Chapter 2: Crippled Sister
Translator: Panda_Penn Editor: Chrissy
“Faster, faster, faster!”
Down the Black Hawk Ridge, Lu Li was desperately rushing. It was getting darker and darker, and unless he could pull the coffin up the ridge, he would not be paid.
Lu Li had already rushed for more than half a day pulling a coffin weighing more than 3300 pounds. His muscles were sore and aching, and his legs were shaking, making the way up the ridge all the more strenuous.
The Black Hawk Ridge was quite high. The mountain trail spiraled up for about a mile. It was not steep but still very difficult to go uphill. On top of that, there was snow covering the road. One careless move and he would fall, and the Ancient Coffin would slide down. If the coffin fell over, not only would Lu Li not get paid, he would also be fined heavily!
“Come on!”
Like a roaring beast, Lu Li shouted in a deep voice. His brawny muscles tightened as his eyes became all watery with sweat, which blurred his eyesight. Nevertheless, he carried on step by step steadily.
“I can’t stop now!”
Lu Li wanted to give up many times. His legs felt heavy, as though there were sandbags tied to them. However, the thought of the Body Refinement Pellet kept him pressing on, moving towards the top of the ridge.
“Swoosh~”
Suddenly, Lu Li’s legs slipped, and the huge Ancient Coffin started to slide. He paled in fright. Should the coffin fall over, he dare not think about the consequences.
“Hoy!”
He shouted as he wrapped the iron chains several circles around his hand and his fingers; he grabbed onto the chains in a dead grip. He arched forward, and his knees struck firmly into the snow, trying to mitigate the tremendous impact brought about by the sliding Ancient Coffin.
After being dragged for about six to nine feet, Lu Li finally managed to stabilize his body, and the coffin stopped sliding. However, his knees and hands had swollen up because of the rubbing against the ground. There was even blood oozing from his wounds.
“Whew, whew!”
After making sure that everything was fine, Lu Li breathed heavily. Even though he was wounded, the most fortunate thing was that the coffin did not fall over. Otherwise, he would get nothing out of the day’s work.
After resting for a bit, he started moving forward. He finally made it to the top of the ridge before sunset. Seeing the dozen Ancient Coffins glowing, Lu Li sighed with relief.
…
The top of the ridge was quite spacious. The two sides of the ridge rose up, so the ridge looked like a hawk spreading its wings, soaring. That was why it was named the Black Hawk Ridge.
The ridge was a burying field of some tribe. The Liu Family had occupied it by force. The Liu Family was the Overlord of the Wu Ling County. Every tribe and family within several hundred square miles of Wu Ling County had to obey the Liu Family. For them, forcefully occupying a ridge was nothing major.
There were a number of people on the top of the ridge. There were Silver Wolf Escorts, building formations artisans, and some elders who had finished their Coffin Carrying, and were awaiting their payment.
“Such a young Coffin Carrier?”
A beautiful maiden in white fox-fur robe was sitting on a Silver Wolf. She was just about 16 years of age. With a silver whip in her hand, she had an awe-inspiring and elegant appearance.
She was a bit stunned to see Lu Li. Why would he come to pull the coffins at such a young age? Lu Li was half-naked, young and handsome. He had strong muscles all over his body. He looked quite pleasant, especially the wild, untamed feeling; it was quite inviting to girls.
“Yes, Lady Yi!”
The escort leader next to her, Liu Wu, replied, “It was very hard to find Coffin Carriers. Even though Lu Li is not a warrior, but he was born with supernatural strength. And since he was willing to do this, I just made the decision by myself.”
“Ok.”
Lady Yi stopped looking at Lu Li. To her, those who could not even cultivate the Xuan Energy were doomed to be losers and only deserved the meanest of jobs, such as Coffin Carrying.
Lu Li pulled the coffin to the designated location. He took a brief rest, and then took out a black cotton-padded jacket from the jute bag on his back and put it on.
It was not that he was not afraid of the biting coldness, but it was just that he needed to carry the coffin using his shoulders, which would wear out the jacket easily. Every piece of cloth in it was sewn laboriously by his sister. He valued the jacket too much to wear it out.
After a while, several other Coffin Carriers came. Lu Li counted them; there were 17 Coffin Carriers in total including him. All other carriers were old warriors, at least in their 50s. It could be seen that Coffin Carrying was not welcomed by the young people in the Northern Desert.
“Ok, come and receive your payment.”
Escort Leader Liu Wu jumped off from the Silver Wolf, and then he walked and stood in front of the Coffin Carriers. Looking at an old man, he asked, “Two-hundred Golden Leaves, Mysterious Deity Pellet, Body Refinement Pellet, or First Rank Human Grade Xuan Artifact, which one is your choice?”
That elderly man said in a determined manner, “Mysterious Deity Pellet!”
