Nine Heavenly Star Art Chapter 1

Chapter 0001    18 castles of Lianyun

Translated by Yorasu, edited by Fade

It was year 8329 of Xiwu calendar. The world was full of chaos. Human life is as lowly as mustard. The land were separately ruled by feudal lords. Heroes began to rise in this era. Emperor Ming ascended to the throne; suppressed the three big feudal lords rebellion. It was an era full of killing.

At Donglin region in the middle of Xiwu empire, in the depth of the mountain range situated in Lian Yun, trees were towering, reaching the sky. The cliffs of the mountain are steep and harsh. Hidden in the deepest part of the jungle, 18 fortresses made of stone are located. The fortresses standing tall and upright. It was not known how much energy had been wasted; placing stone by stone; stacking them up to build such magnificent structures.

18 castles, within each castle resided a clan with the same family name. They were famous and had a reputation as Lianyun’s 18 pillars, a well-known small force to be reckoning with in Donglin region.

Ye clan’s castle martial art field.

The early morning light rays from the sun projected through the gap between the peaks of two mountains. The dawn had just began. Here, this place was full of people.

“The road of martial arts; the diligence to make up for ones dullness; early morning the very first rays from the sun rise, it is the peak time for the most dense qi. If you cultivate at this moment, you will receive twice the effect.” A middle-aged man with well built physique was teaching a group of youngster how to cultivate martial arts. The Ye clan’s castle was inhabited by thousand of clans men. There were about 200-300 youngsters from the age of 10 to 18 who are suitable to cultivate martial arts.

Those youngsters stood in a square formation, practising fighting techniques; direct and efficient punches and kicks with uniform movement from each of them.

“Immovable like a mountain, move as quick as flas.h.i.+ng thunder. The way to defeat your foe, there is only one word to describe it, speed. Of all the martial arts under heaven, only the fastest is indestructible. Our Ye clan’s martial arts, what it emphasizes is none other than this word, speed!”

The middle-aged man demonstrated a set of martial art movements. With such dominating and formidable moves, every move displayed came with the faint sound of lightning. That was the Ye clan’s flas.h.i.+ng thunder martial art. It was an unique martial art coupled with Ye clan’s cultivation of thunder rolls inner strength. Such a martial art is widely known for its bold and powerful offense.

Thunder rolls inner strength was zapping out from the fist, sc.r.a.ping the cheek of those youngsters till it hurt. It was as if they were sliced by a blade. Every one of them instantly retreated two zhang away. (zhang= 3.3meter; chinese version of feet)

“Third uncle is so awesome!”

“That is of course. Third uncle is the third most powerful person in the Ye clan. He is only second to the clan patriarch and the law enforcement elder.” With their wors.h.i.+pful gaze, they looked at the figure of the middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man is Ye Zhanxiong. He was responsible in teaching the younger generation. Within the clan, his popularity is extremely high.

The youngsters in the martial art field continuously gave applause. Ye Zhanxiong’s brilliant martial art, the youngsters were dazzled and could hardly follow its movement.

At a distance of hundred zhang away from the noisy crowd, a youngster sat on top of a stone in one of the corners of the martial art field. With both eyes closed, he sat cross-legged and remained motionless like a statue. Even though the early morning suns.h.i.+ne s.h.i.+ned on his body, it still could not penetrate his heart.

From his looks, he should be around 17 or 18 years old. With a tall figure, his facial features were like blade; long eyebrows like a pair of swords, the fine outline of his nose which portrayed the boldness of character, emitting a heroic aura. However, the expression of such calmness and focus being portrayed did not match his age at all. This youngster’s name is Ye Chen.

It was not known how many times has he tried. Whenever he breathes according to the cultivation method of thunder rolls inner strength, all the gathered mysterious qi very quickly disappeared from his broken meridians. His body simply was not able to contain any mysterious qi.

Two clansmen from the younger generation walked pa.s.s. Noticing the presence of the motionless Ye Chen who was sitting on top of the stone, they showed a look of disdain.

