Chapter 4.2 (2/2)

Qi Ling looks at the ground filled with avian, it’s just nice that he’s hungry, hence he picks some dead branches from the forest before taking out the firestone from his clothes and lighting a fire. He plucks the feathers from the avian and skewers them onto branches before holding them over the fire. After a while, as if not satisfied with the roasting, he turns and grabs some fragrant gra.s.s from the forest and a few wild fruits. He mashes the gra.s.s and smears the meat with their juices before pus.h.i.+ng the wild fruits into the stomachs of the avian and setting them over the fire again. A short while later, the skin of the avian meat is covered with oil and a thick and savoury scent drifts through the air.

The fire burning in the night seems warm and bright.

The firewood burns continuously, spluttering with consistent sparks, carried by the wind and floating among the darkness of trees like fireflies.

After the fire has been ignited, Xue Ci returns to Yin Chen’s lord’s seal. And Cang Xue Zhi Ya jumps onto rock far from the fire, slouching dispiritedly.

Yin Chen tells Qi Ling: “You should call it back into your lord’s seal.”

Qi Ling c.o.c.ks his head and thinks before saying: “Oh……yeah, why do you keep Xue Ci in your seal normally? Isn’t it quite good if you let it out? I think that, to have such a magnificent lion following me around is such an honour.”

“Once a soul beast has been subdued, they are no longer able to hunt and rest to regain their soul powers like when they were free. They can only regain energy if they’re in our lord’s seal. If they are constantly in a physical state or battle mode, then their soul powers are consistently being used,” Yin Chen lifts a finger, “There, look at Cang Xue Zhi Ya, if you don’t let it return to your lord’s seal, I’m pretty sure it won’t be able to move by tomorrow morning.”

Qi Ling stands in fright before jogging to Cang Xue Zhi Ya, waving at it and points to his b.u.t.t. Cang Xue Zhi Ya stands lethargically before rounding over to his back. It stands in a daze with its head low, looking at him.

Qi Ling turns and asks Yin Chen: “How am I supposed to withdraw it back to my lord’s seal?”

“Gather your soul powers towards your lord’s seal, and then let it sense its soul powers, it’s pretty simple.”

Qi Ling understood nothing, but Yin Chen has already closed his eyes to rest so he can only clench his teeth. Looking at the sleepy Cang Xue Zhi Ya behind him, he closes his eyes and feels his soul powers flow through his bodu.

A soft explosion sounds in the air, the ma.s.sive silver-white lion flows smoothly into Qi Ling’s body like a cloud of white smoke.

Qi Ling stares wide-eyed, “This is so……brilliant.”

Qi Ling returns to Yin Chen’s side, sitting by his feet, he nudges his leg, “Yin Chen, tell me more about your world. My favourite thing before bed when I was younger was to listen to stories……”

Yin Chen lowers his eyes, a look of disdain appears on his face, “Who is telling stories, everything I said is true.”

Qi Ling nods immediately, “Yes yes, tell me more, I want to listen. Think about it, I’m your disciple, next time when I meet other lords, I can’t be like a fool who knows nothing right, I have to bring you honour. Although you’re just a minor Lord to the Seventh Degree……master! Please put away your icicles, I didn’t mean that! Okay, what I’m saying is, next time if I ever meet others, I should at least seem like a disciple in case I lose face for you……”

Yin Chen looks at the serious face of Qi Ling, under the light of the fire, the naivety of youth is still there, but he can see how handsome and righteous he will become in the future. He changes his posture before facing Qi Ling: “Lords rarely interact with each other. Lords have always been alone with only their disciple accompanying them. Unless the Silver Priests a.s.signed a very important mission that requires that the lord a.s.sist one another, if not, the lords do not meet at all. That is because the soul powers for one single lord is already astonis.h.i.+ng, hence it’s very rare that something requires more than one lord to solve……” Yin Chen moves back and leans against the rock, “And you won’t lose face for me.” He thinks back to the vast ocean-like soul powers he first sensed within Qi Ling’s body.

“Is it? But I understand nothing, Yin Chen, your other disciples must be really powerful?” Qi Ling hangs his head in despair while lifting his eyes to look at Yin Chen occasionally.

