Origin

After seeing the signaling firework of the Fire Fortress Sect, Su Zhao swiftly headed to the south gate. But due to the size of the city and the number of people, it took him quite a while before reaching the source of the signal.

Su Zhao was the first member of the Fire Fortress Sect to reach the south gate. The scene he had witnessed made him speechless. Of the two instructors of the largest sect in the Indigo Cloud City, one had sustained a crippling injury near the city’s wall, the other one was dead!! But Leng San’s body was nowhere to be seen!!

Su Zhao’s face was dark red, his irises contracted. The old man’s body was burning for revenge.

“Leng San!! From now on, the Fire Fortress Sect will be your sworn enemy!! No matter where you are, I will hunt you down, even if I have to follow you to the depths of hell!!”

Su Zhao roared, burnt by the flames of hatred. He turned towards the guard by the gate, who was trembling in fear.

“Where did the boy go!!!” Su Zhao pointed at the guard.

“Elder, the boy had sustained serious injuries, but he managed to leave the city on his own. I did not dare to interfere,” the guard answered in a shaky voice.

Su Zhao hastily headed out of the city once the guard finished talking...

..................

“Where am I…? ughhhh.”

Leng San regained his consciousness. The boy was sleeping on a bed in a small, but luxuriously decorated room. The burnt marks that were still healing were properly treated, though they were not completely healed, they were covered up with cloths. More than fifty percent of his qi had recovered while the meridians were more than eighty percent healed. Within three to four days, his body would completely heal.

After inspecting his body, Leng San sensed a qi of another human in the room. This person’s qi was at the ninth level of the yellow stage, only half a level away from the orange stage!! This was the strongest person he had encountered since his time travel.

Leng San’s face grew pale. The boy immediately circulated qi, to prepare for anything that might happen.

‘Is this place the Fire Fortress Sect? No, that’s not possible!! I would have woken in jail as a prisoner, and they wouldn’t have gone as far as to treat my wounds. What is this place?’

Leng San’s forehead furrowed. He knew nothing about what had happened to him while he was unconscious. The boy couldn’t do anything except keeping his eyes on the surroundings.

“You’re awake? Surprising, with your condition, it usually takes around five days to regain consciousness, but you woke up within a day.”

A voice of an elder talked to Leng San as he slowly walked towards the boy’s bed.

“There’s no need to be afraid. I am not your enemy, and I was the one who helped you escape. Each and every guard stationed at the south gate is a member of the Soaring Sword Sect. I was the one who told them to tell the Fire Fortress Sect that you’ve fled from the city. So, rest as much as you need to. There’s no need to worry.”

The old man looked around eighty. He had a harmless smile on his face.

Leng San didn’t understand the motive of the old man. Nonetheless, this person saved his life. The boy forced himself to stand up, cupped his hands, and bowed.

“Thank you, elder, for saving this young one. Could you tell me your name? And why did you help me?”

“Sit down, your body is still on the mend.”

“Thank you, elder,” Leng San bowed again before sitting down on the bed.

“My name is Yi Longtian, and my niece is Yi Longwang, the girl that you sparred with yesterday. I am also the former leader of the Soaring Sword Sect.”

Leng San needed some time to digest this new information.

“Part of the reason that I helped you came from my niece who had asked me to help you, as you saw through her disguise. She’s afraid that you might tell this fact to someone else. And the other reason is…”

“I’ve been observing you since the first match. The techniques that you used, and your surname are very similar to the Leng Clan of the Azure Dragon Continent.”

Leng San couldn’t contain his emotion. His body and lips started to quiver.

“El… elder, you know about the Leng Clan!!”

“From your reaction, it appears that you knew the Leng Clan, no, you are a member of the Leng Clan, a survivor of the annihilation. One thousand and five hundred years have since passed. There was absolutely no news about any survivor of the Leng Clan, but then a successor of the Leng Clan’s technique suddenly appeared. It is truly a miracle.”

“How did you know about the Leng Clan’s techniques?” Leng San couldn’t control his emotions. He was glad to have met someone that knew his clan existed. However, an outsider knowing the secrets of his clan’s techniques could endanger his life.

“Of course, I do not know the details of the techniques, but I have a faint idea of the unique features by reading the records of our sect that dated back several thousands of years. I will tell you about the history of the Soaring Sword Sect.”

Leng San was able to relax as the secret of his clan’s techniques had not been disclosed to the general population. The boy then concentrated on Yi Longtian’s story, as it should be able to give him some information about the fate of his clan.

