Separation

Xue Ying held his younger brother nearby, feeling both tense and astonished. Was this gray-robed young man his mother's older brother?

"Brother, it's been so many years." Moyang Yu smiled. "I'm so happy to see you again. You've reached the Star-Rank? You're a Silver Moon Mage now?"

"Mm." The gray-robed young man nodded.

The Star-Rank for mages was likewise divided into three major levels: Meteor, Silver Moon, and Title.

This gray-robed young man was indeed a Silver Moon Mage.

Even within the clan, he held a rather high status.

"To become a Silver Moon Mage through your own efforts—you must rank among the top three of the clan's younger generation," Moyang Yu said enviously. "When you become a Title-level Grand Mage, you'll be truly remarkable."

"To this day, our clan still hasn't produced a Title-level Grand Mage. Reaching the Title level is incredibly difficult," the gray-robed young man sighed.

The Title level...

It meant having a unique title throughout the entire Longshan Empire! Such an existence was unquestionably worthy of respect, a terrifying being who had reached the pinnacle of mortal life! One step further, and they would become a transcendent life-form.

This Silver Moon Mage seemed formidable, capable of easily destroying an army. But in the presence of a Title-level being... he might not even be able to cast a spell.

"You violated the clan laws. You should know that our clan has endured for over a thousand years because of them!" the gray-robed young man said. "Without rules, even the most prosperous clan will eventually fall. Our clan has known hard times, but now it has prospered again. That's thanks to our clan laws. And anyone who breaks them must be punished."

"Tell me your choice," the gray-robed young man said.

The atmosphere immediately grew tense. Dongbo Lie, the Lion-Man, and Xue Ying, holding his younger brother, were all extremely nervous.

"I'm a noble, and the Empire's laws protect me! You can't defy the Empire's laws and take us away. You may be powerful, but if you violate the Empire's laws... you'll die too." Moyang Yu stared at her older brother.

"A noble?"

The gray-robed young man shook his head. "You still won't give up until the very end, will you? Don't bother looking. I really did bring a decree this time."

Moyang Yu, Dongbo Lie, and the Lion-Man all turned pale.

The gray-robed young man held out his right hand. A golden scroll appeared in it out of thin air. As he unrolled it, a mysterious power spread through the area. Xue Ying, holding his younger brother, felt it too. It was an unfathomable, transcendent force, and he couldn't help but feel awe.

"By Imperial decree and the Moyang Clan's decree, clan member Moyang Yu is sentenced to one hundred years of confinement! Baron Dongbo Lie is sentenced to one hundred years of hard labor! Executioner: Mo Yangchen!" The gray-robed young man's voice rang through the castle.

Dongbo Lie and Moyang Yu exchanged a glance, a hint of relief in their eyes.

"One hundred years of confinement? One hundred years of hard labor? That's too long, far too long!" The Lion-Man nearby grew frantic. "A normal person only lives about a hundred years. Even reaching the Star-Rank only gives you a little over a hundred years. They're already this old. After another hundred years in confinement and hard labor... won't they be confined until they die and worked until they die?"

"No, Uncle! You're the executioner. Save my parents, please!" Xue Ying cried, still holding his younger brother.

The word "Uncle" made the gray-robed young man's body shudder.

"I can't save them. No one can. The Moyang Clan's laws are strict. No amount of pleading will help." The gray-robed young man shook his head.

"Waaah, waaah..." His little brother, Qing Shi, was crying in his arms. Qing Shi was only two and didn't really understand what was happening, but he could sense the atmosphere around him.

Xue Ying wanted to cry too.

But he was even more frantic. He was already eight and understood a lot. A hundred years of confinement for his mother and a hundred years of hard labor for his father meant they would be punished until the day they died! His parents—his most important family!

"Please save my parents. Please save them." Tears welled in Xue Ying's eyes. "Uncle, there must be a way. You have to know a way."

"Xue Ying, don't cry. Shi Tou, you shouldn't cry either." Moyang Yu came over, crouched, and embraced her two sons. She turned to the gray-robed man. "Give Dongbo and me a little time, please?"

"All right." The gray-robed young man nodded.

On an unnamed mountain in Snow Eagle Territory stood a wooden hut.

Thud, thud, thud...

The mountain path shook.

