Stranger Danger

“Who do you think warrior Ye is, Miss Shangguan?” Pedant Earth mumbled.

“How would I know? I’m not a god!” Shangguan Hongjin replied before beckoning him to follow her. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“But warrior Ye…” Pedant Earth hesitated.

“But what? You know it’s suicide for us to stay here, right?” Shangguan Hongjin grabbed Pedant Earth’s elbow and started dragging him away. “Besides, you know there’s nothing a tribulation hates more than intervention. If we stay here, the only thing we’ll do is make trouble for warrior Ye.”

“Are we just going to do nothing then?” Pedant Earth asked.

“Of course not! When did I ever say that?” Shangguan Hongjin snorted. “No one can help him against the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation except himself, but the minor tribulations, now that’s something we can help him with, can’t we?”

“Minor tribulations?” Pedant Earth repeated in confusion before realization struck him. “You’re talking about outsiders!”

That’s right. The world had many trials and tribulations, and not all of them came from the world one lived in. The people who lived in it were a form of tribulation as well.

The world is harsh, and the human heart harsher. It was never an empty saying, and it never will be.

Ye Qing’s ascension had caused such a commotion that even a person with all their senses cut off would be hardpressed to miss it. Countless people would be intrigued by it, and a good number of them would surely recognize the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation. When the time came, Ye Qing would surely be targeted by all.

After all, the reward for overcoming the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation was a wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi, and the Profound Yellow Mother Qi could transform one’s body so that sagehood was guaranteed.

To say that this was an unimaginable boon would be an understatement. To give a comparison, it was almost as good as obtaining the Dark Overlord’s inheritance. Who in their right mind would give up such an opportunity?

Sure, for most of these warriors, the chances they might become the chosen one to obtain the Profound Yellow Mother Qi was, frankly, non-existent. But wait, the person who attracted the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation must be a once-in-a-century genius, and it did not take a genius to know that they must carry a fortune on their person. If they couldn’t get the meat, the juices that seeped through the cracks of the winner’s fingers were perfectly acceptable as well, no?

That was why the tribulation from the heavens wasn’t the only danger Ye Qing must face. He must endure the threat of human greed as well.

“What should we do?”

“Stop and wait!” Shangguan Hongjin declared succinctly.

It did not take Pedant Earth much effort to decipher Shangguan Hongjin’s cryptic words.

“Stop” meant stopping all those who harbored malicious intent toward Ye Qing.

A heavenly tribulation was dangerous, but the greatest danger came after it was over. No matter how strong Ye Qing was, he could not possibly overcome the legendary Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation and remain pristine and energetic. When he was at his lowest, weakest point, that was the moment all who bore him ill will would act. That was the moment the deadliest knife would arrive to kill Ye Qing.

Their job was to stop these people from getting to Ye Qing.

As for “wait”, she meant that they needed to stall Ye Qing’s would-be killers until he recovered.

Neither he nor Shangguan Hongjin were weak, but they definitely weren’t powerful either. It was unrealistic to think that they could stop everyone who wished to do Ye Qing harm on their own, not to mention that a good number of those people were Grandmasters as well. Scratch that, it was just impossible.

Therefore, their goal was just to buy as much time as possible. They would stall Ye Qing’s enemies long enough for him to refine the Profound Yellow Mother Qi and restore his body. They would win once Ye Qing had recovered enough strength to join them.

Ideally, they would live, and so would Ye Qing. It would be the perfect ending.

In reality, both of them knew just how dangerous and difficult the task would be. Who would’ve thought it would be so difficult to carry a task consisting of just two words?

In fact, Pedant Earth knew very well that the perfect ending might only exist in their dreams. It was far more likely that they would die in defense of Ye Qing or worse, they all perished.

Shangguan Hongjin walked a few steps when she suddenly said, “Say, we’re quite stupid, aren’t we? Even an idiot would know that what we’re trying to do is next to impossible.”

“Quite stupid? You give us too much credit. It’s easily one of the stupidest decisions of our lives,” Pedant Earth replied matter-of-factly. Of course it was. It was bad enough that they were putting their lives on the line for a stranger, but the task they set themselves to do were practically impossible. If this wasn’t stupid, then what was?

