All along, Lin Huang had not known Xiao Yishan’s true background. In the Qinglong Mountain Range, he genuinely believed Xiao Yishan was merely at the Celestial Element Realm, or at most, a renowned powerhouse in the East Spirit Realm.
But later, he discovered Xiao Yishan was in the Martial Marquis Realm.
Then, three days ago, Xiao Yishan forced three Celestial Element Realm experts to grovel on the ground without even making a move.
Furthermore, over the past three days, Lin Huang discovered Xiao Yishan’s terrifyingly vast knowledge of the continent’s history and his profound insights into Martial Arts theories. Add to that a high-spirited disciple like Qin Changsheng... Even if Lin Huang were a fool, he would know Xiao Yishan’s background was anything but simple.
In his previous life, Lin Huang had been a prominent Martial Saint, yet he had never heard of Xiao Yishan. This left only two possibilities: either Xiao Yishan lived as a nameless hermit hidden from the world, or the heights Xiao Yishan had reached were far beyond what a Martial Saint like him could comprehend.
"It’s not time yet!" Xiao Yishan smiled leisurely, continuing, "Knowing my identity won’t do you any good. In the future, if you manage to walk out of the East Spirit Realm, you’d best not lightly reveal that you are my disciple. Otherwise, you won’t even know how you died."
Lin Huang felt helpless. If he had known, he would have memorized every powerhouse on the Azure Sky Continent in his previous life.
"Master, you’re leaving soon, and this is my apprenticeship banquet... Uh, or rather, a farewell banquet... Don’t you think..." Lin Huang suddenly thought of something. A rare, fawning expression appeared on his face. He winked and gave a meaningful look, acting so transparently that he might as well have jumped up and shouted, "This is a grand apprenticeship banquet! Shouldn’t a Master give his disciple some sort of token? Shouldn’t you give me something as a memento at a farewell banquet?"
Seeing Lin Huang’s extreme inner desire—paired with his pretense of restraint, his embarrassment to speak plainly, and his completely flushed face—Xiao Yishan burst into loud laughter. "You look like you walked straight out of a brothel, acting the whore while demanding a monument to your chastity!"
Xiao Yishan waved his arm. He didn’t continue teasing Lin Huang and instead tossed him three items: a painting, a jade slip, and a Token.
"I have already given you the Thirty Thousand Musashi. You must not let them go to waste! The countless Martial Arts notes and experiences inside are all references for your path of Martial Arts Cultivation!"
Lin Huang accepted the three items and nodded. He then slowly unrolled the painting Xiao Yishan had given him. His eyes widened drastically as he wailed internally.
The painting Xiao Yishan had given him was exactly the same one he had seen in the thatched cottage in the Qinglong Mountain Range—the portrait of his so-called Second Senior Brother, Qin Changsheng. It depicted a scruffy young man stepping on a bald bird, an iron blade hanging from his waist. The tens of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers beneath his feet looked like... a few dirt mounds.
Seeing Lin Huang’s flushed and stifled expression, Xiao Yishan smiled leisurely instead and continued, "That jade slip records the thirty-nine thousand and eighty-one battles I have experienced in my life. My Martial Techniques and Martial Arts comprehensions are all inside it!"
"This is good!" Lin Huang grinned. He quickly rolled up the painting and sent his Divine Sense into the jade slip.
Suddenly, Lin Huang felt his Soul bounce back with a BANG. The shock left him somewhat dizzy and disoriented.
"Before you become a Martial King, your Divine Sense will not be able to enter the jade slip," Xiao Yishan chuckled, taking a sip of his wine as he watched Lin Huang’s dumbfounded expression.
"Then what about this Token?" Lin Huang asked, unwilling to give up. Xiao Yishan had given him three items; surely at least one of them had to be somewhat useful at his current Realm!
"This Token is incredible," Xiao Yishan said, sitting up straight with a serious face.
Lin Huang looked at Xiao Yishan suspiciously. Half-doubting, he examined the Token in his hand. The entire Token was only the size of a palm, forged from Ancient Withered bronze and looking slightly mottled. Coiled at the top of the Token was a fierce and violent tiger with a maw full of sharp fangs. On the front of the Token was the character for ’human’ written in Ancient Times small seal script, while a number was engraved on the back: Shisan!
"Does this Token contain a Martial Technique? A treasure? A powerhouse’s inheritance? Or..." Lin Huang asked.
"It barely counts as a Sect Token. I originally had higher-grade ones, but this is the only one I have left on me," Xiao Yishan said, revealing a deeply serious smile.
"A Sect Token?" Lin Huang was visibly stunned, nearly cursing out loud. "You make it sound so nice, but isn’t it just a broken plaque? It’s completely useless! Why did you even give it to me? Am I still your disciple? An Inner Chamber Disciple at that! How can you be this stingy?
"Alright, Master. We’ve been sitting here for two hours now. You should be full and satisfied, so your disciple won’t keep you any longer!" Lin Huang stood up and unhesitatingly issued an eviction order.
"You brat!" Xiao Yishan shook his head helplessly, though a faint smile lingered on his face. Much like Lin Huang acting out of spite, he used his smile to conceal the melancholy in his heart.
"It is time to go!" Xiao Yishan let out a long sigh. His slightly hoarse voice caused a heavy silence to fall over the small courtyard.
