Chapter 97: The Imperial City of Xue Yue
Liu Cang Lan kept kowtowing and his head hit the ground of the fighting stage over and over again.
All of the troops watching this scene felt for their general. They felt powerless and hopeless in front of their General who was suffering so much.
The cavalry troops all felt very close to their general. If a soldier was attacked even if he was low ranked, Liu Cang Lan wouldn’t hesitate to protect them…
Liu Cang Lan didn’t kneel down in front of anything or anyone. He didn’t even bow in front of the Emperor but at this moment, he kowtowed more than he ever had in his entire life.
“The Yun Hai Sect has given everything to me but I escaped. How shameless can I be?”
Liu Cang Lan looked desperate which filled all the soldiers with emotion. They shouted in unison: “General!”
A strong Qi was released into the atmosphere and he raised his arm in preparation to cripple his own cultivation. The soldiers were staring at him and suddenly, there was no movement. Liu Cang Lan was as motionless as the corpses surrounding him and there was complete silence in the gorge.
“Coward!”
A cold and indifferent voice filled the entire gorge. When everybody heard the voice, they looked stupefied.
Coward? Was Liu Cang Lan a coward?
“Since you abandoned the Yun Hai Sect, you also played a role in its destruction. You must pay with your life.”
These words made the soldiers extremely furious. Lin Feng was the person who had said those words to Liu Cang Lan. Since he had insulted Liu Cang Lan, he had to die.
“Pssshhhhh….”
At that moment, an incredible force and Qi moved straight towards Lin Feng’s body.
The soldiers on the Chi Xie armored horses were releasing such a strong and powerful energy. Lin Feng felt completely oppressed and had the sensation his bones were going to explode. Only these cavalry troops were able to release such a strong Qi.
Lin Feng was almost collapsing under the weight of that Qi but he remained calm as before looking at Liu Cang Lan on the fighting stage of the Life and Death Arena.
“You are already a walking corpse. Duan Tian Lang achieved his aim long ago. No need to try and escape again. He just used you and doesn’t need you anymore.”
All the soldiers were furious but Liu Cang Lan raised his head and looked up at the top of the gorge.
“You are ready to die and your daughter, Liu Fei, can now become a member of the Duan family. You don’t need to worry about her.”
Lin Feng’s words were like a sharp sword that cut into Liu Cang Lan. Liu Cang Lan was stunned. Was his daughter Liu Fei going to marry Duan Han?!
“When you die, maybe all those that have died for the Yun Hai Sect will be able to rest in peace because they will know that they have died for nothing. There was no hope for you.”
Each and every single word that Lin Feng said was like a sharp sword. Liu Cang Lan closed his eyes and slowly put his hand down.
That’s right. Liu Cang Lan had abandoned everything and everyone. Could it be that Liu Fei was really going to become one of the Duan’s though? What was to be done if she married Duan Han? They had exterminated the Yun Hai Sect… So who was left to protect Liu Fei?
When they saw that Liu Cang Lan had put his hand down, the soldiers didn’t feel angry at Lin Feng anymore. They were grateful because they understood that Lin Feng had been using these harsh words to stimulate Liu Cang Lan to prevent him from crippling his own cultivation or even ending his own life.
Good that Lin Feng was here, otherwise Liu Cang Lan would have probably killed himself here.
But Lin Feng’s words had been really harsh. Each time, they had resonated in Liu Cang Lan’s heart and only increased his sorrow.
“Take care of your General. The Yun Hai Sect doesn’t hate or blame him. Protector Bei was always worried about him. The wife of the former Patriarch also respected and admired him. She also forgave him for everything that happened in the past. Make sure that he remembers this.”
Lin Feng had stopped looking at Liu Cang Lan and had walked towards the cavalry seated on the Chi Xie armored horses and while still holding Meng Qing’s hand, he said these words to the soldiers.
A while after Lin Feng left, Liu Cang Lan opened his eyes and a sharp and determined light flashed through them which made his army delighted. Their General was back.
“Everybody help me bury my fellow sect members. Let’s allow the dead to rest in peace. This is an order.”
Liu Cang Lan’s voice was calm but still firm.
“From today onwards, you have to guard the territory of the Yun Hai Sect. Without my permission, don’t let anybody into its territory. If they try to enter by force, kill them without mercy.”
Liu Cang Lan was strict with his commands. When he finished talking, everybody shouted in unison: “At your command!”
Liu Cang Lan looked expressionless. He climbed back up onto the top of the gorge and gazed into the distance as if he was looking for Lin Feng.
“General.”
At that moment, a soldier walked towards Liu Cang Lan and stopped in front of him.
“What is it?” asked Liu Cang Lan.
“General, that young man earlier told me to tell you that the Yun Hai Sect doesn’t blame or hate you. Protector Bei was worried about you every day and that the wife of the former Patriarch forgave you for everything. She also admired and respected you at the end.”
Liu Cang Lan was standing while speechless and motionless.
He raised his hand and looked at the sky. That powerful and battle hardened man… had tears flowing from his eyes.
“Forgive this unworthy disciple…”
………………
After a while Liu Cang Lan took a deep breath and stopped crying. He could see a silhouette on the horizon.
“Lin Feng!”
Liu Cang Lan had never seen Lin Feng but Liu Fei had told him a lot about him. He wanted to know what kind of young man had inspired so many people in the Yun Hai Sect… and also why he had just saved him from ending his own life.
At that moment, Liu Cang Lan gradually started to understand that Lin Feng was probably not an ordinary person.
