Chapter 976 976 - A Little Trick



On this day every year, the woman would seem like she had an endless amount of things to talk about.

On this day every year, Aiden would leave the old temple.

He would spend an entire day and night outside.

One was at the bottom while the other was at the top of the valley.

They were separated thousands of meters apart and could not see each other.

On this day every year, when Aiden returned from outside, Morwyn Blackstone could see an indescribable sadness in the depths of Aiden's eyes.

Finally, one day, after watching Aiden return to the old temple and enter the Praying Hall, Morwyn Blackstone could not help but run to the old monk.

"Master, what's wrong with junior brother?"

"Is there a woman waiting above the Dragon Burial Valley for him?"

"Junior Brother's Inner Core is already mostly recovered and he can now fly through the air. Why doesn't he want to go and meet her?"

Morwyn Blackstone was filled with curiosity and asked everything in one go.

There was a long silence.

The old monk did not speak at all.

Right as Morwyn Blackstone was about to leave in disappointment, the old monk opened his eyes and sighed gently. "The love is deep but the affinity falls short."

Time flew.

In the blink of an eye, it was already five years after the appearance of the Vermilion Fruit in the Great Forbidden Ruins and the great battle between the paragons.

The impact of that battle had not subsided due to time. On the contrary, it grew even more intense!

The North Region was fueled with war!

Endless clashes broke out between vassal states along with invasions. With every year, a few dynasties disappeared!

The frequent wars caused countless lives to fall into distress, destitute and homeless with their families broken apart.

As for the bigger countries and various dynasties of the other region, they were coveting greedily at the sidelines because the northern countries had no time left to spare.

Now that this woman, whom he had known ever since stepping foot in this world and in the skink's big underground city of Ugburg, had ascended the 'proverbial throne' and was a woman, the first in history, the imperial court was in a mess with troublemakers snaking out everywhere. How did she do it, was probably another story on its own… Somehow the once mighty High Priest has shifted attention, or left… Chaos was starting to break out everywhere!

It was thankful that the Great North, as how the damaged countries were slowly starting to be calling themselves as they merged and fused together one after another forming a bigger empire from the ashes of the destruction and massacres… they had been built for ten thousand years and had a solid foundation, allowing it to control the situation for now.

However, throughout the capital, any sharp person could tell that if the situation continued to develop with its current trend, they would meet with a calamity in less than a hundred years!

A single misstep might cause its ten thousand year old foundation to be destroyed overnight!

If any changes happened, that calamity might even be brought forward and could break out at any moment!

The Great North Dynasty was in a precarious situation both internally and externally!

This was a great trial for the current leader of their, Seetho Khouge.

No matter how much the North Region was riled up, there was a hidden place in the depths of the Great Forbidden Ruins that was isolated from the external world and its chaos.

Bottom of the Dragon Burial Valley.

For the past five years…

Three monks, two young and one old, spent their days chanting prayers and paying their respects to Buddha in this unassuming old temple. A little fox stood guard by the side peacefully.

The backyard of the grand hall was the only place that had occasional sounds of chains rattling.

This morning, an elegant-looking monk walked forth from the Praying Hall. He tidied his attire before opening the gates of the old temple to head out.

For the past five years…

He did the same on this day of every year.

The little monk within the old temple was already used to it, merely glancing up once before continuing to read his teachings.

Backyard of the grand hall.

The old monk had just paid his respects to a friend of the past before turning to look at the burly man who was lying down lazily in the cemetery, looking up at the sun.

Suddenly, he said, "Red-headed ghost, that lad's Inner Core has already recovered so he doesn't have to come back here anymore. He can now focus on chanting his prayers and paying his respects wholeheartedly to find a method to recover his Inner Core."

"Ah?

The burly man was flustered when he heard that and jolted upright. He could not even be bothered about the old monk calling him a red-headed ghost as he yelled, "That won't do! I'm not even taking up his daytime! He can follow you to study all the religious stuff in the daytime but he has to come here and train at night!"

"Furthermore, he has been comprehending prayers for the past five years without any reaction to his core. It might not work even if he spends another five years! If it was up to me, I'd say that learning from you guys of the Buddhist sects is just a waste of time!"

The old monk asked indifferently, "Is it not a waste of time for him to drink your blood?"

"Of course!"

The burly man declared proudly, "Apart from the fact that his Inner Core has recovered entirely after drinking my blood for five years, his physique now is even more frightening than it was five years ago! He can wallop all the Martial Masters out there!"

The old monk sneered coldly.

The burly man grumbled, "I don't care, he just has to come over to my side to train every night. It's unknown whether or not his Martial Master recovers and even you have no idea about it. You can't waste all his time on that."

The old monk frowned and glared at the burly man deeply, asking, "You've got some other motives for being so concerned, right?"

"What other motives can I have?"

The burly man patted his chest and declared righteously, "That woman was my benefactor back then! I'm not an ingrate who doesn't pay back for what I've received!"

Pausing for a moment, the burly man rolled his eyes, as though he recalled something, before rubbing his chin with an odd expression. "However, that lad has something in his body that I didn't expect. Now that his Inner Core has already recovered, I can impart to him something special from tonight onwards, heh!"

"What?"

The old monk asked.

The burly man chuckled. "Just a little trick that's insignificant."

The old monk smiled and turned to leave.

He knew the burly man way too well.

The more the burly man emphasized it being a little trick, the more it was far from simple.

…

Bottom of the Dragon Burial Valley.

A young monk stood there dressed in gray monk robes. He had elegant features and pushed his palm against the ice-cold wall in front of him, twitching his ears as though he was listening for something.

"Aiden, I'm back."

"Sigh, My father hasn't been in great shape these few years and his hair has turned white. In part, it's because of your death. At the same time, it's also because of the citizens of Northern Countries."

"I've learned a lot from him. He's a truly wise ruler, unfortunately…"

The woman recounted everything that happened in the past year without any hurry, as though she was chatting with someone.

The young monk listened quietly.

Every single update on his health would bring about a look of worry on his face.

Every interesting thing would bring forth a smile for him.

One was at the bottom and the other was at the top.

Although the two of them could not meet, it seemed like there was an invisible thread that connected every bit of joy, sadness, worry, and happiness between them.

Unknowingly, it was already noon.

All of a sudden!

A series of gleeful laughs came from above the Dragon Burial Valley.

"Hahahaha!"

A man's voice sounded. "Indeed, it's the Empress of the Great North! What a coincidence! I'm Si Junyu of the Great South Dynasty! I've wanted to befriend you for the longest time, Fellow Martial Warrior Khouge!"

"Oh, right. John Hao who died in your hands in the ancient battlefield was my elder brother."

Si Junyu laughed. "I've got to thank you. Otherwise, with that brother of mine around, I wouldn't have the chance to shine!"

"My liege, leave first!"

The strong, firm voice of a man sounded.

The young monk frowned slightly at the familiarity of that voice – it seemed to be the guard of the empress of the newly formed Great North, Mighty Martial Grand Master Lord Mor Hall.

The young monk was slightly relieved.

Nothing should happen with a Martial Grandmaster protecting the woman.

"Hmph! Run?"

Si Junyu sneered, "You guys won't be able to escape today even if you've got wings!"

Lord Mor Hall, it's been a long time."

"Mor Hall, you will die today!"

Immediately, two other voices sounded murderously.

Although he was not seeing it personally, the young monk had already guessed vaguely that Si Junyu seemed to have arrived with reinforcements. In fact, he prepared two Martial Grandmasters to deal with Mor Hall!