Meeting Shi Dalang

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fight between Bi Tan and Mu Tiang was still raging but still dominated by Mu Tiang, even though Bi Tan and the woman came prepared and brought a lot of treasures. 

But it wasn't for naught, especially the Spirit Formation that was depleting Mu Tiang's energy reserve at a very fast rate. 

Mu Tiang felt drained and decided not to continue the fight any longer, so he coughed a mouthful of his spirit blood into his sword before attacking with the Devilish Plume Blossom which unlike his previous graceful attack was completely evil, it even had the smell of blood leaking in all over the place like an ancient battlefield filled with many dead warriors.

Seeing his desperate attack, both Bi Tan and Mu Tiang felt apprehensive clearly afraid of this attack. So each of them used his protective measures, even the woman from the demonic sect activated a protective charm after slight hesitation.

Due to the strength of the attack, the place crumbled finally and Bi Tan and the woman were thrown on breath of death.

Seeing this, Mu Tiang who looked dishvelished and had a pale complexion looked in the direction of Bi Tan and sighed before sending an attack to finish him.

"Ah.."

Mu Tiang suddenly felt a wave of pain in his back, looking down he saw Bi Tan's hand inside his stomach. 

"How…" Full of surprise Mu Tiang saw that what he had attacked wasn't Bi Tan but a wooden puppet.

 Bi Tan then bombarded Mu Tiang with many attacks destroying every hope he had for survival.

As for Mu Tiang, he couldn't resist those physical attacks, he wasn't a body cultivator like Bi Tan so despite being stronger he couldn't compare in terms of body strength.

After making sure that Mu Tiang had died, Bi Tan stopped attacking and took the spirit ring from Mu Tiang's hand. As for the woman from the demonic sect, she walked toward him, giving him a pill to swallow which he used without any hesitation.

"Honey, now that I have killed the sect master. I will impersonate him and convince the other sects to fight against the Ice Hell Sect and destroy them. Only the demonic sect deserves to be the strongest, from then we won't need to hide our presence since all the Qihou Land will be ours.

The woman laughed with an enchanting voice, capable of melting the heart of any man before hugging Bi Tan.

After a short time, Bi Tan and the demonic woman destroyed all the evidence of the fight. After that Bi Tan's body suddenly transformed into that of a lean old man even his face changed into Mu Tiang's. 

Bi Tan then looked in the direction of the Dark City, "My time will come, old man, soon you will regret keeping me alive." laughed Bi Tan before heading toward the Plume Blossom Sect.

….

Qian Shui the young man from Wang Yu's cart was moving swiftly, cutting and thrusting with grace yet viciousness.

Seeing the movement of the young man, Wang Yu who was passing by sat there and studied the man's movement carefully, he felt inferior in terms of techniques to this young man who had the same age as him.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the young man stopped and looked in the direction of Wang Yu. "You've been watching for a long time, what do you want?"

In response, Wang Yu smiled "I'm learning."

Qian Shui suddenly thrust his sword toward Wang Yu who didn't move, only continued smiling, as for the sword, it stopped right in front of him.

Seeing Wang Yu's reaction, he looked surprised, slightly angry, and confused. He didn't mean to touch him but he thought that Wang Yu would at least try to evade. 

He then thrusted his sword again this time intending to make Wang Yu bleed. However, Wang Yu's reaction was different from before. Suddenly his two fingers, index finger, and thumb blocked the sword completely no matter how the young man tried to pull his sword nothing changed.

After nearly giving up on the sword, Wang Yu loosened his grip on the sword letting it slide. As for Qian Shui, he had a terrified look on his face while looking at Wang Yu who had the same age as him but was vastly stronger.

"What do you want?", asked Qian Shui while retreating.

Wang Yu looked amused "This is the second time you asked me what I want, you are vigilant but the truth is simple I was just passing by when I saw you training, I mean you no harm." 

