Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
For the past two days, there was a strange atmosphere that encapsulated the entire capital. All of a sudden, high and mighty figures started appearing in public.
It seemed that nearly everyone who held significant power in this world had gathered here within this city.
Apart from a handful of people, the majority were unaware of the fact that these figures were here to meet one single individual only!
The Wen family finally found an opportunity to entertain these distinguished guests but throughout their entire interaction, there was little to no verbal exchange. In fact, they could only see the back of the elusive yet legendary leader of the supernatural world.
Still, that was more than enough to satisfy them.
“Father, do you know who these people are?” Wen Qing asked her father quietly.
Madam Wen sat next to Wen Qing; she overheard her daughter’s question and she glanced at her husband, curiously awaiting his reply.
Wen Qing’s father looked around him and gestured for his servants to back off before whispering to his daughter and wife, “I don’t know the rest of them but I do know that today, we’ll be expecting the leader of the American supernatural world to drop by.”
Madam Wen’s hands trembled upon hearing that. Her teacup slipped out from her fingers, splashing steaming hot liquid all over her legs but she was too shocked to feel the pain.
“The American supernatural world?” Wen Qing was puzzled. “And who is that?”
Her father raised his teacup to his lips and sipped from a cup that he held with his trembling hand. He smiled upon hearing his daughter’s question but that smile of his was as stiff as it could get. “Qing Qing, I won’t blame you if you don’t know who that person is. After all, history had been deliberately re-written twenty years ago. Your generation obviously doesn’t know about this. Back then, the earth almost got wiped out.”
“What?!” Wen Qing’s face seemed drained of color. “How is that even possible?!”
This sounds like something ripped out of an apocalyptic sci-fi novel!
However, the look on her father’s face didn’t seem to indicate that he was joking around. Slowly, she straightened her back and she asked, “What happened then?”
“Here comes the almost-mythical part. The people of the world united…the ancient martial arts world, the Peacekeepers, and the people whom humanity looked up to as their final bastion of hope came into the picture. You should at least know about the existence of the ancient martial arts world. They have merged with similar groups abroad into what we know today as the supernatural world. And the person I was referring to, is the spiritual leader of the entire supernatural world! You probably don’t know this but back then, her name was all the rage! However, she vanished from the face of the Earth after one final battle. Some say that she has died.”
“Died?” Wen Qing was visibly surprised to hear this.
“The scenic spot in the desert wasteland that only accepts a hundred visitors daily,” A glow appeared in her father’s eyes. “That location is where she had allegedly fallen.”
“What happened after her death?” asked Wen Qing excitedly.
Her father shook her head. “Well, she resurfaced three years later and updated her status on Weibo, causing a huge uproar on the internet but that was the final time we ever heard of her again.”
“So what does this have to do with what you were talking about?” Wen Qing sounded confused.
“Of course it has something to do with what I was originally talking about. Today, we’ll be welcoming the leader of the American supernatural world. And I do not doubt my own eyes.” Wen Qing’s father sounded excited. “Back then, their leader came here quite often and I had seen him from afar a couple of times.”
Wen Qing and Madam Wen were taken aback by what he said.
“Come on you two! Snap out of it!” The father gulped down his tea, perhaps to drown away the excitement that was swelling up within him. “Several arrangements have been made for him to stay in our country. This clearly indicates that he intends to stay a little longer. And I can bet that he’s not just here to do some sight-seeing! In fact, I can only imagine one reason for him being here!”
“You’re trying to say…” Madam Wen suddenly realized where their conversation was heading towards.
“That’s right! He’s waiting for that person!” replied her husband with a hoarse voice. “Have you not noticed how much busier the capital has become for the past few days? Especially those individuals from Nine Heavens who have all gathered around this city. And that crazy-talented doctor as well! The link between these people point towards a single conclusion. She has returned!”
“And so, our opportunity has come forth!” announced Wen Qing’s father. “As long as we seize it, there is no problem for us to enter the ancient martial arts world! And as long as we can get into that place, and get hold of their countless cultivation techniques, immortality will cease to be an impossibility!”
What he said did not impress his wife, nor his daughter but the word “immortality” definitely captured their attention.
Immortality!
“I don’t think this opportunity is as simple as you’re making it out to be.” At least Madam Wen seemed to have a bit of rationality left. “If you know this, I bet countless others know about this as well.”
“We’re not just related to the Feng family. Remember how the Yan family once worked alongside Nine Heavens?” Her husband wore a triumphant smile on his face. “That person is the creator of Nine Heavens. As long as the Feng family strengthens their ties with Nine Heavens, I am confident that an opening will lay before us. Qing Qing, how’s your relationship with Yan Han as of late?”
Wen Qing was a little surprised at the mention of his name so suddenly. “Yan Han seems to care a lot about that woman named Tan Yongsi. Not only that, the Peng family is pretty protective of her as well.”
“The Peng family?” Her father snorted. “They’re just a congregation of losers. You need not care too much about them, nor that girl. The most important thing now is for you to make the right decision at a critical moment.”
