Yun Yang smiled serenely. It was like an active volcano that was about to erupt, going through the final stages of boiling up.
It was the calm before the storm.
"Actually, I really miss the simple days when we didn’t have to think much. All there was to think about were always victory and defeat, and killing the enemy. We would never consider the fierce undercurrents under the façade of this calm times."
"Perhaps only eldest brother, only the eldest has thought of it. That time, the eldest had held my hand when he was near death. He said, ‘Ol’ninth, if you can go escape with your life, be an extrajudicial enforcer."
"Perhaps the eldest had already seen the ugliness and the flaws of this nation then, the hidden tumors and sores…"
"Perhaps… the eldest had only seen the undercurrents that were brewing like the most violent of storms and wanted to save me. My identity as Supreme Cloud… once it has been exposed, only death awaits…"
…
Yun Yang sighed, retrieving his will.
What an odd feeling it was for someone alive to be reading his own will.
Yun Yang had only a few lines scribbled it. "I don’t know who I am. I don’t have any worries to leave behind, so, there is nothing much to say."
Yun Yang smiled, thinking whether his brothers would laugh or cry if they were the ones reading his will.
But, I really do not know who I am…
The will belonging to Yun Yang then slowly turned into ashes in his hand, becoming a ball of smoke and ceased to exist.
…
"Old Dugu is my father, help me take good care of him. Let him pass his remaining years comfortably, help me provide for him and send him off when the time comes!"
This was seventh brother Supreme Blood’s will. Other than the various comments and advice like all the brothers had left behind, he only had these words to say about himself.
Yun Yang felt a pang in his heart, the Medallion of Gratitude against his chest hot like a burning coal, pressing with uncomfortable heat against his heart.
Sixth brother Supreme Thunder’s will read, "I got chased out by my family, I have eight innately awakened chakras and still got called trash. I wasn’t able to cultivate my family’s cultivation skills; my birth parents were both dead and I was chased out by my eldest uncle. If I have died, any one of my brothers who are still alive, go offer incense to my parents, should there be a chance. Tell them their son has gone to find them, they’ve passed too early and their son was bullied… Hmm, I forgot to mention; my home is at the Bound of Universe, Lei Family. Forget about avenging me, the Lei Family is too strong; I’ve lived rather happily anyway. If I wasn’t chased out, I won’t have met all of you. If any of you really go stand up for me and got injured and died in the process, I won’t acknowledge you in the next life!"
"Live well, live wonderfully and live life at its best that I, Lei Mufeng, did not have the time to!"
…
Yun Yang stared at the letter.
Supreme Wind’s words seemed to replay itself right before his eyes, "Ol’sixth seems to be the descendant of some noble family."
What family was this Lei Family? They actually called the gift of eight innately awakened chakras trash? Even to the point of chasing him out? Even if he was not the first in the entire Empire of Yutang to have eight innately awakened chakras, it was still rare. It was still an obvious gift that one ought to be proud of!
How could it have been called trash by the Lei Family?
I only manage to have seven innately awakened chakras from the Lotus of Endless Fate… If sixth brother is trash, am I worse than trash?
And that Bound of Universe… Where is it?
I’ve never heard that such a place exists in Tianxuan Continent!
With the Labyrinth of Nine Heavens Intelligence, it’s truly a wonder that I’ve never actually never heard of this place.
"Bound of Universe…"
Yun Yang murmured, "Sixth brother, don’t worry. If my ability is inadequate, I’d definitely not provoke a mighty force but once little brother’s capability is up to par, I shall wipe out this Lei Family to stand up for you. As long as I don’t get hurt or die, you have no excuse to not acknowledge me."
"Leave the offering of incense to our parents to me. As long as I get news of it, I'll get you reunited with your father and mother."
…
Yun Yang looked at Supreme Flame’s will that he had left unopened.
What would fifth brother say?
Thinking of Supreme Flame, thinking of Yun Zuiyue, thinking of…
Yun Yang felt his heart throb with a piercing pain.
"If I die, help me take care of Zuiyue." Supreme Flame’s letter contained a sense of passion within its indifference. "Zuiyue is a stubborn girl. All of you know her. Whether I die or live, she’s my wife! Call her sister-in-law whenever you see her, whether you’re older or younger. If you don’t recognize her status, she will follow my footsteps."
"Eight or ten years later, when her emotions have simmered, think of a way to give her the happiness of a family. If she finds a good family, none of you are allowed to disturb her. All existence of the Nine Supremes are to vanish before her, In case she reminisces of the old times and hesitates when she sees any of you…"
Yun Yang sighed despondently.
"I’m an orphan, so is Zuiyue. Yun Zuiyue is a name she gave herself later on, like how I made up my own name as well. It doesn’t matter if I mention it, I still like Supreme Flame the most."
"If I die, I only hope that my brothers who are alive can continue living."
"Actually, I really don’t want to die. I’m still thinking if I could find my parents, ask them if they abandoned me or sold me? Maybe they’ve long passed and I could still offer them incense."
"What I want the most is to hold Zuiyue’s hands and offer incense before my parents’ grave; maybe find them alive and call them father and mother. Whether I was abandoned or sold, I don’t hate them, I would still acknowledge them and be filial to them."
