Yun Yang"s current state was not all that different from the Four Seasons Tower group who previously laid in a heap on the ground. Lethargy completely consumed him as he entered a deep slumber of self-recovery.
…
What Yun Yang had said was accurate to a point. Mr. Nian and group had exerted the last of their energy to charge out of the valley to the back of Tianxuan Cliff, to a hiding spot they had prepared earlier.
All of them practically fell inside. Settling down and panting, the puffs they made were a mist of blood that continued to dissipate in the air for quite a while.
Mr. Nian strained his remaining strength to complete the formation at the cave"s entrance and unable to push on, he keeled over on the ground and blacked out without any further words. No one showed any sign of surprise because the five other men had already lost consciousness as well, breathing stably.
Going through such a ma.s.sive loss and being extremely grieved and wronged, they did not even have the energy to curse Yun Yang now.
In the small cave, the six of them huddled together as their snores began to echo in peaceful harmony.
…
Beneath Tianxuan Cliff, Fu Baoguo and his troops were antic.i.p.ating hopefully.
After four days and nights, the endless rumbles and booms had finally ceased. Everything went back to dead silence.
However, the stillness was not as well received as the deafening noise. The army was pale, filled with worry and anxiety.
"This must be the end…"
"It should be?"
"Then who won?"
"It must be Lord Supreme Cloud… right?"
"Do we want to go up and take a look? Just to confirm the situation…"
"Can we?"
"Will it affect Lord Supreme Cloud? We"re quite lacking in our abilities – what if Lord Supreme Cloud has to divert his attention and take care of us?"
"Hmm…"
"Let"s wait a bit more."
Fu Baogu"s stomach was in knots. His thoughts were scattered all over. His usual brilliance and a.s.sertiveness were gone without a trace. He spoke after a moment of contemplation, "If the battle is over, Lord Supreme Cloud will let us know…"
"It"s so worrying…"
…
Far away, high up in the sky, there were two silhouettes who were rus.h.i.+ng to where the final battle was taking place.
"We"ve taken too long this time… I wonder if we"re in time…"
"It can"t be helped. Who knew the School of Kismet State was located in so secluded a location? No one could have imagined it"d be beyond the Borderless Ocean…"
"It"s upsetting!"
"Young brother mustn"t have anything happen to him, please don"t…"
"Less nonsense now. Let"s move faster…"
…
About two thousand miles away from Tianxuan Cliff, a white-gowned silhouette was also speeding towards the same location, cutting straight across the air. He and his sword were rumbling through the sky, tens of thousands of feet covered in a flash.
This person was the long-awaited Jun Moyan.
Yutang"s dispersed men had finally found him and persuaded the Unrivaled Swordsman to partake in the Tianxuan Cliff battle.
What moved Jun Moyan was not the war between Yutang and Ziyou. It was another fortuity, a fate between him and Yun Yan whom no others knew about.
"Yun Yang is Supreme Cloud."
"So Supreme Cloud is that child Old Dugu spoke of back then."
"No wonder Supreme Cloud did what he did in Zilong City previously…"
"I didn"t manage to rescue Old Dugu in time. Today, I must save his son."
"Even if it"s the Four Seasons Tower, there"s no two ways about this."
It was too bad that when Jun Moyan received the news, it was already rather late. The battle at Tianxuan Cliff had begun some ten days before!
Jun Moyan embarked on his journey in distress and without rest. Finally, he was approaching his destination. Staring at the looming venue, he sped up even more.
"I hope I"m still in time… I hope it"s not another regret!"
…
Up in Tianxuan Cliff, the current state was one that would make anyone"s eyes bulge should they have witnessed it.
The rivaling parties, one in front of the mountain and another at the back of the cliff, were now doing the same thing – they were deep asleep! So soundly sleeping, they looked absolutely blissful!
Was there a battle? Not that I know of!
The atmosphere was too peaceful. It was like they were preparing to ascend to the heavens!
It was four hours later when Yun Yang was the first to slowly wake up.
He knew that Mr. Nian and group were surely more fatigued than he was, and would not be awake in at least eight hours, but he only gave himself two hours to sleep. However, he was still dissatisfied – he had actually overslept!
"My self-discipline and self-restraint are still lacking. I may have to train myself to focus on these aspects in the future. Any lapses can be fatal – one careless mistake is already one too many." Yun Yang was upset by his own performance.
