Starting Anew

So far, people had discovered three uses for the Empty Door sorcery spirit: When used on a wall no thicker than 10 centimeters (One-Wing) / 50 centimeters (Two-Wing) / 3 meters (Three-Wing), it could directly open a temporary passage, though maintaining this passage constantly consumed sorcery power. When used against empty air in reality, it created a teleportation portal, but behind the door ninety-nine percent of the time lay Void Realm turbulence capable of annihilating anything, and it was extremely unstable, liable to collapse at any second. When used against empty air in the Void Realm, it created an empty door, which had no discernible purpose for the time being. The Empty Door sorcery spirit also had usage limits. At One-Wing, it could be used at most three times before self-destructing; using it twice consecutively within twenty-four hours would also cause it to die suddenly from overexhaustion. At Two-Wing, it could exist permanently, but required a twenty-four-hour interval before a second use, failing which it would likewise self-destruct. At Three-Wing, it could be used three times in succession, but any further use would destroy it as well. In truth, sorcery spirits had always had usage limits. It was just that most sorcerers only commuted in and out of the Void Realm like clockwork; the market wouldn't even permit them to overwork their sorcery spirits, so very few ever touched that threshold. Only during the Spectre Prophet's resurrection incident, where many sorcerers fought bitterly for over a dozen consecutive hours, did sorcery spirits occasionally drop dead from exhaustion. Even those that survived had to devour gold coins ravenously to shake off their weakened state. Consumable sorcery spirits like the Empty Door had always existed, such as time spirits like Reverse Year. Their common trait was that their effects far exceeded their wing rank—a One-Wing Reverse Year could turn back a full year of time, and a One-Wing Empty Door could open a teleportation portal. When power drastically outstripped rank, constraints were inevitable. Therefore, even though the drop rate of the Empty Door sorcery spirit had risen, research into it would be a lengthy process. Right now, even major factions had not necessarily devised a viable way to utilize it, to say nothing of Yaxiu and his makeshift crew. Yet when faced with Black Crow's question, Yaxiu was surprised. "You noticed?" "The first day you learned about the Empty Door sorcery spirit, you were happy. On the second day, you wandered around outside gathering news, full of anticipation. On the third day, you found a basement to conduct research, and anxiety began to creep in. On the fourth day, you spent the entire morning playing cards with Chikala and Harvey, only heading down to the basement in the afternoon, visibly slacking off." "And then yesterday and today, you didn't go to the basement at all, nor did you hang out with Chikala," Black Crow said. "More importantly, you actually came to ask me for pointers on combat techniques and even took the initiative to spar with me. That was when I knew you had found a way to leave." Yaxiu bristled. "Is it really that bizarre for me to come to you to learn!?" "It isn't bizarre. The bizarre one is me," Black Crow replied. "Because I am merely a savage Black Crow of Death. No one flatters a black crow; no one draws close to a black crow. So when someone goes against their own inclinations just to be close to me, I know that something unpleasant is about to happen to me." Yaxiu muttered awkwardly, "I wasn't exactly forcing myself... And who says no one gets close to you? Aren't you and I pretty close?" "You never invite me when you play games." "That's because every time I see you, you're either sharpening your blade or training! How could I have the nerve to interrupt you while you're busy with serious business?" Yaxiu cried out in grievance. "I never disturb Igola when he's counting money either!" "Besides, if you want to hang out with us, you should speak up! Otherwise, how am I supposed to know you want to join our Neglect-Sleep-and-Forget-Food Club activities?" "The Neglect-Sleep-and-Forget-Food Club?" "Yes. Ne-glect. Sleep. And. For-get. Food. Club." Black Crow paused slightly, then shook his head. "I took the initiative before. And it ended up making others suffer." "Huh?" "Once, when passing through a small town, I played a game of kicking beanbags with a few children. I was happy at the time, but later someone complained to Tanomu, claiming I had coerced them... Indeed, who would ever want to play with someone dressed so bizarrely and reeking of blood?" Black Crow's tone remained flat, only his voice growing softer. But Yaxiu had a different take: "Did the children complain, or did their parents?" "Probably the parents. But it's all the same..." "It's