บท 36: Shocking Developments
Yaan turned around and saw a young man smiling at him amicably. The man looked warm and easy going, but Yaan sensed that something was off.
For one, he had managed to get onto the stage, but Yaan didn't notice a thing until he spoke…
This Yuso Clansman gave him a strange sense of danger, despite his cultivation clearly being at the same level as Yaan's.
"Yaan, be careful, this person is hiding something. There is something on his person that I can't see through in my current state…you should reject this challenge." Rui's voice echoed within his mind.
"I know he's hiding something, but…you were the one who told me that a demon's path is fraught with danger. I won't back down here, not when I can substantially further my rewards in this match." Yaan shook his head lightly.
He wasn't too worried, since the rules of the tournament forbade them from seriously harming their opponents. The elders would step in if person man had any malicious thoughts towards him.
Rui tried to persuade him again, but he ignored her advice. She could only give up, knowing that his mind wouldn't be changed on this.
He returned to his position, and it wasn't long before the battle began.
"My name is Yuso Lan, it is an honour to face such an esteemed prodigy. Let's have a good match." The young man spoke with an amicable smile.
Yaan remained silent, but the smile on Yuso Lan's face didn't fade.
Unlike Zue Yin, this Yuso Lan didn't immediately rush forwards. Instead, the both of them slowly walked towards the centre of the ring, staring at one another without breaking eye contact. Suddenly, the Yuso Clansman's eyes narrowed slightly. When he saw this, Yaan immediately reacted.
Water-drop Slash!
He struck out with his spell a moment before his opponent cast his own spell.
Yuso Lan's unknown spell made use of his large dual-bladed axe. Yuso Lan lifted the axe high above his head, then suddenly swung down, all whilst creating an illusion of an even larger axe around and above it.
BANG!
Yaan took three steps back, as did his opponent. Yaan showed a more serious expression, but he soon rushed back into the fray and began attacking with his sword. Likewise, the young man grinned and swung his axe out again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metallic clashing resounded through the arena as both Yaan and his opponent showcased their weapon skills. Yaan's Agile Sword Arts allowed him to move around quickly, drifting like a leaf in the wind. On the other hand, the Yuso Clansman's axe wielding skill struck hard and fast, using brute force to maintain the pressure on him.
After a few seconds, Yaan sensed that something was wrong. He had a 2-Star Realm demonic body, so how was this person able to keep up with him in close combat…?
"Yaan, he's hiding his cultivation level, look out!"
Rui's warning came a single instant before a shattering sound spread out from the young man's body. His cultivation exploded upwards from the Early Innate Qi Realm to the Peak Innate Qi Realm! At the same time, his speed doubled. He then dropped the axe, allowing his speed to triple!
Yaan had no time to react to this rapid series of events. The man was now right beside him. Yaan hastily brought up his arms to block, but a violently glowing purple dagger appeared in the young man's hand.
That amicable smile was nowhere to be seen on Yuso Lan's face. Now, a crazed, almost ecstatic bloodlust filled his gaze, causing Yaan's skin to crawl.
This dagger gave Yaan an intense feeling of danger, but the small blade was moving so fast that Yaan felt completely hopeless. All he could do was leap backwards hastily, but the short dagger still made its way into his stomach.
CHI!
A grating sound echoed out as the blade pierced through his flesh and blood spurted out from Yaan's stomach. However the blood wasn't what caused the crowd to gasp in shock…what shocked them, was the torrential stream of Spiritual Energy which flowed out of Yaan's body like water from a broken dam…
"Bastard, he crippled Yaan's cultivation!" Great Elder Wan leapt to his feet and roared out loud. His aura became violent and overbearing in an instant, stunning all of the disciples around him. They had always known Great Elder Wan to be a kind and gentle old man, seeing this side of him truly shocked them to the core!
The elder's body flashed, then he appeared within the arena and caught Yaan anxiously before he could hit the floor.
