Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Ling’er?”
Huangfu Taotian revealed a suffering expression in his eyes and stood silently for some time before he spoke indistinctly, “Ling’er’s full name is called Qi Ling’er. She was born with low status and is a daughter of our clan’s servant. That servant was even a deaf person who sweeps the floor!
“My mother died when I was three years old, and I watched her committed suicide personally. She was forced to death by that old thing! Thus, since young, I have hated the Huangfu Clan and couldn’t fit in with the members of the Huangfu Clan. When I was young, I was frail and always sick. Due to the death of my mother and because that old thing didn’t like me, I was frequently bullied. I have been beaten up and covered in bruises and scars, and I have always been healing silently by myself.
“At the age of nine—according to the clan rules, I got my own servant girl; and she was Ling’er. She was only five years old at that time. Because Ling’er’s mother had passed away early and her father was a deaf person who swept the grounds for the clan, we could only rely on each other. Every time I was beaten up, Ling’er would help me recuperate, and she was also beaten up many times because of that. At that time, I swore that I would become stronger in order to protect Ling’er.”
When listening until this juncture, Jiang Yi and Jiang Xiaonu looked at each other and let out bitter smiles. Huangfu Taotian had experienced similar things like him as Jiang Yi was also frequently beaten up while Jiang Xiaonu was also implicated in it. The only difference was… Jiang Yi’s dantian was sealed up, but Huangfu Taotian was a genius.
As expected!
Huangfu Taotian continued his narration. “I had good talents and very fast cultivation speed. At the age of 15, I had reached the Vajra Realm and beaten the crap out of the people that bullied me. At the age of 18, I had already reached the peak stage of the Vajra Realm. At the age of 20, I broke through to the Heaven Monarch Realm. At the age of 25, I fused the five-star high-grade dao pattern, Thunder Light Electric Shadow, which shook the entire Gods Bestow Tribe. I used my strength to suppress all the youth generations of the 13 Clans.
“I once promised Ling’er that when I become the strongest among the youth generations, I will marry her in an impressive manner. I didn’t expect the old thing to actually set an engagement for me during my two years of seclusion. You all should already know it… it was Tiger Lei’s daughter, Lei Zihan. I naturally didn’t agree as I and Ling’er had already been in love for five years. I have diligently cultivated just to have some authority in the Huangfu Clan so that I can marry Ling’er!
“I got into a huge quarrel with the old thing and was firm in my disapproval of the engagement with Lei Clan. Ling’er was my childhood sweetheart and had a deep affection for me. How could I let her down? That old thing was infuriated. He asked someone to kidnap Ling’er and her father and hid them in a secluded place. He lied to me saying that Ling’er didn’t want to delay my progress and went to a foreign place…
“I searched for Ling’er like a madman and search across the entire Gods Bestow Tribe but ended up empty-handed. I searched for two full years and finally found her in one of Lei Clan’s courtyards, but she was already dead! Two years ago, the old thing cheated her and said that I have already married Lei Zihan and forged a lot of fake evidence. Ling’er was depressed for these two years and was bedridden due to a serious illness. By the time I found her, she was already a shattered jade…”
As Huangfu Taotian was narrating, his face was already streaming with tears. Jiang Yi and the others were sighing with lowered heads while Feng Luan and the girls were sobbing. Especially Jiang Xiaonu who quietly leaned on Jiang Yi and grabbed his hand tightly while her delicate body was shaking.
It was a sorrowful story!
In fact, it was a very common story. Many influential clans would have such stories of breaking up affectionate couples. These great clans placed huge importance on their reputation and were particular about having an appropriate match in terms of status. If Huangfu Taotian had been an ordinary young master, the Huangfu Clan might now have been so drastic. It just so happened that his talents were heaven-defying, and he was naturally heavily regarded by the clan. In the end, he was just too sentimental and too stubborn. If he had been willing to give in and marry Lei Zihan for a show while marrying Qi Ling’er as his concubine, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
There was no need for Huangfu Taotian to continue saying the rest of the things as it was already very clear. He was enraged as he came back to interrogate Huangfu Qi and started a battle with the Huangfu Clan. Finally, he betrayed the Huangfu Clan and went to the Gods Bestow Sea to plunder celestial stones just to buy the Pearl of Life.
“If I were Huangfu Taotian, would I marry Lei Zihan?”
