When her icy cold fingertip made contact with his scorching face, Jiang Shuxuan felt his heart seize up and the look in his eyes darkened.
He watched Gu Xiqiao narrow her eyes as a cold aura swept over him. There was a hint of confusion in his gaze as he stared into Gu Xiqiao’s crystalline eyes. Still, he swiftly pulled her down onto solid ground.
Jiang Shuxuan’s movements were a little stiff. Her eyes were blurry and a subtle layer of pink appeared across her usually pale-white skin. He froze up when the warm air her nose exhaled hit his face. A warm feeling has taken over the unbearable chill.
He opened his arms and embraced her tightly. Peering into her dreamy eyes, he bowed down and gave her a long hard kiss.
Her tied-up ink dark hair has been loosened up. It flowed freely behind her head, draping down from her jade-like slender neck. Her beautiful face was indifferent, which made Gu Xiqiao all the more alluring, as if she was shrouded in a layer of mist.
Time stood still for what felt like an eternity.
He took a deep breath. Despite the fire in his eyes, he managed to maintain his cool composure. With a low and cold voice, he told her, “Let’s pay Doctor Rong a visit shall we?”
He was reluctant to let anyone else catch a glimpse of Gu Xiqiao’s beauty.
With dreamy eyes, she looked up at him. Her stinging hot fingers grabbed onto his arm. Satisfied, she let out a sigh of content. “Brother Jiang, I’m still conscious…” Her voice trailed off halfway through her sentence.
Considering how immense her mental strength was, this level of trickery was far from enough to deceive her mind.
This was just an instinctive reaction, if you will.
A slightly hoarse voice spoke into his ear. Jiang Shuxuan looked up with burning determination in his eyes. He proceeded to lunge upwards.
Gu Xiqiao only felt a slightly cool body press up against hers. The heat in her body did not subside. In fact, her body temperature seemed to have increased.
Gu Xiqiao felt as if a tidal wave of heat had swept over her limp body.
Her body shook uncontrollably. However, the noise that came out from her mouth was blocked by someone else.
The seemingly sober Gu Xiqiao had really fallen unconscious this time.
A snow-white veil descended upon the unending sky, leaving only two tiny lingering silhouettes visible.
***
Outside the cave.
The temperature had dropped to freezing point. Purple sparks in addition to that shining blue blade hilt remained at the mouth of the cave; not a single soul managed to make even a dent in them.
“Do you think they’ll be able to make their way out?” asked Murong Feiye who walked over with a glowing longsword in his hand. He focused his gaze on the sealed up dark cave. For the past seven days, the image of the distant and peerless Gu Xiqiao kept appearing in his mind.
The look in Baili Bin’s eyes was unwavering. “They’ll make it out, I’m sure.”
This was less of a reply to Murong Feiye’s question and was more about convincing himself.
One week had passed and the mouth of the cave was still sealed by blinding sparks. Even the dark clouds that gathered above the cave had disappeared. The pure black squares emanating evil energies had returned to being regular rocks and most of the people from the ancient martial arts world would agree that the calamity had already been resolved. And yet, the two that had ventured into that hole had yet to reappear.
Jiang Shuxuan had only been gone for seven days and a mysterious force had already emerged around China’s national border, and was constantly on the prowl to infiltrate the ancient martial arts world. At the same, a terrifyingly powerful prisoner had escaped from a special detention center and was currently on the loose, harassing and harming innocent civilians wherever he went.
The people that originally surrounded the mouth of the cave had traveled away, to the edge of the ancient martial arts world in order to resist the outsiders. Even Murong Feiye had no choice but to defend his homeland.
China as a whole, including the ancient martial arts world had descended into chaos.
These occurrences were weird. Why did they all pop up simultaneously when Jiang Shuxuan entered the cave?
What made this all the more suspicious was that not a single country with special defense forces was willing to lend a helping hand after the ancient martial arts world sent out a cry for help.
The domain that Jiang Shuxuan protected up until a week ago had turned into a complete shitshow.
“Uncle Baili, won’t you tell me where Shuxuan is?” asked Madam Jiang frantically the moment she located where Baili Qu was.
