506 The Nine Supremes Unite (1/2)
The sky eventually darkened, enveloping the battlefield in an endless splash of the colors of nightfall.
High in the sky, a pair of confused eyes peeked out from the clouds overlooking the earth, its gaze troubled and perplexed.
”Who, in truth, is Supreme Cloud?”
”From what I've heard, it seems that Han Sanhe had his suspicions. Does that mean that Dongxuan also would have some clue about this?”
”This Yun Yang… he can't possibly be Supreme Cloud. He's too young!”
”Furthermore, he has been under surveillance all the while. It began when he personally entered the battlefield and got ordered around by those marshals and generals. No, there's no doubt about it…”
”Most importantly, the Nine Supremes struck when he was in the battlefield. It is physically impossible for Yun Yang to be one of the Nine Supremes.”
”Who then are the Nine Supremes?”
”It was too bad that Han Sanhe passed on so quickly.”
”The clue regarding the Nine Supremes has just appeared before it broke immediately. That's his fate…”
The person in the clouds mumbled alone.
All of a sudden, eight brilliant rays fell from the sky like meteorites that fell to the earth. The eight beams cut through the layers of clouds and landed on the ground almost simultaneously.
The earth was in an unusual state of flux like there was a mass of earth dragons barreling underground. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black glimmered constantly on the surface, maintaining itself for a moment before everything vanished abruptly.
”The power of the Nine Supremes!”
The eyes of the person who was still high up in the sky widened in shock.
”Eight Supremes among the Nine Supremes are dead… However, this is...”
As he pondered upon it, the person grew increasingly frustrated and almost crushed his own head in exasperation.
”So this is it!”
”This is the truth!”
”The Spiritual Restraining Formation back then limited the Nine Supremes' powers, but those forces didn't dissipate… Instead, they were sealed up in Tianxuan Cliff…”
”As for the apparent reappearance of the Nine Supremes this time… were they merely manifestations of these powers being released?”
”No wonder the forces were strong but could hardly be maintained. This must be the truth!”
”As for the strange beams… this should be the last leg of theNine Supremes' power… or was it? Why were there eight lights that suddenly blossomed on this stretch of land?”
”there isn't any trace of human presence within thousands of miles of this vast land…”
”What is going on?”
”Was it merely coincidence? Or is there more to this than meets the eye?”
…
”What plans do you all have?”
Yun Yang found the twelve youths in the Steel Cavalry's tent, but there were only eight of them left.
All eight of them were grieving, but their expressions showed firm resolution.
”If you all want to go home, I can arrange for you all to leave.” Yun Yang said, ”If…”
Eight rather innocent faces hesitated for a moment before one of them replied, ”We want to take a break and send our brothers' remains back first… only then will we return to the Fortress of Resilience again.”
”Why?”
Yun Yang frowned. ”One war has taken four people away. Aren't all of you scared? Don't you all care?”
He was troubled as well. Looking at the determined teenagers, how was he supposed to explain it to their families? There was nothing fun about military and war!
”We…” The little one, the head of the group, was Li Erdan; after enlisting, he had given himself another name called Li Zhan. He hesitated then said, ”Teacher… we know that there's more danger than safety by staying here…”
”However, we aren't willing to go back just like this…”
”First off, we still want to avenge our four brothers; secondly, we like this atmosphere, we like the battlefield, we like the military base… Third…”
He stalled, covertly lifting his head to steal a peek at Yun Yang's expression, and said, ”Staying here, it's brutal, it's life and death all the time… but coming out, be it brutal or anguish, we've seen the outside world after all…”
Yun Yang grimly understood what they were saying...
They were right, of course. Coming out from a small, isolated village, they would not have known what they had missed if they had not experienced this vast world; they could have spent the rest of their lives peacefully in the small valley. Yet these passionate youths had seen the world in all its colors, how could they be willing to return to the closed-off village and spend the rest of their lives there quietly?
Yun Yang kept silent for a moment and said, ”If you all want a title, you can follow me back to the capital. There, you will have me around. It's much better than staying here.”
The eight youths were quiet, and Yun Yang felt resistance from the silence – it was a defiance of dignity.
”We want to depend on ourselves and work for it.” Li Zhan said in a stuttering voice.
”Ambitious,” Yun Yang complimented the youths.
The eight children flushed.
Yun Yang took out the mystical Qi cultivation arcane he had long prepared and explained it thoroughly before he watched the eight young ones repeat it once.
”No matter where you all stay…” Yun Yang said softly, ”Never forget where your roots are. Understand?”
”Yes!” The eight teenagers were bright-eyed.
”No matter where you all are, what achievements you accomplish in the future… never forget the comrades and brothers who fought alongside you… never forget the comrades and brothers who sacrificed themselves beside you! Understand? Never forget their families either.”
”Never forget, as a man, your responsibilities towards your friends, your parents, your families, your country… and your perished comrades' families!”