Seeing Qian Shui slow the retreating, Wang Yu continued "However, I do have a proposition for you. Do you maybe want to enter the Empire's army?"

Seeing Qian Shui's apprehensive look, Wang Yu continued "Of course, I won't force you. Choosing this caravan was but a flute decision, I can see that you have a complicated past so feel free to refuse if you like."

Qian Shui stopped running and had a serious look on his face, Wang Yu might not have said it but he knew that if had wanted to kill him then running would have been impossible, even if the caravan guards intervened.

"But how do you know that I'm not going to betray the Empire." 

Hearing the question, Wang Yu laughed "Well I don't care, as long as you don't betray me in the coming Mortal War you can do whatever you like."

Qian Shui was deeply surprised by Wang Yu's response, but chose to ask another question "There are people searching for me and want nothing more than to take my life."

Hearing this Wang Yu's expression turned serious "How strong are they?"

The young man looked at Wang Yu as if he were a madman "They are very strong with many warriors at the General Tier." 

Seeing Wang Yu's unchanged expression after mentioning General Tier, Qian Shui felt that Wang Yu was very mysterious, 'maybe he's one of those immortals'.

A moment later, Wang Yu added "If you decide to join my army, I can assure you protection from those General Tier warriors you only have to prove your worthiness.

Seeing Qian Shui's contemplative look, Wang Yu left after saying his goodbyes "Take your time before you make the decision."

Unknown to Wang Yu and Qian Shui two pair of eyes were looking in their direction, the looker smiled slightly before leaving.

.......

The Saint's dominion consisted of ten large galaxies, those galaxies were full of life and had many races. 

The humans were one of the ten strongest races and ruled one of the galaxies, the Human Galaxy also called the Dark Green Galaxy.

Right now a grand meeting was being held, between the ten rulers, most of the people had a grim face and were looking with a mix of anger and desperation.

"This can't continue like this, if those bastards enter the land we will all become their slaves, they will destroy everything the Saint has built. We should stop them soon or we will face demise." Said a man who had a lion head, a human chest, and a snake's tail, he was huge about ten meters tall even in his humanoid form. He was the Snack Lion tribe's chief, one of the rulers of the Saint's dominion.

One of the rulers was a five-meter fox body with eight tales and had enchanting eyes, so captivating and irresistible to anyone. She said in a sweet voice "I propose we strengthen the formation with blood sacrifice this should give us enough time until one of us breakthrough."

Hearing this proposition some of the rulers had a contemplative look while others looked angry at the proposal.

Fantian, the Human Galaxy's ruler was an old man with a small stature. Inside the group, he looked small and weak but no one looked at him with contempt, "I don't think we have reached that point where we need to sacrifice our people, we still have about a hundred thousand years before they can break the formations left by the Saint and enter this Dominion."

Seeing the unconvinced look on the others he continued "Maybe a hundred thousand years is short for us but if we can pour our resources into the younger generation then maybe one of them will achieve what we were unable to."

A man clad in armor who despite looking like humans had dark green skin interjected.

"Hmph, what a funny proposition you think those youngsters can achieve what we were unable to achieve all those years."

 He was the Dark Rats Emperor, a variation of the rat race that was bigger and had a dominant force allowing them to control one of the galaxies.

A woman in red whose surroundings were burning naturally rebuked the Dark Rat Emperor "I think the idea is worth a try after all it won't harm us anyway and I propose we use the Saint's Dreamland as the training ground since it's exceptionally rich in celestial energy also the time inside is a hundred time faster than the outside which will allow them to grow stronger very fast."

"Hmph, I beg your pardon Phoenix Empress while I agree with the idea. Entering the Saint's magical land is a no, don't think that we don't know about your plan to take the Dream Apple which is nearly ripped." Said the Fox Empress.

A tranquil and southing voice soon spoke "I like the idea, how about we now start the tournaments within our galaxies and when each galaxy has its champions we will later discuss their training regime."