Liu Wu took out two jade boxes out of the pocket inside his clothes and threw them towards the old man. This man carried two coffins today. He was a warrior, even though he only managed to enter the Xuan Wu Realm, which was the lowest realm, but he was still much stronger than Lu Li.
“How about you?”
Liu Wu looked towards another old man. That old man also answered with assertion, “Sir, I also want two Mysterious Deity Pellets.”
Liu Wu was not surprised that they all wanted the Mysterious Deity Pellet.
These old men were in either the middle or late stages of the Xuan Wu Realm. They clearly wanted to make a breakthrough to the next Realm with the help of the Mysterious Deity Pellet. If they managed to breakthrough and step into the Shen Hai Realm, not only would they have a longer life, they would also gain an enormous boost in strength.
“Lu Li, how about you?” Liu Wu asked. It was Lu Li’s turn. Lu Li said affirmatively, “I want the Body Refinement Pellet.”
“The Body Refinement Pellet?”
Liu Wu frowned. The other old men next to Lu Li shook their heads. Liu Wu thought for a bit in silence and said, “Lu Li, the Body Refinement Pellet could only refine your body and increase your strength, but you need to understand that only brute force will be of no use. To be a warrior, the Xuan Energy is the essence. How about I give you some Golden Leaves and you can go and live better?”
“Thank you, sir. But I only want the Body Refinement Pellet,” Lu Li said firmly.
Liu Wu said no more. He took out a yellow jade box and gave it to Lu Li. Lu Li opened the box and found a pellet of yellowish brown color, giving out an aroma. Smile was written all over his face.
“Idiot…”
On seeing the enthusiasm in Lu Li’s eyes, Lady Yi gave out a mocking smile. To her, Lu Li knew nothing about cultivation.
The Xuan Wu Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Soul Pond Realm, Fate Wheel Realm, Eternal Realm, Noble Lord Realm, and Human Sovereign Realm!
This was the path of Xuan Energy cultivation followed by the warriors of the Northern Desert. Every time they ascend to the next Realm, their strength would increase by leaps and bounds. With sufficient strength, they could split mountains and level cities; they could even decimate the entire heaven and earth with just a wave of an arm.
After cultivating, a warrior could gain great strength, soar into the skies, and could even gain endless wealth and glory. They could become the Master of a city, a Realm, or could even become the Sovereign of all beings.
That being said, the Xuan Energy is the foundation for everything. Without it, they could not even breakthrough into the Xuan Wu Realm, and as for the realms above, they were just illusions.
Lu Li was in his 14s or 15s, so why would he need Body Refinement Pellet? He could cultivate strength of more than eleven thousand pounds, but so what? Even warriors at the peak of the Xuan Wu Realm could destroy him in an instant, let alone warriors at the Shen Hai Realm!
“Ok!”
Everyone received their payment quickly. Liu Wu waved his hands, and said, “Go back and rest. If you still want to do this, go to Cutting Blade Ridge tomorrow.”
The night fell. All of these Coffin Carriers needed a break. After they heard Liu Wu, they left the ridge and went down the hill.
Lu Li felt sore all over his body and his legs were heavy. However, he wanted to return to his tribe as soon as possible. Therefore, he ran like hell and disappeared from the Black Hawk Ridge quickly.
…
Lu Li lived in the Di Long tribe, a bit more than nine miles to the south of the Black Hawk Ridge. He sprinted towards his tribe with the jade box in hand. After running for two hours, he finally made it to the tribe.
Even though he was utterly exhausted, he did not take any rest. He knew that outside the tribe, his sister would be waiting for him to come back home.
As expected!
Near the fence surrounding the tribe, Lu Li saw a delicate white figure. Lu Li’s heart ached seeing the figure, which was almost turned into a snowwoman. He shouted from a distance, “Sis, I am back!”
The figure moved, revealing a girl 18 or 19 years old, wearing a cape. Despite her pale face, she was astonishingly beautiful. She was much more stunning than the Lady of the Liu Family.
However, she was carrying a walking stick in her left hand. It seemed her leg was unwell. Hearing Lu Li’s voice, she smiled. It was like a snow lotus in full bloom, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Sis, I told you not to wait for me.”
Lu Li strode forward, wrapping his sister’s cold hands in his, and said in a blaming voice, “You are not strong enough. What would I do if you feel sick?”
The young lady smiled again. Looking at Lu Li fondly, she said softly, “I was worried about you. Now let’s go back. I will cook your favorite venison steaks!”
“Yes!”
Lu Li said with a grin as he assisted the young lady to walk towards the tribe. The girl was on her walking stick, limping. It was obvious that her one leg was shorter than the other.
Why was she a cripple even though she was blessed with stunning beauty? Why was Lu Li born with supernatural strength but could not cultivate the Xuan Energy? It seemed like the Creator was not fond of this pair of siblings.