Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Without another word, he relinquished control of his juniors and they all fell to the ground lifelessly. Putting on his mask and hood, he walked away, heading towards the marshlands. 

And Ming Yue was long gone. 

She had left the moment the Mist King was caught by Ling Hun, to fight him then was simply suicide. The young woman fully understood her own capabilities and knew that she could not beat him. Killing him would be even more difficult. 

"I should go back, report this to the other commanders. To think, he would try to awaken the Tao Feng's sect leader from the Idol of Chaos's body. But with his power, it is possible", she thought. 

Even more disturbing was the way he fought and the things she heard him say. 

"The Soul Dao? Does this mean he has control over people's souls? That would explain what he had done but still... to think such a thing was possible. And that would mean, he is extremely dangerous. He has to be in the Sky Realm, but at what level?" 

Activating her armor, she sped up, zooming through the marshes with Xiao Yin and Hei Yue trailing behind. By the time, the sun had fully risen, they had reached the camp. 

The two beasts quickly found a place to rest as their bodies were exhausted from trying to keep up with Ming Yue's newfound speed.

"I have to see the commanders." 

She spoke with a stern tone to the soldiers guarding the tent. All of them were taken aback by this sudden change but let her pass through. 

Walking inside, Zi Jing and Yu Zhen were both discussing strategies over the war table before turning to see who had come. 

"Oh, Ming Yue, how do you like the equipment?" asked Zi Jing.

There was a proud smile on his face before he noticed the grave look on hers. 

"Is something wrong? You were gone last night... Did you discover something?" 

Ming Yue looked at the both of them before telling all that she had witnessed. As she continued to retell the events, their faces turned more and more solemn. And by the end, they were looking back at the war table. 

"It seems that I will need to hasten the progress on our defenses. The fortress can wait, we have to deal with this first." 

Zi Jing grabbed his things before exiting the tent, leaving Yu Zhen with Ming Yue. 

The pair locked eyes before the commander breathed out a tired sigh. 

"It seems that it is just one thing after another, isn't it?"

She spoke as she looked away, looking at the war table.

"Do you know how long it'd take for your sword to be done? Have you spoken with the Cerulean Serpent?"

Ming Yue walked forward, shaking her head as she went to the war table. 

"It hasn't even been half a year and I haven't seen the serpent ever since it took my sword."

Yu Zhen sighed before sitting down, massaging the bridge of her nose. 

"It is just one thing after another. I had hoped that we would have a least some peace but that was naive. The moment we crossed the lake, things were going to get chaotic again. And now, we're in a very delicate situation."

"Is there anything we can do?" 

The commander shook her head. 

"We will have to endure, build up our defenses and our supplies. Although we have full control over the lake now, we don't nearly have enough manpower to solidify our control. We do have the barrier created by the Cerulean Serpent which could deter the Idol. Unfortunately, if that disciple comes nad succeeds in awakening his leader, the situation would be much worse."

"I see."

"As for you, Ming Yue, I'd suggest stating here. In fact, I'll have to send out a command, no one should enter the marshlands, not when there is someone as dangerous as him. If anything, we'll focus more on mining the lake and scouting the north."

Ming Yue nodded.

"I understand", she replied, "If you"ll excuse me then."

As she turned to leave, Yu Zhen stopped her. 

"I heard that you were uncomfortable with leading a hunting group. I knew that you usually worked alone but I had thought that you would have enjoyed the experience. Even more so as it was with others of the martial world. I should apologize for any discomfort I may have caused."

Her tone was soft and extremely polite, something that Ming Yue found a bit unsettling. 

"No, there's no need to act like this. I understand why you had me do this and I understand that not everything can be done on my own. Now then, I'll be going. If anything is needed of me, please ask."

She then turned and left, heading back to her room before seeing a shadow behind her. 

"Hmph, you disappear after eating dinner for the whole night? I was looking for you! There was desert! They had a bunch of fruit tarts and I saved one for you!"

Standing with her arms crossed was a rather angry Xuan Yin with a frown on her face. 

"Oh, sorry. I just got some of my equipment back and I wanted to try it out."

Ming Yue apologized to her, saying it in a monotonous manner. Her friend looked at her, huffing and puffing before taking a fruit tart out of her spatial ring. 

"You're lucky I saved one for you but I'm not letting you out of my sight!"

She stared at Ming Yue intensely while handing the tart to her. 

The young woman received it with both hands before taking a look and then a bite. It was pretty looking fruit tart with sliced berries over a sweet and creamy custard. The taste was refreshing, sweet fruitiness mixed with a sweetness reminiscent of honey. 

As she took small bites of her tart, she saw Xuan Yin looking at her. 

"Is there something wrong?" she asked. 

Xuan Yin threw her arm around her shoulders walking her through the camp while learning in. 

"You just came from the commander's tent!" she whispered excitedly, "What happened when you went out?" 

Ming Yue looked around them. 

"Do you know the Tao Feng?"

Xuan Yin nodded quickly. 

"Of course, in the midst of the destruction, they broke up. All of the techniques and items that they took were returned to their rightful owners and the sects they took over were freed. There are still a few groups here and there but for the most part, they're finished! Why did you want to know about that?" 

Her face seemed to get closer and closer as the curiosity continued to build up. 

And then, Ming Yue revealed all that she knew of them. 

From her participation in the raid for the Tao Feng's Sect Leader to her mission to hunt down his personal fifteen disciples. From there, she revealed what had happened last night as well as what would be happening soon.

By the end of it, the pair had reached Ming Yue's quarters with Xuan Yin's jaw opened wide. 

"Wha- what happened when we separated? My god, I thought I had some amazing stories to tell. But you! You were at the center of the fight?! You fought the one responsible for bringing down the Heaven's wrath? And now that person is the Idol of Chaos? That their disciple is trying to awaken?!!"

Ming Yue watched her friend freak out, clutching her head, pacing around as she tried to process all of this news. 

Then she looked up and noticed the skies growing darker and darker. Soon enough it began to flash with lightning, once, twice, and many more times. 

A feeling of dread began to rise up as she continued to watch the skies. 

Finally, the first thunderbolt came down.