, summoning Xiao Jin also consumed a lot due to how powerful he is. (I supply him with all of his energy.) He didn¡¯t attack otherwise I would have collapsed. It seems like I still have long way to go. If in the future me and Xiao Jin are able to display our full powers simultaneously, I estimate that our strengths wouldn¡¯t be too far off from a legendary Grand Magister¡¯s. After the dust had gradually settled, I could see the bandit not far from me standing there while being covered in dirt. He has already recalled his War Tiger. I couldn¡¯t find a single thread of hostility in his gaze as he helplessly looked at me. By relying on Xiao Jin¡¯s formidable power, I¡¯ve beaten him. Letting out a bitter laugh, he said to me: ¡°I¡¯ve got to say my boy, this magical beast of yours is too abnormal. Ah, how did you find him? I don¡¯t know what sort of breed he is.¡± I replied with a smile: ¡°I don¡¯t know what breed he is either. I only know that he¡¯s my best friend. Actually, you didn¡¯t lose at all. It¡¯s just that your magical beast couldn¡¯t compare to mine. Our strengths are about equally matched.¡± I reckon that my words have satisfied his vanity since he couldn¡¯t conceal his excitement. ¡°Alright then. You¡¯re a real brother. We¡¯re friends from now on then!¡± Volume 3: Chapter 11 Having a Bandit as a Friend Volume 3: Chapter 11 ¨C Having a Bandit as a Friend The chief bandit cheerfully said: ¡°Alright then brother. You and your friends can go now. I¡¯ll just go and receive the spoils of war now. Haha.¡± I really didn¡¯t expect that in the end there would be this sort of result. Simply too dramatic. Unexpectedly, I became friends with the bandit robbing me. When the caravan leader, Mr. Meng saw that we had turned enemy into friend, his heart felt unwell. Within his heart he was unceasingly scolding himself for having such poor judgement. Without looking at me, he quickly walked over to Long Meng and begged: ¡°Ah, Long Meng. Talk with the Great Mage Zhang Gong to help us by getting these older brothers to let us off. If we lose all of this merchandise, our losses will truly be too big.¡± With a disdainful look, Long Meng coldly replied: ¡°Isn¡¯t it too late now? Who told you guys not to trust Zhang Gong? Who is to blame? Blame yourselves. I wouldn¡¯t have any face if I helped you guys to plead.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. It¡¯s all because of my poor judgement. I was too selfish. But we, the elderly are above and below are the young. There are a lot of people this time whose loss would be the same as losing their family fortune. I beg of you, help me talk to him.¡± Mr. Meng was already shedding tears as he said this.¡± Even though Long Meng looked the fool on the outside but within, he was extraordinarily kindhearted. After seeing Mr. Meng, a grown man, crying, his heart softened. Helplessly, he said: ¡°Fine then. Don¡¯t be like this. I¡¯ll go and try but I can¡¯t guarantee that Zhang Gong will agree.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you! You truly are a good person!¡± I heard their conversation long ago since I was right behind them. I contemplated this for a bit. Ah! It isn¡¯t easy for a merchant to survive either! Forget it. There¡¯s no need to lower myself to their level. Without even letting Long Meng to open his mouth, I hurriedly said: ¡°Fine then. No need to say anymore Long Meng. I¡¯ll go and try pleading for them.¡± I walked over to the bandits that were currently taking inventory of the merchandise and embarrassingly said: ¡°This is really embarrassing. I will have to inconvenience you.¡± The Bandit Chief straightforwardly said: ¡°What¡¯s there to feel embarrassed about? If you have something to say then just say it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this you see. It isn¡¯t easy for these merchants either so would it be possible for you guys to let them off this time? After all, this is the first time I¡¯ve received a mercenary mission so I wouldn¡¯t want to stop midway and pay the fees.¡± The Chief Bandit shook his head and awkwardly said: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s impossible for us to spit out that fat meat that¡¯s already in our mouths. Why do you still want to help them? Didn¡¯t you see the true face of that band of profiteers just now? They don¡¯t trust you at all so why do you still bother with them?¡± While also feeling very awkward, I let out a sigh. ¡°Ah. There¡¯s nothing to be done about it then. First of all, they¡¯re my customers, and second, they also have wives and children. I only hope you wouldn¡¯t be too harsh on them. I know that you must have your own difficulties, but everyone have to give themselves a way out.¡± The Chief Bandit¡¯s face sank with gloom. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± I stared at him in the eye unyieldingly. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not threatening you. I just hope you will agree to me request. In the future I will certainly pay you back the favor.¡± Under my resolute gaze, he gradually softened and released a gentle sigh. Helplessly, he said: ¡°I truly can¡¯t say no to you but I really like your character. I can agree to releasing one horse for them, but not the rest. I want half of the merchandise since I have so many brothers following me. I definitely can¡¯t let them return empty-handed. Besides that, I have one more condition.¡± His answer was already very satisfying since these unscrupulous merchants should also be taught a lesson. This is the best possible outcome. With a smile, I said: ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you first. Just tell me what condition you have and I will do my best to satisfy you.¡± ¡°My condition is very harsh. Your heart must be prepared. If you can¡¯t do it, then the previous agreement will have been a waste.¡± My heart tensed up and I clenched my teeth. ¡°Say it then. I¡¯ll do it if I can.¡± Will he deliberately, embarrass me? He wouldn¡¯t want me to strip would he¡­? Laughingly, he said: ¡°My condition is¡ª¡ª¡± He deliberately drew out this word to cause me to feel suspense. ¡°It¡¯s to invite you to go to our mountain stronghold as a guest.¡± After hearing his words, it was like unloading a ball of gas. I became soft and nearly fell collapsed onto the ground. I collapsed. I violently collapsed. Ah! How can this be considered a condition? It¡¯s too simple! I said with a weak voice: ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Flabbergasted, he replied: ¡°What? You don¡¯t wish to go to our place as a guest? Then forget about it. I¡¯ll cancel the agreement.¡± I hastily replied: ¡°No no no. I want to go. I want to go see what it¡¯s like at your place. Are you trying to scare me to death?¡± Abruptly, he gave out a hearty laugh of rejoice. ¡°Haha! You¡¯ve been fooled by me. This is my revenge. I was speechless. With the Chief Bandit¡¯s promise, the crowd of bandits returned half of the merchandise to the merchants. These profiteering merchants thanked me until I grew annoyed. I don¡¯t care about them at all. I told Long Meng the Chief Bandit¡¯s condition and told them to escort the caravan to Xiuda first. I need to go to the bandit¡¯s nest for a few days as a guest after all. Initially, Long Meng was firmly opposed to this but after my unceasing explanations of how the Chief Bandit definitely won¡¯t harm me, he finally agreed. He said he definitely follow me in the future, so I must arrive at Xiuda safely. I accidentally received so many little brothers. I also have some means. I told him we would speak of this in the future when I arrive in Xiuda and find them. After watching the walk away, I turned around and looked at the Chief Bandit. I said with a smile: ¡°Boss, let us go then. Oh, that¡¯s right! I still don¡¯t know your name. My name is Zhang Gong Wei. I¡¯m 16 but I¡¯ll be turning 17 this year.¡± ¡°Everyone calls me Zhan Hu so you can call that too. I don¡¯t wish to carry my former name anymore. This year I¡¯m 29 years old so I¡¯m much older than you. Then I¡¯ll be your older brother.¡± Inwardly I thought, surely he has some extreme circumstances in his past. It would be best not to touch upon it. I answered: ¡°Of course. It goes without saying that you¡¯re the big brother. Let¡¯s go then. Let me go and see what your nest is like.¡± While saying this, I made a bandit give me horse before rushing onwards. ¡°You know the way? It¡¯d be better if I lead the way.¡± Zhan Hu¡¯s horse was evidently much more excellent. In a moment he already caught up to me and rode besides me. Their nest is within the mountains of the border between Aixia and Xiuda. It wouldn¡¯t be accurate to call it a bandit¡¯s nest. It would be better to call it village due to its large scale. Furthermore, Zhan Hu was precisely the village¡¯s chief. Whether young or old, when the women and children saw the bandits return with so many valuables they all welcomed the bandits as if they were heroes. The scale of this bandit village wasn¡¯t small at all. The mountains encircled this small village situated in a depression within the mountains, thus providing a natural barrier for them. It was as if the whole village fused together with the surrounding mountains. How verdant and lush. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would think this was an isolated world. Volume 3: Chapter 12 Big Brother Zhan Hu Volume 3: Chapter 12 ¨C Big Brother Zhan Hu Zhan Hu and I entered the village. He really is the village¡¯s idol; when someone sees him they always greet him. He also responds to them one by one. He let all of his subordinates return home and brought me to his residence. He lived in a simple, crude reed house in the deepest part of the village. Surrounding it was a very tattered fence. I said jeeringly, ¡°You should repair this house, otherwise the wind will blow you away together with it.¡± He didn¡¯t care about my jeers. My words seemed to evoke a worry on his mind. He murmured, ¡°On the eighth month, a great autumn wind furiously roared and sweeped up my house¡¯s heavy reeds. The reeds flew to the river and scattered throughout. Up high, the winds takes the branches of tall trees. Down below, it creates a whirlwind, hollowing the ground beneath it. Before, I lived a life of luxury; now there is nothing. Contrary, only a simple, basic life is my goal now.¡± I patted his shoulder, ¡°It seems that you are also deeply heartbroken by these past events. Can you tell me about it? I am willing to hear you out. Let everything out of your heart, you¡¯ll certainly feel much better.¡± He looked at me. His eyes displayed the gaze of an intimate friend, and said boldly with abandon, ¡°Right, continuously stifling my heart¡¯s thoughts have made me feel unwell. Today I will let you hear. Walk, let us enter the house, and talk and drink.¡± He had never married and lived by himself. He brought out a jar of wine from who knows where and brought out a few simple dishes. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. Little brother, tomorrow I¡¯ll let them give you something a bit better.¡± I immediately said, ¡°This is already very good.¡± He took out two large wine cups and said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s drink.¡± I said embarrassed, ¡°I never drank wine before. How about you drink by yourself?¡± ¡°Not drinking is out of the question. Wine is a truly good thing. We men have enough hardships for a lifetime, with no smoking (tobacco), with no drinking, you might as well live life as a dog. Come, drink.¡± It was hard to refuse such great hospitality. I wanted to try wine and experience what it tastes like, ¡°Alright, today I will keep your company and drink with you.¡± I picked up the wine jar and filled our cups to the brim. We raised our cups leveled to each other and drained it in one gulp. ¡±I respect big brother, respect for finishing first.¡± He had a happy appearance and took another drink. ¡°Good, drink to your heart¡¯s content.¡± When we drank the wine, I started to feel a bit hot, yet I also smelled a pure, simple fragrance. With it, it isn¡¯t very hard to drink. But the inside of my stomach felt like a fire burning, I felt as if my whole stomach was aflame. My face held a deep red. A good half day later, my energy started to slowly come back. Zhan Hu laughingly said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you drinking a bit slowly? This wine¡¯s strength cannot be considered weak. Your stomach for liquor will definitely be pretty good in the future. If an average person drank a cup of this wine of mine, they would be on the brink of death.¡± With a red face, I said, ¡°Oh, so it turns out to be that kind of wine.¡± I hurriedly tried the dishes. After we ate for a while, I asked, ¡°Big Brother, why have you become a bandit? With skill like yours, you should be able to go anywhere and receive great status.¡± Zhan Hu sighed, saying, ¡°Little Brother, you wouldn¡¯t know. Before, I was also high spirited like you. I was previously regarded as a genius of the Xiuda Kingdom¡¯s young generation. When I was twenty years old, I had already become a Heaven Knight. At the time, I was a symbol of my family¡¯s glory, what everyone had hoped to accomplish.¡± He stopped here and drank a large mouthful of wine. I interrupted saying, ¡°Then what about later?¡± He continued, saying, ¡°Later, I joined the army. Because of my outstanding performance, I gained the admiration of everyone. Quickly, I climbed to a position that everyone yearned for even in their dreams. You should know about the Xiuda Kingdom¡¯s trump unit.¡± ¡°The Earth Dragon Corps?¡± I heard Teacher Di talk about it before. If on plain terrain, a single Earth Dragon Legion could easily get rid of any adversary. Earth dragons have extraordinarily strong magic defenses. Unless it comes across exceptionally high rank magic, it would be fundamentally impossible to harm it and its knights. On the East Continents, only the Xiuda Kingdom produced an earth dragon, but the numbers are quite sparse.¡± ¡°Right, you¡¯re correct. At the time, among the three Earth Dragon Corps, I was their strongest leader.¡± Ah? It turned out that he had once been so formidable. ¡°Then at the time, you were very proud of yourself. What about your earth dragon? I heard when earth dragons recognize a master, it will eternally follow him.¡± Zhan Hu continued to pour himself many cups of wine and painfully said, ¡°My earth dragon¡¯s name was Zhan. He was the strongest earth dragon in the Earth Dragon Corps. The greatest reason for I am now like this is because of him. During our first training session, because of my mistake, Xiao Zhan sacrificed his life. He sacrificed his life to save me.¡± He painfully grabbed the hair on his own head. I grabbed his hand, and consoled him, ¡°Don¡¯t do that. These matters have already past. There is no use in regretting it now. You must start pulling yourself together.¡± Perhaps because my consoling had impacted him, he gradually became tranquil. We continued to drink and chat. He said since Xiao Zhan died, he had never been able to forgive himself. Everyone had blamed him; they all said it was his fault that his precious earth dragon had died. This also caused him to be dismissed from his position as a Corps head. At that time, he had begun to learn to drink alcohol. Every day drunk, every day looking at others with indifference. He couldn¡¯t endure it and ran away. Without a goal, he wandered aimlessly without direction until he arrived here. Coming here, everyone was pressed to banditry. That is because of Zhan Hu¡¯s skills, it was only natural the people of Village Li would be put to order. But later, because he sympathized with the bandit¡¯s lives and was simultaneous wanting for a home, He had also stayed behind and became their bandit chief. So it turned out that his past was so complicated. I was deeply moved. I drank a mouthful of wine and said outspokenly, ¡°Big¡­ Big Brother, I greatly admire your character. Hic. How about we become sworn brothers?¡± My tongue had already become large. Currently the wine had already become sweet. I saw two Zhan Hu¡¯s swaying in my eyes. Zhan Hu also drank almost as much as I. ¡°Good, good little brother, Big Brother recognizes this little brother. In the future, if anything happens, tell Big Brother. Big Brother will surely help you settle the matter.¡± I embraced his broad shoulder and while swaying, I lifted the cup, saying, ¡°Great, for the affections of us as brothers, come, let¡¯s dry these cups.¡± It was as such, he drank a cup, I drank a cup, taking turns until we both finally completely toppled over. Ah, my head really hurts. In the morning, I managed to wake up, feeling dizzy and muddle headed. Moreover, with this tremendous head pain. ¡°Little brother, you¡¯re awake.¡± Zhan Hu¡¯s voice came over. ¡°Oh, Big Brother, my head, why does it hurt so much?¡± ¡°Haha, yesterday you drank so much, how could your head not hurt?¡± Zhan Hu said with a smile. ¡°Then how are you alright?¡± I wondered. ¡°I drink every day, I¡¯ve already adapted. Little brother, yesterday you said you wanted us to become sworn brothers. Is that true?¡± Sober, I said, ¡°Of course, I would be honored to have an older brother such as yourself.¡± Emotionally moved, Zhan Hu said, ¡°Very well, I recognize you as my younger brother. Why don¡¯t you stand, go wash your face and eat something? Then your head won¡¯t hurt.¡± Afterwards, it was precisely because of Zhan Hu¡¯s assistance that the Child of Light was able to obtain true love. Furthermore, Zhan Hu had later become an unforgettably mighty character in history. Volume 3: Chapter 13 Exchange of Skills Volume 3: Chapter 13 ¨C Exchange of Skills Name£ºZhan Hu Height£º184cm Weight£º80kg Major Magic£ºN/A Minor Magic£ºN/A Magical Beast£ºWar Tiger Overall Magic Strength£ºHeaven Knight Magic Control£ºF £¨Grades are divided into S, A, B, C, D, E and F£© Magic Power£ºF Magic Perception£ºB Magic Defense£ºA Magic Attack£ºF Speed£ºA£¨Unable to fly£© Physical Attacks£ºA Physical Defense£ºA Stamina£ºS After eating breakfast, me and Zhan Hu climbed a hill to enjoy the scenery with untroubled hearts. I said: ¡°Big Brother, are you in a better mood now after you spoke the words hidden within your heart?¡± In the middle of his laments, Zhan Hu said: ¡°It¡¯s already been so long since I¡¯ve been so satisfied. Now my whole body feels at ease.¡± After we laughed together, I inquired: ¡°What kind of battle spirit are you using that¡¯s so powerful? ¡°My battle spirit has been passed down through my family from generation to generation. It¡¯s called the Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgment. It¡¯s also what Xiuda¡¯s Royal family cultivates. Since we¡¯re already brothers, I don¡¯t need to conceal this from you. My father is the younger brother of the current king of Xiuda. The Grand Marshal of the kingdom¡¯s armies, Qi Lu Xiuda. My original name was Jing Yun Xiuda.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°Ah, I never expected that you¡¯re related to the king, Big Brother! Little Brother truly is climbing up the social ladder.¡± Zhan Hu forced out a bitter laugh as he said: ¡°You¡¯re playing with me aren¡¯t you? How can I still be considered royal blood? I¡¯m just a drifter now, that¡¯s all. Why are you asking me what kind of battle spirit I¡¯m using? Could it be that you want to learn it?¡± I muttered with a red face: ¡°Originally I wanted to learn it from Big Brother since my teacher gave me a mission beforehand. That is, to learn some basic battle spirit to strengthen my weak body. But Big Brother¡¯s battle spirit is a royal secret. How could I possibly be able to learn it?¡± ¡°Foolish little brother, why can¡¯t you learn it? It doesn¡¯t matter. Sect bias has already buried so many talented people, let alone you, who majors in magic. I¡¯ll teach you the Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgment right now.¡± Zhan Hu boldly said. What a pure person I have recognized as a brother. It seems like one of the missions Teacher Di has given me will soon be accomplished. I gratefully said: ¡°That¡¯s simply too good then. Thank you Big Brother.¡± With a solemn voice, Zhan Hu seriously said: ¡°The Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement is just one of many cultivation methods but its origin is extremely ancient. It should be something the Sacred Knights created thousands of years ago. Its cultivation is split into nine main stages. Namely, they are establishing the foundation, entry, basic understanding, first success, understanding, purification, transformation, ascension, peerless and unfathomable. The early stages are easy in comparison to the later stages; you only need to cultivate and you will surely be able to reach it. However, from the fourth stage and onwards, it becomes extraordinarily difficult. You can no longer advance with just your efforts; comprehension is required. I¡¯m already at the middle of the transformation stage. There¡¯s actually a lot of overlap between the cultivation of battle spirit and your cultivation of magic power. It¡¯s just that one is acting from the mind to control the external magic elements while battle spirit is the development of the body¡¯s potential. Generally speaking, both have their own methods of cultivation. I¡¯ll teach you the basic meditation method to cultivate battle spirit.¡± Zhan Hu was a very strict teacher. If I slacked off even the slightest, he would severely reprimand me. He planned to train me for two months before letting me go to Xiuda. Every morning there would be training to strengthen the body and under his supervision, I wasn¡¯t allowed to use magic at all. The body training mainly consisted of running and strength training. In the afternoon I would begin cultivating my battle spirit by meditating. At night I can meditate and cultivate my magic. In the beginning I wasn¡¯t used to this, but he wasn¡¯t in any way inferior to the years of training under the devil teacher, Teacher Xiu. However, I gradually discovered that no matter how tired I was in the morning, after meditating for a while in the afternoon I would already be recovered. The next day I would always be even more vigorous. Gradually, battle spirit began condensing within my lower dantian and combined with my magic power without any difficulties (The lower dantian is located in the lower abdomen). I was truly relieved that they combined without conflict. After today¡¯s afternoon meditation, I got up and stretched my body. I picked up an iron sword and brandished it. At the moment, I was practicing the basics of swordplay. While I practiced swordplay, I also controlled my battle spirit the way Zhan Hu taught me and made it flow into the iron sword from my arm. Shortly after, I was successful. However, this success may be due to my powerful mind. It felt as if the sword became lighter. With a light swing of the sword, I could sense the powerful spirit within it. With my strong foundation, I began a sword dance which caused the wind to whistle. It felt quite good. Suddenly, I had an idea. What would happen if I also imbued the sword with magic power? Let¡¯s try it out. Within my gold dan, I separated a bit of magic power. As I condensed this light element, I slowly began pouring it into the sword. In the beginning it seemed as if the battle spirit and magic power were doing their own thing and ignoring each other, but then they gradually began resonating. The battle spirit and magic power fused into a powerful energy. I swung the sword at a boulder to test it out. Immediately, the boulder split into two. It seems like I¡¯ve made another discovery. Under certain conditions, magic power can increase the power of battle spirit. I need to go tell this wonderful news to Zhan Hu. After hearing what I said, Zhan Hu told me with extreme excitement to demonstrate it again. He told me he hasn¡¯t been able to improve his strength for a long time. If he could fuse magic power with battle spirit in sword to create a magic sword, he would surely be able to improve once again. I was also very excited for him. Of course, the task of teaching him magic fell on my shoulders. Magic power and battle spirit had distinct differences. Battle spirit was easy to begin cultivating but magic power was much harder to begin cultivating in. Zhan Hu had never learned any magic so I first had to make him comprehend the existence of the light element. This was necessary if I were to teach him light magic. After arriving at his cottage, I prudently told him: ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯m going to use my magic power as a guide for you to sense the light elements. You must congregate your spiritual power in accordance with my guidance, otherwise the light elements won¡¯t recognize you. There is only one chance, so you must pay attention.¡± Zhan Hu nodded his head. ¡°Okay. Begin then.¡± I made him sit cross-legged in front of me. Slowly, I began lifting my finger until it was resting on his upper dantian. ¡°We¡¯re beginning now.¡± I condensed my magic power into a thin thread as it followed my finger and entered his upper dantian. During the opening of his upper dantian, he was trembling from head to toe but gradually, he became more and more tranquil. I started speaking. ¡°Light element is an extraordinarily gentle kind of magic element. The true essence of light is that of generosity, tolerance, peace and love. All living things require light element to grow. Light is like our elder brother and our fathers and mothers. Use your heart to sense it. Let it accept you. We are all the children of Light.¡± After finishing this speech, not only did I feel that Zhan Hu has comprehended the light elements, I also felt a change within my body. Volume 3: Chapter 14 Onward to Xiuda Volume 3: Chapter 14 ¨C Onward to Xiuda I felt the surrounding light elements begin to wrap around me. My entire body was immersed in an ocean of light element. What is causing this? I withdrew my finger, letting Zhan Hu comprehend the subtle light elements by himself. Sitting cross legged across Zhan Hu, I had focused on my translucent golden sphere. The golden sphere showed no abnormalities, unmoving between my eyebrows (on top of the upper dantian). I had just relaxed, thinking about standing up and stretching; when suddenly, the light elements around me frantically surged with me at the center. Light element spread throughout my body, its power far too great. I don¡¯t dare resist and only relaxed my body, accepting the baptism of light elements. The light element within my body gathered like lightning. From head to toe, my body was like a balloon being inflated. I could no longer absorb any more. At this time, the golden sphere began to move. It began to run through the blood vessels, rapidly absorbing excess light elements. The feeling of swelling gradually disappeared. The golden sphere¡¯s absorption rate was much greater than before. Quickly, the frantic light elements that entered my body achieve equilibrium. I finally relaxed and exhaled. I continued to maintain the current situation until light elements no longer surge into my body. I took in a deep breath, controlling the golden sphere within my body to cycle through my body before slowly returning to my upper dantian. I was amazed to discover that my originally translucent golden sphere had already entirely become transparent, showing a sparkling light. Within my body, Xiao Jin sent out a lively mood for me. It was obvious that from the frantic surge of light elements just now had granted me benefit not at all small. I remembered that Teacher Di told me I should strive for my golden sphere to at least become completely transparent within four to five years. Then how can this be? I carefully recalled what had happened previously. Could it be that when I introduced the light elements to Zhan Hu that they had acknowledged me once more? This is too miraculous. I could not bear the violent joy surging through me. Currently, I have have become the continent¡¯s eleventh magister, at least from my magic power. Give me a bit of time to adjust and I won¡¯t be inferior to any person. This is too wonderful. I opened my eyes. Zhan Hu had already woken up earlier, fixedly looking at me. Seeing me awake, he hastily asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, what happened to you? A moment ago your body was twinkling a dazzling, golden light, rendering me unable to approach you. What was that?¡± I emotionally said, ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯ve succeeded. When I introduced you to the light elements, I don¡¯t know why but I went through a baptism of light elements. Right now, the source of my body¡¯s magic power, my golden sphere is already completely transparent.¡± When Zhan Hu heard, he had a slightly confused appearance and smiled, saying, ¡°Talk a bit slower, don¡¯t speak so fast. If you speak so fast, I can¡¯t hear clearly.¡± I deeply looked at Zhan Hu¡¯s eyes, and said word by word, ¡°In other words, currently your little brother¡¯s magic power has already reached the level of a magister.¡± After Zhan Hu heard what I said, his mouth turned into an O and said with awe, ¡°Younger Brother, you¡¯ve done it. You¡¯ve done it. This older brother might not be able to be your rival. Haha! Very good. I have a magister as my little brother, let us drink a cup and celebrate well.¡± Feasting, I asked him what he had felt from the light elements. He told me he had felt very comfortable. I told him he must think deeply about the methods that I have taught him. After I became a magister, we continued to exchange each other¡¯s knowledge. Two months had passed in a blink of an eye and I had already practiced Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement to the level of basic understanding. Zhan Hu was very amazed by my rate of learning. We both said that my current spiritual power is exceptionally powerful. Therefore not only can it be used to control magic power, it can also be used to control battle spirit to a rather exceptional degree. My body is much stronger than before, and as a result of gorging myself on food every day, my body weight increased by five kilograms. In addition, I¡¯ve grown a bit tan from exercising every day. From Zhan Hu, I learned three sword techniques. My battle spirit had fundamentally aided the use of my magic. Zhan Hu¡¯s progress was also equivalently large. He could already use a few of the most basic light spells. I primarily taught him a few support enchantments, because learning advanced light attack spells isn¡¯t something that can be learned in a short period of time. He was able to use light support enchantments with his knight¡¯s sword and battle spirit in concert. It produced an exceptionally good result. If I used advanced spells to attack him, it wouldn¡¯t affect him whatsoever. It was very easy to explain to him. He excitedly told me that he had already begun to stride towards becoming a radiant knight. I believe that he is capable of succeeding soon. He also said that he will certainly not let me advance alone and will definitely overtake me. Two months of living together made us as intimate as true blood brothers. We have already reached the point where words are no longer said. I told him about the assignment that Teacher Di had given me. He said that when I finish my travels from Xiuda that I must come back and look for him. He wants accompany me to complete this formidable assignment together. Naturally, I was extremely happy. Having his powerful arm give me assistance will be of great aid in completing this assignment. With these brothers¡¯ power combined, they could break gold. Haha, I didn¡¯t expect Ma Ke to not come and have Zhan Hu accompany me. I should go. Zhan Hu sent me off from the village¡¯s entrance. He gifted me a set of his previous knight clothes. Although it wasn¡¯t gorgeous, when I put them on, they looked very spirited. To match it, he gave me an iron sword, it had a mighty appearance. Zhan Hu said that like this I could be received welcome at Xiuda. It would also be easy to obtain everyone¡¯s respect. It would be make it very convenient when entering and leaving a city. Standing at the village¡¯s entrance, I took a glance back at the small village as similar to the size of a peach orchard, and said with a sigh, ¡°Big Brother, I truly would somewhat hate to part here.¡± Zhan Hu drew my shoulder towards him, saying, ¡°Little Brother, even a feast will eventually have to end. Take care of yourself on your journey. When you finish your travels at Xiuda come back immediately and find me. We¡¯ll find the holy sword together. Big Brother looks forward to go out together and create a new world. ¡°Good. Big Brother, be at ease. I will return as quickly as possible.¡± Zhan Hu with a bit of grief, said, ¡°When you go to Xiuda, if you have an opportunity, could you go take a look at my home? But you mustn¡¯t tell them about my circumstances. So long as they are safe, I would be relieved.¡± It seems that he is still very concerned about his home. After all it was the home where he was born and raised. ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you going back? It would be great if you returned with me then! Then we don¡¯t have to separate. The king isn¡¯t that young anymore either. Even if he has high expectations of you, he won¡¯t wish for you to leave again.¡± I said in an attempt to persuade him to come with me. ¡°I can¡¯t. You don¡¯t understand. We can talk about it again once you return so we can set off to retrieve the Holy Sword. You go now then. Quickly go so you can quickly come back.¡± It seems like I¡¯m unable to convince him no matter what. Reluctantly, I waved goodbye the big brother I have just gotten these last two months. Facing towards Xiuda¡¯s vast earth, I continued my journey. Volume 3: Chapter 15 The Knight Academy Volume 3: Chapter 15 ¨C The Knight Academy Entering the borders of Xiuda, there were many differences here compared to Aixia as expected, but the simple and honest nature of the people here were the same. Everywhere in Xiuda, you could see warriors wearing knight¡¯s attire. Even a few remote villages were like this as well. It is clear that Xiuda held military tradition in esteem. On the road, I practiced a few rank 8 spells that I couldn¡¯t use previously with the light magic book Teacher Di gave me. Although they were only one rank higher, they were truly awesome, their results were certainly as different as heaven and earth. My increase in strength made me feel full of confidence in completing this journey of learning. Because I wore the earth knight attire (what Zhan Hu had given me), I arrived at Xiuda Kingdom¡¯s Capital City without a hitch. Ah, what grand buildings, the tall city gate tower intimidated people at first glance. From my observations, the city guards were all made up of advanced warriors, truly powerful. When city guards¡¯ officers and men saw my earth knight¡¯s attire, they displayed a gaze of reverence, satisfying my vanity once more. Just as I was about to enter the city, I suddenly heard a person shout from inside the city, ¡°People in front, move out of the way!¡± I unconsciously stood to the side and looked toward the city¡¯s interior. Wa, that¡¯s an earth dragon? I saw ten massive creatures rush out. On top of each creature sat an armored knight holding a massive 3.6 meters long dragon spear. Truly awe inspiring. Those huge creatures should be earth dragons. I attentively observed, discovering that their lengths were similar to Xiao Jin¡¯s, they were only a bit shorter. Their bodies were about five meters long and two meters tall, with two thick, strong hind legs to support their massive bodies and two large claws on their forelimbs. There was no doubt it had the power to rip a tiger apart. I inquired to the person to my side, ¡°Hello, are those the Earth Dragon Corps?¡± The soldier looked at me and replied, ¡°You aren¡¯t a native? The Earth Dragon Corps routinely patrol the city every day. They are truly our idols.¡± I laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I came here to attend the Royal Knight Academy. I¡¯ve never seen earth dragons before. They are truly impressive.¡± The soldier wore an expression of reverence and respectfully said, ¡°In the future you will surely become a member of the Earth Dragon Corps.¡± Walking into the Xiuda city, everywhere in the city was bustling with noise and excitement. I only asked once and heard the directions to the Royal Knight Academy. Arriving at the academy¡¯s gate, just as I was just about to enter, a guard barred the way. He politely said, ¡°Hello sir, may I ask who you are looking for?¡± I promptly said, ¡°Hello, I am a graduate from the Aixia Kingdom¡¯s Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, on behalf of Principal Lao Lun Di to come and look for your academy¡¯s principal Li Ke Wen.¡± ¡°So you actually came from Aixia Kingdom, I¡¯ll bring you to go see the principal.¡± He said straightforwardly. ¡°Then I will thank you.¡± He explained to another guard, then brought me inside the knight academy. The first thing I saw entering the gate were a pair of statues of swift, noble horses. It seems that these are the knights¡¯ emblem. The guard and I turned seven corners and moved through eight school buildings and several large training grounds, arriving at the corner of the academy. This environment is truly good. It was like a small forest; you rarely see so many plants growing. At the center of the forest, there was a small courtyard, at the center of the courtyard there was a small room. Without even being nearby, I heard people talking. A bold and angry voice said, ¡°How are you so stupid? Don¡¯t use inflexible strikes, use what you¡¯ve learned creatively. If you continue to practice so inflexibly you will forever be unable to become a radiant knight. Damnably stupid.¡± A different bright and respectful voice replied, ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m with an idiot. Come, again.¡± I asked the guard, ¡°What is this all about?¡± The guard smiled saying, ¡°The Great Principal is teaching his disciple. Let¡¯s go over.¡± In my heart, I was somewhat terrified, ¡°Will it be alright if we disturb them?¡± Just as I let out my voice, the bold voice from the small, inner courtyard pieced it, ¡°Who is it? Did I not command to disallow anyone casually disturb me?¡± The guard respectfully said, ¡°Great Principal, Aixia Kingdom¡¯s Great Lao Lun Di has sent a person to come find you.¡± ¡°Oh? Quickly come over.¡± I entered the courtyard with the guard. There were two people inside. One was an elderly man with a height exceeding two meters and a dragon¡¯s beard. He was wearing tight fitting warrior¡¯s clothing and held a wooden sword. At his side was an adolescent that appeared not much different than me. He was a bit taller than me. His upper body was bright red and displayed strong, rugged muscle. It seems that a moment ago they were exchanging blows with wooden swords. I quickly walked in front of the old man and deeply paid my respects. I lowered my head and respectfully said, ¡°Teacher Li Ke Wen, Hello. I am Zhang Gong Wei, a graduate from the Aixia Kingdom¡¯s Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. I was entrusted by Teacher Di to come and meet you.¡± Teacher Wen looked from head to toe and said with a smile, ¡°Lao Lun that old fellow, I thought he had already forgotten about me. You¡¯re his disciple? Even now there are still people that are willing to learn his lousy light magic. It seems your aptitude is not bad but it isn¡¯t equal to my learned martial skills, haha.¡± A very straightforward character, however his words made me somewhat embarrassed. Neither humbly nor arrogantly, I said, is ¡°Teacher Di¡¯s light magic still quite ferocious. Like your martial skills, they each have their own merits. Excuse me, this student cannot put this off any further. Here is a letter from Teacher Di. Please look at it.¡± Teacher Wen took the letter and said, ¡°Don¡¯t speak so formally. It is awkward for me to hear. I¡¯ll look at what Teacher Di wrote.¡± He quickly finished reading the letter and once again looked at me from head to toe. Looking at my straight hair, he finally said, ¡°Old Di wrote that he had much confidence in you, said you were a magic genius. I don¡¯t know how much of a genius though.¡± I didn¡¯t dare reply, fearing a reply would badly excite the fiery temperament of the old man. It was actually his apprentice that helped me out of the predicament. ¡°Master, a guest arrived, won¡¯t you invite him into the room to rest? You¡¯re frightening him.¡± ¡°Hehe, right. You youngsters will be very intimate in the future, huh? Walk. Let¡¯s enter the room. Guard, you can return.¡± We entered the wooden room. Teacher Wen inquired from me how Teacher Di was doing. From his questions, I felt that he and Teacher Di had a deep friendship. Teacher Wen said, ¡°Oh that¡¯s right. I still haven¡¯t given you an introduction. This is my disciple, Dong Ri Huo. He¡¯s half elf. He¡¯s a kid that keenly feels teacher¡¯s temperament, hehe.¡± Dong Ri felt a bit embarrassed by Teacher Wen¡¯s words. I nodded at him, saying, ¡°Hello. Please take care of me in the future.¡± He gave a warm smile in return. Volume 3: Chapter 16 Physical Training Volume 3: Chapter 16 ¨C Physical Training ¡°Come on, let¡¯s chat while we eat.¡± We arrived at the principal¡¯s exclusive dining room. At first, I was a bit nervous and ate the food bit by bit. But when I saw what Teacher Wen looked like when eating, I felt that my previous image was simply too elegant. Teacher Wen had one foot up on his chair and was noisily, madly scooping up food into his mouth, making food fly all over the place. Dong Ri gave me a sheepish smile. I heard Teacher Wen¡¯s voice: ¡°Zhang Gong, why aren¡¯t you eating. Quick, eat some more.¡± After hearing Teacher Wen¡¯s encouragement, I¡¯ll definitely be blunt. I started sweeping up food like a tornado. From morning until now, I¡¯ve only eaten some traveling rations. I¡¯ve been hungry enough to die for a long time. Now it was their turn to be dumbstruck. In the short time Teacher Wen wasn¡¯t paying attention, I¡¯ve already cleared off more than half the food on the table. ¡°Wah, this kid. Has Lao Lun been starving you so much, that you came over here to balance it out?¡± Teacher Wen teased me. Now that I¡¯ve already started eating, I can¡¯t resume being polite. I¡¯ll eat until I¡¯m full before I¡¯ll consider it again. With my mouth full, I answered with a muffled voice, ¡°Teacher Wen, if you don¡¯t hurry up and eat, you¡¯ll be hungry later.¡± ¡°Ah! Dong Ri, eat quickly. He¡¯s eating too fast, we won¡¯t get anything to eat if we don¡¯t hurry up.¡± How can we still chat while eating like this, it¡¯s literally just like a competition. By the time all the food was cleared, I reckon I was the only one who was full. Teacher Wen grudgingly said: ¡°Looks like we need to make more food in the future. Old Di sent me a rice bucket.¡± After returning to the log cabins, Teacher Wen said: ¡°Ah, Zhang Gong. From now on you¡¯ll live with Dong Ri in the house on the left. Old Di let me train you for half a year. Will you be able to persevere?¡± I saw a bit of craftiness in his eyes. Looks like my life¡¯s going to get difficult. Then I must not embarrass Teacher Di. I resolutely answered: ¡°No problem. I will certainly persevere.¡± Inwardly I believe that, with the foundations I learned from Big Brother, I will definitely be able to cope with whatever comes up. We started to idly chat. From our conversations, I learned that Teacher Wen is a radiant knight and Dong Ri is an earth knight. Underneath Dong Ri¡¯s blonde hair was his unique characteristic as a half-elf ¨C pointy ears (half-elves are very rare, they are the results of when a human and an elf mate. They have humans¡¯ intelligence as well as elves¡¯ talent. Take Dong Ri as an example, he has a human¡¯s structure but an elf¡¯s face. Elves are all very handsome, on this point Dong Ri makes me admit my inferiority. I know that in terms of talent, he¡¯s certainly not any worse than me. It¡¯s just that he wasn¡¯t as lucky as I was, hehe). Teacher Wen said that Dong Ri¡¯s archery skills are ancestral skills. They are extremely powerful, he even admits his inferiority in this aspect. I accidently said: ¡°Dong Ri¡¯s archery skills are that good. If he learned some magic to make some magical arrows, then it will be even more powerful.¡± They both stopped talking and were looking at me weirdly. Dong Ri¡¯s eyes were also showing boundless desire. I asked: ¡°What, was what I said wrong?¡± For the first time, Teacher Wen started to get serious and said: ¡°No, what you said couldn¡¯t be truer. If you didn¡¯t come, I was going to have Dong Ri go to Old Di to get him to teach him some magic. Now that you¡¯ve come, you two can learn from each other. In exchange, I will also teach you some martial arts.¡± I said smiling: ¡°Don¡¯t be so serious sir. Brother Dong Ri and I certainly won¡¯t let you and Teacher Di down.¡± Starting from the next day, Teacher Wen had me do physical training with Dong Ri. Teacher Wen had very rigid requirements, even harsher than Big Bro Zhan Hu. If not for the fact that I had a certain amount of foundation, I would have collapsed long ago. Teacher Wen even praised me saying that my physical ability isn¡¯t like a mage¡¯s. How could he possibly known that I¡¯ve already been training for two months? I was finally able to rest in the afternoon. Originally, Teacher Wen also wanted to teach me battle spirit, but I told him that I¡¯ve already learned some battle spirit from a friend and didn¡¯t want to change it. Teacher Wen wanted me to show him, but I muddled through by saying that my friend didn¡¯t want me to show it to other people. Teacher Wen got a bit angry and said that he won¡¯t bother with me anymore then. The next day, he increased the level of my physical training by a lot. Nearly killed me. That¡¯s good. The Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement truly is a good battle spirit cultivation method. I only need to sit down and meditate for a while then my physical strength will be restored. My magic power seemed to have reached a bottleneck. I couldn¡¯t find a method to continue advancing but I had this feeling of being enriched. However, I sensed that with my current strength, I could even move the mountains and fill the seas. My magic power was like the unceasing torrent of the Yangtze River. I used the same method that I used to teach Big Brother Zhan Hu to teach Dong Ri light magic. His acceptance was even quicker than that of Zhan Hu. When I experienced his sword techniques, I could only describe them as frightening. It is said that within 800 meters, relying on his keen sight he could cut off the right wing of a housefly without even touching the left wing. Teacher Wen had exaggerated that with one glance, Dong Ri could identify the father and mother of a housefly. Dong Ri¡¯s personality is rather easygoing. A few parts of his character are quite similar to mine. Although we haven¡¯t known each other for a long time, we¡¯ve already become exceptionally good friends. Evening was the best part of the day for us because we could go out and have fun. Time goes by so fast. I¡¯ve already been in Xiuda city for over a month. Today, Dong Ri and I went out to play. We were just outside the academy when someone called out to Dong Ri. ¡°Big brother Dong Ri.¡± A delicate voice floated over. Dong Ri and I turned around at the same time. A red-haired girl approached us, maybe younger than us by a year (I¡¯m two months older than Dong Ri). She had big, watery eyes and very long hair. I poked Dong Ri and whispered to him: ¡°Your girlfriend?¡± Dong Ri¡¯s face immediately went red. He hurriedly explained: ¡°No, we¡¯re just ordinary friends.¡± I teased: ¡°Really? Doesn¡¯t look like it. Hehe.¡± At this point, that red-haired girl already arrived in front of us and said to Dong Ri: ¡°Big brother Dong Ri, long time no see. Is Teacher Wen being too strict? You seemed to have lost weight.¡± Wow, she¡¯s this concerned about him and he still says she¡¯s not his girlfriend. Dong Ri muttered: ¡°Hello Miss Hua Lun.¡± Miss Hua Lun angrily said: ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you, don¡¯t call me Miss Hua Lun. Call me Hong Xue okay. Eh, who is this?¡± She had only noticed me now, am I really that insignificant? I¡¯m practically being regarded as air. ¡°Hua Lun, ah, no, Hong Xue. He is my friend, a student of a friend of Teacher Wen¡¯s. He studies magic.¡± I smiling said: ¡°Hello Miss Hua Lun, I am Zhang Gong Wei.¡± She also replied kindly, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Hong Xue Hua Lun. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± I said to Dong Ri: ¡°Dong Ri I still have some things to do. You and Miss Hua Lun talk, I¡¯ll go ahead.¡± I speedily slipped away without waiting for Dong Ri¡¯s reply. Haha, let¡¯s give this kid a chance. Volume 3: Chapter 17 Orphan Dong Ri Volume 3: Chapter 17 ¨C Orphan Dong Ri As she watched me leave, Miss Hua Lun said to Dong Ri: ¡°Oh, your friend is so considerate. He left so quickly.¡± Dong Ri complained in his heart, what kind of friend is he? He escaped without me. This time I¡¯ve been ensnared by Hong Xue and won¡¯t be able to escape for a while. Leaving aside how Dong Ri dealt with Hong Xue, I wandered around the main streets leisurely after I separated with them. As I wandered around the streets, I suddenly noticed that there were many people gathered ahead of me. What are they up to? I couldn¡¯t help but be curious with my juvenile temperament, so I walked over to take a look. It turns out it was an announcement. I squeezed to the front of the crowd. On the announcement it was written that next month there would be a nationwide grand tournament. They¡¯re inviting experts from all over to come and participate. It wasn¡¯t limited to martial arts, that is to say that magic was also allowed. The top 10 people can directly join the Earth Dragon Corps. I wasn¡¯t really interested in it since I already had a Five Clawed Golden Dragon. Naturally I wouldn¡¯t be interested in fake dragons. I returned to the academy to discover that Dong Ri still hasn¡¯t returned. I asked Teacher Wen about the competition I read about in the announcement. Teacher Wen asked me: ¡°You¡¯re participating Zhang Gong? Ah, this is a great opportunity for you.¡± I shook my head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not participating. Everyone else is a knight and I¡¯ll be the only mage. What¡¯s the point? Besides, I don¡¯t want to join the Earth Dragon Corps. It would be better for you to have Dong Ri participate.¡± It was only now that Teacher Wen noticed that Dong Ri hadn¡¯t returned with me. ¡°Where did Dong Ri go?¡± I gave him a mysterious smile. ¡°Him, ahhh. He¡¯s fine. He¡¯s on a date with that girl Hong Xue Hua Lun.¡± Teacher Wen knitted his eyebrows. ¡°So it¡¯s actually that girl Hong Xue.¡± ¡°You also know about her?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course I know. She¡¯s His Majesty¡¯s niece. The child of the king¡¯s younger sister. Ever since I attended a banquet at the royal household with Dong Ri, she would always come to bother Dong Ri. I feared that she would affect Dong Ri¡¯s studies so I made sure he avoided her as much as possible.¡± ¡°This is where you¡¯re wrong. Both men and women have to marry. How could you stand in the way of other¡¯s love?¡± I said with a giggle. ¡°You brat. You¡¯re not the least bit serious at all, just like that old fellow Lao Yun. Hmph! Wait until I ask Dong Ri when he gets back.¡± Ah, Dong Ri. You can¡¯t blame me. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. After an a little bit more than an hour, Dong Ri returned. As soon as he entered he was greeted by Teacher Wen¡¯s repulsive face. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Hmph! You still know to come back. There¡¯s nothing good to be said about your martial skill yet you still go and court girls. You¡¯ve made me lose face.¡± Dong Ri wasn¡¯t acting like how I imagined at all. Instead of admitting his mistake in fear and trepidation, he faintly said: ¡°I¡¯m an orphan, and the other person is royal blood. What qualifications do I have to court her? I¡¯m going to go rest now.¡± (Dong Ri was picked up by Teacher Wen was he was small. Since then he has followed Teacher Wen.) After saying this, he turned around and went to his room, leaving Teacher Wen to glare at my small eyes with his big eyes. Teacher Wen said: ¡°This child, how can he be like this? Ah, he¡¯s never contradicted me before.¡± I thought it over for a bit before speaking. ¡°He is surely feeling wronged because he feels inferior. You can be relieved. I¡¯ll go console him. I must also accept some of the responsibility for this matter. I shouldn¡¯t have abandoned him earlier.¡± When I returned to the room, I discovered Dong Ri sitting in the corner staring into space foolishly. I walked in front of him and asked: ¡°What¡¯s going on Dong Ri? Who¡¯s bullying you? It was my bad, I shouldn¡¯t have abandoned you there.¡± Dong Ri indifferently responded: ¡°It¡¯s not about you.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t be like this all right? I¡¯m also a commoner, how about that? Let others say what they will.¡± I used my strength to shake his shoulders. Suddenly, Dong Ri violently pushed me away as he roared: ¡°Even if you¡¯re a commoner, you still have a mother and father! What do I have? I don¡¯t have anything at all. I¡¯m an orphan. Do you know what they say about me? They say I¡¯m a mixed breed. A mixed breed. Did you know?¡± At this moment, Teacher Wen rushed in from outside and tightly hugged Dong Ri. ¡°Child, don¡¯t be like this. You still have me. I¡¯m your closest relative now.¡± It seemed Dong Ri found some comfort within Teacher Wen¡¯s embrace for he soon burst into tears. Embracing him, Teacher Wen couldn¡¯t help but release his tears too. ¡°Child, tell me. Who said you¡¯re a mixed breed? Tell me.¡± Teacher Wen emitted an ice-cold murderous spirit as he said this. I was convinced that if a name came out of Dong Ri¡¯s lips, Teacher Wen would immediately pounce on that person and chop him up. Maybe Dong Ri also knew what would happen if he said anything, so instead he wept and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± Teacher Wen had tightly grabbed onto Dong Ri¡¯s shoulders. I immediately ran over from the side, grabbing Teacher Wen¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Teacher Wen, you don¡¯t need to bother with this matter anymore. If you take any action people will say that you¡¯re the big taking advantage of the young. Let us younger people settle our own disputes. I will certainly go with Dong Ri to demand justice.¡± I also had a monstrous fury bubbling forth within me. They actually dared to bully my friend, it seems they¡¯ve lived long enough. It was only due to this that Teacher Wen gradually became more and more calm. He said with a sigh: ¡°Zhang Gong, then I¡¯ll request that you please do so.¡± I coldly answered, ¡°You might not know, but before I arrived, my magic power has already reached the rank of a magister.¡± If I want to increase his confidence in me, I can¡¯t conceal my strength from him. Teacher Wen and Dong Ri were both stunned. Such a young magister! Who could possibly accept that? Thinking that they still weren¡¯t convinced, powerful light elements surged forth as I brought out the transparent gold dan from my upper dantian. After revolving around me for a bit, it stopped at my upper dantian. This is one of light magic¡¯s most direct and powerful spells, a pure energy attack. It seems Dong Ri had already forgotten about his shame when he said: ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so powerful Zhang Gong.¡± I withdrew the magic and resolutely told Dong Ri: ¡°Good little brother, tomorrow we¡¯ll go find those that bullied you and get your revenge. Are we not also people? In the future we will certainly be able to create a career for ourselves.¡± My words seemed to have allowed Dong Ri to pull himself together. He tightly gripped my hands. All of our words had been said. After Teacher Wen left to go rest, I inquired from Dong Ri what the matter was. While clenching his teeth, he told me about what happened during their encounter. It turns out that after I left, Hong Xue ensnared Dong Ri and forced him to accompany her for a walk. Not long after, they came across a noble¡¯s child. No matter if they were the son of a duke or an earl, they all tried to court Hong Xue. She truly is a femme fatale. It was only natural that they were extremely jealous of Dong Ri who was able to accompany Hong Xue. They immediately began spouting evil words at him. All sorts of vulgar words were thrown at him. From his childhood, Dong Ri had never had much contact with others and he also wouldn¡¯t strike back. It was only after Hong Xue retaliated on his behalf that he would angrily fought the nobles and run back, sulking. Volume 3: Chapter 18 Taking the Initiative to Provoke Volume 3: Chapter 18 ¨C Taking the Initiative to Provoke ¡°Dong Ri, Rest assured. Tomorrow I will definitely go with you to seize justice from them.¡± I made us meditate together. Like this, we quickly entered the land of dreams. Tomorrow I will definitely speak out for him. Early morning, when Dong Ri and I woke up and was just about to start our body strengthening exercises, Teacher Wen stopped us. Teacher Wen said, ¡°Today I am giving you the day off. Rest well.¡± Saying this, he turned around and left. Dong Ri and I looked at each other with surprise. We both knew that Teacher Wen gave us this time in order to take revenge. This is great. I immediately urged Dong Ri to quickly change his clothes, so that we could go find that gang of despicable fellows and get revenge. ¡°Principal, Is Elder Principal here?¡± A familiar voice came from outside the room and I quickly ran out to look. It turned out to be the gate guard. I smiled and said, ¡°Elder Brother Guard, What business do you have? I think Teacher left to inspect the academy.¡± ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s Zhang Gong. It¡¯s not good. Something big happened. Duke Bi Qi Zhu brought several Earl Elders to come see the Principal. It looks like something terrible is approaching. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. They¡¯ve brought their own clan¡¯s future generation. Altogether there are about a hundred or so in total. Their relentless demands is slowly eroding away the gate¡¯s guards.¡± He said while panting.The guard looked very worried. Ah? Impossible. We still haven¡¯t gone to take revenge. Unexpectedly they actually came to get revenge against us. Although they have infuriated me, I calmly said, ¡°Elder Brother Guard, first go into the academy and find Teacher Wen. Dong Ri and I will go to the gates and take a look.¡± Dong Ri and I arrived at the academy gate with the speed of lightning. Damn! It was truly noisy, just like a market. A large group of people were crowding at the academy gate. Dong Ri pulled on my ear and quietly whispered into it, ¡°Zhang Gong, look. Those brats over there are the noble children I hit yesterday.¡± I thought to myself, little brother, you can really hit. All those you hit were the children of government officials. It¡¯d be useless to say anything now. Together, Dong Ri and I walked over. Dong Ri didn¡¯t dare to say anything, so I took the initiative to yell, ¡°Everyone quiet down! What happened? What troubled you so much that you came to disturb the knight academy?¡± A bloated fatty that could not have walked more slowly came over and said, ¡°Who are you? Tell your principal to come out and talk. I am Bi Qi Zhu.¡± Although he was very fat, , I sensed from the radiance in his eyes that the duke was not a simple person, but was actually a master. I politely said, ¡°Hello Duke Elder. I am a student at this academy. Bringing so many people to this academy¡¯s gate, I fear this has caused a rather bad disturbance. When Principal Wen is satisfied he will come out. Could you wait at the side of the road for a moment?¡± He wrinkled his brow and frowned, saying, ¡°What clan are you from? I¡¯ve never seen you before. Are you a commoner?¡± I nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right. I was born from commoners.¡± Without waiting for me to finish, he interrupted me, ¡°So it turns out you were such a lowly peasant. You don¡¯t have the privilege to speak to me. Go off to the side.¡± Hearing his words, my anger immediately surged, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with commoners? Are commoners not people? Are only you nobles considered people? Without us commoners, what would you nobles eat, drink? Is it not because of your ancestors that your names carry a bit of weight? What is so amazing about that? I will not move out of the way. What could you possibly do to me?¡± My words made the commoners present let out a breath of their resentment. The commoners have suffered long enough from the bullying of the nobles. Behind me, Dong Ri continuously pulled on me. Later, I would know that this Bi Qi Zhu snobbishness was extraordinarily large. My words clearly infuriated him. ¡°Oh good. A filthy peasant dared to oppose me. Men, come teach him a lesson.¡± This is a populated area. Can he not distinguish this? We have to find a desolate area away from the city. He prematurely called his men to come fight me. His subordinates knew their boss¡¯s intentions and prepared to cripple me for life in order to relieve their boss¡¯s anger. Dong Ri suddenly came out from behind me and said, ¡°What do you dare to do? This is the knight¡¯s academy. We do not tolerate the disorder you bring.¡± Not only did Dong Ri¡¯s appearance prevent me from escaping the trouble but contrarily had gotten himself into trouble. From within the duke¡¯s crowd yelled a person¡¯s voice, ¡°It was him! Yesterday it was him that hit us!¡± Bi Qi Zhu glared at Dong Ri and fiercely said, ¡°So it was you who hit my son! Humph! I will give you an ugly death! Come! Surround them for me! Do not let them run!¡± Bi Qi Zhu henchmen immediately surrounded us. Our situation was far from good. I sensed that Dong Ri behind me had cowered back a bit. Attentively, I responded to his feelings, ¡°Afraid of what? Have you forgotten I am a magister?¡± My words greatly increased Dong Ri¡¯s confidence. With a magister, what could you possibly be afraid of? Even if you fought, it would be impossible to lose. We were surrounded like water in a bucket, with three rows surrounding another three rows. You don¡¯t have to be this extreme. We are only two children. The fat duke sent out orders, ¡°Go. Arrest them for me.¡± It seems he wants to find a proper place to ¡°punish¡± us. Although the masses were dissatisfied and infuriated by the conduct of nobles bullying commoners, but with Bi Qi¡¯s large forces they dared not to speak out. ¡°Who dares to try?¡± I am truly furious. My past temperament had always made me avoid conflict. Maybe it was because my current strength is exceptionally powerful and also because they¡¯ve bullied us too much, that I was at the end of my patience. I¡¯ve decided that I would no longer run but would instead battle of life and death. I secretly chanted an incantation to protect Dong Ri and I from within. A layer of faint white light wrapped around us like a ring. Apart from Dong Ri, everyone had thought it was battle spirit. It was actually my spell, Divine Halo. Bi Qi was very surprised, and thought to himself, these two brats are truly powerful. No wonder they could hit my son. It is a good that I¡¯ve brought many people. ¡°Everyone, together! I don¡¯t believe they can block all of us.¡± ¡°Truly shameless. You have to use this many to defeat us?¡± I said with disdain. Hearing my words, most of the men that Bi Qi brought had ceased their advance. It seems they still greatly value their honor. A knight¡¯s spirit is deeply rooted into their minds. It will be much easier this way. I chanted, ¡°Oh great light elements, my friends, I request of you to let out an endless radiance.¡± This is a rank 5 light attack spell. Its appearance was exceptionally scary to others, even though the spell¡¯s attack potential was not every strong. Following my chant, a dazzling white light burst out from my body, enveloping a range of 50 meters. The thugs approaching within 10 meters of me were thrown far away. A few of the weaker thugs suffered heavy injuries. I coldly snorted, ¡°Whoever no longer wishes to live, do not hesitate to come over. Let¡¯s see if us brothers can put this worthless lot into order.¡± The people present don¡¯t dare move. Bi Qi seeing this situation go amiss, swayingly walked to the front, his slender small eyes on his chubby face were already blinded forming two slits, ¡°What you had just used was magic? Fine brats, it seems I have underestimated you. I will let you look at my strength. Know that my dukedom was not a product of coincidence. Humph!¡± As his voice fell, I felt the pressure on my body increase. The Duke¡¯s small stature let out grandeur that reached to the sky. This is far too unthinkable. Don¡¯t tell me, could it be¡­.?¡± The Duke¡¯s words confirmed my notions. He proudly said, ¡°You didn¡¯t expect that I was actually a radiant knight from my appearance did you? In Xiuda, strength is not limited to one¡¯s own appearance.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 19 Revealing the Enemys Weakness Volume 3: Chapter 19 ¨C Revealing the Enemy¡¯s Weakness I composed myself. I was barely able to suppress the fear I felt within my heart. I felt that if I truly fought him, the outcome would be disastrous. The rank of radiant knight is on the same level as a magister. I definitely cannot be careless. I secretly adjusted my magic power so it was in peak condition. Bi Qi saw a different scene before him. At first, Bi Qi smiled when he saw me turn pale under his pressure, thinking that evidently I wasn¡¯t able to resist it. Suddenly, a halo of faint white light emerged from my body, completely suppressing the pressure he had previously emitted. He couldn¡¯t help but think to himself: ¡®This brat. Could it be¡­. he actually has the strength to contend with me? Then doesn¡¯t that mean he has the strength of a magister? It¡¯s unimaginable for someone so young to possess such strength!¡¯ At the moment, we were standing opposite of each other. I heard a sound coming from my side. The sound was different from the spiritual communication of magic, it was created by using a string. Therefore I was the only one who could hear it¡¯s contents. It was Teacher Wen¡¯s voice. He said impatiently: ¡°Quickly stop resisting Zhang Gong. Don¡¯t let him sense your strength. Quickly!¡± My heart jumped in alarm. That¡¯s right! It truly would be unwise for me to expose my strength. I gradually willed my magic power to withdraw into me. Once again, my face showed an expression as if I couldn¡¯t endure his pressure. Bi Qi was relieved. He thought that my strength was short-lived and my real strength was far weaker. Right as I was about to act, his old foe appeared. ¡°Oh! What kind of wind could have blown the Duke all the way over here? Hehe. Ah, what are you doing here with such a large amount of troops?¡± Teacher Wen¡¯s words weren¡¯t at all like his ferocious outer appearance. On the contrary, they were unusually smooth. After seeing that Teacher Wen had arrived, Bi Qi reluctantly withdrew his pressure. He cynically said: ¡°I was wondering if this old ghost would come out. I¡¯m here to get justice from you, not to idly gossip.¡± Feigning astonishment, Teacher Wen inquired: ¡°Justice? What justice? Ah, I haven¡¯t offended you, the duke.¡± The fat on the duke¡¯s face began trembling before he replied furiously: ¡°You don¡¯t know? Your disciple beat up someone yet you don¡¯t know? Today, you must give me an explanation for this. Your disciple beat up my son in addition to many other nobles yesterday. Tell me then. What is to be done?¡± Awkwardly, Teacher Wen replied: ¡°Right, it seemed like there was this kind of report. However, it was told to me differently. The disciple said it was the noble children who insulted him first. It was only after being insulted that he acted. Ethics would say that they provoked him first.¡± It seemed Bi Qi has calmed down a bit as not a single emotion was revealed on his face. Those who knew him well would know that he was truly angry now. He coldly said: ¡°That is to say, you want to shield your disciple.¡± Teacher Wen still had a good temperament, so he could ask with a smile: ¡°Can you let me see your son¡¯s condition first?¡± Without even waiting for Bi Qi to speak, a luxuriously dressed youth came running out of the crowd. He shrewdly said: ¡°You see, you see! He hit my face!¡± While saying so, he revealed his fat face to everyone. Teacher Wen as well as all of the surrounding observers laughed. It turns out that this youngster had been slapped, thus leaving a palm print on his face. Ah, it looks like Dong Ri¡¯s hands were really light yesterday. Originally I thought he had beaten him up otherwise why would he bring so many people to carry out his revenge? I secretly tugged on Dong Ri¡¯s clothes and whispered to him: ¡°Ah, your hands are so light!¡± He replied: ¡°But I can¡¯t freely injure others either. It¡¯s enough to give them a lesson.¡± Teacher Wen said to Bi Qi: ¡°I see that your esteemed son¡¯s injuries aren¡¯t that grave. Is it truly necessary for the Duke to muster such large forces for this matter? This is the Royal family¡¯s highest level of knight academy after all.¡± Clearly, within these words was a hidden threat. Bi Qi angrily kicked his fat son¡¯s ass back into the crowd. He hatefully said: ¡°You scoundrel bastard! Who let you enter this world? You¡¯ve actually made me lose so much face!¡± He turned his head to Teacher Wen and said: ¡°You refrained from pressuring me today so if you give me an explanation for this matter today I¡¯ll leave it at that.¡± Teacher Wen restrained himself from smiling and coldly said: ¡°Then what are you thinking of doing? Your son abused my disciple. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you still want my disciple to apologize? I didn¡¯t go looking for justice from you, yet you, the guilty party came to me. You thought I was easy to bully didn¡¯t you?¡± Following Teacher Wen¡¯s words, a mob of students led by teachers from every branch rushed forth from the academy. These students were all pillars that supported the kingdom. Not a single one of them was weak let alone the academy¡¯s teachers who were all at least earth knights. With such strength, I fear only the Earth Dragon Corps could contend with them. (Authors note: A rule of the Xiuda Kingdom. Every single noble may possess a military force in accordance to their rank. A prince can possess 5000 troops, a duke 3000, and an earl 2000 while all other nobles may possess 1000 troops at most. On the other hand, the knight academy possessed 8000 or so students. This was one of the reason why Teacher Wen wasn¡¯t afraid of Bi Qi at all.) Bi Qi¡¯s complexion changed. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re too cruel. We¡¯ll take this matter to his majesty to judge. What does it matter how many come to pressure me?¡± Teacher Wen disdainfully replied: ¡°You have less people. If you¡¯re going then go. I¡¯m not afraid of you.¡± Teacher Wen had already been conferred the position of ¡°Teacher of the State¡±. Within Xiuda, this position possessed incredible fame and influence. Because he undertook a project to provide the best education, the knight academy became an official organization recognized by the kingdom. Although the title he was granted fell short of Bi Qi¡¯s, within Xiuda he wasn¡¯t at all weaker than Bi Qi. Bi Qi had all the nobles go back and wait for his message. Teacher Wen also dismissed all of the academy¡¯s people. Before he left, he used a voice string to tell me to not take any action if he didn¡¯t return and to watch after Dong Ri. Actually, ever since we saw Bi Qi¡¯s true strength, me and Dong Ri had some laments. We didn¡¯t expect that a person like the duke had such profound martial skills. Who would have imagined that within the nobility there was such a capable person? Of course we wouldn¡¯t rashly go take revenge anymore. Of course, Dong Ri took some persuading before he gradually released his emotions. Other people said to let his words out. There was no need to be angry and suffer. Bi Qi and Teacher Wen went to the Royal Palace to have judgement. Neither of them gave each other an inch. On the other hand, me and Dong Ri could only return to our rooms and wait anxiously. Even the gluttonous me didn¡¯t go eat. It was only when Dong Ri comforted that I felt better ¡°Be at ease. With Teacher Wen¡¯s relationship with the kingdom, there surely won¡¯t be any problems.¡± Sure enough, after a little more than an hour Teacher Wen returned. However, he looked displeased. Volume 3: Chapter 20 A Battle of Honor Volume 3: Chapter 20 ¨C A Battle of Honor I immediately went over and asked, ¡°What is going on? Could it be that His Majesty had sided with the Duke?¡± With an anxious gaze, Dong Ri looked at Teacher Wen. Teacher Wen sighed and said, ¡°It will not be like that. His Majesty is a very wise monarch and very shrewd as well. If he were to hit fifty slabs, not one strike would be different.* ¡°Then why do I see you having such an unhappy appearance?¡± I inquired. Teacher Wen replied, ¡°Although His Majesty did not discriminate against any party, he has given me a difficult task. He will have me send a troop of students from the academy branch in order to compete in Xiuda¡¯s five year national martial competition. Bi Qi will also have to send a single rank of troops. In addition, this affair will be resolved by seeing which dispatched troop receives the higher ranking. The winning party will have the losing party apologize in public.¡± ¡°Ah? So it¡¯s decided like that.¡± That¡¯s a bit unreasonable. We truly were the just party. ¡°Zhang Gong, you wouldn¡¯t know. Bi Qi has an exceptional amount of influence in Xiuda. His Majesty had no choice but to yield to him to some degree. Furthermore, because of Xiuda¡¯s prevalent martial traditions, many affairs are decided based on the result of a martial competition.¡± Teacher Wen said with significance. Dong Ri interrupted, saying, ¡°Then we won¡¯t have to worry. Our academy has many powerful students. How could we possibly be afraid of Bi Qi?¡± Indeed, because of our strength, we could even rival the nobles. Teacher Wen wrinkled his brow and said, ¡°That is exactly what I am worried about. Bi Qi was adamant on the two of you participating. He will also send his eldest son to participate in this tournament. Each team in the competition must have five members. Although the academy students¡¯ strength isn¡¯t weak, their age is comparatively young. It is impossible for them to have deeply cultivated their strength, but Bi Qi does not have that problem. It is said that his eldest son is awfully hard to deal with.¡± I curled my lips, ¡°What good could that fat hog possibly produce? Take his young, idiotic son for example.¡± Teacher Wen gravely rebuked me, ¡°Zhang Gong, you cannot look down on your opponents. You should know about Xiuda¡¯s most ferocious Earth Dragon Corps. His son is the second corps chief of the three Earth Dragon Corps. This isn¡¯t a position that can be obtained through bribes and influence. His eldest son this year is thirty eight years old and is already Xiuda¡¯s genius knight. At the age of thirty he was already a heaven knight. Second only to the previous Earth Dragon¡¯s third corps commander the Imperial Prince Qi Lu Xiuda, known as the Zhan Hu (War Tiger), Son of Jing Yun Xiuda.¡± Ah? Isn¡¯t that Big Brother? That being said, the duke¡¯s eldest son isn¡¯t any weaker than Big Brother. Teacher Wen continued, ¡°These past eight years, only the heavens know whether or not he was able to become a radiant knight. Although Zhang Gong has a magister¡¯s strength, in the end his cultivated experience is comparatively short. In addition, we don¡¯t know what other experts Bi Qi will dispatch. Therefore, I am truly worried about this competition.¡± In my mind, I felt nervous. Although becoming a radiant knight isn¡¯t an easy matter, nothing is absolute. But if the five people on the opposing team possesses Big Brother¡¯s strength, then we are determined to lose. While I was waging war in my mind, Dong Ri started talking. He said passionately, ¡°Teacher, be at ease. No matter the cost, we will surely obtain the final victory. We are the righteous party. It is unconditional; we cannot let them have their way.¡± Dong Ri¡¯s words influenced me, ¡°Right, we will definitely win.¡± Teacher Wen smiled and said to Dong Ri, ¡°Foolish child, what would you know of righteousness. Only the strong are just. To defeat the nobles is to defeat evil. Besides, from a fundamental point, Bi Qi isn¡¯t such a villain. It is only that he has many faults, nothing more.¡± Dong Ri and I looked at each other in dismay, I said, ¡°He isn¡¯t regarded as a villain even with that behavior?¡± Teacher Wen chuckled and said, ¡°You two are still young and far too naive. In this world there are no absolute villains. Neither are there any absolutely good people. There are only those with different ideas. That is why regardless of how small a good is, don¡¯t forsake it and no matter how small an evil is, don¡¯t commit it. With regards to Bi Qi, it is only that he is somewhat obstinate. He has a strong notion of his clan and is somewhat protective. But when facing issues of right or wrong, he can still choose the correct choice. Can you still call him bad?¡± Teacher Wen¡¯s words deeply moved me, establishing the future philosophy that would undertake. ¡°Those were words spoken before. If you are satisfied then participate in the competition. Even if you were to train it would be too late. I can select the three strongest students at this academy to participate with you. In these coming days I will have you five people get used to each other. I demand that you ensure yourselves to be in your peak condition. Fight to obtain a high rank. In fact even if you lose it wouldn¡¯t matter. At worst I would have to have to thicken my face skin and find Bi Qi and acknowledge I was wrong. He shouldn¡¯t bother me about it too much.¡± After finishing, Teacher Wen laughed at himself. When I heard a hint of bitterness inside his words. He clearly isn¡¯t very optimistic toward us. Dong Ri and I secretly resolved that we must beat Bi Qi¡¯s troop. Teacher Wen was at such an old age, and additionally he exceptionally valued face like most of Xiuda¡¯s people. We absolutely cannot allow this old man to suffer humiliation. ¡°It is done. Today was very tiring. Rest a bit earlier. Tomorrow morning, I will find teammates for you, and have you train and get familiar with each other. Dong Ri, who I am most worried about is you. Your strength is still comparatively weak to the opposition. Train with great effort.¡± Saying this, Teacher Wen went back to his own room. Finished eating dinner, Dong Ri and I practiced in the courtyard. I muttered to him, ¡°Dong Ri, this competition will definitely be arduous. I believe you should fully display your advantage.¡± Dong Ri curiously asked, ¡°I have an advantage?¡± I smiled and said, ¡°Of course you do. Your advantage is indeed ferocious. It is is your bow and arrow.¡± Hearing my words, he despaired, saying, ¡°Bow and arrow? I am only accurate, my strength is not at all strong. It is of no use against an expert.¡± I said profoundly, ¡°How could it possibly be useless? What I want is exactly your accuracy. We can use magic arrows.¡± Saying this, I quietly whispered [sweet nothings] my plan into his ear. His wrinkled brows gradually unfolded. Dong Ri smiled and hit me with a first, ¡°Luckily you thought of that. Now we can handle them. In these two days we must diligently practice our coordination.¡± I nervously said, ¡°Lower your voice. This is our secret weapon.¡± Dong Ri covered his mouth with his hand. His comical action made me hold my sides as I laughed. Only then did he know I was playing with him. He came over and noisily laughed with me. Teacher Wen silently looked at us from the front window and couldn¡¯t help but faintly shake his head and said to himself, ¡°Youngsters truly don¡¯t know the feeling of worry. I don¡¯t even know if they have any secret abilities.¡± After all, what kind of secret ability was it? Let us find out in the competition. Volume 3: Chapter 21 New Teammates Volume 3: Chapter 21 ¨C New Teammates Me and Dong Ri woke up early in the morning. Thinking back on the results of last night¡¯s practice, we couldn¡¯t help but smile. We were brimming with confidence in regards to the tournament. We didn¡¯t see Teacher Wen in the house; maybe he went to go look for some teammates for us. I was also looking forward to having new teammates. Waiting was the best way to get annoyed. It wasn¡¯t until noon that Teacher Wen returned. ¡°Have you found some teammates for us? How come you were gone for so long?¡± I grumbled. Teacher Wen smiled and said, ¡°I see that you are anxious, but I¡¯m even more anxious! I had to screen them; only the most suitable teammates will do. Hehe.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯ve already found some suitable candidates? Who are they?¡± I eagerly asked. ¡°I told them to come report in the afternoon since we have to eat lunch first. Once they¡¯re here, we¡¯ll go over the tournaments rules and system again. You two can go practice for a bit before we eat. Just don¡¯t tire yourselves out. The most important thing is to be in optimal condition. You won¡¯t have a breakthrough in such a short amount of time.¡± ¡°Oh. Then we¡¯ll go practice.¡± I said dissatisfied as I dragged Dong Ri off to practice. Soon, it was afternoon. We were currently in the house resting when we heard some people shouting. ¡°Xiu Si Ma Li, Xing Ao Li Si and Gao De Jin, reporting for duty!¡± It seems our teammates have arrived. Teacher Wen replied: ¡°Good. Come in.¡± I quickly ran out of the room with Dong Ri to welcome our new teammates. All three of them had differing appearances. Two of them were exceptionally tall, exceeding two meters in height and possessed a sturdy body. Although they weren¡¯t handsome, you could tell from their appearances that they had tempered themselves through extremely difficult training. They had a ferocious aura. From head to toe they had bulging muscles causing them to have a very valiant appearance. They seemed to be about 27 or 28 years old. The last person was a bit shorter, he was only about 180 centimeters tall, just a bit shorter than me and Dong Ri and appeared formal and cleanly cut. With clear and deep eyes full of wisdom, he looked to be about 24 or 25 years old. Teacher Wen also came out of the house beaming. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll introduce you guys. This one here is Zhang Gong. He came from Aixia and he¡¯s an expert in magic. Over here is Dong Ri, my disciple. He¡¯s also the weakest out of all of you, so you must take care of each other in the future.¡± Teacher Wen pointed at a robust man in red samurai¡¯s clothing. ¡°This is Xing Ao Li Si. His strength is approaching that of a sky knight¡¯s. He could have graduated long ago, but in order to learn martial skills that are even more profound, he stayed to continue his studies. He¡¯s one of the expert warriors at the academy.¡± Dong Ri and I immediately went over to greet him. Although Xing Ao¡¯s etiquette was very thorough, he didn¡¯t really look at me and Dong Ri. Teacher Wen pointed the other robust man. ¡°This is Gao De Jin. His circumstances are similar to Xing Ao¡¯s. He¡¯s also an expert warrior.¡± Indeed, their circumstances really were similar. He didn¡¯t really put me or Dong Ri in his sights either. Finally, Teacher Wen arrived at the side of the gentle and quiet youth and patted his shoulders. ¡°This is Xiu Si Ma Li. He¡¯s admired by everyone as the number one expert at the academy with the strength of a sky knight.¡± He truly did possess a formidable strength. As he was attentively watched me, he took the initiative and stretched his hand out. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Xiu Si.¡± I smiled as I shook his hands. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Zhang Gong. I welcome you guys as our new members.¡± After seeing Xing Ao and Gao De standing behind Xiu Si, I knew that Xiu Si was the boss of the three. Teacher Wen said: ¡°Alright then. For now, you can all go practice and get to know each other. I¡¯ll talk to you all about the tournament later.¡± All five of us bowed in salute as Teacher Wen returned to the house. Without letting me speak, Dong Ri said in rush: ¡°Ah! You¡¯re big brother Xiu Si. I¡¯ve heard of your reputation as the number one expert among the students long ago. Please give guidance to your little brother in the future.¡± Xiu Si softly said: ¡°I don¡¯t dare to give you guidance. We¡¯ll mutually help each other in the future instead.¡± Dong Ri could only sheepishly smile in response. He really does know how to capture people. I don¡¯t like these kinds of people. I interjected, ¡°Ah, don¡¯t we need to organize a team for the tournament? We need decide on a captain and give the team a name.¡± Xing Ao directly said, ¡°Why do we need to choose? Obviously the team captain should be Boss Xiu Si.¡± Xiu Si said with a frown: ¡°Xing Ao, don¡¯t speak in your confusion. My ability isn¡¯t enough to be the captain.¡± ¡°How were my words confused boss? With your strength, if you aren¡¯t going to be the captain then who is? Don¡¯t tell me¡­. you mean them?¡± He said as he shot us a glance full of contempt. So violent. I said with a slight smile, ¡°I hope that we can all talk to each other in a peaceful manner. We all share the goal of surpassing Duke Bi Qi¡¯s troops and to ultimately attain the position as champions to win honor for the academy. It would be pointless for us to argue over such a trivial matter. How about this, each of us will exhibit our strengths and whoever is the most powerful will be the captain.¡± Xiu Si secretly thought to himself, ¡®He¡¯s only a child yet he¡¯s so insightful. He must have an uncommon strength.¡¯ Thinking this, Xiu Si replied: ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Xing Ao and Gao De both took the initiative to forfeit. Dong Ri also forfeited; he didn¡¯t have any ambitions within his heart at all. I didn¡¯t have any originally either, but in order to prove to them that neither Dong Ri nor I were weak, I must compete with Xiu Si. Obviously, Xing Ao and Gao De thought I was overestimating myself. Gao De even told me it would be better if I forfeited, otherwise my defeat would be too unsightly. I ignored them and concentrated on my opponent who was as calm as water, Xiu Si. ¡°Will you be starting or will I?¡± Xiu Si indifferently replied, ¡°The guest will comply with the host¡¯s rules. I¡¯ll see your strength first. (He meant for me to demonstrate first. I¡¯d reckon that Xiu Si is from the mountains. Haha.¡± I bluntly replied, ¡°Yes.¡± I walked to the center of the courtyard and closed my eyes. I started slowly moving my body, but gradually increased the speed. The whole courtyard gradually became filled with my reflections. Suddenly, my figure stopped moving in the courtyard but instead, there were 10 exact copies of me standing in a circle. Xing Ao gasped in surprise. ¡°What sort of [witchcraft] trick is this!? Why are there so many people now?¡± All ten of me said, ¡°This isn¡¯t a trick. This is a type of spatial magic. I created it from short range teleportation magic. Every reflection is me while at the same time they aren¡¯t me.¡± This was a spell I created using short range teleportation magic as a foundation. It hasn¡¯t ever been seen in Aixia before. Actually, it was just that my teleportation speed was very fast but it required a large amount of magic power to sustain. It was only when I entered the realm of magisters that I was able to use this spell. Volume 3: Chapter 22 Radiant Battle Squad Volume 3: Chapter 22 ¨C Radiant Battle Squad It¡¯s only natural I don¡¯t solely rely on it. This spell is only used give me enough time to cast larger spells. The ten of me simultaneously chanted, ¡°Oh Great Light Elements, my life¡¯s most intimate companions, become the most magnificent halo of light to be shed on this earth.¡± This is the most gentle rank eight spell I can currently use, Brilliant Halo. It is also a sealing spell. This was the first time I used a rank 8 spell. Following my chant, all ten of me let out a faint golden light. From each and every illusion¡¯s body emerged a weak ring of light, encasing everyone present. Aside from Xiu Si, everyone was somewhat shocked. Once they were all covered, they had all stopped, including Dong Ri. By use of his profound battle spirit and quick reflexes, his body let out white heaven battle spirit, withstanding the halo¡¯s attack. However this was all useless. The ring of light continued to pursue him and eventually enveloped him. All ten of me opened our mouths, saying, ¡°If anyone can break through my magic, I will recognize you as team captain. If none of you are able to break through, then I will be team captain.¡± Dong Ri had immediately given up resisting. So long as one doesn¡¯t resist, this spell would only trap you within, without harm. The three new teammates certainly were unable deal with it well. They tried their utmost to struggle, letting out their battle spirit in an attempt to contend with my ring of light. I paid most attention to Xiu Si. His body had almost been entirely covered by the ring of light. It was like a cover of light had trapped him within. A moment later, no matter how much they had struggled, they were unable to get rid of my spell. This is the gap of strength, the gap between a magister and a heaven knight. Xiu Si took the initiative to speak, ¡°I concede. I accept senior as the team captain.¡± Hearing their Boss¡¯s words, even Gao De and Xing Ao had given up resisting. I revoked my spell. Xing Ao said, spitting angrily, ¡°You are truly despicable, launching a sneak attack on us.¡± I smiled, saying, ¡°Do you want to try again? This time I¡¯ll let you properly prepare. Let us see if you can avoid it.¡± Xing Ao angrily said, ¡°You!¡± Then turned his head toward Xiu Si, ¡°Boss, you should speak. We can¡¯t let this little demon be our leader.¡± Xiu Si had spoken, ¡°Xing Ao, speak of this no more. A man¡¯s worth doesn¡¯t depend on his age. You think too little of Zhang Gong. Even if we had been prepared, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist his magic. There is a gap between our strengths. If I haven¡¯t guessed incorrectly, only with a Magister¡¯s ability could he use such strength suppressing magic simultaneously on the three of us. Zhang Gong, you are a magister.¡± That last sentence was directed at me, with the tone of certainty. I nodded. It wasn¡¯t necessary to hide this from them. ¡°Fine, we will obey you. Previously I had long felt myself to be a genius. But compared to you, I am still far too lacking. I will strive much harder in the future. When I surpass you, I will take back that title.¡± Xiu Si said, neither humble nor arrogant. Knowing that I was a magister, neither Xing Ao nor Gao De said anything. ¡°Good, I will wait for you. I also hope that you accomplish this. Because from now on we are going to be comrades, and we will also be friends,¡± I said sincerely, gripping his hand. Although Xing Ao and Gao De¡¯s appearances showed they still weren¡¯t convinced, I knew that they had already accepted me in their hearts. I scratched my head, saying, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, you decide what our battle team¡¯s name should be, is this alright?¡± For the first time, Xiu Si smiled; his smile was as bright as sunlight. He said smiling, ¡°What spell did you use a moment ago?¡± ¡°The spell I had just used was a rank 8 light spell called Brilliant Halo.¡± ¡°Then from now on our name will be the Brilliance Team.¡± Even now, this name receives everyone¡¯s unanimous approval. Xiu Si gave me a feeling that his wisdom had surely outstripped his martial prowess. Teacher Wen came out. I didn¡¯t know if it was by chance or if it was intentional. Our problems settled, the old man¡¯s questions arose, ¡°It seems you are all very close. This is very good. I wish for you to later assist each other in carving out a piece of the sky for yourselves. Come over. I¡¯ll tell you about the competition.¡± We formed a semicircle around him. Teacher Wen said, ¡°You will be facing very difficult competition. In this competition, not only will experts from Xiuda participate but a few experts from the Dalu kingdom and Aixia kingdom will also participate. For example, Zhang Gong is a person from Aixia. That is why winning the competition will be a severely difficult task.¡± He paused and glanced at us before continuing, ¡°First of all, you can compete as a group. I think you won¡¯t have many problems with this. Everyone participating isn¡¯t weak. In the competition, you can advance through a series of duels and also through team matches. When you come across a powerful team, I recommend you challenge them as a team because Zhang Gong can use his magic. With his powerful magic, you will be able to fully display your strength with a sure advantage. From my investigation, this competition has about 10,000 groups participating, dividing into 1,024 different branches. In each branch, every group will have to undergo ten rounds. Only the branch¡¯s champion will advance to the next stage, the knockout competition. Then finally you will move on to the finals. We¡¯ve never participated in a competition such as this. Hearing that the competition had so many stages, you would need to gain at least twenty victories in the competition in order to become the champion. It was just like a marathon. ¡°The competition rules are very simple. All you have to do is fight on the stage. If you¡¯re going to lose you can take the initiative to concede. Aside from the being unable to kill anyone, there are no particular restrictions. The competitors can fully display their complete strength. But I must request of you that unless you must, you mustn¡¯t injure others. We are people that follow the path of virtue. This is the proper spirit of us, the Knights of Xiuda.¡± Apart from me, the other four earnestly nodded their heads. ¡°Zhang Gong, in this competition, your position is extremely important. You will primarily provide assistance for everyone¡¯s attacks. If there is a situation where you cannot assist, you should also participate in the attack. I believe that your formidable magic will give us an outstanding performance. I saw your competition a moment ago. While it is true that it is very good for everyone to learn from interaction, you mustn¡¯t injure your allies. From now on, the captain of your team will be Zhang Gong. Xiu Si had made up his mind and I believe in his wisdom.¡± Teacher Wen nodded at Xiu Si. Xiu Si did not acknowledge Teacher Wen¡¯s praise. He had only nodded. ¡°There are still three days before we leave for the competition. I wish for you to properly practice cooperating with each other for the next three days. This combination of yours is very strong. Frankly, I hope that you will save this old face of mine. I also hope that in these upcoming battles your names will spread throughout the lands as brave and chivalrous.¡± Together, we let out a loud, strong, and resolute replied, ¡°We will certainly succeed.¡± Like this, because of the Child of Light¡¯s command, the first Radiant Battle Squad had been established. Later, during the Child of Light¡¯s adventures, the formidable Radiant Battle Squad accomplished countless heroic feats. Volume 3: Chapter 23 The Grand Xiuda Tournament Volume 3: Chapter 23 - The Grand Xiuda Tournament Three days passed by in an instant. The Radiant Battle Squad now had a basic understanding of one another. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t enough time for them to get to know each other better as they were forced to leave for the tournament. The tournament was being held in Xiuda¡¯s largest plaza. The plaza was larger than 10 football* fields combined. They had built 51 stages in the plaza long ago. Besides the stage in the center meant for the semi-finals and the finals, the rest of the stages were being used to conduct group-stage matches. After drawing lots, we were put into the 198th group while Bi Qi¡¯s Wind Dragon Battle Squad was put into the 803rd group. We still hadn¡¯t haven¡¯t encountered any members of their squad. TL Note: Real football. Not the American kind. Salty. Wavydashen ED Note: A.K.A. ¡°Soccer¡± to Americans The five of us arrived at the stage. Everyone around the stage was part of a battle squad while spectators were located on elevated stands onat the edges outside of the stage. There were also many newly built pavilions and seats for spectators . After looking around, I noticed that the majority of the participants were dressed like warriors while only a few people had different professions. I wore the matching uniforms of my squad, white warrior¡¯s clothing. We planned on hiding my magic as much as possible during the preliminaries. The tournament rules were explained by the organizers just prior to starting the tournament.. According to the lots we drew, we wouldn¡¯t fight until the third roundmatch. Judging from their appearances, the first round battle had only ordinary warriors on both sides. The most they could manage was to simply chop at each other, as there wasn¡¯t even a single Earth Knight participating. In the end, the winning squad won 3-2. The second match was virtually the same. We nearly fell asleep watching these matches before the 198th group¡¯s judge finally announced, ¡°The third roundmatch, the Radiant Squad versus the Steel God Soldiers Squad.¡± Xing Ao laughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Steel God Soldiers Squad actually just a rusty pile of iron?¡± We all burst into laughter in amusement. Xiu Si said to me, ¡°To save time we¡¯ll directly face off against the other team.¡± I nodded in agreement. We arrived on the stage and stunned the audience with our matching white uniforms and uniformly towering heights that waswere greater than a 180 centimeters. From the other side of the elevated stage came the sounds of heavy footsteps. Bang, bang! Damn! They were¡¯re exaggerating too much. The Steel God Soldiers Squad appeared. They really are overbearing! All five were fully equipped with heavy black infantry armor and an average height of more than 2 meters. Armed Combined with their two- handed greatswords, it seems they aren¡¯t lightweights after all! Xiu Si whispered into my ear, ¡°Ah, they¡¯re really calculating. The space on the stage is very limited, so they plan to charge us in an attempt to knock us over and win!¡± I answered, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that they encountered us.¡± We laughed with our hearts brimming with confidence. Naturally I had to go forward to negotiate with them as the team captain. They happily agreed to a team fight as it was advantageous to them. The judge announced the start of the battle with a whistle. Immediately, all five Steel God Soldiers brandished their greatswords and rushed us together. While their vigor really was incredible, their speed simply was too slow. Dong Ri, Xiu Si and I didn¡¯t move at all. We just stood at the edge of the stage with Gao De and Xing Ao holding their greatswords in front of us. Xiu Si had told me before the battle, that if it¡¯s possible, we should win with the least amount of people. When the five opponents reached us, Xing Ao welcomed them with a roar as a faint yellow battle spirit enveloped his greatsword. The two swords crossed and the originally bold and vigorous opponent was blown away by Xing Ao¡¯s slash. Xing Ao had also cracked greatly nicked his opponent¡¯s greatsword in their exchange. The rest of them were all beaten by Xing Ao. After clashing with him a few times, all of the opponents were unsteadily swaying from side to side. Gao De grumbled, ¡°You didn¡¯t leave any for me and took care of them all by yourself.¡± All of the other competitors in the audience stared at us foolishly. Many of them were annoyed that we had only used one person. I walked to the front and stopped Xing Ao from continuing his assault. I said to the opponents, ¡°I advise you all to surrender. Surely you realize how great the gap is between the strengths of our squads.¡± The opponent¡¯s boss propped himself up with his sword and heavily said, ¡°Brother, just now was your teammate using Earth Battle Spirit?¡± I nodded my head. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry at what followed. The five opponents went up to Xing Ao and knelt before him while their boss spoke. ¡°Big brother, please accept us as your disciples. We participated in this tournament in the hopes of finding a master proficient in battle spirit.¡± Xing Ao¡¯s face turned red. He had practiced martial arts his whole life but had never before encountered such a situation. Xiu Si came to his rescue and told our five opponents to find us once the tournament was over and gave them our contact details. It wasn¡¯t easy for us to escape leave the Steel God Soldiers Squad. On the road back to the academy after finishing our first battle, Gao De kept prodding Xing Ao by saying, ¡°Ah, not bad. Brother already received five disciples on the first day of the tournament. Haha. If all the battles in the future are like this, we¡¯ll be able to form our own legion!¡± Xing Ao ignored him and asked Xiu Si, ¡°Boss, do you think I should ¡¯ll be able to accept them?¡± Xiu Si smiled. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, they¡¯re simple and frank men. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with accepting them as your disciples. As for whether you should accept them or not, that¡¯s up to you.¡± Carrying on, each day we participated in one group battle. All of the battles proceeded smoothly for us with Xing Ao, Gao De and Dong Ri defeating all of them. Xiu Si and I just watched them with the detached manner view of bystanders. In 10 battles, we had 10 victories, allowing us to proceed from the 198th group into the semi-finals. In between each of our battles, we would go watch Bi Qi¡¯s Wind Dragon Squad¡¯s battles. All of their battles were unexpectedly won by just one person at the rank of Earth Knight, letting them effortlessly enter the semi-finals. From beginning to end, we didn¡¯t see any other members of their squad. Teacher Wen said that he feared this person was the weakest of Bi Qi¡¯s team. Our situation wasn¡¯t looking too hopeful. After concluding the preliminary battles, we were given two rest days before we were to draw lots again. The first round of the knockout competition would take place over four days with us participating on the third day. In other words, we had four days to rest. We were quite pleased with this arrangement. We didn¡¯t go scout out our opponents¡¯ strengths, but instead we unceasingly practiced building up our skills as a team. While Dong Ri¡¯s battle spirit didn¡¯t progress much, he undoubtedly saw the most progress. He was already able to use some elementary light magic by relying on his natural elven affinity with the elements and my guidance with magic power. Furthermore, he was able to greatly increase his strength by fusing the elementary light magic, Light Arrow, with his own arrows. Volume 3: Chapter 24 A Display of Strength Volume 3: Chapter 24 ¨C A Display of Strength Our first match for the semifinals was held today. We didn¡¯t know how powerful our opponents were, but we knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop us from advancing. After we arrived at Xiuda Plaza, we saw that the spectator stands were already completely filled. After everyone got on to the stage, the judge introduced both sides. ¡°Advancing from stage 384 from the 512 of the original 1024 groups, is the Royal Knight Academy¡¯s Radiant Battle Squad and the squad composed of people of various nationalities, the Devil Battle Squad.¡± After their introduction, the audience began booing them. It was only later that I found out that in all of their preliminary matches they had seriously injured all of their opponents. They had even beaten some to their last breaths. The Devil Squad consisted of three warriors and two mages. I felt a refined strength from our opponents. I said to Xiu Si, ¡°It seems that today we must all appear on stage.¡± Our opponents were evidently experts in team combat. After stepping onto the stage, both teams assumed a fighting stance, waiting for the judge to signal the start of the battle. The Devil Squad¡¯s three warriors hadn¡¯t attacked impatiently, but rather had their mages cast defensive enchantments on them. This greatly surprised me, as the two opposing mages had the strength of a grand mage. Although their powers were far inferior to me, the defensive enchantments they used were exceptionally brilliant. I stopped Xing Ao and Cao De, who were both eager to attack, ¡°Let me. Since our opponents have mages, let them experience what true magic is.¡± Up until now in the competition, I still hadn¡¯t participated and had been itching to act. Seeing that opponents have mages made me eager to display my skill. Xiu Si indifferently said, ¡°Don¡¯t give our opponents an opportunity. Finish them in one move.¡± Xing Ao clearly knew that he could not handle the opponents well. He whispered to me, ¡°If you finish them by yourself, I¡¯ll admire you.¡± I threw a glance at him and replied, ¡°Ah, so it turns out you still weren¡¯t convinced of me. Fine, today I will let you see my attack magic. You should all go down.¡± I directed the last sentence to my squad. Xing Ao and Gao De still appeared a bit uneased. Xiu Si said, ¡°Go. There is a fundamental gap between them and Zhang Gong.¡± Everyone walked off the stage. When the opponents had nearly finished casting, they discovered I was the only warrior there. They were stunned. A mage asked, ¡°Are you going to fight alone? Can it be that you are representing your entire squad?¡± I said with a smile, ¡°Of course I will represent my team. As long as you can beat me, I¡¯ll consider it your victory.¡± A man wearing red armor from the Devil Squad bellowed in rage, ¡°You¡¯re looking down on us too much! Even a Radiant Knight might not necessarily be able to defeat us when we combine our forces. Brothers, let¡¯s charge him and let him pay the price for his arrogance.¡± The three warriors charged at me together. The two mages had also started to chant their incantations. ¡°Great Fire Elements, gather at my side, condense into a dragon of fire and annihilate the enemy before your eyes!¡± A fire dragon. It seems this person is a fire mage. ¡°Great Water Elements, gather at my side, condense into a dragon of water and annihilate the enemy before your eyes!¡± This is a water dragon. So he¡¯s a water mage. A pair of rank six spells, the water and fire dragons, approached me. The three warriors, each possessing the strength of an earth knight, attacked once more in concert. They were truly strong and clearly enraged with me, charging towards me with all their strength. If it was three or four years ago I definitely would have been greatly injured by this combination of martial skill and magic, but as of now that would be out of the question. As their spell took form, I teleported to the corner of the arena to buy myself some time. I began chanting, ¡°Oh great light elements, I request to borrow your formidable strength, let the infinite light permeate the earth and shine!¡± My body suddenly emitted a dazzling light and in a flash it overcame the twin water and fire dragons. As for the Devil Squad, they had all been knocked off the stage by my Brilliant Empire. When they touched the spell, I reduced a portion of its magic power. It had only knocked them out the stage without injury. The pair of water and fire magic dragons were not weak. Even when compared with the absolute power of Brilliant Empire, they could not be considered inferior. However, their magic power was far inferior to my own. In addition, my psychological tactics had succeeded. Had they not recklessly charged at me in anger and rather defended against me together, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy for me to defeat them. With such advantageous conditions, it was only natural for me to easily win. The audience gave me a round of enthusiastic applause. Contrary to the atmosphere, I hadn¡¯t felt the need to whistle towards the sky and many had asked from above who was the imposing hero that stood where I was. When I walked down the stage, Dong Ri quickly came and excitedly said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you truly are so powerful! It turns out magic is actually so useful!¡± I said smugly, ¡°Learn it properly then. Learn all you can from big brother and shake the world when you go out! Haha!¡± After revealing my strength in this battle, Gao De and Xing Ao were finally convinced that I hadn¡¯t beaten them that time with a cheap trick. They were completely obedient to me now. The following battles were very easy for us as we didn¡¯t meet any teams stronger than this one. We played our triumphant hymn the whole time and in one breath, we had reached the top 32. From the observations made by Xiu Si and I, all of the Wind Dragon Battle Squad had made their appearances. All of them were warriors, just as we predicted. Aside from the Earth Knight that appeared first, the rest of them all had the strength of a sky knight. However, it was unknown whether or not if they had concealed any of their real strengths. The one that posed the biggest threat to us was Bi Qi¡¯s eldest son. In all of their previous battles, not once had he truly used his strength. He only acted once or twice, when the other members of his team were in a pinch, thus allowing them to smoothly win afterwards. As the commander of the Second Earth Dragon Corps, he had innately possessed the air of a commander. Regardless of the battle¡¯s circumstances, he would definitely be able to lead them. Even if Mt. Tai (if there was a Mt. Tai) collapsed in front of him, he had the mettle to remain calm and continue leading. He was about 190 centimeters in height with a lean build. Explosive power could be felt whenever he issued an order. I couldn¡¯t help but be anxious. He absolutely must not break through the bottleneck to become a Radiant Knight, otherwise we will be humiliated. Our next opponent was here to protect the Royal Prince Qi Lu Xiuda¡¯s Prince Battle Squad. It is said that they were highly expected to win. They were the most powerful opponents we had faced yet. All five of them were sky knights. Furthermore, they were well coordinated during the battle. Evidently, this was the fruit of their many years of training together. The Prince¡¯s Battle Squad was the greatest obstacle if we wanted to surpass the Wind Dragon Battle Squad that Bi Qi sent. I didn¡¯t know whether or not I would be able to meet Zhan Hu¡¯s father, Prince Qi Lu, and accomplish the only mission big brother had given me. Volume 3: Chapter 25 A Battle of Strength Volume 3: Chapter 25 ¨C A Battle of Strength As long as we can enter the sixteen strongest, we will come across Duke Bi Qi¡¯s Wind Dragon battle squad. Therefore, we must overcome the Prince¡¯s team. After a day of rest, we arrived at the same stage as yesterday and prepared to compete in our hardest match yet. For today¡¯s battle, I specially wore my Light God Robes. Xiu Si and the rest of the team had also worn their best armor. Standing on the stage, a feeling of unease sprung up when I saw our opponents. They presented a strong sense of unity. But in order to make up for our mutual weaknesses we had to fight as a team. The competition had yet to start, so I let my teammates warm up beforehand. Grasping my magic staff, I walked two steps forward and politely said, ¡°Hello, we feel very honored to have the privilege of competing with the Prince¡¯s team.¡± All of our opponents were wearing silver warrior¡¯s attire. They had replied to me courteously. The tall team member in the middle walked forward two steps and said, ¡°Hello. We saw your performance yesterday. Your magic is quite powerful, but today we will certainly halt your advance here. Our target is the championship.¡± Although he spoke in a very polite manner, his self-confidence was evident in his pleasant words. I carefully looked at him. I noticed that he and Big Brother Zhan Hu had many similarities. The main difference was that he was a bit older. I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Excuse me, are you Prince Xiuda¡¯s son?¡± Clearly surprised, he said, ¡°How did you know? I am Shan Yun Xiuda and the corps commander of our country¡¯s First Earth Dragon Corps.¡± He was Zhan Hu¡¯s older brother! I had prepared myself, but the fact that he was an Earth Dragon Corp¡¯s commander scared me. After a pause, I asked, ¡°Is Prince Xiuda well?¡± Shan Yun suspiciously looked at me and casually said, ¡°He is very well, why do you ask?¡± I smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after the competition. Let¡¯s use all of our strength in this match and see whether or not you can truly stop my advance.¡± My words stirred Shan Yun¡¯s heroic spirit, with a bright voice he said, ¡°Very well. Younger Brother, let me witness whether or not your magic is truly ferocious!¡± The judge announced the start of the match and in accordance with our prior plans, Xiu Si, Xing Ao, and Gao De were in front. They were responsible for obstructing the opponent¡¯s assault while Dong Ri and I were behind them. I was responsible for casting magic and Dong Ri was responsible for protecting me with covering fire, to let me focus on attacking. I didn¡¯t dare hesitate. I waved the magic staff in hand and started chanting. ¡°Light Elements, my friends, use your endless light to expel evil.¡± Holy Light, it bestowed upon teammate¡¯s clarity of mind and also increases their defense. ¡°Light Elements, my friends, become a divine halo and protect my friends.¡± Divine Halo, not only does it protect my teammates, but also harmonizes with their battle spirit, further strengthening their defenses. ¡°Light Elements, my friends, transform into sharp swords and annihilate the enemy before you.¡± Light Severing Sword, rank 6 attack spell. It immediately attacked the five opponents. I successively used three rank 6 spells. After I laid down my defensive enchantments, the three in front accompanied the Light Severing Sword charging toward the opposing knights. The opposing team had Shan Yun as their vanguard and met the attack in a cone formation, with their swords emitting a white battle spirit. Three meters before they clashed, Shan Yun loudly shouted, ¡°Brilliant Stars Banishing Evil!¡± The five people brandished their longswords simultaneously, converging five lines of battle spirit into a powerful sphere of battle spirit, colliding head on. It was too late to dodge. The first to meet it was my Light Severing Sword. With almost no effect, it was swallowed by the mass of battle spirit. Close to it was Xing Ao and Gao De. They hadn¡¯t expected the opposition to make a move from that position. Unprepared, they were unable to dispatch their own battle spirit skills and could only use their swords to resolutely withstand the blow. Xiu Si reacted a bit quicker and loudly shouted, ¡°Illusory Execution!¡± The longsword in his hand dispatched a void of light and shadow to meet it. We had lost the first bout. Gao De and Xing Ao were knocked back to my side. If Dong Ri hadn¡¯t caught them, they would have exited the stage. They violently coughed up a mouthful of blood and it seemed that they no longer had any battle spirit power left. Xiu Si was in slightly better condition and was pushed back only by five or six steps. A thread of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Compared to our miserable condition, our opponents were faring much better with only their warrior¡¯s clothing being a bit damaged. That damage should have been caused by my Light Severing Sword. Too powerful. Their combination technique truly was too powerful. I fear that we would have all collapsed if I hadn¡¯t protected Xiu Si and the others with my magic. Shan Yun¡¯s Knights clearly poised themselves well and hadn¡¯t pursued. Shan Yun calmly said, ¡°You can still concede. Although I am surprised you were able to withstand this strike, you won¡¯t fare as well with the next strike. Concede.¡± Xiu Si used his sword to prop himself up as he said with an indignant light in his eyes, ¡°We definitely won¡¯t surrender. If you have the ability, then knock us all down!¡± Shan Yun shook his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re forcing my hand here.¡± All five of the Prince¡¯s Battle Squad simultaneously raised their longswords. I couldn¡¯t wait any longer. I ran in front of Xiu Si and lifted my magic staff high chanting, ¡°Oh Great Light Elements, my life¡¯s most intimate companions, become the most magnificent halo of light to be shed on this earth.¡± Following my incantation, a speck of light came out of my upper dantian. It gradually grew brighter and brighter before taking the form of a small pale golden orb. The small orb gradually changed its form to become a massive golden halo before it flew towards Shan Yun¡¯s team. In order to further enhance its strength, I had to pour all of my magic power into the halo, causing it to become even more formidable. Shan Yun¡¯s eyes gave an astonished expression. He lifted the longsword in his hand and yelled, ¡°Combined Star Execution!¡± Five Longswords were lifted simultaneously, and let out five streams of white battle spirit, converging into a huge sword of battle spirit, chopping at my Brilliant Halo. I focused all of my spirit into the Brilliant Halo. When the battle spirit sword slashed at my halo, my whole body felt a huge vibration. It took an extreme amount of effort to maintain the halo¡¯s form. If this were magic, then these were five Magic Scholars casting a spell together. The opponent¡¯s sword formed of battle spirit shattered when it clashed with the halo. However, the halo was also knocked back. Blood could be seen dripping from the corner of the mouths of Shan Yun and his team. It seems that they have received some internal injuries. I wasn¡¯t feeling well either. It was only that I was a bit stronger than them, that¡¯s all. I concentrated my efforts on stabilizing the halo in preparation for the next attack. In this circumstance, Xiu Si and Dong Ri¡¯s battle spirit power was unable to intervene. The powerful pressure of both the battle spirit and magic power had pushed us to the edge of the stage. I knew that it would be our victory so long as I could trap the opposing team in my Brilliant Halo. Volume 3: Chapter 26 With Xiao Jin Volume 3: Chapter 26 ¨C With Xiao Jin Shan Yun wiped his mouth. He bitterly smiled and grudgingly said, ¡°It seems I¡¯ve underestimated you. I hadn¡¯t expected you, who is so young, to achieve the power of a magister. It is truly unthinkable. It seems I can no longer conserve my strength. Originally, this maneuver was meant to deal with Bi Er, from the Wind Dragon Squad. It seems I have no choice but to enjoy using it on you first. Come Brothers! Let them witness our true strength.¡± Saying this, he lifted his longsword into the sky. Shan Yun¡¯s four teammates sent out four streams of white battle spirit into the sky. Shan Yun appeared very strained. The white light on his sword gradually changed into a red radiance. Suddenly it soared into the sky, fusing with the four streams of white light. It formed an immense blood red longsword. Xiu Si exclaimed, ¡°Not good! This is divine battle spirit.¡± Shan Yun¡¯s complexion was quite pale, but he wore a victorious grin. He proudly said, ¡°Right. This is divine battle spirit. Let¡¯s see whether or not my strength as a radiant knight can defeat a Magister¡¯s. Come! Witness my ultimate technique, Bloodstained Glory.¡± Just a moment ago, I directed my halo towards the Prince¡¯s team. But after I heard Xiu Si¡¯s exclamation, it was already too late to evade. I¡¯ll go all out. I clenched my teeth and released all of my magic power. Brilliant Halo flickered an even greater, dazzling golden light. I willed the halo to charge at them a second time. These two powerful forces collided in the sky, violently exploding, scattering their energy onto the stage. Shan Yun and his team crashed down to the ground. The most miserable was me; I was violently coughing up blood. My mind blurry, I collapsed into Dong Ri¡¯s embrace. I felt my entire body had depleted all its magic power, my golden sphere pitifully depleted. It was fortunate that the audience wasn¡¯t affected from this distance. When they all saw our tyrannical strength, they all let out gasps of amazement. Dong Ri and Xiu Si were behind me and hadn¡¯t received any impact. They were only coated in grime. Shan Yun climbed up from the floor. ¡°Such powerful magic! With the strength of us five combined, we could barely withstand your attack. I have already exhausted my fighting spirit.¡± He looked at his teammates knocked down onto the ground. He shook his head and bitterly smiled, saying, ¡°They can no longer fight.¡± Xiu Si coldly said, ¡°Then concede. We still have two that can fight.¡± ¡°Concede? Impossible. Come, Young Hawk. Fuse.¡± Although my body could no longer move, I knew that if Shan Yun used a magic beast fusion, he could recover some of his fighting strength. Fused with his magic beast¡¯s strength, Shan Yun was about to stake it all against Dong Ri and an injured Xiu Si. With a weak voice, I called Xiao Jin from the bottom of my heart, ¡°Xiao Jin, I no longer have any magic power. Can you still fight? Help me.¡± Xiao Jin replied that he had accumulated enough energy to support me for about three minutes. With great difficulty, I extended my hand to stop Dong Ri from charging. With a faint voice, I said, ¡°Keep your secret skill hidden for a later match. Let me. Come out, Xiao Jin.¡± A gold light flashed, Xiao Jin appeared into the world, covering the sky. With a rough dragon¡¯s appearance, he roared toward the sky. I knew that time was pressing and immediately sent out an attack command. In order to save his strength, I had him directly using physical attacks. . Xiao Jin beat his huge wings and charged into Shan Yun. Shan Yun was scared stiff. It wasn¡¯t until he sensed danger that he brandished his fantasy beast infused longsword. He shouted loudly, ¡°Divine Hawk¡¯s Storm Sword!¡± A hawk composed to battle spirit appeared on the tip of the sword, charging together with it towards Xiao Jin. In fact, Shan Yun¡¯s power was almost exhausted. He was entirely relying on his magic beast. Xiao Jin waved his large wings and had already won when he extended his front claw. The scene was somewhat humorous. The hawk of battle spirit that Shan Yun dispatched was snatched by Xiao Jin¡¯s claw, much like the grab of a bird of prey. It struggled with all its might. Xiao Jin shook his claw back and forth and with a grab of power, he crushed the hawk. Then he pounced towards Shan Yun. I feared Xiao Jin would kill him and immediately told him with my mind to not injure the opponents. Xiao Jin withdrew the sharp claws he extended and instead use his wings to beat Shan Yun flying. He fainted on the ground. This time he won¡¯t be getting back up. Relying on Xiao Jin¡¯s formidable strength, we won the final victory. I was already very weak and could barely withdraw Xiao Jin. I didn¡¯t know what happened next. ¡­¡­ I gradually regained consciousness and opened my eyes in a daze. I was in a small wooden room. There was nobody around. I tried moving a bit and my body ached from head to toe, making me groan. It seems I¡¯m still exhausted. I concentrated my spirit to look at my magic power. It can only be described with one word. That word is wretched. It was exceptionally wretched. The remainder of my magic power hadn¡¯t even reached 30%. He hadn¡¯t even known this was the result of a long period of rest. Dong Ri¡¯s voice came from outside, ¡°Teacher, I think I heard Zhang Gong move. I¡¯m going to see.¡± Dong Ri pushed the door open and walked in, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re awake. How is your body?¡± Yes, my body is very sore all over. What time is it now?¡± I weakly asked. ¡°Currently it¡¯s already the afternoon of the next day. You were unconscious for one night and day,¡± Dong Ri replied. ¡°Ah! Then tomorrow we¡¯re going to face wind dragon squad. How are the others?¡± Dong Ri sighed and shook his head. He grudgingly said, ¡°Gao De and Xing Ao is certain to be unable to appear tomorrow. They received serious injuries. Although Xiu Si can fight tomorrow, I¡¯m afraid that he cannot fully recover in time. I hadn¡¯t expected the the Prince¡¯s squad to be so ferocious. It was truly a disastrous victory for us. We still don¡¯t know what to do tomorrow.¡± Teacher Wen¡¯s voice came from outside the room, ¡°Is Zhang Gong awake?¡± Dong Ri replied, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s awake.¡± Teacher Wen also came over. Ashamed, I said, ¡°I am sorry, Teacher Wen. I failed to live up to your expectations.¡± He laughed and said, ¡°Foolish child, what are you saying? You¡¯ve already done extraordinarily well. I hadn¡¯t actually expected Qi Lu to dispatch Shan Yun to battle. Even more so, I hadn¡¯t expected him to have already become a Radiant Knight. Originally there were only six radiant knights on the continent. Xiuda has four of them. The rest belong to the Dalu kingdom. If Bi Er is also a radiant knight then it is impossible for you to win tomorrow. You¡¯ve already defeated opponents that were far greater in strength than you five. I am already very happy. Even if you lose tomorrow, nothing terrible will come of it. Rest well. If you can¡¯t fight tomorrow, it¡¯s fine if you just forfeit.¡± With a resolute voice, I said, ¡°That won¡¯t do. No matter what, tomorrow we must compete. Even if it¡¯s only me and Dong Ri we still have to compete.¡± Actually, I knew that if I wanted to win tomorrow, a miracle would have had to occur. Teacher Wen had simply smiled and said, ¡°Rest well. We¡¯ll talk about this again tomorrow.¡± After Teacher Wen left, I closely stared at Dong Ri¡¯s eyes. Gritting my teeth, I said to him, ¡°Tomorrow no matter how well I¡¯ve recovered, we must go fight and go all out using even our very last strands of power.¡± Dong Ri had tears in his eyes and grabbed me, ¡°Right. Tomorrow I will go all out with them. We must get back face for Teacher Wen. We are the just ones. Justice must win.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 27 The Winning Arrow Volume 3: Chapter 27 ¨C The Winning Arrow Dong Ri left. Right now I only focused on recovering as much magic power as I could, as quickly as possible. I closed my eyes and focused my entire spirit onto my shrunken golden sphere. The golden sphere within my body was slowly revolving, absorbing and compressing magic power. This was too slow. I let go of my body and mind, and summoned the light elements in the air. I felt many small specks of light hastily gathering toward me. I was recovering at a rate much faster than before. I directed my entire mind toward recovering my magic power. When the match was about to begin, there were only three people on our side: Dong Ri, Xiu Si, and me. Xing Ao and Gao De¡¯s injuries were too serious and were unable to continue competing. If my magic power had fully recovered, perhaps our situation would have been a bit better. But it¡¯s no use saying that. Currently my magic power wasn¡¯t in an optimal state, as it was only at 70% capacity, but I still wanted to fight. Early morning, when I discovered that my magic power was unable to fully recover, I spoke to Xiao Jin, hoping to rely on his power to win the match. But no matter how much I called for him, he wouldn¡¯t wake. Later, I learned that this was because I had used too much of my magic power during the previous match. Xiao Jin was afraid that my body was unable to bear the strain and passed his long accumulation of magic power onto me. Having exhausted his energy, he became dormant. Had he not, I absolutely could not have been able to recover 30% of my magic power at the time. There were many people who had come to watch the battle today. Naturally Duke Bi Qi and Teacher Wen were included. Currently, it was too late to say anything else. We can only fight with our all. Like the last match, we chose to fight as a team. But this time, I was standing in the front. My hand grasping the magic staff, I looked at Bi Er Zhu opposite of me. Standing there, I sensed that although they had the unconditional advantage today, they did not have a pleased appearance. He stood there peacefully like a towering mountain. I was unable to see through him. I knew that this time I had run into a truly powerful opponent. Bi Er¡¯s power was not at all inferior to that of Shan Yun¡¯s. Today we must win with a surprise attack. Without speaking, I raised my magic staff and closed my eyes. Carefully feeling my surroundings, I didn¡¯t chant an incantation but instead I gathered battle spirit and filled half of my magic staff with it. Simultaneously, I separated a portion of magic power from my gold dan and gathered it in the magic staff. I let both powers slowly fuse together, until they finally reached a state of resonance. Not bad. This was the fusion technique of magic power and battle spirit I had accidently invented while I was big brother Zhan Hu. It mainly based on magic power being assisted by battle spirit, each inclusive of the other. Although I wasn¡¯t proficient in this technique yet, I didn¡¯t have any other methods. With my current magic power, I¡¯m not able to use several of the larger spells. With this method, I would be able to conserve some magic power. Bi Er felt a power pressure produced from my body, especially from the formidable power gathering at my magic staff. He did not know that this was magic. His team formed a powerful defensive formation. I used my spirit to tell Dong Ri to ready his bow. This is our only opportunity. We absolutely cannot be defeated. I extended my left hand, and concentrated all of my remaining magic power into it. My hand emitted a faint golden light. I chanted, ¡°Light Elements, my friends. I request of you, burst forth as endless blaze, annihilate the enemy before you.¡± This was a rank seven light spell, Flames of Light Engulfing the Heavens. Following the incantation, light elements flooded a large area of the sky as flames of light, as if they were surrounding us. Before this attack, Bi Er knew that a pure defense was far too passive, and did not hide his strength, letting out a faint golden radiance from his body. He had his teammates form a defensive line. Holding his knight swords high, he loudly shouted, ¡°Spatial Ten Tear Slash!¡± He hadn¡¯t slashed towards me, but rather at my magic in the sky. The air itself had seemed to have ripped apart, showing ten cracks in the air. The light elements I dispatched had been completely absorbed within those cracks. It seemed he was also a radiant knight. Xiuda truly produces many talented people. In the audience, Teacher Wen¡¯s complexion had a huge change. He understood what this signified. This gave me a fright. His Mysterious Slash and my Dimensional Decapitator were very similar except his was much more powerful. I couldn¡¯t hesitate anymore. I hurriedly wielded my magic staff¡¯s explosive power and turned it into a sword of light before slashing at the opponent. This was my ultimate attack. The previous spell was merely used to confuse the opponent. I didn¡¯t know how powerful it would be either. I used this nameless technique with all my strength, consuming nearly all of my magic power as well as my physical strength. Half kneeling, I thought to myself, ¡®It¡¯s all up to Dong Ri now.¡¯ Bi Er shouted, ¡°Not good. Be careful everyone.¡± At the same time, he moved to the front of of his battle squad while holding his knight¡¯s sword horizontally as it emitted a golden light. ¡°Friction Sword Slash.¡± If he had time to prepare, the outcome would have resulted in a draw. But he had just received a rank 7 spell from me so he didn¡¯t have enough time to react. He couldn¡¯t possibly match the ferociousness of my rank eight fusion attack spell. He will definitely suffer the worst from it. An explosion was let out on the stage, filling the air with smoke. A part of the stage was destroyed. The intense vibrating power threw me towards toward the rear. Xiu Si held me, keeping me in place. At that moment, I had released my true killing blow. It was also the final winning strike. Five faint lights and shadows appeared from behind me and Xiu Si and flew into the smoke. Immediately, groaning voices came from the smoke. My heart was overjoyed. We had won. Not bad. The lights and shadows just now were something I ordered. Rather, it was Dong Ri that was always waiting for an opportunity. He had gathered all of his battle spirit and magic power into these five arrows. With his elven eyesight in a situation where no one could see clearly, the arrows had become our ultimate attack. Duke Bi Qi and Teacher Wen were both standing on the spectator¡¯s platform. The smoke gradually faded away. Bi Er¡¯s companions were painfully lying on the floor, their left shoulders all pierced with a short arrow. Bi Er was using his knight sword to support his body. Similarly, his left shoulder was also pierced with a short arrow. Dong Ri shouted, ¡°Zhang Gong, we¡¯ve won!¡± Just as we were about to celebrate, Bi Er¡¯s voice resounded, ¡°Although I admire your strategy and strength, you still can¡¯t win.¡± Bi Er slowly rose, the spectators exclaimed in surprise. He used his right hand to pull out the arrow shaft, not letting out any blood. It was clear that he used battle spirit to seal his acupuncture point. He faintly said, ¡°Actually, if this was an ordinary match I would have already admit defeat. Because you started of leniently, apart from me, no one else would have been able to resist those magic arrows.¡± He emphasized those last two words. Volume 3: Chapter 28 The Competitions End Volume 3: Chapter 28 ¨C The Competition¡¯s End He coldly looked at me and asked, ¡°Zhang Gong. Am I correct? ¡± Shakily, I stood up from Xiu Si¡¯s embrace. After swaying a second, Xiu Si immediately supported me. I wiped the dried blood from the corner of my mouth and answered with a bitter smile, ¡°You¡¯re right. But nevertheless I still hadn¡¯t achieved my expected result, otherwise you¡¯d be on the floor.¡± Bi Er smiled saying, ¡°To tell the truth, I really admire you, because the day before yesterday, you arduously prevailed over the Prince¡¯s team. Of course, I believed that today it would be impossible for you to have any strength left to resist. I certainly didn¡¯t expect that we would actually suffer a loss of four men. If I weren¡¯t fighting for my father¡¯s honor, I certainly wouldn¡¯t still be competing with you.¡± I felt that his current words were a mockery. I waved my hand and coldly said, ¡°Stop talking. These words have no use. Did you believe that we would lose the will to fight? Are you certain you will win? Then come. We will not concede. Beat me until I can no longer stand.¡± Xiu Si and Dong Ri supported me from my left and right side. I whispered in a voice only they could hear, ¡°I can no longer fight. You two go. You must defeat him.¡± Dong Ri loosed his bowstring as fast as lightning, each draw showing an afterimage of an arrow flying straight toward Bi Er. Bi Er smiled dimly and said, ¡°Still have tricks up your sleeve?¡± His hand was not idle, quickly intercepting arrows flying towards him with his knight sword. The elf arrows¡¯ powerful impacts forced Bi Er to step back. He couldn¡¯t help but praise it,¡±Such great arrow technique, you are the best archer I¡¯ve ever seen. I am unable to avoid your arrows at all. If there is an opportunity I will surely have you join my second [Earth Dragon] Corps. Coming from an enemy, Dong Ri naturally believed Bi Er was mocking him. Putting away his bow, Dong Ri brandished a knight¡¯s longsword and charged at Bi Er. I immediately said, ¡°Xiu Si, go with him. He can¡¯t go alone.¡± Xiu Si helped me sit on the ground, and also joined the battle. Although Xiu Si was inferior to Bi Er by only one rank, in a true fight, the difference was even greater. Bi Er effortlessly dealt with their combined attack and simultaneously said, ¡°Zhang Gong, why aren¡¯t you summoning the magic beast you used the other day? That is the only way you can win.¡± I bitterly smiled. If I could summon Xiao Jin, would you still be so provocative? Currently, the magic power within my body had been completely exhausted. What could I use to deal with him? Seeing I did not reply Bi Er naturally guessed that I was unable to summon Xiao Jin and strengthened his assault. Just as he was about to finish Xiu Si and Dong Ri, I hurriedly said, ¡°Xiu Si hold him back, Dong Ri shoot arrows!¡± Hearing my words, Dong Ri withdrew from the fray and readied his bow, letting loose an arrow. He couldn¡¯t have given Bi Er a greater headache. Bi Er loudly yelled, ¡°Profound Thunder Leopard sword technique ¨C Furious Leopard¡¯s Violent Thunder!¡± The knight¡¯s sword in his hand turned into a barrage of arrows and casted them towards Dong Ri and Xiu Si. Dong Ri¡¯s arrows were shattered the Bi Er¡¯s sword barrage. Xiu Si blocked off a majority of its power. The two were sent flying simultaneously by the tyrannical force of the blow. A rain of blood scattered, filling the sky. At the seats for distinguished guests, Teacher Wen and Dike Bi Qi were still standing. When I saw Xiu Si and Dong Ri again, they were lying on the floor next to me, covered all over with cuts and bruises. Dong Ri had already lost consciousness. Xiu Si wasn¡¯t completely lucid. His armor was smashed and scattered. The knight sword was barely in his grasp. It¡¯s over. It¡¯s all over. Are we truly unable to defeat Bi Er? Bi Er advanced two steps and said with an apologetic voice, ¡°Forgive me. I hadn¡¯t meant to use such a great maneuver. As Dong Ri¡¯s arrows are truly difficult to deal with, I had no choice but to use that technique. You should now concede.¡± The only person that could currently move was me. I cannot lose. Never in my entire life had I thirsted more for victory. In the face of such a difficult victory, I had unexpectedly stood up. Looking coldly at Bi Er, I tremblingly lifted my magic staff and began chanting, ¡°Oh Mighty God of Creation, I humbly request your assistance. Use your endless power and open my life¡¯s origin.¡± Just as I said this, a tall shadow of a man appeared behind me and used his palm to chop at my neck. I groaned and fainted onto the ground. It was Teacher Wen that appeared at that crucial moment. He emotionally held me as I was fainting, murmuring, ¡°Foolish child, how are you so stupid? How could you possible use life magic? If I were a step slower, I would have eternally been unable to forgive myself.¡± Tears flowed from the corners of Teacher Wen¡¯s eyes. Truly, I had wanted to use life magic to arouse my latent life energy. However, the damage would have been at least the loss of half of my life¡¯s energy. Even so I had wanted to pay the cost of my life. It was fortunate that Teacher Wen had heard my incantation in time to stop me. The audience observing the fight were in a tremendous uproar. A great many people recognized Li Ke Wen. They all loudly shouted, ¡°Foul! Foul!¡± The referee walked over and respectfully asked, ¡°Honored Principal, What are you¡­?¡± Teacher Wen held me and stood up. He waved his hand, saying, ¡°I conceded on behalf of the Brilliance Team.¡± He turned his head toward Bi Er and said, ¡°I will go to your father and acknowledge my error.¡± Bi Er had wanted to say something, but seeing Wen¡¯s remorseful complexion he had refrained from saying anything. The competition ended with our crushing defeat. I regained consciousness .Where is this? Such an unfamiliar place. I turned my sore neck and looked around. It was a very large room. Apart from mine there were four more beds, each with a member of the Brilliant Battle Squad lying in them. Gao De and Xing Ao were chatting. As for Dong Ri and Xiu Si, I didn¡¯t know whether they were sleeping or still knocked out. I painfully groaned, Xing Ao said, ¡°Ah, Zhang Gong is awake! Boss Zhang Gong, how are you feeling?¡± Huh? When have I become your boss? I weakly said, ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet. How did we get here? What happened in our last match?¡± Xing Ao sighed and started talking about what happened after we lost consciousness. It turned out that after the competition had concluded, King Xiuda had heard of our tenacious spirit and had us specially recover inside the Imperial Palace under the treatment of imperial physicians. Something else that amazed me was that Duke Bi Qi hadn¡¯t pressed Teacher Wen for an apology. He had only said that the matter was over. Hearing that Teacher Wen hadn¡¯t been humiliated, I let out a long sigh and said with regret, ¡°This is all because I failed accomplish what was expected of me. It seems the path I must walk is still quite long.¡± Xing Ao chuckled and sincerely said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Zhang Gong. Right now, I am dead set on serving you. With our strength we actually managed to beat the Prince¡¯s Squad. That was something that already surprised me, but even more so you three had managed to almost defeat the Wind Dragon Squad. I heard from Teacher Wen that had he not stopped you, you would have used life magic. You are truly too competitive. If it weren¡¯t for you, I fear our combined strength would have been far too lacking. When we prevailed over the Prince¡¯s squad, Gao De and I, even Boss Xiu Si had decided that we must to follow and accompany you on your adventures. We would follow no other person but you. Volume 3: Chapter 29 A Journeys Preparation Volume 3: Chapter 29 ¨C A Journey¡¯s Preparation Xing Ao¡¯s words gave me a burst of warmth. Smiling, I said, ¡°Be at ease. We¡¯re all part of the same battle squad, so I¡¯ll never forget any of you. Dong Ri and Xiu Si, what¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°Although the injuries were very severe, they weren¡¯t life threatening. So we¡¯ll be fine after some rest. Enough talk. You should go rest now and I¡¯ll call you once it¡¯s time to eat.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m really struggling to keep my eyes open, so I¡¯ll sleep first.¡± All of the problems have been resolved. While not perfect, it was still satisfactory. Feeling relaxed and at ease, I quickly entered the land of dreams. After an unknown amount of time passed, I smelled a fragrant scent. The alluring scent which woke me from my dreams. I opened my eyes in a dazed manner. Wa! Everyone is already eating right now. I feebly asked, ¡°Ah, is there any for me? I¡¯m so hungry.¡± Teacher Wen was also present in the room. After seeing that I had awoken, he smiled and said, ¡°You awoke just as I was about to call you. You truly are too gluttonous. Get up and eat then.¡± A maid helped me into a half sitting, half lying position before putting a small table over the bed. She brought over a bowl of thick soup and a few pastries. I shamefully said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Teacher Wen, I didn¡¯t accomplish the mission.¡± Teacher Wen lightly shook his head saying, ¡°Child, you have already done extraordinarily well. However, in the future you can¡¯t rashly use your Life Magic, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be able to face Lao Yun. Bi Qi isn¡¯t that unreasonable either. If it had been a fair match, we definitely would have won. In fact, losing might not necessarily be a bad thing for you. Your defeat has let you all learn where you are lacking. So in the future you must diligently practice. Let¡¯s eat now.¡± His last few words were directed at everyone. I was already unable to speak anymore due to the excessive amount of drool in my mouth. The pale yellow soup¡¯s aroma assaulted my nostrils as I drank. Wa! So tasty! I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What soup is this? It¡¯s so delicious!¡± Xiu Si answered, ¡°This a secret recipe of the Royal Court called the Immortal Soup. It was made using numerous kinds of wild animals, mushrooms, ancient mountain ginseng, reishi mushrooms, young deer antlers, fleece-flower root and many other precious high-grade medicinal ingredients and stewed for a long time. It¡¯s extremely expensive! But this time it¡¯s for you. Haha.¡± My face blushed red as I mumbled to myself, ¡°How can you say it¡¯s only for me? Aren¡¯t you all drinking it too?¡± Everyone burst into laughter from amusement. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well, and only stopped after it began hurting. Like this thick soup, our companionship was covering the room. After going through a trial of life and death together, our relationship has grown much closer. Like a tornado, I quickly finished my food while everyone else was still eating. I looked around and saw that Dong Ri was the slowest eater of them all. I asked him, ¡°Are your pastries tasty?¡± Dong Ri laughed when he saw my gluttonous expression and said, ¡°Here.¡± I accurately caught the pastry he threw with my mouth. I turned around and said to Xiu Si, ¡°Wow! Xiu Si your soup is so different from mine. What kind of flavor does it have?¡± Nobody could bear it after hearing my words. Gao De had pastry crumbs falling from his mouth. Sorrowfully, I said, ¡°Don¡¯t let your food go to waste if you¡¯re not eating it.¡± In the end, Teacher Wen had to break up our circle. ¡°Ah, Zhang Gong. If you want to kill them then you can continue speaking. Their wounds will open up at this rate. You should just eat a bit less since your body is already so weak. Eating too much will actually be bad for you.¡± After hearing Teacher Wen¡¯s words, I could only lie down in dissatisfaction. I¡¯ve never eaten such good food before. I¡¯ll definitely eat a lot more during the next meal. When no one was paying attention, I stealthily told the maid to have the chef prepare more food for me next time. Every day we had a great nourishing meal and soon the majority of everyone¡¯s injuries were healed. After 10 or so days, we had basically fully recovered. However, I really didn¡¯t want to recover so quickly. I still hadn¡¯t eaten enough of the Royal Palace¡¯s gourmet food! Today Teacher Wen brought us to see the king after seeing that we had nearly fully recovered. I thought it would be like this. We couldn¡¯t possibly have eaten such good foods for free. Obviously, we had to pay our respects to him. I felt that the royal palace was very similar to a maze. In just a few minutes I had already become confused. The others weren¡¯t faring any better either. We arrived in front of an extremely grand and magnificent building. I heard from Teacher Wen that this was the King of Xiuda¡¯s reception hall. After everyone entered, Teacher Wen instructed us all to kneel down. We followed him and shouted out ¡®Long Live the King! Long Live the King! Long Live the King!¡¯ After finish shouting this, I stealthily lifted my head and stole a glance. This is the King of Xiuda? Sitting on the royal throne was a gorgeously dressed man that looked to be in his 70¡¯s. He was sitting upright with lights glittering in his eyes. ¡°No need to be so polite. You may all rise.¡± Xiuda¡¯s King clearly recognized our worth as he asked us if we wished to take a position as government officials. No one uttered a word for a long time. I discovered that they were all looking at me. Ah, what are you all doing looking at me? I¡¯m not even a citizen of Xiuda, yet I¡¯m still forced to wear the crown of their boss on my head! You should decide for yourselves. It¡¯s only that we are still young and the tournament has shown us how inadequate our skills are. We still had much to learn. Their future martial skills will definitely be of service to the kingdom. Seeing this, Teacher Wen secretly chuckled. Fortunately, the King of Xiuda was really open minded. He didn¡¯t pose any difficulties for us at all. He only said a few words of encouragement before letting us take our leave. We finally returned to Teacher Wen¡¯s small wooden cabin. Although there weren¡¯t any delicious foods left, I still felt good here due to all of the freedom here. After returning, the five of us were inseparable. Every day we would train both our bodies and our martial skills together. I taught them some of the basics of light magic while also learning a lot from them and Teacher Wen. Time quickly passed by and unknowingly, three months passed by. Although I didn¡¯t want to separate from my close comrades, I still had to go accomplish my mission. I found Teacher Wen and told him, ¡°Teacher, thank you for instructing and taking care of me these past few days. I think it¡¯s time for me to depart now and accomplish the mission entrusted to me by Teacher Di.¡± Teacher Wen patted my shoulders and said with a sigh, ¡°Truthfully, I don¡¯t want to part with you. Right now you¡¯re just like my own student.¡± Smiling, I said, ¡°I have always been your student. I will still return in the future and visit all of you.¡± Teacher Wen sighed and said, ¡°Fine then. Go talk with everyone else and pack up. You can leave tomorrow.¡± I nodded before heading toward the courtyard. Unexpectedly, they weren¡¯t sad at all after I told them that I had to leave to finish the mission Teacher Di entrusted to me. This made me a bit depressed. I returned to my room to pack up my things and prepared to set off on my journey the next day. Volume 3: Chapter 30 Visiting Shan Yun Volume 3: Chapter 30 ¨C Visiting Shan Yun After I returned to my room, I sat on the bed, thinking about all that happened during my time in Xiuda. Not only did I meet Big Brother Zhan Hu there, but my magic power had also reached a new level. I also learned a few simple martial skills. My Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement had nearly reached the realm of purification. I should roughly have a knight¡¯s strength. Everyone was amazed at the rate of my battle spirit advancement. Only I knew that my battle spirit and powerful spirit power were inseparable. Now I will depart. Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ speaking of Big Brother Zhan Hu, I still hadn¡¯t looked for his father on his behalf. I¡¯ll take a trip to the Prince¡¯s Mansion. I casually heard that the Prince¡¯s Mansion was in the southeast of Xiuda city. What name would I have to use so that the Prince would see me? As I was thinking of this, I recalled someone, Shan Yun Xiuda. He¡¯s Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s elder brother and we had exchanged hands before. Requesting to see him should be fine. I¡¯ll see how the situation is first and whether or not I can see the Prince. I arrived at the Prince¡¯s Mansion gate and asked for a servant to help me request an audience with the young Prince Shan Yun. Not a formal meeting, but to personally meet with Shan Yun. Seeing my happy appearance, Shan Yun had also smiled, ¡°Ah, Zhang Gong it¡¯s you! A rare visitor, indeed. Come quickly. Let¡¯s go in and have a chat.¡± I courteously said, ¡°This is truly embarrassing. I didn¡¯t mean to bother you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. In all my life, those I had admired the most were the strong. Only those stronger than me can accompany me and be my friend. Regardless of what you think, I already regard you as my friend. Haha.¡± He was truly forthright. Hearing his words, I was secretly happy. Smiling, I said, ¡°I am also very happy to have you as my friend. The match the other day was because of good luck, we won by a fluke. Had you fused with your magic beast at the start, I fear we would have been finished.¡± While we were talking, we entered the Prince¡¯s Mansion. It was very large. The mansion¡¯s architecture was extremely grand, encasing the courtyard. Although it wasn¡¯t as large as the Imperial Palace, it can also be said to be a small maze. Shan Yun said, ¡°About that, your magical beast is very formidable too. What kind of magical beast is it?¡± Xiao Jin was currently still lying dormant inside my body. I scratched my head, and embarrassingly said, ¡°It¡¯s a snake type magic beast. It grew relatively big, that¡¯s all. Although its might is not small, it spends far too much of my magic power. After that match, it fell dormant, absorbing my magic power. In fact, on that day had you persevered a moment longer, it would no longer have had any power. That¡¯s why I said winning was just as result of luck.¡± Shan Yun brought me to his room then we chatted about all sorts of things for a bit. From our chat, I could tell that Shan Yun and big brother Zhan Hu had very similiar natures. Clenching my teeth, I resolved myself. ¡°Big brother Shan Yun, I have a matter to discuss with you. Don¡¯t you have a younger brother?¡± Hearing my words, Shan Yun excitedly asked me, ¡°Do you have news of Jing Yun?¡± ¡°Wa! Settle down a bit. I can¡¯t endure the strength of a Radiant Knight.¡± Embarrassed, Shan Yun released his hands. I continued speaking, ¡°Actually, I came to Xiuda City as his replacement to tell you all that he is well. I¡¯m also here to see how his home is for him.¡± Shan Yun emotionally said, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he come himself? Where is he right now?¡± I humbly shook my head and said, ¡°I can only tell you that he is well right now. I promised him I wouldn¡¯t tell anyone about where he is right now. He still hasn¡¯t settled his previous matter. Wait until I help him settle it, then he will definitely return.¡± Shan Yun said with a sigh, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s all because of his Earth Dragon Xiao Zhan. Jing Yun truly is too foolish. At that time we weren¡¯t any good either. We didn¡¯t show enough care for him to the extent that he left a message and ran away. Actually, father didn¡¯t blame him at all. Who could possibly never make a mistake? Jing Yun was the most gifted of us three brothers, but it¡¯s sad that he¡¯s now like this. Since you promised to not reveal his whereabouts, I won¡¯t force you. When you see him you must tell him to hurry home and that everyone misses him.¡± I nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m relieved then. I¡¯ll go back and explain this to big brother Zhan Hu. I forgot to tell you, me and him have already become sworn brothers. You¡¯re my big brother¡¯s elder brother so you¡¯re also my elder brother. Haha! Wait until big brother Zhan Hu reaches the level of Radiant Knight, then he will definitely return. That day isn¡¯t too far off either. His Highness the Prince, how is he? Is his body healthy?¡± Shan Yun said, ¡°Father¡¯s body is outstandingly robust. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s aged a lot. Although he hasn¡¯t said it, I know that he really misses Jing Yun.¡± I said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Big brother Shan Yun, don¡¯t tell the Prince about Big Brother Zhang Hu yet. Give me one years¡¯ time after I depart from here, I will definitely help you bring back big brother Zhan Hu.¡± ¡°Alright. You¡¯ve convinced me. I¡¯m extremely grateful to you that you worried so much about our family¡¯s matters. Don¡¯t hesitate to ask if you need anything in the future. I will support you with all my strength. This is the token of my second legion. Within Xiuda it has a lot of influence. Hold on to it and use it properly in the future.¡± I also dropped formalities and extended my arm toward him, ¡°Right, Big Brother Shan Yun, I will be leaving first. I am leaving tomorrow. I still have to tell everyone else. Shan Yun accompanied me to the gates then I returned to the academy on the same road from which I came. The wooden room had one more person, Hong Xue Hua Lun. Last time, it was because of her that we were stirred to compete. Here she comes again. Hopefully she won¡¯t cause any trouble this time. Not waiting for me to say anything, she called out to me first, ¡°Zhang Gong, you returned. I heard you are leaving tomorrow. I am truly sorry for what happened previously.¡± Aside her, Teacher Wen smiled and said, ¡°Today you¡¯ve already apologized many times. You aren¡¯t to blame for this.¡± I indifferently replied, ¡°Hello Miss Hua Lun. Dong Ri is my good brother. You ought to know his temperament, so if you truly like him, then you must properly take care of him in the future. I don¡¯t want my brother to suffer any grievances. I¡¯ll be going in to rest then. I still have to set off tomorrow.¡± My playful words caused Dong Ri and Hong Xue blush a deep red. Even the taciturn Xiu Si smiled, saying, ¡°Zhang Gong¡¯s words are truly straightforward, I¡¯m impressed. Haha.¡± Even Xing Ao and Gao De were loudly jeering. Hong Xue said with a red face, ¡°There¡¯s no one else here so you¡¯re all bullying me.¡± Although her mouth said these words, my profound words have already been printed within her heart. Hong Xue secretly resolved herself that from now on, she must make Dong Ri accept her and quickly make him stop feeling inferior. She will fearlessly confront the future. However, Dong Ri was thinking of something entirely different and that was to escape. Volume 3: Chapter 31 Traveling Together Volume 3: Chapter 31 ¨C Traveling Together At dawn, I finished packing my baggage and arrived at Teacher Wen¡¯s room to bid him farewell. Teacher Wen handed a letter to me, saying, ¡°This is for Lao Lun and everyone there. Be careful on your journey. Regardless of whether or not you finish your mission, you should return a bit earlier. You don¡¯t have to come here. Going out for such a long time, your family must be very worried. Remember to stay safe.¡± My eyes grew hot as I recalled all these past days. I held Teacher Wen¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°Teacher Wen, I will definitely come back to see you. Take care of your health. I¡¯m going now.¡± Teacher Wen gave me a sly smile and said nothing else. I did not see Dong Ri and the rest. Forget it, I won¡¯t wait for them. I put my things into my dimensional pocket and wore my clothes. It¡¯s time to leave this place. I spent about a year here and am reluctant to leave. While I walked, I recalled all of the friends I made here. My heart felt a sense of loss. I shook my head and said to myself, ¡°Don¡¯t think about it anymore. Everyone has their own path. Because when there are meetings, there are departures. I¡¯ll still see them in the future¡±. What!? That sign in front of me seems awfully familiar. I approached it and took a look. It¡¯s the Mercenary Guild. I recalled my first mission and still hadn¡¯t known whether or not I had failed it. I couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly. Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve been here for such a long time and I still hadn¡¯t sought out Long Meng. Because I¡¯ve been so busy, I had quickly forgotten about him. How embarrassing¡­ I¡¯ll go in and try my luck. If we meet, it¡¯ll be because of fate¡¯s will. Entering the Mercenary Guild¡¯s gate, I noticed it was much larger than the past guild buildings I¡¯ve been to. It seems the city was of a different magnitude, it even influenced many industries. I looked in all directions. My luck couldn¡¯t possibly be this good. In the middle of this noisy crowd, I saw a familiar, tall figure. I shouted with a loud voice, ¡°Long Meng!¡± That tall figure trembled and turned his head. Seeing me, he shouted with pleasant surprise, ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s you! You came. For such a long period of time, where did you go off to? I believed you had fallen for those bandit¡¯s trap.¡± After saying this, he ran over to me and tightly grabbed both my arms. I softly sighed and pretended to be depressed, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t come across a trap, I only hadn¡¯t been outside for a long time. That¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t come until now. I am truly sorry.¡± Long Meng laughed straightforwardly and said, ¡°It¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s fine as long as you came. The amount of missions I¡¯ve completed these past days were no small amount. I¡¯m already a D rank mercenary. What are you doing now? We were looking for a place to go drink a cup.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, I came here to meet with you. I have to go and complete the assignment my teacher had given me. Since I can¡¯t go now, next time if matters aren¡¯t urgent, I¡¯ll definitely accompany you.¡± Long Meng pressingly said with a loud voice, ¡°That won¡¯t do. It¡¯s difficult to see each other. How could I let you leave so quickly? I want to go with you. You are the person I had admired the most in my life. From now on, I won¡¯t leave you.¡± Please, no. I¡¯m not some unmarried young woman. Is my sex appeal really that great? I thought about it and then I brought him aside to the corner. His voice was too loud. I didn¡¯t want to attract a crowd. I whispered to him, ¡°Long Meng. You should know by now that our strengths differ greatly. If I bring you along this time, you aren¡¯t going to be of help. It could even put you in great danger.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of danger, so bring me along alright. I beg of you, I¡¯ll even listen to whatever you say. Is this not enough?¡± He really is a passionate person. Ah, what¡¯s to be done? That¡¯s right, there¡¯s still that method. I sinisterly smiled and said, ¡°Then how about this, I¡¯ll introduce you to a great teacher and you¡¯ll learn martial skills from him. After you¡¯ve had some accomplishments, then you can come with me.¡± Long Meng doubtfully asked, ¡°A great teacher? That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve always wanted a master to worship. But my martial skill is too mediocre to even have a master look at me. Is there truly a good teacher?¡± I didn¡¯t answer him, instead I borrowed a pen from the front desk and wrote a letter. I handed it over to him and explained, ¡°Hold onto this. Go to the Knight¡¯s Academy and look for Principal Li Ke Wen. Hand this letter to him and he will make the arrangements. If the guards do not let you in, just use my name and it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Long Meng took the letter and murmured, ¡°Knight Academy. That¡¯s the martial heaven I have always yearned to study at. Can I really? I truly thank you Zhang Gong. Then when will you come find me?¡± This was a difficult question for me. I didn¡¯t know when I would return either. After muttering to myself for a bit, I told him, ¡°I¡¯ll come find you in three years. You must diligently practice.¡± Anyways, when the time comes, I can go visit Teacher Wen too. Haha! How could I have possibly known after returning three years later, I had already experienced many great changes. Long Meng reluctantly parted from me as I walked toward the city gate. I walked with my head lowered. Suddenly, I felt a formidable grandeur blocking my path. I attentively retreated a few steps back. As I raised my head, I was shocked. A row of figures was standing in front of me. Not a single one of them was lacking. It was Xiu Si, Dong Ri, Xing Ao and Gao De. It seems they have come to send me off. ¡°You¡¯ve all come, and here I was thinking you weren¡¯t going to see me off.¡± Naturally, I was exceptionally happy, but I was left staring at them slack-jawed once I heard their words. Xiu Si said, ¡°How are you so slow? We already waited half a day for you. Let¡¯s go. Lead us, Captain.¡± He still wore a sinister smile after he finished talking. ¡°What? What is this about us setting off? You guys, it couldn¡¯t be¡­?¡± After glancing at each other, they all simultaneously began grinning and said in unison, ¡°We want to go with you. Haha!¡± After hearing them utter these words in unison, I still clearly didn¡¯t fully understand. I just mechanically said, ¡°What has Teacher Wen done now? He consented to this?¡± Xing Ao said smiling, ¡°Of course he agreed. Otherwise we wouldn¡¯t be here. Let¡¯s go. Captain, ah no, everyone unanimously decided to have our Brilliant Battle Squad become the Zhang Gong¡¯s Bro Harem Brilliant Mercenary Company. It is better to travel like this. When we run out of money, we can make some spending money. You are the commander. Xiu Si is the vice commander.¡± It was only then that I understood the meaning behind Teacher Wen¡¯s furtive smile when I was leaving. It looks like that old man wants his disciples to go on a journey with me. Pretty good. With this many people our safety will increase by a lot. Furthermore, they all possess formidable strength. Sighing, I said, ¡°Then there¡¯s truly nothing to be done about it then. Let¡¯s go then everyone.¡± They all let out a cheer since they originally thought I wouldn¡¯t be willing to take them along with me. This time they¡¯re all very satisfied. Just like this, we cheerfully set foot onto the road of our true journey. Volume 3: Chapter 32 Arriving at Dalu Volume 3: Chapter 32 ¨C Arriving at Dalu I lead them straight towards the border of Xiuda and Aixia. At the beginning they thought I had walked in the opposite direction. It was only after I explained that I had to go find someone that they understood I promised Big Brother Zhan Hu that after my business in Xiuda was over, I would first find him and tell him about the circumstances of his family. Although we had to travel a farther distance, they didn¡¯t say anything. On the journey, I felt that they only came to sightsee. Although Xing Ao and Gao De were each nearly thirty years old, both acted like children. And whenever Dong Ri found something new, he immediately talked about it with others. Likewise the always earnest Xiu Si had relaxed very much. After an unceasing trudge, we finally arrived at our destination. Just as we entered the mountain, we encountered some trouble. Twenty or so people jumped down from the trees and surrounded us. Their boss yelled, ¡°Halt! Is this somewhere you guys should be going? Carefully hand over your money and afterwards turn back. Otherwise you can¡¯t blame uncle for killing you.¡± It seems that we¡¯ve run into Big Brother¡¯s subordinates. I walked in front to take a look. Isn¡¯t this the guy that was at Big Brother¡¯s side from last time? I didn¡¯t know if he still recognized me. Without waiting for me to say anything, he loudly said, ¡°Ah! Is that Second Boss?¡± Shocked I violently fell and said, ¡°When did I become the Second Boss?¡± That bandit said, ¡°Ah, It really is you, Second Boss.¡± Calling me this, when I looked at everyone, they suspiciously glanced at me; I quickly grew faint. Please don¡¯t think of me as some bandit leader. ¡°Don¡¯t call me the Second Boss. Is big brother Zhan Hu well?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the sworn brother of our Boss, so of course you¡¯re the Second Boss. The Boss talks about you often daily. You¡¯ve returned now so hurry up and go. Brothers, open up a path for the Second Boss.¡± What happened afterwards is unclear. We just followed the twenty or so people into the mountain while I explained to everyone the events through which I came to know Zhan Hu. They all wanted to quickly meet this Heaven Knight who could match my martial arts. Just as we arrived into the village, Zhan Hu came out and welcomed us. It seems that his scouts reported truly fast. I quickly rushed up and stopped to embrace him. I emotionally said, ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯ve returned.¡± ¡°Good, good, good. It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve returned. Go. We¡¯ll talk at home.¡± After returning to Zhan Hu¡¯s thatched cottage, I introduced everyone to him. Big brother was extremely happy to meet others from his hometown so he brought out a scrumptious feast in our honor. At the wine table, seeing Big Brother¡¯s impatient expression, I knew what he wanted to ask. I smiled and said, ¡°Big brother, your house is in good condition. After we finished eating, we¡¯ll talk in detail.¡± Zhan Hu immediately calmed down. During this meal, everyone was in very high spirits. Everyone called Zhan Hu, Big Brother. Today Zhan Hu intentionally drank less. I also only tasted it. Night time. Everyone had already entered into the land of pleasant dreams. Zhan Hu and I went to a small hill. On top of the hill I began explaining the events that happened in the short period of time I had been away. He was extraordinarily happy when he heard that his second brother already reached the rank of a Radiant Knight and he was very anxious when he heard I received a serious injury. ¡°Big Brother, Big Brother Shan Yun said they really miss you. All along they haven¡¯t blamed you. Will you return home earlier? He promised for the time being that he won¡¯t speak of you to His Majesty the Prince. I feel like you should return. It has already been many years. Zhan Hu sighed and said, ¡°I really should go back and take a look. Father is so old now. This unfilial son mustn¡¯t let that old man grieve any longer. Once you¡¯ve obtained the Holy Sword, I¡¯ll go back.¡± ¡°Ah? Big Brother, you want to go too? You don¡¯t need to. You should immediately return to Xiuda.¡± ¡°Foolish brat, is the Holy Sword really that easy to obtain? You are certain to come across danger after danger. If I don¡¯t accompany you, how would I feel at ease? You don¡¯t need to urge me, as I intend to.¡± ¡°Big brother¡­¡­..¡± I emotionally embraced his thick and broad shoulders speechlessly. When we departed the next day, we had a new member among our ranks. Everybody held Zhan Hu in extremely high esteem since he was my big brother. Thus, we set off on a long journey of learning. Originally it was supposed to be a one man journey, but now it has turned into a journey of six people. I don¡¯t know if this would go against Teacher Di¡¯s intention but everybody was too enthusiastic for me to refuse them. I had already tried to persuade Big Brother to stay and lead his village. However, his answer was too good. He said that in these last few years the village had saved up not a small amount of money so he would tell them to not go out ¡°hunting¡± while he was gone. What else could I say to him? Like that, we head straight to the Kena province of the Dalu Kingdom. This was the only clue that Teacher Di had given me. The route was not short at all. The Kingdom of Dalu was on the other side of Xiuda. In other words, we have to pass through the entire Kingdom of Xiuda. When we set out, everyone picked a fine horse from Zhan Hu¡¯s bandit village. Apart from me, they were all knights, each capable of expertly controlling a horse. I have never rode on a horse before, yet they gave me the tallest, strongest horse. Just as we had started, without even traveling far, my whole body ached. Do I use battle spirit to protect my body? I could no longer stand it and decided this time to learn how to ride a horse. Following everyone¡¯s continuous guidance, I can now barely keep up and I no longer feel tired. I originally thought of talking about letting me use teleportation magic to follow them, but everyone unanimously disagreed. That is why I had no choice but to suffer through this bitter hardship. After nearly two months of trudging along, we finally arrived at the border of the Dalu Kingdom. I looked at the map. This province was still 400 kilometers away. In front of us should be the Lunwa city. I faced everyone and said, ¡°Once we¡¯ve entered the city ahead of us we¡¯ll rest properly for two days. This short period of madly rushing forward has nearly exhausted me to death.¡± Xing Ao replied with a smile, ¡°Ah, the magnificent magister is so exhausted. What a pity that you don¡¯t know wind magic, otherwise you could just fly.¡± Xing Ao¡¯s words reminded me of something. As we all continued walking towards Lunwa city, I asked Big Brother Zhan Hu, ¡°I heard from my teacher once that once your martial skill reaches a certain level, you¡¯ll be able to use your battle spirit to fly. Is that true?¡± Zhan Hu replied to me in astonishment, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to even know this. It¡¯s possible to fly using battle spirit, but you need to have the strength of at least a Heaven Knight. This is also the origin of the name Heaven Knight.¡± I excitedly asked, ¡°Then you and Xiu Si can fly?¡± Xiu Si interrupted from the side saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. But I can only fly about five kilometers before my battle spirit is exhausted. Big Brother Zhan Hu should be able to fly a bit longer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that much further.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu modestly said. I yearningly said, ¡°I truly envy you. Ah! It really feels nice to fly in the sky.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 33 Resting at Lunwa Volume 3: Chapter 33 ¨C Resting at Lunwa Smiling, Zhan Hu said, ¡°What¡¯s so good about it? We can¡¯t fly like you mages, slow and lasting while admiring the scenery. Using battle spirit to fly consumes it quickly. That¡¯s why we rush forward with all our might. We can¡¯t appreciate the feeling of flying at all.¡± ¡°In any case, being able to fly is great. I don¡¯t know when my martial skill will reach such a level.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°Enough, you. You¡¯re already frightening enough. You aren¡¯t even twenty years old yet, and you¡¯ve already become a magister. You still want to become a sky knight? You¡¯re asking for too much.¡± Dong Ri¡¯s words were approved by everyone. Even Zhan Hu said that I shouldn¡¯t reach too far and concentrate on learning magic. Although I was the strongest in the company, I was youngest apart from Dong Ri. What could I say to them? I could only obediently let the matter of flying go. Lunwa City was the first city we arrived at in the Dalu Kingdom. It truly deserves to be called a kingdom of commerce. Within this border town, trade was flourishing greatly. The main street was bustling with noise and excitement. It seemed that everyone was immersed in the pleasures of buying and selling. We first looked for a relatively good hotel to settle in. In any case, we weren¡¯t lacking money; I hadn¡¯t even made a dent in the thousand diamond coins that Teacher Di had given me when I left home. Not to mention the sizable sum that Big Brother Zhan Hu brought along. After eating dinner, we all gathered together to discuss our future course of action. I spread out the map on the table. Pointing at the area representing Dalu, I said, ¡°Everyone look. Right now we are here. Four hundred kilometers south is where the Kena province is. Teacher Di said that the holy sword was somewhere in a valley in the Kena province. We will have to search through these forests. Does anyone have any questions?¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°This map of yours is too general. I feel like it would be best to buy a map of the Kena province. We should mark the places where it could be and search them one by one. How about it?¡± Everyone immediately approved of Zhan Hu¡¯s ideas. Xiu Si said, ¡°Right now, this is all we can do. Our clues are too few. We can only search by throwing a net and thoroughly search every bit. No matter what we can¡¯t leave out any suspicious areas.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°Currently with our strength, we should be able to deal with any danger. What we should be most worried about is not finding the place.¡± I let out a breath and said, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go Dong Ri. First we¡¯ll find buy a map of Kena province and then we¡¯ll discuss this further. Everyone else should rest first. After we come back, let¡¯s go eat.¡± Dong Ri and I arrived at the bustling main street. A few casual questions led us to a small map store. I looked everywhere inside and saw maps of every place. The shopkeeper walked by and asked, ¡°Sirs, where would you like a map of? The maps at this store are the most complete. We basically have maps of the whole continent, even the West Continent is no exception.¡± I said surprised, ¡°Oh! You even have maps of the West Continent? Could you let me look at them?¡± The demon race and beast clans were a mystery to me. That is why I wanted to see if there was a difference in the terrain of the east continent. The shopkeeper brought over a small cylinder sealed on both sides. Opening a side revealing a map made from sheepskin rolled inside. It appeared a bit yellow. It should be quite a few decades old. After handing over the map to me, he said, ¡°Sir, this was passed down from my ancestry. This is a map of the West Continent from two hundred years ago. Currently, the West Continent should have changed to some extent, but its approximate locations should still be correct.¡± I took the map. It was drawn meticulously. There were many small regions on it. On the middle-left of the map I found the demon race¡¯s capital, Sadan City. I couldn¡¯t help but recall the stunningly beautiful woman of the demon race that I came across. Could she be there now? Thinking of her stunningly beautiful appearance, I could not help but stupidly space out. ¡°Zhang Gong. Zhang Gong, what are you doing? What are you looking for on the map of the West Continent? Quickly finish our business here.¡± Dong Ri reminded me from the side. I was roused from my fantasy, ¡°Ah? What did you say? Oh, I know. Shopkeeper, Could you bring us a map of the Kena province? I also want this map of the West Continent. How much will it cost altogether?¡± The shopkeeper said, ¡°A map of the Kena province is two copper coins. This map of the West Continent will cost you two diamond coins.¡± Dong Ri said loudly, ¡°Two diamond coins? You may as well rob us. Zhang Gong, give that map back to him.¡± I held out my hand to block Dong Ri. From my chest pocket, I took out my amethyst card and handed it over to the shopkeeper. With a look of the amethyst card, the shopkeeper knew that we weren¡¯t any ordinary people. With a smile reaching across his face, he said, ¡°Truly, this humble man had eyes but could not recognize Mt Tai. I will gift the map of the Kena province to you, but for this West Continent map¡­¡± I impatiently waved my hand and said, ¡°Its price is its price. Hurry up!¡± Seeing that I truly wanted to buy this, Dong Ri said no more. After the shopkeeper finished the payment with the amethyst card, he respectfully returned it to me. I placed the map of the West Continent in my dimensional pocket. With the map of the Kena province in hand, Dong Ri and I returned to the inn. While walking, I asked Dong Ri, ¡°When you left, you didn¡¯t tell that little sister, Hong Xue, did you? Haha.¡± With a bitter smile, Dong Ri said, ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me about that. When I came, I didn¡¯t tell her. What is the status of her house? And what is my status? It¡¯s not possible for us. ¡°That¡¯s enough already. You¡¯re saying it again. We¡¯ve told you how many times? Don¡¯t feel so inferior. You are no different from other people. Just say whether or not you like Hong Xue!¡± Dong Ri¡¯s face grew red and evasively said, ¡°It could happen.¡± ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s what you call liking her. I see Hong Xue also really likes you. What could be happier than a harmonious couple? Go after her already. Teacher Wen will surely act as your host. This time, you left without saying anything. Hong Xue will feel sad not knowing. When we go back you¡¯ll have to go beg for forgiveness!¡± Embarrassed, Dong Ri said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk of this when we return!¡± On the way, Dong Ri said nothing more. It seems that he was thinking about little sister Hong Xue. I did not bother him further. Returning to the hotel, Big Brother Zhan Hu saw my holding the map and said with a smile, ¡°You bought it at last! Put it down, let¡¯s go eat first. We¡¯re about to starve. Let¡¯s continue discussing the map after we return.¡± We looked for a quiet table to sit at the inn¡¯s restaurant. We ordered an impressive meal and began to comfort our stomachs. In these many days, we did not have a single delicious meal. The meal was eaten in a frenzy and costed no less than forty gold coins. The food truly made our hearts ached! Volume 3: Chapter 34 Nature Elves Volume 3: Chapter 34 ¨C Nature Elves After we returned to room, I unfolded the newly bought map of the Kena province. Whoa, this Kena Province isn¡¯t small at all. There are eight cities along with many forests and valleys of all sizes. Xing Ao exclaimed, ¡°There are so many forests and valleys! How will we ever find it?¡± Xiu Si was still calm. He thought about it and said, ¡°Seeing the map as it is, we should split each valley into pieces and search them one by one. We should start this as soon as possible.¡± As he said this, he pointed at the south most forest of Kena. Two days later, our party of six arrived at the edge of the Kena province¡¯s Long Jing Forest. Finally, we started our true adventure. Because we were going through forests and valleys, we rode to the closest town by horse and prepared a sufficient amount of food, water, and a few other essential goods for the wilderness. After we advanced to the Long Jing Forest, we found the food to be too lacking. When we were hungry, we went hunting. We did not come across any dangers on our journey. We only encountered the occasional small animal, keeping us company. After the Nth time I took out the map, I said to Zhan Hu, ¡°Big Brother, look. We are currently here. If we continue forward, we¡¯ll enter the depths of the Long Jing Forest.¡± Zhan Hu nodded. Suddenly he felt something amiss and turned his head, calling out to everyone, ¡°Everyone, careful! There may be dangers ahead of us.¡± As he said this, he took out his knight¡¯s sword. I had also felt a formidable force lingering nearby; I did not know whether it was friend or foe. ¡°Oh Great Light Elements, I request of you to transform into a divine radiance, expel all evil.¡± This is large area light exorcism spell. A dazzling radiance emitted from my body, enveloping an entire hundred meter radius. A cold and gloomy voice came from the depths of the forest, ¡°Ignorant humans, who allowed you to come here and sully my sacred, pure lands. If you do not immediately withdraw, you shall forever remain here. This is your final warning.¡± Next to me, it was as if Dong Ri was suddenly hit by evil and became distracted. Then he walked to the very front of the group and deeply bowed his body to the depths of the forest. ¡°Excuse me, are those in front of us, elves?¡± As we saw Dong Ri act as such, we did not stop him and only calmly looked at how he would progress. That gloomy and cold voice returned, ¡°Don¡¯t believe you are extraordinary because you know of our identity. If you do not withdraw, I will launch an assault.¡± Dong Ri hastily said, ¡°Wait a moment, I am also an elf.¡± After hearing Dong Ri¡¯s words, they did not answer. After a moment, a faint silhouette floated out. Its speed was incomparably fast. It gradually floated toward us. It was a very old elf. Not only that but it also seems that he should be an ancient race of forest elves because he had wings. Currently, many elves and half elves no longer had wings. He came close to us and looked at Dong Ri up and down, saying with disdain, ¡°Your kind can be considered elves? You are merely a human assimilated half-elf. For what purpose have you brought this many humans to this elf forest?¡± Standing on the side, I found those words unacceptable and interrupted, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a half elf? Everyone has life. What is there that is noble or lowly? Old man, did you purchase this forest? Why do you not let us enter? Unless you have a secret.¡± Hearing my words, the old elf was enraged. With a wave of his hand, he sent a faint green energy towards me. I was taken aback. Could this be an elf¡¯s natural power? This kind of extraordinary power lies between martial skill and magic. Only pure elves could use it. I immediately waved my hand, bringing a white energy to face his attack. The formidable power had unexpectedly shocked my body, causing me to sway. This was truly ferocious. I reckon this old elf has at the very least, a Magister¡¯s strength. To think we would come across such a difficult elf. Seeing me resist his attack, he was very surprised and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t so arrogant after all. It turns out you have a bit of skill.¡± In his mind he thought to himself, if the people of this party are all this powerful, then this will be truly hard to handle. Xiu Si, who had not said a word all this time, walked over and said to the old elf, ¡°Respected Senior, Greetings. We are the Brilliant Mercenary Company. We came here with no evil intentions. We were only entrusted with a task to find a certain item. May I ask what this place is?¡± Xiu Si words gave this stubborn elder a way out of embarrassment. With slight embarrassment, he said, ¡°This boy is quite courteous. This place is the outskirts of our elf forest. What are you looking for?¡± Xiu Si looked at me and I nodded back to him. Xiu Si continued, ¡°It is as such. We are looking for the holy sword. Could you give us directions to a clearer path?¡± After hearing our words, the old elf laughed heartily. After a while, he stopped and said, ¡°You want to find the holy sword by yourselves? After all these years, with the innumerable thousands that searched for it, not one had succeeded.¡± Hearing that the old elf had unexpectedly know of the holy sword, I hastily asked, ¡°Then do you know where the holy sword is?¡± The old elf proudly raised his head and said, ¡°Naturally, I know this. If you want me to tell you, that is possible. But first you must help me with a certain matter. After you¡¯ve finished this, I will tell you. ¡°Alright, tell us. We¡¯ll give it a try.¡± With the appearance of such an opportunity, we absolutely could not let this go. Xiu Si unexpectedly said, ¡°Wait a moment. Do you have proof that you truly know the whereabouts of the holy sword? If we complete your task, what¡¯s to be done if you don¡¯t fulfill your promise?¡± The old elf¡¯s jaw dropped and said, ¡°You believe everyone is untrustworthy as you humans? We elves are always true to our word. I swear on my identity as an Elder of the Nature Elves that so long as the humans before me repel the Dark Elves¡¯ assault, I will tell them the location of the holy sword. If I break my oath, may the Heaven¡¯s punishment destroy me.¡± Following his word, his body let out an awe-inspiring grandeur. Seeing that he hadn¡¯t lied, I said, ¡°Good. We agree. But what is this matter about Dark Elves?¡± The old elf looked at me and said, ¡°Dark elves have always been our Nature Elves¡¯ mortal enemy. Originally, our strengths were matched. However, recently, without knowing why, this balance was broken. The Dark Elves power had suddenly increased greatly. Almost all of the Dark Elves¡¯ powers had greatly increased from before. They beat us back, forcing us to retreat step by step. If this continues, we could face the danger of extermination. I am one of the Nature Elves¡¯ elders. I had originally came out hoping to find an old friend of mine and ask for help. I hadn¡¯t expected to come across you.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 35 Elven Dispute Volume 3: Chapter 35 ¨C Elven Dispute With this said, the elderly elf displayed a human side of him. It appears that he is not incapable of accepting humans. He continued saying, ¡°If it is possible, let us talk as we walk.¡± Saying this, he lightly flapped his elf wings forward, leading the way.¡± I curiously asked, ¡°How are you certain that we aren¡¯t villains? Is it not possible that instead we would help the Dark Elves get rid of you?¡± The elderly elf laughed and said, ¡°You are truly a child. Do you know how old I am this year? This year I am 1,446 years old. Those of the elven race are all long lived. I¡¯ve seen a great deal. If I¡¯m not mistaken, what you just used a moment ago should be light magic. In addition, you should at the very least be at the level of a magister. Those that can use light magic are all of pure and virtuous character. That is the reason why I let you help us.¡± Dong Ri suddenly interrupted, saying, ¡°Do you know which type of elf I am?¡± It seemed he wanted to ask about his own life. The elderly elf smiled and said, ¡°Of course I know. If we¡¯re talking about in general, elves can be divided into two main types. One type is us, nature elves. You are of this type. The other is our enemy, the dark elves. With regards to the number of dark elves on the entire continent, we are the unconditional majority. However with regards to strength, we can only compare the quantity of pure blooded elves. This is because only pure blood elves have the ability to bring out their true fighting strength. For example, you are incapable of using the power of nature.¡± Dong Ri somewhat disappointed, said, ¡°Then you don¡¯t know where I specifically came from?¡± The elderly elf helplessly said, ¡°There are too many nature elves in this world. If you were a pure elf, I would be able to check. But presently, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± Seeing Dong Ri¡¯s disappointed appearance, I immediately broke off from this topic and asked, ¡°How many pure blooded elves does each of the two races have? What about fighting strength? ¡° ¡°Right now the population of pure blooded elves has been greatly thinned out due to many years of campaigning. Each side has about a thousand pure bloods. The Dark Elves already attacked our village this morning. The forest this village is located in is actually the most suitable place on this whole continent for elves to reside in. It¡¯s because of this that the Dark Elves are trying to destroy us.¡± With a nod, I said, ¡°Why can¡¯t everybody just live together in harmony? With such a large forest, what¡¯s there to be afraid of 2,000 people? It¡¯s only if you are willing that the rivers of blood will flow.¡± The elderly elf sighed and said, ¡°If everyone thought like you did, the world would have no conflict. I find myself liking you more and more, boy.¡± ¡°In that case, I don¡¯t dislike you either, old man, haha.¡± We laughed heartily together. Xiu Si said, ¡°Senior, how much further until we reach the village? Let¡¯s hurry a bit and avoid needless injuries.¡± The elderly elf said, ¡°Alright. Follow me closely.¡± He turned into a faint shadow and flew onward. Big Brother Zhan Hu followed him up, carrying Xing Ao on his left hand and Dong Ri on his right. Xiu Si followed closely, carrying Ao De. I ended up leisurely using short distance teleportation to follow them, neither slowly not closely. Not knowing how far we traveled, the elderly elf stopped and waited for us to come before him. He gave everyone a favorable smile and slowly walked onward. ¡°In front of us is the village¡¯s rear. Let¡¯s go in and see how it is.¡± Turning at a small hill, an elf village reflected into our eyes. What a large village. It¡¯s even larger than Zhan Hu¡¯s bandit village. Busy admiring the scenery, we followed the elderly elf into the village. Everyone seemed to be very busy. The elderly elf stopped an adult elf and asked, ¡°Shan Nian, what¡¯s the situation?¡± The fully grown elf named Shan Nian replied, ¡°Third Elder, you¡¯ve returned. Please go over at once. The Dark Elves¡¯ King is currently engaging with ours. It is practically a melee. The elderly elf called out to us to advance towards another side of the village. I noticed that all of the elves here have two wings. Their capabilities are much greater than that of outside elves. The majority of the elves had swords as their weapon of choice. After arriving in front of two battle formations, the battlefield was truly bleak with a dark sky and a black earth. I noticed that there wasn¡¯t much of a difference between the Dark Elves and the Nature Elves. Nature Elves had green hair, blue eyes, and green wings, while Dark Elves had black hair, violet eyes, and black wings. This was the only difference, everything was basically the same between them. They both had similar appearances. I looked towards the field and saw two adult elves engaged in fierce combat. From their fluctuations of energy, I could tell that they were the kings of each side. On the Nature Elves¡¯ side, there were three elves about the same age as the elderly elf who were anxiously watching this battle. The elderly elf walked to their side and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± A different elderly elf replied, ¡°Third Elder, you¡¯ve returned. We don¡¯t have any reinforcements left and we¡¯ve already battled 10 times. Unexpectedly, it has been one-sided the entire time. If our king loses again, I fear they will rush forward and beat us all.¡± (For the sake of convenient address, the following will be called the Great Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder and the Fourth Elder. The one who brought us over was the Third Elder.) Sighing, the Third Elder said, ¡°How did it become like this? Is the difference really that great? Don¡¯t tell me¡­. is this the day our kind is destroyed?¡± I went up to him and comfortingly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯ll definitely help you.¡± The Third Elder appreciatively nodded at me and introduced me to the other three elders. At this moment of intense battle, the Nature Elf King grasped his sword in both hands and shouted, ¡°Venerated nature spirits, heed my call, become a destroying power and annihilate the evil before you ¡ª¡ª Nature¡¯s Punishment!¡± Following this, he slashed with his sword and a wave of green energy that hid the sky and covered the earth flew towards the Dark Elf King. In a single breath, the Dark Elf King disdainfully said, ¡°It¡¯s been so many years yet we¡¯re still going through this routine. You won¡¯t do anything else so I¡¯ll let you see my ultimate technique. Endless evil, endless resentment, become the endless darkness and devour everything ¡ª¡ª Endless Devourer.¡± An ash black smog started pouring out of the Dark Elf King¡¯s body, covering a large area and charged towards the Nature Elf King with a mournful cry. The two energies opposed each other in the sky. The energy emitted by the Nature Elf King was compressed little by little and forced back. It was clearly falling back and it would soon be unable to hold on any longer. Volume 3: Chapter 36 Repelling the Enemy Volume 3: Chapter 36 ¨C Repelling the Enemy What is this magic? Could this be the Dark Elves¡¯ distinctive skill? From the Elder¡¯s surprised expressions, I could tell that they¡¯ve never seen this spell before. It was more or less the same as the magic used by that Bamboo Pole I met from the demon race. Yet it seemed quite different. I don¡¯t know how. The Third Elder murmured, ¡°This isn¡¯t the power of a Dark Elf. Where did this evil power come from?¡± Right at this moment, the Nature Elves¡¯ King was no longer able to endure and fell, having succumbed to the power of the formidable evil devourer. The four Nature Elves¡¯ Elders used their power of nature to catch their king. The dark power still relentlessly pursued him. It¡¯s time for me to lend a hand. ¡°Oh Great Light elements, I request of you to allow me to borrow your formidable strength. Let the infinite light of the earth shine, Brilliant Empire!¡± This is a spell I am quite familiar with, I slowly floated from the floor and met the evil power head on. My whole body emitting blinding white light, I raised my head. A third of my magic power came out of the gold dan within my upper dantian and covered my body. I gathered together the energy of the light elements into a pillar of light approximately two meters wide and sent it straight forward. My pillar of light and his Endless Devourer collided into each other. The mist of black ash let out a mournful blood-curdling screech. Perhaps because of the great amount of energy it had just used, it dispersed upon clashing with my Brilliant Empire. The Dark Elf King immediately brandished his longsword to resist the remaining energy of my Brilliant Empire. ¡°Who are you to dare interfere in a matter between us elves?¡± I faintly smiled, ¡°Hello Dark Elf King. Your question is quite foolish. I am obviously a human. As to why I interfered, it is only natural I have a reason. In such a large elven forest, why can¡¯t everyone get along? Killing each other only causes more hurt feelings.¡± The Dark Elf King body let out an evil, icy air and sinisterly said, ¡°What do you understand? This subspecies of elves also deserve to live in this forest? Only we Dark Elves are the elves¡¯ genuine rightful rulers. Tactfully depart at once or else you shall meet a tragic end.¡± Why do the elves care this much about their racial origins? Is there difference between this and the struggle between commoners and nobles? I shook my head and sighed, saying, ¡°You are truly obsessed and do not understand. You believe that by using power that is not your own, you can take over the elven forest?¡± The dark elf king said with great alarm, ¡°How do you know that I use power that isn¡¯t mine?¡± Haha, I guessed correctly. I calmly replied to him, ¡°Dark elves should be using dark magic. But that magic you just used was not dark magic. I will give you an opportunity to quickly leave or else you will suffer the inescapable fate of clan extermination.¡± After I said what I felt, the Dark Elf King felt my words were timid. I covered my body in light elements and chanted, ¡°Oh Great Light Elements, my friends, bestow me your pure strength, expel all resentment, let the spring winds warm and illuminate the Earth, World Illumination.¡± This was the most powerful spell I could currently use, a rank eight support spell. Not only that, but the highest ranked support spell can expel all anomalies from a large area in addition to having a devastating firepower against dark magic. Following my chat, I slowly floated off the floor. My body emitted a pure and holy white radiance. With the continuous magic power flowing out of my body, the white brilliance gradually became a dazzling golden light. While the gold light quickly saturated the white light, it burst forth vertically towards the sky. A golden ray of light of about a diameter of a meter rushed toward the direction of the sun. The Dark Elf King was starting to become scared, but when saw that he had not suffered an attack. He said with disdain, ¡°Was that just to scare? All Dark Elf Soldiers, prepare to attack!¡± All of the dark elves unfolded a pair of black wings and raised their black longswords. It was during this bloody prelude that something unexpected had happened. The sky suddenly changed color. It was no longer blue, but golden. Golden rays of light illuminated the Earth, giving people a feeling of warmth. All of the Nature Elves, even the Nature Elf King, all felt the beauty of the light. The wounded soldiers gradually recovered their strength and the light dispelled their corruption. But it had an opposite effect for the Dark Elves. Under the illumination of the light, their bodies experienced extreme pain. Even those stronger were unable to bear it. Those weaker had already begun to drop to the floor. The Dark Elf King cried out in alarm, ¡°What did you do? What did you do to my clansmen?¡± Brandishing his longsword, he threw himself towards me. I lifted my hand and sent out a ray of light, forcing him back. I gently said, ¡°This is light magic, specialized to expel evil. Stop, Dark Elf King. Could it be that you don¡¯t care and wish to see your clansmen suffer in such a way? Could it be you want the Dark Elves to now be exterminated?¡± Although the Dark Elf King¡¯s power was profound, he still felt unwell. He couldn¡¯t even produce a half of his might. He hesitated and knew that today, he would not be able to annex the Nature Elves. He hatefully said, ¡°Fine. Withdraw your magic. We will leave.¡± I faintly smiled and withdrew my magic power. I secretly let out a sigh of relief. Actually, the current burden was far too great. In supporting such a large area advanced spell I had quickly reached my limit. Having them quickly retreat was certainly good. The Dark Elf King gazed at me with great enmity and said, ¡°I will remember this day well. I surely won¡¯t let you get away with this. Withdraw!¡± The energy I used to support the spell scattered and floated down to the ground. The Nature Elves let out an earthshaking cheer. The Third Elder came over and gripped my hand and said, ¡°We are truly grateful to you. Were if not for your assistance, we may have not survived this crisis.¡± My body instantly swayed and Dong Ri immediately came over to supported me. I bitterly smiled and said, ¡°Had they not retreated, I¡¯m afraid we would have had to stake it all. I am nearly exhausted from supporting such a large spell. Lucky, so lucky.¡± The Nature Elves crowded around us six and returned to the village. The Third Elder started to frown and worry again. I asked him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? The Dark Elf King retreated. Why are you still so worried?¡± The Third Elder said, ¡°Although they retreated, a moment ago, our king received a grave injury while fighting. None of our medical treatments have any effect. How could I not worry?¡± I looked at the magic power within me. I should still have enough to use Spiritual Restoration without problem. A good person is almost dead. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll go with you to take a look.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 37 Spirit of Hospitality Volume 3: Chapter 37 ¨C Spirit of Hospitality The Third Elder and I went to the Nature Elf King¡¯s bedroom. Not in the mood for admiring the room¡¯s splendor, I tensely walked forward to his bed. All I saw was the pained expression of the Nature Elf King as he constantly moaned and groaned. A faint black gas was leaking out of his face. It seems that his pure nature power and the evil power were currently struggling against each other. I¡¯ll help him out then. ¡°Oh Great Light Elements, as your friend, I request you to dispel this evil using your endless strength and save the person before you.¡± This is the strengthened version of my Spiritual Restoration. Not only was it very effective at recovery, it was also very effective for removing abnormal states. A pure white light was emitted from my hands, covering the whole body of the Nature Elf King. In the wake of the white light, the black gas gradually faded causing him to become more and more peaceful. After letting out a breath of relief, I faced the Third Elder and said, ¡°I¡¯m finished. There shouldn¡¯t be any more problems now. It¡¯s just that that His Majesty the Nature Elf King has exhausted his mental strength while I have basically completely healed his body. He only needs to rest now, so we should all leave now.¡± Emotionally, the Third Elder grabbed my hands but I stopped speaking and instead dragged him out of the room. ¡°I truly can¡¯t express how grateful I am. I don¡¯t know how to repay you for this favor you have done for us Nature Elves.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just quickly give us some delicious foods and drinks then arrange a place for us afterwards and you can consider the favor repaid. I¡¯m about to die from exhaustion, so stop holding onto me like an old woman. Let¡¯s go.¡± Saying so, I dragged him back to everyone. After the Nature Elves found out I cured their king, they all began to cheer happily. I couldn¡¯t bother with this so I found a comfortable chair, closed my eyes and began resting. Naturally I told Dong Ri that he definitely has to tell me when it¡¯s time to eat. So fragrant, very fragrant. What is that smell? My nose had awakened my eyes. Hazily, I saw a big table filled with food. I shook my dazed head a few times and began moving my aching muscles and bones. ¡°What delicious foods are these, that smell is so savory? You guys truly aren¡¯t acting as brothers! You didn¡¯t even tell me!¡± In response, Zhan Hu burst into laughter and said, ¡°Look. It happened just like I said! As long as there are delicious foods, Zhang Gong doesn¡¯t even need to be told. Ah, his nose isn¡¯t any worse than his magic.¡± Zhan Hu¡¯s words caused the whole room to roar in laughter. Embarrassed, I arrived at the seat left for me at the table. It seems that the Nature Elves really are courteous. Without any formalities, I simply sat down and said, ¡°So what if my nose is good? It¡¯s only good for finding delicious food. Ah. All of the Elders are here. No need to be formal. Go ahead and eat everybody; no need to wait for me.¡± I grabbed an unfamiliar violet fruit and at it. Ah, it¡¯s so sweet! It¡¯s fragrant and sweet juices immediately permeated throughout my body. Simply too splendid. Sitting beside, Dong Ri nudged me. He was indicating that I should act a bit more elegant. I¡¯ll just ignore him. My stomach is already hungry, so how could I still bother with something like that? It¡¯s not like this is a marriage interview. The Great Elder began speaking, ¡°Everybody, hurry up and eat. No need for formalities.¡± It was only after his words that everybody finally began moving. The elven banquet had a focus on fruit. The fragrant aroma was actually the various fruits they brewed and fermented, making drinks that were simply too tasty. Mellow and rich fragrant wines were mixed together with all kinds of balmy fruits. After it entered my stomach, a warm current would spread throughout my body from the wine. It was exceptionally comfortable and was very effective at relaxing my fatigued body. Big Brother Zhan Hu simply loved the wine so much that he couldn¡¯t part with it. Each drink he took caused the elders to feel a pain in their hearts. I heard from the elders that this fruit wine was very hard to make and they only took it out for the most respected of guests. The wine had some effect of maintaining one¡¯s youthful appearance. When the wine first entered the mouth, there wasn¡¯t much of an impact, but after a bit, there would be a powerful impact. The elders all continuously urged us to drink a bit less. They really are stingy. Apart from Dong Ri, we were all becoming drunkards. We were still polite though. I originally wanted to inquire about the Holy Sword, but after a while I couldn¡¯t manage to do it. Forget about it. I¡¯ll ask about it tomorrow. Right now I should just replenish my strength. Haha! While stroking my round stomach filled with food, an elf lead me to my room. To speak the truth, I was very tired. My spiritual strength has already been exhausted. After laying down on the bed, there I began feeling dizzy. It seems that the fruit wine really does have a powerful aftereffect! I examined the state of my magic power and discovered that it¡¯s actually quite good. I still have about 30% of it left. With this I¡¯ll be able to recover back to 80% tomorrow. While in a daze, I entered the land of dreams. Dawn. I was extremely excited because Xiao Jin had finally awakened from the deep sleep he has been in since the incident at the tournament. Through our spirit connection, I knew that his magic consumption was very great last time so he had to lay dormant for a while to recover. Now he was basically fully recovered. Xiao Jin is my most powerful assistant but in a certain sense, Xiao Jin could still be considered very weak. If he didn¡¯t have the support of my magic power, he would only be able to endure 3-5 minutes of attacks. It really is too short. If we encountered a powerful opponent he wouldn¡¯t have much of an effect. I didn¡¯t have a good way to increase his strength either. Forget about it. For the time being I won¡¯t bother with that. Now that I am a magister I generally didn¡¯t need his help. My own magic power was also about the same; it had recovered to about 80%. I let a royal guard elf bring me to find the Third Elder. We¡¯ll have to depart after asking him about the location of the Holy Sword. The royal guard returned and told me, ¡°The elder invites you and your friends to go discuss your matter in the reception hall. I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± Following the royal guard, we arrived at a very large building. The Third Elder welcomed me outside saying, ¡°Zhan Gong, you¡¯ve arrived. I¡¯ve already told the royal guard to go get your friends so they should be arriving soon.¡± I politely replied, ¡°Hello elder. Thank you for yesterday¡¯s hospitality. How is His Majesty the Nature Elf King?¡±+ ¡°Luckily you were there to treat him. Right now His Majesty has already recovered greatly. He¡¯s waiting for you inside the building.¡± ¡°Then we should quickly enter.¡± Following the Third Elder, I entered the room. This room is so gorgeous! The floor was made of an unfamiliar stone with 12 pillars surrounding the center. On the roof there was an engraving and in the middle of the room was an extremely large oval table. Arranged around the table were roughly 30 to 40 chairs. On top of the table there were many different fruits displayed. It seems like they had already prepared for this. The Nature Elf King was seated at the head seat. After seeing me, the Nature Elf King immediately stood up and said, ¡°Magister Wei, you¡¯ve arrived. Please take a seat.¡± The strength I had revealed yesterday could be seen by anyone with eyes so I didn¡¯t find it strange at all that they knew I was a magister. However, this was the first time anyone had addressed me like this. I wasn¡¯t used to it at all. He had me sit to the seat right beside him on his left. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you just call me Zhang Gong Your Majesty.¡± The Nature Elf King didn¡¯t take a sit down with me, rather he deeply bowed to me. ¡°I must first thank this powerful Magister¡¯s kindness for the aid you have given to my people as well as for saving my life.¡± As he walked towards me, I sprang up straight just before I sat down and said, ¡°By all means, you don¡¯t have to mention it. Aiding you all is what we ought to have done. We also need some aid from you all so it¡¯s just everyone mutually benefitting. That¡¯s all. No need to thank me. Besides, I¡¯m a person who likes peace. So I¡¯m very happy with being able to repel the Dark Elves assault without causing any deaths.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 38 Guidance to the Next Path Volume 3: Chapter 38 ¨C Guidance to the Next Path ¡°No matter how you say it, without your assistance, we would have suffered a genocide. We still have to thank you.¡± I thought to myself, ¡°This Elf King is far too polite; this is truly enough to tire me.¡± Suddenly, I thought of a bright idea. I whispered in voice only he could hear into his ear, ¡°If you truly want to thank me, then when I leave, you can send me off with all kinds of fruit wines. That will be enough.¡± Hearing my words, the Nature Elf King¡¯s complexion changed, and whispered to me equally as quiet, ¡°Magister Wei, yesterday your group drank half a year¡¯s worth of wine. I can only give you little more.¡± ¡°If it is difficult, then forget about it.¡± The Elf King smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Do you know how much money we could make if we sell our elven made wines to human nations? A small bottle can be sold for 10,000 diamond coins or higher. When you leave, I will give you a few bottles. Be sure to tell those countless elves wanting to be your friends that I have already gifted you, otherwise they¡¯ll all want me to¡­¡± I sent an understanding glance toward him and smiled. ¡°What made you two so happy?¡± Zhan Hu and everyone walked in a line and sat one by one to the right of me. I guiltily said, ¡°Big Brother, you all came. Just now, I was telling his Majesty a joke.¡± The Elf King said, ¡°Third Elder, since everyone is present, tell them all we know about the Holy Sword.¡± The Third Elder agreed and said, ¡°First, I, on behalf of the entire Nature Elven race, express sincere respect toward all of you. Thank you for assistance in allowing my race to survive through this crisis.¡± Zhan Hu laughed with a smile and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t thank us. If such a time ever comes again, all you would need is to give us a few more bottles of your hundred fruit wines.¡± Others one by one expressed their agreement. Even Dong Ri, who did not particularly like drinking, nodded. Sure enough, I gave the Elf King the correct answer. I had to cheat everyone this time for my delicious fruit wine. ¡°Let it go. Big Brother, yesterday we drank a whole year produced of wine. They don¡¯t have any more in stock.¡± The Elf King and I looked at each other with a mutual understanding. Zhan Hu disappointedly licked his lips and continued, ¡°Had I known yesterday, I would have drank a bit less.¡± I signaled Third Elder to continue. He continued, ¡°The Holy Sword, it is said to be the remaining weapon of the king of all gods long ago. It has the might to destroy the heavens and exterminate the earth. According to the ancient legends of my race, it should be within the Forest of Gods.¡± ¡°The Forest of Gods? I¡¯ve never heard of it before.¡± I asked in doubt. ¡°Right. That is how it should be. Since ancient times, Us Nature Elves have been named Emissaries of the Gods. That is why only we know of this secret. Actually, we¡¯ve seen many treasure hunters like yours. However, those who searched in the Forest of Gods are few. Even if you find the Forest of Gods, you would not be able to pass the boundary created by the gods. In all this time, not one had found the Holy Sword. You are the first group in three hundred years to hunt treasure here.¡± ¡°Boundary? We can¡¯t enter, even with our power?¡± The power of us six is enough to handle a small army. ¡°Your group¡¯s power is truly strong. When I was young, I have seen power not inferior to that of your group of humans, but they were not able to enter. It is said that to pass through this boundary, not only do you need strength, but you also need to receive the acknowledgement of the gods. This is all we know. As to how to enter the Forest of Gods, even we do not know this. However, it should not be too dangerous. You¡¯ll be able to drive away what comes. I originally believed that because of our strength that completing this mission shouldn¡¯t be hard, but I hadn¡¯t expect this to be so complicated. I bitterly smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for telling us this. So where is this Forest of Gods? We will go and try our luck.¡± The Third Elder smiled and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t worry. I feel that you are the kind of person that gives others an unusual feeling of intimacy. Although the time we¡¯ve known each other was not long, I am unable to not see you as a friend. The Gods should be fond of kindhearted people. In addition, you can also use light magic. Therefore the chances of the gods accepting you are quite high.¡± Hearing the Third Elder¡¯s Words, Xiu Si continued, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. Xing Ao, Gao De and I all feel this way. At the start, we were not particularly convinced of him. However, the longer we were together, the more reliable he became. Unconsciously, he already became our friend.¡± I looked at everyone. It really seems to be this way. I have no absolute enemies and people I spend little time with have exceptional confidence in me. Originally, I had believed this was because I was really handsome. But it turns out it was only because of my affinity with others. I was truly disappointed. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Everyone stop praising me. Third Elder please talk about the location of Forest of Gods.¡± The Third Elder chuckled, ¡°Actually, you are already in the Forest of Gods.¡± His words rendered us speechless. He continued on, ¡°We¡¯re only at its exterior. Where we are in the Elves¡¯ Forest is the Forest of the Gods exterior. Head deeper in and it will be the Forest of Gods.¡± Zhan Hu smiled and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, our luck is so great. After a small detour, we¡¯ll have to travel no further. Elder, we¡¯ll have to inconvenience you to bring us there.¡± Third Elder pondered, then said, ¡°A rule of our elven ancestors is troublingly to never approach a hundred kilometers of the Forest of Gods. I can only tell you it¡¯s approximate location. If you walk in the direction I told you, you should be able to find it.¡± ¡°That is also fine. Then we will now set off.¡± Just as I stood up to leave, I saw the Elf King wear a troubling expression. It seemed he wanted to say something. ¡°Your Majesty, do you want to say something else?¡± The Elf King gave an embarrassed smile and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Although this time the Dark Elves retreated, I still fear¡­¡± I suddenly realized they still feared another attack. This was a true problem. I scratched my head. Ah that¡¯s right, it was like that. I took a book out of my dimensional pocket and handed it over to the Elf King and said, ¡°This is a book of light elementary and intermediate spells I wrote myself. There are many small spells I created inside. Have your elven soldiers learn them well. With their elven innate magic, they should be able to grasp it quickly. This way you do not have to fear them.¡± The Elf King took the book and looked through it, saying, ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem right. These are magic illustrations.¡± ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry, I gave the wrong one.¡± I immediately switched books. Oh that¡¯s right, I still hadn¡¯t studied this book¡¯s magic. I should look at it when I have the time. (Actually, the magic within is a subject of extraordinarily profound knowledge. When the Child of Light comes across his greatest difficulty, he discovered what a mistake it was to not learn that magic earlier.) Volume 3: Chapter 39 The Forest of Gods Volume 3: Chapter 39 ¨C The Forest of Gods Dusk, outside of the Forest of Gods. ¡°Peng!¡± With that sound, a halo of light burst forth and filled the sky. Seven days ago, the Third Elder smoothly guided us to God¡¯s Barrier. During this week, we lost count of the many methods we had used to attempt to break through this barrier. We used magical attacks, battle spirit attacks, combined attacks and penetrating attacks (all on the same place) and still we failed. ¡°I don¡¯t have any more strength. It seems like we don¡¯t have any hopes of doing it today either.¡± After firing off two rank 8 spells, I sat down beside Zhan Hu in exhaustion. Xiu Si wrinkled his eyebrows and said, ¡°Could it be that this is truly a barrier created by the Gods? Even with all of our attacks, we were unable to harm it in the slightest. It truly is too frightening.¡± Xing Ao furiously replied, ¡°I refuse to believe that! I¡¯ll go try again.¡± As he said this, he concentrated his battle spirit into his knight¡¯s sword and released a powerful slash. ¡°Peng!¡± Needless to say, the barrier rebounded again. This barrier was transparent and whenever it faced an attack, it would release seven brilliant colors of light. We didn¡¯t know how much strength it had. I estimated that a forbidden spell wouldn¡¯t be able to penetrate it. I muttered, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we truly have to give up? What face would I have left if I have to tell Teacher Di that I left this mountain of treasure empty handed?¡± Dong Ri walked to my side and consoled me, ¡°Don¡¯t think too hard about it. A sincere heart is most effective. Let¡¯s just rest for today and continue tomorrow.¡± Dong Ri¡¯s words moved me and I eagerly asked him, ¡°What did you just say?¡± Dong Ri stared at me blankly and said, ¡°I said that we should rest first and continue tomorrow! What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it. The part before it.¡± ¡°Before that I told you not to think about it too hard. A sincere heart is most effective.¡± ¡°Yes, yes ,yes! That¡¯s the part. A sincere heart is most effective. A sincere heart is most effective¡­ Could it be that the method we are using is wrong?¡± After hearing my words, Xiu Si¡¯s eyes also began to shine. ¡°That¡¯s right! Could it be that we aren¡¯t supposed to attack it but rather appease it? I thought about it and said, ¡°Forget about it. We¡¯ll just leave it be for today. Everyone¡¯s already exhausted so we¡¯ll have a good rest first, and then we¡¯ll carefully study it tomorrow.¡± We laid down on a bed of spread tree leaves and looked at the sky¡¯s stars. How do we break through this indestructible barrier? Strength won¡¯t work. Softness of a sincere heart, what method of sincerity would work? These thoughts continued to flash through my mind, causing me to toss in bed, unable to sleep. Forget about it. I couldn¡¯t sleep anyway, so I¡¯ll meditate. I¡¯ll replenish my magic power as soon as possible and think about it tomorrow. I gradually concentrated my mind on my Gold Dan. I felt fully relaxed and sensed the surrounding light elements. Much of the bright full moon¡¯s light gathered towards me. I thought to myself, ¡®Beloved friends, come. I need you.¡¯ Following the arrival of the light elements, the Gold Dan gradually enriched itself. An unknown amount of time had passed and my Gold Dan had already replenished its energy. This feeling of fullness is truly comfortable. I opened my eyes. The day had just dawned. Everyone was still dreaming. I walked by myself to the edge of the barrier and lightly stroked the indestructible barrier with my hand. I sighed to myself ten million times. After a year of effort, we finally reached here but to stop now was unbearable. As I watched the lush forest on the other side of the barrier, my mind gradually became more and more tranquil. Ah, what a beautiful scene. At that moment, the barrier¡¯s energies suddenly fluctuated where I placed my hand. Could it be that¡­.? I probed the barrier while thinking of beauty and peace. Prudently, I began inserting some of my spiritual power. In response to my spiritual power, the barrier¡¯s energy began trembling again before it unexpectedly began to gradually accept my spiritual power. A warm benevolent voice resounded from the bottom of my heart, giving me a fright. ¡°Who dares to disturb my eternal rest?¡± Could it be that that barrier is actually alive? I telepathically replied to the barrier, ¡°Hello, I accidently disturbed your peace. I came here in search of the Holy Sword.¡± ¡°Holy Sword? Child, it has been a long time since anyone has come here. I advise you to stop your search for it here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I have sensed the goodness in your heart. I don¡¯t want to see you throw your life away.¡± ¡°This is the mission that my teacher has entrusted to me. Regardless of how difficult it is, I must go complete it. I beseech of you, please allow me to enter.¡± It took half a day for him to give me a reply. ¡°Grandpa Barrier, is it alright?¡± ¡°Fine then. It¡¯s very dangerous inside. There are three difficulties that you must pass. Each one is harder than the one before, so you must be careful. You and your friends can enter then. All of you must look after each other and in the case that you are unable to pass the ordeal, you must by all means not stay any longer and withdraw quickly. Don¡¯t sacrifice your own life in vain.¡± ¡°Alright. Thank you Grandpa Barrier.¡± It seems that addressing him this way made him really happy. I didn¡¯t know how lucky I actually was. First of all, this barrier was setup by the God of Creation and unknown number of years ago. Any evil or violent powers were all stopped by it. After I my accidental display of benevolence, I had unexpectedly awoken this un-named ¡°Grandpa Barrier¡±. Secondly, in my discussion with Grandpa Barrier, my resolute conviction allowed me to obtain his admiration. This was crucial to me winning over Grandpa Barrier. If I hadn¡¯t been able to obtain his permission, it would have been impossible for me to enter this barrier. I returned to everyone¡¯s side and shouted, ¡°Get up everybody! Quickly get up everybody!¡± Pushing this and shaking that, everybody finally wobbled awake. Xing Ao said with sleepy eyes, ¡°What is it Zhang Gong? Let me sleep some more. It isn¡¯t even bright out yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. What are doing so early?¡± Discontent voices resounded throughout the camp. I smiled and suddenly said with a loud voice, ¡°I found a way to enter the barrier.¡± Xiu Si was the first to recover after I startled everybody. ¡°Really? We can really enter the barrier?¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯re able to enter the barrier. Now hurry up and get up you lazy slobs. We¡¯re going now.¡± Dong Ri let out a happy squeal and leaped up. ¡°Zhang Gong, how did you do it?¡± I explained how I connected with the barrier and the events following that. ¡°Zhang Gong, we don¡¯t know how long this barrier has been here. I suppose that it was created by the gods. It seems that your luck is outrageously good. Let¡¯s go. Otherwise that elder will change his mind.¡± ¡°Hehe. No need to pull. Let¡¯s go.¡± Everyone once again arrived in front of the barrier. After placing their hands on it, everyone began transmitting respectful, peaceful and warm feelings. Suddenly, the barrier began disappearing from where their hands where. We all looked at each other in dismay while simultaneously cheering. We all deeply bowed towards the place where the barrier was before, then afterwards we headed inwards with lightning speed. Volume 3: Chapter 40 Forest Giants Volume 3: Chapter 40 ¨C Forest Giants Finally we entered. Everyone had a feeling of clarity. By dawn, we had already ventured about 3 to 4 kilometers into the Forest of Gods. ¡°Everyone slow down. Grandpa Barrier said there were dangers here.¡± I urged everyone to be careful. We were surrounded by trees that reached the sky. Was the holy sword really here? ¡°Everyone wait a moment. It seems there is danger.¡± I suddenly felt an air of danger. No, it should be said that Xiao Jin felt danger and then told me. Do we dare approach something that could even frighten Xiao Jin? We unanimously agreed to look around but we didn¡¯t find anything. However, the feeling of danger Xiao Jin passed on to me grew more intense. Zhan Hu pointed at a meadow and suddenly said, ¡°That¡¯s abnormal. Take a careful look at the ground.¡± Looking at where his finger pointed, the ground was covered in grass and there was nothing abnormal about it. However, observing it carefully, it almost seemed the short grass was slightly trembling. No, it really was slightly trembling! The experienced Xiu Si lay flat on his stomach with his ear pressed against the ground. I hastily asked, ¡°How is it?¡± Xiu Si waved his hand in the air wanting me to stop bothering him. After a short moment, Xiu Si jumped up from the ground, and with a pale face said, ¡°Not good, it seems there are unknown creatures approaching us from all directions. From the sounds, I can roughly determine there is still a distance of two kilometers between us. I fear their size is not small as their footsteps are quite heavy.¡± Dong Ri frightfully said, ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Everyone was lost in thought. Big Brother Zhan Hu resolutely said, ¡°Let¡¯s find an area relatively crowded with trees. We can¡¯t let them attack us from all directions. It seems they¡¯ve already surrounded us so all we can do now is hope for them to be weak.¡± Zhan Hu¡¯s proposal obtained everyone¡¯s unanimous approval. We quickly found a small area tightly surrounded by trees. Xiu Si suggested, ¡°When they come, everyone should form a small circle and individually block the gaps. Zhang Gong, you should fire magic from the center.¡± ¡°Alright, Dong Ri¡¯s skill is also different and will be in the center. Xing Ao and Xiu Si should form a group with Big Brother and Gao De in another. Everyone supports each other.¡± As we finished planning, we could already hear the sound of those distinct footsteps. Our hearts were pounding. What were they? Eventually we saw them. Everyone could not help but look at each other in dismay and swallow a breath of cold air. Rows of closely packed giants walked toward us. They were not small in number. They looked as if they were carved out of a mold. They had a height of about two and half meters. Their whole bodies were made of stone. From the gap in the trees, they steadily approached us step by step. As they drew near we could hear them repeat, ¡°Eliminate the intruders. Eliminate the intruders.¡± No way! This is too frightening. What are those things? Stone Giants? As they approached us, Zhan Hu let out a long whistle and we prepared to attack. During this desperate moment, my mind was extraordinarily clear. ¡°We cannot die like this, passively defending until the last man. We don¡¯t know how many there are and there is no longer a path of retreat. We should rush towards the depths of the forest. Big Brother and Xiu Si should open up a path in front. Xing Ao and Gao De will guard our rear. Dong Ri and I will support from the middle.¡± The stone giants were already in front of us. I shouted at once, ¡°Everyone, charge!¡± Big Brother Zhang Hu took the lead. With longsword in hand, he used battle spirit to send out a white ray of light toward the giants in front. The giants lifted their arms in an attempt to resist his attack. Could they really block Big Brother, whose skill neared the level of a radiant knight? White light flashed. ¡°Ka cha¡± the sound of snapping. The stone giants were split in two by Zhan Hu and fell to halves in concert. Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s bold and powerful strike greatly improved our morale. Xiu Si used a similar technique to break apart a giant. ¡°Light Elements, my friends, form a shield of light and resist the enemy¡¯s invasion.¡± I immediately exert a shield of light for everyone and in passing I used light elements to send a blade of energy to dispose of a giant behind us. Like that, we sank into a hard battle. I was the busiest. There were still quite a lot ahead of us. Big Brother and Xiu Si¡¯s powerful battle spirit rapidly disposed of seven to eight of the stone giants. However, our rear and sides were much more dangerous. After all as Gao De and Xing Ao skills were a bit lacking, it was difficult to support the rear defense. This won¡¯t do. At this speed, it is simply impossible to rush through this army of giants. I called out within my mind, ¡°Xiao Jin, help.¡± Without warning, Xiao Jin¡¯s majestic figure appeared in front of everyone. His appearance immediately dwarfed the tall image of the giants. Xiao Jin let out a sky shaking dragon¡¯s roar and spout out white dragon¡¯s breath from his large mouth. He immediately cleared a passage of about five meters wide. I violently bellowed, ¡°Xiao Jin opened up a path! Everyone break through their rear!¡± Xiao Jin¡¯s formidable physical attacks had great effect. With only the sweeps of his tail and swipes of his claws, the surrounding stone giants were completely overpowered. Naturally at the same time, I could feel Xiao Jin¡¯s magic power quickly deplete. Everyone defended me at the center while following Xiao Jin¡¯s lightning fast forward charge. I continuously sent magic power through the connection between Xiao Jin and me. Had Xiao Jin already completely matured, we would have been able to mount his back and fly away. It was a pity that currently, he could only carry the weight of two people at most. Even if Xiu Si and Zhan Hu could persist by flying out, there would be two graves left behind. This was something that none of us could accept. Also, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily succeed. Therefore, no one had bothered to suggest as such. The seconds and minutes passed as one after another, Stone Giants were smashed by our formidable strength. Our deadly rush had already traveled at least a kilometer. However, the surrounding stone giants did not appear to have lessened one bit. Although the strength of my magic power had increased by a bit, the burden of Xiao Jin¡¯s requirements over this long length of time had gradually exhausted me. Xiao Jin was currently riddled with wounds. His movements were already no longer as vigorous and lively as the beginning. Panting roughly for air, he could only barely struggle to maintain the front line. The others were also in dire condition. Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s sword had snapped and he was at present painfully supporting himself with a branch. Apart from me, everyone had all suffered heavy wounds. To continue in this fashion, would have everyone leave a grave behind. ¡°Dong Ri, Gao De, Xing Ao, all of you mount Xiao Jin, use your spirit to lighten your body. Big Brother and Xiu Si, fly up. I¡¯ll endure for a time. All of you, quickly go!¡± Zhan Hu used all of his might to chop down a stone giant and madly roared, ¡°Out of the question! I definitely cannot leave you alone without a care.¡± I furiously said, ¡°Quickly, leave! Don¡¯t tell me you want this place to be our grave?¡± Volume 3: Chapter 41 Fortunate Passage Volume 3: Chapter 41 ¨C Fortunate Passage I gathered what little magic power I had left and began to chant, ¡°Oh Light Elements, my great friends, I request of you, use your power to become an endless radiance and transform into little stars, annihilate the enemies before you.¡± This was my strongest large scale attack spell, rank 8 light magic, Bright Stars¡¯ Shine. Although it was daytime, I could still see specks of white light gathering toward me. It surrounded my body, turning into a ball of golden light; I slowly floated from the ground. When I floated about five meters off the ground, the ball of light suddenly burst and released golden starlight amongst the wide expanse. The stone giants within a hundred meters were completely enveloped by the starlight. As it passed through their solid bodies, open cavities were left behind. The stone giants within 100 meters were completely annihilated. This had created a brief moment of safety. While I was in the air, I spat out a mouthful of blood from my excessive use of magic power and dropped down. A golden light flashed and Xiao Jin caught me on his back. A hundred meters away, I saw the stone giants slowly approaching. I shouted through clenched teeth, ¡°Xiao Jin, use the last of your power and bring everyone away, quickly!¡± Xiao Jin let out a sound of lament, clearly unwilling to leave me. Everyone had already come over and crowded around. Everyone was injured, we bitterly smiled at one another. I urgently said, ¡°Quickly leave! Otherwise it¡¯ll be too late.¡± Zhan Hu smiled, saying, ¡°Foolish Little Brother, do you think we still have the strength to fly out? I¡¯m afraid your magic beast is also unable to carry anyone. Look at his wing.¡± Sure enough, Xiao Jin¡¯s left wing had a large wound. It seems he could not fly. Distressed, I said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me everyone wants this place to be their grave? Blame me. Blame me for having you follow me. Blame me for not listening to Grandpa Barrier¡¯s words and having everyone be buried with me. I am unworthy of you. If I had you leave at the beginning perhaps you still would have been able to escape.¡± Remorseful tears flowed down my cheeks. Xing Ao scolded, ¡°Enough. Zhang Gong, we are all good brothers. Although we could live together, is dying together so bad? We¡¯ll just organize another Brilliant Battle Squadron in the afterlife and sweep across the world of ghosts.¡± With this said, he tightly grasped my hand. Xiu Si said, ¡°Xing Ao is correct. We are forever brothers. Besides, you did nothing wrong.¡± Xiao Jin lowered his body and licked me with his tongue. Closing his eyes, he snuggled against me. It is clear that he wanted to die together with me. Everyone joined hands together. A strong sense of companionship filled our hearts. We saw the stone giants have already reached 50 meters of us, all of them announcing the declaration of certain death. At this time, resistance was already meaningless. Nobody spoke a word more and waited together for death to arrive. The giants gradually grew closer. 40 meters¡­ 30 meters¡­ 20 meters¡­ 10 meters¡­ 5 meters¡­ We glanced at each other, then we closed our eyes. Not a minute had passed. Baffled, I thought, ¡®How am I still not dead? I am not afraid of death. The others were trembling as they waited for death.¡¯ Unable to bear the impatience, I opened my eyes. I was stunned by the scene before me. It was the same as if we had just entered the Forest of Gods. How dense. How beautiful. The environment was filled with ancient trees that reached the sky. However, the bloodthirsty giants disappeared without a sound. If everyone no longer had the same injuries as before, perhaps I could then reason I was no longer alive. Similarly, they could no longer wait and one by one everyone opened their eyes. They were all stunned by the scene before them. After quite a while, we finally reacted. We simultaneously roared from the joy of escaping mortal danger. I loudly yelled, ¡°We aren¡¯t dead! We aren¡¯t dead!¡± Xiao Jin turned into a gold light and returned to my body. ¡°What is going on? How did those giants disappear?¡± ¡°Could it be their time ended?¡± ¡°Regardless, nobody died. It is as such.¡± We all sat on the floor and leaned against the large trees. With my mind cleared, I said, ¡°The most important thing right now is to immediately recover our strength.¡± Xiu Si took out the rations and water while I took out some medical supplies from my dimensional pocket. Everyone bound their wounds, ate their respective rations and dizzily lied down. We were extremely tired. Not knowing how long we slept, we all woke up. Everyone¡¯s strength recovered a bit. I also felt much more comfortable. It was already late. We had finished eating our rations and sat around the open fire. I broke the silence first, ¡°It would be better to not advance. Let¡¯s travel back.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°No way. We all traveled here with much difficulty. We absolutely cannot give up halfway.¡± ¡°However, I do not want anyone to continue accompanying me on my adventure. You should all go back. I¡¯ll complete my mission by myself.¡± Xiu Si angrily said, ¡°Zhang Gong, who do you take us for? Are we really so fearful of death? Is there anyone here who here wishes to leave?¡± Xing Ao loudly said, ¡°Xiu Si words are right. We aren¡¯t shirking cowards.¡± I looked to the left and then to the right. To my surprise, no one was willing to leave. I sighed and stood up. Then I deeply bowed towards everyone. ¡°Thank you all. You are my greatest brothers.¡± Emotional tears flowed down. Dong Ri also stood and embraced my shoulders, ¡°Zhang Gong, what are you doing? We are all brothers. Besides, we too want to witness the holy sword.¡± Zhan Hu broke the heavy mood and changed the subject, saying, ¡°We should plan our next move.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°I feel that everyone should first recover from their injuries and reach their peak condition. Then we will continue onward. This way, it will be a bit safer.¡± I nodded, ¡°Right. I think so too. We still don¡¯t know what other dangers lie ahead.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°I also agree. We should cut down the surrounding trees to make an encirclement. Then we¡¯ll take turns keeping watch. Everyone else will go to sleep.¡± After ten days of rest and organization, everyone had finally recovered to their peak condition. After my previous exertion, Xiao Jin seems to mature a bit. He could already absorb a bit of energy from the world. With this, he can accompany me in battles for a longer period of time. The gold sphere in my body felt more stable than before. It flashed a pure gold inside my body. My magic mimicry attacks (Spells in which I directly use magic power to transform it into my intended form without incantations are called magic mimicry attacks) were much easier to use than before. It seems I have improved. Teacher Di was right, only with continuous temperament could I obtain even greater progress. Volume 3: Chapter 42- Looking for the Holy Sword Volume 3: Chapter 42- Looking for the Holy Sword Everyone changed to a different extent. Dong Ri¡¯s progress was especially fast. Many had assumed that his strength was the weakest. Everyone could give him pointers. I felt that during the fight for life or death with the stone giants, Dong Ri fully realized what he was lacking. He humbly asked everyone for their guidance. After only ten days of tireless diligence, he had felt as if he had shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones. His strength had already caught up to Gao De and Xing Ao. Everyone packed up to continue the treasure hunt. After three days passed without an incident, the Forest of Gods seemed to be endless. I froze in my tracks as I felt a slight fluctuation in magic. ¡°Everyone wait, there¡¯s a magic fluctuation nearby.¡± Taking out our weapons, I stood in the center with a wry smile, ¡°It won¡¯t be the same as last time right?¡± Although everyone kept silent, I knew that fear still persisted in our hearts from the last encounter with the stone giants. I didn¡¯t get an answer. With my eyes closed, I focused my Gold Dan and used it to search for the source of the magic fluctuation. Everyone kept a tight formation as they followed me northwest. The closer we got, the greater the intensity of the magic. It somehow gave off a feeling of peacefulness. Walking along, we encounter a tall mountain. With confidence I said, ¡°It¡¯s definitely this mountain. Let¡¯s take a look.¡± Ancient trees towered around us. We cautiously approached the base of the mountain. Surprisingly, the base contained nothing but grass. Even the trees did not exist within 50 meters of the mountain. Looking at it, it was just a normal mountain. There wasn¡¯t even a hermit¡¯s cave in it, yet I still felt that the fluctuation of magic came from here. I instructed everyone to encircle me as I sat down cross-legged. I focused my spirit, using it to seek out the source of the magical energy. It seems that the wave after wave of magical energy was being released from the heart of the mountain. I stood up, with a frown I said, ¡°The magical energy is definitely coming from the mountain, but there isn¡¯t a single cave here.¡± With a pat on my shoulder, Zhan Hu said ¡°Let¡¯s circle around the mountain, see if we find anything new.¡± Since no other options were available, I nodded. We spent two days checking every possible area that might lead to an entrance, but we couldn¡¯t even find a single crack. In the end we arrived back to the meadows at the front of the mountain. Everyone¡¯s spirits were worn out. I was anxious, but there didn¡¯t seem to be a solution. I paced back and forth on the grass. Suddenly I felt that the middle of the meadow was different from the edge. I briskly walked towards the edge of the meadow to confirm my gut feeling. The edge of the meadow was very soft, almost as if it was the same as the floor of a forest. However, the meadow had an area in the center about ten square meters that was very hard. Could it be¡­? I couldn¡¯t help but feel a burst of enlightenment from within my heart. ¡°Everyone, I think I¡¯ve found it.¡± Hearing what I said, everyone rushed over. Xing Ao impatiently said, ¡°What did you find Zhang Gong?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing at first glance, but this area is especially hard. Something is definitely underneath.¡± Everyone exchanged glances at what I had said before they took out their weapons and began clearing the knee-deep grass. Soon the grass within a 10 meter radius was cleared. A magic hexagram with strange patterns was now visible. It seems that the grass grew from the cracks of the patterns. Since I was the only one who knew magic, everyone looked my way with expectant eyes. Smiling, I said, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, this is teleportation magic, but even I don¡¯t know where it teleports to.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°Then let¡¯s give it a try, maybe it will warp us to the Holy Sword.¡± With an awkward smile I said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to use it. I learned light magic, but I haven¡¯t really learned much teleportation magic.¡± Gao De asked in shock, ¡°Then what do want us to do? Are we supposed to leave this mountain of treasure empty handed?¡± Smiling, I said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even though I never used it, I still have a way of finding out how.¡± With this said, I took out the book Teacher Di gave me from my dimensional pocket. ¡°Don¡¯t worry everyone. You should first take a rest. I¡¯ll go investigate.¡± Everyone looked at each other with a bitter smile. In a pessimistic tone, Big Brother Zhan Hu said, ¡°It won¡¯t be possible to learn it in such short moment.¡± Scratching my head, I said, ¡°There¡¯s not much we can do, might as well try something. With brother¡¯s creativeness, we will definitely succeed. Haha¡­¡± Everybody went quiet. If it wasn¡¯t for this sliver of hope, I was afraid a fight was going to break out. With a forced laugh I started to look for information regarding the magic hexagram using the book. Although I said that we might as well try something, this was the first time I seriously tried using the book. Even though I was quite lazy as a child, I was still able to understand it. At the start, my goal was to decipher the magic from the book, but as I kept reading, I wasn¡¯t able to stop, it expanded my horizon of what I could do with magic. I was completely immersed in a sea of magic. This book was densely packed with everything from the principles of magic spells to the applications in real combat. It was simply a priceless treasure. Not only was the language exceptionally concise, it had only needed a few sentences to introduce the principles of magic. All of the book was written in this way. Magic arrays, as the name implies, uses the battle arrays to set up various kinds of elements as its base. With a complex magic array, it was possible to have the elements resonate with nature and cast spells that were impossible to cast without them. Magic arrays normally include: barrier, teleportation, amplification, support, and unique magic. The higher the rank was of a magic array, the more that was demanded of the user as well as the complexity of the magic array. Volume 3: Chapter 43 The Secret Cave Adventure Volume 3: Chapter 43 ¨C The Secret Cave Adventure No one disturbed me, while I had been exceptionally focused on my studies. Aside from eating and sleeping, I spent nearly ten hours every day studying. At last, after three days of arduous struggling, I had a basic understanding of the contents of the book. In other words, I had grasped the basics of magic arrays. I comfortably stretched my body and said, ¡°I¡¯m finally finished. I¡¯m so tired.¡± I stood up and began moving my body, after all, it had been three days since I had last exercised my body. Everyone came over and crowded around. Zhan Hu asked, ¡°How about it? Have you found a way through?¡± ¡°The book didn¡¯t have any information about this specific magic array.¡± I said, embarrassed. Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Xing Ao said, ¡°Impossible. Then we really have stop here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry everyone. Although I can¡¯t tell you the specifics of this magic array, I reckon the use of this magic array should be similar enough. Let¡¯s test it out.¡± I made everyone disperse first before walking into the center of the magic array¡¯s hexagram. After reading the book, I knew that a magic array requires a large amount of magic power from a magic source to activate. The most crucial point is that the mage must have enough mana to completely satisfy the needs of the magic array, otherwise the magic array won¡¯t activate and would even bring harm to the mage. Fortunately, my magic as a magister should be sufficient. ¡°This magic array has long existed since ancient times. By using my magic as a medium, I¡¯ll be able to open it.¡± The book had said that a magic array¡¯s core was at its center. I collected light elements into my right hand and, with an incantation, poured them into the core of the array. The array¡¯s core was like a bottomless pit, quickly swallowing my magic power. Dim golden rays of light rose from the huge magic array. I did my utmost to hasten the condensation of the surrounding light elements into my golden sphere, and unceasingly inserted it into the core. However, my magic power continued to weaken with the intensity of the insertion. The magic array¡¯s golden shape grew increasingly brilliant. Right as the oil, which was fueling my lamp, was about to dry up, the magic array ceased absorbing my magic power. The moment I released a giant sigh of relief, an unprecedentedly dazzling radiance burst forth from the array. Seeing this, I knew that the magic array was about to activate so I shouted to the others, ¡°Quickly! Everyone quickly enter the hexagram! The array is about to activate.¡± I immediately began running towards one of the corners of the hexagram because I knew that only the six corners of the hexagram provided the greatest amount of protection against the magical array. The group¡¯s shadows parted, flashing to the other five corners of the hexagram. Just as we stepped on, we felt the sky spin. The magic array¡¯s golden rays of light faded away with us into the air. Whoosh. We all fell onto the floor at the same time. Thanks to the gold light we could see a bit of our surroundings in the pitch black darkness. ¡®We should be in the belly of the mountain.¡¯ The gold light in the center began to grow dimmer and dimmer before we were suddenly enveloped within complete darkness. ¡°Everyone don¡¯t move yet. Stay on guard while I recover my magic power for a bit. Then we¡¯ll continue forward.¡± ¡°Light elements, my friends, I beseech of you to illuminate the earth.¡± This was the first spell I had ever learned, illumination. A light sparked from my hand and the environment shone as if it were day. I first saw everyone sitting in a single circle around me. Nobody had completely adapted to the dazzling light yet. The cave was as tall as two people and about five meters wide. The area ahead was so dark, we could not tell how deep it reached. The entire cave¡¯s walls and floors were abnormally smooth. It was obviously polished. Everyone began cautiously surveying the surroundings. Xiu Si said, ¡°It seems that we¡¯re in the belly of the mountain. The Holy Sword should be in here.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu said, ¡°Everyone be cautious. Xiu Si and I will lead the way. Zhang Gong will be at the center. Gao De, Xing Ao and Dong Ri will be in the back. Let¡¯s go.¡± We kept formation as we walked onward. The illumination was only able to light up 10 meters ahead, so we treaded carefully forward. However, there seemed to be no end. We had already walked for an unknown amount of time and the circumstances had not changed one bit. ¡°Wait a moment everyone.¡± I felt that there was something wrong with the situation so I had everyone halt. I took my magic staff out of my dimensional bag and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know if my feeling is right, but I think we¡¯re going in circles. I¡¯ll leave behind this seal and we¡¯ll see if we come across it again later.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°I feel the same. Let¡¯s hasten our pace.¡± We sped forward. Sure enough, in approximately half the time, we returned to where I had placed my magic staff. I picked up my staff from the ground and scowled.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°What are we going to do? Could it be that this is a labyrinth? I said, ¡°No, this shouldn¡¯t be a labyrinth. It seems we still haven¡¯t found the crucial location. There should be some kind of mechanism.¡± With this said, I sat cross legged on the ground and released my spiritual energy to look for a way out. I felt my surroundings were made up of entirely impermeable mountain rock. Only the ground seemed to be hollow. I stood up and had everyone stand apart. I pointed to the ground and said, ¡°The ground is contrastingly empty. Let¡¯s try and see if we can break a hole through.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu said, ¡°I will.¡± He waved his knights sword and slashed with white battle spirit toward the ground. Bang. Dust filled the air. Before the dust had even settled, the entire cave began shaking. I shouted, ¡°This isn¡¯t good! Everyone gather here quickly and concentrate your powers.¡± After everyone gathered around me, I cast a protective cover on all of us. In return, they all used their battle spirits to form a formidable energy cover. Right as they finished forming their energy covers, the floor beneath our feet crumbled away. We all fell into the bottomless abyss together. Not knowing how far we dropped, the energy cover eventually hit the ground. Hong. The energy cover holding the six of us shattered and everyone scattered. The formidable impact made us all receive varying concussions, knocking us all out I felt myself completely sink into a dark vortex. My surroundings had many vague things revolving around me. The feeling of dizziness circled around me. Suddenly a warm voice called out to me, ¡°Child. Come back. Don¡¯t give up. Come back!¡± A warm power surrounded me and the spinning surroundings gradually slowed down. Soon after, everything faded away and once again, I sunk into the darkness. Yet, my mind was gradually recovering. Volume 3: Chapter 44 Tale of the Gods Volume 3: Chapter 44 ¨C Tale of the Gods It hurt so much. It felt like my entire body was crushed. Although my body was feeling great pain, the warmth was very comfortable. A wave of warm energy comforted me and restored my damaged body. What was this? I slowly opened my eyes and was stunned by the sight before me. I was inside an extraordinarily large shrine with many statues of gods. The floor spanned at least 10,000 square meters and the roof was over a hundred meters tall. Many large precious stones were embedded in the ceiling and walls. The main hall shone as if it were daytime. What a grand building! We were all completely covered in light. It seems that they still hadn¡¯t woken up and that the warm energy came from the covering of light. I tried to move, but was met with an unbearable pain. My body spasmed with pain. I tried to scream out in pain, but my voice just did not come out. When I panicked, I fainted again. I don¡¯t know how much time passed before I woke up. Dong Ri¡¯s voice sounded in my ear. ¡°Zhang Gong has awakened!¡± I opened my eyes and realized that everyone was surrounding me. I moved my body, which already did not hurt anymore. It looks like that light had treated my wound. ¡°How is everyone?¡± I weakly asked. ¡°No problem, everyone is fine.¡± Dong Ri answered. I smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great! It seems like we are in a God¡¯s shrine. This should be our destination. Have you found the Holy Sword?¡± Xing Ao said, ¡°We just woke up not long ago and roughly surveyed the area, but we have not found it. Dong Ri helped me up. I inhaled deeply before checking my body¡¯s condition. My magic power had fully recovered. How did that happen? Did that light change my body? I hurriedly asked the team, ¡°Do you feel like something is different?¡± Gao De said, ¡°Yes, really different. It looks like my body has changed a lot. My six senses have increased greatly. However, my skills are still the same as before, but I feel that if I continue to train, my speed of improvement will increase greatly.¡± Zhang Hu nodded his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I feel the same. It is as though I have shed my mortal body and exchanged my bones.¡± Just as I was about to say something, a benevolent voice suddenly resounded throughout the whole shrine. ¡°I welcome you all, kind children.¡± It was a familiar voice. We looked around at our surroundings, but we still could not figure out where the voice was coming from. The voice seemed to be coming from all directions at the same time. The benevolent voice echoed again, ¡°Stop searching. You will never find me. Otherwise, did you forgot who let you all in?¡± Ah~ I remembered. I softly said, ¡°Are you the grandpa barrier?¡± ¡°Haha, you remembered. However, I am not the grandpa barrier. Actually, to you, I should be called the God King.¡± His words dumbfounded us. Dong Ri stuttered and said, ¡°G-G-God King?¡± ¡°Correct. Could it be that you thought you would be able to breakthrough my barrier without my permission?¡± We actually met a god. If that is the case, would he blame us for searching for him to obtain his Holy Sword? That should not be the case as the previous light was definitely released by him. If he had intended to harm us, he wouldn¡¯t have saved us. However, I can¡¯t be too complacent. I should be more vigilant. Thinking this, I said, ¡°God King, we are here to find the Holy Sword. If you do not wish for us to obtain the Holy Sword, we will leave immediately. I just beg for you to let everyone else go. I shall shoulder the blame.¡± Everyone heard what I said and began to comment angrily. Zhan Hu said, ¡°No! If someone must be blamed, you should blame me instead. I am the eldest here. They are here under my encouragement.¡± Everyone else also pulled the blame back onto themselves. At this moment, the God King did not say anything. It was as if he was admiring our argument. I shouted, ¡°Stop fighting! You are here because of me. You are my best brothers and friends. I will definitely not allow you to be harmed for my sake.¡± That benevolent voice echoed again, ¡°Children, stop fighting. You are all good children and are not in the wrong. You were heavily tested before you arrived here. As you entered the God¡¯s forest, you were all tested on your bravery, power, wisdom and temperament. If you had not passed, you would not have been able to come here.¡± ¡°That is to say, then, that you agree to bestow the Holy Sword upon us?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so anxious Zhang Gong. Let me tell you all a story first.¡± We all lifted our heads and quietly listened to the God King¡¯s story. ¡°A long time ago, on this world, there was an extremely powerful race. They possessed wisdom, as great as that of the humans. It is not known how they were born because it happened too long ago. After generations of evolution, their race was really strong. As they were immortal, they lost their ability to reproduce. The total number of the clan remained at about three hundred. They were kind hearted, pure. They were also a species that loved all that is beautiful. They were known as the God Clan by later generations.¡± After hearing this, I couldn¡¯t help but let out an ¡°Ahhh.¡± The God King continued to say, ¡°In the whole world¡¯s surface, there were only 300 of them. It was really extremely lonely. After researching, they created all kinds of new species to coexist with them. In that way, they thought that they could brighten and beautify the world. They continued to create the highly intelligent human race, freedom loving demon race, kind hearted Nature Elves, simple and sincere dwarves, power loving giant race, and the powerful dragon race. All of the races had their own good points. A swarm of races all over the continents unceasingly appeared, forming a flourishing scene. The God Clan became an object of reverence for all of the other clans, thus having an eminent position among them.¡± The God King stopped speaking for a while, before saying, ¡°Just when the whole world was filled with beauty, peace and harmony, out of nowhere, an evil clan emerged. They are known as the Monster Clan. They had a lot of powers that were not from the God¡¯s Clan. Moreover, their numbers were large. Their mind set was full of thoughts for invasion, to terrorize, kill and steal. When they appeared in the world, they killed many races. Under the God Clan¡¯s leadership, all of the clans formed an alliance to fight against the Monster Clan¡¯s invasion.¡± At this moment, the God king looked to really be in pain. It was as though he had returned to that moment pervaded by smoke. Volume 3: Chapter 45 Gods Mission Volume 3: Chapter 45 ¨C God¡¯s Mission ¡°What was the outcome?¡¯¡¯ I asked anxiously. The benevolent voice resounded once again, ¡°Children, do not be anxious and listen to my words carefully. The Monster Clan was very strong, with number greater than the God Clan¡¯s. However, the combined allied races exceeded the Monster Clan. It was only after the brave sacrifices of many warriors from the various allied races with the God Clan that the flames of the Monster Clan¡¯s rampage were suppressed. Under the leadership of the God Clan, all of the clans launched a final attack against the Monster Clan and finally annihilated them. The Leader of the God Clan and the King of the Monster Clan also fought against each other, resulting in both suffering serious injuries. However, the God Clan¡¯s Leader still managed to seal the Monster King. After the battle, only a few members of the God Clan survived. All of the allied clans involved in the battle suffered great repercussions, especially the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Clan was extremely formidable when first created, so their reproduction rate was quickly restricted by the God Clan. After the battle, the Dragon Clan had decreased in number and today, only about 200 dragons remain. The God Clan slowly faded from history; while the human race, Magic race and Beast race endlessly flourished and slowly became the new masters of the whole world. The story comes to an end here.¡± ¡°What happened to the God Clan afterwards?¡± Dong Ri questioned. ¡°After listening to this story, you should know that I am the God King and one of the last few members of the God Clan. We finally sealed the Monster King with the assistance of the God Clan Alliance after the yearlong war but suffered serious injuries. To this day, even after hundreds of thousands of years have passed, we have still not fully recovered. Currently, you may be wondering how the story I just told you is related to obtaining the Holy Sword. I told you this story so you can understand the reason why I am now requesting your help.¡± Xing Ao unusually said, ¡°Do you also need our help?¡¯ Zhan Hu, who was standing at the side, pulled Xing Ao closer and interrupted him by whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t make irresponsible remarks!¡± The God King laughed and said, ¡°¡¯It does not matter, what he says is true. I do indeed need your help. Actually, you are also helping yourselves as this matter relates to the whole world¡¯s life or death.¡± Ah~ thinking that this was a really serious situation, I asked, ¡°In the end, what happened? Did the Monster King break through your seal? Even your God Clan barely managed to win, what can we humans do to help?¡± ¡°You are half right. This does involve the Monster King, but he has not broken free from my seal yet. He has slowly regained his strength from hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation after I sealed him. He has begun to continuously attack the barriers of the residences of Gods. Once, one of the God Clan¡¯s member was careless and allowed a bit of the monstrous energy to escape. That monstrous energy contained a portion of the Monster King¡¯s power and awareness so it started to cause harm to the world. We cannot both keep the Monster King from escaping and also go out to fight his clone that is seeking to destroy the world. Thus, I am asking you to find and eliminate his clone.¡± ¡±Can we really do it? How strong is he?¡± Xiu Si asked. ¡°Although that is only a small portion of his power, it is indeed still very strong. It is not something that you can fight against with your current capability. You must continue to improve your skills, before you will be capable of eliminating him. If you can eliminate the Monster King¡¯s clone, we can gather all of our powers to eliminate the remaining monster power in the seal to make him perish forever.¡± ¡°Why were you all unable to annihilate him initially?¡± I asked curiously. The God King sighed and said, ¡°The war left us too weakened and if we had eliminated him at that moment, the Monster Clan would have perished. However, at that time, I believed that all of the clans possessed the right to survive and that as time flowed, the Monster King might be redeemed. During that moment of soft heartedness, I decided to only seal him. However, I didn¡¯t expect that even after thousands of years, his innately evil character had not weakened at all. Currently, it turns out that it is an extremely grueling task to try and eliminate him. If you can eliminate his clone that has escaped into this world, it will decrease his total power and allow us to annihilate him once and for all.¡± As we listened to this point, we finally understood what the God King meant. Thinking in my heart, does this not mean we are going to throw our lives away? Who knows how strong the Monster King really is?¡± In order to escape the situation, I asked, ¡°Can we really find him? Is he out in the world causing harm again?¡± The God King saw through my heart and said, ¡°Child, continuing to avoid the situation is not a solution, the only solution is to face him. The Monster King has already spent many years in the world preparing. It is not just him; he has a lot of subordinates. They are all moving in secret. Just like the human and demon races, the reason why the beast race fights is because of the Monster King¡¯s instigation from the shadows. Heeding the call of the Monster King, they are trying to break the peace and harmony in the world. Once the Monster King starts to rule the world, the other races will be destroyed, including our God Clan.¡± So it was this terrible, I had not even opened my mouth before Zhan Hu started to speak. ¡°Please be reassured, we will definitely annihilate the Monster King.¡± Since he had already said that, all I could do was agree to help. ¡±If we plan on eliminating him, when should we start?¡± I asked. The God King said, ¡°You do not need to be impatient in this matter, and you also do not need to find him. When the world goes to war, he will appear. In this period of time before the war you need to work hard at training and improving yourself, and to assemble many people that share the same feelings and ambitions as you do. You must improve your abilities! As you are the whole world¡¯s hope, you must work hard!¡± Except me, everyone else was already burning with anger and one after another, they declared their heroic aspirations. Even though I was a little scared, for our survival I definitely could not cower. ¡°Will you be giving us the Holy Sword to increase our strength?¡¯¡¯ It was necessary to negotiate some terms with the God King so as to increase our survival rate and safety while carrying out the task. ¡°Little child, don¡¯t worry, I will definitely give you some items to improve your strength. When you first arrived, I used my God Powers to help you shed your mortal bodies and exchange your bones. During your next training sessions, your strength will improve twice as much with only half the effort needed. Now, I will give each of you a few more good items. Listen to me, go and stand in front of the center of the God¡¯s image.¡± ¡°Zhan Hu, I shall grant you the protection armor of a war god, I hope for you to become a genuine war god.¡± Zhan Hu walked in front of the lofty image of God and a golden light shone on his body. After the golden light flashed, a dark blue body armor and helmet appeared on Zhan Hu¡¯s body. A three pronged helmet appeared on his head. In the center of the helmet¡¯s crest, there was an oval, blue colored gemstone. There were four layers to the shoulder protection. The top layer was in line with his shoulders. At every succeeding layer, it was shorter than the previous layer. The last two layers slightly pointed downwards. The chest armor was also large. At the center of his chest, there was an oval, blue colored gem similar to the one on his helmet, but much larger. For the abdomen part of the chest armor, it had a similar shape as Zhan Hu¡¯s muscles. His legs and the arms had also been surrounded by scale-like pieces of armor, and even his hands had been completely covered. Lastly, there was a black cape that appeared on his back. With Zhan Hu standing two meters tall, he showed a formidable and majestic look. He really looked as if a war god had just been revitalized. Volume 3: Chapter 46 Gods reward Volume 3: Chapter 46 ¨C God¡¯s reward Zhan Hu looked at his new armor and tried moving in it. Anyone could see that he was very excited. He fell to his knees and respectfully kowtowed towards the God King three times, with his head touching the ground each time, before saying, ¡°Your Majesty, I will definitely not let you down. The eradication of the Monster King will become my only goal.¡¯¡¯ The God King praised him and said, ¡°Good, you must do well in your cultivation so that you will be worthy of using this War God¡¯s armor.¡± Zhan Hu walked back to the team and said, ¡°Wearing this armor, I feel like my whole body is filled with power. It is weightless and the feeling when wearing it is just amazing.¡¯¡¯ Everyone looked at him enviously and wondered what they would get. The God King spoke again, ¡°Next, Xiu Si.¡¯¡¯ When he heard the God King¡¯s command, Xiu Si immediately walked in front of the God statue. The God King said, ¡°Xiu Si, I shall grant you the Sky God¡¯s horn. By using it, you can recover your life¡¯s vitality, so long as you are not yet dead.¡± The same golden light flashed, and a small, delicate horn suddenly appeared in Xiu Si¡¯s hand. ¡°As for how to use it, you will have to rely on your own abilities to figure it out.¡¯¡¯ Xiu Si bowed towards the God King and respectfully said, ¡°Thank you for your gift, Your Majesty.¡± After saying that, he walked back to where the team was standing. He looked at the horn that had a spiraling line of shining golden light on it and fiddled with it admiringly. ¡°Next, Xing Ao.¡± After hearing his name, Xing Ao moved as quickly as possible to stand in front of the statue. With his eyes filled with expectation, he looked at the God statue. ¡°Xing Ao, I shall grant you the Titan God¡¯s hammer. Although you have been using a heavy sword, once you start using the hammer, your power should increase greatly.¡¯¡¯ A golden light flashed, and a 1.5 meter long handle and 50 cm in diameter hammer suddenly appeared in Xing Ao¡¯s hand. Judging from his relaxed posture, it seemed that the hammer was not too heavy. ¡°Thank you for your gift, Your Majesty.¡± Xing Ao was extremely satisfied with his new weapon and ran back to the team in high spirits. ¡°Gao De.¡± The God King spoke again and Gao De elatedly ran to stand in front of the God statue. ¡°I shall grant you the Lightning God¡¯s shield. You can use it to block any kind of physical attack.¡± The golden light flashed, and a small, exquisite shield with a diameter of ten centimeters suddenly appeared on Gao De left arm. ¡°Thank you for your gift, Your Majesty.¡± Gao De looked at his tiny shield and was a little unsatisfied. Dong Ri and I were the only ones left, yet to receive any gift. I could not refrain myself from muttering to myself, why have I not been called out yet? The next one should be me. ¡°Dong Ri.¡± Dong Ri came forward and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I shall grant you the Wind God¡¯s bow. I hope you will will bring splendor to the Wind God¡¯s archery.¡± A golden light flashed, and a small, delicate golden short bow appeared in Dong Ri¡¯s hand. ¡°Thank you for your gift, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Good. I hope that all of you can fully understand your weapon. You must use your hearts to communicate with them, in order to pull out their true powers. Every Godly weapon has its own special spiritual method. As for how to use it, you will have to rely on your own abilities. Therefore, you must train harder and improve your strength. You must not become arrogant or impatient. Only then will you not let me down.¡± Except for me, everybody bowed at the same time and said, ¡°We shall follow and respect Your Majesty¡¯s tutelage.¡± I looked left and right. Everyone had a Godly weapon, only I did not have one. Did I offend the God King just now? I also desperately wanted a Godly weapon. I asked carefully, ¡°God King, why did I not receive a weapon?¡± The God King laughed and said, ¡°And I thought you were not anxious at all, haha.¡± Could it be that even God could tease people? I awkwardly scratched my head and said, ¡°I am definitely anxious as the Holy Sword is my purpose for coming here.¡± ¡°Good, come forward.¡± Is it finally my turn? That¡¯s great! I hurriedly ran in front of the God statue, and waited to receive the treasure that I long yearned for. ¡°I shall grant you the Radiant Holy Sword. I hope that you will use it to lead everyone in annihilating the monsters.¡± That¡¯s just too amazing! With the name of Radiant, it must be of extraordinary power. This was different from everyone else. There was no golden light that shone on me, instead a golden ball slowly flew toward me. I reached my hand out to receive it, but when once it came in front of me, it instantly entered my chest and vanished. What is going on? I touched my chest. Where is the Radiant Holy Sword? Where is it? ¡°Stop looking for it, the Radiant Holy Sword is already in your body. However, with your current abilities, you are still incapable of using its power.¡± ¡°If that is the case, then why can everyone else use their weapons?¡± The God King¡¯s voice rung in my ears, as though I was the only one that could hear it, saying, ¡°They can only use a very small portion of their Godly weapons¡¯ powers. Their Godly weapons are second rank Godly weapons, so they are easier to control. On the other hand, the Radiant Holy Sword used to be my companion sword. I had previously given the sword to the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lei, until the great war of the Gods against the Monsters. For the final victory, he sacrificed himself. At that moment, I took back the sword. Currently, the difference between your power and the Holy Sword¡¯s power is significant. Therefore, you will need to allow the Holy Sword to temporarily sleep in your body. Once you obtain sufficient power to use it, it will naturally awaken.¡± I understand what is going on now. ¡°When will I be able to wield enough power to use it?¡± ¡°That will be your next goal. At the west border of the human and Devil lands, there is a place called Sky Splitting Great Valley. You must head there. That year before the Holy God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lei, died, some of the power was shifted there. A magic spell was used to seal the power. You just need to go there and obtain the Holy God¡¯s inheritance in order for the Holy Sword to be at its full power. However, you need not be anxious. You still need to work hard on your training. From my estimation, in the coming five years, the Monster King will not have sufficient energy. During this time frame, you have to improve yourself. As your power increases, your chance of receiving the inheritance increases as well.¡± So it turned out to be like that. I had already gotten the Godly weapon, but I had no way of taking it out for everyone to have a look. The God King said, ¡°Children, you all have received Godly weapons. I shall now teach you a magic spell. This spell is an important spell that can be used to hold back the Monster King. Once your powers are close to the War God¡¯s powers, you can then start to practice the spell, but Zhang Gong¡¯s requirement to practice the spell with the others will be much higher. He must become a Grand Magister before he can practice the spell together with the team.¡± I interrupted and said, ¡°What must I accomplish to become a Grand Magister? From what my teacher said before, the inner body has to form six Gold Dans. Is that all? ¡° The God King said, ¡°You got only a portion correct. That is when you reach six apertures, which are the Gold Dans you just spoke of, you are certainly entering the grand magister¡¯s realm. However, initially you will only be slightly stronger than a sword saint warrior. You must train until you reach nine apertures. Only then will you become a true grand magister. The nine apertures are not literally the nine Gold Dans you mentioned before. Nine is only a figurative number. It is really when your body does not have any space not possessing a Gold Dan. When your whole body becomes the largest possible Gold Dan, you will finally reach the true realm of a Great Magister. At that point, you will have sufficient Godly powers to fight against the Monsters.¡± The God King once again used a voice only I could hear, and said, ¡°You just need to receive the Holy God¡¯s inheritance. Probably at that time, you will be able to break through to the grand magister¡¯s realm. Therefore, you must head there.¡± Volume 3: Chapter 47 The Forbidden Volume 3: Chapter 47 ¨C The Forbidden ¡°Alright, I will definitely head there.¡± In order to be able to use the Holy Sword¡¯s power and become a Grand Magister, there is no possibility that I will not head there. ¡°I shall first teach you a spell chant. After that, you will have to figure it out on your own.¡± After speaking, six golden lights shone from the God¡¯s image, especially aimed at our upper dantian. We all felt as though something was added to our minds. The God King said, ¡°I have already engraved the spell¡¯s chants in your minds so you will remember them forever.¡± After a moment of haziness, a line of small words distinctly appeared. We subconsciously started to read those small words. Zhan Hu said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the War God¡¯s armor. No evil shall pass me for I shall obstruct the evil Monsters.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Sky God¡¯s horn. My horn¡¯s roar will pierce through the nine heavens.¡± Xin Ao said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Titan God¡¯s hammer. I will shake the heavens and move the earth to protect the righteous path Gao De said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Lightning God¡¯s shield. Even ten thousand blades shall not stop me.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Wind God¡¯s bow. My ethereal arrows will flash rapidly and violently.¡± I said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop chanting. If you continue to chant the spell, you will not be able to stop it. Only by improving yourselves will you start to understand how powerful the spell is. In the God¡¯s Clan, this spell is regarded as a top grade spell. It will be much more powerful than your human¡¯s forbidden spells. Therefore, I shall name it as the top spells of spells¨C All God¡¯s Awakening Symphony.¡± We listened to what the God King told us and stopped chanting the spell. Although the spell was incomplete, we could still imagine how powerful the spell would have been if we had finished the chants. The God King said, ¡°That will be all. Children, I have already explained and given you everything I wanted to give to you. For the rest of the mission, you will have to rely on your own abilities. I believe that you will definitely be able to annihilate all of the Monsters, bringing harmony and peace back to the world for all eternity.¡± At this moment, I was moved as I listened to the God¡¯s rousing speech. We all deeply bowed towards the God¡¯s image. The God King said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, you do not need to do that. Your Godly weapons can be hidden in your bodies. They rely on your control of your spiritual power. When you meet the Monster King and his subordinates, I hope that you will not expose your powers too early. Even if you are just training to use the Godly weapons, you have to find an isolated area to train. I shall now send you out of the God¡¯s forest. For the next five years, you have to work hard at your training. I plead for you to do just that. After today, this Godly forest will cease to exist and become an ordinary forest. After you leave, I will head back to the God¡¯s shrine and join up with the rest of the God Clan¡¯s members to strengthen the Demon King¡¯s seal. Children, we shall meet again.