Chapter 20: Heavenly Will Demonic Sect
Most of the children did not see this, but An Jing saw it clearly.
Hanging Fate Manurly hunted savage beasts; even these apprentices were able to eat beast meat as ara meal, so there must have been some special methods pared to ordinary hunting squads.
A battle formation desigo fight savage beasts was likely the foundation of those methods.
However, based on An Jing’s martial knowledge, he also vaguely perceived that this battle formation was not solely aimed at savage beasts… It was also meant for something even rger and more ferocious.
Moreover, it targeted savage beasts that were “trapped in one pce.” Logically, there should also have been a formation to handle savage beasts that unched a “sudden attack.”
Could it be that Hanging Fate Manor had some means of luring savage beasts into a trap?
He could not figure it out, but there was no harm in practig.
An Jing was awash with doubts and had already prepared everything, simply waiting for a cloudy night.
He did not have to wait long.
In the mountains, oeo lose track of time, but the ging of seasons was obvious. Lately, the weather had been growing hotter, clearly moving into summer. As gusts of wind swept across, a thick yer of clouds began to block out the sky.
Looking toward the distant mountains, one could see dark, inky clouds surging with the wind, expanding as though they were living things, emanating a grim ay sense of oppression.
A storm was about to break.
“That’s all for today.”
Even the instructors at Hanging Fate Manor would not make people train in such ditions. He dismissed the boys and girls, telling them to return to the dormitories to wait.
“Yeqi, Ah g, you two, stay behind.”
Upon dismissal, An Jing indicated for his two closest friends to remain. Gu Yeqi readily agreed with a cheerful nod, while g Linzu, initially curious, suddenly thought of something and shivered. “Wait, Brother Jing, you’re not going to have us train in a torrential downpour, are you?”
“Though it might help, I’m afraid of letting cold seep into my body…”
“Do I look shtening?” An Jing blinked in fusion. “You two think too badly of me? I care about my brothers and sisters.”
He seemed to have pletely fotten how “leg day” for his team had bee so grueling that the ht members wao feign stomachaches at the mere mention of it. Moreu Yeqi and g Linzu, as his assistants, often had to traira with him.
In a serious tohe young man said, “You’re mistaken. I just have some things to expin to you.”
With that, An Jing hahem two small booklets. “These are my insights into the Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi Stand Armor-Pierg True Force—along with some… well, you know what martial skills I got them from.”
Seeing their expressions of delight, An Jing’s face became rather solemn. “The Manor Lord told me not to pass them on, and I don’t want to break the manor’s rules. But you’ve probably noticed: they want us to practice this battle formation… which means our initiation trial might be to go hunt savage beasts.”
“Mm… indeed,” Gu Yeqi said with a slight nod, aowledging the point. Everyone had spent a long time with Zhang Ying, so they were certainly aware of how terrible savage beasts could be.
After some hesitation, g Linzu spoke up. “I suspect it might not be ordinary savage beasts. That formation seems inteo deal with something enormous or extremely dangerous.”
“Possibly savage beasts with demonic bloodlines,” he added.
“Mm, I’m worried about that.” An Jing did not deny this guess. “No matter how you look at it, it’s dangerous.”
“To be frank, I really don’t want you two to die. So even if I risk vioting the rules, I want to pass on my insights to you.”
“Wait.” Realizing something, Gu Yeqi frowned. “Brother An, this means… yoing to do something dangerous, aren’t you?”
g Linzu was not as keen as Gu Yeqi, but he also reacted after hearing that. It was obvious An Jing was ag as though he might not return—well, it was not quite that dire, but they could still sense his . “Is there something we do to help?”
“If you just get stronger and keep yourselves safe, that’ll help me plenty.”
An Jing sighed. If not for their slower progress in practig Armor-Pierg True Force, he would have given them his insights sooner—if they cked suffit foundational skill, learning his teiques could easily ihem. “One by one, everyone we knew has left. I really don’t waher of you to just disappear one day.”
He patted their shoulders. “Work hard.”
Boom!
A dazzling bolt of lightning desded from the distant sky, bridging heaven ah, turning the world white.
Torrential rain poured down.
The two looked at An Jing, then silently nodded.
Time passed.
Late night.
A single fsh of lightning lit the darkness of the dorm; when the brilliant light faded, only a pair of open eyes remained in the dark.
An Jing got up and ged into the spare clothes he had prepared. He balled up his old clothes beh the bo form a rough human shape.
With his strength, he could easily shake off the water from damp clothing, but to be safe, it was better to wear a fresh outfit for the excursion.
He left the dormitory without a sound. Heavy rain pounded, masking the noise of his footsteps. The clouds hid the moon and stars, cealing his figure as he took the fastest route past the Medie Pavilion, heading straight toward the Eastern Mountain Farmnds.
Ihe Medie Pavilion.
The Medie Manor Lord—or rather, the Deputy Medie Envoy.
A white-haired elder narrowed his eyes. The flickering green glow in his pupils tracted, allowing him to see the crimson silhouette of blood essence slip from the dormitory and proceed all the way toward the Eastern Mountain Farmnds.
“Heh heh…” he said in a low voice, soundile. “It’s just as the Northern Patrol Envoy said— the smarter the child, the more they love to explore secrets.”
“A good thing!”
He grinned broadly. “Those who follow rules to the letter are sed-rate at best.”
“Only those who dare break the reverence lodged in the depths of their hearts—toward ‘authority,’ toward ‘rules,’ ‘divinity,’ and ‘life ah,’ or even toward ‘Heaven’s Will’ and ‘fate’—only those who seek the ahey desire on their own… are worthy to be part of our Heavenly Will Divi!”
“An Jing… Will you bee a ‘Stelr Heavenly Official’ or one of the ‘Demon War Generals’? Certainly not the ‘Dark Yin Divine Maiden.’ But if it’s the ‘Seven Fiends…’”
He gave his head a slight shake, as though feeling his guesses were too extreme, and fell silent.
heless, he kept his gaze in An Jing’s dire, then smiled as he turned around and sat back down.
Cheg the time, the old man picked up an hss and flipped it, beginning to measure out the moments.
The Deputy Medie Envoy lifted his teacup and took a small sip, the green glow in his eyes dang restlessly. “I’ll set a deadline—ing him wander wherever he pleases and cause a otion.”
“But I really am curious what he’ll feel when he discovers the truth.”
Meanwhile…
【You have been discovered.】
The mysterious, clear voice resounded in the night, but An Jing, running through the darkness, did not seem surprised. “I know. Thank you for your help st time, but now I’m well aware that the Medie Manor Lord has detected me.”
【Oh?】
The voice sounded a bit astohat An Jing could respond so calmly.
【Not bad, you truly do have innate wisdom. Sihat’s the case, what do you pn to do?】
“If I’m not mistaken…”
An Jing did not immediately ahe mysterious voice’s question. Instead, he spoke to himself: “The entire Hanging Fate Manor should belong to a famous se the northwest, known as ‘Revered Heavenly Divine Will Sect’—which the people call the ‘Heavenly Will Divi.’”
“And the Heavenly Will Divi has another rather famous moniker.”
“Heavenly Will Demonic Sect.”
(End of Chapter)
*In ese, the prefix “阿” (only rendered as “A” or “Ah”), pced before a name, ofte character of their given name or sometimes their sur denotes intimacy, familiarity, or an informal tone.
There is also " 'er " (儿), which serves as a diminutive suffix and is added to the end of a person's his usage, known as "erhua" (儿化), also often imparts a sense of endearment or familiarity. I decided to also mention this since I remember it being used in some of the earlier chapters by An Jing's mother.
