Chapter 6: Chapter 5 - Relax, I Won't Destroy the World

Edward raised his eyebrows—a sign he was genuinely quite surprised.

“How did you know?” Lee Jihoon blurted out.

Yuriel fought the urge to laugh.

“Well, he’s shining all over." she said. "Everyone knows that His Royal Highness the Second Prince of the House of Lindsor has an ultimate light attribute.”

“I have two ultimate attributes, actually,” Edward said. “But that doesn’t explain anything—there are other people out there with ultimate light attribute. And how do you even know I have ultimate light attribute?”

It was Yuriel’s turn to raise her eyebrows. A deliberate leak of information...

Two ultimate attributes, he said? This shining guy... was a very rare genius.

Ever since the year 2112, everyone had natural power, no matter how weak or strong it was. But not everyone’s natural power had attributes—natural characteristics of one’s power, like water, fire, earth, wind... Those who had, though, could cultivate, and pursue the path of immortality.

After being awakened at the age of six, one’s attribute’s degree of purity would then be tested. The nearer an attribute’s purity to one hundred percent was, the nearer it was to its most natural form, and the more powerful it was.

Even if one only had one attribute, if the attribute’s purity was one hundred percent, one could be said to be a rare genius.

A normal person would only have two attributes at most, and could already be classified as a genius. Edward here had two, and both of his attributes’ purity was one hundred percent—both were ultimate attributes!

“Well, I have ultimate darkness attribute. I can sense your ultimate light.” Yuriel answered Edward’s previous question. “And the House of Lindsor insignia gave it all.”

Eh? Edward was innitially intrigued by Yuriel’s ultimate darkness attribute, but then the girl’s last sentence poured cold water over him. He subconsciously traced the golden insignia on his belt and let out a wry laugh. How embarrassing, how truly embarrassing of him!

“Your observation skill is worth praising, Miss Yuriel.” he laughed lightly.

“It’s nothing.” Yuriel smiled.

“Alright, enough about that.” Lee Jihoon said. “Miss Zhang, we were about to check on you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now.” Yuriel nodded. “No need to worry. I won’t be staying here long, anyway.”

“You’re going?” another voice sounded from the corridor outside.

“Yeah, I’ll have to look for the Four Generals myself while waiting for your friend’s update.” Yuriel said. “And I think we should chat outside.”

“Who’s this?” the newcomer, Tie Li, eyed Edward.

"Hello, Young Master Tie—I’m Edward.” the guy smiled.

“It’s just Tie Li.” Tie Li shook his head, then proceeded to walk away toward the living room.

The others, with a silent agreement, followed.

Sitting down, Lee Jihoon looked at Yuriel, “So, uh, by any chance... Are you aware that you’re poisoned?”

“Poisoned?” Tie Li frowned.

Yuriel seemed amused. “Of course I’m aware.”

“And, uh, do you know what poison it is?” Lee Jihoon asked again.

“Of course.”

“And you’re this relaxed?!” Lee Jihoon’s eyes widened. “Someone is trying to turn you into the Star of Cosmos who destroys of the world!”

An awkward silence. Yuriel raised an eyebrow.

“Relax, I won’t destroy the world.” she grinned.

“Oh?” Edward looked at her. “Judging from your choice of words, it seems that you’re quite confident of not doing the opposite?”

Yuriel shrugged. “Lee Jihoon here has invited Your Royal Highness to his humble dwelling. You must be able to do something.”

Edward chuckled. “Just call me Edward. But well, I can indeed do something for you—I can help you stay in your right mind. Though I can only do that much. I cannot cure the poison.”

“Incredible!” Yuriel sincerely praised. “May I ask, how will you help me stay sane?”

“My other ultimate attribute is faith. I will just sincerely believe that you won’t fall into darkness, and you won’t.” Edward explained.

“But your ultimate faith can’t cure the poison. Can you tell me why?” Yuriel asked.

“Well, the reason the Asura Demon Poison is this powerful is because it contains a sliver of an ancient god’s power—the Asura's,” Edward said. “Easy to say, I’m not powerful enough to contend against it.”

