Chapter Eighty-Nine: The River of Hanging Nets

Zhang Yongxu fell silent. Looking at the frightened villagers around him, a trace of reluctance rose in his eyes, yet he recalled Elder Ma's words and forcibly held back from speaking. With a wave of his hand, he ordered everyone back onto the carriages.

Yang Ze and the others stood there. They had all heard what Elder Ma had said, and none of them answered. They merely obeyed Zhang Yongxu's command and returned to the vehicles.

Once they were back in the carriage, Bai Lun looked at Yang Ze as if he wanted to say something, but Yang Ze stopped him.

"Some things are better left unsaid. In any case, we know nothing. To keep quiet is the only thing we ought to do."

Bai Lun endured it and said nothing. At that moment, Lu Qing kept looking out the window, as though lost in thought.

The three of them fell silent. The carriage continued onward, heading toward the exit of Qin Family Ridge. Behind them, at the village gate, the remaining villagers watched the departing convoy with pleading eyes; some even knelt down and begged them to stay and help.

Yet the disciples of Wuyang Martial Academy in the carriages seemed not to hear them at all. No one answered. Only the carriages rolled onward, gradually fading from sight.

Yang Ze watched the scenery outside the window change again and again. This incident, too, sounded a warning in his heart.

The Tianwu Dynasty was clearly not some age of peace and prosperity. Wuyang Martial Academy was a martial school under imperial command, yet it paid no heed at all to the lives and deaths of common people at the lowest level.

In this dynasty, where heresy still existed, friction also ran between the martial world and the court, and the lives of ordinary folk were hard.

Only by possessing great strength could one protect oneself. In this world, no one was more dependable than oneself.

Unconsciously, Yang Ze sensed the black stone against his chest. In this world, perhaps only that black stone could help him become a true powerhouse.

...

A day later, the convoy stopped once more. By then they were already several hundred li from Yuyang City.

Yang Ze heard a great commotion outside the carriage. He opened the window and looked out, seeing not far away a vast river cutting across his line of sight.

From the upper reaches it surged forth, racing toward the lower reaches like a silver-white ribbon, carrying thunderous waters with it.

"This is... the Hanging Fishing River!" Lu Qing exclaimed.

"In recent years I have traveled widely with my master, and three years ago I came here once. No matter when one sees the Hanging Fishing River, it is always so awe-inspiring," Lu Qing said with emotion.

Before them, the Hanging Fishing River was several li wide, dividing the two banks apart. The river churned up wave after wave, barring their way.

Before Zhang Yongxu could even give the order, everyone had already gotten down from the carriages. For anyone, it was rare to ever see the Hanging Fishing River, and the sight before them seized their attention at once.

"The Hanging Fishing River is one of the two great rivers in our Spring Sun Prefecture. It stretches for thousands of li, passing through many city domains. Following the Hanging Fishing River, we can reach the prefectural city of our Spring Sun Prefecture."

Zhang Yongxu also got down at this time. Standing by the riverbank, even as a second-rank martial artist, he felt himself to be so small.

"We came by boat in the first place. There should be a pier and an inn here, and our ship ought to still be here. Everyone, come along." As she spoke, Ye Yinling led the way and took the others forward.

The group moved in great numbers, returning the carriages to the inn before reaching the pier, where only one large ship was moored.

Seeing that ship, Wu Yong pointed at it and shouted, "Right, right, this is the big ship we came on. With this ship, we can get to the prefectural city."

The people of Wuyang Martial Academy were not obstructed at all as they traveled. The group boarded the ship in batches, and only then did Yang Ze finally see another group of Wuyang Martial Academy people.

Just as Lu Qing had said, many from Wuyang Martial Academy had come out this time. Only part of them had appeared during the assessment; the rest were only now being seen by them.

However, these others also appeared to be outer disciples, merely belonging to the same faction as Wu Yong and the others, while regarding Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling with deference.

