Chapter 843: Traveller

There was already a fight going on before the entrance, as one of the parties which arrived seemingly was determined to fight anyone they met, keeping three other groups from entering.

“Wait, damn it! There’s got to be someone who’s opened the ruin! There’s someone already exploring ahead!”, a man in one of the groups which were mostly on the defensive shouted.

“So what?”, one of their attackers snorted while continuing to fight.

“Shouldn’t we postpone fighting until we at least catch up to them? Otherwise they’ll gobble up everything while we’re fighting here!”, the first one spoke with frustration.

“Heh, we’ll just deal with them after we deal with you lot, will save the effort of searching the treasures they find ourselves”, those who were attacking seemingly held quite a lot of confidence, and not unfounded, as they were overwhelmingly stronger than the average group which entered the Secret Realm, and in a fairly numerous group. Even now, they were quite easily overpowering more than twice their numbers.

“Let’s go”, Wu Long decided not to bother with this fight, leading the three ladies toward the entrance from the side.

“Wha-…? Where do you thin-…”, but as one of the attacking group noticed them, he pushed his opponent away to go in their direction while raising his blade.

The next moment, he felt a pressuring sensation of a saber’s edge pressed against the spot between his eyebrows. His eyes widened, as he opened his mouth, “S-Saber Inte-…”

But he wasn’t able to finish the words, as Blood Drinker appeared in Wu Long’s hand and with a swift motion, Saber Qi cut the attacker in half, a steel wire stretching to extract his Spatial Ring.

“H-how is it possible?”

“S-such a young Saber Master?”

“I-Is he one of the Heaven’s Chosen?”

Murmurs went as the fighting immediately stopped at the sensation of Saber Intent, something none of those here expected to meet.

“B-Bastard! Do you know what you just did?! You messed with the-…”, as another from the attacking group spoke, trying to evoke their Sect or Family name since there was no winning with strength, another wave of the hand holding the Blood Drinker, and an arc of Saber Qi went his way.

“Hah! Arrogant bas-..!”, he raised his sword with a Spiritual Qi technique, seeing how light Wu Long’s move was, since even a genius who mastered a Weapon Intent at a young age would not yet obtain that level of control, and would have to execute a full move for it to exert the power of that Intent, but the defensive Spiritual Qi, the sword, and his body was cleaved in half before he could finish his words, his Spatial Ring also retrieved with a swift move.

“Anyone else?”, Wu Long asked in the resulting silence, and seeing no more ‘volunteers’, proceeded to turn and lead the three ladies into the entrance.

“I-isn’t that…”

“Mm, the one who shot off first when we arrived in the Secret Realm… I think”

“That’s 100% him, I remember those beauties with him”

“Tsk… someone just has everything, don’t they?”

The murmurs resumed as the figures of Wu Long’s group disappeared into the darkness of the entrance.

There was an awkward pause as everyone here now was hesitant if there was even a meaning to fight over going into the ancient ruin if someone like that already went in.

“Screw this, we’re out!”, one group chose to not try their luck.

And this broke the balance of choice for others as they also moved to leave the area.

The group which was attacking the three groups before, also didn’t have any confidence against someone like Wu Long.

And all the arriving new group saw was people fleeing the scene, left to wonder if there was something dangerous in the ruin, or was it empty.

There was, however, a lone figure present when Wu Long entered the ancient ruins that quietly followed inside.

—

Wu Long’s group, meanwhile, proceeded through a long corridor.

“Oh, just in time”, Wu Long smiled as he checked the two Spatial Rings, taking out a small lamp, and quickly replacing the mark of ownership, let it go to fly on its own, lighting up the way.

They could always use Spiritual Sense to move, and as for Wu Long, darkness mattered little in for him to actually see.

But it was still far more pleasant to just illuminate the room.

“That ‘Heaven’s Chosen’ those people talked about… is it some kind of title?”, Gong Liwei asked.

“You can say that. It’s a collective name for geniuses ‘Chosen by the Heavens’, as they say, though it’s too broad to be an actual title or single category, and the quality of that ‘genius factor’ in them varies very largely within those who are called that”, Wu Long shrugged.

And then added, seeing that his reply didn’t really answer the question, “It just means someone with exceptional talent or gifts given from birth by Heavenly Daos that put them above the average cultivator. It’s those people who can fight a Major Realm or a couple above themselves normally, and perhaps higher under certain circumstances, but it’s not limited to strength”,

“Are they rare?”, Hong Yue asked next.

“Yes and no, they are extremely rare if you compare them to the number of cultivators in the Seven Boundless Worlds as a whole, but since the population of cultivators is just so vast, in terms of actual numbers, there are billions of them”, he chuckled, as he found it just as strange as it sounded.

“On the local level they are usually revered as exceptional. But the more we move closer to the centers of civilization like the Great Dynasties, and higher in Boundless Worlds with the Generational Wave, especially since there are more of them born before and during a Generational Wave, the more you will meet them. To the point that someday it would feel like they’re as common as cabbages, and there is nothing exceptional about them”

“But you said the level of those called that way varied…”, Hong Yue then noted, implying that while what he said about Heaven’s Chosen might be true, it did not necessarily apply to the most exceptional of them.

