Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 381 - 363 The Battle of Tianyong

"Regret?" Qin Qing shook his head upon hearing this, "That’s not possible, Master! Having taken you as my master, how could I possibly regret it?"

"Besides, you saved my sister. If it weren’t for you, Xiaoshuang might no longer be in this world!"

The mere thought that Xiaoshuang could have left him filled Qin Qing’s heart with waves of dread.

He was genuinely afraid. He couldn’t bear to imagine what he would become if Xiaoshuang died.

Over the years, the siblings had relied solely on each other. They had become integral parts of each other’s lives, as if etched into their very bones. Qin Qing truly couldn’t fathom continuing on without Xiaoshuang by his side...

"Right! What Qin Qing said is correct. Palace Master, since I’ve chosen to join Wind-Fire Academy, naturally I won’t have any regrets," Cang Yuan added.

"Me too!" Xiaoshuang also spoke softly.

"You...are you new disciples who joined Wind-Fire Academy?" Zhu Linglong’s gaze once again fell on Qin Qing and the others, especially Qin Qing. She looked at him curiously: "Are you a disciple taken in by my father?"

"Dad, didn’t you say that you wouldn’t take any more disciples?" Zhu Linglong asked her father again.

"This time is different," Zhu Jirong seemed not willing to elaborate on the subject.

"Speaking of which, Master. Why has our Wind-Fire Academy become like this?" Qin Qing inquired.

Zhu Jirong couldn’t help but let out a sigh before responding, "Follow me..."

Qin Qing and the others immediately followed Zhu Jirong into the heart of the academy.

The Wind-Fire Academy in fact occupied no less land than Tai’a Academy.

It too had its undulating mountains and towering buildings.

But now, the Wind-Fire Academy was almost completely desolate.

Most of the buildings were lifeless, weeds ran rampant, and many stairways were broken. The buildings were in disrepair, showing signs of age and neglect.

Zhu Jirong led Qin Qing and the others to a barren hill behind the academy.

There were rows of tombstones.

The graves were raised mounds of earth, and the tombstones were simply wooden plaques standing upright, bearing the names of the deceased.

At a glance, there were almost a few hundred of them.

Among these, dozens appeared to be newer, likely graves established within the past year or two.

"Do you see?"

Zhu Jirong pointed at these tombstones: "These are the disciples of Wind-Fire Academy that have died in the Tianyong battles over the past ten years."

"The Tianyong battle?" Qin Qing was somewhat puzzled.

He had heard Zhu Jirong and Zheng Yuanhai mention the Tianyong battle before. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But what exactly was it?

"The Tianyong battle was a wager between Wind-Fire Academy and Tai’a Academy!"

Zhu Jirong didn’t explain, instead, Zhu Linglong began to speak:

"Ten years ago, a conflict broke out between Wind-Fire Academy and Tai’a Academy. Originally, Tai’a Academy was the loser, but they devised a plot, tricking us and taking Wind-Fire Tower, which is a symbol of our academy. It was also during that conflict that Zhao Wuji blinded my father’s eye."

Qin Qing couldn’t help but look at Zhu Jirong again.

So that’s how Zhu Jirong lost his eye.

However... At the Martial Saint Realm, restoring that blinded eye to normal shouldn’t be difficult.

Yet Zhu Jirong kept himself one-eyed, having not tried to heal the wounded organ, perhaps as a reminder never to forget this grudge.

Qin Qing couldn’t help but feel that the conflict was not as simple as they made it seem.

Otherwise, Zhu Jirong wouldn’t harbor such intense hatred.

Perhaps there were other matters involved.

However, since Zhu Jirong didn’t wish to discuss it, naturally, Qin Qing wouldn’t pry further.

"After that conflict, Wind-Fire Academy and Tai’a Academy agreed to settle the score every year on the fifteenth of August, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, in Tianyong City!"

"These graves are the Wind-Fire Academy disciples who have died in the Tianyong battles over these ten years!"

So that was it...

"Our Wind-Fire Academy has lost so many disciples over these ten years!" Qin Qing’s gaze swept over the nearly thousand graves.

"How many people died on Tai’a Academy’s side?"

"Less than a hundred!" Zhu Linglong’s reply left Qin Qing somewhat speechless.