The voice came from the Orchid Tree, the current leader of the Verdant Galaxy, a galaxy dominated by trees and plants with most plants having gained consciousness due to the special place.

The Eight Eyes Frog opened one of his eyes which reflected a sea of corpses but the people present didn't feel intimidated or anything "I agree." he then closed his eyes.

Now the only one who hadn't spoken from the beginning till the end was the Ice Dragon Empress.

She had a humanoid form, a very beautiful face that seemed inhuman. But unlike normal humans, she had a very pale complexion and had white scales on some parts of her body. She hadn't spoken since the beginning, in fact, her eyes were looking at a mirror in her hands smiling slightly since the beginning but no one dared to interrupt her.

Inside the mirror was a mischievous young boy with smart eyes and a handsome face, right now he was holding a chicken in his left hand closing its mouth to not make any noise.

His eyes revealed greed that made the chicken shiver but despite its resistance the boy made sure to steal it stealthily and no one had seen him, he was going to have a nice meal tonight.

The Ice Dragon Empress who was enjoying the moment felt people's gazes on her, she then stored the mirror and said "I agree with the proposition, also the tournaments should end within a hundred years so that we have time to start raising them as soon as possible."

Soon the meeting ended and everyone went to prepare for the incoming tournaments, hoping to see as many geniuses from their respective races. It was not only a matter of preparation for the war but also a matter of pride.

........

The next day, a man in his early twenties wearing a blue robe and a holding book with a yellow cover and no title came with one of the guards.

The man was full of smiles and had a curious look on his face, after entering he introduced himself warmly "Hi, I'm Shi Dalang. I was in cart 23 and the people there weren't exactly kind to me. So despite them asking me to stay, I couldn't stay there and decided to change the cart to meet new friendly people."

"No, they kicked you due to your mischievous acts." Interjected the guard before throwing him softly toward Wang Yu and leaving.

Wang Yu wanted to help but Shi Dalang made a move trying not to fall but he did fall nonetheless and on his butt before cursing."Imbecile, how dare you push me this hard."

Seeing the angry look on the guard's face who hadn't left yet, Shi Dalang said seriously "I'm talking about those Buffalos that are pulling the cart."

"Hmph, count yourself lucky I don't have time to play with you today." snorted the guard before leaving.

"Energetic young kids are rare nowadays," Mu Shing looked at Shi Dalang and asked, "I think you should know better than those ignorant silent kids. What do you think of our beautiful princess becoming the next Grand Marshall?" 

Shi Dalang tidied his robe before sitting comfortably between Wang Yu and Mu Shing "Haha, you asked the right one. I've once seen the princess walking in front of her soldiers, that regal and strong presence no one can compare. Of course, she will become the next Grand Marshall and will defend us from the neighboring Kingdoms and bring us to unprecedented glory."

Mu Shing's eyes were shining while listening to Shi Dalang's description, he really couldn't understand why the people of cart 23 kicked this bright child 'It's a lie for sure.' thought Mu Shing.

"Hahaha, you are absolutely right. Then what are your thoughts on the coming Scholar Test? Do you know a particular Scholar whom you think may get the first place or are you by any chance going to participate in it?" Mu Shing looked earnestly at Shi Dalang.

Hearing the question Shi Dalang sighed and looked through the window as if his sight could pierce through the window and see a very far place.

After a short silence, he started speaking calmly "I've once been asked this question, and I remember the answer which was 'Maybe if you are going to participate with me'. Unfortunately, she can't participate and so I won't."

Everyone in the room including Wang Yu felt something deep in those eyes, that were looking outside the window with deep logging. But it didn't continue for long, after a short period Shi Dalang smiled and laughed "This is what my stupid friend once said, he could have become great but he chose to be mediocre for the sake of love."

Shi Dalang then looked at Wang Yu and said "What do you think my friend?"

Wang Yu was surprised by the question but he answered after some thinking "Is he happy now, your friend? If so, then maybe he had made the right decision."

