Chapter 1156, The Great Ambush

Translator: Silavin

  

Upon learning that only half a month remained, Qin Yichen swept along the route that would carry him through the Silent Forest in the shortest possible time.

 

At his speed, it was no more than ten days’ worth of travel. Qin Yichen did not delay, not wishing to risk any unforeseen incident along the way.

 

What he did not know, however, was that the very moment he departed, a piece of news sprouted wings and it flew in every direction.

 

The fellow who had been hunted by over a hundred Martial Ancestors, the one who had fled into the most dangerous regions of the Silent Forest, had actually walked back out. And not only that, his cultivation had made a leap so tremendous it defied comprehension.

 

The moment this news broke, it sent countless individuals into a state of speechless shock.

 

And many more quietly turned their attention toward Qin Yichen.

 

After all, the Supreme Expert was accepting only a single Disciple. The ferocity and cruelty of that competition was such that a vast number of people were destined to withdraw in bitter disappointment, and who could say how many powerful experts would perish along the road of trials, becoming stepping stones beneath others’ feet.

 

Qin Yichen’s news had, without question, stirred the covetous hearts of countless people.

 

To begin with, he already carried a Pill Formula that made eyes turn red with envy. Now he had walked out of that Dangerous Territory with his strength surging to new heights. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with how the world worked understood that he had most certainly obtained a tremendous stroke of fortune within that deadly region.

 

Rather than scramble for the single spot being contested by tens of thousands of talented individuals, many people had simply set their sights on Qin Yichen instead.

 

So long as they could bring him down, whether it was the Pill Formula, or the fortunate opportunity he had obtained within the Dangerous Territory, either one was more than enough to allow any powerful expert and the Force standing behind them to rise to prominence.

 

With communication spreading between the various Races, this news soon became an uproar. In no time at all, countless experts who had not been directed by anyone at all spontaneously drew together those they trusted and began searching for Qin Yichen’s movements. Some experts who had been on the verge of passing through the Silent Forest even began, intentionally or otherwise, to linger.

 

Yet Qin Yichen remained completely ignorant, continuing to sweep through the Silent Forest at speed.

 

Along the way, more than a few Demonic Beasts were disturbed by the commotion he created. Qin Yichen, however, had no interest in drawn-out battles. Each time, he dispatched the creature at the greatest possible speed, or simply outran it outright, wasting no meaningful time on any of them.

 

While pushing through the journey in this manner, Qin Yichen had also noticed that he was encountering powerful experts with increasing frequency. Every last one of those individuals, upon laying eyes on him, wore a gaze brimming with undisguised greed.

 

Fortunately, after catching sight of him, these experts departed swiftly, without causing any excessive trouble.

 

As time passed, however, Qin Yichen observed that the experts he was encountering seemed to grow more numerous. Several groups of twenty or thirty had even made their move against him.

 

Those experts were clearly cautious, though. Qin Yichen had only needed to reveal a modest measure of his strength and cut down a handful of them with swift, thunderous decisiveness before their nerve failed and they retreated with lingering unease.

 

…

 

The Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range sat along one flank of the Silent Forest. It was one of the few areas within the forest that had been spared, more or less intact, from the legendary, earth-shaking battle said to have once swept through this place.

 

Even so, that absence of war was far from enough to make the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range any less fearsome in the eyes of the world. Its reputation for danger was enough to give countless powerful experts pause.

 

For within those peaks, Demonic Beasts were packed in countless numbers, and from the sheer, towering summits, the deep, savage roars of beasts could be heard at any moment, rolling through the mountain woodland with enough force to rattle one’s bones.

 

The Demonic Beasts here were not only vast in number, but rumour held that deep within the mountain range were Saint Realm Demonic Beasts. This alone was more than enough to render the place a Forbidden Area in the minds of most experts.

 

In ordinary times, very few people were reckless enough to force their way into this particular Forbidden Area.

 

These, however, were not ordinary times. Throughout the great expanse of the mountain range, hordes upon hordes of experts had appeared like a swarm of locusts, and the enormous Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range had grown unusually lively as a result.

