Chapter 109: Endless River
Chapter 109: Endless River
One day before his departure for the capital, Lu Tianzi found himself standing before a huge winding river.
Technically, calling it a winding river was not exactly accurate either.
This water body formed a huge circle that was more than a kilometre in diameter, and surrounded a majestic statue that took up the entirety of the small plot of land in the middle.
The water currents continued endlessly as it went round and round this circle.
Near to the bank of the endless river, the currents were smooth and gentle, almost to the point of being stagnant.
However, as one approached the statue at the opposite bank of the river, these currents would rapidly grow in strength.
At close proximity to the statue, the currents would have grown so powerful that if a non martial artist were to be submerged into the water at this point, his flesh would be completely torn away from his bones!
It was impossible for such a phenomenon to have been formed naturally.
An intricate formation that had been set in place by a knowledgeable formation master was what created this unusual water body, and the statue in the middle represented none other than this expert from the past.
After its creation, members of the following generations continued maintaining the formation and supplying it with beast cores in order to keep it in operation.
Today, this unusual water body had become one of the training facilities available to Inner Sect members of the Nine Suns Sect the Endless River.
Lu Tianzi had wanted to pay this place a visit since a while ago. Now that it was his last day in Bluenight City before leaving for the capital for the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, he finally took out some time to do so.
Carefully stepping into the Endless River, Lu Tianzi did not immediately head towards the opposite bank.
Instead, he stopped in the middle of the wide river. After which, he simply lay down on his back and floated on the surface of the water, allowing the currents to freely carry him along.
Unlike the Iron Soldiers Combat Array, the Endless River was a training facility which multiple sect members could enter at the same time.
As the top ranker of the Nine Suns Trial, his presence easily drew the attention of the other sect members who were present.
Even so, this attention only lasted for a few short moments before they decided to continue minding their own business.
This was because the Lu Tianzi who had closed his eyes in meditation looked just like someone who was fast asleep!
Who would bother wasting time watching someone else sleep?
However, if anyone had paid closer attention to him, they would have realised that he was actually slowly inching towards the far end of the Endless River.
An hour passed, and Lu Tianzi had already gotten very near to the opposite bank of the river. By now, the other sect members present had all started to pay closer attention to him.
All of them had the same question in their minds.
Just how far would Nanlu Tianzi be able to go before finally being forced to return?
After all, the powerful currents of the Endless River were no joke.
Even Nanhuang Jiansheng who was at the Peak Essence Condensation realm had been unable to reach the opposite bank of the Endless River!
Lu Tianzi cared not about their thoughts, but things were not exactly easy for him either.
Even though he had a natural affiliation to the water element, it was not as though he was completely immune to it.
As he approached the far end of the Endless River, Lu Tianzi felt the water pressure climbing exponentially, subjecting his body to an endless pounding.
But Lu Tianzi was already mentally prepared for this.
He gritted his teeth and endured the pain, continuing to inch towards the opposite bank.
Bit by bit, the distance between him and the statue narrowed.
Unfortunately, the water pressure from the currents increased at a much faster rate. If not for his powerful physical body that had been refined by his dual cultivation systems, Lu Tianzi might have already been knocked unconscious by now!
Instead, under everyone's gaze, Lu Tianzi suddenly dived into the water, submerging his entire body within!
This meant that his entire body would now receive the full impact from the water currents!
Of course, if one was optimistic enough, this also meant that his entire body would receive the full baptism of the water currents.
Despite the torturous pain, Lu Tianzi did not resist the currents.
He completely let go of his body, allowing himself to be washed away by the currents. His entire body went limp and his limbs flailed about, as though he was nothing but a cloth puppet being carried down a river.
In such a strange manner, Lu Tianzi continued inching towards the opposite end of the Endless River!
Others who entered the Endless River would usually go against the water currents so as to temper their bodies. However, Lu Tianzi was using a completely different approach, not putting up any form of defences as he faced the full baptism of the currents!
This was because unlike others, Lu Tianzi was not here to test the strength of his resilience.
Instead, he was here to deepen his understandings into the Law of Water, and if possible, glean new insights into improving his Flowing River Silent Strides!
In order to do so, he could not resist the water.
Instead, he had to fully embrace it, and even try to become part of it!
But those people watching him did not know that.
Seeing that he was being tossed about in the water, they could only sigh in regret. In their eyes, Lu Tianzi had simply failed to withstand the strength of the currents, and had thus been swept away helplessly.
Lu Tianzi naturally did not know of their thoughts, nor did he care.
At this moment, Lu Tianzi had completely lost himself in his own world, appreciating the pure strength that was contained within every drop of water around him.
In such a state, Lu Tianzi slowly lost track of time.
By the time he finally opened his eyes once more, the sun had already set.
He had unknowingly spent the entire day within the Endless River!
However, Lu Tianzi believed that it was time well spent.