“His meridians are already broken. It is absolutely impossible to condense any mysterious qi. Yet, everyday he still sits there and puts on an act.”

“It is such a waste that he uses a lot of dans everyday. If those dans were given to others, I wonder how many clansmen would have cultivated to be an expert. Giving them to him is just like feeding them into a dog’s belly. If I was him, I would jump into the river. How could I still have any face to meet anyone.”

“Lower your tone. After all, he is still the clan patriarch's son.”

“So what if he is the son of the clan patriarch? Our Ye clan since the very beginning has never decided by n.o.bility. Based on what he is being given privileges?!”

The two youngster from the clan deliberately spoke loudly. Those statement reaching the ears of Ye Chen, he turned a deaf ear with both eyes closed. Forcibly enduring the harsh words, a mocking smile was born from his innermost heart. If it was his previous self, he would definitely rush forward and play with them. But now, he has learned to endure. The current him was none other than a waste; which could totally not match these two youngster.

The previous Ye Chen, he had cultivated till reaching the fifth rank of mysterious qi when he was twelve years old, reaching sixth rank of mysterious qi at thirteen years old and the peak of the sixth rank when he was fourteen years old. He was definitely the best from the younger generation. Such rare genius appearing in Ye clan only once in a hundred years.  Later, when he was taking part in a clan mission, Ye Chen together with five other youngsters went hunting at the depth of Lianyun mountains. Too bad they were ambushed during the mission. The five youngster were instantly annihilated. As for Ye Chen, the foes deliberately wanted to torture him. To do so, they destroyed his meridians. Although he was able to be saved by the clan later on, since then, Ye Chen has became a waste.

In Xiwu empire, only those with strength are respected. If you are weak, you would only be the target of bullying by those stronger. If it was not because the early morning was the best time to cultivate and restore his meridian due to dense energy, he would definitely not be stepping into this place.

“In just a blink of an eye, three years have pa.s.sed. I am afraid my meridians no longer have any hope of recovery.” Deep in his heart, Ye Chen was unwilling; he did not want to resign himself to be a waste for the rest of his life.

Ye Chen continued to try condensing mysterious qi but without any doubt, it was a failed attempt. His body was full of broken meridians as if it was hollow dead wood being eaten by termites. There was not even a trace of life force at all.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged on top of the stone, like an old monk in meditation. Letting his thoughts slowly sink into his sea of consciousness. Within the sea of consciousness, an image of a flying dagger appeared. The body of this flying dagger was dyed red with blood, as thin as a cicada’s wing and is sparkling clear. Because of the existence of this flying dagger, his heart always hoped that his meridians were not completely destroyed.

Ye Chen was just a common ordinary person. It was by chance he found this flying dagger that he then transmigrated into this world.

So far, he did not know the usage of this flying dagger. Whenever his thoughts sinked into the sea of consciousness, he would be able to see it quietly suspended within the sea. No matter what method Ye Chen tried, he could not touch the dagger at all.

Three years have pa.s.sed. From the peak of the world, he has fallen down to the bottom most pit. Most people could not withstand such a huge gap but Ye Chen was very strong, in his will and character. Being bombarded by endless mockery from others, he had to be able to ignore their existence. During these three years, Ye Chen had polished his patient mentality. His mind became a lot calmer than before.

Ye Chen moved the thunder rolls internal strength in his body, a sense of heat began to be felt in his lower abdomen. A pool of mysterious qi started to gather together. Slowly, it began to flow along the route of his meridians. However, every time the mysterious qi acc.u.mulated in the broken meridians, it would then disperse quickly making all his effort in vain.

“d.a.m.n! Why does it still not stay there?!” Ye Chen with a burst of anger released his stress on the stone he was sitting on with his fist. A fresh bloodstain could be seen on his fist. Only through physical pain could he suppress the pain and depression in his heart. Was he destined to be a waste for the rest of his life?