“I’ve already told you, one lord can only have one disciple, unless the disciple dies, if not the lord cannot bestow the seal onto the second person. And before you, I never had a disciple.” Yin Chen says softly with his eyes closed.

“So that’s it……turns out I’m your first……” Qi Ling spreads his hands and lets out a sigh of relief.

Yin Chen maintains his quiet and n.o.ble sleeping posture, but the angry throbbing of the vein at his temple is still difficult to mask.

Qi Ling scratches his head, seeming happy for no reason, “Speaking of which, what do disciples do? Do they serve the lord? Or are we like, your a.s.sistant?”

Yin Chen opens his eyes to gaze at Qi Ling, the moonlight s.h.i.+nes on his youthful and handsome face, his gaze resembles a black ocean, the sharpness of his brows compliments his handsome beauty, “Disciples……they are the next generation of lords, when I die, you will be the Seventh Lord.”

“Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!” Qi Ling stills for three seconds before shrieking while clutching his own head —— of course, halfway through his yelling, his mouth becomes filled with ice shards. He gurgles them out.

After spiting out all the ice shards from his mouth, Qi Ling doesn’t give up, “Yin Chen, your soul bending is so awesome. How many years must I train to be like you? Teach me how to let an icicle erupt from the ground too! So awesome! Or at least teach me how to wash clothes like that? This way as your a.s.sistant I’d be clean, and you’d have face!”

“These things can’t be taught, they can only be learned from constant battles and practice. The only thing lords can teach their disciples are their unique way of bending their soul powers. As to how strong the impact is, that is completely reliant on the training of the person. To put it simply, the basis of soul bending is using one’s own soul powers within the body and inducing them with the elements of the outside world, a ‘miracle’ that a normal person won’t be able to reach with their physical bodies can be completed. As for the soul masters in the territory of Aslan Empire, they are all born with water-based soul powers, hence to things like water, ice, mist and water vapour, we have better control. The control of elements is like basic instincts such as drinking water, blinking or lifting our heads. Just like when you were born, no one taught you how to blink, but you were born known how to; no one taught you how to jump, but you were born with that ability. Soul bending is the same thing. You’d understand gradually.”

Qi Ling lowers his head and ponders over Yin Chen’s words.

“Also, as soul masters have constant control, cycle and surging of soul powers within the body, the physical body has more potential than the average human. For example, our strength, impact and ability to revive ourselves is far greater than that of humans, which is to say —— your chicken is burnt.” Yin Chen looks behind Qi Ling and says expressionlessly.

“What? ……Wah!!” Qi Ling leaps over to grab the branch, but as it is too late, he stares at the charcoal like thing in his hand and cries……

[West of Aslan Empire – Abyss Corridor]

The tall and dark mountains rising on the sides squeeze the blue sky into a tiny crevice.

At the mouth of the valley, the air is impregnated with thick ivory-coloured fog. The thick fog hides the depth of the valley; nothing can be seen.  Occasionally, an eerie howl can be heard echoing faintly in the air.

An explosion of b.l.o.o.d.y chunks of flesh, amputated limbs surrounds the place, along with disfigured and mutated skulls, some crushed, murky mush of brains splatter on the black rock walls, some skulls are empty, the bone marrow in them gone. Eyeb.a.l.l.s of varying sizes are scattered across the ground, as if countless disgruntled eyes of ghouls, staring grudgingly at souls in the mortal world.

Soundless innards and intestines, covered with b.l.o.o.d.y slime hang on cliffs, on branches, in streams between the rocks, occasionally guts drift pa.s.s on the surface of the water, the whole valley is engulfed in sticky and murky stench.

A place as silent as a purgatory on earth.

The eye cannot see the end of the vast stomach of the valley engulfed in fog.

One cannot be sure of what happened here and how this peaceful and silent land in the valley became such a horrifying purgatory.

On this spread of land filled with skeletons, two small figures move out slowly from the carca.s.ses.

Guishan Fenghun looks at the delicate and fragile face in deep slumber on his back; in his heart are feelings he cannot express.

“We……we made it out alive……” A smile finally appears on Guishan Fenghun’s blood-splattered face, a layer of s.h.i.+ning tears covering his stardust like eyes.

The youth cladded in silver-white robes on his back opens his amber-like eyes of shaking beauty, his soft and long lashes framing him like a G.o.d in its youth. His intricate feature, flawless skin, makes his face seem as pale as the fog, weak and lifeless.

Just as they are about to leave the Abyss Corridor, a ghoul like figure is reflected in the youth’s irises.

Guishan Fenghun looks at the silent ghoul-like figure that has appeared in the distance and paused his footsteps. A layer of blood thirst clouds his persistent face.

He rests the youth lightly against a rock. On the youth’s face is fear; it seems like a gust of wind can knock him out.

“’Lord to the Fifth Degree’ Guishan Fenghun, is that you?” The ghoul asks in the thick fog.

“Who are you?” Countless golden patterns appear on Fenghun’s body.

In the thick fog, the ghoul moves slowly over, his silhouette can be seen, as if a dead soul rising from the waters. Pitch-black roves, a hood covering his face, no life can be sensed flowing from his cold body at all.

“I am Nether.” The black shadow says.

“Nether? ……’Lord to the Second Degree’…… Lord to the Second Degree Nether? ……” A bone-chilling sharpness fills Guishan Fenghun’s voice, even he himself does not realize that his voice has became hoa.r.s.e and high due to fear.

The fear creeps up Fenghun’s chest like a dense army of ants. When he attempts to withdraw his soul weapon from his body, he realizes that he cannot move at all.

“Don’t waste your energy,” the voice has no emotions or tone, as if a voice coming from h.e.l.l in the fog, “Before I kill you instantly, do you have anything to say?”

“Is this the…… actual strength of the Second Lord……” He has exhausted most of his soul powers when he was rescuing the youth from the Abyss Corridor, hence he is in a situation where he cannot use any of his soul powers and can be killed instantly……despite that, even if he is not exhausted, facing Nether……an immeasurable monster. Fenghun feels the immobile soul powers that the opposite has pushed down, facing the ghoul that does not emit an ounce of soul powers, in his irises is overwhelming despair. He stiffly turns to look at the weak youth staring at him with wide and innocent eyes; bitter tears start to fall from his eyes.

“Nether……listen to me……you can kill me, but you cannot kill him, he is……he is……” Fenghun’s voice cuts off harshly in the air, the sound as crisp as a branch being broken.

A small and delicate icicle pierces from Feng Hun’s throat.

Following that, from his shoulders, his chest, his abdomen, icicle after icicle start to erupt from his body. The blood covers the floor.

“Impossible……you can control the water within my body……your soul powers are so strong that you can break through the barrier of my body……this is impossible……”

Nether pulls out his pale and long fingers from his robes and waves them lightly, Fenghun’s body taking air and crashes towards the cliff, with a loud bang, his body falls to the ground.

Once again, Nether’s body seems to be afloat in the air, weightless, even with no thickness, his black ghoul-like silhouette turns and appears before the youth.

Nether bends down and takes off his hood gently, the ivory light from the valley covers his incomparably handsomely beautiful face, his evil smirk resembles a flash of light deep in the ocean, the deep eyes like the long valley of the mountains, his brow bones high on his forehead, matching his tall nose. His emerald irises are like vast oceans. The robe surrounding his body moves with his soul powers, lightly flowing around him like black smoke, enveloping his lean and strong body.

“You better tell me……who you are……” Nether leans closer to the weak youth on the ground, watching his pale face, asking in a deep and magnetic voice, he rubs his strong fingers on the youth’s light skin, as if caressing a fresh blossom.

The youth fearfully raises his hand, his thin and pale fingers resting on Nether’s forearm lightly, s.h.i.+vering as if he dare not touch him, filled with fear.

“I am……” The youth’s voice is weak, his words hard to decipher in the fog, as if losing all his strength, he opens and closes his mouth.

Before Nether realizes what has happened, the youth’s cold fingers has turned into intersecting sharp knives of ice, with an invincible flash, they crawl up the length of Nether’s arm, moving upwards like wild iron vines.

In an instant, Nether’s right arm and his right shoulder have evaporated into the air like a scatter of dust.

The blood bubbles and splatters all around, a gush of sweet stench of blood appearing in the fog.

*da-ge means older brother, or how you’d refer to someone of higher status on certain occasions.

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