The Ultimate, Exquisite White Moonlight

"He seems to be right here in Yunxue City. It wouldn't hurt to pay him a visit," the Master of the Academy sighed softly. While compiling the *Outline of Realm History*, he had met all manner of people—ordinary mortals as well as towering heroes. He composed songs for commoners, and he wrote biographies for heroes. In his eyes, anyone in the Kuijin Realm who dared draw a blade against Dark Pupil Guishen was a true hero. The young woman standing behind him also looked on with eyes full of anticipation. ... Three thousand li away, Qi Huang hung suspended high in the heavens. His entire body was covered in white beard-like fibers, and his head bore curved, bow-like ram horns, radiating an extraordinary aura. Beside him stood the towering Dark Pupil, his expression as cold as ice as he gazed into the distance thousands of li away at his own corpse, his eyes fathomless. "Heh heh, Dark Pupil, you really are a piece of trash. To be slain by a mere human, and then have your corpse propped up to frighten us!" The Two-headed Snake Guishen sneered mockingly. The other guishen all wore grave expressions. Most of them possessed strength comparable to Dark Pupil's. For Dark Pupil to be slain so effortlessly meant that the white-haired man could slaughter them just as easily. "If Lord Qi Huang hadn't revived you, you'd probably spend eternity propped up in Yunxue City, turning into a famous... tourist attraction," the Two-headed Snake Guishen remarked. Only when mentioning Qi Huang did the Two-headed Snake Guishen show respect and awe. Unlike the rest of them, Qi Huang was a second-generation guishen who hailed from Heitian and Heitu. "For Dark Pupil to be slain by a human is a humiliation to all of us guishen! I shall go forth and slay that human. Wait here a moment, everyone; I'll go and be right back." The Two-headed Snake Guishen spoke up, eager to show off before Lord Qi Huang. His strength was indeed formidable, easily ranking in the top ten within the Kuijin Realm, possessing the combat power of a Great Venerable. Though subjected to such humiliation, Dark Pupil did not dare retort, for the two-headed snake was truly powerful. "With the Snake God making a move, won't victory be well within hand?" "To dare cause trouble in the Kuijin Realm is nothing short of courting death!" The gathered guishen chimed in with indifferent expressions, some even flattering the Two-headed Snake Guishen. As long as the Two-headed Snake Guishen went, no matter how strong Qi Yuan was, he stood no chance. Basking in their flattery, the Two-headed Snake Guishen looked toward Lord Qi Huang, waiting only for his nod before departing for Yunxue City to slay Qi Yuan. Right then, a smile curved on Qi Huang's lips. "Interesting. So this is a Mandate bearer, favored by heaven's mandate?" Qi Huang's remark came out of nowhere, leaving the surrounding guishen completely baffled as to what he meant. Then Qi Huang continued, "If I were to grant your request, you wouldn't even need to think—your end would be no different from Dark Pupil's. And after that, I imagine Kai Chi, who never gets along with you, would volunteer to claim the glory, only to be slain in turn!" Qi Huang spoke lazily, a relaxed smile playing across his face. A Mandate bearer was favored by the Mandate of Heaven. Even though the Kuijin Realm had been occupied by guishen, the world still belonged to the Divine Wood Universe, so its will would naturally favor a Mandate bearer. Correspondingly, enemies of a Mandate bearer would run into bizarre mishaps or lose their minds for inexplicable reasons. The Two-headed Snake Guishen choked up, clearly unconvinced. "Even if he killed Dark Pupil, he hasn't reached the Great Venerable realm. Slaying him will be effortless for me!" Qi Huang chuckled. "Who said he's merely a Venerable?" "Could he be a Great Venerable?" The other guishen grew solemn. If he truly was a Great Venerable, the Two-headed Snake Guishen might indeed suffer a disastrous defeat. "He isn't just a Great Venerable; he's no ordinary Great Venerable at that." A greedy glint flashed in Qi Huang's eyes. "He is a... withered mythological." "What... a mythological?" "He's actually a mythological!" Hearing this, the gathered guishen trembled with fear. A mythological and an ordinary Yin God belonged to two entirely different realms. It was safe to say that if a mythological made a move, all ninety-nine guishen of the Kuijin Realm would perish. Some of the guishen even felt the urge to flee on the spot. "Three thousand years ago, one of my uncles was attempting to step into the Yang God realm and crossed paths with this man outside the realm. A clash ensued," Qi Huang recounted smugly. "Naturally, this man was defeated. After returning, my uncle sat in