Chapter 002: The Sudden Collapse of Heaven and Earth

"Master, please tell me the addresses of these academies. I will leave tonight, no, no, I will leave right now!" Huang Jinlong exclaimed excitedly.

"Great, great, he has gone to find the master's mistress." Huang Jinlong let out a sigh of relief, "It is better for you to die than for me to die"

"The mutual forgetting of the master is precisely the technique of mutual forgetting..." The golden dragon raised its head and stammered.

Ah—! The sound of a tragic scream emerged from the swirling dust and smoke, as torrents of fresh blood splattered violently against the pale azure ice wall, leaving behind bizarre and colorful traces. The golden dragon vaguely saw several pieces of shredded flesh, along with a grotesque eyeball rolling down from the clouds.

"It really is coming for me; I am not the master's mistress," thought Huang Jinlong, feeling wronged.

At this moment, he finally had time to lift his head and gaze at the ceiling. The roof of the bungalow had a large hole in it, through which the faint light of dusk streamed in, casting a layer of azure-golden ethereal hue over the darkened interior, creating a serene image of the twilight glow before the golden dragon's eyes

"Yes, it is." The Golden Dragon cherished the letter and kept it close to his heart

"Not bad, this is the quickest road. I know that leaving your homeland and venturing far away is a very difficult thing for a wealthy young man of your age." Yan Ziyao looked at him with understanding.

A faint crisp sound echoed above his head, and countless tiles and fragments of soil cascaded down like a waterfall, leaving him covered in dust and dirt

He opened his eyes and discovered an iron sparrow had landed on the dark ice wall before him. Its body was a deep blackish-blue, and its feathers were wildly fluffed up, with each iron feather curling outward like the tentacles of a sea anemone. Its beak was deeply embedded in the ice, violently striking against the thin ice wall, attempting to carve a path through the incredibly solid dark ice.

A tremendous roar echoed in his ears. He felt a swelling and heat in both ears, as two streams of blood gushed from his ear canals. His heart seemed to be gripped tightly by a giant hand, and golden stars danced before his eyes. The walls of the bungalow were torn apart like a matchbox, and the roof was lifted away by a powerful force, spiraling into the vast sky. The ground instantly transformed into a surging ocean, solid mountains turned into boiling mud, shaking violently, causing him to stagger and scream in agony. The moment of tranquility just before was brutally shattered into pieces.

Uh... the Golden Dragon felt a shiver run through his body, and the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. He took a deep breath, straightened his chest, and declared loudly, "Never yield, never despair, never bow down, never give up, this is the spirit of mutual forgetting."

"This, you, master?" The Golden Dragon stood there, at a loss.

"Yan Ziyao, you wretched woman, watch me kill your lover first." A voice, even more high-pitched and fierce, came from the distant night.

"Alas, you truly lack the aptitude; you cannot become my disciple. What a pity." Yan Ziyao sighed in relief, turned over on the lounge chair, wrapped her head in a tattered gray-black garment, and was about to turn her head to sleep.

"Are you saying that I must leave the Yanque Building? I must leave the place that gave me life and nurtured me, and go to a foreign land?" exclaimed Huang Jinlong in shock.

Hmm? ! '' Yan Ziyao's eyes suddenly flashed with a chilling light

He felt himself being gently pushed into the corner of the room by a powerful force. Around him, a faint sky-blue glow suddenly flickered, and five thin sheets of dark ice emerged from various corners of the room, converging beside him to form a transparent square ice shield, firmly enclosing him from all five directions: east, south, west, north.

"What attitude is this? Do you consider me your master?" Yan Ziyao stared in astonishment

Uh, are you in such a hurry?" Yan Ziyao was taken aback

"The greatest regret of my life is..." Yan Ziyao said, her face revealing a myriad of emotions.

What does this have to do with wisdom? Ah, Master, I just remembered!" The Golden Dragon raised his hand and exclaimed, "The most promising one is the Master of Resolution."

Hmm? Upon hearing this, Yan Ziyao suddenly sat up from the lounge chair, tossing aside the old clothes that were covering her head. "Jiefan Master? Are you sure?"

A sudden crisp sound echoed, and the Golden Dragon looked up in shock, unable to contain his alarm. The mystical ice wall that had always protected him now bore cracks resembling a spider's web. In the distance, the familiar white rainbow flickered again, signaling the imminent arrival of a new wave of aerial vehicles.

"Have I mentioned it before?" Yan Ziyao pondered while touching her forehead, "Whatever. First, tell me what is Xiang Wang Shi."

A loud bang erupted in his ears, causing a wave of nausea to wash over his chest and abdomen. Unable to suppress it, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of bitter liquid, trembling as he turned his head. To his right, embedded in the icy wall, was a long nail bent into a crescent shape. He leaned in for a closer look and discovered that this long nail was actually a beast's claw, deliberately severed and crafted into a concealed weapon.