"That’s right, less than a hundred people. Over these ten years, the condition of our Wind-Fire Academy has only worsened. In fact, starting two years ago, Wind-Fire Academy was only slightly at a disadvantage, but from the third year onwards, the gap became more and more evident. In recent years, it’s been practically a one-sided massacre..."

Hearing this, Qin Qing seemed to have some understanding of why, at the entrance of the academy just now, people were so eager to leave Wind-Fire Academy.

Staying in Wind-Fire Academy meant not only that cultivation resources were not replenished, but also that once one left the academy, they could be subject to the endless pursuit of Tai’a Academy.

In addition, there was the annual Tianyong battle, which was essentially sending oneself to death...

Qin Qing reckoned that if he were just an ordinary disciple, he wouldn’t want to stay at Wind-Fire Academy either.

"Clang."

At that moment, a breaking sound suddenly echoed from not far away.

Qin Qing and the others turned toward the sound, only to see a young man in a ragged long robe, staggering toward them.

"Brother Zhong!" Seeing the young man, Zhu Linglong couldn’t help but frown and hurried forward, wanting to help the young man who was reeking of alcohol.

But the young man pushed Zhu Linglong away. He was heavily drunk, as evident from the broken sound of a wine jar he had smashed just now.

He seemed not to see Zhu Linglong at all, merely giving Zhu Jirong a slight bow as he passed by—acknowledging him with a salute—then he went to a grave and sat down.

After that, he took out another jar of wine from his Spirit Ring and started drinking by himself in front of the grave.

"His name is Zhong Hongshu, and he’s currently the most powerful disciple in our academy," Zhu Linglong said, looking at Zhong Hongshu by the grave. "That grave holds his dao companion, Sister Yun Wei."

Qin Qing’s gaze shifted slightly.

He could completely understand the feelings of this Zhong Hongshu.

Watching the person he loved die, henceforth separated by life and death, was an unimaginably painful experience.

Qin Qing couldn’t help but think of Jiang Ruorong.

"When Sister Jiang left me, my heart was very heavy... If Sister Jiang and I were also to part forever, I’m afraid the pain in my heart would not be any less than that of Zhong Hongshu’s..."

The image of Jiang Ruorong emerged in front of Qin Qing.

The scene when he first saw Jiang Ruorong.

With her white hair and clear eyes, she looked like a fairy untouched by the mortal world.

There were also times when they cultivated their movement technique together, and the New Year’s Eve when Sister Jiang sat alone in the pavilion, embroidering a blue robe, waiting for Qin Qing to return.

As the fireworks burst forth that night, reflecting in her pure eyes that were intoxicating, she was even more moving than the fireworks...

Throughout these days, Qin Qing and Jiang Ruorong had been apart.

He tried his best to immerse all his time into cultivation, so as not to let thoughts of her invade his mind.

"Brother!"

At this time, Cang Yuan walked over to Zhong Hongshu.

"I can understand your feelings, but the dead are gone, the living should look forward!"

"What you should do is to cultivate hard, to improve your strength! Those bastards from Tai’a Academy, they deserve to die. So in the next Tianyong battle, take the revenge you need, kill those who should be killed!"

Cang Yuan looked at Zhong Hongshu.

But Zhong Hongshu just kept drinking his wine as if he hadn’t heard Cang Yuan’s words.

"What’s the point of drinking alone here? Those bastards from Tai’a Academy would love to see you like this; they would only laugh at you. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

However, Zhong Hongshu still ignored Cang Yuan.

Frustrated, Cang Yuan furrowed his brows, snatched the wine jar from Zhong Hongshu’s hand, and smashed it on the ground.

"Clang!"

The jar shattered, and wine spilled all over the ground.

The strong smell of alcohol made Cang Yuan frown slightly.

This time, Zhong Hongshu was furious.

He glared with bloodshot eyes fixed on Cang Yuan.

"Shut your mouth! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Revenge? Killing?"

"Do you think I don’t want revenge? Do you think I don’t want to kill all those bastards from Tai’a Academy?"

"But..."

"With what do I kill them?"

"With you few pieces of trash?"

Zhong Hongshu said mockingly, looking at Cang Yuan and Qin Qing.