Chapter 73: At Noon Tomorrow, I Shall Enter the Supremes’ Residence!
Translator: Whatsyourissue Editor: ICheah
Just in the nick of time!
A smile surfaced on Yun Yang’s face. A saber had somehow materialized in front of Yun Yang’s neck to block the attack.
Clang!
The assassin had used the same move. As the tip of his sword crashed against the saber, he was horrified to discover that his weapon – a sword that was forged using mystical steel mined from under the ocean, had immediately crumbled, like snow melting when thrown against burning red steel! The disintegration began at the tip of his sword, followed by its entire length.
Such a bizarre scene had terrified him immensely.
How could this have happened?
A flash of white streaked past. All three kittens on the ground that had looked harmless and resembled pets that could be hugged in a warm embrace had sprung up at the same time.
Swish, swish, swish!
Three scratches whisked simultaneously!
The assassin moaned in pain as three scratches appeared on his thigh; blood gushed from the beginning of his leg to the middle of his calf. Another three scratches on his back were almost bone deep while his right hand holding his sword was thoroughly eviscerated by one of the kittens, a large chunk of flesh being torn away.
What kind of cats are these?
Are these even f*cking cats?
I’m a fifth heaven peak expert, my entire physique and skin are like copper and bones of steel, how could these kittens even...
However, he had no time to ponder on this question.
It was paramount that he should seek a way to escape with his life, after having fallen into a trap.
The assassin growled as his body spun abruptly, making a graceful turn in mid-air, unbelievably fast as he released the remainder of his sword. He managed to suspend himself in the air while he scrambled for purchase on a tree, in hopes of getting away. His reactions were amazingly fast and precise.
Both his legs stomped on the tree trunk as his entire torso flew up from the leveraged energy; his left hand thrown outwards as a colorless silk string flew out.
Another step and even deities could not keep me from leaving!
However, he felt a shadow coalesce in front of him. A muscular silhouette had suddenly appeared to block his path. His grasp loosened, the silk string that he had thrown out was actually in this person’s hand.
Fang Mofei!
“Get down!” Fang Mofei’s palm had solidified the air into a large steel trap within a ten-meter radius of the tree as he slapped against it hard.
Splat!
The assassin spat a mouthful of blood as the cracking sounds of bone shattering shook his entire body. He seemed to have lost all his bones as he collapsed to the ground in a soft heap, blood springing out like a geyser in the air while his body sprayed the liquid out like a rainbow. He had lost all his abilities to defend himself under Fang Mofei’s strike that far exceeded his powers.
He laid on the floor facing up, twitching in a painful spasm but his eyes were full of resentment. His throat rumbled as he tried his hardest to speak. “What a good trap!”
“Closed-mouth phenomenon!” Yun Yang hesitated only briefly before he flung his arm as a ray of light shot right into this assassin’s mouth and through his brain, piercing him to the ground!
At the same time, Fang Mofei’s sword flew like lightning with an angry growl towards the very same spot
However, Yun Yang’s Divine Edge had reached the target first, so Fang Mofei’s sword ended up stabbing against the Divine Edge instead.
The shrill noise was an accompaniment to Fang Mofei’s wrenching pain in his heart as only the grip of his sword remained. The body, from the tip of the sword to the entire blade had disappeared like evaporated snow. Upon closer inspection, however, it could be seen that he blade had turned into a pile of silvery dust!
“That was close!” Yun Yang said, feeling incredibly fortunate at the turn of events.
With a wave of his hand, Divine Edge flew back and landed on Yun Yang’s palm, vanishing as his hand turned.
“If we hadn’t noticed his closed-mouth phenomenon, this corpse explosion would become...” Yun Yang was relieved to the point of being unable to complete his sentence.
Fang Mofei nodded dumbly, still looking at his sword grip. What had happened?
The key word was a half-opened-mouth phenomenon but it became an open mouth when the assassin said it. Yun Yang instinctually felt there was a problem and had struck immediately.
At this moment, a small black granule rolled out from the assassin’s mouth, unearthed by the Divine Edge that had chopped off the root of his tooth.
Fang Mofei flipped it around and sucked in a cold breath of air.
A corpse explosion pill!
This was an extremely wicked item, hidden in the mouth and protected with a coat of crystal. Once faced with an impending death, the owner would only need to break it by biting it. The poison from the corpse explosion pill would course through the entire body and the person would die immediately. When the corpse was fully immersed in the poison, it would cause a violent explosion.
Each piece of flesh would produce a poison that remained even after a few years no matter where it landed; each drop of blood that landed on a person would have the person die immediately from rotting!
It was indeed one of the most inhumane things on earth.
“This is really The Merciless Tower’s work!” Fang Mofei looked at Yun Yang with myriad emotions. “Only Gold-ranked assassins and above from The Merciless Tower can be equipped with corpse explosion pills. I really don’t know...”
He swallowed the latter part of his words.
Obviously, it was to be “I really don’t know how you managed to provoke people from The Merciless Tower even after finding so many faults in Tiantang City...”
Yun Yang was also a little bewildered. “When did I provoke The Merciless Tower? This looks more like people paying to assassinate me, isn’t it?”
...
“Quick clean up the corpse and take a rest for the day...” Yun Yang looked at Fang Mofei in puzzlement. “What are you doing, standing there gaping?”
“My... my sword...” Fang Mofei looked at his sword’s grip, as the severity of his loss hit him. “My jade sword...”
The corners of Yun Yang’s lips twitched. “Fealty Jade Sword... was this is your reputable jade sword?”
Fang Mofei had no tears with which to cry.