¡± We kneeled down and I said to the God¡¯s image, ¡°In our heart, you will forever be our God. We will miss you.¡± The God¡¯s King laughed and said, ¡°Wait until you annihilate the Monster King, we will still meet again. By my title as the Gods¡¯ King, send the humans and elf before me back to where they came.¡± A large golden halo shone from the God¡¯s image and covered us. With a flash of the light, we had returned to the front of the Gods¡¯ forest. If there were not any signs of the shining Godly weapons in our hands and bodies; it was as though nothing had happened. We looked at each other, feeling as if we had returned to reality again. Zhan Hu sighed and said, ¡°I did not believe that after this dangerous experience, we had all actually inherited Godly weapons. Now, we have found our next goal. We must work hard!¡± Xiu Si twiddled with the Sky King¡¯s bugle horn and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! We must not let the Monster King succeed.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, we shall visit the Nature Elf village before we head back.¡± I knew that everyone would soon have to split up, as we all have our own personal issues to settle. ¡°You all try to keep your Godly Weapons inside your bodies. We cannot always bring them around with us. Otherwise, we would be known as Gods that had descended, haha.¡± Xin Ao brandished his Titan God¡¯s hammer and said, ¡°How? My Godly weapon is so big. Can I really keep it in my body?¡± I chuckled after hearing what he said. ¡°These Godly weapons can exist as pure energy so they will not take up any space in your bodies. You just need to think of them returning into your bodies.¡± After saying so, the Wind God¡¯s bow in Dong Ri¡¯s hands instantly vanished. He elatedly said, ¡°I succeeded! ¡°In order to familiarize himself with the action, he tried to bring it out and send it back in a couple of times. Everyone did as I told them to. After a few moments, they completely mastered the action of summoning their Godly weapons. The Nature Elves village was just as beautiful as the first time we had arrived. Since it was daytime, the Nature Elves were busy working. By returning here, I felt as though I had come home. Just as we reached the entrance of the village, we were discovered. A young elf flew over and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you all have returned!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! How is the village? Is it alright? Did the dark elves attack again?¡± I amiably asked him. ¡°No, they did not dare to come again. Even if they do, they will experience the might of light magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You should spend more time practicing light magic when you are free. Once light magic combines with your innate abilities, you will never need to fear them again.¡± At this moment, the Nature Elf King brought over four elders and said, ¡°We welcome your safe return. Come, let¡¯s enter the village.¡± Only then did I suddenly remember that I was still at the village entrance. We started to follow the Nature Elf King. We passed through the familiar route and reached the conference lounge. Except for the four elder elves, the Nature Elf King made all of the elves leave. The fact that we had gotten Godly weapons was a secret so only the Nature Elf King and the four elders could know. Nature Elf King asked, ¡°How was it? Did you gain any profits from coming here?¡± I told him all about our dangerous experiences, but left out the part where we all got Godly weapons. I just explained the part where the God changed our bodies. After listening to us, the Nature Elf King and the four elders displayed an expression of reverence. The Nature Elf King said, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected that you would be approved by the God King. Be at ease, when you have to fight the Monster King, we, the Nature Elves, will also take part. For the world¡¯s peace and harmony, this is what we should do.¡± Zhan Hu smiled, ¡°That¡¯s great! With your help, our fighting power will increase. That¡¯s right, do you still have any more of your fruits wine? Can you bring some out?¡± The four elders showed fearful expressions, and the third elder said, ¡°I am afraid that at the moment we don¡¯t have any. You drank all of the wine when you were herepreviously.¡± Actually, they still had five more bottles of wine, but when I was leaving the village previously, I had asked for them. This time, they really did not have any more wine. After hearing the third elder¡¯s words, everyone except for me, showed disappointed expressions. To stop putting them on the spot, I said, ¡°We would like to rest here for the day and head back tomorrow. The God King said that we had approximately five years before the war. We also had no knowledge of his plans. During this time frame, we have to work harder in our training as preparations to annihilate the Monster King.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 1 Returning Home Volume 4: Chapter 1 ¨C Returning Home After we bid farewell to the friendly Nature Elves, we started to head home. We had finally reached the Xiuda border. Apart from me, everyone had feelings of intimacy as they returned to their homeland. After three days, at a forked road, we stopped as one of the roads led to Xiuda and the other led to the Aixia kingdom. It was finally time to split. Big Brother Zhan Hu said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you have to take care of yourself, I will go with the rest to Xiuda to visit my father and family and then head back to my bandit¡¯s nest to practice.¡± I replied, ¡°Big Brother, you also have to take care of yourself. Once I return to Aixia, I will also practice hard. In about three years, when I feel that I can seek the Holy God¡¯s inheritance, I will come and find you.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°Everyone must be diligent. Zhang Gong, after three years, we will meet up at Xiuda.¡± I nodded my head. The rims of my eyes started to get moist. ¡°Yes! When you head back, please give my regards to Teacher Wen. Dong Ri, you should stop feeling inferior. Except for us, how many people in the world had obtained the God¡¯s inheritance? We are all great, and Hong Xue is a good girl. You have to cherish her.¡± Dong Ri embraced my wide shoulders and cried, saying, ¡°Zhang Gong, thank you. I will miss you. Please take care of yourself on your way home.¡± We had a group hug. I deeply breathed in a mouthful of fresh air and wiped my tears off my face, saying, ¡°Everyone take care, our Radiant Battle Squad is the best. I shall head off.¡± After I said that, I spun around and stepped onto the road home. The tears I had suppressed flowed once more. There were three months left till the end of the two-year appointment I made with Teacher Di. The first thing on my mind was to head home to see my parents. It had been more a year since I last saw them. I missed them greatly. Since I was alone, I moved as quickly as possible to an isolated place to use teleportation. I would just need about ten days to reach the city of Sen Ke. I can see them soon. First, I decided to buy them presents. When I reached Sen Ke, I bought mother¡¯s favorite cake and father¡¯s favorite fruits. I started to carry all of them home. My familiar village, I have returned. Many of the village children looked at me curiously. It was obvious that I had become an outsider. Who is that in front of me? A familiar figure appeared in the area about fifty metres in front of me. He had a tall, strong and sturdy body. There was a girl beside him who was dainty and petite. The two appeared white intimate. I hurriedly walked forward and patted the sturdy guy¡¯s shoulder. He turned around. Pleasantly surprised, I said, ¡°Ao De! It really is you.¡± He looked at me suspiciously, but his expression turned from a bewildered look to a surprised one. ¡°Zhang Gong, is it you? It really is you.¡± We excitedly hugged each other. Ao De said, ¡°You have finally returned. Your mother missed you deeply. You are taller and more robust than before. I am so envious that you can go to the city to learn magic.¡± The girl beside Ao De pulled him to her and asked, ¡°Ao De, who is he?¡± At that moment, I started to size her up. She was a pretty girl. She had a pair of large eyes that showed wittiness. A water green colored skirt showed her dainty and delicate body. She also had thick and long braided hair. Ao De awkwardly smiled at me and said, ¡°Come, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Luo Yu Hong, and this is Zhang Gong Wei. He is my childhood best friend. He is also an extremely powerful magician.¡± I smiled at Ao De and extended my hand. ¡°Hi, you can call me Zhang Gong. It is a pleasure to meet you.¡± Lou Yu naturally gripped my hand and said, ¡°Hi! I am glad to meet you too.¡± I softly punched at Ao De and said, ¡°You rascal, you are capable of finding such a pretty girlfriend. I am so jealous!¡± He laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s correct, Luo Yu is our school¡¯s flower. Only after I persistently wooed her did I finally get her. Your conditions are better than mine. There will definitely be lots of girls that will love you.¡± After hearing what Ao De had said, Luo Yu, who was beside him, started to pinch him till he screamed out in pain. I scratched my head and said, ¡°I have never thought about that problem before. Next time, after I get into the advanced magic academy, I shall find one. Ha ha.¡± Ao De said, ¡°I heard from your mother that your teacher had sent you out to gain experience. How was it? This experience will not delay your studies, will it?¡± ¡°That does not matter, going out was very beneficial to my training. Alright, I see that you are busy and I¡¯m also in a rush to head home. Come over for dinner tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and find you tonight. We brothers should go and have a good drink tonight.¡± Luo Yu, who was beside Ao De, pulled his ears and unhappily said, ¡°You are not allowed to drink! You are quickly becoming a drunkard!¡± At that sight, I started to laugh. ¡°Have fun arguing! I shall head off first.¡± After saying that, I ran off. At the entrance of the house, I shouted, ¡°Mother, Father, I¡¯m back, I¡¯m back!¡± The door creaked open, then mother came walking out from inside. It had been nearly two years since the two had met. She looked like she had aged a little. ¡°Zhang Gong, my child, you have finally returned home. I missed you to death.¡± Mother opened the door fully and started to hug me. I hugged her back. ¡°Mother, I also missed you so much.¡± Tears uncontrollably started to flow. At the same time, father walked out from the house and smiled, saying, ¡°Zhang Gong, you are finally back. Ever since you left, I did not know how many times your mother had cried. She thought about you every day.¡± ¡°Father!¡± After I let Mother go, I moved to father and gave him a passionate hug. Father said, ¡°Ok, it¡¯s good that you are home. Come, let¡¯s go inside! By coincidence, we were resting today. Otherwise, you would not have been able to find us. Today, let¡¯s allow your mother to cook a few dishes. We, father and son, should really have a good drink.¡± ¡°Great! I love to eat mother¡¯s cooking. Eating outside is never comparable to eating at home!¡± The feeling of being home is great! After entering the house, father asked me, ¡°How was trip? What did you experience?¡± I answered, ¡°It was alright. I did not encounter any major setbacks. It can be considered a success.¡± Continuing, I told them that years¡¯ experience. Of course, I did not mention any dangerous moments as I didn¡¯t want them to worry. After listening to me, mother said, ¡°It is enough to just return safely!¡± I said, ¡°Father, mother, why don¡¯t you come with me? Currently, I am sure that I will be capable of taking care of you.¡± Father looked at mother once, before saying, ¡°No! You just need to train properly. Your mother and I got used to the life here many years ago. Here, the people are simple and honest. The environment is also good and suitable for our retirement.¡± I tried to convince them to come with me again, but mother said, ¡°You just need to visit us frequently, but we won¡¯t be able to join you either.¡± ¡°Alright, I will prepare to head there when the time comes. After training at the advanced magic academy for two to three years, I will have to head out again to gain more experience.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 2 The Warmth of Home Volume 4: Chapter 2 ¨C The Warmth of Home After mother heard that I still had to gain experience, she got anxious. ¡°You still need to gain more experience? I nearly died from worrying all this time, I was so scared that you would run into danger. Do you have to go again?¡± I embraced her and said, ¡°Mom, even if I have to go, it¡¯s still a matter for two or three years into the future. We still don¡¯t know what will happen, and we can¡¯t plan for what will change.¡± Mother started to calm down. ¡°Alright, you father and son continue to chat. I¡¯ll go and make some delicious food.¡± ¡°Mom, please make more. I invited Ao De to come to our house for dinner.¡± ¡°Ok, I know.¡± After mother went into the kitchen, I said to my father, ¡°Father, once I enter and train at the Advanced Magic Academy, I¡¯m afraid that I will have to head out again to gain more experience for a long period of time.¡± I started to tell him about the task that the God King had given us that I had left out earlier. Father sighed a lot, before saying, ¡°Child, for the peace and harmony of the world, go. You don¡¯t need to worry about me or your mother. If you can get the God¡¯s inheritance, I will be proud of you.¡± I started to choke with sobs. ¡°Fa-Father. Thank you.¡± I took a sack out of my pouch and gave it to Father. ¡°This is what Teacher Di gave me for my expenditures during training. I have not used much of it so I could leave some for you.¡± Father smiled and took it. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, my son is being so filial to us. Ha ha.¡± When he opened the sack, he was shocked by the shine of the treasures inside. The sack was filled with sparkling diamond coins. ¡°Wow! So much! You should just keep it for yourself.¡± ¡°I still have five hundred diamond coins so Mom and you don¡¯t need to be too thrifty.¡± At this moment, Ao De¡¯s voice came from outside the door. ¡°Zhang Gong, I am here! Hurry and open the door!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± I hurriedly ran out to invite Ao De and Luo Yu in. Ao De said, ¡°Hello, uncle.¡± ¡°Good! Quickly take a seat! This should be Luo Yu, right?¡± Father asked, smiling. Luo Yu¡¯s face reddened as she said, ¡°Hello, uncle.¡± Father laughed and said, ¡°Hello, little Luo Yu is becoming more and more pretty.¡± I asked curiously, ¡°Father, you¡¯ve met Luo Yu before?¡± Father said, ¡°Of course I have! And I frequently see her. Every day she is always paired with Ao De. Almost everyone in the village has seen her. Ha ha.¡± At this moment, Mother carried a dish in and said, ¡°Yes! Look how skilled Ao De is, finding such a pretty girlfriend. When will you be bringing one home for Mom to see?¡± ¡°I also want to, but I have not found a match. I am not as capable as Ao De. Who would want to be with me anyway?¡± Mother said, ¡°I¡¯m not asking for you to get an extremely beautiful girl. As long as she treats you well and is pretty, I will be satisfied.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I do think the same way as you mom, but I also want to find an average girl. I find that beautiful girls are hard to deal with and have bad tempers.¡± Ao De said, ¡°Who says that! You just have to look at Luo Yu. She is extremely well tempered and is also very easy to deal with.¡± Luo Yu¡¯s face reddened, but did not say anything. I mock scolded, ¡°Seeing how lucky you are, quickly go and bring the dishes out together with me!¡± With everyone¡¯s help, the table was soon filled with sumptuous dishes. Everyone ate their meals joyously and harmoniously. I brought out a crystal bottle that contained the fragrant fruit wine, which everyone looked at with curiosity. I mysteriously said, ¡°This is the Nature Elves¡¯ fragrant fruit wine. It is very rare. I helped them a lot so they gifted it to me. Everyone have a taste!¡± I poured a small cup of wine for everyone. The scent of the fragrant wine filled the whole house. Everyone looked at their cups curiously. Father, who drank frequently, said, ¡°This is a really good wine! It¡¯s so fragrant!¡± ¡°It tastes even better! Everyone quickly have a try!¡± As expected, the fragrant wine subdued everyone. In only a short moment, the bottle of wine was finished and they wanted more! Of course, I told them that I only had one bottle. Mother brought up the previous topic and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, this time when you return to the academy, you must bring a girlfriend back home no matter what. If not, I will not forgive you. You are already about twenty years old! Usually everyone starts to get married at eighteen or nineteen, but you still have not found one yet!¡± With a look I appealed to my father for help, who in turn said, ¡°In this case, I cannot help you this time as I also wish for you to get married soon. At that time, you can give me a grandchild. Ha ha.¡± After listening to what Father said, my entire face reddened. I replied, ¡°Ok! At that time, I will find an ugly daughter in law and come home!¡± Mother smiled. ¡°That does not matter, as long as she does not look worse than me!¡± Father whispered, ¡°Please don¡¯t find someone like your mother. You have to find someone with less attitude. If not, you will suffer for your whole life.¡± Mother¡¯s hearing was still very good and she had heard everything he had said. Immediately, she angrily said, ¡°My temper¡¯s very bad? When have you suffered? After today, I won¡¯t cook you food or wash your clothes anymore. I serve you every day, yet you say I¡¯m no good!¡± Father immediately begged for mercy. ¡°No! No! My wife is the best, prettiest, gentlest, wisest and kindest of them all! You are definitely a role model to any future mother that wants to be a good wife and a loving mother!¡± Father¡¯s comical expression made all of us laugh. Mother smiled and said, ¡°You pathetic old man!¡± Father asked me, ¡°When are you returning to the academy?¡± Mother wordlessly looked at me. I smiled and said, ¡°This time I will be staying a few days to keep you company. In about a month¡¯s time, I will start to head back. Does that sound fine? Mother, are you satisfied?¡± Mother smiled and nodded, then said, ¡°That is good enough! Out of the three hundred days in a year, you were never at home. Your father and I could only stare at each other every day. You don¡¯t even know how lonely I was.¡± This time, it was Father that shot back. ¡°You were lonely when you were with me?¡± Mother smiled. ¡°Ha ha, who told you to say that I had a bad temper earlier?¡± I hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Father, Mom, do you want to learn some advanced magic? I can teach it to you! This is so that when I leave, you can practice the magic in your free time and will no longer feel lonely.¡± Mother excitedly said, ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! It is a great idea, but the magic you learn is light magic. Your father and I are water and wind magicians. Can we still learn it?¡± I said, ¡°That does not matter as your bodies¡¯ magic abilities are not very high, so even if you totally give up on learning, it will not be a big problem. You just need to relearn light magic. Light magic¡¯s healing techniques are better than water magic¡¯s anyway. Moreover, light magic¡¯s offensive power are also very powerful!¡± Father said, ¡°That¡¯s fine then! In any case, staying idle is still boring. Starting from tomorrow, your mother and I will learn light magic from you!¡± Ao De said, ¡°Add us in as well! We also want to learn!¡± I said, ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll start teaching you all tomorrow. The lesson will begin in the morning!¡± I am a light magic Magister. In the entire world, aside from Teacher Di, I should be the best at understanding light magic. Even so, teaching them will still prove to be a very difficult task. Volume 4: Chapter 3 Return to the Academy Volume 4: Chapter 3 ¨C Return to the Academy Early morning the next day, Ao De came running over. I smiled, saying, ¡°You are quite impatient! Where is Luo Yu?¡± Ao De panted and said, ¡°I rushed here to tell you not to start the lesson yet. Luo Yu stays at Senke. I will meet up with her first and return afterwards. Can you start the training after we arrive?¡± ¡°Alright, hurry up! I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± As I saw the figure of Ao De¡¯s back leaving, I could not help but shake my head. Having a girlfriend really looked tiring. I decided I shouldn¡¯t find a pretty girl in the future, as they are troublesome. ¡°Zhang Gong, breakfast! Who was that?¡± Mother called out to me. ¡°Coming! It was Ao De. He said that he will first meet up with Luo Yu, before coming here to learn magic.¡± While I said that, I hurriedly ran back into the house. Breakfast was sumptuous. It included milk, eggs deep fried steamed bun, and lots of other stuff. ¡°First come, first serve!¡± I grabbed a fried steam bun and stuffed it into my mouth. Wah! It was scalding hot! ¡°Eat slowly, nobody is going to steal from you.¡± After we finished eating breakfast, they arrived. I said, ¡°Have you eaten your breakfast? Do you want to eat something first?¡± Luo Yu said, ¡°We have already eaten. Ao De always said that you¡¯re good at magic. Please quickly start the class to enlighten me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re even more impatient than Ao De. Alright!¡± Father, Mother, Ao De, Luo Yu and I went to the courtyard. I said, ¡°Ok, we will now learn some light magic. Firstly, if we want to start using light magic, we must learn how to gather the light elements. The light elements are peace loving elements. They symbolize radiance and righteousness. When gathering the light elements, you must not command their thoughts. The light elements are our friends¡­¡± Just like that, I started their light magic cultivation. Actually, Ao De originally didn¡¯t want to learn with me because the previous incident had left an extremely deep impression on him. However, due to Luo Yu¡¯s insistence, he had no choice but to summon his courage to learn magic. After a few days of practice, since there were no incidence of the numbing sensations that he had felt previously, he started to calm down. I used a month to successfully help them to gather light elements and taught them some basic light magic. I wrote down the incantations for intermediate light magic and left it for them. It was time to go again; I had to leave once more. ¡°Father, Mom, please take care of yourselves! During the holiday in half a year¡¯s time, I will return. You will also need to train hard in light magic. I will check on your light magic when I return. Father, I¡¯m giving you this bottle of fragrant wine. You will have to drink it slowly as once you finish drinking it, there will be none left.¡± Originally, they were very reluctant to let me leave, but once Father saw the fragrant wine, his eyes immediately brightened. Mother also asked, ¡°Son, do you still have some more wine? Give your mother one bottle as well.¡± I brought back a total of five bottles. I drank one, and gave one bottle to Father, so I was left with three bottles remaining. I dealt with the pain and took another bottle out. ¡°This is really the last bottle, you must drink it carefully.¡± Mother took it in high spirits and gave a warning expression to Father. ¡°We will drink separately. You are not allowed to steal from me!¡± Looks like Mother had also fallen in love with the taste of the fragrant wine. Maybe it had something to do with the cultivation effects that the wine gave. I looked at them, unsure of whether if I wanted to cry or laugh. I shouted, ¡°I really should start to head out!¡± Father waved his hands. ¡°Go!¡± I smiled bitterly, before turning around and walking on the road back to school. As he watched my fading back, Father smiled. ¡°Silly child.¡± Mother hooked an arm through Father¡¯s arm. ¡°Seeing him go like this is also not bad. If not, I will get upset again.¡± The thought of not seeing her son for half a year made her eyes start to go red again. Father sneakily said, ¡°How about this? You give the fragrant wine to me, and I will bring you to see your son. How about that?¡± Mother hurriedly hid the fragrant wine in her bosom. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to disturb my child. I want him to practice properly.¡± Leaving home, I wandered within nature. It had been nearly two years. I wondered how Teacher Di was. I walked into the forest and found an isolated area, before taking the magic array out of the book. I remembered that when I left Teacher Di initially, he told me that I just had to use this array to return to the school. I decided to try it out! I carefully drew out the magic array. I drew every single line seriously. If I didn¡¯t, one mistake could change my destination unimaginably. After using two days to draw, I finally completed the magic array. I set a concealing pattern within the magic array so only I could use it. If I were to reverse the magic array, I would return here. I left the same magic array at the Nature Elves¡¯ place. I even placed a mental connection on it. Using a special method, they could tell me their situation, if they needed to. The main purpose was so I could get there in time if they were ambushed by the dark elves. After I checked every detail of the magic array again and found that everything was in order, I stood in the center of the array and chanted, ¡°Using my magic power as the medium, shift space and time!¡± Instantly, my body was sucked into the magic array. The magic array emitted a strong light and disappeared from the land. I used my magic power to control the stability of the spell. With my current magic power, controlling the magic array was very easy. A white light glowed, and I appeared in the backyard of the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. Wasn¡¯t this just outside Teacher Di¡¯s sleeping area? So he had placed the other end of the magic array here. This was really convenient and helped to cut down a lot of trouble. Just as I started to head towards Teacher Di¡¯s bedroom, the door creaked open. Teacher Di¡¯s familiar body figure appeared. I hurriedly stepped forward a few steps and kneeled in front of him. ¡°Teacher, I have returned!¡± Teacher Di pulled me up. ¡°I predicted that you should be coming back already. Just now when the magic power fluctuated, I hurriedly come out to have a look. It really is you! Come, enter the house.¡± I recounted all of the events of my trip in one go. It took a total of three hours. After Teacher Di heard the part where the God King explained that to become a true Grand Magister one must reach a state where there is no place in the whole body without Gold Dan, he shook in excitement. ¡°Looks like this experience had been very beneficial to you. Not only did you complete the task, but your magic power also reached the Magister level. It seems that I don¡¯t have anything left to teach you. What are your future plans?¡± I replied, ¡°This is what I am planning. I plan to go to the the Advanced Magic Academy to train for a few years. Even though I won¡¯t learn much from that place, I really want to train there. The ambiance at that place is better. This way, I can also prepare myself to defeat the Monster King in the future!¡± Teacher Di said, ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll do that! I¡¯ll make some arrangements for you. After you rest up for two days, you should start to head over there.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 4 Reunion of Brothers Volume 4: Chapter 4 ¨C Reunion of Brothers The Kingdom of Aixia¡¯s Royal Advanced Magic Academy Year 3 Class 3. The homeroom teacher, Water Magister Si Lan Yu, stood on the lecturer¡¯s platform. ¡°Please quiet down! I have to introduce a new transfer student, Zhang Gong Wei.¡± Following what Teacher Yu said, I entered the classroom. I stood in front of the platform and smiled faintly toward the class. ¡°Hello everyone, I hope that you will take care of me. My magic Major is Light and Minor is Spatial.¡± ¡°Where did he come from?! How did he skip to our year 3 class? He should be starting from year 1, right?¡± ¡°Exactly! He looks quite handsome, but we still don¡¯t know how powerful he is.¡± Two female students whispered to each other. ¡°You guys shouldn¡¯t have known this; he is already very famous. He is a talented student who came from the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. He has been one of the top students for five years consecutively. Powerful, right? I heard he even reached the Magister level!¡± A female student beside them exclaimed. ¡°Ah? Really!? So powerful? He and the teacher¡¯s skills aren¡¯t that different. It wouldn¡¯t be too bad to be his girlfriend!¡± ¡°Stop dreaming! With your figure, you want to be his girlfriend? If he¡¯s looking for one, then he will come for me!¡± ¡°You should also stop dreaming!¡± ¡­. Teacher Yu said, ¡°Zhang Gong, take a seat in the back row. There is a vacant seat there.¡± I nodded and replied, ¡°I will. Thank you, teacher!¡± Afterwards, I walked to the back row and sat down. Teacher Di had arranged everything really quickly; in only two days he had managed to get me admitted into the academy. I heard that Ma Ke was in another class and since I had yet to see him, I decided to go and find him during the break between classes. ¡°Ok! I shall begin teaching! Today, the class will be about how to control Advanced Magic. Firstly, you will need to have very strong magic power to support the magic spell. You can only start to talk about control after you have excess strength for the spell. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to hit your target accurately. The spell might backfire and harm your own team members.¡± Teacher Yu paused with a terrified expression after what he said. The students started to laugh. This teacher¡¯s way of teaching was interesting. I leaned my head on my right hand and watched the approximately forty years old teacher. ¡°Previously, I wanted everyone to focus on cultivation to improve their magic power. This is really important! Magic power is the source of all magic. Now! We shall return to the original topic. Once you have strong magic power to support you, you will have to rely on your spiritual power to control the spell. Ma Ke, a student from class 1, has very strong spiritual power. He can easily control the spells he casts to reach his intended outcome. For example, if you throw a simple fire ball straight at an enemy, the enemy will dodge it. But if you control your spell to travel along an arc to hit your target, the chances of successfully hitting your target increase. If you can control it to chase after your target you will be close to mastering the technique.¡± I thought in my heart, ¡®Ma Ke is quite famous! He¡¯s even close to a teacher that is not from his class. Looks like he didn¡¯t remain idle for the last two years and has definitely improved greatly, but I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s reached the Magister level yet!¡¯ In a short moment the class that Teacher Si Lan taught ended and I left to find Ma Ke. I had always carried around the dagger that he had previously given me and I would frequently take it out to have a look whenever I have a free moment. It was as though I was seeing him in person! After all, Ma Ke is one of my best brothers and I start to get excited in anticipation of meeting him soon. I turned my head to ask the female student who was sitting beside me, ¡°Excuse me, how do I get to Year 3¡¯s Class 1? I¡¯m trying to find someone.¡± The female student beside me looks ordinary, but her body figure is amazing. She is around 1.7m. She seems to be a daydreamer, lacking in understanding of what is said to her. Her hands are also very beautiful and fair. A faint brilliance seems to circulate under her skin, so it seems that her skills aren¡¯t bad. When I look into her eyes, I am stunned. Her large eyes give off a very familiar feeling and are also very alluring. If there is a ranking for eyes, hers will definitely be one of the most beautiful. I do not understand why I feel as if her eyes have a peculiar radiance emitting from them. I slowly become more confused as she continues to stare blankly at me. I returned to my senses first and waved my hands in front of her eyes. ¡°Sorry to trouble you, can you please tell me how to get to Year 3 Class 1?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± She also came back to her senses and lowered her head. ¡°It is the second room on the left after this classroom.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± I did not think further. I had to make use of the break between classes to find Ma Ke. I followed her directions and found Year 3 Class 1¡¯s classroom. The students were also taking a break. The class was in disarray, especially the corner that was full of female students. It seemed that they were chatting about something. I shouted, ¡°Excuse me! Is Ma Ke Sai here?¡± Due to my loud voice, the entire class looked in my direction. Ma Ke¡¯s slightly matured, but familiar voice rang out, ¡°I¡¯m here. Who are you?¡± His familiar face appeared from the corner full of female students. I smiled at him. He was at a loss for a moment before realizing it was me standing at the entrance. He pushed past the female student beside him and hurried over. He opened his arms to give me a tight embrace. ¡°Brother, is that really you? You are finally back!¡± I hugged him back. ¡°Of course it is me! Who else would it be? I have finally returned!¡± Our brotherly reunion made me so excited that tears started to flow. I surveyed the class and noticed that almost all of the students¡¯ mouths were frozen in ¡®O¡¯ shapes. Could it be that they thought that we were in that kind of a relationship? I whispered to Ma Ke, ¡°Let¡¯s change the location to have a chat. I don¡¯t want to stay in the limelight.¡± Ma Ke also surveyed the classroom and understood the situation. ¡°Come! Let¡¯s go to the field!¡± He pulled me out of his classroom. Behind us, there were chattering voices. ¡°Who was that who made Ma Ke so emotional?¡± ¡°Right? He looks quite handsome, but I have not seen him before! Is he from our academy?¡± ¡°Ma Ke couldn¡¯t be homosexual, right?¡± ¡°You! You dare to badmouth Ma Ke! I will use my Fire Magic to burn you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We will never forgive anyone who dares badmouth him!¡± A group of girls exclaimed. I nudged Ma Ke, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you had changed so much after only two years in Advanced Magic Academy. You are no longer unwanted and have gotten popular enough to have so many female fans!¡± Ma Ke hit me once, before jokingly scolding me, ¡°Stop making fun of me! I am already extremely irritated by them. If you want them, you can have them!¡± Volume 4: Chapter 5 Situation in the Academy Volume 4: Chapter 5 ¨C Situation in the Academy ¡°I didn¡¯t expect for you to be this happy at this academy! Looking back to that year where you kept on chasing Hai Yue, you don¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡± It was clear that Ma Ke¡¯s mood dampened after I mentioned Hai Yue. ¡°How is Hai Yue?¡± Ma Ke just raised his head to look at the blue sky without answering and started to sigh. ¡°What is the matter? Hai Yue should still be studying in the academy.¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°She is currently still in the academy, She and Hai Shui are in the same year as us, in Class 2, and Hai Ri is in year five Class 1. In my whole life, it seems like there¡¯s never been hope for me to be with Hai Yue.¡± I looked at Ma Ke seriously. ¡°Now I know that you are truly serious when you say you have feelings for her. I had always thought that you were just playing around when we were in the Intermediate Magic Academy. I did not think that you were so smitten. Are you still chasing after her? Did Hai Ri forbid you from doing so? By now, you should have gotten together with her already.¡± Ma Ke shook his head. ¡°Hai Ri did not forbid me from doing so. He even allows it. The main problem is that Hai Yue has not developed any feelings for me. She just treats me as though I am an insect. I don¡¯t stand a chance at getting her at all.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°I will not be able to help you in this case. I am in a worse case than where you are now. You at least know who you like, while I don¡¯t have any targets yet. Ha ha, in my opinion, I think that you should be more proactive in trying to get her. With your conditions, how could she not fall for you? Just take it easy and relax!¡± ¡°There really is no hope already. She has a boyfriend, the eldest son of the Ri family. I heard that he is the successor of the family and is very powerful. He is called Feng Liang Ri. Although we haven¡¯t dueled, he should not be any better than me. He is the same age as Hai Yue. When our looks are compared, I also should not lose to him, but Hai Yue just continues to choose him over me.¡± ¡°It might be that she had a very deep, bad first impression of you. Do you need me to deal with the guy? Even if he is extremely powerful, I will still help you deal with him!¡± Ma Ke hurriedly shook his head after hearing what I said. ¡°No! You must not do that! Hai Yue will only hate me more in that case. I have not been interacting with her at all lately. I want to pass my feelings for her onto someone else to get over her, but my heart just can¡¯t let her go! Boss! Let¡¯s stop talking about this. From your tone earlier, you seem to have greatly improved your strength.¡± I smilingly extended my left arm and made a slicing motion in the air. A white, radiant light flashed across, containing a large amount of light elements within it. Ma Ke was shocked. ¡°Wow, you are so powerful! You definitely have the strength of the advanced class. How did you do that without an incarnation and still get such large effects? This is too unbelievable. Do¨CDon¡¯t tell me that¡­¡± I nodded my head. ¡°I have already reached the Magister level.¡± Ma Ke was elated. ¡°That¡¯s great! After today, the world will have another Magister. I still require a few more years as currently it is just impossible for me to breakthrough to reach that level!¡± ¡°You also should not be too impatient! Luck also plays an important role. I can only tell you that you will need to deeply understand the thoughts of the magic elements.¡± I smilingly said. ¡°The thoughts of the magic elements?¡± Ma Ke curiously asked. I shook my head. ¡°You must understand them by yourself for it to be useful so you should not ask me how I understood them. Let¡¯s get back to the topic about Hai Yue. You should do something that will make her look at you in a completely new light! You will have a chance that way!¡± Ma Ke doubtfully scratched his head. ¡°To be looked at in a new light? I will give it a try! How was your trip this time? Did you obtain the Holy Sword?¡± I felt like crying when I heard ¡®Holy Sword¡¯. That Holy Sword had completely disappeared after entering my body. I had searched my whole body with mental energy for it, but to no avail. I had promised Teacher Di to never tell anyone about meeting the God King so I couldn¡¯t tell him. ¡°Don¡¯t even mention it! What a joke! I can¡¯t find it anywhere (this is near the truth), even after making lots of friends!¡± I told him all about how I met Zhan Hu and the rest of the team. Ma Ke listened with great interest. ¡°I really wish that I had been there with you!¡± He showed a longing expression. I patted his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s ok! This time you couldn¡¯t come, but there will always be another chance. During the next opportunity, we will definitely be able to become famous in the world.¡± ¡°Yes! We will definitely succeed!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eyes brightened with excitement. ¡°Right, Ma Ke! I have just returned to the academy. Can you give me an overview of what is happening?¡± ¡°The Royal Advanced Magic Academy is really complicated. It is not as simple as the Intermediate Magic Academy, where it is enough to just practice. The current emperor is aging and has no successor. Therefore, anyone who enters the Advanced Magic Academy will have their status increase greatly as people in power will fight to recruit them. The whole Kingdom of Aixia is currently enveloped by darkness. Aixia is a kingdom that is famous for its magicians so of course the big powers are targeting Advanced Class Magicians.¡± I frowned. ¡°It¡¯s so complicated! How many powers are there?¡± If Aixia had a civil war in the near future over the succession, it would greatly affect the fight against the Monster King. Ma Ke continued to say, ¡°Currently, there are three main powers. The first is Duke Te Yi. Have you heard of him before?¡± I thought for a while. ¡°I think I do remember hearing about him, but I¡¯m not very familiar.¡± ¡°He is now extremely powerful as he currently controls the Royal Mage Union and he has a great influence on the kingdom¡¯s economy, so he is a very strong royal competitor. The Royal Mage Union all graduated from this academy. Although there are only five hundred of them, their power is equivalent to that of the whole kingdom. Their power is definitely at least stronger than that of a Magister as the leader of the Royal Mage Union is one of the ten Magisters in the world. He is an earth Magister: Dun Yu Xi. Oh, right! It should be eleven Magisters instead! Ha ha!¡± ¡°Stop joking already! Dun Yu Xi is the leader of the Royal Mage Union. Why would he listen to a duke? Shouldn¡¯t he only follow the direct orders of the emperor?¡± ¡°That is the most incredible point about the duke. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s due to bribery or blackmail, but currently, Dun Yu Xi is standing on his side.¡± ¡°Who are the other two powers?¡± ¡°The two powers are¡­.¡± Ma Ke suddenly stopped explaining in the middle of the conversation and stared in a fixed direction. ¡°Hey! Hey! What are you looking at?¡± I followed to look in the direction that he was looking in. Volume 4: Chapter 6 Situation in the Academy II Volume 4: Chapter 6 ¨C Situation in the Academy II It was Hai Yue! It had been a few years since I had last seen her, and she had become a young woman. Her elegant look hadn¡¯t changed at all! If anything, she had become even more graceful. I had wondered why Ma Ke had suddenly stopped talking ¨C so it was because he had seen the girl of his dreams. I lamented, ¡°Hai Yue became even more beautiful. No wonder you can¡¯t get over her.¡± Ma Ke sighed, ¡°The guy at her side is her current boyfriend, Feng Liang Ri!¡± Only then did I notice the twenty years old man by her side. He was almost the same height as me, approximately 1.9m. His lean body contained strong powers. Although his looks were average, his large and lively eyes suited his face. It was likely that girls often grew fond of his looks. I whispered to Ma Ke, ¡°Let¡¯s go and greet them!¡± Startled, Ma Ke said, ¡°No! She will definitely treat me badly.¡± I pretended to be angry and scolded, ¡°You are such a coward! No wonder she hasn¡¯t developed any feelings for you. Quickly follow me!¡± After saying so, I took the initiative and walked up to them. Ma Ke had no choice but to follow behind me. When I neared them, I laughed and said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you greeting your old playmate?¡± Hai Yue looked up and down at me and showed a sudden expression of understanding. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re Zhang Gong, it has been a few years since I last saw you!¡± I pointed at Feng Liang at her side. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to introduce him to me?¡± Feng Liang¡¯s eyes flashed with caution. Hai Yue¡¯s face reddened. ¡°He is my boyfriend, Feng Liang Ri.¡± I felt Ma Ke¡¯s body tense up behind me. Hai Yue pointed at me before saying, ¡°He is Zhang Gong Wei. He was my classmate when I was at the Royal Intermediate Academy. He even fought against my brother!¡± I extended my hand and Feng Liang shook it asking, ¡°Hello, are you also studying in this academy?¡± ¡°Yes! I just transferred to the Year 3 Class 3. Today is my first day. Please look after me.¡± I pushed Ma Ke to the front. ¡°Since we are all friends here, quickly give them your greetings!¡± Since I was much taller than Ma Ke, Hai Yue did not notice him standing behind me. Once she saw Ma Ke, her expression darkened. Ma Ke awkwardly smiled. ¡°I hope you¡¯re doing well.¡± Hai Yue did not give him any face and interrupted. ¡°Well? How am I well? I don¡¯t feel well at all when I see you. Zhang Gong, if you are here to be a middleman to convince me to go out with him, you¡¯re just wasting your time!¡± I curiously asked, ¡°What middleman? Oh~ you are talking about that year when Ma Ke pursued you. You don¡¯t need to worry about that. You still hate him after so many years? He didn¡¯t do anything to you. We¡¯ve already known each other for so many years. You don¡¯t have to always treat him as though he is an enemy, even if you don¡¯t get along.¡± It was Hai Yue¡¯s turn to become awkward. Feng Liang, who was at her side, stood in front of her. ¡°What Zhang Gong said is right. Hai Yue, you don¡¯t need to continue bickering over past things. Class is starting soon, let¡¯s head back.¡± Hai Yue snorted and walked away without another word. Ma Ke¡¯s energy level deflated like a balloon and he lethargically said, ¡°Boss, now you have seen it. I obviously don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± I gave him a violent slap on his head and angrily said, ¡°You¡¯re truly worthless! I¡¯ve never seen anyone more cowardly than you. You¡¯ve yet to be defeated but you¡¯re already cowering. How could she fall for you? She doesn¡¯t like a guy who¡¯s only heroic on the outside. I really don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re thinking. When you see Hai Yue, you are just like a mouse meeting a cat. Let¡¯s go! Class is starting.¡± Ma Ke followed me in frustration back to the classroom, but did not go back to his. He sat in the same back row as me in my classroom. I did not listen much to the lesson. I started to ask Ma Ke, ¡°Please continue to tell me about the academy¡¯s situation? Let¡¯s leave the talk about Hai Yue for next time.¡± Ma Ke regained some of his mood. ¡°The three main powers are the Ri, Yue and Xing families who formed an alliance to form an elder group. As all of the families held powers over the kingdom for several generations, they all are already deeply rooted to the country. They could also influence all of the territories in the country, making it impossible to ignore them.¡± I curiously said, ¡°If they are allies then why did Hai Ri still encourage you to chase after his sister? If Hai Yue marries the eldest son of the Ri family, won¡¯t it lead to a more beneficial marriage?¡± Ma Ke bitterly smiled. ¡°You think Feng Liang is such a good guy? I heard that he has already gone out with many girls and that they¡¯ve ended up the same way. He plays with them and then dumps them. Brother Hai Ri knows I¡¯ve been chasing after his sister for many years, so he knows that I¡¯m seriously in love with Hai Yue. He doesn¡¯t care about Feng Liang at all so he encouraged me to chase after her.¡± ¡°Oh. So it¡¯s like this! Ok now tell me who the last big power is.¡± ¡°The last big power is the Emperor¡¯s blood related younger brother, Prince Ke Zha. He was also a great general in the Wang Kingdom so he holds lots of influence in the military. When comparing the Emperor¡¯s strength to his, he is definitely stronger. Brother, I have been hiding something from you. Please forgive me after hearing me out.¡± I seriously looked at him. ¡°Just say it. Is it about your family?¡± Ma Ke was surprised and said, ¡°How did you know?¡± I smiled. ¡°When you previously refused to head out with me to gain experience, I¡¯d already guessed that your family was not that simple. You can just tell me directly that you are from one of the three families.¡± Ma Ke looked at me in shock and was flabbergasted. At that moment, I sensed some danger and hurriedly cast a Light Shield. ¡°Pu~¡± After that sound, I could tell from the fire sparks that it was just a small fireball. I looked in the direction where the attack had come from. At the lecturer¡¯s platform, there was an elderly magician. He seemed to be the teacher for the current lesson. Judging by his angry expression, we may have provoked him. In his angry expression, there was also a sign of surprise, as he did not think that I would be able to thwart his sneak attack so easily. The old magician scolded, ¡°Did you come here for a lesson or just to chat?¡± Ma Ke whispered to me secretly. ¡°He¡¯s known to have an extremely bad temper. We shouldn¡¯t continue to provoke him.¡± At that moment, the entire class of students was looking in our direction, including the ordinary female student sitting beside me. She seemed to have heard what Ma Ke was talking to me about before. I did not care about it at all as the facts should have been known to everyone already. She was not hearing anything new so it shouldn¡¯t have mattered much. I awkwardly smiled. ¡°Ah~ Sorry, teacher. I will stop chatting and start to seriously focus in class.¡± The old magician¡¯s expression softened a little. ¡°You should be the new student. After class, please come to my office. Ma Ke, why are you here in Class 3? You should head back to your class. If you two continue chatting, I will have you scrub the toilet as punishment!¡± Ma Ke surveyed the class and saw that the students were sniggering. He had no choice except to stand up and head to his class, but only after whispering to me, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you my identity later.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 7 Vengeful Love Letter Volume 4: Chapter 7 ¨C Vengeful Love Letter The girl beside me whispered, ¡°Serves you right.¡± Did I irritate her? I didn¡¯t. I took a baffled glance at her direction, but she pretended not to notice, and just continued to stare at the blackboard. I suddenly wanted to play a trick on her. I secretly condensed light elements into a small light beam the size of a finger. It passed through from under my armpit and poked at her ******. She quivered for a moment before standing up and unexpectedly shouted in front of the whole class, ¡°What are you doing?! Teacher, he molested me!¡± I fell. I violently fell. Why did she have such an intense reaction? You don¡¯t have to be like this! The old mage, whose anger had just calmed down only moments ago, exploded once more. He angrily howled, ¡°New guy! Get out and stand in the corridor!¡± The other students in the class threw me despicable gazes as if I wasn¡¯t worthy of my good looks. To think that I would actually molest that girl, with her looks only being average, was simply not up to my standards! I bitterly smiled and stood up, then started to walk out. Before leaving, I furiously glared at that girl. A look of ridicule flashed in her eyes, and she glared back unyieldingly. I leaned against the corridor wall. Damn! I had just been played by a little girl. I had to have my revenge. I simply must! That action just now was too hateful, but how could I get my revenge? Throw a worm into her schoolbag? Use magic to humiliate her? No good, none of those ideas were good. They were just too ordinary. I had to think of an even better way to punish her. Humph! After class, the old mage brought me to his office. ¡°Are you coming here to attend class or are you just here to play around?¡± The old man was truly fierce. I lowered my head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Teacher. I know I¡¯ve done wrong.¡± ¡°Humph! Save your act! From now on, I will be watching you closely. Did you not enter the academy through your connections? Even if you only came here to mingle with those of background, you cannot disturb the study of others. Tell me, just what is the name of the government official who gave you the recommendation to let you join this academy?¡± His tone was full of ridicule. It seemed that he had taken me for a noble. I honestly told him, ¡°It was Teacher Lao Lun Di who recently recommended me.¡± The old man frowned and said, ¡°Lao Lun Di, Lao Lun Di, don¡¯t tell me he is the esteemed principal of the Intermediate Magic Academy?¡± I nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, that old man. I¡¯m his successor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Principal Di¡¯s successor? Even if you are, you still shouldn¡¯t disturb the class. Please take note of this from now on. You may leave.¡± His tone became much softer. I snickered to myself; Teacher Di¡¯s name was quite useful. After I left the office, I directly returned to the classroom. The students in class were surprised to see me return unscathed. I just continued to sit beside that girl. I whispered to her, ¡°You¡¯re pretty fierce and daring to get me into trouble.¡± With a cold ¡°humph¡±, she said, ¡°I got you into trouble? It¡¯s just that lechers such as yourself should just die.¡± She humphed again. Who would have imagined that a magnificent Magister such as myself would be played by a little girl? Very well, I must take my revenge. I will definitely let her know that I am not someone to be trifled with. I suddenly thought of an excellent idea. I immediately took out a piece of paper and began to furiously write in that paper. I actually did not even know which lesson we were currently on. It didn¡¯t matter. In any case, what the teacher was lecturing about was unsuitable for my cultivation. Every night, I just had to meditate and that was enough. When the girl beside me saw that I was studiously writing things down, she could not help but look at me, baffled. I used my body to obstruct her view, making her unable to see what I was writing. Writing through no less than half the class, I finally finished. I let out a long sigh and held the white paper up and read it once through from start to finish. I nodded my head in satisfaction. I lightly tapped the shoulder of the classmate sitting in front of me. He turned around and frowned, before impatiently saying, ¡°What do you want?¡± I suddenly made a diamond coin appear out of thin air. His brows unfolded and he gently asked, ¡°What is the matter?¡± I chuckled and whispered, ¡°You just have to tell me the name of that violent girl who is sitting beside me, and this coin will be yours.¡± He sneakily took a glance at the girl beside me and said into my ear, ¡°Her name is Mu Zi Mo.¡± I snickered to myself. It seemed like the charm of money was still quite large. After that, I quickly wrote a few more words at the very top of the paper. Mu Zi saw me acting very secretively and was curious. She wanted to steal a peek at the paper in my hand. I coldly looked at her, ¡°You want to have a look?¡± She was shocked and immediately moved backwards, saying, ¡°What do you want?¡± I handed the white paper over and said, ¡°Here. Didn¡¯t you want to have a look at it?¡± Her curiosity urged her to take the white paper that was in my hand. Just from reading it, her face grew red. Although she wasn¡¯t very beautiful, her brightly reddened face was similar to that of a red apple. After looking at it, you just felt like wanting to take a bite. This was what I had written on the white paper: Hello, Miss Mu Zi. Ever since I first looked at you, I felt like we were destined to be together. Your large eyes attracted me in a way that made me unconsciously fall in love with you. Although you always acted coldly toward me, so much so that you even set me up, I am not one bit angry at all. Truly. Not angry at all. (¡­.Omission of 2000 words¡­) I continuously teased you, simply wishing to attract your attention, to make you aware of my existence. I am too embarrassed to say to this in front of you as I am afraid of your refusal. I could only use this love letter to convey my feelings to you. Will you agree to date me? Inscribed with sincere love for you, Zhang Gong. This was the best plan that I had. Didn¡¯t she say I molested her? First, I would make her fall in love with me, before I started to get my revenge. Hehe. This idea was pretty good. After Mu Zi finished reading the love letter I gave her, she surprisingly did not dare to turn her head towards me. After a moment of peace, her blush faded away. She then turned her head towards me and said, ¡°Boring. Stop using such cheap tricks to play with me.¡± She crumpled the letter I gave her and threw it back to me. This was the result I had expected earlier on. With her bad impression of me, would she be fooled? Don¡¯t worry, take your time. Sooner or later I would have you in my trap. I lowered my head, feigning a heartbroken appearance and tried to straighten the love letter. I carefully folded it and put it into my pocket. Afterwards I didn¡¯t say a thing and gazed at the blackboard, but my mind was planning how to arouse Mu Zi¡¯s affection and bring about my revenge. Mu Zi looked at me, her eyes full of complicated emotions. The bell ending class rung, but I did not move my head. I did not know whether or not my cool behavior moved her. Forget about it. I had to find Ma Ke first. That fellow still hadn¡¯t told me his identity. Volume 4: Chapter 8 Ma Kes Background Volume 4: Chapter 8 ¨C Ma Ke¡¯s Background After taking only two steps, I saw Ma Ke walking in my direction. He seemed to be looking for me as well. I pulled him along. ¡°I was just about to come find you. Let¡¯s go and eat! After we eat, we¡¯ll take a break at the dormitory; before we continue to go for the afternoon lessons.¡± At the dinner table, Ma Ke was stunned when he saw me savagely sweeping up my meal. He said in shock, ¡°Boss, you¡¯re still eating your meal in this manner. I¡¯m impressed.¡± I glared at him, indicating for him to shut up and quickly eat his meal. A feminine voice sounded. ¡°If he wasn¡¯t eating like this, he wouldn¡¯t be called White Rice Bucket. Don¡¯t you think that I¡¯m right, Zhang Gong?¡± With my mouth still full of food, I turned my head to have a look. It was a pretty girl that looked similar to Hai Yue. Ah~ I suddenly realized that she was the girl who used the spells Absolute Disruption and Water Dragon¡¯s Chant. I hurriedly swallowed my food and awkwardly smiled before saying, ¡°Long time no see, Hai Shui! You¡¯ve become even more beautiful.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s fair face reddened and said, ¡°Really? I just heard from my sister that you¡¯d returned. I figured that you¡¯d be the same as before and rush to have your meal as quickly as possible. It really was as I expected! You haven¡¯t changed at all, you only grew taller and sturdier.¡± I started laughing. ¡°You¡¯re also not the same as before. You grew up to be so beautiful! You¡¯re definitely the flower of our academy. Right, Ma Ke?¡± In front of Hai Shui, Ma Ke could still be himself. ¡°That¡¯s right! Currently, her potential suitors could form a whole squadron.¡± (Five hundred people in a squadron) Hai Shui pouted playfully. ¡°You¡¯re really hateful! Ma Ke, you¡¯re exaggerating too much! Since when did I have that many suitors?¡± I pretended to panic and glanced around before looking at Ma Ke. ¡°Let¡¯s quickly finish our meals and retreat! If not, we¡¯ll be assaulted by a mass of students.¡± After saying so, I laughed loudly with Ma Ke, causing the students near our table to look in our direction. Hai Shui ran to my side and hammered me with her fist. ¡°You¡¯re so hateful! How can you tease people like this?¡± She really is an amusing girl. I winked at her. ¡°How did I tease you?¡± Hai Shui interrupted. ¡°Enough of you already! I¡¯m going to eat.¡± She turned around and walked away. I smiled at Ma Ke. ¡°Her attitude is completely different from her sister¡¯s. She¡¯s so lively and adorable. Why don¡¯t you court her instead?¡± Ma Ke suddenly became secretive and whispered in my ears, ¡°Boss, you don¡¯t know about this, but she already likes someone.¡± ¡°Really? Who?¡± ¡°The person who she likes is~¡­ you.¡± I frowned. ¡°That¡¯s enough! You¡¯re only joking with me. How could she possibly like me?¡± ¡°This¡¯s something you couldn¡¯t possibly know. Ever since that time when you defeated her, she couldn¡¯t forget about you. While you were out exploring the world, we were in the Advanced Magic Academy. She came to me a number of times asking for you. I told her that you had gone out to gain experience. She just didn¡¯t believe me and said that you had definitely gone to another school. She looked really depressed back then.¡± Ah~ that couldn¡¯t be true! How could she like me? Even though she was younger than Ma Ke and I by a year, her age was still similar to ours. I had always thought of her as a sister. I rumbled, ¡°She can¡¯t really like me.¡± At the same time I imagined dating her, and her casting Absolute Disruption on me whenever we argued. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand that. I shook my head rapidly. She also had such fierce siblings. I couldn¡¯t consider her being mine, and I didn¡¯t feel anything for her anyway. I warned Ma Ke. ¡°You¡¯re never allowed to bring this topic up again. Understood? Let¡¯s just eat and go!¡± Before leaving, I took a sneak peek at Hai Shui. She was looking at me. After seeing my face, her face flushed red and she lowered her head. I quickly stopped looking. It seemed as though Ma Ke hadn¡¯t lied to me. I had to run away! I dragged Ma Ke along with me as I ran to my dormitory. I sat on the bed and panted for a moment, before calming down. Ma Ke was annoyed and said, ¡°Boss, what are you doing? What¡¯s wrong with Hai Shui? You¡¯re acting like you had seen a ghost!¡± I replied, ¡°Just stop trying to help pair us up! You like Hai Yue, but I don¡¯t like Hai Shui. Please stop trying to get us together. Do you understand?¡± Ma Ke curiously said, ¡°What is wrong with Hai Shui? She¡¯s quite adorable and one of the top beauties of this academy.¡± I impatiently said, ¡°Enough is enough! Can you just stop talking about this and quickly tell me your identity? You haven¡¯t settled your outstanding debts.¡± Ma Ke quickly apologized and smiled. ¡°Haha, Boss, I was in the wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have purposely hidden my identity from you. It¡¯s just that my identity was only known by Teacher Long, even Teacher Di didn¡¯t know.¡± I teasingly said, ¡°Enough! Stop rambling in circles and say that you are the young master of a famous family.¡± Ma Ke opened the dormitory door to check that nobody was listening in our conversation and locked the door before returning. (Usually students wouldn¡¯t be at the dormitory at noon) He came near my ears and whispered, ¡°My father is Prince Ke Zha, also known as Ke Zha Ao Er. My real name is Ma Ke Ao Er, the second son of Prince Ke Zha.¡± ¡°In other words, you¡¯re royalty. Does anyone else know your identity?¡± ¡°Of course not! I have hidden my identity for two reasons: first so I could study and gain knowledge, and second, so I could observe talents and analyses the situation in the academy.¡± I continued his words. ¡°This is also for your father to recruit talented students, right? Please don¡¯t try to recruit me! I don¡¯t want to be an official, or worse still, a soldier.¡± Ma Ke awkwardly smiled and said, ¡°Why would I do that? How could we brothers talk about recruitment? You just need to support me in the future! Haha.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s really was counting his chickens before they hatched. My teacher and I were both Light Magisters, where my teacher was ranked third among the ten current magisters, and was the principal of the Royal Intermediate Academy. We would definitely be able to influence the Aixia kingdom, as it specialized in magic powers. Although he had different plans when he first met, I knew his friendship wasn¡¯t fake as, when we first met each other, we still weren¡¯t that strong. I patted his shoulder and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough! Say no more. As brothers, I will definitely help you.¡± Ma Ke excitedly grabbed my hands, ¡°You won¡¯t blame me, will you, brother?¡± I shook my head. ¡°No problem! Now stop doing this, if someone sees us like this, they¡¯ll think we¡¯re homos. Let¡¯s go! Afternoon lessons are starting!¡± Volume 4: Chapter 9 A Duel of Words with the Teacher Volume 4: Chapter 9 ¨C A Duel of Words with the Teacher I lazily walked into the classroom and sat in my seat. I had no idea what was happening during the lesson. Forget it! I decided to sleep for a while. While lying on the table in a subconscious state, I felt a burning gaze on my back. Even if my senses were not very sensitive, I still would have easily noticed it. I thought that it was Mu Zi who was looking at me. I sniggered in my heart. Did she really believe that I had fallen in love with her? I decided to just ignore her and make her wait in suspense. Without realizing it, I started to doze off. In my semi-conscious state, I felt someone pushed me strongly. I instinctively pushed the person¡¯s hand away from me. However, that person kept on pushing me as I continued to push him away. I got annoyed and sat up, shouting, ¡°What on earth do you want? Why are you so annoying? Stop disturbing my sleep!¡± I was surrounded by gasps. Only then did I remembered that I was still in class. At that moment, I woke up from my sleepy state. I looked in the direction of the person who had been pushing me and saw Mu Zi angrily glaring at me. I blankly asked her, ¡°Why did you push me?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened instantly and she pouted and her lips pointed in a direction. The students near my desk heard our conversation and started to laugh loudly. I followed the direction her lips were pointing to. Wah! There was a middle aged male teacher with an ashen expression on his face on the lecturer¡¯s platform. Hmm. Why were his lips shaking? The male teacher said in a low and shaking voice, ¡°You, stand up!¡± I used my finger to point at my nose and questionly asked, ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± ¡°Yes, you! Quickly, stand up now!¡± I lazily stood up from my seat. It seemed like my brain had not fully woken yet. I totally did not understand what the teacher meant. I asked, ¡°Teacher, you don¡¯t look well. Are you unwell? I think that you should go to the hospital to have a checkup. If your illness is serious, it¡¯ll be terrible.¡± My surroundings suddenly became quiet. The students were all thinking, this student really dares to challenge the teacher¡¯s authority? In the morning he irritated one, and now, in the afternoon, he¡¯s irritating another one. It was just too impressive. They looked as if they were filled with anticipation as to how the teacher would deal with me. The lecturer inhaled deeply as though trying to calm his strong emotions. He glared at me and said, ¡°You come up and answer this question. I want to hear your explanation.¡± As he said that, he pointed to the whiteboard, which had the main question for the lesson. Likely the teacher thought, if Zhang Gong answers wrongly or doesn¡¯t know how to answer, I¡¯ll immediately send him out of class and punish him by making him stand in the corridor. I looked at the whiteboard and saw that it was about the relationships between the magic elements. I frowned and thought for a moment. The teacher thought that I didn¡¯t know how to answer and was about to scold me, I started to speak. ¡°I believe that asking about the relationships of all magic is too general. Everyone should know about the different elements of magic. The six main elements are light, dark, water, fire, earth and wind. I said I found the current question too general because the relationships between the magic are just too complicated. In simpler terms, I believe that all magic can simultaneously support and counter when they interact.¡± The lecturer coldly smiled and said, ¡°Able to support and counter each other at the same time? Everyone knows about magic countering each other, but support I¡¯ve never heard of. In that case, water magic and fire magic can fuse together to become a flame?¡± My brain had finally fully woken up. I thought, aren¡¯t you just trying to put me on the spot? I¡¯m afraid that you can¡¯t. Your knowledge level can¡¯t be compared to mine as even Teacher Di found my theory new. There is no way that you can fight against my theory. I smiled and said, ¡°Of course, water magic can become fire magic, and wind magic can also become earth magic. These examples are the simple ones. Light and dark magic have many similar properties. Let me ask everyone, if there is no light, where does darkness comes from, and vice versa? Even though they are countering magic, did that occurred naturally? If we dare to make a daring assumption, maybe before light and dark magic separate into two different magic, they were actually one kind of magic.¡± ¡°Are you just frightening the class? If not, how are you going to prove that what you just said was true?¡± I shook my head and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t found any actual proof for it, that¡¯s why I said it was a daring assumption. Even though I haven¡¯t determined the exact relationship between light and dark magic, I can show an example of magic simultaneously supporting and interacting with each other.¡± The lecturer was stunned, and seemed to forget that he was just making things difficult for me, said, ¡°Continue speaking.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe if I just say it, so take a look.¡± I lifted both of my hands and casted two equally sized balls of water and fire magic. (I could use any elementary magic, except for dark magic.) I continued to explain, ¡°Everyone should know that water and fire magic counter each other. It should be like this.¡± I fused the two magic together. ¡°Pu Su~¡± The two magic balls completely vanished. ¡°This is what happens when the amount of elements are the same. But if they had different amounts, what would happen? Everyone take a look at water and fire magic fusing together.¡± Like last time, I summoned a ball of fire and water in each hand, but this time the fireball was much larger than the waterball. I slowly placed the waterball on top of the fireball. The waterball started to steam. This was because the fire magic was stronger than the water magic. Under my control, the waterball caught on fire. (To those who know physics, they should know that water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen gasses. One of the gasses was used as the catalyst in combustion.) Slowly, the two balls started to fuse and become one. All of the students, including the lecturer, gasped in amazement. The lecturer asked curiously, ¡°How on earth did you do that?¡± ¡°Actually, it is very easy. At a certain point, the water can be lit on fire but won¡¯t be extinguished.¡± This new information was hard for everyone to digest and accept fully. ¡°I will now continue to demonstrate fire becoming water.¡± This time, I used my left hand to cast a light magic ball of about fifty cm in diameter and casted a small fireball in my right hand, before placing the fireball in the center of the lightball. I easily controlled the two magic and said at the same time. ¡°Everyone! Please focus on the inside of the lightball.¡± As expected, in a short moment, droplets of water began forming inside the lightball I stopped the magic and made a conclusion. ¡°That will be all. Those were two examples of magic interacting with each other. The countering aspect of magic is only part of the truth. There is nothing that is absolutely right as under different situations, it can be changed. This is something that I am still researching on. Teacher, I¡¯m done answering the question.¡± The lecturer looked as if his spirit had left his body. It was not only him; the other students were in similar states. Any student who could attend the Academy was undoubtedly a genius, but they were being restricted to traditional magic. After my demonstration and explanations, everyone felt as though they had gained new knowledge about magic, but couldn¡¯t exactly tell what the new knowledge was. Thus, they were caught up in their own worlds and thoughts. I looked at Mu Zi who was beside me. She was also in the same state as the rest. Haha, looked like my explanation wasn¡¯t bad. I decided to let them continue to think about it, and play chess with their ¡®God of Dreams¡¯. Volume 4: Chapter 10 The 10 Great Masters Volume 4: Chapter 10 ¨C The 10 Great Masters When the bell signalling the end of school rang, I slowly began to wake. While Mu Zi was still packing up her desk, I happily smiled at her and said, ¡°Can I treat you to a meal? How was the lesson today? What I said made the teacher speechless!¡± Mu Zi coldly replied, ¡°Who would want to eat with you? You would only ruin my appetite. Besides, everything you said was false. The teacher just didn¡¯t want to fuss about you.¡± I showed a wronged expression. ¡°How was it false? Those were my results from a long period of research. What¡¯s so scary about me treating you to a meal? Let¡¯s go together!¡± Mu Zi coldly snorted and walked away without looking back at me. I thought, why are you playing so hard to get, even though your looks are just average? I will definitely make you fall for me, just wait for it. There was still time before dinner so I went to chat with Ma Ke in the dormitory and taught him some magic. After dinner, I did my everyday routine of cultivation: I slept. Once I awoke, I felt very refreshed and full of magic power ready to be used at any time. Just as I was about to go and look for him, Ma Ke arrived. ¡°Ma Ke! Are you interested in a spar with me? My body is itching for one!¡± Ma Ke instantly shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary! My level of magic can¡¯t be compared to yours so how would that even be a competition? And I don¡¯t want to be bullied by you. If you really want to fight, it¡¯s not that difficult. You just need to challenge the top ten ranked students of the school.¡± ¡°The top ten ranked students of the academy? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°This academy has a ranking system. Those who can get themselves ranked are the top experts of the academy.¡± ¡°How do you get ranked?¡± ¡°That¡¯s really easy! You just need to challenge a student who has a higher rank than yours. If you win the match, you will get that person¡¯s rank and the ranking below that position will shift.¡± ¡°Do you have a rank?¡± Ma ke proudly exclaimed, ¡°Of course I do! I am currently fifth ranked.¡± Ma Ke was only fifth ranked despite his level. It was clear that the academy had numerous talented students. This sparked my interest. ¡°Who else is in the top ten rankers?¡± Ma Ke said, ¡°The top ranker is a year 5 student who specialises in earth magic. He is extremely powerful. You should know that earth magic is generally good at defense, but bad at offense. However, not only does that person have an impregnable defence, but his offensive power is also even more unpredictable. He is extremely hard to deal with. I¡¯ve also fought against him before, but even I couldn¡¯t break his defense. He should at least be at the magic scholar level. You should go and directly challenge him. If you win, you will be the top ranker in this academy. He is known as Si Wa Ming.¡± I curiously asked, ¡°What about the rest of them?¡± Ma Ke explained, ¡°The second ranker is someone you know. He is big brother Hai Ri. He is extraordinarily gifted. In the past few years in the Advanced Magic Academy, he rapidly improved himself; even his fire magic is slightly stronger than mine. Basically, there isn¡¯t much of a power difference between the top ten students. Who do you think is the third ranker?¡± Ma Ke gave me a secretive look. Who was it? Did I know that person? It was probably Hai Shui. Her skills slightly exceeded those of her older sister, Hai Yue, so I decided that she would be my answer. ¡°Is it Hai Shui? Her Absolute Disruption and Water Dragon¡¯s Chant should be more powerful than before.¡± Ma Ke shook his head. ¡°Hai Shui¡¯s is a rank lower than me at sixth.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not Hai Shui, then who else could it be? It couldn¡¯t be that scion of the Ri family right?¡± When I mentioned him, Ma Ke¡¯s expression darkened, but he still continued to shake his head. ¡°Although he is powerful, he is only one rank higher than me at fourth.¡± ¡°Ah~ I definitely won¡¯t be able to guess it. Those were all the students I know so just quickly tell me, who is the third ranker?¡± Ma Ke grinned and said, ¡°You know the third ranked person; she is none other than the girl who sits beside you, Mu Zi Mo.¡± I said in shock, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought that it would be her. She didn¡¯t seem that powerful. This is too unbelievable!¡± Ma Ke smiled and replied, ¡°Why is it unbelievable? Mu Zi is a very low profile person, but her wind magic is the best I¡¯ve ever seen. Her magic control is greater than mine. She is definitely at the magic scholar level. If it wasn¡¯t for Tu Ke Feng, it¡¯s possible that the first rank would be hers. When I first attended this academy, I lost when I fought against her during the newcomer students¡¯ battle event. I was not satisfied with the outcome of the battle, so I challenged her many times afterward, but lost every time. Now I don¡¯t dare to duel with her. If you challenge her, I¡¯ll treat it as you helping me take my revenge.¡± I sighed. ¡°You didn¡¯t know about this, but today I wrote her a love letter.¡± Ma Ke jumped in surprise and shouted, ¡°What?! You actually wrote her a love letter! Although Mu Zi¡¯s magic power is strong, her looks are just ordinary. She is also the academy¡¯s well known ice princess. The last person who tried to court her faced a terrible outcome. Why did you choose her? You should have chosen Hai Shui. I don¡¯t think that Mu Zi deserves to be your girlfriend!¡± I laughed before telling Ma Ke the motive behind the love letter. Ma Ke suddenly understood what was going on. He lifted his thumb. ¡°Boss, the stunt that you just pulled is exceptional. I am impressed. It also serves as a way for me to settle my grudge. Ha ha, don¡¯t worry! I definitely won¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head back to class! I will decide who I want to challenge after school.¡± During the lesson, I did the same thing as the day before. I took out a paper and frantically wrote on it. It read: Mu Zi, I was extremely surprised to find that you are the academy¡¯s third ranker. To prove that my power matches your strength, I have decided to challenge one of the other top ten experts of the academy. Can you cheer me on? Right now I¡¯m just falling more and more in love with you¡­ (The rest of the letter¡¯s contents were typical of what one would write to his girlfriend. I shall not waste my time by writing all of that down.) Just like the day before, after I wrote the letter, I gave it to Mu Zi. She coldly looked at me and did not take the letter. ¡°You are just too bored.¡± I tried to give the love letter to her again. ¡°Just take a look, this is important! If you don¡¯t read it, you will regret it.¡± Mu Zi glared at me before skimming through the letter. Her face started to turn red, perhaps because what I wrote was too corny. It seemed that I still stood a chance, so I need to be even more serious. It was just too bad that my letter was treated extremely terribly. She crumpled it into a ball, but this time she did not throw it back to me.She just directly threw it out the window. I instantly became mad at her. I stood up and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t accept me, but you can¡¯t just toss my love letter away?! I have sincerely written that letter!¡± After my outburst, the classroom dissolved in uproar. Shoot! I realized I was still in class. Mu Zi¡¯s face paled and her lips seemed to start to shake. Teacher Si Lan Yu, who was standing at the lecturer¡¯s platform, said, ¡°Zhang Gong, what are you doing? This classroom is not a romantic place for you to confess your love.¡± I apologetically said, ¡°Sorry Teacher Yu, I will pay more attention next time, but just now, Mu Zi tossed out a paper out the window. For the cleanliness of the academy, can you please give me permission to retrieve it?¡± Teacher Si Lan Yu stared at me before erupting in laughter. ¡°Go ahead, you mischievous kid!¡± Volume 4: Chapter 11 A Proper Challenge Volume 4: Chapter 11 ¨C A Proper Challenge If Mu Zi hadn¡¯t been so powerful, the students probably would have teased her. I ran downstairs as quickly as I could to retrieve the second love letter. Before I sat back in my seat, I glared furiously at Mu Zi. After that, I stashed the second love letter, just as I had with the first one. I seethingly ignored her. ¡®She really didn¡¯t know how to cherish my hard work. Did she know that I was just playing with her? It couldn¡¯t be. I¡¯ll continue to think about that the next day. Today, I really wanted to play with one of the top rankers. I wondered who I should pick?¡¯ ¡®If my first challenge was with the top ranking earth magician, it would seem like I am a show-off; that would be a terrible decision. The second ranker is big brother Hai Ri, but I don¡¯t feel like fighting him. The third ranker is Mu Zi. If I challenge her, would there still be any chance of chasing her after? No. For my grand plan, I can¡¯t challenge her. The fourth ranker is the Ri family¡¯s scion. That¡¯s right! It shall be him. I can also help Ma Ke have his revenge. Haha, if Hai Yue sees me defeating her boyfriend, I wonder what would happen. I might even create a chance for Ma Ke. Great! That will be my choice!¡¯ Thinking about that, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from giggling. Mu Zi looked at me from the side and thought aloud, ¡°What is he plotting now¡­¡± My hearing was very sensitive. I looked at her and whispered, ¡°You will find that out after school.¡± A day of lessons quickly ended. Once the school bell rang to signal the end of school, I dashed out of the classroom and immediately ran to the main school building. I took a deep breath and shouted, ¡°Feng Liang Ri! I am Zhang Gong Wei. I am here to challenge you to a duel. If you hear this, please come to the school¡¯s field. I will be waiting for you there!¡± A clear and bright voice sounded from the building. ¡°Alright! I accept!¡± Success! Ha ha, I quickly ran to the field and waited at the center of the field for my opponent to come. I checked my body¡¯s status. ¡®My magic power and mental energy were in top conditions. I was extremely confident as I definitely didn¡¯t believe that Feng Liang Ri could stand against my Magister level power.¡¯ ¡®It looked like my previous shouting had had an effect; in a short period of time, I was surrounded by students.¡¯ ¡°Who is that? I¡¯ve never seen him before and he actually dares to challenge Feng Liang!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since someone last challenged the top ten rankers. This match will be exciting to watch.¡± ¡°Will he even be able to win? He looks quite handsome, but I¡¯m not sure about his magic power.¡± The surrounding students discussed amongst themselves. Ma Ke pushed his way through the crowd and ran to my side. He whispered. ¡°Boss, why are you challenging Feng Liang RI?¡± I was stunned and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t I challenge him? I am challenging him for you. I want to help you get your revenge. Is that bad?¡± Ma Ke hurriedly circled around me. ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve caused me severe trouble this time. Hai Yue will definitely think that I asked you to challenge Feng Liang. She¡¯ll hate me even more now!¡± I laughed while bending my body forward. ¡°What do you think I should do now? Do you really think I¡¯ll withdraw from the match now? You also see the crowd that¡¯s formed. If I withdraw from the challenge, I won¡¯t be able to continue attending this academy. It¡¯s already happened. You have to look at the situation calmly. Hai Yue doesn¡¯t like you. If she hates you more, it¡¯ll be better, because it can help deepen her impression of you.¡± ¡°Boss, what are you talking about¡­?¡± At that moment, Feng Liang Ri arrived. His girlfriend, Hai Yue, was by his side. Hai Yue ran over in anger and shouted at me, ¡°Are you insane? Why are you challenging Feng Liang? He has never offended you. If you really have the ability, why don¡¯t you just challenge the top ranker Si Wa Ming!¡± I gave her a helpless expression and smiled. ¡°Why? Are you afraid that your lover will lose to me? You don¡¯t trust him?¡± Just when Hai Yue was about to retort, Ma Ke quickly explained. ¡°Hai Yue, Zhang Gong doesn¡¯t have any bad intentions. He just wants to get a rank.¡± Hai Yue was still furious so she turned to face Ma Ke. ¡°It¡¯s you! You must¡¯ve been the one who encouraged him! You are so despicable. Just give up! I, Hai Yue, will definitely not fall for a despicable person like you! Hmph!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s face immediately paled. I patted his shoulder. ¡°Stop causing more trouble and go stand at the side.¡± Hai Yue¡¯s disrespectful attitude towards Ma Ke was making me furious. Hai Shui also ran over and pulled Hai Yue away. ¡°Sister, we should just let them battle. It¡¯s impossible to stop the match from happening.¡± After saying that, she stared at me for a while. Feng Liang¡¯s clear and bright voice voiced out, ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Hai Yue that your magic spells are very strong. Do enlighten me! Everyone, please back up! Hai Yue, it¡¯s alright. Please step out of the ring.¡± Feng Liang Ri and I finally stood face to face at the center of the field. I shouted, ¡°All students, please back up and allow us to have a 500m circumference of space to prevent any accidental injuries that may happen during the duel.¡± A colourful rainbow-coloured magic spell suddenly covered 500m of the field with Feng Liang and I at its center. I would definitely show my prowess to Feng Liang so he would know that we brothers were not that easy to bully. I made a hand signal as a sign for him to have the first move. ¡°Let¡¯s begin and let me experience your Ri family¡¯s exceptional magic spells!¡± Feng Liang smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t be modest and will begin the battle. Free wind, listen to my command, form a violent Wind Tornado!¡± A small Wind Tornado gathered in front of him. ¡®What was he up to? Why was he not directly attacking me? I didn¡¯t need to chant my spells anyway so I wasn¡¯t impatient. I decided to continue to see what would happen.¡¯ ¡°Free wind, listen to my command, form a violent Wind Tornado!¡± ¡°Free wind, listen to my command, form a violent Wind Tornado!¡± ¡­¡­ ¡®So that¡¯s what he was doing! In a short period of time, Feng Liang had actually cast nine small Wind Tornados.¡¯ I told him, ¡°The Wind Tornado will always be powerless against me; no matter how many times you cast it. Please stop wasting your magic power!¡± Feng Liang grinned at me. ¡°Really? Violent Wind Tornado! Release your power to destroy and tear apart everything in front of you!¡± Following his chant, the intermediate class Wind Tornados actually moved and collided with each other. They swirled up sand and stones. Finally, all nine Wind Tornados fused into one Wind Tornado. The surrounding air seemed to become a vacuum. When the Wind Tornado reached a critical point, it exploded! ¡®This is bad! It was a wind fusion magic spell. It was very powerful and it could unexpectedly reach the level of an advanced level spell. It looked like Feng Liang wasn¡¯t that simple after all!¡¯ I hurriedly cast three light shields to gain some time. ¡°Great Light elements! Please lend me your great powers! Let the unlimited light shine on the whole land. Illuminate ¨C Brilliant Empire!¡± I chose to fight back relentlessly. Volume 4: Chapter 12 Heavenly Sun Devouring Hound Volume 4: Chapter 12 ¨C Heavenly Sun Devouring Hound I slowly rose from the ground, my body glowing with light. I raised my head. The Gold Dan from my upper dantian surged with magic power that filled my entire body. I gathered the light elements to make an approximately five meter in diameter pillar and made it fly toward Feng Liang. ¡°Light magician!¡± The surrounding students gasped. With my magic power at the time, Brilliant Empire was very different from before. When the violent Wind Tornado and Brilliant Empire spells collided, Feng Liang¡¯s magic power was unexpectedly very powerful. This was probably related to the way his spell was cast. Atop the field, a hurricane began swirling into existence. I was pushed back three steps by his Wind Tornado as I wasn¡¯t prepared for it. The air that was lost came back again. Feng Liang was fine, but he looked shocked. ¡°You could actually easily counter my violent storm wind!¡± I dusted the dirt off my body. ¡°It¡¯s been some time since someone placed me in a disadvantageous position. The magic spell you just used was great! Is that your original spell?¡± Feng Liang nodded. ¡°I made Wind Tornados spinning in opposite directions to collide. The final, fused Wind Tornado has a very strong offensive power.¡± I was surprised. ¡°Your magic control is really strong. Let¡¯s continue! I want to see if you have any other exceptional spells. Any spells weaker than the one you used just now will be useless against me.¡± Feng Liang couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°You¡¯re interesting for warning your opponent. A good opponent such as yourself is really hard to find. I shall let you experience my Ri family¡¯s traditional magic spell.¡± After hearing that he was going to use a traditional spell, my heart trembled in fear as I remembered how disastrous it had been when I previously fought with Hai Shui. I instantly raised my guard and secretly started to gather my magic power in my right hand. Feng Liang quickly chanted and six walls of wind swiftly gathered in front of him to protext him. ¡®It was obvious that it is to gain some times to cast the more powerful spell. Seeing how cautious he was, I knew that the long spell he was chanting wouldn¡¯t be easy to counter.¡¯ I waved my right hand and a huge light blade struck his defensive wall of wind. Feng Liang¡¯s facial expression suddenly changed. ¡°The day lights up in the sky, the heavenly hound shall descend. It is impossible to resist and will engulf everything and bring endless darkness to the land¡ªHeavenly Sun Devouring Hound!¡± Once my light blade succeeded in breaking his walls of wind, he finished chanting the spell. Feng Liang¡¯s face paled and his blond hair turned black and straightened. His eyes seemed to emit a light. He started to chant something I didn¡¯t understand. A dark aura surrounded his body. When the light blade struck at his head, the dark aura vigorously scraped against the blade. The light elements unexpectedly started to diffuse and no longer released their powers. ¡®I was scared! What was that magic? Why did it seem so similar to that magic clan¡¯s bamboo pole¡¯s magic? Wasn¡¯t Feng Liang from the Ri family? How could he know dark magic?¡¯ Mu Zi, who was in the crowd watching the match, showed a strange expression and was very interested in the spell Feng Liang cast. The black aura surrounding Feng Liang thickened. He started to speak in a foreign language. ¡°This is our Ri family¡¯s Heavenly Sun Devouring Hound spell! You are lucky that I only recently inherited the spell. The main special effect of the spell is that it can engulf everything, including magic elements. I hope that you will not be the first sacrifice to this spell! Hehehehe¡­¡± Hai Yue who was behind him was also frightened by his evil appearance. She had never imagined that her prince on a white horse could become so cold. He was like a totally different person. I was totally frightened from his sudden change and hurriedly chanted, ¡°Righteous, gentle, warm, serious, strict lights and lights of destruction! Please gather at my side and become endless light rays to exterminate all evil and bring salvation to the world!¡ª- Infinite Radiant Lights!¡± This was my last trump card, the advanced spell I had only learned recently. Feng Liang¡¯s spell finished. He suddenly let out a long, mourning cry. The black aura surrounding his body surged out and formed a huge hound shape before pouncing towards me. A strong pressure suddenly covered the area. My body began to radiate golden lights. They were from my upper Dantian¡¯s Gold Dan, a clear, spherical, transparent golden ball the size of a ping pong ball that could increase my magic power. All I could do was release it to increase my magic power gathering speed. The light elements from my surroundings started to gather. Under my control, my Gold Dan released a ray of gentle, one meter in diameter golden light, and shot it towards the ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯. The ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯ in the air opened its mouth to try and devour the golden light. I could feel my magic power quickly decreasing. Feng Liang¡¯s situation was also not that good. Once the ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯ started to absorb the golden light, his entire body shivered and he coughed out a mouthful of blood. He continued to bitterly hold on as supporting the spell used a lot of his energy. He continued to chant foreign words and his body kept supplying dark energy to the ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯. ¡®This couldn¡¯t carry on. If I allowed him to continue supporting the spell, my power would eventually weaken and the spell would totally engulf me along with with my magic spell! I could only fight using all of my abilities.¡¯ ¡®I thought of my total failure in defeating him as I made the Gold Dan emit golden light and simultaneously made it go towards the mouth of the ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯. As the Gold Dan and the golden light vanished in the huge mouth of the ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯, I got nervous. If I couldn¡¯t defeat it with that move, my chances of succeeding would decrease, even if I was to recover all of my lost magic power.¡¯ The ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯ that was in the air tumbled and slowly lost its Hound shape. ¡°Peng!¡± The ¡®Heavenly Hound¡¯ exploded, leaving the dim Gold Dan in the air. I immediately used my remaining power to retrieve it. I had used a lot of magic power, but luckily the Gold Dan hadn¡¯t been completely used up. Feng Liang showed a strange expression and I started to shout. Not good! Feng Liang spat out a mist of blood. Blood came gushing out from all seven of his apertures and he fell to the ground. I used short distance teleportation to move to his side. ¡®Previously I really couldn¡¯t have held back! If not, I really would¡¯ve been engulfed by that magic spell.¡¯ When I appeared in front of him, his hair had gone back to normal. He was in a severe condition. I immediately used my remaining power to cast a recovery spell to stabilize his condition. Volume 4: Chapter 13 A Student Facing Death Volume 4: Chapter 13 ¨C A Student Facing Death The first person to run up after the barrier dispersed was Hai Yue. She glared at me viciously and shouted, ¡°You are ruthless! If Feng Liang dies, I will make sure you are buried along with him! Gentle water, form a cone of ice and charge towards my foe!¡± I had just used all of my remaining power to help Feng Liang. I heaved a sigh of relief; it should be enough to secure his life. The ice cone flew over. With my whole body devoid of strength, I could only watch as it hurtled towards me. When the cone was about to pierce through my chest, an unfamiliar power suddenly surged out from my body and stopped the ice cone after it pierced half an inch into my body. The impact of the ice cone still made me fly backwards and sent violent shock through my body; which made me spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°What are you doing? Can¡¯t you see that Zhang Gong was saving Feng Liang?¡± Ma Ke shouted as he ran in front of me and shielded me. Hai Yue directed the same vicious gaze to him. ¡°You¡¯re all terrible!¡± After this outburst, she lifted Feng Liang, turned around and walked away. Ma Ke sighed and hurriedly came to help me. ¡°Boss, are you ok?¡± I held onto my pain throbbing chest and said, ¡°I will survive, but Hai Yue was really fierce.¡± Ma Ke said, ¡°We will be her enemies from now on! There is nothing we can do to salvage the situation! That said, you really are capable, Boss. Even after such a tough match, you still had enough power to cast a defensive spell at the end. I¡¯m truly impressed by your strength.¡± Hai Shui walked over and Ma Ke instinctively shielded my body. There was a complicated glimmer in Hai Shui¡¯s eyes as she spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t have any bad intentions. Just let me have a look at Zhang Gong¡¯s wound, will you?¡± Ma Ke turned his head and looked at me questioningly. After seeing me nodding my head, Ma Ke stepped aside. Hai Shui chanted, ¡°Gentle water, use your kind heart to form a recovery potion and completely heal the wound before you.¡± The water elements gathered in her hand and formed a light blue colored ball that flew towards my chest. An icy feeling flowed through my entire body as the wound on my chest slowly healed and my internal injuries recovered and my internal pain I was feeling felt much better. Only the massive amount of magic power I had used had not fully recover. I smiled, ¡°Hai Shui, thank you.¡± Hai Shui shook her head, ¡°Why did your relationship with sister become so terrible? Please don¡¯t blame sister, alright? She was just too angry to think about what she was saying.¡± ¡°Why would I blame her? If I had been in her shoes, I probably would¡¯ve reacted even more fiercely than she did. I¡¯m alright already, you should head back to check on your sister.¡± Hai Shui was elated and said sweetly, ¡°Thank you, Zhang Gong! I¡¯ll head back. See you later!¡± ¡°See you later!¡± Watching Hai Shui¡¯s back fade, Ma Ke said, ¡°Boss, it looks like Hai Shui really does have feelings for you. If she didn¡¯t, she never would¡¯ve treated you.¡± I frowned and said, ¡°Stop talking nonsense and help me go back.¡± Ma Ke supported me all the way back to the dormitory. A pair of clear eyes were focused on our backs, and its owner muttered to herself, ¡°Did you challenge Feng Liang for me? Your magic power is stronger than before. Could it be that you really fell in love with me? I should hate you, but I just can¡¯t. Why did you have to disturb my heart? It is impossible for us to be together, you should have chosen Hai Shui instead.¡± After muttering these words, she turned around and walked in the opposite direction. I didn¡¯t hear the mutters at all. After we reached the dormitory, Ma Ke asked, ¡°Boss, how are you feeling?¡± I lay on the bed. ¡°Ma Ke, please don¡¯t blame me, okay?¡± Ma Ke quietly sighed, ¡°Boss, why did you do that? Why didn¡¯t you inform me before you challenged Feng Liang Ri? After this, I have no hope of getting her.¡± I slowly shook my head. ¡°Stop thinking like this, there is still hope. As long as you continue to love Hai Yue, nothing is impossible. When I fought against Feng Liang, did you see the last spell he cast, ¡®Heavenly Sun Devouring Hound?¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°I saw, why?¡± I replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that he looked really sinister at that time? If he really does have an evil personality, there is a big chance that Hai Yue will dump him. There are three reasons as to why I challenged him. First, I wanted to help you to get your revenge. Second, I wanted to have a look at his power, and lastly, I also wanted to figure out his personality flaws through his magic power. If I know his weak points, then you will stand a chance in getting Hai Yue. Do you understand?¡± Ma Ke looked thoughtful. ¡°I believe that even if they really break up, she still won¡¯t fall for me. There¡¯s nobody she hates more than me.¡± I smiled. ¡°Actually, there is a positive side to her hating you to the core. If she didn¡¯t care about you, you would really have no hope at all. She hates you, which means you still have a place in her heart. Whether you can turn this hatred into love depends entirely on you. The best way is to do something that will move her to the point where she¡¯ll forgive every single one of your shortcomings.¡± This got Ma Ke interested. ¡°What should I do to move her to that extent then?¡± I frowned. ¡°You really are incorrigible! How could I teach you this? You have to create chances on your own. If you can¡¯t change Hai Yue¡¯s heart before graduation, you¡¯ll really lose her. You have to head back and think carefully about what you want to do. I need to start cultivating now, I¡¯ve used up a lot of my magic power.¡± Ma Ke said, ¡°Thanks a lot Boss! I¡¯ll head back now, you should rest up.¡± When seeing Ma Ke out, I quietly laid back down. I thought back to the spell that Feng Liang had used. ¡®It was very similar to the spell that the magic clan¡¯s Zhu Gan used, but it was slightly different. It felt more sinister. Feng Liang Ri was from the Ri family, so he couldn¡¯t be from the magic clan. He seemed to have unusual secret, one I would have to investigate later on.¡¯ I closed my eyes and focused on the dim Gold Dan to gather magic power. Light element slowly filled the Gold Dan as I went into my meditative state. When I woke up, it was already daytime. It should be the next day¡¯s morning. I got out of bed and moved my body, feeling much better. ¡®At least eighty percent of my magic power has recovered. The gathering speed of my magic power also seemed to be much quicker than before; this was probably related to when the God King shed my mortal body and exchanged my bones.¡¯ My stomach kept on growling. I hadn¡¯t eaten anything since last night, so I figured I¡¯d head to the canteen. I wondered why Ma Ke hadn¡¯t come to find me. Volume 4: Chapter 14 - Stirring the Heart Volume 4: Chapter 14 - Stirring the Heart When I walked out of the room, it was quiet. Where had everyone gone? When I reached the lower floor of the dormitory, I met the dormitory¡¯s receptionist, an old man. He grinned at me. ¡°You¡¯re already late for class! Why aren¡¯t you rushing?¡± I was in shock. ¡°What time is it? Why am I late?¡± He replied, ¡°If you don¡¯t hurry up, the third period of the morning classes will soon end.¡± Ah! It was already that late. After thanking him, I rushed out of the dormitory. When I reached the entrance of the classroom, Teacher Si Lan Yu was teaching the class. Let¡¯s just face the music! It¡¯s just being late anyways. I shouted, ¡°Permission to enter!¡± Teacher Yu replied, ¡°Enter!¡± I pushed open the classroom door. When I walked into the classroom, I lowered my head. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m sorry for being late.¡± I could feel that all of the students are looking in my direction. Teacher Yu said, ¡°Please remember to be on time next time and quickly take your seat.¡± ¡®Teacher Yu is really so easy going! Haha, it seems that I¡¯ve been let off the hook! I calm down and sit back in my seat. Something feels different today. The gazes in the students¡¯ eyes aren¡¯t as complicated. All of their eyes seems to all be filled with respect and even have signs of longings instead. It looks like the victory over Feng Liang had a huge effect in the class!¡¯ I peeked at Mu Zi, who was at my side. She was the only one who hadn¡¯t looked at me since I entered the classroom. I whispered to her, ¡°Hey, were you there when I fought against Feng Liang yesterday? Mu Zi didn¡¯t look at me and coldly replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t and please stop talking to me during class.¡± I pouted and took a piece of paper out from my bag to resume the love letter battle. I frantically wrote on the paper and didn¡¯t even bother to head out during the break. Finally, after the fourth period, I finished writing my 2000 word masterpiece. What I wrote wasn¡¯t corny at all. It was the feelings I had felt when I sparred with Feng Liang. I used the remaining few sentences to express my feelings for Mu Zi. I flipped through the pages. ¡®I hope this time Mu Zi won¡¯t tear it up. If she really tears it up, it will mean failure. I won¡¯t have any more chances to make her fall for me. Currently, I don¡¯t know why, but my feelings of revenge are lessening. I even like her cold attitude instead of hating it.¡¯ I placed the papers on her table and waited to see if she would take them. She turned her head and glared at me while I smiled back at her. She took a look at the papers and, found that they weren¡¯t some corny love letter, but a battle analysis. She became serious and looked really interested in what she was reading. ¡®There¡¯s hope! Haha! Wonderful!¡¯ Mu Zi flipped through the pages and wrote a few words on the last page before handing them back to me. I almost screamed out in joy because she didn¡¯t tear up my letter and even replied. A soothing feeling passed through my entire body. I took back the letter and saw a line of unkempt words. ¡®I was shocked not because of what she wrote, but rather because her handwriting was just too awful! It looked just like tadpole writing.¡¯ I turned my head to look at her before looking back at her writing. While suppressing my laughter, I seriously tried to decipher the words from her tadpole handwriting. ¡®Luckily, my deciphering skills were strong and I somewhat understood what she had written: ¡®You are indeed very strong as you were able to defeat Feng Liang Ri, but it is just impossible for us to be together. From now on, please stop disturbing me.¡¯ ¡®As I read her words, I didn¡¯t feel any sadness, but instead became extremely happy! I¡¯ve finally moved her! This isn¡¯t the same uncaring attitude as before; she replied me. There¡¯s hope! Great hope!¡¯ I carefully stashed the letter. My passion hadn¡¯t seem to reach her yet. ¡®I will continue trying to chase her tomorrow. I believe that if I continue to chase her without giving up, I¡¯ll get some results.¡¯ After school, I found Ma Ke. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come to get me this morning?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°I was afraid that the after effects of yesterday were too severe, and that you hadn¡¯t fully recovered. Judging from your appearance, it seems that you are fine already.¡± I happily said, ¡°Of course I am fine! My current magic power recovery speed is very fast. Let¡¯s go and quickly grab some food! I¡¯m starving!¡± After we walked into the canteen with our arms around each other¡¯s shoulders, I showed my White Rice Bucket characteristic and crazily gobbled up my food. Suddenly, an attractive scent floated over as Hai Shui sat at the same table as us. She asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you? How are your injuries recovering?¡± I smiled as I replied. ¡°I really have to thank you for this. If you hadn¡¯t helped me treat my wounds yesterday, I might not have been able to get out of bed today.¡± Hai Shui said, ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine, it¡¯s enough!¡± After saying that, she seemed to have felt something, and her small, fair and delicate face reddened. Ma Ke teased her. ¡°Why is your face so red?¡± Hai Shui glared at him and pouted playfully, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t do if he was injured.¡± I hurriedly intercepted. ¡°Hai Shui, how is Feng Liang? He shouldn¡¯t still be in a dangerous condition, right? Hai Shui frowned. ¡°He is alright. He¡¯ll survive and has already woken up. However, it¡¯ll take a long time for him to fully recover. Your moves were truly ferocious.¡± I sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t have any other choices at that moment. You should¡¯ve seen the match. The magic spell he used was too unusual. It seemed to be dark magic. If I hadn¡¯t fought with all my might, you probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see me today.¡± Hai Shui giggled and replied, ¡°Feng Liang not only didn¡¯t blame you, but wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. If you hadn¡¯t treated him immediately, he would have died already. Although it is an impartial competition, the results will be undesirable if someone really loses his life in the academy. Furthermore, he has the powerful Ri family supporting him! That¡¯s right! About the Ri family, you should keep an eye out for them. You never know when they will get their revenge. Yesterday, after Feng Liang¡¯s grandfather, an esteemed elder of the Ri family, Si Feng Ri, found out that you severely injured Feng Liang, he was raged in anger. If you hadn¡¯t been in the academy, he would¡¯ve already come to get his revenge. That stubborn old man will do anything to maintain the prestige of his family. For now, you should try and keep a low profile. He should calm down after Feng Liang recovers.¡± I smilingly said, ¡°Thank you for telling me this; but so what if the Ri family wants to take their revenge? Are they just going to justify it with their nobility? Feng Liang and I were fighting in an impartial competition. I really want to see what they¡¯ll do to me!¡± Hai Shui hastily said after hearing my words, ¡°Lower your voice! It¡¯ll be terrible if someone else heard what you said. It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t know that the whole kingdom will be in a civil war soon? Currently, the Emperor is on his last breaths. Once he stops breathing, the civil war will begin. Furthermore, the three main families holds lots of powers in the kingdom.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 15 - Returning Home to Report Volume 4: Chapter 15 - Returning Home to Report I was startled and asked, ¡°It can¡¯t be grave to the point of starting a civil war?¡± I looked at Ma Ke. He was also in shock. He clearly didn¡¯t know the current state of affairs. Hai Shui replied, ¡°Why isn¡¯t it possible? The three main powers are currently all preparing their militaries! Anytime now, they¡¯ll start a civil war.¡± I sighed. ¡°War is the cruelest! If war really happens, the commoners will be ones that suffers the most. Furthermore, the kingdom¡¯s power will weaken drastically during a civil war. It¡¯ll disturb the balance between the three kingdoms.¡± Hai Shui stared at me for a while, eyes wide. ¡°Wow~ I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d analyze the situation like that. It would be great if you joined our Xing family. With your magic power, it should be able to bring the family to it¡¯s peak!¡± I laughed and anxiously looked at Ma Ke. ¡°I think that we should forget about that suggestion as even the problem we currently have with your sister can¡¯t be solved.¡± Ma Ke supported me, saying, ¡°Right, right! You should stop putting Zhang Gong on the spot!¡± Hai Shui pouted her cute and small lips, ¡°Humph! Sister isn¡¯t the problem! I don¡¯t care! Are you going to tell me if you¡¯re going to agree or not? I¡¯ll just ask my grandfather, okay?¡± ¡®Hai Shui was one of the candidates to inherit the Xing Family so her position in the family was very high. If she really suggested for me to enter her family, the chance of success would definitely be very high.¡¯ I immediately shook my head. ¡°No! Just forget it! I don¡¯t want to be restrained and love my freedom. Moreover, I just offended the Ri family. If I join your family, won¡¯t it lead to conflict between the two families?¡± Hai Shui lowered her head and thought. ¡°What you said is right! However, my offer still stands. If you ever change your mind, you must tell me! You carry on having your meals; I¡¯ll head back first.¡± As Ma Ke focused on Hai Shui¡¯s back as she left, he said to me, ¡°Boss, thank you! I know that you refused Hai Shui because of me. I really don¡¯t know what¡­¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°Stop saying such things! We are brothers! Anyway, I won¡¯t join your family as well. Honestly, I hope that this will not result in war! Is peace so bad? We can only continue flourishing ourselves if we stay united. During my previous adventures, I met the Magic race. They didn¡¯t look at our human race with good intentions and rather wanted us gone. If we have an internal war, won¡¯t it be the perfect chance for them to invade us? ¡°Magic race? Boss, you met the Magic race?¡± ¡°Yup! Why?¡± ¡°This is a big issue! I will immediately inform my father. The information that the Magic race might invade us is super important!¡± I curiously asked, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be this nervous, right?¡± Ma Ke rebuked, ¡°How could I not be nervous? The Magic race must have used an unknown method to enter the our Eastern continent. This proves that they have terrible intentions towards our human race. This information is extremely important!¡± I scratched my head and thought back to the exquisite, beautiful face of the Magic race¡¯s princess. ¡°The Magic race isn¡¯t that terrifying. They are just like us, living in the world. Why do you look like you¡¯ve met a ghost?¡± ¡°The Magic race and our human kind are not the same! They are enemies to all of the human race.¡± ¡°Alright! I don¡¯t want to continue arguing with you. Just do whatever you like! Let¡¯s quickly finish our meal! I want to head back to the dormitory for a break.¡± Ma Ke left the academy and headed home to report the important information to his father that night. During the next day¡¯s class, I wrote another letter to Mu Zi. I wrote just a few sentences: ¡°Yesterday when I received your reply, I was extremely elated. I just want to ask you, why do you think it¡¯s impossible for us to be together and want me to not to disturb you anymore? I really can¡¯t stop myself from really liking you. Even though you are very cold to me, I know that you¡¯re actually very kind hearted. Can you please give me a chance? I promise I will forever protect you!¡± While writing, I no longer thought of revenge. ''Mu Zi¡¯s plain appearance had become so adorable. It couldn¡¯t be that I¡¯d really fallen in love with her? No, it couldn¡¯t be.'' I silently reminded myself not to forget to execute my revenge on her. After I gave her the letter, she replied on the paper, ¡°Stop asking me! We definitely can¡¯t be together. I will never fall for you! Just give up! Hai Shui is the one who loves you. She should be the one that you choose!¡± After I finished reading her unkempt words, I focused on her face. She felt my hot gaze and looked at me. I whispered to her, ¡°Please give me a reason?¡±When I asked that, my heart actually felt a dull ache. Mu Zi¡¯s eyes showed a complicated expression and she whispered back, ¡°Just don¡¯t ask, okay?¡± She didn¡¯t not look as cold, but was actually really delicate.My heart began trembling. I suddenly reached out to hold her cold, yet tender hand. Once I touched her hand, She screamed out in shock and almost toppled out of her chair. It was the current lesson is with the annoying old mage. ¡°Zhang Gong, what are you doing? It is class time!¡± I awkwardly laughed, ¡°Teacher, Mu Zi got scared by a cockroach just now so I just went to support her.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face flushed, but didn''t say anything. She just looked down at her lapels. The old man, finding he did not have any evidence to use against me, angrily shouted, ¡°Please take note of that next time! Students, I will teach up to here as it is nearing the end of the class. We will have a test to test your knowledge on magic spells tomorrow. I hope that every student will come to class prepared for the test to achieve good grades for it. There¡¯s a chance for those who fail to be unable to advance to year four!¡± After saying that, he glared at me. ¡®No! This can¡¯t be happening.There¡¯s a test tomorrow? I haven''t been listening much in class, and the classes are short. How am I supposed to take the test on the knowledge of spells? It isn¡¯t the same as a test on usage of magic spells! Damn him! I¡¯ll need to rely on Ma Ke this time.¡¯ I whispered to Mu Zi, ¡°You didn¡¯t hurt yourself, did you? How about we have lunch together today?¡± Mu Zi did not reply, but took out a paper and wrote on it before throwing it to me. I looked down at the paper. She wrote: ¡°Please stop disturbing me! I am begging you! Now, I am the laughingstock of the class. In the future, please also stop writing letters to me.¡± When I read her words, my heart coldly shuddered. However, I remembered her reddened face. I knew that she had some feelings for me. Since she refused to join me for lunch, then I would just forget about it. I¡¯ll take it easy for now, but one day I would definitely get her to willingly come into my arms. Volume 4: Chapter 16 - Audience with the Prince Volume 4: Chapter 16 - Audience with the Prince After the first lesson of the day ended, Ma Ke came to find me. Looking at his serious expression, I knew that something happened. He pulled me to a secluded area. ¡°Boss, something bad happened. When I went back to tell my father about you meeting the Magic race, my father was astonished and told me to bring you to see him. What do you think?¡± I frowned. ¡°Is it really that serious? How is the Emperor¡¯s condition? Is it as bad as what Hai Shui told us?¡± Ma Ke seriously nodded his head. ¡°My father said that the Emperor only has three to five months left to live. The Emperor also does not have a son to inherit the throne. Once he passes away, the internal affairs of the kingdom will change greatly. The competition for the throne will be really intense.¡± I thought for a while. ¡°Alright! I will meet your father. When shall we head over?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Tonight. After classes today, I will come and find you.¡± I noded. ¡°Alright!¡± After returning to class, my mood became serious. ¡®If the Emperor dies, there is a high chance that the kingdom of Aixia will become segregated. It¡¯ll be worst case scenario that I don¡¯t want to see. Now there are three groups of main powers. If one falls, it will badly influence Aixia. To be truthful, Ma Ke¡¯s father, Ke Zha Ao Er, should be the top candidate for the throne as he is the Emperor¡¯s blood related brother. His strength is also stronger than that of the Emperor. However, in the current situation, the other two main powers obviously have the intention of teaming up. It¡¯ll be hard for Prince Ke Zha Ao Er to fight against them, especially since Duke Te Yi has the Royal Magic Mage Union as his main trump card. This is so frustrating!¡¯ I shook my head. ¡®What does this really have to do with me? It isn¡¯t as if I am also fighting for the throne. But no, if the war really happens, doesn''t it mean that it¡¯ll be a terrible situation? Is there a way to avoid this? As an individual, what can I do? Even if I am a Magister, there is still no hope of stopping this war. During the meeting with Ma ke¡¯s father tonight, I¡¯ll try to understand what kind of person he is.¡¯ Suddenly, there was a piece of paper in front of me. I sat, stunned for a while, before picking up the paper and reading it. This was what was written on the paper, ¡°What are you thinking about so deeply?¡± ¡®It was from Mu Zi. It really was her! I looked at her in high spirits, but she just continued to look at the whiteboard as if she didn¡¯t know that I was staring at her.¡¯ I quickly wrote, ¡°Some important, worrying issues regarding the kingdom. This is the first time that you¡¯ve written me a letter. It made me really happy. It can¡¯t be that you have fallen in love with me?¡± After I wrote it, I passed it to Mu Zi. She read it and looked at me, before whispering, ¡°You are just driveling! What important issues regarding the Kingdom? All you do everyday is just play. I have never seen you pay attention in class and you are now worrying about the big issues happening in the Kingdom? I was just afraid that the teacher would call for you so I wrote a note for you to remind you to listen properly. Don¡¯t misunderstand, I don¡¯t like you.¡± After she said that, her face reddened for a moment. ¡®Her expression serves to be a proof that success is nearing.¡¯ Ma Ke and I left the academy and went directly to the prince¡¯s mansion that night. ¡°Your house is really huge!¡± As I look at the imposing prince¡¯s mansion, I gasped in awe. Ma Ke smiled wryly. ¡°Well, my father is a prince so his household is held to a higher standard. Let¡¯s quickly head inside!¡± At the entrance, when the guards on duty saw Ma Ke they immediately bowed. ¡°Welcome back, Second Young Master!¡± I curiously asked Ma Ke, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they calling you young prince?¡± Ma Ke¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Boss, stop making fun of me! How can I be a young prince? I will always be your brother. Quickly go and inform my father and say that I brought the magic scholar Zhang Gong.¡± The second sentence was meant for the guard. Ma Ke said I was only a magic scholar so that he wouldn¡¯t expose my actual abilities. The guard respectfully looked at me.¡®The youngsters this days are incredible. He¡¯s able to become a magic scholar at such a young age.¡¯ He then turned around and ran into the mansion to relay the message. Ma Ke led the way in front of me. While we walked, he said, ¡°I will first bring you to my father¡¯s study as he usually meets his guest there.¡± I smiled and replied. ¡°At your house, I will definitely listen to you. Let¡¯s go!¡± The height of the interior of the mansion was very tall. It was both interesting and appealing. There was a rock garden and a forest in the mansion that quivered under the moonlight. Every 20m stood a guard. After walking for a while, we finally reached the study that Ma Ke had previously mentioned. ¡®How was it a study? It looked like a small scale library instead. It was 500 m in diameter and tall bookshelves surrounded the place. Many books were dazzlingly lined up on the bookshelves.¡¯ Ma Ke told me, ¡°Boss, you can take a seat first. I¡¯ll check whether my father has arrived.¡± As he said that, he led me to the center of the couch meant for guests. After Ma Ke went out I got bored as I didn¡¯t have anything to do. I stood up randomly took a book off one of the bookshelves. << Three Hundred Poems>>. It looked really old as it was even bounded by strings. The pages had also turned yellow. ¡®I opened the book and realized it was just ancient poems that I hadn¡¯t seen before. I skimmed through the book and found that it was rather interesting.¡¯ Just as I was about to read more of it, a guard announced from outside the room. ¡°His Highness has arrived!¡± I hurriedly returned the book and went back to the couch. When the door opened, Ma Ke entered the room first, but stepped aside. Behind him, a middle aged man with a belt of embroidered jade stepped firmly into the study. ¡®He seemed to have an imposing appearance and manners. He looks similar to Ma Ke, but has a royal aura.¡¯ When he entered the room and looked at me, his eyes dazzling with radiance, I unyieldingly returned his gaze. It was obvious that the magic level of this prince was not low. He laughed. ¡°You must be Zhang Gong! You¡¯re so young! Please have a seat. Don¡¯t be modest!¡± I bowed and said, ¡°Your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± The prince said, ¡°You can treat my place as your own home. There is no need for etiquette. Please have a seat. Ma Ke, come and join us.¡± As he said that, he just sat down first. While Ma Ke and I sat facing the prince, servants served us some tea. ¡°You can all retire for the night. Without my order, no one is to be within thirty meter circumference from the study.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± The servants and guards withdrew. The prince took a sip of his tea before raising his head and said, ¡°I heard from my son, Ma Ke, that you¡¯ve already reached the Magisters level. This is really worthy for a celebration!¡± ¡®The prince¡¯s wording instantly gave me a good feeling. Ever since he entered the room, he was very polite, and he didn¡¯t directly ask about the Magic race, but instead congratulated me on becoming a Magister. It could be seen that he highly valued talented people.¡¯ Volume 4: Chapter 17 - Secret Talk in the Dark of Night Volume 4: Chapter 17 - Secret Talk in the Dark of Night I respectfully replied, ¡°I was just lucky. Ma Ke¡¯s not far from reaching the Magister level either.¡± The prince laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a really humble child. You have accomplished so much, but you aren¡¯t arrogant at all. It¡¯s really rare for this to happen. I¡¯ll need you to help me discipline Ma Ke in the future as I have high expectations for him. Since his elder brother doesn¡¯t have much abilities, I plan to pass all of my duties to him.¡± The prince seemed to be a very good natured elder. I smiled and replied, ¡°Ma Ke has been really hard working. I¡¯m sure he will meet your expectations.¡± The prince replied, ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. Since you are a friend of Ma Ke¡¯s and the same age as my son, I¡¯m not being formal to you, so please stop calling me prince. It makes me feel like we are far from each other. From now on, you can just call me uncle Ao Er.¡± Even though I knew he¡¯s trying to pull me to his side, my good impression of him kept on increasing. The prince continued to say, ¡°Yesterday, I was in shock when I hear from Ma Ke that you¡¯ve met the Magic race. The Magic race is our human race¡¯s enemy. If we allow them to invade the northern side of the world, then our human race will go extinct. Can you tell the whole incident to uncle in detail?" I replied, ¡°Alright!¡± I told him the story of meeting the demon race at Serene Dream lake. After the prince heard what I said, he sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t know how they managed to do that. They actually crossed Si Te Lun to reach our land. It¡¯s just too unbelievable!¡± I asked, ¡°Could they have climbed over the Heavenly Falling Mountain? Ma Ke replied for his father, ¡°It¡¯s impossible. The Heavenly Falling Mountain reaches high above the clouds and the midpoint of the mountain is completely covered in snow and ice. It¡¯s impossible for any life forms to pass through that point.¡± The prince said, ¡°It¡¯s been two years since that happened. If they wanted to invade us, why is there no movement at all? Is it because they are unprepared? No. Currently, the Kingdom of Aixia has enemies in and outside of it. Zhang Gong! You should know that the three main powers, including mine, are waiting for the time where the Emperor cease to live. His Majesty had come to find me and said that he wanted to pass the throne down to me, but the current situation won¡¯t follow the Emperor¡¯s decision. The three main powers and Duke Te Yi have already prepared to team up to deal with me. If it¡¯s just military force, I am not afraid of them, but they also have many advanced magicians. My force¡¯s magical abilities can¡¯t be compared to theirs. Moreover, I can¡¯t assemble the whole kingdom¡¯s army. With my current power, it¡¯s impossible to fight against them.¡± I asked, ¡°If they aren¡¯t royal, how are they going to fight for the throne?¡± The prince replied, ¡°From what I know, they want to form a democratic government and use policies to decide future matters so there¡¯ll no longer be any election of another Emperor. If that happens, the kingdom that our Ao Er clan that has always painfully governed will be taken over by them.¡± I asked, ¡°Is it impossible to use the issue of the Magic Race to negotiate with them? Fighting against the enemy should be the first priority!¡± After hearing my words, the prince eyes brightened. It was obvious that he had been moved. ¡°That idea is not bad, but it¡¯ll not be able to solve the competition to get the throne. Even if we come to a truce for a moment, it¡¯s still impossible to solve the contradictions with their natural instincts. If....¡± The prince didn¡¯t continue speaking and only shook his head. Ma Ke anxiously asked, ¡°Father, if what? Please quickly carry on saying the rest of that sentence.¡± The prince helplessly said, ¡°Saying it out is useless anyways as it won¡¯t be able to happen.¡± I said, ¡°Since you have thought of a solution, you should just say it so that we can try to help think with you and maybe even think it through.¡± The prince replied, ¡°If we can manage to suppress them with the highest level of magic, I definitely will have the confidence to successfully win the power battle. After all, this is a magic Kingdom. As long as our magic power is really strong, it will be the most useful negotiating tool.¡± I thought before asking, ¡°Does the highest level magic competition refers to the competition of how many Magisters there are in both of the opposing forces? The prince nodded. I continued to ask, ¡°How many Magisters do the opposing forces have?¡± The prince replied saying, ¡°In the northern part of this world, there are ten Grand Magister. This kingdom has eight Magisters. The opposing three main powers, including the Royal Magic Union Mage Union¡¯s leader earth Magister Dun Yu Xi, has four Magisters in total. Dun Yu Xi has also always been the second rank of the Magisters.¡± I wondered, ¡°Who are the other four Magisters?¡± The prince explained, ¡°One of the other four Magisters is the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s principal, Chuan Song Zhen, a Spatial Magister. (He is worthy of learning spatial magic as even his name is related to time as his name means to be able to change time?) The third ranked Magister is the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s principal, light Magister Lao Lun Di. He is also your teacher. The seventh ranked is the Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s vice principal, fire Magister Xin De Long, Ma Ke¡¯s mentor. The ninth ranked is the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s vice principal, fire Magister Si Di Lie.¡± I continued to ask him, ¡°Don¡¯t you and the opposing force currently have an equal number of Magisters?¡± The prince smiled, ¡°How can it be that easy? Currently, only Ma Ke¡¯s Teacher Xin is helping me. The other three Magisters hold neutral positions. If they decide to help me, with their reputations and many years of teaching experiences, when it is revealed to the public, the power I holds will rise drastically. I will then stand a chance against the opposing force. The overall situation now is that the opposing force¡¯s Magisters are ranked second, fourth, fifth and sixth, but our rankings in Magisters will be the first, third, seventh and ninth rank. We¡¯ll still be in a disadvantaged position. Moreover, there is also no certainty that the other three Magisters will be on my side.¡± ¡®I finally understand why the prince called me here. First, he wanted to ask about the Magic Race, and second, he wanted to ask me to convince Teacher Di. Teacher Di and the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s principal Chuan Song Zhen have deep relationships. This way, the prince can gain the support of four Magisters, including me. He will then gain an advantage. He¡¯s really crafty!¡¯ The prince, seeing me deep in thought, did not say anything or even pressure me for my answer, and just waited for me to speak. I silently sighed. ¡®For the commoners of the kingdom, how can I not help him? Moreover, this concerns Ma Ke as well.¡¯ I raised my head and said, ¡°Uncle Ao Er, I hope you¡¯ll treat the citizens of the Kingdom of Aixia kindly. I¡¯ll do my best to convince Teacher Di.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 18 - Ism the Mediator Volume 4: Chapter 18 - I''m the Mediator The prince smiled honestly and cordially said, ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t worry! Right now, fighting the Magic race is most important. Duke Te Yi is an extremely selfish person and the three big families are also not united; if they really governed the kingdom, they¡¯d lead the kingdom¡¯s downfall. We mustn¡¯t conduct a coup d¡¯etat right now, but instead find a peaceful method to solve the inheritance of the throne. The commoners are innocent. I definitely won¡¯t let them be harmed by the power battle.¡± ¡®He really is an old fox; he definitely noticed that I care greatly about the commoners and said that to appease me.¡¯ I nodded. ¡°Alright, uncle. Let¡¯s leave it as it is. I¡¯ll head back first. You just have to wait for my good news!¡± After bidding farewell to the prince, Ma Ke and I returned to the academy. On the way, Ma Ke asked, ¡°Boss, what do you think?¡± While still walking I said, ¡°Actually, I know that your father is just using me.¡± As I said that, I looked meaningfully at Ma Ke. Ma Ke just lowered his head and didn¡¯t say anything. I patted his shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t need to overthink! I didn¡¯t mean anything much; I just feel a little uncomfortable. However, it¡¯s better to that your father inherit his rightful throne than the opposing powers. Just stop worrying! I¡¯ll definitely help your father.¡± Ma Ke grabbed my hand and excitedly said, ¡°Boss, I really don¡¯t know what to say!¡± I raised my head to look at the time. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything! Let¡¯s walk faster! You return to the academy first. It isn¡¯t too late right now so I¡¯ll visit the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy and find Teacher Di to see if I can get his support.¡± At a forked road, Ma Ke and I split up. I quickly arrived at the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. At the familiar academy I had previously attended, the guard recognised me. I said that I had come to find Teacher Di and he quickly let me in. After reaching the entrance of Teacher¡¯s Di living area, I couldn¡¯t help but remember the past. He cared for me so dearly and was also a lonely elderly man. My heart filled with gratitude for him. I shouted from outside, ¡°Teacher Di, I am here to visit you!¡± When the door opened, Teacher Di walked out of the room and said with a smile, ¡°Why are you back already, after attending the Advanced Magic Academy for only a few days? Can¡¯t bear to leave here?¡± I walked over and clung to his arm, acting like a spoiled child. ¡°Of course, I miss you! Haven¡¯t I come to visit you?¡± Teacher Di laughed. ¡°You really are a good child. Let¡¯s go inside the room!¡± I awkwardly smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t buy you anything and just came over. Are you busy with the Academy¡¯s work?¡± Teacher Di reclined in his seat and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It isn¡¯t that busy as a lot of things doesn¡¯t need me to personally deal with them. To be honest, I am thinking of retiring soon. How about you inherit my position after you finish settling the Monster King problem?¡± I immediately waved my hands at him. ¡°No! No! I am too young! How can I become the representative of the school? Isn¡¯t Teacher Long a better candidate to succeed your position? I also think that you should slow down in your work.¡± Teacher Di said, ¡°Teacher Long is indeed one of the best candidates, but now he has already gone to join the power battle. He can¡¯t remain calm during such a time. How do you think I can give the academy to him without worrying?¡± It seemed that Teacher Di hated the current power battle. ''How am I going to ask him?'' Teacher Di saw me not saying anything. ¡°Did you come back to ask me for something? Just say it, you want me to help Prince Ke Zha.¡± I dumbfoundedly replied, ¡°Yes.¡±, and then snapped back to my senses and looked at Teacher Di with my mouth gaping open. I was in shock. ¡°How did you know? Have you learned a spell that lets you foresee the future?¡± Teacher Di smiled, ¡°How could I not understand you? With your relationship with Ma Ke, how could Ke Zha not make use of you to convince me?¡± I scratched my head and said, ¡°Teacher, you really are amazing. Prince Ke Zha is indeed trying to make use of me to convince you.¡± Teacher Di sighed. ¡°The situation in the kingdom of Aixia is really tense. If you make one wrong move, you will be caught up in the chaos of the war. Since you know that Ke Zha is using you, why did you still come?¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I really missed you, so can¡¯t I visit you?¡± Teacher Di laughed at my reply. ¡°Stop driveling and tell me the truth!¡± I became serious and earnestly said, ¡°Actually, I did come to try and convince you, but it¡¯s not for Prince Ke Zha. It is for the numerous commoners in the Kingdom of Aixia instead.¡± Teacher Di got interested. ¡°Hmm! continue speaking.¡± I explained, ¡°If you continue to remain neutral and don¡¯t help any side, the civil war will definitely occur. Our homeland will be filled with blood and the commoners won¡¯t be able to continue to live in peace as they¡¯ll inevitably be caught up in the battle. If, at that time, the Magic race was to invade, we would have too many problems on our hands and wouldn¡¯t be able to unite with the other two kingdoms to fight back. Furthermore, in a few years, the Monster King will also appear. Who knows what method he¡¯ll be use to do so? If the human race isn¡¯t united, there¡¯s a possibility that the human race will become extinct. For the future of the human race, I¡¯m begging you to help the Prince Ke Zha. Teacher Di, do you think I am overthinking the situation?¡± Teacher Di shook his head, ¡°You aren¡¯t overthinking. That situation might really occur. I¡¯m curious about why you aren¡¯t asking me to support Duke Te Yi and the three big families. Even though I¡¯ll just be a redundant addition to their forces, their chance of victory will be much higher, even though their strength already exceeded that of the Prince. The reason you¡¯re supporting Prince Ke Zha can¡¯t be Ma Ke, is it?¡± I replied, ¡°Even though Ma Ke can influence my decision to an extent, he¡¯s not the main reason. More importantly, if the throne is succeeded by Prince Ke Zha, it¡¯ll be logical as he¡¯s current Emperor¡¯s only brother. The commoners and nobles should be able to accept that. If we have the strength to suppress Duke Te Yi and the three big families and let them know that their plans are impossible, I believe they won¡¯t continue to rebel too intensely. After all, they aren¡¯t suited to inherit the throne. At that time, they¡¯ll just try to secure their nobility and life. We just need to make some moves to appease them at that moment. If they rebel again in the future, it will no longer be a problem for us to worry about anymore. I feel that the Prince is really skillful and strategic so he should be able to deal with them. On the other hand, if we were to support Duke Te Yi, it would be hard to say what would happen as Prince Ke Zha is the rightful successor to the throne . Prince Ke Zhadefinitely won¡¯t compromise with them. He also currently holds the entire kingdom¡¯s military power. If we can¡¯t pull out the grass by it¡¯s roots and let him escape, he¡¯ll definitely return to get his throne back. The civil war will then definitely happen. This is why I chose to support Prince Ke Zha.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 19 - For the Sake of the People Volume 4: Chapter 19 - For the Sake of the People Teacher Di stroked his beard and nodded his head with an approving expression. After hearing what I said, he started to laugh for a long time. I was shocked and hurriedly asked, ¡°Teacher, how are you feeling? Are you feeling ill?¡± Teacher Di slowly calmed down and said, ¡°Good! Good! Good! You deserve to be my student. Zhang Gong, your analysis is extremely detailed. I¡¯ll do what you requested. I¡¯ll go and meet Prince Ke Zha and a few old friends tomorrow. These old friends are none other than the Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s principal, spatial Magister, Chuan Song Zhen, and the Royal Magic Academy¡¯s vice principal, fire Magister, Si Di Lie!¡± I stood and bowed deeply to Teacher Di. ¡°Teacher, I thank you on the behalf of every commoners who lives in Aixia. With the other teachers and you joining, the two opposing sides have four Magisters each. This¡¯ll serve as a bargaining chip during negotiations.¡± Teacher Di smiled. ¡°Silly child! It isn¡¯t four against four Magisters, but instead five against four Magisters. Don¡¯t forget that you yourself are a Magister. However, you must keep this secret and not tell anyone about it. You understand? That¡¯s right! I heard that you seriously injured the grandson of the Ri family. How did that happen?¡± I sheepishly smiled and replied, ¡°Yeah.¡± I told Teacher Di the story. Teacher Di frowned. ¡°You¡¯re really foolish! Even if he has a special spell, you shouldn¡¯t need to win so strenuously! You are a Magister. There should be a difference in the quality of the strength!¡± I stunned. ¡°What was I supposed to do then?¡± Teacher Di explained. ¡°It¡¯s actually really simple. Have you forgotten your self-created magic fusion technique? You can use it to increase the strength of your magic spell! Also, you didn¡¯t use the fusion spell, but instead used a large area spell in a one on one battle? Do you still remember the fireball Ma Ke used on you? It was a good method, but you didn¡¯t use it! You¡¯re really foolish! You won¡¯t be able to defeat any of the ten Magisters in your current state. That battle with Feng Liang shall be a learning experience for you. Next time, please think a little bit more before you act. You''re not just my hope, but also the entire human race¡¯s hope! Do you understand?¡± It was clear to me that he wanted me to become a Grand Magister from what he said! ¡®That¡¯s right! Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡¯ I lowered my head and said, ¡°Thank you for your guidance. I¡¯ll definitely work harder training in that area!¡± Teacher Di replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to head back today, just stay for the night.¡± I smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great! I also want to accompany you.¡± A silent night passed and the morning of the next day came. I set off to the Advanced Magic Academy. Before classes started, I went to find Ma Ke and told him the good news. Ma Ke became so jubilant, he completely skipped classes to head home and tell his father the news, which also allowed his father to prepare to receive Teacher Di. After solving this matter, I was ecstatic. My face was filled with overflowing happiness! Mu Zi curiously looked at me. ¡°What happened to make you this happy?¡± I leaned towards her and stopped only when I was really close to her face. ¡°Because you don¡¯t seem to despise me as much already. I¡¯m definitely happy about that and even dreamt about you.¡± Mu Zi pushed me away. ¡°You¡¯re so hateful. Keep your distance! Didn¡¯t I tell you that it¡¯s impossible for us to be together? Just give up on me already!¡± I moved closer to her again. ¡°Why is it impossible? This matter depends only on the individual. As long as you like me, it¡¯ll be enough. So? Have you been captivated by my handsomeness, talent and great strength?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Who is captivated by you? Keep your distance! We are in a classroom. It¡¯s bad to be seen like this by others!¡± I laughed. ¡°In that case, if it isn¡¯t in a classroom, I can be intimate with you?¡± Mu Zi''s face further reddened. ¡°You¡¯re despicable! Using my own words against me! I didn¡¯t mean it that way. You should sit down already- class is starting. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve forgotten that the teacher is going to test us today?¡± This was the first time Mu Zi showed me her childish side. ¡®Ah! I really did forget about it. What do I do?¡¯ I grabbed her arm and shook it. ¡°You must save me! I don¡¯t want to be scolded by that stubborn old man again!¡± I felt the tenderness of her skin and got excited, even though it was through her shirt. Mu Zi shook off my hand and turned away from me. ¡°Hmph! You reap what you sow! It¡¯s your fault for not listening in class. I won¡¯t help you!¡± ¡°Mu Zi, you are a good person! Please help me! If it wasn¡¯t for you, that old man would have never pick on me.¡± Mu Zi just glanced at me with her beautiful eyes, which said: How dare you say that? She took a piece of paper from her bag and gave it to me. ¡°The rest will be up to you. The main points are in here!¡± I elatedly took it and looked at the densely packed, unkempt words. ¡®I have a way to cheat!¡¯ I gestured to Mu Zi, wanting to hug her, but she immediately dodged away. ¡°What are you doing? If you continue to be this unreasonable, I¡¯ll ignore you forever!¡± I felt wronged. ¡°I just wanted to express my gratitude to you. I won¡¯t do it again so please stop being angry.¡± Mu Zi sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to do about you! Teacher is coming! Quickly take your seat!¡± The old man took a stack of paper and entered the classroom. He surveyed the class once before saying, ¡°There is a test on your magic knowledge today. I hope that everyone is prepared for the test!¡± After speaking, he intentionally looked at me. The test was handed out, and all of the questions were on advanced spells. Actually, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for me. However, it had been two years since I had last properly listened to class. I only vaguely remembered those advanced spells. I would¡¯ve been much better off with a test on the usage of spells. Luckily, I still had the small paper note that Mu Zi gave to me. I sticked the slip of paper onto the chair of the student in front of me. Mu Zi immediately whispered, ¡°You¡¯re being too obvious!¡± I replied, ¡°We mustn¡¯t whisper during the test! Your two ears and your nose shouldn¡¯t be concerned with any external affairs, just focus on the exam with your heart and soul!¡± Mu Zi was stunned by my literary talent. ¡®Seeing her stunned expression, I was secretly happy. This was something I read in the Three Hundred Poems from the prince¡¯s mansion and was the only phrase I remembered. I managed to make use of it today! Haha!¡¯ I copied down as much as I could. After a while, I was unsatisfied and just placed the cheat sheet directly next to the test paper and copied it. Volume 4: Chapter 20 - An Invitation to Dinner Volume 4: Chapter 20 - An Invitation to Dinner ¡®This is bad! The old man noticed me.¡¯ He grinned and walked directly towards me. Mu Zi was so frightened she didn¡¯t dare look up. ¡®If I get caught by him, I¡¯ll be in great trouble! What should I do? It¡¯s too late to hide the notes. Since I¡¯m dead already, I¡¯ll use my ultimate move!¡¯ I calmly sat upright and looked at the teacher. I placed the slip of paper in front of my nose and blew my nose really hard, which resulted to the paper to land into a corner of the classroom. The teacher glared at me, but didn¡¯t dare to pick up the evidence that I was cheating. He just turned around and walked away. I let out a long breath and thought. ¡®That was extremely close !¡¯ Mu Zi who was sitting beside me giggled uncontrollably as she laid her upper body on the table. I whispered, ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t get saliva on your paper.¡± Mu Zi then forced herself to stop laughing. She raised her head to continue answering the test questions. I looked at my paper. Since I¡¯d copied quickly, I¡¯d answered seventy percent of the questions. I would at least pass. I absent-mindedly answered the rest of the questions, then leaned back in my chair and waited for the papers to be collected. The lesson finally ended. After the test papers were collected, I happily said to Mu Zi, ¡°There should be no problem this time. Haha. Thank you so much for your help. How about I treat you to lunch today?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Your reaction earlier was really fast. The teacher should be terribly angry with you this time. He obviously knows that you were cheating, but can¡¯t get the evidence.¡± I complacently smiled and said, ¡°Of course! I am a counter expert! Are you or are you not going to have lunch with me?¡± Mu Zi thought for a moment. A hint of cunningness flashed through her eyes. ¡°Alright! However, I don¡¯t want to eat at the academy¡¯s canteen. I want to leave the academy to eat.¡± I generously said, ¡°No problem! You can pick where to eat. After classes today, let¡¯s go and eat.¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who said that! You¡¯ll need to bring lots of money as I can consume lots of food.¡± ¡®Can your ability to eat even compare to mine? I am the famous White Rice Bucket. Heh heh. I want to see who will win.'' I couldn¡¯t possibly tell her that, instead I said, ¡°Relax! I promise I¡¯ll let you eat until you¡¯re satisfied.¡± Mu Zi smiled. ¡°Great! It¡¯s been some time since I last had a good meal. I want to eat a lot of delicious food.¡± ¡®This was the first time the morning lessons have ended without her being furious with me.¡¯ After school, I followed her out of the academy. I followed for a long time, but we still hadn¡¯t reached the destination. I curiously asked, ¡°Hey little missy, where are you bringing me?¡± Mu Zi mysteriously smiled at me. ¡°What? Are you scared that I¡¯ll kill you for your money? You were the one who said you wanted to treat me to a meal so stop asking so many questions.¡± I hurriedly said, ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll just follow you.¡± I¡¯m a Magister! I fear no one. We reached the destination, but it couldn¡¯t be a restaurant! Mu Zi had brought me to a place filled with gold and jade splendor. It really looked as if it could even be compared to a palace, although I had never entered a palace before. The title of the place was, in huge golden words, Ascending Jade Tide. The ma?tre d¡¯h?tel at the entrance came and greeted us. ¡°Mister and young lady, are you here for a meal?¡± Mu Zi nodded her head. ¡°We want a quiet table for two.¡± The ma?tre d¡¯h?tel smiled and replied, ¡°Understood. Welcome to the restaurant!¡± The service was excellent . That, however, made it a costly establishment . We followed the ma?tre d¡¯h?tel and entered the Ascending Jade Tide. Wow~ The inside was even more luxurious. On the floor was a famous and valuable carpet, and gold and jade ornaments were everywhere. The ma?tre d¡¯h?tel brought us to a window seat on the second floor and even helped pull the chairs back for us to sit. ¡°Please wait a moment. A waitress will come to take your orders.¡± As expected, in a moment, a young and beautiful waitress came and gave me a menu. To show the elegant demeanor of a gentlemen, I didn¡¯t even look at the menu and gave it to Mu Zi, gesturing for her to go for it. Mu Zi wasn¡¯t modest and took the menu from me. She turned to the first page and skimmed through it, and then looked at the second page. After looking, she returned the menu to the waitress. ¡°I want a set of all of the dishes on the first two pages of the menu and a liter of Ascending Jade Tide.¡± The waitress looked shocked as she stared at Mu Zi. ¡°So much? Can you two even finish all of them? We do not allow withdrawal of any orders in this restaurant.¡± Mu Zi frowned. ¡°You just need to serve us the dishes. How could you know that we can¡¯t finish them?¡± The waitress agreed and withdrew with the menu. I asked, ¡°What is Ascending Jade Tide? Isn¡¯t that the restaurant''s name?¡± Mu Zi replied,¡±You don¡¯t know? Ascending Jade Tide is an extremely famous beverage. The restaurant became famous due to that beverage so the boss of the restaurant also changed the name of the restaurant to be Ascending Jade Tide. So it was like that. ¡°You seem to be familiar with this place. Do you come here often?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. I often came here to eat, but I used up all of the money that I had brought from home. I had no choice but to eat at the academy¡¯s canteen.¡± I asked, astonished, ¡°You love the food here so much that you spent all of your money on it?¡± Even though I love to eat, it¡¯s not to her extent. Mu Zi bashfully smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. I take great pleasure in eating, especially your human race¡¯s food. It¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°Our human race? You aren¡¯t human!?¡± Mu Zi looked as if she had divulged something and mockingly scolded, ¡°You¡¯re the one that isn¡¯t human! Since we¡¯re already here for the meal, why are you asking so many questions? You don¡¯t feel like paying?¡± I immediately surrendered. ¡°Ok! Ok! I¡¯ll just stop asking.¡± The dishes came. I then knew why the waitress was afraid that we wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the meal previously. Mu Zi had ordered so much it couldn¡¯t fit on one table. Another server pulled over another table and filled half of the other table with dishes. I asked in shock, ¡°So many dishes? It¡¯s bad to waste food!¡± Mu Zi pouted. ¡°Who said we¡¯ll waste food? Quickly eat! If the food becomes cold, it won¡¯t taste good.¡± As she said that, she started to eat some prawns with her chopsticks. She ate it with relish. ¡°Yummy! It¡¯s been a long time since I last ate here. This¡¯s just too wonderful.¡± ¡®Since I was the one paying, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it if I didn¡¯t eat any.¡¯ I picked up the jade green colored Ascending Jade Tide and had a sip. It gave me a really fresh and cooling feeling. The cold juice instantly permeated my entire body. It felt a little cold and sweet. It was pretty good! I said, ¡°I¡¯ll eat as well.¡± I started to bury myself in my food. The dishes looked, smelled and tasted almost perfect. When I was eating, I even almost swallowed my tongue together with the food. It was just too delicious. Mu Zi really knew how to pick a place.The dishes in front of us were rapidly being wiped out. Volume 4: Chapter 21 - Exchanging Titles Volume 4: Chapter 21 - Exchanging Titles After half an hour passed, over ten empty plates lay in front of me. The food was really good. It was the best meal I¡¯d had since birth.I patted my stomach in satisfaction, then exhaled deeply and looked at Mu Zi. Wow! ¡®This can¡¯t be happening- she¡¯s still eating. She really knows how to eat!¡¯ There were many empty plates in front of her too, and I remembered her taking some food from my dishes. I dumbfoundedly passed her a serviette and said, ¡°Take your time to eat! Don¡¯t choke on it!¡± Mu Zi took the serviette and wiped her mouth. She indistinctly said, ¡°You should also eat, I won¡¯t be so polite anymore.¡± After she finished saying that, she continued to eat. I stared at her, stupefied, until she completely finished all of the dishes she¡¯d ordered. Mu Zi let out a long breath in satisfaction and wiped her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s great! It¡¯s been some time since I had such a good meal.¡± I curiously asked, ¡°You¡¯re too formidable! I concede. Doesn¡¯t your stomach feel bloated after eating so much?¡± Mu Zi simple-mindedly said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel bloated at all. My metabolism is really good. Moreover, I haven¡¯t actually eaten a lot. Waitress! Please bring me two more portions of deep fried dragon meat, a set of blue whale wings, 2 portions of dessert and 2 portions of ice cream.¡± After she ordered more dishes, I hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m already filled to the point where I couldn¡¯t possibly eat any more! ¡± Mu Zi looked at me. ¡°You may not be able to eat anymore, but I¡¯m still hungry. Those dishes were for me!¡± On the sidelines, I watched in awe as she wiped out yet another pile of food. Mu Zi patted her stomach. ¡°That¡¯s really satisfying and wonderful! Alright! You can settle the bill already. I¡¯m not eating anymore.¡± I secretly wiped off my cold sweat. She had finally stopped eating. I called the waitress over and asked for the check, which she promptly brought. ¡°Mister, the total will be one hundred and three diamond coins, four gold coins and eight silver coins.¡± I cried out, ¡°What! Isn¡¯t this robbery? So much?¡± I looked at the waitress in disgust. She patiently explained, ¡°Mister, the ingredients here are rather rare. For example, the dragon meat costs two diamond coins per portion...¡± ¡®No wonder Mu Zi told me to bring more money! I¡¯ve been thoroughly cheated for wanting to treat her.¡¯ Mu Zi said from the side, ¡°Ah! It costs so much now. I used to spend only seventy diamond coins for a meal previously. I¡¯m sorry you have to pay so much money.¡± What else could I say? I took my amethyst card from my spatial dimension and passed it to the waitress. The waitress respectfully took it from me and said, ¡°We¡¯ll give you an eight percent discount for using an amethyst card. Please wait for a moment.¡± After hearing her words, my heart felt slightly better. Mu Zi anxiously asked, ¡°What was that useful card you used to get discounts? I want to get one of those as well!¡± ¡®I won¡¯t offer to treat Mu Zi to more meals in the future. My White Rice Bucket title should go to her.¡¯ Mu Zi suddenly looked pitifully at me. I asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mu Zi bashfully said, ¡°Can I get another liter of Ascending Jade Tide to drink in the afternoon? It¡¯s really nice and is only five diamond coins.¡± I instantly felt as if the sky was spinning and the earth going round. ¡°Alright! Whatever you say!¡± I don¡¯t know how I returned to school as when I snapped back to reality I was already in class for the afternoon lessons. Mu Zi nudged me. ¡°What are you thinking about so deeply? Do you also want to drink some Ascending Jade Tide?¡± I replied, ¡°Oh! I¡¯m not thinking of anything. You can drink that by yourself.¡± The female student in front of Mu Zi asked, ¡°What are you drinking? It has a sweet scent.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°It¡¯s Ascending Jade Tide. Here, have a taste!¡± The female student gasped, ¡°Wah! It¡¯s actually Ascending Jade Tide. I heard it¡¯s really expensive. You¡¯re really loaded with money.¡± Mu Zi pointed at me. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my money. Zhang Gong bought it. I can share some with you.¡± The female student enviously looked at Mu Zi. ¡°He treats you so well. He¡¯s handsome and his magic spells are very powerful. You¡¯re so lucky!¡± Mu Zi pouted. ¡°If you like him, you can have him.¡± I quietly listened to their conversation until that part. I angrily said, ¡°Mu Zi! What did you say?¡± Mu Zi turned to me and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t even agreed to be your girlfriend! Why are you being so fierce?¡± I instantly became speechless. ¡®She indeed hasn¡¯t agreed to be my girlfriend. It looks like I wasted my diamond coins.¡¯ I just collapsed on the table. For some reason, my heart felt really painful. Maybe it was the Ascending Jade Tide that I drank. The female student wasn¡¯t bad as she supported me by saying, ¡°Mu Zi! How could you say that to him? Your words are really hurtful.¡± Mu Zi remained silent. Finally, class ended and I immediately rushed out of the classroom. I was unusually moody. I met Ma Ke after walking for a short while. Ma Ke, who had a face overflowing with happiness, stopped me and said, ¡°Boss, it¡¯s great! We succeeded!¡± I gloomily asked, ¡°Succeeded? In what?¡± Ma Ke curiously replied, ¡°Boss, what happened to you? Are you in a bad mood? Obviously the success I was talking about is the successful formation of the alliance. Today, Teacher Di went to the prince¡¯s mansion to visit my father. After talking for the whole morning, they finally reached an agreement. In the afternoon, they went to find the other three Magisters. Teacher Long can¡¯t be counted on, but the other two Magisters, the academy¡¯s principal and vice principal, both agreed to support father.¡± ¡®This is really a good news!¡¯ I replied, ¡°That¡¯s great! When shall we make our move?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°My father said that in order to avoid unnecessary clashes, it would be better to start settling the problem as soon as possible. They decided to find Duke Te Yi and the three big families to negotiate terms tomorrow.¡± I replied in shock, ¡°So soon?¡± Ma Ke continued to explain, ¡°Initially, father wanted to ask you to come join them, but Teacher Di said that you¡¯re our secret weapon and that we shouldn¡¯t let the opposing forces know about you.¡± I replied, ¡°How am I supposed to be a secret weapon? Anyway, I¡¯ll just wait for the good news tomorrow and just head back to the dormitory.¡± Ma Ke asked, ¡°Boss, what happened today? What made you so irritated? Let¡¯s go out for a good meal!¡± I hurriedly waved my hands at Ma Ke, fearful of the thought of eating again. ¡°No! Wait until everything is settled, then we¡¯ll celebrate. I don¡¯t know why, but I feel extremely tired today so I¡¯ll head back first.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Alright! I won¡¯t disturb you anymore. You should feel better after a night¡¯s rest.¡± After bidding farewell to Ma Ke, I returned to the dormitory and lay on the bed. My heart was roaring like the sea. ¡®Why did Mu Zi make my heart hurt so much? Could it be that I have really fallen in love with her? No, that¡¯s impossible! What¡¯s so good about her? She¡¯s neither beautiful nor gentle! Yet, Mu Zi¡¯s silhouette continues to appear in front of me.¡¯ Volume 4: Chapter 22 - Two Tender Encounters Volume 4: Chapter 22 - Two Tender Encounters I woke up early in the morning and started moving my body to warm up before circulating the Ascending Dragon¡¯s Battle Spirit that Zhan Hu had taught me. My battle spirit had improved a lot without me noticing. After putting in lots of effort, I managed to hover above the ground. The battle spirit rapidly rushed out from under my feet. I was really surprised that I could levitate, even though I could only maintain it for five minutes. It was just too awesome! My mood was slightly better. When I entered the classroom, it was that old mage¡¯s lesson. I sat in my seat without even glancing at Mu Zi. The old mage said, ¡°I¡¯ll start class now. The results for yesterday¡¯s test are out. Overall, everyone did well and passed, but some students passed using dishonest methods. I hope you know that laziness won¡¯t lead to any good fortune. Alright! Today I will be teaching¡­¡± ¡®It¡¯s obvious he¡¯s talking about me but I¡¯ll just ignore him now that the test is over.¡¯ Mu Zi nudged my side and whispered, ¡°Are you still angry?¡± I replied flatly, ¡°I¡®m not angry. Why should I be? You were right that I¡¯m nothing to you so how could I be mad at you?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°You¡¯re so petty!¡± I replied angrily, ¡°I¡®m petty? You spent eighty of my diamonds coins just yesterday.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and said sheepishly, ¡°Then you¡¯re not petty, so can we eat at that place for lunch again?¡± ¡®Eat there again? I¡¯ll be bankrupt in less than a month at this rate.¡¯ I replied angrily, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating so I¡¯m not going.¡± Mu Zi pouted and said, ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t go there again. You¡¯re just like the other guys who tried to court me.¡± After she said that, she lowered her head dejectedly. I relented and said, ¡°Fine, then we¡¯ll go eat at noon.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s eyes brightened after hearing that, but then she became depressed again. ¡°I think we shouldn¡¯t go since you¡¯ll have to spend so much. I don¡¯t know why I have this bad habit of loving to eat so much.¡± I was moved by her pitiful look, and said, ¡°This can¡¯t be a bad habit if you¡¯re not stealing or robbing. It¡¯s just eating food so stop being so dejected. We¡¯ll go there at noon.¡± Mu Zi started to tear up. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re so good. Thank you so much! What shall we have for lunch?¡± After she asked that, her eyes brightened. I laughed bitterly in my heart as I couldn¡¯t be stingy. ¡°It¡¯ll be up to you. We¡¯ll eat whatever you want.¡± Mu Zi exclaimed, ¡°Yay!¡± ¡®Even though I am about to spend some huge sum of diamond coins, my mood is surprisingly better.¡¯ I whispered to her. ¡°If you agree to be my girlfriend, I¡¯ll bring you out to eat everyday!¡± Mu Zi looked at me and said, ¡°Are you really going to bring me out to eat everyday?¡± I replied, ¡°Yes!¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll temporarily be your girlfriend, but you have to keep your word!¡± I pounded my chest. ¡°Of course! As a gentlemen, how could I go back on my word?¡± ¡®It seems that bringing her out for food was more effective than giving her love letters.¡¯ Just as I thought that, Mu Zi said, ¡°I have a condition, though, before I agree to be your girlfriend. You still have to write love letters to me every day.¡± ¡®Ah! it seems she is just as vain as other girls.¡¯ ¡°No problem! I¡¯ll start to write one for you now.¡± I took a piece of paper out and hurriedly wrote on it. My heart was filled with feelings for her and I finished writing her love letter extremely quickly. As for the contents, they were as corny as they could be. Mu Zi contentedly read the love letter. She repeatedly showed a bashful expression on her blushing small face. After reading the letter, she stretched a hand out to me. I was stunned and replied, ¡°What do you want?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Please give me the love letters you already wrote for me. I know you kept them.¡± I consented, saying, ¡°They¡¯re in the dormitory. I¡¯ll give them to you at noon.¡± After morning classes, we went to Ascending Jade Tide again. It was so painful! Even though Mu Zi was more reserved in her orders, it was still fifty diamond coins after the discount. ¡®If this continues on, one day I will definitely be coming here to wash the dishes!¡¯ After Mu Zi agreed to be my girlfriend, her attitude toward me changed. She occasionally showed shy expressions, and didn¡¯t rebuke me as she had before. I was elated. When we returned for the afternoon lessons, Mu Zi was, for the first time, not focusing in class; because she was reading the letters that I had written for her before. ¡®It looks like my relationship has finally gotten off to a good start and she is starting to accept me.¡¯ When it was close to the end of class, Mu Zi asked, ¡°Let¡¯s eat at the canteen tonight?¡± I replied, ¡°Great! I haven¡¯t eaten with you at the canteen before.¡± When class ended, we went to the canteen. There weren¡¯t many students as the ones not in the dormitory usually headed home to eat. We found a quiet spot and ordered some dishes and ate them in great pleasure. As I ate, I asked Mu Zi, ¡°Mu Zi, how can you not get fat after eating so much everyday?¡± Mu Zi glanced at me and said, ¡°How have I not gained weight? I¡¯m much fatter than before.¡± I replied, ¡°Really? I can¡¯t see it. I think it would be better if you were slightly fatter.¡± At this moment, a gentle voice said. ¡°So you¡¯re eating here, Zhang Gong.¡± I turned around and saw Hai Shui. I curiously asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to eat your dinner at home? Why are you at the canteen?¡± Hai Shui walked to my side, but didn¡¯t reply to my question. She frowned at Mu Zi. ¡°Zhang Gong, why are you with Mu Zi? Mu Zi, how are you?¡± Mu Zi smiled politely and replied, ¡°So it¡¯s Hai Shui! Let¡¯s eat together!¡± ¡®I wonder why she isn¡¯t curious about how Hai Shui knows me.¡¯ Hai Shui placed her hands on my shoulders and smiled towards Mu Zi. ¡°Are you and Zhang Gong familiar enough with each other to be eating together?¡± Mu Zi replied shyly, ¡°How can I be familiar with him? We¡¯re just classmates.¡± I frowned and said angrily, ¡°Mu Zi, how can you still be like that? Didn¡¯t you agreed to be my girlfriend this morning?¡± Mu Zi smiled. ¡°Why are you angry again? I¡¯m only your temporary girlfriend! I still need to test you.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 23 - Battle for Kingship Volume 4: Chapter 23 - Battle for Kingship While listening to our conversation Hai Shui¡¯s face paled drastically. Her body swayed and she looked as if she was going to faint. I hurriedly went to support her. ¡°Hai Shui, are you unwell?¡± I helped her sit in the chair beside me. After she sat down she forced a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Zhang Gong, congratulations on getting Mu Zi.¡± I proudly said, ¡°Thank you, this is the result of my persistence. You have no idea how cold she was before.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s expression became even paler. I worriedly asked, ¡°Hai Shui, your complexion doesn¡¯t seem to be good. Do you want me to bring you back to the dormitory?¡± Hai Shui stood up and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to. I¡¯ll head back on my own. It might just be because today was hot. You guys just continue to eat. I¡¯ll head back first.¡± I asked curiously, ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯ll be alright?¡± Hai Shui smiled, distressed. ¡°I¡¯ll be alright. See you.¡± As I watched Hai Shui leave, I asked Mu Zi, ¡°What¡¯s going on with Hai Shui? Strong magicians rarely fall ill.¡± Mu Zi giggled and said, ¡°Are you really that dumb or just pretending? Even the blind can see that she¡¯s like that because of you. Her previous affectionate actions didn¡¯t seem like those of a normal friend.¡± I apprehensively asked, ¡°How could it be because of me? Why didn¡¯t it seem like normal friends?¡± Mu Zi pouted. ¡°She likes you, so when she saw us together and heard that I¡¯m your girlfriend, she got upset!¡± I hurriedly explained myself. ¡°Mu Zi, please don¡¯t misunderstand! Hai Shui and I are just schoolmates from the Intermediate Magic Academy. We¡¯re just friends. I¡¯ve always treated her as my sister.¡± Mu Zi replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t misunderstand! Ask anyone and they¡¯ll tell you that she likes you. Actually, Hai Shui is not bad. She¡¯s pretty and from an illustrious family so she suits you better than I do.¡± My expression darkened. ¡°What are you saying? If I liked her, I would have courted her already, but the one I like is you!¡± After I said that, I was startled. ¡®It¡¯s as though what I said was really what I felt for Mu Zi. Could it be that I¡¯ve actually fallen in love with her?¡¯ After Mu Zi heard what I¡¯d said she looked down, blushing bashfully. ¡°Can you lower your voice? Alright, let¡¯s not talk about that and just eat.¡± After dinner, Mu Zi and I wandered around school for a long time. We didn¡¯t talk much. Just having her by my side was really soothing and made me very content. I subconsciously held her hand. She tried to remove her hand from mine, but didn¡¯t put in much effort. ¡®The feeling of holding her hand is amazing. It¡¯s very slender, fair and tender, as if it doesn¡¯t have any bones.¡¯ We just spent our time together until the sky turned dark and I escorted her back her dormitory. I realised that I had already fallen deeply in love with her and my initial hatred had disappeared completely. After sending Mu Zi back, I returned to my dormitory. Ma Ke was waiting in my room. Once he saw me, he exclaimed, ¡°Boss! Where have you been? I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time!¡± ¡°Oh! I was just wandering around the academy. How did the negotiations go?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Right now, both sides have chances of winning.¡± I curiously asked, ¡°We still can¡¯t make them surrender with our current power?¡± ¡°Surrender? Why would they do that? They have four Magisters as do we; it isn¡¯t easy to make them surrender. After negotiating for half a day, we finally decided to compete against each other. The winner will have the right to control the kingdom of Aixia.¡± I frowned. ¡°A competition? Isn¡¯t that just child¡¯s play? The succession of the kingdom is a very important matter. How could they just use a competition to decide?¡± Ma Ke sighed. ¡°Actually, this is already the best possible outcome. Aixia is a magic based country. If you have a lot of magic power, you¡¯ll be respected and your status will rise along with your power. If the two opposing sides really fought against each other, the one with more magic power will win. Anyway, it¡¯s still a magicians¡¯ battle so it is better to make it a competition and avoid unnecessary injuries and casualties.¡± I considered it and thought ¡®It is true that a good way to avoid unnecessary casualties is to downscale the battle into a competition.¡¯ ¡°It makes sense that way!¡± Ma Ke smiled. ¡°Of course it makes sense. This is Teacher Di¡¯s suggestion, and Principal Zhen supports him. After a lot of negotiations, the competition is finally set. The winner will get control over the kingdom and the party that loses must concede defeat. However, during the competition it¡¯s forbidden to harm the opponent seriously.¡± ¡®So it is Teacher Di¡¯s idea. I can stop worrying, as Teacher Di is an extremely earnest person.¡¯ I asked Ma Ke, ¡°How are we going to compete?¡± Ma Ke explained. ¡°Initially, our side suggested that the winner of three matches wins. However, they said it was unfair as we have Teacher Di and Teacher Zhen, whose ranks are higher than their magisters¡¯, so they suggested best of five matches instead. Since we brought up the competition, we could only agree to their request. After three days, we¡¯ll secretly compete at the palace. Teacher Di told me to tell you that after asking for a leave of absence from the academy tomorrow, you need to go find him so you can train for a while and increase our chances of winning.¡± I asked, ¡°I¡¯m also participating? Their magic experience and ability is so high! How am I going to compete against them?¡± Ma Ke chuckled. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re wrong! You¡¯re our secret weapon. Other than a handful of people, who knows that you¡¯re a Magister? You¡¯ve been chosen to fight the last match, so you¡¯ll have a slight advantage over whoever is sent out to fight you. Haha. This is also why we agreed to the five matches request.¡± ¡®This is really a good plan. However, I still have an inkling feeling that there is something amiss. Since it is already decided though, I¡¯ll just take a leave of absence from the academy tomorrow.¡¯ I patted Ma Ke¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll do my best to help your father succeed the throne.¡± Ma Ke gratefully grabbed my hand. ¡°Boss, I promise you that my father will definitely be a good king!¡± I smiled. ¡°You have to remember your promise! I¡¯ll keep you to it!¡± Ma Ke exclaimed, ¡°I will!¡± ¡®The final battle to decide the fate of the kingdom of Aixia is starting. I really hope that it will be possible to determine who will win or lose by the fourth round so I won¡¯t need to compete.¡¯ Volume 4: Chapter 24 - Training Before the Competition Volume 4: Chapter 24 - Training Before the Competition I went to the academy to ask for a couple days leave of absence from the class teacher-in-charge. Teacher Yu immediately agreed, probably because Principal Zhen told him about it. When I went to the classroom, not many students had arrived yet, as it was still early. However, Mu Zi was there already. I sat in my seat and said, ¡°Morning! I have something to tell you.¡± Mu Zi smiled, ¡°Why are you so early today? Usually, you come to class at the very last minute before the bell rings. What do you want to tell me?¡± I awkwardly scratched my head. ¡°Am I usually that late? Anyway, for the next three days, I won¡¯t be coming to class as I have an important matter to settle.¡± Mu Zi frowned, ¡°What is so important that you can¡¯t attend class?¡± I giggled. ¡°You can¡¯t bear to be apart from me, right?¡± Mu Zi blushed and said, ¡°Who can¡¯t bear to be apart from you? You¡¯re so annoying. What is the matter?¡± I looked appreciatively at her flushed face. ¡°It¡¯s an extremely important matter. I can¡¯t tell you now, you just have to wait for my return. I won¡¯t be in any danger so you don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°If you can¡¯t say it, then forget it. Are you leaving now?¡± I said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I have to leave now. I¡¯ve applied for three days of leave. I¡¯ll be back in three days, but you¡¯re not allowed to cheat on me. Hehe.¡± Mu Zi knocked on my head. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying! I¡¯ll definitely go on dates with other guys. What are you going to do about it? If you¡¯re scared, then stay to check on me.¡± Her expression showed a sign of reluctance over me leaving her. I seriously replied, ¡°Mu Zi, I also can¡¯t bear to part from you, but this matter is very important. Please just wait for me. I can¡¯t continue to chat with you as I need to leave already. See you later.¡± After saying that, I stood up. Mu Zi remained silent for a while. ¡°Please be careful and come back safely!¡± From her words, it seemed like she knew that I was going to do something dangerous. I wordlessly nodded as I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to leave if I continued to chat with her. I turned around and walked out of the classroom then went back to the dormitory to find Ma Ke first so we could head to the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy together. After arriving outside of Teacher Di¡¯s office, I shouted, ¡°Teacher Di, I¡¯m back!¡± Teacher Di¡¯s benevolent voice came out from the room, ¡°Zhang Gong, You¡¯re back, quickly come inside!¡± When we walked into the office, there were already four people inside. Other than Teacher Di and Teacher Long, there were two other old magicians I didn¡¯t know. ¡®They are probably the principal and vice principal of the Advanced Magic Academy.¡¯ Ma Ke and I bowed towards them and jointly said, ¡°Greetings to the teachers.¡± Teacher Di hadn¡¯t said anything, but the old mage wearing a black robe said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be this polite! You must be Zhang Gong. Ah, Lao Lun found such an exceptional successor.¡± As I looked at Teacher Di, he smilingly said, ¡°Zhang Gong, this is the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s Principal, Spatial Magister Teacher Chuan Song Zhen. The magic array book I gave you last time was written by him. The other mage is the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s Vice Principal, Fire Magister Si Di Lie.¡± I greeted them again. ¡°It is my pleasure meeting you teachers.¡± Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Zhang Gong, are you in Teacher Si Yu¡¯s class?¡± I replied, ¡°Yes!¡± Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Zhang Gong, for the next two days we will give you special training for the competition that will be held in three days. You should know that this competition determines the fate of the Kingdom of Aixia so we hope that you will work hard in these two days to improve your abilities. Ma Ke will also be training with you. He¡¯ll serve as a reserve for the competition. You will be the kingdom¡¯s new pillars as we are already getting old. You will have to depend on yourselves in the future.¡± ¡®Teacher Zhen is obviously the representative for the teachers as he¡¯s held the position of top magister for the past fifty years.¡¯ Ma Ke and I replied him. ¡°Yes, we will. Thank you for your tutelage, teachers.¡± Teacher Di said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the courtyard.¡± After arriving at the courtyard, Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Lao Lun and I will be in charge of Zhang Gong¡¯s training. Since Xing De and Si Di are both fire Magisters, they¡¯ll be in charge of Ma Ke¡¯s training. Let¡¯s begin! Ma Ke and Zhang Gong, what are your magical beasts? This competition allows the use of magical beasts.¡± I replied, ¡°My magical beast is called Xiao Jin, he¡¯s a dragon.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°My magical beast is a rank 8 Fire Lion.¡± Teacher Zhen was surprised and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, what did you say? You say your magical beast is a dragon? Quickly summon him for me to have a look. Lao Lun, you actually kept me in the dark that your successor has a dragon.¡± Teacher Di and I glanced at each other. ¡°Xiao Jin, come out!¡± A golden light flashed. Xiao Jin¡¯s over thirty metre long body appeared in the training ground. It had been a long time since I¡¯d last called him out. Once he saw so many people, he elatedly let out a long roar. At that moment when he roared, Ma Ke had also summoned his fire lion, but he was so frightened by Xiao Jin¡¯s roar that he cowered and trembled in fear. The golden dragon¡¯s horns had already fully grown, and each had branched into three points. Golden scales covered his body like a strong armour. He had five large claws, and made some claw marks on the ground. The enormous wings on his back were the most beautiful part of the body. Golden light also glowed from its¡¯ enormous body. He sent me a mental message asking me who he should attack. I hurriedly told him that he just needed to remain still. Except for me, everyone, including Teacher Di, was stunned. Teacher Di said, flabbergasted, ¡°It¡¯s only been two years and Xiao Jin has grown so much!¡± Ma Ke admiringly said, ¡°Wah! Boss, Xiao Jin is so beautiful!¡± Teacher Zhen said, ¡°This is a dragon? It¡¯s life force is so strong. He doesn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary dragon.¡± Teacher Lie, who hadn¡¯t said anything, said, ¡°He definitely isn¡¯t an ordinary dragon! Only a Dragon King will have golden scales. This dragon should be a mature dragon that¡¯s at least two thousand years old already.¡± I smiled bitterly and said, ¡°No, that can¡¯t be. It¡¯s only seven years old.¡± Teacher Lie was astonished and said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! At seven years old, it should only be at the infancy stage, but it¡¯s obviously not¡­¡± Teacher Di had already snapped out of his stupor and explained, ¡°The dragon actually almost died once, but Zhang Gong sacrificed half of his life to save it. He life span is only about 60 human years now, which is equivalent to nearly 20,000 years for a dragon. According to that proportion, it¡¯s only natural that it¡¯s seven years of age are nearly comparable to a 2000 year old adult dragon.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 25 - Bombardment Volume 4: Chapter 25 - Bombardment Teacher Zhen exclaimed, ¡°Zhang Gong sacrificed half his life for the dragon?¡± I nodded and emotionally said, ¡°Xiao Jin is my most important partner. How could I turn a blind eye and let him die?¡± Feeling the surge of my emotions, Xiao Jin lowered his head and nuzzled against me, prompting me to affectionately pat him. Teacher Zhen shook his head. ¡°Unbelievable! It looks like it¡¯s unnecessary to train the dragon as I doubt I¡¯ll be able to defeat Zhang Gong with Xiao Jin¡¯s assistance. Our chances of victory are much higher now.¡± He had already gauged Xiao Jin¡¯s strength from his life force. Teacher Di replied, ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, we still don¡¯t know who they¡¯ll send out in the fifth match. Zhang Gong and Ma Ke, you two must make some breakthroughs in the next two days. Since magic power can¡¯t be improved in such a short period of time, we¡¯ll focus on training your defensive spells and spell techniques. Alright! Ma Ke, Xin De and Si Di will go to that side of the courtyard to train. Zhang Gong, you just stay here. We¡¯ll immediately start!¡± Just as Ma Ke and his teachers walked towards their designated area, Teacher Zhen suddenly shot a small dimensional slash at me. As expected of the first ranked Magister; a very strong attraction force surged from the small dimensional slash, one much stronger than mine. A small spatial crack appeared beside me and a strong attraction force instantaneously surged out from inside it. Because I was unprepared, my body was momentarily pulled towards the spatial crack. Just as I was about to counter the spell, an enormous body moved in front of me. It was Xiao Jin! He waved his almost twenty-metres-long left wing at the spatial crack. Hong! His attack actually managed to make the spatial crack disappear. Xiao Jin glared at Teacher Zhen and got ready to attack him. Teacher Zhen looked like he didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°Zhang Gong, before we continue training, please withdraw your magical beast.¡± I hastily explained to Xiao Jin that Teacher Zhen didn¡¯t have bad intentions before withdrawing him back into my body. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Lao Lun and I will be attacking you. You¡¯ll have to carefully defend against and counter our attacks. We won¡¯t hold back because you can only improve under harsh conditions.¡± ¡®So that¡¯s what this training is about; no wonder he suddenly attacked me.¡¯ I immediately cast two advanced defensive light spells. My body was enclosed by a dim gold light. Teacher Di shouted, ¡°Be careful!¡± A light blade shot towards me. I hastily created a light blade to counter his. Hong! When the two light blades collided, the sky lit up. The impact forced me to move three steps back, but Teacher Di didn¡¯t move at all. Teacher Di frowned and said, ¡°Your light elements¡¯ power wasn¡¯t sufficiently focused!¡± ¡®So that¡¯s why I was forced backwards,¡¯ A small dimensional slash from Teacher Zhen and a light blade from Teacher Di struck at me simultaneously, barely giving me enough time to think. Since the dispersed light elements weren¡¯t powerful enough, I focused the elements¡¯ powers. I withdrew half of my Gold Dan¡¯s power to form a small ball in my left hand. I then used short distance teleportation to avoid Teacher¡¯s Di attack and tossed the light ball towards Teacher Zhen¡¯s small dimensional slash. Teacher Zhen was startled and immediately cancelled his spell as it wasn¡¯t strong enough to counter the powerful, highly compacted light ball. Teacher Di laughed. ¡°That¡¯s right! That¡¯s the way to counter spells!¡± Hearing Teacher Di¡¯s praise, I was elated. I dissipated the light ball in my left hand and cast a light blade at Teacher Zhen with my right hand. The light blade actually hit him. I was in shock! However, after I took a second look, I realized that what I had hit was just an afterimage. Teacher Zhen had already teleported behind me and shouted, ¡°Chaotic Space!¡± I felt my surroundings warp. It felt as though my body was out of my control, and I was in so much pain, as if I was being shred to pieces. ¡®Is this an advanced spatial magic spell?¡¯ I cried out in pain and returned the power of the light ball into my body. I immediately used a defensive magic spell to form a strong defensive array. The distorted feeling disappeared, but an extremely strong pressure coming from all directions made it difficult to breathe. ¡®Am I going be defeated so quickly? I still have power remaining. I won¡¯t lose! I¡¯m also a Magister.¡¯ I tried my best to resist the pressure and supplied endless amounts of magic power into the defensive array, and chanted, ¡°Light elements! My great friends! I beseech of you to use your powers to become endless brilliant rays, transform into specks of stars and eliminate the enemies in front of you, Bright Star¡¯s Shine!¡± This was one of my most powerful spells. Even though my surroundings are distorted, the light elements could still gather around me. As they quickly gathered, the defensive array became more stable. Teacher Zhen said to Teacher Di, ¡°It looks like Zhang Gong has many ways to counter our attacks; when he resisted my Chaotic Space, he still had enough magic power to cast a powerful magic spell. Let¡¯s prepare ourselves as well so as to make sure Zhang Gong doesn¡¯t turn the tables around. Haha!¡± After he said that, the two top ranking Magisters chanted defensive spells. After I completed my spell, the light element stars all around me surrounded the defensive array. I shouted, ¡°Charge!¡± Even though I couldn¡¯t break the spell, the light stars still managed to fly out of the warped space. As the light element stars left, the surrounding pressure decreased drastically. I hastily placed my magic power into the defensive array while controlling the light stars that charged out. Teacher Di smiled towards Teacher Zhen. ¡°It¡¯s coming! It¡¯s an advanced light spell. It won¡¯t be easy to counter.¡± A massive number of light stars charged towards them. The two experienced Magisters had already arranged their defensive barriers to their maximum strengths to withstand the incoming magic spell. However, the incoming light stars suddenly stopped in mid-air. The two Magisters, stunned, unintentionally slightly lowered their barriers, weakening their defenses. At that moment, the stilled light stars moved again, rapidly forming two golden chains and charging towards the two defensive arrays. Teacher Di shouted, ¡°Nice one! Smart move!¡± When the light stars landed on the barriers they made a muffled thump. I had used my spiritual power to concentrate the light element stars at single points on their defensive barriers instead of using a large area spell. The penetration strength was really strong so they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the spell with their defensive barriers. After the two teachers¡¯ barriers broke, they used their ultimate moves to stop the light stars attack. Teacher Di used the same Bright Star¡¯s Shine spell. Once my light stars landed on his defensive barrier, he realized that something wasn¡¯t right and immediately chanted the spell. Although he was in a difficult position, he completely blocked my attack. Volume 4: Chapter 26 - Avoiding The Sharp Edge Volume 4: Chapter 26 - Avoiding The Sharp Edge Teacher Zhen was not as fortunate. He also felt something was wrong when his barrier came in contact with the light stars, but since he was actively controlling the Chaotic Space spell, his reaction speed was a bit delayed. He had to first withdraw his offensive spell on me before he could cast a large dimensional slash. It was obvious that the light stars were difficult for him to bear, he paled from the exertion even though he blocked the attack. My entire body lightened as the surrounding pressure disappeared. Even though it had been only a few minutes since the training began, my magic power was already mostly used. I hastily gathered light elements while I regained my breath to recover the strength of the magic spell as soon as possible. Teacher Zhen bitterly smiled, ¡°That was great! Brat, your control on that magic spell was terrific! It actually made us suffer a little.¡± As he spoke, he didn¡¯t cease casting his spells, but he didn¡¯t use any strong magic spells. He just continuously cast small Dimensional Slash. Teacher Di cooperated and cast continuous amount of light blades at me. The magic spells formed a large net that came toward me. Ah! I did my best to resist the spells. This kind of attack continued until I was drained of power. As I lay on the ground, I saw that Ma Ke was in the same situation. ¡®These four old mages are ruthless.¡¯ As I thought that, I fainted. When I woke up, my whole body was in pain, but my magic power had mostly recovered. It had already recovered about eighty percent. When I sat up, I found that Ma Ke was lying beside me, but he showed no signs of awakening. The teachers were chatting in a corner of the room. Teacher Di saw that I had woken up and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re awake, Come and have some food.¡± I got up from the bed and stretched to loosen up my muscles. When I felt much better, I ran to the table and silently began to gobble up the food. I patted my stomach in satisfaction and sighed contentedly. Teacher Zhen laughed. ¡°You really can eat! How are you feeling after today¡¯s training?¡± I bitterly chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m tired to the bone. What other feelings would I feel?¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Actually, you should have been able to hold out a little longer with your current power. However, you¡¯re not good at controlling the usage of your magic power. You¡¯re wasting too much magic power every time you counter our attacks. Since you know we aren¡¯t your opponent, you should avoid our attacks and only attack when you see an opportunity. You¡¯ll be able to save lots of magic power that way. Your control in the star magic spell you used in the morning was not bad as it made Lao Lun and I suffer to counter it. However, the magic power required for the spell is too much. It¡¯s the reason you had difficulty countering spells at the end.¡± ¡®Avoid their attacks and attack only when opportunity strikes?¡¯ I thought about that statement and analysed it. My eyes brightened before I said, ¡°In other words, do you mean to move as I fight and so avoid your attacks rather than fight head on with your spells?¡± Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°There is hope in teaching him!¡± I felt something different in me, but couldn¡¯t tell how. I said, ¡°Teachers, can we battle again?¡± They had aroused my interest in fighting them. They won¡¯t really hurt me and this is a really rare chance to increase my experience in using magic power in this manner. Teacher Zhen was startled. ¡°Your magic power has fully recovered?¡± I replied, ¡°It¡¯s not fully recovered yet, but it shouldn¡¯t take long. I probably just need an hour.¡± As I said that, I went to a corner of the room and sat down. I relaxed my body before greedily absorbing the light elements from my surroundings. I realised that every time I had a tough battle, my magic power recovery speed increased slightly. I wasn¡¯t sure how much time passed, but my entire body felt soothed. I already felt as though I could freely employ my magic power. The Gold Dan in my upper dantian was more stable than before. I opened my eyes and stretched. The teachers weren¡¯t in the room. The sounds of magic colliding came from outside the room. I walked out to investigate and found Ma Ke and the other two Fire Magisters fighting. When Teacher Di saw me, he said, ¡°What was that about an hour? It is already night! Quickly go to the battle ground!¡± Alright! Let¡¯s just fight! I obediently stood in front of them. The two teachers started to cast their offensive spells. ¡®It is just intermediate magic spells like yesterday, but their magic control and power is really strong which gave me a hard time countering their spells.¡¯ Teacher Di cast a Light Severing Sword at me. I quickly avoided the spell, but the small Dimensional Slash from Teacher Zhen was anticipating my dodge. I thought about the statement ¡®Avoid fighting head on and strike when there is opportunity¡¯ and didn¡¯t use a magic spell to counter. I just used a protection spell on myself before using Dou Qi to push back toward the ground. My body started to levitate, which allowed me to avoid the attack. ¡®That¡¯s right! I still have Dou Qi! How can I forget about that?¡¯ I fused the Dou Qi and light elements on my arm. Even though this fused magic spell is really strong, the gathering speed is a little slow. I used Dou Qi and short distance teleport consecutively. I seemed like a fish that avoided the two teachers¡¯ attacks by shifting here and there into the gaps between their spells. As Teacher Zhen cast his spell, he said, ¡°Your usage of the short distance teleport is good. Be careful, we¡¯ll be using advanced magic next!¡± Teacher Zhen and Teacher Di looked at each other before they started to chant an advanced magic spell. I chuckled, ¡®Do you think I¡¯ll wait for you to cast the spell?¡¯ I waved my arm and a golden white light ray shot toward Teacher Zhen. Hehe! ¡®Teacher Di is my teacher so I¡¯ll be a little more polite against him.¡¯ Teacher Zhen thought that I was unable to cast magic spells at that moment. When he saw the light ray, he didn¡¯t look at it carefully and just cast a small Dimensional Slash at it. I was elated! Haha! ¡®You¡¯ll be in deep trouble this time.¡¯ As expected, the fusion of magic spell and Dou Qi increased the original magic power several times. It couldn¡¯t be countered with just a small Dimensional Slash. When the small Dimensional Slash was almost in contact with my fusion spell, Teacher Zhen felt something was wrong. He is the world¡¯s number one Magister after all.He immediately cast three layers of barriers in front of him and used short distance teleport to move away from the spell. ¡°Hong!¡± Teacher Zhen appeared a hundred meters away. He was covered in dirt and a faint stream of blood flowed from the corner of his lip. Volume 4: Chapter 27 - The Competition Begins Volume 4: Chapter 27 - The Competition Begins I didn¡¯t have the time to check on Teacher Zhen as Teacher Di had already completed chanting his offensive spell. Since I was only battling him, it was easier to counter his spells. Even if I can¡¯t take his spells head on, I could still defend against it. Teacher Di used the rank 7 spell, Lightning Array Burst. I rarely used that spell as it was difficult to control. Teacher Di cast nine bolts of lightning to surround me; forming a simple array. This would result in me being unable to dodge his spell by using the short distance teleportation spell so every lightning held strong offensive powers. I won¡¯t be able to avoid facing the multi-directional spell. I just had to resist it as I didn¡¯t have the time to cast a strong spell to counter it. I merely cast a few low-grade protective spells on myself and fused Dou Qi in them as much as possible before it got in contact with the spells. Hong! I was tossed high up by Teacher Di¡¯s magic spell. My protective barriers was completely broken as a result of resisting his attack. I was lucky that I had fused some Dou Qi into the barriers as it had decreased the severity of the attack to its lowest. It was still inevitable that I coughed out a mouthful of blood. I hurriedly cast a light element recovery spell to heal my body as a preparation to face Teacher¡¯s Di next move. Teacher Zhen shouted, ¡°I have enough of fighting already! If we continue, it¡¯ll probably cost my life!¡± Teacher Zhen was seriously hurt this time due to underestimating me. Teacher Di and I withdrew the offensive spells that we had prepared to cast. I awkwardly ran forward to support Teacher Zhen. ¡°Are you alright? You¡¯re too strong for me to hold back and had to fight with all of my might.¡± Teacher Zhen shook his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re not the one to be blamed. It should be me. Let¡¯s stop training for the day as I need to tend to my wounds as soon as possible since the competition will be starting tomorrow. The training of Ma Ke by the Si Di and XIn De should also be stopping soon.¡± Injuries weren¡¯t hard to treat for Teacher Zhen with his current skills. After Teacher Zhen walked away, Teacher Di whispered to me, ¡°Was that the fusion of light elements and Dou Qi that you had told me before?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! Although the power of the fusion spell is strong, the speed to fuse them takes some times.¡± Teacher Di replied, ¡°That spell is not bad. You¡¯ve to improve that spell as it¡¯ll be really useful in the future.¡± I nodded in agreement. Teacher Di said, ¡°Alright! That should be enough training for the day. Let¡¯s head back to have some food and get some rest before the competition tomorrow.¡± Ma Ke and I accompanied with the four Magisters went to the prince¡¯s mansion the next day. The Prince himself personally came to invite us in. He said in gratitude, ¡°Thank you all for your support! I¡¯ll have to depend on you today.¡± Teacher Di smiled and replied, ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t have to be this polite to us as we aren¡¯t doing this solely for you. We hope that you¡¯ll be a good Emperor if we succeed in winning the competition.¡± The Prince nodded affirmatively. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry as I promise that I won¡¯t let you down.¡± The venue for the competition was in the Royal training ground. It was very spacious and had an ancient protection spell so that the training ground wouldn¡¯t be destroyed easily. The Prince lead one hundred guards to escort us to the Royal training ground. The competition was carried out in secret so only those involved in setting up the competition knew about it. The Prince said, ¡°I have invited the kingdom¡¯s High Priest to be the judge. If the competition didn¡¯t involve so many magic experts, I won¡¯t have been able to ask for his help.¡± I curiously asked Teacher Di, ¡° who is that High Priest ?¡± Teacher Di explained to me that he held a neutral position in the kingdom so he won¡¯t be biased in the judging the matches. Anyone who are religious were his disciples. The kingdom had numerous believers. If he wanted the kingdom to be his, it would be extremely easy for him. Luckily, the power he held weren¡¯t impossible to resist against. The High Priest himself was a very kindhearted person. No one knew how old he really was and nor did anyone saw him got angry before. Everyone would be able to relax with him judging the battles. I stared at the High Priest only to see that he had calmly closed his eyes and ignored the commotions happening around him. He wore a strange attire. He had worn a black robe and a wooden staff in his hand. There was a glittering red jewel at the top of his staff. It seemed as though he had felt me staring at him as he slowly opened his eyes and a light ray entered my eyes. My entire body shook in response, but it was a power that wasn¡¯t filled with animosity. I wasn¡¯t in any discomfort in the entire process. When I was at a loss of what to do, the High Priest closed his eyes again and regained his previous posture. ¡®I didn¡¯t know that there are so many experts in the Kingdom of Aixia.¡¯ The opposing team arrived at that moment. They also had roughly one hundred people. It was obvious that they were mostly from the Royal Mage Union. There were five people leading the group. The person walking right in front of the group wore a brocaded garment. He looked to be approximately fifty in age. He had a cold expression as if nothing was related to him. If I haven¡¯t guessed wrongly, he should be the opposing power Duke Te Yi as four people moving by his side had magical staffs in their hands. They should definitely be the leader of the three main families and the leader of the Royal Mage Union, Dun Yu Xi. Since Du Yu Xi was an Earth Magister so he should be one on the left; wearing a yellow magician robe. ¡®I wonder why he did the same as the High Priest to close his eyes. Was that suppose to be cool? However, the magic staff in his hands looked like an advanced one. It should be an Earth based magic staff.¡¯ The Ri, Yue and Xin family leaders were easy to be recognised as the clothings they wore had sun, moon and stars embroidered on them respectively. That¡¯s interesting! The one wearing the sun embroidered robe should be Feng Liang Ri¡¯s grandfather, Si Feng Ri. He looked very gloomy. We went with the prince as his representatives by going to greet the five of them with five of us as well. Duke Te Yi said, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m sorry we were late.¡± The Prince said smilingly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be this courteous. It¡¯s my group that came early. Since all forces has arrived, shall we start the competition?¡± Duke Te Yi said solemnly, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s start the battle that will decide the fate of the Kingdom.¡± A hoarse voice said, ¡°Are all of you prepared?¡± The Prince and Duke Te Yi bowed simultaneously and said. ¡°Yes we are! Honourable High Priest, please give us the permission to start the competition.¡± The High Priest sighed a little and glanced at everyone before replying, ¡°This competition happened inevitably, but I hope that you all won¡¯t seriously harm your opponents. You¡¯re the supporters and talents of the Kingdom. The Kingdom still needs your support. I foretold from gazing the stars a few days ago that there¡¯ll be a serious calamity that will bound to happen on the human race in the near future. You¡¯ve to conserve as much powers as possible so as to be able to deal with the unknown dangers. Do you understand? Thus, I¡¯ll judge the team to be disqualified if someone from that team killed their opponent.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 28 - Winning the First Battle Volume 4: Chapter 28 - Winning the First Battle The Prince and Duke Te Yi represented their teams and said, ¡°We understood!¡± The High Priest nodded. ¡°Very well! The competition will start now. You can freely decide the order of who to send out.¡± It was important to decide on who to send out. The worst match up would be Dun Yu Xi against Teacher Di. Our advantage against Dun Yu Xi was negligible. Teacher Di was probably the only one that have the chance of winning against him. I would have no hope in participating the competition if I were to be matched up with Dun Yu Xi. Duke Te Yi said, ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s draw straws to decide the order. Which five members from your side will be participating in the competition?¡± The Prince looked at me to signal me to step forward. When I stepped out, the opposing forces mostly showed startled expressions as they didn¡¯t thought that the Prince would send out such a young magician. There was signs of hatred in the eyes of the Ri family¡¯s leader. Duke Te Yi asked, ¡°Your Highness, are you really going to sent out such a young magician? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re forfeiting a match?¡± The Prince smiled. ¡°How could I forfeit a match? Zhang Gong is a very powerful magician so I won¡¯t underestimate him if I were you. Your team of five should also step out, no?¡± Duke Te Yi exposed an expression of disdain. It was obvious that he was looking down on me. The four Magisters standing behind him and a person draped in a black magician robe stepped forward. The last mysterious person that stepped forward had his mantle really low so it was impossible to see his appearance. Duke Te Yi and the Prince drew the first competitor. It was Teacher Chuan Song Zhen against the Xin family¡¯s leader, Hai Tian Xin. He was the grandfather of the three Hai Ri siblings. The Prince expression stiffened a little. Even though he knew that this match would be his to win, but he would no longer have anyone from his side that could win against Dun Yu Xi. However, he had already drew the lot so it was too late for regrets. Hai Ri Xin was the weakest in the opposing team member so it would be easy for Teacher Zhen to win against him. This would also mean that the other matches after this would be harder. This draw had greatly influence the future matches of the competition. The High Priest announced loudly, ¡°The first match will be the Royal Advance Magic Academy¡¯s Principal Chuan Song Zhen against the Xin family¡¯s leader, Hai Tian Xin. Everyone, except for those two, please leave the arena!¡± Teacher Zhen and Hai Tian Xin were the only ones left in the five hundred meter square battle arena. Hai Tian Xin smiled and said, ¡°Chuan Song! Let¡¯s have a fun match!¡± Teacher Zhen asked, ¡°Hai Tian, aren¡¯t you a guy that dislikes to battle for power? Why did you enter this power battle?¡± Hai Tian Xin replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same? If it weren¡¯t for you old fools, we would have won the battle already and could avoid the civil war. I have my responsibilities to my family. Let¡¯s stop chatting and fight to see if I can move you from your first rank position!¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s do it!¡± The fighting power of two Magisters were really terrifying as the whole training ground was permeated with magic power. Hai Tian Xin quickly chanted his spell. Teacher Zhen didn¡¯t stay idle either. He had cast a few spatial defensive spells. A green light shot out from Hai Tian Xin¡¯s hand. I knew that it was the Xin family¡¯s special spell, Absolute Disruption spell. When I had previously fought with Hai Shui, I almost lost that match due to this spell. Teacher Di whispered to me, ¡°Look carefully at how Teacher Zhen counters the Absolute Disruption spell. You¡¯ll have to fight the spell with another spell. However, only spatial magic can counter the Absolute Disruption spell.¡± Teacher Zhen undoubtedly saw through the standard of his opponent¡¯s ability and smiled. He unceasingly cast small Dimensional Slash at the green light ray from both of his hands. When the green ray came in contact with the small Dimensional Slash, the green ray unexpectedly couldn¡¯t restrict the dimensional slash¡¯s power. The spell was slowly being diminished by the continuous slashes of the small Dimensional Slash instead. Now that I knew that the small Dimensional Slash had such an effect, I wouldn¡¯t need to fear this Absolute Disruption spell again. After Hai Tian Xin saw that he had no effect on the small Dimensional Slash, his expression changed and quickly chanted in a foreign language. Weng! Teacher Zhen¡¯s movements slowed down a little. I whispered, ¡°That¡¯s one of the Xin family¡¯s secret spells, Water Dragon¡¯s Chant.¡± Although Teacher Zhen movement slowed down, he was still able to resist the unceasingly attacking Absolute Disruption spell. As he continued to cast small Dimensional Slash, he also chant a spell. I knew that at that moment, Teacher Zhen was really using his powers. He chant, ¡°Infinite space and the ever transforming stars! Please seal the unceasing storm and tear apart everything that stands in your path, Spatial Rupture Seal!¡± Teacher Di exclaimed, ¡°Ah! Chuan Song wants to finish off the match already! This is one of his advanced spatial spell and also one of his most powerful spells.¡± As Teacher Zhen chanted, I felt that the atmosphere stilled. Hai Tian Xin¡¯s Absolute Disruption spell was unable to move towards Teacher Zhen. The green ray of light gradually vanished. The stilled atmosphere seemed to become distorted. Hai Tian Xin knew that he would be defeated by that spell. He chanted, ¡°Oh water! The source of lives! Please lend me your endless life force and let my life force be fused with yours--- Water Ripple!¡± This was the last spell of the secret spells the Xin family held. A circle of blue light surged out with hai Tian Xin as its center to resist against the distorted space. ¡°Attack, Water python!¡± At this crucial point, Hai Tian Xin finally summoned his magical beast as it was impossible for him to counter Teacher Zhen¡¯s attack. He had to rely on the assistance of his magical beast. An enormous blue python appeared in front of Hai Tian Xin and hissed. It immediately snapped open its enormous mouth and shot a water arrow at Teacher Zhen, which had unexpectedly pierced through the distorted space. Teacher Long exclaimed, ¡°A ninth grade water magical beast! This Hai Tian really have lots of magic treasures. However, Teacher Zhen still had lots of ultimate moves.¡± When Teacher Zhen saw the blue python, he was a little startled and hurriedly cast a short distance teleportation spell to avoid its attack. He smiled and said, ¡°Since you use your magical beast, why don¡¯t I let my magical beast out so as to let them come together. Come forth, Lightning Eagle!¡± With a long cry of an eagle, a huge blue eagle similarly appeared in the arena. It flew towards the huge python. Lightning strikes and water arrows unceasingly interweaved. As they were both ninth grade magical beast, it was too hard for them to kill each other when they are in mid air. The Water Ripple and Space sealing power were completely used up at that moment. Teacher Zhen stood at his position as per usual, but Hai Tian Xin paled and sat on the ground before hurriedly trying to regain his breath as he panted heavily. A stream of blood flowed from the corner of his lip. Volume 4: Chapter 29 - Pursuing a Retreating Enemy Volume 4: Chapter 29 - Pursuing a Retreating Enemy Ignoring the heated battle between the two beasts, Teacher Di¡¯s lips curved up a little as he asked Hai Tian, ¡°Hai Tian, do you still want to continue battling?¡± Hai Tian Xin let out a long sigh. ¡°What is the point in continuing? Would I be able beat you if we continued the fight? Many years have passed, but you¡¯re still stronger than me. Honourable High Priest, I concede.¡± This Xin family¡¯s leader had such grace! When he saw that he didn¡¯t have any hope of winning, he simply took the initiative to forfeit the match. They withdrew their frantically battling magical beasts at that moment. Not much time had passed since the start of the competition. ¡°The winner is Chuan Song Zhen from the prince¡¯s faction!¡± The High Priest announced. Prince Ke Zha showed a jubilant expression and personally went to welcome Teacher Zhen back. Our faction cheered wildly. ¡°Teacher Zhen, thanks for your efforts!¡± The prince said with a smile. Teacher Zhen smiled, ¡°This match meant nothing, it was a given that I would be able to win it. I¡¯ll just watch the remaining battles. Everyone, please don¡¯t be too complacent because of this result! If my predictions are correct, the remaining matches will be extremely tough.¡± I peeked at the opposing team. Their loss didn¡¯t seem to have demoralized them at all, they looked calm and collected, as though victory was still in their grasp. ¡°Prince Ke Zha and Duke Te Yi, please come forward to draw the lots for the next match.¡± The High Priest said. ¡®I wonder who will be sent out this time.¡¯ Everyone anxiously awaited the outcome of the drawing. After a short pause, the High Priest announced, ¡°The contestants for the second match will be Wa Tian Shi and Lao Lun Di.¡± Wa Tian Shi was actually the name of the masked black-clothed man. Once his name was announced, the few teachers instantly froze for a moment. ¡°Teacher Zhen, what is the matter? Why are you so shocked? Is it because that Wa Tian Shi is very powerful?¡± I asked curiously. Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°He¡¯s definitely powerful. He is a Fire Magister and ranks eighth amongst the Magisters. However, he¡¯s from Dalu. Why would he be here?¡± ¡°High Priest, I protest against this match! Wa Tian Shi isn¡¯t from Aixia, so how could he participate in this competition?¡± Prince Ke Zha shouted. The High Priest closed his eyes and replied, ¡°Duke Te Yi, what is your explanation for this?¡± Duke Te Yi unhurriedly explained, ¡°High Priest, the reason is very simple. Magister Wa Tian Shi¡¯s name has been part of the records of the Kingdom of Axia for a very long time, and he is the current Vice-president of the Royal Mage Union as well.¡± ¡°What!? Why didn¡¯t I know about such an important appointment!?¡± Prince Ke Zha exclaimed. Duke Te Yi withdrew an appointment letter with the Kingdom¡¯s seal and replied, ¡°This is a letter of appointment, written by the Emperor. High Priest, please review it and judge its credibility!¡± After looking at the letter of appointment, the High Priest said, ¡°Since Magister Wa Tian Shi has been formally entered in the records of the Kingdom, I condone his participation and will not accept any further objections.¡± The prince resentfully went back to our team and sighed. ¡°What to do? Wa Tian Shi has messed up our plans.¡± Teacher Zhen explained, ¡°Please don¡¯t get anxious, Your Highness. If the draw had lead to a battle between Dun Yu Xi and Lao Lun instead, it would have been a much tougher match, so this isn¡¯t completely in the opponent''s favour. We just have to depend on Lao Lun to win his match and struggle with all of our might to win the last one.¡± The prince nodded. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have to trouble you, Teacher Di.¡± Teacher Di smiled and replied, ¡°Relax! Wa Tian Shi isn¡¯t a threat to me.¡± After he said that, he briskly walked toward the arena. Wa Tian Shi had removed his black mantle and revealed a light magician¡¯s robe. He seemed to be about seventy years of age. He walked towards the arena with a bright red magic staff in hand. Wa Tian Shi said, ¡°Are you Lao Lun Di? This should be the first time we face off. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me, I really want to see the difference between the eighth and third positions in the rankings of Magisters.¡± Teacher Di calmly replied, ¡°Let¡¯s have a good match then.¡± Even though Wa Tian Shi¡¯s speech made him seem very relaxed, he was actually extremely nervous. As soon as the match started, he waved the magic staff in his right hand and yelled, ¡°Fire Bear! Come forth!¡± His magical beast, a huge red bear that was over three meters tall, appeared in front of him. Teacher Di was momentarily shocked, but then he waved his hand to shoot a light blade at the bear. The fire bear roared loudly and just used its huge palm to counter Teacher Di¡¯s attack. It wasn¡¯t a ninth grade magical beast for nothing! Teacher Zhen said in shock, ¡°This is bad! Lao Lun will be in trouble this time since he doesn¡¯t have a magical beast!¡± The fire bear¡¯s strength lies in its ability to defend its owner. Its defensive power seems to be nearing the level of a Magister. As Lao Lun doesn¡¯t have a magical beast, this battle will be an extremely difficult battle.¡° ¡®That¡¯s right! I just realised that I have never seen Teacher Di¡¯s magical beast before. I asked him about that once, but he just smiled and replied that relying on a magical beast too much will have a detrimental influence on one in improving their magic.¡¯ Wa Tian Shi said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you summon your magical beast so that we can fight this battle with all of our might?¡± Teacher Di just shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t have a magical beast. Let¡¯s just continue fighting!¡± Wa Tian Shi stood still for a moment, dazed, before saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have a magical beast? Then how could I battle with my magical beast? Fire Bear, return!¡± Duke Te Yi started to shout complaints from a distance when Wa Tian Shi recalled his fire bear, ¡°Teacher Wa Tian, how could you give up your advantage against him?¡± Wa Tian Shi frowned and said, ¡°This is a Magister¡¯s battle. What meaning would an unfair battle hold? Magisters should have their dignity!¡± Duke Te Yi had been rebuked. The surrounding three main families¡¯ leader looked at Duke Te Yi with displeased expressions, it was obvious that they didn¡¯t agree with what the duke had said either. Wa Tian Shi actions had won him the goodwill of Teacher Di and the others. Teacher Di smiled and said, ¡°Good! I will fight this match fair and square to show you my respect. Great Light elements! Please lend me your great powers! Let the unlimited light shine on the whole land. Illuminate - Brilliant Empire!¡± A white ray of light shone out from Teacher Di¡¯s body. I often used this spell, so I was very familiar with it. Wa Tian Shi, meanwhile, had given up on testing the waters and started to chant a strong spell, ¡°Violent Flames! Please turn into an azure flame and use your conviction to incinerate the enemy standing before you---- Azure Flames!¡± A red flame surged out from Wa Tian Shi¡¯s red magic staff, but it gradually turned from red to white, and then from white to azure. It looked very strange. When he waved his staff, a green flame shot out, toward Teacher Di. When the Brilliant Empire spell came in contact with the hot azure flames, the impact created a resounding Pu~ sound. The two Magisters seemed to be standing on equal ground at the beginning, but as time passed, the green flame was gradually being pushed backwards. Wa Tian Shi was panting and sweating heavily, but continued to chant before waving his staff once again and roaring, ¡°Azure Flames, transform into a dragon!¡± Volume 4: Chapter 30 - An Outlook Far From Good Volume 4: Chapter 30 - An Outlook Far From Good As he roared out, the azure flame retreated a little before transforming into a huge azure flame dragon. It had increased in temperature and countered the Brilliant Empire spell by clawing at it and managed to push the Brilliant Empire spell backwards. Teacher Di saw the change in situation but didn¡¯t panic. He just smiled a little and continued the Brilliant Empire spell while rapidly gathering light elements from all directions to his right hand. A white light ball formed in Teacher¡¯s Di hand. ¡®I know that was an light element power ball, but can it really counter that azure dragon? It seems that the Brilliant Empire also can¡¯t hold on much longer.¡¯ Teacher Di¡¯s face flushed red. It was a sign of gathering large amount of light elements. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Lao Lun is going to use one of his ultimate spells, even I¡¯m not sure if I could withstand that spell. Zhang Gong! You have to watch closely!¡± The white light ball in Teacher Di¡¯s hand suddenly radiated light, as expected. It slowly formed into an egg sized golden light ball. Ah! Teacher Di designed it to be similar to the Gold Dan¡¯s shape. This was probably why he kept on telling me to gather my magic powers as much as possible. The golden light ball floated out from Teacher Di¡¯s hand and went towards the azure dragon, which already broke through the Brilliant Empire spell. The huge azure dragon shot out an azure flame, whose temperature could melt gold and rocks. Under Teacher Di¡¯s control, the golden light floated upward to evade the azure flame and collided with the azure dragon. At that point, it was impossible to stop the collision. When the golden light ball collided with the azure dragon, a large impact resounded throughout the whole arena. A huge crater formed from the impact with sand and dust covering the whole area. The protective barrier of the arena shook a little. After a long time had passed, the sand cloud settled down. I was elated to see Teacher Di standing at his position, even though his complexion was a little pale. Wa Tian Shi, on the other hand, collapsed to the ground. His entire magic robe was stained with his blood. Teacher Di walked over to him and chanted, ¡°Oh heavenly light! Please use your limitlessly merciful heart to become a savior god light----- Recovery Light!¡± It was an advanced light recovery spell. As long as Wa Tian Shi had a breath, that spell would be able to secure his life. Wa Tian Shi slowly awakened from his unconscious state and coughed a little. He bitterly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s as expected of a third ranked Magister. I concede defeat.¡± Teacher Di supported him and sincerely said, ¡°If you had used your magical beast, the outcome might have been different.¡± Wa Tian Shi shook his head. ¡°I doubt that. Even if I used the magical beast, I wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand that attack. You don¡¯t have to console me. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose.¡± He pushed Teacher Di¡¯s hand aside and went back to his team. After losing this match, Duke Te Yi¡¯s expression darkened. It was obvious that he wasn¡¯t satisfied with Wa Tian Shi¡¯s performance. The High Priest announced at that moment, ¡°Lao Lun Di from the prince faction wins the second match!¡± Our side cheered wildly again. When Teacher Di returned to the team, I jubilantly clung onto his arm and said, ¡°Teacher, you were awesome out there! You have increased our chances of winning drastically.¡± Teacher Di didn¡¯t show any sign of happiness, but instead he frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t be so happy just yet! The situation is still against us.¡± Teacher Zhen walked over and nodded. ¡°What Lao Lun said is right! Although we won two matches, we are still in a disadvantageous position. The opponent is still left with the Ri and Yue families¡¯s leaders and Dun Yu Yi experts. Our side has only Xin De, Si Die and Zhang Gong. Their abilities are all slightly weaker than the opposing side, so we must do our best in order to win the last match.¡± The two teachers and I nodded our heads simultaneously. The battle arena had already been repaired by a few earth magicians at that moment, in preparation to commence the third match. The outcome of the third draw was Teacher Si Di Lie against the Yue family¡¯s leader, Huan Ying Yue. The outcome of the battle was just correctly predicted by Teacher Di and Teacher Zhen. Since Si Di Lie was slightly weaker than his opponent, even if he had already used all of his might to fight against his opponent, he still lost the tough battle against Huan Ying Yue¡¯s Yue family''s special technique, Shadow Moon¡¯s Trace, in just an hour time. Ma Ke supported Teacher Lie, who had overused his magic powers, back to the camp site. Teacher Lie sat on the floor and said, ¡°Sorry, I have lost.¡± The prince hastily replied, ¡°Losing and winning is a commonplace in the military operation so please don¡¯t criticise yourself. If I were in your place, I doubt that I would be able to hold on for even a moment.¡± The prince and Duke Te Yi had drawn the drawing lots for the fourth match. It was me against the Ri family¡¯s leader, Si Feng Ri. After the result of the draw was out, I enshrouded in gloominess. I was looked down on by everyone. Even if I¡¯m a Magister, there was still a definite gap in ability from Si Feng Ri, who had been a Magister for quite some time already. Even if it was Teacher Di against him, he wouldn¡¯t have a definite chance of winning. If I lost this match, Teacher Long would be matched up against Dun Yu Xi and would definitely lose that match. Teacher Zhen patted my shoulder. ¡°Zhang Gong, you just have to do your best! Even if you lose, no one will blame you.¡± The only person that held complete confidence in me was my mentor, Lao Lun Di. Teacher Di walked over and straightened the light robe that he gave to me previously. He whispered, ¡°Zhang Gong, you must believe in yourself! You still stand a chance. It¡¯s already impossible to hide Xiao Jin¡¯s identity already. With Xiao Jin¡¯s assistance, you¡¯ll be a strong force to be reckoned with.¡± I nodded and seriously replied, ¡°Teacher Di, don¡¯t worry! I definitely won¡¯t let you down.¡± As I walked to the battle arena, my heart was surging in anxiousness. I would be lying to myself if I said that I wasn¡¯t scared. My opponent was a fire Magister, who was ranked four in the Magisters, after all. I gripped tightly onto my magic staff and walked to the centre of the arena and prepared to face the worst opponent I have ever faced in my life at the moment. When the opposing side saw that the prince had really sent me out to compete, they booed disdainfully. Duke Te Yi arrogantly raised his head; he didn¡¯t even look at me, since he thought that I would definitely lose against the Ri family¡¯s leader. Si Feng Ri came onto the battle arena. He looked relaxed compared to my nervousness. He wore a bright red magician robe. Paired with his red robe, red hair and red magic staff, he looked just like just like a scorching hot fire. Si Feng Ri questioned, ¡°Are you Zhang Gong Wei, who had seriously injured my grandson?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 31 - Dauntless Attack Volume 4: Chapter 31 - Dauntless Attack Si Feng Ri suddenly raged and said flatly, ¡°From Feng Liang¡¯s injury, I estimated that you had already reached the border of becoming a Magister. Being able to reach this stage so young probably wasn¡¯t easy. However, your ability is still too far from being a Magister. I shall let you experience what fighting a real Magister is like and you¡¯ll pay the price for hurting my grandson. I tightly held my magic staff and unyieldingly stared at him. ¡°Alright! Enlighten me with your skills! I am only a junior, so I won¡¯t be courteous.¡± After saying that, I waved my magic staff and a magic and battle spirit imbued blade I had previously prepared appeared. I had already thought of how to fight him. Let¡¯s see if this fusion spell could gain any advantage against Si Feng Ri. It wasn¡¯t the same as the practice two days ago when I held back my attack when sparring with Teacher Zhen and Teacher Di. Even if Si Feng Ri wouldn¡¯t kill me, he would put me into a near death state. I must fight with all my might! A white battle spirit shot towards Si Feng Ri¡¯s head. A fiery red colored ray was emitted from Si Feng Ri¡¯s body while he simultaneously shot another ray from his staff with a wave. When the white and red rays of light came into contact, a subtle impact sounded in the air. Contrary to the expectations of everyone, I wasn¡¯t pushed back by Si Feng Ri¡¯s attack, but Si Feng Ri was pushed three steps back. My team cheered wildly, but Duke Te Yi leaned on the banister and kept on staring at me. His expression flashed signs of shock first, then anger. He was so angry his face burned red. Judging from this attack, it would seem that I was at an advantage, but this was due to the enemy underestimating me. I planned to make Si Feng Ri pay for looking down on me. However, he moved just three steps back; proving that he was extremely powerful. I didn¡¯t have enough time to use the fusion spell again, so I cast four light blades at Si Feng Ri (I won¡¯t be knocked back from the spell that way). I managed to block Si Feng Ri¡¯s violent attack using the light blades. Si Feng Ri said, ¡°Good, child, you have some moves. Omnipotent flames, become a violent flame to incinerate the enemy before me, Buddha''s Fury!¡± With Si Feng Ri as the center, fire elements gathered around him to form a vortex, making it difficult for me to breathe. ¡®That spell won¡¯t be easy to counter.¡¯ I hurriedly chanted my spell. My power wasn¡¯t comparable to his, so I must not fight his spell head on. ¡°Light elements! My great friends! I plead for you to use your powers to become endless light rays of stars and eliminate the enemies in front of you----Bright Star¡¯s Shine!¡± I was familiar with this spell and had such great control over it that even Teacher Zhen suffered a little from this spell. Si Feng Ri had completed chanting his spell. The huge number of reddish gold flames formed an enormous humanoid shape and shot towards me. His flames were reddish gold in colour. Although it couldn¡¯t be compared to the power of the green flames previously, it was a large area spell. Light elements unceasingly gathered around me and formed limitless golden light rays around me. I condensed them to form nine golden light stars and shot one star after another at the Buddha¡¯s Fury spell. Teacher Di, who was spectating the match, exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s a good move! Zhang Gong is really smart.¡± Teacher Zhen praised him. ¡°That youngster really is a talented child. He has done well in countering the strong spell indirectly by focusing at one spot of the spell.¡± As the nine golden stars met with the violent flames in midair, the first star was rapidly swallowed. When it had nearly engulfed the first golden star, the second gold star had arrived and supported the first star. It managed to stop the violent flames from advancing. The nine golden stars fused to become one giant star in front of the violent flames. When the two strong forces collided, it exploded. The whole battle arena was filled with light ray showers and fire sparks. Si Feng Ri and I were forced to move backwards. In that previous attack, we tied, neither one of us gaining any advantage against the other. Si Feng Ri was unable to accept the fact that he was forced to a tie with a junior and shouted in anger, ¡°Come forth, phoenix!¡± ¡®What sort of spell is this with such a short chant? What is a phoenix?¡¯ A few question marks appeared in my mind. Something weird happened and the whole arena heated up drastically. Even the spectators outside the arena felt the heat. A piercing screech sounded in the air and a huge phoenix appeared above Si Feng Ri. Teacher Zhen, Teacher Di and Teacher Long exclaimed, ¡°The legendary magical beast -- Fire Phoenix!¡± The High Priest also opened his long closed eyes and mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s really a fire phoenix! How did Si Feng Ri subdue it? It is not an ordinary beast.¡± I was stunned by the sudden appearance of that large beast. ¡®What is that? It could actually change the atmosphere! It¡¯s too terrifying!¡¯ The Fire Phoenix had a black halo on its head and was impatiently flapping its wings. Si Feng Ri¡¯s originally red hair turned a dull yellow and his red face paled. It was obviously difficult for him to control that phoenix. He coldly laughed and said, ¡°I shall end you now. Even if it means disqualification in the competition, I don¡¯t mind it!¡± My strong powers had aroused killing intent within Si Feng Ri. He knew that in a few years, my ability would only increase and wanted to eliminate any future threat. Teacher Di saw that I was in a daze and shouted, ¡°Zhang Gong! Summon Xiao Jin!¡± Teacher Di didn¡¯t know whether the Five Clawed Golden Dragon would be able to fight against that legendary beast, but it was the best counter solution at that moment. I heard Teacher Di¡¯s reminder. ¡®That¡¯s right! He has a phoenix, and I have a dragon. I still have Xiao Jin!¡¯ I shouted, ¡°Come forth! My lifelong partner, Xiao Jin!¡± A strong golden light shone and Xiao Jin¡¯s enormous body appeared at the center of the arena. When Xiao Jin appeared, it shocked everyone as no one had seen a dragon before, as they were considered a myth. Who could have seen it? When Xiao Jin felt my fear, he let out a roar and shielded my body by standing in front of me. Si Feng Ri exclaimed, ¡°You also have a powerful magical beast, but it is incomparable to mine so just kick the bucket already. Attack, Fire Phoenix!¡± The Fire Phoenix made a cold sounding screech and charged at me. I shouted, ¡°Xiao Jin, go forth!¡± Xiao Jin didn¡¯t listen to my order but just voiced a few chants briefly. I didn¡¯t have the time to ask him what was he doing and shot a light blade at Si Feng Ri. Volume 4: Chapter 32 - Battle Cry of the Dragon and Phoenix Volume 4: Chapter 32 - Battle Cry of the Dragon and Phoenix The Fire Phoenix charged in front of Xiao Jin, but Xiao Jin didn¡¯t fight back and just dodged its attacks. I was also in a tough battle as Si Feng Ri had covered the entire area with multiple fire spells. I was pitifully holding on. Even though Xiao Jin¡¯s body was enormous, he was really agile. His agility was greater than the much larger Fire Phoenix, so he would only counter multi-directional flame attacks. I got anxious. ¡®Why isn¡¯t Xiao Jin fighting back?¡¯ With great difficulty I mentally asked Xiao Jin, who was in the air. He replied that he was unable to attack the Fire Phoenix as he felt that he was related to the Fire Phoenix. Damn! I used all my might to cast Bright Star¡¯s Shine consecutively to stop Si Feng Ri from advancing. Si Feng Ri was also in a bad condition as summoning the phoenix had overexerted his magic powers. When he saw that the Fire Phoenix was unable to defeat Xiao Jin after such a long time had passed and I was still tenaciously fighting back, he stopped his attacks. He heavily inhaled to recover his breath. I also used that opportunity to gather my magic power. Xiao Jin¡¯s condition was worsening as the Fire Phoenix was too strong. A few of his golden scales were broken and a green smoke leaked out of his burns. Si Feng Ri sinisterly smiled. ¡°Good boy, you can withstand for so long! Heng! Oh Great Master, please give me your impeccable power to your servant!¡± As he chanted, I realised with astonishment that the originally bright red rays from Si Feng Ri¡¯s body had turned grey. His yellow hair also turned a weird grey colour. The High Priest stood up and shouted, ¡°Such a sinister power! Si Feng Ri is already controlled by evil forces!¡± Si Feng Ri smiled viciously. ¡°Those who try to stop me shall be killed!¡± A grey vortex surged from his body and charged at me. When I saw it coming towards me, I began chanting, ¡°Oh, great light elements! Please change your endless heavenly power to form a divine halo to block the evil powers before me, Divine Halo!¡± A gold light tightly enwrapped me and blocked the grey light ray. I could hear cold screams as though numerous vengeful ghosts were coming after my life. The Divine Halo was slowly being suppressed by the evil power, and soon, it wouldn¡¯t be able to block the attack. Si Feng Ri coldly said, ¡°It¡¯s useless! There¡¯s no defensive spells that can stop this advance. Brat! You¡¯re gonna die!¡± What he said was true as it would mean the end of my life once the Divine Halo spell was broken. As I stood at the border of life and death, I thought about Teacher Di, Mu Zi, and my loving parents, . When facing death, I understood that I had really fallen in love with Mu Zi. The Divine Halo left only an inch around my body. Teacher Di, Teacher Zhen and Teacher Long anxiously looked at me. They wanted to charge forward to help me and end the competition, but the opposing Magisters held them back. When Xiao Jin felt that I was in mortal danger, he raged. He no longer cared about the familial feelings with the Fire Phoenix and wildly attacked it. Seeing that the Phoenix was going to be defeated, I was suddenly enlightened and thought about its struggles and that binding black energy. ¡®Is it being sealed against its will?¡¯ I bit my tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood at the Divine Halo to widen it and hoarsely shouted, ¡°Xiao Jin! Break the magic seal!¡± Xiao Jin unhesitantly shot a golden light at the Fire Phoenix. The Fire Phoenix¡¯s fire magic couldn¡¯t do anything to that light ray which landed directly on the Fire Phoenix¡¯s head. The Fire Phoenix screeched in pain in mid air. Its entire body then shook and doubled in size while it screeched out happily. My Divine Halo also broke at that moment, but I strangely didn¡¯t feel as if I was dying. I opened my previously closed eyes and looked at Si Feng Ri. His expression was terribly ghastly and blood flowed from all of his seven apertures. He hoarsely said, ¡°Good! Good! Good! You actually managed to break the Fire Phoenix¡¯s seal. I won¡¯t forgive you!¡± It seemed when the seal on the Fire Phoenix broke, it rebounded onto Si Feng Ri, who was controlling the seal. It ended his chance of killing me and seriously injured him. Si Feng Ri glanced at everyone before he coldly laughed. ¡°When my master regains his power, it will be the end of you stupid fools!¡± Everyone was stunned for a moment. Duke Te Yi had already stopped holding back my team¡¯s forces. A black six edged star magic spell suddenly formed beneath Si Feng Ri¡¯s feet. ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯ll be back!......¡± Teacher Zhen shouted, ¡°Stop him! He¡¯s getting away!¡± It was too late as Si Feng Ri and that black magic array vanished from the arena. Prince Ke Zha shouted at Duke Te Yi. ¡°Te Yi! What on earth happened? Why did the Ri family¡¯s leader become like this?¡± Duke Te Yi¡¯s previously arrogant attitude had disappeared. He muttered, ¡°How did this happen? Why is this happening?¡± Dun Yu Xi supported him. ¡°Your Highness, we also don¡¯t know why this would happen. For this match, we concede defeat.¡± From what he said, we should have been cheering for the victory, but now, no one could bring themselves to be in a cheerful mood. The Fire Phoenix benevolently rang out, ¡°Human race! Do you know that the leader of the evil forces are planning to invade the whole world? You must stay united and team up to fight against him!¡± Xiao Jin seemed to cry out in agreement. The Fire Phoenix actually spoke. Teacher Di walked into the arena and used light recovery magic to treat me as I was completely drained of energy. The High Priest asked, ¡°Great magical beast, what are you implying?¡± The Fire Phoenix that was in mid air shrank back to its previous size and said, ¡°I was sealed by an ancient evil power. I couldn¡¯t do anything other than listen to their commands. I was lucky to have the seal broken by the Dragon King and win back my freedom. I hope that you will help free the previously defeated servant of evil too. Please also remember that the dark forces will arise in the West. Finally, thank you, Dragon King. I¡¯ll definitely return this favour to you someday!¡± After saying that, the Fire Phoenix vanished and the air cooled down drastically. Volume 4: Chapter 33 - The Future is a Foregone Conclusion Volume 4: Chapter 33 - The Future is a Foregone Conclusion I had already regained some of my strength. I knew who the leader of the dark forces that the Fire Phoenix was referring to; it was the Monster King. I withdrew Xiao Jin with difficulty as I was still very feeble, but I didn¡¯t want him to be in the limelight. I was actually over cautious as everyone was mumbling, ¡°Coming from the west?¡± Prince Ke Zha said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Beast race and Magic race reside in the West? Could it be that the Magic race is planning to invade the Human race?¡± The High Priest said, ¡°This competition has officially come to an end. His Royal Highness has won the rights to govern the Kingdom. There are no objections, correct?¡± The Yue and Xin families¡¯ heads, including Duke Te Yi, shook their heads. Duke Te Yi knew that they had lost this power battle. Moreover, they lost so terribly that it was impossible they didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of strength to change their fortunes. His complexion just paled and he collapsed in Dun Yu Xi¡¯s arms. The High Priest saw that no one was objecting and continued to say, ¡°Your Highness, I hope that you¡¯ll remember that legendary beast¡¯s words. You have to strengthen the Kingdom and increase its military power in preparation to fight against the dark forces in the future.¡± Prince Ke Zha bowed deeply towards the High Priest and said, ¡°To the High Priest and every magician present, please don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely strengthen the Kingdom and increase its military power. I¡¯ll lead every citizen from the Kingdom of Aixia to help stop the invasion and increase the strength of the Kingdom¡¯s power.¡± The High Priest smiled and nodded. ¡°Good! I hope that you¡¯ll always remember what you have said here.¡± My body¡¯s strength and vitality slowly recovered under the help of Teacher Di. I stood up, wanting to leave with the others, but the High Priest stopped me. ¡°Zhang Gong, you stay here for a while.¡± Ah! I looked with astonishment at the High Priest before turning to look at Teacher Di. Teacher Di nodded his head and left with everyone else. I curiously looked at the High Priest as he walked over. The High Priest only reached to my shoulders with his small stature of 170 centimeters. He looked kindly at me. ¡°Child, your magical beast should be a dragon. Could you tell me how you got it?¡± I was unable to bring myself to lie to this kind old man as I stared at him, though it was most likely unnecessary.. I told him in great detail on how I got the magical beast egg and how Xiao Jin was born. I even included the fact that I gave half of my lifespan to Xiao Jin, which enabled him to reach adulthood in such a short time. The High Priest nodded continuously as he listened to what I said. ¡°You¡¯re a really kind hearted child. It¡¯s no wonder why the dragon treats you as a friend. However, that solution was detrimental to both you and the dragon. Of course, I am aware of this sharing of life spell. Lao Lun was muddled. How could he have so easily allowed you to use that spell?¡± I scratched my head and said, ¡°Teacher Di had no other choices at that moment. If I didn¡¯t use that life sharing spell, Xiao Jin would had died already.¡± The High Priest sighed and said, ¡°Since you used the life sharing spell, the long lifespan that your dragon should have had has disappeared as he is now using your life force. A normal human should live until they¡¯re around 120 years of age generally, but now, you can only live to 60 years old, and the same thing applies to your dragon.¡± I made an apathetic expression. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If it is only sixty years, then so be it! I don¡¯t have any regrets!¡± A warm emotion flowed out from my heart. I knew that it was Xiao Jin who had shown his gratitude towards me upon hearing my words. The High Priest nodded and said, ¡°Child! I saw in a prophecy that it¡¯ll be your generation¡¯s era soon. You must remember that at all times, you must retain your kind hearted nature. It¡¯ll be your most important weapon in attaining victory. I hope there will still be many life forms that continue to exist after the calamity occurs.¡± The High Priest¡¯s expression that showed him bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind moved me greatly. I held his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll definitely¡­..¡± As I said that, a strong power surged out from the High Priest¡¯s hand and moved into my body. It seemed to have fused with the unfamiliar power. (I think that it was the Holy Sword¡¯s power). My body emitted a strong radiance of light that was similar to the High Priest¡¯s eyes. My whole body felt like it was in a furnace. It was scorching hot, but I couldn¡¯t use any powers to resist it. The High Priest mumbled, ¡°Th-This is an inheritance power.¡± He gradually withdrew his power. The radiant light that shone from my body turned into a gold light and entered my body. A soothing feeling came forth. My body felt like it was filled to the brim. The large amounts of magic power that I depleted during the competition seemed to have fully recovered. I asked in astonishment, ¡°High Priest, what did you do to me?¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to be even more astonished than I was. No... it should be excited instead. He tightly grabbed onto my arm and exclaimed, ¡°Zhang Gong, have you met a God before?¡± I nodded and told him of the whole experience, excluding the parts about meeting the God Of Creation as it would be too shocking. I had only said that a golden light shone on me while I was in the cave. Just like that, the High Priest was emotionally excited for a long time. He previously had passed me some God power. It was his God power that he had practiced for many years, which was capable of changing the mortal body. He wanted to help me a little to allow me to get half the work done and twice the effect from the future training, but he didn¡¯t know that my body had been changed by the God already so his power only had a restoration effect. The High Priest said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you have received the approval of God.¡± I felt extremely dizzy at that moment as the High Priest held onto me and prayed a thousand times. However, it was hard to blame him as he had sacrificed his whole life believing in God. I left the High Priest exhausted. I felt that the Ri family¡¯s leader battle weren¡¯t nearly as tiring. After leaving the training ground, I was tugged at by Ma Ke. ¡°Boss, what did the High Priest have to tell you that it took so much time?¡± I grabbed onto Ma Ke¡¯s shoulder and made a fainting expression. ¡°I almost got annoyed to death by that old man. As we talked, he kept repeating the same statement. Don¡¯t ask me what statement it is as the High Priest didn¡¯t allow me to tell anyone else. It¡¯s also nothing important. That¡¯s right! Why are you waiting here for me?¡± Ma Ke smiled and said, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s to go and celebrate! I have never seen my father this happy before. He looked like a child. The teachers have already accompanied him back to the prince¡¯s mansion. Let¡¯s quickly head back as well!¡± ¡®That¡¯s right! He has earned the rights to govern the country! As he had battled for the powers, how could he not be floating on cloud nine?¡¯ I replied, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go! Will there be lots of food?¡± Ma Ke chuckled and said, ¡°Of course! There will definitely be enough food to eat until you¡¯re satisfied. Boss, you¡¯re still the same. Once it¡¯s about food, your eyes light up!¡± Volume 4: Chapter 34 - Joining the Banquet Volume 4: Chapter 34 - Joining the Banquet I said, ¡°My eyes light up? You¡¯ve probably not seen how eyes light up due to food. Can I invite another person along?¡± Ma Ke curiously asked, ¡°There is someone that is more excited about eating than you? Who are you asking to come along? A person with a bigger appetite than yours? Is he going to wipe out all the food from my house? Haha!¡± I nudged him and said, ¡°That won¡¯t happen! Ah! It¡¯s Mu Zi. I¡¯m currently courting her!¡± Ma Ke suddenly had an enlightenment and said, ¡°Are you referring to the same Mu Zi that you planned on getting your revenge on?¡± I nodded and thought back to the feelings I had for Mu Zi when I was in a crisis. I had a strange feeling in my heart. Ma Ke replied, ¡°Go and invite her then! I¡¯m really curious about how much she can eat! Haha! She is a woman, but can eat more than you. Incredible!¡± I looked at the sky and realized it was noon already. I told Ma Ke, ¡°You head back to the mansion first. I¡¯ll go find her and bring her there.¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°Boss, how is your condition? Are you alright?¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine so stop worrying! I¡¯ll head off already.¡± I did a short distance teleport and teleported five hundred meters away. I succeeded in solving the riddle of the Kingdom of Aixia¡¯s fate and felt exceptionally light hearted. I arrived at the academy quickly, where it looked like the last class for the morning. I walked to the class entrance and shouted, ¡°Permission to enter!¡± Teacher Si replied from inside the classroom, ¡°Come in!¡± I pushed open the door and said, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m back!¡± Teacher Si Lan said, ¡°Ah! Zhang Gong, don¡¯t you still have a day of leave? Why are you back today?¡± ¡®I definitely can¡¯t say that I came back to invite Mu Zi for lunch.¡¯ I replied, ¡°I already settled the matter so I¡¯m back already.¡± ¡°Alright! Take your seat!¡± After I took my seat, Mu Zi stared at me with widened eyes. I whispered, ¡°I came back to invite you for lunch.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s large eyes instantly brightened and said, ¡°Really? Are we going to Ascending Jade Tide?¡± I made a wry face and said, ¡°Do you only know that one place? We aren¡¯t going there, but the quality shouldn¡¯t be too far off from the Ascending Jade Tide Restaurant. It¡¯s a banquet and I¡¯ve intentionally come to get you.¡± Mu Zi frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going as there will definitely be lots of people going there and I hate noisy places.¡± I pleaded and said, ¡°Mu Zi, let¡¯s go together! There¡¯ll be a lot of delicious food to eat and you don¡¯t need to socialize. You can just eat the food. Isn¡¯t that great? Are you really going to reject this offer?¡± Mu Zi looked at me curiously and said, ¡°Really? If the food isn¡¯t good, I won¡¯t forgive you!¡± I said elatedly, ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem because if you find the food unsatisfying, I¡¯ll just bring you to the Ascending Jade Tide. Are you satisfied this way?¡± Mu Zi nodded and said, ¡°Alright. But I¡¯ve made it clear that I¡¯ll just be going to eat and I won¡¯t be socializing.¡± ¡®She really is just like a little piglet that only knows how to eat. Ever since I entered the classroom, my heart has only felt an indescribable warmth after seeing Mu Zi. Even though I was only apart from Mu Zi for two days, my impression of her is still very strong. In my eyes, there¡¯s nothing that can replace her, even though she isn¡¯t beautiful.'' After class, we went directly to the prince¡¯s mansion. When we arrived at the prince¡¯s mansion quickly, Mu Zi looked at the vast building. She gasped, ¡°It can¡¯t be that this is the place you plan to bring me?¡± I smiled and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s here.¡± I pulled her tender and delicate hand and walked towards the entrance. The guards standing at the entrance smiled at me cordially and said, ¡°Young Master Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve finally arrived. You should quickly head inside as everyone is waiting for you!¡± ¡°Alright! Thank you and where are they?¡± ¡°His Royal Highness and the few Principals are at the ballroom, which is located beside the study.¡± ¡°Oh! I know where it is already. Mu Zi, let¡¯s quickly go before they wipe out all of the food.¡± I headed towards the study as I pulled the curious Mu Zi along. I knew where the study was, so naturally, I would be able to find the ballroom. Wah! When I opened the door, it was so lively. The room was sufficient to contain about 500 people and was filled with people who were obviously brimming with joy. The prince was so fast. He was able to gather his subordinates in such a short period of time. It was easy to see how cheerful he was. ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve finally arrived. I was waiting for you.¡± Ma Ke called out. Mu Zi exclaimed in astonishment, ¡°Ma Ke, you¡¯re also here?¡± I replied with a smile, ¡°Of course he¡¯s here. This is his house after all.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Ma Ke is the prince¡¯s son? I didn¡¯t know that!¡± I said, ¡°This is a secret so don¡¯t expose it after going back to the academy.¡± Mu Zi pouted and whispered into my ears, ¡°Why are you participating in this banquet? It seems to be for high ranking officers.¡± I whispered back, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I just helped the prince a little so he¡¯s treating me.¡± The prince called out voiced out, ¡°Has Zhang Gong finally come?¡± I hurriedly replied, ¡°Yes, Your Highness. I¡¯ve just arrived.¡± The prince came over and looked curiously at Mu Zi before talking to me. ¡°Zhang Gong, why are you still calling me Your Highness? You should just call me uncle Ke Zha!¡± I pointed at Mu Zi and said, ¡°Alright! Uncle Ke Zha, this is my classmate whom I have invited over.¡± The prince smiled and said, ¡°If she is your friend, she¡¯s also my junior. Quickly come inside, we¡¯re waiting for you before starting the banquet.¡± I said in surprise, ¡°Waiting for me? How can I let you elders wait for me? You could¡¯ve just started without me.¡± The prince said, ¡°You¡¯re the main contributor in my victory! If it weren¡¯t for you, how could today¡¯s competition go so smoothly? Let¡¯s go in.¡± I pulled Mu Zi, who was now even more curious, into the ballroom and sat at the main table. I introduced Mu Zi to the teachers, ¡°This person is our academy Principal Teacher Zhen, this is the Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s Principal Teacher Di, who is also my mentor. This is¡­.¡± Mu Zi proceeded to bow toward each of the teachers as I introduced her to them. I noticed only then that she knew the proper court etiquette. Teacher Di looked at me thoughtfully, but didn¡¯t say anything. Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Zhang Gong! You¡¯re incredible. You just entered the academy, but you¡¯ve already managed to get Mu Zi. I know Mu Zi as she is my academy¡¯s top third expert. You¡¯re really capable!¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and she replied, ¡°Principal, you must just be joking. How am I an expert before you teachers?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s gentle expression stunned me a little. ¡®Is she the same shrewish ice-cold Mu Zi that I know?¡¯ Volume 4: Chapter 35 - Excellent Fruit Wine Volume 4: Chapter 35 - Excellent Fruit Wine Teacher Zhen laughed and said, ¡°Mu Zi, you don¡¯t have to be this courteous as it¡¯ll be you youngsters¡¯ era in the future. However, you shouldn¡¯t let it affect your studies. You also have to supervise Zhang Gong as I heard from Lao Lun that he¡¯s very lazy.¡± After he said that, he broke into laughter once again. Teacher Long, who was at his side, said, ¡°You old brat, you don¡¯t have respect for your seniors.¡± The prince smilingly said, ¡°Stop teasing them!¡± After he said that, he shouted for everyone to quiet down. The messy ballroom quickly became silent. The prince said in a clear voice, ¡°The main reason for this banquet is to express my gratitude to a few Magisters.¡± The prince didn¡¯t directly say that he had won the power battle, but most of people attending the banquet more or less knew what happened. The prince continued to say, ¡°Everyone, take your seats! Servants! Bring up the dishes!¡± I whispered to Mu Zi, ¡°We¡¯re going to have our meal already. Control your movements a little!¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and she pinched me under the table. The prince really knew how to treat his guests. In a short moment, the table was filled with delicious dishes. The prince stood up and raised his wine glass before saying, ¡°I want to give a toast to everyone, as without any of you, the Kingdom of Aixia would have no future.¡± As the lead, he bottomed up. Everyone stood up and bottomed up their wine glass as well. I said, ¡°Prince Ke Zha, I have a good bottle of wine. Since today is a joyous day, how about tasting this wine of mine?¡± The prince got interested and said, ¡°Oh! That¡¯s great! What is the good wine that you want us to try?¡± Teacher Di frowned. ¡°You brat! What good wine could you have? Do you think it would be comparable to the prince¡¯s wine?¡± Teacher Di originally didn¡¯t want me to sit at this table, as Ma Ke was on the table next to the main table with his similar looking brother. It was under the persistence of the prince that allowed me to sit at this table. I could tell that Teacher Di wasn¡¯t happy I brought Mu Zi to attend the banquet. I stuck out my tongue at him. ¡°Then forget it! I better not offer something that might be disgraceful.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°What about offering something disgraceful? Just ignore Lao Lun! If they don¡¯t want to drink, then give it to me.¡± I looked at Teacher Di, who showed a helpless expression. ¡°You stupid Chuan Song! It was already hard for me to lecture my student and you messed it up! What if he continues to be undisciplined in the future?¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Such a good student still needs to be lectured? Why don¡¯t you give him to me? I want him! How about it, Zhang Gong? I know you also train in Spatial magic. Why don¡¯t you make me your mentor? I promise that I won¡¯t lecture you.¡± I was caught in the middle so I was at a loss of what to say. Teacher Di angrily said, ¡°You have guts to actually try to steal my student. Don¡¯t you know how much effort I put into teaching him? If you really have the capability, why don''t you teach one yourself!¡± Teacher Zhen sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to find someone as talented as Zhang Gong. I¡¯m also getting quite old already. Who can I teach? I also don¡¯t want to fight with you. In the matter of teaching disciples, I can¡¯t be compared to you. Are you satisfied now?¡± After seeing Teacher Zhen¡¯s dejected look, Teacher Di felt bad. He and Teacher Zhen had always been great friends. Teacher Di said, ¡°Alright! I was wrong. Isn¡¯t my student your student? Why do you need to be so calculative?¡± Teacher Zhen elatedly said, ¡°That¡¯s what you said! You can¡¯t regret saying that now. Zhang Gong is now counted as my disciple.¡± Teacher Di, who fell into a trap, stuttered, ¡°Yo--you actually lied to me. You old fart!¡± This made everyone erupt into laughter. Teacher Zhen said to me, ¡°Zhang Gong, quickly take out your good wine and let me see how good it is.¡± Teacher Zhen was a well known alcoholic. ¡®To be honest, when I said I would bring out the wine, I had regretted making that decision as I¡¯m left with only two bottles. Teacher Di¡¯s thoughts on not wanting me to bring out the wine had actually suited my thoughts, but now Teacher Zhen wanted it. I can¡¯t go back on my words in front of so many people.¡¯ I replied, ¡°I¡¯ll only let you drink some, and I can only give you half the bottle.¡± Teacher Zhen curiously asked, ¡°What wine is so precious that you can only give me half the bottle?¡± I replied, ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m only left with this bottle.¡± I took out a bottle of the fruit¡¯s wine from my spatial space and gave it to Teacher Zhen. The sparkling and translucent bottle held a green fluid in it. This instantly attracted the attention of everyone. The prince asked in curiosity, ¡°Zhang Gong, what type of wine is this?¡± I replied, ¡°This was given to me by a nature elf when I was out travelling. The wine is not bad.¡± Teacher Long said, ¡°Old Zhen, you can¡¯t solitarily enjoy that wine. Let us all have a try!¡± Even Mu Zi, who knew nothing about wine, found it extraordinary. How could the old foxes not feel the same? Teacher Zhen hid the bottle to the side. ¡°Not giving! Teacher Di said that you¡¯re not allowed to drink it.¡± Teacher Di rebuked, ¡°Have I said anything about not being allowed to drink the wine? Who heard that?¡± The prince shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear that!¡± Everyone, including Mu Zi, broke into laughter. Teacher Zhen had no other choice but to bring out the wine. The prince ordered his servants to serve a glass of the fruit wine to everyone. Once the bottle was opened, a strong fruity scent permeated the room. The heads of the Kingdom of Aixia all said, ¡°What a good wine!¡± Mu Zi whispered to me, ¡°Do you still have more of this wine? It has such a nice scent.¡± I replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have anymore. How about you try comparing it to the Ascending Jade Tide? However, don¡¯t drink too much of it, as the after effects are very strong.¡± Mu Zi nodded. After the servant poured a glass for everyone to try, the not so big bottle of the fruit¡¯s wine was emptied. The prince said, ¡°Let¡¯s all have a taste of the good wine that Zhang Gong got from the nature elves.¡± He took a sip after saying that. Teacher Zhen couldn¡¯t wait any longer and drank the wine. Everyone also tasted the wine. Teacher Di said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you brat! Why didn¡¯t you secretly give me some of this wine?¡± I muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you drink wine.¡± Teacher Di was momentarily speechless as he seldom drank wine. He made an excuse and said, ¡°I don¡¯t drink much wine... But such a good wine, I must have some of it.¡± Teacher Zhen grabbed onto my shoulders and said, ¡°You brat! Hurry! Give me some more of the wine! Do you still have some?¡± I bitterly said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that this was the last bottle?¡± Teacher Zhen dejectedly let me go. ¡°After drinking this wine, it will be hard for me to drink other wines.¡± The prince also said, ¡°This wine is really very good! I¡¯ve never been able to drink such a good wine before. Zhang Gong, is there any way for you to get a few more bottles of the wine?¡± I replied, ¡°I heard that the Nature Elves only produce a few bottles a year. So, it won¡¯t be easy to acquire more.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 36 - Rolling like a Bottle Gourd Volume 4: Chapter 36 - Rolling like a Bottle Gourd Teacher Zhen smiled at Mu Zi and said, ¡°Mu Zi, why don¡¯t you give your wine to your teacher? You¡¯re a girl, so drinking too much wine is bad for your health.¡± Mu Zi carried out an action that rendered Teacher Zhen unable to cry or laugh. She drank the remaining fruit wine in one go and said, ¡°I¡¯m not drinking wine. I¡¯m only drinking fruit juice. Hehe!¡± Teacher Zhen was so angry that he silently glared at her and huffed into his beard. The prince said, ¡°Please drink my wine. There are still so many dishes. Let¡¯s dig in!¡± We were all waiting for him to say that. Mu Zi and I started to wipe out the dishes savagely. However, as there were many elders around, we must eat elegantly, but we didn¡¯t say a word and busied ourselves in eating. The leaders chatted and also ate food, so in a short period of time, the table was mostly cleared of food. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Wah! Zhang Gong, you¡¯re not only good at magic, you¡¯re also good at eating!¡± Teacher Di mockingly said, ¡°You don¡¯t know about this, but my precious disciple has a White Rice Bucket title.¡± I awkwardly smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not good at magic, but eating. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I was lucky, I would have died at the hands of the Ri family¡¯s leader.¡± Thinking back to that situation, I¡¯m still traumatized. After saying that, I felt like I had divulged something to Mu Zi and peeked at her. She just seemed to be hurriedly eating and didn¡¯t pay any attention to what I said. I asked the prince, ¡°Uncle Ke Zha, how is the situation for the Ri family?¡± The prince sighed and said, ¡°I sent people to arrest them after the competition, but the entire Ri family seems to have disappeared into thin air. There wasn¡¯t anybody there, except for a few servants. It looks like Si Feng Ri had already prepared for this to happen. I¡¯ve ordered people to search for them, but the chances of finding them are very slim.¡± I nodded and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought that the honorable Ri family would support the evil forces.¡± In order to prevent unnecessary panic, I didn¡¯t tell them about the Monster King. How would I know that everyone had misunderstood that the Ri family is supporting the invasion of the Magic race, and brought unnecessary trouble to themselves. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that now. Your Highness, can you serve more dishes? I¡¯m still not full yet. Haha.¡± The prince apologized for the unsatisfactory treatment of his guests and immediately told his servants to serve another course of dishes. Mu Zi and I dug in. The food that didn¡¯t lose out to the meal from Ascending Jade Tide unceasingly entered our mouths that were wide open like a bloody sacrificial bowl. After the joyous meal ended, I secretly asked the prince for the <> book. The prince told me that he found the book in some ruins. That book was one of a kind and was painstakingly preserved. If it wasn¡¯t me, I doubt that he would be able to give it away. I accompanied Mu Zi and walked out of the prince mansion. I smiled and asked, ¡°How was it? Were you satisfied today?¡± Mu Zi coldly looked at me all of a sudden. ¡°Hmph! What about being satisfied? It¡¯s all your fault! With so many people around, I¡¯m not full yet.¡± ¡®Ah! She wasn¡¯t full? She ate a lot just now, but many of the movements were secretive.¡¯ I replied, ¡°What to do? It can¡¯t be that you want to find another place to eat now, is it?¡± Mu Zi raised her head and looked at me with a playful look. ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary! However, you must remember that you owe me a meal at the Ascending Jade Tide.¡± After she said that, she turned around and ran towards the direction of the academy as she let out peals of laughter. I then understood and shouted, ¡°Wah! You tricked me!¡± After I shouted, I chased after her. As we were on the main road of the city, we didn¡¯t use any magic and just chased each other; Mu Zi could really run... Even though I had spent some time training, it was still quite difficult to catch her. Once I saw that the entrance to the academy before me, I surveyed my surroundings and determined there weren¡¯t any people around. I used a short distance teleport to appear in front of Mu Zi. Mu Zi didn¡¯t have enough time to stop and fell into my arms. As her momentum was great, we immediately fell and rolled along the ground like a bottle gourd. Mu Zi¡¯s head directly hit the left side of my face, which made me tear up in pain. Mu Zi held her head and exclaimed, ¡°So painful!¡± After a while, I snapped back to reality from being in pain. Mu Zi was currently on top of me and continuously rubbed her head. Her body was so soft. I subconsciously placed my hands on her waist. Even though it was through her shirt, I could still feel the smoothness of her skin. As I zoned out, Mu Zi noticed that something wasn¡¯t right and struggled to get out of my grasp. ¡°What are you doing? You pervert!¡± I completely snapped back to reality at that moment and helped her up, but the feeling of hugging her had not disappeared. Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and she glared at me before pouting playfully, ¡°So it turns out that you¡¯re this bad!¡± I screamed out injustice. ¡°How am I bad? You were the one that bumped into me.¡± Mu Zi unreasonably said, ¡°I don¡¯t care! It¡¯s your fault! If not, why did you suddenly appear in front of me? I¡¯m in so much pain right now from crashing into you. You see, I have such a big lump on my head. How am I going to see other people now?¡± I gently caressed Mu Zi¡¯s head. There really was a small lump. It looked like the collision was not gentle. I teased her saying, ¡°Wah! Mu Zi, you have grown a horn! Haha.¡± Mu Zi pulled my ear, ¡°You¡¯re good! You do something wrong, but still laugh at my misfortune. I won¡¯t forgive you!¡± I hurriedly said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare! I¡¯ll help you treat it. I promise the lump will disappear.¡± Mu Zi curiously let go of my ear. ¡°Really? If you¡¯re lying to me, you¡¯re dead!¡± It hurt my heart knowing that Mu Zi got hurt during the fall, so I gathered light elements in my hand and cast a light recovery spell on Mu Zi. Mu Zi, who saw the white light in my hand, quickly retreated away from the light. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I was stunned for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m helping you to treat your lump. Why? I¡¯m using the light recovery spell. The effect is not bad.¡± Mu Zi immediately shook her head. ¡°No! I don¡¯t need your treatment! I¡¯ve been sensitive to light elements ever since I was young.¡± ¡®Ah! There¡¯s such a thing of being sensitive to light elements? I hadn¡¯t heard about that.¡¯ I chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re really special. You¡¯re even sensitive to light elements. You¡¯re incredible! Since you can¡¯t be treated by me, let¡¯s go back to the academy to find a water mage to treat you. You definitely shouldn¡¯t be sensitive to water elements, right? Haha.¡± Mu Zi looked at me and said, ¡°It¡¯s inherited in my family. I also can¡¯t do anything about that. Let¡¯s hurry and head back to the academy.¡± She unexpectedly took the initiative to hold my hand as we walked towards the academy. Volume 4: Chapter 37 - Wounding Hai Shuis Heart Volume 4: Chapter 37 - Wounding Hai Shui''s Heart When I thought back to the time when I hugged Mu Zi, my heart would beat frantically. It¡¯s so comfortable hugging her. After returning to the classroom, there was still some time before class began. I looked at Mu Zi, who was occasionally touching the lump on her head and showing a painful expression. My heart felt indescribable pain. ¡®I need to find a water magician for her, but who to find? My time at the academy hasn¡¯t been too long so I don¡¯t know a lot of people. If I go find Hai Yue, it definitely wouldn¡¯t work since she hates me to the core. Hmm, Hai Shui? Our relationship is a little awkward right now.¡¯ I scratched my head.What to do?I turned my head and saw that Mu Zi¡¯s hair was dripping in perspiration. Her face was a little pale as she just lay on the table, continuously massaging the lump on her head. Seeing her like that, my heart hurt. I didn¡¯t care anymore. I¡¯ll go and find Hai Shui. I stood up and turned to leave the classroom. Mu Zi asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡¯ I said lovingly, ¡°Seeing you in so much pain, I¡¯ll go and find someone to treat it. I¡¯ll be back soon. You just have to wait for me here.¡± Mu Zi smiled and was a little happy. ¡°Alright!¡± I walked to Hai Shui¡¯s classroom. I was lucky that she was in class. I shouted from the entrance of the classroom. ¡°Hai Shui!¡± Hai Shui raised her head and met my eyes. Her eyes showed signs of happiness and she hurriedly came to me. ¡°Ah! Zhang Gong, you¡¯re here? I thought you took a few days of leave. Why are you back already?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but I can¡¯t delay my studies any longer. I¡¯m here to ask you for some help.¡± Hai Shui giggled. ¡°Wow! So there are also times where you¡¯ll ask me for help.¡± I awkwardly smiled. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re so capable. If I don¡¯t ask you, who else would I ask?¡± Hai Shui looked overjoyed after hearing what I said. She excitedly said, ¡°Alright! What do you want?¡± I replied, ¡°I want you to help me treat a person.¡± Hai Shui frowned after hearing what I said. ¡°Who should I treat? Your light magic healing effect is much better than mine. Why did you come to find me?¡± I replied, ¡°It¡¯s Mu Zi. She hurt her head and is sensitive to light elements, so I thought¡­.¡± When Hai Shui heard it was for Mu Zi, her expression darkened. She just wordlessly stared at me. I felt so awkward at that time and at a loss of what to say. We just stared at each other. After a while, I mumbled, ¡°Hmm! Can we just forget about what I said? I¡¯ll just find someone else.¡± Hai Shui sighed heavily and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll help you. Let''s go and treat her now since the next class hasn¡¯t started yet.¡± She took the lead and walked towards my classroom. Hai Shui¡¯s decision astonished me as she actually agreed to help me. While walking in the corridor, she didn¡¯t say anything. ¡®It looks like Ma Ke was right. Hai Shui really does love me. However, I have always treated her only like a sister. There weren¡¯t any special feelings like the ones I had for Mu Zi.'' I realized that finding her for help had hurt her. I followed behind her until we reached the classroom. Hai Shui stopped and said dully, ¡°You go and call Mu Zi out.¡± I replied foolishly, ¡°Alright! You just wait for me here.¡± As I ran into the classroom, I pulled Mu Zi out of the classroom. The students in class looked at us. Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and she tried to break free of my hold, but to no avail. I brought Mu Zi in front of Hai Shui. When the two of them saw each other, they were stunned. Mu Zi looked back and forth at me and Hai Shui until Hai Shui spoke. She forced a smile and said, ¡°Mu Zi, how are you? I heard that you got hurt. Zhang Gong had come to ask me to treat your injury.¡± Mu Zi looked at me before nodding her head. ¡°Hai Shui, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then.¡± Hai Shui raised her left hand. ¡°Gentle water! Please use your gentle form to cure the wound in front of you.¡± After she chanted, Hai Shui¡¯s hand started to glow a light blue light. After a while, it formed a blue light ball. She waved her hand towards Mu Zi and the blue light ball shot out. It accurately landed on Mu Zi¡¯s lump. The blue light suddenly expanded. After a short while, it disappeared. Mu Zi smiled and said, ¡°Hai Shui, your water magic is so good! I¡¯m no longer in pain. Thank you so much for that.¡± Hai Shui shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. Class is starting soon so I¡¯ll head back to my class. Mu Zi, see you later.¡± After she said that, she turned her head and looked at me seriously before whispering, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you at the third training ground after school.¡± I was stunned, but when I wanted to reply to her, Hai Shui ran away just like an injured bunny, disappearing from my sight. Mu Zi stared at the leaving Hai Shui¡¯s back and sighed. ¡°Zhang Gong! You¡¯re so stupid! How could you ask her to treat my wound? You really don¡¯t understand a girl¡¯s heart.¡± I bitterly said, ¡°When I saw you in pain, my heart hurt so badly. I didn¡¯t have many choices at the moment, so I went to find her. She wants me to meet her at the third training ground tonight after school. What do you think? Should I go or not?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s heart was a little contradicting at that moment. Her large eyes exposed her complicated feelings. After a long time, she said, ¡°You should go.¡± As I saw through her internal battle, I held her hand and said, ¡°Mu Zi, there¡¯s only you in my heart. I won¡¯t fall for anyone else. I think I won¡¯t go then.¡± Mu Zi face reddened a little, but she didn¡¯t shake off my hand. She lowered her head and spoke really softly, ¡°These words are already enough. You should still go to settle the matter.¡± At this moment, a familiar voice voiced out, ¡°You kids¡¯ nerves are currently getting too thick as you actually dared to be so intimate in the hallway. Hurry, go and take your seat. It¡¯s time for class.¡± Mu Zi and I raised our heads at the same time. It was Teacher Si. Our faces instantly flushed red. Mu Zi whispered, ¡°This is all your fault!¡± She turned and ran into the classroom. I awkwardly smiled and said, ¡°Teacher, I¡­..¡± Teacher Si interrupted me and looked as though she was rebuking me. ¡°That¡¯s enough! You don¡¯t need to explain yourself. I know it¡¯s impossible to control your feelings. Teacher has also experienced that before. But you shouldn¡¯t be doing this at school. If you really want to be intimate with Mu Zi, you should have found a secluded area instead. You¡¯re such a worrisome child. You should also stop letting your grades drop any further. Mu Zi and you are this class¡¯s most exceptional students. I have high expectations for you two.¡± I looked at the teacher, whose magic power was incomparable to mine. I was actually moved by her. She didn¡¯t scold me, but had encouraged me. What else could I say? I nodded at her with my slightly red face and ran into the classroom. Volume 4: Chapter 38 - Displaying Heartfelt Love Volume 4: Chapter 38 - Displaying Heartfelt Love When I took my seat, Mu Zi seemed to be thinking deeply about something. I sneakily reached out and held her small delicate cold hand. I was addicted to the feeling of her tenderness and bonelessness as I held her hand. This was heaven**. Mu Zi raised her head and looked at me before sighing. She took back her hand. I was curious. ¡®What¡¯s happening to her? She seems to be unhappy. Didn¡¯t I clarify with her already? Why is she like this? Can it still be because of Hai Shui?¡¯ I whispered, ¡°Mu Zi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She gently shook her head. ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just that you didn¡¯t write me a love letter. In fact, it¡¯s been a few days since you wrote me one.¡± I blankly replied, ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll write one now.¡± As I said that, I took out a piece of paper and wrote the love letter. ¡°Mu Zi, we have been apart for a few days. I thought about you constantly. I don¡¯t know why, but I felt empty when I didn¡¯t see you those days. You¡¯ve been asking me what I was doing during these few days. I¡¯ll tell you now, as I know we shouldn¡¯t have secrets between us. I took the two days leave to participate in the secret battle between Prince Ke Zha and Duke Te Yi. You should know the outcome already. Prince Ke Zha won the final victory in the competition. It doesn¡¯t matter if you believe this or not, but I didn¡¯t participate in the battle for riches and honour. It was for the future fate of the Kingdom of Aixia and the numerous commoners. I feel that the worst situation for this matter would be a civil war. A war is only beneficial to those that want power, but the ones that will suffer are the commoners. I detest wars. The fighting was settled using a best out of five matches competition. I participated in the fourth round. You might be curious about why I was able to represent the prince in battle, so I¡¯ll tell you another secret. I¡¯m the eleventh Magister in the world. Do you think I am compatible for you now? My opponent was the Ri family¡¯s leader, Si Feng Ri. He¡¯s Feng Liang¡¯s grandfather. It was the most tenacious battle that I had experienced. His power can no longer be gauged by using the standard level of a magician. While I was forced to face death by him, the one that appeared in my heart was you. At that time I thought that, if I survived this ordeal and saw you again, I¡¯d definitely treat you well and never let you go. I want to tell you how I honestly feel for you in my heart. I love you. I really love you. There is only you in my heart.