Book 1 Chapter 6: Do you want power?
As soon as Zhang Yang gave the order, twenty to thirty henchmen with weapons in their hands rushed out from an entrance of the field on one side and surrounded Bai Yunfei. But seeing that he was still holding the blood-dripping brick in his hand, none of them dared to charge up first.
“You said that if I won you would let me leave.” Still staring coldly at Zhang Yang, Bai Yunfei said in a calm voice.
“You!… I…” Zhang Yang was tongue-tied temporarily, his whole face turning red from restraining himself.
By now the spectators around had already regained composure from the shock. To them, it was not important who had died. Only pleasant surprise and excitement were what mattered to them the most. Yunfei’s ‘outstanding performance’ just then had obviously given them an exceptional sense of satisfaction, so seeing the situation in the field at the moment, they all gesticulated at Bai Yunfei and Zhang Yang and whispered to each other.
“That’s right. Since he already won, that should allow him to leave, right? Don’t tell me that this Coliseum of the Zhang family is only a place where its members can kill anyone they want to??” These sudden words were said by none other than that second young master Zheng. He pointed to those plutocrats and aristocrats and continued: “If so, is there still any point for these people to come to this place??”
He did not raise his voice as he said at all, but because the arena was rather quiet at the moment, those spectators, who were discussing in a low voice, obviously all heard his words. They all showed an ‘I see’ expression. Many of them even looked at Zhang Yang with a rather dissatisfied expression.
Zhang Yang’s face turned blue and white alternately. In the end, he had to force a smile, fold his hands in obeisance to second young master Zheng then smile apologetically to the crowd, saying: “Ha ha… Second young master Zheng is right. A moment ago I was too disrespectful. Now I’m going to allow him to leave…” As he said, he gave his subordinates in the field a signal with his eyes.
At this moment, that second young master Zheng said again: “Friend, I’m about to leave too. I’m wondering if we can leave together?” These words were said to Bai Yunfei.
As soon as Zhang Yang heard this, he went red-faced again. He was exasperated inwardly but did not dare to have a fit of anger. Originally he had intended to casually think of a way to kill Yunfei after letting him go, but this second young master Zheng had obviously seen through his intention. This was him speaking up to protect Bai Yunfei’s life.
In the field, Bai Yunfei was expressionless, but he was totally clear-headed inside at the moment. He obviously was aware of the current situation so, without saying anything, he walked to the passage through which these people had come out just then. In a short while, he appeared on the stand and stood silently behind second young master Zheng.
Bai Yunfei lowered his head and did not look at Zhang Yang, who was only several meters away. But blue veins popped out of his hand that was holding the brick, and he was clenching his teeth almost to the point of bleeding. He did not dare to raise his head because he was afraid that he would not be able to restrain himself and would rush up to smash the brick at the enemy’s head. He knew that if he really rushed up, not only would he not be able to get close to him, he would also lose his life right here.
“Then I take my leave, young master Zhang.” Second young master Zheng casually said a few words. Then, simply not caring about what Zhang Yang thought anymore, he stood up and walked towards the exit. Bai Yunfei followed him closely while carrying Uncle Wu’s body. That Uncle Qin walked at the back and looked thoughtfully at Bai Yunfei in front of him…
… … … …
In a remote alley in the northwest corner of Luoshi City, several people came out of the Coliseum. After walking for another while, second young master Zheng turned around to look at Bai Yunfei, who had been walking silently behind him all along, and said with a smile: “I’m Zheng Kai of the capital’s Zheng family. You are…”
“Bai Yunfei.”
“Brother Yunfei, what… do you plan to do later on?”
Looking at Zheng Kai, Bai Yunfei was silent for a while then said: “I owe you this time. Later I’ll pay you back tenfold…”
“Ha ha, this is not what I mean… I just casually said a few words to help you. Don’t mention it.” Seeing that Bai Yunfei had mistaken his words, Zheng Kai shook his head smilingly: “What I mean is, later on you must try your best not to appear in front of that Zhang Yang again. Though I was able to help you get out, I’m leaving very soon. At that time, maybe he will try to find you and cause you trouble again. In my opinion, you’d better leave this place.”
