As the sun rose from the horizon, a brilliant ray of golden glow streaked across the vast land, illuminating Han Li, who was sitting cross-legged below a pine tree on the top of a mountain.
After a while, Han Li opened his eyes and released the impure air in his thoracic cavity. A sword-shaped trace of white air whizzed through the air, vaguely giving off the sound of a sword chime. He stood up and bathed his body in the sunlight. He could feel a tinge of warmth in the crisp and cold air.
He had a panoramic view of Skyheart City, which was situated at the foot of the mountain. The faint mist around the city had yet to disappear, resembling a layer of muslin.
Every early morning was Han Li's best time to train. The time where night and day swapped and yin and yang fused helped him greatly to improve and enrich his sword consciousness. The mountain was quite far away from Skyheart City and it was peaceful and secluded. Every day, Han Li would reach the mountain peak four hours before sunrise and witness the swapping of daytime and nighttime.
When the first trace of sunlight shone upon the vast land, it implied Han Li's training for that day had ended.
He stepped on the boulder lightly and vanished into thin air. A sword chime rang across the air as a white streak appeared in the sky. After a few seconds, the white streak was dispersed by the wind.
Han Li was walking along a street in Skyheart City. At this point in time, Skyheart City had already woken up and there were many people on the street. Han Li could even see many load basin beasts forming up. Trade caravans always set off in the early morning to prevent any delay.
Breakfast shops were also opened already. Spiralling, fragrant steam captivated the pedestrians' attention.
Just like every day, Han Li arrived at his favorite breakfast shop.
"Boss, a bowl of grasspig noodles please!"
"Alright!"
Han Li sat down at his usual seat. After a while, a bowl of steaming grasspig noodles was delivered to it. Beyond Avalon was developed from Wilderness. The land that was once filled with countless dangers also gave the elementalists numerous unexpected gifts. Every day, new species and minerals were discovered, bringing about a huge impact on everyone's lives.
Grasspigs were one of them.
A grasspig was a small-sized pig that fed on grass. They could grow up to thirty catties at most and they ate a large variety of types of grass. Their flesh was fresh and tender, filled with rich wood elemental energy that was largely beneficial to elementalists' cultivation. When they were first discovered, their meat was extremely expensive and was considered a rare food ingredient. Their price dropped drastically only after a wood elementalist discovered a method that could rear grasspigs rapidly. Eventually, grasspig meat became commonly used.
Now the delicious grasspig meat could be found at any store.
Han Li ate his grasspig noodles at ease. Every day at this moment, he would feel that the war at the front line was unimaginably far from him.
As more and more cities in Beyond Avalon capitulated to Skyheart City, more and more trade caravans and diplomatic missions surged into Skyheart City, making this place increasingly prosperous. Horses, people, and carriages could be seen everywhere. The businesses in the city were flourishing as well. Even an ordinary individual could easily find a job these days.
The newest mirage bean pod was being played at the counter of the shop.
"Breaking news. The battle of Grandmasters has ended. Dai Gang lost and Le Buleng has redeemed himself...
"Jadeite Forest has no leader now and it's hard for Yu Mingqiu to achieve anything without support."
"More than fifteen family heads presented a petition to beseech Madam Ye to ascend the throne. By unifying Beyond Avalon, Madam has surpassed all great men and women in the history of Avalon of Five Elements and she will be remembered for thousands of years. By popular demand, she is expected to ascend the throne of Beyond Avalon. Blood Nation has the Holy Emperor, Beyond has the Holy Phoenix…"
Han Li continued to bury himself in his bowl of noodles. Recently, the topic of pushing Madam Ye to ascend the throne of Beyond Avalon had become quite hot.
This was most likely fueled by Nian Tingfeng in the dark.
After finishing the bowl of noodles and paying the bill, Han Li walked out of the shop with satisfaction. The wide street was bustling with activity at this point in time. The thing that caught everyone's attention in Skyheart City was the pillar of white soaring through the sky. It was extremely spectacular. Looking from afar, it looked as though it was half the size of Skyheart City. Closer to the ground, the white light was extremely intense, so much so that it looked like it was made up of a solid material. Higher in the sky, its intensity decreased. The border of the pillar of white light undulated unsteadily, resembling an enormous and inextinguishable white flame.
That was where the Lake of Masters was.
The white light had been there for a few days already. The citizens of Skyheart City were already used to it, but those on diplomatic missions that had just reached this place were still amazed by it. They were stirred up and some of them even kneeled on the ground with tears flowing all over their faces.
They finally had a new Grandmaster to protect them after the death of An Muda. The absence of a Grandmaster was the direct cause to the fall of the Avalon of Five Elements.
They did not care how Skyheart City handled issues. The sense of security brought about by a Grandmaster was always irreplaceable.
However, for some reason, Han Li felt that the white light today seemed slightly unstable.
But he did not really care about this and withdrew his gaze. Then he headed for the Gong Residence. Peiyao should have woken up by now.
The Lake of Masters was heavily guarded, with one guard every ten meters.
Madam Ye was walking slowly by the lake. Nian Tingfeng walked behind her while reporting to her. A few experts from the Sky Leaf Division surrounded them, maintaining a high level of vigilance.
"Where is the Sky Leaf Division now? Have they found Chi Tong?"
"They have already reached the battle scene of Miss Fu and her subordinates and they are still searching for Chi Tong. We have also discovered traces of the Assembly of Patriarchs."
"We can't let Chi Tong fall into the hands of the Assembly of Patriarchs, we definitely can't!"
