Chapter 14 – Chaos, Concealed Tracks, Mysterious Secret

Translated by: s.h.i.+royukineko

TLN: Phew that took longer than I thought. I don’t know if this counted as a cliffhanger, but well, mild cliffy ahead. Enjoy!

Edit: Sry next chapter will be released tomorrow…Can’t finish it today >.<

Once he mastered the first stage of the [Innate] Invisible Sword Qi, he would enter into the [Innate] Realm.

He didn’t know about the others, but in this small White Stone City that he lived in, there was definitely no other [Innate] Rankers.

Even if he didn’t have enough Spiritual energy and could only use the Invisible Sword Qi technique a few times, with the power of an [Innate] ranked skill, he should be able to defeat all of his opponents with one attack. From the knowledge that he had gotten from the Copper Grimoire, only a Level 6 Elder Rankers and above would be able to endure an [Innate] ranked skill. Even if it was just a simple attack, an [Innate] ranked skill power would be able to break through any low-ranked warrior’s skills such as [Protection] or [Body Strengthening].

In the eyes of an [Innate] Ranker, any Rankers below level 6 were all insects that were not even worth to be mentioned.

Of course, there were not many [Innate] Rankers in the world.

That was why, almost all of the Level 6 Elder Rankers were important ministers and officers in the government. They would at least be promoted to a General or even a Marshal rank in the Military. At the very least, they would hold a key position in the government.

For example, in the White Stone City that Yue Yang was living in, the mayor of the city was a level 6-Beginner Junior Elder. The Yue Clan Lord, Elder Yue Hai, the pitiful guy’s grandfather, was a level 6-Advanced Senior Elder who was previously knighted by the Emperor as the Great Marshal of the National Military. However, he was old and had numerous injuries from wars, losing both his left arm and right leg, thus he retired from the position and went back to his family.

There was also the pitiful guy’s First Uncle Yue San and Second Uncle Yue Ling who were the General and Major Minister of the country respectively. First Uncle Yue San was a level 6-Intermediate Elder while Second Uncle Yue Ling was a level 6-Beginner Junior Elder.

(TLN: those who are confused, every level is divided into 3 sub-ranks, Beginner , Intermediate and Advanced. Each sub-ranks had their own t.i.tles. E.g., for level 6, it is:

1. Level 6-Beginner [Junior Elder]

2. Level 6-Intermediate [Elder]

3. Level 6-Advanced [Senior Elder].

For now, the author only mentioned 4 t.i.tles so far, that is – Level 1 [Apprentice], Level 2 [Braveman], Level 6 [Elder] and Level 7 [Overlord]. These are ranks for Rankers, different from ranks for Skills – Invisible Sword Qi is a skill that is ranked [Innate], presumably the highest rank among all the skills out there.)

Only the pitiful guy’s father, Yue Gang, a talent that comes only once in a hundred years, was able to attain the level 7 rank of [Overlord], overtaking everyone in the whole clan.

Unfortunately, this talent had pa.s.sed away fifteen years ago.

As long as Yue Yang mastered the first stage of the Invisible Sword Qi, in theory, he would not need to be afraid of any opponents below level 6… Of course, in a battle, everything would be unpredictable. He could only use the Sword Qi twice currently. With his zero battle experience, Yue Yang felt that he should prioritize his safety and be careful with this secret. Anyway, with more time, he could increase his skill mastery. Only then would his safety be guaranteed.

Sword Qi was an extremely powerful skill, it had the ability to penetrate through any forms of defense. It could even kill his enemies immediately, but he could only use it twice with his current Spiritual Energy Level.

How would he be able to protect himself if he meet three strong opponents at the same time…?

Hence, Yue Yang felt that he shouldn’t be too complacent right now, he had to keep a low key.

His current goal was to master the first stage of the Invisible Sword Qi and enter into the [Innate] Realm, becoming an unbeatable opponent for a level 6 ranker and below.

Yue Yang knew that the [Innate] realm was extremely strong and powerful, but he never thought that there would be such an effect once one had mastered it.

When all twelve energy channels were finally connected to each other, Yue Yang felt his soul shook as his body entered into a state of perfection. It was like he was swimming in an ocean of boundless energy, free as a bird. He felt Spiritual Energy from the earth entering his body from the Yong Quan Acupoint at his feet, and out from the Bai Hui Acupoint at his head. The energy then rose through the clouds until it reached its limit, then it returned back down and entered the Acupoint in his head. The energy from the atmosphere would then flow throughout his body, then exit from the Yong Quan Acupoint on his feet out into the earth. With this cycle, his whole body felt like being washed anew by the energy from the earth and the atmosphere. So this was what “shedding one’s skin” truly meant…At this time, Yue Yang’s body did not feel heavy anymore, instead, he felt that he could fly. His body had become extremely agile and nimble.

Suddenly, the Copper Grimoire flashed brightly and a pillar of golden light shone down from the sky, breaking the darkness of the night.

If Yue Yang had not chosen to train in the middle of the night, everyone within five hundred metres would have seen that pillar of light.

lls15-1

As he entered the [Innate] Realm, Yue Yang felt a surreal feeling in his mind. It was almost G.o.dly; a feeling like he could leave the mortal world, reach out his hands and touch the skies or stomp his feet and cause an earthquake…

However, such a feeling only lasts for a few seconds.

lls15-4The heavenly sound that he heard in his heart when he contracted his grimoire resounded once again as Yue Yang felt that the energy that fully filled his body was sucked away by a mysterious being in his body. Finally, he couldn’t endure it anymore, a “boom” resounded in his head as he fainted to the ground. When he was unconscious, he felt like he saw an illusion of a seven coloured, brightly s.h.i.+ning Golden Phoenix descended upon the ground.

