HSSB85: Broad Creed Mountain’s pain
As they switched their hiding place once more, Ah Hu turned back and gazed into the distance.
This was the direction of the Spirit Wind Canyon, although it had long since gone out of sight.
Ah Hu said a little sorrily, “The surface installations of the Spirit Wind Canyon have all been destroyed. Still, fortunately, the various mining resources located underground, the Cloud-Veined Crystals included, were not damaged.”
Standing by the side, Xu Chuan was not really disturbed by this, “Even while the Sacred Sun Clan has gained control of that area, they also won’t go around causing wanton destruction. If they want to let out their anger, it isn’t to the point where they would let it all out on the little, unimportant Spirit Wind Canyon. Damaging some of the structures left behind by our clan and leaving some marks behind would already be about it.”
“As long as the secret of the Jade Essence is not leaked out, even if they occupy the Spirit Wind Canyon, it would also be for the ordinary mining of resources.”
Xu Chuan looked towards Yan Zhaoge, sighing as he said some words of praise, “Everyone under the heavens, previously all underestimated Young Master Yan.”
“Even not mentioning his important contributions like the Internal Crystal Furnace and the Cloud-Veined Crystals, his personal strength alone is something that the entire current younger generation would have to bow down before.”
Ah Hu gave a simple and honest laugh, “It is laughable how before, they were still doubting my Young Master’s position as one of the current era’s Four Young Masters.”
“The Radiant Prince Huang Jie is but ranked alongside Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong as one of the Four Rising Suns, but while at the same cultivation level as Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong, my Young Master defeated them as easily as retrieving an object from his bag.”
Xu Chuan pondered as he said, “If it is the Radiant Prince Huang Jie, other than the fleeting news of him becoming a Martial Scholar that year, little information about him has been heard these past few years.”
“Be it as one of the Sacred Sun Clan’s Four Rising Suns or one of the current era’s Four Young Masters, the Radiant Prince is also the most secretive one. It is indeed a little hard to determine his current level of power.”
“Not counting the Radiant Prince, out of the Sacred Sun Clan’s Four Rising Suns, there is only the Shining Sword Tang Yonghao who might be able to contend with Young Master Yan a little, I guess.”
“But even if it is Tang Yonghao, it would probably be impossible for him to be like Young Master Yan, easily defeating Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong whilst at the same cultivation level.”
The Shining Sword Tang Yonghao, publicly recognised as the head of the Four Rising Suns, the oldest amongst the four.
At the same time, he was also the most famous genius of the Sacred Sun Clan’s younger generation.
The Radiant Prince Huang Jie keeping too much of a low profile, if not for the fact that he was the son of the current Clan Chief, his radiance would have been completely obscured by Tang Yonghao.
In the lands where the Sacred Sun Clan sat supreme, there were many who hailed Tang Yonghao as the current younger generation’s number one figure in the entire Eight Extremities World.
Not counting the Maidens of Extreme Yin whose situation was unique, not factoring anything else but only looking at a martial practitioner’s personal strength, Tang Yonghao towered over the younger generation of the Eight Extremities World.
Of course, were it in the Domains ruled by the other Sacred Grounds, this point definitely wouldn’t be admitted.
But everyone agreed that at the very least, Tang Yonghao was one of the strongest contenders for the younger generation’s number one figure.
Yan Zhaoge smiled, “Tang Yonghao has some real ability. However, as I see it, what’s harder to come by is that he does things in a somewhat open and aboveboard manner.”
“Still, if he wants to compete for the position of the younger generation’s number one figure, he’ll first have to be able to defeat our clan’s senior apprentice-brother Xu.”
Xu Chuan smiled, nodding.
The ‘Heavenly Roc’ Xu Fei of Broad Creed Mountain, of the same age as Tang Yonghao, the two having contested with each other ever since their youth all the way till they had become the outstanding geniuses of today. He was one of the leading figures of Broad Creed Mountain’s younger generation.
Yan Zhaoge shook his head as he broke out smiling as well. Thinking about it, Broad Creed Mountain and the Sacred Sun Clan, with the rivalry between their respective younger generations, could be described as neither being willing to give an inch to the other.
Xu Fei vs Tang Yonghao, Lu Wen vs Xiao Shen, the Yan Zhaoge of the past vs Chao Yuanlong, etcetera.
Continuing to look at those who were even younger, of their representative-type figures, Sikong Qing also bore the heavy responsibility of matching up against Meng Wan.
Looking up the age ladder, the enmities and rivalry also continued unceasingly.
Both sides either both had victories or defeats, or were always locked in a stalemate.
It was really ‘You are the wind and I am the sand, entangling entangling until the end’.