Jiang Yi asked himself honestly, and he realized that he would ultimately make the same choice as Huangfu Taotian.
Jiang Yi let out an indistinct sigh, patted on Jiang Xiaonu’s shoulder, and spoke while looking at Huangfu Taotian, “Big Brother Huangfu, I do not know if the immortal world exists. Since the Mystic Thearch could shatter the void and ascend to the heavens, I believe you can do it, too! If I am able to return to the East Imperial Continent and have the opportunity to find a panacea that can revive the dead, I will definitely get one for you and revive Young Lady Ling’er.”
Huangfu Taotian turned his face away and turned back after a moment. His face was already calm as he nodded and replied, “Who cares about nobility? If the Mystic Thearch can shatter the void and ascend to the heavens, why can’t I—Huangfu Taotian—do the same?”
“That’s right…”
Jiang Yi recalled something that Huangfu Taotian mentioned and asked with doubts, “Big Brother Huangfu, you mentioned something about five-star high-grade dao pattern. What does it mean? Are dao patterns graded by stars?”
“Of course!”
Huangfu Taotian nodded and said, “There are no differences at the low and middle grades, but there are ranks for the high-grade dao patterns. High-grade dao patterns can be comprehended directly or fused. High-grade dao patterns fused by the nine low-grade dao patterns have differences in power. In fact… there are some high-grade dao patterns which are simply useless. They do not have incredible offense, defense, speed, or any special functions. Hence, the experts split the high-grade dao patterns into nine stars. One-star is the weakest while nine-star is the strongest. Like the Lei Clan’s old bastard, who fused the seven-star high-grade dao pattern, has the attack power which is recognized as no.1 in Gods Bestow Tribe.”
“Now I see!”
Jiang Yi nodded silently and found it rather easy to understand. There were strong and weak Heaven Monarchs like Yang Dong and Chief Leng who were similarly middle-stage Heaven Monarchs, but their combat strength were very far apart. It was because of the dao patterns that they comprehended. Qing Long of the Green Bird Merchant Association might be a peak-stage Heaven Monarch, but his comprehended dao pattern was certainly not powerful. Perhaps, he didn’t even fuse any high-grade dao pattern but only possessed multiple mid-grade dao patterns.
This was the difference between quantity and quality!
When a martial artist comprehended three low-grade dao patterns and had enough essence force, the martial artist would become a Vajra Realm expert. Yet, by comprehending a single mid-grade dao pattern, one would also be a Vajra Realm expert; but the latter’s combat strength would surely be more powerful.
Just like Jiang Yi who had comprehended more than ten low-grade dao patterns—when his essence force was cultivated to a certain level, he would actually be considered a Heaven Monarch. However, if he didn’t have the Thunder Fire, his combat strength would be pitifully weak.
Cultivation stage could be easily increased, but in order to have a huge increase in combat strength, one had to fuse higher-ranked dao patterns. The higher the rank of the dao pattern, the more dominant the combat strength. On the Stellarsky Continent, comprehending 10,000 man-tier martial skills would not be better than comprehending one heaven-tier martial skill. It was the same reasoning.
“I wonder what star rank my high-grade dao pattern would be after it is fused?”
Jiang Yi was very expectant as he had already fused six of the low-grade dao patterns for this high-grade dao pattern. If he could fuse the three remaining low-grade dao pattern into it, he would be able to see how powerful it was.
Jiang Yi’s asked flickered and asked curiously, “Big Brother Huangfu, how does one judge the star rank of the dao pattern? What is the star rank of regular high-grade dao pattern?”
“Very simple!”
Huangfu Taotian replied, “The Nangong Clan has a huge and powerful martial arts demonstration hall. If you have fused a high-grade dao pattern, you can go there and test it. However, regular martial artists would only be able to fuse high-grade dao patterns which are three-star and below. That’s right… the Nangong Clan has a Mystic Realm opened to the public, but every entry will require one billion celestial stones and has a time limit of two hours. It will be up to your fate if you could comprehend anything. If Brother Jiang wants to take a look, I can bring you there!”
“Mystic Realm?”
Jiang Yi’s was moved. As the thunder mountains were a Mystic Realm where he sensed this high-grade dao pattern. If he could enter the Mystic Realm and have some enlightenment to fuse this high-grade dao pattern completely, it would be perfect.
