Chapter 493 - Ripples (I)

Chapter 493

Ripples (I)

The whole world seemed to have gone into a state of war, Xing Yahui mused; she watched her own sect go into a complete uproar when she emerged from the realm and relayed all--well, most--of what happened.

Per her Master's almost obsessive insistence, she forewent explaining how she watched what she believed to be an ordinary old man slice open someone who she deemed stronger than the Sect Master herself. Per her own Master's words, that shadow-encrusted guy had reached something called the 'quasi-Imperial Realm'. What that truly meant, she did not disclose.

Regardless, it did confirm that he was the strongest person Xing Yahui had ever met, with the exception of her Master, and that ordinary man... killed him. Seemingly so easily and so thoroughly that it looked like a joke.

She was not the lone witness, far from it. There were about a few dozen others that she watched emerge onto a cliff just by her side who caught the tail end of the battle, and she was certain there were another few hiding in the shadows who all witnessed it. And yet, for almost two weeks ongoing, nobody besides those who were inside seemed to have learned what happened.

For some reason, they all chose to keep their lips tightly sealed.

While those who were at the bottom had likely sworn an Oath, those who watched from further afar did not, and yet, for one reason or another, they stayed silent.

As such, powers-that-be had no knowledge of the finality of what happened, but they did know the cause and the reason--the former Holy Maiden of the Eternal Edge Mountain had conspired with some dark forces to trap all the prodigies of all the other Holy Lands and kill them, taking away their Life Qi in the process.

Once the news spread, it was like wildfire with no end, and the Eternal Mountain was the target. Though there had been no official declaration of war, it was only a matter of time, Xing Yahui felt. But her Master's words contradicted her beliefs.

"An outright war? It's probably not going to happen."

"H-huh? Why? Everyone has a perfect reason to go and fight them. Is the Eternal Mountain that powerful that even all other Holy Lands don't dare attack it directly'"

"No, unlikely. But, when we were there, I felt tantalizingly familiar sharpness of a blade from some of those kids who call themselves Eternal Elders. 'Sharpness' is such a strong word, though; it was like an infinitely dulled version of what I had fought many times before. It's very likely that the Eternal Edge Mountain has some connection to the Sword Mountain. Chances are that they are simply waiting for somebody from above to descend and pass judgment."

"Sword Mountain? What's that?" Xing Yahui had always been curious about the Upper Realm, but her Master seldom talked about it.

"One of the topmost powers of the Upper Realm," she got an answer she had already kind of figured out herself, turning to pout. "What is your measly self going to do with that knowledge? Rather than thinking about the Upper Realm and the Sword Mountain, you should cultivate. You again failed to latch yourself onto that man."

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"... would he ever care for me at all?" Xing Yahui said, sighing. She looked out through her window at the gloomy atmosphere of the Soul Sanctuary Sect, where every abode was covered in a thousand layers of formations as everyone and their mother feared their secrets being learned. "You should have just said that he was so strong."

"... I didn't know."

"How did you not know?"

"Because he's not that strong," once again, Xing Yahui sighed in frustration. "It can't have been an artifact or an art; both of those, even if they existed under the heavens that can make somebody that much stronger, would absolutely wreck him after the fact. But though he was on the verge of dying... he was very much alive and practically unharmed long-term-wise. Whatever means he used to make himself that powerful... are beyond me, which should tell you everything. It's not too late, though."

"It's not?"

"He will likely want to take his Disciples and run, as he wouldn't want to get tangled up with somebody from the Upper Realm. And the only place one can run in this world is the Island. If we go there, we'll undoubtedly find him."

"Huh? The Island? What island?"

"The beating heart of the Heavenly Lake."

"... wait, you don't mean the Island? Nirvana Island?"

"One and the same."

"Huh. You truly do want me to die, Master."

"Not yet, little Yahui."

"Hey--what do you mean not yet?!"

**

Yin Tao was flabbergasted; he was confused, tormented, and slightly melancholic.

He had looked rather spectacular and cool many times before in his life and had been called the handsomest man in the world more than once or twice and had in the mirror seen the reflection of heavenly greatness... but, not once in his life did he look remotely as awe-inspiring as that man who snuck him into the realm.

Once he retrieved what his Master tasked him with, he had simply waited for the realm to end; he had no intention of tangling up with holy sons and daughters and just hid away in the shadows. It was precisely from there that he caught the sight of the man upturning the sky, glowing like the colors were made for him.

"Really?" his Master exclaimed softly. "That boy's Master did that?"

"... he did." Yin Tao was dispirited. When will he ever look as cool as that?

"The fact that I acquiesced to that boy when we first met... did I accidentally save us all from a cataclysmic event?" He glanced up at his Master's masked face. Even through the porcelain he could sense her shock. "But, if what you say is true, how come nobody is talking about it?"

"Uh, I'm... not sure?" Yin Tao really wasn't sure why the man's visage wasn't currently burning throughout the entire world. "Maybe the others are like me, too? And they just reported to the one they love the most?"

"Hm. That can't be, though."

"Huh?"

"If you reported to the one you love the most, you would have reported to yourself."

"Ah."

"Hm. It's worth investigating, though. Do you know where they went?"

"From what I saw, they went with the ugly man from the Deathless Phoenix Sect."

"Hmm," his Master rapped her fingers against the table, deep in thought. "They won't be able to stay for too long, regardless. Upper jackasses will undoubtedly send somebody to investigate, and knowing that boy, he will not want to deal with it. If they can't stay there, and they want to hide... huh. They'll probably head over to the Island. Yin Tao, Master has a new mission for you."

"E-eh? I, I want to rest--"

"--you'll be my personal attendant and escort me to the Nirvana Frontier Island."

"Of course, Master! Say the word, and this lowly one will immediately oblige!"

Though he had his head bowed, he could hear his Master rolling her eyes, but it didn't matter. This was his opportunity--opportunity for him to show to his Master just how handsome he truly was. A chance for their love to blossom. Just like in his dreams.

Him and her, hand in hand, leading the Eternal Guard to fulfill their Eternal Oath.