"The dense, multicolored rays that shot out of Jadeite Forest looked very much like large waves churning in the ocean. They had the most complex swirls of colour to ever grace this world, and it seemed very much as if the colours collided with purpose. The gentle sword chimes that came and went like shadows left no traces, yet they were omnipresent. In contrast, the blood-colored sword ray was extremely violent and tinted the clouds above the Pearl Defensive Line a deep red. A pillar of white light ascended from within Skyheart City. It stood tall and majestic, practically propping up the sky. The bone-shuddering cry that followed told the world of life's sufferings. The Holy Emperor lit up God Nation's sky with a golden glow, commanding the respect of his subjects through the reinforcement of his virtuous will."
- The Experiences of Byron
"That day was destined to be written into the history books. I, who had witnessed the phenomena that occurred with my own two eyes, firmly believe that. Please forgive my anxiousness. My body was trembling with excitement, as if a stream of electricity was coursing through my veins. It was at that moment that I knew a new era was about to unfold. It arrived without warning and was completely unexpected."
- Elder Wu's Memoirs
"Since the beginning, the Grandmasters have always been like a tightly shut book. On that fateful day, however, the world finally caught a glimpse of its contents."
- Elementalists, a History
The dawn of a new era often unfolds with great momentum. While some come to appreciate the beauty of change, most people end up being dragged along like rubble by the current.
Fu Sisi felt that the past two days were like a nightmare.
The Jadeite Forest had witnessed the battle of a lifetime. Here was where two Grandmasters, who were at the absolute peaks of their power, fought in a life-changing battle. No one had expected Le Buleng to become a Grandmaster, but his rise to power was not unreasonable. He was, after all, the "third most powerful person in the world", and logically the best candidate for grandmaster.
But what in heaven's name was that sword chime at the end? And that bright white flash from Skyheart City? Did the Holy Emperor do that because he felt left out?
Regardless of whether it was the white light from Skyheart City or the Holy Emperor's golden light, they were far enough to avoid feeling its effects.
The sword chime and blood-colored sword flare was much closer.
Upon hearing the sword chime, the elemental energy within their bodies started surging uncontrollably. They had practically lost all control immediately and had to rest for almost four hours to recover. The shockwaves caused by the sword flare made them feel as if they were stuck in the eye of a storm, rendering them unable to move.
This was the first time they had experienced something like that.
It was as if there was a large demon right behind them. They were completely scared out of their wits.
After calming down, everyone broke into intense discussion. The most probable new grandmaster would be The Lightning Blade, Ai Hui. Based on what she knew, Fu Sisi agreed with the others' conjecture. For some unknown reason, however, the blood-colored sword flare gave her a sense of familiarity and reminded her of someone.
Master's Glory had completely transformed her, but also blurred a good portion of her old memories. She could not remember at least half of her life that had happened before Master's Glory. However, two events were etched deeply in her mind. The day her father was obliterated in front of her and the Silverwheel Swordsman, Chu Zhaoyang.
Chu Zhaoyang had been their swordplay teacher for a short while before vanishing without a trace. Despite this, she had an oddly deep impression of him.
This must have been a misperception.
Even though Chu Zhaoyang's swordplay was good, he was nowhere near this new Grandmaster.
Returning to her senses, she asked, "Are there any leads on Gui Hu and the others' corpses?"
Her team members immediately stopped their discussion and shook their heads.
"None."
"Could they have been eaten by wild beasts?"
"Wild beasts would have left skeletal remains. What's more, there aren't any traces. Someone is definitely behind this!"
The harsh truth left Fu Sisi feeling weary. Her mission had been fraught with obstacles and mishaps. Even till now, they had yet to progress in their task. Ye Baiyi had gone missing, and her team had suffered heavy casualties. To make things even worse, some of their bodies had disappeared as well. The Sky Leaf Division were not any closer in tracking any of their targets, and now Shi Beihai had completely vanished as well.
Fu Sisi had long made the decision to return to madam and ask for forgiveness. She would then resign from her post as vice division head.
But as long as the mission was still ongoing, she would have to uphold the responsibilities she held as a leader.
Where could Shi Beihai possibly be hiding?
She rubbed her aching temples, trying to make herself relax. Where would she escape to If she were Shi Beihai? She thought long and hard, sorting through her strands of thought as if she were untangling silk threads.
Gradually, a single burst of insight began to take shape. She seemed to have grasped onto something crucial.
A sudden, high-pitched cry came right at that moment. "Boss, we've discovered something!"
One of her team members was flying towards the camp with a face full of joy. He was holding tightly to a piece of clothing.
Fu Sisi promptly stood up. That piece belonged to Gui Hu!
This new discovery made the drained group of people excited. Everyone stood up one after another.
Fu Sisi asked coldly, "Where did you find it? Take us there."
She firmly believed that the missing corpses were the work of a person. She did not know how the other party was going to make use of them. Perhaps they were trying to unlock the secret of Master's Glory or achieve something else, but there was no question about their ill-intentions towards the Sky Leaf Division.
Disrespecting the dead was simply unforgivable!
The atmosphere was filled with an electrifying tension. Everyone had a grim expression on their face, and a strong hatred filled their hearts.
The Sky Leaf Division quickly arrived at the place where Gui Hu's clothing was found. The area was densely covered with shrubs.
