Chapter 242 - 240: Ten Thousand Races Stand Tall, Demon Fiends Run Rampant!
Song Changming began carefully reading and studying the contents that appeared within the scroll.
Soon, he encountered difficulties again.
The contents of the scroll were filled with obscure and hard-to-understand ancient script, and without any annotations, he couldn’t fully grasp their meanings.
His understanding of the ancient script from the Ancient Abyss Country was only superficial.
He had done some research, but had not delved into ancient texts for learning.
"Even if this Martial Technique Secret Manual were brazenly posted on the city wall, I’m afraid very few would ultimately learn and master it..." Song Changming shook his head and said.
Whether the manual is an annotated and explanatory version really matters.
Otherwise, even if Song Changming learned the ancient script and translated it well, it would still be difficult to understand and learn from it.
Of course, the best is still having a master to guide you, a living person to provide hands-on teaching, so there’s no worry of practicing incorrectly.
However, it’s unrealistic for Song Changming to run to the Imperial Palace with the scroll to seek guidance from the Chu Imperial Family.
He could only rely on his panel.
"As long as I can record the martial technique into the panel, everything else can be handled..." Song Changming thought, repeatedly observing the martial technique content displayed in the scroll, trying to remember it as completely as possible in his mind.
This was the first step.
Now that Song Changming’s spiritual power was strong and refined, memorizing the entire content of this martial technique wasn’t difficult.
Later, Song Changming began borrowing Liu Dingsheng’s ancient book collection, dedicating a considerable portion of his time outside of cultivation to learning the ancient script of the Ancient Abyss Country.
Meanwhile, he began the process of translating the martial technique.
The translation process did not go smoothly, primarily because the ancient script was overly complex and numerous.
Some obscure ancient characters were rarely found even in numerous collections.
Therefore, Song Changming had no choice but to employ others to search for more ancient texts.
Recently, the Imperial Palace was in turmoil, many treasures flowed out, including rare original copies of ancient texts, which could potentially be useful to him.
On this day.
In a corner of the courtyard, two vines hung from an old tree, with a swing woven from vines and green leaves below.
Song Changming lazily sat on the swing, flipping through the ancient text in his hands, occasionally comparing it to the martial technique content in his mind, conducting deductions and analyses.
This swing was cherished by Su Qingqing, filled with fond childhood memories with her parents.
Now, the girl has been away from her parents for almost seven years, worried that the past memories would gradually fade over time.
Most importantly, the girl doesn’t want to forget her parents, so there is this swing, allowing her to often remember them through the object.
Su Qingqing practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard, her gaze wandering repeatedly over Song Changming.
"Is there something you want to say?" Song Changming flipped a page of the ancient text and said casually.
Hearing this, Su Qingqing immediately put down her sword and approached.
"Young master, I am already fine, please let me go out."
"What did Elder Qiao say?" Song Changming asked.
"Grandpa Qiao said that although the injury has just healed, it’s best to recuperate for a few more days..." Su Qingqing replied timidly.
Faced with Song Changming, she dared not deceive and obediently spoke the truth.
But she quickly added, "Young master, I truly am fine; my body doesn’t hurt at all."
This wasn’t the first time she had pleaded with Song Changming to let her go out.
The reason she was so anxious was because she found that her strength improved rapidly through combat, much more effectively than staying home for isolated cultivation.
To improve her strength faster, she resorted to this approach.
"Since Elder Qiao said so, wait for a few more days," Song Changming stated.
"Alright..." Su Qingqing glanced at the swing, feeling slightly dejected.
Song Changming saw it and couldn’t help but soften his heart, shaking his head, "Fine, you can go, but take White with you."
"Awoo?" The white dog resting beside the swing lifted its head upon hearing its name being called.
"Okay, young master." Su Qingqing’s face instantly brightened, her emotions evident.
"White, while out there, take good care of Qingqing," Song Changming advised, patting the fluffy dog’s head.
"Woof~" The white dog immediately stood up, intelligence gleaming in its pitch-black eyes, nodding in agreement.
The yellow dog rolling around in the yard not far away wasn’t pleased and began barking.
It also wanted to go out adventuring.
But Song Changming ignored it. Compared to White, the yellow dog’s nature was more mischievous and unruly, occasionally eccentric, less reliable.
If someone were to act as a bodyguard, White was undoubtedly more suitable.
