Ch 18 - Law Descends

The last of the bandits had been loaded into the carriages brought by the Tianming City guards. The Great Yan Empire's official army were divided into several elite squadrons, and would not be used to clean up mortal thieves. Instead, the task was delegated to the authorities of the various cities in the region. The official army was much more prestigious than the local guards.

In fact, one of the squadrons, Yan Elite Squadron, was entirely comparable to a second tier sect by itself. The leader of that squadron was a superhuman cultivator that was dozens of times stronger than ordinary tier 2 sect masters. Their authority far outreached what city guards were capable of. In some instances, their word was law. Nobody would provoke an official squadron army member for nothing, not even the sects.

The leader of the guards got on his horse and bid farewell to Xu Ming. He has already promised him of his reward from the city, and had to leave immediately.

Xu Ming watched the men and women return to their village, reuniting in tears. The kids were also happy, joining in the happy celebrations. The village regarded them as the saviours, and planned to hold a feast in their name.

Xu Ming, observing all of this, silently looked up in the sky and saw the first signs of the coming winter approach him, with a snowflake that landed on his face, greeting him. The frost periods were coming, it seems.

---

At the same time, a youth sat silently on a pier, watching the snowflakes ripple on the surface of the lake. This young man was usually very boisterous and free willed, but he was incomparably silent and deep in thought at this moment.

Watching the snowflake, he felt the cold creep up in his skin, but he did not move. The cold air could not move the boy, as he sat there till the next morning, when the land was covered in a layer of snow. The water had started to freeze, turning into ice.

The youth was still staring at the lake, not moving.

Not far away, three demons with a purple horn were staring at this boy, with malicious intent. This was the fabled Arcent Frontlines, and the boy actually had the guts to sit still and relax himself for so long? This was a supreme disrespect to the nobility of the battlefield itself.

They were not the only beings there. They were being watched by other clans, and other demons, surrounding the youth in large numbers, uncountable by eye alone.

The three demons were 8 metres tall, had bulging muscles, two prominent purple horns and veins all over their bodies. They truly looked like demons from hell.

The demon talked in a cryptic tone to the other demons, it's face distorting as it produced a rumbling voice.

"The Heavenly Demon Prince has indeed been killed by this boy. I can feel His Highness's aura on this boy."

Another demon spoke, "We are the three high elders of the Heavenly Demon clan, feared by everyone. This boy actually dares to lower his guard around us. I don't believe that he doesn't feel our aura."

The last one spoke, "This disrespect from a lower life form shall not be tolerated. The last time this happened, the Nascent Soul of a cultivator was pulled out by us and tortured for 3 straight decades. Now, we shall show the same consequences."

The three demons let out an aura that made every single demon there let out a whimper in submission, and they prostrated themselves in reverence.

Suddenly, the youth laughed.

His laugh grew louder by the second, and his smile warped into a strange curve.

"Boy!", the demon elder shouted, also smiling.

The youth looked at him, and smiled.

"Who are you and what makes you so happy, staring into the face of death?", the elder questioned.

"I'm a nobody who has just seen the path to becoming somebody. I'm Zhou Ji.", the boy laughed as he spoke.

The three high elder's expression moved at the same time and they spoke, "Zhou Ji? Is that the crown prince of the Great Yan Empire?"

One of them calmed down and laughed and said, "This ignorant fellow is gone for sure. I'd be terrified of his father, but he alone doesn't pose any threat. We are the enemies of that man anyways, why should we let him go? It is a good day for the mighty to fall."

"A good day for the mighty to fall? Indeed.", Zhou Ji praised.

He bowed at the sky, and began leaving the place as he flew into the sky. Nobody was alive when he did this.

The bodies of the three high elders and the countless demons had been mutilated in a strange ripple pattern that was visible in rings throughout their body.

They hadn't even had the opportunity to even scream out loud when all of them fell to the ground. The mighty purple demon lords of the Arcent Frontlines, who had terrorised everyone for centuries, were gone today, without any fanfare.

An hour later, a strange man in a purple cloak showed himself at the location, looking scared for his life. This was the mighty Heavenly Demon King, the ruler of a million warring demons, the subdued of thousands of tribes, kneeling and shivering.

"If it wasn't for the divine invisibility cloak....no, even with the cloak, he noticed me. He just spared me.", the man shivered as he mumbled.

"The law...the law of ripples bares its fangs today.", the man whispered to himself.

Suddenly, ripples began to appear on his body, without warning. He suddenly turned into a thousand circular pieces of purple meat, falling to the ground without warning. Just like that, a cloudcluster giant had fallen.

---

Xu Ming and the group reached the gates of the Purple Qi Sect in a few more days.

