Dual Cultivation

Long black hair that flowed straight down his tall back like a waterfall made of a piece of the night sky. The dark eyes below his straight brows portrayed a pair of priceless sparkling onyx, looking as though it contained stars within, and his gaze emitted a profound feeling that could seemingly charm anyone with a mere glance. His overall aura gave others the feeling of a noble scholar— the dangerous type that would walk around in the dark streets looking for women to snare.

That was Sun Jingjing’s first impression of Su Yang, who was without a doubt the most handsome-looking young man she has ever seen.

She stared at him with a pair of startled eyes, seemingly attracted by his appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Elder Sun said with a frown, waking her up from her daze. "Can’t you just listen to your fellow disciples for once?"

Sun Jingjing tightened her grasp on the scrolled paper in her hands, and she spoke: "I found something precious during my expedition at the Divine Doors, but I am cannot understand it, so I quickly came back for advice," she said.

"How can you tell that it’s precious when you don’t know anything about it?" Elder Sun sighed.

"It was found inside the Divine Doors, and it was hidden wisely, so it must be something precious!" she said with a clear voice, looking confident in her judgment.

"Divine Doors?" Su Yang wondered what this place was.

"Here, see for yourself," Sun Jingjing approached Elder Sun with the scroll in her hands.

When she passed Su Yang, her eyes glanced at him for an instant.

Elder Sun accepted the scrolled paper from her and opened it to take a look.

"What language is this?" Elder Sun looked puzzled by the contents of the scrolled paper; it was filled with what seemed like words of a language that he did not know.

"I came all the way back here just to ask you the same thing!" Sun Jingjing heaved a sigh of disappointment, feeling hopeless at the situation.

Elder Sun continued to look at the scroll with a serious expression, looking as though he was in deep thoughts.

"I have read all of the ancient scrolls within the Profound Library, yet I have never seen this language before, but I can try asking around," he said after a moment of silence.

"Perhaps I can give it a try?" Su Yang’s voice suddenly resounded, startling Elder Sun.

"You are still here? Get lost already." Elder Sun frowned at him, who was eager to leave just minutes ago.

"Are you sure? I may be able to understand whatever is written in that scroll," Su Yang added with a slight smile.

"Hmph!" Elder Sun coldly snorted. "I am one of the most knowledgable individuals within this Sect, only slightly behind Elder Zhao! If I cannot understand it, what makes you think that a young brat like you could?" he said in a prideful voice, clearly proud of his vast experience.

"If I do not see the words for myself, then even I cannot guarantee you that I can read it. Anyways, I will be taking my leave now."

Su Yang no longer cared about the situation and turned to leave.

But just as he showed his back to them, Sun Jingjing’s voice resounded in the room.

"Grandfather, let him see it," she said, dumbfounding him.

"Eh? Why?"

"He sounded genuine, that’s all. And it won’t hurt anybody to let him try."

"..."

Elder Sun looked at her with a weird face. There was a different feeling to his granddaughter today, but he couldn’t pinpoint what that feeling was. She just seemed less... aggressive?

After a moment of silence, Elder Sun threw the scroll at Su Yang’s face.

"Enjoy," he said with a sarcastic tone.

Su Yang caught the scroll with a smile, and he opened the scroll to read the contents.

Sun Jingjing silently looked at him with anticipation in her gaze.

"This is..." Su Yang’s eyes widened the moment he saw the beautiful writings on the paper.

He rubbed his eyes just in case his eyes were fooling him.

However, the writings on the paper remained the same if not even clearer than previously.

"No way..." Elder Sun’s eyes also widened when he saw Su Yang’s surprised expression.

"You can really read it?!" Sun Jingjing was also surprised when she couldn’t see any confusion on Su Yang’s face even after many moments, unlike Elder Sun, who had shown clear puzzlement the instant he saw the strange writings on the paper.

"What does it say?" she continued to ask him.

However, Su Yang remained silent and continued to stare at the scroll with a serious expression.

After a moment of pure silence within the room, Su Yang closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh.

He then turned to look at Sun Jingjing with a serious expression.

"Where did you find this scroll?" he asked her in a serious voice, and he continued: "What is this Divine Doors?"

"I will tell you if you tell me what’s written on there," she quickly replied with a serious expression of her own.

Su Yang nodded, and he spoke: "The contents, in general, is nothing worthy, really. It seems to be an introduction by someone named Han Xin."

"Did you just say Han Xin?!" Elder Sun exclaimed loudly as he stood up from his seat with a shocked expression.

"You know this person, Grandfather?" Sun Jingjing asked him with an interested look.

"Although I do not know him personally, I have seen his name in many legends written in plenty of the ancient scrolls that I’ve read," he said with a sweaty forehead.

"A man from a legend?" Sun Jingjing pondered.

"Legend says that this Han Xin is a real Immortal with an unknown Cultivation base! He appeared one day out of the blue 2,000 years ago and could easily overwhelm any Cultivator during that era without breaking a sweat, becoming the Overlord of the world! During that time, when the Cultivation world had only advanced as far as the True Spirit Realm, Han Xin was truly an unrivaled individual!"

"There existed such an amazing person in this world, and 2,000 years ago, at that?" Sun Jingjing expressed admiration towards the legend.

