Nightfall

Back in those days, he played a hand game called Yindang Quan with others at the guest house, and Sangsang became the referee. Both of them would usually win silver coins, and left the guest house together. He would walk with both his hands behind his back while Sangsang who was carrying a wine pot and roasted chicken, struggling to catch up with his pace. At that time, both of them were stepping on the yellow sandy soil. 

After several years, the guest house was broken, his old friends were gone and the yellow sandy soil turned into blood. Ning Que was stepping on the blood now and those are his old friends" blood but those were also the blood of his many other old friends. 

Inevitably, it was bringing back some memories. At this moment, it was not the same as those days, whoever looked at it, the emergence of these words were without rhyme or reason as it did not align with the ambience at present. Even A Da"s expression was extremely terrible-looking. 

He felt as though Ning Que embarra.s.sed him on purpose. He controlled his state of mind, exhaled a foul smell, stepping on a rock to get himself prepared for a punch forward. A very simple technique, maybe could not even be considered a technique. Although it was simple, the force was ultimately strong, not to mention its speed. A slight bombing sound was heard from the street. It was the consequence of the rapid collision of the air. 

A Da"s punch was similar to an arrow, flinching it in front of Ning Que. 

As mentioned by him, he was an expert in fighting, and he could fight very well. Such a simple punch like this was full of momentum, taking along a unique strong feeling of the gra.s.s land which was alike to Liu Bai"s Sword of the Great River.

If compared to other strong cultivators, one who faced such a punch would usually choose to avoid because the weakest point of a cultivator was his or her body. To battle with a powerful enemy who was equipped with light"s doctrine cultivation techniques and accepted the Heaven and Earth in its body, the first thing to do was to keep a distance from the other party. 

But Ning Que did not move backward. 

A Da knew that Ning Que would not, he knew that Ning Que had already entered demon hence his body shape would be strong as usual. 

Ning Que had the sufficient capability, regardless of the power or the strength of the body. Thus he forcefully accepted the fist. 

 A Da was waiting for this instant, he wanted to produce a situation of confronting the tough with toughness because he had a number of ways to escape, and countless rough techniques, but now he needed a defense technique to support himself.

It was similar to the terrifying sandstorm during the season between spring and summer at the gra.s.sland. Walking through the plain land was not as scary if one knew how to keep a distance away from it, sometimes those views could also be considered as rare yet picturesque sceneries. However, if someone or something was placed within the sandstorm and started undertaking the force of the storm, then one would be hit and damaged instantly. 

A Da"s fist and his cultivation techniques were similar to sandstorm. 

As long as Ning Que did not retreat himself and forcefully accept his fist, this sandstorm would consume him. However, out of his expectation, Ning Que chose not to avoid or retreat, and he did not employ the dark methods vigorously. Looking from the positive side, it seemed he was not doing anything. 

Ning Que"s face was expressionless. His steel bow was still on his shoulder, and the iron cutla.s.s remained on his back. He was even putting both his hands behind the back, looking as though he was not bothered at all by the punch that was approaching. 

No one could be less bothered. The fist from A Da came along with the invincibility being pa.s.sed on from Haotian to the gra.s.sland. In fact, Ning Que had already responded to it, but A Da could not see it yet. He separated both hands behind his back and swiftly wrote a word in the air with his right hand. 

 After he had written the messy writing, his face turned even paler, and simultaneously an unimaginable strong psyche power spread out from his body, reaching Heaven and Earth. 

The Qi of Heaven and Earth at the City of Wei was flowing into A Da"s body, and suddenly stagnated. 

A moment later, the Qi of Heaven and Earth seemed to hear some kind of calling, began to condense into a solid crazily. The fierce sandy wind was blowing across the street, drawing the attention of all the people.

Ning Que wrote a word and that word would certainly be a talisman. Here came the sandstorm, but it was not from A Da, instead it was from him. Countless yellow sand from the ground, the wall as well as the empty tables and chairs of the guest house drifted and approached the street at an incredible speed, reaching in front of A Da"s fist. A clump of yellow sand represented a stripe of lace, consisting of an astonis.h.i.+ng amount of the Qi of Heaven and Earth. 

A hundred clumps of yellow sands were acc.u.mulated at the building of the city of Wei, obeying Ning Que"s instruction to fall on A Da"s fist. They turned into stripes of laces, appearing like the fist being enveloped by countless layers of gauzes. 

An old yellowish gauze that came along with the stain of the pus. 

Ning Que utilized the "Fu" talisman. All the yellow sand in the city of Wei was his talisman intent. 

