Chapter 66: Yanluo
The carriages came to a halt. Slowly Bu Huang stood up and exited his carriage, gesturing the others to follow him. Xu Min instantly stood up and respectfully followed behind. As he departed from the carriage, he looked all around him, surveying his new environment. Xu Min’s facial expression appeared dumbfounded.
This moment was the first time he had been in an actual ruin. Everywhere around him was desert, and in front of him were the ruins of what seemed to have been a massive temple. Xu Min suppressed his bewilderment as fast as could. He did not want others to know he was unaware of the terrain. He kept looking at the decrepit building. Only the pillars were left standing. Some had sunk deep into the sand while others had fallen together with the roof. There were no doors, but in the middle of what used to be the temple grounds, there was a large circular structure. It was made from a black material and contained silvery inscriptions which kept shining on the surface. This shine of the inscription made the material seem real.
"That is the gate of Revelation," Bu Huang helpfully explained as he saw Xu Min's gaze.
Nodding his head, Xu Min kept observing his surroundings. The other nine participants appeared, moving to stand side by side with Xu Min, all of them walking right behind Bu Huang.
Examining his fellow teammates, Xu Min was surprised to see Shui Wu acting haughty and arrogant just like the first time they had met. Eight competitors, two women, and six young men stood by her side.
These competitors disdainfully looked around at their surroundings. They were confident that they would be able to rank highly in this Immortal Valley Rankings. Xu Min saw at least fifty groups., Some of these other group members possessed an oppressing aura, making even Xu Min slightly hesitant.
'Don't worry!' Cao Cao's confidently said, 'You will reach the third-star rank soon. Once this happens, your strength will skyrocket. Your physical body will be remade and become much stronger; your internal energy will make you able to use the Radiant Jade Shower much better than you have done so far. Even one of the shards will be a lethal weapon to most experts.'
'Also, don't forget that I am with you,' Cao Cao stated smugly.. 'I fear the consequences for whoever dares to cause us trouble when I am by your side.'
'This time Cao Cao, I want to depend on myself as much as I can,' Xu Min apologetically explained, ' if I am in a dangerous position, then you can help me. Other than then, please let me do it by myself. I need to temper myself and improve my power. Otherwise, I will never be able to gain revenge."
Xu Min's thought had made the flame of hatred within him burn increasingly strong. The desire to kill surged in him. His face was cold, and his eyes appeared deep.
Many of the extreme experts of the younger generation all jolted as they looked towards Xu Min; they wanted him dead. All of them were unable to believe that this young man had such a weak cultivation base. If he was capable of hiding his actual strength, then that would be disastrous.
"Whatever," one of the extreme experts muttered to himself while his eyes gleamed at Xu Min, "having strong opponents makes this adventure much more fun. I cannot wait for the rankings begin!"
This expert was not the only person to think like this. Everyone seemed to think the same thing, and all of them looked at Xu Min with apprehension.
Bu Huang and the Bu group were even more shocked than the those around. Xu Min’s desire to kill was stronger than a normal person his age. However, Xu Min had gone through far too much. He had killed numerous times. Most importantly, though, he had seen his sister die in front of him, and he had been betrayed by the Overseer whom he considered as his father. His revenge was personal and deep.
Because of this, he was no longer the innocent young man who had been training to become a Zhong, family guard. If someone got in the way of his training or way, he would kill them.
Xu Min withdrew into himself, erasing his killing desire for revenge. However, he had already instilled fear many experts around. These experts were all of the younger generation. They had been trained for the Immortal Valley rankings for years. Their attacks were perfect, their strength overwhelming. Nonetheless, they had only sparred against others. They had never fought to live.
Feeling this killing intent from Xu Min, Bu Huang was pleased. This meant that he had a far bigger chance of survival than many of the other youngsters.
The group of Bu Huang and his elders alongside the group of contestants walked past the ruins towards some stone houses. Reaching these stone houses Bu Huang entered the first empty house, and all the Bu family followers entered with him.
"Everyone, we will be living in this house for the next year." Bu Huang announced. "When it is time for the young experts to enter the gate of revelation, we will stay in the ruins. The guardians will show the many battles within the immortal ruins. Every day they will inform us who has died as well as an average estimation of who is in the top ten."
"My cherished warriors, I need to tell you something important. I know everyone knows the Immortal Valley Ranking is crucial. You all need to do your very best, but it is more important to value your life. Valuing your life is essential. If you wish to rank high or to keep the treasures you encounter, it is vital for you to be alive. Even if you end up with a low ranking, it is far better than the dead who did not rank at all ."
