Chapter 910 - Winner and Loser
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
Ever since Tang Tian had returned, Melissa felt that everything was developing strangely, and everything had become bizarre, causing her to feel lost and helpless.
She watched as the two men in front of her faced each other with hostility, they spoke without holding back, causing her to have the impulse to ask if they were toying with her…..
Regardless if it was Huo Li Ruo or Clan Elder Seuss, both of them were existences that Melissa admired in the past. The Huo Family had never interacted with her before, as the Huo Family was a family that was way beyond theirs. She knew of Clan Elder Seuss, Mace Field Tradings had spent immense effort to form a relationship with Clan Elder Bianchi, who was close to Clan Elder Seuss.
But the difference between their positions were like heaven and earth, Bianchi was at the end rankings of the Clan Elders in Temple, while Seuss was one of the top five, a Clan Elder with true authority. Mace Field Tradings strength held no qualifications to form a relation with Clan Elder Seuss.
But the two of them were squabbling in front of Melissa, causing Melissa to be unable to react.
~Alright, they are not here for me…..~
~But who is this Senior Xin? Eh?~ She suddenly recalled that there was a man called Ah Xin under Qian Hui, ~Could it be him?~
Melissa had subconsciously rejected her thought, she was extremely respectful towards Qian Hui, but did not have any positive emotions towards the person called Ah Xin. He was sloppy and skived all day, and enjoyed bragging along with JI Ze, but was constantly kicked into place by Xiao Man.
This caused her to revere General Xiao Man, who wielded the large blade and gave off a heroic vibe, she was extremely envious of Xiao Man.
~It shouldn't be, but who else was there?~
After thinking for a long time, Melissa could not find a second probable target.
~Could it really be that Ah Xin?~ She was skeptical.
"Please wait a minute." Melissa had no choice but to interrupt the heated argument: "Can I ask for both Masters to describe to me how this Senior Xin looks like?"
Huo Li Ruo and Seuss immediately stopped quarreling.
"He isn't tall and have an extremely ordinary look, but he is very young." Seuss spoke out.
"He is a Spirit General." Huo Li Ruo pointed out the obvious.
Melissa was stunned, when she heard their descriptions, she had already confirmed it to be Ah Xin. ~Alright, today is truly a bizarre day,~ She consoled herself.
"I think I know who you two Masters are talking about, I will request Ah Xin…. Senior to come out." Melissa spoke straightforwardly. ~It is just too confusing today, I should let Master Tang Tian be the one deciding everything.~
Huo Li Ruo and Seuss instantly became alert, they were most afraid that Mace Field Tradings would hide their strength, as that would be the most troublesome. They were also worried that Mace Field Tradings would be mistaken that they had the intention of suppressing them, then they would be at a loss to what to do. If they provoked Senior Xin, it would be fine if they were to receive direct punishment, but if it ruined the plans of their higher ups, that would leave them no leeway of redeeming themselves.
That was why the two men were extremely careful right from the start, afraid that their attitude would accidentally provoke Melissa.
Tang Tian and Qian Hui never thought that Huo Li Ruo and Temple would actually appear to find them, and the two formed a discussion. When Ah Xin heard them call him "Senior Xin", he instantly became elated, and ran to Xiao Man to boast, but the result was him being beaten up.
Thus, Ah Xin appeared in front of Huo Li Ruo and Seuss with a swollen face.
He ignored the mark on his face and swaggered in front of the two men before sitting down, and asked: "You were looking for me?
"Senior Xin!"
The two of them greeted at the same time, but instantly reacted and glared at each other. But this time, they did not dare to quarrel, and sat down in well behaved manners. A powerful man that had tore space was seated in front of them, and even if he was a spirit general, he had obtained their respect.
Although there were some bruises on his face, the two men treated it as if they saw nothing.
"The reason for my visit today is because, for the longest time, this junior has treated himself as one of the strongest military general in the world, but after witnessing Senior's battle, I realized that I was just a frog in a well, the world is much bigger than I thought, and there are still powerful beings like Senior in this big world. It is truly possible to tear space. It has caused me to feel that I had been a joke the entire time." Huo Li Ruo could not resist but to speak up first, he was truly filled with awe.
He had always viewed himself highly and had an arrogant temperament, but when he encountered a man truly worthy of his respect, he would wholeheartedly respect that man.
Ah Xin could hear the genuine respect Huo Li Ruo held for him, and was inwardly pleased.
Seuss could not resist as well: "Yes, this junior had been in Temple for so many years, and have seen countless of geniuses and powerful beings, but to be as powerful as Senior, this is the first. Senior's life must have shook the world and is invincible, Senior's troops must also be as powerful, I wonder what is the name of your troops? To have such an invincible army, how can it be that no one has heard of you all before!"
Seuss was an elder with experience, he looked as if he was flattering Ah Xin, but in truth was trying to dig up Ah Xin's background. How could it be that history had ignored the existence of such an invincible being?
But no matter how he racked his brains, he could not find any trace of information that linked to the man called Senior Xin and his army. The Sacred Saint Galaxy's energy concentration was too high, and it was extremely difficult to produce a spirit general. The stronger the martial artist, the higher the probability of producing a spirit general upon death. All of the peak grade martial artists had gone through countless of improvements and tempering of their willpower when they were alive, their willpower had long become as tough as steel, as long as they had the obsession, and when the obsession was strong enough, even the energy could not corrode them.
Such spirit generals would usually be extremely powerful, and out of these few martial artists of the apex, some would gradually regain the memories of their past life, and they would gain consciousness to train, and become even stronger.
In Temple's history, they had such Spirit Generals. But it was extremely difficult to force these Spirit Generals to yield, and although they would not be corroded by the energy, they would be corroded by time.
After becoming a Spirit General, the amount of memories they could have would decrease sharply, because the memories would merge into their bodies. As time passes, it would give these spirit generals new memories, and once it exceeds the space they have, the Spirit General's body would slowly melt, this process was defined as the corrosion by time.
To withstand the corrosion of time, the majority of Spirit Generals would choose to wipe out the majority of their past memories, and leave only the one obsession deep within their hearts, as it was the one memory they were never willing to forgo.
Seuss believed that he would be able to trace Senior Xin's history and background as long as Senior Xin revealed a bit of information.
Temple viewed history extremely heavily, in Temple's eyes, loyalty was far more important than ability. Of course, Seuss did not hold any hopes that Senior Xin would be loyal to Temple, but to know his background would put others at ease.
Ah Xin was an extremely cunning man himself, upon hearing Seuss words, he immediately understood, and sneered: "Are you probing into my life? Hehe, we are not familiar with each other, why should I tell you?"
He had never planned to give Seuss face, Temple was their main target, although he had a restraining fear towards them, he was not afraid of them. Even that bit of fear was just because he did not want to undermine the entire situation.
Huo Li Ruo was extremely eager for Seuss to offend Senior Xin, he immediately added fuel to the flames: "Hehe, Senior Xin, calm yourself, you cannot blame Clan Elder Seuss, you can only blame that it is the style of Temple, they are used to controlling other people's lives, it is difficult for them to remove it from their tone of speech, Clan Elder Seuss did not mean it."
Upon hearing Huo Li Ruo's words, Seuss wanted to strangle him to death, but he knew he could not act up, and maintained a smile on his face: "Senior has misunderstood, it is a misunderstanding, this junior has an inquisitive heart, that's all. I didn't mean it that way. To Senior, this junior is full of revere, and will never dare to hold any other thoughts."
Melissa stood by the side and watched the bizarre change of events occur in front of her, her mind still at a loss.
