Rise of Humanity

Chapter 90 - A Hero That Left No Name Behind

Jun Sixie turned around, but there was nothing, even the Jiao Dragon dispersed into thin air on its own. On the ground, only her zither with the string curling around it like a cocoon remained.

The young man from the Zhong Shan Clan who accompanied her on the harrowing journey of escape, the one who’s blood spilled like water so that her’s wouldn’t have to … that young hero, was nowhere to be found.

“What you are looking for, my goddess?” the clan elder of the Jun Shan Clan saw her looking around, he was baffled and asked curiously.

“Nothing.”

Jun Sixie refocused her sights, lowering her head and staring at the crystalline lake to be met with the reflection of the figure of a young lady filled with tenderness, A hero that left no name behind, one who sought not fame nor profit - Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan … I will always remember you.

When she lifted her head up again, the air of elegance and aloofness befitting a goddess returned to her countenance as she said indifferently, “Great clan leader, let’s head back. I’m heavily injured, my wounds are in urgent need of treatment. Has the great clan leader prepared the Yuling Paste and Lingyuan Pellets?”

“It is all ready!”

“Good, let’s head back to Jun Mountain!”

The Jun Shan Clan’s leader was gratified upon seeing her decisiveness despite her severe wounds, She is indeed the goddess of our clan, she will be a great leader in the Great Wilderness, a heroine that will lead the Jun Shan Clan to a new peak!

Jun Sixie turned her head around and gazed at the spirited woods in the mountains and the eagles soaring the high sky; she then turned back and walked away, In this world, there is a young man from the Zhong Shan Clan who had seen the tenderness deep beneath in my heart…

Somewhere in the mountains laden in evergreen, Zhong Yue stood atop the dragon’s head. The Jiao Dragon strode through the woods; Zhong Yue would most likely not be described as elegant and chivalrous as the “the unsung hero that left no name behind”. His wounds were severe and his ribs ached in pain, his clothes were ragged and shabby and stained with blood stains - Zhong Yue struck a tragic figure as of this moment.

My injuries are too heavy, I must remember to bring along some Yuling Pastes with me the next time; otherwise, it would really be a sad joke if I were to die of wounds after the fact rather than in the heat of battle.

Although his physique was strong and sturdy, there would inevitably come a day where even the strongest body would have to suffer a few wounds.

If I let the wounds heal on their own, it would probably take a dozen days. By the time I reach Swords Gate, they would be nearly recovered.

Zhong Yue gazed afar, the Swords Gate of the Great Wilderness was still quite a distance away. But as the monster experts were not on his tail anymore, he was no longer under the constant pressure to hurry and hustle for the rest of the journey. He could now enjoy a slight reprieve and allow himself a bit more comfort; naturally, his speed would slow down, and it would take a few more days to reach his destination.

Xin Huo was in slumber once again, his voice had yet to be heard.

Oh yes, I’ve coalesced with the Great Sun Golden Crow and achieved the state of [Spirit Soul as One], I wonder if the quintessence imbued to me by the spirit of Great Sun Golden Crow consists of any defensive skills?

As he thought about it, he began sorting through the knowledge he was imparted by the spirit, he thought to himself, Senior Martial Sister says that I’ve yet to explore the magical effects brought by the spirit, that I’ve yet to acquire the abstruse power in the quintessences, I think it’s time for me to explore them!

The spirit of the Great Sun Golden Crow held three forms, and hence, three types of totems.

The first was the Great Sun Totem, with 36 totem permutations, Zhong Yue submerged himself into the totem carvings and reach out to them, his heart skipped a bit.

This is … totem carvings dedicated to physique refinement, way more profound than the 【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】!

He took in a deep breath of air, the 【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】 was already augmented by him once before; after he had merged the thunder totems and Xiang Dragon Totem together, it could’ve been deemed as a physique refining art with considerable strength, allowing his physique to be comparable to that of a Qi Practitioner despite himself not being a Qi Practitioner!

But when compared to the Great Sun Totem, the 【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】 was simply trash!

The Great Sun Totem had 36 totem permutations, although it was not as many as the Xuan Wu Totem that had 46 totem permutations; the number of totem permutations wasn’t indicative of its strength.

For example, the “Boundless Great Sword Qi” only had one totem permutation, yet it was far more profound than the other techniques.

