Chapter 279 - Starry Gem Swordwings
Fierce wind howled past his face.
Ai Hui was excited about these new azure wings, the force of which had largely exceeded all the azure wings he had ever used.
The new azure wings that he designed together with Lou Lan had a beautiful name - Starry Gem Swordwings. Different from other azure wings that were agile and light, it weighed twenty three kilograms, which was over five times heavier than normal azure wings. Meanwhile, the force it could produce was as amazing as its weight.
It could generate spectacular force, and its carrying capacity could be compared with that of some transport wagons.
Its tremendous force allowed Ai Hui to fly at a much faster speed. However, this enormous advantage in terms of speed came at the expense of its turning and hovering ability. Compared with ordinary azure wings, the Starry Gem Swordwings were less flexible and stable when turning and hovering.
But Ai Hui thought it was worth it, because he was more used to the one-strike-to-death way of fighting. Dogfight was not his style.
Unlike other azure wings, its extreme design could provide high speed, but it also increased the difficulty in control and the pressure to his body. However, those were not Ai Hui’s concerns, because his body was different from ordinary people. The blood plum blossom had changed his body, which made him more like a blood fiend in human shape, so he could easily bear the shock waves brought by the high speed of the new azure wings.
The leaves on the wings were three hundred and sixty pieces of small swords, for which Ai Hui had particularly designed special moves.
In order to enhance the sharpness of the small swords, Ai Hui mingled a ma.s.s of gemstone silks in them. The power of See You Later arrows already proved how sharp this kind of silk, that was made from Ai Hui’s special reeling techniques, could be.
And the other purpose of adding the gemstone silks was to disguise himself.
The appearance of the sword wings and the texture of the Star-sinking Ink Cloud were out of the ordinary and too conspicuous. The gemstone silks were effective in covering up these features, for it possessed the unique characteristic of producing halos of different colors. These halos could s.h.i.+eld the texture of the Starry Gem Swordwings.
Ai Hui landed somewhere in the wild where n.o.body was around.
The azure wings on Ai Hui’s back turned into snow white and s.h.i.+ned with holy and pure white radiance. When they flapped, the wings would generate luminous spots which were starry and white, creating a beautiful scene.
Ai Hui smiled. He took out an elemental energy mask and put it on his face, which turned him into a gloomy middle-aged man with a scar on his face.
For the sake of safety, Ai Hui didn’t purchase one from the market. Instead, he asked Lou Lan to make this elemental energy mask.
Ai Hui took off his clothes and wore them inside out. The original inside layer was as white as snow, and now it made him look pure and holy.
Then he infused his metal elemental energy into his hair, which immediately changed silvery white. Those rough short hairs were like pieces of small swords. His occasionally squinted eyes, together with the scar on his cheek, signalled danger.
He unwound the Dragonspine from around his waist and took a broadsword that was wider than his palm.
He flew again into the sky at a slower speed, with the Starry Gem Swordwings flapping rhythmically. He seemed extremely unruffled.
Silvery hair, broadsword, white clothing, cruel scar, cold eyes and glowing wings.
Wherever he went, he was too distinctive to be forgotten.
The elementalists and trade caravans on the way were attracted by him and wondered about his ident.i.ty. Ai Hui was not disturbed by them at all. Before long, he arrived at the Cloud Ridge.
The Cloud Ridge got its name because of the clouds winding around those endless mountains all year round. It was located at the border between the Silver Mist Sea and the Palette Cloud Village. Having flown past the Cloud Ridge, Ai Hui saw the Palette Cloud Village in front of him.
Those soaring mountains were not obstacles for elementalists. Flying over the Cloud Ridge, Ai Hui felt a blast of cool, refres.h.i.+ng mist blowing on his face. This was not the first time that he had flown over the Cloud Ridge, but he enjoyed diving in the sea of clouds every time.
The trade caravans normally flew over the sea of the clouds at a higher alt.i.tude where they could see further and travel safer.
Flying over the Cloud Ridge and tracing the meandering mountain downwards, he saw a busy city, which was Cloud Ridge City. Like all cities along the trade routes, thanks to the flouris.h.i.+ng of trade nowadays, the Cloud Ridge City and the Peace City had grasped the opportunity to develop rapidly. The scale of the two cities had been expanding almost every day.
The Cloud Ridge City was free from wars. There was only prosperous trading and bustling trade caravans.
Some trade caravans that prepared to land in the Cloud Ridge City started to descend, but the majority continued their journey without stopping. They were fully loaded with local products of Silver Mist Sea and flew to cities farther away like the Jadeite Forest and the Blood of G.o.d.
For those who believed in money, wars didn’t just result in ruins and destruction, they also brought opportunities and wealth.
Ai Hui also flew to the Cloud Ridge City breezily.
This time his destination was Magic Cloud City.
Ai Hui knew very little about the city, except that it was located in the backland of the Palette Cloud Village. It was far from here, and Ai Hui didn’t know the exact route to the city, so he decided to travel with the trade caravans that were heading in the same destination. In this way, he could be more comfortable and save more time on the way.
Ai Hui was familiar with the Cloud Ridge City because one of his students, Hua Xiaoyun, used to live here.
Ai Hui’s appearance was quite remarkable and attracted the attention many pa.s.sers-by, but no one dared to walk close to him, because he looked dangerous and irritable.
The air was filled with mist here, so water elemental energy was very active. The humid climate was a feature of the Palette Cloud Village. Therefore, the luxuriant plants in the Palette Cloud Village were only second to the Jadeite Forest.
Fruit trees along the two sides of the roads bore an abundance of fruits that were fresh and tender.
