Chapter 181 – Slave

Translator: Coca5156

Editor: Drea

While this may seem petty of Rong Yuan, truthfully, he felt relieved; even if it meant that he might be placed into danger and even get hunted down by the Deity King. However, by the time that happened, Gu Lingzhi... could no longer leave him!

He understood Gu Lingzhi better than she knew herself and knew that after all the sacrifices he made, she would not be able to just walk away. Even if she became a True God and went into another realm, she would not be able to forget him. He... was so petty that he would make use of her soft side.

Laughing at himself, Rong Yuan hugged Gu Lingzhi tighter and placed a kiss on her forehead, “Don’t worry, when that day comes, those old men from the Royal Palace would not place the Royal Family in danger. The reason why the Rong family can rule the Xia Kingdom for so many years is not purely based on strength.”

What Rong Yuan did not say was that when desperate times called, the most likely result would be the Royal Palace abandoning them. Hence, there was no need to worry about implicating the Royal Family, all they needed to worry about was themselves!

In the next few days, Gu Lingzhi did not see the man anymore. She did not know if she was imagining things, but she always felt as if someone was secretly watching her everytime she fought. Whenever she turned to investigate, the feeling would then disappear.

Rong Yuan was not able to obtain any leads as well. It was like the man that day vanished without a trace and they were not able to find any leads to him; as if she had imagined whatever happened that day.

On this day, Gu Lingzhi went to fight using her Black Thorn identity as per usual. Her opponent was a new person that she had never seen before. Seeing her enter the battle arena, his eyes glittered slightly before turning calm as he reported his name, “Duan Yiming, Peak Level Martial Practitioner. I have heard about the reputation of your Martial Skills, Lady Black Thorn. It would be great to learn from you.”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Gu Lingzhi shook her head slightly, “Black Thorn. I’m not that good to teach you anything, I would wish to learn from you instead.”

After the two exchanged a few polite words, the battle officially began.

Initially, Gu Lingzhi had thought that this person was just here in the capital city for fun and decided to fight a few battles out of curiosity. However, after exchanging about a hundred blows, she no longer believed so.

Although Duan Yiming was slightly weaker than her, he was able to defend her very well. He even managed to dodge a few of her attacks that she was confident would hit him. His steps were messy and looked as if he would be defeated at any moment, but his momentum was extremely good. More importantly, the technique that he used to avoid her attacks, were... extremely familiar.

Her eyes flashed as Gu Lingzhi purposely gave an opening. Her opponent went straight for her chest expectedly. Using her Qingfeng Sword to hit the ground, Gu Lingzhi twisted and flipped backwards and used her momentum to bring her to the opposite side. Duan Yiming immediately followed her as his attacks rained down on her.

Similar, it was too similar!

Wasn’t this similar to the technique the mysterious man used to attack her? Could it be that he was investigating her again?

Her eyes narrowed as Gu Lingzhi sped up her attacks, causing Duan Yiming to not be able to keep up. Adding in her Moon Stride movement technique, the battle seemed to reach its final peak as she pressed a sword towards her opponent’s neck.

“You...” Just as Gu Lingzhi was about to ask if they were tired of investigating, she saw the man that she had met previously standing at the bottom of the stage. His expression was slightly panicked and serious as he shook his head towards her, indicating that she was not fighting one of his men.

“...are a good opponent.” She twisted the words she originally planned to say. Pretending nothing was wrong, Gu Lingzhi then smiled and left the stage.

She lost her mood to continue fighting and left the battle arena after greeting a few familiar faces. Seeing that, the mysterious man silently followed along.

Roaming around, Gu Lingzhi arrived at the familiar Bright Silk Eating House. She requested a private room and started to wait in it. Very soon, there was a knock on the door and the mysterious man was standing outside. The minute he entered, he said, “Duan Yiming is not one of my men.”

“His technique is very similar to yours,” Gu Lingzhi argued back, pointing out a fact.

The guy did not deny it but went ahead and sat opposite Gu Lingzhi, “We trained in the same place and would naturally have similar techniques and skills.”

Gu Lingzhi kept silent, indicating for him to elaborate further; all the while assessing how much she could trust him.

The guy then breathed out, “I know it is difficult for you to believe me, but you have also seen that people are starting to investigate you. He has huge support behind him, one so big it is impossible for you to imagine. If the Demigods are activated, when that time comes, even I won’t be able to help you.”

Gu Lingzhi continued to remain silent for a long while. She then asked, “Why are you so sure that I am from the Spirit Tribe?”

She refused to believe that he confirmed her identity as a descendant of the Spirit Tribe just from exchanging blows with her. Before she collaborated with him, she wanted to know exactly how she had exposed herself. When the time came and her identity of Black Thorn could no longer be used, she wanted to ensure she did not expose her true identity.

