When Earth Awakened, I Became a Sword Saintess

Chapter 140 : The Fallen Genius

140: The Fallen Genius

Lan Lingfeng, had fallen in battle.

In this moment, the world in Lan Lianyue's eyes seemed to turn black and white.

She stood there, dazed, on the hillside where she had waited for her brother to return. For a long time, she seemed to have no reaction. Tears streamed down her sorrowful blue, empty eyes.

"Ahh!"

Lan Lianyue crouched on the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

Her scream seemed as if it could tear apart the somber sky.

But perhaps, it only tore apart the world in people's souls.

The sky was still the sky, and the earth was still the earth.

It would not change in the slightest because of human sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Lianyue... it's my fault, as his master, for not protecting him. I'm not worthy... I'm not worthy to be Lingfeng's master!" The white-haired Hu Yimo's face twitched, but he also knew that nothing he said now was of any use.

"Where is he... where is he now? Where... is he now?" Lan Lianyue's vision was already blurred. She knelt on the ground, groping at the lawn, her hands helplessly clutching at the grass and soil.

Dean Tong choked back a sob, "We... we couldn't even retrieve his body. We... were powerless."

"No, maybe big brother isn't dead yet. Big brother can turn the impossible into the possible. He's not dead. He escaped the ambush, right?" Lan Lianyue kept her head down, her voice soft and trembling.

"Lingfeng... he was surrounded and attacked by many powerful beings from the Prison Abyss, caught in a desperate battle... This was an ambush aimed squarely at our number one human genius, Lan Lingfeng. The other side spared no expense, and their target was only him," Tong Zizhong said. "He fought bravely for humanity until the very end. He... in the end, couldn't break through."

"Lingfeng... has fallen," Hu Yimo said, looking towards the hill and letting out a long sigh.

"No!!!"

"I didn't hear anything, I didn't hear anything! It's impossible that he wouldn't have anticipated an ambush from those things. It's impossible that he could be killed. Big brother... it's impossible for him to lose to the Prison Abyss!" Lan Lianyue buried her face in her hands, her beautiful hair scattered, covering her face. She curled up, trembling, crying helplessly.

She didn't believe that her omnipotent brother could lose.

She didn't believe her brother could be killed!

She didn't believe it!

"Lianyue..." Chen Qian'ning didn't know what to say at all. She bent down and reached out her hand towards Lianyue.

"Don't touch me... I'm waiting for big brother... Besides big brother, I don't want to see anyone. Let me wait for him here... He has never let his little sister down. He will definitely come back..."

Lan Lianyue's heartbreaking cries echoed across the hillside at dusk.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The rain, a mournful rain, fell upon a quiet, beautiful cemetery nestled among several peaks of Yushan Mountain.

The sky was overcast, as if the world were gray, the only light seeming to be the reflection of the flowing rain on the somber vault of the sky.

Today was July 2nd, the day the Lingdu Source Martial Academy held the funeral for Lan Lingfeng.

From the Dean to the faculty and staff, as well as various student representatives, the Academy attended this funeral in a cemetery that was not grand, but exceptionally tranquil and sparse.

For certain reasons, this funeral was conducted secretly. The outside media and people from all walks of life were unaware of it.

Lan Lingfeng's tombstone looked rather plain. Fresh flowers were placed on it. It would be hard to imagine that this was the tombstone of the number one genius in human history.

This once-in-a-generation genius, who had shocked Huaxia Nation and captured the world's attention, couldn't even have his body returned to his homeland. Only a few people knew that buried beneath this tombstone was only a blood-stained corner of Lan Lingfeng's battle robe.

In the front ranks of the student procession attending the funeral, Xia Yuyin, dressed in a long black skirt with a high collar fastened at her neck, wore a pure white rose on her chest and held a black umbrella, silently gazing at the seemingly ordinary tombstone.

Beneath her water-beaded eyelashes, Yuyin's star-like pupils flickered slightly, seeming incomparably deep.

"Senior Brother Lan Lingfeng, I never thought we would meet for the first time in this way. I cannot imagine everything you faced in your final moments. Right now, I also don't know what to say to you. Senior Brother... rest in peace."

Following the procession in front of her, Yuyin also stepped forward, and before Lan Lingfeng's tombstone, she solemnly bowed three times. She unpinned the white rose from her chest and laid it before Lan Lingfeng's tombstone.

The rain pattered down.

To one side of Lan Lingfeng's tombstone, under a black canopy with a eulogy hanging from it, the only person kneeling in the spot for family was Lianyue.

Lan Lingfeng and Lan Lianyue were originally orphans. Discovered for their outstanding talents, they were supported by the Huaxia Nation and several foundations that specifically support Source Martial Practitioners. But that was only initial support. The wealth the two siblings had today was all earned through their own abilities. Lan Lianyue was not only a Source Martial genius but also had a talent for business and investment. The wealth her brother earned from the Prison Abyss had multiplied several times in her hands, becoming an astonishingly large enterprise.

Yuyin walked over and came to the side of Lan Lianyue, who was also dressed in black. Lianyue wore a black hat and a black veil, with black butterfly flowers pinned to the hat. Besides some staff from the Academy and the Special Affairs Bureau sent to handle the funeral, only Hua Yuanjing was by Lianyue's side. At this moment, Yuyin seemed to deeply feel this girl's loneliness, a loneliness that made one want to shiver in the cold rain of early summer.

