A Perfectly Ordinary Good-for-Nothing — Young Man, Do You Want to Become Stronger?
A Perfectly Ordinary Good-for-Nothing — Young Man, Do You Want to Become Stronger?
Even Gu Changge hadn’t expected to learn so much information from a random Enlightened Noble Realm being he had casually captured.
There was the hidden cave abode of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being, and the Stage of Enlightenment as well.
As for the Slave Mark, he had deduced it based on the instructions those clan elders had given.
Combined with some clichéd old tropes, he figured out the whole picture in one go.
Back then, after the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being suppressed the ancestors of these creatures, he did not kill them.
Instead, he planted Slave Marks in them and left them a task.
To guard the great treasure the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being had left for his successor.
But as time went on, disloyalty was bound to sprout.
The fact that so many powerful beings were now searching everywhere for Ye Ling and his companions was the best proof of that.
Although Gu Changge was also scheming for Ye Ling’s fortuitous opportunities, for now he planned to keep Ye Ling alive, so the boy could first take the fall for the taboo Demonic Arts.
If he were to kill Ye Ling, it certainly wouldn’t be at this time.
However, as for how to proceed next, Gu Changge already had a meticulous plan.
He could also take this opportunity to make good use of the Slave Mark.
“Speaking of which, the Stage of Enlightenment left behind by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being doesn’t belong to Ye Ling alone. Otherwise, these creatures wouldn’t have occupied it for so long, refusing to let go.”
Gu Changge pondered for a moment, then disposed of the corpse inside his Internal World before leaving the place.
According to the results of his Soul Search, there were Five Greatest Races near these ruins, and their ancestors had all been slaves of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being back then.
Right now, Ye Ling was being hunted by them.
“With Ye Ling’s current abilities, there’s no way he can gain any advantage among the Five Greatest Races. Since this is a trial, then he’ll definitely be given a chance...”
“These old fossils really do love their stale, worn-out tropes. In this day and age, when it comes to snatching fortuitous opportunities, who cares whether there’s a trial or not?”
Gu Changge couldn’t help but sneer at this.
“For Ye Ling, right now he’ll go looking for the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s hidden cave abode. Inside, there should be some means to keep the Five Greatest Races in check. Then he’ll use that to make the Five Greatest Races submit, and gain a huge boost in power along the way.”
“This hidden cave abode, if I’m not mistaken, should be something like a portable small world. I just don’t know how it compares to my Internal World. That Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being really left all sorts of good things for Ye Ling.”
“But... with all this scheming, in the end it’ll probably all just benefit me.”
Gu Changge narrowed his eyes and smiled, his expression rather intriguing for a moment.
The cause and effect of the whole matter, and even what was going to happen in the future — he had analyzed it all pretty thoroughly.
Ye Ling’s next move was obviously to find the cave abode hidden by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being.
He certainly wouldn’t stop Ye Ling. On the contrary, he would even give him some help, making it easier for him to find the hidden cave abode.
Gu Changge had no interest in personally going through this so-called trial.
He had always preferred to pluck the fruit only when it was fully ripe.
“I’m not sure how long this process will take, but with Yin Mei planted by Ye Ling’s side, there’s no need for me to rush anything.”
Thinking of this, he was reassured.
The void blurred. With a single step, Gu Changge covered several thousand zhang, swiftly leaving the area and then departing the region entirely.
His figure streaked through the void, quickly evading large numbers of creatures.
Along the way, he passed many ancient architectural ruins, heading straight toward the depths of the city.
In terms of scale, this city was in no way smaller than the ancient cities of the outside world — in some respects, it was even superior.
The pavilions were vast and towering, incomparably majestic.
Ahead, there was a grand, unyielding aura, exuding an ancient and weathered presence, telling of past glory.
“According to that Enlightened Noble Realm being’s memories, among the current Five Greatest Races, the Great Elder of the Black Hawk Family holds the greatest authority, and his cultivation has reached the Sacred Noble Realm.”
