Volume 1, Chapter 52 – Yunxiao Treasure Warship

Shi Lan poured a cup of tea, went into the inner room, lit the lamp, then walked to the bedside and helped Shi Feng sit up against the headboard.

After drinking a few sips of water, Shi Feng took in his surroundings and asked, “Where is this?”

“The City Lord’s Manor. I’ve already joined the Demon-Suppressing Army, but I didn’t get any healing pills.”

Shi Feng nodded. “It’s fine. I’ll think of another way. Why is the Demon-Suppressing Army hiding the news about the beast invasion?”

“To avoid causing panic.”

Shi Feng was just about to speak when a deep rumbling sounded overhead, growing louder and louder.

Shi Lan turned and ran out of the room. She looked up, and when she saw what was in the sky, her heart clenched and a flash of shock appeared in her eyes.

A colossal black shadow, nearly ten thousand zhang long and over a thousand zhang wide, hovered in the air like some enormous beast coiled in the heavens. Countless points of light dotted the shadow like stars in the night sky, with many small human figures flickering among them.

Shi Lan snapped out of it and understood. This had to be the Yunxiao Treasure Warship Huangfu Yun had mentioned earlier. She hadn’t expected it to be this massive—it was practically a moving fortress in the sky!

Startled by the deafening roar of the Yunxiao Treasure Warship, the City Lord’s Manor soon bustled to life, lights flaring to full brightness.

“Bring your brother to the great hall. Get ready to board!”

Huangfu Yun stepped out of the darkness, strode over to Shi Lan, tossed out the order, then vanished into the night again, clearly going to inform the others.

Shi Lan hurried back into the room. Before Shi Feng could ask what was going on, she had already hoisted him onto her back and was striding out, heading toward the great hall.

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“Where are we going?” Shi Feng gasped twice for breath, speaking with some effort.

“You’ll know when we get there,” Shi Lan said, lengthening her stride.

When he lifted his head and saw that colossal thing in the sky, Shi Feng’s expression changed slightly.

…

By the time Shi Lan reached the great hall, quite a number of people had already gathered there.

Spotting Jiang Li in the crowd, Shi Lan quickly walked over.

Tang Yan was clinging to Jiang Li, her head buried against his chest, faint sobs escaping from her.

“Brother Shi.”

Seeing Shi Lan approach, Jiang Li greeted her and patted Tang Yan’s back. “Enough! Look at yourself.”

Tang Yan let go and stepped back, lowering her head to wipe the corners of her eyes. Then she pulled over the two children clinging to Jiang Li’s legs and gave Shi Lan a strained smile.

Listening to the conversations of the others in the great hall, a bad feeling suddenly rose in Shi Feng’s heart.

Shi Lan was about to speak when Nie Yangze, mingled among a group of people, walked into the hall. At the head of the group was a young man in black armor, draped in a great cloak. He was tall and slender, with features as fine as carved jade.

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Half a step behind on his left walked an elderly man in his sixties with graying hair. The old man wore a white robe, with a blazing sun embroidered at the collar in gold thread.

Half of this group wore the same clothing as the old man, with the same emblem at their collars.

When he saw the emblem at their collars, Jiang Li’s pupils shrank, and he exclaimed under his breath, “Sacred Martial Immortal Sect!”

Among this group, Nie Yangze’s status was only middling. Huangfu Yun walked shoulder to shoulder with him, with several others in the same battle armor at his side—clearly the other centurions.

Among the people from the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect were no few young disciples. Seeing the noisy scene in the great hall, all of them looked somewhat impatient.

The noise in the great hall gradually faded as all eyes shifted to this newly arrived group.

The man in the lead stepped up to the high main seat and swept a glance over the hall. Then he spoke calmly: “Those who will not board the ship, leave the hall within one quarter-hour.”

A stir ran through the hall as the martial artists began saying their final farewells to their families.

Jiang Qi let go of Tang Yan’s hand and stood in front of Jiang Li, eyes red as he promised, “Dad, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Mom and little sister.”

“Good, good…” Jiang Li said “good” several times in a row, his eyes faintly reddening.

Shi Lan stepped up to Tang Yan and set Shi Feng down from her back. “I’ll be counting on you.”

Shi Feng’s face changed drastically at that. “I’m not going. I’m staying! How can you be here alone—”

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Before he could finish, Shi Lan struck the side of his neck with a light knife-hand and knocked him out. She didn’t want to waste time arguing over something pointless.

After a moment’s thought, Shi Lan took out a spirit crystal and tucked it into Shi Feng’s clothes, carefully settling it in place. Having something on him, just in case, was always better than nothing.

Tang Yan hoisted Shi Feng onto her back. “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

Shi Lan thanked her, then suddenly remembered something and quickly added, “I have two other friends, a grandfather and granddaughter named Du Baisheng and Du Yue’er. They’ll be boarding the ship later as well. If you happen to run into them onboard, please look after them a little too.”

Tang Yan nodded her agreement. The quarter-hour passed in a flash.

Jiang Li gazed deeply at his wife and children, then finally managed only two words: “Take care…”

Tang Yan smiled at Jiang Li, but didn’t say anything more.

Shi Lan followed Jiang Li out of the great hall.

Once the martial artists had all left, the young man standing on the high platform turned to Nie Yangze. “Count the headcount.”

“Yes.” Nie Yangze answered respectfully and began counting the people in the hall.

“Reporting to you, General, the numbers are exact.” After confirming, Nie Yangze cupped his hands and reported back.

The young man gave a slight nod and looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce the dome of the hall and reach the sky.

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“Boom!”

The young man raised his arm and swept it out, and the dome of the great hall began slowly rising upward.

The Yunxiao Treasure Warship coiled in the sky cast down a beam of golden light nearly a hundred zhang wide. It shone into the great hall like a broad road paved with gold bricks, strikingly visible in the night.

Everyone in the hall who was touched by the golden light felt a pulling force. Their bodies rose uncontrollably into the air, drifting up toward the Yunxiao Treasure Warship.

Once everyone who was meant to board had floated up into the sky, the dome slowly descended and closed back into place, seamless and tight.

When he finished, the young man lowered his hand and looked at Nie Yangze again. “Quickly summon the rest of those in the city who meet the qualifications to board. The Yunxiao Treasure Warship will only stay for another half hour.”

“Yes!” Nie Yangze didn’t dare be negligent and flashed out of the hall.

The Yunxiao Treasure Warship’s disturbance was so great that more than half the city’s residents had already been jolted awake. Using the registry, the people of the City Lord’s Manor went door to door, rounding up those previously registered youths and children with outstanding talent.

Naturally, the manor wouldn’t say this had anything to do with demonic beasts. They covered it with the name of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect, saying the manor couldn’t bear to see martial prodigies buried and would cover their cultivation expenses to send them to the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect to learn the martial path.

This news left the families of the city’s children with black-grade or red-grade aptitude overjoyed. They hurriedly dragged their sleepy-eyed children out of bed and handed them over to the people from the City Lord’s Manor.

Du Baisheng and his granddaughter had not slept all night. When the people from the City Lord’s Manor arrived, they followed obediently to the manor.