A small group of cultivators landed on the deck of the Galaxy Sword Ark. This floating vehicle — if it could be called a vehicle — was so massive that it could house several alchemy rooms, refinement chambers, and housing for hundreds of disciples. On top of this, it had defensive and offensive formations.

  In fact, the original and true purpose of the Ark was not a transport, but a siege weapon. This is the main reason why a sect without one could not be considered a major sect. Without it, penetrating the defensive formations of sect territories was so difficult that everyone considered it to be impossible!

  These Arks could not be built — at least, not to these specifications. Every material critical to its construction had to be retrieved from secret realms, or recovered from demonic beasts that stepped into the realms beyond Nascent Soul.

  They were priceless artifacts and one of a kind.

  “This… this really belongs to you?” Tian Li asked as he stepped off his sword and onto the water garden built on top of the Ark deck.

  Zhu Xuelian shook her head and turned to regard her little group.

  This group comprised the most powerful force on the continent. Not now, of course — right now, they were a far cry from what they could have become in the future. But they were each the best and brightest of their generation.

  Though the elders said one Lei Yangming appeared every ten years, that was not quite true. These kinds of talents don’t live long — either through envy or hubris, they lose their lives before they can inherit the sect’s martial arts. In that regard, Lei Yangming had already accomplished what many like him couldn't.

  Even so, the elder exaggerated. Lei Yangming was not merely an ordinary one-in-ten talent; he stood up against Mu Jingyu and fought her to exhaustion. Mu Jingyu was one-in-a-thousand; maybe even one-in-a-million.

  Tian Li also comprehended the fourth layer of the Galaxy Sword method, a feat never accomplished before by an inner disciple. Even most Core Disciples don’t comprehend the inner workings of that method. It is the domain of elders.

  On this Ark, these eleven disciples represented the majority of this generation’s might and the future leadership of this continent.

  “I am only borrowing it for a while, brother Tian,” Zhu Xuelian said.

  “But…” Tian Li began.

  “No but. I will return this Ark to whom it belongs as soon as we are safe,” Zhu Xuelian said. “My friends, I must share something with you, and then I have a question for you. Will you hear me out?”

  The eight disciples — rogue cultivators now, except those from the Frozen Peak Palace — nodded their agreement. Wu Yulan and Yun Fei, naturally, did not have to. Their support was guaranteed.

  “Though he did not say so specifically, the sect master pretty much told me to leave,” Zhu Xuelian said.

  “Yeah,” Tian Li chuckled. “We heard.”

  Zhu Xuelian chuckled also and shook her head. “No, not that. He told me to go travel the world. I think what he really meant to say was — he wanted me to escape.”

  Everyone’s mood darkened instantly. “Zhu Xuelian, please explain.”

  Zhu Xuelian retrieved the jade slip from her sleeve and tossed it to Tian Li. “Can you tell what this is?”

  Tian Li closed his eyes. A moment later, his eyes opened and he tossed the slip back to Zhu Xuelian. “Impossible!”

  “What…? What is it?” Ren Weisheng asked.

  “The sect’s… true inheritances…”

  Everyone was stunned. They all looked at Zhu Xuelian in a different light now. They were looking at the legacy heir of the sect.

  “It’s not like that,” Zhu Xuelian said. “I am only holding on to it. Like I am holding on to the Ark.”

  Tian Li suddenly turned around and looked toward the sect master's peak. He finally understood the meaning of Zhu Xuelian’s words.

  “He gave you the Ark, the inheritances, and told you to run with the two things that make a sect,” Tian Li whispered, and when he put it in those terms, the others also understood the implication.

  “Three,” Zhu Xuelian said. “I have you, too.”

  Tian Li, Sun Yongzheng, and Ren Weisheng all put their hand over their upper arm, where the Galaxy Sword emblem patch used to be. They were rogue cultivators now, and not disciples of the Galaxy Sword sect anymore.

  “He told me an interesting thing, you know,” Zhu Xuelian said. “He said, the sect is not a vow, or loyalty, or a robe you wear. It is in your heart. If the sect should fall, and if the stone should crumble, if the sect lives in your heart, and your heart lives, the sect lives.”

  Tian Li covered his eyes with his right hand and lowered his head.

