I created an extraordinary era

Chapter 726 Ten Years, All Old Friends Gone

Time flows on day after day, like the old waterwheel in the village, endlessly cycling without stopping.

Another old friend has passed away!

The following spring.

The drizzle fell silently on the newly sprouted buds of the old locust tree, and the air was filled with the scent of earth and grass.

As the first light rain dampened the bluestone path, Xia Yuan sighed silently.

Du Yu, far away in Haicheng, survived the harsh winter of the 59th year of the Extraordinary Era, but ultimately failed to usher in the spring of the 60th year.

He passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 98.

However, for him, this life has been fulfilling.

His son and grandson both became extraordinary individuals, and his youngest grandson, Du Jingming, was particularly gifted.

In just four years, he had already cultivated to the peak of the third stage of the Transcendent Realm.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there is a high probability that he will become a Grandmaster in the future.

If there is enough opportunity, one might even reach the Unity Realm.

If a transcendent being at the Unity Realm can be born, the Du family will definitely be able to occupy a place in the future era.

Xia Yuan did not attend Du Yu's funeral, but Zhang Yao did.

This was not Xia Yuan's intention.

Given the relationship between Zhang Changsheng and Du Yu, Zhang Yao, as a junior, should have gone to offer condolences.

However, over the years, the Du family has been trying to maintain a good relationship with Zhang Yao, a high-ranking member of Lingxiao Academy.

After all, with such a powerful figure in their lives, they naturally want to cling to him tightly.

Unlike Zhang Changsheng's simple funeral, Du Yu's funeral was quite dignified.

The Du family was a prominent family in Haicheng, and people came to pay their respects in an endless stream.

The funeral hall was decorated solemnly yet grandly, with wreaths from all walks of life filling the courtyard.

When Zhang Yao appeared, it caused a huge sensation, and the scale of the funeral was elevated several levels.

Although Zhang Yao did not flaunt it, her status as a high-ranking member of Lingxiao Academy was as bright as the moon in the sky, impossible to ignore.

Not only did all the high-ranking officials of the Haizhou Extraordinary Administration Bureau arrive, but many high-ranking officials from other extraordinary forces also went to the Du family.

For example, the most powerful forces in the Nine Continents, such as Eternal, Thunder Palace, and Heavenly Gang Alliance, also sent Grandmasters.

Finally, even two judges from the Hall of Judgments came.

The adjudicator is the most powerful person under the three deacons of the adjudication hall, and they are usually the ones who are responsible for the affairs of the adjudication hall.

Those who can serve as adjudicators are all grandmasters.

Their status may not be as prestigious as that of the higher-ups at Lingxiao Academy, but their power is undoubtedly greater.

If asked who held the most power throughout the entire era, everyone would unhesitatingly say the Court of Judgment.

As the executor of the will of the Supreme Council of the Human Alliance, the Hall of Judgments holds the power to monitor and judge the extraordinary beings of the Nine Provinces, and no one dares not be wary of them.

So when the two judges, dressed in black robes and exuding an aura of profound mystery, appeared in the mourning hall, the entire scene fell silent for a moment.

Although Du Zhiyuan is the deputy director of the Haizhou Extraordinary Administration Bureau, he rarely has the opportunity to meet the adjudicator.

Upon seeing the two arrive, he was delighted but also became even more cautious in his interactions.

Despite the presence of so many important figures.

But at the funeral, the Du family still showed Zhang Yao the most respect.

Du Jingming stayed by her side the whole time.

The Du family knew perfectly well what was going on.

These important figures came to offer their condolences not out of respect for the Du family, but because of Zhang Yao, who sat quietly at the head of the table.

The two judges did not linger.

They came mainly because they were both graduates of Lingxiao Academy and had a teacher-student relationship with Zhang Yao.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have come to attend the funeral of an ordinary member of the Du family.

After seeing off all the guests, Du Zhiyuan stood alone in the somewhat empty mourning hall, looking at his father's portrait, and let out a long sigh.

As night deepened, everything returned to calm.

As dusk settles over Haicheng, the city lights begin to twinkle.

Du Zhiyuan pushed open the back door and walked into the courtyard by the sea.

A salty sea breeze swept over me, carrying the unique coolness of early spring.

He leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance. He saw the city lights reflected on the dark sea, shimmering and seemingly prosperous and dazzling. But every ray of light and shadow rose and fell with the waves, as if it could break and rebuild at any moment.

Du Zhiyuan knew that the Du family had gained face in front of various forces today by borrowing Zhang Yao's great influence, but this also put them in the spotlight.

When Du Yu was alive, things were fine; the two had a genuine friendship.

Now that Du Yu has left, every bit of this friendship is precious.

The road ahead requires even more careful planning.

……

Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

This year.

Xia Yuan saw an old woman with white hair in Panlong Town whose life force was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.

That was his junior high school classmate, Liu Yuqing.

Liu Yuqing's life was clearly tragic.

In my twenties, I thought I had found true love, but I was abandoned in return.

