Splendour Translations.
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{TN: Tianjiao - prodigy}
Chapter 50: The One Abandoned by Destiny:
Jade Moon Sect, a sect situated in the center of the northern territory, had been passed down for thousands of years, covering a vast area of thousands of miles.
Towering peaks rose from the ground, piercing the clouds, and ancient palaces and attics were scattered across the land. These structures told the tale of the grandeur of this ancient sect.
At this moment, within the inner sect of Jade Moon Sect, in a grand and radiant hall, an extremely old figure sat quietly on a futon. This figure, aged beyond recognition, was enveloped in an aura of time. It felt as though just gazing upon this old man would allow one to see across millennia.
This elder, draped in a white Taoist robe with long white hair cascading to the ground, had lived for over ten thousand years.
He was none other than the ancestor of the Jade Moon Sect—Taoist Bai Yue. His cultivation was so profound that it stirred the void across tens of thousands of miles whenever he exhaled. This was the ancestral hall, the core of the Jade Moon Sect, and around the empty hall floated numerous jade tokens.
These tokens bore the names of the Taoists, chief disciples, and direct disciples of the sect.
Taoist Bai Yue slowly opened his ancient, tired eyes and spoke in a calm, old voice. "How long have the Taoists been in the secret realm?" he asked, his memory fading after his long life.
A middle-aged man, sitting beside him, respectfully replied, "Sect Ancestor, it has been two days."
This man, the current Sect Master of Jade Moon Sect, wore a white robe and had a dignified and extraordinary presence.
He respectfully continued, "You expended much of your lifespan to open your eyes and foresee the opportunities in that secret realm. Surely, our disciples have found their fortune, and our sect will soon rise to greatness."
Taoist Bai Yue nodded slightly. "My lifespan nears its end, but I should still live another hundred years. That old Qingyun Taoist, though... he won’t last that long. When he falls, I will personally lead the charge and destroy the Azure Cloud Sect before my time runs out. I must see our sect rise to the ranks of the super sects before I die."
However, just as the two were speaking, a sudden crack echoed in the ancestral hall. One of the jade tokens trembled violently before falling to the ground and shattering.
The words on it could still be faintly discerned: Jade Moon Sect's Holy Son, Bai Tian Kuang.
Sect Master Bai Yue’s heart skipped a beat as he saw this. "The first Holy Son... fell in the secret realm?" His voice, usually calm, turned hoarse. Years of effort and countless resources had been poured into nurturing this first disciple, only for him to die so suddenly.
Before Sect Master Bai Yue could fully process the shock, another token fell and shattered.
This time, it belonged to the second son, Xu Tianhuo. And then the third, and the fourth. One by one, the tokens of the four Daoists broke into pieces.
Sect Master Bai Yue's face paled. "This can’t be! Holy Son!" he exclaimed. The destruction of all four Daoists meant that the younger generation of the Jade Moon Sect was practically wiped out. How could this have happened?
Taoist Bai Yue's frail body trembled. "I saw the signs... I foresaw great fortune for our sect in this secret realm. How could all four Daoists have fallen? Was my reading of the heavens mistaken?" His breath grew unsteady, and his aged body, already stretched thin from prolonging his life, showed signs of strain.
"Ancestor, please calm down," Sect Master Bai Yue urged, bowing deeply. But things only grew worse. As the tokens of the four Daoists shattered, so did the tokens of the ten chief disciples, one after the other. Following that, hundreds of direct disciples' tokens broke as well.
These disciples were the very foundation of Jade Moon Sect, the future of the sect. "No! My disciples! My foundation!"
Taoist Bai Yue howled in despair. He tried to reach out with his trembling hands to stop the tokens from shattering, but they continued to break, one after another. By the end, not a single disciple’s token remained.
The entire younger generation of the Jade Moon Sect had been wiped out in the secret realm. Tears of blood flowed from Taoist Bai Yue’s eyes as he cried out in agony.
For ten thousand years, he had worked tirelessly to elevate Jade Moon Sect from a small sect to one of the highest. It would have taken only a few more decades for them to become a super sect.
But now, all his life's efforts had been rendered useless.
"Ancestor!" Sect Master Bai Yue called out in panic, kneeling and kowtowing frantically.
But Taoist Bai Yue, whose lifespan had already been stretched thin, had overexerted himself by defying destiny to foresee the secret realm’s events.
Now, with everything he had worked for destroyed, his heart gave out.
"Could this be... the fate of defying destiny?" Taoist Bai Yue murmured as his body trembled violently. He collapsed into a seated position and, in an instant, passed away. The great Taoist Bai Yue, who had lived for over eleven thousand years, was gone.
"No!!" Sect Master Bai Yue was left dumbfounded. In just one day, he had lost both the sect’s disciples and the ancestor who had protected them for millennia.
Darkness filled his vision as he realized the ancient foundations of Jade Moon Sect were crumbling under his leadership.
"Hurry! Call for the Supreme Elders!" he shouted. "Tell them the ancestor has passed away, but keep this news a secret. The sect will be closed off starting tomorrow. Let no one find out, especially the Azure Cloud Sect, or we will be finished!"