  “I think that’s why he gave me the Ark. I think he was really glad you cut your ties to the Galaxy Sword sect — officially,” Zhu Xuelian explained. “He wants you — us — to live, so that the sect can live. I think he knows he is going to die.”

  They heard enough, and the three former Galaxy Sword disciples fell to their knees and kowtowed three times toward the sect master’s peak.

  “I don’t know for certain, but I think this might be the case for all of you,” Zhu Xuelian said. “Lei Yangming, this Zhu Xuelian thinks that maybe your sect elder treated you so harshly because he wanted everyone to see that you are not worth thinking about. Maybe he wanted you to cut your ties with the sect, so no one would go after you.”

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  Lei Yangming frowned, while Ren Jinhai nodded. “I doubt it…”

  After a moment, he added. “Though, that would explain why I am still alive, or why he didn’t cripple my cultivation. He should’ve been able to.”

  “Zhu Xuelian, what does all of this mean?” Ren Jinhai asked.

  “Sometime in the near future,” Zhu Xuelian began, “I think the Galaxy Sword sect will be no more.”

  Ren Jinhai laughed nervously. “How can that be? This is the Galaxy Sword sect. Even if a hundred sects came at it, it would live on.”

  “No, Zhu Xuelian is right,” Tian Li said. “The Galaxy Sword, Heavenly Mountain Pavilion, Frozen Peak Palace… they are all going to fall.”

  This made Mu Jingyu frown. “How can you say such a thing? What proof do you have?”

  “Zhu Xuelian is the proof,” Tian Li said, turning around. His eyes were red. “Two foreign Arks over the sky of the sect; executing a disciple to end the war — if the sects had the power to resist, would they really go this far? Think about it…! During the surprise attack, we killed half of their disciples and seriously wounded Grand Elder Zhou. Even the two sect heirs are dead. So why are we still…?”

  “Why are we still at war…?” Sun Yongzheng finished Tian Li’s sentence.

  After a long moment of silence, Zhu Xuelian smiled, but its warmth never reached her eyes. “This is why I want to ask you: do you want to go on a journey with me?” Zhu Xuelian asked.

  “A journey…? Where would we go?” Tian Li asked.

  “As far away from here as possible,” Zhu Xuelian said, still smiling.

  They understood her meaning. It was the sword cultivator's way of saying run like the wind.

  Ren Jinhai chuckled. “I don’t see what other choice we have. It’s not like we have a sect to return to!”

  Lei Yangming slapped Ren Jinhai’s shoulder, then nodded to Mu Jingyu.

  “Oh… I meant…” Ren Jinhai frowned. “Ah… how do I fix this…?”

  After a moment, Mu Jingyu inhaled sharply and then tore the patch off her sleeve. The other two Frozen Peak Palace disciples howled, picked up the discarded patch and then tried to press it back against her sleeve.

  “When Elder Qin came to Frozen Peak Palace to plead for mercy on Zhu Xuelian’s behalf, my master rejected her,” Mu Jingyu said.

  The words surprised Zhu Xuelian. Elder Qin did that…?

  “I also begged my master to do the same, but she would not hear one word of it,” Mu Jingyu continued. Then she chuckled. “She threw me into jail for even bringing it up.”

  The disciples scowled, but they understood. Who was Mu Jingyu? If Zhu Xuelian never appeared, — nevermind a genius — Mu Jingyu would be the goddess of this generation. In a thousand years, she would probably lead this continent.

  “Then, one night, my master let me out and told me one thing:” Mu Jingyu explained. “If Zhu Xuelian is exiled, instead of executed, I am to go with her and not return to the sect before ten years have passed.”

  Here, Mu Jingyu blushed and looked away. “Basically, she kicked me out for annoying her. I am very grateful for that.”

  Most couldn’t understand why Mu Jingyu would be grateful for getting kicked out, but Zhu Xuelian, Wu Yulan, and Yun Fei all nodded happily as they understood.

  “Where do we plan on going then?” Lei Yangming asked.

  Here, Zhu Xuelian thought for a moment, then said. “If we go to the Perilous Sword Valley, we could reap great benefits. It has a very heavy aura and there are powerful demonic beasts too.”

  “Perilous Sword Valley?” Tian Li asked.

  “Mmm, I think it’s the training ground of the Guardian Sect.”

  “What’s a Guardian Sect?” Ren Jinhai asked.

