Dark Moon Era

Chapter 429: April 28th (II) (2 in 1)

“Which safety city is the biggest in the world?”

“The True Capital!”

“Which faction is acknowledged as the strongest in the world?”

“The True Capital!”

“Who are we?”

The strongest reserved geniuses of the True Capital, the True Capital Seven!”

“What are we going to do?”

“To protect the honor and glory of the True Capital!”

On the other side of the noble district in the deck area was an inconspicuous mansion, and some people were chanting slogans in unison inside.

As a matter of fact, this mansion had been vacant for several months to the extent that the cleaners, who were in charge of upkeeping the mansion, treated the place as their own house and would even bring friends over at times.

Leaving it vacant was a waste anyway, so they might as well put it to use.

That was until the owners who rented the mansion out came back yesterday.

When the teenagers who rented the mansion left a few months ago, they still appeared youthful and naive. However, when they came back, their youthfulness was replaced by a tough and rigid presence.

Who were they? The answer was obvious. They were the True Capital Seven.

At first, when the True Capital chose these seven teenagers, it caused quite a commotion in the world, but as time went by, other than owning the title, the seven of them did not do anything that shocked the world whatsoever.

In the past few years, their reputation even fell short against the Dark Nine Feathers and the Stardust Sixteen, who were notorious for causing trouble all around the world.

Therefore, the True Capital Seven underperforming in the challenge seemed to be what everyone expected as well.

Surprisingly, the True Capital supported the seven of them from the start and did not have any intentions of dismissing the group.

Could there be fewer teenagers in the True Capital compared to the other safety cities?

That was impossible because as the first faction of the world, the True Capital had numerous geniuses.

Could the True Capital have kept the seven of them because they did not want to lose face?

No, the True Capital was known for its practicality. They were never afraid of the decisions that they made! This harsh and cruel era had no place for hollow factions that dwelled on their own vanity, and the first faction of the world was no such party.

Therefore, even though everyone found it strange, they still had hope for the seven of them. The people believed that when the time was right, the True Capital Seven would surely achieve something great.

Unbeknownst to the public, they were right about believing in the True Capital. It was because of the True Capital’s practicality that they never wanted the seven of them to gain any fame or reputation.

The reason why the True Capital supported the seven of them was that they were unlike common geniuses. They came from the military and were the best of the reserved geniuses.

If the seven of them could mature well, they would surely grow to become the pillars of the True Capital in the future, and the world-renowned military generals of the True Capital would have found their successors.

Why would the seven of them fixate on such vain glory? They only had one goal in their mind, which was to shock the world in the War God Path competition next year.

However, their plan took an unexpected turn when the True Capital sent them the order to go all out at the Hell Ledge Challenge.

The orders from the True Capital never provided any explanations, and as soldiers-to-be, the True Capital Seven never asked why either. All they needed to do was to follow orders.

If the higher-ups wanted them to go all out, they would do so while certainly seizing the glory in their hands.

Today, they were finally in their uniforms that belonged to the troops of the True Capital.

The solemn green uniform was embellished with the gold that represented the True Capital’s power and authority. People would know who they were at first glance.

This would be the first time that the seven of them revealed their identities to the world because today would be the day when they rose to the stage for glory and honor.

“Are you ready to fight for glory and honor?!” the first of the seven, Wu Qing, yelled at his group.

“We are ready!” the six of them answered in a single voice.

“Let’s move out!” Wu Qing led the group out of the mansion.

Outside the door, the sun was shining brightly and the golden badges on their shoulders glared and twinkled as they marched.

The True Capital Seven were finally serious. How would they shine in the Hell Ledge Challenge?

...

Standing in front of the mirror, Ling Yu solemnly put on the silver feather brooch.

As the leader of the Dark Nine Feathers, the young genius representatives of Darkness Port, Ling Yu had deep affection and inseverable ties with his home.

How did people view Darkness Port? It was a free and prosperous city that could provide a life of debauchery, but at the same time, it was sinful, filthy, and merciless.

Was it really so? No, even when Ling Yu had been young, he had just been an orphan at the lowest social level and never thought so.

The city had a side that people did not know about, a side that was known as its heart. At the heart of the city, it followed its own ideals. Behind its ruthlessness was a soft and caring side.

However, it was not necessary to explain the hidden side of the city because Darkness Port was also tolerant and patient. It did not care about the comments of the world and would accept any criticism wholeheartedly.

The city was like an independent man who only sought what he wanted and became who he wanted without any explanation needed.

Ling Yu was a child of the city, and today, he would fight for the city that he loved for its honor and glory. This honor was related to the future, and the strength of the young genius from the city was something one could anticipate.

What about the reputation of the Dark Nine Feathers? People always assumed that they were mercenaries or killers that carried out all kinds of underground activities. Was that not what a teen from Darkness Port should do?

