Chapter 65: Gate of Revelation
Shui Wu stayed at the shop while Xu Min walked ahead. She was looking over the scene, replaying the events in her head uncertain on what to do. "At least he only killed a guard," she sighed heavily, shaking her head. She knew exactly what happened. Xu Min had been challenged and used his strength to prove that he was not someone to easily bully. Unfortunately, the guard who was supposed to test him had died.
Looking around, Shui Wu saw that many of the people involved in the incident had vanished or gone their own way and no longer showed any interest in these noble people.
Xu Min was not bothered by the expert who had blocked his way earlier. He knew his actions caused enmity between himself and at least one of the families. He would not have been as fierce if it wasn’t for the young master who accosted him. However, it was a mere guard. Even if this Jin family were going to become upset over the loss of a guard, they would not dare to go against Xu Min and the Bu family for a minor family guard.
"If you want revenge, come find me in the Immortal Valley," Xu Min muttered to himself while smirking. He was going to battle the high ranked Zhong family leader; how could he be stopped by insignificant geniuses from this place?
Shui Wu was running right behind Xu Min. Upon their return, Xu Min went back to his room to train while Shui Wu rushed to her master's lair, getting ready to tell him about the recent incident.
"You said he killed a guard of the Jin family?" Bu Huang chuckled as he stroked his beard. "To be honest, it was the Jin family's fault. They decided to check his strength. Still, killing him that easily, this Xu Min has quite some secrets. If possible travel with him in the Immortal Valley. I am certain that you will benefit greatly from befriending this person. Though, you most likely have to kill quite a few Jin members in the valley."
Bu Huang apparently did not mind the death of the Jin family. Outwardly all the major families of the city kept a friendly relationship amongst one another; Inwardly, their interrelationships were drastically different. All of them wished for the others to suffer in one way or another so that they could get the upper hand and gain more power for themselves.
"Well, even if the Jin family comes here for the sake of justice then I will deal with them. Humph, it was nothing but a guard that he killed. They need to have a thick face to come ask for justice," he said, his eyes darkened and he expressed disdain.
Nodding her head, Shui Wu had not expected him to say anything else, and instead she bowed deeply and left the private chambers of the Master.
Xu Min barricaded himself within his room where he fully focused on training. He would practice his sword arts, his stances, and his cultivation base.
All of these things took most of the day. The few hours he had to himself outside of training he spent relaxing, ensuring that his body did not become too exhausted.
While Xu Min was busy training inside Bu Huang’s mansion, a storm was brewing in the city. The Jin family blamed the Bu family of mindlessly murdering one of their guards while the Bu family accused the Jin family of suddenly attacking their members.
Everyone knew the entirety of the incident; even so, everyone paid attention closely to both sides.
The Jin family finally realized they were being made fun of. Every time they tried to act like the victims, the people in town would laugh at their words. No one would believe their poor acting skills because everyone already knew the truth of the matter.
"We have to give up on this," the patriarch sighed. He looked at his son in front of him, "although this guard was your friend and one of the strongest guards, he was but a guard. Not only that, we were the ones initiating the battle, as well. If we continue to require redemption for the lost guard all they will give us is some gold. But, even if they go that far, we are lucky."
"Every day we try to stand our ground and get our hands on this young master the citizens will laugh at us and see us as hypocrites."
"What you can do is attack him while you are in the Immortal Valley. If he goes only a short distance from his group, execute him. If he is dumb enough not to travel with the other Bu family members, hunt him down and let him know what happens when a person upsets our family. Let him die a painful death."
Nodding his head, the desire to kill flashed in the eyes of the young master Jin. He bowed deeply before turning around to leave.
The days flew by; everyone became busier preparing for the day that they would have to enter the immortal Valley.
During this period, Xu Min visited the city four times. After the first time, no one tried to stop him or test his strength. He had already been recognized as one of the top experts the Bu family.
The time passed quickly, and the time for the competition arrived. Xu Min left his room with the sword on his back and with a small bag tied to his waist. This bag was a gift to him from Bu Huang, and it was a storage treasure. It was similar to the backpack his master Wang Li possessed. It could store an outstanding amount of things. Bu Huang’s gift was truly extravagant.