Greeting the deacon at the gates, Xu Ming brought out the insignia of the sect and requested the elder in charge to come.

"Who is it?", a short elder walked out of the gate and looked puzzled at the kids.

Xu Ming bowed slightly and said, "The Combat Peak Leader of our Ming Sword Sect wishes to hand this parcel to your sect."

Saying this, he gave a wooden box wrapped in a thick cloth to the elder, who recieved it.

"Hmm?", the elder looked inside the box and his expression warmed up.

"Oh, it's this matter. Alright, you kids have indeed travelled a long way to get here. You can rest here for the night, have a meal, and make your way back in the morning."

Xu Ming and the group cupped their fists, and the elder beckoned the deacon to take care of matters.

In the morning, the group had their sumptuous meal, courtesy of the deacon who treated them very well. Just as they were about to set off on their horses, a group of teens came over to them.

The one in charge said, "Who's the boss here? I heard you kids are from the Ming Sword Sect! I'd like to challenge you in a friendly duel."

The deacon frowned and barked, "Is this how you treat a guest? Go back, or you'll have to face the mountain wall for a week!"

"Greetings, deacon Ning.", the boy in charge spoke.

His expression did not change as he said, "I'm not disrespecting anyone, deacon. I just want to see what the gap is like between outer sect disciples of the Ming Sword Sect and the Purple Qi Sect. After all, we're both third tier sects, right?"

Huang Dong didn't take to this kindly and said, "Let me duel him, Xu Ming!"

Xu Ming didn't reply and merely stared into the kid's eyes, not replying. After a while, the boy felt uneasy and let his eyes roam around uncomfortably. Finally, Xu Ming spoke, "Get ready. We're going now."

Ignoring the clamoring of the outer sect disciples of the Purple Qi Sect, he turned his back on them and got on his horse.

Cupping his first at the deacon whose face was black at the attitude of the outer sect disciples of his sect, Xu Ming and the rest made their way back slowly towards the Ming Sword Sect.

The journey back took roughly a week and a half, faster than the journey there. It was a smooth experience, and there wasn't any unexpected interruptions on the way this time.

Upon reaching the sect, they reported to Protector Hong Du about the mission and received some sect credits. Xu Ming bid farewell to his friends and made his way back to the Longevity Peak slowly.

He greeted Senior Sister Xia who was still diligently working the counters.

"Oh, junior brother Xu Ming! You're back?", Senior Sister Xia spoke with a smile.

Xu Ming nodded and said, "I'm done with the combat peak's mission for now. I'll still have to report to Elder Qin tomorrow though."

Senior Sister Xia pumped her fist on Xu Ming's shoulder and said, "Don't work too hard either! You should know the difference between working and enjoying."

Xu Ming laughed along and bid adieu to Senior Sister Xia and made his way towards his cultivation abode. Entering the dark cave, it was already approaching nightime by this point. Xu Ming lit up some candles and ate his rations, and streched for a bit before heading to sleep.

---

"Head Disciple Lin Feng, you've already reached the 8th level of Qi Refining?", a surprised voice rang out in a courtyard.

There were three people present there. The one who made this exclamation was a middle aged man wearing a strange robe. There was also Lin Feng himself, and a wizened Elder who had a thick long white beard. The Elder smiled to himself as he spoke, "Little Lin Feng has indeed reached the 8th level. It has only been two months since you came here, but you've shattered all records. You are truly the hope of our Xinniang Sword Sect."

Lin Feng humbly bowed and said, "My efforts alone are useless. I owe this to you, Grand Elder Leng Shao, the other elders, the sect leader and Hidden Protector Leng Shui."

Grand Elder Leng Shao was gratified as he laughed, stroking his beard.

"No need to be modest. Your efforts are yours alone. Say, Little Lin Feng, the Allsect Tournaments are about to begin in just a mere three years. You must surpass everyone else and show those supreme sects that we're not inferior. Are you confident?"

Lin Feng didn't skip a beat and spoke, "When the heart and sword are one, all will fall in place. I will obtain this honour for our sect, Grand Elder."

The Grand Elder laughed, speaking, "Good!"

The Allsect Tournament was a tournament held every decade to find the best cultivator below the age of 25 in the Great Yan Continent. It was the most prestigious event, backed by the Royal Family itself. Every Sect, supreme down to the ordinary, would participate in this competition in hopes of being recognised by the Royal Family and obtaining great resources and opportunities.

Apart from the Allsect Tournament, Lin Feng was also thinking about Xu Ming at this moment. Would he be there at the tournament, three years later? Was he even cultivating at this moment? Lin Feng didn't have answers, but he was determined to show his brother that he was capable of winning the tournaments.