Volume Six: To Steal Is to Rob Chapter Four: The Nether Soul Sea (Part I)

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Chapter Four: The Netherworld Soul Sea (Part One)

Jing'er must truly have been delighted. After giving Duke Yeluo a smug glance, she turned toward Kuang Chi, who was soaking in the bath, and said with concern, “Fatty, what happened to you today? Why did you foolishly go toe-to-toe with a Martial Venerable? Do you have a death wish?”

Kuang Chi genuinely had no idea how to answer. The people of the Kuang family possessed an inexplicable yearning for battle, especially for challenging martial artists stronger than themselves. It seemed almost an instinct born into their blood.

To many people, such behavior might seem suicidal and idiotic, but to the Kuang family, it was as natural and self-evident as the laws of heaven and earth. The Kuang family simply loved clashing head-on with experts who were clearly beyond their power. In that respect, their mentality was somewhat pathological.

Yet battling on the brink of death and dueling opponents stronger than themselves was the only way to train their spiritual power through the Mad Dragon Formula. Many people knew this, but no one would ever spread the word. The Kuang family themselves would certainly never admit that their unreasonable antics were actually a search for tools with which to temper their spiritual power.

For a moment, Kuang Chi did not know how to refute Jing'er, so he simply said nothing.

At this point, Duke Yeluo, who was sitting nearby, asked Jing'er with a smile, “Jing'er, weren’t you just asking who the Red Flame Martial Venerable and that old lunatic mentioned by the mysterious voice were?”

Jing'er nodded repeatedly, then asked curiously, “Who are they?”

Duke Yeluo glanced at Kuang Chi and smiled. Seeing that Kuang Chi showed no displeasure, he continued with a grin, “Among all the Martial Venerables in human society, apart from those of the Kuang family themselves, every other Martial Venerable refers to the Kuang family’s Martial Venerables as old lunatics. More often, they call them a whole bunch of old lunatics.”

With that, he burst into hearty laughter.

This was evidently a secret. At the very least, even the well-informed Jing'er had known nothing about it. She hurriedly pressed him, “Uncle, why does everyone call the Kuang family’s Martial Venerables old lunatics?”

Duke Yeluo glanced at Kuang Chi again. Seeing that Kuang Chi did not object, and hearing Ah San and the others join in with their questions, he continued, “I don’t actually know much myself. But you must never say this outside, or every member of the Kuang family will come looking for you to fight.”

Jing'er nodded repeatedly, and only then did Duke Yeluo continue with a laugh. “It seems those Martial Venerables of the Kuang family are simply too unreasonable. Supposedly, they have reached the point where they attack the moment they see a Martial Venerable from another family. Nowadays, every Martial Venerable in human society gets a headache at the mere sight of a Kuang family Martial Venerable. Most of them run as far away as they can.”

After pausing, he continued with a strange laugh, “And this seems to be a tradition that has continued for tens of thousands of years. The Kuang family’s Martial Venerables have always been like this. The moment they leave Kuang Battle Star, they go everywhere looking for people to spar with. As a result, most Martial Venerables from the various sects and schools now live in seclusion and keep their whereabouts uncertain. Supposedly, they are afraid that the Kuang family’s Martial Venerables will hear of them and come knocking.”

At this point, Duke Yeluo laughed several times before saying, “I dare say the Red Flame Martial Venerable is packing his things right now, preparing to leave Greenleaf Star.”

After another round of booming laughter, he continued, “A Martial Venerable actually dared to beat up the young lord of the Kuang family. Isn’t that practically inviting those Kuang family Martial Venerables—who have long been suffering from a lack of excuses to act—to come and amuse themselves? To bully the young by relying on superior strength, and to do it to the Kuang family’s young lord at that—that Red Flame Martial Venerable is truly admirable. Not only is he in for a great deal of trouble, but the top experts of the Divine Martial Hall are probably waiting to suffer a beating as well.”

Duke Yeluo seemed exceedingly pleased with himself and completely ignored the strange looks from everyone in the cabin. Without the slightest concern for his dignity, he continued laughing uproariously.

At last, Jing'er interrupted his prolonged laughter and asked curiously, “Uncle, what do you mean? Why would the top experts of the Divine Martial Hall suffer a beating?”

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Only then did Duke Yeluo seem to come back to himself. He looked at Jing'er strangely and said, “I forgot that you still aren’t qualified to know about the amusing stories involving those Martial Venerables.”

After a pause, Duke Yeluo continued, “The Kuang family is a combative lot. Even the Kuang family’s Martial Venerables are no exception. Sometimes, when the hands of a Kuang family Martial Venerable start itching, he will recklessly seek out a group of top experts to practice against.”

At this point, Duke Yeluo glanced at Ah San and the others, who were wearing equally curious expressions, and smiled. “You should all understand how great the gap is between the realm of a Martial Venerable and that of a top expert, shouldn’t you?”

How could they not understand? Even if they did not, they could see the difference from the great divide between the Innate Realm and the Acquired Realm. One after another, they nodded.

Only then did Duke Yeluo say with a strange laugh, “What do you think would happen if a Martial Venerable fought an expert-level martial artist?”

At last, everyone realized what he meant.

