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Chapter 186 - The Unspoken Hurt (IV)

"You can't, brother! Father will get mad!" a young boy cried out, trying desperately to stop the older one from sneaking out.

Past the window was a dark night, ashen clouds cloaking even the faint few scatterings of the moonlight.

"Let me go!" the older boy yanked himself free as the younger fell down. "And if you say anything, I will feed you ants until your head explodes, you hear me?!"

It was the fourth night in a row that the older boy snuck out--the last time father ...

Chapter 185 - The Unspoken Hurt (III)

I don't know how much impact my 'spirited' little monologue had, but even if it was just barely enough to plant a seed of doubt... I'd consider it a success. Though it's gotten much easier to navigate the sensibilities of this world, parts of me still cling to that old reality of life back on Earth.

Especially because I was never really a violent person, per se--I mean, I dealt with some major anger back in the teenagerhood, but that mostly manifested itself as me being kind of a prick...

Chapter 184 - The Unspoken Hurt (II)

Rayce ran through the steep slide and through the thick garden of trees, his forehead glistening with sweat. It was as though there were ghosts chasing him, as he never seemed to slow down until he finally reached the split in the 'path', taking a sharp right for about half a mile and coming upon a maw in the mountain.

It was rather inconspicuous--no different than any other maw that lead to a cave--yet he could recognize it through the invisible specks of mana littering the outer edge ...

Chapter 183 - The Unspoken Hurt (I)

So, what's the plan?

Ah, silly me, like I have someone to ask this question.

Well, I did ask it--to Long Tao--but he simply shrugged and left it off with, 'I trust you, Master'. Which, if true, is an extremely empowering thought; but because it's not, it's extremely frustrating.

What was the plan?

Well, I have now narrowed it down a bit, at least--while he would not be staying in the castle, he's likely staying somewhere near it, likely in ...

Chapter 182 - Eternal Lament (VIII)

Light returned about an hour after she left, except this time she had some random horn in her arms.

... what?

Anyway, she never bothered to explain it, walking over to Long Tao who briefly inspected her, did something with his fingers which summoned a few traces of Qi that flew over to the back of her left knee, nodded at her, she nodded at him, and then they both went their separate ways.

Wait--for the love of God, will either of you explain anything?!

Guess...

Chapter 181 - Eternal Lament (VII)

There was a rather pretty flower coming out of the ground, surrounded by snow. It was strange, how red it was against the white around it, making it stand out even more.

She crouched and tilted her head, examining it for a moment before suddenly shooting back up to her feet.

No! No distractions!

Light puffed her chest and continued walking down the road, her bright eyes examining every inch with a fading trace of curiosity.

The entire place was rundown and c...

Chapter 180 - Eternal Lament (VII)

They paused for a moment at my suggestion, though it was a bit of a stretch. If he was as paranoid as these two made him out to be, he wasn't coming out even if we burned down the entire castle.

However, there would be a reaction of some sorts, I imagine. Hope is that it'd be big enough for either me or some of the kids to notice.

"However," I added quickly. "It cannot be obvious that he was attacked. We need to make it seem as an accident." <...

Chapter 179 - Eternal Lament (V)

"His name is--was--A'tun Elkath," yeah, sure, whatever you say. "He was born with a rather rare Essence Core, though it wasn't spectacular by any means. Of his generation, he always lagged behind those at the very top, and as his Father was one of the Primes, the pressure was... immense."

"Hm."

"We know that he started experimenting when he was thirteen," okay, I asked for his appearance and how he got away--not his freakin' life story! "And escalated to his first human sacrifice...

Chapter 178 - Eternal Lament (IV)

Long Tao came back in a rather good mood.

I'm guessing.

I can't really tell, to be honest. I'm just sort of assuming since I kind of saw how he looked when he came back from someplace in a bad mood, and since he's not like that this time, he might be in a good mood.

Anyway, it was rather deep in the night by the time he returned and all the kids were far off in their cultivation dreams. Just as I thought he'd pass by me and join them, he actually sat down at the tab...

Chapter 177 - Eternal Lament (III)

Long Tao stepped out and blended into the castle's drab gray colors, vanishing as though he were never there.

The sky above couldn't even really be seen as there was still about two thousand feet or so of the mountain, and they were directly in the haze of the clouds. As such, though the air was clearer, it was also slightly harder to breathe--not by much, perhaps to the kids not even a noticeable amount, but to him, every change was... visible.

As soon as he entered the tiny li...

Chapter 176 - Eternal Lament (II)

Who was Lilia?

