This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.
Chapter Five Hundred and Seventy Eight – Qi Diao Yu
Zuo Mo looked back at the pleading eyes. Thinking about his past, he did not feel good about his decision, but he also knew that Tao Xing was right. This was not Cloud Sea Jie. He was surrounded by enemies here, and he would die if he was the least bit careless. At that time, it wouldn"t just be risking his life. If he was in trouble, even these people would not have good endings.
Zuo Mo was about to speak.
Suddenly, a strange sound pierced the noisy street from the distance.
It was like a flute but not a flute, the sound was thin as a hair and just barely discernable.
The loud streets instantly quieted. This sound seemed to have a power that could soothe one"s mind and unconsciously calm them.
A figure slowly walked in from the direction of the city gate. A little black dot slowly grew into a tall figure.
Snowy-white robes, eyes like lacquer, the black hair feel like a waterfall onto a face that was so beautiful it did not seem like one of a man. There seemed to be an indiscernible power that made one unable to move their gaze. Around this figure several drops of transparent water mischievously condensed and scattered like a school of fish.
That strange and bewitching sound was produced by these water droplets.
When this person walked closer, that feeling of serenity grew stronger.
He walked slowly, his eye looking forwards as though he did not see any other people. His movements were graceful and ethereal like that of an immortal.
The sounds produced by the water droplets were extremely pleasing to hear. The more Zuo Mo listened, the more enchanted he became. Some beautiful memories appeared in his mind"s eye. All the worries, all his depression, they all dissipated, A smile unconsciously rose onto his face.
Suddenly, the sun script at Zuo Mo"s chest lit up. A slender burning flow of power circulated automatically around his body. Zuo Mo shook. The scene in front of him changed, the pictures shattering. The voice that reached into his mind was still pleasant to hear, but had lost its enchanting power.
Zuo Mo was shocked. The people around him all still had dreamy smiles and caused his hairs to stand on end.
Such a powerful mo sound!
He raised his head and stared hard at the figure. Who was this person?
The other seemed to pause slightly in his footsteps, glancing at Zuo Mo out of the corner of his eyes but he did not stop and continued to walk forward.
The entire street was deathly silent. Everyone had that strange smile on their face.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort which was not loud rang over Great Peace City like a roar of thunder. The faintly discernable mo sound seemed to have been pushed and instantly dissipated. The people who had been bewitched seemed to wake up. Their faces became ashen. They looked in respect and terror at the man in the snowy-white robes.
Tao Xing also woke up. When he saw the white-robed male in the center of the street, his expression changed dramatically. Terror rose on his face as he exclaimed, "Qi Diao Yu!"
Hearing this, Zuo Mo also reacted and hurriedly asked, "Qi Diao Yu?"
"Why has he come to Great Peace City?" Tao Xing murmured to himself with a white face.
Qi Diao Yu"s figure had disappeared right as the sound that had enchanted their hearts had also disappeared. The entire street became busy and loud again but there was still a trace of terror that remained on everyone"s faces.
"Qi Diao Yu is one of the most famous experts right now. He reached the peak of general level when he was twenty three. In search of a breakthrough, he came to Great Peace City. In the one year he was here, he challenged and defeated many heroes. Then he disappeared. I had not expected him to return to Great Peace City again!" Tao Xing had a reminiscing expression. "That was about three years ago. Now Great Peace City will be busy!"
"So strong!" Zuo Mo sighed. Even he had been caught just now. The other"s power was immeasurable.
"He really is powerful. He also came out of nowhere and has a mysterious background. Even now, no one knows what family he belongs to. Pang Chen, the person you killed, became famous because he managed to withstand thirty of Qi Diao Yu"s moves before being defeated. You can imagine just how powerful Qi Diao Yu was back then." An expression of respect came onto Tao Xing"s face.
"He"s even more powerful than before!" Zuo Mo"s expression was grave. He did not know how great Qi Diao Yu"s power was now, but he believed that if Pang Chen once again fought Qi Diao Yu, he would not survive one move!
Even the pressure that the old thieving baldy Ding Zhen had given Zuo Mo was not as strong as Qi Diao Yu.
Qi Diao Yu had not purposely released that sound. That was just the weak ripples of power leaking out from the water droplets. The after-effects were already so strong. If the other used their full power, how terrifying would it be!
Zuo Mo was not sure how many of the other"s moves he would be able to withstand.
This was the strongest mo that Zuo Mo had encountered until now!
"He went to the Mo Skill Steles?" Zuo Mo suddenly said.
"Let"s go to the Mo Skills Steles tomorrow," Tao Xing hurriedly said.
Zuo Mo"s expression suddenly changed. "d.a.m.n it, A Wen is still at the Mo Skils Steles!" As he spoke, he leapt into the air and sprinted towards the Mo Skills Steles.
He was extremely panicked. A Wen, do not provoke this demon!
At a full sprint, he was extremely fast and in a blink, he reached the Mo Skill Steles. When he arrived, he instantly sighed in relief. Demon Qi"s figure had disappeared into the deeper regions of the stele forest. It seemed that his goal should be the Mo Skill Steles at the very end.
