Translator: Radiant
Editor: Radiant
Inside a room.
Xue Ying ran in to find Zong Ling in bed and Tong San sitting beside him in a chair.
"Uncle Zhong, are you alright?" Dong Bo Xue Ying looked at him carefully; Uncle Zhong had changed into a clean white gown. Although it didn’t seem as if there were any injuries, his face was pale.
Zong Lin smiled and said, "The leader of The Bent Blade Union is indeed a difficult opponent, if I hadn’t worn the smelted gold inner armor to protect my body, I’m afraid I would really have lost my humble… cough, cough, cough……" He started to cough as he spoke and covered his mouth with a handkerchief he had found beside him. The white handkerchief quickly turned red as the blood spread through it.
Dong Bo Xue Ying’s heart shivered as he looked at him. ‘Coughing blood? Could he be injured internally?’
"Uncle Zong." Dong Bo Xue Ying sat at the side of the bed.
"It’s nothing, I won’t die." Zong Ling threw his handkerchief to the basin beside him as then smiled and said, "This little injury is nothing, there have been lots of cases where I sustained injuries much more serious than this one, back in the days when I was still adventuring with your father and uncle Tong.
"Xue Ying, be at ease. This degree of injury will recover within one or two months with the physique of a Six-armed Serpent-demon." Tong San was quite calm. They had gotten used to this long ago, struggling on the fringe of life and death for years on end. "By the way, Zong Ling, why are you hurt so badly? You brought a battalion of soldiers with you. Did the leader of the Bent Blade Union really do all of this?"
"Indeed, he was more powerful than I thought. He deserves his title, ‘The Strongest Bandit in the Water Rites Region’." Zong Ling said.
"Who is the leader of the Bent Sword Union? What's his background?" Dong Bo Xue Ying could make neither head nor tail of this man.
"It is time for me to tell you something", Zong Ling said, "Sooner or later, you will be in charge of Xue Ying Territory."
Zong Ling looked into Xue Ying's eyes, "A lord not only controls their territory, but also protects their region and all their people! Whoever invades your land, kills your people or snatches your property, you must eliminate them all!"
Dong Bo Xue Ying nodded.
"When your parents were here, your mother was a Heaven mage. With a powerful mage, an army can bring out more of their strength. Besides, we were equipped with many Star Breaking crossbows. No bandit within the entire territory dared to offend us," Zong Ling said. "After your parents were taken away, I think the bandits were held back by our Star Breaking crossbows."
Dong Bo Xue Ying was quite clear about the capacity of the Star Breaking crossbows, his father's team was equipped with five hundred of them after all.
These crossbows cost up to 50,000 gold coins, an amount that is large enough to purchase the entire Xue Ying territory. That was why the Dong Bo clan was well known to the town of Water Rites.
"The tax rate in Xue Ying territory was low, and people loved their lord. These past few years, people had lived good lives. This provoked the greed of the bandits, so many of them were about to make trouble." Zong Ling said, "Then your parents were taken. The Bent Blade Union, as the mightiest bandit group, intruded on our territory and started to plunder and ransack all they saw."
"When I heard the news, I set out with 300 soldiers, each riding a horse and armed with Star Breaking crossbows. However, when we arrived there, more than 500 civilians had already been killed and robbed."
When Dong Bo Xue Ying heard this, anger branded his eyes a bloody red.
More than 500!? This, this……
Those bandits are demons! The civilians had done nothing to them!
"I was following their traces, but I had never thought that the evil leader of the Bent Blade Union, ‘Ge Bin’, would hide alone in the slaughtered village and ambush us." Zong Ling sighed, "We were caught off guard and the 300 soldiers fell into confusion. Holding him back was all I could manage."
"Ge Bin is a meteor knight. I fought with a meteor knight before and ordinarily I would be able resist him for a while.' Zong Ling sighed, 'But Ge Bin was really fast with his blade, much faster than a regular meteor knight… I suspect he is in possession of an unusual 'Dou Qi' method.'
Dong Bo Xue Ying shared this suspicion.
Between father, Uncle Zong and Uncle Tong, Uncle Zong is the most powerful. Although he was only a Heaven Knight, he also had the royal lineage of the Serpent-men race. As a Six-armed Serpent-demon, he possessed great strength thanks to his six arms that could attack simultaneously. Besides that, his serpent tail added nimbleness and sharpness to his movements… Therefore, even if he fought with a higher ranked meteor knight, it should have been possible for him to hold on for a while.