meditation for a thousand years and successfully stepped into the Yang God realm." Hearing Qi Huang speak of his uncle, the assembled guishen were filled with awe. Lord Qi Huang had quite a few uncles. Rumor had it... he even had an uncle at the second layer of the Yang God realm, and that wasn't even the strongest among them. Qi Huang often brought up his uncles, every single one of whom commanded profound reverence from these guishen. "As for him, his mythological state has withered. He is likely quite a bit stronger than Six Steps of Sky Treading, but far weaker than a true mythological," Qi Huang said. Were it not for his uncle, he wouldn't have recognized Qi Yuan at all. "Even so, even if we join forces and manage to take him down, we'll suffer catastrophic casualties! Lord Qi Huang, please make a move and request reinforcements from Heitian and Heitu! Only by dispatching a mythological expert can we slay this fiend!" the Two-headed Snake Guishen urged, breaking into a cold sweat of lingering dread. If he had rushed off just now, he truly would have died. Qi Huang smiled. "Do you see? This is a Mandate bearer, favored by heaven's mandate. If I didn't happen to have a few formidable uncles, the Kuijin Realm might very well have suffered a catastrophe today. "Heaven's mandate might influence you, but it cannot influence me." Qi Huang wore a confident expression, greed flickering in his eyes. "Why bother asking for a mythological expert? We are more than enough to slay him!" As a Great Venerable of Six Steps of Sky Treading, Qi Huang was intensely interested in Qi Yuan's physical body. The cultivation methods of Heitian and Heitu were rather bizarre; obtaining the physical body of a powerful cultivator could drastically shorten one's cultivation time. If he could slay Qi Yuan and claim his corpse, he could leap straight to the peak of Seven Steps of Sky Treading in one bound. That would save him nearly hundreds of thousands of years of bitter cultivation. Therefore, he had no intention of inviting a mythological expert. If a mythological stepped in, he could kiss Qi Yuan's corpse goodbye. Qi Huang chose to act himself. "We..." Kai Chi's face looked troubled. "Even if he is a withered mythological, I'm afraid it will still be immensely difficult for us to slay him. Even if we succeed, the cost will be tremendous!" He felt somewhat terrified. Qi Huang dismissed it casually. "My uncle gave me guiling source, so why fear death? Even if we die, we can simply revive just like Dark Pupil." He possessed high-grade guiling source in his hands. The steady, endless supply of experts from Heitian and Heitu existed precisely because of guiling source. When a Yang God fell in battle, expending a bit of guiling source was all it took to resurrect them. Dark Pupil had been revived by Qi Huang in the very same way. "If that is the case, we can fight fearlessly, and our combined strength will be enough to slay him!" "Indeed! Even if he is remarkably strong, at worst we can all detonate ourselves. We can wear him down to death!" "What if... he isn't a withered mythological?" Qi Huang's expression remained tranquil. "Rest assured, everyone, my guiling source is somewhat plentiful." It wasn't just "somewhat plentiful"—it was an extraordinary amount. In fact, it was enough to sustain the resurrection of a Realm Lord-level Yang God. After all, he had quite a lot of uncles. Furthermore, he was the sole descendant of his clan. Hearing this, the other guishen breathed a sigh of relief. With an abundance of guiling source, there was little to worry about. Even if the enemy were a consummated mythological, detonating themselves madly several times would probably be enough to finish him off. Qi Huang was thoroughly confident. Even if there was a one-in-a-billion chance that the man underwent an explosive breakthrough under heaven's favor and reached the Ancestral God realm... An Ancestral God without the blessing of the divine wood was merely an oversized mythological—they could just keep detonating themselves and keep killing him. "It's just... what if he tries to flee and we can't stop him?" Kai Chi Guishen asked. With guiling source to back them up, they were fully capable of slaying Qi Yuan, but if Qi Yuan chose to run, it would be difficult to hold him back. "Don't worry. Since I've chosen to take action, I naturally have the means to ensure he cannot escape." Kai Chi Guishen looked brimming with confidence. He possessed another treasure that formed a realm of its own. When the time came, they would enter the treasure and pull Qi Yuan inside; he wouldn't be able to flee at all. Of course, before they slaughtered Qi Yuan, they wouldn't be able to leave either. All of that was a trivial matter. ... "Finally, two days of peace and quiet." Qi