Volume 22: The Clear Sky Sect, Chapter 193.1: Two Uncles?
Huo Yuhao was astonished by their speed and realized that they were all probably at least Soul Kings. Their movements were elegant, and their figures were agile, which meant that they probably had relatively high cultivation levels. Furthermore, they hadn’t flown using formless soul power, which was essentially the trademark of a soul engineer.
Wang Dong smiled and said, “Leave your questions for later. You’ll learn everything once you reach my home. Let’s go.” Once he’d finished speaking he took the lead and began scaling the steep mountain path.
Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to wait, so he followed closely behind him. The moment they entered the layer of clouds, Wang Dong suddenly grabbed Huo Yuhao’s hand and said, “Let me show you where to go, it’s easy to get lost in the fog. This is one of my family’s defense mechanisms—one misstep and you’ll plummet from the mountain.”
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “You’re forgetting that I don’t really need my eyes to see where I’m going.”
Wang Dong laughed alongside him and said, “You can try to use your Spiritual Detection, but even it isn’t omnipotent.”
Huo Yuhao was immediately unconvinced when he heard Wang Dong’s remark. He’d just experienced another epiphany regarding his spiritual power, thus he was extremely confident in himself. He immediately released his Spiritual Detection and attempted to perceive his surroundings.
His first attempt almost made him jump out of his skin. He quickly realized, to his intense shock, that his surroundings were completely empty to his Spiritual Detection—he couldn’t feel anything at all! He couldn’t even feel himself and Wang Dong; it was as if they were simply levitating in the clouds. However, they were quite obviously standing on solid ground atop the mountain!
Astounded, Huo Yuhao hurriedly strengthened his Spiritual Detection and activated his Eye of Destiny. He’d never made a mistake since he’d obtained the Spiritual Detection soul skill, thus he refused to believe that his Spiritual Detection couldn’t even take on the clouds surrounding them.
However, he only became more bewildered when he activated his Eye of Destiny—he still couldn’t detect a single thing! The only thing that had changed was the color of the clouds around him.
The clouds turned golden when he gazed at them with his Eye of Destiny, and he felt as if he couldn’t grasp their destinies. No matter how much he attempted to extend his Spiritual Detection, he still wasn’t able to see anything. The clouds gave him a feeling of endlessness and infinity.
“How can this be?” Huo Yuhao muttered, astonished.
“It’s a secret. Come on, let’s go.” Wang Dong replied, dragging him forwards, to which Huo Yuhao could only stumble and follow behind him when he did so. The path wasn’t smooth, as it was made of only stone and rock, and the trail wasn’t clear at all. Huo Yuhao would really have had a problem without his Spiritual Detection if Wang Dong hadn’t been there to guide him.
“Can we fly across? The clouds around your house are quite sinister.”
Wang Dong chortled and said, “We could. In fact, only the clouds around the main peak have this special effect. However, a special bird-type soul beast known as the Killer in the Clouds inhabits these clouds. Many of them are ten thousand year soul beasts, and they travel in groups. As such, it’s not that easy to fly across.”
Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “I suddenly regret following you here. Can you even call this a home? It’s a lion’s den!”
Wang Dong laughed. “Watch what you say. You’ll have a tough time if eldest uncle and second uncle hear that.”
“Eldest uncle, second uncle?” Huo Yuhao asked in surprise, “You have two fathers?”
“Pui! You’re the one with two fathers. Actually…” His voice became a little sullen, “I don’t know where my father is. Eldest uncle and second uncle are my father’s elder brothers. I’ve never seen my father or mother before. Both eldest uncle and second uncle have told me that my father and mother are out there, somewhere far away. However, when I grew up, I could guess that my parents were…”
Huo Yuhao hurriedly grabbed Wang Dong’s hands when he heard the gloom in his voice. “I’m sure that uncle and auntie will be fine, Wang Dong. Don’t think like that!”
“Yes.” Wang Dong answered softly. He had originally been in a jovial mood to return home, but it seemed to have been greatly affected by this.
……
The path in front of them finally cleared up, and the surrounding clouds that had constantly hovered over their heads were now beneath their feet.
Standing atop a sea of clouds brought about a completely new feeling, and a strange light continuously sparkled in Huo Yuhao’s eyes.
Wang Dong stared at him speechlessly. Is he going to have another epiphany?
Unfortunately, epiphanies didn’t appear so easily. Huo Yuhao simply gaped at the magnificent spectacle in front of him before quickly returning to normal. He then looked up, only to find himself looking at a castle.
Indeed, roughly three hundred meters above his head stood a majestic castle. It was nestled atop the mountain summit’s, high above the ocean of clouds.
The greyish castle felt ancient, and gave of a feeling of standing on top of the world. Huo Yuhao couldn’t fathom how a castle such as this had been constructed amongst the rolling clouds and on a peak as steep as this.
