Everyone from the College was swayed as they watched Lady Yuxiao kneel down in the air, bathed in a rush of flames.
Lady Yuxiao used to be a well-known female cultivator. She later married Clan Leader Hua, but no one expected for her life to end up this way. No matter what the relationship between the College and Lady Yuxiao was like, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It was a truly horrible thing to witness.
Goddess Wangyue clenched hands into a tight fist and a force of Ice Will descended upon Lady Yuxiao, wanting to exterminate the flame. However, the flame of the divine golden bird which surrounded Lady Yuxiao seemed to contain a hint of Sage Will because it could not be put out. Gradually, the image of her became faint as she began to fade away. She was trying to push through the immense pain. Her eyes were trained on Mr. Du.
“Mother!” Hua Qingqing cried out loudly at the sight of her mother in pain. Tears streamed down her beautiful face.
Mr. Du sighed deeply. He knew there was no saving Lady Yuxiao. She was holding on to her last breath with all the strength left in her body. It was the only reason why she had yet to disappear completely. Mr. Du spoke to her, “Don’t worry, go.”
“Thank you, Mr. Du.” Lady Yuxiao bowed to him and was gone immediately, her image disappearing within the flames.
“Mother!” Hua Qingqing’s heart clenched tightly. She wanted to charge out and reach for her mother. However, Goddess Wangyue reached out her hand and cast a Wind spell. The invisible force wrapped around Hua Qingqing’s body and brought her to the side.
Ye Futian never thought Clan Leader Hua and Lady Yuxiao would end up this way after letting them go back at Sky Mountain. His cold eyes swept over to the cultivators of the Holy Fire Clan and the young man mounted on the Three-legged Golden Raven, Du Ao.
He had already tried to make a move on Hua Qingqing back on Sky Mountain. Fortunately, he was stopped by Ye Futian. What Ye Futian didn’t expect was that instead of hiding and lying about his evil doings, Du Ao made another move for her after leaving the mountain. Only this time, it was publicly. Did this rascal not have any shame? Especially as a disciple of one of Barren State’s top powers. Perhaps, he didn’t at all about what the people thought, doing only what he pleased. Even if it was wrong, it had to be known to the public. Even the Qing Dynasty needed to come up with an excuse to wipe out the Liu Kingdom.
“Pardon me, but this girl is someone we want, please hand her over to the Holy Fire Clan.” An elder illuminated by flames stepped forward. He radiated with hints of Sage Will. His aura was strong. It was he who attacked and killed Lady Yuxiao.
The people of the College looked at the elder. He sounded polite but the look in his eyes told another story. Everyone understood that for the Holy Fire Clan to do something like this, they had no morals, no conscience. They only held back because there were Sages in the College. Otherwise, there would be no talking to them. They would simply kill everyone in their way.
Everyone remembered clearly how things went down the last time the Holy Fire Clan arrived at the College. They remembered just how crazy and wild these people from the Barren State were.
“Scram,” Mr. Du spat out in a cold tone. The cultivators of the Holy Fire Clan stared down at Mr. Du from where they were in the air. It seemed that not even a Sage from the Eastern Barren Territory could strike up any fear or respect from them.
“Since it seems like Senior is not willing to welcome us, we’ll leave,” Du Ao said from his spot on the Three-legged Golden Raven’s back. His eyes, filled with a hint of mockery, drifted onto Ye Futian. Ye Futian stared right back. He could feel the disdain and ridicule from Du Ao’s eyes.
On Sky Mountain, Ye Futian was wildly arrogant because he had the will of the mountain at his advantage. He used it to kill many powerful cultivators and used the sound of the bell to injure Barren State cultivators.
Now, there were Sages in the Eastern Barren Territory. The ban had been lifted. Du Ao wanted to see just how arrogant Ye Futian could be now.
The people of the Holy Fire Clan left. Du Ao was in no hurry. When the Sages of the clan arrived, everything would fall into their hands, whether it be Ye Futian or Hua Qingqing.
“How presumptuous,” said College Chief Xiao. He was angry but couldn’t do much. He knew that although his junior brother could stop the opposing party, he had to think about the disciples of the College. Furthermore, College Chief Xiao knew something no one else did. Mr. Qu couldn’t stay at Book Mountain for much longer.
The second the ban was lifted, things were already set.
Everyone looked over at Hua Qingqing. Their hearts hurt for the crying girl. The Holy Fire Clan had already crashed the College, one could already imagine what happened at the Donghua Clan. There was no need for questions.
“Let her rest,” Mr. Du said as he watched Hua Qingqing. He sighed inwardly.
“Okay,” nodded Goddess Wangyue. She led the young girl away and the others also began to disperse. However, the disciples of the Cottage stayed. Mr. Du shook his head. “How are we as humans supposed to keep the desires of others under control with just morals? How are we supposed to control those with the weapons and desire to hurt others without rules and regulations?” When he finished what he had to say, he began to walk away.
Ye Futian watched the teacher’s back as he departed. He was beginning to understand the teacher’s dreams. These powerful cultivators from the Barren State arrived in the Eastern Barren Territory and lacked even a shred of respect for anyone. They showed no signs of wanting to hide their hunger and desire for power. Neither did they care about what anyone else thought. In order to conquer Hua Qingqing, they went as far as killing her family. Cruel and violent.
A person with a weapon will produce the killing thought.
Because there is no one to restrain them.
It was said that Hua Qingqing, one of the Eastern Barren Territory’s three great beauties, is innocent and kind. She didn’t know of the evils of the world. Her innocence was reflected in her beauty, clean and pure. She had been protected from the real world since the day she was born, but it was this kind girl that experienced the greatest evil. How ironic.