“Do you know about the Soaring Dragon Sect?

“Elder, I know about the Soaring Dragon Sect, a powerful sect in the Azure Dragon Continent, second to only one. The sect is also a branch of the Leng Clan.”

“Correct! The Soaring Dragon Sect was established by master Leng Jizhong, who had modified the Leng Clan’s techniques into sword techniques, meaning that the origin of the Soaring Dragon Sect is the Leng Clan.”

“However, one thousand five hundred years ago, the Leng Clan was attacked by the Asuras that came from the Asura Realm. The Soaring Dragon Sect joined forces with the Leng Clan to confront the Asuras, but in the end, was overpowered. Disciples of the sect were then scattered from the relentless hunt by the Asuras within the Azure Dragon Continent.”

“My ancestor, Yi Longyang, a disciple of the Soaring Dragon Sect had fled to the Black Tortoise Continent. As he was an outer disciple, he inherited only three-tenths of the Soaring Dragon Sect’s techniques, but it was enough for his name to become known throughout the Black Tortoise Continent.”

“Yi Longyang kept the fact that he was a former member of the Soaring Dragon Sect as a secret and established the Soaring Sword Sect. His past was written and passed on to each subsequent leader of the sect, emphasizing that he never forgot that he once was a member of the Soaring Dragon Sect. Furthermore, he instructed that we must help and provide assistance to all members or descendants of the Soaring Dragon Sect or the Leng Clan that we’ve encountered.”

Leng San couldn’t hold his tears back after hearing the story, streams of tears flowed from the boy’s eyes. The boy couldn’t think of an appropriate response, he was overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling of gratitude towards the Soaring Dragon Sect and Yi Longyang.

“Elder, I am a member of the Leng Clan as you’ve said, but the story of my past could not be disclosed for now. I hope that Elder Yi Longtian will understand the decision of this conflicted young one.”

Surprised, Yi Longtian smiled in delight.

“Marvelous… this is really marvelous. I’ve never imagined that I would encounter a member of the legendary Leng Clan, who has not appeared in the eyes of the public for a thousand of years. I think I have a faint idea of your background, so there’s no need to tell.”

Leng San’s eyebrows furrowed immediately. He never told anyone about his background and no one within this new land would’ve known about his time travel, but Yi Longtian implied that he somehow knew about it.

“Erm… elder, you knew about my past?”

“Of course, this is a top-secret of the Xuanwu Dynasty. But I have been gathering information regarding the Leng Clan and the Soaring Dragon Sect for more than half of my life. So, it’s natural that I’ve got some information on this secret.”

“What kind of information do you have access to!?!” Leng San couldn’t repress his curiosity. How did the Xuanwu Dynasty know about his secret?

Yi Longtian knitted his eyebrows.

“You are not a member of the mysterious clan, the shadow of the Xuanwu Dynasty?”

“Of course not. I am not in any way related to the Xuanwu Dynasty.”

“Hah!! So, you’re an actual survivor of another branch of the Leng Clan!!”

“Elder, I’ve never heard of all the things you’ve told me. It is true that I am the bloodline of the Leng Clan, but I travel alone in this continent.”

Dumbfounded, Yi Longtian was more than ninety percent confident that Leng San was somehow related to the mysterious clan of the Xuanwu Dynasty. The old man then calmed down and nodded.

“If that’s so, I will tell you what I’ve found out. Around a thousand years ago, the Xuanwu Dynasty was at its lowest point. Despite being the governing dynasty of this continent, their military force was weak to the point that it could be swallowed by one of the large sects.”

“However, a group of people joined forces with the Xuanwu Dynasty. This group of highly skilled martial artists then assassinated leaders of all the largest sects. From then on, not even one sect within the Black Tortoise Continent dared to confront the Xuanwu Dynasty.”

“According to the story, it is highly likely that those martial artists are members of the Leng Clan!!”

Leng San trembled. If what Yi Longtian said was true, there was a possibility that there were survivors of his clan!! This piece of valuable information was like a flicker of light within the darkness that had swallowed the boy’s heart.

“Will I get to meet the people of this mysterious clan at the palace of the Xuanwu Dynasty?”

Yi Longtian slightly shook his head and let out a sigh.

“There were only a few who knew about the existence of this clan. However, the number of people who had actually encountered this mysterious clan is several times fewer. Only the emperor of the dynasty and not more than five of the highest-ranking officials have had any contact with this mysterious clan…”