  “I have no clue!” Zhu Xuelian replied. “But they are strong. No one would dare mess with them, so maybe if we stay in the valley, no one will come after us. And you should be able to all reach Nascent Soul in a year or two.”

  Forget the unknowns, the thought of reaching Nascent Soul in a year or two made their ears ring.

  “Sister Zhu, you must be joking. This is not possible,” Tian Li protested.

  “I reached Nascent Soul Ascension in six months there,” Wu Yulan said.

  Everything was silent. Not even the wind made a sound.

  If someone had heard that one could achieve Nascent Soul Ascension in six months, they would probably kill that person for lying. But Wu Yulan was a Nascent Soul cultivator now, and she wasn’t until six months ago. Some of them could remember that the last time they saw her, before then, happened to be around six months before…

  “Is this truly possible?” Ren Jinhai asked, voice trembling.

  “With my master’s help, of course,” Zhu Xuelian said proudly.

  “Lady Yue…?” Tian Li asked.

  Zhu Xuelian shook her head. “Yaoyue.”

  They never heard that name. It didn’t sound like a name, so it confused them even more.

  “W-what about you, Sister Zhu? You are just a Qi Condensation cultivator now… won’t this place be dangerous for you?”

  “I will catch up to you, don’t worry,” Zhu Xuelian said.

  “H-how long… will it take you…?”

  Zhu Xuelian pondered the words and then smiled proudly. “If I am not a Nascent Soul cultivator two years from now, I will wear my name backwards.”

  The words were like thunderclaps in their ears. What Zhu Xuelian just said had to be the most ridiculous thing they had ever heard in their entire lives. It was so impossibly stupid and unreasonable, that not even a mad person could spout such nonsense.

  And yet…

  “Doesn’t this… kind of… make our little group… like a really big deal?” Tian Li asked.

  They all wore ashen expressions as the potential reality dawned on them. They nodded. “A big deal doesn’t quite describe it…”

  A little bit, they began to understand, somewhat, why everyone wanted Zhu Xuelian dead. These kinds of miracles… really shouldn’t exist.

  “If we are in agreement, then let us head out! We should head to the Guardian Sect first and the—“ Zhu Xuelian trailed off as she peered toward the horizon. “Wu Yulan, your perception is better than mine. What is that?”

  Wu Yulan looked in the same direction and narrowed her eyes.

  “Arks,” Wu Yulan said.

  “Arks? But all the Arks are here…” Tian Li said, also peering in the same direction, but naturally, he could not see as well as Wu Yulan.

  “There’s nine of the— no, eleven. Eleven Arks.”

  Ren Jinhai laughed. “You must be joking. There are only three Arks on this contine—“ Then his eyes widened, as they got close enough. “What…? Whose… what?”

  Zhu Xuelian had a bad feeling about this.

  [ Objective: Escape ]

  The words appeared in her mind, and she reached for her sword, which was hovering over her shoulder, cloaked in a mirage of folded light.

  “Y-yaoyue…?” she asked, looking at the sword, to the confusion of everyone present.

  But there was no response from the sword. The entity within lay dormant. She could feel Yaoyue’s presence, but it was distant and impenetrable.

  [ Analysis complete. ]

  [ Translocation unavailable. ]

  [ Chaos Translocation available. Cost: 183,399,244 energy. ]

  [ Commence Chaos Translocation? ]

  The leading Ark flashed, and then a beam of brilliant light split the sky in half and collided with an invisible shell surrounding the mountain where the Galaxy Sword sect was. In those places where the beam struck the shell, ribbons, and jets of energy sheared off the shell and rained down with tremendous power all over the landscape below the mountain, and the city cradled in its valley. A stray burst of energy like this struck a district of the glorious Star City, and annihilated it in its entirety, leaving behind only a smoking crater with not even a trace of ruins.

  In the fading brightness of that beam, the world became dark.

  “Mother!!!” Wu Yulan screamed as she watched the devastation fall upon the city. She immediately leaned forward to launch herself toward the devastation.

  Yun Fei reached for Wu Yulan, trying to grab her, but because Wu Yulan was a Nascent Soul cultivator — it was not possible.

  Without further hesitation, Zhu Xuelian reached out with her mind to accept the sword's suggestion, and countless stars appeared in the sky.