Tribulation of Myriad Races

Suddenly, Yellow Nine said, “Elder, your mask is broken. Why is it glowing?”

He laughed, “See, even fate is trying to tell us to throw these masks away. Your mask isn’t going to last long. Why is it glowing randomly? It should only glow when someone is tracking it. The head is still in the Allheaven Battlefield. Is he supposed to track you through realms?”

“…”

But right after saying that, Yellow Nine’s expression changed massively as he turned around and fled without any hesitation. First Yellow’s expression changed as well. He hastily reached at his mask to crush it.

Holy shit!

Someone was tracking him!

This shouldn’t be possible. He was an elder, and only his direct superior could track him. His direct superior was the department head, who was also an Invincible. But how was that possible?

The head was still in the Allheaven Battlefield.

Before he could crush the mask, a peal of laughter rang out, “I wouldn’t do that. No matter what, that’s still a peak earth weapon. It’s still quite valuable, am I right?”

“…”

Panic covered First Yellow’s face as he hurriedly bowed fawningly while trembling with fear, “First Yellow greets the head.”

Yellow Nine, who was in the midst of fleeing, felt his world spin before he found himself right beside First Yellow yet again. Without any hesitation, he also bowed and greeted loudly, “Your loyal subordinate, Yellow Nine, greets the head!”

Both of them were feeling shock, despair, and sorrow all at the same time.

Just what rotten luck was this?

Previously, they were pursued by Sunmoons. And now, an Invincible had personally arrived for them. This…was this fate’s way of telling them their days were numbered? The air before the two bowed figures warped as a gray-masked individual appeared.

With a smile, he said, “First Yellow, why are you running from me?”

“Lord…I…I wasn’t running…”

First Yellow tried to explain himself, but he hurriedly assumed a sorrowful tone as he said, “Lord! I didn’t betray the pavilion! Profound Nine framed us! Yes, it was all his fault! Lord, we knew a big secret! A very big secret! I was just trying to report my discovery to you!”

“And what secret did you find out? Tell me.”

The head stepped forth, straightened First Yellow’s collar, and patted his shoulder, “Why are your legs shaking? Don’t be afraid. Tell me.”

“Y-yes…I-I’m not a-afraid.” First Yellow said nervously, “We found out that Profound Nine’s identity is problematic.”

“He’s Su Yu?” The head laughed, “Is this the big secret? Perhaps the pavilion should test Su Yu again? The third and eighth elders of the Enforcement Unit had both tested Profound Nine several times. They both believe that there is no issue with his identity. Perhaps we need an Eternal to drop by Grandstar City personally?”

“…”

Despair sank in.

First Yellow couldn’t help but feel despair. What was the meaning of these words? Did the head doubt them, or did the head simply not care? Beside him, Yellow Nine’s legs were also trembling in fear. He even felt like crying. Why was the head here?

They had kept their masks because they believed that the head wouldn’t enter the Human Realm. This would allow them to disguise themselves as pavilion members when necessary. Alas, the head had actually entered the Human Realm.

The head laughed and slowly removed First Yellow’s mask while saying, “Back then, I personally recruited you into the pavilion. First Yellow, am I aware of your identity? What do you think?”

“Uhm…Lord…”

The mask was removed, revealing the face of an ethereal old man.

The head laughed again, “This face of yours still looks as innocent as ever. An ethereal face that is both righteous and steadfast. It has been over a hundred years. But your face is still exactly the same.”

“Head…I…”

The head said, “Don’t be scared. Do not be scared. This is a good face to have. Looks like you’re already used to this face. So…who is Little Yellow Nine to you?”

As the head asked, he reached out at Yellow Nine’s mask. Yellow Nine wanted to evade, but he didn’t have the courage. Thus, he could only obediently allow his mask to be taken off.

But right after the mask was removed, the head blanked out.

“A woman?”

“…”

The head laughed and shook his head, “Looks like my eyes are not as good. This is still a girl. I thought Yellow Nine would be a naughty boy. Tsk, tsk. First Yellow, where did you find this lass? How did you trick her into following you?”

Yes. Beneath Yellow Nine’s mask was the face of a woman. The face of a young woman who looked pure, innocent, and pitiful. Such were the faces both First Yellow and Yellow Nine had. But when they spoke, they did not seem to embody the faces they had. Righteousness and innocence were never present.

First Yellow’s expression changed into a helpless expression that somehow still looked ethereal as he said, “Lord, this is my granddaughter.”

“Nonsense.” The head laughed, “Why are you being dishonest? How can you lie to me? She’s your granddaughter? It’s not a good idea to lie to me. What do you think?”

Left with no choice, First Yellow said, “Fine…I’ll be honest. I picked her up somewhere. That’s real. I swear!”

“Elder, you picked me up somewhere?” Yellow Nine exclaimed in surprise. Her eyeballs whirled about shrewdly as she said, “Elder, how is that possible? How can you say this about me? I…I hereby sever my relationship with you! From now on, we shall go our separate ways!”

Right after saying that, she attempted to leave.

The head merely tapped at her forehead lightly with his finger to completely remove her ability to move. Then, he smiled and said, “Stop running. Why are you running, lass? Don’t bother trying this on me. Just look at those mischievous eyes of yours. What an adorable lass.”

Yellow Nine sank into despair.

She wanted to shout that she was not adorable at all.

The head observed her for a bit before exclaiming, “Wow, she’s actually a genius. First Yellow, where did you pick her up? This is definitely a genius. Her bone age is quite young.”

First Yellow answered awkwardly, “Yeah, she’s quite young. I picked her up nineteen years ago…”

“Hmm?” The head was surprised, “Nineteen years ago…how old was she when you picked her up?”

“About two or three, I guess. I’m not sure since she was still a toddler at the time.”

The head laughed, “Interesting. About two or three nineteen years ago. In that case, you must have killed the previous Yellow Nine to make way for her?”

“No! Not at all!” First Yellow hurriedly explained, “I’m telling the truth. He died during a mission with his mask intact. When I arrived, he was already dying. At the time, I thought that it would be a waste to let an earth weapon like the mask self-destruct after his death so I persuaded him to pass it over to my granddaughter.”

“Do you know her background?” The head said, “Nineteen years ago. Which family was she from?”

“That…” First Yellow answered, “I don’t know. I didn’t try too hard to investigate, but the few attempts I made bore no result. Thus, I gave up. Head, it has been so many years. It’s pointless to investigate now. Am I right?”

“If she was three back then, she must only be twenty-two now. What a genius.” The head said, “That family is indeed good at producing geniuses so I’m not surprised that she’s a genius. I’m more surprised by your generosity when raising her. You must have used a large amount of heavenly source qi and heavenearth profound light on her, right?”

“Cough, cough…uhm…”

“Wait, did you embezzle those resources from the pavilion?”

“Nope! Definitely not! Head, I earned those resources fair and square!”

“Oh, I understand.” The head laughed, “So you have been revisiting your previous profession. It’s understandable why money isn’t something you lack.”

First Yellow’s jaw dropped. After a long while, he spoke, “Head…were you aware of my identity since the beginning?”

“Of course. How can an Eternal be so dumb? Can someone so dumb even become an Eternal?” The head grinned, “Of course I know who you are, Hollow. Perhaps you want to try fighting me? I’m only here as a tri-life body. You might win. What do you think?”

Yellow Nine stared at First Yellow blankly and asked, “Hollow? Elder, you told me your name is Kong Qingzi.”

Who was Hollow? Most people wouldn’t recognize this name, but anyone who mattered would know the name.

Hollow, third on Dao Affirmation Ranking, from the ancient spatial beast race.

Yes. Third on Dao Affirmation Ranking.

He was ranked even higher than Xia Longwu, who was only ranked fifth.

He was among the handful of the Sunmoons nearest to the Invincible Realm.

First Yellow explained awkwardly, “Misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding! Head, how can I be Hollow? I’m Kong Qingzi. Back then, I killed an Invincible’s descendant accidentally so I was forced to go into hiding…”

The head laughed and said, “Yeah, I know. I know. Kong Qingzi. Back then, you killed a son of Heavenly Jade Immortal King. You specialize in spatial arts. Basically, you’re a very good thief. You tried to steal something from the immortal king’s son and was discovered. Thus, you killed him. Am I right?”

“That’s right!” First Yellow answered helplessly, “Thus, this identity of mine must stay hidden…”

The head laughed yet again and added, “What a coincidence. About 120 years ago, I was traveling when someone called Kong Qingzi went crazy and tried to steal something from me. I killed him with a casual slap. Since I was in a rush, I left his remains behind. But he was still a seventh-stage Sunmoon, so his corpse would still be quite valuable. When I was done with my errand, I went back for the corpse. When I arrived…I witnessed someone phasing into the dead body. Wow. That was quite a surprising scene to behold.”

“…”

First Yellow’s face froze.

The head lightly patted First Yellow’s face with a smile, “Yeap. This is the face I saw back then. The face I slapped to death. But it’s not exactly the same. There are some minor differences. What a coincidence. Am I right?”

First Yellow asked blankly, “That…was your kill?”

“Yeap. Who else could it be?”

“I…” First Yellow sullenly said, “I thought he was killed by a stray attack. At the time, two Invincibles were fighting not far away. I saw a convenient identity to borrow lying on the ground waiting for me so I picked it up.”

“You sure are good at picking things up.” The head laughed and asked, “Hollow, isn’t this fun?”

“No. Not at all.” First Yellow said, “Head, so you have been aware of my identity since the beginning?”

“That is only natural. You do have many layers of skin, with Kong Qingzi being the innermost layer. You thought that my discovery would stop at that, right?”

The head continued in amusement, “You have no idea how fun you are. I followed you for a while. I saw the layer upon layer of skins you cover yourself in. That was so amusing I didn’t even want to expose you anymore. Isn’t this interesting?”

Beside, Yellow Nine was staring at First Yellow blankly. After a long while, she asked, “Elder…you’re not a human?”

First Yellow rolled his eyes, “Have I ever claimed to be a human?”

“You…are you really Hollow?”