Seven World Martial God

Chapter 30: Breaking Through to Level Eight

Translator: Aristophaneso Editor: Caron_

The Ye Family Village was protected by mighty walls, its large gate guarded by four Level Five Martial Artists.

“The Chief has returned!” a guard cried out.

At his cry, the waiting villagers rushed forward, their faces falling as they took in the countless wolf corpses, worry clearly sweeping over them.

When it came to wolf packs, the more wolves that were killed clearly equaled more loss and suffering.

Twenty-seven bodies were carried up to the gate, sorrow falling upon the village.

“The father of my children!”

“Brother Da Xiong…”

“Fei er…”

…

Terrible weeping and dreadful cries filled the air.

Every villager shed tears while others broke down and wept, misery accompanying the village’s loss.

…

An hour later.

The entire village gathered at the village square, heavy expressions on every face, the clear signs of weeping marring many a man, woman, and child while Ye Shi stood before them.

“On this hunt, the Hunter Team was attacked by a wolf pack. Twenty-two hunters were killed, and five elders perished rushing to their aid. We lost twenty-seven,” Ye Shi began, his voice quiet, setting off another round of weeping.

After the Chief, Ye Feng stepped forward, a beast skin clutched in his hand. With his deep voice, he read: “Ye Xuan, Ye Da Xiong, Ye Lin Fei…”

The twenty seven names were read aloud one by one, the family of the deceased crying out in pain after each name.

 “They died fighting for our village; they are the Ye Family Village’s heroes. Their families will never want and will be cared for by our village together!” Ye Shi called out, his voice filling the square.

In the crowd, Ye Tian stood quietly, his fists clenched so tightly that blood dripped from the cuts of his nails.

The village had lost members since he was reborn in this world, but they had all been old men and women passing on through natural causes. The deaths of twenty seven vibrant men was something he hadn’t experienced yet in this world.

Ye Tian didn’t know them all, but they weren’t strangers. They had talked and joked, but in the blink of an eye…

 “Listen well—no one will sleep. We will keep vigil by these heroes, ushering them on their journey to join our ancestors,” Ye Shi declared.

Ye Tian stirred from his thoughts.

The Ye Family Village would keep watch for their fallen heroes, a one-night vigil by the fallen bodies before the Village Chief lit the pyre to send them on their way.

Night fell quickly.

Every family lit oil lamps as all the villagers gathered back in the square, even the injured.

They sat in a circle around the Village Chief, eyes closed and silent.

Whether old or young, every face was solemn.

Stored in a stone building nearby were the twenty-seven bodies, torches surrounding them, the room bright.

Ye Feng solemnly sat guard, eyes closed.

Suddenly, footsteps intruded on the silence.

 “En?” Ye Feng opened his eyes, frowning. “Ye Tian, why have you broken your vigil?”

Ye Tian walked forward, his face filled with grief and tears in his eyes as he whispered: “Uncle Feng, I wish to see the uncles and grandfathers one last time!”

 “… Alright. Don’t be too sad. They died for our village, passing with honor!” Ye Feng replied, nodding and letting Ye Tian through.

The building’s single room was simple. The twenty-seven bodies laid within, covered with straw mats.

The room was quiet and solemn. The entrance of Ye Tian was the only sound out of place as he entered and gently closed the door.

“Peng! Peng! Peng!”

Ye Tian fell harshly to his knees, banging his head against the ground in kowtows.

“Uncle Da Xiong, I hate myself. If I were strong enough, none of you would’ve died,” Ye Tian whispered, his voice deep and filled with sorrow.

“I hate it. If I hadn’t touched the Golden Howling Moon Wolf, none of you would have died.” Ye Tian bit down on his teeth, remorse covering his face.

“I hate that I’m still a Martial Artist. This calamity shouldn’t have happened.” Ye Tian clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination.

Finally, he stood and walked over to the body, unwrapping Uncle Da Xiong’s robes and revealing his thick, broad chest.

“Forgive me, Uncle Da Xiong. For strength, I cannot respect your body,” Ye Tian apologized, placing his palm on Uncle Da Xiong’s chest.

Ye Tian closed his eyes and felt the body’s Martial Spirit emerging, and Ye Tian immediately used his devouring ability to absorb the listless Martial Spirit.

The Orange Spirit had no way of resisting Ye Tian’s pull and was immediately absorbed into him.

When Ye Tian opened his eyes, his Yellow Martial Spirit shone a brighter sheen, even more dazzling than before.

“Uncle Lin Fei…”

“Peng! Peng! Peng!”