Jing'er glanced at Kuang Chi, who had remained expressionless ever since Duke Yeluo began speaking, and asked, “Isn’t there an unwritten rule in human society that experts of different levels are not allowed to challenge opponents across several realms?”

Duke Yeluo gave several strange laughs. He looked extremely excited, and more than a little like a child, as he said, “That unwritten rule seems to prohibit weaker practitioners from crossing several levels to challenge stronger ones. But even if such a rule exists, it is useless when faced with those unreasonable members of the Kuang family whom everyone calls old lunatics. Although bullying the weak with superior strength is somewhat humiliating—especially for a Martial Venerable—the Kuang family’s Martial Venerables rarely stoop to beating up expert-level practitioners. But this time is different. This time, someone struck first and bullied the young lord of their family.”

With that, he once again burst into laughter.

Jing'er was extremely displeased and said from the side, “Uncle, what does this have to do with you? Why are you so happy? You don’t look like a duke at all right now.”

Duke Yeluo ignored her completely and looked directly at Kuang Chi. “Young Lord Kuang, would you like me to send someone at once to deliver the recording of the Red Flame Martial Venerable beating you to Kuang Battle Star? I guarantee that my people can spread the news several times faster than any rumor. In any case, after this incident, there’s no way to conceal the fact that you have emerged from Forgotten Star.”

Kuang Chi gave Duke Yeluo a strange look for a while before asking, “Your Grace, may I ask whether you have some grudge against the Divine Martial Hall?”

When Duke Yeluo heard the question, he nodded without hesitation. “Indeed. When I was head of the Yeluo family, I had more than a few conflicts with the Divine Martial Hall.”

Jing'er looked at him strangely and interjected, “Uncle, is this what they call borrowing someone else’s knife to kill? And aren’t you being a little too obvious?”

Duke Yeluo cast Jing'er an unhappy glance before turning back to Kuang Chi. “What do you mean, borrowing someone else’s knife? Even if I did nothing, those Kuang family Martial Venerables—whose hands have surely been itching for a long time—would have done the same. I’m merely passing the news along so they can act a little sooner. Young Lord Kuang, wouldn’t you agree?”

Kuang Chi did not know much about the Kuang family’s Martial Venerables, who lived deep within the Martial Hall. He did not even know how many Martial Venerables the Kuang family currently had. Once a member of the Kuang family reached the Martial Venerable realm, he could be said to have completely escaped the family’s authority. Even the family head had to salute them first upon meeting them. For a clan that placed the family head above all else, this amounted to granting a Martial Venerable an utterly transcendent status.

Kuang Chi thought for a moment, then nodded directly. “Then I’ll trouble Your Grace. As it happens, I have several gifts here that I planned to send to my two wives. I’ll trouble Your Grace to deliver them to my wives as well.”

Jing'er, who was standing nearby, immediately became unhappy and let out a cold snort.

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Everyone now wore somewhat peculiar expressions. Only Kuang Chi paid them no attention. He continued, “Ah San, give those small chests in my room to the duke.”

With that, he sank completely beneath the surface of the water.

Furious, Jing'er let out another angry snort and walked out of the bath cabin without looking back.

Kuang Chi, hiding beneath the water, was actually feeling helpless. Of course he could sense Jing'er’s affection for him, but that was precisely what worried him most.

Jing'er was a princess, and not merely any princess, but the princess of a great empire. Kuang Chi, meanwhile, was already a man with three wives. The two of them could never be together with the consent of the imperial family of the Drifting Wind Empire. Even if Kuang Chi had already become head of the Kuang family, that would still be absolutely impossible.

The honor of the imperial family, the honor of an entire nation—quite apart from the imperial family itself, even ordinary citizens would never permit a princess to marry a married man, much less one who already had three wives.

As Kuang Chi pressed himself against the cold cabin wall and sank into troubled thought, a hurried series of footsteps startled him back to his senses. He slowly rose to the surface.

He saw Ah San rushing in. The moment he entered the cabin, Ah San shouted, “Young Lord, someone from the Demon Sect has come to see you—and he’s a Martial Venerable. Duke Yeluo says he’s called Ghost Immortal.”

Kuang Chi froze for a moment. After a while, he asked, “Did he say why he came?”

“He says he wants to discuss a business deal with you, Young Lord.”

Kuang Chi climbed out of the bath, changed into a well-fitting set of clothes, and followed Ah San into an opulently furnished cabin used specifically to receive guests.

The moment he entered, Kuang Chi saw a figure completely cloaked in black sitting on a sofa, accompanied by Duke Yeluo and Jing'er.

With Kuang Chi’s arrival, everyone turned to look at him. Kuang Chi also looked toward the black-cloaked figure. The man’s entire face was obscured by a layer of black smoke, leaving Kuang Chi unable to see his features at all.

After the two of them stared at each other for a moment, the other person spoke first. “Young Lord Kuang truly lives up to the name of the Kuang family. The flames you played with were no ordinary fire, yet they seem to have had no effect on you whatsoever.”

Kuang Chi hurriedly smiled, bowed to him, and said politely, “I was unaware that Senior would be visiting. Please forgive me for failing to welcome you properly.”