Wen Qing obviously understood what her father was trying to say. “I get it now father.”
“That’s good,” he said. “Take advantage of this opportunity that is presented to you. You guys should get closer.”
Of course, the Yan family needed to be informed of their alliance.
And so, Madam Yan tracked down Yan Han. “I don’t want you to mess this up this time, alright? Girls like Yan Yongsi come and go. The most important thing now is for you and Wen Qing to deepen your relationship. It’s the ancient martial arts world we’re talking about! You have already seen it with your own eyes, how flirtatious Tan Yongsi is around other men. I don’t understand why you are so obsessed with such a loose woman!”
Yan Han nodded after a long pause. “I understand.”
However, his fists were tightly balled up inside his pants pocket.
Wen Qing, who was sitting next to her, naturally noticed Yan Han’s expression and overall demeanor. The corner of her mouth was curled up in a sinister smile.
Around this time, Tan Yongsi had just finished her class at University A. She looked at Xixi, who was daydreaming while perched on her shoulder. She frowned. For some reason, it had been dozing off pretty frequently as of late. This was a cause for concern. Birds do not usually suffer from depression do they?”
“Miss Tan.” Not far away, a man’s voice called out to her.
Tan Yongsi peered in the direction where the voice was coming from. He was a young man with a buzz cut. Instantly, she recognized him as the guard of the Peng family. “What’s the matter?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.” The guard walked up to her and cautiously whispered into her ear. “The Wen family might be up to something recently. You must take care of yourself.”
“Understood, thank you.” Tan Yongsi did not know why the Peng family was getting increasingly obsessed with her. They had helped her deal with her personal matters, regardless of how insignificant they seemed. She knew that she had nothing, in reality, to offer to their family…apart from this little bird.
Tan Yongsi looked at the feather ball that was perching on her shoulder.
The guard returned to his duties after delivering the message.
At the Peng family, Peng Zijie sat on a stool and wrote a single word on a piece of parchment using his calligraphy brush. “Conspiracy!”
“The Wen family believes that they have already won the game. The Yan family, the Feng family, and even the Americans have already made their calculations. What they don’t know is that they have already lost before this game even started. As long as that bird exists, there won’t be a day that the Wen family will make a comeback.” said Peng Zijie solemnly.
“But I still don’t understand,” the guard said. “General, why do you focus so much attention on Miss Tan?”
“Naturally, it’s for my own entertainment.” Peng Zijie put down his brush and wiped the parchment dry. “Going by her personality, to gather so many key individuals within one city, apart from disrupting the natural order, I’m guessing there is something important to do? What a shame that I can’t pinpoint what’s going to happen.”
***
In a guesthouse within the capital, Feng Jiu sat in his chair scratching his head as to what step he should take next.
“Mister Feng, Mister Nozawa from Japan has arrived!” said a man who bowed to him.
For the past two days, he had been receiving countless similar news.
In the beginning, Feng Jiu merely felt a slight headache which had by now, developed into a major migraine!
“Bring him straight to the ancient martial arts world,” replied Feng Jiu.
The young man was stunned. “Straight to the ancient martial arts world? Won’t there be a problem?” The people of the ancient martial arts world were pretty erratic. Would Nozawa be fine if he were brought over there?
“You need not worry about this. Nozawa and those people go way back. He should be fine over there.” Feng Jiu leaned back and took a sip of his tea.
“Really? But Nozawa is the leader of Japan’s supernatural world…” The young man still had his doubts.
Feng Jiu didn’t really care about this. He thought to himself, ‘If only you knew who installed Nozawa as the leader of Japan’s supernatural world, you would not be so worried today. And this doesn’t apply exclusively to Nozawa. You could give the Japanese the force of the supernatural world and they’d still not dare to cross the line.’
With a wave of his hand, he gestured for the young man to proceed.
The members of the supernatural world were all gathered around here, where they chatted away. Naturally, the topic of their conversation revolved around Miss Gu. “Hey, you said that Miss Gu has finally returned? Although I can sense her presence, why am I still so skeptical?”
As skeptical as he might be, he made the effort to come here to wait for her return.
Although it’s been twenty years, the power left to them by Gu Xiqiao remained.
“I too, feel it is incredibly hard to believe. I heard that back then, Young Master Jiang directly tore a hole in space and escaped with her into the void. In other words, she is no longer with us in this realm, so how is it possible that she can return now?” asked another person.
“Tearing a hole in space, and remaining unscathed within a shattered void. I wonder what level they are on in order to achieve this.”
“Didn’t they say that demigods are immortal?”
“…”
The leader of the American supernatural world picked up his teacup and walked away from these people, trying hard not to be influenced.
It was at this time that a blonde-hair blue-eyed woman walked in. Her figure was perfect and her face was shining bright in a mature sort of way.
“What’s the current situation? Have you located her yet, Cecily?” asked the leader.