Yaan's face was pale, he felt like his life force was slipping away. Truthfully, were it not for his 2-Star Realm body, then this injury would have killed him on the spot. Many of the elders in the surrounding were clearly stunned by the fact that he had somehow managed to hold on until this point.
As time passed by an Yaan continued to cling to life, they started feeling doubtful. Of course, they didn't voice these doubts, because the more concerning matter was the Yuso Clan!
More elders from the Heavenly Path Sect appeared on the stage, whilst others glared at the Yuso Clan viciously. However, the Yuso Clan leader was unfazed by these gazes.
"Yuso Lan, you have violated the tournament rules, you will be imprisoned in the clan prison for one month."
"Yes, clan lord." Yuso Lan, the young man who had caused this commotion with his malicious and deceitful actions, clasped his hands towards the clan lord before jumping down from the stage. Even though he had committed an atrocious crime, nobody dared to stop him. And so, Yuso Lan casually walked away, leaving the vicinity and returning to the safety of his clan…
This exchange told the audience everything they needed to know. Some people sighed regretfully, whilst others showed looks of schadenfraud.
The Yuso Clan had obviously planned this from the start! They saw Yaan's potential as a threat, so they eliminated this threat right away. There was a reason that the Yuso Clan was the only group in the Greenwood Mountain Range without a single ally, and it was exactly because of their devious and malicious plots like this. Nobody could ever trust this scheming clan.
'Strange, why is he not dead? A unique constitution? I feel that his body is on par with a Rank 2 beast…no matter, he is crippled now, the threat has been neutralised.' The Yuso Clan Lord glanced at Yaan. He considered using an investigative spell to examine him closely, but eventually deciding against it. Using such a spell would definitely be noticed by others, and aggravating the situation further wasn't worth it right now.
The old clan lord turned towards the audience, his expression as indifferent as ever.
"Mistakes happen in fighting tournaments, the junior will be punished for this accident appropriately. My apologies to the Heavenly Path Sect."
The Heavenly Path Sect members could only grit their teeth and glare at the Yuso Clan hatefully. Against an Origin Soul Realm powerhouse, there was really nothing they could do. Despite wanting to eat this old man alive for his blatant attack against their clan's young prodigy, they could only swallow their anger and endure.
"Yaan, eat this." Great Elder Wan quickly placed a pill into Yaan's mouth, then guided it into his stomach.
Yaan felt too weak to even swallow on his own right now. Despite his 2-Star body, a crippled dantian was a very serious injury that would become life threatening if not treated immediately.
A few moments later, some light returned to Yaan's eyes. He was able to sit up, but winced in pain. It wasn't just the pain though, he felt strangely weak. After examining the condition of his dantian, his face darkened and his mood became heavy.
"Rui…" He muttered at an inaudible volume.
Rui took some time to respond. In the end, Yaan actually heard her sigh.
"Your dantian had been crippled, you cannot cultivate Innate Qi any longer."
Yaan became silent. Even as he was guided back to the seating area and everyone tried to cheer him up, he paid their words of comfort no attention; their empty words were unable to reach him. Even when Elia, the sect lord and Owan Shin tried to speak to him, he stayed silent, as if he couldn't even hear them.
But, honestly, they didn't blame him. If their cultivation was crippled, they would probably feel the same way. Nobody, not even an Origin Soul Realm cultivator, could stay calm in the face of such a terrible and life-altering event.
It wasn't until a few more battles had passed and his teacher whispered into his ear, that Yaan's eyes finally regained some clarity.
"Yaan, you can still cultivate your demonic body. It will be difficult, but…it should be possible."
Yaan turned towards his teacher and smiled weakly. He knew that cultivating the demonic body to the 4-Star Realm and above was extremely difficult due to the expense. However, he did regain some hope after thinking about this. The fire of hope, although faint and weak, was rekindled within his heart.
Since when was cultivation easy or simple anyway? He would just need to work harder. He would just need to fight for more resources! Then, maybe, he could still succeed…right, his body was still just as strong as an Innate Qi Realm cultivator, he could definitely still attain his revenge!