~What is exactly going on here?~
Previously when Clan Elder Seuss was being cordial with her, she felt that it was already strange. But when she saw Clan Elder Seuss' warm smile, she felt that she was no longer blind, it was truly him bowing and bending his knee, as though he so badly wanted to pounce onto Ah Xin's feet to lick his toes.
~Is he truly a Clan Elder from Temple? Even more, one of the top five Clan Elders that holds real power?~
~Huo Li Ruo as well, from the start, ever since he saw Ah Xin, he keeps on bootlicking him. Hey, You are Huo Li Ruo, you have prestige and reputation to keep! Where is the unbridled and arrogance that everyone says that you have? Where is the disdain that you have when you look at others? Where is the unfriendliness and unwillingness to come to terms with others that you have?~
She then looked at Ah Xin, who had a bruised face and the appearance of a person with low status that had his dreams come true, he was not even seated properly.
~What has the world come to?~
~Didn't the plan fail? If it failed, then why do they look even more victorious than the victors?~
~Is Master Tang Tian so strong to this extent? That they can even portray themselves like this even after they lost?~ Melissa's view on Master Tang TIan became even more unfathomable.
Upon hearing the bootlicks, Ah Xin satisfied his "small" ego, then started to become impatient. ~At such a time, if the Duo Explosive Woman is here, she can give them a good spanking!~
He interrupted the two men, and said: "Alright, stop with all the nonsense, speak, what you want to tell me, don't waste my time chasing gi-.....my time to chase my thoughts."
Huo Li Ruo had been waiting for that, he was not someone who could bootlick others like Seuss, the longer they bootlick, the harder it became for him. When he heard Ah Xin's words, he became straightforward: "I wish to pay my respects to Senior, and hope that Senior will take me in as your student."
Ah Xin did not express anything, his gaze turned to Seuss.
Seuss became solemn: "I represent Temple, and humbly invites Senior Xin and Mace Field Tradings to join Temple."
Huo Li Ruo became anxious, it was not that he did not want to invite Ah Xin, but he rushed over in a hurry, and did not gain the approval of the higher ups, and thus did not dare to make empty promises.
He wanted to speak, but Ah Xin waved his hand and interrupted him and spoke: "I understand your intentions. But I am a person who values benefits, I too know that both of you have limited authorities, you can go back first to settle on the conditions, then come and find me again. It all boils down to who can provide me the better advantages. Alright, we will leave it as that, I am very busy."
When Melissa heard Ah Xin's last sentence, she instantly rolled her eyes, ~He doesn't do anything all day and always skive around, since when is he busy?~
Huo Li Ruo and Seuss were completely stunned by Ah Xin's blatant words. They were all Aristocratic Families and the people they interacted with were the upper class society, so when had they ever heard of such blatant words asking for benefits?
Ah Xin did not even care about the two men who were in shock, and walked off.
This was just the first ripple that dissipated from the first battle.
The Armies in the Saint Continent that had gathered like clouds included the famous armies of Honorable Martial Continent. The stir from Qiu Offense Institute was unconcealable.
Qiu Tian Qing's exceptional Killing Technique, Senior Xin's ability to tear through space, spread through the entire Saint Continent. Everyone started to take turns guessing the Invincible Senior Xin's background. They were even more envious of the Mace Field Tradings Family, guessing that their ancestors had done some virtuous deeds to be able to gain the good graces of such an exceptional Spirit General.
People started to guess the relationship between Senior Xin and the Mace Field Tradings' Ancestors, and aside from that, no one could think of any other logical reasons as to why Mace Field Tradings was so fortunate.
Even more families were jealous, they believed that Mace Field Tradings wanted to bring about a change in their own fortunes by relying on the battle to reveal themselves as something new.
No one saw Mace Field Tradings as a low tier Prestigious Family anymore.
No one saw General Huo Li Ruo and Temple's Clan Elder Seuss moving towards Snow City at the same time to visit Senior Xin, if anyone did, they would had instantly known their intentions.
The victors would always be in the limelight, while the losers would always be ignored.
The battle at the Qiu Offense Institute caused the Mace Field Tradings Family's name to soar, and overnight, they had stepped into the ranks of the top families of Saint Continent, and received the most enthusiastic and warm pursuits.
As for the losing Qiu Family, overnight, they dropped from being a first rate Prestigious Family, and they were completed deserted. Qiu Tian Qing's strength surprised everyone, but so what? He was dead. Qiu Xu Hua was a genius, but so what? His whereabouts were unknown.
What was the Qiu Family left with?
In the eyes of the predators standing at the top of the food chain of Saint Continent, the Qiu Family had become a sumptuous lump of meat. They had no power to protect themselves, or the abundant wealth and reserves that everyone were salivating for. If they were in a peaceful state, everyone would still have restraining fears, but in a time of turmoil, being able to obtain even a bit more power would increase their certainty of winning in the future. Countless people started to plot covertly.
As an old tyrant Family, the Qiu Family knew what they were in for, and were not willing to stretch their necks out to be cut.
The massacre at the Qiu Offense Institute was a tragic loss for the Qiu Family. They knew that if they did not retaliate with power immediately, they would soon be combed by the hungry jackals and hyenas who would bare their fangs at them.
Qiu Yu looked out of the window, and saw Mace Field Tradings doors that were about to be trampled by the overflowing number of people, all of them whom he was familiar with, causing him to be filled with anger. "Those ingrates! They usually come to our Qiu Family with their tails wagging for food, now they have all ran over to Mace Field Tradings, a group of spiteful men!"
The Qiu Family were abandoned by their allies, and no other families were willing to speak up for the Qiu Family. Even their subordinate, Elizabeth Tradings, were hiding and avoiding the Qiu Family.
"Isn't the world like this? The winners will gain approval while the losers lose everything." Behind him, a man laid on the bed and spoke up.
"We have not lost!" Qiu Yu spoke solemnly.
"We have lost since the battle of Qiu Offense Institute." The man on the bed said lazily.
"Our Qiu Family has not lost." Qiu Yu spoke, then continued excitedly: "We still have Xu Hua, and we still have you!"
"You shouldn't have such high expectations for me." The man on the bed sat upright and spoke with a look of helplessness: "If you're like that, I will feel pressured. We still have Xu Hua, he isn't dead, no one will dare to lay their hands on the Qiu Family."
"We are already in this state, but Ah Ning, you still talk like this!" Qiu Yu was extremely unhappy, Qiu Xu Hua's whereabouts were unknown, and the Qiu Family was in their most difficult times.
"Alright alright, I will do my best." Qiu Ning sighed, but his eyes revealed a trace of light which quickly disappeared: "You should start planning, your brains are better than mine."
When Qiu Yu heard Ah Ning's assurance, he calmed down. He was extremely confident in Qiu Ning, but he was worried that Qiu Ning would not be earnest, as most of the time, the Qiu Family never paid much attention to Qiu Ning.
They could not be blamed, Qiu Ning walked on a completely different path.
In the past, the Qiu Family and Temple had a good relationship, and when Qiu Xu Hua became one of the Great Generals, they obtained a few unique goods from Temple, for example martial techniques and spirit techniques.
Temple's martial and spirit techniques came from the Temple in Heaven's Road. As Martial Techniques were of a lower grade, Temple released more of them, but as for spirit techniques, Temple had always kept them a secret. But all of the martial techniques from Heaven's Road did not form a huge wave or influence in the Honorable Martial Continent. Occasionally, there would be people who learned a thing or two of martial techniques and used them to aid in their everyday lives.
The Heaven's Road martial techniques were an extremely large system with its high and low levels with differing grades. To truly choose martial techniques meant parting ways with the Sacred Saint Galaxy's army system, and it was something the majority was unwilling to accept.
The power of martial techniques had its limitations, and was not attractive towards the citizens of the Honorable Martial Continent.