Cecily played with her hair while replying to his question. “No, we still haven’t located her yet. However, the chances of this being a false alarm are near zero. I bumped into Alang, who has just returned from the primaeval forest reserve just now. Xiao Yun and the entire Peace Manor have already come over as well. No doubt, this phenomenon is as real as it gets. What’s more, to be able to gather so many powerful figures in a single hotspot, who else but her, can do such a thing?”
No way this was the work of any other person.
“No, you’re right.” The leader of the American supernatural world sighed. “It’s been so many years. She has finally returned. And here I was thinking that I’d never get to see her again in my lifetime.”
“No, that won’t happen,” replied Cecily while shaking her head. “Qiao Qiao’s the type of person who would never forget her friends. I have faith that she would return, just for her friends like you and me.”
“You’re right,” said the leader while nodding his head.
“By the way, what were those people talking about? Immortality? A demigod?” Cecily’s expression turned dark. “Where and how did they come up with such bullcrap?!”
The leader glanced back at those people. “That’s why I’m trying to stay away from them. Maybe they should get their heads checked out. I’m guessing that Miss Gu is trying to address this issue by gathering these people here today.”
“You pay attention to yourself as well,” responded Cecily. She wanted to go directly to the ancient martial arts world to meet up with Yao Jiamu and the rest but suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, what’s up with those people who are standing outside the door?”
“You’re talking about the Wen family?” The leader of the American supernatural world waved his hand. “You don’t need to worry about this. I think this is also a product of Miss Gu’s doing. Wonder where they came from. I bet they have no idea what mess they’re getting themselves into.”
If it was something that Miss Gu created, Cecily didn’t really mind them. She reminded the leader of the American supernatural world to behave himself before heading off into the ancient martial arts world.
It’s been years since the ancient martial arts world was so lively. Ever since Gu Xiqiao’s disappearance, the people of Peace Manor scurried away as quickly as they could. And yet here they were today!
Yao Jiamu!
Luo Wenlang!
Wu Hongwen!
Xiao Yun!
…
All of them headed to the Trial Tower immediately upon returning to the ancient martial arts world.
It’s been two full decades since they last stepped foot in this place!
twenty years ago, the top 100 list of the Trial Tower was practically dominated by the members of the Peace Manor!
They were gradually overtaken by the people of the ancient martial arts world in the twenty years that they had not visited this palace!
Despite this, nearly half of the people on the top 100 list were still members of their beloved Peace Manor!
twenty years later, upon hearing news of Gu Xiqiao’s return, they all visited the Trial Tower without any prior discussion among themselves!
News of their return to the Trial Tower spread like wildfire throughout the ancient martial arts world and by extension, the entire supernatural world!
There was virtually no one living in Peace Manor for the past twenty years as they had all left to complete their missions, or had gone elsewhere to develop their skills…
And today was the day when they showcased the fruits of their labor!
“Who just went in just now?” as per the usual custom, there was a large crowd that had gathered outside the Trial Tower. Each one of them craned their necks to look up at the ranking list which kept changing.
“It’s Miss Xiao and Alang! They have already reached level 76 and 45 respectively twenty years ago!”
“Where do you reckon she’s at right now?”
“I’m guessing that there’ll be quite a lot of people at level 90 by now.”
The levels capped out at 90, which was at the very top of Houtian. After all, not a single person in the entire history of the ancient martial arts world had ever reached such a level before, let alone breach level 91, which they suspected that Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan had already done.
Like the secular world, a new generation had already been born in the ancient martial arts world. The 17, 18-year-olds simply could not comprehend the existence of the members of Peace Manor. To them, these people were merely mythical beings that existed exclusively on the internet forum.
The provided descriptions of these people were way too dramatic. How could mere humans possess so much power?
“Dad, I think you got infected with some unknown virus from Peace Manor. Why are you so excited upon hearing their names being mentioned?” asked one of the young ones.
“That’s right. Why did you bring me here? I’ve already reached level 56, is that not good enough for you? I bet you haven’t even reached level 10 when you were my age.”
“…”
Similar words were being thrown around by the new generation.
Most of the people gathered here today were the younger generation of the ancient martial arts world. Day-in and day-out, they would have to listen to their parents ramble on and one about the legendary Peace Manor, a story which now made them react in a repulsive way upon hearing mention of the name.
The kid’s father was surprisingly calm when faced with such words. Silently, he thought to himself, ‘Yeah, at age 18, I was below level 10. But I bet you don’t know that by the age of twenty, I was already at level 50.”
How naive and ignorant, these young people are! It’s time to let the members of Peace Manor teach you a lesson or two on humility!
The self-conceited teenagers were completely unaware of the rude awakening they were in for!
“How evil of you to come up with such a cruel prank,” said the great elder as he smiled at the parents of the teenagers. “It doesn’t seem like you’re worried that they might be scared senseless afterward.”
“What is there to be scared of? What we went through was far scarier than what these kids today are going to experience,” responded one of the parents. “These kids are overly eager after achieving mere small feats. They still have a lot to learn and it’s high time that someone came in and took up that educational role. If not for Miss Gu, do you think they would have progressed at such a rate?”
“Look! They’re starting already!”