Yuan stretched lazily. His mortal transformation progress had finally crept up by one percent. Over the past couple of days, he had lived quite comfortably. The rebels seemed to have deduced from the words "transforming into a mortal" that the person who had slain Dark Pupil Guishen was Qi Yuan, and they didn't dare come to disturb him. As for Wu Lian, she remained next door without leaving. "Master, it's strange. Why hasn't the Blood Tiger Gang shown up these past two days?" Zhao Yan looked at Qi Yuan basking in the sun, curiosity written across his face. Over these past few days, he had lived on edge, terrified that the Blood Tiger Gang would come looking for trouble, to the point where he hadn't dared step out of the courtyard once. Beside him, Hongmei showed a radiant smile. "Perhaps my senior brother intervened." Her senior brother was also nearby. She had mentioned offending the Blood Tiger Gang to him, and given his temperament, he might very well have handled the gang on her behalf. "Really?" Zhao Yan's face filled with gratitude upon hearing this. His favorable impression of Hongmei grew even further. "Master... should we consider moving to a different place?" Zhao Yan asked tentatively. He had brought up joining the Academy to his master more than once. His master was simply an old stubborn fool who refused to go under any circumstances. "If anyone's moving, it's you!" Qi Yuan shot Zhao Yan a glance. He was fully immersed in his roleplaying as mortal Qi Yuan. Sure enough, killing off those nuisances who disturbed his mortal transformation made his progress much faster. Hongmei said nothing. She didn't try to persuade him further either; after all, she couldn't guarantee with certainty that she could get Qi Yuan into the Academy. After all, gaining admission to the Academy was immensely difficult, requiring tests of scholarship, character, aptitude, and much more. Seeing this, Zhao Yan looked helpless. Right then, a rhythmic knocking sounded at the gate. Zhao Yan's heart tightened. The Blood Tiger Gang? Hongmei's face also took on a look of surprise. At that moment, an aged, refined voice drifted in. "Might this humble old man have the fortune to pay his respects to the master of this courtyard?" The voice was exceptionally cultured. Merely hearing it gave Zhao Yan the sensation of being immersed in a sea of books. Hongmei's body trembled, and an expression of utter disbelief appeared on her face. Because this voice... was far too familiar. Why... had he come? "Not seeing anyone," Qi Yuan refused flatly from his recliner. See my foot! Couldn't he see that he was in the middle of transforming into a mortal? Hongmei froze, then quickly said, "Senior, the person outside is... the Master of the Academy!" Zhao Yan was completely dumbfounded upon hearing this. For a grand figure like the Master of the Academy to come here to visit his master? "A special NPC?" Qi Yuan paused for a moment. "Does he know a lot of information?" "In the entire Kuijin Realm, no one knows more than him!" Hongmei declared with absolute confidence. "Show him in!" Qi Yuan changed his mind immediately. Apart from white moonlights, what he loved most were exposition-type NPCs. Only by understanding the world's lore and storyline could one steamroll through a game properly. Before Zhao Yan could move, Hongmei hurried forward and pulled open the courtyard gate. When she saw the hunchbacked old man, deep reverence surfaced on Hongmei's face. The hunchbacked elder had a beard and hair as white as snow. With his hunched back, he looked barely one point six meters tall, appearing no different from an ordinary mortal old man. Yet his robe was worn neatly, washed pale, and maintained without a single crease out of place. At a single glance, he radiated a scholarly air. Hongmei felt a surge of excitement inside! It truly was the Master of the Academy! Qi Yuan swept a glance over the hunchbacked elder, a look of surprise crossing his face. For the hidden information revealed to his eyes indicated that this old man was no ordinary NPC. Far from ordinary. In fact... he might not even be in a living state. "Old gentleman, are you writing a book?" Qi Yuan asked. He recalled Xianling Yingjun, who had once mentioned that he was helping an old gentleman gather information. Could it be this man? The Master of the Academy nodded. "Mister knows of me?" Seeing this, Hongmei was puzzled as to why the Master of the Academy would adopt such an attitude toward Qi Yuan. He even addressed him as "Mister"? One should know that elders typically addressed others as "old friend" or "young man." The term "Mister" was exceedingly rare. Could Qi Yuan possess some extraordinary identity? "I've heard a bit about you. I'd like to ask you a few questions," Qi Yuan said. The Master