Bai Yunfei fell silent again. He lowered his head gazing at Uncle Wu’s body. After a long time…
“Thank you…”
He said softly then, not caring about Zheng Kai anymore, walked down the alley heading for the outside with his head lowered.
“Today you helped me. I’ll remember it in my heart. If I become powerful enough one day, I’ll definitely repay you tenfold!”
Seeing Bai Yunfei gradually going away, Zheng Kai could not help shaking his head and letting out a sigh…
… … … …
Uncle Wu had said that his family was on one side of a small street in the north part of the city. It was not far from this place at all. Luckily there were no bustling streets on the way, otherwise, considering that his whole body was covered in blood at the moment and that he was still carrying a dead person in his arms, perhaps he would have been brought to the office of the mayor already.
After scaring away three or four people in a row, he finally found Uncle Wu’s family thanks to the trembling answer of a person. He handed Uncle Wu’s body over to his family members then turned around and left, not caring about these frightened, shocked and also sorrowful people anymore.
After returning home, he cleaned up the bloodstains on his body right away and changed into his only other set of clothes. Bai Yunfei then took a final look at this house where he had been living for eighteen years and walked out determinedly…
… … … …
Under the dim moonlight, in a remote grove outside Luoshi City, Bai Yunfei was kneeling before his mother’s and his grandfather’s graves, saying something in a low voice.
“… …”
“Then, I was helped by that Zheng Kai and left that place…”
“Mom… Now I already understand. If I don’t want to be bullied and humiliated, if I don’t want to be treated like an ant, if I want to live freely, I must have great power… so great that nobody would dare to provoke me!”
“Mom, grandpa said I had to live with a clear conscience…”
“Uncle Wu died to save me. I… I want to avenge him! I’ll definitely make that Zhang Yang pay the price for what he’s done! For Uncle Wu, for his granddaughter Xiao Yu’er and for myself too!”
“Now I have obtained a special kind of power. I feel that, if I research it carefully and put it to good use, I can definitely become powerful…”
Bai Yunfei wiped the tears from his face. Just when he wanted to stand up, an aged voice suddenly rang out behind him:
“Do you want power?”
“Who?” The sudden appearance of the voice frightened Bai Yunfei. He swiftly grabbed the brick beside him then turned around to face the person behind him.
“Oh? Your soulforce has already started to awaken? Though it’s still very weak…” That voice was heard, slightly surprised. That person then continued laughingly: “Ha ha, don’t be afraid, little friend. I won’t harm you.”
Making use of the moonlight, Bai Yunfei saw a kind-looking old man dressed in a gray robe walk up to him. His tone was friendly and he was sizing him up with a smile.
“Who are you? What do you want to do?” Bai Yunfei immediately asked the two most important questions. Seeing that this man seemed to have no ill intentions, he relaxed a bit but he was still holding the brick tightly in his hand.
“I more or less understood what you said just now. Considering that your soulforce has started to awaken, perhaps it is the special power you mentioned, right?”
“However, I can tell you that it’s impossible to get your revenge with this tiny amount of power. You’re not even a soul cultivator at the moment. Even though that Zhang Yang brat is merely at the middle Soul Personage stage, he’s far from someone you can deal with too.”
“What I want to tell you is… I can make you become more powerful and make it possible for you to get your revenge as you wish, are you willing to accept?”
Originally, the old man thought that, after hearing him say these words, the little fellow in front of him would definitely be overjoyed and urgently ask him how to become powerful, but…
“How can I believe you?”
“Er…”The old man was stupefied for a short while then said with resignation: “Do you have anything valuable enough for me to fool you? Alright, then I’ll just make you believe me…”
As soon as the old man finished talking, Bai Yunfei suddenly felt his surroundings light up. A heat wave then hit him in the face — a large area of raging flames had unexpectedly appeared in an instant around him and the old man!!