Thirty years later, the person who had abandoned her reappeared in her life without warning.

But after only five years, the person disappeared again after leaving behind a promise.

Zheng Hao promised that he would return after he finished dealing with external matters and spend the rest of his life with her.

And so another thirty years passed.

For thirty years, she stayed in that old house at the east end of the town, sitting at the door for a while every day, gazing in the direction of the town entrance.

Now that her life is about to end, Liu Yuqing appears unusually calm.

She knew that Zheng Hao would never come back!

But she had long been used to this kind of waiting.

This thirty-year wait was less about fulfilling an empty promise and more about choosing a way of life.

To live one's life amidst memories and hopes.

At this moment, she sat quietly in a rattan chair in the old courtyard, gazing at the late-blooming osmanthus tree in the corner of the wall, her eyes as clear as a young girl's.

Ninety-two years of life's trials and tribulations have etched wrinkles all over her face.

But those eyes are still bright, as if they can still reflect the radiant girl from sixty years ago.

A gentle evening breeze stirred, and a few osmanthus petals fell softly, settling on her graying hair.

She didn't brush it away, but simply tilted her face slightly upward, savoring the gift of autumn.

"It smells so good!"

She murmured softly, a relieved smile appearing on her lips.

"Yes, it smells delicious!"

A sudden voice rang out from beside me without warning.

Liu Yuqing slowly turned around.

The cloudy eyes reflected a boyish figure, who was bending down to gently smell the osmanthus blossoms in the corner of the wall.

The person straightened up, and the face that turned around made her withered hands tremble violently.

It was an extremely clean face, as clear as if it had been washed by melting snow in early spring.

Her eyebrows and eyes were like swords, possessing an indescribable charm, like distant mountains shrouded in mist, faint yet lingering.

What's most striking about him are his eyes. Although he looks no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, his eyes hold a deep sense of vicissitude that is completely different from his appearance, as if he has witnessed thousands of years of changing clouds.

He was dressed in a simple blue cloth shirt, his figure slender and upright, and standing in the twilight, he made even the blooming osmanthus trees pale in comparison.

The evening breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing his smooth forehead, and he exuded an aura of purity that transcended the mundane world.

"You, Xia Yuan?"

Liu Yuqing stared blankly at that face, momentarily unable to tell what day it was.

"Well, long time no see!"

Xia Yuan smiled slightly and sat down on the stone bench next to her.

Liu Yuqing stared at him.

After a long while, he suddenly chuckled softly.

"That's great!" After the initial shock, Liu Yuqing immediately came to her senses.

Extraordinary!
Xia Yuan also embarked on the path of extraordinary abilities and became a grandmaster-level powerhouse like Zheng Hao.

After all, only after becoming a grandmaster can one's life level undergo a transformation, maintaining youthful appearance and longevity.

Moreover, Xia Yuan seems to have gone further than Zheng Hao.

Although Zheng Hao looks young, a closer look reveals the vicissitudes of time etched on his brows and the lingering marks of hardship in his eyes.

But Xia Yuan before us still retains her original sharp edges and luster.

Liu Yuqing gradually recalled many things from the past.

When she and Zheng Hao talked to Xia Yuan about superhumans, Xia Yuan was not interested at all.

This is obviously abnormal.

In those early days when the supernatural had just emerged, which young person didn't yearn to become a superhuman and to live forever?

unless
"You embarked on this path a long time ago, didn't you?"

Her voice carried a hint of understanding.

"You've already embarked on this path when we still only had a vague understanding of superhumans!"

Xia Yuan nodded slightly, without denying it.

Liu Yuqing smiled again.

That smile was more of a self-deprecating expression.

The excitement and longing she and Zheng Hao had when they talked about superhumans in front of Xia Yuan back then, and how they even mocked Xia Yuan for being short-sighted and not knowing how to seize the opportunities of the new era.

Looking back now, it must have sounded incredibly naive and laughable to Xia Yuan, who had already embarked on this path.

"turn out to be."

Liu Yuqing's voice grew weaker and weaker.

"I'm the one who's narrow-minded and has no vision of the world."

Her gaze began to unfocus, but the self-mockery at the corner of her mouth gradually turned into relief. To understand this truth in the final moments of her life was, in a way, a kind of liberation for her.

"very nice!"

With her last strength, she said:
"To know the answer at the very end!"

Her voice grew softer and softer until it finally faded into the night.

Those once bright eyes slowly closed, a complex smile still lingering on their lips.

A gentle evening breeze carries the fragrance of osmanthus.

In the last moment before her consciousness completely dissipated, she seemed to see a faint halo around Xia Yuan, a light that was warm and holy, completely different from the aura of any extraordinary person she knew.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

She slowly closed her eyes and fell peacefully asleep.

Xia Yuan sat quietly beside her, looking at her former classmate.

The moonlight shone on her peaceful sleeping face, as if she were simply lost in a sweet dream.

After a long while, he slowly stood up and tapped lightly with his fingertips.

