Ch 5 - Tomb of the Kingslayer

Xu Ming felt his heart palpitating just from listening to the text being spoken. Lin Feng seemed to be in a daze, muttering to himself about something.

"Hey, Lin Feng, get a hold of yourself.", shouted Xu Ming.

But Lin Feng didn't reply, getting more engrossed in his mutterings, getting louder and louder.

Xu Ming raised his hand and was about to go nudge him when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

Swoosh

Startled, Xu Ming quickly turned back and got into a combat pose.

Then, he heard a chuckle.

"Not bad, kid. Good reflexes.", a man dressed in a very odd green silk outfit, and thin peacock feathers standing on a red band on his head looked at Xu Ming and praised.

"Don't worry about your friend, he's going through a trial right now. If you disturb him, you'll only ruin his opportunity. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Xu Ming looked at the man and apprehensively asked, "But who are you?"

"Hmm...should I tell you? Am I in such a good mood? Okay, I am. Alright, I'll tell you.", chuckled the man to himself.

"I'm the will of the scribe of the Kingslayer. This whole tomb you see here? Yeah, I made that, a long time ago. Of course, it was much better back then. But you see, time doesn't forgive many things, and I'm only grateful it has tolerated the presence of this tomb till now.", smiled the man.

"What? But isn't this tomb really old? How are you still alive?", Xu Ming asked, puzzled.

The man simply rolled his eyes and said, "Listen properly when I say something. I'm the will of the scribe, get it? The will. I died a long time time ago."

"It's not hard for people of my cultivation level to preserve some semblance of sentience from when I was alive, by storing it in a sleeping state for a few millenniums. In other words, I'm dead but a part of my intelligence lives temporarily for a short while."

The man looked at Xu Ming for a while before shaking his head.

"Bah, forget it. You wouldn't get it. Why did I waste my time explaining anyways.", the man rolled his eyes again.

"Anyways, all you need to know is that your friend here, the so called "Lin Feng" has a pure heart, and meets the qualification to take the trials made by the Kingslayer, a long time ago. If he succeeds, he will be a successor of the Kingslayer Path. If he fails, well, his opportunity comes to an end. Nothing will happen to him, don't worry.", the man slowly spoke.

Xu Ming calmed down after a bit and twitched his lips as he spoke, "Well, doesn't that mean I don't have a pure heart? Why am I not taking the trials too?"

The man was stunned and burst out laughing, "Hahaha. Good one. It's extremely rare for people to have what they call a "pure heart" so don't worry about it. Even I, as the Kingslayer's scribe, don't have it. Doesn't mean you still can't do good though."

Xu Ming nodded and asked, "Anyways, who is the...Kingslayer?"

The man didn't smile or grin this time. Looking serious for a second, he glanced at the coffin with great respect, and said, "That's the Kingslayer's coffin."

"Of course, his body isn't really here. Just his inheritance and belongings."

The man seemed to be reminiscing and spoke, "It was a long time ago, back in the days of the Ancient Era. We didn't call it that back then of course, but it's what the future generations call it. We, as humans, used to be a small tribe in the great Canglan Continent."

"We used to fight with other tribes for dominance, coexist with the dwarves and elves, clash with the barbarians and the beastfolks, and struggle with the fierce beasts. It was the Human Emperor, with his tremendous talent, that raised the status of humans to where it stands, among the top of the chain."

"Without the Human Emperor, needless to say, we would be on the same level as some minor races. It was the Human Emperor that truly gave us our place in the world. Soon after his death though, the unified Human Tribe fell apart, in a great power struggle."

The man pointed to the heads on the columns and spoke, "These Seven Kings that you see here, they're the culprits of it all. They were the kings of their respective territories, and they broke off from the common human alliance."

"And they were not good people. They abused their power, tormented other races, and made life hell under their rule, all for their own greed and power."

"The people had enough, but didn't have the power to stop them. After all, under the Human Emperor's reign, no other tribes could also stop them. But there was one man, the Human Emperor's little brother, who resolved to stop their tyranny. One after the other, the little brother risked his life to build his forces and clash with their power."

"Finally, he killed them off, one by one. The tyrannous kings, killed by the little brother of the very man who gave them that power. In his honour, we call him the Kingslayer. And me, I'm his loyal scribe. Now, any questions?", the man spoke after a pause.

Xu Ming's jaw was wide open at this point.

Xu Ming didn't quite know what to reply to all this information.

"Hahaha, it's a lot to take in, huh? The only reason I'm saying all this is because your little friend here is close to finishing the trial, and it seems to be going good for him. You'd better cling to his thighs, and you'll have a good life, haha."

