Death… and me

"Was it that?" While Ji Mo asked himself, the aura that he gave off was different. It said, "Definitely!" Even if that wasn't the case, how else would his martial cultivation increase so tremendously?"

There was no other possible explanation other than the way of the martial arts.

Hence, Ji Mo felt that things were extremely unfair. How was it that Chu Yang managed to understand the way of martial arts simply after a single fight whereas not only was he not able to, he ended up with a face full of bruises. The difference between both Chu Yang and Ji Mo was far too great.

However, other than being confused and annoyed, Ji Mo was also a little unwilling to accept reality and in fact, this had motivated him even more. He thought that perhaps if he fought a little more, he would be able to reach enlightenment.

Luo Ke Di and Rui Bu Tong were both standing on the side with the same thought as they fixed their eyes on Gu Du Xing. Just because Ji Mo was unable to does not mean we would be unable to as well. Given Ji Mo's pea sized brain, how could he achieve enlightenment? His intellect is far inferior compared to ours.

Hence both of them came to the same conclusion and wanted to give it a go…

Gu Du Xing simply looked at all three of them and understood their intentions. Hmm, if you guys dare to fight with this second brother, I will make sure I beat you far worse than I did Ji Mo…

Sure enough, he did not have to wait long. Luo Ke Di jumped out filled with confidence. He yelled in an arrogant tone, "Let's spar, second senior!"

The moment Gu Du Xing heard the words second senior, his eyeballs almost turned red with rage.

If you people are looking to be abused, and I don't give you what you want, it would really be considered such a waste for you to call me second senior…

However, at the end of the fight after four long hours, both Luo Ke Di and Rui Bu Tong were being beaten up entirely.

In the end, the two of them were lying together besides Ji Mo. They looked at one another unable to distinguish who was who. All of their faces were so badly bruised and swollen that they looked like triplets!

…

In a tavern in Iron Cloud Citadel…

The person who was dressed in blue tilted a wine jug and began drinking it slowly. The moment that the second Nine Tribulations Sword fragment appeared, he suddenly stood up and disappeared. The very next moment, he appeared right at the top of the tallest structure in the whole of Iron Cloud Citadel.

As he stood above everything in the distance, his eyes fixated on the strange phenomenon and muttered to himself, "Nine Tribulations Sword master! Is the Nine Tribulations Sword Master finally beginning to mature? Will this be a blessing or a curse for the Nine Heavens continents?"

He stood there in a trace for a brief moment before he said softly, "It seems as though the other older guys would have to be bothered. From now on, the situation in the Upper Three Heavens will be in extremely tense… How long more will it take for the Nine Tribulations Master to mature? If he's slow, it seems like the Upper Three Heavens will be at war for a long time to come…"

He shook his head and laughed as he continued, "The Nine Tribulations Sword master appears in the Lower Three Heavens. Yet, those who are most affected by his appearance are in the Upper Three Heavens… What a bother."

…

At the moment that the Nine Tribulations Sword flashed, Diwu Qing Rou had been strolling in the garden with Gao Sheng. They were talking about something when the entire heaven and earth seemed to have an intense white glow. Diwu Qing Rou's attention momentarily shifted and he asked, "Is it the Nine Tribulations Sword master?"

Gao Sheng was shocked, "Yes, according to the records of the clan, such a phenomenon is indicative that the Nine Tribulations Sword master has acquired the second Nine Tribulations Sword fragment! The sword edge!"

"Mm… Diwu Qing Rou took two leisure steps forward before pausing. "The second fragment! Sword edge… If I am not mistaken it is known as the killing force!"

Gao Sheng's face appeared somewhat surprised, "The Prime Minister is indeed correct." He did not expect for Diwu Qing Rou to have such comprehensive understanding of the Nine Tribulations Sword.

"When the Nine Tribulations Sword appears, heaven and earth will be overturned." Diwu Qing Rou thought for a moment. He then continued walking as he said, "Could this Nine Tribulations Sword master be part of some state? Or…?"

Gao Sheng thought for a brief moment and said, "According to ancient records, the Nine Tribulations Sword has always been a legend of Jiang Hu. Throughout the Nine Heavens, it exists almost as a myth. Moreover, legends of Nine Tribulations Sword mostly exist in Upper Three Heavens. Even in Middle Three Heavens, it is scattered. It is unlikely that he would be part of any state."

However, Gao Sheng had purposefully left things vague and unexplained: States? What are these states? How can they retain Nine Tribulations Sword?

"Hmm." Diwu Qing Rou smiled and nodded. He thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. This sigh appeared to be one of relief and his face unexpectedly relaxed. "I also thought of it that way. If the Nine Tribulations Sword does not belong to any state, then I will not be going against the Nine Tribulations Sword. Hence, I can rest easy…"

Gao Sheng wondered to himself: The Prime Minister can rest easy? From your tone, it is clear that a burden has been lifted from your shoulders… Why?

However, Gao Sheng also did not want to ask any further about this matter. If Diwu Qing Rou did not want to say anything, asking would have been useless.

However, at the very same moment, the great clans of the Middle Three Heavens, as well as the major forces of the Upper Three Heavens, were anxious. They all looked at the strange phenomenon with worry written all over their faces.

…

Upper Three Heavens, the Chu clan.

An old man who was in a black robe stood with his arms folded at the top of the Ask the Heavens Tower of the Chu clan. He remained motionless for a long time almost as though he had turned into a statue. It wasn't until another old man in black appeared next to him and said softly, "The Nine Tribulations Sword… is it still undetermined?"