A Wen was sitting with a dazed expression under a different stone stele.
This guy was having an epiphany again?
Zuo Mo paused and didn"t know to laugh or cry. He then sighed in wonder. A Wen"s talent was really outstanding! He had sent the other people to copy the contents of what was on the Mo Skill Steles so everyone would have a copy but up until now, the only one who had an epiphany was A Wen.
Even more shocking was that this was his second epiphany!
Zuo Mo was becoming slightly jealous. He had comprehended a lot from the Mo Skill Steles, but he had not entered the state of epiphany. This guy had entered it two times!
Zuo Mo shook his head and smiled. His anxiety settling down, he started to read once again.
His speed of progression was very fast. Even if he encountered a problem, he would understand after some thought. Right now, he had the strength of a general level, and he could examine the problems from a deeper level of power. He naturally solved these problems easily.
The Mo Skill Steles quickly resumed their normal levels of activity. Qi Diao Yu went into the deepest part of the stele forest and did not affect the people reading on the outer regions. The busy flows of people appeared again.
Zuo Mo"s steps gradually slowed. As he went deeper, the content on the stone steles became harder to understand. He needed to slowly think and ponder over their lessons.
As he went deeper, there were fewer people around him.
Zuo Mo"s surprise increased. He found something unique about the Mo Skill Steles.
Starting from the twenty second mo skill stele, the content on the stele was not just limited to mo skills. He found many descriptions on it that were similar to spells and yao arts.
At the beginning, he had thought this was a coincidence but as similarities in the content increased, he found to his shock this was not a coincidence!
Spells, yao arts, mo skills, Zuo Mo had learned all three areas before. Even though his cultivation of spells was not outstanding, he had read many jade scrolls and his fundamental knowledge was deep. As to the yao arts, while they were not as outstanding as his mo skills, he was able to cast the Archaic Wasteland Sacricifial Art and could be called an expert in the yao world.
This meant that he did not face too many barriers when he reached lessons on these areas, but he couldn"t help but feel puzzled.
Had s.h.i.+ Zi Ming been skilled in the three powers?
As he went deeper, this puzzlement increased. s.h.i.+ Zi Ming"s theories, no matter if it was spells, yao arts, or mo skills, were accurate and profound. Even a freak like Zuo Mo that was skilled in all three felt it was difficult to understand in many places.
Was there really someone in the world that was born knowing this?
———
At a corner not far from the Mo Skill Steles.
"Which stele he at now?" A pointy-faced man lowered his voice to ask. But his gaze did not leave Zuo Mo who was in front of the stone stele.
"Twenty sixth." His fellow with purple hair and a black face gave an accurate answer.
"Is this guy just looking around," the pointy-faced man said hesitantly. "This speed is slightly fast."
"Slightly fast? It is too fast!" The purple haired man said coldly.
"Yes, to reach and read the twenty sixth mo skill stele, it is not possible!" the pointy-faced man said unconcernedly. "Has he discovered that we are watching him?"
"Who says it is not possible? You forgot that person," the purple haired man said.
"Who?" the pointy-haired man asked.
"The one in there!" The purple-haired man pushed his lips towards the deepest part of the stele forest. "Did you forget what that person did in the past?"
"Hiss!" The pointy-faced man inhaled sharply and his face paled. "How can I forget? In one day and night, comprehended thirty pieces of the stone stele, that speed had been something no one else achieved before and no one else since!"
"It is true that no one did it before him, but it"s not certain that there is no one else after him." The purple haired man stared attentively at Zuo Mo and said to himself, "I have a feeling that this Xiao Mo Ge is not an average person."
"You don"t think he"s just strolling by?" the pointy-faced man said in disbelief.
"No." the purple haired man said, "Notice how long he is spending in front of every stele. The deeper the stele is, the longer he spends on it. He has spent more than two hours in front of this mo skill stele. He is clearly thinking, and not just glancing at the content!
"Then … … then isn"t he … …" the pointy-faced man stammered.
"Just like how Qi Diao Yu was in the past!" the purple haired man said the second half of his fellow"s sentence. He had been stationed at Great Peace City for more than a decade. His daily task for the family was extremely dull. It was to observe the mo that were studying at the stone steles.
Normal people would not notice these details but they could estimate many things from these details.
In his eyes, the effects of Zuo Mo"s speed in going through the stone steles was more shocking than defeating Pang Chen.
The purple haired man stopped talking. His eyes flashed with a different like as he stared at Zuo Mo that was in deep thought in front of the stele. He had a strong feeling that another powerful person was going to appear in Great Peace City!
Focusing, he said to his fellow, "Quick, report this to the main steward."
The pointy-faced man did not dare to hesitate and disappeared into the shadows.
The purple haired man"s eyes suddenly turned in another direction of shadow within the stele forest. Right there, just now, another figure had flashed by. His eyes instantly narrowed. Without thinking, he knew who it was. An old opponent. There were also other observers in the other shadows.
All of them had come!
It seemed that everyone had great expectations for this person!
Translator Ramblings: Sorry to disappoint all of you, Zuo Mo is too pragmatic and the environment is too dangerous.