As his mind drifted apart, the golden pillar of light s.h.i.+nning down on the grimoire also slowly faded into the air.

As the pillar of light disappeared, the Copper Grimoire flew towards Yue Yang side without a sound.

lls15-2There was no change in the pages.

However, right at the back of his status description – “Level 1-Beginner [Apprentice]”, there was one extra word, [Innate].

Yue Yang slept like a log that night, however, the whole empire of Da Xia was in uproar.

Even the Emperor Jun Wu You was suddenly awakened from his sleep and he quickly went to the Imperial Hall, where a State Elder and two Heavenly Imperial Guardians were waiting for him. Everyone was in such a shock that they were still in their sleeping robes. A single news made the Emperor of Da Xia Empire shout with joy that he couldn’t believe his own hearing…An [Innate] Ranker finally appeared in the Da Xia Empire! Furthermore, the golden pillar of light that shone down on this [Innate] Ranker was even more powerful than previous [Innate] Rankers. The golden light was so strong that it split the dark curtain of the night and everyone within a radius of five hundred metres could see it clearly. Through the records kept by the Innate Ranker Crystal, this was the 81st [Innate] Ranker in the whole of Da Xia Empire since the beginning of the history. This was also the seventh [Innate] Ranker who was still alive in this world.

“Your Majesty, it was extremely regretful that there was no records on this Ranker. I’m afraid it could be those hermits that lived in the mountains. Currently, there wasn’t any information on this new [Innate] Ranker.” The State Elder shook his head regretfully.

“Don’t tell me that there was not a single information about him even in the Innate Ranker Crystal records?” The Emperor Jun Wu You asked disbelievingly.

“Yes, Your Majesty. This [Innate] Ranker has the ability to hide his own ident.i.ty. The Innate Ranker Crystal could only record basic information such as “Male Human”. Even his age was concealed, let alone his Sect, Technique Name or Spirit Beasts. We reckoned that this [Innate] Ranker has the inherent ability of concealment, hence the Innate Crystal couldn’t display his information at all.”

(TLN: Another explanation here. When I first translated chapter 2 where Yue Yang successfully contracted the grimoire, I wrote that he received twin star innate skill – I have changed this to twin star inherent skill to prevent any confusion. These skills are skills that will automatically be given to a grimoire contractor, but the Invisible Sword Qi is a skill that had to be learnt. The State Elder was referring to Yue Yang’s inherent skill [Counterfeit], presumably.)

“Where did that pillar of light appeared? Who was the eye-witness? This is a huge opportunity for the Da Xia Empire to increase its power, we must find that [Innate] Ranker.” The Emperor almost went insane with anxiousness. They finally had an [Innate] Ranker in their empire, yet n.o.body knew the ident.i.ty of the Ranker. This was so frustrating!

“According to my [Reveal] Inherent Skill, the general location should be in the Southern Part of the Yun Wu Mountains. That would include the White Stone, Red Forest, Black Cliff cities. It will be very difficult to guess a more accurate position. However, since the pillar of light s.h.i.+nning down on that [Innate] Ranker was extremely large, there would definitely be an eye-witness, especially those a.s.sa.s.sins and bandits that mostly appeared at night. Somebody would definitely have seen it. As long as we offer a large amount of reward for someone who could report seeing such a large pillar of golden light, investigate it properly and follow all the clues, we should be able to find his location.” The State Elder’s Golden Grimoire was opened wide as it showed the map of the Da Xia Empire. A golden dot was s.h.i.+ning brightly like a star near the Yun Wu Mountains.

However, when he tried to zoom in on his map, that golden star had mysteriously disappeared.

The two Heavenly Imperial Guardians thought that this wasn’t due to the State Elder’s fault, it was because of the concealing ability that the [Innate] Ranker had. Furthermore, they reckoned that his concealing ability was extremely strong.

The Emperor, State Elder and the two Heavenly Imperial Guardians discussed their next plan of actions the whole night, and in the end, they decided to offer one thousand gold coins to the Mercenary, a.s.sa.s.sin and Bandit Guilds to find this [Innate] Ranker. Also, anyone who had seen that pillar of light and knew the exact location for it would be able to receive a reward of fifty gold coins.

At the same time, the Three Royal House, Four Major Clans and Four Great Sects were immediately contacted. Was the new [Innate] Ranker one of their members?

When Yue Yang woke up the next morning, the whole of Da Xia Empire was in chaos, even the secluded Four Great Sects were also shocked.

An [Innate] Ranker amongst the commoners appeared, how could this be?

This was a person who did not rely on the Four Great Sects and Four Major Clans, not even receiving the Royal Family’s support. He managed to master and enter into the [Innate] Realm all by himself. The Four Great Sects immediately sent an envoy to check on the information displayed on the Innate Ranker Crystal… Amongst the Four Great Sects, a Ranker with the [G.o.d’s Eyes] Inherent Skill from the Northern Moon Fairy Pavillion Sect, the famous Elder called Ming Xin, said something that had shocked the whole world.