Lan Lianyue also looked up, her tear-filled eyes looking at Yuyin.

Like the other students, Yuyin extended her hand, "Senior Lian, my condolences."

After a moment of silence, Lan Lianyue's gaze seemed to change, as if she were looking at any ordinary classmate who had come to mourn. She raised her hand and shook Yuyin's hand calmly, nodding calmly.

This calmness, however, made Yuyin's heart ache.

In the heavy rain, Yuyin, Little Yuan, and Yingluo walked to the intersection with Liu Xing. They had come in Wang Xuezhang's car today. Wang Xuezhang, the son of a wealthy merchant, had specially driven a black Bentley, which was very solemn.

On such an occasion, no one had much to say. Just as they were about to get in the car, Yuyin stopped. "You guys go first."

"Huh?" Yingluo and the others were taken aback.

"Don't wait for me." With that, Yuyin turned around, holding a black umbrella, and walked into the gray, misty rain.

"Sister Yuyin..." Little Yuan, dressed in funeral attire inside the car, looked at Yuyin's back.

Wang Xuezhang, carrying them, drove away.

At this time, the funeral had ended, and everyone had already dispersed.

Before Lan Lingfeng's tombstone, Lianyue knelt there alone. Her skirt was directly on the stone slab, already soaked through.

Only Hua Yuanjing stood beside her, holding an umbrella for her.

"Lianyue, you... you should go back," Hua Yuanjing said softly.

"You go back first. I'll stay with big brother for a while longer."

"Lianyue... you haven't rested for several days."

"Jing, how long do you think that road is? How long will it take for big brother to walk it? He's alone, will he be lonely on the road? Will he... think of me on the way?"

"Lianyue, don't be like this..." Hua Yuanjing's eyes welled up. She was worried about Lianyue and wanted to persuade and comfort her, but she couldn't change the bond between Lianyue and her brother. It was a bond forged from the orphanage, two helpless, even discriminated against and bullied children who had come all this way together, a bond incomparable to that of ordinary siblings.

"Big brother, even walking on the road to the underworld, he wouldn't be afraid. He's always so calm. He can surely face everything with composure. But... he must be lonely, right? Leaving his little sister behind in the mortal world to travel far away alone, he must be lonely, right?" Lianyue said, somewhat dazedly.

Hua Yuanjing wiped her tears at the side. She was worried about Lianyue but felt helpless. The only thing she could do was stay with her, making sure she wouldn't do anything foolish. But even so, what could it change?

In the rain, the cemetery was filled with purple hyacinths. The road gleamed with a faint, watery light.

Another tall, black-clad girl, holding an umbrella, walked over.

Hua Yuanjing and Yuyin looked at each other. Seeing the look in Yuyin's eyes, different from usual, she nodded slightly and stepped aside.

Yuyin took Hua Yuanjing's place, holding the large black umbrella for Lianyue.

After a long time, Lianyue finally spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know why I came myself. I just... want to be by your side. Senior Lian, wherever you are, I want to be there," Yuyin said calmly, holding the umbrella.

The number one genius in human history, able to kill a Void Truth Realm expert at the Purple Domain Realm. Such a genius had fallen just like that. This made Yuyin feel even more that the Other Shore of the Prison Abyss was far beyond what she could reach or imagine.

The fall of Lan Lingfeng was a catastrophic blow to human morale. For something like this to happen, let alone her, Xia Yuyin, even the top experts of humanity could not have predicted it.

But even so, recalling the words of refusal she had once said to Lianyue, recalling the fact that she had defeated Lianyue, Yuyin, though not regretful, felt that letting Lan Lianyue face that nightmare-like Other Shore world alone was too cruel.

Lan Lianyue was already lonely. Now, the person she cared about most, her only spiritual support, had also left her. Yuyin felt she could not bear it, could not bear to see her alone, immersed in this cemetery, immersed in her pain.

"Who needs you... to come to my side at a time like this? Who do you think you are? What can you change? A genius of the Lingdu Source Martial Academy? In the face of such a terrifying existence, what can you change!? Get away from me!"

Lan Lianyue pushed Yuyin's hand. The black umbrella flew away and rolled to the side.

But Yuyin did not leave. She chose to stand with Lan Lianyue in the pouring rain.

"Go away! The last person I want to see right now is you!" Lan Lianyue pushed Yuyin to the ground, making her fall into the rainwater. She herself, with trembling hands, touched the name of her brother on the tombstone. "They, they killed big brother. They set a trap, ambushed big brother, and killed him! They killed my big brother..." Lan Lianyue knelt before the tombstone, crying hoarsely, her body already soaked by the rain.

Yuyin sat on the stone slab, not caring about her soiled dress. She looked from behind at Lianyue's trembling, slender, and soft figure. She suddenly moved closer and hugged Lianyue tightly from behind.

She said nothing, just held her tightly from behind. The two girls endured the cold and drenching of the mournful rain together!

In the distance... Hua Yuanjing silently saw this scene. She turned and left, her face showing a mix of relief and acceptance.