Chapter Eighty-Nine: Setting Out

Early the next morning, Lin Dong came to Ye Zihan’s room and pounded on the door before the sun had fully risen. Just thinking about the chance to go out and make a name for himself across the Phantom God Continent made him so excited he could not sleep; he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. So as soon as dawn began to break, he went to find Ye Zihan and the others, but they were still not up.

In the end, Lin Dong had no choice but to personally prepare breakfast for Ye Zihan and the others, then wait a little longer. After all, Ye Zihan and the others had been exhausted the entire previous night, and they were certainly more tired than he was. Lin Dong understood that well enough.

Just then, with a soft creak, Ye Zihan slowly opened the door, while Lin Dong had already been waiting outside the guest quarters for quite some time.

“Good morning, Young City Lord Lin Dong,” Ye Zihan greeted him with a smile. Since the other side had already shown every courtesy of a host, he could not afford to be rude.

“Good morning to you too, Brother Ye. Breakfast is already prepared for you all. Once you are done, we can set out.” Lin Dong was eager to leave Black Tortoise Marsh and go roaming beyond it to see the wider world.

As a young expert protected within Black Tortoise Marsh by Lin Lei, Lin Dong had long wanted to leave and venture out on his own. He understood that, at present, he was still relying on his father’s influence, and that was not the outcome he wanted. He wanted to protect himself with his own strength, and in the future he would need to walk the lands of the Phantom God Continent. So he was especially looking forward to this trip to Nameless Mound, hoping it would raise his strength.

“You’ve all risen so early. I can’t fall behind either, haha.” At that moment, Chen Yiyan had also gotten up. For someone as disciplined and demanding of himself as Chen Yiyan, he had actually been awake long ago, but since Ye Zihan had not yet risen, he had indulged in a rare lie-in. After all, for now they were still free men.

“That’s right. We can’t fall behind either, haha. Yan Chen is here too.” At this point, even Yan Chen had come out. The three of them all looked full of energy, and it seemed that Chen Yiyan and Yan Chen had not been shaken by the assassin incident from the night before. In fact, their complexions looked even better now, as though they were on the verge of a breakthrough.

Yan Chen had already reached the peak of the Four Symbols Realm, and if he worked a little harder, advancing into the Five Elements Realm would not be a mere pipe dream.

“Everyone, come with me to the main hall and have some breakfast. Once we are finished, we’ll leave this place. I hope our journey to Nameless Mound goes smoothly.” Lin Dong did not want to encounter any trouble on this trip. When they reached Nameless Mound, they would certainly run into many young experts, because the century-spanning struggle for Nameless City was, in essence, a contest among young experts, and the older generation was forbidden to interfere. Otherwise, they would automatically forfeit the struggle for Nameless City.

Nameless Mound was currently the only giant city in the Beast Domain without an owner. Being unclaimed did not mean desolate; on the contrary, because Nameless Mound had no master yet, cultivators flocked there in great numbers, and the place was in utter chaos. Countless lawbreakers and criminals from across the Phantom God Continent had gathered there.

If not for certain strange rules in Nameless Mound, everyone might already have been tearing each other apart over the right to control it. The century-spanning struggle for Nameless Mound was a grand occasion for the major powers of the Phantom God Continent. Countless sects and factions would send representatives to take part. Even though they knew defeat was all but certain, their participation served only to declare their presence, nothing more.

For a newly risen power like the Heaven-Defying Pavilion, appearing in Nameless Mound was also a chance to make its mark. So Ye Zihan’s participation in the struggle for Nameless Mound was, in truth, a twofold gain.

“Mm, let’s all go have some breakfast. After that, we’ll set off.” After speaking, Ye Zihan followed Lin Dong out. By now the four of them were all on the same boat, and there was no longer any need to keep distinctions between them.

Although Lin Dong was the Young City Lord of Black Tortoise City, for Ye Zihan, who believed in unyielding self-possession, neither servility nor arrogance was the proper courtesy. Besides, the strong only respected the strong, so there was no need for formality. By now Lin Dong and the others were more like brothers.

Soon, Yan Chen and Chen Yiyan followed Ye Zihan, and the four of them had breakfast in the hall of the Black Tortoise City manor, ready to depart at any moment.

“Brother Ye Zihan, all of you must be careful on this journey. In Black Tortoise City, we can still guarantee your safety, but once you reach Nameless Mound, you will have to rely on your own strength to protect yourselves.” After speaking, Lin Lei glanced at his son. Though he felt heartache for the boy, tempering oneself was a path every cultivator had to walk, and he had no choice but to accept that.

Even if Ye Zihan and the others could not seize control of Nameless Mound, so long as they could defeat the forces of the Ten Lands of the Beast Domain and take Nameless Mound for themselves, that would still fulfill Lin Lei’s purpose. For if another faction gained control of Nameless Mound, those powers would inevitably threaten the security of Black Tortoise Marsh, and might even plunge the Beast Domain into chaos. That would be a disastrous outcome.

Lin Lei understood human nature very well. Once any one of the other factions in the Ten Lands of the Beast Domain grew strong, ambition would inevitably swell with it. By then, Black Tortoise Marsh in the Beast Domain would have no way of staying out of the war, because even the slightest ripple in the Beast Domain would surely affect its future development.

