A Legend with Consequences

Song Wanyan walked slowly along the road, admiring the surroundings as though she wanted to etch all this beauty into her memory.

The little courtyard behind her grew farther and farther away.

Sunlight gradually spilled over everything, and the whole town seemed to come alive. Footsteps and cries of vendors began to rise without end.

"This is the warmth and bustle of a small town."

Song Wanyan spoke with feeling. Wisps of white vapor seemed to curl around her figure, giving off an icy chill.

Yet as she walked, that icy aura suddenly began to stain with black demonic qi.

"My dear elder sister, while I was asleep, you certainly did quite a few good deeds."

"Let me see... oh, you even reminded that young man to run."

"Hehe, elder sister, you have taken all the good deeds for yourself. Even if little brother wanted to run, where could he possibly run to?"

"You want to eat him, yet you also want him to escape. Oh my, it seems this villain can only be me."

"Enough, my dear elder sister. Go to sleep... leave what comes next to me."

As she spoke, the final wisp of icy aura was completely swept up by the black demonic qi and vanished within it.

Whoosh!

Her figure rose like a black demonic lotus, speeding toward the Qin Residence.

The people along the way, the townsfolk on the streets, seemed utterly unaware. They turned a blind eye to the stunning beauty of this woman wreathed in demonic qi.

At that moment, within a simple wooden house in the courtyard of the Huang Family Martial Hall.

Hall Master Huang sat calmly in the seat of honor, listening to Senior Brother Tao's report.

When Senior Brother Tao finished speaking, he nodded slightly.

"So, this young man named Lin Xiaoyu does have some talent... You have said so much because you want the martial hall to waive his tuition."

Senior Brother Tao lowered his head slightly.

"Master, I know this is somewhat inappropriate. At the time, Young Master Qin only gave five taels of silver."

"He said he would provide the remaining twenty taels later, but once the Qin Household comes to its senses, they surely will not continue this nonsense."

Hall Master Huang smiled faintly.

"Of course they will not give any more. This is not a matter of money, but a matter of face."

"Still, the martial hall has its rules. We cannot make exceptions lightly. If he truly is talented, that would be another matter."

Delight appeared on Senior Brother Tao's face.

"Master, you mean..."

Hall Master Huang shook his head.

"Unless he reaches External Force, this exception cannot be made."

Senior Brother Tao sighed and said no more.

Suddenly, Hall Master Huang froze. With a whoosh, he became a streak of light.

The door flew open in an instant, and he had already darted outside.

Senior Brother Tao was somewhat stunned. Why had Master suddenly rushed out?

After a brief daze, he reacted as well and ran outside.

Hall Master Huang stood atop the eaves of a tall building in the courtyard. His gaze was sharp as torches as he stared into the distance, a strange look in his eyes.

There was nothing there. Why was his heart palpitating, as if something terrible was about to happen?

"Master, has something happened?"

Senior Brother Tao rushed outside after him. Seeing his master lost in thought for so long, he could not help asking.

"Disciple, it is nothing. Perhaps I have been overworked lately and my mind is a little unsettled."

Senior Brother Tao was startled.

"What could possibly happen in this town that would make Master uneasy?"

Hall Master Huang looked at his disciple and smiled.

"Hehe, it has nothing to do with you. Once you reach Internal Force, there are some things you will naturally come to understand."

These words stirred Senior Brother Tao's curiosity.

Seeing his expression, Hall Master Huang gave a hearty chuckle.

"A rather mysterious Internal Force expert has died."

"Ah!" Senior Brother Tao was shocked and did not ask any further questions.

The two returned to the room.

Just after they left, black demonic qi drifted through the direction Hall Master Huang had been staring at. Song Wanyan glanced toward the martial hall.

"How interesting. Such a minor Internal Force practitioner can sense something in advance."

"It seems the Martial Dao is not completely worthless. Unfortunately, you still cannot see me."

With that, she continued flying toward the Qin Residence.

After Senior Brother Tao reported on the conditions of the other disciples, he headed toward the outer courtyard.

He could not help recalling the words his master had revealed.

There were only so many Internal Force experts in the entire town. The death of one was such a major event that it would surely have tremendous consequences.

Yet every force in town remained as before, calm and unruffled.

That meant the one who had died was likely an extremely ancient senior whom someone at his level did not know.

He then shook his head and stopped dwelling on the matter.

Internal Force was still far too distant from him.

After instructing his junior brothers and sisters in their cultivation for a while, he saw Lin Xiaotian arrive belatedly.

"Junior Brother Lin, why are you so late today? You have missed the Martial Dao instruction."

Lin Xiaotian cupped his fists.

"My apologies, Senior Brother. I was too excited after passing the assessment yesterday, and my nerves had been tightly strung these past few days."

"Once I finally relaxed, I unexpectedly overslept."

Senior Brother Tao burst out laughing.

"Junior Brother Lin, you truly are an amusing fellow. Even your words are so witty."

"You must not do this again. You have only just entered Initiation. Master may not watch openly, but he might secretly cast an eye over us from time to time."

"With our level of skill, even if he stood right behind us, we would not notice."

"Unless something truly important comes up in the future, it is best to behave yourselves honestly and leave Master with a good impression."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

"Come with me. First, collect a cultivation manual, the Eight Extremes Mountain-Shattering Force. In theory, this technique can be cultivated all the way to Hidden Force."

Lin Xiaotian's heart stirred, and he asked.

"Senior Brother Tao, I remember you once said that this town only has experts up to Internal Force."

Senior Brother Tao grinned.

"Junior Brother Lin, you remembered that. Correct, the town has experts only up to Internal Force. Not a single person has reached Hidden Force."

"When you reach Internal Force, you will understand. As for reaching Hidden Force... sigh... you can experience that for yourself later. After all, I am not even at Internal Force yet."

Lin Xiaotian glanced sideways at him.

"Senior Brother is not even at Internal Force?"

Senior Brother Tao laughed loudly.

"Thank you for the compliment, Junior Brother. You have seen these past few days how many people are capable of cultivating martial arts."

"Out of sixty or seventy people, only the four of you made it through. In past years, there were even fewer."

"The proportion that reaches External Force is lower still. Then from External Force to Internal Force—look at our town, there are only the eight great households."

"As for those who hide themselves away, they can almost be ignored. It is only because the previous generation stepped down and withdrew from worldly affairs that they were gradually forgotten..."

At this point, Senior Brother Tao paused, as though he had thought of something.

"Senior Brother Tao, is something wrong?" Lin Xiaotian could not help asking when he saw this.

Senior Brother Tao came back to himself and hesitated.

"It is nothing. I simply remembered an old senior. That man was truly an expert; even our master was no match for him."

"Someone stronger than Master?" Lin Xiaotian's curiosity was piqued.

"Yes." Senior Brother Tao nodded. "However, there has been no news of him for a long time. He may already be dead."

"It is said that he stepped down so early because he seemed to have found a path to Hidden Force..."

For no reason at all, Lin Xiaotian suddenly thought of the person who had abducted him into the world within the rift, and who should have died afterward.

"What was his name?"

Senior Brother Tao paused. "Junior Brother, you are really interested. These are all matters from the older generation. I only know that he seemed to be from the Ouyang Household. I know nothing else."

"Ouyang Household... Ouyang." Lin Xiaotian silently repeated the name in his heart.

If nothing unexpected happened, once the Ouyang Household discovered that man's death, they would inevitably trace it back to him in the end.

Lin Xiaotian shook his head helplessly. For no reason, another layer of pressure had settled onto him.