"Moreover, if you accidentally provoke an unbeatable enemy, remember to mention my name. At a desperate time, it might save your life," Song Changming reminded the girl.
Over more than five years, he brought the girl back and raised her.
After so much time, how could one not grow attached?
Though she is of maid status, he hardly ever ordered her around, much like with Song Ping’an; the girl was more than just a servant but a close person by Song Changming’s side.
After the prior cautionary lesson, Song Changming was more prudent in arranging the girl’s affairs.
The white dog was the first layer of protection he arranged for her, and his name was another life-saving charm.
The reputation of a master on the Celestial List held an intimidating power akin to wielding a nuclear weapon for most martial artists.
In the Jianghu, who would dare easily offend a master on the Celestial List? That would be akin to seeking death!
"Thank you, young master!"
"Go ahead."
The girl expressed her gratitude, then swiftly scampered away from the courtyard with the white dog.
Over these years, both dogs had been nurtured with the best food and care by Song Changming. It’s uncertain if they had consumed the Dragon Transformation Pearl early on, or for other reasons, but periodically, whether a few months or a year or two, both dogs would enter a state akin to evolutionary dormancy.
Upon awakening, their fierce beast bloodlines were reactivated, thus their physical bodies became significantly more powerful.
Believe it or not, with their current development, the battle power of these two dogs already met the Qi Refining Level!
Even if martial artists with slightly weaker Qi Refining prowess strike with sword or blade Qi, they might not be able to breach the dogs’ defenses!
Therefore, letting the white dog accompany Su Qingqing was akin to having a Qi Refining Level bodyguard, which was quite reassuring.
After all, there were not that many Qi Refining martial artists wandering, showing themselves in the Jianghu.
Just as the girl departed, the ones arranged by Liang Zhao Long delivered another cart of ancient texts.
It’s said that all came from the Imperial Palace.
Song Changming browsed through them, finding many useful secrets recorded among the collection.
This included many details about the Outer Domain, as well as numerous detailed descriptions of the Ancient Abyss Country.
Many things were new to Song Changming, sparking his intrigue.
According to descriptions, the ancient Abyss Country was vast and boundless, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles from east to west, filled with countless mountains and rivers, with spirit islands and blessed lands emerging one after another.
The Human Race governed the great nation, proliferating and thriving, enduring for ages.
Until a millennium ago, a cataclysm caused the great nation to fracture.
Since then, numerous races stood side by side, demons ran rampant!
During that time, some of the Human Race fled the Ancient Abyss, crossed the chasm ’Bottomless Abyss’, and discovered another isolated land.
This place was wild, with sparse spiritual Qi, though unfavorable for cultivation, it had no demonic disturbances.
Thus, this group of the Human Race took root and built homes, established systems, and defined territories.
There were the powerful who occupied the scarce Spirit Root lands to establish sects, and powerful ones who protected a family, giving rise to noble families.
Due to the wildness of the area, resources were limited.
Thus quickly, disputes arose from uneven resource distribution.
Eventually, a great clan named Chu emerged from the conflict, subduing other noble families and a large number of the Human Race.
To consolidate the power attained, the Chu family established a nation called Da Han!
"So that’s the origin of the Da Han Dynasty..." Seeing this, Song Changming couldn’t help but ponder.
Thereafter, many past events related to the Chu Family were documented in detail.
Among them were some heart-stopping accounts!
It could only be said that the consolidation of imperial authority was accompanied by much unimaginable bloodshed and darkness!
If not for the ending of the thousand-year rule of the Chu family, these ancient texts sealed within the Imperial Palace might never have been brought out, finally reaching Song Changming’s hands.
"So now the Ancient Abyss Country might not be governed by the Human Race, with chaos and demons around?" Song Changming thought.
He temporarily couldn’t determine from the scattered descriptions in the ancient texts what the situation with the demons was.
He only learned that these demons were very tricky and thorny, with their danger level far surpassing fierce beasts and fog beasts!
In the future, if he ever went to the Ancient Abyss Country, the most crucial thing to be cautious about would be these demons!
However, the information about the Ancient Abyss Country in the ancient texts ultimately could only serve as a reference.
After all, a thousand years had passed, who knows what the current Ancient Abyss Country is like now, and what changes have occurred; perhaps the Human Race there has restored a prosperous age, who can say.
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