What a joke! Ling Yu’s mouth curled up into a cold smile since he would never explain himself anyway.

The reputation of the Dark Nine Feathers was only slightly better than that of the True Capital Seven, but due to all sorts of reasons, they had been forced to enter the spotlight once or twice in the past.

Otherwise, it was like what the commander said, “If the enemy is motionless, so shall I. If the True Capital Seven decides to lay low, so will we, the Dark Nine Feathers.”

Before this, Dark Nine Feathers’ ultimate goal had been to shock the world at the War God Path competition. Then, they would walk into the spotlight honorably with their real identities. They were never a group of killers that dwelled in the underworld. They were honorable warriors of the surface.

Gazing at the blue sea outside the window, Ling Yu tightened his grip on the window frame. He ought to seize the honor today. At least, they must defeat the True Capital Seven!

Darkness Port was not just a powerful safety city, but it was also a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.” Ling Yu’s tone sounded serious and stern.

“Boss, we should be going.” It was one of the Dark Nine Feathers that had knocked on his door.

“Let’s get moving.” Ling Yu looked up at the blinding sun that hung above the sea. The dazzling sunlight looked just like their future.

...

“Brother, you’d better be careful,” Ro Xin reminded in her clear voice. She was holding a unique hidden weapon in her hand and the two of them were inside a spacious training room.

Ro Li bared his top, revealing his firm, taut muscles while waiting patiently. Unlike his usual appearance, his face was covered in black bandages.

Suddenly, Ro Xin hastened her steps as she moved forward, but Ro Li barely budged.

As he constantly adjusted his body towards the messy steps that she intentionally created, he was able to figure out the best defensive angle to face the threat.

Upon a closer look, his arms, body, and legs were all adjusting at once but only slightly. Every adjustment was ingenious and somewhat comparable to Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct.

Who would have expected that the usual dull-looking guy was adjusting his body based on sheer feelings? His talent must be exceptionally powerful.

Ro Xin felt relieved when she noticed it, but it did not slow her down. She even quietly turned on the unique weapon in her hand. As the weapon was turned on, hundreds of silver needles were fired out together with a cloud of green mist.

No matter how spacious the room was, there was not a single safe spot to avoid Ro Xin’s hidden weapon.

Ro Li finally moved. The explosive speed from his movement was countless times faster than when he had first arrived in Darkness Port.

He swiftly dodged the first wave of silver needles before he bent backward, dodging the second wave. It seemed like his reflex speed underwent a tremendous power-up together with his ability to coordinate his body as one.

Ever since his talent was unlocked, the genius side of Ro Li was on full display.

In the end, he dodged all the silver needles and a large portion of the green mist, but the remaining mist forced him into a desperate situation.

When he tapped his waist, a little black stick floated up into the air. However, he did not proceed with the stick, and helplessly allowed the green mist to attack his body.

“Ouch! Sis, I’m really stupid.” Dispirited, Ro Li fell down on his bum and removed the black bandages around his eyes.

Ro Xin giggled as she walked over closer to him. “Bro, this is the hidden weapon Teacher gave me. He said it’s one of the strongest talent hidden weapons there is and you dodged almost 95% of the attack. How are you stupid?”

As she spoke, she wiped the green stains on Ro Li’s shoulder and felt relieved by the result.

Ro Li did not say anything because he was annoyed with the result.

Ro Xin knew what was going on in her brother’s mind, so she curled up into his arm and said softly, “Bro, if you used your puppets at the very end, you could have blocked all of them. Why didn’t you do so?”

Indeed, Ro Li still had the talent to control the puppets. It was a skill that he had inherited from the Ninth Ruins. A few months after that, especially when his talent ability was unlocked, his puppet-controlling skill improved.

People knew that he had a unique talent that was similar to Precise Instinct, but they had never seen him use his puppets.

“I can’t. If I used the puppets to block you, I’m not doing my best on my own.” Ro Li’s thoughts were as simple as always.

“Are you dumb or what? The puppets are yours and yours to control. ” Ro Xin could not help but punch her brother’s arm.

“Hehe. But you modified the puppets for me with your hard-earned money and using the puppets requires energy. I’m afraid that I might waste it...” Ro Li stroked his sister’s hair and spoke what was in his heart.

Ro Xin was moved. She had inherited the knowledge of creating puppets from the Ninth Ruins, but in the past few months, she had shifted her concentration to medical knowledge.

Even so, to her shock, she realized that her puppet-making skills were progressing smoothly despite the fact that all the time she had to study them was her short spare time. She recognized that she was talented at making puppets.

Unfortunately, she was so carried away by the medical knowledge, and if she could spend a little more time making puppets, she might be able to make her brother stronger puppets.