Thanks to the Endless River, Lu Tianzi's comprehension into the Law of Water had significantly deepened within the span of a single day. Had he known that this would be so effective, Lu Tianzi would have visited the Endless River long ago!
Sadly, he seemed to have already reached his limit as well.
Even if he stayed any longer, Lu Tianzi would no longer be able to glean any further insights from being in the Endless River, or at least not in the near future.
With a powerful kick, Lu Tianzi surfaced from the Endless River.
By now, he had already reached the opposite bank of the Endless River. It was too bad that his fellow sect members had already left, and there was no longer anyone around to witness this.
It was already late at night.
After leaving the Endless River, Lu Tianzi returned to his accommodation and began his daily cultivation routine.
Just like that, his last day in Bluenight City passed in a flash.
When day broke, the various influences within Bluenight City sent their young juniors to Bluenight Palace, where City Lord Nanlan was already eagerly awaiting.
In the end, apart from the five each from the Nine Suns Sect and Bluenight Palace, City Lord Nanlan had only selected five others, all of them hailing from different influences.
This made a total of fifteen juniors accompanying City Lord Nanlan on his trip to the capital.
But the entourage naturally did not only include them.
As the Lord of Bluenight City, City Lord Nanlan brought along multiple servants to tend to their daily needs, as well as two of his trusted aides who were both at the Origin Core realm.
For this trip to the capital, they were going to be taking the City Lord's personal transportation ship.
The ship was made of reinforced wood and armed with dozens of formations, including defensive ones. However, the most important one was still the formations that allowed it to float in the air, as though it was no longer bounded by gravity!
This allowed the ship to be pulled along by tamed aerial beasts, meaning that it was a true flying ship!
Martial artists that had broken into the Origin Core realm would be able to fly through the air, and even bringing others along with them would not be much of a problem.
However, flying long distances at fast speeds would still tire them out.
Because of this, the use of a flying ship was definitely a necessity.
When Lu Tianzi arrived at the entrance of Bluenight Palace with his fellow sect members, he could not help but to marvel at the sight of the flying ship, as well as the two enormous avian type beasts that were still seated comfortably in front of the ship.
This flying ship was large enough to comfortably accommodate more than a hundred people. To be able to pull along a ship of such a size, and still be able to travel at a sufficiently fast speed, the two flying beasts were naturally not simple.
They were Green Beak Giant Falcons, beasts that could grow up to ten metres in terms of height, and possessed a wingspan of around twenty metres each.
Most importantly, they possessed strength equal to martial artists at the Origin Core realm!
But while Lu Tianzi was still marvelling at the majestic beasts, he suddenly felt a cold stare falling upon him.
"Haven't you had enough? Or do you still want to fight some more?" Lu Tianzi turned around to match the stare of the other party.
"Hmph!" Nanlan Qianbing looked away in frustration.
Her actions made it obvious to everyone that she was still unable to let go of the indignation that resulted from the two slaps given to her by Lu Tianzi.
"You sure are popular, aren't you?" Nanqing Haowen mocked from the side.
"Shut up," Lu Tianzi let out a bitter smile.
"Qianbing has always been like this. Don't worry too much about her," Nanlan Qianxue tried to console him.
"It's all right, I am not too worried," Lu Tianzi shook his head with a smile.
"Yeah, you should be worried about the upcoming heroes meet instead," Nanqing Haowen agreed with a grin. "I heard you got your ass kicked by senior apprentice brother Nanhuang Jiansheng."
"Stop rubbing it in already," Lu Tianzi sighed helplessly.
"Why are you acting so disappointed?" Nanlan Qianxue laughed slightly. "Senior apprentice brother Nanhuang Jiansheng is more than ten years older than you, and is already at the Peak Essence Condensation realm. It is only natural to not be able to match him in battle. Things will be different in the future!"
"Brother Nanlu, could it be that you thought you could win against him?" Nanqing Haowen chimed in. "Stop daydreaming! There is a good reason why he is considered the leader of the Inner Sect. Your talent might be high, but you will still need a few years of practice before you stand a chance against him!"
"I guess that is true," Lu Tianzi could only reluctantly agree.
Even if Lu Tianzi had told them that he would have stood a chance if he went all out, they probably would not have believed him anyway.
In that case, it would be easier to just keep his mouth shut.
At this moment, City Lord Nanlan's voice sounded out.
"It looks like everyone has arrived. Let us not delay further then!" City Lord Nanlan announced. "It is time to board the ship!"
Under his instructions, the door of the flying ship opened.
There people here were either subordinates of City Lord Nanlan or members of the younger generation. None of them dared to delay, quickly entering the flying ship through the lowered staircase.
"Let's go!" City Lord Nanlan called out after ensuring that everyone had boarded.
Heeding the order, the two Green Beak Giant Falcons immediately took off with a single flap of their wings, easily pulling the huge flying ship along with them as they rocketed into the sky!
The next time they landed on the ground, it would be in the capital of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!