If someone felt thirsty, all he needed to do was inject a bit of elemental energy into a fruit tree, and then some fruit would drop. However, taking fruits without permission would get you fined over twenty points of elemental energy.
Ai Hui was in no hurry, so he wandered idly on the street.
The Palette Cloud Village was famous for its variety of clouds. Underground fountains sprayed throughout the year, bringing a great amount of mist into the air, which eventually became unique clouds above the fountains. The fountains here were all different in nature, which resulted in different kinds of clouds.
Picking clouds needed special techniques. Different picking methods were applicable to picking different clouds. Cloud pickers here were as numerous as fishermen at the Silver Mist Sea.
Cloud Ridge City wasn’t superior for the number of fountains. But the city was the home to the everlasting sea of clouds, which was the best place for picking clouds.
Because the sea of clouds had a long history, those who were lucky enough might have the chance to pick cloud crystals that were also known as Aged Cloud Ice. The formation of a cloud crystal required hundreds of years’ nourishment from the mist, so they only existed in places which were suffused with mist throughout the year, like Cloud Ridge City. But even in such places, Aged Cloud Ice was still rare. As a result, finding some in the sea of clouds was not easy at all.
Local residents often tried their luck in the sea of clouds, but few of them succeeded.
The price of Aged Cloud Ices was astronomical. Ai Hui had thought of adding some into the azure wings, but once he knew the price, he immediately gave up on the idea.
The Peace City and the Cloud Ridge City were located on the two sides of a mountain, but they possessed quite different styles and atmospheres. Even the habits of people living in these two cities were disparate.
Most residents in the Cloud Ridge City were water elementalists, who were mild and had a good temper. In contrast, most residents in the Peace city were metal elementalists, who were straightforward and aggressive like fire elementalists, but not exactly the same. Whenever metal elementalists had conflicts, they sought the direct solution of fighting each other without saying much. On the other hand, when fire elementalists had conflicts, they would squabble fiercely before fighting, and then put up a fight in a big way until the surroundings were all on fire.
Nevertheless, those conclusions were not applicable to everybody. For example, s.h.i.+ Xueman, a water elementalist, had a tough temper, while Fatty as a fire elementalist was as timid as a hare.
Ai Hui was lucky, for he quickly found a trade caravan that pa.s.sed by the Magic Cloud City. Their destination was the Jadeite Forest. Although the frozen relations.h.i.+p between the Avalon of Five Elements and the Jadeite Forest had started to improve, those who had the ability to trade between them must have a remarkable background.
Getting a ride with an enterprise was very common.
The pa.s.senger had to pay certain fees, and most trade caravans were willing to pick them up since getting one more pa.s.senger wouldn’t cost them much.
But certain examinations were necessary before a trade caravan agreed to offer a lift. After all, the world was not at peace and there were more and more bandits nowadays. It would be troublesome for a trade caravan if they picked up a bandit accidentally.
Large enterprises had less to worry about in this aspect, because they had renowned aristocratic families as their supporters. Their force of protection was strong enough to deal with normal bandits.
The war lasted for only three years, and the Thirteen Divisions had already attracted a variety of outstanding figures like a magnet. Joining the Thirteen Divisions was the best choice for those competent figures. Apart from good compensation, there were a lot of rarities as well as many inheritances and even absolute arts that only existed in the Thirteen Divisions.
Few bandits were renowned masters, although in recent years the situation was changing.
"May I know your name and where are you heading to please?"
Judging from Ai Hui’s appearance, the manager of the trade caravan knew he was not a normal person, so he was very polite.
"I’m Chu Zhaoyang, heading to Magic Clouds city."
His indifferent voice contained an indescribable chilliness with a pressurizing aura.
Zhaoyang stood for the rising sun, while Huanghun stood for nightfall. Meanwhile, there were two "mu" (which means "wood" in Chinese) in the character for Chu, which was one "mu" more than in Duanmu. Ai Hui believed the new name he made up was smarter than Duanmu, Huanghun’s name. That was definitely his deliberate trick.
The manager looked surprised and delighted, "Are you the Silverwheel Swordsman?"
Chu Zhaoyang, the Silverwheel Swordsman, was featured with silver hair, white clothes and silver wheel-like sword. He was one of the swordsmen who rose to fame in the last two years.
Since swordsmans.h.i.+p became popular two years ago, a batch of powerful swordsmen suddenly emerged.
Ai Hui said deeply, "Yes. When do we set off?"
Chu Zhaoyang was Ai Hui’s false ident.i.ty. In the past three years, he had done plenty of things under this ident.i.ty, which made Chu Zhaoyang’s name more and more well known.
Ai Hui was satisfied with the result. An arresting fake ident.i.ty was easier to get people’s trust than a real one without fame.
It was better to deal with dangerous things with caution.
The manager was excited, "We are going to set off tomorrow morning. It’s our great honor to have you with us. This way please. Madam will be happy to know that you are here."
Ai Hui said indifferently, "Leave me alone."
He cast two elemental energy beans worth one thousand points of elemental energy towards the manager and walked away.
Ai Hui exuded a killing aura, and all the pa.s.sersby on the way chose to stay away from him.
The manager had no intention of charging him at the beginning. After all, building up a good relations.h.i.+p with the famous swordsman was a better choice. But when he caught the view of Ai Hui’s back, he opened his mouth and said nothing. Those celebrities were normally rebellious and moody. This Chu Zhaoyang was apparently a ruthless one. If they irritated him, good things might turn into bad things.
He had to let his mistress know about that immediately.
The manager ran to report to her at once.