Compared to martial techniques, the power of spirit techniques were much larger. In Heaven's Road, it was a system that only Saints could utilize. But spirit techniques were not spread much in the Sacred Saint Galaxy. The main reason as to why Temple withheld it was because spirit techniques were extremely complicated.
Spirit Techniques originated from martial techniques, it was a result from Heaven's Road Martial artists that had stepped into the realm of Saints, and became even more powerful. Heaven's Road Saints and the Sacred Saint Galaxy Saints, aside from having the power of directly mobilizing energy, they had too many differences. For example, Spirit Domain, Spirit Values, or even products such as spirit technique cards etc that Sacred Saint Galaxy had difficult understanding.
That was the reason why spirit techniques never became a big thing in Sacred Saint Galaxy, although there were more saints in Sacred Saint Galaxy.
Qiu Ning was an exception.
From young, he had always been extremely interested in martial techniques, he ignored the advice of his seniors and immersed himself in martial techniques. That was the reason why he was never viewed importantly by the family, but he did not care much and was extremely solitary.
Qiu Xu Hua and him were similar in age and grew up together, and after becoming a Great General, he specially obtained countless of spirit techniques from Temple for Qiu Ning. All of these spirit techniques was confidential information, but as a Great General, he had extremely high authority and was completely given free reign.
In truth, Temple did not care much about the spirit techniques, aside from being information piled up on bookshelves, these things that could not be trained in did not serve any purpose.
No one expected for Qiu Ning to walk this path, and became the strongest martial artist of the Qiu Family.
But it did not change his situation. In a generation where Armies held dominance, the Qiu Family was an old school family. Qiu Xu Hua and Qiu Tian Qing, who were both peak military generals whose talents intimidated everyone, held the most influence in the Qiu Family.
No matter how strong a person was individually, the most he could be used for was being an assassin.
But did the Qiu Family need an assassin?
In the entire Qiu Family, no one would had thought that there would be a day that the Qiu Family would need an assassin to reclaim their honor.
Even Qiu Ning himself never thought that the fate of the Qiu Family would fall into his hands. He was in a daze, and completely disregarded Qiu Yu's words.
"We shall wait, isn't Temple and its alliance trying to rope Mace Field Tradings in? They will definitely appear, and in their faces, we will kill the Spirit General that they so badly want to rope in, I can imagine how wonderful their expressions would be…."
Chapter 911 - Respective Bargaining Chips
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
Honorable Martial Palace.
"Clan Elder Seuss' report isn't exaggerated. It was extremely difficult to seek confirmation of the battle at the Qiu Offense Institute, but at the later stages of the battle, especially for Xin's final attack, it was witnessed by many people. We have surveyed over 60 witnesses, and all of them gave the same result. We have arranged 70 Clan Elders to access over 3000 old records through the night, and finally obtained nine possible targets, but we are still unable to confirm his identity."
"Considering that Xin's background is most likely related to Mace Field Tradings Family, we have also investigated on Mace Field Tradings Family. We went to read up on their history, but we have very limited information. Mace Field Tradings family's history is extremely long, their ancestors were a branch of family from the north, and the north families could be traced back to 200 thousand years. It is a pity that Mace Field Tradings Family's successive generations did not live in good conditions, the information was not preserved well at all, and thus there are no useful information for us."
Clan Elder Ta Fei's reports were always detailed, his face was covered with wrinkles, but he was still vigorous and hearty, his grey eyes remained extremely sharp, his hair was combed to perfection, and his pure white robes were a perfect fit for him. He was unlike other Clan Elders that enjoyed material possessions like brilliant and bright gemstones, or enjoyed delicate brooches and such. There were no ornaments on him, he was extremely simple, like a veteran that only awaited for commands.
If it was anybody's first time meeting him, very few would know that this extremely simple old man was actually the second man of Temple.
After listening to Clan Elder Ta Fei's report, the Great Clan Elder spoke up: "You've said so much, but what you mean is that there was no results?"
Clan Elder Ta Fei trembled, cold perspiration trickled down his back, he lowered his head and gritted his teeth and spoke: "Yes. We did not find any useful information."
When the Great Clan Elder was a nobody, Ta Fei had been his adjutant. He had followed the Great Clan Elder from the beginning, and in the span of over 40 years, they gained prestige and reputation, while he gained the trust of the Great Clan Elder. When the Great Clan Elder became the master of the Honorable Martial Palace, he too, got promoted rank after rank, and became the second most important figure in Temple.
After following him for many years, he understood the Great Clan Elder's temper extremely well, and did not conceal anything despite being fearful of angering the Great Clan Elder. But the growing pressure from the Great Clan Elder made him extremely nervous which did not come from habit but an instinctive reaction from his body.
The Great Clan Elder remained quiet for a moment, then spoke up: "Tell Seuss that I will give him the largest authority, I want to see this Spirit General."
"Yes." Ta Fei complied while trembling, he hesitated for a moment: "Do you think he is from Heaven's Road? I am worried that this Spirit General has something to do with the Southern Alliance. Southern Alliance's Tang Tian also has an extremely powerful spirit general."
The Great Clan Elder's voice came out from the golden Holy Flames, which was extremely calm and filled with confidence: "As long as he is a spirit general, it doesn't matter."
Ta Fei nodded his head: "I understand. Mace Field Trading is just a small family, they will definitely agree to us."
"That's right. They think that just by allying up, they can go against us. They think that by taking action at such a time, we will not act against them, they think that I will cooperate with them for the sake of the entire situation." The Great Clan Elder's voice contained a strong taste of ridicule: "Such foolishness."
Ta Fei knew that the Great Clan Elder was genuinely angry, he too felt that the families had gone overboard, for their self-interests, they would sacrifice the interest of the Honorable Martial Continent. ~Do these ingrates not know that if the Honorable Martial Continent loses, they will lose as well?~
That's right, they believed that the Great Clan Elder would not allow the Honorable Martial Continent to lose, thus they believed that he would cooperate. But, they never thought that the Great Clan Elder had his own plans.
He spoke respectfully: "They are seeking their own deaths."
"They are all rotten, Ta Fei."
Great Clan Elder's voice resonated throughout the entire Honorable Martial palace.
"They have already lost their ancestor's courage and glory, they are just old rats who are lost in the darkness and playing tricks, they are not fit to have anything now. But they will soon realize that the Honorable Martial Continent does not need them, it only needs Temple. Temple does not need them as well, their era had long been over 500 years ago. What Temple needs now is new blood, the Honorable Martial Continent needs new blood, we must get rid of all of these rotten meat and pus, and welcome new life!"
The Great Clan Elder became worked up, and as though the Holy Flames had sensed his emotions, it released an extremely bright light, causing him to become as bright as the sun.
"No one can stop us, including Mace Field Tradings."
Clan Elder Ta Fei accepted it willingly, it had always been like so.
***********************
Inside Huo Family's side courtyard where security was tight.
Inside the hall, aside from the Qiu Family, the Five Aristocratic Families' Patriarchs were gathered. The battle at the Qiu Offense Institute had shook the entire Saint Continent. With their fastest speed, they sped through the night and rushed over, no one dared to delay. They had just returned from observing the battle at Qiu Offense Institute, and all of their expressions were of shock.
"I never knew that such a powerful spirit general still existed in this world! The Qiu Family's loss was not in vain." The Mo Family's Patriarch, Mo Yi Gu, spoke up.
The rest nodded their heads, being present at the battlefield and witnessing the destruction of Qiu Offense Institute first hand left an extremely deep mark in them. The Qiu Family was completely destroyed. The loss from the battle affected the Qiu Family more than ever, and they judged that it would lead the end of the Qiu Family. Upon thinking about how a first rate Prestigious Family had fallen just like that, all of them felt distress.