“Thank you for your concern, City Lord. Rest assured, the few of us will return safely this time. And now that we are prepared, I believe those assassins will be helpless against us. The assassins capable of killing us would have to be at least at the Seven-Star Realm, wouldn’t they?” Although Ye Zihan was still only at the Five Elements Realm, after yesterday’s battle, even experts of that level would not find it easy to kill him. In particular, Ye Zihan had now fully stabilized at the early stage of the Five Elements Realm and was already only a hair’s breadth from the middle stage.

Yan Chen also smiled and said, “I’m about to break through into the Five Elements Realm as well. Anyone who does not take the three of us Five Elements cultivators seriously would have to be at the level of the Seven-Star Realm or above, right? Even if experts of that level made a move against us, we would still have nothing to fear.” After yesterday’s battle, Yan Chen had gained unprecedented trust in Ye Zihan and Chen Yiyan, because the three of them had nearly intercepted those experts of the Seven-Star Realm last night. If those experts had not fled in panic, and if the battle had gone to the end, it would truly have been hard to say who would have emerged victorious.

“Good. Since you are all so confident, I can rest easy too. Dong’er, you may set out now. Your father cannot guard your side every single day. I hope this time you can return safely.” Lin Lei truly no longer had much to worry about. The power of Black Tortoise Marsh, even if it was not the strongest in the Beast Domain, was certainly not the weakest. No faction in the Beast Domain would dare act rashly against it, so Lin Dong’s safety was still assured.

“Then let us depart, Father. Goodbye.” After speaking, Lin Dong walked toward the outer grounds of the city lord’s estate. It was time for them to leave Black Tortoise Marsh, because tomorrow would be the beginning of the struggle for Nameless Mound, and by then the four of them had to be there, for that was the main battlefield.

Although they did not know the rules of Nameless Mound very well, Ye Zihan and the others had already thrown caution to the wind. From the very first day they arrived in Black Tortoise Marsh, they had considered every dangerous possibility, including the assassin attack. They had thought of that as well, though they had never imagined it would come so soon.

“Mm. Little Brother Ye, you all should set off. It is getting late.” Lin Lei had no choice but to see them off now, because Ye Zihan and the others truly could not afford to waste time. This was a struggle that came once every hundred years.

Every struggle for Nameless Mound was a scene of blood and carnage, yet those who survived a previous struggle for Nameless Mound were now all superlative experts. As time accumulated, the strength of such experts would continue to rise even if they did not actively cultivate.

Ye Zihan nodded and said to Yan Chen and the others, “Since the city lord has said as much, let’s go. As long as we do not disappoint everyone, that will be enough.” Ye Zihan was determined to obtain Nameless Mound, and with the struggle drawing near, the city was already becoming lively beyond measure.

“Very well, City Lord. We will take our leave first. Until we meet again.” After speaking, Yan Chen followed Ye Zihan and the others out of the Black Tortoise City manor. This was their chance to temper themselves, and also the Heaven-Defying Pavilion’s chance to make its name known across the Phantom God Continent. They would not miss it.

At present, the Heaven-Defying Pavilion’s territory still lay between Branch Vein Mountain and Clear Water Mountain, and there was still quite a gap between that and the sphere of influence Ye Zihan envisioned. That was why Ye Zihan now had no choice but to regard Nameless Mound in the Beast Domain as especially important, because if the Heaven-Defying Pavilion could seize Nameless Mound, then they would finally possess their own domain.

Lin Lei watched the figures of Ye Zihan and the others departing in silence. Though he had placed great hopes in them, he had already prepared himself for disappointment, because the struggle for Nameless Mound was far too fierce. It was absolutely not something that these few young experts could easily accomplish.

Still, if Ye Zihan and the others could endure to the very end, he, Lin Lei, would be willing to lend a hand to the Heaven-Defying Pavilion, because he also hoped to have a faction in the Beast Domain that was friendly toward his Black Tortoise Marsh. The Heaven-Defying Pavilion’s presence in Nameless Mound was in line with the interests of Black Tortoise Marsh, so Lin Lei would certainly support them unconditionally.

“City Lord, what if our Young City Lord is in danger? Aren’t you afraid those assassins will strike at him? Yesterday they already sent such powerful killers to assassinate Ye Zihan and the others. What if this time they send even more formidable assassins? Wouldn’t our Young City Lord be in great danger?” At this point, the old man who had been standing beside Lin Lei without saying a word finally spoke. His concern was not unwarranted, because the assassins who had attacked Ye Zihan and the others the night before had certainly had the ability to kill his own Young City Lord.

“There is no need for you to worry about that. I have already thought of it long ago. My Lin Lei’s son—I want to see what they dare do. If they dare act recklessly, then they should not blame me for retaliating.” At this point, Lin Lei was not a soft-hearted man in the least. Moreover, Black Tortoise Marsh was one of the most prosperous regions in the Beast Domain. Most importantly, its strength was formidable, and those assassins would never dare come at it casually.

“Then I am relieved. I believe the City Lord will have a safe plan.” Hearing Lin Lei say this, the old man’s anxious heart finally settled down.