Shi Dalang laughed after hearing the response "Well he's very happy, he didn't achieve his potential but he never regretted that decision."

Hu Yang who was silent since the beginning patted Shi Dalang on the shoulder, "It's alright you did well."

Shi Dalang felt strange gazes looking at him from the people inside the cart, "It's not me, he's my friend."

No one seemed to hear him, and the little girl came to him before offering him candy, "It's alright uncle." Seeing her gaze Shi Dalang wanted to cry but found no tears. 

The atmosphere inside the cart turned jubilant after Shi Dalang entered the cart, he would tell a lot of jokes and brag about how great he was and how he was the most handsome man in the empire, how many beautiful ladies had fallen for him, and so on.

In the evening the caravan stopped and the people inside started to camp. 

After descending from the cart, Wang Yu felt energetic unlike the others who felt tired from sitting all day, as a cultivator this was very simple for him.

His only problem was his carving to the Yin Energy but thankfully the tea in his Spirit Pot had become more potent after staying a month inside the Spirit Pot, granting him tranquility and freshness, but the quantity was lessening, and if he added more than the efficiency will reduce.

'I think it's time to leave the caravan and continue my journey alone. It's also faster this way."

By his side was Shi Dalang who was always energetic and easygoing, "Brother Wang, I feel like we've been friends forever not just meeting today. Come with me, I will let you meet my acquaintances." Said Shi Dalang while pulling Wang Yu.

"Do you mean the people from your past cart," smiled Wang Yu.

Shi Dalang slowed after hearing that before saying, "Of course not, actually in this caravan I'm traveling with my sister but she chose another cart with her friends."

As for Qian Shui, he went to a hidden place where he started training again.

On the way, Shi Dalang talked about his sister nonstop. And that she had many pursuers who wanted to marry her but then he snorted "How dare they!"

Soon they reached the cart and Wang Yu stopped moving for some time looking in the direction of a young girl, who should be eighteen and had a fatal look, while not as enchanting as Mu Xing and Qin Li. She was beautiful and had good physic, extremely attractive especially for someone in Wang Yu's current state.

Wang Yu didn't know if this was love at first sight or just because of his abnormal state but he felt a sudden attraction to her.

Seeing Wang Yu and Shi Dalang coming Shi Meiling looked in the direction of Wang Yu for some time before laughing at Shi Dalang "Big brother I heard that you were kicked out of your cart." 

Her friends laughed in response, as for Shi Dalang he refuted calmly snorting "Huh, that's just a rumor fabricated by people who are jealous of me." he then puffed his chest saying "The truth is that I wanted to change the cart as to get meet new people but what can I do, I'm just very dashing and people like to talk about me."

One of the girls beside Shi Meiling was a tall and voluptuous lady in her late twenties, she went and stood in front of Shi Dalang who looked short in front of her before hugging him tightly "Don't cry little guy, I will always be by your side. If you want I can beat those bad guys for you."

Shi Dalang was holding his hands tight from anger, "enough, I'm leaving." said Shi Dalang before pushing the woman.

Right before they left, the lady who was hugging Shi Dalang apologized "I was joking, of course they are sad because you left them."

Hearing this Shi Dalang who had just looked away and was leaving, stopped while hiding his smile he said "Hmph, I'm busy if you don't have much to say then I will be going."

One of Shi Meiling's friends who was silent since the beginning shyly said "Please stay big brother Dalang."

Shi Dalang sighed, "You are making things hard for me since you want me to stay, I will." He then winked at Wang Yu "What do you think brother Wang."

'Since when did we become brothers' Wang Yu was surprised but a part of him wanted to stay, so after a slight hesitation, he nodded toward Shi Dalang.

"Hahaha, I will cook you dinner tonight." Laughed Shi Dalang, before going to the guards to take some food and spices to prepare dinner, leaving Wang Yu to help the ladies in preparing the fire and the tents.