Chapter 114: Young Master Supreme Cloud. The Transcendental Cliff
Before he finished speaking, Eunuch Wu swayed on his feet before he fell forward with a loud thud. He fell into a kneeling position, crushing his calves and knees before his entire body collapsed, his head falling off and rolling merrily away.
He had exhausted all of his potential life force; even his soul and subconscious had been poured into the execution of the Incandescent Meteor Soul.
His body was like cracked porcelain, primed to shatter upon a delicate touch.
Yun Yang took a deep breath.
Autumn is here. It is the eighth month's mid-autumn. Time to reunite...
Obviously, Eunuch Wu's identity was the fifteenth of the eighth month!
"We're going right from spring to autumn..." Yun Yang mumbled under his breath, feeling confused and bewildered about this entire case.
This Hall of Autumn's man had just died in his hands, and for no practical reason whatsoever.
It had all been just an attempt to mildly probe the enemy, an unexpected test for both sides.
Both Yun Yang and Eunuch Wu did not realize that they were each other's real enemy, yet victory and defeat had been decided.
Yun Yang turned and met Lao Mei and Fang Mofei's extremely shocked yet adoring and respectful gazes.
"You... are Supreme Cloud?" Lao Mei asked with a violent stutter.
Fang Mofei stared heatedly at Yun Yang. "Lord Supreme Cloud?"
Yun Yang sighed as if he had seen one too many years of life. Finally, he said in a resigned voice, "I am... your Young Master Yun once again."
"Yes, young master!"
Both Lao Mei and Fang Mofei stood impeccably straight, their gazes radiating admiration and awe.
They had never thought that the man they were serving could be the empire's guardian, a man that each and every citizen of the nation idolized with almost a religious fervor.
Our young master is actually such a heroic figure!
Warmth rushed into their hearts as their throats clogged up, they did not know what to say, feeling somewhat starstruck.
Supreme Cloud!
The cloud that soars in the heavens!
Fang Mofei and Lao Mei felt moisture welling in their eyes,
springing from the intense emotions, from pride.
The entire Empire of Yutang seemed to be enshrouded in ominous gray clouds when the news of the Nine Supremes being ambushed was spread; everyone was heavy-hearted, each of them so repressed that frustration began to eat them up.
Yet when both of them heard the words 'Supreme Cloud', those feelings of despondency immediately vanished.
The gray clouds that were always hovering about had disappeared at the sound of these two words.
Both of them experienced a moment of euphoria, especially for the hapless Lao Mei.
Why Yun Yang would often go missing and reappear suddenly...
Why there were no maids or servants in the residence...
Why his young master had always been so mysterious!
It all made sense now.
Young master was Supreme Cloud!
Havoc had been wrought in the capital of Empire of Yutang tonight. It was four noble young masters against the empire's Minister of Imperial Household! More than half of the capital's influential figures were following the developments of this incident closely.
Although Mi Kongqun had said himself that he had made peace with the four fellows and it was only a misunderstanding, it was still worth wondering why none of the four eunuchs he brought along had returned.
As for the palace, it was not a small matter either.
However powerful Mi Kongqun was as a Minister of Imperial Household, he still needed to explain the situation.
It was reasonable and expected, even, for the four great young masters to act so recklessly but for Mi Kongqun to actually do the same and to dispatch so many imperial guards in a mass movement... it was something worth pondering upon.
Those influential figures that were still anticipating the developments of the story were shocked to discover that the incident was not mentioned again the next morning. It was as if the huge havoc last night was a wispy breeze, leaving no trace after it blew by.
Qiu Jianhan was too lazy to make the effort to mention it and was also waiting for Keeper Mi's further actions. He would and observe the man's next move.
As for the others, especially the imperial officials who would normally leap at the chance to make a fuss out of nothing... not a single one of them stepped forth to condemn the culprit.
Qiu Jianhan felt genuinely perplexed.
His eyes met those of Leng Daoyin, perhaps trying subconsciously to see if the same confusion was reflected in the other man's orbs.
Qiu Jianhan's eyebrows scrunched into a frown.
He had been in the thick of things and could hardly be blamed for missing out on things, but for Leng Daoyin who was an outsider to this incident to not notice anything was really bizarre!
...
When Yun Yang returned to his residence, he went straight into cultivation. The turn of events in tonight's battle was beyond Yun Yang's expectations, more so when his goal was to never kill people.
He had wanted to extract more information on people from the Eunuch Wu but this objective had obviously failed.