But these matters had nothing to do with Yang Ze and the others. As mere named disciples, not yet formally admitted, they could only obediently step onto the deck as arranged.

Once everyone was aboard, the great ship left the pier and headed upstream along the Hanging Fishing River.

The ship seemed nothing special apart from being a little larger, yet Yang Ze could feel that it moved very fast, in no way inferior to the cruise ships of his former world.

He could not help but sigh inwardly. It seemed this world of flourishing martial arts still possessed its own differences, incomparable to his former life.

Standing on the deck, Yang Ze began to admire the scenery along the riverbanks. This was his first time seeing such a great river in this world, and it was just right to see whether there was anything different about it.

But no matter how beautiful the view, too much of it could become tiring. After the great ship had traveled some two hundred li, many people had already grown bored and wanted to go into the cabin to rest.

Yang Ze was the same. No matter how fine the scenery, one would grow weary after too much of it. He too now wanted a place to rest and use the black stone to recover his strength.

Yet before they could leave the deck, the entire river surface suddenly fell still, without the slightest ripple, eerily quiet.

The great ship, which had been moving swiftly, also came to a stop when the water calmed. The many disciples who had been staying in the cabin all came out at once.

"What is going on? Why has the ship stopped?" Wu Yong rushed out; he sensed something amiss the very moment the ship halted.

Not only him, but everyone else felt the same. At that moment, they all unconsciously turned their eyes toward Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling.

Zhang Yongxu was just about to speak when the waters around the great ship suddenly erupted. Several columns of water shot up, exploding all around the vessel and forming a powerful shockwave that swept toward the deck.

Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling's expressions changed. They stepped forward together, their blood and qi erupting as they exerted their strength to the fullest, forming a layer of protection that enveloped the great ship.

The instant the barrier formed, the shockwave struck it. The two forces collided; the barrier tore apart, but it still blocked the shockwave.

"Roar!"

After the water columns burst, a roar rose from beneath the river. The once-still surface suddenly whipped up wave after wave, crashing against the hull and shaking the great ship violently.

Just as it seemed the ship was about to overturn, a cold snort came from within. The swaying vessel instantly froze in place, and no matter how the raging waters battered it, they could not budge it.

"Despicable humans, leave behind the beast crystal and I may spare your lives!"

A rough voice echoed across the river. Concentric ripples spread rapidly over the water, and at their center a black dot appeared. The river water parted to the sides, revealing a colossal black python before everyone's eyes.

This black python spoke in human words; the previous words had indeed been shouted by it.

"A sentient ferocious beast! Bad news. I don't know what rank this sentient beast is!" Zhang Yongxu cried out upon seeing the python.

Yang Ze looked at the enormous black serpent. The half of its body exposed above the river was already seven or eight zhang long, covered in black scales from head to tail. Even from far away, one could feel the cold, sinister aura emanating from it, as though it could freeze a person solid.

"There are such ferocious beasts in this world!" Yang Ze was shocked. He had never imagined that he understood so little of this world. The black serpent before him radiated a sense of oppression that was beyond anything any martial artist he had ever seen could compare with.

"A fourth-rank sentient ferocious beast. Among ferocious beasts, that is also rare. I never expected you to be hiding in this stretch of the Hanging Fishing River." Elder Ma stood beside Zhang Yongxu. As soon as he appeared, a wave of force radiated from him, dissipating much of the oppressive pressure brought by the giant serpent.

"Humans, leave the beast crystal behind and I will let you off today. Otherwise, all of you will perish here!" The black python spoke in human words. Its lower half, submerged beneath the water, lashed violently, sending the river surging toward the great ship.

Elder Ma's eyes flashed. Vast blood and qi burst from his body. He struck out with a palm, and the sweeping wave was smashed apart by that single blow, turning into countless droplets that fell back into the river.

"Do not forget who rules this land of nine provinces. Since you dare show yourself today, this old man will take you down with ease!" Elder Ma roared. His body shot upward, and with his right hand he struck. A giant hand manifested in the air and slammed down toward the black python.