But, they did not have the time to grieve for the Qiu Family. Their greatest concern was the huge change from the sudden turn of events, and how it would affect the situation.
Vicari Family's Patriarch, Howl Vicari, spoke up: "We need to discuss how it will affect us."
Everyone's faces became serious, the situation was on thin ice, and any minor changes would affect the entire situation, furthermore, what had happened was not any small change.
The heavy losses of the Qiu Family was the most terrible thing for them. The original five families had been reduced to four, and their strength had taken a huge hit.
Howl Vicari carried on: "Temple has launched a gathering, although we have already did our greetings, but they are still gathering over 300 of the smaller Prestigious Families. In terms of the size of the armies, we are at a disadvantage."
"Isn't it old news that Temple is trying to use these smaller Prestigious Families that they groomed themselves to replace us?" Huo Liu Shang snorted: "Ever since they started the initiative of the so called gaining recognition by Temple, We have long guessed that this day will come. Let us consider the capabilities of those country bumpkins."
"Who knows, they are still harboring the dreams of replacing us. They are truly foolish." Mo Yi Gu shook his head: "When Temple violated the promise back then, they knew that they could no longer contain our families. They want to be the sole Master of the Honorable Martial Continent, where they can decide who lives and who dies. All of those cannon fodder are not worth mentioning."
"Cannon Fodder will always be Cannon Fodder." Huo Liu Shang snorted.
Howl reminded everyone: "Mace Field Tradings is not cannon fodder. Their General rank Spirit General is unheard of, and that sword, it is an extremely formidable treasure. It caused the destruction of the Qiu Offense Army, we can tell that its strength is unfathomable. We need to pull Mace Field Tradings to us."
"I agree." Mo Yi Gu nodded his head: "Such a powerful Spirit General will have an invincible army, if they land in Temple's hands, we will be in danger. Who has the confidence to defeat him?"
No one uttered a sound.
All that were present were the top rate Prestigious Families, they had powerful armies and talented geniuses, but none of them dared to pat their chest and claim that they could win in a battle against the Spirit General.
Sadra Croft, who had maintained silence for the entire time, spoke up: "Whatever he wants, satisfy him."
Sadra held the highest prestige amongst the four, when he spoke up, everyone's opinion became one.
"That is if he had said what he wanted, now, it is us opening the floor." Howl felt a headache coming.
Sadra suddenly looked at Huo Li Ruo, who was behind Huo Liu Shang: "You said that that spirit general actually bowed to someone? Who is he?"
Huo Li Ruo tried to recall the scene, then said: "That's right. At that time, Senior Xin bowed to the leader of the Iron Mask Army, and called him In-Law, and he even called himself as a subordinate."
His eyes flashed with a look of annoyance, ~That's right, how could I have forgotten such an important detail.~
"The Iron Mask Army, Mace Field Trading, that man is the key." Sadra said indifferently: "I believe that he is able to see the entire situation clearly. Furthermore, he can control such a powerful Spirit General, he will definitely be interested in Temple's offer."
Huo Liu Shang's eyes lit up: "You mean to say…."
Everyone thought of the same thing at once, and they became excited.
Snow City was recently overcrowded, as though anyone with a head in the Saint Continent would head there. Of course, the most crowded place was still the Mace Field Tradings shops. Everyone knew how much Mace Field Trading was worth at the moment.
Temple and the Five Aristocrats, oh, it had turned to Four Aristocrats, were all trying their best to rope in Mace Field Tradings. Furthermore, there was a rumor that this had become the most crucial point for the war, whichever side that Mace Field Trading chose, the side would had a higher chance of victory.
The numerous visits and gifts by the noble guests almost caused Mace Field Tradings to explode. Both parties mobilized all of their efforts, utilizing others to bring business to Mace Field Tradings, to hype up and promote their own sides, they made promises, incite activities in an endless stream.
The restaurant opposite the shop was equally as bustling and crowded.
"Hey, who do you think the Patriarch of the Gustus Family is working for?"
"It should be Temple, he is a new Prestigious Family."
"That guy looks familiar, eh, I can't remember who he is."
"I think he is the Patriarch of Constantine Family."
"Right, right, right…."
Everyone watched the bustling activities, and were basking in the joy. Snow City was not a country, but they had never witnessed so many major figures appearing, occasionally, gasps would be heard from the crowd, and all the famous people would appear before them.
The people were moved by the fickle world, all the small time Prestigious Families had become the key pawns to decide the future of Honorable Martial Continent.
Who would Mace Field Tradings choose to join? Everyone was curious and worried, apart from the families that had already made their stand, everyone else longed for the situation to be clarified sooner.
Chapter 912 - Temple in Apparent Decline
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
"It is time to lay our cards on the table." Huo Liu Shang looked at the distant Snow City, his face revealing a look of seriousness: "If Mace Field Tradings choose to join Temple, what measures should we take?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Sadra, he was the true leader of the alliance.
"Then we destroy them." Sadra said without hesitation, he spoke calmly: "We give it our all to destroy them."
Everyone nodded their heads, if Mace Field Tradings chose Temple, the threat they posed to the Four Aristocrats would be too huge, and regardless of the price they had to pay, they had to destroy Mace Field Tradings Family.
Thus, they brought their armies, the strongest armies of the four families, to control Snow City.
Snow City was placed in an indescribable and imposing oppression, the power of the Four Aristocrats loomed over the skies of Saint Continent.
Compared to the Aristocrat Alliance's forceful behavior, Temple's actions looked much weaker. Sophie's actions on wiping out the Qiu Family's camp with her Banner of Knights was not just a matter of venting her anger. Almost all of the Clan Elders of Temple were mobilized, they were sent to various places of Saint Continent, to establish a connection with the various armies and prepare for their final efforts.
But what everyone else saw was a beast at its last struggle. All of the new Prestigious Families who were sought all complied in word, but in truth, lacked the actions.
Temple truly had too few bargaining chips, aside from the Banner of Knights, they had nothing. Jia Ya was stationed at Wei Ye Guan Continent, it was unclear if Mu Zhi Xia was dead or alive, and the loyal forces of Temple were all at the Southern Region. As for the Honorable Martial Continent's Lieutenant General, they were all linked to the various Prestigious Families in many ways, and at that moment their attitude was ambiguous.
The powerful Temple could only rely on the new Prestigious Families. But the rising and new Prestigious Families that were loose and complex also harbored their own thoughts. Their armies were weak and they lacked trust. What was even more deadly was that they were extremely worried about Temple's predicament.
Many of the rising and new Prestigious Families had secretly formed an alliance with the Four Aristocrats.
Despite knowing the fact that it might not be a good thing for them if the Aristocrats won. But they knew that they could only survive by standing by the victor's side.
The conflicts between the rising Prestigious Families and their outward devotion and inner opposition towards Temple was no longer a secret.
Temple was in a dangerous situation, as they declined further and further.
How could Temple alone, which was declining, hold an advantage against the Allied Aristocrats to win over the Mace Field Tradings Family?
This decline reached its peak when Clan Elder Seuss appeared alone at Snow City.
On the empty street, Clan Elder Seuss' lone figure looked extremely bleak, there were no tight security around him, no grand ceremonies in place, no figures bowing to him or even the sun that shone its light down on him.
Everyone who witnessed the scene all harbored a feeling of distress.
It was Temple, the ones who created the Honorable Martial Continent, the Temple that held the ruling position and was unbreakable for so many years, seemed to have collapsed like a building overnight.
In the sky, Howl could not help but reveal a happy smile: "Temple knows that they can't snatch from us, and sent Seuss alone."
