541 The Last Hope (1/2)
After all that he had heard, Yun Yang began to pick up a relatively clearer trail of hints – while the Four Seasons Tower had opened fire at the Concourse of the Underworld and was winning, Venerable Lord Ice had suffered from serious injuries from the battle and was brought away by his own people. Venerable Lord Ice had thought that what awaited him was salvage only to be greeted with a nightmare. The reality was that the Four Seasons Tower's relief arm had confirmed that Venerable Lord Ice had no more hope at surviving and decided to strain his soul and retrieve the Bone of the Ice God nourished within him.
Venerable Lord Ice had refused to accept his fate and retaliated with all his might. With the help of his two brothers, he managed to escape, albeit in a tattered state. A fortunate escape could never change the critical situation, though; the Four Seasons Tower's fatal pursuit would never stop, it was destined to last until his death.
Venerable Lord Ice was more than aware of this point; at the same time, the guilt for his son was also another push factor that brought him to Tiantang City in the last legs of his life.
Yun Yang's unintentional intrusion was timely, causing a twist to the story. It might be his accidental intervention that had caused Venerable Lord Ice to have other thoughts in his impasse. Just like the latter had thought, he had given everything for the Four Seasons Tower, even the happiness of his son's family. Ultimately, he had only been taken as a disposable chess piece. The rage that wracked him, hopeless despair and the tower's colossus might as well as terror rendered his inability to obtain revenge, despite having the intention. However, Yun Yang's surprise entrance and the sudden switch of stances gave birth to this moment – a submission due to 'coercion', a complete unveiling of the Four Seasons Tower's biggest secret.
Yun Yang sighed. A tough character like Venerable Lord Ice would never easily submit; what he said was only limited to what he wanted to say. Even if Yun Yang had not threatened him, he would have told him everything anyway. On the contrary, no matter how Yun Yang threatened and oppressed him, it would be meaningless if he did not wish to say anything!
Since the thought process was now clear, the most important question was instead whether what Venerable Lord Ice had said was true. Yun Yang analyzed the situation with utmost concentration and concluded that more than a ninth of what Venerable Lord Ice said should be true. Still, this truth was further evidence that the Four Seasons Tower's monstrosity was limitless.
The fact that someone so mighty like Venerable Lord Ice was only a very, very minuscule presence, a disposable existence proved that the exact capacity of the tower could only be unimaginable!
At the same time, as Yun Yang digested this surprising information, his heart was further chilled. This was not at all relevant to Yue Rulan; where had she gone to? What could have become of her after these few days? Yun Yang did not even dare contemplate the question further.
”Knowing these now, you now know the Four Seasons Tower's biggest secret. Go along this direction, and you'll know even more, maybe even things that we don't know either…”
Venerable Lord Ice said in desperation, ”I know that you want to know more, where the headquarter is, the location of each operation… but not even us brothers know about them.”
”Come to think of it, we've been calling ourselves seniors of the martial world in vain. Since we become the Four Seasons Tower's Venerable Lords, more than ninety-nine percent of the time is spent in the Venerable Lord Hall or waiting for orders or practicing our skills… We thought that we would eventually become supreme rulers somewhere, a character who conquers… We would never think that we were only pathetic people who don't even qualify to enter the main quarter!”
Yun Yang kept silent.
Indeed, Venerable Lord Ice and the rest of the Five Venerable Lords had lived rather tragic lives.
They had thought their positions to be venerable, high and mighty, beneath the tower's head Mr. Nian; their future was anticipated, being authoritative and immortal were only matters of course. Yet everything was a trap; they had been utilized, and they had abandoned their families for this temptation and beautiful hope, contributing a lifetime of loyalty to the Four Seasons Tower. Ultimately, they had thrown in not only themselves but everything of their families as well.
At the end of the end, when they had gotten to the end of their lives, only then did they realize the truth; that their lifetime of effort was only to be someone else's stepping stone – that was all there was to it!
What could they do when they found out? Everything was too late, there was no turning back. They were already alone in this world. Their wives, their children, their families… everything had been destroyed by their own hands! It was too late.
Such tragedy was akin to concentrating the world's worst fates into one. What was even more tragic was that Venerable Lord Ice was no longer able to plot his revenge; he could only accept this fate passively, as nothing more could be done. This was the most tragic of fates!
Yun Yang sighed. Looking at Venerable Lord Ice's withered form in the snow again, the resentment filling him had already vanished. He said in a low voice, ”When Marshal Yang was about to pass, I've asked him who his father was. Where was he? But Marshal Yang only said one thing.”