The Lion-Man named Tong San was anxiously riding a Frost-Flying Magic Beast Colt. The Frost-Flying Colt was extremely fast, and he had left without armor this time. He had reached the mountaintop from Snow Stone Castle in barely the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

"Zong Ling! Zong Ling!" The Lion-Man's booming voice rang out urgently from far away.

The wooden hut's door opened.

A silver-haired man in a black robe stood there. The robe wrapped around his body, but a blue serpent's tail—nearly two meters long and as thick as an ordinary person's thigh—protruded from beneath it. The impossible-to-hide tail revealed his identity: he was a Snake-Man of the Beastmen. And since his face was humanlike, he was clearly from the most precious royal bloodline among Snake-Men—the Six-Armed Snake Demon!

Because he had six arms, he usually wore a black robe, not wanting people to stare at them.

"Tong San, what is it?" Zong Ling asked.

"The master's family finally tracked her down, and they've brought a decree!" Tong San the Lion-Man was nearly in tears. "You're the smartest of us. Hurry and think of something!"

Zong Ling's body shuddered, and he shook his head slightly. "The Moyang Clan has already invoked a decree. No one can save them. Unless they become the legendary transcendent beings, the Moyang Clan won't release Dongbo and A Yu."

"Then... then there really is nothing we can do?" Tong San was heartbroken.

He couldn't forget.

In his darkest, most painful days, that young girl had played with him. Year after year, even when she eventually fled the Moyang Clan, he had followed her loyally without hesitation. He had risked his life countless times. In his heart, his master mattered even more than his own life!

"There's nothing we can do. Did A Yu ask you to come?" Zong Ling asked.

"Yes. The master told me to bring you over," Tong San replied.

"Let's go. We should at least see them one last time." Beneath his black robe, Zong Ling clenched his fists so tightly that his sharp nails pierced his palms. Dongbo and A Yu were both companions who had faced life and death alongside him countless times. How could he not feel frantic and outraged? But there was nothing he could do. And by nature, he disliked showing his emotions, so he was almost always calm.

"Let's go."

There was another Frost-Flying Magic Beast Colt beside the wooden hut. Zong Ling and Tong San immediately mounted and rode swiftly toward the castle.

Inside Snow Stone Castle.

Dongbo Lie and his wife were giving their son Xue Ying their final instructions.

"Xue Ying, this pendant is a Storage Pendant. It contains its own storage space and is extremely rare and precious. It's worth as much as all of Snow Eagle Territory." Moyang Yu took the pendant from around her neck. "From today on, it's yours. Keep it secret. Apart from Uncle Tong San and Uncle Zong, don't tell anyone—not even your younger brother. He's still a child and can't keep his mouth shut. He might accidentally let it slip."

A territory couldn't be taken away; it was right there for all to see.

But if word got out about a Storage Pendant, it would easily be stolen.

"Mother, keep it with you," Xue Ying said quickly.

"If your father and I are taken away, they'll search us and confiscate our treasures." Moyang Yu lightly pricked Xue Ying's finger, drawing a drop of blood. She silently recited an incantation. Soon, the drop of blood formed a magical pattern and imprinted itself on the pendant. Xue Ying immediately sensed a mental connection to the inside of it.

Inside the pendant were some materials, coins, and scrolls.

"I put the castle's most important treasures inside. Oh, right, your father has another treasure." Moyang Yu looked at her husband beside her.

Dongbo Lie took a golden book from his robes.

The entire book was made of gold leaf. Gold could endure for ages without deteriorating, so only extremely precious books were made of it.

"This is a spear manual left behind by a transcendent being," Dongbo Lie said with a smile. "The fundamentals I taught you came from this manual, too! Those ancient, great noble families all have three or four manuals left behind by transcendent beings. Our family doesn't have many—just this one, and it's only a spear manual. That's why I taught you the spear from a young age. Study it well, and remember not to reveal it. Don't tell anyone except Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong San... Haha, they were there when we obtained this manual."

"Mm." Xue Ying took the golden book and immediately felt a strange power emanating from it. Then, with a thought, he stored it in the Storage Pendant.

"Let's go outside and wait for Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong San."

Dongbo Lie and Moyang Yu waited in the hall with Xue Ying and Qing Shi. Soon, two figures rushed in.

It was Tong San and Zong Ling.

"Dongbo, A Yu..." Zong Ling started to speak, then fell silent.

"Before we leave, I'll have to trouble you two." Moyang Yu smiled. "Tong San is a rough sort, and he can't manage the entire territory. So the territory will have to rely on you, Zong Ling. You'll also have to teach Xue Ying and his little brother."