Baili Qu put down the piece of jade in his hands. The entirety of the ancient martial arts world was facing an existential threat. Only a handful of people willingly stayed behind to support him. Looking back at Madam Jiang, he bowed his head deeply. “I’m terribly sorry Madam Jiang.”
Madam Jiang stumbled backward as her mouth trembled. She reached out to the door to prop herself up. A haze enveloped her mind, struggling to come to terms with what Baili Qu had just said.
“Clan leader Baili.” Yi Bing hurried over with a somber expression. “The US, Japan, Great Britain… they’ve all turned down our request for assistance.
Of course, Baili Qu had already foreseen this happening. Still, his face turned green the moment he heard such grave news.
***
The World Federation for Special Organizations was holding an emergency meeting that very day.
“We must send assistance to China. As the ancient Chinese proverb goes, ‘The teeth will feel the cold once the lips die’. The origins of this mysterious force is unknown. We must work closely together on this case,” said the leader of Great Britain.
The Japanese leader then snorted. “You’re not fooling anyone here. We all know how close you’ve grown with the Chinese. I believe everyone knows that Jiang Shuxuan has already been taken down. We refuse to wade in muddy water!”
“I second that.”
“Seconded.”
“…”
Almost everybody else agreed upon hearing said speech. Jiang Shuxuan had only been gone for seven days and China’s ancient martial arts world had already turned into dust. None of them were willing to participate in the bloodbath. After all, the world’s total resources had been cut by half this year.
By abandoning China, they would all stand to gain massive amounts of resources.
What’s more, with the unexpected loss of the mighty Jiang Shuxuan, China was no longer a place worthy of their cooperation.
The President of the Federation then announced their final decision. No assistance was to be sent to China.
After the meeting, the leader of Japan patted the back of the British leader, whose expression was as dark as it could go. With eyes full of mockery, he said, “Although I despise you for working together with the Chinese, I must say, I feel sympathy for you right now. You’re on the same boat as them. You British are facing a great threat too.”
In their eyes, China’s ancient martial arts world was on the brink of destruction. The best course of action was to put as much distance between themselves and the Chinese. That mysterious force was definitely not a sign of good news. It would be foolish to seem connected to the Chinese.
The British leader glanced at him before leaving with a disgusted snort.
“What they’re saying is very true.” Small nation delegates who were friendlier to the British stepped forward to voice out their concerns. “China no longer remains something worth assisting. You absolutely must refrain from dirtying your hands any further. Do you think you’ll be able to stop the fires of war once it reaches the UK?”
Their words were sensible. The British leader went silent for a moment before deciding to give Murong Feiye a call.
***
Murong Feiye’s expression darkened the moment he saw the caller ID on his phone. He was still at the mouth of the cave.
“Are you sure that this is your final decision?” he asked.
The British leader sighed. “Apologies, really, but I’m afraid our alliance with China has come to an end. Of course, our doors will always remain open for you.”
The British leader sighed in relief after hanging up. It wasn’t all that bad severing ties with China either. Back then, when Jiang Shuxuan was still around, he was able to get his nation to be on good terms with China through his connection to Murong Feiye. However, now that their country was doomed, it was indeed, better to stay as far away from them as possible.
At the very least, it wasn’t worth pissing off a mysterious force who could bring even China to its knees in a matter of days.
If Jiang Shuxuan was still here, they’d still be able to put up a good fight. However, since his departure, China was no longer a viable partner to the British.
Of course, the less mess they make in the process the better.
Japan, on the other hand, was using its satellites to gain a live view of the current situation within the ancient martial arts world. They watched as pockets of their land got swallowed up, bit by bit.
“Not all hope is lost, ” said Baili Bin, who also was aware of the current situation. He held up an ancient book he was holding. “I have a plan. I believe it can help save the ancient martial arts word.”
“What plan?!” Murong Feiye looked up in disbelief.
“A formation,” replied Baili Bin bluntly. Despite the soft glow in his eyes, he still possessed a resilient soul. A golden ray of light shimmered the moment he flipped over the first page.
A massive wave swept over Murong Feiye, who felt as if he was in a trance within a fraction of a second. His eyes widened, he asked, “This…this is…”
Baili Bin glanced at him before closing the book back up. Turning around in his wheelchair, he said, “Let’s go.”
