Critical: Ages Below Critical Chapter 8.1

Chapter 8: The Distant Carnage (Part 1)



În the far distance above his head,

are the rippling of tree tops in the breeze,

light beams down through the s.p.a.ces in between the leaves,

after being stirred by the fog,

they morph into the blurred, damp and cold white light.

His entire body is freezing,

fear surges through his body

like the black ocean underneath the moonlight.


[West of Aslan Empire – Abyss Corridor]

The heavy fog is like a cold, white anaconda, creeping slowly against the ground. Milky white rays of light hover between the heavens and earth, yet it does not seem as bright as a vast field of wilderness should be under the rays.

Yin Chen looks up, in the far distance above his head are the rippling of tree tops in the breeze, light beams down through the s.p.a.ces in between the leaves, after being stirred by the fog, they morph into the blurred, damp and cold white light. His entire body is freezing, fear surges through his body like the black ocean underneath the moonlight; a sharp sting p.r.i.c.ks his heart like a dagger of ice. He turns his head stiffly and looks at Guishan Fenghun who had fallen onto the ground beside him, paleness like that of death covers his face, his grey lips tremble as if he has seen the most horrifying scene on the face of earth.

Before them is the Silver Priest that has pa.s.sed on, at this moment, only a translucent sh.e.l.l remains of what had been the young child’s body, like a cicada shedding its covering and leaving behind a lifeless alien body. The eyes of the young child that had been as moist and intricate as amber is now two dark eye holes, what should be the resting place of eyeb.a.l.l.s are now two depths of black that are currently releasing cold white smoke.

“What……are they?” Guishan Fenghun asks in fear, “Are the two Silver Priests resting in the Heart of the imperial capital……also……also beings like this……”

Yin Chen is unable to answer him.

What had just happened before them is as if a horrifying scene from h.e.l.l. Although his posture remains upright and pa.s.sive, all he wants to do is bend down and vomit. Disgust twists through his guts. He is unable to believe that the Silver Priests are beings like this……Where do they originate from? What are they?

No one can answer his questions.

All of a sudden, Yin Chen feels like the entire Aslan is enveloped in countless storm clouds of secrets, one by one they condense into black cloud cover, engulfing all light at an insane speed.

The thundering above their heads seems to be a foreshadowing of the approaching catastrophe.



[West of Aslan Empire – Abyss Corridor]

Qi La leads the way, his back view looks magnificent but at the same time, it gives off a ghastly quality. Qi Ling compares Yin Chen to him and feels like Qi La who is walking before him seems more like a mysterious conjurer from the darkness while Yin Chen seems more like one of the Knights Templar of the n.o.ble bloodline.

Qi Ling turns to Lianquan, wanting to tell her what he thinks, but seeing her tense expression as if pondering hard over something, he forces the words back. In the dense and vast forest, only the sound of leaves crunching under their feet can be heard as they advance forth.

A gush of numbness appears at the tips of Lianquan’s fingers and she reaches her hand out hurriedly to prevent Qi Ling from moving forward any further, just as she opens her mouth to speak, she hears Tianshu Youhua yell “Stop!” at the same moment.

“There is someone in front, do not move.” Lianquan turns to look at Tianshu Youhua and says, “Withdraw all of your soul powers first, we don’t know who is the opposition, we will not provoke them.”

Qi La who has been walking in front turns back, his unearthly handsome and delicate features look as if they’re from the heavens under the soft white light. Using his throaty voice that does not sound compatible with his beautiful looks, he says: “You need not be guarded, those waiting in front are your lords, Yin Chen and Guishan Fenghun.”



[West of Aslan Empire – Imperial Capital Gelanerte]

Qi Ling sits on the large ebony bed covered with intricate carvings and stares Yin Chen who is sitting at the table drinking water, the dense fog and countless terrifying high-leveled soul beasts in the Abyss Corridor is still vivid in his mind, and in the blink of an eye, he is already situated in the most n.o.ble and bustling city in the empire – the imperial capital Gelanerte.

“How……did he do this?” Qi Ling is still confused, when he had met up with Yin Chen again just now, before he had time to speak, a violent twist in the atmosphere brought him through a mystical s.p.a.ce and in the next instant, he is already standing at the entrance of a towering building like that of a palace.

When Yin Chen told Qi Ling that they have already arrived at Gelanerte, Qi Ling’s face was pale.