¡± (Writing until this point, I got emotional. My love for Mu Zi roared out like the sea. A drop of my tears landed on the paper.) I stopped and controlled my emotions before continuing to write. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but it¡¯s like there¡¯s a barrier between us. It¡¯s some sort of wall. I¡¯m unable to break through that solid wall. It makes it impossible to know how you really feel for me. Can you just tell me? I really want to hear your thoughts. I won¡¯t force you to tell me, as everyone should have their secrets. You have your own space. It¡¯s because I love you, so I don¡¯t want to force you to express your feelings for me. When you agreed to be my temporary girlfriend, I was jubilant. However, after that I realized that it wasn¡¯t because you love me, but were instead just interested in me. I didn¡¯t feel anything about that at that moment, but now my heart feels uneasy thinking about it. If you are worrying about the matter regarding Hai Shui, you don¡¯t need to, as I have always treated her like she is my own sister. There¡¯s no one that can enter my heart, except for you. I don¡¯t know when you will open up your heart to me. I also don¡¯t know if you like me at all, but my heart is yours. This is an indisputable fact. Mu Zi, could you please accept me?¡± Inscribed with forever loving you, Zhang Gong. My emotions undulated, just like in the letter. I held the letter and stared at it; not knowing if Mu Zi would accept it. When I looked at Mu Zi, she was looking at me. I didn¡¯t know that the tear on the letter had greatly moved the girl beside me. Mu Zi took the letter from my hand and read it. I didn¡¯t dare to see her. I was afraid that she would reject me. It wasn¡¯t the same as the previous love letters. This time, I had put my heart into writing it. If I couldn¡¯t replace my heart, I didn¡¯t know if I could accept her rejection. I lowered my head and waited, as though I was a prisoner that was facing life or death judgement. I was really nervous while I waited. After an extremely long time, an ice-cold, tender hand held my sweaty hand due to being nervous. I raised my head and saw that Mu Zi was looking at me. This was the first time that I had seen so much emotion coming from her eyes. I anxiously whispered, ¡°Do you accept me?¡± Mu Zi lip curved up, showing happiness and lightly nodded her head. ¡°Silly guy!¡± I felt that my world had completely changed instantly. My surroundings were filled with colours. I tightly held onto her hand and mumbled, ¡°Is this for real? Is it?¡± Mu Zi face reddened and whispered. ¡°We¡¯re still in the classroom, so restrain yourself a little.¡± I nodded strongly and placed a kiss onto Mu Zi¡¯s hand that I was holding. Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and looked like a red apple. She exclaimed, ¡°What are you doing? I just told you to restrain yourself, but you¡­.¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I...I was just too excited.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s mood dampened a little, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I made the right choice. Are we really going to be able to stay together forever?¡± I firmly nodded and tightly held onto the little sweaty delicate hand of Mu Zi. ¡°Yes, we can! I don¡¯t know what the future holds and I¡¯ll probably experience difficulties and troubles, but I¡¯ll always hold you tightly and protect you forever.¡± Mu Zi smiled with abnormal brilliance. She held back my hand and said. ¡°You¡¯ve got to remember what you said today!¡± I dazily said, ¡°Mu Zi, your smile is so beautiful.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°How is it beautiful? You¡¯re hateful. I don¡¯t really know which part of me that made you love me.¡± I blurted out, ¡°I love every part of you!¡± Mu Zi glanced at me, but her expression was filled with happiness. ¡°I have a lot of things that I still can¡¯t tell you. You¡¯ll find out about it in the future. I really hope that we can conquer all of our problems.¡± She sighed and said, ¡°Actually, Hai Shui is more suited to you than me. She¡¯s more beautiful and her family background is also exceptional. I can clearly see that she really likes you. Why don¡¯t you try and accept her instead?¡± Volume 4: Chapter 39 - Hard to Refuse Volume 4: Chapter 39 - Hard to Refuse I said in shock, ¡°It looks like my instinct was right. I always felt as though you were hiding something. How about sharing it with me so that I can share your burden? You don¡¯t have to say anything else about Hai Shui. I, Zhang Gong, swear that I won¡¯t marry anyone except Mu Zi. Why do you keep on pushing me to someone else?¡± I got a little angry after asking that. Mu Zi shook her head dejectedly, ¡°You will know in the future, but now isn¡¯t the time for you to know. Don¡¯t force me to talk about it, alright?¡± I gently said, ¡°How could I force you? I believe that I¡¯ll be able to solve any difficulties in the future, even if they might be extremely difficult. You¡¯re mine forever in this lifetime as I will always hold onto you, so don¡¯t you even think about escaping from me!¡± Mu Zi looked at my eyes as I stared into hers. It seemed as though time stilled at that moment. Romantic feelings permeated our hearts. When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Mu Zi and I snapped back to reality. I had finally developed a relationship with Mu Zi. I was currently exceptionally satisfied. I took out the amethyst card from my spatial space and held it out for Mu Zi to take. ¡°You can take this card. Whenever you feel like eating delicious food, you can use it to treat yourself. You shouldn¡¯t neglect yourself.¡± Mu Zi didn¡¯t take the card, but shook her head instead. ¡°I think you should keep that card to yourself, as I¡¯m bad at controlling my spending.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Wasn¡¯t money meant to be spent? Just take it! I don¡¯t need much money anyways. If you eat conservatively, you¡¯ll be able to eat delicious meals for a long time!¡± After she heard me said that, she took the card. ¡°You can¡¯t blame me, if I really use up all of your savings in the future. Let¡¯s not go to the Ascending Jade Tide anymore as even though that place is good, it¡¯s too expensive. Let¡¯s go to a cheaper restaurant in the future. I find cheap food is also not bad. I have always wanted to try some out.¡± I said, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go out to eat tomorrow. You shouldn¡¯t leave school tonight as I don¡¯t feel that it is safe for you to be out alone. I¡¯ll come and find you after meeting Hai Shui, alright?¡± Mu Zi shyly nodded her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and eat at the canteen first.¡± I replied, ¡°That¡¯s great! You can just wait there for me. After meeting Hai Shui, I¡¯ll come and find you.¡± After arriving at the third training ground, it was still early in the evening, even though the sky had darkened already. After a while, the students had their dinner and some of them came to the training ground to train their magic. However, it was completely silent in the training ground at the moment. It was a little chilly as the breeze blew past me, . Hai Shui still had not come. I stood at the center of the training ground; thinking about how to express the fact that I didn¡¯t have any feelings for Hai Shui so that it wouldn¡¯t hurt her feelings badly. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re here already. I¡¯m sorry that I came late.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s dull voice sounded from behind me. When I turned around, I saw that Hai Shui¡¯s face was a little pale and signs of loneliness could be seen on her pretty face. I said smilingly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter as I had just arrived.¡± She pointed at a corner of the field and asked, ¡°Can we chat over there?¡± I nodded and followed Hai Shui to walk over there. ¡°Zhang Gong, am I pretty?¡± I was stunned as I hadn¡¯t thought that Hai Shui would ask me that. I vacantly nodded my head. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re beautiful. There aren¡¯t a lot of females that can compare to you in the academy.¡± Hai Shui dull expressions became excited. The tone of her speech was also higher. ¡°Why don¡¯t you like me then?¡± My heart skipped a beat. ¡°Why do you think like that? I definitely like you. Hai Shui is an adorable little girl. How could anyone dislike you?¡± Hai Shui emotionally said, ¡°I¡¯m not little! In your eyes, I¡¯m only an adorable little girl? You should know what I meant when I said I like you. Please tell me just which part of me is incomparable to Mu Zi. Tell me!¡± Seeing Hai Shui in such an emotional state, my heart felt a sharp pain. I really couldn¡¯t bear to hurt such an innocent and adorable girl, but I couldn¡¯t not tell her the reason. I clenched my teeth. It was better to just get the pain over with, rather than prolonging her agony. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Hai Shui. I understand your feelings, but I have already given my heart to someone else, so I¡¯m unable to accept you. Sorry.¡± After listening to what I said, Hai Shui was no longer as emotional. She gradually calmed down, but her face became much paler. Sparkling and translucent teardrops rolled down her cheek. She nodded before saying, ¡°Alright, I understand. Zhan Gong, do you still remember the first time we met each other at the arena? You took advantage of the time when I was not paying attention and pushed me off the stage. I really did hate you a little bit at that time, but your image just won¡¯t disappear from my mind. Even after so many years, except for you, nobody has been able to enter my heart. I don¡¯t blame you for choosing Mu Zi, but rather myself for not having the determination to confess my love to you.¡± I gently wiped her tears off her face. ¡°Hai Shui, can you stop being like this? My heart hurts, seeing you like this.¡± Hai Shui grabbed onto my hand and pressed her cold delicate face against it. ¡°When I first saw Mu Zi and you together, I felt that something wasn¡¯t right, but I consoled myself. However after today when you asked me to treat Mu Zi¡¯s wound, I had already understood that I no longer stood a chance. I saw through your heart. There is only Mu Zi in your eyes. When you look at her, your expression was so gentle. You were that distressed when Mu Zi got injured. You forever won¡¯t be able to love me. Even after knowing that, my heart had already followed you. Zhang Gong, I really love you¡­.¡± Hai Shui sobbed soundlessly in my embrace after she tightly hugged my waist. If I said, I wasn¡¯t moved. I would be lying to myself. I never thought that Hai Shui would have such a deep feeling for me. As I vacantly hugged her, I was unable to console her, as I didn¡¯t know what to say. A voice suddenly shouted at us. ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Hai Shui and I abruptly let go of each other. It was Hai Ri, I hadn¡¯t seen him for two years already. He furiously ran over with a fireball in his raised hand. I cast a light shield to block his attack. He said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re good, brat! You actually dared to hug my sister. I want to see what you¡¯re capable of.¡± Although Hai Ri was mad at me, I strangely felt warmth. His expression made me remember the time when I helped Ma Ke treat his wounds. I smiled and replied, ¡°Brother Hai Ri, your temper hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡± Hai Ri felt that my voice was familiar. He stopped preparing his offensive spell before curiously asking, ¡°You...Who are you?¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m Zhang Gong.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 40 - Hai Ris Anger Volume 4: Chapter 40 - Hai Ri''s Anger Hai Ri suddenly had a realization and said, ¡°So, it was you brat! I heard from Hai Shui that you came back. I had planned to look for you tomorrow. You don¡¯t know just how hell bent my sister has fallen for you. She keeps talking to me about you. You¡¯re so capable! You just got back, but you already have your hands on her.¡± I laughed bitterly in my heart as I knew he had misunderstood. I hastily explained, ¡®It¡¯s not¡­¡± Hai Ri interrupted saying, ¡°Why isn¡¯t that the case? I have already seen it. You still want to make excuses? Haha, don¡¯t worry! I would mind if it was other people courting her, but I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s you. You¡¯re suitable for my sister.¡± He showed an elder brother¡¯s look. When I tried to explain to him again, Hai Shui stepped forward from behind me. She dully said, ¡°Brother, please don¡¯t meddle in our matter. There really is nothing happening between us.¡± Hai Ri smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re still saying nothing is going on? I have already seen you two hugging each other. Haha. Hmm, sister, why did you cry? Did he bully you?¡± Hai Ri¡¯s expression changed instantly after seeing tears on Hai Shui¡¯s face. Hai Shui quickly replied, ¡°Brother, he didn¡¯t bully me. I already told you not to interfere with our matters. There¡¯s really nothing going on between Zhang Gong and I. He already has a girlfriend.¡± ¡°What? Zhang Gong, you¡¯re really good. You actually dare to bully my sister. I won¡¯t forgive you!¡± Hai Ri¡¯s temper erupted again. Hai Shui stood in front of me and cried out, ¡°Brother, please stop meddling in our matter! You also can¡¯t blame Zhang Gong in this matter.¡± Hai Ri said in rage, ¡°If I don¡¯t blame him, don¡¯t tell me that I should be the one to be blamed! Hai Shui, get out of my way! Zhang Gong, you stinking brat, if you¡¯re a man, stop hiding behind my sister and fight with me. Since we were young, I¡¯ve only fought you once. We haven¡¯t fought since then. I really want to see just what you have that gives you the guts to bully my sister.¡± I used short distance teleportation to move in front of Hai Shui from behind her. I could only let Hai Ri let off some steam. At worst, I just won¡¯t retaliate. Once Hai Ri saw me step out, he didn¡¯t say anything, but chanted. ¡°Boundless flames, please burn like my fighting spirit to turn into a violent flame to incinerate the enemy standing before you!¡± An enormous violent flame shot towards me. When Hai Shui wanted to stop the attack, I mentally told her, ¡°Your brother can¡¯t hurt me. Let him let out some steam! If not, he won¡¯t be able to calm down.¡± After hearing what I said, she moved to the side and worriedly watched our battle. I cast a Holy light on myself; mellow and rich light elements protected me. Hai Ri¡¯s magic power was so overbearing as I was forced to fly backwards after coming in contact with the violent flames. I was like a magic sandbag after that, as I was continuously hit by all kinds of fire magic from Hai Ri. I stayed in the area of my defensive spell and unceasingly chanting defensive spells. The sky was dyed red by Hai Ri¡¯s fire magic. I cried out in my heart. Hai Ri is really strong. After fighting me for a long time, he was just as violent as he was initially; without any intention of stopping. Hai Shui wanted to help me a couple of times, but I kept on stopping her. I told her that I could still hold on. The people watching our battle from the surroundings gradually increased. They were really fellows that had nothing to do after eating one¡¯s fill. They pointed and discussed among themselves. ¡°Wah! Who made Boss Hai Ri so mad? The one getting beaten doesn¡¯t have any strength to fight back.¡± As I was bombarded by countless magic spells, I couldn¡¯t see who it was. ¡°That fella is in deep trouble. He might become a roasted pig after the battle.¡± ¡°He really can hold on. Who is that? His defense is quite good. Hai Shui is also here. He¡¯s probably someone that was reckless enough to try and court her, which made Hai Ri furious.¡± As I stayed in my defensive spell, I withstood his attack. Even though Hai Ri was strong, he was still a rank lower than me. His attack wouldn¡¯t be able to break my defense. The problem was that there was no end to his attacks and I also couldn¡¯t fight back. This was really troublesome. Just as I was dreading, a violent gale suddenly blew past me. A few small Wind Tornados appeared in front of me. My body suddenly lightened. The pressure on my body caused by Hai Ri instantaneously disappeared. Mu Zi landed in front of me accompanied with a cool breeze. ¡°Mu Zi, why did you come?¡± Mu Zi snorted and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t come to the canteen even after a long time had passed. I¡¯m worried for you.¡± I moved my head in front of her ear and said as I laughed, ¡°Were you afraid that I would be attracted to Hai Shui?¡± Mu Zi laughed and said, ¡°Stop being so shameless! Hai Ri, why are you fighting Zhang Gong?¡± Hai Ri saw Mu Zi appear and block his attack. He stopped attacking and said, ¡°Mu Zi, why are you here? This matter only involves Zhang Gong and I, so stop meddling in our affair and get out of the way!¡± Hai Ri looked a little scared after seeing Mu Zi. Mu Zi replied, ¡°You¡¯re shameless. Zhang Gong didn¡¯t fight back and let you attack him, but you kept on attacking him.¡± Hai Ri coldly said, ¡°He¡¯s guilty since he bullied my sister, so I want to beat him up.¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°How did he bully your sister? Did you see it happening?¡± Hai Ri was instantly speechless and yelled at the surrounding students who were whispering, ¡°You all aren¡¯t involved in this, so stop staying here to watch the show.¡± After he chased away the crowd, he turned to Hai Shui and asked, ¡°Sister, did he bully you just now?¡± Once Hai Shui saw Mu Zi came, her expressions darkened. When she heard Hai Ri questioning her, she replied, ¡°Brother, I already told you not to interfere with our matters. Zhang Gong really didn¡¯t bully me. Let¡¯s just go!¡± After Hai Ri heard what she said, he was stunned. ¡°If he didn¡¯t bully you, then why were you crying just now?¡± Hai Shui¡¯s tears flowed again. She said as she cried, ¡°You don¡¯t need to care!¡± She turned and ran away. After Hai Ri saw Hai Shui running away, he said to Mu Zi, ¡°Are you still going to say he didn¡¯t bully her? You already saw how upset she was.¡± I walked out from behind Mu Zi and patted Hai Ri¡¯s shoulder. Hai Ri shoved my hand away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! If you don¡¯t give me a reasonable explanation, I won¡¯t ever let this matter go!¡± I bitterly smiled and said, ¡°Brother Hai Ri, please calm down a little and let me explain.¡± Hai Ri coldly looked at me and said, ¡°Carry on.¡± I looked at Mu Zi and she nodded at me. I sighed before telling him everything from the start to the end of what happened. After Hai Ri heard what I said, he stunningly said, ¡°So, it was a love triangle.¡± He pulled me to the side and whispered to me, ¡°Brother, it was my bad previously, but it was your fault! Why did you choose Mu Zi? She¡¯s so fierce and violent. It would have been better if you had fallen for my sister as she is prettier and gentler. You should have chosen her instead.¡± I helplessly replied, ¡°You can¡¯t make such comparisons in love relationships. I can only apologize to Hai Shui. Mu Zi and I mutually love each other. Brother Hai Ri, can you stop making things difficult for me?¡± Volume 4: Chapter 41 - Embracing Mu Zi Volume 4: Chapter 41 - Embracing Mu Zi Hai Ri shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to interfere in this kind of matter so just do as you like, but my sister is just so pitiful.¡± After saying that, he intentionally glanced at Mu Zi, who was not far away from them. I asked Hai Ri, ¡°Brother Hai Ri, has Mu Zi made you suffer before? It looked as though you¡¯re fearful of her?¡± Hai Ri puffed out his chest and said, ¡°Who¡¯s scared of her?¡± Suddenly, he deflated like a balloon that was losing air. ¡°However, I did suffer at her hands before. We fought in one of the academy¡¯s competitions. Even though I was able to win against her, she beat me to the point that I couldn¡¯t get out of bed for a couple of days. Mu Zi is really powerful, especially when she fights as if her life depends on it. I¡¯m currently having trouble settling the matter about Hai Shui. I also can¡¯t force you to like her. First it was Hai Yue and now it¡¯s Hai Shui. My two sisters... Just what do you want me to do as your brother?¡± Mu Zi could actually make Hai Ri unable to stand her. I had never thought about this point before. I asked in surprise, ¡°Hai Yue? What about her?¡± Hai Ri lethargically replied, ¡°It¡¯s the wretched Ri family. It is unknown why they suddenly disappeared. Feng Liang also disappeared. Hai Yue was terribly worried and kept on looking for him, but to no avail. Even if he wanted to go, he should¡¯ve told us first.¡± So it was like that. I replied, ¡°You should go back and tell Hai Yue to stop looking for him. I¡¯ll tell you a secret, the Ri family has betrayed the Kingdom and the entire family is on the run now. Feng Liang isn¡¯t any good either. They¡¯re worshipers of sinister forces. You should make Hai Yue forget about him as soon as possible.¡± Ma Ke finally had a chance! I¡¯ll make him go and console Hai Yue tomorrow. Hai Ri astonishingly asked, ¡°There was such a matter? Why didn¡¯t I know about it?¡± I replied, ¡°You mustn¡¯t tell anyone else about this. If you still don¡¯t believe in what I have said, you can go home and ask your grandfather about it. He knows the truth about this. Actually, Ma Ke is not bad, you should help him out.¡± Hai Ri frowned and said, ¡°Why are so many things happening? My head feels compacted. Alright, I¡¯m leaving. I don¡¯t want to think about anything anymore.¡± After he said that, he turned and walked away.¡± I hastily told him, ¡°Brother Hai Ri, when you get home, you should tell Hai Shue that it¡¯s impossible to force feelings. I hope that time will be able to heal her heart¡¯s pain.¡± Hai Ri replied, ¡°That¡¯s enough! You should stop saying such cynical remarks. How would I be able to repair her broken heart? Isn¡¯t her pain caused by you?¡± As he complained, he walked out of the training ground. I could only smile bitterly as I saw him walking away. Mu Zi walked over and clung onto my arm. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± I turned around and gently embraced her. I buried my head in her long hair and deeply inhaled, bewitched by her sweet-smelling scent.. I didn¡¯t want to think of anything and just wanted to quietly hold her. Mu Zi returned my embrace and rested her head on my chest. After a long time, I raised my head and gently said, ¡°I wish that time would stop at this moment. The feeling of hugging you is just so amazing. It¡¯s really enriching.¡± Mu Zi pushed me away and angrily said, ¡°You¡¯re horrible! All you know is to say such frivolous words.¡± It was my greatest enjoyment to see her protest coquettishly. My previous troubles seemed to have disappeared. I opened my arms widely to throw myself at her. Mu Zi cried out in shock and dodged away. Her movement using wind magic made her really nimble. It was hard for me to catch her easily, even when I used short distance teleports. I finally found an opportunity to block her path and embraced her while giving her layer upon layers of kisses upon her seemingly fragile, delicate face. Mu Zi hit me using her hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re hateful and a pervert!¡± She struggled to get out of my hold. I tightly embraced her so she couldn¡¯t break out of my hold. ¡°Is my embrace not warm enough? Can you stop running away from me?¡± After saying that, I gazed lovingly at Mu Zi with all of my attention. Mu Zi stopped struggling and remained in my embrace. I gently caressed her silky hair. I whispered into her ear, ¡°Mu Zi, I love you.¡± Mu Zi replied by saying, ¡°Mmhmm!¡± Even though she didn¡¯t respond to what I had said, I was already really satisfied with just this. I lowered my head to kiss her lips. Mu Zi jumped in fright. What I kissed in the end was only her delicate hand. Mu Zi complained, ¡°You were so well behaved previously, but now you¡¯re being naughty again. Are you unsatisfied with hugging me? If you continue to be like this, I¡¯ll ignore you.¡± I was afraid she really got mad at me, so I didn¡¯t dare to be imprudent. I only stood there, embracing her in the dim light of the night. We just quietly felt the beat of each other¡¯s pounding heart. After going back to the dormitory, I was still bewildered as I had ended up in a relationship with Mu Zi, but had hurt another girl¡¯s heart in the process. I realized then that feelings could be so sweet, and yet so very bitter in the next moment. Hai Shui, I¡¯m really sorry, but just forget about me. I thought through many things that night. I thought about the competition, about Mu Zi, the Monster King, Hai Shui, and the Ri family¡¯s matters all of which continuously appeared in my mind, making it hard for me to sleep. I dozed off that night, but with great difficulty. Who is pushing me? I gradually woke up. I heard Ma Ke saying, ¡°Boss! Boss! Quickly get up! You¡¯re late already, so quickly wake up!¡± I hazily opened my eyes as Ma Ke kept on shaking me. I pushed his hands away and said, ¡°Stop being so noisy. I¡¯m getting really annoyed. Just let me sleep! I¡¯m late, so what? It¡¯s not like this is the first time.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°This is what you said. I¡¯ll tell this to Teacher Di tonight. After you left yesterday, that old man kept on telling me to watch you attentively so that your magic won¡¯t deteriorate, and especially for you to study seriously in class.¡± After hearing about Teacher Di, I awoke and helplessly climbed out of bed. ¡°Really! Just what¡¯s the problem of skipping a few classes? It isn¡¯t like the lessons had any meaning to us.¡± Ma Ke chuckled and said. ¡°Enough, Boss! Stop complaining and let¡¯s go! Teacher Di said that even though your magic power is strong, your basics haven¡¯t been solidified so learning more theories won¡¯t be bad.¡± When Ma Ke and I were on the way to the academy, he told me, ¡°I heard you fought with Brother Hai Ri about Hai Shui¡¯s matter yesterday.¡± I replied, ¡°You got the news so quickly.¡± Ma Ke replied in astonishment, ¡°So you mean it really happened? I thought they were just rumours. How did this happen? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯ve fallen for Mu Zi?¡± I bitterly smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m a hundred and ten percent sure that I have fallen for Mu Zi and can¡¯t stop myself from loving her already.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s mouth gaped open for a long time before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had reached such an extent. You¡¯re amazing, boss! But is Mu Zi really better than Hai Shui? Did she accept you?¡± I nodded. ¡°Who is good or bad? I don¡¯t know. But all I know is that I seriously love Mu Zi, and she has also accepted me. I explained everything to Hai Shui yesterday night. She was really upset. At that moment, Hai Ri came and saw that she was upset. With his bad temper, how could he forgive me? So we ended up fighting against each other.¡± Volume 4: Chapter 42 - A Compassionate Breakfast Volume 4: Chapter 42 - A Compassionate Breakfast Ma Ke chuckled and said, ¡°Now, you¡¯ve also experienced Brother Hai Ri¡¯s magic baptism. You don¡¯t know how much I suffered back then. Haha!¡± I punched him once before saying, ¡°You brat! You dare to make fun of me? If you still have the energy to tease me, why don¡¯t you go and chase after Hai Yue before you lose the opportunity to do so?¡± Ma Ke was stunned for a moment before he foolishly asked, ¡°Hai Yue? Why should I chase her?¡± When I saw that Ma Ke was speaking foolishly, I said smilingly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you usually intelligent? Why is it that whenever it involves Hai Yue, you become so dumb? You need to carefully think it through.¡± Ma Ke frowned as he looked at me. After thinking for a while, his eyes gradually brightened up. He exclaimed, ¡°Boss, are you saying¡­.¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! What you thought is correct. Feng Liang has already run away with his grandfather. This is a great opportunity. You must seize this opportunity. Don¡¯t let it slip away.¡± Ma Ke cheered a little before he turned and ran. I hastily yelled at him, ¡°Ma Ke, where are you going? You should attend your classes first.¡± Ma Ke shouted as he ran, ¡°I¡¯m not going to class. I¡¯ll be going to Hai Yue¡¯s classroom to wait for her class to end.¡± He really prioritized love over friends. I hope he will succeed. When I reached the entrance of the classroom, it was a lesson on magic tactics. The teacher was one of the academy¡¯s famous instructors. I shouted from outside, ¡°Permission to enter!¡± ¡°Come in!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m late, teacher.¡± ¡°Quickly take your seat and remember to be on time next time.¡± I let out a long breath before I quickly took my seat. Mu Zi smiled at me and whispered, ¡°Why are you late again?¡± I replied, ¡°I spent all night thinking about about you last night and overslept this morning.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face flushed and she replied, ¡°You¡¯re too talkative. I knew you would be late today. Just take this!¡± After she said that, she passed me a lunch box. ¡°What is this?¡± I curiously asked. Mu Zi replied, ¡°See it for yourself.¡± I opened the container and saw it was filled with delicious food. That¡¯s great! Mu Zi took a mug of fruit juice from under her table before saying, ¡°Eat carefully! Don¡¯t let the teacher catch you eating. Ever since I met you, I¡¯ve become such a delinquent.¡± I grabbed her hand and kissed it. ¡°The feeling of having a wife is so great. Thank you so much, my wife.¡± Mu Zi hit me before withdrawing her hand. ¡°Who¡¯s your wife? You¡¯re hateful. Just quickly eat your food!¡± As I ate, I said, ¡°This love filled breakfast that my wife made me is so delicious. It¡¯s too delicious. Hmm, why are you staring at me? Are you hungry? Here, have some!¡± I grabbed a piece of chicken and gave it to her. Mu Zi angrily said, ¡°You just have to eat! Why do you have so much to say? I won¡¯t make it for you anymore.¡± Even though she said that, she took the chicken from my hand and secretly ate it. I suppressed my laughter and said, ¡°Little piggy!¡± Mu Zi snorted. ¡°You¡¯re the piggy, not me, you monkey!¡± After she said that, she giggled uncontrollably. I felt wronged and said, ¡°Am I that ugly?¡± The teacher on the lecture platform said, ¡°Zhang Gong and Mu Zi! Stand up!¡± Wah! This was bad. We were noticed by the teacher. I quickly placed the breakfast on my seat, before standing up. Mu Zi stood up as well. The forty year old teacher glared at us. ¡°What¡¯s going on with the two of you? You¡¯re not listening in class and keep on whispering in class.¡± Mu Zi and I looked at each other but didn¡¯t reply to the teacher. The teacher continued saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough! Take your seat. Please pay more attention in class, especially you, Zhang Gong! Don¡¯t think you can just slack off with only a little accomplishment in your magic. There are already a few teachers who have commented on your behaviour in class. If you carry on being like this, you might face expulsion from the academy.¡± Ah! It couldn¡¯t be that bad. Hehe! It shouldn¡¯t matter as I have a good relationship with Teacher Zhen. He wouldn¡¯t expel me. ¡°The Principal said that if you continue to break the class rules, we should instantly write up a note for disciplinary action. You were late today and now you aren¡¯t paying attention in class.¡± How could Teacher Zhen do this to me? It hurt my heart badly. ¡°There¡¯s also Mu Zi. You¡¯re an exceptional student. Why have you not been studying properly after Zhang Gong transferred to the academy? I¡¯ll be going to discuss this with the teacher in charge of this class to make you two sit separately.¡± Ah! He was going to separate Mu Zi from me. It mustn¡¯t happen! I straightened my body and glared at the teacher. ¡°Teacher, it was my fault for talking in class, but Mu Zi doesn¡¯t have anything to do with this. She keeps on ignoring me. I¡¯ll take notice of this in the future. It shouldn¡¯t be serious enough to change our seats over, right?¡± This teacher probably hadn¡¯t seen such a bold student. He was stunned for a while before saying, ¡°Zhang Gong, is this the tone you should be using while addressing a teacher? Get out of the class and stand in the corridor as your punishment!¡± He wanted me to stand outside as punishment? How could I? I still hadn¡¯t eaten my breakfast! I coldly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± I just sat in my seat and ate my breakfast. Mu Zi, who was beside me, kept pulling on me, gesturing me to stop quarreling with the teacher. The teacher¡¯s expression on the lecture platform ashened. ¡°Zhang Gong, this is your last chance. Are you going to get out or not?¡± My stubborness rose, and I angrily rebuked, ¡°I¡¯m not going to. As a teacher, why aren¡¯t you teaching the class properly instead of letting such a small matter affect your teaching process?¡± The teacher said ¡®good¡¯ thrice before walking out of the class. ¡®It couldn¡¯t be that he was indicating I was such a good student to praise me thrice?¡¯ The class was in an uproar instantly, but no one dared to question me. Mu Zi sat down and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, why did you quarrel with the teacher? This is going to be bad for you.¡± I felt I was wronged and looked at her. ¡°I wanted to eat the breakfast you had given me. How could I eat it in the corridor?¡± Mu Zi helplessly said, ¡°You! You¡¯re in deep trouble. That teacher must have gone to find the Principal. He might even expel you.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°That wouldn¡¯t happen as I have a good relationship with Teacher Zhen. How could he expel me?¡± After a short while, the teacher returned with signs of ridicule in his expression as he entered the classroom with Teacher Zhen. Teacher Zhen frowned and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, get out of the class!¡± After hearing Teacher Zhen¡¯s words, I obediently went out of class. He turned to the teacher to tell him to carry on teaching the class. After that, he took me to the corridor. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Why is this happening? Are you purposely making trouble for me? You¡¯re not listening in class and even made the teacher of the class complain to me about you. After all that is said and done, what¡¯s going on with you? Do you really want me to go and complain to Teacher Di?¡± Volume 4: Chapter 43 - A Brutal Plan Volume 4: Chapter 43 - A Brutal Plan I scratched my head and awkwardly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Teacher Zhen. I¡¯ll pay more attention in class next time.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Pay more attention next time? How am I going to solve it this time, then? I can¡¯t tell the teacher to let it go. Won''t that be too obvious that I¡¯m covering for you?'' I awkwardly said, ¡°What should we do? It¡¯s all my fault for bringing you so much trouble. I¡¯ll study properly in class in the future, so as to not give you any more troubles, so can we smoothen this issue this time?¡± Teacher Zhen frowned and said, ¡°Let me think about this. How about I place you in confinement for a while. They won¡¯t be able to say anything after that.¡± I was stunned for a moment and said, ¡°Place me in confinement?¡± If I was placed in confinement, wouldn''t it mean that I would be unable to stay with Mu Zi. I became anxious and said, ¡°Teacher Zhen, you have to help me! I don¡¯t want to be placed in confinement!¡± A cunning light flashed in Teacher Zhen¡¯s eyes. ¡°It will be difficult for you this way, but it¡¯s hard to appease the teachers if I don¡¯t do anything to you. In that case, how about you represent the school to participate in the Triennial National Advanced Magic Academies¡¯ competition. I will just announce that you are in confinement. This plan should be acceptable?¡± Ah! Participate in a competition? I started to have the suspicion of being set up by Teacher Zhen. Teacher Zhen continued to say, ¡°Every academy will be sending five members to participate in the competition. You will be the leader of the team, and I¡¯ll let Mu Zi participate as well. You should be satisfied with this?¡± Being able to be together with Mu Zi, this was acceptable. . ¡°What is the purpose of the competition?¡± Teacher Zhen said. ¡°This competition should actually be a breeze as all of you are so strong. Who will be your match? You can just treat it as a holiday.¡± Would it be that easy? Forget it! Who asked me to offend Teacher Zhen. Even after knowing that Teacher Zhen had set me up, I couldn¡¯t reject his arrangement. I said, ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll participate in this competition. Can I pick the members?¡± If I could choose who to pick, it would be good. Otherwise, with Hai Shui¡¯s abilities, she would definitely be chosen. If I¡¯m caught in the middle, it would be a question of whether I could come back alive! Teacher Zhen thought for a while before replying, ¡°I could let you do that, but you must promise me that your team will definitely bring the championship back. We¡¯re the famous Royal Advanced Magic Academy. If we were to lose to others, my face would be completely lost.¡± Teacher Zhen had forced me into the trap, step by step. I said, ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll definitely bring the championship back to you.¡± Teacher Zhen laughed heartily, causing goosebumps to rise above my skin. Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Who are you going to choose to participate in the competition? Let me hear it.¡± I thought for a while before replying, ¡°It will be Ma Ke, Mu Zi, Hai Yue and I. You can decide the last member of the team.¡± ¡®I will forget about choosing Hai Ri. With his temper, nobody will dare to pick him.¡¯ Teacher Zhen was visibly satisfied with my decision. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you choose Hai Shui? She should be stronger than Hai Yue.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t know this, but Ma Ke has been chasing after Hai Yue all these years. Let¡¯s create this chance for him. I have already promised that I will definitely be able to bring back the championship anyway. Hai Yue¡¯s capability isn¡¯t bad either.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s add Si Wa Ming to the team. Hai Yue will be the only one from the Xin family who will participate in the competition. I curiously asked, ¡°Si Wa Ming? Isn¡¯t that the expert in earth magic, the fifth year student who is the top ranker of the academy?¡± Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°That is correct. It¡¯s him. His magic talent doesn¡¯t lose out to you, but his luck is slightly worse from you. He is the the second person other than you in the new generation with the potential to become a Magister. Let me tell you a secret. He¡¯s actually Dun Yu Xi¡¯s successor. I wanted him to join the team so as to develop a good relationship with you and ease the conflict between Duke Te Yi and our side. ¡®So it was like that. I also really want to get to know this person. Teacher Zhen is so full of praise for him, so the real thing shouldn¡¯t be that far off.¡¯ Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. There¡¯ll be a total of eight academies participating in the competition. It¡¯ll take place in the Sen Long¡¯s magic academy in the Martial Return City. You should depart tomorrow. It will be a ten day journey. The competition will be held twenty days from now. You have to get there earlier to familiarize yourself with the place and situation. Even though the other academies¡¯ powers are weaker than ours, there will still be some techniques worth learning.¡± I wanted to scream that I had been scammed by Teacher Zhen. ¡®So Teacher Zhen has already planned out everything! I swear that I will study properly in the future and not get into conflict with the other teachers. I will never give Teacher Zhen another chance to exploit me.¡¯ I lowered my head as I followed Teacher Zhen back to class. Teacher Zhen looked really serious as he stood on the lecturer¡¯s platform. ¡°What happened today is a very serious offence. As a student, not only did Zhang Gong not study properly, he even rebuked his teacher. Furthermore, within this short period of time, he was frequently late for class. I announce that I will place Zhang Gong in confinement for two months in accordance with all of his mistakes. He is to sincerely reflect on his behaviour. Mu Zi will also be placed in confinement for a month. Other students should take this as a warning. If there¡¯s such thing that happens again, it won¡¯t be settled so easily. Alright! Carry on listening to your lessons. Mu Zi and Zhang Gong, follow me.¡± The class teacher looked at me smugly. ¡°Principal, can Mu Zi be exempt from her punishment? She had always been attentive in class.¡± Hearing him plead for my beloved, I had a slightly better impression of him. Teacher Zhen¡¯s expression was unphased. ¡°I won¡¯t allow that to happen. To do such a thing in the academy, they must be severely punished! Mu Zi and Zhang Gong, pack up your belongings and meet me in the Principal¡¯s office.¡± With that, he turned and walked away. As I was packing up my belongings, I whispered to Mu Zi, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t worry.¡± She glanced at me before whispering back. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault that my reputation has been completely ruined!¡± After we packed our stuff, just before walking out of class, I looked at the class teacher with some regrets. It seemed that he wasn¡¯t a bad teacher. I told him, ¡°Teacher, I was wrong today. I hope that you can forgive me. ¡° My words were completely sincere. He was stunned for a moment before saying, ¡°Forget it, just tell me why the Principal gave you such a harsh punishment.¡± Being confined for two months was a really serious punishment. The students that attended the Royal Advanced Magic Academy were the talents of the Kingdom, so the management of the students had always been very slack. Volume 5: Chapter 1 - Negotiating Suitable Conditions Volume 5: Chapter 1 - Negotiating Suitable Conditions After Mu Zi and I left the classroom, I told her about Teacher Zhen¡¯s solution. She laughed brightly, and I blankly asked, ¡°Why are you laughing? Is participating in the competition with me really making you that happy?¡± Mu Zi smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re usually very quick witted. Why are you so slow this time? Teacher Zhen has obviously tricked you. Since we are the top students in the Royal Advanced Academy, we hold special privileges in the entire Kingdom of Aixia. It is possible that we won¡¯t be severely punished even if we killed somebody. Moreover, it was only rebuking the teacher. Teacher Zhen must have been afraid about your laziness and that you wouldn¡¯t want to participate in the National Advanced Magic Academies¡¯ competition, so he came up with this plan to make you agree to participate.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s words helped me confirm my feelings. ¡®That¡¯s right! I¡¯m a Magister. How could I be punished? Except for Teacher Di, who else would be able to control me in the Kingdom? I¡¯ve really been tricked.¡¯ I bitterly laughed. ¡°Teacher Zhen is really crafty, but since it¡¯s too late to regret it, let¡¯s just treat it as an outing.¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°But I think this competition might not be that simple. If it was, why would Teacher Zhen be so set on having you participate? He could just randomly choose a few strong students, instead of us, to participate in the competition.¡± I held Mu Zi¡¯s hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter as long as we deal with it together... though I doubt there¡¯ll be anything that could get the better of me! Haha!¡± My confidence had increased greatly after the strenuous victory over Si Feng Ri. Mu Zi, who was both displeased and annoyed, took back her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s still broad daylight. How can you behave like this? Annoying!¡± I leaned over and smiled. ¡°In that case, tonight¡­?¡± Mu Zi knocked on my head before she turned and ran away. ¡°You¡¯re hateful! Let''s just quickly go to where Teacher Zhen is.¡± Teacher Zhen was reclined in his seat and seemed as though he was looking at something when we entered his office. After he saw us entering the room, Teacher Zhen put down the magic book he was reading. ¡°You two have come. Mu Zi, Zhang Gong must have told you about the competition.¡± Mu Zi nodded. Teacher Zhen smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll have to trouble you two this time.¡± I bitterly smiled. ¡°You¡¯re quite capable to have created a trap especially for me. I was totally tricked this time.¡± Teacher Zhen broke into laughter. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s already too late for regrets, even if you¡¯ve realized it. The task for this competition is very easy, so don¡¯t complain. I am unable to send teachers with you as the Academy still has to function normally. You can just go there by yourselves. I have already made arrangements to notify the rest of the students participating in the competition. You¡¯ll head out tomorrow morning. Zhang Gong, I really don¡¯t have a choice. Please don¡¯t blame me.¡± What was the point of refuting him if it had already been finalized? It looked like the time was actually quite limited, so we¡¯ll have to head out tomorrow. ¡°Let¡¯s just head out tomorrow then. Is there anything else we will need to take note of?¡± Teacher Zhen gave me a piece of paper. ¡°This is a recommendation letter. All of your names are on it. I have written that you¡¯re all magic scholars so that it won¡¯t be too ostentatious. You just have to directly head to Forest Dragon Magic Academy. There will be people there to receive you. ¡± I took the introductory letter. Written on it was how my academy would be sending a year five student, Earth magic scholar, Si Wa Ming; a year four student, Water magic scholar, Hai Yue Xin; a year three student, Fire magic scholar, Ma Ke Sai De (His previous alias was used so as to not expose him); similarly, a year three student, Light magic scholar Zhang Gong Wei; and finally, a year three student, Wind magic scholar, Mu Zi Mo to participate in the Triennial National Advanced Magic Academies¡¯ competition. ¡®Royal Advanced Academy¡¯ was inscribed at the top of the letter along with Teacher Zhen¡¯s signature and the Royal Advanced Academy¡¯s official seal stamped on it. I said, ¡°This team is really compatible! Except for a dark magic magician, the other five elements have been covered.¡± After hearing my words, Mu Zi¡¯s expression twitched a little, but it recovered before I noticed it. Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯ll become representatives of the strongest users of each of the elements. You must work hard.¡± I asked, ¡°Do you still have something to give us? It can¡¯t be just this paper, right?¡± Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct! You only need this paper. What else do you want?¡± I rubbed my forefinger against my thumb. ¡°How about giving us some money for our expenditures? We are helping the school compete in this competition. You should make an amethyst card for everyone. Hehe.¡± Teacher Zhen mockingly scolded. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so greedy. Do you think that the amethyst card is that easy to make? However, it¡¯s alright. I will give it to you. Hehe. Actually, other than Mu Zi, all of you have the amethyst card already, so don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know about it. Getting the amethyst card for Mu Zi is understandable as it¡¯s paired with her capability. I have decided to give all of you 1000 diamond coins. This should be more than sufficient for your expenditures.¡± I wanted to exclaim that I felt like I had been duped. ¡®That¡¯s right! Si Wa Ming is the Royal Mage Union leader¡¯s disciple. How can he not have an amethystcard? There obviously isn¡¯t a need to comment about Ma Ke. Hai Yue is an elite of the young generation in one of the three main families. I feel as though I have made a loss. If I had known that, I would have picked something else. An old ginger is indeed hotter than a young ginger!¡¯ Mu Zi asked, ¡°Are there any benefits in obtaining the championship?¡± Teacher Zhen smiled and replied, ¡°Of course there are. The academy will record your great achievements and someone with a negative record will have all of his demerit points erased from the records.¡± I angrily said, ¡°Wah! You¡¯re really too¡­¡± Mu Zi also complained, ¡°The academy is so stingy and still wants us to expend our energy for it.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Then what more do you want? How about this? If you bring back the championship, you will be able to change your status at the Magic Union for free.¡± It looks like it is a little useful as my current status is only that of a Great Mage. Mu Zi, on the other hand, was still unsatisfied. ¡°You really don¡¯t have a substantial reward?¡± Teacher Zhen was taken aback and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about your next meal or having clothes on your back, what other substantial award do you want? Didn¡¯t I already agree to give all of you 1000 diamond coins?¡± I suddenly thought of an idea. ¡°How about this? We don¡¯t want to make things difficult for the school. How about giving us the right to get free food at a restaurant with your assistance? It will just be used during our school years. All of our expenditures will be paid for by the school. After all, the academy¡¯s food really isn¡¯t that nice.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°What? The food in the academy is not nice? This is a problem. I¡¯ll definitely have it changed. I¡¯ll accept your condition.¡± He thought, ¡®Just how much money can you spend on food in a month, even if you can eat a lot?¡¯ Mu Zi looked at me in agreement. ¡°Alright! I will represent the team about having our meals at the Ascending Jade Tide in the future.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 2 - Abnormal Tournament Volume 5: Chapter 2 - Abnormal Tournament I continuously expressed my support for Mu Zi¡¯s words. Teacher Zhen¡¯s expression changed, as he had never thought that we would pick that place. As the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s Principal, he definitely knew what the price of the food at that place was like. He bitterly smiled, ¡°It¡¯s too expensive at that place, can we change the place?¡± Mu Zi and I stubbornly shook our head. Mu Zi said, ¡°Nope! If you want to change the place, then you have to change the participants as we won¡¯t be participating in the competition.¡± Teacher Zhen¡¯s thoughts were that even if Mu Zi didn¡¯t want to go, it would be totally fine as the main competitor he wanted was me. He lowered his head and considered for a bit. If Mu Zi didn¡¯t go, I won¡¯t go. Forget it! He clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Alright! It is decided then.¡± He would just find Prince Ke Zha and ask him to reimburse him in the future. Thinking about that point, Teacher Zhen smiled happily. I said satisfied, ¡°That¡¯s great! Since that is settled, we will head back to pack up.¡± Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll gather at the entrance of the academy at 9 o¡¯clock tomorrow morning and head out together. You should have a map. Do you know how to get there?¡± I nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Teacher Zhen fixed his expression and said, ¡°You¡¯re the most talented students of the academy. Please stay safe on your journey. The competition has a dreadful rule. Although it will still be forbidden to kill their opponent, they can seriously injure them or even mutilate them.¡± I turned pale with fright. ¡°What?! Why is there such a horrific rule?¡± Teacher Zhen sighed. ¡°Who knows? The rule has already been in place for a very long time. The reason was that too many restrictions would make competitors unable to brandish all of their strength; which in turn affects their advancement. However, I have complete trust in you, or are you perhaps not confident in your abilities?¡± Damn! It looks like Mu Zi was right, there is actually such a conspiracy. Mu Zi replied, ¡°We¡¯ll head back first then.¡± After she said that, she dragged my stunned body out of the office. As he saw us leave, Teacher Zhen muttered, ¡°I hope that you will return safely. This is also the best chance for you to train.¡± After the school ended for the day, we went to find Ma Ke. After meeting him, I asked him, ¡°Do you know about the competition already?¡± Ma Ke¡¯s expression dampened before he nodded his head. I asked curiously, ¡°Why are you looking so distressed? What¡¯s the matter? You¡¯re a magic scholar. It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re scared to lose?¡± Ma Ke sighed and said, ¡°Boss, you just don¡¯t know how abnormal the Triennial National Advanced Magic Academies¡¯ competition is. I¡¯m getting worried just thinking about it.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°I know about that. Isn¡¯t it because the competition doesn¡¯t forbid anyone to actually seriously injure their opponent? It shouldn¡¯t matter as I¡¯m leading the team. What are you so afraid of?¡± Ma Ke shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not only that. The competition allows all of the other seven Advanced Magic Academies, except ours, to send out their teachers to participate in the competition. Boss, did you know that all of the academies are using the defeat of our Royal Advanced Magic Academy to gain glory?¡± I asked, astonished, ¡°What! Teachers are allowed to participate in the competition. Isn¡¯t that just too unfair?¡± Mu Zi calmly said, ¡°Why is that unfair? If they don¡¯t allow the teachers to compete and use only their students,they won¡¯t be even able to lift our shoes. I had already told you that Teacher Zhen won¡¯t give you an easy mission. So that¡¯s how it really is.¡± Ma Ke continued to say, ¡°Mu Zi¡¯s analysis is right. The other academies all have magic scholars for Principals. Magic scholar teachers are very rare. In the past, there have been a few academies that sent five teachers to compete in the competition.¡± I asked, ¡°What was the final outcome? Who was the champion?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°It was our academy that had brought back the championship. However, there were only two people that were able to walk back on their own. One of them is the Academy¡¯s top ranker, Si Wa Ming.¡± I muttered, ¡°Only two people that can walk back on their own, so it will mean that the others¡­¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! One was seriously injured while the other two competitors were crippled.¡± It really was abnormal. I replied, ¡°Sorry, brother! I¡¯ve gotten you involved, as I was the the one who asked Teacher Zhen to nominate you. I¡¯ve really caused you trouble this time. I wouldn¡¯t have let you come with me, if I had known that it would be this dangerous. You should follow me to Teacher Zhen¡¯s place, so that I can help you remove your name from the list. Teacher Zhen will definitely approve, if uncle Ke Zha is with us.¡± Ma Ke shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s useless Boss! It¡¯s my father that has arranged for me to go.¡± Mu Zi frowned, ¡°Why? You¡¯re his dearest son.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°My father has very high expectations for me, and equally stringent demands towards me at the same time. This is an extremely good chance for me to train, so I must participate.¡± I sighed, ¡°I actually thought of creating a chance for you to get closer to Hai Yue. I haven¡¯t thought that it will be such an abnormal competition.¡± Ma Ke was greatly alarmed. ¡°What! Hai Yue is also going? It can¡¯t be!¡± I awkwardly smiled. ¡°That¡¯s correct, Hai Yue is also coming as well.¡± Mu Zi consoled Ma Ke, ¡°This is really an opportunity. You can only express your sincere feelings for her when in dangerous times. You can relax as we had arranged her to fight the last match. If we can get three victories before her turn, she will be safe.¡± Ma Ke nodded and looked at me. ¡°Boss! I really don¡¯t know if I should scold you or thank you instead.¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I didn¡¯t clarify before easily agreeing to it. Isn¡¯t Mu Zi also going to experience such danger? No matter how difficult it will be, we must protect the Mu Zi and Hai Yue¡¯s safety.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Let¡¯s do that! I¡¯ll go and pack up as we will leave tomorrow morning.¡± After bidding Ma Ke farewell, Mu Zi and I looked at each other. I held her hand and said, ¡°Mu Zi, I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ve forced you to participate in such a terrifying competition.¡± Mu Zi leaned towards me and hugged my waist lightly. ¡°Since I was young, I have never known what it is to be afraid. Isn¡¯t it more thrilling this way? Don¡¯t worry, everything will be fine!¡± I hugged her tightly and felt that my emotions had stabilized a lot. I swore to myself that I would use my very life to protect her and not let her suffer even the tiniest bit of harm. After sending Mu Zi back to the dormitory, I didn¡¯t return to mine. I left the academy, even though the sky had completely darkened. I would be out for one to two months. I wanted to let Teacher Di know about this. After reaching the Intermediate Magic Academy, I related the entire situation to Teacher Di. Volume 5: Chapter 3 - Preparing for the Journey Volume 5: Chapter 3 - Preparing for the Journey Teacher Di said, ¡°You¡­ Who can you blame for this? Who told you to not listen properly in class? Even though this competition is definitely shrouded in danger, I have complete faith in you. The other seven advanced academy definitely won¡¯t have any Magisters. You just have to keep the others safe. Do you understand?¡± I nodded. ¡°The reason why Teacher Zhen wanted me to go at all cost was probably for safety.¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°It is fine as long as you understand. I don¡¯t know why, but I keep getting bad feelings from Mu Zi. I just want to remind you again to pay attention to her.¡± My mood dampened. Teacher Di seemed to dislike Mu Zi. ¡°Mu Zi is a very kind hearted girl. I have never gotten bad feelings from her.¡± Teacher Di smiled. ¡°Everyone is blind when they¡¯re in a relationship. Let¡¯s hope that what you¡¯ve said is true. It¡¯s really late so you should head back now, and besides, you are going on a long journey tomorrow. Have you got enough money? Do you need teacher to give you some more?¡± I¡¯ve always known that Teacher Di treats me best. I shook my head. ¡°Teacher Zhen has given us all 1000 diamond coins so I have enough to spend. I may need to go away for a few months this time. Please take care of your health.¡± Teacher Di said with a gentle expression, ¡°I know that you¡¯re a good child. When you¡¯re outside, please pay attention to your surroundings. You mustn¡¯t be careless and remain modest and keep cool at all times.¡± I respectfully agreed. Teacher Di walked me to the entrance of the Intermediate Magic Academy. He gave me a few more warnings and sent me out of the Intermediate Magic Academy. After leaving the Intermediate Magic Academy, I went to buy some daily commodities and some food that was a little less perishable from the main street and placed them in my spatial space. ¡®Mu Zi is a little piglet. How can she go without food? I also can¡¯t bear to see Mu Zi starve. After interacting with her all this time, I feel that what she is most interested in is food.¡¯ After settling this, I headed back to the academy. The night at the academy was really quiet, as all you could hear was some nocturnal birds calling out occasionally. I quietly walked back to my dormitory. Just as I was about to open the dormitory door, I heard a familiar voice call me from behind. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back!¡± I became alert and shuddered; causing my goosebumps to rise up. I turned around and gave a sigh of relief. It was Hai Shui. I patted my chest. ¡°Wah! It¡¯s you, Hai Shui. You must know that a person can be scared to death!¡± Hai Shui lowered her head and said, ¡°Sorry!¡± I asked her, ¡°Have you been waiting for me all this time?¡± Hai Shui nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! Why are you back so late?¡± Hai Shui clearly had lost a lot of weight. I sighed in my heart. ¡°I went to Teacher Di for a while so I came back late.¡± Hai Shui dully said, ¡°You went to Teacher Di? Is it to bid him farewell?¡± I was startled. ¡°How did you know?¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°Sister told me that she was arranged by the Principal to participate in the eight Advanced Academy¡¯s competition. Why didn¡¯t you let me participate? Do you find me annoying?¡± Her eyes became watery as she asked that. I hastily explained, ¡°Why would I feel that way? How could I avoid you. You should know that this competition isn¡¯t that simple. Moreover, I can¡¯t make the decision to decide who participate in the competition as it is Teacher Zhen¡¯s arrangement. I really didn¡¯t have a choice.¡± Hai Shui muttered, ¡°How about you help me beg the Principal to let me go with you guys.¡± I said with difficulty, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that it is impossible as this matter has already been finalized and can¡¯t be changed. Hai Shui, just be my sister, alright?¡± I looked at her to express my deepest feelings. Hai Shui looked at me while tears were rolling down her delicate face. ¡°It can¡¯t be that we really aren¡¯t fated to be together, right? Why? Why does is it have to be this way?¡± I didn¡¯t dare to help wipe her tears away, and instead consoled her saying, ¡°Hai Shui, don¡¯t be like this. There are still a lot of good guys available for you to choose from.¡± Hai Shui constantly shook her head and said, choked with sobs, ¡°I...I won¡¯t see you off to..tomorrow. I hope that you..you will stay safe during this trip.¡± After she said that, she turned and ran away without looking back. As I looked upon Hai Shui¡¯s back fading in the distance, I sighed heavily. Dawn of the next day. I packed up and stopped by the girl¡¯s dormitory to get Mu Zi. Mu Zi said, ¡°I have my own amethyst card so I will give yours back.¡± I took the amethyst card back from her. ¡°When did Teacher Zhen give it to you? Why did I not know about that?¡± Mu Zi smiled, ¡°Before you come this morning, he had told a teacher to pass it to me and tell me that the card already has 1000 diamond coins.¡± Teacher Zhen¡¯s efficiency wasn¡¯t too bad. We had already unknowingly arrived at the entrance of the academy. Ma Ke was already there and was chatting to a student that had a robust body. I walked over and said, ¡°Ma Ke, you¡¯re quite early.¡± Ma Ke smiled and replied, ¡°I had to come early. Boss, what do you think about my clothes?¡± I then noticed that there was something different in his clothing. He wore a bright red magic robe and there was gold embroidered on the robe. It seemed that he had cleaned up a lot, which suited his originally valiant and formidable-looking appearance. I smiled, ¡°Not bad! You¡¯ve really put in some efforts. This is?¡± Ma Ke saw me looking at the student beside him and hastily introduced him to me, ¡°This is Si Wa Ming, the academy¡¯s top expert.¡± Ah! It¡¯s him! I looked at him carefully. He seemed to be 170cm tall and looked very sturdy. It was as though he was a warrior. He extended his hand to me and said, ¡° How can I be the academy¡¯s top expert in front of Zhang Gong? Hehe.¡± So he was that easy going. I shook his hand and said, ¡°Brother Si Wa, you¡¯re too courteous. Reputation comes naturally from real distinction so your position as the academy¡¯s top expert should still be yours.¡± Mu Zi said from beside me, ¡°That¡¯s enough! You don¡¯t need to be so formal with each other. Why hasn¡¯t Hai Yue come yet?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! Why isn¡¯t she here yet? It is nearly time to depart. It can¡¯t be that she is not coming right?¡± I shook my head, ¡°She has to come, since this is a decision that the academy made. Surely, she will come.¡± Just as I said that, Hai Yue¡¯s familiar figure appeared in our sight. She was similar to Hai Shui as she had also lost a lot of weight. She looked really pitiful. Ma Ke showed a little heartbroken expression and went up to her. ¡°Hai Yue, you¡¯ve finally come.¡± Hai Yue coldly glared at him and wasn¡¯t at all interested in his new attire. She didn¡¯t bother replying to him and walked past him after glaring viciously at me. ¡°Everyone has gathered already. Let¡¯s go!¡± Mu Zi walked up and said. ¡°Hai Yue, it seems that you have lost a lot of weight.¡± Hai Yue looked at her and said, ¡°Really?¡± And simply turned and walked out of the academy without waiting for anyone else. I patted Mu Zi¡¯s shoulder to gesture her to follow her. Si Wa Ming obviously didn¡¯t understand our interpersonal relations so he just felt that something was up with Hai Yue. Our group of five step foot on the road towards Martial Return City. Volume 5: Chapter 4 - Heart Breaking Confession Volume 5: Chapter 4 - Heart Breaking Confession The coldness that Hai Yue had displayed caused the team¡¯s atmosphere to become somewhat awkward, and as a result, Ma Ke didn¡¯t dare to go near her again. The first day of the journey quickly came to an end. We had travelled about 100 km (and utilised magic in isolated areas). There were no village or shops in the near distance. Since the sky was already pitch black, I told Si Wa Ming, ¡°Brother Si Wa Ming, it is already night and everyone is tired from the long journey today. How about we find a place that can shelter us from the wind and spend the night out in the open?¡± Si Wa Ming raised his head and looked at the sky. ¡°It looks like that¡¯s the way it has to be. Does anyone have any other opinions?¡± Mu Zi and Ma Ke definitely had no other suggestions. We looked at Hai Shui and she silently shook her head in response. Seeing that she didn¡¯t oppose the idea, we walked to an area behind a small slope that was surrounded by trees and near a river. It was a good camp site. Ma Ke and I cut down a few trees to make a few wooden beds. Even though it was a little difficult, it was still better than sleeping on the ground. Mu Zi asked, ¡°What shall we eat tonight?¡± I sniggered, ¡®I knew she would ask this question.¡¯ I purposely frowned. ¡°Oh no! There really is nothing to eat. It looks like everyone will have to bear with it.¡± Si Wa Ming replied, ¡°Do we still even bear our hunger any longer? I will hunt some wild animals later so everyone can have a taste.¡± This brat had spoiled my plan to tease Mu Zi. After Mu Zi heard his words, she glanced at me and said, ¡°That¡¯s great! I always wondered what wild animals would taste like. Si Wa, quickly go get some!¡± Si Wa laughed and walked away after turning around. I snorted and whispered, ¡°Si Wa! Si Wa! You address him so intimately.¡± Mu Zi pinched my back, making me scream out in pain. ¡°Who told you to not get any food for me? You think I¡¯ve been addressing him intimately? I will show you what intimacy is when he returns!¡± She really is a little hot pepper; I couldn¡¯t tease her at all. I bitterly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s my bad, alright, mistress?¡± I took a bottle out of my spatial space and gave it to her. ¡°Here, have a drink. It¡¯s fruit juice. Even though it is uncomparable with the Ascending Jade Tide, it is not too bad.¡± Mu Zi changed from angry to happy as she took the bottle of fruit juice. I took a few more bottles out and gave one of them to Ma Ke. When I tried to give a bottle to Hai Yue, she ignored me, took out her own bottle, and used water magic instead. I asked Hai Yue, ¡°Is it worth the trouble? Can the water elements taste better than fruit juice? Are you still mad at me for what I had done previously? Didn¡¯t you shoot an ice cone at me? It can¡¯t be that you are going to be angry with me your entire life? If a girl is always angry, she will age really quickly.¡± Hai Yue glanced at me, but remained silent. Ma Ke supported me by saying, ¡°What boss says is right! We were in the wrong before, but now we are going into a group competition. We must work together to achieve our goals. You should try to control your anger as much as possible.¡± Hai Yue coldly replied, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, Feng Liang wouldn¡¯t have left me. Have you experienced the pain of losing your beloved? Other than making cynical remarks, what else can you say?¡± Ma Ke and I looked at each other. We didn¡¯t expect Hai Yue to hate us to this extent. Ma Ke became teary eyed as he walked to the side and lowered his head to drink his fruit juice. She really didn¡¯t give us any face. I felt that it was unfair for Ma Ke. I coldly rebuked, ¡°Feng Liang Ri leaving you has nothing to do with Ma Ke. If you want to blame someone, you should just blame me. Do you want to know the reason why he left? I will tell you now. His Ri family had been influenced by dark forces, forcing every member of that family to become evil. Because the Ri family¡¯s leader¡¯s plan failed, he was exposed as an evil servant, having no choice but to force his entire family into fleeing the kingdom. As the plans of the Ri family¡¯s leader failed, it exposed his evil characteristics so he had no choice, but to lead his family to be on the run.¡± Hai Yue shouted, ¡°You! You¡¯re lying! The three main families have always been nobles in the Kingdom. How could the Ri family be influenced by evil forces? You are just lying to me so Ma Ke, who is destined to be forever alone, has an opportunity to get me. But let me tell you that I¡¯ve already given my heart to Feng Liang. Humph! This person here will never get the chance to make me fall for him!¡± I rebuked angrily, ¡°You! Why are your words always so hurtful?¡± Ma Ke walked out from behind my back and placed a hand on my shoulders, holding me back, indicating that I should stop arguing with Hai Yue. He looked abnormally calm and walked to be in front of Hai Yue. He sighed and said, ¡°I understand. I have finally understood that I have never been in your heart.¡± Ma Ke stared at Hai Yue and tears flowed down his face. I wanted to help him to settle this injustice, but was held back by Mu Zi. She whispered, ¡°It isn¡¯t easy for Ma Ke to be this brave. You should just let him settle this matter on his own as it only involves the two of them. We should let them settle this problem themselves.¡± Hai Yue turned her head and didn¡¯t look at Ma Ke. Ma Ke inhaled deeply and said emotionally, ¡°I was twelve that year when I first entered the Royal Intermediate Academy. After entering the academy for a short while, I met you. Even though I was still young at the time, I had always had the feeling of you being my counterpart in life. I had deeply fallen for you, who was a year older than me. Every time I go and find you or even just say a line to you, I feel oddly satisfied. Even though I was always getting beaten up by brother Hai Ri, I had never regretted it. The twelve year old me still didn¡¯t know anything about love, but your image had already been engraved in my heart. I know that it would be impossible to erase this image of you from my heart. The education imposed on me by my family had always been really strict since I was young, so I never got the chance to enjoy a normal childhood, and I never knew how it felt to be truly happy. However, when I first saw you, I knew that I was happy. My heart beats for you and I like that. I have always been teased by others as being a young loner in the realm of relationships. I didn¡¯t even care if I got badly battered, as I was willing to endure it, as long as I got to see you.¡± Saying until here, Ma Ke choked on his sobs. I was deeply concerned about Ma Ke while tightly grasping Mu Zi¡¯s hand. This was the first time that I heard Ma Ke talk about how he felt for Hai Yue. Even though I know he likes Hai Yue, I never would have known both the depth of his love and the indescribable pain he always felt. Hai Yue didn¡¯t interrupt as Ma Ke spoke, but just listened in silence. After Ma Ke controlled his emotions, he continued to say, ¡°Brother Hai Ri has told me that the power I wield isn¡¯t good enough for you and told me to give up. But can I really give up? No! After that, I have practiced the magic that I was not fond of everyday like an insane person and kept thinking of ways to increase my magic power. It was all so that I can be suitable to be with you and the strength you hold as the eldest daughter of Xin family.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 5 - A Pair of Puppets Volume 5: Chapter 5 - A Pair of Puppets Ma Ke continued to say, ¡°I¡¯ve known you for about six to seven years already. To be honest, I am a person who isn¡¯t good at expressing himself. I can¡¯t cheer you up with words, so I just love you silently. However, now I know what true love is. I am confident in saying that you are the one whom I love the most in my life. In the academy, just by sneaking peeks at your familiar figure, I felt very fulfilled . If I ever have the fortune of hearing you speak without blaming me, it will be the happiest day of my life. I have always thought that you¡¯d understand me one day and then willingly fall into my arms to become my bride. However, Feng Liang appeared, and my dreams slowly shattered. I knew that my chances with you were diminishing more and more. You minded me even lesser. My heart felt as though it has been painfully pierced by you time and time again.¡± Mu Zi and I were deeply moved as Ma Ke mournfully described the depths of the feelings he had for Hai Yue. Mu Zi¡¯s tears had dampened my shoulder. ¡°Now, I have completely awoken from my dream. From what you¡¯ve said, I understand that I will never have a chance. Haha. (His smiles were even harder to bear than his tears). I have awoken, completely awoken! Hai Yue, you can stop worrying. I, this piece of sticky rice cake, won¡¯t cling to you anymore. You will not need to be troubled by me ever again. I only want to tell you this. What Boss Zhang Gong said isn¡¯t a lie, but the truth. The Ri family leader, Si Feng Ri¡¯s, evil nature was exposed when he was being beaten by Zhang Gong. Please don¡¯t think I¡¯m lying, but Boss Zhang Gong has already reached the Magister level. I was also there when they fought. Do you still remember the fight between Boss and Feng Liang? That last move by Feng Liang, that sign still hasn¡¯t woken you up? Even though I already don¡¯t have a chance, I still hope that you will find a good partner. Finally, I hope that you will stay happy and blissful, forever.¡± After saying that, Ma Ke turned and ran away. Just as I was about to chase after him, Ma Ke¡¯s voice carried over, ¡°Boss, I want to calm down by myself. I¡¯ll return by tomorrow morning.¡± I sighed heavily. Hai Yue looked as though she had become a block of wood and remain seated motionlessly. Si Wa¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°I can also prove that what Ma Ke said was true. My teacher was at that match. He even praised Zhang Gong¡¯s strong magic power. Hai Yue, if you still don¡¯t believe that it is true, you can also ask your grandfather.¡± He was carrying two unknown wild animals back. Hai Yue suddenly screamed out, ¡°Stop talking! You all just stop talking!¡± Turning around, she ran away. One ran off and so did the other... Mu Zi said, ¡°She is just having a tough time accepting the truth right now. I¡¯ll go and watch over her. You can prepare the meals first.¡± In this kind of situation, who still had the mood to eat? Si Wa tossed the wild animals aside and sat down. He said, ¡°When I just came back, I heard what Ma Ke said. I never knew that he has such strong feelings.¡± I replied, ¡°Not just you, even I did not really know the depth of his love. The wound this time is too deep. You tell me, how are we going to compete? Two are already experiencing psychological problems. Oh right! I haven¡¯t had the time to ask you this. How was the situation like when you previously participated in the competition?¡± Si Wa said with lingering fear, ¡°To be honest, I really didn¡¯t want to participate. Even though my abilities have increased since then, those who can¡¯t withstand their opponents will end up helping the lunatics.¡± ¡°Lunatics?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! There are lunatics. You wouldn¡¯t know, but for the sake of defeating our academy, the other seven academies have sent out their best line-up. And not just that, once they start fighting, they will be extremely reckless. Though their powers aren¡¯t great, you won¡¯t be able to withstand what they will do for the sake of victory. Do you know why the three from our academy were seriously injured during the previous competition?¡± I asked, ¡°Why?¡± Si Wa looked frightened and said, ¡°Those three students were injured by the opponent¡¯s life magic.¡± I was startled. ¡°What? Life magic? They were really that desperate?¡± Si Wa nodded. ¡°I remember how the previous water mage, Magic Scholar Nan Si¡¯s serious injury was precisely caused by a Great Mage¡¯s life magic. Even though senior Nan Si won the match, his leg¡­.¡± It looked like I needed to review the competition. It was more terrifying than I had anticipated. It¡¯s fine if it were me, but the most terrifying outcome would be if Mu Zi or anyone else were to be hurt. Si Wa continued to say, ¡°So once the competition starts, we must fight with all our might from the start and not give our opponents the chance to retaliate. Otherwise, they will all use life magic and stake their lives just to try and defeat us. We will be the ones that suffer heavily if it comes to that.¡± I nodded. It could only be that way now. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s stop talking about this. Zhang Gong, how shall we prepare the game?¡± I sighed, ¡°After what has happened, who will be in the mood to eat? Let¡¯s just release them. I have some rations. We should rest after eating some.¡± After a long time, Mu Zi and Hai Yue came back. Hai Yue looked really depressed. The moment she came back, she went to her assigned position and slept. Though before she slept, she looked at Ma Ke¡¯s empty bed. I wanted to ask Mu Zi about Hai Yue, but she looked exhausted. After she took the food I passed to her, she ate it quickly and went straight to bed. They all fell asleep while I stayed up to be the night vigil. Throughout the entire night, Ma Ke still hadn¡¯t come back. Dawn came. Just as I was getting worried about Ma Ke, he returned. His appearance gave me a shock. In the space of one night, his originally bright red hair had dulled to an ash red.¡± I ran forward and grabbed his arm. He looked at me with lifeless eyes. ¡°Boss, we should head off.¡± I asked, ¡°What happened to you?¡± Ma Ke faintly smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. You don¡¯t need to worry about me.¡± I frowned. ¡°With you like this, how can I not worry?¡± I took out some food and water from my spatial space and forced him to eat it. After that, I woke up the team to start heading out. Mu Zi was startled when she saw Ma Ke¡¯s appearance. I held her back and waved my hands frantically at her. When everyone had woken up, Hai Yue saw Ma Ke¡¯s appearance and her entire body shuddered. Wordlessly, she just quietly ate the dry food. The journey on the second day was worse than the first, as even Ma Ke didn¡¯t talk now. After walking for half a day, we reached a small town. Mu Zi, Si Wa and I discussed for a while and decided to find an inn to rest. The conflict within the team was extremely terrible. How were we going to participate in the competition? Ma Ke and Hai Yue had become blockheads. They didn¡¯t say anything as they followed us. They did whatever they were told to, just like puppets. I had tried to persuade Ma Ke, but I soon realized that his heart seemed to have died. I could only hope that time will cure everything. It looked like bringing Hai Yue on the team for this competition is a wrong decision. Volume 5: Chapter 6 - Enlightening Ma Ke Volume 5: Chapter 6 - Enlightening Ma Ke I can finally make up for last night¡¯s lack of sleep tonight.. After eating some food with the rest, I asked Mu Zi to guide Hai Yue more before I pulled Ma Ke into the room. Ma Ke still looked wooden. After we entered the room, I first gave him a violent punch. He was struck dumb by the sudden strike. I said angrily, ¡°For a girl, is it worth it? Don¡¯t let me see you like this again! A man must have an indomitable spirit. Why should a manly man be afraid that he won¡¯t have a wife?¡± Ma Ke bitterly smiled. ¡°What if this was the case with Mu Zi and you?¡± I instantly deflated like a popped balloon and sat on the bed. ¡°You really know how to compare, I am the one that is trying to guide you here.¡± Ma Ke sighed heavily. ¡°Boss, I know you meant well. I will recover. Thank you for trying.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°Why are you thanking me? If I didn¡¯t make Hai Yue come with us, you wouldn¡¯t have taken such a heavy blow. Loosen up a little! Since you have already decided to give Hai Yue up, what else is there that you can¡¯t let go?¡± Ma Ke shook his head, saying. ¡°If I could truly completely let her go, it would be a relief. The heart I had for her is already dead, but if you tell me not to care or think about her, I still can¡¯t do that.¡± I stared at him. ¡°Let me ask you a question. What is the purpose of this journey?¡± Ma Ke was stunned. ¡°Isn¡¯t it to go and compete?¡± I continued to ask, ¡°Compete in what?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°The Eight Advanced Academies¡¯ Tournament.¡± I nodded. ¡°It looks like you have not forgotten about that. You should know how cruel and dangerous this competition is. If everyone was in the same state as Hai Yue and you, there won¡¯t be a single one of us that will return in the same condition as we had started out with. Do you understand? Since you love Hai Yue so deeply, you should not want her to get into any harm. Since it is like that, you must pull yourself together. If only Hai Yue is down, we can still rely on the four of us to fill her spot. However, if both of you are down, then what do you want us to do? Do you think we can guarantee that you two won¡¯t be harmed? Do you understand?¡± After saying that, my expression was very severe. Ma Ke¡¯s eyes looked a little livelier. ¡°Boss, I understand. Don¡¯t worry! I will pull myself together for everyone and for Hai Yue.¡± My serious expression softened and I smiled, ¡°That¡¯s great! All of us must work together to cross this hurdle smoothly. I will give you a sentence from the book that Uncle Ke Zha gave to me: In life, you will gain and lose things but you also can¡¯t force things to happen. You have to think about it. Everything will be the best if you follow your fate.¡± Ma Ke muttered silently, ¡°In life, you will gain and lose things but also can¡¯t force things to happen. That¡¯s right! Maybe Hai Yue and I just aren¡¯t fated to be together.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°Brother, do you see clearly now? Liking a person doesn¡¯t mean that you definitely need to get her. Her happiness should be the goal that you should striving for instead.¡± Ma Ke sat on his bed and said, ¡°Let me think. Let me think.¡± ¡®I hope that after my guidance, he will be able to pull himself together. This word ¡®relationship¡¯, it can really deeply hurt people. I hope that my relationship with Mu Zi will be smooth, as I really don¡¯t want to experience the bitter taste of love.¡¯ I no longer pestered Ma Ke as letting him think it through himself should be the best solution. Even though so much had happened, my tiredness still overpowered my constantly pondering mind. Very quickly, I dozed off. Who would have thought that once I slept, it would be until the next morning. **Ah! After waking up, I felt that the fatigue that I had accumulated during the first two days had already been washed away. My magic power was abundant to the extent of surging as it circulated in my body. After leaving the room, I asked one of the attendants, ¡°Where are my friends?¡± The attendant replied respectfully, ¡°Your friends are having their meals at the first floor¡¯s diner.¡± Such injustice! They didn¡¯t even wait for me. Hearing that they were all eating, my stomach growled. I more or less cleaned myself up and dashed down the stairs. I hoped that they¡¯d left some breakfast for me. After entering the diner, I went to the corner table where they were having their meal. It looked like I wasn¡¯t too late. I shouted, ¡°You¡¯re too much! It¡¯s breakfast time and you didn¡¯t even wake me up!¡± I dashed over, took a steamed bun, and bit into it savagely. Mu Zi smiled. ¡°Look at yourself! You look just like a reincarnated hungry ghost. Eat slowly, don¡¯t choke on it!¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°It¡¯s Mu Zi who didn¡¯t let me wake you. She said that these two days you¡¯ve been tired and so to let you sleep some more.¡± I swallowed the food in my mouth and laughed, ¡°So that was the case. I have wrongly accused you. I¡¯m sorry for that. Ma Ke, your complexion looks much better.¡± Ma Ke glanced at Hai Yue, who had her head lowered as she ate. ¡°I have let go of everything already. There is no use to thinking any further, so what is the point of thinking about it? Boss, what you said is right. In life, you will gain and lose things but also can¡¯t force things to happen.¡± After hearing what Ma Ke had said, I clearly felt that Hai Yue had shuddered a little. Mu Zi asked in astonishment, ¡°Zhang Gong, when did you become so knowledgeable? That sentence have such deep meanings.¡± I said complacently, ¡°But of course. Without any learning, how could I pursue you?¡± I definitely wouldn¡¯t tell her that it was from a book. Hai Yue stood and said, ¡°You guys continue with your meal. I will head back to pack up first. Mu Zi, when it is time to leave, please come and get me.¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°Alright! You go and have a rest. I will call for you when we are prepared to leave.¡± Ma Ke stared as Hai Yue faded from his sight and told Mu Zi, ¡°It seems that her mood today is better already.¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! Yesterday, I advised her for a long time. She seems to have thought it through, but she is also currently in a lot of pain. You shouldn¡¯t disturb her and let her heal.¡± Ma Ke nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else. After eating, everyone packed up and continued to on the path towards Martial Return City. On the way, Ma Ke gradually recovered his initial easy-going mood. He didn¡¯t disturb Hai Yue at all. Not a single word was exchanged between them. Hai Yue was still very uncooperative, but she was not as cold as when we first headed off from the academy. As we were reaching the border, we slowed down our pace. Hai Yue suddenly walked to my side and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, I want to discuss something privately with you.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 7 - Hai Yues Apology Volume 5: Chapter 7 - Hai Yue''s Apology Hai Yue wanted to speak privately with me? What is she going to say to me? I looked curiously at Mu Zi. She nodded. Hai Yue and I slowed down until we were behind the rest. After Hai Yue saw that there was some distance between us and them, she said, ¡°Zhang Gong, I want to apologize to you. Previously, I have wronged you.¡± I felt flattered. Hai Yue had just apologized to me, I didn¡¯t hear it wrongly, right? I said awkwardly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous. Actually, there were also many areas where I was in the wrong.¡± Hai Yue turned around and had her back facing me. ¡°After traveling with all of you these past few days, I already feel much better. I know now, that you¡¯ve always been a good person. I had been blinded by anxiousness and hatred previously.¡± I asked, ¡°Did you call me out just to apologize to me?¡± Hai Yue nodded. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little disappointed. I thought that she was going to ask about Ma Ke. Could it be that it really was impossible for them to be together? I asked her, ¡°Is there really no chance of you and Ma Ke being together? Ma Ke is really not bad. Why won¡¯t you give him a chance?¡± Hai Yue turned her head back and smiled at me. ¡°Mu Zi has also asked me that question. Let¡¯s just leave it up to fate. Let¡¯s go! What I said to you just now definitely cannot be told to him.¡± I was elated. ¡®It seems that Ma Ke had finally moved Hai Yue, the towering iceberg. I am really happy for that brat.¡¯ I purposely asked, ¡°Who is he?¡± Hai Yue¡¯s face reddened. ¡°You¡¯re hateful! Stop acting dumb!¡± I smiled and said, ¡°It has been such a long time since I have seen you smile truthfully.¡± Hai Yue replied, ¡°You¡¯re always smiling so mischievously. I really don¡¯t know what my sister and Mu Zi like about you.¡± I smiled, ¡°You won¡¯t know about this, but I have a lot of good points. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask Mu Zi.¡± Hai Yue changed back her expression. ¡°Staying on this topic, let me ask you. What are your plans in settling your relationships with Mu Zi and my sister?¡± I sighed. ¡°Hai Shui is a good girl, but I can¡¯t be with her as I had already given my heart to Mu Zi. I had also clarified this with Hai Shui already.¡± Hai Yue replied, ¡°Matters concerning emotions truly are unclear. Hai Shui is stronger than Mu Zi in all aspects, but you still stubbornly choose her.¡± ¡°Can we not talk about this? All I can tell you is that my feelings for Mu Zi won¡¯t change in my lifetime.¡± After saying that, I used short distance teleportation to chase up to the group. Hai Yue shook her head and ran to catch up. I abided to the promise with Hai Yue and didn¡¯t say a word of what we spoke about to Ma Ke. Mu Zi looked as though nothing happened. I pulled her aside and asked her, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking me about what Hai Yue and I had talked about?¡± Mu Zi held my hand and whispered, ¡°I believe in you!¡± Her words made me feel a warm current in my heart. I held her hand up to my lips and kissed it deeply. ¡°You¡¯re so awesome, my wife!¡± Mu Zi pushed my hand away and said, ¡°You¡¯re annoying. Let¡¯s go! We are reaching the Martial Return City!¡± The Martial Return City wasn¡¯t big and was smaller than expected. Once I entered the city, I stopped a passerby. ¡°Can you please tell me where the Forest Dragon Magic Academy?¡± The random person showed a stupefied expression. ¡°You must be an outsider. Don¡¯t you know that this entire city is the surrounding perimeter of the Forest Dragon Magic Academy?¡± ¡®Ah! This entire city is the academy¡¯s outerior? It can see how high the prestige of the academy is.¡¯ I smiled in return. ¡°Can you please tell me where the center of the Forest Dragon Magic Academy is?¡± The passerby pointed in a direction. ¡°You must be here for the examination. There is still quite a way before you reach the enrollment area. You just have to walk straight down this path. You will be able to find the center of the city.¡± I told everyone after the passerby left, ¡°It seems that the power that the Forest Dragon Magic Academy holds is not small.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Of course! The Forest Dragon Magic Academy is an Advanced Magic Academy that is only second to our Royal Advanced Magic Academy. They are also our strongest opponent.¡± We reached the entrance of the Forest Dragon Magic Academy, and although the building wasn¡¯t as luxurious as the Royal Advanced Magic Academy, it still gave off a heavy atmosphere. I walked up to the guard at the entrance. ¡°Hello, we are from the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. Can I ask¡­¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t finished what I wanted to say as I was interrupted by the guard. He shouted, ¡°Ah! You are from the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. Please come with me.¡± The guard brought us into the Forest Dragon Magic Academy. The academy¡¯s verdant and lush trees and numerous flowers all around us was really pleasing. He brought us to a big building and said, ¡°Please wait a moment. I will go and announce your arrival.¡± After he said that, he ran into the building. After a while, a few people walked out with the guard. I stared at the three other people who walked out. They were all around fifty years old. They showed what kind of magic they used by wearing the fire, water and wind magic robes respectively. The one wearing the fire magic robe walked up to us. ¡°Welcome to our Forest Dragon Magic Academy. I am the vice Principal. Please come inside.¡± They were so polite, we definitely couldn¡¯t forget our manners. We bowed simultaneously. ¡°Our greetings to the teachers.¡± The vice Principal nodded before bringing us into the academy. As we walked, he said, ¡°This is our academy¡¯s main school building. You must be ridiculing us.¡± Si Wa Ming said, ¡°This place is very good and isn¡¯t any worse than our academy¡¯s. Vice Principal, do you recognize me?¡± The vice Principal looked at him and his expression suddenly changed. He was startled and replied, ¡°Ah! Aren¡¯t you the one that represented the Royal Advanced Magic Academy at the previous competition, Si Wa?¡± Si Wa smiled. ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± The vice Principal muttered, ¡°Why have you not graduated yet?¡± ¡°I was a year two student when I came here previously. I am now in year 5 and will be graduating soon.¡± We had reached the vice Principal¡¯s office at that moment. He led us to sit at the sofa. ¡°I represent the Forest Dragon Academy to welcome you all.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re too courteous. I hope that your team will have mercy against us.¡± The vice Principal looked at me and said, ¡°It should be you who should be merciful. That¡¯s right! According to the procedure, can you let me have a look at the introduction letter?¡± I gave the vice Principal the introduction letter that Teacher Zhen had passed to me. Volume 5: Chapter 8 - Arriving in Forest Dragon Volume 5: Chapter 8 - Arriving in Forest Dragon After the Vice Principal read through the letter, he sighed. ¡°There are really so many talents in the Royal Magic Academy... All the students are magic scholars, even three years later.. You¡¯re all truly incredible, but can you introduce yourselves? All your names are in this letter; I just don¡¯t know who they refer to.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m an earth element magic scholar, Si Wa Ming,¡± he said with a smile. I said, ¡°Light element magic scholar, Zhang Gong Wei, a Royal Advanced Academy year 3 student.¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°Wind element magic scholar, Mu Zi Mo, a Royal Advanced Academy year 3 student.¡± Ma Ke said, ¡°Fire element magic scholar, Ma Ke Sai De, a Royal Advanced Academy year 3 student¡­.¡± Lastly, Hai Yue said, ¡°Water element magic scholar, Hai Yue Xin, a Royal Advanced Academy year 4 student.¡± The vice Principal looked startled as he moved his gaze to me. ¡°I had read the introduction letter and thought that it had been written wrongly. You truly are a light element magic scholar! There aren¡¯t many magicians who are willing to try and learn light magic. It must have been quite difficult for you to train to such a high level.¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯re far too humble. When we first arrived here, we realized that the entire Martial Return City is the outer perimeter of the Forest Dragon Advanced Magic Academy. You should also have a large number of talented students here.¡± The vice Principal replied, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that most of those talented students have gone to the Royal Magic Academy. If you could transfer to this academy, that would be great!¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that, currently, it would be impossible as we are already rooted in the Royal Magic Academy.¡± The vice Principal sighed. ¡°I know it is¡­ It¡¯s just that I desperately pray for exceptional talents. Even if our academy is ranked second in the Kingdom, we are still far from reaching the level of the Royal Advanced Magic Academy.¡± Ma Ke spoke up just then. ¡°May I ask if any of the other six academies¡¯ competitors have arrived yet?¡± The Vice Principal replied, ¡°Currently, the competitors from the Shell Order Advanced Academy and Contemplation Advanced Magic Academy have arrived, so you¡¯re the third academy to arrive. We also have finished preparations for the arena since the competition will begin in ten days.¡± Si Wa replied, ¡°We¡¯ll leave it at that for now. Where will we be staying? After traveling for so many days, we are a little exhausted. Can you please help arrange a place for us to stay?¡± The vice Principal chuckled. ¡°Of course! We have already arranged for you to stay at the Forest Dragon hotel. The quality of that place is fairly decent. Since you have traveled from such a distant place, the Principal and I are holding a welcoming reception for you before sending you to the hotel.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too courteous. It¡¯s really unnecessary to hold a welcoming reception only for us,¡± I replied respectfully. The vice Principal responded, ¡°The five of you are the Kingdom¡¯s jewels. You are able to reach such a high level in magic while being so young. It makes everyone envious. So the welcoming reception... Please don¡¯t refuse us. You will also have the opportunity to taste our delicacies. For now, you can wait here, while I go and get the Principal.¡± After he said that, he left the office. ¡°They¡¯re quite polite, and it seems that they don¡¯t have much animosity against us,¡± I said. ¡°Right now they are polite. Just wait until the competition starts. It definitely won¡¯t be like now, as everyone will fight with all their might. You should know that this will be noble magicians fighting against ordinary magicians. It¡¯ll be like fighting in a war, so you mustn¡¯t be careless,¡± said Si Wa as he bitterly smiled. ¡°A battle of noble magicians against ordinary magicians? It can¡¯t be? We aren¡¯t nobles,¡± I said, surprise filling my voice. Ma Ke smiled as he replied, ¡°Boss, you have to think it through. Hai Yue, Si Wa, and I are all nobles, and you¡¯re the successor of Teacher Di. Teacher Di currently holds the Duke position so it makes you half a noble. Mu Zi got into the academy through her skills so she is an exceptional talent. She will then be designated as a noble when she graduates. So to say we are mage nobles isn¡¯t really wrong.¡± What Ma Ke said had made sense. Mu Zi said, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why they fight with all their might. They already think the competition will only be nobles against ordinary magicians.¡± The opening of a door sounded. The vice Principal and a very old magician (who looks similar to Teacher Di) came in. ¡°Let me introduce him to you. This is our academy¡¯s Principal, Cha De, wind element magic scholar.¡± We hastily bowed and said, ¡°Our greetings to the Principal.¡± The old Principal smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous at my place. You can treat it as though it is your own home. There¡¯s no need for etiquette as we don¡¯t have too many formalities here. Let¡¯s go! Since you have come from afar, you must be hungry. Let¡¯s go and have a meal.¡± I like eating. I also saw Mu Zi¡¯s eyes light up. These few days were harsh on her as we didn¡¯t eat any proper meals. After the vice Principal¡¯s introduction, we understood that the Forest Dragon hotel had a diner, entertainment areas, and living areas. The high class hotel was for relaxation and it was where all of the competitors would be residing. When we arrived at the banquet hall, it looked like the vice Principal had already set up everything. The large table, which held many cold dishes, was able to seat 20 people with ease. The vice Principal said, ¡°You may take your seats first. I will go and invite the other two academies to our meal. It will be much more lively if everyone comes to eat .¡± In just a short moment, the vice Principal returned with ten other people and sat opposite of us, while introducing us. ¡°These few students are the competitors from the Royal Advanced Academy.¡± We hurriedly stood up, and Si Wa represented our team and said, ¡°Our greetings to all of you.¡± The old magician opposite of us said, ¡°I¡¯m the Contemplation Advanced Academy¡¯s vice Principal. I have brought five of my students to participate in this competition. Please give us some pointers.¡± Another middle aged magician said, ¡°I¡¯m Shell Order Advanced Academy¡¯s head instructor and have brought my team here.¡± The opposing competitors were mostly fire and wind element magicians. It was obvious that their goal was to be on the offensive. The competitors from the two academies looked calm and collected, as though they didn¡¯t care about us. When the Forest Dragon¡¯s vice Principal told the waiter to serve the dishes, the 10 of us sat down. The head instructor from the Shell Order Advanced Academy said, ¡°I heard from the vice Principal that the five competitors are all magic scholars. That¡¯s incredible! I hope that you¡¯ll be merciful during the competition.¡± Lun Ke Advanced Academy was ranked eighth among the advanced academies. They were the weakest and their capabilities weren¡¯t even comparable to the Royal Intermediate Academy. Their competitors definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to fight against us. He was saying that so as to prevent unnecessary injuries. Volume 5: Chapter 9 - Provoking a Defeated Opponent Volume 5: Chapter 9 - Provoking a Defeated Opponent Si Wa said, ¡°You¡¯re too humble. We aren¡¯t as powerful as the Vice Principal describes us to be. We will still need your care and guidance.¡± One of the students from Contemplation Magic Academy said, ¡°Stop pretending to be gracious! During this competition...¡± The Vice Principal from the Contemplation Magic Academy glared at him. ¡°What right have you got interrupting him? Are you as strong as him? If you were a magic scholar like him, I would have made way for you.¡± That student looked away but still retained an unsatisfied appearance. With that, the atmosphere of the banquet became a little awkward. Right at that moment, the dishes were served. Forest Dragon¡¯s Vice Principal said, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s dig in. There will still be opportunities for us to interact after the meal.¡± The food was pretty decent. It seemed like the Forest Dragon¡¯s hotel had put some effort into providing a full spread of dishes for us. ¡®I looked at Mu Zi¡¯s large sparkling eyes and her nose that was sniffing continuously - she was just too adorable!¡¯ I leaned into her and whispered, ¡°You can¡¯t hold back any longer, right? Hehe.¡± She eyed me silently. Forest Dragon¡¯s Vice Principal said, ¡°I have not treated my guests well enough. Everyone, please dig in!¡± We had been waiting for those words to leave his mouth. Mu Zi and I started to wipe out the dishes without a trace of decorum. Si Wa whispered to me, ¡°Zhang Gong, eat slower. Don¡¯t let others think we are uncivilised.¡± I slowed my pace after hearing his words. Although he told me to tell Mu Zi the same thing, I couldn¡¯t bear to do that as I loved how Mu Zi¡¯s gusto in eating her food. It was extremely moving to me. Mu Zi¡¯s eating prowess was gradually exposed she would gobble up at least half of every new dish that was placed in front of her. She didn¡¯t even bother to look at her surroundings, concerned only with eating seafood. Everyone was stupefied. The Vice Principal ordered two more rounds of 10 extra dishes and barely managed to keep the situation under control. A mocking voice entered my ear at that moment. ¡°Wah! Look at that! The Royal Magic Academy female student eats like a pig, as if her life depended on it. It looks hilarious.¡± If he had directed that at me, I would definitely have merely returned his words with only a smile, but he was insulting my beloved Mu Zi, making me instantly rise in rage. I slammed my hand down on the table and shouted at the direction of the voice. ¡°Who are you calling a pig?!¡± It startled Mu Zi, who was still chowing down on her food. She raised her head, but had no inkling of what was going on. A skinny fire magician stood up, pointed at Mu Zi and said, ¡°I am referring to her. Why? Are you going to bite me?¡± His speech made the students in his entourage break into loud laughter. It is that same brat from the Contemplation Magic Academy. I rapidly started gathering light elements as my entire body simultaneously released an icy realm and emitted a strong killing intent. After hearing the student¡¯s words, Forest Dragon¡¯s Principal frowned and looked meaningfully at the Contemplation Academy¡¯s vice Principal. The Contemplation Academy¡¯s vice Principal barked, ¡°Hua De, what are you saying? Sit down at once!¡± After hearing Hua De insult Mu Zi, even Si Wa could no longer hold back. ¡°Could it be that the students of the Contemplation Magic Academy are lacking in education?¡± His words made the opposing student glare angrily at him. I raised my left hand and pointed it to Hua De. ¡°You, get out here and face me!¡± The Forest Dragon¡¯s Vice Principal saw that the situation was deteriorating and quickly tried to salvage the situation. ¡°Hua De, quickly apologize to Zhang Gong.¡± Hua De ignored Forest Dragon¡¯s Vice Principal and instead muttered, ¡°She really does look like a pig when she eats, but you don¡¯t allow me to comment on that.¡± I could no longer hold restrain myself and raised my hand to attack him, but Si Wa held me back. ¡°Don¡¯t fight here! It wouldn¡¯t be good for us if we destroyed anything here.¡± I coldly said, ¡°Alright. Do you dare to face me outside? If you can withstand a single attack from me, I will let you go.¡± Except for my team members, who all knew that I was a Magister, the rest of the magicians believed that I was bluffing. Hua De was a Great Mage. To be able to defeat him in a single strike; it would be a little ridiculous. The Vice Principal of Contemplation was angered by what I said as he thought that I had humiliated his academy. ¡°Alright. Hua De, go spar with that student. I really would like to see how he is going to defeat you with a single strike. Remember, it¡¯s just a single strike.¡± His last statement was to remind Hua De that he just needed to defend against a solitary strike. Hua De looked at me viciously and turned to walk out of the hotel. Just as I wanted to follow him out, Mu Zi tugged at my hands that were shaking in anger. ¡°Zhang Gong, let¡¯s just let it go. I admittedly did eat a little too much earlier and can¡¯t really blame anyone for commenting negatively on that.¡± After she said that, she lowered her head and assumed a pitiable appearance. On seeing this, my heart broke and stubbornly replied, ¡°If he had insulted me, I wouldn¡¯t have minded. However, he insulted you, who is the person I love the most. I want him to know that he will not be able to bully our Royal Advanced Magic Academy easily!¡± After saying that, I broke free from Mu Zi¡¯s hold and walked out. Si Wa followed me and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t expose too much of your strength as we will still need to compete later on.¡± I understood the meaning behind his words and nodded. The plaza in front of the hotel was sufficient for our fight. Hua De and I stood 20 metres apart and stared at each other. I already comprehended the reason behind him rushing out hastily earlier. It was so he would have ample time to cast a few wind defense spells. I chuckled and said, ¡°Get ready to receive my attack! Light elements! Please form a blade that can conquer every obstacles and eliminate the enemy standing in front of me.¡± My chant was actually only for show, but in reality, my spell utilised the fusion of battle spirit and elements that I had already prepared. Hua De was smart enough to know that by solely defending, he wouldn¡¯t be able to block that attack. He immediately shot a large Wind Tornado at me. I wore a cold smile and completely dominated him with my tyrannic power. Then, I waved my right hand and a golden white large blade struck at him. The other people had walked out of the restaurant just in time to see my light blade. Previously, when Teacher Zhen had carelessly received my fusion spell, he had suffered despite his abilities. Needless to say, Hua De, who was only a Great Magician, had no chance at all The light blade smoothly cut the large Wind Tornado in half and collided head-on with his defence magic. Even though he had insulted Mu Zi, it wasn¡¯t bad enough to warrant in his death.Thus, when the light blade was about to slice his body, I altered the strike to a blade slap that made the blade hit him with its broadside. Just like that, all of his defensive spells completely shattered. He cried out and violently coughed out blood as he was sent flying. I put my hands down and the corner of my lips curved up as I let out a thin, cold smile. Ma Ke ran over and shrieked, ¡°Wah! Boss, you¡¯re so cool!¡± All of the people from Contemplation Advanced Magic Academy and Shell Order Advanced Academy were stunned. The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon was so startled by the outcome that his jaw dropped and was at a loss for words. Volume 5: Chapter 10 - Dual Academy Withdrawal Volume 5: Chapter 10 - Dual Academy Withdrawal After some time, the vice Principal of the Si Long Advanced Magic Academy snapped back from his shock, running over to embrace Hua De while glaring at me with rage. Hua De was his beloved pupil, and thus, Hua De¡¯s arrogant and domineering persona grew as a result of his constant pampering. But this time, he was unlucky to have met and angered me. I coldly smiled. ¡°You should really educate your student when you head back. You should have known that words are able to cause a great deal of trouble. I held back this time, but if he were to anger me again... I won¡¯t be as polite as I was this time.¡± The face of Contemplation¡¯s vice Principal glowed crimson red, and he raised his hand, shooting a fireball at me. ¡°I will stake everything and fight you!¡± Just when I wanted to counter his attack, Si Wa had already moved in front of me to cast an earth shield, blocking it. ¡°Vice Principal, please conduct yourself with dignity. Zhang Gong won the fight against your student fair and square.¡± he said, as his lips curled into a cold smile. The vice Principal of Contemplation knew he couldn¡¯t fight against us. He carried the severely injured Hua De withanger still painted on his face, and walked to the front of Forest Dragon¡¯s Principal. ¡°Our Contemplation Academy no longer has the face to stay. Principal Long Yu, we forfeit this competition.¡± Principal Long Yu knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to make him stay. He could only turn to his vice Principal while his own heart filled with dread... ¡°I will remember all of you. The humiliation and the hatred from injuring my disciple; I won¡¯t ever let this go that easily. Let¡¯s go!¡± said the vice Principal of Contemplation, while glowering intensely. And with that being said, he exited with his other disciples to pack up their belongings. Si Wa walked in front of Principal Long Yu and said, ¡°Principal, we are sorry about creating trouble for you.¡± What could Principal Long Yu even say? He was too frightened by my strength. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not to be blamed. It was they who were too domineering, not you. We should, however, return and continue our meal..¡± I thought, ¡®This old fox, he didn¡¯t stop our match. It is likely he wanted to gain even a small insight into what amount of power we hold. I will just act dumb this time... I also have no regrets in beating away the Contemplation Advanced Academy so quickly, as we can frighten Forest Dragon, and I also gave Mu Zi her revenge.¡¯ Instead, I am elated! What I didn¡¯t thought about is how the Contemplation Magic Academy had actually gone back in anger. This was great, one less enemy! Mu Zi pulled me, who was still furious, back to the diner. The Principal and vice Principal of Forest Dragon Academy were definitely more courteous than before. He kept on adding more dishes for us. I had listened to Si Wa prior to the fight, and I was still hungry¡­ But I didn¡¯t care anymore. I pulled Mu Zi along, and beneath the shocked eyes of the surrounding people, I ate my meal like a savage. The end of this ¡®sumptuous¡¯ lunch finally came about, and so, we bid the Principal of Forest Dragon farewell and prepared to head to our rooms for some rest. However, the head instructor of the Shell Order Advanced Magic Academy spoke at that moment. ¡°Can you please wait for a moment before leaving? I wish to announce something with all of us here.¡± We stopped and waited to hear what he had to say. Principal Long Yu of Forest Dragon Academy could already feel like it was going to be bad news. ¡°We have just seen the strength of student Zhang Gong and feel that our Shell Order Academy is unable to compete against him. Therefore, I have decided, in order not to disgrace myself, to forfeit from this competition as well,¡± said the head instructor of Shell Order. Principal Long Yu hastily replied, ¡°How can you say that? Don¡¯t we have an agreement?¡± ¡°Even if there is an agreement, I won¡¯t allow my students to risk their lives,¡± replied the head instructor without hesitation. ¡°You also witnessed the fight. Can you guarantee that even you yourself would have been able to block that strike? My academy¡¯s power is weak, and Hua De fought today! My team doesn¡¯t even have a single magic scholar, how could we possibly compete? I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re leaving¡­¡± After he said that, he took away his students and even walked right past us. Although we also bid our farewells, the difference was that we headed to our hotel, which was arranged by Forest Dragon. It actually wasn¡¯t that bad since they gave us a large suite. A huge lounge welcomed us, while two bathrooms and five bedrooms were spread along the sides. The decorations weren¡¯t very magnificent, but all of the necessities were there. The main satisfaction, however, was in its cleanliness. Ma Ke lay comfortably on the couch in the lounge. ¡°Wah! Our results today weren¡¯t too bad. We just got here, and we already beat one academy and managed to scare away another. Our opponent only has five academies left.¡± ¡°Even though the situation seems advantageous to us, don¡¯t you think we have exposed some of our capabilities a little too much? This will only increase their jealousy toward us.¡± Si Wa said with a deep frown. ¡°That¡¯s right! What Si Wa said makes sense.¡± Mu Zi nodded in agreement. I muttered, ¡°I¡¯ve already contributed my portion to that. . I had said that I would defeat him with one strike, so¡­..¡± Si Wa smiled. ¡°We can¡¯t blame this on you, Zhang Gong. If it was me, I also wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold back if my beloved has been insulted. We are lucky, though, that you held back at the last moment and didn''t kill Hua De. If not, our grudge with Contemplation would have been even worse.¡± ¡°Kill?¡± I replied with eyes wide open. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think of that before... It is illegal.¡± The other four started staring at me with my own expression. It made me feel uneasy. ¡°Why are all of you looking at me like this? Is there something on my face?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Boss, are you alright? You¡¯re a Magister! Even if you were to kill someone, it won¡¯t matter as Magisters have a count¡¯s privilege. Say, if you were to kill Hua De, or even that vice Principal, the Kingdom won¡¯t punish you at all.¡± I stared at Ma Ke for what seemed to be ages. ¡°This must be why ordinary magicians hate us so much! Nobles! Is being a noble really that good...?¡± Mu Zi smacked me. ¡°Stop being so melancholic and moody! We are all exhausted. Let¡¯s have an afternoon nap. I am going to sleep already.¡± Saying that, she gave her body a lazy stretch, then turned around and heading to her room. I started following her with a smug grin all over my face. ¡°I¡¯ll help you fix your bed. Hehe.¡± Mu Zi walked inside her room but stopped me outside her room. ¡°Don¡¯t look so smug! You think I don¡¯t know about your perverted mind? You want to take advantage of me? No way!¡± After shouting at me, she pushed me farther away from the room and prevented me from entering. I helplessly walked back to the lounge. When they saw my discomposure, they laughed, and even the usually quiet Hai Yue grinned. Si Wa said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you were met with a closed door, right? Where is the light blade that you cast before? Just destroy that door! Haha!¡± I glared at him. ¡°I don¡¯t dare. If you dare to, then you can go try. I¡¯m scared of her... I¡¯m doomed for the rest of my life!¡± Si Wa said, ¡°I dare even less than you do, and I¡¯m not taking that chance either. If I really entered her room after breaking down the door, I would definitely be hacked to death by you.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 11 - A Mans Sorrows Volume 5: Chapter 11 - A Man''s Sorrows The atmosphere of the team was so comfortable. I felt a warmth deep in my heart as I saw everyone getting along with each other. ¡°Big Brother Si Wa, stop teasing me! You¡¯re so powerful. How can I be your opponent?¡± Si Wa was stunned. ¡°Zhang Gong, this is the first time you call me big brother.¡± I sighed. ¡°Big brother Si Wa, to be honest, when I first saw you, I¡¯ve had my guard up. This is because of the relationship after the battle between your teacher, Teacher Du Yu Xi, and us. However, after interacting with you these last few days, I¡¯ve realized that you aren¡¯t an evil person. Moreover, we are similar in many areas. We should definitely become friends. You¡¯re also older than me, so naturally I will call you big brother. Hehe.¡± Si Wa nodded and his eyes were filled with strong emotions. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll recognize you as my brother. Actually, Teacher Xi has had his difficulties while supporting Duke Te Yi. I can¡¯t tell you what they are, but you will find out in the future. However, I can assure you that Teacher Xi is a morally upright magician.¡± I laughed. ¡°I believe what you say. We will be real brothers from now on.¡± I walked over and tightly held onto Si Wa¡¯s hand. When everyone discussed the child of light in later generations, most of them would think that the child of light was successful as he had many powerful and inseparable friends and brothers. It wasn¡¯t until night before they woke up from their dreamland. Mu Zi suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go for a stroll. It wasn¡¯t easy to get here. We can¡¯t go back empty handed.¡± I immediately expressed my agreement as it¡¯s most important to support my wife. After everyone agreed, we got changed, had dinner, and walked out of the hotel together. The Martial Return City wasn¡¯t very prosperous, but it was still a middle sized city. The various big and small shops were a feast to the eyes. Mu Zi and Hai Yue were girls after all. They became partners and picked and bought whatever they liked. The three of us men had become their goods storage rack as we walked behind them. In a short while, my body had numerous bags that were hung on me, including some bags from Hai Yue. I could have just tossed them into my spatial space, but Mu Zi was afraid that she might have bought a double of something, so I had to carry them. I looked at Ma Ke and Si Wa who were sniggering. I had a sudden thought and gave Ma Ke everything that Hai Yue had bought. Hehe. He would definitely not reject me. Even if he did, it wouldn¡¯t work. The other thing that made me feel relieved was that even after Hai Yue found out her bags were on Ma Ke, she didn¡¯t comment on it. She continued handing me the things she had bought, and I would pass it to Ma Ke. But I noticed that Ma Ke never expressed any joy.. When the girls were busy choosing a shop, I asked Ma Ke, ¡°Hai Yue allowed you to carry her things. Why aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Ma Ke bitterly smiled. ¡°Boss, I am not unhappy but just don¡¯t dare to be happy. Becoming depressed after so many years of happiness¡­ All I can feel is the larger my hope, the more upset I become. I cannot afford to be depressed again already.¡± ¡®What he said is true. It isn¡¯t easy for him to let go of Hai Yue in his mind and let go of his feelings. If he tries to start that relationship again, I doubt that he would ever be able to move on.¡¯ I patted his shoulders. ¡°Brother, the same phrase again. You¡¯ll just have to wait for your fate to play out.¡± The three of us men were extremely exhausted, but Mu Zi and Hai Yue were still full of energy. It must be in a girl¡¯s nature. I really couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. I shouted at Mu Zi, ¡°Mu Zi, can we have a break? Just look at me, there aren¡¯t any more places to put any more things.¡± Mu Zi turned her head back and saw a pitiful storage rack that hung numerous shopping bags, which was me. I was covered by the numerous items she had bought. Mu Zi said in astonishment, ¡°I have bought so much? I¡¯m nearly done anyway. Let¡¯s head back!¡± Yay! We were finally released. Ma Ke and I both heaved a sigh of relief. Si Wa laughed at our misfortune on the side. ¡°It is so relaxing not being in a relationship. Haha.¡± We didn¡¯t have any energy to rebuke him and just wanted to quickly head back to the hotel. After the long and arduous journey, we finally reached the hotel. I placed Mu Zi¡¯s things in her room. After that, I sat on the couch and no longer had the will to get up. Ma Ke similarly placed Hai Yue¡¯s things at the front of her door and quietly sat on the couch. Mu Zi leaned towards me. ¡°Zhang Gong, you must be tired.¡± I took a breather and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I can¡¯t even move anymore. Don¡¯t ever ask me to go shopping with you anymore. I really can¡¯t stand it.¡± After hearing what I said, Mu Z raised her eyebrows and protested coquettishly, ¡°What did you say? Do you find me annoying?¡± When I saw that her getting angry, I hastily held her hand and smiled. ¡°What I said previously is wrong. I am a little tired so my thoughts are now jumbled. What I actually meant was I will definitely go shopping with you often. I can also increase my knowledge that way. Hehe.¡± Mu Zi changed from anger to joy and said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it! I¡¯ll help you massage your arms.¡± I didn¡¯t work for nothing today. Mu Zi¡¯s tender and delicate hands massaged my arms back and forth. It made me so comfortable that I sighed in satisfaction. ¡®This is awesome. I really want to take her out for more shopping.¡¯ Ma Ke looked at our intimate pair and shook his head. He just went back to his room. When Hai Yue saw Ma Ke¡¯s dejected look, her body unexpectedly shuddered. I pulled Mu Zi and whispered to her, ¡°Can we go to your room? I really want to see what you bought.¡± Mu Zi looked at me and said, ¡°You can come to my room, but you mustn¡¯t have any bad intentions.¡± ¡®Damn! I have been seen through by her again.¡¯ I dejectedly replied, ¡°Alright.¡± I helped her tidy up everything she had bought while sitting on her floor, and Mu Zi was constantly telling me where to put each item. I moved my hands in a daze. I didn¡¯t know how long it had been, but I stretched out my hand and didn¡¯t feel any more items. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I had finally finished tidying up her things. Mu Zi was lying on her bed and reading a magic spell book. I sat on her bed and gestured to hug her. Mu Zi was startled and blocked my extended hands. ¡°What are you doing? Are you done packing up already?¡± Volume 5: Chapter 12 - The Tournament Begins Volume 5: Chapter 12 - The Tournament Begins I nodded with sparkles in my eyes. Mu Zi said vigilantly, ¡°What are you doing? Since you have packed up already, you should go back and rest up. I know that you¡¯re tired.¡± After she said that, she got out of her bed and pushed me out of the room. I instantly felt a sense of loss. I worked so hard for nothing today. I looked at the closed door and shook my head as I sighed. I just swayed back and forth as I headed back to my room. Mu Zi¡¯s door suddenly opened. She ran out of the room in a bouncing and vivacious way. She placed her arm around my neck and kissed my face. I was stunned beyond belief. Mu Zi, taking advantage of this, dashed to her room while I stood there in a daze, unable to react. I touched the spot her moist lips had pressed on just a moment before. I felt a sweet feeling filling my heart. Even though I was unsatisfied, it was still better than nothing. It seemed that the strength I showed had frightened the Vice Principal and Principal of Forest Dragon. They didn¡¯t invite us to join them anymore. The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon came to our rooms this morning. When I opened the door, I saw him. I politely said, ¡°You¡¯re here. Please come in.¡± The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon sat on the couch. ¡°Tomorrow is the competition. How are your preparations?¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°We didn¡¯t know how to prepare. We left it as it is and planned to just compete. So how are we going to compete?¡± The Vice Principal smiled. ¡°With your capabilities, this competition will be a breeze for you. You will fight with all of the competitors that the other academies choose. Everyday, you will fight two matches. If you win against the last competitor, the championship will be yours. If any of the other academies win against you, that academy will become the champion.¡± I was startled and frowned. ¡°In other words, it will be a tag battle.¡± The Vice Principal awkwardly smiled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t arranged like this at first, but the strength that you had shown us was too powerful. Thus, after discussions between the academies, we decided to use this way to compete.¡± Ma Ke walked out at that moment. ¡°This method of competition is too unfair. You said you had discussed this with a few of the other academies? Did you discuss this with us? If you want to compete in such a manner, we won¡¯t participate.¡± ¡®That''s true. If we compete in that manner, even if we are strong, we will definitely pay a price for the last victory.¡¯ I thought for a while. ¡°How about this? We will follow your arrangement, but only if we are allowed to compete once a day. You need to at least give us some time to rest.¡± The Vice Principal thought for a moment and replied, ¡°Alright. We will go according to what you have requested. I will head back first to change the arrangement.¡± After we bid this devious old man away, we had a group meeting to decide how to deal with the situation. Si Wa said, ¡°I knew the incident from that day would influence the competition. It has actually become a tag battle.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! It was unreasonable for them to make the decision to compete in this manner.¡± I replied, ¡°Stop arguing already! It is already finalized. It¡¯s more important to think of a way to deal with the situation. I believe the reason they arranged this tag battle is to decrease our strength before defeating us with a strong opponent at the end. Thus, they will arrange for the competitors to be from their weakest to their strongest. In every match of the competition, it will be a best of five battles. In other words, if the starting competitors are weak, we will be able to win this competition easily. In order to have resting time, I suggest that we fight in two groups. This way, we can rest a day.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°How can our team of five separate into two groups?¡± I chuckled, ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy? Si Wa, Mu Zi and me will be a group and Ma Ke, Hai Yue and me will be the other group.¡± Hai Yue replied, ¡°Won¡¯t you be competing every day that way?¡± I shrugged my shoulder and said, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t matter. I doubt that they could withstand more than a few of my attacks, so it shouldn¡¯t be too tiring.¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°The suggestion that Boss came up is the best solution right now. Since it is like this, Boss, Mu Zi, and Si Wa will compete first. You must win all of the matches.¡± I smiled. ¡°Relax! Don¡¯t you believe in me? It won¡¯t be a problem. If we meet with an extremely strong person during the second part of the competition, I have a secret weapon.¡± Ma Ke was startled but made a realization. ¡°Xiao Jin?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s him. When Xiao Jin and I combine our might, it would even cause some trouble for Teacher Zhen. Hehe.¡± Mu Zi pulled me and asked, ¡°Who is Xiao Jin?¡± I replied, ¡°If you give me a kiss, I will tell you.¡± Mu Zi hit my head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about that! If you don¡¯t want to say so, then forget it! Who would really want to know about that?¡± I rubbed on the spot she had hit. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to kiss, then forget it. Why do you need to be so fierce?¡± This made everyone break into laughter. We wore our magic robes the next day. I wore the light magic robe that Teacher Di had given to me, which is white with golden edges. Mu Zi wore a green magic robe to represent that she uses wind element magic. Hai Yue wore a blue magic robe to represent that she uses water element magic. Ma Ke wore a red magic robe to represent that he uses fire element magic. And lastly, Si Wa wore a yellow magic robe to represent that he uses earth element magic. After putting on their magic robes, everyone looked unusually energetic. When the five colours merged together, it attracted a lot of attention. When we reached the battle arena of the Forest Dragon Magic Academy, there was a vast crowd in front of us. The interiors filled with teachers and students from the academies while commoners crowded the outer area, full of excitement in lieu of the coming matches. Our arrival stirred up a commotion within the arena after we entered.. The Vice Principal came over and said, ¡°You have arrived. The other competitors of the five academies have already arrived.¡± After he said that, he led us to where the competitors are. There were a lot of people sitting at a side. They must be the competitors from the five advanced academies. The Vice Principal said, ¡°Since all of the competitors are here, let¡¯s start the competition.¡± After we all nodded in agreement, we walked to the center of the 3000 square meter competition ground. He announced, ¡°Everyone please keep quiet as the competition is starting. In this round of the competition, the Royal Advanced Magic Academy will be facing the Bi Si Pu Advanced Magic Academy in a tag battle. Can both the teams please decide quickly on their arrangement of competitors and give them to me.¡± The arrangement in the competition was chosen by both teams. It was impossible to know who the opposing team would send out, so it was definitely still stochastic. I walked over and gave him the match line-up\. The first battle will be me; the second battle will be Mu Zi¡¯s turn; the third battle will be Si Wa¡¯s turn; the fourth battle will be Ma Ke¡¯s turn; and lastly, it will be Hai Yue. We would definitely not allow our opponents to persevere to the end. Volume 5: Chapter 13 - Effortless Victory Volume 5: Chapter 13 - Effortless Victory After a long while, the Vice Principal reentered the arena. ¡°Alright! For the first battle in the competition, it will be Zhang Gong Wei from the Royal Advanced Academy against Lu Si Nan. The two competitors are requested to enter the arena.¡± I walked leisurely into the arena with both my hands at my back. My opponent seemed to have a medium build and looked a little younger than me. Judging by his magician robe, he looked like a wind element magician. He was obviously nervous that his opponent was me. The Vice Principal said, ¡°Alright! The competition begins!¡± After saying that, he dashed out of the arena to join the rest of the teachers from the Forest Dragon Magic Academy in strengthening the protective barrier. My opponent bowed to me and said, ¡°Please give me some pointers.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be polite. Let¡¯s battle.¡± Lu Si Nan silently chanted and waved both his hands and numerous wind blades flew towards me. He actually used such a weak attack against me. I didn¡¯t bother increasing my defense spell and casually waved my left hand, sending forth a small dimensional slash. It instantly attracted all of his spells toward it; and even his body was being attracted into it. I smiled at him, but didn¡¯t attack him. ¡°It¡¯s best that you retreat, as I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± Lu Si didn¡¯t respond. It was obvious that he was clenching his teeth before he started to chant his greatest spell. ¡°Free Wind! Use your¡­.¡± Hehe! I had achieved my goal, as I wanted him to do that. If not, with his wind like agility, he would still be able to fight me for quite some time. However, he had already chanted his spell and could no longer be stopped. I gathered my fusion spell of battle spirit and elements in my right hand and waited for him to cast his spell. ¡°Cloud Oppressing Tornado!¡± It seemed that he had used an advanced wind spell. It looked like that was his limit though. He was as strong as Hua De and was at most a Great Mage. The difference was that I had good feelings about Lu Si as at least he was a polite student. I waved my right hand and shot out a white fusion spell, and the audience gasped in surprise. The chaotic wind element was cut in half and the white ray shot directly towards Lu Si. I was able to freely control the fusion spell due to my large amount of practice. Just as the light blade was going to reach him, I made the fusion spell move to strike at the air and lightly swiped the spell at him, which sent him out of the arena. It had only been a few minutes since the start of the competition. The Vice Principal frowned as he announced, ¡°Zhang Gong from the Royal Advanced Magic Academy wins the first match.¡± I knew that in his heart he was wondering, ¡®Why was Zhang Gong so powerful? Just what did he use to defeat Lu Si?¡¯ I walked down from the battle stage and told Mu Zi, ¡°It¡¯s up to you now. You have to end the match as soon as possible.¡± Mu Zi nodded and lightly floated to the center of the battle stage. Her opponent was a fire element magician. It seemed that he was slightly stronger than Lu Si. After the match began, I was flabbergasted as this was the first time I¡¯ve seen her fight. ¡®Is Mu Zi fighting in a competition? She looks as though her life depends on it. It didn¡¯t matter what her opponent was doing. She just continuously shot out advanced multi-directional offensive spells. She is wasting too much magic power this way. Wind element magicians will use their agility and techniques to win the match? I thought she would be able to conserve her magic power better than me. I would never have imagined that she would cast multi-directional offensive spells. I¡¯m impressed.¡¯ I turned to ask Ma Ke, ¡°Does she always fight like this?¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°Mu Zi¡¯s attacks are always very violent. I don¡¯t know how she can cast her spells quicker than most of us. Though she didn¡¯t cast her spells so casually during the time she was not a true magic scholar, it was still very incredible when I was defeated by her endless offensive attacks previously.¡± As expected, Mu Zi¡¯s multi-directional spell made it difficult for her opponent to withstand her spells. He could no longer withstand her attacks. Mu Zi wasn¡¯t as polite as me. She cast a Wind Tornado to send her opponent off the battle stage. He would be unable to get out of bed for two days after this and that would only be under a magician¡¯s treatment. Mu Zi¡¯s face was crimson red when she left the battle stage. Zhang Gong said, ¡°Little missy, didn¡¯t I tell you to conserve your magic power? Why did you use a multi-directional spell?¡± Mu Zi pouted her lips and replied, ¡°You¡¯re annoying. I am just too lazy to move. Isn¡¯t it better to just stand there and cast continuous attacks? The opponent will just move off the stage by himself after a while.¡± ¡®What else can I say? Isn¡¯t she really lazy?¡¯ I just shook my head and didn¡¯t dare to continue reprimanding this terrifying woman. I held her hand and continued to watch the third match. Si Wa leisurely walked onto the battle stage. His opponent was a fire element magician. I believed in Si Wa as his magic could counter some fire magic and the difference between his abilities and his opponent¡¯s was large. Once Si Wa reached the battle stage, he said to his opponent, ¡°You should prepare a few defensive spells as my attacks are very strong. I may accidentally cripple you in the process.¡± His opponent had already been frightened by the first two matches. After he listened to what Si Wa said, he blankly cast some defensive spells. I laughed as I watched the battle stage. ¡°Si Wa is so capable. The moment he came onto the stage, he has already diminished the fighting spirit of his opponent.¡± Si Wa used a strengthened Earth Spear to sweep at his opponent¡¯s legs. The opponent¡¯s defensive spell wasn¡¯t bad as the earth spear didn¡¯t pierce his defense. It should have been Si Wa¡¯s intention. We didn¡¯t want to hurt others unnecessarily, after all. Although it didn¡¯t pierce through his defense, his opponent was tossed up high in the sky like a cannon ball. When he landed, he was naturally off the battle stage. I hadn¡¯t thought that the one who would win in the easiest way was Si Wa. It looked like he had a lot of experience. Ma Ke whispered to me, ¡°Si Wa had always used this move to defeat a lot of his opponents in the academy. His earth magic¡¯s main special points is its unpredictableness and its strong defense. You won¡¯t know where he is going to pierce you from.¡± The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon announced, ¡°The Royal Advanced Academy has won by the overall score of three to zero. The second match will be held tomorrow.¡± We didn¡¯t think that we could win so easily. We couldn¡¯t help but relax a little. Si Wa said, ¡°Since I didn¡¯t use up much energy today, let me compete again tomorrow. . We will let Mu Zi rest, so Zhang Gong, Ma Ke, and I will make up tomorrow¡¯s team.¡± The second day¡¯s match was the same as the previous day as we won the first three battles. But Ma Ke and Si Wa faced some opponents who were quite strong, so they had to put in some effort to win their battles. Volume 5: Chapter 14 - Suffering Heavy Casualties Volume 5: Chapter 14 - Suffering Heavy Casualties It would be Mu Zi, Hai Yue, and I who would compete during the third day of the competition, due to the fact that Si Wa and Ma Ke had used up most of their energy. Mu Zi and I won the first two battles easily, but the third match would have to be fought by Hai Yue who had never appeared on the battle stage. Hai Yue looked a little depressed and walked onto the battle arena listlessly. When she raised her head, her heart shuddered as her opponent looked similar to Feng Liang. Hai Yue just stood there and stared blankly at her opponent with a myriad of thoughts passing through her mind. At that moment, her heart was in pain, so she just stood there, rooted to her spot. Her opponent didn¡¯t think that Hai Yue was acting strangely and was instead was extremely nervous as our team hadn¡¯t yet lost a single battle. He chanted his spells with his head bowed. I was amazed that he could actually form a power ball. It seemed that guy actually had the power of a magic scholar. His powerball was green in colour as he was a wind magician. However, one could see that it was difficult for him to control the powerball as it flew towards Hai Yue at a slow pace. There was no one who cared for Hai Yue as much as Ma Ke, so he had already realized that something was wrong with Hai Yue. He shouted at Hai Yue, but Hai Yue was in a trance and didn¡¯t hear him, focusing on her inner thoughts instead My mind screamed out ¡®This is bad!¡¯ as the powerball was extremely strong. Even if she was fully awakened from her trance, she still might not be able to deal with it easily. Furthermore, she would be totally unprepared. I used my magic power to make my voice form a line to reach her ear and shouted. The loud voice made Hai Yue snap back to reality. Hai Yue was startled and raised her head, and saw the powerball had already closed in on her. Hai Yue wasn¡¯t a Magister so she needed time to chant her spells. She knew at this point she didn¡¯t have any way to dodge this offensive spell, and so she had totally given up on countering the attack. She just made a resolute expression which showed her willingness to die for a righteous cause. Just when the powerball was about to deal a death blow to her, a red figure suddenly appeared in front of her, shielding her by using his body to stop its the advance. That red figure was none other than Ma Ke. I shouted from below the battle stage, ¡°Ma Ke!¡± When the powerball came in contact with Ma Ke, the power of the powerball had succeeded in breaking the simple defense spell that he had cast on himself and hit his chest heavily. Ma Ke cried out in pain and was sent flying. Hai Yue was in shock as she saw what had happened. After seeing Ma Ke¡¯s figure which was blown away, she hastily gathered her magic power to catch him, but Ma Ke¡¯s momentum was too powerful and they were both thrown off the battle stage. The surrounding observers erupted in an uproar. The vice Principal ran over and asked, ¡°What is going on? Why did you send two of your members onto the stage?¡± I didn¡¯t have the time to deal with him and bluntly stated, ¡°We concede defeat for this match,¡± before sprinting towards Ma Ke. I didn¡¯t have the capacity to bother about rebuking Hai Yue at that point and immediately used an advanced recovery spell on Ma Ke. The white light enveloped Ma Ke¡¯s entire body and managed to bring him back from the Death God. Si Wa was already on the battle stage. We didn¡¯t plan for him to participate in any matches today, but we were forced to send him out after this incident. I checked Ma Ke¡¯s breathing and monitored on his pulse, and heaved a sigh of relief as he wasn¡¯t in immediate danger of dying. However, his meridian channels had been thrown into disarray by the shock of the strong magic power. The worst case scenario would be if his fire elements were to become turbulent and flowed throughout his body. I let out a sigh and waited to get back to the hotel before continuing his treatment Right then, Si Wa exited the battle stage. He walked over, thoroughly exhausted and asked, ¡°How is Ma Ke?¡± I coldly glared at Hai Yue and replied, ¡°He isn¡¯t in mortal danger for now. But this may not always be the case.¡± Hai Yue hugged Ma Ke and weeped, continuously muttering, ¡°Ma Ke, why are you so foolish? Why did you save me?¡± I said with hatred, ¡°Ma Ke is foolish to the point of his brain emitting foam. He knows that you have no love for him and yet still risked his life to protect you.¡± Even though we had eventually attained victory in the third match, we had lost Ma Ke as a team member and knew that Hai Yue wouldn¡¯t be be a participant tomorrow either. Who would dare let her take the stage again? There wouldn¡¯t be another Ma Ke to shield her from the opponent¡¯s blows this time. After returning to the hotel, our moods were unusually depressed. Hai Yue had used her strength to carry Ma Ke back and didn¡¯t allow any of us to interfere with it. She gently placed Ma Ke, whose face was pale white, on the bed, and suddenly knelt in front of me and painfully wailed, ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯m begging you! Please¡­.Please save Ma Ke!¡± Mu Zi hastily pulled her up and said, ¡°Hai Yue, don¡¯t be like this. Zhang Gong will do his best.¡± I sighed and said, ¡°Ma Ke is my brother. How can I not save him? However, because his injury is too severe, I can only temporarily keep his heart beating. We will give up on the competition and immediately head back to the academy as only Teacher Zhen will has the ability to treat Ma Ke.¡± Ma Ke hoarsely and softly voiced out at that moment. We hastily gathered at his side. There was blood flowing from the corner of his lips. He forcefully opened his eyes and said in short gasps, ¡°Boss¡­ My brother¡­ It looks like I can¡¯t continue any longer... You must... win the competition... Please don¡¯t... give it up... just because of me...¡± I anxiously said, ¡°How can I do that? You must undergo treatment as soon as possible.¡± Hai Yue came over and rubbed Ma Ke¡¯s face. ¡°Ma Ke, why are you so silly? You must get well!¡± Ma Ke raised his hands with great difficulty and wiped the tears from Hai Yue¡¯s face. He smiled and uttered in short gasps, ¡°Hai... Yue... you are shedding tears for me... I am already... very happy. After I die... you must... take good care of yourself... and not let your thoughts¡­ overwhelm you...¡± I held Ma Ke¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You should also stop overthinking. You will definitely be fine.¡± Ma Ke smiled and continued to utter in short gasps, ¡°Boss... I know... how bad my own condition... You don¡¯t need... to console me... but I have one last request... that I must ask of you... I beg of you... help me to take good care of Hai Yue... and you must become the champions... It is our responsibility... and possibly my last one... You must help me... accomplish it... I know that... with your power... you will definitely... be able to succeed...¡± Volume 5: Chapter 15 - Ma Kes Crisis Volume 5: Chapter 15 - Ma Ke''s Crisis I anxiously said, ¡°But...What will we do about your wounds?¡± Ma Ke bitterly smiled and replied in short gasps, ¡°It... doesn¡¯t matter anymore... Boss, didn¡¯t you say¡­ that we should accept our fate...? If I¡­ am really not meant to die... then I won¡¯t die. You must... become the champions... and let the other academies know... that we... are the strongest...¡± After he said that, he fainted and a stream of blood continued to pour out from the corner of his lips. I exclaimed, ¡°Ma Ke, Ma Ke!!!¡± Hai Yue stayed beside Ma Ke¡¯s body and wailed painfully till her voice gave out. I sighed and straightened my body, silently vowing to obtain the championship.I looked at Hai Yue and thought, ¡®If I knew this would happen, I would not have arranged for her to come along.¡¯ I said, ¡°Hai Yue, I will have to trouble you to treat Ma Ke. As he has a fire natured physique,the effect of your water recovery magic should not be bad. I will treat him again for now and stabilize his condition. After two more days of the competition, we will immediately head back to our academy to treat Ma Ke.¡± Hai Yue nodded. I started to chant my strongest recovery spell. ¡°Great light elements, please use your unceasing holy light to treat the injuries before you and use your merciful heart to save the life in front of you, Heart of the Holy Light!¡± The surrounding light elements gathered around me and gradually enveloped me within them. The white light ray slowly became golden. It didn¡¯t have any offensive intent, but was compassionate instead. I made the light elements form a heart shape. A sparkling heart made of the Holy Light slowly appeared in front of me. I extended my right hand and the golden heart floated toward the pale looking Ma Ke and instantly entered his chest. Ma Ke¡¯s entire body became similar to when I gathered the light elements and emitted a dazzling gold light. His pale face became faintly red. After a long time, the golden light halo disappeared. I checked Ma Ke¡¯s pulse and realized his erratic pulse was slightly better. Furthermore, both his Qi and blood flow were smoother than before. I let out a long breath. My body wavered a little as after using the advanced recovery spell, I had used a big portion of my energy. Mu Zi hastily supported me. I told Hai Yue, ¡°I will leave the rest to you. You will have to treat him every two hours. That should be able to stabilize his condition for now. I¡¯m gonna go rest.¡± Mu Zi helped me back to my room and used a wet cloth to wipe the perspiration from my forehead. She asked worriedly, ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you faring?¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I merely used too much of my magic power. I am most worried about Ma Ke¡¯s condition. I used an advanced recovery spell, but was still unable to treat his wound. I am afraid that even Teacher Zhen will be unable to treat him after we return to school.¡± Mu Zi sighed. ¡°We will have to see our luck then. I also hope that nothing will happen to Ma Ke.¡± I smiled. ¡°This is Ma Ke¡¯s predestined fate. If he manages to overcome this hurdle, he will definitely be able to win Hai Yue¡¯s heart. Ma Ke, my brother, you must survive this ordeal.¡± Mu Zi, Si Wa, and I meditated to recover our magic power as fast as we could for the fourth match tomorrow. We had checked on the more or less stabilized Ma Ke the next day. We didn¡¯t tell Hai Yue before sneaking out of the room and running to the battle arena. After reaching the Forest Dragon¡¯s arena, the Vice Principal came over to us. He asked in astonishment, ¡°Why are there only three of you?¡± I shot him a bitter smile. ¡°Our teammate is in extremely bad condition from yesterday¡¯s injuries and another of my teammates stayed back to look after him, so naturally, only the three of us have come.¡± After the Vice Principal heard what I said, I saw signs of joy radiate from his eyes. Did he really think that this would be enough to beat us with ease? I thought with hatred, ¡®I will definitely let him see some of my might today!¡¯I didn¡¯t hold back any more in the competition, seriously injuring my opponent with an irresistible force and easily won the first battle. Mu Zi¡¯s opponent was extremely powerful. It was obvious they saw we had only three members and had arranged to place the strongest competitors of the team to the starting battles. Mu Zi had won the battle with a strenuous effort. She collapsed in my arms right after walking out of the battle arena. I realized that Mu Zi had used up an exceptionally large amount of magic power, and would definitely not be able to recover in time for tomorrow¡¯s matches Tomorrow, we would be facing our strongest opponent in this competition, Forest Dragon Magic Academy. ¡®What am I going to do? Ma Ke is already seriously injured. I can¡¯t bear to let Mu Zi be hurt.¡¯ Si Wa¡¯s opponent was the strongest competitor we have faced so far in this competition. It was a fire element magic scholar. He seemed to be his academy¡¯s head teacher in fire magic, who was approximately 50 years in age and had exceptionally strong power. This was the first time that I got to see Si Wa¡¯s strong defence as his opponent was really powerful. He didn¡¯t counter his opponent and instead stubbornly guarded against his opponent to wear down his opponent¡¯s magic power. Their magical beasts battled, but neither side could get an edge against the other. The entire battle lasted for three hours. Finally, his opponent used up the entirety of his magic power and was thrown out of the battle stage after Si Wa forcefully used an earth spear to strike at his opponent. Although we managed to win all four matches, my heart sank to the bottom of the valley. Tomorrow would be our last battle and I was the only one in full battle condition. Moreover, we would be facing opponents that would be stronger than any competitors we fought up to this point. I looked after Mu Zi and Si Wa, who were drained of energy, after returning to the hotel. When I went to Ma Ke¡¯s room, I found Hai Yue sleeping beside Ma Ke¡¯s body. She appeared to be terribly tired. After checking on Ma Ke and finding out that his condition hadn¡¯t worsened, I relaxed my worrying heart a little. I sat on the couch at the lounge and ruminated, ¡®How are we going to fight tomorrow? Mu Zi and Si Wa¡¯s conditions aren¡¯t good. I¡¯m afraid that they won¡¯t even be able to use half of their magic power. They will only lose their battles.¡¯ I clenched my teeth and made a decision. I called Mu Zi and Si Wa to the lounge in the morning. From their exhausted expressions, I knew that they weren¡¯t able to recover a lot of their magic power. Si Wa said, ¡°Zhang Gong, we should head out already. If not, we won¡¯t be able to make it to the arena on time.¡± I nodded. ¡°I will be the only one going. The two of you won¡¯t need to go.¡± Mu Zi was startled. ¡°How can we let you compete by yourself?¡± I bitterly smiled. ¡°Can you even fight in your conditions? It would be useless even if you went up the stage. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a Magister. I will negotiate with Forest Dragon to fight all three battles myself and will definitely be the last one standing.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 16 - Facing the Enemy Alone Volume 5: Chapter 16 - Facing the Enemy Alone Mu Zi rebuked with a grave voice. ¡°No! How can I let you risk your life alone? I definitely won¡¯t allow you to do so.¡± I replied, ¡°Have you got any better ideas then? Don¡¯t worry! I still have Xiao Jin. He is a dragon king whose ability is definitely not inferior to mine. Do you really think that two Magisters will be defeated by three magic scholars? You all worrying too much.¡± Si Wa anxiously replied, ¡°But¡­¡± I interrupted him. ¡°Stop talking! I have decided! Don¡¯t even bother accompanying me, as I will be able to concentrate better without you there.. Mu Zi, be a good girl and wait for your husband¡¯s good news.¡± Mu Zi, strangely, didn¡¯t rebuke me after I self-proclaimed myself as her husband. She leaned toward me and tightly clung on my arm. I felt her worries clearly. After a short moment, Mu Zi raised her head and said with determination, ¡°Zhang Gong, you can go and battle by yourself, but I will go to the arena with you. I want to see you defeat those bastards from Forest Dragon. They actually dared to plot such an underhanded method to compete against us...You mustn¡¯t hold back against them.¡± Si Wa chimed in, ¡°I must also go with you.¡± Even after trying to convince them repeatedly, I was still unable to change either Mu Zi¡¯s or Si Wa¡¯s mind at all. Seeing that the time for the competition was nearing, I had no choice but to bring Mu Zi and Si Wa along to the arena. The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon smiled as he came over. ¡°Will you be competing like yesterday?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I will be the only one competing.¡± He asked in astonishment, ¡°How are you going to compete by yourself?¡± I glared at him. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it possible? Won¡¯t it work if I fight all three of the matches?¡± The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon looked at me, finding it a little difficult to make a decision. ¡°How about this? I will go and discuss this with the representatives from the other academies. Please wait for a moment.¡± After a while, he came back looking a little embarrassed. I asked, ¡°How did the discussion go?¡± The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon said, ¡°They have decided to let you compete by yourself, but on one condition.¡± I frowned and asked. ¡°And what would that be? Just say it.¡± The Vice Principal of Forest Dragon awkwardly said, ¡°They want you to fight against five people and determine the outcome of the battle with a single match.¡± Mu Zi lost her temper and cursed loudly, ¡°Are you still human? How can one person fight against five? It¡¯s too unfair. Zhang Gong, let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s not compete anymore!¡± The Vice Principal replied, ¡°If you don¡¯t compete, it will mean you have forfeited this competition.¡± I coldly looked at him, causing him to move two steps back in fright. I clenched my teeth and said in an icy voice, ¡°I will compete, but don¡¯t blame me for not reminding you:I will definitely not hold back any longer!.¡± Their despicable acts had thoroughly enraged me. This was the first time I wanted to eliminate my opponents. The coldness radiating from my body had caused the temperature in the surroundings to decrease drastically. I extended my hand to stop Mu Zi from discouraging me. ¡°Please don¡¯t meddle in this. I really want to see what tactics they will employ.¡± I took out my magic staff from my spatial space. I knew this match would be just as dangerous as with the battle against Si Feng Ri. I rapidly gathered light elements to me as I stood at the center of the battle stage. The surrounding light elements became chaotic as I was enraged. The opponents I faced were two fire element magicians, two wind element magicians, and one earth element magician. It looked like two of them were students and the others were at least forty years in age. This should be the strongest team that Forest Dragon had. The Vice Principal announced, ¡°The match begins!¡± I wordlessly cast my fusion spell of battle spirit and light elements. The opponents stood behind the earth element magician. They unhurriedly cast multiple advanced defensive spells. When the fusion spell came in contact with their defensive spells, the sky lit up. I was rebounded backwards and moved a few steps back. I couldn¡¯t help but to inhale a cold breath as I realized that my opponents were all magic scholars. They didn¡¯t attack me, but instead released their magical beasts. With the magical beast fighting in front of them, I was slowly being suppressed. A strong pressure made my magic robe flutter. I was obviously in a disadvantageous position. The Principal and Vice Principal watched the match and smiled as they thought that victory was already in their grasp. I clenched my teeth and shouted, ¡°Xiao Jin, come forth!¡± This was the first time that I had used my magical beast since the start of the competition. There was a flash of golden light, and Xiao Jin immediately used his body to act as my shield as he realized that there were strong enemies threatening me. He didn¡¯t need me commanding him and immediately released his defensive dragon breath. This instantly lessened the pressure on my body and I heaved a sigh of relief. I took advantage of the fact that they had not snapped out of their shock from seeing Xiao Jin and started to chant my strong magic spell. I raised the magic staff in my my hand and chanted, ¡°Light elements! My great friends! I beseech of you to use your powers to become endless brilliant rays, transform into specks of stars and eliminate the enemies in front of you, Bright Star¡¯s Shine!¡± This was my advanced light magic spell. It was extremely powerful and, moreover, I could freely control it. The surrounding light elements became beads of golden light that gathered at my upper dantian. It slowly formed into a dazzling light ball, and looked like a miniature sun while emitting light rays. I softly said, ¡°Break!¡± The light ball instantly transformed into small light stars that surrounded me. One of the opponent''s fire element magician, ¡°Everyone! Be careful! The opponent is going to use a strong magic spell. Quickly cast defensive spells and order your magical beast to attack the opponent¡¯s magical beast!¡± All of the opponent¡¯s seventh to eighth grade magical beast attacked Xiao Jin. When light stars appeared in front of me, I also commanded Xiao Jin to attack. Xiao Jin shrieked as he roared. He flapped his enormous wings and tackled the two wind elemental magical beasts and shot a dragon breath at the earth elemental magical beast. I had completed my Bright Star¡¯s Shine, which covered the sky with light stars that headed towards the five magicians. The five opponents already knew that this spell would definitely be difficult to counter and they all released their strongest protection spells. When the light stars were reaching the opponent¡¯s barrier, I smiled and drew a circle with the magic staff in my hand. The light stars suddenly stopped in mid-air and rapidly rearranged themselves like a troop of soldiers forming a straight line before they shot towards their defensive barrier like a streak of lightning. The five magical beast¡¯s strengths were much weaker than Xiao Jin¡¯s so they were beaten up by Xiao Jin. In a short moment, Xiao Jin had defeated all of them and came to assist me. Volume 5: Chapter 17 - Lifes Flame Volume 5: Chapter 17 - Life''s Flame The thick defensive barrier rippled beautifully as the stream of light stars came into contact with it. My five opponents didn¡¯t have the time to admire the scene and shouted, ¡°Not Good!¡±. My light stars had pierced through their solid defensive barrier. Even though it didn¡¯t have a lot of force, it had made all of my opponents cough out a mouthful of blood. I had managed to turn the table on them. Just as I wanted to attack them, my body suddenly went soft. I screamed inwardly, ¡®This is bad. These days were too stressful and I haven¡¯t had enough rest.¡¯ After releasing that advanced magic spell, I was left with not much magic power. In actuality, I had forgotten that I had been simultaneously supporting Xiao Jin in his battle. Even though Xiao Jin could gather his own magic power, he still required some of mine. Xiao Jin roared and I saw that he had forcefully gathered the five opposing magical beasts and shot a light ball at them. They flew back and could no longer get up. My anxiety eased up little. However, when I wanted to command Xiao Jin to attack my opponents, I saw a strange sight. All five of my opponents stood in a line, hand in hand, with a determined expression on their faces. The earth element magician, who was in the middle, said, ¡°For the honor of our academy, we will go all out!¡± The other four opponents shouted, ¡°That¡¯s right, for the honor of our academy!¡± Afterwards, their faces started to shine with heavenly light rays. I had experienced that once, so I knew what they were going to do. I shouted, ¡°Stop!¡± However, it was already too late as the five of them chanted, ¡°Great Creation God, Please release my life¡¯s potential and burn my life¡¯s flame!¡± This was bad, as they were burning their life forces. They had temporarily increased their power with their life force as the price of getting that power. The five bodies lit up with different colours, according to their magic elements. Xiao Jin felt that this was bad and immediately flew and landed in front of my body. I sighed. ¡°Is this really worth it? Is victory that important to you? Why are you burning your precious life force?¡± One of my opponents wind element magician coldly said, ¡°You can just stop pretending already! We have seen enough of your noble countenance. Our life is just that useless. Can you do something about that?¡± The fire element magician in middle center said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother talking to him. Our time is running out. Everyone, quickly start your attacks!¡± The burning of their life force had instantly healed the serious injuries on their bodies. Three different magic element spells violently attacked me. Mu Zi who was below the battle stage screamed. If it weren¡¯t for Si Wa who had held her back, she would have ran up onto the battle stage. Xiao Jin extended his wings to block the majority of the attacks. I expended a lot of my strength as I fought back. How was this good? I used my defensive spell to fight back against the opponent''s advance. Suddenly, I noticed that Xiao Jin was gradually moving backwards. It seemed that it was too strenuous for him to block the five magic scholars who had burned their life forces. I definitely wouldn¡¯t let them hurt Xiao Jin. I gathered as much battle energy as I could to help contribute to the energy needed for Xiao Jin¡¯s next move,but the opponent¡¯s attacks were too strong. No matter if it was the Heaven Devouring Flame Dragon, the Tyrant Tornado, or a Meteor; they were all extremely powerful. Xiao Jin couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. His golden scales spilled out blood and his large clear eyes slowly dimmed. ¡®No! I can¡¯t let Xiao Jin die again!¡¯ I forcefully withdrew him into my body and instantly got ready to receive all of the attacks. The opponent¡¯s attack had succeeded in breaking through barrier after barrier that I had cast. The magic robe would help its owner in times of emergency. The gemstone on my chest emitted a light ray as my last line of protection. As the opponent''s attack ceased, I supported my seriously injured body with my magic staff. Fresh blood unceasingly flowed from my mouth. The magic gemstone on my light magic robe had already shattered; It had used its life to protect me. Mu Zi looked crazed as she wanted to come to my side. My body swayed, but I stood up and waved my hand at Mu Zi, saying with a low voice, ¡°I haven''t lost yet!¡± Wah! I spat out another mouthful of blood. I knew that I had already reached my limit. I looked at my opponents and saw that they weren¡¯t in a good state either. Their faces had paled and the flames that burnt their life force had already dimmed. I couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. My body was already unable to use any spells. My battle spirit was also unable to circulate in my seriously injured channels. I smiled gloomily, ¡®Am I really going to lose?¡¯ I thought about Ma Ke who was always able to dash in bravely with no thought of his personal safety. ¡®I am afraid that he will never be able to stand up on his own anymore. His last wish is for me to become the champion. Ma Ke, is your boss done for already? No..No..No! I can do it! I must accomplish my brother¡¯s last wishes.¡¯ I gave a loud and desperate roar towards the heavens and relied solely on my will and walked towards my opponent step-by-step. The Principal and Vice Principal of Forest Dragon Academy stood up with all of the observers. Everyone¡¯s heart had already leapt up to their throats. The Principal and Vice Principal were already preparing themselves to have their first victory against the Royal Advanced Magic Academy in their entire history of competing. Suddenly, I felt a warm power surge in my body. I remembered the power that had helped me block Hai Yue¡¯s attack after defeating Feng Liang Ri. The warm power rapidly flowed through my body. I felt that the broken channels in my body seemed more comfortable. I stopped moving, tightly closed my eyes and let that warm power treat my tattered body. The five opponents looked at my perseverance and expressed looks of respect. However, they raised their hands to prepare their last attack as that was the last remnant of their magic powers. The earth element magician wore a slightly reluctant expression. My body slowly emitted heavenly powers that slowly formed into a golden halo. My opponents were startled, but had already released their final attacks. Two Tornadoes, two Fire Snakes (As they weren¡¯t able to form a Fire Dragon due to a lack of power, I will use Fire Snake to describe their attack) and a large meteor shot towards me. Mu Zi and Si Wa saw this happening and ran with all their might to enter the battle stage. However, they were prevented from approaching me by an invisible power when they were 10 metres away from me. Volume 5: Chapter 18 - The Holy Sword Awakens Volume 5: Chapter 18 - The Holy Sword Awakens I raised my head and my eyes had become completely gold in colour. There was a reflection behind my back. If you looked carefully, you would see that the reflection was as though there were six wings that were continuously flapping. I raised my right hand and a strong light sword appeared that eliminated the opponent¡¯s attacks just as water extinguishes flame. In mid air, their attacks simply disappeared. Just as the sword of light was about to reach the opponents, the pierce changed to a slap, which resulted in them flying out of the battle stage. This theatrical change in the events caused the entire arena to become dead silent. The gold light surrounding my body dimmed as my entire body started to slump and collapsed on the floor. There were signs of dejection in the eyes of the Principal and Vice Principal, as they looked at each other in dismay. It came as no surprise since even after having such a great advantage over their opponent, they still lost the battle. Nobody would be willing to accept such a situation. Si Wa carried me and Mu Zi checked my pulse. After realizing that my pulse was stable, she heaved a sigh of relief. The Vice Principal walked onto the stage, disappointedly, and announced, ¡°This is the end of the Eight Advanced Academies Competition. The final victor is the Royal Advanced Magic Academy.¡± Even though I collapsed on the battle stage, I was still on it. It seemed that they still had some morality. They didn¡¯t lie brazenly and announced our victory. Si Wa and Mu Zi were elated, but were more worried about my injuries. They didn¡¯t care for those people from Forest Dragon and directly carried me back to the hotel. I felt like I was in a dream. There were bright stars in my surroundings. I looked at all of the unfamiliar things around me, as I was in an extremely vast space. I muttered, ¡°Where am I? It can¡¯t be that I died right?¡± A clear and powerful voice voiced out, ¡°Child, you have not died yet. This is our internal heart¡¯s divine space.¡± The sudden voice frighted me. I immediately looked around, only to find no life forms around me. ¡°Stop searching for me, child. You won¡¯t be able to find me, as I am currently in your heart.¡± ¡®What? He says that he is in my heart.¡¯ I curiously asked. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Do you still remember the Holy Sword that the God King gave you? That¡¯s me. If you really want to call me by something, you can call me Mi Jia Lei. I¡¯m using my remaining consciousness to communicate with you.¡± I asked in astonishment, ¡°Are you the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lei, that the God King mentioned to me?¡± The clear voice chuckled. ¡°Child, it has been such a long time since I¡¯ve heard that name. Your words have made me feel some warmth.¡± ¡°Why am I able to communicate with your consciousness?¡± ¡°Your determination has released the Holy Sword, so you are now able to communicate with me.¡± I said in surprise, ¡°I have released the Holy Sword. So in other words, I can finally use the Holy Sword.¡± Mi Jia Lei replied, ¡°Child, you¡¯re thinking too naively. You can only use a very small portion of the Holy Sword¡¯s power. If you really want to use its full power, you must inherit the power that I had left at the Sky Splitting Great Valley.¡± What he said was the same as what the God King had said. I nodded. ¡°I will definitely go there.¡± Mi Jia Lei replied, ¡°Even though you were seriously injured this time, you also gained a lot, including the ability to control a small portion of the Holy Sword. You will have to practice a lot to use it freely though. I do not have a lot of remaining consciousness left. I will be able to communicate with you after you come to the Sky Splitting Great Valley. You have to remember that you have to use the Holy Sword¡¯s power to break the seal at the Sky Splitting Great Valley. Our human and God clan¡¯s future will rely greatly upon you. Child, you must work hard¡­¡± His voice became weaker as he spoke until it completely vanished. The surrounding star light gradually dimmed. When everything turned dark, I lost my consciousness. After awakening again, I felt intense pain all over my body. I knew that I had come back to reality. I forcefully opened my eyes and was moved when I found Mu Zi lying beside my bed. Judging from her pale face, she must have been exhausted. I tried to circulate my internal magic powers. I was surprised to find that the transparent Gold Dan had disappeared; only to be replaced by two small solid Gold Dans that were similar to the Gold Dan I had initially. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t a dream last night. What Mi Jia Lei said was right. I really had some profit from the Holy Sword. Even though the two Gold Dan¡¯s combined power isn¡¯t as powerful as the transparent Gold Dan, I know that if I could practice it to the point that they became transparent, I would have broken through from the Magister level and be headed towards becoming a Grand Magister. Aside from the two Gold Dan, I found another strange change in my body. The battle spirit in my dantian had warm powers. It should be from the power of the Holy Sword. After circulating the battle spirit of the Holy Sword to make it slowly move around my dantian once. My entire dantian seemed to warm up. A comfortable warm power was emitted from my dantan. It permeated through my entire body and treated my injuries. The painful areas immediately felt better after the power passed through them. So, the Holy Sword had such a function. It was even better than my light recovery spells. After making the Holy Sword¡¯s power circulate my body thrice, I could finally move. I extended my hand and caressed Mu Zi¡¯s messy silky hair. I softly called out, ¡°Mu Zi , wake up! Mu Zi, wake up!¡± Mu Zi dazily sat up and opened her groggy eyes. When she saw that I was up, she immediately woke up and said excitedly, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re awake! You scared me.¡± After saying that, she threw herself at me and wailed. She touched my wounds as she did that. I hugged her waist and replied, ¡°Little missy, please be a little more gentle.¡± Mu Zi remembered that my serious injuries were still recovering. She hastily got up from my body and replied with deep concerns, ¡°Sorry! I am just so happy that I forgot you haven¡¯t fully recovered.¡± Even after she had already sat up, I had no intentions to stop hugging her. Hehe! ¡®It¡¯s a rare chance to do so.¡¯ Mu Zi asked, ¡°How are you feeling? Better?¡± I smiled and nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯m fine. After I rest for a while, I will be alright.¡± ¡®With the power of the Holy Sword to help me recover, I believe that I will fully recover very quickly.¡¯ Volume 5: Chapter 19 - A New Understanding Volume 5: Chapter 19 - A New Understanding A satisfied expression was shown on her face. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to risk your life like this ever again. You don¡¯t know just how worried I was. You were unconscious for a day and a night.¡± I asked in amazement. ¡°It has been a day and a night already? How is Ma Ke? We should head out of the city as soon as possible.¡± Mu Zi said dejectedly, ¡°Ma Ke hasn¡¯t woken up since that day, but his condition is still quite stable. He should still be able to stay in that state temporarily.¡± I heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Mu Zi, you go and inform Hai Yue not to worry. After resting for a day, my magic power will recover. I will then set a large teleportation array to send us directly back to the academy.¡± Mu Zi said in amazement. ¡°You also know how to create arrays? If you can use teleportation arrays that will be great, it will save us a lot of time. I¡¯ll go tell Hai Yue about this great news.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Quickly go and tell her! Your husband has a lot of abilities.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s delicate face reddened. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡± She turned and ran off. I immediately started to train so that it wouldn¡¯t be too late for Ma Ke to be treated. I continuously circulated the Holy Sword¡¯s power to repair my damaged meridian channels. After just five hours of repairing, all of my meridian channels had fully recovered. The recovery rate had left me in an exceptionally astonished state. I walked to the lounge with Mu Zi and Si Wa to eat our dinner together. They were shocked at my recovery speed. We had initially asked Hai Yue to join us, but she said she would eat in Ma Ke¡¯s room to accompany him. I told Mu Zi, ¡°It is not good for Hai Yue to continue to be like this. Ma Ke hasn¡¯t gotten any better. By the time he get his treatment, she will be totally exhausted.¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but I already advised her about that a couple of times. She just doesn¡¯t listen to me.¡± After dinner, I returned to my room and sat on my bed. I started to meditate for the first time since my two gold dans had formed. I carefully moved the two gold dans as I didn¡¯t know what would happen. The gold dans were courteous and didn¡¯t give me much trouble. They maintained a certain distance between each other as they moved with one in front of the other. Even though the absorption rate of my magic power didn¡¯t increase much, the compression rate was clearly much faster. All of the magic power that entered my body was quickly compressed and became liquified. There would also be a larger space for me to gather bigger amounts of light elements this way. After an entire night of meditation, my body surged with magic power. Even though it wasn¡¯t as much as my best state, it was already very powerful. The two gold dans were much more solidified than from the time that I woke up. I went to Ma Ke¡¯s room at dawn. Hai Yue was lying beside his bed with her pale white face. I checked on Ma Ke and it was as Mu Zi said. His condition had stabilized and the chaotic fire elements in his body were being suppressed by Hai Yue¡¯s water recovery spell, but this was still a bad sign in the long run. I tried to use the power of the Holy Sword to help treat Ma Ke, but I didn¡¯t know why the warm power produced by the Holy Sword wasn¡¯t able to leave my dantian. After trying for a couple of times, I finally gave up. I woke Hai Yue up and sternly told her, ¡°Hai Yue, you can¡¯t continue to be like this. I am fine already. You should eat something and go rest in your room.¡± Hai Yue shook her head. ¡°I want to stay with him until he gets better.¡± I replied, ¡°Even if you want to stay with him, you should rest up as well. Mu Zi should have said this to you before. I am planning to use a teleportation array to teleport us back to the academy. With your body¡¯s condition, you won¡¯t be able to withstand the distorted space. If something happened to you during the teleportation, how am I going to explain to Ma Ke?¡± Hai Yue raised her head and stared at me for a long time before saying, ¡°Alright! I will listen to you.¡± I extended my right hand and placed it on her forehead and used a recovery spell on her. I was amazed to find that the originally light ray of the intermediate recovery spell had turned into a golden ray instead. Hai Yue¡¯s face flushed red under the help of the magic spell. After the golden light flashed past, Hai Yue released a sigh of comfort. She opened her eyes and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, what spell did you use? It seems different from before. My body feels as though it is filled with energy.¡± I also didn¡¯t understand what was going on. It should be related to two of my gold dans and Holy Sword. I told Hai Yue, ¡°This only treats the symptoms but not the roots of the problem. You still need to rest to recover your body¡¯s function. I will look after Ma Ke for you so don¡¯t worry. You should just quickly eat something and sleep. After you recover, we will head back to the academy. I strongly believe that Ma Ke¡¯s condition will improve.¡± The first smile appeared on Hai Yue¡¯s face since Ma Ke was hurt. She turned and walked out of the room. Since my recovery spell had a new breakthrough, why not let Ma Ke be my guinea pig? It might unexpectedly be able to treat him. It would at least not worsen his condition. ¡°Great light elements! Please use your unceasing holy light to treat the injuries in front of you and use your merciful heart to save the life before you, Heart of the Holy Light!¡± The light elements from my surrounding gathered around me and gradually enclosed me in it. There was a gold light ray emitting from my skin. After a while, the sparkling golden radiance of the Heart of the Holy Light appeared in front of me, but it wasn¡¯t the same as before. I realized that now, the Heart of the Holy Light seemed to be alive as it throbbed lightly. As I inserted the Heart of the Holy Light into Ma Ke¡¯s body, I pressed my hand on his chest. I felt this time the Heart of the Holy Light didn¡¯t disappear as it did before. It seemed to flow into Ma Ke¡¯s body like water flowing everywhere and in all directions, repairing his damaged meridian channels. I was elated because if this continues, there was hope in bringing Ma Ke back to life. After Ma Ke¡¯s meridian channels were continuously strengthened by my magic spell, I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, I withdrew the light elements. I let out a mouthful of breath before reopening my eyes. Hai Yue, Mu Zi and Si Wa all had their eyes widely opened as they looked at me. Hai Yue anxiously asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, how is he?¡± I took a cloth from Mu Zi to wipe the perspiration from my forehead before replying, ¡°I have treated and recovered all of Ma Ke¡¯s meridian channels and simultaneously strengthened them.¡± Hai Yue said joyously, ¡°Does this means that he going to be fine?¡± Crestfallen, I shook my head and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to treat his wound completely because when he blocked the opponent''s power ball, highly compressed wind element entered his body. The chaotic wind elements conflicted strongly against his fire elements. This caused the smooth flowing fire elements to undergo immense changes.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 20 - Return to the Capital Volume 5: Chapter 20 - Return to the Capital I looked at Hai Yue as I continued to say, ¡°There are currently two different elements that are conflicting against each other in his body. My treatment helps him to be able to withstand the destructive forces of the two elements. It won¡¯t really treat him. As time passes, his meridian channels would revert back to its damaged state.¡± Hai Yue instantly expressed her dismay and tears flowed from her eyes again as she threw herself at Ma Ke¡¯s body. I patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Hai Yue, don¡¯t be like this. Even if I am unable to treat him, I can promise you that he won¡¯t be in mortal danger. I just need to treat him once every week. When we leave this academy, Teacher Zhen should have a solution on how to treat him.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°You should also rest up after using such a powerful recovery spell.¡± I nodded. ¡°I will recover my magic power to its best condition in order to keep everyone safe and improve the precision of the teleport. Mu Zi, please help me protect the array. Si Wa, I will have to trouble you to find a secluded place for me to lay the array. Don¡¯t forget that you can¡¯t make any mistakes.¡± After I said that, I opened the magic array book and gave Si Wa a page from the center of the book. After three hours, I woke up from meditating. We carried Ma Ke to the place where Si Wa had set the array, I said, ¡°When I start using the array in a short moment, everyone will have to use their strongest protection spell to protect your surroundings. This is to protect Ma Ke¡¯s safety.¡± After I said that, I drew another diagram on the six corners of the array before sitting at a corner and used light elements to power long distance teleportation array. After a golden light shone, the five of us disappeared from the array. I had also used my strongest defensive spell to protect the out most surrounding during the teleportation process to resist the warping space. At this moment, it seemed as though time stopped. There was nothing visible in the surrounding. Everyone had their eyes closed to withstand the immense pressure. Our bodies suddenly lightened. I knew that it was already the end of the teleportation. I heavily heaved a sigh of relief as the teleport was quite accurate and it succeeded in teleporting us to the place that Teacher Di had previously helped me to set the array in the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy.¡± Mu Zi asked in astonishment. ¡°Where is this place? Did we end up in a wrong place after the teleportation?¡± I chuckled, ¡°Why do you have so little confidence in your husband? Everyone, welcome to the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. Teacher Di¡¯s office is close by.¡± Hai Yue nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! This is indeed the back hill behind the Intermediate Magic Academy. I have come here before.¡± I replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go! We should quickly send Ma Ke to Teacher Di¡¯s place.¡± It was in the afternoon so the academy was quiet, as all of the students were in class. We brought Ma Ke to Teacher Di¡¯s office. However,Teacher Di wasn¡¯t in. Since the room was unlocked, we placed Ma Ke on the bed. I said, ¡°Teacher Di isn¡¯t here so I will go and find him. You just need to wait for me here.¡± After saying that, I immediately dashed out. I was extremely familiar with the place as I had trained here for five years already. I quickly found Teacher Di somewhere in the academy. When Teacher Di saw me, he jubilantly said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back! How did the competition go?¡± I painstakingly said, ¡°Even though I had brought back the championship, Ma Ke was seriously injured. Please quickly come and have a look!¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°Alright! Where are they?¡± I replied, ¡°They are in your office. You had forgotten to lock the door again.¡± Teacher Di laughed. ¡°I have aged so I¡¯m not good at anything. How are Ma Ke¡¯s injuries? Are they serious?¡± I nodded worryingly. ¡°I have already stabilized his condition, but¡­¡± Teacher Di replied, ¡°Your restoration spell is of the same standard as mine. If you can¡¯t treat him, I won¡¯t be able to as well. How about this? Quickly go and find Chuan Song in the Royal Advanced Magic Academy and invite him over to see if he can help. I will send someone to inform the prince.¡± I nodded before dashing towards the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. Teacher Zhen was happy when he saw me. He knew that if I came back safely, this would mean that we had won the championship. He laughed and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back already? Didn¡¯t the competition just end two days back? How are you back already today?¡± I gloomily replied Teacher Zhen, ¡°I was almost played to death by you this time. Is that really a competition? It¡¯s too abnormal. We almost didn¡¯t make it back. Please come with me, Ma Ke is seriously wounded and is now at Teacher Di¡¯s place.¡± Teacher Zhen was startled and said, ¡°What happened? Ma Ke is injured? Let¡¯s quickly head there.¡± I told the entire process of the competition to Teacher Zhen on the way to the Intermediate Magic Academy. Teacher Zhen didn¡¯t say anything, but because he was frowning, I knew that he was unhappy. We quickly rushed into Teacher Di¡¯s office. Once Teacher Zhen entered the room, he immediately asked Teacher Di, ¡°Lao Lun, how is he? Can he be saved?¡± Ma Ke was Prince Ke Zha¡¯s son and also might be the Kingdom¡¯s future prince. If something happened to him while he was in the Royal Advanced Magic Academy, even if Prince Ke Zha didn¡¯t blame Teacher Zhen, Teacher Zhen himself would also be unhappy. Teacher Di¡¯s long and white eyebrows tightly frowned and he shook his head. ¡°His condition is not good. If it wasn¡¯t for Zhang Gong who helped him to forcefully open his internal channels, he would have died already. You can have a look at his condition yourself.¡± Si Wa told me, ¡°Zhang Gong, I will head back first. If there is a new situation, you must tell me. I will head back to invite Teacher Xi over to see if he can help.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! Si Wa, you quickly go and invite that old brat Du Yu over. Hai Yue, you also head home and ask your grandfather and Huan Ying Yue, to come as well. Ma Ke¡¯s wounds are problematic. I currently have no solutions to deal with it. Let¡¯s see if the heads of us old fellows will be able to think of a solution together.¡± I pulled Mu Zi out and told her, ¡°Mu Zi, you should head back to the dormitory to rest. You won¡¯t be able to help out. You must be exhausted after these few days.¡± Mu Zi pitifully caressed my face, ¡°Zhang Gong, you have lost weight. Don¡¯t be too anxious! Ma Ke will definitely be fine.¡± I nodded and lightly kissed her forehead. ¡°Quickly head back! Have some food and rest up well.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 21 - Mysterious Guiding Female Qi Volume 5: Chapter 21 - Mysterious Guiding Female Qi Mu Zi nodded and hugged me tightly. When I wanted to reciprocate her action, she lovably ran away. As I watched her fading back, I smiled. After about an hour, Teacher Di¡¯s office became lively. The Yue family¡¯s leader Huan Ying Yue, Xin family¡¯s leader Hai Tian Xin, the leader of the Royal Mage Union, Dun Yu Xi, and Prince Ke Zha gathered. Including me, all six Magisters were gathered here. The few Magisters looked at Ma Ke¡¯s injuries and could only helplessly shake their heads. Hai Yue expressed a completely depressed and pessimistic expression. She was also stunned when she finally knew Ma Ke¡¯s actual identity. Teacher Zhen asked, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you few old fellows also have no solution, right?¡± Huan Ying Yue replied, ¡°Ma Ke¡¯s injury is too serious. There are currently two different elements fighting violently in his body. For now, we can only forcefully stabilize his condition. If we hastily try to save him, it might lead to his death.¡± A pained expression was shown on Prince Ke Zha¡¯s face. He muttered, ¡°Child, Father had always been harsh on you since you were born. I had never thought that I would harm you. Father has let you down.¡± Teacher Zhen dejectedly said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault! I made him compete in that competition.¡± Hai Yue¡¯s body suddenly sank to the ground. She painfully cried, ¡°It¡¯s me! It¡¯s all my fault! If it weren¡¯t for me, Ma Ke wouldn¡¯t be in this condition. God! Please punish me instead and give back Ma Ke¡¯s life!¡± Hai Yue¡¯s voice was like a cuckoo that was lamenting. Her melancholic voice moved our hearts. Hai Yue¡¯s grandfather, Hai Tian Xin, walked over and pulled Hai Yue up. Hai Yue collapsed into his arms and grieved heart-brokenly, ¡°Grandfather¡­¡± Hai Tian Xin heavily sighed before saying, ¡°Yue Yue, are you really willing to pay any price to save Ma Ke¡¯s life?¡± Hai Yue raised her head and nodded without any hesitation. Hai Tian Xin solemnly nodded. ¡°Alright! You¡¯re worthy to be the child of my Xin family. You¡¯re willing to pay the price for what you have done.¡± Teacher Zhen hastily asked, ¡°Old Hai Tian, do you really have a way to treat Ma Ke¡¯s wounds?¡± As a Magister, he just didn¡¯t want to think that Hai Tian who was weaker than him had a way to treat Ma Ke. Hai Tian Xin nodded. ¡°Our Xin family has a Mysterious Guiding Female Qi. ** This qi would be able to calm the chaotic magic powers. This is usually used when the magic power goes amok.¡± Teacher Zhen became elated. ¡°That¡¯s great! If you have a better solution, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± Hai Tian Xin bitterly smiled, ¡°Say earlier? How can I bring that up earlier? Do you know what the price is for using this method? It requires a pure maiden from our Xin family that is unwedded only.¡± After listening to what he said, everyone was astonished. It couldn¡¯t be that to save Ma Ke, they would have to ruin someone¡¯s chastity, right? The chastity of girls in the whole world was an extremely important matter. Hai Yue¡¯s face turned completely red, but remained wordless. Hai Tian Xin asked Hai Yue, ¡°Yue Yue, grandfather had said the solution already. Are you still willing to save him? Grandfather initially had no plans to say the solution, but Ma Ke had risked his life to save yours. The final decision lies with you to decide whether you will do it or not.¡± Everyone looked anxiously at Hai Yue. Hai Yue looked foolishly at Ma Ke and muttered, ¡°You had suffered so much for me. I should repay you a little.¡± After that she turned her head and looked determinedly at Hai Tian and said, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m willing!¡± Everyone shouted in astonishment. Prince Ke Zha emotionally shouted, ¡°Hai Yue, don¡¯t worry! I definitely won¡¯t let Ma Ke turn his back on you!¡± Hai Yue dully said, ¡°That topic should be discussed much later. Grandpa, please tell me! How can I save him?¡± Hai Tian Xin turned to face Prince Ke Zha. ¡°If Prince Ke Zha believes in me, I will take Ma Ke to our Xin family to treat him.¡± Prince Ke Zha considered for a while before looking at Teacher Zhen. Teacher Zhen subtly nodded at him. He replied, ¡°Alright! Clan Leader, I will have to trouble you!¡± Hai Tian Xin nodded. ¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t worry! Even if I can¡¯t have a hundred percent guarantee it will work, the chances are still extremely high. We will take our leave first.¡± After saying that, he ordered people to carry Ma Ke and left with Hai Yue. After Hai Tian Xin left, Prince Ke Zha asked Teacher Zhen, ¡°Principal, are you sure that Hai Tian Xin can treat Ma Ke?¡± Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°Their Xin family¡¯s recovery techniques really has that technique. Your Highness, don¡¯t worry! I believe that there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± I walked over and lowered my head. ¡°Uncle Ke Zha, this is all my fault. I didn¡¯t take good care of Ma Ke.¡± Prince Ke Zha shook his head. ¡°Zhang Gong, how did this happen? Please tell me what happened.¡± I became extremely unhappy and angry as I recalled the competition. I added extra details as I recounted the process of the entire tournament to them. Prince Ke Zha¡¯s eyebrows frowned as he listened to what I said and his eyes radiated coldness. After listening to my entire report, Prince Ke Zha said, ¡°Principal Zhen, how could you let them participate in such a dangerous competition? Is that even a competition?¡± Even though he sounded calm, his voice let out an imposing aura as he spoke. Teacher Zhen bowed slightly, ¡°Your Highness, I indeed did not think this through enough. However, this competition has been ongoing for many years already. It was passed down from our ancestors. This time, I have thought that with Zhang Gong, he should be able to win the competition easily. I didn¡¯t think that there were so many loopholes.¡± Prince Ke Zha replied, ¡°Forget it! I can¡¯t blame you in this matter. However, there should never be such a competition in the future. It is not actually a competition for interactions and learning, but is just a competition that decreases the number of talented magicians in the Kingdom instead.¡± Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°Understood, I will arrange for that to happen.¡± After Prince Ke Zha left, Teacher Di asked me, ¡°Why did you say it in such a gravely manner to the prince? Didn¡¯t you get Teacher Zhen involved this way?¡±I felt wronged and explained, ¡°What I said was the truth! The competition is really unfair towards us. You almost couldn¡¯t see me any more. The five magic scholars fought against me and all of them used life magic. If it wasn¡¯t for my strength being enough to withstand their attack, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to take back the championship.¡± Teacher Zhen sighed, ¡°Lao Lun, I am in the wrong for this matter. I shouldn¡¯t have risked putting these youngsters in danger. Stop scolding Zhang Gong already! This is a good lesson that we must always remember!¡± Volume 5: Chapter 22 - Returning to Class Volume 5: Chapter 22 - Returning to Class After hearing Teacher Zhen¡¯s words, I felt bad. I said, ¡°Actually, I am partially the reason. I wasn¡¯t prepared enough and had inaccurately judged our opponents¡¯ strength.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°This incident was totally unexpected. Who would have known Hai Yue would fall into a trance during the competition. I hope Ma Ke gets well. If not, I will feel uneasy for the rest of my life.¡± I smiled and said, ¡°From what the Xin family¡¯s leader had said, the chances for his recovery is high. Ma Ke may have won some profit from his mishappenings. That¡¯s right! Teacher Di, during the competition when I was almost defeated, the defensive power of the light robe that you had previously given to me had protected me, which had saved me when I was in a tight position. However, the gemstone on the robe was destroyed.¡± Teacher Di smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Aren¡¯t useful items supposed to be used? Since it had protected your life, it has done its purpose. If it breaks, just let it break.¡± I replied, ¡°How can I do that! It was the first item you gave me and also the presentable magic robe. I loved it. Isn¡¯t it a pity that it was ruined?¡± Teacher Zhen interrupted, ¡°That¡¯s enough! You teacher and disciple should stop echoing each other. Zhang Gong, you just have to find me tomorrow and I will give you a magic robe which will definitely be better than the previous one!¡± My plan succeeded. Haha! I joyously thanked Teacher Zhen and showed a victorious smile at Teacher Di. After resting for two days, I returned to the academy to continue attending classes. Teacher Zhen had seriously meant his words when all of the negative points that I had previously accumulated were already revoked. The few of us who participated in the competition had freely gotten our magic scholar status approved. Teacher Zhen also gave me a new magic robe with six beautiful stars on it. Initially, I thought that it was too eye catching and thought that just five stars was sufficient, but Teacher Zhen said that I wouldn¡¯t be wearing this magic robe frequently and forcefully made me accept the six stars. We also obtained free meal vouchers to eat at the Ascending Jade Tide. (In the first volume, it was already explained that the number of stars represented the strength of the mage. Mage that are learning magic don¡¯t have a star, an elementary mage will have a single star, and so on. It was extremely difficult to increase the number of stars.) I carefully held on to the magic robe Teacher Zhen had given me as this old man had bought it with his own money. The magic robe was light blue in colour and was exceptionally soft. The texture was extremely nice to touch. The entire surface of the robe was embedded with countless magic crystals. According to Teacher Zhen, he had designed and made this robe himself. It was made from the skin of a rare animal called Xi. Other than being durable and tough, it had the effect to make the usage of magic power become smoother. This robe also had 108 blue crystals, 36 red crystals, and three purple crystals. He had used all 147 crystals to form a defensive array. I just needed to insert some magic power into the purple crystal residing at the center of my chest to activate the array which would form a defensive barrier. Teacher Zhen had also told me that its defensive power was equal to an advanced defensive spell, but only needed magic power matching those of elementary level spells. I had really obtained a treasure. This was awesome. But the magic robe had a flaw. It was too glamorous, especially in the daytime. When wearing it on the street, it would constantly shine out light rays in all directions. When I told Teacher Zhen about this problem, he chuckled. ¡°Why? You don¡¯t want it? If you don¡¯t want it, you can give it back! I am really reluctant to part with it!¡± I definitely wouldn¡¯t give up on such a good treasure. A seventh star had been embedded into the robe to represent my Magister status, as it slept peacefully in my spatial space. When I entered the classroom, I greeted everyone amiably. It was a pity that only a few students responded to me. I sat in my seat and asked Mu Zi, ¡°How are you? Did you rest up well?¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°I had rested up quite sometime already. How about you?¡± I smiled. ¡°I am fine. It has been two days since we parted. Did you miss me?¡± Mu Zi pouted. ¡°Who will miss you? I don¡¯t even know how Ma Ke is already.¡± I replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! I hope he will successfully cross this hurdle. Oh right! Teacher Zhen has given me the free meal coupons. How about at noon, we¡­¡± Mu Zi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s perfect! I want to comfort my stomach in the afternoon.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I heard the Ascending Jade Tide restaurant really gave some face to Teacher Zhen as they gave him a fifty percent discount. We don¡¯t need to conserve for that old man.¡± Mu Zi nodded and we simultaneously said, ¡°Let¡¯s make him poor!¡± After that, we both broke into laughter. An angry voice called out, ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, Mu Zi Mo! You two had just ended your confinement period and have already started to disturb the class again!¡± Wah! It was already time for class, and coincidentally, it was the same class teacher who had caused me to be placed in confinement. I bitterly smiled and hastily stood up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, teacher!¡± The teacher was stunned as he was unused to me being polite. He frowned and said, ¡°Forget about that! Just listen properly in class!¡± I stuck my tongue out at Mu Zi, but didn¡¯t dare to speak any more. I didn¡¯t want to give any more chances for Teacher Zhen to make use of me. ¡®What shall I do? I will write a letter to Mu Zi.¡¯ Hehe! I wanted to use my incomparable tender sentiment to tightly bind Mu Zi¡¯s heart to me. Just like that, a week had peacefully passed. I had just entered the classroom today and Mu Zi excitedly ran up to me. She made me jump a little in shock. ¡°What has made you so happy?¡± Mu Zi excitedly replied, ¡°Zhang Gong! Let¡¯s go and have a look! I heard that Ma Ke has returned to the academy.¡± I jubilantly asked, ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! He¡¯s finally okay. Let¡¯s quickly check it out!¡± I pulled Mu Zi along as I dashed to Ma Ke¡¯s classroom. Since class hadn¡¯t started yet, the classroom was tumultuous. Ma Ke¡¯s seat was surrounded by a lot of people. I excitedly exclaimed, ¡°Ma Ke! Ma Ke!!!¡± The surrounding people moved aside and Ma Ke¡¯s familiar figure appeared in the middle of the crowd. I used a short distance teleport to warp to him and I tightly embraced him. I was so stirred up that tears flowed out of my eyes. Ma Ke also embraced me back and muttered, ¡°Boss! Boss! I¡¯m back!¡± I let him go and looked at him in detailed. Although Ma Ke had lost some weight, his vigor was very good. It was obvious he was still recovering. I beat him with my fist and said, ¡°Are you really fine?¡± Ma Ke nodded. He was choked with emotions as he replied, ¡°Boss! Thank you! Thank you very much! I was already much better three days ago. I was really too bored to continue staying at home, so I came to the academy. Boss, did you know? Hai Yue has finally accepted me.¡± Volume 5: Chapter 23 - Bitterness Ends, Sweetness Begins Volume 5: Chapter 23 - Bitterness Ends, Sweetness Begins ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡± I exclaimed excitedly, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and chat. There are too many people here.¡± We had become everyone¡¯s focal point after this outburst of emotion. Mu Zi and I, accompanied by Ma Ke, found a quiet place and sat down. ¡°Ma Ke, you have finally fully recovered. You have no idea how worried we were.¡± Mu Zi said. Ma Ke nodded and replied, ¡°I know! Hai Yue has told me about everything that had happened. Boss, thank you. Hai Yue told me that we were able to grasp victory in the end.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Why are you still talking about that lousy competition? I¡¯m more interested about how you got Hai Yue to accept you. Tell me!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s face reddened. ¡°After I got injured, I was only partially conscious and in a lot of pain. It was as though I was continuously being torn apart. I knew that you had treated me because I sobered up a little, but I fell unconscious again shortly after. I don¡¯t know how much time had passed after that, but then a wave of cool energy suddenly surged through my body and all the pain slowly faded. I felt like I was flying in the sky, it was so comfortable. I thought I had already kicked the bucket. But when I returned to reality and opened my eyes, I found myself in my own room.¡± ¡°Why were you in your room?¡± Ma Ke continued his explanation, ¡°Hai Yue and her grandfather had sent me back to the prince¡¯s mansion after they treated my injuries.¡± ¡°How did you get with Hai Yue then?¡± Mu Zi asked. Ma Ke¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Mu Zi, can you move away for a bit? Some things are better left unknown.¡± ¡°What things am I not supposed to hear? I want to listen too.¡± Mu Zi said with a pout. Ma Ke¡¯s face reddened further as he whispered, ¡°This is something related to the subject of men and women. Are you still sure you want to continue listening?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s small face flushed red. She turned and ran away while saying, ¡°You¡¯re annoying! There is nothing good about you guys!¡± This just made Ma Ke and I laugh. ¡°Go on then, what happened?¡± I urged. Ma Ke looked around to confirm that there was no one around and mysteriously replied, ¡°When I woke up, there was blood!¡± I was stunned. ¡°Where?¡± Ma Ke bitterly smiled. ¡°There!¡± As he said that, he pointed downwards. I came to a realization and replied, ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! It is as you think.¡± I enviously replied, ¡°You¡¯re so lucky! No wonder Hai Tian Xin was acting so secretive. He even said that the recovery technique would involve Hai Yue being robbed of her chastity or something. How did you react after that?¡± Ma Ke replied,¡±I wasn¡¯t able to react at that precise moment. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that something was amiss. I told my Father and he immediately had someone invite Hai Tian over, who confirmed my suspicions. My Father arranged my marriage with Hai Yue at that moment. He said that we will get married after graduating!¡± Ma Ke showed an infatuated expression as he said that. ¡±Did Hai Yue agree?¡± I asked. Ma Ke nodded. ¡°As soon as I was capable of moving, I immediately went to the Xin clan¡¯s home to find her. She was unwilling to meet me at first, so... Hehe! I pretended to be weak and let myself fall to the ground. She then rushed out of her room to support me. I used this opportunity to assault her romantically and finally got her in my arms. She told me that she was extremely moved after I saved her and understood who would be a better boyfriend for her. She is willing to marry me! Haha!¡± I knocked Ma Ke on the head. ¡°Be careful now, you¡¯re so infatuated that you¡¯re drooling.¡± Ma Ke chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m just that happy! All those years of hard work have finally paid off!¡± I nodded. ¡°Brother, you have finally gotten a reward for suffering so much. You must treasure these feelings. Did you ask Hai Yue how she saved you?¡± Ma Ke smiled and replied, ¡°Of course I did! She flushed red and refused to tell me though.¡± ¡°This means that you haven¡¯t completely gotten her, but either way¡­¡± I started to reply. ¡°We can¡¯t act with undue haste. I originally thought about doing that, but she refused. After having to go through so much to get her, I definitely won¡¯t force her. She already allows me to embrace her though. She won¡¯t be able to run away now! I am already extremely satisfied.¡± Ma Ke interrupted. ¡®Ma Ke had finally gotten together with Hai Yue after suffering for so long. I truly am happy for him, but I can¡¯t help but wonder when Mu Zi and I will do it and when I can make her completely mine.¡¯ I thought. ¡°Boss, what are you thinking about?¡± Ma Ke asked. I snapped back to reality and replied, ¡°Nothing! I¡¯m just happy for you. You didn¡¯t get hurt for nothing this time.¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! I have no regrets at all. Initially, when I shielded Hai Yue, at that moment I didn¡¯t think that I would survive. I just wanted to use my own life to protect Hai Yue. The heavens treated me very well. Not only did they give me back my life, they even allowed me to get the love of my life!¡± I stood up and patted his shoulders. ¡°Hai Yue has attended class today. Let¡¯s head to Ascending Jade Tide restaurant to have a good meal at noon to celebrate your new life! We should head back to class now!¡± Ma Ke also stood up and replied, ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll head back to attend my own classes. Let¡¯s meet up at noon.¡± Mu Zi and I called Si Wa to meet up with Ma Ke and Hai Yue, who kept her head lowered with her face red, at noon to head to the Ascending Jade Tide restaurant together. I couldn¡¯t resist teasing Hai Yue, ¡°Wah! Hai Yue, why is your face so red? You¡¯re not hurt, are you?¡± Hai Yue¡¯s face became even redder as she continued to silently lower her head. Ma Ke hastily supported her. ¡°Boss, stop putting her on the spot!¡± Si Wa and I laughed.¡°Now, you¡¯ve started to help Hai Yue already. You brat! You will be dominated by her in the future!¡± I mockingly scolded. Ma Ke showed an infatuated expression before replying, ¡°I intend to let her dominate me!¡± Hai Yue grabbed Ma Ke¡¯s hand and looked at him affectionately. ¡°Look at them, they¡¯re so cute! I also want to be in charge of you in the future! Are you willing?¡± Mu Zi said. ¡®This is bad. If I reply wrongly, I will be digging my own grave.¡¯ I bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°Willing! I¡¯m willing! I¡¯m definitely willing!¡± It had been a long time since I was this happy. After this ordeal, we had become close friends that could tell each other everything, and we lunched in a perfect and harmonious atmosphere. Volume 6: Chapter 1 - A Love Faithful to the End Volume 6: Chapter 1 - A Love Faithful to the End The time had passed by as quick as the twinkling of an eye, two months had passed, and the two gold dans in my body had improved significantly. Even though they weren¡¯t yet completely transparent, they were not far from succeeding, as I had clearly felt that my magic power had made a breakthrough. The current semester was also quickly coming to a close. Ma Ke and Hai Yue have practically been glued together; Each accompanied the other daily. Mu Zi and I were in drastic disparity as compared to them. Although I could distinctly feel her feelings towards me, she still felt close yet far to me. There seemed to be an indestructible wall between us. I should be giving her the hundredth letter today. What should I write? Should I write about the summary of my feelings for her up to now or about our future plans? No, neither would be good. After wracking my brain, I suddenly recalled a story from a village I had previously visited. Yes, I shall use this story as a basis for the hundredth letter that I would be giving to Mu Zi. The next class began. I gazed upon Mu Zi¡¯s average face, yet I was still bewitched by her lovable appearance. As my heart surged with strong feelings for her, I took some sheets of paper out, and started to write that hundredth letter. Mu Zi, this is the hundredth letter. I won¡¯t continue to sweet talk you. Instead, I would like to tell you a story in this letter. The story is about a boy from a distant past that would see a girl that he admired every day without fail. Finally one day, that boy plucked his courage up and wrote the girl his very first love letter to her, inviting her to the seaside with him. The boy was extremely shy, and would turn and run away from the girl immediately after giving her the love letter. When the appointed day arrived, the boy waited anxiously for the girl at the appointed place.The girl showed up, and they played heartily for an entire day. When night time arrived, as the boy was escorting the girl home, he asked if she was willing to make their relationship official. The girl gave him a letter before turning and running off, saying, ¡°If we are fated¡­.¡± The boy opened the letter only to find a blank sheet of paper. He was stunned and thought about her words, but did not have a single clue about what she meant. After a few days, the boy asked the girl out again using the same method. When the appointed time arrived, the girl showed up and spent the day happily with him just like before. When they separated again, the girl said the same words, ¡°If we are fated¡­.¡± After she said that, the boy received the same second blank letter. Just like that, the boy had used his love letter to make an appointment with the girl. After a few years, the boy and girl had gone on 99 dates and he had given the girl 99 love letters. However, after every single outing, the girl still gave the same reply, ¡°If we are fated¡­¡± and gave him a blank letter in reply. Eventually, the boy slowly got annoyed and so he stopped reading the replies she gave him. He felt that he was unable to win her heart over. After he receiving the girl¡¯s 99th letter, he decided to marry another girl who had pursued him for a period of time. On his wedding night, in order to express his sincerity to his wife, he took out all of the letters he had previously written for the girl and told his wife about his story. His wife took the letters from the girl and went through them one by one; they were indeed all blank, just like the boy had said. When she got to the last couple of dozens of letters, she realised they were still unopened and asked the boy why that were the case. The boy replied that since the letters would still be blank, what would be the point in opening them? His wife pleaded for the boy¡¯s consent, and upon getting it, opened the last few dozen letters that the girl had written for the boy. When she opened the 99th letter, she discovered a single line of words on it, and taciturnly gave that letter to the boy. After the boy took the letter, he was astonished to find that the 99th letter had a sentence, ¡°I have already prepared the wedding dress. After you give me the 100th letter, I will be your wife.¡± The boy was stunned, dazed and stupefied as he looked at the letter. He simply could not belief that fact. He took the 99th letter and walked outside before letting the bone-piercing cold wind carry the letter away, and with it, his heart. They both flew off to a far away place. This is where the story ends. Even though the method utilized by the girl in the story was a little extreme, it proved that the boy¡¯s feelings for her were not loyal to the end. Mu Zi, I don¡¯t know how many letters I will have to give you before you will be able to truly open up your heart and soul, and give yourself to me. Ma Ke has already successfully pursued Hai Yue. When will I be able to succeed in winning your heart over? If I have the chance to use my life in order to obtain your feelings just like Ma Ke did with Hai Yue, I would not even hesitate. No matter what, my love for you will always be resolute, and will not crumble. Inscribed with my everlasting love, Zhang Gong. After finishing the letter that brimmed with my feelings, I gave it to Mu Zi. Mu Zi customarily took the letter and read through its entire contents in a short amount of time. She raised her head and looked deeply at me. Her eyes didn¡¯t reveal her being moved by my words like I expected, but instead were filled with a profoundly complicated expression. She sighed lightly before putting the letter away, then turned her head and stared fixedly at the whiteboard in front of the classroom instead, and did not look at me again. I felt as though I had suffered a blow and my heart was filled with bitter feelings. ¡®Mu Zi, why can¡¯t you open up to me? Am I really that unworthy for your love?¡¯ I shook my head, and laughed mockingly at myself. I flopped onto my table and desolately counted the leaves on the tree outside the window as I tried my best to stop those downtrodden thoughts. The class finally ended. I didn¡¯t leave with Mu Zi as per usual and just solitarily walked out and headed to a corner of the academy forlornly. I gently leaned against a large tree whose trunk needed two persons to join arms in order to completely encircle its width. My eyes stared out lacklusterly as I stared forward and my mind was completely blanked. ¡°Zhang Gong?¡± Someone patted my shoulder. I was startled and quickly turned my head only to see Hai Shui who I had not seen for quite sometime. I had constantly avoided her ever since returning from the competition. Seeing her today was the first time since then. Hai Shui smiled at me and said, ¡°It has been some time since we¡¯ve met. Zhang Gong, why are you spacing out alone here? You didn¡¯t even respond to me calling out to you after more than a few times.¡± Hai Shui had lost a lot of weight from before. Her initially rosy face was a little pale as well. I smiled at her awkwardly and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. We haven¡¯t seen each other for a while. How have you been recently?¡± Hai Shui seemed to laugh self-mockingly as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. I heard elder sister say that you guys suffered a lot due to the competition.¡± I replied, ¡°Yes. Who would have thought that the competition would be that abnormal? However, at least we still gained something, as we finally succeeded in bringing your sister and Ma Ke together.¡± Hai Shui nodded and replied, ¡°I really do envy them. That¡¯s right, how are you and big sister Mu Zi doing?¡± Volume 6: Chapter 2 - Teachers Summons Volume 6: Chapter 2 - Teacher''s Summons My expression dampened a little but I forcefully smiled and said, ¡°We are doing really well.¡± Hai Shui didn¡¯t notice my expression and plainly replied, ¡°That¡¯s great. We are going on a vacation soon. What are your plans?¡± ¡®Plans? I really haven¡¯t thought about that.¡¯ I replied without thinking, ¡°I still don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll make my plans when the vacation starts. Maybe, I will just head home.¡± Hai Shui nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s a good plan. I heard from my elder sister that your magic power had already reached the Magister¡¯s stage. Is that really true?¡± I couldn¡¯t, and also didn¡¯t want to lie to her so I just simply replied, ¡°That¡¯s correct and it had already been sometime since I reached that stage. From the undulation of your magic power from your body, it seemed that you have not improved much. You must work hard.¡± After I said that sentence, I regretted it. As expected, after Hai Shui heard my words, her expression dampened. She plainly replied, ¡°My heart is placed somewhere else so I can¡¯t focus.¡± After she said that, she looked deeply at me. My heart jumped heavily. I clearly understood Hai Shui¡¯s strong feelings for me, but I had already given my entire heart to Mu Zi. At one side, it was the one I love and on the other is someone that loved me. Both sides had similarly put me in a spot. I coughed and changed the topic. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Hai Shui shook her head and replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t. I am just planning to go and eat. I coincidentally saw you so I came over.¡± I repressed a caring expression and replied, ¡°You should eat more. You have lost a lot of weight again.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s eyes reddened and suddenly she threw herself at me like a bird seeking refuge in a forest and cried bitterly. Her action gave me a shock, but I couldn¡¯t push her away. I stood there at a loss to know what to do and let her tears wet my clothes. After a long time, Hai Shui then released her hands that that were tightly holding my hands. She just stood a few centimeters away. Her breath gently blow on my face, making me a little intoxicated by it. Hai Shui¡¯s beautiful large eyes were filled with tears. She whispered, ¡°Can¡¯t you give a little of your feelings to me? Even if it is just pity, can¡¯t you?¡± I looked at Hai Shui in a stunned state and really didn¡¯t know how to reply. Hai Shui sighed lightly and placed a kiss on my lips that felt like like a dragonfly stepping on water before she turned around and ran away. As I watched her delicate back gradually vanish from my view, my mood became much heavier. I was in a little peculiar mood as I told myself, ¡®It wasn¡¯t that I completely didn¡¯t have any feelings for Hai Shui. However, when the heart ripples, it would be extremely hard to stop it from expanding.¡¯ I bitterly laughed and rubbed the remaining sensation that Hai Shui left on my lips and didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡®This is really like when a wave had not even eased before another wave had come. I haven¡¯t even solved the matter with Mu Zi and now Hai Shui came in rapidly. What am I supposed to do?¡¯ I didn¡¯t go to Ascending Jade Tide and just ate some food in the canteen before returning back to the dormitory by myself. After the next few days, I didn¡¯t said anything to Mu Zi. I just sat by her side and stared fixedly at her daily. In my heart, I thought, ¡®Why can¡¯t you really accept me?¡± Mu Zi didn¡¯t dare look at my gaze which was filled with deep feelings for her. I could see that she was avoiding me. Ma Ke suddenly came to find me today. After seeing me, he smiled and said, ¡°Boss, how have you been recently?¡± I snappily replied, ¡°How can I be like you so comfortably off? From day to night, you are stuck to Hai Yue and ignored me as your brother. This is a perfect example of paying more attention to a lover than friends. From what I see, it seems that you have already forgotten about me.¡± Ma Ke embarrassedly laughed. ¡°How can I? I can forget anyone but I won¡¯t be able to forget about you, Boss. Didn¡¯t I come to look for you just now?¡± I snorted coldly and replied, ¡°Just say it, why have you come? Without any urgent matter, I doubt you will come looking for me.¡± Ma Ke smiled apologetically and replied, ¡°Hehe, Boss, it seems you have completely looked through me. It is Teacher Di that told me to look for you. On my way home yesterday, I met that old man. Teacher Di wants you to see him after the end of lessons today.¡± Why was Teacher Di looking for me? I replied, ¡°I got it. Do you still have other matters you want to tell me?¡± Ma Ke shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any others except this. It is that Hai Yue told me to tell you that you aren¡¯t allowed to bully her sister. Aiyo! Boss, stop hitting me!¡± As I continued to knock his head, I angrily said, ¡°If I don¡¯t hit you, who should I hit? This matter is a pot that you can¡¯t open and you just lifted the lid of that pot. You are just asking to be beaten.¡± Ma Ke turned and ran away. As he ran, he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to continue arguing with you anymore. Anyways, I have already told you. Don¡¯t forget to head over to Teacher Di¡¯s place.¡± I impatiently replied, ¡°I got it already. You just have to quickly head back to Hai Yue.¡± After this brat got Hai Yue, he had completely changed. He seemed to become like the wind. After school, I went to the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy by myself. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Teacher Di, I heard from Ma Ke that you are looking for me.¡± Teacher Di laughed. ¡°That¡¯s correct. If I don¡¯t find you, will you come to find me?¡± ¡®Why did his speech seemed to be similar to what I said to Ma Ke?¡¯ I chuckled. ¡°This is to say that this old man missed me.¡± Teacher Di rebuked, ¡°What old man? Am I really that old, and who is missing you? I wanted to find you for some important matter.¡± I hastily smiled apologetically, ¡°Yes! Yes! Yes! How can you be old? You are at the prime of your life and are an unrivalled hero. Hehe.¡± After hearing my two sentences of flattery, Teacher Di¡¯s expression softened. ¡°You brat, you only know how to speak glibly. Is there any improvement in your magic power recently?¡± I replied, ¡°I definitely have improved! Why don¡¯t you try it out?¡± Teacher Di curled his lip. ¡°Why should I try? Your power already isn¡¯t worse than mine. I still want to keep my old bones to continue living for a couple more years.¡± I helplessly sniggered, ¡®Why did I call him old? Now, he is calling himself old bones.¡¯ I respectfully replied, ¡°What is your purpose in finding me?¡± Teacher Di expression changed. ¡°The vacation is coming soon. What have you planned for this holiday?¡± I replied, ¡°I am thinking of heading home to visit my parents.¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°That¡¯s also good. You have been out for another half year. You should head home to visit them. However, I hope that before you head home, you can settle something first.¡± I astonishingly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Please tell me.¡± Teacher Di muttered irresolutely, ¡°Child, do you still remember what I told you that year, to bring Xiao Jin to find his home?¡± My heart tightened before I nodded. ¡°I remember.¡± Teacher Di said, ¡°Xiao Jin is the Dragon clan¡¯s next generation Dragon King. I want you to use this holiday to bring him home. He also has parents just like you after all. Don¡¯t you want to let them, parents and child reunite?¡± Volume 6: Chapter 3 - Returning to Xiao Jins Home Volume 6: Chapter 3 - Returning to Xiao Jin''s Home I thought, ¡®I really don¡¯t want to bring Xiao Jin back. After returning Xiao Jin, will he still want to leave with me? My feelings for Xiao Jin are extremely deep. Without him at my side, I will feel even more empty.¡¯ I helplessly said, ¡°Must I really send him back?¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! You must send him home. Actually, it may not be a bad thing. The Dragon King might appreciate your effort in bringing his son back and help you fight with the Monster King in the future.¡± A trace of reluctance appeared in my heart. I pitifully replied, ¡°But I really don¡¯t want to be separated from Xiao Jin!¡± Teacher Di said very sternly, ¡°Zhang Gong, how can you be like this? Don¡¯t you think that you are being too selfish? Moreover, if you are overly dependant on Xiao Jin¡¯s power, it will greatly hamper your future path in improvement. No matter what, you must bring him home.¡± I lowered my head and the thoughts in my heart surged out like waves. ¡®Xiao Jin the only partner who has always been by my side is leaving me? I am really reluctant to lose you. Xiao Jin! Even though Xiao Jin really is a powerful partner, my feelings for him isn¡¯t because of his massive strength. Thinking of that year when Xiao Jin hatched, he had never left me since so to send him back like this, I...I¡­¡¯ Teacher Di softly said, ¡°I know this matter is really hard on you, but think about it. If Xiao Jin continues to follow you, he can only live to be around 60 years, whereas, the Dragon Clan can live up to a few thousands of years. It can¡¯t be that your reluctance to lose him outweighed his right to live, right?¡± I was moved and replied, ¡°Teacher Di, you¡¯re saying¡­.¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°If I haven¡¯t guess incorrectly, Xiao Jin¡¯s father should have the ability to regain his initial life expectancy.¡± I clenched my teeth and replied, ¡°Alright! For Xiao Jin¡¯s future, I am willing to bring him back.¡± Teacher Di smiled in relief. ¡°That¡¯s my good student. It was worth it for Xiao Jin to follow you for this period. Initially, I thought that it would be best to wait for you to graduate from the Advanced Magic Academy before going. However, your current ability has already exceeded my expectations. Moreover, there is still the threat of the Monster King in a couple of years so I have decided to have you look for the Dragon Valley earlier. You should still have the book I gave to you about dragons. The method to reach it is on the last page. Once holidays begin, you should head out. After sending Xiao Jin back, you should visit your home. There should be enough time for you to do accomplish all of those things.¡± I replied, ¡°It should be the book ''The True King of the World - Dragons¡¯. I have read through it. The Dragon Valley should be in the Aixia¡¯s territory approximately in one of the Sky Province¡¯s mountain valleys.¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°You will have to search for the actual position yourself. You must remember to stay safe. Don¡¯t forget about the teleportation scroll I gave you the last time you went out to gain experience. You must use it if you encounter an emergency.¡± I replied, ¡°Alright! Relax! I¡¯ve already weathered so many storms and the purpose of this trip is to do something good, it should not be too dangerous.¡± Teacher Di replied, ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s always best to be careful. Have some dinner before you head back.¡± After accompanying Teacher Di in having dinner, I returned to the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. As I laid down on my bed in the dormitory, I silently thought, ¡®I¡¯ll soon be separated from Xiao Jin. I also don¡¯t know what will happen during the journey to Dragon Valley. I¡¯m really reluctant to be separated from Xiao Jin who has been with me for so many years.¡¯ I went to the classroom the next day. I wrote on a strip of paper, ¡°It¡¯ll be vacation really soon. What¡¯s your plans?¡±, before giving it to Mu Zi. Mu Zi quickly replied. She wrote a line of words below mine, ¡°I¡¯m going home. How about you?¡± I tested her as I wrote, ¡°Can we go back together?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°That¡¯s not good. My home is rather reclusive. It is better that I head back by myself.¡± After seeing her reply, my mood had sunk even more. I wrote back, ¡°I¡¯ll forget about it then. Since you¡¯re not willing for me to accompany you, I also have to go to a place to settle a matter. Mu Zi replied back, ¡°Where to? What are you going to do?¡± I wrote back, ¡°I am returning Xiao Jin back to Dragon Valley to let him reunite with his family.¡± Mu Zi wrote back, ¡°The Dragon Valley is too dangerous. It is better that you ask Ma Ke to accompany you. If you return Xiao Jin, you probably won¡¯t have any magical beast.¡± I wrote, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s very important that Xiao Jin can reunite with his family. Ma Ke is currently busy, so I don¡¯t want to disturb him. The journey this time shouldn¡¯t be dangerous so I should be able to head there myself.¡± Mu Zi replied back, ¡°Are you unhappy about me?¡± I wrote back, ¡°No, why should I be?¡± Mu Zi wrote back, ¡°Then, why were you ignoring me this few days?¡± I wrote, ¡°You should know why. Can you please just tell me why even when I conveyed my true feelings for you, I still can¡¯t make you open up to me?¡± Mu Zi remained quiet for a while before writing back, ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯m in a really, really tough situation. Can you please stop asking me, alright? If the heavens has planned for us to be together, you will find that out in the future. Do you still remember that story you wrote for the hundredth letter you gave me? I will eventually be like the main female lead in the story and love you wholeheartedly. Will you wait for me?¡± This was the first time that I felt such closeness between Mu Zi and I. Elated, I wrote my reply, ¡°Of course, I am willing. I¡¯ll definitely unwaveringly wait for you. I¡¯ll stop pressing you. I just hope that you won¡¯t let me wait too long to the point where I won¡¯t have the strength to hug you.¡± After reading my reply, Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened and looked at me before laughing. She wrote back, ¡°You¡¯re so irritating. Let¡¯s go out for lunch together.¡± I nodded, but didn¡¯t write anything. My heart felt much better as I felt that Mu Zi and I had become closer. It was Mu Zi who wrote another note instead. ¡°Actually, Hai Shui is very compatible with you. You shouldn¡¯t continue hurting her.¡± After reading what she said, I bafflingly whispered to her, ¡°If I don¡¯t hurt her, then I will be hurting you.¡± Mu Zi smiled and shook her head. ¡°Why would I be? It is completely normal for a capable guy to have a few wives in my homeland.¡± I astonishingly replied, ¡°Can a person¡¯s feelings truly be distributed? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re willing to share the feelings I have for you alone with others? ? I had placed all of my affections on you. Is that bad?¡± ¡®I really don¡¯t understand how she thinks. Even having the idea of sharing her sweetheart.¡¯ Volume 6: Chapter 4 - Mu Zi Leaves Volume 6: Chapter 4 - Mu Zi Leaves Mu Zi smilingly said, ¡°From the first time I met you, I had the feeling that you will definitely be an extraordinary person. Every successful man will definitely not have only one woman behind them. Rather than allowing your heart to be stolen by another, why not find sisters whom I can trust? With the assistance of everyone, even if you think about going astray in the future, hehe¡­.¡± I bitterly smiled, ¡°Am I really the type of person that you¡¯re describing?¡± Mu Zi was actually truly willing to accept Hai Shui. Her way of thinking really makes me embarrassed to the point of cold sweat. Mu Zi glanced at me and said, ¡°Now, you are saying nice things, but I don¡¯t know what it will be like in the future. All you men are not good things. Aren¡¯t you all always becoming enamored with the new and bored with the old? I can¡¯t defeat you so what can I do if you bully me in the future. If Hai Shui and I teamed up, hehe¡­ You will know.¡± Looking at Mu Zi¡¯s lovable yet hateful face that was just like a red apple, I really wanted to strongly give her a bite. I grabbed and pulled her small hand towards me, lowered my head and gently bit on her hand under my desk. Mu Zi let out a low cry and said, ¡°What are you doing? Class is still ongoing.¡± I replied, ¡°Since you don¡¯t object to the relationship between Hai Shui and I, I¡¯ll go and tell her later.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face showed traces of unhappiness. She dejectedly replied, ¡°Looks like you have exposed your fox tail. I knew that you were bad.¡± I rocked back and forth as I laughed. ¡°I was only teasing you. Haha.¡± Mu Zi pinched me really hard, even using her hand to cover my mouth so that I wouldn¡¯t be able to release any sound. She hatefully said, ¡°Fine then! You dare to play around with me.¡± After a long time, I recovered from my pain. ¡°I¡¯m fearful of you, little jar of vinegar. I actually believed that you were really that magnanimous. After one test it turned out to be not at all.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°What I said was the truth, but I am a woman after all so I will always¡­¡± I hastily expressed an understanding and charming, yet vile expression. ¡°Regarding Hai Shui, we will discuss further in the future. If she and I are really fated to be together, I will do as you said, but you can¡¯t force me to.¡± Mu Zi scoffed and said, ¡°How virtuous you are! You¡¯re blessed with so many girls that others could only dream about, yet you actually want to hide from it instead.¡± I bitterly smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t betray my heart. You can¡¯t possibly want me to marry someone that I dislike, right?¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°Fine.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s broadmindedness deeply touched me. Her words also untied the knot in my heart. I wouldn¡¯t need to work hard at restricting myself from now on. I swore to myself silently, ¡®I won¡¯t easily express favourable impressions of other girls anymore and invite trouble.¡¯ ¡­¡­ The holidays had finally arrived. Mu Zi was the first one to leave the academy. Ma Ke, Hai Yue, Si Wa and I sent her off at the entrance of the academy. I initially wanted to accompany her for a while, but she said it was unnecessary as her family members would meet up with her not far from the academy. I said with my eyes that was reddened, ¡°Mu Zi, you must take care of yourself and remember to miss me.¡± Mu Zi nodded and threw herself into my arms and tightly embraced me before standing on her toes and gently kissed on my face. ¡°Zhang Gong, you must also take care. When you¡¯re heading to Dragon Valley, you must be careful. I¡¯m heading out now, so I¡¯ll pass this to you.¡± As she said that, she took a small jade pendent from her neck. It was carved out using an unknown black gemstone. It had a pheonix shape to it. It gave off a refreshing feeling in my hand. It¡¯s texture was extremely smooth. From the looks of it, you would know that it was priceless. Mu Zi continued to say, ¡°This is my Ink Phoenix pendant that my mother had given me when I was young. I will give it to you. Whenever you miss me, you can look at it.¡± I hung the Ink Phoenix pendant around my neck before I lifted her face and kissed heavily on her lips until there was an annoying cough sound from our side and I reluctantly let her go. Mu Zi¡¯s delicate face was completely red, but she didn¡¯t reprimand me for that. As I embraced her, I showed furious expression to the few people behind me, making them laugh. Mu Zi gently pushed me away and whispered to me, ¡°I really have to go now.¡± I nodded and took out the magic robe that Teacher Zhen had given me from my spatial space and placed it into Mu Zi¡¯s hands. ¡°This is something that Teacher Zhen gave me previously. You just have to insert your magic power into the amethyst gemstone at the chest area to set up a good defensive array. It¡¯s defensive power is very strong. I don¡¯t need it so I will give it to you for protection.¡± As I said that, I placed the magic robe on Mu Zi. Under the radiance from the sun, Mu Zi¡¯s entire body glittered and brightened up; Accompanied with her flushed delicate face, she looked exceptionally adorable. Mu Zi replied, ¡°This is too precious. You might face danger during your trip to the Dragon Valley. You should keep it.¡± I shook my head. ¡°What danger will I be in? I¡¯m not going there to pick a fight, I¡¯m just bringing back their child. Even though this magic robe is good, it is too dazzling. You just have to place it in your spatial bag.¡± Ma Ke shouted from behind, ¡°Boss, when did you have such a good item? I also want one!¡± I smiled, ¡°If you were to turn into a girl, I will consider. Haha.¡± Ma Ke instantly choked from hearing my words. The time to be separated had finally arrived. I forced myself not to chase after her as I looked at Mu Zi¡¯s figure gradually disappearing from the horizon as she turned her head back thrice at every step. Ma Ke patted my shoulder. ¡°Boss, stop being so reluctant. It is not as if you won¡¯t be seeing her again. Let¡¯s go! We should head back.¡± I sighed and replied, ¡°I really hope that the holidays end quickly.¡± Si Wa chuckled and said, ¡°When there isn¡¯t any holiday, you wanted one. When it is a holiday, you want to attend classes.¡± Hai Yue replied, ¡°What about wanting to attend classes? He just misses Mu Zi. You had seen how hard he kissed her previously.¡± I feigned anger and said, ¡°Hai Yue, you still talk about me. I don¡¯t know who was it with Ma Ke that day¡­¡± Ma Ke¡¯s and Hai Yue¡¯s faces reddened. Actually, I didn¡¯t see anything and was just purposely teasing them. I didn¡¯t expect to see that it actually worked. Hai Yue pinched Ma Ke before she shyly said, ¡°It is all your fault.¡± After she said that, she turned and ran towards the academy. I looked at Ma Ke who was clenching his teeth in pain and said, ¡°Who told you to tease me? Haha, you reap what you sow!¡± After this commotion, the pain from being separated from Mu Zi had decreased drastically. Ma Ke, Si Wa and I slowly headed towards the academy. Ma Ke said, ¡°Boss, are you sure that the trip to the Dragon Valley won¡¯t be dangerous?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I have never been there. How will I know what will happen?¡± Volume 6: Chapter 5 - Magical Groom Recruitment Volume 6: Chapter 5 - Magical Groom Recruitment Ma Ke said astonishingly, ¡°But you just told Mu Zi¡­¡± I snappily glared at him. ¡°That was to stop her from worrying. You don¡¯t even understand something this logical?¡± Ma Ke and Si Wa speechlessly stared at me. I asked, ¡°Why are you two looking at me like this? Do you find me that handsome?¡± Ma Ke didn¡¯t mind my teasing and said resolutely, ¡°Boss, I will go with you to the Dragon Valley.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s will and spirit had greatly touched me. I changed my expression from a teasing appearance to a serious one before replying earnestly, ¡°Do you think I am going to play? In this world, the strongest creatures are the dragons. If something goes wrong, it would not be likely we would be able to return. How can I let you risk your life with me?¡± Ma Ke said determinedly, ¡°I want to go with you because it¡¯s dangerous. We are brothers. We should help each other out during difficult times.¡± I shook my head and smiled while I replied, ¡°My good brother! I understand your feelings but stop trying to convince me. I have already decided to go there by myself. During the previous competition, you almost died and I felt guilty about that for a long period of time. I definitely won¡¯t allow you to risk your life with me. Moreover, you have Hai Yue now. It can¡¯t be that you want her to worry about you, right?¡± Once I mentioned Hai Yue, Ma Ke replied hesitantly, ¡°Boss, I¡­.¡± I interrupted him and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough! I understand and I won¡¯t treat you like a person that pays more attention to their lover than their friends. My decision is final.¡± Ma Ke expressed gratitude in his eyes. Si Wa said from the side, ¡°I am currently without any family or job. Let me go with you! It can¡¯t be that you will reject my offer, right?¡± I bitterly chuckled, ¡°Big Brother Si Wa, even though we know each other for only a short time, I already know what kind of person you are. You also know what kind of person I am. You don¡¯t need to say any further. I accept your good intentions but I should settle my own problems by myself.¡± Si Wa shook his head. ¡°Zhang Gong, I know that you are a sensitive person, but no matter what, I must go with you. The chances of our survival is better if we are in this together.¡± I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to move him so I didn¡¯t say anything else. I gathered my belongings that night and secretly went to the Royal Intermediate Advanced Academy to bid my farewell to Teacher Di. After that, I walked solitarily on my path to find the Dragon Valley. What I didn¡¯t know was that when I sneaked away, not only did I manage to avoid Si Wa, but I had also been able to slip past Hai Shui who had planned on following me. The Sky Province was about 800 kilometres from my position. After looking through the map in detail, I chose a path that seemed easier to walk on. Anyway, I had a lot of time as the vacation had just started. The people staying at the academy should soon find out that I had left. I slowly walked on my chosen path and in two days, I had traveled only 100 kilometres. As it neared noon, my stomach began protesting. Right in front of me, there was a small town. I decided that I would look there for any good food to console the five viscera of my meridian channels; it would be bad if they went on strike. After walking into the small town, it could be said that it was a big village that was surrounded by walls. This place was not as big as the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. Even though the town was not large, it was unexpectedly flourishing. Different sellers that were peddlers for life hawked their wares with all their might. After asking a random passerby, I found out that this place was indeed a village. Since it¡¯s location was beside the official road, there were a lot of people that walked through the town, giving liveliness to the town. After many years of evolution, it gradually became what it is today. In other words, this could be counted as a traffic hub. After I found a diner that appeared quite clean, I filled my stomach and rented an ordinary room. The sights of this town had lifted my mood so I decided to stay for the night and continue on my journey the next day¡¯s morning. I wandered through the main streets of the small town, admiring the local conditions and customs. I occasionally bought the specialties of the town and tossed it into my spatial space, preparing to give them to my friends after heading back. As I walked, there were a lot of lively people making a racket in front of me. There was a very large crowd. I wondered what had happened and pulled a petite young man who was preparing to squeeze through the crowd and asked, ¡°What has happened to garner such a large crowd?¡± The petite young man shoved my hands away and anxiously said, ¡°Stop pulling me! I need to head there quickly. If not, I won¡¯t be able to make it!¡± After saying that, he immediately squeezed through the crowd. I was stunned as I wondered what had happened for him to be in such a rush. A peddler at the side laughed and said, ¡°With his morality and conduct, he wants to be the town chief¡¯s son in law? Haha, what a joke!¡± I hastily asked, ¡°What about being the town chief''s son in law? Big brother, can you please tell me what is going on?¡± The peddler laughed, ¡°Brother, you must be an outsider.¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! I am not from here.¡± The peddler replied, ¡°Even though this place looks like a city, it is actually just a flourishing village. The town chief was the original village head. No, that¡¯s not the village head. It is the town head, he is helping his daughter find a good home and planned something about a magic competition for one to take her as their wife as a reward, this attracted a lot of people to come.¡± ¡°A magic competition to find a groom? This is quite uncommon to me. Is the daughter of the town¡¯s head not good looking? Why did they want to have such a magic competition to get a groom?¡± I laughed as I said. The peddler laughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s new about that? The competition has been on for six days already. There isn¡¯t any outcome yet. Talking about the daughter of the town¡¯s head, she is really a beauty but just a little shrewish. Our Kingdom of Aixia mostly respects those who are experts in using magic. The town chief obviously wanted to strengthen his status so he came up with a plan and prepared the competition to gather strong magicians to compete and become his son in law as his facade.¡± So it was like that, it seemed rather fun. I asked, ¡°Are there any rules to it?¡± The peddler said, ¡°Of course there is. If there are no rules, nothing can be done to get the groom. How about you look at the large red paper over there? You should take a look yourself.¡± After thanking the peddler, I walked over and saw that the red paper noted, ¡°The conditions to participate in the competition. 1: Age must be 25 and below and must be a bachelor. 2: You must not have any disabled body parts. 3: You can¡¯t kill anyone during the competition. 4: This competition only invites magicians. For those who are warriors, please don¡¯t enter the competition. 5: The competitors just need to defeat my daughter, rather than defeating all of their opponents to be my son in law.¡± ¡®These are quite easy terms. This does not look complicated at all. Why is it that after six days, there still hasn¡¯t been any outcome?¡¯ Curiosity made me squeeze through the crowd to find out the reason. Volume 6: Chapter 6 - Meddling in Otherss Business Volume 6: Chapter 6 - Meddling in Others'' Business There really were a lot of people. Although my body could be considered sturdy, I still used a lot of effort to finally reach the front line. Even though there were still people in front of me, I was able to clearly see the current situation with my height. The arena was at least 500 square meters in size that had a rope surrounding it. There was an area at the side for distinguished guests, which had ten people in it, and they seemed to be the judges and the host¡¯s family. There was a girl whose appearance was veiled with a light muslin. From her rather good body figure and faintly discernible looks, she was definitely a beauty. She should be the daughter of the well groomed large man sitting at her side, who was likely to be the town¡¯s chief. In the arena, there were two magicians battling. After looking at their magic powers in detail, their strengths were just too weak compared to me. They were at the level of an Intermediate Mage. Currently, it was the fireball of one opponent against the wind blade of the other; it seemed to be a quite an intense battle. It was no wonder why there wasn¡¯t any outcome after so many days as they were only rookie magicians. If it were anyone from our Royal Advanced Magic Academy, they probably would have won against that beauty immediately. Since the strength of the competitors were so weak, my interest decreased drastically. The wind magician won at that moment, using his agile and ever changing attacks to gain a quick victory. From the distinguished guest area, an old man wearing a magic robe walked out and announced, ¡°Wind magician Tian Di has won. Are there still any young heroes willing to compete against him?¡± Just like that, after they completed three to four matches, there wasn¡¯t anyone that managed to win twice in a row. This was meaningless. The two competitors in the arena were seriously injured, and thus the match ended. This low level competition made me lose interest. Just when I was about to walk away, there was a sudden breeze that passed by. A lean figure appeared in the arena. As I focused on him, he was that petite youth that did not answer my question previously. He was completely different from before. He straightened his not very sturdy chest and arrogantly stood at the center of the arena. He wore a magnificent magic robe. What surprised me was that his magic robe actually had five stars on it. This was to say that he was a Magic Scholar. Everyone was startled by his attire. The old magician in charge of judging asked, ¡°Young mage, are you a Magic Scholar?¡± The petite youth puffed out his chest and arrogantly said, ¡°Of course I am. I am a Royal Advanced Magic Academy year 3 student. I am the academy''s 5th ranked student, Ma Ke Sai De. My major magic is fire and my minor magic is wind.¡± His words made everyone gasp. I was unsure if it was because of Ma Ke¡¯s fame or the reputation of the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. I, who had wanted to leave, became interested in this imposter youth. I really wanted to see how he was going to pretend to be Ma Ke. If I haven¡¯t guessed wrongly, he should be at the Advanced Mage level. Once he fought, he would be exposed immediately. What was beyond my expectation was that the old magician judge expressed a respectful expression. He respectfully said, ¡°I represent this town¡¯s chief to welcome Magic Scholar Ma Ke to participate in the competition. Are there any competitors who would like to fight against him?¡± After a long time, there actually wasn¡¯t anyone that wanted to compete against him. It was no wonder why he didn¡¯t come out at first and waited for his chance when the two competitors from the previous match were seriously injured. After he exposed his name, there probably wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would dare to challenge him. It couldn¡¯t be that much of a coincidence, right? Even though I disliked meddling, this was related to Ma Ke¡¯s reputation. I shouted from the crowd, ¡°You imposter brat, get down from there.¡± My voice was loud and clear, as I used magic power to amplify my voice, making it impossible for anyone to know where my voice came from. The imposter¡¯s expression changed, but it instantly turned back to normal. He said with a clear voice, ¡°This hero shouldn¡¯t tease his younger brother. If you are willing to teach me a lesson, your little brother will be waiting for you here.¡± The crowd of audience was in an uproar from what I had said. Currently, due to his beautiful cover up, I was quite impressed by him. However, he ignited my anger. I used short distance teleportation to move to the center of the arena. ¡°I am the hero that said that you¡¯re an imposter.¡± The petite youth obviously hadn¡¯t paid any attention to my looks when we encountered each other previously as he frowned and said, ¡°This friend. If you want to teach me a lesson, please make your move.¡± I ignored him and looked towards the judges. ¡°My greetings to the judges, I am not here to participate in the magic competition. The purpose is to protect my friend¡¯s reputation. I hope you will forgive me for doing this.¡± The old magician frowned and asked, ¡°May I ask how you know this magician is a fake?¡± I said smilingly, ¡°Sorry about this, but Ma Ke is my friend. I just left the Royal Advanced Magic Academy not long ago and was still with Ma Ke two days ago.¡± My words instantly attracted everyone¡¯s attention. There were discussions from below the stage. The petite youth turned green and then turned red. He angrily said, ¡°You¡¯re driveling! I don¡¯t recognize you. You actually dare to use our Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s name to lie to the people. What bad intentions do you have?¡± I laughed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any bad intentions. The one who has bad intentions should be you. Since you were attracted by that family¡¯s maiden, why don¡¯t you use your own abilities to get her, rather than using someone¡¯s name?¡± The petite youth said to the old magician, ¡°I want to have a match against him to clear my reputation, which he has spoiled.¡± The old magician glanced at the town¡¯s chief, who indicated approval. ¡°Alright, the match has started. Please stop when you hurt your opponent, and similarly, don¡¯t hurt the audience.¡± He was worthy of being an old fox. He was quite astute as he knew if one of us was telling the truth, the barrier of the arena wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the attack, so he reminded us first. I replied, ¡°Alright, I also want to be enlightened on how you will have the ability to impersonate Ma Ke.¡± The petite youth didn¡¯t respond to my words and fired a large fireball at me with all his might. The fireball was scathing with heat as it flew towards me. He wanted to fight against me with this standard? I didn¡¯t even dodge his attack. Just as I saw the fireball was in front of me, I extended my right hand and that petite youth already realized that his fireball was no longer in his control. The fireball was held in my hand and was quietly floating there. Its heat made my face flush red. Volume 6: Chapter 7 - Regret Volume 6: Chapter 7 - Regret I chuckled, ¡°You call this a fireball? From how I see it, it looks just big enough for me to cook rice. You can have it back.¡± The fireball returned with twice its original speed. Seeing the whizzing fireball, the youth¡¯s face turned green. Attacking with the magic previously had cost him a lot of his power. The power of this fireball, he was naturally aware and he wanted to dodge it, but the fireball¡¯s trajectory kept changing so he didn¡¯t know how. He clenched his teeth to cast a wind blade and attempted to cut the fireball open. I inwardly nodded my head as his usage of the wind blade was not bad. His positioning was very good, but his magic power was a little lacking. ¡°Pu!¡± The fireball and wind blade simultaneously disappeared. The petite youth¡¯s face turned pale white. It was obvious that he had used up a lot of his magic power. I smiled faintly and said, ¡°Do you still want to compete?¡± Since impersonating Ma Ke was not a major offence, there wasn¡¯t a need to hurt him. It was enough to make him admit defeat and step down. The petite youth was stunned and replied, ¡°Are you really a student from the Royal Magic Academy?¡± I nodded. ¡°Of course, even the real Ma Ke wouldn¡¯t be my match if he was here, let alone you. I don¡¯t want to put you on the spot, but can you tell me why you are impersonating Ma Ke?¡± The petite youth dejectedly replied, ¡°Since it is impossible to defeat you, I concede. Let¡¯s head down and discuss this further.¡± He turned his head to the judge and said, ¡°I accept my defeat.¡± After saying that, he took the lead to jump off the stage. Just as I wanted to go down the stage as well, a tender gentle voice voiced out, ¡°Young hero, why aren¡¯t you continuing to compete after defeating your opponent?¡± I was startled and looked to where the voice was coming from. It was from the maiden in the distinguished guest area. ¡°Previously before I came on the stage, I had clearly said that I am not here to marry so there is no need to continue competing.¡± The maiden¡¯s voice sounded furious, ¡°Do you think we are playing a game here? When you want to come, you come. When you want to go, you go. Let me have a look at your ability!¡± After she said that, she cast a wind blade towards me. How could she be so unreasonable? I knew that I shouldn¡¯t have meddled in this. I should quickly get out from here. After dissipating the wind blade, I purposely said coldly, ¡°If the young lady continues to be impudent, don¡¯t blame me for being impolite.¡± The maiden didn¡¯t respond. She cast so many elementary and intermediate wind and fire spells that they hid the sky and covered the earth. It looked like it was impossible not to show some of my strength. I snorted coldly and chanted my spell. ¡°Great light elements, I plead to you to give me endless God power and form into a huge sword to eliminate everything that lies before you, Light Sword!¡± The people in the audience instantly saw a peculiar sight. I slowly floated up from the ground. My body lit up with glamorous golden light rays. Golden lights could clearly be seen gathering around me. All the maiden¡¯s magic spells vanished five metres away from me. I raised both of my hands above my head and placed my palms together. All the light rays gathered in my hands.¡°I will let you have a look at real magic.¡± After saying that, an enormous light sword stuck downwards from my clasped hands. This magic was my most recent self created magic spell. It used Light Severing Sword as its foundation and was combined with Teacher Di¡¯s theory to strike out a sword from gathered magic powers. I haven¡¯t tried it out yet so it was a good chance to take it out to scare people. The maiden¡¯s face in front of me became void of colour. The veil that was covering her face had also fallen off. She had long red hair accompanied by her fair skin;with her large eyes and slender body figure, her looks could be comparable to Hai Shui¡¯s. The people from the distinguished guest area shouted out simultaneously, ¡°Please be merciful!¡± However, it was too late as the Light Sword had already struck. What it struck wasn¡¯t at the maiden, but the center of the arena. After the Light Sword disappeared from the center of the arena, there wasn¡¯t any changes to the ground. The maiden snapped out from her fright and said mockingly, ¡°So it is just a deceptive trick. Hmph! I knew you aren¡¯t capable.¡± I laughed and replied, ¡°I suggest that you move backwards. If not, don¡¯t blame me for the outcome.¡± After I said that, the entire ground shook. The old judge quickly held on to the maiden¡¯s hand and took her away. I used a Radiant Binding Array around the arena before using a short teleportation to be beside that petite youth and shouted, ¡°Everyone, please move back as a precaution to avoid unintentional injuries.¡± After shouting, I released battle spirit from beneath my feet and quickly left the area. A tremendous noise sounded behind me. If I were to see what happened, I would be in shock. The circular five hundred square meters arena had been completely segregated. From the light binding array, it was filled with dust. I was lucky that the arena was large enough. If not, the light binding array wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the power of the explosion. I didn¡¯t care about the after effects and quickly brought the petite youth to the inn. I let him have a seat before pouring some water for myself. After drinking a mouthful of water, I said, ¡°Tell me what is going on?¡± The petite youth gave me a distressed look. How could I not know what he was thinking? I said smilingly, ¡°If you speak truthfully, I won¡¯t put you on the spot.¡± The skinny youth laughed awkwardly, ¡°It¡¯s like this, my family is the local peddler. My father, in order to give me a good future, had me learn magic. Last year, when the Royal Advanced Magic Academy was recruiting students, I participated, but of course I failed. At that time, just when I wanted to leave, a fire magician was just giving a lecture on magic and even demonstrated several high-level spells. I felt so envious. I asked the people around me and discovered his name is Ma Ke, one of the top ten students in the school. The past few days, I saw there was a magician marriage competition here, and so had the idea of using Ma Ke¡¯s identity to rush through the doorway. That¡¯s how the scene you saw today came about.¡± I curiously asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that someone would see through your act?¡± The petite youth bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°How can I be not afraid? However, that young lady is just too pretty. Moreover, those people who come from the Royal Magic Academy have a supreme reputation in this area so I decided to take a risk and give it a try. Who would have thought that I would bump into you?¡± After hearing his story, I laughed heartily. So, it was because this brat had a fondness for beauties. After laughing, I seriously told him, ¡°I will let you go this time. However, don¡¯t impersonate others anymore. If you meet with someone unreasonable who decides to grab your weak point and blackmail you, I¡¯m afraid that you will suffer at his hands.¡± Volume 6: Chapter 8 - Onwards to Dragon Valley Volume 6: Chapter 8 - Onwards to Dragon Valley The petite youth nodded repeatedly. ¡°I definitely will not dare to do that again. Thank you for forgiving me.¡± I waved my hand at him. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You are free to go. Be more careful when you head out and avoid being seen by the Town Chief¡¯s people.¡± The petite young man suddenly kneeled before me and sincerely said, ¡°Teacher, please take me in as your disciple. I am willing to follow your steps. I just wish to learn more advanced magic spells.¡± I pulled him up and replied, ¡°I am still a student myself. How can I take you in? Furthermore, my magic is incompatible with yours.¡± After the petite young man listened to my words, he kneeled down once again and profusely kept on begging me to keep him as he shed tears. I couldn¡¯t stand it. It seemed like this brat was quite quick witted. How else could he know how to bother someone to this extent? I suddenly had an idea and said, ¡°You stand up first. Only after you stand, I will give you my decision.¡± The petite young man hastily replied, ¡°What is your decision? Please quickly tell it to me.¡± I smiled and said meticulously, ¡°I will give you a letter. You will then head to the Royal Advanced Magic Academy to find Ma Ke Sai De whom you have impersonated to let him mentor your magic. You use the same magic as him, fire and wind. It will be more suitable for him to be your teacher.¡± The petite youth was stunned and asked, ¡°Will that really work?¡± I laughed and replied, ¡°Why won¡¯t it work? He¡¯s my little brother. If he doesn¡¯t listen to me, I will beat him up after I come back. You can just relax and rely on me. That¡¯s right, what is your actual name?¡± The petite youth was startled by my words and replied, ¡°I am Zhen Fan Ren, and I am 16 years old.¡± I replied to him, ¡°Alright! Please wait for a moment. I will write a letter for you now.¡± After saying that, I moved my pen and quickly wrote up a letter to Ma Ke. The content was definitely to threaten and bribe him to take in this fellow. After bidding my farewell to the petite youth who was on cloud nine, I hastily packed my luggage and prepared to leave. I toppled over after opening the front door because outside was filled with people. They were here due to the maiden. She was no longer vicious and said tenderly, ¡°Since you had won against me, I am willing to marry you.¡± ¡®Damn it! Damn it! I am in trouble again.¡¯ I wiped the cold perspiration from my forehead and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to. You don¡¯t have to make such a decision. I also did not triumph against you. I already have a fianc¨¦e already. I will head off first.¡± After saying that, I used teleportation to move to the back of the crowd and ran away from the inn as though I was flying. As I ran into the main streets, the scene was rather hilarious. I was running at the forefront with a huge group of people chasing after me. I didn¡¯t explain to them and even if I were to explain, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. I didn¡¯t care to offend the whole of society and used battle spirit under my feet to elevate. I applied battle spirit to the back of my body to become a huge driving force and made myself become like an arrow that was shot out. This was the first time I flew outside like this. The travelling speed was really fast as I left the small town in a flash. After landing, I took in a few mouthfuls of air and hit myself once before muttering, ¡°Who told you to be so meddlesome that you almost got tangled in another problem? I haven¡¯t even settled Mu Zi¡¯s and Hai Shui¡¯s matter. If I add one more to the pile, I don¡¯t need to live anymore. Let¡¯s quickly leave!¡± What I didn¡¯t know was that this matter that I had meddled in would give rise to a major problem in the future. After reaching the border, I entered the Sky Province. This province was the largest in the kingdom, and it took up the entire west side of the Kingdom of the 6 interior districts. I didn¡¯t rest well for these two days as I feared that those people would catch up to me. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems now. I needed to pamper myself a little. After I looked at an inn that seemed to have an acceptable bar from the roadside, I walked in. The waiter walked over and asked, ¡°Sir, how many will be coming?¡± ¡°It will be only myself.¡± ¡°Oh, please come with me.¡± The waiter brought me to a clean position in the corner. As I surveyed the place, there weren¡¯t many people. There were just people sitting sparsely at some of the tables. The waiter passed me a menu before asking, ¡°What will you like to order?¡± After looking at the menu, there were only some names of wines and beverages. I frowned and asked, ¡°Do you not have anything to eat here?¡± The waiter nodded. ¡°We do but they are all rather simple.¡± Since I had to get something, I ordered a large glass of fruit juice and some sustainable main dishes. After that, I just ate up. After I ate my fill and drank up, I called for the waiter to get the bill and gave the change to him as his tip. I asked him, ¡°Brother, do you know whether there is a Dragon Valley in this Sky Province?¡± Initially, I didn¡¯t carry much hope, but he unexpectedly replied without hesitation, ¡°Of course, I know. It is a scenery in our Sky Province.¡± ¡°A scenery?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The Dragon Valley is located outside of Pagoda City not far from here at the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. It is covered in mist all year round. The area of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range is very large. However, most people wouldn¡¯t go too deeply into it and just played at the outer perimeter of the mountain range. That scenery is extremely captivating, especially the sky ocean. You just have to climb up to a not very high position to see it. I¡¯ve also been there. It was exceptionally beautiful.¡± I astonishingly asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go inside?¡± The waiter continued to explain, ¡°The interior is dangerous. There are rumours that it really is a Dragon Valley with real dragons in the Dragon Valley. At times, loud dragon roars can also be heard. There were many people who wanted to check it out in the beginning to search for traces of dragons. However, no matter how many people went in, they would always say that it was like a big labyrinth inside. After turning here and there, they walked out. Furthermore, there were still many people who had gone in that didn¡¯t come out. After a long period of time, that place became a mystery. There aren¡¯t any more people that go in to find the dragons. Are you heading to that place?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! I want to have a look. Can you tell me the directions to that place?¡± The waiter kindly said, ¡°Of course you can. However, please don¡¯t wander too deeply in it as safety is the most important thing. You just have to head straight down the main street to find Pagoda City. After you reach there, you will see a wide expanse of high mountains at the west side of the city, and that will be the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Thank you, brother. I will head off now.¡± I had never thought that it would be that easy to locate the exact position of the Dragon Valley. I was partially elated and also a little dejected, as I would be separated from Xiao Jin. After leaving the inn, I walked as per instructed by the waiter, heading towards Pagoda City. Volume 6: Chapter 9 - Flying into Dragon Valley Volume 6: Chapter 9 - Flying into Dragon Valley After three days, I had arrived at the Dragon Valley on the west side of Pagoda City. When I was still at a very far distance away, I could already see tier after tier of mountains. The clouds at this place were extremely low. They covered most of the mountain starting from the midsection and up. It looked really beautiful. The locals had said that no matter which of the four seasons it was, the clouds here wouldn¡¯t dissipate all year round so this place was called the Cloud and Mist Mountain Range. Since I didn¡¯t know how long I would be in there for, I had bought rations and water from the City to suffice me for twenty days. Just when I stepped into the Cloud and Mist Mountain Range, Xiao Jin who was sleeping in my body suddenly woke up at once and conveyed to me a sense of impatience. He had never been here before; could he actually know he was nearing his home? I used my spiritual thought to tell him that I would be sending him home shortly. Xiao Jin¡¯s mood was obviously abnormally excited. In his excitement, there also seemed to be a tinge of sadness. He told me that he felt that this place was very nostalgic to him and also really familiar. The Cloud Mist Mountain Range was really beautiful. All of the mountains were completely green as far as the eye can see. There were occasional sightings of cascades and noises of water flowing from the mountain spring while walking in the mountain. This place had no traces of mankind¡¯s activities. Xiao Jin had become the best compass. I moved around the Cloud Mist Mountain Range in accordance to the strong feelings he felt from the depths of the mountain range. At the start, the path was relatively easy to tread on as there were people that passed through earlier. However, after a day, there wasn¡¯t anymore trails left to follow, I could only bore through the forest. Even though I had the short range teleportation spell, this place¡¯s terrain was precipitous. Thus, in order to avoid falling off a cliff by mistake, I only walked. Most of my clothing had been torn up by bushes and brambles. I was forced to use light magic defensive spells for my surroundings. Even though the path was difficult to tread on, my mood felt abnormally tranquil. I was no longer dreading about being separated from Xiao Jin. The air in this place was extremely fresh. After taking in a deep breath, my entire body relaxed. There were many small animals in the mountain, but there weren¡¯t any ferocious beasts. There were pheasants, unknown birds, and also small animals. They weren¡¯t wary of me at all. They obviously were used to the easy life here and constantly snatched my rations that I was partaking in. I also happily frolicked with them. I seemed to have merged with nature. In my eyes, everything looked perfect. When night arrived, I found a lofty tree and slept in it. My heart quietly settled down and felt refreshingly tranquil from coming to this place. After entering the mountain for five days, Xiao Jin¡¯s feelings kept getting stronger. I already knew that we weren¡¯t far from the Dragon Valley. What I wasn¡¯t aware of was that without Xiao Jin¡¯s guidance, it would have been impossible to find the actual position of the Dragon Valley in all of my lifetime. After passing through another forest, what was reflected in my eyes was a large basin. I was at an extremely high altitude. I could only see the approximate size of the whole basin. Under my feet, there was a thick layer of dense fog above the basin. I knew that I had arrived at my destination. This should be the Legendary Dragon Valley. It was really difficult to find a trail to head downwards. I initially thought of flying down, but my battle spirit wasn¡¯t perfected. If the bottom of the basin was too far from my position atop the cliff and my battle spirit couldn¡¯t support my landing, I was afraid that my body would be torn apart, and my bones crushed into smithereens. Xiao Jin, who was in my body, suddenly become anxious. He told me that he wanted to come out. I helplessly let Xiao Jin out. His huge body stood beside me. With this mist filling his large eyes, Xiao Jin suddenly let out a exceptionally loud dragon roar without any warning. His voice was filled with the dominance of a royal. The fog in the surrounding was forced back 30 metres from his roar. Even though my cultivation was profound, I nearly lost my balance. Just as I was curious at what he was doing, there were countless responses that resounded from the basin beneath me. Xiao Jin motioned for me to sit on his back. It looked like he wanted to go down by flying. I had never rode on Xiao Jin before. This was my first chance to do so. I gently jumped on and sat on his large back. Xiao Jin told me to sit steadily before he flapped his pair of large golden wings to fly. I hastily grabbed onto the spikes on his back. I was exceptionally nervous. Xiao Jin charged down the thick fog. My ears were filled with the sounds of the wind. Xiao Jin repeatedly let out long dragon roars. It was as though he was telling his family that he had returned. After finally reaching the bottom of the valley, it turned out to be a barren land, and I saw that there were other dragons similar to Xiao Jin. I saw two blue and red dragons initially, and it looked as though they were playing. Their heads were about the size of Xiao Jin¡¯s. After seeing Xiao Jin¡¯s arrival, the other dragons took similar actions without prior consultation to each other, lowering their noble heads and gently whistled. At this moment, a strong force came over. A deep voice called out, ¡°Welcome back, our Dragon Clan¡¯s King.¡± A green dragon with a huge head appeared in front of me. When his head and Xiao Jin¡¯s stood together, they looked like an adult and a child. From his ability to speak, I knew that this large dragon must be at least 8000 years old as dragons must reach that age at least to be able to talk and be in a harmonious phase derived from its maturity. Xiao Jin was not fearful of the strong strength that the green dragon possessed and unyieldingly stared at him. The green dragon said, ¡°Child, do you know that your parents have been waiting for you for a long time already? When you went missing that year, they were distraught. Why are you so weak?¡± Just as he said that, he noticed me on Xiao Jin¡¯s back. He immediately raged. The green dragon shouted, ¡°You low human being actually dared to sit on our Dragon King. Go to hell!¡± It seemed that he had treated me as the chief culprit in the weakening of Xiao Jin. However, I was curious, how was Xiao Jin weak? Wasn¡¯t he doing well? Just as I wanted to explain, the green dragon¡¯s large tail swiped towards me. Xiao Jin become anxious and immediately let out a strong dragon¡¯s breath to try and block its advancement. What startled me was that the green dragon unexpectedly didn¡¯t move nor dodged and let Xiao Jin¡¯s dragon breath hit him but his tail continued to strike towards me without fail. There wasn¡¯t enough time for me to think. I immediately cast my strongest light defensive spell. Just as I wanted to teleport away, the space in the surroundings seemed to have been condensed by that dragon¡¯s swipe, making it impossible for me to move. Why was it that even though they were similar dragons, there was such a large disparity in strength? Volume 6: Chapter 10 - Ism Out of Luck Volume 6: Chapter 10 - I''m Out of Luck I looked on helplessly as the green dragon¡¯s tail hit my chest. All I could do at that moment was to concentrate my magic power, battle spirit and the Holy Sword¡¯s power at where I was hit. I was like a softball being hit by the green dragon for a beautiful home run. I flew backwards like a cannonball. ¡°Hong!¡± I was deeply embedded into the Dragon Valley¡¯s wall. My entire body seemed to be broken, but I wasn¡¯t in any actual pain, just numbed to the bone. It was impossible for me to withstand such a strong attack with all of my current capabilities; I clearly heard the breaking of my own bones. If it wasn¡¯t for my magic power, Battle Spirit and Holy Sword¡¯s power protecting my body, I would already be mincemeat. The numbness gradually disappeared. What replaced it was a heart impaling and bone piercing agony. I was lucky to be completely embedded into the wall of the mountain without falling off the face of it. If not, I could only beg for the God King to reincarnate me if I got smashed again. Why was this green dragon so powerful? Xiao Jin definitely didn¡¯t have such power. After Xiao Jin saw that I was hit, he became enraged, and no longer cared if the other was his clan member, insanely attacking the green dragon with his dragon breath, clawing and biting, and attacking it with every method known to him. However, in front of the green dragon, he was a small kid. All of his attacks were easily thwarted by the green dragon¡¯s large wings. The green dragon helplessly said, ¡°My King, why are doing this to me? I have already helped you to eliminate that hateful human being.