 

Naturally, this large-scale intrusion had provoked a fierce response from the Demonic Beasts within. Not long after these experts entered the region, screams and bestial shrieks began echoing relentlessly through the mountain range.

 

Demonic Beasts were savage and merciless by nature. More than a few experts were now experiencing that savagery firsthand.

 

Even so, despite the constant assault of Demonic Beasts, the sheer number of experts was simply too overwhelming, and they had managed to establish a foothold within the range.

 

“These brutes are a true nuisance!”

 

At the outer edges of the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range, Li Shan drove a single fist into a Demonic Beast that had burst from the tree line, dropping it outright. The creature still had enough momentum to crash forward in its death throes, its sharp claws tearing his robes to shreds before it finally collapsed rigid to the ground.

 

Seeing this, Xiang Linzi, Xiong Xiong, and the others nearby could not help but frown.

 

“I wonder whether the person they speak of is Brother Qin…”

 

“A Pill Formula usable by every Race, who else do you think it could be?!”

 

“Based on the intelligence from earlier, Brother Qin should be travelling along this route…”

 

After clearing a space, Li Shan and the others swept up into the branches of a large tree. Their expressions, however, were all tinged with anxiety.

 

They had been deeply worried upon learning that Qin Yichen had been driven into a Dangerous Territory. Yet barely ten days had passed before news arrived again that he had reappeared, and with his strength surging to new heights. The revelation had led countless individuals to conclude he had obtained a tremendous fortune within that Dangerous Territory, and in an instant, evil intent had bloomed in the hearts of thousands.

 

After learning of all this, the group had made inquiries in every direction, and eventually learned that someone had already traced Qin Yichen’s route of travel and deduced that he would pass through this very place.

 

A large encirclement to ambush him had been quietly set in motion.

 

The reason they had come here, however, was not some foolish notion of joining Qin Yichen in resisting those countless experts.

 

Those who had crossed this far through the Silent Forest to reach the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range were not ordinary individuals by any means. Every last one of them was, within their own Race, a prodigy.

 

They had not pushed deep into the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range. They only hoped to intercept Qin Yichen before he entered, to warn him.

 

Of course, even this much they dared not do openly. If it were discovered that they were the ones who had tipped him off, they would almost certainly find themselves added to the list of those to be eliminated.

 

“What? Several thousand people are lying in wait for him?”

 

Meanwhile, at the outermost edge of the Silent Forest, Qing Luan had just led a group of experts accompanying him through the first stage of the trials.

 

Upon learning of Qin Yichen’s situation, Qing Luan acted without a moment’s hesitation, turning around and heading back in a blazing hurry.

 

The group of experts who had been travelling with him, however, did not follow his example. After carefully weighing their options, only three or four of them chose to turn back alongside Qing Luan.

 

Facing several thousand experts from across the Myriad Races was not something just anyone had the courage to do.

 

…

 

High above the Silent Forest, countless terrifying space rifts stretched across the sky.

 

What no one had perceived was that beyond those dreadful space rifts, high in the Heavens, two silhouettes drifted in perfect stillness. Around them, space rifts of a calibre capable of unnerving even Saints flickered past in a constant stream, yet each one dissolved and vanished the moment it came within a single meter of either figure.

 

Their eyes were trained on the scene below, both gazes conveying an identical quality: detachment. It was as though every life unfolding beneath them was entirely beneath consideration.

 

“Fascinating. This time, you have at least several hundred Races sending their men to participate in your trial.”

 

The silhouette on the left seemed to have noticed something it found amusing and suddenly laughed. “Over two thousand young Martial Ancestors, encircling a single person. That is quite the grand spectacle. Neither you nor I had ever had the privilege of being treated like this.”

 

The other silhouette gave only a faint smile in return, offering no further comment. His gaze seemed to pass straight through the countless space rifts and the thick layers of cloud, settling upon one particular figure sweeping through the forest at speed below. Whatever thoughts lay behind those eyes, no one could read them.