Ye Tian fell to his knees before another corpse, kowtowing heavily, devouring their Martial Spirit.

After taking every single Martial Spirit, a guttural sound emerged from Ye Tian’s throat as he adjusted to the palpably stronger Martial Spirit within him.

It was as if the incorporeal Yellow Martial Spirit had doubled in size.

Ye Tian could immediately detect the increase in his Spiritual Qi processing and absorption speed; if his cultivating speed was ten times that of the Orange Martial Spirit before, it was now thirty times as rapid.

His Martial Spirit’s ability had tripled.

‘With this speed, I should break through to Level Eight Martial Artist soon.’ Ye Tian’s eyes gleamed as he pushed open the door. The sun was bright in the sky, everyone still gathered in the square for the cremation.

Some tens of villagers came. They worked together to bring out the twenty-seven corpses, building pyres for each.

When all preparations were complete, Village Chief Ye Shi stepped forward silently, his torch lighting each pyre one by one. The smoke and flames roared up into the heavens as final tears dripped down faces, the village coming together in their sorrow.

Ye Tian watched quietly, the determination in his eyes deepening again and again as he yelled at himself: I must grow stronger!

…

A month later.

The morning sun shone brightly through his window, greeting the cross-legged Ye Tian. Suddenly, his eyes burst open as a gleeful cry filled his throat.

“Level Eight Martial Artist! I broke through!”

Ye Tian jumped off the bed, thick and dense True Qi flowing through his body and his eight fully-developed principal meridians. Happiness filled him.

After a month of diligent cultivation, Ye Tian had put his tripled talent to use and broken through to the First Stage of the Eighth Level of the Martial Artist Realm.

“Level Eight Martial Artist. With my great Thundering Palm I can even fight some Level Nine Martial Artists, and now, even Uncle Ba isn’t my equal.” Ye Tian’s eyes burned with intent, his current power propelling him to the pinnacle of their village’s hunter team.

In the entire village, only two or three people remained more powerful than he.

“Son, come and eat!” Lin Mei called out in greeting as Ye Tian emerged from his room, setting down a bowl of hot porridge for him.

Ye Tian gratefully accepted the bowl before turning to Ye Meng. “Dad, can you call Uncle Ba and the others later? We’ll go hunting today.”

“Hunting?” Ye Meng paused in his meal, lifting his eyes and turning to Ye Tian with a look of surprise and happiness. “Tian er, are you sure? Are we ready to go again?”

Actually, Ye Ba and Ye Meng had suggested going out to hunt a week ago. Although the Ye Family Village had enough food for now, the two experienced hunters still felt that they should begin preparing for winter, heading off any potential food shortages.

This was what they had done when Ye Feng was captain.

But Ye Tian hadn’t agreed. Ye Ba and Ye Meng were somewhat unhappy but they were helpless. After all, Ye Tian was the captain of the hunters now. Outside the house, even Ye Meng had to obey his son’s orders.

“Yes!” Ye Tian nodded, smiling at his father’s happiness.

He had chosen to forgo hunting before because he didn’t have the confidence, but now that he had broken through, he could finally allow himself to lead the hunters back into the dangerous forest.

Sharpening the blade only hastened the work to come.

“Alright! I’ll go tell Ye Ba right away. He’s definitely going crazy with waiting!” Ye Meng gulped down the rest of his breakfast, rushing out the door.

Ling Mei walked over while shaking her head in mock disapproval. “He’s the one who’s going crazy. Tian er, be careful today.”

Ye Tian’s incredible cultivation had already spread throughout the village and no one was against his captainship.

Lin Mei was happy for her son but worry still remained, the damage from the wolf pack tragedy still fresh.

Ye Tian understood his mother’s concern as he smiled up at her. “Mom, I forgot to tell you—I broke through to Level Eight Martial Artist this morning. Now, even Uncle Ba is no match for me.” 

“Really!” Lin Mei cried out in amazement, happy that her son was now stronger and safer.

Ye Tian smiled and nodded, calming his mother’s worries with the truth.

“Roar!” Little White cried out in its now deep and reverberating voice, rubbing its big furry head against Ye Tian’s thigh.

The little white tiger had grown very large now, already three times larger than an Earth tiger, intimidating and large enough to ride.

Another one of Ye Tian’s childish dreams had come true and he now had a cool mount.

“Hehe, Little White, I’m taking you hunting today. Don’t embarrass me, haha!” Ye Tian laughed cheerfully, petting the tiger.

Little White hadn’t only grown in size but his strength was also equivalent to a Level Five Martial Artist Beast.

“Roar!” Little White cried out in response.