CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 88: RETURN_1

The moment he saw these three words, Wang Zhan felt his mind go blank.

He stared blankly at the greatsword embedded in the wall before him. He didn’t know how long this greatsword had been here, but despite being weathered by wind and rain, its blade showed not the slightest trace of rust, still shimmering with a dazzling, cold light.

"Wang Yidao... Wang Yu," Wang Zhan mumbled to himself. So many things flooded his mind at once.

The last time he had heard this name was the previous year, just before he was to attend the Chu State Martial Arts Academy. Before leaving home, his mother had mentioned the name Wang Yidao.

Wang Yidao was the moniker of Wang Zhan’s father, Wang Yu!

Wang Zhan had almost no impression of his own father. It seemed he hadn’t seen his father even once since he was old enough to remember. Everything he knew about his father, Wang Yu, came from his mother.

A prodigy, a graduate from one of the four great academies, the Federation Military Martial Arts Academy, who joined the Military Department directly after graduation.

Sometime after that, he disappeared in the wilderness of Chu State, never to be seen again.

A long period had passed in between, but whenever Wang Zhan asked, his mother’s explanations were always vague. He was unsure if she truly didn’t know or simply didn’t want to speak of it. However, Wang Zhan clearly remembered his mother once telling him that if he ever had the chance, he should try to find news of his father, Wang Yidao.

"I never thought... I’d see you here." Staring at the greatsword on the wall, a faint, bitter smile touched Wang Zhan’s lips.

"Fa... forget it."

Despite several attempts, Wang Zhan ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say the word. To him, "father" was just an unfamiliar term.

After mulling it over for a long time, Wang Zhan finally gave up struggling with how to address him. He reached out and lightly touched the greatsword’s blade. A small cut immediately appeared on his finger.

"I always thought you were just some Warrior or Martial Master, at best a Martial General?" Wang Zhan lamented with a wry smile. "But I never imagined you could even kill a Red-bill Bird."

The Red-bill Bird was the overlord of Flame Valley, its level even higher than the Magma Giant Tortoise outside. In terms of Human Martial Artist strength, it would be at least a Grandmaster or above. Yet such a powerful beast had been obliterated, leaving only a solitary skull pinned to the wall.

Moreover, there were hardly any signs of a struggle nearby. A beast of this caliber, when engaged in combat, was capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks at will. A high-level battle would easily alter the terrain and leave behind enduring scars. It was just like the outskirts of Chang’an City, which had been left in utter devastation after the great battle between Shi Jingtian and Cerberus. Here, however, no traces of a fight could be seen.

"Although you’re my father, apart from our blood relation, we’re essentially strangers, aren’t we?" Wang Zhan sighed softly. "I don’t really mind, but Mom has been waiting for you all these years. Even if you couldn’t come back, you could have sent a message, couldn’t you? At least let Mom know if you’re dead or alive."

Wang Zhan recalled the prize money he received after the College Entrance Examination. He had suggested buying a better house for his mother then, but she had refused outright. Her reason was that she was afraid his father wouldn’t be able to find his way home if they moved.

Wang Zhan felt a surge of words he wanted to pour out, but facing a cold, unfeeling greatsword, he ultimately couldn’t voice them.

"Forget it. There’s nothing much to say."

Wang Zhan gripped the greatsword’s hilt with both hands and pulled it from the rock wall.

The moment the greatsword left the wall, however, an ancient book and a sheet of paper were dislodged from the crevice it had occupied.

"Hm?"

Wang Zhan raised an eyebrow, set the greatsword aside, and then picked up the ancient book and the paper. The handwriting on the paper was sloppy, revealing the writer’s unrestrained and unconventional nature; it seemed the note was written with no intention of being easily understood. Wang Zhan had to study it for quite some time before he could decipher its contents.

’The Liyun Blade that slew the Red-bill Bird was my elder brother’s weapon. My brother has passed away. This blade is left for a successor! So as not to tarnish the reputation of my brother and this ancient Liyun Blade, I, Wang Yidao, have specifically left behind my renowned saber technique.’

After reading the note, Wang Zhan opened the ancient book. On its title page, four large characters were written with flamboyant strokes: Fatal One Slash.

Wang Zhan’s heart skipped a beat. What a domineering name! He eagerly flipped open the book and began to meticulously read through the saber technique.

Several minutes later, Wang Zhan finished reading the entire saber technique.

It truly is the Fatal One Slash! It’s similar to the Military Way Killing Fist, yet even purer, more like burning all bridges behind oneself.

This Fatal One Slash technique consisted of only a single move. Upon executing this slash, all of the Martial Artist’s strength would be completely drained. It was a case of either the enemy dies, or I die.

The Military Way Killing Fist is similar, but one can still control its power; it doesn’t necessarily demand exhausting everything in one blow. This Fatal One Slash, however, truly lives up to its name. After this one slash, either the enemy is annihilated, or you yourself are done for.

