Stranger Danger

Chapter 367: The Dark Overlord’s Inheritance

Ye Qing was shocked too, so much so that he nearly fell off his chair. It wasn’t because he was easily startled. It was because the name “Dark Overlord” carried that much weight.

The Dark Overlord Li Hentian was the greatest warrior in the entire world eight hundred years ago. Unparalleled and unmatched, he had singlehandedly dominated the four realms and the jianghu.

Once upon a time, he slew five kilometers of peach blossoms with his sword and forced Dragon Tiger Mountain to stay out of secular matters for a hundred years.

Once upon a time, he brought a flower and a Go board up Lotus Peak and challenged the sect leader of True Martial Sect to a debate of Dao. When the flowers fell, and the game was over, the sect master achieved enlightenment and passed away there and then.

Once upon a time, he marched up to Lanke Temple, shouted away the Bodhisattva and the Buddha, and sent a thousand-kilometer-long Kingdom of Buddha plummeting from the heavens with his fists. As a result, the Kingdom of Buddha in the heavens fell to humanity.

Once upon a time, he entered the city of Ling Xiao and Fengdu alone and cut a thousand heads with his saber while drunk. Humans, celestials, ghosts and gods. All bowed before his might for fear they were next.

......

The long story short was that the Dark Overlord Lin Hentian was the protagonist of this world eight hundred years ago. He had singlehandedly dominated every jianghu for over a century, and no one—the Orthodoxy, the Dark Ways, the Buddhists, the Confucianists, the clans, the nobles and more—dared to stand in his way. He was the one and only hegemon in the heavens, the human world, and the underworld, and the Buddhas, the Sages, the celestials, the gods and the demons were like shadows compared to him.

Once upon a time, the White Jade Capital even made a remark that would be remembered by the jianghu for eternity: “The jianghu is everlasting, but there may be one and only Li Hentian.”

Unfortunately, the Dark Overlord’s fall was just as meteoric as his rise. One day, Li Hentian suddenly went missing and was never heard of again.

Some people said that Li Hentian was ganged up on by the champions of the Orthodoxy and the Dark Ways and killed,

Some people said that Li Hentian had shattered the barrier between worlds and ventured into the unknown in search for the pinnacle of martial arts,

Some people said that Li Hentian had attained enlightenment and passed away because there was no one and nothing in this world that interested him anymore,

Some people said that Li Hentian was still roaming the jianghu with his lovers, albeit under a different name and moniker,

So on and so forth.

The rumors were just rumors, however. No one knew exactly why the Dark Overlord had suddenly disappeared without a trace, and it remained one of the biggest mysteries of the jianghu and wulin.

Despite this, the legend of Li Hentian remained one of the most popular topics of the jianghu. He remained an untouchable, invincible legend even to this day.

That was why Ye Qing was so shocked when Fire Skull mentioned his name. His inheritance? If Fire Skull didn’t look so confident, he would’ve claimed that it was impossible.

It wasn’t just him. Countless others were just as shell-shocked as he was.

Deeply satisfied with the audience’s reactions, Fire Skull said slowly, “Hahaha... some of you have guessed correctly. We don’t have the Dark Overlord’s inheritance in our possession. It should not need to be said, but not anyone could attain the legendary warrior’s inheritance.”

“So, you’re admitting that you’re toying with us?”

A lofty, icy voice spoke up, and the entire Ghost Tower shook all of a sudden. The flame surrounding Fire Skull suddenly extinguished, and cracks began appearing throughout its body.

“Customer, please, be patient! I’m not finished yet!” Fire Skull blurted in a hurry. Such was the voice’s power that he felt like an ant about to be trampled by a god or a demon, helpless and puny.

“Keep talking then. If you cannot give me a satisfactory response, you will die.” The voice spoke again. “Mark my words, not even your owner will be able to save you then.”