Huo Liu Shang and Mo Yi Gu smiled. Mace Field Tradings Family's strength was unfathomable, and unless they were forced, they would never wage a war against them. And if Mace Field Tradings Family were to join their alliance, Temple's fall would only be a matter of when.
Sadra's eyes flashed with a look of seriousness: "Don't be careless."
Mo Yi Gu became arrogant: "You still think that Temple can play anymore tricks?"
"Ha!" Huo Liu Shang had a look of disdain on his face: "Temple is finished, their time has come. Look how secretive Seuss is acting, I am extremely joyful in my heart right now. He is usually extremely arrogant, he and Temple are exactly the same."
Sadra shook his head: "All of you forgot one person."
Howl was startled for a second, then asked: "Great Clan Elder?"
Huo Liu Shang's smile turned sluggish, he forced an unnatural smile: "You guys are overthinking it. Great Clan Elder is powerful, I can admit to that. But I do not believe that just by himself, the Great Clan Elder can turn the entire situation around."
Mo Yi Gu nodded his head: "That's right, the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice, he has no more cards to play, how can he fight?"
Sadra replied indifferently: "I wish that I am overthinking it."
His worry not only lessened, but increased, he was different from the rest, as he had interacted with the Great Clan Elder before, and had a deeper understanding towards the Great Clan Elder. He knew how powerful the Great Clan Elder was, despite him not appearing often.
Right from the start, Sadra was most worried about the Great Clan Elder, the person who never had a sense of existence, and not Sophie, or the Banner of Knights.
But he knew that it was futile to speak too much, and he could only be careful. Analyzing the situation before him, despite being astute with deep foresight, he was unable to think of how Temple would make a comeback. But he knew that the Great Clan Elder was not one to surrender or one to admit defeat.
Howl removed the happiness in his mind and said: "I will go and test him."
None of them were ordinary men, and they knew that they could not be careless until everything was over. The battle would determine whether their family would live or die. If they won, they would become the true masters of Honorable Martial Continent, and if they lost, their families would accompany them into the abyss of eternal damnation.
Seuss walked along the street, he was afraid, Snow City had been occupied by the enemies, and he felt that he was a lamb that had entered the tiger's den. But he had to comply, for it was the Great Clan Elder's order.
He continued to rack his brains, but could not understand the Great Clan Elder's meaning. Even if he managed to convince Mace Field Tradings to join Temple, the enemy would not let them leave.
Furthermore, Seuss had no confidence in the conditions that they could offer. He could not understand the Great Clan Elder's order at all, all of Temple had been mobilized to various places of the Saint Continent by the Great Clan Elder. Seuss saw it as a futile effort, which would only let others see how Temple was losing control of the situation. Especially by doing such a thing, that resembled casting a huge net. Seuss thought that they had might as well consolidate all of their forces to attack and destroy Mace Field Tradings Family.
~Mace Field Tradings is the last bargaining chip we can get.~
But the Great Clan Elder ignored his suggestion, and remained stubborn.
Seuss was filled with mourn, he felt that Temple was truly in danger. ~Maybe this time, I will die in Snow City~, he was filled with negative emotions.
Suddenly, his eyes dazzled, a figure had appeared and blocked his path.
He raised his head, and recognized Howl.
Howl laughed: "Why is Clan Elder here alone, could it be that Temple isn't worried about Clan Elder Seuss' safety? Or do you think that the blades in our hands are not sharp enough? And we can't cut through Clan Elder's head?"
Seuss threw out all of the negative emotions in his mind, and spoke calmly: "Whether or not you can cut me down, wait till I've met Senior Xin, I believe Senior Xin will make the right decision."
Howl sneered: "With the way you look, you have no need to meet Senior Xin."
Seuss laughed: "Could it be that you are making the decision for Senior Xin? I wonder if Senior Xin has agreed to it."
Howl choked, he was extremely fearful of the unfathomable Senior Xin. He did not dare to block Seuss and stop Seuss from meeting Senior Xin.
Senior Xin's words were clear and his intent was obvious, he wanted them to set their price at the same time. In the situation where he held the upper hand, it was extremely illogical to provoke Senior Xin and Mace Field Tradings Family. Furthermore, there was no need for it, Howl did not believe that Temple could offer anything better than them.
Seuss' lone visit was the best proof.
Howl opened the path, and did a polite gesture: "Let us go together."
Seuss took a deep breath, then continued walking.
***************
Mace Field Tradings.
Ji Ze looked at Ah Xin with a look of disbelief: "Can you stop acting? You better not screw up at such a crucial moment, Young Miss Ran will never let you go."
At the corner, Xiao Ran snorted, but she had obviously bought Ji Ze's salutation for her as "Young Miss Ran".
(TN: I think the author has mistakenly spelt Xiao Ran to Xiao Man in all the previous chapters, and came back to Xiao Ran again. Xiao Man and Xiao Ran are the same person, it is my mistake as well. My apologies.)
Ah Xin looked at Ji Ze with disdain: "Do you think I'm you? Come, come and call me Senior Xin obediently!"
Ji Ze sneered, then turned his head: "Young Miss Ran, he says that he is your senior."
Xiao Ran stared at Ah Xin with an unkind expression.
Ah Xin was dumbstruck, he was stunned by Ji Ze's shamelessness, to be able to turn his words…..
Tang Tian and Qian Hui sat at a corner, watching the trio and feeling happy. Qian Hui chuckled, but her smile quickly disappeared as she spoke with worry: "Big brother Tian, I feel that something is wrong."
"Something's wrong?" Tang Tian was instantly focused on her, he asked: "What's wrong?"
Tang Tian had complete trust in Qian Hui's judgement, he knew that Qian Hui was much more intellectual than him.
The rest stopped playing and looked at Qian Hui.
Qian Hui did not answer Tang Tian, but turned to ask Melissa: "Young Miss Melissa, the guests of the past few days, are they more towards temple or for those Aristocrats?"
Melissa was startled, she quickly reacted: "I will go and count the statistics now."
There were many customers for the past few days, causing the business to become weary from coping with it.
After a few moments, Melissa returned, she had a confused expression: "Master, Young Miss Qian Hui, we have tallied it up, There are more customers that are siding with the Aristocrats, roughly 60% of them are leaning towards them."
"Temple is at a disadvantage, it isn't strange if it was due to many reasons. Thus Temple and the Aristocrats alliance needs us, and according to logic, Temple needs us more. But, why are there more guests from the Aristocrats Alliance, isn't that strange?" Qian Hui addressed the issue instantly.
When Qian Hui put it out clearly for him, Tang Tian then realised it, and was confused: "That's right, are they not anxious?"
"Temple has been strange recently, they only did one thing." Qian Hui added: "They have dispatched all of their Clan Elders, all of the clan elders are meeting the various families, but they do not seem to care about the results. I noticed that the places that the Clan Elders were dispatched to did not have many armies there."
"Are they trying to get anyone since they are in a crisis?" Fu Zheng Zhi asked.
"No. Something's wrong." Ah Xin became serious as he shook his head.
Out of all of them, aside from Qian Hui, the most astute person was Ah Xin, he had also sensed that something was amiss, and there was an unforeseen danger lurking in the air.
"Temple has held its rule over Honorable Martial Continent for so many years, but that's their only counteraction, isn't it a bit too weak?"
Qian Hui's face seemed to release a light that could see through anything, her cold demeanour made others become respectful, at that moment, everyone then remembered her nickname, The Goddess of War.
"Seems like we need to unravel this mystery today." Tang Tian muttered, the blaze in his eyes churned.
Chapter 913 - Respective Conspiracies
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
When Clan Elder Seuss and Howl arrived at Mace Field Tradings, Sadra and the rest were already seated in the hall, they had arrived earlier. Although they felt that Temple no longer had any moves to make, but no one dared to be careless at such a crucial moment.
