Translated by: La0o9
Fog Isle.
Situated in the middle of the ocean of corpses, itâs the only piece of land in the entire world.
It is also the only place in the world with any living beings.
Although this place is cold all year round, sometimes staying in the negatives for months on end, it is still the most desirable place for humans to live.
No matter which world they are from, as long as they know of this place, they will desire to be here.
It is the legendary Island of Fate.
Unfortunately, to make it here, the first thing you have to do is experience death once.
And a very painful death at that.
Whenever someone arrives at the world of Fog Isle, they would always appear in the ocean of corpses.
And monsters that are specifically made to kill people would arrive from the ocean below.
Once theyâre killed by the monster, the newcomerâs bodies will be swept away by the sea currents.
Their souls trapped inside their bodies, they will experience the pain of suffocating for eternity.
If one day, a corpse manages to escape the sea current and drift ashore onto Fog Isle, it will have been a miracle of fate.
With such a person whose appearance are miracles in and of themselves, even if all thatâs left are their corpse, the Fog Isle would still grant them a new life.
Su Xue Er was now on that Fog Isle.
Before, when she flew through the sea of mist, she arrived here.
She was a person who made it to Fog Isle without dying.
The first person to do so in a hundred year.
Her luck became the envy of countless people.
Not to mention, when they investigated her identity, they suddenly found that she was a person that the Fog Isle had no way to reject.
Her parents gave their lives for the sake of the Fog Isle.
Although they were both uninteresting people without much achievement, it was still fact that they contributed to the Fog Isle.
Because of that, their daughter ââ-the orphaned girl with the most fortunate fate, wouldnât be rejected by the Fog Isle.
At this time, Su Xue Er was in Guru Isaâs room.
âSince you are now my Disciple, there is something you must learnâ the black robe woman spoke.
âThat is to enjoy painâ
She reached her hand out and began to draw cards while speaking: âLet us see, what kind of punishment you shall receive before death and what kind of pleasant screams will I hearâ
Su Xue Er remained silent.
Is it still not ready?
Itâs not time yet?
While she was thinking, a knock came from the empty space at the mountaintop.
Su Xue Er silently clenched her fists.
ââfinally, the arranged matter is here.
âWho?â the black robe woman spoke irritatedly.
From the void of space, darkness began to rise, then opened up as a pair of black heavy gates appeared from the ground.
Two rows of antique looking armors marched out with swords and shields in hand.
There was no one inside those armorsâŠ
This seems to be some sort of unknown spell, perhaps a Godâs Chosen Skill.
More and more armors came, slowly filling the space on the mountaintop.
âGuru Isa, sorry to bother youâ the leading armor spoke with an echoing voice.
âSentry, for what reason have you come to my abode?â the black robe woman questioned.
âWe suspect that this Disciple candidate might be doing something inappropriateâ the armor spoke.
âAh? Is there such a thing? How serious is it?â
âThe death penalty might be requiredâ the armor answered.
âVery well, go aheadâ the black robe woman thought for a bit, then said.
Receiving her permission, the two rows of armors marched to either sides of Su Xue Er.
âSu Xue Er?â the leading armor spoke in a low voice.
âThat is meâ
âThe Sentinel has summoned you to receive interrogationâ
Su Xue Er still hung her head, her emotions calm.
This is what I wanted, if only a bit slow.
She spoke: âWhy me? Didnât those girls tried to frame me and was disciplined by the Gurus?â
The armor spoke: âThis time, what you did is punishable by death, so all 7 Gurus are presentâ
The black robe woman was clearly in high spirits when hearing that: âTo gain the attention of the 7 Gurus, not to mention punishable by death, it seems youâve done something that I didnât know aboutâ
Su Xue Er looked at her and begged: âI beg you, please save meâ
The black robe woman was originally still a bit hesitant, but as she hears this, she smiled and waved her hand: âThis is fine too, go and face your fate, I wonât bother with youâ
âSu Xue Er, come with me to the House of Law, lest we use violenceâ the armor coldly spoke.
Before Su Xue Er could answer, she was already surrounded by 7-8 armors without a single chance to run.
Su Xue Er wasnât panicked at all.
âThen please show the way, I also want to see just what schemes theyâve hatched this timeâ she calmly said.
She followed the armors into the gate and disappeared from this space.
The black robe woman stood there for a bit, muttering to herself: âThe House of Law⊠entry is blocked unless invited, thatâs fine too, itâs better if I donât have to act myselfâ
When leaving Guru Isaâs room.
Su Xue Er followed the two rows of armor, currently crossing a phantom bridge dangling above a bottomless abyss.
The chilly wind continues to blow.
She controlled herself as well as her gaze to not look at whatever gigantic shadowy beings below.
What followed the hanging bridge was a wide hallway.
Every dozen meters, a new burning torch could be seen lined the walls.
They light up the darkness, chasing away the chill and wetness in the air.
Despite having the 7 Gurus waiting for her, Su Xue Er only moved forward slowly step by step, not using any power at all.
This perfectly follows the rules.
Because the Institute is built in the air, the entire structure is outfitted with anti-magic.
And Disciples arenât allowed to use their powers in public.
Areas that allows the usage of power is marked clearly.
This way, the Institute hidden deep inside the Fog Isle wouldnât attract the attention of powerful monsters from across the realms.
