The Prodigies War

“Rise!” uttered Lin Xun while standing in the air.

The light word echoed, and with a buzz, waves of densely packed runes surfaced all over the originally barren Flying Star Mountain. Then, the runes converged into a grand array that connected with the energy of heaven and earth.

A surge of aeth energy so vast and thick that it could be seen with the naked eye suddenly rose like a great dragon awakening from underneath the mountain!

The aeth qi flowed like a river and transformed into the shape of a dragon and tiger, shaking the region with their roars.

On Flying Star Mountain, grass and trees started growing exponentially, and herbs and flowers matured in an instant. They swayed in the wind with brilliant lushness, looking gorgeous and eye-catching.

The abundant aeth qi continued to transform into waterfalls that cascaded down the dried and broken cliffs like white dragons.

Even the withered tree roots buried deep in the ruins were revitalized and began to grow into towering trees.

Within a few moments, Flying Star Mountain had undergone a complete makeover. Auspicious clouds started gathering above, and the misty aeth qi bathed the whole mountain in a dream-like haze.

The land bloomed with vitality with vibrant greenery dotted with exotic flowers and herbs. Coupled with the waterfalls, springs, and gurgling streams, they painted a picture of a thriving, heavenly paradise.

Compared to the previous scene of deserted ruins, the current Flying Star Mountain finally deserved the title of a famous blessed land!

In the distance, Toady, A’lu, and the big black bird gawked in astonishment. So this is the power of a rune master?

When they had observed Lin Xun spend an entire day running all over the mountain to set up the array, saying that he would restore it to its former glory, they had still been a bit skeptical.

They had thought that it would have been better just to find any blessed land and take it by force instead of going through so much trouble.

But now, they had to admit that at this moment, they were amazed by Lin Xun’s heaven-defying means of transforming the decayed into something glorious after watching the ruinous mountain come back to life!

“From today on, we will live and cultivate here!” said Lin Xun as he descended from the sky.

In fact, he wasn’t as heaven-defying as his three friends thought. It was the ancestral spirit vein under Flying Star Mountain that had worked miracles. All he had done was use the art of runes to trigger its power.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to create such a heavenly paradise out of thin air no matter how powerful he was.

Of course, it was undeniable that his ability as a rune master played an important part.

Why had Flying Star Mountain been so barren and unattended before?

Because so far in the Upper Nine Realms, Lin Xun was the only rune master with the ability to make such an array that could revive the mountain!

Toady couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, you’ve really decided to just stay here and cultivate for the next period of time?”

After rescuing A’lu in the Ancient Land of All, they had left the Thunder Jolt Realm without stopping and returned to the Mythic Fire Realm.

According to Lin Xun, he wanted to enter secluded cultivation for a while, sitting back and relaxing while watching everything that went on in the outside world.

“There’s only about a year left before the closing of the Supreme Realm. At this final juncture, the Upper Nine Realms are, predictably, going to become more and more turbulent. While I’m not scared of this, I don’t want to get caught up in the waves. It’s better to be a spectator,” replied Lin Xun casually.

“But as far as I know, there are still quite a few huge fortune grounds about to emerge such as the True Dragon’s Lair, the Waterway Devil Abyss… You’re really just passing them by?” said Toady.

“My cultivation of the dao no longer requires fortunes. What it needs is solidification.” Lin Xun’s gaze was profound.

Solidification!

In the last several years, whether it was in the Blood River Forbidden Land or Stupa Brahma Land, he had obtained many fortunes. His cultivation had skyrocketed with earth-shattering changes every once in a while.

While his progress speed couldn’t be called heaven-defying, it was shocking enough.

He had never lacked opportunistic fortunes, nor did he need any. The only thing he lacked was a period of time where he could calm down and firmly grasp what he had obtained!

Fortunes were like external objects. Getting too obsessed with them was tantamount to putting the cart before the horse!

The longer Lin Xun cultivated, the more he understood that cultivation was a process of cultivating one’s heart and mind.

If the heart and mind were occupied by external objects, then even a one-in-a-million heavenly genius would be lost in the crowd!

In the end, Lin Xun was well aware of what his dao path required and what should be given up.

Whether it was taking or forsaking, it was a part in the process of mastering one’s own heart!

Seeing Lin Xun was firm about his decision, Toady turned to the big black bird. “What about you, Big Ol’ Black?”

The big black bird sighed melancholically with its wings crossed behind its back, “I’m tired and burned out. Constant exploration in this prosperous world feels like a surreal dream, so why not relax and live unrestrainedly? Stepping back while your fame is still peaking and retreating into nature, enjoying the scenery when you’re awake and discussing martial dao when you’re drunk… Wouldn’t that be a pleasure?”

Hearing all this, Toady and A’lu rolled their eyes and spat in disdain.

Toady once again switched targets. “What about you, A’lu?”

A’lu grinned. “I’ve just gotten out of the emperor’s mound that everyone drools over! What other fortunes do I need?”

