NOVEL WEB Chapter 67: A Thousand Miles Away
The endlessly unchanged valley saw a great transformation on this day, one that no one anticipated.
Under the scorching sun, relentless streams of light dispelled the cold fronts from the north, imbuing the valley—a place where spring seems eternal—with even more vivid life.
In a fleeting moment, all the greenery within a radius of several dozen miles, both inside and outside the valley, rustled in unison.
The most intense reaction came from the widespread 'Blue Silver Grass,' bowing towards the center of the valley as if subjects paying homage to their emperor.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths... a minute... a quarter of an hour... an hour...
From the time the sun rose in the east to when it tilted west, all the plants regained their usual appearance.
Due to this remote location, far from human activities and even scarce in spirit beasts, no one noticed such a prolonged anomaly.
Unbeknownst to when, a figure appeared in what should have been an empty valley, quite suddenly—a small and delicate figure that seemed to embody the very essence of nature's spirit.
A little girl, her blue hair flowing like a cascade both in front and behind her, with features exquisitely sculpted, as if painted, and skin as clear and luminous as ancient jade.
The girl raised her hands, curiously inspecting her palms, examining the backs of her hands, curling, and uncurling her fingers, as if observing something of great interest.
For a long time, she surveyed her entire body from head to toe, thoughtfully tilting her head, before finally waving her hand in front of her with a whimsical gesture.
A wondrous scene unfolded before her eyes.
The air seemed to ripple with the motion of her hand, as an invisible whirlwind came into being, casting blue-green stardust into the air. These fell gently upon the 'Blue Silver Grass' below.
Initially unremarkable, the 'Blue Silver Grass' absorbed these glimmers, swiftly burgeoning into towering vines, each larger than the height of a person.
This was only the beginning. As hundreds of these 'Blue Silver Grass' transformed, becoming colossal vines, the little girl gazed at them thoughtfully, her right hand stretched forward, fingers subtly beckoning.
In the next moment, silken strands of blue were drawn from the massive vines, weaving themselves into an intricate pattern in mid-air.
Gradually, a blue dress took shape before the girl.
Tilting her head, she examined the oddly fashioned garment, her lips parting slightly to utter an ethereal sound: "The... feeling... and... what I'm... seeing... are... a bit... different..."
In her memory, long ago, through the perspective of various 'Blue Silver Grass', she had glimpsed humans living miles away beyond the great mountains and the way they adorned themselves.
The dress before her, however, seemed skewed and irregular in its details.
Tapping her chin with a small finger, the little girl contemplated briefly before waving her hand once more, transforming the dress back into individual blue threads, and weaving them anew: "Once more... let's try again... after all... there's plentiful soul power... and domain energy... here..."
As she controlled the weaving threads, her speech grew increasingly fluid.
Before long, the little girl, now clad in a blue dress, began her slow journey through the depths of the 'Tianling Mountains', step by step towards the world beyond.
Half a month later, in the southwest of the Tian Dou Empire, within the Fasno Province, a small town named Ruin City lay close to the Tianling Mountains. Under the west city gate, a petite figure clad in blue slips in alongside the bustling crowd.
Ruin City Junior Soul Master Academy.
In a first-year classroom, a teacher with short green hair stands at the podium, looking down kindly at the fresh-faced students who have only been attending school for a few months. She speaks gently:
"Class, today we have a new work-study student joining us. I hope you all can get along well..."
As she finishes speaking, the teacher turns her gaze towards the classroom door. "Come in and say hello to everyone, introduce yourself~"
"My martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, and I am now a twelfth-level one-ring soul master."
The speaker’s voice is melodious, akin to the soft chime of bells. In her right hand, Ah Yin holds up a more refined and exquisite Blue Silver Grass than usual. It shines like a sapphire with delicate golden patterns woven within—a large Blue Silver Grass appears.
Simultaneously, a bright yellow soul ring rises from the girl’s feet, swirling around her petite and delicate frame, pulsating rhythmically.
"Hiss—"
Gasps echo throughout the spacious classroom, leaving the air almost palpably thin.
"Twelfth level—!?"
"A single ring!? A soul master—!?"
"Yel... Yellow... Soul Ring—!?"
As the students below stared in disbelief at the podium, their eyes fixed on the little girl named Ah Yin, the green-haired female teacher beside her also looked at her with a complex expression.
A century-old soul ring, a six-year-old twelfth-level soul master with a single ring—what does this imply? In this moment, her thoughts raced uncontrollably.
Such age, such power, has never been seen in the history of Ruin City Junior Soul Master Academy. Not to mention that century-old soul ring and the feat of cultivating the so-called 'useless' martial soul, Blue Silver Grass, to level ten at such a young age. These points clearly indicate that this little girl has a powerful soul master or even a family of soul masters backing her.
As for why, despite having such a background, she would attend a regular academy like Ruin City Junior Soul Master Academy?
The female teacher glanced at the Blue Silver Grass in Ah Yin's hand, secretly shaking her head: 'Perhaps she is the illegitimate daughter of some significant figure?'
Although she inherited the top-notch talent of a major personality, her martial soul had to be the 'useless' Blue Silver Grass from the other parent's side, leading to her lack of recognition by the people around such a figure?'
In the days that followed, as everyone at the Ruin City Junior Soul Master Academy speculated about the background of the new student Ah Yin, she remained oblivious to the outside world's whispers, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to learning.
"...The Heaven Dou Empire occupies the northern parts of the continent, while our Fasno Province is situated in the southwest, bordering the Star Luo Empire to the south... 'Ruin City', being in the northern parts of the province, is spared from much of the warfare disturbances... Of course, it's also outside the frontline of trade between the two nations... Additionally, due to its proximity to the mountain range adjacent to the Heaven Spirit Mountain, the arable land here is scarce, and food supply primarily depends on imports from the Eastern parts of the Fasno Province, specifically from the Balak Kingdom..."
During a continental history class, as the teacher introduced the various nations and their geographical locations on the Douluo Continent, Ah Yin raised her hand to ask a question:
“Teacher, we’re currently in the southwest of the Tiandou Empire. What lies to the northeast of Ruin City?”
Ah Yin asked with curiosity.
The teacher, recognizing the seemingly well-connected girl, smiled as he replied, “Closer by, there is Ionia Province, one of the empire’s five major provinces, with Yasuo City situated about three hundred miles from our Ruin City...”
Ah Yin tilted her head, her eyes wide open as she followed up with another question, “And what about places further away? Even thousands of miles, or perhaps over ten thousand miles away?”
The teacher raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, wondering if perhaps her mysterious background hailed from one of those distant lands. He kept his tone thoughtful, “Further away, more than seventeen hundred miles to the east-northeast, is the capital of the Kingdom of Silves, Silves City. Approximately twenty-eight hundred miles to the north-northeast lies our own empire’s capital, Tiandou City!”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “As for places farther than ten thousand miles away...”
The teacher considered the question carefully, finally answering, “That would be where the Waterwood Duchy, an affiliated duchy of our empire, is located.”
“The Waterwood Duchy...” Ah Yin murmured softly to herself, bowing slightly with a grateful smile, “Thank you, teacher.”
She continued listening to the lecture while her mind wandered.
‘Starting about five or six years ago, going by the directions and distances the teacher mentioned, the place known as the Waterwood Duchy began to exude the aura of Blue Silver Grass extensively. Could someone be specially cultivating Blue Silver Grass there—?’
(End of Chapter)