Amid the blurring void, Gu Changge’s figure flickered in and out of sight.
He calmly swept his gaze over the area below.
There were many creatures here, and many guards as well.
Quite a few places were engraved with extremely powerful Array Patterns, their divine might vast and overwhelming.
If activated, they could easily annihilate anyone below the Enlightenment Realm.
On top of that, there were quite a few Partial-Enlightened commanders patrolling various areas.
“Deep within, there should be a hidden ancestor of the Black Hawk Family, whose cultivation surpasses the Sacred Noble Realm — possibly even reaching the Sacred King Realm.”
“If I choose to clash head-on, it might invite quite a bit of trouble. And it would very likely expose my identity.”
Gu Changge’s gaze carried a hint of contemplation.
Naturally, he had a plan and considerable confidence.
At a time like this, unlike in the outside world, he couldn’t casually mobilize the terrifying backing behind him to crush everything.
Overwhelming others with power was satisfying, convenient, and fast — but it also depended on the occasion.
“The Stage of Enlightenment is currently controlled by the Black Hawk Family. Looks like I’ll have to start with the Black Hawk Family and make something of it...”
Soon, having thought this through,
the void blurred. With his hands clasped behind his back, Gu Changge strode forward, his figure flashing as he left the place directly.
He headed toward a bustling pavilion teeming with creatures coming and going.
On it, three characters were written in the Celestial Ancient Language: “Drunk Immortal Pavilion”.
According to that Enlightened Noble Realm being’s memories, to target the weakness of the Black Hawk Family’s Great Elder, he could make his move from here.
...
Meanwhile.
In a private room on the top floor of the Drunk Immortal Pavilion — resplendent with gold and jade, immortal mist swirling —
several young creatures were chatting. Their appearances differed from Humans; they were shrouded in precious radiance, and their attire was clearly extraordinary.
The youth at the very center, surrounded by the others, held a fairly pretty girl of a foreign race in his arms.
Dressed in gorgeous brocade robes, his face pale, he looked quite frivolous. A pair of jet-black wings grew from his back, dark light flowing over them, like a great hawk spreading its wings.
At the moment, the group was conversing in the Celestial Ancient Language.
Among them was a young woman with a lovely face and jade-like skin, but with a snake’s tail.
She spoke up, asking curiously,
“What exactly has happened in the city lately? It’s alarmed so many people?”
“So many experts have actually been mobilized — even quite a few Enlightened Noble Realm beings have shown up. I saw that they seemed to be searching for something. Could it be that Cultivators from the outside world have come to our side?”
“Very likely. Those outside Cultivators really are bold — they even dare trespass into our city stronghold. They must be tired of living. Do they really think that just because the older generation isn’t allowed to act, their lives are safe?” someone laughed.
Hearing this, another young creature said with some disdain, “If it weren’t for the Celestial Ancient agreement from back then forbidding us from migrating to the outside world, would those orthodoxies out there even matter now?”
They knew a fair bit about this “training event” — they knew it was jointly held by the Lost Clans of the Celestial Ancient Continent and the various orthodoxies of the outside world.
On the surface, it was a contest among the younger generation, but who could truly guarantee that the older generation wouldn’t interfere in secret?
Still, since they dared to come to their gathering stronghold, they had to be prepared to pay the proper price.
“All Five Greatest Families have sent people out to make arrests. This matter must be no small thing.”
As they spoke, the group looked toward the brocade-clad youth in the middle, their expressions carrying a hint of fawning.
“Brother Hei Ming is still the most impressive — you even have an Enlightened Noble Realm attendant. Think of us, the Four Great Silkpants, galloping about for all these years, yet we’re all far inferior to you.”
The brocade-clad youth named Hei Ming sat in the center.
Hearing this, a trace of smugness flashed across his face.
But at that moment, he still shook his head and said, “Commander Hei Yu isn’t by my side right now. He’s also been sent out by my grandfather, to search for any suspicious outsiders in the vicinity.”