The Great Sun Totem’s totem permutations were beyond the Xuan Wu Totem is terms of complexity and profundity; Zhong Yue examined and studied them carefully, only to find that the esoteric knowledge held within it was obscure and nearly imperceptible.

He recollected his thoughts, and turned to the second form of the Great Sun Golden Crow.

There were more totem permutations of the spirit totem in the three-legged golden crow form than its previous form, the Great Sun - a total of 64 of them.

A flying combat skill!

Zhong Yue’s heart palpitated in joy, the Golden Crow Totem contained a fairly strong combat skill, and also a flying skill, if he could practice it, his prowess would increase greatly!

Furthermore, his intuition told him that if he were to fully grasp the abstruse quintessence of the Golden Crow Totem, and form a pair of wings with his psyche, it would allow him to maneuver around in the air with superlative agility and nimbleness.

And most of all, the wings of the Golden Crow were capable of breaking through the sound barrier!

Even though Zhong Yue could be described as a blank slate in terms of knowledge and experience, he had met with quite a number of Qi Practitioners, and yet, he had never come across a Qi Practitioner capable of breaking through the sound barrier relying on their winged flying skills!

This was mainly due to the inherent limitation of wings as a mode of flight. Achieving such high speeds through the flapping of wings would place tremendous stress on the wings themselves, while also requiring exorbitant amounts of power. Even if the wings were made of steel, breaking through the sound barrier would pose an insurmountable endeavor, not the mention doing so with the fragile psyche-manifested totem wings.

However, such conventions didn’t apply to the Golden Crow wings!

The Golden Crow Totem had 64 totem permutations, each and every one of them more complex than the Great Sun Totem - more abstruse, more esoteric, and consequently, harder to comprehend.

Such amazing totem permutations, if I want to fully explore and understand all of them, I will need at least a dozen days to do so.

He then proceeded to set his mind towards the third totem - the totem of the three-legged celestial being. Moments later, he had no choice but to give up.

The first two totems, whether it be the Great Sun Totem or the Golden Crow Totem, Zhong Yue was still able to glean even the slightest modicum of insight from them. But the totem of the three-legged celestial being, with its 108 totem permutations, was simply something far beyond the realm of his current understanding.

Furthermore, the totem of the three-legged celestial being required a high cultivation level, it was a type of combat skill meant to be used in the state of Spirit Body as One - it was unfathomably strong and powerful!

The Great Sun Totem and Golden Crow Totem are worth my time in studying them, if I can truly comprehend the abstruse quintessences in them, then I can amend two of my weak points!

Zhong Yue studied the totems with all his heart, he submerged himself into the 36 Great Sun Totem permutations; regardless of day or night, sun or rain, he cared for nothing else other than the totem permutations, while the Jiao Dragon carried him on its back and strode towards Swords Gate.

All along the way, the Jiao Dragon hiked and scaled the mountains, trod and crossed the rivers - the journey was peaceful and calm.

Unbeknownst to him, tens of days slipped by, Zhong Yue had nearly grasped all of the 36 Great Sun Totem permutations. All of a sudden, he lifted his head up abruptly, and the Swords Gate entered his sights with increasing clarity!

The majestic Swords Gate Mountain pierced into the sky like a heavenly sword, it was so high that not even his sights could extend to such a height; only the radiant beams from the golden summit of Swords Gate shone down onto the sea of clouds, illuminating the whole sky.

When he was studying the Great Sun Totem, he was also ceaselessly extracting the Gold Qi from the sabers and the other ferric soul weapons.

The fragments of the broken sabers were initially accumulated into a little mountain on the Jiao Dragon’s back, but as of now, they were all disintegrated into fine powder and dust as the Gold Qi in them was extracted away by Zhong Yue.

The vast surge of Gold Qi in his body could sustain his visualization of six Xuan Wu Gold Spirit Shields, although the defensive capability was not overly strong, it would still not be easy to break through his defenses. Especially when he had achieved the state of unconscious visualization. With any incoming attack, the Xuan Wu shields would immediately appear autonomously in his defense without him intentionally visualizing them.

Ever since my promotion to an inner disciple, I have not yet visited my own cave dwelling, the timing is convenient as I am on the brim of fully grasping the abstruse Great Sun Totem. I hear that cultivating in the cave dwelling is faster and more efficient than the other places.