"I don’t wish to die. I still have a lot of things I wish to do, all of you can’t do them for me."
"There’s a mark on my chest that looks like three peaks that were burned, forming a mountain-shaped flame. If I really did die, please find my parents and call them father and mother for me. I’ve never called them that since I was young, I don’t even know if I’d cry when I really called out to them. Also, don’t blame them. These are such a chaotic times."
Supreme Flame’s letter ended with a sigh.
Reading Supreme Flame’s will, Yun Yang thought of himself.
A sense of forlorn loneliness rose within his heart suddenly despite the massive world, despite the many souls in this realm.
The depressing feeling lingered within his heart, unable to be waved away; its weight heavy and pressed down on his soul, making it hard to breathe.
…
"I have a new decision now." Yun Yang said quietly, "I’ve taken everything out from the Residence of the Nine Supremes. I am very selfish. Other than us, I don’t want anyone else being called the Nine Supremes!"
"I can’t accept that."
"It's fine if the Residence of Nine Supremes could never be trespassed on. But what if it was, one day?" Yun Yang murmured, "So I made this selfish decision, I hope all of you don’t blame me for it."
"I only have seven innately awakened chakras now, I could only cultivate everyone’s first stage and Cloud, Wind, and Flame. Besides, these three cultivation skills are already difficult to advance. I might really be less than a piece of trash."
Yun Yang said quietly, "So I need to increase my capability… Only then could I unleash a mightier power…"
"These two people in the palace are too mighty, I can’t easily overcome them."
A radiant chilling glow gleamed within Yun Yang’s eyes. "But no matter how mighty they may be, I would make them, make the Four Seasons Tower behind them, pay the heaviest price!"
The first stage of Endless Divine Art was completed in perfection now while Yun Yang’s mystical Qi level had gotten to the pinnacle of the third peak too.
Yun Yang’s renowned Fog of Cloud Conjuration was cultivated to the third stage as well while Mystique Wind Conjuration and Fiery Charm were pushed to the same third stage from the battle previously. As for Thunder Crash Spell and Art of Crimson Soul, they were only cultivated to the first stage.
However, Yun Yang had hit a bottleneck.
It was arduous for his cultivation base to break through to the fourth stage.
Yun Yang had gotten his Fog of Cloud Conjuration to the pinnacle of the third stage as well before his cultivation base was damaged much previously and was stuck there abruptly. Now that he had redone his cultivation, this part was still a hurdle.
Yun Yang knew that this was because his potential was limited.
It was not only the Fog of Cloud Conjuration, the Mystique Wind Conjuration and Fiery Charm were the same – unmoving after they had gotten to the pinnacle of the third stage. He believed that the Thunder Crash Spell and Art of Crimson Soul would most probably be the same. That was why Yun Yang was impatient to break through the second stage of Endless Divine Art. Since the cultivation of the first stage could awaken a new chakra, there should also be some benefit for breaking through the second stage?
On the same night, when Yun Yang went out, he had gone out in the form of a cloud of fog. Both Fang Mofei and Lao Mei were clueless as to his whereabouts.
…
Towering Wind Pavilion1.
This was a very strange place. Under the Towering Wind Pavilion was a medium-sized gambling den, that could fit about four to five hundred people. However, this was the most renowned gambling den in Tiantang City.
There was only a pavilion master and a main housekeeper in the Towering Wind Pavilion, the rest were all stewards, so their manpower was not exactly the strongest. However, throughout the four years Towering Wind Pavilion had stood in Tiantang City, no one dared to trifle with the pavilion.
The only exception was three years ago when Yun Yang was out of money since caring for the veterans and their families needed a big flow of fortune. After much consideration, he ultimately decided to take on the Towering Wind Pavilion.
That one time did not really see Yun Yang taking the upper hand as he could not get any advantage after a tussle with Towering Wind Pavilion’s master, both of them almost meeting with swords and sabers. In the end, eighth brother Supreme Wind had stepped forth to quell this case and had even taken ten million silver taels from the Towering Wind Pavilion to resolve the money issue.
Afterward, he had bought Supreme Wind wine and asked for his lessons, since he did not handle the case perfectly but had left a big mess behind instead.
Yun Yang felt ridiculous just thinking about it.
The reason that it had panned out so well was that the Towering Wind Pavilion’s master was none other than Supreme Wind himself.
This fellow was really something. He first brawled with him and solved the matter himself then shamelessly bought wine for the hapless Yun Yang.
He was both the antagonist and the protagonist, all at once.
He still chided him righteously then, "Towering Wind Pavilion’s master can give compensation after resolving the matter but would never admit his loss. Otherwise, how could Towering Wind Pavilion’s casino stay strong for so long? Understand? Satisfied?"
How could he say anything? How dare he say anything!
Supreme Wind’s pretense and skill at deception were certainly admirable!
1Towering Wind Pavilion (凌风阁 líng fēng gé): Supreme Wind’s other identity is the master of this pavilion; the pavilion is also named after his real identity’s name as Supreme Wind’s real name is Ji Lingfeng计凌风.
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