Last time during the peak of his strength, he improved at a very alarming rate, breaking through rank by rank. His body was just like a whirlpool; crazily absorbing the external spirit qi which then instantly transformed into mysterious qi in his body. At the peak of the sixth rank, his mysterious qi density was comparable to those martial artist in the seventh rank. Yet now, for his body to contain even a trace of mysterious qi, it had become an extremely difficult feat.

After a long time, Ye Chen finally calmed down from his frustration. He did not retreat. If he was to give up now, he would remain as a waste for the rest of his life!

As usual in his daily routine, he calmed down his heart and continued to gather mysterious qi. After a duration required for an incense to burn, there was finally a trace of qi in his broken meridians. However, it was very unstable and could easily disperse at any moment.

Ye Chen made an extra effort to revolve the qi; traces of sweat began to appear on his forehead. Finally, the condensed mysterious qi began to flow along the route. Within the middle of the lower abdomen, it began to travel upwards. But when it travelled just a small distance, the mysterious qi began to dissipate bit by bit. He could only helplessly watch as they dispersed.

I absolutely mustn’t fail!

The hardly condensed mysterious qi was about to collapse. At that moment, Ye Chen felt as if there was a strange call. His heart began to calm down and then entered into a strange unknown realm. There seemed to be a breeze blowing past his heart. It was crystal clear without even a tiny speck of dust.

Again, the same flying dagger began to appear within Ye Chen’s mind. The blade of the dagger which is like a cicada’s wing, suddenly produced a weird buzzing sound.

This flying dagger definitely contained some strange power which Ye Chen desperately was trying to find. It was this dagger which brought him into this world. What type of secret was actually hidden within this flying dagger?

Recently, the flying dagger often vibrated on its own. Even the vibration frequency had increased too.

Ye Chen began to extend his own thoughts. He wanted to try and see whether he was able to reach the dagger. He wanted to see whether he would be able to move the dagger.

Out of nowhere, a loud bang resounded within his brain. Ye Chen’s eardrum kept vibrating. It was as if something within his brain had exploded. The exploding and enormous power from the flying dagger rushed along the route of the meridians like a raging flood. The mysterious qi which Ye Chen painfully and whole heartedly gathered was instantly flushed off.

Ye Chen was horrified, looking at the force which went completely out of control. Without delay, he quickly drew his thoughts away from the flying dagger. That mysterious force instantly disappeared without any trace. It was as if it had never been there at all.

“What exactly is happening?”

Ye Chen opened his eyes. His body was very exhausted without any hint of strength. He began to take several deep breaths and examined his body. The broken meridians were still the same without any improvement.

The flying knife was hovering quietly within his mind as usual. A kind of force, somehow a bit similar to mysterious qi but it seemed to be more powerful. It brought a mysterious feeling to him.

Ye Chen suddenly felt some itchiness on his hands. When he looked down, he was shocked to notice that his hands were covered with a thin layer of skin dander. When the dander dropped off, he found out that both hands were as new as if they had been reborn; silky smooth, bright pink like a newborn baby.

“I did not expect that just by merely triggering the power of the flying dagger, it would have such an effect.”

His heart was excited to confirm that this flying dagger was indeed magical. He wanted to continue exploring the potential of the flying dagger more. However, after much consideration Ye Chen decided to wait till the dead of night before make any decisions.

The demonstration lesson to the younger generation ended. Ye Zhanxiong’s sight swept across a youngster who was cultivating, stopping at the figure of Ye Chen who was in the corner of the martial art field and could not help sighing to himself. Sadness could be seen on his face. If Ye Chen was not ambushed, his current cultivation might have even surpa.s.sed this old man, becoming the number one genius in the young generation. In the future, he would be able to undertake the task being guardian of the clan. It was a shame that heaven is jealous of heroic geniuses.

Actually, he was very keen of Ye Chen’s character. Few years ago, he was a bit impatient and acted rashly. However, these past three years, he has became calmer and more mature. If not because of his broken meridians, he would definitely be an important figure in future. It was just that fate was something humans find hard to predict.

After a moment of silence, Ye Zhanxiong walked towards Ye Chen.