Beyond the Timescape
Chapter 1188: Talentless Hacks

Chapter 1188: Talentless Hacks

The Immortal Capital’s Trial of the Hunt was divided into three rounds.

In the first round, a total of 10,000 permission medallions were distributed, and the countless cultivators in the four planetary systems would fight over them. That first round was brutal, and involved a lot of medallions changing hands. That said, cultivators could choose whether or not to participate.

Then came the second round, in which the four Immortal Monarchs would distribute their legacies for everyone to seek enlightenment of. The second round was an indication that the trial would soon speed up. During that round, cultivators with an advantage would get a big boost, while cultivators who had no advantage would be whittled out of the competition. The participants were still allowed to kill each other to take permission medallions during the second round, and at the same time, could get stronger thanks to the legacies. The enticement of the legacies and the medallions made the second round very intense.

Now the third round had come. This was the round in which the final eliminations and selections would take place. It was all about hunting down other participants, and either killing them or robbing them of their medallions. By the time the third round ended, all of the previous fighting and killing ensured that there were far fewer than 10,000 cultivators with medallions.

Only someone with complete canon could unfuse with their permission medallion. Those without complete canon could not get rid of their medallion unless they died first.

When the Immortal Capital’s Trial of the Hunt began, people who chose to participate knew there was no turning back. Either you got to the Immortal Capital, or... you died trying and became fodder for other participants. If you got very, very lucky, you could theoretically lose your medallion and live to tell the tale, although that went against the spirit of the competition.

Right now, it was a nearly daily occurrence in the southern planetary system for permission medallions to change hands. There were currently less than 500 medallions left. At that moment, the cultivators who had those medallions suddenly sensed something shocking, and they quickly took out their medallions to check the star chart.

In the chart that showed the southern region, the star that represented Jiang Fan, which shone brightly at Grand Immortal Mountain, suddenly went dim. Its brightness was being gobbled up by another star. And then, that other star became brighter than all the other stars in the planetary system. The only star who could compare to it was a star in the Yuanshan Clan.

All of the cultivators who had permission medallions were astonished.

“Jiang Fan was defeated?”

“He’s the top Shining Star in the south! Who could beat him?”

“It wasn’t Yuanshan Su. Don’t tell me one of the Shining Stars from one of the other three planetary systems came over here!”

Then the cultivators witnessed something even more shocking, as the star that had just defeated Jiang Fan was now moving with astonishing speed in the direction of... the Yuanshan Clan!

Bedlam ensued in the Yuanshan Clan. They were the top clan in the south, and they had no shortage of powerful experts. But according to the rules of the Trial of the Hunt, none of those experts had the right to challenge the trial participants. As anxiety built in the clan, Yuanshan Su walked out.

Clad in a white gown, she stood atop Mount Skyspirit and looked off into the distance. Surrounding her were other clan cultivators, all with serious expressions on their faces. At first, she hadn’t been completely certain who that third star on the star chart was. But after watching that star go to Grand Immortal Mountain and defeat Jiang Fan... she could guess who it was.

There are only two people who could do that. The first would be Sir Star Ring, and the other is... him. According to the news coming out of the east, Sir Star Ring already perished. And that makes it clear who this person is.

She had a complicated expression on her face. When the events in the fourth world came to a conclusion, she was one of the first people to leave the immortal palace. After returning to her clan, she had thought constantly about everything that happened in the immortal palace. And there was one person who occupied her thoughts more than anyone else.

She had achieved her goal, benefited greatly, and improved her cultivation base a lot. But that person continued to weigh down on her with pressure like a mountain. It made things very complicated.

After all, she had completed an official wedding ceremony with him. Though it had been a requirement in that reflection of history, the ramifications could still affect the real world. With such thoughts filling her mind, she looked at the sky as the wind wailed in the sky and churned the clouds. A person appeared on the horizon.

He wore black garments and had long violet hair, and as he approached, it was like he was walking through waves of time itself. He was none other than Xu Qing.

As he neared, the other cultivators of the Yuanshan Clan looked shocked. There were even some Quasi-Immortal patriarchs who unleashed their energy, causing the surroundings to ripple as if they were facing a major enemy.

Xu Qing didn’t pay any attention to the pressure weighing down on him. He simply proceeded, his expression neutral. He passed the Yuanshan cultivators, ignored the gazes of the patriarchs, and landed on Mount Skyspirit in front of Yuanshan Su. He extended his hand.