“Yes, of course!” Fire Skull could tell that the owner of the voice was telling the truth. After all, the person had suppressed the restrictions of the Ghost Tower and the wisp of spirit its master had bestowed with just words. It had no doubt that the person could crush it like a bug if it wanted to.

Too afraid to build up the hype like it normally did, Fire Skull hurriedly got to the point, “It’s like this. Some time ago, we came upon one of the Dark Overlord’s artwork by accident, and a poem was written on it. My master figured that it most likely had something to do with the Dark Overlord’s inheritance.”

“Artwork? What artwork? Show it to us. It’s the only way we can know if you’re lying to us or not,” Someone demanded.

“Haha, but of course, customer. The Ghost Tower has always been an advocate of fair trade.” Fire Skull declared without a shred of shame.

Tsk. Everyone clicked their tongues mentally, but no one said a word because they didn’t want to delay the appearance of the artwork even a little.

A few breaths later, an ugly-looking ghost carried a covered painting onto the stage. Ye Qing could tell that the ghost was at least a Phenomenon-class Stranger.

The ghost removed the cover to reveal a beautiful painting of mountains, rivers, flowers and birds. Although the artist’s skill was clearly sublime, that wasn’t what made it special. It was the fact that it gave off a strange energy as soon as the cover was removed, and the elements of the painting slowly started moving as if they were alive. They could see the mountain spring flowing along a sinuous path. They could hear the wind blowing gently across the air. They could even smell the refreshing scent of trees and flowers. Yellow birds were chirping, and colorful butterflies were flying around and seeking honey.

The artist’s technique had transcended the concept of technique itself. At this level, it was almost a Dao in itself. Their senses hadn’t been warped by some sort of anomalous energy. The contents in the painting were, in a sense, alive. It was as if someone had sealed a corner of the world into a blank canvas.

“This is definitely an artwork by the hands of the Dark Overlord himself. I can sense vestiges of his martial truth in it,” someone said.

A feminine voice spoke up urgently, “Indeed, it is a painting made by the Dark Overlord himself. This painting is named the ‘Window to Flowers, Birds and A Stream’, and it was mentioned in the records of my Li Hentian Palace. This is also the final piece of artwork Lord Li had created before he went missing. Though... the painting was supposed to have disappeared with him.”

There are people from Li Hentian Palace too?! Ye Qing rubbed his noise thoughtfully. The Dark Overlord’s name was Li Hentian, and the sect was named Li Hentian Palace. Obviously, they were intricately tied to the Dark Overlord.

Li Hentian Palace was one of the Nine Demonic Ways, and it was rumored to be founded by one of his thirteen concubines, Yan Qingyan.

Despite being invincible across the three worlds, the Dark Overlord Li Hentian hadn’t founded a sect. Yan Qingyan had founded it after he went missing using the manpower and resources he left behind to found the Li Hentian Palace. Thanks to centuries of development and the Dark Overlord’s reputation, they were able to become a prominent sect of the jianghu.

“Clear streams flow in the dark, contemporary romance

Where Death Sea lies an overlord,

Martial arts is necessary to explore Bei Mo,

Inheritance one shall find in their dreams.”

At the top of the painting was a... doggerel? Actually, it might not even qualify as a doggerel. No one dared to say it outloud, but even a novice could tell that it was just a bunch of words that were cobbled together to look like a poem.

The Dark Overlord’s artwork is beyond the world, but his poem is very... mortal. It’s practically on the same level as our “poems”, everyone thought. At the same time, there was this sense that the man didn’t really fit his legend.

“Ahem, what did the Dark Overlord’s messa—er, I mean poem have to do with an inheritance?” Someone asked.

Amusement rippled across the audience. Heh. I knew I wasn’t the only one who thought the same thing. Just admit that it isn’t a poem, brother.

“Take a closer look, customers. The key is within the poem.” Fire Skull continued to keep them in suspense.

“Are you referring to the words ‘Dark Overlord martial inheritance’ in the poem?” Ye Qing asked.

“What? What are you talking about? I don’t see it!”

