Against The Heavens 69 Village Hopes.

The caravan that Li Yang was. .h.i.tching a ride with was stocked with various crops or live animals. The area around Fire Cloud city had apparently just suffered through a rather lengthy period of drought and famine, leaving several of the smaller villages around the city in dire need of not only food and water but also replacements for the lost farm animals. A drought and famine was no problem for cultivators, but for normal people, it was a horrific catastrophe.

Of course, the crops and animals that were being sent over by the Royal Dragon Pavilion were not sent out for free. The city lord of Fire Cloud city was the one who had ordered the shipment of wares, even paying for them out of his own pocket.

The caravan was heading straight towards Fire Cloud city to deliver the wares, leaving the task of handing them out to the city lord and his men. But even though they headed straight towards Fire Cloud city, the caravan still stopped at some of the smaller villages that were located along the way, picking up other people that had the same goal as Li Yang, taking part in the contest.

On the fifth day of the journey, the caravan reached the third village they were going to stop at, picking up a further 10 people that were looking to hitch a ride. Including the two villages they had stopped at earlier, they had now picked up an additional 45 people, most of them being youths between the ages 15 to 30.

They were all just villagers, so their cultivations were rather limited, with the strongest and oldest ones only having reached the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm. But as Li Yang sat on one of the wagons, guarding the sacks of potatoes, he couldn't help but notice that the youths in the village were all training incredibly hard, some even going as far as training until their hands and feet bled.

The village they were at right now was quite small, only housing a few thousand people, so Li Yang was able to see that someone had built a small arena at the center of the village. The arena was currently occupied, various weaker youths having a contest between each other. The contest even had an audience and judges, the youths ranked based on their performance.

Li Yang found it a bit curious that all the youths in the villages he had seen so far were training so hard, so he turned towards a male youth that had joined the caravan during the first stop, a boy called Cao Taizhi, asking if he knew why they were all training so hard. Cao Taizhi hadn't spoken with Li Yang past a short introduction, but he still quickly answered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Isn't it obvious? If we manage to stand out during the contest, we can join a sect or clan. Even if we fail to join one of the great ones, as long as we join any sect or clan, we can bring pride and prosperity to not only our family but even our village."

Tao Caizhi was approaching his late twenties, had short and needle-like brown hair, large green eyes, and a somewhat square face. From what Li Yang had seen of him during the time he had spent with the caravan, he was a typical village boy, cheerful and bright, but also quite naive about how the world actually worked.

Even though he had never talked with Li Yang before, he saw nothing wrong with talking freely with him. After all, thanks to the clothing Li Yang was wearing, it was easy to see that he also originated from a small village. Tao Caizhi turned his head, looking at the battle taking place on the arena, his voice dripping with respect and admiration.

"And if just one of us manages to reach the height of Senior Teng Lingmu, then all the villages in the area where we were born will be protected for years to come. That is why there are so many of us, and why we are so eager. We carry not only our own hopes but the hopes of everyone in our villages."

To Tao Caizhi and the other people from the villages, their villages and family was everything to them. For them, they did not mind any hardships they had to go through, any pain was worth bearing. To be able to ensure the safety and prosperity of their family and village was the greatest calling for them. Li Yang tilted his head slightly, a bit curious about the person who Tao Caizhi had mentioned.

"Teng Lingmu, who is that?"

Since even a village boy like Tao Caizhi knows about him, it either meant that he was incredibly famous, or that he originated from the same village. Tao Caizhi completely froze after hearing Li Yang's question, gazing at him with his mouth agape. He quickly closed his mouth and shook his head, grabbing onto Li Yang's shoulders and pulling him closer, nearly deafening him as he shouted.

"You don't know about Senior Teng Lingmu?! He has become a legend in the villages on the continent, a great source of motivation for people like you and me! How can you not know about him?!"

Tao Caizhi's eyes nearly turned bloodshot and crazy, so it was clear that Teng Lingmu was quite a bit more popular than he had first a.s.sumed. Li Yang brushed away Tao Caizhi's hands and put a bit more distance between the two. While the caravan resumed its journey, Li Yang shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly answered.

"I never really paid attention when the others talked about the various legends. Would you mind telling me?"