Zhong Yue walked over to the inner hall, he reached to the side of the escarpments and struck the gong. A giant white crane descended out from the misty clouds and shuttled him to the other side of the escarpments.

“So it’s Brother Zhong from the Zhong Shan Clan, let me tell you something you probably don’t know yet, the Croc Dragon who was initially in charge of this place went missing out of nowhere without any reason, and so I was assigned to be his substitute.”

The white crane’s graceful voice sounded like a girl’s, she smiled and said, “I’m the mount of a Tao Lin Clan elder, I’ve been conferred the surname of ‘Tao’, Little Brother Zhong can call me Tao He’er.”

Zhong Yue nodded, he looked down to the bottom of the escarpment to see the wicked flesh meats still squirming on the slopes, the seals placed by the gods continuing to repress the evils beneath; while the Croc Dragon that threw him down was killed by its benefactor and is now forever gone from the word.

I’ve managed to escape from the Devil Soul Forbidden Land, become a monster territory lord, ascend to the moon and the sun, acquire the spirit of the Great Sun Golden Crow for myself, meet with Senior Martial Jun Sixie in the Savanna Wasteland, and escape from the monster experts. Who would believe that I had survived through such thrilling and soul-stirring experiences?

His mind suddenly felt surreal as he reminisced about the experiences he had gone through. All of a sudden, a thought flashed across his mind and he voiced, “Tao He’er, the Croc Dragon, whose mount was it?

Tao He’er said, “Croc Dragon was the mount of Elder Lei Shan of the Lei Hu Clan, but afterward, it was conferred to Lei Hong for his meritorious deed. Lei Hong, as one of the four Swords Gate young successors, felt that the Croc Dragon was of no use to him, and so he had assigned the Croc Dragon to take charge of this place.”

Elder Lei Shan’s mount? Croc Dragon said that he is doing it to because he owes someone a great deed, could that someone be Lei Shan? Or would it be Lei Hong? No, Lei Hong was around Gu Xia City at that point in time, it can’t be him. So, was it Lei Shan who killed the Croc Dragon?

In time Zhong Yue took to mull over his conjectures, they arrived at the other side of the escarpment, he thought to himself, Senior Martial Sister Jun said that she was betrayed, that’s why she was ambushed. The traitor must be one of them - the Feng, Fang and Lei. But if Elder Lei Shan had instructed the Croc Dragon to kill me, then the one that sold off Senior Martial Sister Jun to the monsters must be Lei Hong of the four young successors! The Shuitu Clan wasn’t the only one colluding with Tian Myriad Mother, even the Lei Hu Clan is also involved?

“Junior Martial Brother Zhong, you have finally come out from the Ethereal Palace!”

While Zhong Yue was still cracking his head figuring things out, Ting Lanyue appeared right in front and walked towards him. He cast his gaze at the young lady, Ting Lanyue appeared to have also manifested a spirit to become a Qi Practitioner.

The young lady abruptly grabbed him in her hands and said anxiously, “You are finally out! You don’t know, but your cave dwelling is surrounded by a lot of people, they are all waiting for you!”

“My cave dwelling is blockaded?”

Zhong Yue was surprised, he asked, “What is going on?”

“I think it’s because of a sword token.”

Ting Lanyue quickly explained to him, “From what I’ve heard, they say that the sword token is extremely important, it relates to the next headmaster of Swords Gate. Those people are indignant and unconvinced that you were bequeathed the sword token, that’s why they are blockading your cave dwelling waiting for you. These guys, they’ve been there for three months!”

So the disturbance is because of the sword token again. Who was it that spread the word of me having the sword token, was it the Shuitu Clan or Lei Hu Clan?

Zhong Yue thought in his heart, he then smiled and said, “I’ve returned the sword token back to its owner. Rest assured Senior Martial Sister Ting, I will tell them the truth that I’ve given back the sword token and they will naturally leave on their own.”

Ting Lanyue shook her head in disagreement, “It’s hard to say. Don’t go back to your cave dwelling yet, Li Xiuniang and Yu Feiyan are now also Qi Practitioners, I will look for them and we will accompany you, we won’t let those guys bully you!”

Zhong Yue shook his head, just when he was about to say something, the young lady had already turned back and walked away quickly.

Senior Martial Sister Ting is very warm-hearted, just a little bit too impetuous, Zhong Yue thought inwardly as he strode forwards back to his cave dwelling.