“Asura, huh?” Yuriel muttered to herself.

“You know,” Lee Jihoon suddenly said. “The power of cosmos may be able to vanquish that darned poison.”

Yuriel froze. She stared at her hands, saying softly, “I... don’t want to use that power yet.”

“Why? But you’re one of the Twin Stars of Cosmos!” Lee Jihoon’s voice was somewhat both anxious and excited.

“Lee Jihoon.” Edward shot him a look.

The guy realized he had talked too much and looked down in guilt.

“Sorry.” he muttered.

“It’s fine.” Yuriel said, then turned to Edward, “Can you help me stabilize my mind two days later? I have something to do on that day.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“With pleasure.” Edward smiled.

“Then what do you want in exchange?” Yuriel asked.

Edward shook his head, “Earning your friendship will be enough."

“Alright then, thanks.” Yuriel smiled.

“Your welcome.” Edward nodded, rising to his feet. “Then I’ll see you in two days. If you need my help before that, just let Jihoon notify me!”

Yuriel waved him goodbye, and he disappeared in a flash of cyan light.

For a while, no one spoke a word.

"So, uh,” Lee Jihoon cleared his throat. “What’re you going to do two days later?”

“Oh, right. I was about to talk about that...” Yuriel paused. “I’m planning to kill the Young Master of the Emperor Li Clan two days later.”

Tie Li frowned. “But your injuries...”

Yuriel turned at him. “Well, I think I haven’t properly introduced myself—though I’m sure your friend here has told you my name—I’m Zhang Yujin, of the Emperor Zhang Clan.”

“Emperor Zhang Clan?” Tie Li thought for a moment, then nodded. “No wonder. I guess your wound won’t even leave a trace by the time you leave.”

“Yeah, but what about your old injuries?” Lee Jihoon glanced at Yuriel. “I don’t think they’re the kind of injuries that’ll heal in just a few days, judging from how they still haven’t healed even until now.”

Yuriel stared at him. “I know you mean well, but... What does that have to do with you?”

“I...” Lee Jihoon was at a loss for words.

“I don’t know how much information you can get with those eyeglasses-scanner of yours, but please stop disclosing my personal information to other people without my consent.” Yuriel’s irises unknowingly flashed red.

Seeing the blood-red light in her eyes, the others felt a chill run down their spines.

Calming down, Lee Jihoon immediately realized what she was talking about—Edward. She wasn’t pleased that he had told Edward her identity as the other Star of Cosmos, and was warning him not to tell anyone else.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to­­—”

“It’s alright.” Yuriel cut him. “Now, can we start planning the action?”

Lee Jihoon nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Wait. So before you start planning­—” Tie Li leaned forward slightly. “—I’m in.”

The others looked at him.

“I’m not asking for anything in return,” he shrugged. “I just want to gain more battle experience.”

Yuriel blinked. Two was better than one. Of course, quality over quantity, but Tie Li was a good-quality one.

“Alright.” she said. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Okay, now let’s start planning our action.” Lee Jihoon said, tapping the coffee table in front of them.

A holographic miniature of the Emperor Li Clan’s residence materialized on it. It was a very precise one—the color, texture, and all little details were no different from the real deal.

“Let’s see...” Lee Jihoon zoomed in to the main gate. “The main entrance. There’s a total of fourteen guards stationed there—four guarding the gate left and right, and another ten guarding the walls next to it.”

“As for the defensive array, there’s only one—the Thousand Gales Array. It attacks you with hundreds of wind blades non-stop. But you don’t have to worry about that—we won’t be going in through the main gate.”

Tie Li grumbled, “Then why are you telling us about the main gate?”

“Just in case you wanna know?” Lee Jihoon shrugged, then zoomed the map out, turning the miniature so they could see it from above.

“Anyway, you’ll be going in by jumping over the wall on the south,” he continued. “Aside from the Thousand Gales Array at the front, this clan also uses the combination of three arrays for its walls—the Wind Arrows Array, Gale Barrier Array, and Wolf’s Howl Array. This combination is quite troublesome, but I can handle it.”

