Brave Sword King Village

Brave Sword King Village was a special place.

Less than 100 kilometers from the Stellar Fall Valley, the village area was one of the few habitable regions in thousands of square kilometers. As one of the nine villages of the Sun Kingdom—one of the six states in the Scalding Abyss God Region—the village had a sophisticated defensive system against the dust of the Primordial Void.

Even though there were "safe" areas outside of the villages, towns, and cities of the Primordial Void, the extreme destruction of areas covered by dust often moved, leaving ruin in their wake, sometimes even shrinking the "safe" areas of this universe.

Only with the protection of the Gods could one be sure of safety within their homes!

Lie Xu quickly learned about this characteristic of the hometown village of Lan Renshu and Kong Meng on the way there. He also heard from the boy at the front of the cart about the Sun Kingdom and the magnificent Scalding Abyss God.

Kong Meng was a young boy who loved to hear stories. He didn't miss a chance to talk about his favorite facts regarding this world to Lie Xu.

Lan Renshu didn't stop him, thinking it was the best they could do for that poor young man with amnesia.

Brave Sword King Village was very close, so Kong Meng didn't have much time to speak. As soon as he saw the first cobblestone street ahead, the boy said, "Big brother, this is our home, Brave Sword King Village!" He pointed with one of his little hands. "This is where Brave Sword King was born—the penultimate monarch of the Sun Kingdom, the first of the Xuanyuan royal lineage. He was the youngest to ever reach the Mystical Bloom Realm in the entire Scalding Abyss God Region!"

"Mystical Bloom Realm?" Lie Xu asked, looking at the old Lan Renshu.

"Soul cultivation is divided into the Mortal Journey and the Divine Journey," Lan Renshu explained as they entered the first street of the village, which was surrounded by open fields and a few houses, while explaining the basic cultivation system of the Primordial Void. "The Divine Journey is almost impossible to enter—I myself do not know its classification. As for the Mortal Journey, it is the rite of transformation for living beings, leaving behind their mortality to embrace divinity. It is composed of ten realms, which are subdivided into smaller tiers, colloquially called levels.

"As for the Mystical Bloom Realm, it is the sixth realm of the Mortal Path. Those with this level of soul cultivation are considered experts, capable of ruling villages and leading provinces. If one reaches that level, entering His Majesty's social circle is not an impossible feat!"

There was a fervor in Lan Renshu's tone that Lie Xu could not ignore. Glancing at Kong Meng, he saw the boy's eyes shining even brighter than when he had been speaking about the village, the realm, and the region just moments earlier.

'It seems they have great reverence for their king.'

Lan Renshu continued to drive his cart toward the center of the village. "We can teach you about the cultivation classifications and other stories later. Perhaps talking about what you already know will help you recover your memories."

"Then I thank the Sir for that," Lie Xu said sincerely, leaning against one side of the cart while looking around curiously.

Brave Sword King Village was very modest. There were hardly any plants around, much less grass. The first houses along their path were small and simple, some even having several cracks, clearly in need of repair.

Right at the village entrance, the properties had large spaces between them, separated by dirt paths, except for the main road. But as they ventured further into the village's interior, the plots, though still spread out, became less isolated, with larger houses and also a greater number of people coming and going.

Lie Xu did not find the good flow of people, carts, carriages, and even horses toward the center of the village strange. Despite the name, the village had nearly 3,000 inhabitants—not far from the number required for it to be considered a town.

But while Lie Xu wasn't surprised by the movement of people, he couldn't help but wonder about something else. 'From the stories I've heard, our world is full of dangers. Any place with the protection the village has would be extremely valued by everyone. So why does a place like this remain so small?'

Lie Xu could have questioned his rescuers, but he did not. Instead, when the cart stopped in the center of the village by a rectangular square park, he focused his attention on the only plants he saw along the way while his rescuers hurried about.