All these years, other than Yan Zhaoge’s father Yan Di who had completely suppressed all his peers, both sides had always been contesting on such terms.
Strictly speaking, not counting Yan Di’s batch, the Sacred Sun Clan had always still been holding the advantage.
This was the result of the Sacred Sun Clan’s advantage of being stronger overall.
Xu Chuan sighed, “I’ve heard that the old Clan Chief has the intention of going into death seclusion, just that it is unknown whether or not he will be able to become a Martial Saint.”
Hearing his words, Yan Zhaoge did not speak.
Not counting that Sacred Sun Saint of the legends who had gone missing, whether he was dead or alive a total mystery, what Broad Creed Mountain lacked in comparison to the Sacred Sun Clan was a Martial Saint.
That year, having resisted the invasion of the Flame Devil World, Broad Creed Mountain had suffered catastrophic losses.
Luckily, with the grace of their ancestors, with a Sacred Artifact guarding their clan, Broad Creed Mountain’s guardian formation, through the efforts of numerous generations, was impregnable.
One had to thank the Heaven Diviner Zhan Xilou, who, though having died, in the years that he had been in power, had helped Broad Creed Mountain to preserve the last of its original vitality.
Over the years, having built up and accumulated its strength, disciples had finally began coming in an endless stream again as Broad Creed Mountain gradually developed, at least not having devalued the name of the Sacred Grounds.
However, Broad Creed Mountain’s greatest pain was that after the Heaven Diviner Zhan Xilou had fallen, it had yet to produce even a single Martial Saint.
Transcending the impure and entering Sainthood-this was an extremely difficult task.
Even within the entire Eight Extremities World, the number of Martial Saints there currently were could be counted with one’s fingers.
Yan Zhaoge slowly said, “The injuries Grand Master received that year did still eventually leave behind some hidden problems for him, causing him to not be able to tread that very last step even after such a long time.”
Xu Chuan face was also filled with sympathy and regret.
Yan Zhaoge’s Grand Master, Broad Creed Mountain’s number one expert as well as its current Clan Chief, Heaven Equalling Yuan Zhengfeng.
He was publicly regarded as the first person below the Martial Saint realm in the entire Eight Extremities World, at the peak of the Martial Grandmaster realm, a longtime Transcending Impurity Martial Grandmaster.
With his excellent talent as well as fearsome martial prowess, becoming a Martial Saint would originally have been a minor issue for him.
However, in his younger years, he had been fundamentally damaged and had always been unable to remedy this, such that even after having entered the Transcending Impurity stage for many years, he had always been unable to take that final step and tread into the Martial Saint realm.
Even martial practitioners outside of Broad Creed Mountain often sighed in pity at how the old Clan Chief was just a paper-thin distance away from the Martial Saint realm, yet for him, taking that final step had the difficulty of crossing a lake of lightning.
Meanwhile, the Sacred Sun Clan had its former Clan Chief, the current Grand Elder ‘The Sun Comes East’ Huang Guanglie, also known as the East Coming Martial Saint.
The father of the Radiant Prince Huang Jie, the old Clan Chief Huang Guanglie’s son Huang Xu, was the current Chief of the Sacred Sun Clan, also a longtime Martial Grandmaster expert.
The Sacred Sun Clan was similarly protected by a Sacred Artifact. The combination of the Martial Saint Huang Guanglie and that Sacred Artifact together with Huang Xu and the other numerous experts of the Sacred Sun Clan who were constantly surfacing together gave the Sacred Sun Clan the power and authority of the current era’s top Sacred Ground.
Broad Creed Mountain was also unwilling to start a full-blown war with the Sacred Sun Clan as long as it wasn’t absolutely necessary due to very this reason.
The Sacred Sun Clan similarly kept Broad Creed Mountain’s development in their eyes, having constantly redoubled their efforts in keeping them in check all these years.
The two Sacred Ground’s current contest in the Eastern Tang this time was only a rather more intense clash of theirs.
Many years ago, Huang Guanglie had gone into secluded cultivation once again. When he emerged, it was unknown what changes would have come on him and hard to estimate how much his strength would have progressed.
Broad Creed Mountain’s Clan Chief Yuan Zhengfeng’s current intention to go into death seclusion in an attempt to break through into the Martial Saint realm was also due to the fact that the pressure the Sacred Sun Clan was exerting on them had been getting greater and greater in recent years.
Therefore, although Xiao Shen had first made a killing move, when Yan Zhaoge had really killed him, Xu Chuan and the others naturally had had complicated, unsettled feelings well up within their hearts.
Yan Zhaoge gazed towards the distant horizon, in the direction of Broad Creed Mountain.
“The preparations are almost complete; after everything is in position, I can open the furnace and begin attempting to concoct the pill.”