The victor would win everything, the loser would lose everything, where even his life might be lost.
Seated at the head was Ah Xin, where Melissa stood by his side respectfully. The Iron Mask Army soldiers had their backs against the walls, they stood quietly, yet revealing their solemn and fearful aura.
~What a tight security~, Seuss mused. The Iron Mask Army was far more outstanding than he had previously thought, and despite the masks they wore, he could still see through a few things. Every single one of them maintained their cautiousness, he did not see any soldier looking around or had their minds wandering.
It was simply a difficult task. In any serious situation, it was easy for the soldiers to focus on their targets, but in time of peace, it was much more difficult for the soldiers to maintain their vigilance. Only elites were able to achieve such a state, which meant they had gone through extremely tough training to be able to execute such discipline.
Seuss retracted his focus, no matter how elite the Iron Mask Army were, if they were unable to convince them, it would turn out to be the most terrible thing for Temple.
Seuss laughed bitterly in his mind, he did not hold any assurance at all.
But at such a time, he did not hold the decision to retreat. He did not beat about the bush, and took the lead to greet Ah Xin: "Greetings, Senior Xin."
Ah Xin nodded his head: "Clan Elder Seuss, I believe that you have brought Temple's sincerity, I wonder what conditions Temple is willing to provide?"
Sadra and the rest were immediately focused onto Seuss.
Seuss was not used to being so direct while working, but at that moment, he had to be harsh, and got right to the point: "As long as Mace Field Tradings Family agrees in following Temple, Mace Field Tradings Family will be the only Aristocratic Prestigious Family in Honorable Martial Continent in the future. Regardless of what Mace Field Tradings Family requires, Temple will satisfy them."
A few snickers could be heard, while Huo Liu Shang and the rest revealed looks of ridicule. To them, they felt that Temple did not know the difference between living and dying, and was still portraying themselves as high and mighty.
"Temple is really Temple, they are too used to being the Master of Honorable Martial Continent, while the rest of us can only be servants." Howl sneered with ridicule, not forgetting to hit Temple while they were down.
But he was right.
Temple's attitude was as such, Temple had to be the Master, while Mace Field Tradings Family their subordinate. And if Mace Field Tradings Family were to join the alliance, they would have the identity as a partner, where everyone would be the master of Honorable Martial Continent in the future. Although it would involve distributing power and benefits, but at least everybody were on the same level.
The only difference, was a difference between heaven and earth.
Sadra and the rest heaved a sigh of relief, they were most worried that Temple would do the unexpected to turn the situation, and promise in sharing the rule of Honorable Martial Continent with Mace Field Tradings. Of course, even if it turned out that way, they had their rebuttals as well, as Temple had given the same promise to them in the past.
But Temple's attitude surprised them.
Temple was simply pushing Mace Field Tradings to them, and they felt that Temple's arrogance was truly beyond redemption.
Ah Xin was in disbelief, he acted as if he was looking around carelessly, but he was actually looking at Tang Tian and Qian Hui, and they saw the vigilance in each other's eyes.
Temple did not retract their arrogance, but to continue acting that way, it was definitely not normal.
Seuss did not understand why the Great Clan Elder was not willing to give in at such a time, although he had blatantly ordered Seuss to give Mace Field Tradings Family anything they wanted to rope them in, but ultimately, his conditions was still saying no.
But it was fine, it was not as if he had no other cards to play.
He calmed himself down, then spoke up: "Temple is willing to handover the technique to withstand the corrosion of time, and lengthen Senior Xin's life."
The expressions of Sadra and the rest froze on their faces, their eyes flashed with a trace of panic. They finally understood that they had disregarded one point, and that being Senior Xin was a Spirit General.
They then understood how far Temple was willing to go.
If he had the technique to withstand the corrosion of time, the time that Senior Xin could survive would be greatly amplified. To Mace Field Tradings Family, Senior Xin was their Guardian Angel, the ability to allow their Guardian Angel to stay forever was a value that no one could compete with.
This was an irresistible offer for Mace Field Tradings.
"Impossible!" Huo Liu Shang blurted out: "The corrosion of time is a law of the world, it is something nobody can withstand. You are spouting nonsense."
His voice had changed slightly, it was visible that he was terrified.
On the contrary, Seuss calmed down. In truth, he did not believe it either, but at that moment, he could no longer care about anything, and acted as though he had a card up his sleeve: "It seems like everyone has forgotten that Temple was the first to begin research on spirits, furthermore, I believe that no one else has invested as much as Temple into this."
Seuss spoke with confidence, that's right, in terms of spirits studies, who had more power than Temple?
By the side, Sadra who had been quiet and observing the entire time suddenly laughed: "That's right, in terms of spirits studies, no one can compare to Temple.
When Sadra spoke up, Seuss' heart instantly had a bad premonition.
And on the contrary, Huo Liu Shang and the rest who were initially panicking instantly calmed down. They understood Sadra very well, when he spoke, he always had a way.
Sadra continued: "It is all thanks to Temple for helping us research and study Spirits so much, we will definitely bring glory to the results. Temple still has many other things that we will cherish."
Huo Liu Shang and the rest instantly figured out what Sadra meant. ~That's right, as long as we attack Temple, whatever Temple has will belong to us.~
Seuss' heart jumped, but he maintained his steadiness. He sneered: "Is that so? Even if you attack Temple, you will only obtain ruins."
"You want to burn both jade and stone together? You overestimate your Clan Elders." Sadra chuckled: "Not everyone is willing to die for Temple. We have many friends in Temple as well. As long as Temple has something, it will belong to us."
Seuss' face finally changed, ~There are clan elders that have colluded with the enemy!~
A bitter feeling surfaced in his heart, in truth, he was not willing to admit to it. The enemies had planned for ages prior to the current situation. Their plans to infiltrate into Temper had gone on for many years, in which Seuss had gained some sense of in the past.
But upon thinking about it, there were many indicators in any ordinary day, it was just that he thought they were merely making friends, he had never expected for their conspiracy to be so huge.
Right at that moment, Ah Xin suddenly spoke out: "I don't need it."
His gaze involuntarily turned towards Xiao Ran, ~I think only Xiao Ran understands me best, how unbearable the passing of time can be.~
Their eyes connected, Ah Xin could feel the warmth and concern in Xiao Ran's eyes.
His mouth involuntarily blossomed into an unconcealable smile.
~It feels good.~
Suddenly, he had a trace of comprehension in his mind. Before he met Xiao Ran or the Young Miss, his world only consisted of the past, but after meeting them, he had the present and future.
~I am not only living in my past.~
The black and white world seemed to brighten up, the world in his eyes became alive and colorful, even when he was just a Spirit General.
~It feels good.~
Ah Xin's gaze landed on Seuss, he spoke out: "If that's all, I am sorry to say that…."
Sadra's face finally revealed a smile, he knew that Temple had lost completely.
"So we still failed!"
Suddenly, a low, solemn and unfamiliar voice interrupted Ah Xin.
Ah Xin instantly stood up, he glared at Seuss. The rest all stood up in shock, as they looked at Seuss' strange expression.
The unfamiliar voice actually came out from Seuss.
Everyone could see that there was something wrong with Seuss. He had froze on the spot, his eyes were in a daze as they lost focus, and his mouth closed up. It was an extremely strange sight, and everyone felt a cold chill run up their back, the hairs on their bodies standing straight up.
Sadra stared at Seuss, then exclaimed in shock: "Great Clan Elder!"
"Hehe." Seuss remained unmoved, his mouth was closed, and the voice seem to project from his chest: "Sadra, I never thought that you could still recognize my voice, it's been 20 years right."
Sadra regained his calm: "That's right, it's been 23 years."
