Chapter 304 “Captured” (part one)
Blue Ocean didn’t have the heart to keep going once the story reached up to here. Meanwhile on the side, Du Wei was soul-stirringly moved by the story and couldn’t resist imagining the scene of a white figure standing alone up in the mountains with his scimitar in hand, sighing in great regret as he peered down the icy slopes.
Such a person, whether it be friend or foe, deserves one’s admiration!
Whispering: “White River, he… he is indeed a man of a generation. My teacher Gu Lanxiu is already considered to be the greatest Shaman King in the past three hundred years, but it turns out White River is far more amazing then he! I and Scarlet Water may have suffered defeat at his hands several times, but we are convinced that the both of us can never defeat him in our liftetime.”
Du Wei ponders for a moment and said: “This man is indeed extraordinary… Just that, he may be glorious above the Snowy Mountain, but to say no one in this world can force him to draw his blade is a little presumptuous…. With the world so big, there are many amazing characters out there like for example, Gandalf the number one magister, and the mysterious Pope of the Temple. He didn’t fight these people so how can he claim to be number one so easily?!”
Blue Ocean shook his head: “With his temperament, he’s certain to break away from the Snowy Mountain if no one can suppress him. People like Gandalf the Magister and the Temple’s Pope, he will of course go knocking at their doors for a challenge…. But he never had the chance!”
Du Wei immediately remembered, this daring to the extreme Shaman King seems to be unable to step down from the Snowy Mountain due to some special reason and can only do so every ten years by possessing another body.
“This incident happened after he defeated our teacher. White River’s dominatingly strong so there’s no way he will obediently submit to someone inferior to himself. He might have if there was still someone above him, but once he defeated our teacher Gu Lanxiu, there was none left capable of stopping him. Moreover, the great Snowy Mountain’s foundation may great and profound, but the Ice Dou QI and Shaman craft you saw was merely a tip of the iceberg in this world, there’s no way he’s going to be satisfied with only that much. Aside from defeating our teacher, he was also determined to snatch away the title of Shaman King from our teacher! Ambitious and young, White River wanted to achieve great things!
However, all these ideas went against everything the Snowy Mountain stood for so our teacher Gu lanxiu refused him. It’s just that, White River’s power was too immense. The three of us, Scarlet Water and I, plus our teacher, all three us of ganged up on him for a final showdown to be utterly defeated!
Among the eight great white robe shamans under the former Shaman King, White River managed to slay six of them. Helpless to do anything, our teacher Gu Lanxiu used the last of his powers to trap White River to bide me and Scarlet River enough time to flee. Prior to our departure, teacher confessed to us: unless we can overcome White River in our lifetime, never return to the Snowy Mountain. Considering his temperament, there’s no way he would let us off. But as long as we don’t return to the Snowy Mountains, then our life won’t be in danger.
At the time I didn’t understand the meaning behind those words until teacher revealed to us the curse of the Snowy Mountain!
The people who founded the great Snowy Mountain, it’s unsure how they managed such a great feat, but to prevent future generations from committing genocide against each other and those below, a special curse was placed inside the shamanism techniques taught to all disciples. From the very beginning of their training, all those whom learned shamanism is imprinted with a powerful curse regardless of their abilities. The more powerful one’s shaman craft becomes, the more severe the curse are!
As long as one is a disciple of the Snowy Mountain, they are not allowed to commit violence in private or go on a killing spree, this is an iron clad rule from ages past! If someone breaks this rule and kills one of our own, the curse will immediately take effect. Even for someone like White River, who’s power is beyond words, can’t rid himself of the shackles of this binding!
In order to rob our teacher of the Shaman King position, White River went on a killing spree and immediately triggered the curse. Teacher told me, one of the most terrifying effects of the curse is being able to cause a person to instantly age like they were poisoned by time itself! Every second, every minute, the body would rapidly age until they perish. No matter how tenacious and strong your body was, that person will certainly die in half a day!
Just that, this White River simply can’t be judged by common logic. He relied solely on his own strength to fend off the curse! That day when we fled from the mountain we already expected it. Someone like that, someone with such extraordinary power, couldn’t possibly be killed by only a curse.
As a result, I did not immediately leave the grassland after fleeing down from the mountain, I stayed for several more days to eventually learn of my teacher’s fate. White River, he…. he broke through the seal and killed my teacher! Teacher Gu Lanxiu met his end by falling down the mountain cliff, leaving not a body behind for a grave. Then using his tyrannical strength, White River slayed anyone left who defied him and then suppressed the remaining people left alive willing to yield. Only like that did White River win over the seat of the throne.
I knew it, I knew that the curse couldn’t possibly kill someone like that!
When I and Scarlet Water got the news, both of us fell into despair! After a long discussion, we ended up deciding to return to the Snowy Mountain to inquire about the situation. I wanted to go back up there with him, but he said to me, ‘Only you and I are what remains of teacher’s line. If you and I both perish up there, who’s going to continue teacher’s legacy?’ So, Scarlet Water decided to return on his own while I waited. Three days later he returned with serious injuries to his body, he was very close to dying! At that time I was very worried about White River coming down to chase us so I hurried to leave with my junior, but then Scarlet Water said to me in a happy voice, ‘don’t bother to run, he can’t catch us!’
I asked carefully, that’s when I learned the harvest this time was quite shocking!
So what happened is that White River may be able to resist the curse, but he couldn’t dispel it!
In less than a day after White River went on his killing spree, the curse began to take effect. To circumvent the aging process of the curse, White River found an ice cave above the mountain and using the perennial frost of the snow, he placed his body in a stasis mode to suppress the effect of the curse!