Who knew that the moment Gu Lingzhi asked this, she would receive a strange look from him, “Haven’t I made myself clear previously? Whether it is your technique, skills or items that you make, they all have links to the Spirit Tribe, but The Spirit Tribe has disappeared for years. How can anyone not be suspicious? Furthermore...”

“Your reaction that day also confirmed your identity. If you were not from the Spirit Tribe, you would not have such a huge reaction to what I said.”

So, the problem was with her. Thinking back to her frenzied reaction in response to when he asked about the Spirit Tribe that day, Gu Lingzhi wanted to hit herself. She had thought that she was sufficiently collected and never thought when something big happened, she was not able to remain calm.

“So, what do you think? Do you want to work with me? Those people... might even take action tonight. Even if you are not worried about your own safety, aren’t you worried that the news that the Spirit Tribe still exists would spread?”

“What do you mean?” Gu Lingzhi tried to read into what he was saying.

Could it be that the Deity King was not sure if the Spirit Tribe was truly extinct?

The guy’s response proved this point. In that massacre a long time ago, Pan Luo as well as several other True Gods saw mass killings but were not sure whether there were any survivors.

After that massive disaster, the Tianyuan Continent could no longer tolerate True Gods staying. The Heavenly Law dictated it such that anyone who had the spiritual power above that of a Demigod would ascend. Before they left the continent, Pan Luo left a few slaves behind to act as his eyes and ears in the Tianyuan Continent.

In the past years, there were always one or two people resembling descendants of the Spirit Tribe appearing. Descendants of those slaves then followed their ancestors path and continued to chase anyone that they suspected of being a descendant of the Spirit Tribe. However, uptil now, the Deity King refused to believe that the Spirit Tribe was truly gone and never stopped his hunt for members of the Spirit Tribe. For as long as he did not take back his order, the descendants of the slaves would always carry the responsibility of tracking down the Spirit Tribe’s descendants. They would never be able to leave and truly obtain freedom.

Sensing the darkness in his eyes as he said this, Gu Lingzhi asked, “Are you a descendant of one of the slaves of Pan Luo?”

“Obviously.” The guy did not deny it as his smile was slightly cold, “If I were not their descendant, how would I know what happened?”

The killing of the Spirit Tribe was not a glorious matter and no one actually spoke of it, choosing to keep it a secret. It is only from the existence of these slaves that anyone knew the truth of what had happened in the past.

“If that is the case, aren’t you afraid of what your betrayal might entail?” Slaves that betrayed their owner would be punished by the heavens. Even though so many years had passed, as long as the master that made the mark still exists, those that possessed the slave mark would not be able to betray them.

“Since I’ve managed to find you, I have my ways of evading the Heavenly Laws.,” the man stated as he looked towards Gu Lingzhi, “What do you think? What is your decision after everything I have said?”

Gu Lingzhi fell silent for a moment before nodding, “I am willing to work with you, but what is your motive for helping me?”

She did not believe that he did not want anything for helping her.

“Nothing much.” The man’s answer surprised her, “Maybe... I just want to help my future generations.”

Even if he had gone along with the Deity King’s wishes and killed Gu Lingzhi and everyone linked to the Spirit Tribe, as long as the Deity King kept believing that the Spirit Tribe was not extinct, they would never be able to be free. Who on earth would be willing to be born and live with the imprint of a slave? Every action that he made was controlled and he could never ever make a name for himself.

The reason for him to approach Gu Lingzhi was for that glimmer of hope. The Spirit Tribe has remained hidden for so many years and there may be some that could become a True God. Maybe one day... the remaining members of the Spirit Tribe would be able to enter into the Realm of the Gods on a killing spree and kill those that were up there this whole time. When that time comes, his tribe of slaves would finally obtain freedom.

Gu Lingzhi was the first person of the Spirit Tribe that had appeared after so many years, could this mean that... the Spirit Tribe was finally able to deal with the Deity King and reenter the world?

Gu Lingzhi could not read his thoughts, but if she could, she would ask him to stop dreaming. She did not know the status of the Spirit Tribe, much less enter the Realm of the Gods in a killing spree.

However, she could guess what he meant and did not bring up the matter that he was trying to avoid. Instead, she asked something else.

“Now that we are working together, are you going to introduce yourself?”

“Of course.” The guy smiled as he greeted, “Just call me Xiao Wu (A/N: Wu represents Five in Chinese).”

Gu Lingzhi nodded her head as a similar smile appeared under her mask, “You can call me Xiao Hei (A/N: Hei represents Black in Chinese - a nickname for Gu Lingzhi’s Black Thorn identity).”