Seeing Yaan return to his senses, Great Elder Wan allowed himself to relax. However, nobody else knew that right now, his mind was in turmoil. As he glanced down at Yaan, a melancholic feeling, deeper and more confusing than any he had experienced before, enveloped his heart and soul.
'The demonic body…I never intended to raise the demonic body to the 4-Star Realm…Can I really afford this? Will the puppet still be a success with a Vital Core, rather than a Demon Core? Do I…truly wish to refine Yaan into a puppet? Perhaps…perhaps I could just…no, he's a demon, but…he's my disciple…but…'
As Rui observed Great Elder Wan, she had some thoughts of her own. Whilst she was still injured and severely weakened right now, her soul power had recovered ever so slightly, making her able to observe Great Elder Wan's emotional changes without him noticing.
Everyone had their own thoughts right now, but this was suddenly interrupted by a shock so deep that it would forever change the lives of everyone present.
"Sect lord, Sect lord, it's urgent, it's, I, I bring terrible news!"
Just as the Innate Qi league was reaching the semi-finals, the excitement was abruptly halted by an agitated looking elderly man. He stopped in front of the Fire Dragon Sect and stammered heavily.
"Elder Cui?" The Fire Dragon Sect Lord frowned. "What are you doing here, you should be guarding the sect!"
"Sect lord, after you left, the beast tide rushed straight through the mountain, we were assaulted by a Rank 5 beast! T-tens of elders and hundreds of disciples were killed instantly! I barely escaped with my own life, I feel ashamed, but I needed to reach you!"
"WHAT?!" The Fire Dragon Sect Lord leapt to his feet. His Spirit Qi erupted outwards along with his aura, injuring many of his own sect's disciples. They felt terror and pain as they were subjected to his overwhelming and chaotic aura, but the Fire Dragon Sect Lord didn't have the heart to care about this right now. His heart was erratic, he could hardly believe what he had just heard…he didn't dare believe what he had just heard!
Anxious chatter erupted all around. The Fire Dragon Sect's enemies felt quite pleasant that their enemy had encountered such a calamity, but this feeling was crushed into the abyss over the next few minutes.
"Clan leader, it's too awful!"
"School head, you must return right now!"
"Sect lord, I barely made it here alive!"
…
One after another, elders who had escaped from their respective organisations began appearing. They all brought the same news; the beast tide had swept through their mountain, killing countless disciples and elders, and forcing everyone to fight, hide and flee!
Eventually, after much anxiety and unease, it was the Heavenly Path Sect's turn to fall into the depths of fear and despair.
"Sect lord, Heavenly Path Mountain is under attack! The entire outer and inner sects have been demolished, the core sect is barely holding out!"
This news was like an erratic thunderbolt in the ears of the sect members. Yaan was no different, the rapid progression of events was almost too much to process.
Through all of the fear and mourning though, he couldn't help but have a thought…
'Elder Sun…did he die?'
The moment he thought this, Yaan's emotions became chaotic. Everything that he had done after leaving Lightstone Village, all of the suffering he had endured and put himself through, it was all for the sake of his revenge! His entire reason for living, his motivation for cultivation, was all for the sake of obtaining his revenge against Elder Sun!
Was Elder Sun still alive? Did he…want him to still be alive…?
After some time, Yaan's mind returned to the present. He pushed thoughts of Elder Sun out of his mind when he saw the fear, the despair, and the grief, which was present on almost every cultivator's face.
Whilst everyone else was worried about others, he was only focussed on his own selfish desire for revenge. This caused Yaan to feel guilt, but also a sense of bitterness…
Somewhere along the way, he had become a selfish, uncaring person, almost like the man that he hated so deeply…
This guilt reached a whole new level, stabbing deep into his heart, when he heard Elia muttering beside him.
"Lightstone Village…mama, papa, everyone...please be safe…"
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