It was then that Lin Feng suddenly came to; and gasped as he laid on the floor.

The man helped him up and smiled at him, "Easy there. Congrats on succeeding the Kingslayer's Path."

Lin Feng seemed to be confused and looked at Xu Ming.

The man said, "You kids can talk about it all you want later. I don't have much time left so listen up. First of all, take this."

The man handed a crystal pendant to Lin Feng.

"That contains the cultivation method for the Kingslayer's Path and the battle techniques he used. Don't share them with anyone. Only people with pure hearts can cultivate them, and it'll just put a big target on your back if you go around bragging about it."

"Also, take this."

The man placed a purple token into Lin Feng's hands.

"This is the Kingslayer's Insignia. It might be useful to you, figure it out yourself."

Finally, the man looked seriously and said, "You know best what this path entails. Never lose your path, and remember the oaths you took in the trial. I'll send you kids out now."

Lin Feng seriously nodded and bowed, "Thank you, senior! I will seriously follow Senior Kingslayer's oaths seriously."

The man smiled and waved his hand.

Before they could make out what happened, they found themselves out of the cave and in the outside world.

Xu Ming and Lin Feng just felt a slight blue before they found themselves at the entrance of the cave that they were in before.

"Woah! That senior must be so strong, to teleport us in an instant like that!", Lin Feng gasped.

Xu Ming nodded in agreement.

"Lucky you, Lin Feng. You've gotten such a big opportunity.", Xu Ming cast an envious glance at Lin Feng.

Hearing this, he merely chuckled, and scratched his head.

"Lord Kingslayer's life was so epic though. I still can't believe everything that happened. It feels like a dream."

Lin Feng then glanced at the entrance of the cave, just to see that there was no entrance at all.

Xu Ming exclaimed, "This must be the work of that senior."

Lin Feng nodded and looked at the sky that was turning slightly darker by the minute.

"Let's go search for a way out of here before it turns night."

Xu Ming and Lin Feng traversed out of the jungle for 2 miles before they came onto a gravel road used for carriage travel.

"The sun sets over there, and the wind blows from the east. Therefore, we must travel north to get to Xinniang City.", Lin Feng deduced.

Xu Ming looked at Lin Feng with a smile and said, "I didn't know you were this smart before."

Lin Feng grinned at him and said, "I was preparing to be a scholar before I found out I had potential for cultivation. Anyways, we should encounter a carriage sooner or later if we travel along this path."

It didn't take long before Lin Feng's prophecy came true. A slightly debilitated wooden carriage was passing by when an old man poked his head out of the driver's seat and hollered, "What are you boys doing on the road at such an ungodly hour? Get on, quick! It's dangerous!"

Xu Ming thanked the man and got on the front of the carriage along with Lin Feng and greeted the old man.

"So? What are you boys doing so late at night? Don't you know these roads are dangerous?", the old man asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Actually, Uncle, Our caravan was attacked by a band of Bluetail Langurs, and most of us died. We were lucky enough to escape into the jungle, and we made it out alive.", explained Lin Feng, leaving out some details.

The old man's expression changed, and he consoled, "It must have been tough on you boys. It's alright, these things happen in life. You mustn't let it get to your heart. What matters is that you're alright now."

Speaking this, the old man took out some bread and water, and offered it to them.

"Eat up. We'll reach Xinniang City by tomorrow. I'll drop you boys till the carriage station, and we can part from there.", the old man said with a kind look on his face.

Xu Ming and Lin Feng profusely thanked the old man who just waved it off.

"Grandpa is such a kind person.", Lin Feng whispered.

Xu Ming nodded, and said, "We're lucky we encountered Grandpa and not some ill hearted people."

Lin Feng took out a small purple note from the inner pockets of his robe, put it in the corner of the carriage, and winked at Xu Ming.

"I didn't see anything.", yawned Xu Ming as he turned and went to sleep.

Lin Feng grinned and said, "We've been through a lot today. Sleep is just right.",as he rested his body as well.

-------

Back at the tomb.

"Lord Kingslayer, do you see this? I've completed my mission, and the final inheritor of the path of the Kingslayer has emerged. This strand of will is about to exhaust too, and the scribe known as Ming Bai will no longer exist. I've fulfilled the mission you've given me."

The man had a peaceful look on his face.

"May everything go well for those kids when they encounter misfortune and opportunities alike. I will be departing from this world."

"My lord, are you waiting for me up there? I'm coming."

The man's voice grew fainter and fainter until his body vanished from existence. The tomb shook with great vigour, and everything crumbled to pieces as the space inside it collapsed to nothingness.