Guan Longzi had stopped accepting students and told those who did not make it to return three months later.

　　Shen Lian did not announce that he would stop accepting students but no one else besides Lei Jing showed up. Also, besides Fei Zhong, no one else knew of Lei Jing’s true identity.

　　Her status was too high above and compared to other students, she was the cloud above the sky. It was not odd that she had no interactions with other students.

　　Meanwhile, on the south side of the city, there was a huge courtyard that looked simple and plain.

　　The courtyard was known as the Yin Garden and it was the residences of the ambassadors and traders from Yin Shang. As Tianyi was held captive at Xia Tai, people who were at the Yin Garden rarely left the place to prevent unnecessary misfortunes.

　　Wu Ding, the young man who traveled with Shen Lian and the entourage of traders too stayed at the Yin Garden. He carried his sword and breathed according to the breath of Diqiu. He inhaled the fresh air and exhaled the foul Qi.

　　An airbag popped up on his back around the area of his Conception and Governor vessels. His mana then started to circulate around the Conception and Governor vessels.

　　After he was done absorbing the essence of the sun, he continued to absorb the power of the stars.

　　Wu Ding’s cultivation was based on the stars known as the Flying Star Incantation. A Qi cultivator taught it to him when he was young and it was said that he was the only person who could master it to a deeper, whole new level.

　　He was a prodigy and was able to fathom the depths of the Flying Star Incantation. That was the reason why he chose not to cultivate his family’s Dao incantation.

　　However, the cultivation of the Flying Star Incantation was more difficult than he expected. There were twelve levels to it but he hit a plateau at the fifth level as he failed to form stars with his Qi internally to become the source of mana.

　　Despite that, the Flying Star Incantation brought him enormous mana that was way beyond his peers.

　　But this was not sufficient, it was far from sufficient.

　　His current strength was not enough to bring him to Tianyi who was held captive at Xia Tai.

　　Tianyi, the person whom he admired the most in his lifetime.

　　When the Flying Star Incantation was running, the surrounding stars and moon would act like a lake that soaked Wu Ding in it. He would be able to sense anything within a mile radius that triggered a ripple in the power of the stars.

　　The power of the stars flowed naturally within the heaven and earth. Wu Ding picked up an odd energy from the stars towards the northern side. He thought it was odd because the power of the stars was too evenly distributed in that direction.

　　He took his sword along with him and headed out. His footstep was so strange that one could not tell his next step.

　　This was the star steps as recorded in the Flying Stars Incantation. If he mastered ten levels or more, he would be able to use the fluctuations of the star power to transport himself to anywhere the star power could reach. He could also use the star steps to absorb the power of the stars to rejuvenate damaged mana.

　　The best thing about the star steps was that it helped him camouflaged his Qi dynamics against the black shadow in the dark.

　　A figure dressed in black showed up at the northern side of the courtyard. The man in black had deeply hidden breath and a silver bow in his hands. The moon passed by and the silver bow pierced through the moonlight and halved it.

　　There were no arrows to the bow but as the black figure released the bow, the shapeless breath of the heaven and earth would form a bright silver arrow. Before anyone could hear anything, the arrow had left the bow.

　　Wu Ding leaned downwards and was almost parallel with the ground. The bow flew past his hair and a small patch of black hair fell off. Before it could land on the ground, the second arrow had reached his legs.

　　Wu Ding made a turn with a high-speed maneuver and avoided the arrow. He did not reduce his speed and ran further away from the man in black.

　　Someone who was at the Yin Garden noticed the man in black and wanted to warn others but before he could do so, the arrow had pierced through his throat.

　　The bow was like the Book of Life and Death that reaped the lives of people encountered by the man in black.

　　The man in black was as composed as the moon. Every shot released by him would have two to three arrows. One would charge towards Wu Ding while the other arrows were used to kill the people who were at the Yin Garden.

　　Wu Ding knew that this person’s strength was terrifying. No one else at the Yin Garden beside him could dodge the arrows.

　　He could not bear to watch the people of his tribe die in vain and thus he leaped and sacrificed one shoulder in order to escape from the Yin Garden.

　　He headed towards the South City and would arrive at the Xia Canal soon.

　　If there was anyone in Diqiu who would protect him, that person would definitely be Guan Longzi of the Dynasty School.

　　Wu Ding resisted the severe pain in his arm and threw a backhand sword move. Under the concentration of the power of the stars, countless metal pieces were formed and charged towards the man in black.

　　He finally had the chance to showcase the power of the Flying Stars Incantation after many years of cultivating it.

　　However, as the man in black slammed into his body, the void started to become distorted and the flying metal pieces scrape across his body but causing zero damage.

　　The man in black blended into the void and made air marks in the sky that were chasing after Wu Ding.

　　Wu Ding arrived at the Xia Canal but there was no one else there. He stopped because he was surprised that he did not manage to escape from the man in black.

　　But the stars by the river and the moon that surged at the Xia Canal provided him with the unlimited spiritual vigor that healed his wounds.

　　He was exceptionally calm as he took in every detail of the surroundings including the wave patterns of the Xia Canal into his mind.

　　The man in black stopped at a range of hundred steps. If he comes closer, Wu Ding could attack him. But if he stood further, Wu Ding could escape from him.

　　This was the experience accumulated from roaming around life and death.

　　Wu Ding stared at him and said, “You are an assassin of the Eastern Barbarians.”

　　The Eastern Barbarians were not an ethnic group but a tribe that was based in the east side of Da Xia. They were the biggest supporters of Da Xia, also the biggest hater of Yin Shang.

　　“You are indeed a talent of Yin Shang. Being in Wang Cheng, I wouldn’t dare to go all out but you actually managed to hold up till now. Looks like you are as good as your father Xiaoyi was when he was younger.” the man in black said.

　　Xiaoyi was Wu Ding’s father, also one of the powerhouses of Yin Shang.

　　“The Eastern Barbarian is willing to sacrifice you just to kill me?” Although I don’t know who you are, you have the potential of the leader of a tribe. Emperor Xia may not like us Yin Shang but we have the same blood as Tianyi and our ancestors have contributed to the foundation of Da Xia. He would never allow me to die in the hands of someone else and you would soon be captured.” Wu Ding spoke of the truth calmly.

　　Emperor Xia possessed the power to punish Tianyi and to issue an edict to kill Tianyi and his descendants. Emperor Xia was the only person who had the rights to do so.

　　Even if Wu Ding hated the tyrannical Emperor Xia, he could not deny that Emperor Xia was an upright person.

　　The man in black too had a respectful expression when he heard about Emperor Xia. It was the respect for the strongest powerhouse of the universe.

　　He said, “I have arrived at the dusk of my life while you are still at your dawn. It is worth it to use my life to trade for yours. Furthermore, it would be an honor for me if Emperor Xia was the one who killed me. At least Emperor Xia would know of a person like me.”

　　After he finished his sentence, a ray of maniac flashed through his eyes.