Yan Ling knelt alone in the darkness, staring blankly at the place where Yan Hanque had disappeared, unable to recover his senses for a long time.
What the rhino horn lamp’s wick was made of, what it meant that it extinguished without warning, and what Yan Hanque’s final words meant—Yan Ling had no idea how to find answers to any of these questions. His mind was completely blank.
Until footsteps echoed faintly from outside the door.
The gentle drizzle finally stopped.
Yan Ling’s entire body shuddered. Instinctively thinking the rain had stopped and Mother was coming to fetch him, he hadn’t had time to feel joy when his sensitive ears detected that the dangerous “hissing” sound still hadn’t dissipated. Moreover, it drew closer with each approaching footstep.
Yan Ling’s pupils contracted in terror. He struggled to hide in the corner.
“Not afraid…” The small child curled into a ball, recalling Yan Hanque’s warning, deceiving himself as he whispered softly: “Father said I shouldn’t be afraid, so I… won’t be afraid of anything.”
But how could fear be controlled so easily? The louder the “hissing” grew in his ears, the more uncontrollably Yan Ling’s body trembled.
After an uncertain length of time, the footsteps finally stopped.
After a deathly silence, a sword light flashed briefly through the dark cave.
Boom!
The cave door, layered with countless barriers, was instantly slashed into stone dust and crashed to the ground, sending up overwhelming clouds of ash.
Yan Ling stared in shock at the sound.
Hiss.
A strange man stepped slowly from the dust, blood-stained sword in hand. His cold eyes swept across the cave and finally fixed directly on Yan Ling, wrapped in darkness.
Xi Ze frowned and raised his hand, gathering spiritual force with a gesture.
Yan Ling’s thin body suddenly shot into the air, instantly clamped by Xi Ze’s large palm around his neck and held aloft.
Yan Ling stared at him in terror, both hands clutching desperately at his arm, toes straining against the ground, trying to reclaim his breath.
Xi Ze’s face was expressionless as he channeled a stream of spiritual force into Yan Ling’s body. Finally, he spoke coldly: “…Indeed a spiritual-grade xiangwen.”
The Xi family had come to repair the ruptured fissure in the Tianyan earth vein to prevent further leakage of Tianyan spiritual force. They hadn’t expected to sense a faint Tianyan xiangwen aura emanating from a mountain peak.
Though concealed by countless barriers, that trace of aura could still be sensed. Most likely a spiritual-grade xiangwen.
Precisely because of this, Xi Ze, whose cultivation had reached the Void Return stage, had come specially.
To someone in the Void Return stage, a cave sealed with countless barriers was insignificant. Even if those two unknown cultivators had exhausted their strength to stop him, they couldn’t have blocked his sword.
What he hadn’t expected was that the one who had awakened a spiritual-grade xiangwen was a child not even ten years old.
Since ancient times, the Tianyan earth vein could only allow twelve-year-old children to awaken xiangwen. This special spiritual-grade xiangwen…
Xi Ze’s eyes grew dim.
…must be related to “Kan Tianyan.”
Seeing Yan Ling nearly suffocating, Xi Ze knocked him unconscious without even looking, letting the child lie limp on his arm. He casually picked him up, turned, and left the cave.
Yanwen Mountain had become a ruin, spiritual residences shattered, spiritual force scattered everywhere.
The rain that had fallen continuously for two days finally stopped. Moonlight broke through the clouds, casting its glow across the surroundings.
Xi Ze walked coldly from the cave, about to ride the wind away when a hand suddenly grabbed his robe hem.
Xi Ze looked down indifferently.
Yan Yue, covered in blood, desperately tried to block him, his face streaked with tears. He choked out: “Let go… my senior brother!”
A child of only seven or eight, trembling with fear, yet he clenched his teeth firmly. His usually soft, harmless eyes were now filled with overwhelming hatred. His ten fingers gripped Xi Ze’s robe so tightly his nails nearly pierced his own skin.
“Senior brother!”
Xi Ze didn’t even use spiritual force. With a casual flick of his sleeve, Yan Yue’s thin body was hurled heavily into the rubble nearby.
Silence.
Hanging in Xi Ze’s arm with his head dangling, Yan Ling heard something was amiss even in his unconsciousness. He struggled to wake, and two lines of tears slowly flowed from his tightly closed eyes, dripping onto the grim bloodstains on the ground.
But he could only listen to that “hissing” laden with killing intent as he descended into ever-deepening darkness.
Spiritual force condensed in Xi Ze’s hand. Cold as frost, he was about to kill Yan Yue as well when his gaze fell on that tear-streaked face. His eyes moved slightly.
He seemed to think of something and suddenly clenched his fist, dispersing the spiritual force. He turned and rode the wind away.
—He had inexplicably let Yan Yue live.
Yanwen Mountain returned to complete silence.
Less than a quarter hour after Xi Ze’s departure, Lady Wan hurriedly descended from the river boat. Her pupils contracted sharply as her gaze swept across the ruins of Yanwen Mountain. She nearly stumbled as she landed.
She had come one step too late.
***
Yan Ling was brought to the Xi family in Central State, trapped in a small spiritual residence, unconscious and unawake.
An elder of the Xi family sat in silence in the Tianyan Shrine for a long while before finally speaking: “…Do you mean to say that the Tianyan spiritual force from ‘Kan Tianyan’ leaked and flowed into that child’s body, allowing him to awaken a spiritual-grade xiangwen at just ten years old?”
Xi Ze: “Yes.”
The crowd collectively drew in a sharp breath.
“Kan Tianyan” not only could fill the depletion of the Tianyan earth vein, but could even catalyze a spiritual-grade xiangwen in cultivators who had never been exposed to Tianyan spiritual force cultivation?!
And the child was only ten, not even restricted by age limits?
“A month ago, Sheng Jiao of the Sheng family awakened the spiritual-grade xiangwen ‘Kan Tiandao.’ Many families in Central State are already trying to court the Sheng family. In a few years comes the selection of Central State’s supreme leader…” An elder looked toward Xi Ze, hesitating for a long time before speaking meaningfully.
“Family head, I hope you will reach a decision soon.”
Xi Ze’s fingers, hanging at his side, suddenly tightened.
A decision?
If the decision were so easy to make, he wouldn’t have been hesitating until now.
The Xi family’s depleted Tianyan earth vein had, over this past month, been gradually replenished by absorbing Xi Jue’s “Kan Tianyan,” becoming peaceful and stable. If it had been like a dried-up riverbed before, it was now flowing with gentle, gurgling water.
Lady Xi could no longer bear it and had visited the Tianyan Shrine several times. Each time she heard Xi Jue’s heartbreaking screams from within, she wished she could kill Xi Ze.
Xi Ze had originally planned to retrieve Xi Jue from the Tianyan earth vein after some time had passed. But he hadn’t foreseen…
Because Xi Jue’s escape had caused Tianyan spiritual force to leak, they discovered the terrifying fact that “Kan Tianyan” could catalyze xiangwen.
“Kan Tianyan” could even generate spiritual-grade xiangwen.
With Yan Ling as an example, there was no possibility that Xi Jue could ever leave the Tianyan earth vein again.
Xi Ze remained silent for a long time. Finally, his suspended fingers descended heavily, striking the table desk with a decisive thud.
The decision was made.
He had chosen.
The Xi family elders quietly exhaled in relief.
“What shall we do with that child?”
“First, ask what his xiangwen is.” Xi Ze closed his eyes slightly. “If it’s useful, extract the xiangwen.”
How could a spiritual-grade xiangwen possibly be useless?
The elder froze, then nodded to show he understood.
Just a child from a minor sect, after all, with no family protection. Even if he quietly died in the Xi residence, no one would notice.
***
Yan Ling lay curled in a cramped spiritual residence, dazed and half-conscious, dreaming countless nightmares. In them all were those two deafening thunderclaps.
Rumble rumble—
“Ahhh!”
Yan Ling’s eyes snapped open. He curled up in terror, clutching his wildly pounding heart as he gasped for breath. After a long moment, he finally recovered from the nightmare’s fright.
He was still groggy, thinking he was still at Yanwen Mountain, and called out confusedly: “Father, Mother… what time is it?”
No voice answered him from his ears.
Only his own breathing and heartbeat echoed.
Yan Ling struggled to sit up. His gaze swept the unfamiliar surroundings, and after a long moment of confusion, he realized this wasn’t Yanwen Mountain at all, but some narrow, dim chamber.
Like a boat of some kind.
Yan Ling sat there dully for a while before belatedly remembering what had happened before he fell unconscious.
Thunder, the rhino horn lamp…
And the strange man who had gripped his neck.
Yan Ling jumped in fright and quickly covered his neck. The bruises there hadn’t faded yet, and when he touched them, the pain made him wince.
It wasn’t a dream.
Before Yan Ling could collect his thoughts, the spiritual residence’s door was gently opened.
A man in white robes walked in, looking at him coolly. He held delicate food in his hands—things Yan Ling had never eaten before.
Yan Ling quickly hid in the corner, looking at him timidly.
The sounds emanating from this person were peaceful and harmonious, but like the calm before a storm, unnaturally gentle.
“You… who are you?” Yan Ling asked warily. “Where are my parents? Where is this place?”
The elder smiled and set the food on a small table: “You’ve been asleep for two days. You must be hungry—eat something?”
Yan Ling froze.
Two days?
“What date is it today?”
“The twenty-eighth of the eighth month.”
Yan Ling’s tenth birthday.
He should have been happily waiting at Yanwen Mountain for his parents and A-Yue to celebrate his birthday with him. Even if he caused trouble, he wouldn’t be scolded because of the birthday privileges, and in the evening he’d see a beautiful display of fireworks.
He should have been full of joy.
Instead, he was confined here, trembling and panicking.
Yan Ling felt inexplicable fear and said with false bravado: “Who exactly are you?! Where are my parents?! Where is this place? I want to go home!”
The elder remained unmoved, continuing to smile faintly: “Child, do you know you’ve awakened a spiritual-grade xiangwen?”
Yan Ling’s brow furrowed. He feigned ignorance: “What?”
“Ha ha, looks like you already know.” The elder was an astute person who saw through the child’s lie at a glance. He sat there, smiling faintly: “What is your xiangwen?”
Yan Ling’s back was practically against the wall now. He glared coldly at him: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I have a hundred ways to make you tell me yourself.” The elder slowly opened his perpetually smiling eyes. Cold pupils fixed on him while a gentle smile still played on his face. “Child, don’t refuse kind words and drink the penalty wine instead.”
Yan Ling said harshly: “I don’t understand what you’re saying. Let me go! Or I’ll report you to the Xiezhi Sect and accuse you of kidnapping and robbery!”
The elder finally stopped smiling. He leaned forward slowly, regarding Yan Ling’s eyes—pretending calm but unable to hide the terror beneath—with a cold gaze. He gently tapped his finger on Yan Ling’s brow center.
“Your xiangwen… what exactly is it?”
Yan Ling: “I won’t… Ahhh—!”
A surge of spiritual force drove straight into Yan Ling’s brow center. The pain made him cry out and stumble, clutching his brow as he fell to his knees, his entire body convulsing in agony.
The elder’s voice remained gentle as he spoke coolly: “If you don’t answer, I’ll ask again. After all, I have plenty of time to wear you down.”
Yan Ling trembled all over. Finally understanding, amidst a humming sound, he heard the sound emanating from the elder’s body—like the rustling of a dry leaf brushed by a breeze.
It was the same kind of sound that made one’s scalp prickle with fear as the danger warning sound.
Yan Ling didn’t understand why he had ended up here suffering torment, but those two deafening thunderclaps kept echoing in his ears. He had a terrible suspicion, but he never dared admit it.
—As if not admitting it would allow him to deceive himself, to believe that thunder was merely ordinary thunder, not the devastating possibility he feared.
Tears streamed down his face from the pain. He shook his head desperately: “No…”
Though he didn’t understand what consequences revealing his xiangwen would bring, he kept Yan Hanque’s words close to his heart—he couldn’t tell anyone what his xiangwen was.
When Father came to find him, he would tell him when Father said he could.
The elder’s expression didn’t change. He flicked out another surge of spiritual force, driving it into Yan Ling’s brow center.
Yan Ling bit his wrist hard, his eyes nearly bloodshot with pain, yet he made no sound at all.
“What is your xiangwen?”
“…”
“What is your xiangwen?”
“…”
The elder seemed to grow tired of it. He grabbed Yan Ling by the hair and said coldly: “Spiritual-grade xiangwen are the hardest to control. If you keep refusing to say what yours is, if you suffer backlash, we won’t be able to save you.”
Yan Ling looked as though he’d just been pulled from water, forcibly kept conscious by sheer will alone, unable even to lose consciousness. His eyes were nearly obscured by sweat, yet his lips remained sealed and he didn’t utter a word.
The elder: “What is it?!”
In his ears, it seemed the piercing shriek grew louder with the elder’s waning patience—that was killing intent.
Yan Ling seemed to be collapsing under the elder’s interrogation and torture. His lips trembled slightly, as if he were about to speak.
The elder held his breath, leaning in to listen.
Finally, Yan Ling’s faint voice came through.
“Get lost.”
The elder froze. His calm expression finally shattered, and in something close to angry embarrassment, he forcefully channeled powerful spiritual force into Yan Ling’s brow center.
This time, Yan Ling didn’t even have the strength to cry out. His body trembled slightly, his pupils barely able to focus.
The elder said harshly: “Xiangwen!”
“What is your xiangwen?! Tell me!”
Yan Ling’s eyes were unfocused. He heard the violent, piercing shriek in his ears but paid no heed, feeling the pain that seemed to pulverize his entire body.
Suddenly, he murmured: “I will kill you.”
The moment the words left his lips, Yan Ling suddenly froze.
Even if the elder had the audacity to go further, he wouldn’t dare harbor killing intent toward someone with a spiritual-grade xiangwen.
So the killing intent that had been gradually escalating from the beginning… was his own?
In that instant, Yan Ling seemed to be severed from his emotions by that bone-chilling pain, as if all his seven emotions and six desires were separated from him by a layer of white gauze.
Pain, terror, caution—all negative emotions became completely under his control.
He suddenly wasn’t afraid anymore.
The violent spiritual force in the spiritual residence lasted for over half an hour before gradually stopping.
The elder came out of the spiritual residence with an expressionless face and sought out Xi Ze.
Xi Ze seemed to have confidence in this elder’s methods and casually asked: “What xiangwen is it?”
The elder hesitated for a long while before frowning: “…I couldn’t get it out of him.”
Xi Ze froze.
“Couldn’t get it?”
Everyone in the Xi family knew of this elder’s methods. Even the strongest-willed adults couldn’t stay stubborn under his interrogation for more than two quarters of an hour.
But he had been in there for half an hour.
Xi Ze and the elder locked eyes: “Did he use his xiangwen’s abilities then?”
“Perhaps he doesn’t know how to use it.” The elder said. “Maybe it really is a useless xiangwen. After all, it was catalyzed by ‘Kan Tianyan,’ not like a true Tianyan spiritual force with an overwhelming xiangwen.”
“Kan Tianyan” was ultimately just “kan”—approximation—not true Tianyan.
Xi Ze didn’t respond. After a long while, he said: “Heng, Feng, Rang, and Qu families will visit tonight. Go ask about the Medicinal Sect and Sword Sect’s intentions as well.”
Seeing him brush past this lightly, the elder frowned slightly but didn’t pursue further questions about Yan Ling’s fate. He could only ask: “What about the Sheng family?”
That child Sheng Jiao had awakened the spiritual-grade xiangwen “Kan Tiandao.” His prospects were limitless. Shouldn’t they court the Sheng family?
“Make vague excuses.” Xi Ze said. “The entire Sheng family are foolish, vicious, and short-sighted. Whether ‘Kan Tiandao’ can grow is hard to say.”
After saying this, Xi Ze suddenly froze.
He was describing the Sheng family, yet wasn’t he describing the Xi family as well?
Both were foolish and short-sighted, but he, Xi Ze, was even more vicious and ruthless than the Sheng family.
Xi Ze fell silent for a long while before, as if uncomfortable, he shifted the topic: “As for that child… if we really can’t get it out of him, then forget it. After some time, we’ll spread news that Xi Jue has awakened a spiritual-grade xiangwen. After all, that child also has spiritual-grade xiangwen energy in his body. Perfect timing for next year when Xi Jue enters Tianyan Academy—modify his memories and have him replace…”
Xi Ze’s words caught in his throat as he struggled to make the decision.
“…replace ‘Kan Tianyan’ and enter Tianyan Academy.”
He personally erased and replaced his own biological son’s name and existence.
From that point onward, the identity of “Xi Jue” was replaced by Yan Ling. His name was completely replaced by the xiangwen name “Kan Tianyan.”
From then on, Xi Jue ceased to exist in the world.
***
**
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1
Que fuerte,,,