“Yeah,” replied Murong Feiye who dragged his feet heavily behind him.
Before leaving, he looked back at the cave. He was merely glancing at it out of instinct when his footsteps came to a halt. He saw the blade move slightly. His voice came out of his throat almost instantaneously. “Wait up Baili!”
Baili Bin’s arms stopped moving as he turned around, just in time to see a blinding white ray shine out from the dark cave.
The purple sparks that sealed the cave had now disappeared. The blade glowed brightly as it had been resuscitated. It flew out of the cave and danced about in a lively manner.
Figures slowly emerged from the dark cave. His expression was indifferent and his handsome face, cold as usual. The pure white short he wore was spotless. He appeared to be holding a human in his arms, who was wrapped up using his dark coat.
The man seemed so familiar that both Murong Feiye and Baili Bin’s eyes watered up immediately. “You’ve finally returned…”
They were this close to making a last stand.
“What happened to her?” Murong Feiye regained his composure and noticed the girl in Jiang Shuxuan’s arms.
JIang Shuxuan narrowed his eyes. “She ranked up. The chi in her body’s still a little chaotic. Minor tweaks must be conducted.”
That shouldn’t be too big of a problem. Letting out a sigh in relief, Murong Feiye’s facial expression finally returned to normal. He then proceeded to bring Jiang Shuxuan up to date with what was happening to the ancient martial arts world.
“Enough said. I know what’s going on.” Jiang Shuxuan peered at the horizon. A fiery red figure suddenly appeared far away in the never-ending sky before it reappeared right in front of him at lightning speed.
It’s Xixi!
Placing Gu Xiqiao on Xixi’s back, Jiang Shuxuan barked out an order.
“Send her home. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Xixi let out a deafening screech before flying off into the distance.
The glowing white sword once again entered his grasp. Jiang Shuxuan’s expression changed into something so intimidating that no one dared to make direct eye contact with him.
“Let us…” Murong Feiye had not even said “go” when his figure disintegrated into thin air.
Murong Feiye was left speechless.
“…”
‘Damn! He’s as unlikable as usual!’
“Say, don’t you think he’s a major show-off?” Murong Feiye turned to ask Baili Bin.
These two seemed to have had their backbones returned to them the moment Jiang Shuxuan returned. Even their stoic expressions have returned to their faces. Baili Bin picked up his book and replied: “He’s no show-off. He’s the real deal. Let’ go now.”
***
Near the border, the people of the ancient martial arts world were retreating with hopelessness on their faces.
Suddenly, an icy cold aura descended upon the battlefield. The figure of a man materialized mid-air.
A man and his sword.
Power surged all around the white sword as the tides of war turned in their favor.
“Lemme guess, he’s become more powerful?” Murong Feiye’s face was nothing short of shocked when he rushed over hastily.
Despite feeling a sense of relief, Baili Bin was also thoroughly shocked. Who would’ve thought that a few years later, he would be able to see the sword in action again. “That is correct. He’s much more powerful than before.” How on earth did Jiang Shuxuan manage to cultivate so much strength?
This scene would soon spread beyond China’s borders.
Some men in the US gathered around to see the scene in the video. Their look on their faces wasn’t too amused.
The Jiang Shuxuan they were watching appeared to be, much stronger than before!
The onlookers started panicking. Initially, when they heard that the ancient martial arts world was falling apart, they refused to send assistance, which was desperately needed. Some even coveted the ancient martial arts world’s resources. The “assistance” that they sent was far from being professional.
It’s all over now, they thought.
The British leader was in an even greater state of despair. He of all the people, was the one with the most regret.
Out of fear for the “mysterious force”, not only did he lose Murong Feiye, an important ally, he also lost his connection with the ancient martial arts world. To think that he was even gleeful about it.
Seeing that overwhelmingly powerful sword on the screen, realization had only set in that he had just lost a powerful ally.
Sweat marks appeared on his back. The man’s hands trembled in fear and regret was so overbearing that it felt like his heart was being sliced open. He whipped out his phone and decided to give Murong Feiye a call. No matter what, he absolutely must regain his ally.
Murong Feiye sneered when he saw the caller ID on his phone. “Say Baili, how shameless can the leader of a great nation be?” he asked.