In the plaza, the young woman asked who the third person was.
However, the disciples of Piaoxue Palace had their eyes glued to her, seemingly indifferent to the answer.
She wore a pale cyan dress with flowing water sleeves that perfectly accentuated her graceful figure. Her black hair was coiled up with a Peacock Jade Hairpin, and her beautiful, charming face carried a trace of cold elegance. Her slightly raised eyebrows gave her a proud demeanor. Standing amidst the crowd, she was like a gorgeous peacock—so lofty and unapproachable.
Countless stealthy gazes swept over her proud figure, carrying a hint of burning desire, before finally turning toward the High Priest.
"Who is she?" Lin Huang asked Lu Han, gazing at the proud woman ahead.
"One thousand taels!" Lu Han replied huffily. He seemed absent-minded, still immersed in the name ’Xuanyuan Tibing’.
"Deal!" Lin Huang agreed without hesitation.
Lu Han suddenly snapped back to his senses. He stared at Lin Huang in disbelief, repeatedly confirming to himself that he had indeed just asked for one thousand taels, before he finally shifted his gaze to the woman.
"Tsk, tsk... don’t even think about getting any funny ideas about her. Her name is Yun Feifei, a genius ranked second among the Inner Sect Disciples. She doesn’t even give Xie Qinghou the time of day. You haven’t even entered the Inner Sect, yet you’re dreaming way out of your league like a toad lusting after a swan," Lu Han teased. He realized that Lin Huang’s silver was surprisingly easy to earn, though these one thousand taels were definitely going down the drain.
Lin Huang’s mind buzzed. His eyes locked onto the woman’s back as he let out a cold, ruthless smile. "Yun Feifei, is it? What a coincidence!" he muttered.
At the very front, Yun Feifei seemed to feel the unusual gaze on her back. She couldn’t help but turn her head to glance at Lin Huang, then curled her lips into a silent, mocking smirk. "Just another toad groveling at my feet. It’s a pity his strength is so pitifully low; he doesn’t even have the qualifications to massage my feet," she thought.
"The third person is named Lin Changtian!"
When the High Priest’s calm voice echoed in everyone’s ears, Yun Feifei’s mocking smirk and Lin Huang’s cold expression both froze on their faces. They subsequently stared up at the High Priest in utter disbelief.
Meanwhile, the Inner Sect Disciples and Outer Disciples of Piaoxue Palace were left scratching their heads, their faces full of confusion and bewilderment.
"Lin Changtian? Who is Lin Changtian?"
"I don’t recall this person being on the Martial Marquis List of the East Spirit Realm."
"Could it be some country bumpkin from the middle of nowhere?"
As the crowd broke into discussion, Yun Feifei shifted her gaze to a secluded corner of the plaza. Staring at Lin Cangxue, who stood there aloof and independent from the world, her bright eyes burned with blazing jealousy.
Lin Changtian? Yun Feifei remembered Lin Cangxue once mentioning that her father’s name was Lin Changtian!
Yun Feifei’s face burned hotly. She never expected it to be Lin Cangxue’s father—the father of the woman she had always been jealous of!
Having once been a close companion of Lin Cangxue, she naturally knew who Lin Changtian was. He was the man who had disappeared from the East Spirit Realm over twenty years ago, only to return in glory as a Martial King sixteen years ago.
There were no legends of Lin Changtian in the East Spirit Realm, simply because he had long since left again.
In the crowd, Lin Huang let out a defeated smile. He naturally knew who Lin Changtian was. However, he suddenly realized that his understanding of his own father was less than what outsiders knew.
At this moment, as the High Priest mentioned Lin Changtian, he also turned to glance at Lin Cangxue in the corner. Yet, her expression remained entirely unchanged. Like a begonia blooming in the ice and snow, she stood there quietly.
The High Priest did not bother explaining to the crowd who Lin Changtian was. After all, the man’s greatest battle record was practically turning the Four Great Sects and Ten Great Dynasties upside down. How could he possibly say that out loud?
Looking over the thousands of people across Piaoxue Palace, the High Priest spoke once more. "However, the emergence of Yin Yang Valley does not solely bring forth a legacy. It also signals that our East Spirit Land will once again face an unavoidable calamity!"
"A calamity?" The disciples of Piaoxue Palace were full of confusion, whereas the expressions of the Elders turned extremely solemn.
"Every time Yin Yang Valley appears, it is inevitably accompanied by sky-blotting Resentful Spirits. These Resentful Spirits can obliterate any living breathing thing, and they can also invade the human body, easily causing a Martial Artist to fall into the Demon Path and become a Demon who only knows slaughter!" Lu Han suddenly spoke up from beside Lin Huang. "Every time Yin Yang Valley emerges, the death toll reaches the tens of millions. Even the Four Great Sects and Ten Great Dynasties face the danger of annihilation!"
"Is there no way to resolve it?" Lin Huang gasped.