A Da felt as though his fist hit fiercely into a desert that was too deep to be seen, and the bottom part was moving slightly, a scary power was tearing his hand apart. The process of tearing apart brought pain but it did not make him fearful but instead made him more wide awake. 

He made a soft howling sound and loosened his fist, spreading out five of his fingers like five machetes. He relied on his strong force to cut off the countless layers of yellow sand around the fist. 

Ning Que pictured yellow sand breaking into pieces. He lifted his right hand to write a few strokes with a straight face. Obviously, the word written by him was very simple. 

The force of the first punch had came to an end. He forcefully broke open the "Fu" talisman to regain his freedom. At once, he made a heavy step forward.

The first step on the ground depended on the force of Heaven and Earth, then he wanted to start another fist. It was still the simple punch as usual, flinching toward Ning Que"s face. His wish and desire was very simple. He did not expect this punch to be able to defeat Ning Que, or to hurt him but he hoped Ning Que could receive the punch vigorously. As long as Ning Que forcefully accept it, he would have means to deal with it. 

Ning Que still did not accept the fist forcefully as A Da"s second punch was held by the second talisman written by him. When he was writing this talisman, he was not focusing on A Da"s punch, but the streets of the city of Wei. 

The City of Wei was a military village. It was a real city that could only occupy very few people, and the buildings were limited. There were only four main streets with two vertical and two horizontal ones. 

 If one looked down from the sky, the main streets of the city of Wei would exactly form a word: "Well." This was such a coincidence. The strongest talisman of Master Yan Se was the "Well" talisman, and the first talisman Ning Que learned was the same one. 

This was such a coincidence as well. Ning Que glanced at the streets of the city of Wei and wrote a very simple "Well" talisman. This talisman used to break open a s.p.a.ce in the Anonymous Mountain facing the northern part of the Chang"an district. This caused the old man, Wei Guangming, to call upon the unlimited light, forming the fragments of a mirror. 

It could be not imagined how powerful this "Well" talisman could be. 

The spring rain had cleansed the soul of A Da, hence, he was extremely sensible when it came to the changes in the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Even though he did not know about talisman, he could sense the differences between Heaven and Earth, causing his face to alter instantly. 

As he confronted a rather spine-chilling and fierce talisman, he dared not throw his fist anymore. A loud yelping sound was transmitted through the street. 

He took a hard step backward, crus.h.i.+ng most parts of the street in front of the guest house. He released all his acc.u.mulated energy toward the ground in order to retract both his fists. Then, he covered his face with both his in a forceful manner. 

The Ning Que today could have a slight difference in the knowledge of talisman if compared to Master Yan Se, but he had already reached the same stage as Master Yan Se in terms of the depth of talisman cultivation. 

Even a strong individual like Wei Guangming, he could only block this "Well" talisman if only it exceeded the Five States. Even if the cultivation state of A Da"s devil"s doctrine was equivalent to the summit of the Five states, at this juncture, he could only choose to protect himself. 

For self-protection, he could only use his own body to protect his life. At this moment, there was nothing in the City of Wei that was more reliable and stronger than his body. 

The yellow sand whirled in eddies of wind on the long street and A Da"s body was nearly being enveloped as though he would collapse anytime but still persisted. Both his fists blocked almost all the talisman intents! He was indeed the gift from Haotian to the gra.s.sland. His body strength had surpa.s.sed a normal Devil"s Doctrine strong man. 

It was not known how long it had been, the talisman intent of the "Well" talisman and the Qi of the Heaven and Earth had subsided in Heaven and Earth, even the yellow sand had also started falling off gradually with the disappearance of the violent wind. 

A Da gradually loosened both his fists, and directed his gaze at Ning Que once again. His body was full of terrible injuries with countless blood flowing out from his body like a fountain. Both of his tough fists were showing appealing white bones, making someone being struck in terror looking at it. 

The main point was that the bone necklace he was wearing on his neck had already broken into pieces. The body shape he was proud and confident of was damaged badly, not to mention his survival tool that had already been blown away by the wind. But he was still alive. As long as he was alive, he would stand a chance to win. 

"I thought you confined yourself at Chang"an for many years and had lost your courage for battling and the capability to kill someone. I never thought that you are so knowledgeable, after all, I guess I underestimated the ability of the academy." A Da stared at Ning Que, the innocence in his face had transformed into cruelty and violence. His gaze glittered coldly like a fox and contained with the immeasurable intention of killing. 