¡± Xiao Jin roared out short dragon roars. His voice was filled with fury and unceasingly continued his attacks. The few dragons that was similarly sized with Xiao Jin were scared and hid at the side, not daring to voice out. After the green dragon heard Xiao Jin¡¯s dragon roars, he was dazed before he said astonishingly, ¡°What? King, you have actually said that human is your master? How can that be? Who can be the master of our Dragon Clan? This is the most impossible of impossibilities.¡± As he was in a daze, he was immediately beaten by Xiao Jin a couple of times. Even though Xiao Jin wouldn¡¯t be able to injure him, he was in so much pain that he grimaced. At this moment, a gale of wind blew, and a gentle woman¡¯s voice sounded out, ¡°Is it true that the prince has returned? Aiya! Why is he fighting?¡± A white large dragon descended from the sky. She clearly saw the situation in front of her and used her large wings to hit the green dragon away. She then excitedly gathered Xiao Jin in the center of her wings and shouted, ¡°Child! It¡¯s really you! You¡¯re finally back!¡± Xiao Jin spaced out for a moment before awakening from his rage. The nostalgic feeling he felt from the other dragon made him cease his attacks, instead staring at the enormous white dragon who was even larger than the green dragon. Large tear drops flowed out of the large white dragon¡¯s eyes. She sobbed, ¡°Child, I am your mother. You are finally back. I missed you to death.¡± Xiao Jin whistled out a few sounds. The white large dragon was stunned after hearing what Xiao Jin said. ¡°How can that be? You¡¯re my child. How can I recognise you wrongly? There is only a Dragon King in every generation, and you are one. Child, why can¡¯t you recognise me? I am really your mother.¡± Xiao Jin¡¯s expression gradually softened, a glow of adoration emitting from his eyes, and gently leaned his head on the huge white dragon. The huge white dragon used her head to rub it against Xiao Jin. She then suddenly raised her head and let out a roar of elation. The green dragon who was previously blown away climbed up from the ground at that moment. ¡°Big sister, there is no need to hit me so viciously when you, mother and son, reunite with each other, right? I didn¡¯t even dare to hurt a single hair of your precious son.¡± The white dragon was obviously in a good mood and glanced at him before saying. ¡°You reap what you sow. Who asked you to make my son angry? Hmph!¡± The green dragon helplessly replied, ¡°I just sent that human who was sitting on the young King¡¯s body away. I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± In front of the huge white dragon, the green dragon¡¯s previous arrogance had disappeared. After hearing what he had said, Xiao Jin thought about something and struggled out of the huge white dragon¡¯s embrace, crying loudly. The white dragon exclaimed, ¡°What? You said the one that was smashed away is your master? Child, you are the next generation¡¯s Dragon King. How can you have a human master?¡± Xiao Jin stubbornly let out few sounds. The huge white dragon helplessly said, ¡°Alright! Mother will take a look. However, after getting hit by your uncle Qing, it is impossible the human to be still alive.¡± After saying that, she flapped her enormous wings to fly over. Even though my entire body was in immense pain, I was still conscious but couldn¡¯t talk. The Holy Sword¡¯s power was quickly repairing my damaged meridian channels. The huge white dragon flew over. After looking at me with an odd expression, she said with astonishment to Xiao Jin and the green dragon that came along, ¡°Eh! That human is unexpectedly still alive.¡± I bitterly thought, ¡®Do I really deserve to die that much?¡¯ The huge white dragon let out a halo of white light rays that retrieved me from the stone wall. She told Xiao Jin, ¡°Even though he is not dead, his injuries are very severe. I really did not expect this master of yours to be alive even after being attacked by Xiao Qing. This is truly a miracle. Let¡¯s hurry back to let your father take a look to see if he can be saved.¡± Xiao Qing bitterly smiled, ¡°Big sister, can you not call me Xiao Qing in front of my nephew? I am still counted as his elder.¡± The huge white dragon replied, ¡°Do you even act like an elder? Fighting with him immediately after meeting him.¡± The green dragon felt wronged and replied, ¡°Big sister, it can¡¯t be that you have not discovered your son is very weak, right? His life force is pitifully weak. I thought it was caused by the human so¡­.¡± After hearing that her son¡¯s body was weak, as a mother, she hastily examined Xiao Jin in great detail. The huge white dragon undulated with strong powers. ¡°Child, who did this to you? Quickly tell mother! Mother will help avenge you.¡± It seemed that it was due to Xiao Jin¡¯s life force that made them think that he was weak. XIao Jin looked at me anxiously and barked some sounds at the white dragon. The white dragon helplessly said, ¡°Alright. We will head to your father to save this human and also to see if your father can help you recover your life force. My child, how have you become like this?¡± After saying that, tears flowed from the huge white dragon¡¯s eyes. One of those tears unfortunately fell on my body. The white light surrounding my body instantly fluctuated. ¡®Why am I so unlucky to get struck by her tears?¡¯ Wah! I spat out a mouthful of blood. My wounds were even more severe now. I felt that there weren¡¯t many bones in my body that were still in good condition. Just the pain created from the friction between my bones made me oscillate between life and death. Volume 6: Chapter 11 - Dragon King Volume 6: Chapter 11 - Dragon King Xiao Jin hurriedly came to my side to protect me and yelled unhappily at his mother. The huge white dragon hastily said, ¡°Aiyo! Mother didn¡¯t do that on purpose. Let¡¯s quickly go!¡± A line of three dragons and a human flew towards the deep parts of the basin. There was an enormous hole in front. The large white dragon was using her dragon claw to drag me, who was currently wrapped in my own light, and came to a stop. She turned her head and told Xiao Jin, ¡°This is our home. Xiao Qing, ah! I mean Xiao Jin¡¯s Uncle Green, you stand guard at the door. We will head in first. Don¡¯t allow any dragons to come and disturb our family of three¡¯s love and joy.¡± After she said that, she brought Xiao Jin and I inside. As the green dragon who was left behind saw our fading backs, he used his large claws to strike at his head due to being in pain. He muttered, ¡°I...I.. I am one of the eight elder heavenly dragons of the Dragon clan. I am now turned into a dragon to guard the door. Big sister is really too much.¡± Suddenly, he seemed to have thought about something and became elated again. ¡°Haha! I am the next generation¡¯s Dragon King¡¯s Uncle Green. Haha! This is a title that those other defect dragons can¡¯t obtain. Haha! This is awesome. I have something to boast about in the future.¡± The simple-minded green dragon sat in front of the entrance and watched his surroundings, fearing that someone would come and make him fail in completing the task the huge white dragon had given him. This dragon had always been in the Dragon Valley since birth. Even though he experienced countless baptisms of time, he was still young and childish at heart. My entire body was in tremendous pain, and I seemed to have torn my heart and cracked my lung. However, the Holy Sword¡¯s power had stubbornly protected my brain, making me unable to faint. I would soon be driven insane. My perspiration drenched my entire body. Xiao Jin felt my pain and cast a Primary Spirit Recovery spell on me. The huge white dragon astonishingly exclaimed, ¡°Child, you also know how to use light magic? That¡¯s not bad. There are very few of us that can use elemental magics. Most only rely on their dragon¡¯s breath and Dragon magic spells.¡± Xiao Jin complacently raised his head and called out a few sounds. The huge white dragon looked at him amazed, but didn¡¯t say anything anymore. The hole got bigger as we proceeded in it. Finally, we reached a place that looked like a large public square. The white dragon stopped and respectfully said in front of her, ¡°Dragon King, I have returned. Our son has also returned.¡± Xiao Jin curiously looked to the dark place in front of him that had suddenly lit up. A dazzling golden light appeared as an enormous gold dragon squatted in front of them. Even though he was squatting there, a powerful pressure instantly filled the entire hole. The huge white dragon couldn¡¯t help but to lower her head. The huge gold dragon¡¯s body was approximately 200 metres. Its entire body was covered with massive gold scales. There were a pair of wings kept by its sides. Two enormous dragon claws were in view. He slowly supported his body and used two enormous dragon¡¯s eyes to look fixedly at Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin subconsciously took two steps back to hide behind the huge white dragon and used his small claws to directly grab onto the scales of the huge white dragon. The huge white dragon gently said, ¡°Child, don¡¯t be afraid. He is your father.¡± An imposing filled voice voiced out. He placidly said, ¡°My child, you¡¯re back. Quickly come over for father to have a look.¡± A golden light shot over and covered Xiao Jin, dragging him over. The closer he got to the Dragon King, the more he felt the pressure that was emitted by the Dragon King. The huge white dragon said caringly, ¡°Dragon King, be a little more gentle. Don¡¯t scare our child.¡± The Dragon King¡¯s imposing voice replied, ¡°As my child and the successor of the Dragon King, how can he have the possibility of being a coward?¡± After hearing the Dragon King¡¯s words, Xiao Jin seemed to have released his potential grandeur. He straightened his chest, and golden light shone out from his eyes to form a circle of power surrounding his body, standing up under the loftiness of the Dragon King. The old Dragon King looked satisfied. ¡°That¡¯s right! This is my good child. Something is not right. Child, why is your body so weak? Ah Bai, have you brought something else in here? I smell the scent of a human.¡± The huge white dragon also walked over and passed me, who was covered with white light, over. ¡°Our son says that this is his master. He has been injured by Xiao Qing. Take a look.¡± The old Dragon King didn¡¯t become angry as what the huge white dragon had expected. He took me over. ¡°Can this be the light inheritor that the God King had spoken of, the savior of the world, the Child of Light?¡± Xiao Jin whistled loudly, confirming the Dragon King¡¯s thought. The Dragon King frowned and said, ¡°This Xiao Qing is almost 10000 years old and is still so hot tempered. This human¡¯s injury is very severe.¡± After he said that, a golden light shot out from his dragon¡¯s horn and wrapped around me. I could completely hear their conversations without missing any word, but I was in so much pain that I couldn¡¯t speak. The golden light that shone on my body from the Dragon King gave me a warm feeling. The warmth gradually became hotter. It seemed as though it wanted to melt me. I involuntarily screamed out in pain. Xiao Jin looked impatiently and kept on crying out anxiously. The huge white dragon told him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your father is giving him treatment.¡± The old Dragon King didn¡¯t have any intention of stopping. The gold light kept intensifying. Finally, under the effect of the strong power, I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I was currently in another stone hole. The green dragon, who had previously injured me, was by my side. When he saw me open my eyes, he coldly said, ¡°Human, you¡¯re awake. I will bring you to meet with our king.¡± This stupid dragon that had seriously injured me was still this arrogant. Wasn¡¯t he just older than me? What was so good about that? I checked my body¡¯s condition. Even though I was still feeling a little feeble, all of my bones had reconnected. I gently moved my body. Everything was normal. My body also felt as though it had lightened a little. I also coldly said, ¡°You stupid dragon, you sneak attacked me when I wasn¡¯t paying attention. How can we say that it is due to your skills?¡± The green dragon used his dragon wing to gently hit me, making me stagger. I angrily said, ¡°What are you doing?¡± The green dragon with contempt said, ¡°With just your abilities, you want to fight with me? From how I see it, you are seeking death.¡± After he said that, he also simultaneously pinched at his two respectively smaller front claws, giving off creaking sounds. I snorted heavily and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to take me to the Dragon King? Why are we still not heading there?¡± The green dragon withdrew his contemptible attitude at that moment. He didn¡¯t say anything and walked out first. As I followed behind him, I really wanted to kick his butt hard. This fellow was really too arrogant. I arrived at the same hole I was in previously. The huge white dragon and Xiao Jin stood separately at the sides of the Dragon King. The Dragon King said imposingly, ¡°Human, you have awakened.¡± Volume 6: Chapter 12 - Xiao Jins Family Volume 6: Chapter 12 - Xiao Jin''s Family As I faced the world¡¯s strongest expert, the Dragon King, I didn¡¯t dare to slight him. I bowed towards him and said, ¡°Dragon King, I thank you for saving me.¡± The dragon King replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t do much. It is my clan member that hurt you, so I definitely have the responsibility of saving you. From what I¡¯ve heard from my child, you have been taking care of him all this time, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°It cannot be said that I took care of him. Xiao Jin is my best friend. He has experienced many life and death dangers with me. Without him, I would be dead already.¡± The old Dragon King nodded. ¡°I want you to explain to me why my child¡¯s life force is this weak.¡± My expression dampened and sighed, ¡°To tell you the truth, this was due to my¡­.¡± I told him everything that had transpired. When the green and white dragon heard that I let Xiao Jin out to compete, even after I was warned not to, they glared at me until I said I used my life to save Xiao Jin. Only then did they calm down a little. The old Dragon King heard what I said emotionlessly. ¡°.....So that was what happened that resulted in Xiao Jin¡¯s life force being so weak. I came here to return him to your side. I hope you can find a way to recover his life force.¡± Xiao Jin loudly cried out. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t want to be separated from me. I glanced at him, full with emotion, and lukewarmly said, ¡°Xiao Jin, this is your home. You must listen to your parents from now on and qualify to become a great Dragon King, alright?¡± Xiao Jin strongly shook his head and said in my heart, ¡°I want to follow you. I don¡¯t want to stay here.¡± After being together for so many years, Xiao Jin was filled with reluctance to part from me. I walked over and leaned on his body. With tears flowing down my face, I replied, ¡°I am also reluctant to leave you. However, this is your world. You have your family, and they¡¯re the same species as you. You will only be in danger if you follow me.¡± XIao Jin cried out to the old Dragon King and used his big wings to place me at the center of his body. The old Dragon King said, ¡°Human, I don¡¯t know if I should thank you for returning my child or to blame you for the great loss of his life force. I will count it as the balance between contribution and errors. You are free to go. Xiao Qing, you send him out.¡± I nodded and struggled out of Xiao Jin¡¯s embrace. I deeply bowed towards the old Dragon King. ¡°Thank you for not punishing me. I hope that after I leave, you can recover Xiao Jin¡¯s life force. Xiao Jin¡¯s previous death is the most remorseful incident in my entire life.¡± The huge white dragon replied, ¡°We will.¡± Xiao Jin was restricted by the old Dragon King¡¯s power. He repeatedly cried out and was filled with reluctance. The old Dragon King looked at my fading back before gently sighing. Just as I was going to walk out of the hole, the old Dragon King¡¯s imposing voice called out. ¡°Human, come back here.¡± I was stunned as to why he wanted me back. Could it be he didn¡¯t know how much determination it took for me to leave Xiao Jin? However, with the call from the Dragon King, I couldn¡¯t disobey it. After returning to face the Dragon King, Xiao Jin was already no longer there. The dragon King lukewarmly said, ¡°I have already locked Xiao Jin up in a secret room. After settling your matters, I will start to help him recover his life force.¡± I gratifyingly replied, ¡°Thank you. I will be happy if Xiao Jin is alright.¡± The Dragon King said smilingly, ¡°He¡¯s my child. I will definitely treat him. I should be the one to thanking you. Even though my child has lost a large amount of life force, he is still brought back here safely by you. If you have any request, you can say them. I will try my best to fulfill them.¡± I lowered my head and thought before suddenly saying, ¡°I do not have any request for myself, but I want to plead to you to help save the other races in the world.¡± I thought, ¡°If I can involve this old Dragon King in the battle, I will feel more relieved when the time comes.¡± The Dragon King looked interested and replied, ¡° Carry on.¡± I composed myself before telling him what the God King had told me previously. After the Dragon King heard what I had to say, he sighed deeply and said, ¡°You¡¯re a good child. You are kindhearted. Actually, I already know everything. We have the same enemy, the Monster King. You perhaps don¡¯t about this, but during that year of the great God and Monster war my father had led the dragon clan to also participate in it.¡± Here, the old Dragon King¡¯s eyes were filled with dejection. He continued to say, ¡°My father, the previous generation''s Dragon King, was killed by the Monster King. From then on, I inherited the Dragon King¡¯s position. The God King once told me that even with his God¡¯s power, he was still unable to eliminate the Monster King. There will be a day the Monster King will emerge again. However, at that time, a hero that has a short life, the Child of Light, will lead all of the brave warriors to have the ultimate battle against the Monster King.¡± I was startled and replied, ¡°It can¡¯t be that Child of Light that has a short life is me, right?¡± The Dragon King nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct. It is you. If you aren¡¯t that person, why would the God King give you the Holy Sword? Child, there are some matters that you won¡¯t be able to escape from. Do you understand?¡± I smiled embarrassedly, ¡°Even if I want to escape, will I be able to? You can stop worrying. I will do my best.¡± The old Dragon King noded. ¡°Child, I have already recovered your life force that you sacrificed for my child and also strengtheedn your bones. Your path is still an extremely long one.¡± This was not bad. It was worth the trip. It had actually recovered my life force. This was just too amazing. Haha! I said with gratitude, ¡°Thank you for recovering my life force.¡± The old Dragon King shook his head. ¡°After a couple of years, I will lead the eight elders of the dragon clan to participate in the great God and Monster war in the future. You can be reassured of that. If the Monster King wants to invade the whole world, he will definitely not let my clan off.¡± I respectfully nodded. ¡°I represent the human race of the world to thank you beforehand.¡± The old Dragon King replied, ¡°My child¡¯s dependence on you is very strong. I know that you two will be inseparable partners in life. I will not forcefully keep you two apart. However, I have some conditions that you must agree to.¡± I instantly became elated. I didn¡¯t want to be separated from Xiao Jin. This was too perfect. I hastily replied, ¡°Please state your terms. As long as I can be with Xiao Jin, I will accept any conditions.¡± The Dragon King chuckled and replied, ¡°I have three conditions. The first is that you must protect the safety of my child and not let him be fatally wounded.¡± Volume 6: Chapter 13 - The Dragons Conditions Volume 6: Chapter 13 - The Dragon''s Conditions I resolutely said, ¡°If someone wants to hurt Xiao Jin, he must step over my dead body.¡± The old Dragon King nodded with satisfaction before he replied, ¡°Good. The second condition is that no matter what the outcome is in the future, you must become my Dragon clan¡¯s protector and also not expose any of my Dragon clan¡¯s secrets to the other races.¡± I replied, ¡°Of course, I will definitely not breathe a word of it.¡± The Dragon King continued to say, ¡°The third condition is that you must bring my child back to inherit the Dragon King¡¯s position.¡± After hearing that condition, I couldn¡¯t help but be stunned. ¡°It will definitely happen. Is that even counted as a condition?¡± The old Dragon King bitterly smiled, ¡°It definitely is a condition, and also the most important one. Do you know, even if we successfully annihilate the Monster King, your human lifespan is only 100 years while our Dragon clan has a lifespan of a few 10,000 years. Once you die from old age, with my child¡¯s feelings for you, he will definitely want to die with you. In that case, my five claws gold dragon lifeline will end with his.¡± ¡®Ah! Would that be the case?¡¯ I thought of Xiao Jin¡¯s feelings, which confirmed the old Dragon King¡¯s words. I sighed and said, ¡°Dragon King, you can be reassured that I will definitely bring Xiao Jin back to inherit your position.¡± The Dragon King frowned and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t agree to it so fast! Even though my interactions with Xiao Jin aren¡¯t many, I can see that he is extremely stubborn and won¡¯t be easy to convince.¡± I smiled and replied, ¡°I have my own plans for the matter.¡± The old Dragon King who was still worrying said, ¡°Tell me your plans.¡± I used an extremely soft voice as I told my plans to him. The old Dragon King laughed. ¡°You are really sinister. I will be able to relax in that case. However, I won¡¯t be satisfied with only your sayings for my first condition. You must undergo my test.¡± ¡°Test? What test?¡± The old Dragon King smiled sinisterly. ¡°You can pick anyone from my eight elders of the dragon clan and only if you defeat him, can you leave.¡± Wah! He was really sinister and still talked about me. I replied as I wailed, ¡°They are all so abnormal. How can I fight against them?¡± The old Dragon King replied, ¡°It isn¡¯t up to you. I will give you a month¡¯s time to increase your abilities. After that, we will commence the competition. As for my child, he will not be able to leave this place temporarily. I will need a year¡¯s time to recover his life force and make him become a real Dragon King. After he finishes my tasks, I will directly send him to find you. Of course, you must first accomplish the test that I just gave you.¡± From his words, it was to increase Xiao Jin¡¯s powers. Would I stand a chance in fighting with the Dragon clan¡¯s abnormal elders? My face instantly turned green like a bitter gourd. However, for the sake of being with Xiao Jin, I must give it a try. I clenched my teeth and replied. ¡°Alright. I will fight with that green dragon.¡± As I said, I pointed at the huge green dragon who was standing not far away. The old Dragon King was stunned and said, ¡°Xiao Qing is the strongest among the elders. Do you want to reconsider?¡± I replied with determination, ¡°I don¡¯t need to reconsider. I pick him.¡± ¡®Hmph! Stupid green dragon! You hit me, I will definitely humiliate you.¡¯ The old Dragon King replied, ¡°That¡¯s great! I will give you a month. After a month, we will compete outside. In this month, you must work hard. If not, you will definitely be unable to defeat Xiao Qing. Xiao Qing is well known for his iron body. His speciality is physical attacks. He can deal with 100 behemoths without any difficulties. From what I heard from my son, you are a magician. You must remember that our dragon¡¯s magic defense is extremely strong. Alright! I will leave it as it is for now. You will live at the hole you were in before coming here. If you have any problems, you can find Xiao Qing. I will first head back to treat my child.¡± I replied, ¡°I understand. Thank you.¡± After saying that, I left with the green dragon. As they walked, the green dragon said. ¡°Aiya! It has been a long time since I can use my strength. My weary old bones can finally move. Brat, even though you are so small, you seem to be good to beat. You must train hard in the month so as to not disappoint me.¡± After he said that, he pinched his dragon claws again with an elated expression. The Dragon clan¡¯s life was extremely dull so with me to excite his life, he was definitely happy. Seeing his expression, it was clear that he already treated me as his sandbag. I coldly said, ¡°Xiao Qing, just you wait and see how I will deal with you.¡± When the Dragon King previously called him Xiao Qing, he was a little unhappy. The Dragon King was still older than him after all, so he didn¡¯t dare to say anything. With my call, he raged furiously and shouted, ¡°I don¡¯t allow you to call me Xiao Qing! I am much older than you. You are from my younger generations. How can you be this rude?¡± I sneered and replied, ¡°Who is your younger generation? Xiao Qing, quickly get me something to eat.¡± The green dragon angrily walked around me, but didn¡¯t dare to hit me. He viciously said, ¡°Brat! You are currently so wild and ruthless. I will deal with you after a month.¡± We already walked out of the hole at that time. The green dragon called a smaller blue dragon over. ¡°Xiao Xiao Lan, I will pass this brat to you. You will have to satisfy all of his needs. I will go first. You must remember to protect him.¡± As the blue dragon saw the fading back of the green dragon, he unhappily said, ¡°He dumped his burden on me again. Who did I provoke?¡± I cordially greeted him. ¡°This dragon brother, can you get your little brother something to eat?¡± The blue dragon looked at me curiously and replied. ¡°Are you that human being that brought back our young King?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! It is me, why?¡± The blue dragon replied, ¡°So humans looked like this. This is still my first time in seeing one.¡± As he said that, he used his claws to catch me to look at me in detail. I knew he didn¡¯t have any bad intentions so I didn¡¯t resist him. I bitterly smiled and said, ¡°Have you seen enough? If you have, please quickly get me something to eat. I must train as soon as possible. Your Dragon King has given me one month before I have to fight with that stupid dragon.¡± After the blue dragon heard my words, he was shocked. With the release of his dragon claws, I instantly dropped down. As it happened too suddenly, I fell until I was totally muddle-headed. The blue dragon hastily clenched his huge fist and asked, ¡°Are you alright? I am sorry for what just happened. I was absentminded previously.¡± Volume 6: Chapter 14 - Naming Dragons Volume 6: Chapter 14 - Naming Dragons Since he had already apologized like that, what more could I say? I rubbed my butt before standing up. ¡°Why did that stupid dragon call you Xiao Xiao Lan?¡± The blue dragon replied, ¡°It is how we call each other here. We call each other by colours. Let¡¯s use that green dragon as an example. The Dragon King will call him Xiao Xiao Qing. A dragon from the same species, but younger by a generation, will be called Xiao Xiao Qing, therefore I am the pitiful Xiao Xiao Lan.¡± As he said that, he gave me a grievous look. I curiously asked, ¡°What if there are two dragons of the same species in a generation?¡± The blue dragon¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°In our Dragon clan, that will rarely ever happen. Every species generally has only one heir. If two dragons really appeared in the same generation as you said, they will be called Xiao Xiao X1 and Xiao Xiao X2. Even though I am already 8000 years old, I am still younger by a generation from Xiao Qing. However, I am a well known figure in the Dragon clan¡¯s young generation.¡± As he said that, he showed off a posture that he thought looked very cool. I wanted to fall down and faint. These dragons were really uncivilized. I meant well as I asked, ¡°How about I give you a new name? Xiao Xiao Lan doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± The blue dragon immediately became elated. ¡°Ah! My human brother, I thank you for that. Please quickly give me a name.¡± I thought and replied, ¡°I will call you Ice Blue. How about that? Is that impressive enough?¡± The blue dragon silently said that name. ¡°Ice Blue...Ice Blue.. Wah! That¡¯s perfect! I have my own name. I have my own name.¡± As he said that, he turned and ran away. I shouted at his back, ¡°Hey! Please bring me something to eat!¡± I didn¡¯t even know whether or not he heard me, but I shook my head before solitarily going back into the hole I had woken up in earlier. ¡®How can I win against that stupid green dragon? His power is just too strong. Even if I team up with Xiao Jin to fight him with all our might, we may not be able to defeat him.¡¯ I had only a month¡¯s time. Even if I improve as fast as possible, it would be impossible to defeat that dragon. I never thought that I, a Magister, couldn¡¯t even defeat a dragon. The Dragon King said that their magic defenses were good. He definitely wasn¡¯t bluffing me. Any magic spells lower than the advanced spells would be useless against them. ¡®If I want to defeat him, I must move as I fight him. His body is so huge. His agility will definitely be lower than mine. I must be the first one to attack him during the competition by using short distance teleportation to hit him. After that, I will use my chantless Light Sword. However, the attack power of the Light Sword will probably just be an itch to him. What to do? He definitely won¡¯t give me time to chant my spells. It looks like I can only use the magic and battle spirit fusion strike. I may stand a chance then. The goal for this month is to strengthen the power of the magic and battle spirit fusion strike and lessen the time of its gathering speed. I can only see my fate after that.¡¯ With a goal, my mood improved. Just when I wanted to prepare and start practicing, I suddenly felt something similar to an earthquake. The whole floor was flooded with ¡°Hong! Hong!¡± sounds. It sounded like dense thunder clouds were coming. ¡®What was going on?¡¯ I used a short teleportation spell to get out of the hole. I was shocked at what I was seeing in front of me. I saw all kinds of dragons. There seemed to be 200 of them. It looked like the entire Dragon clan¡¯s forces had gathered. Some were flying and some were standing. Their sizes and shapes differed, but they all were threatening in their grandeur. What shocked me was that their target seemed to be me as they formed an enormous circumference around me and slowly moved towards me. There were peculiar gazes from all of the dragon¡¯s eyes. They seemed to want to gobble me up. Not to mention myself, but even if it was the God King seeing so many dragons, he would most certainly have a headache. I forcefully smiled and said, ¡°Wah! Greetings to all of you. I¡¯ve just arrived and look forward to all of your advice.¡± The crowd of dragons didn¡¯t care about me and continued to constantly surround me. This was bad. It couldn¡¯t be that they think of me as dessert, right? But I¡¯m so small. I probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to satisfy a single dragon and there were so many. How were they going to share me? Such a thing shouldn''t be the case. Could it be that stupid green dragon called them over? That also shouldn¡¯t be it. The only one that could move the entire Dragon clan should be the Dragon King. The green dragon wouldn¡¯t have this ability. When the crowd had me completely surrounded, four hundred large eyes met my small eyes. I vigilantly said, ¡°What do all of you want? I am the Dragon King¡¯s guest, so you can¡¯t just do whatever you¡¯d like.¡± Seeing that they hadn¡¯t replied to me and that all of their dragon claws began to stir, I knew this was going to be bad. They must have come here due to the matter regarding the life force of Xiao Jin. I hastily said, ¡°Wah! Dragon brothers, if you want to vent your anger, please let me keep my little life, and also when you hit me, please don¡¯t hit my face.¡± After I said that, I crouched down and used all of my magic power to protect my entire body. After a long time, there still wasn¡¯t any response. They were still looking at me as before. Suddenly, there was movement from within the crowd of dragons and the blue dragon that ran away earlier squeezed himself into the middle with me. The few small dragons at the side made some sounds towards him. Ice Blue puffed out his chest and said, ¡°Leave it to me!¡± I didn¡¯t know what he had just promised to them. After Ice Blue said that, he walked over and lowered his huge head and seemed to curry favor with me. ¡°Human brother, the name that you have given me is extremely resounding. For so many years, my clan members have never had their own names. Can you also¡­..¡± Sigh! So it was for this. I wiped away the cold sweat from my forehead and calmed down. I replied smilingly, ¡°Isn¡¯t it to give all of them names? There won¡¯t be a problem. Don¡¯t worry. I am well known for being handsome, outstandingly elegant, with the manners of a jade tree and am a powerful yet exceptionally witty mage amongst humans. How can this matter be consideredas a problem to me?¡± Ice Blue was stunned and asked, ¡°What does handsome, outstandingly elegant, with the manners of a jade tree and a powerful yet exceptionally witty mage mean?¡± I toppled heavily. I smiled awkwardly, ¡°They are all phrases that describes something that is good. Alright. Let¡¯s not continue to talk about that. Are they all here to get a name?¡± All of the large and small dragons simultaneously let out a long dragon roar. They had confirmed my question. The sound was definitely loud enough to topple the mountains and overturn the seas. I jumped in shock and said, ¡°Alright. Please lower your voice. You¡¯re scaring me to death. You can come forward to me in accordance of your age, from the youngest to the oldest.¡± These dragons with tyrannical powers were all like obedient babies due to wanting me to give them a good name. Every dragon that came over looked at me with hope filled eyes. There wasn¡¯t even a hint of a dragon¡¯s usual loftiness. ¡°¡®You are covered with red scales and there are three spikes on your back. Your dragon breath is fire. You look really bold and powerful so I will give you a name, Flamy.¡± ¡°Your dragon scales are purple,......, I will call you Purple Dream.¡± Volume 6: Chapter 15 - Backed by the Dragons Volume 6: Chapter 15 - Backed by the Dragons Just like that, I wracked my brain for the entire day to give all of the dragons names that they were satisfied with. After that, even Xiao jin¡¯s mother, who was the huge white dragon, also came. I also gave her a name, White Queen as she was the Dragon King¡¯s wife. Haha! After giving so many dragons their names, I still felt very accomplished. I finally finished that task when night came. Except for the Dragon King and the Green Dragon that had ¡®offended¡¯ me, all of the dragons had their own name.¡± After the crowd of dragons had dispersed, I also went back to my hole. The Green Dragon that had been hiding at the side ran over and pulled Ice Blue. ¡°Xiao Xiao Lan, what is that brat up to? I was too far away so I couldn¡¯t see clearly what happened.¡± Ice Blue arrogantly said, ¡°Please don¡¯t call me Xiao Xiao Lan anymore. I have a new name. Please call me Ice Blue instead. The human brother has previously given us all our own names. Haha! Uncle Xiao Qing, I am afraid that you are the only one that doesn¡¯t have a new name. I am heading off. Ice Blue...Ice Blue.. I am extremely satisfied with my name.¡± After looking at Ice Blue who was on cloud nine, the green dragon used his large claws to hit his head. He muttered, ¡°If I knew this will happen, I won¡¯t have offended him. What can I do now? I can¡¯t just go up to him and ask for a new name.¡± After he said that, he sighed before walking away. As for me, after heading back to my hole, I ate all kinds of fruits that the bunch of dragons had given me. (There were also some wild beasts. However, it was too troublesome to make it edible so I just ate the fruits. I am lazy.) It soothed my mood. Even though it was a little tiring today, I made good relationships with those dragons. It would definitely be beneficial to the competition in a month¡¯s time. Starting from the next day on, I had given myself tasks. I would train battle spirit in the morning and then train the gathering speed for my magic and battle spirit fusion spell. Afterwards, I would meditate. As I slept, with the two Gold Dans, the gathering speed of my magic power had increased drastically. It was not like one plus one equals two kind of increases, but rather twice as much. After my two Gold Dans turned completely transparent, my magic power would be able to breakthrough from the Magister¡¯s realm so the good effects of lying down to meditate could be seen clearer. After working hard for a month, I could clearly feel the improvement in my magic. No matter if it was the God King that had shed my mortal body and exchanged my bones or the Dragon King that had changed my physique, the results were amazing. My battle spirit had improved rapidly, my body was much stronger than before. My physical capability was abundant and I had trained to the best standards for the battle. Even though my power might not reach the Radiant Knight rank, it had at least reached the Heaven Knight rank. My battle spirit had almost reached the God Battle Spirit¡¯s class. Of course, my martial skills were still bad, however it shouldn¡¯t matter as I trained my battle spirit to be better at using my magic. Even though I still had not reached the speed of using chantless intermediate light spells and Elementary spells, the gathering speed had decreased drastically. I currently only need 3 seconds to cast a fusion magic and battle spirit spell that was stronger than before. A month soon passed. The Dragon King had told a small dragon to pass his words to me to prepare myself for the test tomorrow. In this one month, I was already very familiar with the dragons. They had already accepted me, a human being. No matter if it was 1 or 2 thousand small dragons or the 10000 years and above elder dragons, they all called me their brother. I had never seen the green dragon since that day. He probably hated me to death. He definitely wouldn¡¯t hold back his strengths. We would just follow my preplanned fighting tactics tomorrow. With the Dragon King''s supervision, I should have no problem with keeping my small life. ¡­¡­ There was an extremely flat and sparse land in the middle of Dragon Valley. It was the best place to hold competitions. The green dragon stood in front of me with his eyes glaring like a tiger watching his prey. The Dragon King also walked out from his hole. From what he had said, Xiao Jin had started close doors training. His life force was slowly recovering. The Dragon King¡¯s imposing voice rang out. ¡°The test begins. Xiao Qing, you must remember not to kill him.¡± After he said that, with a wave of his claws, an enormous golden transparent barrier formed to enclose us at the center of it. The green dragon extended his dragon claws. ¡°Brat, if I don¡¯t cripple you, I will no longer be called Xiao Qing.¡± The group of dragons surrounding us roared simultaneously. From the huge dragons that knew how to speak, it seemed that they were cheering me on. The green dragon yelled furiously at the barrier, ¡°Why are you all extending your dragon claws? You are being biased towards outsider! Quickly cheer me on.¡± Ice Blue replied, ¡°Uncle Xiao Qin, it can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t know that we were given his grace, right? Furthermore, we are all cheering for the weaker competitor. Zhang Gong! You can do it! Zhang Gong! Go for it!¡± The green dragon was so angry that his entire body shivered. The Dragon King yelled, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you two fighting? Quickly start the test!¡± Xiao Qing instantly moved 30 meters ahead and swiped his tail at me. He used the same move that he did previously to strike at me horizontally. I had long prepared to used short teleportation before the Dragon King said those words. When I saw him move, I immediately teleported away. As the speed was extremely fast, the green dragon¡¯s tail hit my after image. I mockingly said, ¡°I am here!¡± The green dragon angrily dashed over, but I didn¡¯t counter attack. I dodged all around him. Suddenly, I thought of a good plan, I started to run in a circle in the barrier that the Dragon King had erected. I gradually increased my pace. When I ran at my maximum speed, there was my silhouette from all directions. The green dragon got dizzy from my movement. I struck out at that moment using the fusion magic and battle spirit spell that I gathered earlier. Due to the remnant images, it seemed that I was striking at the green dragon from all directions, making it impossible for him to avoid the attack. ¡°Hong!¡± The long white light with a tinge of gold struck on his back. I had struck him with all of my might. The longer I stored up the spell, the stronger it got. It was definitely stronger than any advanced spells that I used before. The green dragon screeched out in pain. The scales on his back spewed out blood from my strike as his body heavily struck the ground. The Dragon King and White Queen paled as they didn¡¯t think that I would have such a powerful attack. Actually, I knew that even though I had injured the green dragon with this strike, it would not be wounded fundamentally. Even though I had estimated that his defences was extremely strong, his durability was still beyond my expectations. The green dragon gradually stood up. His eyes had turned blood shot red. He gently flapped his wings and flew up into the sky with his body emitting intense green light rays. I knew that his next move would definitely be world shaking. Blood was still constantly dripping from his body. Volume 6: Chapter 16 - The Holy Swords Handle Volume 6: Chapter 16 - The Holy Sword''s Handle I didn¡¯t dare to slight him. I immediately started chanting. As I chanted, the green dragon¡¯s mouth was also continuously moving. This was bad. It was a dragon language spell. I couldn¡¯t help but to be frightened as I didn¡¯t know if my power would be strong enough to block his attack. I would stake it all with this one exchange, ¡°Light elements, my great friends, I plead for you to use your power to form unlimited light rays to form small stars to eliminate the enemy before you, Bright Star¡¯s Shine!¡± I rapidly gathered light elements beside me and continuously formed them into stars in front of me, forming layer after layer of defence. I quietly heaved a sigh of relief. At this moment, the green dragon¡¯s entire body lit with green light. His eyes had recovered their previous sober and calmness. He chuckled at me and said, ¡°It has been 10000 years since I had been injured, excluding the previous great God and Monster War. I will let you see the true power of the Dragon clan.¡± This was terrible. His entire body¡¯s green ray formed an enormous wave moving towards me. I hastily gathered the stars in front of me and released the second fusion spell. When the magic and battle spirit fusion spell¡¯s light ray and the wave from the green dragon collided, the wave didn¡¯t stop at all after smashing through the white power from the fusion spell and charged towards the star defense area. The stars had temporarily stopped the advancement of the wave but its strength were rapidly diminishing. When the stars and the wave collided, it gave off ¡°Zi! Zi!¡± sounds. I knew that the stars wouldn¡¯t be able to block the attack so I immediately cast a Holy Swords protection spell and also gathered my battle spirit in front of my body. The charging wave succeeded in breaking through the stars defense area and heavily hit on my last defence. I didn¡¯t get hit head on, but flew out along with its power. Even if that was the case, I was still unable to break through this tremendously strong power. ¡°Hong!¡± I smashed into the gold barrier that the Dragon King had cast. Due to the collision, the barrier rippled. I violently spout out blood as I was seriously hurt. I had used all of my abilities to forcefully block the advancement of the green dragon¡¯s attack but also suffered serious injuries. I had once again experienced how powerful a dragon¡¯s power was. The green dragon was also shocked that I could block his attack. He immediately pounced over, getting ready to hit me so as to make me completely lose my fighting power. It was just like the final match of the Advanced Academies¡¯ competition. I had once again faced the fear of facing death. ¡®Xiao Jin, is it really impossible for me to be with you?¡¯ My heart felt as though it had been torn apart. At the crucial moment, I similarly felt that the Holy Sword power in my body surged out. I knew that at crucial moments, the Holy Sword would awaken temporarily again. My eyes had turned completely gold as the Holy Sword power surged out of my body. What was different from before was that I had some understandings on how to use the Holy Sword so I could barely be able to control it. My body elevated and my body shone with peculiar gold light rays. An enormous gold light sword gathered in front of me similar to the previous time. The power emitted from the Holy Sword was much stronger in comparison. The green dragon could already feel the immense pressure, but he knew that it was impossible for him to retreat. There was also not enough time for him to cast another dragon language magic spell. He clenched his teeth and curled up into a ball before he rapidly charged at me with his back facing outwards. With a single thought, the light sword shot out. The Dragon King was shouting from outside the barrier. He had already felt that something was wrong. The power had made him felt threatened. To protect the green dragon¡¯s safety, two light rays shot out from his two enormous dragon horns. One was shot to counter my light sword and the other was towards the green dragon. The Dragon King¡¯s golden light and my light sword collided first. With the valiance of the Dragon King, due to using his power in a rush, he could only slow down the advancement of the light sword. The light sword was a little sluggish as it quickly engulfed the Dragon King¡¯s golden light before continuing to fly towards the green dragon. The Dragon King hollered, ¡°Xiao Qing, be careful!¡± Even though he had warned the green dragon, he knew that with all of the power that the green dragon possessed, it would still be impossible for him to withstand the light sword¡¯s power. It would be too late for him to gather more powers as well. There was pain that was shown from the Dragon King¡¯s eyes. He never would have thought that I could use the God King¡¯s Radiant Holy Sword. Actually, even though the Holy Sword had only been half awoken, I used only a sliver of its power. Just as the Radiant Holy Sword¡¯s power was going to hit the green dragon, I gently moved the power of the Holy Sword upwards and towards the left before rapidly sending it out. I got a beautiful home run just like when the green dragon had previously used his tail to swipe at me. The enormous green dragon¡¯s body broke through the Dragon King¡¯s barrier before heavily hitting at the nearby stone wall. With his strong body, he shouldn¡¯t be in much danger. I didn¡¯t have the time to laugh as I had used up all of my strength. The Dragon King shot out some power to catch me who was dropping down from the sky. With the Dragon King¡¯s treatment, I felt much better. I had recovered some of my body¡¯s strength. I said feebly, ¡°Dragon King, does this count as I have pass the test?¡± The Dragon King sighed. ¡°I never thought that the God King had given the Radiant Holy Sword. Thank you for holding back.¡± I smiled, ¡°Your Dragon clan members are so few. Moreover, I don¡¯t have any deep grudges towards him. Why would I take his life?¡± The Dragon King replied, ¡°To be honest, I suggested this test just to make things difficult for you. I and Xiao Bai, ah no! I heard that you gave her a name called White Queen, are reluctant to be separated from our son. Do you know why he left the Dragon Valley previously? It was because of that old fellow, the God King. He said that whoever can hatch the dragon egg, that person will have the means to inherit the Radiant God¡¯s power. Just like that, our child was separated from us. This time, you have sent him back with such difficulties. We also don¡¯t want to be apart from him.¡± I nodded. ¡°I understand your feelings. What kind of parents doesn¡¯t want their children to be by their side? How about this? After Xiao Jin helps me to settle the Monster King¡¯s problem, I will let him return to Dragon Valley to accompany you all. I will also frequently come to see him at that time. If he misses me, he can also come to find me.¡± Xiao Jin was their child after all. Which parents would want to be separated from their children? The Dragon King happily nodded his head. ¡°That will be great! I represent the Dragon clan to thank you for that.¡± Volume 6: Chapter 17 - The Dragons Gift Volume 6: Chapter 17 - The Dragon''s Gift I laughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to thank me for? Xiao Jin is your child after all.¡± In my heart, I sniggered, ¡®This Dragon King is really silly. If he doesn¡¯t want Xiao Jin to go with me, can I beat all of the dragons? Won¡¯t it still be his call? Now, I am just doing someone a favor at a low cost.¡¯ Actually, the one that was silly wasn¡¯t the Dragon King but rather our leading actor, as he didn¡¯t know that Xiao Jin had formed a contract with him. Without his permission, Xiao Jin would be unable to leave him. If he died, Xiao Jin would also die. This was why the Dragon King used every possible means to make him promise not to allow Xiao Jin to die with him. The Dragon King replied, ¡°How about this? Since you agree to let Xiao Jin return, you are the benefactor of our Dragon clan. I will impart to you a special Dragon language spell from the Dragon clan. What do you want to learn?¡± This was great. I really had to think this through. My eyes lit up. ¡°I want to learn how to break through magic seals.¡± This spell had saved me a couple of times. It was not bad to have the power to eliminate all kinds of magic seals. The Dragon King astonishingly nodded his head. ¡°You really know how to pick. This spell in the dragon language is an advanced spell. I will impart this spell to you.¡± The Dragon King¡¯s body shone with gold light. Two cold lights shone out from his large eyes before deeply piercing into my own . Instantly, there were countless strange symbols that appeared in my mind. The Dragon King said, ¡°This is the chant to break magic seals. If you want to use it, you just have to read exactly as it appears. .¡± The chant was very simple. It was just like a little tongue twister. I replied, ¡°Thank you. Is Xiao Jin¡¯s closed door training going well?¡± The Dragon King replied, ¡°It is currently going well. I used a few treasures of the Dragon clan to increase his power and life force. He has matured too quickly so his foundation is still unstable.The eight elders and I will take turns to help train him. You don¡¯t have to worry about him. After a year and after his close door training has ended, I will let him find you. No matter where you are, he will always be able to find your position. You can totally be reassured about that.¡± I nodded. ¡°I feel relieved that way.¡± The Dragon King said, ¡°After resting for a day, you can leave this place tomorrow.¡± The last day with the dragon clan was the busiest day by far. Almost all of the dragons gave me some kind of presents. As the dragons had the hobby of collecting, they had all given me different kinds of gemstones, a big piece of diamond, different colours of magic crystals, other rare products, et cetera. My spatial space was filled to the brim with gifts. Seeing them so passionate, I was a little embarrassed to just leave as I had taken everything that they gave to me. Haha! ¡®I am rich! After heading back and selling this off, I will at least have a few tens of thousands of diamond coins. HeHe! I won¡¯t be afraid to treat Mu Zi to good food in the future.¡¯ After awakening from my money dream, I packed my belongings. Actually, there wasn¡¯t much to pack. I just changed a set of new clothes. After that, I walked to the Dragon King¡¯s hole to bid him farewell. The Dragon King wasn¡¯t there. There was only White Queen there in the hole. I asked, ¡°Aunt White Queen, where is the Dragon King?¡± White Queen smiled and said, ¡°The Dragon King is currently helping to train our child. He told me to tell you that you don¡¯t need to bid him farewell and tell you to stay safe. Child, you are leaving. Aunty does not have anything good to give you. I will give you this. This is something that I inadvertently picked up many years ago. There were a lot of them at that time.¡± After she said that, a white light floated towards me. I extended my hand forward to receive the white light. As the light ray gradually dulled, it was an exquisite magic staff. It was roughly 1.2 meters long. Its body was made up of an unknown metal was shining with gold light rays. There was a light green dragon on the staff¡¯s body. The dragon head was the staffs head piece. Its mouth had a large transparent gemstone between its jaws, the dragon eyes made of two red gemstones. Two dragon wings slightly opened on two sides of the magic staff. The green dragon staff looked like it was alive. It seemed that his entire body was carved out of a large piece of gemstone. A precious light ray illuminated the entire magic staff. The magic staff kept on emitting power. I knew that it was definitely a top grade magic staff. I fondled with the magic staff and said, ¡°Aunty, thank you for this gift. This present is too precious.¡± White Queen said smilingly, ¡°This magic staff is not very useful to our Dragon clan. It is known as Sukrad''s magic staff. This was the weapon that the Dragon God Sukrad used that year.¡± I asked in amazement, ¡°There is also a Dragon God?¡± White Queen nodded. ¡°There definitely is. The Dragon God was not in charge of our Dragon clan. He was just responsible for our interactions between the God clan and our Dragon clan. His power was also extremely strong. He unfortunately sacrificed himself during the Great God and Monster War. Before he died, he left this magic staff to us. I will pass it on to you today. Even though it is much weaker than your Radiant Holy Sword, you should be able to use it with your current strength. You can keep and use it.¡± I replied emotionally, ¡°This gift is too precious. I thank you for this, Aunty.¡± White Queen shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. We also have selfish motives. I only hope that you will protect our child¡¯s safety in the in the future. It will be your greatest gratitude to us.¡± She had spoken so honestly. However, even if that was the case, I was still thankful. I rode on Ice Blue¡¯s back and waved saying my farewells to the crowd that came to send me off. Ice Blue expanded his enormous wings to fly through the clouds and into the sky. I asked him, ¡°How is that stupid green dragon?¡± Ice Blue replied, ¡°It is all thanks to you holding back that Uncle Xiao Qing only suffered superficial wounds. His condition isn¡¯t bad. After resting, he should be fine.¡± I laughed and said, ¡°When you head back, tell him that I have given him a name called Blank Green Head.¡± Ice Blue obviously didn¡¯t understand what Blank Green Head means. He elatedly replied, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s great! After I head back, Uncle Xiao Qing will definitely be happy. Even though he didn¡¯t say, we all know that he has been envying us because of our names.¡± I sniggered but didn¡¯t say anything. Ice Blue had flown me to the entrance of the Cloud and Mist Mountain Range before reluctantly heading back. My mood was indescribable great. This was extremely good. Even though I had experienced some difficulty, I had settled Xiao Jin¡¯s matter and also got the support of the Dragon clan. The burden on my shoulders lightened a little. After settling this matter, I should head home to visit my parents. There was still a month¡¯s time before school reopens. I could still make it. Volume 6: Chapter 18 - Warm Familial Love Volume 6: Chapter 18 - Warm Familial Love I set up a permanent magic array at a relatively secretive location so that I wouldn¡¯t need to walk and could instead teleport directly back here next time. I drew a returning magic array beside it. This place was far away from my house. Thus, to be together with my family for a few more days, I had decided to head back using the magic array. Even though the distance was a little far, with my current magic power, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems. I stood at the center of the magic array, raising the Sukrad''s staff, and muttering the chant for the returning spell. Speaking of the magic staff, I am growing increasingly fond of it. It wasn¡¯t only just because of its enormous power, but also because of its beautiful appearance. This was the most beautiful magic staff that I had ever seen; just holding it gave me an imposing feeling. As I chanted the retuning spell, the Sukrad''s staff¡¯s transparent gemstone shone out misty gold light rays before it activated the magic array. The feeling of the return was different from before due to the Sukrad''s staff. It shot out a gold light barrier that protected me so I didn¡¯t feel the twisting and tearing of space. I had arrived at my destination, my hometown, without any discomfort. Standing on the permanent magic array that I had previously established, I cast my eyes upon the small village that looked more prosperous than before, my heart filling with warmth. I shouted, ¡°Mom, dad, I¡¯m back!¡± I held on to the Sukrad''s staff and rapidly ran towards the village. The Sukrad''s staff had a special property, I couldn¡¯t store it in my spatial space so I could only hold it by hand. When the villagers saw me, they greeted me excitedly. Since my magic was outstanding with my status as a Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡¯s student, I had become a well known figure in the village. I hadn¡¯t even reached the entrance of the house when my parents appeared to welcome me. This might be because I had given them quite a sum of money so they needn¡¯t work for a living anymore and could instead stay home to practice their magic. I emotionally shouted, ¡°Father, Mom, I am home!¡± Mom cried as she hugged me. ¡°Child, you¡¯re finally back. Mom really missed you this past half year.¡± The village chief came over. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re the pride of our village. I will go and prepare for your family of three to come over to my house to have lunch at noon and hold a welcoming reception.¡± I said smilingly, ¡°How can I do that? It will be too troublesome for you.¡± The Village Chief replied, ¡°How is this troublesome? Don¡¯t be modest. Father of Zhang Gong, you all come over as well.¡± Father replied, ¡°Alright! We thank you for your hospitality.¡± The Village Chief happily walked away. The rest of the villagers surrounded our family of three, especially me. They kept on asking me questions. Their enthusiasm was almost unbearable to me. When some people saw my beautiful magic staff, they insisted on examining it. My head was spinning as I had never encountered such a situation before in my life. This was really humans fear becoming famous, pigs fear becoming fat. This was really even more tiring than fighting consecutive battles. Finally, I was able to escape home with my parents. I had noticed after coming home that the house was totally different. The entire house was three times larger. The rooms had changed from four rooms to eight. The middle of the living room was bright and spacious. I astonishingly asked Father, ¡°Father, why has our house become like this? Did you spend money on it?¡± The money I gave them was sufficient to build such a house. However, it wasn¡¯t like mom¡¯s and dad¡¯s style. They usually preferred to live a low-profiled life. Father smiled bitterly, ¡°Your mother and I would never waste money on a thing like this, our previous house was sufficient for us. This was given to us by the Village Chief. I rejected him initially, but the Village Chief said that the house couldn¡¯t be too unpresentable when you marry in the future and insisted on getting it done up. You take a look at how big it is right now, cleaning it is such a chore and now we¡¯ll owe them a favour for nothing at all.¡± So, there were that many benefits to being strong with magic, even the house was renovated. I asked, ¡°Is there something that the Village Chief and the others want from me? If not, why are they fawning on you like this?¡± Mother shook her head and replied, ¡°They don¡¯t. However, ever since you became outstanding, our standard of living and position in life has completely changed. Currently, apart from Village Chief¡¯s house, our house is the largest and the degree of respect received from the entire village sticks out like a sore thumb.¡± I replied smilingly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that great?¡± Father replied, ¡°Why is that good? The feeling of being looked at by everyone is really unbearable I replied, ¡°If you¡¯re not used to this life here, I can bring you to live somewhere else. We can just return this house to them.¡± Mother shook her head. ¡°Your father and I are nearing the big five-zero already, this place has rolling hills and crystal clear water, we aren¡¯t leaving to go anywhere. We know that you won¡¯t live here in the future, but you must come to visit us frequently. We don¡¯t ask anything else of you.¡± I nodded and clung onto mom¡¯s arms. ¡°Mom, I will. If I marry in the future, I will follow your example in finding a place with a good environment to settle down. When the time comes, I will bring you over to have a look, and you can move over to live with me if you like the place.¡± Father teasingly replied, ¡°Good boy! From your words, it seems that you have a partner already.¡± My face flushed. ¡°Stop talking nonsense. Things have not even begun to take shape yet.¡± Mother also understood this time and excitedly said, ¡°Quickly tell mom whose family that girl is from!¡± I bitterly smiled, ¡°I also don¡¯t even know which family she is from. I can only tell you that she is my classmate at the academy. She is called Mu Zi Mo. She isn¡¯t very pretty, but her personality is good.¡± Father chuckled, ¡°I don¡¯t mind if she is pretty or not, as long as she has a good personality. Look at your mother, even though she isn¡¯t that beautiful, I am still in love with her for so many years. Haha!¡± Hearing Dad¡¯s front words, Mom¡¯s eyebrows had became vertical. It looked like she was going to blow a fuse. However, after hearing the last sentence, she instantly softened. She angrily said, ¡°You senile man! If I¡¯m not pretty, could it be that you¡¯re the pretty one? You don¡¯t have a single bit of self-awareness.¡± Father didn¡¯t refute what Mom had said and told me, ¡°Son, are you tired? You should get some rest.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Father, I am not tired at all as I used the returning magic array to come back, so the journey was very easy.¡± Father said in amazement, ¡°Where did you use the returning magic array? It should be a high level magic.¡± I nodded. ¡°It isn¡¯t too far away either. Your son¡¯s current abilities is extraordinary. What is a small returning magic array to me?¡± Volume 6: Chapter 19 - Returning to the Academy Volume 6: Chapter 19 - Returning to the Academy Father suddenly became serious and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be too complacent. Arrogance is the biggest obstacle for a magician to surpass.¡± I struck out my tongue and replied, ¡°I understand.¡± Mom protected me by saying, ¡°You¡¯re hateful. Our son just came back and you are lecturing him already. Our Zhang Gong is strong.¡± Father showed a helpless expression. ¡°You will spoil him this way.¡± I smiled mischievously, ¡°How can it be that way? I am the most obedient.¡± Father replied, ¡°Since you are not tired, let¡¯s go to the Village Chief¡¯s house. We must go and face him. He has been taking good care of us while you weren¡¯t at home after all.¡± I replied, ¡°Must we head there now? Let¡¯s wait for a while longer. Father, Mom, how are your magic training going?¡± Father replied arrogantly said, ¡°It is going very well. Even though we gave up our original magics for light magic, we still have good results. I can freely use any Intermediate light magic. Your mom is almost at the same level as me. She is slightly lousier than your father.¡± Mom rebuked, ¡°Who is lousier than you? Didn¡¯t you lose against me previously and ran away?¡± Father embarrassedly smiled and said, ¡°I was going easy on you. It can¡¯t be that you didn¡¯t see that correctly?¡± Mom revealed a disdainful expression. ¡°Zhang Gong, you can teach us new spells. Our improvement is quite fast.¡± I tested Father and Mom¡¯s magic power and said frowning, ¡°As you didn¡¯t initially learn light magic, your magic power isn¡¯t pure enough. It will be difficult to learn advanced magic.¡± Father and Mom dejectedly looked at each other. Father replied, ¡°If we can¡¯t learn it, we will then forget about it. We mustn¡¯t forcefully learn it.¡± I could see their determination for magic. After all, in this Kingdom, who didn¡¯t want to become an expert in using magic. I suddenly thought of an idea and said smilingly, ¡°Don¡¯t be uneasy ! I have a plan.¡± After saying that, I took out a few pure purple magic crystals from my spatial space. ¡°Take a look! What is this?¡± Father and Mom shouted in amazement, ¡°Purple crystals?! How are there so many precious things in your possession and in such large quantity?¡± I said smilingly, ¡°How can this be regarded as something? I still have a lot of them. These were given to me by my friends. I definitely got them honorably. I will leave a few for you. After meditating, you will pass your magic power into the purple crystal. It not only will cleanse your magic power, it can also help to improve the gathering speed of your magic.¡± Mother took the largest purple crystal. ¡°This is really beautiful. I want this piece.¡± Father said, ¡°You can¡¯t do that! We must split everything by halves¡­.¡± The two of them argued about the distribution. I finally became the mediator and gave them equal amounts of crystals to settle their argument. I said, ¡°That should be alright. Let¡¯s head off, my two guides. Aren¡¯t we supposed to be heading to the Village Chief¡¯s place?¡± On the way to the Village Chief¡¯s house, Father suddenly told me, ¡°Zhang Gong, I forgot to tell you this, but Ao De and Luo Yu are married.¡± I said surprised, ¡°Really? They were in such a rush. They didn¡¯t wait for me to come see their wedding. That brat!¡± After reaching the Village Chief¡¯s house, Ao De and Luo Yu came over. I walked over and gave Ao De a punch. ¡°You¡¯re good! You brat! You didn¡¯t wait for me before you wed!¡± Ao De held the place that had been hit and replied, pretending to be in pain, ¡°Aiyo! A magician is hitting a person.¡± I laughed as I scolded him, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a magician?¡± Luo Yu said smilingly, ¡°That¡¯s enough! Stop fooling around and quickly get inside.¡± After half a year, Luo Yu had become even more beautiful. I smiled and replied, ¡°Congratulations in becoming my younger brother¡¯s wife. You must discipline Ao De more from now on.¡± Luo Yu replied, ¡°Of course! If he cheats on me, I will tear his ear out.¡± Ao De hastily expressed that he wouldn¡¯t even dare to do that. Seeing their blissful relationship, I really envied them. The other mishap was that there was only the Village Chief¡¯s family in the house, and he didn¡¯t invite the other villagers. The Village Chief said, ¡°I fear that you will find it annoying if there are too many people so I didn¡¯t call for the others to come. Zhang Gong, quickly take your seats. The dishes will be coming up soon.¡± Everyone ate the meal happily. To congratulate the marriage between Ao De and Luo Yu, I gave them each a purple crystal. The Village Chief was even more polite to our family. When the next day began, I mentored my parents on how to learn advanced light magic and also helped them remove the impurities in their magic so that they will be able to learn even better magic spells. Time flew past, and it was already rapidly approaching the reopening of the academy. In this month in the village, I was treated by everyone like the moon that was cared for by the stars. In this month, I realised that I had put on some weight. ¡°Father, I will be heading back tomorrow.¡± ¡°My son, learning is most important. Even though you have already achieved some accomplishments, you still need to work hard!¡± I nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I will definitely work hard!¡± Mother said smilingly, ¡°You must bring back our daughter-in-law for us to take a look the next time you return.¡± My face flushed red. ¡°I will try my best. If I can really bring her back with me, you will then really have a daughter in law.¡± Mother replied, ¡°You must work hard! We are waiting to carry our grandson!¡± I used the returning magic array to return to the academy the next day. What I didn¡¯t know was that a long time would pass before the next time I returned home. I decided to visit Teacher Di. Arriving at the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, I saw Teacher Di taking care of his flowers and grasses. I shouted, ¡°Teacher Di, I¡¯m back!¡± Teacher Di stood up and replied smilingly, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back. How is it? Did you send Xiao Jin back?¡± I replied, ¡°The trip can be counted as successful. Not only did I send Xiao Jin back, I also gained the support of the Dragon clan. They have agreed to help us out during the final battle against the Monster King. I saw many different kinds and types of dragons. It was an eye opener.¡± Teacher Di replied, ¡°Quickly tell me what happened!¡± I told him everything that happened in the Dragon Valley and also let Teacher Di see the Sukrad''s staff. Teacher Di sighed. ¡°Zhan Gong, your life is really exciting. If only I am 50 years younger, I will definitely want to roam these places with you.¡± I clung onto Teacher Di¡¯s arm, ¡°Isn¡¯t it that you, old man, have taught me well? Without you, how can I have what I have today?¡± Teacher Di felt consoled and stroked his long mustache, expressing a heartfelt smile on his face. Volume 6: Chapter 20 - Ke Zhas Succession Volume 6: Chapter 20 - Ke Zha''s Succession Suddenly, Teacher Di¡¯s expression changed and said, ¡°There is something that I must tell you. During this holiday, the Kingdom¡¯s King had passed away. Prince Ke Zha is now the King of Aixia.¡± I asked astonished, ¡°Did the Emperor of the Kingdom really die?¡± Teacher Di sighed. ¡°That¡¯s correct. It was already very difficult for him to hold on to his life for such a long time. Once the Prince was in power, he immediately gave titles to us few old fellows. Everyone of us has a title of Royal Magician. You also received that title.¡± I chuckled. ¡°The prince¡­ Ah! I mean the Emperor of the Kingdom really knows how to win over the hearts of the people.¡± Teacher Di said, ¡°I think that Ke Zha still did quite a good job with this matter. Not only did he reward us, he will also reward the two large families and Dun Yu Xi. He also made Chuan Song, Dun Yun Xi and I the mages to protect the Kingdom. Currently, the power of Duke Te Yi has gradually withered. Aixia should temporarily settle down for a while.¡± I replied smilingly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that great? It is what we expected. We didn¡¯t do all that work for nothing.¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°I have returned your title to Prince Ke Zha. You are still too young. You shouldn¡¯t act too ostentatiously. It won¡¯t give you any benefits that way. You won¡¯t blame teacher, right?¡± I chuckled. ¡°Why will I blame you? I can¡¯t even thank you enough. I don¡¯t want to be an official. I won¡¯t have any freedom. I still have the little piglet Mu Zi to take care of. Meat is precious and the price of the meat is even more precious. If there is a large piece of meat, when both of them occur together, then that life will be more suitable to me.¡± Teacher Di mockingly scolded, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to do with you brat. There is also a reason why I didn¡¯t want you to get that title as I didn¡¯t want you to be too distracted. Your task is extremely difficult. The Monster King isn¡¯t that easy to deal with. Even if you have the help from the Dragon clan, you still mustn¡¯t be complacent. Do you understand?¡± I gravely nodded. ¡°I understand. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± ¡­¡­ Mu Zi only returned on the opening day of school. Her complexion didn¡¯t look good. She looked extremely pale. I caringly asked, ¡°Mu Zi, what happened to you? Are you unwell?¡± Mu Zi forcefully smiled and replied, ¡°It is alright. My head is just in a little pain.¡± I touched her cold forehead. ¡°If you are really uncomfortable, you must tell me. According to your current magic power, you shouldn¡¯t fall ill easily.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine, really.¡± I felt that there was something different from Mu Zi¡¯s gazes towards me. It seemed that her love for me had deepened. However, there was a tinge of grief in her eyes. It seemed that something saddening had happened. I called some of my good friends to eat together at the Ascending Jade Tide that afternoon. Ma Ke was flushed with success. With his good relationships with the Magisters and his own strong powers, it was already enough to make exceptions to be given the title Prince by Emperor Ke Zha. Furthermore, with the whole heartedness that Hai Shui was treating him, he was currently the happiest person in our group. What made me curious was that Mu Zi seemed to have lost her appetite. When I gave her what she loved to eat, she only nibbled at it. She was completely different from before. After the meal, I brought her to a quiet corner of the academy. ¡°Mu Zi, what is the matter? Is there something wrong? Can you please tell me?¡± Mu Zi suddenly threw herself at me and hugged me tightly. ¡°Zhang Gong, I really don¡¯t want to be apart from you. I really don¡¯t want to!¡± As she said that, she cried. She was extremely emotional right now. I gently patted her back. I knew that if I didn¡¯t let her cry it out, it would be bad for her body. After a long time, Mu Zi finally stopped crying. She looked up with tears on her face. ¡°Zhang Gong, if our parents disagree for us to be together, what will you do?¡± I caressed her long hair and gently replied, ¡°Silly girl, what silly words are you saying? How will that happen? I am so outstanding! They will definitely like me.¡± After I saying that, I even showed a disdainful look at the world. Seeing my comical actions, Mu Zi laughed and turned her tears into laughter. After her mood lightened up a little, she went back to be dejected. She replied, ¡°What I just told you is the truth. I am not joking with you. Please quickly answer me.¡± I resolutely replied, ¡°There is no one that can tear us apart, even if it is your parents. If they don¡¯t agree with our relationship, I will try to convince them. If that really can¡¯t work, I will snatch you and bring you somewhere far away. We will hide at a place that has enchanting scenery so that they won¡¯t be able to find us. After a period of time, we will... Hehe! When the raw rice becomes cooked rice, I will bring you back to meet them again.¡± Mu Zi sighed and leaned on my opposite shoulder as she replied, ¡°If that can work, it may be a good plan. But will it really work?¡± I frowned and said, ¡°From what you said, your parents really don¡¯t accept our relationship. Why am I not good enough? They haven¡¯t even met me before so why are they banning our relationship?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. It isn¡¯t whether you are good or not. It is just¡­.¡± Seeing that she wanted to talk but stopped, I anxiously asked, ¡°Then what is it? Please tell me. We will then be able to think of a solution.¡± Mu Zi shook her head and looked at me aggrieved. ¡°Forget it! You will find that out in the future. Let¡¯s walk one step at a time.¡± I was already out of options. She always said this sentence at every crucial moment. However, I didn¡¯t have the heart to force her to say it. I just silently hugged her using my warm embrace to ease the burden in her heart. I unintentionally looked down and saw that the shoulder she had been lying on was drenched. I said smilingly, ¡°Aiya! You take a look at this. My shoulder is completely filled with your snivel and tears. You must help me wash my clothes.¡± As I said that sentence, I immediately lightened the heavy atmosphere. Mu Zi pushed me away with her face reddened. ¡°You¡¯re detestable. You¡¯re the one that have snivels. I will help you to wash it off.¡± As she said that, her eyes flashed with cunningness. A small waterball formed in her hand. I look at her bewildered before turning around to run away. Mu Zi tossed the small water ball at me as she quickly chased after me. After dinner, I had escorted Mu Zi back to her dormitory and also advised her to rest well. I solitarily walked in the quiet training field. What Mu Zi had told me during the day really weighed deeply in my heart. It seemed that if Mu Zi and I wanted to be together, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. What was really going on with her? Volume 7: Chapter 1 - Assassin in the Palace Volume 7: Chapter 1 - Assassin in the Palace After returning to the dormitory, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep as I lay down on my bed. I truthfully couldn¡¯t be apart from Mu Zi. Even though we hadn¡¯t known each other for a long time and Mu Zi didn¡¯t have any special characteristics, other than her magic and appetite. But my heart had already been locked onto her. Her every frown and smile moved me. Seeing her in such pain, how could I feel good at all. As I tossed and turned restlessly in bed, a sharp flute tune suddenly sounded outside. Someone was shouting loudly, ¡°All students are to immediately gather at the training field! This is an emergency! All students are to immediately gather at the training field. This is an emergency!¡± What happened? They were calling all of us to gather this late in the night. This was the first time this happened since I first entered the academy. I tidied my uniform and ran to the training field, holding the staff. I saw Teacher Zhen and Teacher Lie stand grimly at the training field. When Teacher Zhen saw that the majority of the students had come, he shouted, ¡°Students, time is pressing. A rescue signal have just suddenly sounded from the palace! I am unsure what happened. All year 5 students and year 3 Zhang Gong and Mu Zi are to immediately follow me and the vice Principal to enter the palace. Make haste!¡± Ma Ke was living in the palace and the Hai Yue three siblings had returned home. Looking at Teacher Zhen¡¯s face, I knew something major had happened. I teleported to his side and asked, ¡°Teacher Zhen, what is going on?¡± Teacher Zhen frowned and replied, ¡°I also don¡¯t know what is going on. The sentry on duty suddenly saw the fireworks that are signals for assistance come from the palace. Something major must have happened. Let¡¯s go! Where is Mu Zi?¡± I looked in every direction but didn¡¯t see her. I replied, ¡°I don¡¯t see her anywhere. It may be because she was too tired in the day so she hasn¡¯t woken up. I will go find her.¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°Forget it! Don¡¯t call her. We must make haste immediately and if we don¡¯t head out now, we will be too late!¡±If there was danger, it would be better that Mu Zi didn¡¯t go. I also didn¡¯t persist and teleported out with Teacher Zhen. Teacher Zhen had brought the 100 of us quickly into the palace. From a far distance, we could see blazing flames soaring all over the palace. I heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°So, it is just that the palace caught fire. Teacher Zhen, you don¡¯t need to be anxious.¡± Teacher Zhen¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t that simple. Let¡¯s quickly head in.¡± He shouted at the 5th year students behind him, ¡°Everyone, pay attention! As we head in, you are to simultaneously extinguish the fire. Be careful!¡± After he said that, he gave me an eye signal before heading in first. I hastily followed behind Teacher Zhen, the palace was abnormally disordered. Teacher Zhen pulled a guard and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± The guard replied panting heavily, ¡°There¡­ There are assassins. A large group of black clothed people invaded. They are extremely powerful. The guards and the Royal Mage Union suffered severe casualties and injuries.¡± Teacher Zhen and I were astonished. I asked, ¡°It can¡¯t be Duke Te Yi, right?¡± Teacher Zhen replied, ¡°It is still uncertain. Let¡¯s hurry into the inner palace. They must be here to assassinate the Emperor.¡± Teacher Zhen and I shot towards the depth of the palace. There was suddenly a few black clothed people fighting with the people from the Mage Union in front of us. Teacher Zhen shouted, and a dimensional slash struck. There were five black clothed people. When they saw us charging over, two people were dispatched from the team. There was thick black fog being released from their hand. I shouted, ¡°Teacher Zhen, it is dark magic. Be careful!¡± After I said that, I immediately struck a light blade at them. The light and dark magic went against each other. The opponent''s¡¯ magic was obviously not as skillful as I was, and the black fog immediately dispersed from my attack. The remainder was absorbed by Teacher Zhen¡¯s dimensional slash. Teacher Zhen and I were mutually overwhelmed with shock and simultaneously shouted, ¡°Demon race!¡± The black clothed person facing us coldly said, ¡°It is too late even if you find out now. Your Emperor may have already been killed by us. Haha!¡± Teacher Zhen and I knew that time was pressing. I said, ¡°I will give this two to you to deal with. I will deal with the other three.¡± With Teacher Zhen¡¯s power, even if his opponent used dark magic, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be his match. I used teleportation to go past them and headed towards the other three Demon race¡¯s men. There were only three mages from the Royal Mage Union bitterly fighting on. They would soon be unable to fight. I knew this wasn¡¯t the time to be lenient. I gathered the fusion of magic and battle spirit spell and struck them with all of my might. The three dark magician immediately dispatched one of them to try and block the light blade I had shot out. The fusion spell¡¯s power could be seen as it had effortlessly broke his defensive spell and cut him in half. I raised the Sukrad''s staff highly and chanted, ¡°Light Elements, my friends, please turn into unceasing Holy light to eliminate the enemies before you!¡± As I had experience in fighting with the Demon race, I knew no matter if it was offensive or defensive spells with light magic, it would cause them severe injuries. The two Gold Dans in my body quickly rotated. The gold light surged out from my body and struck out like lightning. I used a defensive spell so I wasn¡¯t afraid that I would harm the people from the Royal Mage Union. Thus, even though the attack was an advanced spell, I had used all of my strength. The remaining two dark mages mournfully let out blood-curdling screeches under the shine of the Holy light. Their entire body seemed to have caught on fire. They rapidly burned and quickly turned into ashes. At this moment, Teacher Zhen had already dealt with his opponents and ran over. Looking at him, he seemed to have used up a lot of his energy. We pulled the people from the Mage Union who were crouching on the ground as they panted profusely. Teacher Zhen anxiously asked, ¡°What happened? Quickly explain!¡± The mage recognised Teacher Zhen and said as he panted, ¡°Principal, you should quickly go! We don¡¯t know how many assassins there are. They all use dark magic and are extremely powerful. It is impossible to stop them. Our Royal Mage Union has suffered disastrous losses. They may already have attacked the interior of the palace.¡± Teacher Zhen told me, ¡°Zhang Gong, let¡¯s quickly head in.¡± As we moved, Teacher Zhen told me, ¡°The dark magic is too powerful. The two that I had dealt strenuously with should be only at the Advanced Mage of the Demon race. It looks like the best way to defeat them is with your light magic. Don¡¯t ever hold back and use your quickest speed to deal with them!¡± I replied, ¡°I understand.¡± We consecutively met with three to four small assassins that we eliminated at rapid speed like a gale that blew away dead leaves. There was a lofty palace in front of us. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Let¡¯s quickly go! It should be the inner palace in front of us.¡± When we dashed into the inner palace, we saw a far from good situation. There were 100 black clothed Demon race¡¯s member with their faces masked currently invading the inner palace. Volume 7: Chapter 2 - Forbidden Light of Eternal Recovery Volume 7: Chapter 2 - Forbidden Light of Eternal Recovery The Royal Mage Union members who were under Dun Yu Xi¡¯s leadership fought with all their might. It was his Earth magic¡¯s defensive power which was extremely powerful that had let them persevere to now. After looking everywhere, the Emperor Ke Zha¡¯s figure wasn¡¯t there. He should have hidden himself. Ma Ke was also inside the Royal Mage Union group. From their looks, they should be unable to hold on much longer. Teacher Zhen whispered to me, ¡°Zhang Gong, you must gather your power to use your most powerful spell. I will assist you as you do that.¡± After he said that, Teacher Zhen placed his hand on my back and rich magic power surged out from it. I knew that he was doing this as light magic had a much better killing effect. Under the assistance of the first ranked Magister of the world, I felt that my magic power was exceptionally abundant. The two gold Dans in my body had turned completely transparent. I suddenly developed a bold thought. I started to chant, ¡°Great light elements! You possess limitless powers. Darkness is extremely small before you. The eternal light ray that circulates the horizon. I plead to you to descend to the world and give me the endless recovery spell to recover all pains, to let all sufferings to be far away from us, Forbidden Light of Eternal Recovery!¡± After I chanted, Teacher Zhen felt that all of his magic power in his body seemed to have been emptied by me. He was overwhelmed with horror and flew back retreating. A stream of blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth. He feebly leaned at the side before shouting in astonishment, ¡°Zhang Gong, what are you doing? That...That is a forbidden spell!¡± My entire body seemed to have been torn apart. The light elements from my surrounding frantically gathered around me. The two Gold Dans shot up from my upper Dantian before floating behind my back to form an enormous hexagram. Both of my hands raised high up involuntarily. The staff in my hand emitted peculiar light rays. There were numerous unknown types of symbols that appeared from the transparent gemstone of the staff surrounding me. At this moment, the demon race¡¯s invaders already felt that something was not right. Even though they didn¡¯t know what magic spell I was using, the pressure from the spell had terrified all of the demon race¡¯s members. One of them shouted, ¡°Not good! Quickly stop that human!¡± Immediately, 7-8 demon race members attacked me. However, once their offensive magic touched the strange symbols at my side, they strangely disappeared. Ma Ke shouted. ¡°Boss, you come and quickly annihilate them!¡± My eyes seemed to have turned completely gold like when I was using the Holy Sword. The hexagram on my back became increasingly brighter. There was a faint shadow that appeared behind my back. Teacher Zhen was amazed to see that there were six light formed wings. I felt that my entire body was inflated to the point that I would soon explode. I gave a desperate long roar after lifting my head. All of the power had gathered at the Sukrad''s staff was shot out as a pure golden light ray towards the sky. After the golden ray shot out, my entire body went soft. I immediately collapsed on the ground. When everyone thought that nothing had happened, an anomaly appeared. The initially dark skies suddenly lit up. A fragrance first permeated down. After that, it was a golden light rain. Teacher Zhen shouted ¡°Not good!¡± As the light rain poured down towards the enemies, it also poured down onto the group on my side. The entire palace was enveloped in the light rain. One of the black clothed people suddenly shouted, ¡°Everyone! Quickly use your best defensive spell. This is a light forbidden spell.¡± After he said that, he took out a black rod from his spatial space and raised it high above his head. The black rod gave off light rays as dark as ink that enveloped him and another black clothed person in it. The light rain was already pouring down. Teacher Zhen was amazed to find that the light rain didn¡¯t have any offensive power. It had treated his wounds instead. It was just his magic power that needed some time to recover. Not only him, all of the people from the Royal Mage Union also felt that effect. The demon race members at the scene didn¡¯t have such luck. When the light rain got in contact with their dark magic defensive spell, it gave off ¡®Zi! Zi!¡¯ sounds. Their defensive spell was incapable of blocking the invasion of the light rain. Just like the two demon race members that was ignited by the Holy light, they all underwent spontaneous combustion. The palace instantly was filled with fire lights. I was still conscious. It was just that I was feeble from using too much power. As I was immersed in ecstasy, I unexpectedly was able to use a forbidden spell. I had succeeded. I really succeeded in using it. Actually, the main reasons why I could use the forbidden spell was due to my good luck. Firstly, my magic power was already at the Magister¡¯s level. Secondly, I had the assistance of the world¡¯s first rank Magister. Furthermore, my staff wasn¡¯t just a toy but a God¡¯s weapon. Without its help, the spell would have backfired on me. The most important reason was the Holy Sword¡¯s power. The magic spell that I had casted was light magic. Since the Holy Sword was used for a long time by the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lie, the Holy Sword had a light attribute. With all those reasons colligated on me, I was able to smoothly cast out the forbidden spell. Ma Ke already ran over and supported me. He shouted, ¡°Boss, you¡¯re too awesome. You just used a single spell to deal with all of the enemies. If you had come a little later, we really wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on.¡± Dun Yu Xi also walked over and patted me, who was still feeble. ¡°You¡¯re really a hero that is still a youngster. If I haven¡¯t guessed wrongly, the spell you just used should be a forbidden spell.¡± I slightly nodded and weakly replied, ¡°I am able to use it due to the magic power assistance that Teacher Zhen gave to me. How is the emperor?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Father suffered some injuries. He is currently at the far back of the group. If they were able to breakthrough, I am afraid¡­¡­¡± Dun Yu Xi said, ¡°The enemies¡¯ plans were too meticulous. They first set fire everywhere to disperse the guards¡¯ attention. After that, they gathered their powers to release a few large scale spells, making my team suffer a great loss. As the Kingdom has been peaceful for a few hundred years, the security of the palace also isn¡¯t tight. If you didn¡¯t come in time, I¡¯m afraid that they would have succeeded.¡± A hundred people came running from outside. They were the academy¡¯s year 5 students with Si Wa leading them. Si Wa ran over and asked Dun Yu Xi, ¡°Teacher, what happened? Why did our wounds heal in a short moment while the opponents suddenly underwent spontaneous combustion?¡± Dun Yu Xi smiled and said, ¡°Regarding that, you will have to ask your good brother.¡± As he said that, he pointed at me. Volume 7: Chapter 3 - The Heart Bleeds Volume 7: Chapter 3 - The Heart Bleeds I awkwardly smiled. ¡°It is just a small trick. Hehe! Aiya! You see, they have already been burnt into ashes. Hmm! Why are those two people not burned to death?¡± The two that didn¡¯t undergo combustion were the two that were protected by the black rod¡¯s power. Even though they didn¡¯t combust, they collapsed onto the ground without any strength to fight back. Dun Yu Xi shouted, ¡°Arrest them!¡± There were four people that came running out of the Royal Mage Union to arrest the two demon race members. The demon race member that used the black rod to protect himself had a malicious look. He shouted without any intentions of surrendering, ¡°Wait for my race¡¯s main army to invade! It will also be the time for your deaths!¡± The other demon race member¡¯s eyes held a hidden bitterness. He just fixedly looked at me. I was stunned as those eyes looked very familiar. Dun Yu Xi ordered, ¡°Take down their masks!¡± The demon race member with the malicious eyes had his mask removed first. It was an old man with a face full of wrinkles. He coldly snorted and raised his head. When the other demon race member¡¯s mask was removed, everyone from the academy was startled. When I looked at him, I felt as though all of the blood in my body had rushed towards my brain. I shouted, ¡°Mu Zi, why is it you? Why are you here? Could it be they caught you?¡± Mu Zi looked fixedly at me with her eyes filled with dismay. She replied. ¡°Zhang Gong, I have let you down. I am from the demon race. This is the worry that I have never been able to tell you.¡± All of the cells in my body went stiff. Every thought kept surging up. I had finally understood why Mu Zi initially didn¡¯t want to accept me, and also why she didn¡¯t want me to heal her with light magic; why she wanted to be a matchmaker for Hai Shui and I and why she had always wanted me to forget about her. My eyes filled with despair. A mouthful of blood deep from my heart, violently sprayed out. I shouted, ¡°No!!!!¡± In my eyes, the world had completely changed into a bloody haze. Mu Zi¡¯s figure gradually became fuzzy. Once my head slanted forward, I fainted. ¡­¡­ My heart was in extreme pain. In the darkness, I could imagine as though Mu Zi was waving mournfully at me before she gradually fell into a dark whirlpool that was so deep that the bottom couldn¡¯t be seen. I wanted to catch her but I just was not able to. I could only see her slowly become engulfed by the whirlpool. I shouted, ¡°No! Mu Zi, don¡¯t!¡± I screamed out for her and suddenly sat up. My entire body was drenched in cold sweat. Teacher Di walked over and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you have awoken. How are you feeling? Is there any discomfort?¡± I shook my head and looked fixedly at Teacher Di. My tears came out, dropping onto the blanket. Teacher Di gave out a long sigh before sitting by my side, embracing me. I immediately wailed loudly and cried out, ¡°Why? Why are the heavens treating me like this? Why is this happening? Teacher Di, please tell me that this isn¡¯t real and is only a dream, right?¡± Teacher Di rubbed my back and benevolently said, ¡°Child, you must accept this fact. It is real. This can¡¯t be changed by human strength. I only just found out that you are really that deeply in love with her.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s attractive reflection appeared unceasingly in my mind. My heart was ice cold. Mu Zi unexpectedly was a spy from the demon race and also participated in attempting to assassinate Emperor Ke Zha. With such heavy crimes against her, it was impossible for her to remain alive for long. After a long time, I slowly controlled my sorrow. I sat properly and asked, ¡°Teacher Di, how is she now?¡± Teacher Di shook his head slightly. ¡°Child, don¡¯t put any hope on that thought.¡± I exclaimed, ¡°It can¡¯t be that she is already dead, right?¡± Teacher Di replied, ¡°Listen carefully, she currently isn¡¯t dead but her magic is sealed. She has been locked up in the Sky Prison with the other remaining demon race member. That¡¯s right! I heard that you used a forbidden spell that also killed a majority of the demon race members that invaded. Is that true?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s time being locked in the Sky Jail wouldn¡¯t last for many days. I dejectedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I had used the Eternal Recovery light spell. It is also the only forbidden spell that you had taught me.¡± Teacher Di curiously said, ¡°It is a recovery spell and not an offensive spell. Why is there such a strong killing force?¡± I replied, ¡°It is due to the demon race having dark attributes so no matter if it is an offensive or a defensive light magic, it¡¯ll have a strong killing force.¡± Teacher Di nodded. ¡°So it is like that. Child, you are not allowed to go anywhere and just stay at teacher¡¯s place. Your injuries aren¡¯t bad, just that you have overused your magic power.¡± I begged, ¡°Teacher Di, can you please let me see Uncle Ke Zha?¡± Teacher Di¡¯s expression instantly became strict. ¡°You can¡¯t! Even if you go, there won¡¯t be any outcome! Do you understand that the demon race and beast clans have joined their armies and are now moving restlessly at our border? Furthermore, the demon race has come to assassinate Emperor Ke Zha and almost succeeded. Mu Zi¡¯s position in the demon race isn¡¯t low. How can he let her go because of you?¡± I rolled onto the ground from the bed, kneeled down and begged as I cried out saying, ¡°Teacher Di, I beg you, to at least let me give it a try.¡± Teacher Di helped to lift me up and sighed saying, ¡°Child, what do you want me to say to you? You should know that the human race¡¯s hatred towards the demon race and beast clans has already been deep rooted. Since you are unwilling to give up, you can give it a try. But you can¡¯t do any foolish acts! Do you understand?¡± I elatedly nodded my head and stood up. ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much! I will head there now.¡± Teacher Di helplessly said, ¡°Child, are you that anxious? If you want to go, you have to recover first. After your magic power has recovered, you can go after that.¡± After standing up, my head felt very giddy. I knew that Teacher Do had said the truth. I immediately sat on the bed and did my best to gather my magic power. ¡®Mu Zi, I will do my best to help you resolve this matter. No matter what, I will save your life. Even if I have to exchange my life for yours, I am also willing.¡¯ After resting for a day, the two gold dans had rapidly recovered my magic power. Even though I wasn¡¯t at my peak state, eighty percent of my magic power had been recovered. Actually, when I had made thirty percent recovery, I could already enter the palace. However, in my heart, there was a shadow. If Emperor Ke Zha didn¡¯t want to let Mu Zi go, what should I do then? I wore an ordinary white magic robe and with the staff in my hands, I headed towards the palace. ¡®Mu Zi, nothing must happen to you. I am coming. Even though you are from the Demon race, my love for you hasn¡¯t decreased at all. You must wait for me.¡¯ Volume 7: Chapter 4 - My Decision Volume 7: Chapter 4 - My Decision As I neared the entrance of the palace, the guards on duty stopped me. My expression dampened. ¡°Please help me to report that the Royal Advanced Magic Academy''s Zhang Gong wishes to meet with His Majesty.¡± After hearing my name, all of the guards displayed respectful expressions. The guard immediately respectfully replied, ¡°Please wait for a moment. I will immediately go and report.¡± The guard quickly walked back out from the palace. ¡°Magister Zhang Gong, His Majesty has requested the pleasure of seeing you.¡± I nodded and followed him into the palace, which was different from before. Even though there were some burned parts that was still not repaired, the guards in the palace and mages were placed every three steps and a sentry every five steps. The security of the palace was exceptionally tight. After walking to the entrance of the inner palace, the guard shouted, ¡°Magister Zhang Gong request for an audience.¡± Emperor Ke Zha had personally came forth. When he saw me, he elatedly said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re here! Let¡¯s chat inside.¡± After entering the inner palace, I immediately kneeled and said, ¡°This commoner hadn¡¯t properly protected Your Majesty and risked His Majesty getting injured. My crime is severe enough for me to be punished to death ten thousand times.¡± Ke Zha¡¯s expression changed and said angrily, ¡°Zhang Gong, what are you saying? If you are counted to have protected me unsatisfactorily, then the others are rice buckets! I am lucky to have you this time. I am preparing for you to become the Kingdom¡¯s protector. All of you withdraw. I have some matters to discuss with Magister Zhang Gong.¡± Ke Zha had ordered the guards to withdraw before pulling me up. He said in appreciation. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re really the Kingdom¡¯s pillar. If you didn¡¯t use the forbidden spell, the outcome would be unconceivable.¡± I hastily bowed and replied, ¡°Your Majesty, it was something I ought to do. Moreover, the forbidden spell was successful under the power of Teacher Zhen and mine with some luck.¡± Ke Zha replied, ¡°There is no outsider here. You don¡¯t have to call me a Majesty. You just call me Uncle Ke Zha. I am more familiar with you calling me that. No matter what, you¡¯re a great contributor to the Kingdom. You don¡¯t have to continue studying at the Advanced Magic Academy, come to the palace. I will appoint you to be the Vice head of the Royal Mage Union and be the protector of the Kingdom.¡± Seeing that his mood was good, I felt that I should say my purpose in coming here. I kneeled again and replied, ¡°Uncle Ke Zha, I don¡¯t need any rewards. I just beg for a favour.¡± Ke Zha waved his hand and replied, ¡°How can you be unrewarded. You don¡¯t have to plead to me about that matter. I know what you want to say. I can grant you anything but that.¡± I anxiously replied, ¡°Uncle Ke Zha, I¡­¡­¡± Ke Zha sighed and replied, ¡°Zhang Gong, you must know that she is from the demon race. This is no longer just my problem. I need to account for all of the officials and also the commoners. Do you understand? I haven¡¯t done any punishments on Mu Zi for your sake. I can only promise you that before execution, she will be slightly more comfortable.¡± When I heard about the execution, my mood abruptly dampened. I knew that in usual cases, Mu Zi and her accomplice wouldn¡¯t be exempted from their punishment. I was afraid that other than the stubborn old man, nobody would be my opponent. There wouldn¡¯t be any of her race that would come to rescue her. I sighed and replied, ¡°Since that is the case, Your Majesty, I will withdraw first. As for the position for the Vice head of the Royal Mage Union and to be the protector mage of the Kingdom, please forgive me that I can¡¯t accept those roles as I am used to the academy¡¯s lifestyle.¡± After leaving the palace, I definitely wouldn¡¯t let Mu Zi die. I squinted my eyes. I wanted to save her and must immediately do so. If not, once Teacher Di and the others were to interfere, it wouldn¡¯t be good. After making a firm resolution, I went to a place not far from the palace to formulate a plan. The demon race members were imprisoned at the back of the Sky Prison. They surely would be heavily guarded. It would definitely be difficult to enter it. What should I do? After thinking for a long time, I still couldn¡¯t find a good plan. There wasn¡¯t much time already. I just had to try to breakthrough it once and must move at a speed like a thunderbolt that couldn¡¯t be heard to save Mu Zi. I first looked at the surrounding of the Sky Prison. There should approximately be 1000 guards. One tenth of them were mages. With this strength, it would be difficult for me to break in and might have the chance of being unable to leave it unless I massacre them. No matter what, the situation had not wavered my determination to save Mu Zi. I bought some things from the city first before returning near to the Sky Prison. I suddenly thought about the escape scroll that Teacher Di had given me. If I used my magic power to envelop all of us, we should be able to send them out from there. With it, my chances of success had increased by far. What I had to do now was to break into the Sky Prison. I sat cross legged on the floor to gather my magic power one last time. After two hours, I appeared at the entrance of the Sky prison. Just as I neared the entrance, I was blocked by the guards. The guard asked, ¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t you know that this is the Sky Prison?¡± I coughed and raised the Sukrad''s staff in my hands. ¡°It is me, the Royal Mage Union¡¯s Vice head and the protector mage of the Kingdom, Zhang Gong Wei.¡± After hearing who I was, the guard immediately bowed and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what is the purpose of the protector of the Kingdom coming to this place.¡± I said displeased, ¡°I come here from the order of His Majesty to check on the two demon race prisoners.¡± The guard said in difficulty, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you have the written order from His Majesty. We don¡¯t dare to let you in with just your words.¡± I yelled, ¡°Outrageous! It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t know who I am, right? You dare to obstruct my matters. Do you still want your heads to be on your neck?¡± When the guard wanted to explain. There was a mage that walked out from the Sky Prison. From the symbol on his body, it seemed that he had a Great Mage ability. He asked, ¡°What is going on? Why is it so noisy?¡± When he walked over and saw it was me, he immediately smiled obsequiously, ¡°So it is Lord Zhang Gong, is there something wrong?¡± I coldly snorted and replied, ¡°I want to take a look at the two criminals from the demon race, but they denied me entry.¡± The mage said to the guards, ¡°You¡¯re all have such nerves to do that. Don¡¯t you know the two demon race prisoners were apprehended by Lord Zhang Gong? Without Lord Zhang Gong¡¯s help in annihilating the assassins, we would have already been killed under the hands of the demon race. I can¡¯t vouch for others but there definitely is no problem for Lord Zhang Gong. Quickly let him in!¡± The mage thought , ¡®Since this child had just saved the lives of the kingdom, he definitely is an important person in the Kingdom and is also the Vice Head of the Royal Mage Union, managing them. I have to take this chance to curry favor with him. There is a possibility that there will be a meteoric rise in my position in the future.¡¯ The guards momentarily kept quiet out of fear and let me in. It seemed that the mage was currently trying to curry favors from me as he said, ¡°My Lord, the spell that you used at that time was too remarkable. This junior has never seen such a powerful spell. I am afraid that even Principal Zhen isn¡¯t your match.¡± Volume 7: Chapter 5 - Jail Break Success Volume 7: Chapter 5 - Jail Break Success I said seriously, ¡°Don''t shoot off your mouth! The most respectable teacher to me is Teacher Zhen. That old man¡¯s accomplishments are not something that you can talk about.¡± The mage immediately smiled his apology and replied, ¡°Yes! Yes! I had misspoken. Please forgive me.¡± My expression softened and replied, ¡°That¡¯s enough. You also don¡¯t need to be too courteous. Your efforts in protecting His Majesty is also not small. I will say good words about you to His Majesty.¡± After the mage heard that he became elated and replied, ¡°I will first thank you before hand. You can just tell me whatever you need in the future.¡± As I saw him bending and scraping to curry favor from me, I felt an indescribable annoyance but I must feign civility with him. I said, ¡°You can lead the way in front of me. I want to have a look at the two demon race prisoners. Have they been interrogated already?¡± The mage replied, ¡°There wasn¡¯t enough time for that as the commotion in the palace was too vicious. The majority of the people are currently cleaning up the after mess. They should be interrogated in two day¡¯s time. Please follow me.¡± I thought elatedly, ¡®I wouldn¡¯t have not thought that I would meet with this silly fool that is blinded by greed, making it this easy for me to infiltrate the prison.¡¯ The security of the Sky Prison was really strict. That mage¡¯s position must not be low here because when we walked, we were unexpectedly unhindered. After crossing four doors, we were in the depth of the Sky Prison. The mage told me, ¡°My lord, this is the Sky Prison¡¯s most strictly guarded place. The two demon race members are locked up in the number one prison cell of Sky Prison.¡± After he said that, he pressed on the stone wall at the side. There was a small crack in front of us. There was a flight of stairs heading downwards. I thought, ¡®If it wasn¡¯t him leading me, I really won''t be able to find it. It seems that it is fated for me to save Mu Zi.¡¯ We walked down. At the bottom, there were three jail cells. In the innermost cell, Mu Zi and the older demon race were in there. I said to the mage, ¡°You wait outside for me. I have some things to ask them.¡± The mage said with difficulty, ¡°That¡­That won¡¯t be a good idea.¡± I glared at him and said, ¡°Is it that you really wish to hear what His Majesty wanted me to ask them? The security here is so tight. It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re afraid that I will let them out, right? I also don¡¯t need you to open the prison cell.¡± The mage said in embarrassment, ¡°Alright. I will be waiting for you upstairs. But you must make it quick.¡± I waved my hands at him impatiently. When the mage walked out, he was still worried and sealed the opening that led down to this place. I sniggered in my heart, ¡®If I wasn¡¯t completely prepared, I won¡¯t have come to this place.¡¯ Mu Zi and the old man from the demon race seemed to be unconscious. All of their limbs were locked by thick iron chains and shackled to the wall. Since time was pressing, I held onto the jail cell¡¯s door and shouted, ¡°Mu Zi, Mu Zi, quickly get up!¡± After shouting for a couple of times, there still wasn¡¯t any response from both of them. I gathered a small water ball and tossed it over. ¡°Pah!¡± The water ball landed on Mu Zi¡¯s face. Mu Zi slowly woke up and looked around bewilderedly. When she finally saw me clearly, she instantly woke up before crying out in fear. ¡°Zhang Gong, why are you here?¡± I anxiously replied, ¡°That¡¯s enough. You don¡¯t have to say anymore. I¡¯m here to save you. Time is pressing. We will talk after getting out of here.¡± I circulated my magic power before gently waving the Sukrad''s staff in my hand. A gold light ray shot out. No matter how strong the lock, it still was unable to withstand my spell. The lock broke into two. I pushed open the door of the prison cell before charging in. As soon as I opened the prison cell, the alarm bell suddenly rang loudly, filling the Sky Prison with its sound. The people outside shouted, ¡°Someone has infiltrated the Sky Prison! Make haste!¡± After that, the mechanism at the top opened. That mage was the first to come charging downwards. After looking at the scene below, he said in astonishment, ¡°Lord Zhang Gong, what are you doing?¡± I was too lazy to answer him so I shot a light wall to lock him outside and continuously circulated my magic power to completely seal the entrance of the place. I turned around and used a light blade to cut open Mu Zi¡¯s shackles. Mu Zi weakly slumped to her knees. I hastily supported her and asked, ¡°Mu Zi, how are you feeling?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face paled and with her large eyes filled with tears, she replied, ¡°Zhang Gong, why did you come to save me? Don¡¯t you know that you will ruin your future by doing this?¡± I bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°Now is not the time to talk about that. Let¡¯s immediately leave this place!¡± As I said that, I took out the escape scroll from my sleeve. Mu Zi pulled on my clothing and said, ¡°Please save him as well. He is one of my teachers.:¡± As I looked at Mu Zi¡¯s wishful eyes, I thought, ¡®Since saving one is a huge crime already, saving two is equally the same. Moreover, with this old man, he can assist and protect her on her way back.¡¯ I nodded and unlocked the shackles of the old man of the demon race. At that moment, the light wall sealing the entrance suddenly shook violently. This was bad. An expert had come. As expected, Dun Yun Xi¡¯s voice was heard from outside. He shouted, ¡°Zhang Gong, what are you doing? Don¡¯t you know that this is an act of treason to the Kingdom?¡± I said clearly, ¡°Teacher Xi, I am sorry. I just can¡¯t do nothing and look on helplessly as Mu Zi is executed. Currently, I just don¡¯t care about anything anymore.¡± The demon race old man also woke up and watched the scene playing in front of him in surprise. I shouted, ¡°If you want to live, quickly come to my side before it is too late!¡± Dun Yun Xi¡¯s attack was really strong. I would soon be unable to hold on. The demon race¡¯s old man wasn¡¯t ordinary. He knew that time was pressing. He moved as fast as he could to latch onto me. I chanted as I used the Sukrad''s staff to simultaneously support the defensive barrier and also activated the escape scroll. The defensive light wall shattered at the same time as the activation of the scroll. Dun Yun Xi was the first one to charge in. He was the head of the Royal Mage Union. With a look, he already knew what I planned to do. He immediately struck an enormous earth blade. However, it was already too late. After the flash of light, the three of us, Mu Zi, the old man and I simultaneously disappeared from the prison. Dun Yun Xi told a mage at his side viciously, ¡°Quickly go and report this to His Majesty and also gather the Royal Mage Union and guards! Immediately search through the city! They won¡¯t be able to escape too far away.¡± As he saw the mage leave, Dun Yun Xi sighed heavily. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re such a silly child. You¡¯ll ruin yourself this way. Don¡¯t you understand that? The word ¡®Love¡¯ really can cause a lot of trouble. That¡¯s right! Who let him in?¡± The mage that had led me walked over shakingly. He kneeled down and cried bitterly. As he cried, he said, ¡°Lord Union head, I did not mean for this to happen. He said that it was on the order of His Majesty¡­..¡± Dun Yun Xi said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re useless! Someone, come and lock him up first. After capturing the escaped prisoners, we will interrogate him.¡± Volume 7: Chapter 6 - Mu Zis Identity Volume 7: Chapter 6 - Mu Zi''s Identity There was a flash of light at an isolated corner in the capital¡¯s far west, and three people appeared. I had Mu Zi in my arms, stared at old man from the demon race lying on the ground, then knotted my eyebrows and surveyed our surroundings. Mu Zi asked, ¡°Where is this?¡± I thought for a bit and replied, ¡°My escape scroll is limited to an escape radius of three to five kilometers; This should be somewhere within the city. It is too dangerous, they will be able to find us soon. We need to leave the city immediately.¡± Mu Zi smiled bitterly, ¡°How are we going to do that? I¡¯m afraid the city¡¯s entrance has already been locked down, and we can¡¯t even fly out even if we wanted to. Just look above you.¡± I raised my head and discovered that there were numerous wind mages hovering and searching in all four directions, I hastily drew both of them aside. It sure seemed like our luck wasn¡¯t too bad, as there were not many people in our immediate surroundings. I placed Mu Zi on the ground before chanting the spell that the Dragon King had transmitted to me. A light halo spread out with me as its epicentre. Mu Zi exclaimed, ¡°Don¡¯t! We are sensitive to light magic!¡± However, she quickly realised that what I used wasn¡¯t light magic. I replied, ¡°This is a seal removal spell. You two should recover your strength as quickly as you can. I will draw a magic array, we need to leave the city immediately.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s eyes were filled with complicated expression. She gave me a long, deep stare before sitting down cross-legged to meditate. The old demon race man didn¡¯t even hesitate, as he knew recovering his strength was the key to leaving this place alive, and started his rejuvenation without speaking a single word. Judging from the thick black fog that gradually emitted from his body, I knew that if I hadn¡¯t used use the forbidden spell that day, I might not have been his match. This old fellow definitely had reached a Magister¡¯s standard. His position within the demon race was definitely not low. As I was contemplating, I was also rapidly drawing the teleportation array. In order to succeed in completing the array in a small amount of time, I had selected one that could only teleport us 20 kilometres. After an hour, I wiped off the perspiration that had formed on my forehead. I had finally completed it. Actually, although drawing this magic array wasn¡¯t a hard task for me, I drew the array with utmost care as I was being extremely sensitive to the voices in my surroundings and was intensely nervous and feared of making even the slightest mistake. I shook Mu Zi gently, saying, ¡°It¡¯s done. We can leave now.¡± Mu Zi opened her eyes and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve recovered about ten percent of my magic power and am no longer that feeble. Teacher, how are you?¡± The old demon race man¡¯s eyes flew open and a cold glint flashed across them. ¡°I¡¯ve recovered almost thirty percent of mine. Pity, my staff had been snatched away by the vile human race, otherwise I would have been able to recover much faster. I really feel like going another round with them.¡± I coldly snorted and said, ¡°Talk less crap, hurry up and enter the array! We won¡¯t make it if we don¡¯t leave now!¡± The old demon race man instantly turned furious. ¡°Brat! Do you know who you are talking to? You¡¯re seeking death.¡± I refused to yield and rebuked him instead, ¡°I don¡¯t know who is the one that is seeking death. If it wasn¡¯t for Mu Zi, I wouldn¡¯t have saved you. Hmph!¡± The old demon race man fumed, and said, ¡°You¡­..¡± Mu Zi said anxiously, ¡°Stop quarreling! Teacher, as an elder, saying a few less words won¡¯t hurt you.¡± The old demon race man seemed to be a little fearful of Mu Zi and jumped into the array first. I also pulled Mu Zi into the magic array. Due to it being a short teleportation, there wasn¡¯t a need to place a protection around us. I activated the array and teleported to the west side. After golden light flashed, we appeared on a small hill outside of the city. I heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°We were lucky that we didn¡¯t teleport into a river. If we did, it would have been terrible. It is temporarily safe here. You can continue recovering your magic power. I will draw a bigger teleportation magic array.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡­¡­.¡± I interrupted her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk now. We will chat later after I¡¯ve drawn the magic array.¡± Even though we were out of the city, it was still not completely safe so I drew a long range teleportation magic array to teleport Mu Zi again. The sky had gradually darkened. This time, I had set up a magic array that would enable them them to teleport about 500 kilometers away. This should be enough for them to escape successfully. The sky finally darkened completely, and my magic array was finally complete as well. I woke Mu Zi up and took out a lot of rations from my spatial space to her. As I handed her these, I said, ¡°This is your most favorite dried fried Dragon meat. This bottle contains Ascending Jade Tide beverages. These are some fruits you can eat on the road. Quickly! Quickly place them into your spatial space. Here are some magic gemstones for you, they will come in handy during your travels.¡± I passed every single item to her with my head lowered. After giving her everything I wanted her to have, I discovered that Mu Zi¡¯s face was filled with tears. Mu Zi threw herself into my bosom and sobbed loudly. ¡°Why do you treat me so well? Why?¡± I tightly embraced the woman I loved the most and enjoyed the warmth she gave to me. Even though it was the same embrace, I was able to feel that this was the first time she had totally opened up and given herself to me. Her heart would no longer be able to run away from me. After a long time, I pushed Mu Zi away. ¡°Alright! You should compose yourself. You should be able to tell me the truth now, right?¡± Mu Zi looked at me fixedly and replied, ¡°Yes, I can tell you about it now. Take a look.¡± After she said that, her right hand rapidly flashed past her face. Ah! Mu Zi¡¯s entire person had undergone a transformation. However, even though she, she, had transformed¡­¡­., she had transformed into the demon race¡¯s princess I had seen at the Serene Dream Lake. Even though we¡¯ve only met a single time, her flawless figure had been engraved deeply in my memory. At that moment, countless thoughts surged through my mind. Mu Zi not only changed her appearance, her voice also had changed into a beautiful sound of a black-naped oriole, just like the time when I first met her. ¡°Now, you should know why I was filled with animosity towards you when we first met at the academy.¡± I said dazedly, ¡°You...You¡¯re the demon race¡¯s princess. Why is it you? How can it be you? Mu Zi? Where is my Mu Zi?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s flawless appearance expressed helplessness and replied, ¡°I just am Mu Zi, always have been, and always will be. The first time you met me in school was me, the one you love is the me that had changed her appearance and voice. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Change of appearance and voice?¡± Mu Zi nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right. I used one of the demon race¡¯s special appearance change spell. No medication is needed. It directly changes the structure of the face and modifies the muscles of the throat. The change in appearance will be flawless that way.¡± Volume 7: Chapter 7 - The Past Vanishing Like the Wind Volume 7: Chapter 7 - The Past Vanishing Like the Wind I gradually snapped out of my shock and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s actually you.¡± Mu Zi saw that I was still in slight disbelief to accept that fact. She placed both of her hands on the sides of my face before tiptoeing and deeply kissing me with her tender and beautiful red lips. Mu Zi¡¯s familiar sweet taste invaded my entire body. I tightly hugged her and intensely responded to her kiss. Mu Zi, who was in my embrace, said, ¡°You should now believe that I¡¯m Mu Zi.¡± How could I still not believe her? Everything else may have changed but this familiar feeling had not changed in the slightest. Her body still was as soft as usual. Her lips were still able to bewitch me. Who would be unhappy that their wife had become beautiful anyways? My feelings for Mu Zi had deepened. I tightened my hold on her delicate body and embraced her again before sitting down. I lightly kissed her forehead and said, ¡°Tell me. I want to hear your story.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Before I start telling you my story, can you tell me why you still rescued me even after knowing that I am from the demon race? Could it be that you really don¡¯t care about your status?¡± I smiled a little before replying, ¡°What powerful position do I have? Even if I did, it still wouldn''t matter to me. I¡¯m different from the rest. I don¡¯t hate your demon race; so what if you¡¯re from the demon race? You are living in this world, you all have the right to live. You also haven¡¯t hurt me. In my eyes, your race and the human kinds are no different. All life forms are equal. However, that wasn¡¯t the main reason why I decided to save you.¡± Mu Zi asked, ¡°What is the main reason?¡± I plainly replied, ¡°In my heart, you¡¯re more important than my life.¡± It was such an easy statement but it expressed my heartfelt feelings. Currently, my heart was extremely calm. It couldn¡¯t be said to be happy as I had forfeited my chance to live life happily and comfortably. However, it also couldn¡¯t be said that I was in pain as I had successfully pulled back the person I loved the most from the clutches of death. Hearing what I had said, Mu Zi raised her head. Her reddened beautiful large eyes looked at me before she violently embraced my neck and wailed bitterly. I patted her back and said, ¡°It¡¯s ok. Don¡¯t cry. I still want to hear your story.¡± Mu Zi slowly calmed down and said, ¡°My father is the demon race¡¯s Demon God Emperor, Qi Meng Satan.¡± I interrupted and said, ¡°If that is the case, aren¡¯t you called Mu Zi Satan?¡± Mu Zi nudged me and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me and listen to what I have to say. My name is still Mu Zi Mo unless I inherit my father¡¯s position. Only then, will I be called Mu Zi Satan, as Satan is the highest title to be called by. It was the name of the first Magic God Emperor. In order to commemorate him, the following rulers will use his surname.¡± So it was like that. It was still lucky that Mu Zi¡¯s surname wasn¡¯t Satan as that surname was just too horrible. ¡°I am father¡¯s most doted third princess. I have two elder brothers. My mother died when I was young so I was raised by my father as though I were a jewel. Initially, I could have had a life that was free of worry, but my brothers were a disappointment, breaking my father¡¯s heart.¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back my curiosity and asked her, ¡°How were your brothers a disappointment? It can¡¯t be your father wants you to inherit his position, right?¡± Mu Zi didn¡¯t mind my interruption this time. She sighed and said, ¡°My eldest brother is bold, but not very astute, while my second brother is ignorant and incompetent. He does nothing all day except eating, drinking and fooling around. Father has scolded them frequently for their behavior. As for me, during one of the major magic competition at the palace, I unintentionally exposed my talent in magic and was discovered by my father and few of my teachers. Father momentarily became elated. Our demon race isn¡¯t the same as your human kind. The throne can be inherited by women.¡± I was astonished and said, ¡°So your father really wants you to be the Magic God¡¯s Empress?¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°From then on, I lost my usual freedom. I was taught consecutively by a few teachers about magic, tactics, the knowledge to govern the Kingdom, etcetera. I was also appointed to be the successor of my father. You may not know this but our life is more arduous compared to yours. This is the reason why the demon race and the beast clans are always wanting to invade the human kinds.The left side of the world is almost completely barren. The areas for cultivation are extremely limited. Approximately two and a half years ago, my father thought that the time was ripe so he gathered a majority of the military power of my Radiant Light Empire to form into a large army of the demon race. We also allied with the Mist Martial Empire, which is the beast clans. We were prepared to invade Str?m Fortress . They also sent Teacher Fu Rui and I to investigate your land. Who knew that we would meet with you, our enemy at the Serene Dream Lake. Do you know that you¡¯re the reason for the delay of my race¡¯s invasion of human kind?¡± I asked in surprise, ¡°Because of me? Why? That Teacher Fu Rui that you mentioned is he the bamboo pole that I had defeated?¡± Mu Zi replied smilingly, ¡°You¡¯re detestable. You¡¯re still calling him Bamboo Pole. When you called him that at that time, you nearly angered him to death. You should know that the only magic that counters our dark magic is light magic. The reason why we infiltrated as humans was to check if there are a lot of light element magicians on your side. Do you still remember what you said?¡± I blankly asked, ¡°What did I say?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°You previously said that the entire Eastern continent knows light magic and that you were the worst. At the time, I knew you were being glib and immediately let Teacher Fu Rui return to the demon race to report this to my father. My father replied by telling me to first infiltrate the Kingdom of Aixia to investigate the situation and to also learn about the knowledge you humanspossesses. Just like that, I entered the Royal Advanced Magic Academy. I had used my abilities to enter and also used a revamped wing magic. Even though I may not be your match, if I use my full power, it will definitely be hard for you to defeat me.¡± While saying this, Mu Zi¡¯s face expressed a proud expression. I chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re awesome! Oh, that¡¯s right! I want to ask you how were you able to cross the Str?m Fortress to come to the Eastern continent?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°You¡¯re so stupid. It can¡¯t be that only you human kind have knowledge of teleportation magic array right?¡± I said surprised, ¡°You had teleported over, and now you¡¯re going to teleport an entire army. Won¡¯t the Str?m Fortress be immediately devastated?¡± Volume 7: Chapter 8 - The Truth of the Assassination Volume 7: Chapter 8 - The Truth of the Assassination Mu Zi glanced at me and said, ¡°Do you really think it is that easy to teleport over? Tian Duo Mountain is blocking the path to reach Str?m Fortress. A Great Mage won¡¯t be able to use his abilities to teleport over. If we really wanted to teleport over, a Magister¡¯s assistance is needed for that to work. Moreover, a Magister can at most send over two people at a time. How many Magisters do you think we have at our side? We have almost the same number as yours. If it that wasn¡¯t the case, we would have invaded long ago. When we met previously, Teacher Fu Rui had used an entire month¡¯s time. After teleporting five times, you then met the few of us, as Teacher Fu Rui¡¯s strength had been mostly depleted at that time. If not, I doubt you would have been able to escape at that time. Xixi!¡± I asked, ¡°What about the few women that came with you here? Where did they go?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s expression dampened and didn¡¯t directly answer the question before she continued to reply, ¡°After coming over to your side, I had been captivated by the beautiful sceneries and delicacies. Your side rarely has killings so everyone spends their time here peacefully. After two years, I almost forgot that I am of the demon race.¡± I sighed. ¡°If you can really forget about it, it would have been great.¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! Truly a pity that I couldn¡¯t do that. As the demon race¡¯s princess and the successor to the throne, I must always think for my people so I had continuously send back information to my home country. After a year, I found out that you were lying when we first met as only a minority of the human race learns light magic. But I kept on delaying that information as I really didn¡¯t want to watch a war erupt. After a short period of time, you had come. When I first met you at the academy, my thoughts were complicated.¡± I chuckled, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you fell for me at that time, right?¡± Mu Zi said displeased, ¡°Pei! At that time, I hated you to the core. After that, you had written a love letter to pursue me. I initially felt that you just wanted to toy with me so I ignored you. However, I increasingly felt your sincerity. I gradually was unable to bear rejecting you. I knew that it would be wrong to let it happen but I couldn¡¯t help myself but to accept you.¡± I tightly embraced Mu Zi. My heart was surging out with overflowing love for her. ¡°It is all your fault for disturbing my heart. Every time you gave me a love letter, your position in my heart deepens. I was so tempted get closer to you but I have been suppressing my feelings as I knew that it was impossible for us to be together. After the semester ended and I headed back to the demon race, I found out how terrible was the feeling missing someone after parting from you. I also realized that I had completely fallen for you at that time.¡± I replied affectionately, ¡°I also love you.¡± We hugged each other and remained wordless for a long time. I suddenly thought about something and asked, ¡°I just thought about something. Is Si Feng Ri one of your people?¡± Mu Zi shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know that person!¡± It looked like my guess was right. Si Feng Ri really was the subordinate of the Monster King. ¡°After heading back, I couldn¡¯t hide any more information. After father knew about the situation at this side, he rejoiced and immediately started to deploy the invasion. He also didn¡¯t allow me to return here. I didn¡¯t know how my father got the information that Ke Zha Ao Er had inherited the throne of the Aixia¡¯s Kingdom. My father clearly realized that Ke Zha wasn¡¯t simple and was more shrewd than the deceased Emperor from the information we relayed to him. He knew that if he were to fight head on, he would definitely suffer a huge loss. Thus, he started to plan the assassination. When I came to the eastern continent two years ago, my magic clan had already teleported a vast number of advanced level mages and warriors. It included three Magisters and 96 Magic Scholars. In total, there were about 400 of us. After my father assassinated Ke Zha, he would really start invading the human race.¡± I asked, ¡°Then why were you back?¡± Mu Zi distressingly said, ¡°It is all because of you. I really couldn¡¯t bear missing you. I then told my father that I had the most understanding to this side¡¯s matters and begged him to send me with a few teachers to assist in the assassination, therefore I came back again, as I also couldn¡¯t wait to return to the academy. When I saw you at the academy, my heart felt really complexed. When you said to me that you wanted to elope with me, I was extremely moved but I had to complete my mission. Therefore, on that night, we commenced the invasion.¡± Mu Zi looked deeply at me before continuing to say, ¡°But, the human race enjoyed peace for far too long, as the invasion succeeded without a hitch. The Royal Mage Union was unable to stop our advancement, and we quickly invaded the inner palace. When we were close in succeeding, you and Teacher Zhen came and used a magic spell that made me quake in fear, even l now.. Zhang Gong, what spell did you use? I still didn¡¯t know what happened. Two hundred of my demon race were instantly annihilated. Teacher had said you had used a forbidden spell. Is that true?¡± I nodded. ¡°He¡¯s right. I had used the light forbidden spell----Eternal Recovery Light. That spell was an ultimate recovery spell. However, since it is light attribute, it carries a strong killing force to you. I also didn¡¯t know it was that potent. I was lucky that that old man protected you. If not, I would have regretted it for my whole life.¡± Mu Zi sighed, ¡°The eight women that you asked previously had all died under that spell. Even though you killed so many of my people, I still couldn¡¯t hate you at all. I was worried about you discovering my identity instead. I was actually eager to die under that spell as you would at least won¡¯t know where I have gone and in your heart, you will forever know me as the wind element mage--Mu Zi that isn¡¯t from the demon race.¡± ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? You will forever be in my heart even if you¡¯re from the demon race.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°I really didn¡¯t know what you were thinking. When you spat out blood after hearing I was from the demon race, my heart was in great pain. I thought that everything was over. When I was locked up in the prison cell, I didn¡¯t want to think about anything. I just wanted to die quickly. What I feared most was that I would meet you again. I wouldn¡¯t have thought that you would unexpectedly come to save me. Won¡¯t you regret doing that?¡± I resolutely shook my head. ¡°Saving you was the best decision I had made. I won¡¯t regret about it in my entire life.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s entire body shuddered. ¡°Zhang Gong, there isn¡¯t any place for you here anymore so come to the demon race with me? Even though you¡¯re a human, I will definitely persuade my father, alright?¡± Volume 7: Chapter 9 - Behind Bars Volume 7: Chapter 9 - Behind Bars I said with great difficulty, ¡°But will your father really accept me? Don¡¯t forget that I had killed so many that were from your demon race, making you suffer a great loss. Furthermore, I wouldn¡¯t be able to watch as you invade the humans. Mu Zi remained speechless for a long time before replying, ¡°Maybe the loss this time will make my father stop his wild schemes to invade. I have an extremely important position in his heart. Will you come with me? I don¡¯t want to part from you ever again.¡± ¡°How can I also want to be apart from you?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s words had greatly moved me. If the war could be avoided, it would be even better. When I was apprehensive, the old man from the demon race suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, ¡°Not good! There is magic undulations!¡± I was startled and immediately discovered the strong magic undulations. I shouted, ¡°Quickly enter the magic array! They may be coming to pursue us!¡± It really proved my guesses. After a white light shone, Teacher Zhen, Teacher Di, Teacher Long, Teacher Lie and Teacher Xi, all of which appeared before us. When Teacher Di saw me embracing Mu Zi, he shouted angrily, ¡°Zhang Gong! What are you doing? Don¡¯t you know what you are doing are acts of treason towards the Kingdom?!?¡± The other Magisters looked at me with pity. I let go of Mu Zi and kneeled on the ground before replying to Teacher Di. ¡°Teacher Di, I have let you down. But I really couldn¡¯t watch Mu Zi die!¡± Teacher Zhen sighed and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, even if you wanted to escape, you¡¯re too careless. The markings you left on the ground had sold you out. After we tried many places, we finally found this place. Stop continuing your wrongdoings!¡± Teacher Xi said, ¡°That¡¯s enough! Don¡¯t say any further. Zhang Gong, if you immediately help us capture those two from the demon race, with your previous contributions and with us old fellows¡¯ help as your guarantee, you still can turn the situation around.¡± I shook my head dejectedly before violently striking my fusion spell of magic and battle spirit at the few teachers. I turned my head and shouted at that old man of the demon race, ¡°I can¡¯t hold on much longer. Quickly, go and take Mu Zi away from here.¡± The few teachers weren¡¯t able to defend themselves in time and was forced down the hill. Mu Zi shouted mournfully, ¡°No! Zhang Gong, if I go, we have to go together.¡± The old man from the demon race held her and said, ¡°Princess, we have to go now. If not, it will be too late. There is a chance that he won¡¯t die if he stays here.¡± The few teachers already readied themselves. They wordlessly shot hand magics over. I knew time was pressing and shouted. ¡°Mu Zi, quickly go! If I don¡¯t die, I will go to the demon race to find you.¡± For her to escape, I couldn¡¯t not lie to her. As I shouted, I used all of my might to cast a light blade to form a light rain that blocked the advancement of all five teachers. The old man already activated the magic array whilst I was already crumbling under the attack of the five Magisters. It was impossible for me to withstand their attacks. If it wasn¡¯t for the Sukrad''s staff, I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand their attacks. After the light ray shined out, Mu Zi and the old man disappeared. Under the overwhelming attacks, I couldn¡¯t use the Holy Sword¡¯s power. I just used the remainder of my powers to cast a light blade, erasing the remnants of the magic array. I wouldn¡¯t do the same mistakes again. ¡°Peng!¡± The Fire Dragon cast by Teacher Long broke the defence barrier and it struck on my chest. I soared like the clouds, I violently spat out blood. Even if it was like this, I knew that Teacher Long had held back. If not, I, who had used up all of my strength, would already turn into ashes. I fell on the ground 33 metres away. The Sukrad''s staff fell out from my hands. There was a tinge of happiness expressed from the corner of my mouth as Mu Zi had already succeeded in escaping. Teacher Di hugged me and tears flowing down as he said, ¡°Zhang Gong! My child, is it really worth it?!¡± I replied as I groaned, ¡°Teacher...Di, I..failed to live up to¡­your expectations. I..am sorry. Please¡­.take this...magic...staff as your...last re...remembrance of me.¡± After I said that, my head tilted forward and I fainted. It was so painful and hot! My entire body seemed like it was torn apart. ¡°Water, I want some water.¡± I said dazedly but no one paid any attention to me. I became light headed and passed out again. I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. As I groggily opened my eyes after regaining my consciousness, I was submerged into total darkness. ¡®Where am I? Is this hell? It shouldn¡¯t be as I feel pain.¡¯ It looked like my wounds weren¡¯t light. As I tried to circulate the magic power in my body but found that I had none. I knew that my power had been sealed. With my body void of strength, it was impossible for me to break the magic seal. My eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and it seemed to be a stone prison. I was lying on a stone bed, with withered grass beneath me. My limbs were locked by at all four corners of the stone bed. Actually, there wasn¡¯t a need for locks as I couldn¡¯t even move my fingers. I also definitely couldn¡¯t talk. The left side of the wall suddenly opened and a servant came in. She held a bowl in her hands as she walked to my side. She used a spoon in her hand to feed me a mouthful of the thick congee in the bowl. There had a sweet medicinal taste to it but I didn¡¯t know what it was. Just like that, I was fed 18 times. If three times meant a day, I should already had been in here for 6 days. I gradually recovered my ability to talk. My wounds weren¡¯t as painful, but the other parts of my body were still immobilized. After the servant came in on the 19th times, I hoarsely asked her, ¡°Where is this?¡± After hearing my voice, the servant was startled and shook her head without replying me before feeding me the bowl of thick congee as usual. I anxiously asked, ¡°Say Something!¡± The servant ignored me before turning around and walked out. After a short period of time, the stone wall opened again. From the sound of the foot step, I knew that it was another person that came. Ke Zha¡¯s voice voiced out, ¡°Zhang Gong, was it really worth the trouble?¡± I replied huskily, ¡°Uncle Ke Zha, is that you?¡± Ke Zha replied, ¡°It is me. How are you? How is your body recovering?¡± I replied, ¡°It is alright. My wounds are already fine but I still couldn¡¯t move my body.¡± Ke Zha sighed, ¡°You child. You really know how to solitarily make decisions without consulting others, and had even destroyed your future for that demonised woman from the demon race. You had hurt the hearts of the few teachers and even Principal Di has fallen ill.¡± Volume 7: Chapter 10 - The Demon Race Invades Volume 7: Chapter 10 - The Demon Race Invades I said, ¡°Uncle Ke Zha, I won¡¯t plead for you to forgiveness, but please, just give me a quick end. I know what I have done was a gargantuan crime. How is Teacher Di?¡± After a long time, Ke Zha replied, ¡°You had saved me once and also helped me to gain the throne. You also have so many people protecting you. Therefore, how can I kill you? But alas, your crime is too severe, so I can only imprison you. Since your power is too strong, I had them seal your magic power and also fed you medicine that softens your cartilages so that it will be impossible for you to escape. Maybe after many years, Ma Ke will succeed in my position and let you out. Teacher Di shouldn¡¯t have too many problems. It is just that his fury was so strong that he got ill. In his heart, you¡¯re his hope and something that he can be proud of but now, due to your feelings for that girl, you have ignored his feelings. This is a stone prison that is in my original prince mansion. Except for me, there isn¡¯t anyone that knows about this and it is heavily guarded. I won¡¯t let anyone that knows you see you as I don¡¯t want the same mistake to occur again. You should just stay here quiet and steadfastly.¡± ¡®No wonder I couldn¡¯t move. So that was what happened. There was no strong relationship between me and the Emperor. If he had just killed me, I wouldn¡¯t have blamed him. His way of problem-solving has greatly disappointed me.¡¯ I sighed and replied, ¡°I have let Teacher Di down. If there is a next life, I will do anything to repay that old man, even if I¡¯ve to work as an ox or horse for him. Thank you for not killing me, Your Majesty.¡± Ke Zha replied helplessly, ¡°I know you will blame me for doing this but you have to know that I am the Kingdom¡¯s Emperor. I have my responsibilities to my people. Your power is too strong so I can¡¯t let you go to side with the demon race. Do you understand?¡± I knew that even if I swore that I wouldn¡¯t side with the demon race, he wouldn¡¯t have believed me. I didn¡¯t say anything to see if he still had anything left to say. Ke Zha continued on to say, ¡°Now, Aixia has already allied with the two big kingdoms Xiuda and Dalu and will all be sending military forces to assist the Str?m Fortress. Maybe not long from now, wars will erupt again throughout the entire world. You just rest up here. I will leave first. If I have any time, I will come to see you again.¡± I shouted, ¡°Please wait a minute, Your Majesty. Have you captured Mu Zi and the other man?¡± Ke Zha sighed and replied, ¡°You have succeeded. The two from the demon race have already escaped.¡± At that moment, I rejoiced. My sacrifice wasn¡¯t a waste. Mu Zi was finally out of danger. The stone wall rang out and Ke Zha left. My heart surged out like the sea. Even though Ke Zha¡¯s actions were ruthless, I still had my life. I tried to circulate the magic power in my body time after time but the seal was too rigid. Except for the small amount of power from the Holy Sword I felt in my body, there wasn¡¯t any magic undulations. The medicine that softened my cartilages had not only restrained my battle spirit, but had also made it impossible for me to use the Dragon clan''s removal of seals spell due to my lack of strength. Now, I was just a cripple. One day, two days, three days... I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, and I had already completely given up. If someone were to see me, they would see that I had lost a lot of weight and my complexion had paled. I didn¡¯t know how much longer I could hold on. Emperor Ke Zha returned again today. His expression was severe and just looked gloomily at me. I asked, ¡°What is it, Your Majesty? Did something happen?¡± Ke Zha nodded. ¡°The demon race and the beast clans have allied and is already starting to invade Str?m Fortress .¡± I was astonished, it couldn¡¯t be that Mu Zi didn¡¯t convince her father to stop the invasion, right? I anxiously asked, ¡°When did this happen?¡± Ke Zha replied, ¡°It is the the day before yesterday. We had already send out the fourth, seventh and twelfth armies to stop the advancement with Principal Long leading them.¡± I asked, ¡°Is Teacher Di feeling better already?¡± Ke Zha shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what is really going on with him but he hasn¡¯t been doing his job properly.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to check on that old man. Is there something you needed for me by coming to visit me this time?¡± Ke Zha replied amazed, ¡°You¡¯re really smart. If you didn¡¯t betray the human race, it would have been so much better. I am currently not afraid about the Str?m Fortress as the defense there is extremely rigid. What I fear is that the method the demon race used to enter the back of the Str?m Fortress. We currently don¡¯t know how those assassins were able to enter the eastern continent. You had spent sometimes with that demoness of the demon race. I came this time is to ask you if you know how they were able to come over.¡± I replied, ¡°I know how the demon race came over. You shouldn¡¯t need to worry about that as they will need to have a Magister to bring their people over and will deplete their strength due to the immense magic power needed to activate the teleportation array. Moreover, the previous assassination had made them loss a lot of their forces. Even if they were to teleport over, there won¡¯t be a lot of them.¡± ¡®I am a human after all. I definitely don¡¯t wish for the magic clan to invade us. A terrible situation will occur that way.¡¯ Ke Zha heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Zhang Gong, thank you for telling me such a good news. I can relax a little that way. Rest up.¡± After he said that, he turned and walked away. It seemed that he had come in here just to gather information. The demon race had already started the invasion. I didn¡¯t know what the front line was like. I didn¡¯t know if Mu Zi had participated in the start of the war. No matter what the outcome was, it didn¡¯t have any relation to me as I was just like a living dead person. ¡­¡­ After another three days, and after I had finished eating the thick congee around noon, there was suddenly a bright light that shone beside me. As I had been in darkness for a long time, I instantly saw everything become completely white. I hastily closed my eyes. When the white light disappeared, I squinted my eyes. There was a small delicate black masked person standing before me. I asked, ¡°Who are you? Why did you come here?¡± The masked person pulled down the black mask. ¡°Zhang Gong, it is me. I have come to rescue you.¡± After I looked straight at the person, I found out it was Hai Shui. I momentarily turned pale with fright. ¡°Hai Shui, why did you come in here? You should hurriedly leave this place. If you¡¯re discovered, you¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡± Hai Shui chucked mournfully, ¡°You can give up your life for Big Sister Mu Zi. Why can¡¯t I come to save you?¡± I asked, ¡°How did you come here? Ke Zha had said that he was the only one that knew about this place.¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°You have already been locked up in this place for two months. In these past two months, you had made a few of the teachers to be extremely anxious about you. Do you know that those few teachers have been monitored by His Majesty because of you, since he feared that they will come to save you?¡± Volume 7: Chapter 11 - Recovering Magic Power Volume 7: Chapter 11 - Recovering Magic Power I dejectedly said, ¡°I¡¯ve caused trouble for those teachers.¡± Hai Shui walked to my front and squatted down. Her entire body shuddered and tears flowed out from her eyes. She took out a pill from her bosom and forced it into my mouth. She gently caressed my thin and pallid face and said, ¡°How can they treat you like this? Big brother Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve really suffered.¡± The pill liquefied and flowed down my throat. My stomach instantly seemed to work and my energy slowly rejuvenated. I asked, ¡°It is the antidote to the powder that softened my cartilages?¡± Hai Shui nodded. ¡°You should try your best to recover your strength and magic powers. If you want to get out of here, you¡¯ve got to rely entirely on yourself.¡± I asked, ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained to me on how you got in here?¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°After you were captured that day, Teacher Zhen came to find me and told me about what happened to you before asking me if I¡¯m willing to go save you. I replied that I am. Teacher Zhen said that the few old fellows were being monitored so they couldn¡¯t come and rescue you. The Emperor would definitely not lock you up in the palace, so I have kept a lookout outside the palace to see when His Majesty would leave the palace. After waiting for a long time, he finally came out and I followed him here. However, I couldn¡¯t get in here as it was too heavily guarded, so I returned to tell Teacher Zhen. After he and Teacher Di discussed the problem, they decided to use a teleportation array to come and save you. We estimated the distance and tested it out a couple of times. We finally succeeded. Actually, I had already come in once but it was when you were asleep. I discovered you were abnormally weak and didn¡¯t want to startle you so I headed back and told Teacher Zhen. Teacher Zhen said you should have been given a medication that would soften your cartilages. I don¡¯t know where he got the antidote before letting me come again.¡± I had never thought that those few old teachers still had not given up on me after all this time and still cared for me. Tears flowed down my face and I replied choked with sobs, ¡°You return and help me to thank Teacher Zhen.¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°Time is pressing so I¡¯ve got to go. I¡¯ll come again three days later. It will also be the time you make your escape. You¡¯ll have to spend three days recovering your strength.¡± I asked, ¡°How is Ma Ke and your sister?¡± Hai Shui sighed, ¡°His Majesty feared that Ma Ke will come to save you due to your brotherhood so he locked him up. My sister hasn¡¯t seen Ma Ke for a long time already.¡± I replied in pain, ¡°I never thought that because of me, I would have implicated so many people. I¡¯m really sorry. You really shouldn¡¯t have come to save me. If something goes wrong, you¡¯ll ruin your future. I really don¡¯t know how to repay you, you¡¯ve done such an immense favor for me.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s tears dropped on my face before she replied, ¡°Big brother Zhang Gong, you don¡¯t need to say anything further. As long as you can give a small portion of your heart to me, I¡¯ll be satisfied. We¡¯re all your friends. You¡¯ll only know our feelings during dangerous times. Now, I really have to go. Take care! We¡¯ll meet again in three days time. ¡°After she said that, she took out an escape scroll from her bosom and teleported away.¡± I finally understood. Hai Shui treated me as though I was treating Mu Zi. It was out of willingness due to love. ¡®You¡¯ll only know our feelings during dangerous times.¡¯ was an extremely good phrase. You came to save me in my most difficult time. How could I not feel gratitude towards you? Hai Shui¡¯s coming had let me break out from my living dead state; so everyone hadn¡¯t abandoned me. I still had hope. I really still had hope. As I gradually recovered my strength, my heart gradually started to work again. After an hour, I could slowly move my limbs. Since I hadn¡¯t been moving for a long time, my blood flow wasn¡¯t very smooth. My entire body was still void of strength. I needed to supplement my body. ¡®If my body isn¡¯t healthy, how can I recover? Didn¡¯t Ke Zha said that as long as I couldn¡¯t get out, he¡¯ll grant me any wishes that I have? Let¡¯s give it a try!¡¯ When the time of food came again, it was the same servant as per usual that came bringing over a bowl of thick congee. After I drank the thick congee, I told her, ¡°Can¡¯t you bring something else the next time you come?¡± After suddenly hearing me, the servant jumped in fright before asking, ¡°What do you want?¡± I bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°I currently don¡¯t even have the strength to chew. What can I even eat. I want to drink some Earth Dragon Grass Jelly.. If this continues, even if the Emperor doesn¡¯t kill me, I¡¯ll definitely die from being too weak.¡± The servant looked at me cautiously before saying, ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t you dare play any tricks on me.¡± I hastily replied, ¡°I¡¯m already like this. What tricks will I be able to play?¡± The servant nodded and turned before walking out. As expected, my next meal was Earth Dragon Grass Jelly. I greedily drank the nutrients of the soup. I initially thought about having main dishes but I didn¡¯t want her to become suspicious about me. The Earth Dragon Grass Jelly was worthy of being a strong supplement. I felt much better under the effects of it. After the servant had gone out, I started to constantly move my body to regain my strength as fast as possible. After a day had passed, even though my body was still extremely feeble, my battle spirit had gradually recovered. This was really great! I would no longer feel feeble after drinking it. The time was ripe to test chanting the weird chant from the Dragon clan. I needed to recover my magic power as soon as possible. After trying the first time, it didn¡¯t work. After trying the second time, it also didn¡¯t work. It was the same for the third time¡­¡­.After trying it for 37 times, my entire body lit up. The familiar feeling of breaking the seal came back. A golden halo spreaded out with the center of my eye brows as its center. After the golden light flashed, I could feel the Gold Dans in my body. I was wild with joy. The warmth of the Holy Sword came forth. The Gold Dans status were abnormally dispirited while the Holy Sword was the complete opposite. The warmth of the power permeated through my body, constantly expanding my shrunken meridians. I didn¡¯t dare move the shackles and just quietly laid there, carefully circulating the power of the Holy Sword. As I feared being discovered by the servant who came to deliver the food, I let my body recover gradually. The Holy Sword¡¯s power was really strong. My body was soon recovered. Even though it wasn¡¯t comparable to how I was previously, it shouldn¡¯t affect my movements. The two Gold Dans in my body regained their liveliness after I had continuously poured light elements into my body. They started to circulate in my body so that the recovery speed of my magic power would become much faster. I hadn¡¯t craved for power like I had now. Even though I was still in prison, my mood had changed as if the sky and the earth had turned upside down. I felt that living was so amazing and that I could control my fate again. Volume 7: Chapter 12 - Escaping from the Abyss Volume 7: Chapter 12 - Escaping from the Abyss Three days and 9 times of drinking the soup had quickly passed by, as I anticipated for Hai Shui to come release me. Finally, the waiting was over. A light shone and Hai Shui¡¯s familiar figure appeared before me once again with a long bag in her hand. When she saw that I was still locked on the stone bed, she was astonished and whispered, ¡°Zhang Gong, you still haven¡¯t recovered?¡± I replied, ¡°I already have, but I was afraid that they would figure it out, so I didn¡¯t break free from the shackles.¡± Hai Shui sighed in relief. ¡°Hurry, we¡¯ve got to go! We¡¯ll need to make use of the time we have.¡± After I silently circulated my battle spirit, my entire body emitted bright white light. After using strength on my limbs, ¡®Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!¡¯ sounded as I easily freed myself from my shackles. I leapt to Hai Shui¡¯s side. I also found that being able to stand was so awesome. Hai Shui passed me the long bag and took out an escape scroll. ¡°Let¡¯s be on our way!¡± I took the long bag and opened it. It was my Sukrad''s staff. When I tightly held onto it, I felt the ties that were linked by flesh and blood. I took the escape scroll from Hai Shui. ¡°I think it is better that I do it. You just have to hold onto my arm.¡± Hai Shui asked, ¡°Are you sure you can do it with the current state of your body?¡± I nodded. ¡°No problem. I¡¯ve already recovered half of my magic powers. As long as I don¡¯t face the powers of the few old teachers, I should be able to deal with them.¡± Hai Shui expressed a happy look and replied, ¡°This escape scroll is Teacher Zhen¡¯s most recent research, It has the ability to determine the spot of the teleportation. It can send to an exact spot with a limit of 10 kilometers. In other words, it can send us to any position we want within a 10 kilometers range. I¡¯ve already set the location so you can just activate the scroll.¡± After I said that, she clung onto my arm and also stuck her body to mine. I looked at her embarrassedly but seeing that she didn¡¯t have any intention to move back a little, I just let her be. I deeply inhaled before using the Sukrad''s staff to cast a protective barrier around us before activating the escape scroll. The stone prison had lost our presence after a golden light flashed. The feeling of using magic again was so moving. It felt as though I had gained a new life. I was extremely interested in everything and magics phenomenons. I was filled with love towards life. After the light shone, I found that we had unexpectedly teleported into a room. The room was all pale pink in colour. It felt very comforting. The entire room was filled with sunlight. I asked Hai Shui in surprise, ¡°Where is this? Did you set the location wrongly?¡± Hai Shui reluctantly pulled away from my arm and pouted. ¡°It is only you that set the location wrongly. This is my room.¡± I immediately was greatly alarmed. ¡°What? This is your room? Why did you set this place as the location for the escape scroll?¡± It was unexpectedly Hai Shui¡¯s room. Hai Shui replied, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my room? This place is safe and is also in my family¡¯s place. Who will come here to search, especially if it is my room?¡± I blushed and replied abashedly, ¡°I am a guy. If I stay in your room, it will damage your reputation and integrity.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°I¡¯m not scared. Why are you? Your heart only holds Sister Mu Zi. If this is her room, you won¡¯t be so conservative.¡± Seeing that she got a little angry, I didn¡¯t dare to rebuke her. I changed the conversation topic by asking, ¡°How are the few teachers? Is Teacher Di feeling better? How is the situation at the frontlines?¡± Hai Shui said with her eye brows frowned, ¡°You ask so many questions at one go. How do you expect me to answer your questions!¡± I surrendered and said, ¡°Alright...Alright! You can answer them one at the time. You can start by telling me about Teacher Di¡¯s situation.¡± Hai Shui giggled and replied, ¡°Teacher Di doesn¡¯t have any problems. The main reason was that he was extremely worried about you to the point that he fell ill. You are Teacher Di¡¯s heart problem.¡± My eyes reddened as I thought about the many years that Teacher Di had guided me. I lamented, ¡°I really let Teacher Di down this time. Hai!¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be this upset. If you can make accomplishments in the world in the future, he will be pleased. He also wishes you the best. That old man said you don¡¯t have to look for him and wants you to hurry, and get away from here. After everything has settled, we¡¯ll discuss further and to also not forget your tasks.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll have to let him down again. After I get out of here, the first thing I¡¯ll do is to save Mu Zi. One out of ten demon race will survive. If I don¡¯t die in the process, I¡¯ll accomplish the tasks.¡± Hai Shui asked in surprise, ¡°What? You¡¯re going to the demon race?¡± I resolutely nodded my head. ¡°I must go and find Mu Zi. I really can¡¯t lose her.¡± Hai Shui lowered her head and muttered, ¡°If you can treat me like this, and even if I die, I¡¯m willing.¡± She said that as she cried. Looking at her appearance, it was so moving. I couldn¡¯t control myself and gently embraced her and patted her back. ¡°Be good. Don¡¯t cry. How can I not understand your feelings to me? You have risked your life to save mine this time. I am really grateful for that. If you don¡¯t mind, I am willing¡­¡­.¡± I really didn¡¯t want to hurt this adorable girl anymore. Even though it might be out of sympathy, I was prepared to accept her. Hai Shui widened her eyes and asked. ¡°Really? Is this for real?¡± She rejoiced for only a short while before she quietened and said, ¡°It is impossible. You already have Sister Mu Zi. She won¡¯t accept me.¡± I patted her head, ¡°Silly girl, Mu Zi isn¡¯t that stingy. She has already brought this up many times to accept you.¡± Hai Shui raised her head and asked, ¡°Really?¡± I sincerely nodded my head and held Hai Shui¡¯s hand. ¡°Are you willing to accept me? Even though I can¡¯t say that I love you, I¡¯m willing to slowly cultivate my feelings towards you. You helped me too many times. I also don¡¯t want to continue hurting you any further.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s face expressed a sign of happiness before her happiness surged out. She tightly hugged my waist and place her face on my chest and said elatedly, ¡°This is too awesome! It¡¯s just so great! My dream finally came true. Zhang Gong, do you know that I¡¯ve waited for this day to come after suffering from so much pain?¡± I said in astonishment. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re as open minded as Mu Zi, right? You don¡¯t mind being with her as well?¡± Hai Shui shook her head smilingly, ¡°I definitely don''t mind. Your magic is so strong so there¡¯ll be a lot of girls that will fall for you. I¡¯m already extremely ecstatic that Sister Mu Zi doesn¡¯t mind me being with you. As long as I can be with you, I don¡¯t care about anything.¡± Volume 7: Chapter 13 - Finale - Sorrowful Parting Volume 7: Chapter 13 - Finale - Sorrowful Parting Hai Shui¡¯s love for me was unexpectedly deep, I found myself moved. I gently kissed her forehead. Hai Shui¡¯s entire body shivered before she raised her head and looked at me, her eyes filled with deep feelings for me. She slowly closed her eyes and I leaned forward. I, at first, gently kissed her lips. After that, it became out of hand. Hai Shui reacted frantically as she wrapped her arms around my neck. It was as though she wanted to release all of her love for me. I seemed to be open with Hai Shui, compared to being conservative with Mu Zi. I didn¡¯t know when I actually embraced her as we laid on the bed before extending my hand into her clothes. My thigh unintentionally touched the icy pillar of the bed. My mind became slightly more clear. I gently pushed Hai Shui away. Her delicate face was completely red and her eyes were filled with lust. She said seductively, ¡°Zhang Gong! Zhang Gong!¡± The clearness of my mind had awoken my rationality. Therefore, I supressed my arousement. I said, ¡°Behave yourself. We shouldn¡¯t be doing this. Wake up.¡± As I said that, I gathered a small ice cone and placed it on Hai Shui¡¯s forehead. Hai Shui¡¯s body shuddered and the lust in her eyes decreased. She saw what was in front of her before she shyly buried her head in my embrace. ¡°You¡¯re so bad. I won¡¯t come again.¡± I hadn¡¯t experienced such a situation before. I felt that it was not bad that, I could control myself. I said embarrassed, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t do that on purpose. Just now¡­¡­..¡± Hai Shui chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯re still talking about that? You¡¯re annoying. That¡¯s right, now isn¡¯t the time to talk about this. You should set a teleportation array to be able to leave the place anytime. It¡¯ll be safer that way.¡± I nodded. ¡°What you say is right. Please help me, keep a lookout outside. I¡¯ll start drawing it now.¡± Hai Shui agreed before she fixed her clothings. She covered her red hot face and ran to the entrance to cool down. Seeing her fading back, there was an indescribable feeling in my heart. I shook my head before I started to draw the escape magic array on the ground. Since my condition wasn¡¯t perfect, I couldn¡¯t teleport too far away. So, I had decided to design the teleport to move me 500 kilometres away, just as I did for Mu Zi to allow her a path of escape. I felt I would have a better chance of escaping that way. The drawing of the teleportation array was really tiring, especially when I was not in a perfect condition. Hai Shui came to look in a couple of times. I had used an entire day to complete the magic array. I stretched my waist before laying on Hai Shui¡¯s bed. Hai Shui asked, ¡°Have you finished drawing?¡± I replied, ¡°Yes, I have. How is the condition outside?¡± Hai Shui said smilingly, ¡°What else can happen? They are searching to capture you. You¡¯re wanted throughout the Kingdom already. As long as you¡¯re within the Aixia Kingdom, you must be careful.¡± I replied, ¡°Is there really such a need to be so exaggerated? Am I that important?¡± Hai Shui sniggered before replying, ¡°Of course you are. You are one of eleven Magisters in the entire human race and you can also use forbidden spells.¡± I sighed, ¡°Maybe it was because I showed too much of my talents that had resulted in such an outcome. After I leave, you must keep a low profile so that you won¡¯t suffer what I did. Please convey my words to Ma Ke and the rest.¡± Hai Shui looked at me with her eyes widened. I asked astonishingly, ¡°What is the matter? Why do you look as though you want to eat me?¡± Hai Shui said grievanced, ¡°You are not bringing me along?¡± I immediately was startled. ¡°What? You want to go with me? It¡¯s impossible.¡± Hai Shui momentarily cried and said as she sobbed, ¡°You lied to me. You lied. You just said that you accepted me and now, you suddenly change your mind.¡± I said, while at a loss, ¡°How can I do that? What I said previously was true. I¡¯m going to an extremely dangerous place. It will be too dangerous if you¡¯re to go there as well. You should stay here to increase your magic power. If I succeed in saving Mu Zi, I¡¯ll definitely come back for you.¡± After she heard what I said, she cried more vigorously. As she cried, she said, ¡°You¡¯re so bad. You lied to me to get my body before tossing me aside. Wu¡­.Wu¡­.Wu!¡± What? When did I lie to get her body? I hastily went over to cover her mouth and said, ¡°Little missy, can you lower your voice? If someone else was to listen to what you said, I¡¯ll no longer be human.¡± Hai Shui ignored me and continued crying. I suddenly said sternly, ¡°Stop crying and listen to me!¡± Hai Shui was shock from my sudden rage and stopped crying. I gently said, ¡°Be good. You must listen to me. It¡¯ll be very inconvenient if I bring you along. I don¡¯t know what is the situation like at the demon race. Furthermore, I need to to take care of the aftermath. Do you know why I was caught previously? It was because I left traces of the magic array. After I leave, I want you to help me erase the traces. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely try my best to stay alive. I also can¡¯t bear to part with you. You must be good and obediently await for my return. I¡¯ll definitely come back for you, alright?¡± Hai Shui¡¯s eyes flashed with complicated expressions. It was obvious that she was having an inner battle. I continued saying, ¡°I¡¯ll first find some of my friends in Xiuda. With their help, I¡¯m sure that I won¡¯t be in any danger.¡± Hai Shui tilted her head and asked, ¡°Will you really be out of danger?¡± I nodded. ¡°I promise.¡± ¡®Only the Gods will know what I just promised. Can I predict whether it will be dangerous? The answer is most definitely, no.¡¯ Hai Shui replied sulkily, ¡°You were so fierce previously.¡± She was really an adorably petite little thing. I embraced her and replied, ¡°I won¡¯t do that ever again. How can I bear to be fierce towards you?¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°You must come back safely. I¡¯ll wait for you. No matter how long it takes, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± I nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll definitely be back. There¡¯s my teachers, friends and you, who is the most important to me, waiting for me here.¡± Hai Shui said with her face reddened, ¡°Can I give you my first time? I¡¯ll feel more secure that way.¡± I jumped in fright from her words. I never thought that such an innocent little girl would say such words. ¡°No, I¡¯ll wait for the time when I formally marry you then¡­¡­¡± Hai Shui revealed an adorable expression. ¡°You really don¡¯t want?¡± I seriously nodded my head. If I really took Hai Shui now, wouldn¡¯t it be bad for her if I were to die in some foreign land? Hai Shui replied, ¡°Alright! However, you must give something to me as a pledge of your love for me to keep and remember.¡± I was stunned. ¡°What shall I give you?¡± Hai Shui thought for a while and replied, ¡°Anything.¡± I thought for a while before taking out a relatively big blue crystal from my spatial space. ¡°This shall be it.¡± After saying that, I took out the dagger that Ma Ke had given to me previously and used my battle spirit to carve the crystal. My hands were counted to be stable, and a sparkling and translucent blue heart shaped crystal very quickly appeared in my hand. I also craved ¡®Zhang Gong¡¯ on top of it before giving it to Hai Shui. ¡°Do you like it?¡± Hai Shui carefully took it in her hand and answered with a joyful face. ¡°I really like it. Whenever I see this heart, it¡¯ll be as though I¡¯m looking at you in the future.¡± After she said that, she grabbed onto my left hand and unknowingly took out a dark green ring and put it onto my middle finger. She smiled and said, ¡°This is what I¡¯ll give you. There is my name on the inner side of the ring. You mustn¡¯t lose it. I¡¯ll leave the ring finger for Sister Mu Zi.¡± I gently kissed her cheek. ¡°Silly girl, you just have to wait for me to come back. Do you know what is the situation like of the demon race?¡± Hai Shui replied, ¡°I heard that they weren¡¯t fighting ferociously. Both sides had gathered their army forces and just stood opposite of each other. There were only some small confrontations. From the looks of it, the demon race and the beast clans still can¡¯t easily make their moves. Relax! The security of the Str?m Fortress shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± I had let down a stone in my heart. ¡°That¡¯s great. If they were really to fight, both sides will definitely suffer. War is too terrifying and the ones that suffers the most are the commoners.¡± I caressed Hai Shui¡¯s long hair and continued to say, ¡°You should stay at the academy to train. After everything is settled, I¡¯ll definitely come to find you. The current atmosphere is extremely nerve wrecking. I have to go as soon as possible.¡± Hai Shui eye immediately reddened. She tightly hugged me and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go. I really don¡¯t.¡± I consoled her by saying, ¡°Be good and stop throwing childish tempers. It isn¡¯t that I won¡¯t be coming back. Please help me look after those few old teachers. They aren¡¯t young so it¡¯ll be great if nothing happens to them. Even though Emperor Ke Zha has great skills and strategy, he isn¡¯t as magnanimous. After you graduate, it¡¯ll be best that you don¡¯t join the military. Don¡¯t tell this to Ma Ke either as it may influence his mood. Ma Ke has a magnanimous personality. If he inherits the throne in the future, I¡¯ll be able to relax.¡± Hai Shui nodded. ¡°Do you really have to go?¡± I nodded. ¡°I also don¡¯t know how my friends in Xiuda are doing. I¡¯ll first go and meet up with them, before going towards the demon races stronghold. I hope that she¡¯s willing to come back with me though.¡± Hai Shui said, ¡°Sister Mu Zi will definitely come back with you. I¡¯ll wait for you two.¡± I replied, ¡°After I leave, you must immediately erase the magic array and never let anyone discover it. If not, it¡¯ll not only bring you trouble, it¡¯ll also implicate your family. The three main families had allied with Duke Te Yi initially to rebel against Ke Zha. Ke Zha¡¯s heart must be filled with hatred. If he gets the chance, he¡¯ll definitely treat you badly.¡± I embraced Hai Shui and stepped into the magic array. I deeply kissed her lips before pushing her out of the array. A golden light enclosed her body. I shouted, ¡°Hai Shui! You must take care of yourself. I¡¯m leaving.¡± After saying that, I activated the array. If I don¡¯t head off now, Hai Shui would definitely badger me. It was better to just get the pain over with, rather than prolonging the agony. Hai Shui cried out in fear, ¡°Big brother Zhang Gong, you must come back safely.¡± I smiled and waved my hands at her. ¡°I will.¡± I instantly vanished from Hai Shui¡¯s room after a golden light flashed. Hai Shui teared as she cleared the magic array that I had drawn but her heart had come with me. Volume 8: Chapter 1 - The Village in the Mountains Volume 8: Chapter 1 - The Village in the Mountains Name: Qi Meng Satan Sex: Male The Emperor of the Demon race, top expert of the Demon race and Mu Zi¡¯s father. Name: Dark Demon Dragon Sex: Male The Demon Emperor¡¯s mount and a loyal protector. Name: Su He Sex: Male The Demon Emperor¡¯s second son, his status? Name: Fifth Elder Sex: Male The ancestor of the Holy Sword that accepted the task from the God to set up the God Village. He is the current God Village¡¯s top expert. Name: Jian Shan Sex: Male Radiant knight of the God Village¡¯s young generation, he¡¯s a well-known figure. Name: Wallace Sex: Male The leader of the beast clans that had a outspoken and straightforward personality, holds the ¡®Earth Bear¡¯ title and is good in Earth elemental magic. After a golden light flashed, a slender body appeared on a hill. It was surrounded by a verdant and lush forest that had frequent calls from birds and insects. A body figure that was about 1.9 meters tall slowly appeared. He was doing a handstand on the hill with his eyes staring at the horizon with his eyebrows expressing sorrow. That man was me. The widely known light magician in the Kingdom of Aixia, Zhang Gong Wei, who is also the main character of this book. I had finally succeeded in escaping. After thinking back to the deep feelings Hai Shui had for me, my heart involuntarily throbs. Furthermore, I still also have Mu Zi that should already be deep inside the demon race territory, who is the woman I love the most. I would really never have thought that she would unexpectedly be the princess of the Demon race. Even if that was the case, I had saved her when she was captured by Aixia¡¯s Royal Magic corps, which had also ruined my future in Aixia. ¡®I must go to the Demon race to find Mu Zi because I love her. It¡¯s impossible for me to forget her.¡¯ I wondered how Big brother Zhan Hu and the rest were. If I could get their assistance, the journey to the Demon race territory would be much smoother so I had decided to head to the Kingdom of Xiuda to find them. After that, I would head for the Demon race. I was not worried about going to the Demon magic races lands as I had complete confidence in my powers. What I was most afraid was that Mu Zi would abandon me or wasn¡¯t willing to come back with me. After determining the destination to head towards, my heart felt much better. I raised my head and gave out a long roar. I kicked off from the ground and circulated my battle spirit as I flew down the hill. I currently had already lost my sense of position as when I escaped, the magic array was designated to head towards the west. This was to say that this place should be 500 kilometers west from Aixia. ¡®I shall forget about it and just head in this direction. I should be able to reach a city. When I find one, I¡¯ll just determine the correct direction I should move in.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t thought such an error in my decision making had forced me to spend three days in the forest. If I knew Advanced wind magic, I perhaps wouldn¡¯t need to spend so much time in here. However, my major was light magic and minor was spatial magic, that weren¡¯t capable in allowing me to fly. Even though I could fly with my battle spirit, my current body condition wasn¡¯t good. My body strength was half of the power from my strength at peak condition. It shouldn¡¯t be able to fly for long but I could use short teleportation. This was bad after rapidly teleporting for a day. I discovered that I was completely lost. Damn it! I didn¡¯t dare to continue using the short teleportation anymore so I could only conscientiously depend on my both legs to proceed. After I finally walked out of the forest, I already looked like a beggar. My clothing had already be shredded by the shrubbery. After the torture from the stone prison that made me exhausted and that I didn¡¯t rest up properly after Hai Shui had rescued me, with the fact that I currently was out of food, the condition of my magic power and battle spirit were all not good, especially my battle spirit. The reason for that was I had previously used it to support my body so the consumption of it was large. My pitiful Sukrad¡¯s staff was currently being used as my walking stick. I previously had always had a smooth sailing life and never suffered this much. I sighed as I couldn¡¯t help but to think back to my past. I hobbled as I moved forward. There was suddenly a spiral of smoke in front of me. I instantly felt a little energetic as if there was smoke, it was a sign of presence of humans there. This was too awesome! I used my entire body¡¯s power to charge forward. When I stepped on a small hill, I finally saw a large village. When a light shone through my hopelessness, I was exceptionally excited. My body seemed to have lightened a lot. I cheered before heading to the village. As I neared it, I heard the sounds of water. There was a river flowing at the side of the village. There was a 30 to 40 meter high waterfall upstream. It looked like this water supplies this village. The scale of the area was counted to be big as it catered about six to seven hundred houses. The houses were all built with wood and bamboo. The place was surrounded by mountains, making it seemed extremely tranquil. I had unexpectedly found such a large village in such a remote area. At the moment that I could see the village entrance, under the irradiation of the intense sunlight, I couldn¡¯t refrain myself from getting light headed. A clear voice voiced out, ¡°Who are you? Why have you come to our village?¡± I stared at the direction of the voice. He seemed to be a 18 to 19 years old young fellow. He looked tall and stalwart with his entire body reeking with explosive power. There was an unknown beast in his hand. From the looks of it, he should be a hunter. However, from the bearing of his body and explosive power, he seemed to an expert in martial skills. There was unexpectedly someone that practiced martial skills in Aixia. This was really strange. I replied politely, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m just a passerby that is overly exhausted. I¡¯m thinking of purchasing some food and water from the village to rest up.¡± The young man frowned as he sized me up. ¡°Alright, follow me.¡± After he said that, he lead in front of me. ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡± I used the Sukrad¡¯s staff to support my body as I forcefully followed him. After entering the village, there was a couple of young men, whose ages were still very young. ¡°Big Brother Jian Shan, you¡¯re back. Wah! You caught another Purple Fox! You¡¯re really great!¡± ¡°That is our Big brother Jian Shan, the number one expert among the younger generation.¡± The young man who brought me in smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough! You all stop flattering me. If the elders heard that, they will remark that you all are not being discreet again.¡± The few youngsters stuck their tongue out at him but didn¡¯t dare to say anything. One of them that had a good eye and asked, ¡°Big brother Jian Shan, who is he? Where did you get this beggar from?¡± Jian Shan rebuked, ¡°Shan Dou, stop talking nonsense. He should just be lost. You go and report to the Great Elder to let him decide whether to keep this outsider or not.¡± The person that was known as Shan Dou gave out a peculiar sound before turning and running away. Jian San told me, ¡° Big brother, come with me.¡± After he said that, he brought me to a bamboo house at the western side of the village. I replied pantingly, ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± Jian Shan poured a cup of water and passed it to me. ¡°You can try our spring water. It¡¯s not bad.¡± I drank all of the clear spring water. A chilly feeling passed through my body. Ah! I replied in appreciation, ¡°This spring water is really nice to to drink, is this water from the flowing spring at the side of the village?¡± Jian Shan nodded before pouring me another cup of spring water. ¡°The spring water is our village¡¯s lifeline. Without it constantly flowing all around the year, our village wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. As I drank, I said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Water is the origin of life.¡± As I said that, I couldn¡¯t help but to think about Hai Shui who was so far from here. ¡°Brother Jian Shan, the elder wants you to bring that stranger to meet him.¡± Shan Dou¡¯s voice sounded out from outside of the room. Volume 8: Chapter 2 - Bizarre Village Volume 8: Chapter 2 - Bizarre Village Jian Shan shouted, ¡°I got it. We¡¯ll head over there now.¡± He turned his head to look at me. ¡°We don¡¯t casually accept strangers here. I¡¯m really sorry, but I must trouble you to meet my elder.¡± I smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s to be expected. However, you can see how I look. Is it alright for me to clean up first?¡± ¡°Of course you can, follow me.¡± After he finished speaking, he brought me to the side of the village¡¯s spring water while holding a wooden tub. When I started to reach into the spring water to wash my face, I was stopped by him. He explained, ¡°Our village doesn¡¯t allow us to directly clean up in the spring¡¯s water.¡± After that, he filled a tub of water and passed it to me. I made an awkward smile and quickly washed up. After seeing that there wasn¡¯t anyone around, I took out a set of ordinary clothes from my spatial space. Jian Shan obviously hadn¡¯t seen spatial space magic spells as he asked in amazement, ¡°Where did you get those clothes from? I didn¡¯t see that you have a bag.¡± I chuckled, ¡°It is just a small magic spell. Please forget about that.¡± Jian Shan asked, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that before is that really magic? Magic should be really fun, right?¡± He had the heart of a young man after all. After hearing about something new, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back and naturally wanted to know more about it. I replied, ¡°Magic actually borrow powers from nature as a way to accomplish our wishes. If you want to learn it, I can teach you next time.¡± Jian Shan replied excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s great! So, you¡¯re a mage?¡± At this moment, I had already changed my clothes. The feeling I felt throughout my body was indescribably cool and refreshing. The ice cold spring water seemed to have washed away my fatigue away. Jian Shan¡¯s eyes lit up and said in high praise, ¡°Everyone really must have garments like yours. After changing, you look much more pleasing to the eye.¡± This was the first time someone gave me such comments. I bitterly smiled and replied , ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to meet the elder? Let¡¯s go.¡± As we walked, I asked, ¡°How many elders are there in this village?¡± Jian Shan replied, ¡°There¡¯s 5 elders. They¡¯re the village top experts and have profound knowledge. Whenever there are major problems in the village, they¡¯ll decide the course of action.¡± Oh! I continued to ask, ¡°How do you survive in this place? The place seems very remote.¡± Jian Shan revealed a cautious expression as he looked at me. ¡°Why are you asking me so many questions? I don¡¯t know. You can ask the elders about that.¡± At this moment, we already walked to a large wooden house at the center of the village. Jian Shan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside. This is the place where the elders discuss matters.¡± After that, he took the lead to walk in first. I followed him into the wooden house where two old men were already in there. Their attire was simple and from the wrinkles on their faces, they must be at least 80 years old. The old man on the left kindly asked, ¡°Jian Shan, I heard that you brought back a stranger. Is that him?¡± I hastily walked over and bowed before saying, ¡°Greetings to the two elders, I had just passed by this village. I¡¯m pleading just to be able to stay for a few days. After my body has recovered, I¡¯ll immediately leave. I¡¯m willing to pay more than enough money for my stay.¡± The right elder¡¯s expression hardened, ¡°We can survive on our own. Why would we have need of money for?¡± I awkwardly looked at Jian Shan. Jian Shan said, ¡°Third grandfather, please let him stay, He doesn¡¯t seem to be bad and he also knows magic.¡± The third elder on the right replied, ¡°You¡¯re still young so you don¡¯t know what intentional malice is. You can¡¯t judge a book by its cover. Since you¡¯re only staying for two days, you can temporarily stay at Jian Shan¡¯s place. However, you have to remember, if you do anything that is detrimental to the village, even though we¡¯re people from the mountains, we won¡¯t forgive you.¡± After he said that, his eyes glimmered. That old man had such bright eyes. If Zhan Hu was here, he would definitely know that his battle spirit had already reached its peak. He is definitely at the Sword Saint level. No matter what, from the pressure he was giving me, I could also feel his powerful strength . I curiously thought, ¡®Why does this village have such powerful people? Let¡¯s forget it. It shouldn¡¯t matter as it doesn¡¯t relate to me. After I rest up, I¡¯ll leave this place. What¡¯s the use in meddling so much about the village?¡± After following Jian Shan to his home I discovered he was the only one there. I also didn¡¯t dare to blindly ask him what happened to his parents. After eating some food that he had given to me, I found a bed that I could lay on to get some rest. The following morning, when I walked out of the bamboo house, I noticed Jian Shan was still practicing his sword. He was emitting Golden Battle Spirit. I knew that this was God Battle Spirit and a sign of being a Radiant Knight. I pulled on Shan Dou who was watching at the side. ¡°Jian Shan¡¯s martial skills are really great!¡± Shan Dou arrogantly said, ¡°Of course! Big brother Jian Shan¡¯s martial skills are the best among the younger generations. You must know that we¡­¡­¡± As he said that, a golden light shot over that frightened Shan Dou to the point that he swallowed his words. I immediately cast a light barrier to block the advancement of the golden light. The golden light was shot by Jian Shan. He could have retracted his power but after seeing me blocking his attack, he wanted to test my power. So, he immediately resent the power that he was retracting out again. The golden light ray collided with my light barrier. ¡°Hong!¡± I was rebounded away from the tyrannical power. Jian Shan came over and asked, ¡°Sorry, Big brother Zhang Gong. Are you hurt?¡± I hadn¡¯t been so useless before. I helplessly said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m fine.¡± Even though I wasn¡¯t prepared for it, Jian Shan¡¯s power greatly surprised me. I never thought that his battle spirit was as strong as Big brother Zhan Hu¡¯s. If we really had to fight, I would need to put in effort in doing so. Jian Shan replied, ¡°It¡¯s great that you aren¡¯t hurt. Shan Dou, you brat! You¡¯ve got to be more careful with your words next time.¡± Shan Dou was so frightened that he stuck out his tongue before running away. Jian Shan told me, ¡°Big brother Zhang Gong, you can tour around the village. You can go anywhere except the forbidden area by the waterfall.¡± After he said that, he turned to practice his sword again. As i was standing beside the spring water, near the outskirts of the village, I felt a crushing wave of fatigue from my heart. I felt as though something wasn¡¯t right. I shuddered as this phenomenon shouldn¡¯t happen. This had never happened since I first learned magic as a way to train one''s spiritual power. Why did I felt exhaustion? From the looks of it, it seemed that this period of experience had stimulated my body a little too much. If I continued to not pay any attention to it, even if my body recovered to its peak state, my magic power and battle spirit would decrease drastically. Volume 8: Chapter 3 - Another Encounter with Gods Light Volume 8: Chapter 3 - Another Encounter with God''s Light ¡®This isn¡¯t good. I must find a place to cultivate quietly. Where should I go? I can¡¯t roam too far from the village either. If I don¡¯t have any replenishments, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll revert to the previous situation I was in before coming to this village. There are a lot of people in this village, so it¡¯s detrimental for my quiet cultivation. Ah! That¡¯s right! Didn¡¯t Jian Shan say that the waterfall was a forbidden area? I shall just cultivate there since there shouldn¡¯t be anybody there. They won¡¯t know about it anyway, and I¡¯m don¡¯t have any intentions of destroying either.¡¯ After surveying my surroundings and confirming that there wasn¡¯t anybody around, I used a few short-distance teleportations to reach the waterfall. The waterfall caused great ¡®Long! Long!¡¯ sounds, and the water then rushed into a basin, causing never-ending splashes . The rays of sunlight shone down on the water mist, turning it radiant, sparkling and translucent, resulting in a rainbow that floated on top half of the waterfall. There really was nothing more beautiful than that. All of the people here are aware that this was a forbidden area and so had no need to guard this area, but wasn¡¯t this just a water fall? Why it then called this place the forbidden area? I gently scooped up some spring water in my hands and delightedly splashed it on my face. God damn it! I remembered Jian Shan¡¯s words and immediately scrutinised my surroundings . Luckily, there wasn¡¯t anyone around. I felt a little awkward; if I cultivated here and was caught red handed by someone who happened to pass by, what should I do then? They would say that I had trespassed the forbidden area. Looking at the unceasingly flowing spring water, an idea popped into my head suddenly. ¡®Why don¡¯t I try going under the waterfall? In the icy cold water, I would probably be able to concentrate even better.¡¯ Taking action as soon as I had thought up the idea, I targeted a large rock beneath the waterfall and sent myself over using short-distance teleportation. Even though I was prepared, the force of the waterfall was exceptionally large. I felt a large force hit me the moment I landed on the rock. My entire body chilled and the very next moment, I was washed into the basin. I swallowed more than a few mouthfuls of the spring water in the midst of my panicking. I currently wasn¡¯t feeling cool and refreshed by the spring water, but rather was in the danger of getting drowned by it. Luckily, my swimming skills weren¡¯t too bad. I swam with all my might, reached the right side of the rock and grabbed onto a corner of it. After resting for a while, I circulated my battle spirit before flying up onto the stone. With the protection from my battle spirit, I succeeded in walking beneath the waterfall that had an extremely strong force. I expanded my battle spirit outwards and used magic to protect myself inside as I sat crossed legged on the rock. I was unable to calm my state of mind in the least due to the unceasing torrent of spring water. The only thing I could do was to bitterly try to withstand the force of the waterfall. I inwardly cried out in agony. If this continued, I would very quickly be washed off the rock. I forced myself to endure as wave after wave struck me with tremendous force, and constantly cast my internal battle spirit and magic outwards to stabilize my body. It seemed that it was impossible to stay here to do any training or cultivation. I should leave this place while I still had enough strength to do so. Just as I was about to leave the spring water, a warm power suddenly came towards me from the midst of the waterfall, making my protective battle spirit and magic power to expand in a single moment. My entire body felt warm and indescribably comfortable. This was a familiar power. What was that? When the Holy Sword on my chest met with that power, it started to merge with it. Ah! I understood why I the feeling was so familiar to me. It was because its characteristics and abilities were exceptionally similar to that of the Holy Sword. The Holy Sword in my body seemed to be celebrating, sending the warm power throughout my body as it greedily absorbed the power from the center of the waterfall. The waterfall was still rapidly rushing down and constantly giving out similar powers as the Holy Sword. My battle spirit and magic power that was being used to protect my body had suddenly disappeared. I was completely naked under the waterfall. The power of the Holy Sword gradually changed from being warm to getting hotter. Even though I was under the ice cold spring water, my body was scorching hot. It seemed to be lit on fire as it emitted golden light. I felt the meridians in my body seemed to be gradually disappearing. My magic power and battle spirit was slowly getting engulfed by the Holy Sword power. I couldn¡¯t help but to be astonished. Surely the power that I had bitterly cultivated wouldn¡¯t disappear just like that, right? I tried controlling the Holy Sword, but it strangely ignored my commands and continued to absorb the power from the spring water unceasingly. When the power reached the limits of what I could contain, I felt as though I was going to explode. There was an intense gold light in front of me before I lost consciousness. What I wasn¡¯t aware of was that I had already spent an entire week away from the village. When I felt as though I was going to explode, the five elders felt the same reaction. The Great Elder said, ¡°Not good! Someone is interfering with the spiritual influence of the Heavenly Spring. Quick! Gather everyone, immediately head towards the Heavenly Spring!¡± I felt as though I was in a dream and was being surrounded by twinkling stars. Ah! It seemed that I had got back to my inner sacred space. It was the same place where I had communicated with Mi Jia Lie. Could it be that I hadn¡¯t exploded? ¡°That¡¯s right! Child, you didn¡¯t explode. I never thought that you would unexpectedly find God Spirit¡¯s channel.¡± ¡°Is that you, Mi Jia Lie?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Under the assistance of the God Spirit¡¯s channel, I was once again able to communicate with you. I asked in surprise, ¡°What is God Spirit¡¯s channel?¡± Mi Jia Lie replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is either. All I know was that you have inherited God¡¯s power from the God Spirit¡¯s channel .¡± I heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I previously thought that I had exploded.¡± Mi Jia Lie chuckled. ¡°Silly child, it wasn¡¯t you that had exploded but rather your powers in your inner body that did.¡± I replied, ¡°My inner body¡¯s power had exploded? What¡¯s going on? I previously felt as though the Holy Sword was absorbing my battle spirit and magic power.¡± Mi Jia Lie explained, ¡°It really happened. Your battle spirit, magic power and the Holy sword¡¯s power in your body aren¡¯t segregated from each other anymore. Moreover, since you have absorbed some of God¡¯s power, you¡¯ll be able to control the Holy Sword. Even though it is still a small portion of it, it is already extremely powerful in the world. You already aren¡¯t far off from becoming a Grand Magister. You¡¯ll understand what I mean after you return to reality.¡± I asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that all the magic power and battle spirit that I had bitterly cultivated are gone?¡± Mi Jia Lie replied smilingly, ¡°Why would that happen? They¡¯ve just changed their existential form and are much purer as compared to before. Even though this round of baptism in the Divine vein, it hasn¡¯t really increased your level but it¡¯ll still have great benefits to your future cultivation. You should quickly absorb the Divine vein¡¯s power. After you have absorbed it, you must come to the Great Valley to find me. I have much more confidence in you inheriting my power with things the way they are now.¡± After he said that, Mi Jia Lie seemed to have curled his lips and his voice had abruptly stopped. However, his words had already aroused my suspicions. I asked, ¡°What do you mean by being much more confident? It can¡¯t be that inheriting your powers has an element of danger to it, right?¡± Volume 8: Chapter 4 - Heavenly Springs Divine Vein Volume 8: Chapter 4 - Heavenly Spring''s Divine Vein Mi Jia Lie chuckled somewhat awkwardly and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Why would it be dangerous? Don¡¯t worry. Even though the process of receiving the inheritance does have its risks, the chances of success are still fairly large.¡± I asked anxiously, ¡°Fairly large? How large exactly is that?¡± No matter how large the chances were, if it weren¡¯t a hundred percent, there was no chance of me heading to the Great Valley to accept his so-called inheritance. After all, safety is my first priority. Mi Jia Lie didn¡¯t answer my question, instead exclaiming, ¡°Aiya! You¡¯re in trouble. There¡¯re a lot of people heading this way. You should return.¡± After he finished saying that, the stars vanished, and my vision became pure white. I realised my consciousness had returned to my body as whilst I still felt the waterfall still constantly rushing down on me, there was no longer any power emitting from it. My entire body felt cool and refreshed. When I examined my internals, I jumped in shock, as my body¡¯s meridians had become much bigger and gold fluid circulated throughout my body. The golden fluid at the center of my eyebrows had three sparkling transparent gold dans. Could it be that these were the transformed existence of the golden dans? When I sent my will towards them, they unexpectedly listened to my command. This was probably the reason I could now control the Holy Sword. This was too awesome! I didn¡¯t need to be at the border of death before activating it in the future. I couldn¡¯t help but be wildly excited and let out a long roar. The power in my body seemed to move with my roar. If they could previously said to be a calm lake, now they could now be said to be a river with a raging current. Enormous power was radiating from my body. When I opened my eyes, I found that the banks of the lake were crowded with people, and each and every one of them were the picture of absolute fury, with a sliver of astonishment mixed in. I saw Jian Shan and the third elder...Could it be that all these people were from that village? Aiya! This was bad. They had discovered that I had come to the forbidden area. Where did the waterfall go? I was standing on the rock without feeling the force of the waterfall. As I wondered, I lifted my head. Wah! The waterfall was actually still falling on my head but was blocked by the golden light I was emitting. At that moment of my astonishment, the power from my body dispersed. ¡®Hong!¡¯ The waterfall once again struck at me, making me fall into the basin. Oh, crap! When my head surfaced from beneath the water, I let out an awkward smile and said, ¡°Greetings to all of you. Why are there so many people here?¡± Jian Shan replied angrily, ¡°We were kind enough to take you in, but not only did you trespass into the forbidden area, you had also destroyed our Heavenly Spring¡¯s divine vein. Speak! Who sent you here?¡± This was definitely a large misunderstanding. I exercised a little power and floated out from the water, landing lightly on the opposite shore, shook off the water on my body, and said to the few elders, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I only wanted to find a place to train and cultivate. Since I was afraid of being interrupted, I came to this place. I don¡¯t understand what is this Heavenly Spring¡¯s divine vein that Jian Shan mentioned earlier.¡± I pretended to be hapless and clueless. The old man brandished his walking stick and shouted, ¡°Stranger, it can¡¯t be that Jian Shan didn¡¯t tell you that this is a forbidden area, right?¡± I shook my head. ¡°He did say that, but you should also know that humans are naturally curious. I saw that this place wasn¡¯t guarded and looked rather clean so I came over. I don¡¯t have any bad intentions. I was just a little curious. As for destroying the divine vein, you are greatly wrong in accusing me of that.¡± The Great Elder coldly laughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re still lying. The battle spirit that you were emitting earlier consists of the divine power from the Heavenly Spring. Do you still want to continue evading the truth?¡± Aiya! This was bad. He had seen through me. The Great Elder continued to say, ¡°Since you had destroyed our life source, we shall make you remain here. Everybody, move back.¡± This wasn¡¯t good. I should just run away. From the looks of it, it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing to provoke these few old men. I cursed silently as I used short teleportation in an outward direction in order to escape. I suddenly felt as though I had collided on a copper wall. It was so painful. What was that? I stared ahead and discovered that there was a golden translucent barrier 30 meters ahead of me, preventing my retreat. The Great Elder said, ¡°If you can escape from here, we few old fellows need not be called elders. Let me tell you, this boundary was formed using our battle spirit so it¡¯s more rigid than the barriers formed by magic. Any teleportation spell would be ineffective against it. You should just behave and let us capture you.¡± I bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°Elders, I really didn¡¯t intentionally destroy your divine vein. It was just that after entering the spring, it had given me its power. I didn¡¯t have a choice. Aiya! Don¡¯t make any moves!¡± The few elders were so infuriated by my words that they shot their battle spirit at me. What fearsome battle spirit; their power largely surpassed Jian Shan¡¯s. Even if it was Teacher Wen from Xiuda, he would also be unable to match up to any one of them. This wasn¡¯t good. It couldn¡¯t be that they were all of the Sword Saint level, right? I was in deep trouble. I rapidly brandished Sukrad¡¯s staff to shoot out a few light blades to try to stop their advancement. A wondrous thing happened. Every light blade that I shot out not only had magic power and battle spirit, more importantly, there was also a trace of the Holy Sword¡¯s power mixed in them, making the light blades power much greater than before. The few light blades had successfully stopped the five elders attacks but I realised that I was being locked on by all of the five elder¡¯s energies. Any movement I made would immediately attract their combined counter-attack. The five elders were also astonished as I had blocked their first attack. The Great Elder said, ¡°Good brat, you really did your preparations before coming here. Tell me, what is your purpose in coming here?¡± I helplessly smiled bitterly, ¡°I really don¡¯t have any purpose. I had only coincidentally destroyed your divine vein.¡± The third elder rebuked angrily, ¡°It seems that you won¡¯t stop until you reach the Yellow River. Big brother, let me deal with him.¡± The Great Elder nodded and retreated a few steps together with the other three elders but still continued maintaining the barrier in order to prevent my escape. I jumped for joy inwardly as it seemed that they weren¡¯t going to join hands to deal with me. Even though I couldn¡¯t escape, it was still better than a group attack. It was just as good since I wanted to test out my current strength. Right now, I felt as though my entire body was filled with power which surpassed the level I was previously at in my peak condition. The third elder waved his crutch and shot a golden light at me, giving me a shock, and I hastily cast a light blade to neutralise his attack. Both our bodies shuddered simultaneously; both sides seemed to be evenly matched. Volume 8: Chapter 5 - The Sword Saints Holy Sword Volume 8: Chapter 5 - The Sword Saint''s Holy Sword I asked in astonishment, ¡°Aren¡¯t the martial skills you learn focused on your techniques?¡± The third elder replied filled with disdain, ¡°Do you know the saying ¡®one move has ten benefits¡¯? At our standard, techniques are just superfluous. I¡¯m coming again.¡± After saying that, he unceasingly emitted gold battle spirit to form a light net towards me. It was such a strong battle spirit that if I hadn¡¯t absorbed the divine vein, I wouldn¡¯t be his opponent. This remote village had such incomparable experts and there were five of them. This was unbelievable. I chanted, ¡°Light elements, my friends¡­¡­¡± I thought of using Star Light Brilliance to counter his attack. As I started chanting it, there was a vast amount of light stars before me. I became elated. Could this mean that I no longer needed to chant for advanced light spells anymore? This was great! I commanded the large amount of light stars to collide with the light net. Every light star attacked the connections of the light net. After the two strong powers in mid air collided, light rained inside the entire boundary. It looked amazing. The third elder looked at me in amazement. It was obvious that the move I used to counter his attack had shocked him. I smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be that shocked. In the human Kingdom, my magic standard could be reckoned to be the best or second best.¡± The third elder coldly snorted. ¡°You¡¯re good brat! You¡¯re no pushover, so try to recieve my best move.¡± His entire body¡¯s clothing moved without the use of any wind. The battle spirit in his surroundings violently surged out. It formed an enormous golden whirlpool with him as the center. What made me feel peculiar about it was that there were traces of blue lights within the gold whirlpool. ¡®Can it be that this is the legendary Holy Light? But only someone at the Legendary War God level can release that kind of battle spirit.. From what I know, in these few thousands of years, there aren¡¯t any War God¡¯s that have appeared in the world. I couldn¡¯t have met one, right? I¡¯m so unlucky. The Holy Light¡¯s power is comparable to forbidden spells in magic, and wouldn¡¯t be any worse than it.¡¯ I didn¡¯t dare to slight him and immediately activated the Holy Sword in my body before I shouted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± Since I could control the Holy Sword, even though it was just a small portion, I could borrow its power to use the forbidden offensive spell that the God King had given to me. What I didn¡¯t know was that the power of the spell was also the same as a forbidden spell. At that moment, the third elder had already completed his best move and shouted, ¡°Finishing move----Holy Light Tornado!¡± A large bluish golden mixed tornado headed towards me. After I chanted the spell, I felt my entire body¡¯s power was gathering at the Holy Sword at my chest. A silver Holy Sword shot out from my body and projected itself in front of me. I shouted, ¡°Go!¡± The Holy Sword¡¯s enormous power headed towards the third elder¡¯s Holy Light Tornado. The Great Elder shouted, ¡°Not good! It¡¯s the Radiant Holy Sword!¡± He immediately used his ultimate move along with the three other elders to receive the attack. After using the Holy Sword¡¯s power, my entire body¡¯s energy seemed to have vanished. I used the Sukrad¡¯s staff to support my feeble body. The power of the Holy Sword and the five elder¡¯s attack collided with each other. It seemed as though time had stopped. I looked astonished at the peculiar sight before me. The Great Elder moved beside me like lightning. I already didn¡¯t have any energy to fight back, and just let him to carry me to their side before he shouted, ¡°Everyone, use your defensive spells with all your might!¡± As he said that, he used a strong battle spirit to protect himself and me. At this moment, the powers in mid air seemed to have merged together. It was completely white before me. An enormous force had pushed the five elders and me towards the boundary. After that, the boundary broke. ¡®Hong! Hong!¡¯ The loud sound temporarily made me lose my hearing. When all of my senses returned, I realized that everything had changed. The precipitous cliff that formed the waterfall had disappeared. The small lake had became three times larger. In the surrounding, there were villages that were all over the place. The five elders protected me in the centre. Traces of blood were seen at the sides of their mouths. The five of them looked extremely tattered with their clothing shredded, especially the third elder. He had lost almost half of his hair and his beard was burnt to the point where it was smoking. I quickly checked my body. Luckily, there was nothing wrong. Except for the large loss of power, that would require some time to recover, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong. Did the five elders help me block that large explosion earlier? Why were they so good to me? The Great Elder shouted, ¡°Is everyone fine?¡± Jian Shan voiced out, ¡°Great grandfather, it was lucky that you few grandfathers directed the attack towards the Heavenly Spring. Everyone just suffered a little hurt from the rebound, so we¡¯re alright. But the Heavenly Spring is already¡­¡­..¡± The Great Elder interrupted him and replied, ¡°That¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to say anything further. Just head back to the village. You come to bring him along.¡± After he said that, a golden light shot towards me. I already didn¡¯t have any energy to counter his attack. My body softened and I fainted. After getting back my consciousness, I realized that there were people around me. I didn¡¯t immediately open my eyes, and checked my body condition. I discovered that the three gold dans in my body were circulating as per norm. My magic power (The fusion of the three different powers would be just known as magic power from now on) was similar to when I was at the waterwall. The silver Holy Sword sat calmly at my chest area. This kind of situation made me extremely baffled. Why didn¡¯t they restrict me? It couldn¡¯t be that they weren¡¯t afraid that I would escape, right? A benevolent sound voiced out. ¡°Have you awakened, God¡¯s Inheritor?¡± I was startled and opened my eyes and found that the five elders were sitting in front of my bed. I asked in surprise, ¡°What God¡¯s Inheritor?¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°If you didn¡¯t have the God¡¯s acknowledgement, how could you have been able to use the Radiant Holy Sword?!¡± I scratched my head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about destroying your Heavenly Spring. I¡­¡­..¡± The third elder interrupted me and asked, ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. Can you tell us how you got the God¡¯s acknowledgement?¡± I instinctively knew that I had to tell them the truth. Thus, I told them everything that I gone through and that had transpired between the God King and me. The few elders listened attentively and expressed amazement from time to time. After hearing my story, the elders looked towards each other before the five of them suddenly left their seats and knelt in front of me. Volume 8: Chapter 6 - Gods Village Volume 8: Chapter 6 - God''s Village I hastily jumped out of bed and said, ¡°What are you all doing? Quickly, get up!¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°We plead for your forgiveness for any offense we have committed against you.¡± I replied, ¡°It was initially my fault. How can I blame you?¡± As I said that, I pulled the elders up. The Great Elder replied, ¡°Our God¡¯s Village has been waiting for countless generations and years and finally, we are able to meet you.¡± ¡°God¡¯s Village? What does that mean?¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°You previously said that during the great war between the Gods and the Monsters, there were heavy repercussions suffered by the Gods. In order to deal with future dangers, the remaining God clan members found a freshwater spring and inserted their powers into it, and gave orders to the small village beside the spring to watch over it. This place was that small village and the Heavenly Spring in front of us was left here by the remaining Gods at that time.¡± So it was like that. I asked, ¡°What did the God clan order your village to do?¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°The God clan wanted us to help and support the God¡¯s inheritor with all we have, if we were to ever meet him in the future. ¡± I replied in excitement, ¡°So, that is to say, you¡¯re willing to help me annihilate the Monster King?¡± The Great Elder smiled and replied, ¡°Of course! Even if you¡¯re not the God¡¯s inheritor, we would still have protected the world from the evil forces with everything we have. Since the Gods have assigned you to be their inheritor, we will definitely listen to our ancestor¡¯s order, and do our best to accomplish the task of fighting against the evil forces.¡± I shouted excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s great! With your assistance, the chance of success is much larger. Any of you elders is definitely an expert that will shake the world. Moreover, there are five of you!¡± Great Elder replied, ¡°According to the warrior ranking in the world, we few fellows should be at the Sword Saint standard. What are your current plans?¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m preparing to head to the Kingdom of Xiuda to find some friends of mine. We¡¯ll gather a small force there. I¡¯m thinking of gradually increasing my forces in preparation of facing the Monster King in the near future. The friends I¡¯m going to meet have also received God¡¯s inheritance.¡± The Great Elder asked in amazement, ¡°Are they the ones that you had said earlier met the God King with you?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yes, they individually possess the War God¡¯s armour, Sky God¡¯s bugle horn, Titan God¡¯s hammer, Lightning God¡¯s shield, Wind God¡¯s bow, and including my Radiant Holy Sword, all together, we have six of the God clan¡¯s inheritance weapons.¡± The Great Elder replied happily, ¡°That¡¯s great, in that case, we¡¯ll take some people who are good in martial skills along with us. With all the powers gathered together in one place, it¡¯ll be more convenient for us and will also increase our strength.¡± I replied, ¡°I had the same thoughts as you. When should we head out?¡± The Great Elder told the fifth elder, ¡°Fifth Elder, you¡¯re to go inform all of the boys in the village to gather. We¡¯ll pick some of the elites to head out with the God¡¯s Inheritor.¡± The fifth elder agreed before going out. I said with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me that in the future. You can just call me Zhang Gong. Your age should be enough to be my great grandfather.¡± The Great Elder wasn¡¯t modest and replied, ¡°Alright! Zhang Gong, you can wait here as we pick which men have enough power to travel with us.¡± After he said that, he left with the remaining elders. I was initially thinking of heading to Xiuda. Now, it was even better as I would be bringing a strong team of warriors there too. I didn¡¯t know what Big brother Zhan Hu and the others would think about this. However, it was also great that the elders were so powerful. It would definitely drastically increase our overall strength. After escaping, my luck seemed to be quite good. I had first absorbed the Heavenly Spring¡¯s divine vein and now, I had even gotten the support of the God¡¯s Village! After a short while, the elders came back. The Great Elder replied, ¡°Zhang Gong, I have gathered everybody that has great martial skills. There¡¯ll be 167 of us, including us five elders. They¡¯re now packing up. We¡¯ll leave in the morning tomorrow.¡± Unexpectedly, there were 167 people. If their abilities weren¡¯t weaker than Shan Jian¡¯s, then this would be an extremely powerful team. The five elders and I were standing on a small hill when morning came. I looked at all of the 162 villagers filled with congealed vigor, who were in the age range of 20-40 years. From a glance, it was easy to know that they were all martial experts. They were worthy of being called the God¡¯s Village. I asked the Great Elder, ¡°The martial proficiency of your village is really impressive!. Anyone of them can influence the world.¡± The Great Elder laughed and replied, ¡°If we were to rank all 167 of us with the world¡¯s ranking system, there would be 5 Sword Saints, that being us 5 old fellows, 56 Radiant Knight¡¯s and the rest are at the Heaven Knight level.¡± My mouth had completely formed an ¡®O¡¯ shape. ¡®Aren¡¯t they too strong? Even if it is the Royal Knight Union in Xiuda, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have such strength.¡¯ I asked in amazement, ¡°How did all of you train? The increase in strength is too fast. For example, Jian Shan, who is just 20 years old, has already reached the Radiant Knight standard. He can be counted as a genius in any Kingdom of the world.¡± When the Third elder saw me in shock, he replied to me with a smile, ¡°Our village has always had the Heavenly Spring to supply us with assistance. Moreover, the villagers are innocent, so their training has a ¡®half the work, twice the effect¡¯ outcome. The village has 713 houses with three thousand villagers. What you¡¯re seeing is just a part of our forces. We have picked the ones that aren¡¯t tied down by their family duties, or that are volunteers. They were locally born and raised here for many years, so they weren¡¯t able to leave their homeland.¡± When he mentioned the Heavenly Spring, I couldn¡¯t help but lower my head in guilt. The Great Elder replied, ¡°Let¡¯s head out. There should be quite a distance before we reach civilization.¡± I took out a map and asked, ¡°Elder, could you kindly mark our position on the map?¡± The elder took the map and nodded. ¡°This map is finely detailed. If I don¡¯t remember it wrongly, we should be here.¡± He said that as he pointed on the map. I looked at the position that he had pointed to. It was a large forest in the Kingdom of Aixia, and I suddenly made a realization, ¡°So it is at that place. We¡¯ll head straight in this direction to head towards Aixia Kingdom¡¯s Lunda province. After that, we¡¯ll head in a southwest direction towards the Kingdom of Xiuda.¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°Alright! That shall be our route. Let¡¯s head out!¡± I nodded. ¡°Have you really decided to bring the villagers from the God¡¯s Village to come on this long journey with me? A lot of them may not be able to return to their homeland ever again.¡± A sign of hesitation flashed in the Great Elder¡¯s eyes, before he resolutely nodded his head. Volume 8: Chapter 7 - Increase in Strength Volume 8: Chapter 7 - Increase in Strength The Great Elder said clearly, ¡°Villagers of God¡¯s village, you are all strong and brave warriors. The God¡¯s Inheritor that we had awaited thousands of years for has finally arrived. This is Magister Zhang Gong Wei. You should have seen his tyrannical powers. Currently, there are movements from the Monster King that had previously been sealed by the God clan. As God¡¯s people, we should use all of our powers for the entire world. Are you willing to do so? It is not too late, and if anyone feels that they will regret doing this, please withdraw immediately.¡± All 167 of them from below the hill shouted loudly in unison, ¡°We swear to follow God¡¯s Inheritor till our death! We swear to follow our elders to our death!¡± I shouted loudly, ¡°It¡¯s not in my intentions that I want all of you to follow me. I want everyone to understand that we are doing this for the peace of the world. The only request from me is that you all use your every means to maintain your lives. All lives are precious. Everyone must cherish them!¡± After the elders heard what I said, they looked at each other, before the Third Elder said, ¡°I would never have thought you would think in this way.¡± Actually, after knowing that I was a God¡¯s Inheritor and was unconscious, the few elder had an intense discussion. The Third Elder had suggested that he wanted me to leave at my own will, so as to not disturb their few thousand years of peaceful lifestyle. But the Great Elder suggested to ask my situation first before deciding. After they knew that I was going to represent the God¡¯s clan to exterminate the Monster King, they all supported me. This was due to God¡¯s order that had passed down for generations in the village after all. However, they weren¡¯t totally willing; as who would want to place their life in someone else''s hands? But after what I just said to the villagers, the few elders were deeply touched. They all made their decision to fully support me. At that moment, I continued to shout, ¡°Villagers, are you willing to accept my request?!¡± The villagers at the bottom started to discuss among themselves like what the elders had done. The scene was extremely chaotic. Just as the Second Elder wanted to stop them, I stopped him by saying, ¡°It is best for them to think it through. It will be for the better this way.¡± The villagers at the bottom gradually calmed down. Suddenly, there was a villager that shouted out, ¡°I¡¯m willing to follow you forever, God¡¯s Inheritor!¡± His words momentarily set a chain reaction among the other villagers. One after the other, the villages stood up in support of me. There wasn¡¯t anyone that withdrew. After looking at the elders, I raised both my hands at the villagers and shouted, ¡°Thank you to all for your support. This time we head out not for glory, splendor, wealth, and rank nor to become famous. We should only have one motive, which is to accomplish the task that God had given us, and that is to triumph against the evil forces, thus regaining the peace of the world. When the world is peaceful, it will also be time for us to withdraw ourselves, after succeeding in our task.¡± The Great Elder followed up at the right timing, ¡°That¡¯s right! To triumph against the evil forces, and regain world peace!¡± Every villager at the bottom of the hill shouted, ¡°To triumph against the evil forces, and regain world peace!¡± As I saw the worked up villagers below, I sniggered inwardly, ¡®It seems that God has an extremely important place in the villager¡¯s heart. This time, I used God¡¯s name to gather so many talented people at one go. This is just too awesome. I have a better chance in dealing with the Monster King now. This was the first time I felt I had enough power to exterminate the Monster King from when I had first been given the task.¡¯ The 168 of us grandiosely left. There were 50 villagers opening the route in front of us with the elders, and I walking in the middle, and the rest of the villagers following behind. After three days, we had finally managed to walk out of the forest to reach Lunda Province. After walking through flat and vast grounds, we finally reached a small town. I told the Great Elder, ¡°Let¡¯s rest up here before continuing on.¡± The Great Elder nodded. ¡°We need to rest up, and also buy some necessities.¡± I shouted, ¡°Everyone, please follow closely so as to avoid getting lost. We will rest up in this town before continuing on.¡± The five elders and I led the villagers to enter the town. After walking for only a short while, there was a group of people gathered that were looking at something. I squeezed through the crowd and noticed that it was an announcement that had written: There was an order to arrest the Royal Advanced Magic Academy student, Zhang Gong Wei that had betrayed the Kingdom and Humanity as he allied with the Demon race. Please, to all citizens of Aixia¡­¡­.. There was also a picture of me beneath the announcement. I wanted to faint. I was wanted by the Kingdom. Ke Zha really was ruthless. I smiled helplessly at the Great Elder that came over with me and said, ¡°I have become a wanted criminal. Let¡¯s hurry and leave this place. I will explain this to you later.¡± After saying that, I lowered my head as I walked out from the crowd. I asked one of the villager to help me buy a conical bamboo hat that had a long muslin attached to it. The few elders didn¡¯t ask me any questions, making me feel gratified for their actions. After finding a family inn, and calming down the villagers, who had found everything within the area novelties, I gathered the few elders in my room. After removing the conical bamboo hat, I sighed and said, ¡°I still have something that I didn¡¯t have the time to tell to you.¡± The Great Elder smiled and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything further. We have complete trust in you.¡± I I shook my head and replied, ¡°No, I must let you know about this matter. I was originally a student from the Royal Advanced Magic Academy¡­.. I set free the demon race¡¯s princess after she was caught by the Kingdom. After that, my teachers and friend saved me by using the teleportation array to reach your village. I¡¯m sorry to only tell you about this now.¡± I disclosed to them to everything that had happened. Since the God¡¯s village people had been living for few thousand years in deep forest, they didn¡¯t have any hatred towards the Demon race, so they didn¡¯t mind that I was wanted. The third elder said smiling, ¡°Everyone has the right to pursue the opposite sex. You also don¡¯t need to reproach yourself. Moreover, you weren¡¯t in the wrong.¡± I walked to the window and looked at the azure sky before I sighed and replied, ¡°The hatred between the human race, Demon and Beast races are extremely deep. Everyone is living in this world. Why must they massacre one another?¡± The Great Elder nodded. ¡°What you said is extremely right. If we can rectify their resentment, that will be for the best.¡± I bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°I also thought about that, but the hatred is just too deep. It won¡¯t be easy to dissolve them. You few elders should go and rest up first. I will head out to purchase some things.¡± Volume 8: Chapter 8 - Magic Crystal Volume 8: Chapter 8 - Magic Crystal After leaving the inn, I wandered around without any destination. I thought, ¡®I really have lost my standing in Aixia. I also don¡¯t know how the teachers are faring, and that adorable Hai Shui too, I don¡¯t know if I will be able to meet them again someday.¡¯ As I walked on, I suddenly heard someone shout, ¡°This is the opening day of my shop. I welcome everyone to come forward to peruse and purchase some of my items.¡± I raised my head and found it was a jewellery shop. I was moved as now I was traveling with 100 people. ¡®The expenditure is not little. The Diamond coins on me are also running out. I shall go and sell some of my jewels.¡¯ Thinking of this, I walked over. This jewel shop was obviously renovated quite recently; it looked really grand. Just as I walked to the entrance, a servant welcomed me and asked, ¡°Mister, please come in, and have a look. We have just opened our businesses so there will be discounts.¡± I nodded and followed him in. There was a lot of people in the jewel shop who were selecting things that caught their eyes. I asked the servant, ¡°Do you accept gemstones here?¡± The servant was briefly stunned before replying, ¡°Yes, we do accept them. Do you have gemstones that you want to sell?¡± I nodded. The servant replied, ¡°Please wait for a moment, and I will bring someone over.¡± After he said that, he turned around and entered a building. Shortly after, the servant walked out with a middle aged person that seemed to be a merchant. He said, ¡°This is our boss. You should talk to him instead.¡± The boss said, ¡°My greetings to you. Let¡¯s have a chat inside.¡± This boss really knew how to do a business. He knew that valuables shouldn¡¯t be revealed inadvertently. He let me into his office and closed the door before he asked, ¡°Mister, what are you planning to sell?¡± I took a fist-sized purple crystal from my space pocket and gave it to him. The boss exclaimed, ¡°A purple crystal, and a large one at that!¡± He took it carefully, fondling it with admiration as he looked at it. I asked, ¡°Will you accept it?¡± The boss nodded, then shook his head before he replied, ¡°This crystal is too precious. It is flawless, and can withhold a great amount of magic power. It is a high-grade purple crystal that can support an aerial magic artillery that could shoot at least 1000 times. I¡¯m afraid that we won¡¯t be able to afford it.¡± (It is extremely difficult to move the Magic Cannon. Even though it¡¯s very powerful, it can only used for the protection of the city. Every time it fired, it¡¯s equivalent to an Advanced Grade magic attack. It also needs a long time to gather it¡¯s power for every shot. The main source of it¡¯s power is the magic crystal. Since magic crystals are precious, except for a minority of important towns, the Str?m Fortress had prepared 200 aerial magic artilleries. This was also one of the main reasons why the Str?m Fortress was so firm.) Such a big jewel shop couldn¡¯t afford to buy a purple jewel? I frowned, ¡°Please give me an estimation of its price.¡± The boss replied unhesitantly, ¡°The minimum price is 20,000 diamond coins.¡± It was worth that much? 20,000 diamond coins was an astronomical value to me. I smiled and replied, ¡°Even though this price is rather low, I¡¯m in need of money. If you want, I will sell it to you for 20,000 diamond coins.¡± The boss eyes lit up. It was obvious that the crystal was worth far more than the price offered. He clenched his teeth and replied, ¡°How about this, please wait for a moment. I will gather some friends to see if we have enough money. Initially, we could afford the crystal, however I have just started business, so some of the funds were spent on purchasing goods, and I do not have enough money that I can readily give you. ¡± The boss hastily went out,while I played with the crystal in my hand. Although I could feel that it contained strong magic power, there wasn¡¯t anything special about it, and it unexpectedly was worth so much. If he knew what I had wrapped up behind me was Sukrad¡¯s staff, I wonder what he would think. That boss ran back a little while later, his face and clothes filled with perspiration. He looked at me, and clearly heaved a sigh of relief. I said smilingly, ¡°What, were you afraid that I was going to run away?¡± The boss smiled awkwardly before replying, ¡°I have gathered the money. Let¡¯s go to the Magic Union to do the exchange.¡± (For large transactions, the Magic Union would have to settle it.) I followed him to the Magic Union. There was also an notification for my arrest here. Luckily, I was wearing my conical bamboo hat. After I passed the amethyst card to the boss, he was astonished and exclaimed, ¡°You have an amethyst card. You must be a famous magician.¡± I said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t ask any more questions and just quickly do the exchange.¡± Under my surveillance, the boss transferred 20,000 diamond coins into my account. Haha! I had become rich! After returning to the jewel shop, I gave him the purple crystal. As I looked at him, he looked at it as if it was his baby; I wanted to laugh. The boss humbly said, ¡°Lord Mage, if you have such high-grade magic gemstones in the future, can you sell them to my shop? We will definitely give you a reasonable price.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will. This place is so far away, and I don¡¯t know when I will be coming back to this town.¡± The boss smiled and replied, ¡°Our Auspicious Jewel Shop is a chain store. One of our branches can be found in every single city on the eastern continent.¡± Oh! It was a chain jewelry store. The boss took out a card and passed it to me. ¡°This is our jewel shops¡¯ VIP card. If you take it to any of our stores, you will receive preferential treatment.¡± I took the yellow card and replied, ¡°The cards are graded?¡± The boss replied, ¡°Of course, the VIP card has five grades, and this card is of the highest grade. We will only give it out to important guests.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I feel really honoured, and look forward to working with you in the future.¡± After I said that, I kept the VIP card. The boss had personally walked me out of the jewel store. Judging from his joyful face, I knew that he had greatly profited in this transaction. This chain of jewel stores had become the biggest jewel store in the future due to my frequent visits. Of course, I also acquired from them what I needed for all my expenditures. I took out 100 diamond coins to buy some necessities that filled up two big cars before returning to the inn. I had to really thank the generous Dragon people. I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about my finances in the future. I gave out the necessities to the villagers the next day before we continued to move towards Xiuda. We were treated as a mercenaries, and therefore did not encounter too many troubles. We arrived at Pulima City without a hitch. It was at this place where I first learnt about being a mercenary army, and this place was also very near the valley that Big Brother Zhan Hu occupied. Volume 8: Chapter 9 - Unexpected Monster Attacks Volume 8: Chapter 9 - Unexpected Monster Attacks After entering Pulima City, there weren¡¯t many cityfolk to be found and the city seemed to be in a perilous state. When we entered a big inn, a server came to receive us. I asked, ¡°I need 84 rooms. Are they available?¡± Since there were a lot of us, every time we looked for lodging along the way, we always faced the situation that the inn couldn¡¯t accommodate all of us so I had to clarify. The server hastily replied, ¡°Yes! Yes! Yes! To tell you the truth, the entire inn is empty so 84 rooms won¡¯t be a problem.¡± I then asked in surprise, ¡°There¡¯s no one staying in such a large inn. Is it because it is too pricy?¡± The server smiled wryly before he replied, ¡°It is not because this inn is pricy, but rather due to other reasons. Don¡¯t you feel that the entire Pulima City is in peril?¡± I nodded. ¡°Why is that the case?¡± The server sighed before he replied, ¡°You don¡¯t know that the main source of income of the city is the benefits from merchants who come from all over the lands. However, it is currently unknown why so many mythical beasts come to the mountain area near here wreaking havoc and killing travelers who were headed towards the city. Many people had died, so many others are fearful of approaching this city. Due to the mythical beasts, merchants from Xiuda rarely come here. Thus, it resulted in Pulima City¡¯s current state.¡± I asked, ¡°It can¡¯t be that the Kingdom doesn¡¯t care about this situation, right?¡± The server said mockingly, ¡°The Kingdom? They are currently preparing to fight a war against the Monster Clan. When will they find the energy to settle our problems?¡± The Great Elder intercepted, ¡°Can you describe what the mythical beasts looks like?¡± The server thought before replying, ¡°I don¡¯t really know what they look like but I heard from one of the guests that escaped from those mythical beasts that they inhabit the mountains and the plains, varies in sizes and haven¡¯t been seen before. They don¡¯t even look like anything from this world.¡± The Great Elder and I were startled. They weren¡¯t something from this world? Could it be¡­¡­. I told the server, ¡°You can make the arrangements for us to stay here.¡± If there were mythical beasts wreaking havoc in the nearby mountains, I didn¡¯t know if Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest were affected by them. The server turned and walked away. I told the Great Elder, ¡°Elder, let¡¯s go and check it out tomorrow. We mustn¡¯t let those beasts continue to harm humanity. If I hadn¡¯t predict wrongly, this definitely has something to do with the Monster King.¡± The Great Elder nodded. ¡°Aren¡¯t the other few God¡¯s inheritors near here? Are we going to find them first, or are we going to eliminate the mythical beasts?¡± I thought and replied, ¡°We will first find my friends. If we meet any mythical beasts on the way, we will eliminate them. What do you think?¡± I thought, ¡®Within the group of villagers, there are over a hundred expert. As long as it is not like the time I met the giants from the God¡¯s forest, then we have nothing to be afraid of from these mythical beasts.¡± ¡­¡­ The over a hundred of us majestically walked out. When we were exiting the town, we were halted by the guards on duty. A person that seemed to be the chieftain of the soldiers stepped out. ¡°Where are you heading to? Don¡¯t you know that is the direction where the mythical beasts are wreaking havoc at?¡± I smiled and came forward, ¡°We are going to exterminate those mythical beasts. Please let us through.¡± The soldier frowned and said, ¡°Do you think that the mythical beasts are that easy to kill? I advise you to head back. It¡¯s more important to protect your lives.¡± I replied, ¡°We¡¯re an employed army. You don¡¯t have to worry. With our abilities, it won¡¯t be a problem for us to eliminate them.¡± Another soldier pulled on that soldier in charge and whispered, ¡°Chief, just let them go. There are many of them, so they might succeed in eliminating the beasts. If they are successful, won¡¯t that be great?!¡± The chieftain nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t stop you then. I wish that all of you brave warriors will succeed.¡± These soldiers were very loyal to their duty. ¡°Thank you very much. Brothers, let¡¯s head out!¡± When we were leaving, I stuffed one diamond coin into the hand of that soldier, ¡°You can use this to treat your brothers to a drink. We will be heading out now.¡± ¡­¡­ The Great Elder and I walked at the forefront of our group. He told me, ¡°You really know how to win over the hearts of people. As we left, those soldiers were expressing gratitude.¡± I chuckled, ¡°The recent havoc caused by the mythical beasts had resulted in the entire Pulima City to be in such a perilous state. The officers and soldiers definitely won¡¯t have much income. They are in difficult times, and I have a lot of money so I can share some with them. If we meet again, it will definitely be easier to talk to them.¡± I raised my head to look afar and saw that there was a faint dark energy above the valley in front of us. I turned my head and told the villagers, ¡°Everyone, be careful. There may be some danger in front of us.¡± After warning them, I took the Sukrad¡¯s staff out. I told the few elders, ¡°I don¡¯t know what is in front of us, but even the sky is filled with traces of evil influences. We must be careful.¡± The few elders nodded. ¡°How about this? We will first form a circle battle array. There will be three inner to outer circles. In each circle, there will be 54 people. Can the elders equally space out at the outermost circle? When we fight in a few moments, I will be at the center of the array casting a magic spell. I will depend on you to lead and defeat the enemies at the array¡¯s exterior. Once the villagers of the outermost circle become tired, we will immediately change the outermost circle with the second outmost circle. What do you think?¡± The Great Elder nodded in agreement. ¡°That battle array isn¡¯t bad. It decreases the disruption of the formation and has a backup plan.¡± Actually, this circle battle array was something I just thought of. There were a lot of loopholes. If these villages weren¡¯t strong, this plan would be impossible to implement. I had the villagers practice forming the circular battle array. After practicing switching out the inner and outer circle formations, I was rather satisfied. These villagers¡¯ innate talent was extremely high. When I instructed them, it was as convenient and easy as pointing a finger. There was suddenly a danger sign that flashed past my mind. I hastily shouted, ¡°Everyone, be careful. There¡¯s danger.¡± Just after I said that, there was suddenly a red river sticking to the ground charging at our position. I was stunned. It couldn¡¯t be water right? Moreover, why was it red? I gathered my energy within my eyes and focused ahead. My expression suddenly changed. It wasn¡¯t a red river. It was something that was made by numerous red dogs. Those dogs had two horns and their bodies were covered with densely packed scales. They looked really sinister and terrifying. I hastily conveyed my voice to the few elders at the outermost circle. The Great Elder replied in astonishment. ¡°According to your description, it should be the hellhounds. I had seen it in the records that my ancestor had recorded. When describing the God and Monster war, he had also noted the Hell Hounds. They¡¯re beasts which were summoned by beings from the Monster clan and have strong offensive powers.¡± Volume 8: Chapter 10 - Reunited with Zhan Hu Volume 8: Chapter 10 - Reunited with Zhan Hu So it was like that, why would an army of the Monster King appear here? Could it be that he had emerged in the world earlier than expected? There wasn¡¯t any time for me to think as a large army of hellhounds were nearing. I could see them clearly now, their size wasn¡¯t too large. They were 1 meter in length and half a meter in height, and there were thousands of them. Upon seeing this situation, I calmed down as I doubted they could be that powerful. What was beyond my expectation was that they didn¡¯t directly attack. They encircled us first; an evil aura radiating from their bodies as they glared at us viciously with their bloodshot eyes. It couldn¡¯t be that there was someone controlling them, right? Or were they this intelligent by themselves? All of the villagers took out their weapons. Suddenly, the Great Elder resounded. He didn¡¯t convey his voice directly to me, but shouted aloud, ¡°Everyone, you must be wary. These things possess numbing and slowing techniques.¡± Upon hearing his words, I was startled. Numbing and slow motioning techniques? What kind of techniques were they? The hellhounds from the surrounding area immediately demonstrated their techniques. The two horns erupted from their heads out to the sky. A few thousand yellow rays formed a gigantic magic array in the sky; I felt as though my body was becoming weaker and numb. This was bad, if we got trapped, we wouldn¡¯t be able to move. This spell was made to decrease the combat power of everyone here. Under the yellow light emission, the hellhounds had started to move once again. In the critical moment, I raised Sukrad¡¯s Staff and shouted, ¡°Great light elements! I plead to you to form into limitless Holy Light to shine upon the land to rid the land of all sinister beings!¡± I used all of my strength this time. As the three gold dans rotated rapidly, a large amount of light elements entered me through the center of my eyebrows. I gradually levitated from the ground and golden light rays shone out from the transparent jewel of the Sukrad¡¯s Staff; causing a 3 meter vertical light pillar to flare into the sky, with me in its center. The yellow light ray from the hellhounds gradually dissipated, with the Holy Light as its center. Even though the hellhound¡¯s magic power was very weak, it was still strenuous for me to withstand the attacks from thousands of them. If I didn¡¯t have the increase in strength from Sukrad¡¯s Staff, and hadn¡¯t absorbed the Heavenly Spring¡¯s divine vein, I was afraid it would have been impossible for me to withstand the attack. With that, almost half of my magic power had been used up. I instantly withdrew my contempt towards them. I descended to the ground using Sukrad¡¯s staff to support my body before I bellowed. ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t hold back and exterminate them as quickly as possible!¡± If they cast another numbing attack, I won¡¯t be able to withstand it. Actually, they didn¡¯t need me to say that as the villagers from God¡¯s Village had already started to massacre the hellhounds. The circular battle array that they formed had already changed into golden circles. The golden circles seemed to have become sharp blades. As they killed the surrounding hellhounds, a gruesome mess was left as fleshy pieces of hellhound could be seen scattered throughout the battlefield. The five elders must have conceived a method for avoiding unnecessary losses by placing all of the villagers at the level of Radiant Knights in the front line. With the five elders that were at the Sword Saint¡¯s level, it would be impossible for the monsters to withstand them. ¡®This isn¡¯t good. Our current location is already very near Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s valley. I don¡¯t know if they suffered any attacks. I must immediately head there.¡¯ As I thought about that, I immediately cast out Bright Stars; an immense number of Bright Stars shot out from my body. With each star aiming towards a hellhound, it momentarily put them into a sorry state. Under my strong magic support, the hellhound numbers had already decreased to the extent that they were no longer a threat towards us. The Great elder shouted, ¡°Everyone, disperse and kill the enemy!¡± In a short moment, thousands hellhounds had already become a bloody mess littered throughout the ground. I told the few elders, ¡°Time is pressing. I don¡¯t know what is happening at the valley. Let¡¯s fly over there!¡± After saying that, I took the lead levitating and flying in the direction of the valley. I momentarily discovered that there was thick plume of smoke rising from the valley while I was high up in the sky. Big Brother Zhan Hu must have suffered an attack. I became anxious, so I pushed my body to its limit heading towards the valley at lightning speed. The valley had completely changed; the surrounding trees had collapsed, and a large amount of Monsters were gradually advancing. The village was already in ruins, with thick rising smoke scattered everywhere. Where was Big Brother Zhang Hu, and everyone else? I paid no attention to the Monsters, and rose into the air once again. I saw traces of fighting. Ah! It must be them. There were small hills in the area and the Monster¡¯s target seemed to be at that location. A golden ray of light shot out to impede the advancing Monsters. A figure of blue light flickered everywhere, momentarily forming a thick blood mist. I hastily employed Sukrad¡¯s staff to shoot out a few light blades, turning the monsters on the ground into viscera. The figure of blue light stopped moving, and it was surprisingly Big Brother Zhan Hu wearing his War God¡¯s Armor. I shouted excitedly, ¡°Big brother, I¡¯m here!¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu looked extremely haggard, and had a pale complexion. It was obvious that he had used much of his physical power. I landed beside him and supported his bulky body. ¡°Big Brother!¡± Zhan Hu smiled bitterly at me and replied, ¡°Brother, if you had come any later, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to see your Big Brother ever again.¡± I replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We will continue to talk after we head to that hill.¡± I supported him, and used short teleportation to reach the hill encampment. I was immediately surrounded by about 10 people when I appeared on the hill. Big Brother Zhan Hu hastily said, ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± I helped Zhan Hu into a sitting position and asked, ¡°Big brother, what is going on?¡± Zhan Hu shouted angrily, ¡°How the f*ck would I know where those creatures came from? They attacked everything they saw. If we weren¡¯t helped by the Elven brothers, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold.¡± Elven brothers? Only then did I notice that there were a thousand people on the hill, including many Nature Elves that were fluttering their wings and holding elven bows guarding the surrounding hill. The light rays that I saw earlier were created by them. It seemed that they had been working hard; the majority of the arrows they shot contained light magic that I had previously taught them. I replied, ¡°Big brother, don¡¯t worry. Strong reinforcements are coming. I will go and kill the enemies. After I exterminate those bastards, I will come to reminisce about the past with you.¡± After I said that, I teleported to the side of the hill. It was very lively. The monsters here were very different to the hellhounds we encountered. There were scores of light monsters. Although they weren¡¯t that quick, their offense and defense were great. The nearby trees had been flattened by them. ¡°Zhang Gong!¡± A familiar voice sounded from behind me. Volume 8: Chapter 11 - Controlling the Situation Volume 8: Chapter 11 - Controlling the Situation I turned around and saw Dong Ri with the Wind God¡¯s bow in his hand. Dong Ri excitedly pulled my hand and said, ¡°Big brother Zhang Gong, you have come!¡± I sized him up before replying, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you alright?¡± Dong Ri didn¡¯t reply to me as he looked dazedly at the sky. His expression changed before he exclaimed. ¡°This isn¡¯t good, the monsters coming can fly.¡± I jumped in fright and looked in the direction he was staring at before heaving a sigh of relief, ¡°Silly boy, those aren¡¯t monsters. They are the people I brought with me.¡± Dong Ri became elated and replied, ¡°There are so many wind mages. We have some hope this time.¡± I replied, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. They aren¡¯t wind mages, they¡¯re the same as you. They are warriors.¡± After saying that, I immediately went towards the group from the God¡¯s village. Dong Ri muttered, ¡°Warriors? They can¡¯t all be Heaven Knight¡¯s, right?¡± I found the Great Elder from the group and told him, ¡°The people on that hill below us are our allies. Let¡¯s quickly eliminate those monsters.¡± The Great Elder nodded before he commanded the group to kill them. There were so many monsters that even with our assistance, they were only pushed back. The elders and I landed on the hill. It seemed that Big brother Zhan Hu had recovered some of his strength. He came over and asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, who are these people?¡± I replied, ¡°I will make introductions. These people are the elders that I invited over from the God¡¯s village. This is my Big brother Zhan Hu, who is also the inheritor of the War God¡¯s armour.¡± Zhan Hu looked astonishedly at the five elders before bowing deeply as he greeted them, ¡°My greetings to the elders.¡± Big brother Zhan Hu must have been tired, as he didn¡¯t know the power the elders held. The Great Elder replied smilingly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be this polite, God inheritor. We saw your previous heroic performance. You should be at the Sword Saint rank.¡± Zhan Hu smiled awkwardly before he said, ¡°I am only at the Sword Saint rank when I¡¯m donning the War God¡¯s armour. Without it, I¡¯m still far from reaching the rank of Sword Saint.¡± I said smilingly, ¡°Then you will have to ask the elders for tutelage in the future.¡± Zhan Hu looked at me in shock. His expression changed before he replied. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡­¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! These few elders are of the Sword Saint¡¯s rank.¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this now. We should discuss the situation with the monsters instead.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu looked at the elders respectfully before he replied, ¡°Two months ago, these monsters suddenly appeared. Initially, there weren¡¯t a lot of them, so we didn¡¯t really mind it. We just killed them when we saw them. But in half a month¡¯s time, the number of monsters grew to the extent that we couldn¡¯t stay at the village and retreated here. If it wasn¡¯t for Xiu Si and the rest, who risked their lives to find the Nature Elves to assist us, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to persevere to the point where you came to help us.¡± I asked, ¡°Where are Big brother Xiu Si and the rest?¡± Zhan Hu sighed before he replied, ¡°Gao De and Xin Ao suffered severe injuries. Xiu Si is currently treating them.¡± I softly consoled , ¡°Big Brother, you shouldn¡¯t think of yourself as pathetic. If it wasn¡¯t for you keeping those monsters at bay, they would have already spread into the city.¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°What Zhang Gong said is right. Our main task now should be to exterminate these vile creatures.¡± I nodded and said, ¡°These things couldn''t have appeared from thin air. The elders and I have discussed it. We think that these things seem to be similar to the beasts summoned by the Monster clan during the Great God and Monster War. If that is the case, someone must have summoned them. I¡¯m just curious as to who¡¯s responsible. After thinking on it, I believe that it is impossible that this was done by the Monster King. If the Monster King did emerge earlier than expected, it wouldn¡¯t need to use such a troublesome method, with its power it would be easy to exterminate us? It is also unlikely to be those of the Monster clan. Weren¡¯t they annihilated during the Great God and Monster War?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°You¡¯re right, but where are these creatures coming from? We must find the source in order to stop the monster¡¯s unceasing invasion.¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°This matter must not be delayed. Those monsters have been temporarily scattered due to our battle. We should make use of this chance and head out immediately.¡± I replied, ¡°Big Brother, you just stay here and take charge of the general situation. The elders and I will head out.¡± Zhan Hu anxiously said, ¡°How can I let that happen? You¡¯re our guest, and to trouble the elders is already a little embarrassing. Furthermore, I must head out as well. Dong Ri¡¯s staying here should suffice; after you left, Dong Ri worked extremely hard and is now already at the Radiant Knight rank. Even though he hasn¡¯t completely harmonized with his Wind God¡¯s bow, his power is already not weak. With just him here, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± I wasn''t able to persuade him, so I agreed to take him along. I called Dong Ri over and told him, ¡°There are villagers from the God¡¯s Village here, so the defence shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Big brother Zhan Hu and I will head out to find the source of these monsters. I will leave this place to you. You must be careful, do you understand?¡± Dong Ri nodded. ¡°Relax! There shouldn¡¯t be any problems. Zhang Gong, the people you brought over are really powerful. They don¡¯t seem to be any worse than me from my judgement.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you after we get back. I¡¯ll be heading out now.¡± After saying that, I called out to the elders and Zhan Hu to prepare to head out. Dong Ri shouted, ¡°Be careful!¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°The source of the monsters shouldn¡¯t be very far from here. Let¡¯s fly up and see if we can find any clues from the route they took.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go and check it out. You should conserve your energy. If I find anything, I¡¯ll use a magic spell to call out to you guys. Big brother Zhan Hu, you should take this time to recover your energy.¡± Zhan Hu nodded. ¡°Whatever you do, please, be careful.¡± I maneuvered the magic power in my body and willed it to move, levitating me off the ground. Even though I had used a lot of my magic power, I found out that after absorbing the divine vein, the recovery speed of my magic power was astonishing. Soon, my past feeling of inadequacy had disappeared. Eighty percent of the magic power from my peak state had already been recovered. When the people on the hill were the size of ants, I stopped my ascent and focused on what was below me. The monsters surrounding the hill had already been scattered and were currently regrouping for the next attack. Moreover, larger hordes of monsters were surging in from all directions. I discovered that they came from the Southeast where a thick black monstrous energy was originating. The monsters were spreading out from the surroundings of that hill, meaning that the source of the monsters was in the Southeast. Volume 8: Chapter 12 - Annihilation of the Origin Volume 8: Chapter 12 - Annihilation of the Origin I gently waved Sukrad¡¯s staff to form a beautiful light halo in the sky. After a short while, six figures appeared on top of the hill. Zhan Hu asked, ¡°How is it? Did you find anything?¡± I pointed at the position in the Southeast. ¡°Take a look at that side, the monsters seem to be coming from there. They start to disperse to the surrounding hills from that direction. Let¡¯s go and have a look.¡± After saying that, I took the lead, flying in towards the direction that the monstrous energy was coming from. As we followed the monsters, we stumbled upon an enormous hole in a dense forest. Countless monsters were climbing out from the hole, and so, we landed on a small hill nearby, and hid ourselves from view. I said, ¡°I think it should be here; it is where they are all coming from.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°There is definitely someone commanding them. After they climb out, they would teleport to where we were. The people summoning them must be in there as well. What are we supposed to do now?¡± The Great Elder muttered, ¡°We can¡¯t just enter it as it will be too risky. You don¡¯t even know what will happen down there. How about, the seven of us gather our powers to destroy that hole. It might be possible for us to eliminate them and draw out the person inside.¡± The few elders expressed their agreement. I thought for a while. ¡°It isn¡¯t necessary for all of us to use our powers. How about I first use my Holy Sword¡¯s power to check the situation out. If the enemies don¡¯t all die afterwards, I will have to depend on you elders to finish the job. Also, I¡¯ll be void of energy after using the Holy Sword¡¯s power. Big brother Zhan Hu, please guard me after I finish casting the spell.¡± Zhan Hu asked in surprise, ¡°Zhang Gong, have you already harmonised with your Holy Sword? Being void of strength, wouldn¡¯t that be too risky?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t, but I can already use some of its power to a certain extent. My current magic power recovering speed is extremely fast; I just need half an hour¡¯s time to recover fifty percent of my magic powers, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for Big brother to support me for half an hour, right?¡± Zhan Hu resolutely nodded his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°This¡­...¡± I interrupted him by saying, ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate. You¡¯ve also seen the Holy Sword¡¯s power. It may be possible to completely solve the problem with that move.¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°Alright! However, you must be careful.¡± Actually, there was selfish motives in my decision. Big brother Zhan Hu had used too much of his strength during the previous battle. Making him stay by my side to protect me was to let him have a better chance of recovery. Even though no one knew what kind of situation would rise from using the Holy Sword, the monster might not even choose to attack this hill. Moreover, the five elders would definitely attract most of the enemies. In comparison to making him fight alongside the five elders, Big brother Zhan Hu would be safer here with me. I whispered, ¡°All of you please guard me, while I begin.¡± I closed my eyes and slowly mustered the silver Holy Sword to rapidly circulate around the meridians in my body. With me as its center, the surrounding air become violent, which caused the elders, and Zhan Hu to be pushed 5 meters away from me. The monsters climbing out from the hole sensed that something wasn¡¯t right, and moved towards our position. The Great elder shouted, ¡°Everyone, form an array. We mustn¡¯t let them to disturb Zhang Gong.¡± An intense light ray surrounded my body, radiating all around me. The Holy Sword shone a silver light above my head, with my magic powers strengthening it. Compared to the previous time, the gathering speed was much slower, but I felt that the power of the Holy Sword this time would be much greater than the time I fought against the five elders. As the monsters neared, the elders and Zhan Hu prepared for a fight, but the monsters below the hill stopped out of fear. Zhan Hu commented, ¡°What are they so afraid off? Ah! It¡¯s the Holy Sword¡¯s power.¡± My entire body gave off a divine aura, and six wings of light appeared on my back. My hair was completely golden, and my eyes suddenly opened to shoot two golden rays of light. I raised Sukrad¡¯s staff and chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword that shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vaults of heaven.¡± As I chanted, the silver Holy Sword flew towards the sky, emitting a great number rays of light, with beauty that outshone even the sun. You could say the power of God was in those rays of light! They gathered like clouds in the sky, diluting the originally black monstrous energy. The various monsters let out mournful blood-curdling screeches under the radiance of the Holy Sword¡¯s light rays, before it slowly dissolved in the air. Actually, it wasn¡¯t that I had strong powers and I was capable of annihilating them. Rather, the power of God from the Holy Sword was just a bane to monstrous energies. The Holy Sword flew straight towards the hole. When it neared it, the sword suddenly curved up towards the sky, rapidly gathering all sorts of elements towards it. The enemies in the hole also found something wasn¡¯t right. They shot out a thick grey mist to see if they could counter the Holy Sword¡¯s power. The Holy Sword raised up to a higher altitude. Turning under my command, as it shone intense silver light ray to counter the grey mist that had shot out from the hole. When the Holy Light, and the grey mist came into contact, the grey mist was unable to get near the Divine light ray. The Holy Sword turned into a silver light ray, and disappeared into the hole. The monsters that were surging out from the hole; momentarily vanished from the light ray emitting out of the Holy Sword. Miserable shrieks filled the sky. The entire ground started to quake. ¡°Hong!¡± The initially 10 meter deep hole exploded, filling the sky with dust. The hole became a massive crater. My entire body softened, and as I collapsed onto the ground. My strength had disappeared along with that attack. I finally understood what the Holy Sword power was. It didn¡¯t even use my power for its attack, but it absorbed nature¡¯s power around it. After condensing the powers into God¡¯s power, its attack commenced. My power was just a medium for this holy sword! The few elders, and Zhan Hu immediately surrounded me while focusing on the hole, and checking if there were any left over monsters that might appear. A trace of a black fog came out from the hole, and was preparing to escape into the distance but was discovered by the sharp sighted Zhan Hu. He shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t let him get away!¡± He took the lead to charge over, throwing a punch filled with golden battle spirit to block the path of the fog. The five elders hastily cast the previous battle spirit boundary that they previously used on me, trapping the black fog within it. Big brother Zhan Hu continuously attacked the black fog. The black fog moved in a flash, and suddenly condensed. A person covered totally in gray appeared before Zhan Hu. His body was emitting a monstrous aura. He said sinisterly to Zhan Hu, ¡°God clan, you unexpectedly had the power to get here.¡± Volume 8: Chapter 13 - Monster Clans Protector Volume 8: Chapter 13 - Monster Clan''s Protector Zhan Hu frowned as he asked, ¡°What race are you? The Monster race?¡± The grey clothed man coldly snorted before he said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m one of the eight great protectors of the Monster King.¡± Zhan Hu replied disdainfully, ¡°What bullshit protector are you? Aren¡¯t you just a lackey for the Monster King?¡± The grey clothed man rebuked unyieldingly, ¡°What about yourself? Aren¡¯t you also a lackey for the God¡¯s clan?¡± Zhan Hu raged and said, ¡°Good, I will let you have a taste of my prowess. Watch out!¡± After he said that, he threw a punch, and a golden power formed a light ray towards the grey clothed man. The grey clothed man let out a black fog, stopping Zhan Hu¡¯s attack. At that moment, the five elders made the boundary smaller, trapping the grey clothed man who cried out mournfully. The grey fog surrounding his body gradually decreased. He hoarsely said, ¡°Good, just you wait humans, after my Master has awakened, it will be your doomsday. Master, this lowly one will not be able to serve you anymore!¡± Dark green blood leaked out from the grey clothed man''s body before he collapsed. The five elders sighed in relief. The Great Elder said, ¡°He really was powerful. If he wasn¡¯t severely injured from the Holy Sword, it wouldn¡¯t have been so easy to deal with him.¡± ¡°He was the same as when I first saw Si Feng Ri.¡± I used the Sukrad¡¯s staff to support my body as I hobbled over. Zhan Hu hastily supported me and asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you faring?¡± I gave him a smile and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a little tired. Let¡¯s take a look at that member from the Monster race.¡± Zhan Hu supported me over. The sinister aura surrounding the protector of the Monster race had already dissipated. The green blood had slowly turned into a light red colour. I said, ¡°Big brother Zhan Hu, please give me some of your battle spirit.¡± Zhan Hu hurriedly placed his hand on my back and gave me some of his Ascending Dragon Battle Spirit. I focused on changing the battle spirit he gave me into magic power with his help. I waved the Sukrad¡¯s staff, and shot a white light ray at that protector of the Monster race. Zhan Hu was startled and asked. ¡°Zhang Gong, why did you use a recovery spell on him?¡± I didn¡¯t reply to him; instead, I just wordlessly looked at the protector of the Monster race. Under my strong recovery spell, his face recovered some of its colour. He slowly opened his eyes before he said in difficulty, ¡°You¡­.You all¡­..¡± I asked calmly. ¡°Can you tell me what you have encountered?¡± The protector of the Monster race¡¯s complexion had become better and his face colour had gradually become rosy. However, I knew that it was just the lingering radiance from the previous recovery light power. He replied, ¡°Thank you for saving me whilst I was in the dark. I¡¯m originally a human that lived in the Kingdom of Dalu.¡± I shook my head and said, ¡°Your injuries are really severe. All of your meridians have been corroded by sinister energy and won¡¯t be able to recover. Even my light magic has no way of saving you.¡± The protector of the Monster race bitterly smiled and replied, ¡°I know how my body''s condition is, but I really am glad that you had helped recover my consciousness before I died.¡± I asked, ¡°Can you tell me your name, and why did you turn out like this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m known as Lisdun Weibo. I was originally an Earl in the Kingdom of Dalu. During the night approximately 8 years ago, when I was sleeping, there was a sudden sinister wind that blew past me. A low voice asked me if I had any wishes. During that time, I was often marginalised by the court. Even though I was terrified, I still voiced out my desires. The gloomy voice then said if he helped grant my wish, I must give him my soul. Due to greed, I readily agreed to him.¡± As Lisdun Weibo said that, he gasped a few rough breaths of air. I indicated to Big brother Zhan Hu to give him some of his battle spirit, in order to prolong his life for a while longer. With the help of the battle spirit that Zhan Hu had given him, Lisdun Weibo¡¯s vitality was slightly better. He continued, ¡°During the next day, I thought that it was just a dream. However, my desires really came through. I became one of the important figures within the Kingdom of Dalu, one who could call the wind and summon the rain, in just half a year¡¯s time. When I was at the peak of my powers, the gloomy voice sounded again. He said that he had already granted my wish, and it was time for me to fulfill my promise. At that moment, I was scared and replied that he didn¡¯t help me at all, and that everything was due to my hard work. The gloomy voice laughed out sinisterly before he said he liked the kind of person I was. After that, I fainted. I already lost all of my past memories the next time I regained my consciousness. I knew that the sinister voice was from the Monster King, my Master. Afterwards, I always followed his orders; it was impossible for me to go against his commands. But when I was previously at death¡¯s door, I finally regained my original personality.¡± I hastily asked, ¡°What was your task this time?¡± Lisdun Weibo replied, ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t a specific task. It is just for us to disturb the order of the human society, and to create as much havoc as we could. Initially, it was going really smoothly, but we were soon met with great resistance, and after a while, the summoned Monsters were constantly perishing. Thus, we few protectors gathered our power to summon more Monsters to eliminate the power of the resistance.¡± I asked astonishingly, ¡°Other than you, are there still other protectors?¡± Lisdun Weibo replied smilingly, ¡°Of course. When we were still enemies, didn¡¯t I tell you that I was one of the eight great protectors? This time, all of us came together, and used our spells in that hole to summon the monsters. But the previous power from the Holy Sword had annihilated all of the monsters in the hole. Among the eight protectors, only I survived. The rest of the protectors were probably tricked by the same method to work for the Monster King.¡± Big brother Zhan Hu asked, ¡°Do you know where the Monster King is at, and what powers he possesses?¡± Lisdun Weibo shook his head. ¡°Though you may not believe me when I say this, but I have never actually seen the Monster King. When he ordered us, he just used that frosty sinister voice. As for his other subordinates, there are about a dozen more like me. I don¡¯t know the specifics, but whenever he commanded us, he arranged it with some of the demon clan. Currently, the eight of us within the Monster King¡¯s hands are only of average standard. He dispatched some of the more powerful subordinates to the demon race as part of a conspiracy to control the Demon Emperor.¡± We all momentarily paled with fright, especially me. Mu Zi was the Demon Emperor¡¯s most beloved princess. If the Demon Emperor was being controlled, only the heavens would know if Mu Zi is in danger. I anxiously asked, ¡°What are their motives for controlling the Demon Emperor?¡± Volume 8: Chapter 14 - Final Wish Volume 8: Chapter 14 - Final Wish Lisdun Weibo said, ¡°What other reasons could there be? Of course it¡¯s to spark a world war. When the Monster King awakens, the Demon race will be used as his chess piece to invade the entire world.¡± After saying that, Lisdun Weibo coughed a couple of times. The rosiness of his face became paler. This was bad, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on much longer. Big brother gave him more of his battle spirit. Lisdun Weibo shook his head and said with some distress, ¡°Stop wasting your battle spirit. It¡¯s useless.¡± I asked, ¡°Do you have any unfulfilled wishes? We will definitely help you to fulfill them.¡± Lisbon Weibo gradually turned deathly pale as the lingering radiance from the recovery spell that I had previously casted on him dissipated. He said, as he gasped for air, ¡°I have a daughter in the capital city of the Kingdom of Dalu. She¡¯s my only family. When I left her eight years ago, she was only 13 years old. Currently, she should be about the same age as you are. I don¡¯t know if the court allowed her to inherit my Viscount¡¯s position. I hope that you can help me check on her.¡± As he explained, he took out a small clothes bag from his chest. He carefully opened it and there was a jade tablet and some pieces of purple crystalline fragments. He continued speaking, ¡°The Jade tablet represents my identity. When you give it to her, she will understand after seeing it. These few pieces of purple contacts were manufactured when we were impersonating the Demon race. It should be useful to you. Please take care of my daughter so that she will be able to forgive¡­¡­¡­..¡± Suddenly, fresh blood flowed out from Lisdun Weibo¡¯s mouth. All signs of life left his body as he passed away. I took the items in his hand and bowed deeply towards him. ¡°Thank you for telling us so much information about the Monster King¡¯s situation. Even though you may not be counted as a good person, you may be a great father. You can go peacefully. We¡¯ll definitely fulfill your final wish.¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°The scenery here isn¡¯t bad. Let¡¯s bury him here.¡± After he said that, he gently brandished the walking stick in his hand, which resulted in a golden light being shot out. A large hole of three meters deep and two meters wide appeared on the hill. Zhan Hu placed Lisdun Weibo¡¯s body in the deep hole. The few elders used their battle spirit to fill up the hole with soil in the surrounding area. The Great Elder said, ¡°Let¡¯s head back. I don¡¯t know how the situation of the battlefield is right now.