Even though Li Yang did not mind cultivating, and could do so for years on end at times, it did not mean that he loved doing so every chance he got. Now that he had a chance to get a break and even gather some information, he did not mind doing so. Despite falling backward and hitting his head on the side of the wagon after the caravan abruptly started its journey, Tao Caizhi still excitedly talked about Teng Lingmu.

"Senior Teng Lingmu was someone just like you and me, a youth from a small village. He took part in one of these contests that took place about 100 years ago, and his prowess got him noticed by one of the smaller sects. That alone was enough to bring great pride to his village, which had its name changed to Dragon's Gate village. But he didn't stop there, he continued to improve, eventually getting noticed by the Endless Horizon sect and accepted as a disciple! We haven't heard anything more from him since then, but his village and all the surrounding villages are still being protected by the Endless Horizon sect! Our villages hope that we can produce a similar result in the contest, so we all work hard to not disappoint them."

Tao Caizhi's eyes gleamed with so much excitement that it seemed like they were going to pop out, his breathing speeding up as he talked. But Li Yang was easily able to understand why he was so excited. For someone from a small village, it was incredibly hard to reach a point where the largest sects would notice them, so there was no telling how hard this Teng Lingmu had to work to reach his position. Even Li Yang was not above respecting people like this Teng Lingmu and his hard work. After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself, it was Tao Caizhi's turn to ask Li Yang a question.

"What about you, what village are you from, and how many people did you send?"

Li Yang was clad in the violet wolf robes he had gotten custom made. While they were more luxurious than the clothing of most villagers, it was still clearly inspired by the clothing style of a village. Tao Caizhi guessed that Li Yang came from a village that was close to the Cloud Wilderness, but rather than just guessing and a.s.suming, it was better to ask. Li Yang simply gave a light shrug of his shoulders, not seeing a reason to come up with a lie.

"I come from the village of Wildbourne, but we haven't sent anyone to take part in the compet.i.tion. I am taking part in the contest, but it's not because of the village, it's because it would make it easier for me to achieve my goals."

Joining the compet.i.tion would allow him to get noticed by one of the larger clans and sects, joining them so that he could acquire more resources. It would also secure him a spot in the upcoming Huo clan compet.i.tion, which was another reason he decided to join the compet.i.tion. Tao Caizhi tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in confusion as he seemed to not understand Li Yang.

"You're not fighting for your village? What other goals could you possibly have? Is it revenge?"

Tao Caizhi was a village boy through and through, to him, the only things in the world that mattered were his family and his village. That ideology was so deep-rooted that he failed to understand that people could have other goals, other than getting revenge for their village getting destroyed. Li Yang was not bothered by the way Tao Caizhi looked at him, shrugging his shoulders, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"There are some people that I have to reunite with and protect. I failed last time I tried, but I won't fail this time, no matter what."

Li Yang had already made up his mind. This time, if he and Fang Ying were to be surrounded once more, he would not have the same reservations as he had last time. If he had to, he would draw out all the power from his true destruction rune and use it to either flee or drag everyone else around them with him into the grave.

The only reason he hadn't done so the first time around was because of the fact that Zhao Feng and the others were still alive, as well as the memories he had made with Fang Ying. But this time, he was not willing to do nothing and then lose her again.

After hearing his response, Tao Caizhi's shoulders loosened somewhat, a smile appearing on his face as he shook his head and let out an understanding chuckle.

"Isn't that basically the same goal, just at a smaller scale?"

Tao Caizhi was a simple person who had a thought process that was just as simple. Fighting to protect someone close to you was just the same as fighting to protect your village, it was only that there was a slight difference in scale. Tao Caizhi looked towards the distance, in the direction of Fire Cloud city, raising his fists at Li Yang and putting on a tough front.

"Hehe. Those who fight to protect something can't be bad people, so I hope you manage to protect the people you want to protect. But don't think that I'll take it easy on you if we meet in the contest! I'll beat you down with everything I have."

Li Yang put on a smile and gave a nod of his head, but he did not bother to correct Tao Caizhi. Fighting to protect others did not mean that you were a good person, it could sometimes even mean the exact opposite. It all depended on who you were trying to protect, as well as what you considered good and evil.