He succeeded, but the price to pay was that White River could no longer take a step out of that cave again!
At that time when Scarlet Water learned of this news, he immediately got the idea of going off to kill White River, thinking he’s weak and ripe for the taking. But once inside the cave, the harsh truth of reality kicked in again. Aside from being unable to leave the cave, White River was free to roam inside as he please.
Although Scarlet Water wasn’t his opponent, but he’s also teacher’s disciple. With only escape in mind, it’s possible for him to make it out of the cave alive. That’s when we came up with the idea. Since White River couldn’t come out of the cave, the two of us can return to the mountain at once and regather our forces to fight!
But the world is cruel…. and I was wrong!
White River couldn’t come down in the flesh, but even back then he had mastered one of the most profound shamanism spells possible: soul possession!
He could not come in person, but he could easily grab a disciple to temporarily possess the body!
The moment Scarlet Water fled from his grasp, White River had already made plans to possess a body to come pursue us!
We are afraid of him, but in fact he also feared us! This soul possession spell can only last for a short period and can’t be constantly used. He feared that once we get far away he won’t be able to kill us, then we would be privy to return and cause a revolt in the sect. So, he needed to kill us then and there!
We endured a big battle after being caught under the mountain, fortunately, the soul possession spell was flawed from the very beginning of its inception. Because he only recently mastered this spell, he could only retain about ten percent of his ability! Back then I and Scarlet Water were both not at the Saint class level yet, but even with merely ten percent of his power, the two of us couldn’t come out on top, nor could he kill us.
White River’s been a proud person all his life. We hated him but we also knew he’s not one to go back on his words. At the time he did not hide his intent and said, ‘once I return to the ice cave and cultivate some more, I will definitely pursue you two endlessly until both of you are dead!’
And on our end, if we disregarded our lives and placed everything on the line, it’s possible for us to make him stay forever by paying a heavy price.
Stuck in a deadlock, I and Scarlet River came up with a scheme, a scheme to make him take a vow!
Finally, the three of us took an oath. He can come take our life whenever he wishes, but because of his pride, I forced White River to swear that unless he can defeat us unscathed, he cannot take our lives even if he defeated us in battle! And like his arrogant and prideful self, White River took the oath on the spot.
And for I and Scarlet Water, unless he died, the two of us will never step into the Snowy Mountain ever again!
As a result, White River turned back immediately while the two of us fled the prairie.
It’s just that…… Later, I and Scarlet Water experienced a breakup due to differing opinions. Scarlet Water’s temperament was always strong and tenacious, but after experiencing one downfall after another, his personally gradually became extremely gloomy.
Back at the Snowy Mountain there remains a lot of secret and hidden treasures inside the peak top. But due to the lock placed on it, only the legendary sword Beauty under the Moonlight can open it.
This legendary sword was gifted to me by teacher prior to our escape, and Scarlet Water wanted to use this to open up the door to the secret chamber containing the treasures of the Snowy Mountain Sect. If we did that then it means we will have a chance to stand up to White River again.
I refused this request right away. Firstly, teacher said it already, never to return to the mountain. Secondly, we will be breaking our oath with White River. Considering that person’s strength, its likely we will meet our doom long before we can do anything substantial. I’m not afraid of dying, but with only the two of us remaining back then, I can’t allow teacher’s legacy to end with me or Scarlet Water.
I and Scarlet Water ended up in a quarrel eventually, and to make things worse, my junior wanted to forcefully take the sword from under me. After I saw through his plan, the two of us almost broke out into a fight, then finally we departed and went our separate ways…
It’s a shame, to think the three of us from the same school would have such an ending.
I was despairing and couldn’t bear to stay in the grassland. Making up my mind, I packed what little that I had, I changed my name and settled in the capital of the Roland Empire.
At the beginning of the first ten years here I spent day and night cultivating my powers in hopes of one day overcoming White River. Then suddenly I did it, I advanced into the Saint rank.
But fate is cruel. After I advanced, I thought back to the day when White River faced off against teacher. The strength he showed and the scene of my teacher being defeated, I increasingly understood the gap between him and I were so big that I couldn’t possibly overcome him!”
Blue Ocean sighs as he says this, his face looking bleaker than ever.
“Then… what about Scarlet Water?” Du Wei stiffens.
Faintly smiling: “Scarlet Water…. He’s just like me, he resettled in the Roland Empire after changing his name. But unlike me, he devoted himself to the political arena of the court. Hehe, he came to me and said, if you want revenge then we need more strength, it’s impossible with only us two in our lifetime. But the accumulation of hate in his heart over time has changed him, he’s no longer the same Scarlet Water that I knew. He’s too dark, taking his hate for White River and directing it at everyone atop of the Snowy Mountain. He said no matter how powerful White River gets, he can’t overcome the combined might of every person on the continent. In the end, White River’s but a person, not a god, he can’t fend off millions of soldiers with only one person!”
Hearing this, Du Wei’s heart began to thump hard and loud because his mind suddenly thought of one person….
“Can it be… can it be that Scarlet Water, he….”
Blue Ocean slightly smiles: “That’s right, Scarlet Water is also in the Northwest right now. According to the ranking of the military, he’s the commander of the Northwest Army using the name ‘Rugaard’. It’s just that, my temperaments been getting lazy in recent years, but knowing him, he wouldn’t have given up hope and would likely be training hard every day. I speculate his strength should be far higher than my own!”
Now the doubts and questions that’s been plaguing Du Wei were finally solved.