 

“This sort of thing has already stretched somewhat beyond the boundaries of the rules you’ve set. Mo Sheng, do you not intend to stop it?”

 

Watching a certain location below where the crowd continued to swell, the silhouette on the left could not help but frown slightly.

 

Had anyone overheard that form of address, they would have been rendered utterly speechless. The other figure was none other than Mo Sheng himself, the Supreme Expert who had set the very terms of this first trial.

 

And the only individual in all of the Myriad Beasts Domain with the standing to address Mo Sheng by name was the one the domain had chosen as its leader: Chen Xun.

 

Chen Xun was himself a Supreme Expert. Moreover, like Mo Sheng, he had walked alone since making his name, never once associating himself with any particular Race.

 

It was precisely because of Chen Xun and Mo Sheng that the Myriad Beasts Domain had been preserved to this day.

 

Were the day to come when the Myriad Beasts Domain had no Supreme Expert within it, certain Forces would not hesitate to carve it up and divide it amongst themselves.

 

The annexation of neutral territories was not something that had happened only once or twice across the vast continent. So long as there was nothing to inspire genuine wariness, such things were hardly note-worthy.

 

“Stop it?” Mo Sheng gave a quiet laugh. “This is no more than youngsters squabbling amongst themselves. How does this concern me?”

 

Beneath the weight of countless ages, both of them, as Supreme Experts, had witnessed too many brutal things. Their temperament had long since transcended to a state that was utterly serene.

 

Had it not been for the approaching limits of their lifespan and the pressing matter of passing on their legacy, Mo Sheng would never have arranged such a grand trial for selecting a Disciple in the first place.

 

As for whether those participating in the trial lived or died, he simply did not care.

 

They had seen too many peerless geniuses fall along the road of growth. Right now, before them were tens of thousands of talented individuals from every race. How could he possibly intervene for something so trivial?

 

…

 

At that same moment, some ten kilometres outside the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range, a silhouette moved like a phantom, shooting forward from the distance at a ferocious pace.

 

In its wake, the territorial roars of disturbed Demonic Beasts rose and faded at intervals, though the figure did not slow in the slightest on their account.

 

“Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range is just ahead. Once I pass through it, another day of travel should carry me clear of the Silent Forest. It seems the time required is even shorter than I had anticipated.”

 

Sweeping forward at speed, Qin Yichen produced a map and oriented himself. A quiet breath of relief settled through him.

 

On the map, the area of the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range was marked in crimson characters, making it clear enough that while this was not the sort of Dangerous Territory where residual divine techniques could erupt without warning, the dangers within it were nonetheless not to be underestimated.

 

Within the entire Silent Forest, locations that had come through that legendary war largely unscathed, as the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range had, were genuinely few and far between.

 

In places like this, one could truly appreciate what the Silent Forest had once been in its full, terrifying glory.

 

Even so, Qin Yichen was confident in his own abilities, and in any case, he had no intention of pressing through the deepest core of the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range, only passing through one of the sections closer to its edge.

 

Thus, even if he encountered a fair number of Demonic Beasts, it was unlikely that anything truly beyond his ability to handle would appear this close to the perimeter.

 

The distance of ten-odd kilometres was no more than a brief moment’s work for Qin Yichen, and soon a long, undulating mountain range spread across his horizon.

 

Before he had even entered it, a thick, heavy scent of blood reached his senses. Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range clearly had not earned its fearsome reputation without reason.

 

*Whoosh!* Qin Yichen did not slow his pace. Like a streak of light, he flashed forward along a chosen route at full speed.

 

As he pressed on, however, Qin Yichen’s brow began to furrow, and without quite realising when it had happened, his speed had eased to something considerably slower. A feeling of wrongness had crept over him.

 

The Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range was thick with Demonic Beasts. Yet having swept this far into it, he had not glimpsed so much as a shadow of one. Not a single bestial roar had sounded. The entire mountain range had settled into an uncanny, absolute silence.