“Indeed, the term is simply too broadly applied”, Wu Long nodded, “Long ago, it referred to a very special few. Those who completely broke the mold of what it meant to be a cultivator. But gradually, more and more people were called Heaven’s Chosen even if they simply excelled a little from the others to the point it’s a mixed bag now, and the mix heavily leans to the lower quality”

“To the people in vast territories who never saw a real Heaven’s Chosen, someone who has a bit of advantage looks like one…”, Cai Yin spoke introspectively, since among the Six Kingdoms she was born in, her talent was considered exceptional.

“Haha, don’t be too hasty to make any conclusions”, Wu Long chuckled, reading the intention in her words to imply herself.

While it was true that the meaning of the term Heaven’s Chosen was diluted precisely because of it being applied by people who never saw a real genius to just slightly above average talents, Cai Yin did not belong to the category of those who were overrated.

Rather, the ignorance of people around her and her isolated environment caused the exact opposite, in that her talent which could without a doubt be called a true Heaven’s Chosen in its original meaning, was seen by herself as just a country bumpkin genius now that she learned of a far wider world.

Of course, Wu Long did not go as far as to tell her that, leaving his words slightly vague, but added, “Those who would be called Heaven’s Chosen even in those old times do still exist, and it isn’t limited to those born in central or affluent regions of the Seven Boundless Worlds”

“Is…”, Gong Liwei slightly hesitated, fearing to be among those ignorant to call a pheasant among pigeons, a phoenix, but her foreboding feeling caused her to slightly continue even if her words eventually trailed off, “…is, perhaps… Cui’er…?”

But contrary to her fears Wu Long simply nodded in response.

“Indeed, there are a few among my Dao Family, including Cui’er, who could be counted among the real Heaven’s Chosen. Of course, I’m not talking about me”, he added, “I would be, or, in fact I was, surprised about multiple people who should be as rare as a sage born already knowing the Dao, to be born in a single small and isolated World in one generation, if it wasn’t for Yuanfen”

“Lady Yuanfen?”, Cai Yin asked, not realizing she was among those exceptional individuals, though she did not belong to the Dao Family.

“For a World Spirit to be born, the amount of Karmic Luck that had to condense together in a single World, even if it is a Main World, is simply hard to describe in words. With such concentration, though, it no longer is strange for multiple true Heaven’s Chosen to be born under the same sun in one generation”, Wu Long shrugged his shoulders.

“I-I see…”, Gong Liwei smiled. She always knew her little sister was a genius, but when she learned of the existence of a broader world, she didn’t realize that Gong Cui’s status as a true genius didn’t change even on such a scale.

Though they all, without exception, knew the moment he was speaking about them being in his Dao Family, that Luo Mingyu was among those handful of truly unique individuals. In fact, she was the first person that came to their minds when they heard his explanation about true Heaven’s Chosen.

They proceeded through a long series of empty halls and corridors, stopping multiple times in each corridor as Wu Long fiddled with a formation hidden from their views.

“The people ahead must have the key they used to open the main entrance to begin with”, Wu Long spoke to Gong Liwei’s puzzled look, as they heard that there were already people going through here. and yet there were no signs of any of them fighting a protective formation.

But at one of the more spacious stone chambers, Wu Long stopped, turning around.

The three beauties didn’t ask, reading his expression as he looked at the passage they came from.

“Hahaha!”, soon, a loud laugh resounded from the passage as a man with a hood covering his face appeared from the darkness, “Truly amusing! I did decide to go travel incognito on a whim, but I never imagined it would be this fun! To think such an interesting man was roaming in these hinterlands! I truly lucked out when I decided to undergo my Heavenly Tribulation in such a shabby place…”

“High-level 5th-tier Profound Grade Prohibition-Removing Talismans… what a waste…”, Wu Long finally saw what the man used to bypass the formations that he only disabled to pass through and then left to reactivate on their own.

“Hm? Ah… these?”, the man raised the talismans in his hand. It was clear they were made by someone else, as he was just holding them like paper, not how a Talisman Master would hold them, “Hahaha, I’m glad I stole some from the Family Vault before leaving on my adventure. They came in handy”

“Such a talisman would be able to dismantle a Sect-Protection Formation of any Sect nearby”, Wu Long said.

“Eh? These were that strong? Heh, indeed a bit of a waste… but whatever…”, the man looked at the talismans in his hand.

“I take it you’re not coming in here to explore the ancient ruin, or at least that’s not the main reason you followed us in”, Wu Long spoke with a sigh.

“Hehe, you see, it’s just I want to test… how good a Heaven’s Chosen born in these boonies is… against the real deal”, the man spoke confidently, seemingly having taken interest in Wu Long after witnessing him use Saber Intent, and then added, leaning a bit forward and tracing his chin “Not to mention… I did think so before, but now that I look at them closely, the beauties with you are indeed top notch! Heck, I’d say they wouldn’t be found lacking even against the greatest beauties of our Great Fang Dynasty!”

Hehe ^^

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