It was the night of the second day of the New Year. The Wun Mansion had returned to its usual peace and quiet. Even the clan master, Wun Ching Yeung, had the time to stay up late and enjoy some tea with the great elder.
Tranquillity was especially precious after rowdy festivities.
The two men sat across each other on straw mats. They didn’t speak, but they understood each other with a single look. A chessboard had been set between them as they took turns pushing pieces.
Wun Ching Yeung took a sip of his tea. All of a sudden, as he watched the great elder make a move, he felt his heart skip a beat.
A startling aura erupted at the mountain in the back of the mansion. Both Wun Ching Yeung and the great elder were stunned. Had someone incredibly powerful come to attack the Wun Mansion at night?
They exchanged glances and immediately knew they were in agreement. They split up; the great elder instantly headed for the mountain in his grey robes, while Wun Ching Yeung hurried to summon the other two elders for reinforcements.
The great elder gathered soul energy in his feet and leapt over the walls onto the roof with a single push. He leapt seven or eight metres on every step, with agility at odds with his age. His grey silhouette flickered across several houses, hopping several times in a single breath.
“The aura’s gone.”
The great elder was confused. He had sensed scattered strands of the aura drifting through the air, but all of that had vanished without a trace now. Time would only bring about more variables. The great elder hastened, his robes fluttering loudly against the strong winds. He travelled the entire distance to the mountain in less than a minute when it would usually have taken ten minutes.
The great elder saw a familiar figure crouched on the ground beside the lake when he reached the mountain. This was bad. A sense of unease shrouded his heart. He looked around, cautiously examining his surroundings.
“Martial soul, descend.”
The great elder showed no hesitation in the face of an unknown enemy. He immediately summoned the strength of his martial soul. He waved his hand and soul power surged forth, materialising into a set of heavy armour around him. This was the Soul Armor ability that only martial artists of Martial Colonel and above were capable of using!
“Aether Forge!”
The great elder cried as he clenched his right hand. The same translucent energy sword he had summoned during the New Year’s challenge appeared in his hand.
Any who would come at this hour surely bore ill will. The great elder was certain that this unknown visitor was no ally at all, just from that momentary burst of their aura. He prepared himself before meeting this unexpected guest. His calm voice echoed in the mountains, “May I know who it is that we have the honour of welcoming at the Wun Mansion. I am the great elder of the Wun Clan’s branch house here in Green Sea Town. Apologies for not attending to you earlier, but please, do show yourself.”
The great elder drew on his martial soul’s power to sense his surroundings as he talked. He paid some attention to where Wun Fan was lying on the ground. His vitals seemed stable, his breathing was fine, if a little weak, and his body wasn’t moving at all. The great elder figured that he was probably unconscious or sleeping. There was no risk to his life yet. His worries were alleviated for now. However, as he continued to examine the scene, fear started to creep in. He couldn’t find any trace of the aura in the air at all.
How could that be possible?
That person had appeared here less than a minute ago. Their aura had been immense and far-reaching, but also, that person seemed to be able to control it freely. This was not something that an ordinary martial artist could be capable of. The great elder had no choice but to heighten his senses to their maximum. Mental energy reached out from his entire body, examining every corner and every inch, for fear of missing anything at all. He combed every blade of every grass and every pebble.
He dared not make a mistake. He carried the lives of the Wun Clan’s disciples on his back.
“Great elder.”
Wun Ching Yeung and the other two elders arrived soon after, bringing four other senior disciples with them. They could see that the great elder’s expression was grim.
Wun Ching Yeung looked toward where the great elder indicated and saw Wun Fan lying on the ground. Anger flowed through him, but his tone remained courteous, as a clan master should always be, “I am overstepping here, but I would like to ask for you to show yourself, sir. I am Wun Ching Yeung, clan master of this Wun Clan branch house. I promise we will receive you with our utmost cordiality.”
It was almost as if Wun Ching Yeung was talking to the air. There was no response. He and the great elder exchanged looks and understood each other. Wun Ching Yeung’s tone turned slightly forceful as he said, “Sir, if you have any respect for the Wun Clan of the capital, please show yourself. I really do not wish for things to escalate.”
The great elder made a gesture with his hands and a senior disciple immediately moved forward to carry Wun Fan on his back, before retreating again. The others placed their hands on their swords, gripping the hilts tightly in preparation for combat. There were no signs of life except for the wind’s breeze and the bullfrogs’ croaking. Everyone was perplexed. They looked at the great elder, unsure of what to do.
“That person must have left.”
The great elder pulled his soul energy back and dispelled his aura, but his expression was stern. “However, whoever it was, their aura was overwhelming. It was not something a Martial Colonel or even a Martial General should be capable of. Moreover, they’ve been able to get in and out of the Wun Clan without any obstacles. It makes me worried. If they intend any harm on the Wun Clan, none of us would be able to stop them.”
The great elder placed a hand on Wun Fan’s pulse and sent a strand of soul energy into his body. He was relieved to find that his meridians and organs were working as normal and withdrew his soul energy.
“I am worried about the same thing that the great elder mentioned.”
