Chapter 645 - 139: The Calamity of the Innate
Chapter 645: Chapter 139: The Calamity of the Innate
In the land of the Nine Kingdoms, there are Innate Martial Artists.
This is news that shocked Fei Jun.
But he believed his junior brother was not lying. His junior brother was also an Innate Martial Artist, having only recently entered the Innate Realm.
Yet, even if he had only just entered the Innate Realm, from the moment he stepped into it, he was already beyond the First Grade, and could not be harmed by Grade-Entering Martial Artists.
"The Nine Kingdoms cannot gather the five elements’ innate energy; why then has someone broken through to the Innate?"
Fei Jun looked at his junior brother Jiang Feng: "How strong is the Martial Garden Master?"
"Very strong."
After some consideration, Jiang Feng said, "He should not be any weaker than you, senior brother."
These words made Fei Jun unable to sit still: "Is this true?"
"Senior brother, as you said, I contacted the elders of the Martial Arts Garden in the Han Kingdom, asking them to report to the Martial Garden Master that I wanted to meet him..."
Even in his recollection, Jiang Feng’s face still showed traces of fear.
In that courtyard, he saw a man, and the moment the man stepped into the courtyard, he felt pressure, a pressure he had only ever felt when facing his family’s Supreme Elder.
"That Martial Garden Master is at least close to being an Innate Second Realm powerhouse."
"An Innate Yuan Condensation Realm powerhouse?"
Fei Jun’s pupils contracted, compared to the existence of Innate Martial Artists in the Nine Kingdoms, this judgment by his junior brother shocked him even more.
Even though it was only "close" to the Second Realm, just the word "close" made it unbelievable for him.
Don’t look at his current status as an Innate Realm Martial Artist, if he had no great fortune in his life, it would be very difficult for him to step into the Innate Second Realm Yuan Condensation Realm.
For Martial Artists of the Nine Kingdoms, the Ninth Grade realm is a hurdle at every step, and most Martial Artists are stuck at a certain hurdle, with only a few able to climb to the First Grade step by step.
And it’s the same for Innate Martial Artists of the Flame Dynasty. The Innate Six Realms are also an insurmountable barrier, and in a hundred years, the sect has only produced twelve strong Innate First Realm Gang Transformation Realm powerhouses like him, yet only the Supreme Elder has stepped into the Yuan Condensation Realm in the past century.
Among the twelve, not one has crossed this barrier.
"How can there be such powerhouses in the Nine Kingdoms?"
"Senior brother, could it be that this Martial Garden Master is also from the Flame Dynasty, just arriving here before us?"
"The Annihilation Storm lasted nearly a thousand years, do you mean to say someone could safely traverse the Annihilation Storm to get here? If there really were such a level of powerhouse, do you think the Nine Palaces Sect would stand a chance to come here?"
Jiang Feng’s eyes shone with a sharp light, looking towards his senior brother: "Senior brother, on the way back I had a guess. Maybe indeed there was once a powerhouse who crossed the Annihilation Storm, but such powerhouses act in very spontaneous ways; perhaps whimsically, he guided the Martial Garden Master’s martial arts cultivation. This is not without precedent."
All the way back, Jiang Feng had been thinking, over and over, only this answer was the most reasonable.
Otherwise, it would be inexplicable how the Martial Garden Master could cultivate to the Innate Realm.
"Do you mean, junior brother, that this Martial Garden Master is a fortunate one?"
"This kind of situation is not unheard of. There was once an island in the wilderness where Martial Artists were noticed by a passing powerhouse, who gave them some pointers, and for that powerhouse, it was merely done casually."
Fei Jun nodded, acknowledging that the scenario his junior brother described, although rare, did occur. There was once a sect that discovered a desolate island and assumed they could exploit it, only to find that the indigenous Martial Artists of this barren island included several Innate Powerhouses.
Later investigations revealed that hundreds of years ago, a strong Innate Fifth Realm powerhouse from the Flame Dynasty had traveled to that island, and for certain reasons, left behind some resources and cultivation techniques before departing.
The indigenous Martial Artists relied on the resources and cultivation techniques left by this powerhouse to give rise to several Innate Martial Artists.
As for any relationship between the island and that powerhouse?
Of course, there was cause and effect, but for that powerhouse, it was merely done casually, until hundreds of years had passed, that mysterious powerhouse never appeared again.
"Senior brother, the Martial Arts Garden has always nurtured genius disciples for the various kingdoms without any ulterior motives, which also validates my judgment."
Jiang Feng’s words made Fei Jun’s eyes narrow, he understood the implication in his junior brother’s words.
The Martial Garden Master is a fortunate one, who encountered a powerhouse capable of traversing the Annihilation Storm, a powerhouse who imparted some martial arts resources to him. Such a powerhouse naturally does not expect any return, acting purely out of interest or to support these natives.
Such powerhouses typically leave behind a message: No need to thank this old man, I acted merely because your martial arts strength was too low. If you are truly grateful, then like me, cultivate more genius disciples in the future.
The way the Martial Arts Garden nurtures genius disciples for the various kingdoms coincidentally aligns with this.