“Fourth brother, do you have a pen and paper?” Ye Futian asked Xue Ye.
“Yeah,” he nodded. Xue Ye then pulled out the supplies from on his person and asked, “Little brother, what are you going to do with it?”
“Copying down a musical score.” Ye Futian explained quickly and walked over to a stone table. Laying out the paper, he began to write.
Zhuge Hui and the others grew curious and came to his side.
“This is?” Zhuge Hui asked quietly.
“The Ukiyo Song,” Ye Futian answered with a smile.
“What’s it for?” asked Zhuge Hui.
“I’ll gift a copy to anyone who comes to the College from the Barren State,” he replied nonchalantly. Everyone gave him a strange look.
The Ukiyo Song was one of the world’s ten great musical pieces. It was left by the Great Emperor. Was Ye Futian really going to just give it out so easily?
“You’ll gift it? To anyone?” asked Zhuge Hui.
“Yup, I’ll gift it to anyone,” Ye Futian said as he nodded in all seriousness. “Actually, I should say I’m lending it to them. I’ll make them pay for it later.”
“…” It seemed like Ye Futian was preparing to keep track of anyone who comes to Book Mountain.
Perhaps this type of compromise was a form of resignation.
“Don’t worry. The Ukiyo Song isn’t that easy to learn. I’ll also leave a copy at the College for people to copy. From now on, a copy will be given to any Barren State power that comes to the College,” smiled Ye Futian. Not even Hua Qingqing who was very talented at the guqin could play this piece.
The reason why Ye Futian could play it was because his will synchronized with the wills of the two emperors on Sky Mountain and received this piece directly. As for the last portion of this piece, it had to be played with Emperor Will. Ye Futian was certain, even if the cultivators of the Barren State received the Ukiyo Song, it wouldn’t be that easy for them to learn. Better yet, they probably wouldn’t be able to learn it at all.
Zhuge Hui chuckled and patted Ye Futian’s head. “Little brother is a special person indeed. I’m liking you more and more.”
“Uh…” Ye Futian blinked before sneaking a glance at third brother.
“Jieyu, you don’t mind, do you?” Zhuge Hui smiled at Hua Jieyu.
“Senior Sister, if you like him, you can take him with you,” Hua Jieyu said softly.
Ye Futian looked at Hua Jieyu as if he had been wronged. Does she have to be so cruel?
…
Today was a special day for the College. College Chief Xiao, the Sword Saint, and Goddess Wangyue gathered the disciples of Book Mountain, Sword Saint Mountain, and the Moon Clan, respectively. The enormous crowd gathered at the square on Book Mountain and focused their attention on the group of people at the front. College Chief Xiao, the Sword Saint, Zhuge Hui, Gu Dongliu, all the mountain elders, and Goddess Wangyue stood on an elevated plane looking down on everyone.
Many people had heard rumors and knew that College Chief Xiao had something to announce today. There were already large groups gathered at the foot of Book Mountain. They looked up at the sacred mountain, the holy place of the Eastern Barren Territory.
News of what happened at the Donghua Clan had already spread. The ruthless doings of the Barren State cultivators greatly angered the peopled. Hua Qingqing was now staying on Book Mountain. Had it not been for Mr. Du, Hua Qingqing would have been taken by the people of the Barren State.
But could the College really stop them?
“From today on, Sword Saint Mountain will merge with the College. The disciples of Sword Saint Mountain will enter the College for cultivation. Anyone who objects can leave now.” The Sword Saint’s voice resonated on Book Mountain, shocking many.
“From today on, the Moon Clan will merge with the College. The disciples of the Moon Clan will enter the College for cultivation. Anyone who objects can leave now.” Goddess Wangyue’s voice rang out right after.
“From today onwards, the position of College Chief will be held by the Sword Saint. Goddess Wangyue will take the position as Vice College Chief and aid the Sword Saint in running the College, teaching the youth of the Eastern Barren Territory, passing on their knowledge,” another voice spoke out. At the foot of the mountain, many people lifted their heads to look at the long stairs in front of them. The three great powers of the Eastern Barren Territory had announced such big changes today.
From this point on, the Sword Saint and Goddess Wangyue were in charge of the College.
At the bottom of the Book Mountain stairs, a few groups appeared. The arrival of these three groups had many people in shock. They were the Qianqiu Temple, the Witch Clan, and the Ji Family. With the arrival of these three groups at Book Mountain, the great powers of the Eastern Barren Territory were now all gathered at the same place. Although Mr. Du had no thoughts of ruling all of the Eastern Barren Territory, the reality was the entire Eastern Barren Territory already belonged to the College.
The three groups walked up the stairs and arrived at the square.
“We have come to congratulate the College. We hope that the Sword Saint will never forget your true self and your initial intentions.” The abbot of the Qianqiu Temple held his palms together and bowed in the Sword Saint’s direction.
“Abbot, you are too polite. I will keep your teachings at heart,” the Sword Saint said as he returned a courteous bow.
“The Witch Clan has come to congratulate the College.”
“The Ji Family has come to congratulate the College.”
The other two powers expressed their congratulations as well. In the large crowd, the Witch Clan’s Gu Biyue had a smile on her face as she looked in Ye Futian’s direction. Who would have thought this day would come when they first met in the Ancient Barren World?
A distance away, the wind picked up and clouds rolled in, catching the attention of everyone on Book Mountain. They all turned to look in the distance. What they saw was a large group of people riding closer to Book Mountains on clouds!