Fortunately, a genius would never be easily defeated or pitied! Ro Xin stood up and said energetically, “Bro, don’t worry! We’ll earn a lot of money in the future and our wishes will come true!”

“Mm-hmm!” Ro Li nodded strongly at his sister’s encouragement. He believed every word she said, but the only thing he hoped for was that Tang Ling was not in this future that his sister mentioned.

It’s not going to come true...right?

On top of that, his sister had become stronger. She was able to use poison skillfully now, and if she was serious, he might not be her match.

Ro Xin was also talented in battle after all.

When they first arrived at Darkness Port, they had secretly checked Ro Xin’s genetic chain and realized that she possessed a six-star genetic chain! No matter where she was, her genetic chain would stand out from the rest.

She might not be as good as the geniuses with her talents, but with her medical skills, she would be able to surpass them.

My sister is going to be a shining star, yet that Tang Ling...

Ro Li frustratedly scratched his head.

Then, Gu Dao’s lazy voice drawled, “Little ones, are you going to have breakfast?”

Ro Xin and Ro Li finally realized that it was time for breakfast. After all, they still had to open the drugstore for business later.

They headed down to the dining area, but Gu Dao was not around.

On the table was a scrumptious feast. Even Gu Dao’s exclusive dish that he enjoyed while drinking was served.

Everyone knew that Gu Dao only ate the best food there was. If it was not the tastiest, it would be the best quality of vicious beast meat.

What’s the occasion?

Ro Xin found it strange. She then noticed a piece of paper on the table left that her teacher had left behind.

“The 28th of April. Go get ’em, little ones! You can do it!”

Was it already the 28th of April, the day that everyone agreed on?

Ro Xin and Ro Li fixed their eyes on the note, their eyes burning with determination.

...

At the center of the deck area was the castle. It was also where the power and authority of Darkness Port laid, but as a commercialized city, it was also Darkness Port’s classiest commercial building.

Businesses that could open a retail store in the castle were all high-class trades, and only true nobles with wealthy backgrounds could shop there. Commoners might not even know that the castle had retail stores inside.

Currently, Tang Long was in the best training room in the castle. His body was currently covered in electrodes and all around him were super-advanced instruments.

Tang Long had nothing on but underwear. His slender physique and toned body lines were on full display and drops of sweat as large as peas were dripping from his body. Despite that, he had yet to reach the limit as he could further squeeze his basic abilities and strengthen them further.

After receiving a glass bottle from Draconic Twelve outside the door, Tang Long drained it to the last drop.

What did he just drink? It was a high-quality stamina regeneration serum. After consuming it, a quick half an hour rest could make the body recover to its prime form, but only the body. One’s spirit was not something that could recover with a drink.

Even so, a little bottle of stamina regeneration serum cost a lot. Tang Long had trained like a mad man in the past few months and the serum was just part of his daily expenditure.

He knew that in this port city, all the young geniuses were trying to strengthen themselves. Some even sailed to the sea while others joined the mercenaries on some risky missions, but not Tang Long.

He was the most important young genius of the Stardust Council and his freedom was not something that he had control over.

However, with a large amount of high quality resources poured into his training and cultivation, the effect and increase he got were at least 99% stronger than the others.

He was known by the people as the first, the No. 1 genius. Although it was not proven by real achievements like the most renowned War God Path competition in the True Capital, as long as he was on his way there, he would never step down.

Tang Long shut his eyes as he leaned on the wall, trying to recover his spirit as much as possible. Half an hour later, he bolted up. Without further ado, he yelled, “Let’s start!”

Right after his command, the training room surrounded by super-advanced instruments fired out different projectiles at him. There were bullets, hammers, lasers, and so on. Some of the projectiles must be dodged whereas some could be stopped by force.

This room was testing how quick his judgment was. Since he was in the best training room, every aspect would be strengthened, including his battle consciousness. Even the hardest aspect to strengthen was included in this training. Since the room cost 1,000 Black Sea coins per hour, the money spent must be worth his while.

Tang Long moved at an extreme speed. He was so fast that he left afterimages in his trail within the packed training room. The electrode wires that were attached to his body were actually a hologram, so they did not hinder his movements at all.

As Tang Long moved, all the data was displayed on the screen. It was refreshed and analyzed rapidly for the system to come up with an effective training plan in the next moment.

Soon, holographic human figures started to appear. Punches, kicks, cold weapons, and even firearms were all thrown at Tang Long.

The number of human figures increased by the second. One, two, three...

Red dots started to appear on his body which meant that he was hurt, but he moved faster and fought fiercer, holding on as long as he could.

“Wow! Is our big boss that powerful?”

The youngest of the Stardust Sixteen, Draconic Sixteen, was in awe when he watched Tang Long’s blurry figure moving around the training room.