“Come on, man. You’re making me wish that warrior Ye would fail his tribulation.” Shangguan Hongjin sighed.

“Hahaha! What a coincidence! I was thinking that as well!” Pedant Earth out let out a hearty laugh.

Shangguan Hongjin abruptly wrapped an arm across Pedant Earth’s shoulders and chuckled. “But then again, I’ve been a cunning, underhanded, cowardly and scheming bastard my whole life. I think it’s fine to be stupid once in a while, yeah?”

“Well said, Miss Shangguan. We’re humans, right? How can we be humans if we don’t fall prey to stupidity every once in a while?” Pedant Earth chuckled in agreement.

“I wholeheartedly agree. You know what, you’re a pretty good guy. If we survive this, I want to treat you to a drink and become friends with you.” Shangguan Hongjin gave Pedant Earth a smack on the shoulder.

“Hahaha! For this promise, this old man swears to give it his all and live just a little longer!”

Pedant Earth laughed loudly, and so did Shangguan Hongjin.

Make light of life and death in the epics,

For heroism lasts eternal.

Scream!

Fight!

……

“The Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation?”

Ye Qing was quite surprised when he saw the dark yellow cauldron in the sky and felt the terrible power floating all around him. He seriously wasn’t expecting to attract the king of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations for his Grandmaster breakthrough.

In hindsight though, it made a lot of sense.

For one, his martial foundation was exceptionally solid. His body in particular had been built up painstakingly. It was no sky pavilion supported by a single base or a rotten apple with a pretty exterior.

Two, he had refined a lot of Profound Yellow Qi, which was derived from the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. It made sense that they would attract each other to an extent.

And three, the headless Sage’s gift. The headless Sage was dead, but he was still a Sage and the closest being to the origin of the great Dao.

The headless Sage had given him his purest power of the origin of Dao and his martial insight. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing boon for anyone, much less a Spirit Master like him.

All things considered, it made sense that he would attract the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation.

“Foo…”

Ye Qing let out a deep breath. Despite facing the king of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiend Tribulations, he was surprised by how fearless he felt. In fact, he very much looked forward to it.

It was at this moment the headless Sage slowly rose to full height and seemingly looked upward. From the looks of it, he was actually planning to take a hit or two for Ye Qing, if not see him through until the end of the tribulation!

“Senior, please! You’ve already given me an unimaginable gift. I cannot trouble you for such a minor matter as well!”

Ye Qing did not hesitate to stop the headless Sage and pleaded sincerely, “Just leave this to me, and go keep Giggle company. He misses you very much.”

Ye Qing could sense that the headless Sage was on his last legs after the gift. It wouldn’t be long before he faded away completely. If he allowed his benefactor to block a tribulation for himself as well, then he would be lesser than a pig, no?

Two, he knew that the only reason the headless Sage gave him such a boon was because of Giggle. That was how much the little Stranger mattered to him even after death. That was why he wanted Giggle and the headless Sage to enjoy their last moments together. If there was one thing they deserved, it was happiness.

Three, this was his tribulation and no one else’s. How could he possibly allow someone else to overcome it for him?

Forget the Heavenly Way, even he wouldn’t accept such a compromise.

Speaking of the Heavenly Way, there was a reason it was viewed as the ultimate judge. It was entirely possible that allowing the headless Sage to interfere with his tribulation would bring forth unexpected consequences. He would rather not risk such a thing.

And four, he was that confident in his martial way. Since he embarked on this path a few years ago, he had worked tirelessly to better himself. Besides that, he had been lucky to stumble upon opportunity after opportunity like the protagonist he was. If he couldn’t even overcome a mere tribulation, then he might as well ram his head against a tofu and kill himself!

Despite having no head, it seemed like the headless Sage could hear his words. He gave Ye Qing a complimentary pat on the shoulder before walking away.

A good distance away, Giggle also called out to him before giggling brightly. The little Stranger was cheering him on with all it got.

“Come.”

After the headless Sage and Giggle were out of the way, Ye Qing finally looked up at the gathering clouds above with calm eyes.

The clouds of tribulations looked so big it was as if it was mere inches away from his head.

That was fine though, for his sleeve hid a fist that was worlds wide.

Face me, my tribulation!

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