Chapter 95: Shenlong Continent
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"You must not!" A voice suddenly called out from the distance.
Whoosh—
A swift, exquisite flash appeared before the Master of Fenghuang Valley. The effects of Ice and Thunder Feast were scattered.
Li Guang's figure appeared.
The Seal of Time only worked on designated people; thus, only the Master of Fenghuang Valley had been sealed. Li Guang was not affected. The sudden disruption freed the Master of Fenghuang Valley from her bonds.
At that moment, the figure of the purple dragon, invisible to the mortal eye, disappeared. The Master of Fenghuang Valley freed herself from the Seal of Time.
Even though her body had been sealed in time, she had remained conscious. The intense pain in her chest made her furious!
"I'll kill you!" The Master of Fenghuang Valley shrieked.
Her injuries were minor, but she needed to salvage her reputation! She, a Holy King, had been wounded by a simpleton! Only Li Guang's intervention had stopped her from taking a second blow!
She would never forget that humiliation!
"Humph!" Li Guang glared at her, "You think I'm simple decoration? Make another move and I'll finish you myself! Bullying my Holy Disciples time and again, you deserved what you got!"
"You!" Xu Rong was angry and ashamed. She had to be cautious.
Su Yu stared at Xu Rong, feeling a shred of pity. The Seal of Time had a time limit. Every activation had to be accompanied by a period of rest. Otherwise, his eyes would tear. He had already missed the best possible time to kill the Master of Fenghuang Valley.
"Holy King, why did you stop me?" Su Yu asked, confused. He didn't understand the intentions behind Li Guang's actions. Li Guang was obviously not biased towards the Master of Fenghuang Valley, otherwise, he would not have protected Su Yu.
Li Guang looked over, his ancient eyes filled with relief and gratitude.
"Come with me! I shall show you another world." Li Guang did not answer, instead, he grabbed Su Yu's shoulder and flew thousands of feet up into the sky.
Su Yu did not understand him. Another world?
"Look down at the wasteland," Li Guang said.
Su Yu listened to him and looked down. His pupils contracted into needle points as he processed the image before him, "This is… a palm print!"
According to the legend, the forbidden wasteland had once been a prosperous and bustling area. It had been reduced to a wasteland overnight. On the ground, it was difficult to see the biggest clue as to the what had caused the collapse.
But from above, Su Yu now saw a shocking scene which he would remember for the rest of his life!
The wasteland was cradled in a massive, palm-shaped crater.
"You're right, it is a palm print! A palm destroyed everything within thirty feet," Li Guang was equally awed.
A palm had destroyed everything within thirty feet, reducing it all to ash.
Su Yu was lost within his own mind as he slipped into a shock he had never felt before in his life.
He recalled the day at the Twilight Mountains, with the two murals underground. The first was an elder's Heavenly Finger. Su Yu had benefited from it, learning the Holy Decree. The second was a heavenly great palm which came crashing down from the heavens itself, shattering all mountains and devastating any lakes within ten thousand miles!
Su Yu could never forget that scene.
The thirty-foot palm print which had destroyed everything clearly had to do with the second painting.
"Is this the power of a Holy King?" Su Yu was lost.
Li Guang let out a self-deprecating laugh, "Holy King? Hehe, just what is a Holy King? Compared to the might of this palm, Holy Kings are but ants—a finger could exterminate us."
"The other world, have you seen it?" Li Guang suddenly asked.
Su Yu took a moment to collect himself as he considered Li Guang's words, "Holy King, what you're saying is the level of the Holy King, the legend of the martial paths, is not the pinnacle?"
"Legends of the martial paths?" Li Guang's self-mocking tone deepened, "Perhaps that's what you mortals call us. But, in the other world, Holy Kings are the lowest of lifeforms."
"Where is this other world?" Su Yu was shocked; the legendary Holy Kings of the martial paths were the lowest lifeforms in the other world!
Li Guang replied with a question of his own, "How big do you think the Shenyue continent is?"
Su Yu thought for a moment. The Xianyu prefecture was as big as China, and the Fenglin Empire was as large as the entire Earth. The Alliance of the Nine Empires was as giant as nine planets.
Adding in the landmass of the Fenghuang Empire—which was larger than all the alliances combined—the entire Shenyue continent would be about the size of twenty Earths.
The sheer size of the area shook his soul.
"Very large! You could travel for a lifetime and still not see everything," Su Yu answered earnestly, awe bubbling in his heart.
Li Guang was amused, "What if I told you that the Shenyue continent was but a tiny Island?"
