AGM 248 - Death List
Qin Wentian quietly stood there on the patch of grass. In that moment, he gradually felt a marvellous and intriguing sensation. His perception seemed to be magnified several times over.
He could clearly sense the pulsing of his blood, clearly feel the circulation of every strand of Astral Energy, could clearly hear the cries of the insects being hunted by the birds, as well as the light sigh of the gusting wind.
Evidently, he was sensing the transformation that was happening inside his body. The tyrannical intent of his bloodline became tranquil and quiet, circulating protectively around the candle flame as though celebrating its creation.
It was exceptionally difficult to imagine that the tyrannical power source of his bloodline limit, would actually be so docile in the presence of the candle flame. Not only was it docile, it seemed to defer to it, like how subjects defer and submit to their King.
Strands of golden threads could be seen surrounding the candle flame. This caused Qin Wentian to feel somewhat bewildered. Were these golden strands the traces of power of his bloodline limit?
And that candle flame, what was it? Why would it cause his perception to undergo such a significant evolution?
Not only that, as the golden strands came into contact with the candle flame, the glow of the candle flame grew stronger and stronger. The tyrannical power of his bloodline started to roar once again, frenziedly circulating, as though welcoming the arrival of something forthcoming.Gradually, Qin Wentian’s body began to glow with an unmatched radiance.. The blood in his heart lighted up, his three Yuanfu lighted up, and every mote of Astral Energy in his body glimmered with a resplendent shine.
It was as though the three Yuanfu Oceans within his Yuanfu, were enveloped by a mysterious presence. Currently, his Astral Energy was thrumming and circulating with a violence greater than before.
Qin Wentian sat down crossed-legged as he felt the changes in his body. He could faintly sense that the recently born candle flame was a newly awakened, special type of power, that was currently transforming his body and senses.
Little Rascal could also feel Qin Wentian’s transformation. A golden light gleamed in its eyes as it made its way to Qin Wentian’s feet, lying there quietly.
“Mhm?” Bailu Yi and Fan Le gazed at Qin Wentian. They could sense that he was in a special state of mentality of sorts, in the process of undergoing a radical change. Even his aura was changing and there seemed to be a faint glow emitting off his body, causing people to feel a sense of fascination.
“What a mysterious fellow,” Bailu Yi mumbled under her breath. This fellow had monstrous innate talent in Divine Inscriptions and extremely powerful combat prowess. Not only that, his thinking and insights caused her to be constantly amazed, especially in the field of Divine Inscriptions. Not even the elders of her Clan could match up to him in terms of conceptualizing, and he even came up with the bold hypothesis for Reverse Inscriptions.
What made Bailu Yi even more speechless was that despite his talent, he devoted a truly astounding amount of effort into his cultivation and practice. He had a strong thirst, and wanted to get stronger and stronger. This kind of person would definitely be a character to be reckoned with in the future.
Qin Wentian naturally didn’t know what Bailu Yi was thinking about. At this moment he was totally immersed in his body’s transformation, revelling in the sensation of that mysterious energy cleansing his body of impurities.
Qin Wentian remained in this special state for a total of three days. The light mountain wind breezed by, and he felt an overabundance of energy seeping out from him, gently permeating the atmosphere.
Bailu Yi’s eyes flashed with astonishment. “He broke through to the Third level of Yuanfu? I would never have thought he would manage to suppress his rage and killing intent, and break through under such circumstances.”
Qin Wentian finally opened his eyes. He had just stepped into the Third level of Yuanfu, and he could feel all three of his Yuanfu simultaneously expanding.
In addition, Qin Wentian could also feel that he had qualitatively transformed. This kind of feeling was extremely difficult to describe; it was mysterious, and felt exceedingly marvellous. He knew that even his perception had evolved to yet another level.
It was as though something had been unlocked in his mind. Questions that were previously difficult to answer when he’d been browsing through Bailu Yi’s manuals, were suddenly fully comprehended by him.
Not only that, those peak-tier third-level Divine Inscriptions that he struggled to understand and inscribe, all made sense to him now.
He evolved in some way. Everything was different from before.
The birth of the candle flame, the appearance of the Heart’s Inferno, understanding the mind, finding one’s true self.
As long as he willed it, he could pick up sounds from miles away, including the innermost voice of his heart.
Qin Wentian turned his gaze upon Bailu Yi before smiling, “Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me? You were acting on impulse back then, but since you have calmed down now, why be so hasty to take revenge?” A meaningful smile appeared on Bailu Yi’s countenance, her eyes flickered with a gleam of fascination as she sensed Qin Wentian’s transformation.
This fellow had somehow become even more good looking, exuding a unique presence. At this moment, she felt as though Qin Wentian was cloaked in illusion, and there seemed to be an inscrutable glow of light about him that she couldn’t clearly see through.
“Me, handsome?” Qin Wentian grinned when he saw how Bailu Yi kept gazing at him.
“Yeah.” Bailu Yi absent-mindedly nodded her head before she froze and ‘woke up’. An adorable shade of red appeared on her cheeks, and that shyness when complemented together with her innocence made her beauty exceptionally striking.
Bailu Yi glared fiercely at him, unconsciously exhibiting the demeanor of a little girl. She silently cursed herself for her lack of control, how embarrassing to be caught staring at a guy by the person himself.
However, Qin Wentian didn’t mind at all. He let out a casual laugh before gazing into the horizon. Although he had levelled up, he knew that his present strength was still far from being enough.
A cultivator at the Third level of Yuanfu could only be considered as part of the lower-tiered cultivators in the vast Grand Xia Empire. Only after breaking through to the Heavenly Dipper Realm would you be considered as a person of substance.