However, other than gaining more insights into the saber truth, he had obtained a surprising bit of information - Eunuch Wu was actually autumn's man!
He had previously been involved with the Hall of Spring, going around in circles and never seeming to get out of them. Now that a personnel from Hall of Autumn had emerged, he was becoming increasingly confused.
"I believe Mi Kongqun is from the Hall of Spring and while Eunuch Wu and he were aware of each other, they may not know each other's other identity. At least, Mi Kongqun doesn't know Eunuch Wu's background and the latter has never shown his real combat abilities in front of Mi Kongqun."
"I've used all I have in the battle today, including three Eclipse Panthers, but Eunuch Wu was only slain with a bare margin to spare. It's impressive, and he was only the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Hall of Autumn!"
Yun Yang could truthfully feel the terror his words invoked.
Although he had ultimately won, he had paid a great price by using the Fog of Cloud Conjuration to counter Eunuch Wu's lethal strike. Besides, the two panthers had to recover from their injuries. Yun Yang entered closed-door cultivation immediately, activating the force of life to begin his healing.
Lao Mei and Fang Mofei each sat meditating in a secluded spot in the courtyard. Their eyes opened occasionally, the surging, warm, blood in their heart still unable to fully cool down.
Supreme Cloud!
The young master was actually Supreme Cloud!
This piece of information was like a thunderbolt, crackling in both of their minds.
Yun Yang did not say much but both of them had chosen to keep quiet.
What did the identity Supreme Cloud entail?
Did it need more explanation?
This secret alone was enough to trigger three earthquakes throughout the entire continent!
If the news were to be leaked out, the aftermath would be severe!
"What I wish to see the most is the moment when young master soars up high in the sky as an unexpected advantage!" Fang Mofei and Lao Mei shared the same thought in their heart.
Just thinking about the scene made them trembled with emotion.
However, by being Supreme Cloud, young master's enemies would come from the entire continent, and all the strong ones at that.
It was no wonder young master kept saying his ability was inadequate and complained about slow improvement.
He was simply speaking the truth.
We, standing by our young master's side, have to increase our abilities too!
It was a mandatory requirement.
With that resonating in their minds, both their cultivation states entered an unprecedented frenzy.
...
When Yun Yang woke up the next morning, his body felt relaxed as he stretched; his injuries had all recovered. As for the Eclipse Panthers, the one with the most severe injuries had recovered more than half of its vigor while another one was completely healed.
"That was rather quick."
Yun Yang opened the messages sent by the Nine Heavens Dictum.
"Not even the slightest bit of repercussion?" Yun Yang read the intel collected from all over, his splendid eyebrows slowly scrunching into a frown.
This did not seem normal. So much had happened these few days...
From Shui Yuehan and Fu Guansan's incident that dragged until now, to Mi Kongqun's case, the accumulation of these matters somehow had not caused any untoward ripples.
Theoretically, the few boards, princes, and even both civil and military officials, as well as censors, would be at each other's throats and tear each other down in the imperial court alone.
The argument would go on as one defended and the other attacked, vice versa. Digging deeper into the matters from these arguments was only the right thing to do.
However, there was hardly a whisper of news regarding these significant incidents.
What did that mean?
It meant all that had happened had been quelled by an impossibly influential hand, forcibly suppressed and rendered insignificant.
Who in the capital wielded such influence?
Yun Yang inhaled deeply.
Regardless of all that happened, at least Cirrus House could have its peace for now. As long as the four popinjays were still in Tiantang, the Four Seasons Tower would still restrain themselves from making any reckless moves.
After all, they had lost five people over at the Cirrus House.
There would be much for them to consider, even if was just to contemplate on the countermeasures.
"I can finally take a breather..."
While Yun Yang was thinking about this, other developments were unfolding, tens of thousands of miles away...
A man in gray clothes sat quietly on a cliff enveloped in cloud and mist. There were five to six coarse metal chains that were dark red in color looped around him; in the middle of them, all were ropes of dark red mystical beast tendons.
Two chains snaked through his shoulder blades as the third chain pierced his chest, going two rounds around his spine and extended into a deep cave...
As if that was not enough, each of his legs bore the same chain.
It was unimaginable how much torment this man was in, yet he was sitting in front of a stone table with a peaceful expression, preparing and drinking tea. Looking at the dense sea of clouds, his face was somehow calm and collected.
A white silhouette came through the sea of clouds, breaking them into wisps of vapor. Wherever he passed, the clouds naturally separated into two, creating a path through which one could walk.