Fealty Jade Sword Fang Mofei, had a very highly regarded reputation in the martial arts world. However, after following Yun Yang, the only time he had used his sword resulted in his jade sword destroyed without so much of a reason.
Yun Yan gazed at him with a puzzled frown. “Old Fang, you are really mighty. You could roam the martial arts world and make reputable name for yourself with such a thing that is not any tougher than tofu... I can’t be unimpressed by you now...”
Not any tougher than tofu...
Fang Mofei felt his teeth clenching as he gritted them and said, “This is mystical jade from under the ocean, a place of extreme coldness. Mystical jade formed from frost chalcedony hundred thousand feet below, fused with heaven’s will iron jade and the essence of constellation steel; it took ten years to forge this sword!”
What he meant was that this was much tougher than tofu!
“Oh...”
Yun Yang hummed and retreated into his room.
Fang Mofei was still befuddled. “Young master, your... what is your sword made of? how can...”
With a slick, grating sound, Yun Yang unsheathed the Divine Edge. “Look clearly! This is a saber! Old Fang, I have to chide you for this. You’ve roamed the martial arts world for so many years now and you can’t even differentiate between a saber and a sword?”
Fang Mofei’s eyes were wide open.
Yun Yang had already turned to leave. “It’s only a sword... Why are you so concerned about it? I’ll distribute three hundred gold taels to you tomorrow. Go buy some splendid weapon to help you resolve your sadness at losing your old one.
Fang Mofei was about to faint.
It’s only a sword?
That is the weapon to the path of my glory!
Besides, you think three hundred gold taels is a lot? Go and buy some splendid weapon? I can’t even buy the rust on the splendid weapon’s grip!
Fang Mofei had decided forlornly to first buy an ordinary sword as temporary replacement tomorrow. His heart was still filled with endless questions though. He would be hard-pressed to find a similar saber in this world!
Yun Yang returned to his room, tracing out three names with his finger in the air and was in deep thought for a while with his head tilted.
These names were people he assumed would pay to assassin him. There were only three... for now.
Yun Yang feasted delightfully despite the fact that it was already past midnight. He was hungry. Moreover, what made him satisfied was that he had felt extremely full after only eating eleven catties of mystical meat, three big steamed buns, and two meat pies finished off with a bowl of soup.
“My appetite has reduced... a lot” Yun Yang was happy.
If this kept on with this, he could return to an ordinary person’s level in less than a month.
Yun Yang really did not want to eat so much because it wasn’t natural.
After his happiness, he began thinking, “Who should I find fault with tomorrow?”
A faint horn sounded from far-away, completely weighed down Yun Yang’s expression.
The war was about to begin.
The military troop was to set off in no later than three days.
For the entire day and night, Yun Yang had forced himself to be happy, forced himself to be domineering, forced himself to blackmail and threatens innocents, and forced himself to adjust to his own self and to find clues on Four Seasons Tower, forcefully telling himself that he was supposed to have his revenge! He was not about to lose his focus to other things!
However, he had ultimately realized that all his efforts had been destroyed with just one blow of this faraway horn.
War.
That was the Nine Supremes’ battlefield.
Do I ignore it when my brothers aren’t here anymore?
Yun Yang picked himself up and looked at the nightfall outside his window, breathing in deeply.
In his mind, the voices of his eight brothers were simultaneously reciting a line in a low and reverential tone.
“Blood of Yutang, soul of Yutang; men of Yutang, troops of Yutang!”
In front of his eyes, his eight brothers watched him intently, “National enemy and personal grudges, ol’nine, which side do you tend to first?”
“Don’t force me!” Yun Yang closed his eyes, murmuring, “I’m not a saint!”
“I’m not powerful enough to turn the forceful tides!”
“I don’t want to risk my life in the war and battle with all my might to protect a bunch of people who are scheming they have to put me to death!”
“I don’t want to fight with my life and have these people harass my family after I die in the battlefield.”
“I don’t want my brothers’ wronged deaths to sink into the ocean and never be heard of again after I die.”
“I don’t want any of these! I am no saint.”
Yun Yang kept telling himself that, to assuage his guilt.
However, in the end, he smashed his head against the table and moaned in anguish.
“At noon tomorrow, I shall enter the supremes’ residence!”
Finally, it was time to face things head on. After all, he still had to face the bloody, cruel, truth and tear open the scar in his heart!
I don’t want to!
I only wish to go after I take my revenge.
Yun Yang laid against the table quietly, as if fallen asleep, unmoving. He was not asleep though.
He had lain down, waiting for the arrival of dawn.
He could somehow feel there were eight pairs of eyes somewhere watching him lovingly, their gazes hinted of warm smiles and a soaring intent to battle.
“Ol’nine, we are Yutang’s Nine Supremes. The Nine Supremes came only after Yutang. Not for the world but for the people, we fight the national enemy then avenge the familial grudges. Yun Yang’s being, Nine Supremes’ soul!”
“Ol’nine, go. To not have homes burnt down and to not have families harassed...”
...
Early in the morning.
Lao Mei and Fang Mofei had woken up to cultivate in the dawn but they could feel an unusual silence today.
Usually, young master would have long been out here exercising, absorbing spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, and collecting the radiance of dawn. Why was there no activity at all today?
Both of them exchanged knowing looks.
Fang Mofei shook his head. Lao Mei sighed and walked to the front of Yun Yang’s door, knocking lightly.
There was no response.
Listening with his ear attached to the door, his expression changed as his shoulder knocked the door wide open with enough force to almost shatter it and charged in.
There was no one in Yun Yang’s room, but a note was on the table.
“I am alright, returning home late.”
Where had the young master gone to?
...