"It"s such a pity that you still can"t kill me… I don"t know how you see through my cultivation methods, and after all you are not willing to accept my punch forcefully. But I am more interested to know even such a strong talisman could not kill me, what else can you do other than accepting my punch forcefully?" The way A Da described it was so pathetic but he sounded like a true winner. He looked at Ning Que without hiding his desire of killing and sense of contemptuousness as though he was staring at a dying old beast.

Ning Que fixed his gaze at him quietly and said, "I can still kill you."

A Da opened his mouth and grinned brutally, "This human world might belong to people like you previously but it will be ours in the end because we are younger." Upon saying those words, he raised his fist again. His fist was covered with blood, the thick white bones appeared extraordinarily terrifying under the gloomy clouds. 

He gathered all his force in this punch. 

Ning Que stretched out his right hand, and started writing a word on a street of the City of Wei. 

This word was simpler, even easier than the word "Well" in chinese characters, it was only half the total strokes of "Well". Half the total strokes of "Well" could only be "Two" in Chinese characters. 

He wrote a "Two" talisman. 

…

... 

Two unbelievable powerful talisman intents shrouded the whole City of Wei all of a sudden. 

It had even spread until outside the City of Wei. 

Half of the signboard which was left at the tavern drifted toward the center of the street and hung in the air without any signs of falling, appearing like a sword. The wall of one of the small courtyards broke through a hole and a hunting sword that was kept for many years could be seen half of its body as though it was eager to take a look at this strange world once again. 

Those gra.s.sland cavalry who were about to dismiss outside the City of Wei, abruptly realized that the machete in their sheath started to collide continuously. They wanted to leave, just then, those Tang soldiers who were about to pursue and attack, felt a strong urge to draw their swords to kill their enemies. 

Two talisman intents represented blade intent. 

The expression on A Da"s face turned extremely ill-looking because he could sense the scent of death. He never thought that Ning Que had a more powerful tactic and he even had never thought that he himself could not differentiate if it was talisman intent of blade intent!

He made a shrieking sound full of wrath and reluctance and was forced to withdraw his fist. The breath of nature stored in his body exploded and he moved backwards down the street crazily, hoping to be free from the surroundings of the two talisman intents. 

However, the "Two" talisman of Ning Que had enveloped the whole City of Wei. How could he be able to escape? 

The wind was blowing violently and A Da was yelling in despair and frustration. The clothes on the body tore apart and shortly his skin started to break into pieces. The blood that had stopped flowing earlier, began to flow out from his body in a frantic manner.

He stopped moving backward. He used his fists to cover his face while using his strength to forcefully withstand the fierce wind. 

Ning Que finally moved and headed forward to seize him. 

…

... 

Outside the City of Wei, as the national master saw the black wind that appeared like a dragon under the gloomy clouds, looking at the sand, feeling the swift and fierce talisman intent from the other side, he remained his calm and composed temperament, but his eyes revealed a deep surge of anxiety and vigilance. 

Looking at the weird weather there, the expression of those gra.s.sland cavalry became worse. Suddenly, they heard a sound of thunder coming from the city of Wei, and later countless of the sound of thunder were heard at that instant. 

The national master reverted his gaze and returned to his horse-drawn carriage. 

　... 

　...

The wind subsided and the sand eroded, even the black cloud disappeared in the sky. The sun shone on the streets of the City of Wei, and the blue sky could be seen clearly, filling the atmosphere with serenity and joyfulness. 

The straightest and longest street in the city of Wei had an extra pit. 

A Da lied down at the bottom of the pit with his whole body covered with blood and the bones piercing out from his body. He was already half dead, looking strangely miserable. If it was not the blessing from Haotian, he would probably be dead by now. 

Ning Que straightened his body gradually, making a slight chest movement with his right hand trembling a little. His face looked rather pale. but the expression in his eyes was calm and composed like usual as though he did not release 300 punches within seconds. 

The endless sound of thunder heard by all the people outside the city of Wei was actually the sound of the fists landed on A Da"s body. His facial expression was fairly pale. However, it was not related to the energy being used up but it was because of writing three divine talismans continuously. Even with his strong psyche power, he still felt a little overwhelmed. 

A Da gave a desperate cough, and the blood spilled out from the corner of his mouth. He struggled to turn over his head to face Ning Que; his eyes were occupied fully with bewilderment and dreadfulness. But to hide his emotions, he revealed a contemptuous look instead. 

He was not contented because he still had many methods that he had yet to utilize. Hence, he used the expression in his eyes to mock Ning Que. You still dared not accept my fist forcefully in the end. 