Under the moonlight, Xiao Yishan stood up. He smoothed out his unkempt hair, wiped the dirt from his face, rolled down his trouser legs, and adjusted his robes with extreme seriousness. Then, Xiao Yishan took a pitch-black cloak from his Storage Ring and calmly draped it over his shoulders.
At that moment, Lin Huang felt as if Xiao Yishan’s appearance had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. Xiao Yishan simply stood there quietly. His face was as weather-beaten as ever, but beneath that weathered exterior, Lin Huang sensed an invincible aura of Dominance... A single glance was enough to look disdainfully upon the world!
"Xiaohuang... this apprenticeship banquet was the happiest meal your Master has eaten in all these years," Xiao Yishan said, turning around in the courtyard with a melancholy expression.
"After today, you and I will be separated by the ends of the earth. I hope that one day, you can step into the ranks of the continent’s powerhouses and stand at the peak of the Central State Martial Arts Arena. When that time comes, perhaps we will have the chance to meet again.
"Lastly, Master will leave you with one more piece of advice. This world believes that the strong are revered. But as a true Martial Artist, you must never forget the morality of a Martial Artist just for the sake of becoming a powerhouse. A disciple of Xiao Yishan should naturally possess eternal spirit. It is better to die standing than to live kneeling! As long as you follow this, even if you remain nameless, you will not have failed as a true man of heaven and earth!"
Looking at the smile of Dominance on Xiao Yishan’s face, Lin Huang stared blankly. Thousands of complex emotions welled up in his heart, yet he didn’t know how to express them. In the end, he could only nod silently.
"I’m leaving!" Xiao Yishan patted Lin Huang’s shoulder encouragingly, then turned slightly and stomped his foot...
The Great Xia Imperial City in the middle of the night seemed exceptionally peaceful and tranquil. But right at the thick of the night, a monstrous Dominance suddenly swept across the entire Great Xia Imperial City and the entire Great Xia Dynasty... And even the entire East Spirit Realm!
In the courtyard illuminated by the bonfire, Lin Huang tilted his head up and gazed at Xiao Yishan, who had already flown into the sky. His expression was full of shock.
Beneath the bright, radiant moon, Xiao Yishan stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His black hair fluttered sharply like blades, and his robes billowed around him. He looked like a peerless spear sweeping across heaven and earth. That billowing shoulder cloak was the black banner of war waving in all directions! Under the bright moon and vast sky, the wave of the man’s arm brought forth a sky-covering Dominance!
Then, the Qinglong Mountain Range trembled.
The pitch-black old bull beneath the waterfall of Thousand Feet Cliff suddenly let out a long howl toward the sky, terrifying the tens of thousands of Demon Beasts in Azure Dragon Mountain into groveling on the ground. With a stomp of its four hooves, the old black bull flew into the sky. Its body rapidly expanded and transformed, ultimately turning into a terrifying black beast of slaughter as massive as a mountain.
The waterfall of Thousand Feet Cliff subsequently rolled backward into the sky. A Divine Blade flew out from within the waterfall, exuding a murderous aura that pierced heaven and earth as it automatically hung itself at Xiao Yishan’s waist.
At this moment, all the powerhouses in the East Spirit Realm groveled in fear!
Lin Huang stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him. He never expected Xiao Yishan to possess such a peerless bearing. Was it truly just as he had claimed—that he alone monopolized the world’s Three-Part Dominance?
Gazing at the figure departing with hands behind his back under the bright moon and vast sky, Lin Huang suddenly shouted loudly, "Your disciple wishes Master a boundless journey across Changtian! May you act as a Killing God whenever you meet Gods, and slay Buddhas whenever you meet Buddhas! Your disciple will also engage in bitter Cultivation, hoping only that one day, I will not disgrace Master’s prestigious name!"
Amidst the brilliant moonlight, Xiao Yishan stood with his hands behind his back atop the giant beast’s head. Hearing Lin Huang’s words, he did not turn around. He merely let out a hearty laugh that echoed toward the sky. His "Return Ode", shaking the sun and moon, rolled out like a majestic battle hymn across the boundless night, brimming with ultimate Dominance and melancholy:
"My face covered in dust, my temples white like frost. Across the eternal ages, who dares claim to be king?
"I heard a wretch donned the crown, taking control of heaven and earth.
"Blind to the suffering of the masses, he sits high above. Tolerating the fall of mountains and rivers, he laughs like a madman.
"The Azure Heavens are dead, Evil Demons soar high!
"The sun and moon sink to the west, all living beings are lost!
"The heavens and earth are vast, eternity is boundless!
"A million Cultivators, why fear a battle!
"Sacrifice my body, spill my hot blood. Toss my head, erect my corpse. I shall support the broken pillars of the southern skies, and uphold the overturned azure heavens!
"Though millions stand in my way, I shall press forward!
"I have a disciple named Qin Changsheng, sharpening a sword for ten years to wash away all vanity.
"Then I hear the world has Emperor’s slaves, sleeping on brushwood for a century to quell national disasters.
"I have sheathed Cangfeng and removed my armor for an eternity. Today, I shall let my frost-like blade be shown to the world!
"In the vast universe, the winds and clouds shall rise.
"The Mortal World Butcher has now returned!"