“Then, you’ll be heading straight to the sparring arena—I’ve checked Li Yang’s schedule, and found out that in two days, he’ll be having a sparing session with some clan members. And then...” Lee Jihoon paused, grinning. “You can kill them all in one go.”

“That won’t do.” Yuriel shook her head. “Li Yang has the soul mark of both his parents—they’ll immediately sense if his life is in danger and use some teleportation talisman.”

“Well...” Lee Jihoon crossed his arms, falling into deep thought.

“Why not just use a teleportation talisman too right after delivering him the fatal blow?” Tie Li suggested.

“That’s what I’m thinking.” Lee Jihoon nodded in agreement. “Now, what you must consider is their strength. Li Yang himself is at the Grandmaster rank—one rank higher than both of you. And then there are his friends. Two are at the peak of the Master rank, and three are at the Grandmaster rank.”

Before we continue, let me tell you about the order of power of these cultivators.

Ever since the year 2012, humanity had been constantly at war with each other. It was only when everything had stabilized that a universal cultivation ranking system was invented, starting from the lowest: Apprentice, Awakening, Spiritual, Master, Grandmaster, King, Earthly Emperor, Heavenly Emperor.

Actually, there was another rank above the Heavenly Emperor rank—the Immortal rank—but there had been no human who could break through that rank since a few centuries ago­—the Four Generals—thus the rank was ignored.

A normal sixteen-or-seventeen-year-old cultivator would only be at the Spiritual rank—initial Master rank at most—but Yuriel and Tie Li were already around the peak of Master rank. This showed just how talented they were.

But then again, Yuriel was one of the Twin Stars of Cosmos! Why wasn’t she stronger than an ordinary genius...?

Anyway.

“So,” Lee Jihoon said. “If it is possible, you need to break through to the Grandmaster rank before going.”

“Can’t we just assassinate the boy at night?” Tie Li frowned.

Lee Jihoon shook a finger. “Too risky, boy. An assassination at night is too common—everyone increases protection at night. What will become of you if you try to carry out an assassination on the Young Master of the Emperor Li Clan, at night, in his own clan? No—sometimes, an unexpected time is the best time.”

“I will have broken through by tomorrow night.” Yuriel suddenly said.

Lee Jihoon rapidly blinked. “W-what?!”

“Are you sure you can do it?” Tie Li asked.

“I’m sure.” Yuriel nodded. “I’ve been in the Master rank for years now—my foundation is solid enough.”

“Alright then, that’s great.” Lee Jihoon said. “With you at the Grandmaster rank, I can plan more conveniently.”

“So, after getting into the clan, you’ll steal the identity of two of the clansmen who will spar with Li Yang. Here’s their information, and everything you need to know about them...”

The biodata of a girl and a boy each appeared in front of Yuriel and Tie Li. Their names were Li Yun’er and Li Mu respectively. Li Yun’er was the Grandmaster-ranked powerhouse, while Li Mu was the Master-ranked one.

“Make sure you remember everything. For the pre-killing conversation.” Lee Jihoon grinned, then threw each of them a palm-sized mirror and a thin, flexible mask, saying, “You’ll turn into their appearance using these. The masks can turn into the appearance of the face you scan with the mirror. There’s no time limit.”

“After killing them, we’ll teleport back here, right? Where’s the talisman?” Yuriel asked as she copied Li Yun’er’s biodata to a holo-paper.

“Oho!” Lee Jihoon chuckled. “No need for talismans. Just wear these smartlenses, and I’ll make sure you’re teleported back here safely in time.”

He handed her a small white rectangular box as he said that.

She nodded, then got up. “Then see you tomorrow—I’ll prepare for my breakthrough now.”

“Do you want any spiritual stones or natural essence?” Lee Jihoon asked.

Yuriel contemplated for a moment before deciding that this Korean guy was wealthy enough to feel any loss because of some natural essence.

“Fire and darkness natural essence. High-quality ones, please.” Yuriel smiled at the guy—what a rare sight.

“Fine, fine. It’s me who offered, anyway.” Lee Jihoon rolled his eyes, then typed something on the table—a ring materialized, which he gave to Yuriel.

Yuriel’s smile was as sweet as honey.