Nian Tingfeng shivered in fear. Madam Ye seldom used such a tone to speak. He knew Madam Ye was hiding something from him, but he did not reveal any emotions. He did not even hesitate to reply. "Yes!"
Madam Ye remained silent for a while before saying, "Tell them, if they discover Chi Tong, don't do anything reckless. Observe him and wait for reinforcements."
Nian Tingfeng understood what Madam Ye was trying to say. He cast a glance at the center of the lake and replied, "Is Grandmaster Gu going?"
"That's right," Madam Ye answered bluntly. "It's a great opportunity for us."
"Likewise, it is the same for Blood of God and the Assembly of Patriarchs. Whoever catches Chi Tong gets the last laugh."
"Subordinate understands."
The surface of the lake was engulfed in an intense, white light. The white light was undulating slowly, resembling white-colored burning flames. The aura of the white light was calm in nature, like a swirling gust of cool breeze. Nian Tingfeng did not feel pressured by it even though he was standing so close to it. However, he knew how scary the power that it contained was.
Even if a sea was dead calm, one would not dare to underestimate its might.
Madam Ye stared at the surface of the lake and suddenly asked, "Does it look like the Silver Mist Sea?"
"It's more powerful than the Silver Mist Sea. The Silver Mist Sea doesn't have a Grandmaster nor Madam Ye," Nian Tingfeng replied.
Madam Ye gave him a smile. "You really know how to flatter me. You're dismissed."
Nian Tingfeng respectfully dismissed himself.
Madam Ye continued to stroll along the lakeside. After a while, she saw Ma Shiji, who was standing straight and upright like a bamboo pole by the side of the lake.
Ma Shiji had been waiting for Madam Ye for quite some time. When he saw her, he quickly stepped forward and greeted her. "Madam, everything has been prepared already."
Madam Ye noticed the look of reverence in Ma Shiji's eyes. With satisfaction, she nodded and said, "Let it begin."
"Madam, please." Ma Shiji stepped aside.
Not far away from them, a five elemental lotus near the side of the lake bloomed.
Without any hesitation, Madam Ye stepped onto the lotus and sat down cross-legged. The petals of the lotus began to close slowly.
After a while, the white light that erupted from the lake's surface surged towards the lotus and engulfed it happily. The white light surrounding the lotus became increasingly intense, resembling a dazzling light orb.
Envy flashed across Ma Shiji's eyes. How lucky it was for her to be baptized by the primordial life force of a Grandmaster. Given Xiaobao's love for Madam Ye, Ma Shiji felt that the success rate was very high.
Madam has produced a good son!
Ma Shiji had mixed feelings.
He had doubts about this place. From a long-term perspective, extracting primordial life force from Xiaobao before his base level stabilized was unfavourable towards his future development. The importance of a Grandmaster was obvious to everyone. Any damage done to a Grandmaster was unacceptable.
However, Xiaobao's primordial life force could only be absorbed by Madam Ye before his base level was fully stabilized. Once his base level stabilized, his primordial life force would be stabilized too and it couldn't be absorbed by anyone anymore.
Similarly, Madam Ye was also very important.
Ma Shiji was worried about another problem as well. If Xiaobao was injured, Madam Ye would be severely injured at least and would die at worst. Even an ordinary elementalist couldn't withstand the power of a Grandmaster that had yet to stabilize.
Ma Shiji did not know why Madam Ye was so anxious, so much so that she was willing to risk her life.
However, if Madam Ye could survive this...
Ma Shiji was very nervous as he wasn't confident at all. After something unusual happened to Xiaobao, Madam Ye threw him a proposal. The proposal and its pages looked very old. There was no signature on it either. After he received this proposal, which was called [Grandmaster's Sacrifice], he was greatly shocked. The idea mentioned in the proposal was outrageous and brazen, causing him to tremble in fear.
It mentioned how to extract a Grandmaster's power to nourish one's body.
How could there be such an incredulous thing in the world?
Grandmasters were so powerful, how could one imprison them? Furthermore, given the pride of a Grandmaster, why would he or she share his or her powers with anyone?
Whoever came up with this idea must be crazy!
This was Ma Shiji's first reaction. However, after he read it thoroughly, he was shocked by it. To his horror, he discovered that there was a chance of this idea succeeding theoretically.
The weird thing was, even if the plan worked, Ma Shiji did not know what would happen to Madam Ye.
He reckoned that the proposal Madam Ye gave him was incomplete and that there should be more to it. This was a tremendous plan. He was extremely curious about the missing contents, feeling as though there was a cat gnawing on his heart.
He did not dare to ask as he was slightly afraid.
That was because he suddenly realized that the five elemental lotus fitted the [Grandmaster's Sacrifice] perfectly. The five elemental lotuses were painstakingly devised by Ma Shiji.
Is this a coincidence?
Ma Shiji became increasingly scared and he did not dare to think too much about it. Eventually, he suppressed the fear within him, looked at the issue from a professional perspective, and improved the [Grandmaster's Sacrifice].
He chose to extract the primordial life force because it was extremely valuable. Moreover, it wouldn't hurt Xiaobao and the risk Madam Ye had to take was much smaller. He felt that Madam Ye did not have to personally take part in battles like the Holy Emperor.
With the presence of Xiaobao, even of the Holy Emperor arrived at Skyheart City, Madam Ye wouldn't have to do anything.
I hope Madam and Xiaobao are safe and sound.
Ma Shiji prayed in his heart.
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