"What? An island?" Su Yu gasped!
Li Guang slowly nodded his head, "Correct! The Shenyue continent is but an island in a vast ocean. The real mainland is the Zhenlong continent.
"The Zhenlong continent is the center of the world; it is truly an environment for martial artists. The Shenyue continent is but a tiny island among many others."
Su Yu could not think of anything to say. The vast Shenyue continent was but a speck in the ocean!
"Xu Rong and I, in the mainland, are disciples of the Liuxian Faction. A hundred years ago, we were dispatched to Shenyue Island to seek talents among its inhabitants for the faction," Li Guang continued, "Xu Rong set up Fenghuang Valley and built the Fenghuang Empire, whereas I built the Sanctuary and controlled the Alliance of the Nine Empires. We split Shenyue Island in half, each selecting talents from its inhabitants.
"Today's Fight of the Century was designed to finally select the five eligible disciples for the mainland," Li Guang concluded.
Su Yu was shocked. To think the Sanctuary and Fenghuang Valley had been built for Zhenlong continent's Liuxian Faction to mine for talent.
Li Guang looked at Xu Rong and calmly sighed, "So, now you know why I stopped you? Firstly, you cannot kill her. Your most powerful strike would only give her minor wounds—it was due to your secret soul techniques that you even managed to wound her at all.
"Second, even if you managed to kill her, could you stand against the powerful warriors from the Zhenlong continent who would come to avenge her? Among them, some can even obliterate me with just a thought."
A thought capable of obliterating a Holy King?
Su Yu was in awe. Xu Rong and Li Guang were not only powerful, but their status was also not ordinary.
"Alright, now you should tell me—how did your abilities progress so quickly since the battle in the Evil Forest?" Li Guang could not mask his curiosity.
Su Yu nodded. Now that it had come to this, he did owe him an explanation.
Creak—
The Icy heart Core started beating in his chest, absorbing the cold energy from their surroundings.
"That day, trapped under the rubble, I achieved the top stage of Icy Heart Core. According to the manual, after the top stage is achieved, an ice heart would form. That heart could increase my cultivation level by absorbing could energy from the surroundings."
Li Guang was enlightened. When he was buried, Su Yu was at Level Seven Upper Tier, but today he was at Level Eight Peak—all due to the benefits of the Icy Heart Core.
The Fenglin Empire was in the midst of winter, where chilly energy was at its peak. The Evil Forest was shady, and chilly energy was even more prominent there.
Su Yu had continuously absorbed cold energy for ten days. Coupled with the fact that he had swallowed many saint grade elixirs, the medicinal properties of both the elixirs and cold energy were stimulated and he had achieved rapid improvement.
"Then how did you achieve top class of Icy Heart Core? Before the crisis, you had only achieved upper class and you still needed multiple years before you could break through to top class. Deity level techniques get harder to gain insight into the more you progress."
"It should be due to my level of perception," Su Yu said, leaving out details which explained the changes in his body!
His biggest change was not the cultivation level, nor the techniques he had learned, but instead… the biggest changes had occurred because of the Nine-Dragon Cauldron!
Under the dire circumstances, the Nine-Dragon Cauldron had changed.
Multiple drops of spirit serum had fallen from within, cleansing his body and purifying his soul, boosting his levels of perception.
Simultaneously, his space-time manipulation had a massive breakthrough. In the past, he could speed up time fifty times when he was still. After the change, he could speed it up two hundred times!
He had been trapped for half a month. With his space-time manipulation technique, it had been equivalent to ten years! It was enough time for him to completely comprehend Icy Heart Core.
Furthermore, the purple dragon head of the Nine-Dragon Cauldron, after being cleansed by the red spirit serum, had become totally crystalline.
Su Yu's eyes underwent a strange evolution, eventually turning purple.
In the past, he could only control the time around his body. The purple eyes allowed him to control the passage of time in the outside world.
The Seal of Time was thus born; it could freeze time for any specific target. In a battle of life and death, it would greatly benefit Su Yu!
But Su Yu could not completely control his eyes. To prevent the technique from being leaked out or accidentally hurting the innocent, he kept his eyes closed.
"Level of perception?" Li Guang gasped, "Your extraordinary levels of perception are unbelievable."
Su Yu secretly grimaced. The truly unbelievable person was Xia Jingyu.
"How did your spirit level technique come about?" Li Guang's gaze turned grave; this was a vital question. He had regarded Su Yu's divine purple eyes as a secret soul technique that had made Xu Rong lose concentration, but he did not pry too much.