Toady suffered critical damage and nearly vomited blood. Indeed, how did he forget that the crude man had just obtained an extraordinary fortune?

The big black’s bird eyes suddenly lit up. “Speaking of which, what fortune do we need when we have a big one right before us?”

Its gaze was thievish as it stared at A’lu like a half-unraveled, coquettish world-class beauty. One could see the word ‘pervert’ on the bird’s face if they looked close enough.

Toady was dumbfounded, and then it dawned on him. He excitedly hugged A’lu tightly and shouted, “Third Bro, did you get all of the fortunes inside the emperor’s mound?”

Alu’s smile stiffened as a bad premonition rose in his heart, but as he was about to draw back and flee, the big black bird and Toady each tightly held one of his arms with an intimacy that didn’t take no for an answer, bringing him up Flying Star Mountain.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s why you’re my beloved Third Bro. So tell me, what great mystery did that place hide?”

“Right, A’lu. We threw our lives on the line to save you. Although I ask for nothing in return, I know you might feel bad about it. So…I won’t mind that you repay me with some small fortunes…”

“Peh! You cunning bird! Didn’t you just say you no longer wanted anything from this surreal world?”

“You don’t understand. I'm just discussing it with Brother A’lu!”

“Discuss my ass!”

From afar, only the sound of Toady and the big black bird cursing at each other could be heard. A’lu was being hauled between them but looked stupefied like the matter had nothing to do with him.

Lin Xun was speechless. Then, he hurriedly caught up with the group.

Right now, nothing in the Upper Nine Realms was desirable to him anymore. The only thing he was waiting for was an opportunity to cut down Yun Qingbai!

……

When the brothers met, they had to drink!

Since Lin Xun, Toady, and A’lu had finally reunited after several years, the only way to live up to this good time was to drink to their hearts’ content.

Upon getting drunk, A’lu finally yielded to the ‘hospitality’ of Toady and the big black bird, and recounted what he had gone through to them.

It turned out that after he had left the Burning Immortal World, he had bounced around many worlds before finally obtaining information pertaining to the Ancient Land of All.

When the Upper Nine Realms had opened up, he had planned to return and gather with Lin Xun and Toady. Unfortunately, time had been tight, so he could only set off on his own.

After he had arrived at the Upper Nine Realms, he had traveled to the Thunder Jolt Realm right away. At that time, the Ancient Land of All had still been sealed, so no one had been able to enter. However, A’lu was an exception.

This was because the emperor’s mound lying dormant within had been left by the Divine Elephant Martial Emperor, and the Emperor Extreme World-Subduing Art that A’lu cultivated was the emperor’s inheritance!

“Damn, your luck is simply heaven-defying!” Toady was green with envy.

“Save it. Didn’t you get the Burning Immortal inheritance all to yourself also?” A’lu snorted, and then his expression turned into that of indescribable grief. “None of you have any idea what I had to endure all these years!”

Speaking of this, he had the urge to cry.

There had indeed been a fortune within the emperor’s mound, but it had also been an extremely terrifying test.

Every single day, A’lu had been tortured to the point of nearly dying, all just to just pass the trials so that he could leave that hellish place as soon as possible.

His cultivation had continuously broken through during those horrifying tribulations, and his fighting power had kept increasing as well. But to his despair, every time he had thought that he had been close to getting out, a new test would come…

Just like that, he had been trapped almost the entire time since he had entered the Upper Nine Realms to the moment Lin Xun’s group had rescued him.

At this point, Lin Xun and the others finally understood what A’lu had gone through. They couldn’t help but marvel, not knowing whether he could be considered lucky or unlucky.

He could be considered fortunate because he had encountered a grand fortune and benefited greatly from all that suffering.

On the other hand, he could be considered unfortunate because he had been trapped in a dark place without a shred of light, and every day had been torturous…

Toady’s expression flickered. “So, that mound is really the place where the Divine Elephant Martial Emperor drew his last breath? But he was the most powerful Emperor in the ancient era! How…how could he fall…?”

The big black bird, on the other hand, was impatient. “Now that you’ve vented about your miserable experience, which I have to say was quite hilarious, hurry up and tell us about the fortunes you got. That’s what we actually care about.”

A’lu, who was still drowning in his emotions and wanted to cry in self-pity, stared wide in rage after hearing the big black bird’s words. “Can you two have some sympathy? I was already so miserable, and all you can think about is the fortunes?!”

This earned derisive boos from Toady and the big black bird before they scooted closer to A’lu and began a new round of coercion.

In the end, A’lu wore a sad expression as he raised his hand. With a heavy thud, a huge stone slab appeared out of nowhere and smashed onto the ground.

“This is the emperor’s mound fortune that you can’t get your mind off of!” he said angrily but feebly.

The stone slab was about a hundred feet long and engraved with dense runes. The ancient aura it gave off was vast and profound, seeming to have been accumulated through countless ages.

However, no matter how Lin Xun, Toady, and the big black bird looked at it, all they saw was a huge-sized coffin…