¡± He carried me on his back before flying back to where we came from. When we returned to the hill, the fighting had already ended. There were various corpses of monsters littered all around. The scent of their blood permeated the entire area. The few elders went to gather the members of their God¡¯s village. I had already recovered some of my strength. I pinched my nose and looked towards Dong Ri, ¡°How did the fight end so quickly?¡± Dong Ri replied, ¡°I¡¯m also unsure. Previously, in the direction where you headed, the sky suddenly lit up. After that, I heard a loud sound and the monsters started to massacre one another. We had just brought an end to the fighting.¡± Zhan Hu said with malice, ¡°Sooner or later, I will eliminate that son of a bitch Monster King! He caused this place to look like hell. How am I going to carry on living here in the future?¡± I gave a bitter smile as I replied, ¡°Just move to a new location. There are a lot of forests here anyway. You can just randomly pick a vast area. That¡¯s right! Big brother, it seems that the number of your subordinates is bigger compared to before.¡± Zhan Hu scratched his head, ¡°Since I received the God¡¯s task, I returned to the Kingdom of Xiuda and visited my father and two brothers. They wanted me to stay with them, but I¡¯m already used to a free lifestyle without any restrictions. Thus, I ran away again. Whilst I was there, Xiu Si convinced us of the importance of increasing our strength so we began to recruit soldiers and buy horses to train them up. Currently, there are nearly 1000 of us.¡± I said, while forming a smile, ¡°You''ve gotten much stronger than before.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong.¡± It was the Third Elder of the Nature Elves. I hastily went forward and said, ¡°Elder, we were lucky to have you this time. Without you Nature Elves brothers, I¡¯m afraid that my big brother wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on by the time I came to assist.¡± The Third Elder chuckled, ¡°Why are you saying this? Aren¡¯t you regarding me too much as an outsider? Weren¡¯t you the one that had previously helped us out of a difficult situation?¡± I replied, ¡°This place has been contaminated with the corpses of the monsters. We can¡¯t continue staying here. Big brother Zhan Hu and I are currently discussing moving to a different location.¡± The Third Elder replied, ¡°Where are you planning to move to?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Just somewhere nearby. I will go and gather the group first. You two continue discussing.¡± Seeing Zhan Hu¡¯s leaving back, I said, ¡°The Monster King is currently moving around restlessly. Our future days aren¡¯t looking too good.¡± The Third Elder said with a devotion of righteousness that inspired reverence, ¡°We will fight with all we have. It can¡¯t be that with all of the various races in the world, we are still afraid of him, right? I will go and gather the group of Nature Elves. I¡¯ll also send out a couple of elves to scout the area to see if there are places that are suitable to live at for a long period of time.¡± I said, with a slight smile, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you then.¡± The Third Elder replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite with me. It will suffice if you don''t ask for fragrant wine the next time you come to our Nature Elves Village. Haha!¡± It seemed that he was still fearful of me asking for fragrant wine after taking so much fragrant wine previously. After two hours, our three groups had completely assembled on the peak of the mountain. The Third Elder of the Nature Elves said, ¡°My clan member has just reported that in a place not far in the Northern direction, there is a rather huge basin. There are various trees and vegetation growing there. In its surroundings, there are also a few rivers. It should be a suitable place to live in.¡± Zhan Hu replied excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s great! Let¡¯s head there. With this many people, we must have a place to live in.¡± I asked, ¡°How much rations do we have left?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Not much. It should suffice for two to three days.¡± I replied, ¡°Alright, we will first head to the basin. After we have some rest and reorganize, we will stock up on rations and other necessities.¡± The scout from the Nature Elves had really found quite a large basin. It was filled with lofty ancient trees. The Great Elder from the God¡¯s village said, ¡°We should set this place up as our base as soon as possible.¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way. The Nature Elves will be responsible for securing the perimeter. Big brother¡¯s subordinates and the villagers of the God¡¯s village will be responsible for building the houses. That¡¯s right. Big brother, how is Gao De and Xin Ao?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°They are currently resting. Xiu Si had used up a huge amount of energy to treat them, so he is also resting up in the forest behind us.¡± Volume 8: Chapter 15 - Beginning to take shape Volume 8: Chapter 15 - Beginning to take shape I heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°It¡¯s great if they''re fine. Dong Ri, there¡¯s quite a sum of money in this card. You should head to Pulima City with 20 brothers of the God¡¯s village to get some rations and daily necessities. You must be fast, so you should fly there.¡± Dong Ri took the Amethyst card from my hand before he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely be back in two day¡¯s time.¡± The Great Elder said, ¡°Jian Shan, you go and pick some of the villagers who haven¡¯t used too much of their energy to accompany him.¡± Jian Shan came out of the crowd in a flash, and patted Dong Ri¡¯s shoulder. He said, ¡°Brother, let¡¯s go.¡± Watching them leave, I smiled and shouted, ¡°Alright! Everyone, let¡¯s get moving. The brothers that are wounded should rest up before building our home. I will have to trouble a few elders to instruct the group. Big brother Zhan Hu, please guard me as I try to recover my magic power as soon as possible.¡± Since all of us were experts, we only needed three days to form our foundation base. To build the houses, we didn¡¯t cut down all of the trees. Instead, we just cleared the middle of the forest for our dwellings, and using chopped wood to build most of them. Since it was done in a hurry, the houses were built rather large. Each house could accommodate approximately 10 of us. The few elders of God¡¯s Village were extremely knowledgeable in the construction and let the villagers use the remaining branches to form a fence, barricading the entire housing area. Dong Ri and Jian Shan, on the other hand, had made two trips within three days to Pulima City, and successfully purchased rations and daily necessities. When the sun set, I gathered the elders, Zhan Hu, and others. ¡°Zhang Gong, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhan Hu¡¯s worry hadn¡¯t changed at all. I replied seriously, ¡°Big brother, you still remember what Lisdun Weibo said, right? The Monster race is currently trying to infiltrate the Demon race. We definitely shouldn¡¯t just wait for it to happen, so I have decided to go to the Demon race.¡± Xiu Si frowned and replied, ¡°The Demon race and the Beast race are currently starting a war with three of the human Kingdoms. If you head there now, won¡¯t it be too risky?¡± I sighed, ¡°I must head there even if it is dangerous. There¡¯s something that I haven¡¯t told you.The woman I love is over there¡± Zhan Hu was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re good. You¡¯ve found a wife, but didn¡¯t tell your Big Brother.¡± I smiled apologetically as I replied, ¡°It isn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t want to tell you, but it¡¯s because the girl I love is from the Demon race. I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t accept that.¡± Everyone was stunned, excluding the five elders from the God¡¯s village. ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, how did you get into contact with the Demon race?¡± I shook my head dejectedly. ¡°When it comes to my feeling, I cannot control them . Not only did I fall deeply in love with the Demon race¡¯s princess, I¡¯m have become a wanted criminal in the Kingdom of Aixia because of her. Your brother is now a criminal.¡± Xiu Si was the only one that remained calm. He said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you should tell us everything that transpired.¡± I nodded. I related everything that happened in order, from the time I returned from God¡¯s forest. ¡­¡­ After telling them everything that happened, everyone became silent. I said, ¡°Therefore, for official and personal reasons, I must head to the Demon race.¡± Zhan Hu patted my shoulder. ¡°Brother, Big brother supports you. Let big brother accompany you.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°The defense of the Demon race against the Monster King is of great importance so we must head there. Zhang Gong, how many people are you preparing to bring along with you?¡± Seeing their support, my eyes reddened. I replied, ¡°Lisdun Weibo had given me 12 purple lenses. We can use them to disguise ourselves and infiltrate the Demon race If that¡¯s the case, then it¡®ll mean that only 11 people can come along with me. It won''t be good if too many head there. The trip to the Demon race will be extremely dangerous. Truth be told, I had planned to head there by myself.¡± Big brother Zhan Hu resolutely said, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to go alone. I must accompany you.¡± I replied, ¡°Big brother, I understand your intention, but this place needs you and the elders to manage it¡­¡­.¡± Zhan Hu replied smiling, ¡°Enough! It¡¯s useless for you to say anything as I¡¯ll definitely head there with you. How can it work out without me? Moreover, I also want to have a look at the Demon race. It is sufficient for Xiu Si to manage this place as he is much smarter than me.¡± Xiu Si retorted angrily, ¡°You¡¯re just tossing this terrible mess to me? I want to go as well!¡± Dong Ri laughed and said, ¡°Enough, stop fighting. Let¡¯s go with Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s suggestion. Big Brother Xiu Si, your intelligence has been acknowledged by everyone so you can¡¯t resign from this position.¡± Xiu Si replied, ¡°Dong Ri, you brat¡­¡­¡± Ding Ri giggled and said, ¡°I¡¯m definitely following Big Brother Zhan Hu as I also want to see the Demon race.¡± Xin Ao and Gao De argued noisily that they wanted to go as well . Seeing that no one was afraid of danger and were trying to outdo each other, I was moved by their actions and said, ¡°Everyone, stop fighting. There aren¡¯t many experts, so Big brother Xiu Si, I¡¯ll have to leave this place to you. Big Brother Zhan Hu, I don¡¯t dare make you angry so I¡¯ll count you in. As for Xin Ao and Gao De, your injuries haven¡¯t completely recovered so it¡¯s better for you to stay here to help Big Brother Xiu Si instead.¡± The Great Elder from God¡¯s village said, ¡°What are we few elders suppose to do then?¡± I respectfully said, ¡°You few elders are the most prestigious and top experts here, so hope that you can stay here and train our brothers. With your tutelage, I¡¯m absolutely sure that their improvement speed will be superlative.¡± The Great Elder said smiling, ¡°You brat, stop flattering us. Anyway, we elders have given our old bones to you, so we¡¯ll do whatever you say.¡± I chuckled and said, ¡°Big brother Xiu Si, you heard it. When the time comes,........¡± I gave Xiu Si a sly look. Xiu Si immediately agreed. ¡°Please be at ease. I¡¯ll definitely respect the elders.¡± After I left, everyone improved tremendously under the guidance of the elders. Xiu Si sincerely respected them and learnt many ultimate moves from them. This is just a temporary summary of the future parts of the story. The Third Elder from the Nature Elves said, ¡°Who are the remaining 9 people that you¡¯re preparing to bring?¡± I thought for a while before I replied, ¡°I have already troubled you and your clan members greatly. The Nature Elves will always be our best allies. If you¡¯re willing, you can stay here. The Nature Elves have wings, so it wouldn''t be suitable to come with me to the Demon race. I will bring along villagers from the God¡¯s village who are of the Radiant Knight standard. They are pure martial techniques users, so it¡¯ll be easier not to be suspected as imposters.¡± Volume 8: Chapter 16 - Demon-Beast Allied Armies Volume 8: Chapter 16 - Demon-Beast Allied Armies After hearing my words, Dong Ri said, ¡°Let Jian Shan go with you. He is definitely of the Radiant Knight rank.¡± It seemed that his and Jian Shan¡¯s relationship wasn¡¯t bad. I replied, ¡°It¡¯ll be extremely dangerous to head to the Demon race.I can only allow those who will come with me of their own free will as I can¡¯t promise that everyone will return safely.¡± The Great Elder replied, ¡°You can pass this matter to me, and I¡¯ll help you pick. When do you plan on heading out?¡± I replied, ¡°We leave immediately. his matter must be settled as quickly as possible since we don¡¯t know how many subordinates of the Monster King have infiltrated the Demon race.¡± ¡®I¡¯m really worried about Mu Zi¡¯s safety. Mu Zi, nothing must happen to you.¡¯ The Great Elder replied, ¡°Alright, leave this place to us. You will depart tomorrow. I will now pick the people going with you.¡± Twelve of us departed at dawn the next day. The Great Elder had picked nine people with Jian Shan as reference. They were all around 20 years old, and according to Jian Shan, they were all well known experts from the younger generation of the God¡¯s village. We prioritised recovering our strength during the day and flew at night, all dressed in black. Even though we could only use battle spirit to fly for a short time, it was still extremely fast. We had already reached Forgotten Path City that was 70 kilometres away from Str?m Fortress In approximately 10 days . The city was exceptionally lively. The main streets were filled with soldiers of different Kingdoms on patrol. Our party entered a small tavern, and ordered some dishes and wine. I told Zhan Hu, ¡°Big brother, it seems that the situation is extremely tense. The soldiers outside should be transporting various supplies to support the frontlines.¡± Zhan Hu nodded. ¡°Even though the situation is tense, it seems that they haven¡¯t started fighting yet. If it was just the allied army forces of the Demon and Beast races, breaching the Str?m Fortress could prove to be an arduous task. In these 200 years, every Kingdom had gathered a large amount of resources that could support a drawn out war. Perhaps this is why the allied army forces of the Demon and Beast races did not dare act blindly. Even if it¡¯s just the 200 Areal Magic Cannon¡¯s at the Fortress, it¡¯ll be difficult for them to deal with it. ¡± I asked, ¡°Is the Areal magic Cannon really that powerful?¡± Zhan Hu had an incredulous expression. ¡°Your general knowledge is really too little. Even an ordinary magic cannon can easily decimate ordinary hundred-men squads. Worse still, it is an Areal Magic Cannon. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s powerful? Even with the high defenses of those bastards of the Demon and Beast race, I don¡¯t think they would dare face the power of 200 Areal Magic Cannons.¡± He saw my vicious gaze and continued to say, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean your Demon Race¡¯s Princess is a bastard.¡± I wanted to collapse. It would have been better if he hadn''t explained himself. I rebuked him in anger, ¡°Big brother, you¡­¡­¡­¡± Dong Ri saw that the atmosphere was tense, so he hastily tried to mediate by saying, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that and eat first. Zhang Gong, what are your plans to pass through the Str?m Fortress?¡± I smiled and said, ¡°I definitely have an excellent plan. Have you forgotten what I said about how the Demon race came to our side? Can¡¯t we use the same plan? My magic recovery speed is extremely fast so in a short period of time we¡¯ll be able to teleport over.¡± Jian Shan said excitedly, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s great! I haven¡¯t tried a teleportation array before.¡± I scolded him mockingly, ¡°What¡¯s great about that? Do you think a teleportation array is fun? If we aren¡¯t careful, it may dunk us into a swamp.¡± Jian Shan threw a peanut over. ¡°Stop scaring me. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯d make an error in using the teleportation array.¡± I caught the peanut with my mouth and said cheekily, ¡°It isn¡¯t guaranteed. I may be up to to no good. Hehe!¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Stop being flippant! Let¡¯s find a person to ask them about the situation on the frontlines.¡± Dong Ri stuck out his tongue and shouted, ¡°Server, please come over.¡± A slightly built server hastily came over and asked, ¡°Sir, is there something you need?¡± I asked, ¡°Brother, what¡¯s the frontline like? Has the fighting started already?¡± The server looked around cautiously as he surveyed his surroundings. Only after he was certain no-one was focusing on their table, he whispered, ¡°I heard the situation isn¡¯t good. The Demon and Beast races have already gathered an army of 2 million.¡± An army of 2 million? Where did they get so many from? Could it be all their citizens had become soldiers? Even if the eastern continent of the world had been more populated than the western continent, they shouldn¡¯t have placed their lives at such risk. ¡°How is our side planning to deal with them?¡± The server replied, ¡°I heard that the three main Earth Dragon Corps, 20 cavalry corps from the Kingdom of Xiuda, as well as 50 mage corps and the Royal Mage Union from the Kingdom of Aixia are rushing over. So too are people from the Kingdom of Dalu. Our side should have at least 1 million people. There was a group of wounded soldiers that came here from the frontlines a few days ago. Some of them came to us for a place to eat. I heard from them that outside Str?m Fortress, there were Demon and Beast race military forces as far as the eye could see. Those wounded soldiers were those that had participated and were wounded in the first contact between the opposing forces.¡± Dong Ri asked, ¡°Did they describe what their opponents looked like?¡± The server replied, ¡°How could they not have described them? From the looks on their faces, they appeared to have had the scare of their lives. It seemed they came into contact with the Giant race from the Beamon Giant Beast corps. They stated that they were originally from a 10,000 strong light Cavalry corps. When they were out on patrol, they were ambushed by the Beamon Giant Beast corps, who were at least 5 meters tall. Even though there were only 500 giants, they were able to kill so many of their Cavalry corps that they were forced to retreat. Only 2000 corps members were able to escape. If it wasn¡¯t for the cannons on the fortress, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to return with their lives.¡± 500 vs 10,000, wouldn¡¯t that be too horrifying? Wouldn¡¯t they be at least of the Heaven Knight rank? I anxiously asked, ¡°Do you have any other information?¡± The server shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m unsure of the rest. Ah! That¡¯s right! I heard that the commander of the allied Demon and Beast races army is one of the Demon Kings. It seems to be the Demon Emperor¡¯s brother.¡± I tossed two silver coins to the server before I whispered, ¡°From what the server said, if things were to proceed as normal, the allied Demon and Beast forces wouldn¡¯t invade without careful consideration. Even though their numbers outnumber us, a large number of advanced mages were annihilated when they tried to assassinate the Emperor of Aixia. The human race also has Str?m Fortress as their defence. If I were the commander-in-chief of the allied Demon and Beast Army force, I¡¯d retreat as it¡¯d be extremely disadvantageous for them to face the human race, and garner their resources. If the Demon race has similar intelligence as the human race, they shouldn¡¯t continue to waste their resources.¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°However, they currently aren¡¯t showing any signs of retreating.¡± Volume 8: Chapter 17 - Arranging a rescue Volume 8: Chapter 17 - Arranging a rescue I frowned as I said, ¡°That¡¯s something I found strange, unless¡­¡­¡± Thinking about it, my expression suddenly changed. Zhan Hu loudly exclaimed, ¡°They¡¯re already being controlled by the monster race?!¡± Dong Ri, who was at Zhan Hu¡¯s side, covered his mouth and said, ¡°Boss, are you lest that no one knows about it?¡± I wasn¡¯t in the mood to care about that. With a resolute gaze, I said, ¡°We must immediately head to the Demon race. If the Demon Emperor is being controlled, the entire world will be in danger. Monster King¡­.Monster King, you¡¯re really scheming. When the human race and the allied forces of the Demon and Beast races are severely injured, it¡¯ll be time for you to resurrect into the world. Do you think invading the world is that easy? I definitely won¡¯t let your schemes come true. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡®Mu Zi, I¡¯m coming for you.¡¯ After two hours, we appeared near the Heavenly Falling Mountain. When we looked up from the bottom of the mountain, the mountain was tall and erect, reaching to the sky and its midpoint was covered with white clouds, making it impossible to see its peak. It was no wonder that the Heavenly Falling Mountain was the natural defence for the Str?m Fortress. It really was a perfect moat for the fortress. Jian Shan¡¯s expression changed as he said, ¡°There¡¯s a large group of men and horses heading this way. Quickly hide!¡± I listened with rapt attention. As expected, a loud horse¡¯s hoof sounded in the distance. The twelve of us hastily hid within the thicket in the surroundings. In an extremely short moment, a grand contingent appeared. Ah! It was unexpectedly one of the Earth Dragon corps from Xiuda. The leader was surprisingly Big Brother Shan Yun. Zhan Hu couldn¡¯t bear not to get out from hiding and shouted, ¡°Second brother!¡± As soon as he showed himself, he was instantly surrounded by 10 massive Earth dragons. Big Brother Zhan Hu was too reckless. This was a battlefield. I stopped Dong Ri who was able to charge out from hiding, and indicated to him to wait and see how it would turn out. Zhan Hu loudly shouted, ¡°Second brother, it¡¯s me! I¡¯m Zhan Hu.¡± Shan Yun rode over on his Earth Dragon. When he saw Zhan Hu, he excitedly replied, ¡°Third brother, why are you here?¡± Zhan Hu smiled awkwardly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m on a special mission. Why are you patrolling here?¡± Shan Yun jumped down from his Earth dragon and pulled on Zhan Hu¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a chat by the side.¡± He turned his Earth Dragon around and told the soldiers who were at the side, ¡°Order to the entire force, we¡¯ll be resting here.¡± Shan Yun pulled Zhan Hu to the side and slightly reproached him. ¡°Brother, why did you leave after only leaving a message? Father was terribly enraged.¡± Zhan Hu smiled embarrassedly. ¡°Second brother, you should know that I¡¯m used to a free lifestyle. If you really wanted me to join the military, I really wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the restrictions. You should also know Father¡¯s temper. He¡¯s very stubborn and won¡¯t listen to other¡¯s opinion. I didn''t dare tell him that, so I just ran away.¡± Shan Yun asked, ¡°What¡¯s your motive for coming here? Are you here to assist Xiuda¡¯s forces?¡± Zhan Hu shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re heading to the Demon race for business. It might have an impact on the entire situation.¡± Shan Yun startled, ¡°You¡¯re going to the Demon race? Don¡¯t you want to live anymore? You said we. Who are the rest?¡± ¡°Big brother Shan Yun, there¡¯s me.¡± As I said that, I stood beside Zhan Hu. Shan Yun looked was in shock as he saw me. He suddenly grabbed the handle of his sword. ¡°Zhan Gong, aren¡¯t you wanted by the Kingdom of Aixia? Zhan Hu, it can¡¯t be that you¡¯re heading to the Demon race with him, right? You¡¯re jumping into a pit of fire. He is already allied with the demon race. Aixia has already announced the cancellation of Zhang Gong Wei¡¯s status and privileges from the Kingdom of Aixia.¡± I bitterly smiled. ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve misunderstood me.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°Second brother, if you said that someone else had betrayed humanity, I¡¯d have believed you. But if you say that it was Zhang Gong, that¡¯s impossible. The truth is like this¡­..¡± He summarized what I had told him about my experiences. Shan Yun released his hand from the handle of his sword. He replied relieved, ¡°So it¡¯s like that. You¡¯re heading to the Demon race to stop the Monster King.¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct. This matter is classified. I have to ask Big brother Shan Yun to help keep this a secret.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°I know the severity of this matter. Do you need my help? The commander in chief of the Xiuda forces is my father. I can help smuggle you into the fortress where you can teleport to the Demon race.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I won¡¯t need your help with that. If we¡¯re discovered, and His Majesty were to accuse us of being spies for the enemy, it¡¯ll be bad. We¡¯ve got some plans to get there. However, there¡¯s something else that I need Big brother Shan Yun¡¯s help with.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°Just tell me anything, as long as it¡¯s within my capabilities.¡± I replied, ¡°You should know the risk of heading to the Demon race. I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be returning as well. Currently, there shouldn¡¯t be many changes in the military campaign. I hope that when we return, Big brother Shan Yun can support us.¡± Shan Yun nodded. He took out a delicate bamboo pipe. ¡°No problem. The main defense forces of Xiuda are on the Eastern side. This flair is my special signal. You can take this, and when you return, you just have to fire it. I¡¯ll immediately bring my troops to assist you.¡± I took the bamboo pipe and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s awesome. Our safety is more assured now. Thank you, Big brother Shan Yun.¡± Shan Yun replied smilingly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. You just have to take good care of my reckless Third brother.¡± I chuckled and replied, ¡°I still need Big brother Zhan Hu to take care of me. We are pressed for time, so we won¡¯t bother you any further.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°Alright. I wish you all the best. You must be careful. If you think the matter is impossible to accomplish, with your skills, you should be able to escape.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°Second brother, please help me send my regards to father, and tell him that I¡¯m fine. After coming back, I¡¯ll definitely go and see that old man.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°I temporarily won¡¯t be able to tell father that I¡¯ve met up with you. If I haven¡¯t brought you back, he might punish me by martial law. You just have to return safely. I have got to go. Order, continue to patrol.¡± As Zhan Hu watched Shan Yun¡¯s departing figure as he led the Earth Dragon corps away, his eyes moistened. I embraced his thick and broad shoulders and said, ¡°After coming back, you¡¯ll see them again.¡± Zhan Hu rubbed his eyes before he replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± We carefully entered the Heavenly Falling Mountain and found an unmanned flat stretch of ground. I looked at the terrain in my surroundings before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s teleport from here.¡± Since I had the Sukrad¡¯s staff, I was prepared to send all of us in one go, but there would still be a definite risk factor to it. For our safety, I had set up 6 invisible defence arrays, encircling the entire open space. With this way, even if there were people that flew above us, they wouldn¡¯t be able to detect us. Even if we were seen, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to break through the unified forces of the 6 arrays. The reason for that was that for each of the arrays, I had used a blue magic crystal as its source of power, which would be able to support this magic array for half a year¡¯s time. Volume 9: Chapter 1 - Dangerous Teleportation Volume 9: Chapter 1 - Dangerous Teleportation I told everyone, ¡°You should start to meditate to recover your battle spirit to its peak state. We¡¯ll be crossing that huge mountain, so we may face some strong waves.¡± Zhan Hu and the rest sat in a circle and began meditating. Judging from the degree of radiance from their body¡¯s aura, Zhan Hu¡¯s power was the strongest, and Jian Shan was the runner up. Dong Ri and the other villagers from God¡¯s village were about the same. However, Dong Ri had the Wind God¡¯s bow so he was still be slightly stronger overall. I tossed away any distracting thoughts, and started to focus on drawing the teleportation array. The teleportation array which was used to pass through the mountain was of the highest grade. Not a single mistake could be made, and with Sukrad¡¯s staff, I could draw the entire array in such a fine manner, to the point of being comparable to vein lines. I had finally drawn the array, and I wiped the perspiration that had formed on my head due to the intense concentration I just used. It had taken half a day to form it. If it hadn¡¯t been for the recent improvements in my ability, who knows how long it would taken me to draw it For our safety, I placed a small purple crystal in the middle of the magic array. Under the support of the magic crystal, the finely-veined detailed array instantly surged out with immense energy, awakening everyone in meditation around me. Zhan Hu walked over and asked, ¡°Is it done?¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have to take a rest first. You must all be vigilant.¡± After I said that, I closed my eyes, and sat cross legged. My three inner gold dans momentarily revolved rapidly, absorbing the light elements near my surroundings. After an hour of rest, I stood at the center of the teleportation magic array, ready to depart. ¡°Big brother Zhan Hu, you, Dong Ri, and Jian shan surround me; the others will surround the perimeter. You should release your battle spirit outwards to form a perfect defense.¡± A golden battle spirit surged out from within the magic array, forming a hemispherical transparent protection membrane. I nodded my head in satisfaction before raising Sukrad¡¯s staff, and chanting, ¡°The mighty God of Space! Please let me borrow your powers to breakthrough the dimensional restrictions, and send us to the place we desire.¡± An intense white light shone from Sukrad¡¯s staff, activating the magic array. The entire array seemed to be frantically absorbing all kinds of elements from its surroundings. The people within disappeared the second the light ray reached its highest intensity. This was the first teleportation I was forced to expend a great deal of effort in. The undulations pushing us back were abnormally strong. I tapped into the power of Sukrad¡¯s staff with great difficulty to protect everyone. My magic power was rapidly consumed, not to mention it was already way above my limits. Moreover, during the teleportation process, it was impossible for someone to recover their magic power. It was no wonder why the few elders of the demon race only sent two people at a time. Currently, I was praying that I would be able to successfully send everyone to the Heavenly Falling Mountain before my powers ran out. I increased the speed of the teleportation with all of my might, and just when I was about to collapse, I successfully appeared on solid ground. Exhausted, I sat on the ground, and did a head count. Luckily, there was no one was missing, however once I relaxed, I immediately fainted. I subconsciously felt a continuous flow of tremendous power that stimulated my inner gold dans, and my whole body gradually filled with energy. I opened my eyes and saw Dong Ri. When Dong Ri saw that I had awakened, he excitedly said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re awake!¡± I knocked my head and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Dong Ri replied in smiles, ¡°You should ask yourself that! We also don¡¯t know what happened. After we teleported, we saw that you had collapsed. Everyone immediately inserted their battle spirit into your body, and tried to help you. You only just awakened after an entire day.¡± I scratched my head before I replied, ¡°It¡¯s the magic spell that''s to blame. I never expected that the magic array would need so much magic to power. We almost got lost in the dimensional space; if that really happened, there wouldn¡¯t be many of us that would survive. I won¡¯t use the magic array this recklessly in the future. We were fortunate that our luck was high this time.¡± My head suddenly hurt. Zhan Hu spoke with concern, ¡°You still say that. You¡¯re not to risk yourself like this again. Don¡¯t overestimate yourself.¡± I sighed and thought, ¡®If I wasn¡¯t in such a hurry to rescue Mu Zi, only a ghost would be willing to risk their life.¡¯ I replied, ¡°I know. Big brother, where are we now?¡± Zhan Hu unhappily replied, ¡°You created that magic array. If you don¡¯t know where we¡¯ve teleported to, why¡¯d you even ask me?¡± I smiled embarrassedly, ¡°I designated the teleportation to teleport us 100 km away. If we teleported correctly, we should be behind the demon and beast races allied army.¡± Jian Shan walked over. ¡°I think it¡¯s different from what you thought. If we only teleported a further 100 km. We should definitely be able to see the Heavenly Falling Mountain, however, do you even see the shadow of the mountain anywhere? There aren¡¯t even trees around us Zhang Gong.¡± After hearing what Jian Shan said, I hastily got up from the ground. If we had teleported to the wrong place, it would be horrible. Unfortunately, it was just as Jian Shan said, we were currently in no man¡¯s land. There was nothing around us except for some patches of grasses. We really had teleported incorrectly. ¡°What should we do now?¡± Dong Ri asked. I replied, ¡°What else can we do? We¡¯ll just walk in a direction. You can see that the grass has traces of it being eaten. The main army force has definitely crossed here, we¡¯ll head in that direction. We should be able to find something that way. From my estimation, we should be at the borders of the demon race, we are just at a slightly deviated location.¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°That¡¯s the only thing we can do. Let¡¯s go.¡± I replied, ¡°Please wait for a moment. Everyone, please wear your purple contacts. If not, we¡¯ll be in trouble if we meet with the demon race.¡± It was really awkward wearing these things as my eyes were not naturally big. I had to use a lot of effort to pry my eyes open to put the purple contacts in. Luckily, the quality of the contacts was great! The center of the contacts was colourless so it didn¡¯t affect our sight. Everyone looked at each other before they laughing uncontrollably. ¡°We¡¯re high standard demon race from now on.¡± (The lowest standard were the demon beasts. Their intelligence was much lower than the majority of the demon race.) We picked a random direction and headed there. After two hours, Dong Ri suddenly yelled out in fright, ¡°Quickly look in that direction. What is it?¡± He was a half elf so his eyesight was much better than ours. As we looked in the direction that he pointed; we saw a mountain that had its peak piercing through the clouds. Zhan Hu said, ¡°It¡¯s the Heavenly Falling Mountain. Why does it look so short?¡± Jian Shan replied, ¡°We should be at a high altitude. Let¡¯s continue walking forward to see what we find.¡± After flying for an hour, a magnificent view was displayed before us. We were on a high flat plateau. It had an altitude about the midpoint of the Heavenly Falling Mountain. When we reached the border of the plateau, we first saw the Str?m Fortress that was built up as high as a mountain. It was built horizontally in the center of the Heavenly Falling Mountain range, completely sealing all pathways that lead towards the Eastern continent. Volume 9: Chapter 2 - Prince of the Demon Race Volume 9: Chapter 2 - Prince of the Demon Race At a place not far from us, there were densely packed tents that lined up in front of Str?m Fortress. I looked at Zhan Hu and said, ¡°That should be the main camp of the Demon-Beast Alliance. It seems that the magic array didn¡¯t send us to the wrong place. It is just that we are at a higher altitude. I continued to say, ¡°I suddenly thought about a question. Does anyone know the way to the capital city of the demon race?¡± Everyone looked at each other. I dejectedly said, ¡°I had forgotten about this. I was so focused on how we were going to get here. This is bad.¡± For many years, the human race in the Eastern continent hadn¡¯t come to the Western continent. How were we going to find our way to the capital? When we were brooding about this, we suddenly heard hurried horse hooves. It was probably a cavalry unit from the Demon-Beast Alliance. Zhan Hu asked in astonishment, ¡®The demon race surprisingly rides horses. I¡¯ve never heard about that before.¡± A group of 60 to 70 cavalry charged in our direction. Since the terrain here was extremely flat, there wasn¡¯t any place to hide. I whispered, ¡°Everyone, be wary. If there¡¯s a need to make a move, don¡¯t hold back. Not even the chickens and dogs are to be left undisturbed.¡± I had no choice when I issued that command. If we were to alarm the forces of the Demon - Beast alliance below us, we wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with their thousands of men and horses, no matter how skillful or powerful we were. There wasn¡¯t enough time so we had to use the conventional way. The cavalry arrived before us in an instant. I realized that their horses were different from the human race¡¯s horses. The horses here were much taller and their entire bodies had a shiny black glow to it. At a glance, you could tell they were good horses. One of the warriors astride a horse had purple eyes and was dressed in magnificent clothing. His appearance was as sharp as a broadsword, making him look abnormally handsome with his eyes full of life. However, I felt his power was weak. There was a large disparity between his power and the power of those behind him. The handsome warrior shouted, ¡°Which section are you from? Why are you here?¡± Zhan Hu chuckled, ¡°Which section are you from? Your hair hasn¡¯t even fully grown, and you¡¯ve already learned how to ride a horse.¡± The warriors behind the handsome warrior shouted simultaneously, ¡°Outrageous!¡± Their voices were so resonant that we jumped in fright. I suddenly thought of the perfect plan to deal with this situation. I raised the Sukrad¡¯s staff and said, ¡°Kill everyone, excluding that warrior!¡± Hearing my words, the handsome youth from the demon race, who had wanted to unsheath his sword, unexpectedly put his hand down. The first one to make a move was Dong Ri. He took out the Wind God¡¯s bow hanging from his back. He pulled the bowstring with his right hand, ¡®Sou!¡¯ He shot a light arrow out, accurately piercing the center of the eyebrows of one of the warriors. Once the opponent saw that we dared to fight them with just the twelve of us, they jumped off their horses and charged towards us with their blades drawn. I coldly sneered at them with an icy gaze. Even though we were all living in the same world, if I didn¡¯t kill you, you wouldn¡¯t let me go, so I¡¯m sorry. A light blade struck out towards the opponent. Zhan Hu and Shan Jian led the remaining 9 villagers from the God¡¯s village to charge over. The enemies were stronger than expected. I used a light blade that contained magic and battle spirit at them, causing around 7-8 enemies to be blown away. Even though they were seriously injured, none of them died. Although I was astonished by the strength of those people, it didn¡¯t decrease my killing intent. I shot a light halo at that handsome demon race man. He was momentarily shocked and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± He was unexpectedly bound so easily. I waved Sukrad¡¯s staff back, bringing his body towards me. I said in amazement, ¡°It seems that he is just an embroidery pillow. He looks good but is useless.¡± Seeing that their master had been caught, the other 60-70 demon race members frantically charged towards us. Zhan Hu laughed out loud. After a flash of blue light, he donned the War God¡¯s armour. He moved like lightning towards the group of enemies. The villagers from the God¡¯s village that came with us also used their various techniques as they charged over. Under the support of Dong Ri¡¯s cold and merciless arrow, all 60-70 demons in a short time were killed, and the one that had killed the most was impressively Dong Ri with his Wind God¡¯s bow. I unintentionally saw a trace of reluctance on the face of the handsome demon race. The complexion of the handsome demon paled as he asked, ¡°Wha...What do you want?¡± I lowered my head to look him in the eye. ¡°Hehe! I don¡¯t want anything. I¡¯m just missing a tour guide. I hope that you¡¯ll help me with that.¡± The demon race was stunned and asked, ¡°Tour guide? What¡¯s a tour guide?¡± Zhan Hu floated over. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a tour guide for a tour of the demon race.¡± The expression of the demon race youth became serious. ¡°I¡¯m the second prince of the demon race. If you hurt me, Royal father will definitely exterminate all of your family¡¯s nine generations.¡± Zhan Hu and I looked amazed at each other. The second prince of the demon race momentarily thought that we were afraid and said, ¡°Are you frightened? You just have to let me go and I may spare your lives.¡± I chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯re the second prince of the demon race?¡± The second prince puffed his chest as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll have a bargaining chip when negotiating with the Demon Emperor.¡± The second prince was startled. ¡°What do you mean by negotiation bargaining chip?¡± He seemed to have the worst case of idiocy. I said sternly, ¡°You should be well behaved for me. To tell you the truth, we aren¡¯t from the demon race. The purpose in coming here is to deal with your Royal father. Do you understand?¡± The Second prince said in fright, ¡°You¡­.You¡¯re¡­¡­.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°That¡¯s right, so it¡¯s useless for you to use your status to scare us. If you¡¯re well behaved, we may spare your life.¡± The Second prince seemed to have deflated like a leaking balloon as he couldn¡¯t bring up his might. He pleaded, ¡°What do you want me to do? I beg you to spare my life.¡± I sighed as I thought, ¡®Mu Zi¡¯s second brother is such a weakling. It¡¯s no longer strange as to why the Demon Emperor has chosen Mu Zi as his successor.¡¯ ¡°If you want to live, we¡¯ll have to see your performance. You¡¯re to first talk about inside information of the situation within the demon race.¡± The Second prince replied, ¡°Our Kingdom is segregated into two groups. One of the groups is to battle against the human race and the other is to reconcile so it had reached to the point where there is no plans for large scale invasion.¡± I asked, ¡°Who is the representatives for the battle group and reconciliation group?¡± It seemed that the Second prince saw his life in great importance. After hearing my question, he replied hastily, ¡°The representatives of the group that wants to battle are my uncles, Demon King Sata and Demon King Xiu Yu. The representatives for reconciling are my sister Mu Zi, Teacher Ha Yan Zha and the Emperor¡¯s son-in-law, Ke lun duo.¡± I asked in astonishment, ¡°Emperor¡¯s son-in-law? What Emperor¡¯s son-in-law?¡± The Second prince replied in a daze, ¡°Emperor¡¯s son-in-law is definitely the husband of my sister.¡± I asked anxiously, ¡°How many sisters do you have?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 3 - A Powerful Love Rival Volume 9: Chapter 3 - A Powerful Love Rival The Second prince said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I only have one sister? Even though I¡¯m a prince, the right to succeed the throne is my sister¡¯s. My Royal Father doesn¡¯t look at my elder brother or me. He often said that if we were only ten percent as good as my sister, oh how great that would be.¡± My mind went completely blank. Mu Zi had married. I said stunned, ¡°Mu Zi is married?¡± An astonished gazed flashed in the Second prince eyes. ¡°They still haven¡¯t officially married. However, their marriage was arranged when they were young. They¡¯ll probably marry after this war has ended.¡± After hearing what he had said, my heart felt much better as I gradually calmed down. I asked, ¡°What does Ke Lun Duo do? Why does he have the power to control the court?¡± The Second prince replied, ¡°That Ke Lun Duo is really impressive. He¡¯s the top ranked warrior in the demon race and he specializes in magic and martial techniques. His abilities are praised without cease by my Royal Father. Moreover, he¡¯s the sole heir of the great General Ke Li Da.¡± Without me prompting him, the Second prince continued to say, ¡°Great General Ke Li Da is the most well known high-ranking military officer in my kingdom. The vice commander-in-chief of the punitive expedition to the east is him.¡± I lowered my head and thought, ¡®Why didn¡¯t Mu Zi tell me that she has a fiance? Her motivation for wanting to mend the relationship with the human race should be because of me. In this way, this should mean that she still loves me.¡¯ Thinking about that, my spirits rose. The Second prince pleaded pitifully, ¡°I have told you what you wanted to know. Please let me go. I definitely won¡¯t tell anyone that I have met you. I swear.¡± I coldly snorted, ¡°You swear? A promise from a person like you isn¡¯t any different when compared to a fart.¡± After hearing what I said, the Second prince¡¯s expression turned ashen, but he didn¡¯t argue. For Mu Zi¡¯s sake, I definitely wouldn¡¯t kill him. Furthermore, he still had a lot of value to take advantage of. We were unfamiliar with the pathway to the demon race. With him to guide us, it would be perfect. Thinking about that, I took out an ordinary set of commoner¡¯s clothes from the spatial pocket and forced the Second prince to put it on. I asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The Second prince replied, ¡°I¡¯m known as Su He Mo.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call you Su He from now on. Listen to me, we¡¯re here in the demon race to settle some matters. You don¡¯t have to worry, we won¡¯t do anything bad to your Royal Father. I hope that you can guide us there. If you successfully accomplish this task, I¡¯ll definitely let you go. However, don¡¯t you even think about escaping. I¡¯ll break one of your limbs for every escape attempt you make. Do you understand?¡± Su He replied dejectedly, ¡°You¡¯re like knives and I¡¯m a fish. How can I say no? But you must definitely let me go after finishing your matters.¡± I snorted before I replied, ¡°Us humans are the most faithful, so you can stop worrying about that.¡± With him as a body shield, even if the demon race surrounded us, I wouldn¡¯t fear them. I smiled and said, ¡°If I haven¡¯t guessed wrongly, you should have the demon race¡¯s Holy Light Empire¡¯s map, right?¡± Su He nodded. ¡°I have it. It¡¯s on my horse¡¯s back.¡± I nodded in praise. For a captive, he really was cooperative. Zhan Hu took out the detailed map of the Holy Light Empire¡¯s from Su He¡¯s horse¡¯s back., ¡°We don¡¯t have to fear being lost now.¡± He said in excitement and shot me a gaze saying, ¡°Since we have the map already, let¡¯s just kill this brat.¡± I pretended to contemplate it. Su He immediately yelled, ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t kill me. I¡¯m begging you, great heros, please spare my lowly life. I¡¯ll do anything you tell me to do.¡± I frowned as I looked at him and told Zhan Hu, ¡°Let¡¯s forget it. We¡¯ll let him live as our tour guide.¡± Zhan Hu warned Su He with seething hatred in his eyes, ¡°Brat, on behalf of my brother, I¡¯ll temporarily let you live. If you dare to play any tricks on the way, hehe! Take a look.¡± He waved his right hand and ¡®Hong!¡¯, smashed a gaping hole into the ground. Su He replied with fear and trepidation, ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t dare. Thank you two uncles for not killing me.¡± After this threat, Su He as expected was really obedient and would be for the future, leading us through the route. With everyone¡¯s help, we had tossed all of the corpses of our enemies into the hole that Zhan Hu had blasted, erasing all traces of the battle in our surroundings. Dong Ri asked me, ¡°Zhang Gong, what are we going to do with the horses?¡± I thought and replied, ¡°You can pick out the best of the crop so we can advance faster and release the remaining horses. If we want to bring this useless guy along, it¡¯ll be impossible to traverse by flying. By our standards, taking someone along would greatly decrease the time needed to reach our destination to save time.¡± I lightly patted Su He¡¯s shoulders, restricting the magic power and battle spirit in his body. I chuckled and said, ¡°I have already placed a restriction on your body. You will need me to undo it every three days. If not, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve seen a human body Ah! Right, for you, it should be the scene of an exploding demon race¡¯s body.¡± Su He pleaded, ¡°I¡¯ve done everything you¡¯ve asked. I don¡¯t think I need any restrictions.¡± I sneered and said, ¡°Is that something you can decide? Quickly bring us to the demon race¡¯s city.¡± The special horses of the demon race were really comfortable. Even while galloping, it was still very stable. I said, ¡°Su He, I heard that the current Demon Emperor, who is also your father, is the number one expert of the demon race. Why is there another top warrior, Ke Lun Duo?¡± Su He replied, ¡°Father is still the number one expert of the demon race. The meaning of warrior and experts are different. Don¡¯t you know that previously, we and the beast race often fought? It truly stopped only after we allied together and prepared to invade the Eastern continent. The top warrior is Ke Lun Duo because he made a lot of contributions in these wars. He has been in the army since he was 16 years old all the way until now, when he¡¯s 27 years old. Furthermore, he hasn¡¯t lost in any of the hundreds of wars he has fought in. He also didn¡¯t rely on his family¡¯s support. He started out as the lowest ordinary soldier, though after accumulating contribution points in these wars, he slowly climbed step by step to the current position of Radiant Light¡¯s Protector commander. In a competition in the palace last year, he was unexpectedly able to receive a hundred moves from my Royal Father and didn¡¯t lose. He has received a lot of appreciation from my Royal Father, so he was raised to his current position and simultaneously, Royal Father betrothed Third sister to him.¡± Hearing what Su He explained, Ke Lun Duo was incredibly outstanding and now had suddenly become my love rival. It made me feel uncomfortable. I asked coldly, ¡°How is the relationship between your sister and Ke Lun Duo like?¡± Su He replied, ¡°You seem to care a lot about my sister.¡± I said angrily, ¡°Stop talking nonsense and answer whatever I ask, truthfully! Do you want to suffer?¡± Su He kept waving his hand. ¡°No! No! I¡¯ll just tell you about that. Actually, even if I don¡¯t tell you, you should be able to figure it out. Ke Lun Duo has always been fighting in wars and is rarely in the capital city. He only met with my sister a few times. After, when he returned, my sister went out on a mission. As for now, I¡¯m unsure. However, sister has already returned to the capital city. Ke Lun Duo¡¯s appearance is rather good looking and he is powerful. If he pursues my sister with conviction and increases his status, he should be able to capture my sister¡¯s heart.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 4 - First Encounter with Beast Men Volume 9: Chapter 4 - First Encounter with Beast Men I said, ¡°What do you mean good looking? Is he even more handsome than I am?¡± Su He replied with a smile, ¡°He¡¯s incomparable to you. You¡¯re so handsome and outstandingly elegant, with the manners of a jade tree and a powerful yet exceptionally witty¡­¡­¡­.¡± I interrupted him and said, ¡°Stop flattering me. That¡¯s right! What is this Holy Light¡¯s Protector that Ke Lun Duo is?¡± Su He was caught in a snag and awkwardly smiled. ¡°The Radiant Light¡¯s Protector is the strongest of the demon race¡¯s army forces and is in charge of protecting my Royal father. It is similar to your humans¡¯ royal Protectors.¡± I took out the Radiant Light Empire¡¯s map and had a look. ¡°We should pass through your Stranded Beast County, Night Blue County, and the Martial Virtue County before we reach the Capital City, right?¡± Su He replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Those three counties are also enormous. With our current speed, we¡¯ll need approximately 20 days to reach our destination.¡± 20 days really was too long to me but it was impossible for us to fly to the demon race¡¯s main base. Dong Ri said, ¡°Give us an introduction of your demon race¡¯s local conditions and customs.¡± Su He¡¯s vigour increased at the thought . ¡°You¡¯ve found the right person. The beauty of the demon race is really famous. The demon race¡¯s body figure alone, just thinking about that¡­..¡± Drool flowed out from his mouth. It wasn¡¯t strange that this brat was so disappointing. He had always been loitering about. How could he be any good? Dong Ri angrily said, ¡°You¡¯re shameless. Who¡¯s asking you about that?¡± Su He laughed embarrassedly, ¡°I couldn¡¯t control my feelings. Sorry about that. Regarding our demon race, you should know about our hierarchy. Our Radiant Light Empire has two main species. One of them is the demon beast, which is of the lowest standard and are usually controlled by the demon race. The other species is the demon race like me, and are technically the same as you humans. The demon race has two subtypes. One of them has purple-brown eyes and is of a slightly lower rank, while those that have your kind of eyes are the highest ranked demon race. Only those that have bright purple eyes can become court officials.¡± There was so much background information. I asked, ¡°How are the demon beasts ranked?¡± Su He replied, ¡°The demon beasts are divided into five ranks. They are S, A, B, C and D ranks. The D ranked demon beast is the weakest among the demon beasts and the C ranked demon beast is the second weakest, so on. Most of the demon beasts are C and D rank. They make up at least ninety percent of the Demon beast army forces. The B ranked demon beasts are much fewer, while less than 300 A ranked demon beasts that are the trump card within the Demon beast army force. They¡¯re generally gigantic in and are definitely no weaker than the beasts in the Beamon Army corps. There are only 100 of them that normally participate in battle. The rest of them are used as mounts for various generals and nobles that have made great contributions in the wars. Overall, those of the demon beast race are actually just slaves for us of the higher class demon race.¡± I coldly snorted. ¡°You just know how to enslave others. All living beings in the world are equals.¡± After Su He heard what I said, his eyes filled with vigour, but it only lasted an instant before he calmed down. He sighed and said, ¡°What you said is logical but if we didn¡¯t control the demon beasts, I¡¯m afraid that before we could even invade the human race, we would be annihilated by the demon beasts. They do not have a conscience and live purely by instinct. What are their instincts? They are, ¡®the weak are prey for the strong¡¯. Moreover, the demon beast¡¯s offensive attacks are extremely powerful. Even if it¡¯s a D ranked demon beast, it isn¡¯t something an ordinary member of the demon race can handle. Now tell us, if we don¡¯t enslave them, what are we supposed to do? Isn''t your human race also similar to us as you kill chickens, butcher geese, ride on horses, and rear sheep?¡± After he said that, Su He grew a little excited. His righteous look stunned me. It seemed that this fellow wasn¡¯t completely useless. I thought about it and realized that what he said made sense. I couldn¡¯t help but develop good feelings for him. At this moment, Su He already knew that he had said the wrong words. He immediately said with a smile, ¡°It wasn¡¯t my intention. I was just rambling. Please don¡¯t be offended.¡± I smiled in response, ¡°What you just said was right. From your previous attitude, you don¡¯t seem to be that useless.¡± Su He said consecutively, ¡°It¡¯s just a bunch of nonsense! A bunch of nonsense.¡± I shouted, ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s increase our advancing speed!¡± As I said that, I inserted some of my battle spirit into Su He and the horse¡¯s bum. The team''s speed increased with Su He crying out in fright. After two days, we arrived at the first town we encountered in the demon race. According to Su He, this was the borderline of the Stranded Beast County. The Stranded Beast County had received its name for successfully obstructing the beast race. After entering the town, I realized that the place wasn¡¯t that different from the human race¡¯s towns. It was just that the construction of the houses were of a slightly lower standard. I asked in astonishment, ¡°Why is this place so similar to a human¡¯s town?¡± Su He bitterly smiled, ¡°To be honest, the human kingdom¡¯s evolution has always been quicker than ours. We¡¯ve already been copying your lifestyle for a few thousand years. The effect of this was good as we developed at a much faster rate.¡± I replied, ¡°why don¡¯t I see any demon beasts? Isn¡¯t the number of demon beasts more than the demon race?¡± Su He replied, ¡°The majority of the strong demon beasts that have battling powers have already gone to the front lines while the other ordinary demon beasts have been domesticated. Without their owner¡¯s permission, they can¡¯t simply come out.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°Who says there aren¡¯t any demon beasts. Take a look. Isn¡¯t that one?¡± Everyone¡¯s gazes moved towards where Dong Ri was looking at. It was a werebear creature at least three meters tall, heading in our direction. Su He said in surprise, ¡°That¡¯s not a demon beast, but a beast of the beast race. Why would there be a beast here?¡± I asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t the demon race and beast race allied, so why is it strange for a beast to be here?¡± Su He replied, ¡°You don¡¯t know this but since we fought had constantly warred against the Valiant Mist Empire, the hatred between us is beyond the hatred for the human race. So in the demon race¡¯s territory, there should rarely be any sightings of beasts. Moreover, that beast seems to be of a higher standard and should be quite intelligent.¡± While he explained about the beast, Su He¡¯s eyes were filled with hatred. We didn¡¯t know if that werebear knew we were talking about him or if he suddenly became interested in us as he turned to look viciously in our directions with his enormous pair of fierce eyes. Su He whispered, ¡°This isn¡¯t good. This werebear must be trying to find trouble with us.¡± Just as he said that, the werebear walked towards us in large strides. When he neared us, he roared, ¡°Why are you few sons of a bitches of the demon race¡¯s staring at me?!¡± His words had attracted the angry gazes from the demon race in our surroundings. Volume 9: Chapter 5 - Zhan Hu displays his might Volume 9: Chapter 5 - Zhan Hu displays his might Zhan Hu moved in a flash to stand before him, and said angrily, ¡°Who are you calling son of a bitch? Seeing as you''re a person yet not, and a bear yet you aren¡¯t, you should be a son of a bitch instead, bastard.¡± I whispered, ¡°Big Brother, don¡¯t cause trouble.¡± The werebear eyes reddened as he roared in fury. He directly raised his large palm towards Zhan Hu. It seemed that it would be impossible to avoid it. I said, ¡°Big brother, spare his life and only teach him a lesson.¡± I also didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble. We were in someone else''s territory after all. Moreover, we had a special mission. Zhan Hu coldly snorted, and moved like lightning, appearing behind the werebear. He grabbed onto the back of his neck and yelled, ¡°You get out of here.¡± The stupid, massive werebear was tossed away with that single move and flew about 7-8 meters before heavily landing on the ground. The surrounding demon race momentarily cheered. It seemed that their hatred towards the beast race really wasn¡¯t shallow. The werebear body was really tough and strong, he roared in rage before getting up and shaking his head. He was obviously a little dizzy as he said, ¡°You actually dared to attack me. Are you tired of living?¡± He heavily hit the ground with his large bear palm and yelled, ¡°Earth Splitting Mountain!¡± An enormous crevice appeared before him and was rapidly extending towards Zhan Hu. I said astonishedly, ¡°Earth magic!¡± This werebear knew how to use magic. Even though beasts were natural warriors, they had low intelligence so they shouldn¡¯t be able to master advanced techniques, not to mention magic. Su He whispered, ¡°Earth Bear Wallace.¡± Zhan Hu was shocked when saw that his opponent had such a move. He lightly lept into the air and moved behind the bear in a flash, and grabbed onto his opponent with the same method as before, and tossed the bear away again. This time though, it was much harder than before. The werebear struggled a little, but it was so stunned that it didn¡¯t get back up. Zhan Hu tried to run away, however the crevice didn¡¯t stop, and kept heading in our direction. I brandished Sukrad¡¯s staff horizontally towards the ground, forming a deep gash. Since we were at a demon race¡¯s town, I definitely couldn¡¯t use light magic powers so this time I used a small dimensional slash. The power of the small dimensional slash had completely absorbed the heaven falls, and earth rends power that was cast by the werebear. The creviced had stopped at the line I had drawn. I realized that this earth magic wasn¡¯t just pure magic. It included some battle spirit which made it similar to the previous magic, and battle spirit fusion slash I used. Su He, who was at my side, looked amazed and said, ¡°Wah! You¡¯re so powerful!¡± I glared at him and said, ¡°Shut up!¡± Zhan Hu stood in front of the werebear and said, ¡°Do you still want to fight?¡± The werebear raised his huge head and roared at him, unwilling to give up. After he saw Zhan Hu¡¯s merciless eyes, his fighting spirit weakened. He replied, ¡°I concede defeat.¡± I said, ¡°Big Brother, we¡¯ve got to hurry on already.¡± Zhan Hu looked towards the werebear, ¡°You should be more tactful in the future. If you randomly pick on the weak and I see it, I¡¯ll wring your smelly head.¡± After listening to Zhan Hu, the werebear shuddered. Zhan Hu moved back onto his horse. I told him, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry on as if other beasts are here. He definitely won¡¯t be the only one. It¡¯s better if we cause less of a commotion.¡± I had originally planned to stay in this town for a night, but after this commotion, we had to hurry on through the night. Zhan Hu nodded and asked Su He, ¡°Do the beasts always bully people like this?¡± Su He explained, ¡°That¡¯s not entirely the case. It¡¯s just that the beasts revere power. The stronger the beast, the more arrogant it is,so it developed a bad temper. Because you defeated him , he definitely won¡¯t dare to challenge you in the future.¡± Zhan Hu chuckled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± With a kick to his horse¡¯s abdomen, using his two legs he bent his body forward which resulted in his yellow horse charging out like an arrow. Zhan Hu¡¯s heroism really reached the clouds. It influenced everyone to urge their horses forward to catch up with him. Su He yelled out, ¡°Slow down! I¡¯m getting left behind.¡± After charging out of the town, everyone gradually slowed their horses. Su He exhaled a long breath and leaned on the horse¡¯s back while heavily panting. Jian Shan said, ¡°You¡¯re really this useless and still a prince?¡± Su He bitterly smiled and said, ¡°How can I compare with you heroes?¡± I pointed at the few lush big trees in front of us. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s take a break under these trees and have some food.¡± After securing the horses, everyone sat together. I took out some rations from my spatial pocket to pass them around to everyone. After all, for this long outing, I had passed all of the magic crystals to Xiu Si and only kept the necessities. The remaining spaces were filled with various foods. Su He should be really happy as ever since I captured him, he had eaten a lot of food at every meal. Moreover, he ceaselessly praised about the human race¡¯s food. He was always the most happy during our daily meal times. Dong Ri looked and smiled at him, ¡°You brat, you have an even larger appetite compared to Big Brother Zhang Gong. You can eat enough for three people all by yourself.¡± Su He said indistinctly with his mouth filled with food, ¡°I couldn¡¯t eat this much before, but your human food is just too delicious that I can¡¯t control myself.¡± Seeing his eating looks, my heart developed a trace of familiarity. I said, ¡°Just let him eat. He¡¯s a prince after all, so we have to at least let him be full. That¡¯s right, Su He, I previously heard you say ¡®Earth Bear Wallace¡¯. What¡¯s that about?¡± Su He¡¯s eyes expressed respect. It seemed to come from his heart. He swallowed his food and replied, ¡°You have really sensitive hearing. I just muttered it a little and you caught on to it. It¡¯s like this. The beast race, excluding the Beamon King leading the Beamon Army Corps, have a few powerful squads including the heavy armoured infantry werebears. Earth Bear Wallace is the leader of a 50,000-strong heavy armour infantry troop. Even though he is a werebear, he is actually extremely intelligent. He has a superior body and knows earth magic. The werebear we previously saw should be one of the direct descendants of Wallace¡¯s subordinates as he only passes down the earth magic techniques to the people he was closest with.¡± I replied in satisfaction, ¡°I was right not to kill you. You¡¯re filled with information.¡± Su He said smilingly, ¡°Even though I didn¡¯t fight much in the wars, I always hear a couple of stories. We have a lot of knowledge regarding the beasts.¡± Zhan Hu asked, ¡°Previously, when you were describing the demon beasts, there seemed to be S ranked demon beasts, but you didn¡¯t seem to have commented on it?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 6 - Earth Bear Volume 9: Chapter 6 - Earth Bear Su He said sheepishly, ¡°It seems that I can¡¯t keep any secrets from you. There¡¯s only one S ranked demon beast that is tamed. It is the Dark Demon Dragon that serves as the mount of the Demon Emperor.¡± ¡°Dark Demon Dragon?¡± Su He replied seriously, ¡°Yes, my Royal Father¡¯s Dark Demon Dragon is almost impeccable in the demon race. It is also one of the main reasons why the Mo Clan can secure its position as Emperor.¡± Dong Ri asked curiously, ¡°Is the Dark Demon Dragon that powerful?¡± Su He respectfully nodded his head. ¡°The Dark Demon Dragon is the highest Ranked Demon beast. It¡¯s about hundred metres long, and definitely possesses the power to destroy the heaven and Earth. It is also absolutely loyal to my Royal Father, and has a special ability to sense danger. If anyone wants to threaten the Demon Emperor, they must pass through him. The beastmen had tried to assassinate my Royal Father a hundred times in the last 20 years, but no one has been able to successfully pass by it.¡± I asked, ¡°If the Dark Demon Dragon is compared with other real dragons, will its power be slightly stronger?¡± Su He scratched his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m unsure about that as I haven¡¯t seen a dragon before. However, I estimate that even if a real dragon wants to deal with it, it¡¯s quite impossible. I have seen it use his powers once. The entire Capital City was enclosed in total darkness that time; the scene was really terrifying.¡± I asked in astonishment, ¡°Ke Lun Duo was able to receive 100 moves from the Demon Emperor?¡± Su He said, ¡°What you''re thinking is incorrect. When I said 100 moves, it was under the condition that the Demon Dragon didn¡¯t participate, even His Majesty, the Demon Emperor, shouldn¡¯t be able to personally win against his mount.¡± Since I was too engrossed in this description of the demon dragon, I didn¡¯t notice that he just said Demon Emperor, rather than Royal Father. The ground suddenly gave out ¡®Long! Long!¡¯ sounded at that moment. Dong Ri said, ¡°Quickly, look back!¡± I focused, and looked behind me. The dust on the pathway we just passed, had all the dust surging from it. Even though the speed wasn¡¯t fast, its power was really shocking. As it continued to near, it unexpectedly revealed a large group of heavy armoured werebears. One of the bears raised the heavy spears in his hand and the rest immediately formed into two groups, rapidly enclosing us from both sides. It was already too late for us to try and escape. ¡°It looks like this group of black bears are here to seek revenge.¡± Zhan Hu said in fumes as he tried to charge over. I held him back and said, ¡°Big Brother, don¡¯t be in such a rush. Let¡¯s wait and see what enfolds, so we¡¯d know what they plan on doing.¡± Even though these werebears had strong offensive and defensive powers, with our strength, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to break through the enclosement. Su He whispered to me, ¡°Those are the Earth Bear Wallace¡¯s 500 personal guards. You must protect me.¡± After that, he scurried off and hid at the back of the team. Earth Bear Wallace was about four metres tall. His body was robust and was solitarily walking over. He asked, ¡°Who was the hero that had just wounded my subordinate?¡± Zhan Hu moved in a flash in front of him and said, ¡°It¡¯s me so what? Are you here for revenge? Come at me then!¡± Wallace replied, ¡°I¡¯m not here for revenge. It¡¯s just that I had heard about the fight from my subordinate brothers. It made me really impressed, so I want to have a spar with you.¡± Zhan Hu was stunned and thought, ¡®Why is this black bear so polite?¡¯ It was actually his power that had won the opponent¡¯s respect. Zhan Hu replied icily, ¡°Aren¡¯t we still going to fight? You think that if you bring such a large troop, we¡¯ll be scared of you? Come on, let me be enlightened about the power of you Earth bears.¡± Wallace replied in shock, ¡°So you have heard of my name. I brought my brothers so that after we spar, we can directly head back to the Mist Martial empire. There¡¯s no other motives. The purpose of coming to the Radiant Light was to be an envoy.¡± I walked over and said, ¡°It was your subordinate that first provoked us. General, please don¡¯t bother us.¡± Wallace replied, ¡°It can¡¯t be said that I¡¯m bothering you. I just want to have a spar with that brother. We¡¯re all martial people so it¡¯s too hard to find an opponent.¡± Dong Ri said smilingly, ¡°How¡¯s there no opponent. You can find your Beamon King for a spar.¡± Wallace¡¯s expression changed and he replied embarrassedly, ¡°That fellow is too frightening and I still want to live for a few more years. He is currently itching for me to ask for a spar with him.¡± His frank attitude had resulted in us gaining good impressions towards him. Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s do it!¡± I transmitted to Zhan Hu, ¡°Big Brother, that fellow specializes in Earth magic. Be careful of the ground.¡± Zhan Hu slightly nodded and unsheathed the long sword on his back. The surrounding subordinates of Wallace raised their spears and roared thrice. I didn¡¯t know what they meant. Wallace said, ¡°The spear weighs 99 kilograms and is called Cold Grace.¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to actually name his heavy spear. Wallace swung the spear in his hand, and a powerful aura spread throughout his surroundings. Zhan Hu¡¯s expression became serious as he obviously met his match today. Wallace roared loudly and brandished his heavy spear. He kicked off on both legs and rapidly moved in a flash to appear at the right side of Zhan Hu before he shouted, ¡°Watch the spear!¡± His astonishing speed shocked all of us. Zhan Hu panickedly dodged that spear and leaped into the air, producing sword images that filled the entire sky. ¡®Si! Si!¡¯ His battle spirit burst forth like thousands of gold lines striking towards Wallace. Wallace swiped his heavy spear onto the ground and exclaimed, ¡°Good move! Earth Shield!¡± An earth wall was erected from the ground, following his heavy spear. ¡®Pu!Pu!¡¯ sounds continuously echoed. When Wallace¡¯s wall shattered, Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s attack also ended. I felt that it was really strange as to why Zhan Hu didn¡¯t use his speciality, to move behind his opponent to deal with him. After that, Zhan Hu explained that if he wanted his opponent to concede, the best way was to defeat his opponent¡¯s strong points. Wallace said. ¡°Good skills, I almost couldn¡¯t withstand that move.¡± Zhan Hu shouted, ¡° Stop bullshiting and receive my attack. Amber Crystal Slash!¡± Zhan Hu¡¯s blade pointed downwards and he slowly lifted his sword up. The surrounding airflow continuously gathered around him and caused his sword to turn sparkling and translucent. The sword blade increasingly became larger with the unceasing insertion of battle spirit within it. Wallace¡¯s gaze turned abnormally serious and chanted, ¡°Great Earth God, please lend your powers to your loyal believer to use the mightiest power to eliminate the enemy before me---Tyrant Bear Realm!¡± I knew that this wasn¡¯t magic but something that combined magic with martial techniques. He raised the heavy spear and the fur of his body was raised. A Earthy yellow light ray shone at the tip of the spear, gradually forming a large ball of light. By the time Zhan Hu raised the sword above his head, Wallace had finished gathering his fusion of magic and battle spirit attack. Volume 9: Chapter 7 - The Demon Races "Gourmet Food" Volume 9: Chapter 7 - The Demon Race''s "Gourmet Food" The two of them glared at each other as they cast out the power gathered. A yellow light, and an enormous transparent light blade with a dazzling golden light radiance collided in mid air. All of the powers seemed to have converged at one point, making it seem as though time had stopped for a split second. The immense power exploded with that point as its center. Zhan Hu and Wallace were blown away from the impact of the incomparably formidable power. I yelled, ¡°Be careful!¡±, as I cast a defensive light barrier in front of everyone to protect them. After a moment of intense shaking, the ground calmed down. The explosion of the immense powers caused an enormous crater to form. Zhan Hu and Wallace were individually crouching at the edges of the crater, panting heavily. The werebear soldiers in the surrounding area were rocking unsteadily from side to side, with the collision causing dirt to cover them due to the strong destructive power.. There was a fanatical look in Su He¡¯s eyes who was standing behind us. He was obviously deeply captivated by this competition of strength. Wallace broke out in laughter before he said, ¡°That was really delightful. I have never been this satisfied before.¡± Zhan Hu replied smilingly, ¡°Are we still continuing the fight?¡± Wallace shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough. I never expected that your demon race really had experts reaching through the clouds. It can¡¯t be that I wouldn¡¯t figure out you were holding back your strength right? If there¡¯s a chance in the future, you should have a spar with my Beamon Boss. He will definitely be extremely excited.¡± Wallace¡¯s sanguine response had made Zhan Hu¡¯s good feelings towards him increase. He forthrightly replied, ¡°Alright! If I¡¯ve the chance, I¡¯ll definitely want to be enlightened by the power of the Beamon King.¡± Wallace cupped one fist in the palm of his other hand and said, ¡°Brother, I''m sure we''ll meet again some day. My comrades, let¡¯s go.¡± After saying that, he turned around and walked away with large strides, quick like a shooting star. I walked over to Zhan Hu and said, ¡°He¡¯s quite an interesting fellow.¡± Zhan Hu replied in smiles, ¡°That¡¯s right. His straightforwardness is really adorable. With him as my opponent, it makes me feel a lot less lonesome.¡± Dong Ri, Jian Shan, and the other villages that came from the God¡¯s village expressed respectful looks. Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Stop looking at me like that. You¡¯re giving me goosebumps. There aren¡¯t any of you weaker than that bear.¡± Su He said, ¡°Wah! Boss, I really worship you. My reverence to you is like an unending torrential river.¡± Zhan Hu scolded mockingly, ¡°If you could add your flattering skills into your cultivation, you would have been an expert by now.¡± Su He replied, ¡°I¡­.I..I.¡± I said, ¡°Stop saying I,and prepare to continue moving on.¡± Su He was startled, and asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Big Brother Zhan Hu need to take a break? Why are we moving out so quickly?¡± I replied smilingly, ¡°You belittle Big brother Zhan Hu too much. He should at most have warmed up.¡± Zhan Hu smiled, and said, ¡°Zhang Gong can always understand me. Brothers, let''s go! It¡¯s time to embark on our journey again.¡± After two days, we tasted the demon race¡¯s delicacies for the very first time, and understood why Mu Zi, and currently Su He loved to eat the human race¡¯s food so much. The food of the demon race is generally just meat. The restaurant we were eating at was the local¡¯s highest grade restaurant. The food they made had a fishy urine smell and when we ate it, it was so dry and bony, making everyone spit it out. Finally, we resorted to the food we brought to fill our stomachs. Su He said mockingly, ¡°Brother, now you should know the pain of our demon race.¡± I didn¡¯t have to time to care about his sarcasm; I was calculating how long the food I brought would last. ¡°Could it be that the demon race has no vegetables or fruits?¡± Su He¡¯s expression dampened. ¡°Most of the demon race¡¯s lands are extremely infertile. We could only grow some pastures so usually we just rear demon beasts for food. As for these vegetables and fruits you mentioned, I¡¯ve never heard of it. The Demon Emperor¡¯s place may have it.¡± We looked at each other after we heard what he said, the demon race¡¯s life was so tough. I sighed, ¡°So your life here is so harsh. If the entire world could remain in harmony, we could use your demon beast to exchange for food.¡± Su He¡¯s eyes lit up and said, ¡°Do you mean what you said? If that was the case, it would be great.¡± After he said that, he shook his head and sighed before saying, ¡°I know that won¡¯t be possible. Firstly, you can¡¯t make the decision for the human race, and I can¡¯t make the decision for the demon race. There is also a thousand years of hatred between the demon and human race. It won¡¯t be that easy to mend their relationship.¡± I looked fixedly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a useless prince, but rather a person that can govern with deep plans and distant thoughts. Su He seemed to realize that he said the wrong things and hastily corrected himself, ¡°It was just a moment of being rueful. You should think about it. Who doesn¡¯t wish to have a peaceful, and stable scenario? It¡¯s for the best that the world is in harmony, especially for people like me. We can play with the human race, and have good food, right? Hehe!¡± He had exposed his true colours. The good impression of him I previously had for him immediately dissipated. I grabbed onto Sukrad¡¯s staff and snappily said, ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll just be wasting my spittle to talk to such a person as yourself. Let¡¯s go! It¡¯s time to make our move.¡± Su He chuckled, but he just wordlessly stood up and left the restaurant. As I walked, I told everyone, ¡°From now on, we¡¯ve to cut down on our food. If not, we¡¯ll have to eat that demon race¡¯s food.¡± Zhan Hu chuckled and replied, ¡°No need for that. The food they made was awful only, because their cooking techniques are too terrible.¡± I replied in amazement, ¡°Big Brother, it can¡¯t be that you know how to cook, right?¡± Zhan Hu puffed out his chest, and said, ¡°What? You don¡¯t believe me? Have you forgotten what I used to do? As bandits, which one of us lack survival skills? You just have to wait and see what I can do for the next meal. However, the task to capture the demon beast¡­..¡± Jian Shan shouted, without waiting for me to reply, ¡°I..I..I! If you really know how to cook, I¡¯ll definitely catch it for you.¡± I turned my head to Su He and asked, ¡°Are there any wild demon beasts?¡± Su He nodded. ¡°There are definitely some in the large mountain forests, but they are rather fierce. Naturally, they¡¯re nothing when compared to you guys though.¡± I looked at the map, and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll set this mountain forest area as our destination. This is to secure our food source. Big brother, I¡¯ll have to rely on you.¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Stop worrying! Brother, you should be careful not to bite your tongue at that time instead.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 8 - Six Tailed Demon Fox Volume 9: Chapter 8 - Six Tailed Demon Fox Since we planned to head into the mountain forest, before we entered the mountain, we already dealt with our horses beforehand. I didn¡¯t know that they would unexpectedly cost so much. The boss also said that our horses were rare. He said that he would want all of the horse we had. If I knew about this earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have released those few horses earlier. As we walked up the winding mountain tracks, I told Su He, ¡°According to the map, if we cross this mountain, we should be able to shorten quite a bit of the journey towards the capital city.¡± Su He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, it shortens the journey by about three days. However, people rarely use this route as the mountain tracks are difficult to trek on, and they may encounter powerful demon beasts.¡± I nodded, ¡°Anyways, if you lead us down the wrong path, I¡¯ll feed you to the demon beast. Hehe! It¡¯s all up to you.¡± Su He replied with bitter smiles, ¡°Boss, I know already and stop scaring me. I¡¯m going to have a heart attack at this rate.¡± I coldly snorted and said, ¡°Stop acting. Hmm¡­..¡±As I was saying that, I suddenly saw Su He¡¯s eyes was glittering with radiance while he drooled uncontrollably. I looked at where he was looking at and saw a beautiful girl from the demon race heading towards us. I slapped Su He, making him come back to reality. ¡®Ai ya!¡¯ He looked at me fumingly and said, ¡°What are you doing?¡± I raised my head and replied, ¡°What are you looking at? When you¡¯re with us, control yourself. If you cause trouble, you will have something fun to look forward to.¡± Su He showed a defiant expression, believing himself to be wronged. ¡°All gentlemen seek graceful, wise and virtuous women. That lady¡¯s figure was really good. All the proportion of her body are perfect. Wow, that¡¯s awesome. If she were to be in¡­.. Ai yo! Why did you hit me again?¡± I said, ¡°That blow was only a light one. You¡¯re to lower your head for me and you will be forbidden from looking at that young lady again.¡± Under my pressure, Su He lowered his head, at the same time that girl from the demon race was already near us. That demoness was more graceful than any of the human race¡¯s girls. We all followed Su He¡¯s footsteps as when we looked, we were dazzled by her as well. Even though that girl from the demon race wasn¡¯t as pretty as Mu Zi, her charms were able to seduce everyone, especially with her bountiful body figure. She walked elegantly towards us. Her every gesture was extremely enticing as her hips and breasts made us have indescribable, wild and fanciful thoughts. She had already walked past us, but our gazes were unable to move away from her. That girl looked back and giggled, momentarily making arousing our three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. Suddenly, I felt a sudden pain at my thigh. I didn¡¯t know what had pierced me. When my mind cleared, I was immediately startled. With my cultivation, why was I so captivated by her. Not good, I shouted, ¡°Everyone, be wary. She¡¯s a demoness.¡± My voice, coated with magic power, woke everyone up. Zhan Hu wiped the perspiration off his head and muttered, ¡°So powerful.¡± There was an astonished expression in her eyes as she looked at me in shock. ¡°I never thought that there was someone that could get back to their senses after seeing my impeccable and beautiful good looks.¡± I silently circulated the Holy Sword¡¯s power. The heavenly light momentarily gathered at my chest. The charm from that demoness wouldn¡¯t be able to invade me again. I shouted, ¡°You¡¯re good, demoness. Why did you try to charm us?¡± That girl chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, that¡¯s why.¡± Her voice was so gentle and a strong enticing force came towards after that. I coldly snorted before I shot a halo fused with magic and the Holy Sword¡¯s power towards her. The girl was frightened and didn¡¯t continue to use her charm, instead she shot out a black light to try to block my attack. The Holy Sword¡¯s power and light magic possessed attributes that restrained black magic so her counter attack definitely wouldn¡¯t work. The halo successfully dispersed her magic and tightly locked around her. As that girl was trying to withstand the light halo with all her might, she cried out in fright, ¡°The human race¡¯s light magic? You¡¯re not from the demon race?¡± My expression changed before I said, ¡°Since you know our secret, do you think we¡¯ll let you go?¡± I walked towards her with a cold expression. Everyone had already awoken from their stunned state and were exceptionally shocked. Even with their high cultivation, they were almost killed by that girl. The light halo continuously tightened. The girl cried out mournfully before her body gradually started to transform. Under everyone¡¯s amazement, she slowly turned into a fox-like demon beast but with six tails.Su He exclaimed in fright, ¡°An evolutionary demon fox?¡± I asked, ¡°Is she a demon beast?¡± Su He nodded. ¡°She won¡¯t be able to take it any longer. Can you relax your attack a little?¡± The light halo stopped constricting around her and stayed at its original state at my will. Su He said, ¡°Demon beasts that can evolve are really rare. I didn¡¯t expect to find one here.¡± I asked, ¡°Is there a difference between an evolving demonic beast and the evolving magical beasts of human mages?¡± Su He shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s a difference. The evolving demon beast¡¯s most terrifying component is that as it evolves, its intelligence increases, especially demon foxes that are the most crafty. She looks to have evolved to have six tails so she should be a B ranked demon beast. But she has intelligence surpassing that of a B ranked demon beast. If she were to evolve to have nine tails, she¡¯d be an A ranked demon fox. She wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with then.¡± I nodded. ¡°What kind of offensive attacks does this demon fox specialize in?¡± Su He explained, ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any special offensive ability. There are thorns at the tip of her tail that contains strong poison, but it isn¡¯t deadly, and only has a numbing effect. Her most special characteristic is that she can turn into any life forms and imitate various voices. Previously, she should have transformed into one of the beauties of our demon race. If we were seduced by her, once we were pieced by the poisonous thorns, we¡¯d be drained of our blood, resulting in our death.¡± I frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s that vicious?¡± Su He replied, ¡°I¡¯m also curious as to why there¡¯s such a demon beast here. Only other life forms¡¯ blood essence can make them evolve. They should already be extinct according to folklore. It was because they were too malicious that they had given rise to the wrath of Heaven. Moreover, there are extremely few demon foxes that can cultivate to her standard. Currently, we only have single tailed demon foxes in our demon beasts that are used for reconnaissance. I walked over to the demon fox and coldly snorted, ¡°Since you¡¯re that malicious, I definitely couldn¡¯t let you go today. If not, I don¡¯t know how many innocent people will die unjustly by your hands.¡± After I said that, I raised my hand. Volume 9: Chapter 9 - Kindhearted Little Beast Volume 9: Chapter 9 - Kindhearted Little Beast Since my magic went back to its previous state, she was unable to talk. Her beautiful large eyes were teary as she gave a pleading look. I asked, ¡°You have done many malicious things. Why do you feel wronged if I kill you?¡± The demon beast unexpectedly shook her head with all her might. It was as though I really had wronged her. Su He said, ¡°Hmm, she seems to have something she wants to say.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°What else can she say? She is just seeking forgiveness. Zhang Gong, kill her. We¡¯ve to carry on our journey.¡± Seeing her beautiful large eyes, my heart softened. I relaxed the light halo that was restricting her. ¡°If you want to run away, I¡¯ll make sure you die without an intact body. I¡¯ll give you a chance to explain yourself.¡± The Demon fox called out mournfully before a magic undulation appeared in her body, transforming her to the form we initially saw her in. Her exceptionally captivating body figure still made my heart race. I bit the tip of my tongue and said, ¡°If you¡¯re trying to charm us again, I won¡¯t be that polite anymore.¡± The demon fox quickly replied, ¡°No, no! I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± I replied, ¡°Just say what you want to tell us. I don¡¯t have spare time for you to dawdle.¡± The demon fox looked at me pitifully. ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary Demon Fox that unintentionally gained intelligence and learned the cultivation method that you call evolution. However, even though my body needs blood, I have never killed anybody.¡± I coldly snorted, ¡°Your words are hard to believe as you were able to cultivate to this standard yet you haven¡¯t killed anybody.¡± The demon fox replied, ¡°What I said is the truth. Lord, even though I eat the essence of the demon race, every time I had met a demon, I just make them unconscious and take a little bit of blood from each. I¡¯ve never killed anyone in the process of supplying my body with blood.¡± I looked at Su He and asked, ¡°Is what she said possible?¡± Su He nodded. ¡°From the looks of it, she doesn¡¯t seem to be lying as there aren¡¯t any black lines at her upper dantian. She shouldn¡¯t have killed anybody before.¡± I thought before I replied, ¡°Since you haven¡¯t killed anybody, I¡¯ll let you go this time. You should be more careful the next time you hunt for food. You¡¯re free to go.¡± The Demon Fox continuously kowtowed to me while thanking me profusely. I waved my hand and shot a power to lift her up. I said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. You just have to not kill any people in the future. That is the best way to show your gratitude towards me.¡± The Demon Fox whispered to me, ¡°My lord, may I ask you a favour?¡± I didn¡¯t kill her was already not bad already. Now, she wanted me to grant her a favour? I impatiently replied, ¡°Say it!¡± The Demon Fox cautiously replied, ¡°I wish to travel with you.¡± I was so shocked that I almost jumped up before loudly rejecting her. The Demon Fox¡¯s tears flowed down as she cried, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill any of the Demon Race, not to mention any humans. Please accept me.¡± I replied, ¡°This is different from you killing or not killing anybody. I can¡¯t bring you along, you should just stay here and cultivate.¡± It would be a joke to bring her along. With her swaying in front of me, I might do something that would let Mu Zi and Hai Shui down. We were a bunch of hot blooded fellows. Su He suddenly whispered to the demon fox, ¡°How can he let you to follow you in your current form? Change into your other form.¡± The demon fox was suddenly enlightened and immediately transformed into a cute single tailed demon fox before jumping into my embrace and continuously licking my face. I glared at Su He. ¡°What are you thinking? Why did you make her follow me?¡± Su He said smilingly, ¡°You don¡¯t know about this but to her kind of fox species, her inborn talent isn¡¯t good so to be able to train to her current state, it should have been really difficult. If she wants to have another breakthrough, she¡¯ll definitely need the protection of God¡¯s power or have a lot of believers that pray towards her. The latter is definitely impossible but for the former, isn¡¯t it you? Your body must have some kind of God¡¯s power that had resulted in her wanting to follow you so badly.¡± Hearing what Su He said, the demon fox strongly nodded her head, indicating her full approval. I tossed the demon fox to Big Brother Zhan Hu. ¡°Big brother, you also have God¡¯s power so she should be yours. She can even transform into a beauty.¡± The furry thing landed in Zhan Hu¡¯s embrace, making him jump in fright. After hearing what I said, he angrily replied, ¡°Zhang Gong! You brat, you don''t speak your feelings. No, I shall leave the beauty with you.¡± He just tossed the demon fox back to me. Just as I wanted to toss her to Dong Ri, I suddenly saw that she began tearing up again. I sighed and said, ¡°Alright! You can follow me from now on. But don¡¯t you dare play any tricks on me. If you do, I¡¯ll abandon you. Most importantly, without my permission, you¡¯re not allowed to change into your seductive form at your will. Do you understand?¡± I had no choice; who called me to be this kind hearted. I would just give her to Mu Zi as a present in the future. An elated radiance was expressed in the demon fox¡¯s eyes as she constantly nodded her head in happiness. Our task hadn¡¯t been completed and we already had two more members. Thanks to the commotion with the demon fox, everyone felt a little hungry. I asked Su He, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there were demon beasts in the mountain forest? Why haven¡¯t we seen any, other than this demon fox?¡± Su He smiled embarrassedly before he said, ¡°Meeting a demon beast is mostly by chance. It isn¡¯t something that will be there just by wishing for it.¡± The demon fox suddenly jumped up from my shoulder and ran to the front of us before crouching. Her entire body emitted a fishy urine smell. I was stunned before I asked, ¡°What¡¯s she doing? Crapping?¡± At that moment, there was suddenly a ¡®Sha! Sha!¡¯ sound in the thicket. Zhan Hu shouted, ¡°Everyone, be careful. There maybe a demon beast.¡± As expected, there was a huge dog-like demon beast that pounced over at the demon fox. The demon fox nimbly jumped onto the demon beast¡¯s back. She pierced the thorns of her tail into the back of the demon beast, making it wobble in pain before it collapsed onto the ground. That fishy urine smell instantly disappeared afterwards. Dong Ri said in amazement, ¡°So, the reason for the smell was so that she could catch a demon beast for us.¡± The demon fox used her front claws to point at the dog-like demon beast before calling out complacently. Su He walked over and said, ¡°Ah! It¡¯s a D ranked demon wolf. We can eat this.¡± The demon fox jumped back onto my shoulder and used her big tail to sweep at me as she called out intimately. I chuckled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you little thing was so capable. Not bad, I¡¯ll remember your achievement. Big brother, didn¡¯t you say that you know how to cook? We¡¯ll test your skills later.¡± Zhan Hu replied beamingly, ¡°No problem. It seems that there¡¯s the sound of flowing water to the left side in front of us. Let¡¯s head over there.¡± Jian Shan dragged the demon wolf and everyone headed to where Zhan Hu pointed. A small water spring was seen in front of us, just as we expected. Zhan Hu complacently said, ¡°How is it? My experiences are great, right?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 10 - Delicious Barbecue Volume 9: Chapter 10 - Delicious Barbecue I said, ¡°Big brother, stop boasting and start cooking, let everyone have a taste of your cooking skills.¡± Zhan Hu lifted the demon wolf and walked to the riverside. He withdrew his long sword from his back before he rid the Demon wolf of its fur and internal organs in a few smooth moves. He said to Dong Ri, ¡°We¡¯ll need a fire, so go and collect some twigs for kindling.¡± I walked over and asked, ¡°Wah! Big brother, you can¡¯t be planning to directly roast it right? It won¡¯t be any different from the way the demon race cooks it then.¡± Zhan Hu just chuckled mysteriously before he replied, ¡°You just have to wait for the food to be ready for consumption.¡± After we lit up a bonfire, Zhan Hu used a thick tree branch to pierce through the Demon wolf¡¯s meat before taking out a bottle and pouring its contents onto it. He was being extremely cautious; it was as though he was afraid of wasting it. I caught a faint alcoholic smell from the bottle. After finishing his job, he took out several other bottles and jars from his bag. He specifically used some of the powder from four or five of the bottles. After he poured some viscous watery substance from one of the larger containers, he used his hands to mix it up. I asked, ¡°What are these?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°You only know how to eat. These are seasonings. During this long distance journey, I had purposely prepared all these before we headed out. You¡¯re all in for a treat as these seasonings were made with my secret recipe; so it¡¯s impossible to buy it from anywhere.¡± While he was saying that, he used a small brush to coat the Demon wolf¡¯s meat with seasonings. Afterwards, he placed the meat on top of the bonfire to roast it. After a short period of time, strong fragrance assailed our noses, arousing everyone¡¯s appetite. Su He couldn¡¯t hold back from asking, ¡°How did you remove the fishy scent from this meat? The fishy scent of a demon wolf¡¯s meat is usually very pungent.¡± Zhan Hu complacently laughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s my secret recipe, how can I tell you?¡± Su He interest dampened before he resentfully sat beside him, trying to figure out how Zhan Hu had done it. I had some ideas as to why there wasn¡¯t any fishy smell. I figured that it must have had something to do with that wine; it must not have been an ordinary wine, as the alcoholic scent wasn¡¯t very strong. After a short while, the Demon wolf¡¯s meat had completely turned golden yellow. The Demon Fox in my embrace called out. I mockingly scolded her, ¡°Why are you so anxious? How can we not give you a portion as well?¡± Zhan Hu brandished his long sword to cut a piece of the meat. After looking at it, he said, ¡°Alright! Everyone, it¡¯s time to eat it now. Serve yourselves.¡± With regards to the speed of snatching food, who could be faster than me? A light shone from my hand, making a large piece of meat fly over. I had picked the thigh of the demon wolf. The demon fox excited called out. I tore a portion of the meat and placed it into her mouth. ¡°You can eat it wherever you want.¡± The demon fox ran to the side. I couldn¡¯t wait any longer to have a taste of the meat. Wah! I ate it with relish. The outer layer of the meat was charred and filled with grease. When I bit into it, the meat was charred on the outside, but was very tender on the inside. It was extremely delicious. It was definitely comparable to the food at Ascending Tide restaurant. The entire demon had disappeared into the mouths of a pack of wolves. Su He walked over to me with grief and indignation across his face as he said pitifully, ¡°Lord Zhang Gong, they all bullied me. I was only able to get a small piece of meat which was of the rear end of the Demon wolf.¡± I broke into laughter after hearing what he said before I replied, ¡°Why were you so slow? Serves you right.¡± Su He replied pouting, ¡°You¡¯re all experts that only know how to bully the weak.¡± Zhan Hu walked over and said, ¡°You¡¯re the second prince of the Demon race. How are you weak?¡± Su He said angrily, ¡°Hmph! If you don¡¯t let me have my fill, even if it means my death, I will not continue to lead the way.¡± I stared at him in amazement. I never imagined that for food, he would toss his principles aside. I threw him some rations from the spatial pocket and turned to face Zhan Hu before saying, ¡°Big brother, your skill in roasting meat is just too superior. If you don¡¯t become a chef, it¡¯ll be a pity.¡± At that moment, the demon fox had finished her portion. It was obvious that she hadn¡¯t had enough as she ran to Zhan Hu¡¯s side and rubbed up against him. Zhan Hu mockingly berated her, ¡°You stupid fox, what are you up to? You still want to eat? You just have to get something larger next time.¡± The demon fox adorable eyes lit up; she apparently thought that it was a good idea. I looked up to see the time of day before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll continue to move forward before resting.¡± As the sky gradually darkened, I looked at the map and thought, ¡®We still have a rather long way to go to get to Capital City. If we continue at this pace, it¡¯ll be too slow.¡¯ I told Zhan Hu, ¡°Big brother, I think we should increase our speed, bringing that brat along has really slowed us down.¡± Zhan Hu replied smilingly, ¡°What should we do? Kill him?¡± I whispered, ¡°Stop fooling around. In any case, he¡¯s still my wife¡¯s brother, so we have to keep him alive. Moreover, killing him will increase the grudges the demon race have toward us to the point that our relationship won¡¯t be possible to mend. How about this? We¡¯ll rest up well today. Starting from tomorrow, we¡¯ll start to fly at unmanned places. Someone will carry him for a while. What do you think?¡± Zhan Hu nodded. ¡°We can only do it that way then since it¡¯ll be quicker.¡± Su He walked over to me and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, can you give me something to eat? I¡¯m hungry again.¡± I chuckled and replied, ¡°Except for eating, what else can you do?¡± He pouted at the demon fox on my shoulder. ¡®Swish!¡¯ The demon fox moved and leapt out. Su He shouted, ¡°My small treasure, please find something larger this time.¡± He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t have a portion again. The demon fox sniffed in the forest in front of us before looking back at us. A sign of craftyness flashed in her eyes before a fishy urine smell gradually permeated out from her body again. In a short moment, when we were about to hunt our food, we suddenly felt an immense pressure coming from the depth of the forest. I looked at Zhan Hu in astonishment. What was this demon beast that could emit a pressure that could affect us? Su He yelled, ¡°Not good, this is definitely a demon beast that is at least A ranked. We really met a big boss this time.¡± The demon fox rapidly ran back before she leapt on me, with her little body still shaking. I asked her, ¡°What did you lure over?¡± The demon fox chirped out twice at me. When I wanted to ask her to transform, ¡®Ka! Ka!¡¯ sounds of trees being crushed sounded out from the forest. As I shouted, ¡°Everyone, get ready!¡±, I took out the Sukrad¡¯s staff. The forest in front of us was suddenly blown apart. A cyclops appeared with an enormous tree trunk in his hand. He was about 15 meters tall. He looked left and right, as though he was looking for something. When his gaze landed on the Demon Fox on my shoulder, he roared before dashing towards me. The sound of his footsteps on the ground had given off loud ¡®Hong! Hong!¡¯ sounds. Volume 9: Chapter 11 - Cyclops Demon Beast Volume 9: Chapter 11 - Cyclops Demon Beast Damn it, why was I so unlucky? I really wanted to just toss this little fellow over to him. I brandished Sukrad¡¯s staff to shoot a golden light over at him. The cyclops unexpectedly didn¡¯t dodge or hide. He just waved the large branch towards me. ¡®Pu! Chi!¡¯ sounded as the light blade struck on his body. There was only a trace of blood that was left on his chest, but it wouldn¡¯t really result to any damage to his body. I had used an advanced spell but he unexpectedly didn¡¯t treat it as a matter. As I was astonished, his branch had arrived. The strong wind that blew towards me had caused my face to hurt. I didn¡¯t had the time to dodge so I rapidly made my magic power surge outwards. ¡°Hong!¡± The branch that he had sent towards me blew me away like a baseball. I broke through 5 trees before stopping. Even though I used my magic power as a defence, the impact still made my entire body hurt. It seemed that I couldn¡¯t underestimate him. After Zhan Hu saw that I was blown away, he angrily hollered, ¡°War God¡¯s Armour!¡± A blue light shone, encasing his body in the magnificent War God¡¯s Armour. The cyclops was stunned as he expressed fear from his gazes before retreating two steps. Zhan Hu yelled, ¡°You actually dared to hurt my brother. You shall see how I¡¯ll deal with you.¡± When they were confronting each other, I used short teleport to teleport back and scolded, ¡°F*ck, you bastard. You had the gall to dare to hit me. If Xiao Jin was here, I would tear you to pieces.¡± Dong Ri said with smiles, ¡°It seems that there are also times when Zhang Gong is aggrieved.¡± I fumingly shouted, ¡°You¡¯re good! You also dare mock me. I¡¯ll pass him to you. Big brother Zhan Hu, it has been awhile since I have seen Dong Ri¡¯s skills. Let him do it!¡± Zhan Hu chuckled as he put his War God¡¯s Armour away and he said, ¡°Alright! Dong Ri, he¡¯s all yours!¡± Dong Ri puffed out his chest and replied, ¡°No problem!¡± He had moved in a flash to stand in the forefront. Drawing his Wind God''s Bow, the cyclops hollered and charged again due to the lost of threat from the War God''s Armor.. Dong Ri coldly snorted and his face became slightly rosy as he yelled out, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Wind God''s Bow and with it my ethereal arrows will flash rapidly and violently!¡± He raised his hand instantly, making the Wind God''s Bow produce a ¡®Weng!¡¯ sound. ¡®Hong!¡¯ The cyclops¡¯ head suddenly exploded before us, without any light rays in view. His limbs wavered before he collapsed on the ground like a ruined pillar. Dong Ri panted a few breathes before he placed the Wind God''s Bow back into his body. He then said, ¡°Big brother Zhang Gong, what do you think? My abilities are still good, right?¡± I looked at him in astonishment. It seemed that all the God¡¯s weapon were extraordinary; no matter what type of weapon, it had strong powers. I replied, ¡°Dong Ri, you¡¯ve already completely grasped the power of Wind God¡¯s Bow?¡± Dong Ri shook his head. ¡°How can it be that easy, even Big brother Zhan Hu hasn¡¯t completely grasped his power. I can only use 30% of the Wind God¡¯s Ethereal Arrows.¡± Jian Shan walked over and said in surprise, ¡°Dong Ri, so you¡¯re this powerful. If what you did was only 30% of its power, then how powerful would it be if it¡¯s at full power?¡± I replied with smiles, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for it to be able to ravage the mountains and fill the seas. However, our enemy is much more powerful.¡± I glanced at Su He, but I didn¡¯t talked about the Monster King. Jian Shan said in amazement, ¡°You¡¯re so powerful. You¡¯re worthy to be God¡¯s inheritors.¡± Upon hearing what he said, I hastily glared at him. Jian Shan realized that he had said too much so he quickly changed the topic by saying, ¡°That cyclops should be able to supply us with food for a couple of days.¡± Su He seemed to have not heard what Jian Shan had said and walked over. ¡°This is a Cyclops demon beast. The most impressive point of him isn¡¯t his power nor the toughness of his limbs, but rather, it¡¯s his ability to stun people with a light ray from his eye. Dong Ri is so powerful. The beast didn¡¯t even have a chance to use his single eye¡¯s ability before he was killed. Moreover, this was at least an A ranked demon beast, which is also rare among the army troops of the demon race. I¡¯m completely mesmerized by your powers.¡± Dong Ri scolded him mockingly, ¡°Stop flattering us. Big brother Zhan Hu, I¡¯ll take a short break. You must cook some sumptuous roasted meat for everyone to eat. Don¡¯t waste my efforts.¡± Zhan Hu smiled and said, ¡°This fella should be able to supply us for ten days to half a month. I¡¯ll cook two portions of it today. One is for us to eat in a bit and the other for us to bring along with us on our journey.¡± I furrowed my eyebrows and asked, ¡°How shall we cook it? How large of a pot will we need?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Won¡¯t that be easy? We also won¡¯t be eating all of it. We just have to cut off all of its limbs so that we can have it for a couple of days. As for the pot, we can just find a place that has water and dig a large pit. After placing water in it, we¡¯ll be able to start cooking.¡± I asked, ¡°How are we going to cook? We won¡¯t be able to heat it up and it¡¯s unhygienic as well.¡± Zhan Hu chuckled. ¡°Won¡¯t we be able to separate the meat from the walls of the pit with your magic? As for heating it up, don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t know any elementary or intermediate fire spells.¡± Damn it, it seemed that he had locked onto me for quite sometime already. Without a choice, I became the second cook for this meal. We had almost completely used up all of Big brother Zhan Hu¡¯s seasonings to cook the cyclops. After everyone had their fill, I called the demon fox out and told her, ¡°Change into your other form for me.¡± After a black fog flashed, the demon fox had turned into her other charming form. ¡°Master, do you have any orders?¡± I chuckled before I replied to her in cold smile, ¡°When you previously lured that cyclops over, was it a plot against my life?¡± The demon fox shook her hand. ¡°No, no! It was Master Zhan Hu that told me to find something larger. I definitely have to find something extremely large.¡± I grabbed her by the neck and said, ¡°If you¡¯re playing some trick, you should be wary of me.¡± The demon fox replied, feeling wronged. ¡°It really wasn¡¯t my intention. With Master¡¯s power, you shouldn¡¯t have trouble eliminating that single eyed ugly ghost.¡± I released my hold before I said, ¡°If I find out that you were lying to me, I¡¯ll let Big brother roast you as well.¡± There were two drops of tears that flowed out of the demon fox¡¯s eyes. With a sway of her body, she had turned back to a one tailed demon fox. She ran to a side, ignoring me. It seemed that she was enraged. I smiled a little before I also ignored her. ¡­¡­ After a night of recuperating and building up our energies, everyone¡¯s spirit was better. After packing up, everyone carried some of the remaining portions of the Cyclops demon meat. I told the demon fox, ¡°Little thing, we¡¯re going to fly. If you don¡¯t want to be left behind, quickly come over to me.¡± The demon fox stared at me with widen eyes before she unwillingly came over and lept onto my shoulder. I pet her furry little head as I said ¡°You¡¯re still angry. We shall count last night¡¯s reprimand to be something that I had wrongly accused you.¡± The demon fox angrily chirped out twice at me in dissatisfaction. Her cute looks made me chuckle. I said, ¡°Alright! Alright! I had wrongly accused you.¡± With that, she leaned on my shoulder without moving in satisfaction. Volume 9: Chapter 12 - Flying Ahead Volume 9: Chapter 12 - Flying Ahead I told Zhan Hu, ¡°Big brother, I¡¯ll be the first one to bring this fellow along.¡± Zhan Hu nodded. ¡°Everyone just has to take turns. If we don¡¯t bring a person along, everyone can fly for an hour without much problems, and if we¡¯re to bring someone, we should be able to fly for 20 minutes. How about this? Every ten minutes, we¡¯ll change the person that carries him. We should be able to fly continuously for 40 minutes that way. It can be counted as a day¡¯s journey at our current pace every time we fly.¡± I pulled Su He over to my side and told him, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to fall to your death, don¡¯t flail about.¡± Upon saying that, I carried him under my arms before I surged my magic powers outwards. ¡®Sou!¡¯ I lept into the sky while carrying him. Su He was so scared that he yelled out in fright. I said, ¡°Stop shouting! If you¡¯re afraid, just close your eyes.¡± Zhan Hu and the rest lept into the sky, surrounding me so that I found myself in the center. The burden of carrying a person as we flew was really great. After ten minutes, I passed Su He to Zhan Hu. Everyone took turns to carry him in that manner. We had flown five times in a day; the duration of each flight was about an hour. Su He dazedly sat in a corner with a pale complexion when night arrived. He wasn¡¯t able to take in any food, even the ones that he loved. As I saw his looks, I felt a little bad for him. I walked over to his side and said, ¡°You just have to endure it for a little while more. After two days, we should be at the border of the demon race. You can be reassured that when the time is right, we¡¯ll definitely set you free.¡± Su He nodded. ¡°I thank you for that and I¡¯m hungry now.¡± I chuckled as I tossed him a piece of a single eyed demon beast. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± When it was time to fly again the next day, Su He was slightly more accustomed to flying and gradually came to like it. We had reached a small forest about 300km away from the border of the demon race after travelling for two days. There wouldn¡¯t be any mountain forest to hide our tracks if we were to head any further. Zhan Hu and I had decided to stay at our position for a while before heading on. No matter how slow we moved, we would be able to reach the border in three days time. As I lay on my quickly made bed of withered grass, I looked up at the stars in the sky. Mu Zi¡¯s beautiful complexion appeared before me. ¡®Mu Zi, I¡¯m coming. I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re faring.¡¯ The demon fox, who was snuggling at my side, suddenly stood up and looked warily at her surroundings. I patted her head and replied, ¡°What is it? Is there any danger around?¡± There was suddenly a call of a nocturnal bird that broke the tranquility. The demon fox¡¯s eyes lit up and she immediately pounced. I hastily stood up and chased after her. She stopped at a place not far away from where we were. She was gritting her teeth and her fur was standing up. It was as though she had met an enemy. I ran in front of her, only to see Su He awkwardly squatting down. I asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Su He replied, ¡°I...I was crapping and alerted the nocturnal birds by accident. After that, this fella came over.¡± Upon saying that, he pointed at the demon fox, who was filled with animosity. The demon fox seemed to be unsatisfied and continuously growled at him. Since my mind was filled with Mu Zi¡¯s image, I didn¡¯t think much about it before I told the demon fox, ¡°Let him do his business. Let¡¯s head back to sleep. Su He, quickly come over.¡± After I said that, I grabbed onto the demon fox and returned to my not so comfortable bed. We simply ate something the next morning. We walked out of the forest and onto the flat plain, dashing towards the demon race¡¯s border. We were soon able to reach the border of the demon race. Su He seemed to have a lot on his mind. After these days of interacting with him, even though he was a useless Second Prince, we didn¡¯t reject him as much as we did initially. I said, ¡°Su He, tell everyone about the customs of the natives near here.¡± Su He looked at me and replied, ¡°The nearby area is already within the perimeter of the city. The city has about three million ordinary demon race. Since it¡¯s war time, most of the army had been dispatched to the front line. The city is left with Holy Light¡¯s Protectors to protect the demon Emperor and other assisting troops. There should be approximately 1 million of them. The status they hold is extremely important. The high ranked demon race has many special privileges, especially the demon race¡¯s royalties. They¡¯re generally gathered in the city.¡± Zhan Hu said grinningly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the beauties of your demon race are charming? Why aren¡¯t they any in view?¡± Su He chuckled. ¡°The beauties are in the city. The beauties in our demon race are incomparable to the human race. They¡¯re quite open minded. I can introduce some of them to you.¡± I didn¡¯t feel that they were open minded. Mu Zi gave me a feeling that she was more conservative than the human race. From how I looked at it, Hai Shui was more open minded than she was, but it might be due to her identity. Zhan Hu mockingly scolded him, ¡°You little fellow, once it¡¯s about beauties, your spirit increases.¡± When we were very close to our destination, I gradually became nervous. After a day, we only walked for 100km. Zhan Hu said impatiently, ¡°Let¡¯s fly again tomorrow. Our current pace is too slow.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Forget it, safety is our priority.¡± Su He said, ¡°After passing the valley in front of us, we should be able to see the city already.¡± I opened the map and pointed on it. ¡°Is that the God Rended Canyon?¡± Su He nodded. ¡°In the legend, during the great War between the Gods and the monsters, it was split open by a God. Thus, getting its name, the God Splitting Valley.¡± Upon saying that, his expression dampened. I didn¡¯t mind that as I continued to look at the map. The map had shown that the area that the demon race held was quite large; it was about the size of a small country. (The demon race¡¯s country is about the size of the human race¡¯s province. In the center of the map, there was a golden portion that was noted on it. It should be the Imperial City. Mu Zi should be living at that place.) After a quiet night, we headed towards the God Splitting Valley the next day. When the Sun was high up in the sky, I saw the God Splitting Valley. The sight was extremely terrible. Light was shining through from both sides of the mountain and there was a 10 meter pathway in the middle. What aroused my curiosity was that we hadn¡¯t seen a single demon race since this morning. Su He said that this was the only path leading to the city. Why was it so quiet? Su He said, ¡°There aren¡¯t many people that come through here. The people in the demon race city usually head in the other direction as that direction is the interior of the demon race. The pathway through the valley will be inclined. After walking to the end of the valley and when the path gets even with the mountain plain, we¡¯ll be able to see the city.¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s quickly move on.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 13 - Trapped in Dire Straits Volume 9: Chapter 13 - Trapped in Dire Straits Our team of 13 people and one beast, entered the God Rended Canyon. When we walked to the center of the valley, I suddenly felt uneasy. I stopped walking, and told Zhan Hu, ¡°Big brother, I feel uneasy. Is there be something that¡¯s going to happen?¡± Zhan Hu replied with smiles, ¡°Why will it? Who will know that we¡¯re humans? You should be nervous because of meeting a certain person soon, right?¡± I instantly relaxed, and replied smiling, ¡°Perhaps.¡± Just as I wanted to walk, the demon fox on my shoulder suddenly shuddered, and her fur stood up; it wasn¡¯t right. Something would definitely happen. I shouted, ¡°Everyone, be wary of your surroundings.¡± At that moment, something really happened. The heaven and earth suddenly turned completely dark, all the light was blocked out. I raised my head, and couldn¡¯t help but inhale a mouthful of cold breath. There was an incomparably enormous black dragon that was circling above us in the sky. I didn¡¯t need Su He to tell me as I knew that it would most likely be the Demon Emperor¡¯s S ranked Dark Demon Dragon. How could it be this strong? It should be 165 meters long from what I gauged. The strong aura was definitely something that Xiao Jin wouldn¡¯t be able to compare to. It was the strongest dragon I had seen, excluding the Dragon King. I heard a roar before I looked at that direction of the sound. I found that there was someone standing on the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s head. It couldn¡¯t be the Demon Emperor, right? Why...What was he doing here? The Demon Emperor leaped from the back of the Dark Demon Dragon, surging out a strong aura towards us. I shouted, ¡°Everyone, move backwards!¡± We were experts after all. Zhan Hu pulled on Su He as the 12 of us jumped a hundred metres back. With a black flash, the Demon Emperor stood arrogantly in front of us. His body radiated with the strong aura, which an expert possessed, and was at least two meters tall; he was also wearing black war armour, but didn¡¯t wear a helmet. His black, long hair fell on his shoulders. He looked resolute with deep glimmers from his eyes. I focused before I used my magic power to protect my entire body; a faint gold light was emitted from my body, which was able to forcefully withstand his aura. I stepped two steps forward, and said. ¡°You¡¯re the Demon Emperor, Qi Meng Satan.¡± There was a strict glimmer that flashed past the Demon Emperor¡¯s eyes. His hair started to move without any presence of wind as he laughed out loud. A powerful sound wave charged towards us. I brandished my Sukrad¡¯s staff with a loud holler, forming a thick barrier to block the sound wave attack. There was astonishment in the Demon Emperor¡¯s eyes as it icily said, ¡°It has been a long time since someone directly called my name. You humans actually dared to come into our Holy Light Empire¡¯s territory. Are you here to seek death?¡± His voice was too resounding that it seemed like the sound of colliding metals. I narrowed my eyes as I brought my body¡¯s power to its peak state. ¡°The purpose of coming here this time is to discuss something with you.¡± The Demon Emperor coldly sneered, ¡°You are a few children, who are still wet behind the ears, dare to come negotiate with me. From how I look at it, you¡¯re just sick of living. If you want to negotiate with me, you should go to hell to discuss with the Yama, King of Hell, first.¡± Upon saying that and waving his hand, there were countless of army troops that surged out from all sides of the mountain wall; there were about 3000 of them, encasing the entire valley so thoroughly that not even water would be able to pass through. Even if we had tyrannical powers, under this kind of absolute disadvantaged scenario, it would be impossible to escape from here alive. This was the end; I was deeply trapped. My previously clear mind couldn¡¯t help but to fluster. I shouted, ¡°Please wait. I¡¯ve got something that I would like inquire about.¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°Since you¡¯re going to die, you can say it.¡± I inquired, ¡°I will like to know; how did you know about us coming to the demon race, and strategically ambush us?¡± After the Demon Emperor heard what I said, his face showed a meaningful smile. ¡°You¡¯ll find that out soon.¡± I would find it out soon? I was stunned. At that moment, the scene changed. It wasn¡¯t the demon race that attacked but rather our inner group had changed. Su He, who was standing beside Zhan Hu, suddenly moved. His speed could only be described as a monster. He rapidly struck at Zhan Hu and Dong Ri¡¯s neck with his hand. With their tyrannical power, they unexpectedly collapsed after that hit. Su He laughed out loud as he held them with each one in his hands. He kicked off with both feet and leapt into the sky instantly. Jian Shan was the first to response. He quickly withdrew his sword, which emitted a gold light and chased after Su He. Su He¡¯s body swayed peculiarly in mid air and was unexpectedly able to dodge that attack; he directly reached the top of the mountain wall. Seeing the cowardly Su He that showed such astonishing powers, everyone was stunned by what we saw, including me. I shouted fumingly, ¡°Su He, you bastard, you actually lied to us.¡± Su He, who was on the wall of the mountain walls, helplessly chuckled, ¡°Sorry Zhang Gong! We each follow a different lord.¡± The Demon Emperor had already raised his hand and was obviously going to make his move. I said, ¡°Demon Emperor, can you allow me to ask your son a few more questions? I¡¯ll be able to die without any regrets that way.¡± The Demon Emperor was stunned by my words. ¡°Son? Him?¡± Upon saying that, he pointed at Su He. He suddenly broke out in laughter and replied, ¡°Not bad! Not bad! He can be counted as my half son. Ke Lun Duo, you should just reply some of his questions.¡± Ke Lun Duo? My complexion paled as I asked. ¡°You¡¯re Ke Lun Duo? The one you said that as the number one warrior of the demon race, the leader of the Radiant Protectors?¡± Su He replied apologetically, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Ke Lun Duo, and not Su He. You want to know what is really going on? I¡¯ll tell you this. When the twelve of you obstructed me behind the main army troop, I found that your powers were extremely strong. My subordinates strength wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with you. I initially thought you were from the demon race, and wanted to see what you were up to, so I let you to freely kill my subordinates. However, I didn¡¯t expect you to be humans. At that time, I decided to hide my identity to figure out what you¡¯re after. When I previously told you that Ke Lun Duo was in the city, it was a lie. I was supposed to return, and report about the war situation to His Majesty.¡± I coldly snorted, ¡°Then why did you impersonate Su He?¡± Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°Since I knew that you dared enter our territory, you must have made preparations, and have understanding about us. I definitely had to pretend to be someone beneficial to you, and not a threat to you so that you wouldn¡¯t kill me. On the way, I saw your tyrannical powers time after time, and couldn¡¯t help but to be frightened. I didn¡¯t know what your motives were, so if I were to lead you to the city, you¡¯d definitely be a huge threat towards His Majesty, so I couldn¡¯t help but to use this method. I was almost exposed by you last night as the demon fox saw that I was giving out the signal. The night bird that you heard was an A ranked demon beast that I own. I had used it to convey the news of your infiltration to His Majesty.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 14 - Xiao Jin Returns Volume 9: Chapter 14 - Xiao Jin Returns I dejectedly looked at the demon fox on my shoulder. ¡°It seems that I won¡¯t be able to bring you along in the future. If I¡¯d paid more attention, perhaps everything that happened wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Ke Lun Duo said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you all should just surrender. I¡¯ll plead mercy for you in front of His Majesty.¡± I clenched my teeth and said, ¡°Ke Lun Duo, stop being a hypocrite! Currently, I just want to eat your meat, and peel your skin off.¡± Ke Lun Duo helplessly smiled, and pointed at Zhan Hu, and Dong Ri, who had both fainted. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t care about their life, right? I captured them so as to avoid unnecessary injuries.¡± I took in a deep breath and viciously glared at him. With my heart overflowing with hatred, I shouted, ¡°Big brother Zhan Hu, Dong Ri, and the God¡¯s village brother, I hate to cause trouble for you. Demon Emperor, I want to challenge you.¡± The Demon King said astonished, ¡°You want to challenge me in this situation?¡± I coldly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Do you dare accept my challenge? If you win, everyone of us will surrender unconditionally. If you lose, you¡¯re to let us go.¡± The Demon Emperor chuckled. ¡°Human, you really are outstanding. I don¡¯t know how long it has been since someone has challenged me. Alright! I¡¯ll accept.¡± Ke Lun Duo anxiously said, ¡°Your Majesty, I think it¡¯s better that I do it. You¡¯re too invaluable to do this.¡± I shouted, ¡°You don¡¯t have the qualification.¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°Brat, I really want to see the capabilities that enable you to be this savage. Ke Lun Duo, you¡¯re to command your subordinates to move back. I want to be enlightened on this human¡¯s skills.¡± I said, ¡°Alright! You¡¯re worthy to be the demon race¡¯s King. I, Zhang Gong Wei, will be enlightened by the skills that the demon race¡¯s top expert possesses.¡± The Demon Emperor asked in astonishment, ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, you¡¯re the human¡¯s Magister, Zhang Gong Wei that killed a few hundred of the demon race¡¯s experts in Aixia?¡± I stopped caring already and arrogantly nodded saying, ¡°That¡¯s right! It was me. You want to seek vengeance for your subordinate? Come at me then.¡± From the aura that the Demon King emitted, I knew I was not his match. If Big brother Zhan Hu, and Dong Ri were here, with the power of three of us, we should be able to fight against him; that was still under the condition that the Dark Demon Dragon didn¡¯t participate. No matter what, I¡¯ve got to give it my all. At the very least, if I lose, everyone should just be detained, and wouldn¡¯t be in any mortal danger temporarily. The Demon King¡¯s surrounding aura started to become violent. A black halo was emitted from his body. With a sneer on his face, he stepped forward and heavily punched out. The circular dark energy spiraled as it headed towards me. I calmed down, and circulated the three gold dans in my body. I hollered as I struck out a light blade filled with power. When the light blade and the dark energy collided, I was rebounded by it, and pushed 10 steps back. The Demon Emperor¡¯s eyes showed surprise as he said, ¡°Good, kid since you¡¯re able to receive my punch, you¡¯re qualified to be my opponent.¡± Just as he wanted to continue to attack, a loud dragon roar sounded in the sky. I wiped the blood traces from the corner of my mouth. That sound was really familiar. Ah! It was Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin had come over at the most critical point. I shouted, filled with feelings, ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± There was suddenly an enormous gold light ray that appeared in the sky; it was as bright as the sun as it charged towards us. The Demon Emperor was so shocked that he forgot to attack. The Dark Demon Dragon in the sky let out a low roar, emitting black fog throughout its body before it suddenly charged towards the gold light ray. When the gold and dark light ray collided. There was the sound of tearing in the sky. The gold light had been forced back by the black light; it was obvious that it was at a large disadvantage. The violent energy from the collision had caused the troops to lean unsteadily from side to side. The Demon Emperor shouted, ¡°Ke Lun Duo, quickly command the entire Radiant protectors to retreat 5 Km from here.¡± When the gold light dimmed, it revealed Xiao Jin¡¯s familiar appearance. I was finally able to see some hope in this impasse. I was elated as Xiao Jin was much bigger than before. His body was more than 99 metres and the scales on his body were much larger; his entire body emitted the aura of a king. The Dark Demon Dragon suddenly spoke in human language, ¡°Five Clawed dragon?D Could it be that you¡¯re this generation¡¯s Dragon King? That old fellow died already?¡± Xiao Jin also spoke in a youthful voice, ¡°You¡¯re the one that¡¯s dead. My father is still living perfectly.¡± The Dark Demon Dragon sighed, ¡°Child, do you know that I¡¯m your uncle¡­¡­¡± As the two dragons were conversing in the sky, the Demon Emperor and I didn¡¯t dally. The Demon Emperor said, ¡°You also have a dragon? Not bad, it seems that we can really have a fun match. Since we both have dragons, let¡¯s mount them and fight.¡± His words suited my desires. I nodded before I forced my powers to surge outwards and instantly leapt up. The Demon Emperor followed behind as he also left the ground. We individually landed on Xiao Jin and the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s body. As Xiao Jin and the Dark Demon Dragon conversed, he saw me heading towards him, he conveyed a warm state of mind towards me. As I stood on his large head and held on one of his horns, I asked, ¡°Xiao Jin, how are you?¡± Xiao Jin replied, ¡°Master, I¡¯m doing well. I had already recovered the true dragon¡¯s power.¡± The Dark Demon Dragon replied, ¡°A five clawed dragon can also have a master?¡± Xiao Jin replied in anger, ¡°Why can¡¯t I? Didn¡¯t you also betray our dragon clan to be a mount for the Demon Emperor?¡± The Dark Demon Dragon unexpectedly wasn¡¯t enraged. He heavily sighed, ¡°Child, do you think that I¡¯ve betrayed the dragon clan? It was those fellows that forced me to. Initially¡­¡­¡­¡± The Demon Emperor seemed to really respect the Dark Demon Dragon and didn¡¯t stop him from talking but rather just quietly listened. I, wouldn¡¯t interrupt them either as I wanted to quickly recover the injuries I got from that last exchange. ¡°Initially, your father and I were born at the same time. The entire clan was extremely elated, as we were the first twin dragons with five claws in the history of the dragon clan. When we were born, we looked identical.¡± When I paid attention and looked, the Dark Demon Dragon also had five claws and looked very similar to Xiao Jin. The Dark Demon Dragon continued to say, ¡°However, 20 years after, our looks gradually became different. The main changes were the dragon scales on our body; your father¡¯s scales become increasingly golden while mine gradually turned black. Initially, the clan didn¡¯t have any response. When we grew out of infancy, I came to have my current looks, but was much smaller. The clan¡¯s men started to reject me as they all said that black dragons were bad omens that would bring misfortune to the dragon clan. They unanimously pleaded to the Dragon King at that time, who was your grandfather and my father, to kill me.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 15 - Holy Sword and Demon Spear Volume 9: Chapter 15 - Holy Sword and Demon Spear He paused for a while before saying dejectedly, ¡°Our father didn¡¯t have a choice at that point, so he prepared to personally take my life. However, I didn¡¯t know that your father knew about it, so your father and grandmother helped me escape. I started a homeless life from then on until a few hundred years later, when I met with the ruler here. He rescued me at the verge of death. So I decided to become the Dark Demon Dragon, in order to repay him for saving my life.¡± After hearing what the Dark Demon Dragon had gone through, I was moved. I never would have expected that he had such tragic experiences. Xiao Jin replied, ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m sorry. It was the Dragon clan that was at fault. Currently, it¡¯s being ruled by my father. We can welcome you to return at any time.¡± The Dark Demon Dragon shook his large head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll be satisfied if you can call me your uncle. I won¡¯t be heading back as I don¡¯t want to give your father trouble. Currently, we just serve different masters. Come at me, and let me have a look at abilities you have learned from your father.¡± The previous withdrawn aura had spreaded out from its body again. Xiao Jin roared out, filled with feelings, as a golden light light ray intensified. I asked the Demon Emperor, ¡°Demon Emperor, do you really have the heart to make those two, Uncle and Nephew fight against each other?¡± The Demon Emperor coldly smiled and replied, ¡°We¡¯re of a different race. I¡¯ve only one belief, which is all creatures, excluding my clansmen, are to be discriminated against. The human race is nothing to me. My daughter has told me about you long ago.¡± My emotions stirred as I asked, ¡°How is Mu Zi now?¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°I do not need to you to care about my daughter. She¡¯s doing extremely well, and is staying in the city. However, don¡¯t you even think about seeing her again. Do you really think that I¡¯ll let her marry you?¡± I replied, ¡°Your Majesty, currently, the human race isn¡¯t your enemy. Do you know that right now, the entire world is facing a crisis?¡± The Demon Emperor was stunned, but replied, ¡°Stop trying to frighten me with your words. Do you think I¡¯ll believe you? You¡¯ll have to depend on your abilities if you want to preserve your life.¡± I said, ¡°You have misunderstood me, as I¡¯m telling you the truth. You should know about the great war between the Gods, and the Monsters. At that time, the Monster King wasn¡¯t killed, but was just sealed. However, after so many years, the Monster King has gradually regained its power, and is preparing to invade the entire world. Moreover, your Demon race is his first target.¡± After hearing my words, the Demon Emperor seemed as though he was considering what I said. His complexion became increasingly terrible. He had obviously thought about something. I thought I had moved him as I continued to say, ¡°We can only fight against the Monster King, if the races of the entire world come together to fight against him. As a ruler of a clan, you can¡¯t afford not to think of the people of your clan, right?¡± The Demon Emperor coldly snorted, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to teach me how to rule. Brat, everything you say today is meaningless. I definitely won¡¯t let you leave the Demon race unless you defeat me.¡± Damn it! It was as though I was playing the lute to a cow. Why was Mu Zi¡¯s father so unreasonable? He just wouldn¡¯t listen to anything I told him. I fumed, ¡°You stubborn old man, why does Mu Zi have someone like you as her father.¡± The Demon Emperor instantly raged, ¡°You actually dared to scold me. Good, good, you¡¯re good. I¡¯ll let you see the formidability of this stubborn old man. Demon Dragon, attack!¡± After the Demon Dragon heard the Demon Emperor, he immediately pounced, and accompanied by a black fog, his enormous body blocked out all the light in the sky, Xiao Jin didn¡¯t need my orders as he immediately casted out light rain to counter the dragon¡¯s attack. At our level of capability, it was useless to just have magic power, so everyone attacked with all their might. The black fog was rapidly being diminished by the light rain. However, it was simply just too thick. The rain of light that Xiao Jin cast out was being pushed backwards. The Demon Emperor chuckled. ¡°It seems that your dragon hadn¡¯t matured to it¡¯s peak state, so there is a gap between it¡¯s ability and the Demon Dragon¡¯s. You don¡¯t have any more chances of defeating me. Just surrender! If you do that, I might spare your life.¡± Surrender? I definitely couldn¡¯t surrender. I coldly sneered, and started to circulate the Holy Sword in my body. I knew that I didn¡¯t have any other way to injure the Demon Emperor. I would just focus on an attack. If I failed, I would die. A scathing radiant light began emitting from my body, illuminating the fine hairs on Xiao Jin¡¯s body. The Holy Sword¡¯s silver radiance appeared above my head. The broadness of the sword increased as the power of the magic increased. I felt as though I was much more synchronized with the Holy Sword than when I had previously used it. The Demon Emperor momentarily felt a massive pressure. He had never felt such fright before in his life. He yelled out in astonishment and fury, ¡°It¡¯s a First Grade Divine Instrument¡¯s aura!¡± He quickly waved a strike at the sky and took out a long black gun from the space crack. He then closed his eyes and muttered a chant of an unknown language. The space surrounding him instantly darkened as numerous dark purple runes appeared in the Demon Emperor¡¯s surroundings. His body seemed abnormally warped and his hair slowly turned dark purple. My entire body gave off a divine aura, six wings of light appeared on my back, and my hair turned completely golden. I suddenly opened my eyes and a golden light shot out from them as I raised the Sukrad¡¯s Staff and yelled, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the Heavens!¡± As I chanted, the silver Holy Sword in midair above me gave off intense light rays. The light was so intense that even the sun paled in comparison to its brilliance. The radiance, filled with the divine power, gathered in the sky like a cluster of magic clouds. The Demon Emperor also opened his eyes, revealing a purple light that was emitting from them. He opened his hands and his black Demon Spear flew up into the sky. With an awe inspiring voice, he said, ¡°You actually forced me to use my Demon God clan¡¯s divine origin incanation. You¡¯re worthy of being arrogant. Dark Demon Dragon Spear, the origin God of my Demon race! I request of you as the the Demon clan¡¯s ruler to scatter you divine power to eliminate the enemy before me!¡± The black long spear changed into the same purple colour as it raised upwards, bringing along a thick dark aura with it. The six wings on my back continuously flapped. I brandished the Sukrad¡¯s¡¯s Staff in front of me, causing the Holy Sword to radiate a silver light with an incomparable divine aura, which headed towards the Demon Emperor¡¯s divine origin spell. Xiao Jin and the Dark Demon Dragon flapped their wings to bring me and the Demon Emperor backwards. The two different powers from the Holy Sword and the Dark Demon Dragon Spear did completely different movements as they collided against each other at lightning speed. Volume 9: Chapter 16 - World Shattering Collision Volume 9: Chapter 16 - World Shattering Collision When the two unparalleled powers collided in midair, they miraculously did not give off any sound of collision. The silver and purple light rays filled the entire sky as they confronted each other. I half knelt on Xiao Jin¡¯s back, using Sukrad¡¯s staff to support my body as I stared at the two powers in the sky. The condition of the Demon Emperor wasn¡¯t much better than mine, but he obviously still had leftover energy as he stood on the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s back. The power of the silver and purple magic started to collide and encircle each other, almost creating a hurricane as a sphere of power ascended to the sky. The Demon Emperor suddenly hollered at me in fright, ¡°Quick! Brat, we¡¯ve got to combine our strength to push it upwards. Once they completely fuse, there¡¯ll definitely be a large explosion. Only a minority of us will be able to survive the blast.¡± I also found that the situation didn¡¯t feel right. The two rapidly revolving light rays had formed a silver and purple large ball, and it was constantly compressing. I said, ¡°Xiao Jin, quickly charge over.¡± The Demon Emperor and I simultaneously charged over to the light ball. Xiao Jin immediately gave me some pure power without me asking him for it. I focused to cast a light barrier to push against the light ball with all my might. At that moment, the Demon Emperor had shown that he had powers that surpassed mine. The hair on his head raised, making him seem like a lofty Demon God. With his hands, he released an enormous power ball onto my light barrier to reinforce its defensive power. The power that he used didn¡¯t seem to have any dark elements, as that power filled ball didn¡¯t conflict with my light barrier. Xiao Jin and the Dark Demon Dragon both also shot out gold and black power filled balls, and the two extraordinary forbidden spells rapidly elevated upwards. The Demon Emperor shouted, ¡°Quickly, use more power! It¡¯s going to explode!¡± Actually, even if it exploded, he wouldn¡¯t die, but he seemed to think a lot about his subordinates. I used all of my power, and with blood continuously flowing out from my seven apertures, the large silvery purple ball had finally shot towards the clouds under the powers of a human, Demon race, and two dragons. Just as we wanted to heave a sigh of relieve, that enormous cloud above us exploded, causing the entire cloud to disperse and form drizzles. There was another silvery purplish sun that appeared in the sky. The energy from it had caused the Demon Emperor and I to violently shake. I spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on Xiao Jin¡¯s back. The Demon Emperor¡¯s condition was similar to mine as fresh blood flowed out from his mouth, and he collapsed to sit on the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s back, panting heavily. With my remaining consciousness, I saw Xiao Jin with the Dark Demon Dragon encompassing their wings around the Demon Emperor and I, as they rapidly descended.. What were they up to? I hadn¡¯t seen any creatures that have wings would suddenly withdraw their wings and willingly smash themselves towards the ground. However, I quickly knew the reason why Xiao Jin had used his wings to protect me. Xiao Jin¡¯s body suddenly shook violently. He gave out a mournful cry, and descended at a quicker pace. When he opened his wings, I saw that the numerous scales that were on the top of his wings had shattered. Xiao Jin¡¯s originally golden body had already turned golden red in colour. I shouted from heart ache, ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± But I didn¡¯t had any more energy so how could I help him? Xiao Jin stabilized his body as he landed with difficulty. The Dark Demon Dragon was also nearby; it seemed to have suffered severe injuries as well. The troops of the demon army, who were all watching on the ground weren¡¯t hurt at all. The demon race quickly surrounded me and Xiao Jin, with the Gods Village quickly rushing to enclose us from them. The Demon Emperor, who was in a tattered state, jumped down from the Dark Demon Dragon, and walked unsteadily over. Ke Lun Duo went forth to support him as the Demon Emperor said to me, ¡°I was actually injured. This is the first time since I first became the ruler. You should be arrogant of your deed. The winner and the loser should be very clear now. Let¡¯s carry out the promise you said earlier.¡± Jian Shan helped me up as I feebly replied, ¡°Demon Emperor, I admit that there¡¯s a gap in our powers, and I¡¯m willing to surrender to be caught, but¡­¡­.¡± The Demon Emperor interrupted me and said, ¡°Are you asking me to let your friends go? Don¡¯t even think about it! It¡¯s impossible, even if it¡¯s this dragon, he won¡¯t be able to escape. Do you think I¡¯ll release the tigers back to their dens? I don¡¯t want to encounter someone like you after a few years. I still want my old bones to stay in this position for a few more years.¡± From his words, I could hear his respect towards me. His attitude was completely different from the start. Even though I lost, in that battle, I had sufficiently proved that I had the power to be his opponent, and that won some respect from the Demon Emperor. The Dark Demon Dragon said in a serious tone, ¡°Your Majesty, I plead for you to let that five clawed dragon go. He¡¯s the future hope of the Dragon race.¡± The Demon Emperor looked at the Demon Dragon in astonishment and replied, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you had forgotten how they treated you, right?¡± The Dark Demon Dragon replied, ¡°Even though they were heartless, I can¡¯t be heartless towards them as I¡¯m a member of the Dragon race afterall. Can you please let that dragon go on my behalf?¡± The Demon Emperor sighed and replied, ¡°Alright! However, I won¡¯t let anyone else go, especially Zhang Gong Wei.¡± The Demon Dragon replied, ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. I only care about my clan. You can decide on what you want to do with the other matters.¡± I was on cloud nine when the Demon Emperor let Xiao Jin off. I pleaded with Xiao Jin, ¡°Xiao Jin, quickly go! You don¡¯t need to care about me.¡± Xiao Jin stood up, his body filled with severe injuries. ¡°Master, how can I abandon you to escape with my life. If I¡¯m to die, I want to die with you.¡± I teared from being moved, and replied, ¡°Xiao Jin, I know that you treat me well, however, it¡¯s as the Dark Demon Dragon had said; you¡¯re the future hope of the Demon race. You definitely can¡¯t die with me here. I promised your parents that I would ensure your safety. Quickly, listen to me and hurry up to go away from here.¡± Xiao Jin stubbornly shook his large head, not wanting to go away. I anxiously conveyed to him, ¡°Xiao Jin, quickly go! You can come back to find me after you have recuperated from your wounds. I feel the Demon Emperor won¡¯t kill me that easily. Quickly go!¡± Xiao Jin used his deep large eyes to look at me, obviously agreeing with my words. After a long time, he roared out mournfully. He flew with one of his wing¡¯s injured. He conveyed to me, ¡°Master, I¡¯ll definitely come to save you. If the Demon Emperor kills you, I¡¯ll bring the entire Dragon race to annihilate this place.¡± Seeing Xiao Jin¡¯s fading figure, I smiled in gratitude. Volume 9: Chapter 17 - Darkness Corruption Volume 9: Chapter 17 - Darkness Corruption The Demon Emperor¡¯s spoke out again as he said, ¡°Alright! Your dragon already departed. You should surrender now.¡± Jian Shan withdrew his sword and said, ¡°We definitely won¡¯t surrender. The worst you can do is to kill me.¡± I stopped him and conveyed, ¡°Let¡¯s not create any unnecessary casualties. We¡¯ll temporarily surrender, then plan again.¡± However, I said, ¡°Jian Shan, we mustn¡¯t go against what we said we would do previously. I was really defeated by him. Let¡¯s surrender.¡± A complex expression was shown in Jian Shan¡¯s eyes as he looked at me. He heavily sighed, before tossing the sword on the floor. The Demon Emperor broke out into laughters and said, ¡°Bind them up before locking them in the lowest section of Demon¡¯s jail.¡± After binding us, he walked over and patted on each of our shoulders. Jian Shan and the rest were alright as they simply felt that their battle spirit had been sealed. However, I suffered as there was dark power from the Demon Emperor¡¯s palm, resulting to an instantaneous violent conflict with the remaining light elements in my body. I cried out in pain as I collapsed on the floor. The Demon Emperor was shocked but after pondering, he made a realization as he withdrew seventy percent of the dark powers from my body. He said to Ke Lun Duo, ¡°Inform your subordinates to cautiously watch over them. You made a large contribution this time. I¡¯ll arrange for the marriage between you and Mu Zi as soon as possible. You may not know about this, but this brat is the human Mu Zi is in love with.¡± After I heard the Demon Emperor wanted to complete their marriage, I got anxious and spat out a mouthful of blood before passing out. The second I passed out, the Demon fox suddenly leaped away, disappearing instantly. The Demon Emperor had his head raised, and it was also a mystery why Ke Lun Duo didn¡¯t stop the demon fox escaping. Le Lun Duo¡¯s expression as he looked at me was extraordinarily complicated. He hollered at his subordinates, ¡°Bring them to the city!¡± The Demon Emperor had a sudden realization, then loudly shouted, ¡°Pass down the order, nobody is to discuss what happened today, and don¡¯t spread what had happened today, especially not to the princess¡¯s ears! Whoever does will be punished by martial law!¡± The 3000 Radiant Light Protectors shouted harmoniously, ¡°Yes!¡± A lot of people thought that the Demon Emperor¡¯s reputation would be damaged from barely defeating the human, and thus didn¡¯t want them to spread the news. Only Ke Lun Duo understood that it was because the Demon Emperor feared that Mu Zi would go to him and request for Zhang Gong¡¯s release after hearing the relationship we had from the Demon Emperor. Mu Zi, a royal and the successor of the throne, had accomplished so many important tasks and held a position of great importance, only right behind the Demon Emperor. If Mu Zi was to get into conflict with the Demon Emperor, the Demon Emperor would be at a loss of what to do. After thinking about that, Ke Lun Duo shook his head. After finding the Demon Emperor a horse to ride, he took the lead to take the troops back to the City of the Holy Light Empire. ¡­¡­ I had woken up in a situation where my entire body was in tremendous pain. My entire body felt so cold that it shook. The dark element¡¯s corrosive ability had corroded every portion of my skin. If it wasn¡¯t for the slight warmth from my heart, I would probably not be in the world right now. My consciousness had gradually returned, making me remember that I had been restrained by the Demon Emperor. In my body, other than the Holy Sword¡¯s power at my chest, the rest of it had been taken up by the dark elements, making me unable to move even a finger. I had tried to eradicate the restriction spell, but it was to no avail. The meridians of my entire body had been corroded by the dark powers, deforming them. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I had practiced light magic as a child and could decrease the effect of the dark elements, I would probably undergo the same outcome as the Demon race that had died under my light magic, forming a pile of ashes or a pool of blood. The frosty dark power had caused my meridians to contract. Although I couldn¡¯t see how I looked, I knew that there would be a vast disparity from how I looked before. It was over, completely over as it would be forever impossible for me to be with Mu Zi. Demon Emperor, you were ruthless. (Actually, the Demon Emperor didn¡¯t know that his restriction on me would cause so much damage to my body.) There was another wave of acute pain that came, making me to collapse once again. It wasn¡¯t a bad thing to collapse as at least, I wouldn¡¯t feel the pain as clearly. Hmm? It seemed that I had returned to my conscious space, but there wasn¡¯t any stars nor the benevolent voice of Mi Jia Lie. There was only a dark space. I found that I was heading towards the endless abyss; The numerous vengeful spirits from hell were calling me. ¡®It seems that I¡¯m really going to die. Teacher Di, father, mother, Hai Shui, Mu Zi, I¡¯m going already. Let¡¯s meet up again in my next life.¡¯ I walked towards the darkness step by step, helplessly moving forth. Just as I was about to leap into the dark abyss, a small radiant sword flew in front of me, blocking my path. The small silver sword unexpectedly voiced out. It said, ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, are you really going to give up like this?¡± I indifferently replied, ¡°Give up? Is it even possible not to? What can I even do in my current state. You tell me, if I hasn¡¯t guess wrongly, my body is already finished, right?¡± The small silver sword shook gently. ¡°It hasn¡¯t. You can¡¯t give up now. Have you forgotten what you promised to the God King?¡± I bleakly snorted. ¡°How can I forget about that. But I¡¯m already unable to carry on in accomplishing that task. You should be the Holy Sword, but I didn¡¯t think that you could talk. You should return to the God King, and ask him to find another inheritor. Won¡¯t that be the same?¡± The Holy Sword replied, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to leave your body. Your body hasn¡¯t been completely ruined under my protection. If you were to give up now, the entire world would be in ruin as the time for the reincarnation of the Monster King is already extremely close. If the world is finished, your family, those that are close to you, and your lover would die. It can¡¯t be that you want to see that the entire world will become a blood red world of darkness, right?¡± I bellowed, ¡°I don¡¯t want that to happen, but what can I do? Can you just move aside and let me reincarnate? I¡¯ve already lost all hope!¡± The Holy Sword also fumed as it replied, ¡°You¡¯re just running away! You¡¯re a coward. It doesn¡¯t matter if you died, but it would implicate the numerous thousands of lives.¡± After hearing what he said, I suddenly thought about something and asked, ¡°From what you had said, it can¡¯t be that I still have another chance to accomplish the task?¡± The Holy Sword didn¡¯t directly respond to me as it said, ¡°If only you continue to persevere and don¡¯t give up, everything will still be possible. You¡¯ve already lived enough already. It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re are afraid to suffer for a few more days right?¡± I nodded. ¡°Alright. I promise you to try again.¡± The Holy Sword slightly point the tip of the sword downwards in satisfaction before it turned into a silver ray that enclosed my entire body. The darkness had also disappeared, along with it, the entrance of hell, and my consciousness soon faded away. ¡­¡­ It hurt terribly, so it seemed I wasn¡¯t dead yet. Currently, I didn¡¯t even have the energy to open my eyes. The portion of my body that was corroded by the dark power had even increased. That holy Sword fellow had told me to persevere, but how could I do that now? At that moment, I heard the resounding sound of iron chains. A foreign voice sounded out, ¡°Your Majesty, he¡¯s being locked in here.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 18 - After the Calamity, Renewed Life Volume 9: Chapter 18 - After the Calamity, Renewed Life The Demon Emperor snorted and I heard his heavy footsteps heading toward me. The Demon Emperor suddenly gasped before he asked, ¡°Why is he like this? How has he gotten into such a sorry state? Did you mistreat him?¡± The foreign voice replied in fear and trepidation, ¡°No...No, we didn¡¯t do anything. When he was sent in, he was already in this state the next day. He seemed to be breathing yesterday, but now, it seems that there isn¡¯t a single breath from him.¡± ¡®F*ck, how dare you say that I¡¯m breathless! I¡¯m enraged now!¡¯ The Demon Emperor seemed to have caught on as he inserted his power into my meridians. Currently, I felt that the tremendous pain to my meridians had decreased drastically. I probably had just become numbed to pain. The Demon Emperor said, ¡°Oh no! This brat is finished! How could this happen? My attack on him was light. Can it be¡­. Ah! He practices light magic, my dark powers invaded his body, and without the support of his magic, it had corroded his body. Quick, call for the doctor to see if we can bring him back to life. I originally wanted to keep him as my subordinate. It seems it won¡¯t work after this, as even if he recovers, he will only be a cripple.¡± The doctor joined them shortly. He said in an aged voice, ¡°Your Majesty!¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°En! See if you can save this person.¡± My hand was held again. However, the time of being held was really short. It seemed that the doctor¡¯s standard wasn¡¯t bad. He already knew my condition just by a touch. But his words nearly made me die from anger as he said, ¡°Your Majesty, this is a corpse and it has been quite some time since his death as he¡¯s a little rotten. How can I save a dead person?¡± I wanted to faint! If I still had power, I would definitely stomp him to death. How dare he say that I was a rotten corpse? Damn him! I give my respects to his female family members for being able to put up with him. The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°Initially, I had a sliver of hope, but after you said that, I give up.¡± It seemed that he had also thought I had died. Why? It couldn¡¯t be that my heart had stopped beating, right? The Demon Emperor continued to say, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to tell anyone that I asked you to treat this person. Do you understand? Jailer! Come forth!¡± The first foreign voice I heard replied, ¡°Your Majesty, what are your orders?¡± The Demon Emperor ordered, ¡°Bring a few people with you and toss him in the outskirt at a no man¡¯s land. Since he has already died, I might as well let him be food to feed the Demon Beast of our Demon race.¡± This fellow was just too ruthless as he didn¡¯t let me off, even if I really died. After the Demon Emperor passed down the order, he left with the doctor. That jailer kicked me before he said, ¡°F*ck him, he actually troubled me, the great man. Asan and Flying Pig, come over and carry this brat! We¡¯re leaving the city.¡± It seemed that it wasn¡¯t a bad thing that my meridians had been ruined, as at the very least, I didn¡¯t feel pain of being jolted. After an unknown amount of time had passed, the foreign voice (It was slowly becoming familiar already) said, ¡°Enough! Let¡¯s toss him here.¡± My body seemed to feel a violent shock, and I was unable to maintain my consciousness, so I fainted again. ¡­¡­ ¡®I feel so comfortably warm. I haven¡¯t died yet? I feel like a type of insect that had an exceptional tenacious life force. What was that insect called again? It seemed that the children of the village had called it ¡®Little Strong¡¯ when I was young. Although I¡¯ve not died, it shouldn¡¯t be far from it. Even though I don¡¯t know where I am, it¡¯s still better to die in the outskirt than to die in the Demon jail.¡¯ My body unexpectedly didn¡¯t feel any discomfort, but rather it felt indescribably comfortable. It should be day time as only the sun would give me such warmth. As I felt my body becoming warmer, I felt something on my chest. The Holy Sword¡¯s warmth was felt again; It seemed to be circulating around my heart. ¡®Holy Sword! Holy Sword! Haven¡¯t you done enough? I¡¯ve already suffered so much already. Can¡¯t you please just let me die, even if I¡¯m begging you?¡¯ The Holy Sword seemed to be going against me as it circulated at a faster pace, making the area near my chest warm up. The sun¡¯s power stimulated my skin. F*ck Yeah! When I was enjoying myself, the feeling of warmth gradually disappeared. What replaced it was coldness. It was night so fast? It couldn¡¯t be, right? The dark elements in my body seemed to be up to mischief as my meridians started to give off waves of throbbing pain. ¡®My meridians, can¡¯t you just behave yourself? Since you¡¯ve already died, why are you still giving me pain? Sigh~¡¯ The warm feeling had returned after a lot of suffering. It wasn¡¯t the same as yesterday. As the sunlight shone on my body, its warmth surged towards my chest, making it feel not as comfortable as yesterday. ¡®Holy Sword! You¡¯re really so annoying. Can¡¯t you let me be comfortable before my imminent death? Actually, I can only think as I currently can¡¯t control anything, excluding my thoughts. The dark elements aren¡¯t bad as at the very least, it didn¡¯t damage my brain. It was much better than the Holy Sword.¡¯ I wanted to die from the pain after it reached the third day. Why? Because it rained. I was unable to absorb the power of the sun. Under the care of the sinister rain, my entire body¡¯s pain had intensified. The unlucky thing was that I couldn¡¯t move nor voice out, and only bear with it. I wanted to pass out, but my consciousness just stubbornly stayed clear. After lots of sufferings, the sun came out again. I had already given up blaming the Holy Sword as my consciousness had already started to muddle. It seemed that something had flowed in my mouth. The taste was still there; it was a little bitter. However, it wasn¡¯t raining, yet something clearly flowed in my mouth. A horrifying thought came to my mind. ¡®It can¡¯t be a Demon Beast is currently pissing on me, right? Not only will you not let me die cleanly, you have come torture me. I want to faint and die.¡¯ The bitter taste had often entered my mouth from that moment. I didn¡¯t feel anything initially. However after a few days, every time the bitter fluid flowed into my mouth, I actually felt something from my stomach; it was getting hotter. My body had started to change after half a month, the power of Holy Sword at my chest seemed to absorb enough power. It had started to slowly move towards other parts of my body after staying stagnant at my chest area. It had first targeted my thoracic cavity. The initial withered meridians unexpectedly seemed to have expand gradually from the power of the Holy Sword. ¡®Big Brother Holy Sword, please continue.You must continue to work hard!¡¯ However, what disappointed me was that after the power of the Holy Sword had completely repaired my thoracic cavity and the meridians¡¯ inner organs of my thoracic cavity at a slow pace, it stopped moving and just constantly absorbed the power of the sun on a daily basis. Volume 9: Chapter 19 - Gradual Recovery Volume 9: Chapter 19 - Gradual Recovery My intake of bitter fluid increased as I consumed it 6-7 times a day. I checked my body, and found I felt nothing at all excluding the warmth from the Holy Sword. Moreover, the three gold dans of mine had also disappeared. The only thing that made me rather gratified was the meridians within my body weren¡¯t hurting at all. It seemed to have completely withered away, however, after the period of half a month, some changes occurred. The scorching heat from the sun suggested to me that it was already noon, as the rays from the sun were at the most intense during that period. The Holy Sword in my chest suddenly came to life as it rapidly absorbed the sun¡¯s power, and simultaneously started to surge its power towards my head. I suddenly felt incredibly dizzy, and a thought passed through my head.. ¡®Big Brother Holy Sword, if you continue on, before I even recover from my wounds, I would become an idiot from the heat of the power that is surging into my head.¡¯ The Holy Sword didn¡¯t care about my feelings, as it rapidly surged its power along with the sun¡¯s towards my brain. I really couldn¡¯t stand it before passing out. ¡­¡­ When my consciousness returned, I felt more comfortable as I didn¡¯t feel dizzy anymore. I also felt a sensation; it was though something smooth was rubbing against my leg. I felt a cooling sensation from my left leg soon after. I suddenly felt that I had regained my spiritual powers. I could already use my inner sight. Even though there was only a tiny ray of light emanating from my upper dantian, it was still hope. I still couldn¡¯t open my eyes as I felt the smooth feeling had moved from my left leg to my right, meticulously rubbing. ¡®What¡¯s going on? I¡¯ll forget about it as it isn¡¯t hurting me. If it was a demon beast, it¡¯d have eaten me already.¡¯ I carefully started to gather the light elements. The light elements were really too weak as the amount of light elements I called over were pitifully little. But it was still better than nothing. ¡®I¡¯ll take it slow. I¡¯ll definitely succeed.¡¯ I didn¡¯t care about the Holy Sword nor the smooth feeling I kept on feeling within my body, as I started to rapidly gather the light elements that might lead to my recovery. What I didn¡¯t know was that the Holy Sword had used all its power to surge its power towards my brain to completely eradicate the dark elements in my head. If it wasn¡¯t the case, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to regain control over my spiritual powers. I mentally calculated the time. It should take about 10 days. After a sufficient amount of the light element had gathered in my head, I tried to compress them into a small gold dan. I finally succeeded after a few tries. As the light elements were compressed, the absorption rate from the surrounding had increased. I pushed the gold dan to my chest, letting it fuse with the Holy Sword¡¯s power. When the light element entered, the Holy Sword momentarily seemed to be like a fish that had sudden found access to water as it hungrily absorbed the sun¡¯s power. I felt that my head and my body quickly filled with light elements, excluding my limbs after three days. Even though it wasn¡¯t comparable to before, I finally had some hope. The time to move had come as I surged the light elements that had fused with the Holy Sword¡¯s power to my four limbs, making the dark and light elements in my body violently conflict against each other. An intense wave of pain attacked my cranial nerves, and I suddenly cried out in pain. It was awesome! I could voice out now. This had solidified my confidence to recover. I constantly circulated the light elements to eradicate the dark elements as I gritted my teeth. Just as I was at the verge of losing consciousness, I finally regained control of my body after using up majority of my powers. I let out a comfortable sigh before I entered my dream land in satisfaction. That smooth feeling was felt again from my body and there was a bitter taste in my mouth. I tried to open my eyes and my eyelid moved. After trying it again, I had finally opened my eyes at my will for the first time in this close to two months time. It was just haziness before me initially but it gradually cleared up, allowing me to see a figure. That figure gradually cleared. Ah! It was a girl. No, it was the Demon fox. When I snorted, the demon fox stopped what she was doing before running to my mouth and sticking her ear over. I mobilized my vocal cords as I hoarsely said, ¡°Why is it you?¡± The demon fox excitedly exclaimed, ¡°Master! You¡¯ve finally awakened! You¡¯ve finally awakened!¡± I replied, ¡°Water¡­.I want water.¡± The demon fox replied, ¡°Wait a moment, water is coming.¡± After a while, the demon fox used a large leaf containing some water over and poured it slowly into my mouth. The refreshing feeling was really good. My vigor was better as I said, ¡°Thank you, demon fox. ¡± The demon fox replied, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve just awaken. Please rest again to prevent your body from wearing out.¡± I would have never thought that at my most critical moment, it was unexpectedly her that stayed by my side and took care of me. Who said that demon beast were low ranked demon race? From how I looked at it, the demon fox was a creature that focused, immensely, on relationships. I closed my eyes before starting to gather light elements. Since I had regained the control of my body, the gathering speed of the light elements was much faster. The Holy Sword steadfastly circulated at my chest while I prompted the light elements to gather and simultaneously repair my ruined body. My body and mind seemed to be completely immersed in an ocean of light, just like a baptism from the heavens. I had finally repaired every part of my body. And although the functions of the body definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to recover in such a period of short time, the meridians in my body was fully repaired and a solid gold dan appeared in my upper dantian. Even if it was only like this, I was completely satisfied as I knew that that the prospect of death was already beyond me. When my consciousness returned to my body, there was a bitter taste in my mouth as per usual. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the demon fox was wiping down my body. I said, ¡°Demon fox, what did you fed me?¡± The Demon fox replied, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve awakened. It¡¯s the juice of a certain leaf. I had often had it before. It¡¯s good for the body and helps to enrich the strength.¡± I moved my body and found that even though I had gained some mobility, I was still void of strength. I simply told the Demon fox, ¡°Can you please help me up?¡± The Demon fox listened to me and helped me up. As I leaned on her soft body, I was stunned at what unfolded before me. I found that my hands and legs had completely changed. Not only was my complexion completely dark, it was filled with scars. I was also already thinned to the point that I was just skin and bone. I dazedly said, ¡°Why am I like this? Why have I become like this?¡± The demon fox whispered, ¡°Master, please don¡¯t be anxious. Your body will gradually recover. When I initially found you by your scent, there was already a lot of places that had started to rot. There was also some places where even your bone was exposed. I had used a power that only my demon race possesses on you to discover that you still haven¡¯t died. Thus, I had daily rubbed Crystal Grass on your body to stop the rotting process. Your wounds had finally started to heal after few days ago.¡± I suddenly contemplated about something before I nervously used my trembling hands to touch my face. Volume 9: Chapter 20 - Scarred Body Volume 9: Chapter 20 - Scarred Body After mournfully crying out, I spat out a mouthful of blood as I collapsed. The Demon fox cried out my name in fright as my consciousness had left me once again. ¡­¡­ ¡°Master, Master¡­¡­¡± I heard the Demon fox¡¯s gentle callings. I opened my eyes to see her caring appearance. I pushed her aside and hollered, ¡°Why did you save me?! Why? You should have just let me die. How am I going to meet people with my looks?¡± I had discovered that my face was the same as my body that was covered with deep scars before I collapsed. ¡®Even if everything can recover, will these scars recover? How am I going to be able to face my relatives, friends, even my most beloved Mu Zi and Hai Shui?¡¯ The Demon fox felt wrong as she climbed up and clung to my arm. ¡°Master, please recover your body first. Everything will be alright.¡± I gradually calmed down as I sigh and said, ¡°I¡¯m finished. Everything is finished.¡± The Demon fox excitedly said, ¡°It isn¡¯t, Master. You¡¯re incredibly strong so how can it be over? It won¡¯t be over.¡± Whenever she thought about me standing on Xiao Jin facing the Demon race¡¯s most powerful expert, she would be extremely excited. When I looked at her, her appearance wasn¡¯t pretty and flirtatious, but rather, it looked indescribably moving to me. I said, ¡°Thank you, if it weren¡¯t for you, I probably would have been eaten by Demon beasts already. But why did you rescue me? It was totally unnecessary.¡± The Demon fox¡¯s face flushed as she replied, ¡°Master, the favour that you did for me was too much. I¡¯m willing to follow you all my life. I¡¯m currently a first ranked Demon beast. Even though my power isn¡¯t strong, I definitely won¡¯t be a burden to you.¡± I replied in smiles, ¡°What favour have I done that makes you favour me so? Didn¡¯t I just spare you life?¡± The Demon fox replied, ¡°No! Not only that, Master, please look at this.¡± Upon saying that, she changed back to her original form before lifting up her six large tails. Beneath those tails, there was unexpectedly three small tails. Ah! A nine-tailed Demon fox. She had evolved. The Demon fox changed back to a girl¡¯s form before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve evolved. You have seen it. The reason my evolution occurred stems from your fight against the Demon emperor, as I absorbed the strong Godly powers that emitted from your body. How can I not pay back such a favour? If it was by my own, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach to such a level.¡± I said, ¡°Then congratulations, is nine tails your final form?¡± The Demon fox shook her head, ¡°Nope, but it¡¯s about there. I¡¯m already satisfied at this level.¡± I asked in astonishment, ¡°What other forms can you evolve to? It can¡¯t be until 12 tails, right?¡± The Demon fox replied, ¡°That¡¯s not the case. If my power had increased to a certain standard, my body would undergo changes. Under the protection and support of the Godly power once again, my magic power can be stabilized with a top grade purple crystal along with a profound yellow gemstone to stabilize my body. In addition to that, I¡¯ve to use a top grade green chrysoprase to protect my meridians and inner organs, and lastly, to consume the Shattering Bone Grass and Dissolving Bone Grass from the Beast race. After breaking down and reforming, I can change into any form at will. Moreover, I can maintain that form forever.¡± I asked astonished, ¡°That¡¯s impressive, won¡¯t that be a race that can transform?¡± The Demon fox nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The final form won¡¯t increase my powers, but it will give me the skills to completely transform myself.¡± I nodded. ¡°What form do you wish to transform into?¡± The Demon fox flushed, ¡°If it¡¯s possible, I hope to become a human. I will be able to stay and serve by Master¡¯s side forever that way. You don¡¯t know about this, but the demon beasts here are always bullied and treated either like toys for the higher ranked demon race or slaves.¡± Upon saying that, the Demon fox¡¯s eyes reddened. I caressed her hair. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to serve me forever, but you¡¯ve saved me so I¡¯ll definitely repay this favour. I have all those gemstones that you had mentioned. If we get the chance to head to the beast race, I¡¯ll get some of the grass medication you needed to allow you to become a human.¡± The Demon fox¡¯s eye lit up and replied, ¡°Really? I¡¯ll really have to thank you for that, Master.¡± As she said that, she kneeled down. I hastily pulled her up and said, ¡°Don¡¯t do that anymore. We aren¡¯t in a Master and Servant relationship from now on, but are friends instead. Do you understand?¡± The Demon fox was stunned. ¡°Friends? You¡¯re willing to be my friend?¡± I smiled apologetically, ¡°You didn¡¯t avoid me after seeing my current look and even saved me. It¡¯s my honour to be able to call you a friend.¡± The Demon fox was so elated that she teared up before pouncing into my embrace, wailing. I momentarily couldn¡¯t control my feelings as she rubbed her body against me. I was lucky that my body was feeble. If not, I would immediately do a shameless act. I gently push her away and said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Let¡¯s have something.¡± I took out some food from my spatial pocket and ate with the Demon fox. As I ate, I said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I can''t always call you Demon fox so, how about I give you a name?¡± The Demon fox elatedly agreed, ¡°Alright!¡± I pondered for a while before saying, ¡°Since you were so gentle and considerate when I was unwell, how about your name will be Xiao Rou? Your full name will be Shui Rou Er? How¡¯s that?¡± The Demon fox jumped up and exclaimed, ¡°I¡¯ve got a name! I¡¯ve got a name! I¡¯ll be known as Shui Rou Er.¡± Seeing her so elated, my heart felt much more comfortable. After having our meal, I let Xiao Rou protect me as I started to recover my magic powers. After 10 days, my body had already fully recovered but I was still extremely thin. The dark skin with horrifying scars from before was still the same. However, my magic power had recovered to one third from my peak state. The main reason for that was due to having only one gold dan. I knew that if I wanted to recover my original looks, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Time waited for no one, I needed to go and rescue Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest as soon as possible so I couldn¡¯t afford to continue tarrying here. I initially wanted Xiao Ruo to stay here, but she insisted on coming along. She said that she definitely would be able to help me. I agreed, because I couldn''t just toss her aside. Since Xiao Rou had reached the nine-tailed Demon fox level, she could shrink her body to become a Demon Fox that resembled a small squirrel as she hid inside my clothing. I finally saw how the City looked like; it was really imposing. It was much larger than the city in Aixia. The walls were much wider and higher. There were a couple of Demon race guarding the entrance of the city. I walked over with my head lowered. A soldier of the Demon race yelled at me, ¡°Raise your head! Why have you lowered your head?¡± Since I was wearing a long sleeve and long trousers clothing, he wasn¡¯t able to see the scars on my body. I whispered, ¡°My looks are horrifying so I¡¯m afraid that I would frighten you.¡± That soldier said, ¡°Stop talking nonsense and raise your head.¡± I only had to raise my head; all the soldiers and citizens of the demon raise broke out into an uproar after looking at my appearance. I hastily lowered my head. I thought, ¡®I¡¯m finished. My handsome looks seems to have been completely ruined. However, it¡¯s not a bad thing as I won¡¯t need to disguise myself since even Mu Zi will definitely be unable to recognise me.¡¯ Volume 9: Chapter 21 - Job at the Imperial Palace Volume 9: Chapter 21 - Job at the Imperial Palace The demon soldier exclaimed, ¡°Wah! You¡¯re really ugly. You aren¡¯t to blame for being ugly, but it¡¯s wrong for you to come out and scare people. Quickly go in.¡± I was enraged that he actually ridiculed me to that extent, but I gritted my teeth as I entered the Demon City, trying my best to suppress my anger. I¡¯ll just find a place to stay before we think of plans to rescue Big brother and the rest. I crouched fuming in a corner for two hours. There were actually no inns that were willing to let me stay. They reasoned that my appearance would scare away their customers. Was I really that ugly? At that moment, I suddenly heard an uproar in front of me. I stood up and headed in that direction curiously, only to find many people crowded as they looked at something. I also walked over and found a posting of a royal announcement, and a few officials sitting in front of a long table with unknown purposes. I studied the announcement and realized that it was a recruitment to do odd jobs at the palace. I was moved at the great opportunity. I could investigate where Big brother and the rest were kept and also have sneak a peek at Mu Zi. With my current appearance, it would be impossible to look for her, but it should be fine for me to steal a few glances of her. I pushed through the crowd, who took one look at the scars on my face and frowned as they let me through. When I reached the table, I said, ¡°I¡¯m interested in doing odd jobs.¡± Once the leader, who seemed to be the examiner, raised his head, he was so frightened by my looks that he almost fell from his chair. Fuming he said, ¡°You want to enter the palace with your ghastly looks? Just quickly scram.¡± I was momentarily enraged and really wanted to strike him with a light blade, but in order to rescue Big brother and the rest, I had no choice but to suppress my rage. I replied apologetically, ¡°Officer, I¡¯m begging you to let me in. I just want a place to scrape a meager living. It doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t get paid.¡± That soldier stood up and narrowed his eyes at me as he replied sneering, ¡°The very sight of your ghastly face annoys me. Quickly scram! If not, I¡¯ll be impolite.¡± ¡°Oh! Officer, you have such a temper.¡± I heard a sweet and charming voice. I turned my head. It was Xiao Rou. I didn¡¯t know she had ran out from my clothings and took the demon race¡¯s form. The crowd, including some of the officials, were stunned. The leader of the officials muttered, ¡°Top grade, definitely top grade.¡± He started to drool. Xiao Rou walked over to my side and rested her arm on my shoulder before she replied coyly, ¡°Officer, what¡¯s wrong with my brother? Isn¡¯t he just here to earn a living? I know that you¡¯re kind hearted so please accept him.¡± The official still looked stunned by Xiao Rou as he replied, ¡°But¡­.But he¡¯s really too ugly.¡± Xiao Rou suddenly cried. As she cried, she said, ¡°Officer, we siblings are mutually dependant for life. If you don¡¯t accept my brother, I won¡¯t be able to survive.¡± The officer momentarily dazed as he hastily replied, ¡°I¡¯ll check to see if he has a suitable position.¡± Upon saying that, he flipped through the list of jobs. The officer beside him reminded him, ¡°There¡¯s a job to chop firewood in the kitchen. We shall just let him do that. There won¡¯t be any chance of him heading into the inner palace so his looks don''t matter.¡± That officer nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let him enter the palace to chop firewood. Little beauty, you should be satisfied with this. I have helped you with such a favour. How are you going to thank me?¡± Looking at his face, I really wanted to puke. His current appearance was even more disgusting than my face. Xiao Rou glanced at him coquettishly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the south entrance tonight. Handsome brother, I¡¯ll head off first. Please take care of my brother!¡± After saying that, she walked out from the crowd with her hips swaying . The officers were still focused on Xiao Rou in a daze. I waved my hand in front of his eyes as I shouted, ¡°Officer! Officer!¡± The leader of the officers snapped back to reality. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked, ¡°What am I supposed to do now?¡± The officer replied, ¡°Do you still have any belongings elsewhere?¡± I replied, ¡°No, I¡¯ve only myself.¡± He replied, ¡°En! Head over there and wait. After gathering all the new personnel, we¡¯ll enter the palace.¡± I respectfully agreed before running to a corner. I could faintly hear the officer saying behind me, ¡°There¡¯s actually such a sibling. Why do they have such huge disparity in their looks?¡± Just as I walked to the corner, Xiao Rou, who had turned back to the size of a squirrel, ran and pounced over to my chest. I patted her little head and replied, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, it would have been terrible. Thank you, Xiao Rou.¡± Xiao Rou licked my hand before snuggling in my arms where she slept. ¡­¡­ It was already afternoon when the soldiers had recruited the necessary staff, and gathered us to head out. At a glance, I discovered that there were about 20 people, but I didn¡¯t know what their jobs entailed. After walking for about an hour, we finally reached the royal palace. Due to our low status we walked in through side entrance. After entering the palace, the scenery completely changed. There were exotic flowers and rare herbs in the everywhere. Even though the architecture wasn¡¯t as sophisticated as the human race, it was able to express the unrestrained spirit of the Demon race. The soldier commanded, ¡°Keep your eyes down and don¡¯t look around. If not, and something happens, don¡¯t blame me for not warning you beforehand.¡± After hearing his words, I immediately lowered my head. Currently, I just want to settle down here peacefully before thinking through other things that I had to do. The soldier led us to a small courtyard before saying, ¡°Alright, you just have to wait here. The supervisors that are in charge of the stewarding the palace will be coming shortly to record your names and assign your tasks. This is the home of Our Imperial Majesty, The Demon Emperor. Even though you are unlikely to see His Majesty, you must be cautious as you work. Do you understand?¡± Everyone harmoniously agreed. That soldier seemed to be satisfied with his awe-inspiring authority as he walked away with a smile. Since I was ugly, there wasn¡¯t even a newcomer that was willing to strike up a conversation with me, keeping me at a distance. However, this suited me quite well as it would save me quite a lot of trouble. After a while, a person with a medium stature and wore the palace livery walked over with two guards behind him. There was a book in his hand that seemed to be a registry of the names of job. When he walked to the front of the group, he cleared his throat before saying, ¡°Everyone, quiet down. You¡¯ll all be under my supervision from now on. You¡¯re to remember to call me Vice Manager Rui Dong or Vice Manager. Alright, everyone of you are to report your name and task one at a time, starting from the far left.¡± There was a lithe Demon with an ordinary appearance at the far left. He bowed towards that Vice Manager before respectfully saying , ¡°I am Li Cha, my role is to be a gardener here. Lord Vice Manager, please take care of me in the future.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 22 - Imperial Firewood House Volume 9: Chapter 22 - Imperial Firewood House After the Vice Manager entered him in the registry, he said, ¡°Alright, go and stand on the left side. Someone will take you to the gardening department soon. Next!¡± ¡­¡­ It was finally my turn. I hastily moved forward and said with a bow, ¡°Lord Vice Manager, you can call me Eighteen. My role is to split logs at the firewood house.¡± When the Vice Manager raised his head and looked at my appearance, he furrowed his eyebrows as he said, ¡°What on earth were those brats doing to recruit such an ugly person? But I¡¯ll let it slide and allow you to be as ugly as possible as no one will see you anyway. You¡¯re to behave and be diligent in splitting logs after today.¡± I hastily agreed. ¡°Thank you, Vice Manager. I will definitely do my best.¡± ¡°En!¡± The Vice Manager agreed as he motioned for me to stand aside. Finally, everyone¡¯s names had been recorded by the Vice manager and taken to their respective workplaces. I was led away by a fatty along with two others. He led us to a big building before saying, ¡°This is the kitchen. You¡¯ll be working here in the future. Ugly, you¡¯re to head to the rear courtyard of the kitchen. There¡¯ll be an old fellow there that will assign you your work.¡± I immediately agreed and dashed towards the rear courtyard alone. The courtyard was large and contained many people, some were washing vegetables while others were cooking meat, all contributing to the bustle of the kitchen. There were a pile of logs at the north-east corner of the grounds. This should be the place I am to be stationed. When I walked over, I saw an old man with snow white hair splitting logs. I respectfully said, ¡°Greetings to you, sir.¡± The old man raised his head and looked at me before replying, ¡°What do you want? You need something?¡± His tone, devoid of any humility, suggested that he was anything but a log splitter. I replied. ¡°I have been assigned to assist you in splitting the logs.¡± The old man sized me up before saying indifferently, ¡°Then go and find some logs to split. Remember, you¡¯re to chop them evenly to avoid having those picky fellows from the kitchen complaining again.¡± I nodded as I found a log and sat down. The old man tossed me a firewood axe before pointing to the circular logs at the side. I placed a circular log in front of me before I gently struck down with the firewood axe. I used my strength to cleanly split the circular log in two. It was a pity that I couldn¡¯t use my magic and battle spirit. I would have to just split it with pure strength. When the day ended, even though I didn¡¯t split many logs, I was so tired that my waist was sore and back ached. When it was dinner time, unbeknownst to me, the old man had procured some food and shared half of it with me. ¡°Eat up and rest early. Tomorrow, you¡¯re going to continue splitting logs. Your current pace is incomparable to this old man¡¯s pace. How can that be satisfactory?¡± After taking my portion of food from him, I asked, ¡°How long have you been here?¡± The old man dazed a little before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten. It should at least be thirty years.¡± ¡°You have split logs for thirty years? Why haven¡¯t you left?¡± I replied in astonishment. The old man snorted before saying. ¡°What¡¯s so good about the outside? Even though it¡¯s a little tough here, life is still stable. Splitting logs during the day until I¡¯m worn out and sleep after eating at night. Isn¡¯t that good? Ah! That¡¯s right! Wait a moment before you eat.¡± Upon saying that, he turned around heading towards the firewood house. After a short moment, he was holding onto a worn out bottle gourd. He looked as though the bottle gourd was something that was dearest to him. He said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy to obtain this. Do you want some?¡± I asked, ¡°What is that?¡± The old man mysteriously grinned and replied, ¡°Premium wine.¡± I instantly understood that it was alcohol. I shook my hand and replied, ¡°I think I will pass. I¡¯ve split too little in the day. After eating, you can go and rest. I¡¯ll continue splitting the logs for a while longer.¡± The old man looked at me, surprised. ¡°Even though you¡¯re ugly, you¡¯re quite hardworking. This old man, won¡¯t be courteous then. Do you know why they recruited people here? You should have guessed already. I¡¯m getting old and my strength has waned. I will be unable to meet the demands of the kitchen soon. I won¡¯t be courteous with you but don¡¯t overwork yourself. It¡¯s alright to just split a couple more. That¡¯s right, what¡¯s your name?¡± His words had warmed my heart. ¡°I¡¯m called Eighteen. You can just call me that from now on.¡± The old man nodded. ¡°You can call me Old Firewood. I¡¯ve long forgotten my name.¡± I was startled before I replied. ¡°How can I do that? You¡¯re so much older than me. How about this? I¡¯ll call you Uncle Firewood.¡± Old Firewood drank a mouthful of wine before replying, ¡°Up to you. You really don¡¯t want to drink?¡± I smiled as I shook my head. When it was deep in the night, Old Firewood had already entered the land of dreams. I surveyed my surrounding and found them empty. I circulated my magic power and gently brandished my hand. Countless tiny light blades appeared, instantly splitting a vast amount of logs into small even pieces. When I waved my hand, the logs gathered at a corner. It was a pity that Sukrad¡¯s staff had been confiscated after I was caught. The current me shouldn¡¯t even be able to fight against Ke Lun Duo. After stacking the firewood, I returned to the firewood house and looked at Old Firewood. He was already giving off resounding snores. I took out a piece of cloth and tied it around my face, concentrating my magic power on my feet. I gently leapt on the kitchen¡¯s roof. It was silent everywhere. Since the palace was immense, I didn¡¯t dare to go far, and just patrolled a 100 metres radius around the kitchen. The security here was relaxed as I only met an occasional team of patrolling soldiers. I had quietly memorised the routes I had taken. After returning to the firewood house, I took out a piece of paper from my spatial pocket, drawing places from my memory. After 10 days time, I had already gained some information about the palace. The Demon race¡¯s palace was divided into inner and outer parts. The outer parts where we stayed as we laboured surrounded the entire outer palace. I had already been in the inner palace once. The security there was extremely tight. Even a small movement by Xiao Rou, it had alerted the the guards. Mu Zi and the Demon Emperor should be in there. I was filled with thoughts as I split the logs. Uncle Firewood said, ¡°Eighteen, what are you thinking about?¡± I snapped out from my thoughts and replied, ¡°Nothing.¡± Uncle Firewood smiled but didn¡¯t continue to question me. Uncle Firewood had always been inscrutable. Even though there wasn¡¯t any magical undulations from his body, after what had happened with Ke Lun Duo, I was extremely wary of him. Every night before I went to scout, I had always made sure that Uncle Firewood was fast asleep. What made me feel glad was that the recovery speed of my magic was extremely fast. Even though the gold dan didn¡¯t split into another gold dan, the magic spell composed of light magic was mellow and rich. The only gold dan in my brain was faintly discernible and my body was filled with power. My power was already on par with my past peak state. It was rather mysterious that, after losing the gold dans, my power would grow so much. It was really something that I had been unable to understand. I also didn¡¯t have much time to focus on such things. When I practiced my magic, even if I suppressed it, a faint radiance could be seen coming from my body, so I had chosen day time to train my magic. While I did the repetitive motions of splitting logs, I secretly gathered light elements, which were constantly changing in my body. Volume 9: Chapter 23 - Peeking Inside the Palace Volume 9: Chapter 23 - Peeking Inside the Palace Night had arrived again. The time of the day wasn¡¯t bad for me, as it was completely dark and the moon didn¡¯t appear tonight. This was great. I would infiltrate the palace tonight at all costs as I was already running out of time. I took out an outfit suitable for night travels from my space pocket, before saying to Xiao Rou. ¡°You should stay here. Don¡¯t follow me tonight.¡± Xiao Rou nodded. I saw signs of concern in her eyes so I said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if I can¡¯t defeat them, can¡¯t I just run away? I currently also didn¡¯t have any misgivings that I had felt previously. You just have to wait for me here and also keep an eye on Uncle Firewood. If he makes any movements, tell me about them after I return.¡± After giving her the task, I surged my magic power outwards, instantly leaping into the sky. My nightwear outfit was completely black, and under the protection of the pitch black sky, it would be impossible to spot me from the ground. I flew about a hundred metres in the sky, secretly heading towards the inner palace. The palace was still brightly lit. The pitch dark place behind the inner palace should be where the Dark Demon Dragon resides. The security of the outer perimeter in the inner palace was extremely tight, as there were guards everywhere. The interior was slightly better. I had picked the biggest building to land on, concealing my body by lying on the ridge of the roof. The building seemed to be occupied as it gave out noisy clamours from time to time. I crawled lightly to a corner since there were were other buildings to conceal my figure. I stuck my ear to the roof ridge and listened attentively. The sound that was coming from the interior of the building was chaotic. They seemed to be discussing a matter from what I had heard. A deep voice said, ¡°Your Majesty, now that the morale of the country¡¯s soldiers are high, it¡¯s the best time to attack the human race. Please pass down the order.¡± There was another slightly hoarse voice that said, ¡°Your Majesty, the Str?m Fortress has been under the management of the human race for few hundred years already. The defense of the fortress is extremely prepared. If we were to attack them now, it may result in a huge loss in our forces so I disagree with Prince Satan¡¯s suggestion.¡± Demon King Satan was enraged and said, ¡°Ha Yan Cha, why are you always going against what I do? From your words, we shouldn¡¯t commence our attack, right? The alliance of my clan¡¯s troops with the Valiant Mist Empire have reached beyond 200 thousand strong. We can tolerate a small amount of injuries and deaths, right?¡± So, the first person who spoke was Demon King Satan, who was supporting the fight against the human race while the second person that talked was Ke Lun Duo¡¯s father, county¡¯s advisor, Ha Yan Cha. Ha Yan Cha replied, ¡°Your highness, I didn¡¯t propose the idea of delaying the attack; rather, we should find a better opportunity to avoid needless casualties.¡± Demon King Satan sneered, ¡°A better opportunity? What better opportunity will we have? What about your previous rotten plan? Didn¡¯t it fail terribly and lead to the death of countless elite warriors of my country? His Majesty hasn¡¯t blamed you for that matter, and yet, you still dare to continue talking about finding opportunities now.¡± A gentle and beautiful voice sounded out, ¡°Uncle, you shouldn¡¯t say it like that. The previous mistake isn¡¯t completely due to Teacher.¡± After hearing this voice, my entire body momentarily quaked, and my mind immediately flew beyond the topmost clouds.It wasn''t a stranger; it was Mu Zi, who I had yearned for during the day and dreamt of at night. I was filled with intense longing for her. While I was thinking of my next move, I heard the Demon Emperor¡¯s voice that sounded from below me, ¡°Who are you to unexpectedly infiltrate my palace?¡± A strong power surged towards my location. I recovered my consciousness before moving in a flash to the side. ¡®Hong!¡¯ The previous place I was at exploded, filling the air with dust. This wasn¡¯t good; I had been discovered. I didn¡¯t run but just hid my body under the eaves. ¡°Sou!¡± There was a couple of people that leapt out from the hole on the roof. Demon Emperor Satan voiced out, ¡°Ke Lun Duo, what are you doing! As the leader of the Radiant Protectors, you actually let assassins infiltrate the palace? Everyone is to quickly spread out to search, we must find the infiltrator.¡± This old fellow didn¡¯t even give a chance that would lead to the disorder of his team. As I heard the gradually fading sounds, I heaved a sigh of relief before flipping back on the rooftop with my arms. Just as I wanted to find a way to escape, two figures suddenly appeared on either side of me, flanking me in the middle. The one that was in front of me, Ke Lun Duo, smiled and said, ¡°Friend, you¡¯re very clever but you¡¯re still unable to escape from our hands.¡± I hoarsely snorted, gathering magic in my hand, preparing to break out from this enclosement. ¡°Brother Wa Leng, don¡¯t kill him, and catch him alive.¡±(Ke Lun Duo¡¯s full name is Ke Lun Duo Wa Leng.) It was Mu Zi¡¯s voice, so the one behind me was Mu Zi. Ke Lun Duo respectfully replied, ¡°As you wish, Your Highness.¡± I used a short teleportation to escape the enclosement, but I didn¡¯t run away as I wanted to look at Mu Zi, who I had yearned for all this time. Mu Zi hadn''t changed at all. She was still so beautiful, but she was slightly thinner and weaker as compared to before. The Princess attire that she wore had enhanced her elegance. When Mu Zi and the handsome Ke Lun Duo stood together, they looked like an ideal couple, looking extremely compatible together. My heart felt indescribable pain, making me grit my teeth as I stroked the scars on my face. Complicated feelings were expressed from my eyes. Mu Zi stopped Ke Lun Duo, who was going to charge over. ¡°He has just used teleportation and is giving off a familiar feeling. Who are you?¡± That question was asked towards me. I mournfully laughed before replying hoarsely, ¡°Don¡¯t ask who I am. You want to catch me? It¡¯s impossible.¡± I suppressed my stirred up mood, as I used short teleportation to escape. Mu Zi shouted from behind. ¡°Stop right there and explain what you mean by that!¡± She used her wind magic and chased after me with Ke Lun Duo. I definitely couldn¡¯t let them reach me. After using short teleportation to its limit, I was finally able to escape from them at a garden of the outer palace. I crouched down at a corner, holding onto my pain filled chest. ¡®Heaven, why must you be so cruel, allowing me to meet with Mu Zi, but making it impossible for us to identify each other? Why?!¡¯ The tears from unhappiness moistened the black cloth that was covering my face. I initially thought that I would be satisfied with just a glance at Mu Zi. However, after seeing her, my longing for her intensified. I couldn¡¯t help but want to return to sneak another glance at her. (Author: Faint! Zhang Gong must be really sick of living.) I withdrew my entire body¡¯s aura as I sneaked back to the garden that was sparsely filled. Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo hadn¡¯t left, and were still talking. Ke Lun Duo said, ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s head back so that His Majesty won¡¯t get too anxious from waiting for us. I can also employ the Radiant Protectors to catch the infiltrator that way.¡± There was confusion in Mu Zi¡¯s expression as she muttered, ¡°Why did that person give me such a familiar feeling? I definitely know that person, but who is he?¡± I was touched. It couldn¡¯t be that she was still able to distinguish my identity; even after my body shape and voice had completely changed, right? What I didn¡¯t know was that even though my body shape had changed, the way I walked and used magic hadn¡¯t changed at all. From my bearing and speech, how could Mu Zi easily forget after being so familiar with them? Volume 9: Chapter 24 - Mu Zis Understanding Volume 9: Chapter 24 - Mu Zi''s Understanding Ke Lun Duo prompted, ¡°Princess, let¡¯s go.¡± A sudden glimmer was shown in Mu Zi¡¯s eyes as she said in surprise, ¡°Zhang Gong? That person is Zhang Gong?¡± Ke Lun Duo was startled before he asked, ¡°Is that the mage that you knew from the human race?¡± This brat was pretending that he didn¡¯t know me; it made me clench my fist tightly in anger. Mu Zi glanced at Ke Lun Duo with a complicated expression. ¡°Big Brother Wa Leng, it¡¯s him. He has come to the empire to find me. I want to see him.¡± Upon saying that she was going to move to find Zhang Gong, Ke Lun Duo pulled on Mu Zi¡¯s sleeve, saying, ¡°Princess, I think that it will be better to head back now. That person is definitely not the person you said them to be.¡± Mu Zi said in astonishment, ¡°Why? My instinct tells me that the person is Zhang Gong. I will never forget the familiar feeling that he gave me. Sorry, Big Brother Wa Leng, but even though we grew up together, I¡¯ve only treated you as a brother. Can you forgive me?¡± Mu Zi, as expected, hadn¡¯t forgotten her feelings toward me. My feelings rose again from the depths of my heart. Ke Lun Duo sighed as he replied, ¡°Princess, I know that I¡¯m not suitable to be your partner, nor do I have thoughts of it, but you must head back with me for now, alright? If you were to go missing, even if I had 10 heads, chopping them all off still wouldn¡¯t suffice to appease His Majesty¡¯s anger.¡± Mu Zi resiliently shook her head. ¡°I can promise you anything else but this matter. Zhang Gong has taken such risks to find me. If I don¡¯t see him, I¡­¡­¡± Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°That person definitely isn¡¯t the Zhang Gong that you said. Did you not see his eyes were purple?¡± Mu Zi said, ¡° I considered that. When I was heading to the human race, it was easy to conceal, so Zhang Gong must have done the same thing. Please stop trying to convince me otherwise, Big Brother Wa Long¡± Ke Lun Duo replied anxiously, ¡°Princess, I definitely can¡¯t let you put yourself at risk.¡± Mu Zi replied smiling, ¡°Why would it be risky? Zhang Gong would never hurt me.¡± Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°But, he really isn¡¯t Zhang Gong.¡± Mu Zi frowned as she queried, ¡°Why were you so certain from the beginning that that person isn¡¯t Zhang Gong?¡± It might be due to being pressured by Mu Zi that he blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s because the real Zhang Gong already died long ago.¡± I could feel that Mu Zi¡¯s body had stiffened, even from a far distance away, ¡°Just-who-did-you-say-died?¡± Ke Lun Duo realized that he said something he shouldn¡¯t, and hastily explained, ¡°No, I had said that groundlessly.¡± Mu Zi said with her eyes widened, ¡°Big Brother Wa Leng, I know that you¡¯d never say anything groundlessly. Quickly tell me what the hell is going on.¡± Ke Lun Duo knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to continue hiding it from her so he told her how he infiltrated our group and what had transpired in the God Rended Canyon after letting out a long sigh. Mu Zi asked anxiously, ¡°What happened after Royal Father caught him?¡± Ke Lun Duo sighed, ¡°From what His Majesty said, since he couldn''t withstand the infiltration of the dark elements, his body had completely corroded, leading to his death.¡± I saw Mu Zi¡¯s entire body sway, with a pale face she muttered, ¡°Did Zhang Gong really die? No, he couldn¡¯t. You must be lying, right? Big Brother Wa Leng, tell me that everything you just said was simply fabricated. Tell me!¡± The more Mu Zi said, the more stirred up she got as she grabbed onto Ke Lun Duo¡¯s shoulders and shook him violently. Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°Princess, please calm down. What I¡¯ve said is the truth.¡± Mu Zi dashed towards the inner palace, she seemed to have gone crazy as she shouted, ¡°I must ask Royal Father and get him to say that you lied to me!¡± I saw translucent water droplets in the air. Ah! Those were Mu Zi¡¯s tears. Ke Lun Duo shouted, ¡°Princess, please wait for me!¡± He said that as he pursued her. As I saw their leaving figures, I stood up from the thicket, with my face covered in tears. If I didn¡¯t have the scars on my body, how happy I¡¯d be. I would immediately reveal my identity and take Mu Zi away. However, what else could I do? I was no longer a suitable match for her, who had an appearance like a goddess. After I surveyed my surroundings, I used short teleportation to enter the firewood house. As I just entered, Xiao Rou pounced towards me. I grabbed her and whispered, ¡°Help me keep a look out. I¡¯m going to change my clothes.¡± I nimbly changed into the servant¡¯s attire before tossing the night attire into the space pocket. After changing, I heaved a sigh of relief. Just as I laid on my bed, there was suddenly a loud explosion that came from the inner palace, startling Uncle Firewood and I. Uncle Firewood said groggily, ¡°What happened?¡± I replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It seems that something had exploded outside.¡± Uncle Firewood put on his clothes before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go out to see what happened.¡± When Uncle Firewood and I walked out from the Firewood house, we saw that the sky at the inner palace was crimson red. Could it be that a fire started somewhere? I didn¡¯t destroy anything in the inner palace. All of the staff from the kitchen walked out from their resting place, the kitchen in charge said, ¡°What happened?¡± Someone replied, ¡°It seems that assassins appeared in the inner palace?¡± ¡°Who would be so daring to do to even think of infiltrating the palace of our Holy Light Empire? That person must be tired of living.¡± A group of soldiers walked in from outside. The leader of the soldiers said, ¡°All the members of the kitchen staff are not to move. Assassins entered the palace, and are currently being pursued. Everyone must return to their homes.¡± This can¡¯t be happening right? Why are they making such a big deal about a solo infiltration? The entire night the palace never went silent, the entire grounds, including the kitchen, were searched. At noon of the following day, whilst I split the wood, I heard chattering of two masters in charge of chopping vegetable. They were discussing about what happened yesterday. I focused on my hearing as I heard them say, ¡°I heard that there were assassins that infiltrated the palace last night. They were plotting to assassinate his Majesty.¡± The other master said, ¡°Everyone knows about this. After fussing about it for a long time, wasn''t no one was caught in the end? I really don¡¯t know what the soldiers are doing.¡± ¡°Xu! Hush your voice. Don¡¯t let anyone hear that. If not, you¡¯re guaranteed to be in trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth, no? They are responsible for protecting the palace. There were so many of them, and assassins were still able to infiltrate. Moreover, they strutted out with no issues at all. It was really embarrassing!¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t even the most interesting part! Something even more intriguing occurred.¡± ¡±What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Do you still remember the sudden loud explosion from the inner palace that lead to a blazing fire? Do you know what caused it?¡± ¡°Of course, I was awoken from that explosion. It wasn¡¯t due to the assassin?¡± The master looked at his surrounding before he whispered, ¡°Of course not. I heard from a small eunuch that was in charge of serving the meals saying that it was the princess that caused it.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 25 - Mysterious Man in Black Volume 9: Chapter 25 - Mysterious Man in Black The other master said in surprise, ¡°What? It was caused by the Princess?¡± ¡°Lower your voice. I don¡¯t know why, but the Princess suddenly threw a tantrum at His Majesty. She then cast an unknown large scale magic in fury, leading to the destruction of the Politics Palace Hall.¡± Upon hearing that, I lowered my head to hide the stirred up emotions and increased the pace of splitting wood. Mu Zi¡¯s fall out with her father was definitely due to me. ¡®Mu Zi! My good Mu Zi, if I still had my original looks, how great will that be? I¡¯ll definitely escape to a faraway place with you. However, I¡¯m no longer compatible with you. Perhaps, Ke Lun Duo will be the best match for you.¡¯ I gritted my teeth at the idea of not being able to see Mu Zi anymore. Even though I know that if I were to reveal myself to her, she wouldn¡¯t reject me because of my appearance. But could I do that? I mustn¡¯t ruin her life. If she were to follow me, whose body was filled with scars, how would other people see her. Thinking about that, tears flowed down my face; my heart was filled with all kinds of mixed feelings, be it being sweet, sour, bitter and hot. Uncle Firewood, who was beside me saw that something was wrong, asked in astonishment, ¡°Eighteen, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I hastily wiped off the tears and replied, ¡°Nothing, Uncle Firewood. It¡¯s just sand that got into my eyes.¡± ¡®En!¡¯ Uncle Firewood didn¡¯t continue to push for answers. I took in a deep breath to calm down the complicated emotions of my heart. I couldn¡¯t continue to think about Mu Zi anymore. Since I had already seen her, I should be satisfied. My top priority at the moment was to save Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest, then immediately head back to the base for our last preparation against the Monster King. I bit on my lips as I focused my thoughts on splitting the wood. At noon, Uncle Firewood patted on my shoulder. ¡°Eighteen, you don¡¯t have to be that hard working. You¡¯ve cut two days worth of woods already. You can take a break, it should be time for our meal already.¡± I placed the axe down, using my sleeve to wipe off my perspiration before forcing a smile at Uncle Firewood. Uncle Firewood frowned, (when you see a ghastly person smile at you, you frown?), before he continued to say, ¡°I¡¯ll head out to eat first. After eating, I¡¯ll call for you.¡± I thought, ¡®You must be scared that I will affect your appetite, right?¡¯ After smiling wryly, I continued doing the job on hand. ¡­¡­ Later at night, I wore the evening attire again to sneak out of the Firewood house before gently leaping onto the roof. No matter what happened today, I would definitely investigate the position of the Sky Prison. I was afraid that the longer I stayed here, the harder it would be to stave off the temptation to seek out Mu Zi. Just as I was about to move forward, a black shadow suddenly flashed in front of me, blocking my way. The shadow approached me at such a shocking speed that even with my sensitivity, I wasn¡¯t able to detect anyone approaching me. I sized up the person before me, only to see that his entire body was covered with black clothing; not even his hair was in view. It was obvious that he was the same as me, who feared that someone would recognise him. If it wasn¡¯t for the immense pressure that I felt from him, I would have already made the move to kill him. I whispered, ¡°What do you want?¡± The black clothed man nodded at me before replying hoarsely, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to alarm anyone, follow me.¡± After saying that, he moved in a flash, heading out of the palace. I secretly sighed before pursuing his figure that was headed out of the palace. The black clothed person used the same method as I did to infiltrate the inner palace. He flew high up and used night to hide his presence to leave the palace. However, he didn¡¯t stop, and just continued to fly outwards. His speed was extremely fast so I didn¡¯t have a choice but to use all of the fusion power in my body to follow him; making it impossible to question him. After leaving the city, his speed gradually decreased, finally stopping at a small mountain cavity that was 15 km away from the royal city. I stopped ten metres away from him, lightly panting. The long distance flight¡¯s consumption of my energy was large. The blacked clothed person looked at me and said in the same hoarse voice, ¡°What¡¯s your motive for infiltrating the Demon¡¯s palace?¡± I coldly snorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same, skulking in the dark to avoid being recognized by people? What right do you have question me?¡± The black clothed person replied, ¡°Since you aren¡¯t willing to talk, then we¡¯ll have to resort to force.¡± I definitely wouldn¡¯t be careless when facing a person whose strength I couldn¡¯t decipher, so I immediately cast a defensive magic spell, casting a faint glow around my body. I didn¡¯t have Sukrad¡¯s staff, and my magic power hadn¡¯t fully recovered, so the gathering speed of my magic was much slower compared to before. The black clothed person asked in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re a light magician. It seems that I hadn¡¯t guessed wrong to assume that you are a spy from the human race.¡± I waved my hand to cast a light blade, as I must kill him as soon as possible. He had already found out my identity. No matter who he was, this was the Demon race¡¯s territory, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t be my arms in comrade. If he were to expose my identity, it would only increase the difficulty of rescuing Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest. Oddly enough, the man didn¡¯t move to dodge the light blade that was about to hit him. At the moment before impact, his body suddenly gave off a sky blue light, causing the light blade¡¯s power to disperse. I was shock. What kind of power was that? It unexpectedly countered my attack with such ease. This was the first time I had felt helpless, even though I didn¡¯t cower when facing the demon Emperor. The black clothed person didn¡¯t launch a counter attack and just sniggered, ¡°That kind of attack is useless against me. It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re only at that level of power, right?¡± Hatred formed in my heart as I gritted my teeth and chanted, ¡°Oh!Great light elements, I plead to you, lend me unlimited divine power to form into stars and eliminate the enemy before me------Bright Star¡¯s Shine!¡± ¡°Oh! Great light elements, I plead to you, lend me unlimited divine power to form a Holy light that eliminates all evil beings and eliminate the enemy before me-----Holy Light!¡± Since the enemy was powerful, I had consecutively cast two advanced spells. Since my power hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, I could only recite the chant for the advanced magic spells, unlike the previous case where I didn¡¯t need to chant at my peak state. Numerous light stars gathered before me, and with my control, they formed a chain that charged towards the opponent. Simultaneously, the Holy Light was completed, forming a gold pillar that enclosed the light stars, and increased the power of the spell. This was the light fusion magic that I had developed recently. I had named it Holy Bright Star¡¯s Shine. This was the initial use of it. Even though the power didn¡¯t reach the level of a forbidden spell, it was already beyond the capabilities of advanced magic spells. After using this spell, I felt my entire body weaken as the magic power in my body frantically surged outwards. The black clothed person moved two steps back. It was obvious that he knew that this attack wouldn¡¯t be easy to counter. He placed both of his hands before his chest to form a ring. A blue light halo suddenly lit up and charged towards the light stars inside the Holy Light. There were constant sounds of collision sounded in the air, while I just stared with my vision transfixed on the opponent. Volume 9: Chapter 26 - Magic Races War God Volume 9: Chapter 26 - Magic Race''s War God When the light ray faded, the black clothed person was still standing at his original position. I exclaimed in shock, ¡°No! This is impossible. How can someone just use their physical body to withstand the Holy Bright Star Shine?¡± Even the Demon Emperor would need to borrow the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s power or the origin Divine spell to block this attack as it was already the most powerful offensive spell, second to the Holy Sword¡¯s power. The black clothed person brandished his hand in the air. It seemed to be dealing with the remaining power from my previous attack. He said unhurriedly, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things that are deemed as impossible.¡± I suddenly thought passed my mind and replied with wide eyes, ¡°Could it be that you have already trained to¡­¡­..¡± The black clothed person was surprised. ¡°Your sight is not bad, and it¡¯s also unnecessary to hide this fact. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m the sole warrior at the Legendary War God rank in the entire world.¡± His words confirmed my thought. I suppressed my fears and asked, ¡°War God? Don¡¯t they only exist in legends? How did you train to that level?¡± Only the War God would have divine powers to dissipate all kind of spells, excluding forbidden spells. ¡®If I were to be at my peak state, perhaps, I could be his match. Currently, however, not only have my magic powers not fully recovered, the Sukrad¡¯s staff is gone. How am I going to fight against this black clothed person, that has divine powers, in my current condition?¡¯ Thinking about that, I couldn¡¯t help, but be depressed. The black clothed person looked at the sky as he replied, ¡°I trained bitterly for eighty years, and had to give up settling down to achieve my current standard. Do you think it¡¯s easy? From what I analysed, you have internal injuries. If not, you wouldn¡¯t be at your current standard, and I would have to use all of my strength to overwhelm you. It has been a long time since I killed someone. If you were to tell me your motive, I¡¯ll definitely spare your life.¡± I coldly laughed, ¡°What do you mean by sparing my life?¡± The black clothed person replied, ¡°I¡¯ll only cripple your cultivation. Whether you survive or not will be up to you then.¡± After hearing what he said, I let out a long mournful hiss. How could I not know the pain of having my powers crippled due to a near death experience? His words invigorated my will to survive. I gathered my energy and gradually activated the Holy Sword¡¯s divine power. I would rather fight until I perished rather than return to that state of living dead. The black clothed person felt the change of power in my body and said in astonishment, ¡°So, you still haven¡¯t used all of your power.¡± Under the immense pressure of the Holy Sword, he couldn¡¯t help, but tense up, releasing blue light rays from his entire body. I said indifferently, ¡°Even if it¡¯s to the death, I won¡¯t surrender to you. I¡¯ll let you have a taste of my final attack.¡± There was a scathing light that appeared in my surrounding. The Holy Sword, giving out silver light rays, appeared above my head; it got larger from the constant surge of magic power entering it. My entire body reeked of divine aura. Six light wings appeared on my back and my hair had turned completely golden. When I suddenly opened my eyes, a dazzling gold ray shot out as I chanted calmly, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± As I chanted, the silver sword gave out numerous light rays in the sky, lighting up the pitch black sky like the sun that shined in daytime; the light rays were filled with divine aura. Even though I hadn¡¯t fully recovered my cultivation, the Holy Sword had brought out about seventy percent of my power from my peak condition. The fusion power in my body had been constantly consumed by it. The black clothed person said alarmed, ¡°You¡¯re God¡¯s inheritor. Quickly, stop!¡± However, I had finished already chanting the spell. How could I stop due to being yelled to do so? The silver sword suddenly burst forth, charging towards the black clothed person. The surrounding grass and woods had turned to smithereens from the Holy Sword¡¯s power. After the release of the Holy Sword, I collapsed on the ground, void of strength. The outcome of the match would be determined by this move. The black clothed person looked seriously at the absolute power heading towards him. His both hands constantly changed patterns, leading a blue divine light to be emitted from his entire body and rapidly formed a blue whirlpool. It was obvious to see that he was using a lot of strength to maintain that whirlpool from the shudders of his body as he shouted, ¡°Divine Blue Light Revolution!¡± The blue revolution slowly raised from his hand to get into contact with the Holy Sword that was flying over to him. I looked at him with widen eyes as I wanted to know which would be stronger, the Divine Light or the Holy Sword. This would also determine my fate. When the two powers came into contact, it was beyond my expectation as it didn¡¯t gave off an intense explosion that I had expected. The Holy Sword¡¯s power was redirected towards the Royal City due to the blue light revolution. An enormous silverish white sword encased in a blue light flew towards the city of the Demon race¡¯s Holy Light Empire in the pitch black night. The intense explosion woke up everyone in the city. Seventy percent of the city wall at the west of the capital was destroyed, killing and injuring few hundreds of people. The Demon Emperor got the report saying, ¡°There was an unknown strong power that had attacked the west side of the City, resulting to the destruction of sixty percent of it due to the collision.¡± But no one saw the Holy Sword¡¯s shape, as those people at the west of the capital had died from the explosion. I looked dazed at the intense explosion that occurred at the faraway city. I didn¡¯t expect that the fusion of the two large powers could attack a place that was 15 km away and still possessed a formidable destructive power. The black clothed person sat on the ground, panting profusely. I smiled wryly, ¡°Your Divine Light is incredible as it unexpectedly was able to redirect my Holy Light¡¯s power, but there¡¯s something that I don¡¯t understand.¡± As the black clothed person panted, he replied, ¡°What¡¯s so incredible about that? It almost cost me my life. Just ask me what questions you have.¡± I asked, ¡°Since you¡¯re a demon, why did you direct the power towards the demon¡¯s city?¡± The black clothed person said snappily, ¡°You think I wanted that to happen? Under the attack from a first grade divine instrument, it¡¯s not bad to protect myself. I don¡¯t have the luxury to think about the rest. However, it''s also time for the guards of the Royal Family to have a wake up call. They¡¯ve had too much peaceful times.¡± So, it was that case. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t easy for him to counter my attack. The black clothed person suddenly turned to look at the demon city. ¡°Not good, the Royal Family¡¯s guard are heading our way. Let¡¯s move away from here.¡± Upon saying that he grabbed me as he lept into the sky. As expected of a War God, he still had so much remaining power. It was impossible for me to not concede defeat. However, I was curious why the attitude of this black clothed person seemed to have changed drastically after I had released the Holy Sword¡¯s power. While I thought about that, I secretly gathered the fusion power in my body as the more powers I gathered, the higher the probability of my survival would be. Volume 9: Chapter 27 - Firewood Houses Uncle Firewood Volume 9: Chapter 27 - Firewood House''s Uncle Firewood Very quickly, I discovered that the black clothed person had actually flown towards the palace while bringing me along. What was his intention? Could he be a subordinate of the Demon Emperor? The black clothed person gradually decreased his pace, gently landing near the Firewood House. From the amount of perspiration appearing on his body, I knew that he was near his limit, and was secretly elated. The black clothed person unceremoniously tossed me into the Firewood house, whilst closing the door after he surveyed the surrounding. He panted, ¡°You brat, you¡¯re really heavy. We almost couldn¡¯t return. Don¡¯t overthink this; I won¡¯t cripple your cultivation, for now. There are some things I want to ask you in the meantime.¡± Upon saying that, he took off the mask on his head. I was momentarily stunned. The black clothed person was shockingly the Uncle Firewood, who drank wine and split logs all day long. I gasped and asked stunned, ¡°Uncle Firewood, it was you all along?¡± Uncle Firewood chuckled and recovered his original voice, ¡°Is there a reason you think it couldn¡¯t be me? From the moment I met you, I realised you weren¡¯t simple. How did you possess a first grade divine instrument?¡± I realised that as he spoke, his battle spirit was rapidly recovering. I understood that simply by relying on force, I wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance if this person teamed up with the Demon Emperor. I sighed and replied, ¡°Since you want to know, I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯m actually a magician from the human race¡¯s Aixia Kingdom. I¡¯ve been training light magic since childhood¡­¡­..¡± I roughly told him all of my experiences, including the acknowledgement of the God King and obtaining the Holy Sword. When I talked about the Monster King, Uncle Firewood¡¯s eye brows deeply furrowed. ¡°.....Just like that, we head toward the demon race to try to stop the Demon Emperor from continuing to attack the humans, and instead join forces in resisting the soon to be resurrected Monster King. However, the Demon Emperor didn¡¯t listen to our explanation and just continued on his own course, resulting in me having severe injuries, and the capturing of my teammates.¡± Uncle Firewood nodded. ¡°You¡¯re quite the man to disfigure yourself to infiltrate the Royal Palace as a spy to rescue your teammates.¡± I smiled wryly, ¡°Do you think I did it willingly? It was down to the corrosion of the Demon Emperor¡¯s dark element. If it wasn¡¯t for the protection of the Holy Sword, I would¡¯ve been finished long ago, but the scars remained on my body.¡± ¡°So that was the case. I¡¯ve been secretly following your midnight excursions these past few days. Your relationship with Mu Zi appears quite unusual.¡± This fellow had understood the situation quite clearly. I hadn¡¯t told him a thing about Mu Zi. I also didn¡¯t expect that he had been tailing me all this time. It seemed that there was no point in withholding information anymore. I felt that Uncle Firewood did not harbour animosity toward me. I smiled embarrassed, ¡°Since you¡¯ve a deep understanding of the Demon race, you should be aware that Mu Zi previously went to the human kingdom as a spy. I was her classmate and can also be classified as her lover. I sincerely love Mu Zi. She was the main reason why I journeyed all the way to the Demon Kingdom. But as you¡¯ve already seen it, I¡¯ve turned out like this. I am now incompatible with Mu Zi and can only secretly long for her in silence.¡± Upon saying that, my feelings were stirred, and I couldn¡¯t help but be dejected. Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Just change your clothes. With the commotion earlier, everyone in the entire city will be on high alert. They may even check in here.¡± I asked in astonishment, ¡°You don¡¯t plan on selling me out? I¡¯m here as a spy.¡± Uncle Firewood slightly nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t sell you out, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I will let you go. Don¡¯t you even think that you had moved me with your words; I''ve decided to temporarily believe you due to the first grade divine instrument you possess.¡± I asked, ¡°The Demon Emperor and you mentioned the first grade divine instrument. What does that mean? It can¡¯t be that the divine instrument have grades, right?¡± Uncle Firewood looked at me, as though he was looking at an idiot. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s graded. It can¡¯t be that the God King didn¡¯t tell you about that when he gave you the Holy Sword? The divine instrument has five grades. The first grade possess the most offensive power. It¡¯s only the God King who grades and holds them in his possession. It was due to that reason I trust you; the God King shouldn¡¯t have had an error in his judgements and mistakenly given his own companion sword to a sinister person. The Dragon God¡¯s Sukrad''s staff should be a fourth grade divine instrument and the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s gun that the Demon Emperor used should be an ancient Demon God¡¯s pass down. It should be of the second grade divine instrument.¡± I said in awe, ¡°So that was the case. But then why wasn¡¯t I able to withstand the Demon Emperor¡¯s second grade divine instrument when I had a first and fourth grade divine instruments?¡± Uncle Firewood explained as he changed his attire, ¡°It was due to your insufficient power that you were unable to use its full potential. Do you think divine instruments are easy to use? Don¡¯t even mention the first grade divine instrument, when with your current power, you can¡¯t even fully use the power of the fourth grade divine instrument. While the current Demon Emperor is the number one genius in the history of the demon race, at the age of 50, he was already able to bring out the full power of the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s gun. Even though his mount, the Dark Demon Dragon definitely expedited the process; his intelligence and hard work is unquestionable. Your current level is at minimum two grades lower than his. Even if the Demon Emperor hasn¡¯t already reached the War God¡¯s rank, he isn¡¯t far from it. Unless you reach the valley that the God King told you to receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, don¡¯t even talk about the defeating the Monster King when the current you is definitely not a match for the Demon Emperor.¡± What he had analysed was correct. I couldn¡¯t defeat the Demon Emperor even when I was in my peak state and had two divine instruments. There was definitely a gap in our abilities. I had originally thought that I could be counted as a peak expert in the continent, but the disparity of power between Uncle Firewood and the Demon Emperor was large. Uncle Firewood had already changed his clothes. He suddenly coughed violently and his face paled. I had already recovered some of my power so I hastily went forward to support him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Uncle Firewood?¡± Uncle Firewood glared at me before taking some of the logs to split. As he split the logs, he said, ¡°It isn¡¯t caused by you. I¡¯ve aged and become useless. My old illness has acted up due to using lots of energy today.¡± I went forth and replied, ¡°I can help you to split the wood while you take a break.¡± Currently, my little life is in his hand. How could I dare to offend him? Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Don¡¯t need. I can do it by myself. When I trained my battle spirit to the War God¡¯s rank, I had forcefully broken through my meridians. Even though it was successful, I injured my lungs. Lungs belong to the wood element. This is why I¡¯ve been splitting wood to distribute the energy to my lungs. I¡¯m already 97 years old this year. I doubt that I¡¯ve long to live.¡± I had changed into my original clothings and told Uncle Firewood, ¡°With a look, you don¡¯t appear ordinary. Why do you continue to stay here? It shouldn¡¯t be just to split logs, right?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 28 - The Empires Royal Protector Uncle Volume 9: Chapter 28 - The Empire''s Royal Protector Uncle Uncle Firewood said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to tell you that I¡¯m an uncle of the Demon Emperor. The previous Demon Emperor was my brother. Thus, I¡¯m staying here to use my remaining lifespan to protect the Holy Light Empire. If you dare do something that will endanger the demon race, hmph! I will make you die with an incomplete body.¡± I was shocked, as I would never have thought that a prince would be splitting wood in a place like this. I shook my head and looked at the sky and noticed it was really dark, so I laid at the side to sleep. I was awoken by Uncle Firewood the next morning. ¡°Eighteen, it¡¯s time to split logs. I will warn you that without my permission, you aren¡¯t allowed to take a step out the perimeter of Firewood house. If you do, you will know the consequences.¡± This was bad, I¡¯m watched attentively by the current prince of the Demon race. How could I rescue big brother and the rest? Could it be that I was destined to die here? I was anxious for the entire day. At night, I finally couldn¡¯t bear it any longer so I ran to face Uncle Firewood and said fumingly, ¡°What on earth are you thinking? If you want to kill me, just do it now. What¡¯s your motive for restraining me here?¡± Uncle Firewood replied indifferently, ¡°I understand how you¡¯re feeling. I¡¯ve thought about it for a day. The Monster King is definitely a major threat to us. Just as you¡¯ve said, if the Monster King resurrects, the first to topple will be the Holy Light Empire, so I¡¯ve decided to team up with you.¡± The change in Uncle Firewood¡¯s attitude gave me a shock. ¡°Team up? How so?¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Even though I¡¯m currently unable to prevent the allied demon race and beast race troop from invading the humans, I can still use my influence to delay it. I hope that during this period of time, you¡¯ll be able to find solid evidence for everyone to see, and prove that the Monster King¡¯s threat is true. At that moment, you¡¯ll have the possibility of convincing the Demon Emperor.¡± I replied, ¡°You¡¯re letting me go?¡± Uncle Firewood nodded. ¡°Not only am I going to release you, I¡¯m also going to help you rescue your friends. However, I want you to swear in the God¡¯s name that from now on, you won¡¯t do anything to endanger my demon race.¡± I said smiling, ¡°My target has never been the demon race, but the Monster King that can topple the world and eliminate all forms of life. I, Zhang Gong Wei, under the supervision of the Gods, promise that if I endanger the Demon race, may my body be struck by five lightnings that would result in my death and inability to reincarnate.¡± As long as I could do what I planned to do, what would an oath count for? Uncle Firewood replied in satisfaction, ¡°You¡¯ve to remember what you swore. Come here, I¡¯ll treat your wounds.¡± Upon saying that, he brandished his hands at me, making me move in front of him. When his palms interlocked, my back was momentarily facing him and I sat cross legged. Blue divine light emerged from Uncle Firewood¡¯s body, encasing me within. An incomparably pure power entered through my shirt, constantly breaking through my clogged meridians. I definitely wouldn¡¯t let this chance escape so I immediately circulated the fusion power, following the steps of Uncle Firewood¡¯s divine light battle spirit¡¯s movement. After the fight with Uncle Firewood, I still hadn¡¯t completely recovered. The single gold dan had slowly segregated to three under Uncle Firewood¡¯s help to break through my meridians. A horn like power formed in my upper dantian, making the absorption speed of light elements increase drastically. I knew that my old wounds were making a complete recovery, and caused me to be jubilant. I totally revered Uncle Firewood, who was a senior expert of the demon race. He would actually lend a hand to an outsider for the fate of his clan. I definitely couldn¡¯t win against him in aspiration. I couldn¡¯t talk about the others, but if that brat, Ke Lun Duo, were to be in my hands, even if I wouldn¡¯t kill him, I would peel his skin. I wasn¡¯t that good hearted. When I stopped cultivating, dawn had arrived. Uncle Firewood was sitting to the side, slowly splitting logs. I said in gratitude, ¡°Thank you, Uncle Firewood. I feel much better already.¡± Uncle Firewood plainly replied, ¡°If you keep to your promise, it will be the greatest gratitude you can offer me. I¡¯ve really underestimated you. You¡¯ve already broken through the Magister¡¯s realm, and are heading towards the Grand Magister¡¯s realm. It¡¯s really extraordinary for you to reach such a standard within your age. But for the future of my clan, I must have you make another promise.¡± What? Another promise? I couldn''t help but frown as I calculated in my heart. My current power had recovered eighty percent from my peak state. After another day¡¯s work, I should be able to recover to the state where I fought with the Demon Emperor. At that time, I should barely be a match to Uncle Firewood. However, I couldn¡¯t do it now. For my little life, I could only compromise. ¡°What is it you want me to promise?¡± Uncle Firewood revealed a ¡®I knew that you would agree¡¯ look. ¡°I want you to promise that after the defeat of the Monster King, you will immediately withdraw from any conflicts between the various races, nor are you allowed to indirectly help at the side. This should already be very fair to you. Do you agree?¡± I had thought the worst when he asked me to promise something. After eliminating the Monster King, only a ghost would be willing to mix in the matters regarding the various race. I immediately smiled. ¡°That¡¯s easy. I, Zhang Gong Wei, swear that once the Monster King¡¯s matters has been resolved, I¡¯ll immediately live in seclusion and will never ask about what happens in the world. The conflict between the various races will have nothing to do with me.¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be at the point where it has nothing to do with you. I just hope that you won¡¯t be biased to the human race when dealing with us. When you received the God¡¯s inheritance, and learn to fully utilise it, no one in the world will be your match. If you are to be biased to the human race, won¡¯t my demon race be eliminated? Then, won¡¯t I become a traitor to the demon race in that case?¡± I replied, ¡°That will definitely not happen. Even if there¡¯s other reasons, for Mu Zi, I¡¯ll definitely not eliminate the demon race, but I¡¯m still of the human race. If I can become the top expert of the world, I¡¯ll use my remaining life to protect the entire world and its peace and harmony, not letting anyone invade it.¡± Uncle Firewood nodded and said after sighing, ¡°In the recent hundred years, I currently understand that what has brought to our flourishment is peace and harmony. Even though the Demon and beast race has an unbreakable chain of hatred with the human race, I still don¡¯t wish for the war to continue. I¡¯m aging, and perhaps won¡¯t be able to see the world prosper in peace and harmony. This matter will need you younger generations to fulfill it. You don¡¯t have to split wood today. You¡¯re to do your best in recovering your cultivation as I¡¯ll bring you to rescue your teammates tonight.¡± I instantly became elated. ¡°Will the Demon Emperor punish you, knowing that you have helped me to rescue my friends?¡± Uncle Firewood smiled. ¡°The previous Demon Emperor gave me the mission to protect the Kingdom, so I can make decisions for the Demon Emperor on some major matters. Moreover, the Demon Emperor was brought up by me. He should at least give me some face. All you have to do is to find the evidence for the emergence of the Monster King as soon as possible.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 29 - Invading the Sky Prison Volume 9: Chapter 29 - Invading the Sky Prison After an entire day of training leisurely, I finally recovered my peak state. My body was filled with fusion powers, making me so excited that the scars on my body didn¡¯t seem to bother me anymore. Uncle Firewood and I wore our night clothes and snuck out of the Firewood house ats night. It was already much easier to follow Uncle Firewood¡¯s steps after recovering my cultivation. Uncle Firewood brought me to the eastern city wall as if it was a walk in the park. As we hid in a dark corner, Uncle Firewood pointed to a tall building and said, ¡°That is the Sky Prison. Remember, you aren¡¯t allowed to kill anyone later on. Do you understand?¡± I nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t. However, the security is tight. Do you think we¡¯ll succeed?¡± There were about 50 guards at the entrance of the Sky Prison. If I wasn¡¯t allowed to kill anyone, it would be difficult to infiltrate. Uncle Firewood thought for a moment and said, ¡°Your friends should be locked at the lowest section of the Sky Prison. We would need to go through four security points. We will encounter some difficulties. Do you know teleportation spells? Can¡¯t you teleport in?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°There must be fixed point for the teleportation. Otherwise teleporting incorrectly, we may find ourselves locked in a cell. we¡¯ll then be in lots of trouble.¡± Once again Uncle Firewood began to think for a while, he crouched down and started to draw. Wherever his finger pointed, stone fragments shattered. After a short moment, a simplified map appeared on the ground. Uncle Firewood pointed at the lowest position of the map. ¡°If I haven¡¯t guessed incorrectly, they should be in there.¡± I calculated the position precisely before saying to Uncle Firewood, ¡°With this map, I can try setting a magic array. However, it will be risky.¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Just quickly do it. If there¡¯s no other option, we can still kill our way out. They won¡¯t be able to stop me.¡± If that was the case, I contemplated for a moment before starting to draw up a penetrating magic array that had a fixed position for the short teleportation. After drawing the array, I nodded towards Uncle Firewood before chanting softly, ¡°Open the Space¡¯s door to penetrate all obstructions and send us to the position we have set.¡± A faint light shone from the magic array, Uncle Firewood and I vanished from the dark corner. After the bright light faded, I had discovered that we had really teleported into a jail cell. The dozen prisoners in our surrounding looked at us in shock. I smiled wryly and said, ¡°It seems there was a deviation from the position that I¡¯ve set. What shall we do now?¡± Uncle Firewood rapidly let out a blue light, causing all of the prisoners that surrounded us to faint. He whispered, ¡°What else can we do? We¡¯ll use the time before the guards discover us to find your friends.¡± I pulled on Uncle Firewood who was about to break through the door and used the fusion spell to enclose us, while I used a short teleportation to get us into the corridor of the Sky Prison. Uncle Firewood chuckled and said, ¡°There¡¯s really quite a lot of ways to use magic. Perhaps, I should have learnt dark magic instead.¡± I asked, ¡°Which direction should we go?¡± Uncle Firewood looked at both sides before replying, ¡°Let¡¯s head towards the interior as the more important the criminal is, the deeper they¡¯ll be locked up in jail.¡± At that moment, we heard some voices. Uncle Firewood pulled me into a corner. Four prison guards were slowly heading in our direction. Even though I knew that their martial skills weren¡¯t high, I still nervously clenched my fist. Uncle Firewood glanced at me and as four of the prison guards were in front of us, he suddenly moved out in a flash, making the four guards, who originally had decent martial prowess, instantly faint with his battle spirit. Under the control of Uncle Firewood¡¯s divine light, the four of them were placed gradually on the floor. I surveyed the surroundings carefully and made certain that there was no one around. I held up a guard and said to Uncle Firewood, ¡°Wake him up to make him lead the way.¡± Since it was deep in the Sky Prison, the amount of guards decreased drastically. Uncle Firewood nodded before he gently patted on that guard. As the guard groggily woke up, I clutched on his neck and said icily, ¡°You¡¯re to answer whatever question I¡¯m going to ask you. If you dare to resist or call out to your comrades, I¡¯ll immediately break your neck.¡± It seemed that our luck wasn¡¯t bad to meet up with a coward. The guard replied in a shaky voice, ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me. Just ask whatever questions you want.¡± Uncle Firewood frowned; it was obvious that the guard of his Kingdom didn¡¯t have a backbone, which had made him unsatisfied. He said in a lowered voice, ¡°Where are the few human captives located now?¡± The guard looked at me, hesitating, I used strength in my grip, instantly making his face flush red due to the lack of air. When he was near his limit, I released my grip before saying coldly, ¡°Say it.¡± The guard replied helplessly, ¡°Walk straight down from here and turn to the right. There¡¯ll be a door where the humans are being kept.¡± I turned to look at Uncle Firewood, who slightly nodded in response. Fusion power was released from my hand, instantly making the guard faint again. We followed the instructions that the guard had given and rapidly arrived in front of a metal door. Uncle Firewood indicated for me to stand back. The blue light emitted from his body before he extended his right hand towards the metal door. When the metal door came in contact with the light ray, it seemed to slowly corrode. I looked in awe at what I¡¯d seen. Uncle Firewood had actually dug out a 66cm by 33cm small door from the thick metal door. Uncle Firewood nodded towards me. I moved in a flash to enter metal door through the gaping hole taking the lead, with Uncle Firewood following closely behind me. After entering the metal door, it was pitch black, making my vision fuzzy. Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Be careful, they may have traps.¡± Suddenly, I felt dread and unease. It was all too easy At the moment, the surrounding suddenly lit up. Uncle Firewood and I were blinded by the light, making us unable to open our eyes. Uncle Firewood¡¯s battle spirit instantly surged outwards, enclosing us in the center. The exterior of the battle spirit had given off the continuous sounds of collisions. ¡®Peng! Peng!¡¯ It was obvious that someone was constantly attacking us. When I heard a loud sound behind me, I hastily looked back, only to find that a thicker metal door had descended in front of the metal door that we had broken through. A long laughter entered my ears before he said, ¡°I knew that you lowly humans would come to rescue your teammates, allowing me to catch you red handed. I¡¯ll make it impossible for you to escape.¡± Uncle Firewood and I found that the situation was against us. In the large and empty stone room that we were in, there were almost a hundred experts surrounding us, with Demon King Satan as their head. Demon King Satan said with nonchalance, ¡°I advise you to give up and surrender willingly. The more you struggle meaninglessly, the faster you will die.¡± I didn¡¯t know why, but when I heard his words, it felt extremely uncomfortable. His voice was abnormally ear-piercing. Volume 9: Chapter 30 - Escape Scroll Volume 9: Chapter 30 - Escape Scroll Uncle Firewood transmitted his voice to me, ¡°This is bad. Everyone here should be Satan¡¯s elite subordinates. It¡¯ll be difficult to escape.¡± I transmitted my voice to him, ¡°If we really don¡¯t have other choice, simply reveal your identity. They shouldn¡¯t makes things difficult for you that way.¡± Uncle Firewood conveyed his voice over, ¡°Silly child, if I reveal my identity, won¡¯t they add the criminal offence of colluding with the enemy onto my sentence?¡± I suddenly thought of a plan, before saying to Demon King Satan with my voice lowered, ¡°You want to catch us? You¡¯ll have to wait for your next life.¡± Under the protection of Uncle Firewood¡¯s battle spirit, I rapidly took out an escape scroll from my space pocket and inserted my fusion power into it. After a light flashed, we momentarily disappeared from the stone cell. Demon King Satanwas first stunned before flying into a rage as he shouted, ¡°You trash! Why are you not pursuing them?! They definitely won¡¯t be able to get far from here.¡± It was right, we didn¡¯t teleport far from there, but we were already out of the Sky Prison. But it would be impossible to catch Uncle Firewood and I, now that we were out of the prison, even if it was the Demon Emperor. I found out that this escape scroll was quite useful. It had saved me again from a critical moment. My few teachers, you really have given me too much. I decided that after surviving this calamity, I would definitely research how to create the escape scroll. (That book that belonged to Teacher Zhen had the creation method, but since making of the scroll was complicated, being a lazy person, I didn¡¯t deeply research it.) After returning to the Firewood house, Uncle Firewood and I heaved a sigh of relief. Uncle Firewood leaned against the bed and said, ¡°That was so dangerous. If we didn¡¯t have that teleportation spell, we would have to have prolonged and dangerous battle. Even if we escape then, we definitely wouldn¡¯t be unscathed.¡± I furrowed my eyebrows, ¡°How did they know we would carry out a rescue mission? From their memories, they should have thought that I died. Can it be that some people from the human race came over?¡± Uncle Firewood shook his head. ¡°If I didn¡¯t guess incorrectly, the attack on the city wall two days ago should¡¯ve attracted their attention as only the human race dares to attack the Demon race¡¯s main city. They¡¯ll naturally suspect that there¡¯ll be someone to rescue the captives. Your friends aren¡¯t weak so if they were to be rescued, it¡¯ll create a major problem. Satan, that fellow, he¡¯s really sinister. He almost trapped his own blood related uncle.¡± When he said that, he didn¡¯t express dissatisfaction, but rather a full smile. It was obvious that he was really satisfied with the Demon King Satan¡¯s actions. I mocked him, ¡°You think that¡¯s great? If we were trapped, even if we wanted to cry, we wouldn¡¯t be able to. Now, what should we do? We don¡¯t know where my comrades are held captive.¡± Uncle Firewood sighed and replied, ¡°With the situation so tense, we can only wait for another opportunity to appear. You shouldn¡¯t be too anxious as it¡¯s useless being impatient. Just quietly split your logs.¡± That was the only thing I could do now. ¡­¡­ I made Xiao Rou investigate the location of Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest outside the palace when I ran out of other options. But I still didn¡¯t get news on them. After I gathered the split wood at night, I sat dazed in front of the Firewood house. Uncle Firewood walked over and sat beside me. ¡°Eighteen, what are you thinking? Are you worrying about your friends?¡± I nodded. ¡°It has already been quite some time already but there isn¡¯t any news about them. It can¡¯t be that the Demon Emperor has¡­¡­¡± Uncle Firewood shook his head. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be. I understand the personality of the Demon Emperor. He¡­¡­.¡± Just as he said that, Xiao Rou, who had turned into a squirrel, rapidly ran over. My instinct had told me that something must have happened. As expected, Xiao Rou lept on my shoulder and said, ¡°Master, this is bad. The Demon race has announced that at noon tomorrow, they¡¯ve decided to execute Zhan Hu and the rest at the center of the public square.¡± The news came to me like a bolt that appeared out of nowhere, making me speechless. Uncle Firewood also simultaneously changed his expression, ¡°Why did the Demon Emperor order this? It doesn¡¯t seem to be the way that he does things. If he wanted to kill your comrades, he didn¡¯t have to make it public. This is obviously a provocation to the human race.¡± I calmed down from my panic and said resolutely, ¡°No matter what, I must save them.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest came to the Demon race for me. I couldn¡¯t just stare as they die in a foreign land. I was already in such a state already. Even if I were to use my life to exchange for theirs, I was also willing. Uncle Firewood asked in shock, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you want to plunder the execution ground?¡± I solemnly nodded. Uncle Firewood frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how heavy the security of the execution ground will be for such important people? Even if the Demon Emperor won¡¯t be there, he will dispatch an enormous amount of experts to guard the execution ground. Moreover, there is a high possibility that Satan only laid this as a trap for you to appear. Although you¡¯re a human, I can¡¯t bear to see you to leap to your death.¡± I replied, ¡°Even if I were to die, I¡¯ll head there, as it was due to me that this happened.¡± Uncle Firewood grabbed on my arm and said heatedly, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you¡¯ve forgot what you have promised to me, right? If you were to die, who is going to fulfill what you have promised me.¡± I shook off what he said and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve promised you, but before carrying them out, you must help me save my friends for those to be valid. Now, we can¡¯t even do the most fundamental part of the promise. Why should I help you do things then?¡± Uncle Firewood was so angry that his mustache flared. When he wanted to rebuke me, Xiao Rou interrupted, ¡°Stop arguing! Master, Uncle Firewood has said that for your well being. Please calm down.¡± Uncle Firewood¡¯s expression became better. ¡°Hmph! Your intelligence is lower than this little fox.¡± With his experience, he had already determined the identity of Xiao Rou. I didn¡¯t continue to quarrel, but raised my head to look at the sky. ¡°What else can we do? We don¡¯t even know where they are so we can only force our way through.¡± Uncle Firewood patted my shoulder and sighed, ¡°The heavens won¡¯t cut off all ways. There definitely will be a way. Ah! That¡¯s right, aren¡¯t you specialized in long distance teleportation? Can¡¯t you just teleport them away?¡± I gave him a look. ¡°I¡¯m not god. Do you think that space magic can move mountains and drain seas? That¡¯s impossible.¡± Uncle Firewood asked stunned, ¡°Even if it¡¯s a short teleportation, it also won¡¯t work?¡± I took at the book that Teacher Zhen gave to me from my space pocket and flipped through it to the end. ¡°It¡¯s not definitely impossible. The forbidden space magic spell can temporarily seal a person in a dimension and when in need, I can summon them out like a summoning.¡± Uncle Firewood smiled. ¡°Won¡¯t it work then? If we were to use this method, we¡¯ll definitely save your friends.¡± I smiled wryly and said, ¡°But I don¡¯t have enough magic power. I can barely seal a person that isn¡¯t resisting, but to seal all ten people at one go, it¡¯s impossible.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 31 - Preparing for the Execution Volume 9: Chapter 31 - Preparing for the Execution Uncle Firewood said smiling, ¡°What if it¡¯s with the assistance of my power?¡± I was moved and momentarily understood what Uncle Firewood meant. ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­.¡± Uncle Firewood nodded. ¡°The power circulating in your body isn¡¯t pure magic nor battle spirit but a fusion of different powers. If I were to insert my divine light battle spirit into your body when you cast a spell, you can instantly change it to magic power. You should be able to seal your friends in that case.¡± After hearing what he said, I remembered when I used a forbidden light spell with Teacher Zhen¡¯s assistance. I couldn¡¯t help being overcome by intense feelings of homesickness from the memory. Uncle Firewood nudged me. ¡°Do you think it will work or not? Tell me!¡± I woke up from the reverie. ¡°In theory, with your help, a warrior of the War God¡¯s rank, the converted magic power should be enough for the spell. However, we don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be the same when we do it. If luck is on our side, there¡¯s a 50% chance of it succeeding.¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°It¡¯s worth trying it with a 50% chance. At that time, I¡¯ll use my battle spirit to attract their attention. You¡¯ll immediately start working on the spell. What¡¯s more troubling is the center of the public square is quite large and if we were to cast a spell of that size in front of the crowd, there is a low possibility of it going unnoticed. If we were surrounded, it would be difficult to escape the encirclement after we use the forbidden spell.¡± This was really a problem. ¡°How far is the center of the public square from here?¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°About 5 Km away.¡± Upon hearing what he said, I remembered the short teleportation escape scroll with a fixed location that Hai Shui used to save me. If I were to make one, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid of being trapped. ¡°After using the forbidden spell, how much remaining power do you think you will have?¡± Uncle Firewood thought for a moment before saying, ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to say as it depends on how powerful your forbidden spell is and its activation requirements. If we were to use both of our powers to do the spell, I shouldn¡¯t be drained of all my powers.¡± I replied, ¡°Alright, at that time after sealing my friends, you just need to protect me for a breath. After I activate the escape scroll, we¡¯ll be able to successfully rescue them.¡± Uncle Firewood replied with a smile, ¡°It has been many years since I have had such a thrill. My interest has been fully aroused.¡± I smiled forcefully, ¡°This is a highly dangerous matter. It¡¯s not a game.¡± This old fellow seemed to be much light hearted these few days. It couldn¡¯t be due to my influence, right? Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Do you want to rehearse it first?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t as there won¡¯t be enough time. If we were to practice it first, even though our chance will be larger, we won¡¯t be able to recover to our peak condition. Moreover, I still need today¡¯s remaining time to create a fixed position escape scroll and that will be our life safeguard. It can¡¯t be that you want to fight with all of the Royal family¡¯s protectors, right?¡± Uncle Firewood scratched his head. ¡°You¡¯re right. When we¡¯re out of alternatives, we¡¯ll need to use it to escape. I just remembered, there¡¯s something that I want to tell you.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that I¡¯m not allowed to kill again,¡± I said wearily. Uncle Firewood gravely nodded his head. ¡°That¡¯s right. You are forbidden to kill.¡± ¡°What if they want to kill me? It can¡¯t be that I should just stand there to let them kill me, right? If the Demon race are living beings, do you think that our human race isn¡¯t? Don¡¯t you know that to accomplish big missions, there has be some sacrifice?¡± I said with fury. When I thought he didn¡¯t want me to kill anyone, I got mad. If I were afraid of the head and terrified of the tail, it might cost me my life, not to even mention saving anyone else. Uncle Firewood complexion turned green then white. After a long time, he sighed. ¡°Alright, it shall depend on the situation. However, I hope that you will have mercy on the Demon race.¡± Seeing the old man¡¯s look, I got soft hearted. ¡°I¡¯m not a person who relishes killing. As long as it doesn¡¯t jeopardize our lives, I won¡¯t take my actions lightly. Moreover, after using the forbidden spell, there¡¯s still a problem on whether I will have any power left to retaliate.¡± Xiao Rou said, ¡°Master, time is pressing. You should complete that escape scroll as soon as possible.¡± I nodded and returned to the Firewood House. I took out the book that Teacher Zhen had given me and began to research. Uncle Firewood went out of the room to split the logs while being a lookout for me. After I studied the creation process of the fixed teleportation escape scroll, I started making it. I managed to succeed in creating three fixed location teleportation escape scrolls before it got dark. Uncle Firewood and I covertly went to the center of the public square to investigate the area late in the night. Uncle Firewood told me, ¡°Look at that side. That should be place of the execution. At that time¡­ Ah! That¡¯s right, does your short teleportation work from a distance?¡± I had read on this point in the book and replied. ¡°It should be within a fifty meter range to seal a person. With our combined power casting the spell, it won¡¯t be a problem, even if the distance is 500 metres.¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Familiarize yourself with the area. We¡¯ll mix in the crowd tomorrow and act according to situation.¡± I nodded before taking out an escape scroll that I had made meticulously. I smiled, ¡°Now, we will see if we can successfully return to the Firewood house.¡± Upon saying that, I used my fusion magic power to activate the escape scroll. We instantly disappeared in the dimness of the night with a flash of light. It was so smelly. Where were we? I pinched my nose to survey our surroundings, but couldn¡¯t see anything. Uncle Firewood smacked me once and said, ¡°Where did you teleport us to?¡± I thought, ¡®This is bad, if we aren¡¯t able to complete the escape scroll and there won¡¯t be enough time to improve it.¡¯ As I thought, I cast at illumination spell, lighting up our surroundings. As expected, we were in a toilet, but Uncle Firewood and I were overjoyed as this place was actually the kitchen¡¯s toilet. It was only a few steps to the Firewood house. Even though my fixed position wasn¡¯t extremely accurate, it wasn¡¯t bad. Uncle Firewood and I quietly entered the room. I held onto the remaining escape scrolls and thought, ¡®Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest¡¯s life or death depends on this scroll tomorrow.¡¯ ¡­¡­ Multitudes of people came out from everywhere, emptying every street and lane, gathering at the center of the Demon race¡¯s Royal City¡¯s public square as the Demon Emperor announced that there would be the execution of the assassins from the human race today the day before. Since the majority of demons hadn¡¯t seen how humans looked, they all wanted to see. Places around the square were crowded with people wanting to watch the execution, with the center of the public square becoming restricted by the Royal Protectors. Uncle Firewood and I were in the crowd; we had already made some simple changes to our appearances, with our power, we definitely wouldn¡¯t be squashed by the crowd. We had reached a distance of 50 metres from the center of the public square with ease. Volume 9: Chapter 32 - Forbidden Seal Volume 9: Chapter 32 - Forbidden Seal Uncle Firewood gave me a look, telling me to get ready. I didn¡¯t know where they found a stage overnight as it wasn''t there previously. The stage was about 3 metres tall and 33 meters wide. The surrounding area was filled with the Royal Protectors, guarding the area around the metal container. Demon King Satan was sitting at the center of the stage. Why was it this guy again? Could it be that he had something against us? From his gloomy and cold appearance, I couldn¡¯t figure it out. As long as it wasn¡¯t the Demon Emperor that came to supervise, I felt much more confident. However, when I looked at Mu Zi beside Satan, my heart shuddered constantly. Mu Zi seemed to have lose a little bit of weight. Even though she wore a veil, I could see that her face was a little pale. Her entire body was covered by a green mage¡¯s robe. Why did she come as well? Uncle Firewood pressed onto my shoulder and whispered, ¡°I seems that you¡¯re serious towards my niece. If you really can¡¯t stand it, you can just seal her with the rest later.¡± It was a tempting suggestion, but how was I going to face Mu Zi. I shook my head violently to get rid all thoughts about Mu Zi. Demon King Satan ordered, ¡°Bring forth the criminals!¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu and rest, who I hadn¡¯t seen for a long time, walked on the stage with rattling sound of metallic shackles on both arms and feet. Uncle Firewood whispered, ¡°Keep your calm and make your move when you find an opportunity.¡± I nodded silently. Satan walked to the forefront of the stage with his body giving off an insufferably arrogant and domineering aura. He cleared his throat before shouting, ¡°Citizens of the Holy Light Empire, everyone should know that my kingdom and the Valiant Mist Empire allied to make the most violent invasion in history. During this battle, the lowly human race didn¡¯t dare to fight with our valiant warriors head on, but rather, they tried to assassinate our noble Imperial Highness, the Demon Emperor. This row of people are the assassins. Everyone tell me, what shall we do to them?¡± As he said that, he pointed towards big brother and the rest. Almost all demons were roused, shouting, ¡°Kill them! Kill Them!¡± Satan nodded. ¡°Everyone said the right thing. When dealing with such lowly trash, it must be to kill! Kill! Kill!¡± Upon saying that, his appearance was filled with excitement, making him look indescribably sinister. While he was making the announcement, I told to Zhan Hu and the rest, no matter what happened, they must relax their body and mustn¡¯t resist. If they showed signs of struggling, it would definitely give me an immense pressure. What I didn¡¯t notice was that when I conveyed the message, Satan¡¯s ears twitched and an imperceptibly secretive smile played across his face. Uncle Firewood whispered to me, ¡°This is the moment. Get ready.¡± I felt Uncle Firewood heavily stamp his foot on the ground, creating a strong power that surged to the left side. Uncle Firewood said, ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡± When he placed his hands on my back, I felt a strong and pure battle spirit surge into me. I focused and started to rapidly revolve the three gold dans, converting the endless flow of battle spirit into magic power. I chanted softly, ¡°The mighty god of space, who transforms space and controls dimensions, I plead for you to use your limitless divine power to sunder the space that I had designated, sealing the sinister beings from my surroundings. Please follow my request, Forbidden Spatial Rift Seal.¡± This was the only forbidden spell recorded in the book that Teacher Zhen had given to me. According to Teacher Zhen, this was an ancient spell that he hadn¡¯t used before. (He didn¡¯t have enough power.) There were two ways of using the spell. The first is to cast a big dimensional slash that would directly suck them into a different dimension, this was used to annihilate enemies. The second seal would be what I would be using that was to seal the target in another dimension for a period of time and releasing them after. The duration of the sealing to rely on the caliber of the caster. If I had really reached the Grand Magister rank, I could seal them in there forever without a problem. I could currently only seal them for a short period of time. I would let them out after finding a safe location. But if the duration of the sealing had went beyond the my limit in sustaining the spell, those people that were sealed would be trapped in the other dimension forever. Just as I finished chanting the spell, a building on the left side of the public square suddenly exploded. The enormous sound attracted everyone¡¯s attention. I knew that it was done by Uncle Firewood. Following the completion of the spell¡¯s chant, the space elements in my surroundings revolved frantically, pushing the crowd back 10 meters. Uncle Firewood, who was behind me, felt as though I was a bottomless pit, crazily absorbing his battle spirit. An enormous hexagram appeared beneath me, I involuntarily raised both of my hands. A divine light was emitted from my body, similar to when I used the divine instrument. My hair had turned completely golden and six wings of light emerged from my back. The revolution speed of the three gold dans had already exceeded their limit. When Satan, recovering from the explosion, fixed his gaze on me, was casting the spell, he immediately understood what was going on from his knowledge, so he shouted, ¡°Quickly stop him! He¡¯s casting a forbidden spell.¡± The demons momentarily fell into a disorderly state, rapidly trying to leave the public square. By the time he yelled, it was already too late as I had already completed the spell. The Royal Protectors that wanted to attack me had been sent flying away by the berserk elements surrounding me. I opened my eyes and shouted, ¡°Spatial Rift!¡± The dazzling light rays from my body had made the surrounding crowd temporarily blinded. An enormous crack appeared at the sky at the center of the public square¡¯s stage, creating a huge attractive force. The eleven of them, Zhan Hu and the rest, were momentarily attracted into the sky, entering the rift. An intense battle spirit emerged from Satan¡¯s body, protecting Mu Zi and him as he looked fearfully at the crack in the sky. If I had used the forbidden spell to annihilate the enemies, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist it. However, I just wanted to save my comrades. Since my target wasn¡¯t him, I naturally couldn¡¯t suck him into the dimension. I brandished my hand. ¡°Seal!¡± Two gold lights shot out from my hand, forcefully sealing the crack. As the light ray left my body weakened, I had almost used up all of the fusion powers of my body. Uncle Firewood supported me and asked, ¡°How is it?¡± I nodded. ¡°We succeeded. Let¡¯s leave this place.¡± I took out an escape scroll and inserted my magic power into it. At that very moment, Satan was the first to snap out of his shock and shouted, ¡°You want to escape? Eternal Dark Mist Boundary!¡± Volume 9: Chapter 33 - Xiao Jin Speaks Volume 9: Chapter 33 - Xiao Jin Speaks When the light ray from the escape scroll enclosed Uncle Firewood and I, numerous dark mages appeared, surrounding the center of the public square. The commoners that were running in all directions didn¡¯t obstruct the mage troops that ambushed us. Every one of them chanted softly, quickly making the entire public square enclosed by a dark boundary. After the light shone, I realised that we were still in our original positions, and didn¡¯t return to the interior of the palace as planned. Uncle Firewood was greatly alarmed and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this magic and why haven¡¯t we teleported?¡± I smiled wryly, ¡°I also don¡¯t know, but this is bad.¡± Uncle Firewood had about 30% of his battle spirit while I didn¡¯t have any combat power left. Under this circumstances, how were we supposed to escape this encirclement? Could it be that I was destined to die now? Satan let out a self-satisfied laugh, while the Royal Protectors had tightly surrounded us. Satan said, ¡°You previously used this method to escape and you think to using it again? Using the same method twice before me? Do you really think that I¡¯m as stupid as you Human race? The Eternal Dark Mist Boundary would impede the use of all space magic. It is impossible for you to escape now.¡± Upon saying that, he ordered for our capture. Mu Zi, who was at his side, suddenly stood in front of me, with a paled face. She asked me in a trembling voice, ¡°Zhang Gong, is that you?¡± My entire body quaked violently. I knew that she had recognised my figure when I cast the forbidden spell. She had seen me cast a forbidden spell before when we were still in Aixia afterall. That scene must had been deeply engraved in her memory. At this moment, how could I admit my identity to her? I laughed hoarsely, ¡°Little lady, you must have recognise the wrong person.¡± I rubbed off the makeup from my face and shouted, ¡°Is this the Zhang Gong that you¡¯re looking for?¡± With my face covered in scars, even Satan was stunned, not to mention Mu Zi. Her face turned increasingly paler and her eyes showed a dejection as her body slumped. Satan supported her and yelled, ¡°Ke Lun Duo! Immediately capture them!¡± Ke Lun Duo¡¯s familiar clear voice sounded behind us, ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The Royal Protectors from around us dashed towards us, bravely with no thought of personal safety. Uncle Firewood sighed before he joining his hands on his chest and suddenly extending it. The strong battle spirit surged out towards the front of the Royal Protector members, and sent them flying from the shockwave. I knew that he didn¡¯t want to injure them nor did he want to kill them. I said, ¡°You can just break through the encirclement by yourself. You can just forget about me as it¡¯ll be impossible for us to escape together.¡± With Uncle Firewood¡¯s strength powers, even though he only had 30% of his power, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for him to break through the encirclement. Uncle Firewood rebuked in fury, ¡°Do you think that us demons are that greedy for life and fearful of death? Even if I were to die today, I want to die by your side.¡± It was true that a crisis revealed a person¡¯s true nature and feelings. I didn¡¯t know that he would have treated me in this manner. I was moved and closed my eyes to circulate the remaining power in my body. The more power I recovered, the higher my chances of escape. Uncle Firewood fought with all his might against the endless waves of guards, while pulling me with him. But he was only one man after all, with a small portion of his powers left. His body was already covered in wounds after a short time. I suddenly felt a familiar feeling of warmth appearing above the dark boundary just as we were entering a crisis. A dragon roar that resounded throughout the square, the dark boundary suddenly broke with a golden light ray had illuminating the public square. I yelled excitedly, ¡°Xiao Jin, I¡¯m here!¡± After hearing my call, the first one to respond was Mu Zi. She knew that this scarred person was Zhang Gong Wei, whom she had yearned for numerous days and nights. She then moved in a flash before me, without any hesitation, helping me block three spears that were heading in my direction. Xiao Jin¡¯s familiar body appeared in the sky. When he sensed I was facing a crisis, he momentarily yelled out loud, making a shower of light pour downwards, instantly eradicating the enemies surrounding me.I looked at Uncle Firewood, whose expression was terrible. I was apologetic towards him. Demon King Satan roared out in fury before interlocking his hands to cast a dark power ball towards Xiao Jin, who was in mid air. He simultaneously ordered his subordinates, ¡°Quickly return to the palace to request the Demon Emperor¡¯s aid!¡± Xiao Jin looked disdainfully at the black magic ball. With the flap of his wing, he shot out a golden dragon flame. The black power ball was instantly engulfed by the golden dragon flame, leading to a small explosion. Xiao Jin whistled happily before withdrawing his wings to head down towards my direction. Mu Zi stared at me, with tears flowing down her face. I knew that I was helpless to deny it. I looked at her in a daze, as though everything that was happening in my surrounding had nothing to do with me. In my eyes, there was only the appearance of Mu Zi, of whom I had yearned for through countless days and nights. My sight suddenly darkened as Xiao Jin landed beside me. His head extending his head between Mu Zi and I and constantly rubbing against me. I grabbed onto his horn and flipped onto his head before saying sorrowly to Mu Zi, ¡°Just forget about me.¡± I turned my head and called out to Uncle Firewood, ¡°Uncle Firewood, come quickly.¡± Uncle Firewood lightly lept on the back of Xiao Jin before asking in awe, ¡°Is this your mount?¡± Xiao Jin unhappily shook his large head and I replied, ¡°This is my friend, not my mount.¡± Mu Zi stiffened in her position and asked with her lips quivering. ¡°Why?¡± As I met her gaze, it was heart wrenching as though a knife had pierced through my heart, but I couldn¡¯t ruin Mu Zi¡¯s life for my own selfish reasons. I gritted my teeth and went against my heart as I said, ¡°You¡¯re a demoness while I¡¯m human. It¡¯s impossible for us to be together. You should rely on Ke Lun Duo. Xiao Jin, let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Jin flapped his wings, blowing away the Demon soldiers that were heading in our direction. With a piercing roar, Xiao Jin took Uncle Firewood and I into the sky. Mu Zi mournfully yelled out, ¡°No!!! Zhang Gong, don¡¯t do this to me! Wait for me!¡± I suppressed my tears that were threatening to fall as I said to Uncle Firewood, ¡°Don¡¯t let her catch up with us.¡± Uncle Firewood sighed deeply before casting his battle spirit downwards, enclosing Mu Zi, who was flying after us, sending her back to the ground. Just was Mu Zi was about to fly after us again, Ke Lun Duo grabbed onto her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t chase after them, Mu Zi. Is that really Zhang Gong? Isn¡¯t he supposed to be dead?¡± Mu Zi frantically struggled against his hold and shouted, ¡°He¡¯s Zhang Gong! He¡¯s Zhang Gong! Even if he is turned to ashes, I¡¯ll still be able to recognise him. Let me go!¡± Mu Zi¡¯s voice was becoming softer as we flew further away from the perimeter of the Royal City. I indicated for Xiao to descend. He flew to the left side of the God Rended Canyon and landed on a mountain peak. ¡°Master, are you alright?¡± I lept down from his back and placed my face against his large head. I couldn¡¯t control the downpour of tears any longer, they flowed freely wetting his scales. Xiao Jin asked anxiously, ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 34 - Successful Rescue Volume 9: Chapter 34 - Successful Rescue I shook my head, forcing myself to calm my racing heart. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m lucky that you came in time. If not, it would have been really dangerous today.¡± Uncle Firewood said, ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t overthink it. Let your friends out before we go any further.¡± I was startled, I was so focused on my own misery that I almost forgotten about the most important task. I told Uncle Firewood, ¡°Try your best to recover your battle spirit. With Xiao Jin¡¯s protection, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems unless it¡¯s the Demon Emperor.¡± Upon saying that, I sat on the ground and started recovering the disordered fusion power. Just as I had recovered a portion of my fusion power, Xiao Jin¡¯s sudden frightened emotion was conveyed to me. I was alarmed and distributed the fusion power all over my body before sobering up. There was a gargantuan amount of soldiers heading in our direction from the Royal City. This isn¡¯t good, I thought as I hastily woke Uncle Firewood up. Uncle Firewood¡¯s expression changed and said, ¡°This is bad. Look at the sky, the Demon Emperor has personally come to look for us.¡± As expected, the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s familiar figure entered into sight. I made a decision on the spot. ¡°Xiao Jin, your body is too large. Quickly get away from here. We¡¯ll meet up in 10 days time.¡± Xiao Jin rubbed against me in reluctance. I urged him, ¡°Quickly go! Don¡¯t worry, nothing will happen to me.¡± Xiao Jin then spread his wings to fly into the distance. I told Uncle Firewood, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry, we have to find a place to hide. It¡¯s impossible to fight them in our current condition.¡± Uncle Firewood nodded. After surveying our surroundings, there were quite a lot of huge rocks. Uncle Firewood said, ¡°Look at what I can do.¡± After gathering the divine light battle spirit, he heavily struck the ground not far from our location. ¡®Hong!¡¯ It resulted to an explosion, forming a large hole. He didn¡¯t stop there as he turned around and walk towards the edge of the God Rended Canyon. He straightened his hand like a knife, with a flourish of his hand, a blue light blade shot out from his hand. Instantly, a colossal rock was cut down from the precipice. Uncle Firewood drew back his hand, moving the enormous stone to the mountain peak they were on. He then said to me, ¡°Quickly, jump into the hole.¡± I already understood what he wanted to do so without hesitating, I lept into the hole. When Uncle Firewood saw the nearing Demon soldiers, he lept to my side and moved both his hands, pulling the the enormous rock over us; the entire hole was momentarily covered. My nose was filled with the scent of earth as Uncle Firewood said, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be easy for them to find us now. The air is thin in here. Let¡¯s quickly heal our wounds. When our strength is back, everything will be fine.¡± Even though I couldn¡¯t see him in the dark, I could feel that he had weakened. The cutting of that enormous rock must have used up most of his strength. Currently, I held complete trust towards this old man. I whispered, ¡°Xiao Jin killed a lot of the Demon race¡¯s warriors. I apologise to you on his behalf.¡± Uncle Firewood sighed. ¡°The situation was quite dangerous at that time, and it was completely due to wanting to protect his master, so I won¡¯t blame him.¡± After saying just a few sentences, I was already starting to feel a little pressured by the low amount of oxygen so I stopped talking and sat cross legged, focusing on my cultivating. The fusion power in my body had already begun moving by my will, rapidly revolving. The oppressive feeling instantly disappeared as I had changed from outward breathing to inner breathing. However, I still maintained a thread of consciousness to deal with unexpected situations. After a while, a frenzied sound came from above us. The Demon military squad had already searched this place. ¡°Reporting to officer, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any traces of the enemy. Only the gold dragon has flown away.¡± Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°En! They should have escaped by riding that dragon. I don¡¯t know why, but His Majesty¡¯s Dark Demon Dragon seems unwilling to pursue, unexpectedly slowing down its speed. If it weren¡¯t the case, it would have caught up.¡± After hearing what he said, I calmed my worried heart before focusing on recovering my strength. After an unknown amount of time, I felt that I had already recovered 40-50% of my power. I opened my eyes and casted an illumination spell. Uncle Firewood felt the undulation of my spell and also woke up. He didn¡¯t say anything, but fixed his eyes on the enormous rock above us. After a long time, Uncle Firewood let out a breath. ¡°They should have already left. The air here is too polluted. Let¡¯s head out of here.¡± With that said, he used the force on his hands, to shift the enormous rock away. We simultaneously lept onto the peak of the mountain. There was a light breeze at the peak of the mountain. It gave me a feeling as though a life time had passed. Uncle Firewood said, ¡°I have already recovered 80% of my power. How much have you recovered?¡± I replied, ¡°40-50 %¡± Uncle Firewood nodded. ¡°Quickly let your friends out then.¡± I said, ¡°Please help to protect me while I cast the spell. Great God of Space, I beseech to you to remove the seal and release the captive evil beings.¡± I extended my right hand, quickly a hexagram appeared in the sky. The hexagram gave off light, making a small crack that was only big enough for one person to appear. Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest dropped out from it, one by one. I hastily used a light blade to break their shackles. ¡°Big brother, how are all of you?¡± Zhan Hu grabbed on my hand emotionally. ¡°Zhang Gong, is that you? How did you turn like this? I never expected we¡¯d be reunited again.¡± The strong bond of friendship could be felt through his hands. My eyes moistened while I replied, choked by my emotions, ¡°Big brother, it¡¯s hard to explain in a few words. I have caused you much trouble.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°Zhang Gong, what silly words are you saying? Who would have thought Su He was an imposter? It seem that our power has been restricted as I am unable to use any. Moreover, all of our divine instruments have been confiscated, excluding Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s and mine.¡± ¡°Dong Ri, I¡¯ll immediately help you remove the restrictions. Is there any discomfort in your body?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°In the beginning, I don¡¯t know what power the Demon Emperor used to infiltrate our body, making us hover between life and death. But after our light elements had been engulfed by that power, there wasn¡¯t any more feelings. It¡¯s only that our powers has been sealed. What happened to your face?¡± I nodded. I knew that they only practiced a little light magic so the harm of the dark elements from the Demon Emperor wouldn¡¯t be as bad as mine. I replied, ¡°I¡¯ll help you recover your powers first. We¡¯re still in the Demon City¡¯s territory so the more the power we possess, the safer we¡¯ll be.¡± Upon saying that, I activated the dragon magic¡¯s mysterious runes to break the magic seals. With my head as the center, a golden halo spread outwards, enclosing the eleven of them. After the halo dissipated, I immediately asked, ¡°How are you feeling? Have you recovered some of your powers?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 35 - Returning to the Firewood House Volume 9: Chapter 35 - Returning to the Firewood House Zhan Hu frowned as he checked his body¡¯s condition. After a while, his expression grew relaxed before excitedly saying, ¡°My power¡¯s back, even though it¡¯s only at 30%. After training for a while I¡¯ll definitely be able to make a full recovery.¡± The others examining their own conditions felt the same way . I suddenly became happy. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Jian Shan said, ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, what¡¯s happened to you?¡± My mood instantly dampened as I started to tell them the events that befell me. When everyone heard I was disfigured due to the affliction of the dark elements, they all had the same reaction. They were all simultaneously enraged without knowing the details beforehand, and expressed concern towards me. ¡­¡­ Zhan Hu grabbed on my shoulder and said bitterly, ¡°Zhang Gong, it must have been hard for you. You still saved us under such conditions. Your big brother¡¯s life is truly yours from now on.¡± I replied with emotion, ¡°Big brother, don¡¯t you ever say such words, as I was the one who almost led you to your death. Saving all of you is something that I had to do.¡± Uncle Firewood voice rang out out from behind me. ¡°Zhang Gong, we should head back . Even though there¡¯s enough firewood, if we were to go missing for too long, it¡¯ll definitely arouse their suspicion.¡± I hastily made introductions, ¡°This is Uncle Firewood, he helped me rescue everyone here.¡± When I introduced Uncle Firewood, I didn¡¯t reveal his identity and just said that he was an eccentric person who was hiding in the Demon race. Zhan Hu and the rest immediately bowed, thanking him for saving their lives. Uncle Firewood looked at them and smiled. ¡°You really are young heroes. I didn¡¯t have your level of power when I was the same age as you.¡± I replied, ¡°If there¡¯s a chance in the future, we may need your tutelage.¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°There¡¯s not enough time. Let¡¯s leave your friends here to recuperate and head back. When there¡¯s a chance, we¡¯ll get your divine weapons back.¡± The divine instruments were extremely important to us all, especially Sukrad¡¯s staff. I nodded and said to Zhan Hu, ¡°Big brother, you and the others can stay here to recuperate. There¡¯s a hole there. If there¡¯s any danger, you can hide in there and cover the hole with the enormous rock. I¡¯ll meet you here in 10 days time, with or without the the divine weapons.¡± Zhan Hu nodded, ¡°Relax, once we recover our strength, there won¡¯t be anything to be afraid of. You have to be careful in whatever you do. If you find that it¡¯s impossible to carry on with recovering our divine instruments, quickly come back here.¡± After bidding everyone farewell, my heart felt lighter. With the exception of myself, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone that would be harmed in this trip. Uncle Firewood asked, ¡°Will that escape scroll work?¡± I replied, ¡°It can work, but we must be 5 km from the designated location. Once we¡¯re 5 km away from the kitchen, we can teleport there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, we can use it once we enter the city. I hope they won¡¯t suspect us because of our absence for the entire day,¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t, as when we left we placed the wood required today in front of the door. Moreover, after so many things happened, who will be in the mood to eat?¡± The security of the city¡¯s entrance was extremely tight. There were patrolling soldiers even outside the city. I drew a simple teleportation spell on the ground, successfully sending Uncle Firewood and I into the city. Once we entered the city, I immediately used the escape scroll, returning us to the toilet. We pinched our noses and walked into the kitchen. A Head Chef walked over and asked Uncle Firewood, ¡°Old Firewood, where have you been all day?¡± Uncle Firewood responded with deception, ¡°I¡¯m extremely unwell today, so I¡¯ve been resting in the room.¡± The Head Chef was rather unobservant, as he didn¡¯t even notice that we were covered in dust. He replied excitedly, ¡°Did you know something major happened today? The criminals that attempted to assasinate His Majesty have escaped.¡± Uncle Firewood feigned shock, ¡°What? There¡¯s someone in the world who can rescue those criminals. Who could¡¯ve done that?¡± The Head Chef replied, ¡°I heard that it was done by two people. I also don¡¯t know what the Royal Protectors are doing. They weren¡¯t even able to catch a glimpse of the criminals. I heard that the two people used forbidden spells, and also had the help of a dragon. It couldn''t be you two, right?¡± Uncle Firewood and I were greatly alarmed. I immediately gathered fusion powers into my hand, surveying the surroundings intently in preparation for an ambush. While we were bewildered, the Head Chef suddenly burst into a laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t be frightened. With you two, one old and the other crippled, what could you do? I was kidding.¡± We then heaved a sigh of relief, and secretly cursed him. Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Head Chef, you can¡¯t say such things so casually. If the royal guards were to capture us, who¡¯ll split logs for you then.¡± The Head Chef laughed, ¡°The two of you go and split the logs. I¡¯ll return to my cooking.¡± Little did he know that it was really us, an old man and a cripple, that had turned the world upside down in the Demon¡¯s city. When I saw him walk away, I wiped the perspiration from my forehead. After seeing that no one was close, I whispered to Uncle Firewood, ¡°It seems we''ve crossed the final hurdle.¡± Uncle Firewood and I had already recovered to our peak state in a day¡¯s time. After finishing a hard day¡¯s work, the horizon brightened with pale sunset hues of red and orange playing across the clouds. The sight was mesmerising. Uncle Firewood came to my side and sighed. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t an endless sunset be wonderful. However, a part of the beauty in the sunset is that it only appears in the evening.¡± I smiled and replied, ¡°How can you be old? The Demon race still need you as its towering pillar.¡± Uncle Firewood shook his head gently. ¡°No matter what form of life, there¡¯ll always be an end. I have thought it through already. Even if I were to die at such an age, it can¡¯t be counted as dying prematurely, but I must die at my appointed place.¡± While listening to him, I suddenly felt an uneasy premonition come over me. Uncle Firewood was an elder who was worthy of my admiration and respect. Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about this. My powers have already made a full recovery. Let¡¯s make our preparations to retrieve the divine instruments.¡± Actually, retrieving the divine instruments was just an excuse. The real motive was a hope to see Mu Zi a few more times. Even though I said that I wanted to part with her, I had left my heart at her side. When my memory touched on Mu Zi¡¯s lovely appearance, I couldn¡¯t help but be hurt and feeling a heart-rending pain. When Uncle Firewood saw that my face had suddenly paled, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It can¡¯t be your old wounds are acting up, right?¡± I just looked at him hopelessly. Volume 9: Chapter 36 - The Demon Emperor Awaits Volume 9: Chapter 36 - The Demon Emperor Awaits Uncle Firewood said, ¡°I understand. It¡¯s because of Mu Zi, right? I really don¡¯t understand love aspects, so you¡¯ll have to rely on yourself. However, Mu Zi doesn¡¯t seem to despise your current look. What are you going to do? Are you going to abandon her?¡± My heart shuddered as I heard his words. ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t ruin Mu Zi. How can I, an ugly person, be compatible with her Goddess-like looks? I can¡¯t let her live her life in misery. She¡¯ll be able to forget about me as time passes.¡± Uncle Firewood was stunned. ¡°I didn¡¯t think your feelings would be that deep. Is love so great? Let¡¯s not talk about this now, and keep your dispirited looks away. We have to deal with the business at hand.¡± I took in a deep breath. ¡°Where are the divine instruments being kept?¡± Uncle Firewood thought and said, ¡°They¡¯re top grade, so it should be in the Demon Emperor¡¯s armory.¡± I asked, ¡°Will it be heavily guarded?¡± Uncle Firewood shook his head. ¡°That place doesn¡¯t have any guards.¡± I was startled. ¡°How can such an important place be unguarded? That¡¯s impossible.¡± Uncle Firewood said wryly, ¡°Even though there¡¯s no guards, it won¡¯t be easy to sneak past the Dark Demon Dragon.¡± I was greatly alarmed. ¡°Can it be¡­..¡± Uncle Firewood nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The weapon armory is beside the Demon Dragon¡¯s resting place. With the Demon Dragon guarding it, it¡¯ll be more terrifying than a few thousand soldiers. Moreover, there¡¯s magic restrictions in it. Your teleportation spells will be useless. The only one that can enter and exit without restrictions is the Demon Emperor.¡± I said frowning, ¡°What do we do then?¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°Actually, the Demon Dragon won¡¯t be a problem. With our combined strength, we don¡¯t have to fear it. What I¡¯m most afraid of is we¡¯d alarm the rest. It wouldn¡¯t be good if we got surrounded by guards. There¡¯s only one chance. If we fail, it¡¯ll be hard to infiltrate the armory.¡± I nodded. ¡°What you said is right. We¡¯ll have to improvise- each step we take.¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°When we break in, you¡¯re to dash in and find the weapons. I¡¯ll stall the Demon Dragon outside the armory. It won¡¯t give any sound for a short while.¡± Upon saying that, Uncle Firewood gave off an intense sense of confidence. Actually, even with his War God power, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to deal with the Dragon, but there wasn¡¯t any alternatives. We wore night attire to secretly infiltrate into the inner palace, and then directly went to where the Demon Emperor rested when night came. Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°After this building, we will be where the Demon Dragon resides. Be careful.¡± It was incomparably dark, as even with our sight, we could only clearly see what was within ten metres of our front. I closely followed Uncle Firewood. When we reached an enormous courtyard, the Demon Dragon was awe-inspiringly before us. With two of its wing wings covering its head, it was in deep sleep. Uncle Firewood gave me an eye indication to charge towards the Demon Dragon. I rapidly dashed in without any hesitations. The Demon Dragon¡¯s sensitive sense immediately detected us. When it wanted to open its mouth to roar in anger, Uncle Firewood immediately used his powerful battle spirit to seal its mouth. Blue light permeated the area. Uncle Firewood used his divine light battle spirit to enclose him and the Demon Dragon within. As expected, not a single sound was heard. The dark magic that was given off by the Demon dragon was constantly blocked by Uncle Firewood. Uncle Firewood didn¡¯t attack it, but used his battle spirit to form a boundary, not letting the Demon Dragon to dash out. When I thought that the weapons were with my reach, I heard a heavy sigh. The Demon Emperor¡¯s tall and eminent body figure blocked my path. While I was stunned in place, pale with fright, the Demon Emperor didn¡¯t attack me, but just looked at me bewilderedly. Uncle Firewood was obviously oblivious to what was happening here as he continued to stall the Demon Dragon. The Demon Emperor moved in a flash to the border of the boundary and extended a finger at it. ¡®Pu!¡¯ Before I could react to stop it, the boundary broke. Uncle Firewood didn¡¯t panic in shock and moved to shield my body. The Demon Emperor stopped the Dark Demon Dragon from roaring before asking Uncle Firewood, ¡°Uncle, is it worth doing this? It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t know that he¡¯s a spy from the human race, right?¡± Uncle Firewood and I stunned as the Demon Emperor had already figured out our identity. Uncle Firewood sighed and took down the black cloth from his face before replying indifferently, ¡°Qi Meng, when did you figure it out?¡± The Demon Emperor smiled and replied, ¡°When I heard the report from my subordinate that there was an expert with a blue battle spirit with the human, I knew that it was you. Let me ask, excluding you, who possesses a War God¡¯s power? After you saved those humans, I knew that you would return for the weapons. The Dragon God¡¯s staff is an exceptional treasure so I waited here for you guys. As expected, it is as I¡¯ve predicted.¡± I couldn¡¯t bear not to ask this. ¡°Since you already knew about it, why did your dare to face us by yourself? Aren¡¯t you afraid that the combined power of us may bring you to a disadvantageous position? Even though you¡¯re powerful, you still wouldn''t be our match if we were to work together.¡± The Demon Emperor sniggered in disdain. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my uncle, I wouldn¡¯t even reply to your question. Uncle Firewood is the supervisor of the kingdom. Even if I were to think that everyone was a traitor, I¡¯ll believe that my uncle isn¡¯t as the majority of my powers were trained by him. My trust in him is beyond the trust in myself.¡± Uncle Firewood eyes moistened. ¡°After so many years, I never expected that you remembered this old fart.¡± The Demon Emperor replied respectfully, ¡°How can I do that, uncle? You¡¯re our race¡¯s top expert. Since I feared that I might interrupting your training, I didn¡¯t come to disturb you, but in my heart, you¡¯re forever the top expert to me. But why are you helping the human¡¯s spy to invade my race?¡± Uncle Firewood looked at the Demon Emperor with complicated emotions as he indifferently said, ¡°After so many years of ruling, Qi Meng, it can¡¯t be that you still don¡¯t know what¡¯s beneficial to the race, right?¡± The Demon Emperor was stunned. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Peace and harmony.¡± ¡°Peace and harmony?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, only with peace and harmony, can we continue to flourish. You should have understood this point.¡± ¡°But Uncle, it can¡¯t be that when our race has resided in this bitter and cold place, the human race has the populous and affluent areas. How do you want me to lead my citizens to prosper in such a barren place?¡± Uncle Firewood replied, ¡°That¡¯s not the most important issue now. It can¡¯t be that Zhang Gong hasn¡¯t told you about the Monster King right?¡± The Demon Emperor frowned. ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s something that he had fabricated. You believe what he said? The Monster clan was already eliminated by the God¡¯s clan a few thousand years ago. Why would the Monster King reincarnate now?¡± Uncle Firewood sighed and replied, ¡°Child, I believe what he said. If he wasn¡¯t acknowledged by the God King, how could he receive God¡¯s inheritance and the God King¡¯s companion sword? Don¡¯t you feel this is strange?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 37 - The Demon Emperors Bitterness Volume 9: Chapter 37 - The Demon Emperor''s Bitterness The Demon Emperor went deep into thought. After a long time, he replied, ¡°Can it be that it¡¯s real?¡± I replied, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s real. It¡¯s undeniable as I¡¯ve personally fought against the Monster race once.¡± ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡± ¡°Even though I currently don¡¯t have any, there definitely will be. If Your Majesty doesn¡¯t prepare for the changes now, once the Monster King resurrects, the very first race that he¡¯ll invade will be your Demon race. It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t care for your citizens?¡± Uncle Firewood knew that the Demon Emperor wasn¡¯t listening. ¡°Qi Meng, if you still don¡¯t believe me, I don¡¯t have any other means of persuasion but I do hope that you¡¯ll let Zhang Gong and his friends go. You can deal with uncle anyway you like.¡± A cold gaze fell upon me as the Demon Emperor looked at me. He then said icily, ¡°Zhang Gong, even if uncle hadn''t interceded on your behalf, I¡¯d still have let you go. Do you know why?¡± I asked, cluelessly, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for my most beloved daughter. I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d have such a tenacious life and unexpectedly survive, but had resulted in your disfiguring. I admit that it was due to my carelessness at that time when I allowed the dark powers to invade your body. I was almost killed by my daughter in her fury.¡± After a short pause, his gaze became benevolent as he continued, ¡°If I were to kill you again, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll lose her.¡± My feelings got the better of me and I blurted out, ¡°Mu Zi?¡± The Demon Emperor nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll believe you for now, but it isn¡¯t due to what you have said. It¡¯s due to my trust in uncle and faith in Mu Zi¡¯s sight. You can go now, but you must find the evidence of an invasion by the Monster race.¡± Such an unexpected opportunity had presented itself that made me momentarily stupefied with happiness. Uncle Firewood said with tears, ¡°Your Majesty, thank you.¡± Upon saying that, he began to get on his knees facing the Demon Emperor. The Demon Emperor quickly went to pull Uncle Firewood up. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t you ever do that towards me. In front of you, I¡¯ll always be the rash Qi Meng. Zhang Gong, I can let you go, but I¡¯ve a condition.¡± I calmed myself and said, ¡°Please state it.¡± The Demon Emperor said in smiles, ¡°I want to dispatch two people to follow you.¡± I frowned. ¡°Is it to monitor my actions?¡± The Demon Emperor replied loftily, ¡°Of course, do you think I¡¯ll let you go freely?¡± ¡°Who are you going to dispatch?¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°Ke Lun Duo and Mu Zi.¡± My heart lept to my throat as I cried out involuntarily, ¡°Why?¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°My purpose in doing this is to make Mu Zi clearly see your unsightly appearance and feel the disparity between you and Ke Lun Duo, making her to completely give up on you. Moreover, with Mu Zi around you won¡¯t have any opportunity to plot or scheme.¡± I immediately said, ¡°I swear that I definitely don¡¯t have any sinister plots and you can just dispatch Ke Lun Duo to follow me.¡± I wouldn¡¯t know what to do if I were to face Mu Zi on a daily basis. But deep within my heart, I felt a small surge of joy. The Demon Emperor snorted coldly, ¡°Is that something that you can decide? Moreover, it¡¯s Mu Zi¡¯s wish. You aren¡¯t willing to see her again?¡± I was willing, ten thousand times willing, but I had finally made my decision with great difficulty. With this move, all I had done would be wasted. If Mu Zi were to leave me due to my unsightly appearance, I didn¡¯t know if I would be able to handle it. The Demon Emperor said, ¡°That¡¯s decided then. Wait a moment.¡± After saying that, he went into the armory in a flash. The Demon Emperor took out a stack of weapons quickly. My Sukrad¡¯s staff was surprisingly within that pile. The Demon Emperor tossed the weapons towards me. I hastily opened my space pocket to keep them, excluding Sukrad¡¯s staff. The Demon Emperor coldly said, ¡°If you were to expose this matter, hmph! You should know what will happen.¡± I contained my excited heart and said, ¡°Your Majesty, I can accept your condition, but I¡¯ve also another condition that I hope that you will accept. It will be beneficial to both sides.¡± The Demon Emperor frowned. ¡°You dare set a condition? Don¡¯t forget that you little life is in my hands.¡± I replied with a smile, ¡°I have already said that this condition will be beneficial to the both of us. I believe that you will definitely accept it.¡± The Demon Emperor¡¯s eyes gave off an frosty gaze. Even though I looked calm, I was actually scared. If I were to enrage him, I wouldn¡¯t have any chance at all. ¡°Speak.¡± When I heard that word, I heaved a sigh of relief. I tried my best to maintain a calm appearance. Suddenly, I felt the gentle caress of a cool breeze, helping me clear my mind. I stated my condition, ¡°I hope that His Majesty will temporarily stop plans to attack the human race while I find evidence of the Monster race¡¯s invasion.¡± The Demon Emperor wasn¡¯t angered as I thought he would. He just calmly said, ¡°Why?¡± I replied evenly, ¡°It¡¯s for the benefit of both sides. Think about it, if the Demon and Beast races were to have a great war against the human race, it¡¯ll definitely lead to the increase in hatred between races. Even if I were to find evidence of the Monster race¡¯s invasion, do you think that your race can still be able to ally with the Human race to fight against Monster race? Moreover, if war were to break out, there¡¯ll definitely be casualties and the depletion of resources. The fewer the resources you possess, the greater the disadvantage you will have against the Monster King. Currently, the most important matter is for us to be able to live in this world.¡± The Demon Emperor looked at me silently. I knew that he was thinking it through. Uncle Firewood said, ¡°Your Majesty, what Zhang Gong said is correct. There is no need for unnecessary sacrifices.¡± The Demon Emperor replied, ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, do you know how many rations are consumed daily at the camp for my Demon race¡¯s great army at the frontline and how many resources are used?¡± I was startled as I didn¡¯t know that he would say such words, but was happy as I knew that there was a chance of this matter could be resolved. I thought for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, but the consumption for a million soldiers will definitely be enormous.¡± The Demon Emperor suddenly sighed and looked up at the moon. His current appearance was like a benevolent senior, rather than the imposing ruler of the western continent. ¡°The land of my Demon race is barren so it can only produce some Demon beasts and ore. I can only rear Demon beasts as a means for survival. The Beast race¡¯s ground is slightly better, but they can only plant the meanest of grains. Our races have already prepared for a hundred years to fight against the Human race and gather enough resources to support the army. Every day you ask me to wait, the great army at the frontlines will have consumed a month¡¯s worth of resources from the Empire. Waiting for a month, would be equivalent to two years of resources to the Empire. Do you think that my Demon race naturally loves to invade? It¡¯s because we don¡¯t have any alternative for our survival. Even though your conditions are tempting and are morally right, I can¡¯t accept it. I¡¯ll commence a full scale war against the human race with the combined forces of the Beast race from the Valiant Mist Empire soon. I must start the war so as to have ample resources to sustain it.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 38 - Mu Zis Journey Volume 9: Chapter 38 - Mu Zi''s Journey After hearing what the Demon Emperor had said, Uncle Firewood didn¡¯t make any remarks. I understood that what the Demon Emperor said was the truth. After I pondered for a while, I said, ¡°In that case, can¡¯t you move some of the troops from the frontline back to rear the Demon beasts?¡± The Demon Emperor shot a glance at me and said, ¡°You¡¯re too naive. Do you think that the Human race are herbivores? Once they see that some of the troops had retreated, they would immediately use that opportunity to raid the troops. They may even continue their attack, plotting to eliminate my citizens. The Demon race¡¯s animosity with the Human race is extremely deep.¡± Actually, whenever I remember Prince Ke Zha, who tried to plot against my life, who was his life¡¯s benefactor, just because I helped the Demon race, I trembled with slight fear to this very day. The Demon Emperor remained silent for a while before saying, ¡°There¡¯s actually a way that may allow you to gain some time.¡± I asked anxiously, ¡°What will that be?¡± The Demon Emperor shifted his gaze from the moon back to me as he replied seriously, ¡°That¡¯s for both sides to withdraw their troops and sign a treaty that forbids invasion. It¡¯s the limit of what I can compromise.¡± After hearing what he said, I thought, ¡®Firstly, what is the probability for this to succeed? I¡¯m currently a traitor to the Kingdom of Aixia. How am I going to convince the three large Human kingdoms? Secondly, is there a motive for the Demon Emperor to suggest this? If he were to go back on his promise and suddenly attacked the Human race when they retreat, won¡¯t I become a traitor to humanity then?¡¯ The Demon King looked at me with locked eyebrows. ¡°Will that be difficult to accomplish?¡± I nodded. ¡°Can you promise that both of the races will simultaneously retreat?¡± The Demon Emperor smiled sweetly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. Not to mention that my clan has a strong alliance with the Valiant Mist Empire, with my strength, it¡¯s guaranteed that I can convince the Emperor of the Beast race to make our troops retreat simultaneously. That matter should be what you¡¯re most uneasy about. You must thinking whether it¡¯s a plot for me to strike against the Human race, going against the promise, once they start to retreat.¡± I chuckled awkwardly before saying truthfully, ¡°I¡¯m really worried that it will be that case as even though you govern the Demon race, you must also listen to the opinions of your subordinates. I doubt that they will let go of that opportunity.¡± The Demon Emperor dusted his robe. ¡°It¡¯s completely unnecessary to have such thoughts. Not only does my race have integrity, for the proof of my point of interest in doing this, I¡¯ve consented my most beloved Mu Zi to head back to the Human race with you, that should be the most best guarantee to you. Even if we want to eliminate your race, we¡¯ll do it just and honorably. Moreover, Mu Zi, the main successor to the my throne, will be in your hands. What else would you be wary of? To tell you the truth, from the subordinates¡¯ point of view, the majority of them are against the dispatch. There definitely will be more than 50% of them against the war. No matter which side I support, it¡¯ll definitely be advantageous to me. Now, it¡¯s your turn to give me a reply on whether you can convince the three human Kingdoms.¡± I felt much comfortable after hearing what he said. From the depths of my heart, I really didn¡¯t want a war to break out. Since the Demon Emperor had showed his sincerity, even if it would be difficult, I wanted to give it a try. I abruptly raised my head and looked resolutely at the Demon Emperor. ¡°If you keep to your promise, even if I were to sacrifice my life, I¡¯ll try my best to convince them. If it really can¡¯t be done, I won¡¯t involve myself if you decide to invade the Str?m Fortress and will continue to pass any information regarding the Monster King to you.¡± The Demon Emperor broke out in a laughter. ¡°Great! Great! Great! I really didn¡¯t misjudged you. You¡¯re really courageous and is worthy of Mu Zi¡¯s affection. This will be the highest classified information for both of our races. However, I will tell you that even if you succeed in doing those, I¡¯ll only give you a period of two years to give me concrete evidence on the Monster King existance. If not, I¡¯ll recommence the attack and fight to the very end against the Human race.¡± Uncle Firewood placed his hand on my shoulder and lamented, ¡°This should be the best outcome.¡± I nodded. ¡°Two years time is more than sufficient. What I need to do now is to head back and convince the three Kingdoms to pull back their troops. Your Majesty, if I succeed in convincing the three kingdoms, how am I to contact you?¡± The Demon Emperor suddenly sighed. ¡°The main drive for me to do this is Mu Zi¡¯s persistence towards you, in addition to uncle¡¯s support. I can¡¯t help but make a risky bet. I¡¯ll pass a military seal to Mu Zi, giving her the rights to mobilize the troops. Once you succeeded in negotiating, Mu Zi will be able to deploy the million troops of the Demon race. I¡¯ll also notify the Beast race beforehand so that they would retreat at the same time. I¡¯m going to place Mu Zi¡¯s safety in your hands. If something happens to her, I¡¯ll dismember your body into tiny bits, even if I¡¯ve to go to the ends of world.¡± Upon saying that, an intense killing intent surged out from his body. The Dark Demon Dragon gave out a soft roar. It was obvious that it was communicating with his owner. My heart hurt on the mention of Mu Zi. I said dejectedly, ¡°Even though Mu Zi and I are destined to meet but not fated to be together, she¡¯s still the one I love the most. No matter who it is, if they want to hurt her, they must walk over my dead body. If something were to happen to Mu Zi, you don¡¯t have to look for me. I¡¯ll appear before you to kill myself as my punishment.¡± The Demon Emperor nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Alright, you can head off now. I¡¯ll arrange for Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo to meet with you at the west entrance of the city tomorrow morning. Uncle, are you still going back to the Firewood house? It must be hard on you.¡± Uncle Firwood chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve already never been so happy as I am today after so many years. Your Majesty, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely not bother you when I¡¯m in the palace. I¡¯ve already gotten used to the Firewood house. If you need me for anything, you just have to find someone to notify me.¡± I took a cloth from the dimensional pocket to cover up the radiance filled Sukrad¡¯s staff. I bowed deeply towards the Demon Emperor. ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± ¡®En!¡¯ The Demon King agreed. Uncle Firewood and I looked at each other before soaring into the sky. As the Demon Emperor looked at our leaving figures, he shook his head and sighed. ¡°You should be satisfied this way.¡± Mu Zi, whose face was covered in tears, came out from the dark corner. She kneeled down before the Demon Emperor and exclaimed in tears, ¡°Father, thank you! Thank you so much!¡± The Demon Emperor held Mu Zi up and used his hands to wipe her tears off her face. With a benevolent gaze, he said in smiles, ¡°Be good, don¡¯t cry. I¡¯ve done what you¡¯ve wanted. It¡¯ll really depend on both of you to succeed in getting together. Zhang Gong is indeed an exceptional talent. If I can make use of him for my Demon race, it¡¯ll be great. With his and Ke Lun Duo¡¯s assistance, it will be as easy as reaching in a bag to obtain the world.¡± Mu Zi said displeased, ¡°Father!¡± Volume 9: Chapter 39 - Everyone Assembles Volume 9: Chapter 39 - Everyone Assembles The Demon Emperor laughed before saying, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop talking about this. I still have some things to give you so come with me to the study room.¡± ¡­¡­ I waited nervously with Uncle Firewood at the west entrance of the city the following day. Xiao Rou had stayed in the same squirrel form on my shoulder. I initially wanted her to stay in the Demon race, but she persistently refused and wanted to follow me no matter what. Meanwhile, I saw the restored peace of the Demon race¡¯s Royal city, and was deeply moved by its peace and harmony. Uncle Firewood said, ¡°The task that you¡¯re to accomplish is extremely important and difficult. You¡¯ve got to be careful in whatever you do.¡± This old man, who was expressing his sincere thoughts and had dedicated his entire life for the Demon race, was worthy of respect in my eyes. I nodded and replied, ¡°Uncle Firewood, thank you for your care in this period of time. If it weren¡¯t for you, I may have already been killed. I hope that when we meet next time, we can stand on the same field to team up against the enemy.¡± Uncle Firewood chuckled before taking out a small booklet and passed it to me. ¡°Good child, that day will definitely come. Even though I¡¯ve aged, living for a few more years shouldn¡¯t be a problem. This are my understandings when I broke through into the Sword Saint and Legendary War God¡¯s ranks. The aptitude of your friends are great. Help me to pass this to them.¡± As a member of the Demon race, he had unexpectedly passed his lifetime¡¯s knowledge to the human race. Such strong generous friendship had made me¡­¡­. When Uncle Firewood forcefully gave me the booklet, he said, ¡°Stop being overly sensitive. Mu Zi should be here soon so prepare to head off.¡± After receiving the booklet, I treated it as an important possession and kept it in my space pocket. Just as I wanted to say something, I found that Uncle Firewood¡¯s gaze was looking behind me so I followed his gaze to look over. Even though Mu Zi had changed her appearance to resemble an ordinary village woman, I could still recognise her at first glance. It was as though I had been struck by lightning as I couldn¡¯t move a single step from where I stood. Hidden bitterness filled Mu Zi¡¯s eyes, who wasn¡¯t far from me. Ke Lun Duo, who was beside her, had showed helplessness. Uncle Firewood pushed me forward and said, ¡°It¡¯s quite late already. You should depart now.¡± I hugged Uncle Firewood, filled with strong feelings towards him. ¡°Take care. I¡¯ll return as soon as possible to find you.¡± Uncle Firewood patted my shoulder. ¡°Alright, please take good care of my niece.¡± Upon saying that, he greeted Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo before he laughed and walked away. I knew that he didn¡¯t want to experience the pain of separation. As I looked at Uncle Firewood¡¯s figure, I mentally pleaded to the heavens to protect that old man, who had gained my incomparable reverence. Ke Lun Duo said, ¡°Zhang Gong, we should head out.¡± I turned my head and looked at them with complicated feelings before I agreed and took the lead to head out of the Demon City. I didn¡¯t dare to speak to Mu Zi and tried my best to suppress my feelings. Mu Zi also didn¡¯t talk to me, beyond my expectation. She just followed behind me with Ke Lun Duo beside her. When we were reaching the God Rended Canyon, Ke Lun Duo couldn¡¯t bear the silence and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯m really sorry for what happened previously. I really didn¡¯t have a choice in that.¡± I stopped my steps and shot him a glance as I replied indifferently, ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologise. We just follow different masters. What should happen has already occurred anyways, so it¡¯s meaningless for me to continue blaming you for that.¡± While hearing my words, I obviously felt Mu Zi¡¯s body tremble. I didn¡¯t dare shift my gaze to her so I kept my eyes to the front and continued to move on. When we finally arrived at the previously appointed place with Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest, I was the first to reach the peak of the hill. ¡°Who are you?¡± A cold sword energy appeared before me. I said in smiles, ¡°Jian Shan, is that the way to treat me? Your hand sword¡¯s skill is not bad.¡± Jian Shan¡¯s well built body appeared before me. He said in excitement, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back! Has everything been settled?¡±I nodded. ¡°How¡¯s the rest?¡± Jian Shan replied, ¡°They are still cultivating. We¡¯ve already recovered most of our powers in the past two days. I¡¯ve the least injury so I¡¯m responsible for protecting them while they cultivate.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re back.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu voiced out. When I turned my head, everyone had come. They must had been awoken from the previous clamours. I replied, ¡°I¡¯ve affected everyone¡¯s cultivation. However, I was also able to retrieve our weapons.¡± Upon saying that, I had taken the divine instruments out from the space pocket and tossed it to them. At that moment, Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s expression suddenly changed and he charged forth, heading behind me. I realized that Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo had also reached the peak of the hill. Zhan Hu punched out without saying a word; his strong battle spirit had roused the dust and sand in the surrounding. I immediately hollered, ¡°Big brother, stop! They are with me.¡± When Ke Lun Duo saw an enormous fist shadow just as he ascended the hill, he immediately gathered his power and charged against the attack. Both of their battle spirit had caused a strong explosion. Where the point of contact of the battle spirit met at the centre, a large pit formed on the ground. Ke Lun Duo was forced to move a step back. It was obvious that he was at a disadvantage in that attack, but I knew that it was due to the lack of time to make preparations as he could only hastily deal with the attack. He was worthy of the Demon Emperor¡¯s praise as that brat¡¯s power was definitely not below that of Big Brother Zhan Hu. When Zhan Hu wanted to continue his attack, he looked at me stupefied after hearing what I said. I extended my hand to stop the rest, who were preparing to charge over. ¡°Everyone, calm down. Even though he had lied to us previously, he¡¯s a negotiation envoy sent by the Demon Emperor.¡± Dong Ri asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s negotiation envoy?¡± I walked forth to pull Zhan Hu back to the rest and called Ke Lun Duo and Mu Zi over. As I looked serious, everyone didn¡¯t say anything and just looked fixedly at me. ¡°Take a seat and listen to what I¡¯ve to say.¡± Mu Zi dusted her clothes before pulling Ke Lun Duo down as she took the initiative to take a seat. Zhan Hu glared viciously at Ke Lun Duo as he did the same as the rest to sit on a large rock at the side. After they calmed down, I said, ¡°The situation is like this now. I had made sudden progress in this trip to the Demon city,¡­¡­, so just like that, Ke Lun Duo and the Princess of the Demon race, Mu Zi, has represented their race to head back to the Eastern continent with us to negotiate with the three kingdoms. I hope that everyone can give up prejudice as this affects the future of the world.¡± I had given them a run down of what was discussed with the Demon Emperor. Dong Ri exclaimed, ¡°Mu Zi, the Demon race¡¯s princess? Isn¡¯t that¡­¡­¡± I glared at him, forcing him to be unable to continue to say ¡®older brother''s wife¡¯. Mu Zi¡¯s face blushed a little before she stood up and bowed, ¡°My greetings to the fellow brothers, I really hope that we will be able to team up to dissolve the grudges between the three races.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 40 - A Pained Heart Volume 9: Chapter 40 - A Pained Heart Ke Lun Duo stood up and said awkwardly, ¡°What I did to all of you was wrong. I hope that you can forgive me. We really are sincere in representing the Demon Emperor in this negotiation.¡± When Zhan Hu saw the scars on my face, he shook his head. ¡°Since Zhang Gong, the one who suffered the most, doesn¡¯t mind, what else can we say? However, Ke Lun Duo, you brat, remember that our matter remains unfinished. If there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll definitely fight you fair and square and if you use any more tricks, I won¡¯t be forgiving.¡± Ke Lun Duo became the yes-man. He could really endure, which was probably the most terrifying part of him. When everyone saw my expression has turned grim, they didn¡¯t say any further. I said, ¡°Everyone, thank you for understanding. We¡¯ll need to stay here for a few more days as I¡¯ve already made an appointment with Xiao Jin to meet up with us.¡± Dong Ri asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you send that horrifying pet back? Why did it return?¡± ¡°He finished his cultivation at the Dragon Valley, so naturally, he will come back. If it wasn¡¯t for him, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to rescue all of you.¡± When I saw that everyone wasn¡¯t putting Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo on the spot, I calmed down a little and my tone became much relaxed. Jian Shan said, ¡°Everyone must be hungry. I¡¯ll go and hunt for two demon beasts.¡± Xiao Rou squeezed out from my clothings. With a flash of light, she stood in front of everyone. ¡°I think it will be better if I go instead.¡± When Ke Lun Duo and Mu Zi saw Xiao Rou¡¯s appearance, they looked at each other with astonishment.¡± Jian Shan chuckled. ¡°How did I forget about you little demon? According to what Zhang Gong said, it was due to her that he survived. We have yet to thank you for it yet.¡± Zhan Hu stood up in smile. ¡°That¡¯s right, little girl, thank you for saving my brother.¡± Xiao Rou didn¡¯t have her previous seductive attitude as she replied shyly, ¡°I¡¯m not a little girl, I¡¯m much older than all of you. It¡¯s my duty to save my master. Moreover, I¡¯m really happy by Master¡¯s side. You can call me Xiao Rou from now on; it¡¯s the name that Master gave me. I¡¯ll go and get food for you. Heh heh!¡± Upon saying that, she ran off skipping. I looked to Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo, who were still in shock, and said ¡°Xiao Rou was the six tailed Demon fox. If it wasn¡¯t for her, I wouldn¡¯t be in front of you right now.¡± Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°I always thought she only knew how to seduce people. I didn¡¯t expect such a demon beast knew how to save a life.¡± Dong Ri said mockingly, ¡°Even though Xiao Rou seduces people, she hasn¡¯t harmed anyone, unlike someone else here.¡± Ke Lun Duo was speechless from that while Mu Zi looked at me strangely. I found a large stone some distance away, and sat down to cultivate my fusion powers. Ke Lun Duo took a overcoat from his bag and placed it on Mu Zi before saying caringly, ¡°The wind here is strong. Don¡¯t catch a cold.¡± Mu Zi glanced at me before moving Ke Lun Duo¡¯s hand. ¡°Big Brother Wa Leng, I¡¯m not cold. You can wear it yourself.¡± After saying that, she walked over to me. Even though my eyes were closed, I could distinctly hear Mu Zi¡¯s soft footsteps. As I heard the footsteps nearing, my heart started beating faster. I hastily circulated the fusion power in my body as if I by continuing to cultivate them, my powers would become chaotic. Mu Zi stood three steps away from me. A gentle breeze brought Mu Zi¡¯s familiar sweet scent, instantly mesmerizing me. I immediately pinched myself secretly, in order to maintain a clear mind. Mu Zi did not speak for a long time, not even moving from the spot she had taken, but the wind kept bringing her sweet scent to my nose. I couldn¡¯t help but be frustrated as to why she was standing there.When my curiosity peaked, I gradually opened my eyes to find Mu Zi¡¯s tear-filled face before me. She had changed back to her original appearance with tears constantly flowing out from her eyes, dampening her clothes. She was trying her best to control herself from making a sound. She just stared at me and let her tears flow freely. I felt all the nerves in my body spasm; especially the indescribable sharp pain from the left of my chest. I did my best to sound as calm as possible as I asked, ¡°Is there something wrong, Your Highness? Do you need me for something?¡± Upon saying that, I even felt my heart freeze a little. Mu Zi walked two steps forward before gently caressing the scars on my face. Her hand was cold while translucent tears continued to flow down her face. As the cold little hand gently moved on my face, I felt an indescribable comfort. I unknowingly got enchanted by her delicate hand. Mu Zi¡¯s voice was very light and gentle. ¡°Zhang Gong, it must have been hard for you.¡± Hearing her gentle and beautiful voice, I immediately woke up from my infatuated state. I grabbed on her small hand and said, ¡°Your Highness, you shouldn¡¯t do this. Men and women should not casually touch each other. Moreover, your fiance is still over there.¡± Mu Zi suddenly pounced into my embrace and cried bitterly. I wasn¡¯t prepared, and was momentarily pushed to the ground. My heart felt heavy, but I still had a clear mind. I tried to push her away, but Mu Zi had hugged me extremely tightly. Her entire body was on me without leaving any spaces between us, and her moving body constantly rubbed against my sensitive organ. My male characteristic was slowly aroused. Wasn¡¯t there that expression? The one that said men used their lower halves to think? With my intense feelings and longing for Mu Zi, I tightly hugged her back, tasting the sweetness of her lips. Luckily, we were on the other side of the hill. If not, we would be performing in public. I flipped my body and pressed Mu Zi¡¯s body down as I frantically kissed her forehead, her cherry lips, hair and her snow-white neck. The sky suddenly darkened and large droplets of rain fell, waking me up from my dreamy state. I wiped the rain off my face and sat up. While looking at Mu Zi¡¯s blushing face, I stood up and moved to the side, casting a light boundary around Mu Zi. Since I knew that she was dark magic based mage, I had specifically made the boundaries larger, as a prevention from hurting her. Mu Zi also stood up and dusted the dirt from her body. She glanced at me before she silently found a large stone in the boundary and sat on it. With both hands hugging her knees, she seemed to be thinking about something. I violently shook my head to get rid of the previous loving feelings, and stood under the rain while allowing it to pour down my body. If only this heavy rain could help wash my scars and sorrows away, how great would that be? The clouds in the sky gradually moved away and the rain dissipated. The previously darkened sky brightened again as the rain got lighter. As I looked afar, I knew that the sun would soon reappear after the rain stopped, lighting up the land once again. However, my heart was already forever trapped in that cloudy rain-filled state, and what descended in my heart wasn¡¯t rain, but blood. Volume 9: Chapter 41 - Xiao Rous Transformation Volume 9: Chapter 41 - Xiao Rou''s Transformation I walked through the boundary to Mu ZI¡¯s side before calmly saying, ¡°Princess, I¡¯m sorry for what I¡¯ve just done. I must have offended you.¡± Mu Zi looked at me with a complicated glimmer in her eyes. ¡°The rain has already stopped. Please let me out from the boundary.¡± I was eager for her to distance herself from me as I couldn¡¯t completely control my emotions currently. If we were to do what we did previously, only heavens knew whether I could stop myself. I dissipated the boundary and watched Mu Zi slowly walk away. She suddenly stopped 10 meters away from me and turned to face me, ¡°I¡¯ll use facts to prove myself to you.¡± Upon saying that, she turned and ran back the way she came from. I was stunned. What did she want to prove to me? Was it to prove that her feelings towards me was unchanged? As Mu Zi¡¯s figure walked to the other side of the hill and disappeared, I was a little dejected. I touched the scars on my face and bitterly laughed. Why was my self-control so terrible? I pulled out Sukrad¡¯s staff that was stuck into the ground to the side. I teleported to Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s side in a flash. After Zhan Hu looked at Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo in the distance, he looked at me and whispered, ¡°Brother, is that the girl that you love?¡± I silently nodded. ¡°What¡¯s going on with you two? Your relationship looks a little awkward.¡± I sighed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s really awkward. Big brother, look at how I look now, how can I still be with Mu Zi. There shouldn¡¯t be anyone uglier than me in the world.¡± Zhan Hu replied with a frown, ¡°What¡¯s to be afraid of? If she really love you, why will she care about your outer appearance. I don¡¯t think that she¡¯s that kind of shallow person.¡± I looked at Mu Zi, who was sitting on a rock, before sighing and replied, ¡°Perhaps, but I can¡¯t ruin her. To love someone is to wish for her happiness. Even if she¡¯s willing to be with me, I can¡¯t continue to harm her. It¡¯s impossible for me to ruin her future by my hands as I¡¯m no longer a match for her. Big brother, do you still remembered what Ke Lun Duo had said previously? He had said that Mu Zi was his fiancee. With his looks that have even surpassed my original appearance along with a strong martial skill, he should be the best candidate for Mu Zi¡¯s successful future.¡± When I said those last words, I couldn¡¯t help but feel stabbing pain in my heart. Zhan Hu fumingly replied, ¡°What? Has that brat not hurt you enough already? He even wants to steal your beloved. I can¡¯t take it any longer. I¡¯ll deal with him now.¡± Upon saying that, he took a sword beside him and wanted to charge over. I hastily stopped him and replied, ¡°Big brother, don¡¯t do that. I truly wish for Mu Zi¡¯s happiness. Moreover, it¡¯s due to us serving different masters so how can I blame Ke Lun Duo for that? I can only say that my life is a bitter one. If I still live after everything is finished, I will find a place that nobody will go and stay there until I die from old age.¡± Zhan Hu blanked after hearing the sadness from my speech. He didn¡¯t expect that I would be so pessimistic and was no longer the high spirited Zhang Gong he knew. He emotionally grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t give up. I don¡¯t believe that with the numerous doctors in the world, no one will be able to recover your initial looks. Even if I have to walk every inch of the world, I¡¯ll find a way to treat your scars.¡± A strong warm feeling filled my sorrow filled heart. Both of my eyes reddened as I bit on my lips and said, ¡°Big brother.¡± Zhan Hu embraced my shoulder and looked at the faraway clouds. ¡°Brother, look, the sun has come out again. There¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be solved. You¡¯ll definitely recover after the dark clouds shift and the clear sky comes into view. Just take it easy, ok?¡± I nodded as looked towards the slowly bright and beautiful sunlight. I felt much better now. In my most difficult of times, big brother¡¯s friendship had made my sorrowful heart return to it¡¯s peaceful state. ¡°Big brother, where¡¯s Dong Ri and the rest?¡± ¡°They¡¯re training over there.¡± Zhan Hu pointed to the right. ¡°Master! Master! I¡¯ve hunted some prey.¡± Xiao Rou ran back bouncing vivaciously, with a few Demon beast dragged along behind her. Since it just rained, Xiao Rou¡¯s hair was drenched and her clothes sticked to her skin, revealing her mellow and full body. Water droplets constantly flowed down from her flushed face. Even though her body was drenched, it was unable to cover up her happiness. With her moving and lovable looks, my heart twitched as though it had caught on something. I took the food from her hands. ¡°Xiao Rou, it must be hard on you.¡± Xiao Rou shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not hard. Master, you don¡¯t know that these demon beasts are stupid and my martial skills seems to have improved as well. I¡¯ve already caught some demon beasts in this short amount of time. It should be enough for us, right?¡± I placed my right hand on her head. ¡°It¡¯s more than enough. Now, stand still and let me help you evaporate the water from your body. It won¡¯t be good if you catch a cold.¡± A golden light constantly entered Xiao Rou¡¯s body as Xiao Rou''s exposed a drunken expression. The baptism of the divine power was the most favoured to her kind of species. Her clothes was completely dried by the heat of the power in a short time. I withdrew my right hand and Xiao Rou automatically sat down on the floor to get used to the power I gave her. I turned to face Zhan Hu and whispered, ¡°Big brother, do you still have those seasonings? We¡¯ll need your cooking skills today.¡± Zhan Hu said in smiles, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t don¡¯t have any more seasonings, I had gathered some plants this few days. We can use their juice for seasoning. You just have to wait and see. Xiao Rou is extremely innocent and kind. She¡¯s slowly being influenced by us as she accompanies us and is gradually losing her beastial nature. Didn¡¯t she say that after she gets nine tails, she can transform? Let¡¯s help her out since she saved your life after all.¡± I replied, ¡°I understand. Big brother, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t mistreat her.¡± Xiao Rou¡¯s face was extremely calm. With her body enclosed by a faint gold ray, the current her didn¡¯t have her initial seductive aura, but rather, a divine aura. I knew that her cultivation had reached its critical point. It was highly possible that she would make a new breakthrough. At this moment, she mustn¡¯t be disturbed so I had vigilantly surveyed the surroundings before circulating the fusion power in my entire body before making a rigid gold boundary to appear and enclose us within. Xiao Rou seemed to have felt something and the golden ray from her body became brighter than before. Since I wasn¡¯t clear on how a demon beast cultivates, she could only depend on herself. The power from her body gradually started to move like waves, constantly surging towards the back of her head. Volume 9: Chapter 42 - Nine Tailed Demon Fox Volume 9: Chapter 42 - Nine Tailed Demon Fox I frowned as I didn¡¯t understand what she was doing. The most sensitive part in the human body was the brain. Even with my cultivation, I wouldn¡¯t casually surge magic powers or battle spirit towards it. There must be a reason for her action, but it was extremely risky. A rictus of pain gradually formed on Xiao Rou¡¯s face as white smoke was slowly released from her head, giving off a burned smell. It couldn¡¯t be that her head was burning up right? It shouldn¡¯t happen; Xiao Rou¡¯s cultivation was gentle in nature, so she shouldn¡¯t have any offensive powers. Even when blending her powers with mine, it shouldn¡¯t be possible for Xiao Rou¡¯s head to be set alight. Xiao Rou¡¯s expression showed intensifying pain. Bean-sized sweat drops that were gold in color, flowed down her face, giving off a pungent smell. I quickly placed a small defensive barrier around my nose to filter the scent coming over. The boundary around us slowly filled up with white smoke. The situation here had attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Zhan Hu and the rest instinctively formed a protective circle with the boundary as its center while Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo stayed at the outer perimeter, watching us. Mu Zi asked, ¡°What are they doing? Why is there so much smoke?¡± No one had ill feelings towards Mu Zi due to my relationship with her. Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Xiao Rou seems to be cultivating, and Zhang Gong is protecting her in the process. You can just rest at the side. Once they¡¯re done with training, we will have our meal.¡± Ke Lun Duo looked at the boundary and exclaimed, ¡°Zhang Gong treats that demon fox really well. He¡¯s even using his divine power to protect her. That demon fox should be making a new breakthrough.¡± Once he said that, Xiao Rou, who was in the boundary, suddenly cried out mournfully. She spread her limbs as she floated up into the sky within the barrier. Her clothing had disintegrated completely and all the hairs on her body had instantly turned into ash. Startled, I hastily shot my power into her body, which resulted to her being suspended in mid air, while sensing the circulation of powers in her body. Xiao Rou abruptly opened her eyes and two cold light rays shot out like lightning. When I saw its sharpness, my heart shuddered. I knew that she had made a qualitative leap in strength. Xiao Rou called out, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve succeeded!¡± Upon saying that, she dashed towards me, but stopped when she was a metre away from me. After looking at the golden fluid on her body, she frowned. I smiled as I gently brandished Sukard¡¯s staff, creating an enormous waterball that slowly moved towards her. When it was in front of her, it suddenly turned into a whirlpool that covered her. With this method, I could help wash the dirt off her body and also test the standards her powers had reached. Xiao Rou was initially shocked, but she quickly leaped into the whirlpool. Unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t need to change back to her original form when faced with an advanced water spell. Under our astonishment, the dirt on her body gradually cleared, revealing a lustrous, pure white and delicate figure. Xiao Rou cheered out as she dashed towards me and wound around me like an octopus. My entire body stiffened from the intense stimulation. I immediately cast a protective barrier around my body and gently pushed her away. After I dispersed the boundary around me, I took out a large mage robe from the spatial pocket and covered Xiao Rou¡¯s body with it. The slightly pale Mu Zi gazed at me with eyes full of sadness. Xiao Rou excitedly told me, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve finally evolved into a nine tailed demon fox. Take a look at this.¡± Upon saying that, a light flashed, and she appeared in her original form. The fur on her body had turned into a beautiful silver colour with nine tails at her back. I knew that Xiao Rou wouldn''t be any weaker than the cyclops we had fought previously now that she had become an A-ranked demon beast. I took out a shirt and a pair of pants from the spatial pocket. ¡°Congratulations Xiao Rou, you¡¯ve finally evolved!¡± Xiao Rou changed back to her human form. However, the color of her long hair which reached to her butt had become a blend of silver and ash grey. She quickly put on the clothes that I had given her. With her sparkling and almost translucent skin, she wasn¡¯t inferior to Hai Shui when it came to beauty. Her looks were only slightly inferior to Mu Zi¡¯s. I looked at everyone¡¯s stunned expressions and mischievously chided them, ¡°You bunch of lechers, what are you doing? Never seen a beauty before?¡± Jian Shan instantly moved over and sized Xiao Rou up before he said with a smile, ¡°Xiao Rou, you really are too beautiful. Wanna be my girlfriend?¡± Xiao Rou¡¯s face flushed before she replied, displeased, ¡°Big Brother Jian Shan, what do you think you¡¯re doing? I¡¯m a demon beast, not a human.¡± Jian Shan scratched his head. ¡°Aiya! I¡¯ve forgotten about that. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± His words made everyone laugh. ¡°It isn¡¯t impossible. There¡¯s a possibility that Xiao Rou can become a human. Jian Shan, if you¡¯re serious, I can try to help you.¡± I said with a smile. Jian Shan elatedly replied, ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! Will she look the same as she does now after transmuting into human?¡± My mood dampened. ¡°If you only like Xiao Rou¡¯s looks, I won¡¯t help you since I¡¯m responsible for taking care of her.¡± Jian Shan replied apologetically, ¡°How can I be that kind of person? I like Xiao Rou¡¯s personality.¡± Zhan Hu teasingly said, ¡°You don¡¯t mind that she¡¯s a demon beast? Will your elders agree?¡± Jian Shan gave an embarrassed smile, but didn¡¯t say more. Xiao Rou¡¯s eyes suddenly reddened and she stood behind me with her head lowered. I knew that she must be upset; even a demon beast would want someone who would love her. Moreover, Xiao Rou was a demon beast with intelligence. I consoled her, saying, ¡°Xiao Rou, I¡¯ll definitely help you turn into a human and find your ideal partner. How¡¯s that?¡± Xiao Rou clung on my arm and said, crying, ¡°Xiao Rou doesn¡¯t want to be with anyone, nor does she want to turn into a human. Xiao Rou just wants to follow and serve Master for her entire life.¡± I smiled but didn¡¯t mind. I just patted her head to console her. Dong Ri suddenly punched Jian Shan. ¡°You¡¯ve offended Xiao Rou. Hmph! You won¡¯t get any food today as punishment.¡± Jian Shan looked awkwardly at me and didn¡¯t refute Dong Ri¡¯s words since he knew that his previous action had hurt Xiao Rou. I remedied the situation by saying, ¡°That should be enough. Everyone must be hungry. Let¡¯s have our meal first. Big Brother Zhan Hu, how¡¯s your cooking skills today?¡± Zhan Hu arrogantly replied, ¡°I¡¯m an old-timer and top expert when it comes to cooking. I guarantee that whatever I cook will make you bite your tongue. Let¡¯s go.¡± Big Brother¡¯s cooking skill really was extraordinary. Even if he didn¡¯t have any ready- made seasoning, the demon beast meat was well seasoned so it was still extremely delicious. It even managed to cheer up the melancholic Mu Zi. Xiao Rou was so engrossed in eating that she disregarded everything other than having her meal. Jian Shan had given her the best part of the demon beast from his share to make up for his mistake. She had a demon beast¡¯s leg in her left hand and a piece of the demon¡¯s chest meat in her right, eating cheerfully. Seeing that all these people with different ideals got together in eating the delicacies, I chuckled. ¡®Who cares what tomorrow will be like? We must be proud to be joyous in life. Let¡¯s eat!¡± Volume 9: Chapter 43 - War Gods Book Volume 9: Chapter 43 - War God''s Book Three enormous Demon beasts were gradually annihilated under our powerful attacks. Night slowly descended with the sky gradually darkening. Everyone found a flat rock to start cultivating. Xiao Rou turned back into her squirrel form as she stayed by my side. She fell into a deep sleep, lying down on her large tail. I looked at Mu Zi, who wasn¡¯t far from me, sitting cross legged like a dignified gem. Mu Zi¡®s figure emitted a faint dark aura, causing her body to be barely discernible. Even though she had changed her appearance, it didn¡¯t lessen my desire for her. Ke Lun Duo had sat on a stone beside her, giving off a similar dark aura. I knew that he was still vigilant towards his surroundings. A night fog blew over, which blocked the light from the stars and moon, making my vision turn pitch black. ¡®Could it be that the heavens wanted to stop me from looking at Mu Zi?¡¯ I chuckled bitterly, mocking myself. I closed my eyes and focused on circulating the three gold dans, cultivating my fusion powers. After recovering my power, I felt that my fusion power seemed to have stagnated. During the casting of the forbidden spell with Uncle Firewood¡¯s help, Uncle Firewood was obviously more powerful than Teacher Zhen. Moreover, there was a qualitative leap in my power after I absorbed the Divine Spring. It had used up all of my powers, but it didn¡¯t surpass the previous time that I cast a light forbidden spell. Could it be that my power had unknowingly degraded? (Actually, it wasn¡¯t due to the degradation of my power. When I first cast the forbidden spell, Teacher Zhen was a mage and had a close relationship with Teacher Di. During our cooperation, he was familiar with my magic gathering speed and direction. Thus, he was then able to help me without wasting any of his power. However, Uncle Firewood and I weren¡¯t that familiar with each other. Even though his battle spirit could be converted to magic power, it had to undergo a conversion process and during that process, some of the energy was naturally lost in the conversion. Additionally, I was multitasking to control the spell, all these factors influenced the power of the spell.) My future path was filled with brambles and thorns. I wanted to cross it step by step so I had to put in much more effort than everyone else; I truly needed to increase my power. My heart froze when I thought of what Uncle Ke Zha did previously. I also didn¡¯t know how the other two kingdoms would react. Would they give up the war against the Demon race just on my words alone? Unlikely, so convincing them would be the most difficult task. Thinking about that, I didn¡¯t feel discouraged by the hardships and perils of my future, but felt much more comfortable instead, as I shouldn¡¯t influence the entire world¡¯s peace and harmony due to my emotions. I had seen the invasion and destructive power of the Monster race. I must eradicate them before I can maintain the world¡¯s peace and harmony. Even though my power would be too little, I would work hard, even if I were to lose, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid. A sudden thought occurred to me, dying together with the Monster King. What could I do in the future with my ghastly looks? Losing Mu Zi was equivalent to losing everything. Similarly, I couldn¡¯t inflict my current self on Hai Shui. It would be much better to sacrifice myself for the happiness of all; it should be counted as a contribution to everyone. I suddenly felt my three gold dans split apart as I was thinking. One of the gold dans stayed in my upper dantian, another went into my lower abdomen, while the last went to the Holy Sword at my chest. The three gold dans formed a straight line and I was astonished to discover that I couldn¡¯t control them as they revolved by themselves. All I could do now was to relax my body and allow them to move freely. After a short moment, I discovered that the three gold dans no longer had fusion powers, as the three powers had separated again. The gold dan in my upper dantian was purely magic elemental powers, the gold dan at my chest was filled with the Holy Sword¡¯s divine power, and the last gold dan in my lower abdomen was filled with the Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement Battle Spirit that Big Brother Zhan Hu had taught me. ¡®What is going on? Could it be that they had gone back to their initial states? Have my powers worsened?¡¯ The control over the powers gradually came back to me. I opened my eyes and stood on the rock. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction and comfort. I could almost feel the energy revolving around me when I raised my hand. This was a sign that my powers had improved, but I was certain that it had just worsened. I used short range teleportation to teleport to the border of the God Rending Valley. I found out that with my will, the Holy Sword¡¯s power and Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement Battle Spirit surged out from the bottom two gold dans while the area near my upper dantian was suddenly turned into light elemental magic power. When I reached the destination that I had set and looked back, I could see an afterimage from where I had stood before. Had I really improved? I raised my hand and circulated the Ascending Dragon¡¯s Judgement Battle Spirit. As I thought, this time, the Holy Sword and light elemental magic powers surged towards the sea of energy, making the battle spirit abruptly increase in power. From my guess, I should be at least at the Radiant knight rank. I looked towards my hands, dazed. I just couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing. At my current level, it would be extremely difficult for me to improve. I had used the remaining Divine Spring Vein¡¯s power to improve. After the powers separated, I had gained the ability to use any techniques with the purest power. Moreover, I could change martial skills at will. When I used my battle spirit, I would be an expert warrior while when I used my magic power, I would recover my Magister identity. The power of all my martial techniques had improved compared to when my power was fused. The sudden improvement had made me indescribably surprised and pleased. After floating back to the original rock, I constantly familiarized myself with the circulation of the different powers, unknowingly entering a trance. I regained consciousness the following morning. Everything looked much more refreshing compared to earlier. I took in a few mouthfuls of air while I looked at the rising sun. I couldn¡¯t help but float down from the rock. Currently, I really could accurately determine that I had really improved. Big Brother Zhan Hu walked over from a short distance to me and said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve awakened. Your complexion looks alright.¡± I said smilingly, ¡°Your complexion also looks better. Big brother, I¡¯ll call for Xiao Jin using Sukrad¡¯s staff soon. Since time is pressing, let¡¯s not dally. Please protect me when I¡¯m calling for Xiao Jin.¡± Zhan Hu nodded. ¡°Our powers have recovered already. Don¡¯t worry. Even if there¡¯s a great mountain before us, we are capable of flattening it.¡± I took out the small booklet that Uncle Firewood gave me. ¡°Big brother, this is what Uncle Firewood wanted me to pass on to you all. It¡¯s the experiences and understandings he got from training in his entire life. If you want to become a War God, you should start by reading and studying this booklet.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 44 - Dragon Staffs Call Volume 9: Chapter 44 - Dragon Staff''s Call Stunned, Zhan Hu took a while to process the information before elatedly snatching the booklet from me and started to flip through its pages. As he read it, the happiness on his face intensified. He quickly skimmed through the entire book and then said excitedly, ¡°This is awesome! Zhang Gong, thank you for giving us this booklet! It¡¯s really too important. With this, the effect of our future training will be doubled, with only half the work, so our training will be much smoother than before!¡± I gently shook my head. ¡°Big brother, you don¡¯t have to thank me. You should thank Uncle Firewood instead. He has disregarded his race¡¯s discrimination and gave his lifetime¡¯s knowledge to us humans. Do you know what that means? It means that the demon race really wishes to mend their relationship with the humans, so no matter how difficult it will be, we must make the negotiation a success. Please protect me now, while I call out to Xiao Jin.¡± I stood on a rock. To be honest, I didn¡¯t know how to summon him, but I thought that the Sukrad¡¯s staff was the Dragon God¡¯s staff. Its aura should be able to lure Xiao Jin over, since he was nearby, right? Let¡¯s give it a try. I raised Sukrad¡¯s staff and inserted my magic power in it. The three different powers in my body had already been completely changed to magic power, surging into Sukarad¡¯s staff. An intense golden ray was constantly being emitted from my hand. I never knew that I actually possessed such strong powers. It felt so strong that I felt confident enough to cast a forbidden spell on my own. I didn¡¯t know what to do next to call Xiao Jin over. As I continued to insert my magic power into the staff, I chanted silently, ¡°Xiao Jin, my friend, please return to my side.¡± I didn¡¯t know if it would work. I had done all I could do, so I would just have to wait and see. However, I distinctly felt that Sukrad¡¯s staff was constantly giving off wave after wave of power. Zhan Hu, who was by my side, stared blankly at me. The powerful undulations surging out of my body had made him indescribably amazed. He didn¡¯t think that I would have improved at such a rapid pace. The strong gold light had attracted everyone. Zhan Hu signaled them not to disturb me. When Ke Lun Duo saw the strength of the magic power from my body, he understood that he would forever be unable to be my match. Suddenly, Xiao Jin¡¯s familiar telepathy came into my mind, ¡°Master, where are you?¡± I was elated and hollered to the sky. The magic power had suddenly surged outwards with me as its center, forming a magic field. Everyone was pushed 10 metres back and a dazzling gold light was shot out from the transparent gemstone of the Sukrad¡¯s staff into the sky. Everyone, except for Ke Lun Duo and Mu Zi, was alright. When Ke Lun Duo and Mu Zi had withstood the light elements unintentionally spread around, it was abnormally strenuous for them. They found that the light elements I gave off were much purer than before. Both of them had to use all of their might to withstand it. The clouds in the sky were penetrated by the golden light that I shot out. It looked as though a golden pillar that could support both heaven and earth had appeared in the world. A bright dragon roar mixed with my long holler. Xiao Jin was finally back. A gold dot in the far sky gradually became larger and larger. I yelled out in excitement, ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± I changed my magic power into battle spirit, and instantly soared into the sky like a magic artillery shell. Xiao Jin happily roared. It was obvious that he had noticed me. I grabbed his neck and flipped onto his back. ¡°Xiao Jin, how have you been?¡± ¡°Master, I can finally see you again! I received the message that you were looking for me when I was just starting to get really impatient.¡± ¡°It must have been hard on you these few days. Xiao Jin, let¡¯s descend. My friends are here.¡± Xiao Jin withdrew his wings and we descended at a frightening speed, giving me a shock. When we were about 33 meters away from the crowd, under everyone¡¯s astonished gazes, Xiao Jin abruptly opened his enormous wings. The speed of the descent rapidly decreased before he gently landed on the ground. Dong Ri exclaimed, ¡°Wah! Xiao Jin, what good stuff have you been having? You look much fatter than before.¡± Xiao Jin snorted, ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s fat. I¡¯ve only grown bigger due to the increase in power. If you aren¡¯t satisfied, I can have a spar with you. With your broken bow, heh heh! You aren¡¯t a match for me.¡± Dong Ri asked with intensified amazement, ¡°You can talk?¡± Xiao Jin arrogantly replied, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m the descendant of the five clawed dragons. Learning your human language isn¡¯t even such an amazing thing. Are you going to compete with me or not?¡± Upon saying that, he folded his wings and walked closer towards Dong Ri, filled with ill intentions. Dong Ri immediately waved his hand at Xiao Jin. ¡°No! No! No! Who wants to compete with you? You want my life?¡± Xiao Jin chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve just said that I¡¯m fat. How are we to settle that, then?¡± I mockingly scolded, ¡°Xiao Jin, stop fooling around. You started bickering with Dong Ri the first thing once you arrived. It seems that you¡¯ve been hanging out with that bunch of clowns in the Dragon Valley.¡± Hearing my voice, Xiao Jin obviously exercised restraint as he awkwardly glanced at me and said softly, ¡°The friends from the Dragon Valley said that I must be more quick witted outside the valley. If not, I¡¯ll be bullied.¡± Dong Ri replied laughingly, ¡°Bully you? With your power, who can bully you?¡± Xiao Jin turned back to face him and angrily rebuked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you bullied me just now? I¡¯m an awesome, handsome dragon, outstandingly elegant, with the manners of a jade tree and also a young lady dragon¡¯s killer. You¡¯ve unexpectedly said I was fat. If it wasn¡¯t for Master pleading mercy for you, hehe! I would have loosened your bones for a bit.¡± Faint! Was this still Xiao Jin? Not only was Dong Ri stunned, I also blanked. I had never seen this side of Xiao Jin before. He had always been obedient. Even though he was currently still listening to me, he had more attitude now. It ought to be due to those dragon clowns that Xiao Jin had become corrupted. But it was much more interesting this way. Xiao Jin¡¯s words had made everyone, excluding Dong Ri and I, to break into a happy laughter; even Mu Zi¡¯s melancholy had been temporarily lifted. Xiao Rou hid at a side, shivering. Even though she had turned into an A ranked Demon beast, when face to face with the most powerful creature in the world, she couldn¡¯t help but fear it. Due to my acute emotional sensitivity, I quickly noticed her condition and caringly asked her, ¡°Xiao Rou, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiao Rou changed back to her human form and stuck to my side, while replying pitifully, ¡°Master, I¡­I¡¯m really afraid.¡± Xiao Jin had discovered her and was now looking at Xiao Rou with interest. ¡°Master, who is she?¡± All smiles, I replied, ¡°She¡¯s also my friend. During this trip to the Demon race, if it weren¡¯t for Xiao Rou, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to see me again.¡± A peculiar glimmer flashed in Xiao Jin¡¯s large eyes. He bounced and skipped over to my side. He then lowered his large head, and told Xiao Rou, ¡°Thank you for saving my Master, little sister.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 45 - A Sorrowful Farewell with Xiao Jin Volume 9: Chapter 45 - A Sorrowful Farewell with Xiao Jin Xiao Rou hastily hid behind me and shivered even more violently. I said, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, Xiao Rou. Xiao Jin won¡¯t hurt you. Xiao Jin, how can you call her little sister? She¡¯s older than you by a few hundred years. You should call her older sister.¡± Xiao Jin was stunned, then he hastily corrected his words. ¡°Older sister Xiao Rou, I¡¯m known as Xiao Jin. Please take care of me from now on. If anybody bullies you, you can tell me. I¡¯ll stick out for you.¡± Smiling, Zhan Hu said, ¡°Xiao Jin, when did you join the criminal underworld? It¡¯ll be great if you join our bandit group. Haha!¡± When Xiao Rou saw that Xiao Jin didn¡¯t have any bad intentions, she boldly stuck her head out from behind my back to size Xiao Jin up before whispering, ¡°Your golden sparkling scales are so beautiful!¡± Xiao Jin said, proudly, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m the prettiest in the Dragon race. Elder sis, you also look really beautiful.¡± I patted Xiao Jin¡¯s large head. ¡°Xiao Jin, stop joking around. I have something that I¡¯ll need your help with.¡± Xiao Jin replied seriously, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Master?¡± I took out a previously written letter. ¡°You¡¯re to head to our base to find Big Brother Xiu Si and pass this letter to him.¡± Xiao Jin suddenly shook his head like a rattle drum and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to! I¡¯m not going.¡± I was momentarily stunned. Xiao Jin had never disobeyed my request. Why would he do it now? Xiao Jin stopped shaking his head and tears flowed down from his large eyes. Choked with emotions, he said, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve reunited with you with such difficulty. Please let me to stay by your side and protect you. Xiao Jin doesn¡¯t want to leave you. I¡¯m begging you, ok?¡± My eyes instantly reddened. Xiao Jin had such deep feelings towards me. I caressed his large head and said emotionally, ¡°Xiao Jin, behave and stop crying. I don¡¯t have a choice. The risk of heading back to the Str?m Fortress isn¡¯t much lesser than being in the Demon race. Your task is extremely important. I promise you that after you have accomplished this task, I won¡¯t separate from you ever again, alright?¡± Zhan Hu asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, isn¡¯t it just sending a letter? Is it that urgent?¡± I sighed and replied, ¡°Big brother, you should know that I¡¯m currently a wanted person from Aixia. It won¡¯t be easy to convince the three kingdoms. We¡¯ll need to use the God¡¯s inheritor¡¯s name. Even though we aren¡¯t weak, it won¡¯t be enough to face the three kingdoms¡¯ millions of soldiers. It¡¯s always better to have more powers, so I want Xiao Jin to send the letter and ask Big Brother Xui Si, Xin Ao, and Gao De to bring along some elites to assist us. With the six divine instruments, we don¡¯t need to fear anything. When necessary, we can use their power to frighten the three kingdoms in order to accomplish our objectives. Among us, only Xiao Jin can fly for a long period of time and only he has enough power to fly past the Heavenly Falling Mountain with great speed. After sending the letter, Big Brother Xiu Si and the rest could join up with us as soon as possible. Time is pressing. I¡¯m reluctant to be separated from Xiao Jin, but under the present conditions, I must do precisely that.¡± Dong Ri said, ¡°Zhang Gong is right. Our trip back will be really dangerous. Only with Big Brother Xiu Si¡¯s intelligence and Zhang Gong¡¯s planned strategy will we succeed with this task. I agree with Zhang Gong¡¯s suggestion.¡± Xiao Jin unwillingly took the letter from my hands. I took out a map from the space pocket and showed him the location of the base before reminding him, ¡°Xiao Jin, you must head there at top speed and pass the letter to Big Brother before you come back to find us. I know that you know how to find us. Actually, it won¡¯t take a long time before we meet again, so don¡¯t be sad.¡± Xiao Jin nodded dejectedly. ¡°Master, you must keep true to your words. After returning, Xiao Jin won¡¯t ever leave you again.¡± I stuck my face to his head. No matter how I looked, Xiao Jin¡¯s feelings for me wouldn¡¯t ever change. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely keep my words. Take care of yourself.¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯ll head out now, so that I can come back earlier. Just wait for my good news.¡± Upon saying that, he flapped his wings and soared into the sky. After a few words, Xiao Jin was leaving me again. I felt the emotions surging in my heart and how I loathed parting from him. Mu Zi walked over to my side and whispered, ¡°If I were to be gone, would you be that reluctant then?¡± My body shuddered and I turned my head to come face to face with her gaze, filled with hidden bitterness. I controlled my emotions while I whispered, ¡°Princess must be joking with me. I¡¯m just a commoner. How could I even think about that?¡± Mu Zi sighed. ¡°Can I talk to you late at night today?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Your fianc¨¦ is here. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good for you to be meeting alone with a guy.¡± Mu Zi replied, slightly displeased, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid, so what are you afraid of? Can it be that you¡¯re not even willing to talk with me for a little while?¡± Seeing her slightly displeased look, my heart softened, so I nodded my head while smiling wryly. ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Zi nodded her head with satisfaction before turning around and walked aside. I told Zhan Hu, ¡°Since we¡¯ve already reunited with Xiao Jin, we should head out. With so many people, I¡¯m not confident I¡¯ll be able to teleport all of us there. To avoid any incidents, I¡¯ll have to trouble all of you to fly.¡± Upon saying that, my battle spirit surged and I took the lead, soaring up into the sky. I hovered in the sky, waiting for everyone to come. Everyone finished tidying up their belongings, and met me in mid-air. Just like that, about a dozen of us started flying towards Str?m Fortress. ¡­¡­ As night gradually fell, everyone was extremely tired after flying for a full day. We chose a dense forest as a resting place. Xiao Rou hunted our food, as usual, and Big Brother Zhan Hu cooked it. After our meal, excluding me, who was charged with keeping a lookout for the night, everyone had already went to rest. I leaned on a large tree and looked at the bright moonlight. I felt indescribably uncomfortable. ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯ve come.¡± My entire body shuddered when I turned around to see Mu Zi, who had recovered her exceptional looks. She had lost weight again. With a slight smile on her face, she leisurely walked over. ¡°Princess, you¡¯ve come. What do you want to talk about with me?¡± Mu Zi walked over until she was just a foot away from me. With her orchid-like scent coming over, I couldn¡¯t help but to feel light headed. I inwardly knocked on a wake up bell at my heart. I mustn¡¯t lose control. ¡°Can you not call me princess? There are no outsiders here. Call me Mu Zi, like you always did.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dare, since our status is different.¡± Mu Zi chuckled a little. ¡°What status are you talking about? Firstly, I¡¯m a demoness and you¡¯re human. We¡¯re of different species. Do I have a status at your human side as the princess of the Demon race? Moreover, you¡¯re a God¡¯s inheritor. Your status should be higher than me judging by that. Call me Mu Zi, ok?¡± Volume 9: Chapter 46 - Mu Zis Agreement Volume 9: Chapter 46 - Mu Zi''s Agreement I didn¡¯t think that she would reply so sharp. I subconsciously said, ¡°Mu Zi, I¡­..¡± She smiled with satisfaction. I knew that I had lost this round. Mu Zi turned around, with her back facing me.She continued to say in a gentle and touching voice, ¡°Zhang Gong, when I found out that you¡¯d come to the Demon race to find me, my heart had already flown to your side. Do you know that when Big Brother Wa Leng told me that you¡¯d died, my heart shattered?¡± Her words moved my heart. ¡°Princess, I¡¯m not worthy of you.¡± Mu Zi suddenly turned around with an angered expression. ¡°Haven¡¯t we settled that you¡¯ll call me Mu Zi?¡± Faint, had I agreed to that? ¡°Zhang Gong, I know that you still love me, right?¡± The topic had come so quickly that I didn¡¯t know how to answer. I looked at her in a daze. Mu Zi continued, ¡°I understand why you¡¯re purposely pushing me away. It was only an excuse when you said that it would be impossible for a demon and a human to be together. The real reason is your scars, right? Zhang Gong, my beloved, could it be that in your heart, I, Mu Zi, am that shallow?¡± She looked straight into my eyes, not allowing me to dodge her gaze. Mu Zi¡¯s words had moved me tremendously. She still had such strong feelings towards me. I abruptly raised my head to look at her moving, lovable appearance. Just as I wanted to embrace her, my atrocious looks appeared in my mind. I grabbed onto my hair and hollered in agony, ¡°No!!¡± Mu Zi was shocked and quickly grabbed on my hand. ¡°Zhang Gong, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I shook my head with all my might and huskily replied, ¡°Mu Zi, forget about me. I¡¯m no longer compatible with you. I can¡¯t allow you to follow me, who is so ugly, all of your life. Forget about me! Ke Lun Duo should be the best choice for you.¡± Tears constantly flowed down Mu Zi¡¯s face.She replied choked with sobs, ¡°No! Zhang Gong, I only have a sibling¡¯s feelings towards Ke Lun Duo. The one I truly love is you. No matter how much your appearance changes, I¡¯ll forever stay by your side, all of my life, and until the end of time.¡± ¡°I can prove Mu Zi¡¯s words.¡± Ke Lun Duo moved out in a flash from the shadows by the thickets. ¡°Even though Mu Zi and I grew up together, I had only treated her as a sister. I already have someone that I admire. Even though I don¡¯t wish that Mu Zi would marry you, her feeling towards you are really too deep. Can¡¯t you be more confident in yourself and accept her? You had initially thrown away your great future for Mu Zi. Why can¡¯t you put aside your feelings and show your dedication for her again?¡± I gradually calmed down and looked at Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo. I tore my shirt, revealing the numerous scars on my chest, then chuckled mournfully. ¡°Mu Zi have you seen clearly? This is me now. My body is filled with hideous scars. Do you want to spend your entire life with such a freak?¡± I prevented her from replying as I continued to say, ¡°Even if you¡¯re willing, I¡¯m not. I definitely can¡¯t ruin your great youth by my hands.¡± Upon saying that, after a flash of light, I disappeared from that place. Mu Zi shouted behind me, ¡°Zhang Gong!¡± Just as she wanted to chase after me, Ke Lun Duo held her back and consoled her. ¡°Mu Zi, don¡¯t be too anxious. Zhang Gong¡¯s disfiguration is something that has hurt him deeply. He can¡¯t accept it in such a short while. You should give both him and yourself some time. After you two calm down and consider things objectively, perhaps, it¡¯ll lead to a different outcome.¡± Mu Zi looked at Ke Lun Duo and no longer insisted to chase after me. In tears, she said, ¡°Zhang Gong, why do you want to run away? No matter how your appearance changes and no matter how determined you are, I¡¯ll use all of my methods to soften your determination and love you all of my life. My heart is for you alone!¡± I hadn¡¯t gone far away; I simply teleported to a nearby tree, behind them. Hearing Mu Zi¡¯s words, I painfully gripped onto the tree before me. How great would it have been if I heard them before I got injured? Without these hideous scars, even if the entire world objected, I would stay by your side without a second thought. But now, could I do that? I could only choose to evade her and hope that time could lessen our feelings toward each other. I only wished for Mu Zi¡¯s happiness, but with my current looks, I couldn¡¯t give that to her. ¡­¡­ I didn¡¯t dare to get into contact with her after that night. No matter the time, I evaded her. I was rather curious about Ke Lun Duo¡¯s actions. He had talked so much when he previously impersonated Su He. Now, I rarely heard his voice the whole day long. He just silently stayed by Mu Zi¡¯s side and dutifully protected her. Ten days passed by quickly. We had returned to the cliff where we initially met Ke Lun Duo. The alliance troops still had high morale. From the orderly line up, I knew that in these few months, both sides hadn¡¯t had any significant battles. Zhan Hu asked me, ¡°How are we getting across? The front path has been blocked by the alliance troops. Are we going to use long distance teleportation again?¡± ¡°No! I¡¯m afraid. I¡¯m more willing to rush in and kill the enemy than to teleport again. If it turns out badly, I won¡¯t even know how I died,¡± Jian Shan voiced out from the back. All smiles, Zhan Hu replied, ¡°You brat, stop thinking that way. Zhang Gong has made a large breakthrough recently. There shouldn¡¯t be any dangers.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Even with my power¡¯s improvement, this time we have two more people, so the burden will be much larger. Moreover, I can¡¯t set the location of the teleportation. If we were to be separated from each other, it would be really troublesome to regroup. I think it¡¯s best not to teleport, for everyone¡¯s safety.¡± Zhan Hu was stunned. ¡°Are we really going to kill our way through? There¡¯s a few million troopers there.¡± Mu Zi said, frowning, ¡°You can¡¯t use force. Firstly, I won¡¯t stand by as you kill the Demon race, and secondly, even if we were able to make our way over to the Str?m Fortress through killing, it may affect future peace talks. Let¡¯s think of other ways.¡± Dong Ri suggested, ¡°Can¡¯t we fly over?¡± Ke Lun Duo replied smilingly, ¡°Obviously, it wouldn¡¯t work. Our Demon and beast races have numerous weapons specialized in attacking airborne objects. If not, how could we deal with you humans¡¯ wind mages? If we were to fly through, we¡¯d just become targets for both races¡¯ artilleries.¡± Dong Ri was stunned for a moment, before refuting, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be discovered that easily if we were to wear nocturnal equipment and fly at a high altitude, right?¡± Mu Zi shook her head and replied, ¡°In order to prevent the enemies from attacking the back of the troops via flight, the Demon and beast races have special methods to detect high altitude objects. Moreover, their surveillance covers the entire sky, so our success rate would be extremely low.¡± Volume 9: Chapter 47 - Flying Across the Allied Armies Volume 9: Chapter 47 - Flying Across the Allied Armies Dong Ri said worryingly, ¡°Neither method would work. But we can¡¯t just stay here forever, right?¡± I said, ¡°Everyone, calm down and let me think.¡± Upon hearing my words, everyone went silent. After a long time, I asked Zhan Hu, ¡°Big brother, do you still have that signal flair from Big Brother Shan Yun?¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°It was long taken away from me when we got caught by the Demons.¡± Without the signal, we couldn''t get Big Brother Shan Yun¡¯s help to divert the enemy from us. There really weren¡¯t any good methods available. I sighed and said, ¡°For everyone¡¯s safety, let¡¯s make a disturbance before we use our greatest speed to fly over, with the dark night as our cover. Only Mu Zi used wind magic to fly among our group. I could convert all of my magic powers to battle spirit so it was my responsibility to bring her along. ¡°Everyone, be prepared. We¡¯ll make our move at night.¡± To be truthful, I didn¡¯t want to be the one helping Mu Zi because that would give her hope, but I was more focused on her safety. Since my power was the strongest among the team, she would be safest with me. Moreover, even if I said that I didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with her, I would still feel uncomfortable at the idea of other men touching her body. As Mu Zi heard my words, a hint of happiness flashed past her eyes. Even though it happened in a flash, it didn¡¯t escape my sight. Everyone sat together and started to cultivate, as they all knew that it would be dangerous tonight. Only with plentiful battle spirit would there be a greater chance of survival. Night fell quickly. Our luck was quite good, as it was a moonless night. In the pitch black night, we could see great numbers of fire lights. I asked Ke Lun Duo, ¡°What do the Demon and beast races use for surveillance?¡± Ke Lun Duo glanced at Mu Zi for approval, then said, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Among our Demon race¡¯s demon beasts, there¡¯s a type with good eyesight. They can see far into the distance extremely clearly, so they are used in the troops as scouts for observation. Every day, their kind will take turns to survey the sky. The Beast race is similar to ours, only they use beastmen specializing in farsight.¡± After hearing his words, I asked with a plan in mind, ¡°Under what conditions would all of the scouts be dispatched?¡± Ke Lun Duo¡¯s eyes lit up. He was also an intelligent person, so he immediately caught on what I meant. He replied, ¡°Obviously, it is when the enemy attacks. But some of the scouts would still be left behind.¡± I nodded. ¡°There will definitely be a risk. Even if a portion of the scouts will be left behind, in case the enemy attacks, they will be mostly focused on the attack. It would be the best opportunity to charge through to the Str?m Fortress.¡± Zhan Hu asked, ¡°How do we make it seem like an enemy¡¯s attack?¡± I glanced at Mu Zi. ¡°In a while, I will use a large areal offensive light magic. This is a spell that I¡¯ve only thought of recently. It¡¯s originally light ball shaped, but under my control area, I can change it into a light rain attack at will.¡± Ke Lun Duo frowned and said, ¡°Your magic should be extremely potent. How much loss will the Demon race suffer?¡± I smiled and replied, ¡°For the sake of our cooperation, I¡¯ll be a little despicable and aim for the beast men. The damage of the light magic on the Beast race will be significantly lower than on your Demon race. There shouldn¡¯t be too much damage then. However, I¡¯ll need help from you and Mu Zi later. After I cast the spell, you shall use your dark magic to cover the light ball. You only have to use a small amount of magic power and leave the rest to me. Big Brother Zhan Hu, Dong Ri and Shan Jian, you are to stand behind to insert your battle spirit into me.¡± The three of them nodded and specifically placed their right hands on three of the important acupuncture points on my back. ¡°Get ready,¡± I told Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo. I didn¡¯t chant, just simply raised the Sukrad¡¯s staff, making numerous light elements rapidly gather towards me. A large, dazzling golden light ball appeared before everyone. Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo used their dark powers to cover the light, so that the it couldn¡¯t be seen. I reminded Mu Zi, ¡°Be extremely careful not to make any contact between your dark spell and my light ball.¡± Mu Zi nodded and rapidly gathered her dark powers together with Ke Lun Duo. A thick layer of black fog completely covered the gold ball, making the surroundings fall back into darkness. ¡°How long can you sustain this spell?¡± I asked. Mu Zi replied, ¡°Without controlling it, it would probably last about as long as it takes to brew a cup of tea.¡± ¡°It¡¯s enough. Big Brother Zhan Hu, Dong Ri and Shan Jian, you can start channelling battle spirit into my body. The rest of you, stand by and be ready to fly at any moment.¡± Upon saying that, I extended both of my hands, and the dark ball shot into the sky. With a brandish of Sukrad¡¯s staff, the black ball shot out like lightning towards Str?m Fortress. Asking Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest to help me was for having better control, and so that I could save enough power to fly across later on. The black ball passed through the sky of the alliance troops. I estimated that no matter how powerful their scouts were, it was not really possible for them to discover this magic bullet. When the black ball reached 330 meters from Str?m Fortress, some perspiration formed on my forehead, Even though this spell wasn¡¯t difficult for me, it was still too far away, and it was my first time casting such a long-distance controlled spell. At that moment, the black mist around the power ball had already disappeared, revealing the bright light ball. I shouted and traced its path as though it was coming out from the Str?m Fortress. The light ball rapidly advanced. When it arrived above the Beast race¡¯s stronghold, under my control, the light ball exploded. The rain of light that covered the sky poured down in the night, making people gasp in amazement at the spectacular sight. The Beast race¡¯s camp broke out in blood-curdling screeches. The alliance troops momentarily became restless. All of the beast and demon soldiers gradually woke up from their dreams. ¡°Human¡¯s are attacking the camp! Human¡¯s are attacking the camp! Everyone get up!¡± A frantic voice made the entire alliance troops frenzied in a moment. However, after a short while, the two troops slowly regained order as they started heading towards the Str?m Fortress. I shouted, ¡°Big brothers, withdraw your powers and prepare to fly.¡± My voice woke everyone up from their state of shock. My magic control was something that they couldn¡¯t have imagined. Even though it was extremely difficult to control this spell, I had discovered that it didn¡¯t use much of my powers. It hadn¡¯t used much of the battle spirits that Big Brother Zhan Hu and the other two inserted in me. Seems like I had really improved. I shouted, ¡°Mu Zi, come over here. Everyone is to maintain a team formation. Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo are to cast their dark magic below us while the rest will keep a lookout for danger. Once we are attacked, you¡¯re to immediately dodge and defend yourself, without breaking the formation.¡± Everyone gathered around after hearing my words. My previous display had made everyone have a whole new level of respect towards me, and place more of their trust in me. Seeing that they were all ready, I shouted, ¡°Alright! Our target is the dense forest on the right side of the Str?m Fortress. Set out!¡± About a dozen shadows rapidly soared into the sky, forming a triangle shape. I placed my arm around Mu Zi¡¯s waist, cautiously examining the movements below. Mu Zi was fully engrossed in enjoying my embrace, while Ke Lun Duo rapidly cast a dark protective screen below us. Just like that, our team moved across the horizon, charging towards the Str?m Fortress. Volume 10: Chapter 1 - Arriving at the Stronghold Volume 10: Chapter 1 - Arriving at the Stronghold The one that worked the hardest amongst the group was Ke Lun Duo as he had to control his flight and constantly cast dark screens, while Mu Zi was also casting the dark screen. She did it in the easiest way possible as she placed one arm around my waist and constantly casting dark magic with the other. As we arrived above the alliance army and looking at the densely packed ranks, everyone became tense as the cost of being discovered was to be surrounded and attacked. We moved rapidly and had crossed more than half the distance to our destination in a blink of an eye. Right at that moment, Ke Lun Duo softly exclaimed, ¡°This isn¡¯t good. We¡¯ve been discovered. Everyone, be wary of what is coming from below.¡± A few dark magic bullets and many arrows shot towards us, as expected. What strong bows they possessed? An arrow could actually reach such a high altitude. I instantly adapted to the situation. ¡°Our mage opponents shouldn¡¯t be able to control their magic powers to such a distance. Everyone, be careful and try your best to dodge. Don¡¯t fight those spells head on.¡± Fighting head on would only decrease our pace. Dodging these attacks should be the best solution. The alliance troops of the Demon and Beast races had already come into contact with the human¡¯s three kingdoms. Extremely loud calls of ¡®Kill!¡¯ were heard distinctly, even at such an altitude. The alliance troops had unexpectedly attacked Str?m Fortress with almost half of its manpower, while the three human kingdoms made use of the natural stronghold to constantly use large caliber magic crystal cannon and various magic spells to counter. An endless stream of beautiful and dazzling magic cannon shells descended from the Str?m Fortress¡¯s lofty fortified walls. Furthermore, with every captivating ray of light, the number of troops from Demon and Beast race¡¯s alliance would lessen. War was brutal. It was to kill or be killed. Whenever a large magic spell descended on the alliance troops, I clearly felt Mu Zi, who was in my embrace, shuddering. Looking upon t such a scene, I inwardly promised that no matter what, I must succeed in negotiating with the three kingdoms. Zhan Hu¡¯s anxious voice rang out, ¡°Everyone, be careful. The enemies attacks are too numerous. We no longer have any choice but to use our protective battle spirit to withstand the magic head on.¡± Feeling apprehensive, I withdrew from my thoughts before surveying my surroundings. As expected from what Zhan Hu had said, an enormous quantity of dark magic was constantly surging over. Even though the strength of the spells weren¡¯t strong, the quantity was frightening. It had covered the entire one kilometre area. Mu Zi in my embrace, ¡°Not good! This is our Demon race¡¯s dark magic army troop/squad/regiment that are commencing their attack.¡± I coldly snorted. ¡°Everyone, gather around me and activate your protective battle spirits below us.¡± I still knew that combined powers were much stronger than separated powers. When the dozen of us gathered together, our defensive power increased drastically. Since we were also at a high altitude, we could withstand the attacks for a moment. However, our movement speed had greatly decreased. The dark magic army squad/troop/regiment had followed our movements, constantly shooting offensive attacks at us. When facing such a crisis, my heart was calm instead as we were already not far from the Str?m Fortress. I shouted, ¡°Everyone, prepare to head forth at full speed!¡± Upon saying that, I glanced at Mu Zi in my embrace. I thought, ¡®With Mu Zi here, I definitely can¡¯t attack the Demons below us and just defend against their attack.¡¯ Thinking about that, I just maintained a small amount of battle spirit to sustain our flight and completely converted the Holy Sword¡¯s power and some of the battle spirit¡¯s power to magic power; an enormous Light Prism Shield appeared beneath the group. We seemed to have become a sun in the night, to those below us. Even though the defensive power of the Light Prism Shield wasn¡¯t great, the Light Prism Shield that I had improved could deal with those magic bullets. The large mass of dark magic bullet rebounded. I whispered to Mu Zi, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t hurt them. It¡¯ll only cause some trouble for the Dark mages troop.¡± Mu Zi didn¡¯t say anything, but tightened her hand around my waist. Under the protection of the Light Prism Shield, even though our aim was obvious, the alliance troops below us were unable to deal with us for the moment. When everyone thought that that they could safely reached their destination. I suddenly felt an enormous powers surging towards us. It was not something that the large surfaced of the Light Prism Shield could withstand. I hastily shot numerous light blades downwards, using the Sukrad¡¯s staff. The strength of the opponent was beyond my expectations. With a few moves against the enemy, it had actually made my body¡¯s Qi and blood to roll over and over. My expression changed, I said, ¡°Your Demon race have such powerful mages. We¡¯re at a disadvantage now.¡± Even though the opponent wasn¡¯t stronger than me, we were in mid air so I couldn¡¯t recover my powers. The flight, fueled by battle spirit, was extremely taxing. If the opponent was to use another powerful magic spell to obstruct us, there wouldn¡¯t be a guarantee that we would safely reach the Str?m Fortress. At this moment, the eastern door of the Str?m Fortress, on the right side of the fortress, flew open. A few thousand cavalrymen surged out. When I was curious as to why the humans had sent out such a small amount of cavalry to meet with the enemy, Zhan Hu exclaimed in shock, ¡°It¡¯s second brother¡¯s Earth Dragon Cavalry Squad.¡± So, that was the case. Even though there were only a few thousand cavalrymen, it was like a violent gust of wind blowing through leaves, nothing was able to obstruct them. They had successfully plowed through a path among the alliance Demon and Beast race¡¯s troops. A strong magic had come towards us again from beneath us. I was slightly angered by that before I told everyone, ¡°Everyone, fly towards the right side¡¯s city gate, where the Earth Dragon Squad has come out from. I can handle things here.¡± After saying that, I used Sukrad¡¯s staff to draw out a dazzling gold magic hexagon in the air and shot it downwards. The strength of which was already beyond the advanced spells. Even though it didn¡¯t have the strength of forbidden spells, it was close. This single attack, had already consumed 60% of my magic power. As the hexagon appeared, I told Mu Zi, ¡°Quickly use wind magic to catch up with the rest.¡± Since I had used up most of my magic power, I had no choice, but to depend on Mu Zi¡¯s power. As Mu Zi chanted, the wind elements in the surrounding rapidly gathered. The surrounding movement of the air had continuously pushed us towards our destination. Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest, who were in front of us, had already reached the eastern door of Str?m Fortress. When the magic hexagon that I shot out quickly descended and collided intensely with the dark magic spell, the wind beneath Mu Zi and I instantly surged upwards. That enormous backlash in the air had made my body¡¯s Qi and blood to boil from the shockwave. At that moment, my body became sluggish. Mu Zi immediately tightened her hold on me and chanted, ¡°Oh great wind elements, I plead you to change into a tornado that rips everything apart.¡± A miniature tornado gathered behind us. With its assistance, Mu Zi and I momentarily shot towards the fortress like a shooting star. I recovered for a breath with Mu Zi¡¯s full power supporting us before I brandished Sukrad¡¯s staff to dissipate the dark magic bullets that were pursuing us. After the ordeal, we had finally charged into the eastern entrance of the Str?m Fortress. Volume 10: Chapter 2 - Cruel War Volume 10: Chapter 2 - Cruel War The Earth Dragon army team that Big Brother Shan Yun led was invincible. In just a short moment, they had cleared a space in front of the Str?m Fortress. When the defenders of the Str?m Fortress saw that the situation was advantageous, they immediately sent out all of their forces; the main forces, heavy and light cavalries, all charged frantically towards the allied Demon and Beast races troops. Mu Zi supported me as we slowly descended to the ground. When Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest saw that we landed safely, they gathered around us. I frowned as I watched meat and blood splattered everywhere in the war field. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that our cross over to the Str?m Fortress had led to a war between the races. We originally came back for negotiation, but we¡¯ve become the fuse for the start of the battles.¡± Mu Zi consoled, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a problem as the Beast men had dispatched their Beamon army troops. With them, it definitely could sustain their morale. The allied troops of the Demon and Beast race has an advantage in the number of troopers. If the commander of the Str?m Fortress isn¡¯t stupid, he would withdraw the army and rely on the natural stronghold, Str?m Fortress.¡± I looked astonished at Mu Zi. This was the first time that I saw her wise and farsighted side. Ke Lun Duo said, ¡°What the princess said is right. Zhang Gong, what should we do now?¡± We were currently at the east city door. Since we had previously fought against the Demon race, the human soldiers had already treated us as their ally. Everyone was caught up with fighting the war that they, unexpectedly, didn¡¯t pay any attention to us at the moment. At this moment, the battlefield had a sudden change. It was as Mu Zi had mentioned previously; the beast men¡¯s Giant Beamon Beast army troop had appeared. When I saw such a large beast for the first time, it gave me a fright. Its body was covered with heavy armour, an enormous wolf teeth club in its hand, and was at least 4 meters tall. It had suddenly appeared before Big Brother Shan Yun¡¯s Earth Dragon army squad. The Earth Dragon squad¡¯s warriors didn¡¯t care about anything, other than to charge forward. Unexpectedly however, the Earth Dragon¡¯s strong powers couldn¡¯t withstand the strength of the Giant Beamon Beast. The dragon gun couldn¡¯t pierce through their defense. Under the might of the enormous wolf teeth club, the dozen warriors of the Earth Dragon Army squad, who was right at the front, momentarily became meat paste with their Earth Dragons. The Giant Beamon Beast Army Squad slowly, but orderly, advanced. They reclaimed the areas that the Earth Dragon Army team had taken, piece by piece.Zhan Hu sighed and said, ¡°Even though the Earth Dragon Army squad is powerful, it still couldn¡¯t withstand the trump card of the Beast men. There was nothing in this world, even if it was heavy armoured soldiers, that could withstand the attack of the Giant Beamon Beast. Those fellows are just too abnormal. Look, the flag of the fort has changed.¡± The previous constantly waving red flag had turned to blue. The Earth Dragon Army Squad orderly retreated. The heavy and light armored cavalry protected their sides as they retreated back to the Str?m Fortress in formation, without any disorder. When the allied Demon and beast races troops were violently charging over, and the human¡¯s cavalries were almost unable to withstand their enemies, numerous elemental magic covered the sky and sprinkled downwards from the city walls of the fort. The advancement of the allied troops soldiers instantly decreased, excluding the Giant Beamon Beast from the Beast race. The human calvaries took the opportunity to successfully retreat near the fortress. The large magic crystal cannon on the fort proved its importance. Small colourful shooting stars streaked across the vast sky and landed on the allied Demon and Beast races troops, even the Giant Beamon Beast wasn¡¯t unscathed. The Earth Dragon Army squad shielded the huge group of calvaries as they entered the fort in front of us. The main forces of the allied Demon and beast races were stopped outside of the fort by the large magic crystal cannon. The Earth Dragon Army squad had finally retreated back into the fort. Big Brother Zhan Hu quickly charged forward to welcome the last Earth Dragon cavalry that returned. I didn¡¯t even need to look attentively as that cavalry could only be Big Brother Shan Yun. Shan Yun rapidly rode his Earth Dragon over towards us. Zhan Hu hollered, ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯m back!¡± Shan Yun removed his face helmet and shouted, ¡°Third Brother! I knew it was you guys. Quickly follow me into the city to prevent ambushes from the allied troops of the Demon and Beast races from happening.¡± We currently didn¡¯t have the time to reminisce so we hastily entered the Str?m Fortress, following Shan Yun. The fortress was filled with soldiers from the three kingdoms. The city wall was covered with infantries and mages that were responsible in defending the fortress. With the defence of the natural fortress, the mages could show their importance. There were also a couple of small mountain-like objects that should be the large magic crystal cannon; it was also because of them that stopped the allied troops of the Demon and Beast races from recklessly attacking the fort. Shan Yun didn¡¯t have the time to tend to us as he ordered his aide-de-camp, ¡°Quickly, get the overall statistics on the number of deaths and injuries. Report back to me after.¡± The aide-de-camp followed his order. Zhan Hu asked, ¡°Are the people that were just dispatched from Xiuda?¡± Shan Yun shook his head. ¡°Not entirely. The main forces this time was the allied troops from Xiuda and Dalu. Currently, the fortress is separated into three parts. The calvaries from the various countries are under the command of our father, while the infantries are under the command of a wind heroic marshall from Dalu. Lastly, the mages are under the leader of the Royal mage¡¯s group from Aixia, Dun Yu Xi. With such segregation, it makes the ordering of the troops easier. It would be quicker to invade, retreat, and defend that way as well. Now, let¡¯s go to where the commander division is.¡± I hastily walked forward. ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, it won¡¯t be good for us to head to the commander division. Can¡¯t you first help arrange a place for us?¡± I was a wanted person from Aixia. If I headed there just like that, wouldn¡¯t I be caught that way? ¡°You? You are?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m Zhang Gong.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong? Why has your appearance changed so much? Is it a disguise?¡± I shook my head and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain with just a few words. Let¡¯s continue our conversation after we enter the city.¡± Shan Yun instantly understood and pat his forehead before saying smilingly, ¡°Look at my poor memory. Let¡¯s head to my father¡¯s interim prince¡¯s mansion.¡± Even though it was said to be a prince¡¯s mansion, it was just a large courtyard with guards. The interior design was simple and crude. Shan Yun said that it was arranged by the prince. The prince said this originally, ¡°We are to defend the human race and fight against the allied troops of the Demon and beast races. We aren¡¯t here to enjoy life, so what¡¯s the point in building up greatly? We can use that extra money to buy magic crystals.¡± Hearing what Shan Yun had said, I couldn¡¯t help, but to have good feelings towards the prince, who I hadn¡¯t met before. Shan Yun found some rooms for us to settle in. He also didn¡¯t ask why there were two more people. At that moment, his aide-de-camp entered. ¡°Report!¡± ¡°How is the situation?¡± ¡°During this battle, there are 112 Earth Dragon cavalries, 1034 heavy armoured cavalries, and 2631 light armoured cavalries that died. In total, we¡¯ve lost 3777 cavalries. The Prince requested that you should hastily return back to the commander division.¡± The report had greatly shocked me. In such a short battle, it had unexpectedly resulted in nearly 4000 lives gone and that didn¡¯t include the loss from the Demon and Beast races. War was the world¡¯s greatest killer as the cries from numerous departed spirits permeated the battlefield. Shan Yun frowned as he replied, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll head there now. You¡¯re to tend to my guests and don¡¯t slight them. Everyone, I¡¯ll head to the commander division and return after.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 3 - Telling the Situation in Detail Volume 10: Chapter 3 - Telling the Situation in Detail It was obvious that Big Brother Shan Yun¡¯s mood was extremely heavy. Those calvaries that went to battle and died were like family to him, but so many had died in that short period of time¡­.. After Big Brother Shan Yun left, we sat down in the room. I said, ¡°Xiu Si and the rest should have arrived here already. Why haven¡¯t they come?¡± Zhan Hu asked, ¡°What shall we do next?¡± I sighed. ¡°The current situation isn¡¯t good as our coming over was too brazen. The two kingdoms, excluding Xiuda, definitely noticed our entry. If Aixia found out my identity, they definitely won¡¯t take things lying down. What is slightly beneficial to us is that the mages are under the command of Dun Yu Xi. My relationship with Teacher Xi is not bad.¡± Mu Zi said calmly, ¡°It isn¡¯t the time to discuss this matter now. Everyone should have used up most of their powers from the previous cross over. We should immediately rest up to our peak state before the troublesome matters comes knocking on our door. We¡¯ll then be able to deal with future matters.¡± Everyone was convinced by what Mu Zi said so they sat properly before they cultivated. Even though I had used a lot of my powers during the cross over, my recovery pace was abnormally fast. I discovered that the three powers in my body didn¡¯t need me to will it to make them circulate and they could automatically recover by themselves. They were individually circulating in different locations in my body, resulting in the rapid recovery to my peak state. When I woke up from meditating, everyone was still meditating. Mu Zi had changed back to her original look again. While I looked at the gentle contours of her face, a warm and gentle feeling surged out from my heart. Big Brother Shan Yun¡¯s aide-de-camp walked in and saw that I had woken up. He whispered, ¡°You¡¯ve awoken. Lord Shan Yun had instructed me that if there was anything you need, you can tell me.¡± I smiled with good will. ¡°How¡¯s the situation outside?¡± The aide-de-camp replied, ¡°We¡¯re currently dealing with the aftermath of the battle. Those that were injured are getting treatments while they can. The situation is very tense as we don¡¯t know when the allied troops of the Demon and Beast races will attack us again. I instantly thought, ¡®If I wanted to convince the three kingdoms, Xiuda will be the first kingdom to convince. If I obtained the support from Xiu Da, it would then be easier to convince the other two kingdoms. I¡¯ll have to meet up with Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s father, the prince.¡¯ ¡°When will Big Brother Shan Yun return?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t determine when he will as there are cases where discussions take an extremely long time. You can have a rest first. I¡¯ll inform you immediately once the Lord returns. I¡¯ll head out now and will let someone to bring you some food later.¡± After the aide-de-camp went out, Xiao Rou, who had changed into a squirrel form, came pouncing over. I extended a hand. She used her momentum to leap onto my shoulder, rubbing her fury head on my face. This little fella was too adorable. Everyone should still need a moment to recover. I held Sukrad¡¯s staff in my hand as I walked out of the room. The yard was large. There were a couple of tall trees in my surrounding. When a gentle breeze blew over, rustling sounds of leaves could be heard. Even when some time had passed already, when I thought about the brutality at the battlefield, my heart felt a chill. Even though the previous cross over was extremely dangerous, it had solidified my resolution to convince the three kingdoms. I didn¡¯t how the few teachers from Aixia were fairing. ¡®Teacher Di, are you still doing well?¡¯ If it wasn¡¯t for that old fellow¡¯s guidance, there won¡¯t be the me today. He must be extremely dejected as I¡¯m not by his side now. Teacher, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely work hard for you. Currently, what I¡¯m most worried about is my standpoint in Aixia. With Ke Zha¡¯s rigorous schemes and deep foresight, he definitely wouldn¡¯t accept my suggestion. Furthermore, I¡¯m currently a wanted person by Aixia. However, no one should be able to recognize me now.¡¯ Thinking about that, I subconsciously caressed the scars on my face before smiling wryly. What was the point of blaming the gods and accusing others? It had already happened, so I should just settle the matters at hand before considering the others. ¡°Zhang Gong, where are the rest?¡± Big Brother Shan Yun returned. ¡°They¡¯re still in the room cultivating their powers as they had used up quite a bit of them during the cross over.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Zhang Gong, I haven¡¯t asked you this. How did you get those scars?¡± ¡°You can say that I might be born under an ill star. When I fought against the Demon Emperor at the Demon race, I lost and his dark magic powers infiltrated my body right after. You should know that I¡¯m a light attribute so after the light and dark elements collided, it had led to the corrosion of my meridians. It was already great that I still have my life, but my body had turned to this current look.¡± Seeing my dejected look, Shan Yun obviously understood the immense sufferings that I had experienced. He patted my shoulder and replied, ¡°Alright, my brother, don¡¯t be so dejected. Brother will definitely find the best doctor to treat you. Now, tell brother what you have experienced during this trip to the Demon race.¡± Regarding Shan Yun, I could completely trust him as I admired his noble charisma. I told him what had transpired from the start to the end. Shan Yun was shaken to his core as he listened and his expression constantly changed. Upon hearing that I had actually brought back the Demon princess and was preparing to negotiate with the three kingdoms, he couldn¡¯t help, but to exclaim. ¡°......That was what happened. It¡¯s as if I was in a dream during this few months.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, even though you had planned well, you should know that it¡¯s highly unlikely that the negotiation will succeed. The couple thousands of years of hatred between the human and the Demon and beast races isn¡¯t something that can be changed by you few people. However, even if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll still support you as I also wish that the world can recover it¡¯s peace and harmony. During this period of time, I¡¯m filled with pain and exhaustion as I see my brothers beside me fall one after the other.¡± ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, thank you. With your support, how much will our success rate increase?¡± Shan Yun smiled apologetically, ¡°Don¡¯t be too optimistic. My support doesn¡¯t have any importance. The army from Xiuda is under my father. Moreover, there¡¯s His Majesty above my father. Our first task is to convince my father before convincing the rest. During the previous military discussion, the other two kingdoms had inquired who you guys were. I still haven¡¯t replied to them and just said that you¡¯re our allies. I¡¯m also not clear about how things stand so I wanted to clarify with you before replying them. Your current biggest advantage is your God¡¯s inheritor identity. If you want to get the three kingdoms¡¯ approval to negotiate, that identity will be significant. I nodded and replied, ¡°I understand that. Actually, my disfiguration isn¡¯t a bad thing as at the very least, no one should be able to recognise me now. The other two kingdoms are also not familiar with Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest. Even though I¡¯m currently wanted by Aixia, if I keep a low profile, I shouldn¡¯t be discovered by them. There are still some of my comrades that hasn¡¯t arrive here. They are my friends that participated in the competition with me when I previously returned in Xiuda. After they arrive, our words will be even more confident.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 4 - Gods Emissary Volume 10: Chapter 4 - God''s Emissary ¡°Did they also receive God¡¯s inheritance?¡± I nodded. Shan Yun sighed. ¡°The task that you¡¯re shouldering is extremely important. Work hard! When should I bring you all to meet my father?¡± A voice came from behind us. ¡°Let¡¯s head there now. Since I¡¯m back, I should at least meet up with that old fellow.¡± I turned my head and saw that Big Brother Zhan Hu and the others had come out. ¡°Second brother, where¡¯s eldest brother?¡± Zhan Hu asked. ¡°Our eldest brother is on standby on the frontline. The two of us can¡¯t return at the same time, as someone must be at the front to keep a lookout.¡± Zhan Hu nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go see our father now. Zhang Gong, you and I should head there. The princess should stay for now. Second brother, Zhang Gong should have told you everything about us, right?¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°He did. You know father¡¯s temper. Whether this is successful or not will entirely depend on your eloquence. I¡¯ll try my best to help you out. I hope that with your God¡¯s inheritor¡¯s identity, you¡¯ll be able to convince him.¡± I said to Mu Zi, ¡°Princess, I¡¯ll have to trouble you and Brother Ke to wait here with the other brothers. We will meet up with the prince first. Once we get his support, we¡¯ll then have hope in succeeding in our mission.¡± Mu Zi obediently nodded. ¡°Be careful in everything you do, and come back soon.¡± Seeing her attitude as though she was exhorting her husband, I looked at Ke Lun Duo, who looked as though nothing had happened. I then nodded, turned around, and walked out with Big Brother Shan Yun and Zhan Hu. After leaving the prince¡¯s manor, I asked, ¡°Where is the prince at now? Is he not coming back to the manor?¡± Shan Yun sighed. ¡°Seeing how tense the current situation is, how could my father have returned? He is keeping a constant lookout on the commander division. Don¡¯t worry, my father has his resting area. We¡¯ll head there to meet him.¡± I said, all smiles, ¡°Why should I worry? Who would be able to recognize me now?¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°That¡¯s right, second brother. Are there any good doctors here who could take a look at Zhang Gong? Those scars have affected him greatly.¡± Before Shan Yun could reply, I cut in, ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary now. We should settle the main issue first.¡± Shan Yun glanced at Zhan Hu, then told me, ¡°I¡¯ll look for a doctor tomorrow. The three kingdoms¡¯ best doctors are gathered here.¡± I smiled wordlessly. On the way to the commander division, I discovered that the Str?m Fortress wasn¡¯t filled with only soldiers and mages. There were also many peddlers, of all kinds and shapes. The majority of them sold goods for consumption, armor, weaponry, etc. I asked in astonishment, ¡°Big brother Shan Yun, why are the people here selling weapons and armours? Can they make a business here?¡± ¡°Of course, there¡¯s profit for them. Who would be willing to do business for little profit? You should know that it has already been a few hundred years since we last fought in a war. The few hundred years of peace have greatly weakened the three Kingdoms¡¯ battle power and war supply reserves. There are times where we don¡¯t have a choice but to buy from the peddlers, which means a market had been established. Currently, magic crystals, bows and arrows are most in demand. Our three kingdoms¡¯ fighting power is much inferior to the demon¡¯s and beast¡¯s alliance. If it wasn¡¯t for the Str?m Fortress, the eastern continent would have already fallen into enemy hands. This is one of the main reasons why I support you in trying to negotiate with them.¡± Seeing that the situation was so strained, my resolution to prepare the negotiation increased. ¡°Take a look, that¡¯s the commander division.¡± Looking in the direction that Shan Yun pointed to, one had to wonder whether this this was really a commander¡¯s division. It simply looked just like a castle. When compared to the interim prince¡¯s manor, they were as different as the heavens and earth. The commander¡¯s division was arranged just like the Royal Palace in the Demon¡¯s Royal city. If the commander¡¯s division was the inner palace, the entire Str?m Fortress would be the outer palace. The commander division was surrounded with lofty city walls, and was being defended by a large group of armed forces. Even though I couldn¡¯t see the interior, I could imagine that the construction would be magnificent. Seeing my dumbstruck look, Shan Yun said, smilingly, ¡°You¡¯re shocked, right? I was also shocked when I first came here. After a while, I found out that there¡¯s a purpose in building it this way. Even if the Str?m Fortress were to be broken through, with the defence of the commander¡¯s division, it would definitely be able to hold for quite a long time. The design of the Str?m Fortress is extremely meticulous. You¡¯ll discover that in the future, the Str?m Fortress won''t be fortified. Do you know why?¡± At first I was stunned, but then my thoughts turned around quickly. In a moment, I understood the key reason for this. Unruffled, I replied, ¡°It should be due to the possibility that the demons and beasts could occupy it, right?¡± Shan Yun replied, with praise, ¡°That¡¯s right. If we had large quantities of magic crystals, no matter how many Demons and beasts there were, we wouldn¡¯t need to fear them. However, currently, we can¡¯t afford to do that. Even if we were to purchase them for high prices, from the entire eastern continent, it wouldn¡¯t be able to satisfy the demands of the Str?m Fortress.¡± I became apprehensive. I hadn¡¯t known that the demand for magic crystal was that high. Even though I had lots of magic crystals for the negotiation, I couldn¡¯t take them out. If not, once the human race was in power, how could they still agree to negotiate with the Demon race?! Whilst chatting, we had already reached the moat outside of the commander¡¯s division. After stepping on the drawbridge, the surrounding soldiers respectfully said, ¡°Greetings to Lord Shan Yun.¡± A commander¡¯s aura unconsciously radiated from Shan Yun¡¯s body. After saying ¡®En!¡¯ in acknowledgement, he led us into the commander¡¯s division. Even though I had made mental preparations, I was still startled after I walked into the commander¡¯s division. The interior was filled with layered blockhouses. Each and every construction was made from heavy granites. It could be said it was flawless in defence. Shan Yun pointed at an enormous stone house in the center. ¡°That¡¯s the genuine commander¡¯s division. We¡¯ll discuss any important matters in there. My father''s resting quarters are in that stone room at the side.¡± The entrance to the prince¡¯s resting stone room was guarded by eight soldiers. Shan Yun took the lead and walked forth before asking, ¡°Is my father in?¡± The leader of the soldiers replied respectfully, ¡°The prince and Lord Lei Yun are inside.¡± Zhan Hu said, pleasantly surprised, ¡°It¡¯s great that eldest brother is here as well. Let¡¯s quickly enter.¡± Upon saying that, he took the lead and charged in. Since we had come with Shan Yun, the guards didn¡¯t stop him. Shan Yun dragged me along, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s head in as well. Look at your big brother, he¡¯s just like a child in a grown-up¡¯s body.¡± The stone house was arranged in a simple and unadorned fashion. There was a large bed, a study table and a few chairs in the room. There was also a four meter dragon gun hanging on the wall, slanted. Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s tall build blocked my sight, making it impossible for me to look at the prince¡¯s appearance. However, I noticed that there was a tall and sturdy person beside him. That person unexpectedly looked more ferocious than Zhan Hu, who was two meters tall. His shoulders were broad, and he had a tough and stocky build. He wore a black warrior robe, with a long sword attached to his waist. He had brows like double-edged swords and tiger-like eyes. His nose was straight, and his jaws squared, giving him an extremely mighty appearance. I knew he had to be a valiant general on the battlefield. There wasn¡¯t a need for an introduction, as I recognized him from his appearance. He had to be Zhan Hu¡¯s eldest brother----Lei Yun. Volume 10: Chapter 5 - Gods Power Volume 10: Chapter 5 - God''s Power When Lei Yun saw my ghastly appearance, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Second and third brother, who is that?¡± Zhan Hu turned around before instantly moving to my side and laying an arm on my shoulder, then said smilingly, ¡°Big brother, he¡¯s my sworn brother.¡± Just as I wanted to greet Lei Yun, I found that two cold rays were shot toward me. I was alarmed, and the magic power in my body couldn¡¯t help but automatically release a faint gold protection barrier around me. I was shocked that the two cold rays were from an old man¡¯s eyes, sitting on the leader¡¯s seat of honor. Even though that old man was sitting, his bold and powerful build was obvious. He was wearing an official robe, with a jade belt at his waist. He wore an eight-jeweled purplish gold crown on his head. A king¡¯s aura surrounded him. When he felt the protective barrier from my body, a glimmer of shock flashed past his eyes, as he retracted his thick icy gaze. It was expected that he had a king¡¯s appearance; it was no wonder that he had managed to guide his three sons to be such outstanding people. ¡°Are you the light mage, Zhang Gong Wei, who is wanted by the Kingdom of Aixia?¡± The tone of the prince¡¯s voice was extremely heavy. Even though he looked calm, once he opened his mouth, it naturally gave off a domineering, powerful, yet not angry voice. I didn¡¯t expect that he would be able to pinpoint my identity. I looked at Lei Yun, who had his brows tightly furrowed, then I puffed out my chest and greeted him. With a respectful, yet not meek bow, I spoke, ¡°My greetings to you, Your Highness. I¡¯m Aixia¡¯s Zhang Gong Wei.¡± Zhan Hu added, ¡°Father, my brother is the world¡¯s youngest Magister. His teacher is the Aixia¡¯s Royal Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s principal, Teacher Di.¡± Slightly angwered, the prince said, ¡°Have I asked you? I haven¡¯t yet settled the matter with you running away again, so just stand at the side for now. Without my instructions, you¡¯re not allowed to casually interrupt.¡± Big Brother Zhan Hu, who was considered to matchless in the world, was just as Shan Yun had said. He looked just like a kid who had done something wrong. He stuck out his tongue before obediently going to stand in a corner, not uttering a single world. ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, I have heard about some of your matters from the reports given to my kingdom by Aixia. They said that you were once a heroic genius that would arouse the heaven¡¯s jealousy, but you released the Demon race¡¯s princess due to your personal feelings, leading you to abandon yourself, and was thereby listed as wanted.¡± When Shan Yun heard the prince¡¯s ill words, he immediately explained, ¡°Father, Zhang Gong isn¡¯t that type of person¡­¡­.¡± He stopped his explanation as the prince looked at him with an icy cold gaze. I sighed gently before saying calmly, ¡°If His Highness is interested, I can tell you all of my experiences for you to judge whether I¡¯m a traitor to humanity. I hereby swear that if I were to speak any empty words, I¡¯m willing to take on five lightnings that would result in my death.¡± The prince glanced at me before replying in a softer tone, ¡°Alright, tell me.¡± I took a deep breath and tidied up my slightly unorganized train of thoughts before telling slowly, ¡°What Big Brother Zhan Hu said was right. I¡¯m really Aixia¡¯s youngest generation Magister. My experiences were rather smooth sailing. When I was young, I met with a good teacher that built up my good magic foundation. After that, I successfully got into the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. I became a disciple under Teacher Di by chance. My magic level abruptly improved under that old man¡¯s meticulous tutelage. Finally, before entering the Royal Advanced Magic Academy, I successfully reached the Magister realm. I had a seemingly bright future ahead of me in Aixia, but I managed to land myself in the current situation. To be honest, the majority of the judgements that the Kingdom of Aixia have about me are accurate. I really fell in love with the Demon¡¯s Princess and rescued her from imprisonment. However, it wasn¡¯t that I¡¯ve abandoned myself, but rather, I¡¯ve my reasons in doing so. Your Highness should understand that I wouldn¡¯t just give up my wondrous future just to rescue my beloved woman. If that were the case, currently, I wouldn¡¯t be standing before you.¡± The prince nodded, indicating me to continue. Zhan Hu and his brothers were quietly listening to what I said, but they each had a different expression on their faces; Lei Yun had a curious expression, Shan Yun had a calm expression and Big Brother Zhan Hu had a focused expression. I cleared my throat before continuing, ¡°Initially, Big Brother Zhan Hu and I met each other in the Kingdom of Xiuda. It could be said that we couldn¡¯t befriend each other without fighting each other. I went to Xiuda under Teacher Di¡¯s order. Xiuda was my first stop, excluding learning from experiences. You should know Teacher Wen from your kingdom¡¯s knight academy. I was his student for half a year.¡± The prince replied, ¡°I heard this from Shan Yun. The group they put together was defeated by your hands.¡± I scratched my head. ¡°It was just luck.¡± The prince¡¯s voice changed. ¡°In battles, there¡¯s no luck. If it was a life or death engagement, victory and defeat could have been determined in a momentary slip. His loss is his loss. You don¡¯t have to flatter me. Continue relating your experiences, those you¡¯ve just mentioned aren¡¯t the main points.¡± My face flushed before I replied, ¡°Yes, when I came to the Kingdom of Xiuda, it was to improve my knowledge and to pass the warrior¡¯s training in order to strengthen my abilities. However, that wasn¡¯t the only purpose. My purpose was to obtain the Legendary Holy Sword. After hearing that, Lei Yun gasped. It was obvious that he wasn¡¯t aware of that matter, but the prince obviously knew about it, as his expression remained unchanged. ¡°Thus, I invited Big Brother Zhan Hu and a few friends from Xiuda to investigate the location of the Holy Sword in the Kingdom of Dalu. It was unknown to us whether it was our luck or predestined that those Divine Instruments, which hadn¡¯t appeared even once in thousands of years, were discovered by us. At that time, we also met with the will of the God King. The God King told us that the world would face a crisis, the resurrection of the Monster King. He bestowed a divine instrument on each of us, and he instructed us to completely eliminate the Monster King¡¯s clone. If not, it would lead to the eradication of various races. Big Brother Zhan Hu should have told you all of this.¡± The prince nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard him mentioned this before, but your words are too unbelievable. How am I supposed to believe you only with this magic-like display of armour? You should know that if this matter is genuine, it¡¯ll affect all of our decisions.¡± I interlocked my hands in front of my chest, emitting a dazzling light ray that enveloped my body; a white light appeared in front of my chest, and a small silver sword appeared before me. Divine aura permeated the entire stone house. Lei Yun hastily went to shield the prince. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t trust me much, with my current ghastly appearance. I felt the magic power and battle spirit in my body surge constantly towards the Holy Sword, and fuse with its power in my chest, making it rather effortless for me to sustain the Holy Sword. Volume 10: Chapter 6 - Persuading the Prince Volume 10: Chapter 6 - Persuading the Prince I circulated the Holy Sword in the air before retrieving it back into my body before saying smilingly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can imitate the Holy Sword¡¯s divine power. You should be able to believe us now, right?¡± The Prince asked with a frown, ¡°With your current power, can you defeat the Monster King?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s impossible now. I couldn¡¯t bring out even just 1% of the Holy Sword¡¯s power. Please let me continue explaining first. After I received the acknowledgement of the God and became a God¡¯s inheritor, I had parted ways with Big Brother Zhan Hu and my other friends to head back to Aixia. In order to gain more control of the Holy Sword, I had to improve my cultivation. Suddenly, one day, there was an alert signal that came from the Royal Palace as there was an assassination that was happening towards the newly crowned king, Emperor Ke Zha. I, along with the Royal Advanced Academy¡¯s teachers and students, rushed towards the palace. Under Teacher Zhen¡¯s assistance, I successfully cast out a light forbidden spell, which led to the near annihilation of the assassins; only two assassins survived. I discovered that they were of the Demon race. Moreover, one of the Demon survivors was a student that I was deeply in love with at the Royal Advanced Academy, who is also the Demon¡¯s princess mentioned in Aixia¡¯s wanted order.¡± The prince suddenly waved his hand to stop me from continuing before he asked in astonishment, ¡°You said that you were able to use a forbidden spell?¡± Currently, I must not be humble as I need to prove my powers after obtaining God¡¯s inheritance. I would only be able to convince the prince by that way. I nodded. ¡°That is right, but it was with the assistance of Teacher Zhen, with our combined magic power and the power of the Holy Sword in my body, I was successfully able to use a forbidden spell.¡± ¡°Continue saying your experiences.¡± ¡°At the moment that I discovered Mu Zi¡¯s identity, I was really impetuous. After a while, I gradually calmed down, but still wanted to rescue her. Even though I knew that it¡¯ll ruin my future, I did it without any hesitation. There are two reasons for that. Firstly, if I had let the Kingdom of Aixia to execute the Demon¡¯s princess, it undoubtedly will lead to set off a ruckus as the Demon¡¯s princess was the successor of the Demon Emperor. If the successor was killed, you should be able to imagine that the demon race will carry out a frantic retaliation. I thought that the Monster King that the God King had handed over to us should be our real enemy and that we mustn¡¯t give any chances for the Monster race to invade us. Thus, I had chosen to rescue the Demon race¡¯s princess, giving up my future, in order to increase the success rate of the task that the God King has given to us. Of course, I can¡¯t deny that I had personal feelings in doing so as well, since I was really in love with her.¡± I had deemphasized my personal feelings for Mu Zi at the end of the explanation. Of course, only I knew that when I rescued Mu Zi, at least 95% of why I carried it out, was due to personal feelings. As for the God King¡¯s order and so on, I really had thought about it before, but it was the secondary reason. The prince was extremely satisfied with my honesty as he said smilingly, ¡°What are you planning to do by coming here? From what you said, you shouldn¡¯t be here to help us to fight against the alliance of the Demon and Beast races.¡± This old fellow¡¯s thinking speed was extremely quick so talking to him was less laborious. I looked at Zhan Hu before continuing, ¡°After fleeing Aixia, I had met up with Big Brother Zhan Hu, where we experienced a life or death battle against the Monster race. If it wasn¡¯t for some of our friends helping us, we wouldn¡¯t be able to eliminate those Monster beasts. After the battle, I had decided to head to the Demon race to negotiate with the Demon Emperor, in order to unite all of the races to fight together against the Monster race.¡± Lei Yun couldn¡¯t help, but to say, ¡°To negotiate with the Demon Emperor? Have you lost your mind? How can we humans negotiate with the Demon race?¡± I said smilingly, ¡°Big Brother Lei Yun, thank you for your concerns. But even though it was dangerous, facts have proven that we have succeeded.¡± When I said that, Lei Yun and the prince exclaimed. This was the first time where the prince had lost his composure as he anxiously asked, ¡°What did you say? You really managed to convince the Demon Emperor?¡± Zhan Hu interrupted, ¡°That¡¯s right, father, we really managed to convince the Demon Emperor. But Zhang Gong had paid a hefty price in order to negotiate with the Demon Emperor. Did you think that what he looks like right now was his original appearance? Zhang Gong was originally an exceptionally handsome fellow. It was due to battling against the Demon Emperor that led to the infiltration of dark elements into his body, leading to the corrosion of his body, which led to his current looks. Only us, who has always been by his side, clearly knows much he had contributed for the world¡¯s peace and harmony.¡± The prince was emotionally moved as he told me warmly, ¡°Quickly, tell me in details what happened.¡± Thus, I told everything that had transpired at the Demon race¡¯s territory once. When the prince heard that I had unexpectedly brought back the Demon¡¯s princess for negotiation, he was so shocked that his jaw fell. After that, Zhan Hu had told me that this was the first time that he saw his father lose his self-control to such an extent. The prince muttered, ¡°The way you all do things are really too audacious. Aren¡¯t you afraid that we might capture the princess to pressurize the Demon Emperor?¡± I was alarmed and said solemnly, with a sudden light ray that shot out from my eyes, ¡°If the three human kingdoms really wants to do that, they must step over my dead body.¡± My tone was so icy that the temperature in the stone room had decreased drastically, even Zhan Hu couldn¡¯t help but to shudder. The prince fumingly said, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you will go against humanity for that Demoness, right?¡± I coldly snorted. ¡°It¡¯ll be you all that force our hands. Could it be that our human race are so nearsighted that they don¡¯t know that peace and harmony is the best outcome for us? If us humans don¡¯t have prestige, then are we still counted as humans? Since I have already agreed to the Demon Emperor that I¡¯ll bring Mu Zi back safely, I¡¯ll definitely keep to the promise. With my current powers, if I were to fight with all of my might against the human race, the loss that you¡¯ll suffer will definitely not be small.¡± The prince glared enraged at me after hearing what I said, while I looked at his gaze unyieldingly. The atmosphere¡¯s killing intent had made it impossible for Zhan Hu and his brothers to intercept. ¡°Reporting!¡± A foreign voice broke through the silence. The prince withdrew his icy gaze and said solemnly, ¡°Come in.¡± A dispatch soldier came rushing in. ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s an unidentified creature that suddenly appeared in the sky and is rapidly advancing towards Str?m Fortress. It seems that it had come over from the Heavenly Falling Mountain. The other two kingdoms request your presence in the commander division to discuss this matter.¡± The prince glared at me and just as he was heading over, I suddenly shouted, ¡°Wait a minute Your Highness!¡± The prince stopped in his steps and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked the soldier, ¡°Where is that unidentified creature now and approximately how does it look like?¡± Volume 10: Chapter 7 - Xiao Jin Returns Volume 10: Chapter 7 - Xiao Jin Returns The dispatch looked stunned as he looked at the prince. After the prince indicated for him to answer my question, he said, ¡°It¡¯s an enormous creature that is a few tens of meters long. It looks similar to the legendary dragon and is currently circulating the Str?m Fortress. Lord Dun Yu Xi has already ordered the aiming of 10 magic crystal large cannons at it. If it makes any suspicious movements, we would immediately fire.¡± I asked the prince, ¡°Can you do me a favour? The creature that is flying in the sky is my friend. It¡¯s a dragon and is a five clawed one.¡± Actually, Dun Yu Xi had seen Xiao Jin before, but it wasn¡¯t a surprise that he couldn¡¯t recognise him as Xiao Jin¡¯s current size was many times bigger than what he originally looked like; his increase in size would be unimaginable to anyone. Zhan Hu said, pleasantly surprised, ¡°Ah! Has Xiao Jin returned?¡± Upon hearing Xiao Jin¡¯s news, it had made me extremely excited as I replied smilingly, ¡°It must be him.¡± Amazed, the prince asked, ¡°You also have dragons?¡± I nodded. ¡°He could be counted as my magic beast. Can you please help me with that?¡± The prince nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try. I shall say that it¡¯s Shan Yun¡¯s dragon race friend that has come specifically to help us eliminate the Demon race.¡± I contemplated. ¡°I think it¡¯s best we don¡¯t tell them that he is a dragon and just say that it¡¯s a magic beast. You only have to stop the city guards from attacking him. I¡¯ve ways to summon his descent, to come directly to your prince manor. As for the previous matters we¡¯ve discussed, let¡¯s continue discussing after settling my friend down. What is your opinion on that?¡± The prince replied, ¡°Actually, what you said previously was extremely right. After I¡¯ve made some arrangements here, I¡¯ll immediately head back to report these matters to His Majesty.¡± Zhan Hu replied, amazed, ¡°Father, with what you just said, does that mean that you support us?¡± The prince smiled wryly. ¡°How can I not? Zhang Gong has convinced me. Moreover, my son is one of the God¡¯s inheritors and the remaining four inheritors are also from our Xiuda. I feel proud of you on these matters. Shan Yun has also mentioned to me before that he didn¡¯t wish to fight, and since you two are standing on his side, I can¡¯t not think this through. I believe that His Majesty should consider my opinion.¡± I bowed deeply towards the prince and said, gratified, ¡°Thank you, uncle.¡± The prince said smilingly, ¡°Uncle? I like being addressed that way by you. Zhang Gong, you¡¯re an extremely outstanding youth. You just have to do whatever you want and I¡¯ll try my best to support you. Alright, first I¡¯ll help you to meet up with your dragon friend. Lei Yun, you¡¯re to come with me. After I¡¯ve discussed with the other two Kingdoms, I¡¯ll let Lei Yun notify you. Zhang Gong, you should first inform that large fellow to not commence any attacks on the ground. If you don¡¯t, it won¡¯t be easy to deal with the situation. You should all return to the prince¡¯s manor. Shan Yun, take great care of them.¡± ¡°Yes, father.¡± ¡°Ah! Zhan Hu, be more attentive. You¡¯re the one that I¡¯m most worried about.¡± Zhan Hu said with a mischievous smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, old pops. This time, even if you chase me away, I won¡¯t leave.¡± The prince helplessly shook his head before bringing Lei Yun away. After obtaining the acknowledgement of the prince, I felt much better as I headed back to the interim prince manor with Big Brother Shan Yun and Zhan Hu. ¡­¡­ Once we stepped into the large entrance of the prince¡¯s manor, we heard joyful laughters within. Shan Yun asked the guard at the side, ¡°What happened?¡± The guard replied respectfully, ¡°A few people just arrived and had said that they were your friends from the Kingdom. The few friends that you have brought over seemed to know them as well, so we let them in. They are at the drawing room right now.¡± Shan Yun looked at me and I had already understood what was happening and said elatedly, ¡°It should be that Xiu Si and the rest have arrived. Let¡¯s head in quickly.¡± As I had predicted, once I opened the door, I saw Xiu Si¡¯s familiar body figure. I shouted excitedly, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, you¡¯ve finally come!¡± Xiu Si¡¯s body stiffened before he gradually turned around. He suddenly dashed over and flashed to my side. With both of his hands that clenched tightly on my shoulders, he replied excitedly, ¡°Zhang Gong, you must have suffered. Everyone has already told me what happened to you.¡± Xiu Si¡¯s gaze was sharper when compared to before. Looking at his collected expression, I knew with just a glance that his martial skills had improved drastically. I sighed gently. ¡°It¡¯s already over. That¡¯s right, where is Xin Ao and Gao De?¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, we¡¯re here.¡± Two giant-like lofty body figures appeared behind Xiu Si. Just like Xiu Si, the feelings that I felt from them were different. They no longer had domineering auras, but rather, they gave off an inscrutable feeling. It seemed that they weren¡¯t idle for these past few months. Zhan Hu said smilingly, ¡°You few fellows are remarkable. Your recent improvements are definitely great.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°It¡¯s all due to to the five elders¡¯ tutelage. Even though it was tough, our martial skills improved a lot. That¡¯s right, Zhang Gong, your precious dragon is still in the sky. How are you going to deal with that?¡± I asked, ¡°Why did he come together with you? With Xiao Jin¡¯s speed he should have arrived much quicker than you all.¡± Xiu Si smiled wryly, ¡°You¡¯re still commenting on that? That fellow has given us a lot of trouble. We were training that day when he came. The brothers that were patrolling the perimeters didn¡¯t recognise him and thought that he was from the Monster race, and so, they started to fight against Xiao Jin. You should know of Xiao Jin¡¯s tyrannical strength and it was fortunate that he didn¡¯t kill, but he injured about 100 of our brothers. It was the combined powers of the five elders that subdued him. Even though I¡¯ve seen him before, the change in his appearance was too drastic that I wasn¡¯t able to recognise him. The great thing was that he knew how to speak and said that he had come to deliver a letter to me. Just like that, the misunderstanding was resolved. After he delivered the letter he wanted to rush back, but I thought that if he were to reach Str?m Fortress, he¡¯ll definitely encounter the same situation. I then pleaded with him to set off together with us to prevent more troubles from happening. That fellow was extremely unwilling, but we were lucky that the five elders were able to subdue him. Thus, it led to his spirit dampening. Otherwise, Str?m Fortress¡¯s sky and earth would have been turned upside down by him.¡± Embarrassed, I smiled. ¡°It was my fault that I didn¡¯t instruct him properly. Big Brother Xiu Si, you had thought it through. I have already asked someone to facilitate Xiao Jin¡¯s coming over. Once the Str?m Fortress gives up on attacking him, I¡¯ll summon his descent.¡± Xiu Si nodded before he grimly replied, ¡°You¡¯ve suffered so much during this trip to the Demon race. How is the negotiation with the three kingdoms coming along? Are they willing to negotiate?¡± I lightly shook my head. ¡°It¡¯ll be extremely difficult. However, I¡¯ve already negotiated with the prince from Xiuda, who is the commander here. He¡¯s also Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s father. That old fellow has already agreed to help us by suggesting our matters to the ruler of Xiuda. If we successfully obtain Xiuda¡¯s support, everything will be much easier. Big Brother Xiu Si, how many brothers did you bring along with you this time?¡± Xiu Si smiled mysteriously before pulling me to a corner and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve brought over 500 of them with me and they are all elites.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 8 - Large Increase in Power Volume 10: Chapter 8 - Large Increase in Power I looked at him, amazed. ¡°You brought so many people with you? Won¡¯t that be half of our manpower?¡± Xiu Si shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Our current numbers is no longer 1000 people, but is 3000 people.¡± I replied jubilantly, ¡°We¡¯re developing at such a rapid pace.¡± Xiu Si sighed. ¡°It¡¯s all due to the five elders. They have recruited the majority of the God Village¡¯s robust males, which reached a thousand of them; they also recruited some of the villagers that have good attributes. In total, it reached 3000 of us. Those that came with me were the elites of the God Village. The negotiation between the Human with the Demon and Beast races is extremely crucial. We should first settle the conflict between the races before we¡¯re able to fight against the Monster King, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve brought so many people over. The five elders continue to train the rest at the base. Our base had already shown signs of formation. With so many experts building it, currently, it looks like a small castle. Once you return to the base, you won¡¯t be able to recognize it.¡± I became much more confident in dealing with the Monster King after hearing what Xiu Si said. Xiu Si continued, ¡°With our current power, it shouldn¡¯t be hard for us to charge out from the Str?m Fortress. If we want the three kingdoms to agree to negotiate, we¡¯ve got to display our might. What you have written in the letter is very accurate, we¡¯ll need to use our God¡¯s inheritor¡¯s identity. When we get the opportunity, we should display our powers in public to let them understand that we¡¯re really God¡¯s inheritors. After that, we¡¯ll act as a go-between, and when conditions are right, success will follow naturally.¡± I replied smilingly, ¡°I¡¯ll need to trouble you in directing our group from now on. With the wise and farsighted Big Brother Xiu Si around, little brother is willing to follow and accept any errands you need me to do.¡± Xiu Si knocked on my head before saying with a sly smile, ¡°You brat, are you trying to shirk from your responsibility? Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re our leader. If you want to push all of your responsibilities on me, it¡¯ll be impossible. I, at most, can be your good-for-nothing adviser to give suggestions, but for the specifics, we''ll need you as the leader of our brilliant team to direct us. Hehe!¡± My thoughts were caught on by him. I smiled wryly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so crafty. Won¡¯t it be the same thing if you lead us?¡± Xiu Si continuously shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. To be truthful, not many of our brothers want to be in power as we love our freedom. After the important matters are settled and we¡¯re still alive, let¡¯s roam the world. I want to go and check out the Demon and Beast races to experience their different cultures.¡± Xiu Si had thought about the same thing that I was thinking. ¡°That¡¯s great, I also have the same thoughts. It¡¯s decided then. But don¡¯t you push away your responsibilities. We¡¯ll have to work hard to achieve that kind of lifestyle.¡± Xiu Si smiled bitterly. ¡°Do I even have a choice on whether I can push aside my responsibilities or not?¡± Upon saying that, the two of us broke into laughters. Gao De and Xing Ao walked over. ¡°What are you talking about to be so joyful? Zhang Gong, is that girl the Demon¡¯s Princess? She doesn¡¯t look extremely beautiful. Did you become wanted by Aixia for her?¡± Xiu Si glared at Gao De. ¡°Stop touching Zhang Gong¡¯s sore spot.¡± I sighed. ¡°She¡¯s Mu Zi, the Demon¡¯s Princess. Her current look isn¡¯t her original look as she has changed her appearance. Our relationship is finished. How can I meet people with my ghostly looks?¡± Xing Ao suddenly laughed out loud. Xiu Si saw that I was frowning and pulled on Xing Ao, before he fumingly said, ¡°You brat, what are you laughing for? Don¡¯t you know how much suffering Zhang Gong is currently feeling?¡± Xing Ao replied smiling, ¡°I¡¯m laughing at his idiocy as he placed you, the peerless Divine doctor at his side, but is still constantly sighing. It can¡¯t be that your Sky God¡¯s horn can¡¯t treat his scars, right?¡± Xiu Si and I simultaneously lit up. Xing Ao, who was usually slow witted, had unexpectedly gave me a chance to reborn. I looked at Xiu Si, filled with anticipation. My heart beat frantically. If he could cure my scars, I could get back with Mu Zi again. This enticement was too big towards me. Xiu Si nodded. ¡°If nothing goes wrong, it should work.¡± I leaped with joy. ¡°What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s quickly start!¡± At that moment, a big person came in from outside. It was Lei Yun. He walked towards me and shouted, ¡°Brother Zhang Gong! You should keep your dragon to stop making the people worry at the fortress. Father has already settled the matters with the two kingdoms.¡± I replied politely, ¡°Big Brother Lei Yun, Thank you.¡± Lei Yun smiled candidly. ¡°What¡¯s there to thank for? You¡¯re my brother¡¯s brother so you¡¯re naturally my brother.¡± I stood at the center of the courtyard and raised the Sukrad¡¯s staff and mentally started to call out to Xiao Jin. Gold light rays rippled around me, with me as its center. Lei Yun said, dumbstruck, ¡°Magic is really mystical.¡± Since we were near to each other this time ¡®round, Xiao Jin quickly felt my calls. A clear and joyful dragon roar could be heard from the sky. A gold figure appeared in the blue sky, which was giving out gold light rays, making it seem as though a small gold sun had appeared. I hollered in excitement, ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± Xiao Jin¡¯s body gradually magnified in our vision. It was obvious that he was charging downward towards the manor. When he saw the courtyard of the prince¡¯s manor, Xiao Jin stretched his wings open, decreasing the speed of his descent. I knew that he was doing the same thing as before to glide onto the ground. When everyone saw his startling speed, they immediately dodged to the side. I also flew towards the entrance of the building, giving it sufficient space to land. However, his landing speed this time was really too fast. Even though his wings had decreased his momentum, the momentum was still too strong and he didn¡¯t control it well. ¡®Hong!¡¯ Xiao Jin heavily landed on the ground. I anxiously called out, ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± as I dashed towards him. Xiao Jin flapped his enormous wings twice before he slowly climbed out from the ditch. The soil and dirt on his wings were scattered all over me. He wobbly walked out from the ditch and used his front claws to scratch his head, shaking his large head. It was obvious that he was dizzy from the fall. I asked concerned, ¡°Are you alright, Xiao Jin?¡± Hearing my voice, Xiao jin¡¯s neck straightened. He excitedly chipped out, ¡°Master!¡± He moved his two large wings, momentarily covering me within. A sudden immense power had made me unable to breathe; my entire body¡¯s bones were being grinded by the pressure that he was giving out. I hastily used circulated my battle spirit to withstand the pressure. Xiao Jin found that something wasn¡¯t right so he hastily released me. Volume 10: Chapter 9 - Healing Dream Volume 10: Chapter 9 - Healing Dream I sat on the ground and took in a few deep breaths before asking snappily, ¡°Are you trying to kill me with your strength?¡± Xiao Jin, embarrassed, replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master. I was too excited so I didn¡¯t control my strength well. Please stop being mad at me.¡± I said smilingly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll forgive you. Please be more attentive next time. My bones can¡¯t withstand your torture. That¡¯s right, when I¡¯ve sent you to deliver a letter, did you give Big Brother Xiu Si and the rest a lot of trouble?¡± Xiao Jin constantly shook his head before replying, feeling wronged, ¡°They started it and I didn¡¯t fight back. I just played with them using my wings.¡± Xiu Si said smiling, ¡°Forget it, Zhang Gong, stop blaming him. It¡¯s all a misunderstanding.¡± Xiao Jin kept on nodding his head as if he were a chicken eating rice grains. ¡°Right! Right! Right! It¡¯s just a misunderstanding. Big Brother Xiu Si is so great. Ah! No, Master is also great.¡± Seeing his adorable behaviour, the crowd burst into laughter. Lei Yun walked in front of Xiao Jin and sized him up. ¡°This is a dragon? It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± Xiao Jin puffed out his chest. ¡°That¡¯s certainly the case as I¡¯m the prettiest dragon in the world.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°Enough. Stop boasting. Zhang Gong, I should treat your wounds as soon as possible since the earlier it¡¯s treated, the greater the possibility that it gets cured.¡± Since Xiao Jin had arrived, Mu Zi had also come out. After hearing that Xiu Si was going to treat my wounds, her lovable body flashed to my side and hugged one of my arms, before saying excitedly, ¡°Zhang Gong, can your scars be cured? That¡¯s great! Really great!¡± I replied indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re really mindful of my scars. There¡¯s no guarantee that it can be cured. Princess, please watch your conduct.¡± Mu Zi released her arms and replied, choked by her emotions, ¡°Zhang Gong, you know that I don¡¯t mean that. You¡­¡­.¡± I raised my hands to stop Mu Zi from continuing to speak before I sighed and said, ¡°Let''s continue this discussion after my treatment. I also wish for these scars be cured.¡± Mu Zi seriously nodded and said resolutely, ¡°It will definitely work! It has to! Big Brother Xiu Si, I¡¯ll be leaving Zhang Gong in your hands.¡± Xiu Si smiled before replying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, princess. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Xiu Si and I walked into the stone room. Big brother Zhan Hu said, ¡°Brothers, let¡¯s surround the house to protect Zhang Gong while he¡¯s getting treated.¡± ¡®En!¡¯ Dong Ri, Shan Jian and the others agreed as they surrounded the stone house. Xiu Si and I sat on the bed, face to face. Xiu Si said, ¡°Zhang Gong, take off your clothes.¡± I was actually extremely nervous, for I shuddered while removing my clothes. When Xiu Si looked at my scar filled body, he couldn¡¯t help but take in a cold breath. With teary eyes, he said, ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve suffered such a severe injury. Ai! Brother will do his best to treat you, though it might hurt a little later. Please bear with it.¡± I firmly nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Big Brother Xiu Si.¡± Xiu Si replied, ¡°You¡¯re to keep your magic power within your body and don¡¯t fight against my power. Now, relax your body and be attentive. I¡¯m starting now.¡± A pure, sparkling and translucent moon white small horn appeared in Xiu Si¡¯s hand. As he chanted, the horn quivered a little, giving off an extremely soft sound. ¡®Weng! Weng!¡¯ sounds directly entered my brain. The Sky God¡¯s horn gave off a hazy white light that suspended in front of Xiu Si. Xiu Si had already closed his eyes long ago as he focused all of his concentration in controlling the power. The white light ray, which had been emitted by the horn, slowly encompassed my entire body. I didn¡¯t feel any discomfort. A sound that seemed to have broken, yet continued to linger at my ears. The sound was sometimes sharp, sometimes gentle, sometimes stable, and sometimes excited. My mood followed the shift in the melody. Xiu Si said heavily, ¡°Stop listening to your surrounding and focus wholeheartedly in gathering your mind and stabilizing it.¡± His words made me apprehensive, so I closed my eyes and willingly let the sounds enter my ears. My heart gradually calmed down and I entered my meditative state. Xiu Si chanted heavily, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Sky God¡¯s horn. My horn¡¯s roar will pierce through the nine heavens.¡± As Xiu Si chanted, I felt a warm energy that slowly entered through the pores in my body. After a while my body felt numerous feelings, be it sore, itchy, numb or pain. It was really uncomfortable. It was even worse than when the dark elements corroded my body, making it impossible for me to continue my calm meditative state. Large droplets of perspiration flowed down from my forehead. My mouth slowly started to give off weak groaning sounds. However, I gritted my teeth and bore the indescribable pain in order to recover my looks so that I could get back with Mu Zi.The hot energy in the surrounding that infiltrated my body became intense. My body seemed to be fixed on the spot, unable to make any movements. I had complete faith in Big Brother Xiu Si, so I allowed the hot energy to flow through my entire body, keeping my three powers deep within my body. Under the powerful impact, my consciousness became hazy before it left me. My mind was plunged into endless darkness. ¡°Zi! Zi! Zha! Zi! Zi! Zha!¡± A clear birdsong woke me from my slumber. The light ray in the room was already very bright. The sunlight had penetrated the tall window to shine on my body. I felt indescribably sluggish. My entire body felt relaxed and was extremely comfortable. When I checked my interior, the three powers were automatically revolving. I struggled to sit up on the bed. ¡°Ah!¡± I suddenly exclaimed as I had discovered that the majority of my scars had disappeared, while the remaining scars¡¯ repulsive projections had smoothened, leaving faint scars. My hands trembled as I touched my face. As expected, it was the same! The scars had disappeared. Was I dreaming? I pinched my legs with all my strength. Ai Yo! It hurt. It seemed to be a reality.My spirit improved as my blood circulated. I suddenly discovered Big Brother Xiu Si, who had a paled face, lying near me. I immediately felt his pulse. It was extremely weak. I circulated my Ascending Dragon Battle Spirit to carefully inspect his body. It seemed that it was due to overusing his powers that had led him to faint. I couldn¡¯t help, but inwardly felt gratified as Xiu Si had used all his power to treat me. I feared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to endure it so I slowly inserted battle spirit into his body. As the Ascending Dragon constantly entered his body, Big Brother Xiu Si¡¯s complexion gradually became rosy. Xiu Si let out a breath and slowly woke up from his slumber. I gently called out, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, Big Brother Xiu Si,wake up.¡± Xiu Si gave out a groan before he groggily opened his eyes. When I saw that he woke up, I said, elated, ¡°That¡¯s great, Big Brother Xiu Si, you¡¯ve awaken.¡± When Xiu Si looked at me, he seemed to be stirred up. He grabbed on my hand and struggled to sit up. He said painfully, with tears flowing out from his eyes, ¡°Ah! Zhang Gong, I¡¯ve let you down.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 10 - Dark Fusion Volume 10: Chapter 10 - Dark Fusion I looked at my body and said, ¡°Big brother Xiu Si, I think it¡¯s already much better as it has a heaven to earth difference.¡± Xiu Si sighed heavily. ¡°I had activated the Sky God¡¯s horn to help clear the remaining poison on your skin. Even though the corrosion of the dark elements was severe, under the divine power of the horn, it had cleared parts of the scars on your skin. Ai! My martial power is still insufficient to treat you. Take a look in the mirror.¡± Upon saying that, he hung his head dispiritedly as he leaned to the side. I felt that something has gone wrong from his speech. I stood up in a daze and looked at the mirror at the side. After seeing my appearance, I raised my head and shrieked miserably. ¡®Why?! Why is my life so bitter?¡¯ My appearance didn¡¯t change much from my previous appearance. It was just that the scars no longer projected. But the deep atrocious scars were still on my originally handsome face. The mirror slipped from my hands, giving off a clear shattering sound when it landed on the ground. ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, do I still have any chances of recovery?¡± My voice had a trace of dejection. Xiu Si said bitterly, ¡°Since my martial power isn¡¯t enough to force all of the poisons in your body out at one go, the dark elements had already fused with your skin. There¡¯s no other ways to to cure your scars, unless if you were to change your body¡¯s skin. With that said, there isn¡¯t any probability of recovery with my powers. Brother, elder brother has let you down.¡± I sat beside Xiu Si and embraced his broad shoulders before I consoled, ¡°You¡¯ve already done your best. It¡¯s really much better now as compared to when I didn¡¯t receive your treatment. Big Brother Xiu Si, I don¡¯t blame you. I can only say that my life is bitter.¡± A commotion occurred outside the room; it was obvious that my moanful yell had caused it. I had to face what I had to face. I rapidly wore my clothes before opening the room¡¯s door. There were many people that gathered outside the door. Big Brother Zhan Hu, Dong Ri, Gao De, Xin Ao, Jian Shan, the villagers from God¡¯s Village, Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo had gathered as they had a look of anticipation at the entrance of the stone room. I trudged out of the stone room. When everyone saw that my looks hadn¡¯t changed, they gasped and Mu Zi¡¯s complexion became pure white. My previously stirred up and sorrowful mood had already calmed down. I told everyone with smiles, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si had already done his best. I can¡¯t go against my destiny. Thank you all for protecting me while I was receiving treatment and return to rest up. If something happens, I¡¯ll notify all of you.¡± Zhan Hu leaped forward and tightly clenched on my shoulder before hollering, ¡°What do you mean by can¡¯t go against your destiny? F*ck! God King, you old fellow, why do you have to devastate my brother?......¡± ¡°Big brother, stop saying that already. I¡¯ve already gotten used to my current looks. Pain and sorrow can¡¯t solve the problem. Let¡¯s settle the current matters at hand first. Big Brother Xiu Si had used all of his strength to treat me and is currently resting in the room. All of you should also rest up. I¡¯ll be here to deal with everything.¡± Mu Zi walked towards me, step by step. Her expression was calm and my heart shuddered with her every step. ¡®What was she going to tell me? Was she going to tell me that our relationship no longer had any hope?¡¯ When Zhan Hu saw Mu Zi coming over, he automatically flashed to the side; everyone looked fixedly at both of us. A cool breeze blew against my face, making my long hair to be blown aside, exposing my entire atrocious face. Mu Zi kept walking in front of me until she reached one third of a meter in front of me. She looked foolishly at me before she suddenly extended her hands to hold onto my face. With a candid smile, she said gently, ¡°Zhang Gong, you don¡¯t have to undergo any more treatment. No matter how your looks changed, you¡¯re forever the Zhang Gong that cares, loves and cherishes me in my heart. No one will be able to exceed your position in my heart. I-----Love----You!¡± My entire body stiffened and tears uncontrollably flowed down my face, wetting both of Mu Zi¡¯s hand. ¡°Can we return to our previous relationship? Even if we were to start anew, can you give me a chance to pursue you?¡± Everyone looked at Mu Zi; those prideful experts expressed a rare phenomenon of expressing respect. I held on Mu Zi¡¯s hand and replied with a trembling voice, ¡°I¡¯m no longer compatible with you, Mu Zi.¡± Mu Zi replied smiling, ¡°Why is that, my God¡¯s inheritor? The heaven had predetermined our meetings and naturally bound our lives together. Are looks that important? If you¡¯re really mindful on that, I¡¯m willing to disfigure my looks to be similar to yours. Will you be able to accept me then?¡± I jumped up in fright before I yelled, ¡°No! Mu Zi, stop pressuring me. Can you let me think this through?¡± Mu Zi clearly saw that my attitude had changed. She smiled with satisfaction before replying gently, ¡°I won¡¯t pressure you. I¡¯ll always wait until you accept me. However, a girl¡¯s youth is limited so don¡¯t make me wait for too long. I want to remain some of my youth to you, alright?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s warm and gentle voice had made my heart violently surge. I almost wanted to yell out that I agree, but my inferiority prevailed my feelings. I dejectedly nodded before whispering, ¡°Everyone should go and rest up. Even though our current position isn¡¯t dangerous, it isn¡¯t safe as well, so it¡¯s important that we maintain in a good state.¡± Mu Zi tiptoed and gently left a kiss on my face. The gentle touch had made my lonely heart to be filled with sweet feelings. My heart was completely ablaze. After Mu Zi left, everyone was still standing at their positions and looked at me dazed. It was obvious that they hadn¡¯t come around. I mockingly chided them, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen enough? Quickly go and rest up.¡± Gao De gave a weird call out before he took the lead to run away. Zhan Hu patted on my shoulder before he slowly dispersed with the crowd. Ke Lun Duo was the last one to leave. He walked to in front of me before he said smiling, ¡°The princess is a good lady. Zhang Gong, I wish you two all the best.¡± I asked curiously, ¡°But she¡¯s your fiancee in the Demon race. Don¡¯t you get jealous at all?¡± Ke Lun Duo was stunned. ¡°Jealous? Haha! Why should I? There¡¯s only someone that can make me feel jealous, but she¡¯s not the princess. I have already given my heart to her. Even though the princess is beautiful, I no longer have any extra feelings towards her.¡± ¡°I never expected Brother Ke to be such a romantic person.¡± Ke Lun Duo said elatedly, ¡°It¡¯s the first time that I¡¯ve heard you call me that. It¡¯s really pleasing to the ear. Please stop blaming me, alright? Don¡¯t worry! I definitely won¡¯t be your love rival. When your looks became like this, the princess¡¯s pain isn¡¯t any lesser than yours. Please try to accept her soon so that she won¡¯t continue to be in pain.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 11 - Ke Lun Duos Love Volume 10: Chapter 11 - Ke Lun Duo''s Love I couldn¡¯t stop the curiosity and asked, ¡°Since you didn¡¯t like Mu Zi, why would you accept the Demon Emperor¡¯s arranged marriage?¡± Ke Lun Duo looked at me as though I was an idiot. ¡°Aren¡¯t you normally quick-witted? Whenever something involves Mu Zi, you become very simple minded. I can¡¯t go against the king¡¯s order. I agreed for power. Moreover, my father had placed a lot of pressure on me. Do you know who I love? It¡¯s one of the servant girls from my manor. You¡¯re the first person that I have disclosed this secret to. Don¡¯t you ever tell anyone else. Actually, I really hope that you and Mu Zi can get together so that I¡¯ll have a legitimate reason to withdraw from the marriage.¡± His words aroused my interest. I questioned closely, ¡°Can you tell me your experiences?¡± Ke Lun Duo seemed to recover his attitude when he impersonated the second prince as he teasingly replied, ¡°You¡¯re such a gossiper; even the princess hasn¡¯t asked me this before. Alright, I¡¯ll tell you since you want to know, but you must swear to keep it a secret.¡± I had completely recovered from the pain discovering that I couldn¡¯t recover my looks. I patted my chest as I promised him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Every word from me carries weight.¡± Ke Lun Duo surveyed his surroundings before an intense longingness appeared in his eyes. His tone became softer. ¡°Ah Shui is an extremely good girl. It was unknown why she wandered the streets when she was still a child. I¡¯m 29 years old this year. I was 15 years old when I met with the 5 year old in the streets. She looked extremely filthy at that time as she begged at the road side. The elder children that were begging bullied her as well. They beat her to the point that blood flowed from her mouth and nose. I decided to get involved due to righteous indignation. Currently, I¡¯m really happy that I decided to help her out. Otherwise, I would have lost my greatest happiness.¡± I teased, ¡°Look at you now, you¡¯re like a child experiencing his first love.¡± Ke Lun Duo pretended to be angry as he rebuked, ¡°It is my first love. Got a problem with that? Do you still want to hear my story? If you interrupt me again, I won¡¯t continue my story.¡± I hastily said, ¡°Alright! Alright! Just say your story. I won¡¯t interrupt again.¡± Ke Lun Duo replied with satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. At that time, I beat all of the children that bullied her before tossing some money at her and preparing to head home. I didn¡¯t expect that she would persistently refuse to part from me. She just wouldn¡¯t leave me no matter what I did. I tried being fierce towards her, scolding her and scaring her. But she just wanted to follow me no matter what. I originally planned to toss her at the entrance of my house, but I didn¡¯t have the heart to do it, so I decided to bring her into the manor. After my father discovered this, he didn¡¯t chide me, but rather praised my kindhearted heart and arranged for the servant in the manor to take care of her. When I asked her if she has any other kin, she just kept on crying, giving me an impression of a crybaby. When I was about to leave her, she told me that I was a really good person and asked if she could marry me after she grows up.¡± I exclaimed, ¡°Can this be counted as you having abducted a young lady that hadn¡¯t mature yet?¡± Ke Lun knocked on my head before continuing, ¡°What do you mean abducted? It was meant to be a joke when I said that I¡¯ll wait for her to grow up before deciding. I had busied myself with my own matters from then on. Everyday, I trained, studied and lead the troops. It was four years after I met up with her again in the manor. Even though she was only 15 at that time, she looked exceptionally beautiful. She had gained my mother¡¯s appreciation with her pretty looks, her cleverness and abilities, making her serve by her side. When I saw her, she was wearing a white cloth with her lengthy black hair scattered on her back. The shock she gave me was deeply engraved in my memory. I initially wondered whose family¡¯s young lady had come to visit the manor so I asked my mother about it. She told me that she was the filthy little girl that I had rescued. She suddenly came to find me one day and said, ¡®Brother, I¡¯ve already grown up. Can I marry you? I know my status is low, but I just want to serve you by your side, no matter if it¡¯s to be your slave or wife, I¡¯m willing.¡¯ Zhang Gong, think about it, when a beauty says this to you, how will you feel?¡± His words made me reminisce Hai Shui. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. If she¡¯s the first one that entered your heart, you must be worried.¡± Ke Lun Dup nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, even though I didn¡¯t really reply to her at the time, her position in my heart was already very heavy. Thus, I went to my mother and asked her to serve me. My mother wordlessly agreed. Those were my happiest moments from then on. She was smart and gentle, giving off a manner of anunmarried daughter of a noble house. I taught her how to write and strum a lute. She quickly adapted and gradually, I found that I was already unable to part from her. Finally, on a rainy night, I drank too much wine and couldn¡¯t control myself, so¡­¡­.¡± When he said that part, Ke Lun Duo¡¯s face flushed. As a man, I naturally understood what he had done before angrily rebuking him, ¡°You, lecher, to take advantage of her difficulties.¡± Ke Lun Duo glared at me and said, ¡°What do you mean I took advantage of her difficulties? We¡¯re truly in love. After that, I swore that I¡¯ll only love her in my life. However, Ah Shui didn¡¯t express too much excitement and just said that she¡¯s satisfied with just staying by my side. It was at that moment that the Demon Emperor announced my and Mu Zi¡¯s marriage. I still remember this vividly: once Ah Shui got the news, her face paled for a month, making her fall severely ill. I had used everyday after that swearing and promising her, with the addition of my Eighteen Softening skills, I successfully brought her back to my side.¡± I asked, stunned, ¡°What are the Eighteen Softening skills?¡± Ke Lun Duo smiled mysteriously. ¡°You don¡¯t know? There¡¯s also things that you, the God¡¯s inheritor, didn¡¯t know? When chance presents itself, big brother will teach you. I promise that you will be able to coax Mu Zi to be docile.¡± I understood what he meant after his explanation before I snappily said, ¡°You! Are you and Ah Shui gonna go on like this forever? Your parents also don¡¯t know about your matters. When are you going to give her a status? If you don¡¯t cherish such a good girl, you¡¯ll regret it for life.¡± Ke Lun Duo replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to teach me that. When I came here with Mu Zi, protecting her is my highest priority, but secondly, it¡¯s also to facilitate in getting you two back together. The best will be for you to elope with her. Hehe! I¡¯ll then be able to justly and honorably withdraw from the marriage to marry my beloved Ah Shui. Haha!¡± Volume 10: Chapter 12 - The Hero Saves the Beauty Volume 10: Chapter 12 - The Hero Saves the Beauty I said smiling, ¡°So you have a conspiracy. I¡¯ll give my blessings to the both of you. If it really can¡¯t work out, you can elope with Ah Shui as well. I¡¯ll definitely take good care of you two at the human¡¯s continent. How¡¯s that?¡± Ke Lun Duo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°There¡¯s really an enormous obstruction for Ah Shui to be with me. Your suggestion isn¡¯t bad. When I bring Ah Shui to live with you all, it really won¡¯t be bad as the life in your human¡¯s continent is more comfortable than in the Demon race. Ha!.....I¡¯m really sleepy, so I¡¯m going to sleep. I feel much more relaxed after telling you this, so I definitely will have a good rest tonight.¡± After hearing his story, I felt that much closer to Ke Lun Duo since we were both unfortunate people and had some problems with our family. ¡®Even though I didn¡¯t recover my looks, I felt much better already. Since nothing should happen here, I shall head out and wander the proximity of the manor.¡¯ Thinking about that, I waved my hand to open the space pocket and took out a long muslin conical bamboo hat. It was the item that I bought when I was in the Demon¡¯s city. After taking a cloth to wrap the Sukrad¡¯s staff and made clear of my departure to one of the guards, I headed out of the Prince¡¯s manor. The sky was as pretty as a blue velvet. Everywhere was filled with clouds and the bright and beautiful sunshine shone on me, making me indescribably comfortable. There was also a constant flow of patrolling soldiers on the streets of the fortress. I gradually strolled the street, browsing the items of the fort before I suddenly heard a dispute in front of me. ¡°I already told you not to follow me. Why are you still following me?¡± ¡°Miss, please stop running around all over the place. If something were to happen to you, how are we supposed to head back and account for you?¡± ¡°Enough! Don¡¯t you feel bothersome? I¡¯m not a child. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems if I go for a walk. This is our territory, so what dangers will I experience? I warn you all that you¡¯re forbidden to continue following me.¡± A young and beautiful lady appeared in my sight. She was wearing a beautiful red mage robe, with her lips pouting, expressing dissatisfaction. The four warriors that closely followed her looked extremely keyed up/nervous. The leader of the warriors suddenly blocked the lady¡¯s path before saying respectfully, ¡°Miss, please head back with us. Otherwise, Master will be angry.¡± The young lady used her strength to push against the sheath of the long sword that was blocking her way and fumingly replied, ¡°I¡¯m not going back! Nope! I¡¯m not heading back.¡± When the long sword didn¡¯t move an inch, the young lady was so angry that her charming face flushed red. ¡°Good, you¡¯re the one that forced my hand. Oh great fire god, bestow me your powers to use your explosive fire and eliminate everything that is before you----Explosive flames!¡± My goodness, that brat was really a small chilli. Fire elements frantically gathered around the girl. During that period when that warrior was stunned, a couple of enormous fireballs exploded in front of him. That warrior didn¡¯t panic when in shock. He enclosed his body with a white battle spirit that had traces of gold in it. It seemed that he had real skills as he was already approaching the Radiant Knight rank. When the fire got in contact with the battle spirit, it gave off concentrated explosion sounds. Since the warrior didn¡¯t make sufficient preparation, he was momentarily forced two steps back from the shockwave. The young lady let out bell-like laughter as she took advantage of the time he was frenetic to move like a breeze past the warrior¡¯s obstruction. Simultaneously, when they were fighting, hurried horse¡¯s hoof sounds resounded. A team of heavy armoured cavalries was rushing over. Seeing their hurried appearance, it was obvious that they were going to carry out an important mission. When that girl dodged the obstruction, she was right in front of them. She was moving backwards so she didn¡¯t notice the sudden incoming danger. The warriors that obstructed her shouted loudly in chorus, ¡°Miss, be careful! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± The young girl then discovered the heavy armoured cavalries that were already near her. She had unexpectedly forgotten to use her wind magic to avoid them due to fright. The heavy armoured cavalries also discovered her so they pulled on their reign. However, since the horse and the cavalries were heavily armoured, their inertia were large so for a moment, they weren¡¯t able to stop their charging force. When the life fire of the young girl was going to be extinguished from being trampled over, I made my move. At this moment, short teleportation displayed great powers. I suddenly appeared to the young girl¡¯s side, embracing with an arm. I used the time, since the armoured horses hadn¡¯t reached us, to teleport to the side of the street. The crowd only saw that the young girl had disappeared after a black shadow flashed past. Those heavy armoured cavalry had charged 10 meters before stopping. After the four guards that follows the girl saw that a black covered face man had saved their young master, they immediately charged over. The leader shouted at the heavy armoured cavalry, ¡°Are you dog eyes¡¯ blind?! Why are you running so fast in the main street?!¡± The leader of the heavy armoured cavalries shouted, ¡°Who are you to scold us? This is a fort to prevent our enemies from invading us, not a playground. Who called you to let your child wander about?¡± That warrior¡¯s expression agitatedly changed before they angrily gushed out to the front of the leader of the heavy armoured cavalries, taking out a writ tablet and waved it before him. The leader of the heavy armoured cavalries looked as though he had saw a ghost. He leaped down from their horses and said politely, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know¡­¡­¡± The warrior complacently stopped him from talking as he said arrogantly, ¡°Miss was unharmed this time. If not, it won¡¯t suffice to appease the Master¡¯s anger, even after chopping your dozen heads¡¯ off.¡± The leader of the calvary respectfully replied, ¡°Yes! Yes! Yes! We¡¯ll definitely take note of that next time. We really have an urgent military affair so we¡­¡­..¡± The warrior impatiently waved his hand. ¡°Enough, just quickly head on. Be careful from now on.¡± It seemed that the warrior understood the logic, where it was possible to let people off, one should spare them. I didn¡¯t know which division they served under to have actually made those insufferably arrogant heavy armoured cavalries give in so obediently. After those heavy armoured cavalry left, a crisp voice sounded from my side, ¡°Hey! Hey! Can you let me go already? Are you thinking of taking advantage of me?¡± I lowered my head and remembered that the beautiful young girl was still in my embrace. I hastily let go of her and retreated two steps back before replying apologetically, ¡°My apologies to miss, I had treated you irreverently.¡± The girl said with a gentle laughter, ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± I gently shook my head. ¡°Anyone who met with this kind of situation will make a move to help if they have the capability. Miss, you should be careful from now on and stop being so willful. Otherwise, it really isn¡¯t worth it for you to lose your life meaninglessly.¡± The young girl frowned and looked as though she was going to throw her temper, but she seemed to remember that I was her benefactor that had saved her life, so she forcefully suppressed her anger and replied, ¡°I understand.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 13 - The Prince Returns Home Volume 10: Chapter 13 - The Prince Returns Home The four warriors surrounded me before simultaneously bowing. The leader of the warriors said, ¡°Thank you for saving our Miss. Please accept this bow from us brothers.¡± I gently waved Sukrad¡¯s staff, that was covered with some cloth, as I replied smiling, ¡°Friends, no need to be so courteous.¡± A faint light was emitted from the cloth that forcefully lifted them from their bowed position. The leader asked in awe, ¡°May I ask which division in the Kingdom of Aixia you¡¯re in? With your magic, you should be a Magister.¡± Without waiting for a reply, the girl said, ¡°I¡¯m Ling Ling Xin. Who are you and can you let me see your face?¡± I shook my head. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. We met by accident so why should we know each other¡¯s identity? Let us meet again in the future.¡± Ling Ling Xin suddenly appeared before me, extending her hand to remove my conical hat. The few warriors shouted in unison, ¡°Don¡¯t do that Miss!¡± But how could the willful Miss listen? She stubbornly charged towards me. It seemed that she didn¡¯t learn from her mistake and didn¡¯t know the immensity of heaven and earth. An invisible, transparent boundary appeared in front of me. ¡®Peng!¡¯ Ling Ling Xin collided with the boundary and fell to the ground. I laughed and said, ¡°Is that any way to treat your benefactor? I¡¯ll show you my appearance since you want to see it.¡± As I said, I expanded the boundary, leaving out the four warriors, who thought I was going to hurt their miss. Ling Ling Xin¡¯s previous fall wasn¡¯t light, it took her a lot of effort to sit up and rub her the injured areas. I moved in front of her and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to see my appearance? Look carefully then.¡± Upon saying that, I lifted one side of the muslin in her direction. A mournful screech sounded from her mouth that coupled with my laughter, gave the situation a sinister atmosphere. ¡°Everyone, your Miss has just experienced a slight shock so take care of her. I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± How could I not punish this crafty and unruly girl a little? With a flash of light, I disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight. Ling Xin Xin said to herself, ¡°He...He was really ugly.¡± The leader of the warriors sighed. ¡°The person that saved you is an extremely powerful mage. We aren¡¯t his match even if we were to team up against him. Miss, let¡¯s head back quickly.¡± Lin Xin Xin nodded, with unfocused eyes, before following the warriors. My heart felt a little uneasy as I hid in a corner. Had I overdone it in scaring the girl into such a state? I no longer felt like strolling after this matter, so I turned around and headed back to the manor. ¡­¡­ ¡°Zhang Gong, where did you go? I was looking for you.¡± Once I stepped inside the Prince¡¯s manor, Big Brother Shan Yun came to see me. ¡°You were looking for me? What for?¡± ¡°For business of course. Father has already declared that my eldest brother and I will be in charge of the Allied Cavalry. He has already returned to His Majesty to discuss what we talked about that day.¡± I took down the conical hat and replied smiling, ¡°Uncle really is a impetuous person. I feel real bad in making that old man work.¡± Shan Yun sighed. ¡°Actually, even though my father didn¡¯t mention it, I know that that old man wants to reconcile. The real warmongers are few in number. Who doesn¡¯t want to live in peace? I¡¯ve heard that your wounds aren¡¯t fully recovered. I¡¯ll help you find some doctors to see if they can cure your wounds.¡± ¡°Thank you Big Brother Shan Yun. However, it¡¯s unnecessary as Big Brother Xiu Si¡¯s Sky God¡¯s horn couldn¡¯t cure my wound. I doubt any average doctor would be able to cure it. I appreciate your good intentions, but I really don¡¯t want to experience any more major disappointments after becoming hopeful again.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°Alright then. The rest have gone to rest up. You couldn¡¯t have eaten breakfast yet and I also haven''t, so how about us brothers find a place to eat?¡± I asked, puzzled, ¡°Don¡¯t you need to work today? How do you have time to accompany me?¡± Shan Yun said, smiling, ¡°It¡¯s unknown why the allied Demon and Beast race retreated 15 Km. Currently, there¡¯s eldest brother to keep watch at the frontlines so naturally, I can relax.¡± As Shan Yun and I enjoyed our meal, I asked, ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, if your Kingdom of Xiuda agrees to participate in the negotiation, what do you think our next step should be?¡± Shan Yun glanced at me from the side before replying with a smile, ¡°Brother, are you testing me? Seeing your behaviour, it seems that you should have a card up your sleeve.¡± Embarrassed, I scratched my head. ¡°Even though I¡¯ve got some thoughts on this, I want to hear your opinion first.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°If His Majesty really agrees to negotiate, the next step we should take is to convince the other two kingdoms. It¡¯ll be extremely easy to convince the Kingdom of Dalu. You should also know that there¡¯s another official name for Dalu.¡± I nodded and my eyes lit up as Shan Yun and I said simultaneously, ¡°The Peace Kingdom.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°Since they are a peaceful country, they shouldn¡¯t like fighting. They¡¯ll definitely stand on our side as long as we mediate. In that case, it¡¯ll be easier to convince Aixia, but there¡¯s something that you must settle as soon as possible.¡± I queried, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shan Yun¡¯s expression changed as he said, ¡°That is to immediately confirm the attitude of the allied Demon and Beast race forces. As the proverb says, there are times where orders, excluding their ruler¡¯s, won¡¯t be accepted. If the allied army of the Demon and Beast race don¡¯t listen to the Princess and insist on attacking the Str?m Fortress, what will you do then? Won¡¯t everything be in ruin? Thus, before my father returns with the news, you must let Mu Zi to stabilize them. It¡¯s best if we¡¯re able to confirm their views s before the peace talks.¡± I had really neglected this matter and what Shan Yun said was logical. If the allied army of the Demon and Beast races didn¡¯t listen to their orders to move, what would I do then? ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, what you¡¯ve said is right. We¡¯ll head there tomorrow since it¡¯s better to settle this matter as soon as possible.¡± Shan Yun nodded. ¡°After dinner, I¡¯ll bring you to the Eastern entrance, at that time I could make an excuse to do a patrol to bring you out. You must head back as quickly as you can, as I don¡¯t want what repeat of what previously happened with you killing your way back in. After quickly finishing our meal, I dashed to Ke Lun Duo¡¯s room. That fellow was in a deep slumber as he didn¡¯t notice me, even after walking to his side. How was he an expert? I gathered a water bullet and instantly shot his face. This was the most efficient way to wake someone up, as I had learned from experiences with my mother. Ke Lun Duo became alert and jumped down from his bed. ¡°It¡¯s raining! It can¡¯t be! How could there be rain in the room? Ah! Zhang Gong, why are you here?¡± I suppressed my laughter and replied, ¡°It¡¯s to wake you up, lazy bum, to discuss some business.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 14 - Demon Races Main Camp Volume 10: Chapter 14 - Demon Race''s Main Camp Ke Lun Duo rubbed his eyes . ¡°What matter do you need to discuss now? I didn¡¯t sleep last night. If you don¡¯t let me sleep for the next 10 hours, I¡¯ll definitely have a black eye. If I head back and Ah Shui doesn''t want me, I¡¯ll blame it on you and steal Mu Zi from you. Hmph!¡± I regathered another small water bullet and threatened him. ¡°You dare? Do you want to test this little thing out? Quickly get up! I really have some important matters that I need to discuss with you.¡± Looking at the water bullet in my hand, Ke Lun Duo quickly sat up, with his hands covering his face, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m up! Can I not get up? What¡¯s the matter? Say it.¡± I withdrew the water bullet in satisfaction. ¡°It¡¯s like this¡­¡­.¡± I repeated what Big brother Shan Yun told me before, and concluded it saying, ¡°Thus, I wish to accompany you and Mu Zi to head to the Demon and Beast race¡¯s allied forces tonight, in order to stabilize them so that they won¡¯t attack the fortress again. It¡¯ll be easier for us to carry out our task here this way.¡± Ke Lun Duo had already somewhat woken up and after hearing what I said, he replied seriously, ¡°What you say makes sense. Alright, let¡¯s head there tonight. However, I¡¯ve a condition.¡± I asked stunned, ¡°Condition? What condition?¡± Ke Lun Duo chuckled and replied, ¡°Let me sleep first. Don¡¯t come and disturb my sleep again.¡± I tossed a water bullet over before jokingly chided him. ¡°You¡¯re good! You dare to play me.¡± Ke Lun Duo blocked the water bullet and said smiling, ¡°Alright! Alright! You should also rest up. You shouldn¡¯t call the princess though. You don¡¯t know how worried she was for you yesterday, so let her rest up. When we are leaving tonight, we can just call for you. That¡¯s right, who are you planning to bring along?¡± I pondered before replying, ¡°The people that go should be chosen by their quality rather than quantity. Otherwise, it might arouse suspicion. I think that only the ones that received God¡¯s inheritance should go. What do you think?¡± Ke Lun Duo nodded. ¡°That should be fine. They also shouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to us. Don¡¯t worry, the princess¡¯s position in the heart of the Demon race is second to His Majesty. Moreover, there¡¯s still me, the brilliant martial god, handsome, free and easy, lofty and powerful leader of the protector guards. Regarding the beast race, it¡¯s actually much easier. Their intelligence is low so they usually follow us the Demon race blindly. The leader of the beast race should be the Beamon King. That fellow only knows how to fight. You should be careful that there¡¯s our Demon race¡¯s Prince Satan, who is in favour to fight against the humans, who has just returned to the royal city. When we came out from the Demon City, His Majesty had put the prince under house arrest. Currently, the one commanding the Demon race should be His Highness, Demon King Xiu Yu. Even though he¡¯s in favour to fight, he¡¯s relatively easier to talk to as compared to the prince. Moreover, Xiu Yu has been taking care of the princess since she was young. His love for the princess isn¡¯t any lesser than that of His Majesty. Therefore, I feel that there shouldn¡¯t be any hiccups during this trip.¡± Upon hearing that, I felt much more comfortable before I replied in smiles, ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, we should be careful. Alright, I¡¯ll let you rest up. I¡¯ll come for you when dinner time comes.¡± ¡­¡­ The sun gradually disappeared in the west. After the short spanned beautiful firelike clouds passed, the tranquility was restored. Since the weather was good, it seemed that the sky would be filled with stars tonight. The eight of us mixed in Big Brother Shan Yun¡¯s Dragon Army squad, secretly leaving Str?m Fortress. ¡°The sight of the surveillance soldiers is impossible to reach here from the fort. Quickly go, I¡¯ll patrol around here before coming back to wait for you. If you need assistance, remember to use the signal flair that I gave you.¡± I quickly donned on the night attire before gathering our group and bid Shan Yun farewell. We then rapidly headed to the main camp for the Demon and beast races¡¯ allied forces. Ke Lun Duo said, ¡°Zhang Gong, no matter what happens later, try not to make your move and let me settle it. We¡¯ll head to the Demon race¡¯s side first. If we can bring His Highness Xiu Yu on our side, then the Beast race will be easy to be dealt with.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡°Who are you people?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Ke Lun Duo. I¡¯ve returned from the Royal City.¡± ¡°Ah! Is it Lord Ke Lun Duo? Please wait for a moment.¡± The entrance of the stronghold opened and a squadron of men and horses came out. Even though they didn¡¯t recognise us, with Ke Lun Duo¡¯s title as being the Demon race¡¯s top warrior, he was naturally revered by the low status soldiers. After clearly seeing Ke Lun Duo¡¯s appearance, the leader of the soldiers respectfully said, ¡°It really is you, Lord Ke Lun Duo. Why did you come from the direction of the Str?m Fortress?¡± Ke Lun Duo¡¯s expression dampened before he shouted, ¡°I¡¯m on a classified mission! Is that something that you can ask about?¡± That soldier¡¯s expression changed, but rapidly recovered as he replied apologetically, ¡°I spoke too much. I¡¯m only doing my task, so I must be cautious. Please don¡¯t mind.¡± Ke Lun Duo¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Alright, but quickly bring me into the fort. I¡¯ve got some important matters that I need to report to His Highness Xiu Yu.¡± ¡°Alright, please follow me. Lord, who are these people?¡± ¡°They were ordered by His Majesty to help assist me in commanding.¡± Mu Zi picked the right timing to brandish her hand, making a thick black fog to cover her entire body. The gloomy and cold aura had momentarily stopped that soldier from talking. He said alarmed, ¡°Ah! So it¡¯s the Lord dark mage. My apologies, I won¡¯t be asking anything further. Everyone, please quickly enter.¡± After passing through the towering gates, we entered the Demon¡¯s stronghold. My goodness! The interior of the stronghold was completely lit up. The soldiers patrolling were all orderly. The tents were arranged in circles like a horn, in case there was an invasion, they could mutually assist each other. At first glance, it seemed like a battle -hardened formation with vast experience. Ke Lun Duo whispered, ¡°How¡¯s our Demon race¡¯s army look? Satisfied?¡± I slightly noded. ¡°They are elites, and the arrangement of the stronghold is not bad.¡± Ke Lun Duo replied complacently, ¡°Of course, I put in lots of effort in arranging this stronghold. There¡¯s hidden magic arrays in here. If the human race were to try and infiltrate, it''ll definitely be an entry, but no escape.¡± I asked in awe, ¡°You arranged this stronghold?¡± Ke Lun Duo puffed out his chest. ¡°Of course, why? You don¡¯t believe me? If I can¡¯t do at least this much, how will I ever achieve the His Majesty¡¯s recognition and also hold the Demon race¡¯s top warrior title?¡± Mu Zi voiced out. ¡°Enough, stop bickering. We¡¯re near the main camp.¡± As expected, there was an enormous tent that wasn¡¯t far. There were a couple of small tents, they looked like stars supporting the moon, surrounding it in the middle. There were also six watchtowers that surrounded the big tent. It was exactly as Ke Lun Duo mentioned, there was a constant flow of people on duty around the clock. I discovered that the guards of the Demon race were in red instead of the black military uniform I had seen previously as we neared the main camp. Ke Lun Duo whispered, ¡°They¡¯re our red uniformed warriors. They are much higher ranked than the ordinary warriors.¡± As expected, the guard that guided us were stopped by the red uniformed soldiers. Volume 10: Chapter 15 - Prince Xiu Yu Volume 10: Chapter 15 - Prince Xiu Yu ¡°What are you doing here? Is this a place that you¡¯re authorized entry?¡± ¡°Sorry, my Lord. It¡¯s just that Lord Ke Lun Duo has returned, so I¡¯ve specifically come to report.¡± Ke Lun Duo walked out from the crowd and said with his head raised, ¡°Go and report to His Highness Xiu Yu of my return. I have matters to discuss with him.¡± When the red uniformed warrior saw Ke Lun Duo, his previous unbridled attitude was suppressed. After he respectfully agreed, he turned back to head inside the camp. Ke Lun Duo looked at the soldier in charge of the entrance to the stronghold, ¡°You¡¯re diligent in your work. You can head back first. If there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll find you a better position.¡± That soldier thanked him profusely. With Ke Lun Duo in the lead, we continued to walk inside unhindered. The previous red uniformed warrior ran over and said, ¡°Reporting to lord, His Highness Xiu Yu has already woken. You can meet up with him at the main camp.¡± ¡®En!¡¯ Ke Lun Duo agreed. Mu Zi whispered, ¡°Be careful and act according to situation.¡± Mu Zi was unexpectedly more cautious than I was, even though we weren¡¯t in any danger and were in her territory. It was no wonder why the Demon Emperor wanted her to be his successor as she really had a general¡¯s manner. There were 12 red uniformed guardian at the entrance of the main camp. When they saw Ke Lun Duo, they bowed towards him. ¡°Lord Ke Lun Duo has arrived.¡± Those 12 guardians didn¡¯t look simple; they were absolutely top warriors. When we wanted to follow Ke Lun Duo in, we were blocked by the red uniformed guardians. Ke Lun Duo frowned and said, ¡°What are you doing? They were dispatched by His Majesty to assist me. Let them in.¡± The red uniformed guardian unemotionally replied, ¡°His Highness Xiu Yu only wanted to meet you.¡± Ke Lun Duo and Mu Zi looked at each other before Ke Lun Duo said, ¡°I should be able to bring two people with me, right? They were the ones that His Majesty told me to bring them to meet His Highness Xiu Yu.¡± While he said that, he pointed towards Mu Zi and I. That guardian replied, ¡°Please remove your weapons. Under His Highness order, no one is allowed to bring weapons into the camp.¡± Ke Lun Duo said helplessly, ¡°His Highness Xiu Yu is always so careful.¡± After saying that, he took the lead to remove his companion sword. I passed the Sukrad¡¯s staff to Zhan Hu while Mu Zi didn¡¯t bring any weapons. The red uniformed guardian moved aside. After I affirmed Zhan Hu and Xiu Si with an eye signal, I entered the tent with Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo. ¡°Nephew, you¡¯re back.¡± A gentle voice sounded. I raised my head and saw that there was a person sitting behind an enormous table within the tent. That person looked stern and was slim, with his small eyes he looked lively. He was wearing the most ordinary mage¡¯s robe, but it couldn¡¯t mask the aura of royalty. Even though he couldn¡¯t compare with the Demon Emperor¡¯s matchless domineering aura, his aura wasn¡¯t ordinary. That person must be Demon King Xiu Yu. When Ke Lun Duo hadn¡¯t replied to him, Mu Zi suddenly took off her cloak and rubbed against her face to reveal her true form. She flew over and said lovably, ¡°Uncle Xiu Yu, Mu Zi has come to see you.¡± Xiu Yu was shocked at first, but after seeing Mu Zi¡¯s exceptional appearance, his wary filled face changed to a look of limitless spoiling. He extended his arms and walked over from the table before benevolently saying , ¡°So it¡¯s my little Mu Zi. Quickly come here and let uncle look at you. It has already been a few years since uncle last met you. I missed you to death.¡± Mu Zi was in his embrace from Xiu Yu¡¯s opened arms. Currently, I couldn¡¯t see his Demon King¡¯s identity. He currently was just an elder that dotes on his younger generation. I didn¡¯t know why, but my heart surged forth with a sour feeling. Xiu Yu released Mu Zi and said in smiles, ¡°When the guardians told me that Wa Leng had brought over some black covered masked people over, I thought that something was going to happen so it was my little Mu Zi that had come over. You made uncle worried for nothing.¡± Ke Lun Duo said with a wryly smile, ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t trust your nephew?¡± Xiu Yu replied indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that. I must be on guard against others. With my high status, and considering that this is now the frontline, it¡¯s always better to be cautious.¡± I couldn¡¯t help, but to ask, ¡°Then, do you trust Mu Zi?¡± Xiu Yu frowned as he stared at me before shifting his gaze to Mu Zi. His expression instantly changed back to incomparably benevolent look. ¡°How can Mu Zi be the same? Even if I don¡¯t trust the Demon Emperor, I absolutely trust in Mu Zi. I¡¯ve looked after her since she was young. I don¡¯t have any children, so Mu Zi is like my daughter. Moreover, even if she were to harm me, I¡¯d simply accept it.¡± I was stunned as Xiu Yu pampered Mu Zi in such a way. Mu Zi replied lovingly, ¡°Uncle Xiu Yu treats me the best.¡± From her words it certainly showed that I had spoken poorly, I couldn¡¯t revoke my comment so I could only eat my words and suffer unwillingly. Xiu Yu ordered, ¡°Servers, you¡¯re to prepare the best refreshments. I¡¯m going to take care of these important guests.¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ve got a few friends outside. Can you let them in?¡± A cold glint flashed past Xiu Yu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Alright, let them in.¡± After a while, the tent was filled with various refreshments and food. Xiu Yu raised a wine glass at Mu Zi before saying, ¡°To my good niece that came from afar, uncle welcomes you.¡± Upon saying that, he guzzled down the wine. Mu Zi drank with him. Xiu Yu glanced at all of us before asking Mu Zi, ¡°My niece, you¡¯ve come here not just to meet uncle, right? If there¡¯s matters, just say them.¡± Mu Zi extended her hand and drew a line to summon a space pocket before she respectfully took out a scroll that was completely golden. Once Xiu Yu looked at the scroll, his expression obviously changed. Mu Zi stood up and said, ¡°Demon King Xiu Yu, receive your order.¡± Xiu Yu hastily left the wine classifier and knelt. ¡°Your subordinate is here.¡± ¡°Accept the Mandate of the Heavens, the Demon Emperor orders. Since there¡¯s a strong enemy that is going to invade the world from a strange dimension, I specifically order the third Princess Mu Zi to be in charge in negotiating with the humans to fight against the outsider. Demon King Xiu Yu is to assist her with all your might and notify the beast men to work together alongside. When the princess is at your side, she should be treated as though I am personally there.¡± So, this was the Demon Emperor¡¯s imperial edict. It seemed that Mu Zi had a lot of effective devices.¡± Demon King Xiu Yu didn¡¯t dare to slight the order as he shouted, ¡°Xiu Yu accepts the order. Long live, my Emperor.¡± Xiu Yu, who had received the order, looked curiously at Mu Zi and asked, ¡°My good niece, can you explain what is going on?¡± Mu Zi smiled before she told him about the Monster race¡¯s invasion. She also mentioned about the small team of us that infiltrated the Demon race and how we managed to convince the Demon Emperor. Icy rays constantly flashed past Xiu Yu¡¯s eyes after Mu Zi told him all the details. ¡°This is to say that His Majesty really wants to negotiate with the humans. But won¡¯t this also mean that we had wasted our many years of preparations?¡± Volume 10: Chapter 16 - Satans Monster Transformation Volume 10: Chapter 16 - Satan''s Monster Transformation I pulled down the muslin that was covering my face as I asked. ¡°Is human invasion that important? I know that your Demon race¡¯s life is bitter, but the eastern continent also doesn¡¯t have things that are in the west continent. Since both sides has necessities, why can¡¯t we trade? Why must we go to war? The waste of manpower and resources will shake the country¡¯s foundation. Moreover there¡¯s an outsider of our world is beginning to stir, the Monster Race. If something goes wrong, not only will the current territory not be able to maintain itself, but it may even lead to the extinction of your race.¡± Xiu Yu lept up and replied fumingly, ¡°Stop saying such terrifying words to scare people. His Majesty might have been confused by your rumours, but what Monster race are you talking about? It¡¯s merely a legend that from a couple thousand years ago. It¡¯s credibility is still unknown. You want me to just hand over military leadership to you with just your words? Good niece, even though His Majesty has passed down his orders, you know that uncle is in favor to make war against the humans. I really can¡¯t accept it, I refuse to retreat from just words.¡± It seemed that Shan Yun mentioned that they might refuse to listen to orders, excluding their Emperor, he wasn''t wrong. Ke Lin Duo said, ¡°Your Highness, are you going against the imperial edict then?¡± Xiu Yu glared at him before sighing heavily. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He really didn¡¯t have the guts to go against the imperial edict and his beloved Mu Zi was in the middle of this. Xiu Yu sighed before saying, ¡°Can you let me consider for a while? We really can¡¯t mobilize the troops now.¡± Mu Zi suddenly become unyielding. ¡°Uncle, you must give me a definite answer today, I don¡¯t want the current progress of the negotiation with the three kingdoms to wither due to having a fire in my backyard. Uncle, would I harm you? Please believe in us.¡± Xiu Yu replied with difficulty, ¡°Good Mu Zi, let uncle consider.¡± If we were to make Xiu Yu pass the military leadership over a short while, it would look really bad on him. He and Xiu Da had always been working hard in preparation to invade the Human race for many years already. When he had finally gotten the chance to command the main army and was able to press on Str?m Fortress, how could he just give it up so willingly? ¡°Reporting!¡± A dispatch voiced out from outside the tent. ¡°Speak!¡± The dispatch said, partitioned from the tent, ¡°Reporting to His Highness, Prince Satan has returned, accompanied with his guards, and says that he wants to meet you immediately.¡± We were all shocked by this news. Mu Zi pulled on Xiu Yu¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Uncle, Uncle Satan has been placed under house arrest by father since he didn¡¯t agree to father¡¯s decision. How can he suddenly be here? There must be a lie here.¡± Xiu Yu pondered before replying, ¡°Let me meet him before we discuss further. The Demon Emperor might have changed his mind and no longer wants to negotiate with the Human race.¡± Xiu Yu¡¯s words made me apprehensive. Right! Did Satan¡¯s return here really mean that the Demon Emperor had changed his mind? Mu Zi was the first to calm down. ¡°Alright, uncle, meet up with Uncle Satan here. We¡¯ll hide first. If there¡¯s any weird happenings, we¡¯ll be in time to assist you.¡± Xiu Yu nodded. ¡°Servers, quickly clean up the place.¡± After that, he pointed at both sides of the cabinets before saying, ¡°You all hide behind the cabinet. Without my command, you¡¯re not to come out.¡± Everyone hid after Mu Zi nodded. Just when the interior of the tent was cleared, the red uniformed guardian announced from outside, ¡°His Highness, Prince Satan has arrived.¡± Xiu Yu smoothed his clothes before walking forward to greet him. When the entrance¡¯s hanging screen opened, Demon King Satan¡¯s lofty silhouette entered our sight with about a dozen followers behind him. What made me feel like laughing was that they unexpectedly were also masked. I kept feeling that there was something different about Satan, but didn¡¯t know how to describe it for the moment. Xiu Yu said, ¡°Elder brother, you¡¯ve returned.¡± Satan snorted and replied, ¡°The return to the Royal City has infuriated me. It seems that the Demon Emperor has gone senile to actually want to negotiate with the humans.¡± Xiu Yu silently poured a cup of water and passed it to Satan. ¡°Elder brother, quickly tell me what¡¯s the matter?¡± Satan drank the water content in one go before tossing the glass on the ground. ¡°Brother, do you believe in me?¡± Xiu Yu was stunned before replying, ¡°Of course I believe.¡± Satan replied with hatred, ¡°Alright, since that¡¯s the case, let us brothers make some big changes. Currently, we hold great powers, if the Demon Emperor dispatched people to negotiate with the humans, then we shall¡­¡­¡­¡± Upon saying that, he brought himself to Xiu Yu¡¯s ears and whispered some words with laughter. After hearing Satan¡¯s words, Xiu Yu seemed to be in great shock as he shouted, ¡°Brother, we can¡¯t do that as we¡¯re one of the Demon race. How can we betray His Majesty? Moreover, if we were to betray him, aren¡¯t you scared that he will come and find us to seek revenge? Are you confident that you can block his Dark Demon Dragon or Dark Dragon spear?¡± He had purposely said out loud for us to listen. This old fellow was really scheming. Satan smiled sinisterly. ¡°Brother, lower your voice. You want everyone to hear our conversation? If I didn¡¯t have a way to deal with him, how could I just come suggest this to you? Brother, listen and pass the military leadership to me. If you agree, we¡¯ll first eliminate the humans and then the beast men. At that time, the world will be ours. We¡¯ll have half of the world each. What do you think about that?¡± When he was saying that, Satan¡¯s face emitted a sinister aura. Under the dusk coloured cloak, he wasn¡¯t angry at all. After seeing this, Xiu Yu was so shocked that he retreated a few steps back. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± I thought about something and mentally conveyed to everyone, ¡°Be careful. Satan has already become a Monster. Everyone, please listen to my command. We¡¯ll attack together momentarily. We mustn¡¯t give them a chance to rest. If not, it¡¯ll lead to a huge loss.¡± I felt that Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo, who hadn¡¯t meet with the Monster race before, instantly tensed up, while Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest gathered their Divine powers. The best way to deal with the Monster race was with Divine power. Since Satan had changed into a monster, the masked people behind him must have also been changed into monsters. The Monster King would definitely have sent out elites in order to carry out the important mission of retrieving the Demon race¡¯s military leadership. Thus, we must rapidly eliminate our opponents like silent thunderbolts. If not, it would be hard to know who would survive as it would be hard to deal with just Satan himself, who had changed into a Monster. Satan¡¯s expression became increasingly sinister. He extended his right hand and said, ¡°Brother, quickly pass the military leadership to me.¡± A grey aura emitted from his entire body and was gradually headed towards Xiu Yu. Volume 10: Chapter 17 - Monster Kings Ressurection Volume 10: Chapter 17 - Monster King''s Ressurection Xiu Yu was fearful of him as Satan¡¯s demon power was usually similar to his. However, he currently felt that he was a small boat in a vast body of water, while Satan was on a wild, untamed ocean. With his voice trembling, he asked, ¡°Brother, what¡¯s wrong with you? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re possessed, right?¡± Satan was shocked and realised that he had been a little too impetuous. He then withdrew the majority of the aura that was being emitted from his body before replying gently, ¡°Brother, what are you saying? Where¡¯s the military seal? Didn¡¯t I pass it to you when I left? I think you should return it back to me. Even if we don¡¯t betray the Demon Emperor, I should be the commander here.¡± Xiu Yu replied, ¡°Brother, His Majesty had already sent ambassadors here a few days ago to command me to be the commander here so I can¡¯t pass the military seal to you. You¡¯ve come in so late today. You should rest up first and wait until tomorrow to discuss this, alright?¡± Satan¡¯s expression changed and his sinister aura frantically surged outwards. With his eyes narrowed, he replied, ¡°Brother, you must give me the military seal today, even if you don¡¯t want to. Quickly pass it over. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be impolite.¡± Xiu Yu fumed. ¡°What? You want to make a move on me? But, I¡¯m your brother.¡± Satan snorted. ¡°Brother? So what if you¡¯re my brother? Whoever that hinders my path, I won¡¯t let him off easily. If you pass the military seal out now, we can still be brothers. If not, I¡¯ll make my move.¡± Xiu Yu solemnly shook his head before he suddenly shouted, ¡°Attack!¡± Following his voice, the first to attack was Dong Ri¡¯s Wind God¡¯s bow. After a resplendent light flashed, three followers behind Satan collapsed. After a grey smoke raised, the three people instantly disappeared. Xiu Si was extremely intelligent as he knew that if he were to directly attack Satan, there would be no guarantee that he would succeed, so he left the strongest to me while he eliminated the followers. ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the War God¡¯s armor. No evil shall pass me for I shall obstruct the evil demons.¡± After a blue light flashed, Zhan Hu donned the War God¡¯s armour and charged forth, just in time to deal with Satan¡¯s punch, who had just refocused. ¡®Hong!¡¯ A loud sound resounded. The berserk power had made the entire tent scattered and smashed. Satan¡¯s hair was in a quite mess. He stood at the center, laughing wildly and told Xiu Yu, ¡°You¡¯re good. You¡¯ve actually teamed up with the humans to deal with me. I¡¯ll take all of your lives today.¡± I supported Zhan Hu, who was violently spraying out blood before conveying to Xiu Si, ¡°Your Highness, be careful and quickly order your subordinates not to make reckless movement. You can just pass this situation to us.¡± The power that Satan had expressed made me exceptionally amazed and terrified. He could actually make Big Brother to get blown away and made suffer severe injuries with his powers. From this, I knew that Satan¡¯s power wasn¡¯t inferior to the Demon Emperor¡¯s. Even if the Demon Emperor didn¡¯t possess the Dark Demon Dragon, I still might not be his match. As if to prove that my hypothesis was right, he really changed into a monster. Otherwise, normally it would be impossible for his power to increase to such an extent. I passed Zhan Hu to Ke Lun Duo before I pulled out the Sukrad¡¯s staff from its cloth, with my eyes focused on Satan. Satan laughed wildly. ¡°It¡¯s you brat, again to spoil my matters. I¡¯ll definitely shatter your corpse to numerous pieces today to let you know my power.¡± To be honest, I wasn¡¯t sure that I¡¯d be able to defeat him as I wasn¡¯t confident. However, I was still able to sustain for a while. I just needed to wait for Xiu Si and the rest to eliminate Satan¡¯s minions. I believe that the final victory would still fall to our side. ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± I had interlocked my hands before my chest as I chanted. Numerous light ray emitted from my body and my hair had turned completely gold. With six light wings gently flapping on my back and a divine aura that enclosed me within, I slowly ascended into the sky. The insufferably arrogant Satan¡¯s expression focused and ascended into the sky with me. Satan said with hatred, ¡°I wondered who had spoilt our good matters so it was you fellow, Mi Jie Lie. During the great war between the gods and Monsters, you had used the Holy Sword to destroy my body. If it wasn¡¯t for Master to keeping my soul¡¯s knowledge, I would have dispersed into nothing. Today, I shall take my revenge.¡± After hearing what he said, there was a message that suddenly passed through my mind and replied calmly, ¡°Jia Si Ke Li Duo, you¡¯re the one that had infiltrated Demon King Satan¡¯s body. You, one of the three Great Monsters under the Monster King, had been doing the wrong things. For you to die under my hand, it¡¯s your honour. I¡¯ll kill you again today. Holy Sword!¡± A small silver sword appeared in my hand, making the Divine aura surrounding me to intensify. It had resulted to an increase in vigor for Xiu Si and the rest that they continually used powerful killing techniques, forcing all of the Monsters, excluding Satan, to become unable to fend off their attacks, resulting in their deaths. Satan showed a fearful expression at first, but he suddenly laughed, ¡°So, you can only use one tenth of the Holy Sword¡¯s power. Haha! Even though I can¡¯t use all of my previous strength, it¡¯s still more than enough to kill you. Dark Monster Blade, come forth.¡± Satan¡¯s body became completely enclosed by the grey aura as a long greyish-black blade appeared in his hand. My aura, which was previously held the advantage, was suppressed greatly. I hurriedly circulated the powers in my body; magic power and battle spirit rapidly flew towards the Holy Sword to fuse with its power. The light that was being emitted from my entire body intensified drastically before I said, ¡° Holy Sword, go!¡± A silvery-white Holy Sword shot out an elegant line towards Satan. Satan¡¯s surrounding aura was restrained as he concentrated on the Dark Monster Blade to fight head on with the Holy Sword. When the two lights abruptly collided, it caused an explosion, loud like a thunderclap as they burst up in the sky. The sky changed colours and the surrounding clouds were dispersed by the enormous pressure. It was as though an extremely strong flare had gone off in the night sky, lighting up the Demon race¡¯s main camp as though it was daytime. Luckily, we were high enough in the sky. Otherwise, this exchange would have injured an unknown amount of people. The majority of the Demon-Beast allied forces, who were still in their sleeping, were suddenly awoken from their dreams due to that loud explosion. Instantly, Demon King Xiu Yu showed the mannerisms of a general as he ordered his various troops to form into a squadron formation so he would be able to deal with any changes at will. The center had been evacuated to form an empty space for Zhan Hu and the rest to fight against the Monster race. The previous intense collision made me realise that Satan¡¯s power was beyond that of the Demon Emperor. My chest seemed like it had been struck by a large hammer, making it impossible to avoid spraying out a mouthful of blood. Satan laughed to his heart¡¯s content. ¡°How is it, Mi Jia Lie? This body isn¡¯t bad, right? The fusion with my power was quick. Haha! Today shall be your end. Don¡¯t think that you can defeat me by borrowing old fellow God King¡¯s Holy Sword. I¡¯ll tell you that will be impossible.¡± I wiped off the blood from the corner of my lips, while using the flapping of the light wings to stabilize my body before I coldly shouted, ¡°Jia Si Ke Li Duo, don¡¯t be complacent. With your ability, it¡¯s not guaranteed that you¡¯ll be able to defeat me.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 18 - Five Gods Defeating the Monster Volume 10: Chapter 18 - Five Gods Defeating the Monster Satan unyieldingly said, ¡°You¡¯re still acting tough. Alright, watch my blade.¡± A movement sound sounded by his side, making the Dark Monster Blade to strike towards me. There was a definite gap in power between me and Jia Si Ke Li Duo. Even though I had increased drastically since the previous fight I had with the Demon Emperor, I was still not a match. Mi Jia Lie¡¯s remaining memory told me that this fellow was one of the great three right-hand men of the Monster King. When he was defeated during the previous Great War of the Gods and Monsters, his spirit was forcefully brought back by the Monster King. If Mi Jia Lie¡¯s power were to make a full recovery, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Even though I couldn¡¯t know how much power Jia Si Ke Li Duo recovered, I could block his move with 10% of the Holy Sword¡¯s power. His recovery should just be around the same as well. Since the Monster King¡¯s body was being sealed in the God¡¯s realm by the God King, Jia Si Ke Li Duo should be unable to recover to his peak state. As those thoughts flashed through my mind, Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s Dark Monster Blade had already reached near my head. Since I wasn¡¯t his match, I wouldn¡¯t fight head on with him. However, when I prepared to avoid the attack with teleportation, I discovered that my body had been locked into place by Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s aura. I noticed that in his eyes were traces of cunning and ruthlessness in his gaze. I didn¡¯t have a choice, but to forcefully gather the remaining Holy Sword¡¯s power to shield the front of my body. ¡®Hong!¡¯I was blown away 500 meters by his power. He had great strength, the power shot out by Jia Si Ke Li Duo, completely uncompromising tyrannical powers, containing a thick sinister aura within it. The sinister aura infiltrated my body on contact, forcing me to feel devoid of any comfort. I once again sprayed up a mouthful of blood, also the light radiating from my wings of light dimmed drastically. I managed to use the Holy Sword¡¯s Divine power to force the sinister aura from my body, but with great difficulty. I didn¡¯t know if I could withstand his next move. ¡®Are you still alright, Big Brother Xiu Si and the rest? Your brother is at his limit.¡¯ At that moment, a thunderous dragon roar was heard emanating from Str?m Fortress as a golden streak was moving like lightning towards my position. I instantly became elated as I knew that Xiao Jin had rushed to join the fray, knowing that I was in danger. Jia Si Ke Li Duo noticed Xiao Jin¡¯s appearance about the same time when I did. A trace of shock flashed past his eyes as he said, ¡°The dragon race has also come, and here I still thought that they were extinct already. Oh Great Monster King, please bestow me your sinister powers.¡± So, he also knew how to chant. I had kept an eye on the slowly changing Jia Si Ke Li Duo. While I tried my best to adjust the powers in my body, I only saw the robe of his body expand outwards and his hair stand on end. His body became enclosed with the sinister grey aura from before. I knew that he was gathering power, in order to eliminate me before Xiao Jin could reach me in time. Redness shone in Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s eyes. Suddenly, there were eight identical clones that appeared before him. They weren¡¯t illusions, each copy controlled great powers. I immediately raised Sukrad¡¯s staff and chanted to activate the Holy Sword again, in order to preserve my life. ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± Even though I didn¡¯t have much power left, with the Sukrad¡¯s staff assistant, I could just barely mobilize the silver Holy Sword out of my body. Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s grey eyes suddenly turned completely red as he hollered, ¡°Go and die, Mi Jia Lie.¡± All eight of his clones charged towards me as he pointed the Dark Monster blade at me. When I saw them advancing, I knew that I was finished. The clones before me weren¡¯t something I can deal with. Currently in my mind, I could only think about one thing. ¡®Goodbye, my Mu Zi.¡¯ Suddenly, white, yellow, red and green powers rose from below me. At that moment those four powers suddenly entered my Holy Sword, which caused an intense Divine power that instantly stimulated a rapid recovery of my body. Three of my light wings suddenly solidified on my back, increasing the previous Holy Sword¡¯s power threefold. Golden rays flashed past my eyes as I brandished the Sukrad¡¯s staff to circulate around my body, momentarily knocking the eight clones to be blown away. White, yellow, red and green figures that moved like lightning to gather behind me. It was Xiu Si and the rest who had finally dealt with the remaining Monster race and immediately came to assist. It was their Divine power, from which we shared the same origin, that had previously led to my drastic growth of in power, while they injected their powers into my body. I could see the fear that showed in Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s eyes as he withdrew his eight clones back to the front of his body. Xiu Si whispered, ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you holding up?¡± I smiled wryly as I replied, ¡°If you had come any later, I¡¯d have returned to heaven. Let¡¯s deal with this fellow first before chatting. Don¡¯t let him get away.¡± While Jia Si Ke Li Duo focused on us, Xiao Jin had arrived. I didn¡¯t know what he chanted, but his entire body formed into a golden arrow and struck towards Jia Si Ke Li Duo, like a shooting star. The piercing strike had instantly attracted his attention. He dodged to the side the moment just before contact. But, even though he dodged, without his scrupulous control, the eight clones of him weren¡¯t as lucky. They momentarily dispersed under Xiao Jin¡¯s tremendous attack. Xiao Jin gave off a strange cry and his entire body seemed to be in pain as he flew towards the side, while his body emitted a grey aura. I knew that he was being stricken down by the sinister aura. But with his Dragon King¡¯s physique, he should be able to withstand it. Currently, the most important objective was to quickly eliminate the harbinger of doom, Jia Si Ke Li Duo. I shouted, ¡°Quickly, combine our powers to eliminate him.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Sky God¡¯s horn. My horn¡¯s roar will pierce through the nine heavens.¡± The white Sky God¡¯s horn was raised towards the sky, emitting faint white rays that blocked the north. Xin Ao said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Titan God¡¯s hammer. I will shake the heavens and move the earth to protect the righteous path¡± Numerous unknown runes carved onto yellow Titan God¡¯s hammer, making the tyrannical God power to block the west. Gao De said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Lightning God¡¯s shield. Even ten thousand blades shall not stop me.¡±A red Lightning God¡¯s shield¡¯s red ray intensified, blocking the east. Dong Ri said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Wind God¡¯s bow. My ethereal arrows will flash rapidly and with violence.¡± Dong Ri flew to the south, aiming his intangibile long green arrow at Jia Si Ke Li Duo. Jia Si Ke Li Duo was locked in place by the four seals coupled with their divine instrument''s aura. I floated above him and sneered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but to prevent you from causing further harm, it¡¯s inevitable that we would combine our powers to eliminate you.¡± My entire body gave off dazzling gold light that shone downwards, using the powers that I had previously absorbed from everyone. When Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s eight clones were annihilated by Xiao Jin previously, he was suffering from severe internal injuries. It was the first time that he felt that we had the power to eliminate him as the five of us relied on the our divine powers to restrain him. He frantically struggled about in fright, trying to break free from his confinement. Volume 10: Chapter 19 - The Monster Disappears Volume 10: Chapter 19 - The Monster Disappears I calmly shouted, ¡°Everyone, get ready! The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens. Attack!¡± The silvery-white Holy Sword charged downwards. Xiu Si and the rest had also activated their various divine techniques through their divine instruments. Jia Si Ke Li Duo gave out a mournful cry as he brandished his Dark Monster Blade to try his best in blocking out attacks. However, I knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand for much longer since his power was weakening. He definitely didn¡¯t have any hope of escaping under the power of the five great divine instruments. The grey aura around his body was gradually thinning and grey fluid was flowing out from his mouth. Suddenly, a figure flew over at this moment. I shot a glance over while I was busy dealing with Jia Si Ke Li Duo; it was Demon King Xiu Yu. Xiu Yu pleased, ¡°God inheritors, please have mercy. Don¡¯t kill my brother.¡± After hearing that I stunned, that was right. Currently, Jia Si Ke Li Duo possessed Demon King Satan¡¯s body. If we were to kill him, Satan would simultaneously be eliminated. If that was the case, how could Xiu Yu cooperate with us? As I thought about it, the divine power in my hand weakened. Jia Si Ke Li Duo took advantage of that moment to suddenly spray out a grey mist, instantly stopping our attacks. His body formed a grey smoke and was rapidly moving away from below. I inwardly shouted, ¡®Not good!¡¯ Since there wasn¡¯t Big Brother Zhan Hu to secure the bottom portion, there was a hole in our formation. Furthermore, Xiu Yu¡¯s previous comment had given Jia Si Ke Li Duo another chance to make his escape. Jia Si Ke Li Duo let out another mournful cry due to the five divine powers that heavily landed on the grey mist. The grey mist shrunk to one third of its original size, rapidly floating to the west. ¡°Mi Jia Jie, just you wait. After the great king returns to the world, my power will recover again. At that time, I¡¯ll come for your life¡­¡­..¡± I looked at Demon King Xiu Yu with a heavy heart, unable to say anything at the moment. Xiu Si flew to my side and said, overwhelmed with shock, ¡°That fellow is really powerful. The combined power of five of us still wasn¡¯t able to eliminate him. I¡¯m afraid that he won¡¯t be easy to be deal with in the future.¡± I heavily replied, ¡°He¡¯s only one of the Three Great Monsters under the Monster King. If the Monster King returns, what will the result be?¡± Xiu Yu embarrassedly replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I only have my older brother. I really can¡¯t bear for him to die just like that!¡± This fellow didn¡¯t pay attention to the overall picture. I initially wanted to berate him, but for the negotiations with the Demon and Beast alliance troops, I didn¡¯t have a choice, but to swallow those words. I consoled, ¡°Forget it, there¡¯ll still be other chances. I¡¯ll try my best to rescue Demon King Satan our next encounter. Let¡¯s head back.¡± I already consumed all of the divine powers that everyone had previously supplied me. A sudden wave of weakness came over me, making my body to sway. Xiu Si caught me and used his horn¡¯s power to treat my damaged meridians. I instructed Xiao Jin to head back in order to notify Big Brother Shan Yun before descending to the ground with the rest. Mu Zi and Ke Lun Duo were guarding Big Brother Zhan Hu. Mu Zi said fumingly at Xiu Yu, ¡°Uncle, you¡­¡­¡± Xiu Yu guiltily lowered his head and took out the military seal before passing it to My Zu. ¡°This is the Demon troop¡¯s military seal. I¡¯ll pass it to you now. Mu Zi, you must try to understand uncle¡¯s feelings. Satan has been possessed by the Monster race. I¡­¡­.¡± I walked over and pressed on Mu Zi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Forget it, we can¡¯t blame His Highness Xiu Yu for this. Your Highness, you should now believe that the Monster race¡¯s existence is true, right?¡± After this commotion, it was already impossible for Xiu Yu not to believe it so he just silently nodded. I told Mu Zi, ¡°Mu Zi, you should return the military seal to His Highness. We¡¯ll need to depend on His Highness to command the general situation of the troops.¡± Xiu Yu raised his head, stunned, as he said, ¡°You still trust me?¡± Ke Lun Duo said smiling, ¡°His Highness is loyal to the Emperor so how could we not trust in you? There¡¯s also no candidate more suitable than you to command my race¡¯s great army.¡± Upon saying that, Ke Lun Duo gave me a respectful expression. Xiu Yu took the military seal from Mu Zi before replying lamentingly, ¡°The current world is you youngsters¡¯ era. I¡¯ve really aged. After this is over, I¡¯ll ask His Majesty to let me retire and return home. It¡¯s all up to you whether to fight or reconcile. Let¡¯s return to the main camp to discuss.¡± Ke Lun Duo looked at the ruins behind Xiu Yu before replying in smiles, ¡°The main camp has already become an empty field. We should find another place instead.¡± Xiu Yu then responded, with his old face¡¯s flushed, he shouted, ¡°Servants, clean up the mess and set up a large tent. Also, someone is to head to the Beastmen¡¯s side to invite the Beamon King over.¡± A domineering voice voiced out, ¡°Don¡¯t bother. Your place was so lively. Can I not join in?¡± An enormous black figure blocked the sky¡¯s star light. I turned my head back and really caught a scare. The person before me, ah! I couldn¡¯t say he was human, but should be from the Beast race. He was at least 5 meters tall, and his entire body was covered with thick armour, exposing only his arms and head. His giant arms were sparsely filled with green fur and his cyclops eye was constantly giving off fierce gazes. The first half of his head was bald, and back half had his remaining yellow hair tied back. His body¡¯s ancient copper-like skin was emitting golden light. I dare to say that his finger was as thick as my arm. There was also an enormous wolf tooth club in his hand at least 3 meters long. The thickest portion of it was wider than 50 cm. I couldn¡¯t guess how heavy it was, but clenched in his hand, it seemed non existent, without giving off any signs of difficulty. Xiu Yu hastily greeted him. ¡°Ah! Old Brother Beamon has come. Perfect, let¡¯s head to the camp to discuss.¡± The cyclops eye of the Beamon King blinked before he replied, ¡°Forget it, your tent is too depressing. Let¡¯s just discuss it here. What happened? There seemed to have previously been fireworks in the sky. I thought that you were celebrating something.¡± Xiu Yu smiled bitterly, ¡°What celebration would there be? It¡¯s hard to say with just a few words.¡± Upon saying that, he shifted his gaze at me and after seeing that I had nodded, he continued, ¡°Let¡¯s chat here then. Servants, bring a large table and some chairs over. Order the troops to return to their camp to rest up. No one is to be in the 500m perimeter of the main tent without my command.¡± ¡­¡­ The night air tonight was exceptionally refreshing as everyone sat at the table in the battle-worn ground. The three different powers in my body had recovered a little already. The damaged meridians had been mostly repaired by Xiu Si¡¯s treatment. Big Brother Zhan Hu dispiritedly leaned on a chair. Since the Beamon King was really too gigantic, he could only sit on the floor. Xiu Yu pointed at us and said, ¡°Old Brother Beamon, I shall give you an introduction. This is my Holy Radiant Empire¡¯s princess, His Majesty¡¯s first successor-in-line. This is the Beast race¡¯s top warrior, the elder of the Beamon race, Sen Si Beamon.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 20 - The Beamons War Volume 10: Chapter 20 - The Beamon''s War Traces of animosity could be seen from the Beamon King¡¯s eyes before he said politely, ¡°So it¡¯s the Royal princess. I give you my greetings. His Royal Highness Demon Emperor is someone that I admire the most. It has been sometime since I saw that old man.¡± Mu Zi half raised from her chair before she replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous. Father told me that the most powerful expert in this continent in regards to power is you and that he was far inferior when compared with you.¡± Beast men mind set were rather simple with this praises from Mu Zi, he broke into laughters. ¡°Princess, you¡¯ve overexaggerated. What¡¯s your purpose for coming to the front lines?¡± Xiu Yu said, ¡°Sigh¡­.It¡¯s like this, do you still remember the legends from a few thousand years ago?¡± Beamon King contemplated before replying, ¡°Are you referring to the great war between the Gods and Monsters?¡± Xiu Yu nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The princess¡¯s motive in coming here is to negotiate with the Human race.¡± When the Beamon King heard that, he leapt to his feet and hollered, ¡°Negotiation? What¡¯s there to negotiate? We definitely won¡¯t negotiate with the Human race. Our Valiant Mist Empire had spent an extremely long time to prepare for this battle. You want to have a strong start but finish weak? I won¡¯t agree to it.¡± Xiu Yu frowned and said, ¡°Old brother, please take your seat and listen to what I¡¯ve to say.¡± After seeing the Beamon King, who was filled with anger took his seat, Xiu Yu continued, ¡°Our Holy Light Empire¡¯s preparation time for the war wasn¡¯t any lesser than yours. It was the Demon Emperor who ordered for the negotiation. The Monster race from few thousand years ago is reemerging. All of our races must work together to fight against them. If not, there maybe a risk for the races¡¯ extinction.¡± The Beamon King stunned before replying, ¡°Monster race? The Monster race really exists?¡± Xiu Yu replied, ¡°I¡¯ll introduce to few more of my guest. You should recognize Ke Lun Duo so I won¡¯t be introducing him. This few others are from the human race. They are also God¡¯s inheritor. They are currently mediating in the negotiations. The previous fireworks that you thought you saw in the sky was actually due to them fighting against the Monster race. They were able to remedy the Monster¡¯s invasion, using their divine instrument¡¯s power. If it not for them, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see me now.¡± The Beamon King queried, ¡°There are really Gods and Monsters? The previous power that was transmitted over was indeed extremely powerful. I could vaguely feel it even from a far distance from this place. From what you said, your Demon race will really be going to negotiate with the Human race. Big Brother Xiu Yu, you must think this through carefully.¡± Xiu Yu replied in smiles, ¡°After that commotion, I¡¯ve already made up my mind. Moreover, this is the Demon Emperor¡¯s decision. It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t trust His Majesty¡¯s wisdom?¡± The Beamon King replied, ¡°I believe in the Demon Emperor, but is the Monster race that powerful? What¡¯s there to fear about them? I¡¯ll kill every single one of them when they come. Let¡¯s eliminate the Human race before we continue to discuss this matter.¡± Gao De coldly snorted, ¡°Just by yourself, you think that you can suppress the Monster race?¡± The Beamon King fumed. ¡°You dared to belittle me, who is the top warrior of the Beamon race? I want to challenge you to a battle. If you can triumph against me, I¡¯ll accept your suggestion.¡± Just as Gao De wanted to reply him, he was intercepted by Xin Ao as he said, ¡°You want to compete? My Titan hammer should be a match to your wolf tooth club so I shall compete against you instead.¡± He was worried that Gao De lightning god¡¯s shield wouldn''t be able to withstand the Beamon King¡¯s offensive power. Currently, Xin Ao was really the only one most compatible to fight against the Beamon King. Xiu Si and I didn¡¯t have any intentions in stopping the fight as to convince the Beast race, which admired strength, it would be the most efficient to use force rather than facts. However, the only thing that I was worried about was whether Xin Ao was really a match for the Beamon King. The Beamon King yelled out, ¡°Alright, we can conveniently use this cleared space to battle. You can choose to solo fight or group fight me. You just have to defeat me, in order for me to accept your God¡¯s inheritor identity.¡± He was really an unreasonable fellow. If Big Brother Zhan Hu wasn¡¯t hurt, he surely had the capacity in defeating him. Xin Ao was slightly weaker than him. Thinking about that, I walked to Xin Ao¡¯s side and placed my arm on his shoulder. ¡°Beamon King, if you can defeat Big Brother Xin Ao, you can deal with us in whatever way you want.¡± As I said that, I was similarly inserting the powers that I had just gathered into Holy Sword¡¯s power into Xin Ao¡¯s body. Xin Ao looked at me before saying, ¡°I¡¯m the weakest one among the group. However, it is sufficient for me to defeat Beamon.¡± With my Holy Sword power¡¯s assistance, Xin Ao was momentarily filled with confidence. Xiu Yu said helplessly, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, alright. The rest are to leave the perimeters of the fighting ring. Dong Ri supported me, while Xiu Si supported Zhan Hu. After everyone left the area, the Beamon King and Xiu Si were the only once at the original main camp position. The Beamon King surged out an unprecedented imposing aura through his wolf tooth club. His battle spirit roused the dust and sand from the surrounding ground and his muscles bulged up, his joints giving off cracking sounds. Xin Ao immediately focused his sight on him before whispering his chant, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Titan God¡¯s hammer. I will shake the heavens and move the earth to protect the righteous path.¡± A Titan God¡¯s hammer appeared before Xin Ao, carrying an intense faint yellow light with it. After Xin Ao grabbed on it, his body surged out the similar faint yellow battle spirit. When the Beamon King saw the Titan God¡¯s hammer that Xin Ao had summoned from space, he was startled by it. His battle spirit became slightly weaker under the divine aura enveloping him. He asked Xin Ao, ¡°What¡¯s that? It seems to be somewhat powerful.¡± Xin Ao replied resolutely, ¡°This is the divine instrument that the God King has bestowed upon me. This was the weapon that the Titan God held that year. I shall let you be enlightened as to see who will be the real representation of power today.¡± Greed was expressed by the Beamon King¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you lose, give it to me. How about that?¡± Xin Ao knew that the Beamon King had taken a fancy on his weapon. He snappily said, ¡°If you win, we shall discuss it.¡± Upon saying that, he tossed the Titan God¡¯s hammer up into the sky. The enormous hammer suddenly expanded to three times its original size in mid air. It wasn¡¯t any weaker than the Beamon King¡¯s wolf tooth club. When Xin Ao¡¯s hand separated, he hollered, ¡°Watch my hammer.¡± The Titan God¡¯s hammer smashed towards the Beamon King under Xin Ao¡¯s control. The Beamon King didn¡¯t dare underestimate him. He used both of his both hands to hold the wolf tooth club at his side and charged towards the enormous hammer as though he was flying towards it. While he swung his wolf tooth club, he yelled, ¡°Break!¡± When the Titan God¡¯s hammer collided with the wolf tooth club, it gave off an extremely loud metallic crash. Even though the Beamon King was able to counter the Titan God¡¯s attack, he was forced to leap five steps back; in each step, it left a deep 30 cm depth feet imprint on the ground. Xin Ao face was a little flushed, while he controlled the Titan God¡¯s hammer. With this first contact, he came out advantageous. Zhan Hu asked me in awe, ¡°When did Xin Ao become so powerful? With my power, I can¡¯t be confident enough to say that I would be unscathed when fighting head on with the Beamon king? His power is even slightly beyond that fellows?¡± Volume 10: Chapter 21 - The Magic Beasts Retreat Volume 10: Chapter 21 - The Magic Beasts Retreat I smiled and looked face to face with Xiu Si. ¡°Big brother, you just have to wait for an amazing battle to occur. Xin Ao won¡¯t lose. Even though Beamon is powerful, his mind isn¡¯t.¡± Even though Beamon was at a disadvantage, it had aroused his aggressiveness. After seeing two teeth from the wolf tooth club smashed from the impact, he let out a loud roar before once again charging towards Xin Ao. Xin Ao coldly snorted before wielding his Titan God¡¯s hammer again. Successive loud ¡®Hong!¡¯ sounds rang in everyone¡¯s ears; the two people battling were fighting head on against each other. We, the spectators, were secretly speechless while we saw their frantic power-driven, straightforward battle. A cool breeze blew, blowing up the sand and dust in the field. Beamon King used his bent wolf tooth club to support his body and was panting profusely. A trace of blood flowed out from his lips. It could be seen that he had internal injuries. Xin Ao was in a slightly better state. With the Titan God¡¯s hammer that was even taller than him in his hand and dishevelled clothes, he was also panting profusely while he stared unyieldingly at the Beamon King. The Beamon King hollered, ¡°That¡¯s satisfying! Really satisfying! It has been sometime since I had such a fun battle.¡± Xin Ao chuckled. ¡°Do you want to go at it again?¡± The Beamon King replied, ¡°I¡¯ve had enough. I can¡¯t triumph against you. However, I¡¯m not convinced in my defeat. You had relied on that hammer in your hand to defeat me. If there¡¯s an opportunity in the future, I¡¯ll possess a better weapon before challenging you again.¡± Xin Ao replied straightforwardly. ¡°I agree that my weapon indeed has an advantage against you. You¡¯re actually far stronger when compared to me without it. How about this? Let¡¯s call it a draw.¡± Seeing his opponent giving him face, Beamon King made a hastened descent from the battle stage. ¡°Alright! I recognise you as my brother. If you need me for anything in the future, you just have to tell me.¡± We were exceptionally surprised when we saw such a peaceful closure. Xiu Si whispered to me, ¡°Who said that the Beast men have low intelligence? Just look at that fellow¡¯s wit, he knows that he can¡¯t defeat Xin Ao so he hastily got off the stage and even recognised Xin Ao, a god¡¯s inheritor, as his brother. Not only will it not damage his fame for fighting prowess, it further increases his prestige among the Demon and Beast races.¡± I nodded slightly. ¡°That fellow is indeed powerful. He¡¯s the most powerful person, excluding the Demon Emperor, in the Beast and Demon alliance. If he were to be placed in the battle field, it will be unknown on the extent of losses our Human race will receive. Judging from his power, it¡¯s not guaranteed that the five elders would be able to deal with him.¡± The Beamon King and Xin Ao walked over. The Beamon King said frankly and straightforward, ¡°Old brother, I¡¯ll completely listen to you on the matters here. However, I¡¯ll have to discuss about the negotiation with my Master. I can¡¯t make such decision by myself.¡± Mu Zi said, in smiles, ¡°Uncle Beamon, I think that it¡¯s not necessary to discuss this matter. When I left the Demon City, my royal father had already dispatched envoys to notify your Beast¡¯s emperor. It¡¯s just that this news hasn¡¯t reached your ears yet.¡± The Beamon King was stunned a moment before turning around to replied, ¡°Alright, since that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing more that I can add. We¡¯ll be great friends from now on. Let¡¯s leave the matter for now. I¡¯ll head back to my camp. That¡¯s right, brother, what¡¯s your name?¡± Xin Ao smiled as he replied, ¡°Big Brother Beamon, just call me Xin Ao from now on, that¡¯s what my friends call me.¡± The Beamon King replied, ¡°En! My good brother, when you have the time, you can come and visit our Beast men¡¯s camp. I¡¯ll treat you well when that time comes. Fellow God¡¯s inheritor, Princess and Big Brother Xiu Yu, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± We bid farewell to this enormous weird beast. While his back gradually faded, Xin Ao suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Xiu Si immediately went to support him. ¡°How are you? Are you alright?¡± Xin Ao shook his head. ¡°That guy is too powerful. If it isn¡¯t for Zhang Gong¡¯s power that enabled me to use 60% of the Titan God¡¯s power, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold on.¡± Zhan Hu made a sudden realization. ¡°Zhang Gong, so it was you brat that who was meddling in this. I knew that Xin Ao couldn¡¯t make such an improvement in such a short time.¡± Xin Ao sighed. ¡°His power was something unprecedented to me. It¡¯s no wonder when the Her Highness Mu Zi said that the Demon Emperor is the strongest in the world. Do you know that the Titan God¡¯s hammer has an effect to triple my current power? It can be said that the Beamon King¡¯s power is three times greater compared to mine. The victory against him in this head on battle was by sheer luck.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°It seems that Zhang Gong is the only one that has the power to triumph against the Beamon King at his peak state among us.¡± I smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t say it in such a manner. There¡¯s still a possibility.¡± Zhan Hu was stunned. ¡°There¡¯s another possibility? Who could that be? I definitely wouldn¡¯t be the one.¡± I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s Dong Ri.¡± Zhan Hu exclaimed. ¡°It can¡¯t be. Dong Ri¡¯s cultivation is at most Xin Ao¡¯s level, his power should be weaker than mine. How can he defeat the Beamon King?¡± I looked at Xiu Si, who had a card up his sleeve. ¡°Big brother Xiu Si, just tell Big Brother Zhan Hu.¡± Xiu Si mockingly chidded. ¡°All you know is how to push the responsibility onto me.¡± I smiled. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one that said you wanted to be my strategist? It should be you that should be in the limelight in this kind of situation.¡± Xiu Si told Zhan Hu, ¡°You have been played by Zhang Gong. What he meant by Dong Ri to winning isn¡¯t by fighting head on with the Beamon King. By using the nature elves¡¯ agility and swift movements, in addition to the divine arrows that conquer every obstacle for the Wind God¡¯s bow, the Beamon King will only be a target. Do you think that Dong Ri will lose in this case?¡± Dong Ri said, embarrassed, ¡°Stop exaggerating.¡± Demon King Xiu Yu said, ¡°After convincing this old Beamon, the alliance here can be completely mobilized. Princess, what kind of arrangements should I make?¡± Mu Zi muttered to herself for a moment before replying, ¡°Uncle, how about this? You lead the main allied forces to retreat 15km back and construct defensive infrastructures to express that we will be sustaining for a long-term battlefront. Other than that, we¡¯ll settle the rest. Once the human leaders from the three kingdoms agree to negotiate, I¡¯ll represent our side to negotiate with them.¡± Xiu Yu frowned. ¡°Princess, isn¡¯t what you¡¯re doing too risky? I¡¯m worried for your safety.¡± Ke Lun Duo said, in smiles, ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t need to worry about that. With the protection from the six God¡¯s inheritors, it won¡¯t be a problem to get out from Str?m Fortress.¡± Xiu Yu looked respectfully at us. Xin Ao¡¯s previous display of power had further confirmed his thoughts on our cultivation, leading his trust in us to increase drastically. ¡°Alright. Fellow God¡¯s inheritors, I¡¯ll be placing Mu Zi in your hands and will have to trouble all of you to guarantee her safety.¡± I walked forth and said, ¡°Your Highness, please be reassured. Our final wish is for the world¡¯s peace and harmony. I won¡¯t ever let anyone or anything hurt Mu Zi, while I still have a breath in my body.¡± I had said that last statement with steeled determination. Volume 10: Chapter 22 - The Return to the Stronghold Volume 10: Chapter 22 - The Return to the Stronghold Seeing my resolution, Demon King Xiu Yu had a satisfied expression. Mu Zi also smiled sweetly at me. I already knew that my ¡°Insulation wall¡± (The invisible wall that insulates the flames of my heart) was already getting increasingly weaker again. I sighed inwardly before continuing to say, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to send some people to report this incident to the Demon Emperor. I¡¯ve previously agreed with the Demon Emperor in finding evidences on the Monster race¡¯s existence. The previous battle that you witnessed should be enough to prove that the Monster Race exists, right?¡± Xiu Yu nodded. ¡°It¡¯s more than sufficient. It¡¯s a pity about Satan. I¡¯ll report honestly about this to His Majesty.¡± After discussing some of the details with Xiu Yu, we bid our farewells with Xiu Yu and headed back towards Str?m Fortress, in order to prevent Big Brother Shan Yun from getting too anxious as he waits for us. These matters took up quite a lot of time as it was already daybreak. Rays from the sun started to gradually appear. Even though we were able to get the Beast and Demon alliance¡¯s cooperation, I was still unable to find myself in a good mood. We had dealt with Jia Si Ke Li Duo, whose cultivation wasn¡¯t at his full peak, with great difficulty. If the Monster King were to come personally, we would have been wiped out. In our current situation, it was a must for me to take the risk of accepting the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, in order to have sufficient strength to fight against the Monster race. Thinking about that, my mood was extremely sullen. Mu Zi flew to my side. ¡°Are you worrying about the Monster race?¡± I nodded. Mu Zi said, ¡°According to what the God King had said, we should still have about 2 more years. During that period, everyone¡¯s power will increase. You also don¡¯t need to be too worried. Don¡¯t we still have quite a lot of assistance? It¡¯s a pity today that we weren¡¯t able to eliminate the Monster that had infiltrated Uncle Satan¡¯s body. Otherwise, we will be able to eliminate one of the right-hand men of the Monster King. Please don¡¯t blame Uncle Xiu Yu for that?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t blame him as it¡¯s a natural decision. If I was him, I would have made the same choice. What assistance were you referring to?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°If everything goes well, it¡¯ll be my royal father, the dragon race, the three human kingdoms, and the allied forces from the Demon and Beast¡¯s Kingdoms. We should be able to fight against the Monster King then. What do you think?¡± I sighed again. ¡°The God King wasn¡¯t able to do anything about the Monster King. Even though we are only dealing with his clone, the real experts that we can utilise is really insufficient. You should also know that my light magic and divine power is the most effective killing force against the Monster race. I have calculated that there¡¯s only about 20 people that can fight against Jia Si Ke Li Duo. Do you think I still shouldn¡¯t be worried?¡± Mu Zi sighed. ¡°Your worries are right so we must hastily settle with the negotiation before we find a place to settle into. We should undergo closed door training for at least a year to improve all of our powers. It¡¯s a shame that I can¡¯t learn light magic. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely be able to help you.¡± Seeing her caring so much about me, I couldn¡¯t bear, but say, ¡°I don¡¯t need your help. You just have to protect yourself.¡± After saying that, I had instantly regretted. As expected, after Mu Zi heard me say that, she moved close to me after a light flashed in her eyes before saying gently, ¡°I will. Didn¡¯t you give me a mage¡¯s robe? I still couldn¡¯t bear to wear it.¡± The words that came out like water that had spilled and couldn¡¯t be taken back. I could only silently accept Mu Zi¡¯s feelings. Finally, we rushed towards the place that we had previously appointed with Shan Yun before dawn fully arrived. The Earth Dragon Squad was already no longer in view. There was only Big Brother Shan Yun and his aide-de-camp. When Shan Yun saw us, he asked anxiously, ¡°Why did you take so long? I was worried. Is everything alright?¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°Second brother, sorry for making you anxious. It can be counted as it being alright. Take a look, aren¡¯t we all back safely? Cough! Cough!¡± ¡°Third brother, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just suffered slight injuries. Xiu Si had already treated me so it isn¡¯t serious.¡± Shan Yun asked curiously, ¡°The fireworks at the Demon¡¯s main camp wasn¡¯t from you?¡± After hearing his query, Zhan Hu chuckled bitterly. ¡°What fireworks? We were in a life and death battle. I was nearly unable to come back to meet up with you.¡± ¡°What on earth happened? I thought those were fireworks from the Demons to welcome the princess.¡± I looked at the sky before saying, ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, it¡¯s almost dawn. Let¡¯s chat while we head back.¡± Shan Yun responded. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s head back. When the patrol was over, I had already made my subordinates to head back first. You must also be tired. Let¡¯s head back before continuing our discussion.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡°So many things had transpired. It¡¯s no longer a wonder on why you¡¯re came back late.¡± We were finally back at the prince¡¯s interim manor. I was extremely tired after a night of stress and tension. I leaned back on the chair as I listened to Zhan Hu relishly narrate what had happened to Shan Yun and the rest. Mu Zi looked concerned for me before saying, ¡°Everyone must be tired. Let¡¯s rest up first.¡± Xiu Si smiled mysteriously. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s hastily have some food before sleeping. I¡¯m dead tired. I¡¯ve used up a lot of energy giving you guys¡¯ treatments.¡± Jian Shan said, ¡°You can rest at ease. We¡¯re here for you. I¡¯ll inform you if something happens.¡± I suddenly thought about something and asked Xiu Si, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, you previously mentioned that you brought 500 brothers with you. Where are they now?¡± Xiu Si smiled mysteriously again and whispered into my ear, ¡°They are already camouflaged as peddlers to infiltrate into the Str?m Fortress already. You can be reassured. I¡¯ve a planned signal with them. If anything happens, we¡¯ll be able to swiftly gather them.¡± I said, in smiles, and said yawning ¡°How can I be worried from the way you do things? I¡¯m heading to bed. I¡¯m so tired.¡± Shan Yun said, ¡°You should have some food first.