"Young Lie, come with us. The village doctor will surely help you," Lan Renshu said as he positioned himself to help Lie Xu.

Lie Xu appeared to have a good resistance to pain, but Lan Renshu did not want to take any risks. Every life in the Primordial Void was valuable. He did not want to risk this last young man he tried to save!

Lie Xu got off the cart without making any sound of pain, yet he did not completely refuse Lan Renshu's help. With one of his hands on the old man's shoulder, he calmly followed him through the entrance of a beautiful property, where a red residence caught the attention of the entire village center.

"Lady Xue, we have another injured person from the dust!" Lan Renshu announced loudly as he entered unceremoniously through the main door of the residence.

It wasn't the first time he'd been in that position.

"Renshu?" A feminine voice came from one of the front rooms of the property.

Lan Renshu left the entrance hall of the house—where an elderly couple was seated—and led Lie Xu and Kong Meng down a long corridor, ignoring the beautiful decoration as his eyes focused on the door to Xue Yazhi's clinic.

Xue Yazhi was a beautiful, middle-aged woman with striking curves and a gentle, serene look. Her long, wavy, brown hair framed her rounded face perfectly.

The moment Lie Xu met Xue Yazhi's gaze, he forgot about his two rescuers. His eyes widened and his chin nearly dropped to the floor.

She was beautiful!

The first woman he had ever looked into the eyes of seemed like a fairy, her perfectly white skin apparently never blemished by the sun. Her light-colored eyes exuded a vitality far greater than anything he would expect to see in an expert like Lan Renshu described, while her lips appeared to have been sculpted by the most skilled of artists.

Even with the several layers of fabric from her clothes covering nearly all of her body, Xue Yazhi miserably failed to hide her physical beauty. Even if she were a kilometer away, Lie Xu would still notice her thin waist and shapely legs.

As for the two soft mounds discreetly protected below Xue Yazhi's neck, it was best not to mention them…

Lie Xu fixed his gaze on Lady Xue's eyes, careful not to make the grave mistake of staring too long at what he shouldn't.

Xue Yazhi observed the state of Lan Renshu's most recent rescue and paid no attention to the curious eyes of the blond boy. She noticed traces of dust on the young man's wounds and signaled for Lan Renshu to seat Lie Xu in a chair.

Kong Meng stood by the door watching. At the same time that Lan Renshu watched with apprehension as Xue Yazhi attended to Lie Xu's health, a young woman with short green hair—apparently about Lie Xu's age—handed some silver instruments to her teacher.

Xue Yazhi uttered a few terms that only she and her apprentice understood as her eyes glowed with energy.

"More and more people are appearing near the valley," Lan Renshu remarked, not rushing to question Lie Xu's condition. His years in the village and the many times he had brought people to Xue Yazhi were enough for him to speak confidently amid her medical work. "Counting this boy, Meng'er and I have found 7 injured people in the surrounding areas over the past 2 months."

"That is natural. The next Storm Night is approaching," Xue Yazhi said, her voice conveying both her sorrow and her powerlessness in the face of such matters. "Unfortunately, not everyone is fortunate enough to reach one of our villages or cities safely."

"Sigh! Fortunately, this time you managed a successful rescue, old friend," she looked at Lan Renshu with a smile, putting aside the serious look from moments before. "This young man clearly has some serious injuries, but luckily none of them were caused by that damned dust. The dust you saw on him was only on his clothes."

Xue Yazhi disposed of the pieces of clothing contaminated by dust, using a golden flame that emerged from her fingers to burn away what she placed on a silver tray.

Lan Renshu let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried about Lie Xu—despite the young man regaining consciousness. "If it wasn't the dust that did this to him, I am relieved. That's great news, young Lie!"

Lie Xu listened to their words and managed a restrained smile, nodding to old Lan. Part of him was relieved, although he still did not know much about this world or himself. Yet, for some reason, he did not feel panicked, sad, or even overly happy about Lady Xue's help.