"Resolve it?" Lu Han chuckled coldly. "If it were truly that easy to resolve, then Yin Yang Valley wouldn’t be Yin Yang Valley!
"Over two hundred years ago, the peerless Fortune Teller of a generation, Xuanyuan Wuxiang, had exceptional talent and commanded the winds and clouds of the world. Yet, didn’t he still end up journeying to the Yellow Springs?
"One hundred and ninety years ago, Chen Ruoxu, who was known as the Sword God, was full of ultimate vigor and spirit. With a single sword, he slaughtered the world’s Demon Fiends. In the end, his body was still invaded by Resentful Spirits, forcing him to fall into the Endless Demon Path. He ultimately met the fate of committing suicide by slitting his own throat.
"More than seventy years ago, Chu Yuntu, who was then the number one expert in the East Spirit Realm, even advanced to the Martial King Realm. But in the calamity of Yin Yang Valley, he still couldn’t escape death. In the end, he was eaten alive by a hundred thousand Resentful Spirits.
"These people were all legendary figures whose names were etched into the annals of the East Spirit Realm’s history. Yet in the face of Yin Yang Valley’s calamity, they couldn’t even protect themselves and had their souls return to the Yellow Springs. Let alone anyone else!" Lu Han sighed.
In the plaza, Lin Huang frowned. He had heard of Xuanyuan Wuxiang, Chen Ruoxu, and Chu Yuntu before. These men were all myths of their respective eras, much like Xuanyuan Tibing was in this current era.
"Just what kind of calamity could render all the Martial Artists in the entire East Spirit Realm so utterly helpless?" he wondered, falling into deep thought.
In his past life, he had also seen terrifying, ominous lands. In front of those perilous grounds, even Martial Emperors and Martial Saints were like fragile ants that could not withstand a single blow.
However, those murderous lands all possessed extremely ancient histories. On the other hand, the East Spirit Realm was located in a remote area and had thin Spiritual Qi. Its level of peril should have been far inferior. So why was it terrifying to the point where even experts of the Martial King Realm didn’t dare to provoke it?
"Yin Yang Valley... I’m afraid it isn’t as simple as I imagined!" Lin Huang remained lost in his contemplation.
Beside him, Lu Han continued, "Besides, why would they want to resolve it? On one side, there’s the legacy of Yin Yang Valley, which is enough to let a Sect prosper for a century. On the other side, Resentful Spirits will be born, plunging the common people into calamity. In this world where Martial Arts reign supreme and human lives are as cheap as dogs, the choice isn’t hard to make!"
Lin Huang was slightly stunned, but then he nodded. Lu Han’s words were entirely correct. This world inherently respected the strong above all else, so who would pity the cheap lives of the common people?
The so-called greater good was nothing but a pile of dog shit!
For some reason, the figure of Xiao Yishan surfaced in Lin Huang’s mind. He recalled that man who seemed to look coldly upon the mortal world, yet had temples full of frost and a face etched with extreme vicissitudes.
Lin Huang still remembered that on the night Xiao Yishan left, he had personally warned him to uphold the morality of a Martial Artist.
...Martial Artist morality?
It was something the world had long forgotten, yet it was Xiao Yishan’s final instruction to him. What exactly was that pessimistic, idle man clinging to deep down in his heart?
Lin Huang shook his head and sighed softly.
If the Yin Yang Valley calamity really arrived abruptly, it probably wouldn’t be his turn to uphold the morality of a Martial Artist and purge the wicked. Right now, he was merely a kid in the Earth Element Realm.
Even if he had the heart to do it, he would be powerless.
In contrast, the crowds of Piaoxue Palace didn’t share Lin Huang’s heavy thoughts. Instead, their faces were filled with excitement and fighting spirit.
A legacy!
It was a peerless opportunity where legends would rise like dragons riding the wind and tigers dominating the clouds.
As for the calamity...
They didn’t think about how many would die or how many would succumb to the Demon Path in a single thought once the disaster struck. Rather, they viewed it as a challenge—a challenge to make a name for themselves across the world and go down in history.
The temperament of youths was, after all, full of spirit and unquestionable arrogance.
Unfortunately, this sort of bravado could not be seen on Lin Huang!
With the news of Yin Yang Valley’s emergence, Piaoxue Palace’s operations shifted accordingly. On Yann Nangui’s face, which seemed carved from reef stone, there was an intense solemnity devoid of any joy or sorrow. Only his deep, majestic voice echoed across the plaza.
"From this day forward, all Elders within the palace are to cancel their secluded Cultivation and put all their efforts into investigating the matters of Yin Yang Valley!
"All penalized disciples are pardoned of their crimes. They must dedicate themselves to Cultivation to prepare for the coming calamity!
"Starting tomorrow, the battle for the Chief Disciple position will begin to prepare for the Four Sects and Ten Dynasties joint martial tournament to seize the legacy of Yin Yang Valley!"