“This is Qi La’s gift,” Yin Chen looks towards Qi Ling. A few days without seeing him and Qi Ling have lost quite some weight. However, it only serves to subtract the air of naivety he has from before, making him more masculine instead of making him look sickly, “Do you know what a gift is? A gift is……”

“I know, I know!” Qi Ling jumps up from the bed and moves before Yin Chen, pulling out a chair to sit facing him, his large eyes stare straight at Yin Chen, expression proud, “A gift is a unique talent each of us has, this talent is brought about by our soul’s return circuit, different circuits determine our gifts.” Qi Ling sees Yin Chen’s intrigued expression and scratches his head in embarra.s.sment, adding, “I heard it from Lianquan.”

“Yes……the gift of Third Lord Qi La, it means he has always been the creator of the chess pieces in Aslan. Qi La has turned the ground we were standing on just now into a chess piece that leads to Aslan before any of you could react, which is why we could reach this place instantly.”

“My goodness……his gift is creating chess pieces!” Qi Ling slams his chin down onto the table.

“No, not like that. Creating chess pieces is only a way of showcasing his gift. To be more precise, his gift is an extended control of s.p.a.ce and time.” Yin Chen stares at the desperate Qi Ling. Despite not wanting to place a heavy blow on him, he still continues, “To a certain extend, his gift is limitless. He can cross any s.p.a.ce, and in theory, he can also cross a short time period, of course this requires a ma.s.sive amount of soul powers. This gift he has makes him the only lord in the territory of Aslan that can create an ‘array’ freely at any location.”

“What’s an array?” Qi Ling’s brows knit together. When he’s with Yin Chen, it seems like he will hear thinks he doesn’t understand daily. It saddens Qi Ling. He thought that once he became a disciple, he’d be as powerful as Yin Chen quickly, yet his understanding of this world is not even a hundredth of his way in. This world of soul bending is something that did not exist at all in his life from before, and now, he plays a very important part in it.”

“An array is an external presentation of our soul’s return circuit. When in battle mode, or when we require a large amount of soul powers to be depleted, we will release an array around us, in theory; this is to replicate a soul’s return circuit outside out body. When we are within the array, the flow of our soul powers will echo the return circuit of the array, and this will allow our soul powers and gifts to optimize. However, the usage of an array is extremely difficult, it requires many soul power attributes that can match your qualities in order to be successful.”

“Hold on, hold on, I’m getting confused……too complicated.” Qi Ling stares pitifully at Yin Chen.

Yin Chen takes a deep breath in order to maintain his patience, he turns to look at the wall instead of Qi Ling, and his tone is calm yet his fists are clenched. He continues: “For example, our soul powers are water-based, which means we will require a region with a large amount of water in order to successfully form an array, this includes on the surface of an ocean or lake. The more powerful lords can create an array on a patch of wet ground after rain, but these arrays are more often than not very weak and cannot be maintained for a long period of time. Arrays also differ with each lord and the effect it has is often linked to their gift. For example, the ‘Lord to the Sixth Degree’, also known as the Immortal Lord Xiliuer, the array he creates will allow those located in his array to have the ability to resurrect and heal. Legend has it that Xiliuer on the ocean is indestructible, when he is within his own ‘Array of Resurrection’; his level of healing can only be described using the term horrifying. This is also the reason why he is known as the Immortal Lord.”

Qi Ling closes his eyes and wears a troubled look on his face as he places his chin against the tabletop again. Yin Chen ignores him and continues: “In terms of the four empires on Odin Mainland, the soul masters on our Aslan nation of the West, we are actually underprivileged in terms of using an array, as the nature of our soul powers is water, this means we are unable to create arrays as we please to support ourselves. Among the four empires, the weakest in terms of array creation is the fire source, the Foliaier Empire of the East. They are only able to create arrays in surroundings that are filled with fire, lava or other places with attributes of fire. The ones that are good at array formations is the wind source, the Indus Empire of the North and the earth source, Earth Empire of the South, they are able to create arrays in any place with a flow of air or ground.”

“Then aren’t the soul masters of the fire source, Indus, extremely pitiful! If they meet soul masters of other countries, all they can do is stare and be defeated! It’s not fair!”

Yin Chen shakes his head, “The soul masters of the fire source, Indus Empire, has unimaginable strength of return circuits and powers, so if you ever meet them, make your way around them. You cannot offend any lord or disciple from them because their method of usage of their soul powers is the most aggressive on the entire Odin Mainland.”