Even his curiosity about why these people were helping him did not trouble him enough to make him question it. He simply remained silent, listening to Xue Yazhi and Lan Renshu's conversation as she cleaned his wounds. Something deep inside him made him stay quiet, 'going with the flow.'

'Did these people help me out of pure kindness? That seems strange. Why would a society living in such a hostile environment treat a complete stranger so well? I need to understand what kind of place this is and what they expect of me. There is certainly something going on here. However, I must not be careless. There are cultivators strong enough to be called Gods in this place. I don't know where I came from nor my own strength. Until I learn about my past, I must be careful with everything I say and do!'

"Yu'er, finish these bandages," Xue Yazhi directed using a medical tool, retracting her magical aura as she stepped away from Lie Xu.

Lie Xu was still not used to the magical powers of this society. The moment Xue Yazhi withdrew her power, he immediately felt his pain increase tenfold.

Liu Yu gracefully took over for her, smiling at Lie Xu before continuing the bandaging. "Excuse me," she said softly, with a smile as sweet as her voice.

With relief settling over him, Lan Renshu said, "Lady Xue, thank you for your help once again. But first of all, Lie Xu's condition is a bit worse than it appears. He remembers nothing except his own name."

"Amnesia?" Liu Yu looked into Lie Xu's eyes, surprised yet not shocked.

People lost outside the zones protected by the Gods would occasionally lose part of their memories. But not remembering anything other than one's own name was unusual.

Xue Yazhi looked back at Lie Xu, not expecting this. The sparkle in his eyes seemed wonderful. How had he forgotten his entire history?

'This young man must be between 15 and 18 years old. His constitution is perfect for a mortal. Moreover, I can sense spiritual energy in his body. Finally, his eyes are not like empty shells…' she did not interrupt Liu Yu but moved closer to Lie Xu, her eyes once again glowing with magical light.

Xue Yazhi had seen hundreds of amnesia cases in her journey. Most patients in such cases lacked something in their eyes, as if their souls had detached from their bodies and the natural will of living beings no longer resided within. It was sad to see someone like that, to say the least.

Lie Xu, however, seemed ready to initiate great changes in his life if necessary. He seemed complete and, initially, not even Xue Yazhi's clinical gaze detected that he suffered from amnesia.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked Lan Renshu before turning to Lie Xu, looking into his eyes. "Don't you remember anything, boy? Where you came from? Your family? Your loves?"

Lie Xu replied succinctly, "I'm sorry. I don't remember anything."

Xue Yazhi saw only truth in the boy's eyes and soon sighed mournfully. "I see. Then I'm sorry, but there isn't much I can do to help with that."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help him?" Lan Renshu asked in an altered tone.

She shook her head. "There is nothing. The mind and soul are among the most formidable structures in this universe. I dare say that not even someone from the Divine Journey could casually claim to treat such severe amnesia," she looked at Lie Xu with difficulty.

'It really is a pity…'

"In any case, the only way for him to recover his memory is on his own. As complicated as the mind is, it is also the structure most dependent on our individual efforts. Increase your cultivation, relearn about our great world, and live your life. One day you may regain all of your memories."

"So that's it…" Lie Xu murmured, but he did not sound disappointed. "Thank you for your help, Lady Xue. I may not know much now, but I hope to return the favor in the future."

Xue Yazhi smiled at him and did not refuse. Instead, she turned to Lan Renshu and suggested, "Since he remembers nothing, it might be interesting to arrange a place for him in the Eternal Sword Academy and the Night Hunt Sect. He can relearn about our world at the academy and continue his cultivation at the sect.

"With Lie Xu's soul cultivation, he will certainly be accepted without difficulty."

"Oh?" Lan Renshu was surprised, having not noticed that the young man was, in fact, a cultivator. "What is his current level, Lady Xue?"

She smiled, clearly delighted by this unexpected turn in her urgent patient's case.