"Your memory will always be better than mine, I never thought that we would meet here, my old friend, but now, we have to fight to the death." Great Clan Elder sighed.
"I am just taking back what belongs to us." Sadra replied indifferently.
"Everything in the Honorable Martial Continent, even you, belongs to Temple." The Great Clan Elder spoke indifferently, yet held a tyrannical tone.
Sadra remained unfazed: "That's the reason for this war."
"20 years ago, I knew that you did not have the heart, but I could not take your life. Everything's over, Sadra. Thank you for this war, but a new era is about to begin."
Sadra's complexion turned dark, he felt uneasy.
"Honorable Martial Continent doesn't need any Prestigious Family, it only needs Temple." Great Clan Elder's voice contained a fanatical tone, while Seuss' body trembled.
Sadra suddenly understood, his eyes was filled with disbelief: "You want to destroy all the Prestigious Families!"
"You finally understand? Sadra, you've slowed." Great Clan Elder's voice became even more fanatical: "Temple needs new life, the Honorable Martial Continent needs new life. And only I, can bestow it new life! But a pity, Sadra, for you will not be able to witness it."
Clan Elder Seuss, whose entire body was trembling incessantly, suddenly ignited with a white flame.
Holy Flame!
The pure and gentle Holy Flame revealed how profound Seuss' attainments on it were. The Holy Flame enveloped Seuss entire body, causing him to look as though he was on fire.
Everyone could sense danger, but they did not know where it was coming from.
Tang Tian moved the fastest, the instant the Holy Flame had appeared, he had already made his move on Clan Elder Seuss. His intuition was the sharpest, but at that moment, his heart was enveloped with an unprecedented sense of danger.
Death! He caught the scent of death aura!
How long had it been after he gained enlightenment on the Awakened God Armor, for him to feel the threat of dying?
His senses reached their peak, causing the hairs on Tang Tian's body to erect.
Chi!
Clan Elder Seuss' brain exploded like a watermelon, but his body did not fall.
What happened next, caused everyone to gasp in shock.
Chapter 914 - Pillar of Punishment
Translated by: Berrrybunz
Edited by: TN and DeAndreR
The pure and gentle white Holy Flame emitted an aura that felt divine, causing people who felt it to have a desire to kneel and bow towards it. But the scene in front of them was extremely bizarre, causing everyone to feel extremely cold.
Clan Elder Seuss' head was chopped off, revealing half of his broken neck, and everybody were able to clearly see the white bones and red flesh. In any ordinary situation, the wound would spill with blood. But the strange thing was that not an ounce of blood came out from Seuss broken neck.
Whooosh, A burst of white Holy Flame surged out from Seuss neck.
The headless Clan Elder Seuss's body stood erect, and looked like a human candle that was stuck in the ground.
The white Holy Flame devoured him silently.
Seuss flesh acted like the wax for the white flames, and continued to disintegrate to the fire. The corpse melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the Holy Flame continued to become stronger and larger.
No one knew what was going on, but their hearts were tensed, as though they were in a horror movie, and something terrible was about to happen to them. But no one knew how to stop the flames, even destroying the head was useless, they could only watch the flames helplessly.
Clan Elder Seuss' body seemed to be the best fuel for the Holy Flame, it combusted extremely quickly, and in the blink of the eye, only his waist and legs were left, the originally arm sized Holy Flame had increased by a hundred times.
The burning Holy Flame spewed in all directions, and the remaining half of Seuss turned into a torch.
The expressions on everybody's face changed, and the ones closer to the flame all retreated. The Holy Flame continued to strengthen and become more dangerous.
Tang Tian stared at the burning corpse, beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead, his back was drenched with perspiration.
He did not retreat, but stepped forward, protecting Qian Hui who was behind him.
His intuition was extremely sharp, and the sensation he had was far more intense than the others.
Tang Tian had fought against Roger before, and was not unfamiliar with the Honorable Martial Holy Flame. In that battle, he had suppressed Roger right from the start, preventing Roger from having any opportunity. At that time, although he felt that the Honorable Martial Banner of Knights had a justified reputation, but he had the confidence of beating them.
But, the Holy Flame in front of him completely overwhelmed the impression he had of Holy Flames.
The two were of completely different grades, Roger's Holy Flame was like a weak candlelight, but the Holy Flame in front of him felt like flames from a volcano.
What made him even more anxious was that the Holy Flame was growing stronger with no end, growing in size and quality, the Holy Flame's various attributes were quietly changing, and he could sense the changes.
The burning Holy Flames did not have any berserk aura, it remained divine and solemn, but it became even more intense, as though the God Monarch from Heavens was overlooking down on life, even the air in the area had become denser, as an invisible pressure enveloped everyone present.
~Wait a minute!~
Tang Tian's pupils suddenly constricted, within the blazing Holy Flame, there was a faint figure that was struggling in pain.
The faint figure's silhouette was obviously Clan Elder Seuss!
Ah Xin had noticed the figure, and cried out: "How is that possible!"
~That is not a spirit general~, Tang Tian immediately noticed.
~Soul, that is Clan Elder Seuss' soul.~
Everyone stared at the Holy Flame in shock, all of their faces revealed looks of fear and shock, even Tang Tian was not an exception.
Compared to the people of Sacred Saint Galaxy, Tang Tian from Heaven's Road was much more familiar with the concept of spirit and soul. Spirit Generals, Spirit Cards, these were ordinary things in Heaven's Road, and was the most common creatures in Heaven's Road, they had difference in quality, but in essence, they were all the same.
But Tang Tian had never seen a real soul before. Spirit Generals were not souls, and even the secret to the formation of Spirit Generals had never been unravelled. But they were inextricably linked, and the majority would think that spirit generals were formed from the merger of a martial artist's obsession and soul.
But no one had ever seen a pure living soul.
The soul that was alive was trembling incessantly in front of Tang Tian.
Clan Elder Seuss' soul was struggling in pain inside the Holy Flame, which was silently swallowing him and burning up, but for some reason, everyone seemed to be able to hear his heart wrenching screams and wails.
When the last bit of Seuss' flesh finally melted inside the Holy Flame, the pure white flames became dyed with a layer of gold.
The soul inside the Holy Flame started to melt away, releasing a golden liquid. This golden liquid quickly assimilated into the Holy Flame. The struggling soul became weaker and weaker, smaller and smaller, dimmer and dimmer, and when the last drip of golden liquid assimilated with the Holy Flame, the initially white holy flame became a noble gold color.
The place where Clan Elder Seuss originally stood had nothing left.
The golden Holy Flame's flames started to churn slower, as though every movement of the wick moved a weight of a thousand catties. It was like a mythical god that had awoken from its slumber, gradually releasing its consciousness, its gaze able to shatter the world.
"Step back." Tang Tian told Qian Hui without turning his head back.
He looked as though he was facing a powerful enemy, every inch of his muscles were tensed up.
Qian Hui did not argue, she quickly retreated. She knew that there was something wrong, and just like how Tang Tian believed in her judgement and intellect, she too held absolute belief in her Big Brother Tian when it came to battle.
On Tang Tian's left, Ji Ze disregarded everything, and held the blood red bewitching blade. His hand that held the blade was extremely stable, but his forward slanting position made him look as if he was a beast ready to pounce on its prey.
Xiao Ran was half a step behind Tang Tian, both her hands were on Zanbato, guarding Tang Tian's right flank, she was ready to support him at any moment.
She looked at Ah Xin who was close by.
Ah Xin already had Undying Sword in his hand, his playful face had disappeared and was replaced with an unprecedented seriousness, along with anger, a deep anger.
She knew why Ah Xin was furious, she was equally angry. Using another person's soul was pure evil. The combustion of the soul meant true death, and Seuss did not even have the chance to become a Spirit General.
