Chapter 762: What Is To Come |
The trio quickly surveyed the area, making sure that the Ascetic was truly dead before leaving. Now that the danger was gone, their main focus was making sure that everyone on that ship was safe.
Though they had left, others would arrive on the scene.
After all, it was hard to ignore such loud commotion. Several figures were hidden within the outskirts of the battleground, only emerging from the shadows when Ming Yue and the others were gone.
All of them were dressed the same, clad in black with nothing but a fox mask covering their faces.
They all shared a look with each other.
"You, report to the tribe leader. Everyone else will fan out and investigate the area. One thing is for sure, the Zodiacs have largely weakened. The Den may be up for the taking."
Given their orders, these masked members of the Huxian Tribe split off in different directions.
Meanwhile, Ming Yue and the two elders soon arrived at the Reticent Fortress where its guards awaited them. As the gates opened and they saw the chip inside.
"Our visitors are currently residing within the medical ward. While the Heaven's Sky Guard had planned on escorting two of them back to the Human Realm, they were insistent on staying here and waiting."
"I see. Then please, lead the way", Ming Yue replied.
Once they reached it, the guards opened the door for the group to enter before taking their leave.
The moment those doors opened, those inside the medical ward looked up, watching Ming Yue and the two elders come in.
The young cultivator looked around, seeing Elder Shen and Hong Yu sitting upright in their beds.
The Spirit Elder had bandages wrapped around his neck while Hongyu had a few patches for smaller injuries.
Ming Yue immediately came to their bedside, checking on them.
"Are you two alright?" she asked, "How come you're like this? Did they not give you any medicinal pills?"
Elder Shen chuckled and shook his head.
"Although they offered, we refused. Medicinal Pills are hard to come by and neither of us have any serious injuries. We'll naturally heal on our own given time."
She then turned around, hugging Hongyu tightly.
"Hongyu, how do you feel? Is there any pain? Are you feeling hurt?"
Bombarding the little girl with questions, it was clear that she was worried for her. Hongyu just shook her head and hugged her as well.
"I feel good", she answered quietly.
Everyone watched this exchange, giving them some time to cherish this moment. The three elders all looked at each other and Elder Shen had this questioning look on his face.
Elder Xiang and Elder Hua gave him a little smile before nodding. They spoke with just their eyes and Elder Shen understood what had happened. And knowing that, he sighed in relief.
Once Ming Yue and Hongyu finished their embrace, the young woman turned around to find a member of the Heaven's Skyguard standing guard as well as Ruishi Lei and Ao Qin who were both in bed.
Lao Yang, Zhu Xie, and Shu Yi were nowhere to be found.
"Both of you... are you alright?" she asked.
Fortunately, the dragon-kin and lion-kin were conscious if not barely.
Ao Qin groaned as his eyes opened just a tad, looking up at Ming Yue.
"Does it look like we're fine, girl?" he responded, "I can barely speak, much less move around."
Looking at her, he watched Ming Yue lower her head and bend a bit forward.
"Thank you", she said, "I just want to thank you all for all of the help you and the other Zodiacs gave me. And I'm sorry for the danger that I've put everyone in."
Ao Qin weakly laughed.
"Ahahahaha, what is there to apologize? Me and him were able to fight someone well above our strength. We pushed ourselves to the brink and managed to reach a new stage with our transformation. Though as you can see, neither of us is in a good state. Heh, the amount of soreness and exhaustion is really hard to ignore."
"That's... I'm just grateful that no one lost their lives in this", Ming Yue replied.
It was then that Ruishi Lei spoke up.
"If you're here then, that man... did ou defeat him?" he asked.
The lion-kin looked at her calmly. He did not blink or look elsewhere, patiently waiting for an answer. Ao Qin was the same.
"Right, right, tell us! What happened?"
Ming Yue looked around, seeing that even the member of the Skyguard was a bit curious. After all, when was the last time a Heaven Realm Cultivator had died? Even rare for them to be defeated in battle and by those of a lower cultivation. After all, the gap between each realm was exponentially larger than the previous one, and the difference between the Sky Realm and the Heaven Realm was enormous.
And so she briefly told them, summarizing the fight. Once finished, she looked at everyone.
"Even if we managed to kill a Heaven Realm Cultivator, it wasn't just me but all of us that did it."
Saying it out loud, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride after all. This particular fight was personal for her. It involved those she cared for, the place she considered a home.
"Now then, what do you plan to do next?" Elder Hua asked.
Ming Yue looked at her before looking down.
"I'm not sure", she answered,
She couldn't quite think of anything, there wasn't really anything that she wanted to do at the moment. There were no pressing matters that needed to be dealt with. Frankly, she had many options.
Travel, hunting, training, there was a lot of choices for her to choose from. However, she couldn't quite make a decision.
"I only have a hundred years... should I just try to reach the Heaven Realm?" she wondered.
Then her eyes fell upon Hongyu and then she knew what she wanted to do.
"I think that I'll go back home. Take care of Hongyu."
Elder Xiang opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by the other two elders, who shook their heads at him. His mouth closed, saying nothing more.
Time passed by quietly. The battle with the Ascetic left quite a mark on the Beast Continent and things were certainly going to stir.
Of course, news traveled fast.
In the Beast Continent, it was revealed that both Ruishi Lei and Ao Qin were heavily injured and wouldn't be able to protect the Den when needed. Suddenly, it was left without its two guardians and many tribes started to turn their eyes on it. But where they lacked, the other Zodiacs would make up.
After all, one of them was Bai Sheng, daughter of the Byakko Tribe Leader, and with her influence, the Byakko Tribe was able to occupy the Den but this was only a temporary measure. They were spread rather thinly, protecting both their own territories and the Den itself. It was only a matter of time before someone would challenge them for control.
And within the Human Continent, news of the Ascetic's death rocked the land. After all, this was a Heaven Realm Cultivator. There were less than a hundred of them, maybe even fewer than that.
To the martial world, that was the peak of strength. So when they found out that it was Ming Yue who sought his defeat, naturally they were both astonished and curious. Even with all the help she had, they found such a thing hard to believe. Each and every one of her feats was worthy of fame, many admired her, many thought that this was all fake stories, and many were deeply intrigued.
What would she do next?
What was going to be her next feat?
As they wondered this, no one seemed to notice that skies above them slowly distorting.