Watching Ji Lingxi who was still deep in slumber, the girl was equally exhausted. Asleep, she was like a kitten; her hands were clasped in front of her face while her body was curled up. Her breathing was soft and rhythmic, surprising Yun Yang.
He remembered that this girl was softly snoring before he fell asleep. Why was she not snoring now?
Barely figuring it out, Yun Yang turned to stand up only to hear the bones all over his body crackle. The sudden noise was frightening, Yun Yang feeling gooseb.u.mps rise when he heard it. Carefully moving, he still felt the sense of powerlessness, like his bones could break at any time.
He attempted to invoke his divine senses, but tidal waves of p.r.i.c.kling pain were all he felt in his mind.
The unexpected yet continuous pain almost made Yun Yang moan aloud, hugging his head. Thanks to his previous sufferings that had been much worse, the current ache was endured with clenched teeth. Feeling better, he slowly expanded his deific consciousness to probe his surroundings with caution so he could confirm the current situation.
Relieved by his observation, it should be mentioned that what he said earlier that there would not be anything happening in this one day was mostly to comfort Ji Lingxi. It was not true at all. How could Yun Yang actually a.s.sume it to be the truth? There would never be such a windfall in this world!
To him or to the Four Seasons Tower, such a stroke of luck was absolutely prohibited from happening.
To Yun Yang, any accident or unexpected episode that struck in such a circ.u.mstance would turn his short break into a long slumber, completely overturning the situation.
To the Four Seasons Tower, it was impossible for Yun Yang to allow them such a long recovery period. If he had not also been thoroughly tired out and would damage his foundation should he persist, Yun Yang would not have let them go at all – what more, a break!
Permitting himself two hours of sleep was already a decision made out of futility. If he resisted a rest, he would not only be damaging his core, he would be tiring himself to death!
The thick fog still blanketed his surroundings.
Yun Yang did not take the chance to search for Mr. Nian and entourage.
Firstly, the timing was not right; rus.h.i.+ng things would instead make them worse. Secondly, his condition did not allow such action; he was sore and tender, his capability far from replenished. Going to his enemy now might be suicide.
Both parties stood at the same level right now. They were exhausted and aching, unable to exert even the slightest bit of energy. Even panting was excruciating.
It was an awkward stage with both sides wanting to attack each other, yet lacking courage as they were weak.
Approximately three hours later, Ji Lingxi finally woke up. With a soft grunt, the beauty instinctively frowned. Her body ached like it was not hers to command; any movement was hardly graceful.
In spite of this, the maiden"s reaction was incredibly strong-willed. She withstood it and helped herself up, biting her lips with a frown. Shaking the throbbing knots out, she slowly cultivated. While her brows had been tightly knitted together, there was not a moan or grunt.
An hour later, she finally spoke, "This is the first time I"ve been so tired in this lifetime. How are you? Are you alright?"
Yun Yang"s gaze was fond and inexplicably admiring. The girl before him was smart and kind, tough on the outside and levelheaded on the inside, a brilliant maiden. What else could he have asked for when he had such a confidant?
"I"m fine."
"What you say doesn"t count. Let me look at your wounds."
Ji Lingxi stood up to take a look at Yun Yang only to have her eyes turn red immediately.
Yun Yang had the upper hand in this battle but the price he paid for it was not little at all. During the later stages of the fight, Emmie"s support was barely significant. The wounds on him could hardly heal as quickly. There were forty to fifty slashes all across his body; he was basically hurt everywhere. Although each gash was only an external wound, the sum of the bleeding slits was still painful and frightening to look at.
If it had been an ordinary person, those injuries could have drained the man of his blood!
Ji Lingxi took care of Yun Yang"s injuries carefully. She treated all the wounds on him without missing any gash, but Yun Yang did not look burdened or weighed down by the bandaging.
"Your bandaging skill…" Yun Yang was impressed. "I admit my lack of skill! I"m surprised by your remarkable technique. It"s wonderful."
Ji Lingxi smirked proudly and snorted as she said, "You call yourself a veteran. Martial pract.i.tioners of our generation are all excellent in these little tricks. Isn"t getting hurt part and parcel of roaming the martial world? Surprised? There are plenty of areas in which I"m skilled and you know nothing about!"
Yun Yang looked up speechlessly.
"Big sister, how arrogant of you! That guarding red beam on you is already preventive, what opportunities to get hurt could you possibly have?"
"Are you not ashamed by the words leaving your mouth? Let me be ashamed for you!"
"Still nothing from the Four Seasons Tower?" asked Ji Lingxi.