“Yeah, stop keeping us in suspense and tell us already, friend!” [1]

Some people had already figured it out, but some... well, there was a reason the stereotype of a warrior was all muscle and no brains. In any case, Ye Qing saw no reason to keep this a secret and answered, “The last two words of the first two lines are ‘dark’ and ‘overlord’, whereas the first two words of the last two lines are ‘martial’ and ‘inheritance’.”

“Dark, Overlord, martial, inheritance... Hey, you’re right!” Exclamations of realization broke out everywhere.

“Very smart, husband. You solved the riddle immediately,” Greenlake complimented Ye Qing.

“Well, duh. I’m a professional riddle solver.” Ye Qing chuckled.

Someone thought that this was not enough evidence to confirm that the painting was hinting toward an inheritance, however. “Is this all you have to make your claim, Fire Skull? Don’t you think it’s a little too... flimsy?”

“It is not, dear customer. First, the Dark Overlord’s artistic skill and poetry skill are equally famous. Do you really believe that he would create such an awkward poem?”

Fire Skull explained smilingly. “Besides, the two locations mentioned in the poem exist in real life.”

“You’re talking about the Death Sea and Bei Mo?” the champion asked for clarification.

“That is correct,” Fire Skull confirmed. “The Death Sea happens to be located at Bei Mo, and combining that with the hint... isn’t that enough to make a verdict?”

The Dark Overlord’s inheritance lies in Bei Mo? The same thought crossed everyone’s mind.

“Although the Death Sea is a dangerous place that only appears once every sixty years, there are plenty of warriors who have visited it to a certain extent. If the Dark Overlord’s inheritance really lies in the Death Sea, it should’ve been discovered already, isn’t it?”

“That’s a good question!” Fire Skull agreed. “And that, is the crux of our auction.”

“Besides the painting, we also discovered a token with flower and bird patterns and the words ‘Dark Overlord’ on it. It was forged from meteorite, and it contains the Dark Overlord’s aura. That is why my owner reckoned that the reason those who ventured into the Death Sea before didn’t discover the Dark Overlord’s inheritance is because they didn’t have the token.”

“Oh right, my owner also named it the Dark Overlord Token.”

Fire Skull produced a token about the size of a baby’s palm. It was square-shaped and completely black, and the words “Dark Overlord” were engraved to its surface.

The mere sight of the words alone placed a terrible pressure on everyone’s shoulder. It was a hegemonistic, noble aura that couldn’t be mistaken as anything but a hegemon’s aura.

“That’s definitely Lord Li’s aura alright,” the woman from Li Hentian Palace said. “Where did you get these items?”

“That will be our secret to keep.” Fire Skull smiled. “Of course, I must make a disclaimer that everything you heard so far is just a one-sided theory from my master. You are the ones who must decide whether it’s real or not.”

Disclaimer my ass! Every sign suggests that the painting and the token are real, and the inheritance being the real thing! Everyone rolled their eyes.

Frankly, Fire Skull could have made up a total lie with no real evidence to support the lie, and it would still foretell a bloody storm in the jianghu. That was how attractive the Dark Overlord’s inheritance was.

“How much is this Dark Sovereign Token? The Li Hentian Palace will be buying it,” the woman from Li Hentian Palace said.

“Excuse me? Did you forget that this is an auction, Mistress Qu?” Someone retorted immediately.

The Li Hentian Palace was ruled by a Headmistress, and below the Headmistress were six Mistresses. The woman was one of the six Mistresses of Li Hentian Palace.

“Lord Li is the founder of the Li Hentian Palace, and I just want to reclaim our rightful inheritance. What’s so wrong about that?” Mistress Qu countered.

1. It’s actually a lot more difficult to spot it in Chinese, like imagine the keywords being scrambled to look like something else. Unfortunately that’s not really doable in English, or at least I don’t have the brains to create a literal cipher for the poem, so you’ll have to make do with this dumber version. I also modified the next paragraph a little for it to make sense ?