Suddenly, the late-blooming osmanthus in the corner emitted a soft light, and its petals moved without wind, gently covering Liu Yuqing, as if draping her with a fragrant floral quilt.
……

Liu Yuqing's passing was like the beginning.

Over the next few years, Xia Yuan learned from Liu Peiqi and others about the passing of some of his former classmates.

For example, Xia Yuan's former college roommates, Liu Qing, Wang Bing, Huang Yuanyuan, and others.

They were once the most spirited group on campus, talking about their ideals in the dormitory and sweating it out on the basketball court.

But these people ultimately could not withstand the power of time.

To ordinary people.

Even the most fervent ideals and the most sincere feelings appear so fragile in the face of a century of time.

Fortunately, Xia Yuan had Qin Zhi take care of them, and all of them had taken the Origin Medicine, so they all died peacefully without illness or disaster.

Liu Qing passed away peacefully in his sleep. The day before, he was video chatting with his old friends, talking about organizing a group trip to Xinyuan City.

Wang Bing passed away suddenly in his study, with a copy of "A History of Interstellar Travel" still open beside him, half-read.

Huang Yuanyuan, accompanied by her children, slowly closed her eyes on a rocking chair in her own garden.

For them, death is not a sudden tragedy, but a natural and fulfilling end to life.

Without the torment of illness or the helpless struggle, it is as natural as autumn leaves returning to their roots.

Whenever a message arrives, Xia Yuan sits alone in the courtyard for a while.

Although his relationship with these people wasn't particularly good, they were still acquaintances.

The thought that there is one less peer in the world who can call him by name always fills him with an indescribable loneliness.

The little fox seemed to understand his feelings.

At times like these, she would quietly lie down at his feet, silently keeping him company with her clear eyes.

However, not all of Xia Yuan's former classmates were ordinary people.

A few people, however, embarked on an extraordinary path with her.

First was Liu Peiqi, but due to her lack of willpower when she was young, she missed the best opportunity.

By the time he realized his mistake, he was already quite old.

Although he later reached the late stage of body tempering, he could only go as far as that!

As he gets older, Liu Peiqi always regrets his past actions whenever he thinks back on those days.

Unfortunately, it was all too late.

If he had seized the opportunity given to him by Xia Yuan like Qin Zhi and the others, he would most likely have become a Grandmaster, if not a Great Grandmaster.

Besides Liu Peiqi, several other classmates also received help from Qin Zhi later.

The path to extraordinary achievement is arduous, and very few can persevere.

Some people can't bear the pain of tempering, some can't let go of the temptations of life, and some choose to give up when they encounter a bottleneck.

Only one or two people are still persisting.

The one with the highest achievement is Chen Ziyan, who has now become a fourth-level Transcendent Transformation Realm expert, ranking 35th in the Heavenly Gang Alliance.

Xia Yuan was not surprised that Chen Ziyan had gotten to where she was today.

During her university years, Chen Ziyan was the most outstanding person in her class, and also the most competitive.

none of them.

She always sat in the front row, took the neatest notes, and always strived to be number one in every exam.

Once, during a PE class, she ran three kilometers and was so exhausted that her face turned pale, but she insisted on finishing the race.

When Liu Peiqi got married, she was the only one who didn't take the initiative to ask Xia Yuan for his contact information.

That pride remains unchanged to this day.

This is why almost every boy in her class had a crush on her back in college.

She was like the brightest star in the night sky, so dazzling that people dared not look directly at her, yet they couldn't help but be drawn to her.

Xia Yuan was one of them.

However, people like Chen Ziyan are ultimately a very small minority.

Most people are like Liu Peiqi, whose edges are gradually worn down over the long years, and who eventually become the very thing they once despised in their youth.

Many more people, however, gradually forget the spirited and ambitious selves they once were in the midst of ordinary life.

Xia Yuan still remembers that at the graduation party, Chen Ziyan sang "Dream Chaser" with grace and poise amidst everyone's cheers.

At that moment, her eyes shone with light, as if the whole world was at her feet.

Now, decades later, most of those who chased their dreams back then have stopped, but she is still running.

And they run faster and farther than anyone else.
……

The year is now 67 of the Extraordinary Era.

Seven years after Du Yu's death, Li Zhengde also passed away peacefully on a chilly spring morning at the age of 7.

By this time, Xia Yuan had very few old friends left from his time in the mortal world.

Most of the faces that once sat at the same table with him, drinking and talking about life, have now turned to dust, remaining only in his increasingly faded memories.

On the day of the funeral, Xia Yuan went on a long trip.

However, he did not disturb anyone and stood alone under the highest cedar tree in the cemetery, watching the funeral procession from afar.

Li Zhengde's children and grandchildren, dressed in mourning clothes, wept, their cries carrying far on the spring breeze.

As the coffin was slowly lowered into the tomb, Xia Yuan took out a flask of aged wine from his sleeve and gently sprinkled it onto the ground.

May you rest in peace.

(End of this chapter)