“Hand it over,” Xu Qing said quietly. He didn’t say much, but he spoke in a way that indicated he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Yuanshan Su said nothing. The fluctuations from the surrounding patriarchs grew more intense, and their eyes were as cold as ice. But after a moment passed, Yuanshan Su sighed. She reached up and, to the astonishment of the clan cultivators around her, she placed her palm onto her forehead. A popping sound rang out as she stripped her own Immortal Capital permission medallion outside of herself. With the wave of her hand, she sent the brightly shining medallion over to Xu Qing.

It landed on his palm. Not even glancing at it, he gave Yuanshan Su a meaningful look. “Is there a third way to get to the Immortal Capital?”

The indifference with which Yuanshan Su gave him the medallion led Xu Qing to the conclusion that there was likely another way to get to the Immortal Capital.

“Yes,” she said. “If I become a Quasi-Immortal during the trial, I can also go there. It’s a special right given to the eight Shining Stars.”

Xu Qing nodded. He could tell that Yuanshan Su’s aura was just on the verge of being that of a Quasi-Immortal. She had clearly benefited a lot in the immortal palace.

However, that had nothing to do with him. He closed his fist over the medallion, and it disappeared. Dazzling light shone up from him and into the sky. A moment later, the star chart once again appeared overhead in the south.

The star that represented Xu Qing was now brighter than all others, making it completely unique. He was number one in the south! Of course, his own permission medallion told him his rank in the Fifth Star Ring as a whole.

5th!

He didn’t care who it was that ranked higher than him. If things went according to plan, then no one would be able to stop him from taking 1st.

“Well then,” he said, “see you at the Immortal Capital.” With a final look at Yuanshan Su, he turned and left.

The Yuanshan Clan cultivators could do nothing but watch him go. Shortly after, the patriarchs landed on the ground next to her.

Yuanshan Su bowed her head. “I’ve let you down, Patriarchs. I don’t even qualify to make a move on him.”

A few breaths of time passed, whereupon one of the patriarchs sighed. “Su’er, the truth is... not even we could be fully confident in beating him in a fight. How does he compare to Sir Star Ring?”

Yuanshan Su shook her head. “Sir Star Ring perished. Although I can’t be sure if he’s truly dead or not, I’m fairly certain he was the one who did it.”

The patriarchs all sighed.

“People like that sometimes don’t come around for generations....”

Yuanshan Su smiled. “It just makes things more interesting.”

***

In the northern planetary system of the Fifth Star Ring was the Sword Immortal School!

As an organization, it was very different from Grand Immortal Mountain in the south or the Starry Quarter in the east. The most orthodox organization in the north was built atop a gargantuan meteor. It was surrounded by a permanent tempest of sword energy, and the sound of swords rose up from it into the highest heavens. The meteor itself was shockingly large, like a mountain. If you stood at the bottom and looked up at it, you wouldn’t even be able to see the top.

There were various legends about where the rock came from. Some people said it wasn’t native to the Fifth Star Ring. They claimed it came from outside of the star ring, and that Sword Immortal Blue Mallard had acquired it, gained enlightenment from it, and used it to found the sect. Other people say that it was left over from the days when the starry sky of the Fifth Star Ring was compacted to make the current geography. And there were many other stories.[1]

But the fact remained that the Sword Immortal School really was built on top of the gigantic meteor. On the exterior of the meteor, in the central square of the Sword Immortal School, Hordeslayer and Rampart were carefully erecting a host of warding spells. As they worked, they communicated via divine will.

“He put Sir Star Ring to death!”

“He took Jiang Fan’s medallion!”

“That shrew Yuanshan Su was the biggest pushover of them all. She didn’t even try to fight!”

“He’s on his way here to the north right now....”

“I have the feeling he’s after more than just our medallions....”

“You’re right! He wants to subjugate us!”

“Being forced to bond with him in the fourth world was the biggest humiliation imaginable!”

“We can’t let this matter drop!”

“We can’t let this matter drop!”

“So the plan is to make him pay as soon as he shows up!”

Gritting their teeth, they continued setting up all sorts of warding spells as fast as they could. A few days later, they finally breathed sighs of relief and sat down cross-legged.

“Now we just wait!”

***

Above them, in the sky over the Sword Immortal School, a person rested within the endless tempest of sword energy. He wore blue clothing and had gray hair. Orbiting around him was an ancient blue sword. The sword’s name was Blue Mallard, and as a result, he was known as Sword Immortal Blue Mallard.

As he rested within the sword energy, he sipped alcohol and looked down at his two apprentices. A moment later, he sighed.

I was so blind back then. Why did I pick these two talentless hacks as apprentices? They can’t even beat him two versus one? They have to set up warding spells as well? And they’re planning an ambush?

1. Sword Immortal Blue Mallard first appeared in chapter 1120. ☜