Bu Huang stressed how important it was to stay alive, but when Xu Min looked around at the many contestants, he saw they were not listening wholeheartedly to Bu Huang's speech.
'These people will only be a burden to you,' Cao Cao's voice resounded in Xu Mi's mind. 'They have never seen real fighting before, and they will all end up as cannon fodder. Even though this Bu Huang guy is being kind to warn them, they are not paying any attention.'
The group quickly left the house after having left the elders there. Bu Huang brought the youngsters with him to look at their opponents.
Xu Min had a small smile on his face, but he said nothing. Instead, he was observing the surrounding groups of people. Some were timid and walked around, consistently jolting when they got too close to other people. While others were rough and haughty, looking down on everyone else.
Some experts were capable of being killers. Their eyes were sharp, and their movements were precise and swift. Xu Min was looking at this group instantly decided not to be found by them. They would kill anyone they came across. If they split individually then, Xu Min was not too afraid of them, but a group of ten coldblooded killers was too much for Cao Cao and him.
Suddenly Xu Min's eyes widened. He felt a tinge of fear in his heart when he saw a group of guards wearing red uniforms. In the sky was a massive ship with four wings. It was leaving after depositing these warriors.
These people were no strangers to Xu Min. Although he did not recognize all of them instantly, he remembered the ship and the leader. It was the Snow Mountain faction.
Noticing the sudden change in Xu Min, Bu Huang's gaze followed Hui Yue's direction. He frowned slightly when he saw them.
"You know the warriors from the Snow Mountain of the Dragon Ruins?" he asked curiously. A sour smile emerged on Xu Min's lips, "You can say so," he answered and paused for a moment before he continued speaking, "I killed around hundred of their soldiers." He continued after a short pause, but his words had already caused Bu Huang to instantly stop in his tracks. He stared at Xu Min in disbelief.
Bu Huang was not the only shocked. Everyone behind him, guards, elders and participants alike, were greatly stunned. They knew the Snow Mountain of the Dragon Ruins were not to be insulted; yet, someone in their group had already killed a hundred of their guards. If this was not enmity, then what was?
At the same moment Xu Min was thinking about his slaughter, the leader of the Snow Mountain group coincidentally looked towards him. Their eyes interlocked, and the guard's face turned white as a sheet of paper. In his mind, the memory of Xu Min and his slaughter played in front of his eyes once more. His entire body was trembling.
All the guards seeing the change in their leader tried to find the source of discomfort for him.The contestants followed his gaze, and in front of them was a young man with a small smile on his face. His arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes were as calm, but deadly as the surface of a deep, dark lake.
"It's him!" a guard shakingly exclaimed, "he is the one they called Yanluo!"
Hearing these words, every single contestant also followed his gaze. Their eyes landed upon Xu Min, all of them were aghast. This was the two-star expert capable of producing such fear in the hearts of all the Snow Mountain's guards.
A member of the Snow Mountain, straightened his back and moved towards the Bu family group.
"To think I would run into you here Yanluo!" the man said with laughter in his voice. He was around twenty years of age. His eyes were deep and seemed to contain the entire universe’s mysteries. It was clear that he was the extreme expert that the Snow Mountain had sent. He was without a doubt a five-star Warrior, if not higher. This was what true talent looked like.
"This lowly one feels fortunate to meet such a great cultivator as yourself." Hui Yue bowed respectfully. Contrary to what most believed, he was not scared witless because he felt that he could at least make a fight and then escape. If it came down to it, he believed Bu Huang would support him.
"To think someone as weak as yourself was capable of gaining the title Yanluo. It is quite comical!" the older boy continued, "well, it is not possible to battle now outside of the Immortal Valley as the Guardians will disqualify all of us if we do. However, watch your back within the Valley. I am eager to see if you live up to the name you have been granted."
The words were not spoken low. They were so loud that everyone could hear it, causing the majority to be filled with shock. All of them started to discuss what deeds he had done to be given such an outstanding nickname.
"I will wait for you," Xu Min stated. He had a wry smile on his face, "I killed your guards only because they wanted to kill me. If you come for me, do not blame me for being ruthless. Anyone who decides to be in my way, I will personally ensure that they die, so they will never cause me trouble again."
Xu Min spoke these words with full confidence. When this older expert looked into Xu Min's eyes, he realized it was no empty threat. His heart shook, and his mouth went dry, fear arose within himself that he could not understand.