However, despite Sect Master Bai Yue’s swift actions, there was no way to completely hide the truth. That evening, thousands of miles away in Azure Cloud Sect, an ancient hall echoed with the voice of Taoist Qingyun.
"Our informant reports that Taoist Bai Yue, who lived for ten thousand years, is dead. Jade Moon Sect is in chaos, with their Daoists and disciples all wiped out in the secret realm."
A calm, almost mocking laugh came from the ancestral hall. "That old dog, Bai Yue... he’s finally gone. After all these years, I have outlived him."
Though Qing Yun and Bai Yue had been sworn enemies for millennia, they were from the same era. Now that Bai Yue was gone, Taoist Qingyun couldn’t help but feel both victorious and melancholic.
"What now, Ancestor?" asked a disciple.
"Wait until the prodigy list is over," Taoist Qingyun replied coldly. "Then, we will lead all our disciples to destroy the Jade Moon Sect. The northern boundary is about to change."
Meanwhile, in the frozen secret realm, the prodigy list continued. Lin Ang and Qiu Ruohan, having gained the inheritance of a super sect, pressed on eastward.
Lin Ang’s goal was to obtain the Heavenly Thunder Dao Fruit, a treasure that would allow him to refine his Dao Body. With it, even a single punch would be powerful enough to kill a grandmaster.
Qiu Ruohan followed Lin Ang, watching his back with mixed emotions. Her destiny as someone cursed with the body of the evil spirit weighed heavily on her.
She knew her end was near, but as she journeyed with Lin Ang, she couldn’t help but hesitate.
'Qiu Ruohan, you already know your fate,' she thought to herself. 'You can’t be so greedy...'
Yet, simply being by Lin Ang’s side, watching his back, felt like a gift she never thought she’d have.
…
Elsewhere in the secret realm, Lu Ming, the Son of Destiny, was brimming with pride. He was playing with a ring on his finger, relishing his recent victory.
An opportunity had presented itself moments ago, revealing some rare pills and high-level martial arts techniques. While others were fighting for it, Lu Ming had managed to seize the moment, snatching the prize and running off.
Now, filled with excitement, Lu Ming boasted to himself, “So many 4th and 5th-grade pills! These should be enough to help me make a breakthrough into the 10th stage Spirit Condensing Realm! At this rate, I might even have a chance to reach the Profound Core Realm!”
"I need more opportunities!"
But just as Lu Ming was reveling in his success, the voice of the beautiful master in his necklace suddenly spoke with urgency, "Xiao Ming, a strong cultivator from the Crimson Profound Realm is coming after you. You need to leave now."
This was the first time the beautiful master had spoken to him since entering the secret realm.
"What? They dare come after me?" Lu Ming sneered. "Master, lend me your power again. I’m going to finish off these fools chasing me! Who knows what treasures they might have?"
The beautiful master was silent for a moment before responding, "Last time, when you were surrounded by monsters, I merged my power with yours. If I do it again so soon, it will damage my soul."
But Lu Ming, consumed by his desire for power, didn’t care about her warning. “Master, what’s going on with you? Ever since you encountered Lin Ang, you’ve been acting strange. Do you think Lin Ang is more worthy of being your disciple? Is that why you don’t care whether I live or die?”
The beautiful master paused, then replied softly, “I understand now... Xiao Ming.”
There was no emotion in her voice.
In the next moment, her power merged with Lu Ming again. His cultivation base skyrocketed, quickly reaching the 7th stage Crimson Profound Realm!
Moments later, three disciples from a rival sect, all at the 3rd stage Crimson Profound Realm, appeared from the darkness. They had been chasing after Lu Ming, but when they sensed his newfound power, they were stunned.
"7th stage Crimson Profound Realm? How is that possible?"
Before they could react, Lu Ming struck with brutal efficiency. With the help of the beautiful master's power, he quickly overwhelmed the three disciples, defeating them with ease.
As he stood over their bodies, Lu Ming smirked. "Hmph, how dare you chase after me? This was a chance brought right to my door!"
He looted their storage rings, feeling triumphant.
Just as Lu Ming was about to leave, he noticed something unusual. The figure of the beautiful master slowly emerged from the necklace.
She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman, dressed in luxurious clothes, though her figure was becoming increasingly translucent.
"Master... what's happening to you?" Lu Ming asked, sensing something was wrong.
The beautiful master gave him a calm, yet resigned smile. "By merging my power with yours, I’ve exhausted my soul. Soon... I will disappear from this world."
However, her voice carried a tone of disappointment. "I wish... you had never woken me up. It would have been better if Lin Ang had been the one to awaken me..."
Her figure grew fainter, turning into a shimmering dust of light before disappearing completely, leaving Lu Ming in shock and disbelief.
It was only then that Lu Ming realized—his beautiful master had been deeply disappointed in him for a long time. She would rather vanish entirely than continue to stay by his side.
“No!” Lu Ming screamed, collapsing to the ground. He picked up the necklace, but it was now lifeless, the light within it dimmed to nothing.
Lu Ming was devastated, his greatest source of power gone. His beautiful master had abandoned him.
-To be continued!
....
T/N: Thanks for reading!