Ning Que did not answer. He was not afraid to take the fist of the gra.s.sland youngster vigorously, but he did not feel the need to accept it forcefully. It was similar to the situation now, he was not fearful of explaining, but he did not bother explaining. 

He wanted to explain something else. "You say you can fight. Let"s see how I can hit you to death." 

He stared at A Da who was half dead and said, "I know this is cruel but facing a vicious man like you, the word, cruel is non-existence. Hence, it doesn"t matter to me. I just want to make your other counterparts who are alive to be more fearful."

Yes, many people were afraid now, frightened until their bodies were trembling. 

Those gra.s.sland cavalry outside the city were desperately shuddering to strike the whip, wanted to run away from here, the faster the better, the farther the better.

Those gra.s.sland cavalry inside the city were s.h.i.+vering in fear and dared not moved at all. During the sand breeze, the punching sound as though the sound of thunder had resulted them to loosen their reins, causing them to cover their ears in fear. 

No one had ever thought that the battle would have such an ending. 

In the heart of these gra.s.sland cavalry, A Da was the gift from Tengri to the gra.s.sland, an undefeatable warrior. It was not possible to be hit like a miserable dog by the Tang Army. 

The national master and Chanyu were clear of the strength of the academy. They doubted that A Da could defeat Ning Que, but they thought that he could block his opponent for a while, or even found a chance to escape. 

Who would have ever thought that Ning Que would win so easily and expectedly?

 A Da said earlier that Ning Que"s steel arrow lost its greatest power, then what else could be done? 

He was actually very powerful, but he forgot one extremely important fact. 

He could only remember that Ning Que"s steel arrow could greatly inspire the whole world, but he only remembered the condition of Ning Que after being enchanted. However, he forgot the fact that after Ning Que started his cultivation, the first thing he cultivated was not sword, not devil, not psyche power but a talisman. 

The real ident.i.ty of Ning Que was always a talisman master. He was now a divine talisman master. 

Ever since the prayer at Peach Mountain, he did not use the talisman for a long time, causing many individuals to be forgotten of his ident.i.ty. But he was the divine talisman master coming after Yan Se and the Sage of Calligraphy, the two most powerful divine talisman master in the human world.

A talisman master was invincible among the equivalent state. A divine talisman master was invincible among those below the Five States, unless encountering Liu Bai, Jun Mo, and Ye Su, those incredibly remarkable geniuses. 

The real genius was actually not related to the word "Tian". The talent was also not bestowed by G.o.d but was attained through self-training, brilliant talent, and supreme will. Once obtained, it would not be gone ever again. 

The cultivation talent of A Da was all granted by Haotian. 

Thus, he was not a real genius. 

As long as he was still in the Five States, even within one short year, he could train his dark techniques, and being evaluated based on the cultivation standard as well as the Five States Zenith… but he still could not win over the divine talisman master. 

Maybe it was because death was approaching, A Da seemed to have an epiphany, and the expression in his eyes quickly became gloomy and deep in the state of gloominess was a sense of reluctance, sadness, frustration and desperation. 

It was because in this battle, the difference between Ning Que and him was too big until it was impossible to make it closer, too big until it made others desperate. Even if they had the battle again, he could not picture the hope of winning at all. 

"Why…" The reflection before death resulted him to express himself verbally. He looked into the sky in oblivion and muttered, "Why… Why…" 

Until the last moment, this gra.s.sland youngster was still bothered by a question that could not make his soul rest in peace. This was not related to the cultivation state anymore, but was a.s.sociated with one"s belief. 

A Da was very proud and confident because he believed that he was Haotian"s gift to the gra.s.sland. 

Was his failure connected to the failure of Haotian? This was improbable. However, confronting this man before him, this was considered something that was logical and right. 

Why was that so? 

 "This is my city." Ning Que gazed at him and said, "I left Chang"an but I still came to my own city. No one in Chang"an could defeat me, and of course, no one can defeat me here." 

A Da shook his head in despair, gasping and said, "But Tengri…"

"Let me tell you something. Hengmu and you are the gifts given to the human world by her… She was always responsible for the finances at home, but she did not request for my consent before she sent these gifts out."

Ning Que went into silence and continued, "Since she will not be around at the moment, I would like to retrieve those gifts. It is something expected so I don"t think she will be in a position to object to my decision."

At this juncture, A Da could only understand who was the "she" that was mentioned by Ning Que before the battle. Ning Que said that he would remain the whole body of A Da for the sake of "her". His eyes turned into frustration, and later hopelessness, starting to shed tears silently in agony. Lastly, he closed his eyes, and never had the chance to look at the sky again. 

...