Chapter 2782 — Possession

Zhong Yongliang let out a shrill, anguished scream. It felt to him as though his soul had returned—yet something about it was different. In an instant, memories that were not his own came flooding into his mind, so violently that his head felt ready to split apart...

Gao Xiaofu was at a loss for what to do when he suddenly heard Zhong Yongliang's bloodcurdling shriek. It scared him so badly he wet his pants. "Brother Liang, is that you? What happened? Did a vengeful ghost get you?"

But although Zhong Yongliang heard Gao Xiaofu calling, he had no attention to spare for answering. He rolled about on the ground, thrashing and struggling, until at last the splitting pain subsided, and those baffling memories seemed to have fused themselves into his brain.

Zhong Yongliang sat up from the ground, a look of bewilderment in his eyes, and something like delight as well. Suddenly he let out a strange cry and declared, "Hahaha! Your old ancestor the Mad Dragon has finally returned! Wahahaha..."

Yet after laughing, he scratched his head, for he had realized: he was the Mad Dragon Ancestor, and he was also Zhong Yongliang.

It was a less than successful possession. The Mad Dragon Ancestor had been the most formidable forebear of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect in recent years, possessing in life the strength of a late Heaven-Tier consummate grand completion, a single step away from the Heavenly Dao itself.

Only, some dozen years earlier, two ruthless brutes had come to the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect to make trouble, and with a single punch they had sent the Mad Dragon Ancestor to the Western Paradise.

Fortunately, the Mad Dragon Ancestor had cultivated a secret art. Upon death, he preserved his primordial spirit within his own tomb, awaiting a chance at possession—yet over the years not a soul had ever set foot in his burial chamber, so no such chance had come.

After all, once a tomb chamber is built it is sealed, and it is very hard to open again. In those days, Ancestor Mad Bull himself had personally escorted the Mad Dragon Ancestor's remains into the tomb, and the Mad Dragon Ancestor could hardly possess the Mad Bull Ancestor. Setting aside that the Mad Bull Ancestor's strength was such that possession would have been no easy matter, the bond between fellow disciples would also have made such a treacherous act against a junior brother unthinkable.

Though the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect was no orthodox and reputable school, it was a sect that greatly prized loyalty and honor. One had only to look at how a single letter of recommendation from Black Panther, junior fellow disciple of Celestial Worthy Chunyang, had been enough to secure Zhang Naiyu a foothold in the sect and make him Celestial Worthy Chunyang's closing disciple—that alone made the point.

In this the sect far surpassed the Five Luminaries Gate! Yet even so, because of the appearance of those two troublemaking brutes all those years ago, the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect had never managed to catch up to the Five Luminaries Gate in strength.

Otherwise, with Ancestors Mad Dragon and Mad Panther—two late Heaven-Tier consummate grand completion masters—holding the seat, why would the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect ever have needed to bow beneath the Five Luminaries Gate?

Zhong Yongliang's arrival here had been pure happenstance. Over the years the earth above the tomb chamber had loosened, and when Zhong Yongliang set his foot upon it, it gave way and he sank through—successfully allowing the Mad Dragon Ancestor to complete his possession.

But though the Mad Dragon Ancestor had in life been a late Heaven-Tier consummate grand completion master, his primordial spirit was now far weaker. Moreover, so much time had passed that it had dwindled further and further; had the possession not been completed, in a few years at most it would have scattered into nothing.

The aftereffect of this possession was that the Mad Dragon Ancestor had failed to fully supplant Zhong Yongliang. All he could do was merge his primordial spirit with Zhong Yongliang's present soul, becoming a brand-new person—one who could be called both Zhong Yongliang and the Mad Dragon Ancestor, possessing the memories and temperaments of both, yet existing as an independent being of his own.

With the two made one, Zhong Yongliang suddenly felt himself aged by many years, yet he was still overjoyed—above all because he had retained his former memories and half a personality, and so the heart of a young man still remained in him.

Was he not simply incredible? In one stroke he had become an ancestor of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect? And the foremost ancestor at that! Wahaha—at last your Zhong Yongliang has risen against the odds. What Wei Zhao, what nonsense—all of it is passing cloud. Put this in a novel, and I, Zhong Yongliang, am the protagonist! A beautiful life is about to begin!

Zhong Yongliang was gloating over his future when he suddenly heard Gao Xiaofu's voice.

"Brother Liang, where on earth are you..." Gao Xiaofu's voice had a sob in it now. He wanted to run, yet dared not—this place was simply too terrifying!

Only then did Zhong Yongliang remember that he had come here to explore with Gao Xiaofu! He hurriedly scrambled out along the opening in the ground.

Gao Xiaofu had barely called out when he saw a person suddenly emerge from the earth not far in front of him. It nearly scared him senseless! How could a person come out of the ground? Could it be a ghost?

"A ghost!" Gao Xiaofu screamed.

"Xiaofu, do not panic. It is your Brother Liang," Zhong Yongliang said mildly, with a wave of his hand.

"Huh? Brother Liang? You're finally back?" At the sound of Zhong Yongliang's voice, Gao Xiaofu looked closely and saw that it truly was Brother Liang. He hastily scrambled up from the ground and ran joyfully toward him.

"I'm back. You are Brother Liang's little brother—how can you panic like this when trouble comes? It is truly shameful!" Zhong Yongliang glanced at Gao Xiaofu and shook his head with some helplessness.

"Brother Liang, what's wrong with you? Why do you talk so strangely, with a kind of world-weary old-fogy air?" Gao Xiaofu asked, puzzled. Looking again at Zhong Yongliang's bearing, it seemed to have changed somewhat as well. When they had come exploring before, Zhong Yongliang had said little, but Gao Xiaofu could tell he had been rather nervous. Now, however, Zhong Yongliang was frighteningly calm!

"Heh heh, it's nothing—merely that some things have happened. Here, you go and fetch Naipao now. Tell him I have business with him!" Zhong Yongliang intended to plan his future properly. Having just completed the possession and fusion, he had to give it some thought.

"Huh? Now?" Gao Xiaofu was taken aback. "It's the middle of the night—is it all right for me to go call Naipao?"

"What's not all right about it? Tell him Brother Liang wants to see him. He'll come whether he wants to or not!" A natural air of dominance now emanated from Zhong Yongliang. Before, though he had been Zhang Naiyu's leader, Zhang Naiyu was after all a favorite of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect and a disciple of Celestial Worthy Chunyang, so Zhong Yongliang had not quite dared to put on the airs of a leader, fearful that Zhang Naiyu might grow distant from him.

But now it was different. He was the Mad Dragon Zhong Yongliang Ancestor, the very pinnacle of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (.) to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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