Wang Zhan understood clearly that while such a saber technique seemed extreme, if used at the opportune moment, it would undoubtedly be a formidable trump card.

Just as Wang Zhan was contemplating the newly acquired saber technique, a CLATTERING sound, like small pebbles landing, reached his ears. It was sporadic at first, but soon became much denser.

Wang Zhan whirled around and saw that the sound was emanating from the Rock Crevice in the cliff face, left by the greatsword. After the greatsword had been removed, the Rock Crevice gradually began to widen. Before Wang Zhan’s eyes, in just a few seconds, it expanded into a fissure that stretched from the bottom to the top of the entire cliff!

The ground suddenly began to tremble. Wang Zhan was slightly startled and quickly turned his head to look beyond the Red-bill Bird’s domain. Sure enough, the magma had begun to boil.

Huang Pufeng and Song Dongming, who were recovering, were also jolted awake. They noticed the situation near Wang Zhan and hurried over.

"What happened? Did the Red-bill Bird return?" Huang Pufeng asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"The Red-bill Bird is already dead. The current situation is a bit complicated. Let’s just wait and see," Wang Zhan replied, unsure how to explain.

The three of them fell silent, quietly watching the fissure before them continue to expand and extend. Eventually, the fissure transformed into an opening two to three meters wide, splitting the entire cliff face in two. Not only that, but the rock wall around the opening was visibly extremely fragile.

After the fissure stabilized, Wang Zhan tentatively touched the rock at the edge of the opening. A large section of seemingly solid rock immediately crumbled into dust and fell to the ground.

"This..." Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng were so astonished they were at a loss for words.

Wang Zhan took a deep breath. "Fatal One Slash. This is the Fatal One Slash!"

Wang Zhan had previously wondered why the slash capable of killing the Red-bill Bird had left only such a tiny fissure in the rock wall. Only now did he realize it wasn’t that Wang Yidao’s final slash lacked power. Instead, all its force had been contained within the blade, creating a strange equilibrium with the rock wall. As long as this balance remained undisturbed, nothing would happen. But once that balance was broken, as when Wang Zhan pulled out the greatsword, the entire rock face split in two. The area near where the saber had been, though seemingly solid, had actually been pulverized into dust that was merely held together, yet to disperse.

Eventually, everything settled down. At this point, the fissure had become a passage leading out of Flame Valley.

Wang Zhan took this opportunity to recount everything that had just happened to Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng, only omitting the fact that he was Wang Yidao’s son.

After listening, Song Dongming sighed with emotion, "Every cloud has a silver lining. This is a path to survival left for us by a senior."

"To think that the Red-bill Bird, the overlord of Flame Valley, was slain by a Martial Artist senior so long ago! It’s incredible that no word of this ever leaked out!" Huang Pufeng exclaimed in shock. "Just how powerful was this Senior Wang Yidao?"

"Now isn’t the time to discuss this. Let’s leave first," Wang Zhan said, shaking his head slightly. He subconsciously didn’t want to discuss his father with others.

Naturally, no one objected to Wang Zhan’s suggestion. A place like Flame Valley was far too dangerous for the three of them; the sooner they left, the better.

The trio followed the newly formed passage through the Rock Crevice, with Wang Zhan leading the way and Song Dongming covering the rear. The passage wasn’t very long; after about two to three hundred meters, they could already see the wilderness outside. A few minutes later, the three of them finally exited the confines of Flame Valley.

Stepping onto the slightly muddy ground, the three looked back towards Flame Valley with lingering fear. The scorching environment and the ubiquitous magma had put immense pressure on them, though none had voiced it. Finally leaving, even Wang Zhan felt a great sense of relief.

"We’re probably northwest of the Flame Valley entrance," Song Dongming said after getting his bearings.

"Let’s head to our previous resting spot for the night. Tomorrow, we should try to reach the Valley Plain area. Only when we get there will we truly be safe," Wang Zhan stated.

They had entered Flame Valley at noon, and now it was late at night, with a bright moon hanging high in the sky. The wilderness at night was far more dangerous than during the day, and this was the periphery of the wilderness; who knew what perils lay hidden.

The three of them hurried at full speed and soon returned to their previous shelter, the territory of the Cang Lei Ying. Although more than half a day had passed, the lingering aura of the soldier-level beast remained potent, and no other beasts dared to approach the area.

「A night passed uneventfully.」

The next day, the three traveled at full speed and finally, in the afternoon, entered the Valley Plain area. Only then had they finally navigated the most perilous part of their expedition to the outskirts of the wilderness.

That night, the three rested in their old cave in the jungle. However, by coincidence, when they arrived at the cave, they discovered it was already occupied.

"Lv Qing? Tian Shishi?"

Lv Qing looked equally surprised. "Wang Zhan? Where have you three been? The school has been going crazy looking for you!"