Beside him was the strict Draconic One, who was the oldest among the sixteen prodigies. He chuckled and said, “This isn’t even the Young Master’s limit! He hasn’t even used any of his trump cards. His strength might have reached the zenith of nine bulls and two tigers, but he could work on his reflexes and sensing ability. He is pushing himself to the limit. The Young Master is trying to achieve perfection.”

Draconic One always had the heart to take care of his brother and sisters, thus he elaborated carefully to Draconic Sixteen.

Tang Long was pushing himself to the limit, and as long as there was space left for him to power up, he would never let it go. He wanted to welcome the moment of change with the strongest accumulation of power.

What about Tang Ling?

Reality was harsh sometimes. Maybe because Tang Ling had been through more life or death situations than Tang Long, he was constantly at his limit. Therefore, his reflexes and sensing ability were sound.

Tang Long must push himself to the limit and squeeze whatever potential he had in order to be Tang Ling’s match when it came to this.

Was it because of the Perfect Genetic Chain? No one had the answer, but no one could deny what Tang Ling had been through either.

Phew!

Following a heavy exhale from Tang Long, a red dot appeared on his heart.

A loud beep sounded in the training room, indicating that he was ‘dead’, and the training ended.

Tang Long fell to the ground weakly. He did not even want to move a finger. He had tried his best to hold on as long as he could, but according to the normal training routine, he still had to use his trump card to release and temper himself, challenging his combat capabilities to the maximum.

However, today was not the day because it was the 28th of April.

“5 minutes and 36 seconds.” The machine in the training room reported the length of time that Tang Long lasted in the training. He grinned when he heard the timing.

He lasted 2 seconds more than his previous time! This was the ideal outcome that he sought after, improving from his previous time and becoming stronger than before.

“Young Master.” Draconic Twelve entered the training room. He sat Tang Long up and fed him another bottle of stamina regeneration serum.

Tang Long only had the strength to stand up after two minutes. He was sweating like a waterfall and his hair was stuck to his body.

“Wait for me. I’ll go clean up.” Tang Long had to maintain his image in front of the public because he was the representative of the Stardust Council.

After 15 minutes, Tang Long came back. He did not dress extravagantly and was wearing his usual favorite white uniform. There was no extra detail on top of the pure white color. Did it mean that he did not carry the emotions that might potentially hurt him?

Despite the minimalism, the simple white uniform looked elegant and solemn on Tang Long.

It was the 28th of April. Despite Tang Long not caring about the date, the Stardust Sixteen must secure their honor and glory. Therefore, in order to go along with their leader’s style and for the sake of solidarity, the Stardust Sixteen donned the white uniform as well.

Unfortunately, Draconic Seven was not there. Tang Long glanced at everyone and rage started to burn in his heart.

Tang Ling!

“Let’s go.” Tang Long carefully buried his rage and ordered his group to move out.

Everyone followed him out of the castle in an orderly fashion.

“Twelve, are you joining us at the last minute?” asked Tang Long as he sat down in the wagon.

“Is it against the rules? I also want to fight for glory and honor with everyone else,” said Draconic Twelve as he lowered his head bashfully.

“It’s not. You are one of the Stardust Sixteen and I can get an extra slot for you to join.” Tang Long then shut his eyes and leaned back, resting his mind. He did not know that this would mark the start of the storm as it was impossible for him to know what was coming his way.

Draconic Twelve lowered his head. A strange smile curled up on his mouth, but no one saw it as it was hidden in the shadow under his hat.

This was the only secret that was a handful of people knew. What if this secret was exposed? Maybe even those so-called powerful figures might not be able to stop anything.

Tang Long and Tang Ling must fight to the death, and the one who died had to be Tang Ling.

On top of that, Draconic Twelve still had his own mission to carry out.

After Tang Ling’s death, fighting over the corpse would be a problem, and by then, he hoped that the president of the council could be a little more useful.

...

In Dvesha Moha, Tang Ling and Han Xing were lying on the ground. They were so exhausted that they could not even move a finger.

Up until this very day, both Tang Ling and Han Xing were broke again. More precisely, they were officially broke as of last night. After all, it had been the last night before the big day and they did not want to waste it. The poor had their own way and it had proven to be a rather effective one.

The two of them decided to fight each other as training, not just in sword techniques but in a full-blown battle that demanded everything of them.

In a single night, they fought each other 27 rounds, so Han Xing got beaten up by Tang Ling 27 times.

In the end, the two of them were exhausted since extreme battles consumed a high amount of stamina, and being able to fight 27 rounds was considered outrageous.

Whilst lying on the ground, Han Xing’s eyes glowed with a tinge of admiration as he stared at Tang Ling, who was also sprawled on the ground further away.

“Not bad. As expected of you, my brother.”

After last night, he was also capable of fighting 27 rounds in a night!