Xuanwu War Sovereign

Three days later, at the gates of Mountain and River City.

"You must be the recruits from Mountain and River City. You’ll be coming with us," a towering, silver-clad Knight at the city gates said, his gaze indifferent. His voice was filled with an unquestionable authority.

His mount was a Giant Beast of indescribable size, resembling an Ancient Golden Divine Hou. It was covered in menacing Scale Armor and radiated an immense aura.

This was a Giant Beast that possessed a trace of the bloodline of an Ancient Divine Hou. Before this Exotic Beast, an Ancient Relic Species like the Yunling Giant Tiger was as fragile as an infant.

He was not the only such Knight. A quick glance revealed dozens of them, forming a long column that stretched out like a mountain range. They kicked up a terrifying cloud of dust.

Each Giant Beast carried a Knight, and behind each one, perched high on the saddle, sat a youth. They looked down on the crowd, their expressions a mixture of arrogance, curiosity, and indifference.

These were the talented youths the All Stars Academy had recruited from other major cities. Each one carried themselves with an imposing air—a true gathering of elites, in a league far beyond the ordinary.

These youths had incredibly powerful auras. Most of them were stronger than the Martial Arts Sixth Layer Heaven, and some were even terrifyingly beyond it.

"Hurry it up, you lot! We still have to get to the nearby Qinghe City!" one of the Knights on a Giant Beast urged.

A crowd had gathered at the city gate to see the new recruits off.

Qin Feng emerged from the crowd. Behind him, Qin Shou, Qin Gang, Honglian, and the others watched him, reluctant to see him go.

"Young Master, you have to take care of yourself!" The young Maid, Honglian, bit her lip, her expression full of sorrow.

"Silly girl, don’t be so sentimental," Qin Feng said, a pack on his back and an Ancient Sword at his waist. "It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. We’ll meet in the Domain of All Stars in a few months!" He gave the young Maid and her misty eyes a slightly helpless look.

"Don’t worry. Old Zuo is also heading to the Domain of All Stars to establish a branch of the Mystic Master Guild there. You can travel with him. As a favor to me, he’ll make sure you all arrive safely."

"Qin Gang, Qin Shou, take good care of Honglian."

"Yes, Young Master!" In contrast to the sorrowful young woman, Qin Shou and Qin Gang were beaming with joy. ’With the Young Master entering the All Stars Academy, our own statuses will rise with him. Our futures are limitless!’

"Old Zuo, I’m leaving them in your hands!" Qin Feng groused, glancing at the beaming, portly old man beside him.

"Rest assured, Young Friend Qin!" Zuo Song promised. His large belly shook as he laughed, looking just like a jolly Buddha.

Thanks to Qin Feng’s Eight Desolates Void Annihilation Array, he had safely broken through to the Nirvana Realm. On top of that, he had crushed the Guan Family, one of the Nine Great Families. With these two great victories, Zuo Song was riding high.

Seeing Zuo Song grinning from ear to ear, Master Hall rolled his eyes and grimaced, feeling a pang of bitterness. His gaze landed on Qin Feng, full of reproach.

Ever since he’d witnessed Zuo Song use an Ancient Profound Array to successfully open his Inner Heaven and Earth, vaulting him into the ranks of Nirvana Realm powerhouses, Master Hall had been consumed with envy. Unfortunately, he had nothing valuable enough to convince Qin Feng to help him do the same.

Master Hall was itching with impatience. ’If it were anyone else,’ he thought, ’I would have used force long ago to get what I need to break through to the next Realm. But alas, Qin Feng is different.’

Master Hall was unwilling to needlessly make an enemy of Qin Feng, and for another reason: he knew his old friend would never allow him to move against the boy.

’Of course, the most important factor is Qin Feng’s own performance recently!’

’This is a young man of astonishing talent. Rather than making an enemy of him, it’s far better to genuinely befriend him. There might be unexpected rewards in the future!’

Seeing the pleading look on Master Hall’s face, Qin Feng fell silent for a moment. Then he spoke bluntly, "Master Hall, I know what you want. If you truly desire an Ancient Array, you can come find me in the City of Many Stars. When that time comes, I promise I won’t disappoint you."

In the end, Qin Feng decided to help him. Master Hall had helped him a great deal in Mountain and River City, so if it was within his power, Qin Feng didn’t mind returning the favor.

