19 Emmie, You Thief! (1/2)

Finally, he had the little critters all to himself.

Yun Yang consulted Supreme Wind’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of All Beasts before he began his examination on the creatures; he pulled their ears, looked at their stomachs, flipped their eyelids, peered into their nostrils, studied their throats, and even directed a small amount of mystical Qi into their small bodies to check. All of the tests matched the characteristics that were laid out in the book.

At last, he had confirmed that these were the cubs of the ninth class beginner mystical beasts, Eclipse Panther!

The Eclipse Panther was as swift as the wind, extremely adept in camouflage and concealment, and blisteringly fast when hunting its prey. It was hardly surprising that it carried the title of “Assassin among the Mystical Beasts”. A full-grown Eclipse Panther could consume gold and jade as sustenance, and it would be near-indestructible with skin malleable as bronze, and bones as strong as steel.

Yun Yang was exhilarated.

An undercurrent of curiosity marred the joy he felt for the the discovery. What wasthe real identity of his eighth brother, Supreme Wind? The Ximen family, being of the top eight, as well as Ximen Wandai’s companions are made up young masters of significant status. Even their guards and servants were all experts. They had not suspected a thing while these extremely rare creatures frolicked right under their noses. Each of the families had the wisdom of a thousand years, but that knowledge paled in comparison to a book tossed negligently besides Supreme Wind’s pillow!

Even if each field had its own master, this was not something as simple.

Yun Yang tucked the question somewhere in his heart; intent on findingout his eighth brother’s identity and completing his brother’s unresolved undertakings.

First things first, however. He had to recover from his injuries and elevate his cultivation before he could once again face his enemies head-on!

“Young master, you…” Lao Mei was flabbergasted.

Just a day ago, his young master had gone out and come back with a monkey and a lively young woman in tow. Today, his young master had gone out again, and this time, he brought home five cats… and a dying man.

“Young master, when you next come home, will you bring back a pack of a hundred or a thousand wolves? Or perhaps another large group of men and women?” Lao Mei was torn between amusement and horror at the very thought of it.

“It’s nothing really, just a few pets,” Yun Yang informed his manservant in all seriousness. “Inform Ma and Qin to come over to the Residence of Yun tonight. Tell them there’s something, ahem, good in store for them this time.”

Lao Mei wanted to shake his head.

Inform them?

Do they still dare to come?

Wouldn’t these young masters still be traumatized?

“I am certain they will come, this time,” Yun Yang proclaimed in confidence.

“…” Lao Mei was somewhat confused by Yun Yang’s conviction. Just as he was about to leave, Yun Yang took a small bag out and handed it to him.

“There are some cultivation resources inside, please use them. The sooner you can break through to the sixth peak, the better.”

With a bow, Lao Mei accepted the bag and left. It was only when he had left Yun Yang’s sight that he opened the bag and let out an astonished gasp. His hands shook with such intensity that he almost dropped the bag.

Inside, 50 mystical stones and 10 mystical crystal sparkled with a merry shimmer and radiated spiritual Qi. These were invaluable gems that would greatly accelerate cultivation!

“Where did the young master get these from? There’s so many of them!” Lao Mei wondered, as his heart was flooded with warmth. For a long five years, he had been stuck at the bottleneck of the fifth peak, but with these, there was no doubt that he could advance to the sixth!

“Where did young master get these from? There’s so much of it.” Lao Mei thought, his heart filled with warmth. He had been stuck at the bottleneck of the fifth peak for approximately five years already.

There was a premise for martial artists who wished to cultivate to the level of true experts, “Six innately awakened chakras are incredible, with those, one could step right into the level of a mystic; however the heavens dictate only three parts of your fate, the extrinsic seven parts that could make or break it can only be dictated by you. ”

This meant that only those with six or more innately awakened chakras could be a mystical Qi martial artist. Even then, six innately awakened chakras were only gifts bestowed by God, nothing would come out of it if there were no effort put in.

Only then would the proverb be of relevance… “twelve peaks of skill levels, a heaven’s difference between each”!

The sages once proclaimed, “The cultivation of martial artists is like going up a mountain weighed down with a burden; only by traversing the path to the peak can one see where the next peak lies.”

This age old adage meant that a person will always believe that there is no higher mountain than the one he knows of; before arriving at the first peak, you would never know that there existed a taller mountain in this world than the one you were at. This mystery was more commonly known as a knowledge barrier.

There was then another saying, “To reach the heavens, one must first claim the peak; thereafter, a heaven lies.” It simply meant, “A whole new world awaits those who claim the peak of a mountain.” Therefore, “There are twelve peaks of skill levels with a heaven’s difference between each; conquer all twelve before all else, and brave the ninth heaven thereupon”!

It seemed simple and easy to comprehend, laced with some droll/,tasteless humor even, but it was a theoretically progressive maxim indeed!

…

“I’m back!” Ji Ling had a timid tiny silver animal sitting on her shoulder as she charged in excitedly.

“Look, I’ve bought a Silver Moon Celestial Wolf! What do you think? You were talking about this little fellow, were you not?”

Yun Yang stepped forward to have a look and nodded in approval. “Right, right, that’s it! You were lucky it didn’t get snapped up this whole time.”

Ji Ling’s eyes were squinted with joy. “This is all thanks to you! The whole market is still talking about your shocking bet and no one has the mood to get back to business…” she graciously admitted.

“Haha…” Yun Yang chuckled loudly and said, “I’ll start training your pet tomorrow.”

“How about we start now...”

Yun Yang interrupted her request before she could complete it, with an air of disdain.

“There are still many tasks I have left undone this day. Do you not see that there is a critically injured person here?”

“This bastard is certainly unchivalrous. How could he be so rude and uncompromising to a pretty girl?” Ji Ling muttered under her breath and stomped her foot indignantly, pouting as she left.

She didn’t speak as softly as she thought she did, so Yun Yang had naturally heard it, the corners of his lips lifting into a dismissive smirk.

What is chivalry? Can it be eaten? Why is it that men have to be chivalrous towards pretty girls? Why do they have to compromise? If this pretty girl will ultimately become this man’s wife, perhaps it would be alright to take a step back, but not every woman will become a man’s wife. Should I bend over backward just because you are a woman?

I would be digging myself a hole, not practising chivalry!

Yun Yang did not say these out loud. Of course, if Lao Mei had known Yun Yang’s thoughts, he would have definitely replied in frustration, “Young master, there’s a reason why you’re still unattached when you’re already 19!”

…

Yun Yang was heading into a room when he felt a vague unease, indicating that something felt off. He couldn’t put his finger on where the feeling came from, but it was when he reached the bedside of the critically ill man that he thought about it.