I Am Supreme

In his dream, the brothers of Nine Supremes were reunited.

Supreme Earth and Supreme Water took off their masks. Supreme Earth was Yutang’s eldest prince, exactly as Yun Yang had seen from his portrait, while Supreme Water was a beautiful lady who exuded a handsome flair. Only in her occasional glances at Supreme Earth did she display a discreet sense of gentleness.

Supreme Gold and Supreme Wood, on the other hand, were vague; their faces were a blur.

Supreme Flame had taken off his mask too. Yun Zuiyue, whom Yun Yang had not seen in a long time, was seated next to Supreme Flame. Both of them were in love and laughing happily. On the other side, Supreme Wind and Yue Rulan sat together. They smiled as they raised their goblets to Yun Yang, saying, “Yun Yang, you wicked child. An absolute novice, but you managed to court my younger sister. I’m telling you, if you don’t take good care of her, I won’t beat you to death, but I’ll still beat you up at least eight times a day. I’m not joking!”

Supreme Thunder who was seated near Supreme Wind cut in timely and said, “That’s right. Your sister is my sister as well. Remember to invite me when you teach ol’Ninth a lesson. Let me help!”

“Me too, me too!” Supreme Flame laughed. “Flame spreads with the wind, wind urges the flame – how can you leave me out when you fight?”

Supreme Wind guffawed with triumph written all over his face, but Yue Rulan looked at him with fond disapproval, irritably chastising him, “Hmph, don’t get too full of yourself! Yun Yang is great to Lingxi, unlike someone who left without any news or even a note – there goes his conscience, there goes his accountability. He watched me and his sister search for him across the continent, suffering and almost dying, but he refused to step out. Now he has the cheek to criticize others. How ridiculously humorous – how repulsive!”

“If you could be half as nice as Yun Yang is to Lingxi, I’d wake up smiling, even when I dream! Hmph…”

Before Yue Rulan even finished her ranting, Supreme Wind was somewhat abashed; long gone was his triumphant air earlier.

Similarly reminded of the sad past was Yun Zuiyue. She scoffed as well, glaring at Supreme Flame. The latter pleaded guilty with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He did not mention anything about collaborating with Supreme Wind or how well wind and flame would go with each other anymore.

The rest of the brothers were very much amused, first trying to hold the laughter in before it led to a complete explosion of chuckles.

Supreme Blood looked at Yun Yang as he asked softly, “Father… is he…”

Yun Yang turned glum immediately.

Supreme Blood’s expression followed suit, obviously being able to guess as much. After some time, it was Supreme Earth who suggested, “Let us give a toast to the old man.”

The brothers all picked up their goblets. Then, it was someone who said, “Toasting our father – why don’t we just invite the old man out?”

Right there and then, an old and wrinkly man appeared by the door. He was all smiles, warm and friendly. The brothers cried out in unison and with delighted surprise, “Father!”

Yun Yang teared up from joy. Staring at his old man, whom he had not seen for a long time, his lips were split into a wide grin. He did not know what to say then, only able to beam dumbly.

After a long time, he finally found his voice to say, “Brothers, the Four Seasons Tower…”

His brothers laughed. “We knew it. We were waiting for you to come and boast. It must be hard for you to hold it in for so long, wasn’t it? Still, if you didn’t manage to put an end to the Four Seasons Tower, did you think we’ll let you go? We would’ve beaten you up so many times over already.”

Yun Yang let out a hearty laugh and as he giggled, his tears streamed down his face. He suddenly shouted, “You fellows want to beat me up? I should be the one to wallop you bastards!”

The brothers tilted their heads as they looked over at him, beaming widely. They crossed their arms in front of their chests and asked teasingly, “Alright! How many of us do you want to beat up? We’ll fulfill your wish!”

Then, they rubbed their fists and palms with malicious intent brimming in their eyes. They chuckled and sneered, “We’d all love to fulfill this wish of yours. Oh, how we’re more than happy to do so!”

Yun Yang thought quickly about it and turned to run away. As he did, he laughed. Not long after, he was caught by his many brothers before they piled on him like a stack of pancakes. Yun Yang begged for mercy, chortling while tears of happiness still coursed down his cheeks.

…

Ji Lingxi watched Yun Yang’s sleeping face as she sat beside him. There was the sudden appearance of smiles that made him look like a grinning fool and the unstoppable tears streaming from his eyes as the man muttered, “Great… This is great…”

The maiden could not help the quiver that ran through her as she stared at Yun Yang in a daze. Then, she gently wiped away his tears and softly sighed.

‘Are you meeting your brothers in your dream?’

‘After this fulfilling dream, can the persistent thought that has been rooted for so many years in you be erased now?’

‘I wish that you can live with more ease in the future…’

…

Early the next day, Yun Yang felt thoroughly rejuvenated upon awakening. He could feel endless energy flowing through him; he had been fully charged. It seemed that even his mind was exceptionally clear. He was in an optimal state.

His eyes were squinted as he reminisced about everything that had happened in his dream. Involuntarily, his lips tugged into a small smile. He especially remembered the question he subconsciously asked when they were about to part.

“Brothers, can we still gather together again?”

His brothers laughed simultaneously, turning to leave and vanishing amidst the blanket of mist.

There was no answer to this question, but Yun Yang was not upset.

He teared up in his dream, but he woke up smiling. Perhaps, everything that had unfolded to this point was considered to have come a full circle.

Ji Lingxi heard Yun Yang’s dreamy mumbling before he woke up.

“What was it that you were murmuring earlier?” she asked curiously.

Yun Yang smiled but did not answer.

At the very end when his brothers were no longer seen in the fog but their voices were still clearly heard, they were clapping and reciting together.

“The royal earth splits open a world,

Water, flame – the Five Elements rule,

With wind, you shall reign the world,

Supported by the nine heavens as the Supreme!”

…

The volume of their voices slowly diminished. It was only until the very last word was heard that his dream returned to boundless silence.

…

Yun Yang retrieved dishes and wine from his ring, staying in the temple for the next eight days. When he was fully sated from eating and intoxicated from drinking, he slept; after he woke up, he moved around for a bit before he ate and drank once more.

For the eight days, other than chatting with Ji Lingxi for a while, he did nothing else daily. He did not practice his art, he did not think about things; he did not analyze Yutang’s national condition nor was he concerned with the warfare that was taking place.

He spent eight full days at Tianxuan Cliff that was utterly isolated from the world in peace and ease without any worries.

It was a pity he only dreamed a long dream on the first day. The rest of the time, all he did was sleep. He did not even dream of anything that was of his imagination and wild wishes.

Lucky or not, Yun Yang’s sleep quality in these eight days was exceptionally fine – so much so that Ji Lingxi actually thought that he seemed to have grown a little fatter.

It was perfectly understandable that he grew fat. After all, Yun Yang almost recovered his past reputation as the rice bucket during recent days.

Eight days later, Yun Yang cleaned up the Nine Supremes Temple one last time and set up a secluded formation around the structure. He stood before the temple for a long, long time and suddenly turned around to leave, laughing, without looking back.

“With wind I shall reign the world, supported by the nine heavens as the Supreme!”

He chuckled and took Ji Lingxi’s hand. Leaving the mountain in a relaxed manner, he did not even look back once.

It was, instead, Ji Lingxi, who was already hundreds of feet away, who could not help turning back. All she could see was the Nine Supremes Temple fully submerged in the fog.