"If that’s the case, we won’t interfere with the Martial Arts Garden. Now, there’s a Profound Nether Sect appearing in Zhao Kingdom, and a Galo Sect in Xiang Kingdom, apart from the Han Kingdom, the only place with Innate energy left is the Liang Kingdom. Lingxiao City is something we must obtain, I will head to Lingxiao City tomorrow, as for the Han Kingdom, junior brother, you will hold the position here."
"Senior brother, I think we should send word to the sect. There is so much Innate energy here, unlike the desolate places we’ve encountered before, I fear the two of us cannot hold it."
Jiang Feng made a suggestion, indicating that the desolate places discovered before considered it quite nice to find one path of Innate energy, more so when often none was found.
But in this land of the Nine Kingdoms, just in the Han Kingdom there are three sources of Innate energy, plus the Cloud Cauldron Mother Tree in Zhao Kingdom, and Lingxiao City in Liang Kingdom, making it five in total.
"And there’s that path of Li Fire... I think there will be fierce competition in this place, junior brother. If we want to secure this Innate energy, we need the sect to send some more senior brothers."
As the first arrivals, the Nine Palaces Sect naturally could seize this Innate energy first, but a Martial Artist wanting to step into the Innate needs an enormous amount of Innate energy. Even if they collect it first, the Innate energy gathered would be just enough for one person to use.
For a sect, it is crucial to continuously acquire innate energy, ensuring that the disciples have sufficient innate energy to refine and break through to the Innate Realm.
"You’re right, we should indeed send a message to the sect for assistance." Fei Jun nodded, agreeing with his junior brother’s suggestion.
...
...
Just as Fei Jun and Jiang Feng, the senior and junior brothers, were discussing how to acquire innate energy from the Nine Kingdoms, several groups appeared on the lands of the Nine Kingdoms.
"The Annihilation Storm has lasted quite a while this time; hopefully, these desolate islands will yield some harvest for us."
"Everyone, don’t get your hopes up too high. The previous few islands contained nothing of value except for some weak natives, and this island might be no different."
"If that’s the case, let’s follow the imperial court’s rules and take all the native martial artists from these islands. Coincidentally, our sect has discovered a fire ore and is in need of many miners."
As the middle-aged man finished speaking, the others beside him burst into laughter.
It doesn’t matter if the desolate islands lack treasures worth noticing; the Flame Dynasty has many mines in need of martial artist miners.
Due to the special energy contained in the ores, ordinary people cannot approach these mines. Only martial artists are suitable, and taking martial artists from desolate areas as miners is also the purpose of their journey.
Even if their own sect does not have mines, they can sell these miners to others for profit.
Moreover, although the martial artists from these desolate areas are not strong, many women are quite beautiful and can fetch a high price if brought to the Flame Dynasty.
The group exchanged glances, understanding each other without words.
...
...
A day later.
News spread that three thousand members of the Wu Kingdom’s royal family were massacred completely.
It is reported that this was because Flame Dynasty martial artists appeared in Wu Kingdom, took a liking to the Wu Kingdom’s Empress, and when the Empress chose to hang herself instead of complying, they massacred the entire royal family in anger.
This news shocked the Nine Kingdoms!
Many martial artists were enraged by this, especially the Wu Kingdom martial artists in other countries. Regardless of their stance on the royal family, hearing about such a humiliating extermination of the royal family filled them with anger.
But Wu Kingdom was only the beginning. Soon, news came that Flame Dynasty martial artists appeared in Qi Kingdom and Zheng Kingdom, and the monarch of Qi Kingdom chose to lower his status to recognize them as the main sect, similar to Zhao Kingdom.
As for Zheng Kingdom...
Although there was no official news from Zheng Kingdom’s royal family, rumors spread that all the princesses of Zheng Kingdom went missing collectively.
...
...
Yan Kingdom.
Murong Yan’s pretty face was filled with coldness. The royal family of Yan Kingdom had marriage alliances with several kingdoms, including Wu Kingdom, whose current Empress was her aunt.
"These Flame Dynasty martial artists act with utter lawlessness."
Murong Shuang’s face was equally sullen, while beside her, Murong Xin spoke up: "Fourth Sister, I have a good relationship with several disciples of the Nine Palaces Sect. I will ask them to seek justice for Aunt."
"Fifth Sister, it won’t work."
Murong Yan shook her head; her fifth sister was too naive. The relationship between a few disciples could hardly influence the decisions of an entire sect.
Moreover, her fifth sister’s so-called good relationship was merely her own wishful thinking.
Beauty is indeed a woman’s asset, but when it comes to personal interests, beauty alone is insufficient.
"Princess!"
Su Qin walked in from outside the courtyard, her face grave: "Your Majesty has just ordered that several princesses be escorted out of Yan Kingdom."
"Why?"
"The Flame Dynasty martial artists who wiped out the Wu Kingdom’s royal family are heading towards our Yan Kingdom."
"What!"
Murong Xin was shocked, grabbing Murong Yan’s hand: "Sixth Sister, let’s go to Han Kingdom; with the Nine Palaces Sect there, those people won’t dare to act recklessly."
"No."
Murong Yan shook her head, while Su Qin also advised: "Princess, it’s best to leave Yan Kingdom."
"We can leave, but not to Han Kingdom. Instead, let’s go to Liang Kingdom."
Murong Yan’s expression was firm. Going to Han Kingdom was like escaping from a wolf’s den only to enter a tiger’s lair, leaving their lives and dignity in the hands of the Nine Palaces Sect.