Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

In the second island ring, the chaos that Han Xuhan had witnessed upon landing was no longer visible. A large, disciplined assembly had formed there at some point, headed by several leaders who were conversing with the invading teams jovially. With his improved vision, Han Xuhan could tell that even the invaders were a little thrown off by how enthusiastically they were being invited in for the duel.

Someone in the crowd suddenly noticed them peeking from the roof of Shen Mi's cabin and pointed it out loudly. A second later, hundreds of pairs of eyes shifted in their direction. Despite standing more than a hundred meters away, Han Xuhan felt his nerves tense up from having so many predatory gazes scanning him like a delicious meal.

Wordlessly, he backed up and jumped down from the roof, landing on the other side of the cabin where they wouldn't be able to see him.

Shen Mi stumbled her way out of the cabin behind everyone else, assisted by a grave-faced Ning Xueshi. When Xuhan confirmed the oncoming wave of danger, she began to curse under her breath, her helplessness evident.

"Sister Mi, I'll do my best. You can't fight. Let me take you back inside. You wouldn't want to see..."

"Shut up, Xueshi!" Shen Mi roared. Ning Xueshi fell silent, lowering her head. Both of them looked one exchange away from breaking down in tears. The countenance of her other eleven followers was equally gloomy.

This was why Han Xuhan felt like a terrible human being as he threw out a hook of hope among them.

"Sister Mi, if you guys really trust me, and trust Brother Feng Jun's judgment, how about you co-operate with me one last time before the destruction of your faction is set in stone?"

Heads jerked into his direction, all thirteen of them, their eyes wide in surprise. Very little hope was contained in their gazes, but the flame hadn’t yet died.

"You have a plan?" Shen Mi whispered.

"You could say so. For it to have a chance of success, I need you to buy some time," Han Xuhan said confidently. Shen Mi and her martial siblings exchanged bitter looks among themselves for a couple of seconds before arriving to the inevitable conclusion.

"We'll try to negotiate with them. SOME of us can still fight, if necessary. How long do you need?" Ning Xueshi asked before Shen Mi could. Her emphasis on the word 'Some' made Shen Mi wince.

Han Xuhan pointed a finger at her and shook his head wearing a vague smile.

"You need to come with me. The other eleven here can do the job of buying time."

Seeing their puzzled faces, Han Xuhan knew that questions were about to come in a flurry. So he quickly blocked them, saying, "I need protection, and she seems more reliable than the rest of you."

Nobody could argue with that. Leaving Shen Mi and the rest to face the unfriendly mob, Han Xuhan and Ning Xueshi left discreetly, hiding themselves behind the tightly packed series of cabins.

"Where are we headed?" Ning Xueshi asked after a minute of following him in silence. Han Xuhan turned to look at her questioningly.

"Where does your sect master live on this island?"

Ning Xueshi pointed at the center of the island rings, where the massive, white tower of stone stood like an upright sword.

"Lead me to his palace," Han Xuhan said authoritatively. Ning Xueshi's face scrunched up.

"Why? The guardian Elders won't let us in," She said. "If you're planning on asking for his help, there is no need to drag me to that farce. We've been begging on his palace gate for months. It's futile. He only meets a few trusted Elders of the sect, and those Elders have no sympathy for us."

"That's exactly why I need you to be there when I try to enter," Han Xuhan said in a mysterious tone, keeping his plan vague. Ning Xueshi sent an exasperated look behind them, where the leftover members of the Phoenix faction were getting ready to meet the enemy. It was clear that she would've preferred to be there rather than acting as a guide and bodyguard to Xuhan.

"You're not going to make a difference there, sister Xueshi. Have trust in Shen Mi's judgment and act as I request you to." Han Xuhan snapped his fingers in front of her face, dragging her back to reality.

"Sister Mi's judgment is terrible," Ning Xueshi grumbled under her breath and relented, taking the lead and speeding up. Han Xuhan had to put a lot of effort into his run in order to keep up.

But when they arrived at the inner edge of the first island ring, Han Xuhan had to stop, because Ning Xueshi simply walked on the air to cross the gap between the first and the second ring like a cartoon character who hadn’t noticed that she was was supposed to fall down.

"Sister Xueshi, look down!" Han Xuhan shouted in a concerned tone. Ning Xueshi realized that Han Xuhan couldn't follow her. Turning around, she gestured at him to follow her.

"Don't be afraid. There are invisible bridges connecting the island rings. We disciples have to rely on our memory and perception to determine where the closest invisible bridge is. All you need to do is to step exactly where I did in a straight line. These bridges are pretty narrow."

"...Is this structure something you came up with after entering the Archipelago, or is this just the original structure of the Stardust Sect?" Han Xuhan couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, our original sect is a lot more complex than this. We have dozens of massive arrays that will test you endlessly. These arrays help the disciple hone their abilities even when they're not cultivating. Most sects have them, right?"

Han Xuhan thought back to all the sects he had visited or learned about from his peers. Indeed, it seemed that Crimson Snow Sect was the one with the simplest structure. No fancy towers, no arrays, no illusions, traps, or even a decent defense mechanism.

Then he realized that he had only learned about the average and above average tier sects participating in this tournament. He had no idea what the top sects were like. And judging by the invasion team Abyss Guild had sent to their sect a while back, Han Xuhan had little doubt that he'd be as helpless as a chicken if he ever accidentally landed on one of those sects.

Sighing, he aligned himself with Ning Xueshi and cautiously set his foot beyond the edge of the island according to her instructions. There was really something invisible pushing back, stable as a stone road. He quickly trotted forward, almost on all fours lest he missed one step and lost balance. Ning Xueshi looked like she was enjoying the sight.

Upon reaching the second island, they wasted no time and headed toward the inner edge of the this disc shaped expanse. Several times, disciples of the Stardust Sect recognized them from a distance and tried to stop them, suspicious of their motives. But even as weakened as she was, Ning Xueshi forced them to stand aside with simple threats.

Once more, Han Xuhan had to crawl above the gap between two island rings to reach the core area of the Stardust Sect. The central island turned out to be an extension of the massive tower. Fully made from concrete and marble, a wide, deserted floor led to dozens of tall stone doorways surrounding the main body of the tower.

"The Elders all live here on different floors. The tower extends below as much as it does above. And the sect master lives all the way at the top."

Ning Xueshi's explanation wasn’t really necessary. Because Han Xuhan easily noticed how lavish the highest floor of the tower looked compared to the lower floors. The walls there exuded a red, crystalline glow. Strange houseplants grew from the walls, crisscrossing the floor to form a Beautiful visage. Their leaves moved with an wind that seemed to exist only on that floor. Dry leaves floated around the large windows in circles, never falling down.

They could even sense the fresh qi rolling around the tower in a calm tide, perfect for cultivation.

After enjoying the view for a moment, Han Xuhan summoned Tun Shi Tian decisively.

"Minion, see that beautiful glass window on the top floor? Yeah, go demolish it for me. Don't be scared! We're here to MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE!"