If Lin Feng was an ordinary person then could he have used such words when talking to Liu Cang Lan?
If Lin Feng was an ordinary sixteen year old teenager, could he have resisted the Qi of the cavalry on the Chi Xie armored horses without collapsing?
If Lin Feng was an ordinary teenager, he wouldn’t have come back to the Yun Hai Sect, rather, he would have left and never come back. After all, Duan Tian Lang and many others wanted to kill him.
Lin Feng didn’t leave the Yun Hai Sect even though Protector Bei had told him to go to Duan Ren City to look for Liu Cang Lan. He was never planning to leave the corpses of his sect to be defiled; he would stay and protect them so that the dead could rest easy. However now that he had seen Liu Cang Lan arrive with his troops, he had decided to leave because Liu Cang Lan’s army would be more capable of protecting the Yun Hai Sect territory than him. They were all extremely powerful and there were such a large number of them.
Lin Feng, knew that the Imperial Clan was the strongest within the Xue Yue Country. But in the Continent of the Nine Clouds, there were people who were even stronger than the Emperor.
There were people in the continent that could destroy the entire Xue Yue Country if they wished to.
Lin Feng wanted to reach such heights.
At that moment, Lin Feng and Meng Qing were standing on a huge rock. Lin Feng saw Liu Cang Lan’s silhouette descending the mountain at full speed.
“Let’s go.” They jumped from the big rock and took a small road. They starting moving farther away from the approaching Liu Cang Lan.
“Aren’t there many questions that you would like to ask me?”
Lin Feng asked Meng Qing in a low voice.
“If you don’t tell me, I will not ask.” replied Meng Qing in an indifferent tone. It seemed like her heart had never been moved before. Lin Feng wanted to know if she ever smiled or laughed.
“My mother says that when a man is sad, the best is to let him keep his thoughts to himself and not to ask anything.”
Lin Feng wasn’t expecting her to continue speaking. She was staring at Lin Feng. It seemed like she wanted to verify her mother’s statement and check its authenticity.
“Everything that you know of the outside world is what your mother has told you?”
“Indeed.” said Meng Qing while nodding.
“What else has your mother told you about men?” asked Lin Feng. Lin Feng had the feeling that he knew nothing about the world even though he had memories from two different worlds and Meng Qing, she only memories of the Black Wind Mountain.
“My mother also said that… well, none of these things are good.” replied Meng Qing.
“…………” Lin Feng was surprised. He looked at Meng Qing, his eyes filled with curiosity. It seemed like Meng Qing was about to tell him some private things. Could it be that her mother had decided to live in seclusion in the hinterland of the Black Wind Mountain because she had been emotionally hurt in the past?
“She told me how horrible and disgusting men were but you seem to be a really good man. What my mother told me doesn’t apply to you.”
Her beautiful face looked so cute as if she didn’t understand what she was talking about. She was definitely very curious to discover the world, which is why she secretly escaped with Lin Feng.
Lin Feng could not help but let out a laugh. It really felt good to laugh after everything that happened.
“Are there other things? What else did your mother tell you?”
“She told me a lot of things.” said Meng Qing while nodding. She then looked at Lin Feng and said: “but I’m not telling you these things.”
“…………”
The Imperial City, the Xue Yue Country… both were extremely vast.
Billions of people were living in the Imperial City but it never looked overcrowded.
The Imperial City had huge roads. Several Hundreds of people could walk side by side on some of its large roads
In the Imperial City, there were mostly pedestrians. Even those who had horses often didn’t ride them in the city but led them by hand.
In the Imperial City, there were multiple incredibly strong cultivators who had become rich. They could gather many items by killing extremely strong ferocious beasts and had slowly gathered a fortune. Many of them had extremely expensive horses.
A few days later, it would be the inauguration of the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue. All the strongest disciples of the biggest sects of the country would be there. The Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue was greedy and was always longing for more geniuses.
Many young cultivators, from the age of six to the age of eighteen were hoping to be able to join the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue. In such conditions, they probably would be able to become a great cultivator in the future. The Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue was going to be the best cultivation academy in the history of the country.
At that moment, some silhouettes were walking on the main road. They attracted everybody’s attention. Amongst the group of people, there was a girl who was wearing red robed. She looked very beautiful. An ice and fire Qi was emerging endlessly from her body.
“These people all want to become members of the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue… but what they don’t know is that it is extremely hard to join it. Only geniuses can gain entry. How many people have what is required to join?”
A teenager said in a low voice. It made the girl in the red robes smile coldly. That girl wearing red robes was Lin Qian.
“I heard that Na Lan Feng has returned to the Imperial City too. I heard that the Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue is really interested in her. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
Lin Hong who was standing next to Lin Qian said this which had stupefied Lin Qian. The last time they had seen other, they hadn’t been able to battle properly to find out which of them was stronger.
Lin Qian remembered the annual tournament in Yangzhou City. She couldn’t help but recall that piece of trash that had been expelled from the Lin Clan.
He had surprised everybody at the annual tournament. He had even scared everyone with the power he held. He was truly a terrifying genius.
But in Yangzhou City, a myriad of people still didn’t even know Lin Feng’s name.
She remembered how Lin Feng had been able to leave Yangzhou City by simply taking Na Lan Feng as a hostage in front of everybody.
“Now that the Yun Hai Sect doesn’t exist anymore, he is probably dead.”
Lin Qian didn’t know if that was a good thing though. She did not understand why she had mixed feeling after hearing of his death.