Volume One: A Thousand Years of Streams Chapter 43: Tragedy

He had stayed awake all night, busy as a bee. Early the next morning, the girl came knocking on his door early. When Sun Zikai opened it, she smiled and said, "My dad even said you wouldn't be able to get up."

Holding a food box in her hands, she opened it to reveal fragrant, steaming heat as she said, "I rolled these buns myself. There were plenty left over from yesterday, so eat up."

"Thank you, Sister." Sun Zikai took the buns and welcomed her inside.

The girl walked in, sniffed the air, and asked, "The smell is much weaker now. Did you find anything useful?"

"I did." Not wishing to lie, Sun Zikai took out the wooden tablet and said, "This tablet was hidden inside the bookshelf. It is very useful. I wanted to let you guys know, since this is an item belonging to the Qingyi Sect. May I borrow it for use?"

To his surprise, the girl didn't reach out to take it. Instead, she said nonchalantly, "You keep it. My dad changed his mind last night and said that if there's anything you fancy, you can just take it away. This sect lost its meaning as a sect long ago. If the things inside are still of any use, feel free to take whatever you want."

"Thank you," Sun Zikai said with a deep sense of relief. "These buns you made are really delicious."

"Really?"

"Yes, plenty of oil and fat. I like this kind of filling."

"Hehe, I finished my apprenticeship the year before last, and now I've made quite a bit of money with this craft. Oh right, I'm returning this money to you." The girl handed back the seventy copper coins.

Sun Zikai was quite surprised and said, "You keep it."

"What would it look like if I kept it? It's not like I earned it. The items in this sect aren't for sale, and you have no reason to give me money."

Sun Zikai gave a faint smile, pondered for a moment, and said, "Sister, the name Qingyi Sect is very special. In the future, I will establish a sect and name it the Qingyi Sect."

"You're dreaming, little brother. Do you have any idea how much money it takes to build a dozen grand courtyards like this?"

"I have no idea. I only have these seventy copper coins, but please keep this money. I want to buy a spot for myself in this courtyard. My cultivation is exhausting, and from time to time I want to be lazy. The scenery here is wonderful and very secluded, and I'd like to come back and stay here for a night every now and then."

"If you want to stay, just stay. Why use money?"

"If I don't leave the money, I won't stay. A bed I buy with my own money lets me sleep in peace."

"This... alright then... I'll go tell my dad." The girl ran off again. Meanwhile, Sun Zikai picked up four buns, soared into the sky, and quickly vanished from sight.

He was in no rush to explore the other spatial technique inscribed on the wooden tablet. Instead, he once more concealed his spiritual energy and mingled among ordinary mortals, eager to hurry out of Qunying City. He was terrified of being discovered by the high-level experts of the Dongchen Sect. Qunying City was far too vast; traveling entirely on foot, he walked for a whole day, and that night he curled up comfortably in a corner to sleep.

The next day, he was licked awake by a stray dog. Opening his eyes, Sun Zikai shared half a bun with it, stepped out of the alley, and resumed his journey. Along the way, he overheard some gossip. Two people who appeared to be cultivators were whispering to one another, and with his hearing enhanced manifold, he heard every single word clearly.

One of them said, "Only two brats from the Dongchen Sect and the Yanming Sect survived. How miserable."

Sun Zikai paused and sat down in a corner next to them. The two glanced over in his direction, but seeing him as nothing more than a begging street urchin, they paid him no further heed.

The pair continued, "Won't those three sects turn completely upside down? Those were the strongest disciples of this generation, and just like that, they're gone."

"Just wait and see. They're going to point the finger at the Dongchen Sect and the Yanming Sect. Why on earth were their people the only ones to survive? I heard there's something fishy about the Yanming Sect; they didn't send the person originally designated, but swapped him out for a good-for-nothing at the first stage of Qi Condensation. What happened in the Xiake Mountains might genuinely be a conspiracy by the Yanming Sect."

"I've heard about the people from the Yanming Sect long ago. There's nothing good about them—they're vicious to the core."

Gradually, pedestrians began to pass by, and the two men stopped talking, leaving shortly thereafter. Realizing that a major incident had occurred within the Xiake Mountain Range, Sun Zikai immediately leaped onto a speeding carriage and slipped out of the city gates.

Once he had run a sufficient distance away, he flew close to the ground, racing toward the Xiake Mountains.

"Could it be that all of those people are dead?" Sun Zikai found it incredible. The most powerful entity in the Xiake Mountains was that Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros. Even if those three disciples couldn't handle it, surely Elder Ge Liang, who was at the second level of the Solidification Realm, could?

Flying swiftly, he reached the shores of Duo'er Lake by midday. There were quite a few cultivators by the lake. Hiding in the shadows, he remained completely unnoticed by anyone. Those cultivators appeared to come from various different sects; their expressions were laced with fatigue and anger, and arguments broke out from time to time. The people from the Yanming Sect were not among them.

Sun Zikai slipped back into the Xiake Mountains. With even more people scattered throughout the mountains, it was easier for him to stay hidden. After all, not a shred of spiritual energy emanated from him, and he had suppressed his vital aura down to the size of a rabbit. Even if someone sensed him at close range, as long as they didn't lay eyes on him, he would simply be mistaken for a small beast.

Venturing dozens of miles deep into the mountains, Sun Zikai spotted the Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros lying dead amidst a pile of shattered rocks. However, this Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros looked rather unusual. Its horn, which had clearly been severed by Sun Zikai, was now completely intact. Furthermore, its skin was no longer bluish-green, but had turned into steel-like armor, its size had doubled, and distinct patterns had emerged across its hide.

"It evolved?" Sun Zikai scrutinized the carcass of the Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros. The beast had indeed evolved. Most likely, after their battle, having its vital horn severed had driven it to desperately evolve to a higher tier. So that was it—no wonder Ge Liang and those three disciples had lost their lives here.

Fascinated, Sun Zikai stared at the patterned steel hide. Evolution? Beasts could undergo evolution, but what were the conditions for evolution? Could evolution be controlled? He had once declared that he would become the King of Beasts, but what truly constituted a Beast King? If one could master the ability to make any beast evolve at will, *that* should rightly be called a Beast King.

Over two hundred people surrounded the carcass of the Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros. Hidden in the dark, Sun Zikai listened to everyone's conversations and gradually pieced the whole story together. It seemed Ge Liang had led his three disciples charging into the Xiake Mountains. Lacking experience, Ge Liang had chosen not to evade the beasts, but instead led his disciples on a relentless killing spree along the way. This not only consumed a massive amount of their energy, but also attracted even more beasts. By the time they finally charged up to the Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros, they were utterly dumbfounded—the beast had evolved.

Before his death, Ge Liang had sent a sound-transmission spell toward his sect, which was why the other sects had been able to rush to this location, though it was already too late. Fortunately, Ge Liang had deliberately intended to bring shame upon the Dongchen Sect and the Yanming Sect; the moment Sun Zikai and Cheng Xu left, he had used a sound-transmission spell to inform all the sects of the foolish stunt those two disciples had pulled.

Otherwise, the Yanming Sect and the Dongchen Sect would have found it even harder to clear their names.

Sun Zikai was in no position to show himself and explain the matter. Circling quickly out of the Xiake Mountains and Duo'er Lake, he sped rapidly toward the Yanming Sect.