Chapter 1488: Little Tiger Shi (1/2)

Chapter 1488: Little Tiger Shi

After a long moment, the Ninth Sect’s Paragon responded with a sigh. “Back then, I should never have let Fang Mu open the portal to the Transcendence Path. This time... I shall not permit such a thing to happen again!”

The death of Fang Mu had been a devastating blow to the Ninth Sect. In contrast, the Chosen from the other eight sects had breathed sighs of relief.

They no longer felt as if a huge weight were hanging over their heads. But then... not a hundred years later, Yan’er accomplished the same feat as her Master, and placed that weight right back where it had been.

When Yan’er heard the response of the Ninth Sect’s Paragon, she closed her eyes, then prostrated herself on the ground. There she remained, unmoving. Apparently, if she was refused entrance, she would remain in place right there.

She was completely focused. This was her mission in life, and she was not making a request. What she was doing far exceeded a request....

She wanted to seek her Master, to confirm whether or not he had truly perished. That was her obsession, and it would never, ever be wiped away.

One month. Six months. A year. Three years....

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Countless days and nights passed, and Yan’er remained prostrated there the entire time. No matter who came to try to convince her to give up, she remained rooted in place. She was focused, and she was determined. People were shaken, and couldn’t help but think of that other even more stunning figure from the past.

This Master and apprentice were truly alike in many ways.

Five years later, rumbling filled the sky as a huge rift opened, and a staircase descended from up above.

“Thank you, Paragon,” she said. Her face was a bit wan, but she took a deep breath and prepared to begin walking up the stairs. But then, a gentle force poured into her body, wiping away her exhaustion and filling her with more energy than before.

“Make it back... alive,” said the Ninth Sect's Paragon, his voice soft. After the five years which had passed, even he understood the level of Yan’er’s focus, and was left sighing. He wasn’t capable of hindering Fang Mu’s only apprentice.

Rather than just watch her prostrate herself in such a manner and wait for her life force to wither away, he had instead...given in, and let her go.

As the Paragon’s sigh echoed out, Yan’er clasped hands and bowed, then looked up at the rift, her eyes shining with determination, and reminiscence.

“Master, Yan’er is going to come find you,” she said. With that, she burst into motion, flying up the stairs and disappearing into the rift.

The year that Yan’er left, the rest of the Chosen in the Vast Expanse School didn't feel as if a weight had been lifted, but instead, that it had sunk down further.

Master and apprentice had both stepped onto the Transcendence Path, whereas the Chosen... were still fighting over the Vast Expanse Shrine. It struck them as being similar to the difference between mud and the clouds.

Yan’er slowly made her way along the Transcendence Path. She wanted to go quickly, but was not able to. As for Meng Hao, he had been able to pass through the first tribulation in three years. But Yan’er couldn’t match that speed. She needed much more time, and yet, her determination never lessened. In fact, it increased.

“Master, I'm definitely going to find your remains,” she murmured. The intense pressure weighing down on her made progress difficult, yet she trudged on. She was followed by the mastiff, who quietly walked next to her the entire time.

Time passed in a blur. Fifteen years went by.

The boy who had been born more a dozen or so years earlier in the mountainous forests of the seventh continent was now a young man. He had become one of the most outstanding hunters in the village, and although he wasn’t very tall, he was exceptionally agile. At the moment, he was dashing through the trees, a hunting bow in his hand. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he suddenly stopped in place, then nocked an arrow to his bow with lightning speed.

A thrum could be heard, and the arrow sped through the air to plunge into the head of a black bear, roughly thirty meters away. It pierced in by about four inches, enraging the bear but not killing it. The bear roared and began to charge through the trees toward the young man.

The young man calmly fell back, loosing more arrows into the bear. Blood flowed, causing the animal’s fury to mount as it raced forward. Then, the young man suddenly stopped in place and looked coolly at the beast.

Seeing that the young man had stopped moving, the bear picked up speed. Just when it was almost upon him, the ground suddenly caved in, and a huge hole appeared. The bear fell in, to be impaled upon the countless wooden spikes which had been driven into the ground at the bottom of the pit.

A howl echoed out as the bear died.

The young man took a deep breath, his eyes shining with excitement. He carefully dropped down into the pit, extracted the bear, and then headed back to the village, the carcass slung over his shoulders.

By the time the boy arrived home with the bear, he was soaked with sweat. Sitting in the courtyard was a muscular, middle-aged man with a broad smile on his face. His right leg was bound tightly; a few days before, he had broken it on a hunting expedition. Thankfully, he was in good health, and had visited the doctor immediately after the accident occurred. In the future, he would have some problems with the leg, but nothing too significant.

“Great! The Shi Clan’s little tiger cub can hunt bears now!”