“Okay, but then again, even if they’re not from the fire source……it’s not like I can offend them……I’m just a small Seventh Disciple……any random disciple walking on the streets will be more powerful than I am. Sigh.” Qi Ling pouts as he blows at his fringe.

“Well I thank you, there are only six of these ‘random disciples’ who can walk on the streets of the entire Aslan Empire.” Yin Chen glares at him and clenches his teeth, resisting the urge to fill his mouth with shards of ice.

“Then again, Yin Chen, what are our gifts? How come I never felt like I had any?” Qi Ling wiggles closer to Yin Chen. Placing his chin on Yin Chen’s forearm, he lifts his head and stares at the frosty good looks of his lord.

“What are you doing?” Yin Chen’s face falls as he looks at Qi Ling rubbing his chin against his forearm, “Are you a little wolfhound? Trying to act cute in front of your owner?”

“Look at you, look at you, you’re ruining the friendly atmosphere with your words,” Qi Ling closes his eyes as he continues to rest his head on Yin Chen’s arm, an expression of content n his face, “The tabletop is too hard, my chin hurts resting on it.”

Yin Chen lifts his head and pushes Qi Ling up forcefully, “Then sit straight!”

“I’m going to lie down in bed. I really am so tired.” Qi Ling scrambles to the bed and flops down, burying his face in the blanket. “You continue, I’m still listening, so what is our gift?”

Yin Chen’s irises are paling. He takes in a deep breath and looks at the broken sword Qi Ling has placed in the corner of the room before speaking calmly: “Didn’t you realize that when you obtained your soul weapon, you didn’t have to absorb it into your body like Guishan Lianquan or Tianshu Youhua and let it gather strength in your lord’s seal before you could use it?”

“Huh? Huh! Yeah!” Qi Ling flips from the bed. Moving to the corner of the room to retrieve the large half sword, he examines it before injecting some soul powers onto it. Looking at the patterns light up on the sword, Qi Ling is astonished for a second before disappointment floods his system. He tosses the sword onto the ground with a crash, “What even! The gift of the Seventh Lord is being able to use the soul weapons without needing to absorb it? What sort of s.h.i.tty gift is this!”

With two crisp snaps, as if two daggers pierced themselves into Qi Ling’s knees, they come crashing down onto the ground with a dull thud. Yin Chen pulls his hand back, the light from the soul powers flowing on his fingertips fade away gradually. “If you speak so rudely again, I will break your legs.”

Qi Ling huffs angrily from his kneeling position on the ground, a layer of wronged tears covers his eyes. He clenches his teeth and holds his tears in despite his eyes r.i.m.m.i.n.g red. He turns his face away so he will not have to look at Yin Chen and instead focuses his gaze at a corner of the room.

“Are you not satisfied?” Yin Chen looks at Qi Ling

“I am not disrespecting you,” Qi Ling lifts his head and two large tear drops fall from his eyes, his handsome face looks even more heart wrenching when coupled with tears, “Since I was young, I was just a bellboy, I’ve always been looked down upon and bullied. My dad died when I was really young. A wolf killed him when he went into the mountains to hunt. My mom held me and cried for three days straight, on the fourth day, in the wee hours of the morning when I was still asleep, she went out and jumped into the river and died as well. I was only nine that year. I kept crying at home, and I had no food so I was hungry. I cried my way out the door and somehow made it to the entrance of the inn. I saw people eating inside so I walked in wanting to eat as well, but the boss shooed me out because I had no money. I sat at the door because I didn’t know where to go. People came and left, and then I fainted due to hunger. The boss brought me in and gave me food; after asking about my situation, he let me stay and be a bellboy in the inn. I helped out there until I grew up. I always wanted to be more powerful because if I was as powerful as I am now, my dad wouldn’t be killed by wolves and my mom wouldn’t have to die.”

Yin Chen’s heart clenches slightly in pain, he waves his hand and the two large chunks of ice on Qi Ling’s legs shatter, “You can stand now. Do not be rude to any lord from now on.”