"What is a spirit level technique?" Su Yu was lost.
"The Purple Star Thunderbolt," Li Guang said, "Basic, medium, advanced, saint, and deity level techniques are classified under mortal level cultivation techniques, attainable by mortals. Spirit level cultivation techniques can only be attained by people above the level of Holy King. Xu Rong's technique which she used against you was a spirit level technique."
The Purple Star Thunderbolt was a spirit level technique? Su Yu was shocked. But, as he thought back, a few things began to make sense. Deity level techniques like the Icy Heart Core and the Reverie of Dewdrops only had a lower tier, an upper tier, and a peak. Purple Star Thunderbolt had more tiers.
Also, in terms of difficulty, Purple Star Thunderbolt had confused Su Yu more than once.
He had achieved top class in two deity level techniques, Icy Heart Core and Infernal Demon Pupils. Yet, Purple Star Thunderbolt was still at Stage One Upper Tier. The time he had spent gaining insight into the technique was already at six months. Coupled with the effects of the space-time manipulation, he had essentially spent ten years learning the technique but remained stagnant at Stage One Upper Tier.
That difference in difficulty between techniques finally made sense.
To think Purple Star Thunderbolt was a spirit level technique that only the Shenlong continent possessed, attainable only by Holy Kings—no wonder Su Yu was struggling.
In the past, he had thought it was a saint level technique. Then, he found its power to be overwhelming and thought it was a deity level technique. Unexpectedly, it was actually a spirit level technique!
If that is the case, then there should still be other pieces of the manual somewhere!
"It is from the remnant of a manual at the Xianyu prefecture's martial arts training institute," Su Yu answered.
"Xianyu prefecture?" Li Guang thought hard, "The Twilight Mountains of the Xianyu prefecture used to be prosperous, but they were destroyed overnight. If I am correct, that piece of the manual for the spirit level technique was accidentally discovered sometime after."
So the Purple Star Thunderbolt had been found at the ruins with the murals?
"Alright. Within a day, an escort from the Zhenlong continent will come and bring us back to the Zhenlong continent. My job here with Xu Rong is done." Li Guang descended from the sky with Su Yu.
"Su Yu is victorious!" The black puppet declared.
Opening its mouth, the black puppet thrust a token toward Li Guang, "In accordance to the Fight of the Century, the winning side will get this Liuxian Token."
Liu Guang grabbed it with his hand, his old frame trembling as tears welled up in his eyes.
Xu Rong stared at the Liuxian Token, visibly jealous.
Suppressing the greed in her heart, Xu Rong's expression was forced. She cupped her hands, "Congratulations Brother Li. You have waited bitterly for a hundred years and your patience has finally paid off. You can use the Liuxian Token to request a favor from the faction."
Li Guang closed his eyes, clutching the Liuxian Token tightly as tears flowed down his eyes. His voice shuddered, "Ruo Lan… Wait for me! I will definitely get the faction to investigate that incident so long ago… I will get answers! I, Li Guang, was wronged!"
Zhao Guang was overwhelmed with emotion. He knelt on the ground and bowed to Su Yu in gratitude. Tears also welled up in his eyes, "Junior Su! I will never forget your benevolence!"
Only Zhao Guang understood the pain his teacher had suffered. To salvage his reputation, he had spent a hundred years attempting to obtain the Liuxian Token.
It was Su Yu who had helped Li Guang fulfill his wish!
Li Guang's eyes were also full of gratitude. He scanned the Holy Disciples he had brought with him, smiling in relief as he gathered all of them to his side.
"Only Zhao Guang knows what had happened to me in the past. Today, I shall tell all of you exactly what happened."
It turned out that Li Guang was once one of the newer disciples in the Liuxian faction. As a new student, he had above-average potential.
Ruo Lan was his junior, beautiful and innocent—she was in love with Li Guang.
The two of them got along well. They cultivated techniques together and advanced through the faction.
But, one night, Junior Ruo Lan was assaulted in Li Guang's living quaters.
The event was said to have been witnessed by Li Guang's romantic rival, Senior Han Zhi—a gifted student of admirable potential. Li Guang and Junior Ruo Lan had been drinking together in the flower fields that terrible night—both had over-indulged to the point of blacking out.
When they awoke, Li Guang was immediately convicted.
Junior Ruo Lan was furious and ashamed—she withdrew from everyone.
Li Guang, branded a rapist, should have been executed! Only Li Guang himself knew that he had not touched Ruo Lan that night.
The true rapist was not Li Guang, but the supposed witness—Han Zhi!