The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 842 - 340: Lord of the Nether Night

"As a member of the Night Family, why do you need to act like this?"

In a gentle voice echoing above the ninth heaven, against the splendid glow of dawn, stood a woman atop a towering stone pillar, her eyes dazzling, her smile still intact.

The Holy Saint Embryo, Fond Spirit, lay on the ground behind her, like a mountain shrouded in clouds reaching straight for the skies, its imposing aura astonishing to the onlookers.

"Saint Ancestor Ye Shu..."

Ye Hanlian raised her head, gazing into the clouds, her voice filled with surprise and joy.

Ye Shu smiled lightly, as if bathed in the morning breeze, and said,

"To brave death in pursuit of life, to venture boldly into the great tomb, and then to return in triumph."

"All these feats, honor within grasp, glory upon your shoulders, should be recorded in the clan’s annals, your name praised for eons, immortal for tens of thousands of years."

"I dare not."

From a distance, Ye Hanlian bowed deeply, her hands pressed together in respect,

"Hanlian is filled with trepidation, having only eked out a hundred years of life by chance, finding but a single life-extending holy medicine to restore my youthful appearance."

"The divine bow fragment that the clan most desperately needs, I did not lay eyes on, let alone seize... As for the so-called merit, I am ashamed and dare not accept such honor."

"Hmm..."

Ye Shu waved her hand, speaking kindly,

"It was always a matter of luck, to survive is already wonderful enough."

"What’s the point of forcefully demanding more?"

Ye Shu continued softly, her black pupils accentuated by the glow, still wandering among the crowd.

In an instant, she paused again, her gaze fixating on Ye Qiuguo, letting out a light gasp,

"Huh... Your aura, clearly at the sixth rank, not yet advanced."

"But it seems you’re no longer a B-level Ability, but an A-level, completely different from what you were before..."

"Saint Ancestor’s discernment is keen!"

Ye Qiuguo bowed deeply, speaking forthrightly,

"I reached the twelfth layer of the great tomb, took thirty years of time, and passed through a Young King’s palace."

"Under the baptism of the Young King stone, I succeeded in advancing to an A-level ’Soul Knight’... The gains were tremendous."

"Good, that’s cause for celebration."

Ye Shu nodded lightly,

"The newly risen Young King, Ye Qiuguo."

"If in ten years of hard effort, you fail to rise independently to the seventh rank,"

"you may enter the secret realm ’Thousand Needle Soul Sea’, where the departed holy spirits of the Nether rest buried. Absorbing the essence of their souls could help you take that critical step, to burst forth from your cocoon and flutter freely."

"Thank you, Saint Ancestor!"

Ye Qiuguo showed a smiling face, bowed once more, then stepped back to observe the changes of the remaining clan members from the perspective of a bystander.

"Yun Ruo, that girl, has actually perished so young..."

"And Shan, Xiaoran, Aquan... such a pity."

Ye Shu shook her head, sighing, then showed a hint of relief:

"Fortunately, Buyi, Xiaochun, Ling Wu, Mo’er, Xien... you all lived up to expectations and returned triumphantly."

The few people called by name exchanged glances, some expressionless, others seemingly lost in thought.

A hundred years, such an insignificant span of time, yet old friends are no more.

Like yesterday’s wilted flowers, the song ends and people scatter, so it goes.

"Hey, there’s no need to be sad."

The face of Ye Xien still bore the cross-shaped scar, and he held in one hand the evolved form of the Blood Drinking Knife—the Blood-Drinking Berserker Blade—while scoffing with a disdainful smile,

"Didn’t we all prepare ourselves before entering the tomb?"

"Everyone’s going to die, sooner or later, it’s all the same."

"To die in the Tomb of Asura is a blessing sought after by many in our clan. To remember them... haha, a waste of time!"

"That’s Xien for you!"

The head that was all that remained of Ye Aobai let out a hearty laugh,

"Didn’t even catch a glimpse inside the tomb, I miss it terribly!"

"You’ve become an S-level ’Great Blade Master’ now? Very good, once I finish teaching Ye Buchun a lesson, I’ll come to spar with you!"

"I’ll wait for you!"

Ye Xien, arms crossed and appearing indifferent, had a glint of burning battle intent hidden within his eyes.

Clearly, having advanced in rank and with the Contracted Spirit also ascending to the Unlimited Foetus, the gap in abilities was vast and demanded a fight to thoroughly test and explore his new powers.

"The returning Young Kings... apart from a few cases like Ye Qiuguo, Ye Long, and others, it seems most have advanced to the seventh rank?"

Ye Hanjun, silent and unspoken, took in every scene and every word with his eyes and ears.

He had been observing, and then he noticed.

Ye Buyi had likely become an S-level ’Necromancer Wizard.’

Ye Lingwu had probably transformed into an S-level ’Spirit Cutting General.’

Ye Mo, the bearer of the Superior Level ’Demon Beast Knight’, now possessed the S-level ’Demon Beast Commander.’

Ye Chun, also of Superior Level but with the ’Silent Assassin’ ability, had leapt to S-level ’Silent Assassin’...

...

The transformation of the clan members was striking, one after another.

In comparison, failing to advance to the seventh rank, he himself seemed the odd one out.

"Yo, the loser actually survived?"

"After so much misfortune, you finally got a stroke of dumb luck, quite the eye-opener indeed."

"But eh... if even he can survive, it really says something about those who died, such a shame..."

Ye Xien sneered, then suddenly turned to his side.

Next to him, covered in mud as if he’d just crawled out of a mire, was Ye Yin, reeking of rotten fish and putrid shrimp, enough to turn one’s stomach.

Ye Xien endured for a while but eventually couldn’t hold back.

Drawing the Blood-Drinking Berserker Blade, with a single flash, an overwhelming wave of blood swept over Ye Yin, like a bloodstained flood cleansing him inside and out.

Then, just as Ye Xien was about to continue with his teasing mockery, he suddenly pursed his lips and a look of disbelief stole across his eyes, his former disdain quickly receding.

"You... are Ye Yin?"

What was certain one moment became bewildering confusion the next.