"Don't worry." Zong Ling nodded. "Leave it to me."

"Xue Ying, remember, the affairs of the entire territory are in Uncle Zong's hands. You can officially take charge when you're eighteen." Moyang Yu looked at her son, worried that without anyone to support them, the two boys would soon be swallowed up by outsiders.

"Mm." Xue Ying held his younger brother.

Qing Shi huddled in his older brother's arms. He wasn't sad anymore, but he was a little scared. He was afraid of Zong Ling and Tong San.

After all, he was only two, and the Lion-Man with his lion's head and Zong Ling with his serpent's tail frightened him.

"Mother, tell me where the Moyang Clan is. How can I save you?" Xue Ying couldn't help asking anxiously.

"Save us?"

Moyang Yu and Dongbo Lie exchanged a glance.

"Don't dwell on this. Just live your lives well, understand? As long as you two brothers are doing well, your father and I will be happy." Moyang Yu spoke gently. Save them? The Moyang Clan's laws were so strict. To make the clan break its own laws and release them, their son would probably have to become a transcendent being. Their son becoming one? They couldn't even imagine it.

"Tell me how I can do it. There has to be a way," Xue Ying said anxiously.

"When you obtain the Black Iron Token from Dragon Mountain Tower, I'll tell you everything that happened. Then you'll know how to save us," Zong Ling said from beside them.

Moyang Yu and Dongbo Lie turned to look at Zong Ling, startled.

"Let the boy have a little hope," Zong Ling said.

Dongbo Lie heard him and nodded. Xue Ying was already eight, and he had been clever from a young age. He wouldn't forget what had happened. Perhaps it was better to give him a goal. Dongbo Lie immediately said, "That's right. Once you obtain the Black Iron Token from Dragon Mountain Tower, Uncle Zong will tell you everything!"

"The Black Iron Token from Dragon Mountain Tower?" Xue Ying committed the words to memory.

Late that night.

The drawbridge of Snow Stone Castle was lowered.

The silver-armored man and the gray-robed young man stood outside the castle. Dongbo Lie and his wife were saying goodbye to their sons.

"Xue Ying, take good care of your little brother, understand?" Moyang Yu urged him.

"Mm." Xue Ying nodded. His eyes were red, and tears streamed down his face.

"Waaah, waaah..." Xue Ying held his younger brother's hand, but Qing Shi suddenly burst into tears.

Moyang Yu couldn't help crouching down to embrace her two sons. She kissed them both, while Dongbo Lie stood silently beside them, his eyes wet too.

"Let's go." Moyang Yu steeled herself and walked with her husband toward the gray-robed young man in the distance.

As they walked, they couldn't help looking back.

"Waaah! Don't go, don't go, don't go!" Qing Shi cried.

Holding his little brother's hand, Xue Ying wept too. He cried out, "Father, Mother, I, Dongbo Xue Ying, swear... I'll bring you back! Our family will be together again, I swear!"

"I swear!"

"I swear I'll save you! No one can stop me!"

Xue Ying's cries echoed through the silent night.

Moyang Yu covered her mouth and wept. Dongbo Lie's body trembled as they climbed onto the back of the Four-Winged Vulture.

"Let's go." The gray-robed young man shook his head softly.

Save them.

How? He wanted to save them too, as her older brother. But the clan laws were merciless. No amount of pleading could sway the Moyang Clan. Only a transcendent being could save them, right?

Not only had he never believed he could save them, but Dongbo Lie and Moyang Yu had never thought their son could rescue them either. It wasn't that they looked down on their child; it was just that saving them would require a transcendent being, and those were the stuff of legends.

Whoosh! The Four-Winged Vulture flapped its wings and shot into the sky.

Dongbo Lie and Moyang Yu turned to look down from the vulture's back. At the castle entrance stood their two sons, one big and one small, both so frail. Their hearts ached. How could they bear to leave their children?

Live well. Live well. Moyang Yu repeated silently. For the rest of her life, she would pray for her sons and hope they stayed safe.

Xue Ying held his little brother's hand and looked up.

The vulture flew rapidly into the distance, shrinking quickly against the night sky.

"Don't go, don't go," Qing Shi sobbed.

Dongbo Xue Ying picked up his little brother. "Shi Tou, don't cry. Father and Mother are just going away for a while. They'll be back soon, I promise."

The end.