Hexasia, somewhere near Loche City.
It was still dark, but a bird or two were already starting to chirp quietly. Cold winter air blew, dry branches creaked. It was a normal day in the winter.
Cyan light flashed, and three figures appeared. Immediately, they rushed through the darkness, silently approaching the tall wall in the distance.
"Mad Iron, be ready." Lee Jihoonâs voice sounded in their ears.
"In three..."
They nearly reached the wall.
"Two..."
The wall was in front of them.
"One!"
A hole formed in the thick metal wall. The three figures passed right through it one by one, silent and undetected. Behind them, the hole closed, looking as if nothing had ever happened.
First obstacle, crossed!
The three didnât stop. Creeping between the shadows of the trees, they descended into the valley in front of them, where a housing area rested. Arriving there, they split up, going in three different directions.
A mellow, goldish-orange glow started to appear on the purplish eastern horizon. Gradually, the street lights dimmed away.
Hours went by. Soft chatters rattled, human activity buzzing about.
A young girl glided down the streets on her hoverboard. Along the way, many people greeted her.
âYunâer, donât loose to Weiâan!â
âLi Yunâer, be careful!â
âDonât worry!â the girl, waved at the people, grinning confidently.
Her ponytail fluttered about in the wind, exuding a bright youthful aura. As she glided down a few more roads and made a few more turns, she straightened her pale-turquoise warrior robe.
Soon, she spotted someone familiar at a crossroad.
âOy, Li Rui!â
The one called Li Rui was a teenage boy about the same age as the girl Li Yunâer, also riding a hoverboard carefreely.
âYunâer!â Li Rui grinned and waved back.
âI bet you canât catch up!â
As she said that, the hoverboard below her feet sped up, producing a low explosion as it broke the wind. Li Rui laughed, and rushed to catch up.
In no time, they arrived in front of a wide circular arena in the middle of a clearing. There were already two friends waiting thereâa girl and two boys.
âOâ cousin, you lost to Yunâer yet again.â the girl shook her head.
âYanyan, you know she started off first. Like always.â Li Rui sighed.
Li Yunâer stuck her tongue at him, then approached the other girl, Li Yan. The two went to the side, talking to themselves. Li Rui sighed again. They were definitely gossiping about him. Next to him, one of the boys sniggered.
âShut it, Weiâan.â Li Rui grumbled.
A few minutes later, another boy could be seen coming from the other side of the arena. The moment he arrived, his five friends quietened down.
âEveryone, you didnât wait long, did you?â the newcomer smiled.
âOf course not, Brother Yang.â Li Rui chuckled.
Correct, the newcomer was Li Yang, the target of todayâs mission.
The boy, Li Yang, ignored him. âCome on, guys, letâs begin!â
The six teenagers went up the arena, separating into two groupsâLi Yunâer was in the same group as Li Yang and the silent boy Li Mu, while Li Rui was together with Li Yan and Li Weiâan.
There was no need to say anything more. They all immediately got into their respective fighting position.
What happened next happened so fast that before anyone could process what happened, it had already happened.
Out of a sudden, Li Mu disappeared in a flash of cyan light. He then reappeared right behind Li Yang and slashed his neck. But the moment the blade made contact with Li Yangâs skin, turquoise light flashed, flinging Li Mu away and making the nearby Li Yunâer take a few steps backâhe had some item protecting him. However, there was a part which wouldnât be protected...
Cyan light flashed again. This time, it was Li Yunâer who made a moveâshe appeared in front of Li Yang, stabbing a fiery-red sword right at his balls.
Li Yang roared in utter pain and terror, but it didnât stop thereâLi Yunâerâs sword continued to stab up, reaching his heart in the blink of an eye.
"I canât teleport you."
Lee Jihoonâs panicked voice suddenly sounded in the ears of three of the teenagers at this moment.
As if on cue, the sky lit up with a blinding turquoise light. The light enveloped the whole of Emperor Li Clan, forming a protective dome.
Li Yunâerâor rather Yurielâsighed. With a decisive move, she yanked her sword, ripping Li Yangâs body apart. Blood, flesh, and bone splinters splattered everywhere, creating a haunting scene.
Turquoise light flashed, flinging Yuriel away. It was too late, thoughâthe Young Master of the Emperor Li Clan, Li Yang, was already dead.
âHOW DARE YOU!â
A deep roar filled with wrath rumbled throughout the entire Emperor Li Clan residence.
At the same time, two pillars of turquoise light shot down from the protective dome, hitting fake Li Mu and fake Li Yunâer, pressing them down. The two fell to one knee, resisting the powerful force.
By now, the others had already sobered up. When they saw Li Yangâs torn body falling onto the ground lifelessly, they unexpectedly didnât show any sign of shock or grieve. Their eyes only revealed pity.
Turquoise light flashed, and five figures appeared in mid-air above the sparring arenaâthe Clan Head of the Emperor Li Clan and four Clan Elders.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
âMy son!â Clan Head Li whispered and fell to his knees, gently carressing the dead Li Yangâs head.
Meanwhile, Yuriel glanced at Li Rui and tilted her head down faintly.
âIt has to happen anyway, sooner or later. Then let it be.â she thought.
Li Ruiâs eyes flashed with hesitation, but it was only for a split second. He pressed his palms together in front of his chest. Pale-gold sacred light bloomedâFaithful Prayer, activated.
Clan Head Li and the elders were caught off guard. They truly didnât expect that there was another impostor. Clan Head Li pressed his palm down, sending another pillar of turquoise light down upon fake Li Rui. This time, however, the light pillar failed to suppressâupon touching the sacred light shining from Edward, it evaporated like water meeting fire.
In anger, Clan Head Li waved his hand, sending arrows of turquoise light at fake Li Yunâer and fake Li Mu. Pale-gold sacred light bloomed, protecting both of them. One by one, the light arrows melted away.
âClan Head, you must not kill the girl.â an elder said.
âNo. I must tear them to pieces.â Clan Head Li growled.
âClan Head, that person wants her alive.â another elder reminded.
Clan Head Li clenched his fists and roared to the sky. Waves of Heavenly-Emperor-ranked natural power blasted away from him, knocking the nearby Emperor Li Clan teenagers away. They fell on the ground outside the arena, unconscious and bleeding from the seven orifices. On the contrary, Yuriel, Tie Li, and Edward werenât affected in the slightest.
âLock them up.â Clan Head Li closed his eyes in anguish and said.
Before the elders could move, however, a colossal bolt of purple-gold lightning crashed down upon the protective barrier enveloping the Emperor Li Clan residence. In an instant, the turquoise dome broke apart into a million little pieces, then blown away in a vicious blast of gale. The visual alone was already so terrifying, but the thunderous sound made it as if the end of the world had come, and the heavenly dome was crumbling.
But the purple-gold lightning bolt didnât stop thereâit crashed onto Yuriel like a pillar connecting the heavens and earth.
The sky darkened. At some point, ominous storm clouds had gathered in the sky above the Emperor Li Clan. Flashes of purple-gold lightning writhed in the clouds, and deep rumbles of thunder reverberated.
At this moment, every soul in Loche City and its surroundings who could witness this scene, stared in silence.
âCapture her!â Clan Head Li roared.
Even without his words, the elders could see it with their own eyes and were already lunging at Yuriel, throwing ropes of turquoise light at her.
But well, of courseâwhen the ropes made contact with the purple-gold bolt of lightning enveloping Yuriel, they directly turned to ashes. And worse, four bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky upon each of them. The four elders roared, mustering all their strength to resist the lightning.
Clan Head Liâs expression turned grave. Now things were serious. Even capturing this girl was now an impossible feat, much less killing her.
A terrifying oppressive force descended from the sky, suppressing the whole of Loche City and its surroundings. Primal fear rose within everyoneâs heartsâall below the King rank, except Tie Li and Edward, fell unconscious.
Everything went still. Only Yuriel could move. She got up from the ground, then took firm strides toward Clan Head Li. Multicolored crystalline starlight condensed in her grip, forming a beautiful silvery-gold longsword.
âDie.â her clear voice resounded from all direction.
A turquoise barrier made from natural power formed in front of Clan Head Liâeven though the terrifying force didnât permit him to move, he was, in the end, still a powerhouse of the Heavenly Emperor rank, one step away from the mythical Immortal rank.
However, right now Yurielâs strength couldnât be judged by normal meansâthe power she currently held was beyond comprehension.
And so, Clan Head Li could only watch as the sparkling crystal-like blade pierced through his shield, then through his forehead, instantly obliterating both his life and soul.
Just like that, a powerhouse of the Heavenly Emperor rank perished.
Yuriel glanced at Li Yangâs corpse, then at the four elders who were watching her in pure fear. She smiled. With a few stabs to the forehead, she wiped out their lives and soulsâincluding the dead Li Yangâs.
Suddenly, all purple-gold lightning in the sky crashed down upon Yuriel. Her only response was to face the sky and close her eyes, accepting the baptism calmly.
It wasnât until all purple-gold lightning disappeared into Yurielâs body did everything return to normal. Even the storm clouds dispersed.
At some time, Edward had fallen to the ground, his golden eyes dim. He took in a deep, ragged breath as he struggled to stay conscious.
Puff! The sword in Yurielâs grip turned into a sparkling white smoke which quickly disappeared in the wind. Not long after, Yurielâs knees buckled, and she collapsed sideways, completely unconscious.
"E-Everyone...?" Lee Jihoon called out, his voice quavering.
âWhat are you waiting for?â Tie Li snapped. âTeleport us.â
âAnd the corpses...â Edward muttered.
"Oh. Right, right."
Within a flash of cyan light, the trio, along with the six corpses scattered on the arena, all disappeared.
***
Delphi, Greece.
On the slope of a mountain, a complex of the ancient ruins of a once prosperous temple rested silently beneath the cover of the cold winter snow.
From time to time, space would ripple, revealing a scene vastly different from the desolate ruins a normal human usually sawâtall, white collumns supported several ancient greek buildings, grand and sparkling with a brilliant golden light.
Two figures flickered in the rippling space, staring at the largest building thereâthe temple.
From inside of it, a pillar of purple-gold light was piercing the sky.
***
Somewhere underground.
The piercing cry of a majestic, pure white bird resounded.
Beating its gigantic wings elegantly, the bird dashed through the underground tunnel which burned with fierce, fiery white flames.
Suddenly, a wave of purple-gold energy rippled through time and space, momentarily freezing the eternal dance of the underground flames.
The pure white bird halted its flight, transforming into the form of an extremely beautiful and elegant woman wearing a set of white robes.
âItâs nearly here.â she muttered, her gaze piercing through time and space.
***
In a dark cave, far away from Loche City.
A figure sat cross-legged on a stone platform. Although concealed by the darkness, it was clear from his wide shoulders that this person was a man.
âInteresting,â he said in a deep voice that sounded aged and experienced. âThis power... is different from that boyâs.â
***
Inside an unknown pyramid, Egypt.
Dim light shone from the oil lamps sitting in the corners of the chamber. Vaguely, one could see dust covering the granite walls, floor, and ceiling, and also something that looked very much like a sarcophagus.
And currently, that very sarcophagus was trembling in excitement...
***
Ice God City, Arctic Ice Sea.
Like its name, ice was the main theme here. Countless buildings carved from ice stood tall atop a humongous iceberg, forming a majestic city of ice.
In the center of the city, an especially tall tower stood. Its design was intricate, and coupled with the cryptic, ancient patterns carved on its walls, one would feel somewhat dizzy just by looking at it.
At this moment, at the uppermost level of this tower, a handsome man in his early forties was sitting on a silvery ice throne with his eyes closed. He wore a set of dark-blue robes which had silver and jade-green patterns and linings embroidered on the heavy fabric.
The most striking part of him, however, was his thin, long deep-blue hair tied into a low ponytail behind his headâbut this was until his eyelids suddenly snap open, revealing a pair of even more striking jade-green eyes.
***
It was a serene, luxurious ancient-chinese-styled room decorated mainly in white, icy-blue, and silvery-gold tones.
A young man sat in front of a wooden table by the window, gazing far into the distant icy mountain range and sapphire-blue rivers winding about.
He was exceptionally handsome, his facial features perfect, as if carved according to the purest essence of the universe. A set of luxurious white-blue robe covered his tall and athletic yet slender figure.
At this moment, his deep black eyes and short black hair suddenly turned crystal-like, shining with a kind of iridescent ethereal starlight. His whole person exuded an ancient aura, as if he came from the beginning time.
The young man smiled.
âYouâve finally awakened. Yuâer.â