Previously, he’d been awed by the Sun Moon Empire’s Radiant City’s construction. It could be said that those structures were representative of the Sun Moon Empire’s technological advancements, and that they were also a symbol of how powerful the Sun Moon Empire’s soul tools were.
The tremendous castle on the mountaintop could only be described as a miracle. Soul tools had been developed to a point where they could change an entire nation, but constructing a castle such as this one on a such a steep mountain was nearly impossible. And yet, the truth lay before his very eyes, leaving Huo Yuhao no choice but to believe it.
Wang Dong continued to lead them up the mountaintop. Several hundred meters wasn’t much to them, so it didn’t take long before they reached the summit and stood before the mystical castle.
The mountain winds were stronger and sharper on the mountaintop, and carried a dense amount of moisture. However, no matter how powerful the winds were, the castle stood proudly atop the summit with ease.
The castle’s gate was shaped like an arch, and had three words embedded on it: Clear Sky Castle.
Huo Yuhao didn’t know why, but he felt a sense of familiarity when he saw this name.
“After you.” Wang Dong gestured towards Huo Yuhao. A proud grin appeared on his face as he observed the astonished look on Huo Yuhao’s face.
Huo Yuhao laughed and said, “Even though I don’t want to admit this, I have to admit that I’m quite stupefied. My man—you’ve given me such a pleasant surprise!”
Wang Dong replied, “You’re the first person that I’ve taken home. We don’t usually have guests around here.”
Huo Yuhao snickered and said, “I’m pretty sure that your house doesn’t have guests because of the frightening ocean of clouds surrounding it.”
“Who says that we don’t have guests?!” At that moment, a clear and deep voice resounded from within the castle.
Huo Yuhao was taken aback as a tall figure emerged from the castle.
The arriving figure was an extremely muscular and well-built middle-aged man. He had a head full of short, prickly hair that resembled steel needles, and a very grand appearance. He had tough, chiseled facial features, while his eyes were brownish-yellow and flickered faintly with golden light. His long grey robe couldn’t mask his bulging muscles. When Huo Yuhao saw him, he could instantly feel a formidable and intimidating pressure from him.
The middle-aged man’s eyes were fixated on Huo Yuhao from the moment he appeared. The pressure that came from this man wasn’t just from his aura; it was also accompanied by a frightening spiritual pressure. Huo Yuhao felt as if this immense power was about to trample all over him, and tidal waves appeared inside of his spiritual sea.
Skydream and the Ice Empress had been in a deep sleep inside of his spiritual sea, but they were immediately jolted awake. They were both clueless and terrified, but the strength of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was displayed at this moment.
His eyes turned golden from the shock, and his body began to emanate a blurry golden layer of mist that enveloped him within—it was as if he’d become a man made from gold in the blink of an eye. What was even more peculiar was that one could faintly see rippling brown streaks of air rushing against him, akin to the raging tide slamming into the shore. However, the golden radiance around Huo Yuhao’s body made him as stable as a boulder. Even though his body was quivering faintly, ultimately, he was able to resist the pressure.
The pressure didn’t last very long, and was over after two to three seconds. However, two to three seconds was enough for Huo Yuhao to break out into a cold sweat. He was acutely aware that he wouldn’t be able to resist that level of intense pressure for even a minute with his current level of spiritual power.
What kind of power could produce such tremendous spiritual pressure? Huo Yuhao felt petrified as he stared at the middle-aged man before him, and a look of respect appeared on his face.
Wang Dong glared angrily at the middle-aged man and said, “What are you doing, second uncle? We’ve only just returned, yet you’re already bullying my friend!”
The middle-aged man chuckled and said, “It’s his fault for saying that our family doesn’t have any guests. Little fella, it’s not because our place doesn’t receive guests, it’s because there aren’t many people worthy of entering Clear Sky Castle. Hmm… with your level of spiritual power at your age, you are indeed worthy. Back in the day… Ahem, when I had your level of spiritual power, I was already… Alright, enough talk. Come in.”
Huo Yuhao respectfully said, “Greetings, uncle.” He could tell from the middle-aged man’s voice that he wasn’t nearly as young as he looked.
Wang Dong said, “This is my second uncle. You can address him as such.”
The middle-aged man shot Huo Yuhao a look and said, “It might be too early for you to call me second uncle, little fella. My surname is Tai, and you can address me as uncle.”
(TL: This section may sound a little strange because English isn’t as nuanced as Chinese in terms of nicknames and addressing family members. This translation is in order to remain faithful to the original text.)
Wang Dong stared at the middle-aged man indignantly, but his second uncle didn’t pay any heed to him as he went back inside the castle.
Huo Yuhao didn’t feel any hostility at all from this ‘Uncle Tai.’ However, he could feel the man’s great arrogance, and that ‘Uncle Tai’ hadn’t completely accepted him yet.