Outside Heaven Dou City, in the Breaking Clan territory, lies the Yun Ming Courtyard.
Yun Ming is currently accompanying Yang Wutian, playing chess and chatting.
"Who would have thought! In just half a month, the changes in the continent have been so immense."
Recalling the news from half a month ago, when the seven sects collectively honored Martial Soul Hall, causing endless turmoil across the continent, Yang Wutian speaks with a sigh.
Yun Ming looks at the chessboard, places a piece, and says gently.
"Does Fifth Grand Uncle enjoy this change?"
To this, Yang Wutian answers decisively.
"Of course! The longer it lasts, the better."
Ever since the Seven Sects Championship concluded, Martial Soul Hall's prestige has reached its peak, and its wolfish ambition is now clear to all. The two great empires have begun frantically expanding their military armaments like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, and the kingdoms and duchies under Martial Soul Hall are doing the same for the coming war. As the leader in the field of Pills, the Breaking Clan has naturally made a fortune in this era; Yang Wutian is certainly happy about such a good thing.
Yang Wutian glances at the chessboard, places a piece of his own, and asks Yun Ming.
"Ming Er, how long do you think this continent will remain in chaos?"
Yun Ming looks at the board for a moment of silence, his eyes brightening as he places the final piece, and responds casually.
"About four or five years, I suppose."
"Fifth Grand Uncle, you've lost again."
Yang Wutian looks at the 'Four Dragons Mutual Slaughter Formation' destroyed by Yun Ming on the board, puts down his chess piece, shakes his head helplessly, and says.
"I'm old; my vision isn't as good as you young people's."
His words carry a double meaning, referring to both his chess skills and his foresight. However, Yang Wutian is very fortunate that such a peerlessly talented descendant like Yun Ming has appeared within the clan.
Yun Ming gathers the chess pieces and asks.
"Shall we play another, Fifth Grand Uncle?"
Yang Wutian stands up and says.
"No more, there is still a pile of clan affairs to deal with."
As he speaks, he rises and leaves. He now understands the wisdom of Yang Wudi, who chose to run away early; looking at the ever-increasing documents every day, Yang Wutian feels exhausted in body and mind. Yet, seeing the daily growing income on the documents, he feels he can still hold on. This life of being in pain yet happy is truly difficult for him to endure.
Seeing Yang Wutian leave, Yun Ming also stands up and exits the courtyard. Today, he has other matters to attend to as well.
"Greetings, Young Master!"
"Greetings, Young Master!"
"..."
Yun Ming walks along the small path within the clan, and other clansmen bow respectfully and greet him one by one; Yun Ming responds to each in turn. Ever since his strength was exposed, most people in the clan have become more reserved and less intimate when interacting with him. Although Yun Ming feels a bit helpless, there is nothing he can do about it.
Walking out of the residential area, Yun Ming arrives at the mountain path outside and heads upward; his destination is the summit of Break Heaven Peak. Without using his abilities, a long-lost hike is quite a pleasant experience!
The higher one climbs on Break Heaven Peak, the mountain where the Breaking Clan resides, the more rugged the rocks become. Although the greenery is sparse, its vitality is extremely tenacious.
More than halfway up the mountain, Yun Ming looks down at the vast world below, unable to help but feel moved. The continuous mountain ranges, the winding rivers, and the neatly arranged buildings are all revealed within his broad field of vision. At this moment, it feels as if the entire world is beneath his feet, giving one a sense of unparalleled freedom and openness. The vast sea of clouds and the gentle breeze brushing against his face create an ethereal mood that makes one reluctant to leave.
Even though Yun Ming has seen this scene many times, he still finds it beautiful. How could the perfect fusion of natural landscapes and the laws of heaven and earth not be beautiful?
It is a pity that the clamor coming from the summit ruins Yun Ming's mood.
Yun Ming shifts his Spiritual Power and discovers what the few people at the summit are doing, sighing that they really are a restless bunch! He immediately exerts force under his feet and strides toward the summit. Soon, he arrives at the top and sees everything his Spiritual Power had perceived. Yun Ming does not interrupt, simply continuing to watch.
"Clang, clang--"
An ancient heavy sword and a pitch-black spear clash rapidly amidst the jagged rocks, ringing out. Two young Soul King level Soul Masters are engaged in a fierce battle.
A few other young men and women nearby are cheering for their respective favorites.
A noble and graceful beauty in a pink outfit and pink trousers, with long hair reaching her hips, shouts words that do not match her temperament at the peach blossom-eyed youth holding the sword.
"Little Oscar, go for it, knock him down!"
This is Ning Rongrong; three years have passed, and in private, she is still the same little witch. Compared to Ning Rongrong, the other petite and cute girl is much more refined, only saying softly.
"Ah Yi, go for it!"
This is Ye Qingyin; three years have passed, and she still hasn't grown taller. It seems she will be a legal loli for the rest of her life.
The two being cheered on are naturally Oscar and Yang Yi, who are fighting within a large circle.
Today is the day their original Empire Team agreed to gather, and seeing that Yun Ming hadn't arrived yet, the two decided to spar.