This was an enormous favor, a fact that Master Hall was surely well aware of.

"Haha! Young man, then it’s a deal! I will come find you in the City of Many Stars!" Master Hall was overjoyed.

"You old coot, are you really willing to give up your position as Guild Master of the Mountain and River City Mystic Master Guild?" Zuo Song scoffed, glancing at his smug old friend.

"What’s there to give up? Besides, weren’t those old geezers from the All Stars Academy begging us to join them a while back? If I agree to go to the Domain of All Stars, you think they’d dare treat me poorly?" Master Hall’s previous gloom vanished, replaced by a look of pure pride.

The nearby Knights exchanged a look, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

Zuo Song and Master Hall were no ordinary figures. These two were known for not even giving the higher-ups of the All Stars Academy the time of day, which spoke volumes about their pride.

And yet, here they were, chatting and laughing jovially with a youth at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer. The Knights could see it clearly: Zuo Song and Master Hall were treating him as an equal, not as an inferior.

After all, when several high-ranking members of the All Stars Academy had come to visit these two masters, they had all been turned away at the door!

’There’s more to this boy than meets the eye.’

’Just what is this boy’s background?’ The Knights exchanged astonished glances.

Just then, Qin Feng saw the other youths recruited by the All Stars Academy emerging from the crowd.

Compared to Qin Feng’s small send-off party, the farewells for these youths from the great families were far more extravagant.

’Qin Tianjiao, Xu Fei, Zou Yuxian, Yu Hong, Yu Yao.’ Qin Feng noted that Qin Tianjiao and Xu Fei were acting much more low-key than usual.

Qin Feng guessed it was likely the destruction of the Guan Family that had served as a wake-up call for the other great families that had dominated Mountain and River City for a millennium. ’The Nine Great Families... no, the Eight Great Families, have reined themselves in for now,’ he thought.

Suddenly, a gasp rippled through the crowd. Qin Feng’s gaze followed the sound, and he saw a few unexpected figures.

’Xu Ya... Guan Ruolin!’ Qin Feng stared in astonishment at the beautiful, white-robed woman emerging from the crowd, and... at the ice-cold young woman with her.

The young woman’s lips were pressed into a thin line, and her beautiful eyes were red-rimmed. Behind her, Xu Ya and a purple-robed youth carried her bags.

’Those three are damn lucky to be alive. They actually survived the Grand Array’s annihilation!’ Qin Feng thought, glancing at Zuo Song, who was frowning beside him.

’Fail to pull up the roots, and the weeds will grow back.’

Of course, Qin Feng didn’t know that in order to preserve the last embers of the Guan Family, their ancestor, Guan Qiu Chunqiu, had self-detonated, sacrificing his own life to send these last three members to safety.

Their eyes were bloodshot, filled with an unquenchable hatred. The three from the Guan Family had spotted Qin Feng, as well as Zuo Song, whose eyes glinted with cold light.

’Trouble,’ Qin Feng thought, a chill flickering in his eyes as he sighed inwardly. He hadn’t expected to leave behind loose ends.

The expression on Xu Ya’s beautiful face changed. She saw the coldness flash in Qin Feng’s eyes and knew he was already thinking of killing them. She was all too aware of how terrifying and bizarre the boy’s methods were. The great Guan Family had been indirectly destroyed at his hands; her daughter was no match for him.

A pleading look surfaced in Xu Ya’s beautiful eyes.

’Is she begging me to spare her daughter’s life?’ Qin Feng’s gaze fell on the aloof young woman beside the white-robed beauty. Her eyes were filled with a hatred so tangible it felt real, a look that was etched into her very bones.

"Get up here, we’re leaving now!" the Knight on the Giant Beast urged again.

Qin Feng gave the woman in white one last, cold smile. He took a final look at the high, imposing walls of Mountain and River City, then pushed off the ground, landing like a shadow on the saddle.

"We ride!" Seeing the last of the Mountain and River City students aboard, the silver-clad Knight roared. The earth began to rumble as the Giant Beasts broke into a gallop, thundering away into the distance...

(This concludes Book Two. Book Three begins now. To my readers, happy Children’s Day, and good luck to everyone taking their entrance exams!)