Furthermore, these flames were floating in the air instead of burning on the ground!!
Under the shining of the flames, the old man smilingly pointed at a boulder about the size of a water tank not far from him. Amidst soft rumblings, that boulder unexpectedly slowly moved up into the air from inside the earth. The old man moved his five fingers slightly. Crunching sounds were heard as the boulder shattered immediately into dozens of pieces, which then fell down from the air…
Bai Yunfei watched everything in front of him in astonishment. Suddenly his head felt dizzy for a short period of time. When he had regained composure, he discovered that… he was floating in the air!!
All of these happening continuously confused Bai Yunfei’s mind somewhat. He looked in stupefaction at the old man on the ground, who was still smilingly gazing at him.
Seeing the astonished expression on his face, only now did the old man give a satisfied smile. With a wave of his hand, Bai Yunfei slowly fell to the ground. The flames around also shrunk gradually, but they did not disappear completely. They turned into a washbasin-sized fireball which floated on one side. The old man seemed to keep it especially for lighting.
“How was it? Sonny, you believe me now, right? I’ll say it again. I can make you become powerful and help you get your revenge. Are you willing to accept?”
Bai Yunfei lowered his head silently for a long time then gazed at the old man for a long time. Only now did he say slowly: “Any conditions?”
“Er…” The old man was stupefied for a short while again. He was a bit depressed in his heart: “This little fella is very different from the several people before… If someone else has this kind of lucky encounter, they will jump at the chance with excitement. But he…”
“This… I see that you have an amazing physique and are highly gifted, so I want to teach you…”
“I don’t believe it.” Bai Yunfei immediately cut him short.
“Er…” The old man was already speechless. After being stupefied for a good while, he suddenly laughed out loud.
“You’re very special, sonny. Alright, then I won’t keep you in the dark anymore. Besides helping you get your revenge, I indeed have another motive for wanting to teach you techniques.”
“I’m a member of the Fate School. Someday my school will probably have to face a devastating tribulation. So now I help you in the hope that, in the future, if you become an accomplished person, you can help my school overcome the tribulation too.”
“What’s the Fate School?”
“Er…” The old man felt as if he was walking in the dark and bumping into wall after wall.
“The Fate School is a school of soul cultivators. Though it’s not one of the ten biggest schools in the world, it’s not weak either. By the way, let me tell you something. The head of the Zhang family in this Luoshi City Zhang Zhenshan and his son Zhang Yang are disciples of the Glacial School in the eastern part of Qingyun Province. It’s just a small school, but you’re not powerful enough to deal with it for the moment. If you want to deal with the Zhang family, you’d best pay attention to hiding your identity.”
Bai Yunfei felt silent, seeming to be pondering over the old man’s words. After a while, he asked again: “What’s a soul cultivator?”
“Every creature in the world is formed from a body and a soul. Anyone can train the body, but they can only become an ordinary martial artist. Some people can train the soul, enhancing their soulforce, thereby controlling the body with the soul and bringing out the greatest potential in the body. They can even utilize the power of the natural elements to unleash immeasurable forces. These people who can train the soul are called soul cultivators.”
“Based on the power of the soul, the power of a soul cultivator is divided into nine different stages: Soul Apprentice, Soul Personage, Soul Warrior, Soul Sprite, Soul Ancestor, Soul Exalt, Soul King, Soul Emperor and Soul Saint. Each stage is divided into three levels: early, middle and late.”
“It’s extremely difficult to improve soulforce. The head of that Zhang family Zhang Zhenshan is an early Soul Sprite. And the headmaster of the Glacial School is only a middle Soul Ancestor.”
“Your soulforce has already started to awaken. When it fully awakens, you’ll be able to sense the existence of the soulforce in your body and become an early Soul Apprentice.”
“I can teach you how to train your soul and use your soulforce. Now… are you willing to accept?”