Honestly, even after mingling around for about half an hour, I still got no clue. All I can say is that she's very liked, and that she was thought of as dead.

Instead, though, she came back--with two massive bear carcasses in tow. Like, honestly, if a bear like that appeared on Earth, there'd 100% be people claiming that aliens are invading and using the proto-species of massive bears to do it.

I exaggerate for effect, but they really were ...

Chapter 175 - Eternal Lament (I)

Was I going to give Xi Zhao the art?

Probably.

Will I any time soon?

Hell no.

Not because of him, actually. I decided to take Long Tao's words to heart and accept that I just may have an idea of what I'm doing, and thus I concluded that the art fit Xi Zhao perfectly fine.

So, why wasn't I handing it over like birthday cake?

Dai Xiu.

That's it.

I'm pretty sure the poor kid would go absolutely berserk (either with rage or sorrow) if I han...

Chapter 174 - Single Severance (II)

[Congratulations, Host, on creating 'Single Severance' Sword Art]

... dammit. Do I have to surrender and admit that the system has a better naming sense than me?

No. Never

Never.

[...]

[Single Severance]

[Type: Sword Art]

[Rank: middle-Jade tear]

[Host Comprehension: None (Fails to meet minimum requirements)]

[...]

[Throughout history, there have always been those bewitched by the concept of singularity of the sword, the ul...

Chapter 173 - Single Severance (I)

Rather than spending the night restlessly wrecking my mind with potential solution to our little 'is-it-a-vampire-problem', I chose to fiddle with the system a bit and create Xi Zhao's unique little art.

Ever since his breaking through as well as seeing him utilize Art of Surviving, I had a few fancy ideas on how to truly make him into a one-shot monster. Isn't that the point, anyway? The faster you win, the fewer the chances of you losing.

This will make him a bit weak...

Chapter 172 - Ways of the Wild (IV)

The inside of the barracks was actually much better than the somewhat rundown exterior--the central hall housed six wooden tables, each with long benches at the sides with some kind of fur as cushioning. Additionally, columns holding up the upper floor each had either a torch or a lantern lit up, making it rather bright.

Beyond the tables, pressed into the central chimney that swept through the entire building, was a massive hearth--arched, wide, and tall, the crackling of the fire coul...

Chapter 171 - Ways of the Wild (III)

I can see it!

The first sign of human civilization in almost a month! There it is, just about a hundred yards up, pressed into the side of a mountain and built atop a rather wide and broad plateau.

Those beautiful, aged, cracked walls of cinder, and those towering spires jutting beyond it, and the billows of smoke from the ashen chimneys... aah, people! Civilization! It's like finding an oasis after wandering the desert for six decades...

We hurried up, everyone far too anx...

Chapter 170 - Ways of the Wild (II)

Rayce ran back inside the cave, his breathing ragged and quick, heart all but leaping out his chest. Snapping his fingers, the massive boulder at the entrance shook and trembled for a moment before rolling over, closing the gaping hole and turning the tunnel dark.

Yet another snap of the fingers suddenly sprung the light along the walls where circles and lines within them began to wiggle like worms.

After catching his breath for a moment, he walked along the tunnel's walls and dee...

Chapter 169 - Ways of the Wild (I)

Ignoring Light's odd (but expected, I suppose) reaction, my attention was drawn to the figure that just landed--not only because of the spectacular entrance, but also because of the clothes.

They were red.

And not, like, stained with blood red, no--but like those aggressively red dresses that actresses would wear occasionally. And that wasn't all--across the surface of the robes, strange patterns pulsated like heartbeats, almost. Circles with a web of ...

Chapter 168 - Eternal Range (X)

We reached the base of the mountain at around 3, per my estimates. There wasn't a 'clock', as it were, in this world, but there was timekeeping, just that it wasn't particularly precise. They simply called the range between about 2 and 5 'post-midday', and... well, I kind of like it.

Can you imagine the hell back on Earth if we just vaguely defined time periods and tried to function that way?

Sheesh.

Anyway, one thing immediately stood out--and has been standing ou...

Chapter 167 - Eternal Range (IX)

It could also be that I'm thinking out my ass and that it's just 'system magic'. No, really. My understanding of kinetic energies and whatnot is not good. I might even be misremembering how microwaves work, though I don't think I am. Why am I so sure? Because I developed a bit of a cancer-paranoia in my teenage years about microwaves and learned them inside and out.

For the ovens and other crap? Yeah, I could totally be misremembering.

Regardless, whatever the reason, my ...

Chapter 166 - Eternal Range (VIII)

We left the inn right after a rather dull and dry breakfast which consisted of a lukewarm porridge with rice and a glass of water that I did not dare drink since it looked like something corpses lived in.

We were escorted with no fanfare and many, many, and I mean many eyes distinctly following us from the shadow. Honestly, it was kind of a miracle that we walked for about half an hour before the first group intersected us.

"Halt! Give us your valuables--"

...

Chapter 165 - Eternal Range (VII)

Huh.

That was...

Well, the lamest way to put it is: it was unexpected. So, so unexpected that I nearly just dismissed the window because I thought there'd be no extra rewards. But, instead, for this dumbass art that I created purely out of selfishness for a life I lost... I got an extra use of Tortoise Mirror? My best-in-slot (currently) item that already saved my ass once and I was reluctant to use it again because there could always be a worse situation?

Huh.

Chapter 164 - Eternal Range (VI)

Before the night was over, I promised myself I'd make a rather specific art.

Okay, I need to back up a bit.

In my one year in this world, I learned many, many things, but one stood above them all: modern comforts are... dearly missed. It's not just about controlling body temperature--I actually figured out how to do that, marginally, but you still feel the temperature... it's just that your body isn't particularly bothered by it.

Mentally, though, ...

Chapter 163 - Eternal Range (V)

It was about ten days after Xi Zhao broke through, and once we finally dislodged ourself of a rather hilly terrain that I saw them--the mountains.

Honestly, they looked more like a wall since more than half of them were covered in a thick layer of mist and haze. Nonetheless, at the very least we can finally see them--even if we're still roughly a week away from their base.

Accordingly, the more north we travelled, the chillier the weather got.

These past two days, in fact, w...

Chapter 162 - Eternal Range (IV)

Xi Zhao took about as long as Dai Xiu did to break through, and caused a relatively same phenomenon.

Swirls of Qi coalesced into a visible spectrum of misty-like colors, and they all slowly drifted closer and closer to until they burst into a pillar of colors that was quickly suffocated by the formation Long Tao set up.

As he settled on the ground from floating up, the familiar windows showed up--except, this time, there was no ability to choose.

It was still a rather thick ...

Chapter 161 - Eternal Range (III)

Long Tao paused, his brows furrowing into a point.

Something felt... off.

He was extremely familiar with every aspect of his own cultivation--down to the last tiny mote of Qi he absorbed. As such, he knew perfectly well how quick (or, rather, slow per his own standards) his cultivation was.

Suddenly, however, it was faster.

And not by a small amount that could be waved off by natural fluctuations of Qi, no. It was by an extremely noticeable amount, the kind th...

Chapter 160 - Eternal Range (II)

It's now been almost a year since I've come to this world.

No, seriously.

A freakin' year.

I can't believe it. Not in the slightest. Not just that I've come here, that's for sure, but that I survived all this while. And as though to celebrate the anniversary, Dai Xiu decided to give me a present--her breaking through into the Foundation Establishment.

As I had dozens of herbs stashed away to help with this exact thing, I've handed her like six, in addition to over five...

Chapter 159 - Eternal Range (I)

I woke up rather well rested.

In fact, it was kind of surprising how well rested I was. Usually, I never really got a full night's rest; I don't like to brag but this stupid brain of mine doesn't really know how to 'turn off'. So, it concocts all these scenarios, puts them into a nightmare, and lo and behold, I'm waking up at 3:37AM, coated in sweat.

Anyway, the point is that I slept well.

The good day was ruined quickly, however, by two revelations--all pe...

Chapter 158 - Sages of the Abyss (II)

Long Tao dragged the man's unconscious body away from the village and to the nearby hill. Just as he tossed him on the ground, the man awoke, coughing and trying to free himself of restraints to no avail.

At the same time, Long Tao started a small fire, isolating all light and sound with a temporary array he'd quickly fixed up using only Qi. It could be seen by practically anyone with any talent, but for this purpose, it would do just fine.

As the fire began to roar, he extended h...

Chapter 157 - Sages of the Abyss (I)

The poor thing conked out within a minute of crying so loudly that my eardrums burst. Before long, she was happily snoring as I picked her up.

The 'world', if you could even call it that, around us began to rapidly dissolve, like colors smeared across the canvas by water. Within moments, we were back in the orchard, though... it was different.

The strange, misty haze seemed to have been lifted, with colors suddenly bursting as though someone finally undid the 'desaturate' filter t...