not the same! You're just illiterate, not actually blind! When you were playing with those kids, were they happy or miserable? Don't tell me you really couldn't tell the difference?" "It was the same with me. Maybe I was a little reluctant when I first approached you—after all, I've reached the age where I've started dreading physical exertion... But I quickly got into it. Because you were teaching me earnestly, I had to respond earnestly as well." "Your getup is genuinely terrifying, sure, but good intentions are felt with the heart, not seen with the eyes. A good person who looks fierce is still a good person; a villain who looks gorgeous is still a villain... And I'm not the only one who feels it. You know how sensitive and callous Harvey and Igola are, yet even they know to be considerate of your feelings. You've already earned their recognition." "I don't need their recognition." "Yet you've already recognized them, haven't you?" Yaxiu continued, "From now on, there is no White Crow to accept goodwill on your behalf. You have to learn to accept goodwill openly yourself, and you have to learn to show kindness of your own accord. Stop hiding behind your Black Crow mask and wallowing in self-pity like some petulant boy... Have I made myself clear?" "Mm." "Sigh, a grown man and I still have to worry about you," Yaxiu sighed. "I've given far too much for this team." After a brief silence, Yaxiu said slowly, "We plan to leave Black Robe Town tomorrow and set out on the journey home. We estimate it'll take about a dozen days on the road to reach our destination." "It wasn't supposed to happen this quickly. Although the Empty Door sorcery spirit gave us a crucial path, there were still numerous technical hurdles to opening a spatial gate to another nation—hurdles we had no way of solving ourselves." He shrugged. "But who would've guessed Gwen would be so lucky?" No one had expected that the key intelligence for returning home would come from Gwen, the captive they brought back from Dead City. Gwen was a Two-Wing sorcerer; during her adventures on the Time Continent, she had accidentally entered the Destiny Q&A Tower. She successfully answered two questions of destiny. As a reward, she was allowed to ask a question of the Void Realm. The question she chose to ask was: 'What is the best way within my power to cross between nations?' To which the Void Realm answered: 'Reach the bottommost layer of the Senluo Nation and use an Empty Door sorcery spirit. It will form a stable spatial passage, significantly reducing the probability of encountering Void Realm turbulence, and potentially leading randomly to other nations.' After Igola verified it, the intelligence proved genuine. As for why Gwen asked this question, she claimed it was "because everyone has been fretting over it lately." Igola, however, remarked that she wasn't being altruistic—it was simply the smartest move. With Senluo on the verge of turning into a bloody millstone, and having offended the Four Pillar Cult on top of that, asking how to leave was far more practical than anything else. Regardless, Yaxiu and the others finally had a clear milestone: reach the lowest level of Senluo, then repeatedly summon Empty Doors until a portal to the Gospel Nation appeared. "Congratulations." "Thanks." Yaxiu placed the trash back into the bag and said, "Chikala was originally our shared slave. To scrape by with his life, he sold himself to us, so we're definitely taking him along—at least until Igola wrings the rest of the value out of that orc. Besides, Chikala is naturally easygoing and doesn't object to leaving Senluo." "The same goes for Gwen. Whether it's for us or for herself, she will certainly follow us out. So our goals are aligned." With that, Yaxiu stepped out of the alley, Black Crow trailing behind him. In truth, another question should have followed here, but Yaxiu found it difficult to ask, and Black Crow had no intention of offering an unprompted answer. Just as they crossed the main street, a large crowd suddenly poured out of a grand hall-like building beside them. This building was Black Robe Town's only auction house. Originally holding auctions once a week, it now hosted them almost daily. The continent-spanning all-out war had shattered every sect's insular mentality; nearby sects brought out their prized, long-hoarded treasures to Black Robe Town to trade for supplies and bolster their combat power. Yaxiu had initially been quite intrigued by the auctions. After all, they were a classic trope of fantasy adventure. What was the point of transmigrating if you didn't trigger bidding wars, violent robberies, or scoring hidden treasures? Yet after experiencing an auction once, Yaxiu completely abandoned the idea. Finding hidden gems was utterly impossible. As for bidding wars and violent robberies, those were impossible