Furthermore, he didn’t have a major power backing him. He could only depend on himself, which made it even more important for him to become even stronger.
“It’s time to increase the tempo of controlling the White Deer Institute,” Qin Wentian mused. Leng Ning’s face appeared in his mind. His feelings for Leng Ning weren’t love, but her death had somehow become his greatest source of motivation. Other than hatred and rage towards the Leng Clan and Yan Tie, he also blamed himself for being powerless, blamed himself for thinking he was powerful enough to control everything. In the end, the harsh reality was that he hadn’t been able to aid Leng Ning in the slightest.
“Bailu Yi, can you help me out a little?” Qin Wentian turned his gaze onto Bailu Yi as he asked.
“Yeah.” Bailu Yi nodded lightly.
“Investigate Leng Ning’s death for me. I want the names of everyone in the Leng Clan that contributed to her demise, and also… the whereabouts of Yan Kong and Yan Tie. I need a copy of in-depth information regarding everything about the Leng Clan and Yan Clan,” Qin Wentian explained.
“Fine.” Although the time in which they were acquainted couldn’t be considered long, Bailu Yi could feel how determined Qin Wentian was. Once he put his heart into something, Qin Wentian would definitely follow through and would do it well. Just like his engravings of Divine Inscriptions, they were all exceptionally outstanding.
“I will command my men to see to it right away,” Bailu Yi replied.
“Thank you.” Qin Wentian had a smile of gratitude on his face. Bailu Yi didn’t owe him anything, on the contrary, she had helped him immensely ever since he came to the White Deer Institute. She had even passed on to him some of the secret manuals regarding Divine Inscriptions belonging to her clan for his own comprehension. He was truly thankful to her.
“Are we not friends?” Bailu Yi laughed.
“Naturally, we are.” Qin Wentian nodded.
“Then why are you still saying thanks to me? In any case, you have also helped me a lot. Just your perspective on Divine Inscriptions alone has greatly broadened my horizons.” Bailu Yi laughed before she turned and left to command her men.
A radiant smile could be seen flickering in Qin Wentian eyes as he looked at Bailu Yi walking away.
“Divine Inscriptions,” Qin Wentian mumbled. Stretching out his finger, he gathered motes of Astral Light and abruptly, runic outlines formed and floated upwards, shimmering in the sky. Gradually, the shadowy form of a gigantic Garuda manifested.
With a wave of his hands, a raging typhoon gusted by. The gigantic Garuda brimmed with fury as it soared skywards.
As for Qin Wentian, he closed his eyes once again.
A day later, when Bailu Yi returned, her entire body shuddered slightly upon feeling the aura exuded by Qin Wentian. He seemed to be shrouded within a mysterious blood energy, emanating a force that commanded absolute obedience, as though Qin Wentian hailed from the Primordial Era.
It was as if she was looking at a primordial entity, far up above the Heavens. As the entity gazed back at her, she felt so tiny and inconsequential.
Around Qin Wentian, there were gargantuan-sized runic outlines inscribed upon the ground. Nay, it would be more accurate to say that they were no longer in the form of runic outlines, because a massive, completely formed body had already been born from it.
A humongous black-colored Roc flapped its wings behind Qin Wentian. Its immense stature was completely filled with a fearsome might, and the coldness in its predatory eyes was so real it was as though this manifestation was a tangible body and not something illusory.
“Is this demonic beast something that Divine Inscriptionists are able create?” Bailu Yi’s heart pounded with disbelief. As for Fan Le and Chu Mang who stood by the side, they had long experienced what Bailu Yi was feeling. Even someone as strong as Chu Mang could feel the threat this creation posed to him.
The terrifying Roc gradually faded away, transforming back into runic outlines. Qin Wentian smiled as he saw the incredulous disbelief on Bailu Yi’s face. “I made a breakthrough recently, so somehow my senses regarding Divine Inscriptions has sharpened tremendously. Now, I can easily comprehend and inscribe more complex third-level Divine Inscriptions.”
Qin Wentian didn’t reveal that it wasn’t just Divine Inscriptions, his entire perception had undergone the same qualitative evolution.
“Is this a peak-tier third-level Divine Inscription?” Bailu Yi’s beautiful eyes were fixated on the Divine Inscription’s etching on the ground.
“Although I’m able to inscribe it, the time required takes too long for me to use it effectively in combat. I still need to undergo a longer period of training.” Qin Wentian didn’t deny it.
“With such fluidness in your inscriptions, crossing the line between illusory and reality, I have great confidence in the exchange this time round.” Bailu Yi laughed as she spoke. She then brought out a few thick stacks of documents and passed it over to Qin Wentian. These were the information reports that he had requested.
Qin Wentian flipped open the cover page, his eyes staring at the numerous names written in there. These people all had something to do with Leng Ning’s death.
Leng Ning’s uncle, Leng Jian.
Leng Lin’s father, with a cultivation base at the Seventh level of Yuanfu, was the person responsible for and one of the main masterminds behind that incident.
Leng Mao, the Leng Clan’s primary disciplinary elder, with a cultivation base at the Ninth level of Yuanfu, was the leader of the elder’s council that day.
Leng Lin, a young missus of the Leng Clan, with a cultivation base at the Second level of Yuanfu, and the original candidate selected to be given to Yan Tie. But because of her father’s influence, as well as a variety of other factors, Leng Ning was eventually chosen as her replacement instead.
Each of the names written on the record were in some way or another responsible for Leng Ning’s death. A smile akin to that of the grim reaper’s appeared on Qin Wentian’s face. The people whose names were listed here, had already been sentenced to death!