The black python watched the descending hand with utter disdain. Its eyes flashed, and rings of ripples appeared above its forehead. The great hand struck the ripples and immediately dissipated on its own.

Elder Ma was still in the air. When his first attack failed, he was about to strike again, but the black python let out an enraged roar, and the river water surged backward, wrapping toward Elder Ma's position.

With seals forming in his hands, Elder Ma suddenly pushed both palms forward. A ball of qi shot forth from his hands and exploded directly, blasting all the surging river water back again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The river surface exploded nonstop. Elder Ma stood suspended in the air, while the black python opened its mouth and fired a streak of black light toward him.

The black light moved at tremendous speed, reaching Elder Ma in the blink of an eye. Elder Ma's expression grew grave. With his left hand forming seals, a massive fist illusion formed behind him and collided with that black radiance.

With a thunderous blast, an explosion erupted. A shockwave swept out from the sky, striking Elder Ma and hurling him onto the river surface. His feet scraped across the water, and he was blasted back more than a hundred zhang.

Barely steadying himself, Elder Ma's face darkened. "You've already cultivated to the peak of the fourth rank!"

"Hahaha, human, at least you have some eyes. With your late-stage fourth-level Returning Unity cultivation, you are no match for me. I will give you one last chance: hand over the beast crystal, and I will spare your life." The black python did not rush to attack, but merely threatened Elder Ma.

"So you're not quite so confident after all. What of the fourth-rank peak? If you want to take this old man down, you will have to pay a heavy price as well." Elder Ma laughed loudly and shot forward once more, like a cannonball, charging toward the black python.

"This is my territory, and you still dare be so arrogant? I would like to see whether you truly can make me pay a heavy price."

The black python roared as its enormous body swam through the river, stirring up monstrous waves and battling fiercely with Elder Ma.

The moment the two engaged, a radius of ten li instantly became a battlefield. Powerful fluctuations spread outward, and the great ship shook even more violently on the river, looking as though it might capsize at any moment.

Elder Ma's palm techniques and fist techniques changed without pause as he fought the black python, yet the serpent's scales were simply too hard. Whenever Elder Ma's attacks occasionally landed upon them, they could not leave even the slightest wound.

By contrast, the black python's attacks were terrifyingly powerful. Each time it unleashed that black radiance, Elder Ma had to resist with all his strength and dared not let it strike him.

After more than a hundred exchanges, Elder Ma's momentum clearly wavered. His movements slowed by half a beat, and the python's tail lashed out. Unable to dodge in time, he was struck and sent flying horizontally.

"If you will not hand over the beast crystal, then become my food!" The black python roared. Opening its mouth, it stirred up the waters within a radius of ten li, swallowing toward the direction where Elder Ma had fallen.

Yet just as it was about to reach him, the black python's body suddenly froze. It drew in a breath, and the river water condensed within its mouth, turning into a water column that blasted backward.

The water column erupted outward, and behind the black python a black-robed elder was struck head-on. But there was no spray of blood and flesh. Instead, the black-robed elder dissolved like foam and vanished.

"An illusion!" Power surged from the black python, and water columns shot up across the river. The waters within a radius of ten li had all become its weapons.

As the water columns kept crashing forth, one black-robed elder after another appeared around the black python, nearly a hundred in total.

These black-robed elders moved constantly. Some were blasted apart by the water columns, while others evaded the python's attacks at high speed.

"So this is why you had the confidence to oppose me. It turns out you are not the only fourth-level Returning Unity cultivator. But this man's cultivation seems not to match yours. What use is one more?"

The black python was enraged by the black-robed elder's continual evasions. Black light began to appear dotting its scales, and the ten-li stretch of river was drawn up by that radiance, rising abruptly before exploding apart.

The river's explosion unleashed tremendous destructive power. All of the black-robed elders' illusions were destroyed by it, revealing their true forms. With dry, withered hands, one of them drew a circle before his chest, forming a shield that collided with the destructive force.