Based on the trail of blood and the color of the corpses at the scene, the massacre had likely taken place one or two days ago.
The bodies belonged to those who had either entered the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain to train or those who accompanied them.
Initially, Qin Yu thought that they had encountered some terrifying beasts and were slaughtered by them. Upon examination, their wounds were not caused by monsters or beasts but by human attacks. They had actually fought against each other. A few corpses lay in close proximity to each other. They perished together. One manâs knife hacked into the otherâs head while the other man had his sword lodged into the other manâs chest.
What caused this terrible massacre? There could only be one answerâthese men found incredible treasures here.
It was normal in the Ancient Continent of Wu for cultivators to turn against each other and kill in order to obtain treasures.
This fact was undeniable. Not far away, in a cave that was half caved-in, there were more corpses on both sides where the trails of blood were even more prominent.
Currently, Ye Siyu stood in front of the cave and stared at it indifferently. Her gaze swept over the bodies with contempt as she laughed sardonically.
âSplitting their scalps open over a mere Immortal Realm Cultivatorâs inheritance, how pathetic!â
It was indeed funny to her since there wasnât an obvious difference between an Immortal Realm Cultivator and an ant. In her eyes, his inheritance was equivalent to trash.
However, it never occurred to her that an Immortal Realm Cultivator was viewed as a God by these cultivators. They would go crazy and fight to the death over the inheritance even if it was some useless, spoilt sword.
âHmph, I came here for nothing. What a waste of my time!â
The reason Ye Siyu personally came here was because she felt something was taking place at this particular location. She wanted to see for herself what it was, however, who knew it would turn out to be such a letdown!
With disappointment, her fair and slender finger swiped through the air. No booming sound threatening to rock the earth and sky sounded. Nor were there any sparks of light. The only sound caused by the movement was the sound of air being torn apart.
Soon, a rumbling noise sounded as the cave quickly crumbled. The opening of the cave was soon covered and sealed tightly. From then on, the remains of the Immortal Realm Cultivatorâs inheritance would be buried underground.
Qin Yu and Murong Yue stared as Ye Siyu buried the site of remains and could only sigh helplessly.
After burying the abode, Ye Siyu spun around and cast her indifferent gaze on Yi Fei who laid on the ground, unconscious. She then turned toward Qin Yu with a strange grin which made Qin Yuâs heart and liver quiver. What the hell? What did she want to do?
âYoung lad, you wanted to save her, so I brought her above ground. Now, do what you need to do.â The smile continued to hang on her face as it changed from a creepy one into a sinister one.
Qin Yu thought to himself, If I have to take care of the remaining things myself then so be it. Is there a need to grin like that? This woman. Based on his understanding of this woman from his past, once she started smiling like that, there was bound to be something problematic. Hence, he hesitated before he spoke.
âIs there a problem?â
âA problem? You will know in the future. Haha!" Ye Siyu laughed without precedent, causing Qin Yu to feel rather uncomfortable. He subconsciously stole a glance at Yi Fei who was still in a coma. What was going on with this woman?
âFine, Iâll stop teasing all of you. Iâm leaving now so you should take ample care of yourselves. Little girl, bear in mind the assessment to become my true disciple in one yearâs time! I will constantly check up on you. Young lad, take care of that girl on the floor. Haha~!â
Her figure had already disappeared while her laughter still resounded in the air. It echoed within the forest and made Qin Yu and Mu Rongyue rather uneasy.
âHey! Wait...!â Qin Yu remembered that there was something they still didnât understand yet. Where did the Yin Demonâs Qi from the forbidden area originate from? Ye Siyu would definitely know the answer to this. Sadly, she had already left. No one could stop her anyway, so Qin Yu could only shake his head helplessly.
Mu Rongyue was worried about Yi Fei. âDa Ge, according to Senior, it seems as if something might happen to Yi Fei Jie Jie.â
Qin Yu grunted as he spoke with disdain. âHmph, that neurotic woman! Donât mind her, letâs bring Yi Fei back before discussing anything.â
He could only bring Yi Fei back underground since she was brought above ground.
âEn,â Mu Rongyue agreed.
*Sigh* Qin Yu let out a depressed sigh as he said, âI hope we can return in time.â
Mu Rongyue paused for a moment. With her intellect, she could guess Qin Yuâs thoughts almost immediately.
âDa Ge, are you referring to the Martial Examinationâs pre-selection? Itâs fine even if you canât make it in time. With your abilities, I can acquire you a spot as a seeded player so you can directly proceed to the King Cityâs finals.â
As a princess, this was the least she could do for him.
However, Qin Yu was reluctant to rely on the connections of others. He wanted to prove himself using his own abilities in order to rid himself of his shame.
At Luosang City, there was a very famous street near the Governorâs Hall named âStreet of the Talented.â
Just as its name implied, âStreet of the Talentedâ was a stage for the elite to showcase their glory. According to tradition, as long as one belonged to Luosang City and rose to fame by obtaining honor, they would be able to wear a big red flower and parade on a grand scale on the âStreet of the Talented.â They would receive flowers and applause from millions upon millions of people along with receiving the adoration and reverence of the people.
This glory would similarly belong to any of the young elites who were selected for the Martial Examinationâs pre-selection.
Today was the official pre-selection day for the Martial Arts Competition. It was supposed to be held ten days earlier but was postponed for ten days due to the joint demand of various influential powers.
Only a select number of well-connected people were vaguely aware of the reason for the postponement.
Ten days before, the most influential powers within Luosang City led their respective young talents into the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain to train. While training, a majority of them had received the inheritance of an extremely strong cultivator. The postponement would allow the young talents to absorb the inheritance so they could acquire stronger abilities in the preparation for the Martial Arts Competitionâs pre-selection.
Before the competition began, the Governorâs Hall organized a parade with close to a hundred young talents in attendance. They were arranged in an orderly formation as they walked onto the âStreet of the Talentedâ while the Guard of Honor from the Governorâs Hall clustered around them. Firecrackers crackled in unison while the din of clashing gongs and cymbals filled the air.
The sidewalks of the âStreet of the Talentedâ were lined with onlookers while heads poked out from the surrounding tearooms and taverns. This was a grand event that took place only once every three years and no one wanted to miss out.
Looking at the high-spirited youngsters who held their heads high, countless people cheered. They were excited as they swore to themselves that they would join such a team in the future. Of course, countless people were also filled with regret as they failed the Qualification Competition and had to part with this grand event.
In a tearoom at the side of the street, many people crowded on the higher stories regardless of whether or not they wanted to have tea. All of them occupied the seats by the window because they wanted to have a better view of the parade.
However, there were still some who were there to drink tea. At a corner which didnât face the windows, a man who wore ordinary gray clothing and a bamboo hat sat alone, sipping his tea slowly.
But it wasnât like the man clad in gray hadnât paid any attention to the parade. As the clashing of the parade's gongs and cymbals and the cheering of the crowd got nearer and louder, he listened carefully to everything that happened outside to deduce when the parade would end.
This man was none other than Qin Yu.
He was fortunate to have arrived on time. When he found out the Martial Arts Competition was about to commence, he didnât even have sufficient time to return home. After handing Yi Fei over to Mu Rongyue, he hurried over to the tearoom so he could wait for the parade to end. He really didnât have any interest in the so-called parade at the âStreet of the Talentedâ because talent and abilities werenât obtained through parading but through fighting.
At this moment, someone began shouting excitedly. "Here he comes! Look at that guy! I know him! Oh, I know this one as well!"
A person from the onlooking crowd asked, "Eh? How come I donât see that genius Qin Yu from the Qin family?"
Someone beside him immediately answered the question. âHow are you not aware yet? Three months ago, Qin Yu was sabotaged and had his martial arts crippled. The past genius is now a cripple. He no longer qualifies to walk on the Street of the Talented."
The man who spoke only knew about what had happened three months ago. Currently, very few people knew that Qin Yu had recovered his abilities.
"Oh, what a shame!" The man sighed with sympathy. Soon after, he asked another question.
"Isnât that the precious daughter of the Lu family, Lu Wushuang? Why is she standing together with Qin Zhao? How indecent of them to hold hands at such an event!â
âDear customer, your news is really outdated. Lu Wushuang and Qin Zhao are already engaged. Whatâs surprising about them holding hands?â The one answering him was a waiter. He was holding a teapot as he made his way over to replenish the water for customers and occasionally stretched his head out of the window to get a glimpse of what was happening outside.
âLu Wushuang?â Qin Yu who was sitting quietly in a corner was stunned. âSheâs not dead? How is this possible?â
He was aware of how powerful his strike was. He had gone all out so even if the strike didnât kill her, she wouldâve at least suffered a severe injury. It was impossible for her to recover in such a short amount of time or even have the strength to join the parading team!
âWhat the hell is going on?â Qin Yu could not make sense of it. No one answered him. All he could do was to ask Lu Wushuang for an answer personally.
âLu Wushuang is engaged to Qin Zhao? Wasnât she engaged to Qin Yu?â Someone else from another seat questioned in shock.
The waiter answered, âQin Yu is a cripple. Why would the Lu Family marry off their daughter to a cripple? Moreover, how can Lu Wushuang like a cripple? Haha!â The waiter continued with slight sarcasm, âEveryone calls prostitutes heartless. From what I see, they pale in comparison to the ladies from the big families. Haha!!!â
âWhich damned thing is bad mouthing the Lu Family and soiling my sisterâs reputation?!â A booming roar came from downstairs and gave everyone upstairs a shock, especially the waiter who was sarcastic a moment ago. His body quivered as he almost dropped the teapot he was holding.
Along with the roar, a fierce-looking, square-faced man in his thirties stomped upstairs in a rage with two servant-like attendants trailing behind him.
Someone immediately recognized him. âThe eldest son of the Lu Family, Lu Wubao!â
Upon seeing the man, the waiterâs face paled as he quivered with fear.
Lu Wubao, whose name meant âno violence,â [1. Lu Wubaoâs (éæ æ´) name Wubao (æ æ´) literally translates to âno violence.â] was actually an extremely ruthless and brutal man. As the only son of the Lu family, he had been spoiled and allowed to do whatever he pleased so he was like a tyrant who bullied both men and women and was feared by all. He was infamous within Luosang City and was regarded as one of the Four Evil Masters of Luosang City.
To provoke a man like him meant death or living a life worse than death. How could the waiter not be fearful?
Lu Wubaoâs ruthless gaze fell upon the quivering waiter. âYou are the one who bad mouthed the Lu Family and ruined my sisterâs reputation just now, arenât you?â