in Black Robe Town anyway. More importantly, the items on auction were practically useless to them—Yaxiu belonged to the swordsmanship faction, Igola to the mind faction, and Harvey to the necromancy faction. In the Senluo Wasteland, these three factions were the bottom of the bottom barrel. Few people specialized in them, so related wares were naturally scarce! What flourished in the Senluo Wasteland were factions like Mortification, Thunder, Fire, Earth, and Senluo—sorceries capable of withstanding the harsh environment, jack-of-all-trades arts suited for both combat and production. It was like buying the cheapest entry-level car: the customer naturally demanded it be able to fetch groceries, haul cargo, and handle long-distance road trips all in one. Delicate factions like swordsmanship and mind sorcery clearly didn't fit the bill. The only one that might have had a foothold was necromancy, but because of green beasts, it lacked any fertile ground to develop—if someone was buried in the ground, green beasts would dig up the corpse from the grave and eat it, which was why cremation was customary across the Senluo Wasteland. Lacking any desire to shop, Yaxiu naturally stopped attending the auctions. He glanced curiously toward the auction hall, only to see three girls running at the front of the pack, clad in skintight suits and carrying numerous pouches, sprinting straight toward them. "Move!" From a distance, the three girls tossed two treasure pouches toward Yaxiu and Black Crow, then whipped around a side street like a gust of wind. Yaxiu caught his on instinct, and immediately saw a portion of the crowd surging out of the auction hall split off and charge straight at him... "Damn it!" Cursing loudly, Yaxiu spun around, grabbed Black Crow, and bolted. Pedestrians along the road parted for them, some even cheering and clapping to egg them on to run faster. "Why are we running?" Black Crow had instantly grasped what had happened, his voice steady even in full sprint. "Can't we just return the goods? We aren't accomplices of those three." "They don't know that!" Yaxiu yelled back. "Even if they'd believe us—which they won't—we'd get beaten to a pulp before we could explain! What's more likely is that they'll beat us to death before we can even get a word out!" "Impossible." "How is it impossible? Right now I'm suppressed by the Kaleidoscope—I can't use sorcery spirits or sorcery power, nor can I fly away with you! Quick, jump onto the crates and run across the roofs!" Black Crow seemed on the verge of speaking, but fell silent and leaped onto the roof first. Yaxiu let out a shout, kicked off the crates, and vaulted upward—only to miss the eaves entirely. He had miscalculated his height and jumping ability! But Black Crow promptly caught his hand and pulled him up onto the roof. The auction pursuers cursed below. Some followed suit by jumping onto crates, while others grabbed ladders from nearby shops to give chase. Every now and then, someone fired crude flintlocks at them—most Grey Fox firearms required sorcery power to activate, making them useless here. Yaxiu and Black Crow sprinted and leaped across the rooftops, vaulting across balconies and scrambling over rafters. Below, shopkeepers and pedestrians paused to track their silhouettes. Torches and shouting from the street pursued them relentlessly, their glow and clamor blending into a flowing melody that accompanied their flight. Tonight, Black Robe Town danced for them. A wave of absurdity washed over Yaxiu. Here he was, a dignified Legendary sorcerer, fleeing in frantic disarray from a bunch of ordinary sorcerers who were Two-Wing at most. While he had no idea what was inside the pouches, it was definitely nothing he needed—just mundane auction lots beneath his notice. Reaching the end of another roof, Yaxiu leaped forward with all his might, but his jumping ability was truly lacking. Just as he was about to smack flat against the wall like a swatted mosquito, Black Crow caught his arm once more and hauled him up with a sharp tug. Yaxiu looked up, met by a night sky as dark as ink. Strange as it was, though the clamor behind them was close and the torches were bright, it felt infinitely distant to Yaxiu; though the night sky was far away, ethereal and profound, he felt enveloped within it. A subtle sense of detachment rapidly took root in his heart. He knew this was the sort of melodramatic notion anyone might have standing atop a roof. Yet he also felt that the wasteland had sensed his heart's will and was seeing him off in its own peculiar way—and reminding him not to leave his luggage behind. He exhaled a long breath and said, "Tamashi Slay All Crows." Black Crow turned to look at him. "Give up your revenge. Give up your homeland. Come with us," Yaxiu said, gazing steadily at the Black Crow of Death. "And start anew."