Qi Ling does not move and remains kneeling on the ground. He lifts his hand to wipe away the tears on his face before continuing with eyes rimmed red: “From the moment you took me in, I made up my mind to follow you. Although you’re very mean to me and seems cold, I know that you’re good to me. I’m not dumb; I can feel it. You teach me everything and I can feel your high expectations. Other disciples grew up in this world of soul bending, but I understand nothing. I know that you must have looked down on me too in your heart, because if I were you, I’d also want a powerful disciple and not a person who doesn’t even know what soul beasts or gifts are. Yet you never looked down on me for this or abandoned me. Since I have nothing, all I can do is to be even better to the people who teat me well. So I want to become a powerful person so that you won’t have to feel ashamed of me. And if there are other lords who dare bully you or try to harm you with their soul beasts in the future, I’d be able to fend them off. If you’re in danger, it will be hard for me to protect you. I just don’t want to continue being a useless person. I really didn’t mean anything else.”

Looking at Qi Ling kneeling before him, despite still being a child in his eyes, his appearance is that of a man weathered by time. His gradually broadening shoulders and chest, his long legs, these are all signs of him becoming a man. A gush of sorrow spreads in Yin Chen’s heart – he realized that all this while he has been treating him like a child and has never once tried to understand him.

Yin Chen turns away as countless grey images appear in his vision, the memories that are turbulent in his mind are like sharp metal chains, tugging through his mind and hurting him, “You are not wrong, I am just a mere Seventh Lord, no matter which lord it is, they are ranked above me, same goes for their disciples, they are all above you. It’s quite a pity that you are to follow me.”

Qi Ling stands and walks over to Yin Chen before kneeling again. He places his face on Yin Chen’s legs. There are still remnants of tears in his eyes from when he had cried before. He speaks softly but seriously: “Yin Chen, I’ve never thought of it that way. To be able to meet you and to become your disciple, it’s luck that fell from the sky for me. I often woke up at night to see if you’re still there. I keep thinking that this is just a dream, and once I wake up, you will no longer be here. Since young, no one treated me well apart from my parents. In my heart, you’re family to me, like a brother or even my father. And so, I firmly believe in you. If it’s not for you, I’d know nothing. Even if it’s not lords and disciples, any random soul master or even a strong man might kill me easily. Which means that you give everything I have now to me. Even if you’re just the Seventh lord, I am willing to be the Seventh Disciple. Even if the Top Lord goes on his knees and begs me to become his disciple, I will not do it!”

Yin Chen stares at Qi Ling who is curled on his lap. His naïve face is still one of youth, in the end; he is still a child that won’t grow old. A rare smile graces Yin Chen’s face as he says: “You think about things much too simple. It’s not easy being a Top Disciple. Stand up. Stop kneeling.”

“Nah it’s fine, it’s comfortable like this.” Qi Ling stretches his legs out and sits on the floor with Yin Chen’s legs still pillowing his face, “Yin Chen, is that really out only gift?”

“Of course not. Aren’t you always very smart on usual days? Why are you so dumb now? Look closely.” After saying that, Yin Chen lifts his arm as countless golden patterns emerge on his skin, in the next instant, countless ribbons seem to explode in the air before shooting into the wall opposite them.

Qi Ling turns and his mouth falls open. Soul weapons are densely packed on the wall, from spears to large swords, from golden shields to thin daggers……it is as if the wall of their room suddenly turned into a rock wall in the Grave of the Souls.

“These……these are all your soul weapons?” Qi Ling is so surprised that he begins to stutter.

“Yes, which means that our gift is not just wielding a soul weapon without the need to absorb it into our body. It is the exact opposite. We can absorb countless soul weapons into our body and we need not keep them in our lord’s seal to maintain their powers. We can even turn the soul weapons of other people into our own. A more precise description of our gift should be ‘Unlimited h.o.m.ology of Soul Weapons’.”

“h.o.m.ology of soul weapons?”

“Yes. It means we use our soul powers to affect soul weapons, letting us use them freely. This is like how when a piece of iron nears a magnet, this iron will become magnetic as well. We are like a magnet, we can turn any soul weapon into a weapon that can be controlled with our soul powers.”

“I knew it! Yin Chen you must be the most awesome one!” Qi Ling stands up quickly as he says brightly.

“Actually this isn’t the most amazing part……”

“Really? What else? What else?” Qi Ling asks in excitement.

Yin Chen looks at Qi Ling and says nothing. He shoots a gaze of inquisition at Qi Ling.

Qi Ling thinks about it for a moment before a mixture of surprise and joy fills his face: “Unless……unless it’s……”