"It still isn't! If its whereabouts or identity is being determined, then all of the Nine Heavens would be in chaos.

"Hmm, it seems that the second fragment as appeared." The old man who wore the black robe said quietly, "The appearance of the second Nine Tribulations Sword fragment symbolizes the start of the Nine Tribulations Sword master's maturity. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

The second man in black who had a pair of short brows said, "It seems like we will have to depend on fate. You don't have to worry sir."

Although at first glance, he didn't seem much younger than the other old man. Yet, he had called him sir.

"Fate… Ha…" The man in black sneered and said, "The appearance of the Nine Tribulations Sword's means that the fate of the Nine Heavens continents will change! Although our Chu clan is prosperous, it seems that the future is worth worrying about! It is likely that at this period, many thousands-of-years-old monsters would surely appear. Send out orders to the clan to be cautious."

The old man with the short eyebrows looked embarrassed and said, "Yes, I shall give the order."

"Nine Tribulations Sword… Nine Tribulations Sword… The word tribulation is hard to deal with." The old man in black's countenance seemed to be filled with worry.

"Is the Nine Tribulations Sword fate's tribulations?" The old man with the broken eyebrows looked disturbed.

"Not only is it fate's tribulations!" The old man in black sighed, "Each time the Nine Tribulations Sword appears, nine major clans or forces as powerful as the heavens would appear. In the Upper Three Heavens, they would dominate for thousands of years without fear of decline! It is those nine major clans which correspond to the nine tribulations of the Nine Tribulations Sword master!"

"This… could it be?" The old man with the broken eyebrows exclaimed, "How long has the Nine Heavens continents been in existence?"

"Haha… Records of the Nine Heavens continents states that it has been a total of seventeen thousand years ever since living creatures appeared on the Nine Heavens continents! It is really such a joke! It makes people confused and shocked; I really don't know whether to laugh or cry!" The old man in black said in a serious tone, "Our Chu Clan is not part of those nine major forces. We have only risen up over the last thousand years. Moreover, that year, our founding ancestor had traveled with Li Yun Tian for a brief period. It was because of this short period which created our founding ancestor's legend and Chu clan's fifteen hundred years status!"

"Those three short months became the proudest thing in our founding ancestor's life!"

"Li Yun Tian? Is Li Yun Tian the lord of the Li clan from more than a thousand years ago? One of the nine powerful forces in Upper Three Heavens?" The old man with the broken eyebrows was startled.

"Yes." The old man in black said casually, "In those three months, our founding ancestor wrote down Li Yun Tian's words. Among them…"

When he got to this point, he suddenly became silent as if lost in thought.

"What?"

"The Nine Tribulations Sword only reveals itself once every ten thousand years… Moreover, this one reveal is sufficient enough to shock the entire world. From then until now, it has come out eight times. Moreover, Li Yun Tian was born eight thousand years after the last time! I wonder if I will have the privilege of meeting the ninth Nine Tribulations Sword master." The old man in black said gently.

"It appears every ten thousand years? It has appeared eight times?" The old man with the broken eyebrows exclaimed loudly and said with his eyes widened, "Are you saying that the Nine Heavens' Jiang Hu has existed for at least eighty thousand years?"

"Yes! It seems that you are also not all that stupid." The old man in black grunted.

"But the history of the continents…"

Before the old man with the broken eyebrows was able to finish his sentence, the old in black interrupted him, "History of the continents? What is history? History is the writings of people who document it and can be changed at any time! Anyone who is capable of writing is capable of changing history!"

He sneered, "No matter how you write it, these people are already dead. They will definitely not be able to climb out from their coffins to stop you."

The old man with the broken eyebrows gasped, "So… sir, the record of our founding ancestor… could…?"

"Stop!"

The old man in black flatly refused, "There are too many secrets in there; it would be better if you didn't look into it!"

He grunted and said, "Look… The Chu clan at this point in time doesn't seem to have any outstanding talents. The entire bunch of them are all ordinary. This is especially true of the youngsters who are even more stupid! If I were to let you people in on the secrets, it would likely lead to a large calamity!"

The old man with short eyebrows remained stunned for a while before he began to complain. "There are some with abilities. Even some of the youngsters already reached Revered level… Compared to their peers from the other major clans, they are not too bad."

"Gibberish! I am talking about extremely rare talents. I am referring to having the potential to advance!" The old man in black said angrily, "Right now, the Nine Tribulations Sword master has appeared. If our Chu clan has even one person selected for one of those nine fragments… That would be great for us! What good is it to be invincible amongst the mice? Even if we became the champions… we would still remain as mice!"

"One of the nine fragments of Nine Tribulations Sword?" The old man with the broken eyebrows was startled. He did not know what else to say.

"The Nine Tribulations Sword… is divided into nine fragments: sword point, sword edge, sword spine, sword collar, sword mouthpiece, sword hilt, sword grip, sword tassel, and sword spirit!" The old man in black said worriedly, "Why is it that all of the clans in Middle Three Heavens send people out for training the moment Nine Tribulations Sword appears? This is, of course, a form of tradition. But how was this tradition created? No one in the Middle Three Heavens knows."

"However, this secret has been clearly documented down in the Upper Three Heavens. Each one of the Nine Tribulations Sword master always has nine powerful individuals assisting him! All of them correspond to the various nine fragments of the Nine Tribulations Sword! When Nine fragments unite, one sword will dance in the vast heavens! That is how a ten-thousand-year fate of the Nine Heavens' continents starts…"