Hearing this, the others were somewhat enlightened. Connecting it to recent events, they grew even more curious.
The snake-tailed woman couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Hei Ming, do you know what exactly happened? Why have all Five Greatest Families suddenly become like this? Acting like they’re spooked by every rustle of grass?”
After all, Hei Ming was the only direct-line disciple of the Five Greatest Families among them, hailing from the Black Hawk Family.
What he knew was probably quite a bit more than them.
Their own statuses weren’t simple either, but compared to a direct-line disciple of the Five Greatest Families, they fell far short.
The fact that Hei Ming could mix with them, though, also showed that his own status and position weren’t actually all that impressive.
In this world where the weak were prey to the strong, the true direct-line disciples of the Five Greatest Families looked down on them.
But compared to the other peers of the Black Hawk Family, Hei Ming’s cultivation talent was mediocre — one could even say he was a bit of a good-for-nothing.
So much so that throughout this region, rumors about Hei Ming had spread: the good-for-nothing of the Black Hawk Family!
Many creatures mocked him behind his back, and even some members of the Black Hawk Family treated him with indifference and contempt, paying him no mind.
Even with all kinds of cultivation resources piled onto him, Hei Ming currently only had Transcendent Realm strength — he was still far from even the Mighty-Transcendent Realm.
Besides bringing shame to the Black Hawk Family, he brought only more shame.
It was precisely because of this that Hei Ming, who had once been very driven and hardworking in his cultivation, gradually became dispirited.
Then he drowned his sorrows in wine, lingering day after day in the pleasure quarters.
And after that, he ended up as the leader of this so-called group of Four Great Silkpants.
Of course, although Hei Ming’s plight sounded miserable and stifling — and had nearly caused Gu Changge to misunderstand something while performing the Soul Search on that Enlightened Noble Realm being,
wondering whether he had once again melodramatically stumbled into the trope of a good-for-nothing’s heaven-defying face-slapping comeback —
it was clearly nothing of the sort.
Hei Ming’s cultivation talent was perfectly ordinary, but he had another layer of background... His sister was the Black Hawk Family’s most outstanding genius, and his grandfather was the Black Hawk Family’s most powerful Great Elder.
With such a formidable background, even if he was nothing but a troublemaking, unambitious silkpants, no one dared say much, and no one dared provoke him.
How big a storm could a harmless silkpants disciple stir up anyway?
On the contrary, plenty of people groveled before him, hoping to draw closer to the Black Hawk Family.
Especially recently — many creatures had learned that Hei Ming’s sister seemed to have caught the eye of Master Long Teng of the True Dragon Clan among the Lost Clans, and her status had risen with the tide.
As a result, Hei Ming had even gained an Enlightened Noble Realm attendant, cutting an awe-inspiring figure for a time and drawing the envy of countless young creatures.
Now, hearing the Snakeman Family woman ask him,
Hei Ming put on a show of answering, saying, “I heard it concerns the fate of the Five Greatest Families — it’s extremely important. At the time, the elders of all the other families rushed over to discuss it...”
In truth, he had no idea what the reason was either.
His status within the Black Hawk Family was actually quite awkward — he was like an invisible person.
Apart from his sister and grandfather, practically no one cared about him.
Hei Ming didn’t show anything on his face.
But in his heart, he still harbored longing and ambition — he wanted to become a dazzling heaven’s favored son like his sister.
Radiant and glorious, revered by hundreds of millions.
Weng!
At this moment, none of the young creatures chatting and laughing noticed anything at all.
In the void beside them, faint ripples were spreading.
Even a Sacred Realm being couldn’t possibly sense such fluctuations.
With their cultivation, all the more so.
“Young man, do you want to become stronger? Do you want to become an existence standing above hundreds of millions?”
Suddenly, an ethereal, illusory voice drifted into Hei Ming’s ears.