of the Academy smiled. "Before Mister asks, might this humble old man ask Mister a few questions first?" "Sure," Qi Yuan replied. Hongmei immediately perked up her ears to listen intently. "Mister resides in a humble dwelling, hidden within the bustling market. Why did you suddenly slay Dark Pupil Guishen?" The Master of the Academy looked at Qi Yuan with curiosity. Beside them, Hongmei and Zhao Yan felt as though thunder had crashed overhead. Dark Pupil Guishen had been slain? Slain by Qi Yuan?! "Because... I am transforming into a mortal," Qi Yuan answered truthfully. "I originally intended to undergo my mortal transformation in peace, but people kept bothering me every day, leaving me thoroughly irritated. Left with no choice, I had to kill the strongest one in Yunxue City, that Dark Pupil fellow. I figured that would buy me some peace and quiet without interruptions." Zhao Yan: "???" Hongmei: "???" Slaying a guishen just to avoid being disturbed? The Master of the Academy was also somewhat taken aback, not expecting such an answer. "Fascinating. Yet has Mister ever considered that guishen can never be slaughtered to the last? This is a war-torn region; if you kill one guishen, a second will come... I'm afraid it will be difficult for Mister to enjoy even a moment of peace." "If they come, I'll just kill them all. I reckon no one will be able to disturb me then," Qi Yuan answered offhandedly. This was his plan—simple, crude, yet meticulously foolproof. The Master of the Academy paused slightly, then chuckled softly. "The guishen are endless. Even if Mister slays all the guishen in the Kuijin Realm, even stronger guishen might descend. With Mister here alone, I fear you will find yourself isolated and without aid." "Why would I need aid? The advantage is clearly mine!" Qi Yuan said, surprised. He wasn't afraid of opponents being strong; he was only afraid they wouldn't be strong enough. The Master of the Academy was stunned once more, his curiosity deepening. "Mister is truly interesting." "Alright, you should be done with your questions. Now it's my turn to ask you," Qi Yuan said, looking at the Master of the Academy. "The first question is... do you know what lies inside... the Divine Wood Deep Abyss?" The Master of the Academy furrowed his brows, not expecting anyone to ask such a question. "This humble old man has never entered the Divine Wood Deep Abyss. However, I have heard from several Mandate bearers that it is entirely empty, with nothing inside," the Master of the Academy answered. Qi Yuan fell silent for a moment upon hearing this answer, then continued, "Second question: what is Heitian, and are they strong?" This was also something Qi Yuan cared about. After all, he could be considered a shareholder in this game; he couldn't very well let someone else take it over. The Master of the Academy grew even more silent, surprised that Qi Yuan would ask this. "Regarding Heitian, I fear no one in this world knows its origin. "Long ago, the Divine Wood Universe mobilized the strength of its entire race to cooperate with a Voidwalker, asking that Voidwalker to consult a mighty Void Realm Lord about the origins of Heitian. "The Void Realm Lord answered truthfully. Yet that Voidwalker was completely unable to retain any memory of Heitian. "Therefore, it is likely that no one can know about Heitian. Even if someone does learn of it, unless they attain strength on par with that Void Realm Lord, they will probably fail to remember it." Qi Yuan pondered this. This Heitian... really was something. "Third question: are Heitian and Heitu very strong? Do they have Realm Lords as well?" The Master of the Academy felt somewhat puzzled, finding this Qi Yuan rather different from what he had imagined, but he still answered truthfully. "They only have Realm Lords of the Rule Realm, their numbers unknown." The Master of the Academy shared what information he possessed with Qi Yuan. "Heitian and Heitu are strong—terrifyingly so, to the point of inducing despair. Because their strength is... inexhaustible. "As long as Heitian endures, no matter how many Heitu fall in battle, they can all be revived." Speaking of this, a trace of bitterness appeared on the Master of the Academy's aged face. They revived upon being slain, and their strength surpassed yours. Against such an enemy... how could one fight? How many mighty experts of the Divine Wood Universe had died in battle, yet they had never truly eradicated a single Heitu Yang God! "They revive when they die?" Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. Didn't that mean... infinite experience points?! How could this be considered a formidable enemy? This was clearly... the ultimate, exquisite white moonlight! A white moonlight that constantly respawned at its spawn point!