¡± ¡­¡­ The sun¡¯s rays were so bright that I turned my body and used a blanket to cover my head to carry on dreaming. Suddenly, the door was knocked. ¡®Who is that being so noisy?¡¯ I said snappily, ¡°The door isn¡¯t locked. Who is it? Just come in.¡± The door opened. ¡®It should be Xiu Si and the rest. Forget it, sleep comes first.¡¯ Someone sat directly at the side of my bed. ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you? You¡¯ve slept for an entire day. Why aren¡¯t you up? Do you have any discomforts?¡± The voice was gentle and familiar. My mind suddenly became lucid. It was Mu Zi¡¯s. As she asked, her small and delicate hand caressed my face, making me feel so comfortable. I immediately got up from my groggy state and hastily sat up. I grabbed onto her hand. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Mu Zi complained, displeased, ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here? You¡¯ve slept for an entire day. I was worried about you.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 23 - Who is the Rice Bucket? Volume 10: Chapter 23 - Who is the Rice Bucket? I said awkwardly, ¡°Can you get out first? I¡¯m getting up now.¡± Mu Zi stared wordlessly at me with hidden bitterness, giving me a fright. I tested the water by asking, ¡°Can you go out first? I¡¯ll immediately get up.¡± Mu Zi pouted. ¡°I want to service you in helping you get dressed. How about that?¡± After her words fell, I quick wittedly jumped out of bed. After looking at my body, I felt much relaxed as I was still wearing my underwear. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing. Mu Zi, who had saw my looks, smiled and said gently, ¡°Zhang Gong, behave and allow me to help you with your clothes.¡± After she said that, she brought my clothes from the side and walked towards me. Perspiration flowed down from the hair at my temples. I replied stuttering, ¡°No...No need.¡± However, Mu Zi had already walked over. I stood there blankly as she dressed me. After finally being dressed, I looked as though I had ran 10 kilometers; my entire face was covered with perspiration. Mu Zi used her sleeve to wipe the perspiration off my face as she warmly said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head out to eat. Everyone is waiting for you.¡± I cried out involuntarily, ¡°What? They know that you have come to get me?¡± After taking so much time, it was impossible for them not to think strange thoughts. Mu Zi chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? They already know our relationship.¡± As I perspired, how could I be not scared? ¡°This kind of thing will damage your reputation.¡± Mu Zi said, stunned, ¡°Why should I be worried about my reputation when I¡¯m with you? My reputation is all yours. Shouldn¡¯t we be going? You scared about their idle chatter, but you¡¯re here delaying.¡± I hastily replied, ¡°Then let¡¯s be on our way, little miss.¡± Mu Zi knew that she had won this battle so she complacently dragged me out from my room towards the lounge. Mu Zi and I were the last to arrive, just as expected. Everyone looked at us dubiously. I smiled wryly as I said, ¡°I¡¯ve made my brothers wait for so long time. I previously¡­¡­¡± Zhan Hu interrupted me as he laughed, ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯re brothers so there¡¯s no need for explanation. We understand.¡± Faint, what did he understand, my poor innocence, were you going to go just like that? Mu Zi didn¡¯t help me as she pulled me stylishly to my seat. Xiu Si said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you really can sleep as you slept for an entire day. If it wasn¡¯t for Princess Mu Zi to wake you up, I still don¡¯t know how much longer you¡¯d sleep. The Demon-Beast alliance had already commenced our plan to retreat 15 km back. Currently, the tension at the Str?m Fortress has become lighter.¡± Shan Yun said, ¡°After the Demon-Beast alliance army retreated, I had discussed with the other two kingdom¡¯s commanders. Dun Yu Xi from your Aixia was really powerful. He already had some suspicions on the fireworks last night. Luckily, he saw it at quite a distance, but was able to point out that it was light magic.¡± I pondered. ¡°The current situation is beneficial to us. After we wait for the prince to return and after your Xiuda¡¯s emperor agree in negotiating, everything can start smoothly. All we can do now is wait, so everyone should use this time to train. After fighting with the Monster race that day, I currently still feel discouraged. The Monster race¡¯s power is much more terrifying than what we previously imagined. If we aren¡¯t careful, we might sink into extinction.¡± Zhan Hu agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right, it seems that it¡¯s impossible not to play with my life. After that attack from Satan I have to recuperate for a few days. My initial confidence is shattered. We indeed have a gap in power with those old monsters. I could only use about 30% of the War God¡¯s armour. However, after trying the training method that Zhang Gong has given me, there really is room for improvement. I¡¯ve already started studying those methods with our brothers.¡± I rubbed my stomach. ¡°The princess has previously told me that you had called me here for food. Where¡¯s the meal? Brothers, your brother will soon be unable to stand it.¡± Shan Yun smiled. ¡°We¡¯ve already prepared it. Just waiting for you to comment on it.¡± After hearing Shan Yun¡¯s words, the crowd started to laugh. I whispered to Shan Yun, ¡°Did you prepare more food? My appetite¡­.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°Relax, I know you can eat so I¡¯ve ordered plenty. It¡¯ll be sufficient for all of us to share.¡± What did you say about me being able to eat when there was someone that had a stronger appetite than me? I sneaked a peek at Mu Zi and looked at her eagerness in getting her meal. I thought, ¡®You all just have to wait. The one that can really eat is not me. I was nearly bankrupt for dealing with Mu Zi¡¯s meal when I was still at the academy.¡± Big Brother Shan Yun indeed prepared sumptuously. The table was covered with food with all different shapes and colours. Even though the food looked slightly crude, it was definitely much better than the meals at the Demon race. The resources of the three human kingdoms were really enriched so the Str?m Fortress didn¡¯t need to fret about food and water. It was convenient to decrease the provisions from the various Kingdoms¡¯ state treasury so that they could get replaced with new reserves. The dishes¡¯ scent made my stomach growl. I said to Shan Yun, ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, can you get something for Xiao Jin as well? That fellow is also a glutton.¡± Shan Yun replied, ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary as the entire Str?m Fortress knows that there¡¯s a weird creature that flies all over the place. He flew out to find his own food.¡± I chuckled and looked at everyone. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s dig in.¡± Upon saying that, I unceremoniously began to ate the food. I didn¡¯t need to see who would be the second to dig in as I knew it would be Mu Zi. Her delicate arm, carrying along a sweet scent, headed towards the delicacies on the table. Zhan Hu cried out, ¡°Everyone quickly dig in. If not, there won¡¯t be any left for us.¡± Under his instigation, a merciless food battle began. The cavalry from Xiuda also become a round table calvary. However, they realised that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn¡¯t beat the speed of Mu Zi or myself. At least half of the entire table''s food had entered our stomachs. While I ate, I said indistinctly to Shan Yun, ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, can you get your subordinate to prepare two more tables of food? If not, there really isn¡¯t enough to eat.¡± Shan Yun only ate extremely little as he sat too close to me. He rarely was able to get the food he wanted. He smiled as he said, ¡°You only went without food for a day. Why have you turned into such a state? Servants, prepare two more portions of food.¡± After we started on the second table, everyone¡¯s speed obviously decreased. Shan Yun was definitely able to eat. After the second table had diminished, everyone, excluding Mu Zi and I, had patted their stomach, elated from having their fill. Everyone¡¯s attentions had focused on Mu Zi, who was not highly thought of initially. Ke Lun Duo whispered to her, ¡°Princess, don¡¯t you think that you should pay more attention to your bearings?¡± Volume 10: Chapter 24 - Hopeful Peace Talks Volume 10: Chapter 24 - Hopeful Peace Talks Mu Zi grabbed onto an unknown animal¡¯s leg. ¡°Why should I take note of my bearings? Everyone here is Zhang Gong¡¯s friend, so they¡¯re my friend as well. Why should I take note then? It has already been such a long time since I¡¯ve had my fill.¡± Xiu Si said to Dong Ri. ¡°How about we make a bet to see who will be the one that will eat the most?¡± His words instantly aroused Dong Ri¡¯s interest. Dong Ri said, in smiles, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make a bet for everyone to guess who will be the last one standing.¡± ¡°My guess will definitely be Zhang Gong.¡± ¡°It might not be. I see that Princess Mu Zi has great potential.¡± ¡­¡­ Finally, Xiu Si said, ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll be the banker. Those that bet on Zhang Gong will receive a 1:1 payment while Mu Zi is 1:2 payment. Everyone place your bets.¡± ¡°I place 10 diamond coins on Zhang Gong.¡± ¡°I place 20 diamond coins on Zhang Gong.¡± I was a guy after all. I innately had an advantage and was well known as the ¡°white rice bucket¡± so mostly everyone placed their bet on me. While I ate the food from the third table, I asked, ¡°Can I place a bet too?¡± Xiu Si smiled. ¡°You just have to eat. Don¡¯t disappoint the crowd. What do you mean you want to place a bet? We¡¯re afraid that you will go easy on her.¡± I replied, feeling wronged, ¡°I promise on my honor that I won¡¯t go easy in this battle and eat till I¡¯ve had my fill.¡± Xiu Si replied, ¡°You can place a bet as well. However, it will be a 1: 0.5 payment.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I took out a top-grade green diamond from my space pocket and tossed it out. ¡°I bet on Princess Mu Zi to win.¡± Everyone that had placed their bet on me were dumbfounded. Ke Lun Duo wanted to remove his bet as they understood that I had been with Mu Zi for the longest period of time. Under the situation that I don¡¯t cheat, my decisions were always concluded from experience. Xiu Si protected the betted money and said, ¡°Nobody can cheat, just continue looking on. Zhang Gong might not lose.¡± I was really famished after not eating for an entire day. However, I was a human so I had a limit. After eating half of the third table¡¯s food, I was full. After forcing myself to eat a few more mouthfuls, I really couldn¡¯t eat any further and stopped. Everyone was looking at Mu Zi , who was still eating with gusto. If it wasn¡¯t for their eye sockets being so deep, a pile of eyes would have landed on the floor. Mu Zi¡¯s pace had slowed down. It was due to chewing for too long, according to her. Even though her pace slowed, she didn¡¯t have any intention of stopping and maintained her pace to eat the entire third table¡¯s food. After Mu Zi used a clean towel to wipe her hands and patted her semi-protruding stomach, everyone thought that she had her fill and heaved a sigh of relief. Just as I wanted to take the money I had won, Mu Zi said, ¡°Excuse me, is there any desserts after the meal?¡± The outcome of her question was that the tea cup in Zhan Hu¡¯s hand dropped and shattered on the ground; Xiu Si dropped all of the diamond coin that he was carrying; Shan Yun fell from his chair ; Xin Ao and Gao De were coughing unceasingly from being choked with their tea; Jian Shan spat out the tea he was drinking, which had landed on Ke Lun Duo¡¯s face. Only I, who had some preparation, was also shocked. I still staggered a little, but didn¡¯t quite fall over. Mu Zi¡¯s charming face had a faint blush as she said, displeased, ¡°Why is everyone¡¯s appetite so small? Is it really that shocking?¡± While Jian Shan wiped the tea off of Ke Lun Duo¡¯s face, he muttered, ¡°If that was just a small meal for you, when you eat to your fill, won¡¯t you consume all of the food from Str?m Fortress?¡± I took the money that I won from Xiu Si and shook my head. ¡°Alright, since we had our meal, after we digest for a while, let¡¯s do self training. We are currently racing against time.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ We had been continuously training in this period of time. Everyone had been doing their best. Using Uncle Firewood¡¯s experiences as a guide, Zhan Hu and the rest that trained in battle spirit had improved at an exceptional pace. They had already magnanimously forgave Ke Lun Duo and allowed him to train with them. Even though I didn¡¯t have a qualitative leap in power, I had reinforced the three great powers in my body; my fusion with the Holy Sword was much higher. Mu Zi was currently together with Xiao Rou, they were always by my side. My meals and daily necessities were covered by their care. I could feel the gestures of love that Mu Zi was giving me. My heart was completely focused on her. How could I not be moved by how she was treating me? Our relationship had improved in this period of time, as I was gradually starting to accept her. I no longer called her Princess, but instead started calling her Mu Zi again. She didn¡¯t pressure me at all during this period of time, so the change in my attitude towards her made her felt gratified, which resulted to her treating me extraordinary well. Xiao Rou¡¯s kind and cheeky personality was undoubtedly expressed as she surrounded me daily and took turns with Mu Zi to take care of me. Her reliance on me increased day by day. With Mu Zi¡¯s intelligence, she definitely knew about it, but she still happily accepted her, so her interaction with Xiao Rou¡¯s was extremely harmonious. After two months. ¡°Zhang Gong, Zhang Gong.¡± ¡°Big Brother Shan Yun, you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯ve got good news. My father has come back, but he directly headed to the commander¡¯s division. He told me to inform you that His Majesty has already agreed to negotiate.¡± I was elated. This was really a excellent news. ¡°That¡¯s awesome. When shall I head over to meet uncle?¡± Shun Yun smiled. ¡°Must you be in such a rush? Father is currently discussing with the other two Kingdom¡¯s commanders. He¡¯ll pass on the Emperor of Xiuda¡¯s decision to them. When it¡¯s time for your appearance, we¡¯ll notify you. You just need to be prepared.¡± ¡°Thank you, Big Brother Shan Yun.¡± Shan Yun withdrew his smile and showed a sincere expression. ¡°Zhang Gong, do you know that in the period that I¡¯ve spent with you guys is the happiest time of my life?¡± His words moved me. ¡°Me too, Big Brother Shan Yun.¡± ¡°Alright, continue training. I still have a few matters to attend to. You¡¯ll probably get accurate reports in the next two days. You should make preparations.¡± Seeing Shan Yun¡¯s fading back, I couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous, as I was going to meet Teacher Dun Yu Xi and Dalu¡¯s Marshall Feng Hao. I didn¡¯t know how they would treat me. ¡°Zhang Gong, why aren¡¯t you training? Are you slacking?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s angelic voice sounded behind me. She had already recovered her original beauty. There were often people that would fall into a daze and blush after seeing her impeccable looks, but she didn¡¯t care. I had once told her to cover up her appearance, but she said that her appearance was for me to see so that I would be unable to forget her forever. Seeing Mu Zi, gentle feelings flowed out from my heart. In smiles, I replied, ¡°I¡¯m not slacking. It¡¯s just that Big Brother Shan Yun has come and told me that the Prince has successfully convinced the Emperor of Xiuda to agree in negotiating with us. The negotiation has hope now.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 25 - Annihilating the Bandits Volume 10: Chapter 25 - Annihilating the Bandits Mu Zi said excitedly, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s amazing. Our hope has increased once again. I¡¯ll go and tell them now.¡± I nodded. ¡°You should go tell Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest for them to be prepared.¡± Mu Zi bounced away vivaciously. In this period of time, she had become increasingly lively, probably due to Xiao Rou¡¯s influence on her. After dinner, the prince and Shan Yun came back together from the Prince¡¯s interim manor. Even though the Prince seemed to have lost a lot of weight, his spirit was exceptionally high and his complexion was rosy. We had welcomed them into the lounge. ¡°Uncle, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°Haha! Zhang Gong, what does this small amount of work count for? I¡¯m willing to suffer much more, in order to make this a success. The trip to Xiuda was much smoother than expected. His Majesty had frankly agreed to the negotiation and passed me full authority. When Zi Hao Jin heard that there were five God inheritors from our Xiuda, he was proud like they were his children. He said that us humans have gotten used to peace and doesn¡¯t wish to continue fighting. It¡¯s the best choice to follow what the citizens wants. Moreover, there was God¡¯s intervention among with this matter.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°Your Highness. You will be a main contributor if this negotiation were to work. Initially, we weren¡¯t confident, but after hearing your good news, we are much more confident now.¡± The prince smiled. ¡°You¡¯re the heroes of Xiuda and humanity. You can all just call me Uncle like Zhang Gong does from now on. His Majesty has already dispatched envoys to pass his intentions to the other two kingdoms. After a short while, the other kingdoms should have gotten an order to come here. It¡¯ll be up to them whether this negotiation works. I feel that Dalu shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but the Kingdom of Aixia that is the problem. Regarding overall strength, their kingdom that has all of their citizens learn magic is the strongest among the three kingdoms.¡± Due to the prince¡¯s words, I had immediately thought about the few teachers¡¯ powerful magic prowess before nodding in agreement. ¡°If there¡¯s no other way, we¡¯ll use action to scare them. Uncle, we¡¯ve greatly improved our powers in this period of time. It should have some use during this negotiation.¡± The prince replied, satisfied, ¡°You¡¯re such hard working youths. It¡¯ll be your era from now on. I heard from Ah Hu that you have a force in the mountains at the border of the three kingdoms.¡± Xiu Si glared at Zhan Hu. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re only just a small troop with a few thousand small teams.¡± The prince smiled. ¡°In the news that I had received that isn¡¯t the case. Recently, the small teams that you said have already eliminated all of the bandits on the borders of the all three kingdoms. There is over ten thousand of them. Your ¡®small troop¡¯s¡¯ fighting power is a little too strong. Their current movements in clearing up the borders has brought them into the eyes of the three kingdoms, even though they have made a huge contribution to the citizens in the various kingdoms.¡± Xiu Si and I looked at each other. Actually, we already received that news.Currently, our forces had covered the enter area that wasn¡¯t maintained by the three kingdoms. In the letter that the five great elders had written, they said that they had annihilated the bandits in the surrounding to increase their powers. They had completely obliterated those bandits that had greatly jeopardised the lives of citizens, while those that had small wrongdoings were forced to surrender. They were currently giving those people intense training in hopes that they could be sent out for battle in the short period of time remaining. The total age of the five elders had surpassed 400, so Xiu Si and I were reassured about them taking charge. Even if we were attacked by the main army, we wouldn¡¯t be afraid. In the reply that Xiu Si had given to the five elders, it had some suggestions. For example, due to the troops¡¯ disorganization, in order to supervise, we would definitely have to send some of our people back. This was only a few days back. Yet, it was beyond our expectation that the prince¡¯s information gathering was that effective. I clenched my teeth before calmly saying, ¡°So what if the three kingdoms has placed their focus on us? I don¡¯t want to lie to you. We had established a town in the surrounding mountains, where the three kingdoms intersect, as our town¡¯s walls. Our main forces are there. We¡¯ve seen the strength of the Monster race. If I don¡¯t have a force that I can command as though they were my arms and legs, how can we fight against the Monster race?¡± After the prince heard my words, he frowned. ¡°Even if that is the case, I hope that you don¡¯t act too ostentatiously. If you arouse the three kingdoms¡¯ encirclement and annihilation, it wouldn¡¯t be good.¡± I looked at Zhan Hu, who was silently looking downwards, before refuting, ¡°We don¡¯t have any animosity to the three kingdoms. Our sole enemy is the Monster King. If the three kingdoms can¡¯t accept that and attack us, the one that is at the losing end will be you guys. I¡¯ll tell you this fact. At our base, under the leadership of the five elders, they possesses the Sword saint power.¡± The prince was shocked. ¡°Sword Saint?¡± Sword Saints and War Gods were something that every citizen from the Kingdom of Xiuda, who respected martial strength, wished to become. The prince naturally knew what a Sword Saint meant. I continued, ¡°So, I hope that you¡¯ll support us in this case. Regarding how we will be after the elimination of the Monster race, we¡¯ll have to wait and see when that time comes. Perhaps, there aren¡¯t many of us that will survive the ordeal.¡± Saying that, I was a little mournful. To all the brothers that follow us, as long as I have a breath, I definitely wouldn¡¯t allow the Monster race to easily harm you. The prince gradually calmed. ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t misunderstand. Our Xiuda doesn¡¯t have any ill intention towards you. If you need anything, we can also help to replenish your forces regarding the logistics aspect. Before I returned here, His Majesty warned me repeatedly to ally with you as a prevention for unnecessary suspicions.¡± As expected of a politician, after knowing our tyrannical power, he immediately changed his attitude. But my previous good nature towards the prince had slightly diminished. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t worry. We have a mission to protect the world''s peace and harmony, so we are definitely your ally. To us, all creatures, be it the Demon race, Beast race, Nature Elves, Dwarves, Humans and other races, are our ally. The only enemy we have is that fellow, who is planning to disrupt the peace and harmony. As for the supplements, we have our own means so we won¡¯t need to trouble you for that.¡± The increase in power had given me confidence. No matter what, we were currently a over ten thousand squads strong. I really didn¡¯t need them to supplement us, as for every gem that I sold at random could sustain us for a while. Moreover, currently, we were constructing a self-sufficient system at our base. If that were to succeed, it would be sufficient to provide for our people. Volume 10: Chapter 26 - Pledge of Undying Love Volume 10: Chapter 26 - Pledge of Undying Love The Prince chuckled awkwardly. ¡°I can be rest assured in that case. Do you want to accompany me in meeting with the other two commanders tomorrow? Even though they don¡¯t have any orders from their kingdom, it will be better for you to explain the circumstances to them.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem as it¡¯s my responsibility. We¡¯ll head there with you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t disturb your rest any further.¡± Everyone stood up to see off the prince. ¡°Zhan Hu, how could you tell your father about our matters? If it didn¡¯t go well, it might have ruined the base that we have been bitterly constructing. Do you understand? How can you be so irresponsible?¡± Xiu Si, who had never fumed, angered after sending the prince off. Zhan Hu looked helplessly at me before muttering, ¡°I...I just blurted it out. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I held Xiu Si back. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about it. Big Brother Xiu Si, Big Brother Zhan Hu also doesn¡¯t wish for any mishaps. They will also find that out sooner or later.¡± Xiu Si sighed. ¡°Zhan Hu, I might have said it too harshly, but we are currently at a critical juncture so we can¡¯t make even the slightest mistake. If there¡¯s a mistake that were to happen, not only will we be finished, there won¡¯t be any forces in the world left that can mediate in integrating the various races to deal with the Monster King.¡± I patted Zhan Hu, whose face was covered with perspiration. ¡°What Big Brother Xiu Si said is right. Big Brother, you must pay more attention in the future. Even though the Prince and the rest are the close with you, when we are dealing with the fate of the world, we mustn¡¯t be careless. Xiu Si also meant well. It definitely wasn¡¯t personal.¡± Zhan Hu sheepishly replied, ¡°I know that I¡¯m in the wrong. Zhang Gong, I¡¯ll control my mouth from now on.¡± I smiled. ¡°That¡¯s for the best. Alright, it¡¯s already very late. How about some supper? Big Brother Xiu Si, you should also stop being angry.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Mu Zi and I were strolling in the courtyard. The night was mesmerizing. The wind brought a refreshing feeling with it as it blew. Mu Zi held onto my hand. ¡°Zhang Gong, our plans finally has hope, but why are you still unhappy?¡± I smiled. ¡°This is only part of our plans. Even if it¡¯s important, it¡¯s not the most crucial part. I¡¯m worried about the Monster King, as we don¡¯t know when he will suddenly appear before us. We¡¯re in the open, while he¡¯s in hiding. Even while I''m at my best, when I try imaging his strength, I get a sense of foreboding. After these matters here are over, I want to head to a place to further improve my powers. The God King had said that only if I head there, I will then really have the power to fight against the Monster King.¡± Mu Zi asked, astonished, ¡°What place? I¡¯ve never heard this from you before.¡± ¡°Currently I can¡¯t tell you that, as I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good or bad to head there. Mu Zi, please promise me that if something was to happen to me, you must take care of yourself and find another person who will love you, alright?¡± After hearing what I said, Mu Zi¡¯s eye rim reddened. ¡°Zhang Gong, why are you still asking me such things at this point? You¡¯re the only one that can bring me joy in this world. After experiencing so many up and downs, can it be that you don¡¯t have faith in me?¡± I smiled as I shook my head before gently wiping off her tears that flowed from her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you, but it¡¯s only natural to wish her all the best when loving somebody. When everything is over and I survive, we can still be like we are now. I¡¯ll definitely take care of you for all eternity. However, it¡¯s hard to predict what happens in the future, as neither you nor I know what will happen. I don¡¯t wish for you to abandon your life¡¯s happiness for me. Do you understand? Please promise me that no matter what happens, you¡¯ll still live on happily, alright?¡± Mu Zi abruptly clung on my neck as she burst into tears. My heart was very calm because I had finally said what I had been storing in my heart. I gently hugged her waist as I let her to freely vent her feelings. It was a long time before Mu Zi gradually stopped crying. The clothes on my shoulder were soaked. I lifted her charming face and gently nudged her reddened nose as I teased her, ¡°Aiya! Mu Zi, why is your nose so red? Should I get Big Brother Xiu Si to give it a look?¡± Mu Zi pouted her small adorable mouth as she turned tears to laughter. ¡°You¡¯re detestable. You only know how to bully me.¡± I gently kissed on her forehead. ¡°How is my previous suggestion? You still haven¡¯t answered me.¡± Mu Zi, who had just stopped crying, teared again. While she hit on my shoulder, she shouted, ¡°Not good! Not Good! Ten thousand times not good!¡± I grabbed on her fist. ¡°Mu Zi, don¡¯t be like this. Why are you acting like a child? You have to face the reality, alright?¡± Feeling wronged, Mu Zi lifted her head and replied, ¡°Why? Why must you always push me away? I¡¯ll give you a clear answer. I, Mu Zi, will solely love Zhang Gong Wei for all eternity. No matter what changes you may have, as long as you¡¯re alive, I¡¯ll stay by your side to serve and take care of you forever, in order to be your most obedient and loving wife. If...If you were to die, I still won¡¯t change and chase you to the next world to continue being your wife. Please don¡¯t push me away. If you still don¡¯t want me, I¡¯ll die in front of you right now.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s firm conviction had broken through my last defence against her. I could no longer deny her overflowing feelings. I tightly embraced her and frantically kissed every part of her face before finally landing on her cherry lips. Mu Zi also gradually became passionate as I expressed my love for her, as she frantically responded to me. Luckily, we were in the courtyard and not in a room. Otherwise, I really didn¡¯t know what would happen. I reluctantly left her slightly swollen red lips after a long time. I looked deeply in her eyes. ¡°Mu Zi, I love you. I really do. My love for you has never changed. I won¡¯t avoid my feelings any longer, in order to make you the happiest girl in this world. I¡¯ll use everything within my power to protect and cherish you. Will you be my wife?¡± We calmly looked at each other. Tears were flowing down Mu Zi¡¯s face as she constantly nodded. Her translucent tears drifted through the air, creating a moving scene. ¡°I¡¯m willing. I really am. I¡¯m willing to be Zhang Gong Wei¡¯s wife through all of eternity and will never leave you.¡± The great God inheritor, Child of Light, Grand Magister Zhang Gong Wei and the Demon race¡¯s princess, Dark elemental Magister Mu Zi, had certified their love under the mesmerizing moon light on this very night as they swore to be together for their entire life. Volume 10: Chapter 27 - Freely Talking about the Situation Volume 10: Chapter 27 - Freely Talking about the Situation Morning at the three main camps. Dun Yu Xi, who was wearing a yellow mage robe, said, ¡°Marshall Feng Hao, that old fellow from Xiuda will be bringing the God inheritors in a bit. What¡¯s your opinion on this matter?¡± Even though Dun Yu Xi knew about the Monster King, he didn¡¯t know about my God Inheritor¡¯s identity. Marshall Feng Hao was tall, had a handsome appearance, and was wearing a warrior¡¯s uniform. As he looked at the strategy¡¯s map, he replied, ¡°The prince must have made some preparations on this matter. To be truthful, I also support the negotiations, but I don¡¯t know how sincere the Demon-Beast alliance is. War is really an arduous task.¡± ¡°Reporting! The prince has arrived.¡± ¡°Quickly invite him in.¡± Xiu Si, Zhan Hu, Xin Ao, Gao De, Dong Ri, Ke Lun Duo, Mu Zi and I, the eight of us followed the prince into the main camp. Since I feared being recognised, Mu Zi and I came in last. The prince laughed. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll give a group introduction. This is Marshall Feng Hao from the Kingdom of Dalu and this is Aixia¡¯s Royal Mage Union¡¯s leader, Magister Dun Yu Xi.¡± Marshall Feng Hao smiled frankly. ¡°I welcome all of you. Please take a seat.¡± I could hear that he hadn¡¯t acknowledged our identity as God¡¯s Inheritor as he didn¡¯t mention us with our identity. ¡°The prince has already told us about the matters regarding the Monster race. Magister Dun Yu Xi also has verified that the Monster race have appeared within the world. We must resist them, but do you have a solid plan for doing so?¡± Why are people, who were only slightly older, be so devious? Marshall Feng Hao had avoided the topic on negotiating and just briefly commented on resisting the Monster race. Xiu Si smiled calm and collectedly. ¡°What you asked is great. According to what we know, the Monster race is extremely powerful. If they were to appear in the world, they will create irreversible damage to all of the life forms in the world. Thus, we must make preparations for their coming from the start in order to be on standby for their coming and deliver a frontal assault. Even though I can¡¯t guarantee that we could completely eliminate or force a retreat, it¡¯s definitely possible for us to maintain minimal losses for the price in getting what we want to accomplish.¡± Upon saying that, Xiu Si intentionally paused as he looked that the two Kingdom¡¯s commanders, who were burrowing their head in contemplation. He then continued to say with confidence, ¡°As expected, if we really want to resist against the powerful Monster race, we won¡¯t be able to do it with just our own human forces alone. It¡¯s undeniable that we humans are one of the strongest races in the world. However, we aren¡¯t the strongest as the Demon and Beast races similarly possess great powers like our own. I feel that this current stalemate is completely meaningless as when the allied Demon and Beast races doesn¡¯t commence their attack, we can¡¯t attack them. This will only damage the various races¡¯ resources and military forces if this were to continue. Our Human race, Demon race and Beast race are the top three strongest forces in the world. If all three races were to be injured, the Monster King could easily lead his sinister race to successfully invade our world. If we were to reconcile with the other races now, it¡¯ll be beneficial to all of us. Otherwise, it¡¯ll lead to the races¡¯ death. Currently, we¡¯re gathering all the powers that we can get to gain the chance to resist the Monster race.¡± Mu Zi and I looked at each other as what Xiu Si said was brilliant. What he said was based on reasons and facts so they couldn¡¯t decide to ignore what we have to say. Marshall Feng Hao slightly nodded. ¡°You¡¯re extremely correct. If the Monster race is really that powerful and is in the dark, the situation we are in is really very dangerous. However, with the Demon-Beast alliance still biding their time, how can I believe that they really are sincere in negotiating?¡± Xiu Si replied, unruffled, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that as not long ago, the leader of the God inheritors has led some of the God¡¯s inheritors to personally head to the Demon race, in order to discuss on negotiating with the Demon Emperor. Under the leader¡¯s leadership, they were able to convince the Demon Emperor and got the approval for negotiating.¡± Dun Yu Xi asked, astonished, ¡°The Demon race is willing to sit down with the Human race to negotiate? It¡¯s just too impossible with their hatred towards our race.¡± Xiu Si solemnly replied, ¡°Of course, this matter isn¡¯t as easy as I¡¯ve said. The leader of the God¡¯s inheritors has personally fought against the Demon Emperor. Finally, using the powers that were bestowed by the God, he was able to get a draw from the Demon Emperor, who had rode his Dark Dragon. We were then able to gain the Emperor¡¯s respect, allowing us to earn the opportunity to negotiate.The negotiation came with a severe price to convince the Demon Emperor to agree to reconciles. That God Inheritor has also suffered severe injuries, which resulted to the disfiguration of his original handsome looks.¡± The modulation of the tone by Xiu Si was extremely touching in that short speech. This fellow was really good at lying. I had completely lost, but when he said I had tied with the Demon Emperor, his complexion didn¡¯t redden, nor was he gasping. This was the first time that I knew how skillful Big Brother Xiu Si was. After hearing what Xiu Si said, the three Kingdom¡¯s commanders, including the prince that didn¡¯t know about this, simultaneously became frightened. The Demon Emperor in their heart was unbeatable. It was exceptionally shocking now that they know that there is someone from the Human race that could tie with him. Feng Hao asked hastily, ¡°Where is that great God¡¯s Inheritor now? Can we see this hero now? He will forever be revered as a hero among the three human Kingdoms, just from being able to tie with the Demon Emperor, even if we were exclude the success in establishing the negotiation.¡± Xiu Si turned around and gave me an indication, using his eyes. This fellow knew how to hurry me in showing my identity. Under the condition where I didn¡¯t have any alternative choice, I slowly walked forth and bowed towards them before saying calmly, ¡°My greetings to you Marshall and Teacher Xi, do you still remember me?¡± Dun Yu Xi¡¯s body froze. ¡°You...You are?¡± I took down my conical hat that was covering my appearance as I said, in smiles, ¡°Take a good look.¡± Even though I was disfigured, my bearings and voice were already engraved in Dun Yu Xi¡¯s mind. He suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Zhang Gong! Is that you, Zhang Gong?!¡± I donned the conical hat again and slightly nodded. ¡°Teacher Xi, it¡¯s me. It has been a long time since we seen each other. How have you been?¡± Dun Yu Xi sighed after seeing my appearance. ¡°I¡¯m alright, but how did you turn out like this?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Big Brother Xiu Si just told you?¡± Dun Yu Xi paled with fright. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re that God¡¯s Inheritor that tied when fighting against the Demon Emperor, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, the God King didn¡¯t deny me and had personally bestowed me his Holy Sword, giving us the task in eliminating the Monster King. The wounds on my face were the marks left behind after fighting with the Demon Emperor.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 28 - The Marshalls Daughter Volume 10: Chapter 28 - The Marshall''s Daughter Marshall Feng Hao nudged Dun Yu Xi, who was stunned. ¡°Brother Xi, you know him?¡± Dun Yu Xi sighed. ¡°Not only do I know him, we worked together before. His teacher in my Kingdom''s Royal Intermediate Magic Academy''s principal. You should have heard of the third Magister in the world, Lao Lun Di. He was the hope of my Kingdom, who is the new generation that had trained to the Magister¡¯s realm. We originally have great expectations on him. It was a pity that after some matter, he got in a conflict with His Majesty Ke Zha. Your Dalu should have also gotten the wanted order to arrest him.¡± I said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m a wanted person for the Kingdom of Aixia, but similarly, I¡¯m also the God King¡¯s envoy. Teacher Dun Yu Xi, you can say what had happened that resulted to me being wanted.¡± I then used what I told the prince to them as to why I needed to reunite the various races and the reason why I couldn¡¯t let Mu Zi go. They constantly nodded as they heard what I was saying. I realised that I had a potential in being a go-between. After hearing my narration, Dun Yu Xi sighed. ¡°So that was the case, it seems that we were wrong about you.¡± Marshall Feng Hao smiled. ¡°God¡¯s envoy Zhang Gong, you have my respect in doing so much things for the world¡¯s peace and harmony, but for the human race¡¯s officers and soldiers, I hope that you can prove the sincerity of the Demon and Beast races in negotiating.¡± I knew that he would say that. ¡°That is easy. Everyone should know that the Beast race works for the Demon race. The successor in line for the Demon race is Princess Mu Zi, who had come to Aixia as a spy. The Demon Emperor had sent her here as a negotiator for the negotiation here. Does that prove their sincerity? Your Royal Highness, you should make your appearance.¡± Mu Zi moved to my side and slightly bowed towards them. ¡°Greetings to you, I¡¯m the Princess of the Demon race, Mu Zi Mo.¡± Dun Yu Xi knew Mu Zi. ¡°Mu Zi, is that really you? You¡¯re the Demon race¡¯s princess? This is your original motive in coming to Aixia.¡± Mu Zi replied indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m the successor of the Demon race. The purpose in coming here this time is to negotiate with the Human race. Even though our races are different, we have the same enemy now. We should unite and resist our enemies. I had come with God¡¯s envoy Zhang Gong here for that reason. I hope that we can reconcile.¡± Feng Hao sized up Mu Zi. He was worthy to be a Marshall of Dalu as he didn¡¯t lose his bearing even after seeing Mu Zi¡¯s impeccable looks. I said excitedly, ¡°Since the Demon Emperor had sent you to negotiate, it has proved his sincerity. I¡¯ll report this to my Kingdom¡¯s Emperor. Our Dalu doesn¡¯t have any interest in fighting. I personally support you in negotiating.¡± Under our cooperation, Dun Yu Xi didn¡¯t have a choice but to support us so he had expressed his intentions in waiting for his higher ups to decide in this. A familiar voice came from outside as we discussed the negotiation terms. ¡°Father! Father!¡± Everyone turned to look at that person that was barging in. I couldn¡¯t help, but be shocked when I saw her. Wasn¡¯t that the girl that I had saved from being trampled by horses? Why was she here finding her father? Who was her father? Once she entered, after seeing that there was so many people, she immediately stopped talking. Marshall Feng Hao said fumingly, ¡°This is an important place for military discussions. Who let you in?¡± The young lady lowered her head and whispered, ¡°But I¡¯ve come to find you for some matters.¡± Feng Hao said helplessly, ¡°My apologise to everyone. This is my little girl Lian Na. I feel bad for this interruption.¡± The prince said frankly, ¡°I heard that Marshall has a pretty daughter. I didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯ll be able to see her here. This is like father and daughter going into battle.¡± His words meant to be a sarcasm as Lian Na wasn¡¯t like Big Brother Shan Yun to come to battle with the army. Marshall Feng Hao replied, embarrassed, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for spoiling her since young. Lian Na, you¡¯re increasingly becoming outrageous. Why are you still not withdrawing?¡± Lian Na seemed to have not heard him and looked fixedly at me. She suddenly exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s you! Why are you here?¡± ¡°Lian Na, don¡¯t be impolite. Do you know this God¡¯s envoy?¡± Lian Na neglected her father and hastily walked before me before saying lovably, ¡°It¡¯s really you. Father, he was the one that saved me that day.¡± Mu Zi glared at me. I awkwardly replied, ¡°My greetings to Miss Lian Na. It was only a coincidence that I helped you that day. You don¡¯t have to mind it.¡± Feng Hao cupped his fists. ¡°It seems that Lord God¡¯s envoy has saved my daughter. I thank you for that.¡± He only had one daughter in his life and was his treasure. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have spoilt Lian Na to be willful. He felt much appreciated in me saving his daughter, instead of him being saved. ¡°Marshall, you do not need to be so courteous. It was really just a coincidence. Your daughter might have come to you for some matters. Let¡¯s stop the discussion here today and wait for the two kingdoms¡¯ decision to come before discussing again. We shall take our leave.¡± What I wanted to do was mostly done already so what was the use in staying here? Marshall Feng Hao replied anxiously, ¡°No! God¡¯s envoy, you can¡¯t leave now. You¡¯ve saved my daughter. How can I not repay your favour? Please stay here for a meal today.¡± Mu Zi pinched in the back. It was obvious she didn¡¯t agree for me to stay here. How could I not listen to Mu Zi? I politely rejected the Marshall¡¯s kind intentions, but he expressed a resolution that wasn¡¯t showed previously. He forcefully pulled me along to have a meal with him, no matter what I said. Since I didn¡¯t have a choice, I could only agree. Xiu Si and the rest had found their excuses to leave first. Those fellows were so heartless. Mu Zi definitely wouldn¡¯t leave as she wanted to watch me, while Ke Lun Duo had to protect her so the three of us were left. The meal was extremely sumptuous. There were the prince, Marshall, Dun Yu Xi, cheeky little Miss Lian Na and the three of us at the table. Lian Na was extremely enthusiastic as she kept getting dishes for me. Mu Zi, who usually had great appetite, was quiet today and ate very little. She also didn¡¯t look at me, making me to be at a loss of what to do. The meal with Marshall Feng Hao and his passionate daughter passed with great difficulty. Lian Na had shown me an uncovered good feelings towards me. She unexpectedly didn¡¯t care, even after I showed my scarred filled face. She still said that I was a hero to be able to able to withdraw after fighting against the Demon Emperor. I knew that she blindly revered me from her words. Power was the key in this world. Even though I was ugly, my exceptional power had overwhelmed the fact that I was ugly. Volume 10: Chapter 29 - Dramatic Change Volume 10: Chapter 29 - Dramatic Change I realised that my undergarments were drenched after walking out from the main camp. Excessive passion could really make people uncomfortable. Mu Zi told Ke Lun Duo, ¡°Big Brother Si Wa, you can head back first. I want to have a stroll with Zhang Gong.¡± Ke Lun Duo agreed and gave me a ¡°wish you all your best¡± look before heading off. I found that Mu Zi was sulky before the meal. It should be due to Lian Na. Her angry looks were so adorable. I didn¡¯t ask her anything and just walked leisurely by her side. The afternoon sun was still intense. I realised that there was perspiration at the hair at Mu Zi¡¯s temple. I gathered some magic to cast a water spell above her head to help her block the sun. Mu Zi turned back and pouted her lips towards me. I chuckled. ¡°Are they for me to kiss?¡± Mu Zi jumped up in shock. She hastily used her hand to cover her lips and said with a flushed face, ¡°You¡¯re irritating. Tell me honestly in details on how you know that girl.¡± I replied innocently, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it earlier? I just saved her once.¡± Mu Zi snorted. ¡°Who knows if you knew each other long ago? If not, how can she be so passionate towards you?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°What I said is the truth. I¡¯m also clueless as to why they are so passionate today as I only met her once. I¡¯m already so ugly. Who will want me now, excluding you? Could it be that you¡¯re jealous?¡± Mu Zi hit me once before saying, ¡°Who¡¯s jealous? You¡¯re so annoying.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I remembered that you were really magnanimous previously to often give me to someone else. Why have you changed now?¡± Mu Zi replied with slight anger, ¡°Can¡¯t I change? You¡¯re right. I¡¯m jealous. You¡¯re forbidden to be with someone else, excluding Sister Hai Shui, from now on. Have you listened to what I said? If not, I won¡¯t forgive you.¡± I expressed a ¡°What can you do about me¡± look as I replied with a mischievous smile, ¡°How are going to not forgive me?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face blushed as she raised her head to ponder. ¡°You¡¯ll be sleeping on couches after our marriage and I won¡¯t allow you to be near me. How¡¯s that? I¡¯m powerful, right?¡± Her naive looks was really adorable. It had been such a long time since she showed such feelings towards me. I gently embraced her before replying with my feelings, ¡°You¡¯re the one I love the most in my life. Even though I¡¯ve some feelings for Hai Shui, I don¡¯t know if she will accept me with my current looks. I¡¯ll give her some time to decide. If she accepts me, I¡¯ll treat her as well as I usually do. If she¡¯s unwilling, I¡¯ll let her go. How¡¯s that? I don¡¯t have any interest with other girls. I¡¯ve got a question. Who will ever be prettier than my Mu Zi?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s body slumped. It was obvious that my words were really effective. ¡°Sister Hai Shui shouldn¡¯t be such a shallow person. She definitely will stay by your side as I am. What we love is your heart and person, not your appearance.¡± I smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s the case. We should head back now. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know what they will say.¡± Gao De teased us once we returned to the Prince¡¯s interim manor. ¡°Aiya! Our God¡¯s envoy, who is being controlled by his wife, has finally returned.¡± I mockingly scolded him, ¡°What do you mean that I¡¯m being controlled by my wife? We just went for a stroll.¡± Xin Ao also walked over. ¡°It can¡¯t be, according to the information we gathered. Quickly let me see what punishment Mu Zi had implemented on you.¡± Ke Lun Duo looked at me with innocent eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me. They forced me to tell them. I could only sacrifice you for my little life.¡± Mu Zi swatted Xin Ao¡¯s extended hand and laid in my embrace as she said gently, ¡°Who says that our Zhang Gong is being controlled by his wife? You shouldn¡¯t make irresponsible comments. Previously, I went with him as he lectured me. It was my bad to be impolite during the previous lunch. Everyone, please forgive me.¡± Not only did they feel astonished after hearing her declaration, it was also beyond my expectation. I felt care free. It felt as if every pore in my body had opened up. When I looked at Gao De, Xin Ao and the others stunned expressions. I felt so much better. I raised my head as I carried Mu Zi towards my room. (Please don¡¯t misunderstand. I don¡¯t have any ill intentions.) I kissed heavily on Mu Zi¡¯s flushed face. ¡°Why did you give me so much face just now? You¡¯re so well behaved.¡± Mu Zi leaned on my chest as she whispered, ¡°It is how it should be. You¡¯re to listen to me at home, but when in public, I¡¯ll listen to you. That way you''ll be well respected by others. If a guy let others know that his wife controlled him at home, it would affect your image in their hearts.¡± I smiled. ¡°My good Mu Zi, you¡¯re really great. You didn¡¯t know how complacent I was.¡± A sliver of cunningness flashed passed Mu Zi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did you clearly hear what I said previously? You must listen to me at home and not rebel against me.¡± I, who was filled with happiness, didn¡¯t think of the outcome before patting my chest and saying, ¡°No problem, you¡¯re the master at home and I¡¯m the master out in public. I¡¯ll definitely listen to you at home.¡± Mu Zi complacently smiled, but didn¡¯t say further. The prince had received news after ten days. The decisions from Aixia and Dalu had already came. We were summoned to discuss further negotiations. I felt that the atmosphere wasn¡¯t right after entering the main camp as the three commander¡¯s expression were grim. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Dalu and Aixia didn¡¯t agree to the negotiation?¡± The prince replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious and is almost done. In the letter, it had mentioned that the Kingdom of Dalu has already allied with the Kingdom of Aixia. The troops from Dalu will temporarily be under the Kingdom of Aixia¡¯s leadership. The Emperor of Aixia, Ke Zha Ao Er, will personally command in the battlefield. They also mentioned that the two other Kingdom¡¯s forces, excluding the calvary of Xiuda, will be under Ke Zha¡¯s control. The letter didn¡¯t clearly state whether they were going to fight or reconcile, but I think that we¡¯ll be meeting with great obstructions.¡± Zhan Hu asked Marshall Feng Hao, ¡°Lord Marshall, isn¡¯t your Kingdom of Dalu usually peaceful? Why did they ally with Aixia to make such a fuss?¡± Feng Ao sighed. ¡°I also don¡¯t know what His Majesty is thinking. However, I¡¯m from the army so I¡¯ve got to listen to my orders. My apologies to everyone.¡± I coldly snorted, ¡°I don¡¯t know how many benefits Aixia gave your Kingdom to make you kingdom to be willing to temporarily pass their military powers to you? It¡¯s still too absurd.¡± Suddenly, my thoughts turned as I got the general idea. Aixia was famous for their mages. If they were to bribe the Kingdom of Dalu, they could only use mages to move Dalu, who was already rich and imposing. ¡®Hmph! Ke Za, you want to play this conspiracy with me? Alright, I¡¯ll play with you till the end.¡¯ Volume 10: Chapter 30 - Deployed for the Mission Volume 10: Chapter 30 - Deployed for the Mission I gathered everyone after returning to the Prince¡¯s manor. Since time was pressing, I couldn¡¯t continue to be courteous. ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, can I trouble you to gather all of the brothers into the Str?m Fortress as soon as possible? Since there are 500 of them, we can temporarily call them a Guardian Battalion. The 500 of them will be divided into 5 groups, known as the first five companies. It will be up to you, Big Brother Zhan Hu, Gao De, Xin Ao and Dong Ri who will lead those five companies. When you hear the signal, you¡¯re to immediately gather at the eastern entrance. The current situation is extremely disadvantageous towards us. I also don¡¯t know what outcome there will be when Ke Zha comes. They¡¯ll most probably be against us so everyone must be prepared to breakout from the encirclement. Twelve of you guys, including Mu Zi, Brother Ke and Jian Shan are to follow me. I¡¯ll instruct Xiao Jin to bring Xiao Rou out of the city first, so later they will be able to receive us at the eastern entrance at all times. Xiuda already has a peace agreement with us after all. Everyone is to be gathered here as soon as possible.¡± After I made the arrangements, Xiu Si told me, ¡°Zhang Gong, you actually don¡¯t have to be this tense. Even though the tables are against us, I reckon that with Ke Zha¡¯s cunningness, he shouldn¡¯t make a move against us. Currently, one of the three powers is supporting the negotiation after all. The officers and soldiers also don¡¯t want to fight. Currently, we must defend against his conspiracy.¡± I smiled as I whispered to Xiu Si, ¡°The reason I want to gather everyone is not only to prepare for a retreat, but I also plan to make them cower with our military might at crucial moments. Everyone, I wish that you will be ready to release your powers at a moment''s notice, but only as a last resort. Our power will only provoke them while we¡¯re in front of the millions of troops.¡± Xiu Si was apprehensive. ¡°Zhang Gong, does it mean that you¡¯re going to use¡­..¡± I nodded. ¡°We don¡¯t have any alternatives, but to use that plan. Even though our powers aren¡¯t sufficient, we should still be a threat to them.¡± After hearing that I would be using our trump card, everyone¡¯s expression became grave, but no one objected. The prince and Shan Yun walked in at this moment. We hastily got out from our seats for them to take a seat. I consoled the prince, ¡°Uncle, you don¡¯t have to be anxious. This matter might not be as bad as we imagine it to be. I also want to have a look as to what Ke Zha will be trying when he comes tomorrow. I don¡¯t believe that he¡¯ll stake the lives of numerous army troops¡¯ from the two kingdoms.¡± The prince nodded. ¡°Zhang Gong, if they are against you, I¡¯ll send Shan Yun to follow you. Once something seems abnormal, you¡¯re to immediately leave the fort by the eastern entrance. We won¡¯t need to be afraid that we won¡¯t have firewood to burn, as long as you live. It¡¯s crucial for you to preserve your powers as much as possible.¡± I thought, ¡®Ke Zha definitely won¡¯t negotiate readily. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be unnecessary for him to ally with the Kingdom of Dalu. He must have a motive in doing that, but we are still unaware of what it is now. Uncle Ke Zha that I once knew, what are you planning to do?¡¯ I also thought of my best Brother Ma Ke and Hai Shui as I thought about Ke Zha. I don¡¯t know if they will come as well. Ke Zha had unexpectedly brought the two mage regiments along with him. My mood sank, he didn¡¯t look as though he had come to negotiate. Ke Zha first met up with Marshall Feng Hao and Dun Yu Xi before they met up with the prince and us after discussing for a whole two hours period of time. Ma Ke was astonishingly here. He was extremely excited as he saw us enter. He pushed through the crowd to embrace my shoulders. ¡°Boss, boss, you¡¯re still alive! That¡¯s great, I¡¯ve missed you to death.¡± Ma Ke''s feelings touched my heart, but my mood mustn¡¯t fluctuate now as there was still too many important matters for me to get down to. I gently pushed Ma Ke away. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s reminisce later as I¡¯ve got some important matters that I need to discuss with His Majesty Ke Zha. Is that alright?¡± Ma Ke nodded with reddened eyes as he went back to his seat. Ke Zha looked as though nothing had happened before as he personally walked in front of me. He patted on my shoulder as he said, ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s great to see you again. How have you been?¡± I replied indifferently, ¡°I won¡¯t die anytime soon thanks to your blessings.¡± I was frightened as I thought about it, he was actually able to treat me as though nothing had happened before. He was too frightening. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re a God¡¯s inheritor now. It¡¯s a fortune to our Aixia. It was all just a misunderstanding what happened before. I¡¯ve already withdrew my previous orders so you¡¯re still a citizen in my Kingdom of Aixia.¡± He was using his status to suppress me. ¡°I thank you for that. May I know what is your purpose in coming to the front line?¡± Ke Zha smiled. ¡°It¡¯s definitely for the negotiation. Since you, the God¡¯s envoys, have appeared, what other plans will I have? Negotiating is also beneficial to both sides. Only I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to see the commander of the Demon race to discuss the details of the treaty.¡± Mu Zi stood up and said, ¡°My greetings to you Emperor Ke Zha. Currently, I am the one that holds the full authority over the Demon-Beast alliance to enter into a negotiation with you. You can freely state what requests you have for the negotiation.¡± Ke Zha replied, ¡°Oh, Mu Zi, it¡¯s really great that you are the representative. What is your suggestion for how both sides should unite?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Since it¡¯s a cooperation, both sides have to show sincerity. First, both sides should withdraw half of our troops from the frontline and sign a peace treaty stating that we won¡¯t battle against each other for next three years. In order to express our sincerity, we won¡¯t need any repercussions this time.¡± The Demon-Beast alliance held the advantage during the current battle. They could totally suggest for reimbursement during negotiations. Ke Zha smiled. ¡°In that case, you¡¯ve already made quite a bit of concessions. I don¡¯t have any requests nor terms. We shall accept everything that you¡¯ve suggested. Since the God¡¯s inheritor said that the threat of the Monster race is imminent, we should conclude our negotiation as soon as possible. How is that? Alright, let¡¯s arrange the ceremony for the peace treaty three days from now.¡± Emperor Ke Zha¡¯s attitude had stunned all of us. We really didn¡¯t expect him to freely agree to the negotiation. He also didn¡¯t make things hard for us. I originally thought that he would make a fuss about my identity. Who would know that not only did he pardoned my crimes, he also treated it as though nothing had happened between us. Ke Zha saw that we didn¡¯t believe him so he continued to say, ¡°It can¡¯t be that everyone doesn¡¯t trust me, right? I¡¯ll personally attend the ceremony that is in three days time and will only bring a few guards along with me. It should be fine, right? I need to put my safety into consideration after all.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 31 - Peace Talks? Conspiracy? Volume 10: Chapter 31 - Peace Talks? Conspiracy? I nodded. ¡°Since all three kingdoms agreed in negotiating, the future matters will be easy. We¡¯ve already notified the Demon-Beast alliance . It makes me extremely elated that Your Majesty was able to consider the bigger picture. My thanks to you for that.¡± I bowed deeply to Ke Za after saying that. Ke Zha stopped me from continuing to bow towards him before replying, ¡°Zhang Gong, it was Uncle¡¯s fault in misunderstanding you previously. Can you forgive me for what I¡¯ve done? I really regret it. You¡¯re the most talented genius in the new generation of the Kingdom of Aixia. After these matters are over, I hope that you¡¯ll return to Aixia. Principal Di and Principal Zhen really miss you. I¡¯ve temporarily passed the management of the Kingdom of Aixia to them now. Honestly, I¡¯m already sick of staying in the palace. I¡¯ve taken this opportunity this time to sneak out.¡± I was really doubtful of his dubious words and I, who had been tricked by him before, wouldn¡¯t be that easily convinced by what he said. I respectfully replied, ¡°We¡¯ll discuss about the matters about returning to Aixia after everything has concluded. Since Your Majesty has agreed in negotiating, we shall leave first. If you have any queries, you can dispatch people to the Prince¡¯s interim manor to find me. We¡¯ll leave now.¡± Ke Zha smiled. ¡°Alright, it¡¯ll be you youngsters era from now on. I¡¯ve aged. Aixia will be passed to Ma Ke in the future. I hope that you¡¯ll support him.¡± ¡°I will. I shall bid my farewells to Your Majesty now.¡± Ke Zha said, ¡°Ma Ke, you should see Zhang Gong and the rest off. It has been such a long time since you last seen each other. You must have lots of things that you want to say to each other.¡± Ma Ke excitedly received the order and followed us out of the commander¡¯s division. ¡°Zhang Gong, are you really disfigured?¡± I smiled wryly as I took down the conical hat. ¡°Can this still be fake? They should have already told you what happened to me, right?¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve suffered. However, you¡¯re really able to get Mu Zi back. It¡¯s worth it then.¡± I embraced Mu Zi¡¯s slender waist. ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s worth it. How is Hai Yue and you fairing?¡± Ma Ke flushed red as he replied, ¡°We¡¯re doing well as we are already engaged. We¡¯ll marry each other after we graduate from the Royal Advance Magic Academy in the future.¡± I smiled. ¡°Won¡¯t Hai Yue be the Crown Prince¡¯s imperial concubine then?¡± Ma Ke glanced at Mu Zi before whispering, ¡°Hai Shui has been bitterly thinking about you. She¡¯s completely different from who she was before. We can no longer see that lively Hai Shui anymore.¡± My heart hurt. ¡°What happen to her?¡± Ma Ke complained, ¡°It¡¯s due to missing you. Currently, she has been anticipating when you will come to get her everyday. Hai Yue had said that when I meet you, I must make you account for her sister.¡± Mu Zi moved out from the side and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Zhan Gong won¡¯t let Hai Shui down. After everything here is over, I¡¯ll head back with him to get Sister Hai Shui.¡± I tightly grasped her hand. ¡°Thank you, Mu Zi.¡± Mu Zi replied, displeased, ¡°What¡¯s there to thank me about? I¡¯ll be fine as long as you don¡¯t forget what I¡¯ve told you before. Ma Ke, your father won¡¯t have any conspiracy to harm Zhang Gong this time, right?¡± Ma Ke sighed. ¡°Boss, I really don¡¯t know what to say about what happened previously¡­.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to comment on. Your father wasn¡¯t in the wrong as a ruler. Moreover, I¡¯m the only one involved in that matter. But the current matter is different as the negotiation is extremely important. I hope that there will be no mishaps this time as this concerns the world. Do you understand?¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°Father didn¡¯t tell me anything during this trip, but he still brought two mage army troops along. He¡¯ll definitely do something. It¡¯s better for you to be careful. I¡¯m also don¡¯t completely understand my father¡¯s temper. Boss, I really hope that nothing dangerous happens to you. I¡¯ll feel my father out after heading back.¡± ¡°Thank you, my brother. Let¡¯s bid our farewells here. We¡¯ll still be able to see each other again in the future.¡± ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll send you here. Please take care.¡± ¡°You too.¡± ¡­¡­ Interim prince¡¯s manor ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, how much sincerity do you think Ke Zha has this time? I unknowingly feel an ominous feeling after he agreed to negotiate.¡± Xiu Si smiled. ¡°Since Ke Zha was able to inherit the throne as a prince, it proved that he¡¯s not simple. Even though we don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking, he has agreed to negotiate. Even if it¡¯s a conspiracy, we¡¯ll just follow him through. How about this? Brother Ke, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to notify the Demon-Beast alliance about the peace talks in three days time. Similarly, they are to also maintain a complete defensive formation during the negotiation as a defensive measure against both sides.¡± After hearing what Xiu Si said, my eyes brightened as I had gotten what he meant. ¡°You¡¯re to say that Ke Zha will be raiding the Demon-Beast alliance.¡± Xiu Si nodded. ¡°Since they have brought so many mages, it¡¯s the proof that they will make a move. It¡¯s impossible for them to fight against each other when they make their move. Their opponent is only the Demon-Beast allianced. During the negotiation, it¡¯ll be the most opportune time for their opponent to relax. Judging from Ke Zha¡¯s mind set, he will definitely not let such a good opportunity slip away.¡± I continued from what he said, ¡°He definitely will have picked a direction and location for the surprise attack. It will be almost impossible for them to attack from the rear as there are plateaus behind the troops. When we negotiate, we¡¯ll be at the center of the two opposing forces so they definitely won¡¯t direct assault the allied Demon and Beast races. Moreover, direct assault will no longer be a raid so there¡¯s only two possibilities left. Is my guess correct, Big Brother Xiu Si?¡± Xiu Si smiled and nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll be up to you to make arrangements, now that you understand the situation.¡± This guy, he really shirks his responsibilities quickly. However, I didn''t have time to play around blaming him as we were racing against it. ¡°With Brother Ke¡¯s wisdom, he should know what to do to defend against those two possibilities. You are to command the allied troops, while the Guard Battalion will be divided into two groups in our tactics. One of them is to conceal themselves on both sides of the Str?m Fortress. They should be able to sneak out of the city with their cultivation and it must be under the condition that no one finds out when they are heading to the ambush location. Once the human troops shows signs of attacking the allied troops, the mission of the Guard Battalion is to delay their advancement. The other group will be under Big Brother Xiu Si¡¯s command. ¡®Hehe! I¡¯ll give you some trouble.¡¯ The remaining people here will have another mission. Jian Shan, you are now to bring 11 brothers with you to scout out the deployment of the army at the Str?m Fortress. I need you have to immediately report to me when there is a change in the situation.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 32 - Signing the Pact Volume 10: Chapter 32 - Signing the Pact Dong Ri smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll only need to delay them for a while. The remaining task will be to see how useful the magic spell that the God King has given us will be.¡± Xiu Si laughed brightly. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s decided then. I¡¯ll now be a foot soldier for our first God¡¯s envoy to arrange for our manpower. The rest should start doing their tasks as well. We must complete our preparations in the shortest time possible. I really hope that our worries are for naught. After succeeding in the negotiation, everyone should head back home to our base. Zhang Gong, I¡¯ll give you a surprise when you return to the base.¡± I was stunned. ¡°Surprise? What surprise?¡± Xiu Si smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a secret now. You¡¯ll find that out once you head back.¡± ¡­¡­ My mood was increasingly getting heavier as I heard the continuous flow of intel from Jian Shan. From the news that he conveyed, ever since Ke Zha came to the Str?m Fortress, the three Kingdom¡¯s army troop has subdivided again. The other two kingdom¡¯s troops, excluding the soldiers from Xiuda, had been carrying out covert operations every night. They had used patrolling as an excuse majority of the time, but each night the number of people that returned decreased significantly. It seemed that our guess was right. Ke Zha was plotting a conspiracy. If we aren¡¯t able to deter the Ke Zha¡¯s forces with our trump card, then the negotiation this time would be a disaster. We couldn¡¯t count on the troops from Xiuda as it was already gracious enough for the prince to decide that his subordinates would be on the neutral side. Currently, we could only depend on ourselves. Ke Zha, I definitely won¡¯t let you succeed. Three days passed in a jiffy. The time for the reconciliation was nearing. Everyone that was gathered in my room had grave expressions. Xiu Si said, ¡°Our people have already reached their appointed locations and are ready to move at any time.¡± Zhan Hu said, ¡°Our preparations are already done. When will we set out?¡± I told Jian Shan, ¡°If there¡¯s any problems that occur later, we¡¯ll use a major magic spell. After the spell starts, you¡¯re to immediately retreat with Mu Zi to the Demon race¡¯s side. The few of us will be extremely weak after the spell ends. We¡¯ll depend on you at that time. The twelve of you to us is conveniently 2:1 so two of you will take care of one of us after the spell ends by inserting battle spirits into our body. Your task will be the crucial point as to if the negotiation this time succeeds or not.¡± Jian Shan nodded. ¡°Rest assured, Zhang Gong. We¡¯ll definitely support you with everyone¡¯s power to succeed in the task.¡± I turned to Mu Zi. ¡°Once Ke Zha goes back on his words, Jian Shan and the others will protect you. Go to the allied armies, you must control the situation at that side well and prevent the allied armies from attacking. Otherwise, what we have done till now will be ruined.¡± Mu Zi seriously nodded. ¡°We must succeed.¡± Everyone shouted in harmony, ¡°Success!¡± ¡°Set out.¡± The 19 of us moved to the location for the negotiation. The atmosphere today was a little heavy. There were thick and heavy clouds in the sky, making everyone feel exceptionally hot and stuffy. The various Kingdom¡¯s army troops¡¯ flags were fluttering at the Str?m Fortress. Ke Zha had brought only 20 guards with him. Ma Ke didn¡¯t seem to be in the camp as we went forth. The Str?m Fortress was a boundless flat plain. We were able to see the large portion of army troops stationed at the far west of the fort. In the center, between the Str?m Fortress and the Demon-Beast alliance, was a large open plain and it seemed that the location of the negotiation is at the very center. The Beamon King was already waiting for us there. Ke Zha, who was riding with me on the way, said, ¡°Zhang Gong, it seems that there will be a heavy storm today.¡± I touched my conical hat and replied calmly, ¡°What will rain be to us? Let the tempest come freely.¡± Ke Zha¡¯s expression changed slightly. A gale blew past, swirling the sand from the ground, obstructing our sight in a short moment. After the sandstorm passed, Ke Zha whispered to me, ¡°Zhang Gong, if you¡¯re willing to swear your loyalty to me, your future path will be smooth. I¡¯ll support you unconditionally with all of my capabilities.¡± ¡®You want me to work for you? He must have thought about the power of our base possesses. Hmph! Don¡¯t even think about it.¡¯ ¡°Can we discuss about this after the negotiation concludes, Your Majesty?¡± Ke Zha sighed heavily and with a kick from both of his legs on the horse¡¯s abdomen, he went to the front. I knew that the last opportunity to reconcile with Ke Zha was gone. We would just have to depend on our capabilities in a while. The setup for the negotiation venue was extremely simple. It was just a large stage manufactured by wood that had a large table and ten chairs on it. The Beamon King brought ten Beamon giant beast¡¯s soldiers with him. When I saw his enormous build pacing back and forth on the stage, I was really worried that if he wasn¡¯t careful, the newly built stage would break down. The Beamon King¡¯s expression was unflustered. When he looked at Ke Zha and the rest of us, he calmly said, ¡°You¡¯ve arrived. Welcome here.¡± Mu Zi represented the Demon race. She and the Beamon King sat on the left side of the table, while Ke Zha, Marshall Feng Hao and the prince sat on the left. The rest of us just sat at the side, watching on how they would sign the treaty. Ke Zha smiled. ¡°I¡¯m the Emperor Ke Zha Ao Er from the Kingdom of Aixia. I will be representing the human race. We should commence the negotiation now.¡± I stood up and walked to the other side of the table. The two sides of the table showed the both sides that were going to negotiate. I said clearly, ¡°The Human race, Demon and Beast races has been fighting continuously since the olden times. It has led to great loss to everyone. That phenomenon seems to have stopped after nearly 200 years of time. The three races will have different rates of development with peaceful means. This will let us know that we can only flourish when we are in peace and harmony. Thus, for the negotiation to succeed, I hope that the negotiator of both sides will strictly follow to the content of the treaty. We¡¯ll use all of our strength to fight together against our common enemy, the Monster race during the effective period of the treaty. I¡¯ll now read the contents of the treaty. First, the reconciliation will be under the basis that it¡¯s fair and well spread. The both parties will have the right to express their opinions and suggestions before signing the treaty. Secondly, once the treaty has been signed, the both parties have to simultaneously withdraw their armies and are forbidden to carry out any offensive attack towards the other party. However, the remaining army forces can be used to supervise. Finally, both parties can¡¯t assault the other party within the three years after the treaty has been signed. One side of the treaty includes the Demon and Beast races. The other is made up of the three human kingdoms; Dalu, Aixia, and Xiuda. The notary of this treaty will be God¡¯s Envoy, Zhang Gong Wei. This will be the conclusion of the pact. I don¡¯t know if both sides have any conditions to add on.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 33 - The Expected Attack Volume 10: Chapter 33 - The Expected Attack Mu Zi said, ¡°Our Demon-Beast alliance doesn¡¯t have any conditions to add.¡± Ke Zha smilingly stood up. ¡°You don¡¯t have any conditions? But I have some.¡± I raised my hand. ¡°Please state your conditions, Your Majesty.¡± Ke Zha¡¯s expression changed. ¡°My terms are for you, the Demon-Beast alliance, to surrender to us and offer tribute to us year after year for the years to come. If you were to do that, I¡¯ll sign this pact with you.¡± Mu Zi rebuked fumingly, ¡°I knew that you¡¯ve ill intentions and didn¡¯t have any sincerity in this.¡± Ke Zha sneered. ¡°Did you really think I¡¯ll obediently follow, just by you few little children? How can that be?¡± Upon saying that, he raised his hand and shot a fireball into the sky. Even though Ke Zha¡¯s magic couldn¡¯t be compared to the few teachers, he wasn¡¯t a weakling. The simple fireball in his hand expanded to become exceptionally large and abnormal. I knew that he was signalling his forces. Beamon King roared angrily as he smashed his enormous wolf tooth club towards Ke Zha. Ke Zha chuckled disdainfully. He extended his hand across his chest, resulting to enormous magic hexagons to appear under his, Feng Hao¡¯s and the prince¡¯s feet. After a light shone, they simultaneously vanished from our sight. This should be their premade short-range teleportation scroll. Consecutively, the dusk sky suddenly lit up by the human¡¯s two mage unions as numerous magic spells were shot into the sky towards the allied Demon and Beast armies. I said apprehensively, ¡°Everyone, prepare to make our move. It¡¯s time for us to release the signal, Big Brother Xiu Si.¡± Upon saying that, I waved Sukrad¡¯s staff in my hand, hastily casting two protective light screens at the two portions of magic rain in the sky. I definitely wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to think that my magic could resist against the numerous mages from the human race. My purpose was only to deviate their spells¡¯ trajectory. Xiu Si made his move simultaneously when I did mine as he took out his Sky God¡¯s horn and played it, making a long humming sound to sound in the sky. While we were starting to adapt to the situation, numerous humans surged out unknowingly from both sides of the fort as though they were two sharp arrows heading towards the allied Demon and Beast races. ¡®Ke Zha, you are really ruthless. You really think to take advantage of this time to attack the Demon-Beast alliance?¡¯ The human¡¯s soldiers were arranged in an orderly fashion. The majority of them were light and heavy cavalries as they moved fast as lighting when they headed towards the Demon-Beast alliance in a pincer attack. The first group of the Guardian Battalion had appeared at this moment. About 100 of them moved like lightning to obstruct the frontline of the human¡¯s army. Even though the momentum of the cavalry was powerful, the members from the first company of the Guardian Battalion were elites among the elites. Every one of them were comparable to a general from the human race. Their motive was to delay the human race¡¯s troops to help gain extra time for us. The both opposing parties collided against each other in a short period of time. The weapons that the first division of the Guard Squad held was a coarse and long club. They managed to forcefully stopped the human race¡¯s advancement by continuously brandishing their weapons. The horses in the frontline fell over after being hit by the club, instantly making the soldiers from behind to fall. I sighed inwardly as it seemed that some casualties were unavoidable. The Demon and Beast races¡¯ soldier started to be mobilised as they moved towards the both side as a preparation to face the attack from the human race. If Ke Zha was smart, he should understand that he wouldn¡¯t have any advantage over us now. I glanced at Mu Zi. ¡°Let¡¯s resist against them together, in order to avoid further casualties and bring real peace and harmony into the world. Let¡¯s begin.¡± Upon saying that, I gently raised Sukrad¡¯s staff in my hand, instantly summoning wind elements towards my body to elevate from the ground. Everyone followed my lead to soar towards the sky. I glanced at Zhan Hu, Dong Ri, Xiu Si, Gao De, Xin Ao, who had already taken out their individual divine instruments. I took in a deep breath and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡± The light ray of the War God¡¯s armour flowed throughout Zhan Hu¡¯s body. He nodded towards me and hollered, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the War God¡¯s armor. No evil shall pass me for I shall obstruct the evil demons.¡± As he chanted, the blue light covering his body intensified. The divine aura, carrying a War God¡¯s fighting intention, that permeated in the air. Xiu Si raised the white horn in his hand and chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Sky God¡¯s horn. My horn¡¯s roar will pierce through the nine heavens.¡± A gentle light ray was instantly emitted from the Sky God¡¯s horn; the light ray enclosed Xiu Si¡¯s body from the top to the bottom of his body. The white light ray turned into a light ball, which was as dazzling as the blue light being emitted from Zhan Hu¡¯s body. Xin Ao gripped the handle of the Titan God¡¯s hammer with both of his hands as he raised it over his head and chanted resolutely, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Titan God¡¯s hammer. I will shake the heavens and move the earth to protect the righteous path.¡± A yellow light ray was emitted from the Titan God¡¯s hammer, which was completely different from before as it acted in concert with Xin Ao¡¯s powerful grandeur. Gao De extended his right hand and the Lightning God¡¯s shield enlarged, giving off an eye piercing red light ray. Gao De chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Lightning God¡¯s shield. Even ten thousand blades shall not stop me.¡± Upon saying that, with his right hand across his chest, the light ray from the Lightning God¡¯s shield intensified, giving off a sense of loftiness as though it could resist against ten thousand swords. After Dong Ri looked at the crowd, he gently drew his Wind God¡¯s bow and gently chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Wind God¡¯s bow. My ethereal arrows will flash rapidly and violently.¡± Green intensified light rays raised from the Wind God¡¯s bow. When Dong Ri imposingly pulled on the bowstring, the Wind God¡¯s bow that was giving off flashing green light ray formed a full moon shape. The glittering light rays from the five people¡¯s body were blue, white, yellow, red and green respectively. The human¡¯s soldiers and the allied Demon and Beast¡¯s troops attention fell on us due to the tyrannical powers we possessed. I no longer hesitated at this point. I took in a deep breath before I stretched out both of my hands and chanted, word after word, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± A small silver sword appeared from my chest as I chanted. It gently floated above my head, instantly enveloping me with a silver light ray. A warm power continuously communicated with me and the Holy Sword. The six of us formed six peaks. The six light rays moved again after I completed the chant. The six coloured peaks formed a six coloured magic hexagon. Divine aura surged out from our hexagon, instantly shooting towards the towards the sky. The six light pillars constantly spiralling as it rose, breaking through the clouds in the sky. As the sunlight shone on our fused powers, I momentarily felt my spirit shake. Volume 10: Chapter 34 - Symphony of Chanting Volume 10: Chapter 34 - Symphony of Chanting Zhan Hu hollered, ¡°I represent the War God!¡± Powers surged out from his back, forming an indistinctive large orchid colour image at his back. This was how Zhan Hu looked when he represented the War God. Xiu Si yelled, ¡°I represent the Sky God!¡± An enormous white phantom appeared on Xiu Si¡¯s back. Even though the phantom wasn¡¯t distinct, we knew that it possessed the recovery powers of the Sky God. Xin Ao called out, ¡°I represent the Titan God!¡± A yellow silhouette soared from his back. Gao De shouted, ¡°I represent the Lightning God!¡± A red silhouette appeared on his back. Dong Ri yelled, ¡°I represent the Wind God!¡± A green silhouette emerged, showing an image that it was pulling on the bowstring in preparation to shoot. I hollered loudly, ¡°I represent the Radiant God!¡± A gold silhouette appeared from my back. Six enormous light wings were gently fluttering, constantly gathering numerous light elements towards me. There was no longer just the six of us in mid air now as we had our phantoms that appeared when we represented the gods. This peculiar sight made all of the soldiers beneath us to stop fighting as they looked at us flabbergasted. I gravely nodded towards everyone. We then harmoniously chanted, ¡°Great God King, please bestow us your boundless divine blessing in order to merge all of our divine powers into one. In order to uphold justice in the world, to eliminate all sinister beings, and bring peace and harmony to the world-----Forbidden Symphony of the Gods'' Awakening¡± The phantoms behind us raised simultaneously. They halted in mid air for a moment before suddenly charging towards the six spiralling light rays that were heading towards the horizon. The six divine phantoms fused with those lights. I felt that my sight suddenly turned completely white at this moment. The ray of the six light pillars in the sky instantly intensified after our phantoms fused with it. I felt the rapid draining of my powers from my body being continuously extracted by this enormous light pillar as they rapidly spiralled. An extraordinary sight occurred. The mages from the human race had just started their second wave of attack, making numerous magnificent light rays to cover the sky once again. However, it wasn¡¯t towards the Demon camp this time. Just when the magic spells were in mid air, they gathered towards the pillar at lightning speed, under the powerful attractive power of the enormous light we cast. No spells were able to escape from the attraction force. The six light pillars spiralled to it¡¯s maximum speed before turning into magnificent light rays. Xiu Si and the rest¡¯s complexion, excluding mine, had already turn pale white. They were purely using their willpower to support their bodies. I gathered the fusion body in my body with great difficulty before roaring out to frantically brandish the Sukrad¡¯s staff to draw a gold hexagon in the sky, which was constantly giving off light rays. This was the final step of the spell to allow the Symphony¡¯s power to display its might. Using my will power, I urged the magic formation into the pillar of light. The attractive forces increased so much that I was abruptly pulled up into the light pillar. I felt that I was already reaching the end in casting the forbidden spell. I used all of my powers to float myself back downwards. It felt like there was a force behind me that seemed to have the power to destroy the heavens and earth. The initial gloomy clouds were completely influenced by the six rays of light to metamorphose into prismatic multicolored clouds. I unhesitantly followed the plan previously made to directly charge towards the ground in preparation being received by the 12 Guard Squad, who were already soaring into the sky. Ke Lun Duo already brought Mu Zi, the Beamon King and the rest to retreat to the camp of the allied Demon and Beast armies long ago. I currently didn¡¯t have the energy to think and just continued to follow what I had planned previously. I brandished the Sukrad¡¯s staff backwards when I was nearing the ground to make my body fly inclined. Even though my body was moving, my mind was still on the forbidden spell. I controlled the powers to violently hit towards the ground as that was all I could do with my current strength. The power of the forbidden spell was really too much to handle. I couldn¡¯t command it to do anything further. The forbidden spell successfully charged towards the ground quickly trailed by the prismatic clouds. Controlling such power made me feel as though a centuries of time had passed, even though it was only for a few blinks of the eye. The clothes on my body were completely drenched in perspiration. I had almost completely used up the remaining powers in my body so I could just support my body to hover. When the sky recovered its normal state, the sunlight that appeared due to the power pillar was once again covered by gloomy clouds. It seemed as though nothing had happened and was extremely peaceful. On both sides of the battlefield every soldier remained silent. By this time the First Company of the Guard Battalion had secretly retreated already. Two guards supported my body as they inserted their battle spirit into my body without any restraints. The three gold dans in my body rapidly revolved, making their inserted powers into my own powers. I momentarily felt much comfortable with their assistance. I nodded towards them. ¡°I¡¯m fine already. I can support myself.¡± Only then, the two guards released their hold on me. My heart suddenly leapt, just as I wanted to head towards Zhan Hu and the rest¡¯s side to see the might of the forbidden spell, the ground started to violently quake without any warning. It was coming! The Forbidden spell of forbidden spells----Forbidden Symphony of the Gods'' Awakening was going to display its might. I anxiously hovered in the sky as I looked downwards, waiting for a historical moment to occur. This was the first time that we used this move. I definitely wanted to see the outcome from using it. The ground increasingly quaked so violently that the entire land started to sway irregularly. I inserted power into my voice as I shouted, ¡°To all soldiers from the humans and the Demon-Beast alliance, retreat immediately!¡± Nobody was willing to listen to their commander¡¯s order at this moment. The Demon-Beast alliance armies were slightly better as they were further away from the center of the earthquake. The human soldiers were panicking, but they seemed to have listened to my command as they dashed towards the Str?m Fortress with all their might. The quaking of the ground was still increasingly violently that even the Str?m Fortress seemed to be affected by it. I suddenly felt an enormous fluctuation of powers from the ground. ¡°This isn¡¯t good!¡± I hastily called for Zhan Hu and the rest to immediately fly towards the Str?m Fortress. Volume 10: Chapter 35 - The Forbidden Spell Explodes Forth Volume 10: Chapter 35 - The Forbidden Spell Explodes Forth Before we had even flown a kilometer away, there came a loud rumbling sound that reverberated from behind us. ¡®Hong! Hong! Hong!¡¯ A absolutely violent power surged from our backs. There wasn¡¯t any possibility to resist against it so we were pushed forward three times our initial speed by the shockwave. I didn¡¯t dare resist against it, but instead cast a boundary to enclose everyone within to freely move along with the force in moving forward. The impact of the power was too strong. The boundary that I cast constantly vibrated, making me to spit a mouthful of blood. It was only when we were reaching the Str?m Fortress that the power behind us weaken. I stopped my movement and turned back to have a look. The sight before me momentarily made me stupefied. Was this our doing? The sight before us was a really spectacular. Six light rays constantly emitted from the area that the forbidden spell had hit. The entire sky was covered with dust and rocks. The ground had completely fissured and was still caving in reaching a kilometer radius from the explosion. It cut across the entire flat plain until it reached passed both sides of the distant mountains. There were even a few enormous fissures rapidly heading towards Str?m Fortress. The sky and land were filled with concentrated magic elements, dust and stones. The earth constantly quaked, while the magic elements in the air continuously warped. If we had stayed at our previous spot, we would definitely be engulfed by the limitless divine power. There was a 10 Km radius that was filled with deadly atmosphere. The few human soldiers that were slower had completely disappeared under the devastating power. The biggest fissure was passing beneath our feet towards the city walls of Str?m Fortress. The fissure was still a couple meters wide even when its quaking power had already drastically weakened. There were continuous loud calls for mages at the fort. However, I knew that there wouldn¡¯t be any magic that could be used until the might of the ultimate forbidden spell ended. The sight before us could no longer use terrifying to describe the scene. We were shocked by the power that could devastate the heavens and the earth. I constantly thought, ¡®Have I overdone it? I¡¯ve taken at least a thousand of lives for this negotiation to succeed. Moreover, it¡¯s the ultimate power that we activated was the cause in taking so much lives.¡¯ I took a deep breath to calm down. I couldn¡¯t worry too much for their sake so more people would be able to survive after the imminent battle against the Monster race. There was a loud sound that came from the back of the Str?m Fortress. As my thoughts was constantly turning, I was stunned when I turned around to find that the world¡¯s most secure fort¡¯s city walls had unexpectedly collapsed. The main culprit in that was the enormous fissure that was beneath our feet. The fissure had already stopped expanding. Its end was beneath the city wall of the Str?m Fortress . The sky was covered with yellow dust and soil, making our sight fuzzy. It was impossible to see the specifics of the current situation. I felt that the power of the forbidden spell was gradually getting weaker. It would disappear shortly. The agitation of the magic elements didn¡¯t disappear after the forbidden spell disappeared. It was impossible to absorb them with my capabilities as all of the fusion powers in my body had been converted to battle spirit so that I could forcefully sustain my body. My cultivation was the strongest among the group, but I had consumed the most power when activating the forbidden spell. My body was already extremely feeble. But I knew clearly that I couldn¡¯t fall now as I hadn¡¯t accomplished what I needed to do. I hadn¡¯t made my move as it wasn''t the right moment yet. I calmly watched on as the dust and soil that was blocking out the sun until the dust clouds dissipated. It took half an hour¡¯s time for them to completely dissipate and for our sight to gradually clear up. Not a single sound could be heard from the million people from the Str?m Fortress or the Demon-Beast alliance within that half an hour. The scene before me was more appalling than I thought it would be. There was an enormous kilometer wide gulf that linked both sides of the plain. There were numerous smaller fissures from both sides of the gulf. The longest fissure was the enormous fissure that had just destroyed one fifth of the city¡¯s walls. As steam constantly poured out from the mouth of the gulf I had everybody hold their positions. I headed to the gulf alone before circulating the powers in my body to absorb the gradually calming magic elements. I was once again shocked after reaching the border of the gulf. The depth of the gulf was indeterminable. When I looked down, I could only see a red line at the far bottom that my sight could see. The surrounding air turned burning hot. I took in a cold breath as I suddenly understood what that red line meant. It was lava! It was lava from volcanoes! If it were to erupt, I couldn¡¯t and didn¡¯t dare to imagine the outcome. However, the depth was bottomless so it should be extremely difficult for it to come up to the land. I flew back to the crowd as it wasn¡¯t the time to consider this problem. I eye signaled to everyone before I forcefully circulated my three gold dans that were now much weaker, making my body emit a weak golden light as I took the lead to fly towards the Str?m Fortress. As we neared the broken city walls, I could see Ke Zha, Ma Ke, the commanders from Dalu and Xiuda, and the high ranking officers from the three kingdoms as they looked forth dumbstruck at the city wall. I recovered my breath and under the assistant of my magic, I said coldly, ¡°Emperor Ke Zha, are you aware of your crimes?¡± Ke Zha¡¯s body shuddered and when he raised his head to look at me, his eyes were filled with terror. It was beyond his expectation that we could create what we had just done. I didn¡¯t wait for Ke Zha to reply as I continued, ¡°It¡¯s God¡¯s intention for the three human kingdoms, the Demon race, and the Beast race to reconcile. However, you almost caused a catastrophe to occur due to personal gain and clearly thought nothing about the current circumstances. What everyone just saw was the Gods¡¯ power. We can freely use divine powers as their envoys to accomplish any favorable outcome for the world. If you continue to obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way, I¡¯ll reactivate the divine power. Perhaps, you think that the Str?m Fortress is safe, but if I were to use the previous forbidden spell here, you should know the outcome. The Gods are merciful and just gave you a warning. I want your decision now. It¡¯s your choice on whether to reconcile or perish.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 36 - Successful Peace Talks Volume 10: Chapter 36 - Successful Peace Talks The officers and all the soldiers on the city wall had dropped their weapons, making continuous metal clangs were heard and the floor was filled with weapons. It was unknown as to who started it, but all of the officers and soldiers knelt and bowed with joined hands at forehead level towards the sky. It was the soldiers that took the lead before Marshall Feng Hao, Zhan Hu¡¯s father and even the prince of the Kingdom of Xiuda knelt. Ma Ke whispered something to his father. After whispering, he also knelt, leaving only Ke Zha that remained standing. Ke Zha¡¯s complex was pale and expressed that he didn¡¯t believe what had happened. He let out a long sigh after a long time. ¡°Let¡¯s forget it. God''s plans supersede my own! Ma Ke, you¡¯ll be in charge as the representative of the Kingdom of Aixia.¡± After throwing those words, Ke Zha turned and descended from the city wall. I knew that he definitely won¡¯t stir up havoc after today as I looked at his fading back. Ke Zha was a gifted and formidable person. But he was only a person after all. It was impossible for him to resist God¡¯s power. I sighed as I couldn¡¯t take everything into consideration. ¡°Since the three human kingdoms wishes to reconcile, I¡¯ll represent the Gods to trust you once more. I¡¯ll let the representatives of the Demon and Beast races join us and discuss the details for the peace treaty. Currently, you¡¯re to first settle with the aftermath.¡± Upon saying that, I eye signaled everyone before turning around and flew towards the Demon-Beast alliance armies. I had constantly consumed the remaining specks of powers in my body for another long period of time so it was already near the state of it being fully used up. I needed to rest soon. We surveyed the outcome as we flew across the large crevice generated due to the forbidden spell among all forbidden spells, Forbidden Symphony of the Gods'' AwakeningGod¡¯s Symphony. After letting out a sigh, I increased my speed as I headed towards the Demon-Beast alliance camp. Mu Zi, Ke Lun Duo and Demon King Xiu Yu were waiting for us at the entrance of the camp. The armies from the Demon and Beast races also knelt towards us just like the humans when we arrived at the entrance. While we emitted peculiar light rays from our body, the shock that we brought with us had conquered the hearts of all three races. Mu Zi ran to my front. I slightly let out a breath after seeing her before I momentarily felt as though the sky was spinning and the earth was round. But I knew that I currently couldn¡¯t topple over now. Otherwise, all of the hard work until now would be wasted. I nodded towards her. ¡°Everything has been going smoothly. We shall discuss further after entering your camp.¡± I saw that Zhan Hu and the rest¡¯s complexion were dull as I turned to look at them. I took the lead to strut into the Demon camp, with everyone following me. I was bitterly enduring the successive waves of exhaustion as we headed quickly towards the camp with great difficulty. When we had finally reached our destination, Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Xin Ao, Gao De and Dong Ri were the ones to collapse to the ground. Mu Zi hastily supported me as my body started to sway before exclaiming, ¡°Zhang Gong, what¡¯s happening to all of you?!¡± I smiled wryly. I no longer cared about my image to sit directly on the ground while Mu Zi supported me. ¡°Do you think the God¡¯s forbidden spell is easy to use? We have completely used up our powers and need to rest up as soon as possible. I¡¯ve already settled the human¡¯s side. I believe that they won¡¯t play any more tricks so I won¡¯t be accompanying you when you sign the pact. You should head to the fort now with Big Brother Ke Lun Duo and the Beamon King from the Beast race. You must sign the agreement. I...I have to rest now. ¡°My vision started to blur and couldn¡¯t resist against my feebleness and exhaustion as I collapsed on Mu Zi¡¯s shoulder as my body slipped into her embrace, I slowly entered my dreams. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ The sleep this time was extremely sound. I didn¡¯t know how long has passed before I gradually woke up. I used my groggy vision to realise that I was in a tent. This should be at the demon¡¯s camp. I propped my body and felt that my entire body was exceptionally sore. It seemed as though everything was just a dream. I sat crossed leg before examining the interior of my body. I realised that my powers were still extremely weak, the three gold dans were transparent. I was only slightly better off compared to when I collapsed. The outcome on overusing my power after casting the forbidden spell was really severe, even the astonishing recovery speed of my powers had decreased drastically. I also didn¡¯t know how the peace talks went, but I currently couldn¡¯t consider that. As I took in deep breath, I gradually prompted the three gold dans to revolve slowly, absorbing the natural magic elements in the surrounding area. The result in using the forbidden spell didn¡¯t damage my meridians, so my gold dans would momentarily recover a little after calmly recuperating them for about a week. My inner body was illuminated by gold light rays again and the warmth from the Holy Sword at my chest could be felt again. When my mind shifted, I felt someone nearing my side. I hastily circulated the gold dans to their respective locations before awakening. I was looking directly at Mu Zi, whose eyes showed traces of feelings, when I opened my eyes. ¡°You¡¯re awake. You really can sleep!¡± I smiled, embarrassed, before replying, ¡°How long have I slept?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°You¡¯ve slept for three entire days. Your brothers woke up at about the same time as you did, but they have awakened already. You¡¯re alright now, right?¡± Mu Zi took the initiative to enter my embrace as she talked. I felt slightly intoxicated as I gently embraced her well developed and alluring body. I leaned my head on Mu Zi¡¯s hair, while I closed my eyes, to calmly enjoy this comfortable moment. Mu Zi complained after a long time had passed, ¡°You still haven¡¯t replied to my question.¡± Only then did I woke up as I asked blankly, ¡°What question? Owwwh, stop hitting me. I¡¯ve remembered. I¡¯m already okay, but my powers still haven¡¯t fully recovered. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. That¡¯s right, how did the peace talks go? The three human kingdoms shouldn¡¯t have played any more tricks, right?¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°The Kingdom of Dalu and Xiuda originally had intentions to negotiate. Currently, Ma Ke holds the rights in controlling Aixia¡¯s mage union so there won¡¯t be a problem anymore. You can be rest assured that everything has finished successfully. The Demon and Beast races also won¡¯t initiate war against the human race in the future. Actually, there¡¯s already a natural protective screen at the center of the three races. The nearly one kilometer wide deep ditch seems to be like a natural moat, how can it be that easy to cross over it?¡± Volume 10: Chapter 37 - Relaxed Back Volume 10: Chapter 37 - Relaxed Back I scratched my head. ¡°I actually didn¡¯t know what was going to happen when I activated the forbidden spell. I initially just wanted to display some divine powers for the three races. Who would have known that the ultimate forbidden spell was so potent? It¡¯s lucky that we haven¡¯t mastered it. Otherwise, the Str?m Fortress would have been completely destroyed.¡± Mu Zi was stunned as she cried out, ¡°What? You haven¡¯t mastered it? It¡¯s already that amazing without you mastering it? Won¡¯t the world be ruined after you can completely bring out its full power?¡± I expressed helplessness with my hand gesture before nodding. ¡°There¡¯s a high possibility for that to occur. The forbidden spell equates to the combination powers of the six of us. Our powers will become increasingly stronger if we improve our capabilities in bringing out the divine powers. When our powers gets stronger, the potency of the awakened powers would also be greater. My Holy Sword is the crux for the forbidden spell. The disparity in the powers I hold to the essential powers required for the spell is large. Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest also hasn¡¯t been able to fully utilise their divine instruments. Thus, from my estimation, the forbidden spell that we cast can¡¯t be beyond 40% of its full potential.¡± ¡°Silly girl, don¡¯t be shocked. You have seen the powers of the Monster race. Currently, there¡¯s no trace of the Monster King, but his subordinate that used Demon King Satan¡¯s body already was that powerful. The formidability of the Monster King is really unimaginable. There should be a purpose as to why the God King had passed the task of eliminating the Monster King to us. Moreover, this ultimate forbidden spell is a bane to the Monster King so it should have formidable power.¡± Mu Zi snapped out from her shock after a long time. ¡°I really hope that we can eliminate the Monster King so that I can really be with you¡­.¡± She blushed, but didn¡¯t continue to speak. I didn¡¯t reply her, but tightened my hold on her body. We had finally accomplished our task. The three great races of the world have finally united. We only needed to constantly improve our powers from now on. Everything would conclude once the Monster King appears. We didn¡¯t have any methods than that, even if it seemed spontaneous. The God King shouldn¡¯t know the location for the clone of the Monster King as he currently must be resisting against the sealed body of the Monster King at the God¡¯s realm. After a long time had passed, I said to Mu Zi. ¡°I want you to bring me to see the brothers since they have awoken.¡± Mu Zi obediently nodded before supporting me as I stood. After warming up my sore muscles, I smiled. ¡°It is already much better. Let¡¯s go.¡± I followed Mu Zi out of the camp with my Sukrad¡¯s staff in hand. When the patrolling soldiers saw us, they immediately saluted towards us with reverence expressed from their eyes. The living quarters of Zhan Hu and the rest were near to mine as after passing a few camps, I had already arrived at the huge camp they were in. I saw that everyone was present after entering their camp. Ke Lun Duo seemed to be telling them something and everyone was expressing relaxed smiles. They should really loosen up a little after finally accomplishing a huge matter. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve woke up.¡± Zhan Hu commented. I smiled and sat beside him. ¡°Big Brother Zhan Hu, are all of you alright?¡± Zhan Hu replied with lingering fear, ¡°The forbidden spell is too scary. I felt as though my body had been completely controlled by the War God¡¯s armour when we used the spell. I had almost collapsed at that time. It was great for you to make prior arrangements for the Guards to insert their battle spirit into my body. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to sustain myself till we reached the Demon-Beast alliance camp.¡± Dong Ri laughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same for all of us? I¡¯ve already understood what it meant to be a forbidden spell among the forbidden spells this time. It was so powerful! Seeing how the situation looked that day, what will the Monster King account for? Once we used this God¡¯s Symphony spell, we¡¯ll be able to annihilate them, even if there were ten thousand armies.¡± Even though no one spoke, everyone, excluding Xiu Si, expressed approval. I frowned as I told Dong Ri, ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Dong Ri expressed at stunned expression. ¡°Why?¡± I replied gravely, ¡°I admit that the power of the forbidden spell we used is great. However, do you know that I was almost unable to control the power of the forbidden spell? Our current power is still too weak, we can¡¯t withstand the power of the forbidden spell and are also incapable in utilising its full power. Do you really think that the Monster King is going to be easy to deal with? If it was easy, the God King wouldn¡¯t have been troubled in the first place. The God clan almost faced extinction. Our current powers aren¡¯t bad, but how will we fare compared to the God clan? There¡¯s definitely a disparity between our powers. What will we be counted for when the God clan had dealt with the Monster race with great difficulty? Thus, we mustn¡¯t be blindly optimistic and immediately use as much time as possible to increase our powers. I¡¯ve already decided that once we return to our base, I¡¯ll immediately head towards the to the God Rended Canyon for the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance. All of you should also try to reach the War God¡¯s rank.¡± Dong Ri lowered his head and muttered, unconvinced, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be that bad.¡± Xiu Si stood up and glanced at me before saying, ¡°No, perhaps it¡¯s even much worse than what Zhang Gong had said. What he said is right. We really don¡¯t know how strong the Monster race will be. They are in hiding, while we¡¯re in the open. We mustn¡¯t slack off at the moment in order to accomplish the task that the God King had passed to us.¡± Big Brother Xiu Si and my thoughts was close. I smiled as I said, ¡°Everyone¡¯s cultivation hasn¡¯t recovered yet so we¡¯ll stay here for a few more days. We¡¯ll set out to head home once everyone¡¯s injuries has recovered. You all can just take a break. I still have to make a trip to the Str?m Fortress.¡± I held onto Mu Zi¡¯s hand as everybody saw us off as we headed out of the camp. ¡°You come with me to head back. I want to see the situation there and Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou are also still there. I must pick them up.¡± Mu Zi exclaimed, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go. Ah! That¡¯s right, can you still fly now?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m not that weak. A short flight still won¡¯t be a problem for me.¡± Upon saying that, I embraced Mu Zi¡¯s waist. The fusion power in my body naturally circulated after I kicked off the ground. We soared in the sky, bringing a faint gold light along with us. We had set out from the Demon-Beast alliance camp towards the Str?m Fortress, while Mu Zi screamed in fright.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 38 - The Stronghold After the Peace Talks Volume 10: Chapter 38 - The Stronghold After the Peace Talks I had noticed that the red-hot lava had already seemed to have dried when we passed the huge gulf on our journey towards the Str?m Fortress. It was dark brown in colour and longer steamed. I was relieved after knowing that I hadn¡¯t created a major problem. I must really must be cautious whenever I use the forbidden spell. The city wall of the Str?m Fortress in front of us was still breaking apart. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to repair it. Mu Zi leaned into my embrace and clung on my neck. She didn¡¯t use any of her powers and just let me to carry her as we flew across. It was fortunate that I had significantly recovered my powers, otherwise it would really be bad if we were to fall into the gulf. It perhaps might be due to the divine light ray emitted from my body that the people at the fort didn¡¯t obstruct us when we neared the fort, giving me an easy descent onto the top of the city. The guards on duty momentary knelt before me as they said harmoniously, ¡°Greetings to Lord God¡¯s envoy.¡± It seemed that the shock that day was still in effect. I had really became well known this time. When the numerous gazes accidentally fell on Mu Zi, Mu Zi¡¯s charming face flushed, burying her head into my embrace and didn¡¯t dare to lift her head. I smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be courteous and continuine working.¡± When my body flashed, I had already leaped into the city as I flew over the city wall, bringing Mu Zi along with me. Mu Zi jumped down from my body. She complained with a flushed face, ¡°You¡¯re irritating. Why didn¡¯t you put me down in front of that crowd?¡± I smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me to let you down. I thought you were comfortable staying in my embrace.¡± Mu Zi glared at me before saying, ¡°Where are we heading to now? Is it to receive Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou or to meet up with your best brother, Ma Ke?¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°We¡¯ll meet up with Ma Ke first. I¡¯m afraid that he will feel uneasy as I had forced Uncle Ke Zha away.¡± Mu Zi sighed. ¡°You aren¡¯t at fault for that matter. You didn¡¯t want that to happen , but for the big picture, you had to do that. Let¡¯s go.¡± I pulled on Mu Zi¡¯s small hands as I headed towards the fort¡¯s Commander division. The soldiers were in a jubilant mood, even when the city wall of the fort had been destroyed. I was no longer in doubt on the peace talk as I saw their looks. I kept my head down and pulled up my shirt as I didn¡¯t want to be recognised. Sigh! My scarred covered face was extremely easy to be recognised. Mu Zi seemed to know that I was in a gloomy mood as she clung on my arm. I could feel deep sense of empathy from her gesture. Currently, I was no longer dwelling in the shadows of my heart. I didn¡¯t care about anything else, as long as Mu Zi didn¡¯t avoid me. If I was to be ugly, then so be it. We finally reached the commander¡¯s division after a short while. It was partially due to the success in the peace talk that there was no longer as many guards. There were only 8 soldiers, wearing the Kingdom of Dalu¡¯s uniform, guarding. There were two guards that immediately hindered our path as we neared. One of them said, ¡°Stop! This is a restricted area of the fort. You are forbidden to freely enter it.¡± I lifted my head and took out the Sukrad¡¯s staff from my clothes. I replied, in smiles, ¡°I¡¯m not going to barge in. I want to make a request to meet up with the Prince from the Kingdom of Aixia, His Highness Ma Ke.¡± That guard was stunned as he instantly recognised me. He said dumbfoundedly, ¡°You...You are¡­..¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Zhang Gong Wei. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to make known my presence. Thank you.¡± That guard nodded and said, as he bowed to me, ¡°It is unnecessary. Please enter. You¡¯re the God¡¯s envoy so it¡¯s unnecessary to report your comings. Please quickly enter.¡± The guards, who had already recognised me, moved to the side to allow us to enter. We could hear them discuss unceasingly as we entered the entrance of the Commander¡¯s division.¡± A soldier said, ¡°He¡¯s that God¡¯s envoy? The feeling he gives to me is so comfortable, even though his appearance is a little ugly.¡± Another soldier replied distainly, ¡°Did you know that that God¡¯s envoy originally had a handsome appearance? It seemed that it was due to eliminating the Monster¡¯s race that resulted to his current look. Did you see that beauty with impeccable look by his side? She should be the princess from the Demon race. If the God¡¯s envoy was that ugly by nature, how could the princess follow him?¡± Another soldier said, ¡°It might not be true. There¡¯s a proverb that beauties love heros. Who can be more heroic than God¡¯s envoy, Zhang Gong? If it wasn¡¯t for him to make the peace talk successful, we¡¯ll have to battle again.¡± The first soldier that spoke replied, ¡°You make sense. It¡¯s really a great feeling that we don¡¯t have to fight! Brothers, how about we go for a drink after our shift is over?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Mu Zi and I looked at each other, expressing smiles of happiness towards each other. We directly headed to the lounge of the Commander¡¯s division. Ma Ke and the rest should be here now. It was as I expected after entering the lounge. Not only Ma Ke was present, Marshall Feng Hao from the Kingdom of Dalu was also here. Only the Lord Prince, Zhan Hu¡¯s father, wasn¡¯t here. Feng Hao and Ma Ke simultaneously looked stunned at each other when we entered. Ma Ke momentarily stood up excitedly after seeing us and walked briskly towards us. He hollered, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you come after so many days?! Could it be that you don¡¯t trust your home country?¡± I smiled and shook my head. ¡°How could I? I definitely wouldn¡¯t distrust my best brother, even if I don¡¯t trust my home country!¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eye rims reddened. ¡°It¡¯s father¡¯s fault previously. He has kept it from me for so long. It was already too late to stop him after knowing his plans in going against what he said. Boss, your powers are really too terrifying. Father will forever be unable to lift his head to govern Aixia after this.¡± Ke Zha was his father after all so Ma Ke¡¯s expression momentarily dampened a little. I asked, ¡°Aixia really cannot go on without a leader. Uncle Ke Zha wouldn¡¯t have left just like that right?¡± Ma Ke¡¯s face flushed as though he was gathering his courage. ¡°Brother, father has passed me a letter before he left. It might be due to our relationship. He wants me to immediately head back to the Kingdom to pass the throne to me after everything here has settled.¡± Volume 10: Chapter 39 - The Future Emperor Volume 10: Chapter 39 - The Future Emperor I was elated. ¡°That¡¯s great! I congratulate Your Majesty in advance. Haha!¡± If Ma Ke was to be the Emperor of Aixia, I no longer need to worry about issues for the three human kingdoms. The Kingdom of Dalu wouldn¡¯t be a threat when the two Kingdoms, Aixia and Xiuda, were on my side. Ma Ke punched me before saying, ¡°Boss, quit making fun of me.¡± Feng Hao perhaps felt uncomfortable with our deep friendship as he cleared his throat twice unnaturally. I turned and bowed towards him. ¡°My apologies, greetings to you, Marshall Feng Hao. Your Kingdom shouldn¡¯t have any issues regarding the peace talks, do they?¡± Feng Hao forcefully smiled as he replied, embarrassed, ¡°I previously couldn¡¯t act on my own. I apologise for that, God¡¯s envoy Zhang Gong.¡± I smiled. ¡°Those had already passed so it¡¯s unnecessary to mention this. I still have to bother you in cooperating with the three Kingdoms here.¡± Feng Hao looked ashamed before he sighed. ¡°You guys can continue to chat. I still have some matters to attend to. I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± Upon saying that, he turned to walk out of the Commander¡¯s division. After seeing him leave, Ma Ke sighed. ¡°Boss, you really have cruelly fixed the three human kingdoms this time. Currently, our soldiers from the Kingdoms of Aixia and Dalu, excluding the Kingdom of Xiuda, can no longer lift their heads. I¡¯ve heard that Marshall Feng Hao had passed a letter of resignation to his higher ups from Dalu in preparation to resign from his duty.¡± I was stunned. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be that bad?¡± Ma Ke said, displeased, ¡°How can it not be bad? The powers that you displayed that day was too powerful. It¡¯s not something that humans can resist. The three kingdoms are in a hurry to curry some favours from you now. Feng Hao, who had offended you, will naturally be unable to continue holding onto his Marshall¡¯s position.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I currently can¡¯t afford to consider so much. I only hope that you¡¯ll strictly follow to the terms of the treaty. I need to leave immediately. I¡¯ll be heading to the God Rended Canyon after settling a few more matters. I must make preparations as soon as possible as the appearance of the Monster King won¡¯t be far off. You should also start to train up the mages right after heading back, especially light mages. When the time comes, you¡¯ll have to adapt to it. Alright?¡± Ma Ke nodded. ¡°Boss, do you really have to leave now?¡± I replied, ¡°En! Time is pressing so I don¡¯t have a choice. We still have the chances of reuniting again after we eliminate the Monster King. That¡¯s right, Ma Ke, please help me to send my regards to Teacher Di, Teacher Zhen and the few teachers after you head back. I really miss them.¡± How could I become who I was today without their guidance, especially Teacher Di? That old man had been nurturing me ever since I entered the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy. I really missed him after being separated for so long! Ma Ke replied, ¡°I will. Boss do you know what I really regret the most in my life until now?¡± I asked, stunned, ¡°What is it?¡± Ma Ke replied, disappointedly, ¡°I regret that I didn¡¯t join you in searching for the Holy Sword. Not only did I miss those exciting times, it¡¯s also impossible for me to reach your current powers.¡± I patted shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s already over so it¡¯s useless to regret. What you need to do now is to become a great king. The future of Aixia lies on your shoulders. Your responsibilities are extremely heavy. You¡¯ll be busy after heading back. However, I believe that the teachers will definitely support you. You¡¯ll definitely be able to walk on with steady steps with the top three mages in the continent supporting you.¡± Ma Ke replied resolutely, ¡°I will as it¡¯s my duty. I definitely won¡¯t shirk from it.¡± I laughed and replied, ¡°That¡¯s my great brother. Alright, Mu Zi and I will take our leave. You¡¯ve to take care of yourself.¡± ¡°Big Brother¡­..¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eye rims reddened again. I turned around and pulled Mu Zi along. ¡°Enough, stop expressing such a girly expression. It¡¯s not like we won¡¯t be seeing each other again.¡± Upon saying that, I pulled Mu Zi along as I headed out. I heard Ma Ke choked with sobs. ¡°Big Brother, you must take care of yourself as well!¡± I forcefully endured my tears from falling and didn¡¯t reply to him as I left the Commander¡¯s division with Mu Zi and dashed towards the prince¡¯s interim manor. My mood calmed down after leaving the Commander¡¯s division. Mu Zi said gently, ¡°We won¡¯t need to consider so many matters after defeating the Monster King, right? I¡¯ll be able to accompany you in doing what you want to do then. For example, we can gather all of your friends to have a meal.¡± Her words made me laugh. ¡°You little girl, really can¡¯t forget about eating!¡± Mu Zi chuckled. ¡°Of course! Eating is a natural ability to humans. It¡¯s already been so long since I¡¯ve eaten any delicacies.¡± I smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s definitely some good food for you to eat after returning to our base.¡± We had arrived at the prince¡¯s manor while we chatted. It was extremely quiet as there was unexpectedly not a single person guarding the place. The sight after entering the entrance made me jump up from shock as I saw Xiao Jin used his front claws to cover his eyes, while he laid on the floor. There was also Xiao Rou, who was in her human form, happily bouncing vivaciously on his back. Xiao Rou immediately jumped off his back when she saw me. ¡°Master, you¡¯ve returned.¡± I smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to call me Master? You can just call me Zhang Gong. What are you two doing?¡± Xiao Jin moved his front claws from his eyes after hearing my voice. He cryingly complained, grieving, ¡°Master, you¡¯re finally back. I¡¯ll have been tortured to death by the demoness if you had come back any later. She insisted to use me as a bed to jump on. I¡¯m so pitiful¡­¡­¡± Goodness, it was really Xiao Rou to be able to think using Xiao Jin as a bed. I shifted my gaze at Xiao Rou, who had already hid behind Mu Zi. She muttered, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me. Who told him to seem to have such a texture? It made me want to give it a try. Otherwise, I would have died from boredom!¡± Mu Zi laughed heartily after hearing what she said. Mu Zi said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I also just realised that Xiao Jin¡¯s body really seems to have a soft texture. I also want to have a try.¡± Upon saying that, she kicked off the ground, pulling Xiao Rou along, to leap onto Xiao Jin¡¯s back. Volume 11: Chapter 1 - Leaving the Stronghold Volume 11: Chapter 1 - Leaving the Stronghold Xiao Jin yelled out, while expressing a gaze in hopes of seeking help. ¡°Master please help me!¡± I suppressed my laughter and patted his huge head. ¡°Xiao Jin, my good brother, you¡¯ll have to suffer. I can¡¯t control Mu Zi! I can only wish you the best. That¡¯s right, where are the prince, Big Brother Shan Yun and the rest?¡± Xiao Rou replied, while playing with Mu Zi. ¡°They have left. They wanted me to pass a message to you saying that since the situation here had been stabilized, they have headed back to train the troops in preparation to fight with the Monster King and that if you needed help, you can go to the Kingdom of Xiuda to find them. An old man also said that he¡¯ll be leaving his son in your care. It¡¯s that fierce guy.¡± The prince was in such a rush! I thought, ¡®The reason for the prince to leave in such a hurry must be related to why the Aixia and Dalu suddenly became hostile previously. The prince might also have difficulties due to their last minute changes. It¡¯s also good for him to leave as it¡¯ll be awkward for the people of Xiuda and Aixia to interact with him here.¡¯ It must naturally be Zhan Hu when Xiao Rou said that the prince had placed him under my care. I smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve to be careful in what you say. If Zhan Hu were to hear you call his father fierce, he won¡¯t let you off easily. Haha! Mu Zi, that should be enough. You guys should also stop bullying Xiao Jin. We should head back now.¡± ¡°Alright! That¡¯s great!¡± Xiao Rou leaped towards me. She had changed into her squirrel-like form when she neared my body, landing agilely on my shoulder. Mu Zi chuckled after she got down from Xiao Jin¡¯s back as she caressed his enormous head, she said, ¡°Xiao Jin, you won¡¯t get mad at me, right?¡± Xiao Jin mouth muscles switched a little before saying, ¡°Of...Of course not. Master, where shall we head to?¡± I smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the Demon-Beast alliance¡¯s camp before returning to the base that you almost destroyed after two days.¡± Xiao Jin replied, ¡°Alright, all of you can get onto my back now.¡± I embraced Mu Zi¡¯s lovable body before elevating from the ground to land on Xiao Jin¡¯s back. I laughed for a while before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Xiao Jin.¡± Xiao Jin had brought Mu Zi and I towards the sky by the flapping of his enormous wings and towards the Demon-Beast alliance¡¯s camp. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ We stepped on the journey to head back to the base after three days. I realised that nobody among the First Guardian Battalion had died or suffered from severe injuries after checking their condition and numbers. There were only a negligible amount of people that suffered light injuries. It seemed that our First Guardian Battalion¡¯s powers were extraordinary. The Guardian Battalion was entirely made up of Radiant Knights or those that possessed powers nearing the Radiant Knight¡¯s rank, even if there weren¡¯t many of them. I didn¡¯t let Ke Lun Duo come along with us this time as Mu Zi and I felt awkward with him following around when we were together. Since the majority of the group couldn¡¯t sustain flight for a long period of time, we decided to head back to the base by foot. Our advancing speed was still extremely fast even if we were travelling by foot. Our base, at the mountain range that intercepts all three kingdoms, was in view after using just a couple of day¡¯s time. ¡°Haha! We¡¯re almost home. I wonder what changes will have happened of our home after this few months.¡± Dong Ri commended. Everyone¡¯s mood raised as we saw that we were reaching our base as we had come back after succeeding in what we wanted to achieve after all. Xin Ao smiled. ¡°There¡¯s definitely going to be changes as our base will have differences in almost every ten days. Perhaps, our number of brothers has already reached beyond ten thousand already.¡± I frowned. ¡°Even though there are plenty of places for us to set a base among the mountain range, how will the plants and animal resources keep up with our demands if the number of us has increased too much? We¡¯re currently always spending after all. What should we do as the wealth that I carry on me will definitely have its limit.¡± Xiu Si nodded. ¡°Zhang Gong makes sense, but since the resources in the mountain is abundant, including the crops we grow, we won¡¯t need to worry about our food supply. However, those necessities that are easily used up must still rely on the three kingdoms to restock them as a solution. There¡¯ll definitely be a day when we use up all the food resources if we just consume them from the mountain in the long run.¡± Zhan Hu suggested, ¡°We can just ration them and just endure until the Monster King appears.¡± I shook my head. ¡°No! We definitely can¡¯t do that.¡± I looked at Mu Zi nodded in agreement. She seemed to have the same thoughts as I do. I smiled and said, ¡°Mu Zi, explain it to everyone.¡± Mu Zi was the Demon¡¯s princess after all. I always felt as though there was an estrangement between her and everyone since their interactions with her weren¡¯t long. Thus, I must make everyone to accept her by her performance as she was also one of us. Actually, Mu Zi, who had been undergoing royal education when she was young, was much better than me in strategizing. Mu Zi smiled at me and said, ¡°What Zhang Gong said is right. We really can¡¯t head down that way. We¡¯ll leave the matters of whether our dwindling resources can sustain us until the Monster King appears and whether we can win against the Monster King aside. Has everyone thought about how shall we retire the brothers that have followed us after everything is over?¡± Mu Zi words momentarily made everyone to fall into deep thoughts. Zhan Hu replied, ¡°The people from the God¡¯s village will be easy as we can just let the few elders bring them back to their village. However, those people that we recruited will be more problematic. We can¡¯t just tell them to disperse after accomplishing our tasks.¡± Gao De replied, ¡°What shall we do then? It can¡¯t be that we have to ask for some money from the three human kingdoms to dismiss them? Those people that are relying on us shouldn¡¯t be in it for money, right?¡± Xin Ao replied, ¡°We¡¯ll just disband them since it¡¯s not for money.¡± Mu Zi shook her head. ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that as we¡¯ll lose the hearts of the people if we were to do that. We must give them the best way out. Big Brother Gao De had also said previously that those that follow us aren¡¯t always due to money. The majority reason in them following us is due to your God envoy¡¯s identity. I had heard from Zhang Gong regarding the God¡¯s village. Even though our current number of people is a little too much, we can totally establish another God¡¯s village here. Everyone here are experts with strong cultivations. We can even set up a small mercenary team to accomplish easy tasks to earn living expenses.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 2 - This Kind of Base Volume 11: Chapter 2 - This Kind of Base Mu Zi surveyed the crowd and found that everyone¡¯s gazes were on her. She continued to say, ¡°We just need to set a limit to how many people we will recruit. It won¡¯t be a problem to sustain then. You¡¯ve been living together for such a long time so there definitely will be feelings towards each other. It¡¯ll be the best outcome if everyone could stay together. Of course, if people want to leave after eliminating the Monster King, we¡¯ll definitely reward them with some money and send them on their way. We¡¯ll follow my plan for those who want to stay to create a new God¡¯s village. This is just a draft plan that I thought up after hearing Zhang Gong¡¯s words. We¡¯ll still need to discuss with everyone on the specifics. I''ve spoken too much and earned everybody''s ridicule.¡± Mu Zi retreated back to my side after saying that. Zhan Hu laughed. ¡°Younger brother¡¯s wife, you don¡¯t have to be so courteous and what is there to be ridiculed for? Your plan that you proposed is awesome! I agree with your plans. We¡¯ll discuss this matter with the elders after heading back.¡± Xiu Si smiled. ¡°Mu Zi is worthy of being the Demon race¡¯s princess. She¡¯s really good at weighing the pros and the cons. Your plan isn¡¯t bad so I also agree.¡± I was secretly happy as I clearly knew that Mu Zi¡¯s talk had shortened the distance between everyone and made it easier for them to interact after this. Her thoughts were much more well rounded than mine. I nodded. ¡°Alright, since nobody has any further opinions, we¡¯ll go with this plan.¡± About a dozen of men suddenly appeared before our group, just when we just decided on the future plans for the base. They uniformly bowed. ¡°Greetings to the God¡¯s envoys.¡± I smiled. ¡°We¡¯re all brothers. Why are you so courteous then? How is our base now?¡± The dozen of them lifted their bodies from their bowing positions. One of them said, ¡°The base is in good conditions. The patrol team noticed you when you first arrived at the mountain range. The elders have brought a few people to come to receive your return. The matters regarding the God envoys¡¯ display of powers at the Str?m Fortress has been spreaded throughout the base. Everyone really admires your power.¡± Xiu Si said, ¡°How can we trouble the elders to come receive us? Zhang Gong, let¡¯s quicken our pace.¡± I nodded before instructing everyone to quicken our pace. I suddenly thought about something along the way. I asked Xiu Si, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, didn¡¯t you mentioned that you¡¯ll give me a surprise after returning to the base? What is it? You can tell me now, right?¡± Xiu Si laughed. ¡°I still can¡¯t tell you now. You¡¯ll know after reaching the base.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being mysterious! I also want to know what it is now.¡± Mu Zi commented while staying by my side. I raised Sukrad¡¯s staff to summon Xiao Jin, who was flying in the air. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll find that out soon.¡± We were already reaching the base while we chatted. We just need to get over the mountain before us before the home that I had left for so many days would be in view. A 300 men squadron appeared at that mountain peak at this moment. The leader of that group was the five elders from the God¡¯s village. The crowd that were following behind them shouted, ¡°We welcome the Gods¡¯ envoys and brothers¡¯ return.¡± We quickly flew to the mountain. It had been quite sometimes since we last met with the few elders. There was some traces of hardships shown on their faces, but their vigor was still as hale and hearty as they smiled heartily when they looked at us. ¡°Elders, we¡¯ve returned.¡± The great elder said, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve done perfectly well this time. Ah! Your face has really¡­..¡± I smiled. ¡°Everything has passed. It seems that you know about our matters extremely detailed!¡± The Great elder replied, ¡°Information gathering is crucially important to us. We¡¯ve set up a hundred men squadron to is specialised in gathering the various informations from the continent. Let¡¯s quickly head back to our base.¡± When the 500 men following us met up with the crowd, the atmosphere momentarily became lifely. Everyone happily went over the mountain to head back to the base. I received a shock after looking at the base. This was completely different from the slightly worn down village when I left. It looked just like a city and the surrounding mountains formed the city¡¯s natural walls. The entire city had been segregated into a few districts. There were densely arranged stone houses on the eastern side , an area filled with crops on the western side of the city, a plain land at the south that had a few hundred people in training and the north side of the city that we were currently heading to. There were currently over one thousand people lined up in an orderly formation. The great elder said, ¡°The houses made from stone are sturdier and last longer so we¡¯ve changed to it from the originally wooden houses that were built here. There are now lookout posts located throughout the surrounding mountains. There¡¯ll be 300 men constantly patrolling daily. Everyone takes turns to either train or to farm. The base already has its conventional way of operation.¡± I said emotionally, ¡°Elders, you have really suffered. I didn¡¯t expect that the base has already built its foundation in such a short period of time. I heard from Big Brother Xiu Si that our base is 3000 men stronghold when they left. How many are there now?¡± The Great Elder smiled. ¡°There¡¯s still 3000 of us. It won¡¯t be a problem for us to provide for 10,000 people, according to the scale of the base. However, we few elders, have considered that there might be a problem in food shortage if we were to recruit more people, which will affect our fighting strength. Thus, we decided to maintain the number of our forces to be 3000. Our group will become the main forces resisting the Monster King when it appeared.¡± Xiu Si and I smiled at each other. ¡°Elder, we¡¯ve thought about the same thing. Haha! Let¡¯s head back to the base. Big Brother Xiu Si said that there¡¯s a surprise for me. I wonder what that surprise will be.¡± With complex gazes, the few elders looked simultaneously at Xiu Si. I suddenly got the feeling that I was being schemed against. We entered the base under the escort of 2000 people. Everything had been arranged in an orderly manner. The five elders had really put in lots of effort into this base! We had arranged for a banquet at the large plain area of the base to celebrate our success that night. Everyone, excluding those on duty, was having lots of fun. I had explained the plans that Mu Zi had told us earlier in the day to the elders during the banquet and had gotten their approval. Everything had gone back to its smooth path after the ordeal from going to the Demon race. The banquet was nearing its end. Since everyone¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t weak, they still had a clear mind, even after drinking a lot of alcohol. Xiu Si smiled strangely at me before standing up, ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯ll give you the surprise now.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 3 - Gods Protector Domain Volume 11: Chapter 3 - God''s Protector Domain When I surveyed the crowd, I found that everyone, excluding Mu Zi, Zhan Hu and I, seemed to know what Xiu Si was referring to as their gazes uniformly fell on me. Xiu Si cleared his throat before saying, ¡°We¡¯ve already discussed with the few others when I led the first division Guard Squad to Str?m Fortress. We have decided to set a name for our team in order to have a sufficient reason to send troops. The name will be known as the God Protector Domain, which is meant to be guards for the Gods. Our army squadron will officially be changed to God¡¯s Protector Squadron today, since Zhang Gong has returned. Our objective is to help the Gods to eliminate the Monster race to return the world¡¯s peace and harmony.¡± Once he finished his piece, everyone instantly cheered. I asked, stunned, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, is that the surprise from you?¡± Xiu Si smiled. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not just that. You¡¯ve got to let me finish what I¡¯ve got to say. The five elders will be the supervisors of our God¡¯s Protector Squad to guide everyone¡¯s training and to supervise them. They will be forming the law enforcement division. There will be 6 squadrons from the 3000 of us. The first division squadron is comprised of the brothers that I¡¯ve brought with us. The rest of the brothers have been arranged into their respective divisions already. Since our numbers aren¡¯t much, we¡¯ll not be going to assign a low class commander. The six divisions will be specifically led by Big Brother Zhan Hu, Xin Ao, Gao De, Dong Ri, Jian Shan and I.¡± After hearing what he said, I couldn¡¯t bear not to ask, ¡°What will I be doing then?¡± Xiu Si sniggered. ¡°You get the surprise. Kingdoms can¡¯t not have a leader and officials can¡¯t lack armies. The one to take our God¡¯s Protector Domain''s leader position will be you. You¡¯ll be in charge of everything.¡± I was startled. I knew that he had thought up a conspiracy. It was just as expected. If I were to be the leader, I would be the busiest person in the group. I hastily stood up to reject. However, my objection was already drowned out by the cheers from the few thousand people. Xiu Si smiled at me with a look that meant ¡®my crafty plan was successful¡¯, which made me break out a cold sweat. I hastily turned to the five elders for assistance. ¡°Elders, I don¡¯t think the leader of the group should be me as I¡¯m young so my knowledge is shallow and I lack fame. What do you think?¡± The second elder smiled. ¡°Zhang Gong! Don¡¯t decline as we¡¯ve already discussed this matter. Everyone unanimously accepted you as our leader. How can you be not famous? Who in the world still doesn¡¯t know that God¡¯s envoy, Child of Light Zhang Gong Wei, is famous for his fighting prowess? Alright, it¡¯s finalized then.¡± Xiu Si went to my side. ¡°How is it? Zhang Gong, my surprise isn¡¯t bad, right?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°How is this a surprise? It just shocked me. Big Brother Xiu Si, you¡¯ve caused me harm.¡± I suddenly thought of a plan. I hollered out, using my dantian, ¡°Everyone, please calm down. I¡¯ve got some words to say.¡± My voice that incorporated my fusion powers surged towards the horizon, instantly suppressing the clamors at the base. I smiled. ¡°Since everyone agreed that I should take the leader¡¯s position, I won¡¯t decline. However, I have still got a matter to announce to the crowd.¡± Upon saying that, my expression became serious, and with a awe-inspiring grandeur, I said, ¡°Everyone shouldn¡¯t be too complacent, even though we were victorious this time. We still don¡¯t know how much power the Monster race truly possesses, so our path is still as arduous as it was. Thus, I hope that you can bring up your spirit to prepare for any difficulties that would occur. I¡¯ve decided to head to the location that the God King had mentioned to me to receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, and gain more power to resist the Monster King. I don¡¯t know how long this trip will take, so I suggest that the base be under the five elder¡¯s guidance during my absence. Since I¡¯m impressed by Big Brother Xiu Si¡¯s intelligence, he would be the interim leader of the team. I¡¯ll probably return when the final battle against the Monster race is about to start.¡± My words were filled with passion, so it momentarily moved all of the God¡¯s Protectors. Everyone was constantly shouting out for the downfall of the Monster King. Upon saying those words, my serious expression eased. Mu Zi whispered, ¡°Zhang Gong, what you said just now was filled with resolution.¡± I maintained my current expression and whispered back, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si wants to harm me? Let¡¯s see what he will do now.¡± As expected, Xiu Si¡¯s complexion had already paled as he looked at me filled with helplessness. Everyone went back to rest late at night. Mu Zi and I were standing on a mountain peak beside the base. The trees were gently swaying in the wind, under the moonlight. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s weather will be good.¡± Mu Zi commented. I intimately embraced her lovable body. ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s cloudless.¡± Mu Zi glanced at me. ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you really going to settle Sister Hai Shui¡¯s matter?¡± My mood dampened a little when I heard her mention Hai Shui. I had left a letter with Ma Ke to pass it to Hai Shui when we left the Str?m Fortress. In the letter, I had told Hai Shui everything that has happened and told her to forget about me as I¡¯m no longer the Zhang Gong that she had known. I really didn¡¯t know how to face her with my current look and didn¡¯t want her to see my ghastly appearance for her entirely life! Hai Shui¡¯s deep feelings for me remained as new to me as if it wasn¡¯t for her, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape from the city Mu Zi seemed to know that I was desolated, as she said, ¡°Actually, Sister Hai Shui¡¯s love for you isn¡¯t any lower than mine. She won¡¯t mind your looks. Why did you have to¡­¡­¡± I interrupted Mu Zi. ¡°Do you still remember why I wasn¡¯t willing for you to follow me initially? It¡¯s the same reason for Hai Shui. Even though my feelings for Hai Shui can¡¯t be counted as love, I¡¯m really grateful towards her. How can I harm her with my current looks? Moreover, my heart can¡¯t calm down when the Monster King¡¯s battle isn¡¯t over. Mu Zi, I want you to promise me that if something happens to me during the final battle with the Monster King,.......¡± Mu Zi covered my mouth as she fumingly rebuked, ¡°Don¡¯t say such pessimistic words. You are God¡¯s Envoy so how can you be defeated?¡± I smiled wryly and shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say on this matter. You and Hai Shui are both good girls. I wish for your happiness, so if I can¡¯t give you, I want you to find your own happiness. Mu Zi promise me that if that really happen, don¡¯t miss me, ok?¡± Mi Jia Lie¡¯s words constantly rang in my ears that he wasn¡¯t fully confident that I would be able to accept the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance. With that on my mind, how could I be certain about my future¡¯s fate? I honestly had a lot of things that I couldn¡¯t bear to part with, but I must follow through with my responsibilites for the world¡¯s peace and harmony. Volume 11: Chapter 4 - Drifting Away Volume 11: Chapter 4 - Drifting Away Tears flowed down from Mu Zi¡¯s face. She embraced me tightly and said, choked with tears, ¡°No, nothing can happen to you. Only you can give me happiness. I¡¯ll definitely live a bitter and lonely life without you. Zhang Gong, you must stay safe for me.¡± I kissed gently on her forehead. Mu Zi¡¯s unfathomably deep feelings for me greatly shook my heart. ¡°Mu Zi, please stop crying. I¡¯ll definitely do my best. We¡¯ll naturally settle the situation with Hai Shui. If we are destined to be together, then nothing will break us apart. I can¡¯t currently give her any false hope, but if she is willing to give me a chance after eliminating the Monster race, I¡¯ll definitely pursue her. I¡¯ll bring you both to roam across the continent then, alright?¡± Mu Zi didn¡¯t say anything and just silently leaned on my chest. My spirit roused after a gentle breeze blew past. The most important thing that I needed to do now was to quickly receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance. That way, I would have sufficient power to protect my loved ones. ¡®God King! The mission that you left me really is too heavy.¡¯ Not only had I spent the following days accompanying the five elders in training the God¡¯s Protector Squad, I also spent most of the time with Mu Zi and our friends. It had been a long time since I felt this free and unfettered. I didn¡¯t know what would happen when I received the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, but at that time, I was happy. We had almost wandered around the entire mountain range. I didn¡¯t mention anything about the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance to anyone during this past month as I didn¡¯t want them to worry about me, especially Mu Zi. She was really happy these few days and I love seeing her happy. My ugly appearance was still my weak point, so I didn¡¯t dare to stand by the river nor look into a mirror. Forty-six days passed by quickly. I knew that time restraints would no longer allow me to continue having fun. I must do what needed to be done and follow through with my responsibilities. The sky was still pitch black when I sat on my bed. I had lit up the room with my light illumination spell. I hadn¡¯t slept much this night since I had to leave. I specifically stayed by Mu Zi¡¯s side yesterday night. It had been such a long time since I had written Mu Zi a love letter. Since I was leaving, I would write a letter for her. I took out my paper and pen from the space pocket. It took me a long time to focus as I really didn¡¯t want to go! The sky was getting brighter when I looked out the window, to see if dawn was arriving. If I continued to dally, I would have to see the reluctance on everyone¡¯s faces when I leave and I didn¡¯t want their reluctance to influence my indecisive heart. I clenched my teeth and taking out my pen to quickly write a short letter. I placed the letter under the lamp on the table after folding it. I sighed before tossing all of my personal items into my space pocket. I didn¡¯t plan to bring Xiao Jin along this time. If the Monster race were to commence their attack on the various races while I was still receiving the Radiant God¡¯s Inheritance, Xiao Jin could substitute for me to help the group. I carefully withdrew my body¡¯s aura as I snuck out of the room with Sukrad¡¯s staff in hand. The security of the God¡¯s Protector Domain was very tight. If I were to just fly out, I would definitely be caught by the patrolling soldiers, so I didn¡¯t do that. I stealthily climbed up a hill and used my sensitive elemental power to successfully dodge two patrolling squadrons of soldiers. I finally left the God¡¯s Protector Domain¡¯s perimeters. ¡®I¡¯m so pitiful as the leader of the Domain, here I am sneaking out like a thief in the night. This feeling is really embarrassing! I really have to go my friends, I apologise for this.¡¯ I clenched my teeth as I activated the fusion powers in my body to fly out of the mountain range, staying close to the ground. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ The God¡¯s Protector Domain awoke as per usual in the morning. The soldiers responsible in farming had already gotten up and were busy tending the fields. The weather today was sunny and clear. It gave a refreshing feeling to everyone when the sunlight shone onto the ground. The morning temperatures in the mountains was a little low, but it was nothing to the members of the God¡¯s Protector Domain. Mu Zi walked out from her room, yawning. She had chatted with Zhang Gong late into the night yesterday. Recently, she kept feeling that Zhang Gong was a little down, even though he was often by her side. Thus, Mu Zi would spend every possible moment by his side to chat with him. Knock! Knock! Knock! Mu Zi knocked on Zhang Gong¡¯s door. ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s me. Have you woken up? The sun has already risen.¡± After getting no response for a long while, since she was already used to Zhang Gong¡¯s sleeping habits, Mu Zi said sharply, ¡°You just know how to sleep all day. If you still don¡¯t get up, I¡¯ll use my water spell to freeze you.¡± Zhang Gong had told Mu Zi how his mother had woken him up before, which had now been learned and applied by Mu Zi, creating the best alarm clock. Zhang Gong would definitely run to get the door after hearing that Mu Zi was going to use water magic. Mu Zi¡¯s magic power was different from his mother''s, as she was approaching the Magister level. There was one time where Zhang Gong slept too deeply and didn¡¯t hear Mu Zi¡¯s calls. He was literally flushed out from the room by her spell. But today was a little strange as she still didn¡¯t hear Zhang Gong¡¯s voice. Mu Zi had a bad premonition, so she didn¡¯t use her water spell straightaway. She just violently pushed through the door. After seeing that the room was empty on entering, Mu Zi was stunned for a while before her gaze landed on the letter that Zhang Gong had left behind. Mu Zi already knew what had happened. Her eye rims involuntarily reddened as she reached for the letter with shaky hands and picked it up. Upon opening it and reading it¡­ Author''s note from over 10 years ago: ¡°Thank you everyone for supporting me. There are many friends that commented that the pace of the book is a little slow. I¡¯ll take notice of that and quicken the pace a little. Child of Light is my first book, after all so there will definitely be some mistakes; I wish for everyone¡¯s forgiveness. Some of my friends asked me if the quality of the book would drop if I were to simultaneously write up this novel and Mad God (Kuang Shen). I can definitely give a reply that the quality won¡¯t fall as I¡¯m not writing the two books at the same time. I hope that everyone will continue supporting me. Thank you.-TJSS¡± Volume 11: Chapter 5 - Hai Shui Arrives Volume 11: Chapter 5 - Hai Shui Arrives ¡°Mu Zi, when you see this letter, I will already be far from the base. You should understand why I¡¯m heading out. I must go to protect the world¡¯s peace and harmony. I¡¯m sorry for leaving without telling you. I know that you will be hurt after learning of my departure. However, I want to tell you that no matter where I am, you¡¯ll be following me in my heart. I love you, Mu Zi. I really do. Please take care of yourself. I must obtain the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance for everyone, you, and the world. I want you to help everyone resist the Monster race when they appear. We should be able to hold for a while with the strength of our God¡¯s Protector Squad. Please help me tell Big Brother Xiu Si that he will be in charge of everything at the base. I also didn¡¯t take Xiao Jin along with me to receive the inheritance as it will be better for him to stay here to increase our strength. Mu Zi, I¡¯ve already started to miss you, even when I haven¡¯t left yet. Please take care, my love. Inscribed by, Zhang Gong Wei.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s tears fell, dampening the letter. She said, dazed, ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯re so silly! Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you had to go?¡± She just sat there in a daze feeling the loss from Zhang Gong¡¯s departure. ¡°Hey, Mu Zi, where¡¯s Zhang Gong?¡± A familiar voice came over. Mu Zi momentarily got out from her shock and turned to see that it was Zhan Hu. When Zhan Hu saw Mu Zi¡¯s tear stained face, he frowned and asked, ¡°What happened? Mu Zi, did Zhang Gong bully you? Tell me if he did. I¡¯ll help you in punishing him.¡± Mu Zi shook her head with all her might and her tears involuntarily flowed again. ¡°Big Brother Zhan Hu, Zhang Gong¡­he left.¡± Zhan Hu was so startled that he cried out, ¡°What? He left? Where did he go?¡± Mu Zi suppressed her emotions and replied, ¡°He has gone to accept the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance. Have a look at this.¡± Upon saying that, she passed the letter in her hand to Zhan Hu. After Zhan Hu read through the letter in detail, he fumed. ¡°That brat, how can he just leave without a word. I won¡¯t forgive him when he gets back.¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°Big Brother Zhan Hu, please don¡¯t blame him. I understand his intentions . He did it as he feared everyone would be extremely worried about him when he left. Moreover, he is already gone so it¡¯s too late to say anything now.¡± Zhan Hu scratched his head. ¡°We also don¡¯t know when he will return. Sigh¡­he really is¡­.. Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this. I¡¯ve come to find him as a pretty girl is outside and looking for him. We¡¯ve caught her, she¡¯s a mage. Her power isn¡¯t bad, her name is something like Hai¡­Hai¡­.¡± Mu Zi exclaimed, ¡°Hai Shui?!¡± Zhan Hu replied, ¡°Yes! Yes! She¡¯s called Hai Shui. Do you know her?¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°Big Brother Zhan Hu, I¡¯ll go with you to see her.¡± Mu Zi and Zhan Hu dashed out from Zhang Gong¡¯s room after she said that. They crossed the hillside of the God¡¯s Protector Domain to the watch post manned by a few soldiers. Mu Zi had recognised Hai Shui¡¯s blue mage robes from afar. Even though Hai Shui was still beautiful, there were still a lot of changes. Her small face was completely white devoid of blood. The robe on her body was tattered. Her face was a picture of exhaustion as she anxiously waited. She seemed to have suffered greatly on her journey! Mu Zi floated over. ¡°Hai Shui!¡± Hai Shui¡¯s eyes lit up and quickly jumped towards Mu Zi after recognising her. ¡°Sister Mu Zi, I¡¯ve finally found you guys. The search was so tough!¡± Mu Zi embraced Hai Shui¡¯s body and caressed her hair. She consoled her, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Hai Shui. Why have you come?¡± Hai Shui used her sleeves to wipe away her tears . ¡°Ma Ke had told me about Zhang Gong¡¯s news when he returned to the city. I was almost angered to death by Zhang Gong when I read his letter. What did Big Brother Zhang Gong think I am? Could it be that my heart will change once his appearance changed? I already swore long ago that he will be the perfect Big Brother Zhang Gong in my heart, no matter what changes have occurred. I immediately heard from Ma Ke that Big Brother Zhang Gong will be in this mountain range so I hurried over after reading the letter.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s body shuddered as she could understand the deep longing that filled Hai Shui¡¯s eyes very well. A girl had suddenly left her homeland to run to such a remote location for Zhang Gong. ¡®Zhang Gong! Zhang Gong! It really looks like Hai Shui¡¯s feelings aren¡¯t inferior to mine.¡¯ ¡°Sister Hai Shui, did you inform your family when you left?¡± Hai Shui¡¯s lovely face reddened before she whispered, ¡°I...I snuck out. Your place is really hard to find. It took me two days to enter this mountain range. I finally found this place after much difficulty, but they hindered me.¡± Upon saying that, Hai Shui glared fiercely at the guards at the watch post. Mu Zi smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t blame them as they are just doing their job. Sister, you¡¯ve really suffered. Let¡¯s head back to my room to rest for a while.¡± Hai Shui hesitated for a while before looking at Mu Zi¡¯s back. She stuttered, ¡°Big Sister Mu Zi, where¡¯s Big Brother Zhang Gong? Why didn¡¯t he come to receive me? Could it be...Could it be that he doesn¡¯t want to meet me?¡± Upon saying that, Hai Shui¡¯s eye rims reddened again. Mu Zi smiled wryly. ¡°How can that be? If he knew you¡¯d came, he would definitely be the first one to greet you. However, he just left. Take a look at this.¡± Mu Zi passed over the letter in her hand. Hai Shui was stunned after reading the letter¡¯s contents and said in a daze, ¡°I never expected that I would have just missed him after travelling so far.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s body slumped and fell towards the ground. Mu Zi hastily supported her body. Zhan Hu jumped in shock. ¡°What¡¯s happened to her? What¡¯s going on?¡± Mu Zi checked on Hai Shui¡¯s condition in detail. She finally let out a breath after a long while. ¡°Sister Hai Shui has always loved Zhang Gong. You should ask your good brother about the details in the future. There¡¯s nothing wrong with Sister Hai Shui. She has just collapsed from the accumulated exhaustion, the cold and being overcome with grief. Big Brother Zhan Hu, let¡¯s head back to the base. She¡¯ll get better after resting for a while.¡± Mu Zi sighed inwardly as she carried Hai Shui. ¡®Zhang Gong! Zhang Gong! You really picked a good time to leave!¡¯ Volume 11: Chapter 6 - Refused Entry to the City Volume 11: Chapter 6 - Refused Entry to the City ¡®I don¡¯t know why I suddenly sneezed. It may just be Mu Zi missing me.¡¯ After leaving the God''s Protector Domain, I had already left the mountain range and travelled for a few hours. My current goal was to head back to Str?m Fortress. I was the only one who knew the exact position of the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance so I wasn¡¯t worried about them catching up with me. The sun was high and the sky was cloudless, so I chose to fly, in order to find the God Rended Canyon after leaving the God¡¯s Protector Domain. Since I left, I wanted to get the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance as soon as possible so I could return sooner. I initially thought of using a long distance teleportation spell as it guaranteed reaching the target and became more accurate as my power increased. However, after thinking about it for a while, I ditched that plan. If I were to fail, who knows where I would end up? It might backfire and take longer for me to get to the fortress instead. Even though my flying speed wasn¡¯t comparable to the magic array teleportation spell, my speed was still considerably fast. The God King had once mentioned that the God Rended Canyon was at the western side of the border between the Humans and the Demons, which would mean the front portion of Str?m Fortress. I would just need to search to the west to find God Rended Canyon. I had sustained flight for an entire day. The sun passed over me as the world turned, towards the west, the sun began to set causing the sky to gradually darken. The consumption of power in my body during the long flight was extreme. In addition, I hadn¡¯t eaten all day so it was difficult for my body to endure the journey, even when using my fusion power. Weakness and exhaustion constantly sapped my body¡¯s strength. As I was getting a tired, I suddenly saw a piece of land in front of me that was brightly lit. I activated the fusion powers in my eyes. It was a city. The Kingdom of Dalu was the closest kingdom to Str?m Fortress, so this should be Dalu. Since I was tired, I decided to rest up in the city ahead. Thinking about that, I took out the wrapped Sukrad¡¯s staff from my space pocket and a brand new white mage¡¯s robe. I descended carefully after donning the robe and used a short-distance teleportation spell to enter the forest beside the entrance. After checking that no one was around, I pulled down the hood of the mage¡¯s robe and walked towards the city with my head lowered. I was nearing the city entrance quickly, but I heard someone shout, ¡°The entrance is closing! The entrance is closing!¡± I was stunned before lifting my head to look at the entrance. I saw that a couple of guards were currently pushing the door outwards from both sides of the inner door, resulting to the door closing. I raised my head and saw three characters on the top of the doors, Myriad Sugars City. I couldn¡¯t be that unlucky, right? If I knew this sooner, I would have just directly teleported into the city. ¡°Wait! Wait for a moment! Officers, please let me enter.¡± Upon saying that, I walked towards the city. ¡°Stop! Didn¡¯t you see that we¡¯re already closing the entrance? A soldier stopped me as he sized me up. I hastily said, ¡°Officers, I¡¯ve come from afar and really am too exhausted to move any further. Please let me in.¡± That officer glared at me. ¡°We have a rule here that nobody can enter after the curfew. Even if it¡¯s the Emperor, we also won¡¯t allow his entry. Go! Go! Go! Go away! If you really want to enter the city, you just have to wait for the next morning.¡± I frowned as I was getting annoyed so my tone also got heavier. ¡°You, the Kingdom of Dalu, also known as the Peaceful Kingdom are so unreasonable!¡± That soldier that seemed to be in a hurry to enter fumed after hearing my words. ¡°We¡¯re just doing our job. What is so unreasonable about that? Leave quickly ! We¡¯re closing the door.¡± Upon saying that, he extended his hand to push me away. I didn¡¯t want to bicker with such a person so I moved to the side in a flash dodging his hand before turning around to head back. If they didn¡¯t allow me to enter, I just had to go over the walls. Just when I turned around, I heard a distinct sound of horses galloping. I saw that they were a good breed from the speed they were travelling. Their goal was to the Myriad Sugars City. I thought about that and used a short teleportation to the side, in order to get out of the way. The galloping of the horses became clearer after a while. A few dozen cavalrymen were galloping over. I focused my gaze on them. The leader had an imposing appearance and his height was similar to mine. His build was much sturdier than mine and he wore silver armour. He was fairly good looking with a straight nose and square jaw. His age was similar to mine. He showed an anxious expression and constantly urged his warhorse forward, carrying a silver spear hanging diagonally across his back. The valiant people following him should be his subordinates. They galloped past me like lightning, heading to the city entrance. However, the city¡¯s door had closed already. The silver armoured youth¡¯s riding technique was good. After seeing the entrance shut, he violently pulled on the reins of the horse causing it to rear at the sudden stop. The youth reined up his mount cavalrymen following him also stopped. ¡°Open the door!¡± The youth shouted. The soldier at the city top looked down and shouted, ¡°Who comes?¡± The youth impatiently shouted, ¡°I¡¯m Marshall Feng Hao¡¯s vice-captain. I have official business. Open the door!¡± I thought, ¡®So, he¡¯s the subordinate of Marshall Feng Hao. I haven¡¯t met him before. It seems that there are plenty of talented individuals in the Kingdom of Dalu!¡¯ The people at the head of the city shouted, ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± The door opened in a short moment and a small squad of cavalry rode over. The leader of the team, wearing a high-ranking military officer attire, told that silver-armoured youth, ¡°Please show me your pass.¡± The silver-armoured youth took out something and passed it over. When the leader saw it, he immediately said respectfully. ¡°So it is Lord Ke Er Lan Di. Please quickly enter.¡± This was so unfair. They didn¡¯t allow me to enter the city, but once that person showed his pass, they allowed him entry. I, having a competitive spirit, used the time as the cavalry entered the city to teleport to the back of their team, then another teleportation to be the first into the city. Volume 11: Chapter 7 - Whispers Volume 11: Chapter 7 - Whispers That youth known as Ke Er lan Di felt something and surveyed his surroundings. I didn¡¯t want to find trouble so I used a few short teleportations to enter the city. I didn¡¯t care about them as I wanted to rest. After finding an inn to rest up at and get some food, I lay down on a large comfortable bed and fell into an extremely sound sleep. It was already difficult for me, a lazy person, to rush for an entire day. I wanted to rest up now and some more tomorrow to recover my energy. My skills in meditating by sleeping had been trained for more than a day or two already. My body relaxed after laying down on the bed. I circulated my fusion powers and constantly absorbed the light elements in my surroundings. I rapidly entered a dream state when my body was warm and comfortable. I stretched lazily getting out of bed the next morning. Not only had the powers in my body recovered after sleeping, but I felt exceptionally comfortable. I put the hood on to cover up my ugly face as I went to the lounge of the inn to eat in solitude. The inn¡¯s business was scarce as there were only a few tables filled with patrons. I suddenly heard someone from behind me whispering while I ate. They seemed to be a couple from their voices. The guy said, ¡°Lan Lan, I heard that when our kingdom¡¯s Marshall Feng Hao returned to the city, he asked His Majesty to resign from his position. Marshall Feng Hao has been working hard for all these years, even if he doesn¡¯t have many contributions. Moreover, he¡¯s the one who knows the most about the frontline. His resignation is such a shame.¡± The girl sounded very gentle. She seemed to be a gentle and tender girl as she said, ¡°En! I feel that Marshall Feng Hao has been treated unjustly. Actually, the one that suddenly changed his stance must be His Majesty, while Marshall Feng Hao became the scapegoat. I also heard that the Emperor of the Kingdom of Aixia has already abdicated his claim to the throne due to this matter.¡± The guy replied, ¡°Who told them to offend God¡¯s Envoys? The negotiation with the Demon-Beast alliance is really a good thing because we can avoid loss of lives. However, I just feel that those God¡¯s Envoys aren¡¯t any good. They constantly say that the Monster race is emerging and made the various kingdoms to prepare to resist them. It¡¯s still unknown whether it¡¯s true or not. Anyway, I¡¯ve never heard about the Monster race. It might just be something thee God¡¯s Envoys fabricated to scare us.¡± The girl said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, you shouldn¡¯t continue to comment on them. Currently, there¡¯s a lot of God¡¯s Envoy believers. If they were to hear what you said, they would fight you with all their might. I¡¯ve heard from the rumours that the leader of the God¡¯s Envoys is an extremely ugly mage. He¡¯s originally from the Kingdom of Aixia, but he was arrested for some various reasons. He suddenly disappeared after that. He became God¡¯s Envoy after reappearing.¡± I inwardly smiled wryly after hearing their conversation. It seemed that the people thoughts on the current situation were quite hopeful. I didn¡¯t mind their words as once the Monster race appeared, more carnage will occur. Shedding blood would be a wake up call for any non-believing humans. My good appetite vanished as I shook my head after listening. Humans would definitely not trust me just from my words. I also couldn¡¯t stand in the streets warning people, telling everybody that I know how scary the Monster King is. If I were to do that, I would probably be arrested for being a mad man. I walked out of the inn with a slightly melancholic after settling the bill. The weather today wasn¡¯t good. It was drizzling and was filled with dark clouds. I took in a mouthful of cold air while I walked in the rain. What should I do now? I had put in so much effort, but currently, there were still people that didn¡¯t understand my hard work. Even though the words of two people didn¡¯t mean that everyone thought that way, there would definitely be a group of them that would think that way too. Could it really be that they would only understand after people died? A feeling of depression filled my heart. I felt so helpless this time. ¡°What are you thinking about brother?¡± A clear voice sounded from my side. I didn¡¯t need to see that I was the one he was talking to as I could feel his gaze on my back. I said calmly, ¡°Are you talking to me? I don¡¯t think we know each other.¡± I knew that person¡¯s power was near the Radiant Knight¡¯s rank, judging from the aura I felt from that person. ¡°Perhaps, but with brother¡¯s profound magic, it¡¯s really a pity not to join the army.¡± I was startled as I turned around and looked at that person. Ah! He was unexpectedly the one that was leading the cavalry into the city yesterday, Commander Ke Er Lan Di. He was still wearing a silver armor and had a long sword at his waist, looking at me with interest. I lowered my voice. ¡°How did you know my magic is profound?¡± Ke Er Lan Di replied, ¡°You told me yourself!¡± I replied, stunned, ¡°Me?¡± Ke Er Lan Di nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a mage like you before. You can just stand in the rain and not get wet without chanting. Anyone that sees what is happening now will jump in shock. You should be at least at a Magic Scholar¡¯s level from my judgement.¡± I looked upwards after hearing what he said. As expected, the rain that would have landed on me automatically moved three inches away, leaving me completely dry. However, he was wrong to think that I was a Magic Scholar, currently my magic power might be beyond that of the continent¡¯s first Magister, Teacher Zhen. Ke Er Lan Di replied, ¡°If brother doesn¡¯t want to shock the bystanders, you should come over here.¡± Upon saying that, he pointed to his side. He was standing at the entrance of the inn that I just left. The downpour from the inn¡¯s roof was like a barrier separating us. I looked in my surroundings. There weren¡¯t many people around due to the rain, for now no one would pay attention to me. I didn¡¯t know what purpose Ke Er Lan Di had, but still walked over to him. I asked indifferently, ¡°May I ask what you wished to discuss?¡± Ke Er Lan Di looked unflustered with a faint smile on his face. ¡°I just saw that brother was standing in the streets despondently, so I thought that you might have some matters that aren¡¯t going too well for you. I don''t know what''s wrong, but maybe I can help?" Volume 11: Chapter 8 - To Invite Great Kindness Volume 11: Chapter 8 - To Invite Great Kindness He wanted to help me? It couldn¡¯t be that simple. I became wary towards him. ¡°I don¡¯t need any help as nobody can help me with my affairs.¡± Ke Er Lan Di replied, ¡°With brother¡¯s profound magic cultivation, if it is just this small city, it¡¯ll definitely devalue your abilities. I¡¯m Ke Er Lan Di. I¡¯m currently in charge of a lot of duties in the army. If you¡¯re willing, I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be able to join the army. We can work side by side and become famous.¡± I was stunned and felt that this situation was exceptionally funny. I never thought that he would unexpectedly try to recruit me to join the army. Seeing that Ke Er Lan Di didn¡¯t have any ill intentions, I relaxed and smiled, ¡°You want me to join the army? What position will you be giving me?¡± A trace of happiness showed in Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m the vice-captain for Lord Feng Hao. You should know him, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°Of course, he¡¯s the great Marshall of the Kingdom of Dalu.¡± Ke Er Lan Di replied dejectedly, ¡°He originally was, but currently due to some changes in Str?m Fortress, he has already resigned from his Marshall position, was demoted and tasked to command the second defensive line.¡± I smiled. ¡°There¡¯ll surely be a day that Marshall Feng Hao will regain his prestige.¡± I didn¡¯t say that to be courteous, but Feng Hao resigned to shoulder the responsibilities of the Kingdom of Dalu. I believed that the kingdom would think of a way to recover his position in a short while. Ke Er Lan Di replied, ¡°Let¡¯s hope that is the case. However, even if the Lord has been dispatched to the second front, his words should still carry weight due to his position serving the Kingdom for so many years. Currently, what the army lacks is mages, especially high leveled mages. If you were to join the army, I¡¯ll definitely make you my aide. We¡¯ll attack without restraint when fighting against our enemies.¡± The Vice-Captain¡¯s aide? That position couldn¡¯t be low. It seemed that Ke Er Lan Di really needed mages like a man needed water in a desert. I said calmly, ¡°Lord Ke Er Lan Di, we just met each other today. How can you be so certain about my personality? Can it be that you wouldn¡¯t mind a person with bad character to be by your side?¡± Ke Er Lan Di smiled. ¡°Since you said that, it proves that you¡¯re not that kind of person. Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll treat you for a drink. We can continue to chat while we drink.¡± I nodded and followed him back to the inn. Ke Er Lan Di ordered some food and an expensive wine, which was grown in the Kingdom of Dalu. He personally topped up the wine in a emerald green cup. ¡°Please try some. You should be from the Kingdom of Aixia, judging from your accent. You mustn¡¯t have tried the best wines from here. Please give it a taste. It¡¯s definitely unique.¡± He really was an observant person, as he noticed the finest details. I raised the wine cup. The fragrance from the red tinged wine in the emerald cup made me relax. ¡°Good wine!¡± I took a sip and the slightly sour and bitter wine flowed down my throat. Initially, I frowned, but as the wine entered my throat, it suddenly became sweet. A sweet feeling arose from my heart. My body was warmed from the inside, the pores from my body opened up, making me instantly feel exceptionally at ease. I couldn¡¯t help but praise it again, ¡°Good wine!¡± Ke Er Lan Di also drank. ¡°Although this wine isn¡¯t top-grade, it¡¯s not bad. I never got the chance to see your appearance. Can I¡­¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°My appearance has been ruined during my youth. It¡¯s best that you don¡¯t see. I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll frighten you.¡± Ke Er Lan Di replied, stunned, ¡°Why would I be? I don¡¯t judge from people¡¯s appearance.¡± I didn¡¯t want to let him see as I didn¡¯t want him to recognize my identity. Even if he was the Vice-Captain of Marshall Feng Hao, he might have seen me at Str?m Fortress. I interrupted, ¡°What is the general up to?¡± Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°I plan to station the troops of Str?m Fortress in preparation to wait for the new Marshall. I was previously ordered by Marshall Feng Hao to return to the city here to gather some rations so I missed the good show. I heard that when the three Human kingdoms and the Demon-Beast alliance were preparing to reconcile, Emperor Ke Zha from the Kingdom of Aixia suddenly changed his mind and wanted to attack the Demon-Beast alliance troops. His move instantly upset a few of the God¡¯s Envoys. They created a one kilometer chasm on the flat plain in front of the fort by using some unknown power. That scene must have been astonishing. It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t get to see that.¡± He expressed regret for not being able to see that. After a while, he continued to say, ¡°Brother, your age shouldn¡¯t be too old, judging from your voice. How about joining the army?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I temporarily haven¡¯t considered joining the army. My objective now is to go to Str?m Fortress to have a look, which is to say I want to admire the chasm that you spoke of.¡± Ke Er Lan Di frowned when I rejected the offer to join their army, but after hearing that I was heading to the Str?m Fortress, he immediately said, ¡°Let¡¯s head there together then. Moreover, the distance to Str?m Fortress from here isn¡¯t too far. We¡¯ll be able to reach it in a few days on horse back.¡± Seeing his sincere appearance, I didn¡¯t want to reject him. But if I were to fly with all my strength, I would be able to reach the Str?m Fortress in a day. I wondered if I should agree. Ke Er Lan Di saw me hesitating so he quickly added. ¡°If you come with us, you¡¯ll definitely decrease your troubles. You should know that the Str?m Fortress is undergoing repair so ordinary people can¡¯t enter. With my pass, if you come with us, entering the city will be much easier.¡± His words didn¡¯t have much effect as my goal wasn¡¯t to be inside the Str?m Fortress and I could just fly there. Forget it, since it wouldn¡¯t take up much time, I would just go and travel with him by horse. I had always been riding Xiao Jin in the sky. I hadn¡¯t ridden a horse since I was young. It would be good to give it a try. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 9 - Leaving on a Journey Volume 11: Chapter 9 - Leaving on a Journey Ke Er Lan Di laughed. ¡°What are you saying? It¡¯s my luck to be able to invite you, a profound mage, to accompany us on this trip. It¡¯s settled then. You just have to wait for me here. I¡¯ll go and pack up now. After a while, I¡¯ll come and get you.¡± Upon saying that, he downed the rest of his glass and turned around to head out. It seemed that I didn¡¯t need to depend on my identity to be liked by others. I would just let him gather his troops. This wine was really not bad. Since he wasn¡¯t going to finish it, I thought I should help him. I grabbed onto the bottle and unceremoniously drank from it. Since I wasn¡¯t in a good mood previously, I hadn¡¯t had my fill. The few dishes that Ke Er Lan Di ordered were the most expensive dishes on the menu here. I could just have another meal. Mu Zi and I had stomachs that were bottomless pits so I could continue to eat, these few dishes were nothing to me. I ate the majority of the delicacies on the table like a gale had passed through. That fellow Ke Er Lan Di had left in such a hurry so he didn¡¯t pay the bill yet. Could it be that I would have to pay for it? It seemed that I could only wait for his return. I prayed for his return as I really didn¡¯t bring much money due to leaving in a hurry. The overall cost of all the wine and food shouldn¡¯t be low. The taste of the wine wasn¡¯t bad, but the cup wasn¡¯t ideal. I heard from Teacher Di that when drinking wine, it depends on the cup. Even though it was only jade cups this time, I could accept it. Fortunately, I clearly heard a horse¡¯s hooves after a short while. It should be a dozen of Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s cavalrymen.¡± As expected, my judgement was right. The horse¡¯s hooves stopped at the entrance of the inn. Ke Er Lan Di excitedly came back. ¡°Brother, we can head out now. Oh! That¡¯s right, I haven¡¯t asked for your name.¡± I was stunned as I couldn¡¯t tell him the truth. ¡°My Lord, you don¡¯t need to be so courteous. You can just call me Eighteen, as that¡¯s what my friends call me.¡± I suddenly reminisced the time I had spent chopping firewood at the Demon Race¡¯s Royal Palace. Ke Er Lan Di didn¡¯t ask any further. ¡°Brother Eighteen, let¡¯s head out now.¡± I looked at the remaining food and empty red bottle of wine on the table. I smiled wryly. ¡°Lord Ke Er, you had said that you¡¯ll be going to treat this meal.¡± I already couldn¡¯t care about my face at such a moment. Ke Er Lan Di replied in a daze, stunned, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. My apologies that I¡¯ve forgotten about it. Boss, settle the bills.¡± After seeing that Ke Er Lan Di paid for the bills, I heaved a sigh of relief. This could be counted that I owed him a favour. I grabbed onto the cloth covered Sukrad¡¯s staff and followed him out the inn. His subordinates were waiting there radiating valiance. There were two riderless horses, one of them should be Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s and the other should be prepared for me. ¡°Eighteen, please, this is your mount.¡± Ke Er Lan Di politely pulled a white, tall and large horse in front of me. His subordinates looked at me with curious gazes. The drizzle outside had already stopped, but the sky was still gloomy. It seemed that it had been a long time since I rode a horse. I didn¡¯t know if this horse would treat me well. Ke Er Lan Di seemed to know what I was thinking about as he smiled and said, ¡°Rest assured, Eighteen. I know that you¡¯re a mage so I picked a relatively good natured horse. Do you need my help to get on the horse?¡± I shook my head, when I was at the Kingdom of Xiuda, I had received Teacher Wen¡¯s hellish training. My physique was still alright. I grabbed on the saddle and stirrup to sit on the horse. The horse was good-natured, like Ke Er Lan Di had said. There wasn¡¯t any resistance when I sat on his back. I let out a sigh and began to enjoy the feeling of riding the horse. It really felt as though I was looking down on the land when I sat on the tall horse. Ke Er Lan Di smiled. ¡°Brother Eighteen, I¡¯ll give you an introduction. These are my brothers. They have a cavalry title at the very least.¡± When I surveyed the group of cavalry, there were 18 of them, excluding Ke Er Lan Di. All of them looked cold and collected with a stern expression. Their emotions were hidden. Their cultivation weren¡¯t weak from the aura emitting from their bodies. They were near Sky Knight rank. It seemed that Ke Er Lan Di wasn¡¯t simple since his subordinates were all experts. I nodded towards the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet all of you. I¡¯m Eighteen. Please take care of me.¡± Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get on our way.¡± Upon saying that, he turned the horse around to head out of the city. I hastily followed his actions to moving the horse into action. It was a pity that it didn¡¯t really listen to me. It did move, but his speed was very slow. Luckily, Ke Er Kan Di and the rest didn¡¯t move too fast. After adjusting for a while, when we left the city, I was able to put up with it forcefully due to my talent. Ke Er Lan Di and I were riding at the front of the column. He often told me interesting things that happened in the army. It looked like this fellow was extremely well known in the Kingdom of Dalu. He joined the army when he was fourteen and slowly accumulated his contributions to reach his current position. There wasn¡¯t anything to do with luck in getting his position. He was currently 26, so he was much older than me. But there weren¡¯t any traces of time¡¯s baptism visible on his face. ¡°Brother Eighteen, I don¡¯t know which magic do you practice.¡± I answered, ¡°I learn light magic and studied at the Senke Magic Academy.¡± Senke Magic Academy was the biggest academy in the Senke City, which was beside my home. It was definitely well known in the Kingdom of Aixia, but it still wasn¡¯t comparable to the Royal Magic Academy. Ke Er Lan Di didn¡¯t doubt my words. ¡°Can I ask what¡¯s your current level and realm that you have reached in magic?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. It should be at the Magic Scholar¡¯s realm that you said.¡± Ke Er Lan Di nodded. ¡°Is light magic hard to learn? I heard that the elemental light magic doesn¡¯t have much offensive power.¡± After hearing what he said, I couldn¡¯t help thinking the reason why I chose to learn light magic. The me from before would never expect that I would reach such a progress in magic today. Sigh! Perhaps, it was destined. Volume 11: Chapter 10 - Sinister Clouds in the Dark of Night Volume 11: Chapter 10 - Sinister Clouds in the Dark of Night ¡°Brother Eighteen, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I got caught up in my memories. ¡°Nothing much, I was just thinking about when I first started to learn magic. You¡¯re right that at the beginning, light magic doesn¡¯t have any offensive power, but it gets better once you reach the intermediate level.¡± Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°Nobody cared about light magic before, but it¡¯s different now. Everyone is fighting to learn it. Those that haven¡¯t laid their foundations in magic have gone to learn light magic.¡± I asked, stunned, ¡°Why? It¡¯s really very hard to train to higher realms in light magic. Its improvement speed is much lower than fire magic.¡± Ke Er Lan Di sighed. ¡°Talking about this, you need to know about the God¡¯s Envoy. You know who the God¡¯s Envoys are, right? It¡¯s that fellow that succeeded in getting our three Human kingdoms, Demons, and Beasts to reconcile. I heard that he was initially from your Kingdom of Aixia. His light magic is extremely incredible. It¡¯s said that he¡¯s already beyond the Magister¡¯s realm and is just a step away from the realm of Grand Magister. Currently, everyone from the Kingdom of Aixia treats him as their pride.¡± There was such a thing? Why didn¡¯t I know that? I felt very comfortable hearing him praise me. ¡°That¡¯s what I heard from the rumours, but how powerful is he truly, I want to seek for his guidance if a chance arises.¡± Ke Er Lan Di laughed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s increase our pace. If not, we¡¯ll miss our resting point tonight.¡± Upon saying that, he spurred his horse forward. I could only follow him and grit my teeth. Riding a horse wasn¡¯t fun. My entire body was extremely sore after half a day of riding. I was lucky that my physique wasn¡¯t bad and managed to endure it. The sky darkened. Due to accommodating me, we hadn¡¯t reached the next city. Ke Er Lan Di pointed to the forest by the roadside. ¡°Let¡¯s rest here tonight and continue tomorrow.¡± His subordinate said, ¡°Lord, if we don¡¯t catch up some time, we won¡¯t be able to reach the fort at the appointed time. What do you think?¡± Ke Er Lan Di waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s not something important. It¡¯s alright to be late a few nights. I¡¯m also a little tired. Let¡¯s rest here today. We¡¯ll just wake up earlier tomorrow to head out.¡± My heart warmed after hearing his words. ¡®He was really thoughtful. Ke Er Lan Di was a really good guy, worth befriending and even if it was to recruit me.¡¯ I silently led my horse to follow the troops into the forest. After tying the horse, a few cavalrymen cleared some space. Some started to light a fire, and some began to bring out their bedrolls that they carried and placed them on the floor. Everything was in order, it could be seen that they were all well trained. Everyone crowded around the fire and ate their rations. The sky had completely darkened. Ke Er Lan Di really knew how to enjoy himself, as even though it was only rations, they were still good food and wine. It was the same kind of wine that we drank at the inn. ¡°Ever since I joined the army, I always liked this wine. First it¡¯s bitter, but the sweet aftertaste moves me.¡± Ke Er Lun Di said that, slightly intoxicated. I took the wine in his hand and drank a big mouthful of it. ¡°Can soldiers drink wine? I remembered that the armies from the three kingdoms are restricted from drinking.¡± Ke Er Lan Di laughed. ¡°I know this better than you do. However, this type of wine doesn¡¯t have much impact, and aren¡¯t I secretly drinking it now? My brother subordinates were influenced by me and love this wine as well, so they won¡¯t report me.¡± He grabbed the wine bottle in my hands and drank a mouthful. The blood red wine seeped out from the sides of his mouth. His heroic spirit momentarily affected the crowd as they started to drink too. This type of feeling wasn¡¯t bad¡ªsitting in front of a fire, eating delicacies and drinking good wine, it was really nice! The gentle breeze caused the leaves to rustle as it blew through the clearing. In addition to chirping of insects, it gave me a rather calm feeling. After everyone had their fill, only four knights were on watch duty and everyone else started to rest. Ke Er Lan Di lay side by side with me in watching the stars. He said, ¡°Eighteen, this isn¡¯t the first time you rode a horse, right?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°You could see that? It can¡¯t be counted as my first because I¡¯ve ridden a couple of times before in my childhood.¡± When I mentioned about my childhood, I started to think about my parents at the faraway Aixia. I didn¡¯t know how were they now. I hadn¡¯t been back for such a long time already. They must be missing me greatly, but I really couldn¡¯t head back now as there were too many things that I needed to settle. Moreover, I had such a ghastly appearance. I wondered if they could still recognise me. Ke Er Lan Di smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been a soldier for many years. If I couldn¡¯t figure this out, I would have wasted all my years of training. I could tell from the posture when you rode the horse. You¡¯re already not bad. If it was an ordinary mage, they would just fall forwards. Learning to ride a horse isn¡¯t something you do in one or two days.¡± I withdrew my thoughts. ¡°If you were to continue bringing me along, it¡¯ll definitely affect your speed. How about you head back first? We can still meet up in the future.¡± Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Since we embarked together, we should reach our destination together. It¡¯s alright to be a bit slow, currently the three Human kingdoms, Demons, and Beasts have successfully reconciled. Moreover, there¡¯s the man made rift made by the God¡¯s Envoys. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem.¡± The temporary peace might not be something good because the Monster Race were plotting in the dark. They might start to massacre the various races when they reemerged. Just as I wanted to speak, the sky darkened. It seemed that a sinister cloud had covered the clear night. Ke Er Lan Di also noticed. ¡°Hmm? It can¡¯t be that it¡¯s going to rain, right? There¡¯s no shelter here. If it were to rain, it will be terrible.¡± The power of the Holy Sword at my chest suddenly surged. My entire body tensed up. I knew what that cloud was. It was the Holy Sword¡¯s alert that immediately made me become wary. I said seriously, ¡°Ke Er, that¡¯s not right. It doesn¡¯t seem to be clouds. Quickly, have everyone on alert. This atmosphere isn¡¯t right.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 11 - Monster Traces Suddenly Appear Volume 11: Chapter 11 - Monster Traces Suddenly Appear Ke Er Lan Di was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It can¡¯t be¡ªthere¡¯s nothing wrong here.¡± My bad premonition was growing; there was a sinister chill coming from nearby. I waved my hand, casting a low grade water spell to put out the fire at the camp. I grabbed Sukrad¡¯s staff and stood up as I could clearly feel the Monster race¡¯s aura. I knew the demonic aura so well that I couldn¡¯t be more familiar with them. Why had they appeared here? Ke Er Lan Di stood with me, but he seemed to be unable to discover anything amiss. He frowned. ¡°Eighteen, are you serious? Why can¡¯t I feel anything then?¡± I whispered, ¡°Quickly, get everyone up. Our surroundings are filled with a terrifying power. We must be prepared.¡± Ke Er Lan Di nodded. He was a well trained soldier with a lot of experience after all. He was good at adapting to sudden situations. His subordinates were really remarkable as they had already gathered without making a single sound. The sinister aura in the sky thickened. Ke Er Lan Di also felt something was wrong at this moment. ¡°What¡¯s that? It looks sinister.¡± I said seriously, ¡°If I haven¡¯t guessed wrong, it should be the Monster race.¡± ¡°Monster Race? Ke Er Lan Di cried out, ¡°There¡¯s really a Monster race?¡± I looked at him and shook my head helplessly. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people in the continent that have the same mindset as you do. I can tell you now that they really exist as I¡¯ve fought against them. You shouldn¡¯t ask anything for the moment as we should deal with the situation at hand. Everyone follow me to see what¡¯s happening.¡± Upon saying that, I used my senses to walk deep into the forest. It was easy to differentiate the Monster race¡¯s deathly aura. I just moved towards where the aura was at its thickest. This should find them. Ke Er Lan Di brought his 18 subordinates to follow me closely, without making a single sound. The deathly aura was getting increasingly thick. It was so thick that it emitted a strong pressure. Finally, when we walked into the depths of the forest, I found the source of the deathly aura. It was a clearing within the forest. The clearing didn¡¯t have any trace of life. The grey land meant that they weren¡¯t any creatures, and the grass in the surroundings showed signs of withering. There was a pit about 16 metres wide at the center of the clearing. It was impossible to see what was in it from our viewpoint. Faint red light came out from that hole, giving it an exceptionally sinister feeling. Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°Is this the den of the Monster race?¡± I nodded slightly. ¡°It¡¯s very possible. Let¡¯s just wait and see.¡± This hole was much smaller than the one beside our base that Big Brother Zhang Hu and the rest of us had eliminated. There weren¡¯t any monsters appearing, but I was certain that this was another sinister spawning ground for the Monster race. I had to kill them while they were spawning. Otherwise, it would bring an unknown number of losses. The sky was still as gloomy. The centre of the sinister looking clouds was above this hole. Rustling sounds could be heard from the hole. I hastily gave a ¡®Be careful¡¯ eye signal towards Ke Er Lan Di as I no longer tried to keep my identity a secret. I stealthily took out Sukrad¡¯s staff from the cloth. I activated the fusion power in my body to sustain my peak state. While I was preparing, the rustling sound got stronger. ¡®Rustle! Rustle!¡¯ Ten black figures shot out from the hole and landed on the ground. I had seen those disgusting and horrifying monsters before. They seemed to sense a human¡¯s aura as their glimmering red eyes shot in our direction. I whispered, ¡°Everyone, take care of yourself.¡± I definitely wouldn¡¯t show mercy to that sinister race. After confirming my thoughts, I decided to annihilate them at lightning speed. After activating my body¡¯s powers, I didn¡¯t care about Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s surprised gaze and leapt out. The Sukrad¡¯s staff brought a white light with it. A 10m white light ray shot towards the monsters in front of us. After a loud explosion, a few of the monsters were instantly annihilated from being engulfed with the light element¡¯s purifying power, like a spring wind that swept past. However, I didn¡¯t relax as more monsters were rapidly flowing out of the hole. ¡°Light elements! My great friends, I plead to you to use your power to form limitless light rays to form light stars and to eliminate the enemies before you.¡ªBright Star¡¯s Shine!¡± Light elements rapidly gathered by my side and constantly forming light stars, creating layer after layer. I chanted to bring forth the maximum power of this magic spell. My body floated as I retreated into the forest. Numerous light stars burst forth at my command. The intense light made Ke Er Lan Di, the rest of his subordinates and I to lose our sight. I clearly felt the monsters that were surging out from the hole were vaporized from my attack, including some of the monsters that were still in the hole. When the light dimmed, the clearing was already filled with thousands of holes and green fluid was everywhere. I didn¡¯t know how many monsters had died. The entire clearing formed a gigantic hole. Waves of sickening odor wafted towards us, making me frown. Ke Er Lun Duo looked stunned at what happened and muttered, ¡°This...What magic is this to have such might? You...You can¡¯t just be a Magic Scholar, right?¡± I said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m not done yet. Be careful.¡± I started to gather the power from the Holy Sword to completely erase this den. There were suddenly mournful shrieks from the den as a couple of red lights dashed towards us. I brandished Sukarad¡¯s staff horizontally to cast a light screen to use it as a barrier that would block the monsters that were coming out. With a flash of light, they were eliminated by my light elements. The monsters that were currently emerging were three times as fast as they were before. The offensive power of those monsters was slowly becoming stronger. If it weren¡¯t for the steady flow of fusion power in my body, it would really be difficult to deal with them. Volume 11: Chapter 12 - Desperate Situation Volume 11: Chapter 12 - Desperate Situation The fighting with the monsters this time was different than with the God Protector Domain, as I didn¡¯t have my brothers¡¯ support. Moreover, we were currently fighting from the outer perimeter to its interior. Since I had more manpower at that time, I could freely use my Holy Sword¡¯s power. However, now I couldn¡¯t because the monsters were constantly appearing. I could only resist them, giving me no chance to gather the Holy Sword¡¯s power. ¡°Large Dimensional Slash.¡± I used the space magic offensive spell with all my might. Space seemed to have broken, causing a crack to form and sucking in over a hundred monsters. My body swayed a little after using that Large Dimensional Slash, as long periods of time while using powerful offensive powers took a huge portion of my powers. Even though my fusion power recovery rate was fast, I didn¡¯t have any time to take a break. The ground from underneath me suddenly began to shake and a strong power came forth. I didn¡¯t have the time to use magic so I quickly leapt to the side. A gigantic spider came out from where I previously stood. It was about 3 meters long. This couldn¡¯t be the spider¡¯s ancestor, right? Its red eyes glared coldly at me. A translucent green thread shot from its mouth towards me. The powers in my body were already recovering at this moment. I used short-distance teleportation to dodge its attack. I pointed Sukrad¡¯s staff to shoot out a giant light sword. After it struck downwards, a loud explosion occurred and the spider was blasted into smithereens. There was even a deep ditch that appeared on the ground. When I was dealing with the spider, numerous monsters were emerging from the hole. They were no longer just attacking me as Ke Er Lan Di was also being attacked. All 20 of us entered the battle in that moment. Ke Er Lan Di and the other 18 guards obviously had plenty of fighting experience. They didn¡¯t panic or become disorderly when facing the large group of monsters, instead forming a small circle and constantly emitting their battle spirit to kill their opponent. They would be able to sustain themselves for a while. In my heart, I secretly cried as I couldn¡¯t gather the Holy Sword¡¯s power now to eliminate them once and for all. Judging from the current situation, I also couldn¡¯t fly up to gather my powers as there were many monsters that had wings. Currently, the pressure on me was getting greater and greater as the attacks from the monsters were coming from all directions. I really regretted not taking the time at the start using the Holy Sword¡¯s power to destroy this hole. Even though the hole wasn¡¯t bigger than the one that the God¡¯s Protector Domain destroyed, the timing for the spawning of the monsters was getting faster. At this rate, it would be my death once I used up my powers. I still couldn¡¯t think of any good ways to deal with them as time gradually passed. I thought of escaping on my own. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for me to escape using my space magic, but how could I? There was Ke Er Lan Di and the rest. Moreover, even if they weren¡¯t here, I couldn¡¯t let these monsters leave and cause harm in the world. It would be great if Xiao Jin, Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest were here. With their help, I would have been able to use the divine power of the Holy Sword. I had learned a lot, but didn¡¯t know how to apply it. I originally felt that my powers weren¡¯t bad, but seeing today¡¯s situation, it really wasn¡¯t enough! These were only low-class monsters and if some of the Monster race¡¯s experts were to come, I would die today. What light spell did I have that I could sustain for some time and still had formidable power, in order to give me enough time to gather the Holy Sword¡¯s power? These monsters weren¡¯t something that human soldiers could resist and this more than ever proved that I really needed to accept the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance. The various Monsters were getting increasingly stronger. Even though I could still sustain myself, Ke Er Lan Di and the other brothers were having a tough time as a majority of them were injured. Two of the soldiers were severely injured so they were protected in the center by Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s command, keeping them safe for a moment. However, the situation was already difficult even with their assistance, but it was getting worse now. When Ke Er Lan Di wasn¡¯t careful, he was scratched on the shoulder by a monster, blood momentarily covered half of his body. He bitterly bore the pain and continued resisting the monsters, red battle spirit was continuously emitted from his sword. Seeing that it was already a crucial moment, if I couldn¡¯t think of a good plan, we were all going to die here. I suddenly thought to the time that I was still at the Aixia¡¯s Royal palace. When Mu Zi infiltrated the palace along with many others of the demon race, I had used the forbidden light spell to eliminate most of them with Teacher Zhen¡¯s assistance. My current fusion power was much greater than before. I should be able to cast the forbidden spell by myself. If the Eternal Recovery Light could be sustained for a while, I could use all of the Holy Sword¡¯s powers. I would then have a greater chance of annihilating this hole. This spell¡¯s greatest benefit was that not only can it kill the enemy, but that it could also treat my allies. It was my only pathway now. I hope that I still have some power after using the forbidden spell. Thinking about that, I clenched my teeth and no longer hesitated. While resisting the monsters in my surroundings, I chanted loudly, ¡°Great Light elements! You hold boundless powers. The darkness before you is insignificant. To the eternal light that is flowing in the horizon, I plead to you to descend into the world and bestow a limitless recovery light on me to recover all pains to end all suffering. Eternal Recovery Light!¡± My entire body seemed to have broken apart as the light elements in my surroundings gathered around me. My three gold dans flew out from my dantain to my back, forming an enormous hexagonal array. The numerous light elements in the air started to become frantic. Divine aura surged out from my body. The magic power in my body was rapidly surging outwards, causing waves of exhaustion in me. I cried inwardly as I didn¡¯t know if I had enough power remaining to activate the Holy Sword after this forbidden spell. Volume 11: Chapter 13 - Casting Another Forbidden Spell Volume 11: Chapter 13 - Casting Another Forbidden Spell The power gradually got stronger and both of my hands were raised involuntarily. Sukrad¡¯s staff gave off a peculiar glow as numerous runes were released from the transparent gemstone at the head of the staff, surrounding me. My eyes turned completely gold, just like when I used the Holy Sword. The hexagon on my back became brighter. There was a faint light phantom that appeared behind me. It was the figure of the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lie! His silhouette gradually appeared from my back as the enormous divine power enclosed my body. I gave out a roar while I gathered all of the power into Sukrad¡¯s staff, causing a gold light ray to shoot into the sky. The light ray seemed to have substance as it broke through the sinister cloud. The gold light that I shot out was extremely clear in the dark sky, and I felt exceptionally feeble as I had used up 70% of the fusion power in my body. This was a forbidden spell after all. The pitch black sky suddenly brightened and a fragrance permeated the area, allowing me to refocus. The deathly aura in the sky became increasingly weaker, and the monsters in the surroundings also became sluggish. I tried my best to expand the area of the fusion spell, blowing away the surrounding monsters. The fragrance intensified, giving off a gentle and faint power, giving hope to the humans. The night suddenly lit up again as the light element rain poured down. The light rain was extremely small as it landed and fused with my body. It not only soothed the meridians that were damaged from overusing my powers, it also constantly recovered the powers in my body. I specifically restricted the range of the Eternal Recovery Light to a 100 meter radius, which covered the clearing and surrounding forest, so the impact of the forbidden spell would target this area. The light rays intensified, forming an even more densely packed light rain. The monsters in the surrounding area suddenly stopped attacking us and uniformly looked at the change in the sky, their bodies gradually became evanescent wisps of dark energy under the purifying light rain. They were disappearing one after the other. However, the monsters didn¡¯t show painful expressions, they seemed to be relieved instead. Why was that? The light rain flowed constantly without any intention of stopping. I didn¡¯t know how much longer it would last, but I definitely couldn¡¯t be careless and lose this opportunity as the Eternal Recovery Light wouldn¡¯t be able to annihilate all of the monsters in that den. I used a short teleportation spell to enter the protection of Ke Er Lan Di and the troops. The injured crowd was already affected by the treatment of their pain and recovery of their powers. I said seriously, ¡°Ke Er, please help by guarding me for a while. I¡¯ll exterminate them all at once.¡± My voice woke Ke Er Lan Di from his stupor. He looked at me with respect and reverence. I slightly nodded towards him before instantly crouching on the ground, using the back of Sukrad¡¯s staff to draw lines in the ground. A complicated rune rapidly appeared on the ground from my drawings. A medium sized magic array appeared at the center of the defensive line. This was an assistance magic array that could rapidly increase the user¡¯s powers. However, it had a negative side effect. The attraction of the elements wouldn¡¯t be orderly; when absorbing the elements it wouldn¡¯t just be of a single type, so the caster would have difficulty in controlling the spell. It was just to use its power to achieve your objective. After using it, my cultivation would fall drastically but I didn¡¯t consider it much because my fusion powers should be able to convert those elements. Anyway, the drop in my cultivation wasn¡¯t really something I could control, due to needing the power of the array. I took in a deep breath and started to float above the magic array. With both my eyes closed, I coaxed the fusion powers in my body to enter the magic array. The magic array momentarily gave off intense light as it shone with constant great flashes of magic. The countless magic elements in the surroundings, especially the unceasing light rain, rapidly gathered around me as its center. The monsters on the ground had already disappeared, since the light rain was still going, there wasn¡¯t any movement from the hole. Wave after wave of power surged from all directions towards me. Light elements made up the majority, yet various other elements came as well. The moment I started to absorb the powers, a feeling of fear crept in my head, I was too careless. If it wasn¡¯t for the Eternal Recovery Light that eliminated the deathly aura, my assistance magic array would have absorbed those deathly energies into my body. I wouldn¡¯t be able to activate the Holy Sword¡¯s power then, nor would my body be able to withstand it. I definitely couldn¡¯t make the same mistake, the danger was too great. The thought made me break out into a cold sweat. Luckily, my trial and error worked out fine. Countless powers were being absorbed into my body. The three dim gold dans were constantly solidifying. I had absorbed half of the power from a forbidden spell, which were my light element friends, born from the power of heaven and earth. My power returned back to its peak state after a moment. I was elated as it seemed that the side effect of using that magic array wouldn¡¯t appear. The effect of using this magic array, coupled with the Eternal Recovery Light, wasn¡¯t bad. Power was constantly absorbed by me. The forbidden spell was already getting weaker as the light rain had become much smaller. As the effects of the forbidden spell were vanishing, the powers in my body had already changed into golden liquid, constantly revolving and surrounding the three gold dans. My cultivation seemed to have increased! Under my will, the tremendous fusion power surged to my chest and the silver Holy Sword let out a brief burst of intense light from my body. I yelled with confidence, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance from the vault of the heavens.¡± The fusion power in my body rapidly converting to the Holy Sword¡¯s divine aura. The six light wings that disappeared before reemerged again from my back. My entire body shuddered as the silver Holy Sword left my body. Its size was much larger and it silently floated in front of me. I could clearly feel that I could completely control the power before me. Volume 11: Chapter 14 - Destroying the Monster Hole Volume 11: Chapter 14 - Destroying the Monster Hole ¡°Ke Er, quickly bring everyone to retreat. I¡¯m going to eliminate this sinister hole.¡± Ke Er Lan Di was astonished when he saw the Holy Sword before me, he wasn¡¯t able to react for a moment. I anxiously said, ¡°Quickly go! There may be a huge explosion when it happens.¡± Ke Er Lan Di was abruptly woken up from his shocked state. He then led his 18 subordinates, that had already recovered due to the light rain, to leave the area. I heaved a sigh of relief and focused on the hole in front of me. The light rain had already disappeared, so the sinister aura was constantly brewing again from the hole. I knew that the monsters would emerge again. I raised the Sukrad¡¯s staff in my hand and inserted my fusion power into it, causing light rays to intensely shine from the enormous transparent gemstone at the head of the staff. The Holy Sword once again got larger and flew towards the top of of the hole. Under my control, I willed the Holy Sword that constantly emitted silver divine aura to point downwards towards the center of the hole. I narrowed my eyes and circulated the power of the Holy Sword¡¯s power to my very limit before shouting, ¡°Go to hell!¡± When the Sukrad¡¯s staff was brandished downwards, the Holy Sword, carrying its silver aura, suddenly disappeared into the hole. Numerous mournful shrieks could be heard, shaking the heavens and earth. The ground started to quiver constantly. I focused and rapidly teleported 100 meters away. As I disappeared, the hole suddenly erupted. After the large explosion was heard, the plains, along with 10 meters of the forest, was completely blown away. The remains of soil and plants were constantly raining down in the air. The Monster aura had completely vanished after the silver flash reached the hole. I brandished Sukrad¡¯s Staff to withdraw the Holy Sword immediately. The light ray from the Holy Sword was clearly much dimmer after releasing its tremendous power. I took in a deep breath and erased the magic array that I had previously arranged and inserted the powers from my body back into the Holy Sword. I didn¡¯t move to leave as I was waiting for the main leader of the hole to emerge. The previous experience was still fresh in my memory. I didn¡¯t know if there was anything remaining in the hole, but if there was, I would annihilate all sinister beings without second thoughts. My judgement was correct. There were two black specters that floated out from the hole shortly afterwards. I snorted coldly and brandished the Sukrad¡¯s staff in my hand to restrain those two specters. Perhaps they were previously severely damaged by the Holy Sword, as they were unexpectedly caught easily. The two black specters were too suppressed to maintain their human form after being restrained. Those two people looked deathly. As they humanised, I was shocked because I knew them. One was Si Feng Ri, the continent¡¯s magister and the leader of the Ri Family¡¯s leader in the Kingdom of Aixia. While the other was his grandson, Hai Shui¡¯s previous boyfriend, Feng Liang Ri. Even though their appearances didn¡¯t change, their auras were just like when Li Si Dun Wei Bo and I had previously met. They were also dressed in the same fashion. Si Feng Ri and Feng Liang Ri glared viciously at me. Feng Liang Ri had already lost an arm. The both of them showed a sorry figure as grey fluids were constantly flowing from their mouths and noses. I felt that they were no longer a threat to me with their current powers, especially since the Holy Sword¡¯s power having already severely injured them. ¡°You interrupted our great matters again.¡± Si Feng Ri said with hatred. I sighed. ¡°Leader of the Ri family, is this really worth the trouble? Your position in the Kingdom of Aixia was so prestigious, so why did you help the Monster King harm the Human race? What benefit do you have in doing that?¡± It was extremely illogical as to why the leader of the Ri family, which was one of the three great families in the kingdom, had fallen into such a sorry state. The deathly aura was still constantly surging outwards, but due to his power deficiency, he was unable to break out from the restraints. ¡°Zhang Gong Wei, you killed all of my clan members today. Just kill me. The Lord Monster King will definitely not let you off for this. It¡¯ll be your death once he reappears in this world.¡± It seemed that the people leading this hole wasn¡¯t just the two of them, but the entire Ri family¡¯s clan. Despite that, they were still killed under my attacks, I felt upset because they were once humans and killing them wouldn¡¯t make me happy. However, I understood that Si Feng Ri and Feng Liang Ri could no longer turn back. If I was to forgive them, the Monster Race would simply have that much more power. ¡°Ri family head, the Monster Race is filled with detest and hatred that only knows how to invade and annihilate. If they were to take over the continent, the Human race would be exterminated. Is that really what you want to see?¡± Even though I knew that it was useless asking, I still couldn¡¯t beat the temptation. Si Feng Ri snorted viciously. ¡°That¡¯s right! That¡¯s exactly what I want to see. The Humans have lived for a long time, but how can they be compared to our Monster race? Ah!!!¡± Suddenly, his entire body¡¯s grey aura expanded and unexpectedly broke through the restraints on him, forming into a grey lighting that charged towards me. I shook my head helplessly. The Holy Sword before me moved without my command to receive that blow. With a mournful shriek, Si Feng Ri¡¯s body vanished. I still killed him, even if I was unwilling.There was traces of fear in Feng Liang RI¡¯s eyes as he silently looked at me in a daze. I sullenly said, ¡°Feng Liang, I won¡¯t let you go today. Do you have any last words?¡± Feng Liang Ri¡¯s eyes suddenly cleared up. He said in a daze, ¡°I don¡¯t know why I turned into this state. However, what more can I say for what has happened until now?! Please help me tell Hai Shui that initially, I really did love her. If there¡¯s a next life, I¡¯ll definitely treat her extremely well.¡± Upon saying that, a sliver of sadness filled Feng Liang Ri¡¯s eyes. ¡®Hong!¡¯ His body suddenly expanded and exploded. His grey aura vanished into nothingness. I withdrew the Holy Sword and descended to the ground. I looked dazedly at where Feng Liang Ri had vanished. I wasn¡¯t the slightest bit happy, even after successfully annihilating all of the monsters here; sadness filled my heart instead. ¡®Feng Liang! Why did you do that? If you had come back to your senses, there really wasn¡¯t any guarantee that I¡¯d kill you!¡¯ Volume 11: Chapter 15 - Onward to the Stronhold Volume 11: Chapter 15 - Onward to the Stronhold I awoke from my thoughts after a long while. I looked at the bottomless hole in front of me and chuckled wryly before heading towards the direction where Ke Er Lan Di had disappeared to. It was unexpected that I hadn¡¯t used up a lot of my powers during the previously unexpected battle. I was even able to maintain better control over the Holy Sword instead. If one of the three Great Monsters were the ones that appeared, I wouldn¡¯t have dealt with this so easily. I doubt I would even be a match to any of those three great monsters. The Monster race had already started to stir. It looked like time was pressing so I needed to obtain the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance as soon as possible. The reemergence of the Monster King was nearing. I lifted the hood that was covering my head and moved my long hair to my back. Currently, there wasn¡¯t a need to continue hiding my identity as I knew that Ke Er Lan Di and the rest had already figured out my identity! When I flew to the main path, Ke Er Lan Di and the rest were already waiting for me. Ke Er Lan Di looked anxious, but when he saw me appear, he instantly became elated. He was stunned after seeing my scarred face. I chuckled wryly. ¡°It¡¯s very shocking, right? This is how I truly look.¡± Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Your name shouldn¡¯t be Eighteen, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°I think that you should have guessed that I¡¯m Zhang Gong Wei. Just call me Zhang Gong.¡± Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s expression changed as he cried out, ¡°You¡¯re really the God¡¯s Envoy, Child of Light, Zhang Gong Wei!¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°I don¡¯t need to hide my identity from you anymore. It was the Monster race¡¯s doing with that hole previously. If I didn¡¯t notice and eliminate it in time, there would have been a reign of terror that would occur nearby. You should now believe that the Monster race really exists, right?¡± Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s expressed fear, which was probably when he thought back to what had happened. ¡°You¡¯re right! The Monster race really exists. That horrifying deathly aura was much more powerful than the Demon Beast from the Demon race. God¡¯s Envoy Zhang Gong, I hope that you won¡¯t hold what I said previously against me in your heart. I feel bad for trying to recruit you into join the army of the Kingdom of Dalu. I was really overestimating my capability. You¡¯re the most powerful mage that I¡¯ve ever seen. The previous spell that you used should be a light element forbidden spell, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct. The burden in using the light forbidden spell is very heavy on me. I¡¯ve got an extremely important task to do in heading to the fort. The emergence of the Monster race pressures me greatly. I hope that your Kingdom of Dalu will make its preparations as soon as possible by training troops to deal with the major changes coming. Those previous monsters were of the lowest of standards. If the Monster King revives, I really don¡¯t know what will happen.¡± Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s eyes expressed resolution. ¡°God Envoy Zhang Gong, rest assured. I¡¯ll definitely report what has happened today. We, the Kingdom of Dalu, will do our very best for the continent¡¯s peace and harmony.¡± He must already have enough experience on the terror of the Monster race. I hoped that there would be more people like him that could understand my painstaking effort. ¡°Ke Er, I won¡¯t continue traveling with you as I need to save time to accomplish my task. We¡¯ll definitely meet up in the future.¡± Ke Er Lan Di replied heartfeltly, ¡°I really look forward to battling along side with you.¡± I nodded and bid farewell to his subordinates, who were looking at me with reverence, before activating the divine powers in my body to carry me off in a white light. I flew into the night which had recovered its serenity. I was currently burning with anxiety! According to what the God King had said, the Monster King would appear at least two years from now. However, the Monster race had already started to appear. There was a possibility that the Monster King would emerge earlier than expected as well. If that was the case, it would have a great influence on the continent. I was deeply aware that my powers were insufficient. If I couldn¡¯t fully control the Holy Sword, it would be hard for me to pose a threat to the Monster King. I must receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance as quickly as I can, in order to have enough power to resist the Monster King. I was lacking time so I couldn¡¯t dally any further. I previously wasn¡¯t in a rush, I simply had a shadow weighing on my heart. Mi Jia Lie had previously indicated that the inheritance wouldn¡¯t be easy, which made me slightly apprehensive. If the inheritance were to fail, I would probably disappear from the world. At that time, not only would I be unable to see my beloved Mu Zi, the entire continent would gradually fall into ruin by the appearance of the Monster race. I was merely a 20 year old human, how could I not be scared when facing death? However, I couldn¡¯t afford to consider that any further. I must do what is needed for the continent¡¯s peace and harmony, my family, and my friends. I maximized my flight speed so the night wind would unceasingly hit my body. The icy feeling stimulated my mind, making my spirit to maintain its peak state. The scenery beneath me constantly flew by. I should be reaching the Str?m Fortress soon with my current pace. Dawn had already appeared. The sun had gradually risen from the horizon, shining warm light rays onto the world. I was already very exhausted after last night¡¯s battle and the entire day¡¯s flight. The Str?m Fortress was already in view from a distance, so I decided to descend and take a break. I withdrew all of my powers and nimbly descended, landing on a hill, which was 100 meters in height, allowing me to see the scenery of my surroundings. There wasn¡¯t anything special around me, so I sat crossed legged as waves of exhaustion constantly infiltrated my body. I rapidly drew up a simple magic defense array before leaning on a large tree to gradually enter a dream state. I really didn¡¯t know where the God Rended Canyon was. I had already passed the fort several times, but still didn¡¯t see the God Rended Canyon. I needed to sustain all of my physical strength and magical powers. The fusion powers in my body started to circulate slowly. While my consciousness faded, I constantly took in the light elements from my surroundings to recover my powers. Volume 11: Chapter 16 - Stronghold Peddler Volume 11: Chapter 16 - Stronghold Peddler It was unknown how much time had passed when I gradually woke up. Nothing in my surroundings had changed. As I used my inner sight to check my body, I found that my fusion power had become noticeably stronger. The three gold dans in my body seemed to become more substantial, while they constantly absorbed the powers in my surroundings. My cultivation had not only returned to its normal state, but even seemed to have improved. This was definitely related to the magic gathering array from yesterday, and had nothing to do with my training. I had gotten out of bed and started to exercise my muscles and bones. It seemed to be about noon, the sun had risen high up in the sky. I discovered that I had slept for an entire day. Circulating the fusion powers in my body, I soared up off the ground towards the Str?m Fortress after putting on my cloak. The fort was still the same. I could clearly see that there were numerous workers repairing the damage that we caused with our forbidden spell. The process wasn¡¯t quick so they would be busy for a while. Since I didn¡¯t know the exact position of the God Rended Canyon, I decided to head to the fort. The people there should have a better understanding for the surroundings of the fort than I do, so they might have some hints regarding the location of the canyon. It was much better than trying to find it randomly by myself. Thinking about that, I flew to a place that was a couple of meters from the fort. It was probably due to the success of the peace talks that the fortress security was extremely relaxed. There should be people patrolling, but I didn¡¯t see any of them today. There were only some merchants constantly coming and going. I gradually walked towards the fort. The surroundings were very peaceful. I didn¡¯t know who was in charge of the fort after I left, since it had been a while. ¡®Forget it, I shall not disturb the leaders of the three kingdoms. If they knew of my arrival, there would be some trouble and I currently can¡¯t afford to dally!¡¯ I slowly walked to the entrance as I pondered it. After reaching it, the number of people had obviously increased. The majority of them were importing construction materials, though I finally saw a few patrolling squads after entering the fort. They seemed to be from the Kingdoms of Dalu and Xiuda because I didn¡¯t see any mages from Aixia. Ma Ke should have ascended to the throne by now. I felt very comfortable with him leading the Kingdom of Aixia. With the teachers assisting him, the mage army of Aixia could only get stronger. I hoped that with the nurturing of light magicians by Teacher Di, it would be easier to deal with the emerging Monster race. ¡°Sir Mage, do you want to buy some magic stones?¡± A foreign voice sounded from a corner. I turned to look as it seemed to be a slightly shady middle aged man. He wore a long robe and wasn¡¯t tall as his height only reached to my chest. He was only slightly built, which was probably due to malnutrition. He timidly waved his hand at me. I was moved and walked over. The skinny character said, ¡°Sir Mage, do you want to buy some magic stones? It definitely will be a great help to your magic cultivation.¡± I inwardly sniggered. This fellow must have thought I was a low level mage. I currently wore a mage robe that didn¡¯t have any symbols, ever since I escaped from the Kingdom of Aixia. It looked as though I was a novice mage that hadn¡¯t been certified. He must have thought that I was cheap and foolish as he wanted to trick me with low-cost magic stones to get some money. I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in becoming a mage.¡± The slightly built man surveyed his surroundings before replying, ¡°How about this? Just head to my place to have a look. My possessions aren¡¯t solely magic stones, there are also many other products for mages. Those goods are from the Kingdom of Aixia so many of them are items that are used in their mage army battalion. They are absolutely genuine goods with fair prices. You¡¯ll surely find a bargain. At first glance, you must be a high leveled mage. There¡¯s definitely something that you can use. Don¡¯t worry, I promise that I won¡¯t take much of your money, so want to come with me to have a look?¡± I nodded. ¡°Alright, bring me there to have a look then.¡± A sliver of happiness flashed past that skinny man¡¯s eyes. He said to follow him before turning and walking into an alley. I followed him in his turns in corners and perplex directions to reach an unremarkable house. He surveyed his surroundings to check that there wasn¡¯t anyone around before opening the door and leading me inside. The house wasn¡¯t big. I saw the various magic products that were on display after entering. There were magic robes, magic staffs, and other products. I could clearly feel the magic undulations emanating from these items with my advanced cultivation. It was within my expectations that they were just crude low level magic items. Even though they looked amazing, there wasn¡¯t any real content to any of them. The skinny man rubbed his hands together. ¡°Sir mage, please have a look. The items that I have here are great items!¡± I smiled. ¡°Do you have any other items? There¡¯s nothing that catches my eyes here.¡± The skinny man¡¯s expression changed. He looked stunned before constantly nodding in approval. ¡°I have even better items, but their prices will be slightly more expensive.¡± I looked at him and replied, ¡°Take them out and let me have a look. If there¡¯s anything that seems worth it, I¡¯ll consider buying them.¡± ¡°Alright! Please wait for a moment.¡± Upon saying that, he turned to walk further into the room. After a short moment, he carried a huge container with him. ¡°Sir, these items are part of my collection. If it wasn¡¯t for you being a high leveled mage, I would have been reluctant to take it out. However, the pricing¡­¡­.¡± I replied impatiently, ¡°Just let me have a look before continuing this discussion.¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be anxious. Please have a look.¡± That slightly built man slowly opened the container as he said that. There were a few magic stones and a few small magic staves in there. It certainly was much better than those items outside, especially those small magic staves. The magic powers in them made them second rate weapons. However, there was a huge difference from what I had seen before. I took one of the staves to have a look. The skinny man said with praise, ¡°You have a good eye, this is the best magic staff that I have. It can enable you to increase the releasing speed of your magic by 30% when you cast a spell.¡± I shook my head. ¡®30%? It¡¯s already not bad for it to have a 5% increase. It¡¯s impossible for it to be compared to my Sukrad¡¯s staff. Moreover, I don¡¯t have any problem in the speed of releasing magic.¡¯ I placed the magic staff back. ¡°Do you have any other items or are this all of your possessions?¡± Volume 11: Chapter 17 - The Mysterious Mask Volume 11: Chapter 17 - The Mysterious Mask The slightly petite man frowned. ¡°Sir, these are all high grade goods and are my personal collections!¡± I shook my head, ¡°I don¡¯t have much use for such items. If you don¡¯t have anything else, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± The slightly built man seemed to be unable to get guest for a long time so anxiousness flashed his eyes. ¡°Please take a look at this. This is my top grade item.¡± Upon saying that, he removed the lid wooden container, revealing an internal layer. There was something inside. It was as thin as paper and was faint silver in colour. It was something unknown to me, but I could indistinctively feel the tremendous power within it. It was unquestionably something extraordinary! ¡°What is this?¡± I asked. The slightly built man replied, ¡°I¡¯m also not sure what it really is until now. I called it the Brave Mask. After wearing it, not only can it cover your appearance, it was also has an extremely good ventilation so you won¡¯t feel stuffy wearing it. I heard from others that this item contains tremendous amount of magic power. It¡¯s a treasure! How about this? If you want it, I can sell it cheaply to you.¡± Mask? I became interested. I picked the Brave Mask up. It was smooth to touch and didn¡¯t seem heavy. I couldn¡¯t make out what material it was made up of. I lowered my head and carefully applied it on my face. The mask automatically stuck to my face after I felt a cool feeling. A different feeling filled my entire body. My senses was stronger after putting on the mask. The power in the mask was being absorbed by the fusion power in my body, forming a link between them. The Holy Sword at my chest moved slightly, making warm powers to surge up into the mask. The mask instantly gave off a faint silver gold light ray. Only my nose and mouth was exposed by the mask. This item was great as it was quite useful to me. It could cover up my ugly face. There was divine powers within the mask¡¯s power. Was this a divine instrument? The slightly built man asked anxiously, ¡°How is it? What I said was accurate, right? Take a look, it gave off a light ray after you wore it. It must have recognised you as its owner.¡± I smiled. ¡°I want this item. How much is it?¡± The slightly built youth rubbed his hands together. ¡°This¡­.About this, I bought this item for 10,000 gold coins. Since you¡¯re so destined to be with it, I¡¯ll give you a 8% discount so I will take 8,000 from you. What do you think?¡± I was stunned as I remembered that I didn¡¯t have much money on me. 8000 gold coins was undoubtedly a huge sum of money to me. However, I really liked this item so I replied, slightly embarrassed, ¡°My apologies, but I currently don¡¯t have that much money.¡± When he heard that I didn¡¯t have much money, that slightly built man¡¯s expression changed. His previous fawning disappeared and a caustic appearance was shown instead. He extended his hand towards my face. ¡°How can you be a mage without any money? Return that item to me. You¡¯ve wasted my time.¡± When he was three inches from my face, the mask suddenly flashed and rebounded his hand away from me. The slightly built man fumed. ¡°What? You want to steal my stuff? Quickly return it to me.¡± I replied awkwardly, ¡°I really want this item. How about this? I substitute something for it.¡± The slightly built man coldly snorted. ¡°You? With your shabby looks appearance, I doubt that you will have something good to exchange with me. Quickly return it to me. I¡¯m not selling it.¡± ¡°No, exchange it with the bag in his hand.¡± A deep and low voice sounded from outside the house. A tall figure appeared outside the door. When I turned my head, I saw a middle age robust man. That person was taller than me. He was almost the same height as Big Brother Zhan Hu. He was wearing an ordinary warrior uniform. From his aura, he was quite skillful. With his vicious pair of eyes staring at me and fierce-looking appearance, he definitely wouldn¡¯t kindhearted. The slightly built man said respectfully, ¡°Big Brother, you¡¯re back. This fellow wants to steal my item and has wasted most of my day.¡± That robust man glared at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say to let him exchange the bag in his hand for that mask?¡± He turned towards me. ¡°Are you going to exchange?¡± How could I exchange Sukrad¡¯s staff with him? I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t exchange using that. Why do you want my bag?¡± That robust man snorted. ¡°If I didn¡¯t have such eyesight, I¡¯ll have wasted my many years in making a business of selling and purchasing magic items. The thing in your bag should be a magic staff. I could feel the power coming from it when I was outside. It can be used to exchange for my Brave Mask.¡± My Sukrad¡¯s staff was a Dragon God¡¯s staff. I could exchange it from this mask with unknown powers, but how could I bear to exchange it? The Sukrad¡¯s staff had an extremely good usage to me. With it, I could greatly improve the strength of the staff. I really love this mask. What shall I do? I used my inner version to look through the items in my space pocket to see if there was anything worth to exchange it with them. I discovered a thing while I was dreading. ¡°How about this? I can¡¯t exchange my staff with you. But I can use another thing to exchange it with you. I guarantee that you won¡¯t lose out. How about that?¡± That robust man replied, ¡°Take out that item to let me have a look. If it really is a good item, we can negotiate. But don¡¯t you even think of tricking me. I know how much an item is worth with one glance. I¡¯m a well-known treasure expert at the fort.¡± I replied, in smiles, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll definitely make you satisfied.¡± Upon saying that, I slash at the space to reach into my space pocket to retrieve an item. The robust man was shocked. ¡°Space magic? You¡¯re really a high leveled mage?¡± Mages were extremely popular profession in the world. Those who were at least at the high leveled mage were extremely respected by people. I didn¡¯t care about his shock and passed the item over to him. ¡°I want to use this item to exchange with you. What do you think?¡± It was a scroll in my hand. The slightly built man replied, ¡°What is that? You want to exchange our treasure with a paper?¡± Volume 11: Chapter 18 - New of the Canyon Volume 11: Chapter 18 - New of the Canyon I looked disdainfully at him, but didn¡¯t say anything. The robust man glared at the slightly built man to indicate him to be quiet before looking at me to ask me, ¡°May I ask, Sir mage, what is the usage for this magic scroll?¡± He had a better knowledge than the other. I said indifferently, ¡°Life protection¡± ¡°Life protection? What¡¯s that?¡± The robust youth asked with slight amazed. I explained, ¡°It¡¯s an unfixed position escape scroll. When you are in danger, you can activate the chant to make you teleport to a randomly for a 5km distance. It can save your life at any crucial moment so it shouldn¡¯t be worse than your mask. You should know that nothing is more important than life. This escape scroll is the product of the top Magister in the world, Magister Chuan Song Zhen.¡± ¡°Is this really Magister Chuan Song Zhen¡¯s product?¡± That robust man took the scroll over with excitement. The escape scroll had a faint space magic power so I was certain that he should be able to feel it. I could easily create such magic scrolls now so it didn¡¯t have much use for me. Even though my space magic wasn¡¯t as good as my light magic, it should also be at the Magister level. I loved escaping skills after all. With safety as my number one motto, I couldn¡¯t refuse researching space magic. The robust man still returned the item back to my hand after a long time, while shaking his head. I asked, stunned, ¡°Why? You don¡¯t believe that this is Magister Chuan Song Zhen¡¯s product?¡± The robust man replied, ¡°No, I believe you as a high leveled mage like you won¡¯t lie to me and also won¡¯t use Lord Chuan Song¡¯s name to swindle me. However, I find that this item isn¡¯t enough to exchange for my Brave Mask. I still want that magic staff in your hand.¡± I was stunned for a moment. ¡°No, I can¡¯t do that. This magic staff is a part of my life so I can¡¯t freely exchange it. How about this? I¡¯ll make you two more escape scrolls that have the same effect as this one. How about that? It should be useful for you to have three chances of escape. You should know that now the Monster race is threatening the world, it¡¯s important to secure your life.¡± The robust man smiled strangely. ¡°Monster race? Even I¡¯ve heard about them, I don¡¯t fear them. This was the world¡¯s most protected area, the Str?m Fortress. Three escape scrolls is really attractive, and I also believe that you can manufacture such magic scrolls, but I don¡¯t want those. There are two things that can be used for the exchange. First, it will be the magic staff in your hand. The other will be the method in creating a teleportation magic array. To be honest with you, I¡¯m both a warrior and a mage. I practice space magic so it can be said that we are from the same line! Of course, my space magic will definitely have a disparity compared to yours.¡± This fellow¡¯s thought was really meticulous to want to learn how to produce an escape scroll! I contemplated before replying, ¡°Alright, but I can only teach you the basics. You¡¯ll have to rely on yourself to become better in using it.¡± Perhaps, that robust man didn¡¯t expect that I would agree so easily. He expressed a rare elated expression and immediately said, ¡°Good! Great! Thank you so much. The mask is yours now. Little Three, you go out to be on a lookout. I want to learn some magic from this mage.¡± The slightly built man, known as Little Three looked at me dubiously. He nodded. ¡°Big Brother, he can¡¯t be a swindler, right?¡± I secretly thought, ¡®I feel so wronged for me a God¡¯s Envoy to be looked at as a swindler. If this is to be conveyed to everyone¡¯s ears, won¡¯t they laugh to death?¡¯ ¡°Stop bickering and get out.¡± Under the order of the robust man, the slightly built man reluctantly walked out. I looked at the robust man in front of me and silently circulated my fusion magic to feel his body¡¯s powers. This fellow really had a magic cultivation to have reached the advanced level mage. It was no wonder that he would ask me for the manufacturing method for the escape scrolls. I said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ll show you how to produce the scroll three times. It¡¯ll depend on your own efforts as to how much you understand.¡± Upon saying that, I took out the items used in manufacturing the magic scroll and started explaining. I had done the first and second time fast, but did slower for the last. Three magic scrolls were completed in a short moment. I gave him three of the scrolls. ¡°I¡¯ll give you three of these scrolls. With you current magic level, it¡¯ll be difficult for you to produce this strength of magic scroll. However, you can set shorter distances. It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t exceed one kilometer for it to succeed. You can try to make the distance further after your magic power has improved.¡± The robust man expressed respect. ¡°Yes, Great Master. Thank you for your tutelage. I¡¯ll remember that.¡± I nodded. ¡°The initial period of training for both magic and martial arts will have better results, but if you were to multitask, you wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the peak for either of them ever. You should just come to a decision.¡± The robust man smiled wryly. ¡°I was indeed frivolous when I was young. I always thought that my physique was good and that I could master both powers. But now, I understand. Even if it¡¯s already late, I¡¯ll unquestionably listen to your advice. Thank you for teaching me the manufacturing of the scroll. I¡¯ll definitely work hard. May I ask for your name?¡± I looked at him. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, can I ask you a question? If you can answer, I¡¯ll tell you my name.¡± The robost man nodded. ¡°Alright, please state the question.¡± ¡°I heard from someone that there¡¯s a God Rended Canyon in front of the fort. Do you know where it is?¡± After hearing what I said, the robust man was stunned. ¡°God Rended Canyon? I seem to have heard of it before. Let me think about it.¡± I lowered his head, trap with thoughts. He had heard of it? I was elated. If he knew, it really wasn¡¯t a wasted affort coming here and it had cut down the time for me to randomly search for it. After a long time, the robust man raised his head. ¡°I certainly have heard of that place. It seems to be at a plateau at the Demon race territory, which has a large fissure there. It¡¯s located quite a distance from the fort and seems to be towards the South. You can start by searching from there.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 19 - Crafty and Unruly Girl Volume 11: Chapter 19 - Crafty and Unruly Girl I was elated. It would be much easier for me to have a rough idea of the direction. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± After saying that, I headed out the door. The robust man replied anxiously, stunned, ¡°You haven¡¯t yet told me who you are.¡± I smiled at him and the mask conveying my expression. ¡°Be diligent in training your space magic. It¡¯ll definitely be useful in the future. I¡¯m Zhang Gong Wei. Farewell.¡± Upon saying that, I circulated the fusion power in my body and used short teleportation spell to disappear, leaving the startled robust man behind. ¡°Zhang Gong Wei? Zhang Gong Wei? It seems so familiar! Ah! God¡¯s Envoy, Zhang Gong Wei!¡± The robust man cried out. Little Three ran inside. ¡°Big Brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The robust man replied, trembling, ¡°Just now¡­.Just now that person was unexpectedly God¡¯s Envoy, Zhang Gong Wei.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I repeatedly used short teleportations to reach the thick wall of the fort quickly. ¡®The southern plateau at the Demon race? En! It¡¯s much easier to find the place now.¡¯ With excitement, I walked directly towards the city entrance. The entrance was shut as per usual. How was I going to head out? Short teleportation couldn¡¯t pass through that thick a city wall. Under the circumstances where I didn¡¯t expose my identity, the guards of the fort would probably not open the entrance for me. Heading out seemed to be a little difficult. The magic cannons at the top of the city walls weren¡¯t weak. I couldn¡¯t just fly out and be targeted like an unknown flying creature. While I pondered awhile, I really didn¡¯t come up with any good methods. I also didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. It seemed that I could only use a short teleportation array. Thinking about that, I found a dilapidated corner and started to carve the short teleportation spell. With my power, it took an instant to draw up the teleportation array. Just as I wanted to activate the teleportation array after setting the position, I heard someone shout. ¡°Don¡¯t run! What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I was stunned for a moment, and in that moment, a black shadow charged over. I focused and saw that it was a girl dressed in black attire. Since her speed was quick, her flowing hair covered her face, making it impossible for me to see her appearance clearly. But with such a well developed body and so much energy, it should be a young lady. While I was in a daze, she had already ran near me. It was a dead end behind me and the girl also discovered this. When her long hair cleared from her face, she was showing a panicked expression. She was such a beautiful girl. Her age should be about the same as mine, as I expected. Her skin was creamy white, with large eyes filled with terror. There were a couple of warriors that came from behind her. They didn¡¯t follow the army¡¯s regulations. They were undoubtedly up to no good chasing after a weak girl. ¡®Sigh! I think I¡¯ll help her out.¡¯ When the girl ran to my side, I rapidly activated the teleportation array. With the flash of light, we disappeared at the same time. Since I was afraid that she would be harmed during the warping of space, I embraced her supple waist and used my fusion power to protect her, but the girl screamed in fright. After the light flashed, we already appeared in the plains outside the Str?m Fortress. The teleportation spell only had a 3 kilometer range so the lion-like fort was behind us.I was shocked to discover that we were constantly descending. The location that I had set was the huge crevice that was created by our forbidden spell. This was like being caught in a trap that I had set! I shouted and gathered the powers in my body. Forcefully, I stopped our descent by brandishing Sukrad¡¯s staff. We were sent back up to the edge of the crevice by circulating the wind elements in the surrounding area to cast a wind spell. The young girl reacted after standing on solid ground. She protested coquettishly, ¡°Let go of me.¡± I was stunned before realizing that my arm was still around her waist. I smiled wryly before releasing my arm, retreating two steps back. The girl patted her generous chest and panting profusely. The twin peaks on her chest quivered with each breath. An astonishing force of lust rushed in my mind. With my face flushed, I couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and had to look away. I was lucky that my new mask hid my expression so she didn¡¯t realise the awkwardness. After a while, the young girl asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Her voice was crisp and extremely sweet-sounding. I smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m the person that saved you. Young Miss, why were you being chased by those guys?¡± The young girl snorted. ¡°What¡¯s it to you? Mind your own business! It should be fine now, but I¡¯ve gone outside of the fort. How am I supposed to get back?¡± I was dazed for a moment as I had saved her, but she blamed me instead. It really was illogical. ¡®Mu Zi is the best as she was much gentler. Forget it, since I saved her already. I also didn¡¯t expect to be rewarded. I¡¯ve got to leave this place as soon as possible. It¡¯s very close to the fort, making it easy for me to be spotted.¡¯ Thinking about that, I turned to walk towards the south. After walking for a few steps, that girl sounded from behind me. ¡°Hey! Are you just going to walk away?¡± I frowned and asked with my back facing her, ¡°What else do you want?¡± That young girl replied overbearingly, ¡°Since you have brought me out, you should send me back in.¡± Hearing her arrogant words, I got annoyed so I coldly replied, ¡°I only know how to exit. You just have to think of your own way to enter. You¡¯re human anyways. You just have to shout in front of the entrance of the fort.¡± I was kind to save her, but she used such an attitude towards me so I wasn¡¯t going to care for her! Moreover, what I said was the truth. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her to enter the fort after proving that she was human. I rapidly stepped forward, analyzing the terrain before me as I tried to see where the God Rended Canyon would be. ¡°Hey! Hey! Masked person, stop!¡± Footsteps sounded as that young girl hastily went in front of me and extended her arms to hinder my path. While glaring at me, she shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a girl and you¡¯re a guy. Why don¡¯t you act like a gentlemen?¡± I said calmly, ¡°Act like a gentlemen? It depends on whom I¡¯m talking to. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for such an unreasonable girl like yourself. It seems that I really shouldn¡¯t have saved you. Move aside. I¡¯ve matters to attend to.¡± I used a short teleportation to teleport 100m behind her and continued to head south as I didn¡¯t want her to continue bothering me. Volume 11: Chapter 20 - Disciple? Princess? Volume 11: Chapter 20 - Disciple? Princess? ¡°Aiyo!¡± I turned back to where I heard the sound and saw that the girl had fallen to the ground. She seemed to have tripped. I couldn¡¯t help but head back to her due to my principles. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Such a nonsensical question, can¡¯t you see that I¡¯ve tripped? Why aren¡¯t you coming to support me?¡± The girl rebuked furiously. I didn¡¯t want to have any physical contact with her so I cast a fusion power to help her up. She didn¡¯t seem to have any injuries, excluding that her tattered clothes. My worries were unfounded. ¡°Miss, please take note of where you¡¯re going.¡± Upon saying that, I headed to the south again. ¡°Masked person!¡± She shouted from behind me, but she wasn¡¯t as arrogant as before since her voice was gentle and grieving. My heart was softest towards girls so I stopped and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong again?¡± The young girl looked at me, feeling wronged. ¡°Can you please take me back or take me along with you? Where are you heading?¡± I frowned as I was going to receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance so how could I bring a hot tempered girl along? I wasn¡¯t even sure if I could return from getting the inheritance. ¡°Can you first tell me who you are and why those guys were chasing after you?¡± The young girl pouted. ¡°You want to know who am I?¡± I nodded. That young girl smiled strangely. ¡°I refuse to tell you then. You¡¯re going to toss me aside anyways. Who called you to bring me out from the Str?m Fortress? You should be a space elemental mage. Can you tutor me? I¡¯ve always liked space magic. I¡¯m also an advanced space elemental mage.¡± An advanced mage? How could I not see her actual skills? The magic power around her body was faint so she couldn¡¯t even be at the intermediate level. It was perhaps my dubious eyes that hurt her pride. She snorted and whispered her chant, causing her to disappear from her position to appear on my left side. ¡°How¡¯s that? You should be able to believe me now. My space magic isn¡¯t bad.¡± Seeing her confident appearance, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Her short distance teleportation was terrible. It was almost at the level where I started to learn magic. There weren¡¯t any good points about it, excluding being able to forcefully get the positioning of the spell right. Not to mention her slow speed in casting the spell, I knew that her magic was extremely weak from her pale complexion. ¡°Miss, I¡¯m afraid that you should be at the elementary magic level.¡± The young girl rebuked, ¡°Nonsense, people from the palace¡­I mean from home had told me that I¡¯m at the advanced mage level.¡± ¡®Palace? What palace? Could it be¡­¡­¡¯ I got increasingly curious as I thought about that. ¡°How can you be an advanced space mage with only that short teleportation? Let me ask you then, do you know any offensive space spells?¡± The young girl was stunned by my question as she muttered, ¡°Space magic also has offensive spells? Why haven¡¯t I heard about that?¡± ¡®Goodness, It seems that not only her cultivation is weak, her knowledge is also¡­.I¡¯ve vaguely guessed that that girl should be a noble¡¯s daughter. Otherwise, why is she so haughty?¡¯ Thinking about that, I said, ¡°Take a look at this. This is space offensive magic spell¡± Upon saying that, I brandished my hand, casting a small dimensional slash. There was momentarily a crack in space and was pulling everything towards it. The surrounding rocks and sand were sucked in. The young girl didn¡¯t stand stable so she fell towards the small dimensional slash while screaming in fright. I waved my hand again to cast a light restriction array to hold her body in place. ¡°How¡¯s that? You should know what a space offensive spell is now. Alright, you should head back to the city. I believe that your family will be searching anxiously for you now. Farewell!¡± I turned to walk away after saying that. That young girl suddenly wailed loudly. My patience was already reaching its limit. I turned back and asked, ¡° Miss, what¡¯s the matter again?¡± The young girl looked at me, feeling wronged. ¡°I...I can¡¯t move.¡± I instantly understood and berated myself as I actually forgot to undo the light restriction spell due to being in a rush. How could she break out from it with her magic power? I withdrew the light restriction spell. ¡°Alright, you should be able to move now.¡± That young girl suddenly knelt to the ground and said seriously, ¡°Teacher, please accept me as your disciple. I want to be under your guidance.¡± I was stunned. ¡®Becoming her teacher? That¡¯s impossible, I will be annoyed until death by her after accepting her as a disciple.¡¯ I shook my head. ¡°Forget it, my magic level isn¡¯t high enough to accept disciples. Please seek tutelage from someone else.¡± The young girl replied firmly, ¡°No! I want to be only under your guidance as no one had been willing to teach me magic. I was only fortunate to meet with you, an expert in space magic, today. You must accept me. Teacher, I¡¯m obedient and will pay you for your guidance. My pay is extremely high.¡± I chuckled. ¡®She actually wants to move me with money? I bet that nobody is willing to teach her due to her ¡®obedient¡¯ attitude.¡¯ I cast a power to support her body up. ¡°Miss, don¡¯t call me your teacher. I really have something important to do. You should head back to the fort now.¡± The young girl stubbornly replied, ¡°No, if you don¡¯t accept me, I¡¯ll jump down from here.¡± Upon saying that, she immediately walked to the edge of the precipice. I smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t accept you even if you were to jump.¡± The young girl fumed. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re the one that causes my death then.¡± After saying that, she really jumped, heading into the gulf. I jumped up in shock as I didn¡¯t expect her to be so staunch. I hastily brandished Sukrad¡¯s staff to cast a light spell to bring her back up. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? How can you treat your life so lightly?¡± The young girl looked at me with hatred and with reddened eye rims, she replied, choked with her emotions, ¡°You bully me. All of you bully me. You should just let me die.¡± ¡®I¡¯ve got a headache! Why did I meddle in someone¡¯s business and land myself in such a situation?¡¯ The young girl said pitifully, ¡°Teacher, you want to know my identity? I will let you know.¡± I was stunned as I didn¡¯t expect her to voluntarily tell me. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to listen so I nodded towards her. Volume 11: Chapter 21 - Blocking the Enemy for the Disciple Volume 11: Chapter 21 - Blocking the Enemy for the Disciple The young girl sighed. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m Fei Yu Luo Chen and my father is the Emperor of the Kingdom of Dalu.¡± Even though I had guessed that her status was extraordinary, I couldn¡¯t help but to be startled by her words. I never expected that she would be a princess from the top Kingdom amongst the human kingdoms. The young girl continued, ¡°Even though I¡¯m born from the palace, I don¡¯t feel blessed at all! My Mother was a concubine of my Imperial Father. Since my Father has been doting on her most of the time, she was despised by the other concubines. Recently, one of my Father¡¯s concubine framed my Mother. Under my fury, I severely beat her up. I knew that I was in big trouble as that concubine¡¯s Brother was one of the major officials in the court. I ran away due to the fear of being punished. Just when I ran to the fort not long ago, I was found by my pursuers today. If you didn¡¯t save me, I¡¯d have been caught and brought back to the palace by them. I know my temper isn¡¯t good, I admit that, but it was forced by them! I needed to protect my Mother since I was young, how could I not be fierce? Teacher, I really can¡¯t head back now. If I was to call out at the entrance of the fort, I¡¯d definitely be caught by them. Teacher, can you please help me? I¡¯m begging you.¡± Upon saying that, her tears flowed, dampening her clothes. So, her experiences were so pitiful. My heart also wasn¡¯t made of stone so I sobbed along with her. Fei Yu said sobbing, ¡°Teacher, please let me to join you in your journey. If not, I¡¯ll be caught by them and be beaten to death. My Father is far from the capital so he definitely won¡¯t be able to save me. You can¡¯t just leave me in such a state, right?!¡± I was plagued by difficulty as her situation was really sympathetic, but I was heading to receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance now so how could I bring this troublesome girl along with me? At this moment, the entrance of the Str?m Fortress suddenly opened. A thousand cavalrymen charged towards us like lightning. I was shocked and when I looked at Fei Yu, she had already hidden behind me. ¡°Teacher, they must be coming to catch me. You must help me!¡± Those cavalrymen were already in front of us in a short moment. The leader of the squad aimed his gun at me and yelled, ¡°Who are you to kidnap our house¡¯s lady?!¡± I was stunned and looked back to Fei Yu. She hastily explained, ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t listen to their lies! They just don¡¯t want you to interrupt their mission in capturing me.¡± Seeing her anxious appearance, I couldn¡¯t help but to believe her. I asked the leader, ¡°And who are you?¡± The leader replied, ¡°I¡¯m the team leader of the First Division in the Army of the Kingdom of Dalu. Quickly let go of my house¡¯s lady. Otherwise, don¡¯t blame us for being impolite.¡± Hearing his arrogant words, I instantly fumed and coldly snorted, ¡°I¡¯ll have to see your capability in how you will deal with me then. Fei Yu is my disciple. Don¡¯t even imagine taking her away from me.¡± That leader laughed heartily as he said in distain, ¡°You think you¡¯re capable in being our Young Miss¡¯s teacher? Everyone, attack! I want to see how capable this mad person is and take note of the Miss¡¯s safety.¡± I passed Sukrad¡¯s staff to Fei Yu. ¡°Help me to hold onto this while I deal with them.¡± Fei Yu elatedly took the Sukrad¡¯s staff, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be so heavy. Her hands were weighted down and she almost dropped the staff. ¡°Teacher, your staff is so heavy! Please don¡¯t kill them. It¡¯s sufficient to just teach them a lesson.¡± This girl still had such a kind hearted side, which made me develop a liking towards her. I nodded. The cavalrymen had already dismounted from their horses by the time I stepped forward a few steps. More than 100 of them charged to surround us. The skills of those cavalrymen weren¡¯t bad. They were worthy of being Imperial Guards. It was a pity that they were serving a tyrant. ¡°Imbecile!¡± The leader, who was carrying a long spear, charged forth like lightning with the tip of the spear infused with battle spirit aiming to pierce it through my chest. It seemed that he was fearful of my magic! I moved slightly to the side, dodging the long spear that was coming my way. I shouted at Fei Yu, ¡°Take a look! This is space magic.¡± With the sway of my body, it formed 10 clones, surrounding the leader of the squad. That leader was astonished as it was beyond his expectation that I could easily cast spells. His long spear turned into pointed stars, piercing towards the silhouettes surrounding him. I snorted coldly. The 10 silhouettes moved in harmony and with the wave of my hand, I cast a small dimensional slash towards my opponent. The power from the tear of space momentarily clashed against the battle spirit of the long spear, giving off a loud sound, sending the leader flying. That leader indeed has some skills, the strength of his battle spirit wasn¡¯t weak. He should be at the Heaven Knight level, which should be about Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s level. It was no wonder why he was so arrogant in this case. Seeing their leader getting hurt, the rest of the cavalrymen instantly charged towards me. They were all using the cavalry¡¯s long spear so in a short moment, 7 spears aimed for my head, 6 spears aimed at my lower body and 13 spears pierced directly at me. I coldly snorted as my fusion power surged out from my body, immediately forming a protective shield around me so all the spears were stopped. I yelled heavily, ¡°Go away!¡± With the release of my power, thirteen cavalrymen were instantly blown away by the impact. I used short distance teleportation to reach Fei Yu¡¯s side. ¡°You continued to have no sense of propriety so don¡¯t blame me for being rude.¡± Upon saying, I raised my right hand, which resulted to the light elements charging towards the sky, forming a 10 metre long light blade in my hand. The leader looked at me in fright. ¡°You...Who are you?¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a mage. Return to your master and tell him that if he continues to trouble Fei Yu, I¡¯ll find him for a talk.¡± I brandished the light blade after my declaration. With a loud explosion, there was an extremely deep ditch that appeared in the ground beside me. I embraced Fei Yu¡¯s waist as I soared towards the sky towards and the other side of the gulf. Fei Yu was so frightened that she closed her eyes and buried her head in my chest. I momentarily felt weird with her voluptuous figure sticking to so close to my body, but I increased the our speed after collecting my thoughts. It seemed that I wouldn¡¯t be able to ditch this burden any time soon. I didn¡¯t have any choice but to bring her along as it was really impossible to just leave a girl here. Volume 11: Chapter 22 - Dalus King Volume 11: Chapter 22 - Dalu''s King The Commander''s Division at the Str?m Fortress ¡°Reporting! Viscount Ke Er Lan Di requests a meeting.¡± A heavy and domineering voiced sounded, ¡°Let him in.¡± Clad in silver armour Ke Er Lan Di, with a worry filled expression, walked into the Interim Marshall¡¯s Manor quickly. ¡°Your Subordinate, Ke Er Lan Di, greets Your Majesty.¡± Ke Er Lan Di knelt to the ground as he looked at the lofty middle aged man. He was the current Emperor of Dalu, Tian Feng Luo Chen. Tian Feng Luo Chen was about 1.9 meters tall, with a broad shoulders. Even though he was already 50, his lower back was still straight. He seemed to be dreading something as his resolute appearance now had furrowed eyebrows. ¡°Ke Er, you come at the right time. I¡¯ve got a troubling matter for you to solve.¡± Ke Er Lan Di replied respectfully, ¡°Please state your order, Your Majesty.¡± Tian Feng Luo Chen sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve come to the Str?m Fortress for an inspection. Everything has been going well until Fei Yu suddenly went missing. I dispatched men after her, but there are still no results. I dote on her the most among all my children. It can be said that I¡¯m to blame, she said that she was getting bored, but I didn¡¯t pay any attention to her. I want you to take 18 cavalrymen along with you to find her and bring her back.¡± Helplessness flashed in Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s eyes. He had got in contact with Princess Fei Yu many times already. Her willfulness had given him a headache. He pondered before replying, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve got a crucial report to relay to you before I head out to find the princess.¡± Tian Feng Tian Chen nodded. ¡°You may stand and report.¡± Ke Er Lan Di sighed before telling everything from meeting the God¡¯s Envoy, Zhang Gong Wei, and the incident of fighting against the Monster race. When he reported about Zhang Gong''s peerless magic, he expressed admiration and wistfulness. After hearing Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s report, Tian Feng Luo Chen expression changed. ¡°So everything is real. The Monster race really is threatening the peace and harmony of the world. It looks like I didn¡¯t pay enough attention to it and Marshall Feng Hao was forcefully dismissed from his position due to my greed. Sigh! Everything is my fault! Our Kingdom of Dalu must really start to train up our armies. Someone attend to me!¡± ¡°Your Majesty!¡± The soldier that received the order respectfully knelt. Tian Feng Luo Chen said resolutely, ¡°Pass down my order to gather all of the mages in the kingdom, especially light mages, to form the First Division Mage Army force. Every mage that joins the Mage Army Union will be given twice the wages, according to their magic powers. (The Kingdom of Dalu was the same as the Kingdom of Xiuda in having a lack of mages. Otherwise, Tian Feng Luo Chen wouldn¡¯t have been moved by Ke Zha that day.) Similarly, order the First to Seventh Divisions of the Army troops to gather at the city¡¯s outskirts. They will be under the leadership of the head of the Kingdom¡¯s Protector Squad, Ai Er Zha. And tell the Commander in Chief of the Army to implement the Eagle Training Project.¡± After hearing Tian Feng¡¯s words, Ke Er Lan Di couldn¡¯t help but be startled. He had heard of the Eagle Training Project long ago. It was a regime that contained an extremely brutal training course. Initially, when it had been drawn up, it hadn¡¯t been implemented due to its brutality. Those divisions of the army troops that were just dispatched by Tian Feng were the most elite troops in the armed forces. They were equivalent to half of the kingdom¡¯s force. In addition to the newly assembled Mage Army Union, it seemed that the wise emperor, Tian Feng Luo Chen, had become serious. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty!¡± That soldier withdrew. Tian Feng Luo Chen told Ke Er Lan Di, ¡°Ke Er, you¡¯re the most elite among the elites in my Kingdom¡¯s new generation and are also a royal. I¡¯ve great expectations of you. I¡¯ll pass the leadership of the Royal Guardian Battalion troop to you. Please don¡¯t let me down!¡± Ke Er Lan Di instantly became overjoyed as the Royal Guardian Battalion troop was made up of 50,000 elite soldiers. That division was the most elite among all of the other troops in the Kingdom of Dalu. Tian Feng Luo Chen had just passed the leadership of that division to him. This was an extremely important duty as he had been directly passed on the responsibility of guarding Tian Feng Luo Chen. Marshall Feng Hao had also been assigned to this position before he slowly climbed up to the Marshall''s position. Ke Er Lan Di excitedly knelt again. ¡°Thank you for Your Majesty¡¯s bestowment.¡± Tian Feng Luo Chen said, ¡°En! You¡¯re now to immediately find my daughter and bring her back. I¡¯ll personally supervise commencement of the Eagle Training Project.¡± Just as Ke Er Lan Di wanted to agree, there were hurried steps coming from outside. ¡°Reporting!¡± A soldier frantically ran in and knelt as he reported loudly, ¡°Reporting to Your Majesty, we had just gotten the location of the princess.¡± Tian Feng expressed happiness. ¡°Quickly tell me where she is!¡± ¡°Originally, the Guardian Battalion would have already caught the princess, but there was a mage that suddenly appeared. The mage used a short distance teleportation to take her away, resulting in our loss of the target. Following that, the leader that was guarding the city discovered them and immediately dispatched light cavalry after them. It was until they chased them as far as the Miracle place (The gulf that was created from the forbidden spell was known as the Miracle among the three kingdoms.) that they caught up with them. But the mage¡¯s magic was extremely powerful. He also declared that he was the princess¡¯s teacher. Our troops realised that we weren¡¯t a match for him after a short tussle with him. After the mage defeated the leader of the squad, he took the princess to the other side of the Miracle place, making it impossible to continue pursuing them.¡± After Tian Feng listened to the report, he instantly fumed. ¡°What?! A thousand cavalrymen couldn¡¯t deal with a single mage? Why were you even born in y kingdom?¡± That soldier didn¡¯t dare to reply. A glimmer flashed past Ke Er Lan Di¡¯s eyes. ¡°What did that mage look like?¡± That soldier answered. ¡°That mage was lean and was wearing a white mage robe. His head was covered by a hood and donned a silver mask on his face. He also had a long clothed package in his hand.¡± Ke Er Lan Di frowned. ¡°Silver mask?¡± Tian Feng Luo Chen replied, ¡°What? Ke Er, you know him?¡± Volume 11: Chapter 23 - Embarrassed Volume 11: Chapter 23 - Embarrassed Ke Er Lan Di politely replied, "Your Majesty, aside from the silver mask, the rest of the mage¡¯s appearance matched up with God''s Envoy Zhang Gong when we met. Moreover, when we had split up, he said that his destination was the Str?m Fortress and that he had something important to settle. I didn''t tell him that Your Majesty was here. We then sped up to reach here faster. I wanted to introduce him to you before he settled his matters. Zhang Gong definitely isn¡¯t simple, his magic level has reached the pinnacle of perfection. He alone was able to solitarily cast a forbidden spell! If her Royal Highness is really with him, there shouldn''t be any danger as Zhang Gong is a very righteous person." He raised his head to look at Tian Feng Lou Chen, who seemed to be deep in thought. "I''m afraid that it¡¯s Zhang Gong that will be in trouble." Thinking about the obstinate ill-behaved Princess Fei Yu, Ke Er Lan Di started to have a headache. Tian Feng Luo Chen asked the soldier, ¡°Are you certain that mage said that he was Fei Yu¡¯s teacher?¡± That soldier said with fear and trepidation, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I am certain.¡± Tian Feng Luo Chen turned towards Ke Er Lan Di. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, you bring along the Eight Magical Swords to find them. If that person really is God¡¯s Envoy, Zhang Gong, you are not allowed to get into conflict with him. If Fei Yu really doesn¡¯t want to return, you can just let her be.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Ke Er Lan Di cried out. Emperor Tian Feng actually allowed his daughter to follow an unfamiliar man. A glimmer flashed in Tian Feng Luo Chen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Just do as I¡¯ve said! You can take your leave now.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Ke Er Lan Di turned around to leave the Commander¡¯s Division. Eight shadows leapt out from a corner and followed him out. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I brought Fei Yu along as I flew towards the south. We had already reached the plateau of the Demon race after flying for a while. We should now just search towards the south, according to the directions of that robust man at the fort, to be able to find the God Rended Canyon. When I landed, I circulated the Holy Sword¡¯s power to investigate my surroundings to check if there was any presence of abnormality. Fei Yu gushed, ¡°Teacher, the feeling of flying is so great! When will you be teaching me how to fly?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy to fly? Without a solid magic foundation, it¡¯s impossible to fly. According to your current level, you¡¯ll need to bitterly train for 10 years before you can fly. Under no special conditions, you¡¯re most likely unable to fly.¡± Fei Yu replied, displeased, ¡°Don¡¯t care! I want to be able to fly now. You must make me to be able to fly, alright?¡± I shook my head. ¡°There¡¯ three situations to help you to fly. The first is that your battle spirit reaches a certain level that enables you to explode out with battle spirit that will allow you to escape the pull of gravity, but that way of flight takes up a lot of energy. The second is to increase your magic level to be able to control the wind elements thus enabling you to fly. The third is¡­¡­.¡± Fei Yu asked anxiously, ¡°What¡¯s the third way?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to think of Xiao Jin that was guarding the far away God Protector¡¯s Domain. I sighed and replied, ¡°The third way is to have a flying type Magical Beast to allow you to fly under its assistance.¡± Xiao Jin was the King of Magical Beasts. It had been a long time since I had seen a Magical Beast after these years with my brothers that specialized in battle spirit. Initially, if it wasn¡¯t for Big Brother Hai Ri¡¯s red tiger that almost killed Xiao Jin, we wouldn¡¯t have reached such an intimate relationship. ¡®Xiao Jin! Are you missing me right now?¡¯ Fei Yu chuckled. ¡°Magical Beast? I have one! Take a look at this. Soaring Feather! I choose you.¡± To my astonishment, Fei Yu formed a hand seal towards the sky. A white light shone from her hand and a hexagonal boundary appeared in the sky. ¡®Ah! This was the way of summoning life-sealed beast!¡¯ With a flash of light, the magic elements in the surrounding suddenly became chaotic. A snow white little bird appeared from the hexagonal boundary with a clear chirp, landing on Fei Yu¡¯s shoulder. The white bird was about 3.3 meters long and was covered with snow-white feathers. Two of its red eyes looked at me with curiosity. There was also a small golden horn on its head, its body giving off weak power. My heart was moved as I cried out, ¡°A Growth Type Magical Beast!¡± Fei Yu was really worthy of being the princess from the Kingdom of Dalu to actually possess a Growth Type Magical Beast. I could clearly feel the aura from its body, even if I didn¡¯t know what type of white bird it was. Even though its power wasn¡¯t at its full potential, it definitely would be a low grade Growth Type Magical Beast. Fei Yu said, slightly complacent, ¡°How is it? This is my Magical Beast. It¡¯s called Little Feather. Teacher, you said it can help to let me fly?¡± I gradually recovered from my shocked state. ¡°Your Magical Beast is at the low grade level. Since it¡¯s a Growth Type Magical Beast, its power will slowly improve according to your cultivation so if you want it to allow you to fly, you must train your powers. It currently can¡¯t fully display its power.¡± Fei Yu pouted as she gently caressed Little Feather¡¯s snow-white wings. ¡°How long will that take? Teacher, since your magic is so powerful, don¡¯t you have a way to allow me to increase in my magic level in a short amount of time?¡± I became serious. ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about that. Do you think training in magic is as easy as playing? Without bitter training, there won¡¯t be any results. Fei Yu, I really got something important at hand so I can¡¯t continue to take care of you. How about this then? I¡¯ll use a slightly bigger teleportation array to teleport you into the city. You won¡¯t be afraid of being caught by your pursuers from the Kingdom of Dalu that way.¡± Fei Yu expression grew distressed as she said, choked with emotions, ¡°Teacher¡­.Teacher, you don¡¯t want me anymore? I¡¯m so pitiful! I¡¯m only a girl so what should I do when I meet with bad people? Teacher, please take me along with you. I¡¯ll obediently listen to you.