It took Su Xue Er almost half an hour to reach the House of Law.
The magnificent House of Law looks like it was built with an ancient Gothic-style architecture.
When they passed through the gates of the House of law, a path lead straight towards a large throne situated on high in the air.
Sitting on the throne was a skeleton hanging its head.
The skeleton man wore a blood-red coat, leaning back on the throne, unmoving.
Blood flows like a river, manifesting behind him to form a magnificent sight.
The river of blood took up all the space behind the skeleton, blocking out everything from the floor to the ceiling.
The intense current of blood silently flowed, occasionally splashing waves onto itself.
The river flowed upwards, not downwards.
A person that carries a river of blood behind him.
This is a legendary character even in the Institute.
Lord Bloodcloak, the Instituteâs Sentinel.
Dozens of statues lined up on either side of the path.
Each of these statues held a different posture, giving off a solemn air of being watched and judged.
A few cloaked girls stood absolutely still in the middle of the path and didnât dare to even breathe too heavily.
As they saw Su Xue Er approaching, they looked up at her with triumphant eyes.
The two rows of armors knelt on one knee and reported: âSentinel, the 7 Elders, we have brought her hereâ
The skeleton sitting on the throne looked up and spoke: âStep downâ
âYesâ
The group of armors stood up, bowed slightly before leaving the House of Law.
âSu Xue Erâ
Lord Bloodcloak leaned on the throne and asked with a hoarse voice: âYou have committed a crime punishable by death, what do you have to say for yourself?â
Su Xue Er looked at him and very casually bowed to etiquette.
She answered: âSentinel, I do not even know what my crime isâ
Lord Bloodcloak answered: âPossession of heretical techniquesâ
Su Xue Er smirked and replied: âHeretical techniques? I do not know of any heretical techniquesâ
âBut someone had claimed that they saw you reading from a note of heretical techniquesâ Lord Bloodcloak answered her.
âThen please have her step forward and confront meâ Su Xue Er replied.
Seeing how confident she was, Lord Bloodcloakâs tone softened slightly and said: âYou lot, what do you have to say?â
The girls standing in the middle of the path exchange looks.
âOne day during nighttimeâs rest, I saw her reading from a small booklet, she was so focused on it that she didnât notice me approaching herâ one of the girls spoke.
Another added: âWhen she was reading from that booklet, I happened to read one line in thereâ
âWhat line?â the Lord asked.
âThe path of cultivation is split into realms, first is Qi Training, then Foundation Establishmentâ she replied.
Suddenly, of the dozens of statues on either sides of the road, seven of them spoke up one by one:
âHeresy!â
âHeresy!â
âHeresy!â
âHeresy!â
âHeresy!â
âHeresy!â
âHeresy!â
Lord Bloodcloakâs tone became fierce: âSu Xue Er, studying heretical techniques is a crime punishable by death, what else do you have to say for yourself?â
A rusty long blade appeared from thin air, trembling.
Countless screams could be heard from the blade.
The girls exchanged looks to see the excitement in each otherâs eyes.
This living person who arrived at Fog Isle will finally have to die.
They wanted to enjoy the look of fear in Su Xue Erâs eyes before her death.
But Su Xue Er only smiled and calmly replied: âOne day, during nighttimeâs rest, I saw them flipping through a small booklet, which contains a line âââ The path of cultivation is split into realms, first is Qi Training, then Foundation Establishmentâ
âThey are probably afraid that I will report them, that is why they went ahead and instead reported me to the elders firstâ
The girls instantly shouted back: âSuch nonsense!â
âBullshit!â
âThat is you!â
Su Xue Er kept her hands behind her back and spoke without worry: âThat is the truthâ
Lord Bloodcloak became silent.
It seems someone is looking down on me, to dare to lie in the House of Law in front of myself and the 7 Gurus.
He started to snicker in a low voice: âThe consequence of trying to fool us isnât just a simple felonyâ
He reached out and took a scroll from the throne.
A black scroll.
âSu Xue Er, do not resistâ
After Lord Bloodcloak said so, the scroll flew up and left a bloody glow behind.
The scroll itself wasnât gone, but scattered into countless blood-colored sprites that circled around Su Xue Er once before returning to the throne.
In Lord Bloodcloakâs hand was a small booklet.
âInside your accommodation, within a newly carved corner, there was this bookâ Lord Bloodcloak spoke.
âItâs that!â one of the girls yelled with a high-pitched voice.
Su Xue Er remained silent.
Lord Bloodcloak took the small booklet and began to read through.
Suddenly, his tone became very gentle: âRight, Su Xue Erâs parents died during that war, giving up their lives for the sake of the Instituteâ
âThis booklet was her motherâs study notes back thenâ
âI can still remember that girl â-she was a bright student, let me read a bit moreâŠâ
âAh, found it, this class was one that taught about the origin power of all worldsâ
âI was the one who taught that class, whatâs written in here was my view of the worldsâ origin power at the time, so she remembered everythingâ
Lord Bloodcloakâs tone started to become heated.
âThere were also her questions and my answers, yes, thatâs right, this is how I would always answerâŠâ
âWhat a good student she wasâ
Lord Bloodcloak closed the booklet in nostalgia and looked at Su Xue Er.