Chapter 40: Second To None (2)
Chapter 40: Second To None (2)
The qi that moved violently within her had also brought immense pain. Lin Dan felt as though she had been lying on the execution platform, suffering from the pain of being slashed by a knife for a thousand times at every moment. Her skin and flesh were open, blood was flowing, her ebony hair fell, but quickly, new flesh, blood, and hair grew, as if she had undergone a rebirth.
But Lin Dan knew this was not a rebirth. She was experiencing death. Her body had become a battlefield between the life qi and the death qi. These two qis circulated in her body and went back and forth. As long as she was alive, the immense pain that felt as though she was being slashed would always be there.
Lin Dan clenched the book of martial technique tightly and sneered. She understood why the old leader was willing to give the top martial technique of the Eastern Holy Sect to an orphan, and why He Chongling allowed a lowly puppet to develop feelings for him. This Asura Sword Technique" was simply a self-harming technique. If she was unable to stop herself from loving someone, there was no way the original owner could make a breakthrough. Not forgetting that she was tenacious, which made the old master and He Chongling take full advantage of her. Even if she could endure the pain of being slashed for a thousand times, she would be leading a life that was worse than death.
It hurt to walk, to sleep, and even breathe She wondered if anyone could survive this endless pain. Even if there was, they would probably kill themselves within the next two or three years. She understood why no one in the sect was practicing this technique, even though it seemed so powerful that the original owner could become a first-rate master by practicing it for only five years. The old leader and He Chongling were probably just experimenting on her like a puppet. Regardless of whether she could succeed in learning this technique or not, the original owner would always be under their control and unable to escape.
What a good tactic! Lin Dan's eyes narrowed before putting the book in the sandalwood box and storing it properly. Her almost broken veins were being protected by a steady stream of life qi, but she could not remove the spell worm yet. If it were hidden elsewhere, it would have been destroyed by the qi, but it happened to be hidden in her heart, which was well protected by the life qi and giving it a chance to survive.
In other words, Lin Dan was still He Chongling's puppet. She would live if he let her, but she must die if he wanted her dead. However, this level of control could no longer threaten Lin Dan. If she could not crush the spell worm in her heart, she could crush the parent worm that resides in He Chongling's heart. Once the parent worm was killed, the spell worm in her heart would naturally die too.
As she became ruthless and heartless, she felt nothing when she thought about killing He Chongling, let alone having any killing intent. This was why the spell worm had no reaction. Besides, He Chongling's parent worm had almost never sensed her spell worm actively, and he would not find out what she was thinking. It was apparent that He Chongling did not treat the original owner as a human being and would not let the spell worm within her to affect him. It would not matter to him if the original owner had died. For him, her death was as good as getting rid of a pest.
Lin Dan avoided the guards and arrived at the spring at the back of the mountain to clean up her bloodied body. She was suffering from the immense pain in her body, but her expression remained calm as if nothing was happening. Although she had lost her memory, she had endured pain for thousands of years and this pain she was suffering felt nothing in comparison.
The next day was the wedding day of the sect leader and the saintess, and the sect was filled with lights and a festive atmosphere. In order to prevent someone from harming the handsome man after she left, the saintess asked to have the man appear at the wedding hall, and He Chongling actually granted her request. He did it so that the handsome man could witness him and the saintess tie the knot with his own eyes and stop having any desire to want to be with her. He Chongling thought it would not be late to find a chance to kill him after he had slept with the saintess.
A maid walked into a remote courtyard and said cautiously, "Left guardian, its about time that you head to the wedding hall."
Lin Dan ended her meditation and slowly said, "Find me a black dress."
"Today is a happy occasion for the leader. Its better that you wear red instead." The maid lowered her head and dared not look at her.
"Black dresses wont get dirty easily." Lin Dan said indifferently. She was going there to take lies, not congratulate them.
The maid did not dare to defy her and found a black dress to put it on for her. She said comfortingly, "Left guardian, please do not blame Mister Bai, He Yufei was the one who implicated him. Its best that you bring him back after you have attended the wedding banquet, lest the leader lashes out at him." Mister Bai, whose full name was Bai Yan, was the man that was brought back by the original owner, and He Yufei was the new saintess. She originally had no name, but a serial number. She was given this name after winning the favor of He Chongling. In the Eastern Holy Sect, having the surname "He" was an extremely sacred thing, and it was proof that the person had gained the recognition of the leader.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "Novel Multiverse dot com" website @ ]
The original owner risked her life for He Chongling for many years but could not even receive that surname from him. Yet, He Yufei gained everyones favor just by smiling at them or saying a few witty comments. He Yufei was shining like a bright sun, while the original owner was living like a pest in the dark. Both of them led completely different lives.
But from this day, everything would be different. Lin Dan would break through the shackles for the original owner, cut off the all entanglement, and reach the peak of martial arts. She knew that only the strongest would not be trampled on.