"Why was he revered as an Immortal?" Su Yang asked.

"Because he was able to soar the sky without any treasures— something only Immortals could achieve. There are even legends of Han Xin destroying large mountains with only his fists, and some even say people have witnessed him split seas with a single chop," said Elder Sun, his voice also filled with admiration.

"If what you say is true, that the scroll was written by someone named Han Xin, then could the legends really be..." Elder Sun mumbled in shock.

"Hmm..." Su Yang hummed with a profound expression.

This Han Xin individual was most likely a real person, and he was also likely to be someone from the Four Divine Heavens, which explained his unrivaled Cultivation base and sudden appearance 2,000 years ago when this world was still in its infant stage.

"What happened to him? If he was a real Immortal, then he wouldn’t be a mere legend after only 2,000 short years."

"Apparently, after ruling the world as an Overlord for 200 years, Han Xin suddenly disappeared out of the blue just like when he’d first appeared," said Elder Sun, who was fully engrossed in this topic, even forgetting about his dislike for Su Yang just minutes ago.

"Hmmm..." Su Yang pondered. "This Han Xin guy was probably within the Divine Realm, just like Yuehai, which means nothing in this world should be able to cause enough harm to make him suddenly perish. Did he return to the Four Divine Heavens? But why did he appear here in first place? How did he get here? Does this mean there is really a way to return to the Four Divine Heavens in this world?"

What seemed like a simple scroll that contained insignificant content suddenly caused many questions to appear in Su Yang’s head.

However, one thing for certain was that this Han Xin person was definitely someone from the Four Divine Heavens, just like Yuehai.

Su Yang suddenly looked at Sun Jingjing.

"What about this Divine Doors? What is this place?" he asked her.

"The Divine Doors is a vast underground place found near the center of the Northern Region just the beginning of this year. It has an unknown number of floors inside— with each floor as big as a city— and after nearly an entire year of exploration, only three floors have been fully explored," she explained.

"What is inside this underground?" Su Yang asked.

"Treasures— a lot of treasures and unknown resources that this world has never seen before," she quickly replied. "The place is called Divine Doors because one must enter two divine-looking doors before entering the underground, but some people call it Immortal’s Treasury."

"..." Su Yang turned silent. "Sounds like a Legacy Tomb..." he thought to himself.

Legacy Tombs are also what Cultivators in the Four Divine Heavens call ’Cultivators’ Grave’ because whenever a strong Cultivator is near the end of their lifespan, they would create a place for themselves to enter Closed Cultivation, and they would leave all of their wealth behind just in case they fail to breakthrough in their Closed Cultivation, hoping someone would be able to inherit their legacy for a new generation.

However, most Legacy Tombs are filled with deadly traps and challenges for those who enter, as they only want those who are truly worthy to inherit their legacy, killing all the foolish and unworthy ones for overestimating their value.

"Does this mean this Han Xin guy is really dead?" Su Yang sighed inwardly.

This Han Xin could’ve been the answer to returning to the Four Divine Heavens, but alas, it seemed like the Heavens did not want his journey in this world to end so quickly.

"Thank you for showing me this," said Su Yang as he returned the scroll back to Sun Jingjing. "I will be leaving now."

"Wait!" Elder Sun stopped him before he could even take a single step towards the door. "What language is this and why can you understand it? Where did you learn it from?" he asked him with a doubtful gaze.

"You are not the only one who likes to read, Elder Sun," Su Yang said with a smile. "I just happen to read more than you, that’s all."

"You little brat!" Elder Sun’s head raged with popping veins. He believed that if he has to spend another minute with Su Yang then he might go crazy.

"The language is called Sacred Language, and it is apparently used by the disciples of Heaven," Su Yang suddenly said.

"Sacred Language? Disciples of Heaven?" Elder Sun was baffled by the information.

While Elder Sun was dumbfounded, Su Yang took the chance to leave.

"Where did you read such informa—"

When Elder Sun realized that Su Yang had disappeared, it was already too late.

"Haaa..." Elder Sun sighed and sat back down on his chair, feeling no desire to chase after Su Yang.

After a moment of awkward silence, Sun Jingjing spoke: "Grandfather, who was that Inner Court disciple just now? I have never seen him in the Inner Court before."

"Su Yang? He was promoted as an Inner Court disciple just recently, yet he’s already caused trouble, hence his presence here today. It’d be for the best for you to avoid people like him," he said.

"Su Yang..." Sun Jingjing said to herself inwardly, her gaze at the scroll in her hands.

"Anyway, are you satisfied with the Divine Doors? What happened to the rest of the disciples that went with you?" Elder Sun asked her a moment later.

"They are still exploring the third floor of the Divine Doors," she said. "I plan on returning in a few days."

"Unlike the majority of the disciples in this Sect that lack combat techniques, you are proficient with the sword, and you are not going alone, or else I would’ve never agreed to let you go to such a dangerous place," Elder Sun looked at her with a serious expression. "But still, if you ever get into a situation at the Divine Doors that may require you to risk your life even the slightest, you will halt everything and come back immediately!"

Sun Jingjing assured him that she will listen to his warnings before leaving the room shortly afterward.