As a Spirit General, the emotions they felt would be more intense.
Bang!
A gold light pillar shot out from the golden Holy Flame, and into the sky.
The roof of the hall was extremely weak against the gold flaming pillar, and completely disintegrated upon contact.
Qiu Ning was silently in ambush, he had waited for a full two days and two nights.
When he saw the four Aristocrats' armies stationed outside Snow City, he knew that they were prepared to impose emergency measures for the city. Once the city was in lockdown, the security around Mace Field Trading would become extremely tight and stringent, at that time, it would become extremely difficult for him to sneak in.
That was the reason why Qiu Ning had sneaked in two days earlier, to avoid the tight security.
He controlled his aura extremely well, without revealing any traces of himself, he was even able to conceal himself from Tang Tian, and had perfectly concealed himself from everybody else.
He had chosen an extremely strategic location, and that was on a beam above the hall. The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, and everyone's mental state were stretched taut, thus no one noticed him.
Qiu Ning had been waiting for an opportunity the entire time, but the situation had changed so quickly that it rendered him helpless. Clan Elder Seuss' transformation almost made him cry from shock.
~What the hell is going on?~
From a young age, Qiu Ning could never be frightened or surprised. He felt that he had seen all the oddities and bizarre things in the world, and was never afraid. But upon seeing Clan Elder Seuss' transformation, he was truly shocked out of his skin.
When the pure white Holy Flame shot out from Clan Elder Seuss' broken neck, all the hairs on his body stood up.
He had never been so afraid in his entire life before, it was truly a horrifying scene!
The intense fear spread through his entire body, causing his mind to go blank. He had never encountered such a situation, the scene was so cruel, so evil, far more than what he thought he could ever see.
But he quickly regained his senses, and his first reaction was to escape.
~What family glory, what values, I need to escape from this place.~ The fear that took over him made him want to leave as far as possible.
And when the gold liquid appeared inside the Holy Flame, Qiu Ning's entire body turned cold, the cold intent shooting to the deepest parts of his bones.
~Temple, this is the real Temple….~
He felt extremely cold, even as someone born in the Qiu Family, even if the Qiu Family had intentions on Temple, he always respected Temple in his heart as though he respected a God. He had never thought that such a fanatical and terrifying thing would actually come from Temple itself.
~What's more, it was from the highly esteemed Great Clan Elder!~
The noble and beautiful gold liquid assimilated into the Holy Flame, increasing the sovereign of the Holy Flame multiple folds. The overbearing and beauty of the flame overwhelmed Qiu Ning.
Without any hesitation, he completely disregarded the fact that his cover would be blown as he rushed out with all of his strength.
~I need to leave this place as far as I can!~
That was the only thought in his mind, the unprecedented fear and caused him to unleash his hidden potential, and with an unprecedented speed, he rushed out.
At that time, no one cared about him, everyone were locked onto the horrifying scene. The stronger the power, the more dangerous and intense feeling it gave off, and everyone stared at the golden Flames as though they were staring at their greatest enemy.
No one knew what the regiment of Holy Flames were, but they knew that the Great Clan Elder's plan was within the terrifying golden Flames.
Qiu Ning had just reached the door, when he suddenly felt something erupting from behind him. An ice cold divine aura enveloped his body and mind.
He instantly turned sluggish, and the moment he turned his head to look back, the golden Holy Flames shot into the sky.
The golden flaming pillar shot through the clouds, the ice cold Divine Aura came from this powerful golden pillar of flames.
"The Pillar of Punishment!"
Sadra's voice came out from behind him.
Qiu Ning's face changed once again. Pillar of Punishment, he had heard of it before. It was Temple's most cruel punishment, and only the most unforgivable guilty members that could not be pardoned would be tied to the Pillar of Punishment. These guilty members that were tied onto the Pillar of Punishment would become fuel for the Holy Flame, and their bodies would combust slowly. In the entire process, the guilty member would not die, but instead, they would be completely awake, and their senses were amplified by countless times. Thus, the pain would be amplified countless of times.
It was Temple's most brutal punishment, the pain was far worse and brutal than being in Hell.
When many of such guilty members knew that they were to be trialed by the Pillar of Punishment, they would do their best to commit suicide.
Temple had not used the Pillar of Punishment for many years, but it had finally appeared.
Qiu Ning forcefully suppressed the fear and horror in his heart, he disregarded everything else and ran, he knew that at such a time, he had to be more determined. Any slight hesitation would only cause him to lose his opportunity to escape.
No one stopped him, and in the blink of the eye, he had rushed out of the hall and onto the street.
He heaved a sigh of relief, ~Finally, I escaped from that horror, I barely managed to escape with my life.~
~Temple is too scary, the Great Clan Elder is too scary, this is completely insane and ridiculous!~
The sense of having a renewed life allowed him to relax, and his footsteps became lighter. He planned to leave immediately, away from Snow City, away from Saint Continent.
He was not a fool, the Great Clan Elder dared to incite such a fanatical and ridiculous matter, he definitely had an impenetrable deployment ready.
~Trap!~
~It had been a trap the entire time!~
~Right from the time when the Holy Bell was rung, everything had been a trap set by the Great Clan Elder.~ Qiu Ning smiled bitterly, upon thinking about his own family, all the various Prestigious families, all of those who thought they were bestowed with talent, all of those who had run into the fire without hesitation, every single one of them had played right in the hands of the Great Clan Elder.
~Even the rising and new Prestigious Families, the Great Clan Elder never thought to let them go, he plans to get everyone in one sweep. Right from the beginning, Temple were acting when they were trying to entice and support the new Prestigious Families. Everyone thought that Temple wanted to use them to destroy the current Prestigious Families, causing them to feel as though they were important, as though they were able to bring in new life and able to benefit from it.~
~They can never imagine that they are being played right into the Great Clan Elder's illusion.~
~In the eyes of Temple, they are all pawns, all pawns used to paralyze the current Prestigious Families, pawns that will eventually be destroyed as well.~
~Temple is too scary! The Great Clan Elder is too scary!~ Qiu Ning did not know how many times he had felt shocked in the same day.
It was the deepest emotion he had ever felt. There was only the Great Clan Elder in his mind, a fear that he had never experienced.
The Great Clan Elder was that far ahead, he had planned much further than anyone could imagine, everyone was moving in accordance to his plans, and no one saw through his intent. He was that cold and emotionless, even for Clan Elder Seuss, who was completely loyal to him, was being used as wax for his flames, and even his soul was not let off.
Qiu Ning immediately judged that in the war, the only victor was but one man, the Great Clan Elder!
~The Saint Continent is in danger!~
~The Great Clan Elder cheated everyone to come to Saint Continent, the Saint Continent is itself a trap, this place must have been deployed with countless of killing techniques by the Great Clan Elder.~
Upon thinking about what the Great Clan Elder had said, that all the families would not get away, Qiu Ning still could not imagine what the Great Clan Elder would do next, ~What method is available for him to get rid of ALL the families?~
But Qiu Ning knew that it would be extremely dangerous and scary.
~We need to leave the Saint Continent, we have to leave now!~
He frantically rushed towards where Qiu Yu was hiding, he did not have many friends, Qiu Yu and grown up together with him and they had a good relation, and he planned to get Qiu Yu out alive.
He only rushed out a few meters when he suddenly stopped, he raised his head to look up into the sky, and was stunned by what he saw.
From the distant horizon in all directions, one after another, golden flaming pillars shot into the sky, as though they were connecting to the Heavens.
Qiu Ning suddenly turned around, behind him, there were countless of golden flaming pillars shooting into the sky as well.
The blood on his face completely receded in an instant.