"My blade was fast , but his was faster. I was not able to ward him off and was struck by his blade thrice! Fortunately, thanks to the Refined Gold Armor, I only ended up with some internal injuries. The 300 soldiers had also begun to fight back with their crossbows, forcing the leader of the Bent Blade Union to flee with a light wound." Zong Ling sighed, "His swordplay and movements are incredibly quick. No wonder he has such a fearsome reputation."
Dong Bo Xue Ying was scared. Uncle Zong was cut three times. If he hadn’t been so lucky, or if the battle had lasted longer, Uncle Zong would have lost his life!
"Xue Ying, rest easy."
Tong San said in a firm voice, "There are only four meteor knights and one meteor mage in the entire Water Rites town! The leader of the Bent Blade Union is the only meteor knight amongst the bandits too. This time, he learned of the power of our Star Breaking crossbows through his own body… I don’t think he will dare to take this risk again. Next time, we will be fully prepared, better than this time! If the Bent Blade Union doesn’t have the guts to invade us, the other bandits won’t have it either."
En. Dong Bo Xue Ying relaxed.
"Ge Bin is a meteor knight, his opportunities are limitless, but he still chooses to rob others. Why does he resort to such methods?" Dong Bo Xue Ying asked.
"Hmph." Tong San gave a snort, "Xue Ying, some people in this world are skilled, but love to make money in exchange for nothing. They rob people! It is said that Ge Bin’s first bounty was placed because his greed drove him to kill members of royalty for treasures. Now he is a notorious bandit.
Zong Ling added, "He has held a bad reputation in the city for a long time. Although many suspected that he was committing crimes, nobody could find proof of his actions. When they finally found some evidence a bounty was placed on his head, but he was strong enough to escape and hide in the Hui Mie Mountain range with a group of bandits. To this day, he still goes on rampage around the city. Anyway, there is no reason to worry about things we can’t fix."
Dong Bo Xue Ying agreed.
‘Indeed, let's just forget about it.’
They had hidden in the Hui Mie Mountains, a stronghold which even the city guards didn’t dare tread. The Hui Mie Mountain Range was the largest mountain range in the empire; it stretched for over 30,000 miles and connected four provinces. Additionally, it housed numerous terrible magic beasts in its central regions, while the outer rim was a haven for bandits.
The depths of the Hui Mie mountains were far too dangerous.
"We’ll leave them alone until I have gotten stronger. But don’t worry, I will definitely eliminate that tumor." Dong Bo Xue Ying thought in his mind.
"By the way, Xue Ying, did you make up your mind about Eternal Wind Academy?" Zong Ling unexpectedly asked.
"Xue Ying!" Tong San said hurriedly, "This is the Eternal Wind Academy! The biggest academy and the most powerful force in the Tranquil Sun Province! It’s way better than your mother’s Mo Yang clan! The dean, Chi Qiu Bai, is the ‘Eternal Wind Knight’ and the strongest person in the province! Your strength guarantees you guaranteed admission to the academy, but it's already winter! There isn’t any time for hesitation!"
"Ten-years-old is the maximum; Eternal Wind Academy does not admit children older than ten." Zong Ling looked into Dong Bo Xue Ying’s eyes.
Dong Bo Xue Ying was silent.
He had thought about this for a long time.
The Eternal Wind Academy didn’t grant admission to any child older than the age of ten. This was because the time of a child’s development was very important to one's cultivation as a knight. If they didn’t cultivate, then they lost a lot of their future potential. But the age at which one developed varieed from person to person, although it could only be as low as the age of ten. Thus, the age limit for admission was created.
Eternal Wind academy was the best academy in the Tranquil Sun province!
Although the entrance exam for the academy was very strict, Dong Bo Xue Ying was almost guaranteed a spot with his strong body and spear skills. The benefits of enrolling into the academy were immense; by the time a student graduated, he was at least a Heaven Tier knight, regardless of his or her strength upon entry. Some knights went even further and achieved the Meteor Rank before graduating.
"I have thought things through and made a decision!" Dong Bo Xue Ying said.