When Lin Dan arrived, all the sect members were there. They looked at the black dress she was wearing and displayed expressions of contempt, understanding, or sympathy. Everyone knew that she had a deep affection for the sect leader. Even if she later found a new boy toy, Bai Yan, people only thought she did it purposely to make the leader jealous. They felt that Lin Dan did not know her place, she did not have an attractive appearance and was unapproachable and quiet. They could understand why the sect leader had no interest in her, and even the boy toy she brought back was taken away by a maid.
"Left guardian, please head back and change another dress. Im afraid you wont be able to bear the leaders punishment. Today is a happy occasion for him after all, and youre dressing as though youre attending a funeral. Arent you trying to jinx him?" The right guardian whispered.
Lin Dan glanced at him and sat down before drinking some liquor. She was extremely pale, but her lips were as red as blood and her black eyes were covered with frost. She looked horrifying. The right guardian glanced at her and started shuddering for some reason. He did not dare to utter another word.
Lin Dan put down the wine glass and waited. Bai Yan was sitting right across from her. If it were the usual, she would have looked straight at him, but today she did not even give him a second look and treated him like a total stranger. Bai Yan only glanced at her and looked at the door, looking peaceful and at ease.
Since he was being taken into captivity in the Eastern Holy Sect, he had never stopped playing the zither, viewing the flowers, doing ink painting, and practicing calligraphy he did not seem to be flustered at all. To him, being kidnapped was merely a change of living environment and it was no big deal. He held a small wine cup in his hand, but he did not drink it. He only twisted his wrist casually and tapped the cup with his slender fingertips, looking all relaxed and casual.
He had always seemed to be calm and unhurried, which made him more mysterious and charming. People in the hall, men and women, could not take their eyes off him. It seemed as though people would be willing to risk their lives for him if he had displayed that light and gentle smile to them.
There were people who could not hold back anymore and walked towards him. They wanted to pour him a glass of wine, but they retreated after receiving a faint glance from him and were afraid to behave inappropriately. Even though he did not learn martial arts and his body was weak, his natural air of elegance was not something ordinary people could taint.
In between the chatter and laughter, the sound of drums rang, and came the bride and groom. Those who lived in the martial world were not elaborate people, and the newlywed naturally did not tie the red string, the bride did not arrive on a carriage and was not covered in a veil. Instead, they walked straight into the wedding hall side by side. As soon as He Yufei entered the door, she looked at Bai Yan and heaved a sigh of relief to see that he was present.
But He Chongling looked directly at Lin Dan with a pair of infuriated eyes. The wedding hall was decorated with festive lights and decorations, and everyone came dressing for a happy occasion. Lin Dan was the only exception who came in a black dress and expressionless face. Why is she doing this? Is she trying to ruin this wedding? He thought.
He Yufei also noticed Lin Dan and her eyes instantly flashed with joy. She planned to take her master away if Lin Dan were to wreak havoc later.
As the festive atmosphere was gradually ruined by Lin Dan, a sect member rushed in at this moment and reported loudly, "Bad news, leader! Qingcheng Clan, Heavenly Sword Sect, Nine Mountains and Yinyang Faction, and other sects have gathered! They are coming up the mountain, saying that they are going to annihilate us!"
"These sects had been showing no signs of action lately. Why are they coming here out of a sudden?" He Chongling spoke firmly and calmly as if he was not at all bothered by these sects.
"I have no idea too, leader!" The believer bowed his hands in shame.
"Hmph, they can come for all they want. Im not afraid at all." He Chongling took off his wedding robe and strode towards the mountain gate. Another panicking sect member came rushing in and said, "This is bad, leader! There are thousands of people who have surrounded us this time around, the half-step grandmaster from Lianyun City and hundreds of first-class masters are here too. I'm afraid we can't hold them back!"
The sect members, who were confident and ready to fight, stiffened as soon as they heard what the member said, and fear grew in their hearts. These so-called orthodox sects had often sent people to fight them from time to time and they have never been afraid, but this enormous number of people was unprecedented.
There are five martial arts levels: third-rate, first-rate, superior-rate, half-step grandmaster, and grandmaster. For each advancement in level, the combat power of the martial artist would increase a thousand-fold. A first-rate martial artist could kill tens of thousands of third-rate martial artists, and a half-step grandmaster could resist the attack of a hundred superior-rates. As for the grandmaster, it was a legendary level that was said to be a killing weapon that could crush the mountains and shatter the earth.
There had been only five grandmasters in the Eastern Tang Continent, and the strongest of them all was the Lord of Lianyun City. He was the last martial artist to enter the grandmaster level, but he was able to defeat all the other four grandmasters and became the top martial artist in the world. Therefore, he was named King Yun, and the city under his jurisdiction was named the Lianyun City.
The strongest martial artist of the Eastern Holy Sect was He Chongling, but he was merely a superior-rate, a far cry from a half-step grandmaster. He would be able to resist them if it was only an attack by a few major sects without Lianyun City's intervention, but now that a half-step grandmaster was sent, with the support of a behemoth like the Lianyun City, there was no way the Eastern Holy Sect had a chance of winning the fight.
If everyone tried to fight back, the sect members would probably not be able to escape death![Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "Novel Multiverse dot com" website @ ]