Chapter 19: The Bell Toll

The following days passed very peacefully for Xu Ziyan. Xu Ziyan knew her foundation was still very weak, so every day, apart from the first three days of the month when she went to the Main Hall for lectures, she buried herself in the Library Pavilion.

Although she could only access the first floor of the Library Pavilion, the first floor contained a huge number of books. They weren’t secret manuals or anything like that, but all the most basic books on cultivation, which happened to be exactly what Xu Ziyan needed. So, Xu Ziyan immersed herself in this sea of books.

Three months passed in this peaceful manner. In the evening, Xu Ziyan walked out of the Library Pavilion as usual. She decided that starting today, she wouldn’t come back to the Library Pavilion anymore, because she had finished reading all the books on the first floor. She planned to go into Closed-Door Cultivation in her room for a while, to properly digest all the knowledge and integrate everything she had read.

But the moment she stepped out of the Library Pavilion, she sensed the atmosphere was different from usual. Actually, she had felt something was off when she left her room earlier today, and when she entered the Library Pavilion, she noticed there were almost no people inside today. But she had been eager to read and didn’t think much of it. Now, after leaving the Library Pavilion, she felt the strangeness again.

Looking around, she saw there weren’t many people on the paths. Even the occasional passerby had a tense expression. Xu Ziyan didn’t understand why and wanted to find someone to ask, but she realized she didn’t know anyone. She shook her head and smiled wryly, thinking that since she entered the Outer Hall, she had spent almost all her time in the Library Pavilion, so naturally she hardly knew anyone.

She walked quickly towards her room, intending to find Xu Li and the others to ask. Just as she reached her doorstep, she saw Xu Li, Xu Tieniu, Xu Ling, Xu Dezhi, Xu Qingxue, and a group of others standing outside her room. Hearing her footsteps, they all turned to look at her. Once they recognized it was Xu Ziyan, they all ran towards her.

“Ziyan sister, we were just about to go to the Library Pavilion to find you. Dezhi brother said you would be back soon and told us not to disturb you,” Xu Li said as she ran.

“Looking for me? Is something wrong?” Xu Ziyan asked as she walked towards everyone, a questioning look on her face.

Right at that moment, Xu Ziyan suddenly heard a loud bell tolling from afar. Xu Li and the others across from her also stared wide-eyed in shock. Xu Ziyan turned her head and stared blankly in the direction of the bell sound.

The bell continued to toll. Although Xu Ziyan didn’t know what the bell meant, she knew that the more times it rang, the worse the situation probably was. The bell kept ringing without stopping, one chime after another, the sound urgent.

“Swoosh—”

Countless doors swung open. Crowds of people poured out of their rooms and ran towards the direction of the bell, their faces filled with panic. Xu Ziyan’s mouth hung open. After a long moment, she sharply turned her head back to look at the group in front of her. In each person’s eyes, she read the same message:

“Something big has happened!”

Xu Li and these people seemed to have experienced many such situations before. From the look in their eyes, it was clear they understood what the bell meant. But Xu Ziyan was new to this world and had no idea what was about to happen. She thought to herself, could it be that armies from another country were attacking? So, she asked softly:

“What is happening?”

“It’s the Monster Beasts!”

“Monster Beasts?” Xu Ziyan asked, confused.

Xu Li swallowed hard and said with some difficulty, “It’s a Beast Tide. The Monster Beasts from the Cangmang Mountain Range outside our Zhongdu City have broken out.”

“Beast Tide?” Xu Ziyan’s heart jolted. She asked urgently, “What exactly is it? Have you all experienced it before?”

Xu Li and the others all shook their heads. Moreover, Xu Li seemed extremely frightened now; her body had begun to tremble, her face was pale, and she seemed unable to speak. Beside her, Xu Tieniu said in a deep, muffled voice:

“From the time we were born until now, there has been one Beast Tide. But that time, because none of us had broken through to the Fifth Layer of Houtian, we weren’t allowed to resist the Beast Tide. We could only stay at home. So, we don’t really know what a Beast Tide is like. We only know that last time, the Clan lost many people.”

“You mean, every time there’s a Beast Tide, all disciples above the Fifth Layer of Houtian must fight?”

“Yes. This bell is summoning everyone to gather at the Plaza.”

“We should hurry. If we’re late, the Clan might think we are afraid to fight and punish us,” Xu Qingxue said anxiously from the side.

“Then let’s go quickly!”

Xu Ziyan turned and ran towards the direction of the bell.

At this time, the gates of Zhongdu City were closed tight. The residents inside the city had also heard the bell. It wasn’t just the Xu Clan sounding the bell; the Xiao Family, the Wu Family, and the City Lord’s Manor had all sounded their bells as well.

Hearing the bells, the city residents rushed out of their homes. These residents had lived here for generations and were not unfamiliar with Beast Tides. The older people had experienced more than one. But everyone was still filled with fear and unease because, in history, Beast Tides had breached Zhongdu City before. That time, all the residents inside Zhongdu City were eaten by the Monster Beasts. Although that happened a thousand years ago, and there hadn’t been a large-scale Beast Tide in the last few hundred years, who knew when a large-scale Beast Tide might occur again.

Usually, small-scale Beast Tides didn’t warrant the sounding of the bell. The fact that the bell was ringing tonight meant it wasn’t a small-scale Beast Tide. How could the people of Zhongdu City not panic?

Xu Ziyan and the others quickly arrived at the Plaza where the bell was ringing. It was the Central Plaza within the Clan grounds. It was very large. At the front of the Plaza, a High Platform was built. At this moment, the Clan Leader, Xu Haoran, was standing on the High Platform.

Crowds poured in from all directions. From the clothes everyone wore, Xu Ziyan could tell that not only had everyone from her Outer Hall arrived, but disciples from the Inner Hall and the Clan Elders had also come. Xu Ziyan saw that on the High Platform, behind Clan Leader Xu Haoran, stood Xu Haobo, Xu Haomiao, and others.

The various Elders hurried towards the High Platform at the front. The Inner Hall disciples stood on the right side of the Plaza, while the Outer Hall disciples stood on the left side. Xu Ziyan looked intently and couldn’t help but be surprised by the Clan’s strength. There were actually over eight hundred Inner Hall disciples. Most were at the First Level of Qi Refining Stage, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage, and Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage. A minority were above the Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage, and a very few were above the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining Stage.

Most disciples above the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining Stage were quite old. Even most of the Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage disciples were middle-aged or older. But among this group of middle-aged Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage disciples, Xu Ziyan spotted one extremely young person.