The Martial Master - 97 A selfish man.

‘What is this?!’

Li Wei’s mind was reeling on utter confusion and bewilderment as this pain barraged him. His feet staggered a bit, and his eyes flickered with dull streaks of anguish.

‘Guh…’

Li Wei gripped his fists as he tried to throw this annoying and almost disturbing pain out of his mind. The confusion was driving him insane, and whatever the reason, he couldn’t figure out its source.

‘Is it because of the beam the woman shot?’

Li Wei’s face grew weary as he tottered over to the chamber, and at this moment he felt his soul calm down a little. However, that disconcerting notion never left him; a notion that he had lost something.

This loss, this piece of soul, it was close to him. A thing he considered pivotal, something that defined a part of him.

It was this that was gone.

People, who he knew, now forever forgotten.

It may not be important now, or in the near future, but at some time, in some place, it will face him. He, though, will have no idea.

She could stare at him, they could stare at him, yet he wouldn’t even think of them as people he knew. Those that he killed in ignorance, and a person that he defined as an etching rule to improve himself on. Gone.

All he now feels is regret from forgetfulness; a great regret that he cannot piece together. A fogged mess, and all coming from that striking hole in his teetering soul.

‘What is it that I have forgotten?’

Li Wei grasped his chest as he stepped inside of the chamber, where a slightly pale girl gazed at him with shock.

He looked at her and remembered that he needed to protect her. He felt a rather profound urge to do so; like he would break a pledge if he failed.

As for why, he couldn’t tell. He knew that Su Min needed him to keep her alive, he knew the consequences of her death, yet this feeling didn’t originate from this.

It was like he was missing something.

Elsewhere, and stepping in the air with a simple gaze, a starry-eyed man rubbed his chin with interest as he left the ledge Li Wei was on. He passed by the disciples who had just recovered from the sudden disappearance of steam; he even dodged the senses of the 7th step elders who were trying to analyse the situation.

His simple walk aroused no one’s attention, and as he crossed a couple kilometres in a few light steps, his eyes brightened as he caught a certain person floating high in the sky.

This person, draped in ethereal robes, noticed him too. The person’s pupils contracted an indiscernible amount, but he didn’t do anything as he turned his head and stared at the halved ledge once more.

“Hey, Sect Master!”

The man laughed as he leapt up the Sect Master with a bright smile. The Sect Master gave him a glimpse as an odd light flashed, but he withdrew it once more and spoke whilst looking away.

“Xia Xuegang, I thought you would stay in seclusion for a bit longer?”

Xia Xuegang smile lessened as he paused for a second, seemingly in thought. The Sect Master didn’t seem to mind, as he just continued to stare on and at the ledge with a solemn expression.

“I heard that you are trying to kill Wen Mian.”

A string of rather shocking words escaped out of Xia Xuegang’s lips as his smile returned and he stared at the ledge with the Sect Master. The atmosphere around the two seemed to tighten as his voice echoed, where the Sect Master took a step back and scowled at him with a dark expression.

“Where’d you hear this?”

Visible streaks of bright light sparkled around him as a magnificent pressure shrouded Xia Xuegang. Yet, he remained unchanged to it all and continued to study the ledge with starry eyes.

The Sect Master was staring at the back of Xia Xuegang as he awaited a response, where visible wariness streaked through his expression.

“I can see real potential from that girl; she reminds me of my youth, you know.”

Xia Xuegang face was traced with nostalgia as he turned around and faced the Sect Master. He looked like a simple mortal with his absent aura and ordinary face, though the caution in the Sect Master’s eyes only magnified.

“I heard that she beat me in talent, heh, I sure am waiting for her to reach my level. Of course, this is on the pretence that she won’t die.”

He nudged the Sect Master with a chuckle, then strolled passed him and faced the sky behind. The Sect Master seemed to want to speak, but Xia Xuegang didn’t let him as his voice darkened a little.

“Offending an Overseer is shallow, Sect Master. Even if he isn’t here, the characters he can bring to stand in for himself are a lot more terrifying than you can imagine.”

A profound haze seemed to string around him at this instant. The air chilled, and starry light encompassed the two. Still, Xia Xuegang continued.

“Alas, I won’t bother anymore.”

His mysterious eyes gazed at the flickering stars around him. A strange feeling emerged, and in a sudden blemish, nearly half of the stars got tarnished in a blood-red.

“The future doesn’t look swell.”

However, as his eyes shined, a strange aura overtook this blood-red and flashed. Xia Xuegang’s face changed a little as he watched the other half get encompassed in a golden haze. Each of these stars soon shined a glistening gold, a gold way too similar to that sight he caught from Li Wei.

He sighed as he waved his hand and dissipated the stars, leaving the Sect Master with an ill premonition.

“Well, I guess I’ll be on my way. It was a fun couple millennium, but this is a little much for my rough ability to handle. I might take a break with those humans, as Teacher did say that he noticed an unusual presence had been festering in there for a while.”

A muddy straw hat materialised in his hand as he dusted it and placed it on his head. His starry robes were replaced by dull clothes; he even began to chew on some wheat.

The Sect Master watched this with a wilting expression, but he didn’t bid farewell. Xia Xuegang stretched as he left his last remark.

“Ah, I think your divinator has some news.”

He spoke no more as he tipped his straw hat and took a step forward, sinking into the horizon.

“Sect Master!”

And just in time, an old man flew through the air and arrived to see the placid face of the Sect Master. He felt a strange atmosphere, but he didn’t think much of it as he handed over a scroll.

The Sect Master, as if he was in a daze, didn’t even look at the old man as he grabbed the scroll. He flicked his wrist, and a token appeared.

“You may use this to get whatever you want.”

He gave a single nod as he spoke and left with the scroll. The old man didn’t know what to say as he stared at the absent space that used to be occupied, but he was soon overcome with excitement as his eyes studied the token.

Nevertheless, this was all insignificant to the Sect Master who was flying right towards the ledge with old eyes. He had the scroll open, and he seemed to have already read the contents.

He didn’t seem panicked, not even startled. A strange calm instead prevailed. One that was a little off.

*BANG*

A mighty roiling thunderclap rang in the sky as he appeared before the audience of elders and disciples staring at the ledge. Everyone’s gaze was redirected and aimed right at him, and it seemed to sting his heart.

*Sigh*

The hopes, the dreams of those under him. Those who don’t know, and those who may never know. They all hurt him, as he was a man who prided himself over his sect.

He was a selfish man.

“I have a message.”

His voice reverberated above all others, and his placid face remained stale.

“Leave this Sect.”

He finished with the same tone of voice as if it were something trivial.