Martial Saint

"Yaoguang?" As Yaoguang stepped out of the hall, Zong Yan, who was gathering the spoils of battle, had already noticed him. Slowing his movements slightly, his gaze involuntarily tracked the youth's figure. Yet what unfolded before his eyes in the very next instant made him widen his eyes in disbelief. Light. Though humanity's understanding of light remained merely superficial, the keen perception of a Martial Saint allowed Zong Yan to immediately detect the abnormality in the radiance surrounding Yaoguang. In a daze, he felt as if this "light" had taken on a life of its own, converging toward Yaoguang's body in an unending stream. To the point that... The light around him exhibited a distortion visible to the naked eye. It was as though he had transformed into a black hole, continually drawing in the surrounding light and condensing it into himself, causing the ambient glow to dim noticeably. No! It wasn't "as though"! "What is that?" "What's happening!?" "The light around Lord Yaoguang seems..." As gasps of alarm broke out from the Jishi Society Martial Masters and Grandmasters who were also watching him, Zong Yan understood in an instant: an unbelievable metamorphosis was truly taking place within the youth who had stunned him time and time again. Like a vastly diminished black hole, he was genuinely absorbing and warping the light within a radius of dozens of meters, causing the surrounding illumination to fade in an unnatural manner. And such an anomaly... Never mind the Martial Masters and Grandmasters—even he, a Martial Saint, could see it with utmost clarity. The sight before his eyes had already surpassed his comprehension of the Martial Path. "Something seems wrong with Yaoguang's condition..." Just then, Zhang Tianji noticed something and suddenly cried out. Zong Yan also quickly spotted blood seeping from the surface of Yaoguang's skin. This unmistakable sign of injury made his expression turn grave. Yet when he looked closely at Yaoguang's face, he found only detached composure, as though such wounds were beneath his notice. Coupled with the sheer wonder and eerie mystery of the scene... In the end, he said nothing, choosing only to record the phenomenon. He intended to find time later to ask several of the society presidents what was going on. Fortunately, Yaoguang's state did not last long. After only a few minutes, a flicker of vitality returned to his impassive face. Immediately after, his complexion paled slightly, and the aura on his body plummeted at an astonishing speed. This time, Zong Yan could no longer hold back and rushed forward. "Yaoguang..." Yet when he met the brilliant gleam shining in Yaoguang's eyes, he halted in his tracks once more. Yaoguang's physical condition was terrible... Yet his mental state seemed better than ever before. Zong Yan could even discern a trace of heartfelt joy in his eyes. For a time, he refrained from disturbing Yaoguang any further, merely waving his hand to signal those nearby not to approach. Yaoguang did not speak either. He produced a bottle of Snow Ginseng Pills and swallowed the remainder in one gulp. After ingesting the medicine, another half an hour elapsed before Yaoguang's steadily declining aura finally began to stabilize. Though he still appeared weak... A vigorous vitality was burgeoning within him, nourishing every tendon, meridian, and bone throughout his entire body. "Brew some herbs for me," Yaoguang instructed. "A ten-day supply." "I'll see to it right away!" Zong Yan took on the errand personally. Yaoguang said nothing more, quietly refining the medicinal strength of more than half a bottle of Snow Ginseng Pills to replenish a body ravenous from its rapid breakthrough and accelerate his metabolism. Without exaggeration, having shattered his shackles and stabilized that state of transcendence, he was growing stronger with virtually every passing moment. As Tiannan's Blade Absolute, Xie Yusheng naturally lacked no medicine-brewing equipment in his estate. Before long, Zong Yan brought over the first batch of brewed medicine. Yaoguang promptly consumed it, replenishing the energy required for his physical transformation. This cycle repeated without pause, only coming to a halt as dusk began to fall. By then, Zhang Tianji and the others had turned the entire Xie Family Manor upside down, cataloging and packing away everything of value. During this time, personnel from the Security Department had arrived upon hearing gunshots and unusual disturbances, but after Zhang Tianji stepped forward to present a special credential, they swiftly departed. ... "Phew!" As lights began to kindle across thousands of households, Yaoguang exhaled a long breath. "Let's go. Into the city." He spoke. Zong Yan nodded. He looked at Yaoguang, opening his mouth to speak, but found himself at a loss for words. Seeing this, Yaoguang hid nothing. "Three hundred billion Chixing coins. You can go prepare them." "The application has already been submitted," Zong Yan replied. Yet no sooner had the words left his mouth than he realized something was amiss. Yaoguang had brought this up only a few hours ago; there was no reason to reiterate it so soon. For him to say this now... In the next instant, the Jishi Society Martial Saint seemed to make the connection. His heart jolted violently as he stared fixedly at Yaoguang. "You... just now, you...?" "As you saw," Yaoguang said calmly. "I have cleansed my blood and washed my marrow, stepping into the realm of Martial Saint." Buzz! A single simple sentence struck Zong Yan's mind like a sledgehammer, sending his senses spinning. His entire perception of space wheeled around him, refusing to settle. Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing!? What did I... just hear!? Martial Saint!? Only after a long while did Zong Yan barely recover the capacity for rational thought. He looked at Yaoguang standing right before him... He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end only managed two words: "Martial Saint?" Followed immediately by four more: "You became a Martial Saint?" "Yes," Yaoguang replied placidly. Having already caught a glimpse of the scenery of the Heavenly Being realm, he felt no great stir over achieving Martial Saint. Yet such an understated response left Zong Yan smiling with bitter helplessness. He felt that the shocks he had suffered today outweighed all those from the past year combined. No! Never mind a single year—looking back over the past decade, his emotions had never fluctuated as violently as a roller coaster like this. Martial Saint!? Didn't he say it would take another two months? And he had... accepted that with great difficulty. Fine, two months it was. And yet, in the blink of an eye, in the span of an afternoon, he went and broke through directly!? Did he have any concept of time at all? Did he have any credibility left? Was he going to give an old man past sixty any room to catch his breath? "I..." Zong Yan truly did not know what to say. Could the disparity between human beings truly be this vast? Yet he knew in his heart that Yaoguang had already displayed the combat power of a Martial Saint earlier; there was no reason to lie about this. For a moment, he could not help letting out a long, heavy breath, offering an exclamation from the depths of his soul: "A Martial Saint..." He looked at Yaoguang's youthful face. Although he had long anticipated this day, he had never imagined it would arrive so swiftly. Both were Martial Saints, yet the Yaoguang before him was merely nineteen, like a rising sun with a boundless, immeasurable future. Whereas he... Past sixty, in the twilight of his life, with each passing year shaving away what little time he had left. There was no comparison. Absolutely none. "Transfer the money as soon as possible," Yaoguang said. Three hundred billion! Zong Yan smiled wryly. Only a few days had passed, and the three hundred billion Chixing coins he thought wouldn't be needed for years had to be paid out already? "Furthermore..." Yaoguang paused. "Soon, you—all of you—will face a choice." "What?" Zong Yan asked, bewildered. "Go on. Three hundred billion Chixing coins," Yaoguang said. Seeing that Yaoguang would not elaborate, Zong Yan could only rein in his thoughts and focus on the "three hundred billion Chixing coins." He stated plainly, "This afternoon, I already reported the news to headquarters. Headquarters was immensely astonished by your feat of slaying a Martial Saint as a Grandmaster. President Ji Pingtian will personally travel from headquarters and is expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, they will also rapidly mobilize internal funds. Once your strength is confirmed, the three hundred billion Chixing coins will be processed simultaneously through various major corporations under our Jishi Society and quickly transferred into your account." "Good." Yaoguang nodded. As they spoke, he had already gotten into one of the cars they had arrived in, closing his eyes to rest his mind. Seeing this, Zong Yan did not disturb him. He needed time himself to properly digest the shocking revelations Yaoguang had delivered in succession. "A Martial Saint..." He could not resist stealing a glance at Yaoguang, who held a black orb with his eyes closed in repose. A nineteen-year-old Martial Saint. Moreover... Even before becoming a Martial Saint, he possessed the record of slaughtering Martial Saint-grade demons. Now that he had shattered the limits of the human body and stepped into the realm of Martial Saint, his combat power... could absolutely be considered peak among Martial Saints. Even if he could not match the Martial Saints whom Chixing had poured all its resources into cultivating for the Artifact Sect, with his advantage in youth, reclaiming a quota would be well within his grasp. The nations of the Central and East Continents truly had hope for a turnaround. With that thought, Zong Yan finally caught his breath, an involuntary smile surfacing on his face. This investment... was worth it! ... In contrast to Zong Yan's cheerful mood, as Yaoguang sifted through Zhao Sheng's memories within the Soul-Capturing Orb, his mood was cold and detached. This matter... was not over yet. Zhao Sheng's soul fragments clearly recorded the entire cause and sequence of Xia Wuyuan's death. The cause... was unbelievable in its simplicity. All because... Zhao Sheng had made a phone call. Yaoguang closed his eyes. ... "A misunderstanding! The matters regarding Yulong International and the Baisheng Chemical Plant were truly just misunderstandings!" "I need you to give me an explanation!" "You will see an explanation from our Liao family. We will never allow such a trivial matter to affect the friendship between our two sides." ... It was as simple as that. And then... In less than half a day. ... "Xia Wuyuan is dead. Please accept this as a small token of our apologies." "No rush. As I recall, more than one person made a move. One of them was even a genius you held in very high regard, wasn't he? You know I love geniuses the most!" "..." "Is there a problem?" "No problem at all. Any request of yours can be fulfilled." "Very good. Send him over. A genius? Heh, I'd like to play with him personally." "As you wish. We will make arrangements for the prey you desire right away and have them deliver themselves to your doorstep. To kill or flay, they will be entirely at your disposal." "Then let us see your performance." ... "The prey is on its way. Wishing you an enjoyable time." The call ended. "How interesting. These people... are truly interesting..." The tail end of the memory fragment concluded with Zhao Sheng standing up and letting out a mocking, playful laugh: "Since they are so sensible... when the time comes, I might as well keep them as yapping dogs. Won't watching them put on a show now and then be entertaining?" ... The scene ended here.