With a loud bang, the *picture* book "Zheng" exploded in front of him, as if a series of three hundred steel whips had simultaneously detonated, causing his already fragile eardrums to painfully vibrate once more

Even years later, when recalling the scene of this moment, a chill still rises in Huang Jinlong's heart, for it was the first time in his life that he witnessed the true art of forgetting oneself.

"Given that you have the ability to choose the right mentor, which suits my taste, I will teach you the skills of forgetting one's teacher well." Yan Ziyao said with a slight smile, her voice steady.

Is it the aircraft master?" the golden dragon murmured

"Go ahead. Having the courage to travel ten thousand miles is a sign of ambition. Well, I have long prepared a letter of recommendation for you. On the ninth day of the ninth month this year, at the third quarter of the yin hour, you are to go to the peak of Lu Ding Feng at Xiang Lu Mountain in Pen Zhou, where there will be individuals present to pre-select disciples. If you are able to be selected, you will have the opportunity to enter one of the best academies for the study of mutual forgetting on the entire Tu Zhou continent—Nan Bei Tian Men. Note that the selection of disciples for Tian Men is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; if you are not selected, there will be no hope for the rest of your life." Yan Zi Yao took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Huang Jin Long, speaking in a solemn tone.

In that instant, both hearing and touch completely failed; the golden dragon felt as if his entire body was enveloped in a numbing sensation, unbearable to the point of wishing for death. Strangely, at that moment, his vision suddenly became doubly acute. From the fragmented roof, he could clearly see the flying debris and rolling bricks disintegrating into dust in the chaotic flow, raising a swirling cloud of gray mist into the air.

"Master, you have never seen my father, never seen my mother, nor have you seen my second brother. I want to leave here, far away from here. Master, I beg you to take me away." Huang Jinlong crawled to the ground, repeatedly bowing his head.

Just as he was still in a daze, a loud rumbling sound came, and a dazzling white rainbow appeared in the distance. The successive explosions rang out in front of him, leaving him weak and collapsing to the ground. He pressed his hands tightly against his ears, curled up, and looked up to find that the ice wall on this side was already studded with dense, pale blue and white claw nails.

Indeed. I remember my master telling me this. The golden dragon lowered its head, trembling with fear and confusion.

Is there anything else?" the Golden Dragon asked impatiently, with a sense of urgency.

Golden Dragon nervously recalled the words that Yan Ziyao had spoken to him over the past three years, introducing various professions of the Forgotten Masters: Zhu Rong Master, Creation Master, Craftsman, Pharmacist, Earth Master, Soul Summoner, Sun Refining Master, Spirit Controller, Soul Controller, Sword Master... which one truly had the most promising future, he simply could not remember no matter how hard he tried

The words of Yan Ziyao still linger in my ears, "The greatest regret of my life is..." Yet her figure seems to dissolve like the faint mist that rises in the morning, suddenly vanishing before the golden dragon's eyes

"Master, you are willing to teach me!" exclaimed the Golden Dragon with great joy.

It is, indeed. The golden dragon retracts its head and responds repeatedly

What should I do in my next life... The golden dragon stared blankly at the distant lightning, leaving it to fate

"Well, before I teach you, there is one more thing," Yan Ziyao said slowly.

Yan Ziyao, one year from today is ... ... In the midst of a tumultuous storm, a dark and sinister voice pierced through the cacophony, reaching the eardrum of the Golden Dragon

My goodness! He was so frightened that he quickly closed his eyes and kept praying, "With such high fortune, I can see and hear nothing."

"Before I teach you, Master, I must first apologize to you," Yan Ziyao said with a chuckle. "You have always believed that the art of mutual forgetting is a lineage passed down through generations. This is merely a misconception held by the common folk. In fact, there are specialized academies in this world dedicated to teaching the art of mutual forgetting, supported by government funding. These institutions gather top mutual forgetting masters from various fields as instructors, imparting knowledge to all potential and aspiring disciples. No matter how powerful I am as a master, I cannot compare to the experience and knowledge of so many teachers. The fastest way to become a mutual forgetting master is naturally to study at these academies. Isolating oneself for arduous training will only yield half the results for double the effort."

"What is going on? Are they coming for me?" The Golden Dragon looked incredulously at the iron sparrow, which was unable to close its eyes in death, "It can't be possible."

However, at this critical moment, the power of the Xuanbing gained the upper hand. The chilling cold engulfed all the vitality of the Iron Sparrow, gradually transforming it into an Ice Sparrow, extinguishing all signs of life. Only its two blood-red demonic eyes remained, wide open and unblinking, staring at the Golden Dragon.

"Hmph, to be honest with you, I have never told you which profession has the most prospects. This is your own choice," Yan Ziyao said coldly

Hmm... Yan Ziyao's cold gaze softened, and she nodded slightly. "Tell me again, what is the most promising profession among the Forgetting Master?"

Your festival! The voice of Yan Ziyao cleaved through the clouds and mist, carrying a strange blend of gold and jade, forcefully overshadowing the somber roar of thunder

Oh... the Golden Dragon helplessly rubbed his sore knees, looking up, ready to listen to his master's next words