¡± Hearing her pleas, I got a headache. ¡®Why did I meddle with such a troublesome girl?! How can I bring her along with me to accept the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance?¡¯ Volume 11: Chapter 24 - Worldly View Volume 11: Chapter 24 - Worldly View ¡°Fei Yu, what I¡¯m going to settle is very dangerous. It¡¯s better for you to not follow me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared of danger. Teacher, please let me stay. You were very cool when you beat off those pursuing soldiers! Teacher, how old are you this year?¡± I scratched my head. ¡°I¡¯m about 20. Why are you asking this for?¡± Fei Yu chuckled. ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re 20 and are so accomplished. You must have a secret method to increase your power, right? Please teach me. You¡¯re treating me like an outsider. In that case, how about I become your wife so that you can teach me then?¡± Her words frightened me. I immediately waved my hand. ¡°No! No, how can that happen? I¡¯ve already got a wife.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s impeccable figure appeared before me, making my heart to race. Fei Yu snorted. ¡°You¡¯re lying. You must hate me. You can go then. You don¡¯t need to care about me. Hmph!¡± Upon saying that, she carried her Little Feather with her as she crouched, throwing off her Little Missy tantrum. I sighed. ¡°Fei Yu, I don¡¯t hate you. How can someone like me be compatible with you? I¡¯ll let you see my actual looks, ok?¡± Fei Yu¡¯s eyes lit up and raised her head to look at me. ¡°Alright! Quickly let me have a look.¡± I sighed inwardly as I gradually took off the mask. ¡°Ah!~¡± Fei Yu cried out mournfully and she abruptly retreated a couple of steps back before stopping. With terror in her eyes, she trembled and said, ¡°You¡­.You¡¯re really fugly!¡± I felt a stab into my heart as I sighed. ¡°Now, you should know why I put on a mask. It¡¯s to cover up my hideous face.¡± ¡®I don¡¯t blame her as she¡¯s an ordinary person after all and I have a ghastly appearance. No matter who sees my appearance, they would be as shocked as she is. Who, excluding Mu Zi, would be willing to go out with me, who has such an ugly appearance?¡¯ Fei Yu looked at me silently for a long time. I pulled down the hood over my head and got depressed. Even though my heart had already opened up to Mu Zi, my ugly appearance was still painful to me. ¡°Teach¡­.Teacher, I didn¡¯t mean to do that. Sorry.¡± Fei Yu lowered her head as she apologised. I put back my mask and shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m originally ugly so there¡¯s nothing to apologise. Your reaction is normal. Fei Yu, actually¡­. Hmm, someone is coming.¡± I raised my head to look up at the sky and saw 9 figures heading towards our direction. Judging from their speed, the 9 of them should be ator almost at the Radiant Knight level. How could there be so many experts coming from the fort? I looked at Fei Yu and she seemed to be panicking. It seemed that these fellows were here for her! The nine people landed simultaneously before us after a ray of light. I was shocked to notice that among them, there was Ke Er Lan Di that I had recently parted with. Could it be that he wanted to harm Fei Yu? Ke Er Lan Di looked at me and immediately stepped forth. ¡°It¡¯s you as I¡¯ve expected.¡± I frowned. ¡°Ke Er Lan Di, I didn¡¯t expect you to help a tyrant. Could it be that you can¡¯t let such a young girl go?¡± Fei Yu stood at her spot motionlessly with awkwardness expressed on her face. Ke Er Lan Di smiled wryly. ¡°We let her go? We are the ones that need her to let us go! Princess, please don¡¯t put us in such a spot and head back with us, ok? His Majesty is going to be anxious to death.¡± I was stunned and looked towards Fei Yu. ¡°Hmm? The one that is really searching for you is the Emperor of the Kingdom of Dalu, your father?¡± Feu Yu lowered her head without replying. With my intelligence, I immediately realised what was going on. She had been lying to me all along. Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°To be honest with you, His Majesty had come to the fort for an inspection. I also reached the fort not long ago and had already reported what happened when I was with you to him. His Majesty had attached importance in training the army. Princess Fei Yu had probably ran out due to loneliness. She¡¯s His Majesty¡¯s most doted upon princess. If we were unable to retrieve her, I¡¯m afraid that we will be¡­.¡± He looked towards Fei Yu, who had her head lowered. He suddenly thought about what Tian Feng had said and asked, ¡°Princess, are you willing to head back with us?¡± Fei Yu looked at me before looking at them. She replied after nodding, ¡°I¡¯ll head back with all of you.¡± She slightly bowed towards me and said, ¡°Teacher, thank you for taking care of me during this short period of time. It was my mistake to give you trouble. Please come to our Kingdom of Dalu for leisure when you¡¯re free.¡± Even though there wasn¡¯t any arrogance in her tone, I could clearly feel that she had greatly distanced herself from me. I knew that it was due to my ugly appearance. How could I blame her? Anyway, everything was just a lie. She had lied to me. I had Mu Zi so everything else didn¡¯t matter. I should be happy getting rid of her, but why did I have such a feeling? I calmly replied, ¡°Princess, I hope that you don¡¯t randomly joke around like this in the future. Brother Ke Er, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± Ke Er Lan Di said, ¡°Brother Zhang Gong, I wish that we could fight alongside you when the opportunity arises.¡± I smiled. ¡°Definitely.¡± I circulated the fusion power in my body before soaring into the sky, heading towards the south. I already withdrew all of my thoughts. What I needed to do now was to receive the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance as soon as possible. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Ke Er Lan Di nodded with praise as he saw Zhang Gong Wei left. Fei Yu stepped a few steps forward. ¡°Brother Ke Er, let¡¯s head back.¡± She looked dejected as Zhang Gong¡¯s ugly appearance kept flashing through her mind. It was like there was a huge stone that kept suppressing her.Ke Er Lan Di looked at the beautiful princess and sighed. ¡°Your Highness, why didn¡¯t you persist in accompanying him?¡± Fei Yu was stunned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you expect me to head back with you?¡± Ke Er Lan Di sighed. ¡°Your Highness, His Majesty had already passed down the order that if you persevered in following him, we weren¡¯t to hinder you.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 25 - Entering the God Rended Canyon Volume 11: Chapter 25 - Entering the God Rended Canyon Fei Yu was shocked. ¡°Why? This shouldn¡¯t have happened. Could it be that father doesn¡¯t want me anymore?¡± Ke Er Lan Di shook his head. ¡°No! That¡¯s not it. His Majesty passed down the order probably due to his identity.¡± He looked at the direction that Zhang Gong Wei had left before completely understanding the motives of Tian Feng. ¡°Identity? What identity does he have?¡± Ke Er Lan Di looked at Fei Yu. ¡°Once an opportunity has been missed, you can¡¯t gain it back. Your Highness, he¡¯s the God¡¯s Envoy that you revere. He¡¯s the Child of Light, Zhang Gong Wei, he who can solitarily cast forbidden spells and is the youngest light element Magister. The huge gulf behind us was created by him and his friends.¡± Fei Yu¡¯s complexion instantly paled. ¡°You¡­.You¡¯re lying. How can he be the Child of Light with such an ugly appearance?¡± Ke Er Lan Di smiled wryly. ¡°Your Highness, why would I lie to you? I¡¯ve personally witnessed his tyrannical strength. He¡¯s currently ugly, but I had heard that he was once a handsome youth. He had turned to such a state from fighting against the Demon Emperor. The dark elements corroded his body and rotted his meridians, which resulted to his current looks.¡± ¡°No! This is impossible. I¡­.I want to find him.¡± Upon saying that, Fei Yu turned to the direction that Zhang Gong had disappeared and ran like a mad woman to pursuing after him. Ke Er Lan Di shook his head and with a flash of his body, he gently hit the back of Fei Yu¡¯s neck, causing her body to soften and collapse towards the ground. Ke Er Lan Di carried Fei Yu¡¯s body and sighed saying, ¡°Is appearance that important? Does the beauty or ugliness of a person proves anything? Your Highness! You just let go of such a precious opportunity.¡± Like the flash of a light, the 9 figures soared into the sky towards Str?m Fortress. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ When I was high in the sky with cold breeze blowing against me, I intentionally got rid of the power protecting my body, letting the cold wind hit my body, rustling my clothing. With my long hair trail behind me, an invigorating chill passed through my body, making me feel energized. I consciously caressed my smooth, but ugly face. My moodiness slowly disappeared. Being ugly wasn¡¯t my fault, but I couldn¡¯t scare people with it. I definitely wouldn¡¯t casually remove the mask to prevent what had happened from occurring again. Before I had completely relaxed, the Holy Sword in my chest suddenly activated, stunning me, resulting in me pausing in mid air. The Holy Sword¡¯s powers constantly surged out in all directions, filling every meridian in my entire body. It was a nice and warm, a comfortable feeling. Just then, I forgot about all my previous moodiness and completely submerged myself in the warmth of the Holy Sword. It felt as though I was in my mother¡¯s warm embrace. After I immersed myself in its warmth for a while, I suddenly regained consciousness. The Holy Sword¡¯s power must have undulated due to the powers of the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lie, nearby. This was great! I didn¡¯t expect that it would be this easy to find him. When I focused on what was below, I saw a narrow crevice on the flat plateau in the Demon race territory. The crevice was extremely deep. This should be the God Rended Canyon. I suppressed my happiness and releasing t my power to charge downwards. My body moved like a shooting star to head into the Canyon, while emitting a faint golden light. When I was above the plateau, I immediately charged into the canyon. A invisible and gentle power suddenly blocked my body descent forcing me back into the sky. It was as though I had landed on a cotton cushion, it didn¡¯t hurt me at all. I stabilized my body, stunned. After pondering on it, I understood that the God Rended Canyon had a protective shield. It was the same type of shield that the God King had arranged when we first went to find the Holy Sword. I thought for a while before flying and stopping right in front of the boundary. I closed my eyes and focused entirely on the Holy Sword in my chest. My mind completely fused with the sea of warm power as it gently called out, sending signals towards the boundary. When the white light that surged out from me came in contact with the boundary, it initially resisted my power but as I constantly released the power from the Holy Sword towards it, the obstruction gradually disappeared. I tested it by moving my body and was happy to find that the boundary no longer resisted me. The power of the Holy Sword from my body gradually entered the boundary. As I entered it, I greatly understood the might of the boundary. It was at least 10 metres thick. Even though I was enclosed with the Holy Sword¡¯s power in the boundary, it was as though I was entering a swamp, I could only slowly advance forward. Finally, all of the pressure was gone. My body lightened up and fell into a world that was filled with clean air. When I was in the canyon, I realised that my surroundings were full of vitality; insects¡¯ and birds¡¯ cries could be heard everywhere. The interior of the canyon was filled with vegetation. It seemed like it had been a long time since any large animal came here, as the canyon didn¡¯t have any paths. The ground was covered with dense layers of thistles and thorns, making it impossible for me to get through by walking, so I continued flying. With my cultivation, I could use my fusion powers to forcefully cut out a path, but I didn¡¯t want to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere here. The fusion powers in my body constantly undulated. Even though it wasn¡¯t intense, it didn¡¯t weaken. This brought me to a spot which I thought that the remaining Radiant God¡¯s Power should be in a opening, but there were only plants around without any signs of a opening. I circulated the three gold dans in my body, preparing all of my senses to reach their peak. While I probed my surroundings, I simultaneously took off the cloth covering the Sukrad¡¯s staff and gradually inserting my fusion powers. I could clearly feel that the protective boundary had briefly appeared nearby. I had a clear view of the 3.3 meters around me. I first surveyed my surroundings before circulating the power in my body to thoroughly search the place. The vitality of my surroundings made me exceptionally comfortable. It was as though every blade of grass contained tremendous power. However, after thoroughly searching through the place, I still couldn¡¯t find any sign of an abnormality. While I hovered in mid air, I couldn¡¯t help but to become nervous as I had already done my best in searching the place. But there weren¡¯t any indications. Like this, it would be useless no matter how hard I tried. Volume 11: Chapter 26 - Simmering in Pain Volume 11: Chapter 26 - Simmering in Pain Could it be that I couldn¡¯t find it due to a lack in cultivation? I landed on ground where it had a low patch of grass and sat crossed legged, carrying Sukrad¡¯s staff on my back. I silently circulated the three gold dans in my body, constantly absorbing various magic elements from the surrounding. The amount of magic elements in such a vitality filled place was exceptionally large. I could distinctly feel all of the elements entering my body. I had noticed that there were seven coloured power energy cells being constantly absorbed and converted. My body¡¯s gold dans were filled to the brim with powers in a short moment and gold liquid-like powers filled my entire body, making my six senses to increase by several fold. It had made me feel exceptionally enriched with the abundant powers in my body. The amount of powers gathered gradually increased to the point where I felt that I was becoming bloated with power as they accumulated. I was already having some difficulties adapting to the continuous increase in power, it was impossible to continue training. The amount of power here was too much for me. I realised that something terrifying was happening. The powers in my body no longer listened to my commands as they rapidly absorbed the powers from my surroundings. Numerous magic elements were entering my body, absorbed by my fusion power. My fears slowly intensified as it reached to the point that was unbearable. If this were to continue, the tremendous power would ruin my body, but what could I do now? With the three gold dans as its center, the fusion powers gradually became more and more substantial, causing my normally smooth-flowing meridians to become congested. The speed of the absorption gradually increased. Currently, I was already unable to control any part of my body, excluding my consciousness. ¡®Mi Jia Lie, you bastard, are you trying to kill me? I¡¯m already going to explode with powers before I even receive your inheritance!¡¯ The elements in my surroundings didn¡¯t share my thoughts as they continued their initial pace to gather towards me. ¡®Sigh! I was too greedy. If I had stopped absorbing my powers after recovering to my peak state, this situation could have been avoided. According to this situation, once my entire body has been congested with power and continues to absorb powers, my body will explode. I didn¡¯t expect that I will die with my powers going amok during cultivation, instead of dieing under the Monster King¡¯s hands. This is such an irony!¡¯ The pain from being congested with powers slowly made my consciousness to start fading. I clearly felt my capillaries were spurting blood out from my skin. My body spasmed slightly, nearing the verge of collapse. Finally, the powers in my body had reached the point of bursting. Due to my mind still functioning clearly, I could hear the crackling of every bone in my entire body. ¡®I¡¯m finished. This is bad. Am I really going to die? Mu Zi! It should be unthinkable for you to guess that I will actually die so pathetically.¡¯ Just when I felt hopeless in dealing with this situation, there was suddenly a warm power that surged out from my chest. That power wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest by my congested meridians as it instantly covered my entire body, forcefully stopping my body from exploding. The suppression of the powers momentarily made my body to jolt as my body charged towards the sky, like a gold shooting star. ¡®Hong!¡¯ I was rebounded back by the Canyon¡¯s boundary and fell heavily on the ground. Blood was continuously spewing from my mouth. The severe internal damage and exterior pain had made me feel like I was dying. At this moment, there was a hot feeling that suddenly came from my back that instantly spread throughout my body. It seemed to be moving along through my meridians and dulled my pain a little. With my consciousness fading, I already didn¡¯t have the strength to think about what that power was. I just wanted to be relieved from the eternal damnation of pain. Even death would be better to me than being tortured with such pain anymore. The surrounding elements were still gathering towards me. The thick and overflowing fusion powers were constantly putting pressure on the bones in my body, causing sharp cracks to ring out. I clearly felt every single bone in my body being pulverized. ¡®I¡¯m done. I¡¯m finished¡¯ I felt intense pain constantly stimulating my nerves. ¡®Why? Why is this happening? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong before. Why are the heavens punishing me?¡¯ When the last bone in my body had shattered, the overflow of fusion power started to infiltrate my entire body. It would be much better for me to just die now than to suffer from such pain. Initially, with such intense pain, I should have already lost my consciousness. But everytime when I was going to lose my consciousness, there would be a sudden cooling power that surged out from my upper dantian, inhibiting me from passing out. This torture shouldn¡¯t be bearable to anyone. I currently couldn¡¯t move, but could still feel wave after wave of intense pain that wracked towards my consciousness. ¡®My fusion powers, I beg you, quickly end my life. I really can¡¯t take it any longer.¡¯ The pain from my bones shattering was beyond the limit of what I could stand. As I groaned from the pain, I pleaded for death¡¯s arrival. An icy feeling suddenly came forth from my forehead and started intensifying, making my consciousness become enveloped by it. I instantly felt my consciousness clearing up and the pain that I was suffering from decreased slightly. Just when I thought that I could catch my breath, the elements in the canyon suddenly increased their speed drastically in absorbing inside of me. ¡°Ah!~¡± I yelled out. I didn¡¯t know when, but I could let out my voice. My body was constantly tumbling in mid air. The fusion powers were frantically pushing against my internal organs. There was a heart piercing pain that constantly jerked on my nerves, making my body to shake continuously. Purplish black blood was violently spurting from my mouth, mouthful after mouthful. My internal organs were starting to tear apart. No matter if it was the warm feeling from my chest, the scorching pain from my back or the cool feeling from my forehead, they intensified several times over. The warm feeling maintained my body¡¯s power so that it couldn¡¯t breakout from my body, the scorching feeling was keeping my skin active and the cool feeling was maintaining my consciousness. I could clearly feel that my internal organs were disappearing one after another. The strange thing was that even though I was in constant pain, my consciousness was becoming much clearer. Volume 11: Chapter 27 - Within the Consciousnesses Volume 11: Chapter 27 - Within the Consciousnesses ¡®Why are you torturing me like this?! Can it be that I don¡¯t have the right to die?¡¯ While my consciousness is becoming clearer, the heart wrenching pain was intensifying. ¡®I remember that someone said that if you were to lose one third of the blood in your body, you will die. I had almost lost half of the blood in my body. Why aren¡¯t I dying?¡¯ ¡°Ah!~¡± My heart felt as though it had been torn apart. My body was spasming and blood came out from all of my seven apertures as I heavily fell to the ground. When I opened my eyes, an eye piercing light was seen. Excluding my mind, I virtually couldn¡¯t feel anything else. The fusion powers in my body were frantically wreaking a havoc in my body, ¡®tidying up¡¯ my body. I was already numb to the pain. The icy feeling from my head could no longer stop me from passing out. I unconsciously smiled as I was finally going to be relieved from the pain. ¡®Who wants to die? I have a lot of matters that I couldn¡¯t leave behind. It¡¯s been such a long time since I met my parents, Mu Zi and my friends. I don¡¯t even know how is Hai Shui doing. If I died, can everyone defeat the Monster King?¡¯ As I carried along my reluctance and thoughts, my consciousness got increasingly fuzzy. Finally, I was freed as all of my pains had disappeared. My sight gone pitch black that I could no longer see anything. It was unknown how much time had passed when my consciousness recovered again. Everything was pitch black and my body seemed to be floating in mid air. Only the indifferent passing of time and an extremely comfortable feeling could be felt. ¡®I finally died and have been relieved of the pain? God King! You really harmed me to have actually tricked me to this hellish place to torture me. My life is so pitiful!¡¯ ¡°My life is worse than yours!¡± A familiar gentle voice sounded in my consciousness. ¡®Hmm? This voice? Isn¡¯t this voice¡¯s Mi Jia Lie¡¯s? Could it be after I died, my spirit met with his? Just nice, I can give him a lecture.¡¯ He seemed to know what I was thinking as Mi Jia Lie voiced out again, ¡°Don¡¯t scold me, I¡¯m not to be blamed for this! Do you think that receiving an inheritance would be easy? You will definitely suffer some pain.¡± After hearing what he said, my mind jolted. ¡®Could it be that I¡¯m not dead?¡¯ ¡°Of course you aren¡¯t dead, my child.¡± With a shine of a light, my surroundings lit up, transforming into a white world. A faint golden light figure appeared before me. Even though I couldn¡¯t see it distinctly, I could clearly see those six gold wings. This was my first time seeing Mi Jia Lie¡¯s figure. My mind suddenly blanked and when it recovered, I suddenly realised that my body had appeared again, but it was completely transparent. Mi Jia Lie was not far in front of me. I tested moving my transparent body and asked, astonished, ¡°This...What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Child, you¡¯ve suffered, but you must undergo this pain. How can you withstand my tremendous powers without completely modifying your body? You were much stronger than I thought. You were able to persevere with the three divine instruments¡¯ assistance and your mind isn¡¯t disordered. The most crucial moment has passed. I¡¯m now confident in completely passing you all of my powers.¡± I shook my head with all my strength. ¡°Wait, can you first explain to me what¡¯s going on? What¡¯s three divine instruments? What is about the modification of my body? I don¡¯t understand any of the things that have happened.¡± Mi Jia Lie replied, ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t be anxious. I¡¯ll explain it all to you. When you neared this place, I already discovered you with the remnants of my will. I¡¯ve waited for you for a few thousand years already. It¡¯s only after I passed the Radiant God¡¯s power to you for my mission to be accomplished. The pain that I¡¯ve suffered all these years you could never imagine.¡± ¡°When you first entered the canyon in search of my presence, I already started gathering the powers that I¡¯ve accumulated over these thousands of years. Once you entered your meditative state, I started to modify your body. It¡¯s impossible for your human body to inherit divine powers. I must alter your body to become the same as our God race. It can also be said that your body is no longer of the Human race, but God¡¯s race now. I know that you have reluctance to leave the human world so I¡¯ve kept a lot of your human characteristics. You¡¯re now a hybrid with the body of both a human and a God. I¡¯ve long since discussed about the modification of your body with the God King. It¡¯s a necessary, but also an extremely risky procedure. If you weren¡¯t able to withstand the tremendous pain that would result in the scattering of your mind, everything until now would have been for naught. However, we succeeded. You¡¯re much stronger than I thought. With the protection from the Holy Sword and Dragon God staff, your body was completely modified by me. In addition, the Ice God mask¡¯s protection in maintaining your consciousness, everything went perfectly.¡± I frowned. ¡°Wait a minute, it can¡¯t be that the mask that is on my face is the Ice God¡¯s mask that you¡¯ve mentioned, right?¡± Mi Jia Lie nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct, that is the Ice God¡¯s mask. Perhaps, it was heaven¡¯s will for you to actually obtain it. The mask was the divine instrument of the Ice God. During the great war between the Gods and monsters, the Ice God fell. His mask¡¯s location was unknown. Beyond my expectation, you¡¯ve gotten it. With its help, you were then able to be smoothly modified by me.¡± I frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the function of the Ice God¡¯s mask?¡± ¡®I didn¡¯t expect that the mask that I had bought to cover my ugly face had such usefulness. It seems that the God King really took care of me. Not only have I survived, I had also successfully received the inheritance.¡¯ My mood became elated. ¡®I can also see my beloved Mu Zi soon. Haha!¡¯ ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve not received the inheritance. Don¡¯t be so happy yet.¡± I was stunned as I cried out, ¡°What?! Hasn¡¯t my body already been modified? Why have I not received the inheritance?¡± Mi Jia Lie smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I hadn¡¯t explained clear enough or that there¡¯s a problem in your ability to understand. I previously just said that I had modified your body, but the inheritance hasn¡¯t started. If you had already inherited my powers, do you think I¡¯d still be here conversing with you?¡± Volume 11: Chapter 28 - Monster Races Structure Volume 11: Chapter 28 - Monster Race''s Structure I smiled wryly. ¡°Ah! The inheritance hasn¡¯t started? Can I decide not to continue receiving it?! The modifying of my body was already beyond what I can handle. If I continue the inheritance, I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to withstand it.¡± Mi Jia Lie laughed. ¡°It won¡¯t be. Didn¡¯t I say that the most risky part had already passed? You¡¯ve already suffered the pain from receiving the inheritance. I¡¯m also not from the Monster race, so why would I make you suffer again? Let¡¯s chat for a while before the inheritance, if not, there won¡¯t be any other chances.¡± My mood dampened as I knew that once the inheritance had completed, the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lie, would completely disappear from this world. He had sacrificed more than what I could for our world¡¯s and the God realm¡¯s peace and harmony. Mi Jia Lie sighed. ¡°Child, don¡¯t be upset for me. This is my choice and something I needed to do as the protector of the God¡¯s realm, it¡¯s my duty. After you obtain my inheritance, in addition to your current powers, not only will you have all of my previous powers, but you¡¯ll reach a realm even beyond mine. In the God¡¯s realm, excluding Lord God King, my power was third in strength. Even though the Monster King is powerful, the power he will possess in this world won¡¯t be too much since his original body is still sealed in the God¡¯s realm. He will definitely have remained a lot of his power in the God realm so that he wouldn¡¯t be eliminated by Lord God King. Therefore, after receiving my inheritance, you¡¯ll have a larger possibility in eliminating him from the world with your friends that possess divine instruments.¡± ¡°The main function of the Ice God¡¯s mask is to maintain a clear consciousness. Perhaps, you¡¯ll think that its function is not useful, but let me tell you this. The Ice God¡¯s mask is similar to the Holy Sword, a first grade divine instrument. Its power is only slightly lower than the Holy Sword. It can help you to replenish the powers in your body so that you can use them more efficiently. Moreover, it can also maintain your consciousness at critical moments to allow you to make the most accurate decisions.¡± I nodded. ¡°Radiant God, can I call you that?¡± Mi Jia Lie nodded. I asked, ¡°When you initially told me that the inheritance will be dangerous, did that refer to the modification of my body?¡± Mi Jia Lie nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct. The modifying of your body was the key step. You¡¯ll only be able to withstand my powers after completely modifying your body. I changed your body as you came here and discovered that your body had a few powers that had already been fused, which made me extremely happy because the fusion of my powers is necessary. Since you had fused the powers with the Holy Sword as their center, it made my job much easier and also allowed me to insert more powers in your body. You¡¯ve to know that when battling with the Monster race, the more powers you possess, the greater the chances of you winning. The inheritance that will occur shortly will be extremely safe. You can rest assured. I will finally able to accomplish the God King¡¯s task.¡± Mi Jia Lie¡¯s voice had a tinge of sadness in it. I knew that he was reluctant to leave this world so I couldn¡¯t bear to ask him, ¡°Is there really no way to leave your will here after inheriting your powers to me?¡± Mi Jia Lie shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s right, once I pass the God¡¯s inheritance to you, all of my powers and will will be fused within your consciousness. Actually, if you think outside of the box, you¡¯ll understand that your inheritance doesn¡¯t mean my death. It means that I¡¯ve obtained a new life through your body. You¡¯ll have my powers and my previous memories, in order to become the next Radiant God and the next battle angel, Mi Jia Lie. Alright, we don¡¯t have much time left. Modifying your body has taken up a lot of time. When you woke up just now, my will had discovered that the Monster King is in the final stage of awakening. You must accept my inheritance as soon as possible. I¡¯ll first explain to you the internal compositions of the Monster race before you undergo the inheritance.¡± Mi Jia Lie remained silent for a while before saying, ¡°If they didn¡¯t possess strong powers of infiltration and destruction, then the Monster race can be said to be a powerful race like our God race. The leader of the Monster race is the Monster King. His power is even beyond that of the God King. Otherwise, we won¡¯t have let him live until now. Even though I previously said that we eliminated majority of the Monster race, some of the Monster race¡¯s minds had been snatched up by the Monster King. Once he reappears in the world, he¡¯ll definitely release those powerful foes to gain a new lives through human bodies. The most terrifying helpers of the Monster King are the three Great Monsters, Dark Monster---Jia Si Ke Li Duo, Witch Monster----Ha Er Yue Di, and Blood Monster----Ka An Da Er Jia. With the combination of their powers, they wouldn¡¯t be inferior to my power.¡± Mi Jia Lie sighed as though he was reminiscing about his past. ¡°Once the three of them resurrect, they¡¯ll bring catastrophe to the Human race. With the Monster King and the three Great Monsters, it will be difficult for you to deal with them. The only way for you to resist against them is that even when the three Great Monsters completely resurrected, they don¡¯t possess all of the powers that they had previously. They were severely injured by us after all. I believe that if they were to use a human body as their host for resurrection, they could at most keep about 30% of their previous powers. That is to say after you receive my inheritance, you should be able to deal with those three Great Monsters.¡± I added, ¡°I¡¯ve already met with the Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo that you had mentioned and fought against him, but he escaped at the last moment.¡± Mi Jia Lie was shocked. ¡°You met with Jia Si Ke Li Duo? Quickly tell me what happened with him.¡± I told him how I initially met with Jia Si Ke Li Duo that possessed Demon King Satan¡¯s body and how we defeated him. After hearing my narration, Mi Jia Lie suddenly laughed for a long time before saying, ¡°It seems that my prediction was right. Jia Si Ke Li Duo should be the first Great Monster that the Monster King resurrected. With you and your friends¡¯ power to be able to defeat him at that time, it has proven my hypothesis. He should only have had about 20% of his powers at that time and even if he recovered all of his powers, 30% of his previous powers would be as good as it could get. In this case, the chances for you eliminating the Monster King has increased drastically.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 29 - Inheritance Begins Volume 11: Chapter 29 - Inheritance Begins I was elated. ¡°What about the Monster King? We should be able to use the ultimate forbidden spell to completely eradicate him and the three Great Monsters right?¡± Mi Jia Lie replied gravely, ¡°Zhang Gong, you need to remember that you can never underestimate the Monster King. I¡¯m also not sure how powerful he will be, but I can certainly tell you this. Eliminating him won¡¯t be that easy, you must be willing to make some sacrifices. The power that the Monster King possesses is unfathomable, he killed so many of my comrades in battle at that time! Zhang Gong, once you finish inheriting my powers you will notice five floating orbs of power. Each orb is the divine will for one of the divine instruments that your friends possess. You must pass the divine wills to your friends so that they can bring out the full potential of their divine instruments. Only with the six of you, will it be possible for you to eliminate the Monster King. The most horrifying thing to the various races will be the uncountable monsters. The monsters will constantly appear as long as the Monster King has power, so you must kill their source of life in order to wipe them out.¡± I seriously nodded. ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll definitely eliminate the Monster King as quickly as I can. No matter how strong the Monster race is, I¡¯ll definitely eradicate them to restore the world¡¯s peace and harmony. This is my promise to you!¡± ¡°Great! Great! Great! With this, I can relax. Zhang Gong, during the inheritance, I¡¯ll do my best in passing all of my knowledge to your memory, including the method in using the Radiant Holy Sword and some light magic forbidden spells. You need to remember that even if your powers are tremendous after the inheritance, you will always have a limit. Ah! That¡¯s right, I almost forgot to tell you the most important matter. When you pass the divine will to your friends, they must be at their peak condition. Otherwise, they will not be able to inherit the divine will, which will cause their body to explode from the vast amount of power. You must absolutely remember this warning.¡± My heart jolted before I nodded seriously. Mi Jia Lie sighed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said all that I needed to say. I believe that you¡¯ll achieve the final victory. Alright, let¡¯s begin.¡± ¡°Wait! Wait!¡± I shouted to stop Mi Jia Lie. I currently had a complicated feeling, even though I wished to receive the inheritance in order to save the world, I hadn¡¯t wished for Mi Jia Lie to disappear. This dilemma made me feel exceptionally dejected. I said with difficulty, ¡°Radiant God, I¡­¡­¡± Mi Jia Lie let out a light chuckle. ¡°Enough, stop being childish and toughen up. Let¡¯s begin.¡± Upon saying that, the light figure that I could only faintly see suddenly lit up. ¡°Accomplishing the task in eliminating the Monster King will be the best repayment to me.¡± Just as I wanted to say something, Mi Jia Lie shouted, ¡°Focus! We¡¯re starting.¡± My entire body jolted. My eyes flushed and tears started to flowed out involuntarily. My sacrifices were nothing as compared to Mi Jia Lie¡¯s. I clenched my teeth to control my impulses and gradually calmed down. My mind slowly focused as I focused on Mi Jia Lie¡¯s silhouette. ¡°I, in the name of the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jia Lie, will be passing the divine inheritance to the person before me. He will then be able to inherit my divine position and the lifelong mission to become the next generation¡¯s Radiant God in order to rule over the powers of light. Zhang Gong Wei, are you willing to take on this responsibility?¡± Mi Jia Lie¡¯s voice was domineering and consisted a feeling that rejection wasn¡¯t a choice. I took in a deep breath and answered emotionally, yet full of resolution, ¡°I¡­.I¡¯m willing. I promise that no matter what difficulties I face, I¡¯ll accomplish the Radiant God¡¯s mission to annihilate all sinister beings.¡± Mi Jia Lie replied benevolently. ¡°Oh great Radiant God, with the guidance of the blades of moonlight and using the spirit of heaven and earth, let the battle angel of God awaken!¡± My sight suddenly lit up, everything in my surroundings became an ocean of gold. The light figure disappeared and I was no longer see my body. A tsunami of power surged towards me from all directions with lightning speed. Since I was in my meditative state, I couldn¡¯t feel the expansion of my powers. I only felt that my consciousness was steadily expanding. The constantly growing consciousness was rapidly absorbing the powers from the surroundings. When my consciousness cleared, there were three dazzling items before me. On the left was Sukrad¡¯s staff, and on my right was the silver Ice God¡¯s mask. They were emitting gold and white lights respectively. Between them was an exceptionally magnificent silver-coloured long sword. The sword was about 1.5 metres long and four fingers wide. The ridge of the sword looked straight, but with detailed inspection it seemed to have an peculiar arc. The arc looked completely natural, as if it was heavenly made. The hilt and the blade came together like a cross. The hilt was made from two circular shapes that curved slightly downwards to form a fifth of the sword¡¯s total length. There were dense spiral veined lines and a transparent rhombus-shaped gemstone, which was indistinctly giving off a rainbow coloured glimmer, at the center of the hilt, where the handguard and blade intersected. The divine silver aura constantly emitted from the sword to the surrounding in waves. This should be how the Holy Sword originally looked. I tried to extend my hand to grab onto them, but I couldn¡¯t find my body, nor could I control anything. The three divine instruments simply gave off divine light as they just floated before me. Mi Jia Lie¡¯s voiced out, ¡°I¡¯ll help you by changing the shape of Sukrad¡¯s staff for it to be more convenient while using all three divine instruments.¡± On the left, the Sukrad¡¯s staff suddenly gave off intense light. The transparent gemstone was giving off an abnormally dazzling white light and was intercepted by the gold light ray from the staff. Under my astonishment, the Sukrad¡¯s staff gradually dissolved being engulfed by the white and gold light, finally forming a white and gold ball of light. The light from the light ball intensified and after a short span the Sukrad¡¯s staff disappeared. What substituted it was a golden glove with many small transparent gemstones on the back. The small gems should be formed from the essence of the initial circular gemstone from the staff. ¡°Goodbye, my child.¡± Mi Jia Lie¡¯s caring, but mournful voice suddenly voiced out. Without waiting for my reply, the powers in my surroundings suddenly increased by one hundred fold, surging frantically with me as its center. The enormous amount of power constantly struck my consciousness, forcing my consciousness to bundle up, resulting in the loss of my consciousness. Volume 11: Chapter 30 - The New Radiant God Volume 11: Chapter 30 - The New Radiant God My consciousness returned after some time. Groggily, I felt that my body entered a variable hot and cold cycle, making me indescribably uncomfortable. The fuzzy feeling gradually got clearer and a icy cold feeling suddenly surged out from my forehead as it abruptly got in contact with the scorching heat at my chest. In that instant, time seemed to freeze. The two opposing powers suddenly merged together, creating a warm feeling that constantly spread as it circulated throughout my body. Ah! I could use my inner vision again. I was shocked to discover that my body was completely different. I couldn¡¯t see any bones or meridians, only a vast ocean. My entire body was made from dazzling golden lights. I was unclear on how many of the golden lights there were, but I could clearly see that they followed a natural orbit as they circulated. I couldn¡¯t gauge how much power they possessed at the moment, but I could see that they securely protected my inner organs, which had also turned gold. I thought, ¡®If each of those uncountable light spots have the power of my initial gold dan, wouldn¡¯t my power be unimaginable?¡¯ Suddenly, the light spots in my body suddenly quicken their pace. The lights transformed into a series of constantly looping rivers moving rapidly, charging into the heavens and transmitting like a gushing spring. My previously clear consciousness momentarily lapsed, after my sight gone out I felt that my body was being called back. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was still within the God Rended Canyon, but my clothes were missing. My skin was similar to sparkling and translucent fine jade, divine light was constantly flowing underneath my skin. Even though it was night, I could still clearly see my surroundings. There were tremendous changes to the God Rended Canyon. I was surprised that all the lively vegetation had disappeared and what replaced it was empty, just melancholic rock walls. ¡®Where are all the plants and animals? Can it be that they were formed by Mi Jia Lie and they disappeared after the loss of his support?¡¯ Thinking about Mi Jia Lie, my mood dampened. ¡®It seems that I successfully received his inheritance, but he disappeared afterwards.... Inheritance?¡¯ Thinking about the inheritance, I willed the powers in my body to activate. It seemed as if I was formed by light after I activated my powers. My entire body gave off an intense light, eliminating the darkness around me. I started to experience a new feeling throughout my body. The light elements in the vicinity seemed to have accepted my command. A thick boundary was formed at the perimeter of the light screen due to the attraction of my powers. My entire body jolted as six golden wings appeared behind my back. My body lightened and I gradually floated off from ground. I didn¡¯t have to use much control to hover mid air. I could unmistakably feel that a casual wave of my hand could cause the powers around me to eliminate anything before me. The vitality filled light elements were like my friends, they were never leaving me and constantly protecting me. I withdrew my powers to land back on the ground. I knelt down and kowtowed nine time before sincerely saying, ¡°Radiant God Mi Jia Lie, even though we didn¡¯t meet each other in person, I know that you¡¯re undeniably a god that possesses a benevolent heart. Because of what has been bestowed by you, so in my heart, you¡¯re like my teacher. Rest in peace. I¡¯ll definitely help you accomplish everything you wanted to see. This is my eternal promise to you.¡± ¡®I¡¯m currently not the previous Zhang Gong Wei. I can no longer live for myself, but for all life forms in the world. It¡¯s my duty to protect them so that they are never to be harmed by any sinister beings.¡¯ The sense of responsibility filled my chest. I suddenly thought about the final words of Mi Jia Lie as he died after standing. I raised my hand to caress my face. As expected, the Ice God¡¯s mask was still covering my face and there was a gold glove on my right hand. This glove should have been created from my Sukrad¡¯s staff, so I would call it God¡¯s Guard. With the flick of my right hand, the transparent gemstones on God¡¯s Guard gave off an exceptional swarm of moving lights. A warm feeling could be felt from my chest as an auspicious and peaceful power surged out. As I willed it, the silvery-white Holy Sword instantly appeared before me. My heartstrings trembled, this was the genuine Holy Sword! I finally possessed it. I unhurriedly stretched out my right hand that had the God¡¯s Guard to snatch the Holy Sword. The Holy Sword seemed to be spiritually connected with me, as it voluntarily lept into my right hand. The light aura emitting from my body intensified drastically upon holding the Holy Sword. A peerless divine power burst outwards from me, filling the entire God Rended Canyon. The six light wings on my back expanded and in a blink of an eye, I was already high up in the sky. The silver-white Holy Sword lit up the night sky. With a casual swing, a long silvery light shot forth. This was divine power! I had already become the new generation¡¯s Radiant God. Blue, White, yellow, red and green lights suddenly soared out from the God Rended Canyon. Ah! These were the War God¡¯s, Sky God¡¯s, Titan God¡¯s, Lightning God¡¯s, and Wind God¡¯s divine wills. With these, I was sure that it would increase our fighting abilities while resisting the Monster race. I carefully kept the five power balls in my spacial pocket, fearing that using my divine powers would damage them. I took in a deep breath and tried my best to calm my emotions. I didn¡¯t know how long had passed since I reached here, nor how the God Protector¡¯s Domain was, so I needed to head back as quickly as possible. After uniting everyone¡¯s power, we would head out in search of the Monster race to eradicate them once and for all. My confidence had increased drastically after receiving the inheritance. Even though I wasn¡¯t sure what standard my powers had reached, it should still have reached the legendary Grand Magister¡¯s realm. Volume 11: Chapter 31 - Returning to the Domain Volume 11: Chapter 31 - Returning to the Domain When I flew from the God Rended Canyon to the Demon race¡¯s plateau, it was still the same desolate place as the first time I came. The only difference was that the boundary of the God Rended Canyon had disappeared. Suddenly, I was alarmed as I perceived faint trace of the Monster race¡¯s aura with my divine powers. It seemed that the Monster race had already made their move. No matter how pressing time was, I still had to make a trip back to the God Protector Domain. ¡®With my current powers, my skill in using long distance teleportation array should be fairly accurate. I will give it a try, in order to save time. I can still fly back to the base even if the positioning is erred, and I will still have a shorter distance to travel.¡¯ Thinking about that, I secured the Holy Sword and used the God¡¯s Guard on my right hand to draw the long distance teleportation array. The God¡¯s Guard showed its versatility as it drew up the appropriate magic array with a mere thought. The array was also those kind of complicated long distance magic array that required lots of mental power. The previous me would have spent a long time drawing such an array, in order to rest and recover my mental power to prevent mistakes in drawing the array. But this time was different, I didn¡¯t feel any exhaustion and my mind was in its peak condition as well. I took just half an hour to draw up the enormously complicated long distance magic array. I was quite confident that I should be within a five kilometer radius of the God Protector Domain. I used my six wings of light to envelop myself before taking a deep breath and entering the magic array.After I took a final look at the now desolate looking God Rended Canyon, I started the chant to activate the magic array. With a flash of light, I entered a seven coloured world. With the protection of the wings, I felt no resistance and my surroundings were rapidly fading away. With the scenery constantly changing, it made me light headed, so I closed my eyes. After my body lightened, the surrounding pressure vanished. I was now standing on the peak of a lofty mountain. Clusters of clouds passed by that hit my body with their moisture. After noticing my body was bare, I couldn¡¯t help but to chuckle. How could I go and meet up with the rest looking like this? Wouldn¡¯t I be forced out of the domain like this? I retrieved some clothes from my spacial pocket and wore a white coloured light attribute magic robe on my exterior. When I activated my divine will to survey my surroundings, unexpectedly the God Protector Domain wasn¡¯t far front from my location. However, the domain seemed too peaceful. This kind of situation shouldn¡¯t occur, even at night. I was alarmed. Had something happened? I flapped the six light wings on my back to fly towards the God Protector Domain. Within a few blinks of an eye, I was above the God Protector Domain. The interior of the domain was pitch black. I could only feel a minority of human presences, when compared to the previous 10,000 plus people in the domain previously. Could it be that the Monster race had attacked this place? It shouldn¡¯t be, there wasn¡¯t any lingering aura of the Monster race here! I withdrew my wings and landed on the ground. Anxiously, I rapidly activated the river-like divine power, making intense light rays to light up the domain. Nothing had changed. The mountain range and sentries were the same from when I left previously. The stone houses were also still in their original positions. I used my divine power to call out, ¡°Is anyone here?¡± An enormous voice surged towards the sky, vibrating the surrounding stone houses. I was also shocked at such an outcome because I didn¡¯t use much divine power! My voice constantly echoed. Every living being in the mountain range should have heard my call. I was too lazy to go on a man hunt because I quickly wanted to know what was happening here, so I used the most simplest method possible. Expectedly, once the sound weakened, a couple people from the domain gathered towards my location. I withdrew the wings from my back to return into my body, because seeing such a sight would be universally shocking. Ten black shadows surrounded me like lightning. ¡®Their power seems so little. It¡¯s as though that I can eliminate them just by moving my fingers. When did the brothers of our domain become so weak?¡¯ After I realized who had come, I couldn¡¯t help but to doubt my thoughts. The leader of the crowd was Jian Shan and his cultivation wasn¡¯t weak. ¡¯His power couldn¡¯t have deteriorated, right?¡¯ ¡°Who are you? What¡¯s your motive in intruding my God Protector Domain so late at night?¡± Jian Shan was shocked as he saw the divine light emitted from my body when he queried. It was probably because I was wearing a mask that resulted to his failure to recognize me. I smiled wryly. ¡°What? I hadn¡¯t seen you for a few days and you don¡¯t know me anymore? I¡¯m Zhang Gong!¡± Jian Shan looked at me warily, but his suspicious expression changed to elation after a while. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°Zhang Gong? Zhang Gong, is that really you? You¡¯re finally back.¡± He abruptly charged in front of my body to grab onto my shoulders. But when he was a meter away from me, he suddenly stopped and struggled for a while. He frowned and asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, what did you do?¡± I was stunned as I hadn¡¯t cast a protective barrier! How did this happen? I scratched my head and explained, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything! It must be due to the too rapid increase in my powers, I haven¡¯t fully grasped them. Jian Shan, where is everyone? Why is there only so few men in the base? Where¡¯s Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest? Where¡¯s Mu Zi?¡± In the middle of my speech I tried my best to withdraw the powers emitted from my body. Only then was I able to embrace Jian Shan. Jian Shan¡¯s body shook slightly. He was obviously excited as it had been sometimes since we parted from each other. Jian Shan complained, ¡°You left without saying a word and also gone for such a long time. Do you know that the continent had undergone so many changes that the heavens and earth had flipped upside down?¡± I asked, stunned, ¡°I¡¯ve left for a long time? How long did I left for?¡± Volume 11: Chapter 32 - The Change in the Continent Volume 11: Chapter 32 - The Change in the Continent Jian Shan said snappily, ¡°Have you gone nuts to not even remember how long you have gone? If it wasn¡¯t for your voice, figure and the Holy Sword¡¯s aura emitting from your body, I wouldn¡¯t be confident that you¡¯re Zhang Gong. You have been gone for about two years. Your princess from the Demon race and that girl from the Kingdom of Aixia have been missing you dearly.¡± Stunned, I replied, ¡°Two years? I¡¯ve been gone for such a long time?¡± The inheritance felt like it only took a few days! I hadn¡¯t expected that I had left for such a prolonged period of time. ¡®Two years?! Of course there¡¯ll be a lot of changes. Perhaps even the Monster King has already awaken.¡¯ I asked anxiously, ¡°Quickly, give me a run down on what has happened during the time that I¡¯ve been gone.¡± Jian Shan sighed. ¡°Not long after you left, a little lady from the Kingdom of Aixia came. She¡¯s known as Hai Shui Xing and Princess Mu Zi went to receive her. She has missed you, every morning she¡¯d look afar at the peak of the mountain waiting for your return. She¡¯s really infatuated with you! You mustn¡¯t let her down. Even though Mu Zi has been helping the five elders with training the brothers, she didn¡¯t express much emotion. But from her eyes, we knew that she really missed you. How was your trip? Did you obtain the God¡¯s inheritance?¡± ¡®Hai Shui? Why has Hai Shui come? I don¡¯t have time to think about my relationships right now, because eliminating the Monster race is my top priority.¡¯ ¡°Jian Shan, don¡¯t discuss with me such trivial topics. Can you tell me where everyone is and what movements the Monster race has made during these two years?¡± Jian Shan nodded. ¡°After you had been gone for about three months, there was a Monster race den that emerged in the Kingdom of Xiuda. A large quantity of monsters spawned from the den. Big Brother Zhan Hu and Xiu Si brought the First Division brothers to head there to assist. Unfortunately, those monsters were completely annihilated only after losing a third of Xiuda¡¯s Earth Dragon Cavalry Squad elites. After such an incident, it let the entire continent develop fear after finally experiencing the invasion of the Monster race. The Monster race¡¯s dens started appearing again throughout the three kingdoms a few months afterwards. Our brothers were forced to mobilise and participate in the elimination of the Monster race¡¯s forces. It could be said that our people¡¯s support was in each of the three kingdoms. The brothers were led by Big Brother Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Xin Ao, and the five elders personally supervised the brothers in the Kingdom of Xiuda. The Kingdom of Aixia had Princess Mu Zi, Hai Shui, Dong Ri, your Xiao Jin and the Demon Fox Xiao Rou, who can already transform into a human. Xiao Rou is really amazing. With her acute senses, she was able to accurately pinpoint every location which the monster den would appear, so Princess Mu Zi¡¯s side currently has the least amount of losses.¡± ¡°Our six divisions of the Guard Battalion had been divided into two groups. Three divisions to defend the three human kingdoms and the remaining three divisions that has lower cultivation were also divided into three divisions to act as help out in the three kingdoms. Currently, there¡¯s about 4000 of our people helping the three kingdoms. However, we have lost roughly 3000 of our brothers. The losses that the three kingdoms have sustained are undeterminable. If it wasn¡¯t for us waiting for your return, us couple of brothers would have already joined the frontline long ago.¡± My heart sunk. I didn¡¯t expect that the Monster race would have such fast movements. As I thought about that, I asked, ¡°How are the Demon and Beast races? It can¡¯t be that the Monster race didn¡¯t attack their side, right?¡± Jian Shan explained seriously, ¡°Since the Demon and Beast races were too far from the Human race and that we didn¡¯t have enough manpower, we couldn¡¯t support them. It was fortunate that the most elites of the Demon and Beast races also eliminated many monsters den, but they also received huge losses. The most terrifying part of the Monster race is that they are always hidden, making it impossible for us to know when they will appear. Once they appear, they would immediately destroy all the life forms and infrastructure in the surroundings. Their tyrannical powers is horrifying. I heard that there was a monster den that appeared in a middle-sized town. The entire town was in ruins within just two days, the monsters had even killed all 10,000 people. Currently, the various races of the worlarein within an abyss of suffering.¡± I clenched my fists. ¡°Could it be said that you have always been under attack?¡± Jian Shan nodded. ¡°In the beginning, a few tens of thousand people died under the hands of the Monster race. The quantity of monsters that we eliminated are innumerable. We had been under attack until the Dragons and Nature Elves appeared that the situation changed.¡± I was shocked. ¡°What? The Dragons and Nature Elves have already participated in the battle against the Monster race?¡± Jian Shan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s correct! It¡¯s due to them that our losses have been minimized and the Monster race couldn¡¯t attack in an unrestrained manner. The information from the Nature Elves is exceptional. They were also responsible in guiding the forces in finding a possible location of the Monster race. Moreover, the Dragon race¡¯s terrifying and powerful forces were uncomparable to any other race. I heard that the Dragon King has already personally joined the elimination of the Monster race. Wherever the Dragon race appeared, the monster dens were already destroyed before they had a chance to even damage anything. Only after three months of the Dragons and Nature Elves having stepped in, could the three human kingdoms stabilize themselves. The Monster race no longer created the large scale destruction as they did before.¡± After hearing to here, I heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°The Monster King hasn¡¯t appeared?¡± Jian Shab nodded. ¡°There¡¯s no news on the Monster King and the appearance of the monster dens has been decreasing lately. However, in every den that appeared now, there would be several strong monsters. Their powers are greater than the ones that were appearing previously, making it even more difficult for us to deal with them. There were a few dens that the Dragon King personally had to deal with. But it¡¯s unknown why the Monster race focused on the Kingdom of Aixia and there weren¡¯t many monsters that appeared in the Kingdoms of Dalu or Xiuda. Thus, the majority of our forces are stationed in the Kingdom of Aixia, while the Dragons and Nature Elves stationed themselves on the side in preparation to support any of the races. The Demon and Beast races were more relaxed. Possibly due to the strong powers that our Human race possesses, the Monster race couldn¡¯t help but dispatch a large quantity over to our side so the Demon and Beast races could take it a little easier. The Monster race has been calm for the last few months. Our men have already gathered in the Capital of the Kingdom of Aixia. Not long ago, they passed a message, once you return for you to immediately meet up with them in the Capital of Aixia.¡± Volume 11: Chapter 33 - Capital of Aixia Volume 11: Chapter 33 - Capital of Aixia I thought, ¡®The Monster race is peaceful? No, there¡¯s always a calm before the storm. If I¡¯m not wrong, then the Monster King is currently reviving.¡¯ ¡°Jian Shan, I¡¯ll head to the capital of Aixia now. You guys don¡¯t need to head there, there must be some people defending our base. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already received the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance. Even if the Monster King appears, we will surely eliminate him with your assistance in protecting me when I cast spells.¡± Jian Shan replied, ¡°Zhang Gong, let me come along with you. It should be sufficient for the brothers here to guard the place.¡± I looked at him. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s head there together. Time is pressing, if I¡¯ve guessed right then the Monster race will emerge again shortly and will have a large offensive attack. We must quickly meet with the rest to prepare in adapting to the changes.¡± Upon saying that and without wasting time, I immediately drew up a long distance teleportation magic array on the ground. After drawing the magic array, the sky had turned white and dawn was gradually revealing itself. I instructed the remaining brothers to protect the base as I used my powers to protect Jian Shan and myself before activating the magic array. A light flashed and we simultaneously disappeared in the magic array. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Ah! It¡¯s really this place.¡± Everything looked so nostalgic. After all, Jian Shan and I were accurately teleported within Aixia... the place I was standing was the Kingdom of Aixia¡¯s Advance Magic Academy, the likes of which I studied at before. To me, everything was so familiar and nostalgic. I didn¡¯t know how Teacher Zhen and Teacher Di were. Had they participated in battling the Monster race? Ma Ke should have already inherited the throne of the Kingdom of Aixia. How was he? ¡°Zhang Gong, what¡¯s wrong? Did we teleported wrong?¡± Jian Shan queried curiously. I withdrew the divine powers that were emitting from my body as I shook my head, saying, ¡°No, there wasn¡¯t a mistake in the teleportation. It¡¯s just that this place is nostalgic to me. I lived here and even used to study at this very school.¡± Jian Shan replied with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s not the time to be reminiscing.¡± I withdrew myself from my thoughts and nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head to the palace now. There definitely will be information of where everyone is.¡± Just as Jian Shan wanted to reply, dense sounds of footsteps could be heard. We were already encircled and surrounded. This was one of the Squads from the Royal Mage Union. There was a few hundred mages looking gravely at us. I knew clearly that they could attack us at full force from the light elements shining from their staffs. ¡®En! Since there was the baptism of the Monster race, the Mage Union¡¯s response is quite fast! They should have hurried over from the intense magic undulation from the teleportation array.¡¯ The leader, who was an old mage, stepped forth as he asked heavily, ¡°Who are you people?¡± From the marks on his chest, he was a Magic Scholar and his main magic should be fire. I smiled as I walked forth. ¡°Don¡¯t make your move. We are on your side. I¡¯m a student from the Royal Advance Magic Academy and just returned using a teleportation array.¡± That old mage looked at me dubiously as he asked, ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re lying to? The undulation from the magic array should be from a long distance teleportation magic array. There¡¯s only a handful of people from the Kingdom of Aixia that could use fixed positioning magic array. Tell me, are you related to the Monster race?¡± I answered, stunned, ¡°Can it be that I look like I¡¯m from the Monster race?¡± That old mage snorted coldly. ¡°There are many people that had their body infiltrated by the Monster race. How do I know you¡¯re not a spy?¡± I thought, ¡°His words made me think about Feng Liang Ri and Si Feng Ri. What he says is correct. The Monster King had already controlled many human bodies. I suddenly realised that his suspicion is correct. It seems that I must expose my identity.¡¯ I extended the God¡¯s Guard from my right hand. ¡°You should know that the Monster race can¡¯t cast light magic and I¡¯m a light mage. ¡°Upon saying that, I brandished my right hand, making a white light to soar towards the sky that shone on Jian Shan and I. The light ray that soared to the horizon wasn¡¯t dazzling and was exceptionally gentle. The old mage cried out, ¡°Holy Light! A Holy Light that didn¡¯t need a chant!¡± I nodded. ¡°This should already prove my identity.¡± The old man seemed to be excited as he nodded. ¡°Please remove your mask.¡± I frowned. ¡°My identity and my mask doesn¡¯t seem to have much relation. I¡¯ve a lot of important matters to settle. Please stop wasting both of our times. Your mission should be to protect the city so that it won¡¯t be invaded by the Monster race, right?¡± The old mage smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t have any other intentions. I just wanted to see what the God¡¯s envoy, Zhang Gong Wei, looks like.¡± His words startled me and the mages that came with him excitement. The previously threatening atmosphere disappeared. ¡°How did you know that I¡¯m Zhang Gong Wei?¡± The old mage replied, ¡°The only one, excluding Principal Lao Lun Di, that can freely use advanced light magic should be you, the Child of Light.¡± Under the mages that were nearing me, I smiled wryly and nodded my head. Their passionate gazes on me made me uncomfortable. They couldn¡¯t be wanting to find me for an autograph, right? I glanced at Jian Shan before replying to that old mage, ¡°You¡¯ve guessed correctly, but we have a lot of matters to attend to now so my apologies.¡± Upon saying that, I brandished my right hand and after a light shone, Jian Shan and I disappeared before them by using a short teleportation spell. After a few teleportations, we were already far from the Royal Advance Magic Academy. Jian Shan laughed. ¡°Why are you running?! They don¡¯t have any ill intentions.¡± I said, displeased, ¡°There are many matters that we have to settle now. How can I afford to waste time? Let¡¯s go.¡± Upon saying that, I brought Jian Shan, who came to the Capital of Aixia for the first time, along with me as we rapidly headed towards the palace. I didn¡¯t want to stay at the academy as I was fearful of being tangled up in other business. Who really knew what those people of the Mage Union wanted? I was already fearful after exposing my identity and being tangled up with Princess Fei Yu from the Kingdom of Dalu. There was a proverb that states that humans were scared to be famous like pigs feared to be fat. Volume 12: Chapter 1 - Reuniting with Ma Ke Volume 12: Chapter 1 - Reuniting with Ma Ke The palace of Aixia slumbered where it stood. The land transformed into a world of gold and jade in a dazzling splendor as the sun rose. After returning, I couldn¡¯t calm my heart. I had left Aixia two years ago, but this place was filled with many memories. ¡°Zhang Gong, why did you zone out again?¡± Jian Shan¡¯s voice rang out beside me. His chest was heaving. He seemed to be exhausted from the time we hurried. ¡°Jian Shan, has your cultivation deteriorated? It doesn¡¯t seem to be as strong as it was before?¡± Jian Shan¡¯s eyes widened as he finally said, ¡°What? Don¡¯t anger me! Who says that my cultivation is inferior to before? Even though I¡¯ve yet to reach the Sword Saint rank, I¡¯m already one of the top elites among the Radiant Knights. Could you stop comparing me with yourself? Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re the God¡¯s envoy so you¡¯re different from ordinary people like us.¡± I made a realization after hearing his words. ¡®That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t know how much my cultivation has improved by after receiving the inheritance which makes his cultivation seem weaker than before.¡¯ I awkwardly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t mean that. I¡¯m just trying to coax you into working harder.¡± Jian Shan snorted. ¡°I¡¯m already working diligently, it¡¯s just that at this stage it will be difficult to increase my power; I can only improve slowly from this point on. Didn¡¯t you want to get information from the palace? Let¡¯s go!¡± I nodded and pulled Shan Jian along as I used a short teleportation spell to enter the palace. I easily avoided the patrolling guards and mages by using my acute divine sense. I pulled Jian Shan into the rock garden to determine my location and what direction to head to because I hadn¡¯t come here often, so I wasn¡¯t clear on which direction to go after such a long time. Jian Shan asked me, ¡°Why didn¡¯t we enter from the main entrance? Could it be that we can¡¯t be seen by anyone?¡± I replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t this way better so we can speak with Ma Ke quicker? Do you think the guards would have easily let us in if we simply asked?! Time costs us lives, so wouldn¡¯t it be better to use less of it?¡± Jian Shan pouted. ¡°That seems reasonable. Where are we heading to now?¡± I found my bearings and motioned for Jian Shan to be silent. ¡°You just close your eyes and don¡¯t worry about a thing.¡± Upon saying that, I brought him along by using another short teleportation spell to quickly enter the inner palace. With my cultivation, how could the guards notice me? After making a couple of turns, we finally reached the location where the Emperor of Aixia lives. I used my divine power to scan the interior and was astonished to find that there wasn¡¯t anyone within. ¡®Ma Ke wasn¡¯t here? Where did he go so early in the morning?¡¯ At that moment, two palace maids were heading our way. I hastily pulled Jian Shan along as I flew above them to the corridor ceiling. The two palace maids whispered while they walked. ¡°Elder sister, did you see how hard working His Majesty is?! He went to settle the kingdom¡¯s affairs so early in the morning. Despite the threat from the Monster race, after His Majesty ascended the throne our kingdom''s power has increased daily. Ah! There¡¯s also the group of experts from the God Protector Domain helping us. Perhaps we¡¯ll be able to surpass the Kingdom of Dalu and become the most powerful of the three kingdoms! It¡¯s really a blessing for our Aixia to be governed by such a wise king.¡± The other palace maid giggled. ¡°Are you yearning for love? Who doesn''t like His Majesty? He is youthful, handsome and capable, but, don¡¯t even think about it. The love His Majesty and the Empress share is amazing. His Majesty treats her like a treasure and he never took an imperial concubine until now. I think you should just stop dreaming.¡± ¡°You¡¯re irritating. Elder sister only knows how to mock me. Don¡¯t you also want to be doted upon by His Majesty?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I almost laughed when I heard their conversation. I didn¡¯t know Ma Ke would have so many secret admirers. However, that fellow didn¡¯t let me down and was governing the kingdom well! He should be at the main hall now. I just need to bring Jian Shan along and head there in order find him. I carefully dodged the few groups of patrolling guards and ended up outside the main hall. I sensed many chaotic auras in the main hall. It seemed that there were many people inside. Jian Shan and I looked at each other before I activated my divine power to bring us to the roof of the main hall. I withdrew my thoughts and listened to the voices inside the main hall. ¡°Your Majesty, even though the situation is highly dangerous, you must not dispatch the Mage Army Squad anymore. It should be sufficient for Lord Ai, Lord Zhen, Lord Di and your friends from the God Protector Domain to be there. We need to leave some protection for the Capital of Aixia after all.¡± An old voice sounded. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough. I feel that it¡¯s different this time. The Monster race has been too quiet lately and are too opportunistic. They will surely dispatch a large force in the final wave this time, and since their forces are gathered at the fort, this place shouldn¡¯t be in any danger. I already made my decision to personally lead the Royal Mage Army Squad in order to assist them. This is a critical moment. We mustn''t get sentimental, instead we must set an example for the other two kingdoms.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s undeniably imposing voice sounded. ¡®This¡­.is this still the brother that I know? Fort? What¡¯s happening to the fort that he needs to personally head there? Where¡¯s Mu Zi and the rest?¡¯ I continued to listen in as I carried these thoughts. ¡°But Your Majesty, you are the ruler of our kingdom! This old subordinate is willing to head forth in your stead.¡± ¡°No! My decision is final. Pass down my orders, immediately gather the Royal Magic Army Squad and prepare to set off. Similarly, order the Third Division Mage Army Squad to remain here to protect the Capital. Alright, court dismissed!¡± After a chorus of sighs, over one hundred officials filed out of the main hall, leaving only a few guards in the main hall. There was a gentle aura beside Ma Ke. It should be Empress Hai Yue Xing. ¡°Your Majesty, could you reconsider?¡± Hai Yue said gently. Ma Ke¡¯s voice became gentler. ¡°Empress, I absolutely can¡¯t cower at such a time. If Boss Zhang Gong was here, he¡¯d definitely support my decision. You shall just have to patiently wait for my return. I¡¯ll certainly bring back news of victory from the annihilation of the Monster race.¡± Volume 12: Chapter 2 - Circumstances of the Continent Volume 12: Chapter 2 - Circumstances of the Continent Hai Yue said resolutely, ¡°No! I will head there with you. I¡¯ve got the power of a Magic Scholar. I may be able to help. How can I not help but worry about you heading out alone? Can you really bear to make me wait bitterly at home?!¡± Ma Ke replied gently, ¡°Hai Yue, don¡¯t make things more difficult for me. If you were to go, I will definitely be distracted. I don¡¯t know how risky things will get. If something were to happen to you, what am I supposed to do then? Be obedient, you should stay in the capital.¡± Hai Yue replied, ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s risky that I refuse to let you head out alone. If you don¡¯t bring me along, I¡¯ll sneak along. You decide.¡± ¡°This¡­..I¡­.Alright.¡± Ma Ke helplessly conceded. I smiled inwardly. It seemed that Ma Ke was still unable to deal with Hai Yue even after becoming emperor! I winked at Jian Shan to signal that it was time for our appearance. Instantly, Jian Shan and I appeared at the center of the main hall. ¡°Who''s there?!¡± A couple of loud shouts were heard and cold lights shot towards us. The Emperor and Empress of the Kingdom of Aixia were here after all so the security would surely be tight. Naturally, when we appeared, we were treated as assassins. But how could their standard of attacks harm me? I didn¡¯t need to particularly block them and instead, cast a gentle defensive boundary in my surroundings. When the cold lights struck the boundary, it was naturally pushed back. Since I didn¡¯t intend to harm anyone, the guards weren¡¯t hurt. The surrounding mages were already chanting spells as though they were confronting their nemesis. I hastily said, ¡°Stop attacking! Ma Ke, after recently becoming king, you already don¡¯t recognize me?¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Ma Ke stopped the attacking mages and stood up from the throne with Hai Yue. They were both in formal attire and stared at my masked face in shock. Ma Ke, who had known me a long time, said in a shaky voice, ¡°You..You are¡­.¡± I nodded and calmly replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Boss!¡± Ma Ke charged at me like lightning from his throne. After learning from what happened to Jian Shan, I hastily withdrew my power, tightly embracing Ma Ke. The feelings between Ma Ke and I were like real blood brothers. Our everlasting friendship started from the instant we met. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re finally back. Do you know how we all suffered waiting for your return?!¡± ¡°Sigh! I also didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯d be gone such a long time. Be gentler, it can¡¯t be that you want to crush my bones?¡± Ma Ke released his hands from my shoulders. With tears glistening in his eyes, he said, ¡°Boss, it¡¯s great that you¡¯re back. The world changed greatly while you were gone.¡± I nodded. ¡°Jian Shan already told me about the appearance of the Monster race. Where¡¯s Mu Zi and the rest now?¡± Ma Ke chuckled. ¡°Boss, you really pay more attention to your lover than your friends! You didn¡¯t even ask me how I¡¯ve been. The moment you come, you look for Mu Zi. Sigh! Ai!¡± I took back my hand after knocking on Ma Ke¡¯s head as I mockingly scolded him, ¡°You brat, you¡¯re asking for a beating. You¡¯re strong enough to stand so what more should I ask? Since I don¡¯t know where Mu Zi and the rest are, I definitely have to ask. Quickly tell me. If not¡­¡­¡± I rubbed my hands together, giving off cracking sounds. I chuckled as I looked at Ma Ke with ill intentions. The surrounding guards and mages were stunned as they didn¡¯t expect that their revered Majesty would be sorted out by somebody wearing elementary mage attire. ¡°Hey! Zhang Gong, how can you just bully Ma Ke the moment you return? You bullied him in the past, but now you¡¯re not allowed.¡± Hai Yue smiled as she walked beside Ma Ke, clinging onto his arm and displaying the appearance of a harmonious couple. Ma Ke looked affectionately at Hai Yue as he said lovingly, ¡°My wife is the best.¡± I could be unrestrained with Ma Ke, but I couldn¡¯t with Hai Yue. Not to mention that she was a girl, not to mention the matter with Hai Shui. I couldn¡¯t help but fear Hai Yue¡¯s temper. I quickly smiled apologetically. ¡°On behalf of Hai Yue, I¡¯ll forgive you this time. But can you quickly tell me the locations of everyone? I¡¯m in a hurry! Time is pressing, the Monster race can make a huge movement anytime now. We must preemptively prepare to deal with them.¡± When I mentioned the Monster race, Ma Ke¡¯s expression changed as he slightly nodded and replied, ¡°Boss, that¡¯s what I thought. It has been very calm lately, but five days ago, there was an urgent report from the Str?m Fortress. The report stated that various monsters were surging outwards rapidly from the massive rift you previously created. The monsters that spawned were at an unprecedented number and had exceptionally strong offensive capability. Our side was better off, the protection from the fort and the magic cannons to temporarily defended against them. But the Demon-Beast Alliance¡¯s losses are increasing daily. Mu Zi and your brothers already led the God Protector Domain to the fort to eliminate the source of the monsters. But I don¡¯t think this time will be that simple. Why would the Monster race choose to appear at the borders surrounded by all three races? That position can¡¯t be beneficial to them, they would be attacked by all three races! It can¡¯t be that they have sufficient powers to resist us, right? We¡¯ve been at an advantage ever since the Dragons and Nature Elves appeared! I really don¡¯t know what they are thinking.¡± I sighed. ¡°Perhaps this final battle will determine which side will be victorious. The Monster King should really be appearing.¡± It was no wonder that I could feel the surge of demonic aura since coming from the God Rended Canyon, the Monster race had decided to emerge from the rift. Ma Ke and Hai Yue were alarmed and looked at each other. After a while, Ma Ke spoke with some difficulty, ¡°Boss, are you saying that the Monster King will appear?¡± I replied, ¡°En! Ma Ke, in the last two years, have you exchanged blows with the three Great Monsters as you fought the Monster race?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°Only once, but they were run off by Xiao Jin¡¯s father. There wasn¡¯t any more movement from them after that.¡± Volume 12: Chapter 3 - Outside the Capital City Volume 12: Chapter 3 - Outside the Capital City ¡°It seems that my judgement wasn¡¯t wrong. The monster race hasn¡¯t been fighting with all their might. They were hiding their power, waiting for their king to revive. By my calculations, the Monster King should be appearing soon.¡± Ma Ke asked, ¡°Boss, are you saying that the Monster King will be appearing at the fort?¡± I nodded. ¡°He should. The Monster King possesses peerless power. He made his subordinates attack the three races from the gulf in order to create an opportunity for him to appear. Once the main forces of the three main races are eliminated, he can slowly dominate the entire world. Monster King, I definitely won¡¯t let you win.¡± I clenched my fists and made my body surge forth with an intense desire to do battle. Both Ma Ke and Hai Yue, who were in front of me, were momentarily pushed back a few steps as a faint golden light shone from my body. Ma Ke looked at me with amazement. ¡°Boss, your cultivation improved again. Could it be that you¡¯ve already¡­¡­.¡± I nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve succeeded.¡± Ma Ke was jubilant. ¡°That¡¯s great! Boss, the army of my Kingdom shall fall under your leadership. Let¡¯s head to the fort and eliminate the Monster race.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Leading the army isn¡¯t my forte. You should do it. Any commander from Aixia are surely stronger than me in that area. That¡¯s right, I heard that the teachers are already on the frontline. Is that true?¡± Ma Ke replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! The teachers, Mu Zi and the rest are already there. Boss, don¡¯t be modest. With your current power, you are the most suitable for commanding the Mage Army Squad.¡± I said, ¡°Ma Ke, I must head to the fort as soon as possible and bringing along a large amount of troops will slow my pace. We also aren¡¯t sure how the situation is like at the fort. You should immediately gather your Mage Army and head over to rendezvous with everyone after I leave.¡± Hai Yue suddenly asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, how do you plan on dealing with my sister? My sister has made nothing of the hardships to head to the God Protector Domain. She had abandoned her privileged life for you and fought daily alongside your brothers against the Monster King.¡± Hai Yue got agitated, feeling indignant. After hearing her mentioned Hai Shui, my entire body shuddered as I said dejectedly, ¡°I¡¯ve let her down. I¡¯m uncompatible with her so I won¡¯t ruin her life!¡± Hai Yue fumed. ¡°That¡¯s only an excuse. Do you even understand my sister¡¯s feelings? How could she care about your appearance? I don¡¯t care you must give me a satisfactory response. If not, never forgive you.¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°Hai Yue, I know Hai Shui treats me well, but¡­¡­.forget it, this discussion should be in the future. We should first eliminate the Monster King. The existence of the Monster race is an imminent threat, how can I talk about relationships in a time like this?¡± Hai Yue¡¯s expression relaxed as she nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for your reply. You must take care of my sister when you meet up with her at the fort. Don¡¯t let her be in harm¡¯s way. Do you understand?¡± I nodded. ¡°I certainly will. I don¡¯t want anyone hurt. You do understand that, Hai Yue?¡± Hai Yue smiled. ¡°Of course, I understand. If it wasn¡¯t for your help, Ma Ke and I wouldn¡¯t be together, so I know. Ma Ke is the best choice for me.¡± I thought about the words that Feng Liang Ri said before he died, but I didn¡¯t reveal it. I didn¡¯t want it to influence Hai Yue and Ma Ke¡¯s feelings after they developed after so many difficulties, instead covering them with shadow. ¡®Feng Liang! I¡¯m sorry. I hope that you¡¯ll be a good person in your next life.¡¯ When Ma Ke wanted to say something, someone suddenly shouted from outside. ¡°Reporting to Your Majesty! I have urgent news!¡± Ma Ke frowned. ¡°Come in, report.¡± A soldier hastily ran in and knelt. ¡°Your Majesty, it isn¡¯t good. There are two monster dens that have appeared within 5 kilometres of the capital and the monsters have started causing destruction in every direction.¡± Ma Ke was stunned. ¡°What? The monster race has appeared? Can it be that we guessed wrongly?¡± He looked at me slightly panicked, obviously shaken up by the report. Even though it couldn¡¯t be said that the Kingdom of Aixia had no fighting force, but since our God Protector Domain had been mobilized and neither the Dragons nor Nature Elves were around, he could only rely on his Royal Mage Army Squad. I muttered irresolutely, ¡°Ma Ke, don¡¯t be anxious. Our prediction should be correct. The Monster race¡¯s appearance had increased the credibility of my hypothesis. I think that this situation should also be occurring in the Kingdoms of Dalu and Xiuda. The Monster race must be trying to decrease the forces at the fort. You should immediately gather the Royal Magic Army troops while you wait for my report. You can leave those two monster dens to me.¡± I was confident. ¡®Isn¡¯t it just two monster dens? Eliminating them shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡¯ Ma Ke asked, ¡°Boss, how can you head out by yourself? Bring me along.¡± I smiled. ¡°Ma Ke, don¡¯t worry. Those monsters aren¡¯t a threat to me. That¡¯s right, I¡¯ll leave Jian Shan in your care, so wait for my return. Once I¡¯m back, we¡¯ll immediately head to the fort.¡± Upon saying that, I used a short teleportation to teleport from the main hall. I activated my divine powers at once to soar through the sky, quickly leaving the Capital. The sky was filled with an intense Demonic aura. The previously clear sky was now covered with heavy, sinister clouds, giving an oppressive feeling. After distinguishing my direction, I moved like a shooting star towards my destination. Soon, I saw densely packed monsters that climbed out from two enormous, black monster dens, which were about 300 meters away. The monsters that climbed out scattered in search of prey. Those monsters were built much larger than what I saw before. The only similarity was their bloodshot eyes. There were a few villages near the dens so numerous monsters gathered towards those villages, commencing a massacre. A couple of humans died under the monsters in the blink of an eye, leaving no corpses behind. Since the Kingdom of Aixia had many mages, there were definitely people that knew magic in those villages. Unfortunately, their negligible powers were useless against the monsters, making them unable to kill them. Volume 12: Chapter 4 - Holy Swords Might Volume 12: Chapter 4 - Holy Sword''s Might The blood in my body raced as I frantically activated the powers in my body. I raised both of my hands and chanted, ¡°Great light elements! You possess unlimited power, the darkness before you is negligible. The eternal light that is flowing in the horizon, I beg of you, descend upon the world to bestow your eternal light unto me to recover all injuries and ease us of our sufferings------Eternal Recovery Light!¡± Six wings of light appeared on my back, as they flapped gently, clear lights constantly and rapidly gathering towards me. I didn¡¯t feel the previous pain of being ripped apart, instead it felt like I was soaking in an ocean of light. It was an indescribable, yet comfortable feeling. The light elements were very cordial, they listened to my commands completely, forming an enormous gold hexagon underneath my feet, lighting up the dark sky instantly. The divine filled aura attracted the attention of all of the monsters beneath me. Those that could fly were charging towards me. The threat that I posed made those cold blooded fiends terrified. I didn¡¯t hold any killing intent, the warm light elements were constantly purifying my heart. I said calmly, ¡°Go forth, Eternal Recovery Light.¡± The gold hexagon beneath my feet slightly shook, creating an enormous golden pillar of light that enclosed my body as it charged towards the sky and pierced through the clouds. The clouds in the sky turned golden. A rain of light that eliminates the monsters and saves human lives immediately descended. At this moment, hundreds of monsters were already charging towards me, seemingly wanting to rip me apart. I looked at the golden clouds in the sky before raising my outstretched arms. A golden halo momentarily surged from my body towards the monsters that were charging over. The golden light seemed to be unaffected as it passed through the bodies of the monsters. However, the monsters that touched the golden light stopped mid-air as their bodies gradually turned to dust. The fragrance in the air was exceptionally pleasant. I, who had received the inheritance, wouldn¡¯t be weakened after using forbidden spells. Moreover, I could also bring out the full powers of the forbidden spell, making the spell¡¯s scope much larger. The light drizzle descended from the sky, it gently danced with the wind as it scattered onto the ground. Each of the light spots carried vitality within it, enclosing both the monster dens and the monsters that were charging to the villages below. The drizzle gradually got larger as it constantly flowed downwards. The monsters had already stopped their attack as the light rain appeared. I saw their bodies gradually turned to shadowy auras under the light rain and disappeared. I could also see that the monsters looked as though they had been relieved of their burdens. The light rain not only harmed the monsters, but it also treated the bodies of the survivors. The villagers that were previously in despair cheered. I chanted gently, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± My chest heated up and the silver Holy Sword instantly appeared before me. I stretched out my right hand that had the God¡¯s Guard to gently grasp the Holy Sword before descending towards the monster dens. Since the Eternal Recovery Light was still in effect, there wouldn¡¯t be any monsters to further appear. I urged the divine powers in my body to intensify the light from the Holy Sword. ¡°Annihilate!¡± As I yelled, the Holy Light gave off two intense silver lights that were aimed towards the monster dens. With a flash, the powers shot into the dens. I could finally use the full might of the Holy Sword. As the Holy Sword¡¯s power had reached the deepest part of the dens, numerous mournful cries were heard. I closed my eyes and softly spoke, ¡°Break.¡± The originally black monster dens were now filled with a silver light. The ground quaked. I had restricted the power of the Holy Sword to only within the monster dens, I didn¡¯t want to hurt the remaining villagers. Numerous muffled sounds were heard, but the monster dens no longer had a sliver of demonic aura, which meant that I had successfully eliminated them. I took in a deep breath before using my divine power to say, ¡°Citizens of the kingdom of Aixia. Your suffering is over. There¡¯ll be people dispatched to take care of the after mess. I hope that you can recover your homes as soon as possible. I¡¯m God¡¯s envoy, Zhang Gong Wei.¡± ¡°Child of light!.....Long live the Child of Light!.....¡± The remaining people were frantically cheering. Seeing their excited looks, I couldn¡¯t help but be gratified. Similarly, I felt sadness for those that had died. Monster race, why must you take the lives in this world?! Even though the monster dens were eliminated and that the sun had once again lit the ground, I could clearly feel an enormous demonic aura that had risen from the direction of the fort. It should be the revival of the Monster King. His revival threatens all the races of the world. It seemed that the final battle was commencing. I flapped the six wings on my back to fly towards the Capital. Ma Ke had already gathered the Royal Mage Army Squad as he waited for me at the outskirts. He was very anxious, obviously worrying about the two monster dens. I withdrew the light wings from my back and descended. ¡°Ma Ke!¡± ¡°Boss, how is it?¡± Ma Ke asked urgently. I nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already settled the matter there. Ma Ke, you don¡¯t have to head to the fort. It¡¯s enough for me to head there. With the God Protector Domain, Dragon race, and the Nature Elves¡¯ help, our power there should be enough. You should quickly lead the Magic Army Squad to split into two groups for the Kingdoms of Xiuda and Dalu and assist them in eliminating the monster dens.¡± My firm voice didn¡¯t contain any uncertainty. Ma Ke nodded, but traces of worry was still seen in his eyes. I patted his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my good brother! The Monster race won¡¯t succeed unless I die. What was meant to come will definitely come. The situation at Dalu and Xiuda should be very dangerous now. With their power, the monster dens will cause major casualties. You should head there as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Boss, I will.¡± At this moment, an exceptionally familiar and friendly feeling came to me from the sky¡¯s horizon. I raised my head to see a gold figure floating in the sky. My entire body jolted. ¡®That¡­.Isn¡¯t that Xiao Jin? Why is he here?¡¯ Volume 12: Chapter 5 - Long Distance Teleportation Volume 12: Chapter 5 - Long Distance Teleportation Ma Ke also saw Xiao Jin. ¡°Boss, I forgot to tell you that when Mu Zi and the rest left, they left Xiao Jin and the little fox with nine tails here. They also left a message that if you came back, you¡¯re to immediately ride on Xiao Jin to meet up with them at the fort. The light powers from when you previously eliminated the monster¡¯s dens must have attracted them over.¡± Ah! He was referring to Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou. My elated feelings rose in my chest once again as I let out a loud roar towards the sky unable to contain my longing for Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin¡¯s deep and resounding roar rang out shortly after I yelled. As the two sounds collided in the sky and spread far into the distance, Xiao Jin¡¯s body slowly enlarged as he charged towards me. I kicked off of the ground to fly into the sky and receive him. Xiao Jin and I had a blood bonded connection, as well we had experienced life and death together numerous times. We had pulled through the tough times together, Xiao Jin¡¯s position in my heart was extremely prominent. Xiao Jin seemed to have matured a lot. His enormous dragon body had increased in length and the gold scales on his body were emitting a dazzling golden light. When he expanded his enormous wings, he glided downwards as his enormous eyes glistened with tears. Xiao Jin and I had never been separated for such a long time. I felt a hot feeling from my chest as I shouted, ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± I no longer cared about my shocking hidden prowess, with my six wings protruding, my speed drastically increased to charge towards Xiao Jin. ¡°Master!¡± Xiao Jin¡¯s tears flowed. I wanted to embrace his large head but discovered that his head was too huge to embrace so I landed on his head. ¡°Master!¡± Another charming voice came over. Xiao Rou came over with her nine tails. ¡°Ah! Master, your body¡¯s aura is making me feel so comfortable!¡± Xiao Rou¡¯s body changed into her squirrel-like form to leap onto my shoulder. Her fluffy large tail tickled a bit. ¡°Xiao Jin, I finally see you again. I really missed you.¡± I caressed Xiao Jin¡¯s long horn as I sighed. Xiao Jin¡¯s grief stricken voice sounded, ¡°Since you missed me, why didn¡¯t you bring me along previously, instead of making me bitterly wait for you to return for such a long time?¡± I wiped the tears from my face that were flowing unknowingly to me as I laughed. ¡°Alright, this isn¡¯t the time to be reminiscing. You both wait for me here.¡± Upon saying that, I took Xiao Rou from my shoulder and placed her on Xiao Jin¡¯s back before I leaped downwards. ¡°Ma Ke, you should hastily set off now. After eliminating the danger that the two kingdoms are facing, you need only wait for us here for good news.¡± Ma Ke¡¯s eye rim reddened. ¡°Boss, be careful!¡± Hai Yue reminded, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I told you to do.¡± I nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Farewell.¡± Upon saying that, I flew back onto Xiao Jin¡¯s back. ¡°Let¡¯s head to a quiet place before chatting again.¡± Xiao Jin flapped both of his wings. Even though he wasn¡¯t as fast as I was, it was already remarkable. Xiao Rou stuck to my chest as she greedily absorbed the divine aura emitting from my body. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve missed you. Let me show you my human form.¡± I was shocked as I remembered the previous Xiao Rou¡¯s charming and lovable appearance. I hastily shook my head. ¡°I think it¡¯s better not to. Isn¡¯t your current appearance good enough?¡± Xiao Jin sniggered. ¡°Master, don¡¯t you know Xiao Rou has been secretly admiring you? Hehe! Aiyo! Master, stop hitting me. What I say is true.¡± Wasn¡¯t Xiao Jin giving me more trouble? I hadn¡¯t settled matters with Hai Shui, not to mention Demon Fox Xiao Rou. However, I was exceptionally elated to see Xiao Jin again. Even though the Dragon King had terminated our contract when he previously recovered the life force of Xiao Jin, making Xiao Jin to cease existing as my Magical Beast, the feelings between Xiao Jin and I never changed. Actually, if Xiao Jin was still my life contracted beast, he might have even stronger powers since I became the new Radiant God. If he could possess what I possess, wouldn¡¯t that mean that there would be two Radiant Gods? I looked at the Squirrel-like Xiao Rou at my chest, who had her head lowered in shyness. I snappily said to Xiao Jin, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head downwards!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Xiao Jin replied and withdrew his wings, heading towards an open ground. When we landed, Xiao Jin asked curiously, ¡°Master, why have we descended? Sister Mu Zi specifically instructed me that if you were to return, I must immediately fly you to meet up with them. The Monster race also seemed to have reemerged again.¡± I nodded. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I made you land to increase our speed. Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou, please protect me. I plan to use a long distance teleportation magic array.¡± Xiao Jin blinked his large eyes. ¡°Master, you¡¯ve already received the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance? Are you sure that the magic array can move my enormous body?¡± En! There was this problem as I looked at Xiao Jin¡¯s mountain-like body. I pondered. ¡°I have already completely inherited the Radiant God¡¯s position. My power should be enough to teleport us to the fort. Xiao Jin, how is Mu Zi and everyone?¡± Xiao Jin replied, ¡°Everyone misses you. However, they seemed to be very displeased that you left without saying a word, so if you meet them, be careful. Your friends have become increasingly powerful after eliminating a lot of the monster dens with their divine instruments.They were so great that even my dad praises them unceasingly.¡± When he mentioned the Dragon King, I hastily asked, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry to trouble your Dragon race this time, interrupting your father and the rest¡¯s peaceful life.¡± Xiao Jin smiled. ¡°No, it won¡¯t. Everyone wishes to meet you again. After you gave them their names, they were very grateful. Moreover, our Dragon race is one of the races in this world. If the world faces the threat of the Monster race, it¡¯s our duty to assist. Otherwise, if the major races were to be eliminated and couldn¡¯t support the other races, our Dragon race will also be eliminated sooner or later.¡± I asked, ¡°Where did your father bring the Dragon race to now?¡± Volume 12: Chapter 6 - Arriving at the Stronghold Volume 12: Chapter 6 - Arriving at the Stronghold Xiao Jin considered my question before saying, ¡°Currently, the Nature Elves are still stationed on the human¡¯s side, but Father brought my relatives to the fort. They should have met up with Sister Mu Zi. They should be reaching the fort in a couple of days. I heard that the amount of monsters coming out from the gulf is far beyond the quantity of ten monster dens. If it wasn¡¯t for the magic cannons at the fort, it would have fallen into the enemy¡¯s hands. The Demon and Beast races are worse off, their losses won¡¯t be small.¡± I slightly nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll draw the magic array now. Guard me while I¡¯m doing it.¡± Upon saying that, I started to draw up a long distance teleportation spell for the third time today. Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou seemed to like the golden aura radiating from my body while they comfortably lay by my side. In this empty space anything could be seen from afar, so I couldn¡¯t blame them for slacking off. I finished drawing up the array and set the target close to the fort so I would only have to fly a short distance to reach the fort. After completing the long distance teleportation magic array, I felt a slight tiredness, but didn¡¯t mind it. After receiving the inheritance, I had already cast two long distance teleportation magics, a forbidden spell, and used the Holy Sword¡¯s power. It was inevitable for me to be slightly tired, God wasn¡¯t omnipotent! ¡®I don¡¯t have enough divine power to bring Xiao Jin¡¯s large body along with me in the long distance teleportation spell right now. What should I do?¡¯ Thinking quickly, I hastily circulated the divine power in my body. Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou were astonished as they saw the six wings that appeared on my back. I closed my eyes and relied on their supportive power to absorb the light elements in my surroundings, continuously converting the light elements into divine power, replenishing it. After a long while, I finally recovered my peak state. After taking a deep breath and opening my eyes, I saw that Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou were about 100 meters from where they had previously lain. ¡°Why have you two retreated so far away?¡± I asked surprised. ¡°Master, it¡¯s not that we wanted to retreat, but your power is so great that it pushed us!¡± Xiao Jin replied helplessly. Xiao Rou said, ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± I withdrew my protective powers. ¡°What did you thank me for? Hurry over, I¡¯m going to activate the magic array. Let¡¯s head to the fort.¡± Xiao Rou bounced excitedly to my side and leapt on my shoulder as she whispered, ¡°Master, after evolving to have nine tails, my power was always stuck at the very last step before the peak realm. After seeing you today, your vast powers have helped me achieve that last step. How could I not thank you?¡± I smiled. ¡°We¡¯re friends. What¡¯s there to thank? Alright, let¡¯s get ready. Xiao Jin, quickly come over. Stop dallying.¡± Xiao Jin approached hesitantly into the magic array as he asked dubiously, ¡°Master, will this really work?¡± I mockingly chided him, ¡°Of course it will. Just use your powers to protect yourself and leave the rest to me.¡± ¡°Master, please wait a moment!¡± Xiao Rou suddenly called out as I was preparing to activate the magic array.¡± Stunned, I asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Xiao Rou?¡± Xiao Rou lowered her head and muttered, ¡°Master, I have something that I want to request your help with.¡± ¡°Say it.¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯ve already reached the peak realm of a Demon Fox. I¡¯m thinking that when you have free time, could you assist me during my final evolution?¡± I dazed as I remembered Xiao Rou¡¯s previously mentioned transformation skills. ¡°Xiao Rou, didn¡¯t you say that method is a little risky? What form do you want to take?¡± Xiao Rou hesitated before her bright gaze resolutely focused on me. ¡°Master, I want to shed my Demon Fox body and become a human, just like Mu Zi and Hai Shui. Master, please accept my request. With your current power, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems with you helping me transform my body.¡± I thought, ¡®It seems that Xiao Jin¡¯s previous chatter wasn¡¯t a complete fabrication, but her wish isn¡¯t such a bad thing.¡¯ I nodded. ¡°Alright, I promise that I¡¯ll help you gather the things that you need in order to become a human after we eliminate the Monster race.¡± Xiao Rou leapt with joy after she heard my agreement. ¡°That¡¯s great! Master, thank you.¡± She used her fluffy little head to constantly rub against my face. My heart warmed, I could feel her brimming with excitement. My expression changed after a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s head out now. Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou, prepare yourselves.¡± Upon saying that, I raised my right hand high into the air as I activated my divine power. The God¡¯s Guard on my right hand instantly released a golden light. The light enclosed us and I glanced at Xiao Rou before roaring out to activate the magic array. Once the light flashed, a human and two beasts disappeared from the empty field. Even though the interior dimension of the teleportation spell was colourful, we didn¡¯t have the heart to enjoy the view. Long distance teleportation magic was extremely dangerous. If there was something that went wrong, we might appear in an unknown location by the warping of space. Xiao Jin¡¯s body really was too big, I was enduring a pressure three times greater than before. If I wasn¡¯t filled with divine power, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand the pressure. We finally reached the end of the magic array and returned back to the world after a second flash of light. ¡®Hmm? Why are we constantly descending? Ah! The teleportation magic array actually teleported us in mid air.¡¯ When I looked downwards, I was shocked to see that the place we were at was right above the gulf that the brothers and I previously created using our ultimate forbidden spell. Numerous monsters were constantly climbing out from it. I must have teleported us here from being slightly tired, caused by an error where I drew the portion for the exit location in the magic array. However, it wasn¡¯t all bad, we were still near the fort. Once I collected my thoughts, I activated the divine power to stabilize my body. Xiao Jin had already expanded his wings to stop mid air. My body floated over above his back before I could survey the affairs in my surroundings. Volume 12: Chapter 7 - The Three Great Monster Lords Volume 12: Chapter 7 - The Three Great Monster Lords I looked downwards and noticed that there were various types of monsters that covered the vast plains in front of Str?m Fortress. The monsters looked like waves as they relentlessly charged and struck towards Str?m Fortress. Ear-piercing explosive sounds could be heard constantly from the heights of the city walls beyond the fort. Multiple blasts were fired from the magic cannons towards the monsters, creating a reign of terror as the magnificent spells descended from the fort. There were no monsters strong enough to break into the 300 meter radius of the fort. It seemed that the fort¡¯s defences could still be sustained for a while. I looked at the border of the Demon-Beast Alliance and saw that the number of monsters heading to their battlefront was slightly less than ours. However, the monsters still managed to invade into part of their lands. It was unknown how the Demon and Beast races were going to deal with them. Since I arrived, I decided help everyone eradicate this problem. I patted Xiao Jin¡¯s head. ¡°Xiao Jin, take Xiao Rou with you and head to the fort first. Tell everyone of my arrival. I want to let the monsters see my prowess before heading to the fort.¡± Upon saying that, I lept high up and spread the six wings on my back, stabilizing my body mid air. Xiao Jin flapped his wings downwards, killing numerous monsters with a surge of his dragon powers. ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± Upon chanting the incantation, a brilliant light radiated from my body. The silver Holy Sword floated before me and its aura intensifying after I grabbed its hilt. The surrounding light elements were rapidly gathering around me. I became like a sun in the sky, illuminating the land. The speed of the monster¡¯s movements seemingly slowed beneath me. Even though my power was insufficient to eradicate all of the monsters, I could critically damage their source. With a furious gaze, I roared, making the surrounding light elements frantically swirl around me like a tornado. Divine power rippled outwardly, with me as its center. The monsters below were crying out mournfully as they disappeared one after another under the might of the divine power. My body turned completely golden with a halo of light that coalesced around my body. I wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest from the light elements frantically revolving around me. I grasped the Holy Sword with both my hands and the transparent gemstone on God¡¯s Guard gave off peculiar lights. Divine power poured out from God¡¯s Guard and into the Holy Sword, making the Holy Sword¡¯s aura intensify. As its aura strengthened, it gradually fused into the revolving light elements. As my eyes unknowingly turned golden, I yelled, ¡°Radiant Holy Sword: Holy Light Slash!¡± With the sudden downward swing of my arms, the Holy Sword seemed to carry a tremendous power that could link heaven and earth. The power formed a beautiful arc through the sky as it charged towards the depths of the gulf. Once the Holy Sword¡¯s power reached the ground, every monster within 500 meters disintegrated into ash. ¡®Hong!¡¯ With a flash of the silver light that vanished into the gulf, it took more than 10,000 monsters along with it. The gates of Str?m Fortress suddenly flew open and a few thousand figures charged out like lightning, efficiently massacring the monsters that had temporarily lost the source of their powers. Under the glittering light of various battle spirits, the bodies of many monsters were continuously being hacked down. Those people were my brothers from the God Protector Domain and behind them were the Earth Dragon Army Squad and cavalry from the Kingdom of Dalu. Under magic protection, they filed outwards, mobilizing tens of thousands of troops and frantically slayed the sluggish monsters. I knew that victory was on our side today. Suddenly, the gulf below became unusually calm and the monsters no longer surged out from it. I knew clearly, that with that previous attack, I could annihilate the ordinary monsters. However, when dealing with such a large scale monster den, it would be impossible to completely extinguish their source. Right as I wanted to strike with the Holy Sword again, three grey auras suddenly flew out from the gulf and were charging towards me with lightning speed. ¡°Zhang Gong, be careful!¡± A clear shout containing anxiousness and concern could be heard from the field. I didn¡¯t have time to spare any attention to see who warned me. The Holy Sword spun around my body as it charged, meeting the grey auras head on. ¡®Hong!¡¯ The powerful impact shook both my body and the divine power within. My vision turned white and a mouthful of silver blood spurt from my mouth. A silvery aura came from the Ice God¡¯s Mask, chilling my face and stabilizing my confused state. ¡®Such strength! Could it be that the Monster King has resurrected?¡¯ The divine power in my body continuously repaired my injuries and the light elements surrounding me replenished the loss of my divine powers. Once I stabilized my body, I realised that I had been flung at least a kilometer back due to the impact. I, who had received the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, was unexpectedly hurt. The three grey figures suddenly stopped before me. With a flash of grey light, their true appearances were revealed. At the center was the Dark Monster---Jia Si Ke Li Duo, who had initially possessed Demon King¡¯s Satan''s body. He looked at me astonished with his dark monster blade placed horizontally before him. There was also a faint trace of green blood that flowed from his mouth. It seemed that he was also hurt from the previous exchange. On his left was a person that was completely enshrouded in a large cloak, making it impossible for me to see their appearance. Using the memories of Mi Jia Lie, I knew that this person...no, this monster was the Witch Monster----Ha Er Yue Di. The one on the right, whose body was enclosed in a bloody mist, must be the Blood Monster----Ka An Da Er Jia. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t the revival of the Monster King, but rather a gathering of the Three Great Monsters. Jia Si Ke Li Duo laughed. ¡°Good brat, you were able to receive a combined attack from the three of us. It seems that you really have inherited Mi Jia Lie¡¯s powers.¡± I coldly snorted. ¡°Jia Si Ke Li Duo, do you really think that you three are powerful? In my eyes, you¡¯re nothing.¡± ¡°Brat, you¡¯re seeking death. Blood Monster''s Spirit Severance!¡± The Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia, bringing a thick blood mist with him, charged towards me, with the flash of a red light. I roared, ¡°Holy Light Crucifix!¡± Two silver light rays intersected perpendicularly and shot forth as I grasped the Radiant Holy Sword with both hands. Volume 12: Chapter 8 - Repelling the Monster Clan Volume 12: Chapter 8 - Repelling the Monster Clan ¡°Dark Monster¡¯s Caress!¡± Jia Si Ke Li Duo swung the Dark Monster¡¯s Blade, shooting a grey light ray towards the Holy Light Crucifix, while the Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di¡¯s body swayed as he let out a low and unpleasant growl, forming a black bone-shaped mist to counterattack. Their power, combined with the Blood Monster Ka Yan An Da Er¡¯s attack, simultaneously struck my Holy Light Crucifix. The four of our bodies were momentarily blown away after a loud explosion was heard. My entire body felt feeble and I spat out another mouthful of blood. I knew that my body¡¯s injuries had worsened. They really were worthy of the title the Three Great Monsters, even after I received the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, I still couldn¡¯t deal with their combined attack. It seemed that they had recovered more than the 30% of their powers that Mi Jia Lie had predicted. If the Monster King were to join them, it would probably end with my death. ¡°Night Sky¡¯s Sea Green Heart¡± A green light that seemed to be from the heavens came in a long and elegant arc as it passed my body striking Jia Si Ke Li Duo. Jia Si Ke Li Duo obviously hadn¡¯t recovered from our exchange was in a panic, he could only lift his Dark Monster¡¯s Blade to block the attack. However, the green ray¡¯s speed was rapid. Even though it was partially blocked by the Dark Monster¡¯s blade, the ray still pierced Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s shoulder. Jie Si Ke Li Duo furiously roared as he radiated large amounts of grey mist before charging towards the gulf with the two other Great Monsters. Since I was injured, I didn¡¯t chase after them, but instead turned around and saw a green figure flying over. The person who had gravely wounded Jia Si Ke Li Duo and rescued me from the crisis was Dong Ri. A thick divine aura was surrounded Dong Ri¡¯s. Even though it still was relatively weak compared to mine, there was already great improvement when compared to the previous me. He already learned how to use skills of the Wind God¡¯s Bow. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to severely hurt Jia Si Ke Li Duo. ¡°Dong Ri!¡± ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, you¡¯re finally back. If you didn¡¯t return, we might not be able to hold out much longer.¡± Dong Ri dashed in front of me excitedly and tightly grasped my shoulders. I looked at the gulf and found that it had regained its usual peace. It seemed that the Monster race wouldn¡¯t act up for the moment. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone? Why didn¡¯t they come?¡± I asked as if Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest came with Dong Ri, with our combined powers, we might be able to prevent the escape of the Three Great Monsters. Dong Ri smiled wryly. ¡°It¡¯s not that they didn¡¯t want to come, but were unable. The Three Great Monsters have ambushed the fort twice. Excluding me, Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Gao De, and Xin Ao are all suffering from severe injuries. While two of the five elders sacrificed themselves, Sister Mu Zi had also suffered slight injuries. We were currently in a life or death situation. If it weren¡¯t for you returning in time, the defenses of the fort would have crumbled after sustaining another attack from the Three Great Monsters.¡± I was shocked by his words and cried out, ¡°What? Two of the elders sacrificed themselves?¡± Dong Ri solemnly nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll continue after we head back. Everyone is waiting for you.¡± He looked enviously at the wings on my back and sighed, ¡°You must have gotten the Radiant God¡¯s power. If not, you wouldn¡¯t be able to force the Three Great Monsters to retreat.¡± I was now burning with anxiety. I didn¡¯t reply , but simply pulled him along as I flapped my wings rapidly, as we headed towards the fort. It was probably due to the retreat of the monsters that joyful cheers were constantly ringing out from the fort. Colourful flags were being waved at the top of the city. The people felt they gained a new lease of life after facing the Monster race, it was the best time for people to get excited. The battlefield had already calmed down and the monsters that had already lost half of their power were already annihilated. The human army orderly retreated back to the fort, under the protection of the brothers from the God Protector Domain. With a flash of a light, I brought Dong Ri along as we reached the top of the fort. The numerous high-ranking military officers from the three kingdoms surrounded me. If it weren¡¯t for the protection of my divine power, I would had been squashed by them. ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t be so anxious. Please, calm down.¡± It seemed that it was an error to land on top of the fort. I surveyed my surroundings, but didn¡¯t see Mu Zi¡¯s figure nor even a single brother from the God Protector Domain. ¡°God¡¯s Envoy, you are finally back.¡± ¡°Ah! Humanity has hope now. Lord Envoy, thank you for chasing the enemy away.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Dong Ri said, ¡°Stop looking, nobody is here. They went to recuperate from their injuries. The brothers here are under my command, they went to exterminate monster dens so you won¡¯t be able to see them yet.¡± I was stunned at this news. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier? Where¡¯s Mu Zi and the rest? Quickly, bring me to them now.¡± I was extremely anxious after hearing that everyone was hurt. I really wanted to fly to Mu Zi¡¯s side. Two elders had also sacrificed themselves. I didn¡¯t know how the elders were now. They must be upset. It was all my fault for being unable to return in time. Dong Ri replied, feeling wronged, ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me! I¡¯ll bring you there now.¡± Just as we wanted to leave, an elderly voice was heard. Even though it was soft, it had completely suppressing the clamoring surroundings. ¡°Zhang Gong, when have you become so impolite? Why aren¡¯t you coming to greet the numerous elders here?¡± I was stunned and looked at the direction of the voice. The blood in my entire body stilled at that moment. I was dazed and couldn¡¯t let out my voice. Numerous tears were shed behind my mask, dampening my slightly tattered clothes. The two people that were standing where the sound was heard were two white haired mages. One was my teacher, the Aixia¡¯s Royal Intermediate Magic Academy¡¯s principal, Teacher Lao Lun Di and the other was Aixia¡¯s Royal Advance Magic Academy¡¯s principal, Teacher Chuan Song Zhen. The person that spoke previously was Teacher Zhen, while Teacher Di stood at his side, his body slightly trembling, not saying a word. Time¡¯s baptism could clearly be seen from the visible fine wrinkles on his face. To me, Teacher Di was like a father as he cared for me and taught me how to be a person and a mage. I instantly knew that I was the reason why that old man had aged so much. I could repress my feelings no longer and knelt to the ground towards Teacher Di as I cried out, crying bitterly, ¡°Teacher!¡± Volume 12: Chapter 9 - Reuniting with Teacher Volume 12: Chapter 9 - Reuniting with Teacher The surrounding high-ranking military officers of the three kingdoms were stunned. Even though they knew that I was from the Kingdom of Aixia, they weren¡¯t clear of the details on my background. Under the support of Teacher Zhen, Teacher Di trudged towards me in tears. He walked extremely slowly. My heart constantly trembled with each of the old man¡¯s steps. ¡°Teacher...Teacher Di, I¡­.¡± When Teacher Di finally walked before me, I had already withdrawn the protective divine powers. Teacher Di wordlessly extended his wrinkled hands to caress my head. ¡°Child, teacher finally gotten a chance to meet you.¡± That short phase had greatly touched my heart. ¡®That¡¯s right, my teacher. I¡¯ve also finally reunited with you.¡¯ It took a long time for me to gradually calm my heart. As I knelt, I said to him, ¡°Teacher, have you been well all these years?¡± Teacher Di nodded. With tears in his eyes, Teacher Zhen said, ¡°How could he be fine? It¡¯s all your fault. Old fellow Lao Lun hasn¡¯t been at ease ever since you left. He kept harping to me about you on a daily basis that he didn¡¯t have enough spare thought in attending his duties as principal. You had done poorly at being his disciple. If it wasn¡¯t for the news of you helping in the negotiations of the three races at the fort to succeed, he probably still wouldn¡¯t be at ease even now. You brat, then once you left, it was two years before you finally return.¡± Teacher Di glared at Teacher Zhen, preventing him from saying anything further. Teacher Di spoke benevolently to me, ¡°Child, quickly get up and let teacher have a look.¡± Upon saying that, he supported me up. Teacher¡¯s hands were still as warm as before. I couldn¡¯t help but call out, ¡°Teacher Di!¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, you didn¡¯t let teacher down. I¡¯ve seen what you have done previously. Tell me, have you already reached the legendary Grand Magister realm?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct, teacher. I have.¡± Teacher Di suddenly raised his back and broke out into laughters. His laughter was transmitted to the sky. ¡°Great! Great! Great! You¡¯re worthy of being my disciple. My many years of aspiration have finally been achieved by you. Good child, you¡¯re really my great disciple.¡± Feeling Teacher Di¡¯s happiness, Teacher Zhen smiled as he sighed, ¡°Lao Lun, you finally broke clear from all of your troubles and hardships. I¡¯m so envious of you!¡± Teacher Di replied in smiles, ¡°What¡¯s there to be envious about? Isn¡¯t he also your disciple? Wasn¡¯t your spacial magic passed down to him? He can be counted as your old self''s disciple as well.¡± I hastily followed up, ¡°That¡¯s right! Teacher Zhen, if it weren¡¯t for your tutelage, I wouldn¡¯t be who I am today. You also will forever be my teacher.¡± Teacher Zhen laughed in satisfaction. ¡°Zhang Gong, why are you wearing a mask? Quickly take it off. It can¡¯t be that it¡¯s feared that you¡¯re ugly?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°That¡¯s correct. It¡¯s due to me being too ugly that I¡¯m wearing a mask.¡± It seemed that they were didn¡¯t know about my disfiguration. I then summarized my experiences at the Demon race. It wasn¡¯t only the two teachers, only a minority of the high-ranking military officers of the three kingdoms knew about this news so they were all deeply captivated in my story. Teacher Zhen said, ¡°Even if you¡¯re ugly, you¡¯re still our disciple. How can we care about your appearance? Take down the mask so that I can see the damage that the Demon Emperor had inflicted on you.¡± I sighed lightly. Under Teacher Di¡¯s pity filled gaze, I reached my hand to my face to remove the mask, instantly making astonished yelps heard throughout the top of the fort. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Dong Ri brought me to fly into the fort. After seeing the father-like Teacher Di, my mood was much better. I donned the Ice God¡¯s mask after bidding my farewells to Teacher Di and Teacher Zhen before letting Dong Ri lead the way to see the injured brothers. In order to prevent the Monster race from assaulting the city, I had left Xiao Jin and Xiao Rou at the top of the fort. I must hastily check everyone¡¯s condition. According to Dong Ri, everyone seemed to have suffered different severities of injuries. In that case, they wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the divine wills that Mi Jia Lie had given me. If I couldn¡¯t increase everyone¡¯s power, how could we deal with the soon to be resurrected Monster King? ¡°Dong Ri, I had heard from Xiao Jin that the Dragon race should have already arrived at the fort. Since they are here, with their assistance why are our losses still so large?¡± Dong Ri shook his head. ¡°The Dragon race never appeared, not to mention help. If Xiao Jin¡¯s father were here, we wouldn¡¯t need to fear the three Great monsters. Those three fellows were really powerful. Even the combined attack with our divine weapons were useless against them. In order to save us, the Third and Fourth Elders had to sacrifice their lives.¡± When mentioning the two deceased elders, Dong Ri¡¯s expression darkened. I sighed. ¡°The elders really helped us a lot. They had even sacrificed their lives for the world. They are worthy of respect! But the Dragon race should have been here. Xiao Jin said that they had left to meet up at the fort after your departure. Could it be that something happened along the way?¡± The Dragon race¡¯s strength was really too crucial to us. Even though I had received the Radiant God¡¯s inheritance, I wasn¡¯t totally confident in dealing with the Dragon King. But why hadn¡¯t they appeared? ¡°Who knows why they didn¡¯t arrive on time? Big Brother Zhang Gong, are you really confident in dealing with the Monster King now?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°If I was confident, I wouldn¡¯t be so anxious right now. You just saw that even though my powers have increased drastically, it is still slightly lower than being able to deal with the Three Great Monsters. The power of the Monster King is really unfathomable. Who knows how abnormal he is that even God King couldn¡¯t deal with him? How can I be at ease?¡± ¡°This is it, Big Brother Zhang Gong.¡± Dong Ri stopped in front of a humble courtyard. ¡°Let¡¯s quickly enter! If everyone knows about your return, they will definitely be exceptionally excited.¡± When thinking that I would meet up with the group soon, my heart was set ablaze. ¡®Mu Zi, Hai Shui, are you two alright? Hai Shui, I¡¯ll finally be able to face you and accept your deep feelings for me.¡¯ Volume 12: Chapter 10 - Family and Friends Volume 12: Chapter 10 - Family and Friends The courtyard door wasn¡¯t locked, so Dong Ri and I pushed it to enter. The courtyard was extremely large; it looked like a practice area for martial arts, sparse without any adornment. The surroundings were peaceful and there was a faint medicinal scent. ¡®Hmm? Why was there a medicine scent? Even if everyone was injured, wouldn¡¯t treatment with magic be better? The fort shouldn¡¯t lack healing mages!¡¯ Seeing my heart¡¯s doubts, Dong Ri explained. ¡°It was medicine from the elders. They said that even though treatment with magic is faster, magic has side effects, so medicine is better. Big Brother Zhan Hi and the rest of the brothers are staying in the eastern side of the courtyard, while Mu Zi and Hai Shui are living at the western side. Which place shall we head to first?¡± I looked at him and said, ¡°We¡¯ll head to see Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest of the brothers first.¡± Even though I was eager to see Mu Zi and Hai Shui, in the current situation, I should head to see the few severely injured brothers. Under Dong Ri¡¯s lead, we arrived at the eastern side of the courtyard. Dong Ri pushed open the door and entered before saying happily, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Xiu Si¡¯s feeble voice was heard. ¡°Seeing your happy expression, could it be that the Monster race retreated? Have the Dragon race come? Without them, it would be hard for us humans to win!¡± Dong Ri laughed. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t the Dragon race. It¡¯s a help greater than the Dragon race. Haha!¡± There was silence in the room. Zhan Hu said in a slightly shaky voice, ¡°Can it be¡­.can it be¡­¡­¡± Like a flash, I dashed into the room and said with excitement. ¡°Big brother! It¡¯s me! I¡¯m back!¡± The room was chaotic, with little furniture, mostly beds that were randomly placed. Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Gao De, Xin Ao and the three remaining elders were lying on their beds. With pale complexions, all seven sets of eyes had a peculiar expression the second I appeared. They looked at me, all stunned, not saying a single word. After a while, Zhan Hu muttered, ¡°Zhang Gong, it¡¯s really you. Zhang Gong, you brat, you¡¯ve finally returned.¡± Choked with my emotions, I replied, ¡°Big brother, it¡¯s my fault for returning late. Elders, I¡¯ve let you down.¡± Upon saying that, I fell to my knees before the elders. The three elder¡¯s injuries seemed minor. The First Elder stood and came before me. He pulled me up with tears in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s enough that you¡¯ve returned. That¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°But First Elder, the Third and Fourth Elders, they¡­..¡± The First Elder sighed. ¡°So you know. Even though Old Three and Four have died, they died with honor. Our task is to defend the continent, they died in the line of duty. Zhang Gong, you don¡¯t need to get upset for us. At our age, death means nothing. The most fortunate way is for us to die in battle.¡± First Elder was much more calm and collected than I thought. I was a little shocked and said, ¡°Elder, but I¡­¡­.¡± The First Elder had forbidden me in continuing what I wanted to say. ¡°Stop, enough of this. Since you¡¯re back, the heavy task of eliminating the Monster race is now passed on to you. Telling by the divine aura coming from your body, we can tell that you¡¯ve already accepted the God¡¯s inheritance. Zhang Gong, you haven¡¯t let us down. That¡¯s worth everything we¡¯ve done.¡± I replied choked with sobs, ¡°First Elder, thank you for holding out for so long, gaining so much time for the world. Don¡¯t worry, as long as I have a single breath remaining, I definitely won¡¯t let the Monster race win.¡± The First Elder laughed. ¡°Hearing those words, I can truly relax. Even if the final outcome is failure, we will have done all we could do and we won¡¯t have any regrets.¡± Zhan Hu asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, were you the one that made the Monster race retreat?¡± Before I could reply, Dong Ru intercepted, ¡°That was that case! Big Brother Zhan Hu, you don¡¯t understand how great Big Brother Zhang Gong is. He single handedly forced the retreat of the Three Great Monsters and even cast a Holy Light Slash into the gulf, killing or weakening innumerous monsters. Our brothers then lead the armed forces of the Three Kingdoms to take that opportunity and massacre the monsters, killing every last one.¡± I glared at Dong Ri. ¡°How could it be as easy as you made it sound? Brothers, you should recuperate as quickly as possible. The invasion of the Monster race has reached its final phase. I believe that not long from now, the Monster King will appear. We must be able to use our combined powers to defeat him when the time comes.¡± Xiu Si replied, ¡°I get what you mean. The only way is to use the ultimate forbidden spell. Don¡¯t worry. Our injuries are almost completely healed. In a few days, we¡¯ll be fully recovered. Ah, Zhang Gong, since you returned, have you gone to see Mu Zi and that Hai Shui from the Kingdom of Aixia? Their feelings for you are much stronger than ours. Quickly go and meet up with them.¡± Seeing that everyone accepted Mu Zi, she must have taken over many of my responsibilities during the period that I was gone. My face reddened. Embarrassed, I said, ¡°Big Brother Xiu Si, I¡­¡­¡± Xin Ao laughed. ¡°What about you? Why aren¡¯t you going? The girls have given up a lot for you.¡± Under everyone¡¯s instigation, my desire to meet with Mu Zi and Hai Shui grew. The intense emotions made my heart beat rapidly. After leaving the eastern room, Dong Ri didn¡¯t follow me out. I took in a deep breath to calm my heart before turning around to walk to the western room. I lightly knocked on the door of the western room. My heart raced, I didn¡¯t know how they would react after seeing me. Would they forgive me for leaving without a word? ¡°Who is it? Come in, the door is unlocked.¡± When I pushed open the door and walked in, the western room was much smaller than the eastern room. There were only two beds in the empty room. Mu Zi¡¯s familiar figure was in front of me. She was tidying her bed sheets with her back facing me. On the other hand, Hai Shui, who hadn¡¯t seen me for a few years, stared blankly at me. Even though I was wearing a mask, from the look in her eyes, I knew that she recognised me. While Mu Zi tidied her bed sheets she said, ¡°It¡¯s probably Dong Ri. The Monster race must have gotten counterattacked and forced to retreat.¡± I was stunned. ¡°How did you know?¡± Volume 12: Chapter 11 - Restoration of Appearance Volume 12: Chapter 11 - Restoration of Appearance Mu Zi said, ¡°It¡¯s the cheers from the top of the fort, we can still hear them, even from this distance. Of course, I¡­¡­..¡± After she noticed the voice was different from what she had expected, Mu Zi¡¯s voice quietly trailed off and her body shuddered before she turned around to me. Mu Zi¡¯s beautiful face hadn¡¯t changed, but was a bit thinner than before. She must have suffered a lot over these two years, all because of me! Mu Zi¡¯s body shook violently as she saw me hiding behind my mask. Tears flowed from her eyes as her pale lips constantly shivered, not saying a single word. ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong!¡± A lovable call out was heard as Hai Shui abruptly leaped into my embrace and sobbed loudly. Embracing Hai Shui¡¯s moving body, my heart became completely infatuated. ¡®Mu Zi, Hai Shui, I finally got to meet with you two.¡¯ The eager thoughts numbed my body, as I embraced the crying Hai Shui. The Hai Shui who was the same as Mu Zi, speechless. After a while, Mu Zi wiped the tears from her eyes as she asked calmly, ¡°You still remember to return?¡± ¡°Mu Zi, I¡­.It¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve made you suffer.¡± Hearing these words, Mu Zi¡¯s freshly dried eyes flowed again with tears. She turned around, facing her back to me. As her shoulders continually shook, she said, ¡°Why would we suffer? Who could be like you? God¡¯s Envoy Zhang Gong, so carefree, able to leave whenever he wants without a single word?¡± I continued to embrace Hai Shui as I moved towards Mu Zi. As I used my other hand to embrace her, Mu Zi slightly struggled, but still stayed in my embrace. I embraced them both tightly, enjoying every second of this peaceful moment. ¡°Mu Zi, I know it was my fault. Please forgive me. I promise never to leave the two of you from now on.¡± Mu Zi slowly raised her head as she asked sentimentally, ¡°You promise?¡± I resolutely nodded. ¡°I promise. No matter what happens in the future, I won¡¯t leave you two. Mu Zi, I¡¯ve got a good news to share with you two.¡± Mu Zi was slightly stunned as she asked, ¡°What good news?¡± Hai Shui stopped crying and raised her head to look at me. Under their gazes, I slowly removed the Ice God¡¯s Mask from my face. ¡°My...my appearance has recovered.¡± What displayed before them was my originally handsome, unscarred face. My appearance recovered while I was hopeless. At the top of the fort, I was forced to remove the mask. When Teacher Di and Teacher Zhen simultaneously saw that I was no longer disfigured, they asked me why I didn¡¯t have any scars. I was stunned. What could make me happier than recovering my looks? Appearance was extremely important to me! I, who regained my handsome appearance, no longer needed to have any consideration for feeling inferior and could simply accept Mu Zi¡¯s and Hai Shui¡¯s feelings. The recovery of my looks must have been Mi Jia Lie¡¯s doings. He really treated me well. He had easily eliminated the only regret in my life. Since Hai Shui hadn¡¯t seen my disfigured appearance, she didn¡¯t know how to react to it, but when Mu Zi saw my handsome appearance, her entire body shuddered. As she extended her delicate small hand to caress my face, she dazedly asked, ¡°Zhang Gong, your scars¡­¡­.¡± I nodded excitedly. ¡°Yeah, my scars are gone. Mu Zi, Hai Shui, now we really can be together.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s expression changed as she pushed me away, pulling Hai Shui along with her. ¡°Zhang Gong, what do you really think of us? You think that we simply fell in love with your looks?¡± ¡®Ah? I said the wrong words. Damn it!¡¯ I tried explaining with stutters, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it! Mu Zi, I didn¡¯t mean it that way. Please don¡¯t be angry.¡± Seeing my anxious expression, Mu Zi laughed. ¡°Look at your silly expression! When did you return?¡± Seeing that he didn¡¯t really blamed me, I heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯ve arrived not long ago. Mu Zi, please don¡¯t get mad at me. The reason I departed without telling you was because I didn¡¯t have confidence in being able to successfully accept the inheritance. I didn¡¯t know if I would ever return, so I left without telling you. With your personality, you would have definitely wanted to accompany me. How could I put you in danger? But now it¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve already inherited the Radiant God¡¯s powers and can completely control the Holy Sword¡¯s power. Once we defeat the Monster King, we can be together forever.¡± Mu Zi snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you this time. But you better remember what you just said. Furthermore, sister Hai Shui had given up a lot for you. You mustn¡¯t betray her either.¡± When I looked at Hai Shui, her lovable face blushed with shyness. I nodded. ¡°I will. I will definitely repay what you both have done for me, from this day on. The most important thing for now though is annihilating the Monster race in order to return the peace and harmony in the world. We¡¯ll really be together after that!¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°The Monster race is really powerful. When the Three Great Monsters attacked the fort, if it weren¡¯t for your brothers and the five elders, the fort would have already fallen. Since you already gained the Radiant God¡¯s power, after everyone¡¯s injuries recover, we should go on the offensive. Why hasn¡¯t the Monster King appeared? If the Monster King and the Three Great Monsters were to attack the fort before you returned, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist them. Can it be that he hasn¡¯t resurrected yet?¡± I frowned and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but when I reached the fort, I felt a strong demonic power nearby, and it couldn¡¯t have been the Three Great Monsters. I think that the Monster King must have resurrected. There must be a reason why the Monster King didn¡¯t join the monsters in attacking us. We need to be cautious.¡± I chuckled and I said, ¡°Mu Zi, Hai Shui, I¡¯ve got something that I want to discuss with you two.¡± Mu Zi and Hai Shui simultaneously were stunned. ¡°What matter?¡± Looking at their impeccable appearance, my heart heated up. I moved forth to make them return into my embrace. ¡°I wish to use your room and temporarily stay here.¡± Hai Shui shyly lowered her head and Mu Zi punched me. ¡°How can we let that happen? Where did you get such a weird thought at such a time?¡± Volume 12: Chapter 12 - Cultivation Recovery Volume 12: Chapter 12 - Cultivation Recovery ¡°What weird thoughts will I have?¡± I said, feeling wronged. ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t have a place to stay, so I thought of using your place to cultivate and recover my injuries. Big Brother and the others have too many people over there, it¡¯s already a mess.¡± Mu Zi and Hai Shui simultaneously exclaimed, ¡°What?! You¡¯re hurt?¡± Seeing their worried gazes, my heart warmed. ¡°Relax, it¡¯s just a small injury. When I fought against the Three Great Monsters, my meridians were hurt by their shockwave of demonic powers.¡± Mu Zi asked in astonishment, ¡°You still can¡¯t eliminate them even after the inheritance?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°How can the Three Great Monsters be so easy to be deal with? They are our enemy¡¯s strongest, excluding the Monster King. During the great war between the Gods and the Monster race, each of the three individually held powers that were on par with the Radiant God¡¯s battle angel, Mi Jie Lie. After returning to this world, they only recovered 30 percent of their powers. Otherwise, it would be alright to deal with one of them. But if there were two of them, we would be forced to retreat. Even if it¡¯s the current me, it would be difficult to even defeat them while dealing with all three of them simultaneously.¡± Mu Zi frowned. ¡°What are we going to do now? They possess such powers. If the Monster King is added to the mix, won¡¯t we lose without a doubt?¡± I smiled. ¡°I definitely have a way. After the inheritance, Mi Jia lie gave me orbs that contain the divine will for each of the brother¡¯s divine instruments. Once the brothers have fully recovered, I¡¯ll let them each accept their corresponding divine will. Their power will greatly increase. Only after we can simultaneously cast forbidden spells, we won¡¯t need to worry about the Monster King and the Three Great Monsters.¡± Hearing my words, a light flashed in Hai Shui¡¯s eyes. She must be excited from being able to fight against the Monster race so I didn¡¯t pay much attention. Mu Zi replied, ¡°Quickly recover your injuries, we¡¯ll guard you.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right! Mu Zi, I heard that you are also hurt. Are you feeling better?¡± I shot divine power into Mu Zi¡¯s body to check on her meridians. Mu Zi¡¯s meridians didn¡¯t seem to be hurt. My heart calmed down then. ¡°My injuries had already recovered. Ah! Your power is so warm! Is this your divine power?¡± I nodded and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m starting my treatment. There¡¯s no need to protect me, but I wish to see you when I wake up. My injuries aren¡¯t serious. It shouldn¡¯t take long to recover. Mu Zi, Hai Shui, I love you.¡± Upon saying that, I placed a gentle kiss on their heads. Mu Zi¡¯s body shuddered, while Hai Shui was so stirred up that her body violently shuddered for a moment before calming down. Their eyes expressed an intense love. After letting go, I put on the Ice God¡¯s mask again before heading to sit on Mu Zi¡¯s bed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m starting. After my injuries recover, I¡¯ll help to heal the brothers¡¯ injuries. Right, Mu Zi, Xiao Jin came with me. He¡¯s currently with Xiao Rou at the top of the city. In a while you should go and ask why the Dragon race aren¡¯t here yet? Similarly, you should pay close attention to the actions of the Monster race.¡± Mu Zi nodded. ¡°Just take your time to recover. Leave the rest to me. Also haven¡¯t you recovered your good looks? Why are you still wearing that mask? You no longer need to cover your face.¡± I could see that Mu Zi was extremely happy that I had recovered my looks. Who didn¡¯t wish for their lover to be handsome after all? With a deep look, I gazed at Mu Zi and Hai Shui. ¡°The mask that I¡¯m wearing is the Ice God¡¯s mask, another divine instrument. I¡¯ve obtained it by chance. Its ability stabilizes my mind, which is most suitable for training. I¡¯m starting.¡± Upon saying that, I didn¡¯t dally and closed my eyes, circulating the divine power in my body. After checking on everyone, my heart settled. When I observed the golden sea in my body, I was shocked to see that the injuries had only slightly deviated the flow of divine power in my body. The power in my body was already recovering automatically. The golden river had gradually returned to its original position. The divine power in my body was constantly being willed to circulate, in order to quickly recover the initial route. The light elements in my surroundings were constantly absorbed into my body, converting into divine power. A faint gold light emitted from my body, filling Mu Zi and Hai Shui¡¯s room with divine power. The immense pressure was making it difficult for Mu Zi and Hai Shui to breathe. ¡°Elder sister Mu Zi, let¡¯s head out as the power from Big Brother Zhang Gong is too powerful. Soon I won¡¯t be able to stand it.¡± Hai Shui said to Mu Zi, as her face strained with difficulty. Mu Zi was slightly better off compared to Hai Shui. ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t have a place to sleep tonight. Zhang Gong is so irresponsible, not telling us how powerful he currently is before entering his meditative state. But the divine power emitted from his body is really warm! Sister Hai Shui, why are you so pale? Is the pressure too strong for you? Let¡¯s head out first.¡± After speaking, she went to the eastern room to find Dong Ri, to have him to protect Zhang Gong. She then brought Hai Shui with her to talk to Xiao Jin. After leaving the western room, Hai Shui¡¯s complexion became more natural and recovered her rosy complexion. There was complex expression in her eyes as though her heart was debating something. All of these thoughts occurred while Mu Zi, who was filled with excitement from Zhang Gong¡¯s return, didn¡¯t notice. While circulating the divine power in my body, I found that when I resisted the Three Great Monsters, I wasn¡¯t at full power and had used about 70% of my power. It was due to me rushing back to the God Protector Domain after inheriting the power so I wasn¡¯t really familiar with using them and hadn¡¯t fully incorporated them as my power. When dealing with the Three Great Monsters, I wasn¡¯t able to use the full potential of my power to attack them. My confidence increased after discovering this. If I continued to work hard cultivating, I should be able to recover all of my power quickly. Volume 12: Chapter 13 -The Profound Divine Powers Volume 12: Chapter 13 -The Profound Divine Powers I coaxed my divine power to continually circulate. While it was circulating, I investigated its usages. As I meditated, the seal Mi Jia Lie left on my mind was lifted. His memories flowed through me, allowing me to comprehend the usage for the newfound divine powers and techniques in my body. If I could fuse these powers and techniques with the Holy Sword¡¯s might, I would reach the peak realm. Looking at his memories, I understood why the Holy Sword¡¯s power was so immense. The Dark Monster Blade wielded by the Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo couldn¡¯t be compared to the tyrannical might of its divine power. The Radiant Holy Sword was once the weapon of the God King, it was the greatest divine instrument in the God¡¯s Realm. Following the immense surge of divine power, I unknowingly floated mid air and the power coalesced in the center of the room. Fortunately, under my suppression, the wild power stayed within a three meter radius of me, else the room would have been blown apart. After an entire day, I finally comprehended the information contained in Mi Jia Lie¡¯s memories and gradually gained mastery over the divine power in my body. I didn¡¯t know that Mu Zi and Hai Shui had returned. To be honest, they couldn¡¯t even enter the room, the immense divine power was protecting my body, making its golden radiance fill the entire room. ¡°Elder sister Mu Zi, we can¡¯t enter. What shall we do?¡± Hai Shui asked anxiously. Mu Zi raised her head to look at the darkened sky. ¡°It seems that he won¡¯t wake up. Let¡¯s not disturb him and spend the night in the lounge. What he said was right. This room didn¡¯t need protection, Zhang Gong¡¯s power was more than sufficient. It seems that we really do need to cultivate from now on. If not, the gap will become too large.¡± Hai Shui chuckled lightly. ¡°Elder sister, why worry? We won¡¯t need to cultivate anymore now that he¡¯s so strong. Won¡¯t it be easier for him to protect us?¡± Mu Zi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°You must be happy to see him return and promise not to leave us behind. You should be at ease now. When you were depressed in the past, I was really worried! Now that we have hope for successfully defeating the Monster race, we can enjoy life. I don¡¯t know how matters are for the Demon race and whether or not father can hold back the Monster race¡¯s attacks. When we looked at the gulf before, it had already quieted. I believe that the monsters that invaded the Demon and Beast races will be eliminated sooner or later.¡± Hai Shui lowered her head. ¡°Elder sister, I¡¯ve made you worry about me. The Demon race should be alright. It¡¯s also useless to worry now. Let¡¯s go and find some blankets, it¡¯s getting cold.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ My consciousness was compl immersed in my cultivation so I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. I finally understood the methods for using the divine powers. With a loud yell, my consciousness returned, my senses gradually came back into focus. I gradually withdrew the divine powers that were being emitted from my body, reverting my golden eyes back to their original appearance. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ After withdrawing my powers, the room was so bright! I clearly remembered it to have only a single window though. When I raised my head head in curiousity, I was shocked. I didn¡¯t know when it happened but the entire roof had simply disappeared, allowing the bright sunlight to enter the room. I no longer a wondered why the room was very bright. It was definitely because of my immense divine power. It wasn¡¯t too bad though, at least the walls didn¡¯t collapse. ¡°Zhang Gong, so you¡¯ve finally woken up.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s unhappy voice sounded from outside. When the door opened, Mu Zi and Hai Shui came in. Seeing them, my heart warmed. ¡°How did you know I¡¯d woken up? Your gauging of time is really accurate!¡± Hai Shui laughed. ¡°How can we not know? After the roof got blasted away, the divine light soared into the sky, making everyone in the fort come looking for you. We had to spend lots of effort to maintain the peace while you trained! When that divine light suddenly disappeared elder sis Mu Zi and I knew that you were done cultivating. You¡¯re really capable of meditating for 5 days.¡± I was alarmed. ¡°What? It¡¯s been 5 days? Time flies.¡± Mu Zi said, ¡°Quickly get up, lazy bum. How are your injuries?¡± Upon asking that, Mu Zi¡¯s face expressed care and concern. I quickly moved between them, embracing their soft and delicate bodies, one in each arm. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry about me. That¡¯s right, are there any movements from the Monster race and have any monsters appeared from the gulf?¡± Mu Zi frowned. ¡°I¡¯m also very surprised, after you started meditating, there wasn¡¯t the slightest movement from the Monster race. The gulf remains peaceful as though nothing ever happened.¡± I was stunned. ¡°It seems as though they¡¯re gathering power while they await the revival of the Monster King. It¡¯ll probably be the last battle with the Monster race the next time they appear. How are Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest?¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Their injuries have recovered, but they are still feeling weak.¡± I nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and see them. I must quickly give them the divine wills as soon as possible so that they will have sufficient powers to help me eliminate the Monster King by using the ultimate forbidden spell.¡± When Mu Zi, Hai Shui and I walked out of the room, Zhan Hu and the rest were working out in the courtyard. Seeing their energy, vigor, and agility, they didn¡¯t seem to be injured. Zhan Hu laughed. ¡°Zhang Gong, you¡¯ve woken up. You brat, it is fine to cultivate in closed doors, but you didn¡¯t need to kick out the two ladies.¡± I was stunned and looked towards Mu Zi and Hai Shui. Mu Zi rolled her eyes at me. ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking, didn¡¯t you need to give them the divine wills?¡± Before walking over to the brothers, I released Mu Zi and Hai Shui from my embrace. ¡°My injuries have completely recovered. How about you guys?¡± Zhan Hu brandished his fist. ¡°We¡¯re fine already. After receiving the divine instruments, our recovery power has become much greater ¡± Volume 12: Chapter 14 - Divine Wills Inheritance Volume 12: Chapter 14 - Divine Will''s Inheritance I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great then. Mi Jia Lie gave me the divine wills for each of your divine instruments before I left the God Rended Canyon. You need them so that you can use the full potential of your divine instruments. Since that¡¯s the case, we can also bring out the full potential of the Ultimate Forbidden Spell. We won¡¯t need to fear the Monster King any longer. Mi Jia Lie had instructed me that when receiving the divine wills, you must be at your peak condition. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be risky so I¡¯ll seriously ask you again. Have you guys really recovered completely?¡± Zhan Hu looked at the rest before replying, ¡°I¡¯ve recovered, Xiu Si shouldn¡¯t have any problems as well. We suffered the lightest injuries among us all, we recovered in two days. Afterwards, Xiu Si used his Sky God¡¯s Horn to heal everyone so they injuries should already be fine. What is a divine will anyways? Is it really that powerful?¡± I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s hard for me that explain in detail what the divine wills are exactly, but essentially it activates the genuine powers of the divine instrument by fusing your current power with the divine instrument. You¡¯ll understand it once you inherit the divine will. From my estimation, you¡¯ll reach at least the War God¡¯s rank after the inheritance.¡± Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Gao De, Xin Ao and Dong Ri simultaneously cried out, ¡°What?! War God?!¡± Excitement could be seen in their eyes. As a cultivator, no matter who they were, they would always set the rank of War God as their final goal. It was a rank similar to that of the Grand Magister¡¯s power! It was the peak cultivation for martial artists. If they all successfully gained the divine will, their combined powers wouldn¡¯t be inferior to mine. We would then have a much larger chance for defeating the Monster King. I nodded. ¡°The Monster King can be appearing any moment now. Since everyone has recovered, let¡¯s not dally and commence the inheritance now. Everyone, form a circle and summon your divine instruments.¡± Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Gao De, Xin Ao, and Dong Ri gathered with me at the center. Mu Zi and Hai Shui retreated to a side. Zhan Hu chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the War God¡¯s Armor. No evil shall pass me, for I shall obstruct the evil demons.¡± A blue armour appeared in mid air and shattered into countless pieces as they covered Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s body, piece by piece. A blue energy was constantly rippling, while his body emitted a divine aura filled with the desire to fight. Xiu Si chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Sky God¡¯s Horn. My horn¡¯s roar will pierce through the nine heavens.¡± A white light flashed and the Sky God¡¯s horn appeared in Xiu Si¡¯s hand. The pure white horn hummed, forming a benevolent divine aura around him. Xin Ao chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Titan God¡¯s Hammer. I will shake the heavens and move the earth to protect the righteous path.¡± An enormous Titan God¡¯s hammer, flickering with yellow light, appeared in mid air. Xin Ao extended both of his hand to grasp onto the handle. The yellow light instantly covered his body, making his body emit a domineering divine aura. Gao De said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Lightning God¡¯s Shield. Even ten thousand blades shall not stop me.¡± A small red shield appeared in Gao De¡¯s right hand. The red light encapsulated him, making an intense divine aura to envelope his body. The flickering red light gave people a stalwart sense of steadiness. Dong Ri said, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Wind God¡¯s Bow. My ethereal arrows will flash rapidly and violently.¡± After a gold light flashed, a small golden short bow appeared in Dong Ri¡¯s hand, emitting green lights. As the green light rays covered Dong Ri¡¯s entire body, the auras emitting from the brothers fused together to form a five coloured halo, with me at its center. After receiving Mi Jia Lie¡¯s memory, I clearly knew that while inheriting the divine will, I must protect their bodies. Even the slightest disturbance could lead to their death. I chanted loudly, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens!¡± A silver Holy Sword momentarily appeared before me. The intense golden light completely enclosed the five of them. I extended my hand to grip onto the Holy Sword, forcefully emitting divine power. My spirit shook and summoned the six wings of light on my back, instantly absorbing the light elements in the air. ¡°Brothers, you must focus on your divine instruments in order to fuse the divine will into your body. No matter how much pain you feel, you must endure.¡± I could still clearly remember the pain that I felt from when I received the God¡¯s inheritance. I couldn¡¯t predict what would happen to them while they received their divine wills so I warned them beforehand. ¡°Just do it, we can withstand it.¡± Zhan Hu firmly replied. The others looked at me in agreement, with a steadfast look on their readied faces. I took in a deep breathe and waved my hand, making the blue, white, yellow, red, and green power orbs to appear before me. The five lights rose to the sky, simultaneously causing Zhan Hu and the others¡¯ bodies to shake. The divine instruments started to slightly vibrate, almost as if they were alive, dancing around in a jubilant manner. The five of them showed grave expressions as they forcefully withstood the undulations of power from their divine instruments. I raised the Holy Sword and enveloped the five of them in a golden light. The courtyard filled with divine aura. I raised my left hand and abruptly released the seal on the five-colored light balls, making them charge toward the divine instruments like shooting stars. From what I learned with Mi Jia Lie¡¯s memory, after the five lights fuse into their bodies, they would need a short while before being able to fully command their divine instruments. This instant seemed to be passing by slowly as I looked up nervously at the five lights. Just as the five lights flew into their heads and was about to fuse with their bodies, an abnormally occurred. A fuzzy grey light suddenly floated over, seemingly unhindered by the Holy Sword¡¯s boundary, and struck heavily onto Zhan Hu and the others¡¯ bodies. Volume 12: Chapter 15 - A Sudden Strange Phenomena Volume 12: Chapter 15 - A Sudden Strange Phenomena The five of them cried out mournfully as they violently spurt out blood. Their bodies soared and landed heavily to the side and the Holy Sword¡¯s boundary shattered. My chest felt as though I had been struck by an enormous hammer from the backlash, forcing me retreat a few steps. I was worried, the five divine wills seemed to be ignorant of what was happening and continued to quickly charge towards the divine instruments. There was a high probability that the brothers wouldn¡¯t be able to currently withstand the enormous divine powers, leading to the destruction of their bodies. At this critical moment, the Ice God¡¯s mask let out faint white light. My mind seemed to have been electrified, forcefully clearing my mind. I hastily brandished the Holy Sword with my hand and formed an arc to block the five light balls from entering their divine weapons. With a wave of my left hand, it rapidly sealed the five divine wills and returned them to my space pocket once again. My heart sank. Who could easily break through the Holy Sword¡¯s boundary and simultaneously hurt the five of them? ¡­ Of course, the one and only ruler of the Monster race, the one who would bring carnage to the world, the Monster King. I never expected that he could so accurately deduce the most crucial time to strike. ¡°Hai Shui, why did you do that?¡± Mu Zi cried out. But when I looked at her, the beautiful and gentle Hai Shui had changed. Her hair was no longer a bright blue, but had turned greyish blue. Her eyes was constantly glimmered with red light. Her icy gaze held no feelings toward me. ¡®Could it be that the previous grey light was from her?¡¯ Hai Shui snorted and with a casual wave of her hand, Mu Zi, who was nearing the Magister realm, was sent flying to heavily strike against a wall. Apart from Hai Shui, I was the only one left standing. I held the Holy Sword in front of my body and asked fumingly, ¡°Hai Shui, do you even know what you are doing?¡± Hai Shui broke into laughter. Her voice was no longer melodious and moving. Her tone was neither sinister nor normal, ¡°Human, you¡¯re really idiotic. There¡¯s only one outcome for going against my Monster race, death. Brat, do you really think you can fight against me using Mi Jia Lie¡¯s power? To me, Mi Jia Lie was nothing more than another fragile life. He was surmount to nothing. Not bad! Not bad! I can eliminate the hope of that old fellow, the God King, today. Afterwards, I shall see what he can still use to resist me. When this world falls into my hand, it will be the demise of the God¡¯s Realm. Hahahahaha!¡± I looked dazedly at Hai Shui, who looked crazed, and said with a deep hatred, ¡°You¡¯re the Monster King.¡± Hai Shui¡¯s laughter stopped abruptly. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m the ruler that governs everything, the great Monster King. No matter what, you¡¯ll fall to my Monster race¡¯s feet. You understood too late.¡± Why? Why did Hai Shui become the Monster King? I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around it. Seeing Zhan Hu and the rest still unconscious, I felt my heart as it ripped to pieces. I hollered as I brandished the Radiant Holy Sword, shooting a silver streak towards the Monster King. Hai Shui chuckled disdainfully. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that Mi Jia Lie¡¯s ability isn¡¯t worthy of my attention. You still want to fight me? You¡¯re really too naive.¡± She raised her right hand to physically block the Holy Sword¡¯s divine light ray. The enormous backlash flung my body high in the air before colliding against the courtyard wall. He held such tyrannical, strong power! The Monster King looked at his arm. ¡°This body is not bad. It¡¯s perfect. With this vessel, I can bring out a sufficient amount of power to annihilate every life form in the world.¡± I used the Holy Sword to support my body as I slowly stood. ¡°Why? How could you possess Hai Shui¡¯s body?¡± The Monster King looked coldly at me. ¡°Since you¡¯re about to die, it won¡¯t matter if I tell you that. To you humans, everyone has desires, which is what I like the most. That little girl Hai Shui¡¯s desire was extremely intense, so strong that I couldn¡¯t help myself in making her my new vessel. Do you know what her desire was? It¡¯s to receive your love. Haha! How laughable? Too hilarious. Love is nothing, and yet she was willing to sacrifice her life for it.¡± My heart trembled. Even though I knew Hai Shui had deep feelings for me, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so great. ¡®Hai Shui, it¡¯s all my fault. If I had accepted you in the first place, you wouldn¡¯t have been possessed by the Monster King.¡¯ Fury filled my chest. I no longer cared about anything. I just wanted to raise the Holy Sword. Suddenly, I saw happiness in the Monster King¡¯s eyes. Happiness? What was he excited about? He held an absolute advantage now, he shouldn¡¯t need to be happy about it. The Ice God¡¯s mask sent an electric shock through my mind, once again clearing it. I instantly understood, no matter how powerful he was, he still must have a weak point. An invader like himself shouldn¡¯t need to talk to me so much, he could just kill me directly. His previous words were to provoke me. What was his purpose? Could it be that he didn¡¯t have enough power to deal with me? It couldn¡¯t be, his power was over three times more than mine, so naturally I wasn¡¯t his match. What was it then? While I couldn¡¯t make a decision, I saw a look of conflict in the Monster King¡¯s eyes! ¡®I get it! He must not be able to completely possess Hai Shui¡¯s body. Hai Shui loves me so she wouldn¡¯t have any killing intent towards me. The Monster King wants to use my hatred of him to make Hai Shui think I hate her, and thus using that to kill me. That¡¯s it! That must be the case.¡¯ Thinking about that, under the astonishment of the Monster King, I lowered the Radiant Holy Sword as I said gently towards the Monster King, ¡°Hai Shui, awaken, chase that devil from your body. I love you. I really do! You want to experience a peaceful life with me, right?¡± Volume 12: Chapter 16 - The Dragon King Appears Volume 12: Chapter 16 - The Dragon King Appears The expression in the Monster King¡¯s eyes instantly became very disorderly. ¡®Ah!¡¯ He screamed as he placed his hands at both sides of his head. Hai Shui¡¯s well developed body shook violently. I was excited as it seemed that I had guessed right. ¡°Hai Shui, do you still remember the time when we studied together at the academy, you learned water magic and I learned light magic? When I lost my position in the Kingdom, you risked your life to save me. I was really grateful for what you did. You¡¯re such an exceptional girl! It¡¯s my fault for not treasuring you in the past. Please give me a chance. I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± The Monster King shouted, ¡°Stop talking!¡± His body morphed into an ashy haze, abruptly charging towards me. My mind was completely lost in thought so I was unable to defend myself from this attack. Even if I could, I wasn¡¯t a match for the Monster King. At this moment, three bluish-gold lights suddenly charged over to meet with the Monster King¡¯s attack. My mind cleared and I shouted, ¡°No!¡± It was the three elders who had reached the Sword Saint rank that charged towards the Monster King. They had charged towards the Monster King with all their might to save me. ¡°NO!¡± After a loud sound, the three elders vanished, leaving nothing but a bloody mist. A Sword Saint¡¯s power was already the peak martial artist¡¯s cultivation in the continent, but up against the Monster King it was useless. With a slight delay in his steps, the grey light still glimmered as the Monster King continued to charge towards me. I quickly guarded with the Holy Sword. Just as I wanted to resist, the Monster King suddenly stopped three meters away. Using Hai Shui¡¯s body, the Monster King clutched her head and bitterly struggled. Hai Shui¡¯s love saved me at the very last second. A huge dragon roar was heard suddenly. It was definitely not something an ordinary dragon could give off. The sound filled the air and shook heaven and earth. The Monster King glared at me with an intense hatred, kicked off the ground, and began to morph into gray fog once again. ¡°Brat, just you wait! After I have full control over this vessel, in two days time, it¡¯ll be your humanity¡¯s demise.¡± The grey fog suddenly moved and disappeared in the blink of an eye. My entire body slumped to the floor. Even though my injuries weren¡¯t severe during the conflict, the pressure I felt in my heart was unbearable. In just a few minutes¡¯ time, Big Brother Zhan Hu and the brothers were knocked unconscious, Mu Zi was also severely injured. Even worse, the remaining three elders sacrificed their lives to save me, and Hai Shui, who was deeply in love with me, had been possessed by the Monster King. Every single event that happened would be unbearable for anyone. Yet all of them happened to me simultaneously. Mu Zi! How was Mu Zi? I moved to Mu Zi¡¯s side and embraced her before activating my divine power to check her body¡¯s condition. The Monster King didn¡¯t seem to mind her, even though he sent her flying. She was severely hurt, but it wasn¡¯t life threatening. As my divine power forced the last of the Monster King¡¯s aura out, Mu Zi¡¯s eyebrows relaxed and she fell unconscious. Just as I wanted to check on big brother Zhan Hu and the rests¡¯ conditions, the sky suddenly darkened. The dazzling sunlight was completely blacked out. I was afraid. Had the Monster King returned? I raised my head to look upwards. ¡®Ah!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t the Monster King, instead there were a few hundred dragons hovering in the air, covering the sunlight. Both a large and a small gold dragon flew over to the courtyard. The smaller golden dragon was Xiao Jin, while next to him the enormous golden dragon with dazzling golden rays emanating would be Xiao Jin¡¯s father, the Dragon King. Their flying speed was extremely fast, as in a quick second the blink of an eye they had already landed in the courtyard. ¡°Master, what happened?¡± Xiao Jin asked anxiously after seeing the unconscious crowd. My heart hurt as I smiled wryly. ¡°It¡¯s the Monster King. It¡¯s finally appeared.¡± ¡°Zhang Gong, that grey fog that just left should be the Monster King, right?¡± The Dragon King deeply asked with his resounding voice. I solemnly nodded and quickly informed him of what had previously happened. The eyebrows of the Dragon King knitted and a flash of golden light, he used his dragon powers to enclose big brother Zhan Hu and the rest within it. I knew the powers of the Dragon King. In terms of recovery, he were much stronger compared to mine. Looking at the Dragon King¡¯s tightly knitted eyebrows, I asked anxiously, ¡°How are they? Can they still be saved?¡± The Dragon King sighed. ¡°According to what you said previously, the Monster King had broken through the Holy Sword¡¯s boundary. That in turn saved their lives. The boundary helped them to block the majority of the attack. And with their divine instruments, the Monster King wasn¡¯t able to kill them off in one go.¡± Hearing that big brother Zhan Hu and the rest weren¡¯t in any mortal danger, my heart momentarily calmed down. ¡°Uncle Dragon King, when will Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest recover by?¡± The Monster King was going to attack again in two day¡¯s time. At that time he would have the assistance of the Three Great Monsters. I really wouldn¡¯t be of any help if I couldn¡¯t rely on big brother Zhan hu and the others¡¯ reinforcements.The Dragon King shook his enormous dragon head. ¡°Their injuries are really severe so I could only stabilize their body conditions. It will at least take a few months for them to fully recover.¡± I cried out, ¡°What? A few months¡¯ time?! This¡­.This¡­..¡± My heart became disconcerted as I looked around at my brothers as they hovered in midair under the Dragon King¡¯s power. I could wait for a few months¡¯ time, but the Monster King wouldn¡¯t! He would control Hai Shui¡¯s body and immediately invade the fort. With solely my powers, how could I resist the Monster King by myself? To the Monster King and the Three Great Monsters, ordinary soldiers wouldn¡¯t hinder them in the slightest. Even if I added the Dragon King and the Dragon race into the mix, it would still be unable to deal with their devastating powers! The Dragon King muttered an incantation in the Dragon race¡¯s language, resulting in the intensification of the light boundary surrounding the five of them. I knew that the Dragon King was trying to heal them with all his might. Currently, I could only wait. Even though I had only made a few exchanges in battle with the Monster King, my divine power was actually halved. His power was much more than disastrous than what I had originally thought it would be. Even the power I possessed after inheriting all of the Radiant light God¡¯s inheritance was useless against him. The Monster King¡¯s power was extremely frightening. My heart sank as I sat crossed-leg on the floor, focusing on recovering my divine powers. Volume 12: Chapter 17 - The Great Battle Was Imminent Volume 12: Chapter 17 - The Great Battle Was Imminent I was woke up to a warm power after an unknown amount of time. I opened my eyes to see Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest seated cross-legged. There was slight rosiness on their faces, but they still looked feeble like before. The Dragon King and Xiao Jin were seated to the side, looking at me. Even after my recovery, the light elements had already recovered most of my divine powers. However, it would still take some time for me to reach my peak condition. I got up and retracted the six light wings on my back. ¡°Uncle Dragon King, thank you for saving big brother Zhan Hu and the rest. How are their injuries?¡± The Dragon King shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve done my best, but they were severely hurt by the Monster King. Even though I eradicated the remnant powers from Monster King in their bodies, it¡¯ll still take at least a month¡¯s time for them to fully recover. It seems that time is pressing. We¡¯ll need to adopt an alternative idea to deal with the situation at hand.¡± My slight hope was completely crushed by the Dragon King¡¯s words. ¡®Can it be that the heavens want to eradicate the races of our continent? Didn¡¯t they say that justice always triumph over evil? Why are you pushing us into such a distress then? Monster King, I really loathe you! Not only have you stolen my beloved, but you¡¯ve also severely wounded my brothers. I¡¯ve not been attentive enough. I should have see the difference in Hai Shui from her usual personality.¡¯ ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t be so dejected. You¡¯ve done your best.¡± Mu Zi¡¯s voice entered my ears, making my body to shake. ¡°Mu Zi, are you alright?¡± I asked out of concern. Mu Zi walked over before me as she forced a smile and took the initiative to cling onto my arm. ¡°My injuries are much better already. I didn¡¯t expect the Monster King to actually use Sister Hai Shui as his vessel. Poor Hai Shui! It¡¯s all my fault for not noticing any changes after such a long time. I believe that the Monster King had already possessed sister Hai Shui¡¯s body for some time already.¡± I shook my head. ¡°How can I blame you? Hai Shui got possessed by the Monster King because of my refusal to initially accept her feelings. I feel really guilty towards Hai Shu. If I had accepted her earlier or even gone to see her before heading to undergo the inheritance, this situation might have been avoided. It¡¯s all my fault!¡± I bitterly pulled on my hair as tears of grievance and hatred dampened my clothes. I had become enshrouded with limitless suffering from despair towards the future and the guilt I felt towards Hai Shui. ¡°Bastard!¡± An angry holler was heard, making my body to tremble. I vacantly raised my head and saw the Dragon King staring fumingly at me. Xiao Jin just stayed to the side, quietly, afraid to rebuke his father. The Dragon King angrily chidded, ¡°Zhang Gong, I didn¡¯t expect you to be such weak trash. I really don¡¯t know why the mission of saving the world has fallen onto you, falling into regret once you face a single setback. How can regrets help you? The pressing mission now is to resist the Monster King. Even if it isn¡¯t successful in the end, there will still be many of us accompanying you. If the Monster King really wants to eliminate the races in the continent, he must first walk over our dead bodies to succeed. Even if we all meet our demise, we at least had fought and tried our best. It¡¯s better than being trash like you. Xiao Jin, let¡¯s go. Weak trash isn¡¯t capable of being your Master.¡± Upon saying that, the Dragon King flapped his enormous wings and headed into the sky. Xiao Jin gave me a helpless look before following after his father. I stood dazedly at where I stood, my mind completely blank. Mu Zi looked at me worried, but said nothing. I let out a long sigh after a long while and all the thoughts returned to my mind. ¡®Two days! There¡¯s still two days left. The Dragon King is right. Even if there¡¯s no means of succeeding, I still have my life. I can at least fight to the bitter end. It will be even better if I managed to take down the Monster King with me. I suddenly thought about the method for the burning life force magic that I used previously.¡¯ ¡°Zhang Gong, how are you faring?¡± Mu Zi asked gently. I let out a long sigh. ¡°What the Dragon King said is right. I¡¯ve thought it through. Mu Zi, don¡¯t worry about me. I need a favour from you.¡± Mu Zi replied, ¡°Say it, if it¡¯s within my capability, I will do it.¡± I looked affectionately at Mu Zi¡¯s delicate face. I hugged her body for a long time before removing the Ice God¡¯s mask as I buried my head deeply at Mu Zi¡¯s neck, greedily taking in the feminine scent extruded from her body. Mu Zi obediently stayed there as I gradually become infatuated with her. I really wished that this moment could last forever; to hug my beloved woman for all of eternity! However, the burden on me is too heavy, my life no longer belonged to myself alone. I must serve out my duty to all of the various races in the continent. I gently whispered in Mu Zi¡¯s ear. ¡°I¡¯ll be at the city gates later, waiting for the Monster King and his subordinates to appear. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to take care of big brother Zhan Hu and the rest. You¡¯re also hurt so rest up as well. You¡¯re not allowed to leave this courtyard. No matter what, unless the city falls, understand? Can you promise me that? Furthermore, regarding the aftermath of three elders, I¡¯ll leave you in charge for it. Even though there aren¡¯t any remains, they still sacrificed their lives for me. I want you to find a place in the fort to make a cenotaph. Mu Zi, I...I really love you. But if I don¡¯t return, please don¡¯t miss me.¡± The shoulder of my shirt had already become damp with Mu Zi¡¯s tears, but she continued to stay silent. I knew that she would understand that I was forced to leave her. It was my responsibility. ¡°Mu Zi, I¡¯ve got to go. I need to make preparations for the upcoming battle in two days¡¯ time. Please take care of yourself. If I survive this ordeal, I¡¯ll definitely make up for all the deep feelings you have for me, alright?¡± As both her arms clung tightly around my neck, Mu Zi¡¯s delicate body trembled . ¡°Please don¡¯t be like this, Mu Zi. Be good.¡± I carefully separated myself from her embrace. Seeing Mu Zi¡¯s tear stained face, my heart trembled. I shut my eyes to suppress the tears from falling. I abruptly turned around and feebly said in a shaky voice, ¡°Mu Zi, I¡¯m heading off.¡± I didn¡¯t dare continue to stay, so I leapt off the ground and activated my divine power to soar into the sky. Volume 12: Chapter 18 - Preparations Before Battle Volume 12: Chapter 18 - Preparations Before Battle ¡°Zhang Gong, I love you so. You must survive and return!¡± Mu Zi¡¯s voice resounded from behind me. My tears then started to flow uncontrollably. In the sunlight, they looked like strings of transparent gemstones, flying through the air in a moving and brilliant way. ¡®Mu Zi, I wonder if I really will return after the battle with the Monster King.¡¯ I took in a deep breath in order to suppress my emotions. Before flying towards the fort, I used my divine power to amplify my voice for me to shout, ¡°To all members of the God Protector Domain, listen to my order, I am Zhang Gong Wei. Everyone please gather at the main entrance of the fort. Every member of the God Protector Domain are to heed my call¡­¡­¡± I repeated the order a couple of times and with my cultivation, every inch of the fort should have heard my voice. A couple of figures were seen rapidly gathering at the main entrance of the fort. Seeing their agile figures, my heart was slightly comforted, while I also flew towards the entrance of the city. Within moments, there was already a vast number of men from the God Protector¡¯s Domain that had gathered. They were lined up in orderly platoon formations. There were scorching flames in their eyes as they looked at me hovering in the air. Within the time to prepare tea, I noticed that roughly 8,000 members had already gathered. This was the majority of the forces of the God Protector Domain. I said clearly, ¡°Brothers, I just returned only few days ago. I¡¯m sure that most of you should have seen my arrival. Even though the Monster race has been pushed back by us only a few days ago, a more brutal battle would be commencing soon. I have bad news for you : the Monster King has resurrected. In two days¡¯ time, he will lead his forces to attack our fort. The main forces of the three Kingdoms are already gathered at the fort, so if it were to fall, the human race is finished and the continent will be invaded by the merciless Monster race. The main goals of the God Protector Domain is to protect this continent and stop the invasion of the Monster race. No matter what, we must defend the fort til our death and prevent them from succeeding. Even if we die for our goals, we shall persist.¡± My voice could be heard throughout the fort and the 8,000 God Protectors stood still and silent. After a long time, I said solemnly, ¡°The appearance of the Monster King so soon was beyond my expectations. You should all know Hai Shui. She is the same as Mu Zi, my beloved. Everyone, please don¡¯t feel weird as to why I¡¯m saying this now. It¡¯s just that just a moment ago, I found out that Hai Shui¡¯s body has been possessed by the Monster King. The current Hai Shui has become the sinister Monster King¡¯s vessel. I order you, no matter who sees Hai Shui in the fort, you¡¯re to immediately send out a warning. In the previous conflict with the Monster King, the remaining three elders sacrificed their lives to protect me. They have given up their lives for our final victory. Brothers, we must seek vengeance for the elders¡¯ lives. Are you all willing to follow me and fight in the final battle with the Monster race?¡± The five elders¡¯ position in the God Protector Domain was even higher than mine. The most powerful experts among the God Protector¡¯s Domain were the villagers led by the elders from the God¡¯s village. All of their training up until now had been supervised by the five elders, they had very close relationships with each of the members from the God Protector¡¯s Domain. After hearing the news of the elders¡¯ death, the God Protectors instantly became enraged and many of their eyes turned blood red with fury. I didn¡¯t inform them that Big Brother Zhan Hu and the rest could no longer participate in the battle. This was to prevent it from affecting their morale, since only the ultimate forbidden spell could be used to combat the Monster King. If they were to know that the ultimate forbidden spell was unable to be activated, they might become dispirited. ¡°We¡¯ll fight to our deaths to avenge the elders¡­..¡± ¡°We will fight with all our might against those bastards¡­...¡± ¡°Even if we die, we won¡¯t let them take a single step into the fort¡­¡­.¡± Yells and shouts were constantly heard throughout the fort. Even though there were patrolling soldiers from the three kingdoms, they recognised that among all the squads, that they were the most valiant. During the past two years, the God Protectors¡¯ heroic name had widely spread to become the role model for all soldiers from the Three Kingdoms. This provided the impetus to spread their shouts of resistance against the Monster race until death all throughout the fort. With my blood boiling, I shouted, ¡°I, the God¡¯s Envoy Zhang Gong Wei, hereby swear that as long as I have a single breathe, I refuse to allow the Monster race to enter this fort!¡± However, I really felt my own demise nearing instead. ¡°To the God Protectors from the third, fourth, and fifth platoons. The 2,000 people within each, heed my orders! Starting now, you are to take turns patrolling the fort and send reports when any anomaly occurs. For the remaining God protectors, you are to immediately be on standby at the city gates, in readiness to battle the Monster race.¡± We could currently only use the terrain of the fort to our advantage. I wasn¡¯t so dumb as to fight against the countless monsters head on in the plains outside the fort. With the powers of the God Protectors and the combined forces from the three kingdoms, the Monster race wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the fort unless I died. After commanding them, I flew to land in the command center of the fort. The strategists of the three kingdoms had gathered here. Seeing my arrival, Teacher Di asked frowning, ¡°Zhang Gong, I heard what you previously said. What¡¯s going on? Has Hai Shui really been possessed by Monster King?¡± I nodded solemnly. ¡°That¡¯s correct, Teacher. I won¡¯t be explaining that now. I need to trouble you, keep the soldiers of the Three Kingdoms on alert at all times, the Monster race could be invading anytime now. I¡¯ll stay and wait for them here. After tomorrow will be the final battle to determine the life or death of the continent.¡± Upon saying that, I sat crossed-legged on the floor to recover my peak condition to effectively resist the Monster race. I suppressed all emotion and tried my best to regain my calm in order to slowly enter into a meditative state. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ In the morning two days later, the sun already hung high in the sky, bringing limitless light and warmth to the continent. In the gulf outside Str?m Fortress, a faint grey aura slowly lurked from within. It started to thicken and an abnormal demonic aura slowly emerged. The clear sky was gradually affected by that demonic aura and slowly dimmed. Constant rustling sounds could be heard coming out of the gulf, giving people a hair-raising fear. Volume 12: Chapter 19 - The Last Battle Volume 12: Chapter 19 - The Last Battle At the gates of Str?m Fortress, the mage army from Aixia and the warriors of both Xiuda and Dalu were arranged in strict formation, as they looked with hatred upon the demonic aura that was creeping from far away. There was also the strongest troops available, the God Protectors from the God Protector¡¯s Domain, by their side. Everyone knew that there was a possibility that this could be the last day of survival for the human race, but none cowered. They were already determined to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the world¡¯s peace and harmony, specifically for their families. A white robed old mage said to a youth sitting cross-legged at his side. ¡°Zhang Gong, they are coming.¡± The youth gradually opened his eyes. Suddenly, two cold rays shot out from them as he looked towards the gulf afar. His body naturally floated upwards with his body emitting a layer of golden lights. His divine aura gave people a sense of serenity and calmness. Six enormous golden wings emerged from that youth¡¯s back without any indications. He hovered in the sky, gently flapping his wings. Various elemental powers could be clearly seen, even by non-mages, gathering around the youth. The youth sighed. ¡°Since they have come, let them come.¡± Donning a silver mask, nobody could see his current expression. He gradually extended his gloved right hand. The glove was golden, and on the back of the glove was a transparent gemstone that emitted peculiar light rays in the sunlight. The youth gently chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± The space surrounding the youth suddenly stilled. An exceptionally powerful divine aura had suddenly hovered before the youth. Everyone was dazed as they saw a magnificent silver longsword that appeared before him. He gradually reached out with his right hand to grab onto the hilt of the sword. When the golden glove came into contact with the silver sword, everyone felt as if they merged into a single identity. The divine aura in the youth¡¯s surrounding intensified. He looked just like a second sun, currently shining upon the fort. ¡°Monster King, I¡¯m awaiting for your arrival.¡± An indifferent voice with limitless vicissitude was heard. The demonic aura at the gulf seemed to have felt the provocation from the youth and it intensified. Following that, the rustling sounds that were heard were actually coming from densely packed monsters that appeared, just barely discernable from the demonic mists. It was different from their previous appearances, the monsters weren¡¯t simply charging over. Instead, they were gradually advancing in an orderly fashion. Their red eyes glowing with pure evil, there wasn¡¯t a speck of restlessness to be found in the crowd of monsters. The innumerable monsters constantly advanced, with numerous monsters still emerging from the gulf. The vast plains were already covered by the countless monsters in such a short time. They didn¡¯t emerge to the other side of the gulf as their goal today was only the steadfast Str?m Fortress. Everyone¡¯s hearts in Str?m Fortress gradually started beating faster. They held tightly onto their weapons and the mages started to preparing their incantations. The enormous, mighty magic cannons started glowing with dims lights, surging forth with power under the command of the mages nearby. They were waiting for the offensive attack from the Monster race. When the monsters advanced within about a kilometer of the fort, they abruptly stopped and stood still. The countless monsters unexpectedly stood there quietly, not daring to make a sound. It was as though they were waiting for something. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I gradually narrowed my eyes and looked at the countless monsters covering the plains. I had already recovered my peak state under the two days of recuperation. ¡®What would happen would always come. Monster King, let¡¯s have a death match today.¡¯ A tyrannical power suddenly emerged from the sky that made me raise my head to have a look at what it was. Ah! It was the dragon race. Few hundreds of enormous dragons hovered at least 100 metres above us. I smiled as I knew that the dragon race wouldn¡¯t abandon me. A speck of golden light charged downwards. ¡°Master.¡± That voice sounded so cordial to me. It was my life partner, Xiao Jin that had arrived. I hollered and flapped the six wings to land gently onto Xiao Jin¡¯s spacious back. ¡°Xiao Jin, my good brother, you have also came.¡± Xiao Jin said, ¡°Master, how can I be absent today? My father said that he would stall the Monster King with all his might for a while to gain sometimes for you to eliminate the three Great Monsters and that no matter what would be the final result, it was all up to the heavens.¡± I looked with gratitude at the most enormous gold figure in the sky. The Dragon King was an elder that truly worth to be respected! ¡°Master, look there.¡± Xiao Jin sounded a little tense. I looked at the gulf of the gulf and saw three grey figures soared to the sky, quickly appearing above the monsters. There were the three Great Monsters, Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo, Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di, and the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia. The three of them didn¡¯t have their previous arrogance as they silently hovered in mid air. There was a vast amount of monsters that were flying behind them. Looking at those enormous wings that those monsters possessed, it was easy to know that they had great flying abilities. The amount of flying monsters this time was the most as compared to the previous times as they flew above the three Great Monsters. Constant flapping of wings could be heard. So this was the true strength of the Monster race! A peculiar hollar came from the gulf. All of the monsters, including the three Great Monsters, expressed incomparable reverence. My heart sunk as it seemed that the Monster King had finally suppressed Hai Shui¡¯s will and successfully took over her body. A faint blue light emerged like lightning and even I wasn¡¯t able to see her figure clearly. After the flash of the blue light, there was another person standing in front of the three Great Monsters. It was Hai Shui. Hai Shui¡¯s hair was floating behind her back and was emitting a devilish grey blue light ray. Traces of red light rays could be seen occasionally in her changed grey eyes. The Monster King was still wearing the water mage robe that Hai Shui had worn previously with a faint smile on her face. ¡°Sigh!¡± The Monster King voiced in a non sinister nor upright manner. His voice that could make hair stand on its end. ¡°It was really difficult to obtain this body. I didn¡¯t expect that that girl¡¯s will would be that strong. Brat, you are still planning to resist against me? You think you can battle against me with those reptiles? You¡¯re really seeking death. I advise you to submit towards me. I may perhaps then leave you your life!¡± Volume 12: Chapter 20 - The Phoenix Returns Volume 12: Chapter 20 - The Phoenix Returns I bore with my feelings of disgust. I held the Holy Sword in both of my hands and with intensified light rays emitted from my body, I said, ¡°Monster King, stop dreaming. If you want to take over this continent, you must walk over my dead body.¡± A cold light ray flashed in the Monster King¡¯s eyes. ¡°Alright! I shall grant you your wish.¡± With a brandish of her hand towards her subordinates, the three Great Monsters simultaneously roared and charged towards me at lightning speed. The monsters on the land and sky also charged frantically towards the Str?m Fortress. Large explosions was heard. The magic powered cannon at the head of the fort started to display its might. Every single artillery from it had taken at least 100 monsters¡¯ life with it. The dragon race was also emitted multicolored dragon¡¯s aura as they went to block the flying type monsters. The final battle had finally commenced. Xiao Jin roared in fury and a gold light halo emerged from his body, with his head as the center. I knew that spell. It was the spell to break magic seals. Since time was pressing, I no longer dallied and soared into the sky. I slashed horizontally with both of my hands holding the sword towards the three Great Monsters. Under the combined power of Xiao Jin and mine, the three Great Monsters¡¯ body instantly stilled and after loud sound was heard, they were simultaneously knocked backwards. Xiao Jin let out a holler as he went to battle against the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jie, while I fought with all my might against the Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo and Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di. Intense light rays wereas constantly being emitted from the Holy Sword, overwhelming the Dark and Witch Monsters. The battle of the fort was also exceptionally intense. The mage army squad from the Kingdom of Aixia were able to bring forth enormous powers under the leadership of the light Magister Lao Lun Di and space Magister Chuan Song Zhen, killing a vast amount of monsters. However, the warriors at the city head didn¡¯t dare to relax as they knew that once the mage powers weakened, it would be their turn to fight against the monsters. The battle was advancing like a wildfire. ¡°Radiant Holy Sword light slash!¡± A crescent moon like light ray slashed towards Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Dui and Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di, making them to violently spurt outof blood as their bodiesy were blown backwards. I didn¡¯t bother to chase after them. I just similarly struck towards the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia, who was suppressing Xiao Jin. All of the three Great Monsters were then severely injured. The Monster King held the Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo in one of her hands and the Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di in her other. With the red light ray being intensified in her eyes, I was a little apprehensive as I knew that she could no longer hold back in making her moves. I hastily circulated all of my divine power into the Holy Sword as I focused on my terrifying opponent. An elderly voice sounded. ¡°Your opponent is me.¡± A 3m diameter enormous light ball was shot towards the Monster King. Anger flashed past the Monster King¡¯s eyes. She violently tossed the Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo and Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di towards me before brandishing one of her hands, making a grey fog to charge towards the enormous light ball. The light ball and grey fog disappeared at the same time, with no sound of a collision heard. The body of the Dragon King that was flying over shook greatly, while he used his enormous eyes to glare fixedly at the Monster King. I knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to be hesitating. The Dragon King definitely couldn¡¯t be a match for the Monster King. He was just trying to gain some times for me. I brandished the Holy Sword, casting a Holy Light Crucifix towards the Dark Monster Jia Si Ke Li Duo and Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di. Jia Si Ke Li Duo shouted in fury, making the Dark monster blade to metamorphose into an enormous grey shield to block before him, while Ha Er Yue Di transformed into a fog and entered Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s body. At this moment, I was in total shock as all of the injuries that they had unexpectedly healed completely. THe Monster King was really terrifying as in such a short time span, she could actually heal all of their inner injuries. Once Ha Er Yue Di¡¯s body fused at the head of Jia Si Ke Li Duo, Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s body abruptly expanded. It looked just an enormous balloon, making it look exceptionally horrifying. After a large sound was heard, it actually withstood my Holy Crucifix head on. I was startled and immediately circulated the Divine powers in my body. While I held the Holy Sword with both hands, I brandished an arc in front of my body. With intense gold light rays emitted from my eyes, I said, word by word, ¡°Devastating Holy Light!¡± A dazzling light ray abruptly emitted from the silver circle, making countless silver light rays to surge towards Jia Si Ke Li Duo. A grey aura emitted from Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s body as he brandished the Dark Monster Blade. With widened eyes, he shouted fumingly, ¡°Combine the witch and dark powers to upturn the sky and land. Dark Monster¡¯s Annihilation Arrow!¡± Following his anger filled holler, the grey fog in the surrounding formed an arrow shape as it shot towards the divine light that I was giving off. Constant sounds of collision could be heard. Under the intense shock wave, my body was blown at least 100 meters back. Jia Si Ke Li Duo was however unexpectedly unharmed. How could this happen for my powers to be useless against him? Xiao Jin continuously gave off a golden power. He used his claws to claw and used his mouth to bite the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia. He didn¡¯t seem to be able to deal with him anytime soon. Even though the monster were frantically attacking the fort, the fort seemed to be able to temporarily bear with those attacks. With the Dragon race¡¯s help, no matter if it was land or sky, there temporarily shouldn¡¯t have any crisis happening soon. A mournful screech was heard as the Dragon King¡¯s body soared into the sky with large amount of blood flowing down from his body. He obviously had been severely injured. The Monster King was actually able to severely injure the Dragon King in such a short time. If he had attacked me as well, I definitely wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. A clear cry out from a phoenix was heard at this crucial and critical moment that it even shocked the Monster King that had just planned to chase after the Dragon King. A red figure flashed forth like lightning, instantly charging within the flying monsters. The red light ray seemed to have originated from hell as every places that it passed through, countless monsters would be killed and injured, forcefully forming a blood path as it flew towards the side of the Dragon King. The air also seemed to have heated up. Under the glimmering red light, the wounds on the Dragon King¡¯s body had stopped bleeding and looked more energetic. Ah! A teammate had arrived at such a crucial moment. It was the fire phoenix that was previously used by Si Feng Ri. The Monster King said heavily, ¡°What? You also want to mix into this muddy water/ to join this fray?¡± Volume 12: Chapter 21 - Soloing the Three Great Monsters Volume 12: Chapter 21 - Soloing the Three Great Monsters The phoenix had spread its 33 meters enormous large flame covered wings saying, ¡°Monster King, you had previously sealed my body and made me suffer for so many years. Today, it¡¯s time for payback.¡± He turned his head towards me and with benevolent light rays in his eyes, he said, ¡°Child, it¡¯s time for me to repay what you had done for me. I didn¡¯t forget my previous vow.¡± My heart heated up and just as I wanted to reply him, an enormous pressure charged towards me. I hastily lifted the sword to block Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s attack. When the Dark Monster blade and the Holy Sword came into contact with each other, Jia Si Ke Li Duo and my body instantly shuddered violently before abruptly being blown backwards from the impact. The phoenix in the sky didn¡¯t seem to see what was happening as his sight was solely on the Monster King. ¡°Dragon King, let¡¯s fight along side against that monster today. No matter if we survive or die, we will have given our all.¡± The Dragon King laughed. ¡°Alright! Alright, Brother Phoenix, it has been such a long time since we last met. It should have been a few hundred years already. Your phoenix flames are still as scorching hot. Let¡¯s give out a combination of dragon and phoenix roars today.¡± Upon saying that, the Dragon King raised his head to give out a clear dragon roar. With intense gold light ray being emitted from his body, it didn¡¯t look as though he had just suffered from severe injuries. His domineering aura filled the sky. It was as though he wanted to prove his Dragon King¡¯s identity to the world. The phoenix similarly laughed before hollering as well. A dragon and a phoenix loud roars were constantly being rang in the sky towards the horizon. This change of situation momentarily increased my confidence. I brandished the Holy Sword with all my might, constantly striking against Jia SI Ke Li Duo¡¯s Dark Monster blade. The Monster King''s expression changed constantly with her arms crossed before her chest, before saying coldly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve all gathered, I¡¯ll grant all of wishes at once.¡± Upon saying that, her greyish blue long hair floated behind her back and with a demonic red light ray in her eyes, an enormous demonic source suddenly appeared from her back. The overpowering demonic aura filled the space behind her. The grey aura conflicted against the aura being emitted by the Dragon King and the phoenix. ¡°Ah!!¡± An unknown fury call out was heard. Gold, red and grey figures, varying in sizes, simultaneously charged towards the center. The three figures constantly conflicted against each other. The tyrannical powers being sent off by them made Jia Si Ke Li Duo, Xiao Jin, the Blood monster and I to be simultaneously forced at least 1 kilometer back. Looking at the current scene, it was still hard to see who had the upperhand in the battle. I didn¡¯t bother continuing to watch their battle as I released my powers to the limit and frantically fought against Jia Si Ke Li Duo. The radiant Holy Sword constantly came in contact with the Dark Monster blade without any gaudiness. The explosive like power filled the sky. Even though Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s power had increased drastically after the fusion of the bodies, his eyes seemed to be in a daze as it wouldn¡¯t be easy for a body to house two spirits. The radiant Holy Sword was the top divine instrument in the God world so how could the Dark Monster blade be able to withstand against it? Small nicks gradually appeared on the Dark Monster blade with each strike against each other. However, Jia Si Ke Li Duo didn¡¯t seem to care about that as he continued to circulate his strong demonic powers to continuously fight against my sword. The divine powers in my body seemed to be exceptionally excited. The six light wings on my back were constantly absorbing the nature energy from the surrounding. Powers like a large river continuously entered my body, allowing me to sustain my peak condition. The Holy Sword was also constantly striking towards Jia Si Ke Li Duo, a strike after a strike. As time flowed, the powers from the fusion body of Jia SI Ke Li Duo and Ha Er yue Di gradually lessened as it could no longer withstand my attacks. His body was constantly being pushed back. The cracks on the Dark monster blade was increasingly getting larger. Jia Si Ke Li Duo seemed to discover that he was at the disadvantage as he abruptly used all of his power to push me back while drawing a peculiar rune in the air with his left hand. He opened his mouth to emit a black fog. When the black fog got in contact with the strange rune, the black light ray intensified. A dozen enormous bone shaped black fog charged towards me. I thought, ¡®He still wants to resist even after knowing that his demise is nearing?¡¯ I used the Holy Sword to draw an arc before my body. The silver light ray, as well as the devastative Holy light, was abruptly emitted from it. The vast silver light ray seemed to engulf all of the bone fogs. The bone was constantly resisting in the Holy Light. It seemed as though it wasn¡¯t to breakout from comfort. But how could I let that happen? I constantly surged powers into the Holy Sword by the God¡¯s Guard protector to maintain the intensity of the Holy Light. Finally, after a moment of abnormal shrieks, all of the bones finally dissipated. Jia Si Ke Li Duo seemed to suffer severe injuries as his entire body shook violently. I definitely wouldn¡¯t let such a good opportunity slip. With my body and sword as one identity, I charged over. The silver light ray of the Holy Sword suddenly withdrew. It seemed as though it was gathering all of its power into the Holy Sword Fear was seen in Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s eyes. He violently raised the Dark Monster blade with both of his hands to strike towards me. He was already at his last moments so how could I still reserve my strength? With a shout, the Holy Sword in my hand gave off a mesmerizing light ray, I struck towards the nicks covered Dark Monster blade. The blade and sword came into contact with each other again. I was having a close combat with Jia Si Ke Li Duo. We were circulating our powers with all out might to suppress each other. Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s nicked covered Dark Monster blade gradually started to break down under the might of the Holy Sword. ¡°Go to hell!¡± Upon my furious holler, the Holy Sword had been circulated to its limit. The grey aura from the Monster blade from the Dark Monster blade gradually faded. I was currently at Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s bak. His expanded body just silently hovered there. It was like time had stilled. Hong! Demon King Satan¡¯s body that was being possessed by Jia Si Ke Li Duo had completely blown apart. A grey fog appeared from his body and headed like lightning towards the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia, who was fighting against Xiao Jin. When I sliced Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s body with the Holy Sword, I had clearly felt that Jia Si Ke Li Duo¡¯s soul had been obliterated by the Holy Sword¡¯s tyrannical divine powers. There was no longer his soul in Demon King Satan¡¯s body, while the Witch Monster Ha Er yue Di¡¯s soul seemed to have been severely damaged. It was that grey fog that was currently trying to escape from me. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t let what had previously happened to occur again as if Ha Er Yue Di fused with the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia¡¯s body, I would have to undergo another bitter battle. Volume 12: Chapter 22 - Eternal Recovery Light Volume 12: Chapter 22 - Eternal Recovery Light I made the Holy Sword freely hover mid air as I made natural hand seals with both of my hands in the air. An enormous gold rune appeared in my hand. ¡°Go!¡± When I casually brandished my hand, the gold rune flashed and disappeared towards the escaping Witch Monster Ha Er Yue Di. The gold rune entered the grey fog into which Ha Er Yue Di¡¯s body had metamorphosed, his body abruptly halted midair. Gold specks were shining through the originally black fog. The golden ray of light within gradually intensified. Ha Er Yue Di¡¯s shrieks came from the black fog. Poof! The black fog and the golden light simultaneously disappeared in thin air. I had killed two of the three Great monsters in but a short moment. I glanced at the Monster King, the Dragon King, and the phoenix, who were fighting. From the looks of it, they hadn¡¯t been able to get a clear outcome of who was in the lead. I didn¡¯t have time to recover as I grabbed onto the Holy Sword before me. My body turned into a silver ray as I charged in the direction of the Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia¡¯s and Xiao Jin¡¯s fight. I had to deal with him before I could go and assist the Dragon King. The signs of victory were slowly showing on my side. I had regained my lost confidence. The Blood Monster Ka An Da Er Jia seemed to feel that his life was in jeopardy. He was constantly brandishing his fist. The blood mist and Xiao Jin¡¯s golden light were violently clashing against each other. Their bodies were tumbling about in midair. I was startled as the six light wings spread behind my back. The Holy Sword flew out of my hands, shaping a magnificent arc towards Ka An Da Er Jia. The Holy Sword was giving off an exceptionally intense divine aura, sealing off every path of escape for the Blood Monster. The tip of the silver ray ground violently against the blood mist. ¡°Die!¡± Following that, I, who had caught up with them, grabbed the Holy Sword in both hands and thrust out with all of my might. The gold light ray lightened the space in the surrounding. The blood mist was no longer able to inhibit the Holy Sword¡¯s advance, so he could only let out a mournful shriek that shook the heavens when the Holy Sword deeply pierced his body. ¡°Lord Monster King will avenge me!¡± Ka An Da Er Jia said furiously. He used both of his hands to strike at his own chest. Hong! He had unexpectedly chosen to self destruct. The enormous shockwave following the disappearance of the Blood Monster blew me away. Having used up a lot of divine power, as the divine powers in my body violently roiled over and over, it made me cough a mouthful of blood. The gold light ray emitted from my body dimmed slightly. I didn¡¯t have the time to recover. Once I stabilized my body, I immediately flew to Xiao Jin¡¯s side. I brandished the Holy Sword to enclose Xiao Jin¡¯s body in my divine powers. Under my assistance, the corrosive blood mist was finally excreted from Xiao Jin¡¯s body. Even though he looked feeble, I knew he was fine. ¡°Xiao Jin, take a break first. I¡¯ll head on to help your father and the others to eliminate the Monster King,¡± I instructed Xiao jin, who was panting profusely. ¡°Master, please be careful,¡± Xiao Jin said concerned. I smiled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The sinister beings will forever be unable to triumph against us!¡± Upon saying that, I raised the Holy Sword with both hands, wanting to charge over to the Dragon King and phoenix¡¯s side, who were battling against the Monster King. At this moment, the Monster King seemed to be enraged, as a mournful shriek came from the three figures. A grey ball of power shot out like lightning. I was alarmed and didn¡¯t bother heading to deal with the Monster King. I continuously brandished to cast a solid light net in front of me. I knew the strength of the Monster King. I wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand his tremendous power head on. The grey ball of power rapidly neared me. When I thought I would have to deal with it soon and tried my best to increase my divine power to my peak state, the grey ball suddenly descended. It moved a couple of folds faster as it headed towards the Str?m Fortress. The power that I had sent out in midair instantly made me spurt another mouthful of blood because of my misjudgement of power usage. I could only watch as the grey ball of power fly towards the fort. ¡°No!¡± The grey ball with exceptionally destructive power struck the fort head-on. The firm fort shook violently for a while; an enormous hole appearing in the center of the fort. The casual attack from the Monster King had already taken at least 1000 human lives with it. The frantic monsters increased their momentum in heading towards the fort. Their goal was the newly formed hole. Since the humans were still stunned by the sudden large explosion, their resistance fell back, allowing a portion of the monsters to charge into the fort in no time. I couldn¡¯t continue towards the Monster King in order to eliminate her. With bloodshot eyes, I flew towards the fort. In the instant when the grey ball of power had exploded, I clearly saw the despair and hopelessness expressed in the human soldiers¡¯ eyes. I definitely wouldn¡¯t allow the monsters to succeed. If I didn¡¯t hinder their advance, the fort would truly be unable to hold up. The Holy Sword, shining with an intense silver radiance, strongly pierced from above the hole. The monsters emerging from the hole turned to ashes under the peerless might of the divine powers. I constantly struck out silver rays with bloodshot eyes. My constant attack resulted in a vast amount of dead and injured monsters. On the flat plan of the fort, carnage had been raised in but a short while. Countless monster lives had been lost under the Holy Sword. Fury hollers could be heard from the Dragon King and the phoenix. I knew clearly that they couldn¡¯t withstand the attacks of the Monster King much longer, but I couldn¡¯t leave the fort at the moment. What should I do? A thought flashed through my mind, and I started to chant, meanwhile hindering the monsters¡¯ advancement. ¡°Oh great light elements, you possess limitless powers. The darkness before you is too insignificant. Recovery light in the horizon, I beseech you to descend into world and bestow unlimited recovery light to me. Recover all pains and make all sufferings leave us-----Forbidden Eternal Recovery Light!.¡± Visible light spots constantly gathered with me as their center. I felt as though I was taking a bath in the sea of light. It was indescribably comfortable. The light elements were so cordial as they completely listened to my command. When an enormous gold hexagon appeared beneath my feet, it immediately lit up the dark skies. Volume 12: Chapter 23 - Annihilation Light Ray Volume 12: Chapter 23 - Annihilation Light Ray The warmth of the light elements cleansed my soul. The gold hexagon underneath my feet shook slightly. An enormous gold light pillar enclosed me within as it extended into the sky. It pierced through the clouds and illuminated the horizon. Fragrance gradually permeated the lands. Light rain fell onto the world under the radiance of the golden light. It covered the head of the city and a 500 meters radiance in front of the fort. The improvised recovery light calmed the panicking human soldiers down. The rain was recovering their injuries and temporarily stopped the attacks from the monsters. I had gained sometimes for the human race to recover under my hard work. In the gold light ray, there was suddenly a vast amount of green lights seen. A vast amount of monsters outside the perimeter of the light rain were instantly killed under the attack of the green light. Ah! Green long arrows covered the sky. It was the long arrows from the Nature Elves race. The Nature Elves finally caught up at the most crucial moment. The king of the Nature Elves led the few elders and a huge troop of Nature Elf soldiers to fly to the head of the city. Green long arrows were constantly shot out from their short bows. Their arrows accurately struck the monsters. There were lots of white rays observed from the arrows. It was the elementary light magic that I had previously taught them. With their help, the monsters definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to break into the Str?m Fortress. My worries about leaving the fort had finally settled. I didn¡¯t have the time to meet up with the Nature Elves. I circulated the remnants of the divine powers in my body that I had already used more than half of them already. I soared into the sky. With the silver radiance covered Holy Sword, I charged towards the Dragon King and the phoenix that were battling the Monster King with my sword as a single identity. ¡°Radiant Holy Sword Light Slash!¡± With a furious holler, the light ray of the Holy Sword abruptly intensified. It accurately landed on the grey light ray that was tangled with the Dragon King and the phoenix¡¯s powers. The Monster King let out a mournful furious shout. The grey aura momentarily intensified. The tyrannical powers that wasn¡¯t resistible had blown me, who was charging towards them, backwards. Gold and red figures also flew backwards. We flew for about 1 kilometer before we could stabilize our body. I couldn¡¯t bear not to cough up a mouthful of blood. My inner injuries had gotten more severe. The Dragon King and the phoenix hovered at my left and right side respectively. The originally gorgeous fiery wings had already drastically dimmed. A constant flow of blood came out from the mouth of the Dragon King. The previous usual radiance of his had seem to have disappeared. They had sustained severe injuries in the previous battle. The Monster King hovered before us. Her clothes at her right sleeves had been damaged, revealing her white skin. I was alarmed to find that even under the combined forces of the Dragon King and the phoenix, she didn¡¯t seem be have any injuries. There was fury in her eyes and the death aura emitting from her body became much heavier. ¡°All of you goes against me. If it wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t want to be hurt, I¡¯ll have already killed all of you. Stinky brat, don¡¯t even think that you have the hope in destroying my Monster race just by eliminating my three Great Monsters. If I don¡¯t die, I¡¯ll still be able to revive them effortlessly as many times as I wanted. I can clearly tell you that I¡¯m really angry right now and the outcome of that is severe. All of you can just die!¡± Upon saying that, the Monster King extended her arms horizontally. The grey aura in her surroundings suddenly became frantic as it constantly revolved, increasingly violently. It blocked our visions. But even with such a thick grey fog, we still could catch two peculiar light rays, which were the Monster King¡¯s eyes. I looked at the Dragon King and the phoenix. There were resolution in their eyes. I shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a life or death match with the Monster King.¡± The Dragon King raised his head and cried out. The enormous dragon wings spread apart. A mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth and the gold light rays from his body intensified suddenly. Sentences of an unknown strange incantation was constantly chanted calmly. Ah! It was the dragon race dragon language spell. It seemed that he was giving it his best shot. Following the chant, the golden light ray of the Dragon King¡¯s body constantly intensified. The huge pressure from him gave me difficulty to breath. It seems that this was the last move from the Dragon King! A cold flashed past the phoenix''s eyes when the Dragon King started to chat his spell. The phoenix¡¯s body shrunk by a half and the scorching heat could be felt in the air again. His body slowly turned faint red. The heat waves that continuously struck my body made me to soar higher in the sky. The Dragon King, the phoenix and I maintained a triangular formation. I raised the Holy Sword high up with both of my hands and chanted, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± Under the prompt from the chant, the radiant Holy Sword momentarily formed an enormous silver pillar that extended towards the horizon. I chanted loudly again, ¡°Hope of light in the heaven and earth, please bless me! Great light elements, my everlasting friends, please gives as our final hope for me. Illumination lights in the East, warm lights in the West, life light in the South and devastative light in the North, I beseech you to gather the hope of light in the surroundings to give rise the light of blessings and bestow all of your divine powers onto me to activate the ultimate devastative light of the radiant Holy Sword. Eliminate the source of sinister beings before me to return eternal hope to the world-----Holy Sword¡¯s Forbidden Annihilation Light!¡¯ Following the chant, the divine powers in my body seemed to have found its outlet as it constantly surged into the Holy Sword. The surrounding light elements frantically gathered towards me with an unprecedented speed. Constant tearing like pain could be felt from the light wings on my back due to the too rapid gathering speed of light elements that it reached to a point that it was above its limit. The Holy Sword¡¯s colour was constantly changing from red, orange, green, dark green, blue and violet before gradually turning gold. The silver light from the Holy Sword formed into an exceptionally large power in a fused sword as it floated above me. I gritted my teeth to control that horrifying powers as I looked at the enormous grey tornado that could destroy the heavens and earth by the Monster King. The Dragon King seemed to have completed his spell. His turned golden eyes gave off a domineering aura. He shouted fumingly, ¡°Savage Dragon Battle!¡± An intensified gold light ray was emitted from his body and following those words, the gold light ray unexpectedly formed an identical image of himself before him. The light ray from the Dragon King¡¯s body then instantly vanished. His originally magnificent scales also turned dull without radiance as it was already all of his powers. Volume 12: Chapter 24 - Might of the Phoenix and Dragon Volume 12: Chapter 24 - Might of the Phoenix and Dragon At the same time, the Phoenix halved his body size again, becoming a quarter of its original size. The peculiar faint red colour emitted tremendous strength, The temperature in the surroundings increased continuously. ¡°Heavenly Phoenix Dance!¡± A black pheonix formed from power appeared before him. The air in the surrounding had abruptly heated up. I still felt the scorching heat even though there was a distance between him and I and also having additional protection from the divine powers. The Monster King¡¯s power seemed to have reached its limit. An enormous grey tornado that had reached at least 100 meters in height blew towards us. Sinister aura was constantly emitted from it. The monsters on the land and in the sky frantically charged towards the fort after losing the protection of the Eternal Recovery light. The Dragon King, the phoenix and I looked at one and other before harmoniously letting out a holler. ¡°Ah!!!¡± The Forbidden Annihilation of Light from the Holy Sword, the last ultimate move from the Dragon King, Savage Dragon Battle, and the clone of the phoenix, Heavenly Phoenix Dance, gave off silver, gold, and red lights respectively as they simultaneously shot towards the eye of the grey tornado. My body seemed to have weakened after releasing the Annihilation Light as I was almost drained of all divine powers. I forcefully supported myself to land on the solid back of the Dragon King. The Dragon King and phoenix¡¯s conditions were similar to mine. The phoenix also gathered towards the Dragon King¡¯s side, We looked at the strongest attack that we had released and anticipated for the outcome. When the Annihilation Light, Savage Dragon Battle, and Heavenly Phoenix Dance simultaneously struck the center of the tornado, everything seemed to have stilled. The strange grey tornado that the Monster King had released stilled and no longer revolved. The phoenix suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Not good! Retreat!¡± He suddenly flew towards the fort, bringing the Dragon King with him. There wasn¡¯t any sounds heard and the time seemed to return to being normal, but there was an unexpected shock wave that struck behind us, making our three bodies to soar high up into the sky from the impact. The phoenix and the Dragon King used their bodies to block majority of the impact of the shockwave. I suffered the least injury, but I still couldn¡¯t help to cough out a few mouthful of blood. If it wasn¡¯t for my light wings to constantly absorb the light elements in the surrounding, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on. I didn¡¯t know how far we flew, but our bodies finally stopped. The injuries sustained by the Dragon King seemed to be most severe amongst us as he had to completely rely on the phoenix¡¯s help to hover in the sky. The Dragon King said solemnly, ¡°Zhang Gong, we can no longer assist you any further. Everything will lie on you.¡± I became anxious. ¡°Uncle Dragon King, how are you? Are your wounds critcal?¡± The Dragon King looked at the phoenix at his side that was emitting dim lights. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With the phoenix that titled to be immortal here, we won¡¯t die, but I doubt we will be able give assistance to the human race in the next 100 years. Zhang Gong, when you head back, tell Xiao Jin that the phoenix and I are heading to a place to recuperate. If you really annihilate the Monster race, let him to rule over the Dragon race in my place. Work hard, child. I believe that you definitely will be able to succeed. Even though we both had lost our fighting powers, the attack that was released from the three of us won¡¯t be easy to be dealt with. The Monster King definitely will be severely wounded. Even though it won¡¯t be as severe as our injuries, it definitely will be beneficial for your future attacks. I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯ll make our move first.¡± Upon saying that, a gold light flashed past the Dragon King¡¯s eyes. A power suddenly surged into my body. The powers in my body that seemed to have withered momentarily became active under the assistance of the Dragon King¡¯s divine powers. It was rapidly absorbing the light elements in the surroundings. The Dragon King looked benevolent at me before his body softened and closed his eyes. The phoenix let out a screech before flying towards the far distance, while bringing the Dragon King along with him. I controlled my body to hover in the sky. I couldn¡¯t help but to be stunned. According to what the Dragon King had said, our combined attack couldn¡¯t defeat the Monster King. Currently, I had also lost the assistance of the Dragon King and the phoenix. Just how was I going to battle against that powerful Monster King?! I gritted my teeth and made my descent. I frantically gathered the light elements in my surrounding while controlling my flight path. When I flew to the front of the fort, the powers in my body had already recovered by third under the previous help of the dragon powers from the Dragon King. The sight before me amazed me. A large gap was unexpectedly observed from the monsters that originally covered the heaven and the earth; the monsters that were within 1 kilometer diameter from the ground and sky from where I was had disappeared, forming a large shallow pit on the plain. This must be effect of our combined powers. I was extremely elated when I saw this as not only was the fort temporarily safe, I also understood that the Monster King was unable to suppress the boundary from the combined powers of three people. It could be said that the Monster King couldn¡¯t resist the enormous shockwave from our attacks so he deviated it to the ground, resulting in a great loss of monsters. It seemed that fellow was really hurt as what the Dragon King had mentioned. The enormous dragons in the sky that were battling against the monsters seem to have become berserk in annihilating the monsters. They didn¡¯t cared about their injuries and just constantly attack their enemies before them; constant green blood flow downwards. I sighed inwardly. It must be due to their king being severely wounded that made those dragons become so stirred up. I looked at the gulf and saw that the Monster King had actually disappeared. However, large quantities of monsters were still constantly emerging from the gulf and were rapidly charging towards the fort. I hastily flew to Xiao Jin¡¯s side. ¡°Xiao Jin, your father suffered severe injuries and had already went with the phoenix to recuperate. Before he left, he had told me to inform you that you¡¯ll temporarily lead the Dragon race. Quickly go! The current condition of the members of your race are too frenetic. You must control them. You just need to protect the fort. You also don¡¯t need to fight the monsters head on. The Monster King is the sole key in ending everything.¡± Boundless sorrows were expressed from Xiao Jin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Master, is my father really still alive? Then, why can¡¯t I feel his life force? It was due to that that made my race¡¯s members be in such a state. Master, you mustn¡¯t lie to me!¡± Two large trails of tears flowed out from Xiao Jin¡¯s dragon eyes. Volume 12: Chapter 25 - Demon Emperors Arrival Volume 12: Chapter 25 - Demon Emperor''s Arrival I sighed. ¡°Xiao Jin, I definitely wouldn¡¯t lie to you. What I said is the truth. Quickly go and calm down your race¡¯s members. It seems that the Monster King hasn¡¯t given up yet.¡± Xiao Jin nodded before soaring up into the sky. He was yelling in dragon language. I didn¡¯t have the time to look at their conditions as I closed my eyes to circulated the divine powers in my body with all of my strength, absorbing all the power in the surroundings. I was already getting out of time. The possibility of defeating the Monster King would increase for every ounce of power I absorb. But the truth was the Monster King wouldn¡¯t give me time to recover as a thick demonic aura covered the heaven and earth, making me reopen my eyes. Hai Shui¡¯s beautiful body hovered in midair. From her appearance, there didn¡¯t seem to have much changes since grey aura was constantly being emitted from her back and the sky turned dark again. I clearly knew that even if the Monster King was hurt, it would still be simple to kill me. Was there really no justice? Was all of the life forms of the world going to be eradicated by the Monster King? No! I definitely wouldn¡¯t allow that to happen. I hollered, resummoning the Radiant Holy Sword that was emitting dimmer light rays when compared to before, as I viciously glared at the Monster King. The Monster King didn¡¯t say anything. She just extended her pair of delicate arms and constantly made gestures in the air. The grey aura gradually solidified. She was giving me her last attack. Even though I knew that it was useless resisting against that, I still prompted the release of the remaining divine powers from my body. The silver light ray of the Holy Sword intensified slightly. It wouldn¡¯t matter if I died. Even if I was facing death, I would still do all I could against that last attack. When I was already in despair, the Monster King suddenly dazed and abruptly turned around. A patch of faint purple light was seen in the originally dark sky. An enormous figure was charging toward the Monster King. The purple light ray was given off from the back of the black figure. A low and heavy voice was heard. ¡°Dark Magic Dragon Gun, my Demon race¡¯s god of Origin, release your endless divine powers to eliminate the enemy before you.¡± An exceptional sharp light shot out like lighting from the top of the black figure. In a short moment, it had reached the front of the Monster King. The Monster King yelled in anger and used the previously consolidated grey power ball to defend her body. Hong! Her body unexpectedly flew at least 100 metres back. Cold light ray often glimmered in her eyes and the grey aura surrounding her body was strong and weak from time to time. It was as though she was trying to recover from her condition. Seeing such a sight, I was jubilant as the person that came was none other than my father in law, Demon Emperor Qi Meng Satan. A loud dragon roar has heard as the Dark Demon Dragon had already brought the Demon Emperor to near us. The Demon Emperor stood arrogantly on the Demon dragon¡¯s back as he looked icily at the Monster King. The black Dark Demon Gun in his hand was pointing towards the horizon as he shouted, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the Monster King would be such a young girl.¡± I flapped the six light wings on my back to fly to the Demon Emperor¡¯s side as I said respectfully, ¡°Lord Father in law, why have you come? The Monster King isn¡¯t a young girl. He had possessed my friend¡¯s body. How is the condition at the Demon and Beast races¡¯ side? Have the monsters eradicated?¡± The Demon Emperor looked at me. ¡°There isn¡¯t any problem at our side. Royal Uncle and the Beast King had let our mighty army troops to finish off all of the remnants monsters. Previously the Demon Dragon felt that there was something unusual here so we headed to here first. How¡¯s your situation here and how¡¯s Mu Zi?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°Our situation here is extremely terrible. The Dragon King and the phoenix had already been severely injured by the Monster king and had went to recuperate. Mu Zi is fine. She¡¯s still inside the fort. Let¡¯s team up to deal with that fellow. His powers are extremely terrifying. You must be careful.¡± Even though the cultivation of the Demon Emperor couldn¡¯t be compared to mine, with the addition of the Dark Demon Dragon that had comparable strength to the Dragon King, we would still be a force to be reckon with. When I mentioned that the Dragon King was severely injured, I could clearly feel that the Dark Demon Dragon¡¯s body jolted and an intense dark aura was released from his body, making me feel abnormally uncomfortable. It seemed that he and the Dragon King still had strong brotherly feelings! The Demon King looked at the blood stains at my chest. ¡°You should return to the fort to rest up while I fight against that fellow. You¡¯re wounded so even if you stay here, you¡¯ll just get in the way.¡± Even though the Demon Emperor¡¯s expression was cold, a warm feeling rose up from the bottom of my heart. ¡°Lord father in law, I¡­¡­¡± I knew that it was due to his attribute that countered mine and on top of that I was injured so he said that to prevent affecting me by his power. The Demon Emperor shouted fumingly, ¡°Since you had already called me your father in law, you should listen to me. The three races had already form an alliance so our Demon race must also contribute some of our strength. Quickly go!¡± Upon saying that, he prompted the Dark Demon Dragon and with purple light ray emitted from the Demon gun in his hand, he charged towards the Monster King. The Demon King was fighting to help me gain some time. I no longer hesitated as I flew to the head of the fort. I must recover as soon as possible as the Monster King¡¯s power had already decreased drastically. I must recover my cultivation to completely eradicate him while he was still injured. I landed on the head of the city like a gold shooting star. Currently, the Dragon Army troop from the Kingdom of Xiuda was guarding the previous hole that formed from the Monster King¡¯s attack, while the archers of the Nature Elves and mages gave them solid support, making it impossible for the monsters to break into the fort. The condition in the sky had become stabilized. Under the division by Xiao Jin, the Dragon race¡¯s member formed two teams to help resist the offensive powers of the monsters. When I just landed on the head of the city, I saw the deathly pale complexion Teacher Di, who was being supported by Teacher Zhen as they rested at a side. ¡°Teacher, how¡¯s your condition?¡± I asked anxiously. Teacher Di laughed forcefully. ¡°I still won¡¯t kick my bucket anytime soon. Zhang Gong, quickly do what you need to do. We had been watching what had happened. The Monster King really is horrifying. You must eliminate him today. Otherwise, the human race will be finished.¡± Upon saying that, he violently coughed for a couple of times. I seriously nodded. ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t worry. Even if it leads to my death, I¡¯ll fight with all my might against the Monster King to the very end. Teacher Zhen, I¡¯ll have to ask you to take care of Teacher Di.¡± Volume 12: Chapter 26 - Flame of Life! Burn! Volume 12: Chapter 26 - Flame of Life! Burn! Teacher Zhen nodded. ¡°Quickly go and rest up. Lao Lun has me for support.¡± I nodded. Just as I wanted to sit down and start meditating, I suddenly discovered that there were a couple of people that flew out from the interior of the fort. The couple of them were Big Brother Zhan Hu, Mu Zi, and the rest. Mu Zi used her wind magic to support Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Xin Ao¡¯s body, while Xiao Rou that had metamorphosed to her human form and used her powers to support Gao De and Dong Ri¡¯s body. When did Xiao Rou become so strong? What I didn¡¯t know that after Xiao Rou became 9 tailed, her powers had risen to the A rank beast level. Even though her strength was inferior to Xiao Jin¡¯s, her powers was similar to Mu Zi¡¯s cultivation. I dazely saw them land to my side and cried out, ¡°Mu Zi, why are you so disobedient? Why did you bring everyone here?¡± Zhan Hu chuckled. ¡°Zhang Gong, we¡¯re also god envoys that had received the task of eliminating the Monster King from the God King. How could we not participate in this battle? Even though our cultivations are weaker in comparison, we must watch as you kill the enemy. We¡¯ll morally support you.¡± Xiu Si and the rest constantly nodded. It was obvious that they agreed with Zhan Hu¡¯s opinion, while Mu Zi wordlessly stared at me with her mesmerizing eyes. I didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry as I looked at them. ¡°This place is too dangerous. You should head back.¡± Xiao Rou replied, ¡°Master, please let us stay here. Elder sister Mu Zi and I will take care of the few brothers.¡± I knew it was useless to say further as I looked at the resolute eyes of the crowd. I sighed and said, ¡°Mu Zi, Xiao Rou, I¡¯ll ask for your help to protect the brothers.¡± Mu Zi suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Ah! Isn¡¯t that my Royal father?¡± She dazedly looked at the Demon Emperor who was currently in battle. I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, if it wasn¡¯t for lord father in law to come in time, you probably would not have been able to see me anymore. Alright, I won¡¯t continue to chat with you guys as I need to recover my body¡¯s power as soon as possible so that I can assist Lord father in law to deal with the Monster King.¡± Upon saying that, I sat cross-legged, amending the aura in my body. At this moment, the Demon Emperor and the Dark Demon dragon were blasted backwards by the Monster King after constantly being pestered by them. The Dark Dragon gave off a mournful holler. It seemed that his injuries wasn¡¯t light. Not good! I hastily soared into the sky to catch the falling Demon Emperor. The Dark Demon Gun of the Demon Emperor was already nowhere to be found. With his face like gold paper, the Demon Emperor had lost his consciousness. I couldn¡¯t help but to feel a chill pass through my body as I looked at the Monster King that was still a distance from me. He didn¡¯t chase over and just silently hovered in mid air. My last chance of recovery was already gone. The Demon Dragon and the Demon Emperor were severely injured now so the only one that could fight against the Monster King would only be me. I landed on the head of the city and handed the Demon Emperor to Mu Zi. I mustn¡¯t lose! I definitely mustn¡¯t. I looked solemnly at Mu Zi and Xiao Rou before taking a deep breathe. ¡°Please take care of yourselves.¡± ¡®It¡¯s time to fight with my life on the line. Monster King, you bastard, let us die together then.¡¯ A sudden terrifying thought flashed through my mind at this moment. I gradually flew and said to Zhan Hu and the four brothers, ¡°Big brothers, please summon your divine instruments. What else can you do now? Please separate the divine instruments from your body and let it to hover in the sky.¡± The crowd nodded and simultaneously chanted. The War God¡¯s armour, Sky God¡¯s horn, Titan God¡¯s hammer, Lightning God¡¯s shield and Wind God¡¯s bow respectively hovered in mid air in the next moment. The five brothers had forcefully controlled their weapons. The injuries they sustained that day was really too severe. Otherwise, with their assistance, how could I be forced into such a hopeless scenario? I looked at the crowd one last time. I no longer hesitated as I looked at the Monster King and chanted loudly, ¡°Burn my endless flame of life to release my power of origin to emit the last rays of light!¡± I chanted the burning of life force spell without any regrets and remorse. This was an irreversible spell. Initially, when Teacher Di taught me this spell, he had told me that I shouldn¡¯t use it lightly unless I was in a life or death scenario as once this spell was used, it would burn the life force of the caster¡¯s body as time passes. When I cast this spell, I had completely burned all of my life force. I didn¡¯t care about the after effects and just unleashed all of my potential powers to be able to fight against the Monster King. When Teacher Di, who was leaning in Teacher Zhen¡¯s embrace, heard my chant, he immediately shouted in horror, ¡°Zhang Gong, you mustn¡¯t...you mustn¡¯t use that spell!!!¡± I smiled at Teacher Di and bowed deeply towards him. ¡°Teacher, thank you for your many years of tutelage. Zhang Gong no longer would be able to serve you. Please help me to take care of my parents.¡± Whatever said now was already too late as the surrounding of my body had started to burn with multi-coloured flames. When the dazzling multi-coloured light ray was emitted from my body, a unprecedented tyrannical power surged up from my heart. The Holy Sword regained its former radiance and had possessed an even greater powers as compared to before. Light rays were like electricity flickering in my surroundings. The divine instruments that Zhan Hu and the others had summoned seemed to have felt the Holy Sword¡¯s power and were constantly crying out. Mu Zi shouted, crying, ¡°No! Zhang Gong, no!¡± Tears flowed from from my face as I said mournfully, ¡°Farewell, my lovers and my friends! Let¡¯s meet again in our next lives!¡± I brandished the Holy Sword to terminate the relationships of the divine instruments from Zhan Hu and the rest and used my divine power to cover the five divine instruments before charging towards the Monster King, who was gathering his powers. I stopped flying when I was only 100 meters from the Monster King. The Monster King seemed to be slightly apprehensive as he looked at the five divine instruments in my surrounding and the multi-coloured flames being emitted from my body. He shouted, ¡°Are you insane? Was it really worth it for you to use your limitless life force for those low class creatures?¡± I coldly said, ¡°You forever won¡¯t be able to understand that there are many things that are more important than being alive. Let¡¯s start our death match, Monster King.¡± Volume 12: Chapter 27 - Death Match Volume 12: Chapter 27 - Death Match The expression of the Monster changed constantly from elation and sinister and back before saying, ¡°Brat, if you stop hindering me from eliminating all of the life forms, once I¡¯ve succeeded, I¡¯m willing to equally share all of my power over the continent with you. How about that?¡± The Monster King seemed to be a little frightened against me that had death as my mind set. Was he fearful of me?¡± Feeling the powers that were surging out from my body, I asked indifferently, ¡°Equally share all of your powers over the continent with me? Is that right?¡± The Monster King nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct, if you¡¯re willing to stand on my side, I won¡¯t attack you and after I get hold of this place, I¡¯m willing to equally share all of my power over the continent with you.¡± I laughed. ¡°What could power amount to? Do you really think I care about them? If I liked power, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here today.¡± Upon saying that, I brandished my hand and a fissure appeared in the sky. Under my control, five power balls flew out from my space picket. The five surrounding divine instruments seemed to be shivering in excitement as they tried to break free from my power¡¯s restrictions. I took in a deep breath and used the powers inside my body to protect my inner organs. I abruptly remove all of the restrictions on the divine instruments before shouting, ¡°War God, Sky God, Titan God, Lightning God and wind God fuse together! Divine powers!¡± I forcefully suppressed five of the divine instruments into my body with the power of the Holy Sword while I chanted. The five light orbs also mixed with the War God, Sky God, Titan God, Lightning God and Wind God powers, and instantly fused with my body. The Monster King finally understood what I planned to do as he shouted, ¡°No!!!!¡± He abruptly charged towards me. The multi-coloured light ray emitted from my body, momentarily filling the heaven and earth with its light. The tyrannical power of the Monster king had unexpectedly been rebounded back so he could just stunningly looked at me, who was drastically gaining powers. I actually didn¡¯t know what would happen from fusing all five divine instruments. All I thought was how to eliminate the Monster King. When the five divine wills fused into my body, my body seemed to be going to explode as intense heart piercing pain was felt in the next instant. If it wasn¡¯t for Mi Jia Lie modifying my body, I would have exploded at this moment. I hollered in pain, ¡°Ah!!!¡± The Ice God¡¯s mask transmitted his ice powers to sustain my consciousness at an appropriate moment. Six different divine powers constantly conflicted in my body. Even though the Radiant God¡¯s power was the strongest, it still couldn¡¯t suppress the five divine powers in my body. Thin blood rain mist was emitted from all of my body¡¯s hair pores. Tremendous pain constantly filled my body. If it wasn¡¯t for the magnanimous powers that I possessed from burning my life force, I would have already been torn apart by the tyrannical powers inside. The Monster King looked, stunned at me. ¡°Insane! That brat has gone nuts!¡± I looked at the Monster King with bloodshot eyes. Different coloured lightning bolts were constantly being shot out from my body. Enormous power could be felt in my surroundings. I withdrew the Holy Sword¡¯s power into my body to forcefully suppressed the tyrannical divine powers in my body as I raised my head to chant furiously, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the War God¡¯s armor. No evil shall pass me for I shall obstruct the evil demons.¡± Following my chant, the War God¡¯s armour that had formed into a blue power in my body seemed to have found an outlet. The blue light ray abruptly shot out from my body. Big Brother Zhan Hu¡¯s armour appeared on my body. When the armour was donned on my body, I felt that the frantic powers in my body calmed down slightly, making me feel much more comfortable. The Monster King retreated backwards and was sneakily headed towards the gulf. It seemed that he already had the mindset of retreating against the berserk me. ¡°Want to escape from me?¡± I aligned my palms together and the light in my surrounding abruptly intensified. An enormous boundary enclosing me and the Monster King within appeared. The Monster King struck against the boundary full on. It momentarily jolted the powers in my body. The intense pain made me to cough out another mouthful of blood. I needed to release all of the rampant powers in my body. ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Sky God¡¯s horn. My horn¡¯s roar will pierce through the nine heavens.¡± A white light flashed and the Sky God¡¯s horn emerged from my body and hovered at the left side of my body. I took in another deep breath to calm the rampant powers in my body. I took the time where the Monster King hadn¡¯t snapped out of his shock to chant loudly, ¡°The God King bestowed upon me the Titan God¡¯s hammer. I will shake the heavens and move the earth to protect the righteous path. The God King bestowed upon me the Lightning God¡¯s shield. Even ten thousand blades shall not stop me.The God King bestowed upon me the Wind God¡¯s bow. My ethereal arrows will flash rapidly and violently.¡± The Titan God¡¯s hammer, Lightning God¡¯s shield, and the Wind¡¯s God bow consecutively appeared in my surroundings after I chanted. Even though the five powers of the respective divine wills still filled my body, after the divine instruments had been summoned by my chant, the Holy Sword and Radiant God¡¯s power suppressed the five divine wills, temporarily returning the calmness of my body. ¡°Monster King, I¡¯ll represent the God King to eliminate you today. The God King bestowed upon me the Radiant Holy Sword. It shall shine with the soaring radiance of the vault of the heavens.¡± A silver power appeared before me, instantly forming the Holy Sword¡¯s shape. The Monster King suddenly calmed down. He seemed to have discovered a way to deal with me. He sealed his palms before his chest and closed his eyes. Hai Shui¡¯s goddess like body hovered in mid air before he chanted, ¡°Endless death and grudges, follow my command as the Monster race¡¯s King that governs the heaven and earth, monsters that could annihilate everything appear and use your boundless grudges to eliminate all life forms before you to spread the death aura of my Monster race throughout the world! Burst forth the monstrous power to engulf everything-----The Monster King¡¯s summoning!!!¡± Following his chant, the gray aura beside the Monster King¡¯s body constantly formed into monster¡¯s shapes before gradually entering his body. The gray aura from his body gave off a terrifying deathly aura that seemed to be continuously fusing with the Monster King¡¯s body. I wasn¡¯t in the slightest bit affected by the Monster King¡¯s appearance. I loudly chanted, ¡°I represent the War God, Sky God, Titan God, Lightning God, Wind God, and Radiant God! Great God King, please bestow me your unlimited divine power to enable me to fuse all of the divine powers as one, in order to uphold justice in the world, to eliminate all sinister beings to return peace and harmony to the world------Forbidden Symphony of the Gods¡¯ Awakening!¡± Six divine phantoms appeared at my back. They slowly combined themselves. After constant infusion, my sight suddenly became white. The six divine phantoms fused together to have enormous blue, white, yellow, red, green and gold light pillars that soared towards the sky. The six divine powers that filled my entire body was constantly being absorbed by the light pillar that extended towards the sky. At this conjuncture, I unexpectedly was in exceptional comfort. Volume 12: Chapter 28 - Solo Symphony Volume 12: Chapter 28 - Solo Symphony The six coloured light pillars rapidly revolved while they constantly clambered up. They had already started to gradually fuse with each other. The powers this time were different from the previous as it was much stronger. The sinister clouds in the sky got blown away by that power. The ground quaked constantly. All the monsters stopped their attack as they shifted their gazes to the Monster King and I. The people at the Str?m Fortress were astonished by the sight before them. There were also a lot of soldiers that were seeing this sight for the second time. Zhan Hu, Xiu Si, Gao De, Xin Ao and Dong Ri were stunned as they didn¡¯t expect that I would activate the world¡¯s strongest forbidden spell solitarily. The newly appeared sunlight was dimmer than the dazzling light pillars and the pure clouds were embellished with six colours. I hollered loudly and brandished my right hand that wore the God¡¯s guard protector. A gold hexagon appeared in the sky with constant flickering of gold light rays. This was the last component of the spell to enable the symphony to exert its full potential. The magnificent light rays had spread throughout the sky and the peerless divine powers filled the land. Currently, the might of the forbidden spell was fully displayed. I was surprised to discover that even though the prowess of the forbidden spell was so strong, I, who had initiated it, was able to control its direction. The Monster King¡¯s complexion paled as his deathly aura before him was negligible, in compared to the symphony. I shouted with all my might, ¡°Go to hell, you f*cking bastard!¡± Under my control, the six light pillars suddenly charged towards the monster King, who was expressing a totally terrified expression. The Monster King cried out as he tried to make his final struggle. He extended both of his hands and shot a black fog at me that was incomparable to the six light pillars. I coldly smiled as I continued to make the six light pillars continue to move towards the Monster King. There wasn¡¯t any collision sounds as the demonic spell from the Monster King had already been completely engulfed by the Monster King. When the life of the Monster King was going to be extinguished under the might of the forbidden spell, the Demon King¡¯s sinister eyes suddenly turned back to clear blue eyes. Hai Shui¡¯s voice was heard as she asked in agony, ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, are you really going to kill me?¡± My entire body shuddered violently and deviated the forbidden spell a little at my will. The forbidden spell moved past Hai Shui¡¯s body at lightning speed. Hai Shui¡¯s body greatly jolted and a vast amount of demonic aura escape, even though it wasn¡¯t a direct hit. It was too late to regret that I didn¡¯t use this opportunity to kill the Monster King for good.The powers in my body had mostly shriveled as I gasped profusely to regain my breath. It was as I had expected that Hai Shui¡¯s eyes turned back to red. The Monster King¡¯s neither sinister nor clear voice sounded. ¡°You¡¯re still too naive. Just die!¡± He formed into a grey fog as he charged towards me and landed a blow heavily on my chest. Everything in my surrounding flew past me. Under the attack of the Monster King, I couldn¡¯t help as it greatly shook my body. But I was amazed to find that the Monster King¡¯s attack didn¡¯t bring me much harm. I, who had thought that I would meet my demise, felt that my life wasn¡¯t disappearing. My originally dimmed multi-coloured life flame unexpectedly lit up again under the stimulation from the Monster King¡¯s attack. I was constantly absorbing powers. At my will, I hovered in mid air again as I looked at the alarmed Monster King. The Monster King looked unbelievably at both of his hands as he muttered, ¡°Why? Why have my powers decreased this much?¡± I coldly looked at him as I said, ¡°You have reaped what you sowed. Even though my forbidden spell didn¡¯t take your life, your demonic power had been greatly diminished by the forbidden spell¡¯s power.¡± The Monster King coldly sneered. ¡°Brat, the previous forbidden spell indeed was capable in killing me, but your greatest opportunity had been wasted. You no longer have the chance to resist me.¡± Upon saying that, the Monster King extended his arms horizontally and with the red light in his eyes intensified, the dazed monsters that were on the ground exploded one after the other, forming grey fogs to surge towards the Monster King. I was greatly alarmed as I knew he was fusing his powers. If I allowed him to recover his powers, I wouldn¡¯t be his match. Thinking about that, I charged towards the Monster King with all of my might to thrust the Holy Sword in my hand into the chest of the Monster King. The Monster King coldly looked at me and when I was 5 meters apart from him, his body suddenly moved backwards. His speed was similar to mine so we just formed a scenario of one chasing while the other escapes in the sky as I persisted in chasing after him. My heart constantly sunken as even though the burning of life force could continuously supply me with powers, I clearly felt that the life flame was already starting to burn out, while the Monster King¡¯s power slowly increased instead. ¡°Heh!¡± The Monster king suddenly stopped moving to punch violently towards my Holy Sword. I was blown away from being unprepared and coughed a mouthful of blood as the result. The Monster King laughed as he said coldly, ¡°Brat, just go and meet your maker!¡± He transformed his body into a faint dark figure as he charged towards me. The demonic aura locked my body in place, making it impossible to make any movements. However, at this critical moment, the five previously suppressed divine powers gradually recovered.Even though the forbidden spell consumes a lot of its power, their power were still able to tear my body apart. The Holy Sword also seemed to be in a swamp as it was difficult to mobilise it. I just watched the hand of the Monster King that brought along a grey aura grabbed towards me. The demonic sinister aura covered my entire body. There were two figures that suddenly flew out from the Str?m Fortress and headed towards the Monster King and I. They were Xiao Rou and Mu Zi. But with their speed and even if they caught up in time, with the current condition of the Monster King, they were just wasting their lives. When the sharp claws of the Monster king reached just 33 centimeters before me, his body suddenly stopped. The Monster King¡¯s eyes abruptly became exceptionally strange as his red eyes constantly changed from red to blue and vice versa. The Monster King yelled in fury, ¡°God damn it!¡± He retracted his claws that headed to me as he held his head in his hands, bitterly groaning. Volume 12: Chapter 29 - Star Burst Volume 12: Chapter 29 - Star Burst The seal on my body hadn¡¯t been resolved so I could just stare at the Monster kIng that was in agony. What was happening to him? Ah! Could it be Hai Shui¡¯s will? Suddenly, halos of green light ray was constantly emitted from Hai Shui¡¯s body, but it still was heading towards me. This sight before me made me think back to when I first met Hai Shui. At that time, we met at the fighting arena and these green halos were the Xin Family¡¯s Absolute Disruption spell that left me at a loss on how to deal with it. The green light halos constantly appeared and tightly enclosed around Hai Shui¡¯s body. The restriction on my body suddenly vanished and the Monster King no longer had the ability to deal with me. ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, quickly¡­.quickly take this opportunity to finish him. Hurry up! I can¡¯t restrict him much longer.¡± I looked stunned at the delicate and lovable body that was being restricted by the green halos. Tears flowed uncontrollably as I raised the Holy Sword. My previously steady hands shook constantly. The person before me currently wasn¡¯t the Monster King, but Hai Shui that loved me deeply. How could I kill her now? ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, quickly attack me! I can¡¯t hold him back much longer. Stop hesitating. It won¡¯t matter much if I died solitarily as it¡¯s enough for me for you to continue living well. Just hurry up! It can¡¯t be that you wish for the total extermination of all the races in this world right?¡± Hai Shui shouted, sobbing. My heart greatly shuddered. That was right, how could I allow the extermination of all the races due to being soft hearted?! ¡°Hai Shui, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be accompanying you. Ah!!¡±I shouted and circulated the remnants of all of my remaining power in my body, making the burning of life spell form to reach its limit. The multi-coloured life force regained its splendor, completely suppressing the five divine powers. With my body and sword as one identity, I thrust towards Hai Shui¡¯s delicate body. The silver ray of the Holy Sword intensified. The Holy Sword accurately pierced into Hai Shui¡¯s heart. The originally constant struggling body instantly stopped moving and grey fogs emitted from the wound. I distinctly felt that the Monster King was fighting his death with all his might against the might of the formidable Holy Sword. Mu Zi and Xiao Rou immediately flew to our sides and looked at a loss at us. They didn¡¯t know what to say at this moment. Blood continuously flowed out from Hai Shui¡¯s mouth. The green halos that surrounded her body disappeared. Hai Shui¡¯s small delicate hand touched my face as she asked gently in gasps, ¡°Big Brother Zhang Gong, do you love me?¡± Tears uncontrollably flowed down my face. I replied shakily, ¡°Love.. I love you, Hai Shui. I always will.¡± A satisfied smile was expressed on Hai Shui¡¯s charming face as she said in gasps, ¡°That¡¯s good enough. I¡¯m satisfied with your promise. Hai Shui will now leave without regret¡­..¡± Two trials of sparkling and translucent tears flowed down Hai Shui¡¯s face before she suddenly pushed me away and shouted lovably, ¡°Star Burst!¡± Teacher Di, who was in the far distance at the fort, stood up abruptly as he looked startled at Hai Shui. ¡°The Xin Family¡¯s ultimate spell, Star Burst, that enables the caster to kill their enemies along with themselves.¡± ¡°Hong!!!!!!¡± After a loud explosion was heard, I had blankly looked at Hai Shui¡¯s body and the Holy Sword exploded so intensely, that Hai Shui didn¡¯t leave any ashes nor clothings. She left just like that. All of the demonic aura emitting from Hai Shui¡¯s body disappeared with Hai Shui¡¯s self destruction spell. The monsters on the land metamorphosed into grey fog as they gradually vanished into mid air. Xiao Rou suddenly moved in a flash to where Hai Shui had self exploded with peculiar flashing light rays in her eyes. Mu Zi moved to my side and supported my body. ¡°Zhang Gong, don¡¯t be overwhelmed by your grief. How¡¯s your body condition?¡± My divine power was no longer able to keep the other divine powers in my body in place and my life force was burning out. I kissed Mu Zi¡¯s forehead lightly as I said mournfully, ¡°Mu Zi, I won¡¯t be able to make it. You must take care of yourself. I¡¯ll head to find Hai Shui.¡± Upon saying that, I pushed Mu Zi away and surged all of my powers outward as I soared into the sky. I relaxed my body and freely allowed the divine powers in my body to wreak havoc. I had already accomplished my task so it was time for me to go. I didn¡¯t want Mu Zi to look at my corpse after I died so I must leave. ¡°No! Zhang Gong, please don¡¯t do this to me!¡± ¡°Master!!!!¡± Mu Zi and Xiao Rou¡¯s shouts was heard from beneath me, but with their speed, how could they catch up with me? I had chosen to die in the sky as the surge of the divine powers might hurt them. Mouthful after mouthful of blood flowed from my mouth and feebleness struck my body. I was really tired. I just wanted to sleep now. I hope that when I awoke, I would be able to meet up with Hai Shui. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Mu Zi and Xiao Rou frantically tried to fly after Zhang Gong, but no matter how they tried, they couldn¡¯t catch up with him. Zhang Gong¡¯s body became increasingly smaller in their view. Suddenly, with a flash of white light, Zhang Gong momentarily disappeared. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I gradually opened my eyes to find myself in a hazy white world. The War God¡¯s armour, Sky God¡¯s horn, Titan God¡¯ hammer, Lightning God¡¯s shield, Wind God¡¯s bow, excluding the Holy Sword, laid in my surroundings. Each of the divine instruments were giving off different coloured light rays, similar to the divine wills that Mi Jia Lie had passed to me. ¡°Am I dead?¡± I looked at my seemingly unharmed body. ¡°No, my child, you haven¡¯t pass on.¡± A familiar benevolent voice sounded. I was shocked. ¡°Are...Are you the God King?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, my child. You didn¡¯t let me down as you eliminated the clone of the Monster King, resulting in the drastic decrease in the power of the Monster King. We have also completely obliterated the Monster king¡¯s body on our side with the combined divine powers of my powers with the other gods. Thank you for what you have done, my child. However, you were too reckless. You had used your body to withhold all six divine powers. You greedy bastard! If I didn¡¯t come in time, you would have died. Even though I rule over the gods, I still don¡¯t have the ability to revive the dead.¡± Volume 12: Chapter 30 - God King Volume 12: Chapter 30 - God King The Monster King¡¯s matter had finally been resolved and I was rescued by the God King. However, I wasn¡¯t the slightest bit happy as Hai Shui had died because of me! The God King had also said that he didn¡¯t have the power to revive the dead. This was to say that Hai Shui wouldn¡¯t be able to return to my side. Why? Why did this happen? Hai Shui was such a kind hearted girl. Why did she had to die? The God King said, ¡°Child, you had accomplished such an ordeal task. I¡¯m really happy for that. Currently, the human race already thinks that you have already passed on. Why don¡¯t you stay in the God race then? Since you have inherited Mi Jie Lie¡¯s position, you¡¯ll become the new battle angel¡¯s leader, the new Radiant God. In this God realm, you¡¯ll have endless life.¡± ¡°No!!!¡± I yelled in sadness. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want eternal life. I don¡¯t want anything.¡± The God King seemed to be stunned for a moment. ¡°My child, you should think it through carefully. A lot of people have dreamed to be able to become a god!¡± I shook my head with sadness. ¡°No, God King, I don¡¯t want to become a god nor do I want to have eternal life. I just want to be with my family and friends. You¡¯re the God King. Are you really out of alternatives in helping me revive my friends? It¡¯s just a tiny request from me. Please grant me this wish of mine.¡± The God King sighed. ¡°Child, I understand your current feelings, but I had mentioned it previously that that is out of my powers! I¡¯ll agree to any of your request, except that.¡± I dejectedly knelt to the ground as I looked at the divine instruments, staying silent for a long time. ¡°Child, please don¡¯t be like this. Your contribution to the world, to all of the races, and to our God race has given rise to the survival of both worlds. Where there¡¯s a gain, there¡¯s also loss. Please state your request.¡± I took in a deep breath. ¡°God King, I hope that you¡¯ll withdraw all of the divine instruments and allow me to return to the human realm. I also don¡¯t want eternal life. I just want to be an ordinary human and finish a not too long journey with my family and friends.¡± The God King exclaimed., ¡°What?! You also don¡¯t want to have eternal life?¡± I seriously nodded. ¡°Eternal life doesn¡¯t mean much to me. If my family and friends all died before me, what is the use of living on? Please grant me my wish.¡± After a moment, the God King replied, ¡°Alright, since you have made up your mind, I won¡¯t continue to force you. Zhang Gong, you¡¯ll forever be a friend to our God race.¡± After a light flashed, my entire body was so warm and was in indescribable comfort. It was like taking a bath in a sea of light. ¡°Zhang Gong, I¡¯ve withdrawn the six divine weapons from your body, but still left you with the Radiant God¡¯s powers. Your life force has already completely recovered. Return and do as you wish. I¡¯ve got something to tell you. The spirit of the girl that was possessed by the Monster King hasn¡¯t dissipated. You will still have the opportunity to meet her again in the future.¡± I was shocked and just as I wanted to ask him, my body was enveloped in intense light rays. With a flash of light, everything before me turned white and everything disappeared. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Even though the Monster race had been eradicated, the entire Str?m Fortress was in despair as the Child of Light, Zhang Gong Wei, who had saved the world, had sacrificed his young life for the world¡¯s peace and harmony. Lao Lun Di caressed Mu ZI and Xiao Rou¡¯s head with tears in his eyes. ¡°Good children, stop crying. When a person passes on, they won¡¯t be able to return. Zhang Gong is my one and only disciple but was also my pride. He had sacrificed his life to save everyone. His death carries a heavy weight.¡± Lao Lun Di¡¯s consolation didn¡¯t stop everyone from crying, but made everyone wail instead. Zhang Gong had managed to kill the Monster King by unhesitantly burning his life force. His action had greatly touched everyone¡¯s heart. ¡°Report!!¡± A dispatched solver hurriedly entered the Commander¡¯s division. ¡°Reporting, there¡¯s a peculiar phenomenon happening in the sky.¡± Everyone were alarmed and Chuan Song Zhen asked, ¡°What phenomenon? Quickly describe it!¡± ¡°There was a patch of coloured clouds that suddenly appeared in the sky and had stopped above the fort.¡± Everyone looked at each other before Zhan Hu said, ¡°Let¡¯s head out and check it out.¡± Everyone from the God Protector Domain and the leaders of the armies from the three kingdoms simultaneously headed out of the Commander¡¯s division. It was as what the soldier had reported. There was a patch of coloured cloud in the sky. It looked exceptionally mesmerising under the sunlight. Chuan Song Zhen ordered heavily, ¡°Pass down my order that every troop should be on standby and to be on alert.¡± The appearance of the Monster race had already made everyone easily fearful. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary Teacher Zhen. It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t want me to return right?¡± A voice that everyone couldn¡¯t be more familiar with was heard. A gold light ray shone from the coloured cloud and moved before everyone like lightning. ¡°Zhang Gong!¡± When I looked at the tears covered faces of the crowd, I said smilingly, ¡°I¡¯ve made everyone worried. I¡¯ve returned.¡± Mu ZI and Xiao Rou jumped into my embrace and Mu Zi shouted crying, ¡°Where did you go? You made me worried to death.¡± I caressed Mu Zi¡¯s long hair and smiled, ¡°Silly girl, everything has passed. I just went to tour the God realm. The only pitiful thing is that Hai Shui¡­...¡± ¡°God realm!¡± Everyone instantly exclaimed. Volume 12: Chapter 31 - Epilogue Volume 12: Chapter 31 - Epilogue Two years later, in a small village at the outskirts of Senke City, Hai Shui, father, and I were anxiously waiting outside the house. That was correct, it was Hai Shui. After I returned to the fort, Xiao Rou had told me that even though Hai Shui had died, she had a special ability after becoming nine tailed---Engulf. She was able to absorb Hai Shui¡¯s soul into her body, so her current body had her own soul and Hai Shui¡¯s soul, which was in a deep slumber. Following that, we went to gather the essential components for Xiao Rou to change into a human. Xiao Rou was finally able to change into a human from her fox form under the support of my divine powers. Hai Shui¡¯s soul awakened in the process as well. Hence, the human form that Xiao Rou had changed to was Hai Shui¡¯s appearance. Even though Hai Shui had lost her previous body and magic powers, she could still stay with us, and to us, there was nothing that could make us more jubilant. Since the God Protector Domain had shown remarkable performance during the battle with the monster race, it had received the recognition from all the races of the world. The God Protector Domain had thus became a domain other than the three human kingdoms. The domain had maintained to be 10,000 stronghold. The God Protector Domain was also known as the Waitner Domain. Waitner meaning Holy in the Demon race¡¯s language. I also became the publicly recognised leader of the Waitner Domain, the so called ¡°lord¡± of the domain. But how could I, who loved freedom, be restricted to such a small place? Which is why when it was late in the night one day, I left a letter before sneakily heading out with Mu Zi and Hai Shui to my hometown. The blissful thing was that during the wreckage of the monster race, no dens appeared near my hometown, so my parents were safe. When they saw me bring back two exceptional wives, the two elders became so happy that they couldn¡¯t keep their mouth shut. Xiao Jin was currently staying in a valley not far from the village. Even though his father had passed the Dragon race to him, that fellow had gotten used to a free and easy life style so how could he withstand being restricted? He learned from me and snuck out of the Dragon Valley and found me by my aura. We held a simple wedding at my village. There was no one here that didn¡¯t know about me being the Child of Light that had saved the world. Following that, to hide from the ¡°pursuers¡± of the domain¡¯s brothers, I had brought Mu Zi, Hai Shui, Xiao Jin, and also Xiao Rou to roam the lands. It wasn¡¯t until nine months earlier that Mu Zi got impregnated by me so we headed back to my hometown. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she given birth yet? Why?¡± I anxiously paced back and forth. Hai Shui consoled me, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with mother¡¯s help, Elder sister Mu Zi will be fine.¡± ¡°Wahhhh!!!!¡± Just when Hai Shui said that, a baby¡¯s cry was heard from the room. I was instantly excited. I tightly hugged Hai Shui and exclaimed, ¡°She has finally given birth!¡± Father muttered, ¡°I... I¡¯ve a grandchild.¡± What made us curious was that the room door hadn¡¯t opened. Another loud cry from a baby was heard and we were stunned. My father and I looked at each other as we cried out simultaneously, ¡°Twins!¡± Finally, the door opened and mother excitedly came out with the wet nurse. ¡°Great news! Great news! Zhang Gong, Mu Zi had given birth to two sons.¡± My mind blanked. Two sons¡­..I had two sons now and I also become a father. I immediately dashed into the room to the bedside where Mu Zi was lying. Mu Zi obviously looked feeble, but her spirit was still great. ¡°Zhang Gong, we¡¯ve our own children now.¡± I emotionally nodded and gripped onto Mu Zi¡¯s small hand as I said, ¡°Thank you. Mu Zi, thank you so much, I¡¯m finally a father.¡± Mu Zi tilted her head and asked, ¡°Quickly look at our children. Why do I feel that the two brothers aren¡¯t identical?!¡± I followed Mu Zi¡¯s glance to the pair of small babies that were lying in separate bundles of clothes. One was obviously well prepared, but the other was just done up at the last minute in a small blanket. From their appearances, the two kids looked identically alike, but they had different auras. I circulated the divine powers in my body to meticulously check their bodies. I was surprised to discover that the two children¡¯s attribute was light and dark respectively. ¡°Ah! Mu Zi, you¡¯ve given me a pair of light and dark elemental twins!¡± The End Authors note from ~2004 (Author: Child of Light had finally ended. This book took me a year to complete and it neared 80,000 words. The journey in writing this book had several ups and downs. This book had suffered from the publisher closing down, having the website shut down, and other similar ordeals, but I had persisted in finishing this book. This was mainly due to the support from my vast readers. If Child of Light didn¡¯t have high reviews, I doubt I would have been able to finish this book. Thus, I¡¯ll now thank all of my friends that had constantly supported me. Similarly, I also want to give my thanks to my girlfriend¡¯s support as she had always stayed by my side, supporting me, giving me the motivation to continue. Child of Light is my first novel and several people had criticised me for it in the forums! They vilified me! They also said that this book was extremely lousy. I admit that my writing was indeed terrible for this book, but this is my first novel after all. Moreover, this book was totally meant to serve as entertainment for everyone. Its purpose is to relax the tense life of everyone¡¯s busy lives, as I had mentioned during my introduction to the writer¡¯s world, so why must you detailedly pick on this book? My second book, Mad God (Kuang Shen), is much better than Child of Light. I have also inserted more feelings into that story. Child of Light has ended and Mad God (Kuang Shen), is still being updated. I hereby swear to everyone that as long as it¡¯s my book, I¡¯ll persist to update it to its last chapter and word. Lasty, I would like to make an announcement for my new book titled, ¡®The Kind Death God¡¯ (Shan Liang de Si Shen), that has already been published on Qidian. The web address is http://www.cmfu.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=26423. I hope that all my supportive friends will give it a shot and hopefully be able to feel the slight changes in my writing. Furthermore, I have invested a lot into The Kind Death God novel. So much so as my lumbar vertebra shoulder disk slipped due to it. Sigh~ That would definitely be the result from writing 16 hours per day! Everyone mustn¡¯t follow my steps, especially those online gamer friends. I shall advise you that the most important thing in life is the body. I hope that everyone will stay in good health and all the best.- Tang Jia San Shao]