The caravan continued its journey, stopping at one last village on the evening of the sixth day. After picking up another 15 people, there were no more stops for the remaining duration of the journey, the caravan reaching Fire Cloud city during the afternoon of the eighth day. Looking at the distant city, even Li Yang could not help but raise his eyebrow and let out a slight remark.

"So that's Fire Cloud city, huh. I can see how it got its name."

The city could only be considered ma.s.sive, even larger than Cloud's End city. If one were to tell Li Yang that the number of citizens numbered in the tens of millions, he would not be too surprised. The city also had a very distinct architectural style, all the buildings having very rounded shapes, as if they were trying to mimic clouds. The buildings were also rather colorful, most of them being either orange, blue, or a light purple. Hearing his remark, Tao Caizhi quickly chimed in with what he himself had been told.

"Ah, the city didn't get the name because of how it looks. It got its looks and name from the city lord, Lord Fire Cloud. The village elder said that Lord Fire Cloud is a direct descendant of the Huo clan and has unparalleled control over the fire element. The elder said that he got his name from how he fought, filling the sky with clouds of violet flames."

Tao Caizhi sighed with admiration as he spoke. His voice contained less admiration than when he had talked about Teng Lingmu, but it was still filled with deep adoration. Li Yang slightly raised on his eyebrows, letting out a light breath in surprise as he questioned.

"Your village elder seems to know quite a bit. Is Fire Cloud famous?"

For a mere elder of a village to know this type of information about Fire Cloud, he must have been a rather famous person. Li Yang had to admit that he knew very little about the various famous people in the world, most of his knowledge heavily outdated. Tao Caizhi gave a few nods of his head, pointing at the other people around them that were hitching a ride with the caravan.

"Lord Fire Cloud is very popular among the villagers that live in the surrounding area, so information about him spreads fast. He has been very good to us, even ignoring it when we have been unable to pay tax because of a bad harvest, paying out of his own pocket. He is a good person with a kind heart."

The village that these people came from were quite far away, but they still fell under the jurisdiction of Fire Cloud city, even the ones closest to Cloud's End city. This was because Cloud's End city was not controlled by any of the great clans or sects, but was considered neutral grounds, operated by all of them together as the first line of defense against the Cloud Wilderness. Li Yang's eyes swept over Fire cloud city, a slight mutter escaping from his lips.

"A good person with a kind heart, huh..."

Li Yang did not have a good track record when it came to kind people with good hearts. After all, all the people who had surrounded and killed him and Fang Ying were good people with kind hearts, people who had thought about what was best for the world. To those types of people, the selfish Li Yang and the seemingly unstable Fang Ying were considered evil, people that had to be killed.

The caravan stopped outside the gates of the city, Situ Yanyu stepping forward and handing the inventory list to the guards. At the same time, she also pointed at Li Yang and the others, explaining what they were here for. One of the guards, a female clad in flexible orange armor decorated with the emblem of Fire Cloud city, a cloud of violet fire, nodded her head and walked over to the villagers.

"You are the ones that have come to take part in the next contest?"

The woman had reached the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, the Ascending Gate stage, so the slight pressure that radiated from her was enough to frighten the villagers into silence. Tao Caizhi took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, quickly speaking out with several deep nods.

"Yup! Where do we sign up? And also... where is the cheapest inn where we can rent a room?"

If he let himself look bad here, it would reflect poorly on his village, something Tao Caizhi would not allow, so he forced himself to look casual. The guard paid no attention to the nervous villagers, simply nodding her head and beckoning for them to follow her.

"No need to rent a room, lodgings have already been prepared for everyone who wishes to showcase their prowess. Please follow me, I will take you to sign up for the contest and then take you to the lodgings where you can rest and adjust your conditions. The next contest will start in half a month, so please make sure to not leave the city before then."

The villagers quickly dismounted from the wagon, walking past Situ Yanyu and the other guards, entering the ma.s.sive city, their mouths agape at the scenery. Li Yang was considered one of the villagers, so he, of course, followed them into the city, casually walking at the back and sweeping the surroundings with his gaze. Now he would just have to wait for half a month for the contest to start, and then he could show enough strength to be picked up by a clan or sect.