C67 The Troublemaker
Yu Yuan jolted awake!
The moonlight was like water, and the night was deep once again.
Ten meters away, Zhao Yafu and Yu Feifei were engaged in hushed conversation. Yuan Tine was immersed in his cultivation, while other members of the Zhao and Yuan families roamed about.
They found themselves at the bottom of another deep pit, sitting on a sparse and unremarkable Moon Fragment.
"Strange..."
Yu Yuan, freshly awakened, held his breath and concentrated, quietly tuning into his surroundings.
A sudden heat surged through the bones of his arms.
The searing sword light had roused him from sleep.
He attempted to connect with the essence of the sword light using his Heavenly Soul.
Each flicker of sword light brimmed with an eager ferocity, as if yearning to break free and annihilate something.
This was the innate drive of the sword light.
Yet, the sword light possessed only the essence of the sword soul, the sword intent, and the sword spell, lacking any physical form.
"There has to be a sword!"
Yu Yuan had an epiphany.
The sword light etched into his arm bones must represent the sword soul, intent, and spell of an actual sword. Only by merging with its physical counterpart could the sword light unleash its full potential.
It must be a sword of ancient origins, with an aura that was vast, mighty, and old.
"Could this sword be hidden somewhere within the forbidden zone?" Yu Yuan pondered with a furrowed brow.
...
Elsewhere, upon another Moon Fragment.
Fong Xin stood motionless, but her hand resting on the sword pattern suddenly burst forth with a dazzling green divine light.
The green light, eerie and chilling, streamed from her palm in beams.
It shot into the Moon Fragment, illuminating other sword-shaped patterns.
"Crack! Crack!"
The massive Moon Fragment couldn't bear her power and began to fracture.
A sword-shaped pattern burst forth from the Moon Fragment, flying straight toward her.
"Pfft!"
Before it could reach her, the sword-shaped pattern etched into the Moon Fragment disintegrated into dust.
Then, more sword-shaped patterns hurtled her way.
One by one, each pattern shattered into powder.
The Moon Fragment itself was not spared, breaking apart into fragments.
At the pit's bottom, only smaller pieces of Moon Fragment remained.
"Merely a sword spell devoid of soul."
Fong Xin's demeanor was detached. "The activation of the sword spell indicates the soul's presence. I'm curious to see how much power it can still muster after all these years."
She fixed her gaze on Gao Hong's lifeless body.
Gao Hong's eyes began to whirl, and as his body rapidly withered, they strangely and vividly reflected scenes from his life, like mirrors capturing his final visions.
"Yu Yuan and Fan Li are the prime suspects."
Fong Xin, having gleaned what she needed, withdrew her attention from Gao Hong's remains and ascended the stone steps.
...
"We have six damaged clams. They can't be linked with the Mirage Water Curtain."
Lee Yuchan's demeanor turned grave. "Something must have transpired in the Forbidden Area. It's the only explanation for the destruction of six clams in such short order."
The old general lost his leisurely air. "The Forbidden Area Trial has barely started. Barely a month in, we can't afford a catastrophe."
"Should I personally investigate?" Lee Yuchan proposed.
After a moment's consideration, the old general nodded. "Go have a look. I'll remain here to monitor other developments."
"I'll find those six clams and uncover the cause of their abrupt demise." With resolute speed, Lee Yuchan, having received the nod, transformed into a swift breeze and soared into the Forbidden Area.
...
"There's someone below."
A strange voice echoed suddenly above Yu Yuan and his companions.
The inhabitants of Darkmoon City were instantly alert, their eyes shooting skyward.
Shadowy figures materialized one by one.
"Darkmoon City's own," one sneered. "What a dull encounter. I suspect the Moon Fragment below is hardly worth our time."
"Yan family!" Yuan Tine's face darkened with recognition.
Descending from above were none other than the trial participants from the imperial Yan family!
Yan Lu, who had nearly collided with Yu Yuan while atop the Berserk Golden Rhino, had made an unforgettable impression.
Recognizing the Yan family, Yuan Tine had no further designs. He was ready to cede the path and let the Yan family take the lead in investigating the unremarkable Moon Fragment.
Zhao Yafu, too, felt resigned, giving Yu Yuan a helpless shrug.
She was well aware that she was no match for Yan Lu.
"No matter, if they're from the Yan family, there's no point in resisting." Yu Yuan was philosophical about it. After all, the Moon Fragment they had found didn't hold much promise, so letting the Yan family examine it first was no great loss.
"Darkmoon City..."
Yan Lu, a towering figure, came to a halt midair.
He cleared his throat subtly.
The other Yan family members paused as well, awaiting his next command.
Yan Lu's gaze swept the ground below, drifting from Yuan Tine to Zhao Yafu, before settling on Yu Yuan. "Any discoveries?" he inquired.
It was clear to all that his question was directed solely at Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan maintained his composure. "Nothing noteworthy. Just a run-of-the-mill Moon Fragment. Does it pique your interest?"
Yan Lu hesitated.
"If you're curious, feel free to come down and have a look. No harm in trying your luck." Yu Yuan offered generously, extending an unexpected invitation. "It's all the same to us; we haven't discerned anything special."
The other Yan family members exchanged puzzled glances as they watched Yan Lu.
Previously, they had followed Yan Lu's lead without question, boldly confronting teams from other cities. They'd rush in first and assess the situation later.
If they stumbled upon something intriguing, they'd have the other teams wait, claiming the privilege of first exploration.
If nothing of interest was apparent, they'd move on without fuss, promptly departing for a new location.
So far, no team from any city had dared to challenge them.
Yet now, faced with the seemingly weakest Darkmoon City, Yan Lu was showing signs of uncertainty.
They couldn't make sense of it.
"Let it be," Yan Lu finally decided, shaking his head. "Since you're inviting us, it's likely there's nothing worth seeing. Had you refused, I might have been compelled to force my way through."
With those words, he ascended straightforwardly.
The Yan family's trial participants, though filled with questions, had no choice but to keep pace.
"Young Master, why not let me go down for a closer look?" one of the Yan family's trialists later asked, scratching his head in bewilderment. "Against a mere Darkmoon City team, I alone could easily intimidate them into submission."
He was on par with Yan Lu, possessing a late-stage Yellow Court cultivation, albeit slightly older.
An outsider by birth, he had been brought into the fold specifically to support Yan Lu through the grueling two months of combat that lay ahead.
In a crucial moment, he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save Yan Lu's.
"If there truly is something extraordinary beneath us, I'll certainly investigate," Yan Lu said with a furrowed brow. "But from what I can tell, there's nothing down there. My time is precious, and I won't squander it on fruitless endeavors."
"Young Master, why did you bypass Yuan Tine and question Yu Yuan instead?" the man pressed.
"Because Yu Yuan is the linchpin of Darkmoon City, and he's far more challenging to handle than Yuan Tine," Yan Lu replied offhandedly.
The revelation left the other Yan family members in shock.
...
In a cave's corner, Lee Yuchan stared at the scattered clam pearl dust on the ground.
The clam, set within the stone and concealed by other materials, was still discovered and shattered in an instant.
Reduced to dust!
What was most alarming was that the Mirage Water Curtain had failed to detect any of this.
The only explanation was that the one who destroyed the clam hadn't physically come; they had merely projected some force onto it.
Thus, outside the forbidden area, she had seen nothing through the Mirage Water Curtain.
"To destroy a clam pearl is one thing, but for a force sent from afar to grind it to dust is quite another!"
Even the formidable Lee Yuchan was weighed down by the implications, her expression as severe as the situation.
"Who could it be? Someone from the Rainier Empire, perhaps?"
The Silvermoon Empire and the Rainier Empire had been locked in conflict for years, sworn enemies to each other.
It wasn't unheard of for Rainier Empire's elites to infiltrate and attempt to erase the Silvermoon Empire's future.
She had a strong suspicion that a Rainier Empire heavyweight was lurking somewhere in the forbidden area, intent on slaughtering all the trial participants!
