Chapter 1083: Chapter 1082: Clear-cut Gratitude and Resentment (Extra for ’poonlo’, 17/20)_1
Falling Leaves City.
Zhen Family.
Ever since three days ago, when the young lady brought back a charred body, the Zhen Family and well-known physicians of Falling Leaves City were mobilized to treat it, but the outcome was hugely disappointing.
Facing such severe burns, everyone was helpless.
"Ye Chunlai, the number one physician of Falling Leaves City, whose nickname was ’Miracle Healer’, even frankly stated that the person’s faint breath would dissipate within two days, and not even a Supreme Immortal could save them.
Upon learning of the situation, Zhen Zhen sighed and could only order two of the house servants to carefully move the charred body outside of the city to be properly buried.
"The young lady is truly kind-hearted. If it were me, I’d just bury such a person haphazardly."
"A rotten corpse, and they still waste so much effort! But speaking of which, we should be thankful to this gentleman. Without him, we wouldn’t have received the young lady’s reward, hahaha."
The two servants chatted idly as they reached for the charred body on the bed, treating it like discarded goods, their disdain evident. However, just then, one of the servants suddenly let go and trembled, saying, "Why do I feel like he just moved?"
"What did you say?"
The other servant hadn’t heard clearly.
"This, this body, it seemed to move just now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the charred body that had been thrown to the ground suddenly opened its eyes, scaring the servants so badly that they screamed and ran chaotically towards the exit.
The cries of a ghost sighting immediately spread throughout the left wing of the house.
"I’m not dead yet."
Shi Xiaole felt a bit spooked as he took in the scene around him.
While he had survived the test of the Burning Heart Fire, the damage to his body was extremely severe, with hardly a spot left unscathed. It was only because of him; anyone else would have died many times over.
No wonder the burly man had said that out of over a billion people, none had crossed through the "flames and blades." Surely, he must have succeeded.
As he pondered, Shi Xiaole had already quietly begun to operate the martial arts of life and death. He did not know where he was; he had to recover his strength as quickly as possible to ensure his safety.
Before long, the sound of footsteps approached, and a man and a woman entered the room.
The man was a refined-looking middle-aged individual, while the young lady had an oval face with willow eyebrows, looking exceptionally elegant. From their standing, she seemed to hold a higher status than the man.
Shi Xiaole kept his eyes half-closed, feigning near-death.
Sima Ming examined him and said, "Miss, this person’s internal organs are displaced, and their meridians and bones are all broken. It seems that earlier, it was just a flash of vitality before the end."
He let out a silent sigh of relief.
If someone with such injuries as Shi Xiaole could pull through, Sima Ming would have had to be more cautious and possibly impose strict control.
Zhen Zhen’s expression of joy collapsed once again as she asked, "Uncle Ming, is there really no way to save him?" Saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda, and seeing the other party burned like that was just too pitiful.
Sima Ming shook his head with a bitter smile.
Listening to the receding footsteps of the two, Shi Xiaole opened his eyes. The weakness he had just shown was, of course, partly feigned, and as expected, that middle-aged man was clearly very wary of him.
Setting aside other thoughts, Shi Xiaole concentrated fully on operating the martial arts of life and death. By nightfall, his injuries had somewhat healed, but he still intentionally left his body charred to appear as if he could die at any moment.
The next day.
The third day.
During this period, the young lady visited twice, and Shi Xiaole continued to cling to a breath of life, puzzling the physicians. Sima Ming as well would stare at Shi Xiaole with evident suspicion in his eyes. This man with peak cultivation at the Divine Border Realm was clearly suspicious.
But Shi Xiaole no longer cared.
After three days of adjustment, the first thing to recover was his mental strength. Not only was it as vigorous as before, but Shi Xiaole also found upon introspection that his mental strength had become purer and more translucent, with a subtle improvement in quality.
Everything in his eyes became three times clearer than before. The result was that once he utilized his mental martial arts, their power would be stronger than in the past.
At the same time, Shi Xiaole’s body had healed nearly half. At this rate, he believed he would be completely healed in just a few more days.
...
Inside the Zhen Family’s council hall, there was not a single empty seat, but including the patriarch Zhen Shan and other core members, everyone had a gloomy expression as if some unfavorable event had occurred.
"This bastard Liu Quan, so ungrateful! Not only disregarding the nurturing kindness our Zhen Family showed him but also allying with the Lv Clan to target our family. Had I known, I should have crushed him with a palm strike from the start!"
One of the Zhen Family elders, infuriated, slammed the table, his beard bristling.
Falling Leaves City might be called a city, but as it was established in the Colorless Realm without the restrictions of a court or government, martial factions have alternately controlled it over the years.
In fact, the entire Colorless Realm was like this; everyone was subordinate to the "Sky Alliance," "Cold Crow Association," and "Ten Sword Sect," the three major powers.
The "Sky Alliance" and "Cold Crow Association" had been around for hundreds of years, while the "Ten Sword Sect" had only been established by a father and son a few years ago.
Due to the father and son’s upright character and fair dealings, not exploiting people like the other two factions, they quickly garnered the support of many, and their influence grew to rival that of the "Sky Alliance" and "Cold Crow Association."
The Zhen Family was one of the thirteen major factions under the "Ten Sword Sect." Meanwhile, the Lv Clan, which Liu Quan had defected to, was a subordinate faction of the "Sky Alliance." Friction had always existed between the two, and recently, matters had escalated into a fierce dispute over the quota for the "Color Crossing Ship."
"Heh, we can’t kill him now. I’ve heard that beast Liu Quan somehow got his hands on a famous sword and presented it to the old master of the Sky Alliance, greatly pleasing him."
Another Elder of the Zhen Family said.
Upon hearing these words, everyone’s faces changed dramatically.
Famed swords are scarce in the world, a truth known to all, and now that the old master, the number one expert of the Colorless Realm, was in possession of a famous sword, who in the future would be his match?!
Whether it was about the struggle for a spot on the "Color Crossing Ship", or the stability of the Colorless Realm, this was dreadful news! With this thought, many wished they could kill Liu Quan on the spot.
The Grand Elder of the Zhen Family gestured for silence before speaking, "The urgent matter at hand is to discuss how to deal with the Lv Clan’s assault. In just a few days, many of our territories have been destroyed, our masters severely injured, and the whole of Falling Leaves City is watching."
"What’s there to discuss, just fight them directly!"
"Let’s fight with all we’ve got!"
Many were filled with righteous indignation, while others voiced their opposition, quickly starting another quarrel.
In the end, it was the head of the Zhen Family, Zhen Shan, who waved his hand and said, "Our strength is already slightly inferior to the Lv Clan, and with Liu Quan gaining the favor of the old master, their momentum has greatly increased. A head-on clash is not the best strategy. We must plot carefully... Additionally, I have already informed the Ten Sword Sect of the matter, and I believe Suzerain Zhan will help us."
At this crucial stage of the intense struggle between the three major powers, the Zhen Family, as an important subordinate force of the Ten Sword Sect, would not be ignored in this predicament. This was Zhen Shan’s greatest confidence.
Otherwise, a head-to-head confrontation between the Zhen and Lv families would lead to mutual destruction, with no second outcome. Agreeing with the patriarch’s reasoning, although some were discontent, they could only hold their tongues and quietly wait.
Unfortunately, the development of the situation far exceeded Zhen Shan’s expectations.
Two days later.
An important stronghold of the Zhen Family was annihilated, six Earth Immortals of the Divine Barrier Realm died, twenty-eight Lords of the Dragon Gate Realm died, and the casualties among the other martial artists were tenfold. Even a grandson of the Grand Elder met an untimely death.
When the news returned, the entire Zhen Family was shaken with rage.
It should be noted that the Zhen Family had only a little over twenty Terrestrial Immortals, and nearly a third of them had perished all at once.
The next day followed.
Another important stronghold was destroyed. Thankfully, this time the Zhen Family was prepared and even organized a counter-attack, avoiding losses. But the humiliation of being trampled upon remained indelible in the hearts of the Zhen Family, fueling the flames of vengeance.
Just as the Zhen Family decided to retaliate at all costs, the Lv Clan launched a preemptive strike under the cover of night into the Zhen Family’s territory.
"Lv Yihe, do you seek mutual destruction?"
On the expansive square of the Zhen Family, the two groups were confronting each other, Zhen Shan looking across at the imposing man opposite him with an ashen face.
"Mutual destruction? You seem to overestimate yourself,"
Lv Yihe scoffed disdainfully.
Standing next to him, a man with a goatee sneered, "Patriarch, no offense, but the people of the Zhen Family have always thought too highly of themselves."
"Liu Quan, you beast!"
As soon as the goateed man spoke up, he immediate provoked wrath, with several Zhen Family masters’ eyes turning red with anger.
Boom!
An overwhelming aura suddenly spread from the middle of the crowd, as if pressing down the entire sky, particularly for the members of the Zhen Family, who felt as though a mountain had been placed on their backs, making it hard to breathe.
"Liu Quan is a man personally praised by the Sky Alliance leader, who are you to denigrate him?"
From the Lv Clan’s crowd, a man with ordinary features slowly stepped forward, becoming the backdrop for everyone else, even the void ebbed and surged under the influence of his aura.
"A Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm!"
The Grand Elder of the Zhen Family exclaimed in horror.
There were only about thirty Martial Emperors in the Void Origin Realm throughout the Colorless Realm, mostly clustered within the three major powers. They hadn’t expected that the old master would cherish Liu Quan so much as to dispatch a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm.
No, it wasn’t due to favor towards Liu Quan, but rather the immense value of a famed sword. To win people’s hearts, the old master had deemed it necessary to do so.
All of a sudden, a chill ran down the spines of the Zhen Family members.
All of them put together were no match for a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm. Unless the top experts of the Ten Sword Sect arrived quickly, but if the Martial Emperor was determined to slay them, it would be too late!
"Miss, when the time comes, make a break for it with all your strength; I’ll cover for you,"
Sima Ming clenched his fist and transmitted his voice to the pale-faced Zhen Zhen.
Drip, drip.
At the same time, in a certain room to the left of the Zhen Household.
Pieces of blackened skin fell to the ground, revealing a perfect, stone-carved body underneath with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long arms, and legs. Each muscle and every line was impeccably defined, exuding robust explosive power.
Ink-black hair laced with signature white temples grew out rapidly, reaching down his back.
Bathed in moonlight, Shi Xiaole stood up, took out a fresh set of blue robes from his system space, and dressed himself, regaining his usual appearance. He had underestimated the martial path of life and death; to his surprise, his injuries had fully recovered in just seven days.
Actually, if possible, Shi Xiaole would not have minded lying down a while longer, as his bottleneck in the Sword Dao was loosening, and he might soon have a breakthrough. But it seemed the Zhen Family was in trouble.
Paying back debts of gratitude as well as vengeance was his nature; naturally, Shi Xiaole could not sit idly by.