They soon discovered another lead nearby. One of the members noticed that the soil in one plot of land was slightly different from the rest of the area. He spontaneously shouted, "Here!"
Fu Sisi instantly appeared beside him, her glare icy cold. "Dig up this entire plot."
A couple of team members glanced at each other before starting the excavation. The soil was easy to dig up, and appeared to have been freshly piled there. The sight before them as the soil was dug up made them even more riled up than before.
Gui Hu's body was not buried beneath the soil, there was only a heap of flesh.
Seemingly unaffected, Fu Sisi crouched to inspect the flesh.
"This seems to have been done very precisely with a slicing tool. The perpetrator didn't do this just to vent."
She found Gui Hu's hand, and saw that the five elemental ring had been removed.
"There are two possibilities. They are either trying to uncover the secret of Master's Glory, or find a means to deal with us."
Fu Sisi spoke with absolute calm, sounding as if she was merely recounting an unrelated narrative.
A member furiously offered, "Shi Beihai and his crew must be the ones behind this!"
"Definitely!"
Fu Sisi replied, "It could also have been the blood elementalists."
Fu Sisi continued flatly as she stood up, "Regardless of who it is, we'll definitely repay this blood debt."
She turned around to face one of her female members, Xu Lin. "Can we find them?"
Xu Lin was an expert in tracking. Using a secret technique, she could find anyone as long as they left some kind of trace behind.
Xu Lin nodded, "Let me try."
She closed her eyes and raised her arms in front of her chest with the palms facing each other. A ring of elemental energy appeared beneath her feet. The elemental energy ring began to spin, and the countless spirals whirled into a blur. A ball of brown light appeared in between her palms. The ball was made up of earth elemental energy, but it was not dense like how earth elemental energy typically was. Instead, the fluctuations within Xu Lin's earth elemental energy were soft and light.
Xu Lin gently raised her palms, as if to toss a handful of sand into the air.
[Dust of Revelation]!
Spots of faint light appeared amidst the dense shrubs. The light spots came in all sorts of different sizes, and were scattered all over the place. Some were on the ground, while others were up on the trees. The direction they pointed towards was, however, highly uniform. The spots revealed a trail that went deep into the forest.
Without saying a word, Fu Sisi followed the spots of light into the forest.
The other team members quickly followed suit.
It was not long before they found another mound of dirt. The body beneath had been dismembered as well. However, the technique used was slightly different this time around.
Rage was slowly building up within the members of the Sky Leaf Division.
The spots of light were becoming brighter, indicating that the tracks were getting fresher. They were getting nearer to the enemy.
No one uttered a single word as the murderous aura of the group continued to climb. All they wanted to do now was to find the other party and destroy them.
Fu Sisi suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
The trail of glowing lights stopped here.
They had reached a ravine that was filled with oddly shaped rocks and had a complex, craggy terrain.
Fu Sisi called out, "Come out! After spending so much effort on luring us all the way out here, is there still a need for you to hide like this?"
"I've long heard of Miss Sisi's extraordinary abilities. It seems I have witnessed this with my own eyes today."
The hoarse voice came from behind a rock. A man in a grey robe stepped out from behind the rock, and a large number of other grey-robed elementalists revealed themselves too. They were all positioned in tactically superior positions around the ravine and completely surrounded the Sky Leaf Division's members.
Fu Sisi had a blank expression. "Who are you?"
The grey-robed man chuckled, "My name is not worth mentioning…"
Just as his voice trailed off, a bright red hole appeared on his chest. Fu Sisi had taken the initiative to strike first.
The grey-robed man smiled in a haunting manner. "Miss Sisi's killing intent is so strong."
He disappeared with a soft pop, vanishing in an instant like a burst bubble.
To think that was a fake!
Fu Sisi raised a brow. Her opponent's cautiousness made her heart sink slightly, but she continued her assault on the other grey-robed individuals without hesitation. The rest of the Sky Leaf Division swiftly followed. Determined to slaughter every last one of them, they couldn't care less about who those grey people were.
As for their ambush? Nobody gave a damn.
The Sky Leaf Division's members had the utmost confidence in their abilities. They were not afraid as long as their opponents were not Grandmasters.
All of a sudden, the ravine was filled with colourful beams of light. Five different coloured pillars of light ascended from the ground like twisted dragon bones, meeting in the air above the ravine. A thin, multi-coloured curtain of light covered the areas between the light pillars, trapping the Sky Leaf Division within.
Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth!
Fu Sisi was momentarily distracted. The five pillars were made up of the five different elemental energies. This was a trap built using all five elements?
She sneered coldly and the five element ring on her palm lit up brightly. The five element ring rotated in her palm, slowly causing her pale, tender hand to become translucent.
Fu Sisi's presence immediately changed drastically. It was as though a sword had just been unsheathed, revealing it's true power.
The grey-robed man that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere stood on a large rock with a look of admiration on his face. "Master's Glory is indeed amazing."
Wielding her hand as an edged weapon, Fu Sisi leapt off the ground in an imposing manner. She slashed violently at the point where the five elemental pillars converged.
Ping!
The sound of glass shattering rang throughout the ravine. The elemental energy pillars shattered, scattering brightly coloured shards of light. It looked as if a rainbow-coloured mist had descended from the sky.
Fu Sisi's chilly, awe-inspiring voice boomed from within the mist.
"So, you guys are the last dregs of the Assembly of Patriarchs!"
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