Wun Ching Yeung’s face was dark. To think that someone could freely wander in the Wun Clan’s territory under his eyes while he was the clan master. It felt like having a blade hanging over his neck.
“Put out my orders! The Enforcer’s Hall will change shifts every four hours instead of six hours from now on. Every disciple of Martial Scholar and above is required to join the patrol. Moreover, everyone is to be equipped with signal flares. No one is allowed on the mountain without permission. These orders will last until I say otherwise.”
Wun Ching Yeung was swift, decisive and smart. He targeted everything that needed to be dealt with, trying his best to avoid the same thing from happening again.
He then turned around and ordered the disciple who was carrying Wun Fan to hurry back to the mansion and hire a doctor to take a look at him. The great elder and Wun Ching Yeung could only relax if they knew Wun Fan was truly unharmed.
In his semi-conscious state, Wun Fan could vaguely feel something different about the Point of Joining Valleys in his right hand. However, he couldn’t say for sure what was different about it. Wun Fan finally recovered consciousness after slipping in and out of it for an entire day. However, he was surprised to find that he could not move his body at all. He couldn’t even find the strength to open his eyes.
He could very clearly feel someone wipe his body with a wet cloth every so often, or prop him up to feed him water or congee.
“Wun Fan, I placed a pot of justicia1 flowers near your bed. I heard its smell can help reinvigorate the spirit. Try and eat some more if you can, so you can have the strength to recover quicker.”
Wun Fan knew it was Wun Siu Lan who was taking care of him when he heard that gentle, chime-like voice. Wun Fan felt his heart warm. She was the princess of a large clan. She could just get a servant to take care of him, but she was doing it herself.
This was what it meant to cherish someone.
However, on the second day, he suddenly felt his pants turn oddly warm. The chime-like voice of a girl rang by his ear, “Oh my, I can’t believe you wet your bed when you already this old, Wun Fan. Isn’t it embarrassing? Hm? That is…”
Wun Siu Lan seemed to have discovered a whole new continent. Even Wun Fan couldn’t take it any longer, as thick as his skin was. An emotion known as shame filled his heart. He could only hold his breath and focus, trying to draw his attention from the outside world back inside himself to carefully examine the changes to his body.
He let his mental energy roam through his first six vital pressure points and noticed nothing different. Then, he slowly focused on the Point of Joining Valleys on his right hand. He sensed a completely different sensation when his mental energy entered the point—nil.
Everything felt like a void. They existed, but he did not feel them at all. His mental energy stopped before the Point of Joining Valleys, but he could not feel any sensation in there. He did not even feel the sensation of emptiness. He felt nothing at all. That was all he could feel. Nil.
The presence of ‘nil’ was strangely and paradoxically very strong.
Oddly enough, even though his mental energy had gone to a certain part of his body, he could not feel that part of his body. It was as if you woke up and could touch your right hand, see that it exists, but not feel it connected to your body at all.
All of a sudden, an attractive force arose in the Point of Joining Valleys, forcefully dragging Wun Fan’s mental energy into itself. Wun Fan felt everything spin before it turned bright. He opened his eyes.
His mental energy had been given a human form, much like his actual form in reality. He was inside an antique-looking room, richly and luxuriously decorated. There was a pleasant smell in the air.
Runes had been carved in an array on the floor, mysterious and profound; wooden shelves took over every corner of the room, filled with bottles and chests. All of a sudden, the floor glowed brightly as four phrases hovered in the air. Every word was intricately written, with exceptional penmanship that seemed to bring the characters to life:
The worldstartling zeniths, apex of creation!
Imperial throne assumed, and the heavens part in fright!
“What’s going on?”
The words seem to carve themselves into Wun Fan’s mind as a flood of information rushed into him. He tried not to throw up, pacing his breath to ease the discomfort.
The Spiritstartler Ring, also known as the Unreal Ring. The Spiritstartler Ring hosts a spirit and contains spirit. It absorbs aether from the nine heavens and hides the wrath of ten earths. He who wields the ring holds everything in his grasp. With the ring as the medium, one can draw on all aether between heaven and earth to materialise Sacred weapons!
A world on every pebble and every sand; nine heavens and ten earths hides the band.
A debt of aether to pay the price; heaven’s weapons and tools to carry by your side.
Wun Fan couldn’t help but wonder to himself, “The Spiritstartler Ring?”
Wun Fan might not be well-learned, but as the young master of a Wun Clan branch house, he was by no means uneducated. However, he had never heard of such a thing.
Still, based on the description alone, it was something truly extraordinary.
The words before his eyes vanished and an ancient voice echoed in the empty room. The tone of the voice was friendly.
“Kid, thanks for waking me up.”
“Who is it?”
Wun Fan was immediately on guard. He looked around him, checking every corner carefully, but found nothing unusual at all. He grew even more cautious. He even tried to draw on the aether inside him, but he quickly found that it was useless. He forgot that this was just a manifestation of his mental energy, not his actual physical body.
“Who are you? Stop hiding already. Don’t make me make you come out. That blood stench on you has already exposed where you stand.” Wun Fan pretended to stay composed as he looked in one direction and shouted loudly.
“Hey kid, stop with the shouting. I’m getting embarrassed for you.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuYMTNkusC
