Black-Corner Region

"The Black-Corner Region is still as chaotic as ever!"

Yun Zimo watched the several burly men up ahead who had "turned on their heels and left," and once again marveled at the region's "simple, honest folkways."

"Xia Lan was surrounded by people from the Black Skull Tomb. Most of them were killed or wounded. I think..."

Yun Zimo, who had been about to leave, suddenly froze at those words.

Xia Lan?

Wasn't that the name he had given the person he'd saved in the Black-Corner Region?

"You just said Xia Lan?"

Yun Zimo stopped the man in front of him and asked politely.

"What are you doing? You old bastard, your grandpa here— I..."

Before the man could finish, his companion's face turned pale with terror. He dropped to his knees with a thud. "S-sir, spare me!"

Dou Qi surged around Yun Zimo, his gaze utterly indifferent. There were no rules in the Black-Corner Region. Anyone who survived here was a desperate soul who lived by the blade. This was where the rule of strength truly held sway.

"Sir! Xia Lan is a small faction that only rose to prominence in the last few years. We don't know why they got on the Black Skull Tomb's bad side, but they've been hunted down for more than half a year. Those Xia Lan people are like Chongming Birds that can't be killed. Wipe out one batch, and another appears. Every time, they deal the Black Skull Tomb a serious blow. By now, it's a fight to the death!"

Yun Zimo waved a hand. The man and his companion bowed in relief, then fled as fast as they could, afraid the Dou Wang might suddenly change his mind.

"Northeast. The Black Skull Tomb!"

Yun Zimo stepped into the air and sped northeast. With a wave, a man-high cloud of mist appeared before him. As he shot through it, his appearance changed completely.

A bamboo hat shaded his face, a mask covered it, and he wore a black outfit with a long sword at his waist. His Xia Lan cloak snapped in the wind...

"Brothers, hold on a little longer! Reinforcements—reinforcements are almost here!"

The blood-soaked young man in blue knelt on one knee. Though blood spilled from his mouth, he still shouted to the others.

"Ren Xia! Give up. You're only a Dou Ling, and you've already held out against us longer than anyone could expect. There's no way you'll escape. We've spent nearly half a year preparing for this hunt! Hahaha!"

Ren Xia looked up at the two Dou Wang in the sky, their faces full of mockery, and his expression darkened. Had Xia Lan been betrayed?

"We fight for chivalry, and we'd die nine times without regret!"

Ren Xia roared, and the aura around him suddenly began to surge!

"We fight to the death!"

His cry seemed to rouse everyone trapped in the encirclement. They roared and followed Ren Xia as he charged for a way out.

"Stubborn fool!"

The bald Dou Wang's smile turned cold. He clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground.

"Yellow-Rank Low-Level Dou Technique—Mountain-Shaking Fist!"

Dark yellow Dou Qi gathered over his fist. Cracks spread across the earth beneath them, and whole sections of the ground collapsed. Several weaker Xia Lan members lost their footing and plunged into the enormous pit.

"Down you go!"

The leering wind-attributed Dou Wang spoke in a shrill voice. Black-green Dou Qi enveloped him as he shot forward at incredible speed and struck the severely wounded Ren Xia, sending him into the pit.

"Ren Xia, I'll give you one last chance! Surrender, and I'll spare your life!"

"Surrender my ass! Our leader will avenge us!"

Ren Xia cursed, then burst into laughter.

"Stubborn fool! What the hell is this so-called leader—"

The bald man raised a hand, and a ring of Ghost-Faced Men carrying powerful crossbows appeared around the pit. Their rows of bolts gleamed with a cold, murderous light.

"Leader, Xia Lan... I've failed your trust..."

Ren Xia gave a bitter smile. The Dou Qi around him suddenly turned violent, and a pair of faint, illusory Dou Qi Wings began to form behind him.

A curtain of flames flared up, blocking most of the bolts. Ren Xia shot into the sky, his Dou Qi wild and razor-sharp as his body rapidly swelled.

"Shit! He's going to blow himself up!"

The wind-attributed Dou Wang fled more than ten meters in an instant and shouted. Even as he yelled, he continued to retreat at full speed.

A Peak Dou Ling's self-destruction was no joke. Even they, as Dou Wang, wouldn't dare withstand the blast at its center.

"Whoosh!"

A black figure swept past the panicked crowd and reached the air in the blink of an eye. One finger jabbed into Ren Xia's chest, followed by several more, sealing key points around his body. Ren Xia instantly deflated like a punctured balloon. But the surging blood and Dou Qi inside him forced a mouthful of blood from his lips, while several bloody holes burst open across his back.

"L-Leader!"

In the last moment before he lost consciousness, Ren Xia seemed to see the mask he had missed countless times...

After handing Ren Xia over to the people at the bottom of the pit, Yun Zimo leaped back to the rim. When he saw the Ghost-Faced Men of the Black Skull Tomb cautiously approaching, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly beneath his mask.

He flashed in front of the bald Dou Wang, who stood ready for battle, and leaped into the air, driving a heavy punch into his earthen-yellow shield.

Yun Zimo stood at an angle, his black robe fluttering slightly. The bald Dou Wang's armor cracked, and he was sent flying hundreds of meters like a cannonball. A deep furrow gouged the earth.

"Dou... Pfft! How... could this be?!"

The bald man struggled to his feet, but Yun Zimo was already before him again. A punch struck his right eye. Even a Dou Wang's body had been reinforced to a formidable degree, yet Yun Zimo's blow split the corner of his eye and filled his vision with blood. He collapsed with a scream.

"Kill those Xia Lan!"

The wind-attributed Dou Wang shrieked as he came to his senses. He spread his Dou Qi Wings and shot skyward—but not to chase Yun Zimo. He fled into the distance instead.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Yun Zimo moved like Qing Feng among the Ghost-Faced Men. A single breath later, he shot into the sky with a bloodied long sword in hand.

The bald Dou Wang saw afterimages everywhere. The bodies on the ground, still writhing, looked like shrieking demons.

"Damn it! I'll fight you to the death!"

Hearing the rush of air drawing closer behind him, the wind-attributed Dou Wang produced two spikes and abruptly turned, crossing them to block Yun Zimo's sword.

"Ah!"

The spikes flew from his hands. The wind-attributed Dou Wang stared in horror as he realized his opponent seemed to possess endless strength. When the sword thrust straight for his chest, he knocked it aside with his arm. It grazed his chest, and he immediately sped up to escape.

"Wind Whisper Arrow!"

Seeing the Dou Wang, who was flying erratically, already far away, Yun Zimo didn't pursue. He lightly clenched his left hand, and a long, azure bow appeared in his palm.

Three spiraling arrows of wind tore through the air and reached the wind-attributed Dou Wang in an instant.

"Damn it! What kind of monster is this?!"

He forced himself to twist aside. The arrows aimed at his heart and head pierced his shoulder and left chest, while the third was impossible to dodge, so he let it lodge in his thigh.

"No!"

A blade-like whirlwind suddenly burst open. The wind-attributed Dou Wang's soul nearly left his body, but the gale had already torn apart the left side of his body. Agony struck, and he almost lost control of his Dou Qi Wings.

"Do you think you can escape?"

A calm, icy voice sounded beside the wind-attributed Dou Wang's ear. A sword flashed through his vision. The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him was a dark-red Ghost-Faced mask...

"Ah!"

Back on the ground, Yun Zimo saw the bald Dou Wang still struggling against the air. He glanced at the chaotic earth, as if it had been plowed over.

He shook his head and snapped his fingers. The Wind-and-Cloud Dou Qi left in the bald man's mind exploded. His body jerked, then he collapsed with blood pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

"Welcome back, Leader!"

In the depths of the Black-Corner Region, new buildings stood before a mountain cliff. A plaque above them bore the words:

"Jiuling Palace..."

Yun Zimo stood before Jiuling Palace, gazing at the plaque as he softly read its name.

Beside him, Ren Xia, wrapped from head to toe in bandages, cried out and bowed respectfully.

The surviving members of Xia Lan then escorted Yun Zimo into the palace and seated him in the place of honor. Ren Xia stood beside him, no longer showing any of the fierce, resolute spirit he'd displayed while preparing to blow himself up.

"I never thought you'd turn Xia Lan into an organization!"

Yun Zimo's voice was low, but filled with surprise and praise.

Ren Xia gave a bashful smile, then began telling Yun Zimo the story of how Xia Lan had grown.

Back then, after Yun Zimo had caused a great stir in the Black-Corner Region and killed Blood Butcher, the sole surviving orphan of Blood Butcher's massacre had knelt outside the place where Yun Zimo was staying for three whole days.

"I don't take disciples. Go on your way!"

Though the orphan had tried everything to please him, whether kneeling outside his door or serving him hand and foot, Yun Zimo had no intention of taking him as a disciple.

But for some reason, the kid insisted on serving Yun Zimo as a disciple for an entire month.

Perhaps Yun Zimo had been moved. Or perhaps it was the boy's innocent ideals, revealed in an offhand remark. Though Yun Zimo hadn't taken him as a disciple, he had taught him a few things.

"A chivalrous hero upholds justice. I grant you the name Xia Lan, in the hope that you'll always remember the meaning of chivalry. May your heart be like clouds and mountain mists, untempted by worldly gain..."

Back then, Yun Zimo had still been full of fantasies about the world, and he'd been rather embarrassingly chuunibyou. He had given Ren Xia the name Xia Lan, then, on a whim, told him about his own altered version of Xia Lan. He never expected Ren Xia to take his words to heart.

After Yun Zimo left the Black-Corner Region, Ren Xia held on to that glimmer of hope for the future. He searched for like-minded people until at last he founded Xia Lan with them, honoring Yun Zimo from afar as its leader...

"Then how am I supposed to find you in the future?!"

Back then, Ren Xia had watched Yun Zimo's figure recede and couldn't help shouting after him. But Yun Zimo had only waved a hand, his silhouette gradually disappearing from Ren Xia's sight...

Yun Zimo sighed softly. He hadn't expected one thoughtless decision of his to change another person's life.

"You gave us ideals and hope. You helped us understand that in this world where people devour one another, there were others seeking the future alongside us. Without you, perhaps we would have sunk beneath the waves and vanished from this world long ago..."

Ren Xia and the several Dou Ling seated below him looked like devout followers. They always gave Yun Zimo the strange impression that he was some sort of archbishop...

"Leader! The Black Skull Tomb Master is here with his men!"

Several days later, inside Jiuling Palace, a Da Dou Shi dressed in pitch-black clothes, a circle painted between his brows, hurried in to report.

Hearing the news, Yun Zimo gave a small nod, just as expected. Ren Xia and the other senior members beside him remained calm, but flames gradually kindled in their eyes.

"They're finally here?"

After killing two Dou Wang from the Black Skull Tomb, Yun Zimo had spent the last few days waiting for their revenge, but nothing had happened.

Now that they'd dared to come, they must have investigated and discovered he was their only Dou Wang. Their confidence had soared, and they'd come seeking revenge!

"Ren Xia! Get your ass out here!"

"You dare kill our people, but you're too scared to face me?"

"And that helper of yours..."

"..."

Hearing the Ghost-Faced Men of the Black Skull Tomb cursing outside the mountain gate, Ren Xia and the other senior members could hardly hold back from going out. But Yun Zimo sat silently with his eyes closed, so they had no choice but to remain where they were, fidgeting with impatience.

At last, Yun Zimo slowly opened his eyes and let out a soft breath. He looked at the people below, who had been on the verge of losing their patience for a while, and smiled.

"Come on. Let's see what skills this Black Skull Tomb, which spends every day in the company of the dead, really has..."