Watching Oscar, who holds the Seven Kill Sword and moves with the agility of a tiger descending a mountain as he charges at Yang Yi, Yun Ming seems to see the shadow of Chen Xin in him.
That's right, Oscar is wielding the Seven Kill Sword. With Yun Ming's spoilers ahead of time, Oscar obtained his strongest ability for his Fifth Soul Ring: Copy Mirror Image Sausage.
Sword light flickers, chilling and sharp, with every swing carrying the force of a thunderbolt. Oscar's movements are swift and fierce, dazzling to the eye, as if he could kill his enemy in an instant. Such a refined sword style is exactly the same as Chen Xin's.
Facing Oscar's precise and condensed swordsmanship, Yang Yi does not back down in the slightest. The Po Hun Long Spear in his hand dances like a dragon, heroic and majestic, reflecting the sun as it meets Oscar's sword light with a barrage of stabs like a storm. Looking at his spear technique, it is very similar to Yun Ming's.
Under their control, the spear and sword clash fiercely, like a youthful reenactment of the technical battle between Yun Ming and Chen Xin. Although their level is far from the original, it is already quite impressive compared to their peers.
Yun Ming hasn't spent little time in the clan these past few years and has often guided Yang Yi, so he is quite familiar with Yang Yi's level of ability. However, Oscar is a bit of a surprise! Having only practiced the sword for three years, he is actually able to fight Yang Yi for a hundred moves without losing; that is already quite something!
But soon, something happens that exceeds Yun Ming's expectations.
Just as Oscar was on the verge of defeat, he suddenly unleashed a Flick Sword Technique, catching Yang Yi completely off guard. At the same time, he quickly consumed a Sausage, rapidly underwent Bone Dragon Transformation, and struck toward Yang Yi's opening with a Bone Dragon Claw.
Caught off guard, Yang Yi was struck by the dragon claw and knocked outside the Circle.
According to the rules they had previously set, stepping out of the Circle meant defeat. Oscar revealed a sly grin and began to gloat.
"Old Yang! You're not so tough, are you? You couldn't even beat a Food System user like me."
Yang Yi blushed slightly and retorted stubbornly.
"You brat, you cheated!!"
Oscar teased him with a cheeky grin.
"Isn't this my ability? How can you call that cheating?"
"Don't tell me you're a sore loser and don't want to grill the meat!"
Seeing Oscar's smug expression, Yang Yi really wanted to raise his spear and poke him, but considering he was a man of his word and shouldn't be influenced by this scoundrel, he put his spear away and went to work honestly.
After their match, the sharp-eyed Feng Xiaotian noticed Yun Ming and shouted loudly.
"Boss, you're finally here."
The others heard Feng Xiaotian's words, noticed Yun Ming as well, and immediately greeted him.
Gong Ming: "Captain, long time no see."
Yun Ming smiled in response.
"Long time no see."
Ning Rongrong, Ye Qingyin, and Dugu Yan also greeted Yun Ming.
"Brother Yun, you're finally here. When is Sister Ya Li coming back?"
This was Ning Rongrong.
Yun Ming: "Hmm, it probably won't be for a few years."
Dugu Yan said coquettishly.
"Little Brother Yun, my grandfather wants you to be his grandson-in-law again."
Yun Ming: ".I'll find a way to make him give up."
Ye Qingyin said softly.
"Greetings, Young Master!"
Yun Ming: "Hello, don't be so formal."
The last one was the unique Niu Bi. As always, this guy had a bizarre perspective, and his question left Yun Ming not knowing how to answer.
"Brother Yun, I heard you're very powerful now. How many of me can you take down with one punch?"
Everyone: "."
Yun Ming said, laughing and crying at the same time.
"Just one of you, where would I find so many of you?"
Finally, there was Oscar, who immediately asked for praise upon approaching.
"Boss, how was my performance just now?"
Yun Ming thought of his use of the flying sword combined with the dragon claw, silently crossed out the mistaken impression that he had Chen Xin's style, and teased.
"It had quite a personal style; you've carved out your own path."
The implication was: you don't look like either of your masters, you fought quite despicably, truly worthy of you.
Oscar was initially happy to hear Yun Ming praise him like that, but the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt; he felt like something was off. However, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he eventually joined the others, chatting, talking nonsense, and recounting the hardships and torture he had endured over the past three years.
The group chatted and joked, sitting together eating grilled meat, as if they had returned to the days a few years ago when they were training hard under Yun Ming, feeling a different kind of emotion.
Yun Ming ate the skewers in his hand, watching the casual interaction of the people in front of him, and felt his own mindset become much younger. It seemed he should spend less time hanging out with those old men in the future.
But as they ate, drank, and chatted, Yun Ming suddenly felt like someone was missing, though it also felt like no one was, so he just continued.
It wasn't until a long time later that a cool guy with a livid face and covered in soot slammed a plate of grilled meat onto the table and roared.
"You bastards, this is going too far! At least eat a little slower!"
Case closed; it turned out the missing person was right here—
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader