Chapter 151 – Fate in the Moonlit Night
Mister Liu lifted his brush and began painting yet again on the snowy white scroll with the terrain drawn on it.
After only a few strokes, the strange apparition of the ‘Snow Dragon turning over’ was replicated in a vivid and life-like fashion on the map. The silver white-coloured Snow Dragon was as if it was alive and about to pounce out from the painting. Ye Qingyu only gave it a brief glance, but he was able to sense the viciousness and terror of the Snow Dragon. The body that was thousands of meters long was like an apocalyptic destroyer.
There were many different kinds of beasts in the Snow Ground Demon Court. It was said that there were over thousands of known races.
There were specialist institutions which focused on researching the different types of beasts that belonged to the Snow Ground Demon Court. Through their efforts, they managed to divide the different types of the Snow Ground Demon Court into groups and created books on this subject. These books were distributed to the army, academies, families, cities and large sects, allowing the citizens of the Human Race to understand the battle power of the Demon Race. When it came to battle, they would be fully prepared in case anything happened. Ye Qingyu had once been immersed in the public library of White Deer Academy, so naturally he had read books regarding this topic.
The snow dragons belonged to the middle to upper tier of rankings within the Snow Ground Demon Court.
It was rumored that the Snow Dragons were descended from the giant ice dragon in the Ancient Age. It was a pity that as the God and Devil Age ended, the change in yuan qi and the laws of the world, along with the desolate passing of time caused the bloodline of the giant ice dragon to become thinner and thinner in the Snow Dragons. Their power also decreased as a result of this. After hundreds of years, the number of Snow Dragons became less and less. They often spent the majority of their lives underground in ice. As a result, their vision deteriorated and they were only able to rely on their touch to sense external objects. Even if they were large in numbers, they could only live underground, leading to the fall of their position among the Snow Ground Demon Court.
Today, the Snow Dragon race showed signs of being chased out from the heart of power in the Snow Ground Demon Court.
But if it was a direct battle, the battle power of every fully grown Snow Dragon was incomparably terrifying. This type of monster could travel through ice and glaciers like a dragon swimming through the ocean. Its speed was incomparably quick and they were known as the rulers of ice. The power of its fleshy body was incomparably tough. Perhaps they would not prove much use in fighting against top class experts, but they were absolutely the nightmare of ordinary armies. An army of around a thousand people, if they did not have a Bitter Sea expert overseeing them would definitely be completely annihilated if they met with a Snow Dragon.
Ye Qingyu stood on the armoured plates, surveying below.
Snow and fog churned, ice and rock collapsed.
The ice ground below was as if it was collapsing, as if an apocalyptic earthquake was occurring.
“There are very many demonic beasts like the Snow Dragon among the thousands of races in the Snow Ground Demon Court. Everything of the Demon Race is naturally born with powerful inherent strength. The large majority is not trained and obtained after birth, but is something that they possess inherent. As their ages grow, so too does their strength. This is a very terrifying strength. This is the reason behind how they have always been able to successfully resist against the Snow Country with experts after experts emerging.”
Ye Qingyu sighed with emotion in his heart.
The camouflaged formation airship, in a distance not a thousand meters from the ground, slowly sailed through the air.
Miser Liu stood on the armoured plates, unendingly drawing.
After an entire day, he had painted ten snowy white scrolls that completely recorded the terrain and topography hundreds of kilometers around onto the scrolls.
A day passed by very quickly.
When night descended, the formation airship again ascended higher. Like an invisible spirit, it once again returned to the cloud layers.
Mister Liu had expended far too much of his spirit and mental power. With the support of the student Xing’er, he tiredly returned to the cabin. As he entered in the cabin, he turned around and gave Ye Qingyu a smile, giving him a greeting.
“Officer Ye, the rotation tonight will be hard on you.”
Liu Zongyuan came over of his own initiative to say something to Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu was somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden display of attention.
This was the first time that the warfare officer who was as silent as a rock had spoken to him of his own accord. All the previous night guard duties had been taken care of by the soldiers under his command. Ye Qingyu could clearly sense that this warfare officer had vague feelings of hostility and exclusion. But without knowing what happened, something made Liu Zongyuan lose all the inexplicable enmity he had previously.
“Fine, rest assured officer Liu,” Ye Qingyu said seriously.
Liu Zongyuan nodded his head, turning and arranging the other defenses of the airship.
After all, he was a military officer that walked step by step to the position he was today through killing and military contributions. After today’s interaction, he wanted to get closer with Ye Qingyu, but could not let down his face to say some awkward and embarrassing words. To speak like this of his own initiative to Ye Qingyu was already a great allowance.
This type of method where he did not try too hard to get close to him was namely quite suited to Ye Qingyu’s personality.
If Liu Zongyuan suddenly became incomparably passionate and warm, then perhaps Ye Qingyu would want to distance himself from him instead.
The formation airship entered into a silent state the entire night. It was hidden within the clouds and there were not any movements that night.
Ye Qingyu always remained seated on the armoured plates of the ship, observing the movements all around him.
Occasionally, he would also sense wave after wave of the Will of the Martial Path fluctuations that came indistinctly far off.
Evidently, in a location far away, the top experts of the Demon Race and the Human Race had not yet ended their battle. It was still crazily carrying on… There were even more experts that had entered into the fray. Ye Qingyu carefully sense for a while. With his strength, he could sense at least ten different aura of Wills of Martial Path that were dispersed throughout Heaven and Earth. This represented that there were at least ten top class experts of both parties participating in this battle.
“From what it currently seems like, my previous guess was wrong. The two Wills of the Martial Path at the very beginning were not Lu Zhaoge and that person. These two core people have still not acted yet. This time, the arrangement of the military of Snow Country, the [Gale Operation] is very detailed and meticulous. To get rid of that person, they would place the utmost importance on a surprise attack. Otherwise, once that person has recovered his wits, even if he is not their opponent, he can definitely escape. If it is Lu Zhaoge who has acted, he would absolutely not battle for such a long duration of time with that person!”
At this time, Ye Qingyu’s heart already understood the situation.
He stood at the head of the airship, looking towards the South West. There were the indistinct lights of fire flickering in the night sky.
That direction was the true battlefield at this time.
The long night passed.
The night in the mist and cloud covered air seemed especially peaceful.
Finally, midnight had passed.
There were still not any signs of action from all directions.
It seemed like there would be nothing happening this night.
Ye Qingyu sat down in a meditative position. Staring and surveying the night, his thoughts could not help but drift.
Without knowing why, his thoughts once again returned to the strange sensation within his body when he saw Mister Liu painting during the day.
This strange sensation during the day once again enveloped Ye Qingyu’s entire body.
“This feeling…”
Ye Qingyu concentrated and stilled his thoughts, gradually entering into a peculiar state.
He subconsciously once again began to [Spirit Raise].
He had decided for ice to be the attribute of his own inner yuan. At this moment in time, his body was located deep in the Explosive Snow Glacier. The sky was cold and the ground was icy, the air around him extremely cold. This was, without a doubt, a great time and place for one to absorb the power of ice. Ye Qingyu once again, according to the techniques to [Spirit Raise], controlled his entire body by making it relax. Allowing every pore to open, he began absorbing the power of ice around the air.
When Ye Qingyu’s body began absorbing the cold qi, even he himself was not aware that the air currents above the metal plates of the airship, abruptly and fiercely changed.
“Just what has happened?”
A military officer noticed the sudden convergence of the air streams.
He alertly looked over. Under his observation, in the translucent shine of the moonlight on the armoured plates, like a layer of white frost, there was a white glow in the air visible to the naked eye. Like the soft ripples of the ocean wave curving and undulating, like the eye of a whirlpool, these air currents were completely sucked into the silhouette of Ye Qingyu who was sitting there cross legged like a whale sucking in water.
At this instant, the military officer was completely dumbfounded.
The figure that sat there cross legged under the moonlight, was as peaceful as a statue.
But he was also like an immortal from legends that absorbed the essence from the sun and moon, Heaven and Earth. The silver-coloured moonlight gathered around his entire body, the cold qi ripples coalescing around him, then completely entering into his body. It caused the military officer to have a sensation of shame of his own inferiority.
Someone lightly tapped the shoulder of this military officer.
The military officer was shocked, then turned his head to see that it was namely Liu Zongyuan that was standing behind him. It was unknown at what time he had arrived.
“Leader, superior Ye, he…” the military officer was about to say something.
Liu Zongyuan shook his head, his gaze complicated. After remaining silent for half a while, only then did he say in a low voice, “Don’t disturb patrolling envoy Ye. He has trained to the crucial stage… Pass the order on, for the brothers to vacate from this area. Also that people should suppress the noises they make, they are not allowed to speak loudly. I will personally handle the night duty.”
“As your orders say,” the military officer said in a small voice, then quickly turned and relayed the orders to the others.
Liu Zongyuan stood where he was. Seeing the figure of Ye Qingyu sittiing there in a meditative position, his heart could not help but sigh.
“So it has been obtained by him…”
Some people, some matter, some fate, some opportunity, could not even be envied.
Such was destiny.
For this opportunity, just how long have the younger generation of the various factions in Youyan Pass coveted.
But who would have known that ultimately, it would be easily obtained by the ‘outsider’ Ye Qingyu that had not even arrived at Youyan Pass for a full month yet.
it was rumoured that the painting techniques of the [Painting Saint] Mister Liu was near the ‘way’. His paintings were accepted by nature, Heaven and Earth. Therefore, when he painted, he could stir the natural laws of Heaven and Earth, the divine evident in his actions.
After many years of painting, there was a spirit of the natural law that had accumulated on the body of this [Painting Saint]. Because of the fact that he attuned himself to nature, copying the various landscapes of the world, through the accumulation of time, he had developed this ‘natural way’. This spirit of the natural law did not have much meaning for normal people, but for a martial artist, it was an absolutely fateful encounter. It was said that even the [War God of Youyan Pass] had personally said that if there was a martial artist of the younger generation that was able to comprehend thorough observation when the [Painting Saint] drew and capture the accumulated spirit of the natural law on the body of the [Painting Saint], he would absolutely have a great breakthrough.
But after all these years, he had never heard that one person would comprehend the ‘way’ through looking at the [Painting Saint] draw.
Of course, the reason for this was that there were people that had problems with their ability to comprehend. But another reason for this was that the opportunity for the younger generation to observe the [Painting Saint] in action was not many.
Liu Zongyuan himself had bitterly cultivated for many years. His experience in battle was full and great and he had experienced tens of life and death situations. He had thought that he had gained and accumulated enough for he himself to be successful. During the day, when Mister Liu painted, he had concentrated and observed with all his power to understand the way, but without too great a harvest. At the end, he could not even be compared to this young person who had understood the ‘way’ in one session.
This Ye Qingyu was only someone of fifteen Spirit springs. To think that he was able to capture and understand the natural way when the [Painting Saint] Mister Liu painted.
Such was the times, such was destiny!
Liu Zongyuan believed that after this state where he comprehended the ‘way’, Ye Qingyu’s inner yuan would definitely have a transformative breakthrough.
Time passed by, second by second, minute by minute.
Liu Zongyuan did not dare tarry. He always remained ten meters away, protecting and guarding Ye Qingyu.
Although he himself was not able to grasp the opportunity to comprehend the way, but why would he not go for the second best option: to bind himself to Ye Qingyu. This young man was able to grasp this fateful chance on the body of the [Painting Saint], he was absolutely not common. Liu Zongyuan could confirm his previous judgement more and more. These years, he had killed and risked his life, establishing countless military achievements. But he was powerless because he came from a common background and did not have visibility. He saw the end to the path of his career. Without a great opportunity or the aid of a person of high rank, it was exceedingly difficult for him to advance another step.
He believed that Ye Qingyu was his noble person that would aid him.
This was a gamble.
Even if he lost, he would not lose anything.
Therefore like so, Liu Zongyuan remained guarding Ye Qingyu until the morning
As the first ray of sunlight shot through the cloud layers, it shone on Ye Qingyu’s body. At that time, he finally opened his eyes.