The front of the mansion had various carriages waiting for the ten young experts, going to the Immortal Valley's rankings. Even Bu Huang and a group of the other elders would follow them. This was the most important competition for the last ten years; thus, they wanted to see what was happening in the Immortal Valley.
The Immortal Valley was located in the southwestern part of the Ruins of the Immortals. It was in the middle of a desert. A person had to pass through a teleportation array to get to it. This teleportation array was only active when it was time for the Immortal Valley Rankings. Also, it limited how many people could go through it. This was the reason why each eligible families were only allowed to bring a specific amount of people.
The trip took a long time. Xu Min would spend half of the time together with Bu Huang, conversing about Wang Li or the immortal Valley, waiting for them to reach their destination.
"There is a group called the Guardians. They always protect the Immortal Valley and are the only people capable of entering the valley outside of the Immortal Valley Rankings."
"They can also locate any person within the valley. The ranking will go on for a full year. In that one year, everyone will be staying in ruins, watching the youngsters’ progress and battles. Some years not even a third of the participating experts survive; other years more than half survives. Let us hope you will be one of the survivors."
Sighing heavily, Bu Huang looked outside and observed the many carriages behind his, the carriages which contained his family members and disciples. He knew that some of them would die. Even realizing this, he knew he had to let them join.
"Luck can be more important than strength," Bu Huang said asudden as he looked out the carriage. "Some time ago, I also participated in the Immortal Valley Rankings. Back then I was a mediocre fighter within my family. More than half of the participating members could have easily killed me. Some didn’t even have to break a sweat to do it."
Bu Huang's eyes misted over while he reminisced about his past.
"When we entered the valley, alliances were severed. Only the strong, it didn’t matter from which family, traveled together. The weak people such as me did not have any alliance. No one wished to have us in their groups since we could drag them down."
A look of disdain shown in Bu Huang's eyes, a flash of coldness passed through them.
"I left the others and ran away as soon as I could. I spent one day after another fleeing other practitioners or big demonic beasts. Eventually, I reached the very end of the Immortal Valley. There I found a weird formation on the ground. In the middle of this formation was a scroll. I instantly decided this scroll had to be quite useful, so I took the chance and entered the formation."
"I remembered how the energy entered my body and rebuilt every single cell. The scroll’s power increased the width of my meridians and increased the size of my dantian alongside the energy within."
"I was stuck in that formation for three months; my body continuously was being refined. When I emerged from the formation, I was no longer the weak one. My power had soared through the sky. I grasped the scroll and learned a specific ability. This ability allowed me to be the top faction of the City of the Thousand Stars."
"Master, how exactly do the people within the Immortal Valley get ranked?" Xu Min asked curiously. Bu Huang smiled.
"There are two tasks which determine the winners. First, one can be ranked depending on how many treasures a person has gained during their time within the valley. The second way is to kill or rob other cultivators. A total of a hundred thousand people will be participating in the Immortal Valley, so there will be plenty of people to rob. After you rob them, make sure to take a token you were given by the Guardians. These tokens are worth the same as ten normal treasures and one heavenly treasure."
"As far as I know there is even divine treasures within the Immortal Valley, but those you should watch out for." he warned the younger man, "Every treasure is guarded by a beast. If you kill the beasts, you will gain a mortal or heavenly treasure. Their bodies are treasures in themselves. However, fighting against a divine beast, you will die instantly."
"The mortal beasts vary in strength equal from a one-star to a four-star Warrior. Heavenly beasts have the strength of a five- to an eight-star Warrior while divine beasts are nine-star Warriors. Although you have been gifted many treasures and had fortunate encounters, I believe that you will not be able to fight the early heavenly ranked beasts.Remember, the treasure is worth nothing if you are dead. Always value your life more than the treasures you might gain."
There was a seriousness in Bu Huang's eyes, and Xu Min instantly nodded his head. He felt this extreme expert truly cared about him. Even though this concern came from his relationship with Wang Li, Xu Min was still grateful.
"Master Bu, we have arrived at the Gate of Revelation."